466

Illustrations of the Subject.

conscience, were they to labor or travel unnecessarily on the Sabbath. Their conscientiousness, it is true, might soon wear off; but the process would require time.

There are also some among us, and I hope the number is daily increasing, who are conscientious in regard to the manner of spending their whole time on this holy day; who, whether they eat or drink, or converse, or read, or meditate, or observe, or engage in religious exercises or charities, endeavor to do all to the glory of God; and who in proportion as they know that they have not done all this, feel the pangs of a just self condemnation.

This indeed is a kind of conscientiousness to which the children of most religious parents, as well as those of some who are not religious, are trained. And in so far as this goes, it is well. Just in proportion as the young are taught to keep a conscience void of offence towards God, in regard even to one of his commands, just in proportion does conscience maintain the post and hold the sway which its author intended.

But what I complain of is that except in what are regarded as the religious duties of life and a few of its larger secular concerns, conscience, as men are usually trained, seems to have very little to do. And this I regard as a deep, radical error in modern education.

There are numerous circumstances and acts of daily and hourly occurrence in common life, with which conscience, as now usually developed and educated, in the best christian society, is supposed to, have nothing to do. They are not indeed quite regarded as destitute of any character at all; but rather as being out of the range of the Creator's general observation. I do not know that I ever heard any one avow it as his belief that the Creator takes no notice of these smaller matters of human life, and cares not whether they are well done or ill done, or whether they are done at all; but I repeat it, the course which is ususually pursued, is such as might fairly be the result, were such a belief entertained.

I will endeavor to render my views more intelligible by two or three simple illustrations.

When I was a boy, great effort was made, on the part of both my parents to make me rise early in the morning. Sometimes they flattered, sometimes they threatened me. At length, how

ever, they hit upon one truly philosophical measure, which was to remove the cause of the evil they wished to cure. They said, I must go to bed early. You are never ready to go to bed,' my mother used to say; and never ready to get up.' And it was not till they had succeeded in compelling me to the habit of early retiring to rest, that they made me an early riser.

Further Illustrations.

467

Now in all their efforts, through a long course of years, to induce me me to rise carly, and among all the motives to dissuade me from a practice so inconvenient to them, as to have me lying in bed an hour or two after the sun was up, they never, in a single instance, so far at least as I can recollect, endeavored to show me that I was doing a moral wrong. No, not for a single moment in the whole course of my family education, did either of my parents attempt to show me that I was in this way wasting my time, or injuring my health, or offending God-or even dishonoring them. Had they done this, and thus awakened my conscientiousness on the subject, I think I should have gained the victory over my sluggishness in one fourth the time that was required without it. I judge so, because I was by no means wanting in conscientiousness in every thing to which a sense of right and wrong had been awakened. But as to there being any such thing as moral wrong in my delinquency, or indeed any sort of wrong, I never so much as dreamed of it. When I was directly commanded to get up, I obeyed, for the time, of course: for to have disobeyed would have been a known crime. But when I was merely entreated or scolded, I only considered myself failing to give quite as much pleasure as I might have done, in the way of contributing to their convenience.

Again. It was customary with our family, even in the long days of summer, to eat but three meals a day. When I came in from labor or play, during the intervals of our meals, and wanted or fancied I wanted something to eat, my mother used to dissuade me as much as she could from eating, on the ground usually, that I should not enjoy my next meal so well; or should perhaps spoil my appetite for it. She also sometimes gave other reasons, such as the very general rule that it was not good to eat between meals.

Now although I knew, full well, that my appetite for a dinner of plain meat and bread and vegetables, would not be quite so keen after having eaten a good supply, during the forenoon, of biscuit and butter, and mince pie and cheese, with here and there a sly bit of sugar, or a few raisins, yet I knew, too, that after eating a few of the first mouthfuls, the plain food would taste pretty well. Besides, I had been trained, as most children are, to the mistaken belief that the pies, cakes, cheese, butter, &c., which only came to the table occasionally, and at the end of a meal of something else, (to reward us, as it were, for having first filled our stomachs to highwater mark on meaner substances,) were the real desirables of life; and by a good liberal luncheon, both in the forenoon and in the afternoon, I was sure

468

Duties of Parents and Teachers.

to get hold of such a proportion of these desirables that I could well afford to eat more lightly of the plainer dishes of the regular meals. Lastly, I believed that the reasons my mother gave why I ought not to eat between meals, though they might be true, had less weight on her own mind than another not named; which was that she wanted me to eat most of the coarser, cheaper food, and not so much of the more costly. I believed so, especially, from her own occasional example.

How easy it would have been, at that period of my life, when I was all open to conviction on any important subject, to have shown me by the simplest yet most forcible arguments, what I know now to be true, that the course my mother wished me to pursue, was exactly that which would be productive of the greatest amount of both health and pleasure; not only in years to come, but immediately! Had this been done, and had my conscience been thus awakened and enlisted on her side, how easy might the fond mother have gained the victory! But of all this she was unfortunately ignorant. She would have been at that period, as much surprised as I, had some confidential medical friend assured her that eating, between our accustomed hours for meals, provided those hours were not too remote for the purposes of health, was a moral wrong-a sin against God!

