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 BV 1520 .G87 1869 
 Groser, William H. 
 Our work 
 
OUR WORK: 
 
 Jfom' "^tdnxtB 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PEI:NtC1PLES AIsD PEACTICE of SUNDAY 
 SCHOOL TEACHING, 
 
 rELIVEEED BEEOKE THE 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION TRAINING CLASS. 
 
 :. ^E 
 
 By WILLIAM H. "GEOSEE, B.Sc, (Lond.), F.G.S,, 
 
 OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION COMMITTEE. 
 
 Author of " Illustrative Teaching," " Bible Months," " The Iiitrodni-fory 
 
 Class," 6fe. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION, 
 56, OLD BAILEY, E.G. 
 
 1869. 
 
J. & W. KiDER, Printers, 14, Bartholomew Close, London, E.G. 
 

 i 
 
 THSOLOGIGiiL.-i 
 
 PEEFATORY NOTE. 
 
 The design of the Autlior, in preparing these Lectures, has 
 been to exhibit some of the leading principles upon which all 
 Education, to be successful, must be based, and to point out 
 their application to Sunday school instruction. He has en- 
 deavoured to be both accurate and popular ; and, although at 
 the cost of limiting the scope of the Lectures, has entered 
 into details, and illustrated rules by examples, in the hope 
 that the work may thereby be rendered more useful to young 
 and inexperienced teachers. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 Our Material ; or, What is a Child h . . . ,3 
 
 The Instruments : "What to Teach . . . .57 
 
 How TO Teach ; or, the Right Use of the Instruments 105 
 
 At Work : the Teacher Teaching .... 145 
 
V' puiiTCSTGr; 
 
 \THSOLOGIC 
 
 OUR lATEEIAL- 
 
 OB, 
 
 WHAT IS A CHILD? 
 
 By WILLIAM H. GROSER, B.Sc, F.G.S., 
 
 OP THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION COMMITTEE 
 
t 
 
OUE MATEMAL. 
 
 It was my privilege, not long since, to visit an ex- 
 tensive manufactory of the finest kind of porcelain, in 
 one of our midland cities. I was first shown the crude 
 materials; I saw them kneaded together in great 
 circular cisterns as if by an unseen power, and then 
 passed into the room where the potters pursued their 
 craft. I watched " the potter work a work upon the 
 wheels;" and as the white, moist clay grew beneath 
 his skilful hand into forms of grace and beauty, I 
 thought I had never yet seen so exquisite a type of 
 perfect plasticity. I could now appreciate the cogent 
 question of the apostle, " Hath not the potter power 
 over the clay?" 
 
 I had visited the city simply as a Sunday school 
 teacher, and here was indeed a striking emblem of my 
 work. Each child, I thought, that God places beneath 
 my care has a nature plastic and impressible as yonder 
 clay, and, whether I will it or not, will bear the 
 impress of rqy moulding hand, whether skilful or 
 unsteady, whether put forth in earnest wisdom or 
 in vague uncertainty. Yonder vessels have diiferent 
 purposes to serve,— some to honour, and some to dis- 
 honour, according as the potter shall determine ; but 
 
 2 
 
OUR MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 this for a few years, or at most a few centuries. And 
 the vessels which I am called to fashion, they too 
 have their destinies; but their honour or their dis- 
 honour shall be unchanging and eternal. God grant 
 that, like some of these material things, they may at 
 length be deemed fit for a royal Master's use ! 
 
 But earth yields no product that can truly typify 
 the beauty of our Material — a living soul; least of 
 all, the soul of a young child. Child-life is perhaps 
 the fairest picture upon which the eye of man can 
 rest ; the only picture in the world's vast gallery 
 which he forbears to criticize. For childhood, the 
 satirist has in his quiver no arrows, and in its presence 
 the cynic forgets to sneer, and the misanthrope to 
 scowl. As the ancients ever looked wistfully back 
 on a golden age long passed away, so the adult delights 
 to gaze on the bright visions of his early days, and 
 sighs that they can return no more. In the society 
 of childhood, manhood forgets its cares, and age its 
 decrepitude. The painter strives to perpetuate its 
 joyous scenes, and the poet to recall its sunny 
 memories ; while the humorist, as he strives to 
 contemplate it with a mirthful smile, lets fall his pen, 
 and drops a tear instead. Happy child ! 
 
 " Ah ! who, when fading of itself away, 
 "Would cloud the sunshine of his little day ? 
 Now is the May of life ; careering round, 
 Joy wings his feet, joy lifts him from the ground ! 
 Pointing to such, well might Cornelia say, 
 "When the rich casket shone in bright array, 
 4 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD r 
 
 * These are my jewels.' "Well of such as he 
 When Jesus spake, well might His language he, 
 ' Suffer these little ones to come to Me.' " 
 
 Eut in mind, as in matter, beauty and mystery- 
 are often linked together ; where Beauty smiles, 
 Mystery, her companion, stands veiled at her side. 
 
 Child-nature, which wins us by its grace, confounds 
 us by the problems whicli it oiFers to our considera- 
 tion. The experiences of that young mind and heart, 
 could they be uttered, would resolve many a doubt, 
 and clear up many a difficulty. Most truly has Dr. 
 Keid remarked, " that if we could obtain a distinct 
 and full history of all that hath passed in the mind 
 of a child from the beginning of life and sensation, 
 till it grows up to the use of reason, . . . this 
 would probably give more light into the human 
 faculties than all the systems of philosophers about 
 them since the beginning of the world."* 
 
 But such a complete juvenile autobiography is as 
 far beyond our reacb as the sibylline books which 
 King Tarquin declined to purchase, or the lost volumes 
 of Titus Livius. Yet we may make some approach 
 towards the desired result, even though, like the 
 line which geometers describe, we can never reach 
 the point towards which we tend ; and this in two 
 ways : — (1) the elder child — the youth — the man, 
 can, by the exercise of memory, recall many of his 
 early thoughts and feelings, and record them for 
 the benefit of others ; and (2) as the physiologist 
 
 • "PhHosophy of the Mind," i., § 2. 
 5 
 
OUR MATEKIAL; OR, 
 
 detects internal action by external symptoms, so the 
 student of mind may detect its unseen workings by 
 the outward acts to which they give rise. From 
 these two sources, memory and observation, all our 
 knowledge of child-nature is derived. Of the extent 
 to which these sources may be resorted to, I may 
 refer you to the writings of Thomas De Quincey and 
 Charlotte Eronte, as illustrations of the power of 
 recollection ; and to those of Jacob Abbott, and the 
 venerable James Gall, of Edinburgh, as examples 
 of accurate observation of juvenile life and character. 
 
 The value and essential importance of such know- 
 ledge of child-nature to the teacher, secular or 
 religious, would seem too obvious to admit of formal 
 proof. If the potter must understand the nature 
 and properties of the clay which he fashions, if the 
 agriculturist must be acquainted with soils, and the 
 miner with rocks, the goldsmith with precious 
 metals, and the textile manufacturer with vegetable 
 fibres, surely he who has to mould and fashion living, 
 immortal mind, needs to know at least what can be 
 known of the nature of that material, and the laws 
 to which it is subject. 
 
 It may be an assistance to the memory, and serve as 
 a series of landmarks in the inquiries which we ar« to 
 pursue together, if we keep in view the four items of 
 knowledge which the "thoroughly furnished" artist, 
 whether he work upon matter or mind, ought to 
 possess. 
 
 1st. As we have just said, a knowledge oe the 
 
 MATERIAL TO BE EMPLOYED. 
 
 6 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 2nd. A CLEAE TIEW OE THE EESULT TO BE 
 ATTAINED. 
 
 Srd. A THOEOUGH ACQUALPfTANCE WITH THE 
 INSTETJME?s'TS TO BE USED. 
 
 4th. A KNOWLEDGE OE THE METHODS OF HAND- 
 LING THE INSTEUMENTS SO AS TO BEING ABOUT THE 
 DESIEED EESULT. 
 
 These propositions are self-evident; yet one or 
 more of them are not nnfrequently lost sight of by 
 workers of all classes and denominations, and some 
 have been practically denied in the great work of 
 teaching the young. Take, for example, the first- 
 named requisite (with which we are to be chiefly 
 concerned in the present lecture). I presume that 
 there is hardly any one who would seriously dispute 
 the assertion that a teacher of children should under- 
 stand child-nature. And yet does not the whole 
 history of education, from the earliest period of 
 which we have any record, down almost to the present 
 time, read like a satire upon that very principle ? 
 
 Consider the social position as well as the mental 
 and moral qualifications of a schoolmaster of the 
 olden time in our own country, and then ask your- 
 selves. Was ever a sublime office so degraded and 
 despised in the persons and characters of those who 
 filled it? ""Would not," asked Dugald Stewart, 
 within the present century, and seeming to speak 
 of a millennium yet far distant — " would not educa- 
 tion be necessarily rendered more systematical and 
 enlightened, if the powers and faculties on which it 
 operates were more scientifically examined and better 
 
 7 
 
OUE MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 understood?" Many of tlie teachers of his day 
 would scarcely know the meaning of the words he 
 used, or indeed of any words, save such as ministered 
 to the wants of mere animal life. And even now 
 Buch knowledge is, we fear, in some quarters very 
 homoeopathic indeed in its amount. But to return. 
 
 It is an anomaly not easy to explain, that the 
 sciences which of all others concern us most inti- 
 mately are the very subjects which, to persons in 
 general, seem pre-eminently unwelcome and unat- 
 tractive. I refer to physiology, metaphysics, ethics, 
 and theology ; in other words, the laws and principles 
 which relate respectively to our bodies, our minds, our 
 hearts, and our souls. They have to do with our own 
 precious, loved, invaluable, inestimable, and never- 
 to-be-sufficiently-appreciated selves ; and yet what is 
 the popular view of these sciences ? Physiology is 
 "horrid;" metaphysics, "dreadfully dry;" ethics, 
 " a bore ;" and theology, " a thing for parsons and 
 professors." And even among those classes of society 
 from whom different sentiments might have been 
 expected, theology is loudly denounced as a thing of 
 mere creeds, — as though a man's creed were not the 
 foundation of his daily life, but rather some hideous 
 excrescence grafted on his moral nature ; while 
 mental and moral philosophy, technically termed 
 metaphysics and ethics, are quoted as the extreme 
 of dry and barren speculation. The advertising pages 
 of the AtJienceum, a few months back, announced the 
 publication of a small work, the avowed object of 
 
 8 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 which is to show that the science of mind is simply 
 "a nullity," — which sage discovery is set forth in 
 " six dialogues." And I suppose that the mention 
 of metaphysics in almost every social circle will be 
 found to excite a feeling, if not an expression, of 
 antipathy on the part of at least a majority of the 
 persons present. 
 
 I will not stay to speculate on the cause of this 
 remarkable prejudice further than to record the con- 
 viction that, although many influences may have com- 
 bined to foster and encourage it, its true root is to be 
 found in that hereditary tendency to evil, of which 
 some half-fledged philosophers are so eager to chirp 
 out an indignant denial, but whose tendency uni- 
 formly is to subordinate the spiritual to the sensual, 
 the unseen to the seen, the future to the present, the 
 things that concern man as a rational and accountable 
 being to the things that minister to his lower appetites 
 and necessities ; and whose gospel may be summed up 
 in the one doctrine, " Let us eat and drink, for to- 
 morrow we die." I would merely urge that we, as 
 trainers of character, should earnestly strive to rise 
 superior to vulgar errors, to popular fallacies, and even 
 to the prejudices which we ourselves may insensibly 
 have contracted; and therefore I venture to invite 
 your careful consideration of a few of the elementary 
 truths of mental and moral science. And let me add 
 that the " dryness " of any department of knowledge 
 is not real, but apparent. Truth and mind are related 
 to each other as light and the eye; and whenever they 
 Beem to be discordant, it is because we are viewing 
 
 9 
 
OUE MATEEIAL ; OR, 
 
 them through a distorting medium. The remedy is 
 easy, — not to "linger shivering on the brink" of the 
 science, but to plunge boldly in. Then we shall soon 
 discover that truth, under whatever name, is the same 
 thing still. We may not feel that we care about the 
 laws of association, or the classification of the feelings ; 
 but let us take the advice of Sydney Smith, whose 
 " Sketches of Moral Philosophy " can hardly fail to 
 please the most fastidious ; let us " make ourselves 
 care, get up, shake ourselves well, pretend to care, 
 make believe to care, and very soon we sliall care, and 
 care so much that we shall be continually pondering 
 these very themes, and get extremely angry with any 
 one who interrupts us in our pursuits, and tolerate 
 no other conversation, and catch ourselves plaguing 
 everybody to death who approaches us, with the dis- 
 cussion of these subjects." And now for a brief 
 glance at elementary metaphysics. 
 
 One of the first things we learned about ourselves 
 was that we had five senses — seeing, hearing, smelling, 
 touch, and tasting ; and although repeatedly cautioned 
 by nervous people not to frighten them out of the 
 possession of seven, we have resolutely restricted our 
 credence to the orthodox number, and regarded the 
 remaining two as mere myths, like good King Arth 
 and the wise men of Grotham. 
 
 The wise men of later days have, however, detected 
 (at least they think so) three additional senses or 
 kinds of sensation, raising the total to eight ; so that 
 the loss of seven, as above referred to, would not 
 leave the bereaved subject entirely senseless. 
 
 10 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 Even before " muscular Cliristianity " came into 
 fashion, it \yas pointed out by Hartley that the muscles 
 or flesh are as much the seat of sensations as the eye 
 or the ear ; and these not identical with the sense of 
 touch. The sensations themselves are not easily de- 
 scribed, but the states of feeling which immediately 
 result from them are familiar enough. The feeling of 
 fatigue at the close of a hard day's work, when we 
 throw ourselves on the sofa and vow that " our very 
 bones ache," is one of the least agreeable effects of 
 muscular sensation. On the other hand, the intense 
 delight which kittens, puppies, and children appear 
 to derive from purely active exercise, without any 
 reference to its results, appears to arise in part from 
 the same kind of sensation. 
 
 The above, then, forms the sixth sense. Senses 
 seven and eight are termed by Mr. Mill sensations of 
 disorganization, like those experienced when any part 
 of the body is bruised, burnt, cut, or inflamed — the 
 peculiar "pulsation" in a whitlow, for instance; and 
 sensations in the alimentary canal, such as are felt by 
 schoolboys at Christmas, or by dyspeptics all the year 
 round. 
 
 But these new senses have not had their individual 
 claims unhesitatingly admitted. Professor Bain con- 
 siders that the muscular sense should be placed in a 
 family by itself, and the other two classed together 
 with certain others as sensations of organic life. He 
 thus reduces the true senses to six, beside the muscu- 
 lar sense. 
 
 These senses are among the chief links which unite 
 
 11 
 
OrB MATEEIAL; 01?, 
 
 hody to mind — our material to our immaterial selves; 
 and they have been beautifully designated by Dr. 
 "Wilson the " gateways of knowledge." They are the 
 inlets through which the world without communicates 
 with the world within ; the isthmuses which unite the 
 continent of matter with the continent of mind. And 
 w^hile speaking of these connecting links I should be 
 sorry to incur the imputation of ignoring, as too often 
 is the case with teachers, both religious and secular, 
 the important fact that the child has a physical as w^ell 
 as a mental organization. We have to deal with 
 young and tender bodies, and not merely with open- 
 ing minds and susceptible hearts. The Sunday school 
 teacher will therefore do well to bear in mind a few 
 simple principles. 
 
 While the chief aim of the Christian educator is to 
 train the moral and intellectual powers of the pupil, 
 he should seek, as far as in him lies, to promote the 
 welfare of the body, remembering how intimate is the 
 connection of physical health with mental vigour and 
 moral rectitude. The child, like the growing plant, 
 needs abundance of light, warmth, and air, for its free 
 development. Hence schoolrooms should be well 
 lighted, warmed, and ventilated; and the absence of 
 these qualities in our Sunday school buildings is a 
 fault which cannot be too deeply deplored, nor, so far 
 as they arise from parsimony or neglect, too severely 
 condemned. Yet, as such matters rest more especially 
 with school committees and school officers, it does not 
 fall within the scope of the present lecture to enlarge 
 upon them more in detail, or to dwell upon such 
 
 12 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 educational anomalies as high forms and uncomfortable 
 seats, however common they may be. There is one 
 fault in class management, however, which I may take 
 leave to advert to particularly. The bodies, like the 
 minds of young children, are incapable of long- 
 continued effort, especially in one particular direction. 
 Hence brevity and variety should be studied by the 
 teacher. The entire exercise should not be too long 
 as a whole, and relief should be afforded to the 
 children by frequent changes of posture. This 
 principle is admirably carried out in some of our 
 infant schools, and no one can have failed to observe 
 with what marked pleasure and benefit to the little 
 pupils. 
 
 But to return to the subject of sensation. All 
 that we learn is acquired in the first instance through 
 the medium of the senses, of which we shall come to 
 speak more particularly anon. Meanwhile let us 
 enter by one of these gateways, and gaze upon the 
 world of mind to which they introduce us. 
 
 The scene is new, yet not new; strange, yet 
 familiar. For a while all seems dim and confused, 
 but presently we begin to distinguish three peculiar 
 forms. Here is the dignified Intellect, or Thou&ht, 
 itself often called "Mind;" the more excitable 
 Emotion, or Feeling ; and our old and pertinacious 
 friend, the Will. In plain language. Thinking, 
 Eeeling, and Willing, are the properties of mind — 
 of those minds with which we have to deal in our 
 work as educators of the young. We must glance 
 at each of these, and then concern ourselves with 
 
 13 
 
OTTE MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 the special thouglits and feelings whicli «haracterize 
 the young. 
 
 It is recorded of the celebrated traveller and critic, 
 Niebuhr, that in his old age, although blind and 
 almost helpless, he could describe with wonderful 
 minuteness and vivacity the scenes he had witnessed 
 in the course of his travels. He told his friends that 
 "as he lay in bed, all visible objects shut out, the 
 pictures of what he had seen in the East continually 
 floated before his mind's eye." 
 
 If any of us were asked to explain the above phe- 
 nomenon, we should probably reply, " Oh, he was 
 evidently a man of lively imagination." But what 
 did he see ? " Why, merely his own ideas, his own 
 conceptions, — the same as when we dream." But 
 how did he come to have ideas of Oriental scenes ? 
 " Because he had witnessed them previously, of 
 course." 
 
 This being granted, we have in the above incident 
 a simple illustration of Sensation, and of the three 
 properties of mind ; e. y., — 
 
 The traveller had gazed upon the vivid scenes of 
 the glowing East ; here was Sensation. 
 
 Lying in bed with his eyes closed, he could recall 
 the impression, and conceive of the object ; here was 
 Intellect, exercising the powers of memory, concep- 
 tion, and imagination. 
 
 The phenomenon struck him as curious ; here was 
 Emotion — the emotion of tvonder. 
 
 He resolved to communicate the fact to his friends ; 
 here was an act of the Will. 
 
 14 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 But some teacher may ask, " Are all sensations 
 thus permanent? Is the mind ordinarily able thus 
 to retain them, and make them a part of its stores of 
 knowledge ? I only wish I could think so concern- 
 ing the sensations which I produce from Sunday to 
 Sunday upon my scholars' organs of hearing ! Tor 
 my part, I fear that the large majority of such sensa- 
 tions are fleeting as the clouds, — 
 
 * And, like an unsubstantial pageant faded, 
 Leave not a wrack beliind.' " 
 
 This is but too truly the case with many of those 
 sensations which reach the child's ear through the 
 exercise of the teacher's voice. Yet there needs be no 
 mystery as to the cause of their evanescence. In 
 order that a sensation may become part of our know- 
 ledge, " one thing is needful ; "— what is that one thing? 
 
 Look at that helpless infant of a few weeks old. 
 It holds in its tiny palm a piece of red coral, set 
 round with small tinkling cynibals, which give forth a 
 somewhat monotonous sound at every movement of 
 baby's arm. The instrument of music evidently 
 has its uses ; as a whole, it acts as an anodyne in 
 paroxysms of squalling ; while the animal portion 
 serves as a smooth though innutritious object of 
 resistance, upon which the infant may exercise its 
 gums. One would think that something might be 
 learnt even from so simple an object as a coral ; but 
 gaze into those two circular eyes, mark that vacant 
 stare, and you will be satisfied that baby has no idea 
 of anything of the sort. He feels, and hears, and 
 
 15 
 
OUR MATEEIAL; OE, 
 
 sees, and derives a sort of pleasure from those sensa- 
 tions, and that is all. But look at that same baby 
 when a few months have rolled away ; observe how 
 difierently he seizes the coral, — touches, shakes, listens 
 to, and tastes the toy ; and mark the gleam of intelli- 
 gence which beams from the eyes when he is thus 
 engaged : he has converted the toy into a lesson-book 
 for his own use. A¥hat has made the difference, and 
 in what does it consist ? Plainly, in the former case 
 there was mere Sensation. In the latter, sensation 
 was accompanied by Attention, and the sensations 
 produced were connected by the mind with the object 
 which produced them. This is called IBerception, and 
 without it there can be no knowledge acquired. And 
 thus it happens that in a large class of children, or a 
 large congregation of adults, though all may hear 
 what is said with equal distinctness, only a few may 
 perceive what is going on, simply through lack of 
 that attention which would convert sensation into 
 perception. 
 
 The vast importance of this act or state of the mind, 
 which we call attention, must be my apology for 
 dwelling upon it for a minute or two in its relations 
 to our work. It is often said that children have very 
 little power of attention, and in a certain sense this is 
 true. But watch a juvenile group around Punch and 
 Judy, and mark their countenances as they trace 
 each successive phase of that exciting domestic drama 
 from its commencement to its close. I think we shall 
 be obliged to admit that under some circumstances 
 children are capable of vigorous and long-sustained 
 
 16 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD? 
 
 attention. 'Nor can we find a better illu'Stration of 
 mental absorption than the sclioolboy engaged in. a 
 matcli of cricket or football. 
 
 The facts seem to be these: — 1. The attention of 
 children is not much under the control of the tvill, 
 but depends upon the intei^est which they feel in the 
 subject. From this it follows that, as a rule, the 
 attention of our younger scholars is not to be secured 
 by begging, or scolding, or reasoning, or expostu- 
 lation, but by presenting that which will interest 
 them. Other methods may enforce quietude, but 
 nothing else will gain attention. 
 
 2. A child's attention cannot long be kept up by 
 one object. The rattle or drum is soon exhausted of 
 its interest, and cast aside, to the unreasonable annoy- 
 ance of the donors. The box of bricks or the doll's 
 house affords much longer enjoyment ; while Punch 
 or cricket is "a thing of beauty and a joy for ever." 
 Hence we must beware of monotony in our instruc- 
 tions. " Here a little, and there a little," must be 
 our motto ; and the " little " Jie7^e must be as different 
 as possible from the " little " there. And the younger 
 the children, and the feebler their power of sustaining 
 the attention, the greater the variety of subject and 
 manner required in teaching them. 
 
 It has, perhaps, struck you that there is often a 
 vast difference between the attention of a child and 
 that of an adult. If you wish your young scholars to 
 attend, you desire that their eyes and ears shall be 
 open ; but when you are especially anxious to give 
 fixed attention to a subject yourself, you shut your 
 
 17 B 
 
OUE MATERIAL; OE, 
 
 eyes, cover your face with your hands, as if in the 
 depths of despair, or stare vacantly down at the 
 pavement, or out at the w^indow, as the case may 
 be. And in proportion as you succeed in fixing 
 the attention, you cease to have any perceptions of 
 external things. It is said of Sir Isaac Newton, that 
 sometimes, while dressing himself in the morning, 
 he would suddenly enter upon a train of thought, and, 
 becoming absorbed in meditation, sit for hours upon 
 the bed with one stocking on and the other in his 
 hand, entirely lost to all that was passing around him, 
 or to his own remarkable appearance. These illustra- 
 tions may serve to remind us that in early years the 
 attention is chiefly occupied with sensible objects. 
 The infant or young child learns by perception y 
 through the medium of its senses. 
 
 Hence the first of the three stages of a child ^s 
 intellectual history is appropriately termed The Age 
 OF PERCEPTiO]sr. The younger pupils in our infant 
 classes are passing through this period of development. 
 But when they enter our schools they have for some 
 time been pupils in Dame Nature's academy, and 
 have already made such progress by the help of the six 
 senses, that the most skilful of human instructors can 
 but follow at a distance her wondrously attractive 
 methods and her inimitable success. Yet only in 
 proportion as we make Nature our model — in other 
 words, conform our modes of tuition to the laws to 
 which the God of Nature has subjected the human 
 mind — can we render our schools as influential and as 
 
 IS. 
 
"WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 attractive as that school which precedes and outvies 
 all that man has ever invented. 
 
 At the Age of Perception, the child is occupied 
 with the material and with the present; the vague 
 and imaginary has as yet little or no charm for him. 
 His castle-building is a reality, a piling up of wooden 
 blocks, and not a dreamy visioning of possibilities to 
 come. We repeat, his acquisitions are confined to 
 outward objects. Of these he acquires a knowledge 
 directly through the senses, or indireetly by verbal 
 description, through the analogy of known objects : 
 and in no otlier tvay than these. An illustration from 
 actual teaching will explain our meaning : — 
 
 Suppose that I wish to convey to an infant class the 
 idea of a fig tree — an object which they have never 
 seen. I might take them to a garden and show them 
 a fig tree, or I might exhibit a model or picture ; this 
 would be teaching them directly through the medium 
 of the senses. In default of such helps, I should be 
 driven to verbal description, trying to convey an 
 idea of a fig tree indirectly, through the analogy of 
 some other trees which the pupils were familiar with. 
 
 Now, I need not point out which of these two 
 methods would more fully accomplish the desired end- 
 But if it be admitted, as I think it must, that the 
 former plan would be far preferable to the latter, I 
 do not see how the advantages of visible objects, as 
 aids in infant tuition, can be denied. Apart from the 
 pleasure accruing to the pupils from the exercise of a 
 second sense — and that sense the most important of 
 all — a large increase of clearness of apprehension 
 
 19 
 
OUR MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 must be the result of such perceptive teaching. And 
 in proportion to the vividness of the perceptions will 
 be the ease with which such perceptions can be after- 
 wards recalled. 
 
 This last remark conducts us to the next step 
 in our inquiry. 
 
 The blind, traveller who so vividly recalled the 
 scenes which he had witnessed years before, did so, we 
 saw, by the exercise of the power of conception. 
 Conception is therefore the faculty by which past 
 perceptions are recalled, and absent objects seen with 
 ''the mind's eye" as they formerly were seen with 
 the bodily eye ; or heard with the inner ear as once 
 they were with the outward ear. 
 
 By conception, the sailor hears, resounding over 
 the sea, the sounds of village bells; the painter re- 
 produces the objects or scenes he has witnessed ; and 
 the lonely exile beholds in waking dreams his loved 
 and distant home. "When the German artist executed, 
 in the absence of the original copy, a perfect fac- 
 simile of one of Rubens' masterpieces, he exhibited 
 very powerful conception ; and when Eousseau, lying in 
 his boat on the Lake of Yienne, abandoned himself, 
 hour after hour, to bright and airy vision, he exercised 
 the same faculty. " But," some one may say, 
 " was not the painter exercising 'memorij, and the 
 philosopher imagination?^^ Undoubtedly; for con- 
 ception is the remembrance of a 'perception^ and 
 imagination is the grouping of our conceptions 
 together. 
 
 20 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD? 
 
 Now the age of perception in the child is followed 
 by a period in which this power of conception 
 develops itself in a very marked manner. The in- 
 tellect takes a firmer grasp of the unseen ; it lives 
 less exclusively in the present and material. I have 
 observed this change taking place in my own children, 
 by watching the character of their pastimes. It is now 
 almost entirely dramatic. Everything is "pretend" 
 and " make believe." Past events and distant scenes 
 are recalled, and absent friends and playmates per- 
 sonified by the power of conception, while imagination 
 groups the conceptions together in endless variety. 
 This is matter of common observation, and serves 
 to show, not only how vigorous these powers become 
 even in young children, but also how large an 
 amount of pleasure is derived from their exercise. 
 We now understand what is meant by the second 
 period of a child's intellectual history — the Age of 
 Conception or Imagination, at which our elemen- 
 tary Sunday scholars have arrived. 
 
 It might be an interesting and instructive occu- 
 pation to inquire what it is which gives rise to 
 particular conceptions ; why, for example, the image 
 of a particular acquaintance or long-forgotten land- 
 scape suddenly presents itself to the mind, rather 
 than any other image. Doubtless, much depends 
 upon past habits of thought and mode of life ; but 
 this question does not fall within the scope of the 
 present lecture. The manner, however, in which 
 one conception suggests another, and this a third, and 
 so on through long trains of thought, is a subject, not 
 
 21 
 
OUR MATEEIAL ; OE, 
 
 merely of lively interest, but strictly germane to 
 our immediate purpose. An incident or two will 
 throw light upon this phenomenon. A short time 
 since I found myself looking in, as I passed, at an 
 oilman's window. Among other things my eye 
 casually rested on a bottle of pickles. The next 
 moment the image of Professor Faraday rose before 
 my mental eye. "What possible connection," you 
 exclaim, " could there be between a bottle of pickles 
 and that eminent philosopher?" Ordinarily none; 
 but in my mind, on that particular occasion, a very 
 close connection. The pickle-jar suggested similarly 
 shaped bottles, which I had unsuccessfully tried to 
 convert, in my schoolboy days, into cylinders for 
 electrifying machines; this called up the form and 
 countenance of our greatest electrician. Professor 
 Faraday. 
 
 Now this principle, by which one idea calls up 
 or suggests another, is termed AssociATioif or 
 Suggestion. It is of wide application and vast 
 importance. It has to do not merely with our 
 thoughts, but also with our feelings and our actions, 
 lying at the root of external perception, memory, 
 habit, and all our acquired powers. 
 
 Of its influence upon memory we have just given an 
 illustration. The following is much more striking : — 
 " When I was about fifteen years of age," says the 
 late Sir B. Brodie, " I went, with my father and mother 
 and other friends, on a tour through Somersetshire ; 
 and having arrived at Wellington, where I had cer- 
 tainly never been before, we tarried an hour or two 
 
 22 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 at tlie" Squirrel" inn for refreslimentB. On entering 
 the room where the rest of the party were assembled, 
 I found myself suddenly surprised and pursued by 
 a pack of strange, shadowy, infantile images, too 
 vague to be called recollections, too distinct and 
 persevering to be dismissed as phantasms. Which- 
 ever way I turned my eyes, faint and imperfect 
 pictures of persons once familiar to my childhood, 
 and feeble outlines of events long passed away, came 
 crowding around me and vanishing again in rapid 
 and fitful succession. A wild reverie of early child- 
 hood, half illusion, half reality, seized me, for which 
 T could not possibly account ; and when I attempted 
 to fix and examine any one of the images, it fled 
 like a phantom from my grasp, and was immediately 
 succeeded by another equally confused and volatile. 
 T felt assured that all this was not a mere trick of 
 the imagination. It seemed to me rather that 
 enfeebled memory was, by some sudden impulse, 
 set actively at work, endeavouring to recall the forms 
 of past realities, long overlaid and almost lost behind 
 the throng of subsequent events. My uneasiness was 
 noticed by my mother ; and when I had described my 
 sensations, the whole mystery was speedily solved by 
 the discovery that the pattern of the wall-paper in 
 the room where we were seated was exactly similar 
 to that of my nursery at Paddington, which I had 
 never seen since I was between four and five years 
 of age. I did not immediately remember the paper, 
 but I was soon satisfied that it was indeed the 
 medium of association through which all those ill- 
 
 23 
 
OUR MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 defined, half- faded forms had travelled up to light ; 
 my nurse and nursery events associated with that 
 paper pattern being, after all, but very faintly pic- 
 tured on the field of my remembrance." 
 
 The authoress of a recent work on " Prison Life " 
 gives a touching instance of the influence of associa- 
 tion upon the emotions : — " I have a remembrance of 
 looking through the ' inspection ' of a cell some years 
 ago, and perceiving a prisoner, with her elbows on 
 the table, staring at a common daisy, which she liad 
 plucked from the central patch of grass during her 
 rounds, — one of those rude, repulsive, yet not wholly 
 bad prisoners, from whom no display of sentiment 
 was anticipated. Yet the wistful look of that woman 
 at her stolen prize was a gleam of as true sentiment 
 as ever breathed in the poet's lines. A painter 
 might have made much of her position, and a phi- 
 losopher might have moralized concerning it, for the 
 woman wept at last, dropped her head down on the 
 table between her linked hands, and shed her bitter 
 tears silently and noiselessly. The prison daisy must 
 have spoken of the old, innocent times — of the fields 
 she crossed once with old friends — perhaps of daisies, 
 like unto that before her, growing on a mother's 
 grave." 
 
 Such examples of the law of association read a 
 solemn lesson to religious teachers of the young. If 
 casual impressions have such a power of awakening 
 conceptions of past scenes and circumstances, asso- 
 ciated with them in time or place, how important 
 is it that the Sunday school and all its hallowed 
 
 24 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD r 
 
 exercises should be brought to the scholar s miud; 
 by liuks and ties of association of every kind ! As 
 soon as the child has entered upon the conceptive 
 stage of his development, so soon may we avail our- 
 selves of the law of mental association. In order 
 to do this we must be illustrative teachers, asso- 
 ciating Scripture truths with the every-day life of 
 the scholar ; like our divine Model, who pressed into 
 His service bud and flower, sea and sky, sower and 
 reaper; so that they who gazed upon these familiar 
 things must perforce recall the gracious truths which 
 He had linked with them. 
 
