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EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.
BY

E^'

THOMSON,

D. D., LL. D.

NEW EDITION. REVISED AND ENLARGED

EDITED BY

EEV.

D.

W. CLAEK,

D. D.

^^^^.

Cinnitnati:
PUBLISHED BY

L.

SWORMSTEDT &

A. FOE,

FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE WESTERN BOOK CONCKKN,

CORNER OF MAIN AND EIGHTH STREETS.
R. P.

THOMPSON, PRINTER.
:8 5S.

^^^1

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 185G,

BY SWORMSTEDT & POE,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District
of Ohio.

/I- 'if^di

4!

Irefate.

DURING the half

century just past, no writers, as

a class, have occupied a higher position in our

English literature, or exerted a wider influence upon

mind than the

Theirs has become a distinct

the literary

and reviewer.

essayist

vocation, occupying the

profoundest thinkers, the keenest logicians, and the

most gifted writers.

Among

these, the

names of Cole-

De

Quincey, Car-

ridge, Jeffrey, Wilson, Macintosh,

lyle,

Macaulay, Brougham, Lamb, D'Isreali, Camp-

Sydney Smith, Talfourd, Rogers, EverSumner, and Whipple successors of " the

bell, Hazlitt,
ett, Giles,

old British essayists"

shine

as a brilliant galaxy.

Wherever the English language goes

progress over the earth, there will

be

felt;

period in

forth

their

in

its

influence

we can hardly conceive of a

the coming future when they will cease to

and, indeed,

charm by the beauty of

their

imagery and the

brill-

iancy of their wit, or to instruct by the calm dignity

and the lucid expositions of literature

and philosophy which gleam along their pages.
With unhesitating confidence, we claim for the auof their diction

thor of these " Educational Essays " a place in the

brotherhood of the essayists of the age.

The natuand

ralness of his method, the transparent clearness

PREFACE.

purity of his style, the aptness and beauty of his

must challenge commendation from the

and exacting. Then, too, impregnating

illustrations,

most

critical

the whole,
too

many

is

the moral and religious element

mock morality and

place

the

is

edu-

not one that dis-

made

foundation-stone.

but one in

to

assume

its

Every-where

author recognize the importance of com-

does the

bining

as

is

a false faith

w^iich the religion of the Bible

true

The

other essayists have sadly failed.

cation developed in these pages

plays a

where

culture with

religious

order that the world

may

general education, in

be saved from the curse

of unsanctified knowledge.

The author of
" Seasons."
believe

essayist

essays

is

said to be of the

James Thomson, the poet of the

What Lord Littleton said of the poet,

same family stock

we

these

may

as

be said with equal propriety of the

that his writings contain

*'

No

line which, dying,

he could wish to hlot."

D.
Cincinnati,

May, 1856.

W. Clark.

COlfTENTS.
jBiruf alijonal 3Bj5j5 ajjef.
Close Thought

Page

Geneeal Education
Uses of Chemistky

9
33
62

Poisoning

67

Conflicts of Life

71

The Path to Success

Mental Symmetry
The Inner World

95

114
138

Inaugural Address
Extremes in Philosophy
Religious Ideas the Basis of Education
Moral Education

157
186

210

234

Miscellaneous Reading

258

Necessity of Colleges

282

Logic, in its Relations to

Medical Science

303

Hints to Youth

326

Female Education

354

Originality

376

Higher Education

393

^bncational issap.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.
Cl0H
rpHOUGHT
-'-

is

What

lence.

tlie
is

I]0UJ(|L

foundation of
it

all intellectual

excel-

that constitutes darkness in the

The absence of thought strong

What is it that has handed down innumerable
thought.
errors from generation to generation ?
The want of
What was it that entombed the world's mind
thought.
The world's fearful experiment to dispense
for ages?
individual or the age?

with thought.

What was
and gave

it

to

that burst the chains of religious bondage,

Europe moral freedom?

has spread before our vision so

that has opened

crowded

it

with so

paring the way

race

so

many

What

is

it

natural truths

wide the path of discovery

many anxious

that

inquirers,

and

for the general education of the

has

is

pre-

human

Thought.

And yet it may be doubted whether men, even in the

most enlightened portions of the world, do not act more
from authority than from reason. Man's natural indolence induces

than

to

him

to

adopt the opinions of others, rather

form opinions for himself.

He

would rather

read or write, look or hear, talk or laugh, than think.

Perhaps no one has ever acquired a habit of reasoning

without having tried a variety of expedients to dispense

with

it;

while thousands forego the pleasure of original

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

10

Like

they will not pay the price.

thought, because

sheep, they follow a leader, and have no other reason for

being gregarious, than ^Hpse dixit

May

iia est.''

I not hope, therefore, gentle readers, that an hour

of your time

may

not be unprofitably spent in pondering

a few remarks on close thought!

As

the theme

a term, and not a proposition,

is

it will

be necessary to prescribe some limits, in order to avoid

discursive remarks.

what

close

I propose, therefore, to inquire, firstj

thought implies; and, second, what are some

who avoid

of the subterfuges of those

It implies unity of thought.

1.

man

it.

I do not suppose that

should have but one thought, or one favorite

There

thought, or one particular series of thoughts.

a

man

of one idea.

seems

whether

he sings or prays, laughs or

but one

reads

cries,

at morn, at noon, at dewy

and " even in visions of the night, when deep sleep

or writes, flies or triumphs

eve,

fitted to revolve

In silence and in uproar, in sunshine and in

notion.

shade

He

is

falleth

upon man," his

his faculties.

He

favorite conception occupies all

hears

beauteous vales, sees

it

it

in

running brooks, reads

in every thing.

He

it

in

men,

treats

books, and things, as did Lord Peter, in the "Tale of a

Tub," his father's

will,

who, determined

"shoulder-knots," picked
last substituted

like the

for

it

K in

word

the orthography.

His mind,

touch of the fabled Midas, which turned every

thing into gold, transmutes

it

to find the

out letter by letter, and at

all

the thoughts with which

meets into the one golden idea.

Such a mind may

have variety, but that variety must consist of the various

phases which the favorite thought assumes in pursuing
its

endless revolutions.

Perhaps most of you may be acquainted with living

examples.

As

it

would be manifestly improper for

me

to

allude to such, I will advert to the well-authenticated


CLOSE THOUGHT.

11

story of an ecclesiastic of a former age, whose

so thoroughly preoccupied with

mind was

certain doctrines, that

he often preached election, reprobation, and foreordination from the text, ^'Parthians, Medes, and Elamites/'
It is a beautiful hypothesis of a school of philosophy,

that there

from the

is

a regular gradation

among

created beings,

archangel to the minutest particle of

tallest

As

inanimate matter.

the polypus serves to connect the

world animated with the world inanimate, so this mind

may be

serviceable as a connecting link between soul

irrational

and

spirit rational.

Such a mind

the polypus in more than one

like

is

It is said of that parasite, that, deriving nour-

respect.

ishment from the moisture of the atmosphere,

it

flour-

ishes as well on the sea-washed rock, as on the verdant

vale

having

may be

no organism, but living by absorption,

turned inside out, without suffering injury or

and being unique,

inconvenience;
sections,

and each part retain

So with such a mind

as in the

delicate

it

most

fertile

it

is

its

it

may be

cut into

beauty and perfection.

the same in the most barren

region of conception; and

all

its

and complicated machinery being drawn into a

simple hollow, intellectual canal

increasing

rate processes of moral secretion

by no elabo-

and digestion, but by

simple absorption from the inner and outer surfaces

might be indefinitely divided,

and

each part possess

all

if

mind were

divisible,

it

the loveliness and perfection of the

primordial being.
I say not that such a
it

may be

is

that of monomania.

mind must

necessarily be

strong, but it can not be healthy

its

It is as pitiable an

weak

condition

anomaly

in

the moral world, as an animal with one muscle and capable only of flexion

and extension, would be

in the natural

world.

By

unity of thought I

mean

that a

man

should have

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

12

Unity of

effort is essential

The human mind,

in its best estate,

but one thouglit at a time.

to vigorous action.
is

are few

at the

If a stronger malady assail the body,

same time.

having run

a weaker, the besieged

may

course

its

return and finish

its

may

retire

from

to the besieger; the latter

and give place

fortress,

its

can occupy the same system

specific diseases

preoccupied by

soul

Physiologists have said that no

and humble.

two general

human

of the proudest

The triumphs

limited.

retire,

and the former may

Upon

career.

this principle the

dreaded practice of exciting ptyalism, in febrile affecthe physician expecting that, by intions, is founded

ducing the mercurial fever, he will overcome the more

We

dreaded intermittent or remittent.

the settlement of the physiological
practice founded

upon

it.

the psychological law that

leave to others

principle and the

Our purpose is to illustrate

the mind can not be occupied

with two important thoughts at the same moment. By

attempting to grasp many thoughts at once, we grasp no

The

one firmly.

story told

if

I mistake not

by

Dr.

Franklin, of the child who, while he held an apple in

each hand firmly, sought to bear

of

them

a story originally

of avarice

will

off a third

employed

and

lost all

to exhibit the folly

serve to illustrate the

futility of

the

The mind,

attempt to seize a dozen thoughts together.

confused by a thousand ideas at once, can no more reason

than could a shepherd discourse with his friend amid the

din of a thousand forge hammers.

would not be understood that in examining one

thought we may not examine others collaterally. In
I

tracing one thought

is

As

isolated.

in

we

shall

sailing

meet with many;

down

a stream

we

for no

find our-

selves in a swelling channel, constantly enlarging

accession of tributaries;
shall

find

it

enlarging

so,

by the

in pursuing a thought,

and multiplying

its

one

we

relations.

CLOSE THOUGHT.
Only

let

us take care to

down

sail

13

tlie

main channel

instead of trying to sail up each tributary.

It

tract

may be thought
it.

that

by limiting the mind we conmighty intellect, capa-

It is true that there is a

which seems crippled when

confined.
It spurns all common restraints, and stationing
itself on an eminence, which others may never hope to
gain, and placing to the eye a telescope of greatest power,
ble of far-sweeping thought,

sees far

beyond the vision of ordinary minds, and reveals

But generally the man who

wonders before unconceived.

always makes the wide world, or the wide universe, the

theater of observation, will see no

eye can perceive;

observation, and

more than any other

whereas, if he limited the

applied a microscope to

it,

field

of

he would

discover a thousand beauties, not less new, not less wonderful,

though

than those which the

less magnificent,

tel-

escope discloses to the observer, on the eminence which,

to all

common

footsteps, is

unapproached and unapproach-

Allow your mind

able.

range freely, direct your

to

attention to nothing in particular, and you

variety, but it will be barren,

common,

may have

nothing
connections
tasteless

new, nothing original, nothing striking.

Take

a single thought

and trace

its

if it

belong not to the exact sciences, in which the relations

are those of degree and proportion, or to the ethical, in
which they are those of conformity to established rules,
you will find a thousand beautiful relations. Let us

specify a few
(1.) Relations of connection.

Every thought

nected with a family of extensive ramifications.

thoroughly acquainted with

view
it

it

alone.

it,

we must

Like the ingenious

to introduce us to its relatives,

in the family circle, observe

tic affinities,

compare

it

it

is

con-

To be

not be content to

we must allow
watch its movements

suitor,

under the play of domes-

with the other branches of

its

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

14

beloved sisterhoodj and question, frequently and ingen-

most intimate companions. It is only in this

way that we can obtain a knowledge of its occult characThese, like the skillful coquette, it will hide
teristics.
iously, its

from

all

but the close and practiced observer.

There are relations of correspondence. Every

thought may be regarded as having an extensive partnership co-operating with others in manufacturing certain
(2.)

moral fabrics.

amusing and edifying

It is

members of the firmthe bond which binds them to mark the

in any given case, the

each has in trade

forms in the

to ascertain the part

common

business,

to trace out,

to examine
stock which

which each per-

and see their mutual com-

munications and operations.

Every thought, unless

has a basis on which it reposes, and in
dependence.

(3.) Relations of

be a

it

its
is
it

truth,

first

turn affords foundation to others.

dependent, and
receives,

how

and where

and gratifying

far

it

how far it
mark where

see
to

furnishes support,

is

an exciting

task.

The

(4.) Relations of analogy.

able in the natural world

moral world.

To

independent

It

is

at once,

is,

no

endless variety observ-

less noticeable

in

the

an exercise of attention, of

memory, of judgment, and of imagination, to group together analogous thoughts, and to mark differences and
resemblances.

And

this exercise confers the

power of

nice discrimination.
(5.) Relations

of composition.

may wonder why one

a nutshell,

single

The unlearned man

ore,

not larger than

should furnish matter of experiment to a

chemist for a whole day

requisition

mass of

so

many

should induce
employ

tests

to

him

so

to call into

much

curious

to blow up his fires and fill his retorts; while

he could plow over ten acres of the soil, or shovel up

apparatus

twenty cart-loads of

it

with less time and trouble.

Many


CLOSE THOUGHT.
a thought which a coarse

15

mind would deem

too small to

be picked up, if subjected to a discerning intellect,

may

be deemed a worthy subject of long hours of experiment

under the most complicated mental processes. Do you
doubt? then take some thought, subject it to rigid analysis,

and see if you do not find matter for all your attenand power, and furniture of mind; and if you do

tion,

not receive, as the result of your decomposition, some

element, which, if inflamed,

may

illuminate the darkest

chamber, or fuse the hardest moral metal.

You

will perceive, therefore, that the steady direction

of the mind to one thought, so far from causing paucity

of ideas,

is

So intimately

productive of a rich variety.

connected are sciences, that no

man

can obtain a perfect

knowledge of any one, without acquiring a knowledge of

many

others.

So

it

is

with single

The Portu-

facts.

guese, in returning from Cape Baj adore, discovered the

island of Madeira.

capes of the then

In their voyages to more southern

unknown

parts of Africa, they

with Cape Yerde islands and the Azores.

after a

new way from the Tagus

the rich country of Brazil.

met

In their search

to India, they discovered

In their glorious career of

geographical discovery, they enlarged their commerce

in increasing their commerce, they enlarged their

manu-

factures.

Send out the mind upon the ocean of

though in pursuit of a single thought,
voyage, with others of which

it

truth, and, even

it will

meet, in

its

does not dream.

thought implies fixedness of attention and

Washington Irving has
concentration of mental energy.
2.

Close

remarked, that this habit

They

is

rarely possessed

by Ameri-

more accustomed to observe than to reathey rely more upon facts than upon arguments.
son
If this be so, it is the more important to call attention
to the subject; for it is the stern decree of Heaven that
cans.

are

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

16

concentration of

The looet's
is

essential to powerful conception.

is

maniac's eye,

soul, like the

To the

ing frenzy.
object

mind

student or

in pleas-

roll

the discipline of the mind, or the investigation

of truth, steadiness of gaze

is

The

indispensable.

of the sun possesses no power,

fire

may

the jphilosophery whose

the softest piece of timber.

when

light

radiating freely, to

mind so glofit emblem of

Is there a

rious as to challenge the orb of day as a

must converge its rays to a focus before it can

become a burning light. There must be a fixing of

itself, it

attention, a combination of the faculties, a gathering of

the soul's energies, a narrow limitation of the

exertion, in order to

region of thought.

field

of

any thing important in the

eff"ect

Small triumphs

may be gained by

must be marshaled upon

the same plain, obey the same commander, fight the same
Do you wish to be
foe, to efi"ect a glorious achievement.
Subdue all
capable of triumphant mental exertion?
scattered companies, but troops

your faculties, teach them to obey your commands with

move with automatic precision

headquarters
moment's warnrush
concert
pursue
with perseing
a subject with

promptitude

to act

to

in

at a

to

to

vigor,

to seize

verance,

and

determination

iJioroughly mastered.

centrativeness

This

without

it

is

it

never to leave

what phrenologists

it

till

call

con-

the most powerful organs are

weak.
3.

The

Close

thought implies

curse which dooms

man

lahorious

research.

to perpetual toil as

the price

iKitient,

of his subsistence, penetrates his soul, and sheds the

dews of perspiration upon his brow, before

spirit to feel

mits

it

to

it

allows the

a consciousness of health and vigor, or per-

thrust the sickle into a rich and abundant

harvest of thought.

Fancy may take

flights

in parox-

ysms, but reason receives truth as the reward of only

patient, persevering

toil.

God has

equalized his gifts in


CLOSE THOUGHT.
the moral world more than

mind

lences of

generally supposed.

is

Excel-

are less the gift of nature than the re-

wards of industry.
differences of

17

I say not that there are no original

mind; but that these are not such

as to

prevent the ordinary peasant, by a slow, steady, upward

movement of mind, from

the brightest genius that ever the globe

in his rear,

rocked

leaving, at a sightless distance

if that

genius allow his thoughts to range un-

concentrated, untrained.

The

eagle, fitted

gaze at the orb

.of

by God

to sail aloft, directing a steady

day, can neither attain nor maintain a

lofty elevation without

an active pinion.

The ancients

represented, in fable, that Minerva, goddess of wisdom

and

from

liberal arts, s]3rang mature, perfect, full-armed,

the head of Jupiter; but if you, like the fabled father

mem-

of men, and king of gods, nourish beneath the

branes of your brain a full-armed, perfect goddess, you

you

will find that

shall suffer throes within the

as he is represented to have

and the ax of Vulcan

to

done

and

open your

cranium

need the

skill

skull, before that vir-

gin shall spring and dance the Pyrrhic dance, and strike

her shield, and brandish her spear, and show her blue
eye,

and breathe her martial

fury,

and enrapture ancient

and wisdom with the depth of her

proficients in virtue

counsels.

Many
because

a noble
it

mind has

would not

to physical,

they are

labor.
still

failed

to

Much

as

accomplish aught

men

more disinclined

are indisposed
to

mental

toil.

down
he
be
he thinks stock of thoughts must soon be
exhausted he grows discouraged. Imagination now
pears
robes of
she
a
bower she
spreads
mossy couch she promises
fan with gentle

Let a man

sit

densome

to cogitation

bur-

feels it to

his

ap-

in

light

offers

lovely
to

zephyrs, to delight with lovely landscapes, and

repose with

murmuring

rivulets

lull

and gently-flowing

to
tor-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

18

Without resolution wlio

rents.

will

not yield

to

the

charmer? Sometimes, in the midst of our first efforts at

original and continuous thought, works of taste open
their fascinating pages, and offer to introduce us into a

when enduring
the toil of research, we find a path at hand ready tarnpiked, leading to the truth of which we are in pursuit.
The temptation is too great we abandon our own path,
pass easily along the beaten track, with common minds,
and although we arrive at the object, lose mental strength

world of unmarred loveliness.

Often,

and confidence, and the sweet consciousness of original

Occasionally we excuse our minds from labor
discovery.
by sliding from investigation
under more
ising; a return
Felix dismissed

when he had

St.

to

some other duty, prom-

convenient season

circumstances.

favorable

Paul, promising to send for him

that

season Felix

never found.

No

one will ever prosecute a connected train of thought

without holding an iron scepter, with a steady hand, over

the

powers of his mind.

Never did

warrior,

scaling

snow-clad Alps, need more decision, and perseverance,

and steadiness, than he who ascends elevated summits of

thought, bearing upward his reluctant fiiculties against
ten thousand persuasive arguments and gravitating influ-

Rugged

ences.

glaciers are not

cliffs,

threatening eminences,

more opposing obstacles

terrific

to the traveler

than are those which present themselves to the undisciplined

mind

in its attempt at rigorous investigation.

Let us consider the excuses of those who

Second.

avoid close thought.

1.

It is frequently asked. Is not tliought spontaneous

suggested by laws of association beyond the control of

reason

If

This query

The

so,

whence the necessity of mental exertion

is

frequently the subterfuge of indolence.

agriculturist

might

say,

is

not vegetable nutrition

CLOSE THOUGHT.

19

dependent on laws beyond human regulation? why, then,

need we plow, or sow, or disturb the earth with harrows ?

What though thought be

trary will

is

there no

The

of intellect?

not at the bidding of arbi-

necessity for the

employment

existence of mental faculties, the re-

wards which sweeten intellectual

toil,

the curses which

pursue the conscience-smitten sluggard, constitute a burning reply to the question.

Two ways may be

influence thought.

may

pointed out in which reason

First,

it

has the power of election

and reprobation among suggested

It can detain

ideas.

which otherwise might pass on unnoticed, or

may dismiss a thought which seems fitted to occupy

a thought
it

The detention of an

the attention.

idea gives rise to a

which might never have been introduced had not

So also when a conception is

series,

precursor been fixed.

its

expelled, its associates are banished with

of this

tion

power

is

of incalculable

The

it.

exer-

importance.

It

needs no inspiration to discern within the soul a tendency

to evil,

which gives

engage.

To

to pernicious

raise a crop of

neither sow nor plow.

abandon
are

it to

require

but

cultivation

to neglect the
all

that

useful

if,

is

and

dies.

What

ideas,

like

is

to

We
useful

wholesome

therefore,

greater

soul

unlovely.

thought springs up in the uncultured mind,

withers,

to

weeds or brambles we need

Simply

the possession of

naturally indolent;

plants,

thought an aptitude

it wilts,

and

does

the

privilege

gardener need than that of selecting from the thousand

productions which prolific nature pours around him?

him

but eradicate every weed within his

Let

little inclosure,

and dig around the roots of his shrubs, his pinks, and his
lilies,

and he

will soon

reap his reward in the beauties

and fragrance of his beds and bowers.

What

but this has transformed a rude spot into that

''garden of tears'' which enraptures every wanderer on

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

20

^'swoct Mondego's cvcr-vcrclant vale?"

Nature

is

no

less

bountiful to the world invisible than to that which

physical.
bles,

let

is

Does any one complain of barrenness or bramhim examine whether the abundance of his

neighbors be owing to any superiority in

sluggard, go

fence

Go, thou

soil.

thy grounds, plow thy

soil,

pluck

thy weeds, cultivate thy vines and flowers; and scarce

north wind, and
wilt thou be able to say, '^ Awake,

come thou south

thereof

may

blow upon

my

garden, that the spices

flow out,'^ before thou shalt see the grape

blush upon the vine, the carnation breathe

the rose disclose

ception, consists in putting the

We

desired thought.

mind

are

all

mind

may

influence con-

in approximation to

conscious that

A friend

mutual acquaintance

moment and endeavor

we

are aware that

we know

We

pause a

to

bring him to recollection

instantly he flashes upon the mind.

scious of voluntarily placing the soul

we knew would lead

cases

This

we can

are able

in the street inquires

him, but are unable to remember him.

to recall.

we

arbitrarily in the recollection of forgot-

ten facts and^ personages.

for a

fragrance,

beauty.

its

second way by which the reason

to exert the

its

to the

are con-

person whose image we wished

called intentional

is

Here we

upon a track which

distinctly trace

memory.

the progress;

In some
in

others,

though the footsteps arc undiscerniblc, we are conscious

of the movement.
This is bearing the soul backward
through familiar truths to truths forgotten but it serves
;

to illustrate

what

have in view, by the voluntary plac-

ing of the soul in relation

to

undiscovered truth.

When

we may bear the mind onward

it may be seen.
Though we may
not be able to map our course, we may, nevertheless, be
apprised of our journey.
Though we may not reach our
point, we may travel foicard it, and can not fail of as-

we seek

to discover a truth,

toward the point whence

CLOSE THOUGHT.
cending

to elevated points

and opening our eyes on

Do we

of unwonted light.

21

of matter or of mind^ or to observe

new laws
new correspondences

and the outer^ the physical and the

in the inner

Let us ascend

lectual worlds?

fields

desire to discover

to

intel-

the tract of thought,

where such laws are discovered, such correspondences

observed, and dwell where the patient eye ca not long

gaze upon the scenes spread before

new and transporting

forms.

It is

it

without perceiving

by calm and persever-

unknown truth is made known.

may come unexpectedly but not unsought. The eye
may have no more difficulty in opening upon it than upon
ing observation alone that

It

any other truth

but the steps to the ascent whence

was discoverable may be numerous and

it

steep.

This capability of putting the mind in such relations

and new ideas, is a great advantage

which the cultivator of the mind possesses over the tiller
of the soil.
It is as though the gardener had the power
as are fruitful in rich

of removing his garden at pleasure to any climate he

wished, and allowing

its

it

characteristic effects,

and

to

remain there

experienced

till it

and unbosomed

its

peculiar fruits

flowers.

been remarked that

It has often

2.

original thought,

is generally/

apparentli/, but not really.

Ignorant

this.

men

origiiial discovery

accidental.

Two

It

may

facts

are not discoverers.

may be

so

satisfy us of

New

truths are

revealed only to patient observers, and bold and persever-

ing inquirers.

Who

Not the

blood?

the circulation of the

discovered

ignorant, thoughtless butcher; but the

scientific, reflecting anatomist.

Who

They who by years of

teroids?

discovered the

reflection

tion were led to suspect their existence.

the laws of the heavens?

laid

his

them.

head

The

in

intense

least exertion

He

as-

and observa-

Who

revealed

who, for a lifetime, had

and untiring thought about

may be

sufficient to

make

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

22

fortunate discovery, wlien the

results of long reflection

mind

is filled

with the rich

whereas the same reflection on

may he utterly unprograin may turn the scale-

the part of an unfurnished mind

ductive

beam

as

the weight of a

against a tun, after nearly twenty hundred weight

have been put into the opposite dish.

It frequently

happens that discoveries are made simul-

taneously in difi'erent parts of the world; but rarely

discovery

made

is

Roger Bacon

in advance of the age.

a
is

the only remarkable example of a mind outstripping the

race by ages

and the Pope excommunicated him, and

imprisoned him ten years for supposed dealings with the

The human mind during the dark ages

devil.

scarce

ever shot a spark into the regions of science; but

when

the intellectual night receded, the beams of a thousand

stars

mingled their light

for the illumination of

and each nation had her

the

discoveries are

The

constellation.

legitimate

offspring

discoveries do not illustrate

develops the discoveries.

we might say the

They

Europe,

Simultaneous
of the

times.

the age, but the age

are the necessary, and

inevitable results of the accumulations

of generations of excitement, and ages

of progressive

thought.
3.

It

may be

ductions in
cffiLsions

objected that some of the happiest pro-

the

department of

of moments of

traordinary genius

moments,

is

may

inspiration.

taste

were

the

sudden

Granting that an ex-

take happy flights in unprepared

that any reason

wait for poetic breathing?

why

ordinary minds should

In judging of the labor ex-

pended upon any given production, an unpracticed composer may be deceived.

That which smells most of the
lamp is not really the most elaborate. A celebrated critic
pronounced the finest writing to be such as a reader would
imagine exceedingly easy to equal, and yet such, that
whoever should attempt to imitate it^ would perspire over

CLOSE THOUGHT.

23

It is the half-finished production

his task.

which leaves

the marks of labor.

my

distinguished clergyman of

acquaintance, when-

ever he preached a long, and learned, and involved ser-

mon, generally apologized by saying that he had not time

and simple one. A celebrated barrister

to prepare a short

of one of our eastern cities

employ a style which

is the personification of simplicity, and yet he is perhaps
more studious and laborious in his preparations for the
bar than
costs

all

is

said to

his competitors.

more labor than a volume.

little

sometimes

tract

The perfected composi-

tion, like the finished edifice, is

the result of double

toil,

labor in erecting, and labor in removing the scaffolding,

and scraping away the traces of the

icles,

"who

tools.

It

is

said of Per-

lightened, thundered, and astonished Greece,'^

that he never spoke extempore, nor even ventured to de-

an

liver

opinion

without

ample preparation.

Virgil

occupied ten years in writing six books of the ^nead.

Not
out

a single page of fine writing was ever produced with-

much

may exThe harvest may

intellectual efi'ort; a solitary sentence

press the result of years of thought.

be gathered in a day, but plowing, and planting, and

growth require time.

why

does

If inspiration

may be

relied on,

not operate upon the indolent as well as the

it

active, the fool as well as the wise

man ?

He

who, too

and sighs, and invokes the muses,

drink the Lethean sooner than the Pierian spring.

idle to think, sits

4.

The

will

privileges of the university will not supply the

want of thought; but strong, continuous thought, will

atone for the want of them.
I hope that this remark
will

neither be

trust I

am

nor misrepresented.

as deeply impressed with the value of clas-

sical studies

them not

misunderstood

as

as

any man ought to be; though I regard

education

itself,

but as

Their chief value results from

the

its

instruments.

mental discipline

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

24

which they aflford.

who relies upon his
greatness

He

How

then,

sadly mistaken,

he

is

merely for future

literary privileges

selects the best university, matriculates

regularly, carelessly cons his lessons, but slurs over every

much upon the aid of his superior

head upon the recitation bench
his
and
places
classmates,
difficult

passage; relies

intellects of others operating

hope that the

in the vain

mold him into a genius, as the

hammer of the blacksmith shapes the iron upon his anvil
upon his passive

soul, will

Yerily such a one has his reward

into a horseshoe.

But can the drone

a sheepskin.

thus purchase mental

Nature spurns the

No.

power with his father's gold?

insulting proposition, and says, ^^Thy

thee."
a

money

perish with

Better for such a one that he had never opened

page of Virgil or of

Homer

had forever closed

science

that

temple of

the

gates against him.

its

A.i

the termination of his collegiate course, the university

him with its honors; the world expects him to

stand "a man;" the father fondly looks to him for a
realization of the delusive dream he had indulged conclothes

He

upon the duties

cerning his cherished

idol.

of active

perhaps in the very

life

but, lo

with the vigorous

is

mind
l)ut

It has

sketch.
to

many
many

but

it

deserves the

keener than

is

This

prototypes in real

be wondered at;

strange, that so

He

fool.

his mortification

the lash of an exterminating angel.

much

first collision

of the self-taught woodsman, he

demonstrated to be a learned

sting of scorpions;

enters

is

is

life.

strange,

no fancy

Nor

is it

passing

of the modern ^^improvements" in

the plan of education should be based upon a similar

delusion.

I refer to interpretations, interlinear transla-

tions, etc.,

by which thought

is

superseded, and the very

purpose for which the classics ought to

frustrated.

picture

of

When
a

great

be valued

is

the ancient poet, j^schylus, drew a

man

picture,

which, presented

CLOSETHOUGIIT.
in tlie theater,

he

tides, as

caused

whom

all

the audience to turn to Aris-

precisely suited

it

25

he painted

a field

deeply plowed, and, therefore richly productive.

The

following

description

is

a literal translation of this part of the

" Heaping in

It

mind the produce

of the deep furrow."

precious mental fruit springs from

because the

is

the deep furrow, that the classics are so valuable

To render them

are the plowshare.

aids, is to

is

of

by injudicious

easy,

grind your plowshare into dust, and scatter

over moral turf.

cate

they

little

it

The mere information they communi-

consequence.

There have been men who have risen

without classical

eminence

they acquired by

but

attainments;

to

other means that habit of thought which

As

are so peculiarly calculated to confer.

the classics

examples, take

Franklin and Cobbett, the one an American philosopher,

the other a British statesman; one was the glory of a

former age, the other the glory of the present.

What

was the secret of their eminence?

"I learned grammar

[says Cobbett]

when

vate soldier, on the pay of sixpence a day.

my

berth, or that of

in;

my

lying on

I was a pri-

The edge of

my guard-bed, was my seat to study

my bookcase, and a bit of board
my writing-table. In winter time it

knapsack was

my

lap

was

was rarely that I could get any evening light but that of
the

fire,

and only

my

or a sheet of paper, I
tion of food,

turn even of that.

was compelled

though in a

to forego

call

a pen,

some

state of half starvation.

no moment of time that I could

to read

To buy

my own; and

por-

had

had

and write amidst the talking, laughing, singing,

and bawling of at least half a score of the

whistling,

most thoughtless of men, and

freedom from

all

that, too, in the hours of

Here was

control."

discipline.

Here

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

i6

self-control, of close, patient, vigorous

was the habit of

thought.

There are some who have

5.

take, that reading

is

We

The age

read in infancy, in childhood, in man-

hood, and old age;

we read ourselves from the

literally,

Scarce has an infant time to open

cradle to the tomb.

its

for thinking. This has

is emphatically a

substitute

been the curse of thousands.

reading one.

fallen into the sad mis-

eyes upon the world, before

learn

its

book; and a

man

is

is

it

tied to a stool to

considered an ignoramus

unless he has read a line of pages large enough to reach

from the earth

to

the moon.

happens that a

It often

father congratulates himself upon the genius of his son,

and the sure omens of his future eminence, simply because

He seems to think the mind a
he is fond of reading.

and that the process of making a great man

consists in filling it up with books, and then putting it

repository,

into

some important situation in life to give occasion to its

;
as though the soul were a tea-kettle, and you

operations

could

fill it

up, and set

breathings of genius

would

say,

epicure

it

over the

dreaming

worthless.

creased, but
plied,

but

is

by steam.

There

is

and produce the

To such a father

ad, libitum.

beware, lest thy son prove

fool.

sary at this period, because

is

fire,

It
is

Such

a caution

much

it

not also diluted?

?

Books are written

is

intellectual

more neces-

of our reading matter

must be admitted that

genius advanced

an

literature is in-

Authors are multi-

Every thing now

and

read

in

is

done

hurry.

evidently a degeneracy in the i:)roducing mind.

Books seem to make up in size what they lack in sense,

and often a grain of the solid gold of an old author is

hammered into a flimsy octavo, to be called a "new

book." The eccentric John Randolph once remarked in
Congress, that he wished there were but two books in the
world,

"the Bible and Will Shakspeare."

Although I

CLOSET OUGHT.

27

11

demur,

in part, to the selection of that erratic

I acknowledge the

genius,

wisdom on which the suggestion

is

founded.

Books are needed

to

When

ulate the mind.

but when

employed;

legitimately

amusement instead of
instead of assist

it

Equally

nicious.

convey information, and

they

used for

are

instruction, or to relieve the

in cogitation, their tendency

when they

so,

and leave no time or motive

fill

up

all

It

mind
per-

The mind

for thought.

no tendency

has

is

the attention,

always flowing in the track of borrowed ideas

active, dependent.

to stim-

used for these purposes, they are

weak,

in-

to observe,

no

is

curiosity to inquire, no capacity to produce.

It is desti-

tute of original conceptions, of lofty thought, of elevated

purpose.

mind and supply it with ideas, go rather

to jiature than to books.
The heavens and the earth
To

excite the

offer food to

inal

the soul.

Go

thoughts?

ain of ideas

Would you have

to the only

nature.

There

pure and orig-

pure and original fount-

lie

on

her pages the

all

Go send your

beautiful and the sublime.

soul to pillow

herself upon the green earth, or enthrone herself upon the

heavens
terrific

bid her

sail

upon the whirlwind, step into the

tempest; place her ear to the thunder, and open

her eye upon the lightning's path.

She

ideas of beauty and of grandeur,

and hold fellowship

with

Him who maketh

the

earth

shall

his

meet with

footstool,

the

heavens his throne, the thunder his voice, the clouds

his chariot, and whose footsteps are on the wings of the
wind.

What

is

the secret of success in medicine, in

law, in divinity, in oratory

Thought.

tinguished doctor? lawyer? divine?

patient observation and reflection.

Who

is

the dis-

He who is given to
Show me the philoso-

pher who was more fond of books than of nature.

it

Aristotle,

who gave

Was

laws to Europe for more than thir-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

28

Was

teen centuries?

of light upon the

Bacon, who poured such a flood

it

Was it Newton,
Was it Locke,

of philosophy?

fields

who unraveled the laws of the universe ?

who applied the principles of the inductive philosophy to
mind? Was it Bichat, who carried the same principles
into the physiological sciences

How
and

No, no.

Homer had no books;

temple of Fame opens her

did the ancient poet do?

for

yet,

his image, the

^'holy of holies," and sends

up the sweetest incense that

ever exhaled from her altars.

the universe.

him with

The scenery
and

ideas,

exhausted

n ver

diminished

naked rocks of the jJEgean

like

the Eolian

of his native land supplied

the widow's cruse of

like

or

responsive

him

all

He

dwelt beneath his shoulders.''

oil,

by the using.

was

The

His heart,

his mind.

fired

was

harp,

" Sublimity covered

breeze.

His soul kept house in

the

to

passing

the day long, and

was blessed

for the

precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep
that

coucheth beneath,

and

for

the

precious

things

brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things

put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the
ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the
lasting hills.

tidings

when

The mind can

its

feet are

fail to

bring good

upon the mountains.

It is not,

scarcely

however, by an idle ramble that nature's beauties can be

These are hidden from every eye that hath

nut been taught to dwell upon them.
It was a beautiful

perceived.

idea of the ancients, that the heavens and the earth are an

under the external form of which

are couched ideas which the wise only can read.
The
allegorical representation,

soul

formed

to contemplation sees a thousand charms

never revealed to the untutored mind.
Before it the wilderness breaks forth into singing, and the solitary place

buds and blossoms

universe

is

like

as

the rose.

Anacreon's

lyre,

To such a mind the

which, whatever was

CLOSETHOUGHT.
the

theme,

poet's

sounded out

love

me

let

however

or

only from

its

he

swept

chords,

its

strings.

the ravished

listen to

29

mind

that has been

musing on the fields! "Her lips drop as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under her tongue, and the
smell of her garments

Whence

is

like the smell of

Lebanon."

does the metaphysician draw his ideas?

By

turning his mind's eye inward, surveying the faculties,

and their operations, tracing the thought through

its

studying the laws of memory, imagination, judgmaking the

the theme of
own observa-

stages

ment

tions.

soul

its

Thus was Locke, Reid, Brown, Stewart, Coushi,

taught.

Who
Nay

the successful

is

the

from his

diligent

minister?

student

of his

The book- worm?

own heart. It was

own bosom, next to the Bible, that Massilon

drew his eloquence, Whitefield his power, Wesley his

Here, in the mysterious workings of the bosom,

charm.
as

mirror, you

in a

human

may behold

the secret springs of

action, the various phases of

human

character,

the deformity, and hideousness, and devilishness of de-

praved humanity.

Here you may examine the excuses

of the sinner, and his refuges of lies; here see his fears

and forebodings, his hopes and doubts; here trace the

silent, melting,

mellowing energies of the Divine

and the hellish

suo;2;estions of the invisible foe.

are

wells of inspiration

ano;el souls

Here

there

human bosom, whence

is

the

true

Castalian

Drink, drink deep, and then trust your pen,

fountain.
or

in each

misrht draw!

Spirit,

tongue,

for

vivid

delineations of burning thought.

Inspired by communion with his own heart, the minister

can not hut be eloquent.

ground.

He

He comes

has obtained a perfect

forth on vantage-

knowledge of the

inmost workings of his hearers' hearts:

"As

swereth to face in water, so the heart of

man

face anto

man."

30

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

The audience

sit in

that of death

like

The

mute astonishment.

stillness

interrupted only by the falling

is

No

tear, or the half-suppressed sigh,

An

wonder.

un-

seen hand goes forth from the preacher into each bosom,

and searches
time, ho
as

is

every one

it;

conscious that,

is

a prisoner chained by the heart.

for the

It is almost

though one rose from the grave.

What

He

of books.

little

knew
any thing but human
Surely he

gave to Shakspeare his power?

read scarce

Hence he drew whatever of sublimity, of

nature.

fire,

of elegance, of sweetness, inspired his song; and hence

he derived that indescribable charm which

all

that

his pages.

But you

may we

not go to

Go

the substance than the shadow.

not the polluted stream.
soul as to suppose

it

sanctified

its

them?
to

Think not

Go

rather to

the pure fountain,

so

meanly of your

unworthy, or incompetent, to receive

a thought fresh from its source.

opens

spread over

poets and orators have gone to

inquire, if

nature for ideas,

had been

it

is

To you the universe

rich and abundant fields of thought.

If you

would know their native fragrance and sweetness, you

must gather them with your own hand. But if ideas

could be derived from books, fresh and green as we
receive them from nature, there would yet be a reason
why we should rely upon our own efi'orts. The strength,
and health, and happiness of the
the proper exercise of
6.

be

soul, is

dependent upon

its faculties.

Rhetoric and logic have been supposed by some to

suhsiitutes

for

thought.

quarrel

not with

sciences.

They have

and are

be ranked high among elevated studies.

so far

to

a beneficial influence on the mind,

from beinc; substitutes

substitute for them.

these

But

for thousrht, thoug-ht is a

They may be

serviceahle,

are not essential to the poet or orator.

but they

They did not go

before to dig the channel in which the stream of genius

CLOSET H OUGHT.
Bhould flow forth
direction,

ing

31

they merely followed to

observe

its

and map the tributaries which swell the sweep-

tide.

With

all

the logic and rhetoric of Aristotle, a

man

could never produce an original thought, any more than

a surveyor, with his compass, could call into existence the

mountain he surveys.
Think,
will

if

you would be eloquent

send down

its

heart will pour up

brain

influence upon

fluence

and the

the heart,

heated, reddened current to the

its

and the brain

think, and the brain

will

radiate afresh its exciting in-

upon the heart; and then the tongue can not

She loill come down, and seat herself

avoid eloquence.

upon the

lips.

Does the excited heart need direction

of

its

pulsations

in her orbit.

As

You can

if

not,

you

manner
move
As
direct.

as to the

well teach the earth

ivoiild,

how

to

well attempt to give laws to the earthquake, or the volcano, or learn the exploding magazine

how

it

shall ex-

The excited heart scorns to think of rhetoric

or logic.
They dai-e not speak to her; but sit mute and
They cease to be
enraptured spectators of her motions.
teachers, and become silent and humble, but enchanted
worshipers.
What was the eloquence of Demosthenes?
The outbursting of an overflowing soul. What the eloThe plaints of a wounded heart.
quence of Logan?
What the eloquence of Tecumseh ? The eruptions of
pand.

There

pent-up revenge and indignation.

like that of the

stimulated

spirit.

Who

is

no rhetoric

would lecture

on the arrangements of arguments to the prisoner plead-

Who

would teach the inflexions of the

voice, which are suitable for command, to the pilot, with
his eye on the headland, the breakers, the midnight
ing for his life?

ocean storm, while his whole soul

with the maddened elements?

is

roused to a struggle

Would you preach on

the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

32

tones appropriate for supplication to Dives putting his

head out from the flames of perdition, to call on Abraham for a drop of water to cool his tongue ?
Rhetoric and logic have their uses

they do not precede,

They may he concerned to critBut even in this office,

subdue, and chasten.

they follow thought.

icise, to

let

them be watched with

suspicion.

If you have writ-

ten a line with a throbbing bosom, beware, then, beware

how you put

Nature

is

the rude hand of cold criticism upon

it.

nature's best interpreter.

These sciences find their occasions of service in the

outset of the

ing walks.

mind
They

but they only attend

are

earthly

only for terrestrial valleys.

it

in its grovel-

instruments, and fitted

Once wrap the

soul

in a

chariot of flames, and like Elijah ascending the heavens,

it

will fling

away

its staff

and mantle.

GENERAL EDUCATION.

THE

history of education

The

periods.

first,

may be

33

divided into four

commencing with the

fall

of

man

and extending to the Deluge, comprehends a term of

two thousand years, and may he denominated the paIt is probable that, in this period, the

triarchal.

whole

race was in a semi-barbarous condition; they wandered

upon fishing and the

subsistence, and consuming all their time and

in deserts and forests, depending

chase for

expending
of

all

their energies in procuring the necessaries

They had no

life.

arts, or

agriculture,

commerce, navigation,

science worthy of the name.

collisions of brute force;

Their wars were

their governments were of the

simplest kind, growing, in most instances, out of the

of aged patriarchs or veteran chiefs

influence
arts

were few and rude;

few phenomena,

perverted

though

their

religion,

tions,

was obscured,

ations.

The

little

their

their sciences consisted of a

superstitious

to

based

upon

purposes;

important

if not obliterated,

revela-

by vain imagin-

knowledge which they possessed was

transmitted only by tradition, as they had no written

language.

Their wealth was poverty, their courage

rocity, their

God was

wisdom

fe-

superstition, their religion idolatry.

the only teacher, and

it

was but

now and

let down a truth upon

hung
an
impenetrable cloud
them. Their wickedness
over them, and the few beams that darted through it

then that he opened heaven and

from the skies were soon absorbed and

lost in

prevailing

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

34

There was. however,

errors.

spot on earth, though often

in diameter.
thies,

at all times,

bound by

one luminous

a circle a few feet

Enoch, Nimrod, Noah, and kindred wor-

manifested vigorous intellect.

tediluvian ages

The

history of an-

nearly lost; nor need we deplore the

is

we

obscurity which rests over that distant period, since

know
and

that

it

had no influence upon postdiluvian times,

that, if the vail could be

removed, we could obtain

no valuable information.
After the Deluge, the
Less

creased activity.

quent

to that event,

terior,

in-

Nimrod, or Belus,

laid the founda-

and Ashur built Nineveh, which be-

tions of Babylon,

came the

human mind manifested

than two hundred years subse-

capital of the Assyrian empire.

Not long

pos-

the Egyptian empire was founded by Menes, or

Mizraim.

and light ensued, comprehending the history of the palmy days of Egypt,
Greece, and Kome, and embracing a period of more
period of energy, and

eflfort,

than two thousand years.

The

greatest development of
ley of the Nile.
arts,

to

and song,

come.

to

human

intellect,

The pyramids, temples,

in the val-

the desolations of time for

many

The

for ages

having

and

resisted

successive centuries

attest the power, the perseverance,

artisans.

science,

obelisks, columns,

remain

still

Egyptian

was

Egypt attained an elevation in

which the world must look up

colossal statues at Thebes,

and

and perhaps the

first

shriveled

and the

mummy,

skill

of

torn from

the emboweled catacomb, and transported to a distant

shore,

to gratify the eye of vain

minds us that
in

early

arts,

of which

ages to Egypt.

we

and eager

curiosity, re-

are ignorant, were

Pompey's

Pillar,

known

Cleopatra's

Needles, and the forests of columns, and piles of ruins

that are scattered

ample attestation

all

along the "city of the Dead,'' bear

to the ancient glory of Alexandria.

GENERAL EDUCATION.

It is reasonable to suppose that

from the migratory

is

an ancient

early ages,

when mankind passed

to the settled condition,

ment of the boundaries of

object of attention.

35

the adjust-

their possessions would be an

Accordingly, we find that geometry

and

science;

were coarse,

although

its

methods, in

nevertheless subserved the

it

most valuable purposes.

To what extent the natural

we are at a loss to conceive;
ground
fossils,

to

conjecture,

sciences were cultivated

but

we have

the external

that

sufficient

character of

the structure of the earth, the nature of vegeta-

and the history of animals, were by no means over-

bles,

looked by the philosophers of Egypt.

The more important phenomena of the heavens were

observed in*a very early age; and although no satisfac-

manner of accounting

tory

them was devised

for

later period, yet the astronomical

was

if not as

as accurate,

though not

till

knowledge of antiquity

extensive, as widely diffused,

as philosophical,

as

that of the nineteenth

The phases of the moon,

century of the Christian era.

the precession of the equinoxes, the differences between

all familiarly known to anThe
zodiac
was
divided into signs by a
cient Egypt.
process simple and ingenious, and requiring a persever-

and sidereal time were

solar

ance worthy of the highest reward.

So

common was

astronomical knowledge in those early ages, that we have

reason to suppose almost every distinguished individual

had

a horoscope,

and that the zodiacs found

ruins of Estne and

strument.

many

to

The

in

Dendara are specimens of that

the
in-

true system of astronomy, supposed by

be the achievement

taught by Pythagoras

five

of

modern science, was

and ninety years

hundred

and was probably derived by

him from j^Eunophis, an Egyptian priest of On.
The healing art attained considerable maturity at a

prior to the Christian era,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

36

Facts were observed and

very early age.

and

classified,

deductions drawn, remedies were multiplied, experiments

made, and temples dedicated

to

Knowledge

^sculapius.

was accumulated and transmitted, and much that

is

useful

medicine was known before the days of Hippocrates

in

or Galen.

In the

fine arts

Music, painting, and sculpture were

Egypt.

to

vated

no modern nation has ever been equal

among the Egyptians with

subsequent age has ever yet

a success to

culti-

which no

Greece

approached.

ceived light from Egypt, and traced her footsteps.

re-

In

government, war, philosophy, poetry, and refinement, she

has

never been surpassed.

givers?

Do you

ask for her law-

History points to her Solon and Lycurgus.

For

She pronounces the name of Demosthenes.

her orators?

She mentions Leonidas and Xenophon. For her philosophers? She directs to Pythagoras
and Socrates. For her arts ? She points to the Coliseuna
and Parthenon, still rearing their summits in the sunFor her poets? She names Homer, and proudly
beams.
For her warriors?

challenges the present or the past to mention his equal.

The human mind, though amply developed both

in

Egypt and Greece, did not take the same direction in

Egypt cultivated the perceptive, Greece the reboth.
Egypt surpassed in arts, Greece in
flective faculties.
science.

Egypt observed

The former

facts,

Greece drew deductions.

studied external nature, the latter the inter-

The one

nal microcosm.

cultivated the arts that adorn,

the other those that ennoble mankind.

wand upon the

Egypt threw her

pencil and the chisel, and bade the mar-

ble breathe, and

made the canvas

speak.

Greece threw

her charm upon the heart, and hushed the passions into

The one
The former

calm, or whirled them into storm.

ture, the other

vanquished her.

current of

in silent admiration,

life

imitated naarrested the

by her combinations

GENERAL EDUCATION.

37

and sound; the other held the heart

of color, form,

by her vivid delineations of intense conception.

followed Greece, but stopped far short of her.

pulseless

Rome

The impulse which the human mind had received appeared to have been in some degree spent before it
reached the imperial
ancient

Home

among

are

and her language

is

the noblest triumphs of man,

the repository of some of the rich-

human

est treasures of

Nevertheless, the works of

city.

Long

thought.

science are cultivated, or the earth

is

as literature

and

the abode of man,

the works of Tribonian, Virgil, Cicero, and cotemporaneous writers, will be subjects of the highest admiration.

We

need no other proof of Roman greatness than Ro-

man

language.

It is precisely

idea of a nation's intellect by

France

is

adapted

We

thought and intense feeling.

its

a very good

language.

formed

That of

for colloquial purposes.

That of modern Italy seems designed

the emaciated

itants appears to be

adapted.

for

for love songs, the

mind of its inhabThe language of old Rome

the most majestic movements of mind.

only effort for which

Under

convey strong

just such as a versatile, volatile people, like

themselves, would desire

is fitted

to

may form

the influence of luxury and vice,

ually declined,

till

at length

Rome

grad-

she was overrun by success-

by whom the most valuable

productions of her art were despoiled, and her land,
which was as the garden of Eden, became converted into

ive hordes 'of

barbarians,

a desolate wilderness.
It is

melancholy

to

behold the empress of the world,

who had crushed beneath

her iron footsteps Carthage,

Pontus, and Judea, and whose chains, at one time, every

nation, from Graul to India, were proud to wear, trampled

beneath the brutal tread of Huns, Goths, and Vandals.

The

reason was apparent.

of her sons.

It

She neglected the education

was not because she had no gunpowder

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

38
that she

fell.

every village,

She would have fallen with an armorj in

and a magazine in every house. Had she

possessed the spirit of her Caesars, or her Catos, she

would have buckled on her shield, and her legions would

have rolled back the tide of invasion, and planted the

Roman

eagle on the invader's

This brings us

to

soil.

the third period, comprehending

those times to which posterity has assigned the appel-

During the long period of nearly

ten centuries, the human mind appeared to have lost
nearly all its power; and the trophies which it had
of dark ages.

lation

won were buried

"before

in

Universal dark-

oblivion.

ness prevailed.

The monks were the only individuals who paid

tion

literature

to

and science

themselves to these pursuits

that a

monk became

mind was

it

learned.

nor did

the.}/

all

atten-

devote

was only here and there

The mass of

civilized

and appeared incapable of giv-

stereotyped,

ing any other impression than that which the " Holy

Mother"
attendins;

delineated.
to

the

The

priests

spent their time in

ceremonies of the Church, and the

Pope and cardinals were, engrossed

managing affairs
be wrapped in a

The whole earth appeared to

death, and the human race to proceed

of state.
pall of

in

great funeral procession

of

one

in

age after age to eternity.

The prevalence of Popery accounts for the condition

The grand
of the public mind during the dark ages.
principle on which the Church of Rome stands, is that
the general intellect shall not be developed.

and general education are

Popery

as incompatible as light

and

darkness.

The

last

period

and extends

commences with the revival of letters,

The Reformation and

to the present time.

the revival of letters

may be regarded

as intimately con-

nected, if not in the relation of cause and

effect.

It is

GENERAL EDUCATION.

39
could have

certain that no general revival of learning

taken place without the influence of the Reformation.

The grand question between the reformers and the Pope

was this, Shall there be but one or many minds? There
were many minor points, but this was the grand one.
The Pope could easily have adjusted the numerous inferior matters in dispute
St.

between Luther and the Chair of

Peter; but he could not yield his pretended right

to

He said, ''There shall be

Here Luther
namely, my own."

control the world's intellect.

but one mind on earth;

joined issue, and maintained that there should be as

many minds

as there are

men.

Since the Reformation the progress and diffusion of

knowledge have been both rapid and uninterrupted.

The discovery of the

art of printing

and the mariner's

compass, the introduction of the Baconian philosophy,

and the application of steam

done much

to

to

the mechanic

arts,

have

prepare the way for general education.

Several important political events have contributed largely

same end.

to the

I refer to the

American Revolution,

the French Revolution, and the wars of Napoleon

first

the

resulting in the establishment of free government on

our own shores, and the two latter in the breaking up of

long-settled forms of tyranny and ecclesiastical usurpation,

and

all

kind ought

We

contributing to extend the belief that manto

think for themselves.

can but mourn when we contemplate the bloodshed

of revolutionary France; but

may we

not conceive that

even that disastrous event had a powerful influence in

undermining the foundations of venerable

extending

liberal

principles,

and

superstition,

promoting

general

knowledge?
If we turn our attention to Europe, we shall find that

a day of general knowledge has already begun.

rochial

The

pa-

schools of Scotland have Ion"; been admirable.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

40

The

much

subject of general education receives

tion in

England; and although

and

ecclesiastical

atten-

political

institutions present an insuperable barrier to the estab-

lishment of any

common

system of

efficient

schools ade-

quate to the wants of the British nation^ yet legislative

and private munificence are

sufficient to secure the bless-

ings of education to the humblest walks of

The common
and extension

school system

is

The

in France.

life.

acquiring daily efficiency

King

Citizen

is

acquiring

enduring popularity by elevating the general mind of the

great nation which he rules, and which has so often been
fertile in

mend

wars and wickedness.

in the spirit

There

is

much

to

com-

which has long prevailed on the sub-

ject of the diffusion of knowledge in Switzerland, and

much

to

admire in the public and private institutions of

In Sweden the most liberal

that independent people.

views have long been entertained in relation to educa-

She has

tion.

common

school, supported at the public

The University of

expense, in every considerable town.

Upsal has an enviable reputation

cation

is

The

the

rays

is

with the

schools of Denand her metropolis,

parochial

are equal to those of Scotland

Copenhagen,

Even

and the general edu-

a prominent object of consideration

Swedish government.

mark

one of the great centers whence radiate

of science

and

civilization

over the

world.

Catholic Spain and Italy are awake on the subject

of education.

seminaries

In Russia and Austria

are erected,

common

schools and

teachers are educated,

and an

pointed out by law.

More-

ample course of instruction

is

over, the children are not only provided for, but

com-

pelled to avail themselves of the legal provisions for their

advantage.

Of
is

the system of Prussia we need scarcely speak.

It

the best that was ever devised, and will long be the

model

for all the enlightened nations of earth.

Nearly

GENERAL EDUCATION.
German

41

have imitated the Prussian system,

and several of them have brought it to the same perfecthe

all

states

tion as Prussia herself

If

we

cast our eyes toward Tur-

key and Egypt, we shall see that even the Sublime Porte
spirit, and transferred it to the

has caught the general

Pacha,

spread over the land of Sesostris and the Pha-

to

raohs,

In our own country education

becoming general.
To New England belongs the honor of first providing,
by law, for popular education.

is

Her- noble example has

been followed with various degrees of

dom by most

spirit

and of wis-

of the other states of the Union.

The General Government has not been an idle spectator of these movements of the sisters of the confederacy.
She has assigned to the new states beside occasional
donations

the thirty-sixth part

of

all

the lands within

their chartered limits for the purposes of general educa-

Indeed, to our country we must look for the origin

tion.

of

all

those plans of general education which have been

brought

to

when the

We

such perfection in Europe.

believe that

modern monarchs, Frederick William

New England had a
common school system matured by many successive years
of reflection and experience.
He saw America free; he
believed her institutions would prove permanent; he

III,

knew
of

wisest of

ascended the throne of Prussia,

that freedom was contagious, and that the example

America would be followed by the other nations of

To

the world unless monarchies were rendered popular.

accomplish this object he devised an admirable expedient,

namely, the education of his people, thus making

the crown the source of the highest blessings that can

human governments, and endearing the

his subjects.
Many crowned heads have

descend from

monarch

to

already perceived his wisdom and imitated his example.

The throne

of an enlightened people

is

a dangerous seat,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

42
yet such

is

the only kind of people that Europe will soon

among monarchs is, whether

made obedient to the pop-

contain; and the question

thrones shall be abolished or

ular will.

enough

It is

to

make America blush

what

to observe

despotic governments have accomplished with a system

If republics, standing alone,

borrowed from ourselves.

can not endure without popular education,

how can they

stand in the light of monarchies which outstrip them in

virtue and intelligence

Although education
mains

to

be done before

are in total ignorance.

universal diffusion.

its

It

extending,

rapidly

is

was the opinion of a

much

re-

Millions

mon-

late

arch, that out of ten millions of the adult population of

formed.
shall find

one

scarce

a civilized nation,

thousand were well

in-

own

we

If we limit our view to our

much

to

be done.

country,

In some of the states the

systems are partial, and in others radically defective.

The

necessity of universal education

is

obvious to

all.

There are peculiar reasons why education should be gen-

We

eral in our oioii country.

out the treasures of our land

from the lakes

to

ture

valleys

exhaustless

mals

bring

a land which, extending

A^ariety of soil

and mountains

to

and climate,

offers

the hand of cul-

mines and numerous plants and

ani-

and inestimable resour-

to the scrutiny of science,

ces to the industry of freemen.

to discharge

to

the gulf, and from ocean to ocean, and

embracing almost every

unnumbered

need intelligence

We

require education

our duties as American citizens.

All the

is moved by the hand of the

The duties of juror, of soldier, and of statesupon the ordinary citizen; nay, the highest

machinery of government
people.

man

fall

functions in the

cabinet, the forum,

be performed by the

knows no

other.

common

citizen,

and the

field

must

because Columbia


GENERAL EDUCATION.
Penn, in his preface
remarks,
it;

''

to the

43

''Frame of Government/'

that which Tiiakes a good constitution must keep

namely, wisdom and virtue

qualities which, because

they descend not with worldly inheritance, must be carefully propagated

by a virtuous education."

There

is

doctrine which teaches that general tranquillity can only

be obtained by general

ignorance, and

that

therefore

many

education should be confined to the few, while the

are consigned to degradation

and gloom.

one that asks a reply to this argument,

If there

him go

let

is

any

to the

history of the past, to the dark regions of barbarism, or

the bright pages of revelation, to the indignant hearts

of freemen pulsating around him,toreason, or to that voice

within him which, though

still

and

small, nevertheless

speaks as the voice of God.

Education should be what

derived from two words
lead out; and

it

name

imports.

It

is

and duco, which signify

to

its

means development.

There

great error prevalent on this subject.

sult the general

a very

Were we

to con-

opinion of parents, tutors, and pupils,

we should suppose that education

When

of development.

is

is

the very reverse

a parent directs his teacher in

him

the education of his children, he informs

wishes them to have so

that he

much knowledge communicated,

say of grammar, arithmetic, Latin, etc.

He

sends his

child to scliool as he does to the merchant, to get so

much,
by

as

though knowledge,

yardsticks.

like cloth, could be

self with a stock of the salable

and prepares

branches of education,

to supply al) orders in his line.

his scholars as the druggist does his phials.

their

measured

The schoolmaster generally provides him-

minds one by one, and pours

in,

pours

He regards
He takes

in,

from his

larger vessel, of the required material, as though

oil,

and carefully corks

should

spill

the

it

it

were

up, fearing lest the least motion

precious

article.

The parent upon

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

44

receiving his child acts upon the same principle, and

examines the child's head

to see if it

be

The poor

full.

child, too, always thinks of education as of a process of

He

filling up.

goes into the school-room as he would go

into prison, expecting to

handled, and

filled

that education

is,

fining

have his mind confined, and

Now

up, and shaken down.

is

and crossing

the truth

folloiving out nature, instead of conher.

It consists in leading out the

The school-room should be an enchanted

mind.

and the child should enter

prize entered into the

spot,

as the candidate for the

it

Olympic games, or

as the Indian

engages in the gigantic pastimes of the wilderness.

is

It

the arena for mental sport and mental struggle, with a

view

to

An

mental development.

ancient teacher, Leu-

when he directed the

hung around his school-

cippus, understood the principle,

picturesof joy and gladness to be

room.

am

aware that

municated in the

much

useful knowledge

There

halls of science.

of science which does not contribute

its

is

no branch

share of valua-

The ordinary branches of English

ble facts.

derive their chief

value

purposes of

practical

education

from being available

life;

but in

com-

is

r^xerence

branches of knowledge the primary object

is

to

to

the

most

the devel-

opment, discipline, and strength of the intellectual powers.

This principle will enable us to determine the
question so

much

agitated in our

the necessity of the

demand of the age

that the

We

classics

own day

in relation to

and mathematics.
is

application.
this country

know

for practical knowledge.

becoming exclusively utilitarian. We

a contempt for every thing which has not a
are

cultivate
practical

The writings of several eminent men

and in Europe have contributed largely

iji

to

direction to public jentiment.

The general
among parents is, what will enable my son to
make money? Under the influence of a Carthaginian

give

this

inquiry

GENERAL EDUCATION.

45

avarice the process of reasoning seems to be getting out

There

of vogue.
that can

to

memory

assembly

an hour, to a connected chain of

The only mental operations for which our age

listen, for

thought.

eems

scarce any promiscuous

is

be

arithmetical calculations and the

fitted, are

of facts.

It is not surprising that the classics

and mathematics are sinking into neglect.

There are reasons why they should be studied independent of their power to train the mind. The latter
are indispensable to the investigation of important prob-

lems in the natural sciences; and the former are serviceable by explaining the general principles of grammar,

enabling the student to drink the waters of the purest

fountains of classic literature, uncorrupted by translation,

and giving him clearness and copiousness of language;

but the great advantage consists in the exercise of abstraction,

attention,

and memory.

minor advantages, and regard the

ics

as instruments of

classics

the education of the young, yet

When

all

and mathemat-

mental training merely, and

insist that practical benefits alone

are important.

If we overlook

if

we

should be regarded in

may we show

that they

the physician bids his dyspeptic

patient to go to some distant spring, whose waters are

falsely supposed to be medicated, does

What though
journey,
its,

of

may he

air,

he act unwisely?

the invalid obtains no medicine by his

not be benefited?

of scenery,

healthful exercise of body,

of

The change of hab-

thought, of diet, and

may

of his loathsome malady, and confer upon

est blessings; namely, a cheerful

vigorous body.

the

co-operate to produce a cure

him the high-

mind, and a sound and

Is it affirmed that a

man

derives no val-

uable fact from the study of the classics and mathematics?

For the sake of argument we grant it; but then we declare that he derives blessings incomparably superior to a
world of facts

namely, a strong, active, and vigorous mind.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

46

In the ablest argument to which I ever listened against

branches of

these

upon the alleged

placed

the

study,

fact,

principal
that

reliance

was

students generally

forget their classical and mathematical acquisitions soon

after they leave the halls of science.

know

that

men

rarely think of Euclid or Virgil

when they

in the ordinary avocations of

unless they are engaged

life,

are

engaged

professions which require an application of them.

But what of that? Has the youth derived no benefit
in

Shall the

man who has

safely crossed the ocean dry shod, affirm,

when he has

from his books and diagrams?

landed, and has no more need of transportation over the

waves, that ships are of no consequence?

The chief

advantage of books consists in their bearing the soul

across the gulf

which separates ignorance from knowl-

edge.
It is impossible for

he may be

an individual, however negligent

in relation to his collegiate studies, to deprive

himself of their advantages.

the ladder whose foot

mit

in

is

is

When

man

has climbed

on the ground, and whose sum-

the sky, though every round

beneath him

should crumble into dust, he remains in his lofty elevation.

tion,

Learning
taste,

raises a

man

into the region of imagina-

and reason; and though her paths may be

forgotten, her votary remains the enraptured spectator of

a world of loveliness.

Besides the instruction to which we have referred, the

natural sciences should receive a large share of attention,
particularly

philosophy,

chemistry,

botany,

physiology,

These sciences are of especial importance

western Americans,
geology.

The modern languages

are too

much

literary institutions of every grade.

to

neglected in our

They

are worthy to

be studied for various reasons, but chiefly because they

contain

much

valuable information in every department


GENERAL EDUCATION.
of science.
tion

to

It

must be a source of the highest

satisfac-

the physician to read the works of Bichat,

gendie, or Duchadela, in his

to

47

own tongue,

Ma-

or to the divine

peruse the works of the renowned Genevese pastor or

the amiable and elegant Fenelon, undiluted

by trans-

lation.

It appears to
to the arts

every

man

me

that special attention should be given

of speaking and writing.

liable to

is

be called

In this land, where

to take

an active part in

the political discussions which agitate the country, and

even to represent freemen in the halls of legislation,

it is

highly important that the student be early taught to

deliver his sentiments fluently and with effect.

AVhen
more generally taught, the counsels of
be less often overwhelmed by the declama-

this art shall be

wisdom

will

tions of imbecility.

speaking.

How

Writing

is

no

less

important than

often has the venerable minister, whose

heart was holy and whose

mind was

rich, perished

from

the earth without leaving any thing by which the world

might be improved after his decease

I have known the
physician, whose fame extended from sea to sea, ridiculed
and pitied, because his composition was so slovenly and
!

ungrammatical that

it

scarcely conveyed the thoughts he

wished to communicate.

Some

of the ablest practition-

ers that ever attended the bedside of the sick have lived

and died

in

forth written the results of his

Had

Hines or Goenlarged experience and

the western country.

valuable reflections, the record would have blessed the

world long after the tracing hand

cunning."

The

"had

forgotten its

situation of our western fathers in their

youth precluded the acquisition of the necessary preliminary education, and hence their valuable knowledge was
limited to a small circle within the generation in which

they lived, and their names will be forgotten in the generation

which

shall

succeed.

They may be excused

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

48
to their

peace

ashes

but

if their sons

do not bless the

world with the pen, on them and on their teachers must

rest an onerous responsibility,

I will not detail all the sciences

which ought

to enter

into a course of instruction; but before I leave the subject I will drop a

studied in

all

in relation to the study of po-

Our own Constitution

philosophy.

litical

By

remark

colleges, seminaries,

its

be

mean the bare

the study of our Constitution I do not

reading or committing of

should

and common schools.

articles,

but the compre-

hending of them by tracing them to their origin through

their development in the history of our country, and in
the legislation of the government.

we have text-books prepared

that

subject,

and adapted

to

extensive dissemination

am happy

our hand

to

to

The

every class of scholars.

among

say
this

oii

the youth of our country

of sound and ample views of this great instrument would

do more to save our institutions from destruction than

any thing that can be devised.

It is not, however,

that a

worm
might

by a knowledge of books merely

mind can be properly educated.

is

The mere book-

a useless animal, and, for aught that

as well

have never

lived.

He who

he does,

would have a

trained, must acquire a knowledge of men

and things. He must learn wisdom from books and
The earth and sea^s
vales, mountains and cataracts.
questioned,
and the sun, moon, and stars made
must be

mind properly

to yield

their share of instruction.

cultivate acquaintance with nature,

The

child should

and be taught

to

woo

her as his mistress; and, that he may acquire the indispensable element of round-about common sense, should
be allowed to have free collision with his fellows.
Moreover, the youth should be made to emerge from
the

little circle

of

self,

and

to feel that

he

is

ant of a deep and beautiful universe, which

an inhabitit

is

alike

GENERAL EDUCATION.
his duty

and his privilege

brought up,

made

from the

V2^

he

to realize that

of God, and that

is

49

and he should be

domicile of his father, and

member

of the great family

is

his duty to prepare himself to

all

the future generations of man-

it

and

bless the world

to explore;

little

"

kind.

Education should be more than the development of

the

Man

intellect.

is

compound being, and every

element of his complex structure requires

be evolved.

to

has been the fatal error of mankind, ever since the

It

revival of letters, to regard the youth as a

The wants of

lectual machine.

One

looked.

lowed

mere

intel-

the body have been over-

of these four results have generally

fol-

Either the individual has become disgusted with

the paths that lead to fame, and retired before his frame
:

sank beneath his

toil;

or he has

become diseased and

his life has been imbittered with pain and anguish

he has descended to
he has become an idiot.
third,

whose constitution
discipline; but
to college

Go

is

woe

premature grave;

as brass,

may

or, lastly,

live

under college

genius

who submits

collegiate restraints.

read the history of Genius.

firmities

or,

truant, or a dunce, or one

to the respectful

commons and

It is a history of in-

which no eye can trace without being moistened

with tears.

Is

it

reasonable to destroy our usefulness in

cultivating our minds?

Is it right to disregard the laws
which God has written legibly in the liver and the lungs?

As

well blot out the decalogue as treat with contempt

the handwriting of
his

image

dwells.

God on

the visible temple in which

Moreover,

if'

man

be

disposed

to

run the hazard of meeting the frowns of God for the

violation of his physical laws,

and be willing

martyr

way

summit

How

to fame, is it the surest

for

to perish a

to attain the enviable

which ambition pants?

often

do we see the

man

of giant powers and

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

50

sanctified feelings, cultivated in the highest degree, sink-

ing into the grave before he has been enabled to turn

his noble powers to good account by the performance of

a single important action

There

is

scarce a cemetery

that does not read unheeded lessons to

Many

mankind on the

name
is found only
on the humble headstone of a new-mown grave might
have been transmitted to posterity embalmed in un desuch a course.

folly of

caying glory,

had

tabernacle.

Again

in

regarded the

possessor

its

Jehovah inscribed

that

the

constitution

earthly

from a neglect of the body there often results

influenced by the body.

was known before

much study

is

The mind

itself.

This was known

and passed into a proverb

that

of

a worse consequence than death

It

of his

fiat

is

to the ancients,

mens sana in corpore sano.

Rome was founded by

a weariness of the

one who said

flesh.

have seen

the mighty intellect gradually weakened by unremitting

toil, till

second childishness and mere oblivion succeeded

Ulyssian wisdom and Homeric sublimity, long ere the

golden bowl was broken or the silver cord was loosed.

It is not

There

enough

to

develop the intellect and the body.

are other faculties besides the merely corporeal

and mental. The moral faculties, above all others, are

The physical organs are the servin need of training.
ants of the intellectual powers, but both are subjected to

the moral and higher faculties.

fall the latter

have

lost

much

In consequence of the

of their power, while the

mere animal propensities have acquired preternatural

momentum. Hence, the highest object of education is
to develop the conscience

and the

affections

those

ele-

ments of man's nature by which he bears the image of

his Creator, and which, if properly cultivated, will qualify

him

for a participation in the happiness of heaven.

It is astonishing that in this

day of reform

it

should

GENERAL EDUCATION.

51

thought a strange doctrine, that education should

embrace the culture of the heart. Long since was the
be

question settled.
est lights in

been so regarded by the greatevery age, from the last to that of Aristotle
It has

Locke, the most distinguished of modern metaphysicians,

"I place virtue as the first and most necessary of

these endowments which belong to a man," etc.
Lord
says:

Karnes

"It appears unaccountable that our teachers

generally have directed their instructions to the head
says,

with so

little

attention

the heart."

to

"The end

of

learning," according to the immortal Milton, "is to repair the ruin of our

God

aright,

first

parents, by regaining to

and out of that knowledge

imitate him, to be like him, as

to

know

love him, to

we may be the nearest by

possessing ourselves of true virtue, which, united to the

heavenly grace

of

makes up the highest

faith,

per-

fection."

Many other illustrious authorities of modern

times might

be cited, but I pass to cite one or two ancient authorities

Xenophon

tells

rather than

us with approbation that the Persians,

make

their children learned, taught

be virtuous, and instead of

filling

them

to

their heads with fine

them honesty, and sincerity, and

and endeavored to make them wise and val-

speculations, taught
resolution,
iant, just

and temperate.

Lycurgus, in the Constitution

of the Lacaedemonian Commonwealth, took less care about

the learning than the

lives

and manners of the children.

Aristotle surveyed man thoroughly.

He was a great
mind, perhaps the greatest the world has ever produced.
It delights us to think of him.
It makes us feel that we

belong to a noble race, and that

man

can hold up his

when introduced into the presence of superbeings.

The name of Aristotle will be pronounced

head, even
nal

with reverence long as the noblest associations of genius,

virtue, and morality can reach the human heart.
Philip

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

52

of Macedon, upon the

totle,

birtli

of Alexander^ wrote to Aris-

much

saying that he thanked the gods not so

that

they had given him a son as that they had given him at

when

a time

might be his instructor. Such

which he was held by the greatest

Aristotle

was the veneration

minds of his

in

He

age.

ruled the empire of

mind with

undisputed sway for nearly fourteen centuries, and even

now the chief

acquisitions of the Spanish scholar consist

of the logic and philosophy of Aristotle.

mind

lifted

and beheld, though dimly,

vision,

This giant

the vail which hides eternity from mortal

its

realities

he

sa"n

an immortal nature in man, and sought to frame his education so as to suit

Who

it.

does not feel that there

Who

thought and sensation?

to

go forth

how
me?

to the

within him more than

mind

world to come, and inquire within him,

shall I travel

The world

is

does not permit his

up through the unwasting ages before

will soon

that a similar progress

be educated.

may be

It has

been said

traced in the general

mind

what we observe in the individual. The world was

once an infant, tossed upon the nurse's arms it was
to

hushed with a

"pleased with a

lullaby,

rattle,

tickled

with a straw," and next she sallied forth to gather flowers on the lawn,

and gambol over the mead, and next she

could be seen creeping like a snail unwillingly to school;

but now the nations of the earth give signs that the

human mind

has passed the periods of infancy and juve-

nescence; that upon

and maturity, the

are

spirit

tion.

The croaker

ting.

Is

it

it

cries

coming the marks of sobriety

of inquiry, of thought, of acthat

the world

is

degenera-

pride, or ambition, or vanity, or ignorance

which induces me

to say that

affirms; that the world, take

he knows not whereof he

it

altogether, has

more of

majesty in her form, of grace in her mien, of vigor in


GENERAL EDUCATION.
her footsteps, of

53

in lier eye, of passion in her heart,

fire

of energy in her mind, than she ever had before?

True,

her old garments may cling to her, but she has outgrown

them

Her

and

',

if

she wear them

it is

may compel her

but when she does so

old nurse

things,

because of her poverty.

her childish play-

to rattle

she feels ashamed

she

is

no longer charmed with the empty sound.

mands

universal education.

the nations which de-

comes upon the earth

It

atmosphere we breathe, enveloping land and

like the

It binds

before

Tyrants tremble, thrones bow, armies stand

Man

it.

On

be educated.

will

extremities of the world meet

antipodes

this point the

unison

feel in

Man

one hemisphere speaks and the other answers.

may

rise against it

superstition
nobility

voked.

Vain

may

avarice may utter maledictionsmay exclaim, interested

its

selfishness

rail

condemn; but

forth that

man

it

The decree has gone

comes.

shall be enlightened.

It is the voice of nature

is

sea.

the principle that wheels the planets in

like

their orbits.
still

among

has gone forth

spirit

resistance

It will not

be

re-

the voice of God.

it is

vain the arm of lawvain the

of
They
vain the
scep-

sovereignty

ter

of

will

be swept like the dike before the tide when a nation

is

barriers

caste.

ingulfed, or the rampart before the whirlwind that has

uprooted the
If

man

is

forest.

to

be educated he

is

to be free.

Freedom

has always kept pace with the progress of education.

Egypt was once

She had, even then, many

sons.

her

she was educated.

free, at least so far as

slaves,

and

so

soil

was

fertile,

and her

valleys

many untutored

Was

Greece was once free; and why?

now as they were

when the powers

then.

No!

Her

^gean

or Io-

scenes are as charming

Greece was once

of her body and

because

and her streams

lovely, or because the fresh breezes of the

nian seas fanned her?

it

mind

free,

but

it

was

were cultivated

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

54

imagination, memory, taste, and feeling

when

was bright or beautiful,

foul or terrific,

tliat

all

and magnificent

or lovely in wondrous, heaven-born, exiled

man, enjoyed

an ample development and a vigorous life.

upon that colos.sal power issuing from the

Fix your eye

east, threaten-

ing to tame the spirit of Greece and reduce her to slavery,

by

inflicting

upon her sons

summary and awful ven-

to the scepter of Darius.

geance for an insult offered

reaches to the heavens, and casts a shadow upon

It rocks the earth

sphere.

beneath

its tread,

How

ens to crush a nation at every footfall.

free cities in

The husband

Nay.

It

hemi-

and threatcan a few

Will they not tamely sub-

Greece resist?

mit without a struggle

family around him, bids his

little

collects his

ones prove worthy of

their father after he shall have died for his country,

directs his wife, after the battle, to
shall not dishonor her first husband,

the

The mother

foe.

calls

marry a man who

and marches

her son from the

to

field,

meet
and,

suppressing her emotions, sternly says, ^'Take this shield

and go forth
back upon

Now

See that

mopylae.

Bring

to battle.

it."

it

back, or be brought

turn your eye to the pass of Ther-

band of three hundred Spartans

little

resisting, for three successive days, the Persian host of

five millions;

and when

at last, attacked rear

and Jront,

they proceed to glorious death, see how they cut down

the ranks of the

enemy

as reapers in harvest

mow

the

golden grain

Now
mense
in

direct your attention

fleet

to

Salamis

that beautiful bay, determined to

One thousand Persian

blow.

and cast a bright

reflection

glittering prows.

Mark

to

the im

crush them at

vessels float

upon the waves,

upon the waters from

theii

those few Grecian ships sailing

down the bay; see! they station themselves

prow against the barbarians they commence the

gracefully

prow

mark

of Xerxes blocking up a few Grecian vessel*

GENERAL EDUCATION.
battle

they plunge

55

into the sides of the veering foe;

they seize, they board, they grapple with the enemy body

And now

to body.

Xerxes
Persia
table

is

is

the fight

routed and scattered

broken, and Greece

spirit

this

was then educated.

deathless

over

is

the

armament of

the maritime

is

Why

free.

love

power of

this indomi-

of freedom?

Greece

That was the period when the song

of her bard was as the song of the nightingale

when the

voice of her orator was as the voice of thunder, and the

whole mind of the nation breathed an atmosphere of

freshness and fragrance.

Rome was

once

free

once

From Gaul and Britain

to

of

mistress

the

world.

Asia's remotest plains, she

pushed her conquering march, and chained the subjugaWhy? Her mind
ted nations, but she herself was free.

Wisdom sat in her councils,

Her legislation was for
lingered on her lips.
Her poetry fell
her literature for all time.

was developed and

eloquence
the race

upon the soul

love.

Her

soft

active.

and sweet

as kisses

from the

lips

of

oratory vibrated upon the breeze as the notes

of the harp, swept by an angel's hand.

Trace the history of modern Europe, and you will perceive that rational liberty has generally kept pace with

the progress of general education.

Look

at

your own free country

the admiration of

all

lands, the glory of the earth.

Who

were those, that, fleeing from persecution in the

old world, sought an asylum in the wilderness of the

They were the

new?

reading, thinking Puritans, who, on their

landing, laid the broad foundations of colleges, academies, and schools.

pression on our

Who

own shores

first
?

Who

ard of liberty?

whose swords

scabbards for

defense

its

their blood around

the

rose against British opfirst

first

leaped

whose hearts
soil

in

raised the stand-

which

first
it

from their
poured forth

was planted?

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

56

Plains of Concord and Lexington,

Bunker, speak
olution

Who

first

us

tell

Hights of

kindled the spirit of the Rev-

over the land, and kept the flames of public

all

indi2;nation burnino'

till

the Revolution was

consumma-

The people who had been reared in temples of sciwho devised and put into execution the first

ted?

ence, and

system of general education the world ever saw.

The angel

of Liberty presses close upon the heels of

the angel of Light

and

no sooner does the

upon the

his trumpet than the blast of the former breaks

The education of the world

breeze.

accompanied by
capacities,

and he

govern himself.

bosom
it

to

to

as surely

be

freedom as daylight accompanies the

its

Let a man know and

sun.

will

blow

latter

is

feel

no longer
still

small

what are

his rights

and

He

will

to be a slave.

speaks

voice

in the rational creation, bidding

it

be free

to

every
telling

enjoy the rights which Heaven has conferred, and

acknowledge no distinctions but such as God has

ordained.
I do not say that monarchical governments are unnecessary

when the public mind

is

ignorant.

I think the

world's history shows that efforts to place freedom in

advance of intelligence have proved utter

a nation

is

failures.

When

untutored, a visible and imposing embodiment

of law, before which the multitude can tremble and bow,

may be

a useful auxiliary to government; a

Church Es-

lature; a

may be proper to raise up advocates of truth;

may be requisite to secure an intelligent legisstanding army may be necessary for the national

defense

but once

tablishment
a nobility

let a

people be educated, and they are

The child
needs not the toy when the season of manhood arrives;
themselves competent to

all

these purposes.

the youth escaped from his minority will dispense with

the services of his guardian.
It is said that in

proportion as a nation becomes en-


GENERAL EDUCATION
lightened

57

her government will diminish

lier distrust in

that she will perceive the beneficial tendencies of gov-

become
that the monarch
correct abuses and study
wise with
people, and
public prosperity and peace that crowns, and
ernmental regulations

will

his

will

scepters,

and nobles may be made instruments of blessing to community. To all this there is one answer The wise man
:

will not

commit

another hand rights which he can as

to

well exercise himself; or trust to another a duty

he can as well perform without extraneous

The spread of knowledge

will

not accompanied with religion.

what
evil
its

it

is to

In

the angel.

Knowledge
is

is

its

be

it

power.

It

to the devil

a blessing nor a curse; but like the sword,

nate,

it

itself it is neither

character from the direction which

it.

aid.

but extend evil if

the saint and so to the sinner;

is so to

which

good nor
it

derives

possessor gives

sword in the hands of a demon, infernal or incar-

would be an unmitigated curse; in the hands of an

angel of light,

it

would be an undeviating blessing.

one would employ

The

destroy, the other to save.

it to

Increase the power of any rational being before he

and you increase his

by consequence, his misery. He is active; he
able wisely to employ

ploy whatever of capacity he possesses.

capacity to do, if he do

evil,

and,

will

em-

The more

his

the more his transgression;

the greater his sin, the greater his misery.

man

is

sin,

it,

poor Ger-

declared he would not educate his family, because

as soon as his eldest son learned to write

his father's name.

