mm inn ■■"• ■ ':'- ; v ■'''• ''."'■■ ESS SfflfSra ft • 1*33 Sffi&BlB ■o > V ,v T>: / \V * ■t SS '.|-""": ;>_"■' ^.' '" V •r ^ A. * # ^ '- ^ 0^. ^ V * .^> 4? ^ ffc* t"' '<,/ &•% ; c^ «** -x A , /? V-V >. '»|1 XF* ^^ ,0 V %>*$■ JACOB ABEOT TO Bry the circumstances of the battle of Lexington, at the com- mencement of the American Revolution. Each of the parties, anticipating a struggle, and desirous of being prepared for it, had made efforts to get the arms and ammunition of the country as far as possible into their own hands ; and the British general in Boston, understanding that there was at Concord a supply of military stores, conceived the design of sending a party in the night to Concord to obtain it. He kept his design, or rather endeavored to keep it, secret. Late in the evening, the troops embarked in boats on the west side of the peninsula, on which Boston is built, and sailed across the cove to the main land. This was done in silence, and it was hoped in secrecy. The Americans, however, by some means or other heard of the plan. The country was alarmed ; men rode on horse- back at midnight from town to town, ringing the bells and calling out the inhabitants, and by three o'clock in the morning a num- ber of troops were col- lected at Lexington, the alarm. which was on the road to Concord, to oppose the progress of the British detachment 168 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Parliament and Congress. Now, neither party wished to begin the contest. Like two hoys eager for a quarrel, each wished to throw the odium of striking the first blow upon the other. This diffi- culty is however usually soon surmounted, and in this case the musketry was soon speaking distinctly on both sides. After a momentary conflict, the Americans were dispersed, and the British moved on to the place of their destination. Now, after all this was over, there arose the question, not in itself very important, one would think, but yet made so by those concerned at the time. " Who began this affray ? Who fired first V To determine this point, the American Congress are said to have instituted a formal inquiry. They examined witnesses who were on the spot and saw the whole, and they found abundant and satisfactory evidence that the British soldiers fired first, and that the Americans did not discharge their pieces until they were compelled to do it in self-defense. The British Parliament entered into a similar inquiry, and they came to an equally satisfactory conclusion — only it happened to be exactly the reverse of the other. They examined witnesses who were on the spot and saw the whole, and they found abundant evidence that the American soldiers fired first, and that the British did not discharge their pieces until they were compelled to do it in self-defense. Now, the reason for this disagreement unquestionably was, that each nation examined only its own soldiers, and the sol- diers on both sides were interested. Suppose now, that there had been in the American army a considerable number who admitted that the first guns were fired from their own ranks. Suppose that, in consequence of this their testimony, they brought upon themselves the dislike of the whole army, and, to a great extent, of the nation at large — how strong would have been the reliance placed upon such testimony ! " There can not be a doubt," the British would have said, " that you fired upon us first — half of your oivn troops say so." This would EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 1G9 Points proved. Argument from prophecy. The Savior foretold. have been a very fair inference. When men bear testimony contrary to their own interests or feelings, they are generally believed. We have thus abundant evidence that the original propa- gators of the Gospel were honest men, and this completes the three positions necessary to prove that the Christian miracles were actually performed. 1. We are sure that the witnesses are honest men. 2. The facts are of such a nature, that the witnesses could not have been deceived in them. 3. It is proved that we have exactly the account which they themselves gave. The miracles being once proved, the divine authority of the religion is proved ; for no man can imagine that the Deity would exert his power in producing miraculous effects to give authority to a message which he did not send. There is one other independent head of the external evi- dences of Christianity ; it is the argument from prophecy. They who brought the communication which is offered to us as a message from heaven, declared that they were endued with the power, not only of working miracles, but of fore- telling future events. In some cases, human sagacity can foresee what is future, and even distant. These men however professed to exercise a prophetic power in cases to which no human skill or foresight could have extended. Such a power as this is evidently miraculous, and they who possess it must have received it from the Creator. One or two examples will clearly illustrate the nature of this argument. A great number of the prophets who ap- peared in the early years of the sacred history, foretold the coming of a Savior. Precisely what sort of a Savior he was to be, was not distinctly foretold — at least not so distinctly as to remove all misconceptions on the subject. So certain is it however that such prophecies were uttered, and generally H 170 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Prophecies. Destruction of Jerusalem. published, that there prevailed throughout the Jewish nation, and even to some extent in neighboring countries, a general expectation that an extraordinary personage was to appear. We have evidence enough of this — not merely from the Scriptures themselves, but from a multitude of other writings, which existed at that time, and which have come down to us by separate and independent channels. There can be no question in the mind of any one who will examine the subject, that the coming of Christ was predicted with so much distinctness as to produce an almost universal expecta- tion of the appearance of some very extraordinary personage ; and the event corresponded with the prediction. A most extraordinary personage appeared ; the most extraordinary, as all will acknowledge — Christians and infidels — that ever appeared upon the earth. Our Savior's prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem is another example. The scene was described with astonishing minuteness and accuracy, sixty or seventy years before it took place — and there was, at the time of the prediction, no reason whatever, so far as human foresight could extend, to expect such a catastrophe. Now, to examine fully this species of argument, several points ought to receive special attention. First, we must ascertain that the prophecy was really anterior to the event which is alledged to have occurred in fulfillment of it. This now, in regard to writings and facts so ancient as those of the Scriptures, is a peculiarly difficult task. Secondly, we must know that the event is such an one as human foresight could not have foreseen. Thirdly, that there were not, in similar writings, a multitude of other prophecies ivhich failed, and that those only have been preserved, which have appa- rently been verified. Among the ignorant and vulgar, no- thing is more common than a belief in the powers of fortune- tellers, or of the prophetic meaning of signs and dreams. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 171 False prophecies. Subject difficult. The reason why this imposture retains its ascendency is, that the few successful cases are remembered and talked about, and the cases of failure are neglected and forgotten. If a person predicts at random in regard to common events, he must sometimes be successful, and if his votaries will forget the unsuccessful attempts, he may soon have the reputation of a conjurer. Now we must ascertain that the prophe- cies of the Bible are not of this character, that is, a few lucky predictions among a multitude of failures. Fourthly, we must ascertain that the events themselves were not under the control of men in such a way as to enable those who were interested in the success of the prophecy to bring about the corresponding result. Now to examine thoroughly all these points, so as really to form an independent judgment upon them, and to take nothing upon trust, requires, in some instances, no little maturity of mind, and in others, no little scholarship and laborious research. The young must almost entirely take this argument upon trust. I can only explain its nature, and thus prepare you to read more understandingly other works on this subject. Those who have gone into this argu- ment most thoroughly, as is the case in respect to all the historical evidences of Christianity, have been most convinced of the firmness of the ground. The most profound scholars in all Christian nations, if they have given the subject due attention, have been most decided in their belief of the Chris- tian religion. This completes the view which I intended to give of the historical argument. It would require a volume to present the argument itself in all its detail. My design has been to give a clear idea of the nature of this kind of reasoning, not to present all the facts upon which the various pillars of the argument are founded. And here I might rest this part of my subject, were it not 172 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Were the Christian witnesses believed ? Contest with Paganism. that there is one consideration which corroborates very much the conclusion to which we have come. The question very naturally arises, " Was the testimony of the Christian wit- nesses received as true by those to whom it was originally addressed ? It seems to be a plain case, that the disciples of Christ made out very decisive evidence of their divine commission; but the people who lived at that time, and upon the spot, had a much better opportunity of judging in this case than we have. Now, did they believe this account ?" This is a very proper question. It is always asked in similar cases. A merchant will inquire, " Is the report be- lieved which was circulated on 'Change to-day?" "Was it generally believed in London that such or such an event would take place ?" And this belief or disbelief on the part of those who have the best opportunities of knowing, is some- times regarded as the strongest evidence which can be pro- cured. It is right, therefore, to ask whether the extraordinary story of the Christians was believed by those who were upon the spot to discover error or imposture, if any was to be found. The answer is, It was believed. The story spread with a rapidity to which no other revolution in the public mind can afford a parallel. "When the " hundred and twenty" assem- bled in their upper room, after the death of Christ, paganism was enjoying undisturbed and unquestioned possession of the whole Roman empire. Paganism reigned in every crowded city and in every distant province. Her temples crowned a thousand summits ; and the multitude, whose interests were identified with the support of her rights, might at any time arm themselves with all the power of the Csssars to resist the encroachments of truth. A hundred and twenty, with the story of a crucified G-alilean rising from the dead, came forth to attack this mighty fabric ; and they prevailed. Opprobrium and ridicule, — gentle persuasion and stern men- EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 173 Power of truth. Internal evidence. Unity of the Scriptures. aces, — imprisonment, fire, and sword, — torture and death, tried all their powers in vain. And by what means did the fearless assailants in this most unequal war prevail against such an array as this? Why, simply by reiterating the declaration, Jesus Christ did actually and truly rise from the grave ; and it is the duty of all mankind to repent of their sins and believe in him. And they conquered. " The truth is great, and it will prevail," said a Koman writer. He could not have found an example like this. The simple declaration of a number of competent witnesses, after a most energetic struggle, prevails over one of the greatest civil and military powers which the world has ever seen. Yes ; the story was believed. It spread with unexampled rapidity, and revolutionized the moral world. But we must pass to the second species of evidence we have enumerated. II. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. This evidence consists of an examination of the contents of the Bible, to see whether the declarations it contains are such as we may suppose would really come from our Maker. We ought to enter upon such an examination, however, with great caution ; for if the book is really a message from Heaven, we are to receive it, whatever it may contain. It is not for us to decide what our Maker ought, and what he ought not, to communicate to us. It is interesting, however, to examine the contents of the Scriptures, to observe the indications, with which the volume is filled, that it is from God. Some of these indications I shall mention. 1. The remarkable simplicity of its whole design. It seems to have one simple and single object from the begin- ning to the end ; and this is very remarkable, if we consider 174 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The Bible a number of books. Its single object. how many distinct authors it has, and in how distant periods it was written. The Bible is not a book, but a library. It consists of a large number of books entirely separate and dis- tinct, bound up together. The times at which the various parts were written are scattered over a period of fifteen hun- dred year?,. The authors are numerous. It would be a very interesting exercise for young persons to attempt to make out an accurate list of them. They are of every variety of char- acter and standing — learned and unlearned, rich and poor, kings, poets, generals. There is every variety in the char- acter of the authors and of the style ; and yet one single, simple design is kept in view from the beginning to the end, with a steadiness which is astonishing. But what is that object ? It may be stated thus : The Bible is a history of the redemption of our race by Jesus Christ, and it is nothing more. From the beginning to the end of it, with a very few, if any exceptions, it is nothing but that. Open at Genesis and follow on, chapter after chapter, and book after book, until you come to the final benediction in the last chapter of Revelation, it all bears upon this theme. Now, if this book was planned by Jehovah, and if he superintended its execution during the fifteen centuries it was in progress, all this is easily accounted for. No other supposition can account for it. But I must show more fully that this is the single and simple aim of the Scriptures. Let us briefly review its con- tents. It begins by explaining simply and clearly the crea- tion of the world, and God's design in creating it. His in- tention was to have had a happy community to tenant it, who should be united in each other, and united to him; forming one family of undivided hearts and aims, all inter- ested in the common welfare, and all looking to him as to the common bond of union and the common source of happiness. ; ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 175 The Bible a history of Christ. thy neighbor as thyself," was unquestionably the law origin- ally written on the human heart. Men sinned, however ; — -they broke God's law, and the Bible then describes the consequences of sin, in bringing suf- fering upon the human family. The earth was filled with violence. One dreadful experiment was tried, by the flood, of the power of punishment, of retribution, to bring men back to duty ; but they who escaped the flood escaped only to go on in sin. It is noticeable that, in one of the very first chapters of the Bible, the coming of the Savior is foretold, and from that time the sacred history marks out and follows with minute accuracy the line of succession which is to conduct us to that Savior. There were a vast many nations on the earth, or existing in embryo, at the time when the Israelites were in Egypt, whose history is far more important, in every respect but one, than is the history of the Jews. There were the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Persians. The sacred history neglects them all, and turns its whole attention to a body of Egyptian slaves ; and why ? Why it was because among these slaves there was the ancestor of the coming Messiah. The Bible represents Jehovah as conducting this nation by his own hand to a country which was to be their home, in order that he might preserve them separate from the rest of mankind, and make them the keepers of his communications with men. A great deal of the Old Testament history is oc- cupied in giving us an account of the particular institutions established among this people, and of the circumstances of their own private history. In regard to their institutions, there seem to have been two distinct objects. One was to preserve the chosen people separate from the idolatrous na- tions around, in order that the worship of the true God might be the better preserved. The other object, perhaps more im- 176 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Sacrifices. Meaning of sacrifices. portant, was effected by the institution of sacrifices ; of this I shall presently speak more fully. This Jewish nation, however, in its institutions and history, is followed by the sacred writers, who keep all the time as close as possible to the line of succession leading to Jesus Christ. The coming Savior is often alluded to, especially whenever any great crisis occurring in their history furnishes an occasion upon which God makes to some leading individual a distinct com- munication in regard to his designs. I have mentioned sacrifices. The design of Jehovah in establishing these rites so early, and taking such effectual precautions to secure their observance, seems to have been this : to familiarize the minds of men to the idea, that there must be something more than penitence to atone for sin. We are all much more ready to admit this in reference to any other government than to the divine. Many a father sees the inefficacy of pardon granted merely upon the ground of sorrow and confession, to restrain his sons from sin ; and many a politician will admit the folly of such a course in civil society, who yet think that God may govern his domin- ions on such a principle. In all God's dealings, however, with man, he has taken other ground. Sacrifices were in- stituted so early, that they have spread to almost every peo- ple under the sun. Wherever you go — to the most distant heathen nation — to the most barbarous tribe — or to the re- motest island of the ocean, you will find almost all men pre- pared, by the very customs which have been handed down from the time of Noah, to admit the necessity, that there must be retributive suffering ivhere there has been sin. God required the Jews, when they had done wrong, to bring an offering ; not to lead them to suppose that the sufferings of bulls and goats could take away sin, but to accustom them to the conviction that some atonement was necessary. The effect upon their minds was undoubtedly this : — A man hav- EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 177 Their moral influence. ing committed some sin, instead of merely confessing his guilt, and expecting forgiveness as a matter of course, came with the innocent dove, or the harmless lamb, and offered it in sacrifice ; and when he did it, if he did it in the right spirit, he unquestionably felt that his sin had done an injury to the government of God, which he, himself, could not repair. He could not come back to innocence alone. The ceremony must have had a most powerful influence in producing a practical conviction that sin, once committed, could not be recalled by the individual who had committed it, but must involve consequences beyond his control. That is precisely the conviction necessary to enable us to avail ourselves of the redemption of Christ. It is exactly the preparation of heart to lead us to him. We have sinned, and the evil which we have done it is out of our power to remedy. We may cease sinning, but the evil influence of our past guilt must be checked by some other agency far more powerful than any penitence of ours. The Jews, then, by coming habitually to the sacrifices of their law, had this feeling thoroughly wrought into all their thoughts and feelings on the subject of sin and pardon. When they came with sincere penitence to offer the sacrifice required by the law, and with such a feeling as I have described, they were undoubtedly forgiven through the mediation of a far greater sacrifice, which was only rep- resented by the dove or the lamb. If we thus look at the Jewish history and institutions, and consider their spirit and design, we shall see that they all point to Christ. One single object is aimed at in all. After the history is brought down to the return from captivity, it is suddenly concluded — and why ? Because all is now ready for the coming of Christ. There is a chasm of some hundred years, not because the events of that time are less interesting than of the preceding — to the eye of the mere scholar or political historian, they are more so— but because 178 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Conclusion of the book. they do not bear at all upon the great event, the lion of mankind by Jesus Christ, to which the whole Bible tends. The nation from which the promised Savior is to come, is followed in its various difficulties and adventures, until it becomes finally established in the country where the Messiah is to appear, and then is left. There could not be a stronger proof that the Bible has the history of Christ for its great object, or that that object is kept steadily in view. As we draw toward the development of the drama, how- ever, the story becomes more minute, and the interest in- creases. The great Redeemer at length appears. We have, from four separate writers, a narrative of his life ; we have a simple account of the first efforts to spread the news of salvation through him ; we have a few of the writings of some of those who originally received his instructions, and then a revelation of the future — in some respects clear and distinct in the awful pictures of scenes to come which it draws, and in others dark, and as yet unintelligible to us — closes the volume. There is something deeply sublime in the language with which this final conclusion of the sacred volume is an- nounced. Perhaps it was intended to apply particularly to the book of Revelation itself, but we can scarcely read it without the conviction that the writer felt that he was bringing to a close a series of communications from heaven which had been making for fifteen hundred years. The great subject of the whole was now fairly presented to man- kind. The nature and the effects of sin, the way of salvation, and the future scenes through which we are all to pass, had been described, and he closes with the invitation — how cordially it is expressed — " And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, — and let him that heareth say, Come;" — that i& spread the invitation far and wide. Let every one that EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 179 Appropriate language. Advent of the Savior. Its time and place. heareth it repeat the sound. " Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him partake of the water of life freely." And then he says — and how appropriate for the last language of the Bible ! — " I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this hook, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this hook ; and if any man shall take away from the words of the hook of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the hook of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." Yes, the plan and object of the Bible is single and simple from beginning to end. Amidst all that endless variety which makes it an inexhaustible mine of interest and instruction, the great ultimate design is never lost sight of or forgotten. That design is the redemption of a lost world by the Son of God ; a design which is surely great enough for Jehovah to announce to his creatures. There is something interesting in the time and place selected for the advent of the Savior. This earth being a globe, of course has not, that is, its surface has not, any geographical center ; but if we take into view its moral and political condition and history, it has some parts far more suitable to be radiant points from which any extraordinary message from heaven is to be disseminated, than others. It would be difficult to find a place more suitable for such a purpose than the very country chosen by Jehovah as the scene of the sufferings and death of Christ. Look upon the map, and you find that the land of Canaan is situated upon the eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea ; and if you look east, west, north, and south, at the various con- nections of this spot, you will find that no other on earth will compare with it for the purpose for which it was 180 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The Mediterranean sea. selected. Egypt and the other regions of Africa on the south, are balanced by Syria and the Caucasian countries on the north. There were the Persian and Assyrian empires on the east, and there were the Grecian and Roman empires on the west. India and China, with their immense multitudes, are upon one side, and modern France, and England, and Germany, with their vast political power, upon the other. Then look upon the Mediterranean sea, — on the borders of which Canaan lies, — bathing as it does the shores of three quarters of the globe, and bearing upon its bosom almost every ship that sailed for the first five thousand years of the earth's history. In a word, if no such communi- cation as the Christian revelation had ever been made from heaven, and the earth had remained in darkness and pagan- ism to the present day, its history having remained, in other respects, the same as it has been ; and we had looked over it to find the best station for an embassy from above, Judea would have been the very spot. We should have pointed to the Levant, and said, here is the moral center of the world. If a missionary from heaven is to be sent, let him be stationed here. It is surprising how much of the interesting history of the human race has had for its scene the shores of the Mediterranean. Egypt is there. There is Greece. Xerxes, Darius, Solomon, Ceesar, Hannibal, knew no extended sea but the Mediterranean. The mighty armies of Persia, and the smaller, but invincible bands of the Grecians, passed its tributaries. Pompey fled across it ; the fleets of Rome and Carthage sustained their deadly struggles upon its waters ; and, until the discovery of the passage round the Cape of Good Hope, the commerce of the world passed through the ports of the Mediterranean. If we go back to ancient ages, we find the Phenician sailors — the first who ventured upon the unstable element — slowly and fearfully EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 181 Interesting associations. steering their little barks along the shores of this sea ; and if we come down to modern times, we see the men-of-wai of every nation proudly plowing its waves, or riding at anchor THE MAN-OP-WAR. hi its harbors. There is not a region upon the face of the earth so associated with the recollection of all that is interest- ing in the history of our race, as the shores of the Mediter- ranean sea ; nor a place more likely to be chosen by the Creator as the spot where he would establish his communi- cation with men, than the land of Judea. The time selected is as worthy of notice as the place ; I mean now, the time of the advent of the Messiah. The world had been the scene of war and bloodshed for many centuries ; empire after empire had arisen, each upon the ruins of the preceding, none however obtaining a very general sway ; at last the Roman power obtained universal ascen- 182 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Character of God. Language of nature. dency — and all was at peace. A very considerable degree of civilization and knowledge prevailed over a great part of the then known world ; and every thing was favorable to the announcement and rapid spread of a message from heaven, provided that the message itself should come properly authenticated. The message did come, and it was properly authenticated ; and the peculiar suitableness of the time and place selected was seen in the very rapid spread of the Gospel over almost half the globe. There is another topic to be noticed, which forms a part of the internal evidence of the truth of Christianity. The char- acter and administration of God, as exhibited in the Bible, correspond precisely with the same character and administra- tion, as exhibited in the light of nature. They both exhibit God as most benevolent in his character, but most decided and efficient in his government. In both, we find him pro- viding most fully for the happiness of his creatures ; but in both we see him frowning upon sin with an awful severity of judgment. This is a fundamental point, and it ought to be fully understood. Let us look then at God, as he reveals himself in his providence, compared with the views of him which the Bible presents. See yonder child, beginning life with streams of enjoy- ment coming in at every sense ; he is so formed, that every thing that he has to do is a source of delight. He has an eye. God has contrived it most ingeniously, to be the means by which pleasure comes in every moment to him. He has an ear, so intricately formed, that no anatomist or physiolo- gist has yet been able to understand its mysteries. God has so planned it. that he takes in with delight the sounds which float around him. How many times, and in how many ways, does he find enjoyment by its instrumentality ! The tones of conversation — the evening song of his mother — the hum of the insect — the noise of the storm — the rumbling of distant EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 183 Of the Bible. The sufferer in the hospital. thunder ; — for how many different but delightful emotions has the Creator provided ! So with all the other senses ; and now, after you have examined in this way the whole structure, body and mind, of this being, follow him out to a summer's walk, and see how a benevolent Creator pours upon him, from all the scenery of nature, an almost overwhelming tide of delight. God smiles upon him in the aspect of the blue heavens, in the verdure of the fields, in the balmy breath of air upon his cheek — and in the very powers and faculties themselves, which he has so formed, that every motion is de- light, and every pulsation a thrill of pleasure. Such a reve- lation does nature make to us of the character of God, and of his feelings toward his creatures ; and the testimony of the Bible corresponds — " God is love." But nature speaks to us sometimes in another tone. Let this child grow up, and abandon himself to vice and crime, and after the lapse of a few years, let us see him again. How changed will be the scene ! To see him, you must fol- low rne to the hospital-room of an almshouse ; for he has given himself up to vice, and endured suffering as a vaga- bond in the streets, until society can no longer endure to wit- ness his misery, and men send him to an asylum out of their sight, in mercy both to themselves and to him. He lies upon his bed of straw in uninterrupted agony — his bones are gnawed, and his flesh corroded by disease — every motion is torment, every pulsation is anguish ; for the God, who has so formed the human constitution, that in innocence, and in the health which generally attends it, all is happiness and peace, has yet so formed it, that vice can bring upon it sufferings, — awful sufferings — of which no one but the miserable victim can conceive. I once saw in an almshouse, a sufferer, whose pic- ture has been in my imagination while writing the above. I have used general terms in my description. I might have given a much more detailed and vivid picture of his condition, but 184 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The awful misery which vice sometimes brings upon its votaries. it was too shocking to describe. Were my readers to wit- ness the scene, the image of it would haunt them day and night. As I stood by the side of this man, and reflected that God had brought him into that condition, and that God was holding him there, and probably would hold him in the same awful suffering while life should remain, I could not help saying to myself, " With how efficient and decided a moral Governor have we do !" No man would have held this miserable being in his sufferings a moment : the superintend- ent of the hospital would have released him instantly, if it had been in his power ; but God had the power, and he held the guilty breaker of his law under the dreadful weight of its penalty. Man shrinks from witnessing suffering, even where it is necessary to inflict it ; but this feeling will not measure, and it has no power to limit God's dreadful energy in the punishment of sin. All nature teaches us this, and the language that the Bible uses is the same. " God is a consuming fire." Our feelings can no more contemplate with composure, as our hearts are now constituted, the judgments which the Bible denounces against the wicked in another world, than they can the agonies of delirium tremens, or the gnawings of the diseases with which God overwhelms the dis- sipated and the vile. In both cases there is a severity whose justice we must admit, but whose consequences we can not calmly follow. If any one thinks that I describe the charac- ter of God in too dark and gloomy colors, I have only to say, that all nature and all revelation unite in painting God in the most dark and gloomy colors possible, as he exhibits him- self toivard those who persist in breaking his law. He is love to his friends, but he is a consuming fire to his foes ; and every one ought to go to the judgment, expecting to find a Monarch thus decided and efficient in the execution of his laws, presiding there. " The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice," says the Psalm- EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 185 Butler's Analogy. Experimental evidence. ist ; and again he says, " The Lord reign eth, let the people tremble." We have abundant evidence, both in nature and revelation, that we must rejoice with trembling, under the government of God ; for that government is most efficient and decided against sin — and we are sinners. There are many other points of correspondence between the character and administration of God, as described in the Bible, and as exhibited in the constitution of nature ; but I must not stop now to describe them. Butler, in an admirable work, usually called Butler's Analogy, has explored this ground fully ; and I would recommend to all my readers who take an interest in this subject, to obtain and study that work. I say study it, for it is not a work to be merely read, in the ordinary sense of that term ; it must be most thoroughly studied, and studied too by minds in no inconsiderable de- gree mature, in order to be fully appreciated. I have endeavored, by thus mentioning several points in which evidence may be found in favor of the truth of the Scriptures, from an examination of their contents, to illus- trate the nature of the Internal Evidence. I have not de- signed to present the argument fully. * Having accomplish- ed, however, the purpose intended, I now proceed to the third head I proposed. HI. EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE. The Experimental Evidence of the truth of Christianity is its moral poiver over the human heart. This is the most convincing of all. It is direct. There is no laborious exami- nation of witnesses to bring the truth to us — no groping in * I would recommend to those of my readers who are interested in this part of my subject, the examination of the following works: Chalmers's Evidences of Christianity ; Paley's do. ; Alexander's do. ; Leslie's Short Method with Deists ; Paley's Horse Paulinse ; Butler's Analogy. 