 IS'or need I point out the supreme importance of 
 conuecting the sacred Day, the house of prayer, the 
 Word of truth, the school and class, with every holy 
 thought and every glad and joyous feeling; never 
 with unintelligible performances, jaded and weary 
 minds, dreary sermonizing, or harsh discipline. 
 
 Abbott gives a lively instance of the power of 
 pleasant associations to influence a child's convictions 
 and habits. He says, " On the question of a name for 
 an infant brother, a little boy persisted in a pre- 
 ference for George over Erancis, the name decided 
 upon. " I said to him, ' If his name is Francis, you 
 can, by-and-bye, when he grows up, say, "Mother, 
 may I take Erancis out to ride r" And mother will say, 
 " Yes." Then you cg-n take Erancis up, and carry him 
 out, and put him in your httle waggon, and take 
 hold of the handle, and then say, " Erancis, are you 
 all ready ?" And Erancis will say, " Yes." Then you 
 can draw him about a little way, and after a little 
 
 25 
 
OUE MATEEIAL ; OE, 
 
 while bring him back, and saj, " Here, mother, I 
 have brought Francis back safe." Do you not 
 think, then, that his name had better be Francis ?' 
 ' Yes, I do,' said he, cordially, convinced and con- 
 verted completely by this precious specimen of 
 logic." 
 
 And, further, we are taught that, if the conceptions 
 in a child's mind follow each other by virtue of asso- 
 ciation, and not independently of each other, our 
 teachings, if they are to be remembered, should as 
 far as possible be linked together by natural ties. 
 I repeat, not merely that we should link Scripture 
 truths with familiar objects and events, but also that 
 each lesson should be connected, if practicable, with 
 that which has gone before. As a Quarterly 
 reviewer has remarked, filling a child's mind should 
 be like packing a trunk ; — the things that follow 
 should fit in with those which have gone before, 
 not be thrown in, in a heterogeneous mass. Hence, 
 Bible lessons should be systematically arranged, and 
 related to each other chronologically or in some other 
 way. 
 
 And, once more, could we examine in detail a 
 child's conceptions, and the groupings of its imagi- 
 nation, we should notice one remarkable peculiarity, — 
 they are made up of well-known objects. The parts 
 of the mental picture are all distinct and familiar ; 
 there is nothing shadowy or obscure about it, and it 
 is grasped as a whole with perfect ease. Mr. Gall 
 has ably explained and applied this interesting fact. 
 The child, he says, when left to nature's teaching, 
 
 26 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 learns one thing at a time, and learns it witli ease and 
 pleasure. Having learned by perception, it soon be- 
 comes able to recall its perceptions, or conceive of 
 things already learned. Then, the parts being clearly 
 known and understood, groups of conceptions are 
 easily formed and vividly realized; the parts being 
 clear, the whole scene becomes clear likewise, and, 
 in addition, is afterwards easily recalled to mind. 
 
 "When, therefore, we come to instruct children who 
 have arrived at the age of conception, something 
 more is needed than the substitution of verbal de- 
 scription for pictorial representation — of word pictures 
 for visual pictures. Few teachers, perhaps, abstain 
 from all attempts at "pictorial teaching;" but the 
 details of each picture ought to be clear and vivid, and 
 consequently the parts must be thoroughly explained 
 and realized before the whole is set before the pupil. 
 The child's attention must be directed to each part 
 of the Bible scene or narrative we wish to lay before 
 him. The whole must then be familiarly illustrated, 
 and its connection with truth already taught pointed 
 out. Attention and association, the two conditions 
 of memory, will then have been called into exercise, 
 and, we may hope, new truth firmly fixed in the 
 pupil's mind- 
 But when, passing from our junior scholars, we 
 direct our attention to those older children of ten 
 years and upwards who compose our Scripture classes, 
 and form so large and interesting a section of our 
 pupils, it needs no very lengthened observation to 
 
 27 
 
OUR MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 enable us to perceive that the intellect has undergone 
 certain developments which mark the advent of a 
 period often termed the Age of Eeason. Upon 
 these it will be desirable to dwell, since upon the 
 character of our Scripture class teaching our influence 
 largely depends. 
 
 Now, every one is aware that the boy or girl knows 
 more at ten than at six ; that of any of our elder 
 scholars we can safely affirm his knowledge is now 
 greater than it ever was before. 
 
 Information, it is true, is acquired more slowly, and 
 perhaps less pleasantly, than in the earliest days of 
 childhood ; but the store was never so ample as now. 
 From parents and teachers, but especially by voluntary 
 acts, a large amount of knowledge has been gained; 
 differing in kind and degree in different individuals, 
 according to character and circumstances, but greater 
 in quantity than at any former time. 
 
 From this long-continued exercise of the under- 
 standing, its powers have necessarily acquired a firmer 
 grasp and a wider range than heretofore. To quote 
 the oft-repeated simile, the intellectual " bottle " is no 
 longer so " small " nor so " narrow-necked "as in early 
 childhood. Its capacity and its orifice are alike en- 
 larged. It will hold more of the waters of knowledge, 
 and more may be poured in at one time without 
 waste. Hence result two important requisites on the 
 side of the teacher : — He must he more amply furnisTied 
 loith information, and he must communicate onore at 
 each lesson. It is obvious that those commonplace 
 truths which are novelties to the infant of five years, 
 
 28 
 
WIIIT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 are stale and uninteresting truisms to the boy or girl 
 of twelve. Their intellectual appetites demand more 
 substantial food, and he who caters for those appetites 
 must be prepared to impart it. 
 
 Again ; — the memory is increasingly retentive. — The 
 power to retain more accompanies the power to receive 
 more. The secular teacher (as most of us can testify 
 from personal experience) availshimself of this circum- 
 stance to increase the number and length of his pupil's 
 tasks, and to submit him to severer examinations. But 
 Sunday school teachers appear to me to be somewhat 
 remiss and inconsistent in the treatment of their elder 
 scholars, for whom they provide repetition lessons 
 scarcely different from those set for junior pupils, and 
 in most cases so ridiculously short that it may be 
 questioned whether it would not be advisable to 
 dispense with them altogether, especially when we 
 consider the disgraceful slovenliness with which they 
 are usually repeated. If, in deference to the fear of 
 rendering the Sunday class " too scholastic," such 
 brief lessons are retained, teachers should at least 
 require that the exercise be correctly performed. 
 
 The vigour displayed by the memory at the age we. 
 are now considering, imposes upon conductors of 
 Scripture classes the duty of providing a constant 
 supply of new matter in the instruction of their pupils. 
 The rule, "line upon line," is now applicable in spirit 
 rather than in letter. The scholar needs less of 
 repetition for his own sake; and if it be given, is 
 better able to recognize the iteration. Some one 
 asked Dr. Arnold why he continued to study for his 
 
 29 
 
OUR MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 pupils as though he feared he should not have enough 
 to give them ? " It is not," replied the head master 
 of Eugby, " because I fear I should not have enoufjh 
 to give them, but because I prefer that they should be 
 supplied from a running stream rather than from a 
 stagnant pool." In plain fact, however, there is a 
 fear — at least in the case of minds less amply furnished 
 than that of Dr. Arnold — that, unless constantly 
 replenished by study, the stream of instruction will 
 grow feebler and narrower, and if not entirely dried 
 up, will lose alike its freshness and its power. I 
 recently listened to a conversation respecting an 
 educational pamphlet, the author of which had not 
 published anything on the same subject for many 
 years. "Pooh!" was the contemptuous criticism, as 
 the leaves were turned over, " we heard all this long 
 ago. The man has grown no bigger than he was a 
 quarter of a century back. Here are the old stories 
 and stale suggestions dished up as new!" The critic 
 was right ; and many an elder scholar has experienced 
 similar feelings as he has listened to the same ideas, 
 clothed in the same phrases, and accompanied by the 
 same illustrations, till he knows them all by heart, 
 and is tempted to break forth into an indignant 
 remonstrance like that of the ragged school boy, 
 " Why, teacher, you surely ain't a-going to cut that 
 'ere fig tree down agen ?" 
 
 Another peculiarity of the age we are now consider- 
 ing is increased command over the attention. It has 
 been already remarked that the attention of a young 
 child is not under his own control ; but in the educa- 
 
 30 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 tional stage represented by our Scripture scholars tlie 
 case is different. They have acquired a degree of 
 control over the faculty of attention, and its absence 
 is no longer a mere result of mental feebleness. 
 
 Physical expedients for maintaining attention, such 
 as manual exercises, change of posture, &c., may now 
 be almost, if not altogether, dispensed vpith. The 
 mind, like the body, is, if we may so say, firmer and 
 more consolidated; and a Sunday school lesson of 
 ordinary length ought to impose no excessive tax on 
 either. 
 
 It may further be remarked, that the pupil's mind 
 can now grasp abstract ideas. In other words, it can 
 contemplate the qualities of things separate or ab- 
 stracted from the things themselves. 
 
 But the most remarkable feature of the age we are 
 considering is, as already hinted, the development of 
 the reasoning or reflective faculties, with which the 
 power last mentioned is very closely connected. The 
 Age of Eeason, Judgment, or Reflection", has 
 arrived. 
 
 Tliis development is not unfrequently manifested in 
 a manner somewhat startling to the parent or teacher. 
 The faith of the little child gives place to a spirit of 
 free debate and discussion. The pupil is no longer 
 disposed to take every statement upon trust ; on the 
 contrary, he submits the sentiments of others to a 
 process of mental analysis, and is not slow to pro- 
 nounce a verdict on the supposed result. Moral and 
 religious truth is sifted like the rest, and the pious 
 instructor sometimes grows alarmed at what seems to 
 
OUR MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 him notliiug less than evidences of incipient infidel it }'■ 
 His fears are groundless ; the scholar is simply giviij 
 free exercise to the powers which he feels strong 
 within him, and which need training rather than 
 repression. Indeed, they cannot be repressed. 
 Providence has wisely rendered that impossible. If 
 the boy and girl were to go forth into the world with 
 the unreasoning confidence of earlier years, what 
 would be the consequence? Plainly this, — tliat they 
 would fall a prey to every designing knave with whom 
 they might chance to meet, Eeason has been given 
 as a shield ; and if ever it obstructs the vision of faith, 
 it is because weak or unskilful hands have removed it 
 from its rightful place. ; Yet I would not be thought 
 to imply that this development of the reasoning 
 faculties is other than a solemn and important crisis 
 in youthful history. It is fraught with momentous 
 consequences to the pupil, and with suggestive lessons 
 to the teacher. One or two of the latter must be 
 briefly adverted to. 
 
 The Christian man or woman entrusted with the 
 care of a Scripture class will do well to remember 
 that the exercise of the judgment or reason, in common 
 A\ itli that of all the other intellectual powers, is pro- 
 ductive of pleasure to its possessor. Just as the 
 teacher of an infant class, therefore, will seek to 
 gratify the perceptive powers of the little ones, and 
 the elementary teacher the conceptive powers of his 
 young pupils, so the teacher of older lads and lasses 
 will strive to provide suitable material upon which 
 they may exert their powers of reason. Of Dr. Adam 
 
 32 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD? 
 
 Clarke, when a young preacher, his friend Samuel 
 Drew thus wrote : — " He gave us no dogmas ; he forced 
 upon VIS no doctrines ; but he set us a-thinkiug and 
 reasoning, because he thought and reasoned with us 
 himself." The teacher of youth will do well to imitate 
 this example in the Bible lessons given by him to his 
 class. Let him reason and study toitli his pupils, 
 suggesting inquiries — thus providing that which shall 
 provoke thought, and then contemplating it side by 
 side with them. Such a course will greatly tend to 
 attach the young people to the class and its exercises, 
 not to speak of the intellectual benefit conferred upon 
 both teacher and taught. 
 
 Having said thus much, it seems hardly needful to 
 utter a word of caution against checking freedom of 
 inquiry or of expression in the class, and so attempt- 
 ing to stifle the scholars' mental development. Where 
 can the workings of young intellects be more safely 
 manifested than in the presence of the pious friend 
 and counsellor ? "Where can the perplexing difficulty 
 encountered by the pupil in his private reading of 
 Scripture, or the half- formed doubt which has arisen 
 in the course of quiet reflection, or the plausible 
 objection suggested by an unbelieving fellow-appren- 
 tice, be more safely grappled with than in the sabbath 
 class ? One thing is certain, that if rudely repressed 
 or dogmatically overridden there, they will find free 
 scope for expansion in far different soil, where frank 
 and ingenuous inquiry is transformed into rabid 
 scepticism. Especial care must be taken by the 
 teacher never to advarfce anything in the class which 
 
 33 c 
 
OUE MATERIAL; OB, 
 
 he does not conscientiously believe, or which he is not 
 prepared to support by sound arguments. Among 
 these opening minds, he must be ready to give a 
 reason for the hope that is in him. "Weakness or 
 insincerity is certain to be detected by the scholars, 
 and the teacher will be estimated accordingly. 
 
 We have thus glanced at some of the intellectual 
 powers, and at the same time marked their development 
 in the youthful mind. Passing now from the region 
 of Intellect, we enter the vast and important sphere 
 of the Emotions. Great as is the influence of thought 
 upon character, that of feeling is greater still. It is 
 more closely related to character and action. " As a 
 man thinketh in his heart," says Solomon, — as he 
 feels and desires, — " so is he." " Keep thy heart with 
 all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." The 
 affections, rather than the operations of intellect, are 
 the prime movers of conduct. Hence the public 
 teacher who sways the feelings and desires of his 
 pupils will have more influence over their characters 
 and lives than he who merely convinces the under- 
 standing. Men err not so much from false conceptions 
 or reasonings as from wrong feelings and a perverted 
 will. It was, therefore, no mean praise when it was 
 written of Pestalozzi, — 
 
 "He, whene'er lie taught. 
 Put so much of his heart into his act, 
 That his example had a magnet force. 
 And all were swift to follow whom all loved." 
 
 And this prnicipul is of supreme value to the teacher 
 
 34 
 
WHAT IS A CniLD ? 
 
 of children, especially of younger ones. For it is not 
 more true that a man is "a bundle of habits," than 
 that a child is "a bundle of feelings." He is an 
 emotional being, — full of joys and sorrows, keenly 
 sensitive to pleasure and pain. The ^olian harp is 
 not more impressible by the breeze which sweeps its 
 strings, than the heart of the child to every event 
 which crosses its own little experience ; and changeful 
 as are such influences, so changeful are the feelings of 
 the child. Laughter rapidly succeeds tears, and tears 
 soon follow laughter. 
 
 " The tear down childhood's cheek which flows 
 Is like the dewdrop on the rose ;. 
 When next the summer breeze comes by, 
 It waves the bush — the flower is dry." 
 
 " How shall I deal with the emotional part of 
 my scholars' nature ?" is a question which must often 
 be anxiously pondered by every thoughtful and earnest 
 teacher. Permit me to offer a few plain suggestions. 
 
 The desires, feelings, and affections — the moral 
 powers as distinguished from the intellectual — are 
 far too numerous to be dealt with comprehensively 
 here. It must suffice if two or three of the most 
 important, as developed in childhood, are briefly 
 alluded to, and their use to the teacher pointed out. 
 
 Most of the emotions — I now employ the term 
 comprehensively — are pleasurable. Their exercise, 
 therefore, like that of the physical and intellectual 
 powers, is a source of gratification to the possessor. 
 This is chiefly what we mean when we say that 
 children love " excitement ;" they delight in anything, 
 
 35 
 
OUR MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 whicK awakens strong feelings ; and many a teacher 
 mournfully contrasts the lively emotions of his 
 scholars when at play, with their listless apathy when 
 afparenthj under tuition. Let me mention, first, — 
 
 Curiosity^ or the love of hnowledge. This is the 
 desire for new ideas. Since new ideas mostly impart 
 pleasure, the child soon learns to seek them ; hence 
 the immense acquisitions which he makes to his 
 knowledge in the first three years of his life. What is 
 called the love of novelty is simply curiosity. New 
 ideas gratify curiosity by imparting knowledge ; hence 
 they are sought after by the child. The teacher 
 must therefore be prepared, in all his instructions, with 
 new objects of thought : in the infant, class, with 
 new pictures and stories ; in the elementary class, 
 w-ith new conceptions and illustrations ; in the elder 
 class, with new illustrations and new modes of pre- 
 senting doctrinal truth. 
 
 The reason why so few teachers know how to 
 aw^aken curiosity, and in consequence lively interest, 
 on the part of their scholars, is twofold. They bring 
 new truths to younger children, but the truths have 
 no bearing upon their daily life — do not belong to 
 childish experience. Hence the pupil feels no desire 
 to grasp or retain them. A description of Babbage's 
 calculating machine, or an account of the Astronomer 
 Boyal's experiments in Harton coal-pit, would doubt- 
 less be something quite new to an infant class, but 
 whether it would be interesting is another question. 
 A child does not grasp at all new truths, though the 
 world is to him full of them ; but only takes hold 
 of such as appear to concern him. 
 
 36 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 Others, avIio instruct elder cliildren, present old 
 truths in an old form. They bring out of their trea- 
 sury things old, but not things new ; and hence their 
 pupils are listless and uninterested. Por be it remem- 
 bered, that although we feel a pleasure in having old 
 conceptions and feelings revived, there is generally 
 a degree of novelty, " a freshness," as we say, surround- 
 ing that process ; and in the young child it is almost 
 like the presentation of a new truth. But in more 
 advanced scholars the mind soon tires of that which 
 is essentially old. The Sunday school instructor, 
 therefore, must do with his knowledge as Dr. Johnson 
 says we should do with our friendship, — " keep it 
 in constant repair." 
 
 Closely connected with curiosity is what Professor 
 Bain calls the Emotion of JPursuit ; in other words, 
 the feeling with which we contemplate anything 
 approaching a crisis. The schoolboy who watches 
 a cricket match, and the boarding school Miss who sits 
 up till morning in order to finish a Erench novel, 
 are influenced by this kind of feeling. So, in Long- 
 fellow's song of " The Village Blacksmith," the child- 
 ren delight to watch the progress of the good 
 smith's handicraft : — 
 
 ' The cliildren, coming home from school, 
 
 Look in at the open door ; 
 They love to see the flaming forge, 
 
 And to hear the bellows roar, 
 And catch the burning sparks that fly 
 
 Like chaff from the threshing-floor." 
 
 A skilful teacher will not be slow to gratify this 
 
 37 
 
OUR MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 emotion, whicli may often be accomplished by an 
 interesting story, in wbich tbe denouement is reserved 
 until the close. 
 
 The Emotion of Wonder is a continual tenant of a 
 child's heart ; and, indeed, the more untrained the 
 mind, the greater will be the pleasure which this 
 feeling yields. Under its influence, crowds rush to 
 stare at a simple optical illusion, or eagerly gaze, 
 until fairly bewildered, into the interior of a " crystal 
 globe." To a child the world is nearly all ghosts 
 and crystal globes ; and the teacher who can skil- 
 fully exhibit them may make his (educational) 
 fortune. It is a fact of no little importance, that 
 in the striking narratives of the Old and New 
 Testaments, we have an endless series of wonder- 
 awakening stories. Tlie pleasure derived from won- 
 der, combined with that afforded by the exercise 
 of the conceptive and imaginative faculties, is 
 probably the source of the delight which children 
 feel in reading or hearing the old-fashioned nursery 
 tales. I have most willingly included in the small 
 library of my own little ones, numerous specimens of 
 such literature as the biographies of " Old Mother 
 Hubbard," "Little Jack Horner," "Cock Robin," 
 and " The Three Bears ;" and on asking one of 
 them, who had been laughingly listening to "The 
 Three Bears," "Now, don't you like nonsense 
 stories ?" she replied, with an energetic little stamp 
 ofthefoot, "Yes, Ido." 
 
 The Love of Poiver is another important feeling in 
 childhood. We do not mean ambition, but the 
 
 38 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD t 
 
 feeling of ability to exercise the bodily, or mental, 
 or moral powers. I have sometimes heard such a 
 remark as this, — " Well, I cannot imagine why it is that 
 boys have such a passion for throwing stones." There 
 is no mystery at all about the matter. The effort of 
 throwing gratifies the love of power ; the same that 
 leads "the strong man" to "rejoice to run a race;" 
 while the uncertainty where the stone will strike, or 
 how far it will go, awakens the " emotion of pursuit," 
 already refeiTed to. And so of the innumerable 
 activities which a child puts forth from day to day. 
 
 A wise teacher will seek to encourage rather than 
 repress that fine exercise of the opening faculties 
 which gives rise to feelings so pleasurable. He will 
 encourage and stimulate the perception of the infant, 
 the imagination of the child, and the reason of the 
 youth, and in so doing will render the school class an 
 increasingly pleasant place. 
 
 The Love of Communicating is a marked feature in 
 the character of childhood, and manifests itself with- 
 out restraint, if not roughly and senselessly repressed, 
 at a very early period. A judicious parent or 
 teacher will encourage this communicativeness, and 
 listen with patience and all possible interest even 
 to the trifles which are so frequently the subject of 
 childish prattle. Independently of the pleasure 
 accruing therefrom, the child is benefited both 
 intellectually and morally. That which is commu- 
 nicated is thereby more firmly implanted in the 
 memory, and a candid and open disposition is pro- 
 moted instead of a spirit of slyness and reserve. 
 
 39 
 
OUE MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 And then who does not recognize the child's 
 Love of Society ? Before contact with a hard and 
 uusympathizing world has awakened suspicion, and 
 the feeling of isolation which flows from suspicion, 
 how intensely does it enjoy the society of others ! 
 "What teacher of a large class has not marked the 
 delight arising from the feeling of "togetherness," 
 as Mr. Curwen expressively terms it ? The fact is, 
 that in the society of others the child's affections 
 find their freest and fullest development. It loves 
 knowledge, it loves activity, it loves inanimate objects, 
 it loves its wooden horse, its wax doll, its kitten, bird, 
 or dog ; but its best affections are reserved for human 
 beings — parent and teacher, brother, sister, and 
 schoolmate. " In our early youth," says Samuel 
 Rogers, " while yet we live only among those we love, 
 we love without restraint, and our hearts overflow in 
 every look, word, and action." And it is these 
 affections and feelings which not only render young 
 children so endearing to others, but are also the 
 chief agents in forming their own opening characters. 
 How momentous, then, is the culture and regulation 
 of a child's moral feelings ! 
 
 AYe are often reminded that laughing, crying, 
 gaping, and yawning are " contagious." In young 
 children, all the feelings are contagious. The medal 
 is not more truly correspondent to the die, than the 
 emotions of a child to the emotions of those by whom 
 it is constantly surrounded. Irritation in the parent 
 produces irritation in the cliild; sourness in the 
 
 40 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD r 
 
 teacher begets acidity in tlie pupil; rudeness in the 
 scholar leads to rudeness in his schoolfellows. This 
 correspondence is most marked and unrestricted 
 in younger children, for reason has then no power 
 to modify or correct it. Hence the first period of 
 moral development is called the Age of Sympathy. 
 The word is used in its literal sense — the child and 
 teacher " feel together." Peeling awakens corre- 
 sponding feeling. Our duty, then, is obvious to the 
 understanding, though to carry it out may be far 
 from easy. "We must cultivate the moral nature 
 by example and by training. Permit me to offer 
 an illustration of each. The first is from Abbott's 
 " TVay to do Grood :" — " You are walking with a little 
 child, on a pleasant morning in the last of Eebruary, 
 on the crust of the snow, and some little snow-birds 
 hop along before you, picking the seeds from 
 the stems of the herbage which the wintry storms 
 have not entirely covered. You say, perhaps, ' Oh, 
 see that little bird! Shall I throw my cane at him ?' 
 ' Oh, no, indeed ; it would hurt him very much ; or if 
 it did not hurt him, it would frighten him very much. 
 I am sure I would not hurt that little bird. He is 
 picking up the seeds ; I am glad he can find those 
 little seeds. They taste very sweet to him, I suppose. 
 I wish I had some crumbs of bread to give him.' 
 ' Do you think he is cold ?' ' No, he is all covered wdth 
 warm feathers, I do not think he is cold ; only his 
 feet are not covered with feathers, I hope they are 
 not cold.' 
 
 " Suppose now, on the other hand, you say, ' Stop, 
 
 41 
 
OUE MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 there's a snow-bird ; stand back a minute, and see 
 how quick I will knock him down witb my cane. If 
 I once hit him, I will warrant he will never hop again.' 
 
 "Now," continues Mr. Abbott, "these are all 
 mere expressions of your own feeling, and [yet,] in 
 nine cases out of ten, the child who would listen 
 to them would find his heart gliding spontaneously 
 into the same state with your own, whether it were 
 that of kindness or cruelty. This mere utterance 
 of the sentiment or feeling of your heart would, 
 except where some peculiar counteracting causes 
 prevent it, awaken the like in bim." 
 
 What an argument is this, first, for the possession 
 of right feelings and emotions ; and, secondly, for 
 their free and fervent expression in our religious 
 teaching! It is this which gives to the earnest, 
 feeling teacher such power over young children, 
 in comparison with the cold and formal instructor, 
 though in some respects the latter may be more 
 skilful and intelligent. Nor is suitable and ex- 
 pressive tone, manner, and gesture to be over- 
 looked. Anything which will more fully manifest 
 feeling is valuable to the moral and religious 
 educator. 
 
 " Thou must be true thyself 
 
 If thou the truth wouldst teach; 
 
 Thy soul must overflow if thou 
 Another's soul wouldst reach : 
 
 It needs the overflow of heart 
 To give the lips full speech." 
 
 The second mode of cultivating the feelings is by 
 
 42 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 trainingy by whicli I mean causing tlie learner to 
 perform acts corresponding with the feelings which it 
 is desired to evoke. Philosophically regarded, this 
 might seem like reversing the right order of things ; 
 but the fact remains, that not only does feeling lead to 
 action, but action also reacts upon feeling. " I should 
 have been altogether lost," said an American states- 
 man, "in the dark abyss of infidelity but for one 
 thing. I never could shake off the impression pro- 
 duced in early childhood when my mother used to 
 put my hands in hers, and teach me to say ' Oiu' 
 Father.'" And so with every Christian parent who — 
 
 " Joins the little hands in prayer, 
 Telling of One who sees in secret there." 
 
 The act of devotiou is taught, in hope that by this 
 training, combined with suitable example, the feeling 
 of devotion may be awakened. Carrying out this 
 thoroughly scriptural principle, we rightly train our 
 scholars to acts of prayer and praise before we have 
 the cheering evidences of inward and heartfelt devotion, 
 and accustom them to acts of benevolence and charity 
 before we are satisfied that corresponding feelings 
 have been implanted in their bosoms. By this simple 
 means true and genuine emotions are often awakened, 
 and by being frequently repeated, the acts become 
 habits, and through association the sentiments become 
 permanently joined with them. 
 
 The Imitativeness of children is a feeling to which 
 reference is always made when juvenile characteristics 
 have to be enumerated. The desire to repeat actions 
 
 43 
 
OUR MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 which have been witnessed is developed at a very early 
 age ; yet it is questionable whether it be, as some 
 have asserted, merely instinctive. I venture to think 
 that it is referable to association. The child early 
 learns to associate action with pleasurable feelings, 
 and therefore, when he witnesses an act performed 
 by another, the desire to repeat it arises in virtue of 
 the association. The propensity we are considering 
 is, therefore, a disposition arising out of an intellectual 
 process. Its early development will be no objection 
 to the view now taken, if we remember that even 
 perception is based on these same laws of association. 
 The disposition to imitate is at first indiscriminate, 
 but experience soon teaches the child that some acts 
 of imitation bring pain instead of pleasure. Through 
 lack of moral judgment, however, the child is unable 
 to determine the moral quality of the actions which it 
 witnesses ; and therefore it will learn to imitate those 
 which are presented most strongly to its observation, 
 whether they be good or bad, and to form corre- 
 sponding hahits. 
 
 The imitativeness of children, no less than their 
 sympathetic nature, consequently calls for the utmost 
 vigilance and self-culture on the part of the conscien- 
 tious teacher, so that during his intercourse with his 
 young pupils he may set before them only such acts as 
 shall be worthy of their imitation, and may abstain 
 with scrupulous care from all that would tend to lead 
 them astray. The Christian instructor of children, 
 realizing this mighty force of personal conduct — of 
 passing words and deeds, and of habitual tone and 
 
 44 
 
TVHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 manner, will hardly fail to find in it a powerfal motive 
 to watchfulness and prayer, and will often breathe the 
 desire so well expressed by the poet, — 
 
 "Make lue to walk in Thy commands, 
 'Tis a delightful road ; 
 Nor let my head, or heart, or hands 
 Oifend against my God." 
 
 The foregoing characteristics are among the most 
 obvious and salient points in a child's moral nature, 
 and begin to manifest themselves at a very early age. 
 
 The child next enters upon a stage of development 
 known as the Age or Appeobation, in which the 
 love or desire of praise comes prominently into view. 
 The learner looks for the approval of parent or teacher 
 as the reward of exertion or right-doing. And perhaps 
 few points in ethics have been longer or more loudly 
 debated than the question whether the desire of 
 approbation be right or wrong, and consequently 
 whether it ought to be fostered or repressed. Dis- 
 claimiag all intention of plunging into this discussion, 
 which is as old as the days of the Stoics and Sadducees, 
 I would offer three brief remarks : — 
 
 Firstly. That nothing stimulates a child to intel- 
 lectual or moral effort like judicious praise, while 
 nothing so chills and paralyzes his exertions as the 
 absence of it. For one lad who, like Sir William 
 Jones, has risen above the deadening influence of 
 neglect, tAventy have sunk into hopeless torpor of 
 mind and heart, or, worse still, into reckless perversity. 
 Dr. Adam Clarke relates that, when a little boy at 
 
 45 
 
OUR MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 school, the master took occasion to apologize to a 
 brother pedagogue for the pupil's extreme dulness. 
 " Never fear, sir," was the reply; " the boy will make 
 a bright man yet." Dr. Clarke records that this 
 timely and judicious word of encouragement had no 
 small share in fulfilling the prediction. And among 
 the rules adopted for the government of the remark- 
 able family of the Wesleys was the following : — 
 
 " That every signal act of obedience, especially when 
 it crossed their own inclinations, should be always 
 commended, and frequently rewarded, according to 
 the merits of the case ; and if any child performed an 
 act of obedience, or did anything with an intention to 
 please, though the performance was not well, yet the 
 obedience and intention should be kindly accepted, 
 and the child with sweetness directed how to do better 
 for the future." 
 
 Secondly. That those who denounce the feeling in 
 question are in many respects subject to its influence. 
 No right-minded man is indifferent to the opinion of 
 his fellow-creatures, and if not indifferent he must 
 desire their approval. Who does not desire to bear 
 a good character? and what is a good character but 
 the approbation of others in respect to our moral 
 conduct ? 
 
 Thirdly. That the desire of praise from Grod and 
 man is sanctioned by Scripture example and precept. 
 We take the highest of all authority. Our blessed 
 Lord taught the good and faithful servant to expect 
 words of commendation and exalted honours from his 
 approving master; and He himself, we are assured, 
 
 46 
 
"WriAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 "endured the cross, despising the shame," "ybr tJiejoj) 
 that was set before Himy 
 
 If these considerations be deemed sufficient to 
 warrant the sanction, on the part of Sunday school 
 teachers, of the love of approbation, let that feeling 
 be wisely encouraged, and let the young scholar be 
 taught and trained to every right word and work, that 
 he may gain the approval of companions, parents, 
 teacher, and, above all, of Grod himself. 
 
 As childhood speeds away, the AaE op Conscience, 
 or the moral principle, is entered upon. This is the 
 final stage of moral development, as the Period of 
 Judgment or Reason is of intellectual development; 
 and it is represented in our school organization by 
 our Scripture class scholars. 
 
 The natural relations of these two periods will be 
 evident if we remember that conscience is only another 
 name for the m.ora\ judgment or moral sense. But it 
 may fairly be asked, " Is the development of conscience 
 deferred to so late a period ? Are not its manifesta- 
 tions as evident in young children as in those who are 
 older?" 
 
 Conscience, it must be remembered, operates in a 
 twofold manner. It has a directive or legislative 
 function, determining whether an act is right or 
 wrong before it is 'performed. It has also an executive 
 function, "accusing or else excusing" its possessor 
 after a given act has been performed. Now this latter 
 function is exercised at a very early age, and in virtue 
 of it the child feels self-commended for acts known to 
 
 47 
 
OTJIl MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 be riglit, and self-condemned for conduct of an opposite 
 character. But conscience does not become a moral 
 guide until a later period — in fact, until the age of 
 reason has arrived, and the boy or girl is prepared to 
 assume greater independence of thought and feeling 
 than heretofore. The reason for this lateness of 
 development, if I may call it so, seems not dif&cult to 
 discover. In determining whether a proposed course 
 be morally right or wrong, we mentally refer it, if I 
 mistake not, to a given class of actions, and upon that 
 decide it to be good or bad. Now this process of 
 classification can hardly be performed until the age of 
 judgment has been reached. Hence we speak of this 
 AGE as being also the Period of Coksoience, or that 
 in which the directive or legislative power of conscience 
 comes into vigorous exercise. 
 