He

were inclined

evil, their ability

to

do

he counterfeited

was resolved that

should be limited

they should be rascals upon a small scale.

upon an extensive

field in

if his children

Experiments

some of the nations of Europe

have demonstrated that crime, instead of diminishing,

actually increases with the extension of education, unless

that education be accompanied with religious training.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

58
This

is

The

what might be expected.

precisely

evils

which deluge the world are not to be traced to the intellect

their fountains are

Solomon has

in the bosom.

A greater

'^

than

said/' from within, out of the heart, proceed

''evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false wit-

This

ness, blasphemies.'^

the philosophy of truth

is

the philosophy to which every hour of the world's experience adds confirmation

the philosophy of God.

of the moving powers.
gives him
the

The heart is the seat

the man what the pilot is
the

direction;

by means of

its

vain

is

mere

ma-

the hope of the world's perfection

education

Let knowledge diffuse

the ends of the earth

to

his

it

powers are the

intellectual

How

chinery.

It is to

vessel

to

will

sensuality,

rays

its

and avarice,

and ambition, and jealousy, and vanity, and pride, and

Nay, they will

unbelief be destroyed, or even reduced?

live

and act; and

act,

too,

in

a broader field,

with a

keener eye, with a deeper wisdom, with a more refined

art,

and work out with more

desolating

Am

effects.

enginery their

terrific

summoned

to

the

ancient

sages for proofs that education has a controlling influence

over the passions?

To ancient sages

willing to searcli their caves, and groves,

and private walks,

us go.

let

am

and public ways,

as with a lighted candle.

know

that

the closer the examination the more multiplied the evi-

dences that

my

opinion

what they did not

refine

is

practice.

their depravity

well founded.

They taught

Their wisdom served but

and conceal

its

workings.

to

The

fountains of iniquity were calmer but more profound

the streams flowed in narrower but deeper channels.

There
niscus.

is

one apparent exception

There

is

no

difiiculty,

the

son of Sophro-

however, in accounting for

his superiority in goodness as well as

wisdom, by consid-

ering that the true light enlighteneth every

Cometh into the world.

man

that

ray from the eternal throne

GENERAL EDUCATION.
upon his eyeball

fell

that

him

led

it

he

pursued

it

and

59
shall

that Fountain where sin

to

is

we denywashed

away?

Am

modern examples of distinguished

I atgreatness unaccompanied with religious feeling?
tend to the reference, prefacing, however, that we must
I referred

between the

to distinguish

be careful
influences

to

and those of purely

Lord Bacon

of other

effects

intellectual

education.

furnish us with an example of splendid

will

endowments, united

with

varied

What was

learning.

the influence of his peerless intellect upon his corrupt

heart?

more

Only

make

to

its

workings more refined and

Lord Byron

destructive.

is

an example of surpass-

ing greatness in an another department of intellectual

And what

exertion.

effect did his education

it.

He

^'was

weary, worn, and

wretched thing

scorched, and desolate, and blasted soul

derness of dying thought."

have upon

The poet has expressed

his character and happiness?

It

is

gloomy

admitted that

wil-

litera-

ture has a tendency to refine the taste, to open purer

fountains of enjoyment than the senses, to exert a favorable influence

the character.
too far;

it

upon the

But

habits, to

humanize and soften

not these tendencies be trusted

let

may be doubted whether

it

is

not the sur-

rounding influence of Christianity, and not the intellectual habits of the educated, or the rank they hold in
society, that lifts

the lower classes.

each situation in

me

them above the

It is the

life

has

its

brutal criminalities of

philosophy of the Bible, that

peculiar temptations.

neither poverty nor riches, lest I grow poor and

" Grive
steal,

and take the name of my Grod in vain; or lest I grow

Theft
rich, and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord."
and blasphemy are the crimes of poverty, and pride and
infidelity those of riches.

of Byron or of Bacon

is

"

Who

less

shall say that the heart

abhorrent in the eyes of

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

60
God,

or

than

that

less

in

destructive

of the

influences

its

poor sensualist, whose

upon man,
excesses are

The

within the narrow circle of a few feet?

latter de-

works the eternal undoing of

stroys himself; the former

millions besides himself.

You may
will

educate your soul without religion, but you

You may polish your speech

only refine your misery.

without grace, but you

will

only sweeten the food of the

You may render

undying worm.

burn within your bosom, but

it

brilliant the flames that

will

be only to add

iancy to the conflagrations of earth and

brill-

Am

hell.

challenged to a comparison of educated and uneducated

states?

Admitting, for argu-

I accept the challenge.

ment's sake, that some

ment was found, were

cities of antiquity,

free

from grosser

where

vices, it

refine-

may

be

asked, was not their superiority in moral character owing

For though paganism

to their religion?

substratum of truth, and

Rome,

is false, it

has a

influences in restraining the

But we challenge Athens,

multitude are potent.

inth, or

its

or Cor-

in her attenuated refinement, to escape

from the charge of criminality, as brutal as disgraced the

darkest barbarism that ever found a place on earth.

Does more recent history present greater

our hypothesis?
to the vices of

tory of

No; we

rest the question

the higher walks of

revolutionary France.

when she

reflects, that

of such a revolution

accompany

all

life,

difficulties to

on an appeal

and

to the his-

Let the world tremble

education will enact the scenes

over the earth, unless religion

it.

Look around

you.

The world

is

arming; nations inert

for ages are arousing their latent energies, bursting their

bonds, enlisting under gallant leaders, and preparing for

a struggle such as has never before been witnessed on the

She is calling the powers of nature to her aid.

That army must either enter into the service of the

globe.

GENERAL EDUCATION.

61

prince of darkness, or enlist under the banner of the

King of kings.
The Church must determine the world's

course.

She

may, by purifying the fountains of instruction, give a

righteous direction to enlightened intellect; or by neglecting

them, leave

infidelity to

poison

them

all,

and

lead out perverted powers to the shock of battle with the

Lord of

hosts.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS

62

THIS

is

properly styled a utilitarian age; for the in-

''What

quiry,

profit

?''

meets us every-where.

It has

even entered the temples of learning, and attempted to

out important studies, because

thrust

their immediate

connection with AarcZ 'money profits can not be demon-

There

strated.

one spot, however, into which

is

not so generally intruded itself

the

of the

refuge

last

fine

the

has

female academy

and the

arts

it

fine

follies.

Thither young ladies are too frequently sent merely to

learn

how

silken

What

walk gracefully, play upon

and
make waxen plums and
French,

to dress tastefully,

the piano, write

spiders

pretty, surely; but

all

But

profit?

my

I take

pen

in

why

not inquire,

hand, not to utter a

dissertation on female education, but to insist that

They

ladies be taught chemistry.

qualified to superintend domestic

many

accidents to which

perhaps,

be

The strong

will be

thereby better

afi"airs,

guard against

households are sutject, and,

instrumental

trate the last

in

saving

life.

remark by reference merely

acids,

young

such as the

We

illus-

to toxicology.

nitric, muriatic,

and

sul-

phuric, are virulent poisons, yet frequently used in medicine

and the mechanic

arts.

Suppose a child, in his

rambles among the neighbors, enter a cabinet-shop and

find a saucer of aq\La

forth

nitric acid

upon the work-

bench, and in his sport suddenly seize and drink a portion of

He

it.

physician

is

is

conveyed home in great agony.

sent for; but ere he arrives the child

The
is

OF C

HEM

RY

63

Now, as the mother presses the cold clay to

her breast and lips for the last time, how will her
corpse.

anguish be aggravated

know

to

that in her medicine-

some calcined magnesia,* which,

would have surely saved her
O, what are
lovely, perchance her first and only boy.
all the bouquets and fine dresses in the world to her,
compared with such knowledge
Take another case. A husband returning home one
summer afternoon, desires some acidulous drink. Openchest, or drawer, was

timely

if

administered,

ing a cupboard, he sees a small box labeled "salts of

lemon," and making a solution of

freely.

Presently he feels

and ascertains that he has drunk

acid,

which she has procured

The physician

is

this,

he drinks

solution of oxalic

to take stains

from linen.

sent for; but the unavoidable delay

tending his arrival

is

fatal.

it

distress, sends for his wife,

When

he

arrives,

at-

perhaps

he sees upon the very table on which the weeping widow

bows her head, a piece of chalk,f which, if given in
time, would have certainly prevented any mischief from

the poison.
Corrosive sublimate

is

the article generally used by

domestics to destroy the vermin which sometimes infest

it is left upon the chamber

when the domestics go down to dine,
leaving the children up stairs at play the infant crawls to
Now, what think you would be
the teacup and drinks.

our couches.

solution of

floor in the teacup,

the

mother's

joy,

if,

having

studied

chemistry,

she

instantly called to recollection the well-ascertained fact,

It forms with them

"'This is the antidote for all the acids named.
innocent neutral salts. Calcined magnesia is better than the carbonate,
because the carbonate might occasion an unpleasant distension of the
stomach. If magnesia is not at hand, some other alkali will answer.
Oxalic acid will unite with the lime, and
f Chalk is carbonate of lime.

make

oxalate of lime, an insoluble, and, therefore, inert compound.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

64
there

that

is

the

in

She sends

poison?

administers the whites

and she weeps

hen's

for

nest*

albumen.

for joj.

an antidote to this

some eggs, and breaking them,

Talk not

Her
to

child recovers,

One

her of novels.

little

book of natural science has been worth

than

all

her more

to

the novels in the world.

Physicians in the country rarely carry scales with them

They administer medicine

weigh their prescriptions.

to

by guess, from

teaspoon

Suppose a common

case.

or

the

of a knife.

point

physician in a hurry leaves

an overdose of tartar emetic

generally the
fever and pursues
first

scription used in cases of bilious

way

When

and the man

poisoned.

is

the case becomes alarming, one messenger

patched for the doctor, and another

bors to see the sufferer die.

his

The med-

to see another patient ten miles distant.

icine is duly administered,

pre-

is dis-

to call in the neigh-

Now, there

in a canister

is

and on a tree that grows by the

means of saving the sick man from the
threatened death.
A strong decoction of young hyson
tea, oak bark, or any other astringent vegetable, will
change tartar emetic into an innocuous compound.
in the kitchen cupboard,

a sure

door,

Though

Vessels of copper often give rise to poisoning.

change in a dry atmos-

this metal

undergoes but

phere,

rusted if moisture be present, and

it is

little

its

surface

becomes lined with a green substance carbonate of the

peroxyd of copper a poisonous compound.
It has sometimes happened that a mother has, for

want of

this

knowledge, poisoned her family.

Sourcrout

that had been permitted to stand some time in a copper

vessel,

**

has produced death in a few hours.

Corrosive

sublimate

is

a deuto chlorid of mercury. Albumen atand reduces it to the proto chlorid,

tracts one portion of its chlorine,

which

is

calomel.

Cooks some-

USES

HEM

TRY

65

times permit pickles to remain in copper vessels, that

may

they

acquire a rich green color, which they do by

absorbing poison.*
into disease
in

have often been thrown

Families

by eating such

dainties,

and may have died,

some instances, without suspecting the

cause.

That

lady has certainly some reason to congratulate herself

upon her education, if, under such circumstances, she

knows that pickles, rendered green by verdigris, are
poisonous, and that Orfila has proved albumen to be
the proper antidote to them.

Lead
if,

often

when

in

drinking vessels and conduits

us'ed for

contact with water,

yields carbonate of lead

the

it

is

exposed to the

air,

white lead of the shops.

It is surprising that the neutral salts in water retard this

seem to prevent it entirely

hence, the water of Edinburgh may be safely used,
and that some

process,

though kept

Ohio

in leaden

salts

cisterns;

conveyed to the inhabitants of this city with

is

impunity in leaden pipes.

may

and the water of the

Nevertheless, salts of lead

formed under circumstances

be

Moreover, the acetate of lead

occur.

unlikely to

not
is

often used to

sweeten wine; and the lady acquainted with the

ties of the metal,

compounds,

She

will

may have

occasion

for

her

its

information.

be able by means of articles always at hand,

such as epsom
sonous

affini-

and the properties and antidotes of

salts

salts or

glauber

salts,

to

render the poi-

For the soluble sulphates

of lead inert.

brought in contact with them,

will always give rise to

the formation of the sulphate of lead, which

is

insoluble,

and without any pernicious properties.

Illustrations

space

forbids.

might be very readily multiplied ; but our

We

conclude by saying,

that

poisons

always produce secondary effects, which antidotes, how-

'

Acetic acid, with oxyd of copper, constitutes verdigris.

66

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

ever perfect, do not prevent.

In

all

cases of poisoning,

therefore, the administration of antidotes should not pre-

vent the calling of a doctor.

POISONING.

67

did not intend to give a dissertation on toxicology

when we penned our

article,

^^Uses of Chemistry/'

but merely to give illustrations of the importance

We

chemical science.
dote

is

of

omitted arsenic, because the anti-

not so generally at hand as in the cases we men-

For a long time no antidote was known; but,

within a few years, an excellent one has been announced
tioned.

by some chemists of Gottingen. It is the hydrated peroxyd of iron, an article which ought to be kept in the
drug-shops every-where.

The

process for

making

it

may

be found in any of the recent works on pharmacy, or

materia medica.* If copperas sulphate of iron which

has become red by exposure to the air

come

a persulphate

phere

can

that

is,

has be-

by absorbing oxygen from the atmos-

be obtained, the process

is

easy;

namely,

ammonia

will
add water of ammonia and decant;
unite with the sulphuric acid, and precipitate the per-

the

oxyd, which should

amazing that we

be

kept in a moist

that
'^

it

is

that

is

Indeed, when

dental death from this virulent poison.

we consider

It

state.

do not hear of more instances of acci-

it is

often used for killing rats, dogs, etc.;

not unfrequently employed in medicine

fowler's solution" of the physician,

the

and the "tasteless

ague drop" of the quack, are solutions of arsenic

that

the preparations used by cancer doctors generally owe

*See Harrison's Materia Medica, vol

i,

p.

356.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

68
tlieir efl&cacy

in

the form

acid

which

it

we can

may be

its taste

is

of
not

from believing that

refrain

scarce

mistaken,

that

instances of death, from this article, have occurred

which have been traced

crude arsenic

probably an

closely the sulphureted

make

given to horses to

by mistake

sold for

it

horses.

The same

The

to other causes.

drug-shops, improperly labeled

the

of

it

generally found

is

powder, and that

for flour or hair

unpleasant,

many

mineral; that

to this

in

oxyd.

crude

or

^'

material

cobalt,"

is

resembles

It

very

antimony, frequently

their coats sleek, and has been

many

the destruction of

to

fine

Fly Pow-

article is sold as '^Gi-erman

der/' to destroy the troublesome insects that infest our

When

houses in summer.

so used,

is

it

solved in sweetened water, and placed in

generally dis-

some

accessible

position as if to tempt children to destroy themselves.

Perhaps,

if the article

were called by

its

right name, the

dangerous and useless practice would be abandoned.

We

might have alluded

has caused
this region,

much

owing

destruction to

where the

saturated with

to a certain aerial poison

it.

earth, in

which

human life, especially in

many places, seems to be

Yie refer to carbonic acid, which,

found in

to its greater specific gravity, is generally

excavations, caves, and the lower stratum of the atmos-

There are many points in which,

phere.

vation be made,

it

is

filled

twenty-four hours: hence,

it is

into deep wells, or shafts, to let

which

will

be extinguished

question arises,

how

ing ascertained

its

doing this
efi'ected
ical

are

we

if

deep excaless

than

proper, before descending

down

a lighted candle,

the gas be present.

The

to displace this gas after hav-

presence

absorption and

if a

with this gas in

There are two ways of

agitation.

The

first

may be

by throwing down water; the second by mechan-

means, such as letting down and drawing up bundles

of straw, or throwing down burning straw, which, though

POISONING.

69

it will not consume the gas, will heat it so as

upward current.
Carbonic acid is produced by combustion,

to create

an

respiration,

and fermentation, processes every-where going on and

astonishing that it was not discovered till within a
;

it is

The

few years.

when, on a
bottle of

celebrated metaphysician,

France, he, for the

John Locke,

first

time, saw a

champagne uncorked, immediately

started the

visit to

question whether the air emitted was the same as the

Had

atmosphere.

he not been devoted

to

metaphysical

researches, he would probably have soon discovered the

difference.

ing

no

It is

less

astonishing that, notwithstand-

wide diffusion, people in general are not even now

its

acquainted with

its

sources and properties.

We

once

upon an intelligent gentleman, who was confined

on account of an accident, and who complained of sympcalled

toms

to

him altogether unaccountable.

He

was lying in

a small, confined chamber, in which his amiable landlady

had placed, from the best motives, a chafing-dish of burning coals, from which his room had become almost insup-

Had he

portably surcharged with poisonous gas.

tinued in the room

till

morning, and had the combustion

continued, he would probably have been a corpse.

deed, this

is

said to be a fashionable

suicide in France.

mous "Black

mode

and

yet,

In-

of committing

Our readers have heard of the

Hole,'^ of Calcutta,

del Cana, of Italy;

con-

infa-

and the famous Grotto

from some cause or other,

there seems to be an invincible disposition

to scorn instruction, or disregard danger.

among some
many parts

In

of our country the bedrooms are small apartments, without chimneys, on the ground
small

window

floor,

Around

or door.

and with but

a single

these dormitories you

will find a quantity of flourishing vegetation, sufficient,

even when the window

air.

is

opened, almost to exclude fresh

Circumstances better calculated to accumulate car-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS

70

bonic acid could scarce be conceived

fined air,

growing vegetables;

for altbougb,

day, vegetation absorbs carbonic acid

during the night the process

It is

small room, con

during the

and emits oxygen,

reversed.

is

surprising that the elements of the atmosphere,

when not

confined, retain

the

same proportions

situations.

The chemist can not

between the

foul air of the city lane

phere of the

distant

in all

detect the difference

and the pure atmos-

Differences there are,

hill-top.

inappreciable by our methods of analysis, but not in the

proportion of the principal elements.

for

Grod has provided

consuming, under ordinary circumstances, the sur-

plus carbonic acid as fast as

it

is

generated,

and

so

admirable are his adjustments for this purpose, that the

hundred thousand fires, and the unnumbered fermentations, and the millions of lungs that are constantly at
work in the crowded city, are unable to render its atmosphere irrespirable, or even to charge it with any

more than a due proportion of carbonic acid. To our

minds there is no more beautiful and convincing proof
of Divine providence.

But what
bonic acid?
for

is to

be done in case of sufi"ocation from car-

Dash cold water upon the patient, and send

who knows better than I.

some person

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

"you
-^

will scarce

71

have placed your feet upon the thresh-

old of this busy world^ hefore a troop of difficulties

will

encompass you.

Enter upon any pursuit whatever,

you may expect enemies, and competitors, and misfortunes and as many of you will go forth without wealth,
;

or friends, or experience, your first

efi"orts

may be

failures.

Judging by the light of experience, we are induced to

fear that some of you will abandon your pursuits, and
take refuge in the hut of obscurity, the works of fancy,
or the haunts of dissipation.

With

a view to guard you

against such a course, I invite your attention to the

fol-

lowing propositions, namely

Difficulties

do not justify us in surceasing from the

prosecution of a rational, benevolent, and feasible undertaking.

1.

the

We
soil

can not escape

churlish,

difficulty.

The

air is tainted,

the ocean tempest-tossed.

Whether

we

are in the field or in the wilderness, on Persian plains

or

Alpine hights, amid equatorial heats, or temperate

climes, or polar solitudes,

stacles.

Earth

is

we

are

met by

a thousand ob-

cursed, and every-where she puts forth

her thorn in obedience to her Maker's withering word.

True, the curse

is

tempered with the mercy which yields

hand of toil; nevertheless,

it cleaves to all earth's surface, and turns the key upon
her hidden treasures. We read of cloudless skies, and
sunny climes, and fields which need naught but the

unnumbered

blessings to the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

72
sickle; but

who

jSnds

them?

Paradise

always ahead

is

of the emigrant.

Man
is,

is

born to trouble, as the sparks

and abundance, in

toil

and indolence,

restraint, in infancy, in

upward ; that

fly

Hence we

by a general law of nature.

find

it

in

want

in indulgence

manhood, and

It waits

in age.

on every pleasure, and every path, and every pursuit

We

dwells within.
fly

can no more escape

Take a few

existence.

many

difficulties
it

in

it

than we can

illustrations.

young man

Entering the academy, he finds

resolves to be eminent.

he gives

it

and

and becoming discouraged

algebra,

up; but has he liberated himself?

has plunged from great to greater

difficulties.

No, he

How

can

he unlock the vaults of mathematics without algebra,

their only key?
difficulty

seizes

Does he abandon mathematics, another

him.

How

can he become educated

without a knowledge of the exact sciences?

relinquish his aim at scholarship?
carry out his resolution to

scind his resolution?

Then challenge him

fabled ships of the ancients,

vitare
dis

CharT/bdim"

he who

it
'^

Does he

then, can he

become eminent?

passions by which

restless

How,

Will he
to

was prompted.

re-

tame the
Like the

Incidif in Scyllam qui vult

endeavors to avoid Charyb-

drawn into the jaws of

How

many, because of difficulties in their pursuits, become idlers?

But who on earth has more troubles than the idler? A
is

Scylla.

man becomes

religious, and enters the path to life; but

he soon finds that the world opposes, that his passions
demur, that his secular plans come in conflict with his

religious

efi"orts, that an invisible adversary stands in the

path to contend every inch of ground with him.
He

retreats.

But now

greater.

He

his difficulties are ten thousand fold

finds that an

unseen footstep treads upon

his wandering heels, that an All-seeing eye surveys his

inmost soul, that an invisible hand writes his guilt in

THE

NFL

characters indelible on

all

OF LIFE.

73

the objects around him.

He

C T S

must encounter the stings of conscience, the upbraidings

the

of reason,

admonitions of the

altar,

of Zion, the cross of his dying Christ, the

of his

risen

moving,

the

Jesus,

decaying,

of living,

subduing

thousand warn-

unnumbered monitions

reviving

dying,

prajers

intercession

mellowing,

influences of the divine Spirit, the ten

ings of a merciful Providence, the

the

the

nature,

very

sympathies of heaven, yea, even the moving entreaties

The

of her compassionate King.

apostate deliberately

contends with conscience, reason. Providence, truth, Zion,

men, angels, God; and

in addition to all these the ene-

mies he had before, and without a single auxiliary in

heaven

earth, hell, or

Take another
to

bounding heart.

The Providence of God

illustration.

opens a missionary

Zion resolves

Verily, he has gained.

and a certain department of

field,

occupy

He

The missionary departs with

it.

lands, surveys the ground, pitches

his tent, plants his standard, reconnoiters; lays his plans,

commences an attack

and, under favorable circumstances,

upon the citadel of darkness.

Meanwhile, in consequence of a simoom that sweeps over the commerce of
the country whence he issued, the Church, beingplunged into pecuniary embarrassments,
ingly difiicult to sustain her

pose she recall

it

him

was manifestly her duty

binds upon

cord which
all

nations

gression
less

or

new

I proceed

can she

her the
escape

than those of obedience?.

of

Now, sup-

missionary.

can she cut the

obligation

the

to

disciple

of

curses

trans-

or will she find the difficulties of disobedience

as great as possible,

those

exceed-

it

upon the supposition that

send him

to

finds

rebellion?

Let the

what are they

This

has

in

trials

of duty be

comparison with

already

riven

heaven,

blasted earth, and kindled the eternal furnaces of hell.

Should a planet break away from

7

its

orbit,

a system

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

74

would be unsettled, and the universe, from center

to

How much supeHow far more

world

circumference, might feel the shock.

moral

rior is the

important

its

to

laws

the material

How

more

infinitely

sequences of their violation

the con-

I do not

Difficulties invis;orate the soul.

2.

terrific

mean

the

of indolence and disobedience, these are with-

difficulties

ering curses, but the difficulties of industry, of obedience.

They
power

What

are conditions essential to strength

the arm of the smith

to

The weight

What gives swiftness

hammer.
The fleetness of his game. Thus

the

to
it

is

gives

of his

Indian foot?

with the senses.

What

confers exquisite sensibility upon the blind man's

ear?

The

curtain which,

by hiding the

from his sight, compels him

visible universe

to give intense regard to the

most delicate vibrations that play upon his tympanum.

Thus

it

is

with the

Who

intellect.

is

the greatest rea-

soner?

He who

ficulties

that can be mastered by reason.

habitually struggles with the worst dif-

plain of a feeble intellect?

It

Do you commay be your misfortune,

more likely to be your fault. Before you charge

the Almighty with an unequal distribution of gifts, try

but

it is

your mind upon some appropriate

difficulties.

Bear

it

into the field of mathematics, or metaphysics, or logic.

Bid

struggle, and

it

rest

when weary, bid

teach

faint

if

necessary,

If disposed to retreat, urge

again.

it

that

it

it

walk when

must conquer.

If,

your mind be feeble, you may

infirmity,

and not a

imaginations;

fault.

but who

are

never led their fancies out.

in a dismal cellar,

it,

it

and struggle

goad

it.

Let

it

can not run, but

after this discipline,

call

your weakness an

Some men have fruitless

they?
Those who have
The genial oak planted

shut out from the light and air of

heaven, would not grow up and

lift

its

branches

to the

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

75

Plant your imagination in the heavens, and

skies.

be subject to the high and holy influences of

and

ether,

and

vigor,

found
is

and just

it;

shall manifest vitality,

it

subjected to proper ex-

too, is strong, if

It will yield

ercise.

no revenue

in proportion

to the soul that does not

as

which

fountains

bitter

I will

be

it

add that

it

Envy, jealousy, anger,

thus with the moral powers.

those

taxed, will

is

it

have capacity of production.

to

pure

its

and upward aspirations.

The memory,
tax

and

its silent lights,

let it

often

so

tincture

the

streams of private and domestic joy, deepen in proportion to the obstacles

through which they

Avarice

flow.

demons that have desolated the

globe with war, derive their overwhelming power from
The daring
the difficulties which impede their progress.
lover testifies that love becomes more wild and resistless
and ambition, those

and romantic

great

as

What

who has experienced the

around

rise

difficulties

makes the good Christian?

Perpetual

him.

trial.

He

severest storms, and has most

frequently thrown out the Christian's anchor, has the

faith?

stake?

Where

hope.

strongest

At

shall

we

expect

the

firmest

the gate of St. Peter's? or at the martyr's

Who

is

compared

to

purified

silver

or gold?

That Christian around whose soul God hath kindled the

fires of his furnace, and kept them glowing till it reflected his

own image.

Difficulties

powers.
argic

ous

As

give a healthy tone and tendency to the

a

body

and diseased,
exercise,

in a state of inaction

so the intellect, if not

becomes enfeebled,

3.

Difficulties develop resources.

the

kept in vigor-

Energetic

action

is

body from disease,

both the

and the soul fiom the dominion of

only necessary to cite

leth-

and gradually sinks

under the sway of the passions.

indispensable to preserve

becomes

sense.

To prove

aphorism

this

necessity

is

it

is

the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

76

She

mother of invention.

levels forests, she rears cities,

she builds bridges, she prostrates mountains, she lays her

iron

pathway from river

to river,

and from sea

baiBes the raging elements, and extends

from earth

and with

to

air

to sea, she

her dominion

and ocean, she ascends the heavens,

round the zodiac.

fearless foot treads

Transport the savage from his woods to yon island in

him her crowded harbors, and her metropolis of thousand spires; point him to her proud trophies,
and her glorious triumphs in earth and sky; bid him
mark how she brings the fruits of all the earth to her
the sea; show

table,

and weaves the chain of her authority over every

Then, would you describe

latitude.

the secret of

eye beholds, and his ear hears,

that his

tell

him

all

that

Britain resolved to meet the difficulties that lay in her

from barbarism

path

From

this simple

to

civilization

resolution

and

refinement.

sprung her arms and her

her science and her song.

arts,

I have said that difficulties call forth resources.

How

The Revolution

multiplied might be the illustrations!

created the continental array and the continental Congress,

and made dissevered, discordant, and dependent

states a united

and powerful republic.

An

inventive

nation, unless she plan important enterprises, will find her

arts

and powers of but

little use.

Why

does China exert

so feeble an influence

among the nations?

her population

the globe

is

small

it is

Not because

one-third the population of

not because they are idle

no men are more

her manufac-

industrious; not because she has no arts

tures are unsurpassed; not because she

pedients

she

walls her territory to

she unites her rivers with

".ities

artificial

is

infertile in ex-

shut out invaders,

channels, she raises

upon her waters, she divides her rocks into

ter-

and makes them smile from base to summit with

fairest fruits and flowers, she bridges her valleys with

races,


THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

77

chains, and, as if disdaining the aid of nature, she rears

her temples on mountains of her own construction.

the

answer found in Providence?

Nay.

Is

Is

learning

Not a nation in which it is so much enYet should an earthquake sink her beneath
the waves, what ocean would miss her sails ? what land
The
her treasures? what science her contributions?
great instruments to which we usually attribute the
neglected?

couraged.

march of civilization, namely, gunpowder, the mariner's

compass, and the art of printing, have all been known to
China from remote ages. Although she flashed powder
from her "fire-pan in the face of Genghis

Khan and

Tamerlane, yet, never plotting extensive conquests, she

made no important

use of the

terrific

instrument of war.

Content with navigating along her coasts and inland

waters, she kept her compass

upon the land, and never

daring to impress the world's mind, she confined her

types to the stamping of almanacs."

The

fierce

armies of Gaul and Britain gave Caesar his martial

skill.

As with

the nation so with the individual.

The snow-clad Alps made Hannibal fertile in

Would you be
resistless in command.
Plunge into

difficulty

cross the

with strong cords of obligation

Rubicon

expedients,
illustrious?

bind your

soul

put on band after band

the greater the difficulties, provided they do not paralyze,

the greater the man.

4.

There

is

scarce any difficulty that can not be over-

come by perseverance. Trace any great mind to its culmination, and you will find that its ascent was slow, and
by natural laws, and that its difficulties were such only as
Great results, whether
ordinary minds can surmount.
physical or moral, are not often the off'spring of giant

more frequently a curse than a blessing.

Its possessor, relying upon his extraordinary gifts,
generally falls into habits of indolence, and fails to colpowers.

Genius

is

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

78

lect the materials wbicli are requisite to useful

But there

nificent effort.

of success;

is

it

is

a something

which

pursues

man

can not but be mighty.

which always points

from his course; and

shattered ruins would

to

the heavens should

if

him on

strike

man who has

way

his

this principle,

measure his blood, nor brains.

his nation

he

star,

in

nor the burning mountain can terrify him

gulf,

the

one bright

to

Neither the heaving earthquake, nor the

that direction.

Show me

Toil does not

which does not tend

allows no footstep to be taken

yawning

right,

Carrying a compass in

weary, pain does not arrest him.

his heart,

it is

With such

in calm defiance of all opposition.

a feeling a

sure

is

the determination which, having en-

tered upon a career with full conviction that

it

and mag-

the

fall,

to his object.

and I care not

I ask not his

name nor

hand will be felt upon

mind enstamped upon succeeding

I pronounce that his

his generation,

and his

ages.

This attribute

is

out the universe.

God-like.
It has

It

may be

traced through-

descended from the skies

the great charm of angelic natures.

it is

It is hardly to be

contemplated, even in the demon, without admiration.

It

is

this

which gives

to the warrior his

brow with a halo

cles his

crown, and encir-

that, in the

misjudging world, neither darkness, nor

in

ages makes

all

lust,

nor blas-

The bard of Mantua,

phemy, nor blood can obscure.

whose tomb genius

estimation of a

its

to

willing pilgrim-

age, never presents his hero in a

more attractive

than when he represents him, "

volvere casus/' rolling

tot

light,

his misfortunes forward, as a river bearing all opposition

before
I

it.

am

well satisfied that

excellence.

ascent

The

Science

has

it is

a sure passport to mental

no summit too lofty for

its

literature has no gate too strong for its entrance.

graces collect around

it,

and the

laurel

comes

at its

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

Talk not of circumstances.

bidding.

Repudiate forever

and yet

that doctrine so paralyzing, so degrading,

"

eral,

Man

79

the creature of circumstances."

is

so gen-

Rather

adopt that other sentiment, more inspiring to yourselves,

more honorable
truth,

Man

your nature, more

to

consonant with

the architect of his own fortune.

I grant

that circumstances have their influence, and that often

this is not small

things

but there are impulses within, to which

external

are

lava

as

the

stance are as tools to

to

the

volcano.

Circum-

Zeuxis would have

artist.

been a painter without canvas; Michael Angelo would

have been a sculptor without marble; Herschell would

have been a philosopher without a telescope, and Newton

would have ascended the skies though no apple had ever

One

descended upon his head.

of

the most distin-

guished surgeons of modern times performed nearly

the operations

menced

of

a razor.
West comand plundered the family

surgery with

painting in a garret,

cat for bristles to

all

make

When

his brushes.

Paganini

once rose to amuse a crowded auditory with his music,

he found that his violin had been removed, and a coarse

instrument had been substituted for it. Explaining the
trick,

he said

the music
his bow,

is

to the audience,

not in

my

"Now
but in

I will

meP

he sent forth sounds sweet

delighted mortals.

Be

strument at best, and

sounds from
fingers.

violin,

its

as ever entranced

assured, the world

if

strings,

show you that

Then drawing
is

a coarse in-

you would send forth sweet

there must be music in your

Fortune may favor, but do not rely upon her

do not fear her.

Act upon the doctrine of the Grecian

poet,
" I seek -what's to be sought
I learn what's to be taught
I

Talk not

beg the rest of Heav'n."

of genius.

grant there are differences in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

80

mind, originally, but there

dinary

human

mighty

accomplish

to

What

is

Have they
known to fame?

not

scurity?

Fear

results.

Poverty?

your difficulties?

are

mind enough

in every or-

skull, if its energies are properly directed,

all

not

obstacles.

ignorance?

ob-

been overcome by a host

But perchance you climb untrodden bights. Nevertheless, fear to set down any obstacle
Look at the achievements of man in the
as insuperable.
natural and moral worlds, and then say whether you dare
set down any difficulty as insurmountable, or whether you
well

are ready to prescribe boundaries to the operations of hu-

man

power.

Are you destined to maintain the worship

God amid the darkness of infidelity? Daniel
of

Shadrach,

lions,

flames of the

Meshech, and

line

den

in the

Abednego,

and a long

furnace,

of the true

the

in

of illustrious

martyrs, shouting hosannas from the flames, put forth

their

hands from the stake

you destined

to plant the

to

Are

beckon you onward.

Gospel in heathen lands

an

enterprise the most daring and glorious in which mortals

?
Do you imagine that you can meet a diffiwhich the apostle Paul did not vanquish ? But he

can engage
culty

was an apostle, yea, and the most successful of

And what was

apostles.
it

his learning?

apostles

his

quence?

The

equals

in

the secret of his success

gift

this

of tongues
respect.

Was

made the other

Was

it

his

elo-

Doubtless he was eloquent; but Apollos, too,

was eloquent and mighty

inspiration?

in

But were not others

Christ Jesus and

him

Was

the Scriptures.

was his firmness and perseverance.

divert, or

the

all

crucified,

inspired,

When

called to

also?

his
It

he preached

nothing could drive, or

daunt him: ''This one thing I do,"

Are you

it

etc.

meet bigotry and superstition, armed

with learning, power, and wealth?

See Luther braving

the thunders of the Vatican, and hear him say, "I would

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

go to

Worms were

devils there as there

the houses/' and then affirm, if you dare,

are tiles on

that

many

there as

your duty, to succumb to your

it is

you destined, which Heaven forbid,

resist

81

or advance

invaders,

difficulties.

Ask

conquest?

to

Are

an army to

to lead

Csesar,

Hannibal, Pyrrhus, Alexander, what kind of

difficulties

may be overcome by

Have you

undertaken

to

decision of character.

ascend from poverty and obscurity to em-

Ask

inence and wealth?

the

field

or the cabinet,

any

profession whatever, or either house of Congress, whether

there are any difficulties which will not yield to firmness

and perseverance, and ten thousand voices

shall respond,

animating accents. No.

in

5.

ally

more easily overcome than is generThe simple resolution to surmount an

Difficulties are

imagined

obstacle reduces

of the soul.

army; but

upon the

it

one

There
of

it is

half.

It concentrates the powers

much

is

exertion in

It is spent in taking care of the

foe.

and the wounded, gathering up

property, lest

it

should

expended than there was

Its

and every moment

the disgrace of defeat

pressure

(?f its

to stand

may be no more energy

how difi'erent is

collected;

placed upon a gun; every bayonet

foe

destroying

in retreating,

powers are

defeated, staggering soul

baggage

into the

ground, and, though there

result!

slain,

Let that army, however, resolve

from attack.

the

the

hands of the enemy,

escape, and protecting the rear

fall

preparing the way for

its

a retreating

makes no impression

little avail, for it

is

every hand

directed against the

works important

may make
effort

to

rise

it is

issues.

effort to

So a

escape from

from beneath the

own humbling reproaches

ning some new enterprise, but

is

effort

effort at plan-

wasted.

Resolution brings every power to the same point, and

moves the whole soul forward, like the Grecian phalanx,

each part supported and supporting, and every step mak-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

82

ing an opening before

Imagination

rors.

is

imaginary

It dissipates

it.

a very busy but very

humble

ter-

serv-

ant of the soul; she obsequiously consults predominant

and paints

inclination,

more active than when

man

never

is

which generally usurper

sways the scepter over the

fear

of irresolution

a state

in

iuner

taste; she

suit its

to

is

when

hence, difficulties are always magnified

The inner as well as the outer

When, upon some un-

viewed in the distance.

subject to illusions.

optics

are

known

coast,

we view, through the morning fog, the disThus the sluggard,

tant cottage, we deem it a castle.
Though the
standing at his door, sees a lion in his way.
enemy be a hundred miles off, the coward sees him on
He only who says, "I can and I will,"
the next hill-top.
sees difficulties in their true dimensions.
rors of the wilderness retreat before the

of the fearless emigrant

"I can and

put

to

flight

the

0,

They

I will!"

hosts

of

how

How

the ter-

advancing steps

I like those words,

are words of

magic;

phantoms and

they

hobgoblins

up around us in moments of hesitation; they reduce giant enemies to ordinary foes; they
level the mountains, fill the valleys, and make straight

which

fear conjures

paths for the

Would you be

feet.

upon your banners, and,

like

the vision of Minerva,

which made Achilles tremble, they

of

all

Ye

shake the knees

mothers, at your cradles teach them to your chilfirst

beat music to them.

till

will

your enemies.

dren, and bid the

go

them

victors, write

pulsations of their

These words, "I

thou bless me," inspired mortal

immortal powers.

little

hearts

will not let thee

to struggle

with

Fathers, breathe resolution into your

them unarmed, unfriended,

and unshod into this wide world, they will see their way
Launch them upon the stormy
to wealth and honor.
sons; then, though you put

ocean, they will exact a rich revenue from

its

billows

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

them

exile

83

the wilderness^ and they will press milk

to

and honey from

rocks.

its

Kesolution inspires self-confidence.

Before the decla-

ration of independence, the Continental Congress acted

with fear and trembling

but so soon as that instrument

was adopted, a noble self-confidence inspired that

gal-

band of patriots.
They
emerged from that dependence

had

found

lant

reared^ and this

over

all

The

that

they

which they had been

perception spread a might and majesty

their thoughts

and

in

actions.

resolution to pursue the path of duty, regardless

we

of enemies or obstacles, begets the conviction that

can place reliance on our own souls.

whatever

viction,

is

done

is

Under this
done firmly. Next

sense of the Divine presence, there

is

conto

nothing so invig-

orating to the spirit as the consciousness of independence.

In some respects

it

is

not proper that we should

It is wisely ordained that our persons,

be independent.

our tongues, our property, should be, to some extent, un-

human law; but there is one little territory over which God designs that man should sway an
that territory is his own soul.
On
exclusive scepter
der the control of

this no tyrant dare rattle his chains; into this no

arch can push his bayonets.

is

a celestial

It

is

mon-

a holy inheritance

it

soil.

Unhappy wretch that does not rule in the councils of

He opens the gates of his paradise
his own mind
I

he becomes a vassal where he should be a king; instead

of heading an army he can scarce control a finger.
ble being he

him

What

who

do they know of the soul

in the laboratory of heaven,

can they measure

they see

it

Pitia-

asks his fellow-mortals to legislate for

its

when God

apprehensions or

cling to the

cross,

Were they

struck

its

it

anguish

by,

off? or
?

Can

or attach itself to the

throne, or cast anchor within the vail

Can they

lift

the

EDUCATION ALESSAYS.

84

curtain that hides eternity, and travel up witn

what

will

be

wants in un wasting ages?

its

soul art thou that

of the world

is

to see

embarkest upon the shipwrecked reason

who must obtain consent of

To whom shall he go?

-perplexed soul,

he acts!

his fellow-worms before

This world

it

Poor ruined

a great Babel; where chaos umpire

sits,

"And, by deciding, worse embroils the fray."

Such a man resembles a boatman on a mighty river,

where it divides into a thousand branches. A points to
one and B to another of the diverging streams, and obey

whom

one pleases, the overwhelming majority

him.

Perplexed by the confused

He

his paddle is feeble.

is

whomso-

a degraded mortal,

is

against

every stroke of

cries,

ever he be, that stoops to ask man, or winds, or waves, or

mountains, or storms, or lightning whether he

his

duty, and

weak

unembarrassed?
of Grod.

storms

From

as

is

rage around you,

from the

Would you be

degraded.

will; namely,

the will

duty, then do it; and, though

the counsels of your

as Gabriel,

is

Have but one

Inquire what

may

he

may do

light,

doubtfully, nothing feebly,

own

all

will

soul

be calm within.

you

will

come

forth,

doing nothing rashly, nothing

and before you

difficulties will

sink.

Under manly resistance difficulties progressively diIf, when we set out in life, we fail, we shall
minish.
but if we conlikely
to do so throughout our career
be
quer in the first onset, we shall probably vanquish in the
next, and, after a few triumphs, our march will be as that
of the conqueror.
The forty-fourth British regiment,
;

by a dastardly delay in bringing

the battle of New Orleans, and being
regain them, instead of accomplishing

having

lost their colors

up the

fascines at

sent to

India

to

by the Affghans.
to that memorable

their object were annihilated

who

led the

American

lines

The hero
field,

com-

THE CONFLICTS OP LIFE.

menced

by a fortunate

his career

85

and terminated

battle,

in a blaze of glory a series of brilliant victories.

mon

your energies

all

iterated

failures,

the

to

first

conflict.

Sum-

As, under re-

the bold heart sinks, under repeated

triumphs the timid one

Success gives strength to

rises.

the hand, and energy to the head, and courage to the

heart,

and produces the habit of perseverance

issue.

ful

(jireek,

goes

subject

Its

to

to success-

the battle as did

the

who, being reminded that he was lame, replied,

" I propose to

not

fight,

When

run."

to

heard that his old guards had

Bonaparte

surrendered, he said

it

was impossible, because they did not know how.

Manly

resistance subdues the opposition of the world.

This world

is

a wicked one

it

loves to

crush the op-

know not hoio it is, but I do know that so it

is.
When a man gives signs of failing his friends forsake him, and his enemies come up; and even they who
pressed; I

before were indiff'erent to his

his downfall.

Woe

to the

afi'airs,

man who

inadequacy to meet his exigences

take an interest in

can not conceal his

Clearchus, in that

memorable retreat of the ten thousand from Persia,

though in an enemy's land, and surrounded with millions
of armed foes, delivered to the king's messengers, inviting him
tell

to sue for peace,

the king that

is

it

have nothing on which

bearing, he

that truly Spartan reply, '^Go

rather necessary to fight, as

we

While such was

his

to

dine."

marched unhurt through dangerous

and over unfordable

rivers,

with Persian dainties

passes,

and was abundantly supplied

to parley with

but when he went

men around him fell.

prosperous, you may expect

Tissaphernes, he and the brave

Whether unfortunate
to

be opposed.

or

Had you

patriotism of Washington,
light,

the wisdom

of Ulysses, the

the purity of an angel of

you would be opposed.

God

incarnate,

on

an

errand of redeeming mercy, fought his way to the cross,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

86

which he stained with his atoning

You may

blood.

ex-

pect opposition as long as selfishness and envy rankle in

the

human

will be mis-

You

sometimes maliciously misconstrued.

understood,
will

Sometimes your motives

heart.

have opposition from honest motives, and opposition

It will; perchance, come from the

from hostile feelings.

hand that has gathered your bounty, and issue from that
No matter, stand
heart that should love and bless you.
weep over the ingratitude of those who

If you

firm.

have basely injured you,

let

no one see your

If

tears.

you receive into your bosom the poisoned dagger of a

false friend,

no

let

murmur

escape your

lips.

Be

sure,

Preserve a steady footstep, and

this course will be best.

march toward your object, and your foes will slink away

Under such

ashamed.

a course the very feelings

lead to opposition will suggest

designing enemy

sees that a

withdrawal.

its

man

is

which

When

not arrested by

diffi-

culty; that obstacles only develop superior energies, he

will take care not to

that oppose,

The very men

you marching onward with

put any in his way.

when they

see

accelerated footstep, will soon not only surcease

their

come around you with obsequious smile,

and bow and beg to do you homage.
Your friends will come to your assistance. It is an old
opposition, but

adage that " fortune helps those who help themselves."

Certain

it

when they

is

that friends are most inclined to help us

see

we

least care about their assistance.

They

wish to be assured that their means will be well invested

before they part with them.
will

The

individual of sagacity

be glad of an opportunity of aiding a vigorous, man-

ly youth, because

he

will

be sure of an ample interest

for

his capital; but he who has an estate to bequeath, will

not be quick to believe that it is his duty to leave it to a
slothful relative

which

will

make

he
it

will
tell

seek to intrust

upon the

it

to

some hand

interest of the world.

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

87

The multitude delight to crowd around the man who can

them to good advantage. It is said of an ancient

use

general that, in consequence of his severity, in time of

peace,

all

who could

forsook him, but,

when danger

they rushed back again to his standard.

step in

the hour

His

fearless

congregated the multitudes

trial

The steady determination to encounter difis, in moments of danger, like the

around him.
ficulty

of

arose,

without alarm,

trumpet of Gideon, on the mountains of Palestine, which

instantly gathered Abiezer around him.
DiflSculty is

with

associated

The

happiness.

curse

which doomed man

to toil,

relatively

man, a perpetual, universal, unmixed

mercy.

to fallen

Though

and triumphing

in

immortal powers, regards

though man

in Paradise felt

a kind angel

his

greatest foe.

Were

thousand fold cursed.

field

itself a curse,

the seraph, soaring on his wings of

praved,

it is

though in

it

to

it

is,

fire,

as a curse;

be such, yet to

man

de-

which saves him from himself,

it

repealed,

earth would be a

Matter and mind would rot; the

would be a wilderness

man would

be armed against

himself, and against his fellow; passion would obliterate

reason; iniquity would spring out of

all

the earth; un-

mitigated wrath would look down from heaven

self

would be anticipated.

hell

it-

Wisely has God locked up

every blessing, and thrown a curtain over every truth,

that,

in

turning the key, and lifting the

vail,

man's

physical and moral powers might be diverted from their

downward tendency.
But exercise not only preserves us, in some degree,
from wickedness and woe, it brings us positive pleasure.

The

exercise of any of the faculties, within prescribed

limits, afi"ords

enjoyment.

As we

survey, with the micro-

scope, the fantastic motions of the animalcula that float

we exclaim. How happy! As we take

our evening walk in the meadow, and survey the sportive
in the dew-drop,

EDUCATIONALESSAYS.

8
lambS;
tle

we cry

out, instinctively,

creatures enjoy

the

dam with

We

What

pleasure tliese

lit-

never contrast the slow pace of

the buoyant footsteps of the

without

colt,

drawing an inference in favor of the happiness of the

And why

latter.

We

form our estimate of the hap-

But where

piness of inferior animals by their motions.

From our

did we obtain this measure?

The

of our faculties

activity

is

superior natures.

the measure of enjoy-

We may

other things being equal.

add that

ment,

all

joy

the richer and the purer, in proportion to the ex-

is

Does not

faculty called into exercise.

cellence of the

the peasant enjoy more than the brute? the philosopher

than the peasant? the Christian than the philosopher?

Go

to

See those two cham-

your congress of nations.

pion statesmen meet in

fierce

and

struggle

final

tion's arguments, a nation's feelings,

na-

a nation's interests

crowd upon each aching head, and press each throbbing

The world's wit and wisdom crowd the halls,
heart.

and beauty, in the glittering

gallery,

watches the ap-

proaching conflict; the multitudes besiege the doors, and

and windows, anxious to witness the scene, and

herald the issue ; the champions rise upon the temaisles,

pest of

human

passions;

storm

they raise

and throw thunderbolt on thunderbolt

they soar, wing to wing, into the

loftiest

grapple with each other, soul to soul.

est,

deepest, sweetest rapture,

from heaven

It

were cheap

after storm,

each

at

regions

Then

is

they

the pur-

save that which

to

other;

comes

buy one draught with

the crown of empire

Difficulties,

rels

when overcome,

can be gathered from the

enemy, no

glory.

insure honor.
field

The brave man

What

of sham-battle

lau-

No

scorns the feeble ad-

versary; the greater the foe, the more noble the victory.

Rome

gave her best honors to Scipio, because he pros-

trated Hannibal;

America honors Washington, because

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

89

he drove the giant forces of Britain; England awards

to Wellington her highest praises, because he struck

down Napoleon, her mightiest foe. Mark the aged Christian pilgrim as he rises from some fearful conflict in holy
triumph.
Hark
Methinks I hear him say, " 0, glorious
Gospel of the blessed God! Because thou dost task all
!

my

powers; because thou dost lead

cause thou dost bring

me

to

me

to the

arena; be-

the mightiest foes

to prin-

and powers, leagued for our destruction; to ruof darkness, and wicked spirits, panting for our ever-

cipalities
lers

lasting death; to the world

thus making

to hell,

enly worlds

God

to

me

and the

flesh

the Spirit,

God

the Son, and

Go

the Father; therefore will I glory in thee."

blood-washed throng
their history.

if

and
and heav-

to earth

a spectacle to infernal

they would erase one

Ask David, on yon mount

God

ask the

from

trial

of glory,

why

and drop their harps to

Would you have an honored life, an

angels fold their wings,

the

listen to his story.

honored memory, a blessed immortality, shrink not from

conflict.

We

measure a man's

intellect

by his achievements; we
Think

estimate his achievements by their difiiculties.

you that honor can come without

difiiculty?

build baby-houses, join mice to a

Try

it.

Go

wagon, play at

little

even and odd, and ride on a long pole, and see what laurels

the world will award you.

We

will give

you the crown of empire.

Now

go, like

Sardanapalus, wrapping yourself in petticoats, dress wool

among

women, and see if Honor would not

angry foot, and shake his hoary locks, and

a flock of

stamp his

spurn you from his presence.

Difiiculties

How

timid,

give

how

an engagement!

courage.

Look

fearful of the foe,

the raw recruit.

at

how

See him on the eve of

ination pictures the

smoke and din of

willing to avoid
strife; his

imag-

battle from afar;

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

90

the plain crimsoned with blood; the piercing cries and

He

gaping wounds of the dying and the dead.

for

home

the

childhood, the

of his

who

embrace of his

But mark the hardy

mother, the quiet of peace.

eran by his side,

longs

carries in his

vet-

body the bullets of

the foe, and bears

upon his face the marks of their

he thinks only of the image
sabers.
of his country, the punishment of the invader, and the
laurels of the conqueror, and lies down to rest, longing
Befor the reveille that shall wake him to the strife.

He

stands firm;

hold yon timid, delicate female

She trembles

at the

spider; she shudders at the unexpected rap; she faints

at the firing of the pistol.

band draws

his sword,

non's mouth.

War

breaks out; her hus-

and leads his platoon

to the can-

The savages surround her dwelling; the

sound of the warwhoop wakes the slumbers of midnight,

and the blood of her

That female

is

first-born flows over

the timid virgin no longer.

her threshold.

Guarding the

cradle of her weeping babes, she learns to

fire

the

rifle,

and plunge into warrior hearts the sharpened dagger.

The heart of a Hannibal throbs in her bosom.
Finally.

beginning.

God knew
Did

the difficulties of duty from the

difficulty justify a

God would have

qualified his

surceasing from duty,

commands.

When, amid

thunders and lightning, he delivered on the mount that

trembled the command,

''

Thou

shalt have none other

gods before me," did he not see that lion's den, and
hear that sad decree ? Did he not cast his ej-es to the
plains of

Durah?

Did he not see that golden image

Did he not see that gathering

rising threescore cubits?

host of captains, judges,

and

all

treasurers, counselors, sheriff's,

the rulers of the provinces, meeting for the dedi-

cation of the image?

Did he not see those three Heand

brews,
that furious monarch, and that furnace heated
with seven-fold flame

to

the temperature of a tyrant's

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

wrath

And

yet he

not

did

91
high

qualify the

com-

mand.

When

Jesus, rising from the tomb, paused on his as-

cent to heaven, and gave his great commission, "

did he not

etc.,

know

would be beheaded
kindle his
flames,

know

fires,

or feed

ye,''

that Peter would die? that Paul

that emperor after emperor would

and lead out his Christian victims

them

to

the beasts?

to the

Did he not

well

that rivers of blood would flow over his sanctuary,

and that every age

to

Who

persecutions?

the millennium would witness

work of evangelizing the world

may be

duties as clear as that.

and yet there

would not encourage rash enterprises;

would not

set will in the place of conscience, or desire in the

of reason.

I would take

into

But there may be

room

consideration

opposing

my

views of

tendencies and probable results in forming

duty.

its

says that difliculty should arrest us

in the

Go

duties as clearly

marked out by

the Divine providence as by the Divine word.

Reason,

guided by the light of revelation, may satisfy us of duty

as clearly as if Grod

were

to

speak audibly from heaven.

I have pointed out the path to success.

leave you without directing attention

which should influence you

I can not

to

I can not

motives

the

in determining your pursuit.

imagine that any of you think so meanly of

your souls as to enter upon

with the question.

life

What

we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal

This would be to regard yourshall we be clothed ?
Some may ask. What will be
selves as mere brutes.
shall

most congenial

to

my

taste,

or

is

most favorable

provement, or renown, or power, or wealth?

how

to express

or riches.

Homer

my

know

imnot

profound contempt for worldly honor

The world can not

receives honor, but

sepulcher.

to

it

often estimate true worth.

comes too

Milton deserved a

late

even for the

temple, but scarce re-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

92

But honor, what is it? A name upon

the scroll, and which Time, with one dash of his sponge,
Crucify soul and body for the
shall soon wipe out.
world, and she may mock you in your expiring agonies;
and will you offer incense at her shrine, and seek her
ceived a tomb.

Let her honors be sought when her heart

favor?

Who

purified.

would seek the applause of hell?

then, seek the honors of a world kindred to it?

are dying, immortal

be

you in your

to

ing?

last

in the eternal

What

men.

is

Why,
You

will a world's applause

agonies? in the resurrection morn-

There are unfading

world?

laurelsj

In what

there are eternal histories, but not on earth.

terms shall I express the fathomless degradation of that

man who merely heaps up the glittering

mine who prostitutes energies that might

to the accumulation of dollars

and cents?

what

I say

bless a world

He

sinks to

might take rank among

remember
I am soon to die. I tell you
which
is not infithat there is no service

the level of the ants a soul that

the angels.

dust of the

nitely beneath your immortal powers but the service of

the living

God

there

no honor worthy to be sought

is

but that which comes from heaven; there

sufficiently

in your

is

no object

great to develop the energies that slumber

bosom, except that for which the Almighty de-

signed you.
I

want

to see

you

men

I pant to see you

mighty men.

Fain would I have you move through earth with a tempest's force; but better harden into marble upon those
seats,

man

than move with any other object than the good of

the glory of God.

Pleasure and glory pursue those

Serve

God with

shall follow you.

one.

There

is

who

least seek

them.

a pure heart, and happiness and honor

Pant you
an enemy to

the earth in black,

and

fills

for a foe
all
it

You

shall

have

your species, who hangs

with mourning, lamenta-

THE CONFLICTS OF LIFE.

tion,

souls,

93

and woe, and plunges his hatchet in unnumbered

and kindles around them eternal burnings. En-

ter the field against him.

At

the close of the

to cross his

army

first

punic war, as Hamilcar, about

upon the shores of

into Spain, stood

Carthage, he was reflecting upon the triumphs of the

He

Romans, the

rivals

Sicily yielded

by a premature despair, of Sardinia

of his

country.

thought of
inter-

cepted by fraud, of the stipends maliciously imposed,

and, above

all,

of the laurels

and his great

spirit

won from

his native shores,

was stirred within him.

midst of his meditations his

In the

son, nine years old,

little

approached him, and, fawning in a childish manner, entreated his father to lead

The

him with the

troops into Spain.

great parent breathed upon the martial spirit of his

him

son, and, leading

sacrifices,

and then swear

that,

when he became

he would be the enemy of Rome.

Ye

bal.

sons of Christendom,

God, touch the

bade him touch the

to the altar,

man,

That son was Hanni-

come

to the altar of our

sacrifices of our Jesus,

and swear eternal

hostility to Satan.

Do

3'ou ask for

exemplars

they have

Do you demand
fore

you.

I point

you

to Daniel, to

Others have provoked the acclamations

Paul, to Luther.

of earth

called forth

the shouts of heaven.

a magnificent object?

The world

is

be-

Balboa, the discoverer of the South Sea, in

crossing the isthmus which separates the Atlantic from

the Pacific, ascended a mountain, from which he beheld

unknown ocean rolling in all its majesty. Overwhelmed by the sight, he fell upon his knees to thank
Grod for conducting him to so important a discovery.
the

When
to his

he reached the margin of the

middle in

its

took possession of

dinand, of Spain.

sea,

he plunged up

waves, and, with sword and buckler,

it

in the

name of

Lay the map

his sovereign, Fer-

of the world before

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

94

you, plant your foot on Asiatic highlands, or on some

lofty

peak of the Andes.

Survey continents, and

seas,

and fall down to

thank Grod that you stand on an eminence from which
and islands

in darkness

and

captivity,

you see this great sight; then, rising in the majesty of

faith, and girding on sword and buckler, advance to the
conquest of the nations in the name of Zion's King.

There are energies slumbering in the smallest bosom

among you sufficient to shake the world.

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

95

rPHERE

commencement days of human

existence
the day of birth, when we begin to be
children
the day of graduation, when we begin to be
men; and the day of death, when we begin to be devils
or angels.
Each gives rise in the breasts of our relatives
are three great

-*-

conflicting

to

emotions; but on the

first

joy generally

predominates, on the second anxiety, on the third hope.

The period you have

critical

just reached

is

of solicitude

though they

decidedly the most

Although we know nothing of

we can not divest ourselves

of life's eras.

you that

is

unfevorable,
for

We

your welfare.

know men who,

set out in life learned, talented, virtuous as

Your knowledge, your

trial
may they pass it

you, are outcasts and vagabonds.

wisdom, your virtue, abide a

fiery

unscathed

That your knoicledge may endure the test, it should

Reviews are necessary to
be reviewed and extended.
preserve

knowledge.

Impressions

made upon memory,

unless frequently repeated, must be deep indeed if they

be not soon effaced.

warm

But mere knowledge,

as

it

does not

the soul, by inflaming the passions, rarely makes

deep impressions.

Reviews are necessary

is

to perfect

your knowledge.

but an outline, like the sketch of the

but

little

* Address

artist,

charm, but which warms into

to the graduating class of the

It

which has

lifelike

beauty

Ohio Wesleyan University.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

96

under the magic retoucliing of the

Exceptions must you be

an outline, but a rude one.

among

It is not only

pencil.

students, if you have not slurred over

many im-

portant propositions, while you have given to none an

attention too earnest to allow a profitable reconsideration.

Reviews are necessary

to

render knowledge available.

Imperfect science, like broken instruments, does but

Knowledge

cumber and confuse.

the review than in the original sur-

as well as profit, in

The

vey.

first

examination

anticipated truths
occult

in-

more pleasure

affords

fixes

upon the obvious and

the subsequent ones disclose those

correspondences and

connections,

dependencies,

which, because unsuspected, possess in a high degree the

charm of

As

novelty.

nature broadens before the foot-

steps of advancing knowledge,

every bush becomes a

till

universe burning with the living God

new mysteries

to the

so language opens

improving mind,

till

the very alpha-

bet suggests the

wisdom of the Eternal and the music

of the spheres.

Moreover, as nature has counteracted

the propensity to indolence, by planting in our breast a

strong desire of completing our undertakings, the perfecting of our knowledge must afford relief, as well as
gratification.

The path of the

would be happy, must,

student, therefore, if he

that

like

of the just,

brighter and brighter to the perfect day.

of sciences already acquired

not sufficient

is

of knowledge must be extended.

shine

But a review

your

field

You have been brought

to the gates only of learning, the paths to its glorious

sum-

mits are yet before you; through the avenues of classics

and metaphysics you may push on

the

human

through

heart;

to

the recesses of

mathematics

to

profound

philosophy; through the rudiments of natural science to

an acquaintance with nature; through ethics to a knowl-

Up up then, and onward ever to the

edge of God.
you must, if you would not lose ground;
Indeed
bights.
!

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

97

the highway of science has no inns, and bears up no footsteps but those of ascending

The

and descending

travelers.

propriety of persevering, perfecting, and extend-

may

ing our knowledge

may.

feasibility of it

not be questioned

When

perhaps the

you turn your attention

to

the study of a profession, you will doubtless find the time

allotted you

prepare for the discharge of

to

and when you

sufficiently short,

your practice you will find business and company

Take no more time

necessary for

is

may

your time; nevertheless, you

all

erary pursuits.

its

to

the requisite advantages

Let the time for a

therein, while

ical comfort.

and assign
thus

to

Do

such

the full

its

with

divide the day,

metes and bounds.

community of

the whole

regulated

it

as silence, books, phys-

every thing by system

each duty

lit-

any object than

energies of your souls are brought to bear upon

all

claim

continue your

for

accomplishment.

given labor be fully consumed

duties

its

have commenced

shall

In a

sciences

life

may

dwell in harmony, and derive mutual advantages from

As, however, the customs of

their very neighborhood.

society will not allow you to

exactness,

it

make such

that

necessary

is

a division with

you acquire the habit

of using fragments of time.

Fortunes have been made

from the shavings of horn.

Time

is

money, and who

shall duly estimate the value of its clippings

Cultivate

the habit of gathering and coining them, and carry about

with you the facilities for so doing.

Your

luisdom,

too,

will

pass an

ordeal.

Wisdom

is

that attribute which directs to right words and actions.

Our

expressions afford us an excellent opportunity for ex-

hibiting

negative part, prudence.

its

God having designed

us for society, has given us a

strong desire to communicate our thoughts, desires, and

purposes;

has

ordained

speech

as

our

enjoyment, and civilizer; and rendered

9

it

chief

solace,

so important

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

98

mental organization, that

to our

considerable period

suspension for any

its

a cause of imbecility,

is

not a consequence of derangement.

be, however,

nature

it

needs

continual

when

Important as

it

it is

may

like all propensions of our fallen

restraint

due exertion of

the

in

which we see one of the plainest distinctions between

the wise and the silly. The fool keeps his mouth, like
that of the Mississippi, always open, and sometimes not

content with one outlet for his thoughts, ^'He winketh

with his eyes, he speaketh with his

Many

with his fingers."

he teacheth

feet,

of his thoughts

may

be good,

but they are swallowed up in the flood of his foolishness.

The wise man keeps

thought

to pass out

he

is

which

is

may have much

although he
it,

the door of his

not condemned for

not

lips,

for the public eye;

fit

he does not

folly, as

it.

The

and allows no
exliihit

fool does not gain a

reputation for folly only, but often for wickedness also;

as the stream will be like the fountain, he, so long as

carries in

his

wicked, will

same

bosom
his

fill

a heart deceitful

mouth with

speak too well of his friends and too

must utter

and desperately

a conversation of the

Moreover, as every

description.

he

man
ill

prone to

is

of his foes, he

evil-speaking, and slander; thus in-

flattery,

volving himself and

around him

all

in

continual

diffi-

St. James says the tongue is a fire, and it is

when we consider how great a matter a little fire
kindleth, that we can account for the eternal burnings
The wise man utterwith which society is consuming.

culties.

only

ing only what "

is

good

to the use of edifying,

minister grace to the hearers,"

well as wiser, than he is;

is

meet

to

considered better, as

and as he keeps his thoughts

concerning his neighbors, he gives no

off'ense,

while, by

the mere absence of unkind expressions from his tongue,

he secures general

favor.

Nor am

I sure that the go^--

ernment of the tongue does not exert a desirable

reflex

THEP A THTO
ive influence;

SUCCESS.

99

thoughts which are not uttered rarely make

a deep impression; subjects are not wont to recur to the

deems them contraband; and passions deprived

of tongues, and limited to inward ravings, prove guests
so troublesome as to provoke the heart, by its own vis conI know that Joab smote Abner
servatrix, to expel them.

mind

that

and Judas betrayed his Lord with a

quietli/,

kiss,

but I

such crocodiles rarely appear in human shape.

believe

Hence, as a general

he who can bridle his tongue,

rule,

can as easily govern his whole body, as the helmsman

I would not be

can turn the ship driven by the wind.

thought

recommend an

to

unsocial exclusiveness, a uni-

form gravity, or a forbidding taciturnity,

nor,

were I

without the aid of a false religion, of leading

capable,

you into extremes

I would merely guard

so unnatural.

we can not be preand persevering effort. Under

against the opposites, from which

served but by positive

that sportive play of fancy and genial excitement of gen-

erous feeling called forth by the social circle, and de-

signed at

once

recruit

to

the

and strengthen the

intellect,

each other, the

ivisest

of the tongue; an(f

ties

exhausted

which bind men

are apt to relax too

it is

of

energies

much

to

the reins

remarkable how small a dead

fly

of folly will defile the precious ointment of a reputation

for

wisdom.

man by

The world never forms her opinion of

striking a balanco between

sayings; the former

may

the latter a small one

made to
Nor does
it

cancel the

evil,

lose a friend, point a

or

sow

"to

but to leave a large surplus.

often do

pun but

with

less difficulty

we gain

than

a jest but to

to pierce a bleeding heart,

the wind but to reap the whirlwind!

Loquacity

When

silly

yet the good shall not only be

how

and

constitute a large aggregate and

folly destroy friendship

does reputation;

his wise

man

is

not to be condemned

is

incapable of any business of his own, he

indiscriminatel3\

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

100

may
no

regulate the business of every body else

or troubles at home,

fiiults

and

to those of his 7ieighbors,

may

information, he

as well

hammering of

ceaseless

his

if

he has

he may turn his attention

if

he can receive no further

up

nail

his

tongue.

ears with the

Habit

is

second

nature, and I would not lightly censure the unruly mem-

having run

ber, that

for fifty years, can only

be stopped

by a surgical operation or the hand of Omnipotence,

a

man have but few

like

them

ideas,

the huckster-woman

with

her paltry pennies, lay

out every night, and turn

all

and although he

If

and those very small, he may,

them every morningj

world of mind the

will find that in the

we can forgive him. Losome than others. There is a

laws of trade are reversed, yet

quacity

injurious to

is less

man who

the

like

spider

having crept into an unfre-

quented corner, hath no higher ambition than

enough of time's
Jie

may

to

brush

flies

to

explain the whole

away; but

it

to catch

supply his organs of digestion

if

web of

his plan, for

who

cares

one undertake enterprises of

moment, he had better tie the little traitor that

plies between his lips.
Silence is the great auxiliary
said that geese can cross mountof ambition
it
is
ains if they carry stones in their mdhths, and if a man
would gain in safety the summits of fame, he must not
cackle as he passes the nests of her eagles.
great

Locjuacity disqualifies for solemn duties; from lips that

we do not patiently hear the

utter nonsense

God; the tattler

the prater
rulers.

to

is

is

praises of

not wanted at the pillow of the dying;

shut out from the council chambers of

Well might the pious monarch of

Israel resolve

keep his tongue while the wicked were before him.

Nor does prating merely bring impotence

idle sentence

One

may recast amiss a

may start a fiery

vain word

shall flow

forever.

Henv;e, in

of good; one

fellow-mortal's' mind.
train

of thought that

the multitude of words

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

may

there wanteth not sin that

inflame

Him, who,

tain relations, is

consuming

are no occasions

when we may speak of the

I would

of others.

public justice
silly,

fire.

101
in cer-

I do not say that there

faults or sins

have the innocent protected and

But why need we

enforced.

the needless, or the evil

blasphemy

utter the

and slander

I leave to the lashes of the sheriff and the devil.

The

excellences and virtues of men, the triumphs of science

and

art,

the wonders

glories of

God and

tion without

sin,

of

creation

and providence, the

of grace, are enough to afford relaxa-

and excitement

joy without jesting,

without foolishness or malice.

How

is

it

in

heaven?

So it may be on earth! ^Tis slander even upon depraved

human nature to say that its mouth must necessarily be
like that of the

nothing.

volcano,

filled

with smoke or flame, or

Unbaptized philosophy were

strain the tongue

suflicient

and what of Christian?

Who

to

re-

would

when he may harmonize it to

heavenly harps ? who fill his mouth with poison, when he
may sweeten it with honey? who darken his sayings with
the smoke of the pit, when he may render them lumintune his tongue

to discord,

ous with the light of glory

Since of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak-

we keep the door of the lips we must keep the

door of the mind; we must therefore make a judicious
selection of company and books.
The serious, the wise,
eth, if

and the honorable must be on their guard against the

trifling, the silly, and the slanderer.
The uncorrupted
must not trust to their present abhorrence of corrupters;
since the latter like the siren can sing sweetly, the for-

mer

like

Ulysses must have wax for the ears.

company is generally the first

the young man of genius and learning
choice of

posed; he

and

is

is

bad

step to ruin, and

is

peculiarly ex-

generally courted by the gay and the vain;

often induced by the feeling which led Caesar to

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

102

say that he would

rather be

in the

first

than second in the imperial

Alpine village

squat in the center

city, to

of the noisy pool and become himself a croaker.

Books are indispensable, for instruction, amusement,

the formation of style, and the supply of mental stimu-

The

lus; they must, however, be selected with caution.

press by the power

of steam

is

wheeling

cart-loads

off

every moment, yet the world, like the grave in a pestilence, stands with its
is

That this mass

enough.

madness

to

much
many of

all to

is

of

affirm;

of the day, and

structive

mouth wide open, and

its

the

it

be rejected t'were

periodical

books,

are

liteiature

rich

and

in-

but the precious must be separated from the

and the greater the preponderance of the

vile,

the former, the more difficult the task.

will

cries not

latter over

few hints only

Old works are better than new.

be given.

To

this

remark there are exceptions, confined however almost exclusively to the department of instructive books, nor
extending equally through

this,

but limited chiefly to

the bureau of natural science, in which

the career of

discovery being rapid and brilliant, the presumption

is

in

For most of the legitimate pur-

favor of the latest author.

poses of reading give

me

ment, Addison;

for

mental stimulus, 31ilton

models of manly

style,

old writers, such as, for amuse-

the ancient classics.

have a great negative advantage.

Men

fond of pranks, and every age has

its

like

and for

Old authors

monkeys

are

bewildering fancies

and Utopian schemes; the present abounds with model

reformers, and ''poor man's plasters."
That change is
not the law of our being, and progress our high destiny,
I
is

by no means

assert,

but I do aver that the former

frequently from bad to worse, and that the latter

not to be secured by
principles, but
tions,

by

new

a steady

social

plans,

is

and novel moral

improvement of old organiza-

through a faithful application of old principles

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

The

103

laws of nature and of the decalogue are eternal; but

so bewitching are the reasonings of that enthusiast

who

takes the universe under his management, that they are

pretty sure to take the careless reader captive,

and even

make him hug his chains, till liberated by a destructive

The works which contained the follies of former
upshot.
ages have nearly all gone down to oblivion.
True, those
which survive, like all things human, bear marks of
weakness; but these fancies are not like the
near enough to mislead our
borealis, distant

enough

to

feet,

irjriis

/atmis,

but like the aurora

be contemplated with wonder

and philosophical delight.

Old

writers, like the bottles

of old doctors, generally contain muUiim in jparvo; but

many

of the mental quacks of our day compose accord-

ing to the following receipt

Take of -words one hogshead,
Of understanding one drop,
Of human depravity and coloring matter a sufficient
Mix and filter through green or yellow paper.

quantity,

And although they often get certificates of the

on whom they practice gratuitously, it is perfectly
let their ''eye waters'^ alone.

the novels of the times

is

The contempt

not indiscriminate.

clergy,
safe to

I have for

The pages

of Sir Walter I doubt not are enchanting, although I

have never

felt their

power; but I have yet to learn who

has become wiser or better by their perusal, while I suppose that their tendency

is

the reverse of mental dis-

cipline; to relax the energies, intoxicate the reason,

and

the fancy with dreams of rapture or of anguish.

It

fill

may be asked how I know their efi"ects, never having felt

them? just as I know the properties of arsenic without
What need we of the literature
ever having tasted it.
of a superficial and hurried age, when we have at command the works which Greece, Rome, and England,
elaborated respectively, in the Homeric, the Augustan,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

104

and Elizabethan periods above all, the oldest of all

writings, which blending philosophy and poetry in union,
and affording mingled instruction and delight in forms
ever varying with ever-increasing charms, gleams at every
reperusal with

new glimpses of the mind of God.

But

your experience, I suppose, enables you to say in

erence

this

to

subject,

"No man

ref-

drunk old

having

wine straightway desireth new, for he saith the old

is

better."

Books of instruction are preferable

The

amusement.

latter

to

those of mere

have their use; but as in gen-

eral our natural indolence prevents us from overtasking

the mind, and our necessary intercourse with society, and

attention to passing events, afford enough of useful mirth,
as well as salutary woe, they are rarely indispensable;

and

as they tend to form a habit of careless reading, create a

distaste for

more important productions, and a

tion for protracted thought, unless they are

disinclina-

needed

for

relaxation, they are generally injurious.

Books of nature are preferable

to

The

books of men.

latter are important, not to say indispensable.

They

are

the key to the former, which are closed by a lock that

none but transcendent genius can pick; but

ourselves

to

their

study

is

to

spend

ish turning of a shining instrument.

in

life

to confine

child-

The mineralogist

must take his hammer to the rock, the botanist must

walk afield, the anatomist must bend over the cadaver,
the metaphysician over the soul, the painter and the poet
that would be original must

and

muse upon

nature's green,

feel her freshness.

Reflection

is

more important than reading;

as in the

physical so in the moral world, industry must be incorporated with our treasures to give
is

them

the mint which selects, refines,

and stamps our knowledge, and

fills

value.

classifies,

the

Reflection

appropriates,

mouth with golden

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

words

witliout

it

knowledge

is

105

rubbishy and study a wea-

riness of the flesh.

If the padlock

placed upon the mind by a proper

and company, the lips will be easily

is

selection of books

But wisdom must be developed in action as

well as words.
The walking encyclopedia may be a vagabondj the orator a drunkard, and the poet, who soars into
regulated.

heaven with his melody,

may be

crimes.

Wise conduct requires

opposed

to

three errors

a curse to earth by his

deliberation.

inconsideration,

This

is

contempt of

advice, and partial views of our relations.

1.

Inconsideration.

They

than reason.

Some men

act from impulse rather

think indeed, but their thoughts are

limited to narrow bounds, and they seize without hesitancy, to

enjoy without limit, the present pleasure,

for-

getful alike of the future and the past; they are worse
off

than the brutes, who, to a certain extent, are guided

and restrained by

down

lies

instinct.

The swine when

to rest, not so the glutton

that which

is

satiated

the dog turns from

hurtful, not so the drunkard; the ant pro-

videth her meat in summer, but the idler folds his arms
in

slumber

till

want, like an armed man, overtakes him;

the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib,

but the rake, having no instinct and using no reason,

knoweth neither;

he eats to loathing, and drinks

dregs, enjoys to idiocy, and laughs to madness; he

his desires but

to

lulls

wakes his remorse, and chars his body but

up a furnace in his soul. He has godlike intelbut he sells it for a fool's laugh; perchance he has
high and generous impulses, and would rise at midnight
to divide his last loaf with the beggar; but because he
will not consider, he followeth flattering lips as an ox
goeth to the slaughter, and drinks wine with the hostess
who lays her guest in the depths of hell; when admonto light

lect,

ished he confesses perchance, but soothes himself with

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

106

the supposition that he injures no one but himself.

had no

in the great day he will find that he

his brains for a
a goblet,

mess of pottage, or

and no power

Alas

right to sell

to turn his heart into

to fall into the pit

without drag-

ging tormentors with him.

Contempt of counsel.

2.

There

is

man who,

with a

comfortable state of consciousness, says within himself,

I ope

am
my

forgets that there

is

"I

When

He

sir

Oracle,

lips let

no dog bark."

among

a diversity

the gifts of

God, and safety in the multitude of counselors

Newton could
raw

learn from a goat-herd, and C^sar from a

Should one like Themistocles

recruit.

counsel,

he,

kill

would

Eurybiades,

like

Though Wisdom
and

build her house, and

him

offer

present

hew her

club.
pillars,

her beasts, and mingle her wine, and furnish her

and send forth her maidens, he turns not

table,

that

But though

temple.

and his eyes

to

his ears are like those of adders,

like those of moles, his tongue is loose,

thinking that wisdom

to utter oracles

her

will die

with him, he

imagining that he

is

is

and

impatient

born like the queen

by drudges and courted by drones, he

unwilling that men should either think or act till he

bee, to be obeyed
is

gives the signal.

sider

he

Plis fault is not that

he does not con-

generally considers, sometimes long and well

but that he aims at what transcendent genius can not

reach, independence

of counsel: he will find that the

laws of nature, of Providence, of man, are not framed

for

unadvised action; that "pride goeth before destruc-

tion,
3.

and a haughty
Partial

action

spirit before a fall.''

views.

Before

we enter upon important

we must consider the bearing it may have upon

God having intimately

the interests of our fellow-men.

interwoven our interests with those of society, no act can

be deemed wise that

is

dictated

by

selfishness

Some

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

men

seek their own welfare in violation of

maybe

others; these

left to

^ 107
tlie

rights of

the law; the greater number

seek their interest in disregard of the claims of others.

There

is

one who determines

to

be rich; he considers the

He

things of others only with a view to get them.

prudent man; he

reflects,

counsel;

takes

wishing others no harm, merely desiring

The

necessities.

he

is

to profit

is

kind,

by their

robber, like the lion, goes to destroy;

he, like

the vulture, follows only to feed upon the car-

casses.

He may

his

have so great cunning and sagacity that

name may suggest the passage

of Scripture, ''go

tell

community of brutes
Yet such are the laws of human

that fox,'' and if he belonged to a

he might rank high.

society, that

although a miser succeed for awhile, he will

find that for a lifetime, or

he

will

any considerable portion thereof,

miss his object by too hot a pursuit, and verify

the declaration, that " there

than

is

meet, and

it

is

that withholdeth more

tendeth to poverty;" or that he will

shipwreck character or happiness in his success, and

prove that ''they that will be rich

and a snarcJ'
our

own

The

love of

fall

money

into temptation

for its

own

sake, or

sake, so far from being a fountain of all good,

the root of

all evil.

Voltaire said,

"The English

is

people

are like their butts of beer, froth at the top, dregs at the

bottom, and in the middle excellent,'' a remark not limited in its application to Britannia

and though an

commentary on Agur's prayer.

The ambitious warrior seeks for fame; he is very

infi-

del, yet a pertinent

tious

and circumspect, willing

municate.

He

to

cau-

hear and ready to com-

assembles around him the most judicious

advisers, submits his plans for their examination, listens

to every suggestion, is willing to

review the ground of

all

his opinions, and abandons every untenable position; but

his deliberations respect his

march he

own

success only.

desolates fields, burns villages, tears

In his

down tem

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

108^
pies,

and

througli crowded streets; he sees, without

fires

compunction, the blood upon his garments, and hears,

without remorse, the wild wail of widows, and loud cries

Yet

of orphans, looking for their blood-stained dead.

may

be he

kind, forgiving, tender-hearted, desiring to

is

do no body harm; he only determines

He may

with the cannon.

do himself good,

to

receive his reward

the

plau-

contempt of wise men, the admiration

dits of fools, the

of the noisy present, the scorn of the calm future, the

honors and emoluments of

office,

and of conscience; but

he wise?

Yonder
tion

him

a statesman, thinking only on his

is

ready

is

the reproaches of reason

to praise

own

eleva-

a friend in the morning, or curse

in the evening; to shout for

or wheedle for federalism

in

democracy in the

street,

the cabinet, to hurra for

universal emancipation at the north, and vote perpetual

slavery at the south
tutional largesses,

to allay local

or inflame

He

torch of war.

passions by the

lays all his plans regardless of every

What

body but himself.

prejudices by unconsti-

national

cares he, if he

empty a land

of peace, and purity, and blessedness, and

confusion, and
scepter.

And

blasphemy,

and woe

so

fill

it

with

he sway the

yet he pretends to be a philanthropist;

he can deliver temperance speeches, and subscribe for

clergymen, and preside at Sabbath conventions, and even
''visit

the fatherless and widows

their afflictions.''

in

Out, you villain; despite your cries of "0, the dear people !" the crowd you despise can see behind your night-cap.

Would man be
cution,

like

he must be benevolent7 in persethe tree which when wounded pours out

wise,

balm; in prosperity, like the sea, which throws its arms

around all lands; and in the hour of our country's extremity, like the world's

Kedeemer, ready

only can you secure your

ten in the heavens

own

interests

inscribed upon the

to bleed.
'tis

Thus

the law writ-

earth.

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

True wisdom implies

We

still

must deliberate upon

You
You

subordinate

the

109

more comprehensive views.

all

the interests of the soul.

appetites

to

subject self-love to social feeling

self-love

well.

'tis

better; weigh-

'tis

ing the claims of each impulse in the balance of reason,

you

will subject all to conscience.

We

must weigh the

concerns of the future world, as well as of the present.

If he

is

a fool

pleasures of a

who

barters the interests of a

moment,

infinitely

more

so

the

life for

he who jeop-

ards the interests of eternity for the enjoyments of time.

We

must deliberate upon the obligations arising from

our relations, giving to each

its

all

'Tis not

due importance.

enough to live continently, do justice, and love mercy.

There is a being whose claims absorb those of every
other, and that man has not learned the alphabet of wisdom who does not walk humbly with God. Nor is this

You may be

duty in the least incompatible with others.

like the earth, which,

though she turns upon her center,

and feeds her own family, moves steadily through the

heavens, bearing

all

But your virtue

Men may

her children upon her breast.

will

be tried as well as your wisdom.

be wise in their own estimation, and in that of

the world, and yet not virtuous.

tion,

and

is

Virtue

is

of the inten-

best secured by correct views of God, and a

Who

sense of his constant presence.

would

sin while

looking in the eye of the whole heavenly hierarchy?