186 YOUNG CHE.IST1AN. Case of sickness supposed. the dimness of ancient times, or straining of the sight to as- certain the forms of objects, and the characters of occurrences there. All is before us. We can see distinctly, — for the proof is near. We can examine it minutely and leisurely, — for it is constantly recurring. I have remarked, that I considered this species of evidence far more calculated to make a strong impression upon the mind than either of the two preceding classes which I have described, on account of the difficulty, on the part of those whose lives are not devoted to literary pursuits, of looking back eighteen hundred years, and judging with confidence of evidence relating to events that occurred then. But I have heard it remarked, by men amply qualified to investigate such subjects, that the power of the Bible, as they have often seen it exerted, in elevating to virtue and to happiness some miserable victim of vice and crime, has made a far stronger impression upon them, in favor of its divine origin, than any examination of the labored arguments of learned men. Now this must be so, not only in the case of Christianity, but in all similar cases. Suppose that some dreadful plague should break out in London, and after raging for many months, — suspending all business, driving away from the city all who could fly, and carrying consternation and death into all the families that should remain, — suppose that, after all this, the news should arrive, that in some distant part of the earth a remedy had been discovered for the disease. We will imagine it to have been in China. Perhaps the same disease had broken out in former times at Canton, and some plant growing in that vicinity had been found to be a specific against it : it would cure the sick and protect the healthy. The government of G-reat Britain concludes to send a ship to China to obtain a supply of the remedy. After waiting the proper time for the voyage, a telegraph announces the arrival of the ship on her EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 187 Medicine. Proof of it. return. She sails up the Thames, comes to anchor, and soon the remedy for which they have all waited so anxiously is in full circulation ahout the city. Now, what will interest the people of London most in such a case ? Will it be an examination of the officers of that ship, in order to satisfy themselves that they are not imposing some spurious article on the nation ? Will they lay aside the remedy itself, and allow the sick to die, and the well to be attacked, while they examine the proof that this ship has actually been to China, and that her supercargo was really faithful in obtaining the identical article for which he was sent ? No — all such inquiries, if they are made at all, would be left to the few official agents by whom the ship had been employed. The mass of the population would turn their thoughts to the rem- edy itself, with the eager question, " Will this medicine cure ?" And, notwithstanding any skepticism or opposition on the part of the few who might be interested in sustaining some other mode of treatment, the important remedy, if found successful upon trial, would soon be in universal use among the sick all over the city. Now, shall a man who is still under the power and do- minion of sin, with this great remedy, which has saved, and is continually saving thousands all around him, entirely within his reach, shall he waste his time in speculations and inquiries in regard to the manner in which Christianity came into the world, instead of flying to it at once as the remedy for all his sin and suffering ? No : come at once and try the remedy. It restores others to health and happiness, and it will restore you. Come and be saved by it, and then you may inquire at your leisure how it came into the world. . In regard to the case supposed above, I have spoken of the skepticism or opposition of those who might be interested in some other mode of treatment. Suppose one of these men, interested in the continuance of the disease, and inhuman 188 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The mother and her sick sons. enough to desire on this account to perpetuate the misery of his fellows, should come into some wretched tenement in a crowded part of the city, and should find there one or two inmates under all the power of the disease. They are chil- dren. The mother has been away to some public office from which the remedy is distributed to the poor, and has obtained a supply for her dying boys. As she comes to their bedside, and begins with trembling joy to administer it, her hand is arrested by the visitor, who says to her, " Stop ; how do you know that this is a real remedy for this disease. I believe it is all an imposition. That ship never came from China. I believe the captain and crew united in an attempt to impose upon the community ; at any rate, you have yet no evidence to the contrary. You have not examined her papers — you have seen no official documents — you have heard no witnesses. If you are wise you will look into this subject a little more before you place your confidence in a remedy which will probably, after all, prove only imposture and delusion." What would be the reply ? The mother, if she should stop to say any thing, would say this : " I have not time to examine any documents or witnesses ; my children are dying. Beside, this medicine has cured hundreds in this city, and is curing hundreds more. Nay, I was myself sick, and it cured me. That is the evidence I rely upon. I believe it will save them, and there is nothing else to be tried." That is in substance what she would say, and they who wish to be saved from sin should say the same. You suffer now under this disease, and you must suffer more hereafter, and nothing but Christianity pretends to be able to save you. This is successful, wherever it is tried. Now suppose an infidel, or a vicious man, interested in perpetuating sin in this world, and inhuman enough to be willing that the sufferings of sin EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 189 The unbeliever. Power of Christianity. should continue to burden his fellows, should come and say to you, " This religion is delusion — it is all an imposture." You need not go with him into any examination of docu- ments and witnesses ; you ought only to say, " Christianity saves others and makes them virtuous and happy — and I hope it will save me." But I must present more distinctly the evidence that Christianity has power to rescue from sin, and that it exhibits this power now in the world. " And now how shall I show this ?" thought I, when I first began to reflect on the way in which I should treat this part of my subject. " How shall I present most clearly and vividly to the young the moral poiuer of Christianity ?" I thought first of the elevated rank in knowledge, in civilization, to which all Christian nations had attained, and concluded to show, if I could, that the passions and sins of men always, when left to themselves, loaded them with a burden which kept the mind from ex- panding and the arts of life from flourishing, and bound down the whole community in barbarism or in subjection to despotic power. Among the thousands of nations of which, this earth has been the home, there have not been more than half a dozen exceptions to this. Now Christianity, where it freely prevails, controls human passions, and purifies commu- nities to such an extent that mind is free ; and then the energies with which God has endowed the soul of man freely expand. Religion has taken off the pressure which had imprisoned them ; and thus Christian nations have arisen to a rank, and power, and freedom, which no other communities have ever attained. There is not a savage Christian nation on the globe. A savage Christian ! It is a contradiction in terms. But I thought that such general views and statements were not calculated to produce so distinct and clear an impression upon the mind, especially upon the young ; and 190 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Particular case. State prison. then I thought that I might point my readers to particular cases of the beneficial moral influence of Christianity — such as have occurred, undoubtedly, within the observation of every one. There is not a village in our land where are not to be seen some of the triumphs of the Gospel. There is a vicious man reclaimed, or a careless, selfish, ungovernable youth made humble, and faithful, and docile, by the power of the Bible. Such cases are within the observation of every one ; and if each one of my readers would look at some such instance which has occurred within his own immediate reach, and examine all its circumstances, he would find it an over- whelming proof that the Bible is indeed a remedy for sin. But the difficulty is, that such examples are so common that they lose all their power to impress us. The cases of reform from vice and sin, now continually taking place in every truly Christian country, would be regarded with admiration, were they solitary ; but they are common, — very common, — and thus produce a comparatively faint impression. But to show distinctly the efficacy of this remedy for sin, I shall point you to its operation in particular cases. And in choosing the cases to present, I have selected some where the disease had indeed made great progress, but which are in other respects very common. They are both cases of con- victs in a state prison. I might perhaps have selected narra- tions far more interesting and striking in their attendant circumstances, but I have chosen to present those which may be taken as a fair specimen of the ordinary effects, of the Bible in saving from sin. My object is utility, and it is therefore far better to secure sound logic than to bring for- ward a romantic story. The reason why I take the cases of convicts is, that I am now considering Christianity in regard to its power to heal the disease, sin ; of course, the more violent the form of dis- ease, the more clear is the exhibition of power in the remedy EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 191 Old and new system of discipline. Stories of the convicts. which cures it. The prisons of our country may be con- sidered as hospitals, moral hospitals, where those whose dis- eases have become so violent and malignant, that it is no longer safe to allow them to go at large in society, are shut up, so that they can injure no one, at least for a time. It has been, and is now the practice in many countries, to shut up those miserable victims together, and leave them to them- selves. Of course they grow worse and worse. That prac- tice is as absurd as it would be to send a hundred patients, in all the stages of fever, consumption, and plague, into one great crowded hospital together, with no physician, no medi- cine, and no attendants but turnkeys, and there to leave them, each one by means of the unobstructed intercommuni- cation conveying his own peculiar infection to all the rest ; the whole exposed to every cause that can aggravate disease, and thus forming one living mass of pestilence and corrup- tion. Such have been a great many prisons, and those who entered them came out far worse than they went in. Some philanthropists formed, some years ago, the plan of visiting these prisons, and carrying the Bible there, believing that its moral power would be great enough to cure even those desperate cases of disease — and it has succeeded. A vast number of the most abandoned men have been entirely reformed by it. I do not mean that they have pretended to be reformed while in the prison, but have proved themselves reformed by their good conduct after having been restored to society, when the time of their imprisonment had expired. The account of the first case which I shall adduce was taken down from the individual's own lips by a Christian friend, who was visiting him in the prison. The record was made without any expectation of its ever being used for the purpose to which it is appropriated here, and there is nothing extraordinary in the story, except that the subject of it was a very bad man. I give the account in his own language, 192 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The disobedient son. except that I have in one or two instances inserted a few words to make the sense more clear, and I have omitted some of the very frank confessions of his vices and crimes, which could not be properly introduced into this book. THE FIRST CONVICT'S STORY. " When I had been in prison about eighteen months, I began to think of my past ways, and to see that I had sinned against God— to think about dying, and where I should go when I die and appear before God. When I first came here, I did not think any thing about dying ; I had no just idea of the Holy Scriptures, and did not know any thing of the Lord. I first began to think about my former life, when I had been here about eighteen months. Once I went off from all my friends, and never let any of them know where I was going. I led one of my brothers away, and it was the means of his death. After I lost my brother I went home again, and my father blamed me for leading him away. I had been two years from my home, and my parents said that I was the means of my brother's death. They tried to make me steady, and get me work at home then ; but I wouldn't be steady more than a few months before I went off again. My father told me I was fitting myself for State's prison. I went away however, and it was only about two months be- fore I committed my crime and was put into jail. That was the first time I ever saw the inside of prison. I often used to think of my brother after I came into the prison. A great many nights I used to see a black coffin placed before me, and hear a voice telling me that I must go soon and follow him. I not only thought of these things, but all my wicked thoughts and all my actions were presented before me — what I had done, and how I had walked in the sight of the Lord. I used to be a very vicious man, and all the places where I had been would appear before me. And I used to EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 193 Conversation. be a violent blasphemer, too, and a riotous person ; and I saw a sign which said, this is the road adulterous persons and blasphemers go. " After I had thought about my wicked life, I felt that I had incurred the holy displeasure of the Lord, and deserved all that he could inflict upon me. I thought that I could not suffer too much. I could then see the hand of the Lord, how it had followed me in every place where I had been. I found that it was the law of the Lord that brought me here, for sins which I had committed against God, and not against my fellow- men." Here the gentleman who was visiting him asked him, " How does your heart appear to you now ?" " My heart appears at times set upon evil : but then some- times I feel that I shall get to heaven ; and then again, I feel very much discouraged. Whenever wicked thoughts arise in my heart, I sometimes feel that the Lord has given me up. Then again, there is something to enliven my feel- ings, and all my wicked thoughts go away ; my worldly thoughts will be drawn away, and my mind will be on heavenly things. I did not know what it meant, when my heart used to burn within me, until I asked my teacher in Sabbath-school, if man's heart would be warm when he had right feelings of heart." " Do you find temptation to sin now?" asked the gentle- man. " Yes, sir." " What do you do ?" " I trust in the Lord." " Do you yield to your evil passions and lusts now ?" " I have, sometimes. I feel now that the Lord will keep me from them. There is nothing that causes me to grieve so, as that very thing." " Does it take away your happiness ?" " It did for a time." I 194 YOUNG CHRISTIAN, His struggles with sin. The story true. " "What security can you have, that when you go out, you will not just do as you have done ?" " All my hope is in the Lord. I rely upon the mercy of the Lord to keep me. Of myself, I can do nothing : I rely upon the mercy of the Lord." " Was you a drunken man ?" " I have been intoxicated a number of times, but I was never much given to it." In the course of the conversation, the convict said : " I want to ask if, after men have repented of their sins, there will ever be times when they will give up to them again?" " It is a very bad sign if they do," replied the gentleman. " Once, when I was greatly tempted, I wept before the Lord night after night, and there was a man appeared to me in the room, and said to me, ' Thy sins are pardoned ;' and since that I have been no more tempted, and I think it was to show me that I had trusted too much to my own heart. I thought I had been so long without any temptation that I was fairly weaned. I thought so ; but then I was tempted, and now know that I trusted more to my own heart than I did to the Lord." Such was the substance of the conversation ; and I beg that my readers will not forget that my object in presenting it, is not to offer them a remarkable or an interesting story. There is nothing remarkable in it. and, excepting for the purpose of my argument, nothing particularly interesting. It is, however, a remarkably fair specimen of the ordinary operation of religious truth, in convicting of sin. and bringing man back to his duty. But I must postpone the comments upon this story which I intend to make, until I have given the second narative. The reason why I present two is, because no one that I could obtain, exhibits so fully as I could wish, all the important points which I wish to bring to view. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 195 Second story. Nature of ardent spirit. William's crime. SECOND CONVICT'S STORY. There lived in one of the middle states some years ago, a man whom I shall call William. I suppress his real name. His character was bad, and he worked in the em- ployment of another man whose character was worse than his own. William's employer had a quarrel with one of his neigh- bors, and attempted to hire William to kill him. He endeavored for five or six months to induce William to do it, but he did not succeed. William, however, manifested a degree of indecision on the subject, which encouraged his wicked employer to persevere in his attempts. A good man would have refused an application like that in such terms and in such a manner that it never would have been renewed. At length however William and another desperate charac- ter, one of his associates, were prevailed upon to undertake the murder. When the appointed time arrived, the em- ployer gave them a liberal supply of rum to stimulate their courage, and nerve them for the deed. After drinking the rum the two men proceeded to a wood, where they were to waylay their victim. William lay down in the skirts of the wood and went to sleep. The other man watched. Presently however he came and awoke William, and said to him, " If we mean to do any thing we must go and do it now." William accord- ingly rose, and they went together. When they came to their victim, William shot at him, and then his accomplice took the gun and beat him over the head till he was dead. Two persons were hung for this crime, and William was sentenced to the State prison for a long time. The man whom they had killed was a very bad man ; but as William afterward said, that was no cloak for the murderers. 196 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Learning to read in prison. First lesson. When William came to the prison he was very ignorant ; he did not know his own age accurately, and he could not read, There was in that prison, however, a very faithful chaplain, who knowing that the Bible alone could be the means of reforming the miserable convicts, always placed that book before them immediately. When they could not read, he used to teach them. . The method which this chaplain adopted in teaching the ignorant prisoners to read, was quite different from the one usually pursued with young children at school. The first lesson that he gave them was the first word in the Bible— I-n. " That word is — In" the teacher would say to the prisoner in his cell — " Can you see how many letters there in it ?" " Two," the prisoner would reply, after examining it. " Yes," answers the teacher ; " the first letter is called i; the second n. These letters are very common in the Bible, and in all reading ; see if you can find another n any- where on this page." The prisoner then would look very attentively along the lines until he found the letter required. If he made a mis- take, and found an on or an r instead, the teacher would explain the difference, and call his attention more fully to the true form of the n. He would also explain the difference between the capital and small i, and show his pupil that he must expect to find the small i generally. He would then leave him, asking him to find as many of these letters as he could before the teacher would come again. The next lesson would be the next word, the; and thus the pupil would go on slowly, spelling his way, until he had learned to read for himself. The attempt to learn to read was proposed to William, and he commenced it ; and although considerably advanced EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 197 Effects of the Bible upon William. Sins against God. in life, he made no little progress in his work. He was soon able to read considerably ; and as the truths of the word of God came home to his mind they produced their usual effects there ; they led him to see his sins, and to feel them ; and they led him to come to the Savior for pardon. His whole character was changed ; but I must allow him to describe this change in his own words. These words were taken down by the same gentleman whom I have mentioned before. He visited the prisoner, and after first conversing with him in regard to the crime for which he had been committed, asked him, "Well, William, how do this and all your other sins now appear to you ?" " Yery great," said he ; " but this does not appear so great as all my other sins against God— cursing and swearing, and getting drunk. When I first began to reflect in my cell, I saw my sins so great that I felt I could not be forgiven. I was sitting down one day at my work in the prison, and the chaplain came along and asked me what was my crime, I told him. " ' That,' said he, ' is one of the greatest crimes ; but then you may remember David's sin, and he was forgiven. Let your crime be as great as it will, pray to God, and put your trust in him, and you shall find rest to your soul.' " He told me also, that if I could not read, he would visit me in my cell, and put me in the way. I shall ever love him while God gives me breath ; I shall love the chaplain, for he put me in the way to obtain the salvation of my soul ; he made me promise him faithfully that I would go to God, and try to find mercy ; and yet, master, I had doubt in my heart — my sins were so heavy — whether I should be forgiven. The chaplain soon left me, and I went into my cell and poured out my heart to God to have mercy 198 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. William's mental suffering. on me. The more I prayed the more miserable I grew. Heavier and heavier were my sins. " The next day Mr. B. came to see me, and I asked him to read a chapter to me ; and, as God would have it, he turned to the 55th chapter of Isaiah. It said, ' Every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy wine and milk without price.' He read along to where the prophet says, ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.' " I found this gave me great encouragement to go on to pray, to see if I could find relief from all my troubles — the load of sin that was on my heart. I thought and prayed, and the more I prayed the more wretched I grew — the heavier my sins appeared to be. " A night or two after that, the chaplain came to my cell and asked me how I felt. I told him my sins were greater than I could bear — so guilty — so heavy. He asked me if I thought praying would make my sins any less, I gave him no answer. He soon left me, and I went again to prayer. I was almost fit to expire. In all my sorrows I had not a right sorrow. My sorrow was because I had sinned against man. "The Sunday following, just after I had carried my dinner into my cell, I put my dinner down, and went to prayer. I rose, and just as I rose from my prayer the chaplain was at the door. ' We are all guilty creatures,' he said to me, ' and we can not be saved, except God, for Christ's sake, will save us. If we pray and go to God, we EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 199 His prayer. His way of finding the 51st Psalm. must go in the name of Jesus Christ ; if we expect to be saved, we must be saved through the blood and righteous- ness of Jesus Christ.' Then I picked up encouragement. " ' The sins which you have committed,' he went on, ' are against your fellow-creatures, but they are much more against God.' Now I never knew before that they were against God. When the chaplain left me, I went to prayer again. I could eat nothing that day. I did not eat a mouthful. " I recollected at that time that a minister had told me, whenever I had a chapter read, to have the 51st Psalm. I could not see any body to get to read it, and how to find it I did not know, and the Sunday following, before the keeper unlocked the door, I rose up, and I went to prayer, and I prayed, ' Lord, thou knowest I am ignorant, brought up in ignorance. Thou knowest my bringing up. Nothing is too hard for thee to do. May it please thee, Lord, to show me that chapter, that I may read it with understanding.' I rose from prayer, and went to my Bible, and took it up. I began at the first Psalm, and turned over and counted every Psalm, and it appeared to me that God was with me, and I counted right to the 51st Psalm. I could read a little, and I begun to spell H-a-v-e m-e-r-c-y, &c. ; I looked over the Psalm, and spelled it, and read it, and then put the Bible down, and fell upon my knees, and prayed : ' Have mercy upon me ; God, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine in- iquities, and cleanse me from my sins, for my sin is ever be- fore me. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight ; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou judgest.' " When I came to the words, ' Deliver me from blood- guiltiness,' I was struck dumb. I could not say any more at that time. I fell upon my knees, and prayed to God to have 200 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. His relief. Close of the convicts' stories. mercy upon me for Christ's sake. But I only grew more and more miserable. The load of my sins was heavier and heavier. " All that I had ever done came plain and open in my sight, and I was led to see that I must perish ; there was no help for me ; all my sin was upon my own head." Such is the miserable criminal's account of the suffering to which he was brought by the sense of guilt which the Bible was the means of fastening upon his soul. He continued in this state for some time, until at last, as he himself describes it, one day, when he was praying in his cell, his burden of guilt was removed. He felt that he might hope for pardon through Jesus Christ. The relief which this feeling brought over his mind seems to have been almost indescribable. Every thing wore a new aspect ; even the gloomy prison seemed a cheerful and happy place. His expressions of joy would appear almost extravagant to any person not suffi- ciently acquainted with the human mind, to understand how the whole aspect of external objects will be controlled by the emotions which reign in the heart. William concluded his narration in these words : " And ever since that, master, this place where I have been confined, has been to me more like a palace than a prison — every thing goes agreeable. I find I have a deceitful heart, but Jesus tells me, if I lack knowledge, he will always lend, if I cast my care on Jesus, and not forget to pray. It is my prayer morning and evening, that I may hold out. If I die here, let me die, Lord, in thine arms. I have great reason to bless this institution, and every stone in it." Now although it is not very common to obtain, in writing, accounts of changes of character among convicts so full and minute as this, yet the cases themselves are very common ; so common, that where a prison is regulated in such a manner EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 201 Charlestown state prison. that the prisoners are not exposed to evil influence from each other, and the Bible has the opportunity to exert its power, the whole aspect of the prison is changed. After I had writ- ten the above, I was conversing upon the subject of this chapter with a gentleman much interested in the improve- ment of prisons, and he asked me if I had ever visited the prison at Charlestown, Massachusetts. I told him that I had not. " If you will go over with me, Sabbath morning," said he, " and visit the Sabbath School formed there, you will see the evidences of the moral power of the Bible far more distinctly than you can by any such single descriptions as these." I of course gladly availed myself of the opportunity to accompany him. We walked accordingly on Sabbath morning, at the appointed hour, over one of those long bridges which connect the peninsula of Boston with the [lifi TO. CHARLESTOWN 202 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Old building. Crowded night rooms. Arms. main land. The prison is situated in Charlestown, on a point of land near the Charles river. The yard extends to the water's edge, to afford facilities for lading and un- lading the boats which transport stone ; hammering stone for building being the principal business at which the convicts are employed. When we reached the outer gate of the prison yard we pushed it open, and on closing itself after we had entered, it struck a bell, which gave notice to the keeper of the inner gate that some one was coming. This inner gate, made of strong iron bars, was opened for us, and we passed up the steps of a large stone building, through which lay our passage to the yard beyond. This building consists of one large central edifice, which was occupied by the family of the warden and by some of the keepers, and of two exten- sive wings. In these wings the prisoners were formerly confined, in rooms of moderate size ; many convicts how- ever being lodged in one room. This was the old system of prison discipline, of which I have already spoken, and the prisoners almost invariably grew worse instead of better under it. A young man, perhaps, just beginning a career of vice, or overcome for the first time by some strong temp- tation, was placed during the long hours of the night in one of these crowded rooms. Of course he grew worse by such an exposure. Those who had grown old in sin instructed him in all their wicked arts. He became familiarized to infamy ; and even while under sentence for one crime, often formed plans for others, to be executed as soon as he should escape into society again. The consequence was, that these night rooms, in the wings of this great building, were, as they were often called, schools of vice and crime. The first room we entered in this edifice seemed to be a sort of an office, and a row of swords and guns, which were arranged there ready to be used at a moment's notice, pro- EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 203 Prison yard. Chapel. claimed the intention of the keepers to resort to the most decided measures if the prisoners should make any attempt to escape. We passed through this room, and one or two others, every narrow passage being guarded by a formidable door of iron, which a turnkey opened and shut for us as we We entered a spacious and beautiful yard in the rear of this building. I say it was beautiful, because it struck the eye most pleasantly by its expression of neatness and indus- try. It was spacious, and extensive shops were arranged around it, in which the convicts were accustomed to work ; and upon the smooth and level surface of the area inclosed, were many large and beautiful blocks of hammered granite, the fruits of the prisoners' industry. We walked across the yard and came to a long stone building one story high, behind which rose another spacious edifice of stone. In this last were the prisoners' cells. I am not certain that I shall be able to convey to my young readers a very accurate idea of the arrangement and of the interior of these buildings, but I am very desirous of doing so, as it will give them clearer ideas of what I intend to present, in regard to the moral aspects of such an institution as this. Will you not then make an effort to picture dis- tinctly to your minds what I am describing ? The long low building which I have mentioned, had a strong iron door in the center, and from that door a passage- way extended across to the great new prison beyond. On one side of this passage-way was a large room appropriated to preparing food for the prisoners, and on the other side was the chapel. When we came up to the iron door in the front of the building, we found several gentlemen, who had come over from Boston to act as teachers in the Sabbath School, waiting for admission. They were waiting until the prisoners themselves should have passed into the chapel ; for 204 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Prisoners going to Sabbath School. Aspect of the school. Prisoners' dress. when we arrived, they were coming in a long procession from their cells in the rear, into this "building, each one bringing the tin vessel from which he had eaten his break- fast, and laying it upon a sort of counter as he passed on into the chapel. We could see this by looking through an open- ing in the iron door. When all the prisoners had gone into the chapel, the outer door was opened by a keeper, and we all passed in ; the heavy door was swung to behind us, and its strong bolt secured. We turned from the entry into that end of the building which was used as a chapel. There was an aisle passing up the center, on each side of which were seats half filled with the convicts. The chaplain stood in a pulpit at the farther end, and on each side of him were the teachers, gentlemen from Boston, who had come to assist these unhappy men to read and to understand the word of God. It was a most delightful May morning, and the whole aspect of the room, as I looked over it from my stand near the chaplain, was that of cheerfulness and happiness, not of gloom. The sun beamed in brightly at the windows, and the walls of the room, which were of the purest white, the neat benches, and the nicely sanded floor, gave a most pleas- ant aspect to the whole scene. The congregation presented a singular and striking appear- ance. Had it not been for their dress I might have forgotten that I was in a prison. But they were all dressed in coarse clothes of two colors, one side of the body being red, and the other of some different hue. This is the uniform of crime. The object of it is, I suppose, not to mortify the men with a perpetual badge of disgrace, but only to put a public mark upon them, so that if any one should by any means escape, he might be immediately detected by the inhabitants of the country around. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 205 Exercises. A class. "Is it possible," thought I, as I looked over this strange assembly, "that all these men have come voluntarily this morning to read and study the word of God?" Yes, that was the fact. This exercise was entirely voluntary ; and out of two or three hundred who had been condemned for crime, about one half were accustomed to come thus, of their own accord, on Sabbath morning to study the book which proclaims from heaven free forgiveness of every sin. The chaplain opened the school with prayer. He then explained to the teachers that the plan to be pursued was simply to hear the prisoners read the Bible, and explain its contents to them. He desired them to confine their conver- sation strictly to the business in hand, and requested the prisoners not to ask, and the teachers not to answer, any questions relating to other subjects. He then distributed the teachers around the room, giving each one a small class. Three convicts fell to my charge. I opened almost at random in the New Testament, and let them read in rotation ; and more apparently humble and docile students of the Bible I never saw. They read slowly and with hesitation, and I thought at first, with a little embarrassment ; this however soon passed away, and it was most interesting to watch the eager expression upon their countenances as the various truths which were such glald tidings to them came in view. We came almost accident- ally to the parables of the one sheep and the one piece of money which was lost, related in the fifteenth chapter of the gospel according to St. Luke. It seemed, in fact, as if the whole chapter was written expressly for prisoners. One of these convicts, after expressing a strong interest in these parables, said that the Bible appeared like a very different book to him now, from what it did in former times. " How did it formerly appear to you ?" asked I. 206 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Conversation with a convict. Power of the Bible. " 0, I used to despise it. I used to wonder why so much was made of the Bible. It seemed to me that I could write as good a book myself." " Well, are your views of it changed now ?" " yes," said he, " I am now fully persuaded it is the word of God." " What caused you to disbelieve it formerly ? was it the influence of bad company?" "Why, sir, to be frank, it was ignorance. I had not studied it. I had read it a little here and there, but not at- tentively, or with aright spirit." " What led you to change your views of it ?" " I did not change my views until I came to this institu- tion. I had some days of solitary confinement when I first came, with no book but the Bible ; and when I first began to reflect, I recollected that a Christian family whom I once lived with, seemed to enjoy more real, substantial happiness than any other persons I ever saw ; and this led me to think there might possibly be something in religion. So I thought I would examine the Bible in earnest, and I found it a very different book from what I had supposed. I took a very strong interest in it, and at last a minister preached a sermon here from the text, ' What shall I do to inherit eternal life ?' and that, I hope, led me to the Savior. I hope and trust that I have really given my heart to G-od." I told him that what he said gave me great pleasure, and that I hoped he would persevere in Christian duty, and find the Bible a source of happiness to him as long as he should live. " When I first came to this institution," he replied, " I thought it was rather a hard case to be shut up here so long. My time is, however, now almost out. In a few weeks I shall go away ; but if I have really been led to see and for- sake my sins, I shall never have any reason to regret coming here." EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, 207 Reformation of prisoners. Cases numerous. Temperance sermon. The chaplain about this time gave notice that it was time for the services to be closed, and I could not converse with my other scholars much. One of them told me, however, that he had been brought up by pious parents, and had read the Bible when he was a child. " It was, however," said he, " only to please my parents. I gave no heed to it. I have found it, since I came to this institution, a very differ- ent book." I afterward learned that there was as much reason as, under the circumstances, there could be, to hope that all three of these criminals had really repented of sin, and obtained peace with God, and that they would return to society to be useful and happy while they live, and be admitted to heaven when they die. Such cases as these, too, are becoming very numerous in prisons, where the convicts are separated from each other, and brought under the influence of the word of God. But I must proceed with the description of my visit : At the close of the Sabbath-school, the convicts who had attended it marched out, and presently returned with all the other prisoners in a long procession, to attend public worship ; they filled the chapel. The preacher addressed them on the sub- ject of temperance ; and as he explained to them the nature of ardent spirit, and the consequences of its use, they listened with the most eager and uninterrupted attention. Each had his Bible under his arm — his only companion in his soli- tary cell — and it was evident, I thought, from the counte- nances of the whole assembly, that in the hour of stillness and solitude, it had been at work upon the conscience of many a hardened sinner there. It seemed impossible for a man to look upon that assembly, understanding their circum- stances, and knowing how exclusively the Bible had been used as the means of restoring them to moral health, and how successful it had been, and yet doubt whether the book was really from God. 208 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Marching to the cells. Construction of the prison. After the meeting was closed, the prisoners marched by divisions in regular order, each under the care of a keeper, back to the great building in the rear, which contained their cells. As they passed through the entry, each one took from the place where he had left it, the tin vessel containing his evening meal, and they walked in long procession to their silent and solitary lodgings. We followed them into the building. Its construction is peculiar ; and as it is similar to those now very generally built for prisoners, I shall de- scribe it. It contains a building within a building — the outer one being a mere shell, consisting of walls and a roof, with rows of narrow, grated windows in the sides. The inner building is distinct and independent, with a passage several feet wide all around between it and the outer walls. This inner building is simply a block of cells, four or five stories high, arranged back to back, so that the doors open on each side into the passage-way I have already described. The doors, however, of the loiver story only, can be entered from the floor of the passage-way itself, and to gain access to the others, long narrow galleries supported by iron pillars, pro- ject from each story. A staircase at one end leads the way to these. There were no windows to the cells, except a grated open- ing in the narrow but heavy iron door ; and this, it will be perceived, did not furnish an access to the open air, for the outer building entirely inclosed the inner one like a case. Sufficient light, however, found its way through the outer windows, and thence through the grated door, to cheer the prisoner a little in his solitude, and to allow him to read the pages of the word of God. When we came into the passage-way below, the trains of prisoners were passing along the galleries, and entering, one after another, their respective cells. Each one closed after EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 209 The buildings. Construction of the ceils. him the massive door, and there was something peculiarly solemn and impressive in the heavy sound, produced in regu- lar succession, as door after door closed upon the unfortunate inmates. The keepers passed along after the prisoners of their respective divisions had entered their cells, and locked them in ; and then, after the last party-colored dress had disappeared, and the last bolt sounded to its place, the keep- ers one after another returned, and all was silence and appar- ent solitude. Though it was now the middle of a bright May afternoon, it was but twilight within these walls — the twilight of a prison — and so still, that one could hardly realize that within the sound of his voice more than two hundred criminals were confined. And yet they were within the sound of one voice ; for the construction of these buildings is such, that every prisoner can hear the chaplain when conducting reli- gious services in the passage-way. He stands there, not see- ing an individual whom he addresses — nothing before him but the cold repulsive aspect of granite walls and floor, and pillars, doors, and locks of iron — and reads the chapter, and offers the evening prayer in the hearing of hundreds ; and each prisoner, alone in his cell, seated upon his little bench, hears through the grated window the voice of one unseen, explaining to him the word of God, or guiding him in his supplications for the forgiveness of his sins, and preparation for heaven. As we stood contemplating this scene, one of the officers of the prison standing there, said to my companion, " How different this is from what we used to see and hear in the old prison !" " Has there been," asked I, " a very decided change in the aspect of the prisoners since their removal to this build- ing?" " yes," said he, " every thing is changed. Why, when 210 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Armed keeper. The Bible the moans. they occupied the old building and were locked up, several together in a room, there was nothing but cursing and swear- ing, and riot, and quarreling, and blasphemy, to be heard all night. How they would rave against religion and the Bible and ministers ! Nothing would have tempted me to have remained an officer in the prison if that state of things had continued. Now it is a quiet and peaceable family." We ourselves came out last. A keeper, with a sword at his side and a pistol at his belt, closed and locked the door after us, and we passed through the yard, and through the great edifice which I first described, out be- yond the prison walls. and returned to our homes. Now if there was any one thing which stood forth to view in all this scene more dis- tinctly and vividly than all the rest, it was that these effects were the work of the Bible. The very essence of the whole system is simply to cut off the bad influences which would otherwise gain access to the prisoner, and lay before him the Bible. This was done with kindness and sympathy indeed, but still the word of God was most evidently the remedy which was applied. The prisoners came to their place of worship with their Bibles in their hands — the teachers in the Sabbath School confined their efforts to reading and ex- plaining the sacred book — and it was affecting to observe. SAFE SLEEPING. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 211 Analysis of the convicts' stories. 1. Bible the means. that as they went to their solitary cells, they found there the word of God for their only companion. So unquestionable is the moral power of this book, that the very authorities of the State, actuated by a desire to save the community from the injuries of wicked men, place a Bible, at the public ex- pense, in the cell of every convict committed for crime. Those little cells, so small that the narrow bed, when let down at night, leaves the prisoner scarce room to stand — destitute of almost every comfort, and showing by their whole aspect, that their design is to connect the most gloomy associations possible with the idea of crime — every one of those narrow and naked cells must have its Bible. Every legislator knows that that is the book to call back the guilty criminal from his sins. And though men may, in speculation, deny its authority and question its influence in practice, — when they wish to awaken conscience in the abandoned, and to recall them so far at least to duty that society may be safe from their crimes, they are unanimous in invoking its aid. But I must return to the two convicts' stories. I did not intend to have digressed so far from them. My readers are requested to recall those narratives to mind, for I wish to analyze them a little, that I may present more distinctly the nature of the process by which convalescence and ultimate health returns to a sin-sick soul ; for I wish to consider these not in the light of detached and separate instances, but as fair specimens of cases which are constantly occurring by tens of thousands in Christian lands. I should like to have you notice the following points, which are brought to view by those narratives. 1. The Bible was the means of the change. One of the convicts said he had no proper views of the Scriptures till he came to the prison ; the other could not read them at all ; 212 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. 2. Sins against God. Story of the incendiary. and it was plainly by means of this book that they both were brought to understand their true characters. So at Charles- town. The whole plan relied upon for the moral reforma- tion of these outcasts consisted simply in bringing the truths of the word of God before their minds. There was in one of the classes in the prison a convict who had been repeat- edly imprisoned, having been confined once or twice in the old building. "And," said he, "it only made me worse. But now there is a new state of things. When I came to this prison, I found nothing but my Bible, and I believe it has made me a new man." The gentleman who had taught that class, said that this prisoner gave every evidence which could be given in so short a time, of being a humbled, re- newed man. 2. Men are led by the Bible to see that their sins are committed against God. This you will perceive to be very strikingly the case, from a review of the convicts' stories. And this is one of the great peculiarities of the Scriptures. They lead us to see that we owe obligations to our Maker ; a truth that is always neglected or forgotten till the Bible brings it to view. But what is the meaning of our sins being against God ? I once knew a boy so abandoned to evil passions, and so utterly destitute of moral principle, that he set fire to his mother's house, in a fit of anger with her for some reproof or punishment. I do not know whether he intended to burn it entirely, or whether he expected that the fire would be extinguished, and he should thus only frighten his mother. A great deal of injury was in fact done by the fire, though it was at last extinguished. Now the boy very probably sup- posed this offense was against his mother alone. He knew that he was responsible to her authority, and thought of no- thing more. How surprised then would he be if some friend of EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 213 His ignorance of the law of the land. his, after he had done this, should converse with him as follows : " Do you know what you have done ?" " Yes, I set my mother's house on fire." " And what do you expect will be the consequence ?" " Why, perhaps she will punish me ; hut I don't care for that." " I think you will find that that is not the worst of it." " What is the worst of it ?" " Why you have broken the lata of the land, and I expect every hour that the officers will be after you to arrest you." " The officers !" says the boy astonished and alarmed : " I didn't know any thing about the law of the land." " There is a law of the land, you will find, and you have broken it, and they will have you tried and put in State's Prison for it." At this the boy would perhaps pause and turn pale, and his next word would probably either be, "I don't believe it," or else, " What shall I do ?" Perhaps he would attempt to excuse himself by saying, " I did not know that it was against any law — I only did it to plague my mother." " That makes no difference," his friend would reply, "it will not help you at all. The law of every community is, and ought to be, very decided against incendiaries, be- cause, as you well know, when you set fire to your mother's house, you endangered the others near, and in fact the whole village. As to your not knowing that it was against the law, that makes no difference ; you kneiv that it ivas tvrong" I do not know whether this boy learned that he had broken the law, and was in great danger of punishment, by any such conversation as the above. I know however that he learned it in some way, and he fled ; he escaped to a 214 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Voice of the Bible. distant city, "but the officers found him there ; and I saw him afterward confined in his cell. Now when men sin in this world they almost always forget the very important circumstance, that they are sin- ning against God. They look upon their offenses as com- mitted solely against their fellow-men ; they feel sometimes a little compunction in regard to those few cases where their conduct has injured their fellows ; they never consider these as offenses against a far higher law ; and as to all their other conduct, they feel entirely at ease in regard to it. Now the Bible comes in in such cases, and where its voice is heeded, it holds with men much such a conversation as that which I have described between the boy and his friend. "Do you know," it says to one who has been living an irreligious life for many years, " what you have been doing?" " Yes," he replies, " I have very often done wrong. I have sometimes been idle and sometimes a little passionate ; but then I have endeavored to make up for lost time by subsequent industry, and I have always repaired all the injuries of every kind that I have done to others. On the whole, I have been a good neighbor and an honest man. I have been kind in my family, and upright as a citizen." " Ah !" says the Bible, " do you not know that there is a God, and that, by utterly neglecting him, you have been all the time unceasingly breaking his laiv? You have been living for yourself, detached and separate from all around you, except so far as your interests or instinctive feelings have formed a frail tie. What a divided and miserable community would be the result, if all God's creatures were to act upon the same principle !" " Besides," continues the word of God, " the sins of which you acknowledge that you have been guilty, and which you EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 215 3. Feeling awakened. A slumbering sense of guilt. seem to consider as committed chiefly against men, are in a far higher sense against God. They are violations of his law, and he has annexed a most awful penalty to such transgressions. In fact, it is possible that some of his officers are now sent for you, to summon you to trial and condemna- tion for your sins." Thus men are led to see by the Bible what laiv they have broken, and what punishment they have to fear. The con- vict, whose conversation I have above given, saw, as he ex- presess it, that all his sins had been "against God." 3. The Bible makes men feel their guilt. Undoubtedly many of my readers will go over the explanation I have just given of our connection with God, and of the fact that all our sins are against him, very carelessly. They will not realize the truth, in its application to them. Nothing is more common than for persons to see and to acknowledge the truths whieh I have been presenting, without feeling any compunction for their guilt. But the Bible arouses con- science ; it is " quick and powerful, sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder the soul and spirit." It is one of the most remarkable properties of the human mind, that a consciousness of guilt may remain a long time dormant in it — producing no uneasiness and no suffering — and yet, after the lapse of years, it will burst forth with most terrific power, and drive the victim of it to actual despair. This has often been the case. A man who has committed sin, is like one bitten by a mad dog. The momentary pain is slight — the wound soon heals ; it may keep up from time to time a slight irritation, just enough to remind him occa- sionally of the occurrence ; but ordinarily it is forgotten, and he goes on with his daily amusements and pleasures, entirely unconscious of danger. But though the wound is healed, the dreadful infection 216 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Sin will sting at last. which it has admitted to his system, is circulating insidiously there. The poison glides imperceptibly along his veins and arteries for weeks, months, years. It does not mar his enjoy- ments, or disturb his repose ; but still the dreadful enemy, though slumbering, is there. At last, in some unexpected hour, it rises upon him in all its strength, and overwhelms and conquers him entirely. It brings agony to his body and indescribable horror to his soul, and hurries him through the most furious paroxysms of madness and despair to inevitable death. And it is just so with sin. A murderer, for example, will often slumber ten, twenty, or thirty years over his crime. The knowledge of it will be in his heart like a lurking poison, during all that time. He will recollect it without anxiety or compunction, and look forward to the future with- out alarm. At last, however, some circumstance, often apparently trifling, will awaken him ; he will begin to feel his guilt ; conscience will suddenly rise upon him like an armed man, and overwhelm him with all the horrors of remorse and despair. Perhaps, if one had tried a few weeks before to make him feel his guilt, it would have been in vain, he was so utterly hardened in it — so dead in trespasses and sins ; but now you will find it far more difficult to allay or to mitigate the storm, which has, perhaps spontaneously, arisen. Every person, therefore, who commits sin, takes a viper into his bosom — a viper, which may delay stinging him for many years — but it will sting him at last, unless it is removed. He may be unaware of the misery that awaits him — but it must come notwithstanding. This is particu- larly the case with sins against God ; and the wonder is, that the sense of guilt will remain so entirely dormant as it often does, so that no warning, no expostulation, no remon- strance will disturb the death-like repose ; and yet at last EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 217 4. The Savior. Penance. the volcano will often burst forth spontaneously, or from some apparently trifling cause, and overwhelm the sinner in suffering. Now we certainly should not wish that this suffering should come upon any individual, were it not that in a vast multitude of cases it leads him to repent of and to forsake his sins. Remorse is not penitence, it is true, but it very frequently conducts to it. 4. The Bible leads men to a Savior. Men everywhere have the impression that penitence is not enough to remove and expiate guilt. Whenever we do wrong, there is im- planted, as it were in the very soul, a fearful looking forward to punishment to come in consequence of it. We know that no government can be efficiently maintained where its set- tled regular plan is to forgive always upon confession. Now it is found by universal experience — and the cases which I have narrated happily illustrate this — -that when men are really brought to feel their sins against G-od, they can not be quieted by any general assurances that God is merciful. They know that he is merciful, but then they know too that he is just. They know that he is the great moral Governor of the universe ; and the youngest child, or the most igno- rant savage, has an instinct, I might almost call it, which so assures him of the necessity of a retribution, that he can not rest, after a repeated disobedience, in the hope that his penitence alone will secure his pardon. Hence, in all un- christian countries men have various ways of doing penance, that is, inflicting severe voluntary suffering upon themselves by way of retribution for their sins. Now when men, under such circumstances, hear that a Savior has died for them, it brings relief. It is very often the case that there is not a very clear idea of the way in which his sufferings are of avail in opening the way for pardon ; in fact, it is not absolutely necessary that there should be very clear ideas on this K 218 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Forgiveness on mere penitence. Story of Regulus,, subject. The mind, however darkened and ignorant, is capable of seeing that these sufferings may in some way arrest the evil consequences of its sins, and open the way for pardon, and yet not fully understand in all their detail the various moral influences which the crucifixion of the Son of God is calculated to produce. My reader, do you feel a secret but continual burden from a sense of your sins ? Try the experiment of coming and asking forgiveness in the Savior's name, and see if it does not bring relief. I suppose that most of my readers remember the story of Regulus. The ancient cities of Home and Carthage stood opposite to each other, across the Mediterranean Sea. As these two cities grew up to power and distinction nearly together, they were the rivals and enemies of each other. There was many a hard-fought battle between their armies and their fleets. At last, Regulus, a celebrated Roman general, was sent across the sea to carry the war if possible to the very gates of Carthage. He was at first very successful, and he took many prisoners and sent them to Home. At length, how- ever, the scale was turned, the Roman army was conquered, and Regulus himself was captured and thrown into a Car- thaginian prison. After some time had elapsed, the Carthaginians, foreseeing that the Roman power, notwithstanding their temporary suc- cesses, would in the end overwhelm their own, concluded to send an embassy to Rome to offer peace. They proposed to Regulus to go on this embassy. They intrusted to him the commission, saying to him, " We wish you to go to Rome and propose to your countrymen to make peace with us, and endeavor to persuade them to comply. If you do not suc- ceed, however, we expect you to return to us again as our lawful prisoner. We shall confide in your word." EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 219 War between Rome and Carthage. Regulus as ambassador. Regulus accepted the trust. He set off to Rome, promis- ing to return to Carthage if the Romans should not accede to the peace. He sailed across the sea and up the Tiber, and was soon approaching the gates of the great city. He had determined, however, to do all in his power to prevent a peace, knowing that it would not be for the interest of his country to make one. He understood, therefore, that he was going to his native city only to communicate his message, and then to return to imprisonment, torture, and death, at Carthage. His wife came out of the gates to meet him, rejoicing in his return. He received her, dejected, silent and sad. " I am a Carthaginian prisoner still," said he, " and must soon return to my chains." He refused to enter the city. He had indeed a message for the senate, but the Roman senate was not accustomed to admit foreigners to their sessions within the city. He sent them word, therefore, that Regulus, no longer a Roman gen- eral, but a Carthaginian prisoner, was the bearer of a mes- sage to them, and wished them to hold, as usual, a meeting without the gates for the purpose of receiving it. The senate came. They heard the proposal which the Carthaginians sent, and the arguments of Regulus against it. The arguments prevailed. They decided against peace, and Regulus began to speak of his return. " Return !" said his friends, and the senators, and all the people of Rome ; " you are under no obligation to return to Carthage." " I promised to return," said Regulus, " and I must keep my word. I am well aware that the disappointed and ex- asperated Carthaginians will inflict upon me cruel tortures, but I am their prisoner still, and I must keep my word." The Romans made every exertion in their power to per- suade Regulus that a promise extorted under such circum- 220 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Death of Regulus. Cruel retaliation. Supposed case. stances was not binding, and that he could "be under no ob- ligations to return. But all was vain. He bade the senate, and his countrymen, and his wife farewell, and was soon sailing back to the land of his enemies. The Carthaginians were enraged at the result of his mission. They put him to death by the most cruel tortures. When the tidings of his death came back to Rome, the senate and the people, who had already been much impressed by the patriotism of Regulus and his firm adherence to his word, were overwhelmed with admiration and gratitude. This feeling was mixed too with a strong desire for . revenge upon the Carthaginians, and a decree was passed, giving up the Carthaginian prisoners then in their hands to Marcia, the wife of Regulus, to be disposed of as she might desire. She most unjustly and cruelly ordered them all to be put to death by the same sufferings which her lamented husband had endured. My story, thus far, is substantially true. The dialogue I have given is intended to exhibit the substance of what was said, not the exact words. The facts, however, are correctly stated. The whole occurrence is matter of history. In order, however, to make the use of this story which I have intended, I must now go on in fiction. I will suppose that Marcia, instead of desiring to gratify a revengeful spirit by destroying the lives of the innocent prisoners at Rome, in retaliation for the murder of her husband, had been actuated by a nobler spirit, and had sent such a message as this to the Roman senate, in reply to their proposal to her : " I do not wish for revenge. It will do no good, either to Regulus who is dead, or to his unhappy widow who survives, to torture or to destroy the miserable captives in our hands. Dispose of them as the good of the state requires. If you think, however, that any thing is due from the common- wealth to the memory of Regulus or to his surviving friends, EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 221 Forgiveness of criminals for Regulus' sake. let it be paid in happiness, not in suffering. There are in the public prisons many miserable convicts condemned for their crimes ; let them be forgiven for Regulus' sake, if they will acknowledge their crimes and return to their duty." A Roman senate would have undoubtedly granted such a request as this, if made under such circumstances as I have described. Let us suppose that they had done so, and that the prison doors had been opened, and the offers of pardon had been circulated among the convicts there. Now I wish my reader to bear in mind that I am not in- tending here to offer an illustration of the way in which our salvation is effected by the sufferings of the Son of God ; no analogy drawn from any earthly transactions, can fully illus- trate the way in which the Lamb of God taketh away the sins of the world. My object is to illustrate the spirit with which the offer of mercy through Him is to be received, and I have made this supposition for the purpose of placing these prisoners in a situation somewhat like that of condemned sin- ners in this world, that I may show how the Bible brings re- lief to those suffering under the burden of sin, by offering them mercy through a Savior. A messenger comes then, we will suppose, among the im- prisoned malefactors, and announces the glad tidings that he brings to them — an offer of pardon from the Roman senate. The prisoners look incredulous. They know that the Roman government is an efficient one, and that it is accustomed to execute its laws. " We are justly imprisoned," they would say, " and our time is not yet expired. There can be no for- giveness for us till the law sets us free." The messenger then relates to them, that in consequence of the distinguished services and subsequently cruel sufferings of a great Roman general, the senate had wished to make to his widow some public expression of the sympathy and grati- tude of the commonwealth, and that she had asked it as a 222 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Its effects in prison. boon, that every penitent prisoner, willing to abandon his crimes and return to his duty, might be set free for her hus- band's sake. Now unquestionably, if there were any among these pris- oners who were really penitent for sin and willing to return to duty, their abhorrence of their crimes would be increased, and their determination to be faithful citizens in future would be strengthened, by receiving such an offer of pardon, Nay, it would not be surprising if some who were still hardened in their sins, and even in the midst of noise and revelry in the prison at the very time the messenger appeared, should be arrested, and their feelings touched by such an address. " How different," they might reflect, "is the conduct of Uegulus from ours ! We have been, by our vices and crimes bringing injuries without number upon our country. He, by his labors and sufferings, has been unceasingly endeavoring to do her good ; and Marcia, too — it was kind in her to think of us. When we were at liberty, we thought only of grati- fying our own passions ; we made no effort to promote the happiness of others, or to diminish their sufferings ; we will re- turn to our duty, and imitate the example they have set for us." It would not be surprising if such a transaction had awakened these reflections in some minds ; and on the whole, the effect of the offer of mercy through Jesus Christ produces very similar effects in the world, to those I have here imagined in the prison. When men are told in general terms, that God is merciful and will forgive their sins, it does not in ordinary cases really relieve them. Though per- haps they do not say it distinctly, yet they feel that God's government, to be efficient, must have strict laws, and pen- alties strictly executed ; and they are afraid that a mere re- liance on God's general mercy may not be quite safe. Thousands trust to this till they come to their dying hour, and then abandon it. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 223 The effects of the Gospel the same. The penitent convict. But when men are told, by the word of God, that Jesus Christ died for them — the just for the unjust — and that they must come, asking forgiveness in his name and for his sake, it throws a different aspect over the whole case : a bright gleam of hope from a new and unexpected quarter darts in. Though they may not know fully in ivhat way the sufferings of Christ may be the means of opening the way for their forgiveness, they still can see that it is very pos- sible it may in some way do this. It is not necessary that we should understand fully the way. The convicts might be released without knowing all about the story of Regulus, or comprehending exactly how such a transaction as their release on his account would affect the public mind in Rome, so as to obviate the evil effects of laxity in the administration of public justice. There might be many a poor ignorant prisoner who could not comprehend such subjects at all, and yet who might possess the spirit of mind which should bring him most fully within the conditions of release. Such an one might come to the officer appointed for the purpose, and say, " I am very grateful to the Roman senate for offering to pardon me for the sake of Uegulus ; I was really guilty of the crime for which I was sentenced, and the term of my im- prisonment is not longer than I justly deserve ; but I am glad to be restored to freedom and to happiness now. I shall always be grateful to the senate, and shall cherish the mem- ory of Regulus as long as I live." Now, if a prisoner had this spirit, there is no question that he would be released, whether he was or was not statesman or philosopher enough to understand fully the moral character and influence of such a transaction. And so, my reader, if you are willing to acknowledge and to forsake your sins, and to accept of freedom and happiness in future, on account of another's merits and sufferings, you need not distress yourself 224 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The penitent sinner. The prisoners. because you do not fully comprehend the nature of that great transaction of which Gethsemane and Calvary were the scene. It can not be fully understood here. From the win- dows of our prison-house in this world, we can see but a small part of the great city of God. We can not appreciate fully any of the plans of his government ; we can, however, take the right position in respect to ourselves. We can ask for- giveness in Christ's name, and believe, on the authority of God's word, that God has set forth Jesus Christ to be a pro- pitiation for us, that we might be saved through faith in his blood— that is, by our trusting in his sufferings — that God might be just, and yet save those who trust in the Savior.^ But to return to the Homan prison. I have represented one prisoner as accepting the offer, and going out to freedom in consequence of it. Let us now suppose that the public officer, appointed by the senate to carry the message to the prisoners, and to receive their replies, should meet in one of the rooms a very different reception. He passes, we will suppose, along a dark passage-way, until he comes to the door of a gloomy dungeon ; the keeper removes the heavy rusty bars, and unbolts and unlocks the door, and as he opens it, he hears the unexpected sounds of mirth and revelry within. As he enters, he sees the wretched-looking inmates lying around the cold stone floor upon their beds of straw. In a corner sit some with wild and haggard looks, relating to each other, with noisy but unnatural mirth, the profane jest or im- moral story. In the middle of the room, two are quarreling for a morsel of food, which each claims, filling the air with their dreadful oaths and imprecations. Near the door lies a miserable object half covered in his tattered garment, and endeavoring in vain to get a little sleep. A small grated * See Romans iii. 23-26. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 225 The offer rejected. window high in the wall admits a dim light, just sufficient to reveal to view the objects which compose this scene of vice and misery. The quarrelers and the rioters pause a moment, each re- taining his attitude, and listening while the messenger from the senate lays before them the offer of forgiveness and free- dom. They gaze upon him for a few minutes with vacant looks, but before he has fairly finished his message, the angry combatants re-commence their war — the story-teller in the corner goes on with his narrative — the sleeper composes him- self again to rest — and perhaps some fierce and angry-looking criminal comes up to the messenger and says, in a stern voice, " Away ! you have no business here." Do you think that these prisoners would be liberated for the sake of Uegulus ? No ! the bolts and bars must be closed upon them again, and they must bear their sentence to the full. And this is precisely the way in which multitudes re- ceive the offers of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Once more. Suppose this messenger were to meet, in some part of the prison, one of the convicts walking back and forth alone in his cell, and should repeat to him the story which he was commissioned to bring. " Forgiveness for the sake of Regulus !" says he, with a tone of scorn ; "I want no forgiveness on account of another ; you have no right to shut me up here for any thing that I have done ; it is unjust and cruel. I demand release on my own account — without any condition or any acknowledgment of my dependence for it upon the merits of another." Now, if the messenger should meet with the exhibition of such a spirit as this, he would turn away and close the bolts and bars of the prison again upon such a convict, and seek subjects of mercy elsewhere. God, too, requires of us all a humble and subdued spirit, and willingness to accept of par- don in the name of Jesus Christ, who died for us. We 226 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Grateful acceptance of the offer. Object of this illustration. must come with the spirit which I first described — the spirit of the convict who said, " I am grateful to the Roman senate for offering to pardon me for the sake of Regulus. I was really guilty of the crime for which I was sentenced, and the term of my imprisonment is not longer than I justly deserve. But I am glad to he re- stored to freedom and happiness now. I shall always he grateful to the senate, and shall cherish the memory of Reg- ulus as long as I live." Before dismissing this illustration, I wish to remind my readers again, that I have been endeavoring to exhibit by it the spirit of mind with which we ought to receive the offer of mercy through Jesus Christ, not the nature of the atone- ment which he has made for sin. The case I have imagined could not safely occur in any human government, because there would be no way of ascertaining who among the con- victs were truly penitent, and were really determined on leading a life of virtue in future. Several other difficulties, which in God's government do not exist, are unavoidable in every human empire. The spirit of mind with which the offer of free forgiveness in Jesus' name is welcomed or re- fused, is all which I design by this illustration to explain. If the heart is really ready to acknowledge its guilt, and willing to accept of pardon which it does not deserve, the offer of a Savior is most admirably calculated to restore peace of con- science, and heal the wounded spirit. And nothing but the Bible can make such an offer. Thus one of the most power- ful means by which it changes character, is awakening the sensibilities of the heart, through the exhibition of a Savior crucified for our sins, and leading us to feel that we may be forgiven, and the obligation and authority of the law we have broken be yet sustained. 5. These changes of character are often attended with strong excitement, and sometimes with mental delusion. My EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 227 Excitement and delusion. Anecdote of Brinley. readers recollect that the first convict saw at one time a black coffin, according to his statement ; and at another, he was addressed by an audible voice in his cell, assuring him that his sins were pardoned. These two circumstances were what chiefly induced me to insert that narrative, that I might bring up distinctly this point, namely, that the changes of character produced by the Bible are often at- tended with mental delusion in little things, especially among those minds that have been but little disciplined by phil- osophical thought. I could not have a fair specimen with- out including an example of this. The human mind is so constituted, as all who have studied its nature are fully aware, that when any subject of great interest, or any strong emotion, takes possession of it, it operates immediately upon the body, producing sometimes animal excitement, and sometimes delusions of the senses. So that these very delusions, and this very bodily excitement, prove the greatness and the reality of the emotions of heart which have occasioned them. If a man becomes very much interested in any scheme, how likely he is to become enthu- siastic in it ! And this enthusiasm the public usually con- sider as proving, not disproving, his sincerity. It indicates the strength of the interest which he feels. It is astonishing what extravagances people will put up with from men en- gaged in the prosecution of favorite plans, and will consider them as pleasant indications of the strength of the interest which is felt. Brinley, a famous canal engineer, was so much interested in his favorite mode of transportation, that he used to express the opinion that a canal was far more valuable to a country than a navigable river. He was once asked what he supposed Providence intended in creating rivers. He said they were good for nothing but to feed canals. And this story has been copied by every biographer of Brinley : it has been told again and again, in lectures and 228 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Cases of excitement. conversations and debates, as a pleasant instance of extrava- gance in a man devoted to a favorite pursuit, which, proves nothing but the greatness of the interest he feels in it. No- body ever thought the worse of Brinley for it, or distrusted his judgment on any point in the science of engineering. Millions were risked on his opinion while he was living, and his name is remembered with the highest respect. So Chris- tians of uncultivated minds, will be sometimes extravagant in their opinions, or in their conduct, and only show by it the strength of the interest they feel. A man who is inventing a machine, will become so excited that he can not sleep. He will perhaps, in his efforts to ob- tain repose, fall into an uncertain state, between sleeping and waking, in which, half in reverie and half in dream, fancy will present him with splendid images of success. He will hear a voice or see a figure, or he will be assured by some extraordinary mode that he shall overcome all his difficulties, if he will persevere. In the morning, light and the full possession of his faculties return, and as he is generally a man of intelligence, he can analyze the operations of his mind, and separate the false from the true. If he were an unenlightened man, however, and should in the morning tell his story, how narrow would be the philosophy which would say to him, " Sir, it is all a delusion. Your mind is evidently turned. You had better give up your invention, and return to other pursuits." It would be a great deal more wise to neglect altogether the story of supernatural voices and ap- pearances which he might tell, and judge of the value of his proposed invention by examining impartially his plan itself, and calculating on sober evidence the probability of success or failure. So, my reader, when you hear of any thing which you deem extravagance or delusion among Christians, remember how immense a change the beginning of a Christian course EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 229 Conversion a very great change. sometimes is. The man has been all his life neglecting and disliking religion. He has been engrossed in sinful pursuits and pleasures, and perhaps addicted to open vice. All at once, while contemplating God's holy truth, his eyes are opened — he sees his guilt and his imminent danger of ruin. He is, and he must be, strongly excited. If he feels sensible of his condition in any proper degree, he can not sleep. Can an arrested malefactor sleep quietly the first night in his cell ? He must be strongly excited, and this excitement must, in many cases, bring something like temporary mental delusion. He must do and say many things in which the calm specta- tors can not sympathize. But it is most certainly very un- philosophical to fasten upon these things, and infer from them that all is delusion. The real question to be considered is this : Is a bad character really changed for a good one ? If so, it is a great moral change, invaluable in its nature and results, productive of inconceivable good to the individual himself, and to all connected with him. The excess of feel- ing is momentary and harmless. In regard to the perma- nency of the change in the case of those convicts, there is one whose subsequent character I have no means of knowing. The other, however, when he was liberated, became a useful and respectable citizen ; and after sustaining uninjured for two or three years the temptations of the world, he was ad- mitted to a Christian church ; and up to the latest accounts which I have been able to obtain, he was a most trustworthy man and an exemplary Christian. An abandoned profligate, imprisoned for his crimes, becomes a useful and a virtuous man. Can you expect such a change without excitement? How unphilosophical then is it to fasten upon the slight and momentary indications of excitement, as evidence that there is nothing real in the case ! And yet, unphilosophical as this is, I have no doubt that there are many persons whose eyes, if they were reading 230 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Narrow views. Danger on both sides. the first convict's story, would catch at once the accounts of the supernatural appearances which he thought he saw, and they would stop short there. "Ah!" they would say, " he heard a voice forgiving his sins — he saw a black coffin ! It is all fanaticism and delusion." This is narrow-minded- ness. The intellect which reasons thus, is in such a state that it does not take a survey of the whole of a subject pre- sented, so as to form an independent and unbiased opinion. The man fastens upon one little blemish which happens to be turned toward him, and seeing no farther, he condemns the whole. Like the inexperienced mariner who thinks he has come to a barren and inhospitable land, because he sees nothing but precipitous rocks or sandy beaches on the shore which first comes to view. There is, however, a narrow-mindedness which may ope- rate in another way. Many a sincere Christian will read such an account and be perfectly satisfied, because he meets with a few expressions of penitence, that the convict's heart is really changed. He thinks the criminal has certainly be- come a Christian, just because he talks like one. Whereas it is very possible that he is only repeating language which he has heard others use, for the sake of exciting sympathy, or pretending to be reformed, in hope of pardon and release from his cell. Now, it is as narrow-minded to judge from a very partial knowledge of facts in one way as in another. An experienced Christian can indeed often form a tolerably safe opinion of the reality or fictitiousness of a pretended change, by conversation ; but the great decisive evidence after all is perseverance in a holy life. If then men who have been abandoned to vice become virtuous and trustworthy citizens, and exemplify for years the graces of the Christian character, we will bear with a little excitement, and even enthusiasm, at the time of the change. For it is, after all, of comparatively little conse- EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 231 Criterion. The duty of submission. quence whether this excitement shows itself by some open manifestation, as by the black coffin rising to the disturbed imagination of the convict in his cell, or the loud shout, " Grlory to God," which resounds in the camp-meeting ; or whether it is subdued and restrained, as in the still solem- nity of an inquiry meeting on the evening of the Sabbath, or in the solitary suffering of an awakened sinner mourning at midnight the burden of his sins. Remember that I say it is of little consequence. Not that it is of none. It would be better if men would follow Jesus as readily and as easily as Matthew did. Jesus said