 In the discharge of his high commission, the teacher 
 of young people who have arrived at this stage of moral 
 progress will strive to inform their understandings 
 upon all needful matters of truth and duty. He wil 
 endeavour to convince them that this is truth, and 
 that error ; this fhe path of duty, and that the way of 
 sin ; thus continuing, let us hope, the good work of 
 moral instruction begun by other teachers in previous 
 years. On the other hand, he will put forth continual 
 efforts to train the young people to a life of constant 
 obedience to the voice of conscience ; striving to 
 impress them with the advantages of such a course, 
 and the perils of turning a deaf ear to the monitor 
 within. He will constantly remind them of the great 
 fact of their accountability, and point out to them the 
 
 48 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD ? 
 
 relations in which they now stand to the Supreme 
 Being, to the message of salvation through Christ 
 Jesus, to the means of grace and ordinances of religion, 
 and to the moral influences by which they may be 
 surrounded. And if the scholar have been well taught 
 and trained in preceding periods of his moral history, 
 that appeal will seldom be made in vain. The educated 
 conscience will speak, and speak loudly, and the 
 teacher's efforts must be directed to gain for it a 
 hearty obedience as well as a patient hearing. 
 
 Diminished sensihility is another moral charac- 
 teristic of the young people who occupy our Scrip- 
 ture classes, but especially of male scholars. The 
 judgment now asserts its power as a check and 
 corrective to emotion, otherwise the character would 
 never acquire strength and consistency. Doubtless 
 the growth of evil in the unrenewed heart has some- 
 thing to do with the apparent unimpressibility of 
 many young people in our schools, but probably not 
 so much as is sometimes supposed. The judicious 
 teacher, instead of indulging in useless regrets, wnll 
 so modify his methods of teaching as to appeal to the 
 feelings through the judgment, instead of trying to 
 excite emotion independently of the understanding. 
 He should first seek to convince, audi then use the convic- 
 tions of the intellect as an aid in impressing the heart. 
 
 Self-confidence is another growth of the period 
 under consideration. It is a plant, no doubt, which 
 needs careful and constant pruning ; but, be it re- 
 membered, it bears precious fruit if wisely trained. 
 Youth is confident in its own opinions and powers. 
 
 49 D 
 
OUE MATERIAL; OE, 
 
 extravagantly and offensively so in some cases; but 
 out of that self-confidence the priceless and all- 
 important quality of self-reliance may be evolved. 
 Let Scripture class teachers be " wise as serpents " 
 here. Let not the infirmities of youthful vanity and 
 over-confidence be derisively portrayed or harshly 
 handled, but gently neutralized by the force of truth 
 and the quiet exhibition of the loveliness of humility. 
 It is easy to " take the conceit out " of a boy or 
 girl, and cover the subject of it with confusion ; but 
 shame is a cautery whose wounds are often worse 
 than those which it is applied to cure. 
 
 The aspirations of young people towards manhood 
 and womanliood form another characteristic needing 
 equal tact to guide and control. The boy wishes 
 to be manly, the girl aspires to womanliness ; and, 
 as a natural consequence, both imitate the ways and 
 manners of those older than themselves. 
 
 If I am asked. What should the teacher do with 
 these aspirations and precocities? I reply, Turn 
 them to his own purpose. Make manliness and 
 womanliness grounds for manly and womanly pro- 
 priety of word and action, — for manly and womanly 
 thoughtfulness. Urge that the time has come when, 
 as reasonable and conscientious beings, they can 
 and ought to render a " reasonable service " to their 
 great Master in heaven, and an equally reasonable 
 obedience to all lawful authority, whether national, 
 parental, or scholastic, on earth. Such a course will 
 be far more likely to secure the teacher's objects 
 than the weakness which ignores the reachings forth 
 
 50 
 
WHAT IS A CHILD? 
 
 of young minds and hearts towards the dignity of ma- 
 ture years. I have heard Scripture scholars addressed 
 as " dear little children," " tender lambs," and so forth, 
 and taught to sing hymns of an almost infantile 
 character. No wonder that we lose our elder 
 scholars if we persist in refusing to recognize, by 
 new methods of moral treatment, the new and im- 
 portant period of life upon which they have entered. 
 
 This precocity is accompanied by a dislike aiul 
 avoidance of everything which appears childish ; and 
 it is, partly at least, on this account that our elder 
 scholars manifest so much reserve in reference to 
 their inner life, — deeming it a mark of childish sim- 
 plicity to be communicative upon such a subject. 
 The considerate teacher will allow for this in his 
 religious conversations with his pupils, and never 
 attempt to extort that which they are unwilling 
 to utter. 
 
 One other characteristic of our elder scholars must 
 be mentioned — the development of the social instincts. 
 The love of society now assumes a definite form, and 
 one productive of much solicitude, if not perplexity 
 to the watchful teacher. The scholars begin to form 
 associations with those of the opposite sex, while 
 other associations present themselves outside the 
 sabbath circle; and as the passions likewise begin 
 to increase in strength, it is impossible not to anti- 
 cipate with anxiety the approach of what has fitly 
 been termed " the crisis of being." In dealing with 
 these delicate and difficult matters it appears to 
 me extremely unwise to separate the sexes by 
 
 51 
 
OUR MATERIAL; OR, 
 
 curtains, partitions, and otlier material barriers. 
 Concealment invites curiosity, as observation and 
 experience universally testify. Nor is tlie other 
 extreme more prudent. What can be more unwise 
 than, having assembled a number of boys and girls 
 on a winter evening, to keep them until a late 
 hour, and then turn them promiscuously, and with- 
 out supervision, into the streets of a large town, to 
 see and hear that which cannot but prove morally 
 injurious and provocative of sin? It seems desirable 
 to allow elder scholars free and unrestricted inter- 
 course wdthin the walls of the school, letting them 
 meet there, and endeavouring to make them regard 
 it as a second home, rather than seek other places of 
 resort elsewhere. That they should form connections 
 with their fellow-scholars is not in itself an evil, but 
 the contrary; — where are more suitable associations 
 likely to be found ? The mischief lies in affording 
 facilities for boy and girl companionship apart from 
 the exercise of any care or control. Much good 
 might also, I think, be accomplished if the subject 
 were more frequently alluded to in class instruction, 
 in place of the reserve usually maintained by teachers. 
 A little timely and judicious counsel might prevent 
 many a sad mistake, and perhaps many an act 
 of immorality. 
 
 And, finally, the age of conscience is characterized, as 
 every teacher knows, by a marked development of the 
 WILL. No one doubts that some tolerably vigorous 
 manifestations of will are made in infancy and early 
 childhood, but these are fitful, spasmodic, and capri- 
 
 52 
 
WHAT IS A CniLD ? 
 
 cious. They are noisy and demonstrative, but lack 
 strength and permanence. The latter qualities are 
 now developed, and demand, as we shall see in a 
 subsequent lecture, the utmost delicacy and tact on 
 the part of the teacher. At the age of reason, 
 young people must be dealt with as reasonable beings, 
 and neither their sympathies nor their desire to 
 please the teacher be appealed to. They have reached 
 the age of conscience, and must be dealt with as 
 capable of discerning the morally right from the 
 morally wrong. 
 
 And here we reach the ultima Tliule of educational 
 science. Here mental and moral philosophy fail us. 
 Precept, example, training — that is all. Hitherto 
 human effort extends, but no farther. As Christian 
 teachers we feel, so long as we look not beyond 
 ourselves, that we are "facing fearful odds." Our 
 foes are legion, but truth is mighty, and we would 
 not quail before avowed enemies. But, alas ! there 
 are traitors in the camp. " The hearts of the men of 
 Israel are after Absalom." "We cannot long be 
 companions of childhood before we discover that there 
 is a twist in the moral nature of every descendant of 
 Adam. It is not that intellect is disordered ; it per- 
 forms its part with admirable completeness. The moral 
 nature, too, seems at first almost equally perfect ; and 
 as we watch the innocent gaieties of the little child, 
 we can hardly bring ourselves to believe that those 
 varyiug emotions which are so easily evoked by our 
 own — those affections which we seem able to sway as 
 we will — should have even the germs of perversion 
 
 53 
 
OTJR MATERIAL ; OR, 
 
 within them. But years roll on, and the stranji^e 
 abnormal tendency manifests itself more and more. 
 Like the aberrant magnet, which deviates from its 
 course when the mariner most needs its guidance, so 
 in the crisis of life's voyage, the heart's affections 
 turn slowly but surely away from the pole-star of 
 heaven. To many this circumstance renders youthful 
 character an insoluble problem. The mystery can 
 only be cleared up on the principles of Holy Writ, 
 "Love" to Grod, and to man for G-od's sake, "is the 
 fulfilling of the law," and that love it is not in our 
 power to impart. Like the son of Zacharias, it is ours 
 to prepare the way of the Lord, but we are not the 
 deliverers of Israel. Only One power can fix the 
 wandering heart, and recall it to the path of safety 
 and of truth. 
 
 We seek to build the wondrous fabric of human 
 character, and to furnish it with every needful thing. 
 And as we have thought to-night upon all that is 
 required for so great and glorious a fabric, perhaps 
 we have felt constrained to ask ourselves, " How can 
 we carry on such a work as this ? How complex 
 the materials ! How shall they ever be combined 
 into one harmonious edifice? Surely perplexity 
 and disappointment are all that await us ! " God 
 be thanked, He who has called us to build a house 
 for His name, and who designs to fill it with the 
 glory of His presence, knows the difficulties of our 
 task as we never can know them ; and He assures us 
 that Infinite Wisdom is ready to instruct and bless the 
 humblest and most unlearned teacher of the young. 
 
 54 
 
WKAT IS A CniLD ? 
 
 Only let him faithfully use that which is given, and 
 daily seek for richer supplies, as well of wisdom as of 
 grace ; then let him work on hopefully, prayerfully, 
 joyfully ; and as each returning sabbath sees him at 
 his loved employ, his motto will still be that of the 
 Hebrew patriot of old, " In the name of my Grod I 
 will arise and build." 
 
 I have a wondrous house to build, 
 
 A dwelling humble yet divine ; 
 A lowly cottage to be filled 
 
 TVitb all the jewels of the mine. 
 How shall I bmld it strong and fair ? 
 This noble house, this lodging rare. 
 
 So small and modest, yet so great, 
 How shall I fill its chambers bare 
 
 "With use, with ornament, with state ? 
 
 My God hath given the stone and clay,— 
 
 'Tis I must fashion them ai'ight, 
 'Tis I must mould them day by day, 
 
 And make my labour my delight. 
 This cot, this palace, this fair home. 
 This pleasure-house, this holy dome, 
 
 Must be in all proportions fit. 
 That heavenly messengers may come 
 
 To lodge with him who tenants it. 
 
 Such is the house that I must build ; 
 
 This is the cottage, this the home, 
 And this the palace, treasure-filled, 
 
 For an immortal's earthly home. 
 r)5 
 
OUR MATERIAL, ETC. 
 
 noble work of toil and care, 
 task most difficult and rare, 
 
 simple but most arduous plan, 
 To raise a dwelling-place so fair, 
 
 The sanctuary of a Man ! 
 
 58 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS: 
 
 WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 £ 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS: 
 
 WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 In the preceding lecture we directed our attention to 
 the first of the four qualifications indispensable to the 
 skilled teacher,viz., "a KNOWLEDGE or the mateeial" 
 to be operated upon, — its nature and properties, and 
 the laws and conditions to which it is subject. Hence 
 we entered upon the consideration of the constitution 
 and phenomena of mind in general, and of the juvenile 
 mind in particular. We reviewed the intellectual and 
 moral faculties with which the educator is chiefly 
 concerned, and traced the order of their development ; 
 and, as far as time allowed, we took notice of the 
 diflerent modes of teaching and training which these 
 various circumstances required. 
 
 The second qualification we saw to be " a clear 
 view of the object to be attained." This is as 
 obviously essential as the one already considered. 
 The graceful forms which spring into life beneath the 
 potter's hand, and those which evidence the taste and 
 skill of the sculptor, existed as conceptions in the 
 artists' minds ere yet the wheel had begun to revolve, 
 or the marble to lose the rugged shapelessness of the 
 
 69 
 
TUE INST RUM AS'TS : 
 
 quarry. And so the teacher who desires success 
 must clearly perceive the great end to which his 
 efforts are directed. In the case of the Sunday school 
 worker, I apprehend the object and end of his labours 
 to be as follows : — 
 
 1st. To make known to his pupils the Divine 
 character and will, especially as revealed in Holy 
 Scripture. 
 
 2nd. To awaken in them feelings conformable to 
 that character and will ; and 
 
 3rd. To train them to the exercise of a corre- 
 sponding course of conduct. 
 
 When this course of conduct is manifested, the 
 great object of Sunday school instruction has been 
 attained, and the teacher realizes the satisfaction 
 described by the apostle, who declared, "I have no 
 greater joy than to find that my children walk in 
 truth." In a word, the teacher's aim is to bring the 
 child's conduct into harmony with Grod's revealed 
 will, and to make human life a counterpart of divine 
 truth. Kightly regarded, the work is one before 
 which an erring mortal might well pause in dismay. 
 The traveller in Egypt, as he gazes from afar upon 
 those mighty sepulchres of primeval kings which have 
 towered heavenward for four thousand years, — 
 
 " Flinging their shadows o'er the sky, 
 Like dials which the wizard, Time, 
 Had made to count his ages by," — 
 
 often experiences a feeling of disappointment that 
 they are no greater ; and it is only when he stands a^ 
 their bases that he realizes how £tupendous the 
 
 GO 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 pyramids of the Pharaohs really are. And so, men 
 who casually view from a distance our unobtrusive 
 work — and even we ourselves in our more listless 
 moods, — may deem Sunday school teaching a light 
 thing; but let it only be confronted in its sublime 
 reality, and we are overwhelmed with its matchless 
 importance, not less than with our own utter insuffi- 
 ciency. It is the moral revolution of humanity, a 
 "turning of the world upside down," that truth may 
 be enthroned and evil subverted. And shall we 
 accomplish so vast a transformation ? IN'ay, verily ; 
 but God will. And He who bids the humblest worm 
 rear in mid-ocean a dwelling-place for man, and feeds 
 the nations with a lowly grass, deigns to employ even 
 such as we to establish the kingdom of His Son, and 
 supply with the bread of life every tribe and family of 
 the human race. 
 
 Since, however, the large majority of Sunday school 
 teachers are happily agreed upon this great question, 
 we may pass at once to the third qualification of the 
 efficient worker, — "a thorough acquaintance 
 
 WITH THE INSTRUMENTS TO BE EMPLOYED." WhAT 
 
 TO TEACH is the subject of our inquiry. 
 
 The tools with which we work are neither numerous 
 nor complicated. A single book, together with a few 
 simple aids to the right understandiugof its contents, 
 — these are the implements of our humble craft ; and 
 among them the Bible occupies so prominent a place, 
 that the Sunday school teacher is scornfully charac- 
 terized as a " man of one book," and it is gently 
 Idnted that his knowledge and his taste extend na 
 
 61 
 
THE IIS'STEUMENTS : 
 
 farther. "With equal reason might the painter be 
 reproached with the too exclusive employment of the 
 brush, or the merchant's clerk be charged with narrow- 
 mindedness because the pen is rarely out of his hand. 
 And if we be asked how we can dream of accom- 
 plishing so vast a work by means of one well-known 
 book, our reply will resemble that of the Eoman 
 farmer. "Ering forth," it was said to him, "the 
 instruments of witchcraft by whose aid you effect 
 these results." Cresinus pointed to his servants, his 
 oxen, and his plough. " These," said he, " are my 
 instruments of witchcraft, but I cannot show you my 
 daily toils and anxious cares." And we answer to those 
 who interrogate us, " True, this plain and homely 
 book is the moral lever by which we seek to move a 
 world, but we cannot show you our meditations or 
 our prayers." Bible truth explained, applied, ex- 
 emplified, — this is the chief implement we wield, and 
 we desire no other in its place. 
 
 I purpose, then, dear fellow-labourers, in the 
 present lecture, to oiFer a few thoughts on Scripture 
 truth, and its relations to ourselves as its expounders 
 in the Sunday school class. And first let me remark 
 that the form in which revealed truth has been pre- 
 sented for our use ia one which demands profound 
 admiration and devout thankfulness. The Bible is a 
 book of facts ; a history ; and a history in the most 
 attractive of all forms — the biographical. Human 
 wisdom would have produced a mass of abstractious, 
 a code of rules, a system of principles — unintelligible 
 to many, and unutterably dull, dry, and disagreeable 
 
 62 
 
Wn^T TO TEACn. 
 
 to all. Divine wisdom has graciously given a book 
 of personal histories — filled with moving, breathing 
 life, — real, natural, familiar; and herein (as those who 
 followed me in the former lecture will at once 
 perceive) lies the marvellous fitness of the Bible to be 
 the book for all. Had it been otherwise, it could 
 never have been " the children's book." It deals with 
 sensible objects, and hence awakens vivid conceptions; 
 it describes the details of human life, and hence 
 excites the sympathies. Thus each of us, looking back 
 on the well-thumbed books of our early days, recalls 
 the image of the family Bible as the brightest an:! 
 dearest of them all. 
 
 " Thou old and timewom volume, 
 
 Thou friend of childhood's age, 
 How frequently dear hands for me 
 
 Have turned the pictured page ! 
 How oft, his sports forgetting, 
 
 The gazing boy was borne, 
 "With joyous heart, by thy sweet art, 
 
 To tread the land of mom ! 
 
 " Thou didst fling vide the portals 
 
 Of many a distant zone ; 
 As in a glass I saw them pass, 
 
 Faces and forms unknown. 
 For a new world I thank thee : 
 
 The camel wandering free. 
 The desert calm, and the stately palm, 
 
 And the Bedouin's tent I see. 
 
 " And thou didst bring them near me, 
 Hero, and saint, and sage, 
 Whose deeds were told by the seers of old, 
 la the Book of books' dread page. 
 63 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS: 
 
 And the fair and bride-like maidens, 
 
 Eecorded in thy lines, 
 WeU could I trace each form of grace 
 
 Amid thy rich designs. 
 
 " And I saw the hoary patriarchs 
 
 Of old and simple days, 
 An angel band on either hand 
 
 Kept watch upon their ways. 
 I saw their meek herds drinking 
 
 By fount or river shore, 
 When mute I stood, in thoughtful mood. 
 
 Thine open page before. 
 
 " Ye seem but as a fable, 
 
 days that are gone by ; 
 That Bible old, with clasps of gold, 
 
 That young, believing eye ; 
 Those loved and loving parents, 
 
 That childhood bhthe and gay. 
 That calm content, so innocent, 
 
 All, all have passed away." 
 
 Nor let it be said that the attractiveness of tlie 
 Bible lies in the profusion of pictorial illustration 
 which so frequently adorns its pages, rather than m 
 Scripture truth itself, for these very illustrations 
 betoken a richness of pictorial element in the book, 
 without which their existence would be impossible. 
 Pictures simply are the realization of that which is 
 already present. Scripture narrative, as a rule, needs 
 little else than distinct apprehension in order to render 
 it attractive, while the doctrinal statements may, in 
 most instances, be exemplified by reference to historic 
 facts in other parts of the sacred volume. And thus 
 the subject of the teacher's weekly preparation 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 amounts to this, — "How may a given portion of 
 revealed truth be best presented to a given class of 
 children ? " and my present design is to offer a few 
 thoughts upon that important subject. These 
 suggestions will probably be more definite if I assume 
 that my hearers use the Union " List of Lessons," and 
 the Union monthly " Notes." The assumption i8 
 probably not far from the truth, and if otherwise, no 
 general principle will in any degree be aifected. 
 
 Grlancing at the portions of Scripture which, by 
 common consent, are made the basis of juvenile 
 instruction, we find them selected, as might have been 
 anticipated, almost exclusively from the historical 
 books of the Old and New Testament. These subjects 
 are presented in one of two forms, either simply as 
 narratives, such as those which form the Union^^lA^f" 
 for the present year (1864), or in a doctrinal or 
 preceptive form, the leading truth embodied in the 
 history being taken as the title of the lesson, e. g., 
 ' Faith," " Brotherly Love," " Hypocrisy," " We have 
 all sinned," " God alone is to be worshipped." But 
 practically these two methods are nearly identical, 
 for in general class teaching it will make but little 
 difierence whether the mere title be historic or 
 doctrinal, so long as the allotted portion of Scripture 
 remains the same. If the story of Grehazi be read, 
 the evils of lying will be the theme of practical com- 
 ment on the part of any sensible teacher, whether the 
 narrative form part of a series of historical lessons, or 
 be given as an illustration of that particular sin. The 
 duty of the instructor has come to be regarded simply 
 
 C5 T? 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS i 
 
 thus : — to explain a given group of facts, to show the 
 truths which they embody, and to make a personal 
 application of those truths to the consciences of the 
 scholars. Doubtless,in the case of most of the classes in 
 a Sunday school, this correctly represents the teacher's 
 duty. And yet, simple as it may seem to a by-stander, 
 how much it really involves. The pupil, as he walks 
 to his accustomed place in school, seems, in like 
 manner, to be performing the simplest of actions ; 
 yet, to describe the muscular movements embodied 
 therein would be both a lengthened and a complex 
 task. And not only so, the act of walking, which 
 seems so natural, is as truly an acquirement as any 
 learned of the schoolmaster, an art, in short, which 
 was with difB.culty acquired by the labour of weeks 
 and months. And so the apparently simple duty of 
 explaining and applying a Scripture narrative with 
 clearness, force, and facility, involves an amount of 
 previous effort which it is folly to ignore, and worse 
 than folly to neglect. Neither piety, however deep ; nor 
 prayer, however frequent ; nor earnestness, however 
 genuine, can compensate for the absence of this pre- 
 paration for the work of teaching, save in those cases 
 where the defect is involuntary and unavoidable ; in 
 such instances, that higher principle operates by whicli 
 a man's work is " accepted according to that he hath, 
 and not according to that he hath not." Assuredly none 
 of us can take shelter under such an exceptional law. 
 
 Considered in its fullest sense, the preparation of 
 the Sunday school teacher is a subject of wide and 
 comprehensive range. All those multiform agencies, 
 
 66 
 
"WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 — seen and unseen, direct and indirect, self- applied 
 and unconsciously experienced — which tend to qualify 
 him for his momentous duties, — his reading and ob- 
 servation, his mental discipline and moral culture, his 
 social fellowships and spiritual exercises — all are com- 
 prised in the idea of preparation. To make tliis the 
 theme of a lecture would be to imitate the example 
 of a recent writer, who has composed a book of some 
 ninety pages on tlie subject of " The Universe," or of 
 that Sunday school teacher who delivered an address 
 on "Time," considered under the three general 
 divisions of " Time past," " Time present," and " Time 
 to come." 
 
 My design, therefore, in entering upon the con- 
 sideration of the " instruments " of Sunday school 
 teaching, — what and how to teach, — is simply, as I 
 have already hinted, to point out the manner in which 
 I think the Bible and other books may most advan- 
 tageously be handled in the weekly preparation of 
 lessons. We have then to deal with that constantly 
 recurring duty, without which no wise Sunday school 
 labourer will attempt to unfold " the things of God " 
 — that week-day "gathering " which makes ready for 
 a sabbath " scattering " of the seed-corn of imperish- 
 able truth. 
 
 It would be comparatively easy, and might be 
 tolerably amusing, to sketch the ideal teacher engaged 
 in preparing the lesson appointed for the coming 
 Lord's day. "We might picture him in his study, 
 fronted by a massive desk, backed by a w^ell-stored 
 library, and upheld by a comfortable easy- chair. 
 
 67 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS : 
 
 Such a portrait would gratify the imagination, and 
 might for a while deceive the judgment into a belief 
 in its reality. But contact with the outer world 
 would speedily dispel the illusion. We should find 
 instead, in perhaps the majority of cases, the plain 
 Christian man or woman, the inheritor of merely 
 ordinary educational advantages, possessed of but 
 average talent, claiming but imperfect mental disci- 
 pline, with but few books and still fewer leisure hours 
 'twixt Monday morn and Saturday eve. " Truly," we 
 might exclaim, " the picture and the reality have but 
 little in common." Nevertheless, it is better to deal 
 with a rugged fact than with a graceful fiction. And, 
 therefore, if some of my hints seem based upon a very 
 humble estimate of the worker, whatever may have 
 been said of his work, I would ask to be excused on 
 the ground that the tritest suggestions may be useful 
 to the wisest, while more pretentious thoughts are 
 inapplicable to the less cultivated ; and that it is the 
 imperfectly furnished teacher who stands most in 
 need of assistance, — to which I might add, that the 
 simplest methods and principles are often among the 
 last to be perceived and adopted. 
 
 On sitting down to begin the preparation of a Bible 
 lesson, the teacher's first duty is to obtain clear views 
 of the appointed portion of revealed truth. These 
 are vitally essential ; without them lucid teaching is 
 impossible, for no one can make clear to others that 
 which he does not clearly apprehend himself I well 
 remember that w^hen I began to learn model drawing 
 my instructor remarked, as he proceeded to fix a simple 
 
 6S 
 
WnAT TO TE2\.CH. 
 
 object in position, " Now, tlie first tiling we liave tc 
 do is to teach you to see.'"' And doubtless it is with 
 the tongue as with the pencil, nothing can be correctly 
 represented until it is accurately perceived. 
 
 To this end the passage may advantageously receive 
 a threefold perusal : — 
 
 (1.) It may be viewed first synthetically, or as a 
 wJiole, as a given miracle, biographical episode, or 
 event in history. 
 
 (2.) It may be viewed in its connection as forming 
 part of * series of events, — as related to what has 
 preceded and what follows. 
 
 (3.) It may be viewed in its various parts, analy- 
 tically and in detail. 
 
 This last examination of the passage is of especial 
 value to teachers generally, though in the case of 
 those who preside over elder classes the second aspect 
 becomes of increased importance. Minute examina- 
 tion of details lies at the foundation of vivid teaching, 
 and is an essential pre-requisite for the attainment of 
 clear views. It was remarked in the previous lecture 
 that the distinctness of the groups of conceptions 
 which children voluntarily form was due to the fact 
 that they invariably combined only such as were 
 clearly apprehended in themselves — that the parts of 
 the mental picture were understood before the picture 
 was regarded as a whole. In like manner, if we would 
 present clear and well-defined objects of thought 
 to the minds of the young, we must adopt a similar 
 method, and hence must first secure clearness and 
 distinctness in our own. If, to borrow the language 
 
 69 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS : 
 
 •of tlie pliotograper, the negative be sharp and well- 
 defined, the copy will prove so likewise ; but haziness 
 in the one will assuredly produce indistinctness in the 
 other. The scholar who said " she did not like the 
 new teacher, because she could not tell what she was 
 driving at," simply gave a childish version of the fact 
 that her conceptions inherited the "fogginess" which 
 characterized those of her instructress. 
 
 As an aid to the minute and comprehensive study 
 of the appointed lessons, let me here briefly repeat 
 one or two suggestions which appeared in t^e Sunday 
 School Union's " New Year's Address to Teachers " 
 for 1863. It was there proposed that in commencing 
 the weekly task a slip of paper should be taken, or 
 better still, the "Teacher's Pocket-book" be opened 
 at the proper place, and the following heads of inquiry- 
 be jotted down : — W(ord8) and P(hrases requiring 
 explanation); Chr(onology) ; G-(eography); N(atural) 
 H(istory) ; M(anners) and C(ustoms) ; T (ruths to 
 be taught). Then, as the reading proceeds, the points 
 upon which information or illustration is to be sought 
 are briefly indicated. The teacher would thus anti- 
 cipate his difficulties at the outset, and not have them 
 confronting him unexpectedly at the close of the week. 
 
 The above plan involves, of itself, three rules of 
 great importance, which may advantageously be urged 
 before we proceed farther. 
 
 (1.) Preparation should he hegun early in the weelc. 
 
 This is essential to that minute acquaintance with 
 the subjects of teaching upon which I lay such stress. 
 Lessons hurriedly got ready on a Saturday evening 
 
 70 
 
WHAT TO TEACn. 
 
 are like those lath and plaster erections so common 
 now-a-days in suburban localities. It will be a for- 
 tunate thing if they do not come down with a crash 
 at the critical moment, and overwhelm their builders 
 with dust and confusion. A more excellent way will 
 be to make the Sunday's lesson the subject of your 
 private reading before retiring to rest on the preceding 
 Lord's day evening — the advantage of which will be 
 that you will begin the working-week with a clear 
 knowledge of that subject which you are to deal with 
 at its close, and hence will be prepared to avail your- 
 self of every item of information or illustration which 
 may be presented. Let us learn a lesson from patri- 
 archal history. Israel's noble-hearted ancestor was 
 found rising early on the morning of that day on 
 which his dearest earthly treasure was to be yielded 
 up to God, that he might hasten forward toward the 
 anticipated place of unexampled trial. We, too, have 
 an offering to lay upon the divine altar when each 
 sabbath returns to bless the world. Let us not turn 
 our faces thitherward with laggard steps and unwilling 
 minds, but rather, like Abraham, " lift up our eyes and 
 behold the place afar off." 
 
 (2.) Preparation should he ample. 
 
 By this I do not mean to suggest such preparation 
 as that of a teacher whom I heard of some time back, 
 and who, having engaged to give a lecture on geology 
 (the first thing of the kind he ever attempted — and 
 the last), hunted up every work on the subject that 
 he could lay hands on, and took the entire shoal of 
 volumes with him in a cab to the lecture-room. I 
 
 71 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS : 
 
 simply wish to remind you that more should be 
 prepared than will be actually needed — more informa- 
 tion collected than can be communicated. Not only is 
 this necessary on the principle laid down by Mr. 
 Fitch, that no teacher can communicate all he knows 
 on a given subject, but also because of the discomfort 
 and embarrassment experienced by him who comes to 
 his class but scantily furnished, and feels that he will 
 speedily be run out of mental stock unless the super- 
 intendent's bell should peal forth its welcome tones 
 and put him out of his misery. To this may be added 
 another reason, — that there is always a possibility of 
 the pupils preparing inquiries for the teacher, as well 
 as the teacher preparing inquiries for the pupils, and 
 it is not desirable that the instructor should too fre- 
 quently have to reply "I don't know" when such 
 occurrences take place. 
 
 Something will of course depend upon the attain- 
 ments of the pupils. More must be taught to an elder 
 than to a junior class ; and this of course involves a 
 corresponding amount of preparation. It is not enough 
 that the teacher should know something about his 
 lesson-subject, he must know a great deal about it, — 
 all that full and conscientious preparation is able to 
 tell him concerning it. If, for example, a narrative 
 in the Grospels is his theme, he must acquaint himself 
 with what each evangelist has recorded, comparing 
 Matthew's version with Luke's, and both with that 
 of Mark or John. Even this simple process will yield 
 much information, and prevent many mistakes of com- 
 mon occurrence. The geography, chronology, and anti- 
 
 72 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 quities of the lesson must also be examined and mas- 
 tered, and its relation to the context, and to other 
 parts of Scripture, clearly understood. 
 
 (3.) Preparation should he in writing. 
 
 Independently of the " exactness " which is so often 
 quoted as the fruit of committing our thoughts to 
 paper, it may safely be asserted that nothing is so 
 truly our own mental property as that which we have 
 recorded in writing, if we except that which we have 
 taught to others. When the materials of a Bible 
 lesson are drawn out on paper, the sense of vision 
 comes in to aid the memory, and the different parts of 
 the exercise are recollected with greater readiness 
 because of the position they have occupied on the 
 paper. 
 
 If any should suppose that the foregoing sugges- 
 tions are inapplicable to such teachers as are provided 
 with the Union Notes, and other periodical "helps" 
 from the same source, I would assure him that no 
 printed aids can possibly supply the want of personal 
 study ; that if they could they would be an evil and 
 not a benefit ; and that such is certainly not the 
 design of any of this Society's publications. These 
 are intended to facilitate individual preparation, not 
 to supersede it ; and when used in accordance with 
 their avowed purpose, I do not hesitate to assert 
 (without in the least subscribing to the professional 
 dogma, "Nothing like leather") that they are the best 
 existing helps to weekly Bible study. 
 
 As to other works of Scripture comment and illus- 
 tration^ having written somewhat fully upon them else- 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS : 
 
 where, it seems unnecessary again to discuss their 
 merits in relation to the teacher.* A few general 
 observations will therefore suffice. 
 
 The monthly Notes being chiefly expository, those 
 who use them will hardly need to seek much help 
 from commentaries and other works having the same 
 leading feature. I fully agree witb Dr. Todd, that 
 " for obtaining interesting and rich views of the Scrip- 
 tures " — that is to say, of Scripture doctrines, — " Mat- 
 thew Henry's is decidedly the best in the English 
 language." But if Henry's style of unfolding truth 
 be adopted in a Sunday school class, the teacher will 
 soon find that he is " on the wrong tack " altogether. 
 Probably the o])us magnum of the able minister of 
 Chester is not often thus misused. But unquestion- 
 ably there are some teachers who think that because 
 the Union Notes are arranged in an expository form, 
 therefore the same divisions and subdivisions are to 
 be introduced into the lesson, and the same style and 
 language adopted. Under the influence of this mis- 
 take it occasionally happens that the Notes are taken 
 into the class, and I once heard of a superintendent 
 whose practice it was to edify the entire school by 
 reading aloud what the Notes said on the lesson for 
 the day, as a substitute for an afternoon address. The 
 one practice is well-nigb as objectionable as the other. 
 It is one thing to expound a subject so that a teacher 
 may see all its bearings, and quite another to indicate 
 the best methods of arranging it for the instruction of 
 
 * See " The Teacher : His Books, and how to read them." 
 Second Edition. Sunday School Union Price Twopence. 
 
 74 
 
WnAT TO TEACH. 
 
 the young. The periodical of which we speak pro- 
 fesses to do the former, and that only. 
 