But there is one in whose sight the heavens are not clean,
and who chargeth his angels with folly, and he is not far
from every one of us. Educate your mind up to the
idea of the revealed God.
in the universe of
dwells.

is

the mountain thought

mind within whose shade

all

True, if viewed from the basis of Sinai

mountain of
ing; yet,

This

fire^

virtue
it

is

smoking, shaking, thundering, consum-

when surveyed from Calvary

it

is

arrayed in

attractive glories, awing, mellowing, subduing, sanctifying.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

110
It

is

To you

time I relieved your patience.

In conclusion.

Enjoy the privilege; that

you may, be humble, accompany truth whatever be her
course

is

it

be

when she

firm, not fearful,

the storm.
Hercules,

given to know.

It

bears you through

a beautiful fiction of the ancients, that

is

when he went

to

unbind Prometheus,

sailed

the length of the great ocean in an earthen pitcher.

Thus truth may

ride the waves of the world in a frail

bark; but that bark carries a divinity.

To you

it

is

Exercise the power pa-

given to think.

tiently, strongly.

And

the world

of books, we can attain no original

thought.
verse

is

is

full

us not suppose that because

Every man has peculiar genius, and the uniperpetually unfolding

power energizes
fill

let

new

As

lessons.

infinite

in infinite space, its demonstrations will

eternity with fresh and glorious wonders, so that the

oldest, tallest son

of light will ever find an unpierced

nebula of thought before his strong-winged

think with awe, as in the presence of

Him

soul.

to

darkened alike with the illuminated universe

whom

is

But
the

a mirror,

catching and recording the faintest breathings of the

soul,

to

be daguerreotyped in the light of earth's

final

fires.

To you it is given to speak stupendous power. You

are amazed at the '^ force and flexibility of the elephant's
trunk, which can pick up a pin, or rend an oak;" but
what is this to the tongue which can talk to the passing
moments, or lift up a voice to eternity! You stand
aghast at the roar of the lion, which makes the beasts of
the forest tremble like timorous
tongue, which,

men

men

nothing

to

the

summoning the mob, can turn timorous

into infuriated tigers.

You shudder

at the earth-

quake spreading its jaws for a nation nothing to the

tongue, which can open hell by its blasphemy, or cleave
the heavens by

its

prayer.

And

this dreadful responsi-

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

committed

bility is

simplest as well as

with

to you,

its

tlie

Ill

condition that

its

sublimest movements shall be tele-

graphed by the electricity of God's omnipotence on the

last judgment.

docket of the

To you

it

given to

is

Hercules, to rid earth of

ain,

Should a giant,

act.
its

able, like

monsters, ascending a mount-

and raising his calm head above the

elbows on the tops of some of

time in gazing upon the sun,

its

tall

forest, rest his

oaks, to spend his

when he should be crushing

the lions that roar and the hydras that hiss at his feet,

with what indignation should we regard him?

worthy of scorn the

ing,

when

But you

The age

gifint

mind

a world invites and a

and that

iclll act,

is

that spends

More
mus-

life in

God commands

to action.

under strong incentives.

too

one of activity; pushing forward the arts and

knowledge down

sciences, carrying

and

to lower levels,

scattering the seeds of civilization and religion beside

all

waters, sending out on voyages of discovery to remotest

points in every direction, and at once rousing the

of the world into ominous agitation and nerving

for

The age

her powers

mind
arm

will catch its spirit.

one of change.

is

moral whirlwind
all

You

deeds of daring.

its

An

all-comprehensive

moving upon the earth, and shaking

its louder and louder bellowings will

is

make you run to and fro.

The foot-marks of God are upon
and the voice of God is in the storm. You may

pierce your ears and

'Tis a critical period.

the sea,

trace the one and hear the other, and cry ''here
'Tis

an age of unprecedented

lightning powers.
go to

facilities

am

I."

of thunder and

'Tis not absolutely necessary that

you

Africa, stretching her chained and bloody hands

to

you, or to Asia, groaning from beneath her hideous idols,

or to the islands of the sea,

shades.

prison

consuming

in their sinful

Providence hath planted magazines under every

door,

and under every Juggernaut, and under

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

112

every burning forest of iniquity, and hath brought the

We

train almost to our very doors.

match

move

to

a mountain.'

and

patriarchs,

have only

to light a

Martyrs, and prophets, and

methinks, would gladly leave

apostles,

their mansions of rest to take your places

upon these

planks.

You

will act

you tax

with fearful energies

which

would have

Let others sing the couplet,

to the utmost.

me be little and unknown,

Loved and prized by God alone."

" Let

The

Did God ever love the

incongruous.

are

lines

infinitely lovely,

as they

He

a^d unknown?"

soul that wished to be "little

is

and must love his creatures in proportion

resemble himself, the boundless ocean of love

ever flowing in the channels of infinite power and wisdom

Think

over the universe.

does the angel hide be-

ye,

neath Jehovah's footstool?

Rather does he

patient wing of

cries in waiting before

throne,

his

delight

'^I

ashamed of

as

fire,

to

he

do thy

halleluiah through a trumpet,

an im-

God!"

will,

Maker?

his message or his

flap

Is

He

No.

the

he

blows

and whether he

fly

through the earth with the everlasting Gospel, or stand

one foot on sea and one on land, to swear that time shall

be no longer, he makes himself known and

But why

felt.

exhort you to put forth your energies

can not slumber.

smite the friends

They

As you go through the earth you will

or the foes of God and man, and every

stroke will react upon yourselves, and urging you on to

the world of

make you

spirits,

fiercer devils or stronger

angels, world without end.

Look out

there

is

an enemy;

sin,

which has

earth with groans, and hell with flames.

still,

and

delity,

is

slavery, is crushing

footfall.

On him

human

the

abroad

in the forms of ignorance, intemperance,

and

sands at a

He

filled

infi-

hearts by thou-

turn your arms.

Fain

wouM

THE PATH TO SUCCESS.

I call you this day to God's altar,

113

and make you swear,

as

the child Hannibal to Hamilcar, that you would be the

enemy of mine and

eternal foe of this

But who

is sufficient

yours.

for these things?

On

the borders

which no eye seeth but that

Seek that place, and, on the knee of faith,
of God.
become ^^ strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might.''
Then, though you have to adopt the language
of this world there

is

a place

of Christ, and say, ''The foxes have holes and the birds
of the air have nests, but the Son of
to lay his

man hath

not where

head," you will live useful and happy, and

though you die on a

cross,

you

will

wake

to joy

when the

heavens be no more.
I have spoken as though you were to live long.

while I

am

addressing you. Death

may

Alas

receive his com-

mission to cut you down, ere the ink shall have become

dry upon your diplomas.

damp

upon blooming manhood

Well may I say

mel

have so often wiped the

of death from the brow of youth, that I look even

" Choose

to

you

as little better than the corpse.

you what the prophet said on Carday whom ye will serve," or if

this

you have made your choice, what Jesus said

''What thou

We

must

separate us.

to

Judas

doest, do quickly."

part.

Soon the wheels of the mail-coach

Soon the night of the grave

from mortal sight

till

the last day.

will

will

hide us

Living, I will cherish

pleasing recollections of you, and dying, hope to meet you

at the right

hand of the Judge.

10

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

114

/^

HEAT

^' that

of

so great

can not be fully accounted for by education,

it

example

association,

ences

among human minds;

the diversity

is

mental

any

thing, except original differ-

constitution.

These

differences

are

owing, not to the introduction of new elements, but

new combinations

such combinations,

those of articulate sounds in

less

as

You

will rarely

tendency

meet with a man

excessive,

to

too,

human

whom

in

to

are as end-

language.

there

is

not a

or defective, or perverted action

some faculty or class of faculties. When an uncultivated mind is neither of great strength nor marked peculiarities, the ordinary intercourse of society and the comin

mon

duties of life

derings

may be

sufl&cient

but when a great genius

is

checks to

may have

wan-

permitted to educate

himself he usually becomes a moral monster.

one

its

great learning, merit, success, but

Such a
is

rarely

capable of just views, of safe and sober judgment.

might show the

influences either

our salvation.

its

upon our usefulness, our happiness,

or

That I be not tedious, I must limit my-

self to one of these three.

important, I select that.

Since the last

is

the most

Let us trace the connection be-

tween mental and religious

I.

We

mind, by tracing

evils of ill-balanced

faith.

The want of mental balance

is

most frequently seen

in the following faculties; namely, faith, attention, abstraction,

1.

and imagination.

Belief

is

one of the original powers of the mind,

MENTAL SYMMETRY.
andj like

all

generally^ however,

that

we

As

doubt.

it is

conferred in various degrees;

strong in early

life,

much

so

so

rarely find a child not disposed to indiscriminate

Not

faith.

may be

others,

115

necessary to

frequently deceived do

till

men

learn to

minds mature, however, they find it

examine the grounds of their opinions, and
their

this process is then a

while the intellect

duty; but when they commence

is still

immature, especially

if

it

under

the bias of depravity, without the light of experience,

and under the influence of

infidel or sensual

associates,

they are very likely to form a hahit of doubting^ which

finally ends in contempt of sacred things, if not univer-

Young men should be on

skepticism.

sal

against

this

habit,

and especially

where a feeling of independence

coming

in

is

their guard

these

republics,

considered so be-

Very few, perhaps, are aware

great an extent the power of belief is under the
in youth.

of habit; they

What

may

capability

ened by disuse

is

learn something of

it

to

how

control

from analogy.

not strengthened by use, and weak-

That power which can make the eon-

science either as sensitive as the apple of the eye, or as

senseless as the cinder, can paralyze or galvanize the faculty of faith.
2.

This faculty may be impaired

also

by an

exclusive

attention to the exact sciences, which accomplishes the

sad result in various ways.

vision.

How

It

feeble the eye of

narrows the

field

him who spends

of mental
life in

dark room, striking at minute points, compared with that

of the sailor, accustomed to survey the broad ocean from
the mast-head

so powerless is that

trained to accurate
in

mental eye which

is

discriminations and nice definition,

comparison with one which takes comprehensive views.

The
life

when he takes wide surveys of

much more when he approaches that
both immensity and eternity, may be a

grcal mathematician,

and character,

subject which

fills

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

116

ism

The immortal author

reasouer.

little

La

Place

of Celestial

an impressive illustration.

is

MechanIllustri-

ous beyond comparison as a 'profe%8or of mathematics, he

was perfectly contemptible as a statesman. In less than
weekS; by his mistakes, as Minister of the

six

Home

Department, under the consulship, he forfeited his place.

In the language of Napoleon, '^ His niind was occupied
with subtilities, his notions were all problematic, his
views were never right, and he carried the spirit of the
infinitely

little

he had not

No wonder

into the administration.''

sufficient

that

breadth of view to scan the Chris-

Moreover, mathematical studies weaken

tian evidences.

faith by familiarizing the

This inclines us

to

mind

to indubitable

evidence.

be dissatisfied with every thing

Demonstration proceeds by regular

less.

steps, inseparably con-

nected, accurately delineated, and leading to conclusions

the contradictories of which are absurd.

Moral reason-

ing advances through devious ways, by steps irregular,

independent, and expressed only in ambiguous forms, to
propositions the opposites of which imply no absurdity;

hence, he

who has long and

stract ideas

and their

ciate moral proof,

steadily looked only at ab-

relations, will

however strong,

years gazing upon the glowing

have an eye insensible

as

be unable

he who should spend

fires

to the soft

to appre-

of Stromboli would

charms of earth and

skies.
3.

This

may be impaired by the habit of disputation.

neither uncommon nor difficult to be acquired.

Faith
is

That energetic exercise of the mind which

by an antagonist

is

superior information or intellectual prowess

able,

and the shout of victory

praved

human

is

provoked

pleasurable, the applause awarded to

nature.

is

Moreover, some

battle as the sparks fly upward.

muscles and strong minds they

is

very agree-

most refreshing to de-

men

are prone to

When

such have weak

fight)

like certain ani-

MENTAL SYMMETRY.

ram of prophetic

mals, head foremost, and, like the

and pugnacious

parts

He

district school.

spirit

Imagine

among

brought

neighboring

to college,

by his comrades from

a game-cock with gaffles
is

to their convictions, the

propositions they are to establish.

the character of

At length he

roosts.

and placed in a society which assigns

members, without reference

It

easy to predict

is

mind with which he

There are

the world.

in the

carried

is

school-house to school-house, as
to the

minds

inferior

flushed with success, and in-

till,

toxicated with praise, he

conveyed

boy of good

overcomes in debate, one after an-

other, all around him,

its

vi-

they often push their moral horns with equal facility

sion,

in opposite points of compass.

is

117

go forth into

will

and arguments on hoth sides

Such a question can only be

facts

of every moral question.

determined by the mental balance.

To use

this properly

there must be patient observation, careful discrimination,

and a steady suspension of the scales;

but for these

mind under the influence of controversial

incompetent.
The only two questions which

operations a
training

is

any subject admits of

opher

trains

it

leaves

it to

fits

his

mind

it

may

to

run athwart

its

Is

the question

is

most solemn convic-

is

not be safely discharged

process of investigation

versial spirit, leading the

to

2.

stimulates the pride of the speaker,

say that the office of the disputant

it

the truth?

eager search for middle terms.

tions, in the

that

is

honest inference; the latter

of the disputant

and

What

are, 1.

The former is that of the philosthe mind free from improper bias, and

this proposition true

I will not

never useful, nor

when

it

succeeds a

but I do affirm that a contro-

mind, as occasion

may

require,

undervalue pe^^ec^ evidence and overrate imperfect; to

blend things of

diff'erent

species; to take advantage of

to overlook facts

important

facts irrelevant; to

confound

the ambiguities of language

to the issues,

and bring in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

118

the incidental with the essential,

the

the

important

the accidental Avith the uniform

trivial,

with

to invert

the order of sequences; or to rush rashly to general conclusions, has

a tendency not only to mingle truth and

own mind, the

Talk as we may
very foundation of the power of belief.
about the irresistible force of evidence, we all know that
feeling warps the judgment, both directly moving the
error, but to unsettle,

in the disputant's

put the intellect in a wrong relation to the sub-

will to

and withhold or distort the proof which bears upon

it, and indirectly, by influencing the train of association
and giving tone to the mind. To have a perfect impresject,

we need both a perfect seal and a wax of proper

If we at once mar the seal and harden the
consistence.
wax, what can we expect ? The youth who leaves school
sion,

a practiced debater will, in all probability, not only be-

come
pany

a moral porcupine, the annoyance of every com-

which he

into

paced

He

infidel.

enters, but, by degrees, a thorough-

will be strongly

tempted

to assail

the

religion of his fathers, for the sake of always having an

opportunity to gratify his propensity for combat and fondness for display; and, by repeatedly distorting the Christian evidences,

Gospel, he

and assuming a hostile attitude

will finally

become an

earnest

to the

enemy of the

faith.

The

case

of Chillingworth

is

an

illustration.

He

would often walk in the college grove, and dispute with

any scholar he met, on purpose to facilitate and make the
way of wrangling common with him. While yet a youth,
he produced, by his perpetual disputation
subjects,

ceived

it

First he

on

religious

such a skeptical state of mind that he conimpossible to arrive at just views of religion.
is

vindicator of the Reformation, and the assail-

Pope ) presently he enters the Catholic

Church, and becomes the defender of her faith; again

ant of

the

MENTAL SYMMETRY.

119

he returns to Oxford, and becomes the champion of Prot-

He

estantism.

dwelt on the borders of absolute skepti-

we may believe Lord Clarendon, who says Mr.

Chillingworth had spent all his younger days in disputacism, if

and had arrived

tion,

inferior to no

man

at so great a

mastery that he was

in these skirmishes, but had, with his

notable perfection in these exercises, contracted such an

and habit of doubting,

irresolution

He was
He had

grew confident of nothing.

engine without an engineer.

Wood

said,

to

by degrees, he

a great disputing

reason enough, as

convert the devil, yet not enough to con-

This

vert himself.

that,

spirit

may

exist

in

the Church;

and genealogies, and strivings about

foolish questions,

the law, and doting about questions, and strifes about

words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railing, etc.

these

are indications of moral cholera.

But skepticism often

of faith.

There

is

results

from a too great facility

man who

always holds the creed of

the preacher he last heard.

''

Such were some of

old

driven about by every wind of doctrine; by the sleight

of
to

men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in

deceive.
As you ride through the interior,
'^

wait
per-

chance you see behind you a portly, well-dressed, elderly

gentleman, mounted on a bay steed, riding rapidly, as if

He

to overtake you.

acquaintance.
is

You

is

soon at your side, making your

perceive by

liis

portmanteau that he

a country doctor, by his countenance that he

is

a sin-

cere,

good-natured old man, and by his conversation that

he

a vain, garrulous, bookish, self-made, but not half-

is

made
eye,

He

philosopher.

measures, with his quick, black

your nose and chin, and describes your character ac-

cording to Lavater

he surveys your cranium, and pro-

nounces you a singer according

to Gall.

your residence, parentage, and pursuit;

more blessed

to give

He

inquires

but finding

than to receive information, he

it

tells

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

120

you the names and history of the settlers as you ride along,
and, when the village comes to view, he points out who
is

its

richest and

who

poorest

its

is

who

inhabitant;

keeps the best carriage and who the best piano. He

quotes Cicero, Aristotle, Darwin, Hume, Mohammed,

and

St.

Paul;

he would that he was worth ten thou-

sand dollars! and anon he

the devil would set

him

is

glad he

he does not believe there

is

is

not, for

Presently he

at work.

any

he fears
tells

you

devil, and, finally, that

he devotes his leisure moments to fighting the devil and

As he turns the corner of the
the orthodox clergy.
street,

he presses you

Being delayed

to call.

a day or

two in the village, you inquire into the doctor's history,

and learn that

at eighteen

he was a blacksmith,

at

twenty

a parson, at thirty a millwright, at forty a doctor, at

fifty

a strolling lecturer on the quadruple subject of temper-

ance and geography, mnemonics and phrenology;

that

he has, however, seldom had but one occupation at a

time, finding almost every year some new path to wealth.
In the year 1825 he could be seen, with radiant countenance, at the head of a company of merry youth, in the
valley

of the

Cuyahoga, planting yellow tobacco

in

1835 he was seen, with face beaming with joy, laying

off" a city in some swamp near the banks of the Maumee ; in 1838 he is on the borders of Lake Erie, with
golden hopes, planting morus multicaulis and hatching
silk

worms

in

1840 he

is

manufacturing beet-sugar

the oak-openings of Michigan

ing for the Mexican war

nia.

in

1847 he

is

in

volunteer-

and

in

1849

In religion he has tried

all

things, without, how-

ever, holding fast to any.

In youth he

ofi"

is

exhortcr, thundering, flashing, denouncing,

ing the pulpit without mercy.

for Califor-

a Methodist

and pound-

Another decade of

years,

and he stands, with long black robe, on the green banks

of some crystal Jordan, with head bathed in rich sun-

MENTAL SYMMETRY.

121

and knees trembling with emotion, while he addresses the multitude that have gathered upon the
light,

and the bojs that hang

bridge,

from the surrounding

he

elder,

leading his

is

dedicated

When

trees.

have found their way to

bunches of grapes

like

temple

his

few gray hairs

aisle

to

be

The next half

the Father of mercies.

to

Presbyterian

up the

children

decade finds him, with broad -brimmed hat and drab coat,
sitting in silent meeting,

He

token of departure.

the profi"ered hand gives

till

soon becomes a Mormon, and

then a Millerite; but, ere the decade

and defiant

a boisterous

the streets and in

half out, he

is

is

madly challenging, in
the papers, all and sundry, the parinfidel,

sons to debate with him.

Your curiosity prompts you to call upon him, and you

find him in a long room, lined with drugs, books, and apparatus

books

rare

and

drugs botanical

ill-assorted;

and mineral, in doses spoonful and infinitesimal ; and apparatus to cure you either by wind-power, steam-power,

On

or water-power.

his table lies the Koran, a copy of

which he has just procured, and is now reading. He

talks so as to give you no opportunity to reply; and to
give you a proof of his boldness and skill, he assures
you that the

last

time he was

Church he challenged

at

the successor of the apostles to test his commission, by

taking a dose of arsenic.

pity

and

You

disgust, fearing that

year subsequent

was put into a

inquiring

leave

he

after

is

words, and since that has been

Here

is

man

a liopeless case

him

state of clairvoyance

him with mingled

but a

and heard unutterable

a

devoted Christian.

of several mental vices, the chief of which

is

a tendency to believe on insufficient evidence.

is

he raris

body was

you learn that he

avis.

In classic story

so light that

we

he was obliged

to

shoes to prevent the wind from blowing

11

Nor

read of one whose

put lead in his

him over

fit

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

122

emblem he of many minds; and such minds,

unless

very favorably situated, are pretty sure to become skeptical.

The want of mental balance

II.

found, in

is

Our

some

come

cases,

in the faculty of attention.

troops,

and their character depends on fixed laws beyond

ideas

in

They gain admittance without asking conOur

sent, but depend for entertainment upon the will.
power over them is twofold. We can place the mind in
we can dismiss
a region populated with good thoughts
our control.

intruders by neglect, and detain desired guests by civil-

Attention

ity.

is

clusion of others

possessed by

an

effort to detain a

which

many

This faculty

solicit notice.

persons

different

perception in ex-

in

various

degrees

is

of

weak as to be unable to diSuch, a one passes

rect the mind steadily to any object.
His mind is on the sofa to
life as in a pleasant dream.
receive calls the year round; as the thoughts come and
strength, and in

go

it

is

so

seeks neither information

nor

being entertainment,

profit

from them,

and,

its

like

images drawn on the bosom of the wave.

effort

subjects are viewed carelessly,

but the most

it is

its

recollections are

tion requires not only ])Toof^ but perception.

mind which

inattentive

is

all

impossible that any

superficial should be understood.

even of religion,

If

Convic-

The

proof,

not so obvious as to force itself upon

gives

it

men may

but a momentary notice.

Though

give revelation their assent, they

have no basis of conviction to sustain them in the hour

of temptation.
ers

Some men

of this class blaspheme, oth-

"care for none of these things;'' others say they try

to think,

but can not.

When

they would meditate upon

divine things, even on the day of rest in the holy place,

or at the

hour of

stillness, in

the retreat of secret prayer,

other thoughts rush on them, and they find their minds

like-

the fool's eyes.

Many

of these persons, being pos-

MENTAL SYMMETRY.

123

some good mental powers, when they can be

attention, form correct judgments
and; since common topics and temporal interests press
upon them constantly, they may be wise in little
matters and judicious in icorldJy conccims, while they are
sessed of

brought

to fix their

and neglectful of eternal

fools in all that is suhli?ne,

real-

ities.

This class

and you

is

Go

numerous.

find multitudes

as they are forced

into the streets

who pay

and

stores,

attention to things only

upon them.

Because politics, fashion,

and trade press themselves on the senses, and mix themselves

with the passions, they are politicians, or dandies,

and because

or tradesmen;

self on them, they

religion

know but

little

does not obtrude

about

it-

they go to

it;

meeting because custom or weariness leads them they

hear of redemption, and grace, and regeneration, and
they suppose, because they have heard these terms so
;

often, that
fine,

they understand them; but when asked

they find themselves in the situation of

defining time,

who

understood

said, '^I

fore I was asked, but

now

about

all

know nothing

St.

of it."

to de-

Austin
it

be-

They,

perhaps, have no objection to religion, and can hear the

preacher without offense,

or,

may

be, as one

who has

and plays well on an instrument; but

since they are unmindfid of his words they are unmoved
pleasant voice,

by them.
was.
infidel.

They

are infidels, as the

modern Aristophanes

Mr. Boswell asked Dr. Johnson

"He

is,"

the

said

never thinks on the subject."

may be found
at the higher,

has been raised suddenly.

"Their houses are

safe

God upon them; they send

it

he

infidel

but particularly

in that portion

Of such

from

Foote was an

This species of

at all elevations of society,

and especially

if

Doctor, "as a dog is;

may

fear, neither

of

it

which

often be said,
is

the rod of

forth their little ones like

a flock, and their children dance

they take the timbrel

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

124

and harpj and rejoice

at the

sound of the organ.

Therefore they say depart from us; for we desire not the

What

knowledge of thy ways.

should serve him

^'

or

what

should we have

profit

if

we
we

Well may the Psalmist reason with

Understand, ye brutish and ye fools, when will

pray unto

such

the Almighty, that

is

him

\"

He

ye be wise?

that planted the ear, shall he not hear?

he that formed the eye, shall he not see

tiseth the heathen, shall not

man knowledge,

he that chas-

he correct? he that teacheth

We

he know?"

shall not

could forgive

the beast were he to receive his food without gratitude, and

regard his master without attention; but "the ox knoweth his master, and the ass his master's crib."
We
might pardon the brute should he murmur in the midst
of abundance; but, while "the wild ass brays not in the

midst of his grass, and the ox lows not over his fodder,"
the thoughtless sinner, forgetful of his almighty Benefactor, often utters

blasphemies over his

We

table.

can

and
morning light, regardless of every thing but
that gives no attenpresent pleasure and present pain
tion to its origin, interest, or destiny; but, alas! "the
stork knoweth his appointed time, and the turtle, and
the crane, and the swallow the time of their coming,"
while men, endued with reason, and moral sense, and an
apprehension of God, and a revelation of his will, can
forgive the bird that sinks to roost at evening shade,

rises

up

at

spend a long

life

absorbed in the petty interests of

and give no attention

to

ify sense, or appetite, or

III.

life,

any thing which does not gratanimal passion.

Sometimes the want of mental balance

is

found

in

the faculty, or process, if you please, of abstraction.

By

this

we

and separately con-

resolve a complex idea,

sider one or more

scarce be overrated.

of

its

elements.

Without

it

This process can

neither the poet nor

the artist could form his beautiful creations.

His power

MENTAL SYMMETRY.

125

of combination were useless without materials.

Whence

can he obtain materials^ but by abstracting from complex

Without

ideas?

what

is

it

we could have no philosophy;

philosophy but generalization

Without

and

for

this implies

we could have no reasoning, at

least of the demonstrative kind.
Without it, indeed,
what better were mankind than the brute ?
Deprive
them of abstraction, and you rob them of language deprive them of language, and you set them with the beasts
of the field.
Though all human minds possess it, yet
some have it in so small a degree that they rarely attain
abstraction.

it

to

comprehensive views or general truths.

the

They survey

that encompass their native village without

fields

ever reaching the ideas of vegetation or germination;

they amuse themselves with the cat that purs at their

feet,

and the dog that bears them

company, without

thinking of the classes and orders of animated nature

they shiver in winter, and perspire in summer, without

any notions of zones and latitudes; they whistle with

their shopmates, and sing songs with their merry wives,

man they look

God. Whether they

without ever reaching the great idea of

up to the heavens without seeing

mark the moon walking in brightness,
glitter in

or the stars that

her train; whether they hail the rising sun, or

repose in the evening beams; whether they survey the

well-poised central orb, or the planets wheeling in their
spheres, they see naught but sights

charming

no goodness, nor order, nor might, nor design

all

the

plow and plant

these are

Nor, hence, the glorious concrete which

abstractions.

they imply

to sense

it,

great I
or

AM.

They walk the

mold some of

its

earth, or

productions into

useful or beautiful forms, without perceiving the distinction

between the instrument and the agent, the muscle

and the mind.

They think and

themselves up to the idea of soul

feel,
;

without thinking

they seem

lost in

the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

126

the tangible, the temporal.

visible,

speaks in these words

Of such

the poet

" Fools never raise their thoughts so high

Like bi'utes they live, like brutes they die,

Like brutes they flourish, till thy breath
Blasts them iu everlasting death."

What

can such a one think of worship in spirit and in

?
Would you have him adore ? You must give
him something visible. Would you have him worship?

truth

You must

the Christian philosopher!

truth

wherever he turns
home and

of

circle

How

put an emblem in his hands.

sympathize with

its

He

garners truth

different

abstract

he emerges from the limited

friends to survey

humanity, and

wants and sorrows; he distinguishes,

not only between the vegetable and the animal, but the

animal and the rational, the rational and the spiritual.

By

abstracting evidences of design from the face of na-

he obtains an impressive idea of an intelligent

ture,

By

First Cause.

the same means he traces the wisdom,

and goodness

power,

them the idea of

him, he

lives,

was by a

of

infinity

the Creator;

and,

adding to

and eternity suggested within

and moves, and has his being in God.

series of abstractions, for example, that

It

Newton

climbed to the top of the universe, and caught that

glimpse of

By

life.

Him

adore for the rest of

the same process he learned to see, like Moses,

that

is

like Paul,

Thus,

God which made him

too,

invisible through the

Him

that

is

smoke of

Sinai, and,

eternal througji the flesh of Jesus.

an ancient, but not

less

worthy sage, who

looked through the heavens to the glory, through the

firmament

to the

his tabernacle;

hand, through the sun to

who,

all

Him

that set

through the spheres, heard a

through 'the earth saw a line; who, when

he sought to cover himself with darkness, found the
night turned to light about him, and, when he would

voice,

and

all


MENTAL SYMMETRY.

127

hide within his own breast, found the candle of the Lord
tracing his thought afar

Men
faith

not misunderstand me.

do not become Christians by abstraction, but by

but I would have you mark

how abstraction and

and how the absence

attendant processes aid faith,

its

or intrench

it.

a devilish

may predispose to infidelity

gifts may be perverted.
There

of them

or imperfection

is

Do

off.

The

best

abstraction

often

associated

with

great

which can go through all the works of God forgetful of his hand
can carry its lamp through all science without seeing him; can wing its way to all worlds,
genius,

and sing

its

thinking

of him.

stract, for its

from his

song under the gate

Hellish

metaphysics, that can ab-

God's
God's thronefrom majfrom presence; the

contemplation, the earth

feet; the

heaven

footstool

his

God's
God's voicefrom

esty; the clouds

thunder

heaven, without

of

chariot

his

its

teachings; the wings

of the wind, on which he walketh, from the impress of

his footsteps;

that can

from the universal

even abstract the

human

soul

which it breathes, and the

universe from the arms which bear it up.
The Almighty has mercifully regarded human infirmities.

spirit in

In Paradise he walked visibly in the garden; in

the patriarchal dispensation he conversed with

his angels, and gave

worship.

When

them

altars

and

men by

sacrifices for his

he led his chosen people out of bond-

he put a cloud before them by day, and a pillar of

When he gave them a law, he did it in
the midst of thunder, and lightning, and smoke, and an
audible and mysterious voice.
All this was adapted to
age,

fire

by night.

a low state of intellectual cultivation, in

which the mind

was taken up with the outer world, having only reached
the borders of the region of abstract thought.
fullness of time, Christ

came

his blood, in accents of mercy.

to

In the

preach peace, through

Even under the present

128

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

dispensation

we

mind

are

not entirely without aids for the

We

in its ascent to spiritual things.

have church-

Sabbaths, ministers, and a few simple but significant

es^

He who

symbols.
rests in

we

them.

them

neglects

God

is

criminal; so he

is

The

a spirit.

case of the heathen

are not called on to judge; but, surely, we,

may ascend

ness the lightning for horses,

worship.
tion, in

The world

is

who

who

har-

the heavens to

hastening to another dispensa-

which, perhaps, there need be no sanctuary, built

by hands; for no one shall say to another, ^'Know ye the

Lord?" We are called on to prepare for this state of
things, or for one analogous
for in the world where men
;

are

as the angels

of

God they need no candle, neither

Lord God giveth them light.

light of the sun, for the

IV. The want of mental balance

imagination
perception,

that

often found in the

is

faculty which, electing, with a nice

from the train

of associated thought, the

beautiful or the sublime, combines them, with a delicate

appreciation of relations, in enchanting forms.

the artist of the mind, and

it

decorates

all

This

is

her chambers

with pictures and statuary, and perfumes them with pre-

may unbalance the mind either by its exThe former will carry it from
outer world to wander through Eden or through hell;
latter will make the real world one of mere blood and

cious odors.

It

cessive or defective action.

the

the

bones, of granite and grass.

treat

It is

reasoning power; nor

ence on

human

faith.

this,

my

not

of imagination any further than

it is

purpose to

related to the

only so far as to show

For imagination

is

its injflu-

not only a soother of

sorrows, a builder of joyous homes, an enchantress

leading the soul up the steeps of lofty conception to

bright and boundless visions, but, in

the handmaid of reason, the friend of

its

sober moods,

God

ticism generally denounces and affects to despise

Imagination aids faith by aiding

its

is

hence, skepit.

indispensable con-

MENTAL SYMMETRY.
dition

apprehension.

Every description

merely, which imagination must

fill

129
is

an outline

up, to give

resem-

it

blance to reality, and

make

us feel the force of analogy

in favor of its truth.

It is

needed in the interpretation

of prophecy.

The prophets speak

in figurative language,

and their words can not be properly appreciated by one

whose imagination is torpid. It is requisite that we may
feel

The

the force of the evidences of revelation.

nal evidences being adapted to the

whom

the imagination

is

exter-

mass of mankind,

generally strong, he

who

in
re-

same degree puts himself out

these evidences.
The internal

presses this power, to the

of a

proper relation to

evidences are founded in the value of revelation

since

it is

adapted

to the

and

wants of man, how can any one

who is unable to feel the great heart

of humanity? and how shall one do this without the
faculty which enables us to rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep ?
The Bible points
fully appreciate it

to scenes

on high, and fancy helps faith

to feel the

pow-

ers of the world to 'come.

There

is

a large section of skeptical

minds who, by an

exclusive attention to natural science, extinguish

is

warming and expansive

raise children as

in the soul.

that

they do hogs, by placing them in favor-

able circumstances to fatten, and,

when they

would measure them with a three-foot

them

all

These men would

in the hay-scales;

rule,

are grown,

and weigh

would estimate their hearts by

the pulsations at their wrists, and their brains by an elec-

They would test the Bible by the rule of

and estimate piety by the laws of physiology.

trometer.
three,

They

live in a

ities are

world of exclusive matter, where

measured by inches, and

noted by dollars and cents.

all

profit

Surely, this

and
is

all util-

loss de-

philosophy

falsely so called.

Equally injurious

is

an excessive

imagination.

By

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

130

presenting every thing in distorted proportions,

pre-

it

vents a correct apprehension of any thing; divorcing the

heart from the conduct,

it

unfits us for a right estimate

shunning the

of morality;

real world,

sympathy with man, and our

him

happy

if it

it

interests in

do not press us to

tlie

There are many skeptics of

rangement.

whom Rousseau may be taken

as a type.

destroys our

what concerns
borders of dethis class, of

Geneva, in the

early part of the last century, gave birth to this remark-

His mother dying young, and his father behumble duties of an artisan, his

able man.
insc

engacred in the

grow as a vegetable in the wilderness, deriving nourishment from the soil in which
it was accidentally placed, and sending forth its branches
At
without direction or repression from human skill.

mind was permitted

to

the age of seven he was an eager devourer of romances;

at eight

he committed Plutarch's Lives

nine

to heart; at

he read Tacitus and Grrotius; at ten he was placed in the

care of a country clergyman; and at fourteen he was ap-

Running away from

prenticed to an engraver.
ter,

his mas-

he wandered upon the mountains of Savoy,

prospect of starvation

induced him

Protestant faith for the

mother Church

he remained

of

many

the

the

support from the

made

adventures, at length found

Madame de Warens,

till

till

renounce

placed in a monastery, he soon

his escape, and, after

a patroness in

sake

to

he was twenty.

of Annecy, with

He

whom

then went to France

music teacher, in which capacity he maintained himself with various fortune till 1742, when he was appointed
as

secretary to the

French embassador of Venice ; quarrel-

ing with his employer, he returned to France to resume

his former occupation, and devote attention to natural
science.

ent

but

In 1750 he commenced author, and

not

works; the

distant

last

periods

he

composed

of which excited so

much

at diflfer-

numerous
opposition,

MENTAL SYMMETRY.
that he found

it

difficult to

131

procure a resting-place for

In a misera-

his feet, either in France or Switzerland.

and misanthropic old age, and after a fruitless, aimgrave

less, and romantic, though gloomy life, he found a

ble

in the Isle of Poplars.

peerless power,

Though possessed of

mind of

a heart of exquisite tenderness, a style

of surpassing beauty, an accurate knowledge of the human breast, and an extensive acquaintance with the
world, his powers, because

ill

-balanced, were always ques-

tionably, often perniciously, employed.

His works evince knowledge that would honor Bacon,

with ignorance that would disgrace a school-boy; princiworthy of Socrates, with sentiments that should
shame a rake; imaginings gorgeous as Plato's, mingled
with ravings, like those of madness. But, to be more

ples

specific,

the want of mental balance in Rousseau

is

evi-

dent both from his opinions and conduct.

characterized by extravagance.
1. His opinions are

His

first

essay,

was written

which drew the prize of the Academy,

to prove that the re-establishment of the arts

and sciences has been unfavorable

was evidently a hasty induction.
equalities
is

to

a notion

which
in-

that savage

life

among mankind, he maintains

superior to civilized

morality,

In his essay on the

which, being contrary

to the sober judgment of the enlightened world, no well-

informed, well-balanced head could adopt.

lius,

In his Eme-

treating of education, he lays down, as his funda-

mental principle, that every thing should be left to naa principle which needs but to be stated to be reture

futed.

In the one last

His works evince inconsistency.
noticed he draws a lively and affecting picture of Jesus.
But in the same work in which he records this beautiful
vindication of the blessed Jesus and his Gospel, he at2.

tempts

to stab

both to the heart, by representing Christ

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

132

and his Gospel

as an impostor,

as

founded on

false pre-

tensions.

Though he courted

Absurdity.

3.

flattery

ished favor, he was accustomed, late in

life,

and

rel-

to insult

who offered him the incense of their praise, and to

interpret the world's approbation of him as a persecution
instituted against him by literary men.
those

His conduct bears no

plined mind.

demeanor

evident marks of

less

It is characterized

in youth

provoked his father

away

His

by extravagance.
to

from home; early in his apprenticeship he

his master, and runs

ill-disci-

to avoid the

drive

him

steals

from

consequences;

next we hear of him as a footman, in which situation he

repeats the crime of theft, adding to

escaping from service again, he

bond

soon we see

of adventures,

an outcast and a vaga-

him seeking

shelter and food in a

till

the door of the Church.

hood.

Let us trace

his.

occupation of his own

favor; receiving
rels

it

that of perjury;

is

monastery, and anon breaking away

ries

it

at

to

go through a

necessity brought

se-

him again

to

But these are his years of boymanhood. Dissatisfied with an

choosing, he aspires to political

the hands of Montague, he quar-

with his patron, and quits in disgust a post he had

sought with avidity.

Becoming an

author, he attracts

the popular praise by an opera, and then turns

it

into a

By

his

work on education he draws from Parliament upon

his

storm of wrath by a letter on French music.

favorite pages a

condemnation

to

the flames, and upon

his person a sentence of imprisonment

he provokes his

native city, as he seeks an asylum within her walls, to

close her gates against him,

and send her hangman

to

burn his writings; he rouses the populace of Neufchatel,

him to flee at peril of

him from Peter's Island

the city of his refuge, to compel

his life; causes

Berne

to drive

in the most inclement season of the year;

and induces

MENTAL SYMMETRY.

133

England, who opened a peaceful bosom for his weary

head, to look upon his retreating footsteps with the indig-

nation due to a flying ingrate.

Persecution, in

itself, is

no proof of a want of duly-regulated mind, but when

comes from

all

parties

it

prima

is,

it

Rousseau was

facie.

persecuted alike by Catholic France and Protestant Ge-

neva; by fickle
bishops

and

and

Paris

steady London;

philosophers;

infidel

We

crowd and the meditative Hume.

how

man

by pious

by the unthinking
can understand

of good sense may, in this wicked world, in

defense of some high and holy principle, provoke the opposition of

in

all parties,

but not

endeavoring to upset

Rousseau's conduct also

He

how such

is

stamped with inconsistency.

writes a pastoral for the stage, and then inveighs

He

bitterly against theatrical corruption.

rity,

yet changes his religion twice

He

once for protection.

While an
ligion.

at

infidel

at heart,

to the

still

so for trifles

In reference

for.''

who know

His conduct,

in

is,

and a debauchee.

to his licentiousness,

many

particulars,

is

its purity,

its

his perfidy,

absurd.

is

While
relig-

evidence, and

his

he receives with an easy faith the

baseless systems of French philosophy,

animal vigor

was

his history.

though his mind perceives

heart feels

It

nothing need be said

with a stubborn infidelity he rejects the Christian

ion,

re-

by his

said, "I have been a rogue,

which I had rather take than

and his want, of natural affection,

to those

and

foundling hospital.

he professes the Christian

liar,

an advanced age that he

ask

for bread,

Advocating the purest morality, he

confession, a thief, a

and am

once

praises integ-

writes a treatise on education,

and commits his own children

own

a one can do so

righteous principle.

all

which teach that

the perfection of man, and animal pleas-

ure the acme of

human

happiness.

He

sufficiency of reason to discover a complete

maintains the

and comforta-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

134
ble

scheme of natural

religion, yet confesses

tated and distressed with his doubts.

for

himself

agi-

Professing love

men, he employs his matchless arts to infuse into

minds the poison which corrupts his own. Pre-

their

tending to teach the science of happiness, he curses his

own

Priding himself upon the

birth as a misfortune.

inductive philosophy, he amuses himself with fanciful

hypotheses.

Strange compound of vice and virtue, igno-

rance and wisdom, prayer and blasphemy, faith and skepticism

ating influence of imagination.

"I

believe

He

that

Madame

Says

de Stael,

imagination was the strongest of his

had almost absorbed all the rest.

dreamed rather than existed; and the events of his
might be said more properly to have passed in his
and that

faculties,

life

mind the preponder-

It is easy to see in his

it

mind than without him 'a mode of being' which did

not hinder him from observing, but rendered his observations

erroneous.

His imagination

posed between his reason and his

stroyed their influence.

not those

some excuse
ard,

affections,

inter-

and

de-

'^

few questions and

Have

sometimes

inferences,

who have impaired

for skepticism

and I

their power of belief

No more

have done.

than the drunk-

who, by his intemperance, has disqualified himself

for the practice of virtue.

Are they not, however, de?

No more than the Chris-

serving of peculiar sympathy

tian,

who

professes Christ in prospect of the stake

difficulty of belief in
difficulty

the one case

is

of obedience in the other.

such a one hopeless?

the

not greater than the

Is not the case of

Nay; because the

will has

power

General Taylor, when asked the secret of

his success at Buena Vista, said, " During all that bloody
over belief.

and unequal

ment

to

in these

conflict,

I never allowed myself for one mo-

doubt that I should be victor;'' and he expressed

words a truth which every

man

feels.

More-

MENTAL SYMMETRY.

135

common

evi-

over, the skeptic acts in

He

dence.

can not demonstrate

money

business; that his

enough

and secure

to secure

his

on doubtful

succeed in

tliat lie will

will pass; that his

If he has faith enough

nourish him.
natural life

affairs

his

to

food will

preserve his

temporal welfare, he has

and provide

spiritual life

for his

eternal welfare.

If the want of proper mental balance disqualifies for

correct judgment, does

much

not exonerate us from

in our

power

as the subjugation

the regulation of the

tions, or

all

blame

Nay; because the balancing of the mind

for our errors?

is as

it

of the affec-

I close with a few

life.

inferences
1.

Though

mind may be incapable of

correct judgment,

it

arriving at a

may, nevertheless, by reason of the

charms of eloquence, or other advantages which

possess, be the

essays

means of misleading

upon the

effect of

progress of society, were

others.

it

may

Housseau's

the sciences, and the origin and

among the

sprung the French Revolution

fruitful seeds

of 1789

seeds

whence
which

have reproduced themselves in the Revolutions of 1830

and 1848 ; mere logical sequences of that of 1789, and

which are now leavening the whole mind of Europe, not
with the principles of rational liberty, but with the various forms of socialism, radicalism, and red revolutionism.
2.

The

diffusion

mind.
enough.

friend of

man

should aim not merely at the

of knowledge, but at the proper training of

Schools, presses, books, lyceums, lectures are not

We

must have

institutions with courses of in-

struction so arranged as to produce well-proportioned and

well-regulated intellect.

Nor is the regulation of the intellect all that is necessary.

The sensibilities and the will must be developed
and trained. The intellect itself is often well balanced.
3.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

136

How
uian

the

rarely does

Look

produce a well-developed

world

and you may easily

one or more particulars.

into the Bible,

person distinguished in

find a

Pe-

for example, gifted both in intellect and sensibilities,

ter,

but deficient in will; a Solomon, mighty in intellect and

will,

but wanting in sensibilities.

Rarely do you meet

with a Moses or a Paul, equally able to reach a conclusion, feel an obligation, or execute a purpose.

profane history, and you meet the same

are Aristotles

who reason

Look into
There

difiiculty.

Sapphos who can sing you

al-

most into delirium with their utterances of intense emotion ; and Alexanders who put forth will, till you tremble
the presence of the Almighty; but not often do

as in

Socrates, presenting, in fair and beauti-

we meet with a
ful proportions,

the capacities and susceptibilities of

all

Nor have modern

exalted manhood.
their boasted

4.

development of humanity.

now

Let

men

but

and there the

me

to oppose the full

be understood.

I re-

proposed improvements in education,

to the

which have a direct tendency

of

men

good, sound, symmetrical

The tendencies of the age seem

fer not

but where are the Lu-

Byrons, with morbid passions;

all

are the Bacons, with peerless reason

there the Napoleons, with matchless will

thers

with

advancements, been more fortunate than

Here

ancient.

nations,

to

to the progressive

make monsters

instead

division of labor.

It is

separating society into castes as distinct as those of India.

There

is

one

class

running

into

brain,

another into

tongue, another into eye, another into foot, and another

into hand, so that

it

will soon take the

make one great human animal.

are like so many wheels in some

to

whole human race

The

difi"erent

chine, each one worthless without the rest,

and each

dividual, instead of being the world in epitome,

cog in a cog-wheel.

classes

great complicated ma-

is

in-

like a

I grant that this division of labor

MENTAL SYMMETRY.
secures wealth,

art,

and

ject of Grod in creating

civilization

man was

would have no objection; but

ate

man

if

and

if

the great ob-

to beautify the world, I

not?

Grod does not cre-

for the world, but the world for

12

137

man.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

138

AY,

there

is

an inner world, and into

it

I would invite

would not depreciate the outer; it is worthy

you.
worthy to be studied, even by angels
to be occupied
worthy, though cursed, of its almighty Maker; its
paths so full of melody, and fragrance, and beauty
I

are fitted to lead to heaven,

overhangs them

a suitable portico to God's eternal

is

Praised be Grod for the world of matter, and

temple.
its

and the starry vault which

accompaniments!

the lungs and

for the air,

purifies

all

which not only fans

the stream of

life,

but, at our

bidding, wafts our most secret thoughts and feelings to

our beloved fellow-minds; for the waters, which not only

fertilize

and refresh the

earth, but bind its continents

and islands into one brotherhood; for the light, whose

vibrations enable us to touch the most distant planet, and
whose rich beams overspread both earth and sky with
charms
" My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky
So was it wheii my life began,
So is it now I am a man
So let it be when I grow old,

Or

Praised be
capacities

during

its

God

let

for the

worthy

to

die."

Wokdswoeth.

body of mysterious senses and

be the servant of a rational soul

earthly pilgrimage, and, after having been

purified in the tomb, to

lasting life

me

become a partaker of her

ever-

THE INNER WORLD.

But there
trodden"

another world

is

a world

hath not seen and the

ture's eye

a world

whence

flow over the universe and

lion's

float

all

make

it

139

which the "vulwhelps have not

those thoughts that

a

volume of truth

we range at will
and, heedless of place, we share

world in which, scorning the present,

the future or the past,
infinity

with God.

When shall we
Jericho

at

enter into

Not prematurely

it ?

your beard be grown."

till

" tarry

Nature designs

that the early years of life should be devoted chiefly to

the development of the body; hence she entices her new-

born

man

to the

green bosom of the earth, and the

embraces of the sun, and the

and fragrant

air;

hence, too, she

warm

baptism of the fresh

full

fires

him with

irresisti-

ble longings to see, to taste, to feel, to leap exulting in

new-made powers. Thus she nourishes, and cherishes, and molds him into man; thus she gives him
his

"

spirit to

The eye

her rocks akin,

of the

At the same time she

hawk and the

fences up the borders of the inner

Meanwhile the goodly land of thought

world.

inating; and about the time of

its first

the outer world loses some of

its

open

therein."

fire

its

gates.

This opening,

tience, perseverance, retirement.

vivid than conceptions,

germ-

is

ripe grapes,

charms,

however,

let

when

the inner

requires

pa-

Perceptions being more

we can not without

to the latter in exclusion of the former.

eflbrt

attend

When we

turn

the mind's eye inward, we must either resign ourselves

to the train

as

one of the
as one

If

of suggested thought from which

from a dream, or we must

series, in

listening to

we attempt

fix

we awake

our attention upon some

which case we soon become weary,

the same frequently-repeated note.

to analyze our

mental state we become per-

plexed; for although in the outer world we are familiar

with the succession of events, in the inner we find

all

at

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

140

No wonder we

in confusion.

first

wilderness of external things

till

usually remain in the

some strong

passion, or

sense of duty, or accidental circumstance, impels us in-

Alas

ward.

how many

feeling that there

is

pass through

life

without scarce

a world within

Yaucauson, the celebrated mechanician, had his taste

mechanics excited accidentally.

for

In his boyhood he

was frequently shut up in a room where there was nothing but a clock; to amuse himself he studied
struction,

parts

till,

at length,

and their

con-

its

he became acquainted with

and

relations

its

Ever afterward he

uses.

found his delight in mechanics.

Happy for many a man would it be if he could be shut

up where there was not even a clock, so that he might be
forced to examine the wonderful machinery of the spiritual time-piece
parts,

its

would he be
its

the

relations,

immortal soul

to set it

its

in

more

symphony with the

hands go round the

with the heavens

he understood

till

circle of

spheres,

duty in harmony

Habitual inattention to the outer

world greatly promotes attention to the inner.

we

likely

by the Sun of Righteousness, that

pendulum might swing

and

How much

and uses!

live the life of sensation

The more

we do the

the less

life

of

^'For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and

reflection.

the spirit against the flesh, for they are contrary to each
other."

It

is

said of Democritus that he put out his

eyes in order that he might study philosophy.

is

probably untrue; but

the eyes of
vail

Homer and

it

of Scio's rocky

quenched eyeballs

The

story

certain that Poesy put out

of Milton before she lifted the

from their glorious

old bard

is

spirits.
isle,

as

I pity you not, blind

you

roll

in vain your

to find a ray of light, for so

much

the

more melodious was the epic that you warbled through

the listening cities of your native seas

second Homer, but greater than the

Nor

first,

thee,

do I

thou

pity, as

THE INNER WORLD.

141

you sweep from your well-tuned lyre those plaintive pentameters

" Thus with the year

but not to me returns
Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn,

Seasons return

Or sight of vernal bloom or summer's rose,

Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine
But cloud instead and ever-during dark
Surrounds me."

No; I pity you not^ because so much the more didst thou
wander "where the Muses haunt'' so much the more
did '^celestial light shine inward/' and raise up things

invisible to mortal sight.

The patience, study, and retirement requisite that we

may look inward will be well rewarded; for,
1. The inner world is a new one.
The youth usually
knows as little of it as of foreign land. He has, it is
true,

vague ideas of

as

it,

he has of orange groves and

palm-trees of which he has read but never seen.

glorious to discover even an
as

he was approaching the

to close

unknown

New

On

hymn

ence, he sat

its

is

musing

how

will

be the consequences of

am

its

near pres-

they receive

my

entering?

who

me? and what

world?" his feelings became overwhelming.

glorious world.
ica in the

name

will

is

still

But
mo-re

Columbus could take possession of Amerof his sovereign only; he was to leave

almost as soon as he touched

as his

are

landing to myself, to Spain,

within your breast, immortal man, there

much

of praise

at the stern, and as he inquired,

the world upon which I

inhabitants?

to the

sailors,

the evening before he saw the land, and

while he was gazing at the indications of

"What

Columbus,

island.

each day, in the midst of his assembled

God.

were

World, was accustomed

on deck, with a solemn meditation and a

to

It

own name

it;

he could not give so

to its shores.

continents of thought that

lie

it

The undiscovered

within your breast you

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

142

and forever.
discovered
was
seen by
Columbus
That country which
millions of eyes before he saw it, and has been by mill-

may name^ and

hold, and occupy at will

ions since; but the world within you

and no eye but yours can behold

is

its

unlike

all

others,

scenes or trace

its

revolutions, except the all-seeing One.

2.

This world

world,

it

is

one of heauty.

Lovely as

is

the outer

has no beauty in comparison with the exceeding

The beauty of material things is

but one; that of the mind is threefold the beauty of
the present, of the past, and of the future.
I know that

beauty of the inner.

There are marks even in the

and disorder; there are chasms, and
storms, and deserts, often more awful than those of the
not all within

is beautiful.

soul of dislocation

external world; yet over the whole a grandeur, like to

The heavens and the

that of archangel ruined, reigns.

earth are drawn within us in those forms in which the

soul has most delight; the past, too,
to the affinities of our minds.

is

there, according

It is prevailing disposi-

tion that paints the panorama of remembered thought,

and cherished joys that display the figures of the foreground; and as the canvas of memory stretches, the

more charming scenes of the foreground acquire greater

relative prominence, so that remembrance gives us, with
ever-increasing vividness, the scenes of our earlier and
happier hours, when Nature presented itself with

all

the

freshness, and beauty, and purity of youth to our light

and loving hearts. The village green of our boyish
gambols, and the oak which first shaded our heads, and
the bower where we first told our love, are the first objects on which the inner eye rests when it turns to the

And then the persons who are they? Those

whom we first loved and how? in their happiest moods
past.

and their sweetest expression.

the narrow house?

We

see

Do

they now slumber in

them not writhing

in the

THE INNER WORLD.

143

agonies of the death-bed, or cold and motionless in the

Memory

shroud.

0, Grrave, where

can say, "0, Death, where

is

is

thy sting!

thy victory!'^ for she gives us back

the dead even in the loveliest forms they wore.

when he

poor, bereaved Irish emigrant,

lation of the present,

and looks into the

am

What

does he see?

on the stile, Mary,

by side."

sitting

Where we

sat side

Hark

" And the springing corn, and the bright

When

first

Even though the

past, sees not

Hark!

the darkness of the tomb.

" I

The

forgets the deso-

you were

my

May mom,

bride."

specters of past sins and the shadows

of departed sorrows arise, they come before us with soft-

ened and solacing

tenderness, which
future,

mind

too,

runs

is

tints,
is

within.

and melt the soul into a salutary

often felt to be luxurious.

Hope

the

busy

artist

The

of the

forward and paints the approaching scenes

and though the picture perpetually vanishes

in light;

darkens behind him, the mental limner never

tires,

or

but

rushes onward, ever busy and ever brightening the future.

The

beauties of nature are fixed; not so the beauties of

the mind

they

are changeable at will.

As

the genius

pores over his mental treasures,

"Anon ten thousand shapes,

Like specters trooping to the wizard's call,
From the womb of earth,
Flit swift before him.
From ocean's bed they come; the eternal heavens
Disclose their sijlendors, and the dark abyss
Pours out her births unknown. With fixed gaze
He marks the rising phantoms now compares
Their difterent forms, now blends them, now divides,
Enlarges, and extenuates by turns.
:

Opposes, ranges in fantastic bands.

And

infinitely varies."

The beauties of nature are attended with deformities.

The mind can present us with thornless roses and un-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

144

mingled fragrance. Milton's Eden blooms with beauties

that can be combined only in the soul.

The beauty of the inner world

an independent one.

is

only poetically that matter can be said to have

It is

beauty at

philosophically, beauty, like color

all;

and

fra-

grance, belongs exclusively to spirit

"Mind

alone.

Bear witness earth and heaven,

The living fountain in itself contains

Here, hand in hand,
Of beauteous and sublime
Here enthroned
Sit paramount the graces.
!

Celestial Venus, Avith divinest airs,

Invites the soul to never-fading joys."

The outward

world, I know, wakes

bering within;

throws

its

but,

in

own charms

up the beauty slum-

return for the favor, the soul

over

its

senseless forms.

would see a paradise without must

first

make

He who
a paradise

within; then as his soul passes out through the senses,

she will

make

ever

new

discoveries of beauty from the

reflected hues of her own fancy, and

will give every hill

and promontory a new name, and derive from it a new

joy, from its resemblance to some picture which the inner
eye alone has seen.

woman; but

Hyperides once pleaded for a guilty

finding that his eloquence was vain, he drew

the vail from the beautiful bosom of his client, and

won

his cause.

could I but expose the beauties of your

own

need not add,

3.

breasts, I

That the inner world

is

a suhlime one.

Great extent

Hence, in part, the sublimity of the sky,

the expanded seas.
He who is confined within the
boundaries of sense dwells in a narrow house; he who
is

sublime.

abides within occupies a large space.

his senses, he

may walk

Deprived of

all

abroad, and, even on his couch

of straw, enjoy a liberty that tyrants might envy, and a

range that sensualists can never know.

lime

Who

Is depth sub-

has stood upon the verge of the precipice,

and looked from

cliff to cliff?

did not his eyes grow dim

THE INNER WORLD.

God has

and his brain reel?

Plummet

line

the depths of

and

human

all

deep."

for in

From

are the fountains

it

Look into the deep well

see down into the heart of

actions flow.

of thy heart, and thou shalt

Adam.

is

the whole history of man, past

is

come, in epitome;

to

whence

''The heart

may fathom ocean; but who hath sounded

human passion, or human reason, or human

In thy breast

will?

said,

145

the depths of thy reason thou canst draw

up the ladder that raised Newton

tored slave though you

may

to the skies.

Untu-

be, within thee are all the

elementary principles of that philosopher's immortal dem-

Although thou canst not take the dimen-

onstrations.

sions of the rice-field that limits thy labors, thou hast

within thy mind the mathematics that can measure and

weigh the most distant planet in space.

sublime?

Ask the

lazy foot.

It touches all things with

But thought mocks

lightning.

nearly equivalent to ubiquity; for

that, for its distance,

How mysterious

Imagination

is

the

its

a celerity that is

oversteps a space

it

can scarce be measured, in a time

that, for its shortness, can scarce

sublime

Is swiftness

Is mystery

be noted.

are the faculties of the

image of omnipresence.

mind
soars

It

backward, or upward, or downward, as on wings of light;

or rushing onward, with the
angel,

it

may

mien and the majesty of an

cross the boundaries of creation, and hav-

ing perched on the limits of possibility,

umphant wing, and proudly perform

clouds beyond.
It unrolls

Memory

a canvas on

is

its

little

may be

tenement, can examine

its

It sends its telegraphic wires

earliest gambols, and,
it

gyrations on the

which earth and skies are

forms of sensible things in

the tomb,

its

its tri-

the image of omniscience.

spread; so that though the eye

within

may spread

pushing

out-

closed, the soul,

all

the hues and

impressions of the past.

back
its

to the green of our

magnetic lines through

brings us messages from eternity

13

the thou-

Al

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

146

sand joys^ and kindnesses, and loves of the

redeemed

Reason

ones.

is

and

the image of divine wisdom.

knowledge of relations

It gives us a

lost

in proportion to

which our views expand. With nothing but perception,

conception, and consciousness, we are fettered in mind

bound to a stake would be in body. By tracing

relations, we break our chains, and extend our walks
Reason often-,
farther and farther through the universe.
like the architect, looks along the chain of causes and
as one

effects,

and sees

results of

which the agents that are

produce them have no conception.

would men make without

speculation
to

is

is

little
!

Say that

shadow ; yet by a shadow Thales learned

measure a pyramid.

losophy

How

speculations

its

to

progress

Say, with Aristophanes, that phi-

in the clouds; if

who would have

some one had not been

calculated eclipses?

there,

Say, if you will,

that the lines of scientific light are intangible and im-

aginary; so are the solstices and ecliptic; but the sun

observes them, and the heavens are taught by them, and

the year

is

divided by them, and commerce, and history,

and law, and love

fall

into order

by their guidance.

Say,

you will, that the speculative reason wheels in air;

and what shall we say of the earth which spins on nothif

you safely?

ing, yet bears

You

rejoice in maps,

and

dial-

and steam-engines, and railways, and telegraphs;

but all, all, were first drafted in the reasoning soul, as
plates,

mind of God before it

Even when the labors of enlightened

the universe was drafted in the

uprose from chaos.

reason do not result in any material benefit,

still

they are

always improving, always desirable, always grand.

How

superhuman appears Pythagoras pointing out that system

of the universe which it required twenty centuries of
subsequent observation and study to demonstrate

How

grand Seneca, when in remote antiquity he predicts the

discovery of a

new world upon our planet

How

angelic

a!!

THE INNER WORLD.

14T

mind so far forward of his

cotemporaries deemed him an infernal being,

Roger Bacon, projecting

age that his

Lis

and subsequent times, whose discoveries he had anticipated,

him as a supernal one!

movement of mind is generalization

looked back upon

How
What

grand a
a

wonderful

Each general term

pregnancy does
is

swarming

give

it

city of

to

words!

thoughts

word may describe a weight which the planet Jupiter

could not carry on his bosom, and a few figures, that we
play with as a child with

may be made

its toys,

to lift the

screen from the immensities of Jehovah's works.

And what

shall

we say of the

wilderness,

bloom, and

which says

to the

it

is

will?

as

which says

to the

the garden of Eden;

mountain, be open, and the bowels of

the rock are blasted out; which makes a path through

the sea, and a pillar of cloud and

fire,

on an iron path-

way, through the desert; which tameth the tiger, and

maketh

a plaything of the lion;

which grasps the im-

pending thunderbolt, and hides its powerless flash in the

what awful power does the
bosom of the earth? And
will

sometimes exert within the dominions of the soul

See that martyr laid upon the rack!

Every limb

stretched, and every nerve thrills with agony.

is

single

word, and the prisoner will be relieved and restored to

How

his friends.

his intellect rebel?

shall

he avoid uttering

not his tonguCj for an instant, break loose ?

Hark

it?

Will not

Will not his heart cry out?

the heavy instrument

Wait and

Will
see.

and a bone is broken,

and the sharp fragments pierce through the quivering
flesh.

An

interval follows

falls,

dreadful interval

rand,

in

the midst of the agony, the executioner demands the

word of recantation; but that tongue, which utters forth

groans that

make

a city shudder, lisps

not a syllable.

Slowly the instrument descends again, and another bone

is

broken, and another,

till

every limb

is

in fragments,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

148

and the whole body

lacerated and bleeding; and

lies

now

the executioner approaches, and the dews of death are

upon the martyr's brow, and though the tongue speaks

sweetly and freely of Jesus, and of the land where the
weary rest, it is mute as the grave as to recantation.
Zeno, on the rack, lest his tongue should betray him, bit
it

off,

and

human

spit

will

is,

The

out in the face of his judge.

it

perhaps, the most sublime of

all

things.

That Power which wields the lightning and moves the

storm, which scatters worlds through space as the husbandman casts seed into the furrow, which by a look
of terror could blast the universe, suffers the will of
to rise

up against

How

itself.

terrible looks the fabled

when

Atreus, glutted with his banquet of revenge,

comes down upon the

justice of the gods

man

after bolt falls on every side, yet the

untamed

will

the

Bolt

feast!

of the

up from the sea of fire, and

"Thunder, ye powerless gods; I am avenged.''
And such a scene yea, and more dreadful do we see
rebel, as if in triumph, looks
cries,

every day enacted in the sinner's breast, where the will

amid the ruins of the soul, an outcast from God,

and, though on earth, like Satan in the pit, saying, in its
sits,

desolation, as

it

approaches the tomb,

" Hail, horrors

Infernal world

Receive thy

There
itself

To

is

and thou, profoundest

new

extent

This
it

is

the image of creative energy.

shapes the character, molds the

words, and directs the actions of men.

fect

hell,

possessor."

a power behind the will as awful as the will

the heart.

a great

hail,
I

Give

me

a per-

knowledge of a man's heart, and I can give you his

character and course in general results.

I know,

is

The judgment,

the informer of the heart, and the memory,

and the fancy, and the

will,

providence of God, are

its

and the conscience, and the

checks and modifiers;

but

THE INNER WORLD.

upon

all

of these, except the

last, it

149

has a reflex and most

potent influence: sometimes blinding the judgment, giving tone to the fancy, forcing the will, and perverting
the conscience.

Hence,

upon which chiefly the

which,

We
in the

are

it

fires

the dews of grace

too,

that part of our nature

is

of depravity burn, and upon

distill.

are accustomed to give too

much

works of creative genius.

Poetry, eloquence,

credit to intellect

the spontaneous results of influences

and

Genius, in

understood.

little

when throwing the hues of

its

sensible

little

etc.,

heeded

happiest moods,
things over the

regions of the spirit, or the coloring of the soul over the

scenery of the earth,

is

but sweetly yielding to the laws

that shape the thoughts of the infant on his

While the poet may think that he

his heart

is

hobby.

steering his heart,

be directing him, telling him where to stop

may

him to survey the

scenery around him, and even pointing him to the very
The philosocolors in which he should dip his brush.
pher who is indignant at the prejudices of others may
have his own intellect tinged with unperceived prejuin his spiritual journey, compelling

dices, expressed in the very

words in which he declaims

against the errors that he exposes.

The

revolt of the

common mind

at what seems artificial, and the great law

condemns every thing that does not
which
of criticism

seem

natural,

shows how

little of

genius are due to his volition.

tone that

its

be uttered

the achievements of a

To give the mind

sucli a

spontaneous suggestions shall be worthy to

this is the labor of the heart.

The heart

is

the index to the faculty of association.

and blossom which presents

Every

hill,

to us

opens a department of thought, and

and

river,

itself

lets loose

crowd of images, grand or mean, useful or pernicious,

according to our previous trains of thought; and these
trains of

thiught depend chiefly upon the heart.

To

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

150

the holy, for example, every scene brings the animating

revelations of Scripture, and awakens the transporting

hopes and exalting charities of the child of God; his

mind always moves on consecrated ground, and

is

march

a triumphal procession of sanctified saints to glory

in

and

his

God; he communes with the white-robed and

to

pure, and lives rather in the tranquil past or the jubilant

future

For him

than in the dull and sinful present.

Sharon^ and

roses are roses of

incense.

lilies

are fragrant with

For him Christ stands and teaches amid his

apostolic band, or even in the desert;

and angels leave

their heavenly bowers to gather round his new-born soul

in the

hour of sorrow and of

And who

does not

know the

Why

the judgment?

trial.

influence of the heart on

do poets sing better and oftener

of a lost than a recovered Paradise?

genius planted in the

soil

Why

is

it

that

of righteousness and the air

of worship produces only a few fading leaves, while in

the ashes of sin and the atmosphere of moral death

breaks out into gorgeous luxuriance?

Why

Hebrew melodies are sought after by the

Don Juan is craved by millions? Why

is it

is

it

that the

as the

tem-

melting beams of holiness are unheeded

pest, while the

?

that the

few, while the

works of wickedness are often as impressive

as the sun

it

It is because of the

power of the heart

to

warp the judgment.

The heart

is

the source of inventive genius.

not bring up a single thought; the heart

is

Will can
the wizard

them all.
I know it.,
does not make thought any more than the mountains
make the springs that gush from their grassy sides; but,
that evokes, shapes, and directs

like the volcano,

it

heaves up mountains within the mind,

and makes a channel which gathers up and whirls the

spiritual waters as they fall, and rolls them in deeper and
deeper currents to the sea.
It does more: it disturbs

THE INNER WORLD.

151

the electricity of the mental cloudsj and opens the sluices

Let the heart be excited, and the

of the inner skies.

mind needs no schoolmaster in order to express itself.

What one man feels he can make another feel. I would
not despise criticism or rhetoric^ but we had Homer and
Pericles before either.
Love can pour music from its
throat without a gamut;

can ascend the sky, like the

own chariot of fire; can thunder and

lighten like unto him that walketh upon the wings of
the wind.
Don't undertake to instruct it. The easfle in
his eyrie needs no anatomy in order to fold his wings
prophet; in

its

around his triumphant heart, no physiology

The excited

course to the morning sun.

no

rules,

and requires none;

seizes

it

arguments without a consciousness of

them

hurls

Sometimes

with an energy that

it

engages and
criticism,

spiration

mon

soul thinks of
its

figures

and

movements, and

its

like to supernatural.

and drops, builds up and destroys,

seizes

terrifies,

with a confusion that abides no

and heeds none;

an

is

to direct his

for it is the confusion of in-

inspiration to which, however wild, com-

sense and philosophy alike respond in the hour of

its

triumphant action.

est

images of God?

Would you

see one of the grand-

See the heart of Milton brooding

over the chaos of his mind, and shaping and animating a

universe beneath

its

wings, and

filling

ihe bights, the

depths, the paradise, with upper, nether, or surrounding

fires.

Would you bring

you must light up

Now,

out f^dly the power of the mind,

consuming

fire

in the breast.

in order that I be not thought transcendental,

consider that although thought flows on according to the

general laws of association
guity,
istent

and cause and

emotion,

efi"ect

contrast, resemblance, conti-

are modified

by coex-

frequency of renewal, peculiarities

mental constitution,

upon the heart;

these

etc.,

flnally,

and that these

chiefly

of

depend

that the stimulus imparted to

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

152

the mind by intense emotion both determines

its affini-

ties and gives the tendency to suggestion by analogy,

which principally consists the charm of genius.

The inner world

4.

These extend

ences.

You

others.

should

leave

it

each moral world

The wandering

of a planet

lives.

beneath the sun

all

your

at

in heaven,

in the other.

and immortal mind.

it

may

So

pass from earth,

the oak dies, but the acorn

Truth springs from truth

though with this

only matter; the wan-

alBfects

derins; of a soul afi'ects rational

still live

in the skies;

hell,

new song

in time the soul is felt afar off;

yet

in

felt

related with

Look

movements.

erratic

its

is

would be shaken

this earth

movements may be
new wail in one or

Its

raising a

up

see that star high

its orbit,

worlds would feel

soul.

influ-

its

but immensely, both

indefinitely,

through space and time

many

sublime, because of

is

in

seed

as

from seed;

difference, that the crop, while of the

the end of

and much more abundant, is not

The acorn will produce an oak to
time; but the Illiad may produce an ^Eneid

in this age

and a Paradise Lost

same nature
always

as the seed,

exact copy.

its

in that; while

ing forth an epic in one mind,

it

it is

bring-

may be producing an

ode in another, a tragedy in a third, and a philosophical

oration

The

a fourth.

in

history of Thucydides

pro-

duced the orations of Demosthenes, and the novels of

Sir

Walter Scott the

historical

works of Gruizot and

Theirs.

Action

is

no

less prolific

than words.

He who

children may, nevertheless, have a numerous and

His character,
or Washington's, may be a

ous progeny.

has no

illustri-

like Newton's, or Wesley's,

fruitful

parent.

Marathon

was the mother of Thermopylae, Thermopylae of Salamis,

Salamis of Plat?ea;

the

battle-fields

of Greece

begat

those of Rome, as Cannae and Philippi did those of Gaul

and Britain; Bunker Hill and Yorktown have descended

THE INNER WORLD.

lineally

from the

first

mountains and

The tomb of Leonidas,

glory.

annually delivered from

its

fields

of martial

an oration was

as long as

produced a yearly crop

side,

The dead body of

of heroes.

153

Lucretia, planted by the

hand of Brutus, brought forth the living liberators of

the wounds of Caesar's corpse, touching Plebeian sympathy, as Anthony lifted up his shroud, were
the seeds whence sprung the tyrants of ten centuries.

Home; and

The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church.

Archimedes! though the sphere and the cylinder

Hail,

have moldered long since from thy tomb, I see thee

day.

Hail,

Demosthenes

since died away over thy native shores,

living breast about me.

Paul

to-

though thy voice has long

it

many

heaves

Hail from thy grave

Hail,

though Nero long ago claimed thy head, thy heart

beats sacred music in a thousand pulpits to-day.

Those seas must dry

5. The inner world is eternal.
up and these mountains dissolve, the sun itself shall
burn out, and the lamps of this temple of night may
drop from their sockets, like autumn's withered leaves,
but the soul of that good

man

shall never die.

It is the

holy of holies which Grod's chosen ministers watch over,

and which mortal eye may not see; and

moved with

reverential care,

when

it

The

re-

the clothes of this

tabernacle of the body are folded up, and

taken down in the grave.

be

shall

its

boards are

faculties of his soul are

holy things, which go not into darkness, but shall have

an entrance ministered to them by angels of light into

the temple not

made with hands, where they may abide

with God forever.

Such

a world,

young man,

is

thy soul; and wilt thou

be dependent on external things for thy happiness, so

that thou art sad or cheerful according as the wind blows
hither or thither?

country

his

Rather be like him whose soul

own dear

native land

and

to

whom

is

his

neither

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

154

cloudless skies, nor perennial spring, nor double harvests

can yield so

When
surfeit

much

delight.

we drink the bitter waters of

and the pestilence of

the sting of

ous truth

its

its fiery serpents, let

life,

or loathe the

pleasures, or burn with

us go home.

glori-

that the mind, shut out from this scene of

sensible things, can retire into its

own

infinite

domain,

it moves along, arrange all things into order and

symmetry by an untaught yet unerring astronomy!
Thrice happy he who finds that spiritual immensity a
sanctuary, sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb, lighted

and, as

up with the lamps of angels, radiant with the presence

To
of God, and perfumed with his perpetual blessing.
the
dungeon
is
the
vestibule
of
heaven,
such a one even
and the

scafi'old

a step in the ascent to glory.

He

can

say,
" Should fate

commaud me

Of the green earth,

Rivers

unknown

to the farthest verge

to distant barbarous climes,

to song,

where

first

the sun

Gilds Indian mountains, or his setting beams

Flame
Since

o'er Atlantic isles,

God

is

'tis

ever present, ever

naught

to

me,

felt.

In the void waste or in the city full."

How

grand a sight

is

the launch of a ship

As she

moves from the stocks slowly down the inclined plane,

with a few shouting sailors upon her deck as she booms
for the first time into the bosom of the waters, and rises
and proudly rights herself upon the waves, you think of

the fate that awaits her,

ther rich

cargoes she

is to

bear,

men that she is to hold up on

her planks from the deep, billowy grave; of the communion she is to establish between distant continents;
the multitudes of living

of the messages of love and the lessons of light that she

may encounand the lightning that may smite her masts and wrap
her sides in flame, lighting up the sea as if in mockery

is to

ter,

bear to the nations; of the storms she


THE INNER WORLD.
of the night; of the

her burning bowels

many

that

155

may plunge down from

may

no more, and the few that

to rise

over the spray upon some half-burnt plank, and you

float

feel a swelling at

But what were

this scene

God might show

you, if he

the heart.

compared with one such

as

convey you beyond the milky way, and point you

were

to

to a

new world which, perhaps, he

lanching into space

at

is

this

moment

Could you see the wide landscape

of mountain and lake, and light breaking forth, and creation

ers,

becoming warm and living;

fields

turning into flow-

waters floating with birds, lands bringing forth cattle,

the very dust, op some fragrant eminence, turning into

two human but not immortal beings

their nostrils dila-

ting and their bosoms swelling with the breath of

God

the surrounding stars crowded with excited angels, and

new

and skies becoming vocal with the song of

the sons of the morning how would you feel?
Suppose
the

seas

you were informed that the conduct of that new-made

pair was to determine the future character of that globe;

whether, as
roll

onward

its

valleys

in deeper

fill

up with population,

and deeper darkness

and higher light; whether

it

shall

or into higher

shall float in cursing

it

and

groans, or in thanksgiving and the voice of melody

how would you watch and pray

over them, as if the blood

would rush from your eyes and the soul sob out of your
body! But the lanch of a single immortal soul into life
is

a grander

a world.

and more awful sight than the lanch of such

The happiness of those

millions of successive

generations would cease in the grave; their misery, how-

ever intense, would terminate in death.

joyous conceivable

life

of one of

its

Take the most

inhabitants, or the

most intense agony of another, and multiply

ions of millions, and you have

still

it

by

mill-

but a limited joy or

sorrow; but that immortal soul carries wrapt up in itself

a happiness or woe that shall

know no

limit.

As

it sails

156
out in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.
life, it is to

determine whether

it

shall float In the

blackness of darkness forever, or circle in eternal light

around the throne of God.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

THE Ohio Wesleyan

157

University originated in the liber-

and public spirit of Delaware, a village wbich,

by the centrality and accessibility of its position, the
beauty of its rural prospects, and the intelligence, moralality

ity,

and catholic feeling of

its

suited to such an institution.

thought of establishing

it

inhabitants,

We

is

admirably

woitder not that the

should occur to them

for

who

of classic associations can cross that brook, fringed with

willows, or ascend yon gravel walk, shaded with majestic
locusts, without thinking

ademus

or

who

of the groves of sacred Ac-

survey, from the margin of that stream,

summits of those flowering hills, the edifice that

so impressively upon his view, without fancying he

or the
rises

beholds the temple of science

It

was easy

to perceive that a college to

be permanent

must be patronized
must
and that to secure both endowment and patronage, it
must be placed under the fostering care of some religious
Now, to which of the sects in Ohio were
denomination.
be endowed, and to be useful

the people of Delaware to look for the aid indispensable

to the establishment of their literary institution ?

lordly halls of

Kenyon

filled

The

the eyes of Episcopalians,

the neat edifices of Granville attracted the undivided attention of Baptists, while a score of classic piles were

distracting the views and dividing the affections of Pres-

" Delivered August

5,

1846.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

158

byterians; but lo

the Methodists, with a membership

of 150;O00, had no literary institution of a higher grade

To them,

than the academy.

therefore,

that our citizens should turn.

committee
the

fall

to the

was natural

it

Accordingly, they sent a

North Ohio conference,

at its session in

of 1841, bearing a proposal to donate to

it

ten acres

of ground, embracing the sulphur spring, and the present college edifice, on condition that
time,

reasonable

establish

it

should, within a

thereon a collegiate institu-

AVhile the conference unanimously gave due con-

tion.

proposition,

this

many

of

members

sideration

to

thought

should be promptly, but respectfully declined

it

its

not that they were insensible to the liberality of our

cit-

izens, the eligibility of this location, or the duty of their

own body

in relation to collegiate education

but as the

conference already had under their patronage a seminary

of elevated grade, laboring under heavy embarrassments,

they feared that

if

conference should accept the proposi-

would be unable to fulfill its obligations to Norwalk, and, perhaps, might be false to both.
This opposition prevented the immediate acceptance of
tion from Delaware,

the

ofi"er.

referring

it

it

resolution was, however, adopted, virtually

to

the

Ohio

conference,

which,

after

brief discussion, passed resolutions appointing commissioners

to

accept the premises on the terms proposed,

and purchase additional grounds.

measure ceased from that moment.

Within a short time

Opposition

after the premises

to

the

were accepted,

a liberal charter was obtained, an efficient board of trus-

and a preparatory school opened, which

has been continued without interruption ever since; and
although we were under no obligations to organize a factees organized,

ulty

till five

years after accepting the property,

we have

closed our second collegiate year.

Notwithstanding the many obstacles we have encoun-

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
fcered,

we

stitution.

159

made some progress in endowing the

Our property is now as follows

liave

in-

acres of land, embracing the college edifice, donated by the citizens. $10,000
Five acres, which is adjaceut
5,000
The Allen farm, near Marion,
10,000
Scholarship notes supposed unquestionable
45,000
Laud and subscriptions known to be safe
2,000

Ten

$72,000

Our

liabilities

3,500

Our annual expenses

are as follows

Professors' salaries

$3,350

To meet which, we may calculate with

tainty upon the following annual resources
Tuition bills
Interest on scholarships
Rent of farm, near Marion,

tolerable cer:

$1,000
2,500
300

$3,800

Our immediate wants

sand

are,

however, about four thou-

dollars.

If we compare our condition with the resources of our

Church, or the magnitude of our enterprise, we shall

have reason

for

If we

discouragement.

contrast

our

premises with those of Yale or Harvard, or survey them

in

view of those immense quadrangles, and superb chap-

els,

and

lofty towers, that rise

in the literary

upon the astonished vision

Babylons of the old world, we sink into

But let us not despise the day

Yale College commenced with thirty
pounds, and accompanied the earth twenty times in her
appalling insignificance.

of small things.

journey around the sun, before

dowment equal

to

our own.

The

it

had an

edifice or en-

transatlantic univerities

were once as low as we, and in their progress to their present

glory, they have seen nations rise and fall, and long lines
of royal patrons gathered to their fathers.
wilderness, our footsteps

are

hills.

are in the

over the fresh graves of

barbarians, and the echoes of the

died away upon our

We

warwhoop have scarce

Though the things of the day

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.
be small, not so its expectations. We may be quieted
with indispensables, but not contented. We shall go on,
160

means

as our

chapel

increase, to

ancients and moderns

and commodious

erect a neat

opulent

the wisdom

of

treasures

an

obtain

to

library,

containing the

and knowledge both of the

to erect

a laboratory,

and

its

fill

apartments with apparatus and cabinet, perfect and unsurpassed

to

erect

and furnish rows of neat

cottages,

each embosomed in a lovely garden, where the poor, but

virtuous and diligent pupil can retire for study under his

own vine and

hive

arbor,

and take honey from his own bee-

complete our endowment, and establish popular

to

by which the community may be instructed

lectureships,

in important branches of science

without entering

lege classes.

the narrow house, but the University,

up

to realize these

tify this hope, let

of Delaware.
their personal
feel

we hope,

will

To

broad and lofty expectations.

go

jus-

us glance at our jprospecifs.

These are founded upon

1.

col-

President and professors will go down to

of the citizens
The institution originated with them, and
pride

is

tlie

interests

involved in

grateful to the denomination

its

success.

which came

They
so gen-

erously and promptly to their aid, and will express that

gratitude in a suitable mode.

and sectarian jealousy.

Tell

me

not of bigotry

Conscious of our integrity and

we fear no 7'ighteoiis opposition; and trusting

God and our own right arms, we dread no unrighteous
Misunderstanding may occur, but it can not last;
one.
liberality,

in

and the opposition founded upon

itself.

It is a matter of joy to

located in a

opinions

community divided

me

it

must vanish with

that the University

in political

and

is

religious

the friction of a mixed society prevents dog-

matism and develops energy.

The University promotes the wealth of the town.

The blindness which can not see this, must be as un-

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
natural as the

may

which can not

indifference

feel

It

it.

not be amiss, however, to exhibit a few figures on

this point
The

IGI

institution has brought hither five professors' families,

penses will average $150 per

One unmarried

whose ex-

annum

$2,350

professor

250

It has already induced, at least, seven other families to take

up

their

abode here, whose expenses perhaps may average $450

average one hundred, besides those belonging
and their boarding will average sixty dollars
'
per annum
The cost of their books will be not less than
Incidental expenses, professional services, clothing purchased here, etc.,
will not vary much from
Expenses of parents, and other visitors of students and professors, and
the trade they bring, may be estimated at

3,150

The students

will probably
to families resident here,

6,000
1,000

1,000
2,000

$15,750

This amount

will

number of
tend

to

probably be doubled after the institu-

been

tion shall have

years longer in operation.

five

have been purchased by families, who

lots

remove hither

in-

shortly, to enjoy the benefits of the

number of houses we have

have been erected here, which would
reason to suppose
have been erected elsewhere, had not this institution
University.

been

considerable

Moreover,

founded.

ditional

fame

to

may

is

and

the spring,

man, foreseeing this

golden visitors

it

destined
a

result, is erecting a

it

to Delaware of $60,000.

agant,

let

him

inquire.

direct influences;

let

us

in-

the place and

less

than $300,-

have enhanced in value from the

tion less than twenty per cent.

ad-

building where

The University has

throng.