unto him, " Arise and follow me ; and he arose and followed him." Immediate submission, with cordial confidence in the Savior, will at once remove all mental suffering and all cause for it. But if men will only give up their sins and lead lives of actual piety, we will not quarrel with them about the manner in which they enter the new way. Such then are some of the effects of the Bible upon the human character considered in detail. I have thought it best, in order to show the moral power of this book as dis- tinctly as possible, to analyze thus minutely the operation of it in some particular cases. But the argument would be very deficient if I should leave it here ; for if these cases were uncommon, they would prove but little. But they are not uncommon. Even in prisons, a very large number of such cases have, as I have already stated, occurred ; and the subjects of such changes have gone, when they have been liberated, in peace and happiness to their homes. There are now scattered over our land vast numbers who have been brought, from every stage and degree of guilt, to seek pardon through the Savior, and to begin a life of virtue and piety. The influence of the Bible, too, upon the community at large is so great, that every country where it freely circulates is 232 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Limited circulation of the Bible. Fear of death. distinguished for the peace which reigns there. Vice is comparatively unknown, property and life are safe, every man sits under his own vine and fig-tree, with none to molest or make him afraid. But when man is left to himself, he makes his home a den of robbers. If you travel on the Nile or the Tigris, you must look well to your means of defense. Men must go in caravans in all those regions, for mutual protection. But how would an armed escort for a traveler appear on the banks of the Connecticut or the Hudson ? And yet though benefits so great are procured to society by the Bible, they are procured, after all, only by a limited application of its moral power. It is a very small proportion of the whole population, even in the United States, which attends at all to the commands and instructions of the word of God. The numbers are however rapidly increasing. The cause of God is advancing with great rapidity; and as a military despotism or a Christian republic must be the ultimate destiny of every nation, we can look only to the spread of the influence of the Bible to save our country from ruin. I will close this chapter by mentioning one more instance of the moral power of the Bible — it is its effect in destroying the fear of death. The fear of death is instinctive, not founded on reasoning. It is reasonable for us to fear some things connected with death, but the chief apprehension which every man feels in looking forward to his last hour, is the result of an instinctive principle, which Providence has implanted in every man's mind ; and the only way by which it can be counteracted without the Bible, is by banishing the subject from his thoughts. That is the way that soldiers acquire courage in battle — by accustoming themselves not to think of death at all. It is not in human nature to con- template its approach, habitually and calmly, without such a preparation as the Bible gives. EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 233 The sick young man. Sting of death. The dying mother. Come in imagination to this sick chamber. That young man tossing restlessly upon his pillow is soon to die. His physicians have given him over. His friends despair, but by a most absurd and preposterous species of kindness, they will not tell him of his danger, for they know he is unprepared to die, and the knowledge of the approach of the dread hour they think will distress him! But the sad secret they can not conceal ; he reads his sentence in their anxious looks and agitated words ; his pale cheek turns paler with fear, and to the natural restlessness of disease, there is added the overwhelming agitation of mental anguish. Can you soothe him ? Can you calm him ? Your very effort reveals to him his danger more distinctly, and his heart sinks within him in hopeless terror. Sometimes, it is true, this fear of death does not reign in the heart at the closing hour, for reason may be gone, or the soul may sink into stupor. But when death is really foreseen and known to be near, while the faculties retain their power, the expectation of it weighs down the human spirit with overwhelming fears. But the Bible assures us that the sting of death is sin, and promises that" Christ will give believers the victory over it. This promise is most faithfully observed. See that dying Christian mother. She knows that death is near, and has calmly made her arrangements for the closing scene. She is a Christian, and looks forward to an entrance into the world of spirits with no foreboding and no anxiety. Her husband, and children, and friends, stand in agitation and distress around her bedside, but she is calm. A Christian death-bed very often exhibits the astonishing spectacle of composure and happiness in the one who is to drink the cup, while those around, who are only witnesses of the scene, are overwhelmed with agitation and sorrow. The very one who is to encounter the suffering, is the only one who can look forward to it with- out fear, It is because the Bible has been shedding its influ- 234 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Practical directions. Difficulties. Disputes. ence upon her heart, and by a moral power, which no other means can exert, has disarmed death, the very king of ter- rors, and given to a weak and suffering mortal the victory over all his power. But I must close this chapter, and with it close the short and simple view I have been endeavoring to give of the evi- dences of Christianity. I can not but hope that my readers see evidences enough to satisfy them that the Bible is really the word of God. If you do, lay up the conviction in your heart, and let it guide and influence you. But let me, be- fore I dismiss the subject, give you two or three short prac- tical directions. • 1. Do not think there is no other side to this question. There are a great many things which may be said against the Bible, and some things which you, with your present at- tainments in Christian knowledge, perhaps can not answer. But they do not touch or affect the great arguments by which the authority of the Bible is sustained. They are all small, detached difficulties. Then let your mind rest calmly and with confidence upon the great but simple arguments on which the strong foundations of your belief stand. 2. Never be inclined to disputed upon the evidences of the Christian religion. The difficulty with unbelievers is one of the heart, not of the intellect, and you can not alter the heart by disputing. When they present you with arguments against Christianity, reply in substance, " What you say seems plausible : still it does not reach the broad and deep foundations upon which, in my view, Christianity rests ; and consequently, notwithstanding what you say, I shall still place confidence in the word of God." 3. Notice this, which, if you will watch your own experi- ence, you will find to be true. Your confidence in the word of God and in the truths of religion will be almost exactly pro- portional to the fidelity with which you do your duty. When EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 235 Doing duty. you lose your interest in your progress in piety, neglect prayer, and wander into sin, then you will begin to be in darkness and doubt. If you are so unhappy as to get into such a state, do not waste your time in trying to reason yourself back to belief again. Heturn to duty. Come to God and confess your wanderings, and submit your heart again wholly to him. If you do this, light for the intellect and peace for the heart will come back together. 236 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Study of the Bible. Able to make us wise unto salvation. CHAPTER VIII. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. " Able to make us wise unto salvation." It is not my intention in this chapter to give any descrip- tion of the Bible itself, or of its history since it came into the world ; nor shall I endeavor to establish its divine authority, or present the evidences or the nature of its inspiration. My object is to point out practical duty, and I shall confine my- self to a description of the best methods of reading and studying the book. I ought, however, to remark at the outset, that I intend the chapter to be of a highly practical character, and I shall go accordingly into minute detail. Besides, I am writing for the young, and shall, as I have generally done in this book, con- fine myself chiefly to them, for I have much more hope that they will be influenced to follow the course which I shall endeavor to describe, than that my efforts will produce any good effect upon those who have gone beyond the meridian of life. If a man has passed the age of thirty without the Bible, it is to be feared that he will go on unaided by its light through the remainder of his pilgrimage. It is (lif- erent, however, with the young. You shrink from passing life in impiety. You know that the Bible can be the only safe lamp to your feet ; and if you are not already living by its light, there is hope that you may be persuaded to come and give yourself up to its guidance now. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 237 Way to study the Bible. ; There should be a distinction made between the manner of reading the Bible on the Sabbath, and during the bustle of the week. The two objects to be accomplished, and the method of accomplishing them I shall describe. On the Sabbath the Bible should be studied. Every per- son, old or young, ignorant or learned, should devote a por- tion of time every Sabbath to the study of the Scriptures, in the more strict and proper sense of that term. But to show precisely what I mean by this weekly study of the Bible, I will describe a particular case. A young man with only such opportunities as are possessed by all, resolves to take this course ; he selects the epistle to the Ephesians for his first subject ; he obtains such books and helps as he finds in his own family, or as he can obtain from a religious friend, or procure from a Sabbath-school library. It is not too much to suppose that he will have a sacred Atlas, some Commen- tary, and probably a Bible Dictionary. He should also have pen, ink and paper ; and thus provided, he sits down Sab- bath morning to his work. He raises a short but heartfelt prayer to God that he will assist and bless him, and then commences his inquiries. ■ • ■ . The Epistle to the Ephesians I have supposed to be his subject. He sees that the first question evidently is, " Who were the Ephesians ?" He finds the city of Ephesus upon the map ; and from the preface to the Epistle contained in the commentary, or from any other source to which he can have access, he learns what sort of a city it was, what was the character of the inhabitants, and if possible, what con- dition the city was in at the time this letter was written. He next inquires in regard to the writer of this letter or Epistle, as it is called. It was Paul ; and what did Paul know of the Ephesians ? had he ever been there ? or was he writing to strangers ? To settle these points, so evidently important to a correct understanding of the letter, he ex- 338 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The young man's experiment. amines the Acts of the Apostles, in which the account of St. Paul's labors is contained, to learn whether Paul went there, and if so, what happened while he was there. He finds that many interesting incidents occurred during Paul's visits to Ephesus, and his curiosity is excited to know whether these things will be alluded to in the letter ; he also endeavors to ascertain where Paul was when he wrote the letter. After having thus determined every thing relating to the circumstances of the case, he is prepared to come to the Epistle itself, and to enter with spirit and interest into an examination of its contents. He first glances his eye cursorily through the chapters of the book, that he may take in at once a general view of its object and design — perhaps he makes out a brief list of the topics discussed, and thus has a distinct general idea of the whole before he enters into a minute examination of the parts. This minute examination he comes to at last — though perhaps the time devoted to the study for two or three Sab- baths is spent in the preparatory inquiries. If it is so, it is time well spent ; for by it he is now prepared to enter with interest into the very soul and spirit of the letter. While he was ignorant of these points, his knowledge of the Epistle itself must have been very vague and superficial. Suppose I were now to introduce into this book a letter, and should begin at once, without saying by whom the letter was writ- ten, or to whom it was addressed. It would be preposterous. If I wished to excite your interest, I should describe particu- larly the parties, and the circumstances which produced the letter originally. And yet how many Christians there are, who could not tell whether Paul's letter to the Ephesians was written before or after he went there, or where Titus was when Paul wrote to him, or for what special purpose he wrote ! Take another case. The father or mother whom Provi- STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 239 The family circle. Dislribution of books. deuce has placed at the head of a family, contrive to close their worldly business at an early hour on Saturday evening 1 , and gather around the table at their fireside all those who are committed to their charge. They choose some subject for examination — real, thorough examination. Perhaps it is the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the captivity. The various books calculated to assist their inquiries are distributed among the members of the group ; the reference Bible is given to one, the Concordance to another, an Expositor to the third, the Bible Dictionary to the fourth ; and then, when all are seated, and the divine blessing has been invoked upon their labors, the father asks them all to turn to any part of the Scriptures which gives information upon the subject. They examine first the account of the destruction of the city, when the Jews were carried captive, that they may know in what condition it was probably found on their return. They search in several books for ah account of the first movements in Babylon of those who were desirous of return ; they examine the plans which they formed ; compare one account with another ; every question which occurs is asked, and the in- formation which it seeks for, obtained. The two expeditions of Ezra and Nehemiah are examined — the object of each and the connection between them. Under the control of a judicious parent, even secular history might be occasionally referred to, to throw light upon the subject. We may prop- erly avail ourselves of any helps of this kind, so far as their tendency is really to throw light upon the sacred volume. The children of the family soon take a strong interest in the study ; their inquiries are encouraged, their curiosity is awa- kened ; they regard it a pleasure, not a task. Instead of the evening of Saturday, the afternoon or evening of the Sab- bath, if more convenient, may be used ; and if the children are members of a Sabbath School, their next lesson may be the subject. Those accustomed to the use of the pen will 240 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Interest of the children. Of all. derive great advantage from writing, each evening, notes or abstracts, expressing in a concise and simple style, the new knowledge they have acquired ; and every difficulty should be noted, that it may be presented at a convenient oppor- tunity to some other Christian student, to the superintendent of the Sabbath School, or to a minister of the Gospel. This method of studying the Scriptures, which I have thus attempted to describe, and which I might illustrate by sup- posing many other cases, is not intended for one class alone ; not for the ignorant peculiarly, nor for the wise ; not for the rich, nor for the poor ; but for all. The solitary widow, in her lonely cottage among the distant mountains, with nothing but her simple Bible in her hand, by the light of her even- ing fire, may pursue this course of comparing Scripture with Scripture, and entering into the spirit of sacred story, throw- ing herself back to ancient times, and thus preparing herself to grasp more completely, and to feel more vividly the moral lessons which the Bible is mainly intended to teach. And the most cultivated scholar may pursue this course in his quiet study, surrounded by all the helps to a thorough knowl- edge of the Scriptures which learning can procure or wealth obtain. I hope the specimens which I have given are sufficient to convey to my readers the general idea that I have in view, when I speak of studying the Bible, in contradistinction from the mere cursory reading of it, which is so common among Christians. But I must illustrate in minute detail the various methods of doing this ; for there are many per- sons who really wish to study the Bible more intellectually, and to receive more vivid impressions from it, but who do not exactly know what they are to do to secure these objects. I shall therefore describe some of the means which can easily be adopted, and which if adopted will be found very efficient for this purpose. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 241 Particular directions. Familiar sounds. 1. Picturing to the imagination the scenes described. There is a very common difficulty felt by multitudes in read- ing the Bible, which admits of so sure and easy a remedy by the above direction, that I can not avoid devoting a few paragraphs to the formal consideration of it. A person who is convinced that it is his duty to read the word of God, and who really desires to read it, and to receive instruction from it, sits down on the Sabbath to the work. He opens perhaps to a passage in the Gospels, and reads on, verse after verse. The phraseology is all perfectly familiar to him. He has read the same passage a hundred times before, and the words fall upon his ear without life or meaning, and produce no impression upon his mind. After going through a few verses in this way, he finds that he is making no progress ; perhaps his mind has left his work altogether, and is wandering to some other subject. He begins back therefore a few verses, and endeavors to become interested in the narrative ; but it is to little purpose ; and after spending half an hour in the attempt, he shuts his book, and instead of feeling that renewed moral strength, and the peace of mind which comes from a proper use of the word of God, he feels disappointed and dissatisfied, and returns to his other duties more unquiet in spirit than before. What a vast proportion of the reading of the Bible, as practiced in Christian countries, does this description justly portray. Now some one may say that this careless and useless study of God's word arises from a cold and indifferent state of heart toward God. It does unquestionably often arise, in a great degree, from this source, but not entirely. There is another difficulty not connected with the moral state of the heart. It is this : Words that have been often repeated gradually lose their power to awaken vivid ideas in the mind. The clock which L 242 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The motto in the school-room. Description from the Bible. has struck perhaps many thousand times in your room, you at last cease even to hear. On the walls of a school-room there was once painted in large letters, "a place for every thing, and every thing in its place ;" but after a little time the pupils, becoming familiar with the sight of the inscription, lost altogether its meaning ; and a boy would open his disorderly desk and look among the confused mass of books, slates, and papers there, for some article he had lost, and then as he looked around the room, his eyes would fall on the conspicuous motto, without thinking a moment of the incongruity between its excellent precept and his own disorderly practice. It is always so. The oft- repeated sound falls at last powerless and unheeded on the ear. The difficulty then that I am now to consider, is, that in reading the Bible, especially those portions which are familiar, we content ourselves with merely repeating the words once more, instead of penetrating fully to the meaning beyond. In order to illustrate this difficulty and its remedy more fully, let me take a passage, the sixth chapter of St. John for example, to which I have opened at random. "' After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased." How familiar, now, this sounds to every reader. Every phrase comes upon the ear like an oft-told tale, but it makes a very slight impression upon the mind. The next verse, though perhaps few of my readers know now what it is, will sound equally familiar when they read it here. "And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples." Now suppose that this passage and the verses which STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 243 Vivid conceptions. The sea of Galilee. follow it were read at morning prayer by the master of a family ; how many of the children would hear it without being interested in it, or receiving any clear and vivid ideas from the description. And how many would there be who, if they were asked two hours afterward what had been read that morning, would be utterly unable to tell. But now suppose that this same father could, by some magic power, show to his children the real scene which these verses describe. Suppose that he could go back through the eighteen hundred years which have elapsed since these events occurred, and taking his family to some elevation in the romantic scenery of Palestine, from which they might overlook the country of Galilee, actually show them all that this chapter describes. " Do you see," he might say, " that wide sea which spreads out beneath us, and occupies the whole extent of the valley ? That is the sea of Tiberias ; it is also called the sea of Galilee. All this country which spreads around it is Galilee. Those distant mountains are in Galilee, and that beautiful wood which skirts the shore is a Galilean forest." " Why is it called the sea of Tiberias ?" a child might ask. " Do you see at the foot of that hill, on the opposite shore of the lake, a small town ? It extends along the margin of the water for a considerable distance. That is Tiberias, and the lake sometimes takes its name." "But look — there is a small boat coming round a point of land which juts out beautifully from this side of the lake. It is slowly making its way across the water — we can almost hear the dashing of the oars. It contains the Savior and some of his disciples. They are steering toward Tiberias — now they approach the beach ; they stop at the landing, and the Savior, followed by his disciples, walks up the pathway on the shore." 244 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The Savior and the sick. THE SEA OP TIBERIAS. Suppose now that this party of observers can remain a little longer at their post, and see in a short time that some sick person is brought to the Savior to be healed. Another and another comes. A crowd gradually collects around him. He retreats slowly up the rising ground, and after a little time he is seen to take his place upon an elevated spot, where he can overlook and address the throng which has assembled near. If this could be done, how strong and how lasting an impression would be made upon those minds ! Years, and perhaps the whole of life itself, would not obliterate it. Even this faint description, though it brings nothing new to the mind, will probably make a much stronger and more lasting impression than merely reading the narration would do. And what is the reason ? How is it that what STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 245 Picturing the scene to the mind. I have here said has impressed this scene upon your minds more distinctly than the simple language of the Bible ? Why, it is only because I have endeavored to lead you to picture this scene to your minds — to conceive of it strongly and clearly. Now any person can do this for himself in regard to any passage of Scripture. It is not necessary that I should go on and delineate in this manner the whole of the acconnt. Each reader can, if he will task his imagination, paint for himself the scenes which the Bible describes. And if he does thus bring his intellect and his powers of conception to the work, and read, not merely to repeat, formally and coldly, sounds already familiar, but to bring to his mind vivid and clear conceptions of all which is represented there, he will be interested. He will find new and striking scenes coming up continually to view, and will be surprised at the novelty and interest which this simple and easy efforts will throw over those very portions of the Bible to which the ear has become most completely familiar. I wish now that every one of my readers would really try this experiment. It will do very little good merely to read the foregoing directions, and resolve generally to endeavor in future to form vivid and clear conceptions of what is described when you are reading ; you must make a particular effort to learn to do this. Now the next time you sit down to read- ing the Bible, turn to the fifth chapter of the Gospel accord- ing to St. Luke, and picture to yourself as vividly as possible the scene described there. Do not think of a shore in general, but conceive of some particular shore. Give it shape and form. Let it be rocky or sandy, or high or low, bordered with woods, or with hills, or with meadows. Let it be something distinct. You may, if you please, conceive it to be a long sandy beach, with a lofty bank and verdant field behind ; or you may have it an open wood, sloping gradually 246 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Clear conceptions. West's picture of Christ rejected. down to the water's edge ; or a rocky, irregular coast, full of indentations ; or a deep and narrow bay, whose shores are overhung with willows. Let it assume either of these forms, or any other which your fancy may portray, and which may suit the circumstances of your narrative ; only let it be some- thing distinct — clear and distinct in all its parts ; so that if you had power to represent upon canvas the conceptions of your mind, by painting, you might execute a perfect picture of the whole scene. To do this properly will require time and thought. You must be alone or at least uninterrupted, and your first effort will be a difficult one. The power of forming clear and vivid conceptions of this kind varies greatly in different individuals. The faculty can, however, be cultivated and strengthened by exercise. Historical painters, that is, paint- ers of historical scenes, are enabled to produce very great effects by the possession of this power. West, for example, formed in his own mind a clear, and vivid, and interesting conception of the scene which was exhibited when the crowd of angry Jews rejected the Savior and called for his cruci- fixion. He painted this scene, and the great picture which he has thus produced has been gazed at with intense interest by many thousands. I saw this picture in the gallery of the Athenaeum at Boston. The gallery is a large and lofty apartment, lighted by windows above, and containing seats for hundreds. As I came up the stairs which lead into the room, and stepped from them upon the floor of the apartment, I found a large company assembled. The picture, which was, as I should suppose, ten or fifteen feet long, stood against one side of the apartment, and before it, arranged upon the seats, were the assembled spectators, who were gazing with intense interest, and almost in perfect silence, upon the scene. As we came forward before the canvas we felt the same solemn impres- STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 247 Effect upon tho assembly. Writing questions. sion which had silenced the others, and it was interesting and affecting to observe, as party after party came up the stairs, talking with usual freedom, that their voices gradually died away, and they stood silent and subdued before the pic- ture of the Savior. Yes ; there stood the Savior in the middle of the picture, passive and resigned, and with a countenance whose expres- sion plainly said that his thonghts were far away. The Roman governor stood before his palace endeavoring to per- suade the mob to consent to their prisoner's release. The uncovered and hard-featured soldiery sat at his feet upon the cross which they had been carrying, and were holding in their hands the spikes with which the limbs of the innocent one before them were to be pierced. All the other attendant circumstances were most vividly and strikingly represented. The mob were there, with fury and rage and hate in every variety upon their countenances. Barabbas was there, with his look of hardened and unsubdued guilt — and the centu- rion's little daughter, whose life Jesus had saved, stood by her father, apparently entreating him to interpose his power to rescue her preserver. Now West must have possessed, in order to succeed in executing such a work, the power, first, of forming a clear mental conception of the scene, and secondly, of representing this scene by colors on the canvas. The former of these only is the one necessary for the object that I have above described, and you ought, while reading accounts of Scripture scenes, to form as vivid and distinct conceptions of the scenes described as if you were actually intending to represent them by the pencil. 2. Writing questions. A young man, with pen and paper before him, sits down, I will suppose, to the examination of some portion of the Bible, intending to write questions upon the passage, such as he would ask if he were preparing tQ 248 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. God's command to Abraham. Questions upon the passage. examine a class in a Sabbath School. Suppose he opens to the account of Abraham's offering Isaac. The following is the passage ; I copy it, that the reader may the better understand the questions. 1. And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abra- ham, and said unto him, Abraham ; and he said, Behold, here I am. 2. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering, upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went into the place of which God had told him. 4. Then on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass : and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. He reads this narrative carefully, verse by verse, and writes a question for every important fact stated. Perhaps the questions might be somewhat as follows. The reader, in examining them, is particularly requested to compare the questions, one by one, with the verses in which the answers are contained. I ought also to remark, that I do not offer these as examples of good questions, but only as a specimen of such as I suppose most young persons would write. 1. To what land did God command Abraham to go to offer up his son ? 2. How was he to be offered ? 3. Was he to be offered on a mountain ? 4. How did Abraham travel ? 5. What time did he set out ? STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 249 Utility of writing questions. 6. How many attendants had he ? 7. How long a journey was it ? 8. What is stated in the 5th verse ? I have written these questions as I imagine they might be written by any intelligent young person. Some of them are however evidently not good. A leading question ought not to be asked, that is, one so written as to imply what the an- swer is ; nor ought it to be so written that the answer should be simply " Yes," or " No." No. 3 of the above is a leading question. No. 8, too, is not a good question. It is not im- portant that one should remember what is said in any particu- lar verse. It would have been better in such a form as this : 8. "What arrangement was made after they arrived at the mountain ? If any person will attempt the writing of questions in this manner, he will find it one of the most efficient means that he can possibly devise, of fixing upon his mind the facts contained in any portion of history. In order to make out the question, you look at the fact in various aspects and relations ; all its connections are considered, and the mind becomes thoroughly familiarized with it. For you will find, after a very little practice, that the same fact may be made the subject of a great number of different questions ; and to look at these with a view of selecting the best, is a most valuable intellectual exercise. Take, for instance, the very questions I have already spoken of, particularly No. 8. See how many different questions, or rather in how many forms the same questions can be asked, some bad and some good, upon the single verse to which it relates. In order to understand them, and be enabled to judge of their char- acter, the reader should refer to the passage itself, and com- pare the questions with the statements made in the last verse of the narrative. L* 250 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Many questions upon one verse. Good and bad questions. 1. What did Abraham say to the young men when he reached the mountain ? 2. What plan did Abraham form when he reached the mountain ? 3. Did all the party go together to the place where Isaac was to be offered ? 4. How was the party divided when they reached the mountain ? 5. How many persons went with Abraham to the place of sacrifice ? 6. When Abraham went with Isaac alone to the place of sacrifice, what did he say that he was going for ? 7. When Abraham left the young men behind, to go with Isaac alone to the place of sacrifice, what did he say that he was going to do ? 8. What did he tell them that he was going to do ? Was this the truth ? Was it the whole truth ? Are we always bound to tell the whole truth ? The reader will thus see that one and the same fact may be viewed in so many aspects and relations as to sug- gest a very large number of questions. After a very little practice, several questions will accordingly suggest them- selves at each verse to any individual who attempts the exercise. He will consider which to choose. He will, in thus considering, necessarily view the recorded fact under its various aspects, and acquire a far more thorough and per- manent knowledge of it than is possible to obtain from any cursory reading. So great is the advantage of this method of writing questions upon any book which the pupil desires thoroughly to understand, that it is not unfrequently adopted in schools — each pupil of a class being required to write questions upon a part or upon the whole of a lesson, which questions are then read and answered at the recitation. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 251 Experiment tried by a mother. I fancy now that I can hear some of my readers, of a mind somewhat mature, saying-, " I will myself try this ex- periment, and after writing the questions, I will read them to some younger members of the family, to see if they can find the answers." Perhaps the individual who resolves on this experiment is the head of a family — a mother. She gathers her children around her, after the public services on the Sabbath, and says to them, " We will study a chapter in the Bible. I will study it, and you shall study it. I will read it carefully, and write in this little book all the questions that I can think of ; and you at the same time may read it attentively, and try to understand it, and remember what it contains. Then after tea we will gather around the table before our bright fire, and I will read my questions, and you may see if you can answer them." The children enter with spirit into the plan. They gather into a little circle, and read their lesson aloud, verse by verse, questioning each other in regard to its difficulties, and en- deavoring to anticipate the questions which the mother is preparing. Even the little Benjamin of the family is inter- ested ; who, though he can scarcely read, looks attentively upon his Bible with the large print, hoping that there will be some easy question to come to him. At the appointed hour, they gather with eager interest to their recitation. The mother finds that many of her ques- tions are ambiguous, some too difficult, and that others could not be answered, for other reasons. Still a large portion are understood and answered. The moral lessons of the chapter are brought to view, and gently but forcibly impressed upon the heart. Are you a Sabbath-school teacher? Lay aside your printed question-book for one Sabbath, and write questions yourself upon the lesson of the day. Then compare what you have written with those printed for your use. Strike out 252 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. A Sabbath-school teacher. 3. Re-writing Scripture. from your own list all that are upon the other, and carry the rest with you to your class, and say to your pupils somewhat as follows : " I have been writing a new set of questions on this lesson. Now, I do not suppose that you can answer any of them, because you did not have them while you were studying. But should you like to have me read them to you, and let you try?" You will in such a case find the curiosity and interest of your class strongly awakened ; and though your first experi- ment may not fully succeed, you may say to them, " I will write questions again for the lesson of next week. When you are studying your own questions, then, I should like to have you remember that I am writing other questions than those, and endeavor to understand and remember every fact stated in the lesson, so that you can answer all my questions as well as the printed ones. I know it will be difficult for you, but I presume that you can do it." A Sabbath-school teacher who will make such efforts as these, to render his work more intellectual, and to interest himself and his pupils more deeply in the thorough study of the Bible, will find that both himself and his pupils will ad- vance with double rapidity. 3. Re-ivriting portions of Scripture. Head, or rather study, some portion of Scripture thoroughly, and then write the substance of it in your own language. I can illustrate this best, perhaps, by repeating the following dialogue. It is, I will suppose, Sabbath evening ; the family are going out, and one son, a boy of fourteen, is to be left at home. " What shall I do this evening ?" asks the son. The father turns to the fifth chapter of Luke, and says : " Take this chapter, read the first eleven verses, and form a clear and distinct conception of the whole scene, just as if you had witnessed it. Then write an account of it in your STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 253 The boy's evening work. Actual case. own language. Be careful to write entirely in your own language" " Must I not use the language of the Bible at all ?" "No. You have two separate things to do. First, read the account attentively and thoroughly, in order to form in your own mind a distinct picture of the whole. Try to see it as plainly as if you had stood upon the bank and actually looked down upon the whole transaction. Then shut your Bible, and write your own account of it, just as if you were writing a letter to me, and describing something which you had yourself seen." Now suppose the boy engages in this work in the manner described above, with how much more interest than usual will he read the passage ! He will scrutinize it carefully ; examine every circumstance of the narrative minutely, and notice many points of interest which would ordinarily escape him. Once when I asked a lad, under circumstances similar to these, to re-write this passage, he had not been five minutes at his work before he came with a question which I presume hundreds of my readers have never thought to ask, though they all have doubtless read the passage again and again. I must, however, first give the passage. Luke v. 1. 1. And it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret. 2. And saw two ships standing by the lake ; but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. 4. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5. And Simon answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all 254 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Difficulty arising. Explanation of it. the night, and have taken nothing ; nevertheless, at thy word I ■will let down the net. 6. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes ; and their net brake. 7. And they beckoned unto their partners which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord. 9. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. 10. And so were also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11. And when they had brought their ships to land they forsook all and followed him. The difficulty which the boy proposed was this : " In the second verse," says he, "it is stated that the fishermen had gone out of their boats, and were washing their nets, but in the third, Christ enters one of the boats and asks Simon to move off a little from the shore ; that seems to imply that Simon was still in his boat." How apparent was it from this question, that the boy was reading the Bible understandingly, and not merely repeating once more the familiar sounds by which the scenes of that passage are described ! Upon a little reflection, it was mani- fest that Simon might have remained in his boat, while the fishermen generally had gone ashore ; or he might have stood near, so as to be easily addressed by the Savior. The difficulty vanished in a moment. But, by the ordinary, dull, sluggish reading of the Bible, both difficulty and solution would have been alike unseen. The following was the description produced in this case : I copy it without alteration, that my readers may see, from actual inspection of an actual example, what degree of suc- cess they may expect to attain. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 255 The paraphrase. Jesus and the Fishermen. " Once, as Jesus was standing near a lake called Gennesaret, a great multitude crowded around him, wishing to have him address them. He saw near the shore two fishing vessels, but the fishermen had gone away to clean their nets. He went into one of them, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to shove the vessel out a little way into the water, and he talked to the people from the deck. When he had finished, he told Simon to go out into the sea and cast in their nets in order to get some fish. And Simon said to him, we have been work- ing all night and have not caught any thing, but as you have desired it, we will let down our nets again. Having done it, they took a great many fishes, and their net was broken, and there were so many fishes that both ships were filled and began to sink. Simon was so much astonished, and they that were with him, at taking so many fishes this time, when they had been laboring all night and caught nothing, that (he fell down before Jesus, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.) Simon's companions, James and John, were also surprised at the fishes. And when they had brought their ships to the shore they left all their things and followed Jesus." The part inclosed in a parenthesis is Scripture language. The boy said that he could not express that idea in any other way, and he used the parenthesis as a mode of indicating that the language of the Bible was, in that clause, retained. This example, as is obvious from the style and language in which the narrative is given, was the work of quite a youthful student. The exercise itself, however, is of such a nature as to be adapted to any stage of intellectual progress ; and the writing of such narratives may be carried to a greater or less extent according to the taste and skill of the individual, or to the amount of time which he has at his disposal for such a purpose. I knew a young man who re- wrote the whole book of the Acts in this way. He devoted the Sabbath afternoons to the work, from the close of the services at church to the tea hour. He made a neat manu- script copy of his work as he proceeded, illustrating it with 256 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Plan tried by James and John. maps, which he drew for the purpose. The benefit which he derived from the work was incalculable, not only in re- spect to the very minute, thorough, and accurate knowledge of the Scriptures, which he acquired by means of it, but in the general development and cultivation of his intellectual powers. 4. Collating the Scriptures. The next method that I shall describe, by which variety and efficiency can be given to your study of the Scriptures, may be called collation. It consists of carefully comparing two or more different accounts of the same transaction. To illustrate it, I will imagine that two young persons sit down on a Sabbath afternoon by their fire-side to read the Bible, and they conclude to collate the several accounts of Paul's conversion. To show that this exercise does not re- quire any advanced age, or any great maturity of mind, I will imagine that the scholars are quite young, and will give in detail the conversation, as we might imagine it in such a case to be. We will suppose James to be thirteen or fourteen years of age, and John some years younger. John. " "Well, what shall we read ?" James. " I think it would be a good plan for us to read and compare the two accounts of the conversion of Paul. Here is the first account in the 9th chapter of the Acts ; and I believe Paul himself afterward gave some account of it in his speech." John. " What speech ?" James. " Some speech that he made when he was upon trial. I will find it ; it is somewhere in the last part of the book of Acts." The boys turn over the leaves of their Bibles, until at last James says, " Here it is ; I have found it ; it is in the 26th chapter." STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 257 Three accounts of Paul's conversion. " No," says John, " it is in the 22d ; it begins at the 4th verse." James. " Let me see it. 0, there are two accounts in his speeches ; that makes three in all. Shall we compare them all?" John. " Yes ; we can put our fingers into all the places, and read one verse of one, and then one verse of another, and so go through." James. " Well, let us see where these two speeches were made." The boys then examine the introductory remarks connected with these two addresses of the Apostle, and learn before whom and under what circumstances they were made, and then proceed with their comparison. James. " I will read first in the 9th chapter." 1. "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaugh- ter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high- priest, 2. "And desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. " Now you may read as much," he continues, " in the 22d chapter." John. "Where shall I begin?" James. (Looking at the passage,) " At the 5th verse, I believe." John. (Reading,) " As also the high-priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders ; from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished." 258 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Effect of this method. " Do you see any difference, James ?■" James. " Yes ; there are two differences : it is said in the first account that Paul took letters from the high-priest alone ; and in the second, from the elders too — all the estate of the elders. It is said, too, in the first account, that his letters were to the synagogues, but in the second, that they were to the brethren." Boys of twelve years of age would probably see no farther than to notice such obvious points of comparison as those that I have mentioned ; but a maturer mind, attempting this same exercise, would go far deeper, and consequently with a stronger interest, into the subject. Such a one will take great pleasure in observing how every expression in the account in the twenty-second chapter corresponds with the circumstances in which Paul was placed. He was in Jerusalem. A great popular tumult had been excited against him. A few of his determined enemies had, by the arts with which it is always easy for bad men to inflame the multitude, urged them on almost to fury, and an immense throng had gathered around him, with the marks of the most determined hostility in their looks and gestures and actions. At this moment a Roman military force appeared for his rescue ; he was drawn out from the crowd, and standing upon the stairs of the castle, above the tumultuous sea from which he had been saved, he attempts to address the assembly. He had been represented to the crowd as a foreigner — an Egyptian, who had come to Jerusalem to excite sedition and tumult ; and of course his first aim would naturally be to destroy this impression, and present himself before this assem- bly as their fellow-countryman — one who had long resided among them, and had regarded them as brethren. How natural is it therefore that he should speak distinctly of his connection with the Jewish nation ! He commences his STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 259 Advantages of this plan. List of lessons. account with the statement that he is a Jew— by birth, by education, and by feelings. This peculiarity in the speaker's condition, accounts most fully and in a most interesting manner for the difference between the expressions which he uses here, and those used in the ninth chapter. Where, in the narrative, the high-priest only was alluded to, in the defense, the speaker mentions respectfully all the estate of the elders. The historian, employing the simple historical style, says that Paul went with letters to the synagogues. The orator, in his effort to allay irritated feelings, uses the word brethren — a term equally correct, but far more suitable to his purpose. I make these remarks, not to go into a commentary upon Paul's speech, but to show what kind of reflections will occur to an intelligent mind, in thus collating different portions of the sacred volume. Notice every difference ; and endeavor to discover, in the circumstances of the case, its cause. You will find by so doing that new and striking beauties will arise to view at every step ; the pages of the Bible will look brighter and brighter, with meaning hitherto unseen, and you will find new exhibitions of character and conduct so natural and yet so simple as to constitute almost irresistible evidence of the reality of the scenes which the sacred history describes. There are a great many of the events of which two differ- ent accounts are given in the Bible, which may be advan- tageously collated in the manner above described. In hopes that some of my readers will study the Scriptures in this way, I enumerate some of them. LESSONS. Solomon's Choice. 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Dedication of the Temple. 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles. Revolt of the Ten Tribes. " " Story of Elisha. " " 260 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Lessons. Difficulties to be anticipated. Story of Elijah. 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles. Story op Hezekiah. Kings, Chronicles, and Isaiah. Genealogical Line from Adam to Abraham. Genesis and 1 Chronicles. Catalogue of the Kings of Israel. Kings and Chronicles. Catalogue of the Kings of Judah. Kings and Chronicles. Preaching of John the Baptist. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Temptation of Christ. Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Savior's Arrest. Four Evangelists. His Tejal. Four Evangelists. His Death. Four Evangelists. His Resurrection. Four Evangelists. Institution of the Lord's Supper. Matthew and 1 Corinthians. Genealogy of Christ. Matthew and Luke. The above subjects vary very much in the degree of intel- lectual effort necessary for their examination, and in almost every one of them the reader will often be involved in diffi- culties which he can not easily remove. If we merely read the Bible, chapter after chapter, in a sluggish and formal manner, we see little to interest us and little to perplex ; but in the more thorough and scrutinizing mode of study which I here suggest, both by this mode and the others which I have been describing, we shall find beauties and difficulties coming up together. Let every one who undertakes such a collation of different accounts, expect difficulty. Do not be surprised at apparent contradictions in the narrative ; you will find many. Do not be surprised when you find various circumstances in the different accounts which you find it impossible to bring together into one view ; you must expect such difficulties. Look at them calmly and patiently ; seek solutions from commentaries and from older Christians, and STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 261 The Apostle Peter. Jerusalem. what you can not by these means understand, quietly leave. A book which, under divine guidance, employed the pens of from fifty to a hundred writers — scattered through a period of fifteen hundred years ; whose scenes extend over a region of immense extent, and whose narratives are involved with the most minute history of all the great nations of antiquity — Babylon, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome — such a book you must not expect to understand fully in a day. 5. Studying by subjects. Select some subject, such that the information which the Scriptures contain in respect to it is scattered through various portions of the sacred volume, and make it your study to collect this information, and bring it together in one general view. Take for instance the life of the Apostle Peter. Suppose you make it your business on one Sabbath, with the help of a brother, or sister, or any other friend who will unite with you in the work, to obtain all the information which the Bible gives in regard to him. By the help of the Concordance you will find all the places in which he is mentioned ; you compare the various accounts contained in the four gospels ; and observe in what they agree and in what they differ. After following doAvn his history as far as the Evangelists bring it, you take up the book of the Acts, and go through that narrative, searching for information in regard to this Apostle, and omitting those parts which relate to other subjects. In this way you become fully acquainted with his character and history ; you under- stand it as a whole. Jerusalem is another good subject, and the examination would afford scope for the exercise of the faculties of the highest minds for many Sabbaths. Find when the city is first named, and from the manner in which it is mentioned, and the circumstances connected with the earliest accounts of it, ascertain what sort of city it was at that time. Then follow its histoiy down ; notice the changes as they 262 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The Sabbath. List of topics. occur ; understand every revolution, examine the circum- stances of every battle and siege of which it is the scene, and thus become acquainted with its whole history down to the time when the sacred narration leaves it. To do this well, will require patient and careful investigation. You can not do it as you can read a single chapter — carelessly and with an unconcerned and uninterested mind ; you must, if you would succeed in such an investigation, engage in it in earnest. And that is the very advantage of such a method of study ; it breaks up effectually that habit of listless, dull, inattentive reading of the Bible which so extensively prevails. You may in the same manner take the subject of the Sabbath ; examine the circumstances of its first appointment, and then follow its history down, so far as it is given in the Bible, to the last Sabbath alluded to in the sacred pages. The variety of topics which might profitably be studied in this way is vastly greater than would at first be supposed. There is a great number of biographical and geographical topics, and a great number which relate to manners, and customs, and sacred instructions. In fact, the whole Bible may be analyzed in this way, and its various contents brought before the mind in new aspects, and with a fresh- ness and vividness which, in the mere repeated reading of the Scriptures in regular course can never be seen. It may assist the reader who is disposed to make the experiment, if I present a small list ; it might be extended easily to any length. BIOGRAPHICAL TOPICS. Hezekiah. Herod. Daniel. John the Baptist. Elijah. Peter. Elisha. Nicodemus. Jeremiah. Judas. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 263 Intellectual study of the Bible. GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL TOPICS. Jerusalem. Samaria. Egypt. The Sea of Galilee. The Nile. Tyre. Babylon. The Philistines. The Red Sea. The Moabites. The Jordan. The Ammonites. Damascus. Ethiopia. TOPICS RELATING TO RELIGIOUS RITES. Sacrifices. The Ark of the Covenant. The Sabbath. The Tabernacle. The Feast of Tabernacles. Baptism. The Passover. The Lord's Supper. Fasting. Synagogues. There are various other methods which might be men- tioned and described ; but enough has been said to enable any one who is disposed, to engage at once, for a short time each Sabbath, in a truly intellectual study of the Bible. Parents can try the experiments which I have above de- scribed, in their families ; and Sabbath-school teachers can try them in their classes. Sabbath Schools would be astonish- ingly improved at once, if the teachers would put their inge- nuity into requisition to devise and execute new plans, so as to give variety to the exercises. There should be a spirit and interest exhibited, both by the teacher and pupil, which the mere servile reading of printed questions, and listening to answers mechanically committed, never can produce. There is far too little of this intellectual study of the Bible, even among the most devoted Christians. Its litera- ture, its history, its biography, the connection of its parts — all are very little understood. It is indeed true, that the 264 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Object of the historic form. final aim of the Bible is to teach us personal religious duty. It comes to the conscience — not to the literary taste of men ; it is designed to guide their devotions, not to gratify their cu- riosity, or their love of historic truth. But why is it that God has chosen the historic form, as a means of communicating his truths ? Why is it that his communications with man- kind were for so many years so completely involved with the political history of a powerful nation, that that whole history must be given ? Why is our Savior's mission so connected with the affairs of the Roman government, and all this con- nection so fully detailed, that no inconsiderable portion of the geography, and customs, and laws of that mighty empire, is contained in the Gospels and the Acts ? The moral lessons which our Savior taught might have been presented in their simple didactic form. The whole plan of salvation through the sufferings of a Redeemer, might have been given us in one single statement ; instead of this, we are left to gather it piece by piece from multitudes of narratives, and addresses, and letters. Why is it then, that instead of one simple proclamation from the Majesty on high, we have sixty or seventy different books, introducing us to the public history of twenty nations, and to the minutest incidents in the biogra- phies of a thousand men ? It is that we may be excited by the interest of incident and story ; that religion and impiety may be respectively presented to us in living and acting reality; and that the principles of God's government, and his dealing with men, may come to us in all the vividness of actual fact. If then we neglect to understand this history as history, and to enter into all the incidents which are detailed, we lose the very benefit which the Spirit had in view in making the Bible such a volume as it is. Without such an occasional effort to make the Scriptures a study, examining them intellectually, comparing one part with another, and endeavoring to bring vividly to view the scenes STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 265 Reading practically. Daily reading of the Bible. which they present to our minds, it may safely be said that no one can truly understand the Bible, or enter at all into the spirit of its descriptions, its warnings, and its appeals. But after all, it must still be remembered that the great object in studying the Bible is not merely to understand it. The revelation which God has made is a message sent, not to the intellect, but to the consciences and hearts of men ; and unless it reaches the conscience and the heart, it entirely fails of accomplishing its object. We ought, indeed, to gain an intellectual knowledge of it, but that is only to be con- sidered as a means to enable us the more fully to apply to our own characters and conduct, the practical lessons which it teaches. The Sabbath seems, for most persons, the most proper time for the systematie study of the Scriptures, but a portion of the sacred volume should be read practically every day. This part of my subject does not need so full an illustration as the other, for the great difficulty in regard to reading the Scriptures practically, is a want of disposition to do it. They who really wish to learn their duty and overcome the temp- tations that assail them, — and who desire that the sins of their hearts and lives should be brought to their view by the word of God, will easily make for themselves an application of the truths which the Bible contains Will not all my readers do this, faithfully and persever- ingly ? Resolve to bring a short portion of the preceptive or devotional parts of the Scriptures home to your heart every day ; and let your object be, in this daily reading of the Bible, not so much to extend your intellectual view of the field open to you in its pages, as to increase its moral and spiritual influence upon your heart and conduct. Be not so careful, then, to read this exact quantity, or that ; but to bring home some portion really and fully to the heart and to M 266 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Useless reading. The apprentice. the conscience — to do it so forcibly, that the influence of those few verses read and pondered in the morning, will go with you through the day. Habitual reading of the Bible is, however, sometimes prac- ticed with a different spirit from this. A boy, for example, whose parents or whose Sabbath-school teacher has con- vinced him that he ought to read the Bible daily, takes his book and sits down by the fire, and reads away, rapidly and thoughtlessly, the portion which comes in course. He looks up occasionally, to observe the sports of his brothers and sis- ters, or to join in their conversation, and then returns again to the verse which he had left. In fifteen minutes he rises from his seat, shuts his book, and pushes it into its place upon the shelf, saying, " There — I have read my chapter ;" and this is the last that he knows or thinks of the Bible during the day. Consider now another case. In an unfurnished and even unfinished little room, in some crowded alley of a populous city, you may see a lad, who has just arisen from his humble bed, and is ready to go forth to his daily duties. He is a young apprentice, — and must almost im- mediately go to kindle his morning fire, and to prepare his place of business for the labors of the day. He first, however, takes his lit- tle Testament from his chest — and breathes, while he opens it, a THE APPRENTICE. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 267 Reading two versea aright. silent prayer, that God will fix the lesson that he is about to read, upon his conscience and his heart. " Holy Spirit !" whispers he, " let me apply the instructions of this hook to myself, and let me be governed by it to-day ; so that I may per- form faithfully all my duties to myself, to my companions, to my master, and to Thee." He opens the book, and reads perhaps as follows : — " Be kindly aftectioned one to another, with brother- ly love, with honor preferring one another." He pauses ; his faithful self-applying thoughts run through the scenes through which he is that day to pass, and he considers in what case this verse ought to influence him. " Be kindly affectioned!" I must treat my brothers and sisters, and all my companions, kindly to-day. I must endeavor to save them trouble, and to promote their happiness. " In honor preferring one an- other." As he sees these words, he sighs to reflect how many times he has been jealous of his fellow-apprentices, on ac- count of marks of trust and favor shown to them, or envious of the somewhat superior privileges enjoyed by those older than himself, and he prays that God will forgive him, and make him humble and kind-hearted in future, to all around him. " Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" He stops to consider whether he is habitually in dustrious, improving all his time in such a manner as to De of the greatest advantage to his master ; — whether he '.s fer- vent in spirit ; that is, cordially devoted to God's service, and full of benevolent desires for the happiness of all ; — whether he serves the Lord in what he does, that is, whether all his duties are discharged from motives of love to his Maker and Preserver. While he thus muses, the fire burns. He shuts his book, and asks God to protect him as he now goes out into the labors and temptations of the day. God does bless and protect him. He has read, indeed, but tivo verses ; but these verses he carries in his heart, and they serve as a me- 268 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The Bible. What quantity to read. morial of kindness and love to man, and fidelity toward God, which accompanies him wherever he goes, and keeps him safe and happy. The Bible is thus a light to his feet and a lamp to his paths. "Which, now, of these, do you think, reads the Bible aright ? Let no child who reads this understand me to say that I consider two verses enough of the Bible to read each day. "What I mean by this case is, that so much more depends upon the spirit and manner with which the Bible is read, than the quantity — that a very small portion, properly read, may be far more useful than a much larger quantity hurried over in a careless and thoughtless manner. No precise rules can be given in regard to quantity ; it must vary with cir- cumstances ; and of these the individual must, in most cases, be the judge. THE SABBATH. 269 The Sabbath. CHAPTER IX. THE SABBATH. " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." My readers are undoubtedly generally aware that the pres- ent obligation to keep the Sabbath has been, by some per- sons, denied, on the ground that the keeping of one day in seven is a sort of ceremony, and that it was only intended to be required of the Jewish nation. I do not propose, in this chapter, to enter at all into a discussion of that subject. Most if not all, of those who will read this book, are un- doubtedly satisfied in regard to it. I will, however, simply state the facts, on the ground of which the present binding authority of the Lord's-day is generally admitted by Chris- tians. As soon as God had finished the creation, it is stated that he rested on the seventh day and sanctified it ; that is, he set it apart for a sacred use. The time and the circumstances under which this was done, sufficiently indicate that it was intended to apply to the whole race, and to extend through all time. A ceremony solemnly established at the founda- tion of an empire, would be universally considered as de- signed to extend as far and to continue as long as the empire itself should extend and continue, unless it should be dis- tinctly repealed. And so with a duty established at the foundation of a world. 270 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Change from Saturday to Sunday. Many years afterward, the Creator gave a very distinct code of laws to his people, the Jews. These laws were of two kinds, ceremonial and moral. It was the design of the former to be binding only upon the Jewish nation ; the latter are of a permanent and universal authority. The ceremonial laws were merely repeated to Moses, and lie made a record of them ; you will find them nearly all in the chapters of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. All the regula- tions relating to sacrifices are of this character. The moral laws were, however, given in the most solemn manner from Mount Sinai. They are the ten commandments, and they were written by the direct power of God himself, upon tables of stone, which were carefully preserved. Now, as if to remove all possible ground of doubt in regard to his designs, the observance of the Sabbath was made the subject of one of these ten commandments ; and it has been observed from that day to this, by a vast majority of all those who have evinced a wish to obey their Maker's commands. These facts are abundantly sufficient to convince those who are willing to keep the Sabbath, that God intended that all men should keep it. They who are not convinced, reveal by their doubts their unwillingness to obey. I would advise, therefore, any one who has doubts about the divine authority of the Sabbath, not to spend his time in looking for the arguments for and against, in this controversy, but to come at once to his heart. Ask yourself this question : " Do I fully understand what it is to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, and am I cordially and sincerely willing to do it ?" In the affirmative answer to this question you will find the solution to all your doubts. The Sabbath was observed, from its establishment down to the coming of Christ, on the seventh day of the week, which is our Saturday. Our Savior rose from the dead on the day after the Sabbath, and we find soon after his resur- THE SABBATH. 271 Beginning of the Sabbath. rection, that Christians observed that day instead of the former one, as sacred time. There is no direct command to do this, and no indication that there was any controversy about it at the time. We simply observe that the Christian community at once and simultaneously make the change. They keep one day in seven as before, but it is a different day. We infer that they had some authority for the change, though it is not at all necessary that that authority should be specified. It is the custom in most of the schools in New England to consider the afternoon of Saturday a half- holyday. Now, suppose a boy should leave this country to go on a foreign voyage, and after being absent many months, should return, and find, when Saturday afternoon comes, that all the boys in his native town go to school as usual, but that on Monday afternoon the schools are all suspended. He sees that this is the universal custom, and it continues so permanently. Now it is not, under these circumstances, at all necessary that the original vote of the school committee by which the change was made should come before him. The universality of the practice is the best of evidence in such a case. No boy would wish for more. It is just so with the evidence we have that the Sabbath was changed. Suddenly all Christians changed their practice ; they changed together, and without any evidence of a controversy, and the new arrangement has been adopted from that day to this. But yet some persons are not quite satisfied about it, and there are various other questions connected with the time of the Sabbath, which have occasioned in the minds of many Christians serious doubts and perplexities. Some imagine that they ought to have more evidence of the change from the sev- enth to the first day of the week ; they think, too, that the Sab- bath is intended to be commemorative of God's rest after fin- ishing the creation, and that this object is lost by altering the day ; and some lose themselves in endless arguments on the 272 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Idle controversies. question whether sunset, midnight, or morning, marks the beginning of the sacred day. The difference of views on this subject produces some difference of practice. There are de- nominations of Christians who prefer to keep Saturday as holy time, and not Sunday, regarding the former as the seventh day meant "by the commandment. There is a differ- ence of practice, too, in regard to the time of commencing the holy day. In some portions of our land the Sabbath is understood to begin on the evening of Saturday, so that when the sun goes down on Sunday evening, they return to their usual duties and cares. In other places, midnight is con- sidered as the limit which marks the beginning and the end of sacred time. The actual inconvenience arising from this diversity is comparatively slight. The great evil which these differences of opinion produce, is the interminable disputes which arise from them. Perhaps some of my readers, when they saw the subject of the Sabbath announced, may have been curious to know which side I was going to take in regard to some of these points ; for example, on the question whether it is proper to commence holy time on Saturday evening, or on Sabbath morning. Now, in fact, I am going to take both sides. I am going to endeavor to convince you that it is en- tirely immaterial which is adopted, and that the whole sub- ject is completely unworthy of being made a matter of con- troversy among Christian brethren. When God gives us a command, I am aware that we must obey it exactly. But a command is obeyed exactly, if it is obeyed in all the particulars expressed in the words of it. I think the following principle may be laid down as funda- mental in regard to all laws partaking of a ceremonial char- acter, human and divine. So far as the ceremonial part is essential, it will be distinctly described in the command. The fourth command partakes of the ceremonial character. THE SABBATH. 273 A father's command to his hoys. It is for the observance of a particular day. It specifies what day, but it does not specify at what hour it is to begin, and therefore we are left to begin it in correspondence with any common mode of computing time. But to illustrate the above-mentioned principle, for it seems to me that if it were cordially and fully admitted, it would save a vast number of disputes on many other sub- jects, — let us suppose that a father, about to be absent from his home, leaves his two boys with the simple direction that they should work a little while every day, in the garden. Now it is obvious that under such a general order as this, the boys are not bound to consider themselves as limited to any particular time for doing their work. They must con- sider their father's design in the command, and act in such a manner as to comply with the spirit of it ; but they may do as they please about the time of beginning. They may work in the morning, or in the evening, or at mid-day, ac- cording to their own convenience. Suppose, however, that the father had been a little more specific, and had said, " I wish you, my boys, while I am absent, to work a few hours every forenoon in the garden." This would have been somewhat more definite. And just so far as it is definite in regard to the time, just so far it would be binding in that respect. The boys would not now be at liberty to choose whether they would work in the fore- noon or in the afternoon, but still they would be at liberty in regard to the precise time of beginning. If one of the boys should attempt to prove that they ought to begin exactly at half-past eight, because the father had usually begun at that hour, or because the neighbors did, the other might reply, that the time of beginning was not specified in the com- mand, and that they might accordingly, if they chose, begin at an earlier or later hour, if they only honestly fulfilled the 274 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Tho question about the clock and the dial. command by working faithfully as much as they supposed their father meant by the expression, " a few hours." Let us, however, make the command more definite still. Imagine the father to have said, " I wish you, my sons, to spend from 9 till 12 o'clock, every day, in the garden, work- ing for me." This leaves them much less discretionary power. The time for beginning and ending is distinctly specified, and the command is binding, in regard to these points of form and manner, just so far as they are distinctly specified. Still there is room for a dispute. The spirit which makes so much of a controversy on the question whether holy time begins at sundown, or at midnight, would have easily made a controversy here. For we will suppose that there had been a clock in the hall of the house, and a dial in the garden. All my readers are aware, I presume, that a clock, if it is a good one, keeps regular, equal time ; but that there is some irregularity in the motions of the heavenly bodies, which prevents the dial from always cor- responding with it exactly. Sometimes the dial, which marks apparent time, that is, what appears to be the time by the sun, is before, and sometimes behind the clocks ; for they mark the real, or true time, as it is called. Now, how easily might these boys get into a dispute on the question whether their father meant them to keep true or apparent time, that is, whether he meant them to begin by the clock or by the dial ! for sometimes the difference is fifteen min- utes. They might say that they must obey their father's command exactly, and each might undertake to show, from arguments drawn from the nature of time, which perhaps neither of them understood, or from the father's practice, or Ciic practice of other workmen in the vicinity, that one method of computation or the other was the proper one. How unwise would this be ! The proper ground unques- tionably for boys in such a case to take would be, "It is no THE SABBATH. 275 Universal principle. Two doves. matter which mode of reckoning we adopt ; it was not father's object to have us begin at any precise moment." " If you prefer the clock," one might say, " I have no objec- tion to it. I think we have a right to take which we please, for father did not specify any thing in regard to it ; and if he had any preference, he would have stated it." Just so in regard to the Sabbath. The command is in substance, " Keep holy one day in seven." There is no minute specification in regard to the moment of commencing the day to be thus observed, we are at liberty therefore to commence it according to any established and common method of computing time. May not then the principle stated above be considered as universal, in regard to obedience to all laws of a ceremonial nature ? So far as the form and manner are deemed essential, they are always distinctly expressed in the lav;. Look at the laws in these States for the solemnization of marriages : all that is essential is distinctly expressed. So with the laws in regard to the transfer of property : every form that is intended to be required is detailed in the statute. So with the purely ceremonial laws of the Jews. If a com- mand required the sacrifice of two doves, the Jew would plainly not feel at liberty to bring one or three, nor to offer, instead of the bird prescribed, vultures or sparrows. But he just as plainly would be at liberty to offer doves of any color ; he might choose black or white, or any other hue : and if his neighbor should say to him, " Your doves are not of the right kind ; nobody offers such doves as those ;" his proper reply would be, "I obey the command The color is not specified." So with Christians in keeping the Sabbath. It is not essential whether you begin at sundown or at mid- night ; if you keep the Sabbath faithfully and regularly according to one method or the other, you obey the com- mand ; the moment for beginning is not specified. 276 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. A day of 23£ hours. A day at the pole. It seems to me that any person who endeavors to obtain a philosophical idea of the nature of our mode of computing time by days, must see the impossibility of marking any precise limit for the commencement and close of sacred time. Nothing is more indefinite, if we take an enlarged and philo- sophical view of the subject, than the word day. Astrono- mers commence it at twelve o'clock at noon. Some nations begin it at midnight. On shore it is reckoned as commencing at one hour, and at sea, as at another. The day, too, begins at a different time in every different place, so that a ship at sea, beginning a day in one place and ending it in another, sometimes will have 23£ and sometimes 24-£ hours in her day, and no clock or time-piece whatever can keep her time. An officer of the ship is obliged to determine the beginning of their day every noon by astronomical observation. A sea captain can often make a difference of an hour in the length of his day, by the direction in which he steers his ship ; be- cause a day begins and ends in no two places, east and west of each other, at the same time. At Jerusalem they are six hours in advance of us in their time, and at the Sandwich Islands six hours behind. In consequence of this, it is evi- dent that the ship, changing her longitude, must every day change her reckoning. These sources of difficulty in mark- ing out the limits of a day, increase as we go toward the pole. A ship within fifty miles of the pole might sail round on a parallel of latitude, and keep it one continual noon or midnight all the year ; only noon and midnight would be there almost the same. At the pole itself all distinction between day and night entirely and utterly ceases ; summer and winter are the only change. Habitable regions do not indeed extend to the pole, but they extend far beyond any practical distinction between noon and midnight, or evening and morning. The difference between the times of commencing and of THE SABBATH. 