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EXAMPLES 
 
 aUESTIONS, 
 
 CALCULATED TO EXCITE AND EXERCISE 
 
 THE MINDS OF THE YOUNG. 
 
 Of w^^ph***©^* 
 
 /A'/Or ..,.„... „-«<^*^./ 
 
 BY MRS. ELIZABETH HAMILTON, 
 
 AUTHOR OF LETTERS ON THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF 
 EDUCATION, &C. &C. 
 
 SALEM : 
 
 FOOTE & BR0WNE::::::C0URT STREET. 
 
 1829. 
 >c. 
 
n 
 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 The name of Elizabeth Hamilton is associated with much 
 that is sound and practical in the science and art of Early 
 Education. Those who have read Iter former works on this 
 tubject, particularly her "Elementary Principles", will be dis- 
 posed to receive with favor this little treatise, which is now, for 
 the first time, it is believed, reprinted in this country. Though a 
 distinct work, and complete in itself, it was originally appended 
 to an admirable Essay by Mrs. Hamilton, entitled " Hints 
 addressed to the Patrons and Directors of Schools." The 
 Editor avails himself of this in offering a few remarks intended 
 to illustrate the author's design more fully than is done in the 
 Introduction which follows. 
 
 The "Questions" now republished are founded on the prin- 
 ciples which Pkstalozzi adopted, with well known success, in 
 every part of education. To him belongs the high praise of 
 having followed the indications of nature in the instruction of 
 the young, instead of subjecting their minds to preconceived 
 theories. He observed that the intellectual powers can only be 
 developed gradually, and by a regular series of eftbrts; and that 
 when a clear idea on any subject is acquired, the idea next in-, 
 succession is easily imbibed. This idea, moreover, he believed, 
 should not be directly imparted to the children, but should be ob- 
 tained by their own mental efforts. Instead therefore of obliging 
 his pupils to repeat by rote, words, that suggested ideas to his own 
 mind, he first endeavored to ascertain the ideas that actually 
 existed in theirs. He then by questions adapted to their capacity, 
 induced them, by a further exertion of their powers, to add to the 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 number of ideas already acquired. The mind, according to his 
 method, cannot be passive in receiving instruction. It is com- 
 pelled to work its way to know^ledge ; and, having its activity 
 properly directed, is led step by step, in easy and delightful 
 progression, to the perception of truth. In the ordinary method 
 of teaching, the memory of the pupil is loaded with arbitrary, 
 and to him often unintelligible signs of thought; but in this, he 
 is led to acquire definite ideas, and what is of more importance 
 than even this, to the self-discipline of his intellectual powers. 
 
 To aid parents and instructors in carrying these principles 
 into effect, is the object of the " Questions" now offered to the 
 public. They are intended, not, as is ordinarily the case, to 
 recal or refresh the recollection of what has been already learned ; 
 but as the title imports, to *' excite and exercise" the minds of 
 the young; to induce and enable them to try their own powers j 
 to think for themselves ; and to follow out their own conclusions. 
 If the book has any peculiar merit, it lies principally in this; 
 and to those who believe, with the Editor, in the justness and 
 importance of the general principles above stated, it is confidently 
 recommended. 
 
 Should it be thought by any that the questions arc too simple 
 and minute, they are requested to remember that it is only simple 
 things that young children can learn at all ; and that it is neces- 
 sary to begin with what is adapted to their comprehension. And 
 as to the objection of minuteness, it may be observed, that 
 nothing can be properly said to be known, either by the young 
 or old, that is not minutely known; and that one important and 
 leading object of early instruction should be a habit of perfectly 
 accurate observation and perfectly accurate thought. 
 
 It may be proper to observe that the original title, " Questions 
 calculated to excite and exercise the Infant Mind," has been 
 altered to " Questions calculated to excite and exercise the 
 Minds of the Young." This appeared to the Editor more appro- 
 priate. The work has been carefully revised ; but no altera- 
 tions, except some merely verbal, have been made. 
 
 J. B. 
 Salem, February, 1829. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 The method of instructing by interrogation is not an in- 
 vention of modern date ; it is, on the contrary, known to have 
 been practised by some of the wisest and most revered of 
 the ancient philosophers ; nor has it, indeed, at any period 
 fallen totally into disuse ; but, though retained in form, it has 
 been so perverted from its original purpose, that instead of 
 being regarded as a mode of exciting the mind to an exer- 
 tion of its powers, it is only resorted to as an expedient for 
 assisting the memory, when it is our wish to impress it with 
 axioms which the intellect is not prepared to receive, or com- 
 prehend. The pupil, in this case, does not refer the question 
 to his understanding, but finds it connected with the answer 
 in his mind by an arbitrary association ; and should he at an 
 afler perio-d be led to reconsider the important truths which 
 he thus learns to repeat by rote, as it is in the answers that 
 he will find them to be contained, he will set aside the ques- 
 tions as superfluous. 
 
 But though the questions, in such instances, contribute lit- 
 tle to instruction, when propositions are to be committed to 
 memory, of a nature far remote from every idea with which 
 the mind of the pupil is familiar, their use as a memoria tech- 
 nica is sufficiently obvious. Wherever, therefore, it is deem- 
 ed necessary to impress upon the memory words and terms 
 of mighty import, while the mind is yet incapable of attach- 
 ing to them any corresponding idea, the form of question and 
 
VI I-XTRODUCTION. 
 
 answer will justly obtain a preference. Concerning the ben- 
 efits to be derived from the exercise, opinions may differ, but 
 it must be admitted by all, that when a child is to be made to 
 repeat answers to propositions beyond his comprehension, 
 the words must necessarily be put into his mouth, for by his 
 own mind they could not possibly be suggested. 
 
 What is thus learned may, at a future period, be recollect- 
 ed with advantage ; but if the instruction contained in those 
 propositions be of the utmost importance to his soul ; if it be 
 of a nature that nearly concerns his eternal welfare ; can it 
 be deemed safe or prudent to cast our sole dependence on 
 the strength of his memory, which may, perchance, as the 
 understanding opens, recal the truths we have impressed 
 upon it to his consideration ? Would it not be a safer and a 
 better course, to endeavour to prepare his mind for compre- 
 hending the doctrines we so justly value, by enabling him, 
 through the exercise of his faculties, to acquire the interme- 
 diate ideas ? 
 
 For the accomplishment of this high object the mode of 
 instructing by interrogation appears well adapted. But when 
 it is to be thus applied, we must carefully abstain from help- 
 ing the pupil to the proper answer, as otherwise we shall be 
 defeating our purpose ; nor will such assistance be necessa- 
 ry, for questions that are calculated to excite to the acquire- 
 ment of new ideas must be so adapted to the present state of 
 the mind as to be easily understood ; in which case the re- 
 ply will be given spontaneously. 
 
 As questions are on this system resorted to, not as expe- 
 dients to assist the memory, but as means of suggesting new 
 ideas to the mind, and thereby preparing it for comprehend- 
 ing the important truths of religion, every question which is 
 ascertained to be beyond the comprehension of the pupil 
 must be put aside as useless, until, by suggesting ideas more 
 nearly connected with those he is possessed of, the mind has 
 been gradually expanded to the degree necessary for com- 
 prehending them. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 In the following pages an attempt has been made to form a 
 series of questions on this model. The examples given are^ 
 however, by no means presented as being adequate or com- 
 plete, but merely as affording hints to the instructor con- 
 cerning the mode of bringing the powers of the infant mind 
 into action, and of exercising those powers. In each descrip- 
 tion of questions, as they severally apply to the understand- 
 ing or the heart, much must necessarily be left to the discre- 
 tion of the instructor, who may omit or enlarge them at pleas- 
 ure ; taking care, in every instance, to modify the question so 
 as to make it thoroughly understood. With this precaution, 
 teachers, by selecting such parts of the work as appear to 
 them best adapted to the minds of their pupils, may avail 
 themselves of,whatever assistance it is calculated to afford in 
 developing the faculties. 
 
 As, happily, in this part of the kingdom, a notion of the 
 existence of a Supreme Being is in every situation in life one 
 of the first ideas communicated to the infant mind, I have pro- 
 ceeded on the supposition, that some notion of Deity has been 
 received. And as the questions intended to lead to a consid- 
 eration of the attributes of the divine nature have be^n found 
 perfectly intelligible to little girls of seven and eight years of 
 age, recently admitted into a charity-school, it is to be hoped 
 they will not be found beyond the capacity of any children 
 of the same age. To some they may perhaps appear objec- 
 tionable, as being too simple and obvious. But if we wish to 
 apply to the minds of children, we must not disdain to stoop 
 to them. It is by taking hold of what they know, that we 
 can alone lead them to greater knowledge, and only by 
 awakening the affections that we can hope to raise the heart 
 to God. 
 
EXAMPLES, &c 
 
 PART I. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF QUESTIOISS INTENDED TO EXERCISE THE 
 PERCEPTION BY ATTENTION TO EXTERNAL OBJECTS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Qiiestioner. Do you know the meaning of the words up- 
 right and across, and flat and crooked ? 
 
 Answer. 
 
 Q. Let all hold the first finger of their right hands 
 pointing upwards, and then do you tell me which is most 
 truly and exactly upright. 
 
 Q,. Now let all hold the same finger straight across, or 
 horizontal, as it is properly termed. Very well ; next shew 
 me what crooked means, by holding your finger crooked. 
 
 Q,. Do you know what is meant by slanting, or oblique ? 
 If you do, explain, by holding your finger in an oblique di- 
 rection. 
 
 Q. Let us now examine the tables and desks in the room : 
 Is any part of that before us what you would call flat ? 
 
 Q,. Are any parts of the table upright? 
 
 Q. Are any of its parts horizontal or straight across ? 
 
2 EXTERNAL OBJECTS. 
 
 Q. Is the surface of that desk flat like the table, or 
 is it slanting ? 
 
 Q. Can you now describe to me the form of the table ? 
 
 Q,. Are all tables made exactly of the same form ? De- 
 scribe then the form of any other table that you have seen. 
 
 Q.. Do you know the difference betwixt square and round ? 
 Here are two bits of paper, one square and one round ; tell 
 me which is square and which round ? 
 
 Q. Are all sides of a square of equal length ? Fold that 
 piece of paper from corner to corner, and you w^ill discover 
 whether they are exactly equal. 
 
 Q. Can you now describe the nature of a square ? 
 
 Q,. Examine this round or circular paper; fold it and fold 
 it again ; now open it, and observe whether all the folds do 
 not meet in the middle, or what is more properly called the 
 centre. Next, look and tell me whether the outward edge 
 be more distant from the middle in one part than in another ? 
 
 Q. A circle is always perfectly round, and the middle 
 point of the circle is called the centre : Now give me an ac- 
 curate description of a circle. 
 
 Q,. Can you describe to me the form of a cart wheel ? Is 
 it square or circular ? 
 
 Q. Where do the spokes of the wheel meet ? 
 
 Q,. Are all the spokes of a wheel of equal length ? 
 
 Q,. Why are wheels made of a circular form, instead of 
 being made square ? 
 
 Q. How many corners has a square ? 
 
 Q. Is every thing which has four corners exactly square ? 
 
 Q,. Observe the shape of the door : Has it not four cor- 
 ners ? 
 
 Q,. And is it exactly square ? Is it equal in length and 
 breadth ? 
 
EXTERNAL OBJECTS. O 
 
 Q. When a tiling is made longer than it is broad, it is 
 called oblong : now tell me the form of the door. 
 
 Q. Repeat to me the meaning of the word circular. 
 
 Q. Is a circle long or broad, or is it quite round ? 
 
 Q. Where is the centre of a circle ? 
 
 Q. Where is the centre of a square ? 
 
 Q,. Are all the windows of this room of the same size and 
 form ? 
 
 Q. In what form are they made ? 
 
 Q. Of what shape is this room ? 
 
 Q. Of what shape is the poker that stirs the fire ? 
 
 Q. Of what shape are the tongs and the shovel ? 
 
 SECTION 11. 
 
 ON THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. 
 
 Questioner. Let us now examine the forms of the capital 
 letters of the alphabet. What letter is formed by two ob- 
 lique lines meeting at top, and slanting opposite ways, and 
 joined about half way down by a short line across ? ( A ) 
 
 Q. Describe to me how this next letter is formed.* 
 
 * The same mode of interrogation may be pursued with regard 
 to the ollicr letters of the alphabet, as a means of producing hab- 
 its of observation and accuracy. Nor should any means which 
 can contribute to the formation of such habits be rejected on ac- 
 count of their simplicity. It is by attending to the objects with 
 which they are surrounded, that children gradually acquire the 
 use of their external senses ; and in proportion as we can increase 
 that attention, we increase in them the quickness of discernment. 
 
ON DITFERENT SUBSTANCES. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 ON DIFFERENT SUBSTANCES. 
 
 (Questioner. Saw the air in this manner, back and for- 
 v/ards, with your hand : does the air make any resistance ? 
 
 Q,- Strike the table with your hand : does it yield to you 
 as the air did ? 
 
 Q. The table is a substance, and is therefore seen and 
 felt. In this respect all substances are alike. What then is 
 the nature of a substance ? 
 
 Q. But are all substances of the same sort or class ? 
 
 Q. You are to be seen and felt, your body is therefore a 
 substance, so is a cabbage, for it also is a thing that we can 
 both see and feel ; but there is surely some difference be- 
 tween you and a cabbage-stock. 
 
 Q. True, a cabbage grows in the ground, and you are a 
 living creature : what grows in the earth is called vegeta- 
 ble, what lives is called animal, because it is animated. Now 
 tell me whether you are an animal or a vegetable ? 
 