This can not be estimated at

000, nor can

give

sagacious business

creased the value of the real estate in

vicinity.

to

Here, then,

is

institu-

a donation

If any one think this extrav-

We

have spoken only of the

advert

to

the indirect.

The

prosperity of an inland town, possessing no water privileges, or other local advantages,

of the surrounding country

depends very much upon

its

must depend upon that

the prosperity of a country

intelligence.

Remove

the

present inhabitants of Delaware county, and substitute

for

them

a rude tribe of Indians, and what would its

14

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

162

farms be wortli

Make

bring?

What would

the village of Delaware

every farmer as intelligent as Professor

Silliman, and every acre, every plow, every turnip would

be trebled in value, and resources that

ages might suddenly come to light.

have not
shall

may

have worn out the forest mold, they

the value of a farm

is

will learn that

shall a people

common

Provide

when they

intimately related to the knowl-

But how

edge of the owner.

hidden for

Heretofore, farmers

the necessity of science; but

felt

telligent?

lie

become

and compel the

schools,

attendance of children, and you have but taken the

step in the public education.
1.

the school

is

You must

first

take three more.

secure competent teachers, without which

You must

and a curse.

a farce

Men

tain these?

in-

Where

are you to ob-

in commercial, professional, or agricul-

life,

have neither the habits nor the inclination for

teaching.

If they had, they would not abandon those

tural

To the young

lucrative pursuits for a scanty support.

men you must

look

able qualifications

and where are they

At

the college.

2.

petent school directors and examiners.

competent

Not they who

And

icJio

are

are acquainted merely with

They who have

grammar, arithmetic, and geography.

know

to acquire suit-

You need com-

You

require

studied nothing

else,

of enlightened

minds, of comprehensive views, of

ciplined powers,

who

not these.

men
dis.

can take an interest in the diff'usion

of knowledge, examine the difi"erent modes of instruction, analyze

and

test

proposed improvements in educa-

Whence

tion, and introduce such as are truly valuable.

do such

men come ?

common school
may be traced.

In nearly

ever}^ district

prospers are graduates to

where the

whom

its

vigor

You need school books. Who shall

He who knows not the laws of the human
write them?
mind, would make but a sorry text-book in arithmetic;
he who has no acquaintance with ancient languages.
3.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

163

would compile but a meager grammar; and

an

but

farther

man

educated

mind

to write for a

man, yet more

leges are needful to

common

immediate

society, is

skill is requisite

to write for a child.

awaken and perpetuate an

The

schools.

Much

into light.

it

none

The

primer.

darkness, the greater the genius

in

is

required to bring

even

write

let

Col-

interest in

influence of colleges, in elevating

as well as remote.

farmer com-

ing to the seat of learning to dispose of his produce,

hears a favorable account of the students, and finding
that he can support his son at the University without
feeling

it

sensibly, determines to send

The boy makes

him one

rapid progress, and the father

is

session.

so well

pleased that he continues *him another session, and then

Upon

another year.
father,

is

and the joy of the mother.

in

incidentally,

ority,

he

his return,

brother and sister to

the pride of the

Showing

thousand

ways,

his superi-

he

attracts

the flowery paths of knowledge,

and leads them by the route he himself has pursued, to

the bright eminence which he has attained.
He now
organizes a debating club, and
establishes a library,
lecture on

and

is

astronomy, and

is

made

elected president; he

librarian

excites

he delivers a

general

admiration.

The family now take higher rank in the neighborhood.

But this stings the lads and lasses that have heretofore
Is not this, say they, Minor,
looked down upon them.
the blacksmith

and was not James, his

son, once our

plowboy? and are not his brethren, Joseph, and John,

and Henry,

all

with us?

Well,

father,

exclaini

the

youth in a dozen cabins at once, we will go to college

too.

Presently there

note of preparation

and

is

is

heard throughout the vicinage, a

it

enters the ears of

young James,

borne on the wings of the wind to his joyous

home, where

it

provokes his family to resolve that, to

keep their ground, he must return

to college

and grad-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

161

Meanwhile the circle of emulation is constantly

widening; and what is transpiring in this part of the

uate.

country,

is

Thus, in the region of

going on in others.

the college, there

is

platform of society.

gradual elevation of the whole

Industry

stimulated, intelligence

is

improvements introduced, the public

diffused,

enterprise provoked, acquaintance

fined,

taste

correspondence with distant points established;

become

villas,

with the

swamps

and the

lily

the forest

parterres,

re-

extended, and
cabins
fragrant

is

and the whole land seems

rose,

to

be moving upward to the sun.

We

have seen the influence of the college upon the

xcealih of the town.

What

will

be the

upon

effect

its

The young people being educated will become refined for intellectual pleasures awaken a taste
pleasures?

for

the fine arts

the

door-yards will be adorned with

shrubs, the gardens with statuary,

the dwellings with

paintings, and the evening carols of your children will be

accompanied with tones sweet as those of the harp of

David

the pleasures of

sion,

will,

sense,

amid the general

harmony, grow
their feast,

it

distasteful,

and the turbulence of

serenity,

pas-

and beauty, and

and when the young gather

to

will be a feast of reason, seasoned

with the

/am

not mad,

exhilarating pleasures of the eye and ear.

but ye are, if ye estimate the influence of your college

upon the

social

pleasures of the town, by a glance at

those rude collegians that toss the ball on that green eminence, or lounge upon

its

grassy slope.

Look

incipient library receiving perpetual additions

nucleus of a cabinet, which, in

its

to thai

to that

progressive enlarge

ment, will exhibit more and more of the beauties of nature

to that gallery of paintings,

many may form

which, while I speak,

a fixed purpose to increase,

can b^ feasted and the soul entranced

we have

in view,

where

air will

till

the eye

to that laboratory

be analyzed, water decom

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
posed, and liglitning imprisoned

learn

New

Haven.

to those popular lec-

where the humblest of your

tures on science,

may

Look

philosophy.

And what

at

upon the character

influence

of the village does the college exert

through

It annually floats

all

the winds of

proclaims her praises upon the public breath

it

citizens

the refined circles of

her name upon a thousand leaves on

heaven

165

all

the regions of the land;

it

writes your best

words, and prints your best works, in a book

it

your health, and apologizes for your sickness;

praises
it

will

grave your scenery with an iron pen, and lead, if not in

the rock forever.
to inquire, what will be the influupon
your village in coming ages?
ence of the college
The Eternal City may become a waste, but the dominion

Nor must we omit

The
all generations.
embalm the memory

of her nobler minds will endure to

college, if fosterQd, will

of

founders,

its

Whence come

but

not only

immortality to their sons.

give

earth's

Erskines, the Websters

the

ones

founders of constitutions,

Jeff'ersons,

the expounders of law, the embassadors of nations

a

general

rule,

bench, the bar,

throne, to

fill

the

great

the

from

the

the

senate

college.

As

Hither come the

chamber, the pulpit, the

their vacant seats.

Place the names of

your children upon the college catalogue, and, as a general rule,

you enroll them upon the

scroll of respectabil-

Graduate them, and they are fair

candidates for the highest honors and emoluments of the
government. How great, then, the advantages you possess over the people of many neighboring towns
ity,

if not of fame.

The

college, moreover, tends to produce a homogene-

ous community.

In nature, in providence, in grace, God

creates distinctions.

make

artificial

ones

To
is

to

Jiis

will

we should bow; but

thwart his design.

It

is

to

the

glory of this Union, that this government can create no

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

166
aristocracy;

it is

her shame that the purse can.

It

per-

is

petually drawing, in every city and village, a broad line

of demarkation, which stops not even at the temple or

But

the grave.

let

the children of a town be well ed-

that line will be narrowed, if not obliterated.

ucated,

Let them

by side through a

sit side

full course,

and they

go out brethren in the bands of light.

There are, I know, disadvantages connected with a

will

literary
if

Bad boys

institution.

will

play

But

freaks.

any think that these outweigh the advantages, I say

not he

is

but that the watch of his wits needs

witless,

winding up.

The

II.

prospects of the institution will appear good,

we consider the interest of the foster conferences in its

success.
They passed resolutions accepting, with its conif

ditions, the donation of the citizens,

endow the University

and determined

speedily, permanently.

These

to

res-

olutions are pledges to the citizens of Delaware, to the

Legislature, and to the public

in the
all

they bind

mode the promisees understood them

the promisors

they secure

reasonable energies of the conferences to their

ment, and bar

all

men
Have

little

conferences

these

aged, wise,

Some

action inconsistent therewith.

may, perhaps, think them of

who compose

fulfill-

good.

Are

What

consequence.

For the most

not to be

thci/

part,

trusted

their brains lost the scent of true policy?

Itin-

may know little of books, but surely they

know something of men and things. They are not prone
erant preachers

to involve

themselves in heavy

eration?

And

liabilities

without consid-

were not these conferences sincere as well

as considerate?

of tickled lungs?

Are

their speeches

but the explosions

Are their votes but the utterances

of "little nestlings that cry out on the top of the ques-

Have they never read the

Even men without the Bible do
tion?"

ten

commandments?

not often voluntarily

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
assume obligations they do not intend
trust in the Indian's pipe of peace

167

to

we
we

We

fulfill.

rely on the re-

solve of lawless Arabs, gathered around the slaughtered

caravan, and clamoring for the spoils

the pirate crew

upon the deck

when they

of their victims,

we not

confide even in

slippery with the blood

deliberately

and can

resolve.,

body of Christian ministers, who venbond of society, but as the

trust in a

erate truth, not only as the

attribute of

God

But, perchance, they will some day

see a better location, or have a better

village of

Delaware supine and

"Lord, who
dwell in
hurt,

hill

and changeth

He

of that?

who

shall

that sweareth to his

But may we not

not.^'

or find the

What

abide in thy tabernacle?

shall

thy holy

already written

faithless.

oflfer,

history of this

institution,

own

see in the

an earnest

fulfillment of the largest conference prom-

of the

final

ises?

North Ohio and Ohio conferences have sent out

agents into every corner of the state to solicit donations

on

its

behalf, given liberally to its funds from their

own

means on their own credit to pay its

debts, and sent members from their own bodies to fill its
professorships.
We, upon this platform, know our fathers and brethren, and would not be here, had we doubted
resources, borrowed

their sincerity.

We

have no wish

to enact a farce at a

sulphur spring, or to feed, promise-crammed, upon the

But is not collegiate education neio and strange to

Methodism ? Nay she was born, cradled, and baptized
within college walls, and she has manifested a zeal for
What Church in the
education worthy her origin.
air.

United

States, save one, is

stitutions as she?

But

founding so many literary

are not her seminaries of learn-

ing the results of youthful zeal and indiscretion

many

True,

men are doing duty

but many others we say it

of our young and educated

manfully in this department,

more

in-

in

sorrow than in anger

are

indifferent to our

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

168
educational

they would fain see the

if

as

enterprises,

which death vacates around them, filled up with the

ignorant; that they might the better ^' lord it over God's
seats

The

heritage."

When

lege.

first

still

its

senior

hope of our

went up

this institution first

Ohio conference,
they are

old preachers are the

col-

North

to the

members were her advocates

When

her firm and ardent friends.

she

knocked at the door of the Ohio conference, and

when her enemies waxed strons; in

when her friends became weak with

and

their resistance,
fear,

who was

it

that

by an overmastering eloquence, prostrated all

opposition, and raised every hand for her admittance ?
arose, and,

It

was one whose temples are crowned with hoary

When

locks.

she went up last autumn naked and hungry to

yonder temple of convocation in Cincinnati, who ran

meet
her,

her in the vestibule,

and

to

on her neck and kissed

fell

and throwing the best robe around her shoulders,

and putting a golden ring upon her fingers, and shoes on

feet, led her to his brethren, and went up and down

her

"making merry" with

the aisles

his friends?

Abraham,

father who, long since, seeking, like

was a

It

a better

country, pitched his tent upon this spot, before civilized

man had

reared his cabin upon

and who threaded the

it,

wilderness beyond, clad with a blanket, to preach the

unsearchable riches of Christ in the wigwams of the sav-

through a

age.

If the University pass

whom

does she turn for an advocate

trembles on

with age,

his

staff

that flashes

who

rises

up a

collection in

trial,

to

man that
eye dimmed

an

and a mind

ten, that feels for the

Look yonder they

Here comes a
conference.

her assailant's argument.

are taking

is

with indignation,

matured by threescore years and

pillars of

it

fiery

It is a

young man well-dressed, well-fed, well-educated. He

comes from a wealthy station, where he has married a
He would not have come at all, at this
rich wife.


INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
moment, but

that,

tlirougli

table,

But now an

dollars/'

he dryly

man

old

he did not

inadvertence,

escape from the house before his

he steps to the

169

name was

As

called.

mc down

says, ^^Set

five

pocket-book in hand,

rises,

and moves toward the secretary's desk.

Forty years ago,

mounting his horse, bidding farewell to

his weeping friends, and turning his eyes away from the
alluring paths of honor and riches along the banks of
a vigorous youth,

the Potomac, he started, at the

call

of the Church, for

The valley of the Muskingum was

and joyfully he sang the songs of Zion

the wilds of Ohio.

his

circuit,

through the woods, looking up the home of the emigrant, to preach Jesus to

him and his household. Somehim in a pathless swamp, and

times the night overtakes

he spends the hours of darkness amid howling wolves or

Sickness seizes him, but he rises before

prowling bears.

he has recovered, rejoicing

his natural force

to

And now

pursue his way.

abated, his eyes are dim, and a large

is

him

family depends upon

for support.

He

comes this

year from a circuit, where a people have sprung up that

knew not Jacob, but on Fisgah's

"

No
No

top he sings,

foot of land do I possess

cottage in this wilderness,

poor, wayfaring

man."

Well, when he reaches the table he lays down twentyfive dollars,

and blesses God that he has

Methodist college.
hear the

it

When

Methodist preachers of former days accused

of opposing education, I repel the charge

qualified

to give to a

draw no fancy sketch.

as

not genuine,

a base

that

calumny.
sneers

at

'Tis

unless

it

be

pseudo-Methodism,

learning.

Some

of

her

preachers, I know, did underrate knowledge, and there

now among us, both old and young, of the same

character.
They will have nothing to do with science,

are a few

because

it is

not the smooth stone from the brook

15

they

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

170

won't use Goliath's sword, even

to cut off Goliatli's head.

Thej

of

God has no need

us

tell

human

learning

human

they seem to think he has great need of

We

rance.

igno-

believe he can carry ob his work without

The

either.

but

question

is,

whether he

instrumentality will he select

sl

Jit

If not, which

will.

one or an

for in-

stance, he sends an angel with a prophet's dinner,

him?

does he give

a bag of sand, or

'^

Let

unjit ?

When,

the analogies of his providence answer.

what

cakes baken on

^'

the coals

Admit

that the conferences are interested in sustaining

We

the institution, will the people sustain them?

be-

lieve so.

They
answer

are
all

spare it?

men?

dollar

from each member would

And

our purposes for an age.

can they not

Hundreds of them give more than

ally to look at

cate

able.

this annu-

monkeys, and will they not give

it

to edu-

Multitudes give ten times that amount every

much to
families among

year to burn cigars, and will they not give this

enkindle immortal 7ninds ?

Thousands of

us have hoarded treasure, from which they might abstract

enough

for a college,

and yet have

the hands, and cord the

feet,

sufficient left to

and blast the

bind

intellects,

and

blacken the hearts of their sons, and send them rattling

down

a turnpike road to hell.

There

is

ten times enough

surplus wealth in the Methodist Episcopal Church of

Ohio
it

to

endow

a university handsomely,

and happy would

be for that Church could we withdraw

coffers,

They
duty?

even if

it

is

lence,

Are not

sea.

Christians ready to do their

there no difference between the sinner

and the Christian?

The same

from her

were cast into the depths of the

are willing.

What!

it

that there

What,
is

then,

between

this

difference?

selfishness

and benevo-

is

between living to this world, and

clj/ing

to

it,

be-

tween laying up treasures on earth, and laying them up

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
And

in heaven.

arc Methodists

may be among them some

or are they deceived

is

all

171

There

hypocrites?

such^ but the body are sincere

their profession

empty

their

air,

regeneration a chimera, and their rapture but the ardor

of ill-regulated passion

Nay,

verily.

There

is

as

much

among them, as
Convince them of their

true, intelligent, self-sacrificing religion

among any people on

duty,

that

and they
it

versity;
1.

Is

is

will

earth.

do

their duty to

I believe they can be

shown
sustain the Ohio Wesleyan Uni-

it.

therefore, I believe they will.

it

not clearly the duty of a Church to give a

thorough education

to

her best minds?

Within the

Methodist cabins of Ohio there may be an Isaac Newton,

or a Robert Hall; but, if uneducated, the one

may be

the village blacksmith, the other the country magistrate,

and neither may be known beyond the limits of his native

But Methodist youths may be sent to Presbytecounty.
That has been done, and what,

rian or other colleges.

generally,

is

the result?

but give their talents

to

They are Methodists no longer,

the Church which has educated

them: according to the general law of Providence, that

when

a people do not improve their blessings, they are

taken from them, and given to another that will bring

forth the fruits thereof.

There

are, probably,

one hun-

dred Methodist youths in the other denominational

col-

leges of this state.

2.

It is the duty of the

Church

to furnish

her propor-

tion of teachers for the children of the republic.

3. She is bound to make a judicious use of all the
means which Providence offers her of spreading the Gospel.
One of the most efficient is the press. To some
extent it has been employed by the Church, in the hands
It is still a great blessof Luther, Wesley, and others.

ing,

as

used by the Churches;

issues: silly

but look at

its

chief

poetry, corrupting novels, miserable heresy,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

172

concealed infidelity, and Atheistic science

called"

stimulants

to

"falsely

so

the lust of the eye, the lust of

and the pride of life. It seems as if Satan had

He employs
the pit to manage the press.
from
up
come
the best ruined minds of earth to prepare its matter, and

the

flesh,

uses Christian as well as

and kindle the

fires,

sinful

fingers to set the type,

and direct the steam, and catch the

ten thousand sheets as they are thrown off every hour,

and bear them, unbound,

may be

to the railroad depot, that

they

hurried to the ends of the earth, for the poison-

ing of the nations.

Nor do these

leaves merely preoc-

cupy the irreligious and infidel mind; they are too often
puffed

by the

Church,

And how

religious press into the finest fields of the

corrupt the fountains of her spiritual

to

shall

Zion rescue the press from

its

life.

perversion

She must polish the minds of her noblest youth, till they
can rival the glowing pages of Scott, and Voltaire, and
Sue

a process which requires the

4.

The Church

is

bound

knowledge, that she

account.

Within the

may
last

to

college.

keep pace with the age in

turn

its

disclosures to good

half century, the progress of

science has been unparalleled, and yet she seems but to

have reached the vestibule of discovery.

tions to science

butes of

As

all

addi-

throw additional light upon the

attri-

God, we might suppose that religion would

advance foot

to foot with learning

that every discovery

would awaken in the philosophic mind a deeper adoration of the Creator, an intenser interest in his word, and
a stricter obedience to his
for

human

depravity.

commandments.

The philosopher can

But, alas

pass through

the beautiful display of afiinities in the ocean's depths,

ascend the successive strata of the solid globe, and survey

new wonders
mind and a

in

the sidereal heavens, with an ungodly

prayerless heart; nay, he often suffers his

acquisitions to generate a sullen pride,

which looks with

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

173

scorn upon the claims of God, and the sacrifice of Christ.

Atheism, Deism, and heresy often join themselves to

Science, and endeavor to turn her revelations against the
If Paul's spirit was stirred within

Bible.

saw the Athenian

him when he

unknown God, should not

when she sees philosophy, riper

altar to the

the Church be awakened

than Atheism, questioning the existence of the Creator,

amid the most sublime demonstrations of his power, and

repudiating his mercy amid the most persuasive exhibitions

of

hand in
her green and sunlit

Christianity should walk

love?

his

hand with Science, through

all

paths, teaching her to say with increased emphasis, at

every ascending footstep, "Great and marvelous are thy

works. Lord

God Almighty," and responding

that other and

ways, thou

King

of saints."

side with her upon the

pointing to

phy,

loftiest

She should stand side by

summits; and as Philoso-

newly-discovered

the

exclaims,

sun,

holy light!" Christianity, pointing beyond

^'Hail,
stars,

herself in

nobler strain, "Just and true are thy

to

the

whence stream,

that higher and holier light,

throughout the universe, the beams of righteousness,

should cry out, "Halleluiah! halleluiah! the Lord

And

omnipotent reignethi"

may

that she

thus

God
make

the regions of science vocal with praise, she should have

the discipline and the acquisitions of the college.

ren

may

say, let other

Churches attend

ours, like our fathers, to

did not merely do this.

to science

preach salvation.

it

fathers

Witness Clarke, and Watson,

and Benson, and Bunting.

Circumstances,

changed since the days of our American

odism can no longer,

Our

Breth-

be

have

too,

fathers.

Meth-

like the wild ass free, scorn the

titudes of the city, while she

mul-

makes the wilderness her

house, and the barren land her dwellings.

5.

It is the

duty of the Church to resist the encroach-

ments of Romanism.

am, by no means, disposed

to

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

174
bring

accusations

railing

against

'^Mother Churcli;"

She has come down

rather would I apologize for her.

through ages of darkness and channels of corruption,

what wonder

The

if

following

her sight be weak, her garments defiled?

propositions

will,

ready assent even from the most

tian

charity,

in* the

from

command

however,

liberal, enlightened Chris-

namely: That Romanism substitutes faith

Church

for faith

fiducial trust to

in Christ; reduces faith itself

mere assent; prevents the growth

of her people in grace, by withholding the

^^

sincere milk

of the word;" weakens the authority of Gospel precepts,

by her practices of indulgence and absolution; incumbers the simple ordinances of God with complex ceremonies of

man, and grasps

assuming

at the scepter of the world,

to take its conscience

And, although

ism are modified by the progress of the age, the

estantism, yet,

Roman-

in this country the principles of

free institutions,

by

into her holy keeping.

spirit of

and the influence of surrounding Prot-

we have every reason

to

believe

that,

should she ever gain the ascendency in this country, her

principles would assume their original shape, and

out their legitimate results.

That she

is

work

striving for the

ascendency, there can be no doubt, and that she aims to

compass this end by becoming the presiding genius of

American education, seems equally

clear.

When

she allures the youth to her halls, " JReli(/ioni

et

once

artibus

sacrum," she begins to spread her vail over his eyes.

And

this is easy; for she directs his studies, closes up

communication with the world, wins his confidence
by kind attentions, enchants him with her imposing ceremonies, and alarms him by gradually pressing upon his
immature mind her favorite dogma, "salvation in the

his

arms of the Church only."

her principles demand

it.

We

blame her not

for this

But shame on the Protestant-

ism which says those principles are from

hell, yet stirs

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
The

not to counterwork them.

175

vigorous, youthful

of these United States will be educated; and if

mind

it

find

no provision for this purpose in Protestant Churches,

what wonder if it turn to holy Mother? That Universtand while nations are overturned.

sity will

If Meth-

and finally forsake it, Romancome to its relief; and gladly would she now run
up those winding stairs, to nail the wooden cross to yon
odism

ism

falter in its support,

will

God hide me from such an

dome.

But what have

hour.

Methodist youths within the walls of

Catholic nunneries and monasteries, for the sake of cheap

I lived to see?

Latin and Greek

And what may I live to see ? Those
same young men and women returning home with golden
crosses upon their bosoms, to scorn the religion of their
!

dying and broken-hearted parents, while the sighs upon

every breeze ask, what
the coffers answers,

pressed out with

sand

hills

What

it

new

respond,

is

is

not with

and the

grain,

it is

And

the reason?

the silver in

me; and the

cattle

barns,

upon a thou-

not with us.

a contrast does the policy of

Rome

present to

Methodism be like the ostrich, which God

hath deprived of wisdom, and which leaveth her eggs in
the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, and forgetteth
ours

.Shall

that the foot

may crush them,

break them?

Is she

as

or that the

beast

may

hardened against her young ones,

though they were not hers? Romanism, like the

up and maketh her nest on high; she

eagle, ''mounts

dwelleth and abideth on the rock

upon the crag of the

From

thence she seeketh her

rock,

and the strong

prey,

and her eyes behold afar off.

It is the duty of the Church

6.

place.

to

occupy the mission-

ary fields which the Divine providence

how

extensive are these fields

for God's law; India offers

is

opening.

And

The isles of the sea wait

her immense population to
!

unembarrassed Christian enterprise; Egypt, Persia, Tur-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

176

key, and Arabia, are yielding to

tlie

advance of Christian

civilization; China, separated, for ages, from the Chris-

world by an impenetrable wall, has suddenly presented defenseless borders, and invited the armies of
tian

to the conquest, at once, of half the

Zion

and

x\frica, already

human

race;

illumined at her northern and south-

ern extremities, by reflection from Europe, and irradiated

on her western border by the dawn of a Gospel morning,

turns a hundred gates upon their golden hinges, opening

the paths of her interior mountains to the feet of ''him

How

that bringeth good tidings."

these

trumpet calls?

we respond

shall

to

Will the benighted millions be

And how

converted unless they hear?

shall they hear

without a preacher? and how shall they have preachers

unless some be sent? and

whom

Piety and a

call

to the minister;

As

we send?

shall

What

with suitable qualifications, surely.

are

Men
these?

from God, are a sine qua non in relation

but something more

may be

necessary.

the Bible must be translated, stupid millions aroused

and enlightened, the rising generation trained and educated, the captious Brahmin met and confounded, and
the hollowness of a venerable and gorgeous philosophy
exposed, surely, in a world, and under a dispensation,

where God works according

to

immutable

laws, a disci-

plined understanding, a taste for study, and a knowledge

of the principles of language, and the laws of the

mind, are indispensable.

If,

therefore, the

missionaries of such qualifications, she

is

human

Church needs
bound to erect

not that she may

colleges, where they may be obtained
make missionaries, but that she may make men, whom
God may make missionaries.
III. The community at large is interested in sustaining
Colleges are barriers to many of the greatthis college.
:

est evils
1.

which threaten

Avarice.

this Union.

We

This has prevailed in

all

instance a few
ages,

and has

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

177

generally increased with the progress of civilization.

is

more

to

It

be feared in a republican than a monarchical

Rome and

government.

Carthage may trace their de-

struction to it; and our Union, which, in her infancy,

imitated the early virtues of those ancient states, seems,

prematurely, to be following the steps which led to their

decline.

We

who boast our independence, bow the pliant knee

King Money, who commands more respect in free
America than royalty itself in monarchical Europe. Nor
to

is this

tyrant a discerning one.

Although he sometimes

patronizes virtue, and promotes learning and religion, he

more frequently is the forerunner of luxury and effeminacy, the companion of vice, and the refuge of crime.
We see him often silencing the pulpit, swaying the halls
of legislation, corrupting the bench, and even cutting the

Well has inspiration

rope of criminal justice.

"The

of

love

money

the

is

root of

all

written,

evil"

itself

when properly employed, a

commands the heart, an allThe nation, as the individual,

neither good nor evil, and,

great blessing, yet,

comprehending

when

curse.

that covets money, "

and into many

men

falls

foolish

in destruction

it

into temptation

and hurtful

and perdition."

the past ten years are a fearful proof.

this
pel

growing

'Hhe God of

speculations of

What

shall arrest

effectual barrier is the Gos-

this world blinds the

minds of

that believe not, lest the light of the Gospel should

shine unto them."

lege.

The only

The

and a snare,
which drown

but auxiliaries should not be despised, more espe-

cially since

them

evil

lusts,

Among

these auxiliaries

The common school may stimulate the

money, by furnishing

is

the col-

desire for

abilities for its acquisition,

but the

college bears us above the region of utilitarianism, to the

land of the fair and the pure, where

men

drink of the

Pierian spring, not shallow and intoxicating draughts,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

178

but deep and sobering ones. Learning, by enlarging the

understanding, enables us to make a proper estimate of
the purpose of life; by furnishing subjects of pleasing
profitable meditation,

and

by

and,

perity,

amusements,

it

allays our anxieties in pros-

it

elevating

afi'ording

and

tranquilizing

moderates our sorrows in adversity.

and thus excites disgust

refines the taste,

occupations and disproportionate

desires.

at
It

It

unworthy
weakens

the influence of that part of our nature which we have

common with brutes, by

have in common with angels.
in

stimulating that which

It

we

diminishes the charms

of our outer possessions by broadening and beautifying

our inner.
light,

The

scholar finds within himself a world of

where he can survey the Coliseum, tread the Pan-

muse within the Porch,

Here he can study meta-

theon, stand upon Mars' Hill, or

the Academy, or the Lyceum.

physics with Aristotle, languages with Plato, mathematics

with Euclid, and philosophy with Socrates.

soar

and sing with Homer,

sail

tions of nature.

As

can

Learning dimin-

conquer the world with Alexander.

ishes the attractions of business

He

the seas with Caesar, and

by increasing the

attrac-

the scholar walks abroad, the flow-

ers of the field discourse sweetly in his soul's ear; every

mineral beneath his footsteps

seems his own familiar

and every animal in his pathway speaks volumes

in accents which he understands.
Truth springs out of
friend,

him

the earth to meet

righteousness looks down from

upon him; the winds break forth around

into melody; the universe becomes to him a temple;

heaven

him

to smile

and, as he swells

its

worship and song,

money-changers, and you provoke him

of small cords.

and worldly, but they are

of learning.

Few

pursuing wealth.

to

There may be scholars

him of the
make a scourge
who are mean

tell

so in spite of the tendencies

of the truly-learned are inordinately

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

179

which threatens our nation is, her poThe patronage of the President, always
litical conflicts.
great, has, at length, become alarming, and the scramble
which it encourages may yet tear the government in
It is easy to see that corruption and overthrow
pieces.
await any republic in which the elections are a strife for
What is the remedy? Patronage is essential to
spoils.
administration, and if transferred to the senate, or any
other co-ordinate branch, we should, probably, have more
2.

Another

evil

corruption with less responsibility.

of the people, and diminishing the

Who

for office.

Colleges have a tend-

by increasing the intelligence

ency to correct this evil

are such

number of

aspirants

Not successful professional

Not the philosopher;

men;
he who can number and weigh the stars can be readily
they scorn the demagogue.

reconciled to a limited dominion over the creatures of a

His '^promised wonders,'' visions of past and present worlds, have composed his mind "into the calm of a
He shouts not in the maddened
contented knowledge."
Who, then, are they that clamor for office ?
crowd.

day.

Quacks,

theological

pettifoggers,

mental cripples, who, being unable

tricks, resort to political ones.

experimenters
to live

bow where

'^

profit to

thrift

scholars in public

may
life,

fill

the professions

their avocations with credit to

men who, pursuing

themselves, and

by professional

Establish colleges numer-

ous as society demands, and you will

with

mere

the community, would scorn to

follow fawning."

True,

we have

but they generally occupy a high

station, which they rarely seek, and reluctantly fill.

3. Another national evil we have to dread is, the
tendency of our government to usurpation. The object
of the framers of our Constitution was, a government in

equilibrium, tending neither to consolidation nor disun-

When

they had completed their work, there were

distinguished statesmen who pronounced it a rope of

ion.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

180

Had

sand.

they lived to this day, they would have

We

found the rope not very sandy.

Look

ahead.

at our political horizon

have trying times

I see a cloud of

war rising in the west; I behold a whirlwind coming

"I

from the east;

perceive a storm, big with thunder

and lightning, gathering in the south, which, wherever

the hurricane shall carry

shower of blood. '^

such as Pericles

lots

it,

will

marines

at

the

Salamis, or read

We

epitaphs on the plains of Marathon.

like

state, pi-

mused

that have

Pass of Thermopylae, and the Bay of

manders

places with a

all

fill

"We need, in the vessel of

need com-

him who

" Wielded, at will, the fierce democracy,

And fulmined over Greece

And Artaxerxes' throne."

Where
have

shall

been

we look
the

for

asserters

them

to

Macedon,

Go

ask history

Who

of liberty.

who

burst the

chains which had bound the civilized world in a bondage

The

of ages?

classical

Luther.

Who, from time

to time,

encroachments of monarchy, and hedged

resisted

the

thrones

about

with

constitutional

restrictions

was John Hampden, that rose alone,

^'

Who

the argument of

tongues," in resistance to taxation by prerogative,

all

and

at

whose

voice,

when an appeal was made

to arms,

ten thousand flaming swords leaped from the thighs of

freemen
ation

Who

first

resisted taxation without represent-

Wherever an argument was

battle to be fought, there

vard.

Who

to

be made, or a

were the sons of Yale and Har-

signed the Declaration of Independence?

All graduates but ten, and they scholars.

the American Constitution

by

classical scholars,

framed

were drawn

through ancient languages and from

ancient forms of government.

the spirit of liberty.

Its principles

Who

From

The

spirit of the college is

those halls we hope to send

out a phalanx hostile, terrible, destructive to the hosts of


INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

Let demagogues and despots oppose

political corruption.

colleges

181

'tis fitting

they should; but the patriot and the

statesman will rally to their support.

Though the

the Church, the community, be

village,

deeply engaged in erecting the University,

make

to

a further inquiry;

house, they labor in vain that build

necessary

it is

God

for unless

build the

Better lay our

it.

foundations on the earthquake, than without his blessing; but this, we trust, we have.

ways found

it

learning an important

men

planted by
arship

Christianity has
auxiliary.

It

al-

was

of extraordinary and supernatural schol-

flourished in the

first

ages under the labors of

Clemens, Origen, Chrysostom, Ambrose, Augustine

of the ripest learning;

it

was revived by

lancthon, Calvin, Knox, and others

losophy as in piety;

it

as

men

Wickliff'e,

Me-

profound in phi-

has been spreading in the latter

days under Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards, Witherspoon,

Fisk

as

celebrated

for

literature

as

Piety

religion.

without knowledge often degenerates into superstition,

enthusiasm, or heresy.
out religion

is true,

That we may have learning with-

and that

did in revolutionary France

ion

is

may

also

prove a curse as

equally clear.

upon the

teaches truth

God, and,

like

Then the Divine

means of
-froiyi

is

a propo-

must

blessing

The

promotion.

its

college

God, leading, unless perverted,

God, eternal

have laid our corner-stone

it

true; but that relig-

makes no great progress without learning

sition

be

it

dwelling

in prayer,

we

in

to

We

light.

are carrying on

our work in faith, and we hope to bring forth the copestone with shouting.
not,

we

college.

May we

not expect revivals

shall be less fortunate than

If

any other Christian

If we have God's blessing, though we must

work with the sword in one hand and the trowel

other, we shall complete our structure.
I

'.

in the

have no time to notice objections; but when we ap-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

182

peal for support,

college

how

important, but

is

we met with

often are

them found and sustain

it

The

is

designed for the rich,

great mistake

it
!

this

let

the rich

can have colleges in their own houses, or send to Europe.

It

is

man

the poor

One-

that the college specially blesses.

half the pupils of our colleges are the sons of the poor;
one-third, perhaps, rely

support.

When

or less

for

let the

and clap their hands on high.

those halls are

upon themselves

the college comes into a place,

2)oor utter their voice

Look yonder

more

hung with

tapestry, those

sparkle with vermilion, those floors are spread

glasses

with carpets of Turkey's richest dye; there appetite

sated, sense entranced,

ment

but, lo

and passion

frantic with

is

enjoy-

the pestilence that walketh in darkness

stands within the portals.

At midnight

a cry is heard,

the pillow of down groans, terrors take hold of the house

like waters,

and, ere the cock crows thrice, the master

numbered with the shrouded dead.

Scarce are his remains interred, when a new grief comes
upon his youthful widow. She learns that his estate is
of that mansion

is

insolvent, and, kneeling, trusts in the Father of the fatherless,

and the widow's God.

few friends procure

for her a neat cottage on the common, and her father be-

And now

stows upon her a small annuity.

is

Musing

her sons.

her chief care

in the serene evening, she observes

the light streaming from the college dome.

inward light flashes on her mind

Suddenly an

"Kiches take

to

them-

away," and 'Hhe friends they bring

Knowledge and virtue are the true
and enduring riches." She forms her resolve, dismisses
selves wings

and

fly

depart with them.

her anxiety, and for once the pallet of straw

temples.

The next morning, seated

Bible, she calls

is soft to

before her

her

open

up her rosy-cheeked boys, folds an arm

kiss, first upon the lips of

around each, and impressing a

one, and then

upon the cheeks of the

other, says,

"My

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

183

sons, ^over and friend hath God put far from me, and
mine acquaintance into darkness/ my riches have dissolved as dew, my heart is weaned from earth, and I have

no wish

to live

but for your sakes.

The dread of rearing

you in ignorance and poverty has been too painful for

me;

but, look!

yonder

is

the college;

its

doors are open

The

to the poor, its honors free to the fatherless.

cost

of collegiate education consists mainly in the expense of

board; the danger of

it

in the absence of parental care;

but, in the midst of our calamities,

we

are fortunate

for

our location gives us advantages over most of the wealthy

fiimilies of

the land.

Go,

my

sons; be the joy of your

widowed mother; struggle with the sons of fortune;

your riches be the immortal riches of the mind;
ye be

my

let

so shall

Years revolve, and, on a bright sum-

jewels."

mer morning, an immense crowd fills the spacious chapel

Who is that
commencement exercises.
to witness
And who
sprightly youth ?
It is Governor M.'s son.
is

this?

speaker,

It is Secretary

who

steps forth

This

is

an excellent

he? It is Judge B.'s son. Lastly, there

upon the platform a pale-faced, black-eyed,

plain-dressed

stands a

W.'s son.

is

youth

moment

his

knees

gently tremble as he

mute spectator of the crowd, and a

blush mantles his blanched cheek.

breathless silence

pervades the assembly, as they mark his modest mien,

and the angelic amplitude of his forehead, concealed, in

Presently he opens his golden
part, by careless ringlets.
mouth, and charms the audience with the dulcet melody
of his voice, the harmony of his periods, and the majesty

and authority of his thoughts; and now mark how the

godlike light flashes from his eyeballs ; how the respiration hurries; how the veins of the temple swell; and

how

the voice rises to majestic fullness, as he bears his

audience aloft to the highest regions of eloquence.

he takes his

seat, a rustling is heard,

as

when

As

the leaves

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

184

of the forest are swept by the breeze, and from bench to

bench goes the inquiry, in louder and

pers,

Who

widow

that?

is

Presently

in that corner

all

eyes are turned to a

weeping tears of

up "Hail Columbia," and

strikes

And now

louder whis-

still

all

the audience are dismissed,

The band

joy.

weep with her

mark her as she

commons, borne up on the right and on

thft left by her sons; you would think her aged feet
were winged. And now, that the evening shades have
gathered around her, and she kneels, in her humble cottage, between her sons, in solemn prayer, what think you
trips over the

first words that burst from her grateful lips?

" The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places,

the

are

Why,

and I have a goodly heritage."

The

post of instructor in college

The compensation,

enviable one.

is,

by no means, an

small;

the

and incessant.

after death; the labors, arduous

honors,
I

know

no employment more heart-trying, spirit-wasting, health-

Were

destroying.
pious, they
alas

all

students amiable, talented, and

would reconcile professors

to their lot; but,

in this land, children are rarely trained

by parents

way that they should go still we welcome them

we spurn not, without trial, the surly, proud,
self-willed youth
we throw around him arms of love,
pour into his ears the voice of entreaty, and bedew his
cheeks with the tears of fraternal sympathy; we read to
him the commandments of God, preach to him Jesus
and the resurrection, bear his name to the throne of
grace, and often, in watches of the night, when deep
sleep falleth upon man, we see the terrible vision of his
in the

with hope

danger, and our pillows can not bear up our aching heads.

Why,

then, do

lege tables
to influence

men

leave the word of

God

to serve col-

Men, called to preaeh, have qualifications

mind that others have not, and surely the

highest abilities for operating upon the

human

soul are

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
needed in the

my

emn

my

accepted

conviction of duty,

not,

possibility of obtaining
till

out of

appointment from a

sol-

however, arising from a

sense of superior qualifications for

to retain it

am

I have no fear that I

college.

I have

path.

185

it,

but from the im-

any other incumbent.

disease materially impairs

my

I expect

abilities, or

the post can attract superior ones.

Brethren, in behalf of myself and my colleagues, I

Gentlemen of the faculty, suffer a
say, " Pray for us."

word of exhortation

We

are in

the midst of death

sickness has recently reminded us of our frailty

let

us

knowing that the night of

Gentlemen of the Trustees, we
look to you for direction, sympathy, and support.
Young gentlemen of the institution, second our efforts
to cultivate your minds, your manners, and your hearts.
labor while the day lasts,

death

Show

is

approaching.

that the retreat of the

exalts,

and leads

to

God.

So

Muses
shall

like an angel standing in the sun

purifies,

your

radiating long streams

of mingled earthly and heavenly light

and remote

ages.

16

humanizes,

Alma Mater be
to

distant points

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

186

PHILOSOPHY,
sum
use

in its widest acceptatioiij denotes the

total of systematic

limited

is

knowledge, but in

its

ordinary

The

study of natural objects.

the

to

methods adopted in its pursuit vary according to the degree of mental cultivation, the extent of knowledge, and
These methods are greatly
the genius of the people.
diversified

among our heterogeneous

Let us

population.

notice the extremes; namely, that of exclusive observation,

and that of exclusive speculation

often denominated the

the speculative.

ing of

Youth

life.

practical

To the
is

first

we

the former

is

philosophy, the latter

are prone in the

morn-

the period to see, and feel, and

leap; to interest ourselves with particulars rather than

generals

with

matter rather than

rather than signs

This, too,

is

with

spirit

with

things

diagrams rather than symbols.

the philosophy of rude ages.

nation's

primitive songs are addressed not to the reason, but to

the imagination and the heart; and a people's primitive

religion

seems

ternal objects.

through visible
idence

to

be reached by the scafi"olding of ex-

The savage contemplates leading truths

signs, as God through the sun, Prov-

through the sacred hawk, or the resurrection

through Osiris leaping as a new-born Orus into the arms

of his mother

Isis.

Hence God taught man

at

first

through the senses, walking visibly and talking audibly

in the green walks of

Eden; conversing with patriarchs

beneath the shade of elms, and accepting praise in the

EXTREMES

IN PHILOSOPHY.

incense of smoking altars

lie

187

instructed in righteous-

ness by a devouring deluge, and in the doctrine of immortality by an ascending prophet in a chariot of

Even when he gave law

was on tangible tables and

it

The same thing

amidst thunder and lightning.

in the

history of education.

lessons in singing,

fire.

seen

is

nation takes her early

numbering and observing the skies;

and smooth her

she learns not to analyze, classify, reason,

speech

This

turity.

made considerable advances

she has

till

is

to

minds

the philosophy of uncultivated

whose education and worship must,

ma-

as a general thing,

be chiefly by forms, and colors, and sounds.

my

It is not

intention to discuss this subject at length,

but merely to point out some of the errors of these extremes.

And,

He

that of the practical philosopher.

first,

danger of many

in

is

errors,

among which

are the

following
1.

He makes

ceive

observations with too

I heard, I

^'I saw,

me?"

It is possible

they may.

gler," says the child, "fire a gold

and,

shattering

after

restore

it

know the

to

all

its

it

much

credulity.

my

senses de-

he cries; ^^can

felt,''

to

^'I

saw the jug-

watch from a

fragments,

instantaneously

but you

beauty and perfection;"

child did not see this.

pistol,

Passion has

its

influ-

ence upon perception.

"

what a world of vile, ill-favored faults

Looks handsome in three hundred pounds a year

imagination.

So, too,

You saw

a ghost

as

!"

you came

through the graveyard; you could not be deceived: the

countenance, the white robe, the uplifted hand, were

all

Did you, however, expect to see one? If so,

your fancy may have dressed a stump in the habiliments
so plain.

of the phantom.

mind.

For

So, too, with the prevailing tone of

illustration take the following story

from Ad-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

188
dison

"'I see/ says the susceptible young

lady, as she

moon through the telescope, ^two lovers con^No/ says the parson, as he puts his
versing sweetly.'
eye to the instrument, Hhey are two church steeples inOur conceptions, as well as
clining to each other.' "
Sometimes they are so vivid as
sensations, may mislead.
looks at the

as is often the

to pass for perceptions;

who draws an absent

artist

with the

case

object with a temporary be-

lief of its presence.

He

2.

does not sufficiently accumulate facts before he

draws his conclusion; he

is

prone to think that an ante-

cedent and a consequent stand to each other in the

and

tion of cause

In ancient times diseases were

eflFect.

accounted for by the aspects of the

when

times,
is

rela-

a comet is succeeded

frequently taken for the

stars.

So in our own

by war, the post hoc

Allied to this

p?'oj)ter hoc.

is

another error, that of overlooking where there are several

may have had an

antecedents, some which

producing the

result.

influence in

In experiments where

all

the

causes operating are cognizable by the senses, a single

experiment
sion

as

is

when

sufficient

to

authorize a general conclu-

in a glass retort

we bring an oxyd and an

acid in contact and produce a salt; but in the science of

mind, of meteorology, of medicine,

etc.,

where a thousand

unobserved causes may exert an influence, we need a

large accumulation of facts to

draw a general

principle.

In cases where there are many causes operating

duce a

result,

of influence-

we may

to pro-

we may assign to some one an undue share

Even where there is but a single remedy

err in considering

it

a cause.

If one should ap-

ply a ^^poor man's plaster" to a gouty extremity, and

find relief, ten to

cured

me

of gout."

of gout

one he will say, "'Poor man's plaster'

;

therefore,

it

will cure every

body

else

Suppose we admit the premises, we must not

hastily accept the conclusion.

Different

human systems

EXTREMES

IN PHILOSOTHY.

are not like different pieces of the

system at different times.

189

same metal, nor the same

in health might bear a

He who

bowl of champagne, might, when half starved, be intox-

same quantity of chicken broth.

icated by the

So with

human mind. Bishop Watson compares the geologist

a man seated on an elephant, and determining the

the
to

whole organism of the animal, and

from a

critical

various functions,

We

Bishop was hardly just

to believe that the

gist; but

all its

examination of the skin.

have reason

to the geolo-

what would he think of certain philosophers

who determine all the inclinations, the temthe capacities who even gauge the faith, elimi-

of our day,
pers,

nate the character, and predict the fortunes of an im-

mortal man, by a slight inspection of only the top of his

head?
3.

A third

error of

this philosopher is this

he does

not sufficiently compare facts with similar facts.

It

may

happen that a Gipsey correctly describes the past and

Aided, as such

predicts the future fortunes of a maid.

a one often

is,

by previous information, answers to

human countenances around

ing questions, and the

it

were strange

guesses.
to

But

if
it

she did not sometimes

leadher,

make shrewd

frequently happens that in attempting

do so she makes woeful blunders.

How

natural to

and magnify the correct guesses, while we overlook

Wonder excites and warms the
the incorrect ones!
seize

mind, making

it

easily impressible;

the

truthful sug-

gestions exciting wonder sink deep, while those which

are not so, and, because according to our expectation, are

received in a cool state of mind,

sion.

Hence the

make but

celebrity of quacks

little

impres-

and the success of

nostrums, both physical and metaphysical, religious and

political.

If

we compared

failures with cures, alas for

them

Some

are perverse

enough

to collect facts

on one side

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

190

of a question only.

old gentleman in

frail

Kentucky

contracted a great prejudice against the Baptist Church,

many

of whose ministers he had encountered

in

pro-

and not very kind controversy. Determined to

prove that Baptists were a bad people, he procured a
large blank book, and had it labeled, ^^ Scandalous Acts
of the Baptists;" and whenever he heard of anything
tracted,

mean connected with

the people of that persuasion

and

he was not slow of heart to believe he put it down in

Of course, he soon filled it, and might just
his record.
as

soon have

filled

it

with the scandalous acts of the

Thus

Methodists by a similar process.

arises

much

of

our sectarian prejudice.

Many

of our popular superstitions are sustained in the

same way. A man, learning that Friday is an unlucky

day, marks every instance of ill luck which he observes
on that day, and soon finds them legion; and he can not
be persuaded to commence a house, an oration, or a poem
on that day, and, perhaps, looks with suspicion upon
every friend to whom he is introduced, and prosecutes
with hesitancy and inefficiency every enterprise, however
good, which Providence may thrust upon him on a Friday.

If he have been so imprudent as to have selected

Friday for his birthday, his

The proper cure

Friday

is

for

life is

such a case

a lucky day,

and

assert stoutly that

mind on

collecting

for example, the discovery

that have happened on that

counter fallacy.

assumed

is to

set the

the instances of good fortune

of America

one constant distress.

In each case there

is

day.

This

is

a false premise

namely, that the cases, whether of good or

bad fortune, that have happened on such and such a

Friday, are likely to happen on

all

Fridays.

Innumerable are the instances of hasty induction in

this age,

which moves with

to be obtained in a hurry.

railroad speed.

Truth

is

not

I grant that accident some-

EXTREMES
times grasps

but

is

it

IN PHILOSOPHY.

suddenly, as

it

only in the

field

and planted; and waited

long patience for

it

tlie

reaper cuts the grain;

where philosophy has plowed,

till

received the early and the

it

they rush

to conclusions,

tory rather than

and had

for the precious fruit,

But most persons are impatient

and often rest in such as are

latter rain.

191

unsatisfac-

endure the pain of suspense.

This

is

especially the case with such as have never been trained

belongs to one

slowly"

thought.

consecutive, fatiguing

to patient,

who

who has habituated himself

usually

It
to

'^hasten

has learned to labor and travail in

to detect error

under

its

spirit,

Protean hues, thread argumenta-

tive labyrinths, resist moral hinderances,

and lead captive

the truth.
4.

Another error consists in not comparing facts with

which throw light upon them. For example

principles

here

one put

is

by a series of passes, and in her

to sleep

somnambulistic state she experiences strange psychological

phenomena, and accomplishes wonderful

feats;

is

clairvoyance,

table turning, etc."

spirit

raps,

once

a believer in ''mesmerism,

the practical philosopher

seen with his eyes;

at

He

has

he has heard with his ears; and

having seen and heard so and

so,

he

is

prepared to believe

what others have seen and heard in like manner. But

a priori reasons why the alleged
facts should be doubted ?
The love of the marvelous is
strong, and under its influence the mind is predisposed to
are there not certain

deception;

it

should, therefore, be on

its

guard against

deception, falsehood, exaggeration, false perception, collusion,

and legerdemain.

well-settled

principles

Again

concerning

which should be considered

ena as those referred to

There
as not to

is

in

are there

human

not certain

responsibility

examining such phenom-

scarcely any thing so absurd and unfounded

have been at some period believed.

Anciently

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

192

that

afl&rms

when
play

many

Democritus, for example;

by music.

diseases were cured

may be cured by

diseases

properly played, though he does not

tell

the flute

us

how

to

Marianus Capellus assures us that fevers may

it.

be cured by songs, though he puts in a saving clause,

Asclepiades is
must be appropriate.
more definite; he informs us that rheumatism is to be
cured by the trumpet, and that we must continue blowthe

that

ing

songs

it till

This doctrine,

the fibers begin to palpitate.

amusing as it is, prevails to a great extent to this day

and in this country, though in a modified form the form
of a charm a word the etymology of which indicates

the origin of the superstition

physicians, according to

it

denotes.

Zimmerman,

In Chili the

drive away diseases

by blowing around the beds of their patients; and as

they teach that physic consists wholly in this wind, any
one

may graduate

blow.

The same

medicine who has learned how to

in

practice

country, although

it

is

is

almost universal

chiefly confined

to

in

this

moral and

political maladies.

it

The golden

pill

was found

to

wrought wonders
consist of bread.

all

over England

Men

till

once supposed

mere external contact with a medicine through

which an electrical current had passed was sufficient
that

to

produce

its specific

effects.

They put up

their rem-

edies in electrified vials, and put those vials in

pockets,

and

were

ready

to

depose

that

their

castor

oil

thus applied through the vest was purgative, opium stupefying, etc.
in, and that,
upon the allegation of facts, as that the sun shines.
We have had witches even in our own state, though I
suppose we have none now, for in my youth I sold asafoetida enough for that purpose to drive them all out.
It were easy to multiply cases of this kind, but enough

Witchcraft was once as firmly believed

too,

a:

EXTREMES
lias

been said

to put us,

PHILOSOPHY.

IN

when we examine

193

facts,

on our

guard against the infirmities of our nature.

There are certain well-established laws, both in the
physical and moral world, which should be kept in view

our examinations of natural and mental phenomena

We should receive
the law of gravitation for instance.
in

facts

which are inconsistent with

itancy.

The law of

love

it

with very great hes-

as well settled in the

is

moral

How
world as the law of gravitation in the natural.
inthe
to
reformer
striking the answer of a certain great
quiring messengers

of another:

"Go show John

the

things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive

their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor

have the Gospel preached to them." If God is love, and

the great law of the universe is love, then labors of love
a preare the appropriate works of a reformer, and create
principle,
the
sumption in his favor. Equally clear is
see with
that each man is a separate being, destined to

and blaspheme and pray with his own

amid the
tongue, and to stand up and answer for himself
I am aware that we sometimes in
fires of the final day.
his

own

eyes,

day meet with things that are said to come down

it may
from the other world and in reference to these
light of
be supposed that we have no principles in the
this

which to judge them. I am not sure of that; it is fair

subject to the same
to presume that other worlds are
general laws as this.

It is not probable, if a

man

gets

run about the earth,

into paradise, that he will desire to

another place
upsetting tables and if he should get into
J

not quite so comfortable,

permitted to do

so.

it is

Again

settled in heaven or earth,

not likely that he will be

if there
it is

be any thing well

the law of progress

all things,
law not limited to democracy, but affecting
currents,
physical and metaphysical; despite all counter

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

194

a future,

that future be to

will

from the skies which prove

therefore, he send messages

him

be a greater

to

man has
him an advance. If,

Sure as a great good

the world moves onward.

than he was on earth, we may

fool

which brings

well question the accuracy of the telegraph

them down.

am

aware that facts ought

any hypothesis

in spite of
ability

the contrary or of our in-

to

them.

account for

to

be received

to

know

that

may

facts

occur above and different from what we have ever before

experienced; that apparent exceptions to laws may, when

properly understood, be examples of

may

that facts

occur which result from general laws not yet under-

stood

that they

may occur

understood; but in the

that

them

there

will

in violation of laws that are

last case

be sufficient

we must

notice

surely suppose

given,

suitable

preparation made, and an end accomplished sufficiently

important to justify a departure from them.

fore

we bow

be sure

to a fact,

it is

Let

would not

fact.

us, be-

discourage observation, experiment, and rational belief;

but I would not have you discourage caution,

and rational doubt.

physical truth

reflection,

would not becloud the

of

field

nor would I have you darken the region

of intellectual and moral truth.

In regard to reported
is

facts,

our practical philosopher

prone to receive testimony without sufficient examina-

tion

and scrutiny.

should ask.

Is

a fact or a

it

which the witness testifies ? When a man

that he heard spirit raps, he is not a witness
he

judgment
testifies

He

to

gives an

inference.

Is

portant facts omitted?

between

nection

statement

full,

or are im-

Does he bear witness

when he should

to a conto

an

Does he extenuate, exaggerate,

dis-

facts

arrangement only?

his

testify

guise, or modify facts or mingle opinions with

There
in

are certain principles, too,

mind

in

examining testimony.

which are
There is

to

them

be borne

a particular

EXTREMES

PHILOSOPHY.

IN

195

mind necessary to enable a man to observe facts.

Let us inquire wbo the witness is; what has been the
training of his mind?
Nor must his condition or character be overlooked.
Where does he live ? What has
state of

he been doing?

he an inquirer

Is

or a convert?

Is his

testimony designed or incidental, separate or concurrent,

inconsistent or harmonious?

ond-hand witness

Is he an original or a sec-

Does he expect

What

renown from his testimony?

upon himself?

his facts

science easy, to break

principles

which

to

heart

or

the influence of

is

Do they tend

down moral
his

profit, or flattery,

make

to

restraint, to

entertains

his con-

overthrow
ferocious-

hatred, and to facilitate his progress in a path to which

his steps are already inclined

which

man

What wonder

to

examine himself

if

such

glorified in a world

corrupt and full of violence

is

fail

have free course and be

facts should

Nor should

If

as well as his witness.

the statements tend to promote his pleasures or his interests,

to

strengthen his appetites or habits, to foster his

prejudices or passions, he
ine the value

of the

is

hardly competent to determ-

testimony which supports them.

If he be not on his guard, his will

to belief as with the

he

fail to

may rush him forward

power of the tempest.

community in which the statements

human mind is prone to extremes.
sooner

or

Nor should

examine the character and condition of the

later

indifi'erence

are believed.
Is

succeeds

it

to

The

not true that

excitement,

credulity to skepticism, empiricism to dogmatism, trans-

cendentalism to sensualism, an era of reckless revolution

to

one of iron despotism, a fashion of allegorizing

fashion of literalism

He who

to

does not study the relation

of his country and times to preceding ones, knows not

the prevailing fashions of mind, and
misled.

in

We

is

very liable to be

are now, for example, suffering a reaction

philosophy,

from

scholasticism

in medicine, from

196

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

dogmatism;

in

from

religion,

enthusiasm

the

witliin

Church and materialism -without it. He only who bears

this in mind is prepared to examine the vagaries of the

among

statements

and the

country,

thoughtless masses.

its

inquire whether there

mean

not

is

currency

receive

Nor should we

forget to

any counter testimony,

do

I do not sympathize with

negative testimony.

the Irishman

which

that he was not acquitted,

who complained

though only two witnesses testified that they saw him

steal the ax, while twenty swore that they did not see

But

him.

would ask

whet'*aer there is not

testimony

which disproves that which has been stated?

5. He does not classify or generalize; he cares but
about species or genera; his business

which he

is

associations.

is

little

with facts only,

content to preserve and recall by arbitrary

Is

he an agriculturist

He

is

concerned

own soil and the modes by which it may be

rendered more productive what cares he to what class it
only with his

belongs?
diseases

Is

he a physician?

and remedies

constitutions

ily

symptoms of

seeks not to reduce

to their classes

temperaments;

come under

He

and orders, or bodso

disease as they arise, he

a metaphysician
that

to

He

is

combat the

he

content.

Is

he

studies seriatim the characters

his notice, without undertaking to ana-

lyze them, or trace

them

to leading principles of action.

he a student ? He obtains his knowledge ad rem.

Thus far we have glanced at errors of investigation
the same philosopher may commit errors of reasoning

Is

also
1.

kind

He
is

does not syllogize.

usually a great

True, a philosopher of this

reasoner;

but then

he

is

not

He thinks, with Locke, that God

make him a mere two-legged animal, and leave it
Aristotle to make him rational
and, therefore, he

much

of a logician.

did not
to

gives himself no trouble about Aristotle,

and contents

EXTREMES

PHILOSOPHY.

IN

197

himself with a logic whicli he got as Dogberry got his

reading and writing

by

And

nature.

he can not

if

bring his adversaries to terms in any other way, he knows

he can resort to the ad hominetiij and take the ayes and

noes, as they do in Congress sometimes.

There are three steps

making logic easy, and we

The first was when the good

in

have reached the third.

mother of science, fearing the influence of
decreed that

sion,

decisions should be according to

all

and that

Aristotle,

free discus-

all

disputants

should defend him,

right or wrong, under a penalty of five shillings.

those days,
a

public

when

a pair of combatants were called on for

they purchased a set of syllogisms,

exercise,

which were then

In

by the string, and deshoe-buckles, from generation to gen-

sold like fish,

scended, like silver

These were drawn out from the caps of oppo-

eration.

nent and respondent respectively as the moderator paced

between them, and settled the controversy in favor of the

respondent when the strings were both exhausted. Disputation was rendered more easy by

Raymond

invented a machine to reason by hand

Lully,

so that

who

you had

only to turn, secundem artem, the circles, on the borders

of which were inscribed the questions, subjects, and predicaments, as a

woman

turns her coffee-mill, to work out

any conclusion you required.

But of

all

reasoning that

of our matter-of-fact philosophy, which divorces the con-

nection heretofore subsisting between premiss and conclusion,

and reaches

its

conclusions over a

or a quid of cavendish, as

most

easy.

it

mug

of beer

were atmospherically,

is

the

Endless are the instances of invalid reason-

ing which are current

among

us.

I can not go through

the table of popular fallacies, but only give a specimen.

In

all

third.

reasoning

we compare two extremes with the same

If this third be ambiguous, or used in difi"erent

degrees of extension, or if something be understood in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

198

connection with
other,

it

it

was not in the

in one premiss whicli

may chance

that the extremes, not being com-

pared with the same third, are not compared with each

How

other.

numerous

ambiguous words

are the

rare such as are not so

If I say, " I

how

a Democrat,"

am in favor of the sovereignty of the

but you may suppose I use the term in the tem-

may mean

people;

that I

all

the improper

which have been chargeable upon the

political party

porary and local sense, and, cataloguing

acts

am

may seek
many things which I heartily redeny that I am a Democrat, I may mean
with a certain political party; you may

bearing that name, since the days of Jefferson,

to hold

me

responsible for

So

pudiate.

if I

that I do not act

take the term in

its

etymological sense, and charge

with favoring monarchy or aristocracy.

abolitionist, I

oppressed

understand
charge

me

may mean

am an

If I say I

that I desire the liberation of the

this is the proper sense of the

it

me

word

you may

as the rallying cry of a political party,

and

with advocating rebellion, dissolution of the

Union, insurrection of the slaves

in short, all the

mad-

ness which the maddest of certain partisans have ever

exhibited.

If,

using the term in

rary sense, I deny that I

assuming that I use

me

am

its

technical or tempo-

an abolitionist, then you,

in the former sense,

it

may

accuse

with favoring tyranny, oppression, and the most hei-

nous form of cruelty.

So I

am

served like the witch

that was tried by water: if she would be judged innocent,

she must drown

and

if

she did not drown, she

must be burned. This may seem too obviously errone

ous to mislead, and yet, perhaps, some of the best men,
in their solitary reasoning, are thus confused.

erwise can

we account

oth

for the fact that antagonistic poli

ticians are so kind to each

other in the parlor and the

Church, and yet when on the

and vengeful?

How

political arena are so fierce

EXTREMES
Often

men mistake an

argument founded

on

founded on analogy

is

resemblance of

IN PHILOSOPHY.

199

analogy for a resemblance.

An

resemblance

one

much

less

an analogy.

is

for analogy is

so;

Between the stomach of a swine

ratios.

and the stomach of a man there

but there

imperfect,

is

but

is

little

resemblance,

not do to argue, then,

It will

remedy upon the latter will be the

upon the former; yet some have so
There is an article called antimony the word

that the effect of a

same

as its effect

reasoned.
is

a corruption of anti-monk, and thus

plied.

Some

it

was

at first ap-

of the article in the form of powder was

thrown from the door of a monastery of German Benedictine monks, in which Basil Valentine was experiment-

The hogs coming up

ing upon metals occasionally.

the door to eat of the

powder with

offal,

to

swallowed portions of the

Basil thought he perceived in the ani-

it.

mals an increased tendency

to fatten,

and attributed

the black powder scattered at the door.

periments confirmed this opinion.

it

to

Subsequent ex-

Then thus he

rea-

soned, as the stomach of a hog to a hog, so the stomach

of a

man

man

to a

hog stomach,

with he mingles
expecting that
pigs, fat, sleek,
it

proved

to

then as this black powder

so will it
it

it

be to the

human

is

stomach.

to the

Forth-

with the food of his brother monks,

would make them as

and well-favored;

it

but, lo

had made the

killed them:

it

be pro-hog, but a?i^i-monk.

Precisely the same kind of reasoning seems to have

been employed by Mr. Owen.

He

lays

down twelve laws

That man did not create himself, and

2. That no
at birth was ignorant of his organization.
two infants possess the same organization. 3. That orof philosophy:

1.

ganization and circumstances mold the individual.

That no individual chooses his time or place of

5.

That each may receive true

to impressions.

6.

4.

birth.

or false notions according

That he must believe according

to

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

200

his strongest impressions.

ble

That he must

7-

like agreea-

sensations and dislike disagreeable ones.

agreeable

when

sensations,

protracted,

or

That

8.

rapidly

too

That great progress de10. That the

pends upon due exercise and culture.
changed, become painful.

man

worst

is

9.

produced by the worst bodily organization

and circumstances.

That the medium man

11.

pro-

is

duced by medium organization and circumstances. 12.

That the best man is the product of the best organs and

From

circumstances.

these laws

man we must improve

him

food, water,

ity,

and

him with

it

results that to perfect

his physical organization

and shelter

in proper quantity

give

and qual-

and suitable intervals ; and provide

fresh air, sunlight, and clothing; his

at regular
sufficient

impressions, then, being agreeable, he will be happy in

himself,

and agreeable

to

around him;

all

thus happy, he will be virtuous.

Well, this

and being
all

is

appli-

hog philosophy it is perfect;

but when you proceed by analogy from hog to man you
cable to swine, and as a

find

it

won't work.

Mr. Owen tried

it,

and found

it

was

pro-hog, but anti-man; that, however comfortably he pro-

vided for his fellows, they would not

easy.

True,

more.

He

is

an animal

but he

down and be
something

is

indebted to external impressions, but not

He

altogether.
rior

man

is

lie

creatures

has springs within him of which infeknow nothing; and educate him as you

may, his fears and aspirations

will burst out,

amid your sneers build

Man,

and stain them with the

altars

blood of victims.
ization

know,

indebted to his organ-

but in the most perfect body the heart

out of tune, and, however

mony may
ful

is

and even

not issue from

its

chords

its strings.

may be

may be

swept, har-

It is a

most merci-

circumstance that our erroneous reasoning

is

often

neutralized.

If there

is

so

much

fallacious reasoning,

how happens

EXTREMES
it

that the world

is

not turned upside

ter than they judge,

An

IN PHILOSOPHY.

201

Men

down ?

act bet-

and judge better than they reason.

Antinomian may be

bound

to sin,

and

yet be as fearful of sinning as his Pelagian neighbor.

may be under

Catholic

syllogistic-ally

syllogistic necessity to persecute

even to death, and yet be as harmless as a Protestant.

An

infidel

may be under

logical

bonds

to liberality,

yet be as shameful a bigot as bloody Mary.

the loop-holes of our logic.

ciples to go at the risk
to the slaveholder;

but

it

may be bound by my

of

prin-

and preach emancipation

life

is

and

Endless are

easy for

me

to point to St.

Paul getting over the walls of Damascus in a basket.

Sometimes our consciousness corrects

that

men

are not accountable thus:

us.

Our

Some prove

volitions result

from our motives; our motives from our circumstances

and propensities

and inasmuch

as

we had no agency

in

the arrangement of the former or the creation of the

we

latter,

are

neither free nor

refuting the reasoning,

terrogate the heart:

men
are

accountable.

reject the

you

like

Without

conclusion.

In-

the mill-wheel that

? or are you self-movcomprehend the laws which

govern you and adjust your relations to them? Though

unconsciously yields to the stream

ing and intelligent

able

to

you dismiss remorse, are there not furies that sometimes

rattle through the unswept hearth, and rake up the covered

fires

of the conscience

Do you deny ?

Then

point to the thighs that have been loosened for sin, and

the knees that have smitten each other for iniquity; I

turn to the winds that have borne upon their wings your
utterances of praise or blame, your accusations of

self,

and

your secret prayers for mercy; I point to the laws and

prisons which embody the feelings of the national heart.

Do you
appeal

heart?

say
is

all this is

the result of wrong education; the

not to the head, but to the heart

Sophism may make men

the universal

stoics;

but the eyes

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

202
will weep, the

knees

cowards of us

all.

will tremble,

Sometimes instinct saves us from

which

falling into the pit

fallacious reasoning digs for us.

strated that there

that there

is

make

conscience will

no such thing as

Hume

demon-

and Berkely

spirit,

no such thing as matter; but the world has

is

been jogging along just as well ever since

as

though

it

had both matter and spirit left.

But the most usual corrective of fallacy is common
sense; for although some say that there is no common
sense, I shall

assume that there

never thought

it

is

Have you

little left.

wonderful that clergymen whose creeds

are contradictories, should form Christian characters in

perfect

How

harmony and Christian

is it

lives of perfect similarity?

that eminent physicians of contradictory medi-

doctrines, should have about the

cal

same number of

Men will
cures and recoveries among their patients?
never surrender either a primary truth or a practical
principle because they can not construct a syllogism or

Go
him

detect a fallacy in a sophism.

his team to market, and give

dorus, " If any body be moved,

place where

it is

or a place

moved

in the place

nor

it

is

moved

where

in a place

is

is

for

no such thing as motion."

it

not; but

where

is

moved

either

it is

where

can either act or suffer where

wagoner driving

the argument of Dio-

it

where

it is,

to the

it is it

it is not,

it

for nothing

not; therefore, there

Do you think

the poor

man
No;

a legion of arguing angels could not persuade

is

not

remains;

would unhitch his horses and

that there

in a

is

down

sit

in despair

him

no such thing as motion when he cracks his

whip and sees the wheels go round.

Notwithstanding all these checks which Providence
has placed upon fallacious reasoning,

it is still

there are innumerable evils resulting from

among the young and

inexperienced.

it,

And

true that
especially

there

is

EXTREMES

IN PHILOSOPHY.

way whereby men may be taught

203

to reason correctly

and

verify their conclusions.

We

have glanced

investigation and errors

at errors in

in reasoning; there are other errors of this practical phi-

losophy.

It overlooks the ideal

the speculative understanding

ding,

craven,

careworn

it

is

it

is

an earthly, plodit

never

moves

the mien and majesty of an

never transfigured upon the mountain;

never throws aside

heavens;

chains the eagle of

it

philosophy;

through the grove with

angel;

it

staff

its

and mantle

it

ascend the

to

never darkens the earth by opening upon us

the excessive brightness of the skies

it

never bedews

us with a heavenly baptism, nor breathes into us a kingly

has no conception of the process by which

Newton predicted the combustible element of water from
spirit;

it

its refrangibility, or

by which Copernicus,

flying through

the midst of heaven, like an angel with a trumpet, marshaled into order and harmony the phenomena of the
starry hosts, or of the steps by which a greater than he
ascended from the falling apple to the law of the celestial spaces.
It has a lamp to guide our feet through the

outer world, but none to light our

throws

its

way

to the

flickering rays over the present

inward;

and the

it

past,

but projects no long and spreading sunbeams over the

distant and glorious future;

but sees not the essence;

it

concerns itself with forms,

busies itself with

it

when

rather than causes; and

attention

its

is

efi"ects

attracted

upward along the links of causation, it is unable to gaze

high enough to see the staple that holds up or the power
that electrifies the chain

hence

immortal, invisible, to hold to

and the

visible

when

crumbling about

part passive and

imitative,

has nothing eternal,

it

it

it;

feels the temporal

it

is

for the

and when active

it

most

merely

plucks and dries, and analyzes the productions of nature

without drinking long draughts from her perennial fount-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

204

ains of thouglit and feeling.

experience

without intuition

"Dust thou
Hence,

it

art,

It

the

is

philosopliy of

we may

or faith, of it

and unto dust thou

say,

return."

shalt

lacks inspiration, energy, originality;

it

turns

not the marble into man, nor the canvas into history, nor
the earth into a temple, nor the air into the whispers of

guardian angels, nor the page into immortal song;

it

leads out no singing martyrs to the baptism of blood or

the death of

It illuminates,

fire.

but

obscures, too.

it

"We may apply to it the words of one of Plato's disciples

"The sense of man carries a resemblance to the sun,

which

as

we

see openeth

and revealeth

all

the terrestrial

globe; so doth the sense discover natural things, but

darkeneth and shutteth up divine."

is

not eminently practical.

eschews

It

it

that

all

It sings with Pope,

" For forms of government let fools contest

Whatever is best administei'ed is best.

For modes of faith let graceless bigots fight,
His can't be wrong whose life is in the right."

What was

It forgets that abstractions are practical.

that blew Gideon's trumpet

and drew impassable

it

lines

round the exiled David in the wilderness and the city?

What was it that in the days of
Truth, abstract truth.
the Maccabees

umphant

filled

soldiers,

the mountains of Judea with

who

tide of terrific invasion

it

that

rolled

An

made Cromwell's

back again and again the

What was

abstract truth.

lines the terror of

Washington's undisciplined forces

An

tri-

the

Europe, and

conquerors

of

mere abstraction.
British
What is it that is overturning the nations, and spreading over earth the bloom and the beauty of Paradise ?
troops

set

of abstract

abstraction

truths

such

as

that

all

men have

equal rights, and that Jesus came into the world to save
sinners.

What

abstractions

profession, trade, or art

is

not founded in

X T n E M E S IN PHILOSOPHY.

But there

is

205

a speculative philosophy in vogue.

It is

usually developed in advanced age and advanced stages

Our own country

of society.

busy with

are too

is

not fruitful of

outward things.

it;

Abstractions

we

float

about the nation's mind, but they are generally imported

from Europe, chiefly from Germany

modern times seems

that land which

be the favorite resort of the spec-

to

I have not time to mention

ulative intellect.

in

more than

two or three of the classes of the speculative philosophers of the age.

1.

We

have the political speculatist, who aims

society perfect

the

by perfecting

communism and

social

institutions:

new

con-

which has seized the people of the United

is this
Give the people a good con-

The theory

States.

hence

revolutionism which so lately over-

spread Europe like a cholera, and the rage for

stitutions

make

to

and they

have good laws

them good
laws, and they will be prosperous; make them prosperous, and they will be happy; make them happy, and they
will be virtuous.
The old policy was make the individual right, and the aggregate will be right; the new
is
make the aggregate right, and never mind the individual.
The old philosophy was, '^ Out of the heart prostitution,

will

give

ceed

murders,

thoughts,

evil

thefts, false witness,

adulteries,

the lawgivers proceed evil thoughts,

these sages,
nation.

make

fornications,

blasphemies;" the new

us lawgivers, and

Let us construct the

etc.;

we

political

shall the vine yield her fruit, the

Out of

is,

therefore, cry

will

purify the

machine

then

ground her increase,

and the heavens their dew; the hire of man and beast
shall rise, and the people shall possess all things; old

men

shall

shall

"smell April and May''

wear young

construct a body-politic

work of

art.

eyes,

and happy boys and girls

all through the yes-r.
You

Social institutions are not the

Art may, indeed, assist nature

it

may

also

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

206
restrain
alleges

Many

it.

a politician glories in a cure

which he

he has wrought by his remedy, when he ought

to

medkatrix of the poor body-politic that he

The New Jerusalem can never be
has not dispatched it.
Make your mountains mountains of
legislated into being.
thank the

vis

the Lordj and they shall blossom;

make your

Man

of truth, and they shall swarm.

society

Make

is

not passive, but

is

active; he can never be raised ah extra

cities cities

the progress of

from within outward, not from without inward.

and virtuous, and

a nation wise

it

will

shake des-

potism from the throne as the lion shakes the dew from
his mane, and

and code

it

will

construct a suitable constitution

and may be as silently

comb and fills its cells with

as certainly, as steadily,

as the hive constructs the

honey.

Politicians

may hasten

this operation; but only

by removing the restrictions which fetter industry, and

by crushing the enginery of fraud, and prejudice, and
slavery; in short, by breaking down the hinderances to
human progress which they have set up, and allowing a

more perfect freedom of human

fect protection to

am

not

human

action,

and a more per-

right.

insensible of the influence of both bread

and freedom upon

ence and plenty

virtue.

may

I know, too, that independ-

only hasten a nation's destruction.

France in her revolution tried the inverted process of

that of political machinery.
You speak
perfecting men

of the hinderances to

its

operation

kingcraft,

priest-

craft, the established institutions of society, and the prej-

udices of education.

But the

revolutionists of France

sweep these away before they begin ; they declare the

Divine law to be no more, and the Lord's prophet to have

no vision

they cause the Sabbaths and solemn feasts to

be forgotten, and pollute the sanctuary with the vilest

Now they can construct a body-politic to
abominations.
their heart's content.

Mark

the result.

France hangs

EXTREMES
down her head

to the

PHILOSOPHY.

IN

ground

her eyes

ing; her bowels are troubled; her heart

the dust.

She

the Seine

still

its

is

crimson tide

poured out ia

to the

the heads of orators and philosophers drop

blood from the lamp-post every morning

swarm

therless children

the city

as the

Shall virgins and

the sword

man

Shall

with watch-

Lord, and pity!

says, ^^Behold,
roll

fail

207

Shall

sea?

Shall

down

fresh

Shall the fa-

wounded in the streets of

young men fall together by

slay in his anger

and no one

Shall the day be full of terrors as the night

pity?

is

of darkness ?"

There

2.

believe Scripture if they can divest

produce holiness.
it

Men

the moral speculatist.

is

The

its

would believe

fool

not for his all-seeing eye

of

it

are prone to

and

liberals

tendency
in Grod

will

to

were

advocate

Christianity if they can divest it of specific precepts and

eternal sanctions.

The moral

This

this purpose.

is

his theory

in

Virtue aims at the

narrow the bounds of our affections diminishes our

gard for the general good

and the family

able to virtue.
national,

all

hence, patriotism, gratitude,

affections should

Man

social,

permanent, glorious object, man; and an-

attachments to individuals, which are changing,

may

and of

little

consequence,

consecrate himself upon the altar of human-

ity in general.

This

a pretty model of a
tion,

be repressed as unfavor-

should turn from domestic,

indistinctly seen, passing away,

that he

re-

ecclesiastical scenes to contemplate the dis-

and

tinct, definite,

nul

for

Every thing which tends

greatest good of the universe.

to

comes

speculatist

is

a beautiful theory;

machine

like

many

produce perpetual mowill not

work.

object, is but an abstraction

few

the only objection to

Man, though a glorious

to

and

it

is

that

it

they who
distinctly
we can not be moved to act for that in
which we feel no interest. Nor is this the only diffi-

can perceive

it

thize with it;

do can not sympa-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

JOS

culty; the good of the whole

How

sion.

can we

beyond our comprehenknow what means will promote it ? or

is

with what interest could we apply them, after having

rooted from our breasts the family, social, and
patriotic
attachments, and robbed the heart of

There

is

a philosophic speculatist.

Kant

class is

man who

its

sensibility?

The type of the

rarely passed beyond the walls

of his native city, and was never seen thirty miles from
its gates.
He was as near an abstraction as could well

be;

although he lived to a good old age, he was

except, perhaps, in the abstract.
He
had, however, a double basis for his philosophy a
realfor,

never married,

istic

and an

His followers have not been so

Fichte rejects the former, and traces all knowl-

wise.

idealistic.

edge to the latter; the

the center of
its

soul,

according to him,

sits in

consciousness, and draws the scenes of

subjective circle as the spider spins his web.
Schelits

ling affirms that subject

and object are the two poles of

Hegel brings the poles together, asserting
that subject and object, thought and being, are
one;
that the Deity is only a process, and this process identiexistence.

with the evolution of ideas in the human mind.

This is the ultima tliule of the philosophy of the
absolute, which usually envelops itself in a
cloud of words,
cal

so as to

remind us of the poet's

"Explain about

And

talk about

it,
it,

lines to dullness

and explain, till all men doubt

and about it, and about it."

it;

It is the reverse of the

philosophy of Bacon.
According
you would form an idea of a man, for example,
you must see him if you would know him physically,
you must study him anatomically and physiologically;
to

him,

if

if

you would know him intellectually, you must mark

his
utterances, and actions, and habits.
According to the
latter, if you would form a perfect
idea of a man, you

EXTREMES

IN PHILOSOPHY.

must take him muscles, bones, and brains

and

fluids

ibility

all

substances

that has form, color, extension, and divis-

words and

agine a

209

works

vacuum under

self standing right

up

entirely out of the

his hat,

and study the man him-

in the abstract.

18

way; im-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

210

leligi0tis |Jias

mere animal

life

tl]^

^uh

improvement

nal causes, such as climate,

soil,

0f
is

(BUtutm.

traceable to exter-

food, shelter,

and the

contour and relief of the country; but in man it is not

We must, indeed, grant that so far as his body is
so.
concerned, external circumstances have power over him,
and that through the body they may reach the mind and
heart; but the limits of this influence are narrow.

often find the most perfect animal

man

We

very low in the

scale of civilization, and, on the other hand, the poorest

human frame in union with the most exalted

moral powers. The region which brings forth the palmtree and nourishes the lion, produces but pigmy men;
physical

while the temperate latitudes present us with the noblest

intellects.

as external circumstances affect

So far

character, they operate through the

human

mind rather than the

which a churlish climate imposes, that makes the temperate region more prolific of intellect than the tropical; and the same thing

body.

It is the

necessity for

toil

would make the frigid more favorable than the temperate,

but that there is a limit beyond which humanity can not
well be taxed.

To

raise

up man

to his highest elevation,

he must be operated upon within. What is the surest

means of so operating upon the soul as best to develop
and train its powers? I answer, religious truth. Any
great doctrine

may be taken

for illustration.

We

select

that all-comprehending truth, the beginning and end of

science

there

is

a God.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

Now,

apprehended and

He who

to think.

encouragement to think.
the dust and

It is the

1.

this truth is

being equal,

other things

felt,

measure of a man's power.

power

which

I assert that the degree in

211

the

is

measure of his

apprehends God truly has great

If

we believed that we were from

the dust, our thoughts would be of the

to

earth, earthy; a depressing weight

would hang upon

all

our faculties; there would be no upspringing to the light,

no leaping or looking forward beyond the grave; but in

we should look down upon the worm as our

brother, and the sepulcher as our final home.
How difdespair

ferent

mind

when one

the

feels that

God

child of

eternal progress

How

he

the ofi"spring of infinite

is

destined

all

and

to immortality

the faculties, under the im-

pulse of such a faith, open as flowers to the summer's

sun

How every feeling

In deepest perplexity the soul

fully

wait

upward

points

may

for the unfolding of its

to things

unseen

wait patiently, hope-

own powers;

for the

germination of hidden spiritual seed; for the outflowing

of concealed spices; for the rising of stars in the darkness; for the dawning of an eternal morning.
baflled in its researches, it

assurance,

^'

may

What thou knowest

hereafter."

If

things, then

may we

there

be

However

continue them with this

not now, thou shalt

one Lord,

know

one law over

repose confidence in our science

God be immutable, then may we

all
:

if

rest assured that our

As God
we may look steadfastly and confidently
for order and harmony even in confusion and discord;
and while we are kept sensible of our deficiency, we may
acquisitions of truth will never lose their value.
is

infinitely wise,

also

be kept athirst for advancement.

We learn

to regard

the whole universe with interest, as the domain of our

Father;

the shadow of his attributes and the

scafi'old-

ing erected to furnish us at once with the means and

the motives to ascend the heavens.