277 A day lost. No sunset for months. Sabbaths in Greenland. ending days in different parts of the earth is so great, that a ship sailing round the globe, loses a whole day in her reckoning, or gains a whole day, according to the direction in which she sails. If she sets out from Boston, and passes round Cape Horn, and across the Pacific Ocean, to China, thence through the Indian and Atlantic Oceans home, she will find on her arrival, that it is Tuesday with her crew, when it is Wednesday on shore. Each of her days will have been a little longer than a day is in any fixed place, and of course she will have had fewer of them. So that if the passengers were Christians, and have endeavored to keep the Sabbath, they will not and can not have corresponded with any Christian nation whatever in the times of their observ- ance of it. I suppose my readers will believe these facts on my testimony ; but they will have a far more vivid idea of the truth in this case, if they will ask some sea captain, who has sailed round or half round the globe, if it is not so, and converse with him on some of the interesting questions and difficulties which arise from this peculiarity in the nature of the computation of time. But beside this difficulty arising from the variation in the time at different longitudes, there are also other causes which will produce greater difficulty still in the way of marking out a precise moment at which the boundary between sacred and common time is to be marked. As we go north or south from the equator, the lengths of the days increase in the summer season, until at last, as I have already intimated, in a certain latitude the sun ceases altogether to set for a period equal to many weeks of our reckoning. Now what will a man who supposes that our Maker meant to command all mankind to keep the Sabbath exactly from sunset to sunset, or from midnight to midnight — what will such a man say to a Christian in Greenland, where the sun does not set for months together ? 278 YOUNG CHRISTIAN . Change to the first day. Is the moral law limited to latitude in its application, or did the great Framer of it not know, or did he forget that the motions of the sun which he himself ordained, would give to some of the people to whom the command was addressed, no sunset or midnight for months at a time ? No ; it is absurd to press a written command to any greater strictness, in regard to the form and manner of its observance, than the letter expresses. God says to us simply, " Keep holy one day in seven." We may reckon that day in any of the common methods of computing time. If it was customary in old times to reckon the day from sundown to sundown, the servants of God would probably reckon their Sabbaths so too. If it is customary now to reckon from midnight to midnight, we may reckon our Sabbath so. We must keep the command in its spirit, but we need not press the form, any farther than the letter of the command itself presses it. The same principles apply to the change from the seventh day to the first. This is not an alteration of the command, but only of practice under the command, in a point which the letter of the law does not fix. Christians labor six days and rest the seventh now. By our artificial nomenclature we call it the first ; but that does not alter the real nature of the command, which is simply, that after every six days of labor there shall be regularly one of rest. This require- ment has never been changed or touched ; it stands among the ten commands, "unaltered and unalterable, like all the rest. The practice, in a point not fixed by the phraseology of the command, is indeed altered ; but that no more affects obedience to the law than a change from parchment to paper, in the drawing up of a legal instrument, would violate a law which did not prescribe the material. Who would think of saying in such a case, " The law has been altered ; — when the statute was enacted, the universal practice was to write THE SABBATH. 279 No change in the command. The creation. upon parchment, and now men universally use paper ; — we can find no authority for the change, and consequently the law is broken ?" The law would not be broken unless it unequivocally mentioned parchment in contra-distinction from all other materials. The day then in present use is to be continued as the holy time until it is changed by proper authority, and the change made known in a proper manner. But that authority and that manner need not be by any means so formal as was the original command, because it does not alter that command at all ; it only alters practice arising under the command, and that in a point which the law itself does not specify. Some one may perhaps, however, say that the Sabbath was established in commemoration of the rest of Jehovah after the creation, and that this object is lost by the change of day. But a moment's reflection will remove this difficulty. After seven weeks had passed, the Sabbath would come on the forty-ninth day after the creation. Now suppose it had then been changed, by being moved one day forward, so as to come on the fiftieth ; who can give any good reason why the fiftieth day may not as well be celebrated in commemoration of the creation as the forty-ninth. Besides, if the precise time of God's resting is to be reckoned at all, it is to be reckoned according to the culmination of the sun at Eden, and the day there is many hours in advance of us here ; so that strict, precise accuracy, in regard to hours and minutes, is, in every view of the case, entirely out of the question ; and the fact that the command does not attempt to secure it, gives evidence that it was intended for general circulation among mankind. To a person standing still in one place, and looking no farther than to his own limited hori- zon, the word day seems definite enough ; but when a voice from Mount Sinai speaks to the whole world, commanding all men, at sea and on land, in the Arctic regions, and under 280 YOUN& CHRISTIAN. Principle important. an equinoctial sun, under every meridian and at every paral- lel, to remember one day in seven and keep it holy, there must be great diversity in the form and moment of obedience. We can not, looking over the whole field, find a precise and universal limit. The command, if we consider it as address- ed to the world, is entirely indefinite in regard to the precise period of the commencement and close of sacred time ; but the great principle of it is clear : — Keep one day in seven, according to some common mode of computation, holy to the Lord. I should not have spent so much time in endeavoring to prove that minute accuracy in regard to the form and man- ner of obeying this command is unattainable, were it not that this discussion involves a principle which applies to many other cases ; so that if you are induced to see its reasonable- ness, and to admit its force fully and cordially in this case, you will be saved from a great deal of useless perplexity about the minutise of form in a great many other cases. Remember then this principle, that commands are to be obeyed in their spirit, except when the precise form is a matter of positive and distinct specification. I have one or two practical remarks to make in reference to this part of my subject. 1 . In respect to those points of duty on which the Scrip- tures give no direct instructions, you will do well to conform to the customs of Christians around you. If you live in a community where the Sabbath is generally commenced on Saturday evening, begin yours at that time: conform not only to this, but in all other unimportant points ; kneel, or stand, or sit at prayers, as other people do around you. I have known persons so controlled by the determination to have their own way in little things, and to consider all other ways wrong, that they could not sit at table while a blessing THE SABBATH. 281 Non-essentials. Liability to evasion. was asked, as is the common custom in many places, with- out being very much shocked at the imaginary irreverence. Some men will be pained if a minister say we in the pulpit, and others will quarrel with him if he says I ; and a grave discussion is sometimes carried on, on such points as these, in religious journals. One Christian can not endure a written prayer ; another can not bear an extempore one. A is trou- bled if there is an organ in the church, and B thinks that music at church is nothing without one. C will almost leave the meeting-house if he should see the minister come in wearing a silk gown ; and D would be equally shocked at seeing him in the ordinary dress of a layman. Now all this is wrong. These points are not determined by any express command in the Bible, and consequently they are left to the varying taste and convenience of mankind. Every person may perhaps have a slight preference, but this preference he ought at all times to be willing to give up, in consideration of the wishes and feelings of his Christian brother. He who intends to do good in this world, must go about among man- kind with a spirit which will lead him to conform, easily and pleasantly, with the customs of men, except in those cases where the letter or the spirit of the Bible forbids it. This discussion brings to our notice what may be con- sidered a striking characteristic of the requirements of the law of God, namely that they are peculiarly liable to evasion. Their peculiarity in this respect, is, in fact, one great source of their power as a means of moral discipline. Human laws are very different from the divine laws in this respect, be- cause the object which they aim at is different. The design of human laws is simply to prevent outward acts of crime on account of the injury which they do ; that of the divine law, on the other hand, is to improve and perfect the inward char- acter. The difference of design leads to great dissimilarity in the forms of the enactments, by which the respective codes 282 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Human and divine laws. are promulgated. How much pains do men take, when making laws, to cut off every possible chance of escape, by- specifying with minute accuracy all the details of transgres- sion ! Hence the enactments of men are very voluminous. The laws of a state on the subject of theft will fill a volume ; but God disposes of the whole subject in four words, " Thou shalt not steal." The human lawgiver studies to cut off, by the fullness and legal accuracy of his language, every op- portunity for quibbling or evasion ; but if any man wishes to escape from the laws of God by quibbling and evasion, he may ; the door is wide open ; and that is what gives the law of God its admirable adaptedness to be the means of moral discipline to the human soul. The reason why it produces this effect is this : The more strict and minute are the details of a command, the less room is there for the exercise of fidelity and voluntary obedience. The command in regard to the Sabbath for example, might have been so precise and specific, that the whole world should know exactly the moment when the sacred time is to begin, and exactly the manner in which its hours are to be spent ; nay more, God might have so interrupted the course of nature, that all the business of life must necessarily have ceased, and men have thus been compelled to rest on the Sabbath. But this would have been no . moral trial ; it would have afforded no moral discipline. God does not accordingly adopt such a course. He expresses his command in general and simple language. They who wish to obey, can easily ascertain what they ought to do ; and they who do not, will easily find excuses. There are some, and perhaps many, who make the question whether Saturday or Sunday evening is to be kept, an excuse for keeping neither. But those who wish to obey God's commands will keep one or the other faith- fully ; and one great design in having uncertainty in such THE SABBATH. 28* Spirit of the law. James's way of reading the Bible. cases as this is unquestionably to try us — to prove who does and who does not wish, on vain pretexts, to evade Grod's commands. I proceed to consider the spirit and manner in which the Sabbath should be kept. The object of the Sabbath is to interpose an effectual in- terruption to all worldly business, and to promote as highly as possible the improvement of the character. Do then these two things : 1st, suspend all worldly pursuits ; and 2d, spend the day in such a manner as will best promote your spiritual improvement. The first point is easy ; I shall therefore pass it by, and direct my attention immediately to the last. There are wise and there are unwise ways of keeping the Sabbath holy. James is a boy who has set his heart upon reading the Bible through in as short a time as possible, and he thinks that there is no other way of spending the Sabbath so properly as by carrying forward this good work with all his strength. He carries his Bible to bed with him at night, and places it under his pillow, that he may read in it as soon as it is light in the morning. You may see him at breakfast-time counting up the chapters that he has read, and calculating how long it will take him at that rate to get through a certain book. He can hardly wait for family prayers to be over, he is so eager to press forward his work. He reads a great many chapters in the course of the day, and lies down at night congratulating himself on his progress ; but, alas ! he has made no progress in piety. His perusal of sundry chapters in the Bible, as if he were reading for a wager, is not progress in piety. He has spent the day with- out examining his heart. He has not made resolutions for future duty. He has not learned to be a more dutiful son, a more affectionate brother, or a more humble and devoted 284 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. A boy studying the Bible. The boat. Christian. No, he has read twenty chapters in the Bible ! That is all. He has been making no new discoveries of his secret sins, has obtained no new views of his duty, has not drawn nigh to God and found peace and happiness in com- munion with him ; no, he has had no time for that ; he has been busy all day running over his twenty chapters in the Bible ! It were well if James were aware that his real mo- tive for this work is the pride of thinking and perhaps of tell- ing others how much he has read, and that the cultivation of such a spirit is a bad way of spending God's holy day. I would not say a word against reading the Bible, but it must be read in a proper manner. A person may waste every hour of the Sabbath, and yet do nothing but read the Bible from morning to night. Many young persons think there is no way to break the Sabbath but by work or play. But the spirit and meaning of the fourth commandment undoubtedly is, that the Sabbath should be devoted to the real improvement of the Christian character. And if this is neglected, the Sabbath is broken, no matter in what way its hours have been spent. Yes, if this is neglected, the command is disobeyed ; no formal attention to any external duty whatever can be made a substitute for it. A boy sits at his window studying his Sabbath-school lesson ; his object, I will suppose, is not to learn his duty and to do it, but he wishes to surpass some companion at the recitation, or is actuated it may be by a mere selfish desire to obtain a reward which has been perhaps injudiciously offered him ; he looks out of the window across the valley which extends before his father's house, and sees upon a beautiful pond there, a boatful of his playmates, push- ing off from the shore. They are going out on an excursion of pleasure. " Ah !" says he, " those wicked boys ! they are breaking the Sabbath !" THE SABBATH. 285 Self-righteousness. The careful mother. SELF-EIGHTEOUSNBt Yes, they are breaking the Sabbath ; and so is he ; both they and he are perverting the holy day. God looks at the heart, and requires that all should spend the Sabbath in honest efforts to discover, and confess, and abandon sin, and to become pure and holy and devoted to him. Now, both the boys in the boat and the one at the window are neglecting this. They are doing it for the pleasure of a sail ; he is do- ing it for the honor of superiority in his class. The day is misspent and perverted in both cases. Mrs. X. is the mother of several children, and she is ex- ceedingly desirous that all her family should faithfully keep the Sabbath. She can not bear the thought that it shonld be profaned by any under her roof. Before sacred time comes, therefore, the whole house is put in order, all worldly busi- ness is brought to a dose, so that the minds of her family 286 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The careful mother. may be free. All this is excellent ; but how does she actu- ally spend the sacred hours ? Why, her whole attention is devoted to enforcing the mere external duties of religion in her household. She is careful to banish every secular book ; she requires one child to sit still and read the Bible ; another she confines to a prayer-book, or to some good book of reli- gious exhortation ; a third is kept studying a Sabbath-school lesson. All however must be still ; it is her great desire and aim to banish every thing like worldly work or play. There must be no light conversation, and even the little infant, creeping upon the floor, has to relinquish her playthings, and spend the day in inaction. Now, when night comes, this mother thinks that she has kept the Sabbath, and induced her household to keep it too ; and perhaps she has done so. But all that I have described does not prove that she has kept it according to God's original design. God did not institute the Sabbath in order merely that children might be kept from play, or that they might be forced to read, mechanically, good books ; but that they might improve their characters, and make real preparation for another world. Now, unless a mother adopts such methods as shall most effectually promote the improvement of her children, and unless she succeeds in interesting them in it, she does not attain the object in view. If your children are spending the day in a cold and heartless manner, com- plying with your rules from mere fear of your authority, they are not, properly speaking, keeping the Sabbath. The end in view, improvement of character, is not attained. But many a mother who reads this will ask, " How can I interest my children in such efforts for improvement ?" You will find a hundred ways, if you will set your heart upon it. The only danger is, that you will not fully feel the necessity of it. You are satisfied, or there is great danger that you will be satisfied, with the mere formality of external decorum THE SABBATH. 287 Way to interest children. on the Lord's-day, forgetting that the empire in which your influence ought to reign on that day, is the empire of the heart, not of the external conduct. You ought, therefore, to aim at adopting such means of addressing and influencing your children as shall seem best calculated to reach and control their hearts. If you really wish to do this, and really en- deavor to do it, you will soon learn the way. Imagine such a scene as this : A mother, with several children under eight or ten years of age, collects them in her chamber on a pleasant Sabbath afternoon in summer, and with a cheerful countenance and pleasant tone of voice, when all are seated, addresses them as follows : " Now, my children, you know that the Sabbath is in- tended to give us time and opportunity to improve our char- acters. I suppose you wish to do this. The way to do it is, first, to find out your faults, and then to correct them. Are you willing to try to find out your faults ?" " Yes, mother." " I have thought of this plan. How should you like it ? I will pause a minute or two, and we will all try to think of faults that we have seen among ourselves within a week. You may try, and I will try. After a minute or two. I will ask you all around. Should you like to do this ?" A mother who is accustomed to manage her children in a proper manner, with habitual kindness and affection, will re- ceive a cordial assent to such a proposal as this. After a few minutes she puts the question round : " Mary, have you thought of any thing ?" " Yes, mother ; I think that John and I quarrel some- times." " Do you think of any case which happened last week ?" Mary hesitates, and John looks a little confused. " You may do just as you please," says the mother, " about describing it. It is unpleasant to think and talk 288 YOUNG CHRIS TIAJN. Conversation with the children. about our faults, and of course it will be unpleasant for you to describe particularly any thing wrong which you have done. But then if you do honestly and frankly confess it, I think you will be much less likely to do wrong in the same way next week." Mary then relates, in her own simple style, the story of some childish contention, not with the shrinking and hesi- tation of extorted acknowledgment, but openly and frankly, and in such a manner as greatly to diminish the danger of falling into such a sin again. When she has said all that she has to say, which however may perhaps have been ex- pressed in two or three sentences, the mother continues, ad- dressing herself to the others : " Well, children, you have heard what Mary has said. Have you observed any thing in her expressions which tended to show that she has wished to throw the chief blame of this dispute upon John ?" They will probably say, Yes. A child would not be a very impartial historian in such a case, and other children would be very shrewd to detect the indications of bias. " Now I do not know," says the mother, " but that John was really the most to blame. Mary told the story, on the whole, in a very proper manner. I only asked the question, to remind you all that our object is now to learn our own fault?,, and to correct them ; and you must all try to see as much as possible where you yourselves have been to blame." She then turns to some passages of the Bible on the sub- ject of forbearance and harmony between brothers and sisters, and reads them — not for the purpose of loading her children with invective and reproach, or telling them, with a coun- tenance of assumed solemnity, how wicked they have been — but of kindly and mildly pointing out what God's com- mands are, and the necessity as well as the happiness of obeying them. THE SABBATH. 289 Ingenuity and effort necessary. The heart to be reached. If this is done in a proper manner, and if the mother re- members that she must watch the feelings of her little charge, and apply her means of influence dexterously and skillfully, she will succeed, certainly after one or two trials, in producing a dislike of contention, a desire to avoid it, and a resolution to sin, in this respect, no more. She may in the same manner go through the circle ; fault after fault will be brought up ; the nature and the consequences of them kindly pointed out, and those commands of God, which bear upon the subject, plainly brought to view. The interview may be closed by a short and simple prayer — that God will forgive, for Christ's sake, the sins which the children have confessed, and give them all strength to resist temptation during the coming week. Such an exercise, if managed as every kind and faithful mother can manage it, must certainly succeed ; the children will go away from it with consciences relieved in some degree from the burden of sin ; they will look back upon it as a serious, but a pleasant interview, and will feel — though a wise mother will not be over anxious to draw from them an expression of that feeling — that it is a happy thing to repent of sin, and to return to duty. I asked my readers at the outset, to imagine this scene ; but, in fact, it is not an imaginary scene — in substance, it is reality. This, now, is a proper keeping of the Sabbath. Such an influence comes to the heart, and it accomplishes directly and immediately the veiy object that Jehovah seems to have had specially in view in the appointment of the Sabbath. I only offer it, however, as a specimen ; if repeated in exactly this form every Sabbath, the sameness might become tire- some. The idea which I mean to convey is, that the heart must be reached, and the process of improvement must be advancing, or the object of the Sabbath is lost. Let my young readers remember this. Unless you are improving and elevating your characters, discovering your faults and 290 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Variety. Remarks of a clergyman. correcting them, learning God's will as it applies to your own conduct, and confessing and forsaking your sins — unless you are doing such work as this, you can not be keeping the Sabbath day. The simple question then is, are you willing to devote honestly and conscientiously one day in seven to real and sincere efforts to make progress in piety ? If you are willing, and eveiy Christian certainly will be, you are not to go forward blindly, reading and reflecting without system or plan, on the vain supposition that if the mind is actually employed on religious subjects, all is going on well. You must take into careful consideration the nature of the human mind, and the means which, according to the laws which the Creator has given it, are most calculated to have an influence over it. This principle will require atten- tion to several points. 1 . Variety in the exercises of the Sabbath. While re- flecting upon this topic, and considering how I should pre- sent it here, I accidentally fell into conversation with a clergyman who had had far more experience as a religious teacher than I have enjoyed. I requested him to reduce to writing the views which he expressed, that I might insert them here. He soon after sent me the following : " Many Christians who feel deeply the importance of spending the Sabbath in a proper manner, find, notwith- standing all their endeavors, that the sacred hours do at times pass heavily and wearily along. Now the Sabbath should be not only our most profitable, but our most happy day. I once knew a young Christian who resolved that he would keep the Sabbath in the most perfect manner possible, by passing the whole time in prayer ; he did so, but very soon he became exhausted and weary. He however persevered through the whole day, with the exception of a few neces- sary interruptions ; and when night came, he felt a deadness THE SABBATH. 291 Necessity of variety. Religious books. and exhaustion of feeling which he unhappily mistook for spiritual desertion. No human mind can, in ordinary cases, sustain very long and intense application to one subject ; there must be variety, or the efforts that are made, however well meant and however faithfully persevered in, will result in mental exhaustion, listlessness, and spiritual lethargy. " Let the sacred hours of the Sabbath, then, be appro- priated to a variety of religious employments. Let us sup- pose the case of a young man, — the head of a family, — who wishes to pass the Sabbath in a way acceptable to God, and to enjoy his religious duties. Let us follow him through the hours of the day, and see what his arrangements might prop- erly be : " He rises early in the morning, and commences the day with a short, but fervent prayer, for the divine blessing ; he then passes the time till breakfast, in reading the Bible. Perhaps, for the sake of variety, he spends a part of the time in reading the devotional portions, and a part in perusing its interesting history. At the breakfast-table, with cheerful countenance and heart, he leads the conversation to religious subjects ; after breakfast he passes an hour in reading some valuable religious book, — some one of those standard, prac- tical works upon Christianity that are now easily to be ob- tained by all. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Baxter's Saint's Rest, Law's Serious Call, Doddridge's Rise and Progress, &c. are works of standard merit, and works with which all Christians may, and should be acquainted. It is very de- sirable that the Christian should have on hand some book like one of these, which he will read in course, taking a moderate portion every Sabbath day, until he has finished it. " At length the time arrives for the assembling of his family for morning prayers. He adheres to his principle, of endeavoring to secure an interesting variety, here. Some- times he will read religious intelligence from a periodical, — 292 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Way of spending the Sabbath. Various duties. and sometimes an interesting narrative from a tract, — always taking care to select something which will excite attention. After finishing this, he opens the Bible and selects some appropriate passage, and reads it, with occasional remarks intended to deepen the impression upon his own mind, and upon the minds of those in the circle around him. He then selects a hymn, and after singing a few verses, if the family are able to sing, bows at the family altar in prayer. The variety which he has thus introduced into the exercise has continued to interest the feelings of all, and no occasion has been offered for lassitude or tedium. " He now walks the room for exercise, and reviews the past week ; he thinks of the opportunities to do good which he has neglected, examines his feelings and his conduct, and in ejaculatory prayer, seeks forgiveness. When he enters the place of public worship his mind is ready for active ser- vice there. He really unites with his pastor in the public prayer. When a hymn is read, he attends to the sentiment, and makes melody in heart to God when singing his praises. He listens attentively to the sermon, feeling that the respon- sibility of being interested in it comes upon him, and he prays that God will bless it to his own soul, and to the con- version of others. " Perhaps, in the interval between forenoon and afternoon service, he has a class in the Sabbath School, or is himself a member of the Bible class : these duties he performs with a sincere desire to do good. After the close of the afternoon services he retires to his closet for secret prayer. He appro- priates a proper period to this duty, and presents his own private and personal wants, and the spiritual interests of others, in minute detail to God ; — he looks forward, too, to the duties of the week ; he brings before his mind the temp- tations to which he will be exposed, the opportunities for exerting a Christian influence, which he possesses, and forms THE SABBATH. 293 Way of closing the Sabbath. System in-religious exercises. his plans of Christian usefulness for the week ; he thinks of some good object which he will make an effort to advance, or of some individual whom he will endeavor to lead to the Savior. He forms his resolutions, and perhaps writes them down that he may refer to them again the next Sabbath, in the review of the week. At the appointed hour he assembles his family for evening prayers. A brief reference to the religious exercises of the day, or the reading of some interest- ing narrative, followed by the reading of the Bible, singing and prayer, again give variety and animation to the exercise ; and when all the duties of the day are over, as he is retiring to rest, he feels that the Sabbath has been profitably and happily spent. It has been to him a rich season of improve- ment and of enjoymeut. He has made real progress in prep- aration for heaven ; he has obtained strength to meet the allurements and temptations of life. During the week he looks back upon the Sabbath with pleasure, and when the light of another holy morning dawns upon him, he can sin- cerely say, ' Welcome, delightful morn, Thou day of sacred rest I hail thy kind return — Lord make these moments blest.' " In this way the Sabbath is a delight. It is a day of refreshment, and the spirit of man longs eagerly for its approach. I have introduced the above example simply as an illustration of what I mean by saying that there should be variety in the exercises of the Sabbath. Probably no one who reads these pages will find it expedient to adopt precise- ly the course here described. But all may proceed upon the principle here explained, — each adapting his individual plan to his own individual situation." 2. System in the exercises of the Sabbath. Much time 294 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Waste of time prevented. Rest on the Sabbath. is often lost upon the Sabbath for want of a regular plan. If a person reads for half an hour in the Bible, and then stops to consider what he shall take up next, his mind is perplexed. He says, " Shall I now retire for secret prayer, or shall I read a tract, or shall I take Baxter's Saints' Rest ?" Several moments are lost in deciding. Perhaps he takes Baxter ; but while reading, he stops to consider again whether it would not have been better to have chosen something else ; and then his mind is diverted from this book by thinking what he shall next read ; thus much time is lost, and the mind is perplexed. It is, therefore, wisdom to have a plan previously formed for the whole day. With a little reflec- tion a plan may easily be arranged, appropriating systemati- cally the time of the Sabbath to the several duties which ought to be performed. Many persons constantly do this. In all cases there will indeed be a liability to unavoidable interruptions. But we may derive much assistance from rules, without making ourselves slaves to them. If you have domestic duties which must be performed upon the Sabbath, have them performed, if possible, by a given hour, that they may not intrude upon all the hours of the sacred day. If you are constantly exposed to interruptions, if there is no time of the day which you can call your own, then let your plans be formed in accordance with this peculiarity in your situation. 3. Rest on the Sabbath. We ought to remember that God has ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest from labor, as well as a day of spiritual improvement, and it ought to be made such. It is undoubtedly wrong to apply onr minds so uninter- ruptedly to religious duties during the day, as to feel worn out and exhausted at night. There are indeed some excep- tions ; ministers and Sabbath-school teachers must, in fact, often do a very hard day's work on the Sabbath ; they are THE SABBATH. 295 Distinct duties to be performed. laboring for the religious good of others, and must be often fatigued by their efforts. But Christians, generally, must not so fill up the hours with mental labor as to prevent them from enjoying the rest which God requires on his holy day. These three points, variety, system, and rest, ought to be attended to in order to secure the greatest possible moral progress on that day. A teacher of a school would be very unwise, were he to require his pupils to spend the whole of a day in actual study — and still more so if he were to keep them during all that time employed upon one single book or subject. Nor should he, on the other hand, relinquish all system, and employ his pupils every hour in doing whatever should happen to suggest itself to his thoughts. He knows that his pupils will actually advance more rapidly if he systematizes, and at the same time varies, their exercises, and allows intervals of rest and recreation. The Christian, too, who watches the movements of his own mind — and every Christian ought to do this — will soon learn that he must adopt substantially the same plan, if he wishes to make rapid progress in piety. I will now proceed to mention, in order to be specific, several duties which I think ought to be performed on the Sabbath. I advise every one of my readers, immediately after perusing my account of these duties, to sit down and form a plan for himself, assigning to each one of them an appropriate place, devoting an hour or half an hour to each, according to his age, and his circumstances in other respects. This plan ought not, however, to occupy all the hours of the day ; some time should be left unappropriated, to allow op- portunity for rest, and for performing such duties as may from time to time arise to view. Make your plan, however, and resolve to try it at least for one Sabbath. You can then 296 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Way to make self-examination interesting and useful. consider whether to continue it, or to modify it, or to aban- don it altogether. 1. Self-examination. I do not mean by this, the mere asking of yourself some general questions in regard to your spiritual condition, a minute review of the various actual occurrences of the iveek, to see what you have done, and what motives have actuated you. You can attend to this most successfully, by considering the subject under several distinct heads. (1.) Your ultimate object of pursuit. Consider what has chiefly interested and occupied you during the week, and what is the final, ultimate object which you have in view in what you have been doing. Review all the labors that have been connected with that pursuit, whatever it may be, and find in what respects you have been pursuing your ob- ject with a wrong spirit. (2.) Duties to parents. Consider what has been your con- duct toward your parents, if you are still connected with them. Have they had occasion to reprove you during the week, or to be dissatisfied with you in any respect ? If so, what was the cause ? Think over the whole occurrence, and see wherein you were to blame in it. Look also at your habitual conduct toward your parents, or to those un- der whose care you are placed. Have you at any time disobeyed them, or neglected to obey them with alacrity ? Have you had any dispute with them, or been sullen or ill-humored on account of their measures ? You must look also to the other side of the question, and consider what good you have done to your parents. Self-examination implies the investigation of what is right in the character, as well as what is wrong. What good, then, have you done to your parents ? In what cases did you comply with their wishes when you were tempted not to comply ? When did you give them pleasure by your attention, or by your THE SABBATH. 297 Minuteness of self-examination. faithful and ready obedience to their commands ? You can spend half an hour most profitably, not in merely answer- ing these individual questions, but in a careful review of all your conduct toward your parents, going into minute detail. (3.) Duties to companions. What has been your deport- ment toward your companions ? How many have you made happier during the past week ? What good have you done, and by what means did you accomplish it ? How many, too, have you made unhappy ? If you have had any con- tention with any one, call to mind all the circumstances of it — the angry or reproachful, or ill-humored words which you have used, and the spirit of heart which you cherished. It will require a long time to review thoroughly all those events of a week which illustrate the spirit with which you have acted toward your companions. (4.) Fidelity in business. You have some employment in which you ought to have been diligent and faithful during the week. Review minutely your conduct in this respect ; be- gin with Monday morning, and come down to Saturday night, and see, by a careful examination of the labors of the week, whether you have been " diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." (5.) Secret sins. This is the most important part of self- examination. If you have committed secret sins, if you have indulged unholy thoughts and desires, if you have cherished malignant feelings toward others, if you have been tempted to any improper gratification, if you have done in secret what you would blush to find exposed to public view, examine yourself and repent. Explore the whole ground thoroughly, that you may confess and forsake such sins. I might mention a number of other similar points, but it is unnecessary, as my object is only to show that self-examina- tion, to be effectual, must be minute, and must be brought 298 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Prayer. Studying the Bible and conversation on the Sabbath. to bear immediately and directly upon the actual conduct. You will succeed much better, if you divide the ground in some such manner as above described, 2. Prayer. This is the second duty which I shall men- tion, for which a place ought to be particularly assigned on the Sabbath. I have in several places in this book alluded to the subject of prayer, and I shall merely state here in what respects prayer on the Sabbath should be peculiar. More time should be allotted to the exercise, and it should also take a wider range. Consider your whole character, and look back upon the past, and forward to the future, so as to take a comprehensive view of your condition and prospects, and let your supplications be such as this extended survey will suggest. There is one thing, however, which I ought to say here, though I shall speak more distinctly of it in a subsequent chapter. It is this : Take a firm and immovable stand in the performa?ice of the duty of secret prayer. Let nothing tempt you to neglect, or postpone, or curtail it, or pass over the season of your communion with God in a hurried and formal manner. Neglect of the closet is the beginning of backsliding, and the end of happiness and peace. 