 The help especially needed in private preparation 
 is not so much au abundance of exposition as full 
 EXPLANATION and accurate and striking illusteation. 
 Such assistance may be gained from sources like the 
 following : — the footnotes to Doddridge's " Family 
 Expositor;" "Notes on Matthew," and "Notes on 
 Mark and Luke," by Professor Jacobus, of Brooklyn, 
 N. Y. (lately published by Oliphant and Co., at 3s. 6d. 
 each) ; " A Critical and Explanatory Commentary on 
 the Old and New Testaments," by Drs. Jameson and 
 Brown, and Mr. Fausset, issued by Wesley, in Is. 
 parts, the text included ; Trench's admirable " Notes 
 on the Parables," and " Notes on the Miracles ;" 
 Kitto's " Pictorial Bible ;" Thomson's " Land and the 
 Book ;" " The Bible in the Holy Land," consisting of 
 extracts from Stanley's " Sinai and Palestine," and 
 published by Murray at 3s. 
 
 But, after all, the notes and comments most 
 valuable to the Sunday school teacher are those which 
 he makes for himself. A thoughtful and intelligent 
 student of the Scriptures, though haply " unlearned," 
 in the common acceptation of the term, might, in a 
 few years, accumulate a store of excellent material, 
 superior to anything contained in any commentary 
 that has yet been issued, — I mean, of course, in its 
 application to Sunday school purposes. And under 
 this conviction, I would respectfully urge upon my 
 fellow-labourers the practice of recording the results 
 of their weekly study in some permanent form. 
 
 75 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS: 
 
 Archbishop Trench recommends the use of a Bible 
 without marginal references, but having a wide 
 margin, and suggests that the reader should insert 
 his own references, the result of his comparison of 
 " Scripture with Scripture." I would venture to 
 combine with this a second recommendation, — the copy 
 should also be interleaved, and the larger the size the 
 better. Bibles having both these peculiarities may 
 occasionally be picked up at bookstalls, but even if 
 specially prepared for the teacher's purpose, they will 
 richly repay the comparatively small outlay involved. 
 How much time and labour (and we do well to econo- 
 mize both) would have been saved, if, for example, those 
 who will have next Sunday to explain and illustrate a 
 given subject could turn to their interleaved Bibles, and 
 avail themselves of the result of their study of that 
 very subject two or three years ago. And in all such 
 researches, let me urge the desirableness of consulting 
 the best works that can be obtained on each subject, 
 avoiding the antiquated and the unreliable. Many 
 persons seem to lose sight of the fact that biblical 
 criticism has made rapid strides during the present 
 century, so that on some points it has very little in 
 common with the criticism of seventy or eighty years 
 ago ; and, consequently, we find them going back to 
 exploded facts and obsolete theories, as though no 
 further light had been gained by later researches. 
 Scepticism is wise in its generation ; ever on the alert 
 to avail itself of any novel fact or theory which gives 
 even the shadow of support to disbelief, and the 
 religious educators of the young cannot afford to 
 
 76' 
 
"WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 rest their arguments and expositions upon bases a 
 century old. 
 
 Thus far I have spoken of Scripture narratives, and 
 the needful pre-requisites for teaching them to the 
 young. But those who have charge of elder classes 
 will frequently have occasion to consider, in a more 
 systematic manner than w^hen passing through an 
 historical series of lesson-subjects, some of the leading 
 doctrines which sacred history embodies and ex- 
 emplifies. Faith, Justification, the Atonement, the 
 Future State, &c., will have to be discussed in their 
 nature, operations, and results, and not merely as 
 referred to in one or other of their aspects in a given 
 Old or New Testament narrative. 
 
 To accomplish this, the teacher's duty, so far as 
 explanation is concerned, is to ascertain what Scripture 
 saya upon the topic under consideration. Here the 
 printed references in the margin will come into 
 requisition, beside such as the teacher himself may 
 have made in the wide-margined Bible. If additional 
 help be needed, " The Scripture Text Book," published 
 by the Irish Tract Society, may be used. Here the 
 teachings of Holy Writ are grouped together under 
 more than three hundred headings. 
 
 In Mr. Inglis's "Bible Text Cyclopedia" the 
 arrangement is somewhat similar, but the texts are 
 printed in full. The price is 7s. 6d. 
 
 By such means as have now been suggested, the earn- 
 est Christian teacher will not fail to gain clear views 
 
 of any narrative or doctrine which he may be called 
 
 77 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS : 
 
 upon to study. Persevering effort will assuredly be 
 needed for the attainment of this, or any other worthy 
 object ; but a prayerful use of the instrumentalities 
 now available by all of us will insure a successful result. 
 
 (1.) It is easy to test the clearness of our views of 
 a given subject. If it be a Scripture incident, the true 
 test is, Can we picture out the scene so that any one 
 could mentally see the whole ? 
 
 Take the following fragment of descriptive writing 
 from the pen of Mr. Ruskin : — " On the bank of moor 
 which forms the foreground are a few cows, the 
 carter's dog barking at a vixenish one ; the milkmaid 
 is feeding another, a gentle white one, which turns its 
 head to her, expectant of a handful of fresh hay 
 which she has brought for it in her blue apron, 
 fastened up round her waist ; she stands with her pail 
 on her head, evidently the village coquette, for she 
 has a neat bodice and pretty striped petticoat under 
 the blue apron, and red stockings. Nearer us the 
 cowherd, barefooted, stands on a piece of the limestone 
 rock (for the ground is thirsty, and not pleasurable to 
 bare feet), — whether boy or girl we are not sure; it 
 may be a boy with a girl's worn-out bonnet on, or a 
 girl with a pair of ragged trousers on ; probably the 
 first, as the old bonnet is evidently useful to keep the 
 sun out of our eyes when we are looking for strayed 
 cows among the moorland hollows, and helps us at 
 present to watch (holding the bonnet's edge down) 
 the quarrel of the vixenish cow with the dog, which, 
 leaning on our long stick, we allow to proceed without 
 any interference. A little to the right the hay is 
 being got in, of which the milkmaid has just taken 
 
 78 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 her apron full to the white cow ; but the hay is very- 
 thin, and cannot well be raked up because of the rocks, 
 we must glean it like corn ; hence the smallness of our 
 stack behind the willows ; and a woman is pressing a 
 bundle of it hard together, kneeling against the rock's 
 edge, to carry it safely to the hay-cart without dropping 
 any. Beyond the village is a rocky hill, deep set with 
 brushwood, a square crag or two of limestone 
 emerging here and there, with pleasant turf on their 
 brows, heaved in russet and mossy mounds against 
 the sky, which, clear and calm, and as golden as the 
 moss, stretches down behind it towards the sea." 
 
 Can any one question the intensity of clearness of 
 conception on the part of the writer of the foregoing 
 word-picture, or doubt that the most minute and care- 
 ful study of the original picture lay at the root of that 
 conception ? 
 
 (2.) But if a doctrine be the subject of study, the 
 ability to give a complete definition of it may often be 
 employed as a test of the clearness of the teacher's 
 views. A complete definition must accurately repre- 
 sent the essentials of the thing defined and no more. It 
 must apply to nothing beside, and be neither deficient 
 nor redundant. Thus, for example, Plato's definition 
 of man as a " two-leg2:ed animal without feathers " 
 was incomplete, for the description would apply to 
 some kinds of reptiles as well as to man. 
 
 Man is sometimes defined by popular writers as a 
 " cooking animal." It is true that no other animal is 
 known to roast or boil its food ; but the definition is 
 faulty, since cooking is an accident not an essential of 
 humanity. A man would not cease to be such by 
 
 79 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS : 
 
 adopting a diet of raw apples and undressed salads, 
 though his wisdom and taste might be open to ques- 
 tion. 
 
 On the other hand, the answer given in the " As- 
 sembly's Catechism" to the inquiry "What is 
 Prayer? " is faulty through redundance. "Prayer," 
 we were taught to say, " is the offering up of our de- 
 sires to Grod for things agreeable to His will." Con- 
 sonance to the Divine will is not necessarily a quality 
 of prayer. Moses prayed, " O Lord Grod, . . . let 
 me go over and see the good land," but the prayer 
 was not "agreeable to " Grod's " will," and hence was 
 not granted. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the ability to give a com- 
 plete definition of a Scripture doctrine is no mean test 
 of clearness of apprehension. Let not the conscien- 
 tious teacher begrudge the painstaking efforts by which 
 clear views are at length attained. 
 
 The habit of attending to minute details in external 
 objects or written statements is in itself of inestimable 
 value, not only facilitating the acquisition of know- 
 ledge but also increasing the power of accurate dis- 
 crimination between truth and error. An anecdote of 
 the late Archbishop of Dublin, recently recorded in 
 the newspapers, will illustrate this point. A fellow- 
 collegian complained to Whately that he could make 
 no progress in his studies, and thought he must obtain 
 a private tutor, or, in academic phraseology, " get a 
 coach." " Gret a coach ! " cried the future archbishop, 
 — " get a pupil ! " His friend took the hint and the 
 
 80 
 
WHAT TO TEACn. 
 
 pupil, and by mastering the elementary details of tlie 
 subject, surmounted the difficulties which had per- 
 plexed him. 
 
 I have read, too, that on one occasion a young medi- 
 cal student waited upon the illustrious Cuvier and an- 
 nounced a discovery which he thought he had made in 
 the anatomy of the human body, at variance with the 
 views generally received upon the subject. The philo- 
 sopher listened to him patiently, and then kindly asked, 
 " Did you ever dissect a beetle ? " The student con- 
 fessed that he had not. " Then take ray advice," 
 rejoined Cuvier ; " go home and carefully dissect a 
 beetle. Then, if on re-investigating the disputed 
 point, your opinion remains unchanged, call on me 
 again." The young man took the friendly hint, and, 
 by adopting it, discovered that he had been in error. 
 
 And beside the personal gain to the teacher, clear 
 views impart additional value to the instruction which 
 he gives, rendering description more accurate and more 
 vivid and attractive, and doctrinal statements more 
 easy of comprehension. The perfect truthfulness of 
 Mr. Euskin's word-picture, just now quoted, is un- 
 doubtedly an element in its attractiveness, while it at 
 the same time conveys new information. 
 
 But no thoughtful teacher will fail to perceive that 
 an acquaintance with Scripture facts and doctrines, 
 however accurate, is only a part of his work of prepa- 
 ration, and their communication only a step (though an 
 important one) in the instruction of the pupil. " All 
 knowledge," we are reminded by Bacon, " is to be re- 
 
 81 a 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS : 
 
 ferred to use and action ;" and this is especially true of 
 moral and religious knowledge. A child may be rendered 
 a walking cyclopaedia of Biblical fact and religious doc- 
 trine, and yet, if he do not clearly recognize the prac- 
 tical bearings of those facts and doctrines, they rest in 
 his understanding as useless and inactive as corn grains 
 in the withered palm of an Egyptian mummy. And 
 it is because the tenets of orthodoxy are held, and 
 held intelligently, by many in whom they are thus 
 practicallyinoperative, that pur ears are so often saluted 
 by the wild outcry of "What is a creed ? " The de- 
 nouncers of creeds lose sight of the fact that a want of 
 application of general principles, and not the holding 
 of those principles themselves, is the cause of the evil 
 complained of. Mr. Gall, of Edinburgh, deserves the 
 hearty thanks of religious teachers of the young for 
 his clear and reiterated appeals for a strictly practical 
 use of Scripture truths, both historic and doctrinal. 
 The lesson system which bears his name essentially 
 consists of this simple process — the presentation of a 
 fact, and the proposal of the question, "What does that 
 teach ? " One example, as given by Mr. Grail in his 
 " Philosophy of Education," will suffice. " Suppose," 
 he says, " a child in .the act of reading the history of 
 Cain and Abel in the manner in which it is commonly 
 read by the young, and that the child thoroughly un- 
 derstands all the circumstances. He may be deeply 
 interested in the story, while the uses to be made of 
 it may not be very clearly perceived. But if, after 
 reading any of the moral circumstances, such as 
 ' Cain hated his brother,' or after hearing it announced 
 
 82 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 to him by the teacher, he was asked, ' What does that 
 teach you ?' the practical use of the truth would at 
 once be forced upon his mind, and he would now very 
 readily answer, ' It teaches me that I should not hate 
 my brother.' " 
 
 This method of dealing with Scripture narrative 
 has now become so general that there are few, if any, 
 intelligent Sunday school teachers who do not make 
 the " drawing of lessons " a leading part of the sab- 
 bath class exercises. They feel that upon these prac- 
 tical truths the success of the teaching instrumentally 
 depends. The fact, and even the doctrine or general 
 principle which it involves, may be received and under- 
 stood, but if the particular application of the prin- 
 ciple to the learner's character and circumstances be 
 not apprehended, the work of instruction is felt to 
 have fallen short of the mark. And yet permit me 
 to call your attention to a serious defect which, as it 
 appears to me, characterizes Mr. Gall's system, and 
 also, to some extent, the method of " lesson-drawing " 
 adopted by teachers generally. 
 
 Take one example — that just quoted. The fact 
 read by the scholar is that " Cain hated his brother." 
 The inference drawn or expected to be drawn is, " I 
 should not hate my brother." But how does such a 
 conclusion follow from the premises ? Not directly, 
 as the merest glance suffices to show ; but only through 
 some intermediate proposition, e.y., that "hatred is 
 forbidden by God," or that "love to brethren is com- 
 manded by Him," otherwise the conclusion is illogical, 
 however right in itself. If it be replied that the 
 
 83 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS: 
 
 scholar is supposed to know this, I would ask whether 
 it is wiser to assume such knowledge, or to elicit it by 
 questioning ? If the pupil knows the general truth, 
 of which the lesson he draws is a particular applica- 
 tion, surely that knowledge will be deepened by being 
 elicited ; and if he does not (a very frequent occur- 
 rence, it is to be feared), is it well to encourage him in 
 drawing unsound conclusions, however pleasing they 
 may be in a moral point of view ? 
 
 Let the careful teacher, then, in preparing for 
 his class, give special attention, not merely to 
 the practical lessons which strike him as deducible 
 from the allotted Scripture portion, but even more 
 special attention to the general principles from 
 which they flow, always remembering that unsound 
 inferences are easily detected by young reasoners, and 
 when discovered, seriously impair the force of anything 
 else which the teacher may bring forward. Good 
 impressions are not facilitated by bad logic. These 
 general principles, moreover, are not always easily 
 reached ; or rather, I should say, it requires many 
 steps of reasoning to reach them fairly, and although 
 the teacher's mind may speedily arrive at them by 
 long strides, that of the pupil cannot accompany it. 
 Now it is highly desirable that our scholars — I now 
 speak of Scripture scholars — should be able to perceive 
 the drift of our remarks when we thus rise from a 
 particular fact, or group of facts, to some grand 
 doctrinal truth. Tor this, among other reasons, it is 
 far better to seize upon some obvious principle 
 easily reached; and when that is fairly grasped 
 
 84 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 by tlie pupil, to apply it in a pointed, energetic, and 
 practical manner, or rather lead the scholar so to 
 apply it, than by hurried questioning to elicit a host of 
 so-called inferences, which, whether right or wrong in 
 themselves, can seldom be directly deduced from the 
 facts presented. 
 
 It is desirable that the teacher should deduce 
 and record for himself the leading doctrine or 
 doctrines of his lesson-subject as early in the 
 week as circumstances will permit, inasmuch as he 
 will need to obtain at least two or three suitable 
 illustrations of them. Doctrinal truths, presented in 
 an abstract or general form, rarely produce any im- 
 pression upon the memory or heart of a child. Having 
 devoted a separate treatise* to the consideration of 
 these most important aids to good teaching, I will 
 merely observe, that if any young Sunday school 
 workers should inquire, " AVhence shall we obtain 
 suitable illustrations, for though we often meet with 
 them, we can never recall them at the time they are 
 wanted ? " I would assure such, that the only course 
 to be pursued is to imitate those persons who are 
 smitten with the postage-stamp epidemic, and make 
 a collection of their own. Doubtless the Biblical 
 Treasury^ printed collections of anecdotes, &c., will 
 often be of service, but, as with notes, so with illus- 
 trations, there are none equal to those which a 
 teacher compiles for his own use. Let us, like the 
 
 * See the Httle work, "Illustrative Teaching," 4th edition, 
 (Sunday School Union, price 6d.) 
 
 85 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS : 
 
 farmers in the fable, do the reaping ourselves, build 
 our own barns, and store up the results of our own 
 labour. Por the present purpose I am accustomed to 
 use two books, — a common ruled ciphering book for 
 MS. illustrations, and a scrap-book for printed extracts. 
 Each fact or figure is entered or pasted in as 
 gathered, and the title placed in the index. The plan 
 is very simple, but it may be recommended with con- 
 fidence. Let not the trouble be grudged, when it is 
 remembered that a good illustration simplifies , 
 heautijies, and impresses the truth which it is designed 
 to embody. 
 
 The practical tendency of Mr. Gall's lesson system, 
 referred to just now, is not its only merit. It is 
 essentially an interrogative method, the fault being 
 that the questions are all of one type. 
 
 Now it is almost impossible to write or speak on 
 this subject of teaching without referring to the use 
 and importance of q_uestioning, and while disclaiming 
 any intention of attempting to repeat what our 
 excellent friend Mr. Fitch has said so clearly and 
 pointedly in his valuable tract on the Art of 
 Questioning, I feel that I must not pass the topic by, 
 even in the present lecture. 
 
 Our American fellow-labourers so fully recognize the 
 position and influence ofprepared questions in Sunday 
 school instruction, that they largely employ printed 
 helps to the performance of that duty. Next to the 
 Bible and hymn book, the question book holds the 
 most prominent place among the teacher's instruments, 
 
 86 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 tlius throwing Scripture into the catechetical form, 
 instead of employing catechisms as a mere accompani- 
 ment. Such books partake, of course, of the objection 
 to printed forms in general, as tending to render 
 teaching mechanical, and to lower the teacher in the 
 eyes of the pupils, so that many of the latter think 
 what one lad is reported to have said, — "If I only had 
 his booklcould teach as well myself." As of notes and 
 illustrations, so of questions, the teacher must prepare 
 them for himself, otherwise he must needs feel as 
 unsuitably equipped as was the shepherd of Bethlehem 
 in the armour of King Saul. 
 
 In all sound methods of instruction, the question, 
 as the great mental stimulant, must hold a prominent 
 place. Nothing is so truly thought-awakening as a 
 well-put question. Need I remind you how it was 
 wielded by Socrates of old, or how it formed a dis- 
 tinguishing peculiarity in the method adopted by Dr. 
 Arnold, of E-ugby ? Or need I rise to the highest 
 precedent of all, and suggest that the questions pro- 
 posed by our blessed Lord are, like His illustrations, 
 striking and instructive characteristics of His inimit- 
 able teachings ? 
 
 As nothing facilitates the progress of tuition like 
 skilful interrogation, so nothing is more embarrassing 
 than its opposite ; hence random questions are not 
 only unsatisfactory in themselves, but positively 
 suicidal to him who proposes them. "Who has not 
 witnessed instances of this kind? The teacher asks 
 one question after another ; he does not get the 
 answers he wants, but does get those he doesn't want 
 
 87 
 
THE IlJirSTEUMENTS : 
 
 these lead him into excursions which he never 
 intended, and cause him to lose his way ; he hesitates 
 and flounders about ; the children grow as uneasy as 
 himself, and eventually the whole concludes by the 
 teacher telling his inattentive pupils what they might, 
 by proper questioning, have been led to tell him ; in 
 which case (to apply a principle already alluded to), 
 the information elicited would have been made their 
 own to an extent which mere telling mostly fails to 
 accomplish. 
 
 He who would avoid such disheartening failures 
 must arrange his questions beforehand, and upon this 
 simple plan ; the ansiuer to each question is to he the 
 basis of the next that is proposed. 
 
 We have all probably noticed the progress of 
 vegetation on the top of a country or suburban wall. 
 At first the stones are bare, but after a while a few 
 spores of lichen, wafted by the wind, are carried on to 
 the wall-top, and sink into the crevices. The first 
 shower causes these spores to germinate, and soon the 
 grey, or green, or yellow lichen spreads a soft carpet 
 over the surface of the stones. As it decays, its 
 substance contributes to form a thin soil, in which the 
 almost equally humble moss may spring and grow. 
 The moss in turn aids in forming a soil for the fern, 
 or perhaps even the still higher wallflower, and so tho 
 process is carried on, — 
 
 " "With coats of vegetation thinly spread, 
 Coat upon coat, the living on the dead ; 
 These then dissolve to dust, and make a way 
 For bolder foliage, nursed by their decay." 
 
 8b 
 
TTIIAT TO TEACTT. 
 
 And tlius eacli of the successive questions and answers 
 which enter so largely into all skilful teaching forms 
 part of an harmonious series, and is related alike to 
 those which preceded and to those which follow it. 
 
 Some teachers, in their zeal for questioning, are apt 
 to fall into extremes. Having been told that it is 
 unwise to tell scholars everything, they adopt the 
 plan of telling them nothing. They profess to 
 accomplish everything by " questioning out." They 
 forget that nothing can be elicited that is not virtually 
 known before. The true scope of question power is 
 as follows : — To awaken curiosity, or the desire to 
 know ; to awaken memory, or the recollection of what 
 is already known ; or to point out something unhnoicn, 
 which may be inferred from that which is Tcnown. 
 More than this no mere interrogation can accomplish. 
 
 We have thus far reviewed, as fully as time would 
 allow, the various agencies available by the Sunday 
 school teacher for the instruction and training of his 
 youthful charge. It may, however, form a fit conclu- 
 sion to the present topic, as well as lead on to that 
 which is to follow, if we now briefly notice the 
 final act of weekly preparation — the sketching out 
 of the future lesson, and arrangement of the teacher's 
 private notes. We need but glance at the subject 
 here, inasmuch as the art of teaching — the method 
 and manner of communicating Scripture truth, will 
 be considered at length in the third lecture, and 
 exemplified, as far as possible, in the fourth. 
 
 The teacher who has studied the appointed portion 
 
 89 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS: 
 
 of Grocl's "Word in the manner already indicated, will 
 be ready to address himself, as the week approache? 
 its termination, to the final arrangement of his notes 
 for use in the class. The sabbath is drawing on, but 
 he is not now about to begin the work of preparation. 
 He has been watchfully collecting materials through- 
 out the week, knows all the facts embraced in the les- 
 son, has drawn from those facts several leading truths, 
 and has jotted down in the " pocket-book " several 
 illustrations which the week's reading and observation 
 have brought to light. 
 
 He now sits down, with pen, paper, Bible, and note- 
 books before him. But it is not for the purpose of 
 studying. That was begun long before, and, as one 
 of its results, he now possesses a clear and compre- 
 hensive view of the passage of Scripture to which his 
 attention has been devoted. His present want is an 
 equally clear and comprehensive view of the same 
 subject as arranged for a class of given age and attain- 
 ments. To this end he sits quietly down, not to read, 
 but to tliink. E-eflection must be called into exercise, 
 with her cousin. Patience, to attend her. The efforts 
 of the former may not at first be attended with suc- 
 cess — the subject will look dim and hazy, as though 
 out of proper focus; but with the latter's gentle 
 assistance Eeflection will soon display her power. The 
 oft-recurring study, thought, and observation of the 
 preceding days will bring their own reward by pro- 
 ducing their legitimate results ; and the hand of Re- 
 flection will bring the desired object into accurate 
 focus. Newton was wont to attribute his marvellous 
 
 90 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 discoveries to his liabit of constant reflection. " I 
 keep," said he, "the subject of my inquiry constantly 
 before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gra- 
 dually, by little and little, into a full and clear light." 
 For a while it may be that, as Mr. Blacket remarks in 
 his invaluable manual, " nothing will present itself," — 
 an experience which most of us can fully endorse; 
 but the teacher " must persevere, and think still ; be- 
 cause it is only from intense thinking that valuable 
 ideas spring. By-and-bye they will come slowly, 
 then quickly, then overflow ; and he must not leave 
 off thinking till there is formed in the chambers of 
 his mind a lineal picture of the expected conversation." 
 
 " To use a figure," continues Mr. Blacket, " he 
 must produce from his topic a tree of thoughts, — the 
 root, — then the trunk, branching off*, as it ascends, into 
 heavy boughs, one in this direction and another in that, 
 — then the minor branches, each in its place, — then 
 he must add the leafy clothing, — and not be satisfied 
 till he has adorned it with blossoms, and adjusted the 
 whole with so much delicacy and grace as to please 
 the eye and bear the minutest inspection. This pro- 
 cess cannot be called difficult. The only real effort 
 required is that of steady contemplation." 
 
 The figure is one which will bear following out, and 
 may serve as a convenient aid to memory in the ar- 
 rangement of historical Bible lessons. The roots repre- 
 sent the facts of the narrative ; the stem is an emblem 
 of the leading truth which arises out of those facts ; 
 the branches the varied and far-reaching applications 
 of that truth ; and the blossoms andfoliaje the illus- 
 
 91 
 
THE INSTEUMEH^^TS : 
 
 trations that adorn the whole. Let us devote some 
 attention to each portion of our imaginary lesson- 
 tree. 
 
 The Facts, or Boot. — The teacher who has prepared 
 thorouglily will, of course, have acquired possession of 
 a large number of facts, of every degree of relative 
 prominence and importance, and of which only a por- 
 tion can or ought to be communicated to his pupils. 
 In the selection of the leading facts, he is necessarily 
 controlled by Scripture itself, and by the lesson-list 
 which he is in the habit of adopting. The passage 
 being read by the scholars in class, the surface facts, 
 if I may so term them, cannot escape notice, even if it 
 were desired. Nevertheless, the marshalling of these, 
 upon which much depends, rests with the teacher ; 
 while the minor facts are almost entirely in his own 
 hands, either to call attention to them or pass them 
 by. In exercising this liberty, he ought specially to 
 consider the age and sphere of thought of his scholars, 
 choosiug such incidents as embody persons and things 
 familiar to young minds, or if this be impracticable (a 
 rare case), choosing such as may be made familiar by 
 illustration. This, it will be remembered, derives its 
 importance from the principle already reiterated, 
 that a mental picture, if it is to be afterwards recalled 
 with ease and readiness, must be distinctly perceived, 
 and in order to such distinctness, each part of the 
 picture must be clearly apprehended. 
 
 Herein, I may again remark, lies the surpassing 
 excellence of the sacred histories. "While other 
 historians describe the deeds of nations, of armies, 
 
 92 
 
TVIIAT TO TEACn. 
 
 and of governments, the inspired writers narrate 
 the lives and acts of individuals of all ranks and 
 characters. The domestic element, almost unknown in 
 ordinary history, predominates in Scripture. Appeal- 
 ing thus to our every-day conceptions and sympathies, 
 the Bible becomes the book for home — the book for all. 
 
 But we must not digress. It is highly desii^able that 
 the teacher should keep before him the special charac- 
 ters and circumstances of the children who compose his 
 class, — a knowledge of which can best be obtained by 
 personal and familiar association with them in their 
 several homes. Yet, since the deeper wants of each 
 are known only to Him before whose omniscient gaze 
 the inmost heart lies ever unveiled, what an argument 
 have we here for humble and earnest prayer for His 
 guidance in so momentous a duty ! 
 
 You will thus at once infer that I have no faith in 
 the desirableness of uniformity in the arrangement of 
 lessons. I do not believe in exercises cut and dried 
 for a whole school — turned out according to pattern, 
 like so many regulation rifles. No two competent 
 architects, with like materials and a like object, 
 would erect on equal sites two precisely similar 
 buildings ; and no two competent teachers will 
 deal with the same subject exactly in the same way; 
 yet, just as the architects would all the while be 
 bound by the principles and rules of their science, so 
 must teachers be bound by the principles and rules 
 of theirs. 
 
 The Doctrine, or Stem.— The teacher who steadily 
 ponders the historic facts before him will soon per- 
 
 93 
 
THE INSTEUMENTS : 
 
 ceive that from them there springs, in each case, some 
 leading doctrine standing between the facts and their 
 applications, and forming the "main trunk" of the 
 entire subject. It is, in truth, the true centre and 
 support of every Bible class exercise : without it the 
 facts are unimpressive and the application illogical. 
 Its identification must, therefore, be a matter of vital 
 importance. Indeed, it is not likely that any intelli- 
 gent teacher will have proceeded far on his weekly 
 preparation before discovering the primary truth de- 
 signed to be taught in the appointed passage of Scrip- 
 ture. It would, for instance, be impossible not to 
 perceive that the main doctrine to be learned from the 
 recorded interview of Christ and Nicodemus is em- 
 bodied in the words, " Ye must be born again." Yet 
 here, again, I must be permitted to express a conviction 
 that the chief doctrine of a Scripture narrative lesson 
 is not invariably the same for all. The leading truth 
 suited to one class or teacher may allowably and ad- 
 vantageously differ from that suited to another class 
 or teacher. So wondrously many-sided is Scripture, 
 that the same passage may minister to the wants of 
 many minds and hearts which have little in common 
 with each other. " My idea of heaven," said the suf- 
 fering Eobert Hall, " is rest — rest.''' " And mine," said 
 the philanthropic Wilberforce, " is love.'*^ Both were 
 right ; but each looked at truth from his own stand- 
 point. And so with teachers. After diligent study 
 and earnest prayer, let each humbly but confidently 
 grasp that doctrinewhich most forcibly commends itself 
 to his judgment and feelinpjs. It may not be the best 
 
 94 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 for his colleague in the next class — but it is the best 
 for him. 
 
 I would urge the importance of confining tlie atten- 
 tion to one, or perhaps, in some cases, tico leading 
 truths, on these grounds : — That a teacher cannot do 
 justice to more in the compass of an ordinary lesson ; 
 and that the grasp of a child's mind is at best but 
 feeble and limited. In Nature's school, as we saw in 
 the first lecture, the understanding gains one truth at 
 a time, and hence learning is both thorough and plea- 
 sant. Hundreds of teachers of all kinds fail through 
 simply trying to teach too much, and then, it may be, 
 excuse themselves, as a young member of the pro- 
 fession did, by saying, " I do not for a moment expect 
 my class to remember what I have now been telling 
 them, as this is the first lesson upon the subject ; but 
 by repetition they will certainly master it." When 
 will the simple truth be learnt that it is the one seed 
 sown in the ground, and not the hundred cast ujpon it, 
 which will germinate and grow ? 
 
 But it may be objected. Will not such a limitation 
 exclude many valuable reflections, and so narrow the 
 usefulness of the lesson, by narrowing its scope ? 
 And will not that "variety," which is so peculiarly 
 " charming " to young minds, be rendered difficult to 
 secure, if not impossible ? 
 
 To this I would reply, that the selection of one 
 leading truth by no means excludes a passing refer- 
 ence to others. No wise instructor will neglect 
 opportunities of incidental teaching ; yet there is no 
 necessity for deposing the main doctrine from its 
 
 95 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS : 
 
 prominent position, and reducing all to the same 
 level, so as to render the whole instruction incidental. 
 And as to variety, the application of any Scripture 
 truth will yield abundant scope for the most varied 
 illustration. It is recorded of Lord Erskine, that 
 when a pleader at the bar, his custom was to throw all 
 his strength into the leading points of his case, passing 
 over those of minor importance. And doubtless this 
 was one element of his success. No little benefit 
 would accrue to both teachers and scholars if the same 
 rule was adopted in Sunday school lessons, in place of 
 the present practice, which seems to recognize no limit 
 to the number of truths deduced, save the ingenuity 
 of the teacher and the time allotted to the exercise. 
 "Whatever may be incidentally taught in the course of 
 a lesson, let the main truth — the central stem — be 
 steadily kept in view, from the commencement till the 
 close. 
 
 I must not, however, lose sight of the fact that in 
 the instruction of elder children the botanical figure 
 which we have adopted will not always hold good. 
 Ordinary Sunday school subjects rarely furnish excep- 
 tions, for whether the title be doctrinal or historical, 
 the reading lesson is almost invariably a narrative, the 
 facts of which form the roots of the class exercises in 
 either case. But many teachers — professional teachers 
 in particular — find it interesting and advantageous to 
 prepare lessons of a different type, which we may call 
 textual ; — A verse or two, constituting a given doc- 
 trine, is selected and read or repeated. by the class, and 
 the teaching consists of explanation, illustration, and 
 
 96 
 
"WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 application of that doctrine. The scholars being 
 somewhat advanced, tbeir knowledge of Scripture his- 
 tory is drawn upon for various illustrations of the 
 truth set forth in the text, the interrogative and ellip- 
 tical methods predominating throughout. For an ex- 
 ample of a textual lesson I would refer you to pp. 48 — 
 53 of Mr. Sydenham's valuable "Notes of Lessons."* 
 I mention this form of subject because I think its 
 occasional adoption will be found useful by those who 
 have charge of elder Scripture classes. 
 
 The Application, or Branches. — As the doctrine 
 springs from the root, so does the practical applica- 
 tion from the doctrine. As one stem divides into 
 many branches, so one Scripture truth has manifold 
 applications. How varied are the aspects and 
 bearings of such truths as the omniscience and 
 omnipresence of God, the love and mercy of Christ, 
 the influences of the Spirit, the prevalence of tempta- 
 tion, the insidiousness of evil habits, the uncertainty 
 of life, and so on ! And in how many ways may a 
 skilful teacher apply them to the consciences of his 
 youthful charge! As with the facts and doctrines, 
 so with the practical inferences — selection must be 
 made in each case with a view to the characters and 
 requirements of the taught. And so with the illus- 
 trative anecdotes and allusions with which the applied 
 truths are adorned, and rendered more forcible as well 
 as m'?re attractive. No rules can be prescribed for 
 
 * " Notes of Lessons in their Principles and Application." 
 By Gr. Sydenham. Longmans. Price 3s. 
 
