of their children in their studies, they certainly have it in their power to do much to make the teacher's life a pleasanter one; they can give to him some tokens of a kindly interest in his success, and of a willingness to cheer him along his toilsome way. And let the teacher see that his labors are appreciated, his duties and difficulties properly estimated, his plans cordially acquiesced in and promoted, his acts candidly judged, his faults, (and it will be very wonderful after all if he have not many of these,) fairly considered and heartily overlooked-and he would be an ungrateful, soulless piece of humanity, who would not be willing to devote his strength to the last remnant of energy, to requite the confidence, and answer the just expectations of those for whom he labors. Let parents give their sympathy and co-operation to the teachers of their children, and the profession would soon be filled with devoted and talented men, who would be willing to live and die in their work; and when from their last pillow they should cast back a lingering look to the scene of their labors, the roses would amply conceal the sharpest thorns. NOTE. Since the delivery of this lecture before the Institute, it has been incorporated with, and published in, a volume entitled "Fireside Education" MAN THE SUBJECT OF EDUCATION. In the autumn of 1837, there was an assembly in the state house at Boston, which presented two conditions of society. Among a crowd, consisting of the pale-faced race, were a number of red warriors from the West. They were the chiefs of their tribes, the picked men of their several nations; the brave of the battle-field, the orator and sage of the council. In reply to an address from the chief magistrate of this commonwealth, several of them made speeches. But how narrow was their range of thought; how few their ideas; how slight their knowledge; how feeble their grasp of intellect! They were, indeed, powerful in limb, but they had evidently the imperfect and limited comprehension of children. As animals, they were athletic, sinewy, and active, but as men, they had a coarse and revolting aspect. If you looked into their countenances as an index to the mind, you looked in vain for any trace of those refined emotions which belong to civilized man. It is frightful to gaze into the human face and see only the sinister stare of a wild animal. Yet the eye of these savages, like that of the wolf or the tiger, though bright and glassy, had no depth of expression, and seemed only to manifest a wary attention to visible objects and the passing scene. It bespoke no inward working, as if the mind were busy in weaving its woof of reflection, and unfolded no emotion, as if some seal were broken and a new page of revelation opened on the soul. It seemed indeed but a watchful sentinel to mark outward things, not a mirror imaging forth a spirit within. Such were the master-spirits of the savage race. Compare them with the individual who addressed them on the occasion in behalf of the pale-faces, the chief magistrate of this commonwealth, and consider the difference between savage and civilized man. Consider the compass of thought, the vastness of knowledge, the power of combination, the richness of fancy, the depth, variety and refinement of sentiment, which belong to one, and the narrowness of mind, the poverty of soul, which characterize the other. And what is the mighty magic which thus makes men to differ? The easy answer to this interrogation is offered in a single word EDUCATION. I know indeed that in common use this only means the instruction given at our seminaries. We speak of an English education, a liberal education, a fashionable education. In these cases, the word has a restricted and technical signification, and includes little more than instruction in certain arts and certain branches of knowledge. The learned politician who gave as a toast on some public occasion, “ Education, or the three R's, Reading, Riting and Rithmetic," interpreted the word according to this popular acceptation. It has, however, a more enlarged sense, and legitimately includes all those influences which go to unfold the faculties of man or determine human character. It is in this wide sense that education may be offered as explaining the difference between savage and civilized man. It is in this sense I propose to con sider it on the present occasion. And here let us remark, that if man in his natural state is a savage; and if there be a power by which he can be redeemed from such degradation, and elevated to a rank but little lower than the angels-how important is it that we understand thoroughly the nature and operation of that power. It will, therefore, be my design to investigate this topic, and endeavor to illustrate in a plain and simple manner, the great principle on which human improvement rests. To the careless or casual observer, the fields of science present an assemblage of objects without plan, arrangement, or design. To him, the surface of the earth seems but a disorganized mass of rocks, stones, and soils; to him, the various tribes of animals are but as a confused Babel, and the vegetable kingdom a perplexing and bewildering maze of trees, plants, |