 Q. Is the hair of your head a substance ? 
 
 Q. Is the hair an animal or a vegetable substance ? . 
 
 Q. Of what is that table made ? 
 
 Q. But what is wood .^ Did it ever grow in the earth ? 
 
 Q.. Of what substance then is the table ? Is it animal or 
 vegetable ? 
 
 Q. Of v/hat is that table made ? 
 
 The exercises, of which examples have been given in the two 
 preceding sections, may be extended at pleasure, until accurate 
 notions concerning the forms and appearances of ^11 objects with- 
 in reach of observation has been obtained. 
 
ON DIFFERENT SUBSTANCES. 5 
 
 Q. Of what are those shoes made ? 
 
 Q. Of what is leather made ? 
 
 Q. Of what substance then is leather ? 
 
 Q. Are there any other sorts of substances besides ani- 
 mal or vegetable ? 
 
 Q. Look at the grate and fire-irons : are they either ani- 
 mal or vegetable ? 
 
 Q. They are made of iron, which is a metal, and all 
 metals are mineral substances. Is this penny-piece made of 
 copper ? 
 
 Q. Is copper a metal ? 
 
 Q. Of what substance then is the penny-piece ? 
 
 Q. Here is a pin. Of what substance is the pin ? Is it 
 mineral or vegetable ? 
 
 Q. Your memory may perhaps be assisted by a rhyme ; 
 learn to repeat, — 
 
 In earth the vegetables grow, 
 
 Fast rooted in the soil, 
 And minerals lie deep below. 
 
 Dug thence with care and toil. 
 
 But animals have power of motion, 
 
 For life to them is given ; 
 On earth, or in the air or ocean, 
 
 Each kind 's preserved by heaven. 
 
 SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 
 
 (Questioner Can 3'ou point out to me any thing of mineral 
 substance 
 
 Q,. Can you show me a vegetable production ; for you 
 know that whatever has been once a vegetable is of vegeta- 
 ble substance ? 
 
 1^ 
 
6 O'S DIFFERENT SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Q. Can you show me any thing of animal substance ? 
 
 Q. But there is another class of which we have not yet 
 spoken ; I mean earthy substances, or substances belonging 
 to the earth, being neither mineral nor vegetable. Did you 
 ever see clay dug from the earth ? Of v/hat substance is the 
 clay ? 
 
 Q,. Does stone belong to the earth ? 
 
 Q. Of what substance is stone ? 
 
 Q. Yes, it is a hard earthy substance. Now examine 
 that framed v/hite slate : are the slate and frame of the 
 same substance ? 
 
 Q,. Of what substance is the slate ? 
 
 Q. Of what substance is the frame ? 
 
 Q. Of what substance is the pencil ? 
 
 Q,. Is this pen of the same substance as the pencil ? 
 
 Q. Of what substance is the pen ? 
 
 Q. I shall now name things with which you are familiar, 
 and expect whoever I point to, or look at, to answer me, by 
 saying of what substance the thing is of. To begin, then, I 
 say, the floor ? 
 
 Q. The nails by which the boards are fastened? 
 
 Q. The hearth ? 
 
 Q. A paper book ? 
 
 Q,. The binding of abound book ? 
 
 Q,. A golden guinea ? 
 
 Q. The gold leaf with which bound books and other 
 things are gilded. 
 
 Q. A hair-brush ? 
 
 Q. A birch or broom besom ? 
 
 Q,. A spinning-wheel •' 
 
 Q,, Woollen yarn ? 
 
0.\ DIFFERE>'T SUBSTANCES. 7 
 
 Q. Lint or flax ? 
 
 Q,. Linen yarn ? 
 
 Q. Cotton ? &c. &c.* 
 
 * Children will soon learn to proceed of themselves in this ex- 
 ercise. Nor let it be supposed, that in being thus converted into 
 an agreeable recreation, its utility in promoting the ends of edu- 
 cation Tvill be diminished. Between children who have spent 
 their play hours in listless indolence, and those who, during the 
 intervals devoted to relaxation, have been actively engaged in 
 amusements which afford exercise, either to body or mind, a radi- 
 cal difference will be discernible. JMuch tlierefore does it con- 
 cern every teacher to encourage such recreations as may tend to 
 invigorate the faculties of his pupils. 
 
PART IJ. 
 
 EXAMPLES or qUESTIO-\S CALCULATED TO LEAD THE 
 MIND TO SUCH A CONSIDERATION OF THE DIVINE AT- 
 TRIBUTES AS MAY TEND TO IMPRESS THE HEART. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Quesiioncr. You are a living being ; Who gave you life ? 
 
 Q. Did not your parents live before you were born ? 
 Who gave life to them ? 
 
 Q. And who gave life to the parents of your parents ? 
 
 Q. Do you suppose, that in time to come God will give 
 life to creatures yet unborn ? 
 
 Q,. God has then existed in times that are past, and sliall 
 continue to exist in times that are to come ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that the earth, and the seas, and the 
 skies, have been lately made ; or that they were made a 
 great many ages ago ? ■ ^ 
 
 Q,. By whom were they made. 
 
 Q. God must then have lived before all worlds. Are 
 there many sorts of living creatures in the earth ? 
 
 Q. Who made all those living creatures to exist ? 
 
 Q,. Does the earth produce what is needful for the sup- 
 port of all who live in it ? 
 
 Q. Is it from the earth alone that we derive all that is 
 necessary for our comfort? or has God been pleased that 
 
DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. y 
 
 we should receive benefit from things placed at a distance 
 from the earth ? 
 
 Q. What is it that gives us light by day ? 
 
 Q,. Is not the sun at a great distance from the earth ? 
 
 Q. Yet, are we not cheered by its light and warmed by 
 its heat ? 
 
 Q,. Does the sun shine on us because it loves us ; or is it 
 the love and mercy of God that makes it continue to enlight- 
 en us day by day ? 
 
 Q. Is it not in the power of God to extinguish (or put 
 out) the light of the sun, and thence to leave us in perpetual 
 darkness ? 
 
 Q. Is it not in the power of the Maker of all things to 
 destroy the earth and all the worlds that he has made ? 
 
 Q. But do you not trust and expect that God will continue 
 to permit the sun to shine in its season ? 
 
 Q. Do you not hope and trust that the earth will continue 
 to produce food to supply the wants of living creatures ? 
 
 Q,. Why do you thus expect the continuance of these 
 mercies ? Is it because you believe that God is as good as 
 he is powerful ? 
 
 Q,. Where is God ? Is he in heaven ? 
 
 Q, Are we then far removed from his sight ? 
 
 Q. Does he behold us continually ? 
 
 Q. Can we with our bodily eyes see God ? 
 
 Q. You see me and bear my voice ; but do you see the 
 spirit within me ? Do you see the thoughts which stir my 
 heart ? 
 
 Q,. My spirit is confined within this body ; but do you 
 think that the spirit of the great and incomprehensible Fa- 
 ther of our spirits is confined in the manner that ours are ? 
 
 Q,. Is then the Almighty, by whose power the heavens 
 and the earth were made, iioiv, at this montnt, near us ? Do 
 we stand in his siarht ? 
 
■10 EXPERIE.NCE OF PERSO^'AL MERCIES. 
 
 Q. When shall we be out of his sight ? 
 
 Q. At whatever time we pray to God, we are certain 
 then of his being present to hear us ? 
 
 Q. When any one gives you what is good, do you feel 
 glad and thankful ? 
 
 Q. If you were in danger of being killed, w^ould you not 
 be \eYy grateful to any one who rescued you from the dan- 
 ger ? 
 
 Q. Would you strive on such occasions to show your 
 gratitude ? 
 
 Q.. Who gave you life and every blessing that you enjoy ? 
 
 Q.. Who has by night and by day preserved your life? 
 
 Q. And ought you not then to feel very thankful to God ? 
 
 Q. But if you really feel thankful, w411 you not express 
 your thanks ? 
 
 Q. When you awake to the light of a new day, ought you 
 not to thank him who has preserved you through the dark 
 hours of night. 
 
 Q-. When you go to your bed at night, ought you not to 
 express your gratitude to him who has protected you through 
 the day from numerous dangers ? 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF PERSO:yAL MERCIES. 
 
 Queslioner. Can you walk and run ? 
 
 Q. Could you walk and run as soon as you were born ? 
 
 Q. Who taught you to walk ? or do you think that you 
 v/ould have learned to walk without being taught ? 
 
EXPERIENCE OF PERSONAL MERCIES. 11 
 
 Q. No. If you h9-d been left in a wood as soon as 3'ou 
 were able to creep upon the ground, you would not have 
 learned to walk, but have run upon your hands and feet all 
 your life. Some poor unfortunate children, who, being de- 
 serted by their parents, have been found in different parts of 
 the world ; and these, even at the age of fourteen and fif- 
 teen, did not walk as we do, but on their hands and feet ; 
 for they, poor things, had no example before them but the 
 beasts of the field. Can you put on your own clothes ? Can 
 you dress yourself.^ 
 
 Q. Who taught you thus to use your hands ? 
 
 Q. Do you think if you had been left in a forest, like the 
 poor deserted children I have mentioned, that you could have 
 dressed yourself if clothes had been given you ? 
 
 Q,. Who carried you until you were able to walk ? 
 
 U, Who cherished you in her bosom, and fed you and 
 took care of you v/hen you could not take care of yourself ? 
 
 Q. Were you ever sick ? 
 
 Q. When you were sick, did your mother then watch 
 over you, wishing all the time that you might recover ? 
 
 Q. But had she it in her power by her wishes to preserve 
 your life ? 
 
 Q. By whose power then were you restored to health ? 
 
 Q>. Was it by God's blessing on your mother's care that 
 you were restored ? 
 
 Q. God then heard your mother when she prayed for 
 you ; she asked for your recovery, and God granted what 
 she asked ? 
 
 Q. You are much indebted to your mother ; is she not 
 still anxious that you should be preserved from every dan- 
 ger ? 
 
 Q. Can she save you from danger when you are out of 
 
 her siirht ? 
 
12 EXPERIENCE or PERSONAL MERCIES. 
 
 Q. But does she not think of you, and love you, when you 
 are absent from her. 
 
 Q. Her mind then can be v/ith you, though her body is at 
 home : But can she, by thinking of you, prevent your being 
 exposed to any injury ? 
 
 Q. It is then only w'^hile she is present with you that the 
 strength of her arm has power to help you ?* 
 
 Q,. Is God Almighty confined to one place as we his 
 creatures are ? % 
 
 Q. Is God equally present, and always present, in heaven 
 and earth, and in ail places ? 
 
 Q,. Can vi^e ever, for a single moment of our existence, be 
 out of his sight ? 
 
 Q,. Can we speak so low as that God cannot hear what 
 we say ? 
 
 Q. Can we think without his knowing the thoughts of 
 our hearts ? 
 
 Q. Is God, who is thus all-seeing and all-wise, visible in 
 our eyes ? Can we see him as we see one another ? 
 
 Q. You believe that your mother thinks of you and loves 
 you ; but do you see the thoughts of her heart ? Do you see 
 that within her which thinks and loves ? 
 
 Q,. You feel the effects of her kindness, and therefore 
 believe that she loves you in her heart, do you not ? 
 
 Q,. And do you not feel the effects of the kindness and 
 goodness of God, who has given you eyes to see, and ears to 
 hear, and a mind capable of receiving instruction ? 
 
 *It will be perceived, that when children have been early de- 
 prived of parental care, by death or desertion, the form of tlie 
 questions must be altered to suit their peculiar circumstances ; 
 and framed in such terms r.s may lead to a consideration of the 
 goodness of God, in raising np to them the benefactors who have 
 supplied to them the place of parents. 
 
EXPERIENCE OF PERSONAL MERCIES. 13 
 
 Q. Who gave your mother the heart to love you ? Who 
 inspires every mother with fondness for the child of her bo- 
 som ? 
 
 Q. Who has given you the friends who have taken care 
 of you when too young to take care of yourself ? 
 
 Q. By whom has your life been preserved to this present 
 moment ? 
 
 Q,. Is God still able to protect you ? 
 
 Q. Is it only in day-light, and while you are in company 
 of your friends, that God is able to preserve you ? 
 
 Q. If God can preserve you by night as well as by day, 
 would it not be very foolish to fear to be alone ? 
 
 Q. Have you ever heard of silly children who were afraid 
 of being in the dark ? 
 
 Q,. But can those who know and are assured that God 
 surrounds them, and that his presence is on every side, be 
 ever thus afraid ? 
 
 Q,. Do you think yourself safe when under the immediate 
 care and protection of your mother ? 
 
 Q,. But by whom has your mother been so long protected 
 and preserved ? 
 
 Q. Has she from the first moment of her existence been 
 in the presence of God, and fed by his bounty, and cherished 
 by his goodness, and preserved by his mercy ? 
 
 Q. Has God, in giving life to you, bestowed a blessing on 
 your parents ? 
 
 Q. Do we call that which makes us happy, or that which 
 makes us unhappy, a blessing ? 
 
 Q,. Do naughty and disobedient children make their par- 
 ents happy ? 
 
 Q. But do not good and obedient children gladden the 
 hearts of their parents, and make them very happy indeed ? 
 
 2 
 
14 RELATING TO THE PROVISION 
 
 Q,. Would you like to be looked upon as a blessing by 
 your parents and friends ? 
 
 Q,. By what sort of behaviour will you give them most 
 reason to rejoice in you ? 
 
 Q,. Think then often of all that they have done for you ; 
 and, when you think of it, be thankful. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 RELATING TO THE PROVISION MADE FOR OUR SUSTENANCE. 
 