We

find in

God

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

212
starting-point

pursuit

in

for our reasonings;

of truth;

a link to

all

a firm

that

is

foundation

permanent; a

which the temple of truth would be a

sky-light without

tomb.
Purity of heart promotes strength of mind.

may have

mind improved without enjoying

his

man

a corre-

spondent improvement in the heart; but he can not have

his heart improved without having

As

his

understanding

becomes clarified, prejudice,

and passion decline, and the desire for truth

enriched.
selfishness,

the

heart

Now, what motive to purity so great as a

God? Take a man from his family
and place him among strangers, and you greatly diminish
his moral restraint.
Remove him to the frontier of civgrows strong.

just conception of

will

and unless he have unusual moral principle he

become reckless; place him among savages, and he

will

grow into a savage; shut him up with

will

become

ilization,

tion,

brutish.

from the

less to

brutes, and he
But move him in the other directhe more pure society, from the less

to the greater scrutiny,

till

he reaches the holiest society

and the most intimate fellowship of earth, and he becomes greatly improved. Could he be placed in the center of an amphitheater,

and

all

the good of earth and

all

the saints and angels of heaven be ranged around him,

while every eye was directed to his transparent breast,

how

But

pure would be his emotions and his aims!

what were the gaze of the universe

Lafayette,

it is

said,

when immured

to the eye of

God?

in his castle prison,

never looked through the key-hole of his dungeon without meeting the eye of a sentinel directed upon him.

may

faith, in

So

the darkest corner of the earth, look into

the eye of God.

There

is

expression;

another consideration
but

new truth

must be expressed

first

is

mind grows by

its

own

generally unpopular;

it

in darkness, often in persecution,

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

Now, the greatest motive

sometimes in death.

of truth

faithful expression

213
to

a just conception of its

is

The ancients had their esoteric and exoThe very terms show that they often held
teric doctrines.
Not so much from want of
truth a prisoner; and why?
great Author.

honesty as want of faith in God.

Our idea of God is the measure of our power to act.

Under the influence of mere passion a man may put forth
2.

great power; but, like brute power,

sustained nor well directed; for

escent; and as
are imperfect,

it

is

human

passion

not guided by reason,

bungling, and

liable

neither long

is

it

its

is

evan-

operations

be arrested by

to

obstacles, the voice of persuasion, or the checks of con-

science.

fear of the

desperation
is

may become
may be terrible

future

stances favoring,

inspires

men who

I grant that

is

as

rid themselves of

all

desperate, and, circumto the earth;

but their

that of madness, and the fear which

fitful.

it

Hercules and Theseus, the great

heroes of antiquity, are fabled to have moved under the

Alexander, Caesar, Genghis Khan,

direction of the gods.

Mohammed,

Bonaparte, were

all

under the delusion that

they were pressed forward by the hand of the Almighty.

Tamerlane was arrested

prophet to his aid.

his

march

till

he called the

Atilla conceived himself to be the

scourge of God, and the

his sword the

in

Huns who

gift of the

followed

him thought

Deity and the symbol of

tri-

God
Washgave overpowering force to their sense of duty.
his
knees.
Hullevolution
on
fought
through
the
ington
umph.

man

With Wellington and Nelson

nature, sensible of

future,

and a prey

its

the idea of

weakness, ignorant of the

to superstitious fears,

can project no

magnificent schemes, no outsweeping conquests, no long

marches over bleeding and dying men, till it can find

authority and strength in some real or supposed divinity;

and the majesty of

this divinity is the

measure of

^H

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

214

the courage, the intrepidity, the energy which

If this be so, there

forth.

Gustavus Adolphus

tian.

makes

is

puts

good Christian always

said, a

So he does,

a good soldier.

that his quarrel

it

no warrior like the Chris-

is

if

only he be sure

So said Prince Eugene; and

right.

both of them were illustrious examples of the remark.

When

man

feels that

God

with him, he

is

may do

as

occasion shall serve; he feels that the laws of the universe are devoted to his purposes

that

the stars in their

courses fight for him, and he defies a misfortune to over-

He

take him.

and

fire,

cross

can fortify himself with a pillar of cloud

seas without ships,

and

rivers

without

bridges, encounter walls with rams' horns, rout armies

with lamps and empty pitchers, and bring down giants

with a pebble and a

What made Cromwell

sling.

so

mighty, but the impression that he was the leader of

God's hosts?

What

but a sense of the Divine direction,

and blessing, bore up the Pilgrims on

protection,

England shores when

seemed ready

frosts,

and

It is the

to destroy?

New

and savages

diseases,

same feeling that

bears up the missionary, whether in polar seas or tropical

islands,

more

whether amid the bears of the wilderness or his

terrible enemies, the

because he feels

that

Whether he encounter

Pagan

he

is

priests.

linked

to

He

is

strong,

Omnipotence.

winds, or storms, or stripes, or

imprisonments, or labors, or tumults, or watchings, or

fastings, or

all

belong to

may
to

men, or

devils, or principalities, or powers, or

or death, they are

life,

his auxiliaries, because they

Him whom

him, he feels

aifect

all

he serves; and however they

that he is a victor; for he desires

do nothing inconsistent with the Divine

will,

and he

feeling, one can chase a

it.
With such a
men
and
thousand
two put ten

thousand

is

says, I can

do

all

things consistent with

to flight.

It

not often that the Christian

manifests his superiority outwardly, though he

may

in-

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

"he

wardly; for

that subdueth his spirit

he that taketh a city."

The power to endure
being equal

by an

also

is

is

measured

215

greater than

other

individual's idea of God.

things

We

have,

I know, noble examples of fortitude in men whose notion

God was comparatively low. Codrus, King of Athens,

when he learned that the Delphic oracle had promised
of

encamped beneath the

success to the Dorians,

his capital, provided they spared his

self

woodman and went out

as

life,

to

walls of

disguised him-

court his death.

Codes, the Roman, opposed the whole army of Porsenna

at the

ting

head of

off

a bridge, while his

companions were cut-

the communication with the shore.

bore patiently the keenest torments

Eegulus

that Carthaginian

cruelty could invent rather than persuade his countrymen

to an

Mutius Scoevola put his hand

ignominious peace.

into the flames of the altar before his

there

it

fried

stances, the

mind

till

But

off.

is

enemy, and held

in all these,

and similar

it

in-

under the strong motives of pride,

vanity, patriotism, revenge, stimulated by the sight,

and

by the shout of an applauding country and

often, too,

the hope of an undying fame, and unchecked by the

influence of countervailing passion or of reason; for usually the acts are

performed so suddenly as

for the exercise of

who fearlessly
a mad dog, or

judgment.

to give

no time

man

often does the

leads his platoon to battle, tremble before

turn pale before a corpse, or shrink before

a single adversary

How

few that would die upon the

would be willing

battle plain

How

to lay

down

their lives for

their country, if their sacrifices were forever to be un-

known, or

if

they were

to

endure death upon the

amid the execrations of men

If
endure all forms and degrees
you must find a soul that reposes upon

or in a dungeon, or

you would

scaffold,
!

find one able to

of suffering nohly^

the one living and true God.

Talk not of suffering war-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

216

when you name the noble army of martyrs who,

through faith in God, stopped the mouths of lions,

riors,

quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the

sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant
in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, were

tortured, not accepting deliverance that they

And

tain a better resurrection.

might

ob-

others had trial of cruel

mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and

They were

imprisonments.
der,

They

were tempted, were slain with the sword.

wandered about

in sheepskins

tute, afflicted, tormented.

too,

stoned, they were sawn asun-

when

man

and goatskins, being

Here

is

royal fortitude.

called to suffer bereavement, his

is

desti-

So,

power

He who

of endurance depends upon his notion of God.

has not a just conception of a presiding deity can scarce

avoid lamentation, murmuring, appalling grief; but he

who embraces
*'Thy

will

the true idea of the Almighty

all

things work together for good; he feels

that his happiness

all

is

It is glorious to
to

drawn from an

infinite source,

and

created things but himself were to perish he

would have enough

and

say,

be done/' for he knows that will to be best;

he knows that
that if

may

left.

be baptized with the baptism of blood,

burn in a martyr's

fire;

but perhaps even in this

land of peaceful vineyards and protected fig-trees a Christian

may

die even

more

gloriously,

when, for example, he

dies in the prime of life with a crown of honor awaiting

him, with a wife in

all

the fullness of love and the fresh-

ness of beauty, and his children uneducated, unprotected,

prattling,

all

unconscious of their coming orphanage,

beneath his pillow, and dies without a murmur in his

heart, saying, in the full exercise of a ripened reason,

''Weep not

for

me; I ascend

to

my

Father and

to

Father, through the all-prevailing merits of Christ,

Redeemer."

The

severest trials

your

my

which men endure are

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

sucli as tlie eye

217

The hard-

can not see, nor the ear hear.

are in the solitude and the darkness,

est struggles

and

the bitterest agonies are such as no friend but the Crea-

In these inner

tor can help us to bear.

mighty

is

endure and calm

to

the infinite Spirit, and

"When

this,

who

suffer

to

conflicts

who

upon such

relies

he only

believes in
a promise as

thou passest through the waters I

will

be

with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow

When

thee.

thou walkest through the

fire

thou shalt

not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

To the
is

Christian, as to the Kenite,

may be

it

said, strong

thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

Macaulay, speaking of the Puritans, says,

made them

of their feelings on one subject

intensity

tranquil on

One overpowering sentiment had subjected

every other.
to itself pity

"The

and hatred, ambition and

and pleasure

lost its terrors,

its

charms.

fear.

Death had

They had

their

tears, their raptures and their sorrows,

smiles and their

Enthusiasm had
made them Stoics; had cleared their minds from every
but not for the things of this world.

vulgar passion and

the
ble

fatigue,

to

danger

of

influence

prejudice, and

to

and

pleasure,

by any weapon, not

pierced

of

and

raised

them above

corruption
to

pain

not

insensito

be

be withstood by any

to

barrier."

And

this brings

power

to

know

not

improve

why

is

me

to

remark, thirdly, that a man's

owing greatly

it is so.

to his idea of

God.

Perhaps when a man's views are

bounded by material things

his speculative powers are

checked; his senses having led him as far as he supposes

he can go, and his desires being limited by time, his

aspirations after the good

and the true are smothered.

Seeing no friendly power beyond

him

in the search after

to

guide and strengthen

unknown and

distant truth, he

contents himself with present ignorance; and recogniz19

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

218

ing no power to bring

soul to account^

liis

his talent without interest or concern.

we sometimes

mind professedly

see a

the hights of the universe

but

with other minds from which

and

speculative habits.

its

On

nations.

it

it

is

can bury

lie

am aware

that

Atheistic, rising to
in a country filled

has derived

its

stimulus

As with individuals, so with

we can trace distinctly

the pages of history

pari passu, with theology.

civilization passing,

For ex-

ample, we see the Jews rising and falling just according

to their

notions of

God

down

under Chushan Risha-

down under Eglon, up under

Ehud; down under Jabin, up under Deborah; down
under Midian, up under Gideon; down under the Philistines, up under Samuel; down under the backsliding
Saul, up under David; down under Rehoboam, rising
again under Asa; down under Ahaz, rising again under
the good Hezekiah down again under Amon, aloft once
more under Josiah. No depression but what is traceable
to Balaam and Ashtaroth, or the gods of Syria, or the
thaim, up under Othniel;

gods of Sidon, or the gods of Moab, or the gods of the

children of

Amon,

no exaltation which

or the gods of the Philistines; and

is

not traceable to a returning adora-

tion for the true God.

from modern history.

Take a corresponding illustration

England begins to emerge from

darkness under her beloved Alfred.

She

falls

and

rises

The advancing

subsequently, according to her theology.

corruption of mother Church caused the early lights,

which had been kindled by her Henry, of Huntington,

Geoffry, of Monmouth, John, of Salisbury, and William,
of Malmesbury, to grow pale
stituted

by the

of romance.

till,

at length,

subtilities of scholasticism

they were sub-

and the dreams

The Reformation came under Henry the

Eighth, and the country ascended under his reign and

that of his son,

Mary the

Edward

Sixth.

Papist, rises aloft once

It descends again

more under the

under

illustri-

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

219

ous Elizabetli; descends again under James, rises again

under the Commonwealth;

James

II,

and

rises

descends once more under

permanently under the crown of the

Prince of Orange.

To show that this connection between a correct knowledge of God and the advancing intelligence of a people
is

not accidental, and that the former

but a cause of the

latter,

let

it

not a consequence

is

be noted,

1.

That the

type of a nation's civilization seems to depend upon

Man, favored with

theology.

its

a revelation from God, goes

forth from his primitive seat on the plateau of Iran: one

tribe descending in the south-west stretches along the
fertile valleys

of the Tigris and the Euphrates.

the impulse of the primitive religion

speeds

whose monuments are yet

glorious elevation,

but from the true God

heavenly bodies, and

Another

gloomy one.

it

its

it

be seen;

mind becomes

a cold, grand,

tribe advances to the valley of the

symbols, then brutes, and

land,

to

turns to the worship of the

Nile and soon becomes illustrious; but

its

its

Under
way to a

its

national

worships

first

mind becomes

like

it

when, smitten with the curse of Moses,

sent darkness upon

it

and made

it

dark."

"God

Other tribes

took possession of the plains of India and China; they

God
made one

and there they stand, without hav-

soon put

afar

ing

step of progress through

have

oiF,

all

the ages that

Greece received from Phenicia, Phrygia, and

past.

Egypt the germs of

a better civilization.

She, too, per-

verted the idea of the Almighty; but she did not put

God

away.
Her Olympus was animated, and
and
enlightened,
though attempered with weakwarmed,
so

far

ness and deformed with vice.

her mythology
ratic.

free, active,

It ascends gradually.

Her mind corresponds

to

progressive, passionate, er-

The

tribes that pass over

the Caucasus to the north and west, pervert their conception of the

Almighty into that of rude and bloody

divini-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

220
ties,

and

own

tlieir

becomes rude and their

intellect

hearts cruel.
2.

Observe, again, the noblest conceptions of God, in

mark the
The Persian

every nation, come from the best minds, and

culminating period of a nation's intellect.

mind reaches

its

and philosopher

zenith in Cyrus

the

warrior, statesman,

Hesiod, Homer, Socra-

a pure theist.

tes

have grand ideas of God; these seem

the

mind of Greece

rises

till

to

expand

as

who
The Eoman
Cicero, who had

culminates in Plato,

it

enjoys sublimest visions of the Supreme.

mind attained

highest elevation in

its

God except that which

The Arabian mind
by revelation.
summit in him whose poem has been pro-

the noblest conception of the true

is

communicated

reached

its

nounced the sublimest extant, and whose soul is radiant

with reflections from the great ''I Am."
Well might he
cry out,

"0

that

my

words were now written;

that

they were printed in a book; that they were graven with

an iron pen in lead; that they were cut into the eternal
rock

Words

!"

are worthy to be driven into the granite

with chisel and mallet when they convey such conceptions

of

God

as Job's,

The Jewish

intellect

culminated with

David, whose soul flutters round the idea of

sparrow around her nest;

God

as a

whose songs are hymns of

prayer and praise; who, at midnight, considers the heav-

which God has ordained, and at

dawn sweeps his harp to Him who maketh the outgoings
of the morning and evening to rejoice; who draws from
ens, the

moon, and

stars

each day and night utterances of divine wisdom; who, in

his

own

heart, traces the

every-where and at

all

mind of Jehovah; and who,

times,

is

lost

in God.

"0

Lord,

Thou knowest
Thou understand-

thou hast searched me, and known me.

my

down-setting and mine up-rising.

ost

my

my

thought afar

lying down, and

off.

art

Thou compassest my path and

acquainted with

all

my

ways.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

For there

is

thou knowest
Spirit

not a word in
it

altogether.

my

tongue, but

Whither

221

lo,

Lord,

shall I go

from thy

or whither shall I flee from thy presence

ascend up into heaven, thou art there:

thou

in hell, behold,

art

there.

if I

If I

make my bed

If I take the wings of

the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand
shall hold

me."

In

whom

did the English

mind

culmi-

Locke, Newton, Milton start up before us,

nate?

much

all

as

God as for
them rose upon

distinguished for their reverence for

their profound intellects.

the world

like

soul, if soul

supernal

Each one of
being.
Out of each

one's

were divisible, could be cut a world of more

modern philosophers. Concerning one of them, a French

nobleman is said to have asked an English one seriously.
Does Newton eat, and drink, and sleep like mortals?

Which
mind

is

the greatest,

fixes

upon Milton.

it

may be

difficult

to say.

Bacon exceeds him

hension, Shakspeare in portraying the

human

My

in compre-

heart,

and

Thomson in depicting nature; but no uninspired mind

What is the secret of his
equals him in sublimity.
grandeur?

It

is

his awful conception of the Creator.

In his hights, and depths, and lengths the idea of God

on all sides round
"

As one great furnace flamed."

Intimating his purpose to write his great poem, he says

it is

work

'^not to be raised

from the heat of youth or

the vapors of wine, like that which flows at waste from

the pen of some vulgar amorist, or the trencher fury of a

rhyming parasite; nor to be obtained by the invocation of

dame Memory and her siren daughters, but by devout
prayer to that eternal Spirit

who can

enrich with

all

utterance and knowledge, and sends out his seraphim

with the hallowed

fire

of his altar to touch and purify

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

222
the lips of

whom

Who

he pleases."

can forget his open-

iDg invocation?
'

But thou,
Before

all

that dost prefer,

Spirit,

temples, the upright heart and pure,

Instruct me, for thou knowest."

It

was the idea of this

"made

Spirit, ever

brooding over his

Thus he had
''to imbreed and cherto
ish in a great people the seeds of virtue and civility; to
allay the perturbations of the mind and set the affections

great

that

soul,

it

pregnant."

power use his own language

in right tune; to celebrate, in glorious

and

hymns,

lofty

the throne and equipage of God's almightiness, and what

he works and what he

to be

suffers

wrought with high

providence in his Church; to sing victorious agonies of

Hence

martyrs and saints."

like a temple,

is

it

and his majestic

that his great

poem

is

lines flow over the soul

like an organ chant.

It

is

when the mind approaches the thought

vah that
it is

it

attains its

not the

mind

highest elevation.

that generates the thought, but the

thought that stimulates the mind.

might be expected.
awfully sublime

of Jeho-

This shows that

No

attribute

And
of

this is

God

no object sublime but as

that
it

what

is

not

resembles

over the elements of sublimity and see

hight,

depth, extent, antiquity, obscurity, power, etc.

When

God.

Go

we have

right

apprehension

of the

Almighty,

the

universe becomes a Bethel, and every truth we learn a

round of Jacob's ladder.

We

walk the earth dignified,

Angels are around us, and we

Examples might be multiplied.
What production of Thomson's equal to his Hymn to the
Seasons? He commences it with,
hopeful, aspiring beings.

catch their inspiration.

"These, almighty Father, these are but the varied God;"

and he ascends

till

he swells out the

full voice

of praise:

; ;

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

command me

" Sliould fate

Of the green earth

Rivers

unknown
first

Flame

o'er Atlantic isles

God

to the farthest verge

to distant, barbarous climes

Where
Since

223

to song;

the sun gilds Indian mountains, or his setting beams

;

'tis

naught

me,

to

ever present, ever felt

is

In the void waste, as in the city full."

What

production of Coleridge to be compared for sublim-

ity to his

Hymn

before sunrise in the vale of

Chamouny

IIow was he invigorated for the song

" Entranced in prayer,
I worshiped the Invisible alone."

His inspiration increases

as he advances,

he

till

cries,

"God! let the torrents like a shout of nations

Answer and let the ice-plains echo, God
!

meadow streams with gladsome voice

Ye pine groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds
And they too have a voice, yon piles of snow.
And in their perilous fall shall thunder, God
God, sing ye

Tell thou the silent sky.

And

tell

the stars, and

tell

yon rising sun.

Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God."

map

If we lay the
hibit the

same

of the world before us,

result as history.

There

of religion which recognizes no supreme

Where

it

is

And where

ship.

stones

are

the

but one form

Fetichism.

objects of wor-

In Africa, that

does this prevail?

continent which would scarce be missed were

lowed by the waves

ern, eastern,

mind

is

history,

and

in its darkest part

and southern portions

where

a vast Sahara, without an oasis,

no

letters,

culture, nor

will ex-

found, animals, mountains, trees, and even

weapons, and

vessels,

is

God

it

we

it

swal-

the westthe

human

find here

no

no alphabet; in many regions no agri-

any arms or

arts,

any commerce but in human

but the rudest, and scarce

flesh.

We

shudder as we

view naked bodies, stupid minds, and passions ferocious

as

the

serpents

of the

wilderness.

We

scarce

know

where, in the scale of being, to draw the line between

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

224

him who was created

the lower animals and

We

image.

among some

find

the same religion

in

in the Divine

Australia

and

of the savages of America; and here, too,

the same degradation, and mental bondage, and sluggish-

Asia worships the true God, but has

ness.

This

tions of him.

morbid

is

false concep-

the land of dreamy intellect, of

We

sensibilities, of stationary civilizations.

the conception of

God

and we mark,

nations,

human mind

of the

variously modified in
as

we

see

its different

pass over them, a ripening

in proportion to the approach to a

right and perfect conception of the Almighty.

Lowest

we may place the Brahmins. They

supreme God Brahm but they put him

in the scale, perhaps,

acknowledge a
afar

and ascribe creation, preservation, and destruc-

off,

tion to inferior divinities.

overthrow his

altars,

As might be

expected, they

neglect his temples, and leave

him

nothing but the name, while they give their chief adoration

the god Vishnu and his nine incarnations, of

to

which Juggernaut
So

state?

little

tion given of

would answer

is

What

one.

is

their intellectual

has been their progress that the descrip-

them at the time of Alexander's conquest

for them now, notwithstanding the influ-

ence which they have recently received from civilized

nations,

and the frequent infusions of impulsive mind

which they have enjoyed

in

the lapse of ages.

True,

there has been some progress downward, for the cruelty

of the Juggernaut and of the Suttee are perhaps of comparatively recent introduction.

of India
like a

and

is

of high antiquity;

doomed

tares

soil,

instead

The gorgeous literature

latterly its mind has been

that produces cockle instead of barley,

of wheat.

Next comes Boodhism,

which overspreads Farther India, the Chinese empire,

and Japan. This is a reformation of Brahminism.

While

it

recognizes an eternal

First

Cause,

it

repre-

sents him as reposing in profound slumber, from which

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

he only now and then awakens
fected

alterations in

may make

they

that

spirits^

to send

the universe.

down some

per-

necessary

certain

milder

Its

225

purer

rites, its

more gorgeous worship indicate that the

advance which it has made toward a just conception of the

thoughts,

its

eternal One, has stimulated into better action the imag-

The

ination, if not the other powers of the mind.

better

embrace the Pantheism of Confucius, which is the

established religion of the Chinese empire, and which
leads the mind to Him in whom " we live, and move, and
class

have our being," though

it

does not sufficiently distin-

man-

guish the absolute, original being from his outward

ifestations

it is

still

an advance from Boodhism toward

and the mind which receives it is the

mind of the east. Throughout the

rational Theism,

learned and ruling

which we have spoken, the conceptions

of God are indistinct, and mingled with those of nature.
The universe does not present itself as under the convast regions of

who

stant care and control of an infinite mind,

all things by wise and immutable laws.
and uncertainty pervade the nations.

Deity

is

presented to the mind

jpatient as well as agent,

the sense of

human

mortality of the

as, to

and thus,

accountability

soul

is,

resorption into the eternal

regulates

Hence, gloom
Moreover,

the

a certain extent,

to the
is

same extent,

The im-

lost.

for

the most part,

One

mere

hence, the aspirations

What, then, could be expected

but fables, and superstitions, and painful apprehensions,
and rigid mortifications, and a character, in general,
Passing by the
timid, vain, pusillanimous, slavish?
Sintoism of Japan, and the Shaminism of Siberia nations a little below those which we have just left, both
of the heart are

stifled.

in their ideas of
also

God and

their mental

character and

the Guebers of Persia, and of the western coast

of India

the

remains of the

fire

worshipers

we

come

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS,

226
to

Nanekisin

ininism

a mixture

professed

of

Mohammedism

with Brah-

by the sheiks of India, who put forth

an activity, energy, intrepidity, such as might be expected from the brighter beams of the godhead, which
the infusion of
the

Mohammedism

Belur, and looking

over

secures.

the

Crossing now

table-land stretching

westward, with the plains on each side and the desert

beyond them, and carrying our eye forward, on the one

side, into

Europe, and, on the other, along the western

hammedism,

a faith which, whatever

home of Momay be said of its

founder, or

its

falsehood, embraced

and pressed upon

border of the Mediterranean, we find the

mankind the eternal truth there is but one God

truth which Mohammed found in the Bible, and which
he affected to teach in the same strain as it had been proclaimed by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ,
whose authority he never called in question.

It

was a

truth which, though taught by an impostor, and mingled

with

fiction,

infused into

men

a power of thought and

which the nations, weakened by supersti-

feeling before
tion

and

this

region, whether

idolatry,

were easily crushed.

we

Looking over

notice the brave, independent,

adventurous, amorous, story-telling Aff"ghan, or his hospitable, honest, but

sometimes sanguinary neighbor of

Beloochistan, or the manly, wandering, often predatory

Tartar, or the vigorous, capricious,

and cruel Turk, or

the gay, deceitful, active, acquisitive, luxurious, scientific,

poetic, polished Persian, or the brave child of Ish-

mael, fierce and fleet as his war-horse, fiery as the burning

sands of his wilderness, and generous and patient as his

faithful camel

we see, we feel that we have ascended in

mind since we entered western Asia;

the gradation of

we observe a sprightliness, an activity, an anxiety, a freedom that indicates a greater sense of the dignity and
responsibility

of

man.

Proceeding

into

Europe,

the

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

227

it

and Christianity increases as we

shines in meridian splendor; and the

is in

proportion to the power and purity with

of civilization

light

advance,

till

brightness

which the idea of God

In the south

apprehended.

is

men see God, to a great extent, through

hear him through saints, and commune with
and
images,
of Europe

him through

The mind

priests.

sionate; in the north

is

fanciful, fickle, pas-

thinking, independent, vigor-

it is

having deep and abiding feeling, and a

ous,
fancy subjected to reason. Let us compare two extreme
Spain a land of green
points, Spain and England.
resolute,

slopes

and

crystal streams, of gentle winters

and refresh-

ing summers, of silks and olives, of oranges and lemons

yet a land once crimsoned with the Inquisition, and

burdened with monks and

nuns,

What

mode of her inThough above that

the

and

tellect

Pensive, gloomy, indolent.

and hermits,

friars

brutality

bull-fights.

now

is

which we have hitherto been contemplating, yet it is far

below what it should be. The nation without canals,
railroads, steam-boats, telegraphs, and with scarce a
light-house on her coast, demonstrates this proposition.

Let us not be told that

all

this is because her rivers are

not navigable and her mountain barriers scarce passable;

for, during two hundred years, Spain was the mightiest

power in Europe.
Let us now turn

to

England, where

look through nature up to

by

his

Protestant

where he
faith

queen of the

is

is

taught to

emboldened

to

enter

into

the

land emphat-

treatises.

England

the Almighty

and Bridgewater

ically of Bibles
sits,

Bible-handling

direct audience with

there she

God

man

seas,

gathering jewels for

her crown from every shore, and floating her flag around
There
the world in the beams of a ceaseless morning.
is

no grand conception centering in Olympus which she

does not realize.

Like Juno, she

fertilizes

the earth

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

228

beneatli her furrow; like Yesta^ she gathers

to her hearth-stone

like

all

nations

Vulcan, she presides over the

forges; like Neptune, she rules the seas; like Apollo, she

leads

muses;

the

Minerva, she sways the under-

like

standing; like Mercury, she

the patron of trade and

is

the messenger of heaven to the ends of the earth

Jupiter, she

is

concerned in the

of

affairs

like

mankind.

all

These conceptions are not merely realized but exceeded;

for

what

is

Neptune

Minerva to the
Mercury to the tele-

to the steam-ship,

Hercules to gunpowder, or

press,

graph?

What England

North America

is,

which

so is her first-born daughter

the

exhibits

same superiority

over southern America that her mother does over Spain

and

Let

Italy.

owing

to race.

it

not be said that these differences are

Lead the degraded negro up

to the sight

of the one living and true God, and his soul kindles with
celestial fire; his

mind pants

his tongue pours forth

for development, and soon

melody and an eloquence to

which his native heathen valley

a stranger.

is

So

let

the

Caucasian embrace Paganism, as he has in the valley of

the Indus, and he sinks into inaction.

Nor can climate

account for

the difference;

Patagonia

Greenland, from Australia to the Dofrafield

to

for

every clime,

in

from

Mountains, the Rose of Sharon has bloomed with an

equal beauty and an equal fragrance.

of government account for

AValdenses,

oppressive

Nor can forms

and
and Huguenots, under the most cruel and

despotism,

no

it;

less

for the Albigenses,

than

the

pilgrims

on

Plymouth rock, by simple faith in God became great,

and firm, and glorious. Nor are all these causes together
sufiicient to

account for

it.

Go from

Protestant Ulster to

a Catholic county in Ireland, or from a Protestant to a

Catholic canton in Switzerland

and government being the same

climate, race, language,

^and

you pass

as

from

the dark ages to the middle of the nineteenth century.

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

To

may be

all tliis it

replied that

mind

229

in Protestant

become materialized; that attention has

been turned away from the inward to the outward world
that physical science has taken the place of mental and
moral; that the whole subject and sphere of thought is
But is not the cultivation of
outside of human nature.
nature an appointed duty of man ? Are not a nation's
countries has

useful and ornamental arts the signs of its intellectual

energies and the

made

to act

of

conceptions.

its

tokens of

on matter

progress

its

matter

As God

is

the ordained mold

to receive the

come more
egraphs,

mind in the
The air,

expresses his

forms of the visible universe, so must

the marble, the gold, the canvas

all

Mind was

man.

nature stands ready

impress of his thoughts, and thereby be-

useful

temples,

and beautiful.

monuments, are

gardens,

embodiments of the

soul's

Steam-engines,

but

Has the

reflections.

ress of science diminished the moral excellence of

or the

increase

creative genius?

more beneficent
of

human

it

its

prog-

men,

Are not men wiser as well as stronger?

more capable ? more conscious

as well as

dignity as well as of

human dominion ?
nation's idea of

position in the scale of intelligence;

God

de-

and that

gives the type to an individual's and a nation's mental

This grand idea rules the world of mind.

character.

When
it

the

of activity brought on a decrease of

Thus we have shown that a

notes

tel-

it is

turns

heaven.

apprehended

men
Be

in all its

power and perfection,

gradually into angels, and

it

holds angels in

not surprised at this declaration.

ity of causes reconciled

with multiplicity of

great secret of the Creator.

The same

Simplic-

effects is the

principle that

bows the dew-laden cup of the

holds the sun in

its orbit

lowliest flower.

The same

principle that holds the seas

in their channels, holds the blood in the insect's veins.

Some may regard my theme

as uninteresting.

Not

so

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

230

would Aristotle, Plato, Socrates; not

not

so, I

my

do

trust,

would Yerulam;

Never think so meanly

readers.

them the

of your souls as to deny

so

privilege of dwelling

upon the greatest conceivable theme;

of

the

feeling

great motive which secures obedience to the eternal laws.

He who

created

things by the breath of his mouth,

all

and sustains them by the word of his power, should be in

What would heaven think should it
our thoughts.

all

be told that there

God?

write of

What would

is

It

a periodical on earth which does not

would point

an angel think

and allowed any theme but God

this is his only

theme

to it as a

doomed book.

he were invited

if

He

would

to earth,

you that

tell

the theme which raises his wings,

and swells his heart, and tunes his harp, and

everlasting song
light

the theme
the fountain

all

and glory

of praise, that

like

is

his

over his native hills of

of

eternal

its

many

the voice of

mighty thunderings; and

fills

Niagara

waters and

you he would

if it did not suit

spread his wings and leave you.

Reader, if

my

when you have

live? does

does

it

quicken

^^

may

easily

know

Ask, does

it

send throbbing pulses through the breast?

it

string nerves
a deeper

views be correct, you

a just idea of the Creator.

bind passion, strengthen

intellect,

does

it

will,

bring up from the heart, each day,

gloria in excelcis,'" and plant,

each night, a

new Ebenezer?
Atheism

is

stagnation.

this forth in

such a way as

to science before;
it

now

in

our

an anti-theological science; and

boasts of

of

True,

that

to

show that

it

own days
it

it

trumpets

never pretended

that the world does not expect science

it is

and always has been regarded

as in-

capable of producing any thing but negations.

There
and

is

Pantheism prevailing. It speaks reverently

and often piously, of God ; but, then, it says

poetically,

there

is as

much

of a

God

in a chair as there is on the

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

What

throne of heaven.
If

God

add, with Pascal, ^'It

God

at all/'

that

God

mere

There

another form of

What

ideas.

aspiration, is such a doctrine

would a man preach

a

merchant

As

it

any

is

which teaches

death to thought,

Under

its

influence

to

how

a policeman walks his beat or

his bargain.

fulfills

their feet an audience of

lon

may

God, then, surely, we

is

human soul ; that he is a

and that process identical with the evo-

human

of

of such a view?

the issue of the

is

process,

lution

effect

no matter whether there

is

is

the

is

matter and matter

is

231

French

Never could he

raise to

nobility, as did Massil-

or spread a flame of holiness over two hemispheres,

as did

Wesley; or excite a people

sun cease

to

cry out,

to shine, but let not the lips of

"Let the

Chrysostom be

Let such a man be placed in the battle-field;

how quickly would he run before a host, such as Cromwell told
to trust in God and keep their powder dry,''
and whom he led out to conflict singing hymns of praise!
sealed. ''

''

I would exchange that stupefying Pantheism for any god

in the calendar of the olden Paganism.

Better, far, have

Jupiter, with his thunderbolt, or Neptune, with his trident,

or Minerva, with her shield

What

and Pyrrhic dance.

view does such a philosophy give us of human dignity?

As it reduces God to a notion^ so it reduces man to an

He

atom.

is

and the beast

fore

legs,

merely a beast standing on his hind

is

legs,

but a bird with his wings turned into

and the

bird

is

but a

fish

with his

fius

stretched out, and his scales turned into feathers, and

the

fish

but an expanded mollusk, and the mollusk but an

inflated atom.

Behold, then, the original

Adam

of the

modern philosopher! What idea of education does it

suggest? The experience of the world teaches that the
way to improve man is to bring him in contact with
superiors thus, a nation becomes civilized by colonies
a youth becomes learned by means of his master; a man
:

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

232

becomes a saint by the power of tbe Holy Ghost; tbe

saint matures into an angel by beholding as in a glass
This philosophy would reverse
the glory of the Lord.
the process

strengthen

it

says^

out emotion.

will, call

enough

this long

to

develop yourself,

know

intellect,

solicit

Alas! we have tried

that "out of the heart proceed

thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,"

evil

etc.

Seeing that we must have a correct idea of the Almighty, how important

him

is

the mirror of his word, in which

alone

we

holy,

and eternal Being, whose glory the heavens declare,

see

a distinct, personal, intelligent, infinite,

and whose name "the mountains and the valleys bless"

the

King

eternal, immortal, invisible,

It guards the idea of

accessible.

by forbidding any material

guards the

Divine unity;

pendence both of
before

all

universe

fate

God from

representation

and of nature.

Glows

It exhibits

And

as

so pres-

though, as the poet has truly

us,

in each,

beam, refreshes in

eacli breeze,

in the stars, blossoms in the trees.

all life, extends through

Spreads undivided, operates unspent,"

all

extent,

himself neither light, nor darkness, nor blos-

som, nor breeze, nor matter, nor

God

God

beyond the limits of the

Lives through

is

It

it.

his abode, nor so present as he is

is

and angels.

"He warms

all,

of

and though every-where present, not

and beautifully told

yet he

perversion

guards the Divine inde-

it

things, as existing

ent but that heaven

to saints

dwelling in light in-

blessed forever.

life,

but in

It presents

him

all,

and over

in the

most

endearing relations as the Father of mercies and of men,

and

it

alone invites us to reconciliation, and communion,

and fellowship

with

him.

breathe in this deep universe,

May

you,

filled to

reader,

God, without ever having a doubt of his being

member

the words of Lord

Bacon:

always

overflowing with

"I would

Re-

rather

RELIGION AND EDUCATION.

238

believe all the fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and

the Koran, than believe that this universal frame

out mind."

May

is

with-

the image of God, beheld in the face

of Jesus Christ, grow more distinct and glorious in your

minds, day by day, so as to aiFord you a solid rest amid

all

vicissitudes; a constant joy in

all

your sorrows; a

hight, and depth, and length, and breadth, both to your

feelings

and your philosophy; and an eternal stimulus

your undying energies

you the holy oracles.

their history,
cepts,

With this view I commend to

They are worthy to be studied for

their poetry, their philosophy, their pre-

and their moral

paintings;

reached the stern majesty of

for

Hebrew

who has

commend them

ever

prophets, or the

transparent beauty of Christian evangelists?

do I

to

but

chiefly

because they, they only, can anchor

your souls to the solid rock of a true theology.

20

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

234

0nil

ALL

inti0n

agree that the youth of our land should be pro-

common

vided with

that

schools;

common

are designed to educate; that education

schools

means develop-

ment; and that it should embrace the whole man.

There was a time when the friends of education,

in

their care for the mind, lost sight of the body, forgetful that,

however superior the

instruments,

its

bodily organs.

spirit

may be

to its earthly

outward manifestations are through the

It is as

though the engineer, impressed

with the distinctness and power of steam, should be un-

concerned with the machinery by which

Now, however,

it is

it

is

applied.

understood that the teacher should

possess a competent knowledge of anatomy, physiology,

and hygiene,
tions

in

he may give judicious direc-

in order that

the construction and furniture of his school-

room; in regulating its supplies of heat, light, and atmosphere; in adjusting the tasks and punishments of
his pupils, and in superintending their diet and exercises

tions,

that he should not only be able to give such direc-

but also satisfactory reasons for them

to illustrate,

in a familiar manner, the general laws of digestion, circulation,

respiration,

application.

For

etc.,

want

of

and

to

such

show

their practical

qualifications

in

the

many are weak and sickly among

and many regard education through a cloud of gloomy

teachers of other days,

us,

and painful

associations.

cation consisted in so

Once

many

it

was supposed that edu-

Quarters of grammar, and so

MORAL EDUCATION.
many

Now

of geograplij; and so on.

mitted, that while

we teach the

235
generally ad-

is

it

child arithmetic, gram-

mar, geography, civil history, and the general principles

of philosophy and natural

mind that

these, after

all,

history,

that the great object of the

are

bear in

to

educator

teach the

to

is

end;

Let the pupil form the habit of patient,

child to think.

consecutive thought,

clear,

we

are but means, not the

and you may

him

let

go.

ThinkingJ not knowing, makes the great distinction between the mind of the philosopher and that of the fool;
the measure of mental excellence,

the ability to reason

is

the instrument

high

of

achievement.

scales heaven, and fathoms

hell,

this

'Tis

that

and compasses space;

that outstrips the lightning, and speaks like the voice of

i

God

that defies volcanoes and storms

warrants and executions in

despite

its

conquerors, to which

all

and laughs at

burning path.

^Tis this,

God has given

the do-

It
S minion of the world, as by a covenant of
^ trite observation that studies should be so arranged
salt.

the mental faculties

all

anced.

In

cases

of

may be developed and duly

eccentricity this

is

But

ordinarily

bal-

necessary to

guard against monstrosity, and in other cases

well.

is

that

it

is

very

we need have no painful concern

To prepare men for the various pursuits

of life their minds are constituted differently; and the
If we can
school should not be a bed of Procrustes.
action, we
mental
vigorous
form, in each case, a habit of
in this matter.

can

safely

trust

to

social

intercourse

and

the daily

scenes of the world's stage to regulate and moderate

We
the

are too

mind

much

as separate

it.

disposed to regard the faculties of

and independent,

like

oxygen and

hydrogen in the compound blow-pipe; whereas, they are

but the different modes in which the mind acts, and are
only treated separately, in scientific works, for the sake

of convenience.

In most cases, the

soul, in

performing

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

236

one operation performs others also. How can we have

an act of judgment, for example, without attention, abstraction,

memory,

association,

one power, then, we

may strengthen

pupil in whatever form

there-

let us,

all;

any evidences of genius in the

hail with delight

fore,

In strengthening

etc.?

may

it

appear.

Next to the education of the mind comes the development and training of the taste, and the sensibilities,
both natural and moral. All are agreed up to this last

When we come

point.

that cries, " Hold, you

the spiritual;

all

to

may

moral nature there

a class

teach the temporal but not

moral and religious instruction must

Of

be excluded from the common school."

remark

is

this plan I

that it is neither feasible nor allowable

and

to

the illustration of this proposition I will devote the re-

mainder of

this paper.

That the scheme

is

not

practicable

is

evident,

first,

from the very nature of education, which consists in

leading out the mind, encouraging inquiry, nourishing
bold,

free,

independent thought.

Will you draw lines

around an awakened, emancipated, aspiring spirit, and

More espesay, hitherto shalt thou come and no further ?
cially,

can you restrain

it

from those great subjects which

have been the themes of ages, which have absorbed the

minds of Moses, and Socrates, and Paul, and Plato, and
which have controlled the march of human events ? As
attempt to

well

heaven
figure

hold

to earth, or

the

lightning as

from earth

it

to heaven.

leaps from

From every

on his blackboard, from every crown, or cross, or

upon his outline map, the boy, that is a boi/, may

push his inquiring way downward to conscience, or upward to God. Vain to cry, halt, when he has pushed

flag

you

to the line of things,

Second, from

the

moral and religious.

connection

between the different

powers of the soul, intellectual, sensitive, moral, and


MORAL EDUCATION.
This

voluntary.

you can not

so intimate that

is

237

The

one class of faculties without training others.

who was noted

ebrated Dr. Hunter,

sions,
^'

is

once remarked

glancing

at

Grentlemen, physiologists will have

a mill, others that

that

a stew-pan

it is

it is

cel-

alike for the solidity

judgment and the facetiousness of

of his

train

certain
it

his

expres-

theorists

that the stomach

a fermenting vat, others again

but in

my

view of the matter,

it is

neither a mill, nor a fermenting vat, nor a stew-pan, but

a stomach, gentlemen, a stomach."

mind

it is

So of the human

neither a reasoning, nor a feeling, nor a con-

human

scientious apparatus, but a mi7id, gentlemen, a

Suppose we adopt the phrenological hypothesis,

and ascribe to each of its powers a separate organ still,
mind.

it

must be conceded, they

are intimately connected, so

that you could not influence one without afi'ecting others.

They must be more

closely connected than the different

organs of the body, yet you can not seriously affect one

more or less every other.

There is a great sympathetic nerve which binds them all
together, and teaches each to weep with them that weep,
and rejoice with them that rejoice in the same system.
hodily organ without affecting

An

injury upon the surface of an extremity

dismay

the vitals.

to

may

Moreover, the different organs of

the body depend upon each other.

Suppose you determ-

ine that you will watch exclusively over the brain

may you

look for cerebral disorder.

gate the troubled organ.

perverse

how

is

it,

carry

Why,

Well, you

soon

interro-

dear Brain, are you so

after all the care

that I have be-

stowed upon you, and the exclusive affection I feel for

you, that you are radiating such a half-elaborated, pernicious, nervous influence over the

whole body, distressing

" Well," the

every nerve and confusing every organ ?
poor braift replies, " I am not to blame ; I am not un-

mindful of

my

functions, nor insensible to your goodness,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

238

but the heart has been pumping up lately such a corrupted stream of blood that^ with all my extra exertions,
I am not able to manufacture out of it any thing better

than the vicious, maddened

Well, go

the nerves."
is

to

stuff that I

now

to

send out through

Heart, what

the heart.

the reason that you have sent such an impure current

"It is no fault of mine," replies
the brain of late?

pump up as good a
I am sure; for
better,
were

the heart; ''I

blood as I receive; I

wish

it

it

is

painful to work

is not made soon I

they
send such a|?oor
why
Ask
shall get sick.
Well, Lungs, what does this mean?
article to me."

in such a fluid,

and

if

some change

the lungs

me

" Blame not

I expand and contract, as I have

al-

much as ever the fault

ways done, and
Ask the vena cava why it sends up such
is lower down.
Vena cava, how is it? "I
miserable venous blood?"
air the

an

good

furnish as

blood as

abominable chyle which I

you

what

see

will

whole system

as I can,

article

is

with

me

AVell,

and the

" I own," says the stomach,

you.

to the stomach,

the matter."

in disorder,

is

Go

get.

considering the

'^

and

Stomach, the

fault is traced to

that the trouble

materials I have,

and,

but they are very unsuitable;

moreover, with the water in this neighborhood, there

mixed

often

a strange poison

sometimes turns

me

upside down."

cation or derangement in one

of

will serve as

the

moral
ence

spiritual

an

Thus, a

are also united

if

The

intellectual,

bodily firm.

different organs
sensitive,

and

by sympathy and mutual depend-

you get one of them into the habit of vigorous

and healthy

action, the others will assume,

tent, a corresponding action.

stance,

little defal-

of the partners carries

illustration.

system

is

which bewilders me, and

bankruptcy and confusion into the whole

This

is

nevertheless I do the very best I can with the

and

intellect

to

some ex-

Quicken the heart,

and conscience

will

wake up

for in-

touch

MORAL EDUCATION.

239

conscience, and intellect and heart will leap; arouse in-

and

tellect,

associated sensibilities will be more or less

its

With what godlike energy does even a sluggish

mind move when brought under the power of some strong
stirred.

passion

How

often

conscience, exalt reason

by

man

the Gospel, by quickening

does

In proportion as

and

or a people, both heart

believed

it is

intellect beat

more

quickly, and the individual and the state steadily ascend.

improve

So, too,

intellect,

rule,

conscience.

ened

intellect

I grant there are exceptions

mutual

quickened

tend to quicken conscience.

among

dependence

Confine attention to intellect

not because

quick-

rather, per-

but this only proves that something

intellect is necessary, not that

tellect does not

also

as a general

may be attended with dormant,

verted conscience

more than

and you improve,

the

and

it

different

may

There

not right premises.

The most important

is

powers.

act perversely,

does not act strongly, but because

it

in-

truth

is

it

has

moral,

but the state of the heart materially affects the intellect in its efforts to acquire it

through which

it is

constitutes a

it

medium

If you put on green glasses,

seen.

you see the whole creation green

so if

you look through

a green heart, you see the whole moral world tinged.

Why

is

a father unfit to sit in

judgment on a son ? why

enemy from the

has a prisoner the right to challenge his

jury-box?

why

is it

so hard to convince the miser, how-

ever strong his intellect, of the necessity for charity? or

the coward of the necessity for battle

of the necessity for action
the face of his mistress
in a

wrong

proof;

silence

or the sluggard

or the lover of a wrinkle in

The heart may also put reason

may turn it away from the

relation to truth

may even

what

it

can neither escape nor

Wadsworth's drummer did Fletcher's reader.

The heart must be clarified before the intellect can have
confute, as

clear vision on

moral mountains.

The

intellect,

more-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

240

dependent on the heart or conscience for impulse

without feeling it would act to no purpose ; the stronger
over,

is

the feeling the stronger the mental action

superiority of conscience as a motive power.

as tender as the apple of the eye,

it

be miserable

own

oflfenders.

bor, sacrifice his child,

take his

hence the

to conscience

Suppose we pay exclusive attention

may make

life,

man may

we

and yet

persecute his neigh-

expose his father to perish, and

and in

all

this

think that he

is

doing

must be conGod service.

nected with right views of duty before we can go into
the path of uprightness ; therefore, we must cultivate

The

the

intellect

perceiving

are chiefly

owing

to

The

divisions,

etc., in

Christen-

power.

enthusiasm, fanaticism, bigotry,

strife,

dom

the

feelings of obligation

a want

of intellectual training

From

rather than a want of religious principle.

correspondence and dependence of action

it

this

follows that

you can not educate one part of our nature without influencing others.
But, thirdly, from the connection between truths, the

scheme appears impracticable. Perhaps there is not an

atom, all the relations of which can be described by a

human

or angelic mind.

These relations run backward

and forward, upward and downward in a

the end

series,

God only knows. So with phenomena a spark

upon a shaving, a conflagration ensues; and the
whole atmosphere of the globe is so affected that no parof which

falls

ticle

of

it

sustains the

same

or will sustain, at

relation,

any time hereafter, the same relation as

if

the spark had

not dropped; and as to other results, commercial, intellectual,

and moral, who

truths

the most insignificant

family,

The

to

every

member

shall

trace
is

of which

them?

member
it

So

with

of a great

stands

related.

law that expands a bubble propels a steam-engine;

the principle that wafts a feather wheels the planets.

MORAL EDUCATION.
Who

241

when he introduces a truth into the mind,

stop? it may lead that mind onward
through related truths forever. But let us apply the
shall say,

where

shall

it

How

remark.

can you teach mental philosophy without

You

affecting the heart, directly or indirectly?

can not

dodge the questions of the immateriality and the immortality of the soul, the freedom of the will, the immutamoral distinctions; and to discuss them would
be to mine in the depths of theology.
You may be willbility of

ing to skim the superfices, but what shall

students

from the profundities?

Do you

have educated them.

ophy
or a
is

it

must be either

warm

misnomer

latter,

to

style

form of

human mind

Do you

a
if

dry genealogy
the former,

to

it

the depths of

teach rhetoric

more interesting or fundamental

than the rules of evidence

only you

history or philosophy; if the

it

you must go with your pupils

heart and conscience.

keep your

if

teach the history of philos-

in the

genesis of the

Nothing,

topic does

How

it

what

embrace

can you learn to per-

suade without learning to convince

and how learn

convince without treating of evidence? and

how

to

treat of

evidence without bearing upon the very foundations of

the Christian faith?

According

as

you instruct upon

this point will your pupils be inclined

to

receive or re-

ject Christ, or prefer this or that creed or Church.

may

not intend this result, you

ess; but the result

ble.

to

Do you

is

inevitable,

teach logic? you

incline the

pupil either,

may

and the process tracea-

may

to give

men.

and examples, and

him a
Though

easily teach it so as

on the one hand, to be a

sophist, or, on the other, a reasoner.

his authors

You

not trace the proc-

You may

so select

so arrange his exercises as

bias toward either

Bacon

or the school-

the principles of the science are invaria-

ble, their applications

may be

very different, and so

may

the mental habits and moral results to which those appli21

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

242

Perhaps you say that these arc

cations respectively lead.

not suitable subjects for the

them

how

History

aside.

you teach

will

is

a chronological chart, you

instruction.

history.

You must

fit

for

Well, lay

any school, but

If you give any thing more than

it?

religious

common mind.

certainly

must impart much moral and

Man

in

is

God

history,

treat of the rise

and

ions as well as empires; of dark ages and

fall

in

is

of relig-

light ages; of

Will you shut out the

his-

tory of the world, and open only the history of our

own

corruptions and reformations.

can scarce be said to have a history?

country, which

there you must read of paganism, and Puritanism,

Even

and ecclesiasticism, and Antinomianism, and Quakerism,

and witchcraft, and freedom, and slavery; and can you
be silent on

these points, even under the probings of

all

vexatious questions
little profit

if

He who

should analyze and generalize, should go

them

to causes,

from

eiFects to agents,

through plans and purposes

and through motives

tives,

where are you, but

results?

Do

principles.

to

to

so,

moand

in the question of Divine providence

and speculations concerning

final

studies history studies to

he merely mark events; he should trace

and

future operations

its

Every-where images and

examples

rise

upon the heart, and arguments and reasons gather over

the mind to teach the inevitable ruin of vice and the

Who

has not heard of "But-

final

triumph of virtue.

ler's

Analogy," which proves that providence and

ion run side

But

let

by side

us limit the studies of the school to the natural

and exact sciences.

Even here we may not be

avoid the conscience and the heart.

start

up and refuse

your eyes either

to

'Mown"

where

the

concrete?

at our bidding.

able to

Moral truth may

to the earth or the heavens,

plays of wisdom, power, goodness

is

relig-

Direct

you see

dis-

these are abstracts

these are attributes

where

is

MORAL EDUCATION.
whom

the Being to
strations of
so

God

243

So grand the demon-

they belong?

on the pages of modern astronomy, and

simple the process by which the mind

from them
halt in

mer

to

mad."

is

man

God, that a great

Who may

from creature to creator

has pronounced a

''The undevout astrono-

as proof of insanity.

it

may ascend

prevent a child from ascending

from

exclaiming, ''Great and

marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty

descending from the general conclusion

ences: such

as,

"When

From masses do you turn

at

then,

is

One

chemistiy.

tion affords.

as

full

of

it is

its

at

first

Here,

inaensihle.

truths

is

the law

Parke's chemical catechism

of theology and thanksgiving as of science.

Perhaps the dryest of

omy

and from attractions

a law

denote the finger of God.

is

to specify infer-

deemed by many one of

demonstrations against Atheism that creaTo some minds all the fires of the crucible

of definite proportions

the clearest

or from

I consider the heavens,'' etc.?

to atoms,

distances to attraction

sensible

!"

all

the natural sciences

a valley of dry bones

is

anat-

yet to an ancient anat-

omist, Galen, every bone of the skeleton was a verse, and

hymn

God; and a
John Bell, has written a treatise
to prove, from the human hand alone, the being and natAnd what shall we say
ural attributes of the Almighty.
every joint a stanza in a

modern anatomist.

of geology

of praise to

Sir

which, affording evidences of repeated acts

new

of creative power,

illustrations

of Divine goodness,

enlarged conceptions of Divine plans, conclusive proof

of a superintending Providence over the globe, and his
special interference

from time

to

time with his general

arrangement; and which, teaching that the material universe had a beginning, that

agents in efi"ecting

was progressive,

its

that

fire

and water are the chief

changes, that the work of creation

man was

the last of the animals

created, and that he has been but recently introduced

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

244

into the world, lias important connections with both natural reliiiion

Indeed,

and revealed.

ences have relations to theology at

God

^'Bridgewater treatises."

find

who

all

above

they

are

scientific light up-

one law, one God and Father of

and

in

What

all.

shall

all,

prevent the

'^Whither shall I go from thy

pupil from crying out,

Spirit, or

points

outward, to farthest east or remotest

it

west, and you

is

all

the center and circum-

Trace any ray of

ference of science.

ward, or trace

is

the natural sci-

all

whither shall I

flee

from thy presence ?"

Who

shall enable us to imprison our pupils in spiritual divingbells,

by which

to

shut out

Him

in

whom

they live and

breathe, while they dive into the boundless ocean of his

Suppose we lay aside the

wisdom, and love, and power ?

natural sciences, and confine the studies of the pupil to

reading, writing, and arithmetic.

read

what

shall

we write

Well, what shall we

what example

shall

we spread

Seeing the intimate relations of

upon the blackboard?

truth 3'ou must draw black lines around almost every

page.

You must make

the Index Expurgatorius as long

as the catalogue of books.

It

that might set the heart on

born free and equal;" ''All

among which,"

Ah

etc.

fire

were easy
:

such

men have

to write copies

as, ''All

all

are

inalienable rights,

that et csetera might point

the hero's sword or form the martyr's heart.

ready undermining

men

thrones but God's.

It is al-

Dr.

Chan-

ning's antislavery feeling was kindled by one of his earli-

which was in these words: "All men are free

when they touch the soil of England." "Jesus Christ
came into the world to save sinners;" this simple line
est copies,

might work
through

it

like leaven

in the

in

the heart of the child, and

heart of the nation.

So examples

in

arithmetic and algebra might be so framed, either by accident or design, as to lead to the solution of the sublimest moral problems.

MORAL EDUCATION.

245

The absurdity of the scheme appears from

Fourthly.

the connection between the different methods by which a

teacher

When

his

influences

What

pupils.

he teaches arithmetic^ he

the

is

teacher?

not a mere slate

is

when he teaches penmanship, he is not a mere handwriting on the wall; when he teaches reading, he is not a
mere alphabet moved by a learned pig; he is a man, a
whole man, and nothing but a man
hire

him

and though you may

You can

disservice.

still.

be under the delusion of a certain

to

you

will give

not have one side

him move while the other stands

seem

he

for inteUectual service only, yet

moral service or
of

Many men
selfish south-

who had a wife and child, and owned one-half of a

negro named '^ Harry," and who prayed that God would
erner,

and

bless him,

his wife,

and his half of Harry.

and

his son,

Men

generally are in no danger

of this sort of delusion; they

man

can

employ

him

know

and his son's

that one side of a

When

not well go without the other.

man

they

work with his hands they do not expect

to

and

to leave his eyes

senator you

wife,

know

ears at

home; when you

elect a

that you do not merely send a pair of

premises to Congress; and yet in regard to the school-

master we seem
phers,

who

adopt the views of certain philoso-

to

look upon the brain as the mind, and suppose

that while one side of

awake, thinking out

The teacher has

its

it

is

asleep the

other

may be

fractions of ideas and sentiments.

a moral nature,

and

so has the child;

and you can no more bring them together without having

a mutual action, than you can bring salt and water to-

gether without having a saline solution.

pressed

man

is

still

man.

your cart with the ox, or

You may

chain him

to

The most

op-

hitch a slave to

your door for a

watch-dog, but you can not reduce GocV s child to maris

brute; he will

still

that of your family

operate upon your moral nature and

it

may be

fearfully

and

forever.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

246

The teaoher may

give no didactic instruction in morals

Vol-

or religion, and yet be a powerful moral educator.

taire did not systematize or argue, yet he did more to

demoralize Europe than

preferred epigram to

He

philosophists.

its

all

argument;

for

wisely

though few can

rea-

son, all can laugh; while logic is soon forgotten, wit can

be

is

not the test of truth, yet derision

fallacy, as it leads us to reject

ever has been

object.

its

more princes with

with his sword.

may

and though

and relished, and retailed;

retained,

ridicule

his

is

2^

practical

without examination what-

Peter Aretin perhaps subdued

lampoons than ever did Alexander

If the teacher be disinclined to wit, he

resort to sophistry; he

need not mention any faith

while he upsets in the youth's mind

supply a false premiss, and

let

the

all faiths,

or he

may

mind go forward

in

correct reasoning to wrong conclusions; he need not state

his false premiss, but merely allude to
or axioms.

osities

He may

as

it

among

point out fallacies in the

reasonings of others in such a way as to mislead.

may

system
is

supposed

to

be correct merely because

support of truth, and

whose inconclusiveness

leads to a true

it

construct

shall be apparent,

not point out the parallelism; he

may

mind

to it

lo scent that out,

fallacy of its

Every

supported by invalid reasoning which

Let a man select some of these

conclusion.

used in

be

curi-

and trust

fallacies

ones

similar

and he need

leave the
to

young

proceed

to a

own; namely, that of denying the truth of

a conclusion because certain premises used to prove

are false.

up

Men may

argue without syllogisms,

a couple of premises in a single word,

it

may wrap

and bring out a

conclusion in an exhortation, as did Pilate's wife in a

certain message to her husband.

They may

reason

when

they appear to be inquiring, as did the most profound of

ancient
struction

reasoners
is

all

Socrateshabitually.

Indirect

in-

the more vivid and permanent for being

MORAL EDUCATION.
indirect; the

mind goes with

guide, having put

An

explosion

the train

is

is

it

it^

utmost speed when the

upon the track, leaves

none the

concealed.

it

less sure or less violent

Men

do wrong

though they were harmless.

errors as

247

to

to itself.

because

sneer at
little

little

unarmed

armed enemies
Hints from a man who dare not
witliin the citadel.
There is a doctrine
speak out may not be powerless.

boy

may

slip a bolt at

midnight and

let

which teaches that infinitesimal doses are most active.

AVhether homeopathy be true or not, the soul is apt to
feci

moral poison even in

cially if it

its

decillionth dilution, espe-

be in the shape of forbidden sugar, for the

prohibition produces a morbid sensibility.

But

let

us suppose

reduce the

what

human tongue

is

in

impossible

that you could

the teacher's mouth to a

He would still have a face, and this

would be something more than a picture. Truth and
lies, arguments and sophisms, hints and inuendoes, might
tinkling cymbal.

play around

it

like lightning on the face of the thunder-

Suppose you cover his face with a cowl, he will

put eloquence in his attitudes and movements. AVho

cloud.
still

has not heard of the pantomime?

The pointing of

under certain circumstances, might arouse an

army, and make all the difi'erence of defeat and victory.
Lovers may court by signs and wonders. If the teacher's

finger,

person were concealed, you could not conceal his

Ah, how often does

this silently breathe its

spirit.

image upon

In utter weakness it may win conquests,

a fellow-spirit!
and call forth the exclamation, "Though your arguments
are worthless, your sinrit has subdued me;" and spirit
may reach spirit even though both be deaf and dumb.
Then there is a power from which no man can divest

himself

example more

of instruction,

eff'ective

than any other method

and which no caveat can

cancel.

Who

has not heard of the fable of the frog that exhorted his

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

248

The

offspring to walk uprigtit?

influence of a master,

however he may be trammeled,

always be great.

will

"7p.se dixit," cries every qualified instructor's pupils

with

something of the same feeling as the pupils of Pythagoare taught to take his statements in

They

ras did.

things: they find

them.

What

them

some

reliable so far as they can verify

them from transferring the

shall prevent

which they receive one class of his dicta

to other classes, and, a fortiori, what shall prevent them
from feeling the influence of his life? You might as
credibility with

and pray that he may not be

put him under the care of a vicious master, and

well put a child in the

burnt, as

hope that he

fire,

The contagion of

be vicious.

will not

ex-

ample, like the malaria of cholera, works silently, insensibly,

it

how then

will

Even men can scarce resist

Think not a few cautions
children?
Behind their little eyes are active

constantly, widely.

save

shall

them.

brains; and

little as

you think of

it,

they are capable of

going through the most complicated processes of reasoning without knowing any thing of

logic.

They read

countenances, they trace thoughts, they scent inconsistencies as the war-horse snufi"s the battle from afar.

Roman once said to

teacher, "Thou shalt live

one

scrutinized by

may

another we
beset,

so

so

What

say to the

surrounded, so

vigilant guards, that thou canst not stir a

There

foot without their knowledge.

shall be eyes

to

detect thy slightest movement, and ears to catch thy

wariest whisper;" and
careless look, or
in

evil,

thy

movement, or whisper may telegraph

lies

immortal souls or

magazines.

No

we may add,

fire

district

trains

but there

bad example.

What though

is

thou art

upon the track of distant

would put the small-pox in the

school-house, yet vaccination

it;

if

is

some protection against

no prophylactic against the virus of a

Equally operative
the good

man be

is

good

example.

blindfolded and speech-

MORAL EDUCATION.
less, still

he

As

a good man.

is

249

well suppose that your

children can gambol and sing upon the bosom of some

flowery mountain without breathing

its

fragrance, and

catching and bearing onward to eternity

beauty, as that they

may

sit

its

forms of

good man,

at the feet of a

day by day, without receiving the impress of his

He

is

and his beauty be

shall spread,

soul.

by the river's side; his branches

a tree planted

as the olive-tree,

and his

smell as Lebanon; and what though he dare not speak,

they

shall

And who

does

they that dwell under his shadow shall return

revive as the corn and grow as the vine.

not

know

made upon young minds

that the impressions

are lasting, like the image which Phidias wished to per-

petuate by stamping

Minerva that

it

so deeply in

the buckle of his

should be impossible to obliterate

it

with-

it

''Take heed that ye

out destroying the statue itself!

offend not one of these little ones."
Fifthly.

scheme we

We

may show

are

considering by the relation which the

hearer sustains to what

natural world

is

the impracticability of

uttered.

as a general rule

know

that as in the

like produces like, so

But

in the moral the harvest is according to the seed.

as in the former climate,

and

soil,

and prior cultivation

have their influence upon the crop, so in the

stitution,

latter con-

and education, and habits of association

the germination and growth of that which

the road over the Andes there

is

the

is

afi'ect

sown.

In

a half-way house where

the ascending and descending travelers meet for refresh-

ments.

Here, under the same temperature, those who

have just come from the chilling breezes of the summit

are panting with the heat, while they

who have

just quit-

ted the sultry valleys of the base are shivering with the

Could we make the school-house a half-way house

on the Andes of thought, so various are the moral elevations from which the children come, that what might
cold.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

250
chill

the hearts of some might inflame those of others.

In any Christian city you may find some families who

breathe the air of heaven, and others who are as perfectly

Pagan

as are the inhabitants of

a just conception of

word, an allusion, a

make one

Shanghai, and to

God would be
definition,

new

whom

revelation.

an incident that might

might leave the other

soul glow like a furnace,

like ice.

The
minds;

associating principle has

immense

influence on

in a very great measure, determines the efi"ect

it,

which a truth shall have. Mr. Hartley, Sir James Macintosh, and others have applied it to explain the origin
of

our moral sentiments.

It

property of our

that

is

minds by which any object or state of consciousness

whether image, thought, or emotion has a tendency to
recall other states or objects of consciousness with which

it

has, in

some way, been previously connected.

thought received into the mind by

and

place, cause

efi"ect,

its

mind;

possesses and

its

result of the chemical test

the solution into which

me

associating

habits,

depends upon the

the

as

affinities

of

dropped.

it is

that I shall say nothing to influence the moral

character of those under

sense.

influence,

its

depends upon the stores of knowledge which

the mind

Tell

relations of time,

resemblance or contrast, awakens

a train of thought previously in the

therefore,

Every

As

my

care,

and you

tell

me

non-

well say that I shall restrain the atmosphere

from bearing

my

the north pole.

breath in any direction except toward

They who

forbid moral instruction gen-

erally overlook the fact that it is

Though the

constantly going on.

school might not teach morals, the play-

ground, and the street, and the market, and the tavern,

and the promenade, and the auction-block,

will.

Though

the teacher do not teach the written decalogue, there are

plenty of masters to proclaim an unwritten one lust, and
:

MORAL EDUCATION.

251

stealing,

and blood, and Atheism

license.

Let the youth grow up and choose religion and

preacli

without any

may choose himself

morals for himself, and he

penitentiary long before he

is

into the

Men

fully grown.

often

complain of the ease with which the young mind receives

a religious bias; but they ought to think of the greater
ease with which

age at which

it

The

receives an irreligious one.

early

vicious tendencies appear, the prevalence

of wickedness

all

through the world, the proneness of

nations to degenerate, the acknowledged difficulties of

and the shocking

virtue,

familiar to

human

history are

and show that without resistance the soul

all,

must be borne downward.

But if any still object
moral nature,

details of

let

him

to the

education of a child's

upon that nature.

reflect

It

the

is

moral nature that gives us ideas of right, of duty, of

obligation

ones;

it

next

is

this

God, the noblest conceivable

to that of

which harmonizes the jarring elements

of the breast; that alone can gird will for

its

conflict

with passion, arm the soul with strength in every

culty, patience
all

under every pain, and a might that braves

the powers of hell.

The idea of right may be misdi-

rected, the impulse to right

probation of conscience
idea

is

diffi-

the greatest of

may be

may be
all,

misleading, the ap-

misapplied, but

still

that

that impulse of more value

than the universe, and that approbation the richest

re-

ward that heaven can bestow. The moral nature is necessary in order that we may understand the character of

God

or receive a revelation of his will.

However undeveloped

us to ascend the scale of being.

a

human mind may

intellectual

be,

it

combinations.

has in

So

ascend the skies.

The

it

the elements of

all

man have a moral

virtue, and may erelong

if

nature he has the elements of

It alone enables

child at the breast that has but

just caught a glimpse of the idea of right

is

a nobler

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

252

What
being than the ancient archangel that has lost it.
obtain
all
mysteries
and
penetrate
though that archangel
knowledge; what though he take up the isles in his
intellectual scales and the hills in his mental balances;

all

what though he measure the heavens with his astronomical rod, and weigh the planets with his mathematical
steelyards; what though he combine all beauteous forms,
and utter

all

the languages of earth and the harmonies

of heaven; yet without a sense of right to guide

would be
brute.

no angel, no

He would

man

only

need a chain

to

him he

an awful reasoning
bind him; and the

more glorious his Acuities, the stronger must be that

chain.
True, he might be governed, as a tiger, by fear;
but

how

else

than by chain or

fear, if

We

were absent from his soul?

the idea of right

could admire such a

being as we admire the whirlwind or the earthquake, but

we could not love him any more than we could the steamengine.
To him blasphemy, perjury, murder would be as
Though he might
worship, and song, and beneficence.
remove mountains, he could not be "just;" though he
might

himself,

sacrifice

he could not be benevolent;

though he might wallow in

lust,

he could not

feel

shame;

and though he might spread ruin around him, he could

feel

no remorse; he could have no aspiration for purity,

So would a man be without a

Unhappily the world has given some illus-

no drawing toward God.

moral nature.

trations of this remark.

Dr.

Rush has given one

Dr. Crawford another, and Dr.

Haslem a

are familiar to the readers of philosophy.

from a colleague

G. in early

life

speak his mouth was

steal

fell

gave singular indications of a

want of the moral nature.

would

These

have received

Dr. Merrick the following, which

under his own observation

''S.

third.
I

case,

filled

Almost

total

as soon as he could

with cursing and deceit.

He

whatever he wished, and from his best friends

MORAL EDUCATION.

253

any other; but he was careful

as soon as from

against

detection.

school.

He

He

was

utterly

guard

to

unmanageable

at

possessed sound intellect, an acute appre-

judgment on all but moral subjects, and

memory; but his passions and propensities were

hension, a good
a ready

without any regulator except his sense of interest.

amusement he

When

dwelt.

set fire to the

For

house in which his parents

six or eight years old

he took a dislike

to

an infant brother, which on one occasion he threw into

the hog-pen, on another

buried alive

and on another threw into a

escaping

each

in

case

well,

with

its

years he grew in wickedness,

child strangely

As he grew

life.

till,

the ground,

in

the

in

when about eighteen

years old, he took a young child belonging to a sister,

and, carrying

For

death.

into the woods, literally

it

he was sent

this

Charlestown, Mass.
cipline,

He had

Here he refused

pounded
submit

to

to

As

rise

it

prison

state

to

at
dis-

to

subdue him.

never labored, and declined doing the

tasks

a last resort, he was placed in a cis-

where he was obliged

water to

the

and the authorities were unable

assigned him.
tern,

to

to

work a pump or allow the

above his head; he allowed

was taken out only when

life

to rise,

it

was nearly extinct.

and

He

He had now become an incarNot only women and children fled from his
presence, but men.
Many breathed easier when he
ceased to breathe.
I do not know that I ever saw any
thing in him which indicated a moral susceptibility, nor
was

at length pardoned.

nate fiend.

did I ever hear of any thing that did.

ble

t(?

He

was insensi-

kindness, and incapable of any attachment except

that of the beast for his fellows of the pasture."

Parent, would you have your son, for a score of years,

or even a year, in such a state?

follow

him

to the

grave?

Would you

not rather

Well, remember that, though

congenital cases of this kind are rare,

artificial

ones are

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

254
not

the conscience, by bad cultivation or neglect of

may be

tivation,

cul-

seared as with a hot iron.

God has given you a son with all the elements of a

man; day by day you watch and pray over his unfolding
powerS; and rejoice especially to mark the ideas of right,
and duty, and gratitude the feeling after God the

How

aspiration after a better state.

painful would

guide his feet or stretch his arms

fail,

and then

the light of reason, and imagination, and

extinguished, leaving

were

be

the light of his fine eye go out, or the power to

to see

still

it

him an

see

slowly

idiot in your arms!

you could carry him with tenderness

left

to

memory

But

if only there

the idea of right, the power to love the good,

be grateful for your kindness, and to breathe after a

to

higher

life.

But, 0, to see the light of conscience go

and though the form of man be left, though the

intellect blaze forth with celestial brilliancy, yet the
out,

power of self-government, and the power of being loved,

and the connection with good men and angels, and the

sympathy with God,

is

Let us have "blue

gone.

laws,''

puritanical strictness, any thing, rather than uneducated,-

neglected, put-out consciences.

But the objectors generally

say,

you do not teach dogmas."

course,

you would not allow us

moral obligation
life.

steal,

''Teach morals, if only

But what morals

to

and praises him

if

Of

teach of the ground of

perhaps you will

Shall I go to the Spartan,

us of the rule of

tell

who

bids the youth to

he cover the theft; who allows

a large margin of licentious indulgence to the husband,

who permits the

and commends him if he commit
shall I go to the Roman, who says,

and a limited compensation

master

suicide himself? or

"I

will

avenge

all

injuries according as I

am provoked

who thinks no lie should be used in conShall T go to the Mohammedan, who tells me to

by any," and
tracts?

to the wife;

to kill his slave,

MORAL EDUCATION.

255

widow and orphan, pray five times a day

looking toward Mecca, make the pilgrimage to the Caaba,
and eat no meat during the fast of the Ramadan ? or shall
I go to the modern moralists, who, having burst the shackgive alms to the

of the priesthood, have poured such floods of light

les

upon the subject?

"No, no,"

"we can agree

summary of it in the
be taught in common

I fancy the objector says,

that the decalogue and our Savior's

God and man

law of love to
schools

how
to

We can find
we make the

say that

dogma.

is

it

pupils receive it?

It will not

which characterizes the moral

difficulty

But

law to enforce it?

civil

the civil law can not control the heart, and

tive

do

the law of God; this were a religious

we get the

Shall

But then

a better rule of life."

till

shall

shall

it

is

the mo-

Indeed, the

action.

always has been more in the absence of the

right impulse than the right rule.

"Proba meliora
Leteriora sequor."

The

intellect

the road, but

may apprehend

the rule as the eyes

Well, what motives shall we present?

one philosopher, there

no God?

Shall

the world,

or,

we

is

say,

none?

is

less

contradictory?

say,

with

Or

is

God

not concerned

Shall

we suppose,

shall

we

find

our motives in

creeds, to say the least, are

Suppose we teach that there

one God, that he governs the world, that

ble to him, and that there

and punishments: these are

insists on their exclusion.

is

overrules

a future state, or, with Pliny,

modern philosophers, whose

no

see

a God, or, with another, there

with any thing beneath the moon?

is

we

Shall

with Socrates, that

with Aristotle, that he

*with Cicero, that there

that there

may

can no more obey than the eyes can walk.

it

is

man

is

is

responsi-

a future state of rewards

all

dogmas, and the skeptic

He

plants himself upon the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

256
Constitution.

however, set

The amendment
up as a monument

to wliicli lie

refers was,

against religious persecu-

Had

tion, not as a caveat against religious principle.

it

been proposed in the convention which framed the Constitution to repudiate the Christian religion, or to express

indifference to

religions, or to forbid the inculcation

all

of Christian doctrine in the

public,
feel

common

schools of the re-

who that knows any thing of our

fathers does not

have been

that such a proposition would

certain

The

promptly rejected?

may, however, go below

infidel

the Constitution, and insist that society has no right to

require
its

him

pay for any thing which

to

But

existence.

not essential to

are not religious principles essential

Without

to society?

is

it,

where can you

find a sufficient

sanction for law, especially in a republic?

have a religion, we are shut up

We

have too much intelligence

surely, there

is

no reason

to

If

we

are to

to the Christian religion.

to

adopt any other.

And,

complain when the public

teachers inculcate only those leading truths of the recog-

nized religion of the nation, which breathe in the national spirit,

mold the national mind, direct the march of

national events^ are recognized the world over as the lead-

ing principles of the Christian faith, and which

all

expe-

rience shows are the stability of the times.

I grant there
ious

is

instruction.

a difficulty in thus limiting our relig-

But

selection of teachers.

may be met by a judicious

Let them be men of true goodit

ness and of enlarged views.

The
schools.

difficulties

The

'

spoken of are not peculiar

state interferes with morals

It passes laws against profanity,

to

and

common
religion.

murder, adultery, polyg-

amy, in disregard of the Atheist, the Pagan, the perfectionist, and the Mormon, who respectively may feel conscientiously

bound

to

blasphemy, infanticide, the violation

of the marriage vow, and a plurality of consorts.

The

MORAL EDUCATION.

257

state also recognizes great religious principles.

In her

judicial oaths, in her public fasts and thanksgivings, in

her designation of time, in her observance of the Sabbath, in all the branches of the government, she recog-

nizes the being and attributes of God, his providence

over the earth, and the redemption of the world by Jesus

Should she cease

Christ.

do so she would practically

to

You may

ordain Atheism.

say give us neither

Atheism

nor Deism, Christianity nor Rationalism, in the govern-

ment, as though you could separate the legislation of a

people from

its

religious

and moral

You might

ideas.

as

well attempt to separate the Mississippi from its tribu-

taries.

much

Well, as

we may
to

which

May we
If

so,

we have

religion as

surely have in the school.

would like

to

in the

There

devote attention

is

government
one question

if I

had

space.

not safely intrust religion to priests and parents?

although we

ernment,

it

comes too

may

late

may admit

that

it is

necessary to gov-

not be allowable in schools.

Preaching

after moral character is in a great meas-

ure formed; and if any one would trust parental instruction, let

him consider the

characteristics of this restless,

speculative, money-getting, moving, heterogeneous people.

The school-house
acter,

is

the great fountain of national char-

and sends forth sweet

or bitter waters

the streams of the nation's thought.

hands of either religious or

into the latter,

It

irreligious

and Cataline

22

is

through

must be

men.

Let

at the gate of our

all

in the
it

fall

Rome.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

258

THAT

we may keep within proper

ourselves to

two inquiries

limits, let us confine

How

shall

we read

and

And, first, how? My answer is, with scrutiny,

reflection, and appropriation.
And this remark is not unnecesI say with scrutiny.
sary, for often a book is used to dissipate weariness, fill up
a vacant hour, or direct our attention from subjects which

why?

might lead us
casions

to

laborious thought.

That there are

when books may properly be used

in this

oc-

way

do not deny; but books suitable for such purposes hardly

deserve that

enough

name

for the

let

them be ranked with

toys

well

child, the valetudinarian, the way-worn,

who wanders on the brink

speak now of serious reading, which

and the poor, bewildered one

of derangement.

ought always

to

a habit of mental supineness.

ance, take

it

If you find

be an exercise of thought.

your mind unengaged, lay your book down,

up again, but not

If
till

soul to account for its listlessness.

it is

lest

you form

of great import-

you have called your

Many

often read even

the Bible merely to satisfy a tender conscience, or con-

commendable habit, till at length

no more impression upon them than blank

form

to a

they were

to pause, search, study, ^Jray,

or if they were to read

cially if

it

produces

paper.

If

over each verse,

in the original language, espe-

they were under the necessity of tracing words

to their roots, of declining

it

it

nouns and conjugating verbs,

would be a new revelation to them.

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
To read with scrutiny implies

attention

259

an

active,

penetrating state of mind, which should be

fixed,

di-

rected to the words, the thoughts, the object, and the

We

spirit of the author.

can not apprehend ideas with-

out understanding words, for

it

only by words that we

is

can either think or receive thought, or convey

who read words which they can

understand

more especially if such words are

They may, indeed, by a sort of in-

them,

familiar to them.
stinct,

and they may

If they do,

not.

it

only by sup-

is

In matters

plying conjecturally the words not defined.

of importance

it

behooves us to be sure that

Most words have synonyms

we

we

are right.

but if they have been cor-

exchanged

rectly used, they can not well be

Let us see that

Many

it.

not define, suppose they

for others.

give to each word not merely the

right meaning, but the right shade of meaning.

And

here you will mark one of the great advantages of

clas-

study;

sical
ifies

it

directs attention closely to words; it qual-

us to trace their relations;

You

their uses.

it

habituates us to scan

we

will not infer that

our words, but that we are to

are to define all

be capable of defining

We

must attend to construction, no

The same words may be arranged so

them.
words.

vey truth, or falsehood, or nothing at

often do

we read on

we

of which

all,

have many examples in the responses of heathen

How

than

less

as to con-

oracles.

If we understand,

carelessly!

very well; if not, just as well; if we get a meaning that

satisfies

author's
wills,

us,
!

what matter whether

How

replications

all

the

is

our

own

or the

read deeds

and declarations, statutes and

ions; the dotting of an

make
They

it

difi"erently do lawyers

difference

or the

between

decis-

tense of a verb

defeat

and

and

may

victory.

relate in classic story that a client returned to his

lawyer a speech that he had written for him to read to

the jury, saying that

when he

first

read

it

he thought

it

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

260

when he read it the second time he began to

doubt; and when he read it the third time he thought it

perfect;

miserably poor.

going

read

to

it

to

them

cially;

because

if

you

Most authors

the jury three times?"

first reading, and the world rarely

write for the world's

gives

fool," said the lawyer, ''are

''You

In general, books are read superfi-

a second.

addressed to the imagination and the passions,

it is useless

reason, because

it

fathom them;

to

to

difficult

is

character, because they

if of irreligious

do so;

with the current of

fall in

thought and feeling; and

addressed to the

if

human

of opposite tendency, be-

if

How many

cause they are unwelcome to the heart.

sub-

lime passages in the prophets, the Psalms, the evangelists,

are of no meaning, because

we do not make

selves acquainted with their force

book a third reading,

final

Hence,

passage.

Let us give every

or, at least, its

equivalent, before a

would be well

it

our-

have

for us to

always upon the table an English dictionary, and a Biographical, a Geographical, and a Scientific one, that we

may understand

the author.

the allusions and feel the full power of

good book read with constant references,

whenever necessary,

i'th

cart-load

to

maps, history, and authority,

read

superficially;

it

exercises

is

our

highest faculties, extends the circle of our information,

and

revives, deepens,

and applies knowledge previously

From the ideas of the author we must ascend

Many have read Homer's Hiad, for ex-

acquired.

to his design.

ample, without ever comprehending

not

till

we

see the lesson

it

is

importance of fraternal union

its

purpose; yet

designed to impress

that we

it is

the

can fully appre-

ciate the great poet's power.

How can we judge of a
book without considering the intention with which each
illustration,

argument,

duced, and the relation

purpose?

deduction,
it

and

figure

is

intro-

bears to the writer's ultimate

thing absolutely strong

may be

relatively

MISCELLANEOUS READING.

261

weak; a thing absolutely impotent may be relatively

mighty; a strong chain may be rendered useless by one
missing link; a feeble beam may become powerful, if it
leap out of the timber in answer to the stone that cries

Nor should we

of the wall.

out

spirit of the author

Thus

the

to

the habitual nature of

and their particular

tion.

fail

when he penned

state

of Shakspeare

spirit

is

consider the
his feelino's,
his produc-

genial;

of

Young, gloomy; of Milton, grave; of Byron, bitter and

malignant. Yet no one of them has written all his works
in the same mood.
Compare, for example, the Don Juan
and the Hebrew Melodies. Without appreciating the
an

of

spirit

author,

we can neither understand the

meaning, nor measure the intensity, nor

fix

the compre-

hension, which we should ascribe to his expressions.