 97 n 
 
THE INSTEUMEKTS: 
 
 all cases. Careful preliminary study, steady thinking, 
 and frequent practice, together with equally frequent 
 review of past efforts, will not fail to render this duty 
 of lesson-arrangement both pleasurable and easy. 
 By sheer force of intellectual habit the teacher will 
 involuntarily come to look at Scripture in a Sunday 
 school light. Just as, in gazing upon some rural land- 
 scape, a geologist would be led to think of it as evi- 
 dencing certain physical changes which had deter- 
 mined its configuration ; a botanist, as a spot pro- 
 ducing certain trees and flowers ; a farmer, as a 
 district yielding wheat or oats, turnips or mangold- 
 wurzel ; and a military man, as a locality suitable or 
 otherwise for the evolutions of an army, — so a Sunday 
 school teacher, when any passage of Scripture is pre- 
 sented to his mind, will learn to mark its capabilities 
 of furnishing instruction to this or that grade of 
 children, and will find it gradually shaping itself, as 
 if by some innate power of development, into the form 
 of a Bible lesson. 
 
 I have thus dwelt at length upon what I may 
 term the intellectual part of a teacher's weekly 
 preparation for his sabbath duties. Still limiting 
 our view to this special and periodical work as dis- 
 tinguished from mere general preparation, allow me, 
 in bringing this lecture to a close, to remind you in 
 few words of that moral and spiritual fitness for 
 teaching which is of even higher importance than 
 that which has formed the chief subject of considera- 
 tion. Inasmuch as the moral susceptibility of a child 
 
 98 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 is greater than its intellectual susceptibility ; receiv- 
 ing, so to speak, moral impressions even more readily 
 tban mental ones — as we saw in the last lecture, — the 
 moral influence which is brought to bear upon it be- 
 comes a matter of the utmost moment. Much salutary 
 influence of this kind may doubtless be communicated 
 by loving words and earnest tones ; yet just as the 
 illustration is more vivid and forcible than the abstract 
 truth, — -just as the object is more vivid and forcible 
 than the description, — so the conduct and character 
 are more influential than precept, however powerfully 
 and earnestly enforced ; in fact, the teacher himself 
 is a perpetual object-lesson to his class, and lament- 
 able must be the result when truth as described in 
 his instructions is contradicted by truth as professedly 
 exemplified in his conduct. What shame so deep as 
 that of the instructor whose pupils vindicate their 
 sins and follies by pointing to his inconsistencies ? 
 God grant us the help of His mighty Spirit, that 
 we may "walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as 
 wise." 
 
 The teacher must come to his class 'prepared in 
 temper and disposition : for so surely as irritation 
 dwells within, or anger overshadows his countenance, 
 so surely will the moral disturbance be noted by and 
 communicated to his scholars ; they will faithfully 
 reflect every moral perturbation as the photograph 
 copies each spot and wrinkle. There is no sadder 
 sight than a Christian teacher out of humour in the 
 midst of his youthful charge. Eeligion has done 
 little for him, if it has not taught him self-control j 
 
 99 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS : 
 
 and he who cannot govern his own temper is utterly 
 unfit to govern a class of children. Let him learn to 
 do the one, or relinquish the other. 
 
 He must come to his class with/z^ZZ confidence in 
 Ins mission. The confidence of which I speak is as 
 far removed from vain conceit on the one hand as it 
 is from cold disbelief on the other. It is perfectly- 
 consistent with the lowest estimate of self; and while 
 it "magnifies" the "office," it ascribes no merit to 
 him who fills it. It is founded on a deep conviction 
 that Grod "willeth not the death of the sinner" — 
 young or old, — but would have all " to come to the 
 knowledge of the truth ;" a conviction that the Holy 
 Scriptures embody that truth through the reception 
 ■of which eternal life is to be gained ; that the 
 humble Sunday school teacher has a commission from 
 on high to communicate the same truth to the young 
 who are placed under his care, and therefore that in 
 explaining and applying the Word of Grod he is 
 literally and actually a co-worker with Him — an 
 agent engaged in carrying out the divine purposes of 
 love and mercy. 
 
 We have often admired the faith and constancy of 
 Columbus in that wondrous voyage of his towards an 
 unknown and mysterious shore. Men railed or de- 
 nounced, comrades murmured and lost heart ; but the 
 great navigator held calmly on his course, fully per- 
 suaded that each moment brought him nearer to the 
 land upon which no European had ever yet gazed. 
 With like confidence let the faithful teacher rest 
 assured that each sabbath lesson, if weU and truly 
 
 100 
 
WHAT TO TEACn. 
 
 taught, brings him nearer to tlie accomplishment of 
 the great object of his toil than ever he was before. 
 
 " Press on, press on, nor doubt nor fear. 
 From age to age this truth shall cheer 
 Though men may die and be forgot, 
 "Work done for God, it dieth not." 
 
 These moral pre-requisites for successful teaching, 
 and that careful study and detailed preparation upon 
 which so much has been said in the present lecture, 
 will need to be sustained by a mightier influence than 
 that of mere benevolent feeling towards those for 
 whom we labour. He who would rise to the true 
 level of his calling, and aspires to meet its just de- 
 mands, must summon to his aid the power of 'prayer. 
 Christian workers of all ranks deal too much with this 
 mighty agency as though it were a shadowy some- 
 thing entirely different from all else to which the 
 name of power is given. Prayer is as much a power in 
 the moral world as light, heat, and gravitation are in 
 the natural world, and yet how few Christians use the 
 former as earnestly, industriously, and rationally as 
 men of science use the latter ! Yet when has prayer 
 deceived him who employed it as God taught him ? 
 Never. Does the teacher feel his need of a quicken- 
 ing and sustaining power in his weekly studies for 
 his class ? " To pray well is to study well," exclaim 
 Luther and Sir Matthew Hale. " I never," says the 
 accomplished Doddridge, " advanced well in human 
 learning without prayer, and always made the most 
 proficiency in my studies when I had prayed vdth the 
 greatest fervency." And the great composer Haydn 
 
 101 
 
THE IlfSTEUMENTS : 
 
 was accustomed to remark that nothing so well pre- 
 pared his mind for musical study and composition as 
 the act of communion with God in prayer. 
 
 Does the teacher feel that he approaches the hour 
 of instruction with a spirit perturbed and irritated 
 by the thousand cares and annoyances of the week ? 
 Prayer, like the harp of David, will smooth the 
 furrowed brow, and put each troublous thought to 
 flight. To the man of prayer it is given to have in 
 his own breast an oratory where the noise and tumult 
 of worldly care can never enter. 
 
 " To the heart that knows Thy love, Purest ! 
 There is a temple sacred evermore ; 
 
 And all the tumult of life's angry voices 
 Lies hushed in stillness at its peaceful door. 
 
 Far, far away the roar of passion dieth. 
 And loving thoughts rise cahn and peacefully ; 
 
 And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth, 
 Disturbs the soul that dwells, Lord, with Thee." 
 
 Or does he feel that he is giving way to distrust, and 
 approaching duty in the spirit of the Jewish noble, " If 
 the Lord would make windows in heaven, might such 
 a thing be ? " Let him withdraw into the solitudes of 
 devotion, and, like the angel who met the desponding 
 prophet in the wilderness, unseen messengers shall 
 prepare for his wearied spirit a repast, in the strength 
 of which he shall go for many days, and do valiantly 
 in the name of the Lord. 
 
 Looking back, dear friends, upon the many duties 
 which have thus been set forth for your adoption, it 
 may perhaps be asked, " How can all this be accom- 
 
 102 
 
WHAT TO TEACH. 
 
 plished? Surely far less of labour and pains will 
 suffice for such a work as ours." Nay, my fellow- 
 labourer, surely not " far less," but rather " far more" 
 than has been here suggested, if undying souls 
 are to be wrested from the hydra-like embrace of sin. 
 Only be faithful, and the power and opportunity will 
 be given. Rigidly redeem your time, especially its 
 fragments, and consecrate yourself to your worh. If 
 this work do not satisfy your ambition, choose some 
 other which you deem of higher digoity and value. 
 But if a Sunday school teacher, be a Sunday school 
 teacher, " a whole man to that one thing," and fritter 
 not away your time and energies by seeking to fill a 
 host of other offices beside. Fixedness of purpose and 
 singleness of aim would well nigh put an end to the 
 dolorous complaints of want of time to prepare for the 
 sabbath's duties. As for leisure, let us not dream of 
 it on this side of the grave. " In this world only Grod 
 and the angels can be spectators." There is an 
 endless future to rest in. Here we have to follow 
 Him who said, " I must work the works of Him that 
 sent Me while it is day," pursuing our glorious task 
 till life's sun shall calmly sink into the broad ocean of 
 eternity. 
 
 " Eest ? Rest ? Not till tlie race is run 
 
 "WTiicli yet before me lies ; 
 Inglorious ease befits not one 
 
 Wbo hopes to gain the prize. 
 The infant on its mother's breast 
 
 !RIay calmly, sweetly sleep, 
 r.ut theirs must be no dreamy rest 
 
 Who climb the moimtaiu steep. 
 
 103 
 
THE INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 " Rest ? Ecst ? Yes, on a holier shore, 
 
 Where toil and tunnoil cease ; 
 Where present conflicts come no more, 
 
 But all is hushed to peace. 
 Perpetual calm shall fill this hreast, 
 
 When passed o'er life's rough sea ; 
 Oh, -will not that eternal rest 
 
 Be rest enough for me ?" 
 
 104 
 
HOW TO TEACH; 
 
 OE, 
 
 THE EIGHT USE OF INSTRUMENTS. 
 
HOW TO TEACH; 
 OE, THE EIGHT USE OF INSTEUMENTS. 
 
 We have now arrived at the fourth and final stage 
 of our inquiry. In the two previous lectures we have 
 considered three of the qualifications of the skilled 
 worker — a knowledge of the material, of the ohject 
 proposed, and of the instruments to be employed; 
 we now approach the last division of our subject — 
 a knowledge of the mode of using the instruments so 
 as to produce the desired result. This last quali- 
 fication is, perhaps, the most important of all — to the 
 teacher in particular, as to workers in general, — as a 
 little reflection will show. Indeed, although the 
 adjective "skilled" has been employed in these lec- 
 tures in a comprehensive sense to denote the accomp- 
 lished artist or teacher, "thoroughly furnished" for his 
 work, yet, in common phraseology, the dexterous use 
 of tools forms the leading feature in the concep- 
 tion of " skill." "A skilful workman," says the able 
 authoress of "English Synonyms," "understands the 
 theory and practice of his business thoroughly ;" and 
 in this sense I have used the word, but its ordinary 
 acceptance is more restricted. The importance of this 
 
 107 
 
now TO TEACH ; 
 
 qualification is universally recognized. "We demand 
 that our shoemaker shall know how to make a shoe, 
 and our tailor a coat ; that the bricklayer shall under- 
 stand building, and the gardener be able to rear and 
 cultivate roses and dahlias. If they cannot do these 
 things, we pronounce them incapable — not under- 
 standing their business — whatever other qualifications 
 they may possess. The shoemaker may be thoroughly 
 acquainted with the chemical changes involved in the 
 process of tanning, and the gardener may be a scientific 
 botanist, yet we should feel that these accomplishments 
 could be far more easily dispensed with than a practical 
 knowledge of shoemaking and floriculture. In other 
 words, we are accustomed to regard it as the chief 
 requisite in those who profess such handicrafts, that 
 they possess the ability to practise them. 
 
 But when we come to higher departments of labour 
 something more is required, — at least, where the 
 workman desires to excel. If he would take a fore- 
 most place, he must not only be acquainted with 
 rules, he must understand the principles upon which 
 those rules are based. Thus the first-rate watchmaker 
 must have some knowledge of astronomy and of the 
 laws of heat and motion, and the first-rate engineer 
 must be versed in mechanics and general physics. 
 From such examples we learn the position and mutual 
 relations of art and science. An art is " a collection 
 of rules for something that is to be done," * and for 
 the ordinary artisan it is sufficient that he be master 
 
 ♦ Archbishop "Whately. 
 108 
 
OE, THE EIGHT USE Or INSTEUMENTS. 
 
 of the rules of bis trade. Art is commonly all that 
 be requires. 
 
 But if he aims at great excellence he needs the 
 aid of science, which is " a collection of principles for 
 something that is to be known." * The reason is 
 obvious. Every true art (or set of rules) is based 
 upon some science (or set of principles), of which it 
 is the practical application. Thus the art of dyeing 
 rests upon the science of chemistry, the art of organ- 
 building upon the science of acoustics, the builders' 
 art upon architectural science, and that of the druggist 
 upon the science of medicine. Now the rules of an 
 art are designed to apply to all ordinary cases and 
 exigencies ; but exceptional cases and unprecedented 
 circumstances will occur at times in every art, and 
 the higher the art the more numerous the exceptions. 
 Here it is that the unscientific workman feels his 
 defi-ciencies. He needs a knowledge of fundamental 
 principles, by which alone he could meet the new 
 demand with certainty and with intelligence. Other- 
 wise he would be compelled to resort to such ex- 
 pedients as occurred to him, and whether these proved 
 successful or not would be merely a matter of chance. 
 Let us now bring home these considerations to our 
 own office and circumstances. Our. art — the art of 
 teaching — is founded upon the science of education, 
 — the rules of the one upon the principles of the 
 other. He who understands the art has made an 
 important acquisition ; but he who would be fully 
 
 *■ Whately. 
 
 loy 
 
HOW TO TEACH; 
 
 equal to the demands of his sacred calling must not 
 be content with mere rules, however just or valuable. 
 He must repair to the fountain head, study the prin- 
 ciples of education, and trace their application to his 
 work in the form of practical rules. 
 
 In accordance with these views, I have sought first 
 to call your attention to child-nature and the educa- 
 tional principles founded thereon. Secondly, the 
 matter of our teaching has been considered, and we 
 have together contemplated Bible truth in its relations 
 to the young. And now, having thus noticed the 
 Matekial and the Instruments — the taught and tbe 
 teaching, — we have before us the not less important 
 subject of the Right Use of these Instruments. How 
 shall we teach? or, more correctly, How shall we 
 teach Scripture truth to children and young persons ? 
 The reply to this question, embodied in its most 
 general form, would be. In language suited to the 
 pupils' capacities and attainments ; in a style adapted 
 to the subject and audience and the design ; according 
 to methods based on sound educational principles, and 
 calculated to implant tbe truth firmly in the under- 
 standing; and in such a manner as to influence the 
 afiections of the heart in accordance with the con- 
 victions of the mind. 
 
 A few plain and practical suggestions will now be 
 offered under eacb of these heads. 
 
 LANGUAGE. 
 
 The amount of influence exercised by any speaker t 
 over his audience may be largely increased or 
 
 110 
 
OE, THE EIGHT USE OF INSTEUMENTS. 
 
 diminished by tlie language in which he clothes his 
 thoughts. 
 
 His subject may be a thoroughly popular one, even 
 with those whom he addresses, yet ill-chosen language 
 may render it utterly tedious and wearisome. Who 
 has not often heard some glorious passage of Holy 
 "Writ — a flashing jewel from the casket of Revelation 
 — selected as a text, and then slowly dissolved in a 
 sleeping-draught of dull verbiage, like the pearl in 
 Cleopatra's goblet ? 
 
 On the other hand, a theme universally deemed 
 uninteresting may be presented to an audience in 
 language so striking and judicious as to extort the 
 confession that its dryness was only apparent, not real. 
 Thus Archbishop Whately could make the seemingly 
 dull principles of political economy intelligible and 
 interesting to young lads, and Sydney Smith could 
 assemble the rank and fashion of London to hear 
 lectures on moral philosophy. In both cases command 
 of suitable language was an important auxiliary to 
 success, and the Sunday school teacher will find that 
 in his work much depends upon the choice of words 
 and phrases. 
 
 Our mother tongue is composed chiefly of two 
 dissimilar elements — a Saxon and a Celtic one. To 
 the Anglo-Saxon language we owe our monosyllables 
 and most familiar words ; the longer and more difficult 
 words are chiefly of Celtic origin. The former impart 
 liveliness and strength ; the latter, grace and elegance ; 
 so that we may compare the two to Milton's descrip- 
 tion of our first parents : — 
 
 111 
 
HOW TO TEACH ; 
 
 " For contemplation he, and valour formed ; 
 For softness slie, and sweet attractive grace. " 
 
 In addressing children it is evident that the Saxon 
 element must predominate, or we shall be unintelligible ; 
 and, speaking in an "unknown tongue," shall be "as 
 barbarians " to them, whatever they may appear to 
 us. The language of our English Bible and that of 
 the " Pilgrim's Progress " are models of Saxon sim- 
 plicity and vigour. We have only, for example, to 
 compare a passage of an authorized version with 
 some modern paraphrase or new translation to 
 perceive at how serious a loss of plainness and power 
 the desired amount of polish has been attained. 
 Take, for instance, the nervous Saxon with which 
 the 139th Psalm opens : — "O Lord, Thou hast searched 
 me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting 
 and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought 
 afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying 
 down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For 
 there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, 
 Thou knowest it altogether." 
 
 Now compare this with Dr. Blacklock's classic 
 paraphrase : — 
 
 ** Me, my God, Thy piercing eye, 
 
 In motion or at rest, surveys, 
 If to the lonely couch I fly. 
 
 Or travel through frequented ways. 
 Where'er I move, Thy boundless reign, 
 Thy mighty presence, circles all the scene." 
 
 It is evidently, therefore, our duty and interest as 
 teachers of the young, and in many cases of those 
 
 113 
 
OR, TUE EIGnT USE OF INSTRUilEiS'TS. 
 
 whose lot is cast in the lower ranks of the social 
 scale, to cultivate a habit of using the plain Saxon 
 element of our language rather than the more polished 
 but less intelligible Celtic; inasmuch as it will aid 
 us in the attainment of the first great desideratum 
 in the art of communicating, viz. (1), Simplicity. 
 
 The Eoman rhetorician has laid it down as a rule 
 for the orator, that he must endeavour to speak 
 not merely in such a manner as that he shall be 
 understood, but so that he cannot be wiisunderstood. 
 And this should undoubtedly be our aim as instructors 
 of youth. We must " use great plainness of speech." 
 Yet, though no rule is more frequently reiterated 
 than this, none is more frequently transgressed. 
 How rare it is to read or hear a Sunday school lesson 
 or address without noting hard words and phrases, 
 which scarcely any child would be able to under- 
 stand ! And how constantly this same fault pervades 
 our juvenile literature ! That which is intelligible 
 is apt to be silly, and that which is not silly is often 
 unintelligible. The following rules may be advanta- 
 geously borne in mind : — 
 
 Never to use a luord you do not quite understand. 
 For since you cannot make plain to others what is 
 not plain to yourself, your pupils are not likely to 
 gain much from hearing sounds to which even their 
 instructor (whose vocabulary is doubtless far more 
 comprehensive than theirs) attaches no distinct idea. 
 I do not presume to insinuate that many teachers are 
 likely to share the experience of a good man of whom 
 I lately read, and who was requested at very short 
 
 113 E 
 
HOAV TO TEACH; 
 
 notice to conduct a prayer meeting. Being quite un- 
 prepared, he opened the Bible, and fell to reading the 
 first chapter that met his eye. Unfortunately, it 
 proved to be a difficult one, and after floundering 
 hopelessly in a quagmire of proper names, he came to 
 a dead standstill before a monster four syllables long. 
 Wiping the beads of perspiration from his brow, he at 
 length gasped out, " Brethren, let us now turn to an 
 easier chapter!" 
 
 Doubtless few Sunday school teachers would be em- 
 barrassed by such verbal difficulties as these, yet words 
 are occasionally used at the school desk, the appro- 
 priateness of which is, to say the least, open to question. 
 And the experiment is in all cases a hazardous one. 
 
 A worthy minister residing in the south of England 
 went to enjoy for a few days the genial hospitality of 
 a brother in the north. Among other good things 
 provided for his refreshment were some kippered 
 herrings. Having become agreeably and experi- 
 mentally acquainted with the thing, he, in the true 
 spirit of a disciple of Pestalozzi, inquired the precise 
 meaning of the name, to which his hostess responded, 
 and then — to use a legislative phrase — " the subject 
 dropped." The visitor being afterwards invited to 
 conduct family worship, took occasion to make use of 
 his recently acquired knowledge, and prayed earnestly 
 that the dear brother under whose roof they were 
 gathered might long be kippered to his family and 
 the church. 
 
 Another useful rule is — 
 
 Never to use a hard word where an easier one would 
 
 114, 
 
OB, THE EIGHT USE OF INSTKUMENTS. 
 
 answer the purpose. This is a fault whicli pervades all 
 classes, and is common to the educated and unedu- 
 cated alike. It is indulged in by those who evidently 
 would not stoop to an empty parade of empirical 
 learning. The following passage, for instance, is said 
 to have occurred in a sermon preached by a canon of 
 Westminster to a country congregation, and to have 
 been paralleled by many others in the same discourse. 
 Speaking of the lake district, he exclaimed with fervour, 
 " In this beautiful country, my brethren, you see an 
 apotheosis of nature, and an apodeiknusis of the theo- 
 practic omnipotence." Medical men are peculiarly 
 prone to this habit. A child having died the other 
 day from the effects of a slight scratch, it was reported 
 by the surgeon as a case of " hsemorrhagic diathesis." 
 
 It requires a strong effort at times to repress the 
 disposition to use hard words in preference to easy 
 ones. At the present time there is a prevalent habit 
 among writers and speakers of interlarding their 
 English with Latin and French phrases, to eke out 
 the poverty of their native vocabulary, or to invest 
 their sentences with an appearance of erudition. The 
 late Lord Kenyon was notorious for this practice, not 
 only in his remarks from the bench, but also in 
 ordinary society. On one occasion King George was 
 so annoyed at the judge's repeated unclassicalities, 
 that he exclaimed, " Do, my lord, let us have less of 
 your bad Latin, and more of your good English !" 
 
 The remarks of Dean Alford upon this point are 
 just and forcible : — " Never use a long word where a 
 short one will do. Call a spade a spade, not a well- 
 
 115 
 
HOW TO TEACH ; 
 
 known oblong instrument of manual industry ; let home 
 be home, not a residence ; a place a place, not a locality; 
 and so of the rest. "Where a short word will do, you 
 always lose by using a long one. You lose in clear- 
 ness ; you lose in honest expression of your meaning ; 
 and, in the estimation of all men who are qualified to 
 judge, you lose in reputation for ability. The only 
 true way to shine, even in this false world, is to be 
 modest and unassuming, falsehood may be a very 
 thick crust, but in the course of time truth will find 
 a place to break through. Elegance of language may 
 not be in the power of all of us, but simplicity and 
 straightforwardness are." 
 
 As teachers, we must resist this tendency as utterly 
 inadmissible into our class instructions. It will render 
 us ridiculous in the eyes of our associates, though the 
 ignorant and simple may marvel at our command of 
 language. The only apparent exception to this rule is 
 in the case of those technical terms which are peculiar 
 to Scripture and theology, such as faith, justification, 
 eternal life, regeneration, &c. Since the pupils must 
 sooner or later become acquainted with these words 
 and phrases, it is not desirable that the teacher should 
 eschew their use, especially as it often requires several 
 words to form an equivalent. But let them first be 
 fully explained, and then, whatever they may appear 
 to others, they will no longer be really hard words to 
 the scholars who read or hear them. It should, how- 
 ever, be remembered that until the age of reason has 
 arrived, these and other abstract terms can only be 
 understood by means of an illustrative example. 
 
 116 
 
OE, THE RIGUT USE OF INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 Again, avoid ambiguous ivords, or if they are used 
 explain them. Words and phrases may have two or 
 more meanings, and no little misconception will result 
 if the teacher uses them in one sense while the scholar 
 understands them in another. I sometimes wonder 
 what ideas children must form of such expressions as 
 that, the well-know^n petition, " Prevent us, O Lord, 
 by Thy most gracious favour," &c. ; or the frequent 
 quotation in extempore devotions," When Thou wiliest, 
 who shall let it?" A teacher questioning his class 
 upon the parable of the tares and wheat, asked, perhaps 
 rather unwarrantably, " What are tares ?" To which 
 one girl promptly replied, ^^ Slits, teacher!" Tou 
 have probably heard of the child who understood the 
 passage, " There are no bands in their death," to signify 
 that the persons spoken of had no music at their 
 funerals. And I have been told of a good man who 
 stumbled over the same apparently harmless mono- 
 syllable. Commenting on the history of Cornelius, he 
 said he had remarked that, vicious as soldiers too often 
 were, the bandsmen were generally even more depraved 
 than the rest. Cornelius was therefore an eminent 
 instance of the power of divine grace, inasmuch as he 
 was not merely a soldier, but, as we were distinctly 
 told, a soldier "of the band.^' 
 
 It will be well for us as teachers to keep watch over 
 the language we employ, lest we should unwittingly 
 implant or perpetuate erroneous ideas in the minds of 
 our scholars. 
 
 (2.) The other requisite which I would mention 
 under the head of Language is accuracy/. I speak of 
 
 117 
 
HOW TO TEACH; 
 
 relative, not of absolute accuracy. No mere words 
 can perfectly convey all kinds of ideas from one mind 
 to another. They are limited by their own imperfec- 
 tions, and by the receptive powers of the understand- 
 ing. Thus even in Scripture the conduct and attributes 
 of the Divine Being have to be described to us in 
 words and phrases to which a certain degree of imper- 
 fection necessarily attaches, so that it is not merely a 
 divine decree, but a necessity of our nature, that some 
 truths should be beyond our grasp in the present state 
 of existence, and under the present conditions of in- 
 tercommunication ; " "What I do thou know^est not now, 
 but thou shalt know hereafter." And probably all of 
 us, in teaching young children, have observed how 
 unavoidable is a certain amount of error in the lan- 
 guage we employ, in consequence of the extremely 
 limited range of thought and expression which cha- 
 racterizes such little ones. 
 
 Still we should aim at the utmost accuracy which 
 the circumstances of each case will permit. Intelligent 
 children are quick to detect error, and the influence 
 of such detection on their estimate of those whose 
 mistakes they have discovered is apparent. It is, per- 
 haps, in general propositions that we most frequently 
 are guilty of inaccuracy. 
 
 When no discussion is permitted, some teachers are 
 apt to indulge in doctrinal expressions equally com- 
 prehensive and equally inaccurate. Young children 
 are told that their hearts are like " a cage full of un- 
 clean birds" — an assertion which may well prove 
 puzzling to young and simple minds, conveying to 
 
 118 
 
OE, THE EIGHT USE OF USTSTRUMEj^TTS. 
 
 them the idea of an internal zoological gardens on a 
 small scale, and making them wonder how their hearts 
 can possibly be so like an unpleasant aviary. Or 
 elder ones are seriously assured that in an unconverted 
 state they can never think, say, or do anything good 
 in the sight of Grod, when perhaps half an hour before 
 the teacher has commended them for loving and care- 
 ful attention to an infant brother or sister. In all 
 theological statements we do well to keep closely to 
 our only standard of faith and practice. This will 
 save us from numberless extravagances, and. among 
 them from such sweeping dogmas as the above. 
 
 As an instance of the keenness of juvenile criticism, 
 I may mention the following incident: — A child of 
 four years old was inquiring of its nursemaid, Did Grod 
 make the trees ? did He make the sun — the stars — 
 the birds, — and so on. To save repetition, the girl 
 replied once for all, "Yes, dear, God. made every- 
 thing." " He didn't," was the decided and reproach- 
 ful reply. "Yes, He did, dear." " No, He didn't." 
 Rather taken aback by this precocious piece of scepti- 
 cism, she answered, "You must not talk so, — God 
 made everything." " He didn't," persisted the child ; 
 " He didn't make dolls f^^ Many an older teacher has 
 equally overlooked the difference between creation 
 and manufacture. 
 
 From language we naturally pass to the considera- 
 tion of — 
 
 STYLE, 
 
 which we may term the organization of language. 
 
 119 
 
HOW TO TEACn ; 
 
 ISot to trammel ourselves witli the classification of 
 styles adopted by some rhetoricians, let us glance at a 
 few characteristics to be aimed at, and a few pecu- 
 liarities to be avoided, in the style of teaching adopted 
 by us in the Sunday school. 
 
 (1.) In the first place, the style should be somewhat 
 diffuse. Conciseness is an excellent quality in him 
 who writes or speaks to educated adults, but it is a 
 fault in the instruction of children. Young minds 
 need that the same idea should be placed in various 
 lights, and that details should be fully presented to 
 their imagination or understanding. As an illustration 
 of this diflruseness, I cannot do better than refer you 
 to the Tranconia Stories of Jacob Abbott — Caroline, 
 Stuyvesant, or Beechnut. These tales are literally 
 all about nothing, the narrative being of the slightest 
 possible character ; but the wise educationist who pen- 
 ned them knew well that their detailed diftuseness, 
 however tedious to adult minds, would commend the 
 stories to youthful tastes. And so it has proved. 
 
 Por elder children the degree of difFuseness should 
 be reduced; but teachers rarely give their pupils too 
 much of detail. These considerations tend to show 
 how unwise and undesirable it is to attempt to crowd 
 too many ideas, not to speak of difterent topics, into a 
 single exercise. 
 
 (2.) But difi'useness must not degenerate into dis- 
 cursiveness. AVe are too familiar with this failing in 
 the pulpit, on the platform, and at the school desk. Not 
 long since I heard a preacher of some note, who, after 
 talking on for nearly an hour, abruptly closed his 
 
 120 
 
01^, TnE EIGHT USE OF IXSTKUMENTS. 
 
 Bible with the statement that he hadn't said what he 
 intended to say, and had said what he had not intended 
 to say. I thought it a poor compliment to his hearers, 
 and not bver-creditable to liimself. A discursive 
 speaker may contrive to complete his task with 
 tolerable success if he has an abundance of self-pos- 
 session, but for an unpractised instructor the experi- 
 ment is attended with no little danger. He may 
 wander with all possible ease, but will he as readily 
 find his way back to the starting-point ? Undoubtedly 
 digressions are sometimes allowable, but such cases 
 are quite exceptional, and the experiment is almost 
 always followed by loss of attention on the part of the 
 scholars. 
 
 (3.) A. perspicuous style should be earnestly aimed 
 at. In the hands of some men the simplest subjects 
 become dim and confused through a lack of clearness 
 of style. Thus plain texts of Scripture are often 
 mystified by commentators. And, contrariwise, the 
 most difficult and abstruse themes may be rendered 
 comprehensible to ordinary learners by teachers who 
 have attained perspicuity. How well some barristers 
 and judges contrive to explain difficult points of law 
 to the minds of uneducated jurymen, and how per- 
 fectly the late Lord Macaulay always contrives to 
 place a subject before his readers, is well known to 
 us all. 
 
 To attain this important characteristic requires 
 effort and study, but it may be said to depend chiefly 
 on three things — clear views of the subject, simplicity 
 of language, and naturalness of arrangement. Of the 
 
 121 
 
HOW TO TEACH; 
 
 two former I have already spoken ; of the last I would 
 observe that a natural arrangement is of great service 
 in assisting the learner's memory. If one part of the 
 subject treated of by the teacher be naturally con- 
 nected with that which precedes and that which 
 follows, the law of association enables the pupil to 
 recall one by the aid of the others ; whereas, if the 
 position it occupies be merely the result of caprice, 
 the link of connection is necessarily broken. And 
 since logical association is stronger than arbitrary 
 association, it is better to take up each successive 
 portion of your subject as it presents itself to the 
 mind, than to resort to such expedients as " three 
 p's " or " four s's," which, though they may serve 
 sometimes as aids to the recollection of natural divi- 
 sions, should not be used as substitutes for them. 
 
 Perspicuity will be promoted by such an arrangement 
 of matter as might naturally occur to the mind of the 
 pupil, and, let me add, by well-marked pauses between 
 the several divisions. The old pulpit practice of 
 firstly, secondly, thirdly, though abused in some in- 
 stances by reducing every subject to the same number 
 of heads, and rendered wearisome in others by "twenty- 
 seventhly," and by interminable sub- and sub-sub- 
 divisions, was based on sound principles of instruction ; 
 and its abolition by some, through fear of being deemed 
 antiquated, has rendered their prelections so difficult 
 to remember, that few of their hearers are able to 
 carry home what has been so liberally dispensed at 
 church or chapel. A facetious old lady not long since 
 was describing the pleasure with which she listened to 
 
 122 
 
OB, THE EIGHT USE OF INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 the discourses of the Eeverend Mr. Blank. " I go 
 home," said she, firmly closing her hand, " and think 
 I have so much laid up for many days. But when I 
 come to look " (unclosing her fingers), "why, there's 
 nothing left ! " And thus hearing is rewarded like 
 the laborious efforts of a certain farmer, who, finding 
 on the sea-shore one day an enormous quantity of 
 jelly-fish (provincially termed " slobs"), thought that 
 they would make excellent manure, and accordingly 
 loaded several carts with the slimy marine stores, and 
 took them home. What was his amazement next 
 morning to find that the " slobs " had so effectually 
 dissolved their corporation that nothing was to be 
 seen but a film of white at the bottom of the carts ! 
 A like experience was related by a little school-girl, 
 who reported concerning a gentleman who had been 
 giving an address, " Pleathe, thir, he talked and he 
 talked, and he thed how he loved uth, and he talked 
 — and — and — we all thought he wath agoing to thay 
 thomething, but he didn't thay nothing." Want of 
 perspicuity, arising from the lack of due arrangement, 
 and not defective power of memory, is the source of 
 such failures of recollection on the part of hearers, 
 whether old or young. 
 