 Qiiestio7i€r. Are you glad to have bread to eat when you 
 are hungry ? 
 
 Q,. Where does the bread come from ? 
 
 Q. But of what does your mother or the baker make the 
 bread ? 
 
 Q,. Who makes the flour or the meal ? 
 
 Q. Of what does the miller make the meal ? 
 
 Q,. Meal or flour may be made of many different kinds of 
 grain; but of whatever sort it is made, whether of wheat, or 
 oats, or barley, it is still made of grain. Now, of what is the 
 flour that makes white bread or wheaten bread made ? 
 
 Q. Of what is oat-meal made ? 
 
 Q,. Of what is barley-meal made ? 
 ■ a. Well, you see, they are all made of grain. But where 
 does the wheat, and oats, and barley come from ? Does corn 
 fall in showers from the skies, like hail or snow ? 
 
 Q. True : it does grow in the fields. But does the corn 
 grow without having been sown ? 
 
MADE FOR OUR SUSTENANCE. 15 
 
 Q. Well, it is, as you say, sown by the farmer ; but, after 
 it is sown, can the farmer make it grow ? Can the farmer 
 nourish it with dews from heaven, and make the sun shine 
 to ripen it ? 
 
 Q. You answer well, he cannot. The farmer tills the 
 ground and sows the grain, but he can do no more. Who 
 then is it that sends the rain in its season, and makes the 
 summer's sun to shine, that it may ripen the fruits of the 
 earth, to fill our mouths with food, and our hearts with glad- 
 ness ? 
 
 Q. It is to God then that we are indebted for the bread 
 we eat ; and do you not ask him for your daily bread ? 
 
 Q. Repeat the Lord's Prayer ? 
 
 Q. In wiiat part of this prayer do you ask of God the 
 food of which we have been speaking ? 
 
 Q,. Are all sorts of food equally from God .^ 
 
 Q. Have you not been fed every day of your life with 
 food necessary to your support .'' 
 
 Q, Has not God then been very good to you ? 
 
 Q. And do you not love God for his goodness ? 
 
 Q. Ought you not to thank him for having been so good 
 to you ? 
 
 Q. But how can you show that you are grateful to God ? 
 
 Q. When your parents or friends are very kind to you, 
 do you not feel a desire to please them ? 
 
 Q. Then, if you believe that God has been very good to 
 you, will you not desire to please him ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that God, who is all goodness, can be 
 pleased with you if you are naughty, and obstinate, and diso- 
 bedient ? 
 
 Q. Is it then only by being a good child that you can 
 show your sense of God's goodness to you ? 
 
16 CLOTHING. 
 
 Q,. If you really wish to show your gratitude to God, you 
 will endeavour to please him, by being a good child. All 
 who hear me will remember this : — If we love God for his 
 goodness, our love to him will make us strive to be good, 
 that we may please him. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 CLOTHING. 
 
 Qiiesiioner. Of what is that linen made ? 
 
 Q. Of yarn spun by the wheel : but of what was the yarn 
 made ? 
 
 Q. Do you know whether lint or flax (for it is the same 
 thing) be a production of the earth, or an animal substance ? 
 
 Q. Very well. It does grow in the earth, and is beat 
 out and combed by the lint dressers, so as to be made fit for 
 being spun upon the wheel. Can you now tell me if that 
 stuff is made of lint ? 
 
 Q,. Of what is it then made ? 
 
 Q,. Of what is worsted yarn composed ? 
 
 Q,. What is wool ? Does wool grow in the earth like 
 lint ? 
 
 Q. You have told me what wool is, and what lint is ; now 
 tell me distinctly which is the animal production, and which 
 the vegetable production ? 
 
 Q,. Of what is that calico made ? 
 
 Q. Is cotton an animal or vegetable production? If you 
 do not know I will tell you. 
 
 Q. Who buys the clothes you wear ? Who gives them 
 to you ? 
 
CLOTHING. 17 
 
 Q. Are you not very thankful to your friends for giving 
 you clothes to keep you warm ? 
 
 Q,. You ought indeed to be very grateful to the friends 
 who take such kind care of you. But where do they get 
 the clothing with which they provide you ? 
 
 Q,. And who blesses them with the means ? Would they 
 have money to buy clothes for you were it not by the good 
 providence of God ? 
 
 0-. You have told me that that stuff is made of worsted, 
 spun from wool, and that wool grows on the backs of sheep : 
 how do the sheep live ? what is their food ? 
 
 Q. Who makes the grass to spring upon the mountains, 
 for the subsistence of the flocks ? 
 
 Q,. Have you ever seen the young lambs sporting by the 
 side of their dams, and looking so happy, though so help- 
 less ? 
 
 Q,. Do you think that the little lambkins, when they first 
 begin to eat, require young and tender grass ? 
 
 Q,. What then do you think of the goodness of God, who 
 
 ordains, that at the very season when the little lambs come 
 
 forth, the young grass should slioot its tender sprouts that 
 they may feed ? 
 
 Q,. Have you ever heard the bleating of a flock of sheep ? 
 
 Q,. Do you think you could know the voice of one sheep 
 from that of another ? 
 
 Q. Who then teaches the mother to know the bleat of 
 her own lamb, and the lamb to know its own mother ? 
 
 Q,. It is God then that preserves the flocks from perish- 
 ing ; and is it not then to God that we are indebted for all 
 that the flocks produce ? 
 
 Q. The flax and the cotton grow in the fields, and are 
 cultivated by the hands of man ; but who made the earth in 
 which they grow ? 
 
 2* 
 
18 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 
 
 Q,. Does the lint when it grows up and ripens, produce 
 seed ? and is that seed fit to be again sown to produce 
 another crop of Jint ? 
 
 Q,. Suppose that the farmer, after he has dressed his 
 ground, were to sow it with sand or pebbles instead of lint- 
 seed, do you think that the pebbles and the sand would 
 spring up and grow like corn or lint ? 
 
 Q,. Can you tell me why we expect that the seeds should 
 spring, and that the pebbles should not ? 
 
 Q,. It is the nature of the seed to sprout on being placed 
 in the earth ; but who gave to the seed this nature ? 
 
 Q,. Nature is then but another name for what is wrought 
 and designed by Almighty God. 
 
 Q. When you then hear it said that such and such things 
 are the works of nature, do you clearly perceive and under- 
 stand that the things spoken of are the works of God ? 
 
 Q. Has God in mercy made such provision for cur food 
 and clothing ; and can any one deserve to be called good 
 who is unthankful for his mercies? 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNDERSTANDING AND INSTINCT. 
 
 Qiiestioner. Are you an animal ; that is to say, a living 
 creature ? 
 
 Q. Are birds and fislies, and cats and dogs, also living 
 creatures ? 
 
 Q-. Birds can fly in the air, and fish swim in the sea, but 
 dogs and cats live on the earth as you do : in what then do 
 you differ from a cat or dog ? 
 
UNDERSTANDING AND INSTINCT. 19 
 
 Q. But in what respect, besides shape, do you differ from 
 them ? Do they not eat, and drink, and sleep, as well as you 
 do ? 
 
 Q. Do dogs and cats like to be kindly treated, and love 
 those who treat them kindly ? 
 
 Q. Do you not likewise like to be kindly treated, and 
 love those who are good to you ? 
 
 Q. So far then, it seems, there is no difference between 
 you and them. But can dogs and cats speak ? Have they 
 the use of language ? 
 
 Q. Though they cannot speak as we do, tliey make 
 sounds to be understood by one another ; and can plainly 
 signify when they are angry or pleased. What can you do 
 more ? 
 
 Q.- Do the grown up people who are now your teachers 
 know more than you do ? Are they wiser than you are at 
 present ? 
 
 Q. Were they not once little cliildren like you ? 
 
 Q. When they were children, did they know as much as 
 they know now ; or were they then like you, ignorant of al- 
 most every thing ? 
 
 Q. Was it merely by growing big that they became wise ? 
 or was it by attending to instruction ? 
 
 Q. Though only a little child, you can understand what I 
 say to you : do you think a kitten could thus understand 
 me ? 
 
 Q. Besides the gift of speech, you have then another 
 gift bestowed on you above what is enjoyed by other sorts of 
 animals ; for have you not the gift of understanding ? 
 
 Q. That you may perceive this point distinctly, tell me, 
 if you were very cold and saw the fire likely to go out, and 
 that pieces of coal, or turf, or of wood fit for burning, were 
 within reach, could you not contrive to keep up the fire ? 
 
20 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 
 
 Q. How would you effect your purpose ? 
 Q. Do not dogs seem in cold weather to like the warmth 
 of a good fire ? 
 
 Q. Large dogs can carry very heavy things in their 
 mouths ; but could the wisest of dogs contrive to mend the 
 fire by adding fuel to it ? 
 
 Q. To contrive requires thought. You then have a de- 
 gree of thought which the wisest of dogs have not; but if 
 you were left by a friend in a strange place, when you lost 
 sight of that friend could you trace him out by smelling his 
 footsteps, following his course, and turning where he had 
 turned, until you discovered where he was ? 
 
 Q. When a dog loses his master he can do all this ; and 
 though he were to be blindfolded and led to a great distance, 
 could return on his own steps, though he never saw the 
 road ; in this a dog can do more than any of us can do. Did 
 hel earn to do this (as we learn to do things) by attending to 
 instruction ; or did he do it from nature ? 
 
 Q,. Did you ever see a bird's nest .^ 
 
 Q. Would it not be a long time before you could learn to 
 form such a nest ; even tJiough all the materials were placed 
 within your reach ? 
 
 Q. Who taught the little bird to make its nest so neatly? 
 Did it learn at a school ? 
 
 Q,. Every kind of bird builds its nest in the way that is 
 common to its kind. A sparrow does not make its nest like 
 the nest of a swallow, nor does the swallow build hers in the 
 manner of the sparrow. Do you think that either of them 
 could learn to imitate what is done by the other ? 
 
 Q. But though you perhaps might never be able to build 
 a nest so neatly as a little bird, are you not in many instanc-es 
 able.to do what you see done by others ? 
 
UNDERSTANDING AND INSTINCT. 21 
 
 Q,. Do you wish and expect to be able in a little time to 
 do more than you yet can do ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that any bird or beast has the wish or 
 expectation to be able to do more than it can do at present ? 
 
 Q,. Does not this show that your nature is superior to 
 tlieirs ? 
 
 Q. If you had no wish or desire to learn more than you 
 have yet learned, do you think that by such indifference you 
 would give proof of the superiority of your nature ? 
 
 Q,. It is the nature of cats to catch mice. When you 
 see a little kitten at play, and observe how quickly it springs 
 on whatever it can lay hold of, and toss it in its paws, do you 
 think it is acting contrary to nature ? 
 
 Q,. If you, who are by nature capable of improvement, do 
 not wish and endeavour lo improve ; will the kitten or you 
 be acting most agreeably to your respective natures ? 
 
 Q. You think you have more understanding than a kit- 
 ten ? 
 
 Q. How do you show or prove that you have more un- 
 derstanding ? 
 
 Q. Can you learn much in a single day ? 
 
 Q. What is twice one ?* 
 
 Q. Monday and Tuesday make two days : — If you learn, 
 then, something on Monday, and as much on Tuesday, how 
 much wiser will you be on Tuesday night than you were on 
 Monday morning ? 
 
 Q. Go on to learn as much more on Wednesday, which 
 will make three days ; how much wiser will you then be ? 
 
 Q. Add a fourth day, Thursday, and will you not then be 
 four times as wise as you were on Monday morning ? 
 
 * In vvliat follows, the pupiJs are supposed to have obtainedl 
 some knowledge of numbers. 
 
22 OBSERVATION DIRECTED TO 
 
 Q. Friday will make a fifth, Saturday a sixth day ; so 
 that by Saturday you will have advanced six degrees in 
 learning. But will you not still have much to learn ? 
 
 Q.. If you spend one whole day without learning any 
 thing, will you then, on Saturday night, know six times more 
 than you did on Monday morning ? 
 
 Q. See then the value of a single day. You have told 
 me that human beings are distinguished from brutes, by hav- 
 ing minds capable of improvement : will any who desire 
 to improve, be happy at the end of a week to think that they 
 have lost a day ? 
 
 "•►*®®®*<" 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 OBSERVATION DIRECTED TO OBJECTS OF JS'ATURE. 
 
 (Questioner. You have discovered that corn, when sown 
 in the ground, springs up and produces more corn ; now, tell 
 me, if you were to put a single grain of barley in the ground, 
 what would you expect to spring from it ? 
 
 Q,. You then expect that it would produce corn of its 
 own kind and not of any other kind ? 
 
 Q. Do shrubs and trees produce seed, each of its own 
 kind ? 
 
 Q,. Yes. The largest tree that you ever saw in all your 
 life was once wrapped up in a seed very little larger than the 
 tip of your finger. From the^ seed it sprouted up, like the 
 buds of a small flower ; then it grew to the size of a small 
 twig ; and, year after year, continued growing and growing, 
 till it raised its stately head to meet the skies, and spread its 
 mighty branches on every side. Who formed it of a nature 
 thus to grow, and to increase in bulk from year to year ? 
 
OBJECTS OF NATURE. 23 
 
 Q. Are all trees of one kind, or have you ever observed 
 any difference in their forms, and in the shape and colour of 
 their leaves ? 
 
 Q,. Do you know at sight the difference between a fir- 
 tree, an oak-tree, and an apple-tree ? 
 
 Q. Trees which, when cut down, supply the carpenter 
 with wood, are called forest-trees. Trees which produce 
 fruit are called fruit-trees. The floor of the room is made of 
 fir-wood : Is fir a forest-tree or a fruit-tree ? 
 