The same words are of far different meaning and force in
the mouth of anger and the mouth of love the same
;

phrase in Solomon's Song, and in Moore's Melodies might

inspire

and

feelings as

woman

in

consequence of

and
is,

its

aifferent as

There

scarlet.

its

would an angel in light

is

one book which, in

antiquity, its pre-eminent importance,

inspiration, should be read with special aids; that

commentaries.

of which
the sun,

Adam
it

I refer

Clarke's

has spots.

is

now

to

such as are critical;

a fine example, though, like

There are separate commentaries

on particular portions of Scripture which will generally

be found better than any universal one.
writers

who had done

Lowth has

for Isaiah

for other

and

I wish

we had

books of the Bible what

Home

for the Psalms.

The

which had

commentaries, abounding in reflections

come from your own mind, you will generally find
watery; you may obtain ideas from them after long waiting, but they will not be your own, and they will be
Educated
received in a distended and weakened mind.
diffuse

better

men

often read the Bible better without commentaries.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

262

Let them have

a good Bible dictionary

and a work on

Archceology; an acquaintance with the original tongues,

and with ancient history and geography, and they need

Moreover,
not fail to find the meaning of holy oracles.
they will study with a mind more awakened, more independent, more cautious, more
tial,

and more reveren-

critical,

too, as the principal and the auxiliary, the divine

and the human, will not be so intimately blended. Were

commentaries all destroyed, the Bible would become a
California, where every man, assured there was gold,
would wash his own sand.

To

scrutiny should succeed reflection.

"We should not

only examine superfices, but penetrate, revolve, evolve, separate,

compare, combine,

till

"out of the eater comes forth

We

meat, and out of the strong comes forth sweetness.''

should seek not merely for the melody of the cadences

and the beauty of the images, but the validity of the

judgments, the weight of the matter, the value of the
conclusions, the additional illustrations and arguments

by

which the statements and reasonings might be corroborated, the relation which the facts bear to our previous
knowledge, and the various uses to which the information
imparted

may be

applied;

or,

on the other hand, the ex-

ceptions which have been omitted, the blunders which

have been committed, the inconsistencies into which the

author has

fallen,

to useful purposes.

and the inapplicability of his subject

book read with

reflection is like

the imaginary gold concealed in the vineyard of fable,

which, causing the possessors to dig deep

all

over their

grounds, formed in them habits of eager industry, and

gave to their

soil

an unsuspected productiveness.

too often, either from a

Men

want of information or want of

independence, from an overweening confidence in

the

author or an incorrigible indolence in themselves, from

an unpardonable haste or an unfortunate weakness,

re-

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
ceive

never in one stay.

life,

the morning

ing

Such minds

that they read.

all

it

are like

Their philosophy

cometh up and flourisheth;

it

human

grass; in

is

in the even-

down and withereth.

cut

is

263

If you would know

what book they have

their present state of mind, ask

''They are ever learning, but never able to

come to a knowledge of the truth." Their minds are as
blackboards overspread with symbols, which by cancellalast read.

If they happen to be pastors or

tion yield only zero.

teachers,

woe

led through a
tients, for

to their flocks or pupils, for

maze;

There

is

thinking; and
an

there

have but

be

of every thing.

little

Hap-

little force.

want of

a great

the multitude in

to

they are doctors, woe to their pa-

if

they must taste a

pily such persons

they are

among mankind;

reflection

ages has sunk into the grave without

all

few that have not, with here and

the

have

exception,

been

occupied

with

thoughts of others rather than their own.

the

few sov-

minds divide among themselves the realm of

reason, giving opinions as decrees.
No sway more perereign

fect

than

ence of

theirs.

the

Talk not of Russian autocrats in presof

autocrats

philosophy,

who,

as

God's

thinking vicegerents, prescribe routes and limits for the

outgoings of
transgress

human mind, and hunt down

them

as wild

beasts of the desert.

notwithstanding unnumbered
mortal

men have

lived

millions

upon the

of

earth,

of the world that have been preserved

under a few heads

thus,

Mohammed, Bacon, Kant.

to rule when he dies; but
after

they

Europe
sways.
or

disappear.

those

Plato,

all

who

Hence,

separate

im-

the thoughts

may be ranked

Aristotle,

Confucius,

Caesar or Bonaparte ceases

these mental despots rule ages

Aristotle,

for

example,

swayed

more than a thousand years, and still he

Columbus will be remembered long as an island
for

mountain of this continent

shall

stand

above the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

264

waves; but Homer will be known long as a syllable of

Columbus rules
language lives upon the lips of man.
It would
not the lands he pointed out; Bacon does.
seem, at

sight, that the law of hereditary succession

first

does not prevail

among the

thought;

princes of

but,

upon examination, we see that young ones are but the

Scarce a new

children of the old, with altered names.

phase in philosophy that

The present age

one.

cessor;

it

not a mere revival of an old

as

unreflective

as

one of activity and haste, in which

is

discourages reflection.
politics,

you know

prede-

its

are incumbrances; the multitude of

facilities

man's

is
is

Would you form an

its

very

books

its

idea of a

ask what political paper he takes; would

his religion, ask

what preacher he hears.

But

do not his opinions direct the choice both of paper and

preacher

So you might suppose, but that you find

him veering

as

they do, just as they veer when their

What

masters do.

revolutions are wrought in the masses

by the movement of some national convention! "Old

things pass away, all things become new;" parties are
bought and sold with their leaders,

bought and sold with the land.

as

Russian serfs are

Men

they have their thinking done for them

chinery.

As

not think;

will

done

by ma-

the Carguero carries the traveler in a chair

on his back over the mountains of Quito, so the teacher

is to

bear the student on his blackboard

of knowledge; as the priest in Siberia

to the windmill,

to

the summits

ties his

and expects every revolution

devotions

to count a

we expect our ministers to waft our souls

mount of God; as the steam-horse puff's us,
whether we are asleep or awake, to the city, so we expect

valid prayer, so
to

the

the book to bear us to the metropolis of reason.

human mind, with

Hence,

increased activity, has diminished fer-

tility;

amid advancement

wealth,

it is

in

arts,

and sciences, and

stationary in the higher grounds of intellect-

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
Tial

having more

labor;

more

leisure,

knowledge, more incentives than

265

more

facilities,

has ever had,

it

it

is

content to be agitated and amused with the successive

explosions of the magazine of folly and error, and

no majestic march in the direction of truth.

to

It trembles

ascend on the stream of borrowed thought

fountains,

as

the

like

if,

guarded by sworded cherubim;

to the ocean, as if

of

rivers

to original

Eden, they were

fears to

it

makes

move onward

beyond the frequented coasts of truth

Reflect as you read, cautiously,

nature inverted her laws.

but freely, boldly.

We

should not only read with reflection, but appropri-

The mind may comprehend its knowledge, and

it, without being able to make use of it; hence,

ation.

act upon

some, though very learned, are far from wise.

minds are as
fusedly mixed

a storehouse,

where

they are walking

all

Their

treasures are con-

libraries,

and can give

you history, philosophy, poetry, and theology, but just as

they received

it

they have carefully wrapped their

ent in a napkin, and buried

called for.

it,

There are others, who analyze propositions

who consider

the relations of facts to others which they

have previously acquired, and thus

elicit

edge, uniting the diff"erent colored

prism to form a perfect

lighf^

who

they see new applications of them

ments

made

till

forth
itself,

they perceive

to disclose

another.

They

who

new

as

ponder principles

who

first

soil,

till

examine argu-

may be

one sophism the clew to

they received

yet not itself, more than

itself;

dies,

it,

but,

and give

though

like

the spiritual corn,

and

is

quickened,

the blade, then the ear, then the

Between the knowledge of these

It is
the difi"erence of life and death.

ripe corn in the ear.

is

rays of the mental

truths which they

find in

sinking into their mental

and sends forth

further knowl-

profitably invest their talents,

knowledge not

two there

tal-

be disinterred when

to

23

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.
amazing wliat power of appropriation

man may

acquire.

Kossuth may make a speech every day from the convermen, who little suspect that the knowledge

sations of

they receive from him

but that which they have given,

is

though bearing the impress of his mind; he received

it

See that your soul

is

he returns

as ore,

as currency.

it

not a great cistern, but a great furnace, in which every

thing cast must be saved as by

Not every book is

Erasmus
attention.

to

Generally

that

have spent twelve years iu

Lord Verulam responds,

ass !"

''

book which has been written

should be read hastily.

years'

be read with the same degree of

cries, ^'I

the study of Cicero."

fire.

Some volumes have

hastily

cost twenty

these should be read slowly, or not at

toil;

Although we may

tithe

all.

cummin, we

mint, anise, and

should not be as long collecting the revenue of a poor

district

of a rich one.

as

Bacon,

'^

some few

are
to

to

"

Some books,"

be tasted, others

to

be chewed and digested."

says

Lord

be swallowed, and

Of

the last class

I speak.

The habit of attentive, reflective, appropriative reading may not be easily acquired, nor is any other good
habit; but we may say of it what Aristotle says of learning,

''The roots are bitter, but the fruits are sweet."

When

once

it

is

acquired, It

may

readily be strength-

ened, and

vrill aiford through life a never-failing feast

and an unceasing mental growth. Youth is the time to

acquire

it,

and the best mode

is

to use the

pen

not to

transcribe important chapters or beautiful passages to be

used as aids in argumentation or gems in composition

practice

which enervates memory and degrades

nor to construct commonplaces

useful

an

exercise

but to form discourse of your own

style;

much more
;

this will

prove a magnet to gather fragments as you advance, and

at

once guide and stimulate your further excavations.

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
But read with an eye
to read,

but read to

human

to

live.

We

life.

Action

267

should not live

the highest

is

mode of

being
"In the deed the unequivocal, authentic deed

We

ftnd

The purpose of

may

sound argument."

training a child

we can not grow much wiser

clusively.

The

life.

spend

life

much

that he'

Mere study is a
and however diligent we may be,

read, or write, or speak, but

weariness to the flesh;

not so

is

<jo.

or stronger by reading ex-

of

nature and

physician, lawyer, doctor, warrior,

who should

Books need the

in

illustration

the study, w^ould not be

fit

to

be trusted.

It is only by the aj^pUcation of knowledge that we learn

Hoarded
its limitations, exceptions, and proper force.

knowledge, like the hoarded manna of the desert, puand epicurism in mind, as in body, has its acids
trefies
;

and constipations. All wisdom and wit that does not promote man's haT3piness or
Hence, while men have ranked
God's glory is vanity.

and

crudities, its flatulencies

philosophers and orators as demigods, they have ranked

and properly, since

the comet that occasionally flashes up the heavens is less
godlike than the dew which, from day to day, and gener-

discoverers and inventors as gods;

ation to generation, invisibly distills

upon the

earth.

Neither a nation nor an individual is to be judged by

Egypt was crumbling when
the number of its books.
her Alexandrian Library was the largest in the world

Asia Minor was falling under the blows of Greece when

her books were ten to one more than her adversary's;

Greece had multiplied her parchments when Rome's

hardy legions subdued the Peloponnesus; Borne was
imperial city.
filled with books when Alaric sacked the

On

the contrary, Greece had but few writings

when she

drove back Xerxes, and produced Homeric song; Bome

few when she expelled the Tarquins, and brought forth

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

268

Brutus; Britain few when she drafted the Magna Charta,

and sent the Black Prince

common than

to find a

to Cressy;

man

and what

is

more

with a large library a very

great fool

Nevertheless, books have their uses; and we come to

inquire; secondly,

of reading

why should we read?

The

lighter uses

our passions, to assuage our

to tranquilize

sorrows, to moderate our anxieties, to beguile our journeys, to give interest to our idle hours, to refine the

man-

ners and humanize the heart, to awaken the desire for

knowledge and form the

taste for reading

we

a single caveat against a class of books

which

employed

mean

to

In condemning them

romances.
as

answer these indications

denouncing

^sop, the

let

is

usually

novels and

us not be understood
the fables of

productions;

all fictitious

pass with

allegories of prophecy, the parables of Christ,

the tales which embellish and impress historical facts,

and the

much
fictions

illustrations

which the pulpit employs with

grace and efficiency,

and rules

afi"ord

at

for its construction

and

off'end

mind by

dress, their unnatural

gaudy

Novels

use.

and romances usually

their

so

once authority for

a pure taste and a sound

characters,

and their paucity of instruction; and always tend to

weaken the power of attention, to impair the judgment,
to divorce the connection
to

between action and sympathy,

give a preponderance to the imagination, to create a

distaste for simple truth,

and a disinclination both

manly studies and the dull

them are liable to a greater

realities

of

life.

for

Many

of

objection, as, by a Plutonic

chemistry, they turn the diamond of virtue into the charcoal of vice.

It is alleged that they soften the heart

excite an interest in sufi"ering.

Often, however,

it

and

is

an

undistinguishing or a mawkish sensibility, which, while

it

can weep over the picture of a dead Gipsy, can wring

the living heart of a loving father.

That by inflaming

MISCELLANEOUS READING.

269

the imagination^ interesting the affections, and exciting

may be

an interest in books, they

some minds,

useful to

and, indeed, to most minds in certain moods, must be ad-

but since

mitted;
effected

good they accomplish may be

the

by works of unquestionable tendency, why resort

such as intoxicate while they imparadise, bewilder

to

while

they allure, and

emasculate

while

they excite?

The higher forms of poetry, philosophy, and religion are

sufficiently fascinating

Let us come

and energizing

to all the faculties.

the higher ends of reading

to

to inform,

to balance, and to stimulate the mind, to form the style

and

to reform the heart.

The

To inform the mind.

great purpose of education

to develop and train the faculties; in doing this we

must necessarily give some information; but the college, when she graduates, turns you over to testimony or
is

observation.

pose that

It

all

they wasted

was the error of the schoolmen

knowledge was contained

seeking

life in

agitating their

own

in the soul

to find out external

intellects, as if

to sup-

hence,

things by

matter could be made

by shaking emptiness. Although the theory of the

schoolmen has been exploded, their practice has not.
We still need to be reminded that we can not draw conclusions

without

premises;

much

nothing, however

it

that

may be

from nothing comes

In judging,

agitated.

remembering, analyzing, and generalizing, the philosopher may have great advantages over the savage; but for
the facts the one
cated young

and

life,

is

man

as

dependent as the other.

An

edu-

has fundamental knowledge of nature

of history and geography; but let

ber that his knowled2;e

build upon

it,

structure.

History,

is

but fundamental

him rememthat he must

and that his very foundations are liable to

decay unless he is constantly carrying forward the super-

before him.

Of

the

civil,
first

ecclesiastical,

and

natural, are

two he has an outline

general

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

270

notions of the stream of time; names of nations, their

rise, decline,

and

great epochas, leading events, dis-

fall;

tinguished names, and a table of dates a mere chart to

So,
give interest and direction to the voyage before him.
skeleton,
to
is
but
his knowledge
too, of natural history

be clothed and animated by a patient continuance in the

study of nature under the guidance of its more eminent
In this department of learning, if we be
interrogators.

Chemistry, geology,

not studious we must ever recede.

etc.,

have just passed the

pillars

of Hercules, and are

unknown ocean toward an unGeography, once a fixed, is now a progress-

cutting with their keels an

known

world.

ive study, following

tian

sympathy

human
ples.

into

commerce, and science, and Chris-

all

regions,

and mapping past events,

among

progress, and providential designs

But what

give no

list

shall

all

peo-

we read upon these subjects?

of books; but, since by reading according to

a well-conceived

plan we shall have clearer views and

speedier progress, I refer you to some such '^Hand-Book

Be

of Literature" as Bishop Potter's.

the

size

of the

catalogue.

plished in one year

may

What

can not be accom-

in ten; nor are

studied with equal care.

not alarmed at

all

histories to

be

God, in his word, has epito-

mized the history of many generations, indicated the

chief points of attention in the

field

of later history

the Assyrian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and

Boman

nished in his providence the most able authors

ius,

them, and given us a clew

to

etc.

connect their

various parts and trace their important bearings.

may

pass

rapidly,

fur-

Polyb-

Livy, Thucydides, Xenophon, BoUin, Gibbon,

to illustrate

We

by the aid of Hallam, through the

dark region of medieval history, and obtain imperfect

glances on the pages of

Hume, Bobertson,

Bussel,

of the more important events of modern times.

current history

we need

etc.,

For

a well-edited daily, a weekly con-

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
densing

271

news, a monthly digesting the literature of

its

the times, and a quarterly converging the mature thoughts

Let us not spend too much time

of the passing age.

upon them; the periodical press

trash;- it caters

miscellany

for society, instead

often

is

deceitful,

tious,

weak and

superficial;

fretting

what they can

cliiefly is

to

it

lights

earth,
to

There

of elevating it;

its

produce;

like the stars, in

though

are,

it

intelligence

its

it is

indispensable:
it

circles the

appearance only;

it

runs

does not always increase knowledge.

noble

too,

its

mere moths,

criticisms

up the world, though with gas;

fro,

great extent,

affected; its essays conten-

Nevertheless,

he valued.

though

and

not

to

is,

exceptions

whose essays are worthy

to

among

editors

men

be studied as well for matter

as style.

The

You have

pondered.
tance; to

mark

fusion of

its

is

human

history of

its

ideas or philosophy should be

seen this tower of Babel at a dis-

successive stories, to listen to the con-

tongues, and to trace

its

moss-grown ruins,

a task at once curious and profitable.

book

is

prepared for this purpose, yet we

Although no

may extend our

explorations by the light of such works as Enfield's or

The acquisition of extensive and accurate

knowledge of men and things of the past and present is
Brucker's.

indispensable, as well to a just appreciation of the best

employment of our own powers.

and make all
nature vocal; thus we evoke Minerva from the brain, and
To philosophy let
give a harp to our sounding bowels.
Concerning the relations of the soul to
us add divinity.
God, or life to immortality, we can know only what is reTealed for such knowledge it is vain to beat ab-out in
Pennature, or turn upon ourselves, for it is above both.
etrated with this truth, we should come to the Bibh'
with the docility of a child, and the awe of a prophet.
authors, as the proper

It is thus

we grow

familiar with the muses,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

272
It

you have received

it

as a revelation, it is too late to

concerning

cavil, argue, or doubt,

You must

it.

receive

name of a prophet if you would receive

a prophet's reward. However humbling to the pride of
reason may be this unquestioning belief, I enjoin it with
a prophet in the

the more confidence because you will accord

it

to

some-

thing.
You will seek rest in something infallible. "I
am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if

another come in his own name, him ye

Alas! there

is

as

much

diflference

will

receive."

between the revelations

of Scripture concerning Divine things and the speculations of

men,

discovered,

as

and

between the solid world which Columbus

the

dark,

and liquid chaos

agitated,

which, beyond a certain horizon, presented itself

imaginations of

And

navigator.
tical

men
here

to the

before the days of that immortal

let

me

advise you to read no skep-

works; they are unnecessary: a proposition and

its

contradictory need not both be investigated; if one be

You have

true, the other is false.

factory proof

and argumentation,

assented, after satis-

the truth of the

to

Bible, and refuted the chief objections

What more

infidels.

needed?

is

and arguments of

The contradictory of

the proposition may, however, be proved false directly, as

well as

indirectly,

labors.

It

undertook

is

to

without any examination of

infidel

nearly two thousand years since skeptics

it is now more
and extensively believed than
of the European west had been bom-

overthrow the Bible, and

firmly,

and

ever.

If the allies

intelligently,

barding Sevastopol without intermission, with the progressive improvements in the art of war, for two thou-

sand years, and yet found the fortifications of that port

now

ten

times as strong as ever, you would conclude,

without examining their parallels or batteries, that Sevastopol

is

impregnable.

If infidelity finds

thousand times more firm

after

it

has

the

been

Bible

ars-uino-

MISCELLAx^EOUS READING.
against
after

it

hundred

for eighteen

it

has argued in

most approved

its

what

years,

273

will it find

style for eighteen

hundred years more?

We

may

argument

take

it

Moreover, the arguments of unbeliev-

them

are self-destructive; put

and you may reduce them

cient infidels

the

reliable

would in this wicked world be familiar as a

it

household word.
ers

had one

for granted, that if it

to zero

in

parallel

columns,

An-

by cancellation.

believed that Christ wrought miracles by

agency of

modern ones believe there

devils;

is

neither miracle nor devil.

If you read these works, they must produce either

some

efi'ect

upon your minds or none

your time and pains;

if

your faith or overthrow

in

if

none, you lose

some, they must either shake

if

it;

leave you a prey to doubt,

more

they merely shake

which

will distress

it,

they

you the

proportion as you need rest of mind; if they

overthrow your

faith,

they leave you exposed

to universal

skepticism concerning the past, impenetrable gloom con-

cerning the future, and the wild play of the passions repressed only by very imperfect restraints.

Another object of reading is to keep the mind balThere are three great causes of mental maladanced.
justment the hand of nature, the lapse of time, and the
The college course has been wisely arpursuits of men.
ranged to develop and train all the faculties; and
although it does not correct all irregularities and make all

minds symmetrical,

it

may, when properly pursued, pre-

vent intellectual deformity.

ually

undergo alterations

On

leaving college we grad-

the sensibilities and the will

gain upon the intellect; desire of action, power, money,

fame, increases and rages, and in the conflicts of

life

we

acquire a persistence, a firmness, a steadfastness, which

we had not before exhibited: the intellectual states

imagination and memory lose power,
also affected

are
ab-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

274

straction and reason gain.

As

changes.

Occupation will modify these

the foot of the Indian becomes

and

fleet,

the eye of the sailor far-seeing, so the mind of the lawyer

becomes

acute, of the physician sagacious

and

practical,

A disof the clergyman speculative and comprehensive.

cerning person can, at a glance, determine a man's profession, so deeply does it impress itself

We

manners.

typing influence, and to secure a free

Hence,

our powers.

upon mind and

should strive to prevent this daguerreo-

movement

imagination begin to

if

for all

fail,

poetry; if business absorb the mind, study histwy

characters,

its

read

till its

events, its philosophy, arrest the attention

and eclipse the

trifles

titude of objects

of the passing hour; if in the mul-

and amusements your mind

is

losing

its

concentrativeness,

recur to mathematics, which, like a

moral ladder,

keep you watchful

round

to

will

round;

tent with

the whirlpool of

if in

swimming

you ascend from

as

life

you grow con-

superfices, return to the diving-bell

of philosophy; and

if in

you become averse

to

your association with the mass

ratiocination,

and prone

to take

principles on trust, to leap to conclusions, and to argue

ad captandum, go
There

are,

to the

however,

gymnasium of the schoolmen.

many works

equally strengthening

and more accessible than those of scholasticism

Chillingworth's defense of Protestantism, which

Daniel Webster read once a year

skill;

to

such as
it is

said

sharpen his logical

Fletcher's '^Checks," of which a lawyer and an

enemy said, ^'This argument will hold water;" Berkley's

Minute Philosopher, which it is stated Robert Hall was
accustomed

to

mighty and majestic

made

commenced that
movement of mind which often
unto Mount Sinai; Wesley's Ser-

read regularly before he

his pulpit like

mons, as clear in logic as fervent in rhetoric, like the

sea of mingled glass in apocalyptic vision

with lightning

penetration he cleaves the forms of error

till

he reaches

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
the reservoir of

first

truths, and, with a profound anal-

he not only guides you

metaphysics, but out of them.

ysis,

There are who object

man

all

fessionif lawyer, he should

if poet,

to

the depths of pagan

into

to this direction,

should concentrate

Bubtility;

275

his powers
let

all

his

fancy and who

and think that

upon his pro-

wisdom run

to

look suspiciously

if he
on one who ventures beyond his ordinary range, as
True, in order to
were doing injustice to his patrons.
we
shine we must converge our light; equally true, that

can not illustrate our own profession without ascending

We could not
descending, if you please, into others.
or

within it
so easily survey a plain by walking continually
nor
it;
as by ascending some eminence that overlooks
could we form a just idea of the magnitude of a mountI believe
ain without descending to the lower peaks.
in the

of sciences as well as the

communion

communion

was the boast of Voltaire that he had

discovered the island of England, so ignorant were his
countrymen of its literature. There are many learned

of saints.

bodies to

It

whom mathematics and

poetry are

unknown

horse-thieves
lands, and who think of law as good only for
and physic for cutting off legs. Did the peculiar genius
introof the French cease to shine after they had been
be
gentlemen
would
duced to Bacon and Newton, and

adorn one profession by some knowledge of

Name a science to which any profession does

less fitted to

another?

not stand related or from which

tions and proofs.

his profession

Name

who

is

man

it

may

not draw illustra-

that has carried forward

not of general and varied reading

did the Chinese become sluggish, or

shutting
the monks of past ages mentally blind, but by
phigreatest
How have some of the
themselves up?
their attenlosophers become short-sighted by confining

and study.

tion to

How

minute points?

Be

not a

"Know-Nothing"

in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

276

your profession, rather a "Know-Something" out of

and remember

Eut what

gether like soul and body.

can

not

pursuit

all

be made

You have

He

of yourselves.
not visit

may

that diverse knowledges

tributary

itj

to-

your reading

if

your profession

to

a higher mission

is

dwell

the

or

cultivation

narrow-minded, indeed, who will

a neighbor's hearth unless he can bake his own

cakes upon

its coals.

Another object of reading

to

is

of rhetoric should be studied

form the

but

it

is

Works

style.

not by the phi-

losophy of criticism that we can form a habit of writing

felicitously.

As by

we

associating with gentlemen

ac-

quire the manners of gentlemen, so by reading the best

writers

we

attain to the art of good writing.

'^It is

im-

possible," said Seneca, ''to approach the light without de-

riving some faint coloring from

it,

or to remain long

among

precious odors without bearing away with us some portion

of the fragrance. '^

We

shall

more rapidly improve

relish

we may more

perfectly

them, and by recognizing the principles upon which

they are founded more readily reproduce them.

over, every author has his faults

we

More-

and imperfections, which

we read without discrimdo we transfer our admira-

shall be liable to imitate, if

ination; indeed, so naturally

tion

from excellences

that

we

writer,

ears

to

blemishes associated with them,

are as prone to imitate the vices as the virtues of

a model.

We

should not confine ourselves to a single

however excellent he may

through with an awl.

variety of master-pieces

in

purpose to enumerate them.

as

we

that by ana-

occasionally apply our rules of criticism,

lyzing the beauties of the author

if

a general

fore learning

rule,

be,

he bore our

lest

Happily there
composition.
Suffer

me

is

great

It is not
to

remark

our
that,

the older authors, who, writing be-

became widely diffused, addressed themminds rather than the populace, such

selves to educated

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
as Addison, Swift, Goldsmith, Pope,

277

Cowper, and Young,

are preferable; there are, however, recent writers

style

beautiful, as Burke, Hall, Macaulay,

is

We

Prescott, Irving.

whose

Channing,

should be guided in our selection

by our peculiarity of genius

culiarity of intellectual

man has a peSome men excel in

each

for

character.

some are
If we
an extreme, we must check

the sententious style, others in

the flowing;

bold and figurative, others simple and delicate.

are running our peculiarity to
it

by familiarity with

you are

a writer of opposite tendency.

ponder Paley;

too figurative,

Johnson

if

wanting

in

energy,

read

Carlyle

purity, read Swift; if in elegance, Burke.

mind

us bear in

We

that style

is

If

turn to

if too terse,

if

After

in

all, let

of secondary consideration.

should never run the risk of weakening our under-

standing or corrupting our principles for the

polishing our periods.

I should fear to

fascinations of either

Walter Scott

The more we think and

feel,

sake

of

come within the

or

Dr.

Channing.

the less we need study style

an overflowing mind, like an overflowing river, will move

gracefully

a heart on

fire,

like a

house on

fire, will

burn

sublimely.

Another important object of reading is to stimulate

the mind.
Let me caution you against attempting to
stimulate the intellect through the body in any other
way than by taking care of your health. That the soul,
like

the embryo,

which

it

reposes

is

liable

is

to

be influenced by that in

not denied, but the influence

general one; the supposition that

we can

is

excite imagina-

by opium, memory by tea, or attention by whisky, as

we can rouse the liver by calomel, or the nose by snufi",
is a relic of ancient pathology, which located understandtion

ing in the brain, anger in the heart, and sensuality in

the liver, and sought to purify the soul by purging the
body.

Yet some

still

seek to supply genius or atone for

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

278

idleness by a resort to stimulants and narcotics, pointing

to

Lord Byron

make

an example;

as

poets the world v/ould

but

be

if

the bottle could

of them.

full

may

It

produce a temporary excitement, under the influence of

which men may compose rapidly that which they have

matured; and so of narcotics; but the compositions thus
produced are not of the highest order; they seem
the

and weird

wild

of a

result

inspiration,

to

be

such

as

breathes in the Ancient Mariner of Coleridge and the

Raven of Poe.

Like the henbane which infatuated the

ancient pythoness on her 'tripod, they produce a species

of moral

convulsion suitable for

divination

and

devil-

dealing, and should be reserved for the regions of magic

and superstition, or the age of ecstasies and dreams.

you would have a

clear,

In the

the body, the law

"In

soul, as in

is

is

deeply written:

the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."

not deceived; truth

enfranchised

is

it

Be

born only with travail; the spirit

only with

agony.

are aids to the laboring soul.

rouse

If

strong intellect, eschev/' them.

Is

Nevertheless,
it

there

sluggish, you

may

indirecdy by a play of Shakspeare or a chapter

of Demosthenes; directly by a book of Milton or a page

In selecting for this purpose we must imitate

of Ossian.

the discretion of the husbandman, who, having learned

the varieties of his

and
its

soil,

and manure,
and the rye each in

scatters ashes, lime,

casts in the wheat, the barley,

To an imaginative mind,

appointed time and place.

imaginative works are the proper stimulants; to a rationative,

argumentative ones.

excite your

mind

of stirring pieces

If,

being tasked, you would

at once, turn to

dramatic,

some choice

senatorial, or martial

as start the soul like the tap of the reveille;

you have given " Hail Columbia'^

your heart to the pen.
soul; you

must give

it

But

collection

it is

to

such

and when

your heart, give

not enough to rouse the

material; and there are works which

MISCELLANEOUS READING.
serve this purpose

products

of original, profound think-

few and

ing, and, like leviathans,

279

easily distinguished, for

they make the sea of thought around them

Some

pot.

of these are as gas solidified;

wrought gold; others

like the

The

the track of the game.

it

original
difficult

others as un-

hound that puts you upon

the most valuable;

last are

easy to let that which

is

boil like a

compressed resume its

mold the molten metal; it is more
and more healthful to puisue and overtake what

form or

is

to

has never been caught.

Coleridge's Aids to Reflection

an example of the

kind; Butler's Analogy, of the

is

first

second; Bacon's Advancement of Learning, of the third.

Scarce a jar of modern

metaphysical gas that has not

been expanded from Coleridge; scarce a beautiful fabric

of recent time on the evidences of Christianity for which
Butler has not furnished the raw material

scarce a dis-

covery in modern science since the days of James II to

which Bacon has not pointed; and yet they can do
more the nature of the soil varies the crop even from

The

the same seed.

deficiencies noted

yet unsupplied are scores.

by Lord Verulam

All books that contain more

than they express, that make the mind pause

that turn

it

back upon

new regions, are

among ordinary books

to

books are afraid

lest

its

own

as Socrates

they are

among

to let the readers

minds.

habits;

there

sophists.

there are

will

bles into the hollow tree.

like

to

unto

many such

prove so relatively

book suggestive, like the raven which,

rise to

on

Most

Leave such

Much depends on the reader's

are some men who can make

makes the scanty water

it

educators;

Seek books

blood-hounds, and hie to the chase

to all

passes,

go alone a single yard,

minds that need leading-strings.

though few, perhaps,

it

resources, or lead

invaluable;

they dash their foot against a stone.

ahsoliitely,

as

in

genius and
almost any

dry weather,

her beak by dropping peb-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

280

If we have a particular subject on hand, most wellwritten works on that subject will prove suggestive.

order to write orations, read orations;

read essays

In

to write essays,

only see that they are models, as Cicero and

we have to write on a particular subject,

we may read any strong work' on it.
Let us guard, however, against imitating the author; and
this can be done by making a sketch upon the theme
This we shall not be likely to
before we read upon it.
abandon for a man loves a club-footed child of his own
So

Addison.
as

if

the atonement,

better than a perfect one of his neighbor's;

and what-

own

ever thoughts occur to us, being used in our

and standing

in

new

relations, are our

own, as the waters

of the Mississippi are no longer the Mississippi

the bosom of the gulf.

world

is

and direction

mind.

It has

when

The most suggestive book

For thousands of years

the Bible.

activity

order,

it

in

in the

has given

to the best portions of the world's

been during

all

this time the fountain of

innumerable sermons and books, no two of which are

alike;

it is

suggestive of trains of thought and rhetorical

ornaments, of new themes and new arguments, of everpurer emotions and ampler views;
feast of fat things

it

is

an everlasting

watchmen may
morning a Cas-

tower, where the

fountain, fed from perpetual snows

furnace,
ever forging new and glowing forms of wisdom
lapping the
orchestra of
that covers
music calm sunlight, consuming the
mountain raised between eternity and
mortal eyes

observe the world's night and hail

its

talian

a cease-

angels,

less

soul

in

celestial

vail

time, from whose

all,

this

is

of reading

summit we may

look upon both.

Above

the book to accomplish the last great purpose

the improvement of the heart, which

dismiss with a word.

must

I would not undervalue Taylor or

Wesley, Gurnal or Baxter, Sherlock or Fuller, but if

neither the Holy Living and Dying, the Saint's Rest,

MISCELLANEOUS READING.

281

Reformed Pastor^ can move

upon it live coals directly from the altar.
One word more. Books are most suggestive and ex-

the Christian Armor^ nor the

a cold heart, lay

citing in youth.
clods broken

when

cast

With you the soil is plowed and the

now the seed into the furrow, that,

the earth mourn eth, and the vine languisheth, and

the joy of the harp ceascth,

it

shall not be as the shak-

ing of an olive-tree or as the gleaning of grapes

the vintage

is

done; but that your barns may be

when
filled

with plenty, and your presses burst out with new wine
The mind cultivated from youth puts on its noblest crown
when the almond-tree flourishes, and enjoys a marvelous
mental second sight when they that look out of the win-

dows are darkened; judges have given their ablest

ions, physicians exhibited their highest skill,

decis-

and divines

produced their richest works, when the grasshopper was a

burden

24

EDUCATION AL ESSAYS

282

^ettssitg af

ALTHOUGH
that

yet

it

it is

^alU^n. *

education has become a theme so

almost impossible to invest

trite,

with interest,

it

doubtful whether there are not multitudes in

is

our membership, and many

in our ministry,

who need

to

be convinced of the necessity of collegiate institutions.

And when we

contrast the simplicity and purity of our

doctrine, and the success attending its proclamation by

an uneducated ministry, with the corruption and com-

some old and well-endowed semand the pride, immorality, and infidelity which

plexity of the tenets of

inaries,

we need not wonder that

suspicious of colleges, and indifferent to

often characterize their pupils,

our people are

their claims.

With some
laity

exceptions, our clergy have outstripped the

on the subject of education

to almost every call

ambitious

or

and having responded

which the interest

enlightened

or the zeal of an

community has made

them, they find themselves entangled in

obligations from

our colleges

many

are

which our people are not willing

Hence, the present

lieve them.
:

is

upon

difiiculties

and

to re-

a critical period with

while not one of them

is

well endowed,

dragging out a sickly existence, and some,

though "they have a name

to live, are dead,"

our conferences we open our eyes upon these

True, at
objects

^ An address delivered before the Ohio annual conference, and published

ai its request.

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.
of our care; but

it is

feared that our look

283
as the gaze

is

of a galvanized corpse, and our spasmodic efforts to relieve,

the erratic motions of powerless muscles.

I trust,

you will pardon me for asking attention to

some plain and familiar reasons why colleges should be
sustained.
Entertaining your own views, I regret that
therefore,

you have not selected an advocate better able

them.
1.

to express

Colleges are needed to secure a useful literature.

Rich thought
vated

is

intellect

the fruit of cultivated mind, and cultiimplies

and diligent training.

skillful

Skill in instructing, like skill in every thing else, is the

product

of practice;

and since we require artisans

to

we not have scholars

train
to
souls for human society?
If we generally admired good mind as we do grafted fruit, and if a college
train trees for our orchards, should

could be established with as

capital as a nursery,

little

education, like horticulture, might be left to

itself

But, as ignorance does not

know

its

regulate

wants, and

as large resources are necessary to provide adequate instructors,

erect suitable

edifices,

and afford ample ap-

paratus to attract a nation's youthful intellect to the

paths of learning, and open

its

knowledge, the Church

the

Hence,

seminary.
is

or

way

to the fountains

state

of

must endow the

in general, a nation without a college,

a nation without learning.

Grecian literature was not the product of spontaneous

genius.

No

nation ever bestowed more attention than

did Greece, during her palmy days, upon the education

of her youth.

At

this period she

kept her son, from his

seventh to his twentieth year, in the gymnasium, where

his body was trained to endurance

mind enriched with the

Athens was

and exertion, and his

principles of science and virtue.

a university, of

which the Porch, the Acad-

emy, and the Lyceum were apartments

Zeno, Plato,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

284

and Aristotle professors: and geometry, tactics, physics,

morals, history, poetry, in fine, whatever could qualify to
the offices of state, or

fill

republic

all

command

the armies of the

that could refine the taste, or invigorate the

intellect, or inflame the f\vncy, constituted the

course of

study; while architecture, statuary, painting, eloquence,

heroism, and

song, in

nished alluring

their

grandest exhibitions, fur-

For ages

illustrations.

at this

glowing

center the brilliant souls of the world were fired; and

scarce a ray of intellectual light

Bible has

from the

met the

save

that which issues

eyeball of a mortal, that

did not start from this central sun.

It

was this great university that made Greece the

schoolmistress of mankind.

No

sooner were the lights

of Greece, and their reflections at

than the world lowered herself into

ages, from
I,

which she did not begin

Rome, extinguished,
the tomb of the dark
to arise

till

Charles

of France, established institutions of learning in every

convent and cathedral throughout his dominions.

Early

in the thirteenth century, the university of Paris being

established, and a few years subsequently those of Oxford

and Vienna, France, England, and x\ustria advanced in
literature;

more than

and

it

is

perhaps owing to these universities

to all other causes, that those

in the affairs of the world.

literature

Whence come

countries have

modern times,
To what do we trace our

swayed such an overwhelming induence,

the

in

Popes,

the

Addisons,

whence the Pitts, and Sheridans, and

Johnstons? whence the Halls and theWhatelys? True,
Miltons?

the

there are remarkable exceptions, in

whom

genius, fed by

an unseen perennial spring, rises like the oak in the

desert.
to

But perhaps these very instances

are indebted

the fountain of some college for the waters which

nourish and refresh them.

2.

Colleges are needed to promote the progress of arts

NECESSITY or COLLEGES.

285

and sciences.

Important discoveries and inventions are

generally made by educated men.
To trace the relations
of any phenomenon, and direct
requires that patient,
result only

To

cipline.

it

systematic

as a general rule

to valuable purposes,

which can

reflection

from

proper mental dis-

notice the tendencies of the magnetic needle

was one thing, but

applv

to

it

to navigation

was another;

and register the appearances of the heavenly

to observe

bodies requires but

little

knowledge, but

laws in obedience to which they move,

The

of the highest order.

to

the

trace

demands

mind

princes in philosophy, astron-

omy, and psychology, were alumni of the college.

3.

learned professions.

mental discipline

The

be conceded that

It will cheerfully

is

a prerequisite to professional studies.

pear from a glance at what

lectual

ancient

languages,

it

embraces; namely, mathe-

natural

qualify the

to

science,

mind

for strong,

consecutive thought, no one will deny.

the soul must keep

its

It

patient,

the

it

has evolved

to a

long ladder,

mind can gain the

effort,

round but one, and, like the stone of

down

to

the

up

down, breathless,
round, and

it

foot.

Lead the mind

this ladder,
it

will

may

its

and progressive motion

careful,

but a single misstep, or a cessation of

cessive years,

and

In this science

till

may be compared

with smooth and regular rounds

summit by constant,

intel-

eyes wide open, and guide

powers in vigorous, onward movement,

the required truth.

and

That mathematics has a

and moral philosophy.

tendency

rolls

for the

collegiate course confers this advantage, as will ap-

matics,

last

men

Colleges are needful to prepare young

and teach

it

even at the
Sisijphus,

it

daily, for suc-

always to

sit

be, but triumphant, on the last

be prepared to scale walls of truth

which have withstood the rude

assaults of the battering

ram for successive ages of undisciplined mental warfare.

The study of ancient languages is another invaluable

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

286

mode of mental

training; one whicli has risen triumph-

ant from every conflict with utilitarianism, and which,

perhaps, will not be banished from the halls of learning,
till

The chief

the sounding of the last trumpet.

tion to

namely,

it,

its

mind

It brings the

difficulty,

into

proves

communion

objec-

importance.

its

with the master

and golden ages, and by constantly presenting the most splendid creations of fancy, and the
finest models of style, fires the imagination and purifies
spirits of other

the taste.

God

not unfavorable to faith.

It is

author of language no

less

the

is

than of nature, and he has

impressed his invisible Spirit upon the one as he has

enstamped his almighty hand upon the other. We see

the Spirit breathing through the souls even of uninspired

men, and writing simple, eternal truth in characters of

living light on even the darkest pages of error and con-

The being and

fusion.

perfections of

God

stand forth

less vividly in the conversations of Socrates

no

There

the lamps of heaven.

as of matter, and language

forms are

is

is

a world of

the

medium

mind
in

than in
as well

which

its

cast.

We may

see

God

in

the clouds of heaven, but yet

more clearly may we trace his red right hand in the thunder and lightning of the blind old man of Scio's rocky isle.
When France abandoned the study of languages for that
of matter and mathematics, she plunged headlong into
vice and Atheism.

The study of languages opens

rich

mines of thought, in which the treasures of the noblest

Account for it
intellects of the race have been stored.

we may, there were ages in the history of ancient

when mind heaved up mountain thoughts from
deep foundations. The floods of time have washed away

as

states,

the glittering dust from the regions of early literature,

but

left

golden

standing the eternal

ore.

Law

still

hills

with their veins of

digs in the Tribonian code; physic

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.

287

explores Galen and Hippocrates; philosophy, even in the

eighteenth century, mines in the depths of Aristotle;

the student finds

parallelograms

and triangles

in

Demosthenes is yet the model of the orator;

is
Homer, like Chimborazo.
Hail, blind

Euclid;

and

his

there

old bard

The

purest streams of modern literature are

drawn from classic fountains, and

Nor can the transparent purity of

flow in classic beds.

their waters, nor the

who is
Greece and Rome. The

value of their treasures be fully perceived by one

ignorant of the language

of

classics are necessary to lead us to Siloam's well.

man

Every

indebted to the lexicon for opening his way to

is

the fountain of

life.

The natural sciences are conceded by all to be appropriate means of education.

Botany, geology, mineralogy,
chemistry, and natural philosophy, opening the secrets
of material nature, glittering with recent and brilliant

and offering the richest rewards

discoveries,

to their cul-

be neglected in any

tivators, are too fascinating to

insti-

tution in the civilized world; nor are they without their

mind; they cultivate habits of attention, abstraction, and generalization;

they
strengthen the memory and the reason, and furnish beautiful and impressive illustrations for intellectual and moral
influence in disciplining the

subjects.

The philosophy of the mind has

garded

as

an

indispensable

in all ages

been

branch of education.

re-

It

explains the faculties of the soul, and the laws of thought

and

feeling,

and with

its

kindred sciences unfolds the

principles of investigation and reasoning;

to

how

detect and expose fallacy, remove obscurity, develop

truth,

and show the foundation on which

Mathematics train the mind

for that

we proceed from one judgment

it

teaching

the

to

it

stands.

reasoning in which

another founded upon

premises being admitted, and the object being

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

288

what is enveloped in previously-admitted

But there is another kind of reasoning
propositions.
which implies investigation, where the degree of evidisclose

to

dence for doubtful propositions must be weighed, and the

For this species
correctness of inductions determined.
of investigation mental philosophy

oflfers

the appropriate

training.

The

Bible, concerning itself with the eternal interests

of man, belongs

every part of the system of edu-

to

scheme which excludes

cation; any

nitely deficient.

must be

this

infi-

I have sketched the plan of collegiate

education as established in England and in this counIt

try.

is

approved by the greatest

hemispheres;

duced the

it

founders
freest,

of

English

wisest, purest

it

it

pro-

literature,

people on

the sun looks down.

have spoken of the college course

discipline for professional pursuits.

of

of both

has stood the test of centuries;

illustrious

and the fathers of the

whom

minds

as a preparatory

There are some parts

which have special value in particular professions;

is

almost indispensable to the

student in law or medicine.

All the technical language

for instance,

the Latin

of these professions has been cast in the Latin tongue,

which

for

many

centuries was the only

medium

of com-

letters, and which contains

immense stores of valuable truth, inaccessible to those
who have never mastered its grammar. Granted that we
have many excellent physicians who have no knowledge
of the dead languages; but how few are known beyond

munication in the world of

the limits of their immediate practice

did not the ancients

fall

into error?

It is inquired,

Their theories

be worthless, but their facts are invaluable.

scientific metlioch of the present

of the ancients, shall

Because the

day are superior

we contemptuously

may

cast

accumulated experience of antecedent ages?

to those

away the

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.
Natural philosophy

is

289

important to the physician.

The

heart and arteries are a hydraulic apparatus; the muscles

are arranged according to the laws of mechanics;

eye

the

an optical instrument; the ear can not be studied

is

without a desire to

know

the

lungs are a pneumatic machine

of acoustics;

laws

the

and though the organs

of living beings are governed by a set of peculiar laws,

yet over these are thrown, as an outside garment, the

He who

laws of the inanimate world.

cause to suspend a bruised arm, has

has ever had

felt

the influence of

gravity over the circulation of the blood.

Chemistry and

botany are intimately concerned with the materials of

and ignorance of these sciences

cure,

is

unpardonable in

a physician.

All parts of the collegiate course are important to the

clergyman, but especially the

him

access

Church,

the

to

to the

fathers,

the

works of the reformers

by

Bible, undiluted

These

classics.

to

translation.

will give

documents of the
;

What

above

all, to

the

an indescribable

pleasure to trace to their roots the words primarily used

by the

Spirit,

and ascertain the precise ideas they were

intended to convey

In controversy with the heretic,

the skeptic, the schismatic,

we

often find a knowledge

of the dead languages indispensable.

Providence seems

ments

for religious

to

have trained

his

chief instru-

purposes by an elegant education.

Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

Paul was versed not only in Jewish history and law, but
in heathen poets, one of whom he quotes with fine eiSfect
on Mars'

Hill.

Did not

at Jerusalem, at

him influence
Rome, and qualify him

his education give

Athens, and

at

plead his Master's cause in the imperial

to

did

it

not also help

him when

city,

and

before Agrippa and the

Areopagus ?

When

darkness and vice had oversuread Christendom,

26

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

290
on

whom

did

God

fix to

bring in

tlie

a professor in the University of

Calvin, Beza,

Wittemburg

Knox

Melancthon a professor of

graduate of St. Andrews;

Greek

Luther wag

light?

Zuinglius,

and their coadjutors,

were among the most eminent classical scholars of their

When, at a subsequent period, the English Church
age.

sunk into lethargy, who roused her from her slumbers?

Wesley and Fletcher were profound scholars and distinguished linguists.

And who

were Clarke, and Watson,

and Benson, and Bunting?

In the present intelligent age, which plants a college
on every inviting eminence, and spreads education wide
as the light, the standard of education, in all the profes-

That people which

must rapidly ascend.

sions,

suffers

not the painter to approach his canvas, nor the statuary

his marble, nor the physician his patient, without a culti-

vated mind, will not turn a listening ear to him

sumes

to

who

as-

guide undying souls to truth, and God, and

heaven, without having trained his own.

In vain you

reason with the world against her demands for an educated ministry, while

it is

educating

itself: as well try to

stop the granite mountain from bursting upward by vol-

canic force.

The

present age

though

all

is

one of controversy.

brought under the play of new

forth in

and

It

seems as

the elements of faith were dissevered, and

affinities.

Error comes

numerous and imposing forms, and with bold

powerful advocates.

When

did

classical

Cathol-

icism more terribly threaten destruction to the Protestant

Church ? Infidelity is not what she once was sly,

ing, armed only with points, antitheses, and puns

snarl-

but,

with face, footstep, arm, worthy an archangel ruined, she

ransacks science, nature, antiquity, for intellectual arms

now grinning on the bights

of Mexico;

now

raising her

horrid form above the deep; now wandering by night

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.

291

tlie banks of the Nile with a shriveled mummy,

and anon examining the tombs and forged chronologies of
Asia.
Finally assuming the garb of an angel of light,
and kindling her taper at Cecropia's fires, she retires to a

along

university,
ing,

and endeavors, by dint of surpassing

learn-

and without touching the walls or columns of the

Church,

her of both altar and God.

to rob

Such

the

is

enemy; and shall we expect to vanquish him with old

weapons? Would you meet the steam-gun with a Roman
spear?

Up! up!

conflict

such as will shake earth's foundations.

God's word
it

us anoint our souls for conflict

let

the only weapon; but shall

is

True,

we not draw

from the sheath of error in which the enemy hath

wrapped

and clean

it,

strength must plunge

wield

it

it

gleaming edge?
in

the foe;

True, God^s

but shall we not

with practiced and anointed arm?

Nevertheless, she

highest in the rage of the tempest.

must spread

I fear not

Like the storm-trained bird, she soars

Church.

for the

its

plumed wing upon the

blast.

Superstition and enthusiasm are rife and ruinous in our

The one

times.

manded

rites,

is

seen in the observance of uncom-

other in the substitution of earthly

the

for heavenly ardors.

These foes hover on the rear and

flank of Israel's host;

and having

stolen their banners

and armor, often make slaughter without rousing resistAs we can not know them by their armor we must
ance.
detect

them by

their

shibboleth.

Credulity

is

still

and never, since the dark ages, has it

havoc than at present. It is poisonLet Israel's captain carry a
ing all the wells of life.
bottle of logic with him wherever he moves, that he may

more

fearful foe;

made more

drop a

terrible

little

of

it

into every pitcher he draws,

and thus

detect and precipitate the poison.

Another demand

for

education

founded in missionary enterprises.

in

the

ministry

One hundred

is

years

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

202

heathen

concerned herself but

Churcli

the

asTO

now she

feels

for

the

guilty if she do not consecrate

Her

her powers to evangelize the world.

all

little

great object

can not be accomplished, however, without missionaries;

nor

any one well qualified

is

without a finished education.

acquired,

the

New

languages must be

Bible translated, and

ages overcome.

Little

pagan lands

for a mission to

the prejudices of

would the Careys or the Morri-

sons have achieved without classical education.

To the

clerical profession is assigned,

by common con-

sent, the control of literary institutions.

sions are so lucrative, that no

man

sake any of them to manage a college

fluence of religion

is

Other profes-

of distinction will for:

moreover, the in-

found indispensable to college disci-

If a Church will not have an educated ministry,

pline.

she must consent to see

all

the literary institutions of

the land in the hands of sister denominations; and if

so,

she will find her sons and daughters, in the next generation,

within the pale of those denominations.

I notice a few objections:

(1.)

"We are

Were
men ? and did

departing from the old landmarks.

not the preachers of Mr. Wesley ignorant

they not put to shame the learned clergy of the Estab-

Church? Were not our fathers, the Garrettsons

and the Lees, before whom the bulwarks of error fell,

lished

uneducated?

Can not what has been done be

Mr. Wesley's coadjutors were generally

men

repeated?''

of extraordi-

nary intellect and energy: some of them were learned

distinguished by ardent piety and
During the lifetime of Mr. Wesley
they enjoyed the benefit of his counsel and guidance:
they coasted the new continent of theology by the lighthouses which he had erected; and when assailed intrenched themselves behind the bulwarks which the clas-

and eloquent, and

all

untiring industry.

Bical

Fletcher had reared.

Upon

the decease of the

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.

293

Wesleys and Fletcher, there sprang up a host of scholars,

such as Clarke and Watson across the ocean, and Emory

and risk in the United

Few Churches

States.

can pro-

duce a century of richer literature than that of Methodism.

The circumstances of our

from ours
apathetic,

fathers were different

ignorance was more general, the Church more

and Methodist doctrines and mode of preach-

ing were novel and alluring.

"The

(2.)

great body of Methodist clergymen have

never had collegiate training."

vided into two classes:

may be

di-

and mortified

at

True, and

the one,

idle

it

their loss of influence, declaim against colleges as though

they could maintain their relative importance by striving

to arrest the progress of the community; the other, under a feeling of responsibility to

make

God and

the Church,

constant efforts to overtake their brethren of better

attainments, and lead on their people to the van of Zion's

The

army.

latter,

sighing in secret "over the ghosts of

departed hours," and lamenting the want of early train-

incumbered by family cares and pastoral

duties, and oppressed by poverty and affliction, ascend
with fearless foot the rugged hights of science; and
ing,

though

though they never obtain a diploma, often reach an eminence where a diploma may be scorned. Sons worthy of
"Wesley, worthy of Methodism, born and baptized within
the walls of Oxford, they are the strongest advocates for
learning between the St. Lawrence and the
(3.)

men?"
were

But

it is

asked,

"Were

not the apostles ignorant

For the sake of argument, I grant it; but they

inspired: they wrought miracles; they uttered

unmingled wisdom; their words were

isters

Grulf.

can raise the dead they

Grod's.

When

may dispense with

min-

education.

But were the apostles ignorant? Did not Jesus keep

them under his pupilage three years, and by a miracle
make them all classical scholars? Let a man learn to

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

294

read and write Greek, and talk in

the languages of

all

the earth, before he boasts of equal learning with the

apostles.
^^

(4.) It is said,

Colleges will be perverted, and the

ministry will be regarded as a mere learned profession, to

which any man may be trained.'' In other words, the

Church, when she becomes learned, will cease to be pious,
and fall into error. Is it so, that the more man knows
of the works of the Creator, the less is he disposed to
venerate him

What

is

not the study of nature one

of the employments of heaven

of

and

is

not one element

praises the sublime song, "Great and marvelous

its

are thy works.

Lord God Almighty?"

Did the study

mind make Locke an infidel, or the examination of

nature make Newton a Deist? Do all the forms of error
of

and schism issue from cultivated

very fearful of the errors of education: but

fear from

issue, Minerva-like,

slough

off

ignorance?

those of

We

intellect?

Errors do not always

from the Church's brain, but oftener

from her gangrened extremities.

According

to

my

observation, true knowledge has a

favorable effect on faith.

Revivals of religion are as

quent, as powerful, and as permanent in

seminaries as in any of our Churches.

colleges

institutions of learning.

I have seen

character, in all its forms.

negro's hut, the sailor's

the convict's
it

cell,

much

God

in

of Christian

I have witnessed

in the

it

hammock, the Indian's wigwam,

and the rich man's mansion

in the ocean's storm, the

chamber of

I have

sickness,

the pillow of the dying, and the house of the dead

never have I witnessed a more triumphant

more

fre-

and

Thousands of the

brightest ornaments of Zion were converted to

seen

are

there no

is

lovely exemplification of

all

faith,

but

nor a

the graces that adorn

the Christian character, than I have witnessed within the

halls

of learning.

I have never yet

known

man

to

NECESSITY OP COLLEGES.

295

enter a seminary a Christian and depart an infidel; but

many have I known to enter the hall of learning infidels,

who are now stars in the firmament of the Church.
(5.)

'^The ministry

from learning."

The

culiar.

of divine origin, and needs no aid

I grant the office of the ministry

ministsr

He

and aided.

is

is

is

pe-

divinely commissioned, qualified,

While he groans

has peculiar feelings.

beneath a load that might make an angel cry out,

"Who

these things?'' he pillows his aching head

is sufficient for

on the bosom of Jesus, and says, in the depths of his

heart,

"I can do

strengtheneth me.''

things,

all

dangers, the necessity of

its

visions of the throne of the

day, the

last

the

through Christ,

His ideas of the

which

soul, its value, its

immediate salvation
Judge, the

final

fires

his

of the

wine-press of Divine vengeance, and the

redeemed,

him

compel

glory

of

When

he hears the wailings of the

to

lost,

be eloquent.

or listens to the

upon the dying victim

of Calvary, though without learning, he stands the very
praises of the redeemed, or gazes

personification of wisdom,
sonification
ical

and without rhetoric the per-

of eloquence.

energy of the

Who

man who

sees his fellow

verge of a burning house, and

cue?
that

shall describe the phys-

lifts

upon the

the ladder for his res-

What angel can describe the intellectual jyower of

man who sees his brother's soul upon the very mouth

of the

pit,

and the flames of perdition curling around him

The minister

receives Divine aid.

It is

stated of a

celebrated clergyman, that he dreamed one night that he

was preaching, and that the

looking with

interest,

first

altar

was

full

of angels,

upon him and then upon

the audience, marking the effect of every syllable as

it fell

The next day he preached, and the

bare thought of his dream inspired him with unearthly
eloquence.
But the man of Grod may, if he will, see by
upon each

soul.

faith a greater sight than this

the eye of Jesus looking

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

296

for the purchase of his blood,

the

movements of

his lips.

and watching with anxiety

The

prophet, with anointed

saw himself encompassed with chariots of fire;

but the preacher sees around him an invisible God. And
then there is an anointing of the soul, a sanctifying energy
vision,

in the word, a preparation of the audience,

which spreads

a sense of the Divine presence, and makes the entrance

of the word give

"

When
And

life.

one who hokls communion with the skies,

where those pure waters rise,

more mingle with us meaner things,
As though an angel shook his wings,
Immortal fragrance spreads the circuit wide.
And tells us whence his treasures are supplied."
dips his urn

Dotli once

Notwithstanding

this an apostle says,

all

ance to reading, to

exhortation,

to

"Give attend

meditate

doctrine,

upon these things, give thyself wholly to them, that thy

profiting
4.

may appear

Colleges are

to all."

In

popular education.

necessary to

may government make munificent endowments for

common schools unless colleges furnish qualified teachers.
To suppose that any man may teach a child is a great
vain

mistake.

Scarce any employment demands more mental

discipline,

and furniture, and elevation, than that of the

He unites the
tutor.
He needs to

school-teacher.
fessor,
dia.

and

Would

it

endowments of

offices

of president, pro-

be a walking encyclope-

not be better to divert school funds to the

colleges, than to neglect colleges,

exclusive attention to

common

schools?

From

and pay
the col-

lege there will go forth the qualified teacher; and though

there

may be

a total neglect of the district school, he

will soon attract children

adequate support.

around him, and draw forth an

But neglect the

school fund will be squandered

college,

and your

^your children abused.

Colleges are the foundations of our liberties

the

bul-

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.
warks of our freedom.

New England and

297

Virginia

col-

Adams, Hawley, Hancock, Jefferson the

They furnished the
eloquence which roused the colonies, and the bravery
which first poured out its blood in the cause of American liberty.
To them we are indebted not only for the
Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution, but for that general intelligence without which our
liberties would be valueless.
We owe New England much
for her Hancocks and Warrens, but more for her schoolleges gave us

lights of the Continental Congress.

masters.

The freedom of

Grovernment always shapes

gence.

of

its

find

a country depends upon

despotism binding on

find that, as

itself to the character

Gro to the regions of darkness,

subjects.

intelli-

its

and you

and ascending, you

its fetters;

the light increases, the fetters

loosen,

till

you reach the summit, where you have the American

Constitution.

Without general intelligence

offered liberty to

liberty is a curse.

Kome; but she

Sylla

preferred to the prof-

fered freedom a despot like himself,

who could shed the

blood of six thousand countrymen in a day, and coolly

say to the inquiring senate, alarmed at the groans of the

dying Romans, that he was merely chastising a few reb-

She thought

els.

it

better to have a royal tyrant, than to

unbind the cords from an ignorant multitude, and

numbered daggers
it

leap from their scabbards.

under the feudal system?

found

it

The

let

un-

How

was

petty landholders

necessary to become the slaves of some despotic

baron, to protect themselves from a host of inferior but

more unreasonable
lish

tyrants.

Under Charles

people asserted their freedom;

state of things

party,

a deliverer.

till

the Eng-

but what was the

under the Commonwealth

and man against man,

T,

Party against

Charles II was hailed as

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

298

The South American

with

states,

all

the advantages

of our example, encouragement, and counsel, have failed

It is impossible to make
to establish free government.

Much

a people free in advance of their intelligence.

There are

spangled banner at the head of every army.

nations

who would

tear

What

four hours.

as

I would not, if I could, wave the star-

I love liberty,

it

shall

to pieces in less

than twenty-

preserve American liberties?

Not armies, nor navies, but colleges and churches.

But it is asked, " Whence the necessity of so much
money?" The college should be the depository of the
We need a library such as might serve
learning of ages.

Many

a republic.

fuse

all

in their veneration for the Bible re-

other books, and use, with a

little variation,

the

syllogism of the Saracen invader, when he burned the

Alexandrian Library " If these books contain what is
:

in the Koran, they are not

is

wanted

if

they contain what

But we

not in the Koran, they ought to be burned."

hope they will not go so far as

these

men

to

burn our books.

build with stone axes, let

the benefit of modern

ratus.

This

dent.

It

is

is

art.

We

If

them not deny us

need extensive appa-

necessary for the instruction of the stu-

requisite

for

Should a

other purposes.

Watt, or a Davy, or a Fulton, wish to

make experiments,

with a view to the improvement of some machinery

extend the dominion of

man

to

over matter, the college

should present him with the means.

Should some new

mineral be shot from the heavens, or picked up on the

field,

We

the college

should

be able to

need an extensive cabinet,

efi"ect

to receive

analysis.

its

from past ages

their natural and artificial curiosities, and to treasure

our own, and transmit both to posterity.

should not be a

little

tread-mill,

The

but a vast

up

college

field,

em-

bracing the universe in miniature, and offering for contemplation every variety of the Creator's work.

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.
The

college

should have

and thus be able

well

as

the

to

advantages to the poor as

colleges

would be accessible only

sequently would be of

endowed,

professorships

its

offer its

If

rich.

299

were unendowed, they

to the sons

of fortune, and con-

The

value to community.

little

sons of rich men, relying on their inheritance, are generally

idle,

and even when they leave a college with

little to community.
They have no in-

honor, promise

ducement

to enter the professions, or into agricultural or

commercial enterprise;

and the business of teaching

The

they regard with scorn.

lege arises from
its hall

its

great benefit of the col-

endowment.

It is this

which opens

monopoly of learning in

to the poor, prevents a

the hands of the rich, and trains up the vigorous minds

of the age to bless their
5.

own and succeeding generations.

''Men may educate themselves."

emphasis, and would impress

cated man.

Who

he?

is

conceited, self-willed being,

it.

I affirm this with

I admire the self-edu-

Not that half-educated,

who

self-

grins at his errors, and

congratulates himself that he has ''never been to col-

lege;" but that noble spirit who, in defiance of poverty

and

difficulty,

mounts, with untiring

foot,

the rugged

precipice of science, and cheerfully beckons

upward

to his lofty

without a college

the world

Can not a man be great

rational, undying soul, dropped

eminence.

from heaven into a beautiful universe, ought to conceive

immortal thought.

spirit,

leaping from the

of Grod, and sweeping the compass of

created things,

should give out sparks from collision with

spirit.

What though

bosom

the soul have no books

its
1

fellow-

Can

it

not launch upon the ocean of truth, and ascending the

dim distances of philosophy, or

the abyss of its own powers, bring up jewels

topmast, see far into the

plunging into

from hidden caves, or hanging the rich harp-strings of

its

heart to the wild winds of heaven, waken tones that

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

800

might chord with the song of the skies ? Nature is full

of sciences. Has ancient hand gathered every truth from
the earthy and swept every lesson from the heaven ? If
Mediterranean islands inspired immortal song, can not
the scenes of a new world wake intellect and heart to
action

Is there no green

in our ocean

is

upon our

earth,

no freshness

there no wildness in our rocks, no maj-

esty on our mountains, no music in our bubbling runnels,

no glory in our matchless streams?

teous vales and

sunny

hills

Answer, ye beau-

Alleghanies

and Andes

speak Mississippi, and Huron, and Erie; and thou, NiBut it is

agara, thunder the lie to such an imputation.
as the

said,

nature, and stimulated

charm over

Rome

mythology of Greece and

human

spread a

intellect to the

highest point of sublimity, therefore we have not such adI repel

vantages for the production of noble conception.

with scorn the charge.

What

though no Satyrs dance

upon the green, no Fauns and Dryads hide among our

oaks, no Neptune rises from our waves, no Jupiter thunwhat though no jEoIus rides upon
ders in our heavens

the imprisoned storm, no wind-footed Iris spreads her

wings upon the rainbow, yet above

and

in

all,

all,

and through

there rises on the Christian the great I

before whose face heathen gods and goddesses

there

is

no place found

for

them.

fly,

Though the

all,

Am,
and

infidel

may bathe

his soul for thirty, forty, fifty years in a uni-

verse

with God, and, by some strange chemistry of

filled

depravity, preserve his soul in a vacuum, from

Divinity

is

which the

shut out, yet the Christian, whether in hight

or depth, in things present or things to come, with

or with angels, in life or in death, finds his spirit

man

plunged

in the noblest conceptions.

Some

of the

tallest,

into eternity from

cated head.

strongest thought that ever leaped

human

intellect,

sprang from self-edu-

Our own shores have produced, without the

NECESSITY OF COLLEGES.

301

some of the finest specimens of human

Henry, Washington, Franklin, Marshall, have
nature.
illustrated their country.
Their names will be pronounced with veneration long as Bunker Hill, or the
American Constitution, or heaven's own lightning is a
subject of contemplation to civilized man.
The soul is
There is Shakspeare, nature's favorite,
full of sciences.
mighty by the force of his own genius. He descends
Here he analyzes mysinto the depths of his own soul.
aid of colleges^

terious combinations of

combines

at

human thought and

the elements

will

Here hangs the lamp which

human

dark mines of

feeling,

motive and

of

lights

and

desire.

him through the

depravity; and here he finds the

battery with which he gives the world successive shocks.

Revelation is full of sciences.

It is accessible to all.
There needs no geology to see God upon its Sinai, no

manna from

chemistry to gather
ematics to survey

its

Calvary.

wilderness, no math-

True, archaeology, and the

and history may throw new beauties over many

classics,

of

its

its

fields,

but,

void

soul

is

of

happy

foundation

are charmed,

unknown

and reveal a thousand hidden

them

its

all,

feet find

eternal rock for

an

lungs a vital breath, and

its

treasures,

attended by simple faith, the

Diamonds may lie

bloom among its

flowers

fundamental and essential

their

all

its

senses

concealed in

its

mines,

cedars, but

all

that is

rises like

Alpine summits to

the soul.

any thing in religious philosophy, languages,

Is there

mathematics, or natural science, which can not be sur-

mounted by

a vigorous, unaided, persevering

mind

Let

Euclid, Watt, Davy, Burritt answer.

Grant, then, that a

few

Man

icoulcl
is

man

can educate himself; but

how

ever become educated if left to themselves

naturally indolent.

Were

and passion strong, he would

lie

not appetite, self-love,

and

rot,

body and

soul.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

302

men

Thougli ordinary impulses are sufficient to excite

to

physical labor, yet they are inadequate to rouse tliem to

Of

intellectual toil.

those

who

resolve to educate

selves scarce one in five succeeds.

They

like a spirited horse, but soon tire,

and

them-

usually start off

find

they have no

spur sharp enough to prick the sides of their intent.

Even the

stimuli of the college

emulation, encourage-

command are insufficient in four

The most powerful and resolute that
ever gained the summit of fame, has often found a

ment, the task, the

cases out of ten.

mountain gorge, where, in almost utter despair, his soul

has cried out, ^^Help! help! or I

fall!''

The

blast of

the bugle, the neighing of the charger, the gleam of

the battle-blade, the folds of the banner,

of home, of

vengeful

altar,

foe,

hight; but

the thought

of ancestral graves, the vision of the

nerve the soldier's foot on

when the student comes

the

bloody

to a pass, different,

but not less fearful than Thermopylae, what

is

there in

the retirement of the study to supply burning coals to

his chilled heart-strings?

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

f0p,

SHOULD

Ittotas

its

lit

303

lleMntI Sritntt*

t0

have promptly declined the invitation of

your Faculty

to deliver

an address,

at this

Commence-

ment, but for the fact that I declined a similar invita-

from the same source, on

tion

done

so,

I should have

last year.

however, not from any unwillingness to gratify

your excellent corps of instructors or to contribute

mite toward your annual collegiate

my

duties and

my

of health deny

state

time and the elasticity necessary

and choice an occasion.

may

make

but because

me

both the

prepare for so novel

to

this statement, that

you

hearers, nor

my production to a
my appearance before

my own

deficiencies, but that

neither ascribe the crudeness of

want of respect
you

festivities,

my

to

for

my

an insensibility

you may be induced

to

to give

me

an indulgent hearing, by

considering that, in asking your attention, I oppress myself, to

avoid the imputation of disobliging your professors.

I experienced no

of a theme, and
that I

it

little

embarrassment in the selection

was not

made up my mind

to

attention the science of logic.

till

after

commend

much
to

reflection

your special

If the subject be

deemed

inappropriate, lay not the blame on your Faculty,

did not select, or even suggest

it.

If

it

who

be deemed un-

welcome, I trust you will pardon the speaker, when you

learn, that he,

and

felt

having once belonged

to

your profession,

the want of the science to which he would

An address delivered before the Starling Medical College, at

annual Commencement, 1851.

its

third

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

JJOd

would

attract your attention,

have you avoid some

fain

of the difficulties which he encountered.

My

proposition will be sustained, by glancing at the

nature of the science alluded

men

medical

We

professional walks.

merits of the profession

Logic

and by showing that

to,

are not likely to acquire

is the

in their ordinary

it,

would not derogate from the

we

rather would

exalt

it.

I emphasize

science and art of reasoning.

the article because some regard logic as concerned with

a species, of which reasoning

is

the genus; whereas,

he who reasons

the only science and art of reasoning:

correctly,

must reason
that

to object,

intellectual
is

are versed

reason

in logic,

can neither supply premises, nor the

for logic

poorly;

It

many, who

no consequence

It is of

logically.

it is

power necessary

employment.

to their skillful
.

equally vain to object, that many,

who know nothing

of dialectics, nevertheless reason ably; for extraordinary

mental power, together with competent information on

any particular subject, will enable any one to reason well
This does not prove logic to be of no

on that subject.
consequence.

we

it

orator

and

speaks,

the critic analyzes the

tranced;

from

An

language;

the

grammarian

it is

thus we have the science of grammar.

the logician examines

which

it is

built;

similar power,

till,

illustrates,

and

finds

thus

its

principles

dialectician

who understand

it;

the principle upon

he examines another and another, of

after a sufficient

cludes, that all rest

velops,

it,

all

composed

nation constructs a

ascertains

reasons; his argument convinces

en-

are

and deduces

oration,

the laws according to which

have the science of rhetoric.

nations

induction, he con-

upon the same principle; he dethis principle, and thus

and applies

gives us the science and art of reasoning.

Though

practice

may go

before science, science

correct and improve practice.

The

may

rules of logic corre-

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

spond to

grammar and

men

enable

all,

and they sub-

they go far toward

of moderate abilities upon a level, in

with

of reasoning,

spect

criticism,

two important ends:

these

serve

placing

of

tliose

305

of genius;

those

who understand them,

have framed an argument that

scrutiny, of talents,

and of

The remarks which

re-

they

when they

to ascertain

will stand the test '^of

time.''

follow have special reference to

medical practitioners in the west.

wanting in dialectics

and

That we should be

not surprising;

is

a large majority

of us entered upon the study of our profession without

having enjoyed the benefits of collegiate training

many,
We

indeed, without even an academical education.

not advert to this in a censorious

The circum-

spirit.

stances of our country have been such as to preclude

but a few of her youth from classical

few,

many have been

more lucrative

as

not be likely to

they are

a small

art.

The youth who has never been trained

studies ;

these

by the temptations of a
and others have been drawn

more sacred one, leaving but

residue for the healing

reasoning, will

Of

halls.

all

allured

profession,

to the duties of a

do

historical, rather

acquire

than

accurate

to

it

medical

in

So

scientific.

far

they are historical, they are natural, descriptive of

being and phenomena only; so far as they are

scientific,

they are practical, rather than speculative ; and so far as

speculative, natural, not mathematical or moral.

the student

is

conducted

to the skeleton,

whose dry bones

never awaken his powers of reasoning, however

they

may

memory.

challenge

From

which, while

hand

when

it

his

observation

for

the

his

cadaver,

discrimination and trains his

to a dexterous use of the knife, only

it

much

and exercise

the skeleton he goes to

calls

First,

now and

then,

presents an incidental question concerning the

merits of a certain

discoverer, or advances to the re-

26

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

306

lated science of physiology, calls for a connected chain

of thought

judgment.

Next, he

is

led to the labora-

where he is introduced, in regular order, to a set of

elements and compounds, which are cognizable to sense,
tory,

and

to a series of beautiful

truths illustrated by experi-

ment, affording no room for doubt, and rarely inviting

him
T

to

metaphysical research.

am

aware that discoverers in chemistry, as in most

other sciences, are metaphysicians, but they study analytically,

while learners are taught synthetically

the student of chemistry

who can

Similar observations

endure examination.

so that

best memorize, can best

may

be made

with reference to materia medica, botany, zoology, and

mineralogy.

When

ences, he is

generally hurried into private or hospital

practice, to learn

by observation the

arts

sci-

of chirurgery

If he prescribe in a few cases suc-

and therapeutics.
cessfully,

the student has mastered these

and acquire the use of the instruments em-

ployed in the more

common

operations of the surgeon,

he enters with a good degree of confidence upon the

responsibilities of practice.

his instructors; he

is

He

adopts the

routine

of

as fortunate as his competitors; in

ordinary cases he manages without embarrassment, and

in extraordinary ones, he keeps within the rules of the

upon the whole, he satisfies himself that he is

leading a useful life.
But what is he but an empiric?
proper sense; he proceeds on
term
in
the
I use the
books;

rules

and methods founded on practice and experience.

not on any knowledge of natural causes.

either the low desire of advancing his

If he have

own

interests, or

the high ambition of promoting those of mankind, he

may ascend through

to the

find the

not

physiology, etiology, and pathology,

study of theoretical medicine; but here he will

need of habits of reasoning;

previously formed

them,

or

be

and
not

if

he have

possessed

of

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

307

superior genius and indomitable perseverance^ he will grow

weary of his task and sink down to the low walks of the

mere

There

practitioner.

of the profession

studies

What

nothing in

is

counteract

to

the
this

collateral

tendency.

are placed in this category belong to the natural

sciences, such as geology, climatology,

and medical

topoc:-

raphy.

Formerly, one, at

deemed,
lated

least,

if not a prerequisite

acquirement;

medium

of the ancient languages was

the

for

medicine

Now,

Latin.

medical studies, a

to

knowledge of our own tongue only

the medical

student;

indeed,

once

had a general

our country, at

in

is

the

re-

least,

deemed needful

for

study of the beau-

media through which flowed the treasures of ancient Grecian and Roman mind, is generally depreci-

tiful

ated.

It

have

lost

is

not

my

purpose

show how much we

to

by the decline of linguistic studies,

else

might point out the

benefits derived to the medical student from an acquaintance with the tongue in which the
technical terms of his art are cast, in which its illustri-

ous authors of former ages wrote, and which alone opens

to

him the mines

of knowledge deposited in the works

of Boerhaave, Borelli, and similar ones, of ages

cedent to theirs.

We

might,

also,

show the importance

of a permanent, general, transparent

fession,

ante-

medium

for the pro-

by which the discoveries of one nation might

soon be made the property of

I simply point to the

all.

fact,

that the study of language would, by training the

mind

to abstraction

and enticing

it

to practice the deli-

cate arts of a refined logic, resist the tendency to

piricism, if

He who
science

it

is

em-

did not allure to abstruse investigation.

adventurous enough to cultivate medical

without logical habits, will find but

medical authors to supply this deficiency.

erally didactic rather

than controversial,

little

in

They are genand when they

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

808

present us with argumentation

As

syllogistic form.

am

it

rarely approaclies the

not prepared to compare the

must speak interrogaHas medicine any works which for argumentatively.

those of Blacktive ability can be compared with
stone, Kent, Story? or of Chillingworth, Warburton, and
Paley? The chief work of Paley, for example, will bear
the strictest logical examination each argument may be
writers of different professions^ I

traced from the ultimate conclusion to the

without evincing a fault;

symbols, so that

it

may be

Warburton opens with

nearly syllogistic, and

The

reasoning.

by many

premiss

represented by

conclusiveness shall appear without

its

The Divine Le-

considering the meaning of the terms.

gation of

first

principal

a series of arguments

throughout replete with rigid

it is

work of Chillingworth

is

read

arguists merely with a view to strengthen the

reasoning faculty.
course which train

Both law and divinity have works in

the mind to reason, and to which

medicine has nothing corresponding; such as books on

the

How

subject of "Evidence."

teachers?

know

(I

is

it

with medical

there are noble exceptions.)

Is

it

not the tendency of the college to treat medicine entirely as

Again and again we hear^

an experimental art?
the

ex cathedra,

give us /acts;

exclamation,

away with

"Away

causes,

us have practice.^'

with

give us

We

jjvmcijylesj

effects;

away

need not say how

with theory,

let

much such

exclamations degrade the science,

how they

sanction the popular fashion of estimating the physician

by the number of his

tific

youth

facts,

and thrusting aside the

for the ignorant matron.

I need not point out

the fallacy which lurks beneath them, for you

perceive that a principle

scien-

may embody

may

readily

a thousand facts,

an antecedent may be worth more than a consequent,

and

practice,

purpose

is to

however had, implies some theory.

inquire whether

it

My

does not encourage idle-

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

809

and check the best tendencies and the highest

nesS;

The physician should value

pirations of the pupil.

should

collect

generalize

as-

facts,

them, but he should also compare, abstract,

nor should he lightly esteem the theory of

a distinguished author merely because he has not him-

which

self witnessed the facts on

it

rests

he

might

as

well doubt that the earth revolves, because he has not

scientifically

Nor should we

demonstrated that truth.

to observe, that a

man who

fail

confines himself to the beaten

may have a far more limited experience than the

theorist who takes wide surveys, and marks cases in
track

every variety of modification.

of theory

is

Kindred

the disregard

to

the contempt of hypothesis, for theory and

hypothesis are not synonymous.

Theory

signifies a con-

nected arrangement of facts according to their bearing

on a law; hypothesis, an assumption, which

is

conceived

to support a law; thus the connected facts which point

to the law of gravitation is a theory; the supposition

a subtile fluid, which

is

a hypothesis.

is

presumed

to explain these facts,

hypothesis, so far from being de-

spised, should be valued according as

or fewer of the

which

it

is

of

circumstances
If

applied.

it

it

phenomenon

of the

explain

explains more

of them,

all

to
is

it

highly probable, and may, after a time, acquire certainty;

as

for

planets

example,

moved

the

hypothesis

Kepler,

of

in elliptic orbits, which,

with hesitancy at

first,

the

that

though received

has so explained successive

as-

tronomical discoveries and computations as to take rank

with established laws.

thus fortunate,

it

Even when

a hypothesis

is

may, by suggesting experiments,

not
inti-

mating inventions, and animating to further researches,

knowledge and multiply the

vastly increase our stock of

arts

of a

imaginary,

profession.
is it

What though

therefore to be despised?

the handmaid of science;

hypothesis be

Imagination

is

the most illustrious philoso-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

310

phers have honored her, and been allured onward in the

path of discovery by her rainbows;

if

you doubt

go

it,

learn of Archimedes, or listen to the eloquence of Bacon,

or sit at the feet of Rush.

Indeed, imagination

new

great conceiver and bold discoverer of

Columbus of the human

is

a call for her aid.

He

first

ascertains in

the

faculties; ewerj instantia crucis

Mark the beautiful series

Humphrey Davy to the

periments which led Sir

tion of the safety-lamp,

is

worlds, the

of ex-

inven-

and you see her going before.

what proportions the mixture of

is explosive; he next de-

fire-damp and atmospheric air

termines at what temperature the mixture detonates.

had long been known

that if the

were passed through a tube, and

on

would not pass back through the tube

The

last point to be ascertained was,

the tube consistent with safety;

to

fire,

mere

the flame

to cause explosion.

how

short might be

determine

cuts off successively very narrow sections

it to

compound

explosive
set

It

till

this,

he

he reduces

metallic ring, and he finds this sufficient to

prevent explosion

finally,

he ascertains that the flame

of the mixture will not pass through wire gauze.

He

is

now ready to construct the safety-lamp.

I

know

that innumerable errors, and almost inextrica-

ble confusion, have resulted from a misapplication of the

speculative understanding, but shall we,

press it? he

who

as

re-

does so checks powers as original, as

lawful, as useful as the senses themselves

it is

therefore,

blasphemous

to neglect, as it is

powers on which social and

and which, more than any

scientific

other, ally

powers

wicked

to

which
abuse;

progress depend,

man

to the

higher

orders of being.

The
the

phT/sician will find

studT/

still less

in the practice, than in

of medicine, to stimulate the reasoning power.

Observation, diagnosis, prescription, and prognosis, constitute the circle of his duties

circle

through which

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

he may pass by

his fellows in counsel,

to

oppose dic-

than argu-

ment

scription,

the bedside and in the

Should any one

he has a right

authority?"

call in

to say,

office,

he

question his pre-

''How dare you dispute

I do not say this is wrong, but unfortu-

The lawyer

nate.

is

At

argument?

to

an autocrat.

my

he not accustomed

he meets

to dictum, experience to experience, rather

tum
is

When

rule, as well as reason.

311

is

compelled

to

be an arguist

acting as attorney, counselor, or solicitor, he

is

whether
called on

compare laws, weigh evidence, analyze

to define words,

must abide the scrutiny of his

peers
in the strong conflicts of the bar, where mind
grapples with mind, where argument meets argument,
thought leaps to thought, and witticism flashes to witticism; where all the resources of subtilty and acuteness,
all the cavils of the critical and captious spirit, and all
the energies of vigorous and enterprising intellect, have
free scope, he must either prove himself a logician, or
motives; in

all

things, he

resign his place to one

So

it

argue;

is

who

can.

with the minister; he must define, he must

persuasion

is

his

business;

this

depends upon

upon
Church, he moves through armed ranks of
conviction,

and

argument.

conviction

heretics; in the world, he meets

rate hosts of a depraved

moods and
that

is

their

attitudes,

in him,

on

all

own minds.

Even

errorists

and

most peaceful

a reason of the

and train up disciples

the

sides the despe-

philosophy; in his

he must give

In

fully

hope

persuaded in

at the bedside of the sick, and

the pillow of the dying, he must satisfy the cravings of

human reason, as well as of human affections.

Do not understand me to say that physicians may
possess

all

not

the dialectical skill and mental energy of other

men, but that their profession does not demand

it

of

them.

But some one may

inquire, "

Are not doctors the most

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

312

men?"

contentious of

of a medical war

most
which we see
for the

all

civilized lands, the tocsin

continually sounding

is

part,

In

though not always

war

bootless

bloodless

war

in

" Hypocrisy with smiling grace,

And impudence with brazen

face

Contention bold, with iron lungs,

And

slander with her hundred tongues."