 (4.) Teachers, I need hardly say, should cultivate 
 a pointed style. This is so often urged, that one 
 sometimes wonders why a little information is not 
 given on the best methods of attaining this important 
 characteristic. It would be unpardonable if I did 
 not venture a plain hint or two. 
 
 One requisite for pointed teaching is to speak to 
 
 123 
 
now TO TEACH ; 
 
 our scholars, and not of or at tliem ; telling them, 
 for instance, how they think, or feel, or act, rather 
 than how boys or girls in general think, feel, or act. 
 Grood G-eorge Herbert describes his " country parson" 
 as " particularizing of his speech, now to the younger 
 sort, then to the elder ; now to the poor, and now 
 to the rich, — ' This is for you,' and ' this is for you.' " 
 Let the teacher also make good use of the second 
 person singular and the second person plural, that 
 each scholar may feel himself specially addressed. 
 
 Pointedness may also be promoted by bringing 
 every subject, so far as it is possible, to bear upon 
 youthful life and character. Mr. Stevenson, in his 
 deeply interesting volume, " Praying and "Working," 
 gives a striking account of the labours of Immanuel 
 Wichern in the Rough House, near Hamburgh — a 
 sort of ragged school or reformatory, — and observes 
 that Scripture history was there expounded with such 
 admirable pointedness as to extort from one and 
 another scholar the exclamation, "That's me!" as 
 some Old Testament narrative was simply explained, 
 and its bearings unfolded to the once degraded 
 children. We must bring down our theology to the 
 common every-day duties, difficulties, and dangers of 
 the scholars ere we can hope to see religion exemplified 
 in their every-day life. There is a lamentable deficiency 
 in our teaching in the matter of Christian ethics, and 
 the result is but too visible in the business and private 
 life of too many who bear the Christian name. Much 
 may also be accomplished in the way of pointedness 
 by occasional and judicious questioning. I mean 
 
 124 
 
OE, THE EIGHT USE OF INSTEUMEKTS. 
 
 that kind of interrogation which demands no verbal 
 answer, but leads the hearer to search the depths of 
 his own heart for a reply. Such suggestive inquiries 
 abound in Holy Writ, and have been made blessings 
 to thousands. E.g., "AVhat shall it profit a man?" 
 &c. ; " How shall we escape ?" &e. ; " H the righteous 
 scarcely be saved," &c. ; " Shall not the Judge of all 
 the earth?" &c. A judicious teacher might in like 
 manner address his class in the following inter- 
 rogatives : — " Do you sa}'', I will be religious when I 
 grow old? What! delay to serve God until your 
 best and brightest days are gone ? So then, after 
 receiving so many blessings from above, you are 
 willing to spend the most precious part of life in the 
 service of sin and self, and then you will offer your 
 years of weakness and uselessness to God ? What 
 folly ! what ingratitude ! and what madness, too ! 
 Do you think that the Eling of kings will con- 
 descend to accept such an offering as that?" This 
 example may also serve to illustrate the next and 
 final requisite to be noticed under the head of Style, 
 namely, — 
 
 (5.) Vividness, under which I include the methods 
 of awakening in your hearers ideas and feelings 
 corresponding with your own. Clear conceptions 
 and accurate phraseology are powerful aids to the 
 attainment of vividness, but these have already 
 received sufficient notice. As a further means to 
 this end, Mr. Blacket urges the frequent use of 
 interjections and exclamations, such as those just 
 quoted; "for," as he justly remarks, "they fire the 
 
 125 
 
HOW TO TEACH ; 
 
 passages tliey adorn." It is a suggestive fact that 
 the most eminent actor of the time should have 
 declared that he would give a hundred guineas if he 
 could say " Oh !" as Whitefield did. 
 
 That great orator possessed in an eminent degree 
 another and perhaps the chief source of vividness — 
 pictorial power. You will call to mind the oft-cited 
 instance in which Whitefield was describing the 
 unawakened sinner under the figure oi' a blind man 
 unconsciously nearing a precipice, and with such 
 marvellous vividness of delineation as to extort a cry 
 of horror and alarm — " Grood Grod ! he's over!" — 
 from one of the most distinguished and cultivated of 
 his hearers. 
 
 I trust that the example of so eminently useful a 
 preacher as that great revivalist will be deemed an 
 efiectual answer to the weak and foolish objection 
 sometimes urged against such aids to impression as 
 those of which we speak, — that they are theatrical, 
 and therefore quite inadmissible in any sacred 
 exercise. 
 
 On the subject of Illustrations, which again con- 
 fronts us as pictorial power is alluded to, it will 
 be sufficient to remind you that they should be 
 somewhat sJiort in all cases, but more so in elder 
 class teaching than in the instruction of juniors ; 
 that they should be simple — not needing to be them- 
 selves explained or illustrated, — and t\ie,veioYe familiar 
 — lying within the scope of the pupil's thoughts or 
 observation ; and obvious — not obscure or far-fetched 
 in their application. 
 
 126 
 
OE, THE EIGHT USE OF INSTEUMENTS. 
 
 And in giving illustrations let it be remembered 
 that their vividness will be largely augmented by- 
 presenting them dramatically, rather than in the 
 simple narrative form. Children and less educated 
 adults invariably narrate in this manner, and teachers 
 of the young should avail themselves of the assistance 
 it will aftbrd. Nor need appropriate gesture be 
 neglected; only that its use will necessarily be 
 regulated by the relative position of other classes, 
 which might suifer disturbance from their curiosity 
 being excited by the gesticulations of a zealous and 
 imaginative teacher. In a separate room or com- 
 partment no such obstacle will of course exist. 
 
 All narratives, descriptions, and word-pictures are 
 also rendered increasingly vivid by the judicious use 
 of adjectives. One instance will suffice, — Cowper's 
 portrait of the woodman and his dog, in the " Win- 
 ter Morning Walk," which forms the fifth book of 
 " The Task : "— 
 
 * ' Forth goes the woodman, leaving unconcerned 
 The cheerful haunts of men ; to wield the axe 
 And drive the wedge in yonder forest drear, 
 From morn to eve his solitary task. 
 Sliaggy and lean, and shrewd, with pointed ears, 
 And tail cropped short, half lurcher and half cur, 
 His dog attends him. Close behind his heel 
 Now creeps he slow ; and now, with many a frisk 
 Wide-scampering, snatches up the drifted snow 
 "With ivory teeth, or ploughs it with his snout. 
 Then shakes his powdered coat, and barks for joy.** 
 
 AVe must now turn our thoughts toward an exten- 
 sive and most important theme, — 
 
 127 
 
HOW TO TEAOJI } 
 
 METHOD. 
 
 Tlie term metlwd may be comprebensively applied 
 to the general flan of teaching, so as to include all the 
 topics discussed in tbe present lecture. In this sense 
 method is the application of the rules of teaching, as 
 relating to language, style, manner, and all other 
 means by which an instructor seeks to produce the 
 desired effect upon the pupil. I here use it, however, 
 in a more restricted sense, and intend by it to signify 
 the construction or arrangement of lessons in accord- 
 ance with educational rules. 
 
 I believe it is not too much to assert that more 
 young Sunday school teachers fail in this particular 
 than in any other. They cannot succeed in securing 
 the attentive interest of their scholars, and thus their 
 efforts are impeded and their work marred, because 
 the truth by which alone the heart can be affected 
 fails to reach, or reaches but imperfectly, the under- 
 standing of the child. 
 
 Perhaps the true value of method can hardly be 
 said to be recognized by religious teachers of the 
 young. A portion of Scripture truth is too often 
 regarded as if it were a ball, which w^ould roll equally 
 well whichever point of its surface were uppermost. 
 It might more justly be compared to an arrow shot 
 at a mark. The bow may be strong and elastic, the 
 arm of the archer powerful, and his aim true ; the 
 arrow straight, sharp, and well feathered ; yet, if the 
 wrong end be directed forward, the missile will fall 
 useless to the ground. Or if this simile be deemed 
 
 128 
 
OE, THE RIGHT USE OF INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 too sweeping, it will at least be conceded — certainly 
 by those who have followed me thus far — that in the 
 teaching^ of children we must take measures to awaken 
 before we proceed to instruct, and instruct before we 
 attempt to impress. And since the function of the 
 Sunday school lesson is represented with tolerable 
 completeness by these three words — awalien, instruct, 
 impress, they will of necessity suggest the leading ideas 
 to be kept in view when the weekly " Outline" or 
 " Notes " have to be prepared. And it would be well 
 if each Sunday school teacher were to imitate in this 
 respect the example of Mr. Mogridge, the silver- 
 penned " Old Humphrey," whose custom was to place 
 before him on his desk, when writing for either young 
 or old, a card, bearing in conspicuous type the words, 
 "Allure; Instruct; Impress." The question now to be 
 considered is, By what means may this acknowledged 
 duty be efficiently discharged in each Bible lesson ? 
 The answer is. By right metliods. It must be obvious, 
 at the first glance, that even if we restrict our inves- 
 tigation to the pure and simple Bible lesson, no single 
 answer can be given to the above query. Principles 
 are fixed ; rules vary within certain limits ; but metliods, 
 which are the application of rules, are susceptible of 
 endless diversities. To say nothing of the teacher's 
 individuality, different modes of procedure are evi- 
 dently demanded by scholars of different ages, grades, 
 and attainments, as also by their state of discipline, 
 and their intellectual and moral condition at the given 
 time. The form of Scripture truth also varies within 
 certain limits, even if we look no farther than the sub- 
 
 129 L 
 
now TO TEACH; 
 
 jects comprised in our Union " List." Still there are 
 certam principles (as was attempted to be shown in the 
 last lecture) which must constantly be kept in view, 
 and consequently certain rules which are of universal 
 application. It is remarkable to notice how much 
 two good Bible lessons will have in common, even in 
 arrangement, although they may be designed for 
 grades of pupils the most widely removed from each 
 other, as I will presently endeavour to illustrate. 
 They may differ in size, proportion of parts, and 
 minute detail, as the oak differs from the elm, and the 
 elm from the cedar ; but the general features are the 
 same, — root, stem, branches, and leaves are present 
 alike in all. 
 
 Under the name of Methods, the principal varieties 
 in the mode of communicating truth have been roughly 
 classified as follows : — 
 
 {a) The Interrogative, or Catechetical method. 
 
 (b) The Elliptical method. 
 
 (c) The Lecturing, or Dogmatic method. 
 
 (d) The Picturing-out method. 
 {e) The Illustrative method ; and 
 (/) The Demonstrative method. 
 
 («) The first-mentioned, the Interrogative method, 
 needs no definition. It is simply teaching by means 
 of questions. 
 
 (h) The second, or Elliptical method, is also 
 familiar to all teachers. It essentially consists in 
 allowing the pupils to fill in one or more words in a 
 sentence begun by the teacher, 
 
 (c) The Lecturing, or Dogmatic method, is simply 
 
 130 
 
OE, THE EICtHT USE OF INSTETJMENTS. 
 
 telling tlie pupil what is desired, without giving 
 reasons or evidence for its truth or accuracy. 
 
 (6?) The Picturing-out method explains itself. 
 
 (e) Of the Illustrative method the same may be said. 
 
 (/*) The Demonstrative method is one in which the 
 teacher works out with the pupil some process of proof, 
 as a sum in arithmetic, or a problem in geometry. 
 
 Now these six methods, if I mistake not, may be 
 virtually reduced to four. The ^^ pictui^ing-out^' 
 method appears to me to be only a form of the 
 '^ illustrative,^^ and scarcely distinguishable from it. 
 The demonstrative, on the other hand, I cannot 
 regard as a separate method at all, for the process of 
 working out a proof may be conducted on various 
 methods, — the elliptical, for instance, or (as I shall 
 have occasion to show in the concluding lecture) by 
 simple questioning. Of the above four methods, the 
 capabilities of two, the cateclietical and the illustrative, 
 were touched upon in the last lecture. It will there- 
 fore only be necessary to notice the remaining two. 
 Of these, — 
 
 The elliptical method is one whicb has found ardent 
 supporters, and equally decided opponents. Some 
 skilful tea,chers employ it almost to the exclusion of 
 other methods ; while others, as skilful, denounce 
 it as encouraging intellectual laziness. We might 
 expect that in this, as in many other contested 
 points, truth lies in the " golden mean " between the 
 two extremes. Let us take a brief specimen. A 
 teacher is speaking of the prophet Jonah : — " Instead 
 of going, as Grod had told him, to . . , Nineveh ^ he 
 
 131 
 
HOW TO TEACn ; 
 
 immediately sets off for a seaport called . . . Joppa^ 
 in order to flee from . . . ' tlie presence of the 
 Lord.' He inquires if there is any . . . vessel ; 
 finds one about to sail for . . . Tarsliisli ; pays his 
 . . . fare, and goes . . . on hoards And so on. 
 
 Now it is evident, even from this brief spe^men, 
 that the elliptical method has several advantages ; — 
 it economizes time ; it keeps up the scholar's atten- 
 tion ; and it does not break in upon the continuity of 
 the narrative. 
 
 On the other hand, it is obvious that the ellipsis is 
 but a mild form of stimulant — far less awakening than 
 the ordinary and direct question. Hence, if unduly 
 resorted to, it is an encouragement to indolence. It 
 is also apt to foster a habit of guessing. Its proper 
 place is chiefly in the instruction of younger children. 
 Elder ones, if intelligent, find it too easy, and resent 
 it as childish ; if disposed to mental torpor, their 
 torpidity is encouraged by it. It may advantageously 
 be used in sustaining attention while information is 
 being communicated by the teacher in a connected 
 narrative, as in the instance just cited, and it is also 
 convenient in recapitulating that which has already 
 been learned. 
 
 The lecturing, or dogmatic method, is, unfortunately, 
 but too familiar to many Sunday school teachers. 
 Yet it has its place and value, and it is its undue and 
 exclusive prominence in the work of instruction which 
 is so much to be condemned. The dogmatic teacher 
 has all the talk to himself ; he goes steadily on with 
 
 132 
 
OR, THE EianT USE OF IlS'STIirMEXTS. 
 
 his lecture, tells all lie has to tell, never pausing 
 except to take breath, asking no questions, giving no 
 proofs, and (when the method is practised in its 
 purity) no illustrations, verbal or visible. We call 
 such " a preaching teacher," but the title is a slur on 
 the preacher's office. Preaching need not be dog- 
 matic ; dogmatism is one of its accidents, not an 
 essential, — though I am bound to admit that it is 
 an accident observable in a large number of cases. 
 It would be better to term him "a cramming teacher," 
 as this would indicate that his practice is rather the 
 abuse of a good thing than the adoption of a bad one. 
 Every teacher must lecture and dogmatize to a greater 
 or less extent, but there are comparatively few who 
 do not err on the side of excess. Two rules should 
 be observed in order to rectify this mistake, — 
 
 1. Never tell the pupil what he may reasonably be 
 required to tell you. 
 
 2. Never tell anything of importance without draw- 
 ing the substance of it again from the pupil in his oiun 
 words. 
 
 Although each of these methods may be easily 
 distinguished from the others, it is right to remind 
 you that a skilful teacher will employ them largely 
 in combination. To speak technically, a "mixed 
 method " will be adopted as frequently as either of 
 the four. The dogmatic will be associated with the 
 elliptical, and the cateclietical with both. For such 
 combinations no precise rules can be laid down. A 
 clear view of the nature and use of each method, and 
 
 133 
 
HOW TO TEACn ; 
 
 some experience in actual teaching, will enable the 
 diligent worker to employ them either singly or in 
 union, in the manner best suited to his object and 
 circumstances. 
 
 Before passing on to consider more minutely the 
 application of the above methods in the arrangement 
 and delivery of Bible lessons, it may be well to notice 
 briefly three systems of teaching with which most 
 teachers are brought more or less into contact. I 
 mean the individual, the collective, and the simulfcc' 
 neous. The first certainly has the merit of antiquity. 
 The village dame and pedagogue of the olden time 
 w^ould have thought the critic a fit candidate for 
 Bedlam who should have suggested the propriety or 
 possibility of teaching more than one pupil at a time. 
 Each boy or girl came up singly, as a matter of course, 
 to repeat his or her lesson ; and the practice prevails 
 to a large extent even now, both in Sunday and 
 day schools. Its radical defects would be an easy 
 task, but I hope a needless one, to point out. The 
 heavy tax upon the teacher's time, thought, and 
 patience ; the irregularity of the pupil's progress ; 
 the distribution of order and discipline among the 
 unemployed, while the attention of the instructor is 
 absorbed by the one who is saying his lesson or 
 reading his verse, literally under his preceptor's nose ; 
 the neutralizing of the pleasures and advantages of 
 united effort and exercise, — these are among the most 
 obvious evils of the individual system. 
 
 Deeply impressed with the baneful influences of 
 
 134. 
 
OR, THE EIGHT USE OF INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 individual teaching in schools, some educationists have, 
 after the usual fashion of humanity, taken refuge in 
 the opposite extreme. Everything is to be on the 
 simultaneous principle. Children are to be dealt with 
 en masse. The school is to be one great company, but 
 not " limited," save by the size of the room and the 
 lungs of the teacher. Such is the case with the Grlasgow 
 or training system, in which simultaneous answering 
 is avowedly a leading feature. Nor have we escaped the 
 influence of this reaction even in our Sunday schools. 
 Large gallery classes and simultaneous exercises have 
 been introduced among other modern "improve- 
 ments." * 
 
 Modern improvements they certainly will be — 
 especially as compared with the old individual 
 system — provided they be used in moderation, and 
 their limits be clearly recognized. Simultaneous 
 utterances on the part of a class of children are not 
 only admissible, but beneficial. But let it be clearly 
 understood that for purposes of examination the 
 system is almost useless. Nothing is more exciting 
 than answers given unitedly by a large gallery class ; 
 but nothing, too, is more delusive, and for this 
 reason, — the answers are not strictly simultaneous. 
 As a rule, " the words of the few elder children, who 
 alone are following the teacher, are caught up by the 
 rest with a rapidity which an uninitiated ear is unable 
 to detect ; and the result is so cheerful a noise, that 
 the teacher himself often believes he is instructing 
 the whole section." * 
 
 * "Papers for the Schoolmaster," ii., 82. 
 135 
 
HOW TO TEACH ; 
 
 The ordinary Sunday school class preserres, I think, 
 a safe and beneficial medium. It is large enough to 
 profit by the sympathy of numbers, and yet small 
 enough to allow the mind of the teacher to come into 
 contact with that of each pupil. Gallery classes have 
 doubtless many advantages for junior pupils, but I 
 should be sorry to see our Scripture classes enlarged 
 in size to any considerable extent. They afi'ord full 
 scope for the — 
 
 Collective system of teaching, with respect to whicb 
 a word or two will suffice. On this plan the scholars 
 are instructed together, but individual answering 
 occupies a leading place in each exercise. It is 
 undoubtedly the most effective plan of Sunday school 
 instruction, standing midway between the two systems 
 already named. It interests the young by preserving 
 the social element, and tests by appealing to indi- 
 vidual knowledge. Faithfully carried out, it follows 
 a principle which cannot be too often reiterated — that 
 the true test of a pupil's having received a truth is, 
 that he can give the substance of it in his own 
 language. 
 
 MAT^KEE. 
 
 Our next theme of contemplation must be tbe 
 teacher's — 
 
 Manner, which should be the index of the inner 
 spirit and temper, as the face of the timepiece cor- 
 responds with the works behind it. It would be 
 indeed a work of supererogation to dwell on the fact 
 which all history and experience confirm, that the 
 
 136 
 
on, THE EIGHT USE OF I]S"STEUME]S"TS. 
 
 manner of a writer or speaker exercises an influence 
 equal, and in some cases superior, to that of bis mat- 
 ter. " Manners maketli man," the old adage broadly 
 declares, and certainly success in life is largely de- 
 pendent upon outward demeanour. In preacbing or 
 teacbing, manner determines to a considerable extent 
 tbe influence exerted upon t\\e> feelings of tbe bearer. 
 Of its power in a speaker no more striking instance 
 can be afforded tban in tlie celebrated speecb of 
 Edmuud Burke, at tbe trial of Warren Hastings. 
 The accused governor-general subsequently described 
 tbe emotions excited in his own breast during tbat 
 wondrous invective, in tbe following terras : — " Tor 
 balf an bour I looked up at tbe orator in a reverie of 
 wonder, and during tbat space I actually felt myself 
 tbe most culpable man on eartb. But 1 recurred to 
 my own bosom, and tbere found a consciousness 
 wbicb consoled me under all I beard and all I suf- 
 fered." 
 
 (1.) It will largely contribute to tbe acceptableness 
 of his instructions if the Sunday school teacher's 
 manner be characterized by liveliness. 
 
 Liveliness is to the child the outward indication of 
 inward cheerfulness and activity, as distinguished 
 from mental dulness and sloth. And since to be 
 cheerful and active is the very essence of cbild-life, 
 those who appear to be so will secure youthful sym- 
 pathy, and so prove attractive; while persons of 
 a dull and heavy manner will seem as uninviting. 
 Besides this, a teacber will generally have to cope 
 with that common but unfortunate uotion, so preva- 
 
 137 
 
HOW TO TEACH ; 
 
 lent among young people, by whicli religion and 
 religious ordinances are linked with ideas of gloom and 
 sadness. To dispel such a misconception he must 
 resolutely endeavour to surround religion with every- 
 thing cheerful, lively, and awakening; otherwise he 
 will rivet the link, instead of breaking it. An Ameri- 
 can writer tells a story of a boy who said that on 
 Sundays " his grandmother used to tie him to the bed- 
 post to keep him out of mischief while she was at 
 church, and set him to learn the hymn which says, 
 'Thine earthly sabbaths. Lord, we love.'" Such 
 methods of rendering the Lord's day agreeable to the 
 young certainly do not prevail in the Sunday school ; 
 yet even here teachers are capable of effecting con- 
 siderable improvements, if they will try ; and a lively, 
 spirited manner of speaking will go far to show that 
 "religion" really 
 
 " Never was designed 
 To make our pleasures less," 
 
 althougb to youthful eyes it sometimes looks very like it. 
 
 It should ever be remembered that a child's view of 
 
 life and the world has but little in common with that 
 
 of an adult. He has no sentiments like those which the 
 
 poet puts into the mouth of the d} iug courtier-priest: — 
 
 "An old man, broken with the storms of state, 
 
 Is come to lay his weary bones among ye." 
 
 So far from being weary and desiring rest, there 
 is nothing more characteristic of childhood than un- 
 rest; and therefore, in presenting religion as a rest 
 for a jaded mind, and picturing heaven as a state 
 of calm repose, we are offering to the child for his 
 
 188 
 
OR, THE RIGHT USE OF INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 admiration and pursuit that wliicli, from his very 
 nature, he cannot but regard as unattractive. And 
 yet Sunday scholars, both in England and America, 
 are set to say such hymns and pieces as — 
 
 "There is an liour of peaceful rest 
 To mourning wanderers given;" 
 and — 
 
 "Here o'er the earth as a stranger I roam, 
 Here is no rest — here is no rest," &c. 
 
 Only a few months since, I heard a little boy, some 
 four years and a half old, saying very prettily, " There's 
 a sweet rest in heaven, a sweet rest in heaven, a sweet 
 rest, a sweet rest, a sweet rest in heaven." Knowing as 
 I did that rest of any kind was anything but " sweet" 
 to him on earth, except at bedtime, I could not but 
 regard it as a happy circumstance that he was too 
 young to attach any meaning to the words he used. 
 
 I trust I shall be pardoned this partial digression; 
 the wide prevalence of what I deem an unfortunate 
 mistake must be my apology. I am anxious to urge 
 that liveliness should be associated with all sabbath 
 exercises, and that the sacred day should become 
 to the child a time of pleasant though peculiar occupa- 
 tion, rather than one of restfulness, which his nature 
 must abhor. Liveliness in manner will in part 
 consist of liveliness in tone (as well as sprightliness in 
 tune, — of which the most recent school of psalmodists 
 have, or try to have, so genteel a horror). Young 
 children are peculiarly sensitive to the tones of the 
 voice, and an eminent physician has declared that a 
 person whose voice is peculiarly harsh or disagreeable 
 
 13i> 
 
HOW TO TEACH ; 
 
 is aufit on that account to have the domestic care 
 of little children. 
 
 (2.) The teacher's mannermust be thoroughly earwes^. 
 
 Upon this point a few words will suffice, so much 
 having been already said and written upon the subject 
 in almost every address or manual intended for Sunday 
 school teachers. It is evident from the nature of the 
 youthful heart, as referred to in the first lecture, that 
 if a teacher would excite earnest feeling on the part 
 of his pupils in reference to sacred things, that feel- 
 ing must be deeply rooted in his own heart, and 
 manifested in his outward manners. Affected earnest- 
 ness of demeanour will never impose upon young 
 minds, but genuine earnestness will influence them 
 mightily. After the death of the pious M'Cheyne, of 
 Dundee, there was found upon his desk an unopened 
 note, to this effect : — " Pardon a stranger for address- 
 ing to you a few lines. I heard you preach last 
 evening, and it pleased God to bless that sermon 
 to my soul. It was not so much what you said, 
 as your manner of speaking it, that struck me." 
 
 (3.) And then, let the teacher cultivate a loving and 
 affectionate manner. 
 
 The young, even more than their seniors, are prone 
 to adopt the opinions of those whom they love, irre- 
 spective of the truth or falsehood of the sentiments 
 themselves. Thus the poet says, " Children are what 
 their mothers are." Let the teacher make vigorous 
 use of this pliability, and seek " to convince them 
 of sin, righteousness, and judgment," through the 
 affections as well as through the understanding. 
 
 140 
 
on, THE RIGnT USE OE I^fSTEUMENTS. 
 
 And since sincerity is as essential here as in the 
 matter of earnestness, a Sunday school teacher 
 who does not love his or her scholars must 
 either learn to love them or retire from the work. 
 Happily, this is not often the case. Most persons 
 love children, and those who love them for Christ's 
 sake love them the best and deepest of all. Let 
 this affection be manifested, not repressed. Let 
 it beam in every look, quiver in every tone, and 
 glisten in every tear of sympathy and emotion, and, 
 whatever outward appearances may seem to indicate, 
 that love will not be expended in vain. As a striking 
 example of the power of a loving manner and dispo- 
 sition, I need only mention the name of the late Eev. 
 James Sherman. It is no disparagement to that 
 excellent minister to assert that his eminent useful- 
 ness was due in large measure to that mighty instru- 
 ment in the hands of God, an affectionate disposition. 
 Hearts that remained insensible to the most cogent 
 reasoning were ofttimes won by his tender and loving 
 appeals, and the annals of Sunday school teaching bear 
 ample testimony in the same direction. A loving and 
 earnest manner is perhaps the mightiest of all the 
 instruments which the teacher possesses within the 
 limits ol his own person and character. 
 
 I feel some hesitation in adverting to the teacher's 
 personal habits, and their influence upon his pupils ; 
 yet I should be guilty of unfaithfulness to my con- 
 victions did I not remind you, though briefly, of the 
 fact that the imitativeness of children and young 
 
 141 
 
HOW TO TEACH; 
 
 persons is almost invariably exercised in reference to 
 the personal habits of their instructors, even when 
 little attention is paid to their precepts. I presume 
 that the truth of this remark will not be disputed. 
 You will call to mind many instances within the 
 sphere of your own observation, and I will only remind 
 you of the striking anecdote related by Mr. Wilder- 
 spin. An infant class teacher, well qualified for his 
 work, had unfortunately been deprived of one arm by 
 an accident, "When engaged in manual exercise with 
 his juvenile charge, as often as he raised the uninjured 
 arm, the stump of the other was more or less con- 
 vulsed, with this remarkable effect upon the class, — 
 the children all learned so awkward and one-sided a 
 manner of raising the arms, that it was at length 
 found absolutely necessary, for their sakes, to remove 
 the teacher from his office. 
 
 And thus it is with the Sunday school worker and 
 his habits and demeanour. Whether he be polite and 
 courteous, or brusque and uncouth ; whether attired 
 neatly, showily, or with slovenliness ; whether his 
 conversation be frivolous or profitable ; whether his 
 general deportment be sober or flippant — w^hatever 
 his ways and habits, his scholars will watch him 
 narrowly, and probably copy him closely — too closely, 
 it is to be feared, in anything which does not " become 
 the gospel of Clirist." His amusements will be noted, 
 and a strict comparison instituted between his general 
 teachings and his habitual deportment. Awful is the 
 responsibility of those Christian men and women on 
 whom the solemn judgment of our Lord may with 
 
 142 
 
OE, THE EIGHT FSE OF IIS^STEUMENTS. 
 
 any appropriateuess be pronounced, — " All therefore 
 whatsoever they b]d you observe, that observe and 
 do ; but do not ye after their works." 
 
 If these numerous and varied qualifications for the 
 right discharge of the sabbath teacher's duties, which 
 have formed the subject of our prolonged considera- 
 tion, be rightly regarded, they will serve as a stimulus 
 to hearty devotedness and consecration, for there is 
 much for the Christian teacher to be and to do. They 
 will urge him not less powerfully to a continual resort 
 to the throne of grace, that the Spirit of God may be 
 poured out upon himself and upon his class. He will 
 seek a double baptism, — for his own nature, that the 
 truth he proclaims may be inwrought in his character 
 and manifested in bis life, so that they may diffase 
 the light of holiness, as the face of Israel's ancient 
 lawgiver reflected the glory of the Lord ; and for his 
 young disciples, that the moral equipoise which sin 
 has destroyed may be restored by the mighty energy 
 of the Spirit accompanying the faithful application of 
 truth — God and man, divine agency and human 
 effort, uniting for the great and glorious purpose of 
 saving and restoring the soul. 
 
 Thus, then, dear fellow-labourers, let assiduous 
 preparation, consistent example, and fervent prayer 
 — each in its place— be faithfully united by us into 
 one harmonious bond of holy influence, like the three 
 primary colours which combine to form the sunlight 
 of heaven. 
 
 14a 
 
now TO TEACn, ETC. 
 
 He livetli long wlio liveth well ! 
 
 All other life is short and vaiu ; 
 He livetli longest who can tell 
 
 Of living most for heavenly gaiu. 
 
 He livetli long who liveth well ! 
 
 All else is being flung away ; 
 He liveth longest who can tell 
 
 Of true things truly done each day. 
 
 Waste not thy being ; back to Him 
 Who freely gave it, freely give : 
 
 Else is that being but a dream ; 
 'Tis but to he, and not to live. 
 
 Be wise, and use thy wisdom well ; 
 
 Who wisdom speaks, must live it too : 
 He is the wisest who can tell 
 
 How first he lived, then spoke, the trno . 
 
 Be what thou seemest ! live thy creed ! 
 
 Hold up to earth the torch divine ; 
 Be what thou prayest to be made ; 
 
 Let the great Master's steps be thiue. 
 
 Fill up each hour with what will last ; 
 
 Buy up the moments as they go : 
 The life above, when this is past, 
 
 Is the ripe fruit of life below. 
 
 Sow truth, if thou the true wouldst reap j 
 
 Wlio sows the false shall reap the vain ; 
 Erect and sound thy conscience keep ; 
 
 From hollow words and deeds refrain. 
 Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure ; 
 
 Sow peace, and reap its harvests brigiit, ; 
 Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor, 
 
 And find a harvest-home of light. 
 144 
 
AT WORK: 
 
 THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 AI 
 
AT WOEK: 
 
 THE TEACHEE TEACHING. 
 
 The brief outline whicli has been given in the pre- 
 ceding lectures, of the material upon which the Sunday 
 school teacher is called to operate, and of the instru- 
 ments he employs, and the general rules which must 
 regulate their use, cannot be regarded as complete 
 unless at least some attempt be made to present a 
 view of the teaclier at worh in his sabbath class. 
 
 We have noted a few leading educational principles 
 arising from the mental and moral constitution of 
 children ; we have glanced at the Bible as the great 
 instrument of religious instruction ; at the conditions 
 necessary for its suitable presentation to the under- 
 standings and hearts of youth ; and at the chief 
 qualifications which characterize the skilled teacher. 
 Let us now endeavour to illustrate the practical 
 application of these rules and principles, and view 
 the worker as actually engaged in his delightful task. 
 The general course of a Sunday school Bible lesson 
 will be the subject of discussion ; and remembering, 
 as already hinted, the diversities of which such an 
 exercise is susceptible, it will not be expected that 
 
 147 
 
AT WORK: 
 
 any precise model or pattern will be oiFered. The 
 lecturer will merely attempt to show how Bible 
 lessons may be given to young people agreeably to 
 the principles and rules already laid down. 
 
 Let not the diligent teacher hesitate to take with 
 him into his class the written "notes " which he has 
 previously sketched out. They will prove as helpful 
 as printed notes are embarrassing, and they will tend 
 to raise him in the good opinion of his pupils as much 
 as question-books and periodicals tend to lower him 
 m their esteem. They will check discursiveness, aid 
 the memory, and promote the due distribution of the 
 several parts of the exercise, so that each shall have 
 its allotted share of time, and no more. 
 
 And now, having lingered long, but I hope not idly 
 or unprofitably, on the threshold, let us follow the 
 worker to the post of responsibility. Thoughtful and 
 prayerful, he enters upon his pleasant task. What is 
 his first duty ? 
 