 Q. Of what kind is the apple-tree ? 
 
 Q,. Is there any seed in the heart of an apple ? 
 
 Q,. Has every seed in the apple a nice little chamber to 
 itself, covered with a thin substance, which serves as a wall 
 to separate the apartments, so as that one seed may not be 
 injured by another ?" 
 
 Q. It seems, then, that nature has provided for the pre- 
 servation of the seed of the apple ? 
 
 Q. But does the part of the apple which we eat, and 
 which we find so very good, tend also to protect the seed, 
 and afford it nourishment ? 
 
 Q,. Yes. If the seeds were to be taken from the apple, 
 and exposed to the air and to the cold, before they were 
 quite ripe, they would be entirely spoiled. But might not 
 the seeds have been preserved equally well in a substance 
 not fit for eating ? 
 
 Q,. Did God, in making every tree to bear seed after its 
 kind, provide in his wisdom for the continuance of every sort 
 of tree ? 
 
 * It will here be expedient to have an apple or orange to cut up 
 before the pupils, in order to convince them of the truth of these 
 remarks. 
 
24 OBSERVATION DIRECTED TO 
 
 Q,. Did God in his goodness make the fruit which nour- 
 ishes the seed afford, in many instances, a supply of whole- 
 some and delicious food ? 
 
 Q,. Have we not, then, even in the common productions 
 of the earth, proofs of the wisdom and goodness of the Crea- 
 tor of all things ? 
 
 Q,. Do you know that in some parts of the world the 
 weather is always very warm, much warmer than on the hot- 
 test of our summer days ? 
 
 Q,. Don't you think that people in such climates, oppress- 
 ed as they must be by excessive heat, stand still in more 
 need than we do of an abundant supply of refreshing fruit ? 
 
 Q. In our country, where it is never very warm, it re- 
 quires care and pains to bring any fruit to perfection : but 
 have you ever seen lemons and oranges, and other foreign 
 fruits, which are sold in the shops ? 
 
 Q. In warmer climates, these, and various other fruits 
 grow naturally in the fields. Is it not happy for the inhab- 
 itants that they are there so plentiful ? 
 
 Q,. Did the Creator of the world know that the people 
 who were to live in such warm climates would stand partic- 
 ularly in need of fruit to quench their thirst and revive their 
 spirits ? 
 
 Q. If, therefore, God ordained, that in those countries 
 fruits of all kinds should grow in greater abundance than 
 with us, what does it teach us to think of the wisdom and 
 goodness of God, in having thus provided beforehand for the 
 wants of his creatures ? 
 
 Q,. But is it for human beings only that God has provided 
 a supply of food and clothing ? 
 
 Q. In what manner are the birds of the air clothed ? 
 How are their bodies covered from the cold ? 
 
 Q. What clothing have the beasts ? 
 
OBJECTS OF NATURE. 25 
 
 Q. Can animals of any kind live without food ? 
 
 Q. Are the birds and wild animals that live in the fields 
 fed by the hands of men, or do they g-ather food for them- 
 selves ? 
 
 Q. Who directs them to choose the sort of food that is 
 most proper for them ? Who informs each little bird what 
 seed or berry is fit for its nourishment, and what is not ? 
 
 Q,. Who provides for every species what is necessary for 
 its existence ? 
 
 Q,. But has God enabled you to know what is good for 
 you ? 
 
 Q. Birds and beasts are directed by the nature which 
 God has given them. What name do we usually give to the 
 sagacity which enables them to choose what is good for 
 them ? 
 
 Q. If God has not given you an equal portion of instinc- 
 tive sagacity, has he bestowed on you nothing in its stead ? 
 
 Q,. Are ripe cherries very good to eat ? 
 
 Q,. Birds are as fond of cherries as any of us can be: but 
 can a bird, ^fter having pecked the puJp of a cherry, be made 
 to observe the stone in which the kernel is enclosed, so as 
 to perceive in it the means taken by the wisdom of Provi- 
 dence for securingthe safety of the kernel, which may af- 
 terw irds become a cherry-tree ? 
 
 Q. Which then, is best, — to have instinct to direct to 
 food fit for the support of the body, or to have understanding 
 capable of perceiving, in the works of God, the v/isdom and 
 goodness of the great Creator ? 
 
 Q. From the time that a little bird is able to use its 
 wings, and to fly from its nest, it never improves in know- 
 ledge ; but have not you learned much since you first began 
 to walk ? 
 
 3 
 
26 FARTHER CONSIDERATION 
 
 Q,. How have you learned all that you already know ? 
 Was it by observing and listening to others ? 
 
 Q. Who provided for you such opportunities of instruc- 
 tion ? 
 
 Q. God has then not only given you understanding, but 
 supplied you with the means of improving it : does it stand 
 still in need of farther improvement ? 
 
 Q. You have not, then, as yet acquired all the sense and 
 all the knowledge which you think it will be necessary for 
 you to have ? 
 
 Q. Suppose that you were to be now shut up apart from 
 all society ; do you think, that as you grew big your under- 
 standing woiiM'1||.prove without farther instruction ? 
 
 Q. .. Do you thenxstill stand in need of continued oppor- 
 tunities of improvemeM>? 
 
 Q. Who is alone able to provide for you the continuance 
 of such opportunities ? 
 
 Q. Is it to the goodness and mercy of your heavenly Fa- 
 ther that you are indebted for the friends and benefactors 
 that have taught you all you know ? 
 
 Q. Are you thankful for his goodness ? 
 
 Q. How may you best show your gratitude ? 
 
 -•»♦©#•♦••" 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 FARTHER CONSIDERATION OF PERSONAL ENDOWMENTS. 
 
 Questioner. Can you tell me how many fingers you have 
 upon each hand ? 
 
 Q. What is that hard substance that I feel within ? Is it 
 bone ? 
 
OF PERSONAL ENDOWMENTS. 27 
 
 Q,. How many pieces of bone are there in this thumb ? 
 
 Q. How many in each of these fingers ? 
 
 Q,. By what means are these three pieces of bone in each 
 finger so firmly joined one to the other ? 
 
 Q,. Bend your fingers, and try whether these joints or 
 hinges are not very firm. 
 
 Q. With what are the bones immediately covered ? 
 
 Q. Can you see in some places the veins that carry the 
 blood down to the very finger ends? 
 
 Q. Would it give you pain to have these small veins laid 
 open ? 
 
 Q. By what means are the flesh and blood covered and 
 protected 1 
 
 Q. What is it that gives firmness to the ends of your fin- 
 gers, and protects the skin from injury ? 
 
 Q. Can you turn the middle joint of your finger as you 
 turn the joint of your wrist ? 
 
 Q. Had the joint of your wrist been made exactly like 
 the joints of your fingers, would you ever have been able to 
 play at ball ? 
 
 Q. Do you see any other advantage in being able to turn 
 the hand upon the wrist ? 
 
 Q,. Your hand seems then to have been formed for some 
 particular purpose : what do you think it was intended for .'* 
 
 Q. Did you ever take notice of the paw of a cat ? 
 
 Q. In what does the cat's paw diflTer from your hand ? 
 
 Q. The bones and joints of the cat's paw are formed as 
 nicely as the bones and joints of your fingers. The cat has 
 as much the use of its joints as you have of yours : but can 
 it use them to the same purpose ; or do they seem formed 
 for a different purpose ? 
 
 Q. Is it the nature of cats to catch mice ? 
 
28 FARTHER CONSIDERATION 
 
 Q,. If, instead of being armed with sharp claws, they had 
 only nails such as we have, would it be an advantage to 
 them, or otherwise ? 
 
 Q.. Think again of the difference between the form of 
 your hand and the paw of a cat ; then tell me whether each 
 were fitted for the same purpose, or for different purposes ? 
 
 Q» Were both formed by one wise and great Creator ? 
 
 Q. Does it then appear to you that God gave to every 
 living creature the form best suited or adapted to its particu- 
 lar nature ? 
 
 Q. Our hands are evidently fitted for performing various 
 sorts of work : do those who employ their hands usefully, or 
 those who never do any thing, best answer the design of 
 their Creator, who bestowed on them hands formed for use ? 
 
 Q,. Have you ever known or heard of children who em- 
 ployed their hands in doing mischief or injury to others ? 
 
 Q,. Was it, think you, to enable us to hurt or molest our 
 fellow-creatures, that God bestowed upon us hands so admi- 
 rably formed ? 
 
 Q,. But perhaps the great and wise Creator of all things 
 no longer sees or knows what is done in the world which he 
 made : what is your notion of this ? 
 
 Q,. If God sees us always, durin~ ^i-y moment of our 
 lives, he must see when we make an ill use of any of his 
 gifts : are our hands the gift of God ? 
 
 Q, Do you think that God can approve of your making an 
 ill use of the hands which he has given us ? 
 
 Q» Can you now do much that is useful ? 
 
 Q,. You have not then as yet attained the full use of your 
 hands ? 
 
 Q,. Though you were never to do any thing your hands 
 would in time grow large and strong ; but, though increased 
 in strength and size, if not accustomed to work, they would 
 
OF PERSONAL ENDOWMENTS. 29 
 
 not be serviceable : what then must you now do, in order 
 to prepare your hands for being fully serviceable to yourself 
 and others ? 
 
 Q. Describe to me the shape of your foot ? 
 
 Q. Have the animals that go on four legs feet of the same 
 form as yours ? 
 
 Q. What posture does the form of your feet enable you 
 to assume ? 
 
 Q. Would such a form of foot be of any use to horses 
 and cows ? 
 
 Q.. But by the form of your feet you are not only enabled 
 to stand erect, but to walk and run ; rise on tiptoe, and ob- 
 serve whether there be any joint in your foot that assists you 
 in running and in walking. 
 
 Q. Can you turn out your toes ? 
 
 Q. IIow are you enabled to do this ? 
 
 Q. Can your leg turn in the same manner on the knee- 
 joint ? 
 
 Q,. The joint at the knee and the joint at the ancle must 
 then, it seems, be somewhat different in their form or con- 
 struction ? 
 
 Q. It is but little that any of you can at present compre- 
 hend of the nature of your frame ; but, even in the few par- 
 ticulars that you are able to notice, you may see enough to 
 give you some distant notion of the wisdom of Him who form- 
 ed you : do you know how many senses you have ? 
 
 Q. Can you see ? 
 
 Q,. Well, you have then seeing ; that is one sense. Can 
 
 \ you hear ? 
 
 3* 
 
30 FARTHER CO'STDERATIOiV 
 
 Q. Hearing is another sense. Can you feel what you 
 touch ? 
 
 Q,. Feeling or touch is a third sense. If you can smell, 
 and taste, these are two other senses. Reckon them dis- 
 tinctly, and tell me how many there are in all ? 
 
 Q,. Have you ever seen the inside of a watch or clock, 
 with all its wheels in motion ? 
 
 Q,. You are not yet wise enough to he made to under- 
 stand the nature of such curious machinery, but you under- 
 stand the effects : you know that these wheels are contrived 
 so as to make the hands upon the dial-plate move, and point 
 exactly to the hour of the day ? 
 
 Q.. When you observe how punctually the hand of the 
 clock points to the hour, you are not so foolish as to suppose 
 that it would thus go, if the workmanship within were de- 
 stroyed or taken away ? 
 
 Q,. Do the movements of the clock depend on the nature 
 of the workmanship ? 
 
 Q,. You are not yet capable of comprehending the won- 
 derful and admirable structure or formation of the eye ; but 
 do you not think that it must be infinitely more nice and cu- 
 rious than that of the inside of a watch or clock ? 
 
 Q,. Look straight forward, — then up, — and down, — to the 
 right, — and to the lefl ; — and then tell me whether your eyes 
 are fixed so as to see only in one direction ? 
 
 Q.. Do you derive great advantage from this power of 
 looking round you in all directions ? 
 
 Q,. Did the great Creator provide for you this advantage 
 when he ordained the form of the eye ? 
 
 Q,. Are your eyes dry like the skin, or have they over 
 them a certain portion of moisture ? 
 
 Q,. Are your eyes ever tilled with water, so as to over- 
 flow in drops ? 
 
or PERSONAL ENDOWMENTS. 31 
 
 Q. What do you call those drops of water which fall from 
 your eyes when you cry ? 
 
 Q. Do you see very clearly when your ejes are thus fill- 
 ed with water ? 
 
 Q. Neither could you see if your eyes were quite dry. 
 It eeems then necessary that there should be some con- 
 trivance for wiping the eye, to disperse the tears, and keep 
 it in a proper state of moisture : What is there about your 
 eye that seems intended to answer this useful purpose of 
 wiping it ? 
 
 Q.. Have you ever had a mote in your eye ? 
 
 Q. Would the smallest grain of sand blown into the eye, 
 not only hinder you from seeing, but occasion great pain ? 
 
 Q. Are your eyes, like the rest of your face, exposed to 
 every shower of dust ; or are you provided with the means 
 of protecting them ? 
 
 Q,. You wink hard when aware of the danger ; but, were 
 your eyelids not furnished with that little fringe at the edge, 
 they could not afford to your eyes constant and complete pro- 
 tection as they now do. What do you call that fringe which 
 is so ornamental and so useful to the eyelid ? 
 
 Q. Is the ear the organ of hearing ? 
 
 Q. Do you suppose the frame or construction of the ear 
 to be less wonderful than that of the eye ? 
 
 Q. But do you see so much of the construction of the ear» 
 as to enable you to form a notion of the parts within that are 
 concealed from our observation ? 
 
 Q. Why is the machinery of a watch enclosed within a 
 case ? Is it because it is coarse and ugly, or because it is so 
 very nice and delicate that it would suffer from exposure ? 
 