This war, however,

but too

logic,

is

not because they have too

much

had they more argumentation, they

little;

did they look

would have fewer disagreements;

each

other in the eye, week by week, and state propositions,

define terms,

more

arguments, methinks they would be

test

fraternal; they

might

still dijBfer

in theory, disagree

might occasionally
contention, and by envy

in opinion, and vary in practice; they

be provoked by covetousness to
to strife

but their differences would not lead to such

al-

tercations, their disagreements to such disputes, their va-

riances to such
strife to

dissensions,

such irritation and

the distinction of

How

is

it

^'^

genus

and their contention and

ill-blood, as to fix

irritabile.''

with other professions

they contend too

they often come

in the Hudibrastic

upon them

sense,

Ministers differ

to blows apostolic, not

but in the

literal

they burn

each other, not in the old method, with piles of fagots,

but piles of propositions; they surround each other with

grammars, and lexicons, and polyglots, and after the

battle,

they shake hands, and find that, though they are

opponents or adversaries, they are not foes

cover that they are brothers beloved.

often they

So with lawyers

they sometimes rush upon each other like

would seem

as

dis-

tigers,

and

it

though the Temple of Justice must be

deluged with blood, but no sooner

is

the contest over,

than they are harmless and loving as lambs.

without a chimney, so

is

a body of

men

As

a house

without discus-

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

Tlie pulpit

sion.

for the

smoke

the flue for the ministry, the bar

is

law, but, alas

where

the outlet for medical

is

I proceed to remark, that there

vailing philosophy

AYe

still

of

times

the

is

it

men

their

to

Of the

But what

science.

frivolous, their

and their aims unreasonable,

fanciful,

shall

premlogic

Nay, so far as they employed this science,

be blamed?

they were useful.

sneer at such
it

dialectics.

apt to transfer from these

favorite

though their questions were often

ises

promote

to

the pre-

customary to speak in terms of con-

a feeling which we are

misguided

nothing in

is

the reaction from scholasticism.

feel

schoolmen,

tempt

313

men

To the

vulgar,

as Roscellinus;

it

may be

allowed to

but to the philosopher,

belongs to trace back the illumination which distin-

guishes France, Germany, and England, in great measure

adoption of the scholastic method, and to see in

to the

the substitution of stern reasoning for a blind acquies-

cence to authority, the beginning of that reformation

which has given to enlightened nations religious freedom. But it is vain to reason with those who will not
hear we must sufi'er yet a while from the contempt of

logic

resulting

from the misapplication of

it

by the

schoolmen.

When

these

men had

long wasted their energies in

however invigorating to the mind, were

barren of discovery. Lord Bacon arose

labors which,

necessarily

Bacon

name

associating peerless power, matchless elo-

quence, and extensive knowledge, with unblushing bribery,

base

flattery,

pher

ingratitude,

and cold and

who,

in

works

heartless

treachery,

selfish aff"ections

erudite,

parasitical

Bacon!

profound,

a philos-

and

radiant

with original thought, enumerated the defects and omissions of his predecessors, classified the various branches

of science, and pointed out their relation to the

27

human

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

314

mapped out the region of known knowland pointed the way to the fields of unhiown ; who

faculties

edge,

wlio

investigated the causes which vitiated and retarded

sci-

ence, and whose crowning achievement was, that he retaught him to obcalled man to the study of nature

serve, experiment,

Novum Organon

for this is the

infer;

Scientiarum.

of the

basis

Great as was his merit,

Letters had been revived,

he was perhaps overrated.
aroused to freedom of
world
the
printing invented, and
discussion before he arose; still, he is the father of mod-

ern philosophy, and

it

is

however, they

men

to

In doing

so,

the pride of scientific

follow his footsteps and halt

at his bidding.

may debar themselves

access to fruitful

regions of truth, forego legitimate methods of research,

and

fall

into errors

which cripple the

The Baconian philosophy

is

very imperfect.

But there

circle of observation is external.

nal circle

madness

composed of
to

first

truths

Its
is

deny, and folly to attempt to prove

truths as these

whole

an inter-

truths which

it

were

such

matter and mind have uniform and fixed

Without such

laws; qualities imply a substance.

ples, reason could not
first

intellectual powers.

move

He who

a step.

princi-

doubts the

of the propositions just stated, can not complete the

simplest

process of

induction.

He who

second, can have no knowledge of either

the

doubts

mind

or matter.

Besides these principles, there rises and shines within

the soul, ideas which experience never could furnish
ideas based upon the succession, relations, and infinite of

things

ideas

necessary,

absolute,

eternal.

There are

which they awaken. Who feels not within

his brain a reed that can measure earth and heaven, mysterious feet that leap into infinity, and fiery wings that,
also impulses

cutting the boundaries of time, soar behind the hour that

saw the earth

arise,

and rush exulting beyond the day

that shall see the heavens rolled together as a scroll

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

But

is

it

not this imperfection itself of the Baconian

philosophy, on which
of

result

certain

315

we would

this

your attention^ but a

fix

imperfection.

confines

It

our

minds to experience it does not cultivate abstraction

that power whose strength in any individual is usually
;

the measure of his logical ability.

The Baconian philosophy, representing induction as

the sole method in all branches of knowledge, banishes
deduction.

Induction ascends from particulars

to universals;

Induction leads

duction from universals to particulars.

up

fact after fact,

till

de-

a general principle

established;

is

deduction unfolds the assertions wrapped up in a general

Induction disprinciple, and shows its various bearings.
covers truth not formerly possessed; deduction discloses

Induction requires caution

truth not formerlj perceived.

and judgment; deduction requires

logical skill.

chiefly a process of investigation;

tion is

throughout,

process of

infers; deduction proves.

strict

Induc-

deduction

reasoning.

is,

Induction

If this be a correct represent-

you see not only the error of asserting that induction is the only scientific method, but how this error
tends to repress and discredit dialectics.

ation,

of the age are averse to the

We are eminently
cultivation of the deductive intellect.
a practical, not a sj^ecidative people ; so, indeed, were our

The

characteristic tendencies

The Anglo-Saxons seem to have inherited the

characteristics of Eome, as the Germans have those of
The former aim to do what is to be done, as the
Greece.
Our prevailing tendlatter to thinJc what is to be thought.

ancestors.

ency

is

tastes,

our habits, our pursuits.

glorious
for

We

manifest, not only in our philosophy, but our

life.

tear

epics,

We

Ours

not the land of

of metaphysical researches, of students

are formed for activity

up our

is

not contemplation.

forests before they can

become

classical.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

316

Should a poetical lover choose an elm

to

immortalize

its

Bhade, his muse would hardly be invoked before the echo

We

of the woodman's ax would frighten her away.

our ^Hhoughts that breathe, and words that burn

our breathing
is

is

have
but

;'^

through the steam-pipe, and our burning

by the furnace.

We

have our wire-drawn distinctions,

but they are drawn over poles to distinguish turnpike

We

roads.

have our

77iirabiles

anwres, but they are

all

fames auri. We are utilitarians,

and we measure our achievements by the mason's square

resolvable into the sacra

and weigh our gains

in the scale avoirdupois.

every thing in haste.

boots and bridges, are

We

do

Even divines and doctors, like

made in a hurry. Our hurry has

led us into an excessive division of labor, which, however

favorable to the development of resources,

not so to

is

the development of mind.

The
cine,

old universities, where the faculties of law, medi-

and divinity

sit

side

by

side, as

members of the

same family, surrounded by their younger sisters, the liberal arts, promoting each other's edification, cherishing
each others affection, advancing each other's interests,

and defending each other's honor, do not seem

We

divorce the professions, and surround

to suit us.

them with

sep-

arate fortifications, to dwell in a sort of Chinese exclusiveness, or fire into

each other's bastions.

Instead of

building to science a glorious temple, to be ascended by

successive steps,

we build

that a doctor, or lawyer, or

sion with no

number of one-story halls, so

divine, may learn his profes-

more preparation than a carpenter

his trade.

Not content with separating the professional faculties

from the liberal arts, we often sunder the liberal arts
themselves, and allow the student to elect his own studies, instead of directing him in that course which will
bring out

all

his powers in fair proportions.

The tendencies

to

which I have adverted,

afford

so

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

many arguments, from
are not

sicians

cause to

effect, to

likely to manifest

317

show, that phy-

mental

those

traits

which are not cultivated by their profession, and, as the

reasoning power is not of this description, that they may
be expected to be deficient in
cultivate

it,

this, unless

they specially

I proceed to strengthen the argument, by

pointing out some of the consequences of this want of

logic

in

the medical

profession,

and thus argue from

effect to cause.
1.

Their discussions are often

That doctors
But do not divines

endless.

disagree, has passed into a proverb.

disagree also?

True; but their disagreement

trinal than practical.

principally practical;

is

rather doc-

The disagreement of physicians is

and when theoretical, it is often in

relation to points, concerning

which

it

would appear that

there certainly could be a definitive settlement.

for example, as

taken

into the

Such,

whether medicines are ever absorbed, and

general

But, would logic

circulation.

tend to abridge these discussions?

Certainly.

It cuts

short discussion, both by bringing parties to issue, and

curing inconclusive reasoning.

The

discussions of physicians are

would reduce them, because

achy.

it

numerous.

Logic

indirectly prevents logom-

It teaches us to scrutinize terms; to distinguish

between the abstract and the concrete, the compatible

and the opposite, the absolute and the

relative, etc.

It

teaches us to distinguish between the whole essence, the

partial essence,

and that which

is

joined to the essence;

between genus and differentia; between property and

dent.

It

gives us the rules of division

and

acci-

definition,

teaching the difference between the nominal and the real

definition, the accidental

and the metaphysical.

and the

He who

essential, the physical

considers

how much conhow much

troversy arises from the ambiguous terms, and

confusion from cross divisions, must see that logic would

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

318
reduce the

list

of mooted medical questions.

So, also, it

would by the exposure of fallacies. Are not Thomsonianism, hydropathy, homeopathy, etc., examples of hasty
induction
paste

steam,

Doubtless,

water,

and

sweetened'

many

are valuable remedial agents, and, in

cases,

may be an adequate means of cure. We must behow we proceed from the particular to the
universal.
One of these systems may prove to be all
that it assumes, but, certainly, when we consider, that in
each

ware, however,

medicine, as in

meteorology, a thousand

circumstances

unseen may vary the results of our experiments, and that,

while successful cases are blazoned, unsuccessful ones are

many

kept out of sight, that

reported cases are due to

we
number of

false statements, false perceptions, exaggerations, etc.,

should beware
facts

how we

assert that a suiSicient

has been accumulated to establish any of them.

Judging from the

of the

first

past,

we may conjecture

that the fate

of these systems awaits the rest, and

all

others of similar simplicity.

The fallacy, called by logicians non causa pro causa, is

common among physicians. You take a certain drug,
and you get well. This is all you know about it, but you
say the medicine cured you.
You now assume what you
should prove; namely, that the medicine and the cure
stand to each other in the relation of cause and
It

may be

effect.

that nature, or regimen, or imagination

may

have wrought the cure.

The word experience has led to many controversies.

What I know by experience is certainly true. That this
remedy will cure you I know by experience. Therefore,
that this remedy will cure you is certainly true.
The
word experience,

in the first of these premises, is used in

the strict sense, and applies to the past.

The same word,

in the second premiss, is used in the popular sense,

applies to the future.

and

It denotes, not experience, but a

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

judgment founded on
perience, in the

first

sense

experience, in

the

last.

speculation,

it

is

Nothing more

it.

reliable

319
than ex-

nothing more uncertain than

Instead of being opposed to

founded on

it.

man

takes for his

major premiss a certain opinion, and

for his minor a cerphenomenon, and combining them, he draws a conclusion of no more value than his premises.
Hence, one
man's experience is, that wet sheets curey another's, that

tain

they

kill

that

one's,

infinitesimal

another's, that they are inert.

doses

are

efficient,

One's experience

is,

that

wounded artery should be tied, another's, that the

its mouth may be stopped by a charm.

blood flowing from

One's experience

is,

that jaundice

may be cured by

mel, another's, that nothing more

hang up

calo-

necessary than to

a bottle of yellow liquid in the chimney.

So with the phrase,

common

is

common

parlance, nothing

As

sense.

more

is

it

indefinite.

is

used in

Whatever

common sense, is to be relied on; but one

man's common sense is very micommon, another's, not so
much so, etc. The common sense of the savage teaches
that the sun goes round the earth
the common sense of
stands to

the sage, that the earth goes round the sun.

mon

The com-

sense of European nobles says, that republics can

not stand; but not so the

common

sense of

American

democrats.
If such fallacies misled

common

people only, I should

not notice them, but they often delude gifted, scientific,

men; sometimes even reputable members of

who are thereby induced to forranks, and enlist under the banners of some

respectable

the medical profession,

sake

its

charlatan.

It

may be

said that such instances of profes-

sional desertion are owing, not to a

want of that reason-

ing ability which distinguishes truth from error, but of

that honor which

prefers

poverty in

wealth acquired by dishonest

artifice.

uprightness
I have too

to

much

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS

320

confidence, however, in

human

nature, to accept this as a

sufficient account of the matter.

2.

Another

want of

result of the

slow progress of medical science.

logical skill, is the

Other professions make

but slow advances, but they do not admit of such im-

Theology and law admit of no

provement as medicine.

discovery

their great

own

country, where

amend

may be

but medical science

We

principles are settled.

not correct the Bible, or

can

the precepts of morality;

progressive, especially in our

we have peculiar

facilities to trace the

influence of race, climate, civilization, etc., in modifying

the forms of disease, and to explore

whose

forests or

for diseases

which have hitherto

baffled

True, the history of medicine

ment; but

is

it

unknown

whose mountains may contain

is

regions,

remedies

the healing

full

art.

of discourage-

consoling to reflect, that scarce any sys-

tem has been devised which has not led

truth, or proposed some useful curative

to

some new

The

agents.

Dogmatics, the Galenics, the Empirics, the Methodics,

the Stahlians, the Paracelsians, have appeared and disappeared, but each of these sects has contributed some-

thing to the stores of medical knowledge and the resources of medical art.

ern systems

they

May

it

not be

so, too,

general stream of medical truth, but not

contributed to swell

with the mod-

are tributaries, soon to be lost in the

its

till

they have

waters.

If a medical student survey the mass of error, absurdity,

and superstition which has been accumulated by the

may

find

to his favorite science;

but

profession in the successive ages of the past, he

himself growing skeptical as

let

him

inquire, if there be not mingled with this

mass

materials of undoubted value, and he will find his faith

revive

he knows that the blood does circulate, that

for

vaccination

is,

When we

upon the whole, a prophylactic,

examine the

etc.

statistics of hospitals,

and the

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

321

we may be induced to supabout the same proportion of deaths

general records of mortality,

pose that there

is

and recoveries under every system of medical practice;

but when we inquire, whetber there has been no improve-

ment in the treatment of small-pox

denham whether quinine is not

iodine in scrofula,

we must

since the days of Sy-

useful

in

ague,

and

see that medical science has

advanced.

kindred science

It is as true of every other

cine, that its progress is slow.

will

Man

have him "hasten slowly."

human mind,

is

as of

medi-

in haste, but

God

represents

the

Plato

in its progress to perfection, as the driver

of a winged chariot; but the wings often droop, and periodically molt; the horses are

and

dient,

mulish.

the

spirited;

unequal

other

one

sluggish,

fleet,

obe-

clumsy,

and

But, notwithstanding the successive elevations

and depressions of the chariot, as the wings lose or regain their feathers, and the struggles of the horses, sometimes pulling opposite ways, and

at

best moving with

unequal footsteps, the driver gradually ascends the skies.

But the progress would be more

rapid, if physicians of different views were to meet
together, and, in the love of truth, compare notes, and
So with medical science.

mutually examine arguments, surrender errors, and ex-

change truths.
Lastly, I mention as a result of the

skepticism of medical

men

want of

logic, the

in regard to religion.

Al-

though some of the brightest ornaments of the profession,

both east and west, are humble Christians, yet, that

our physicians generally are inclined to unbelief,

obvious.
sary.

I could introduce testimony, if

Dr. Logan, of

New

it

is

very

were neces-

Orleans, in an address on the

Ethics of Medicine, delivered in 1844, before the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Louisiana, says:
cially

urged

to this

"1 am

espe-

theme, at such a time and place, from

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

322

the lamentable fact that; notwithstanding there are

many

practitioners in our country eminent for talents, illustri-

ous for learning, and distinguished for

reason to apprehend, too

many

yet I have

skill,

numbered among our

are

ranks who, by their reckless disregard and defiance of

morals and religion, are ruining our influence and bring-

Other

ing discredit upon the whole profession/^

mony,

to the

Now,

same purport, might be introduced.

the cause of this

state

of things

is

testi-

not simple;

it

is

owing, partli/, to the pride of science, the neglect of

worship, and the absorbing nature of medical duties; but
cJiieJiy,

I think, to the

The medical

student, as

taught to bring his

God.

wont

And why

gift, like

so

remarks,

is

find the first

often

too

unknown

medical authors are

to spindle,

moving cause

the question should arise,

you trace

and wheel

move-

its

to wheel, till

But

a stream of water.

who made

and frames, and

not

You

between causes and design.

ments from spindle

spindles,

one

the Athenian, to an

complicated machinery

survey a

you

logical habits.

because

distinguish

to

want of

all

so arranged

these wheels, and

them

make

as to

the unconscious water work out, with unerring certainty,

the wonderful result

The

productj and the former as

design

is as

much

apparent as the

implies intelligence, as

the latter does momentum.

The

pupil often thinks he can account for every thing

in the natural world,

by natural laws; and

in the animal

world, by vital laws; and in the intellectual world, by psy-

chological laws

but when

things entirely difi"erent;

he does

so,

he confounds two

namely, power and law

law
can do nothing; the term, as used in science, merely denotes the

mode

which

efi'ects

its

in

which poicer

appear.

acts,

or the order

In the cloud which

around the term law, the student often

God; he sometimes contrives

to

is

in

raised

loses sight of

keep his soul out of

LOGIC AND MEDICAL SCIENCE.

view by a similar delusion, a delusion

323

some med-

wliicli

Bichat thus speaks of

''The functions of the animal form two distinct

authors ingeniously promote.

ical
life:

classes

one of these consists of an habitual succession

By

of assimilation and concretion.

ceives

surrounding objects;

the other he per-

on his sensations;

reflects

performs voluntary motions under their influence, and

generally communicates, by the voice, his pleasures or his

The assembled

pains, his desires or his fears.

of the latter class form the animal

Now, ask the great

functions

life."

physiologist,

what

is

the cause of

AVhy, animal

life, to

animal

Why,

it is

perception, sensation, reflection, volition, speech, etc.

If

perception, reflection, volition?

Very

sure.

Now, what

well.

is

this is not the vicious circle, pray tell

life ?

what

is ?

be

But

it

has been copied and imitated, by the highest medical authorities, not only in France,

but on the other side of

tbe British Channel, and on this side of the Atlantic

Ocean.

wonder

Having put God and the

if

soul out of sight,

what

the physician should neglect the Bible and

its

evidences?
Dr. Drake, than

whom

a higher authority can scarce be

quoted, alluding to the sources of skepticism

sicians, says

''

We

among phy-

are constrained to express the belief,

that ignorance of the Bible

is

a greater cause of skepti-

cism, than the whole of them."

Again, speaking of the

evidences of revelation, he holds this language:

revelation be possible,
ble, it could not

tion,

But

''If a

and the conclusion seems inevita-

become known unless

were read, and the evidences of

it

received atten-

its reality

examined.

what the majority of our profession

Their infidelity is most unphilosophical,

this is precisely

have not done.

because they have concluded without examination, in violation of critical justice; for they

out a hearing.

have condemned with-

If their disbelief should be correct in

324

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

the absolute,

it

is

result of careful

not logically correct, because not the

To such an

and candid investigation.

As

investigation I would call them.

ophers, they should be

ashamed of

its

scholars and philos-

omission; ashamed

that they have concluded before they have collected and

compared the testimony, absolutely necessary

decision; before they have subjected
test

to a correct

the facts to the

all

of that logic on which they rely for the establish-

ment of

professional truth.

When

they have done this,

should they not acquire a Christian faith, they will at

least substitute a philosophical infidelity for the skepti-

Into that cheerless region we should

cism of ignorance.

not have occasion to follow

of them, for

its

inhab-

compared with those who wander

itants are few, indeed,

in the benighted

many

land

of

ignorance and

doubt.

We

have seldom met with a single physician, who had earned

citizenship in that frozen zone; while the
latter,

although reduced from what

sufficient

to

heavenly

Upon

once was,

is

still

show, that multitudes repudiate the Bible

without having studied

its

it

number of the

its

doctrines, or the evidences of

origin.'^

this eloquent passage

we beg

to inquire

the reluctance to examine the evidence

some measure,

to the fact that the

is

whether

not owing, in

minds of physicians,

confined almost exclusively to induction and analogy, are

disinclined to moral reasoning.
I

have thus spoken, that

particularly vulnerable

Do

not imagine, because

deem the medical

profession

others, perhaps, err as

much by

neglecting the inductive process, as physicians by neglecting the deductive.

ed

to

Think

not, because I

have allud-

the skeptical tendencies of medicine, that I seek to

place a stigma upon

it

in the eyes of

good men.

It is a

profession which, for genius, learning, and humanity; for

industry, experiment,

and persevering, self-denying, and

perilous researches; for a patient submission to peevish-

LOGIC AND MEDIC x\.L SCIENCE.

ness, a generous sacrifice of pleasure, ease,

votion to the calls

ingratitude,

To Medicine I owe an
Whenever I have eaten the bread

ened

my

my tongue

wholly unsurdebt.

of sorrow, or drank

my Good Samaritan
my anxieties, mitigated my pains, awakand often counted my pulse, and cooled

affliction,

hopes,

is

unspeakable

passed.

she has calmed

and e^en de-

of duty, and a manly forgiveness of

the basest selfishness and

the cup of

325

at the

and when, with

she has been

midnight
tears, I

has gently replaced

my

as well as the

have

ofifered

morning watch;

remuneration, she

slender purse beneath

my

pillow.

Divine Wisdom
which

The more
of
my
and mercy owe the prolongation

To her

I ascribe to

a skill

skill

life.

I see her value, the more profoundly do I regret that

powers so commanding, and generosity so noble, should

so rarely be found in union with religious faith.

young gentlemen, cultivate a love for your profession

it is one which, from its indispensable importance, and from the extent and directness of its contact
with the public mind, must contribute largely to mold
Finally,

the character of your country; study

bring about that period

when

its

name

it,

and

strive

to

shall every-where

be suggestive of a harmonious combination of the noblest qualities of

mind and

heart.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

326

fints

E hope

i^wtlj*

we have many young readers. For such

to write; because we may expect, without

that

we delight

much

Should

vanity, to profit as well as to please them.

grave wisdom direct

its

we beseech

eye hither,

we endeavor to impart to youthful

of our own experience and observation

over, while

benefit

it

to

turn

friends the
relative to

certain small matters.

Take care of the

soul

all its

It

hodi/.

is

a beautiful abode of the

apartments and furniture evince Divine wis-

dom and goodness

it is

a system of useful instruments,

by which the spirit may acquire knowledge and strength,

and achieve works of wisdom and beneficence it is a
medium of communication with nature and with man

it is

called, in Scripture, the

and, in
to

temple of the Holy Ghost,

incorruptible, spiritual,

its

and glorious form,

is

be the eternal habitation of the redeemed, and sancti-

fied,

and

glorified

soul.

As we

value the comfort and

usefulness of the spirit, we should prize the health of

the body

as

we honor God, and admire

his works, let

us be careful of that beautiful specimen of his handiwork

which he has committed

to

our keeping.

To secure the health of the body, it is necessary to

its members at least three hours a day.
That
employment or pastime is best which calls into exercise

exercise

number of muscles.
But exercise, to be useful, must be taken with a good
will, and in a good humor.
A vigorous circulation rethe greatest

HINTS TO YOUTH.

327

quires a cheerful heart, and an elastic footstep

Do

a buoyant spirit.

demands

not walk the street with a meas-

ured pace and downcast look, like a soldier marking time

to the ''Dead March. '^
Don't work your problems, nor

mature your

griefs,

nor plan your enterprises in your

chase the fox, or tree the coon, or track

mount

of evening,
the rabbit

climbing the

from

rambles.

But "over the

and far away"

hills

Bucephalus, and, ficing the morning sun, plunge into

the forest, and brush the dew from the bushes
or, calling your favorite dog, in the mellowed light

brow

or sit

mountain-^ide,

look

out

or,

its

misty

by the cataract and commune with the dash-

ing waters, and scattering spray, and dancing rainbows,

and eternal murmurs or chase the warbling rivulet,

and gaze on the beauteous forms mirrored in its clear
waters

you please, look up cowslips on the mead-

or, if

ows, or poppies in the rye, or tulips in the valley for

your ''Ain kin' dearie,

run races with the

0" or, when

shall

you have

spirit learn

and freshness, and green.

light,

its

years,

the fields of nature, and to catch the

in

inspiration of

riper

Let your

the vineyards, or over the lawn.

to be joyous

in

ones in the orchard, or throuo-h

little

merry

pulse, a joyous arm,

and a

So

lively

footstep.

Inactivity

is

the temporal ruin of the man.

It brings

disease, cuts short the days, impairs the mind, disturbs

the temper, makes the subject and his companions miser-

and peoples fancy's airy world with a thousand hideous forms.

Men are not always mindful that by indoable,

lence

they induce

violated with

lounging

is

the sons of

No

disease.

impunity;

be

but because sentence against

not speedily executed, therefore the heart of

men

is set in

them

sentence, however, be delayed,

tice

law of nature can

may hobble along with

to
it

be
is

idle.

Though the

sure to come.

Jus-

a lame foot; but he will over-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

328

take the sinner at

You might

last.

hope

as well

to stop a

race-horse on the brink of a precipice, as to avert disease

if

you

And when

to exercise the muscles.

fail

comes, no repentance or reformation shall seduce

its

work, though health be sought

Be

mindful,

as

therefore,

^^

it

daily exercise

daily food.

Do

the body

to lose time, by shortening your days.

is

my

not say, " I will sacrifice

my

as

To neglect

"I have no time."

not say,

from

carefully with tears."

take

to

disease

Do

health to the improvement

You

will find the mind rapidly fail under

Whatever be#your mental occupation,
whether it demand memory, or fancy, or thought, or
feeling, you can do more in five mimites, with a body
renovated in the fields, and a mind inspired with nature's

of

mind."

such a course.

than in

fairest works,

under the influence of a

five hours,

sluggish pulse.

Would you be healthy, be careful in relation to your

diet.
As this is not a professional work, physiology
But

would be out of place here.

few plain directions, which we hope you

when we

trust

us to give a

suffer

will

take upon

assure you that they pass current with the

doctors.

Though
is

the appetite

is

disregarded, and in health

Rise from breakfast

down

In disease

and

it.

in

many

Ours

it

must often be

must never be

fully satiated.

you would not

sit

a land of abundance,

is

parts of the old world.

abstemious they will

rarely

blood will course freely

ease,

every organ
liberty,

it

inhabitants have acquired habits of indulgence

its

at

it

loith appetite, if

dinner ivithout

to

unknown

sit

the index to nature's wants,

not always a true index.

and

suff'er

If persons are

from disease.

through the veins, the brain

feeling of comfort will

and member.

and bound with

The

The

intellect

will

elastic step over the

cult steeps of science, or the

will

spread over

most romantic

feel

most

at

diffi-

fields

of

HINTS TO YOUTH.
Ahstinence

fancy.

Was

indulgence.

my

it

often

of service,

especially after

who

not Bonaparte

said,

'^When

stomach gets out of humor, I withhold supplies

Do

mercy?"

cries for

it

is

329

you so abstemious

body would

lose

such a regimen.

as

While the

induce feebleness.

to

much, the

till

not suppose that I would have

would gain nothing from

soul

vigorous intellect requires a healthy

brain, and a cheerful brain demands a rich blood.

If
you eat to repletion, however, you sin, and must suffer.

Under

these circumstances, if you take proper exercise,

your food
creased

may be

its

digested;

vessels enlarged

but the blood

its

and

a state of plethora will be induced,

you

liable to acute disease in various forms.

add indolence
under

fail

its

its

be

will

in-

circulation accelerated,

which

will

render

But

if

you

to gluttony, your digestive apparatus will

accumulated labors, and dyspepsia, with

all

crudities and acids, its melancholy apprehensions

and
come upon you, rendering you a burden
yourselves and to others, and inducing your friends,

sour spirits, will

to

perchance, to lock you up

in

an editor's

In reference to the qiiaUty of food

if the quantity

it

office.

matters but

little,

The stomach is
and compound
you do not give him too much to

be properly regulated.

an excellent chemist, and can

almost any thing, if

analyze

There are many things, however, placed on the

which ought never to be seen there such as
pastry and preserves.
If I had unlimited authority, I
would banish them all. "But what should we do for
do.

table,

dessert

better

when favored with company?"

is

a plate of

figs,

or a basket of apples, or a few

bunches of lucious grapes, than

And

Why, how much

as to liquids, cold water,

pies, cakes, or

ade, arc far preferable to all the decoctions

The former

herbs.

But

puddings

milk and water, or lemonof foreign

invigorate, the latter debilitate.

fancy a reader inquires, "Is the writer a Gra-

28

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

330

We

By no means.
man should have

hamite?''
that

vegetable food.
well

We

believe nature intended

mixed

we

Nevertheless,

experience, teach this lesson.

as

of animal and

diet

think anatomy and physiology, as

humbly conceive that many countries among them our

Perhaps, for
own consume too much animal food.

sedentary persons, animal food once a day

Be
you

is sufficient.

I do not ask

careful of your personal aj)pearance.

to follow the fashions

and cover

to lay the

neck bare one week,

with curly locks the next

it

comb the

to

hair

one way to-day and another way to-morrow; but I do ask

you

have as much mercy upon your own head as you

to

do upon your horse's; and while you direct the groom

to

use the curry-comb, see that the barber uses the comb.
It has been said that cleanliness

is

next thing to godli-

and we have often wished that ablutions were a

We hope to see the day when the

ness,

part of our religion.

bath-room shall be

common

as

the

as

kitchen.

We

think we shall then have cleaner prose, clearer music, and

sweeter poetry.

The mind partakes

in the comforts

and

0, for clear fountains and cool-

distresses of the body.

Methinks they can almost put out the fire

of passion, and spread good nature through the soul.
Would you be in good humor with yourself, pay due
ing streams

In cleanliness

respect to your wash-stand.

of the

great

Christian.
its

is

between the pagan

diflFerences

The sweetness

seen one

and

the

of the sanctified spirit sheds

influences upon the person.

Shall

apparel

we be considered
?

We

descending

as

hate foppishness

aping

cause a prince, afflicted with king's

neck

in a

high cravat,

bind up ours?

why should

dress,

the

to

fair

afflicted

we allude

great men.
evil,

that any reason

Because some

by the form of her

spine,

is

if

to

Be-

conceals his

why we

should

queen endeavors,

hide a curvature of the

of America

imitate

her?

HINTS TO YOUTH.
Extravagance in dress

331

condemned

as inucli to be

is

Let the ornaments of the man be a

foppishness.

as

brill-

meek and quiet spirit.

woman be, not "pearls, or

iant mind, a holy heart, and a

Let the decorations of the

gold, or costly array," but modesty, intelligence,

briety.

jewels,

so-

Grecian matron, when asked for her orna-

ments, said,

ornament

and

"The

virtues of

my husband

are a sufficient

Another, when challenged for her

for me.''

summoned her

It is proper, however, that

sons.

our garments should comport with

the

habits

of our

country, and our pursuits and standing in society;

though comfortable,

plain,

and

far

from extravagant, they

should evince a proper respect for

We

fellow-men.

believe

is

it

and

ourselves

and our

through the

easier to go

world in a good garment than in a ragged one; and as a

man
he

is

is

responsible for

bound

all

to secure a

makes

said one, "always

my

a slight one to

the influence he can acquire,

"

decent apparel.
a low

old."

bow

It will

to

my

My

banker,"

neio coat,

and

be time enough when

we have mastered the world to disregard its prejudices.

We pity the wife who is not as careful to please her husband as she was, when a maid, to please her beau.

Be mindful
great service.

of your manners.
Its spring is

True politeness

is

of

One may, by

good nature.

reading books like Chesterfield's, and mingling in polished society, acquire certain habits, and obtain certain
rules,

which

for his fellow-beings finds place in his

and a just regard

heart,

Vain

him to pass ofi" as a gentleman;

human kindness flows in his veins,

will enable

but unless the milk of

his politeness will

is

be but disgusting hypocrisy.

sharp an eye, and too thoughtful a brain.

and compliment

is

Every gesture

a matter of analysis, and through the

most complicated processes of investigation

its

It has too

the attempt to deceive the world.

true motive.

The

great world, too,

is

is

traced to

a good physi-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

332

ognomist, and knows liow to look through the window

To be

of the soul.

polite is to please, but

please without the desire

The

best

maxims of

to

worse than useless.

is

politeness are found in the Scrip-

Such are these

tures.

an attempt

''

Be kindly

affectioned one to

another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one an-

other;"

"Bear ye one

another's

burdens;"

"Let no

corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but

that which

is

good

the use of edifying, that

to

minister grace to the hearers;"

able,

easy to

gentle,

be

"Wisdom

entreated,

full

is

may

it

pure, peace-

and

of mercy

fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy;"

" Charity vaunteth not itself, is not easily provoked,

good

thinketh no evil,"
in Christ Jesus,

Let that mind be in you which was

etc.

and you can not but be polite; for such

some form. Nature will

a feeling will find expression in

be at no more
utterance to

loss to
filial

make

it

known than she

or maternal

love

may be

graceful or even oiFensive to ears polite

selected, the heart will

is,

the

mode

acknowledge the language of

and he can readily

by

mode of

expression.

its

this

thoughtfulness and an

observance of good models of gentility

ful

to give

Let a man, however, be endued with

fellow-heart.
feeling,

is

and however un-

acquire

a grace-

"Consider one another;" that

think of your fellows, of their joys, their sorrows,

their hopes, their disappointments, their interests

how you can

ness

think

allay their griefs, or

think

promote their happi-

of your friends, and of w^hat you would do

It may
men may be deemed boorish, at
times, for want of consideration.
Would you learn gentility, observe those who have it.
Be careful of your temper. A glad heart makes a

and say under an exchange of circumstances.

be that the kindest

sweet countenance, and a smiling face

his beauty.

Whatever may be the

is

like the sun in

attraction of a lady's

HINTS TO YOUTH.
intellect, or person, or

333

acquirements, she

Her

she be of a gloomy disposition.

be uneasy in her presence;

Samaritan " may be willing

to

is

repulsive, if

best friends will

and

though some '^good

pour oil upon her wounded

the priest and the Levite will instinctively pass

spirit,

by on the other

side.

We

have generally sorrows enough

of our own, without hearing one another's woes.

of our troubles are imaginary.

Most

Never, therefore, nurse

apprehensions, and you will never be melancholy.

evil

There

no philosophy like the philosophy of the Scrip-

is

tures:

^'Take no thought for the morrow: sufficient unto

the day

is

the evil thereof.'^

with her daily bread of

Were

affliction,

every one satisfied

there would

be but

Keep in good humor with the future

it has never done you harm
why complain of it? Bear
kindly the afflicting dispensations of Providence.
They
little

murmuring.

are

arranged for your good

all

and

and

if cheerfully

piously endured, will be pleasing and profitable exercises

for the heart or
like the earth,

midnight

is

is

mind, or both.

Providence, moreover,

in perpetual revolution,

followed by the dawn.

and

There

is

a heavenly

alchemy which transmutes anguish into rapture.

oppose to Pandora's Box, Paul's paradox
yet always rejoicing. "

darkest

its

I would

''As sorrowful,

David's heart caroled in

sad-

its

and the wildest and sweetest notes of his harp were

ness,

touched by the hand that

should a living

felt

man complain?

the Father's rod.

When

Why

stripped of every

bow down in humble and grateful adoration, and

thank God that you have a body and a soul. And shall
Would a pardoned culprit, trembling
a saint repine?

thing,

beneath the halter, complain because the government did

not send a coach and four to convey
lows

and

murmur

shall a sinner, raised

him from the

from the mouth of

galhell,

because angel wings don't waft him gently to

the throne of

God?

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

334

melancholy mind imparts a gloomy tinge to every

thing around

Eden,

to

No

yet for the

are green

hills

flowery

Though

it.

no steeps

dence there

Endeavor
searches

and

a dark side to every picture.

constantly

trouble

dewy no paths are

moping grief. In Provi-

are

dells

are breezy to

look

to

for

no

a bright

is

nature, to the clear eye, is like

jaundiced one she has no charms.

the

at

He who

latter.

pretty sure to find

is

it

he

who

courts enjoyment sees her not afar.

Always keep

in

good humor

them, and repent and believe

But be

satisfied

know

to

Be

Infinite

satisfied

with your capacities of mind and body.

Wisdom

bear

You read, and

make a wonderful

a shout,

raise

you hope

them with

study,

and

display

you

yourself

that,

you leave the

be

of applause

whispers

will

roll

great man," ''fine

and you promise

every eye

and she, the beand murmurs

ear,

such

speech," "true eloquence."

The

in

your

on

the audience assemble

are open handkerchiefs

The speaker

labors

alas

his figures
down. the peroration

is

to

all

eyes are fixed

rise up to catch the

and smelling-bottles push their corks half open.

ears

tears,

now

perchance,

entranced,

day arrives
all

expect

in-

toward you, and the young ladies will smile,

loved of the orator, will

as

in-

and

write,

court-room,

and become envious of the favorite;

^'

For

and anon you design

lady faint;

the audience to their feet;

will look

meet

well, beware of mor-

to raise

as

will

grace.

and now a laugh, and now,

see

to

very gifts

Sometimes you

stance, you intend to be a speaker

tification.

the

you can best improve.

sees that

with your sphere.

with disappointments

tend to

would

the worst of

the saving of the soul.

Kest assured they are the best for you

which

We

Avith yourself.

not have you blind to your sins, but

stiff

his

mind

flounder
is

his

forgotten.

is

rigid

his tongue

arguments

tumble

The audience

rise in

HINTS TO YOUTH.
and the speaker

confusion,

And now

335

down

sits

in

perspiration.

the ladies smile at one another, the favorite

hides her head, and the young rivals sneer, and the mali" Rather

cious breezes whisper,

flat.^'

Do

Well, young man, hold up your head.

know

audience

not let the

that you have failed, and they will, per-

haps, soon forget the failure, or even change their minds,

and reproach their dullness

for not perceiving

and their shallowness

iancy,

Suppose you have

profundity.

knows

Do

it.

not be troubled

your

and every body

failed,

calm yourself with the

^^He that

consolation of the valorous Falstaff

runs away,

Keep
not

may

fights

world are not

Remember

another day."

live to fight

humor with the world. Mankind are

though an honest man wants bread. The
though a genius has no

fools,

all

Homer sung

that

and wise

we do not

You may

dispute your claims

Cicero or a Webster

understand your powers.

you

Mrs. Sigourney or a

More; but you must give the world a

fair

Moreover, you

be great

may be a
Hannah

opportunity to

may make

world as cross or good-natured as you please.

it,

and

it

will

friendly.

look round for imperfections, saying, here

is

a fop, this

all

be true;

is

a fool

will find fearful

man.

When

good.

none so

and that

is

but why say so?

round for excellences.

He

answer with a smile.

would have friends, must show himself

you

the

If you

roughly, you will be treated roughly in return.

it

Smile at

may

praise.

and Goldsmith

for bread,

wrote in a garret j and who are you?

there

and

in a good

all rascals,

treat

brill-

not appreciating your

for

that

Do

not

a rascal,

and

a bankrupt.

It

is

Cui bono?

Look

If you contend with the world

odds against you.

Speak

evil of

no

others speak evil of a man, do you speak

No man
frail as

And now my

so perfect as not to

have some defects

not to have some fine quality.

pen addresses

itself particularly to the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

336

Be

young gentlemen.

You have

in the good graces of the ladies.

learned already that a mother's love, though

priceless

cheap,

is

trable

shield.

that a

sister's affection is

He

the value of woman's influence.

Whether he be carpenter

No

is

spit

her

at

command

ity

her

fluence,

without the

Needles and

turkeys and
at

her

Her

at her lullaby.

bayonets

tyrants roast on her

will,

smile

and crowds
is

prosper-

G-reat as is her in-

indignation brings trouble.

it is

man

pursuit so low, none so high, as

coursers and candidates run

and cradles hush

know

can not succeed.

a ruined

to be beyond woman's reach.

move

not

or mason, sovereign or shoe-

black, priest or politician, he

favor of the ladies.

an impene-

who does

youth

pity the

no more than she deserves.

The

purest feel-

ings of the heart receive their earliest and noblest devel-

opments in her character.

wife's

The mother's affection, the

who shall paint? In

devotion, the sister's love,

scenes of poverty and suffering she

At

the altar of

God her

is

an angel of mercy.

prayers are the warmest incense,

her songs the sweetest praise.

But how shall woman's influence be secured? The

weak side of a mother's heart is her maternal love. You
may easily procure a welcome to the family if you treat
Notice the
the children with kindness and attention.
griefs,
and
its
blue
rosy
cheek
calm
its
eye
its
babe
enter into its tiny joys.
And who would not? Are you
Then there is no love nor music in
the man, reader?
your soul, and you do not deserve favor.
What creature
Our Savior took little
so beautiful as the infant man?

children in his arms and blessed them.

Make

the best of your country and location.

The

for-

eigner generally brings down a world of prejudices upon

himself by contrasting his native with his adopted coun-

Comparing Washington with London, the While

House with Windsor Castle, Trinity with St. Paul's, he
try.

HINTS TO YOUTH.
disgusts

all

around him.

337

Give him an apple, and he

must speak of the superior orchards of Great Britain, or

a peach,

and he

will boast of

Present him a basket of cherries, and

across the water.

he praises the

the size and flavor of those

large, luscious

English garden cherry, that

He meets with nothing to please

had
no earth or heaven, water or athim as though wc
mosphere, thunder or lightning, worth a farthing. "Were
he to turn his attention and conversation upon our advantgrows by the

wall.

upon the superiority of our forests and mountains,

our seas and rivers, our soil and climate, he would receive
a hearty welcome, and be a popular man.
We have kno'wn a talented and pious clergyman to lose

ages,

all

influence with his people by harping on the evils and

disadvantages of his location, while we have seen his in-

become a universal favorite by pointing out the

beauties and excellences of the surrounding hills.
Beware of bad habits.
"Choose that which is most fit," said Pythagoras,
"and custom will make it most convenient." There are
many bad habits prevalent in our day of which we would
ferior

have you beware.

which we know
it

Gentlemen have

must give ladies

a fashion of sitting

much

uneasiness, since

wears holes both in the carpet and the wall, and often

divorces the seats of chairs from their backs.

and witty friend propelled us

worthy

to the borders of convul-

sions once, at his hospitable table,

when he described

the

predicament, on a particular occasion, of a certain individual, who,

that the

having perhaps read in Thomas Aquinas,

human

intelligence rocked itself on the center

of two horizons, was in the habit of reminding himself

of that sublime truth, by poising his body upon his chair.

On

a visit to President Jefi'erson, being

somewhat embar-

rassed, and not paying due respect to his antero-posterior

motions, he was very painfully assured of the important
QQ

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

338
principle

that bodies corresponding solely to

space, liave both a

liic

and a nunc, so that

if

time and

by gravita-

tion or any other cause they are removed from one place

We

they must go to another.

can think of no excuse for

the habit to which we refer, unless the philosophy be

correct

which teaches that

to attain to true

wisdom

man

must imitate the motion of the stars, so as to produce a

giddiness which frees the mind from "sensible notions,"
and raises it to the region of illumination. In spite of
Tophail, however, the ladies can cure this habit at once

by having castors put under their chairs.

There is a plant which was hailed, at its introduction
into the world, in the middle of the fifteenth century, as
one of the wonders of America, and which, through a
strange coincidence, was

conveyed into the eternal

first

by a descendant of that

city

brought

to

Rome

illustrious

man who

the wood of the true (?) cross.

first

This

plant appears to have a peculiar charm for three animals

a certain

worm, a particular

goat,

and

a creature in the

image of God. It is used in various forms: some grind

it to powder, and offer it to themselves as the heathen
present incense to their idols

others

curl

it

into little

stems which they burn, as the converted pagan does his

god

while a third class

sins, as a

cathedra, against

The
fair

roll

it,

like the sinner does his

We

protest, ex

not uncommon

among the

sweet morsel under the tongue.

its

use in any form.

practice of using snuff-

injures

the voice.

We

guished speakers deprived

have known several

in

no small degree

distin-

of their

charm by this habit. Nor is this the worst. Why did

Pope Urban VIII publish a decree of excommunication
against all who took snuff in the Church?
Though we
grant that this bull was rather severe, we believe, nevertheless, that his Holiness was a very discerning man.

The

practice of

smoMng

causes a waste of time and

HINTS TO YOUTH.
money^ and subjects us

339

inconvenience.

to great

sometimes find company^ even at his own

will

man

fireside, to

whom

the ashes and fumes of tobacco are far from agree-

able.

I speak not

ble,

and

now of such

as are peculiarly suscepti-

liable to ''die of a rose in aromatic pain."

few who have not been accustomed

And what

room without discomfort.

breathe such in-

to

cense as that of the pipe, can endure

Very

long in a close

it

will

you

do, gentle

become the room-mate at college or elsewhose olfactories and lungs are delicate,
or when shut up in a stage-coach or a cabin on a cold
reader, if you

where

of one

show respect?

whom you are bound to

Should you carry this habit into the itin-

erant ministry,

how

day, with nervous companions, to

You

often

will

it

you uneasiness

give

will not, surely, defile the prophets'

chamber, or the

holy altar.

This practice oiFends against what has been called

next thing to godliness.
it as

did

some

King James

I,

We
who

would not declaim against

said

it

to the eye, hateful to the nose,

dangerous

to

''a

custom loath-

harmful to the brain,

the lungs, and in the black stinking fumes

thereof nearest resembling the

of the pit that

lowed

was

is

horrible Stygian

bottomless;" but we

to say that it is

may

smoke

surely be al-

not charming to the senses.

We

have seen ladies smoking young ones, too. 0, tell it

not in Christendom; publish it not in the streets of Cincinnati

was customary among the ancients

It

to eat a quince

for a lass

on her bridal day, that her breath might

altar, and that the odor of her lips

might suggest mellifluous discourse, and spiritual sweetWhat bridegroom would not prefer the odor of the
ness.

be fragrant at the

quince and

its

purifying associations, to the fumes of the

"herb of immortal fame," and dreams of bar-rooms and

blackguards

We

know

it

is

unpopular to write against a favorite

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

340

custom; but then we do not, as did

legislature of

tlie

Kussia in 1634, forbid your smoking, under pain of

having your noses cut

Amurath IV, pronouncing

decree, as did
fense.

We

indeed,

when we

by

a lone

man

see a

a capital of-

in the winter of life sitting

and musing over the

flight of

in his solitude,

happy hours,

which he draws,

not diminish the consolation

from his long white pipe tipped with red

sealing wax; nor would

emblem of

it

write so gently that you can not be oflFended;

fire,

we would

nor do we propose to issue a

off,

we deprive the rude Indian of

his

peace, nor the slave of his socializer, nor the

wandering Arab, or the hardy Esquimaux, of a luxury

which sweetens his

bitter

but we advise the

hours;

young, and such especially as dwell within the precincts

of civilized

life, to

seek for solace of a dififerent kind.

We

have not spoken of the other form of using tobacco; but as that is so disgusting, we will presume none of
our readers are addicted to
of

Mrs.

S.,

who spread

nor need we

it;

tell

the story

out her beautiful white satin

apron before her guests, as they were defiling her new

Brussels carpet, saying,

wash

this,

but not

my

to say that tobacco, in

We

health.

doctors of

it,

do

not,

"Use

carpet."

any form,

this,

gentlemen; I can

Allow
is

us, in conclusion,

ordinarily injurious to

however, wish to deprive the steam

nor speak disparagingly of

its

merits;

it

is

a good emetic.

We

should not have touched upon this plant, but for

the fear that

its

popularity

is

increasing, and that

it

has

a great tendency to produce intemperance

by causing

dryness of the fauces, for which a remedy

is

sought in the

glass.

Avoid the habit of speaking

matical

too often

expressions,

provincialisms, etc.

carelessly,

low phrases,

using ungram-

unauthorized words,

This, you will say,

is

a very small

matter; but if a neglect of such counsel should preclude

HINTS TO YOUTH.
your admission into more refined

341

circles of society, it will

prove to you a matter of some consequence.

may do much toward

station, influential connections,

but vulgarity can counteract them

curing respect;

Wit and

Wealth,

enchanting as they

intelligence,

seall.

can not

are,

atone for those coarse expressions which denote ill-breed-

Many

ing and low conceptions.

connections are wealthy, of high

amiable ladies, whose

wonder why

admitted

which they

to the circles to

standing, and

official

great political influence,

is

it

they are not

Not

aspire.

few

of this class could solve the perplexing problem which

imbitters their existence, if they would pause over the

Pedantry and

hint just given.

to

be avoided as vulgarity.

pression

Words

is

are often corrupted

they pass.

To the pure

qui mal y penseJ'

calls

Hog

pretended delicacy of ex-

things are pure:

is

^^

Honi wit

question the refinement which

Island Swine Island, and dog the "domestic

The language

quadruped which guards the habitation."

of Paris

much

by the channel through which

all

We

are as

of real indelicacy of thought.

a sign

often

aff"ectation

refinement; yet

that of attenuated

Above

vehicle of the grossest moral pollution.

every appearance of profanity.

bad breeding or

It is

bad heart.

a very

Was

it

who

not said of Boyle that

it

the

shun

not the prince

of modern philosophers
Is

all,

is

a sure sign of very

passed a church

it

took off his hat

when he
when he

pronounced the name of Deity he uncovered his head

How
rends
tian

often

is

the

tower

of the persecuted

of the dying

heaven bows, earth shakes,

little

that name which

Chrisman the name
which
trembles used with

the title of Jehovah

mountains

the hope

at

hell

regard as that of a slave

Violate not the

cannon's mouth.

first

How

as

commandment

better kiss the

deep the depravity that can

with the name of the Creator

trifle

For other sins an excuse

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

342

may

be pleaded

any which does not

for there is scarce

This sin can

confer or promise pleasure for a season.

point to no part of our nature, and say to the inquiring

Judge, ^^The passion which thou gavest

me, and I did

the transgressor can plead that he has

pravity, unless

come up from the very dregs of

no other dialect but that of
City, I

even

the

in

hoped.
saw,

heard

it

where there

society,

When

hell.

at

said of one high in office,

presence

of ladies."

He

swears

and

trembled

that religion

also,

woman's

is

Washington
^'

saw that the nation was defying Heaven

stronghold
let it

did tempt

development of sheer de-

It is the

eat.''

me

was not yet driven from her

heart.

To the honor of woman,

be said, that to swear in her presence

the climax

is

of impoliteness.

Be
in

careful of your character.

the world

No youth

without a good reputation.

have genius, and fancy, and wit

charming person

sparkling

who

devoid of integrity,

profound

can succeed

learning

conversation;

will give

hiiu

man may
and

yet,

employment, or

bid him welcome?

We may admire him; but only as
we do a beautiful and dangerous beast. The shepherd
may smile at the tiger bounding through the forest, or
reposing in his den
but he would shudder to see him
among the lambs of his flock. To obtain good character
;

we must have good morals.

I need not say there

Keep

morality like that of the Scriptures.

mandments

they

are of infinitely

is

no

the ten com-

more value than the

morals of Seneca, the precepts of Socrates, or the Lives

of Plutarch.

They

worthy of God.

are radiant with heavenly light, and

He who

observes

elevated post in the moral world.

He

them occupies an
enjoys the appro-

bation of his reason, his conscience, and his heart

commends himself
blessed

of

God.

to

sinner no less than saint

he

he

is

Earth rejoices before him, and joy

HINTS TO YOUTH.
unbidden dances in his heart.
be no just hand in this
according to desert

life to

know

there appears to

distribute good and evil

yet the observation of

justify the remark^ that integrity

manent

343

prosperity.

all

men

will

indispensable to per-

is

Though the immoral man may

suc-

Reason

will

ceed for a time, he shall not prosper long.

weaken him with her reproaches, conscience alarm him

with her terrors, and the divine curse overtake his footsteps.

the commandments, however,

Would you understand

to the Sermon on the Mount.

bring them

of this commentary, we see their

They

fectly,
^^

evil

is

beauty and divinity.

are not confined to the overt act;

Would you keep

sinless motive.

In the light

they require a

commandments

the

per-

you must not have a heart from which proceed

I know there
man as a whited
stone may be rolled

thoughts, murders, adulteries," etc.

an outside morality, which makes a

but

sepulcher;

trust

it

not;

the

away, and the rottenness laid open to the light of heaven.

Would you have

must have

and pure, and

perfect,

a purified heart.

the stream will be pure.

washed of

its

stains

Make

vital morality,

you

the fountain pure, and

But where

shall the heart be

In the fountain of a Savior's blood.

I have no faith in any morality that has not found out

**

Jesus Christ and him

crucified.''

These general observations are sufficient for our purpose; but I can not refrain from some specific directions.

Be

observant of truth.

and crime who

is

Scarce any

man

willing, at all hours, to tell the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

is

the gate of the road to ruin.

learns to

lie,

he

is

who

is

he has learned

called the father of lies.

man

because he

method of concealment.

counterfeits, before

Hence, Satan

Falsehood

If once a young

ready for almost any sin

fancies he has found a

steals,

into vice

falls

Who

to falsify?

^^AU

liars are

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

344
to

have their portion in the lake that hurneth with brim-

An

Btone."

intuitive perception of the guiit of falsehood

makes the appellation ^^iar" exceedingly offensive. Make

no distinction between white and black lies. Beware of
allowing

manner, or countenance,

or

gesticulation,

to

Remember that you may lie without speaking,

that you may lie by exaggerating, or diminishing the
truth; that you may lie even with the truth, by giving it
falsify.

a wrong arrangement.

Be

how you make

cautious

you do not intend

to

promises;

know

fulfill.

make none which

that such directions

are not suited to our times of reckless trading

speculation.

may be
know,

aware, too, that such care and caution

incompatible with

rapid

accumulation;

but I

who pursues such a

and when he gains the

that the steps of one

also,

though

course,

am

and wild

sure;

slow, are

summit, he does not find

crumble beneath him.

it

immense the advantages of

man who, having

How

acquired a

reputation for punctuality, passes his promises as silver!

How
age

him

easy for

Many

to

command

capital or secure patron-

are not aware that the habit of falsifying

steals on insidiously.

We

first

lie

for

amusement, then

for convenience, next to conceal guilt, or gratify malice,

finally,

till,

bor,

we can bear

false witness against our neigh-

without the least compunction.

the smallest beginnings of falsehood.

Beware, then, of

Be guarded

in

speaking of motives or matters of opinion, remembering

that he

who

asserts

any thing as true, assumes the respon-

sibility of ascertaining it to

Consider the

dangerous

be

so.

consequences of

falsehood.

The fortune and character which had been acquired by

a long life of usefulness, has often been blasted by a single

falsehood.

ruin by one

me

soul has not unfrequently been hurled to

lie.

not that lying

Witness Ananias and Sapphira.

is

Tell

essential in your profession or trade.

HINTS TO YOUTH.
It is a libel

falsehood.

There

on divine Providence.

pursuit in which truth

The

is

345
is

no lawful

not far more advantageous than

obligations to speak the truth^ and the

blessings which flow from

it,

do not depend upon the pur-

suits of the speaker, or the rights of the hearer, but our

relations to God.

Truth

is

Learn

lovely in herself.

to

venerate her as the leader of virtue^ the mother of science,

and the attribute of God.

With

view

to facilitate

join a few cautions.

much

as lieth in jou,

Be

an observance of truth, I sub-

slow in

owe no man any thing but

The

wary how you borrow or lend.

ous borrowing

is

love.

As
Be

practice of promiscu-

a great fountain of falsehood

I will not say that

tune.

making promises.

we ought never

and misfor-

The

to lend.

great father of English poetry says, without qualification,

''

Neither a lender nor borrower be;" and, perhaps,

man

were to consider his

own

interest only, this

if a

would

be an unexceptionable precept; for, as the great dramatist

says, "Use doth oft destroy both itself and friend."

But we

are not to look wlely to our

own

interest;

higher authority than Shakspeare informs us that

duty to lend to the poor.

We

it is

are rarely, however,

obligation to borrow; suffer rather than do

so.

and
our

under

Better go

barefoot and bleeding over the ground than run the risk

of losing a friend, blunting conscience, and

self-degradation, by borrowing
tell

me

means

to

buy

about the necessity of borrowing.

possessed of considerable resources can

incurring

shoes.

Don't

Few men

not

do so without

plunging into a whirlpool of engagements from which

it is difficult to get out with a clear character and conscience.

Be

decided, not only in your opinions, but your course

of action.
of

its

Having chosen your path from

rectitude,

suffer

starve, or bleed, or burn,

a conviction

nothing to divert you.

Rather

than act contrary to the convic-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.
amiable

The

judgment.

tions of your

desire

founded with humility and modesty

please

to

in the character of youth,

trait

and

but

it

is

is

an

often con-

is

different

from either, and has been the temporal and eternal ruin
of thousands.

Firmness

the helm of the mind.

is

It can

direct a

Without

feeble intellect across a stormy ocean.

it,

no

force of thought, no depth of feeling, no resources of

learning, no power of eloquence, no clearness of mental

vision,

is

safe

deprived of
wreck.

its

It is

upon the voyage of

life.

Splendid

abilities

guidance, are destined to be but a splendid

an indispensable element in the character

To be virtuous in the midst of wickedness, is to be singular.

He who follows the multitude in
this world must do evil.
The man who passes through
the wide gate, and down the broad way, goes to destrucof the good man.

What would

tion.

One

Daniel have been without firmness?

" Be ye steadfast,
is,

of the precepts of the Gospel

The rock

immovable."

in the midst of the sea, which,

in the stormiest as well as the calmest hour, lifts

erable head above the billows,

the best

is

its

ven-

emblem of the

Christian.

Firmness

is

The former is founded

own opinions; the latter in contempt

not eccentricity.

in regard for one's

for those of others.

Firmness

importance; eccentricity

is

is

singular in matters of

singular at

all

times.

Who

had more firmness than Paul; and yet who, in trivial

matters, was more accommodating ?
Though he everywhere held up the cross, yet, on Mars' hill, he paid
respect to philosophy;

Moses.

In condescension

and, in Jerusalem, he honored

to the

Greek, he refrained from

meat, and, to please the Jew, he circumcised Timothy.

Steadily keeping salvation in view, he was "all things to
all

men."
Firmness

is

not obstinacy.

The former

rests

upon

HINTS TO YOUTH.

347

The former implies intelligence, the other stupidity. The one is a high excellency,
the other a great defect. The one is illustrated in Luther
standing before the Diet of Worms, the other in the mule
reason, tlie latter

upon

will.

standing under the lash uf his master.

Be careful in
may be about to

relation to

Some

your company.

of you

leave the circle of your family, and the

companions and guardians of your youth; but,

as

man

was formed for society, you will soon find other associates.
Beware: extend your confidence slowly; and, while you

how you admit any

treat all with respect, be careful

the endearing relation of friend.

to

If you look over the

history of the past, or the scenes of the present, you will

see two classes of

men

the one advancing to honor and

And

happiness, the other plunging into infamy and ruin.

what accounts

for the difi'erence

acter of their early companions.

The

"Be

respective char-

not deceived

communications corrupt good manners."

Avoid

evil

infidel

You have been born of pious parents, and

The very gambols of your
reared under holy influences.
boyhood have been among the green pastures, and beside
the still waters of the Shepherd of souls.
You have seen,
associates.

upon your native mountains, the beautiful

"that bringeth good tidings

You have
that

that

feet of

Him

publisheth peace."

heard, with infant ears, "the joyful sound"

makes the people

blessed.

moral atmosphere, purified

You have gone up

to the

You have

breathed a

with the dews of the Gospel.

temple

to worship, and,

with

Perhaps,

infant voices, have caroled Jehovah's praise.

reader, you are a Peter called from his net to be a fisher

men

and by your side is a David, invited from the

mountains of Bethlehem to the throne of Israel and here
is one on whom, while looking into heaven, the mantle of
of

an Elijah hath fallen

and there

Hannah, a child of vows and

tears,

is

the son of some

dedicated to

God

in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

348

his temple, by her whose trembling heart said, '^So long

as

he liveth he

Lord/'

shall be lent to the

Here

is

that

Samuel who, when the word of the Lord was precious,

he lay by the ark of God,

as

" Speak, Lord, for thy

said,

servant heareth/'

But you are about to leave the paths of youth and go

down into the wilderness. Beware I am not afraid that
I

you

seek companions in the bar-rooms, and in the

will

corners of the streets.

of those cruel scorners

You shudder at the blasphemies

who can hurl down, with malig-

nant pleasure, the poor souls

whom

they allure

to the

dark

mountains of unbelief, and look with mad indifference

upon the eternal ruin of the victims whom they betray to
the hands of Satan.

You

will not listen, while the Bible,

and the blood which speaketh mercy, and the temple,

which lifts its vail from the counsels of the eternal Mind,
are reviled.
refined

But you should remember that there is a

You will meet with young men of

infidelity.

engaging manners, cultivated minds, and elegant attainments, whose thoughts and feelings are tinctured with
skepticism.

These men know how

to insnare you.

Prais-

ing the poetry of Isaiah, the morality of the Gospel, and

the character of Jesus, they will treat your religion with
respect,

and go

to the

house of God in your company.

But, at the same time, they will give you to understand

that they see excellences in the
as well as the

Bible;

Koran and the Talmud,

that they venerate the son of So-

phroniscus as well as the Son of Mary, and that they

have a similar regard for the Arabian kneeling

tomb of the prophet,

or the

Brahmin

at

the

pjostrate at the feet

of his idol, that they entertain for you at the supper of

the Lord.

Descanting upon the prejudices of early edu-

cation, and the power of custom, and sneering at enthusiasm and superstition in all their forms, they will ingen-

iously turn the contempt they arouse against these, her

HINTS TO YOUTH.
concomitants^ upon the

accidental

While they

they deform.

holy religion which

raise a cloud before your eyes,

which hides God from your view, they

doubting heart, robbing

hope in his mercy,

it

of

will steal into

your

faith in God's word, all

all

and leaving you

traces of his love;

all

349

and misery, without any support

any consolation for your woe, or any hope

in a world of wickedness
for your virtue,

in a better world

and

your career?
shall

Alas

in

what may we expect

what manner

will

it

help you on your dying pillow, when

the grave

rise,

and the curtains of despair

wake

furies of remorse

the lost soul

Shun the most splendid

may we never
society if

No accomplishment

ency.

so

it

Who

close?

the terrors of
fall,

up, and hell opens its

0, Jesus,

be

will

and the

mouth

for

leave thy cross

be of infidel tend-

elegant,

no learning so

profound, no honor so resplendent, as to compensate the

child of

God

for the least seed of

doubt that skepticism

can plant in his heart.

Avoid the company of the gay or dissolute. Far be it

from me to recommend austerity or gloom. There is
nothing in my philosophy or my feelings which would rob
youth of one of its rational pleasures. There is useful
mirth as well as salutary woe.

down

sit

to

life's

with gratitude.
sensual

And

it

feast with pleasure,

But

the pleasures

let

of

becomes us
and

rise

all to

from

it

your pleasures be rationalj not

man, not those of the

brute.

Let

the feast be the feast of reason, and the wine the flow of
soul.

As

Immortal mind should need no material stimulant.

iron sharpeneth iron, so the face of

man

his friend.

While mind struggles with mind, and heart bounds

while thought leaps out thought, and joy dances

joy while mutual sympathy hightens mutual rapture

heart
to

to

to

there are hights and depths of pleasure never

known

to the cockpit, the race-course, or the ball-room.

Although the habits of the age are temperate, yet there

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

350

are a thousand avenues to the drunkard's grave.

steamboat and on the

who

there are those

On

the city and in the

street, in

the

field;

Hundreds

"lie in wait to destroy."

are ready to lead you to the card-table, and from the cardtable to the wine-cup, and thence to the scenes of alluring

where pleasure decks her bowers, and spreads her

bed of poppies, and, in the words of the poet, "weaves
vice,

the winding-sheet of souls; and lays them in the urn of

everlasting death."

Be

mind.

careful of your

clear evidence that the

the feet w^ere

made

Inform

There

it.

mind was made

to learn as that

All nature

to walk.

as

is

is

hung with

leaves of instruction, and a flood of light spreads over

them

to

make

The Bible

their lessons luminous.

book from heaven, ample

revelations, clear

in

its

and copious

is

evidence, sublime in

in its instructions,

precepts, rich and precious in

its

pure in

Above
which beams upon the humble
These three sources of knowledge are exhaustless
soul.
and pure. Commune much, then, with nature, with revits

all,

there

is

Beware of other sources of knowlGranted, that ho7i/

both men and books.

and with God.

edge.

We

fear

are good counselors, religious

dom.

promises.

a divine light

elation,

men

its

Try both by the divine

not according to

this,

there

is

books helps

to wis-

If they speak

oracles.

no light in them.

Books

of history, of geography, and of true science, are but

transcripts of Providence and nature.

not be fearful; but works of

pected.

The memory

forms traced upon

is

it will

human

Of

these

we need

genius are to be sus-

an immortal

canvas,

and the

probably be enduring as God.

Beware whose brush you suffer to approach it. Thought

may be buried, but the hour cometh when it shall have a
resurrection, and be hung up in eternal light to the gaze
of men and angels.
Moreover, there is a Mind so pure
that the heavens are not clean in his sight

so transcend-

HINTS TO YOUTH.

351

ent that he charges his angels with folly; and that

Let us beware whose ink-

searcheth hourly the heart.

horn we

down

let

Though an
amusement,

Who

hour of

into the bosom.

may

it

trial,

ceived in the days of

from the

pit, to

there cometh

give

moment's

afterward cost unspeakable anguish.

the torment of that

painful

its

may

impure thought

shall tell

mind

its

haunt

it

when, in the

spirit,

the infidel doubt which

it

re-

wickedness, rises like a

lost spirit

through the darkness?

Novelist,

an hour when death

shall

seize.

Then

every stanza of Zion, and every verse of the Bible, will

be an angel to thy

But, alas! the impure thoughts

soul.

of Shakspeare, and Byron, and Butler,

like

sioned,

horrid

specters,

to

drive

may be commisyou away from

hopes of mercy, and promises of Grod, into the very

rors of hell.

you give

and

In that sad

round thy dying pillow?

sin that hover

ation,

fair

appropriate.

charged
tersign.

Let

and

all

you learn be subjected

to

examin-

Bead, then meditate, understand,

sentinel at the door of the mind,

full.

Keep

admit no stranger who does not give the counWhen any important fact comes into your

to

presence, survey
origin, its uses,
ject.

of despair, what would

drive away the ghosts of impurity

for a rod to

Consider.

moment

ter-

He who

it

carefully

and how

inquire into

make

to

it

its

nature, its

bear upon your ob-

perpetually reads, but never inquires,

like a stranger in the

midst of a mob

friend from foe, nor which

way

he

ie

knows not

to flee to escape danger.

In the economy of God, high achievement issues only

from commanding mind; commanding intellect can only
be brought forth by painful mental

mind.

Magnificent are

its

travail.

Control the

powers immortal;

glorious

the improvement, or terrible the havoc, which they must

make

high and luminous the elevation,

or dark and profound the abyss which must follow its
in the universe

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

362

You

labors, according as they are well or ill-regulated.

command

can do mucli to acquire

of your powers, by long

The reason can be

and laborious exertion.

patient, powerful, consecutive thought

a will,

which to the soul

To

universe.

not without

God

to the

think, in this world of sights and sounds,

and fragrance and sweets

and duties

but

the voice of

as

is

trained to

no easy

is

of fancies

and

follies,

cares

Ulysses, as he passed the

task.

rock of the Siren, stuffed the ears of his companions with

wax, and lashed his own

body

would escape the rocks of

the mast.

to

folly, as

he

He who

deep seas of

sails

thought, must learn to shut the gates of the senses, and

The imagination

bind his intellect with strong cords.

is

of incalculable value, but

control.

it

needs

be under stern

to

It is a beautiful world of dreams, in

may advantageously
castles, communing with

soul

in its bowers,

luxuriate
its

and returning

dancing

which the

through

its

heroes, imparadising itself

to the

real

world with the

motion, the beauty, the fragrance, and the song of an

angel fresh from the scenes of light.

But we must be

careful not to tarry too long in our visits to those enchant-

ing regions

not

to forget that

our proper sphere

maintain a proper

may

at

is

we

are visitors there, that

the world of matter

command

let

us always

of the ivory gate, so that

we

once and always have free egress to the upper

air.

The

passions are a vast deep;

should oft be moved.

good this deep

Let the east wind, and the north,
it

is

and the south, and the west, bursting from their caves,
together meet upon its waters; let the waves rise and the
sands be thrown up, and the spray sprinkle the stars, and
heaven and earth be commingled; but take care that
there shall always be a Neptune within the soul, to raise
his calm head above the billows, and driving the struggling winds

to

their strong prisons,

and calming the

HINTS TO YOUTH.
troubled waters,

make

retreat to his ocean

a tranquil

353

surface on wliicli to

home.

I tremble, reader, to think that you are plunged into

the depths of the universe, with an immortal soul, responsible

to

holy and

God.

infinite

prayer ascend, that the Holy Spirit

Let constant

may never '^eave

you alone."

What

Finally, save your soul.

for its loss

Who,

is

wrath in Jehovah

sinner be consigned?
ness, sanctification,

own heart in the light

There is mercy and
guilty?
to which of them shall the

that reads his

of God's law, does not feel

there

gain can compensate

Jesus Christ

is

and redemption.

to his cross

30

wisdom, righteous-

Up, dying sinner,

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

354

THE dedication of your college to

an occasion worthy
monies, and

to the call

spond
ful

am

to

purpose,

deemed

is

be marked by appropriate cere-

called on to bear a part in them.

I re-

Your

beauti-

with no ordinary pleasure.

and thriving village

many

its

is

associated in

my memory

with

pleasant recollections; your elevated location, your

charming prospects, and your healthful breezes, have

often suggested to

Your commercial

me

the idea of a literary institution.

enterprise, your political ambition,

and

your perseverance in carrying forward those public im-

provements by which, though an inland town, you have

secured

all

the advantages of two navigable streams, have

begotten the conviction that such an institution would be

safe

and prosperous

The Church

to

in your hands.

which we belong

settlement of the place, found a

among

you, and your streets

has,

home and

have become

with her members, being consecrated

Christie and Bigelow,

The
tion

from the

to

earliest

welcome

classic soil

the labors of

whom you have honored as apostles.

me a special personal obligaMansfield; for she has given me

occasion suggests to

which I owe

what no other

to

village has

a faithful wife.

It is not in-

appropriate, therefore, that I should contribute

toward

your entertainment while

we

my

consecrate

temple of science to the yoiing ladies of Mansfield.

although

it is

open

to all,

mite
this

For,

and although we may hope that

^-i* Delivered at the opening of Mansfield

Female

College.

FEMALE EDUCATION.
in the lapse of time

may

it

855

the daughters of

educate

other villages, other counties, other states, yet for the

it must be chiefly employed.
It will
money to transport young ladies hither, and
provide for them comfortably, to nurse them in sickness,
and convey them home as occasion may require; so that,

benefit of Mansfield

require some

practically, these halls will

be accessible to such distant

patrons only as are somewhat favored by fortune.

accessible to

must feed and clothe

do this while she
is

playing the

nothing

The

your own daughters.

all

is

the

in

daughter's

that

There

streets.

less

fee,

cheap scholarships, that fee

sell

even than the tuition of the district school.

College, therefore,

must

of your female youth

raise the intellectual

as the

young

the

and
will

if

be

Your

character

young gentlemen, by a
generally ascend as high

and, as the

sort of capillary attraction, will

your society.

to

is

and

footsteps

highest forms of the college but the tuition

the institution

more

requires no

it

man

poorest

attending the college than while she

tambourine

between

and

his child,

It is

ladies, it

must

raise the

whole platform of

This elevation will soon display

itself in

your buildings, your gardens, your employments, and your

amusements.
that will
attention,

But the

be cultivated here

and the

In this consideration

especially rejoice;

for better

be ignorant

taste are not all

the morals will receive due

and the religious emotions

and sustained.
daughters

intellect

be awakened

will
all

men

will

that

our

good

infinitely better

drudges,

dying piecemeal over

the wash-tub, than Cleopatras, dazzling the palace with

Anthonys by their
And yet there may be men, and women too,
wickedness.
in this community, who look with jealousy upon this instiSome of them may dislike
tution because it is religious.
their beauty and wit, and cursing

it

its

because of their infidelity; others because of their big-

otry.

Let both consider that some religion

is

indispens-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

356

able to the institution;

for

without

An

be educated nor governed.

suaded

to

send his daughters

atheist can not be per-

an atheistic, or even

to

men

indeed, irreligious

del school;

youth can neither

it,

are very careful

infi-

how

they speak on religious subjects to their own daughters.

Whatever they may say to the daughters of others, few

among them would not say to a beloved child, struggling
in death, what that infidel, Colonel Allen, of Revolutionary
memory, said to his daughter under such circumstances,
when she asked him the question, ^^ Father, shall I
adopt your faith, or the faith of my mother ?" " The faith
of your mother,

my

Seminaries of learning with-

child. '^

out religion, have 'been tried under the most favorable

auspices^ and have proved failures.
instruction,
it

If you have religious

you must have religious teachers.

would be next

the influence of strong religious principle,

the

requisite

Indeed,

to impossible to find persons not

talents,

have the willingness

who

under

possess

knowledge, and experience,

to serve in professors' chairs for

poor remuneration which colleges can

afi'ord.

and
the

These per-

sons must belong either to the same denomination or difIf to difi"erent, one of two results will be

ferent ones.

likely to follow

either no strong

pressions will be

made on

moral or religious im-

the minds of the pupils, or

there will sooner or later be either a change in the policy, or a

let

rent at the foundation of the institution;

any teacher be active and earnest

for,

in seeking the spir-

and he will naturally draw

them with him to his own Church. He will thus awaken
among his associates of different faith the suspicion of
proselytism; then will come rumors, evil surmisings, backitual welfare of his students,

bitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults, perverse disput-

ings of
tion.

men

of corrupt minds

The Church

in the injury.

finally,

explosions, dissolu-

will share in the strife,

This ought not so

to be;

but

and share,

human

too,

nature,

FEMALE EDUCATION.
though

human

sanctified, is still

take for instructors

catholic spirit.

men

Very

they might give

357
But, you say,

nature.

of strong sense, deep piety, and

well

definite

perhaps

religious

if

such stood alone,

knowledge

their

to

pupils without suspecting or checking each other;

they can not stand alone

they must

more

feel

but

or less the

influence of their respective Churches, for they are ex-

pected to represent them, and would be considered treach-

One

erous if they did not.

"All of the Bible that

cries,

we need inculcate in the school,

is

cardinal doctrines, and in these

are agreed.

professors stand

be no

all

moral precepts and

Let, then,

upon this broad platform, and there will

But we must observe that it is not

difficulty.'^

possible to disconnect the essential from the incidental,

nor to dissociate the instruction from the instructor.

"I could put

up,'' cries one,

but not a sectarian one."

as

any man

it is

much

Sectarianism I abhor as

I wish

it

for it in the Scriptures.

the law and the Gospel.

I would

religious college,

a brainless, heartless monster, begotten

of ignorance and pride.

ground

"with a

There

were dead.
It is at

is

no

war with both

If I were to preach against

make the whole New Testament my

text.

it,

It can

not live in the presence of Jesus, whose spirit and con-

and prayers, whose law of love and

speak, through and through, of uni-

duct, whose parables

death of agony,

all

and impartial benevolence. But we must distinguish between a sectarian and a merely denominational
The one is set up merely to promote the
institution.
versal

.interest of the

sect,

and

it

shuts out

all

who

are not of

that sect, or will not submit to the machinery judged

make them so. The other is set up

all who choose to avail themselves of

necessary to

for the

benefit of

it,

and

without requiring a conformity to any thing more than

reasonable regulations for their education and govern-

ment.

It is instituted

by a particular denomination as

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

358

It demonstrates her willing-

a matter of convenience.

ness to do her share in the great work of Christian edu-

Churches to do likewise. In
this way, the energies of the whole Church can be best
brought out and applied, and her children can be com-

and provokes

cation,

sister

mitted to their educators with the greatest confidence.

The

fact that a

seminary

is

under the sanction and con-

of a certain respectable ecclesiastical body, gives the

trol

assurance that

be well managed and sustained, and

it will

thus attracts to

it

a patronage,

and secures

to it a

nence which no college controlledby a merely

local

perma-

corpora-

however excellent, could command.

tion,

Instead of promoting sectarianism,

it

diminishes

it,

by

securing unanimity, and harmony, and mutual confidence

and the board of

alike in the board of trustees

It precludes those theological discussions

ors.

sectarianism

is

developed and made strong.

instruct-

by which

It also dis-

courages proselytism.

This College needs the patronage

denominations.

It will seek the good-will of all;

of

all

it will

awaken

not, therefore, strive to

children that

may be

confided to

in the
care,

its

against the religion of their parents.

will

put

it

under bonds not

becomes independent,
licity

for,

unless

it

it

will still

possess

do

to

minds of the
any prejudice

own interest
Even when it

Its

so.

have a motive

to catho-

catholic spirit, its useful-

ness must be limited within the narrow bounds of the

Church

to

which

it

belongs.

Indeed, our schools and

colleges are the great centers of catholic feeling.

more our acquaintance extends the

become; in proportion as our minds

less

The

our prejudices

are enlightened, our

hearts enlarged, and our obligations to others increased,

we

learn to respect their opinions.

polemic
satire,

if

feel as

and

he arose

How would

an enraged

to ply his artillery of wit,

raillery against the

Church of

an aged instructor who belonged

to that

and

his antagonist,

Church should

PEMALE EDUCATION.

and remind him that he owes his very capacity

point with skill and grace his enginery of indignation

come
to

359

in

and ridicule

own

his

faithful

very Church
and his introduction within

beneficence of that

the

to

against which he directs

it,

prayers and admonitions of one of the

to the

watchmen whose

walls he would fain demolish

Moreover, more can be done with the same means when

Churches operate separately, than when they combine.

Compare those managed by the state with those controlled

Harvard with Yale, Oxford with Oberlin,

by the Church

As

etc.

moral

the

to

influence,

incomparably

is

it

greater under the latter than under the former regimen.

name a state institution in the west that had in its

faculty, among others, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, and
an infidel. At every opportunity the infidel adroitly manI can

and the Arminian engaged on

the question of predestination, and then he sat still, in
raptures, bestirring himself only to goad on the antagaged

to get the Calvinist

onists

whenever the

from week

week among the

to

What was

battle relaxed.

students,

may

going on

well be con-

jectured.

And

this

reminds

College because

accustomed
works of

me
is

True,

we

who may

of a class

not religious

stigmatize

to

pagan one.

it

They

the college curriculum

shall

pagan authors

object to this

enough.

among the

find

they

are

the

are

as a

text-books

elect,

however,

chosen with reference to their moral sentiments no

less

than their intellectual treasures and linguistic purity,

such

as

Cicero,

Horace, Tacitus,

Homer, Herodotus,
jEsculus, Euripides, and Plato; and such
Xenophon,

Virgil,

portions only of these are taken as are least exceptionable

Christian

mind, such

poems

bearing

upon common

ings,

natural

to

of these as

objects,
is

etc.

as

orations,

and

topics, providential deal-

and

necessary to

histories,

give

only such
a

correct

an

amount

knowledge

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

360

of those languages in whicli the Grospel was written, and

the

commentaries of the early Christian fathers

Moreover, most of our text-books have

Next we

gations and caveats.

We

and mixed.

than as Christian

cast.

necessary expur-

all

find the mathematics,

pure

can no more set these down as pagan

for,

although pagans

may have taught

them, they taught them not as pagans, but as rational

Christians

beings.

teach them,

Newton, yea, more, God;

geometrizes

by

for

too

Kepler,

Gralileo,

Plato well

as

mathematics he

God

said,

sets the tabernacle for

the sun, and stretches his line above the heavens.

This,

perhaps, you think does not bear directly upon devotional

feeling,

but

it

does upon both Christian character and

Christian usefulness, by preparing the

And

serve the Creator.

here

the great object of education

let

it

mind

to adore

and

be observed, that

not to impart knowledge,

is

Though we may
militaryengineering, we may find it

but to develop, train, strengthen mind.

never engage in

civil or

well to trace the works of the Almighty;

we

shall never find amiss, either in the

and, moreover,

Church militant

or triumphant, those habits of close attention, of philo-

sophical association, of long and patient intellectual labor,

which mathematical studies

Next come the

Are these pagan?

natural sciences.
tian too?

cultivate.

studies in the divine

Are they not Chrismuseum; meditations in

God's great gallery of arts; symphonies in his living temple!

But look again

at the

laws of reasoning

scheme of studies: you

logic

the

laws of style

find the

rhetoric

the history of the world, the geography of the earth, the

philosophy of the

human mind,

the

map

of

human

opin-

ions, the literature of all ages, the evidences of the Chris-

tian faith, the science of morals, the analogy of religion

above

all,

the Gospel of our Lord and the epistles of his

apostles in the original tongues,

the course.

which run

all

through

FEMALE EDUCATION.
among

If

361

I find such commanding

works as Paley's Theology, Wajland's Moral Science,
Gleig's History of the Bible, Paley's Evidences, Philosophy
tlie

text-books

Omnium Butler's Analogy, and

they are thoroughly taught, while the New

of Salvation, and Instar

if I learn that

Testament

is

reverentially and critically

and prayerfully
morning to morning,
with a running commentary, and enforced by

studied, and the whole Bible, from

read in course,

argument and exhortation from Sabbath to Sabbath, and

by a pure example from day to day upon the pupils, and
that the whole apparatus of instruction reposes upon pillars of prayer, I

can not see

how such

pupils can be oth-

erwise than Christians, theoretically and practically,

retain their

Do

own

and

self-respect.

thus educated will be likely

man can be educated into

God but that persons
to seek the grace of God

that seeking they will find

it,

not suppose that I think

Christianity without the grace of

become enlightened,

settled,

and finding

active,

it

they will

discreet Christians.

God has

signally owned such instruction by granting

numerous and extensive revivals of religion in colleges,
and particularly in these latter days, and also by selecting

the fruits of these revivals, both to spread the savor of

his

name

in

distant

nations,

places of influence in the

But

and

Church

at

to

occupy the chief

home.

there are men among us

who, although they can see the propriety of colleges for
young men, see no necessity for such institutions for the

other

Latin

this is a female college

sex.
?