 The following recommendation, found in a tract 
 which attained some degree of popularity thirty years 
 ago, will probably meet with a very qualified degree 
 of approbation on the part of modern educationists : — 
 ^^ Before you hegin teaching, show your authority as a 
 ruler. Your commanding attitude must now convince 
 the children that you are not to be trifled with. 
 Your firmness as a governor, and your importance as 
 an instructor, must now be seen, felt, and respected. 
 To prevent interruption, leave the bottom of the class 
 vacant for the late comers. Presuming that your 
 
 148 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 class, by this method, is held in perfect order, you 
 now wait for the superintendent's command, — ' Begin 
 teaching ;' then smile with benignity on your scholars, 
 and commence the work of instruction." 
 
 "Benignant smiles" and "commanding attitudes" 
 would prove, I fear, a rather awkward combination. 
 
 Neither will a wise teacher set his pupils at once 
 to " read round ; " though this, through mere thought- 
 lessness, is no uncommon practice. AYhat possible 
 benefit or what possible meaning can Bible truth so 
 received convey to the mind of the scholar, when the 
 Book of God is used as a sort of Eiot Act to quiet 
 turbulence and restore order ? And what views of 
 the sanctity of that divine epistle will children be 
 likely to form when they are taught to approach it 
 in a careless and irreverent spirit ? Not much more 
 exalted opinions, I fear, than those acquired by the 
 boy whose ears have been literally made to tingle by 
 the outward and visible application of a pocket Bible 
 wielded by the hand of an irascible teacher ! The 
 time for taking up the sacred volume will not always 
 be the same. Let the scholars read when the subject 
 has acquired interest enough to make them wish to do 
 so, and not before. In the first instance, there is only 
 one legitimate course to pursue. As was intimated in a 
 former lecture, attention can neither be begged, nor 
 enforced, nor extorted ; but it is to be won, like many 
 a strong city, by skilful strategy. The scholars must 
 be interested, and where interest enters, inattention 
 and restlessness take flight and disappear like night- 
 Bhadows at the rising of the sun. 
 
 149 
 
AT WOEK: 
 
 And how shall interest be secured ? The question 
 has already been answered, since it has been shown, 
 when speaking of a child's intellectual and moral 
 powers, that we have only to call one or more of these 
 into active exercise, and direct it into a suitable 
 channel, and the interest arising from agreeable occu- 
 pation is at once excited. Thus we may appeal to one 
 of the senses, as when we exhibit an object to a class 
 of infants ; or we may excite an intellectual faculty 
 — as conception or imagination, by a word-picture or 
 lively supposition ; or both sense and intellect com- 
 bined, as when we show a painted picture of familiar 
 objects ; or we may awaken memory or stimulate 
 reflection by a well-chosen question or observation. 
 By such means as these, and many others beside, the 
 teacher may arrest the volatile attention of his young 
 pupils. 
 
 A Bible lesson, therefore, needs an inteodtjction 
 designed to arouse the interest of the scholars, and 
 prepare them for the due reception of that which is to 
 follow. The characteristics of a successful introduction 
 are consequently twofold. 
 
 (I.) It must awaken attention hy exciting mental 
 activity. 
 
 A well-timed question will often accomplish this, 
 as I have just remarked ; but in the case of young 
 children I have sometimes found it insufficient for 
 the purpose, owing to their extreme volatility. On 
 the whole, therefore, I prefer a brief and familiar 
 illustration — visual, anecdotal, allusive, or otherwise — 
 as the most suitable form of introduction for all grades. 
 
 150 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 Ifc is always acceptable, and rarely ineifective. Let 
 tlie subject be Christ and Zacclieus. An infant class 
 teacher might begin by producing a picture of a 
 sycamore tree ; an elementary class teacher describe 
 some public occasion on which he had seen boys 
 climbing up lamp-posts and railings to see the Queen 
 ])ass by ; while in an elder class an historical reference 
 to the miraculous capture of Jericho by Joshua, and 
 the curse which rested on its rebuilder, &c., might fitly 
 introduce the scene of the events to be considered. 
 
 But such illustrations must be limited by an im- 
 portant condition ; for an introduction should — 
 
 (2.) Lead naturally on to the teaching which 
 follows. 
 
 Every one has read of the old preacher who, finding 
 his discourse was producing a soporific effect upon his 
 congregation, suddenly paused ; and then as suddenly 
 shouted out, " Last Monday morning a man was hung 
 at Tyburn ! " Having thus effectually woke up his 
 drowsy flock, he quietly proceeded with his discourse. 
 This was undoubtedly a stimulative illustration, but 
 unhappily it was somewhat far-fetched, and must have 
 certainly appeared a little out of place. "Whatever 
 may have been the case with his congregation, a 
 youthful audience would probably have soon relapsed 
 into their former torpid condition. The teacher of 
 children must remember that unless the introductory 
 illustration leads naturally to the subject of instruc- 
 tion, the interest excited will speedily die away. The 
 Hindoos have an ingenious expedient for inducing 
 refractory elephants to enter a ship when it is desired 
 
 151 
 
AT WOEK: 
 
 to transport those unwieldy beasts of burden from 
 place to place by water. A sort of raft of boats is 
 constructed, extending from the shore to the vessel, 
 and over it they ])lace earth and grass, so as to look 
 as much like terra firma as possible. The unsuspicious 
 animals proceed onward, and discover only when too 
 late to retrace their steps, that they are traversing a 
 more yielding element than the solid land. By an 
 equally skilful and admissible artifice a class of children 
 may find themselves fairly entered upon the subject 
 of teaching almost before they are aware that the 
 introduction is at an end. 
 
 Close upon the introduction will sometimes follow 
 that very important department of a Bible lesson, the 
 RECAPITULATION. This at Icast will be the case when 
 a series of connected subjects is being dealt with, as 
 is mostly the practice in well-ordered Sunday schools. 
 Having gained attention and introduced the subject, 
 the next step is to link on the new information to 
 that already acquired — to show the connection of the 
 new subject with that which immediately preceded it. 
 This is essential to the firm establishment of the 
 lesson in the scholar's memory, since, as we have 
 seen, association is the basis of recollection, or, to 
 quote the words of Mr. Fitch, " The mind always 
 refuses to receive, certainly to retain, any isolated 
 knowledge. Try, therefore," he adds, "to establish, 
 in every case, a logical connection between what you 
 teach and what your pupils knew before." Where 
 the lessons have no such serial character, the intro- 
 
 152 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 fliiction may be made to serve the purpose in view, 
 linking the new subject to something already familiar, 
 by virtue of its illustrative element. Thus the dis- 
 obedience of Jonah, given as an isolated lesson, might 
 be introduced by some anecdote of a truant school- 
 boy trying to hide himself from observation. And 
 such a course becomes necessary whenever wide gaps 
 occur in a chronological series of narrative subjects. 
 As illustration is to be recommended as a preferable 
 method of introducing a lesson, so the interrogative 
 or the elliptical method, or a combination of both, is 
 the best for recapitulation. This exercise must not 
 be allowed to grow prolix or wearisome. It should 
 be short, lively, and pointed. The probe should be 
 used with rapid and unwavering decision, whether the 
 effect be cheering or otherwise to him who wields it, 
 whether distinct recollection or blank forgetfulness 
 of the preceding lesson, on the part of the pupils, be 
 thereby manifested. 
 
 AVe now come to the main teaching, to which I 
 have given the somewhat inadequate title of the 
 EXPOSITION. I use the term not in its homiletical 
 acceptation, as when we speak of an " expository 
 preacher," but in its literal sense, to indicate the 
 " placing-out " or unfolding of truth to the compre- 
 liension of the scholar. It includes the due presen- 
 tation of the facts, and the deduction of the leading 
 doctrine or doctrines. 
 
 Here it is that a teacher's individuality will have 
 full play. Here is room for varied methods and 
 
 153 
 
AT woee:: 
 
 endless combinations. And here, in consequence, is 
 felt especial difficulty in laying down formal rules for 
 the instructor's guidance. 
 
 Yet the truth with which he is about to deal must 
 fall under one of two heads, — that which the scholars 
 already know, and that which they do not know. 
 Truths of the former kind have to be developed, 
 elicited, or drawn out ; truths of the latter kind have 
 to be supplied ; for information cannot be developed, 
 though ideas may. In treating the former class, we use 
 the question and the ellipsis; in treating the latter, 
 we employ the lecturing or the illustrative method. 
 
 IS^ow, in ordinary class teaching the pupils are 
 generally in possession of a considerable amount of 
 knowledge on the appointed subject, either previously 
 acquired, or (in Scripture classes) at once available 
 by reference to the open Bible. And just as their 
 knowledge of the previoics lesson has been elicited in 
 the recapitulatory exercise, so their acquaintance with 
 the present lesson should be likewise elicited by the 
 aid of questions and ellipses. Here it is that most 
 young teachers fail — neglecting, so to speak, to draw 
 upon the capital stored up ready for their use. 
 Hence the almost exclusive employment of the 
 dogmatic method, much to the disadvantage of the 
 pupils, as well as of their instructors. 
 
 The exposition will in general be treated by a 
 skilful teacher in a more or less catechetical method, 
 according to the ages and attainments of his scholars. 
 
 Thus, in an infant class lesson, the exposition will 
 be conducted chiefly on the illustrative and dogmatic 
 
 154 
 
THE TEACHER TEACniXQ. 
 
 methods (the illustrations being partly visual), 
 with frequent use of questions and ellipses to 
 sustain the attention and interest of the children. 
 
 In the elementary division, the chief method will be 
 the illustrative — especially that form of it which is 
 by some writers elevated to an independent position 
 as the " picturing-out method," the illustrations being 
 verbal only. Almost equal use will be made of the 
 interrogative method, with occasional employment of 
 the elliptical. 
 
 In the Scripture division, the exposition will gene- 
 rally assume the form of a catechetical conversation ; 
 the interrogative method being aided by the illustra- 
 tive, while the dogmatic and elliptical are sparingly 
 resorted to. 
 
 But varied as these combinations evidently are — 
 and it is well that such variety of treatment is attain- 
 able — the exposition of a Bible lesson, whatever the 
 pupil's relative position, will consist, as remarked just 
 now, of the unfolding of certain facts, and the deduction 
 of some truth or truths which the facts embody. 
 
 Our next inquiry, therefore, is, How may the facts 
 of sacred Scripture be best unfolded to youthful 
 minds ? 
 
 1. In the first place, difficult ivords, phrases, or cir- 
 cumstances loill have to he explained. 
 
 Let us glance at a few forms of explanation : — An 
 explanation may be («) verbal, (b) analogical, (c) pic- 
 torial, or (d) demonstrative. Suppose the subject to 
 be explained is the Jewish custom of reclining at 
 meals. 
 
 155 
 
AT "VVOEK: 
 
 (a) One teacher says in a matter-of-fact way, " The 
 Jews adopted the custom of recliniDg on couches, the 
 ends of which were placed against the table bearing 
 the provisions." This is a verbal explanation. It is 
 manifestly somewhat dry, and is chiefly to be used in 
 elder classes, when time presses, or the point is not 
 of material importance. 
 
 (b) Another teacher asks, " Have you a sofa in 
 your parlour at home ?" " Yes, teacher." " Well, if 
 you were to put one end of the sofa against the table at 
 dinner-time, and then go and lie upon tlie sofa, and 
 lean over tbe end so as to reach your plate, you would 
 be doing very much as tbe Jews did when they had 
 their meals." This would be an analogical explana- 
 tion — admissible and interesting at all times to a 
 juvenile audience. 
 
 Care, however, is needed in the use of both verbal 
 and analogical explanations, lest they fail of their 
 object, and darken instead of illuminate. The lan- 
 guage should be studiously simple, free from techni- 
 calities and words of double meaning. Even common 
 words which, though differently spelt, have the same 
 sound, will sometimes mislead the young hearers. 
 A minister was once appealed to to solve the fol- 
 lowing difficulty : — " Sir, said the inquirer, you often 
 speak about our /brefathers. You tell us that their 
 names were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they 
 are only three. Please, sir, who was the fourth .'"' 
 Nothing, too, can be more evident than that an expla- 
 nation should be couched in simpler words and phrases 
 than that which is explained. Yet the following 
 
 156 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHIKG. 
 
 extract from Mr. Gall's " Eirst Initiatory Catechism " 
 will show how readily even skilled teachers may fall into 
 an opposite course : — On the answer to Question 1, 
 " God at first created all things to show His great- 
 ness," he remarks, " He (the pupil) should be able to 
 explain that the first word means ' the Almighty ;' — 
 that the words ' at first ' here signify ' at the begin- 
 ning of time ;' — that ' created ' means ' brought into 
 existence ;' — that the term ' all things,' as here used, 
 indicates ' all the works in nature, with their inhabit- 
 ants ;' — that the phrase ' to show ' means ' to exhibit 
 to His rational creatures ;' — and that ' His greatness ' 
 at the close implies ' His infinite majesty and perfec- 
 tions.' " Now, I think you will agree with me, that the 
 young child who could not understand the original 
 answer would stand small chance of comprehending 
 the explanation ; and that the child who could clearly 
 explain the latter would be a fit subject for exhibition 
 in a museum. 
 
 Care is also needed in analogical explanations 
 lest the scene, or event, or phenomenon which is 
 used as an instrument of explanation be as difficult 
 as, or more so than, the circumstance or incident 
 explained. Thus, it would not do to explain the 
 Jewish custom just now alluded to by referring a 
 class of children to the habits of the citizens of Pom- 
 peii, as evidenced in the sculptures of that disentombed 
 city, of which the pupils might never have heard even 
 the name. 
 
 Neither must the teacher, in trying to elucidate an 
 abstract idea, such as faith, justice, &c., allow his pupils 
 
 157 
 
AT WORK : 
 
 to imagine that an analogical explanation is equivalent 
 to a definition — as in the case of the children in the 
 well-known anecdote, who understood " faith " to be 
 a " mutton pie in a boat," mistaking, through the 
 unskilfulness of the teacher, the details of the expla- 
 natory allusion for a definition of the thing itsef. In 
 such cases, and in all where an explanation is commu- 
 nicated, examination must follow to prove whether 
 the idea has been grasped or not. 
 
 (c) A pictorial explanation is one in which an 
 actual representation is given of the desired object or 
 circumstance. In using these the picture should be 
 put aside as soon as it has accomplished its purpose. 
 It is not often needed in elder classes. 
 
 (d) A demonstrative explanation is often imprac- 
 ticable or undesirable. I remember a simple-minded 
 tradesman relating how on one occasion hie asked a 
 celebrated wrestler to explain a particular kind of 
 throw, and received in reply a twist of the ankle, 
 which placed him liors de comhat for a fortnight. 
 Where, however, no such practical objection exists, 
 this form of explaining is sure to be telling and 
 popular, especially with junior scholars. A striking 
 gesture will often be the means whereby truths are 
 recalled which would otherwise have been forgotten. 
 The teacher here dramatizes instead of describes. To 
 revert once more to our former illustration, a teacher 
 who had a room to himself and pupils might, by the 
 aid of a couple of chairs, clearly and forcibly show how 
 the Jews reclined at meals. To this class we may also 
 refer explanations given by the aid of maps. 
 
 158 
 
THE TEACHER TEACIIIXG. 
 
 I have thus attempted to show how explanations 
 may be supplied by the teacher in cases where he 
 must of necessity play the part of elucidator. But, 
 upon principles already familiar to you all, it is mani- 
 festly desirable, and is in many cases by no means 
 difficult, that the pupils should find out for themselves 
 that which is sought after — the teacher putting them 
 upon the right track, and leading them step by step 
 to the discovery of truth. He who gives a skilful 
 explanation teaches, and does much ; but he who shows 
 his pupils how to reach the explanation themselves 
 trains, and does more, in proportion as training is 
 superior to teaching. 
 
 Let us see how an explanation may be reached by 
 the help of questions. Then passing on to the other 
 parts of an exposition, we shall probably find the 
 question equally important and influential. Take the 
 following example of catechetical explanation. It is 
 slightly altered from Mr. Sydenham's " Notes of Les- 
 sons." The teacher wishes to explain what a "vision" 
 is, and first requires a definition of a dream. But to 
 the question, "AVhat is a dream?" he gets no 
 answer. He proceeds thus : — " See how hard that 
 little boy is working at his sums. "What would you 
 say his mind is doing ? " He is tliinking, teacher. 
 " And what are you doing all the day long ?" Think- 
 ing. " Yes ; and is your thinking confined to the day- 
 time, or not ?" No ; we think in our sleep. "When 
 you think much during the night, what do you say 
 you have been doing ?" Dreaming, teacher. " Li what 
 state are you when you are dreaming?" Asleep^ 
 
 159 
 
AT WOTIK: 
 
 teacher. "Tlien what is dreaming ?" TJiinlcingin our 
 sleep. Observe with what slight aid from any other 
 method, and that only at starting, a clear and satisfac- 
 tory explanation is here obtained by questioning. 
 
 2. A second duty which will fall under this depart- 
 ment of a Bible lesson is description. The teacher will 
 have to describe the scenes and incidents of Scrip- 
 ture history, and with a minuteness and speciality 
 proportioned to the relative prominence of each in the 
 lesson, and to the juvenility of his hearers. The power 
 of minute and accurate description is, as we saw in 
 the last lecture, a most important acquisition, and a 
 powerful source of attractiveness. The pre-requisites 
 for its attainment have already been fully pointed out. 
 
 In description, the illustrative method will of course 
 predominate ; but the catechetical and elliptical 
 methods may accompany it with advantage. The 
 latter is of especial use in keeping up the attention 
 of young children while a word-picture is being 
 drawn. 
 
 3. A third duty which must be undertaken during 
 the exposition of a Bible lesson is that of developing 
 ideas. AYe call this, sometimes, " working out the 
 lesson," and sometimes with Mr. Stow we call the 
 process "training out" the ideas suggested by what 
 we are reading. As a process of training or mental 
 exercise, it forms, perhaps, the most important de- 
 partment of a lesson. Here, if anywhere, we lead the 
 scholars to think about the subject before them, — to 
 exert that power of mental assimilation without which 
 truth can never become a part of themselves. 
 
 160 
 
THE TEACIIEE TEACHING. 
 
 And since, as might be expected, the question is 
 the chief stimulus to such mental exertion, the need 
 for catechetical teaching at this stage can hardly be 
 too fully realized, or the proper questions too care- 
 fully prepared. I would also remark that, as nothing 
 is so provocative of mental activity as right question- 
 ing, so nothing is so stupefying as mere mechanical 
 interrogation, such as may be found in many question 
 books. Of this truth Mr. Curwen has given an 
 amusing illustration. He relates that, when a young 
 teacher, he sat down in a class of boys who had been 
 trained in this slavish style. 
 
 " Gain and Abel were the sons of Adam and 
 Eve^^ was the sentence carefully read round the 
 class. 
 
 " Well, my boy, who was the father of Cain ?" 
 " Abel, sir." " No, no ; who were the father and 
 mother of Cain and Abel ?" The boy seemed doubt- 
 ful. He was really doubting which word he should 
 " guess " for an answer. I was forbidden to tell. So 
 I asked question after question. " Who are the father 
 
 and mother of this boy next you ?" " John and 
 
 Mary ." The boy felt encouraged. "Now, 
 
 who were the father and mother of Cain and Abel ?" 
 The expression of distress and hesitation fell again on 
 his countenance. At last I thought I should make it 
 plain. " Well, then, who are your father and mother, 
 boy?'* All at once a bright look came upon him. 
 He seemed confident that he had got the right 
 answer ; and raising one hand to the top of his head, 
 he almost sang out a text he had learned somewhere, 
 
 161 N 
 
AT TVOEK : 
 
 — " I have said unto corruption, Thou art my father ; 
 and to the worm, Thou art my mother." 
 
 As an illustration of an opposite kind, let me quote 
 from one of Plato's Dialogues the sequel to a passage 
 with whioh you are no doubt familiar, in " The Art of 
 Questioniiig." A short conversation on geometry is 
 there recorded, in which Socrates and a little slave- 
 boy are the principal speakers. The philosopher 
 draws a square on the ground with his stick, and asks 
 the lad how long would be the side of a square twice 
 as big as the one drawn. The boy thinks it ought to 
 be twice as long. Socrates soon demonstrates the 
 error, and shows that a side twice as long makes a 
 square yowr times as great. The boy at length con- 
 fesses that he does not know. Allow me to quote 
 the succeeding portion of the conversation, in which 
 the lad is trained by a master-mind to discover the 
 desired truth. Attention is called to the diagram 
 again, and Socrates asks, — 
 
 " If in this new square, which is made up of four 
 of the old squares, w^e draw four diagonals, so as 
 to cut off the four outside corners, each of these 
 diagonals will cut each of these squares — how ? — 
 Boy. — Into halves. 
 
 " And you already know that these four diagonals 
 will be equal, and will form another square ? — 
 Yes; I know. 
 
 "And of what part of the four squares is this 
 inside square made up ? — Of the four inside halves. 
 
 " And four halves are equal to what ? — To two 
 icholes, 
 
 162 
 
TriE TEACHER TEACHINa. 
 
 " Tlien we have got a square that is equal to how 
 many of the original squares ? — To two of them. 
 
 "And it is a square upon what line? — Upon the 
 line that divides the original square into two halves. 
 
 "That is, upon its diagonal? — Yes^ 
 
 Does any one suppose that, after such a lesson as 
 this, the learner would ever fall into the same error, 
 or fail to remember the truth thus developed by 
 questioning ? 
 
 This development of ideas by catechetical exercise 
 will not of course occupy an equally prominent place 
 in a class of young children to that which it will hold 
 in classes of boys and girls who have arrived at the 
 age of reason or reflection ; yet it must never be dis- 
 pensed with any lesson given to any class whatever. 
 Like picturing-out, it finds a place in every educa- 
 tional exercise, and both teacher and pupils will sufter 
 if it be disused. 
 
 4. There is another duty which claims mention 
 here — the refutation of error. 
 
 Socrates was, as you are aware, a great questioner, 
 yet his efforts were chiefly directed to the exposure 
 of error rather than the communication of truth, 
 inasmuch as he considered false knowledge to be the 
 great obstacle to the reception of the true. And 
 undoubtedly this is a task too often neglected by 
 religious teachers, although the necessity and im- 
 portance of grappling with error directly rather than 
 indirectly may be overrated. Children and youth 
 acquire strange prejudices, and fall into strange 
 errors ; and at times it is well not only to detect, but 
 
 163 
 
AT WOEK: 
 
 also to refute them. Here again the question comes 
 into play, for there is no method so sure to produce 
 conviction as when a person is led by catechizing to 
 confute himself. Beside which, it is often the only 
 means of bringing mistakes to light, and the teacher 
 discovers some singular misconception where he 
 thought to find accurate knowledge. 
 
 To show, on the other hand, how skilful questioning 
 may be employed to lay bare an erroneous opinion, 
 allow me to give a short example, based upon an 
 illustration in Bastiat's " Political Economy." The 
 supposed fallacy is, that "breaking windows makes 
 good for trade," or in other words, " If nobody broke 
 windows, what would become of the glaziers ?" Let 
 us take a case: — A mischievous urchin sends a 
 stone through the shop window of Smith, the pastry- 
 cook. Smith is savage ; the neighbours compassionate. 
 One after another drops in, and after an indignant 
 denunciation of the missing juvenile, ends with the 
 remark, "Well, you know, it makes good for trade. 
 If nobody broke windows, what would become of the 
 glaziers?" Let us look at the matter closely. 
 Suppose the cost of replacing the broken window 
 amounts to five shillings, and that Putty, the glazier 
 in the next street, is called in to perform the job. 
 Now whom do you say is benefited by the broken 
 window ? I^utty. To what extent ? Five shillings. 
 Very good. But let us suppose the window had not 
 been broken; what would have been the effect on 
 Smith? Se zcould have saved Jive shillings. And 
 what would probably have become of those five 
 
 164 
 
THE TEACHEE TEACHINa. 
 
 shillings? He would have spent tliem in some other 
 way. Yes ; say on a book at Vellum's, over tlie way. 
 Well, then, who would have been the gainer in that 
 case? Vellum. To what extent would trade have 
 been benefited ? To the extent of jive shillings. How 
 much did you say it was benefited by tlie breaking of 
 the window ? Five shillings. Then what is the 
 advantage of breaking windows over not breaking 
 them ? N'one at all. Now let us go back to Smith. 
 The window being broken and replaced, what does 
 Smith get for his money that he did not have before 
 the accident ? Notliing. If it had not been broken, 
 but the money spent at Vellum's, what would Smith 
 have gained ? A jive-shilling hooh. Then, putting 
 all the facts together, is the breaking of a window a 
 gain or a loss ? A loss. A loss of what value ? A 
 loss of the value of tlie window. Tes. Eemember, 
 destruction is not profit, 
 
 5. The next and final part of an exposition in a 
 Bible lesson is the deduction of doctrinal truths — the 
 drawing out of one or more leading principles embodied 
 in the facts expounded, described, and thought upon. 
 If the preceding exercises have been duly worked out, 
 this deductive process will be a perfectly natural one. 
 Be it remembered, it is to be performed by the 
 scholars, rather than by the teacher. He may lead 
 them to it, but it is they who should actually draw 
 out the truth or truths. If he has done his duty well, 
 he will not have to address his class in such words as, 
 " Now, I want to show you the doctrine to be taught by 
 the history we have been reading," for all the previous 
 
 165 
 
AT AVOKK: 
 
 portions of the lesson will have been so many steps 
 towards this very point. As an almost universal rule, 
 telling must be avoided here. If the pupils do not 
 perceive the doctrine involved, either they have been 
 inattentive, or the teacher has failed in method. 
 
 Take an illustration from a lesson on " Absalom's 
 rebellion and death." The facts having been un- 
 folded and discussed, and the children examined upon 
 them, the teacher proceeds to bring out the main 
 truth embodied in the narrative, using of course the 
 catechetical method. 
 
 " What became of Absalom ? (I omit the answers, 
 as they are so obvious.) With whom had he been 
 fighting ? What led him to rebel against his father ? 
 By whom was he joined ? What became of them ? 
 What was the consequence of their wickedness? 
 Who received punishment? What lesson should we 
 learn from it ? Yes ; and this lesson is beautifully- 
 given in the Book of Proverbs in the following words, 
 which I would have you all remember, ' Though hand 
 join in hand the wicked shall not go unpunished.* 
 ^Repeat them ;— again." 
 
 And now, having indicated the general nature of 
 the iNTEODFCTiOTiT and Exposition of a Bible lesson, 
 let me urge a faithful performance of that oft-forgotten 
 or imperfectly executed duty — examination. The 
 teacher must ascertain what his pupils have learned ; 
 how far his teaching has been really received into 
 their understandings ; and, therefore, how far they 
 are prepared for its application to their hearts and 
 
 166 
 
THE TEACHER TEACH IXG. 
 
 consciences. A short, lively catechetical exercise 
 should generally follow each division of the lesson — 
 sometimes even at the end of the introduction, but 
 almost always at the close of the exposition — before 
 the doctrinal truth is deduced. But it is often conve- 
 nient and agreeable, when the exposition consists of 
 several distinct portions, to examine at the close of 
 each. 
 
 Without this process, this teaching-guage, we can 
 never tell whether or not we have been fully under- 
 stood. "We may feel persuaded that our pupils know 
 all about the lesson, when perhaps in some important 
 respects they have quite failed to catch our meaning. 
 Mr. Yanderkiste, in his " Six Tears' Mission in the 
 Dens of London," relates an anecdote which strikingly 
 illustrates this point, and for which I am indebted to 
 a little tract by the Eev. Dr. Steel. "A young 
 missionary, who accompanied Mr. V., was requested 
 by him to instruct a poor sick man whom they visited 
 together. The new missionary gave a clear and 
 correct account of man's fallen condition, his need of 
 salvation, and the way to obtain it, and then read a 
 chapter in the Grospels in proof of what he had been 
 advancing. The poor man listened attentively, and 
 when the missionary said ' You know,' or any other 
 such interrogation, he replied, ' Certainly, sir,' or 
 'In course, sir.' 'My companion appeared pleased 
 with the man's attention to instruction, and I thought 
 
 it time to undeceive him. ' Mr. ,' said I, ' my 
 
 friend has been taking much pains to instruct you, 
 and now I will ask you a few questions. Do you 
 
 167 
 
AT WOEK: 
 
 know who Jesus Christ was?' 'Well, no,' said he, 
 after a pause ; " I should say that's, werry hard to 
 tell.' ' Do you know whether He was St. John's 
 brother ?' ' No, that I don't.' ' Can you tell me 
 who the Trinity are ?' ' No, sir.' ' Are you a sinner.' 
 ' Oh, certainly, sir, we are all sinners.' A pause. 
 'Have you ever done wrong?' 'Why, no, I don't 
 consider as ever I have.' 'Did you ever commit 
 sin ?' ' Why, no, I don't know as ever I did.' ' But 
 do you think you're a sinner ? ' ' Oh, certainly, sir, 
 we're all sinners?' 'What is a sinner?' 'Well, 
 I'm hlest if I know rightly ; I never had no head- 
 piece.' " 
 
 Nor let the teacher forget that in examination 
 answers should be required from individual scholars, 
 rather than from the whole class collectively. 
 
 The exposition being now closed, and its great 
 purpose answered in a clear recognition of the leading 
 moral and spiritual truths, the Application of those 
 truths, or of that single truth, to the case of the 
 pupils themselves naturally follows. When their 
 minds have grasped the facts in their scope and 
 detail, and realized the doctrine they exemplify or 
 embody, then, and not till then, are they prepared to 
 apply it to their own individual characters and cir- 
 cumstances. We say, apply it themselves, for it is of 
 no little consequence that they should perform the 
 duty, and thus become their own monitors and 
 counsellors. " I ought to act thus " is always more 
 powerful than "You ought to act thus." Allow me 
 
 168 
 
THE TEA^CKEU TEACIII^S^G. 
 
 to remind you how prominently this appears in such 
 of our Lord's recorded teaching as partook of a con- 
 versational form. Take one instance — your recollec- 
 tion will easily supply others. The parable of the 
 wicked husbandmen has been related by our Lord : 
 His hearers are deeply interested in the fticts. The 
 Great Teacher asks, " When therefore the lord of the 
 vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husband- 
 men?" At once they answer, "He will miserably 
 destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vine- 
 yard unto other husbandmen, which shall render to 
 him the fruits in their season." " Did ye never 
 read," is the solemn and confounding rejoinder, 
 " The stone which the builders rejected, the same is 
 become the head of the corner?" How could an 
 application be evaded after such an inquiry as that ?* 
 
 This divine illustration may also serve as a sample 
 of a suggested application by means of pointed ques- 
 tioning. 
 
 Every teacher will, I am sure, acquiesce in the 
 remark that in no part of a Bible lesson is the atten- 
 tion of the scholars so liable to flag as in the applica- 
 tion. The exercise is evidently dry, the children 
 are getting tired, and the teacher is pained to find 
 them growing fidgety and restless just when he is 
 attempting to press home important truth. How 
 may this be prevented ? I believe it may be pre- 
 vented to a large extent by judicious illustration of 
 the applied lessons. The leading doctrines having 
 been deduced, the teacher supposes a scholar placed 
 in certain circumstances, and asks what ought to be 
 
 * Se3 " The Teachers Model, and the Model Teacher.** 
 169 
 
AT WOEK: 
 
 done in view of the doctrine just elicited. Having 
 obtained an answer, lie may illustrate the practical 
 truth by relating some anecdote suitable to the case 
 in point. Thus sustaining interest by illustration, 
 he secures attention for the words of earnest ex- 
 postulation which w^ill probably follow. Tlie illustra- 
 tive method will thus be combined with the interro- 
 gative. Ellipses may also be used in junior classes. 
 Thus our obligation to Christ, who gave Himself a 
 ransom for us, may be one of the doctrines deduced. 
 The teacher applies it thus : — " How ought we to feel, 
 dear young friends, towards Him who has done so 
 much for us?" "We ought to love Him — to be 
 grateful to Him," are among the replies. " Yes ; and 
 to feel nothing to be hard which we can do to show 
 our gratitude. It is related of Montesquieu, a French 
 philosopher, that conversing one day with a boatman, 
 he found that the poor man was trying to save up a 
 sum of money to ransom his aged father, who had 
 been taken prisoner by pirates. Some time after this 
 the father appeared at his son's door — the ransom 
 had been paid, and he was free ! The boatman knew 
 who had paid it, but did not know the stranger's 
 name. But he vowed that he would spend years — 
 even all his life, if necessary— in trying to find him, 
 that he might fall down at his feet and thank him. 
 You do not wonder that the poor man should speak 
 and act thus. But what did he owe to the generous 
 stranger compared with what we owe to Christ, our 
 G-reat Deliverer ? The Frenchman gave some of his 
 money to deliver a poor man from slavery ; but Jesus 
 
 170 
 
THE TEACnEK TEACHING. 
 
 gave — what money ? Himself — His own life — His 
 precious blood — to set us free from tlie slavery of 
 Satan and sin. Is it too much for Him to ask the 
 love of our hearts and the service of our lives ?" 
 
 But I will not prescribe stereotyped modes of 
 application. I merely wish to point out a means of 
 rendering this often irksome, yet vitally important, 
 part of the teacher's duty more interesting, and 
 therefore more impressive. It is here that the power 
 of the teacher's moral and spiritual condition and 
 character will be felt; it is here tliat the earnest 
 Christian, who has himself tasted of the heavenly 
 gift, and felt the power of the world to come, will 
 cause the hearts of his scholars to beat in unison with 
 his own, and stamp upon the plastic nature of child- 
 hood the seal of his own living faith, glowing love, 
 and genuine holiness. Here, if anywhere, loving 
 earnestness will sparkle in his eye and tremble on his 
 lip as he entreats his youthful charge to a course of 
 life and conduct in accordance with those truths 
 of which they themselves have already perceived the 
 reasonableness and importance. This is the crisis of 
 the lesson in its moral and spiritual aspects. The 
 pupils may thoroughly understand the facts, and even 
 clearly recognize the meaning of the doctrines em- 
 bodied therein ; but unless they realize the practical 
 and individual application of these facts and doctrines 
 to their own personal characters, "the word" — even 
 though it be the word of God — will prove (at least 
 for the time) " unfruitful." 
 