3. Study of the Bible. In the chapter devoted expressly to this subject, I have mentioned a variety of methods by which the study of the Bible may be made more interesting and profitable than it now ordinarily is. Every young Chris- tian ought to allot a specific and regular time, every Sabbath day, to the systematic study of the Bible by some such methods as those. 4. Conversation. The older and more intelligent mem- bers of a family may do much toward causing the day to pass pleasantly and profitably, by making some effort to prepare subjects for conversation. Suppose a family take such a course as this : — A daughter, studying the Bible alone in her chamber, finds some difficult and yet interesting question THE SABBATH. 299 Conversation on the Sabbath. Frivolous conversation. arising from the passage she is investigating. " I will ask about it at dinner," she says ; " my brothers and sisters will be interested in the question, and in father's answer ; for per- haps he will be able to answer it." The mother is reading some Christian biography, and coming to an interesting pas- sage, she says to herself, " I will relate this story at dinner to- day, it will interest the children." The father inquires mentally, as the dinner hour approaches, " What shall we talk about to-day?" Perhaps he recollects some occurrence which has taken place during the week, which illustrates some religious truth, or is an example of religious duty. Thus each one comes to the table prepared to contribute something to the common stock of conversation. The dinner-hour, in such a case, will not pass heavily ; all will be interested and profited by the remarks which will be made on the various topics which will come up. If any family into which this book may come, will really try this experiment, they will find in a very short time, that subjects for conversation will occur in far greater numbers, and excite much greater interest than they would at first have supposed. There may even be an agreement made at breakfast, that each one of the family will endeavor to bring forward some fact or some question at dinner, and then the father may call upon all in turn. A great many persons imagine that conversation is some- thing that must be left entirely to itself — that there can be no preparation for it, and no arrangements made to secnre in- terest and profit from it. But the truth is, if there is any thing which demands forethought and arrangement, it is this very business of conversation — especially religious conversa- tion on the Sabbath. Without some such efforts as I have above described, the Christian family, when assembled at dinner or tea, must spend the time in silence, or in making frivolous remarks, such as criticisms upon the preacher, or such discussions as keep those who are conscientious constantly un- 300 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Public worship. easy, because they doubt whether the subjects upon which they are speaking are suitable to the sacredness of the Lord's-day. Many persons have no idea of religious conversation, ex- cepting a forced and formal exhortation from the master of the family, or from a Christian minister. They can not un- derstand how a whole family can be interested, from the aged grandparent down to the youngest child, in a conversa- tion exactly calculated to promote the objects of the Sabbath. But let such persons make the simple experiment described above, and they will discover their mistake. The ways by which a family may be interested by means of judicious and ingenious efforts on the part of a parent or an older brother or sister, are very numerous. Sometimes a question may be proposed in regard to duty. A case may be imagined, or some real case which has actually occurred may be stated, and the question may be asked, what ought to be done in such a case ? Or some question may be proposed for dis- cussion, I do not mean for formal argument as in a parlia- mentary assembly, but for free interchange of opinion. 5. Public Worship. It is surprising how strong a ten- dency there is among mankind, and even among Christians, to throw off the whole responsibility of public worship upon the minister. The disposition is almost universal. Come with ' me into this church and observe the congregation assembled. The minister reads a hymn, and while he is reading it, how great a proportion of the hearers are entirely regardless of its contents ! He rises to offer a prayer, and if we could see the hearts of those present, how many we should find who are really making no effort at all to accompany him to the throne of grace. At last he names his text ; and the eyes of almost all the assembly are turned toward him. As he looks over the congregation he sees an expression of interest upon the countenances of his hearers, and perhaps expects that they are going to listen to what he has to say. THE SABBATH. 301 Responsibilities of the hearers. The farmer and his boys. He begins the delivery of his message, endeavoring to explain to his hearers the principles of duty, or to present the con- siderations which should urge them to do it. Now let me ask, while this exercise is going forward, upon whom does the responsibility of it chiefly come ? Is it the duty of a minister to interest the people, or that of the people to be interested, by means of their own efforts to give heed to the message which the minister brings ? Are you, in receiving a message from above, to reject it, or to listen to it carelessly and with an inattentive and listless air, because it is not pre- sented to you in such a manner as to compel you, by the novelty of its illustrations or the beauty of its diction, to give it your regard ? A farmer sends his boys into a field to spend the day in work. He directs them what to do for an hour, and says that after that time he shall send a man to explain to them how they are to proceed through the day. The boys go on with their work, until at length the expected messenger appears. He begins to tell them how the land is to be plowed, or in what way the father wishes the seed to be put into the ground. The boys listen to him a minute or two, until one, perceiving some oddity in the man's manner, bursts into a laugh ; another sits down on a green bank under a tree, and grad- ually falls into a state of drowsy insensibility; a INATTENTIVE HEARERS. 302 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Duty of the hearers to be interested. third looks away with vacant countenance upon the hills and mountains around, utterly regardless of the message. The boys consequently do not learn what their father wishes them to do, and do not do it ; and when night comes, and they are called to account in respect to the labors of the day, they attempt to justify themselves with this preposterous excuse: "Why," they say to their father, " the man that you sent us was not an interesting man, and so we did not pay any attention to his message. He had no talent at making his mode of explana- tion novel and striking and so we did not listen to it." "I could not possibly fix my attention," says one. " He was a very sleepy talker," says another ; " I could not keep awake." " He dressed so," says a third, " and he had such a tone of voice that I could not help laughing at him." Such are the excuses which many persons give for not giving heed to religious instructions on the Sabbath. They attempt to throw off all responsibility upon the minister ; and if he does not awaken, by the power of his genius, an interest in their minds, they consider themselves entirely ex- cused from feeling any. They say in substance to them- selves, "We know that we have disobeyed God, and that he is sending us messengers to communicate to us the offers of forgiveness for the past and direction for the future ; but un- less he sends us agreeable, and ingenious, and eloquent men, we will pay no attention to any of them." Who can stand in the judgment with such an excuse ? And yet it is the actual feeling of thousands. But, my reader, I do urge you to abandon altogether this plan of throwing off upon the minister whom Providence has sent to you, the responsibility of the interest you take in public instruction. It is his duty to deliver his message plainly and intelligibly, but it is your duty, most unquestionably, to be interested in it. G-o to the meeting, feeling that you have something to do there. You must be interested in what THE SABBATH. 303 Sinister motives at church. Way to detect them. you hear, if it is a plain exhibition, of religious truth ; and you must apply it to your own conscience and heart by real active effort, or you must incur the guilt of rejecting the message from heaven. The less interesting the preacher then is, the more active and the more arduous is the duty of his hearers. They should look him steadily in the face, and listen in silence and in deep attention to what he has to say ; and feel at all times, that while it is the minister's duty to be faithful in delivering his message, it is their most imperious duty to take heed how they hear. There are a great many persons who are very constant in their attendance upon public worship, and who think that their motive is respect for religion, and a desire to obey God's commands ; when in fact they are controlled by other motives altogether. I do not mean by this that they attend public worship, and sustain by their influence the ordinances of religion, through a distinct and deliberate design of merely promoting, in some way, their own worldly interest by it. Actual, intentional hypocrisy, is a means which few men will knowingly adopt to accomplish their purposes. It is of so mean and base a quality, that even the honorable principles of this world are usually sufficient to preserve the breasts of men from its pollution. It is degrading and humiliating to admit it, knowingly and voluntarily, as a principle of action. The great danger which we have to fear is from a hypoc- risy, or something nearly allied to it, which comes in secrecy or disguise. It is not always an easy thing for us to decide by what motives we are governed in the actions which we perform. We are often swayed by inducements, of which, without rigid and impartial scrutiny, we are entirly uncon- scious ; for there may be one motive of fair and honorable appearance, which stands out in the view of the individual as the director of his actions ; and there may be another of far different character, which in reality guides him, but which 304 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Hypocrisy at church. Pharisaism. is coiled up like a mainspring, in a secret place, and thus eludes his observation. The Bible, when it teaches us that the heart is deceitful above all things, teaches us nothing which an unbiased observation of human nature will not every- where confirm. Now this sort of hypocrisy in disguise is very apt to be the inducement which influences men in the duties connected with public worship. We assemble with the congregation on the Sabbath ostensibly to join in the devotions, and to listen to the sermon, as if our motive were an honest desire to pro- mote our spiritual improvement ; and yet all the time it is, in fact, very probable that we are not actuated by any such motive at all. We go to the house of God because it is cus- tomary to go there, or because people will censure us if we do not go. Or for the purpose of seeing those whom we ex- pect to meet there, or for some other end totally unconnect- ed with the great design which the public services of the sanctuary were intended to subserve. We walk into the assembly with a very devout and reverent air. We assume humble postures and attitudes of worship, and appear to the eyes of our fellow-men, very intent upon the duties before us, while in fact our thoughts are turned wholly aside from the duty which we pretend to be performing. This is hypocrisy ; and however much we might be displeased at being pro- nounced hypocrites by others, we are, in fact, really hypo- crites, and our hypocrisy too, is of almost precisely the same type with that so terribly condemned by our Savior in his denunciations of the Pharisaic Jews. Let me urge my readers then to be careful how they per- form the duties of public worship. The responsibility of being interested in them, and profited by them, comes upon you alone. You can not throw it off upon your minister. Examine yourself with reference to the spirit and feelings with which these duties are performed. They afford you a THE SABBATH. 305 Appearance of evil. An example. very fine opportunity for close and faithful self-examination , for the sinister motives which, in a greater or less degree, undoubtedly exist in your hearts, will show themselves here. There is one thing more that I ought to present to the consideration of my readers before closing the chapter on this subject. It is this : In keeping the Sabbath, avoid all appearance of evil. I have endeavored in this discussion to accomplish two objects. First, to convince my readers that the mere form and man- ner in which the Sabbath is kept, except so far as it is a matter of express command, is not material ; and secondly, to convey to the mind a distinct idea of what I understand to be the spirit of the command, and to persuade all my readers to aim at producing, by the best means within their reach, upon their own hearts and lives, the effect which God had intended in the establishment of the institution. From these views of the subject, were I stop here, it might seem that if we take such a course as shall really secure our own religious improvement on the Sabbath, we may do it in any way ; for example, that we may walk, or ride, or visit, pro- vided that we so regulate and control our thoughts and con- versation as to make the spiritual improvement which it is the object of the day to secure. But no. We must avoid the appearance of evil. We must not seem to be breaking or disregarding God's commands, or do that which will give pain to Christian friends, whose views may be somewhat dif- ferent from ours. For example. A Christian living on the sea-shore, after having spent the day in the various duties which have pre- sented themselves to his attention, stands at the door of his house and looks out upon the glassy surface of the bay which stretches before him. It is a summer evening. The sun is just setting, throwing its bright beams over the water, and gilding every object upon which it shines. The Chris- tian looks over this scene of beauty, and its expression of 306 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The summer evening. A walk. Walking, riding, sailing. calmness and peace is transferred to his own soul. He feels the presence of God in it all, and rejoices in the power and goodness of the great Being who reigns in every scene of beauty or of grandeur which nature exhibits. With his heart filled with such thoughts, he walks down upon the beach to indulge in the contemplation of God's goodness to mankind and to him. Now he is, it must be admitted, while doing this, accomplishing the object of the Sabbath by meditation on the character of God. He may say perhaps that his views of divine goodness and power are more distinct and vivid while he is walking out among the beauties of nature, if his heart is in a right state, than they would be if he were shut up in his study. Why then may he not walk out at evening ? And why may he not step into the little boat which floats in the cove, and unloose its chain and push himself off from the shore, that while rocked by the gentle, dying swell of the sea, he may lose himself more completely in the absorbing feeling of God's presence, and muse more uninterruptedly upon his Creator's power ? Shall he go ? No ; stop, Christian, stop. Before you spend your half- hour in a boat upon the water, or even in your evening walk, consider what will be the influence of the example you are going to set to others. Shall you appear, while you are doing this, to be remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy ? Is it best, on the whole, that riding, walking, and sailing should be among the occupations of holy time ? Will God be honored and his Sabbath kept if all spend the Sab- bath evening as you are about to spend it ? These questions must be answered on a principle which will apply to multitudes of other cases. Take a course which, were it universally imitated, would promote the greatest good ; otherwise you may be doing that which, though safe for yourself, will be of incalculable injury, through the influence of your example, upon others. TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 307 Trial and discipline. The steamboat on trial. CHAPTER X. TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. " Strangers and pilgrims on the earth." I. NATURE OF TRIAL. The Bible everywhere conveys the idea that this life is not our home, but is a state of probation, that is, of trial and discipline, which is intended to prepare us for another. In order that all, even the youngest of my readers, may under- stand what is meant by this, I shall illustrate it by some familiar examples drawn from the actual business of life. When a large steamboat is built with the intention of having her employed upon the waters of a great river, she must be proved before put to service. Before trial, it is somewhat doubtful whether she will succeed. In the first place, it is not absolutely certain whether her machinery will work at all. There may be some flaw in the iron, or an imperfection in some part of the workmanship, which will prevent the motion of her wheels. Or if this is not the case, the power of the machinery may not be sufficient to propel her through the water with such force as to overcome the current ; or she may, when brought to encounter the rapids at some narrow passage in the stream, not be able to force her way against their resistance. The engineer therefore resolves to try her in all these re- spects, that her security and her power may be properly proved before she is intrusted with her valuable cargo of 108 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Efforts of the engineer. Improvements. human lives?. He cautiously builds a fire under her boiler ; he watches with eager interest the rising of the steam-gage, and scrutinizes every part of the machinery as it gradually comes under the control of the tremendous power which he is gradually applying. With what interest does he observe the first stroke of the ponderous piston ! — and when at length the fastenings of the boat are let go, and the motion is com- municated to the wheels, and the mighty mass slowly moves away from the land, how deep and eager an interest does he feel in all her movements and in every indication he can dis- cover of her future success ! The engine, however, works imperfectly, as every one must on its first trial ; and the object in this experiment is not to gratify idle curiosity by seeing that the boat will move, but to discover and remedy every little imperfection, and to remove every obstacle which prevents more entire success. For this purpose you will see our engineer examining, most minutely and most attentively, every part of her complicated machinery. The crowd on the shore may be simply gazing on her majestic progress, as she moves over the water, but the engineer is within, looking with faithful examination into all the minutiae of the motion. He scrutinizes the action of every lever and the friction of every joint ; here he oils a bearing, there he tightens a nut ; one part of the machinery has too much play, and he confines it — another too much friction, and he loosens it ; now he stops the engine, now reverses her motion, and again sends the boat forward in her course. He discovers, perhaps, some great improvement of which she is susceptible, and when he returns to the wharf and has extinguished the fire, he orders from the machine- shop the necessary alteration. The next day he puts his boat to the trial again, and she glides over the water more smoothly and swiftly than before. The jar which he had noticed is gone, and the friction re- TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 309 Final results. Her power. duced ; the beams play more smoothly, and the alteration, which he has made produces a more equable motion in the shaft, or gives greater effect to the stroke of the paddles upon the water. When at length her motion is such as to satisfy him, upon the smooth surface of the river, he turns her course, we will imagine, towards the rapids, to see how she will sustain a greater trial. As he increases the steam, to give the engine power to overcome the new force with which she has to con- tend, he watches, with eager interest, the boiler, inspects the gage and the safety-valves, and from the movements of the boat under the increased pressure of her steam he receives suggestions for further improvements, or for precautions which will insure greater safety. These he executes, and thus he perhaps goes on for many days, or even weeks, try- ing and examining, for the purpose of improvement, every working of that mighty power, to which he knows hundreds of lives are soon to be intrusted. This now is probation — trial for the sake of improvement . And what are its re- sults ? Why, after this course has been thoroughly and faithfully pursued, this floating palace receives upon her broad deck, and in her carpeted and curtained cabins, her four or five hundred passengers, who pour in, in one long procession of happy groups, over the bridge of planks ; — father and son — mother and children — young husband and wife — all with implicit confidence trusting themselves and their dearest interest to her power. See her as she sails away — how beautiful and yet how powerful are all her motions ! That beam glides up and down gently and smoothly in its grooves, and yet gentle as it seems, hundreds of horses could not hold it still ; there is no apparent violence, but every movement is made with almost irresistible power. How graceful is her form, and yet how mighty is the momentum with which she presses on her way. Loaded with life, and 310 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Safe and successful action. THE STEAMBOAT. herself the very symbol of life and power, she seems some- thing ethereal — unreal, which, ere we look again, will have vanished away. And though she has within her bosom a furnace glowing with furious fires, and a reservoir of death — the elements of most dreadful ruin and conflagration — of destruction the most complete, and agony the most unutter- able ; and though her strength is equal to the united energy of two thousand men, she restrains it all. She was con- structed by genius, and has been tried and improved by fidelity and skill ; and one man governs and controls her, stops her and sets her in motion, turns her this way and that, as easily and certainly as the child guides the gentle lamb. She walks over the hundred and sixty miles of her route without rest and without fatigue ; and the passengers, who have slept in safety in their berths, with destruction by TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 311 Life a lime of trial. water without, and by fire within, always at hand — and defended only by a plank from the one, and by a sheet of copper from the other, land at the appointed time in safety. My reader, you have, within you, susceptibilities and powers of which you have little present conception, — ener- gies which are hereafter to operate in producing either fullness of enjoyment, or horrors of suffering of which you now but little conceive. You are now on trial. God wishes you to prepare yourself for safe and happy action. He wishes you to look within, to examine the complicated movements of your heart, to detect what is wrong, to modify what needs change, and reotify every irregular mo- tion. You go out to try your moral powers upon the stream of active life, and then return to retirement, to improve what is right and remedy what is wrong. Renewed opportunities of moral practice are given you, that you may go on from strength to strength until every part of the complicated moral machinery of which the human heart consists, will work as it ought to work, and is prepared to accomplish the mighty purposes for which your powers are designed. You are on trial — on probation now. You will enter upon active ser- vice in another world. In order, however, that the end and design of probation may be more perfectly understood, let us consider more par- ticularly the difference between the condition of the boat I have described, when she was on trial, and when she was afterward in actual service. While she was on trial she sailed this way and that, merely for the purpose of ascertaining her powers and her deficiencies, in order that the former might be increased, and the latter remedied. The engineer steered her to the rapids, we supposed ; but it was not because he particularly wished to pass the rapids, but only to try the power of the boat upon them. Perhaps with the same de- sign he might run along a curved or indented shore, — pene- 312 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Trials of childhood. trating deep into creeks, or sweeping swiftly round projecting headlands ; and this, not because he wishes to examine that shore, but only to see how the boat will obey her helm. Thus he goes on placing her again and again in situations of difficulty, for the purpose simply of proving her powers, and enabling him to perfect the operation of her machinery. Afterward, when she has come into actual service, when she has received her load, and is transporting it to its place of destination, the object is entirely changed ; service, not im- provement, is then the aim. Her time of trial is ended. The Bible everywhere considers this world as one of trial and discipline, introductory to another one, which is to be the world of actual service. A child, as he comes forward into life, is surrounded with difficulties which might easily have been avoided if the Ruler over all had wished to avoid them. But he did not. That child is on trial — moral trial ; and just exactly as the helmsman of the steamboat steered her to the rapids for the purpose of bringing her into diffi- culty, so does God arrange in such a manner the circum- stances of childhood and youth as to bring the individual into various difficulties which will try his moral powers, and which, if the child does his duty, will be the means of improving them. He may learn contentment and submis- sion by the thousand disappointments which occur, patience and fortitude by his various sufferings, and perseverance by encountering the various obstacles which oppose his progress. These difficulties, and sufferings, and obstacles might all have easily been avoided. God might have so formed the human mind, and so arranged the circumstances of life, that every thing should have gone smoothly with us. But he wishes for these things as trials, — trials for the sake of our improvement ; and he has filled life with them, from the cradle to the grave. To obtain a distinct idea of the operation of this principle, TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 313 The child and the forbidden book. Command. Pain. let us look at this little child. She is just able to walk about the floor of her mother's parlor, and though her life is full of sources of happiness, it is full likewise of sources of disap- pointment and suffering. A moment since she was delighted with a plaything which her mother had given her, but now she has laid it aside, and is advancing toward a valuable book which lies upon the chair. She is just reaching out her little arm to take it, when she is arrested by her mother's well-known voice : " Mary ! Mary, you must not touch the book." A child as young as this will understand language though she can not use it, and she will obey commands. She looks steadily at her mother a moment with an inquiring gaze, as if uncertain whether she heard aright. The command is repeated : " No, Mary must not touch the book." The child, I will suppose, has been taught to obey, but in such a case as this it is a hard duty. Her little eyes fill with tears, which perhaps she makes an effort to drive away, and soon seeks amusement elsewhere. Now, if such a child has been managed right, she will be improved by such a trial. The principle of obedience and submission will have been strengthened ; it will be easier for her to yield to pa- rental command on the next occasion. But see, as she totters along back to her mother, she trips over her little footstool and falls to the floor. The terror and pain, though we should only smile at it, are sufficient to over- whelm her entirely. Her mother gently raises her, endeav- ors to soothe and quiet her, and soon you can distinctly per- ceive that the child is struggling to repress her emotions. Her sobs are gradually restrained, the tears flow less freely, and soon the sunshine of a smile breaks over her face, and she jumps down again to play. This now has been a useful 314 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Advantage of trial in childhood. trial ; pain and fright have once been conquered, and they will have less power over her in future. But though there is a real and most important benefit to be derived from these trials of infancy, the child herself can not understand it. No child can become prepared for the future duties of life without them, and yet no child, of such an age, can understand why they are necessary. The mother might say to her, in attempting to explain it, as follows : " Mary, I might save you from all these difficulties and troubles if I chose. I might put you in a room where every thing was cushioned so that you could not hurt yourself, and I might keep carefully out of your sight every article which you ought not to have. Thus you might be saved from all your pains and disappointments. But I choose not to do this. I wish to prepare you to become useful and happy hereafter, and you must accordingly learn submission, and patience, and fortitude now. So I leave the book in the chair, where you can see it, and then tell you that you must not touch it. And I leave you to fall a little now and then ; for the pain only continues for a moment ; but if you try to conquer your fears and bear the pain patiently, it will do you lasting good. By these means your character will acquire firmness and vigor, and you will thus be prepared for the duties of future life." The child now would not understand all this, but it would be true, whether she should understand it or not, and the judicious mother, who knows what is the design of education and the manner in which children are to be trained up to future duty, will not be unwilling to have her children re- peatedly tried. These repeated trials are the very means of forming their characters, and were it possible to avoid them entirely, instead of meeting and conquering them, the child, exposed to such a course of treatment, would be ruined. TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 315 Putting playthings out of reach. Conversation with a mother. Sometimes parents seem to make efforts to avoid them, and in going into such a family you will find the shovel and tongs, perhaps, placed upon the mantlepiece, so that the chil- dren can not touch them, and the mother will not dare to bring a plate of cake into the room for fear that they should cry for it. Instead of accustoming them to trials of this kind, and teaching them obedience and submission, she makes a vain effort to remove all occasion for the exercise of self- denial. If, perchance, these remarks are read by any mother who feels that she is pursuing the course which they con- demn, I would stop a moment to say to her as follows : Do you expect that you can govern your children for fif- teen years to come in this way ? Can you put every thing, which, during all this period, they shall want, and which they ought not to have, out of their way upon some mantle- piece, as you do the shovel and tongs ? " No," you reply, smiling, " I do not expect to do it. My child will soon become older, aud then I can teach him obedience more easily." You never afterward can teach him obedience so easily as when he is first able to understand a simple command, and that is long before he is able to walk. And there is no way by which obedience and submission can be so effectually taught to child or to man as by actual trial. That is the way in which God teaches it to you, and that is the way in which you ought to teach it to your child. God never puts sin away out of our reach ; he leaves it all around us, and teaches us by actual trial to resist its calls. " I know this is right," you reply ; " but sometimes I am busy — I am engaged in important duties, and do not wish to be interrupted ; and on such occasions I remove improper playthings out of the reach of my child, because, just then, I have not time to teach him a lesson of obedience." But what important business is that which you put into 316 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Trials not to be shunned. competition with the whole character and happiness of your child ? If your sons or your daughters grow up in habits of disobedience to your commands, they will embitter your life, and bring down your gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. You never afterward can gain an ascendency over them so easily as in infancy — and you can not in any other way so effectually undermine your power, and prevent yourself from ever obtaining an ascendency over them, as by accustoming them in childhood to understand that, in your endeavors to keep them from doing what is wrong, you do not aim at strengthening their own moral principle, and accustoming them to meet and to resist the ordinary temptations of life, but that you depend upon a vain effort to remove them en- tirely away from trial ; so that if you could succeed, you ren- der it equally impossible for them to do right or wrong. Yes ; trial is essential in childhood, and God has so ar- ranged the circumstances of early life, that parents can not evade it. It must come. It may be removed in a very few cases, but that only occasions additional difficulty in those that remain ; and it is far better not to attempt to evade it at all. Come up then, parents, boldly to the work of accus- toming your children to trial. If you see a child going to- ward an open door, do not hasten to shut it so that he can not go out ; command him not to go, and enforce obedience ; if you do any thing to the door at all, throw it wide open, and say mildly, " I will see whether you will disobey." Do not put the book or the paper which you do not wish him to touch high upon a shelf, away from his reach ; if you change its place at all, place it fully within his reach, and direct him not to touch it. Remember that youth is a season of proba- tion and trial, and unless you avail yourself of the opportuni- ties of probation and trial which it presents, you lose half the advantages which the Creator had in view in arranging the circumstances of childhood as they are. TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 317 Instruction and practice. The merchant's plan for his son. Now the whole of life is, equally with the years of child- hood, a time of probation and trial ; it is filled up with diffi- culties and obstacles, and sources of slight disappointment and suffering, for the very purpose of trying and increasing our moral strength. And all these things are, or may be, sources of enjoyment. They will be sources of enjoyment if we take the right view of them, as I shall explain more fully hereafter. God has so arranged it, that we have, in passing through life, a specimen of almost every sort of moral diffi- culty : and every moral poAver of the heart may be brought into active exercise, and cherished and strengthened by the trial, if the opportunity is rightly improved. God has therefore made a double provision for the moral growth of men. First, he has given us instruction in our duty in the Bible ; and secondly, he has given us opportunity for practice, in the various difficulties and duties of life. The Bible is full and complete as a book of directions. Human life is full and complete as a field for practice. The best parade-ground for drilling and disciplining an army would not be a smooth and level plain, but an irregular region, diversi- fied with hills and plains, where the inexperienced army would be compelled to perform every evolution — now passing a defile, now ascending an acclivity, now constructing and crossing a bridge. So human life, to answer the purposes intended as a field for moral exercise, must present a variety of difficulties, to enable us to practice every virtue, and to bring into active requisition every right principle of heart. A wealthy man, I will suppose, being engaged in com- mercial pursuits in a great city, wished to prepare his son to manage his business when he should be old enough to take charge of it. He accordingly gave him a thorough com- mercial education in school ; but before he received him into his partnership, he thought it would be necessary to give him some practical knowledge of his future duties. 318 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. A voyage of difficulty. Its design. "My son," says he to himself, "is now theoretically ac- quainted with all that is necessary, but he wants the readi- ness, and the firmness, and the confidence of practice. To complete his education, I will give him a thorough trial. I will fit out a small vessel, and let him take charge of her cargo. I will so plan the voyage, that it shall embrace an unusual share of difficulty and trial ; for my very design is to give him practical knowledge and skill, which come only through such a trial." He accordingly fits out his ship. He thinks very little of the success of the voyage in a pecuniary point of view, be- cause that is not his object. He rejects one port of destina- tion, because it is too near ; another, because the passage to it is short and direct ; and another, because the disposal of a cargo there is attended with no difficulty. He at last thinks of a voyage which will answer his design. The passage lies through a stormy sea. Rocks and quicksands, and perhaps pirates, fill it with dangers. The port at which he will arrive is one distinguished by the intricacy of its government regulations. His son is a stranger to the language of the country, and a great discretionary power will be necessary in the selection of a return cargo. This, says the merchant, is exactly the plan. This voyage will comprehend more diffi- culties, and dangers, and trials than any other, and will, ac- cordingly, be exactly the thing for my son. Perhaps you may say that a father would not form such a design as this — he would not willingly expose his son to so many difficulties and dangers merely for the sake of putting him to trial. This is true. No real father would probably go as far as I have represented the imaginary merchant to go ; but the reason why he would not, would be the doubt which he would necessarily feel whether his son would safely pass through the trial. He would not, for example, send his son among rocks and whirlpools, for the sake of getting him TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 319 Its design and effects. into danger, because he would fear that that danger might result in death. If, however, he could he sure of ultimate safety — if, for example, he could, as our great Father in heaven can do, go along with his boy, and though unseen and unheard, keep constantly at his side in every danger, with power to bring effectual protection — if earthly fathers had such power as this, there would be a thousand who would take the course above described. They would see that there could be nothing so well calculated to give maturity and efficiency to the character, and to prepare the young man for persevering fidelity and eminent success in his future busi- ness, as such a discipline as this. Let us go on then with the supposition. The young man at length sets sail. He understands the object of his father in planning the voyage, and he goes forth to prosecute it with a cordial desire of making it the means of promoting his improvement as far as possible. Instead of being displeased that a plan embracing so many difficulties and trial had been chosen for him, he rejoices in it. He certainly would rejoice in it, if he had confidence in his father's protection. When he comes into the stormy ocean through which he has to pass, instead of murmuring at the agitated sea and gloomy sky, he stands upon the deck, riding from billow to billow, thinking of his father's presence and confiding in his protection, and growing in moral strength and fortitude every hour. The gale increases, and the fury of the storm tries his nerve to the utmost ; but he does not regret its violence, or wish to quiet a single surge. He knows that it is his trial, and rejoices in it, and when through his increasing moral strength he has triumphed over its power, he stands contemplating its fury, with a spirit quiet and undisturbed. At length the wind lulls ; the clouds break away, and the bright rays of the set- ting sun beam upon the dripping sails and rigging ; the waves subside ; a steady breeze carries the ship forward smoothly 320 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The uses of trial. Self-knowledge. on her course ; and he who has been enduring the discipline of the scene feels that he has made progress — that he has taken now one great step toward the accomplishment of the object of his voyage. Christian ! Grod has planned just such a voyage for you. He has filled it with difficulties and trials, that you may, by means of them, discipline and perfect all your moral powers. When, therefore, the dark, gloomy storm rises upon you, and night shuts in, and danger presses, and your heart feels itself burdened with a load which it can scarcely sustain, never repine at it. Think how near is your protector. Confide in him, and remember that your present voyage is one of trial. II. THE USES OF TRIAL. I think it must be thus very evident to all who reflect properly upon this subject, that it is of immense advantage to moral beings, who are to be trained up to virtue, and to firmness of principle and of character, that they should not only receive instruction in duty, but that they should be put upon trial, to acquire by actual experience a firm and steady habit of correct moral action. This can, however, be made more clear, if I analyze more particularly the effects of such trial upon the heart. 