"What,''

say they,

"do

ladies

want

of

What do
What do they

they are not to be lawyers or doctors.

they want of Greek? they do not preach.

want of mathematics ? they are not going

to

survey

command steamships. Such persons should be

reminded that women have minds; that minds should be

lands or

educated; that mathematics and languages are not the

31

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

362

ends but the means of education

the

instruments for

training the intellect to strong thought, and the tongue

to clear,

much

We

and copious, and graceful utterance.

of woman's rights.

I plead for

them

hear

to-day.

claim that in the college they shall be equal to those of

men, because her capacities are equal. Physically she

is inferior.
There are structural diiFerences which mark
the

predestined

superiority

of

man

in

mere

bodily

strength; he has a broader chest, a more powerful pair

of lungs, a larger, firmer, muscular system.

It

is

not

mere fashion which gives the severer duty to the right

arm it is better supplied with blood than the left ; so
it is not mere accident that, as a general rule, both in
savage and civilized life, assigns the ruder and more
;

laborious duties to man.

that man, not

woman,

It is

an ordinance of nature

shall wield the ax, scale the hights,

and measure the depths, sail the seas, and

But is woman intellectualli/ equal

foundations.

lay
to

new

man ?

Women

have ranked side by side with

name.

Sappho, "violet-crowned, pure, sweetly-smiling

men

of proudest

Sappho," for grace and elegance, for genius and

vation,

culti-

had no superior in her age; she was regarded by

her countrymen as a supernal being, and dignified with

the

title

of the "tenth muse.''

Even

Solon, on hearing

one of her poems, said that he could not die

learned

it

by heart.

Corinna,

till

he had

of Thebes, in five suc-

But time
would fail to tell of the Marys, and Catharines, and
Elizabeths, and Lady Greys, and Lady Lumleys, and
countesses, and duchesses, and madames, and misses who
wrote Latin and Greek, and spoke Italian, and French,
and Spanish, and rivaled poets, and excelled statesmen,
and uttered oracles, and mastered mathematics, and
cessive contests bore the

palm from Pindar.

studied theology, and received doctorates, and subdued

kingdoms, and swayed scepters, and alarmed warriors,

FEMALE EDUCATION.

363

Such cases, unless they are exceptions to a general rule, show that woman is intellectually
They are indeed striking instances;
the peer of man.
but let the advantages enjoyed by Elizabeth Carter or
Madame Dacier be possessed by all, and examples of
female greatness equally illustrious would become freand routed armies.

quent.

Still it

may be

said that the world has produced

up side by side with Bacon or Newton

in philosophy; with Aristotle or Locke in logic; with
Homer, or Shakspeare, or Milton in poetry ; with Hanno woman

to stand

nibal, or Caesar, or

To

Napoleon in arms.

this

it

may be

has had a poor opportunity thus to disBut how came she to have so poor
tinguish herself.
a chance, if she be the equal of man? why not, in the
replied,

woman

course of ages, assert and prove her equality, and

her lord her equal at least, if not her subject?

answer, though woman's intellect

power,

it

is

different in kind

is

in

make

We

equal to man's in

memory, perception,

man; in abstraction
and ratiocination perhaps she is. Though she surpasses
man in some mental efforts, she can not match him in

imagination,

mere

woman

analytical

is

not inferior to

power or sublime conception.

Her

best

productions, like Cleopatra's needle, are of fine material,

graceful form, beautiful proportions, and full of meaning.

Man's noblest works are like the pyramids of Egypt,

amazing by their breadth and solidity.
However this may be, she is certainly superior to man
intense, and her
in sensibility; her emotions are more
Only a woman,
affections more lively and persistent.
sons were slain, could have kept her bed of
harvest
sackcloth on the rocks from the beginning of
corpses out of heaven, that
till water dropped upon the

when her

resting on
she might prevent the birds of the air from
them by day and beasts of the field by night. None but

a mother could day

by day carry her dead child through

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

364
tlie

frozen woods, and

cradle
slept,

of bark

night after night

suspend his

upon the branches beneath which she

fix upon a spot in which to bury

and no where

him.

Woman

is

superior to

more sweet and tender;

man

in

her songs are

taste;

her epistles more bright and

sparkling; her delineations of character more accurate,

and her descriptions of nature more

like an unruffled sea, reflects the

things around and above

Her mind,

perfect.

forms and hues of

all

it.

Chiefly does her moral sensibility evince superior deli-

cacy;

her views of right are generally more vivid and

her moral impulses more powerful.

Pity,

and compassion are among her marked

gentleness,

characteristics.

The stranger who is driven from the abode of the savage

by man, may hope to find mercy from woman. It is
woman that, in her pity, can administer relief to the
bleeding or dying invader of her country at the risk and

even at the cost of

life

and who,

ing or of death, like unto a wife, a

These

difi"erences

As Tennyson

at the

couch of

sister, or

a mother?

between the sexes are wisely ordered.

prettily expresses

it,

woman is not undevelop'd man,

But diverse could we make her as the man,
Sweet love were slain, whose dearest bond is this
Not like to like, but like in difference
Yet in the long years liker must they grow

" For

The mail be more

He

of

woman, she

of

man

gain in sweetness and in moral hight,

Nor

loose the wrestling thews that throw the world ;

She mental breadth, nor

More

fail in

childward care

as the double-natured poet, each

Till at the last she set herself to

man

Like perfect music unto noble words

And

so these twain,

Sit side

by

side, full

upon the

skirts of time,

summed

in all their powers,

Dispensing harvest, sowing the To be,

Still

sufi"er-

reverent and reverencing each.

FEMALE EDUCATION.

365

Distinct in individualities,
like each other, ev'n as those who love
Then comes the statelier Eden back to men
Then reign the world's great bi-idals, chaste and calm
Then springs the crowning race of human kind."

But

But
fabled

we say tliat woman is tlie inferior? It

that among the heavenly hierarchy the seraphim
sball

angels of love

rank higher

Surely

of light.

woman

is

than the cherubim

is

angels

worthy of an education as

good, both in kind and degree, as man's.

This

may be

proved as well from her functions as her nature.

She
cares,

is

perplexed by responsibilities, fatigued with busi-

needs at the evening

ness,

Man, oppressed by

the companion of man.

conversation; there
invigorating.

But

fireside the relief of agreeable

no opiate so soothing, no tonic so

is

this relief

he can not find unless his

she must be able to

wife be as intelligent as himself;

understand his words and allusions, to be interested with

his studies, to be pleased with his amusements, to appreciate his reflections,

and respond

to

his appeals;

change with him thoughts, sentiments, images,

to ex-

joys.

If there be an intellectual chasm between them, woe to

both

may understand each

other's obligations and

them; but all in vain; the wife will
prefer the companionship of menials to that of her husband, and will generally make an excuse to be in the
!

they

struggle to

fulfill

kitchen or the nursery

when he

is

in the parlor;

or,

if

she endure his presence, will leave him to his reflections

and relapse

into her

own

now and then relieving the

lence by a smile that renders her vacancy visible.

si-

Under

such circumstances, what wonder if the husband, especially

if

he be not under strong moral

company

at the

restraint,

should seek

cofi'ee-house, the theater, the

or the billiard-saloon

assembly,

and, instead of pursuing a safe

voyage over the ocean of

life,

should drown his bark in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

366

the lake of intemperancej and wreck his fortunes forever

This

the secret history of most of the children of

is

The women

genius.

are not

to

blame

society

is

to

blame for not educating them upon the same platform

Marriage under such circumstances is but
with men.
half marriage
it is a mere civil bond; whereas it should

be also a spiritual one, one that death can hardly sever,

that heaven

may

Hard indeed

is it,

up

struggle

to the

scarcely possible,

reunite,

under the most favorable auspices,

me

tell

to

high places of the earth; doubly hard,

when

man's wife does not appreciate his

merits, second his efforts,

may

and that eternity may mature.

You

and encourage his heart.

that there are but few intellectual men, and

may educate their wives to suit themAlas! let no man try the experiment; it is
for a man to educate himself
he has command

that such as are.

selves.

possible

After his

of his time.
his book; if

may

over he can retire with

is

he be a carpenter, he can read by the light

of his shavings;

lamp

toil

if a

merchant, by the glimmer of his

by the light of the moon.

if a poet,

The

soldier

study in his barrack; the shoemaker, over his lap-

hammock. But when or where

study? The kitchen, the laundry, the

stone; the sailor, in his

is

poor

woman

to

dining-room, the chamber, the nursery, and the parlor

divide her time, and

make

their indispensable calls with

the regularity of the sun; and

where

is

the leisure hour?

when

There

these calls are met,

is

no silence which

the cry of the infant for the fountain of the breast or

the cry of the sick-bed for the refreshing draught

not disturb;

there

the mother's neck

that they

may

is

may not dash

not tear.

aphysics to her,

it is

may

no light which tiny hands about

out or obscure, no book

Talk not of mathematics or met-

too late

the

father

may

rush from

the annoyance of his children, and almost forget the prattle

and the

cries of the cradle, but the

mother may

not.

FEMALE EDUCATION.
Woman
man.

often by necessity the

is

representative

of

It is implied in the contract of marriage, that if

either party

is

the other

bound

of

367

the

is

incapacitated to

failing

assumed obligation,

fulfill

to supply, as far as possible,

If

partner.

the

wife

the place

be

bedridden,

husband must see that the household shall not

suffer; if the husband grow blind, or deaf, or dethe

mented,

the duty of the wife to see that his business

it is

be not neglected, but that his family shall receive support

or, if

he be laid in the grave, that his estate shall

be well managed.

If the wife be well educated, she will

under such circumstances; she

have lived with her husband on such terms of intimacy and confidence that she will know the arts of his

find but little difficulty

will

business, the state of his accounts, the

contracts,

bring his

and the extent of his

and

nature

man

energy and

skill.

How often

of his

be able to

will

affairs to a successful termination, or

his business with

that a

plans,

prosecute
it

happens

of great enterprise and wealth leaves at death

an estate which, when closed, proves bankrupt, because

an incompetent, uninterested party becomes his executor

We

say,

as

up

his

close
aire.

we look on, if the deceased had lived to

own business, he might have been a million-

Few men have

and complicated
fewer

still

the ability to settle

estate,

fewer

still

an extensive

have the time, and

can feel the necessary interest in

intelligent wife,

who

the great operator,

breathed his
agencies, and

spirit,

who

for life

was the familiar friend of

who had comprehended

and

But an

it.

become

his

plans,

conversant with

feels that her fortune

his

and that of her

children depends upon her success, would

be

able

to

own aggrandizement and the

advantage of community. I am not among those who
close the business to her

would place woman side by side with man in the field

and the forest, the store and the market. Nature, in the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

368

unguided children, points out characterthe boy mounts his

differences of occupation
istic
charger, and shoulders his gun, and builds his little
city, and goes abroad to the banks of the stream, and
sports of even

comes home, perchance, with a bloody nose; the girl

lays a doll in her lap, and sings her lullaby, and spreads
her little table with broken china, and soothes the angry

and dresses the bleeding wound of her brother.

As she grows up nature assigns to her duties, and cares,
and modes of suifering which are peculiar and untransferable; and the character of these duties and afflictions and
passions,

anxieties forbids that she should ordinarily labor side

side with

man

theaters of

in the sterner duties

and the more exposed

But we would not have her

life.

by

cripple her

lungs or lose the rose from her cheek; rather would we

have her develop

all

her power of muscle, and, above

all,

her power of mind, and be ready, when Providence creates

an emergency,

to step into

her absent husband's footsteps

even when high energy, and power, and reasoning are

demanded. Nature anticipates such an emergency; for in
timid, retiring, there seems te be an un-

woman, weak,

suspected reserve
call forth.

spirit,

more

quence, and
to

of strength which an exigency can

In hours of extremity she has a more protean

plastic

temperament, a more subtile

elo-

a greater power of adaj)ting her operations

She

any required scale than man.

has,

more violent power of

said to her son,

reaction.

It

all

her energies a

was a mother who

when she handed him

that back or be brought back upon

tem-

both physical

porarily, a greater capacity of cd durance,

and moral, an intenser passion, and in

too,

it."

his shield,
It

^'

Bring

was a mother

who, in the days of the Maccabees, exhorted her children

one by one

to

martyrdom.

rushed like a fury into

moved through the

foes

It

battle,

was Joan of Arc who

and the Amazons who

with the fierceness and power of

FEMALE EDUCATION.

369

Put a family in the wilderness, and let

the savages assail them; the mother may scream and perthe wtirlwind.

haps

the father shoulders his

faint, as

to

rifle

defend his

cahin; but let that father be slain and scalped, and there
will

She has ceased

be another defender.

has recovered her pulse, she has put

now she

off

to scream, she

the woman, and

seizes the nearest weapon, and, standing before

her cradle, she battles with a coolness, a courage, and a

fierceness, to

Under

all

woman

see

which man

a stranger.

is

ordinary circumstances, we are disgusted to

exhibit a masculine spirit, or usurp masculine

when

duties, but

race-course

is

demands them of

necessity

gracefully upon her.

Woman

woman

unlovely, but

her, they sit

playing the jockey on a

gracefully flying over

the plain on her well-reined charger, to catch the last

words of a dying mother, or

to save

an imperiled child,

camp of the landing of the foe,

in the judge's bench, making
laughing crowd, is contemptible; a widow

or inform the frontier

is

sublime.

speeches to a

maiden

at the bar, supplying her counsel with facts

may

by which he

rescue her property from fraud and her children

from poverty,

is

honorable.

Another function of woman renders her education necThe school, the

she is the educator of man.
essary

academy, the college, and the

much
more.

conflicts of life

may do

to form the character of a man, but the mother

She

lays her plastic

ulties are all impressible.

grow gnarled and twisted

hand upon him when his facA babe might make an oak

if

he seized

it

as it burst

from

the ground, but a giant could not, after a few decades had

matured

its

hung upon
illustrious

trunk.

Show me

a great

man

the breast of a sensible mother.

mother whose son

is

that has not

Show me an

not worthy of her.

scarce possible for a boy with ordinary

reared by a sensible and educated

endowments

It is
to

be

woman without being

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

370

She may be driven by misfortune

but even in woods and widowhood she

great.
ness,

As

philosopher.

mountains and streams,

lakes
his

and oceans,

will train

up a

soon as her son begins to walk the earth,

she will begin to give him some idea of

its

to the wilder-

its

its

magnitude,

continents and islands,

its

so that the globe is never presented to

mind without form and

void, for the spirit of his

mother moves upon the face of the

waters.

As

the wind

howls through the trees at night, she may calm his mind

by explaining

to

the causes of

its

him the nature of the

currents, the gases

composition, the sources of

piration,

and

ophy

in keeping,

So

in the veins.

that,

its

by

air

he breathes,

which enter

into its

impurities, its uses in res-

its

from the

pressure, the blood withfirst,

the spirit of philos

shall shut out the idol superstition

from the temple

On some beautiful morning she may begin

him the laws of light; she resumes them at
noon, when the rainbow, spanning the heavens, illustrates
her lesson of refraction, and closes them when the setting

of his brain.
to

teach

sun demonstrates for her, in the western sky, the laws

of reflection

so that the

evening and the morning are a

her boy.

day of instruction

for

night, and as the

moon comes

stars,

at

forth with her train of

she goes out with her son beneath her mantle, and

lays the rod of

modern astronomy upon the azure

and measures from planet

mind

She takes him abroad

takes in

to

vault,

planet as his expanding

the demonstration;

and when she has

him some idea of our system and our sun, she

raises his mind to the fixed stars, each the center of a
system, and up the milky way she walks, hand in hand
given

with her child, to the distant nebulse, where the molding

hand of God

is

shaping some new creation, and seizing

the harp of David, she sings some such strain as this

"Whither

shall I go

from thy presence, or whither

I flee from thy spirit?"

But

it

is

shall

not only in the glo-

FEMALE EDUCATION.

371

rious scenes of nature tliat she points out truth

the humblest duties she

As she

a teacher.

is

even

in

rakes the

embers from the hearth, she explains the nature of fire

and the laws of heat. As she fills her bucket, she explains the principles of the pump, and the laws both of
hydrostatics and hydraulics

as she swings her kettle

upon

the crane, she treats of the compound nature of water,

and explains how the sun draws up the mist and forms
the rain drops

how

the

dew

house

is

how

Her son
ers

in

and

in machines, and illusand regulated by them.

some spring morning, a bunch of flow-

brings in,

is

increased

from the woods, and his mother,

and names them

productions

vegetable

orders,

grass,

the neighbor's

their combination
force

ness, analyzes
all

As

fall.

building, she points out the simple mechanical

powers, and
trates

upon the

distills

the snow flakes crystallize as they

and genera,

which these

are

for

to

reward his kind-

him, and shows

arranged

into

classes,

so that they constitute a great

volume,

different classes are beautiful leaves;

she thus entices him

to search

again,

meanest mushroom has a lesson in

it.

sure

He

how

and

that the
brings, on

some winter morning, a curious stone, and forthwith his

mother gives it a name, and then determines its properties, composition, and relations in a system of mineralogy, and a new volume is opened beneath his feet, and
the very stones cry out to him to seek knowledge.
A
strange bird attracts his notice, and he bears

it

in his

bosom to the bosom of his mother; she names it, as

though it were a familiar friend, and speaks of its family;
and now he learns that the fowls of heaven too are made
upon a plan, and they warble more sweetly, and shine
more beautifully in the branches to his excited senses and
eager mind.

He

finds the skeleton, it

may

mother an opportunity

be, of a rab-

bit;

but

ribs,

and spine, and cranium, and limbs, and from these

it

affords the

to point out

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

372
she

may proceed
cord,

silver

wheel

speak of the golden bowl, and the

to

and the pitcher

at the cistern,

till

and the

at the fountain,

he shall cry

out,

"I

am

fearfully

As the railroad penetrates the

him the expansive nature of

and wonderfully made."

wilderness, she explains to

steam, the

mode by which

is

it

regulated, the parts

and

movements of the engine, whether stationary or locomoand the use to which it is applied, both in commerce
and manufactures. And now the telegraph follows, but

tive,

the heaven-appointed teacher

is at

no

loss to explain its

mysteries to her loving pupil; for she has taught in a lec-

the lightning what

ture on

is

electricity,

and what

magnetism, and electro-magnetism, and how

it

generated and made the messenger of men.

is

may be
Perhaps

her leisure moments are spent in drawing diagrams, and

making models

reward the obedience of him

to

has brought into this

whose chamber,
maps, and

it

life, to

may

up

for another,

she

and

be, is decorated with geological

celestial charts,

his waking hours,

train

whom

through which he muses, in

upon the epochs of the

revolutions of the future.

past,

and the

In due time she teaches him

the laws of that language which he speaks, and analyzes

that graceful style, and that accurate

method of reason-

ing which he has caught from her beautiful lips; nor

does she neglect to teach

him

the properties of numbers,

the relations of quantities, and the resolution of forces.

She leads him,

as his

mind matures,

to patient retrospec-

and points out the faculties and laws of that most

delicate and wonderful mind which allies him to the

tion,

angels,

and which should be led into eternity

image of

Grod.

votes to history,

Her winter
till

in the

evenings, I fancy, she de-

she renders her pupil familiar with

the nations of the past, with the progress of empires,

the progress of
progress

arts,

of virtue.

the progress of discovery, and the

As she

exhibits

before

him the

FEMALE EDUCATION.
"heroes

373

and orators of antiquity, she awakens, in order

gratify, his thirst for the languages in

and specially

to

which they spoke,

for the languages of the prophets

and

pa-

But from first to last she

morning and evening she
takes her charge to her closet, and breathes upon him her
prayer, and teaches him to lift his hands on high.
Who
would not have such a mother ? What son that has, can
triarchs, martyrs

and

dwells upon the

apostles.

Bible, and

grow up to giant manhood ?

The mother not only teaches the child when it is most
impressible, but when the impressions made are the
most indelible. The image of the mother goes into the
fail to

very structure of the soul of the child, like that image

of himself which Phidias cut so deeply into the buckle
of his Minerva, that no one could obliterate

breaking into fragments the statue

it

without

itself.

The mother does more for her son than simply to imThe mother of Miriam would have
knowledge.

part

nourished up a Moses, even

the

Hebrew

spirit.

law,

if

her

lips

had been sealed

to

by breathing upon him her Hebrew

mythology, that

It is a beautiful fable of ancient

when Ceres left the society of the gods, and came down
among men, she came to Elusis disguised as an aged
woman, and was employed by the wife of Celeus as a
Beneath the care of the godnurse to her infant son.
dess the child 'Hhrove like a god.''

He

Ceres breathed on him as he lay in

anointed

ate no food, but

her bosom, and

him with ambrosia, and every night hid him

fires.
She was making him immortal.

beneath unknown

So, methinks, a great

mother

is like

one from God.

breathes on her child celestial breath, anoints

She

him with

heavenly odors, and lays him on the burning bed of her

own great

Woman
man

spirit, till
is

he grows immortal.

the great reformer of men.

Without

her,

soon roughens into a barbarian, and hardens into a

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

374

I grant

criminal.

and crime

man;

and

there

if

slie

herself capable of barbarism

is

once sbe

she sinks deeper than

falls,

a wildness in her sin,

is

and a fearfulness in

the ruin which she works, that makes ordinary criminals

The opening of her hand

stand aghast.
the

And

opening of Pandora's box.

this

is as

shows her

the days of Eve, our worst evils have come

Exom

power.

in iniquity

through woman's instrumentality; so with errors in

When

ence, in religion, in politics.

sci-

an empiric plants

himself in a village, upon whose credulity does he

first

Without securing the confidence of some good

practice?
It is woman whose
matrons, his case were hopeless.
sympathies are first excited by the cry of distress, whose
feet first find access to the chamber of woe, whose services are first ofi'ered at the

couch of

affliction;

who, in her

kindness, inquires into the symptoms of the sufferer, and,

in her ingenuity,

infuses

doubts concerning the treat-

ment, and prepares the way for the new mode of practice.

However

intelligent a

husband

he can hardly bear up

be,

against the entreaties of a wife weeping over a sick child.

After reasoning and remonstrating, he

he rushes

his business, "Well,

to

Thus the charlatan

is

is

likely to say, as

do as you

called to the children,

please.''

and he who

prescribes for them will, sooner or later, prescribe for the

So, too, with errors in religion.

parents.

monism

sent

its

chief captives

When

Mor-

prophets of wind through the land, their

were

silly

Where

women.

the

mother

clave to the faith of her fathers, the family was safe

even though the husband might falter and wander, he

generally, in

senses; but

Thus,

too,

the end, returned

when the mother

all

to

his

home and

his

yielded, the family was lost.

forms of superstition find their refuge in

the interior of the house.

Nor

is

it

less so in politics.

Where woman's voice is for despotism, despotism is;

when it is for anarchy, anarchy is; when it is for slavery,

FEMALE EDUCATION.

375

In the French Revolution, for

the chains are riveted.

example, anarchy and despotism alternated as the Mad-

ame

Rolands or
So with

most.

the

divines preach to

phemy;
while

women

little

Cordays

may

x\ngels

vice.

in vain, if beautiful

Charlotte

upper-

lecture on temperance

hold out the tempting glass

purpose, while ladies smile at blas-

Sinai's thunders go forth

women

were

empty

into the

air,

of the upper walks caress the villain and

the libertine; despite a prophet's prayers and words of

fire, if

women

bath under

sneer at the Gospel, and trample the Sabthe wolf of hell

foot,

is

in the streets,

the moral leopard becomes the city watch.

chief source of our danger

Woman, educated and

we must look

virtuous,

is

for

Now,

and

to the

our remedy.

the great social light.

She dissipates error, and superstition, and enthusiasm,

and quackery, and fanaticism, as the sun does the morning mist.
of the

When

tyrant

she

stirs

melt.

It

the

fires

of liberty, the chains

was her animating voice

all

through our Revolution that kept the banner of Inde-

pendence

afloat.

It is

her whisper in the Sabbath school,

to the rising generation, that

without alarm.

makes us look

to the future

It is her missionary breathings

upon the

hearts of the young that give vividness to the prophetic

visions of the millennium.

Though woman was the instrument of our fall, she was

Such is her power,
also the medium of our redemption.
such the necessity for educating her.

Let others train

the Washingtons and the Columbuses, if

to

train the

Marthas, without

could not evince their virtues,

whom

the

whom

and the

new worlds could not be

it

can be yours

the Washingtons
Isabellas,

discovered.

without

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS

376

ORIGrlNALITYj
God
he

is

As

only.

in the sense of creation, belongs to

there

is

no particle of matter of which

not the creator, so there

Men may

not the author.

is

no idea of which he

change the forms, and

alter

the combinations, and vary the relations of matter;

they

may

which the Almighty furnishes, but they

make an atom or an idea. Whether or

have no power

to

not we admit the theory that

all

ideas reach the

through the senses, this declaration

Originality does not

will

go

presenting

to the

them

in

We

all

may

new combinations.

same great source of ideas

mind

be obvious.

imply the avoiding of

which have been employed by others.

ideas of others and yet be original.

By

so

modify, and decompose, and combine, and per-

vert the ideas

1.

is

ideas

use the

If

we

the universe

all

it is

not unreasonable to suppose that several shall be attracted

by the same fields, and view them in the same aspects.

But as optics, and tastes, and intellects, like limbs and
countenances,

differ,

so that,

two can be found precisely

is

to

alike,

microscopic vision, no

and

as nature herself

subject to incessant mutation, perhaps

it is

impossible

that two minds, acting independently, shall bind up the

same ideas
there

may be

in

the

same combinations.

great similarity in the productions of differ-

ent intellects, while each

inality.

Nevertheless,

is

entitled to the merit of orig-

Important discoveries have been made simulta-

neously, by different persons, without correspondence or

ORIGINALITY.

377

Truths, buried to the world for ages, have been

collusion.

revived by nearly the same process of ratiocination as

that which

led to their

first

Ideas selected

discovery.

and combined by a mind acting independently, constitute

an original production, and will, in all cases, evince a
peculiar taste and talent.

By

2.

giving them

makes

sician

new

gathered for ornament, he

as if he himself

Suppose

much

that,

progress,

is

as

much

entitled to praise

in the wilderness.

the arts and sciences

three

the phy-

some plants which were

them

had collected

before

When

applications.

a medicinal use of

had made

men had experimented

over a

caldron of boiling water, heated for culinary purposes, and

one had applied steam to the cure of disease, another to

the formation of oxygen and hydrogen gases, and the
third to the propulsion of machinery

each would

When

have

makes a
new application of the ideas previously expressed by
We may, therefore, employ comanother, he is original.
been an original discoverer.

a writer

hinations of ideas prepared to our hand,

and yet be

enti-

tled to the merit of originality.

8.

By decomposing and recombining them

alter their

properties.

so

as to

Suppose a chemist take a com-

pound, and, by the mere use of reagents, call into action

a new play of affinities, and thus alter the nature of the
article,

and

titled to

ii-.crease its

name

it

medicinal virtue

and employ

it

as his

is

own?

he not en

Nor would

he be deprived of this honor, or advantage, even if it

could be shown that the first combination required time,
and labor, and expense, while the charge was the result
of a moment's exertion.
tions of ideas,

salutary by

new

It is

hoped that many combina-

which are now poisonous, may be rendered

some genius who may discover how

to give a

play to their tendencies.

4 By

transforming or abridging.

32

Virgil has, in

many

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS

378

parts of the ^Eneicl and Georgics, imitated

he

has, in

that

many

improved upon his master

respects, so

we can scarce regard him

theology of Mr. Paley

Temple."

as a copyist.

based upon

is

Scarce an illustration

former which

is

Homer, but

^^

natural

Howe's Living

be found in the

to

is

The

not contained in the latter; yet the more

modern writer has wrought out the

illustrations of his

predecessor in such a masterly manner, has given to them

much

so

of science

mon

and beauty

force

and

from the

has adapted the whole work to the com-

reader with such

felicity, that

When

tion his title to originality.

incorporation of his

a writer

no one

calls in ques-

an individual, by the

own industry with matter previously

prepared, immeasurably enhances

When

recent discoveries

makes

its

value, he is original.

new and more valuable work upon

the basis of an older one, he

is

not to be regarded as a

plagiarist.
5.

By

man were

If a

simplifying.

to

make

a vast im-

provement in a machine, merely by rendering it more

simple, more cheap, more portable, he would nevertheless
be entitled to praise and a patent. It requires the highest

kind of genius and of

savage multiplies

art to simplify.

causes

to

multiply

The untutored
As man

effects.

emerges from ignorance, he approaches his Creator, whose

great secret

is

a simplicity of causes, reconciled with a

multiplicity of effects.

The

greatest praise of a machine,

a work, or a science, provided

simplicity.

That

is

it

answers the purpose,

is its

evidently a meritorious kind of orig-

which can seize upon the valuable ideas of an

author, and present them in all their power, divested of

inality

all

incumbrances, and in a

much

smaller compass.

If such be the ample range within which a

man may

be original, there can be no excuse for plagiarism; no

excuse for using the matter of another, verbatim, or for
linking sentiment after sentiment, doctrine after doctrine,

ORIGINALITY.
argument

379

argument, illustration upon

after

illustration, in

the same order, and for the same purpose as another has

though the

done

boundless universe

may be

language
is

different

while

the

no excuse for stealing a

before us;

paragraph here, another there, and then calling the combination an original composition.
It is an original conglomeration, or juxtaposition;

among such incompatible

tion

there

for

elements.

is

no combina-

I pity the

mind

that can employ itself in such a task, and pity the con-

science which can not inflict a woeful pang for such an

My

offence.

design, however,

plagiarism, but

to

therefore, to notice

is

recommend

not to declaim against

originality.

proceed,

some of the advantages of original

effort.

It exerts a favorable influence

1.

This

is

imagination

may

revel

among splendid

ideas,

The

connected

fixed laws, but it can arrive at no useful result.

by no

The memory may

but

upon the judgment.

the most important function of the mind.

incompetent

is

it

link facts, irrespective of their relations,

It is the prov-

to discover truth.

ince of judgment alone to compare facts, to trace relations, to

Extensive learning, an im-

deduce conclusions.

agination lofty as the heavens, a

would

ocean,

memory

be rather injurious

capacious as the

than

advantageous,

unless controlled and employed by a sound judgment.

was a remark of Demosthenes, in reference

success

above

desert

is

an

occasion

of

It

to fools, that

misthinking,

and good fortune above desert an occasion of misdoing.

man

of sound

whatever sphere he

judgment

will

placed,

and

is

every advantage he gains.

mark the

will

If you look into history, or

progress of events in Church or state, you will

perceive that the

those

much in
know how to use

accomplish

who

men who make

control

the most display are not

great results.

Queen Elizabeth, of

England, exhibited extraordinary sagacity in the choice

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

380

She had a cabinet equal^ if not superior, to any that England has ever boasted; but she put
no showy men into it. She kept working men for work,
of her public men.

and showy men for show. On every stage there are men
of judgment behind the screen, who use the men of noise
and show as the engineer regulates and employs his
machinery.

They of the

class

latter

may

propel the

wheels, but they do so only at the pleasure of the former.

In no situation
for servants.

ones,

will a

man

of sound judgment be at a loss

Like a great orb projected among inferior

he attracts

himself, by a noiseless yet efficient

to

him in
An impudent enemy
ceaseless homage and obedience.
general
Iphicrates
an
ancient
once asked
by way of
taunt, what he was ; for he had neither spear, nor bow,
"I am," said he, 'Uhe man who comnor light armor.
mands all these." Thus, with that crowning capacity of
the mind judgment though without learning, or brilliancy, or a store of facts, it will command them all. How
important, then, to develop and train the judgment
This
energy, a system of satellites which wheel around

can be done only by the habit of original investigation.

Such

a habit will tend to improve

(1.)

By producing

accuracy.

it.

It is

an easy thing

to rea-

son by rule, but this will not always lead to correct conclusions.

rule,

A strict

attention to each premiss

The arithmetician may do

able.

but the result will

his

is

right

be inaccurate, unless he shall

take notice, in turn, of each separate figure.

are,

indispens-

sum by the

Fallacies

however, more frequently to be traced to imperfect

investigation than

to illogical reasoning.

They

lie

not

argument but in the premises. Most men reason

well.
One has remarked that the difference between
the fool and the madman is this the former reasons in-

in the

correctly from true premises, the latter reasons correctly

from

false premises.

The

errors of

men

are generally of

ORIGINALITY*.
They

the latter kind.

Hence

premises.

381

in the examination of the

fail

the necessity for patient investigation.

This begets the tendency to inquire into every thing^

define every tcrm^ understand

and tendencies.

relations,

like an angel in philosophy,

or

Wby

religion.

this

every fact

Sir Isaac

and

bearings,

its

Newton reasoned

like a child in politics

difference?

His mind was

as

when applied to one object as to another; but in

in other
physics he had made himself master of premises

strong

had

sciences he

Logic

not.

of no

is

consequence

to

man who

has

not

accurately attended to every part of the subject which

he examines.
will

If a

man has

be enabled to read

not

not studied

French, he

merely by putting on

it

spectacles.

By

(2.)

begetting habits of nice discrimination and

The unpracticed surgeon may perform

operations; but when he undertakes to cut in the

rigid analysis.

coarse

midst of important arteries and nerves, where the varia-

would occasion death, he trembles

tion of a hair's breadth

and

desists.

So the coarse mind may be suitable for

when the utmost

coarse operations; but

pensable, and

when

or damnation

is

ment,

it

life

nicety

is

indis-

or death, peace or war, salvation

suspended on the movement of the judg-

grows blind and

Dr.

faint.

M'C, noted through-

out the Union for the celerity, and accuracy, and neatness
of his operations, once informed

been acquired by striking

had spent hours

in

at

doing

me

minute
nothing

that his skill

points,
else.

had

and that he

The mind

trained to independent investigation, which has learned

to

fix

energy,

its

attention,

move

all

its

train

its

powers,

faculties in

concentrate

concert,

may

its

trust its

powers of discrimination when other minds grow giddy,

and cut with calmness and firmness when splitting
hairs.
In the professions of law, politics, medicine, and

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

882

delicacy of

this

divinity,

judgment can hardly be

too

highly prized.

By producing

(3.)

when

conclusions

ined each step of

student

The mind

confidence.

rests in its

conscious of having thoroughly examprogress in arriving at them, as the

its

confident of the correctness of his translation

is

when he has examined each

definition, parsed

each word,

and comprehended the grammatical relations of each part

Such a man is not easily shaken. He is

His firmness is not, however, that of
firm as the rock.
the mountains, which can not move, nor of the mule, that
has no understanding it is the firmness of a mind conand

particle.

scious that

it is

Such a mind

right.

will court investiga-

under whatever name

tion, hail truth

may come,

it

cheer-

fully yield to conviction, but, unless convinced that

wrong, stand forever in

scription

relies not so

its position.

much

man

it is

of this de-

on his talents, or ingenuity,

He

or eloquence, but on the truth.

but, like a garrison in a castle that

fears

is

no opposition,

impregnable, defies

assault.
2.

Originality exerts a favorable influence

memory.

The memory of

upon the

depends much upon the

facts

The

attention with which they are viewed.

habit of orig-

inal investigation fixes attention.

3.

Originality exerts a favorable influence upon imag-

ination.

curbs

It restrains, regulates, refines the fancy;

it not.

Instead of permitting

lawless through the regions of space,

it
it

to

but

it

run wild and

directs

it

to the

noblest and most useful purposes.

4.

Originality exerts a favorable influence upon mental

habits.
(1.)

It begets a habit of observation.

upon books

or

discourse

for

his

ideas,

If a

man

rely

he may pass

through every scene of business or pleasure, without observing any thing with a

careful eye

neither

counte-

ORIGINALITY.
nances, nor sentiments, nor opinions
things, nor events

neither

383

neither

men, nor

the amiable nor the lovely,

the beautiful nor the grand awaken the reflection of his

idle

He

soul.

is

profit,

the accumulations of others.

the original
leaf,

who

like the heir to a fortune,

himself of no opportunity of

He

inquirer.

It is quite

otherwise with

sees a little world

and sources of boundless contemplation

in every
in

every

Scarce a look, or action, or word escapes his notice;

star.

no event so

not to excite useful reflection, or

trivial as

His mind

furnish a felicitous illustration.

of continual activity, so that

thing on which

ance of

it

may

thoughts,

its

it

is in

a state

pleased to find some-

is

exert itself; and, in the exuber-

it

finds every thing with

which

meets serviceable as a channel of communication.

a

avails

because he relies upon

It

remark of one of the ancients, that he was never

alone than

when

alone.

tion, that in silence

Such were

it

was
less

his habits of medita-

and in darkness, in dungeon or in

and busy world,

over which his own active mind had spread life, and
activity, and beauty; and every little pebble, and breeze,
desert,

and

he found himself

bird,

in a beautiful

and flower seemed

to

crowd around him as

children around a parent, anxious to

listen to his dis-

course, to court his favor, to enjoy his smiles,

him

willing

of our
life for

An

homage and obedience.

and render

eminent writer

own country and times was distinguished

a habit of this kind.

When

in early

riding alone he has

often been observed to dismount from his horse, draw

from his pocket a commonplace book, and note down, for

future use, some brilliant thought which had suggested
itself to

Such a man will

happy use of some

in his solitary musings.

electrify an

almost
trivial

him

audience by a

circumstance which scarce any one else would have

noticed.
(2.)

It

begets

habit of philosophical

association.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

384
Nature

will not

permit our ideas to be separated and inde-

She takes care to link them together, but she

We may direct
in a confused manner.
them
connects
her in her operations if we choose, and thus make her
pendent.

Instead of

services in this respect of the utmost value.

having our ideas

all

lying loose in a box, like the papers

notes and
friendanswered and unanswered, whether on business,
thrown together
or
of the

careless

merchant

letters

receipts,

or

ship, or

religion,

one huge

pile,

holes, classify

politics

into

all

we may partition our memory into pigeonthem philosophically, label them neatly,

and lay them where they may be

may be found

at

any time

after a

safe,

what

must

at

The

Of

moment's search.

inestimable advantage this will

once perceive.

and where they

prove,

every one

practice of original investi-

gation will secure such an association of ideas by render-

ing
in

it

habitual and absolutely necessary.

demand

for practical use, are

and assorted and

All ideas being

examined

as they arrive,

j51ed.

This orderly arrangement of ideas will be transferred

to the business of its possessor.

It will divide his time,

systematize his pleasures, devotions, and

and

pursuits,

exert a beneficial influence over his person, his habitation,

and

all

It will, almost of itself, insure

his paths.

peace, and comfort, and success in this world of folly

and

derangement.
Originality exerts a favorable

5.

influence

upon

elo-

quence.
(1.) It confers clearness

dispensable to eloquence.
noise,
cuity,

ous

This

of expression.

We

is

in-

may have bombast, and

and argument, and declamation, without perspibut not eloquence. The language may be copi-

and

beautiful,

the

the voice harmonious,

interesting, the arguments,

numerous and elaborate;

and

illustrations,

figures on figures

subject

and appeals

may be

piled

ORIGINALITY.
up

pyramid, but after

to a

far short

fall

385

the speaker or writer will

all

of eloquence, unless he express himself

He may

with clearness.

excite the admiration of the

ignorant, and the stare of the gaping idiot, but he will

receive only the

contempt of the intelligent,

pity or

judicious hearer.

Clearness

is

generally associated with

originality.
A man can scarcely be original, and at the
same time obscure. The subject may be such as to
require language and arguments which are not familiar

but yet

to all,

plain

those

to

views a

for

him with more

plain, that

is

it

own

his

or less force,

will

express

Whatever

discussed.

exertions, will strike

and whatever he conceives

We

clearly.

sometimes com-

although we understand a subject thoroughly,

are unable to explain

frequently into
for it

treated so as to be perfectly

whom

man compasses by

strongly he

we

may be

it

my

This doctrine enters more

it.

apologies than into

transfers the disgrace

my

philosophy;

of failure from the man's

mind to the nation^s language, and leaves the impression

upon the hearer that the speaker's soul contains depths
unfathomable.
That mind must indeed be great for
whose

lofty conceptions the flexible

and copious English

language, enriched by unnumbered accessions from ancient Greece and

Rome, and from nearly

all

the living

languages of the civilized earth, can not provide appropriate expressions.

It

must be

far

above that of John-

son or Addison, of Milton or Shakspeare.

that the

great minds of former ages

that

we

guage

is

neath

it,

are

did not discover

It is strange that we,

men.

But, irony aside, the English lan-

transparent enough to show the

however deep they

good channel.

bed that

wonder

who could make

understood, when we were babes, can not now

this difficulty.

ourselves

It is a

it

It is only

lie,

when

when
it

it

treasures

flows

be-

through a

passes over a

muddy

becomes turbid, and reveals no riches below.

33

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

386
I can point to

who

men, distinguished in the

political world,

authors of able state papers, written not only

are

with power, but accuracy and beauty, and who are perfectly ignorant of the first principles of

are

men

They

grammar.

of original minds, and they understand what

they write so clearly that they express themselves with-

The author of

out any confusion.

directions

to

blunders,

avoid

a grammar, in giving

the

gives

following

as

worth a thousand rules; namely, ''think well before you

speak."
(2.) It secures

Much depends

an appropriate theme.

The

on the choice of a subject.

period, the

age, the

education, the habits, the prejudices, and the state of

feeling of the audience
eration.

What may

That which

ble abroad.

must

all

be proper at
is

An

uaeless in the country.

be taken into consid-

home may be

adapted

to the

unsuita-

town may be

address which would delight

youth, might offend old age.

Arguments, language,

illus-

which would enchain one auditory, might be

deemed pedantic by another. The Boanerges may throw

trations,

his thunderbolts around

moral atmosphere

is

him with

in

salutary effect,

a peculiar state

when the

whereas, under

other circumstances, his power had better be restrained.

The storm

that refreshes the northern

field,

might

tear to

pieces the tender petals accustomed to drink naught but

the oriental dews.

There

is

in

some communities a

culiar proneness to resist certain truths

idiosyncrasy.

In

such

cases

the

pe-

a kind of moral

wise

physician

of

souls will dissolve that pill in sweetened water, which, in

a solid state, might be instantly rejected.

a discourse depends

the hearers.

mood,

''

When

much upon
the

mind

is

The

effect of

the state of feeling of

in a musing, melancholy

Hail Columbia," however skillfully played, will

grate harshly upon the ear, and almost agonize the soul;

whereas, ''Roslin Castle," by a

much

less

expert musi-

ORIGINALITY.
ciau, will be to the ear

and

charming

as the harp of Orpheus,

spread over the soul as

will

387

upon the troubled

oil

waters.

That man who

is

always presenting the same doctrines

and precepts in the same way, may have excellent matter,

and may occasionally do some good, when his auditory

happens

be adapted to his text

to

and warm water

blood-letting

but his course

who

was that of Dr. Sangrado,

unscientific as

is

prescribed

The

every patient.

for

former character would be very useful,

as

if

God's provi-

dences adapted congregations to subjects;

and such a

one as the latter would be uniformly successful,

Almighty
is

forum and the

to the

There

who never

is

takes off his armor, but goes

fireside

as

he does

a pretty illustration of this

to

remark

the field

in the Iliad.

Hector, going forth to battle, meets Andromache,

tended by her

little

The

son and his nurse.

father extends his arms for his dear

ward he inclines

to the

the

How awkward

fitted patients to prescriptions.

that warrior

if

bosom of

boy;

at-

illustrious

but back-

his fair-girdled nurse,

crying aloud, alarmed at the sight of his loved father,

terrified at the brazen helmet, and the horse-hair crest.
His father and mother laugh. Hector immediately takes
the helmet from his head, and places it all resplendent

upon the ground.

But when Astyanax perceived the

countenance of the father, not that of the warrior, he

was willing

to

the minister

How awkward

be dandled and caressed.

who

is

always glittering in armor, and

who

goes forth to feed the lambs of the flock as he would to

encounter the lion in his

Who

lair!

has not seen the splendid

worthless in consequence of

its

effort

prove utterly

irrelevancy?

and who

has not known a feeble production to electrify in conse-

quence of

its

perfect adaptation?

clergyman was requested

to

When

furnish

for

a distinguished

publication a

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

388

copy of a sermon

whicli

had preached during a

lie

thunder-storm, and which produced

terrific

tremendous

comply with the request upon condition that the committee would agree to print the
thunder and lightning which accompanied it. He knew
he agreed

effect,

to

charm from its appropriateness.

of the great advantages which the extemporary
that

derived

it

has over one

uses a

may occur

stance that

hearers

who

the

to

orator

manuscript, arises from the

he can take advantage of every

fact, that

One

its

little

circum-

the attention of his

attract

presence of some unexpected person, the

appearance of a particular countenance, the entrance of

a swallow through the window, the sudden rising of a

cloud

may

suggest brilliant thoughts, happy illustrations,

Holy Writ, which, because fresh

and appropriate, animate the speaker and startle the
hearer.
How thrilling must have been this passage utbeautiful passages of

tered by an orator,

whom

he noticed

to

when preaching
be talking

"

When

the beasts of the earth tremble, and

speaks

the lion roars

when the Almighty

the kings of the earth keep silence."

let

This advantage

is

similar to that which the scientific

The

physician has over the empiric.

for the

before a monarch,

names of

latter

prescribes

diseases, the former for their

symptoms.

Solomon has beautifully described the charm of appropriateness

^'

Words

fitly

spoken, are like apples of gold

in pictures of silver.''

What

can secure the advantage of appropriateness but

that habit of reliance upon one's

leads

to

close

own resources which

observance of every thing around us?

A man of sense can hardly fail to speak and write fitly,

who speaks and writes what his own intellect furnishes.
The man who derives his efforts from books is like the
blind giant his blows are powerful, and when they

happen

to fall in the right place

they do execution

but

ORIGINALITY.
they generally miss the mark.

But he who draws

matter from the hearts of his hearers

archer

who

is

mark before he
to draw a bow

sees the

minister can easily get a

clothe

his

like the skillful

his arrow

lets

and can scarce be said

original

389

fly,

An

at a venture.

skeleton,

and then

with muscles, and give

it organs of life and

and above all animate it with a spirit, by going
into any house in his neighborhood and conversing with
its inmates half an hour;
and when he brings it forth
it

sense,

on Sabbath,

it

An

man has

original

be sure to do execution somewhere.

will

not only an appropriate subject,

but his illustrations are

seem

grow out of his subject.

to

flowers

are not like the

they wither;

flowers in the garden, rooted

to

quence without propriety in

pretty,

soil,

and deriving

There can be no

this

sparkling ornaments

gloomy chambers of death.

of

An

respect.

on a grave subject,

style, for instance,

the

the

but like the

it.

(3.) It forms a suitable style.

as

They

of the nosegay, gathered for the vase

but scarce viewed before

nourishment from

They

generally appropriate.

the

is

in as

showy

bad

ball-room

elo-

taste

the

in

inappropriate style

is

generally a mark of a feeble or dependent intellect.

The mind never clothes thoughts purely its own in an

unseemly
whether
she

will

dress.

Nature suitably arrays her productions,

in the natural or moral world.

not

dress

the

animals of the

She

as she does those of the equatorial.

ment the beast

altar

no wings

in her moral
will

regions

will not orna-

to

of the

she

gives

Behemoth, who trusteth that he can

into his mouth.

works

breeze

swallow that builds her nest by the

to the

draw up Jordan

polar

that prowls the desert or the forest as

she will the merry songster

no proboscis

In the former

Is she less judicious

Not when she has her way.

She

be chaste and dignified in philosophy, oratorical

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

390
in

oratory, swift

will

vary

tlie

and graceful

song and

in

She

satire.

appearance of her productions as she passes

from the dissolving heats of the equator to the eternal

She will vary her machinery as
snows of the pole.
she swims the deep, or
earth.

Be

original and

sails

you

the winds, or crawls the

will

be simple or vehement,

neat, elegant, or brilliant, according as your subject

may

require.
(4.) It suggests a suitable

This

arrangement.

dispensable to a good production.

It

is

in-

important in

is

the adjustment of the different parts of an oration or

composition, and also in the arrangement of the various

An

portions of each part.

the subject before

to

it

genius will digest

original

thinks of the manner in which

it is

be introduced, as naturally as a carpenter will erect

his building before

he puts on the

How

roof.

awkward

does that introduction sound which does not lead directly

to the subject,

subject

is

and prepare the way before

matured^

it

how can one know what

sions will require to be

removed before

it is

Till a

preposses-

presented, or

what considerations will attract attention toward it?

In making an oration, or writing an essay, a

clear

statement of the subject will of itself do much.

The

mind which has examined

be able to state

it

clearly

an}^ subject

and

thoroughly will

forcibly, divide it naturally,

and in the narration and explication spread light around

it

at every step.

The management of arguments

is

of vast importance.

aEschines, in a celebrated contest, requested the judges

Demosthenes to the same order in replying to

had observed in making them; but
Demosthenes was too well acquainted with the advantage
to confine

his arguments as he

of his own arrangement to be thus entrapped.

happens that the ingenious disputant

order of his antagonist's arguments.

will

But

It often

reverse

the

to the sober,

ORIGINALITY.
judicious mind, which has

made

391
master of

itself

its

subject, no canons are absolutely necessary.

when he pushed

Caesar,

triumphs

his

into

Gaul,

needed no rules of military warfare, but such as his good

common sense and a knowledge of the number, weapons,

He

and position of the foe suggested.

formed the

tor-

the circle, or the wedge, according as he wished

toise,

to scale a wall, to resist superior

camp through intervening

numbers, or rush to his

ranks,

wish

not

to

be

understood that rules are useless, but that a thorough

acquaintance

with

subject

the

may render them

dis-

pensable.
(5.)

Nothing can atone

produces animation.

It

the want of this

nothing can

insure

it

derstand them perfectly

the right purpose

he

so well as orig-

own he

If a man's arguments are his

inality.

for

will un-

he will therefore use them for

upon

will perceive their bearing

The very reviewing, marshaling, commanding

the issue.

of them, the observing of their accurate movements, the

manner
is

which they rout the

in

of itself inspiring.

they will of course be

forcibly expressed

foe,

and take the

field,

If his sentiments are his own,

felt,

heart

and being

felt

will always find a

they will be

way

reach

to

heart.

There

is

generally a freedom from embarrassment, a

kind of engaging ease of manner, attending the independent,

The

original

mind,

which

attention being fixed

is

upon the

of

immense

subject,

it

value.
is

not

by the audience, or any extraneous

It must be admitted that the mind,
considerations.
though strong and original, can not always command an

likely to be diverted

animated expression or delivery. There are some regions

of thought naturally cold, yet, even there, the mind may
occasionally exhibit warmth, like Lapland, which,
eternal snows, has here and there a boiling fountain.

amid

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

392
There

is

a certain state of mental activity necessary to

compass original thought, and this will always insure

some degree of grace and animation. A ship, however
poor,

when

in a storm,

yields to the winds,

to the clouds,

is

a beautiful

and mounts the

now sinking

now cutting the white

caps,

object.

billows,

As

now

she

rising

bosom of the deep,

and now shipping a mountain

into the

sea, she presents a spectacle of thrilling interest.

There
soul,

is

when,

something sublime in the humble human

afloat

upon the wide universe,

she rides the

heaving billows of thought swept by the storm of passion.

Her prow may be unornamented, her

movements

cargo poor, her

irregular, but she has grace in every motion.

HIGHER EDUCATION.

the duty of the Church to foster institutions of

is

IT

higher education.

From the

1.

This follows,

He

nature of God.

the development of his character

As

his will.

we should be

the fact that he

Ixoly^

to be his will that

have

it

is

the development of
proves his will that

we should be

he

but truth? and what

of

God?

The very

who does

but

truth

is
first

wonder, for

He who

is

not

What
the

adum-

a sheet of sci-

is

and

of a similar character.

showeth his word unto Jacob,

the same that telleth the

is

page of the book in

in metaphysics, geology, natural history, etc.

every other leaf of the Bible

it

That man must

lights,

which the Almighty reveals himself,

No

proves

the duty of Zion to diffuse science.

science

whe

is

ii^uc.

Father of

bration

ence

infinitely wise;

is

is lioly

so the fact that

false ideas of the

deem

393

number of the

stars;

and he

is
is

praised not only in his sanctuary, but in the firmament

of his power.

To the devotional mind, the heavens and

the earth are like the seraphims

whom

the prophet saw in

hiding their faces within their wings, and crying, one to another, " Holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts

vision,

the whole earth

is

full

of his glory.''

that comes from an intimate

Hence, the soul

communion with God,

is

apt

to shine like the face of Moses coming down from the

mount.

Hence,

Hence, the Church

too,

when she comes

is

to

clothed

like

the

sun.

moral spheres, like God,

' Delivered at the opening of Genesee College, N. Y.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

894

when he came

to chaos,

and light comes

Who
who

at

she says, '^Let there be light/'

her bidding.

penetrates the earth, and explores the heavens

analyzes the laws of mind, and extends farther and

farther

its

dominion over matter? who kindles the radi-

ant centers of knowledge, that are destined, by their

mingled

rays, soon to illuminate the

Church of the

Men

living God,

scientific

to

It

light.

is

is,

that

God

is

is

The

beings in the universe.

misfortune for the argument

2.

God himself

The

have argued against science, because the devil

one of the most

most

for

whole earth

altogether the

scientific.

From the

of the Almighty, let us turn

character

draw an argument from the nature of the human mind.

is impossible to be pleased or displeased with what we

do not perceive, or to have desire or aversion, without the

emotions of pleasure or displeasure, or to pursue or avoid

an object toward which we

pelled.
tion.

Moreover, the conduct conforms to the percepIf the most lovely object be apprehended as un-

lovely, it will

be hated and shunned;

be viewed as lovely,

Hence, there

is

will

it

if the

be admired and pursued.

for, as

conduct depends upon knowl-

What

edge, religion depends upon conduct.

obedience to

God?
is to

^^

cover

now

to Biblical

it

but

hell as

To deprive the world

light."

with heathenism; to cover

it

with the knowledge of God,

I refer

is

Hence, the Bible represents

darkness," heaven as

of the Bible,

most hateful

an intimate connection between knowl-

edge and religion;

'^

nor re-

feel neither attracted

is to

knowledge particularly; but

ture and providence are from the same

they must be in harmony with

it

produce the millennium.

it,

hand

as na-

as the Bible,

and their legitimate

tendency must be toward Christianity.

Some,

know,

have alleged that science has usually opposed the Scriptures;

they should

have

said,

false

interpretations of

HIGHER EDUCATION.
Thus Conclaves

them.
''If

395

in the days of Copernicus said,

you hold that the earth turns round, you deny the

truth of the Bible; but they could not prevent the world

from turning, nor themselves from turning with

men may say, if you deny that the earth was

many years ago, you overthrow the Scriptures

it."

So

created so
;

but they

can not blot out God's handwriting upon the mountains,

nor introduce discord into the harmony which subsists

between geology and Genesis.

Some

philosophers, I ad-

But

mit, have tried to use science against revelation.

which of the

scientific discoveries alleged to be inconsist-

ent with Scripture, has not been reconciled to

Which

its

pages?

of the mountain minds that mark the great steps

of scientific progress, and throw their shadows over generations, has failed

to

bow

its

reverential

head before the Jehovah of the Bible

and honored
For example,

Kepler thus opens his sublime views: "I beseech

my

reader that, not unmindful of the divine goodness be-

me

stowed on man, he do with

celebrate and praise the

wisdom and greatness of the Creator which I open to

him." And Newton thus closes his Principia: "We
know [God] only by his properties and attributes, by the
wise and admirable structure of things around us, and by

we admire him on account of his perfections; we venerate and worship him on account of his
government." But time would fail to speak of Boyle,
and Locke, and Pascal, and Boerhaave, etc. A few pertheir final causes;

sons,

grant,

have been philosophers without being

Christians, but they were perhaps nearer to Christianity

than they otherwise would have been, and their skepticism only proves that the tendency of science
tion,

can not overcome

all

with supernatural light.

it is lofty in spirit.

man

devo-

opposing forces, or dispense

Many

object to science because

False science onli/

ascends, the wider

to

is

is so.

The higher

his field of vision,

and the

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

396

The chief of
"I feel as

deeper his humility.

at the close of life, said,

British philosophers,
a child that has been

wandering by the sea-shore, and picked up a few pebbles,

while

the

vast ocean of truth

lies

^'When

prince of Jewish philosophers said,

thy heavens, the

ed; what
of

man

is

man

moon and

stars

The

me."

before

I consider

which thou hast ordain-

that thou art mindful of him, or the son

that thou makest account of

him?"

Although

knowledge

is not always followed by religion, religion

must always be preceded by a certain amount of knowledge.
Hence, we show the duty of the Church to impart

knowledge,
3.

From

the very nature of

summarily in
righteousness

righteousness

but the

things are necessary

and

feel the

religion.

and

impulsion to observe

of right but the will of

God expressed but

in

it.

his

And where

is

two

this

rule of right,
is

the rule

the will of

is

word? and whence

most operative motives to obedience

ception of relations.

To

What

God ? and where

consists

What

godliness.

doing of right

we must know the

This

are the

Surely from a per-

are these relations ex-

hibited in the most endearing forms, but in the sacred oracles?

We

do

we must have no small degree of knowledge

this,

mvsf, then, understand the Scriptures; and to

;

the

meaning of words, and the laws of language, at least.

mere saving knowledge may be communicated orally,

or obtained through a very imperfect acquaintance with

our mother tongue, but

or

who would think

who would be

We

in

exhausted

which draws the blood, but

It is

Not an enlightened

it?

abhor slavery; and wherein

food, or the chain which binds

upon the mind.

with this

that he had done enough for his

fellow-man to have imparted

Church of God.
Not
chief woe?

satisfied

in

because

strength,

the

or

is its

deficient

limbs, or the lash

the padlock which swings

man

is

an immortal being

HIGHER EDUCATION.
on

and because

eternity,

for

trial

397

slavery,

by locking

the mind, closes the appointed communication between

God and

human

the

heart, that

so unspeakable a

is

it

boasted liberty,

you endure

the crowning calamity of African bondage.

Better be

Beware,

curse.

in your

lest,

without friends, without raiment, without shelter, without food, than without that knowledge which
to bring

To

through his word.

should she stop here
nally given in our

beautiful
it

necessary

you into unembarrassed communication with God,

this degree of attainment should

the Church feel bound to bring

read

is

and

in the

But

her children.

all

The word of God was not

mother tongue, but

origin-

in languages

more

Should not the Church be able to

perfect.

words in which

from the

it fell

lips

of

though

I do not say that every Christian should,

God?

in this

harm; but surely the Church is culpable if

many of her members do not thus read God's message.
Suppose this assembly should receive a communication
from the Emperor of Russia, on a subject in which the
temporal interest of every member is concerned, would
there were no

you be

satisfied

with a translation

would you not

like to

on^m7 document? and deem it indispensable

have some one in your midst who could read it, and

preserve the
to

thus settle important questions which might arise in your

minds, and that could no otherwise be solved than by

reference to the words of the original instrument?

did the Reformers talk upon this point

Luther: ''For

'the

devil

smelled

the

How

Hear Martin

roast;'

that

if

the languages revived, his kingdom would get a hole that

he could not
this,

that

easily stop

we

shall not be

without the languages.

which

this

up again.

And

let

us understand

able to preserve the Gospel

The languages

sword of the Spirit

is

hid

are the sheath in

they are the casket

in which this jewel is borne; they are the vessel

which this drink is contained; they are the cupboard

in
in

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

398

which

this food

eth, they are

is

laid; and; as the

Evangel

show-

itself

the baskets which hold these loaves and

we should so err as to let the languages

go which God forbid we shall not only lose the Gospel,
but it shall come to pass that we shall not know to speak
or write either Latin or German aright."
But we are often reminded that our Methodist fathers
fishes; yea, if

preserved and preached the Gospel without the languages.

Let us never forget, however, that Methodism was born in

a college; and though many of her ablest ministers were
without classical attainments, they followed a mind that

was

as ripe in scholarship as

and vigor of

any of his age.

That

purity^

power of reasoning, and that

style, that

reach of thought which characterized the productions of

John Wesley, could never have been

early discipline,

without

attained

He

under the best masters.

was aided

by one who united the clearness of Aristotle and the elegance of Plato with the spirit of Christ, and who checked
his foes

by a sword that

being polished.

mons and shaped

Our

lost

none of

fathers not only

its

keenness by

molded their

ser-

their controversies upon elegant models,

but uttered their emotions in songs composed by one who

was familiar alike with Judea's harp and Apollo's

If

it

in the

be important that we

dead languages, and secure, from age

supply of minds to read them as they were

is

lyre.

preserve the divine oracles

to age, a

given,

first

it

our duty to establish professorships of such languages,

whither a portion of our youth may be sent for instruction.

Do you

Providence

what more

say, leave this to

act

Providence?

But does

miraculously or instrumentally

And

suitable instrumentality can be provided than

the one I have described

Our

fathers understood this.

Kingswood school,
and shortly after, that of Woodhouse Grove, whose fruits
we are now reaping, in the productions of such minds as
Mr. Wesley,

as early as 1748, planted

HIGHER EDUCATION.

399

Adam

Clarke, and the profound and brilliant ministry of

Weslejan Church in England and her colonies.
Bishops Coke and Asbury, among their earliest labors,
founded a high school; and their successors, animated
tlie

by the same spirit, have established seminaries, colleges,

and universities all through the land, and are reaping
their advantages in

Who

exertion.

all

stands

the departments of ecclesiastical

at

the

head of our Sabbath

schools? of our missions? of our quarterly reviews? of

our monthly and weekly publications

But

let

us examine the other branch of religion

liness; that

shall

how

we

shall

god-

God-likeness, or the imitation of God.

is,

But how
and how
shall

we imitate him if we do not know him ?

we know him but by his attributes? and

learn his attributes but by their manifesta-

tions? and what are their manifestations but the objects

of scientific knowledge
moral.

The former

how

we

arc

God's attributes are natural and

are wisdom, power, goodness.

to get ideas of these ?

Not by words

Now,

they

Would you teach a child of divine wisdom,

example, you lead him through nature, whether from

are but signs.

for

the dew-drop to the ocean, from the moss to the oak,

from the worm

high.

Doing

troduces us to

and

all

waters,

to the angel,

so,

from earth

to the worlds

you do just what the Bible does;

God through

on

it in-

the heavens and the earth,

along renews our acquaintance with him by the

which he measures

in the hollow of his

heavens, which he metes out with a span

hand; the

the mountains,

which he weighs in scales; the sweet influences of Pleiades, which he binds; and the bands of Orion, which he
loosens.

True, the Divine attributes are traceable upon the face

of nature, even by the untutored mind; but

how

vastly

more impressive are they when the light of science

shines upon them, leading the mind from facts to princi-

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

400

from principles

pies,

to systems,

from harmonious designs

to

from systems

unity of plan, and from unity

of plan to the one only and true

How

God.

difference between the adoration of the

age,

to designs,

vast the

most devout

sav-

and that of the rapt soul of the immortal Newton

may be

Science, I know,

must we therefore

perverted, but

cease to cultivate it?

The English language may be

used in swearing, and lying, and slandering, but must

we therefore

all

be

dumb ?

The tendency

of science

is to

uproot superstition, enthusiasm, and idolatry, and increase

our knowledge of the true God, and our veneration for

him.

It

is

therefore the duty of Christians to foster the

natural and exact sciences, and of course to establish in-

where they may be taught.

x\s we are imGod by studying

his works, we may be impressed with his moral attributes by pondering his providence.
I grant that we
could not discover them by these means.
The mingling of

stitutions

pressed with the natural attributes of

justice

and mercy, which we notice

in the administration

of this world, might produce confusion in our minds con-

cerning God's moral character, did not the Bible reduce

things to order by opening to our view the world to come,

But

and displaying the scenes of Calvary.

seen the face of

God

in Christ,

it

is

we have
we study

after

well that

him by his providences; that, through the aid of history,

we mark how, by mysterious hands, vice is borne downward, and virtue upward, and how all things in the general

sweep of ages tend

earth,

and bring

to drive

wickedness from the

in the reign of universal righteousness.

More particularly may we see, in the history of the past,

how dark is the noblest light of science without the light
of revelation, and how incapable of renovation is the
earth without the redeeming scheme.

many would have

am aware

that

us avoid history, and especially the his-

tory of classic ages, because of its errors and impurities.

HIGHER EDUCATION.
For

the

deny us
in the

dead

same reason,

be

to

is

more corruptioQ

is

than the writings of the

hearts of the living,

and the piety that

they should

consistent,

There

intercourse.

social

401

in

danger from a page of

Livy or a line of Horace, should not be trusted in the

or the

hall of justice,

Bible itself recounts

of the

streets

the errors of

men

as well as the

wonders of God, and so should the Church in

Hence, she should have her

libraries

in ancient literature, that she

ings of
4.

God with man

We

fact that

onstration that

would be

and her instructors

illustrate in the deal-

argue from the nature of the Gospel.

The

it is

ages.

all

the teachings of his word.

revelation from heaven, and

proof.

may

The

metropolis.

came with

it

God has given such

its

proof, is a

necessary; and even if

it

dem-

were not,

mind an

to every upright and devout

It is a

appropriate

it

interest-

ing matter of inquiry.

The Gospel
its

is

a copious

volume of truth; and although

leading revelations, such as the existence of God, the

sinfulness of man, and salvation by Christ, are written

so

that he

who runs may

read, yet

it

contains a vast

amount of truth which can not be obtained without much

information, and a good degree of mental development.

In interpreting the Bible,

as in interpreting other books,

we must discriminate between

hist'ory

and command, be-

tween the special and the general, between the temporary

and the permanent, between the

literal

between the desire and the promise.

and the

figurative,

Some think

are only mindful of the precepts of Christianity,

ters but little

whether we understand

its

if

we

mat-

it

teachings; but

the precepts rest upon the teachings; a misapprehension

of the latter leads to a misapplication of the former.

Joshua, by Divine direction, entered Canaan with

fire

and

sword; Cromwell thought he should do likewise, and this

mistake,

propagated

through his praying

34

lines,

made

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

402

them so calm in carnage, so irresistible in battle, so pious

when dripping in fraternal blood.
One reads that the Holy Spirit leads into all truth.
Some friend presents to his mind a wild scheme of socialism, and insists upon his entering in^o it.
Instead of
examining

according to general principles and provi-

it

dential analogies, he retires to his closet, and prays that

God would inform him whether

adopt

it.

a divine breathing, he
tation

in

disgrace.

it is

proper that he should

Mistaking an agitation of body or mind for

embarks his property and repu-

an enterprise which must issue in

Another

is

in

ruin and

doubt concerning a certain

in-

Instead of examining

terpretation of the prophecies.

it

by the rules of exegesis and the light of history, he prays

that

God may inform him

of

its

correctness.

He

mis-

takes a conception for a sensation, or experiences an unusual peace of mind;

affirmatively,

he

rises

and, supposing

he

is

answered

from his knees a believer in the

interpretation, proof against

all

the researches of learning

Conceiving that he

and the resources of logic.

is

in-

structed by Infinite Mind, what were even mathematical

demonstration against him?

In

all

these cases the prin-

ciples are right, the feelings are right, the education only
is

wrong

the

faith has not a rational. Scriptural basis

Little does he know

who does not know that the pictures I have
drawn have many prototypes. I need but name Jemima

the prayer could plead no promise.

of the Church,

Wilkinson, Joanna Southcot, Thorns, and Joe Smith, to

show

that,

under the spires of English cathedrals, and

around the blaze of Puritan chandeliers, a simple-hearted,

religious people may be diverted from truth for want
of instruction and training.

We

of the tree of knowledge, but

brambles of ignorance that

Lord?

much

of the fruits

who warns us

against the

hear

infest the vineyard of

tho

HIGHER EDUCATION.
Some may

"Is not the great purpose of the

awaken love to man and God; and, under the

Gospel to

inquire,

influence of this emotion, can

Love, though the

duty?''

be

to

403

enlightened.

we

fulfilling

Parental

love

understand our

to

fail

of the law, requires

has

driven

child to the gallows; Christian love unwittingly

many a
may have

by misdirecting its exertions. For more

than sixty years, the Bishop of Chiapa labored and
injured

its

object

prayed to introduce African slavery into the American

measure which he supposed would be a

to the

Indians of Hispaniola, an accommodation to

continent

mercy

and a blessing

its colonists,

love, not

African race; but his

to the

being consistent with justice, led

tion of Africa, the horrors of the

middle passage, and the

woes which

woes of American slavery

can not paint, and which

Some

end.

ask,

God

to the desola-

an angel's pencil

only knows what age shall

"Is not conscience a

imprisoning, murdering Christians.

guide?"

sufficient

Saul of Tarsus once hurried from city

He

conscience, and thought he was doing

hunting,

to city,

acted in

God

all

service

light from the face of Jesus struck his eyeballs.

was not innocent;

though they may have acted

conscience

to

till

Yet he

nor were Charles IX, Gregory XIII,

Louis XIY, Bloody Mary and

was their duty

good

her Commission

in all

Court,

good conscience; for

it

have not only a good, but an educated

to

examine not only their motives, but their

j>r{nciples.

But some one may

say,

education and religion.

you make no difference between

work of the
True, but how does the Holy

Is not religion a

Holy Ghost upon the heart?

Spirit operate, with or without the truth

why

well as Christian lands?

Christ,
St.

If without,

does not the work of conversion go on in heathen as

"and the

Paul,

"How,

"Ye

truth shall

shall

know the

make you

free."

then, shall they call on

fruth/' says

Hence

Him

in

says

whom

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

404

they have not believed? and

Him

of

whom

hear without

preacher?"

who publisheth

Gospel

must be

the

mind must be

pre-

tidings,

peace,

whether he would not rather

an intelligent than an ignorant

do they whose feet are so beautiful upon

Surely, because the

mind

to

make such slow progress?

which

the}'

make such slow

own land?

progress in our

consequence of an

minister

is

undis-

Why does the Church

ciplined, undeveloped, uninformed.

to

shall they

Ask him who bringcth good

the mountains of heathendom

least, in

and how

to evangelize

Why

people.

If

does not see that the

pared to receive it?

undertake

shall they believe in

they have not heard

who

proclaimed,

how

inability, in the

Partly, at

common mind,

comprehend the instruction of the pulpit

to gener-

alize specific statements, to take wide surveys of duty, and

to apply general principles to the

Scripture

is

for doctrine

details of

given by inspiration of God, and

and

this is its first function

life.

is

All

profitable

then

follows,

for reproof, then for conviction, then for instruction in

righteousness.

we

Finally,
directly
is

called

or

argue

indirectly

to

disciple

from

required
all

nature

the

of

nations

can not discharge without education.

the

of

the

duties

Church.

Zion

duty which she

Remarkable must

be the piety which makes an ignorant

man eminently

useful; culpable must be the indifference which renders

an intelligent

man

otherwise.

I grant that a

few

men

of

imperfect education have been instrumental in the accom-

plishment of great good, but

little

could they have done

without the aid of others more highly favored.

True, the

apostles were ignorant, but they sat at the feet of Christ;

they understood Greek, and no sooner were they commissioned than, by a miracle, they were

God

made

scholars.

When

chooses the weak things of the world to confound

the wise, he generally makes those weak things strong.

HIGHER EDUCATION.

405

The Cliurch owes a duty to the state. What Luther

said to parents we may say to Churches: "Now if thou
hast a child that

him

to hold

to

is fit
it,

and

to receive instruction,

and dost

the secular government,

its

not,

what

laws and

become of

shall

peace?

Thou

much as

in thee

its

warrest against the secular government as

art able

the Turk, yea, like the devil himself; for thou

lies, like

withholdest from the countrj^ a redeemer, comfort, corner-

More

stone."

As

particularly

is

own

this true of our

country.

our Government secures protection to the Church, the

Church should share the burdens of the Government; and

among them is that of furnishing the talent for its administration.
Where the Church is responsible, there
has she privilege; and, so far as she has voters, and as
long as the Government

and

so far

a representative democracy,

so long she is responsible

It is to

tion.

is

for its administra-

be feared that we do not appreciate our

position, or the influence

coming down upon us from high

places would be less pernicious.

our country, our great

In the early history of

men were good; they

Bible, and founded the Government upon

But there has been

eternal truth.

have

least, to

pillars of

a great decline, both

of wisdom and virtue, since their day.

partly, at

revered the

its

This

is

owing,

the fact that our literary institutions

so imperfectly supplied the

wants of the country.

Let not good men think meanly of their children, but

pol-

may shine

ish their golden minds, that, if need be, they

stars in the galaxy of their country's statesmen.

as

Every

son born upon our soil has a right to aspire to the Presi-

Let him be so educated that the right be not a

dency.

We

nullit}^

conscience

show any
bright

have no wish

we

to interfere

may never

pray that this Government

religious preferences; but

vision

with the rights of

of

we wish

one of our fathers

Dr.

speaking of the college which he founded

to realize

Coke
in

the

who,

connection

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

406

with Bishop Asbury

said:

'^And on

this plan

we

trust

that our seminaries of learning will in time send forth

men who

will

be a blessing to their country in every laud-

able office and

two

greatest

employment

in life,

ornaments of

are too often separated

thereby uniting the

which
deep learning and genuine reintelligent

beings,

ligion/'

We

owe

it

educate, and instruct, and

to ourselves to

train our ministry,

more important

can not be

office

conceived than that of a minister of the Gospel.

business

with

is

and for

souls,

other profession which does not

Btruction and training.

There

His
is

no

demand preparatory

irt-

no trade so simple as

is

not to require an apprenticeship.

men

There

eternity.

Why,

should

then,

without preparation commence the work of minister-

God?

ing in the temple of

erated upon than bodies

than

matter?

Are spirits more easily opIs mind more readily molded

Are the laws of the

soul

more

understood than the properties of marble?

Now,

easily

aware that conviction, conversion, sanctification, are

of

God

and yet God works

in grace as in nature,

agencies, and

to

appointed

The only question

is,

according

am
all

through

immutable

laws.

whether these agencies are approwhether these laws are analogous

priate or otherwise, and

to the other laws of the universe, or directly the reverse

God might propagate

of them.
isters,

but

to save

mit,
'^

are

it

pleases him,

them

But," some

by the foolishness o^ preaching,

that believe.

necessary to

the Gospel without min-

The earthen

transmit

the

vessels, all ad-

waters

of

grace.

them be mere channels, lest they

let them have no science. ''
Then,

say, ''let

tincture the stream:

of course, they should not learn geography, or grammar,

or even the alphabet, for this

be placed in the

pulpit,

is

all

science.

mouth open, and

let

Let them
the people

approach with their ear-buckets to draw from these wells

HIGHER EDUCATION.
of salvation, as occasion requires.

407

Doubtless,

God might

evangelize a world just so; but does he?

Does he not employ

his

plish

work?

active, suitable agencies to

When,

in

olden

accom-

he blessed

times,

them the stay of bread and

of water, he gave them the mighty man, and the judge,
and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, and
the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning
artificer, and the eloquent orator; and when he cursed
them, he took these all away, and gave children to be
her princes, and babes to rule over her.
I may be told
and administered

Israel

that

God

to

chooses feeble instruments to carry on his work,

that the excellency of the power

whom have we

and of

learned of the apostles,

learned

may be

of him.

this but

who was not

True,

most

of the

the less qualified for

his learning and talents to avoid enticing words of man's

wisdom, and preach in the demonstration of the Spirit

and of power.
If ministers should possess suitable qualifications,

they obtain them

shall

know

of but

namely, intuition, inspiration, and instruction.

is

out of the question; the

second,

it

how

three ways

seems

The
to

first

me,

is

what need have we for any labor of

thought, for any instruction from books, for even the
Bible itself, if men called of God are also inspired of him
to preach the truth ?
To them it might be said, not
^^ study to show thyself a
workman that needeth not to be
ashamed;'^ not 'Hake heed unto thyself and unto the docnearly so;

not ''continue thou in the things which

trine f'

hast

for

/ea?-iiec?;"

not

"make

full

thou

proof of thy ministry," but

" take no thought what or how ye shall speak, for in that

same hour that ye stand in the pulpit it shall be given
you.'^
ister

But why argue thus, since all admit that a minmust be instructed if he would be a workman

approved

unto God.

True, his

success

does

not

flow

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

408

from

ejfficiently

The

attainments or diligence.

liis

gales

of the divine Spirit alone can waft the vessel of Zion over

the ocean of

life to

vessel should be

the port of heaven.

manned by

Nevertheless, that

crew that has knowledge

of the principles of spiritual navigation, and skill in the

art of spreading or reefing the spiritual

knowledge and
not wholly

and the

skill

just

as the

And

this

say

knowledge of Davies's Legendre

of the expert sailor

skill

sails.

are to be obtained in part

is.

The minister muU learn, study, read, pray, and preach.

When and how can he best do this ? Some say, after he
enters upon his vocation.

the lawyer?

True, if a

Do you say so of the doctor or

man could obtain practice with-

out science, he might become skillful in time, but at what

sacrifice of comfort,

own

of his patrons

How
aided

on the part

life

shall ministers be instructed

exertions;

artists,

and character, and conscience on his

and of property, and health, and

part,

or,

as

and mechanics usually

competent masters?

We

by their own unand lawyers, and

physicians,
are,

hesitate

under the
not

to

tuition of

say,

in

the

must be attended with a great

saving both of time and money, and because, also, it

latter

method, because

it

We

insures a greater degree of accuracy.

have

in

all

should then

our higher institutions instructors to train

the class of the prophets.

''But,"

it is

asked,

over the world which

with

all

''is

may be

relied on to furnish

necessary ministerial labor?"

special providence requires

we not thus
out

there not a special providence

far

you

to use the

means.

Why,

then,

make such

I answer, circumstances have

in the world.

Have

been furnished with able pastors withinstruction

provision for the future

any provision for special ministerial

Granted.

her

True, and that

changed

Though the Bible

is

in the

Church and

the same, yet there

may

HIGHER EDUCATION.
be new ways of administering

409

the sun alters not,

it;

but there are new methods of applying his rays;

human mind

is

transmitting

its

there are

thoughts;

new ways of

the earth

traveling

is

over

they were

as

the

its

Churches and the nations are in the

geographically,

same, but

surface;

same

have moved both intellectually and morally.

world change," cries one, ''we don't."
lie

down when

the

position,

years ago, but

fifty

the

new methods of

the same, but there are

they

^^Let the

Stop; don't you

up when he rises;
winter and open windows in

the sun sets and get

don't you kindle

fires

in

summer; don't you sow

in spring

and reap in harvest;

did you not read without spectacles in youth, and have

you not put them on now? " Formerly we had good
preachers, good

students,

good schools,

without black-

Formerly you crossed rivers

boards, maps, or books."

without bridges, and seas without steam, and countries

without railways, but would you prefer to do so now?

We

must not overlook the

of

extraordinary

natural

fact that our fathers were

ability

Asbury,

M'Kendree,

Soule, Bigelow, Strange, Collins, Cooper, etc., were

who would have been distinguished

of exertion.

When men

of this description succeed in

preparation for the ministry;

pare

men

that there

men

in any department

the ministry, we must not infer that there

we might show

men

is

for,

is

no need of

by the same process?

no need of schools

to pre-

for medicine, law, or philosophy, since it is not

difficult to find

persons in

all

the professions who, by the

force of surpassing genius, have put themselves in the

front rank, although they

had scarce any previous prep-

The Methodist pioneers have apparently no

successors worthy of them.
Not because there are none
in their footsteps who would have won the same distinc-

aration.

tion

had they been

leaders,

and not

followers,

but be.

cause, while native talent does not progress from age to

35

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

410

Could we

age, the world does.

make them

live

call

back

and

fathers

tlie

their lives over again, extraordinary as

they were, they would

not occupy

the

same

relative

position.

Men

we have had and now have, we

may expect to have hereafter, but not in such numbers
as to supply the demands of the country and the world.

God

of genius, such as

sending the old world by millions to our shores.

is

In one of our valleys alone we could victual the whole

God

population of the earth, and

we

shall

capital

have to do

to

escape

tion

they come?
of

bold

wise

from

seek

to

to

impart

adventures.

the earth, but chiefly

all

Romanism.

they come to seek refuge

the

they scarce know why; the timid

the

dominions

the

welcome

silly,

revolution;

Whence do
from

hither come the rich to invest

it;

the poor to seek bread

knowledge; the

knows how soon

only

Welcome, thrice

may they

find salva-

But, that they may, we must bestir ourselves; we

must send ministers by thousands through the valleys of

the west; we must station them by hundreds on the
mountain tops, in the wilderness, and along the shores of
the Pacific.

This we owe
souls.
sea, are
ofi"ering

to ourselves, to

Egypt, Persia,

taking their stand

inviting

whitening

Jesus Christ, to perishing

Turkey, and the islands of the

fields

of

among

civilized nations, are

Christian

to the harvest of salvation

labor;

India

is

China has relaxed

her unsocial exclusiveness, and opened her paths to the

known

only

accessible at both her extremities

and

footsteps of the evangelist; Africa, so long

to

geography,

is

along her eastern and western borders.

The mountains of Asia, the

valleys of the

Nile, the

Niger, the Senegal, and the Gambia, the snowy peaks of

Greenland, and the

volcanic

summits

regions cry out to us for help.

of intertropical

Ten thousand misdon-

HIGHER EDUCATION.
aries

would not

What

demand of the present

satisfy the

we do?

shall

411
hour.

Pray ye the Lord of the harvest

^^

We

that he would send forth laborers into his harvest."

have no faith in any that God

we not act consistently with our prayer, work in accorddoes not call;

ance with our faith?

look

who now

feel

up the buried talent of the

May we

Churcli and furbish it?

but should

not expect that

many

no impulse to the pastor's work would

ceive an undoubted call to

if

it

re-

they found themselves

possessed of the prerequisite qualifications for missionary

For how can one

labor?

preach in a lan-

acquire

an unknown

fitness for linguistic

acquisitions?

guage that he knows

tongue without some

feel called to

or to

not,

Let us deprive our youth of

all

reasonable excuses, and

Do

then expect that they shall be called by thousands.

not say, ''Wait

till

we have the means

Get the men, the means

in the missionary

treasury to support them.''

will

Put down such a man as Luther, AVesley, Fisk,

Carey, or Wayland any where on the round globe, and he
will draw to himself the means of support and soon build

follow.

a chapel over his head.

Some exclaim

against educated preachers because they

fear such will preach science instead of Gospel.

follow, however, that a

he possesses

must
mouths of
gold,

it.

does not

man must preach science because

a man has plenty of silver and

Because

his tea-spoons necessarily be too large for the

his children

It is poverty that delights in

the smatterer that

Latin and Greek.
Some men
because
not plain

interlards his discourse with

display

plain.

It

it

is

He

is

it

depreciate cultivated style

is

of

all

others

the

most

an uneducated warrior that arms himself

with bracelets, and rings, and nose-jewels;

one asks only weapons.

It has

the educated

been affirmed by croakers

that there has been a decline in the piety of the ministry,

keeping pace with their progress in knowledge.

EDUCATIONAL ESSAYS.

412

true, it does not follow that

Suppose this allegation be

this progress is the cause of that decline; if this

so, it

would prove too

much

is

even

for even the objector him-

would prove the favorite dogma of the Roman

Church, that ^^ ignorance is the mother of devotion,"
and that the true policy of Zion is to go back to the
self

it

dark ages

but I do not believe the statement, I

of those happy

men who

see in the world

am one

and in the

Church perpetual improvement.

THE END.

3A77

\\^