 Q.. Now, tell me why the machinery of the ear is, in your 
 opinion, concealed from our view ? 
 
3'2 FARTHER CONSIDERATION, &C. 
 
 Q. True ; it is indeed admirably fine and delicate. Nor 
 are the organs by which you are enabled to feel, and to taste, 
 and to smell, less wonderfully formed. Would you greatly 
 feel the want of any of these senses ? 
 
 Q. They then contribute greatly to your happiness ? 
 
 Q,. Who bestowed on you the blessings of sight and hear- 
 ing, and the other senses ? 
 
 Q,. But if the organs of all your five senses be very nice- 
 ly and delicately formed, may they not be very easily injur- 
 ed ? 
 
 Q,. You have lived some time, and yet they seem to be 
 all safe : by whom have they been preserved ? 
 
 Q,. It seems then that j'^ou have, ever since you came into 
 the world, been under the care and protection of God ? 
 
 Q. Does God, even to the present moment, still continue 
 to protect you ? 
 
 Q. Do you naturally love them who are good to you ? 
 
 Q,. When you walk upon your feet, when you use your 
 hands and arms, is it from the goodness of God that you are 
 thus happy in the enjoyment of such powers of motion ? 
 
 Q,. Is God good to you, in enabling you to see and hear ? 
 
 Q,. And do you love the Being who is so very good to 
 you ? 
 
 Q. Will you think more of his goodness than you have 
 ever thought of it before ? 
 
 Q. The more you think of it will you not love him the 
 
 more ? 
 
 Q. Do children feel very joyful when running and skip- 
 ping at their sports ? 
 
 Q. Bat does not a little kitten, when it frolics about at 
 play, seem also to be very liappy ? 
 
NOTICE OR OBSERVATION. 33 
 
 Q. Does the kitten know to whose goodness it owes the 
 power of being happy ? 
 
 Q,. The kitten enjoys itself as much as you do ; in what 
 then are you happier than the kitten ? 
 
 Q. Do birds and beasts see, and hear, and touch, and 
 taste, and smell, as well as you ? 
 
 Q,. The great Creator of all things has then, it seems, 
 given to other animals beside man the nice and delicately 
 formed orgaris of those different senses. But when birds 
 and beasts open their eyes on the light of day, do they know 
 who gave them the power of seeing what the light of day 
 displays to view ? 
 
 Q,. A dog is very grateful to its master who feeds him, 
 and even cats, though not so sensible or grateful as dogs, yet 
 show a sense of gratitude to those who are kind to them. 
 Were those thankful creatures capable of being made to un- 
 derstand that all they enjoy is from God, would they, do you 
 think, be grateful to him for his gifts ? 
 
 Q. Are you less capable of thankfulness than a cat or 
 
 dog ? 
 
 Q,. And do you know that it is from God you have re- 
 ceived all that you have and enjoy ? 
 
 Q,. What use do you make of this knowledge ? 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 ON THE NECESSITF OF NOTICE OR OBSERVATION. 
 
 Questioner. Has God, in giving you sight, bestowed on 
 you a great blessing ? 
 
 Q. Are you very thankful to God for being able to see ? 
 
34 ON THE NECESSITY OF 
 
 Q. Do you think that God gave you sight in order that 
 you might always see what was before your eyes ? 
 
 Q,. But do you really always see all that is within reach 
 of your sight ? 
 
 Q. Does it never happen, that though sitting within sight 
 of the door, you do not perceive whether it is shut or open ? 
 
 Q,, Does it never happen, that though sitting by the fire- 
 side, you do not observe whether the hearth be clean or 
 dirty ; or whether the fire-irons be in their proper places ? 
 
 Q. Do you always, without being desired to notice, ob- 
 serve whether things that ought to be laid in a straight line 
 are so or not ? 
 
 Q. When you do not perceive these things, it is because 
 they are not within reach of your sight ? 
 
 Q. Do you at such times make use of your eyes, or do 
 you not ? 
 
 Q. If any of your companions were to come before you 
 with a fool's cap on her head, do you think that you would 
 not immediately observe her dress ? 
 
 Q. It seems, then, that you do not fail to see whatever by 
 its strange appearance attracts your notice ? 
 
 Q. But did God bestow on you the blessing of sight, for 
 no other purpose but that you might see such things as strike 
 your fancy ? 
 
 Q. Have you the power to see whatever you choose to 
 notice ? 
 
 Q,. Is it by noticing useful things, or by noticing foolish 
 things, that you will be most likely to improve in knowledge 
 and in usefulness ? 
 
 Q. Have we in the glorious works of creation, in the sun, 
 and moon, and stars, and in the earth and all that it produces, 
 proofs of the wisdom, and goodness, and power of the great 
 Creator ? 
 
NOTICE OR OBSERVATION. 35 
 
 Q,. Ought we then, or ought we not, to take notice of 
 every object of nature which comes within reach of our ob- 
 servation ? 
 
 Q,. When you take notice of the beauty of the sky above, 
 or of aught that springs in the earth, and at the same time 
 raise your heart in thankfulness to the Creator, are you then 
 making a good use of the blessing of sight ? 
 
 Q. But were you to take notice only of such things, 
 would you ever learn to become useful to others ? 
 
 Q. Is it then necessary for you to learn to observe things 
 of a lower order, — the things that are commonly around 
 you? 
 
 Q,. Of two threads, one person sees at a glance which is 
 the finest, while another, with sight equally good, sees no 
 difference between them. Now, tell me to which of these 
 two persons the blessing of sight is most truly useful ? 
 
 Q,. Of two servants employed in such household work as 
 necessarily soils the hands, one sees not that her hands are 
 dirty ; and even sees not the dirty marks they make on the 
 walls or doors, or whatever they touch, while the other no 
 sooner soils her hands than she observes the circumstance, 
 and touches nothing until they are restored to cleanness. 
 Now, tell me the cause of this difference between them ; 
 does one see better than the other ? 
 
 Q,. Of two girls walking in the street, one shall see a 
 horse or carriage coming up, and, while it is yet at a distance, 
 shall move deliberately out of its way, while the other, not 
 seeing its approach, walks on till it is quite close to her, and 
 then, in fright, knows not which way to run, and is perhaps 
 run over at the peril of her life : is it not then happy for her 
 who had acquired the habit of taking notice ? 
 
36 ON THE NECESSITY OF 
 
 Q. Do you hear my voice ? 
 
 Q,. Do you hear the people who are talking in the next 
 street as distinctly as you hear me ? 
 
 Q,. You can then only hear at a certain distance ? 
 
 Q. Do you always notice what is said when those who 
 speak are within reach of your hearing ? 
 
 Q,. I believe so ; you do not always notice. Now tell me, 
 when it happens that you do not notice what is said, is your 
 hearing at such times of any use to you ? 
 
 Q,. Have you it always in your power to notice ? 
 
 Q. Ts it then in your power to hear, or not to hear, as 
 you give your mind to it ? 
 
 Q. If you only hear when you attend to what is said, to 
 what sort of discourse ought you to attend or listen ? 
 
 Q,. Do those who never willingly listen to any thing but 
 nonsense, make a proper use of the gift of hearing ? 
 
 Q,. Do those who willing-ly listen to bad words, or bad 
 advice, show that they aie thankful to God, who gave them 
 ears to hear ? 
 
 Q. When you listen to the instructions of your parents 
 and teachers, do you then make that use of your hearing 
 which is pleasing to God ? 
 
 Q,. And ought you not to endeavour to please hini, who, 
 in his goodness, has endowed you with so many precious 
 gifts ? 
 
 Q,. Some of the little birds that fly in the air, and some 
 of the four-footed animals that walk the earth, are more 
 quick sighted than any of us ; but can they so take notice of 
 what they see as to improve in usefulness ? 
 
 Q-. How are you in this respect superior to them ? 
 
 Q,. To take notice of what one sees, in order to become 
 useful, is then a proof of understanding ? 
 
NOTICE OR OBSERVATION. 3f 
 
 Q. If two branches of berries, one white, the other black, 
 were placed before you, and you were told that the white 
 berries were poisonous, and the black ones wholesome, 
 which would you choose to eat ? 
 
 Q,. But if the white berries looked very rich and ripe, 
 might you not be tempted to taste them, though you were 
 told that they would make you sick, and even make you die ? 
 
 Q. You have then, as you think, sense enough to choose 
 between good and evil ? 
 
 Q. But if you had not been told which of the sorts of 
 berries was wholesome and which was poisonous, would you, 
 of your own self, have known which to choose ? 
 
 Q,. Young beasts that graze in the fields learn from na- 
 ture to avoid what is poisonous ; but you, it seems, do not 
 learn this from nature ; you have to learn it another way ; 
 in what way, then, are you to obtain a knowledge of what is 
 good for you ? 
 
 Q. Whether will he who carefully listens to advice and 
 instruction, or he who never minds or notices what is said to 
 him, be most apt to profit by the advice or admonition of his 
 friends ? 
 
 Q. Were you ever warned of the danger of going too near 
 the fire ? 
 
 Q. Have you ever heard of any child who, after having 
 been instructed in the nature of the danger, has, neverthe- 
 less, gone so near the fire as to have its clothes set on blaze, 
 by which it has been dreadfully burned ? 
 
 Q,. When a child suffers great pain from such an acci- 
 dent, whether will it be glad or sorry for not having minded 
 or attended to the warning ? 
 
 Q-. Children are always told, that it is dangerous to go 
 very near the fire ; but do those who do not attend to this 
 
 4 
 
38 ON THE NECESSITY OF NOTICE, &C. 
 
 admonition always suffer? Do they not sometimes go very 
 near the fire, and escape unhurt? 
 
 Q,. Have those who do not suffer for their disobedience 
 any reason to think themselves very wise for having disobey- 
 ed ? 
 
 Q,. It is not then a proof of understanding, but of folly, in 
 children to do what they are forbidden to do ? 
 
 Q,. Are dogs and cats fond of being near the fire ? 
 
 Q. A well trained dog will not, however, venture in his 
 master's presence to go upon the hearth : how is a dog thus 
 trained to keep from that which he likes ? Is it by instruct- 
 ing him in the consequences ? 
 
 Q,. The poor dog could not understand his master's rea- 
 sons, and therefore he is beat and threatened into obedience ; 
 — while his master's eye is upon him he obeys through fear, 
 but, when no one is in the room to see him, will he still keep 
 away from the fire if he has a great inclination to go near it ? 
 
 Q,. The dog, poor creature, is not to blame, for he could 
 not understand why he was forbid : but is this the case with 
 children ? 
 
 Q,. Are children always able to understand the reasons 
 why they are desired to do this, or forbidden to do that ? 
 
 Q,. But are not children able to understand, that those 
 v/ho are better instructed than themselves must know many 
 things of which they are as yet ignorant ? 
 
 Q,. Are not children able to understand, that they de- 
 pend upon instruction ? 
 
 Q,. Whether then is it proper for children to do what 
 they are forbid to do, because of not being able to under- 
 stand why they are forbid ; or is it right and proper that 
 they should obey without murmuring, and attend to the in- 
 struction that is to make them wise hereafter. 
 
ON LABOUR AND DESIGN. 39 
 
 Q. If you make a good use of the understanding with 
 which God has endowed you, will you not then carefully avoid 
 what you are desired to avoid as dangerous ? 
 
 -♦»*®®®*««- 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 ON LABOR AND DESIGN, SHEWING THE NECESSITY OF 
 MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXERTIONS. 
 
 Questioner. Of what are the walls of this house, (or the 
 walls of the church), built ? 
 
 Q,. Of what are the partitions which separate one room 
 from another commonly made ? 
 
 Q. Is there any difference between stone and brick ? 
 
 Q. What do stones come from ? How are they obtain- 
 ed ? 
 
 Q. Are bricks likewise quarried from the rock ? 
 
 Q,. True : bricks are made of earth hardened in the fire ; 
 but how is the earth dug up ? Is it by means of an implement 
 called a spade ? 
 
 Q. Of what is the spade made ? 
 
 Q,. Of what are the instruments made by which the stones 
 are hewn from the rock, and cut and chiselled by the ma- 
 son ? 
 
 Q,. Trees are cut down by an axe : of what are such 
 axes made ? 
 
 Q. Are saws by which the wood is cut into boards, an(? 
 the other tools by which it is formed to the carpenter's pur- 
 poses, all likewise from iron ? 
 
40 ON LABOUR A>'D DESIG:?f. 
 
 Q. Is iron a metal, or is it an earthy or a vegetable sub- 
 stance ? 
 
 Q,. Is iron fit for being used, as a stone is, on being taken 
 out of the earth ; or must it be prepared for use by the 
 smith ? 
 
 Q. Is it always, for whatever purpose it is intended, 
 equally well polished ? 
 
 Q. Of what is the fire-shovel made ? And the fine 
 needles used in nice needle work, of what are they made ? 
 
 Q. You perceive then that iron may be ^\Tought to an 
 extraordinary degree of perfection. Is it by the labour of 
 men's hands that it is made to answer so many useful pur- 
 poses ? 
 
 Q. Have tlie materials of which our houses are built been 
 laid up, as if in stores, for us from the foundation of the 
 world ? 
 
 Q. But can the metals be taken from the mine, or the 
 trees be cut down for wood, or the stones be quarried from 
 the rock, or the bricks be prepared for use, without much, 
 labour ? 
 
 Q. Was it not in the power of him who made the world 
 and all that it contains, to have formed the rocks into houses 
 and comfortable dwellings ? 
 
 Q. If God had thought it good for man to live in idleness, 
 would he thus have made him to depend for every comfort on 
 his own exertions ? 
 