Once more. I knew it was expected of me, both by my parents and teacher, to study well my lessons at school; to improve diligently all my time; and to behave in such a way as would be worthy of myself and them, and set a good example to the rest of the pupils. I knew this was expected of me, I say; and if not done, I knew it would give pain. But if I could pass away the time in such a manner as to leave the impression on the minds of parents and teachers that I was doing well, although I made little or no real progress, I do not remember that for many years after I commenced going to school, I ever felt any compunctions of conscience about it. It was quite enough for me, if I could escape displeasure and the rod. And this I believe to have been the case with my schoolmates generally. Could I have been shown, in a clear and proper manner, that I was sinning all this while, not only against my soul, but against God, as well as offending and wronging parents and teachers, I believe such a hold might have been gained upon my mind and heart, as would have saved the pangs I now feel at the thought of the loss of months and years of valuable time, and the destruction, by a bad example, of an incalculable amount of human character.

When will parents and teachers begin to understand this subject! Nor is it enough to understand it. The knowledge of

A World without Consciences.

469

the fact that their children are almost without consciences, and that the latter is every where neglected and slighted—a mere starveling in the world-will not effect a reformation. Nor will it be enough to lecture the young, at an early age, nor even at any age, on the subject. There must be example. Parents and teachers must first have consciences themselves. They must indeed, be as conscientious as they now are in what they are accustomed to regard as the larger matters; but they must be equally so in all the common and smaller concerns of life. Rest assured, you whose principal business it is to form character for time and for eternity, that you are not yet fit to give the first lessons in the great work, till you have ceased to pay tithe of mint, anise and cummin, while you omit the weighty matters. Be assured that until you do every thing-the smallest action of your lives-conscientiously; until, whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, ye do all as if the Father of your spirits were looking directly upon you, and requiring you to do it right, and until you have brought up the children committed to your trust with the same regard to the Creator's will, and with the same fidelity to conscience his vicegerent, you are not worthy of the sacred office you sustain; nor even of its sacred endearing name.

I am fully convinced that we might almost as well have a world without souls, as without consciences. Of what use is it to labor to educate or reform dead men? Enough of this has been attempted already. Such dry bones can never live, even if we raise them up, and give them human shape. It is in vain for the mother to teach, for the father to discipline, for the teacher to assist, for the operative to inculcate the mysteries of his art, for the legislature to enact laws, for even the minister to preach to men who have no consciences to reproach, in the hour when no human eye is upon them. Until we are trained to regard the suggestions of an internal monitor, wherever we are, and whatever we think, say or do, with nearly as much sacred reverence as we would regard the same suggestions were they embodied into short written sentences, etched on tables of stone and delivered to mortals, by almighty hands themselves on Sinai's awful mount, amid thunderings and lightnings and tempests, but little is done or can be. There is a work to be done preparatory to the full reception of the glorious gospel of the Son of God of whose magnitude and value few seem to me, as yet, to have formed the most distant conception. It is a great work, but a simple one; it is enough to employ the combined force of hand, head and heart, both of parents and teachers. It is the education or training of the human conscience.

470

Hints to those whom it Concerns.

PUFFING.

THERE is no abuse of the press so detrimental to the progress of national intellect, as the present system of puffing. For instance- -a young author, too confident in his own powers, and burning for reputation, sends his juvenile production to an editor, stating his age, and the high respects which he entertains for the paper honored with his communication. The editor finds a few respectable lines-he wishes to encourage the young aspirant-he publishes his piece with a puff. Ten to one, the youth is ruined. He turns rhymer-never wins a name, and is good for nothing the balance of his visionary life.

A lecturer arrives in town, with his manuscripts, remarkable for nothing but crude thoughts or ingeniously concealed plagiarisms. He calls on the editor-compliments his fine tact and political or literary ability-and-asks for a notice. In due time a is seen, pointing the public attention to the talented and popular lecturer.' The people are gulled, and the travelling literary ragman pockets the needful.'

A new invention is proclaimed. The editor receives a note from the proprietor, requesting a visit. The good-souled, easy driver of the goose-quill has no leisure to call, but the next week's paper contains another, and the room of the machinist is crowded. Many buy, and they find their wonderful invention' about as profitable as the Yankee's wooden nutmegs and beach bacon hams.

6

A new work on philosophy or political economy is issued.The author sends a copy to the editor, and the public sees an article headed

NEW AND VALUABLE WORK.'

It is bought also, and the old trunks are soon papered over, or the glazier cheated out of a job, and the windows renovated with the useless leaves. Such are the impositions put on the public. The system of indiscriminate puffing robs genius. If an indifferent article or invention is lauded as a production of high talent, what more can be said of an article or invention which presents the finest mind?

The system tends to this-the applicant is made a more dishonest man the editor is bribed, and the credulous public abused. It is high time that the error should be corrected.— Louisville Lit. Register.