 Kot many months since, the teacher of a female 
 
 171 
 
AT "WORK: 
 
 Benior class remarked to me, " I have just had a 
 conversation with one of my scholars. I consider 
 her truly decided for God, and yet I had no idea she 
 was even impressed with the truth." It appeared 
 that this young person had been arrested by a lesson 
 in which the teacher had taken occasion to point out 
 the personal application of the Saviour's atonement 
 to each and all of her class. " I had attended a place 
 of worship," she said, " for years. I knew that Christ 
 was the Saviour, and that He died for sinners ; and 
 yet I never realized until that afternoon that He died 
 m my stead, and for my sins. It was like a new 
 world opening upon my view." 
 
 And this is the kind of teaching we need — teaching 
 which applies the truths of the gospel not only to 
 children in general, but to the particular class, and to 
 each member of it individually — the "faithful and 
 wise steward" giving to each of the household his 
 portion "in due season." 
 
 The following Outline is appended with the view of 
 indicating by a connected example, as I have already 
 indicated in a more fragmentary form, the general 
 arrangement of a narrative lesson given to a Scripture 
 class. It will be found to exemplify the principal 
 features of such an exercise, as sketched in the present 
 lecture, and also, I trust, to harmonize with the 
 principles and rules laid down in preceding ones. 
 
 172 
 
THE TEx\.CnER TEACHIKG. 
 
 » Outline of Lesson. 
 
 Subject— CnmuT and Zaccheus, Luke xix. 1—10. 
 
 L Intkoduction and Eecapitulation. 
 
 1. Mixed method. — You Avill remember our speaking, not long 
 ago, about a very remarkable siege. The siege of Jericho, teacher. 
 
 What kind of j>lace was Jericho ? Situate near to what 
 river ? On which side of the river ? In the road to what city 1 
 
 From Nvhom was Jericho taken ? Into whose hands did it 
 fall ? By whom were the victors commanded ? What did they 
 do to the city ? What did Joshua say about the rebuilding of 
 Jericho ? Then was it ever rebuilt ? When, and by whom ? 
 (Refer to 1 Kings xvi. 34.) 
 
 I think you will by-and-by agree with me that our lesson this 
 afternoon tells of a victory as great as that which the Israelites 
 gained at Jericho, although not so terrible; and it was won 
 almost, if not quite, on this same spot. 
 
 But tell me, first, what was the subject of our conversation 
 last Sunday afternoon ? The parable of the labourers in the vine- 
 yard. 
 
 Do you remember where we supposed that parable to have 
 been delivered ? At a city called E])hraim. Now refer to 
 Matt. XX. 17, 18, and you will see what followed. To what 
 city did our Lord resolve to go ? For what purpose ? 
 
 And yet although he knew all that was before Him— all the 
 sorrows and sutierings that were to come upon Him in the 
 course of a few days. He could yet think of blessing and doing 
 good during that short time. Turning aside from the direct 
 road to Jerusalem, He took the road to the famous city of palm 
 trees, called {Jericho). And here Jesus performed two great 
 works. The first was the healing of two poor blind beggars. 
 The second was a work of a different kind, about which we will 
 now read. Verses r&ad. 
 
 2. Examination {interrogativehj). — When our Lord left Eph- 
 raim, where did He say He was going ? Did He go directly to 
 Jerusalem ? Where then ? What miracle did He perform at 
 Jericho ? 
 
 173 
 
AT WOEK : 
 
 II. Exposition. 
 
 1. Explanation, ver. 1, 2 (interrogativehj). — "Who is mentioned 
 here beside our Lord ? Have you read anything about ^acclieus 
 in other parts of Scripture ? No, this is the only time he is 
 spoken of. What was his office ? "Whom do we mean when 
 we speak of " publicans " now-a-days ? AVas Zaccheus a pub- 
 lican of that sort ? Then what was the nature of his occupation ? 
 
 (If the scholars do not know, the teacher may simply impart 
 the desired information ; but it will be better, inasmuch as they 
 probably understand the nature of taxes and tax-collecting, to 
 develop that knowledge, and then supply the merely verbal 
 explanation which they are unable to give ; thus - Persons who 
 occupy houses have to pay money for the use of them. What 
 is that payment called ? Rent. Beside the rent they have to 
 pay so much a year to the government of the country. What 
 are such sums called ? Taxes. What are those persons called 
 who collect these taxes? — Tax collectors —tax gatliercrs. Well 
 you might, if you liked, call t\\&m. publicans.) 
 
 Can you tell me the name of any publican among our Lord's 
 disciples ? What was he doing when Jesus spoke to him ? 
 And that you now know, means {receiving taxes). 
 
 AVas Zaccheus an ordinary publican like Matthew, or not ? 
 Right ; he was what we might call ' ' a commissioner of taxes, " 
 to whom the ordinary collectors or publicans paid what they 
 bad received from the Jewish people. What else do we learn 
 concerning him in ver. 2 ? How did rich men generally re- 
 gard Christ ? Give illustrations. Were there any exceptions ? 
 Name some. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemns. Yet even 
 these, though sincere disciples of Christ, were ashamed {to con- 
 fess Him. ) Yes. 
 
 2. Explanation, ver. 3 — 6 {mixed metJiod). — How did this rich 
 publican feel towards Christ ? What led him to feel this desire ? 
 
 (Most likely he had heard very much of the Great Prophet 
 who had now been manifested unto Israel for nearly three years, 
 and had often been in Jerusalem and its neighbourhood.) 
 
 3. Illustration {elliptically) . — On the day when the Princess 
 Alexandra came into London where were all the people to be 
 found ? Out in the streets. Yes ; as for the tall people, they 
 could see over {other jJCopWs heads). And the boys, who could 
 not do that, either got in the front of the crowd, or else they 
 
 174 
 
T][E TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 (cUmhed up the railings — up the lamp-jjosts, d'c), and as tlie 
 princess rode by the parks she looked up in tlie trees, and saw 
 what? (Boys and girls, and people up in the trees.) Yes, just 
 like this publican on the road that led from the city of (Jericho). 
 
 4. Picture {mixed oriethod). — ISTow I want you to come with 
 me, in imagination, along that country road. Let us leave 
 behind us the city of Jericho, with its palaces, and priests, and 
 jteople, and fancy we have run along the highway and climbed 
 up into this sycamore fig-tree, which grows by the wayside. It 
 is not difficult to climb. It is rather low, and its branches are 
 thick, and wide-spreading, and some stretch partly across the 
 road. See ! here comes some one in great haste. It is a little 
 man, he has tucked up that loose outer cloak of his, so that it 
 may not (prevent his running) ; and as he comes nearer we 
 see that his dress is of a very superior kind — neither coarse, 
 dirty, nor torn ; he is evidently a (rich man). Here he comes. 
 Why, he is actually trying to climb up the next tree ! He has 
 managed it, too. There ! the broad green leaves have quite hid- 
 den him. Now he peeps out, he is looking back towards {Jericho). 
 How eager he seems ! Hark ! there is the hum of many voices. 
 What a crowd ! How they swarm through the city gates ! 
 What is it all about ? The people are thronging round some 
 one in the centre of the crowd. Who is it ? There are a few 
 near Him to whom he seems to be talking. Who are they ? 
 
 (Continue the picture. Describe our Lord's approach ; He 
 stops opposite the tree ; calls the little rich man by name, as 
 though he was an old friend. How overjoyed Zaccheus was ! 
 How eagerly he ran to prostrate himself before the Great 
 Prophet, and bid Him welcome to all his fine house contained. ) 
 
 5. Examination. — What did Zaccheus desire ? What diffi- 
 culty was in the way ? &c. 
 
 6. Explanation resumed, ver. 7 — 10. What did you tell 
 me about Zaccheus' rank in society ? How are rich men 
 usually regarded? Was that the case with Zaccheus, or not? 
 (ver. 7.) Why not ? Give other instances of this feeling 
 against publicans. Can you tell why it should have been so ? 
 
 . . I think we shall be able to find out. What people 
 were the rulers of Palestine in the time of our Lord ? (If ne-^.es- 
 sary, refer to Luke xx. 22 ; and John xix. 15, and elicit or 
 
 175 
 
AT WORK: 
 
 supply the fact that the publicans were hated because they 
 collected tribute for a foreign power.) 
 
 7. Examination. — Where did you say Zaccheus went after 
 coming down from the tree ? With whom ? For what purpose ? 
 
 8. Picture. — Let us look at this rich man at home. 
 
 (Picture out the scene in the house of Zaccheus — the host — 
 the Guest — the company — the remarkable confession of 
 Zaccheus.) 
 
 Ill, Lesson {mixed method). — What strange words from 
 such a man ! Here is a rich tax receiver, whose only object 
 had been to make money, standing up and declaring that the 
 half of all his riches should at once be given to the poor ; and 
 that out of the remainder any one who had been unjustly taxed 
 should have back four times as much ! Why, what had hap- 
 pened to Zaccheus, since he ran along the road, and climbed up 
 into yonder tree ? What, had he been thinking of his own 
 past life and conduct ? And how do you think he felt on 
 account of the sins he remembered ? When persons reflect 
 upon their sins, and feel sorry and ashamed on account of them, 
 we say that they {repent). What is repentance ? How do we 
 know that Zaccheus truly repented of his past sins ? By Ms 
 conduct. By ivhat lie said. Yes, and not only by what 
 Zaccheus himself said, but also by what {Jesus said). Eepeat 
 the verses. 
 
 Yes ; if Zaccheus had been a hypocrite, our Lord, who knew 
 his heart, would soon have declared his real character. What 
 did He call Zaccheus ? What did that mean ? What does our 
 Lord here say of Himself? Who are meant by ** the lost ?" To 
 whom did Jesus specially refer at that time ? In what sense was 
 the rich publican "lost"? What happened to that lost one 
 on that important day ? By whom was he saved ? From what 
 was he saved ? 
 
 Were there any other "lost ones" besides Zaccheus? Are 
 there any such now ? Who are ' ' the lost " now ? What is 
 Christ's purpose with respect to the lost ? 
 
 We are told that Zaccheus received Jesus — how ? {Joyfully.) 
 Did he receive Jesus in any other way than as a visitor ? In 
 what way ? As a Saviour from what ? Then Zaccheus came to 
 Christ regarding himself — how? And how did he regard Christ? 
 
 176 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 As a Saviour for whom ? When Zaccheus came as a sinner to 
 Christ as a Saviour, how did the Saviour act towards tliis re- 
 pentant publican? How did Christ show this? Repeat His 
 words ? How did Zaccheus show that he had been saved 1 
 What a sudden and wonderful change ! 
 
 Was not the victory which Jesus gained over Zaccheus Jis 
 great and remarkable as that which Joshua won, many hundred 
 years before ? 
 
 IV. Application {mixed method). 
 
 Whom did Christ come to seek and save ? Are there any 
 "lost" here? Who? What, then, do we need ? To whom 
 must we come ? Feeling ourselves to be {sinners), and feeling 
 Christ to be {a Saviour) for {us.) 
 
 Ilhistration. — I saw a letter the other day, written by a 
 young Syrian girl, an orphan, whose father and mother were 
 killed by another tribe, and who has since been adopted by a 
 kind Christian friend living in Syria, and instructed in the 
 truths of this blessed Book. "Oh ! how thankful I am," she 
 says, "that ever I went to the school ! Once — 
 
 ' I was a wandering sheep, 
 I did not love the fold, 
 I did not love ray Shepherd's voice, 
 I would not be controU'd. ' 
 
 But now — 
 
 * I love my heavenly Father's voice, 
 I love, I love His home.' " 
 
 We too, dear children, have been wandering sheep, like 
 Zaccheus and Saada Azar, — lost in the wilderness of sin. 
 
 ** Far, far we had wandered from goodness and God, 
 But the eyes of our Shepherd were o'er us ; 
 He left the bright mansions, the angels' abode, 
 That He to His fold might restore us." 
 
 Let us turn to Him. We need not climb up trees. We can 
 always find Him when we bend our knees in prayer. Let us go 
 to Him like Zaccheus, as poor lost sinners, seeking pardon and 
 salvation ; and Jesus will hear us, and be our Saviour for ever, 
 and we shall shew by our lives and futuie conduct, that 
 salvation has come to us as it did to the rich publican of 
 Jericho. 
 
 177 o 
 
AT WOEE: 
 
 IToTE. — Many of the supposed replies of the scholars hare 
 been omitted for the sake of brevity. The dots . . . indi- 
 cate that no answer is supposed to be given by the pupils. 
 
 Time admonishes me that the subject of GroVEEN- 
 MENT and Discipline must be dealt with even more 
 cursorily than I had anticipated, though of course an 
 entire lecture would not suffice to do justice to so 
 important a topic. Let me therefore throw my 
 remarks into the shape of brief detached hints. 
 
 It will be readily admitted, I think, that Sunday 
 school reform is needed here, if anywhere. Most of 
 the schools present scenes of sad disorder, if not of 
 absolute confusion, during the hours of teaching. 
 The Highland piper, who spoke with rapture of one 
 occasion when he was with bonnie Prince Charlie, 
 and when " there were nineteen pipers a' thegither, 
 each playing a different tune, and he thocht he was in 
 heayen !" would have felt thoroughly at home in many 
 a London school : but the scene is hardly so pleasing 
 to educational eyes and ears. The fault rests in part 
 with the school officers, but chiefly with the teachers, 
 in ordinary cases. There is little order in the indi- 
 vidual classes (with which alone we are concerned), 
 and therefore little in the school as a whole. And, as 
 a natural consequence, quiet thought is almost impos- 
 sible, impression cannot be produced, and usefulness 
 ia not to be expected. The remedy for this wide- 
 spread defect is simple enough — the difficulty being 
 to induce teachers to carry it out. They must learn 
 to govern their classes, and if they shrink from the 
 effort from personal considerations, let them take 
 
 178 
 
THE TEACHER TEACniNG. 
 
 higher ground, and consider tliat it is a solemn duty 
 which they owe to each scholar to train him to habits 
 of obedience and subordination. If the child is under 
 control during the week, it is injurious to him if the 
 reins of authority are altogether cast aside on the 
 Lord's day. If, as is too frequently the case, he is 
 not duly governed elsewhere, the greater is the need 
 that the Sunday school teacher should interpose to 
 arrest the fatal influences of youthful licence. 
 
 Let every young teacher go to his or her class 
 firmly resolved to obtain and preserve a wise and 
 judicious authority at any cost. No good can be 
 achieved without order, no order attained without 
 government, and therefore the teacher must rule ; 
 unless, indeed, he is willing that the little society, of 
 which he is the nominal head, should be governed by 
 another of its members. 
 
 As a governor, the teacher must, as remarked in a 
 former lecture, be able to govern himself. He must 
 also set an example of obedience, paying implicit 
 deference to the laws of the school, and to the orders 
 of the superintendent during the exercises, that his 
 pupils may not only follow him in that respect, but 
 may be equally obedient to the rules of their own 
 class. If Mr. Hobbs whispers to Mr. Dobbs on the 
 next form, or holds a conversation with one of his 
 scholars, or marks his register, or peeps into his 
 magazines, when the superintendent is calling for 
 silence and attention, he is adopting an eftectual 
 method of impairing his own authority as well as that 
 of his official head. 
 
 179 
 
AT WORK: 
 
 Have as few laws as are consistent with the order 
 and comfort of the class. Do not multiply prohi- 
 bitions. " Toeing the mark," "wheeling to the right," 
 and so forth, may be safely dispensed with in a place 
 which should be modelled after the family rather than 
 the regiment. But have so many rules as are neces- 
 sary, and insist upon their being fully respected by 
 every member of the class. 
 
 Children are influenced by different motives at dif- 
 ferent ages. Hence the call to obedience must be 
 addressed to different springs of action. As motives 
 to subordination, the love and symj)atliy of infants 
 should be appealed to. Try to induce obedience from 
 affection towards the teacher, and also from sympa- 
 thetic imitation of the teacher's own decorum and 
 orderly behaviour, as hinted just now. The desire to 
 gain the approbation of the teacher and superin- 
 tendent is of course a strong motive to obedience in 
 junior scholars. Their imagination may also be ap- 
 pealed to, and a pleasing picture drawn to show " how 
 nice" it is to be orderly and obedient. 
 
 In the case of elder scholars, government becomes 
 more difficult, and the enforcement of discipline more 
 critical, because of the development of the will (re- 
 ferred to in the first lecture), and because of the greater 
 freedom of action enjoyed by the pupils. Having 
 reached the age of reason, they must be dealt with as 
 reasonable beings, and neither their sympathies nor 
 their desire to please the teacher be appealed to. 
 They have reached the age of conscience, and must 
 be dealt with as capable of discerning the morally 
 
 ISO 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHINa. 
 
 right from the morally wrong. Hence the rule in 
 governing Scripture scholars will generally assume 
 the form, " Act thus because it is reasonahle, and 
 because it is rigid. '^ We may also appeal Avith 
 advantage to the self-respect and sense of propriety 
 in young people of this age. 
 
 Authority can and must be maintained in the Sun- 
 day school class, of whatever grade the pupils may be. 
 They must be taught to respect law, and made to 
 sufler punishment if it be wilfully infringed. But I 
 would earnestly deprecate all needless restrictions 
 and harsh impositions, not only on educational 
 grounds, but also because, as we well know, attend- 
 ance upon our instructions is, in a large number 
 of cases, voluntary. They need not continue in our 
 schools unless they choose to do so, and it is a sorry 
 gain to gratify a caprice at the cost of a scholar. Let 
 them, therefore, have the fullest liberty of speech 
 and action consistent with their good, and the wel- 
 fare of tlie school at large. Yet it is not wise or 
 right to pass over any wilful act of insubordination. 
 Over-indulgence will secure neither affection nor 
 respect. 
 
 An American lady, teaching a class of boys, desired 
 them to read a certain passage together. For some 
 reason or other one of the boys refused. She rea- 
 soned with him, but without effect. Quietly taking 
 out her watch, she informed him that he had been 
 guilty of an act of wilful disrespect, and that there 
 was no course open to him but to obey or leave the 
 class. She would give him three minutes for consi- 
 
 181 
 
AT WOEK: 
 
 deration, "Watch in hand, she waited in silence the 
 result. The time expired, the boy hesitated a moment, 
 and then said he would obey. He did so, and the 
 lesson went on as usual. 
 
 Enforce obedience in a quiet, decided tone. A 
 noisy, denunciatory manner provokes resistance. 
 There is a wondrous power in tones of quiet firmness. 
 It is said of the great tubular bridge over the Menai 
 Straits, that while the weight of a heavy, clattering 
 train of carriages scarcely deflects it half an inch from 
 the true horizontal line, the noiseless sunbeams raise 
 the centre of the huge fabric to the height of 1^ 
 inches every day. In cases of obstinate resistance 
 hand the ofiender over to the superintendent. Upon 
 this point, the remarks of the late Mr. Althans, in his 
 little tract, "The Teacher's Authority," are well 
 worthy of attention : — 
 
 " In this matter, be very careful that you do not 
 let your class even suppose that you have lost your 
 authority by the admission that you have a scholar 
 whom you cannot manage, but w^ho rather appears 
 capable of managing you. I am now considering 
 what ought to be a rare instance, as the teacher must 
 be feeble indeed who is frequently sending Sunday 
 scholars to the superintendent. The direction I would 
 ofi^er in such a case is, let your whole class be apprised 
 of what you are about to do, by a method somewhat like 
 the following address to the class : — ' I am now going, 
 for this boy's continued bad conduct and interruption 
 of the class, to hand him over to the superintendent ; 
 and I am determined not to receive Mm hack into the 
 
 182 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 class till he has settled the matter with the superin- 
 tendent, and promises to behave better.' By this 
 means you prevent your authority from being sacri- 
 ficed in the class." 
 
 This transference of authority to the superintendent 
 should only be a last resource ; yet with some teachers 
 it is a constant occurrence. Its frequency, I have 
 reason to think, arises mainly from two causes : — 
 Teachers lose the control of their tempers, get angry, 
 perhaps even furious with a refractory scholar ; a scene 
 of scuffling and confusion ensues ; the superintendent 
 comes forward, and the disconcerted teacher is unwise 
 enough to make the public confession, " Here, sir, 
 I can do nothing with this lad, will you please to take 
 charge of him?" a statement which virtually con- 
 fesses inability to maintain a rightful position, and 
 invites further insubordination. Or else a case like 
 the following occurs. A scholar persists in sitting 
 where the teacher has forbidden him, or refuses to 
 stand when ordered so to do. The teacher, nettled, 
 seizes him by the arm, and compels obedience. A 
 minute later, and the offence is repeated. Now a 
 crisis has arrived. The teacher darts a reproving 
 glance at the disobedient pupil, but does not repeat 
 the act of compulsion. The scholar has conquered his 
 teacher and repudiated his authority, and the teacher 
 tacitly confesses his own defeat and submission. 
 Who can wonder if the offender is encouraged in his 
 disobedience, and the obvious lesson taught by the 
 incident made use of by other members of the class ? 
 Such acts of misgovernment are a serious offence 
 
 183 
 
AT WORK: 
 
 against tlie whole school, as well as against the class 
 specially concerned ; independently of the moral 
 injury inflicted on the rebellious scholar. 
 
 Finally, let the teacher be impartial. This does not 
 mean, as some appear to imagine, that he should be 
 sublimely indifferent to all his pupils, treating them aa 
 though they were like so many skittles of the same 
 size and shape, to be dealt with mechanically after the 
 same fashion. The teacher cannot help having ^re- 
 ferences ; but he can and must help manifesting, those 
 preferences by overt acts of favouritism. Neither 
 should impartiality be evidenced by punishing all 
 when some one pupil commits an offence, on lAie 
 principle adopted by a worthy pedagogue whom I 
 well know. I have it on very good authority that 
 when his son, now grown to man's esilbe, was a 
 scholar in his parent's academy, thelatter,'wTien about 
 to administer corporal punishment to any of the 
 boys, used to call up John, and address the pupils 
 thus : " Boys, there is no favouritism here. I am 
 quite impartial. I treat my own son just as I treat 
 you, and therefore I shall flog him as well as the boy 
 you see standing here." And thus the unlucky John 
 received a duplicate thrashing whenever any of his 
 schoolmates got into a scrape, in order to afi'ord a 
 visible vindication of his loving parent's impartiality. 
 The impartiality now recommended is of a different 
 stamp, and consists in this, — that the teacher shall 
 give or withhold no mark of approbation and no token 
 of displeasure on account of any personal preference 
 (or the contrary) felt towards any individual scholar. 
 
 184 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 The sabbath class must be ruled in justice as well as 
 iu love. 
 
 Sunday school punishments must consist, in the 
 main, of disahilities and deprivations, not of positive 
 inflictions. The oifender must be made to lose a pri- 
 vilege, rather than to submit to an imposition. And 
 in proportion as the exercises of class and school are 
 rendered attractive, in that proportion will deprivation 
 of any be felt as a loss, and consequently act as a pre- 
 ventive against disobedience and insubordination. It 
 is gimply ludicrous to see a child who has been tired 
 ouit by long sitting, placed on a form where he can 
 enjoy an agreeable change of posture and a com- 
 manding view of the whole school, and then to hear it 
 called a punishment; or an older scholar turned out 
 of^ a clas4" the proceedings of which have been so 
 unutterab^ dull that expulsion must be a welcome 
 relief, and then surprise be expressed that he does 
 not feel humbled, contrite, and miserable. The feel- 
 ing of shame may indeed be sought to be looked iu 
 such cases, but if so the remedy is worse than the 
 disease. Exposure crushes the timid though erring 
 spirit, and provokes the bolder nature into shame- 
 lessness. 
 
 IS'ever let correction involve degradation. It sinks 
 the low nature lower still, and renders that incurable 
 which might have been eradicated. 
 
 Our old Saxon pedagogues doubtless thought they 
 did a clever thing when they more than anticipated 
 Samuel Johnson's growling dictum, — " The only way 
 to get Latin into a boy is by flogging it in," and 
 
 185 
 
AT WORK: 
 
 whipped the lad savagely, or barbarously pricked the 
 soles of his feet as a stimulus to the acquisition of 
 knowledge. They professed to employ the law of 
 association, but unhappily they violated a far higher 
 and moral law. 
 
 Then, is corporal punishment ever admissible in the 
 Sunday school ? I think it is. Unhappily, children are 
 occasionally met with, who from evil training have 
 learned to mistake lenienc}^ for weakness and gentle- 
 ness for timidity, while at the same time they are so 
 callous and indifferent that moral inflictions make no 
 impression whatever upon their natures. With such, 
 though the case is comparatively a rare one, punish- 
 ment can only be effectually applied through the 
 medium of physical pain, and it is better to inflict a 
 little suffering upon the body, than by disijiissing the 
 offender — the only other alternative — to rjsk cutting 
 him off from all holy and sacred influences, and so in 
 truth delivering him over to the power of sin and 
 Satan. 
 
 But in such instances the infliction should, I think, 
 be administered by the superintendent in Ids own 
 room, in the presence of the teacher, and the punish- 
 ment be characterized by calmness and solemnity, 
 and by prayer in presence of the offender. Never 
 let corporal punishment be inflicted In moments of 
 provocation, or for sudden and unpremeditated acts 
 of disobedience. The true method of dealing with 
 ordinary faults committed by children is to seek first 
 to ascertain from what cause the act has really sprung 
 — whether from ignorance, thoughtlessness, miscon- 
 
 186 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 ceptlon, perversity, mischievousness, love of display, 
 the influence of other and more unruly scholars, or 
 such settled peculiarities of disposition as obstinacy, 
 sullenness, and so on. The disease must be detected 
 before the remedy can be intelligently applied. 
 
 The ruling motives and susceptibilities of the pupil 
 should be appealed to as incentives to penitence as to 
 obedience. In the youngest grade of children in our 
 schools, the affections should be appealed to ; in those 
 a little older, the offender should be shown to have 
 incurred disapprobation ; or, if an elder scholar, to 
 have offended against reason and conscience, the sense 
 of fitness and propriety, or against manliness or 
 womanliness. The teacher of youths must not be 
 an arbitrary ruler, though the teacher of young chil- 
 dren may, and indeed must often be arbitrary, simply 
 because it would be useless to reason with them in 
 support of his commands. 
 
 And now, dear fellow-labourers, my pleasant task 
 must be drawn to a close. Much has been said, but 
 much more left unsaid. I trust it will not be 
 attributed to forgetfulness, still less to want of due 
 appreciation, that the more spiritual aspects of our 
 work have been but incidentally referred to. The 
 nature and fruits of conversion, the efficacy of prayer, 
 the cultivation of a high degree of personal piety, — 
 these are topics which stand second to none; and, 
 therefore, if discussed at all, should receive special 
 and undivided consideration. Tour attention has 
 been called chiefly to those educational rules and 
 principles which, although they may hold but a 
 
 187 
 
AT WOEK • 
 
 secondary rank among the influences which the 
 Sunday school teacher is ai:)pointed to wield, can 
 never be neglected without danger, nor ignored with- 
 out some degree of presumption or folly. To the 
 members of the Sunday School Union Training Class 
 the truth is axiomatic, and needs no argument in its 
 favour, that, so long as the Sunday school instructor 
 claims to be the expositor of a BooTc, so long must 
 piety, earnestness, and prayer be supplemented by 
 study and preparation ; and the truth be applied in 
 accordance with the laws of matter and mind. 
 
 I trust that the inquiries which we have been per- 
 mitted to pursue together have not proved utterly 
 destitute of interest or instruction, and without 
 anticipating results disproportionate to the humble 
 means employed, it is perhaps reasonable to hope that 
 our hasty review of " Our Work," and the methods of 
 rightly preparing for it, will at least have deepened our 
 impressions of its greatness, solemnity, and respon- 
 sibility. We have gazed upon the material and found 
 it to be the fairest and most precious of all the 
 Creator's handiwork. We have examined the instru- 
 ments of our art, and found the chief of them to be 
 also of heavenly origin, the product and gift of His 
 hand, whose " works are great, sought out of all them 
 that have pleasure therein." We have contemplated 
 the object and end of our toil, and we see in it the highest 
 and noblest result that human thought can conceive, 
 or human enterprise pursue. And the more we have 
 regarded our office, the more we have wondered how 
 obscure and undistinguished workers like ourselves 
 
 188 
 
THE TEACHER TEACHING. 
 
 could ever hope to meet its demands. AVe have 
 placed ourselves in imagination face to face with our 
 work, and the longer we have looked, the grander its 
 proportions have seemed to grow. "We have thought 
 of the eloquent words of the American statesman, and 
 rejoiced "with trembling" to think how closely they 
 applied even to us, — " We know, when we work upon 
 materials immortal and imperishable, that they will 
 bear the impress which we place upon them for endless 
 ages to come. If we work upon marble, it will perish ; 
 if we engrave upon brass, time will efface it ; if we rear 
 temples, they will crumble to dust. But if we work on 
 men's immortal minds, if we imbue them with high 
 principles, with the just fear of Grod and of their 
 fellowmen, we engrave on those tablets sometliing 
 which no time can efface, but which will brighten and 
 brighten to all eternity." 
 
 But we are not so weak or so sanguine as to sup- 
 pose that the mass of our fellow-men will endorse the 
 view we take of our unpretentious toil. By some it 
 is simply unrecognized, through ignorance ; by others, 
 maligned and denounced, because hated and feared ; 
 by others, again, sanctioned and patronized, in order 
 that ambitious littleness may use us as stepping- 
 stones to dignity. Let all such be well assured 
 that we commiserate their ignorance, smile at their 
 censures, and repudiate their form of condescension. 
 The Christian teacher of youth expects and desires 
 no secular reward. He knows well that men have 
 not yet learned, even in this age of progress, to 
 subordinate in their esteem the material and sensuous 
 
 189 
 
AT TVOEK : 
 
 to tlie immaterial and spiritual. The world has its 
 sonorous plaudits and its glittering honours for the 
 winner of an empire, the leader of a party, the 
 expositor of law, the successful artist, the popular 
 poet, and even the skilful potter; and when these 
 favoured ones bow to the stroke that lays the proudest 
 low, there is a place for their honoured dust amidst 
 the noble, the learned, and the brave. 
 
 * ' Amid the noblest of the land 
 
 Men lay the sage to rest, 
 And give the bard an honoured place^ 
 
 With costly marble drest, 
 In the old minster-transept, 
 
 AVhere lights like glories fall, 
 And the choir sings, and the organ rings 
 
 Along the emblazoned wall." 
 
 But the world has no gifts for him who, sabbath 
 after sabbath, in the dark, ill- ventilated Sunday school, 
 has achieved conquests over ignorance and sin ; who, 
 with no self-seeking, has given to human law the 
 highest of all sanctions, and sown the seeds of the 
 truest patriotism, in an enlightened obedience to 
 recognized authority, a cheerful industry in pros- 
 perous days, and a patient and unmurmuring sub- 
 mission in times of poverty and privation ; who has 
 sought to restore the golden days of which poets 
 sing, and who, regardless of human praise or blame, 
 has sought to fashion immortal minds after the image 
 of the One Perfect Man. 
 
 He needs and desires them not. To him the warm 
 affections of youth, clinging around him as the ivy 
 
 190 
 
THE TEACHEE TEACHING. 
 
 around tlie oak, are dearer than the fickle appiause 
 of the noisy crowd ; the testimony of an approving 
 conscience sweeter than the incense of unreasoning 
 praise ; and the lineaments of youthful piety fairer 
 than the fairest creations of art. And as for the future^ 
 80 long as the work of life be well and truly done, he 
 cares not where the empty tabernacle shall lie, when 
 its occupant shall be hymning Immanuel's praises 
 before the throne, " clothed upon wdth its house which 
 is from heaven." What matters it that his humble 
 resting-place be all unmarked by stone or epitaph, if 
 his image be enshrined in the hearts of those whom 
 he taught the way to paradise, and their lives be 
 his everlasting memorial ? Yea, though his very name 
 be forgotten, his work shall abide to all eternity. 
 
 '* Needs there the praise of the love-written record — 
 The name and the epitaph graved on the stone ? 
 
 The things we have lived for, let them be our story, 
 "We but remembered by what we have done. 
 
 " I need not be missed ; if my life has been bearing 
 (As its summer and autumn moved silently on) 
 
 The bloom, and the fruit, and the seed of its season, 
 I shall still be remembered by what I have done. 
 
 " 1 need not be missed ; if another succeed me 
 To reap down those fields which in spring I have sown, 
 
 He who ploughed and who sowed is not missed by the reaper. 
 He is only remembered by what he has done. 
 
 " Not myself, but the truth that in life I have spoken — 
 Not myself, but the seed that in life I have sown, 
 
 Shall pass on to ages — all about me forgotten 
 Save the truth I have spoken, the tilings I have done. 
 
 191 
 
, AT WOEK, ETC. 
 
 " So let my living be, so be my dying — 
 So lot my name be, unblazoned, unknown — 
 
 Unpraised, and unmissed, I sliall yet be remembered— 
 Yes, but remembered by what I have done.** 
 
 t 
 
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