 Q. It seems then that idleness in not good for us in the 
 sight of God, and that he has in his wisdom ordained that 
 we should depend for all our earthly comforts on the exer- 
 tion of skill and industry ? 
 
 Q. 1= skill in any art to be obtained at once, or is it ac- 
 quired gradually by attending to instruction ? 
 
ON LABOUR AND DESIGX. 41 
 
 Q. Do yoa see any proofs of contrivance, or design, in 
 the building we are now in ; or do you see only proof of the 
 labour of men's hands ? 
 
 Q,. Does contriving require thought ? Could any thing 
 useful be contrived without thinking ? 
 
 Q. Thinking is the labour of the mind : when a man sits 
 down to contrive such a house as this, is it his body or his 
 mind that labours ? 
 
 Q,. Has God then intended and rendered it necessary for 
 us that we should labour with the mind as well as with tlie 
 body ? 
 
 Q. Brutes are strong, and many of them can be made to 
 work ; but can they be made to labour with their minds ? 
 
 Q,. When you repeat words with your lips, without any 
 attention to the meaning or sense of what you say, is it a part 
 of your bodily frame, or is it your mind that is then at work ? 
 
 Q. Monkeys can chatter with their lips, and parrots can 
 repeat words very distinctly ; but has not God given you 
 ability to do more than monkeys and parrots ? 
 
 Q. When you repeat what you have got by heart, with- 
 out knowing or attending to the meaning, do you at that 
 time make any use of the understanding in which you are 
 superior to parrots or monkeys ? 
 
 Q. When you endeavour to understand, is it your mind 
 that then labours ? 
 
 Q,. Can you understand a lesson without attention ? 
 
 Q. But do you not find it necessary to pay attention to 
 other things besides lessons ? 
 
 Q. When girls are very dirty and slovenly in their per- 
 sons, is it because they have not hands to make themselves 
 clean and neat ? 
 
 Q, Can the slovenly make use of their handi when they 
 please ? 
 
 4* 
 
42 ON LABOUR AXD DESIGN 
 
 Q,. Are those who are very dirty often found ready 
 enough to use their hands in doing mischief? 
 
 Q. But do neatness and cleanliness require attention ? 
 Q. Is attention a labour of the mind ? 
 
 Q,. Have 5'^ou now discovered the reason why some who 
 have hands do nevertheless remain dirty and slovenly in 
 their persons ? 
 
 Q. Of two women equally strong, one shall carry aba- 
 sin full of water from one end of the house to the other 
 without spilling a drop, while the other woman cannot carry 
 the same basin full of water without spilling at every step : 
 what is the reason of this difference ? 
 
 Q,. Yes : one had been accustomed to pay attention to 
 what she was doing, and the other had not. That is to say, 
 one had learned to use her mind when she nsedher hands, 
 while the other had only learned to use her hands and not 
 her mind. Which of these two persons would first observe 
 that the water had been spilled upon the floor ? 
 
 Q,. Can then a house be kept neat and orderly without 
 some labour of the mind ? 
 
 Q,. Is it by practice and habit that we become able to 
 make good use of our hands in various sorts of work ? 
 
 Q,. How are v/e to render ourselves able to make con- 
 Btant use of our minds ? 
 
 Q,. In learning to perform any sort of handy-work, are 
 those who have been early accustomed to employ their hands, 
 or those whose hands have been seldom or never employed 
 in work, most likely to succeed ? 
 
 Q,. In order to be neat-handed, is it then necessary to 
 begin to use one's hands as soon as possible ? 
 
 Q,. But will those who can only work with their hands, 
 without being able to observe, or to know whether they are 
 
OiS LABOUR AND DESIGN. 43 
 
 working to any purpose, be as useful to themselves and oth- 
 ers as those who are able both to contrive and to execute ? 
 
 Q,. Are those then best off who can use their hands and 
 their minds at the same time ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that this can easily be done by those 
 who have never been accustomed to pay attention to what 
 they were doing ? 
 
 Q. It is then as necessary to begin betimes to use the 
 mind as to begin betimes to use the hands. Those who have 
 never learned to use their minds, will never do any sort of 
 work thoroughly nor properly. Even in such trilling things 
 as washing one's hands and sweeping the hearth, those who 
 have never been accustomed to observe will be found defi- 
 cient. Learn, therefore, whatever you do, to give attention 
 to what vou are about. 
 
PART III. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF qUESTIONS CALCULATED TO LEAD THE MIND 
 TO FORM JUST NOTIONS OF THE RELIGIOUS 
 AND SOCIAL DUTIES. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 TREATMENT OF THE INFERIOR ANIMALS. 
 
 Questioner. Do you like to feel happy ? 
 
 Q,. Who has given you the spirit of enjoyment ? 
 
 Q,. Yes : When your feel glad and happy it is God who 
 gives you gladness. He delights to see all creatures happy, 
 and if you are good v^^ill make you happy forever. If God 
 who makes you happy has given you power to make other 
 creatures happy or miserable, how ought you to use that 
 power ? 
 
 Q. Are you happy when in pain ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that birds and beasts feel pain as much 
 as you do ? 
 
 Q. Can they be happy while in pain ? 
 
 Q. God has made happiness for every creature that lives. 
 The very flies, who buzz about and sport in the sun-beam, 
 enjoy themselves as you do in the hours of play : but if you 
 torture them by tearing off their wings, will they then be 
 happy ? 
 
 Q. Has God given them them the power of enjoyment, 
 in order to give you an opportunity of making them miser- 
 able ? 
 
TREATMENT OF THE INFERIOR ANIMALS. 45 
 
 Q. Do not the birds in the air seem very happy crea- 
 tures ? How joyfully do they sing among the branches of 
 the green trees ! With what pleasure do they skim through 
 the air, as they carry home the food they have gathered for 
 their tender young ! As they approach the nest, and hear 
 the chirps of the little brood, their hearts beat with joy, and 
 their little wings flutter with delight. But if, instead of 
 hearing the voices of their little ones, they should, on return- 
 ing to the nest, hear the loud clamours of wicked children, 
 and behold their nest torn down, and their darling young ex- 
 piring in the grasp of some mischievous boy, would they be 
 any longer happy ? 
 
 Q. Who gave to little boys and girls the power of making 
 those innocent creatures miserable ? 
 
 Q. But will God approve of their making such a use of 
 the power he permits them to have over the weaker than 
 themselves ? 
 
 Q. Are dogs and cats God's creatures ? 
 
 Q,. Do they feel pleasure and pain ? 
 
 Q. Are they like you glad to eat when they are hungry, 
 and to drink when they are thirsty ; and are they grateful 
 to those who treat them kindly ? 
 
 a. But have not those who keep dogs power to starve, 
 and kick, and beat them ? 
 
 Q. Does God, who is every where present, observe such 
 conduct with pleasure or with displeasure ? 
 
 Q. Would the man who starves his dog like to be starv- 
 ed himself ? 
 
 Q. From whose bountiful goodness is it that he himself 
 has bread to eat ? 
 
 Q,. And is it a proper return that he makes to the good- 
 ness of God, when he starves or ill uses the creature over 
 whom God has given him power ? 
 
as) treatment of the inferior animals. 
 
 Q. Are not cats likewise God's creatures ? 
 
 Q. And are they not useful to man ? 
 
 Q. Are the shape and motions of a cat ugly and disa- 
 greeable ? 
 
 Q. Is not the soft fur with which the cat is clothed very 
 beautiful, stained, as it often is, with various dyes ? 
 
 Q. What sort of sound does a cat make when it is hap- 
 py ? 
 Q,. And is the purring of a cat disagreeable ? 
 
 Q. Does a good mind like, or dislike the sight of happi- 
 ness ? 
 
 Q. Is it good, or is it wicked, to take pleasure in the 
 misery of any living creature ? 
 
 Q,. Can they then be good boys who take pleasure in 
 chasing, and hunting, and killing cats ? 
 
 Q.. Has not every creature the power of giving pain to 
 those who are weaker than itself? 
 
 Q.. A dog can kill a cat ; a cat can kill rats and mice. 
 The larger beasts of prey, such as lions and tigers, kill and 
 devour all weaker animals that come within their reach ; for 
 God has been pleased to make this their nature : but has 
 God given to these animals instinct, or has he given them 
 understanding for the guide of their actions ? 
 
 Q, When a cat sees a little mouse, is it capable of think- 
 ing of the goodness of the Creator, in conferring, even on 
 such little animals, the power of enjoyment ? 
 
 Q., When the cat pounces on its little prey, is it capable 
 of reflecting on the pain it gives ? 
 
 Q. But are boys, like cats and tigers, guided by instinct, 
 or has God endowed them with understanding ? 
 
 Q, Are they capable of perceiving the goodness of God, 
 in having given to all living creatures the power of enjoy- 
 ment ? 
 
TREATMENT OF THE INFERIOR ANIMALS. 47 
 
 Q. Are they capable of forming- a notion of the suffer- 
 ings occasioned by the pain of the blows and wounds ; also 
 of the sufferings of terror? 
 
 Q. When they then, without any provocation, torture 
 and destroy cats, or other animals, by what spirit are they 
 impelled ? Is it by the spirit of cruelty ? 
 
 Q. It is certainly cruel to take pleasure in inflicting pain. 
 But it is from being vain of the power they have to frighten 
 and molest such creatures, that boys are often led thought- 
 lessly to acts of cruelty : now, has any one reason to be vain 
 of the power he derives from his size or strength ? 
 
 Q. On whom does every human being depend for the 
 preservation of activity, and strength, and every personal ad- 
 vantage ? 
 
 Q. Is it in gratitude to God, that those who are strong and 
 active employ the power he has given them, in maiming, or 
 hunting the creatures to whom he has given life and happi- 
 ness ? 
 
 Q,. But has not God given us power over the lives of in- 
 ferior animals ? 
 
 Q. Does this give us any right to torture them ? Ought 
 we not rather, in thankfulness to God, to be at great pains, 
 when it is necessary to take life, to make the death of the 
 animal as easy as possible ? 
 
 Q,. God has given his permission that animals may be 
 killed for the use of man ; but then their lives must be taken 
 from them without putting them to unnecessary torture. 
 The butcher, whose trade it is to kill sheep and oxen, is not 
 cruel, unless he takes pleasure in making them suffer pain : 
 now, tell me what it is to be cruel ? 
 
 Q,. Is it likely that any one would, at the very moment 
 he was thinking of God's goodness to himself, be cruel to 
 other creatures ? 
 
48 SOCIAL AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Q. In order then to avoid all cruelty, we must often think 
 of the goodness of God to us, and to all other creatures • 
 we must remember, that his mercies are over all his works, 
 and that, as he has made every living creature to be happy 
 while it lives, though he has given us power over the lives 
 of the inferior animals, he has given us no right to make 
 them miserable. 
 
 SECTION 11. 
 
 SOCIAL AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Qiiestioner. Has God Almighty shewn great goodness 
 and mercy towards you, in blessing you with the friends by 
 whom you have been cherished and protected ? 
 
 Q. Have not your friends been made the instruments of 
 good to you ? 
 
 Q. Would you think it a great happiness if God should 
 permit you to become the instrument of good to others ? 
 
 Q,. To whom would you, in that case, think yourself 
 bound to do good ? Would it not be to the friends with 
 whom God had blessed you ? 
 
 Q. Are you sure that you would thankfully receive from 
 God the power of doing good to them ? 
 
 Q,. Do you think that any one does good to you who 
 takes pains to contribute to your happiness ? 
 
 Q. Can a child, by constant obedience, and affectionate 
 attention to those by whom it is cherished and protected, 
 contribute to their happiness ? 
 
 Q,. And has God not put it in your power to be obedient, 
 and to be attentive, and affectionate ? 
 
SOCIAL AFFECTIONS. 49 
 
 Q. You perceive then that God Almighty has already 
 enabled you to be the instrument of good to those who have 
 done good to you : do you ever rejoice to think of the pow- 
 er that has thus been given you ? 
 
 Q,. But power has also been given you to become the in- 
 strument of evil to those who have done you good : do you 
 feel any wish to exercise that power ? 
 
 Q,. You do not then desire to make your friends unhap- 
 py? 
 
 Q. Are people made unhappy by vexation ? 
 
 Q,. Are people made unhappy by disappointment ? 
 
 Q. Are people made unhappy by seeing their trouble and 
 labour thrown away ? 
 
 Q,. Do not children, by perverseness, and obstinacy, and 
 ill temper, cause vexation to those who have the care of 
 them ? 
 
 Q. As often then as you are perverse, or obstinate, or ill- 
 humoured, you make use of the power with which you are 
 intrusted ; but do you not at such times make use of it to do 
 evil ? 
 
 Q. Do not children, by not making use of their opportu- 
 nities of improvement, occasion the unhappiness of disap- 
 pointment to their friends ? 
 
 Q. As often then as you are idle or inattentive, do you 
 not make use of your power to make your friends unhappy ? 
 
 Q. Do you consider those who labour for your improve- 
 ment as your friends ? 
 
 Q,. When you do not apply to learn what they are at 
 pains to teach, do you not make them feel that their pains 
 have been thrown away ? 
 
 Q. In all such instances, if such ever occur, do you not 
 make yourself the instrument of evil to those whom God has 
 made the instruments of good to you ? 
 
50 SOCIAL AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Q. As God is ever present with us, must he not know in 
 what manner we use the power he has given us ? 
 
 Q. Do the good approve of what is good, or do they ap- 
 prove of what is evil ? 
 
 Q,. God is infinitely good. If he, therefore, has blessed 
 us with friends and protectors, and put it in our power to 
 take from their happiness, or to add to it, by our conduct, do 
 you think he will approve of our making an ill use of that 
 power ? 
 
 Q. It is then the will of God that children should be al- 
 ways dutiful and affectionate to those whom he has made the 
 instruments of good to them ? 
 
 Q,. But have you no connexion in this life with any be- 
 sides your parents and instructors ? Have you neither broth- 
 ers, nor sisters, nor companions, nor school-fellows ? 
 
 Q.. Has God given you the power to increase or diminish 
 their happiness ? 
 
 Q,. Have they not the power to increase or diminish yours ? 
 
 Q. If any of them are quarrelsome and contentious, do 
 they at such times make you happy ? 
 
 Q.. Do those who quarrel and contend with you, make a 
 good, or an ill use, of the power they possess ? 
 
 Q>. In doing so they do very ill. But will their doing ill 
 appear in the sight of God a sufficient excuse for you, if you 
 keep up the quarrel ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that any one feels happy when ill-hu- 
 moured ? 
 
 Q. Those who are cross with you are not then happy in 
 being cross : but do you think that by being cross to them in 
 return, you will restore to them the feeling of happiness ? 
 
 Q,. Ifitisyour duty to use your power to increase the 
 happiness of those around you, ought you not to endeavor to 
 restore them to the enjoyment of good temper and good 
 will ? 
 
SOCIAL AFFECTIONS 5l 
 
 Q. Is it likely, that by answering in anger you will re- 
 store them to temper ? 
 
 Q. If you kept in mind that God is ever present, would 
 you then answer cross or peevish words with words equally 
 cross and peevish ? 
 
 d. But is God the less present with you for your being 
 forgetful of his presence ? 
 
 Q,. Do you not often do wrong ? 
 
 Q. Do you not often do what you ought not to do, and 
 often leave undone what you ought to have done ? 
 
 Q,. You have then, in the short course of your life, often 
 offended God : but has God therefore withdrawn his mercies 
 from you ? 
 
 Q. Do you not feel and enjoy the continuance of his 
 goodness ? 
 
 Q. It seems then, that notwithstanding your unworthi- 
 ness, God is still good and gracious to you : how does this 
 teach you to act with regard to your fellow-creatures ? does 
 it teach you to resent every little injury they may do to you ? 
 
 Q.. If God is ever ready to grant forgiveness to us, do 
 you think he will approve of our expressing great displeas- 
 ure against such of our companions as offend us ? 
 
 Q. When any one behaves ill to us, will God approve of 
 our behaving ill to him in return ? 
 
 Q, When we behave well to them who have behaved ill 
 to us, do we then act agreeably to the will of God ? 
 
 Q. Has God put it in our power to behave well or ill as 
 we please ? 
 
 Q. When do we make the proper use of this power ? 
 
 Q,. Ought we constantly to endeavour to behave to oth- 
 ers in the manner which we believe will be approved by the 
 God of mercy ? 
 
52 SOCIAL ATFECTIO.NS. 
 
 Q. Do you think that God, who sees our hearts, will ap- 
 prove of our doing to others what we do not like that others 
 should do to us ? 
 
 Q. Do you like to be treated rudely and unkindly by your 
 companions ? 
 
 Q. If ever then you are rude or unkind to them do you 
 not do what you would not that they should do to you ? 
 
 Q. Do you wish any one to be niggardly, and selfish, and 
 ungenerous in his dealings with you? 
 
 Q,. If ever you are selfish or ungenerous in dealing with 
 others, do you in such instances do as you would be done 
 by? 
 
 Q,. Do you like that any one should judge harshly of your 
 conduct, and think worse of you than you deserve ? 
 
 Q.. When you judge harshly of others is it not very pos- 
 sible that you may think worse of them than they deserve ? 
 
 Q. Do you in this instance do as you would that others 
 should do to you ? 
 
 Q. Do you like to have your faults spoken of, and dwelt 
 upon by your companions in their conversation ? 
 
 Q,. As often then as you speak of the faults of your com- 
 panions, ought not your conscience to accuse you of then do- 
 ing what you would by no means choose that others, should 
 do to you ? 
 
 Q,. Is it possible that God, who knows all things, does 
 not know when we do to others what we do not like that 
 any should do to us ? 
 
 Q,. Is it possible that our conduct in such instances can 
 be approved by God ? 
 
 Q. Do you like to be treated with gentleness and good- 
 nature ? 
 
 Q. When you are good-natured and gentle you then do 
 as you would be done by, do you not ? 
 
SOCIAL AFrECTIONS. 53 
 
 Q. When you stand in need of help do you like to be 
 
 readily assisted ? 
 
 Q. When you readily and cheerfully lend your assistance 
 tg others, what do you then do ? 
 
 Q. When you happen to disoblige or offend any one, do 
 you like to be fully and generously forgiven ? 
 
 Q. How then ought you to act when any one happens to 
 offend or disoblige you ? 
 
 Q. Do you like to experience kindness and good-will 
 from all with whom you associate ? 
 
 Q. How then ought your heart to be disposed towards 
 others ? 
 
 Q,. Will not God, who sees the heart, approve of those 
 who endeavour to cultivate in themselves the spirit of kind- 
 ness and good-will ? 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 SOCIAL AFFECTIONS CONTINUED. 
 
 Questioner. Have your brothers, and sisters, and compan- 
 ions, and school-fellows, derived their being from Almighty 
 God? 
 
 Q,. Have they all from their birth been objects of his 
 goodness and mercy ? 
 
 Q. Does God continue to bless them by his heavenly 
 
 kindness and protection ? 
 
 Q,. Does the love of God extend to all his creatures ? 
 
 Q,. Your companions then are objects of God's love ? 
 
 5* 
 
54 SOCIAL AFFECTIONS. 
 
 Q. Are you and they equally the children of one heaven- 
 ly Father ? 
 
 Q,. Is God equally good and merciful to all the children 
 of his love ? 
 
 Q. Are not then all bound alike in gratitude to him who 
 is the bountiful Giver of all good ? 
 
 Q,. Can we better show our gratitude to God than by 
 studying to obey his will ? 
 
 Q,. Now, call to mind the goodness of God, and then tell 
 me whether it can, in your opinion, be his will that we should 
 hate or despise any who are the objects of his love and mer- 
 cy ? 
 
 Q,. If we hate any of our fellow-creatures, what conduct 
 do we then pursue ? Do we then pay respect to the will of 
 God, and show gratitude for his goodness ? 
 
 Q,. If we despise and look down with contempt on any 
 being who shares in the mercies, and is under the protec- 
 tion of God, can we expect to be approved by him who 
 knows what passes in our hearts ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that you have any faults ? 
 
 Q,. When you commit a fault, do you not hope, and wish, 
 and pray to be forgiven by God for the fault which you have 
 committed ? 
 
 Q. Would you not think it good and kind of a compan- 
 ion earnestly to desire that God would forgive you ? 
 
 Q. Does this teach you how you, on your part, ought to 
 act with regard to a companion who is faulty ? 
 
 Q. When you do well, and are conscious of acting pro- 
 perly, do you like that your companions should give you 
 credit for all the good you do ? 
 
 Q. Ought you not then to observe and acknowledge 
 what is right and good in the conduct of any of your com- 
 panions ? 
 
SOCIAL AFFECTIONS. 55 
 
 Q,. When you obtain commendation or reward from your 
 superiors, do you feel most obliged to the companions who 
 rejoice with you, or to those who seem to envy you for 
 your happiness? 
 
 Q. What dispositions then ought you to have towards 
 such of your companions as are preferred to honour ? Ought 
 you to rejoice in their success, or to view it with envy ? 
 
 Q, Would you like to live in the world alone ? 
 
 Q,. You then think it a great blessing to live in a world 
 so full of people that you can never be out of the reach of so- 
 ciety ? 
 
 Q. But would not this blessing be increased, by the cer- 
 tainty that all you meet will be well-disposed towards you ? 
 
 Q,. Even while yet a child, would you not feel it a happi- 
 ness to be certain that all your companions regarded you 
 with kindness and affection ? 
 
 Q,. Can you be certain of this ? 
 
 Q. But do not you know to a certainty what sort of dis- 
 position you cherish towards them ? 
 
 Q,. Do you feel kind and affectionate to those who al- 
 ways treat you with affection and kindness ? 
 
 Q. Are your companions in this respect, think you, dif- 
 ferent from you ? 
 
 Q,. In order to know how they feel in general towards 
 you, what then have you to do but to ask your own heart 
 how you feel disposed towards them ? 
 
 Q. Ought brothers and sisters to love each other, and to 
 live together in constant harmony ? 
 
 Q,. Do good parents approve of this affectionate conduct 
 in their children towards each other ? 
 
 Q,. Who is the Father of us all ? 
 
56 USE AND ABUSE OF THE GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 Q. You, and your companions and school-fellows, are 
 tlien members of the family of God ; and, as such, are you 
 not bound to love each other, and to live in constant harmo- 
 ny ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 USE AND ABUSE OF THE GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 Questioner. Can you tell me the number of your senses ? 
 
 Q. Have you all those senses in perfection ? 
 
 Q.. Do you acknowledge the goodness of God in having 
 conferred on you such precious benefits ? 
 
 Q. Is the w^isdom, and power, and goodness of the Crea- 
 tor, manifested in the formation of your body ? 
 
 Q,. Are your hands formed to be useful ? 
 
 Q. But is it not by their hands that the wicked accom- 
 plish their wicked deeds ? 
 
 Q. We have it then in our power to employ our hands ill 
 or well : but does not the Almighty see and observe our ac- 
 tions ? 
 
 Q,. Do you think it possible that God can approve of our 
 making a bad use of any of his gifts ? 
 
 Q. Can we do any thing bad without an abuse of the 
 power which God has given us ? 
 
 Q,. Are health and strength the gifts of God ? 
 
 Q. Have we it in our power to destroy our health by 
 carelessness, or by doing foolish things to please our fancy ? 
 
 Q,. If we thus destroy our health, do we not in this in- 
 stance abuse the ^ift of God ? 
 
USE AND ABUSE OF THE GIFTS OF GOD. 57 
 
 Q. May strength be usefully employed ? 
 
 Q. But does not great bodily strength put it in one's 
 power to hurt, and harm, the weak and defenceless ? 
 
 Q,. Has any one reason to boast of possessing strength ? 
 
 Q. Is it a proper use, or is it an abuse of the gift of 
 strength, to employ it in vain and foolish feats, for the silly 
 purpose of exciting wonder ? 
 
 Q. Do you consider sight as a very precious blessing ? 
 
 Q. Have you any power to improve the gift of sight to 
 useful purposes ? 
 
 Q. May you not, by acquiring the habit of noticing and 
 observing, render the gift of sight always useful ? 
 
 Q. But may you not, by only noticing such things as 
 strike your fancy, or excite your admiration, become habitu- 
 ally unobserving of other things ? 
 
 Q. Do you use the gift of sight to good purpose, when 
 you do not observe the things which it is your duty to ob- 
 serve ? 
 
 Q. Can such an abuse of the gift of sight be pleasing to 
 your Creator ? 
 
 Q. Is not hearing the gift of God ? 
 
 Q. Do we hear to any purpose that to which we do not 
 
 listen with attention ? 
 
 Q. Is it then in your power to abuse the gift of hearing, 
 by listening with attention only to what is wicked or unpro- 
 fitable ? 
 
 Q. Have you it not also in your power to improve the 
 gift of hearing to good purpose, by listening with attention to 
 what is profitable and instructive ? 
 
 Q. Do those who lend a willing ear to good advice, or 
 those who lend a willing ear to nonsense, give best proof of 
 their being mindful that hearing is the gift of God ? 
 
58 USE AND ABUSE OF THE GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 Q,. Has God bestowed on brute animals the power of 
 speech ? 
 
 Q,. Ought not then the gift of speech, which God has be- 
 stowed on us, to be considered as a distinguished blessing ? 
 
 Q. Did God bestow on us the gift of speech that we 
 might be enabled to communicate our thoughts to each oth- 
 er ? 
 
 Q. Did God, by endowing us with speech, enable us to 
 be useful to others, by giving them true and satisfactory in- 
 formation concerning what we know ? 
 
 Q. But have we not, by possessing speech, the power of 
 deceiving others, by telling them we think what we do not 
 think ? 
 
 Q. When any one asks us concerning what we have 
 done, or said, or seen, or heard, or known, have we it not in 
 our power to conceal the truth, and to answer falsely ? 
 
 Q,. Does God know all our thoughts and observe all our 
 
 actions ? 
 
 Q. Do you think that God, in whom is the perfection of 
 all truth and holiness, will approve of our making use, in any 
 instance, of the gift of speech to deceive others ? 
 
 Q- Is it very grievous to be severely reprimanded or 
 punished by those who are over us ? 
 
 Q.. But is it not infinitely more grievous and terrible to 
 be exposed to the wrath of God ? 
 
 Q. Is it not then great folly to incur the anger of God, in 
 order to escape the anger of man ? 
 
 Q. Are those who tell lies in excuse for their faults guil- 
 ty of this folly ? 
 
 Q. Would it be absurd and ridiculous in you to tell me 
 that your little arm is two yards long, while, by a glance of 
 my eye, I must perceive its length ? 
 
USE AND ABUSE OF THE GIFTS OF GOD. 59 
 
 Q,. And does not God see the thoughts of your heart as 
 plainly as I see the length of your arm ? 
 
 Q. Is it not then an insult on the majesty of God to speak 
 with an intention to deceive ? 
 
 Q. Do you truly think that you are bound in duty to show 
 gratitude to God for his goodness ? 
 
 Q,. Has he put it in our power to manifest our disposi- 
 tions by the use we make of his gifts ? 
 
 Q. Have we it in our power to use our speech in prais- 
 ing God for his mercies ? 
 
 Q.. Is it not in our power by speech to entreat the con- 
 tinuance of his goodness, to implore his pardon for our sins, 
 and to recommend ourselves and our friends to his divine 
 protection ? 
 
 Q,. 'But is it not in the power of wicked men to employ 
 speech in uttering blasphemies against God, and in express- 
 ing contempt for his commandments ? 
 
 Q,. Do not bad men often use the gift of speech to take 
 the name of God in vain ? 
 
 Q. Is it not in our power, by speech, to express gratitude 
 to our benefactors, and thankfulness to our instructors ? 
 
 Q. Have we it not also in our power to speak imperti- 
 nently and uncivilly to those to whom we owe duty and res- 
 spect ? 
 
 Q. May we not, by speaking words of kindness, and by 
 expressions full of gentleness and good- will, contribute to the 
 preservation of peace and harmony among those with whom 
 we live ? 
 
 Q,. Have we it not also in our power, by speech, to an- 
 noy, and vex, and torment those we live with ? 
 
 Q,. Can we by our tongues spread evil reports of our 
 neighbours, to the injury of their characters ? 
 
60 USE AND ABUSE OF THE GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 Q,. Can we, by speaking ill of one neighbour to another 
 spread discord, and destroy peace ? 
 
 Q,. There is yet another view of the uses of the gift of 
 speech, which it is very proper for you to consider. Let me 
 ask, then, M'hether we have it not in our power, by giving 
 utterance to lively and cheerful thoughts, to increase the in- 
 nocent pleasures of life ? 
 
 Q,. When we feel animated by the spirit of joy, may we 
 not by speech animate the spirits of others to equal cheerful- 
 ness ? 
 
 Q,. Do we feel happy in the enjoyment of good spirits ? 
 
 Q. To whom are we indebted for the happiness we en- 
 joy, in being thus formed capable of delight? 
 
 Q,. Can we better show our gratitude for this blessing 
 than in endeavouring to promote the happiness and emjoy- 
 ment of others ? 
 
 Q,. But can there be any happiness independent of the 
 favour of God ? 
 
 Q,. When we in our mirth annoy and disturb others, do 
 we then make use of the blessing of good spirits in the way 
 of which God approves ? 
 
 Q,. Is it then necessary, in order to be truly happy, that 
 our mirth should always be in its nature innocent and free of 
 offence .^ 
 
 Q,. Are you now sensible that God has committed to you 
 the power of making a good and proper use of the gifts he 
 has so mercifully bestowed upon you ? 
 
 Q. Are you likewise sensible that he has given you pow- 
 er to make a bad use of them ? 
 
 Q,. Do you believe that God will call you to account for 
 the use you make of them, whether good or bad ? 
 
 Q,. Do you think that any one, while bearing in mind 
 that God knows his thoughts and beholds his actions 
 
CAPACITY FOR RECEIVING INSTRUCTION. 61 
 
 would at that very moment do or say what they knew to be 
 wrong in his sight ? 
 
 Q,. What is then the best preservative against doing 
 wrong ? 
 
 Q,. Will he who is thankful to God for all his gifts, or 
 he who is not thankful,^be most apt to make a proper use of 
 those gifts ? 
 
 Q,. Will the person who never thinks of God's good- 
 ness, or him who thinks of it often, and almost continual- 
 ly, be most inclined to thankfuhiess ? 
 
 Q. What then ought you to do in order to incline your 
 heart to thankfulness ? 
 
 •***9'^9<—' 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 OF THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE CAPACITY FOR RECEIV- 
 ING INSTRUCTION. 
 
 Qiiesttoner. Are you learning to read ? 
 
 Q. What is the good of learning to read ? 
 
 Q. What is the use of books ? 
 
 Q. You must think farther upon this subject : you hear 
 what is said to you by those who instruct you and give you 
 good advice ? 
 
 Q. But do you always remember every word you hear ? 
 Q. Should you not wish to remember it ? 
 
 Q. If every word of that which you wish to remember 
 had been printed in a book, would they have been preserved 
 in the book better than in your memory ? 
 
 6 
 
62 OF THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE 
 
 Q. May there not be a great many copies of the same 
 book ? 
 
 Q. Is it possible that a great number of people, in differ- 
 ent parts of the world, may at this present moment be read- 
 ing those numerous copies of the same book ? 
 
 Q. Could those people hear, from different parts of the 
 world, the same voice ? Do they now hear me speak ? 
 
 Q. Do books then extend to many those instructions 
 which the voice could only convey to few ? 
 
 Q,. Can those who have learned to read, read the in- 
 structions that are printed in a book over and over again ? 
 
 Q. If those who cannot read happen to forget what has 
 been told them, so as not to be able to think of it, is not what 
 has been told them the same as lost ? 
 
 Q. When those who can read happen to forget what 
 they have read, have they a certain means of recalling it to 
 their mind ? 
 
 Q. Do not all of us, and especially young people, stand 
 in need of instruction ? 
 
 Q. But are people always beside those who are capable 
 of instructing them ? 
 
 Q. When those who cannot read are alone, or have none 
 near them that are capable of giving them instruction and 
 advice, must they not be at a great loss ? 
 
 Q. Can those who have learned to read, and have good 
 books to read, be ever thus destitute of advice and instruc- 
 tion ? 
 
 Q. Is it not then a great happiness to be able to read ? 
 
 Q,. But were you to read the words of an unknown 
 tongue, would you be the better or the wiser for reading 
 them ? 
 
 Q. Is reading then of any farther use, than as you un- 
 derstand what you read ? 
 
CAPACITY FOR RECEIVING INSTRUCTION. 63 
 
 Q,. It is then a still greater happiness to be able to under- 
 stand than to be able to read. Who gave you a mind capa- 
 ble of understanding ? 
 
 Q. For what purpose did God bestow on you the gift of 
 understanding ? 
 
 Q. When you learn any thing of which you were igno- 
 rant, are you then sensible of the blessing you enjoy in be- 
 ing able to understand ? 
 
 Q. And ought you not to be grateful to God for that 
 great blessing ? 
 
 Q. You acknowledge that your reason is the gift of God ? 
 
 Q. Did God, in endowing you with understanding, in- 
 tend that it sholud be useful to you ? 
 
 Q. When you speak or act without thinking, is your un- 
 derstanding at such times useful ? 
 
 Q. You have then power to use your understanding, and 
 you have power not to use it ? 
 
 Q,. If God designed that your understanding should be 
 usefully employed, can he approve of your letting it remain 
 useless ? 
 
 Q,. Is it in your power to make such bad use of your un- 
 derstanding, as only to employ it in learning what is wicked 
 and pernicious ? 
 
 Q. But would not this be a most glaring abuse of reason, 
 which is one of the prime gifts of God ? 
 
 Q,. Do you imagine that you could escape punishment, 
 were you thus to abuse the blessing of reason ? 
 
 Q. Has God endowed you with such capacity as enables 
 you to learn to read and write ? 
 
 Q,. Has God given you such power to learn, that you 
 may every day of our life learn something which you did not 
 know the day before ? 
 
64 or THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE 
 
 Q. Is it in your power every day to learn something that 
 is good and useful ; and is it likewise in your power every 
 day to learn something that is bad or useless ? 
 
 Q. Is it when you learn what is good, or when you learn 
 what is bad, that you best employ the power to learn which 
 God has given you ? 
 
 Q. When you learn to read you learn what is good : but 
 when you are able to read, will you not then have it in your 
 power to read what books you please ? 
 
 Q. What use ought you then to make of the power you 
 have thus acquired ? 
 
 Q,. Wise men have written many good books, full of use- 
 ful knowledge, and these you may always read with advan- 
 tage : but bad books and silly books have likewise been 
 written. Now tell me, whether it is for the purpose of read- 
 ing such bad and foolish books that you have been enabled 
 to read ? 
 
 Q. Were you to read such books, would you, in reading 
 them, make a bad or a good use of the power of reading ? 
 
 Q. If you believe that God will punish those who abuse 
 the gift of speech, do you think that he will permit those 
 who abuse the higher gift of reason to go unpunished ? 
 
 Q,. By making use of your understanding you have been 
 able to form a proper answer to my last question : but how 
 did you arrive at the notions you possess of the nature of 
 God ? Was it from your own mind, or was it from instruc- 
 tion ? 
 
 Q. Can any one, without instruction, arrive at the know- 
 ledge of what has happened in times past ? 
 
 Q,. Could a child, merely by the use of its understanding, 
 and without being informed or instructed, obtain a just no- 
 tion of the laws of the kingdom in which he lives ? 
 
 Q. Could a child who never heard of a king, form any 
 just notion of a king's power and government ? 
 
CAPACITY FOR RECEIVING INSTRUCTION. 65 
 
 Q. How then, without instruction, could we form any 
 just notion of the nature of God, or of our own nature ? 
 
 Q. The wisest of men could not, from his own under- 
 standing, form juster notions of Almighty God, than an in- 
 fant forms of a king, and his laws and government. How 
 then does it come to pass that so much knowledge of the na- 
 ture of God has been obtained ? 
 
 Q,. True : it is, as you say, from instruction. Have you 
 been so well instructed as to know that God has given you 
 all you enjoy ? 
 
 Q,. Do you believe that it is through the mercy of your 
 heavenly Father that you have hitherto been provided with 
 food and raiment, and all the necessaries of life ? 
 
 Q,. Do you believe that it is God who has raised up for 
 you the friends by whom you have been tenderly cherished 
 and protected ? 
 
 Q,. Do you believe that it is God who has put it in the 
 hearts of your instructors to take an interest in your im- 
 provement ? 
 
 Q. And do you believe that God, who has been so good 
 and gracious to you, is ever present with you ? 
 
 Q. If God were to send a messenger from heaven to tell 
 you what you must do to please him, would you not earnestly 
 listen to his voice ? 
 
 Q. If this heavenly messenger were to inform you of 
 things concerning which no human being could give you in- 
 formation, would you not attend to him with thankfulness ? 
 
 Q,. If he were to instruct you in the weakness of your 
 own nature, would you not be glad to learn of him how 
 you might obtain strength ? 
 
 Q. Suppose farther, that this divine instructor were to 
 show you the path that leads to everlasting life, and to bring 
 you the certain assurance, that by keeping in it you would be 
 
66 OF THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE 
 
 made happy for ever and ever, would it not make your heart 
 bound with joy and gratitude ? 
 
 Q. Now think a little while, and then tell me, whether 
 God has not done this for you and for us all ? 
 
 Q,. If God had not vouchsafed to reveal these things to 
 us by his holy Word, we should all have been as ignorant of 
 them now as we were at our birth. These divine instruc- 
 tions have been recorded for our use : in what book have 
 they been recorded or written ? 
 
 Q. Do you now perceive the great advantage of being 
 able to read ? 
 
 Q. Can we make a better use of our understandings than 
 in applying with diligence to study the truths which God 
 has been graciously pleased to reveal ? 
 
 Q. Does it not increase your gratitude for having been 
 taught to read, to think that you have thereby the power of 
 reading again and again, from day to day, the instructions of 
 divine v»"isdom ? 
 
 Q,. Do you consider it a great blessing to have it thus in 
 your power to become acquainted with the will of God ? 
 
 Q. But though you gain a knowledge of all that God has 
 revealed and commanded, will that knowledge be any use to 
 you unless you believe in his promises and obey his com- 
 mands ? 
 
 Q,. If, after knowing the will of God, you do what he has 
 forbidden, or leave undone what he has commanded you to 
 do, will you not be guilty of an abuse of knowledge ? 
 
 Q. Is it then necessary, in order to profit by divine in- 
 structions, that you cherish in your heart a disposition to 
 obey the will of God in all things ? 
 
 Q,. If you find it to be the will of God that you should 
 not only abstain from injuring others by word or deed, but 
 that you should be humble and meek, kind and gentle, full of 
 
CAPACITY FOR RECEIVING INSTRUCTION. 67 
 
 tenderness, and ever ready to do good ; will you not be 
 bound to keep your heart and mind thus disposed ? 
 
 Q. If you find that hatred, and malice, and pride, and 
 vanity, and hypocrisy, and falsehood, and selfishness, are all 
 directly contrary to the will of God ; to what ought the 
 knowledge of his will, with regard to those bad dispositions, 
 to lead ? 
 
 Q. But you will probably never be competent to under- 
 stand of yourself all that is written in the Bible for your in- 
 struction : will you not then be thankful to have the parts 
 which you cannot understand explained to you by those who 
 are wiser than yourself? 
 
 Q,. Are not the learned and pious men whom the good 
 providence of God has raised up in this church as our teach- 
 ers and instructors in religion, capable of explaining what 
 you do not understand ? 
 
 Q,. Ought you not then to listen to their instructions with 
 thankfulness, and to apply with diligence to learn your cate- 
 chism, and such other books as they may think proper for 
 you to learn ? 
 
 Q,. Is wisdom a grace or favour of which God has the 
 disposal ? 
 
 Q,. If God has promised to give grace to those who ask 
 it, what ought you to do in order to obtain an increase of 
 true wisdom ? 
 
 Q. Pray then sincerely with your whole heart to God, 
 and beseech him to bless you with wisdom to learn, and with 
 strength to cbey his holy will, and God will bless you ; 
 and in thus blessing you, will rejoice the hearts of those who 
 are interested in your happiness. Perform your duty in all 
 things, and God will perform his promises to you, and make 
 you happy for ever. 
 
 THE END. 
 
H248 78 535 
 

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