1. It enables us to know ourselves. People never know their own characters till they are tried. We often condemn very severely other persons for doing what, if we had been placed in their circumstances, we should have done ourselves. " Ye know not what spirit ye are of," said the Savior. "Very few persons know what spirit they are of, until an hour of temptation brings forth the latent propensities of the heart into action. How will a revengeful spirit slumber unseen in a man's bosom, and his face be covered with smiles, till some slight insult or indignity calls it forth, and makes him at once TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 321 The deceived mother. the victim of ungovernable passion ! Yes ; trial reveals to us our true character. It brings to light the traits of Christian character which would not be understood at all without it. I have a case in mind, which I will describe, which is a very common case, precisely as I describe it here ; so common, that very prob- ably a great many of my readers may consider it as their own. A Christian mother had an only child whom she ardently loved. The mother was an influential member of the church, and was ardently interested in maintaining a high Christian character, and studying, faithfully and perseveringly, religious truth. She became much interested in the view which the Bible presents of the Divine Sovereignty ; she used to dwell with delight upon the contemplation of God's universal power over all ; she used to rejoice, as she thought, in his en- tire authority over her; she took pleasure in reflecting that she was completely in his hands, soul and body, for time and for eternity, and she wondered that any person could find any source of difficulty or embarrassment in the Scripture representations on this subject. But she did not know her heart. Her beloved child was sick — and she stood anxious and agitated over her pillow, very far from showing a cordial willingness that God should rule. She was afraid, very much afraid, that her child would die. Instead of having that practical belief in the divine sovereignty, and that cordial confidence in God, which would have given her in this trying hour a calm and happy acquiescence in the divine will, she was restless and uneasy — her soul had no peace, morning or night. Her daughter sank, by a progress which was slow, but irresistible, to the grave, and for weeks that mother was in utter misery be- cause she could not find it in her heart to submit to the divine will. She had believed in the universal power of 322 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The engineer was watchful. Means of improvement. G od as a theoretical truth ; she had seen its abstract beauty ; she thought that she rejoiced in God's superintending power, but it was only while all went well with her ; as soon as God began to exercise that power which she had so cordially acknowledged and rejoiced in, in a way which was painful to her, her heart rose against it in a moment, and would not submit. The trial brought out to her view her true feelings in regard to the absolute and unbounded authority of God. Now, there is a great deal of such acquiescence in God's dominion as this in the world, and a great deal of it is ex- posed by trial every day. The case of the steam-engine, which I supposed at the commencement of this chapter, illustrates this part of my subject exactly. The engineer tried the boat for the purpose of learning fully the character and operation of her ma- chinery. Though he had actually himself superintended the construction of every part of the work, he could not fully understand the character and the power of the machine until he had tried it. While the experiment was making, he was watching every movement with a most scrutinizing eye ; he discovered faults, or deficiencies, or imperfections, which nothing but actual trial could have revealed. It is on exactly the same principle that discipline and trial are useful, to enable us fully to understand our characters ; and in order to avail ourselves of this advantage, we should watch ourselves, most carefully, when placed in any new or untried situation, to see how our moral powers are affected by it. We must notice every imperfection and every defi- ciency which the trial brings to our view. 2. Discipline and trial are the means of improvement. Besides giving us an insight into our characters, they will, if properly improved, enable us to advance in the attainment of every excellence. I ought however, perhaps, to say they may be made the means of improvement, rather than that TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 323 The Christian boy going to school. they actually will be so. The steamboat was in a better condition after the first day's trial than before ; but it was because the engineer was attentive and watchful, doing his utmost to avail himself of every opportunity to increase the smoothness and the power of her motion. So with human trials. See yonder child going to school. His slate is under his arm, and he is going this day to make an attempt to under- stand long division. He is young, and the lesson, though it may seem simple to us, is difficult to him. He knows what difficulty and perplexity are before him, and he would, per- haps, under ordinary circumstances, shrink from the hard task. But he is a Christian. He has asked forgiveness for his past sins in the name of Jesus Christ, and is endeavoring to live in such a manner as to please his Father above. He knows that God might easily have formed his mind so that mathe- matical truths and processes might be plain to him at once, and that he has not done so, for the very purpose of giving him a useful discipline by the trial which the effort to learn them necessarily brings. He says therefore to himself as he walks along to his school- room, " My lesson to- day is not only to un- derstand this process, but to learn to be pa- tient and faithful in duty, and I must learn the arithmetical and the moral lesson to- gether. I will try to SCHOOL-BOY 324 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The moral and arithmetical question. do it. I will begin my work, looking to G-od for help, and I will go on through it, if I can, with a calm and quiet spirit, so as to learn not only to divide a number, but to persevere in duty." With this spirit he sits down to his work, and watches himself narrowly, that he may check every rising of impatience, and obtain, by means of the very difficulties that now try him, a greater self-command than he ever before possessed. In fact he takes a strong interest in the very difficulty, becase he is interested in the moral experiment which it enables him to make. Now, when such a spirit as this is cherished, and the mind is under its influence in all the difficulties and trials of life, how rapidly must the heart advance in ever} 7 excellence ! There certainly can be no other way by which a young person can so effectually acquire a patient and persevering spirit, as by meeting real difficulties with such a state of mind as I have described. They who have been trained in the hard school of difficulty and trial, almost always possess a firmness of character which it is in vain to look for else- where. There must, however, be effort on the part of the individual to improve the trial, or he will grow worse instead of better by it. The learning of simple division in school is, perhaps, as often a means of promoting an impatient and fretful spirit as the contrary. It is the disposition on the part of the individual, that determines which effect is to be the result. Some men, by the misfortunes and crosses of life, are made misanthropes ; others, by the same disappoint- ments and sufferings, are made humble and happy Christians, with feelings kindly disposed toward their fellow-men, and calmly submissive toward God. The object, then, which the Creator has had in view, in arranging the circumstances of probation and discipline in which we are placed, is two-fold : that we may understand, and that we may improve our characters. We are to learn TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 325 Practical directions. Ferent lessons from the different circumstances and situa- tions in which we are placed, but we are to learn some les- son from all. God might easily have so formed the earth, and so arranged our connection with it, as to save us from all the vicissitudes, and trials, and changes which we now experience. But he has made this world a state of discipline and trial for us, that we may have constant opportunities to call into active exercise every Christian grace. The future world is the home for which we are intended, and we are placed on trial here, that we may prepare for it ; and the suffering and sorrow which we experience on the way are small evils compared with the glorious results which we may hope for there. But I must come to the practical directions which I intended to present. 1. Consider every thing that befalls you as coming in the providence of God, and intended as a part of the system of discipline and trial through which you are to pass. This will help you to bear every thing patiently. An irreligious man is on a journey requiring special haste, and finds him- self delayed by bad traveling or stormy weather, until a steamboat, which he had intended to have taken, has sailed, and left him behind. He spends the twenty-four hours dur- ing which he has to wait for the next boat, in fretting and worrying himself over his disappointment — in useless com- plaints against the driver for not having brought him on more rapidly — in wishing that the weather or traveling had been better — or in thinking how much his business must suffer by the delay. The Christian, on the other hand, hears the intelligence, that the boat has left him, with a quiet spirit ; and even if he was hastening to the bedside of a dying child, he would spend the intervening day in compo- sure and peace, saying, " The Lord has ordered this. It is intended to try me. Heavenly Father, give me grace to stand the trial." 326 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. God's providence universal. Losses of every kind from God. I say, the Christian would feel thus ; I should, perhaps, have said, he ought to feel thus. Christians are very much accustomed to consider all the great trials and sufferings of life as coming from God, and as intended to try them, but they fret and vex themselves unceasingly in regard to the little difficulties which, in the ordinary walk of life, they have to encounter — especially in what is connected with the miscon- duct of others. You lend a valuable book, and it is returned to you spoiled ; the prints are soiled and worn ; the leaves are turned down in some places, and loosened in others ; the binding is defaced, and the back is broken. Now you ought not to stand looking at your spoiled volume, lamenting again and again the misfortune, and making yourselves miserable for hours by your fretfulness and displeasure against the individual who was its cause. He was indeed in fault, but if you did your duty in lending the book, as probably you did, you are in no sense responsible for the injury, and you do wrong to make yourself miserable about it. The occurrence comes to you in the providence of God, and is intended as a trial. He watches you to see how you bear it. If you meet it with a proper spirit, and learn the lesson of patience and forbear- ance which it brings, that spoiled book will do you more good than any splendid volume crowded with prints, adorned with gilded binding, and preserved in a locked cabinet for you for twenty years. So with loss of every kind, whether it comes in the form of a broken piece of china, or a counterfeit ten-dollar bill found in the pocket-book, or the loss of your whole property by the misfortune of a partner or the pressure of the times. No matter what is the magnitude or the smallness of the loss — no matter whether it comes from the culpable negligence or fraud of another, or more directly from God, through the medium of flood or fire, or the lightning of heaven ; so far as it is a loss affecting you, it comes in the providence of TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 327 The careless engineer. God, and is intended as a trial. If you are really interested in what ought to be the great business of life, your growth in grace, you will find that such trials will help you to under- stand your own heart, and to train it up to a proper action under the government of God, more than any thing beside. 2. Make it your aim to be continually learning the lessons which God by these various trials is endeavoring to teach you. Every day is a day of discipline and trial. Ask yourself every night then, "What progress have I made to-day?" Suppose that the engineer, in the case of the steamboat on trial, to which I have several times alluded, had neglected altogether the operation of the machinery when his boat was put to the test. Suppose that instead of examining minutely and carefully the structure and the action of the parts, with a view of removing difficulties, rectifying defects, and sup- plying deficiencies, he had been seated quietly upon the deck enjoying the sail. He might have been gazing at the scenery of the shore, or in vanity and self-complacency pleasing him- self with the admiration which he imagined those who stood upon the land were feeling for the degree of success which he had already attained. While he is thus neglecting his duty, evils without number, and fraught with incalculable consequences, are working below.. The defects in his ma- chinery are not discovered and not remedied ; its weaknesses remain unobserved and unrepaired ; and if at last there should be intrusted to his care valuable property, nothing can reasonably be expected but its destruction. Multitudes of men, and even great numbers of those who call themselves Christians, act the part of this infatuated engineer. God says to them that their moral powers are now on trial. He commands them to consider it their busi- ness here not to be engrossed in the objects of interest which surround them as they pass on through life, nor to be satis- fied with present attainments of any kind, but to consider 328 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Neglect of duty. themselves as sailing now in troubled waters for the purpose of trial and improvement ; to watch themselves with con- stant self-examination, and with honest efforts to rectify what is wrong and to supply what is deficient. He requires them to consider all the circumstances and occurrences of life as coming from him, and as arranged with express reference to the attainment of these objects. Notwithstanding all this, however, they neglect the duty altogether. They do not watch themselves. They do not habitually and practically regard the events of life as means to enable them to under- stand their hearts, to strengthen, by constant exercise, moral principle, and to grow in grace. Instead of this, they are engaged in simply endeavoring to secure as much present enjoyment in this world as they can, and can see no good in any trial, and can get no good from it. When they are sick, they spend the time in longing to get well. When they are disappointed, they make themselves miserable by useless lamentations. Losses bring endless regrets ; and injuries, impatience and anger. Half of life is spent in these vexa- tious struggles — the vain and hopeless struggles of a weak man to get free from the authority and government of God. I have now completed what I intended to present on the subject of probation ; and I think that all my readers will easily see, that by taking such a view of life as this subject presents to us, the whole aspect of our residence in this world is at once changed. If you really feel what I have been endeavoring to explain, you will regard yourselves as strangers and pilgrims here, looking continually forward to another country as your home. The thousand trials and troubles of life will lose half their weight by your regarding them in their true light, that is, as means of moral discipline and improvement. You must, however, make a constant effort to do this. Make it a part of your daily self-examina- TRIAL AND DISCIPLINE. 329 Concluding remarks. tion not only to ascertain what is the state of your heart at the time when the examination was made, but to review the incidents of the day, and see how they have operated upon you as means of moral discipline. See what traits of charac- ter those incidents have brought to your view, and what effect they have had in making you worse or better than you were in the morning. The little events and circumstances of every day must have a very important influence of one kind or of the other. If you neglect this influence, all will go wrong. If you attend to it, it will go well and happily with you wherever you may be. 330 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. General improvement a Christian duty. CHAPTER XI. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. " The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." The chapters which the reader has just perused are on subjects connected with the improvement of the character : that is, they are upon the means by which this improvement is to be promoted. This studying of the Bible, the keeping of the Sabbath, and the influence of trial and discipline, are all intended to be means for the promotion of moral progress. There are some things, however, which I wish to say in regard to the character itself as it goes on in the process of improvement. Reader ! do you desire to avail yourself of the opportunities and means which I have described ? Do you wish to study the Bible, to remember the Sabbath, and to improve all the occurrences of life, as the means of promoting your progress in all that is good ? If so, look now with me a little while into your character itself, that you may see in what respect it needs your attention, and in what way you can so employ the means which I have described, as to gain the fullest benefit from them. As I think that every young Christian ought most assiduously to cultivate his moral, and also his intellectual powers, I shall discuss in order both these points. I. MORAL IMPROVEMENT. Every young Christian will find, however sincerely and PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 331 Moral improvement. Faults. The vain boy. ardently he may have given up his heart to God and com- menced a life of piety, that a vast number of faults remain to be corrected — faults which he acquired while he lived in sin, and which the force of habit have fixed upon him. Now you know, or you may easily learn, what these faults are, and your first effort is to correct them. In order now to make clear the course which I think ought to be taken to correct such faults, I will suppose a case, and bring into it the various methods which may be adopted for this purpose ; and I shall write the account with a double aspect — one toward parents, with the design of showing them what sort of efforts they ought to make to cor- rect the faults of their children, and the other toward the young, to show what measures they should adopt to improve themselves. First, however, I will mention a very common, but a very ineffectual mode of attempting to correct faults. A father sees in his son some exhibition of childish vanity, and he says to him instantly, at the very time of the occurrence, " You are acting in a very foolish manner. — You show a great deal of vanity and self-conceit by such conduct ; and in fact I have observed that you are growing very vain for some months past ; I don't know what we shall do to correct it." The poor boy hangs his head and looks ashamed, and his father, talking about it a few minutes longer in a half irri- tated tone, dismisses and forgets the subject. The boy re- frains, perhaps, from that particular exhibition of vanity for a little while, and that is probably all the good which results from the reproof. Another wiser parent sees with regret the rising spirit of self-conceit in his son ; and instead of rushing on to attack it without plan or design at the first momentary impulse, he resorts to a very different course. He notices several cases — remembers them — reflects that the evil, which has been 332 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Way to reform him. Conversation with his father. forming perhaps for years, can not be corrected by a single abrupt reproof — and accordingly forms a plan for a protracted moral discipline in the case, and then seeks a favorable op- portunity to execute it. One day, after the father has been grant- ing his son some un- usual indulgence, and they have spent the day happily together in some plan of enjoy- ment, and are riding home slowly in a pleas- ant summer evening, he thus addresses his son : " Well, Samuel, you have been a good boy, and we have had a biding home. pleasant time. Now I am going to give you something to do, which, if you do it right, will wind up the day very pleasantly." " What is it ?" says Samuel. "Iara not certain that it will please you, but you may do as you choose about undertaking it. It will not be pleas- ant at first ; the enjoyment will come afterward." Samuel. But what is it, father ? I think I shall like to do it. Father. Do you think that you have any faults, Samuel ? Samuel. Yes, sir, I know I have a great many. Father. Yes, you have ; and all boys have. Some wish to correct them, and others do not. JSTow I have supposed that you do wish to correct your faults, and I had thought PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 333 Instances of vanity. of describing one of them to you, and then telling you of a particular thing which you can do which will help you to correct it. But then it will not be very pleasant for you to sit here and have me find fault with you, and mention a number of instances in which you have done wrong, and par- ticularize all the little circumstances which increased the guilt ; this, I say, will not be very pleasant, even though you know that my design is not to find fault with you, but to help you improve. But then if you undertake it, and after a little while find that you are really improving, then you will feel happier for the effort. Now consider both, and tell me whether you wish me to give you a fault to correct or not. If the boy now has been under a kind, and gentle, but efficient government, he will almost certainly desire to have the fault, and the way by which he is to correct it, pointed out. If so, the father may proceed as follows : Father. The fault that I am going to mention to you, is vanity. Now it is right for you to desire my approbation. It is right for you not only to do your duty, but to wish that others should know that you do it. I think, too, it is right for you to take pleasure in reflecting on your improvement, as you go on improving from year to year. But when you fancy your improvement to be greater than it is, or imagine that you have made great attainments, or when you obtrude some trifling merit upon the notice of strangers for the sake of exciting their admiration, you exhibit vanity. Now, did you know that you have this fault ? Samuel. I do not know that I have thought of it particu- larly. I suppose, though, that I have it. Father. That you have the fault now is of very little con- sequence, if you only take hold of it in earnest and correct it. It has grown up with you insensibly ; in fact, almost all children fall into it. I presume that I had as much vanity as you have, when I was as young. Do you think now that 334 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The boy's list. you can recollect any cases in which you have shown vanity ? Samuel. I don't know ; perhaps I could if I should have a little time to think. Father. Well, I will give you time to think, and if you really wish to correct yourself of the fault, you may think of all the cases you can, and tell me of them. If you prefer it, you may write the list and show it to me. Now, if the subject is taken up in this spirit, most boys, who had been treated on these principles before, would re- ceive the communication with pleasure, and would engage with interest in the work of exploring the heart. And such a boy will succeed. He will bring a list of instances, not perhaps fully detailed, but alluded to distinctly enough to re- call them to mind. His list might be perhaps something as follows : " Dear Father, — I have made out a list of the times in which I was vain, and I now send it to you. "1. I brought out my writing-book a few evenings ago, when some company was here, in hopes that the people would ask to see it. "2. I said yesterday at table, that there was something in the lesson which none of the boys could recite until it came to me, and I recited it. "3. I pretended to talk Latin with George when walk- ing, thinking that you and the other gentlemen would over- hear it. " I suppose I could think of many other cases if I had time. I am glad that you told me of the fault, for I think it a very foolish one, and I wish to correct it. " Your dutiful son, Samuel." Now let me ask every one of my readers who has any PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 335 Effect of this confession. Secret confession to be minute. knowledge of human nature, whether, even if the effort of the father to correct this fault should stop here, a most pow- erful blow would not have been given to it. Do you think that a boy can make such a self-examination, and confess freely his faults in this manner, without making a real pro- gress in forsaking them ? Can he as easily, after this, at- tempt to display his accomplishments, or talk of his ex- ploits ? The process ought not to stop here, but this is the first step ; confession — full, free, and particular confession. In the first chapter I described the power of confession to restore peace of mind, after it is lost by sin ; and in alluding to the subject of confession again here, it will be seen that I look to another aspect of it, namely, its tendency to promote ref- ormation. It is in this latter respect only that I consider it now. The first step then which any of you are to take in order to break the chains of any sinful habit which you have formed, is to confess it fully and freely. That single act will do more to give your fault its death-blow, than almost any thing else that you can do. If you are a child, you can derive great assistance from confessing your faults to your parents. If you shrink from talking with them face to face about your follies and faults, you can write to them. Or confess and express your determination to amend, to some confidential friend, of your own age ; but above all, be sure to confess to God ; lay the whole case before him in full de- tail. I can not press upon you too fully the necessity of being distinct and definite, and going into full detail, in these confessions. There is one very erroneous impression which young per- sons receive from hearing public prayer. It is always, as it ought to be, general in its language, both of confession and request. Take for instance the following language of the 336 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Secret prayer often too general. Way to make prayer interesting. prayer-book of the Protestant Episcopal Church, so admira- bly adapted to its purpose : " We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done ; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done ; and there is no health in us." How general is this language. It is so with our Savior's model of prayer ! " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are indebted to us." Public prayer ought to be some- what general in its expressions, for it is the united voice often of thousands, and should express acknowledgments and peti- tions which are common to them all. But the mistake that multitudes fall into, is, that when they begin to pray themselves, they take public prayer as the model for secret supplication ; and they spend their season of retirement in repeating the same general supplications which they hear from the pulpit in the hour of public worship. But this is a very great error. The very object of secret prayer is to afford the soul an opportunity of going minutely into its own particular and private case. There is no magic in solitude, no mysterious influence in the closet itself, to purify and sanctify the heart. It is the opportunity which the closet affords of bringing forward the individual case in all its particularity and detail, which gives to secret devotion its immense moral power. The general and com- prehensive language which is adopted in public prayer, is thus adopted, because it is the object of public prayer to ex- press only those wants, and to confess those sins which are common to all who join in it. The language must necessa- rily therefore be general. But it is always the intention of those who use it, that minute detail should be given in private supplications. In the prayer of the Episcopal Church, PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 337 Formal confession. for example, the evening prayer for families is printed thus : " We come before thee in an humble sense of our unworthiness, acknowledging " Here let him . f. , , , . „ , . , who reads make a our manifold transgressions of thy right- shorf ?au ^ that eous laws.* But 0, gracious Father, who every one may con- desirest not the death of a sinner, look upon fess the sins and us, we beseech thee, in mercy, and forgive f a ^ n 9 s °f that ■n , ? j day." us all our transgressions. Here you will observe that on the margin it is suggested that this entering into detail should be done even in the fam- ily worship. How much more when the individual has re- tired alone, for the very purpose of bringing forward the peculiar circumstances of his own case ! This is the only way to make secret prayer what it really ought to be, for without this the exercise is almost certain to degenerate to a lifeless form. A child, just before retiring to rest, attempts to pray. He uses substantially the expressions which he has heard in the pulpit : " I acknowledge that I am a great sinner. I have done this day many things which are wrong ; I have neglected many duties, and broken many of thy commands." Now how easy is it for a person to say all this with apparent fervor, and yet have present to his mind while saying it, no one act in which he really feels that he has done wrong, and consequently no distinct mental feeling that he is guilty ! Our confessions, half of the time, amount to nothing more than a general acknowledgement of the doc- trine of human depravity. " I humbly confess that I have been a great sinner this day," says a Christian at his evening prayer, and while he says it, the real state of his mind is, "I suppose I must have been so. All men are sinners,, and I know that of course I am." As to any distinct and defi- V 338 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Excuses. Way to make secret prayer interesting. nite feeling of personal guilt, it is often the farthest from the mind while using such language. It is astonishing how easily and how soon we become ha- bituated to the general language of confession, so as to use it most frequently without any sense of personal guilt. A parent will reprove a boy for a fault, and as the father goes over the details, the boy will defend and excuse himself at every step. Here he will lay off the blame upon his brother — there he will say that he did not know what else to do — and in another respect he will say that he tried to do as well as he could. And yet, after he has finished all this, he will add gravely, " But I do not pretend to excuse myself. I know I have done wrong." I have had such cases occur continu- ally in the management of the young. But do not forget what is the subject of this chapter. It is the means of correcting faults ; and, as the first means, I am describing full and particular confession of the sins which you wish to avoid in future. Before I go on, however, I wish to say one thing in regard to the effect of going into minute detail in prayer. It is the only way in which the duty of prayer can be made to awaken any strong degree of interest in the mind. When you come at night, with a mind wearied and exhausted with the labors of the day, to your hour of retirement, you will find your thoughts wander- ing in prayer. No complaint is more common than this. There is scarcely any question which is asked more frequently of a pastor than this : " How shall I avoid the sin of wan- dering thoughts in prayer?" It would be asked, too, much oftener than it is, were it not that Christians shrink from ac- knowledging to their religious teachers a fault which seems to imply their want of interest in spiritual things. Now the remedy in nine cases out of ten is, coming to particulars in your prayers. Have no long formal exordiums. Abandon the common phrases of general confession and request, and PEE.S0NAL IMPROVEMENT. 339 Private prayer. Examples of minute confession. come at once to the particular circumstances and minute wants and trials of the day. Describe not only particular faults, but all the minute attending circumstances. Feel that you are alone ; that the restraints of publicity are re- moved from you ; that you may safely abandon the phrase- ology and the form which a proper respect for the customs of men retains in the pulpit and at the family altar, and come and converse with your great Protector, as a man converses with his friend ; and remember that if you fasten upon one word which you have spoken with an improper spirit, and confess your guilt in that one sin, mentioning all the circum- stances which gave it its true character, and exposing the wicked emotions which dictated it, you make more truly a confession, than you would do by repeating solemnly the best expression of the doctrine of human depravity that creed, or catechism, or system of theology ever gave. But to return to the modes of correcting faults. If your fault is one which long habit has riveted very closely upon you, I would 'recommend that you confess it in writing ; it is more distinct, and what you put upon paper you impress very strongly upon your mind. Suppose when evening comes, in reflecting upon the events of the day, you remember an act of unkindness to a younger brother. Now, sit down and write a full description of it, and make it appear in its true light. Do not exaggerate it, nor extenuate it, but paint it in its true colors. Express your sorrow, if you feel any, and express just as much as you feel. Be honest. Use no cant phrase of acknowledgment, but just put upon paper your ac- tual feelings in regard to the transaction. Now, after you have done this, you may, if you please, just fold up the paper and put it into the fire ; you can not put with it into the fire the vivid impression of your guilt, which this mode of con- fession will produce. Or you may, if you prefer it, preserve it for a time, that you may read it again, and renew the im- 340 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The father's letter. pressions which it made, before you destroy it. But it will be better to destroy it at last. It is not in human nature to write its thoughts in such a case, with the intention of pre- serving the record, without being secretly influenced by the probability that the description will sooner or later be seen by other eyes. But I must pass to the second step in the progress of re- moving a fault. It is watchfulness. Suppose that the father, in the case which I have imagined, in order to illustrate this subject, should say to his son, or which would be better still, should write to him as follows : " My dear Son, — I received your account of the instances in which you have shown vanity. I am very glad that you are disposed to correct yourself of this fault, and will now tell you what you are to do next. " You would without doubt, if you had had time, have thought of many more instances, but you would not have thought of all ; a great many would have 'escaped your notice. You show vanity many times when you do not knoiv it yourself. When we are habituated to doing any thing that is wrong, we become blinded by the habit ; so that the vainest people in the world scarcely know that they are vain at all. Now, the next step that you are to take is to regain moral sensibility on this subject, so as to know clearly what vanity is, and always to notice when you are guilty of it. The way to do this, is, for you to watch yourself. Notice your conduct for two days, and whenever you detect yourself displaying vanity on any occasion, go and make a memo- randum of it. You need not write a full description of it, for you would frequently not have time ; but write enough to remind you of it, and then at the end of the two days send the list to me. In the mean time I will observe you, and if I PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 341 Object of this illustration. Faults to be corrected. see any instances of this fault I will remember them, and see if I recollect any which you have not marked down. " It will not be very pleasant, my son, to watch yourself thus for faults, but it is the most effectual means of removing them. You may, however, do just as you please about adopting this plan. If you adopt it, send your catalogue to me ; if you do not, you need not say any thing about it. " Your affectionate parent, .'• Now I wish my young readers to understand, that though I have described fully this case, partly with a design to illus- trate the spirit with which parents and teachers should engage in their efforts for the moral improvement of the young, yet my main design is to explain to the young them- selves a course which they may take immediately to correct their faults. I am in hopes that many a one who reads this chapter will say to himself, "I have some faults which I should like to correct, and I will try this experiment." I wish that you would try the experiment. You all know what your faults are. One can remember that he is very often undutiful or disrespectful to his parents. Another is aware that she is not always kind to her sister. Another is irrita- ble — he often gets into a passion. Another is forward and talkative ; her friends have often reproved her, but she has never made any systematic effort to reform. Another is indolent — often neglecting known duties and wasting time. Thus all young persons are the victims of some moral dis- ease or other, from which, though they may be Christians, they are not fully freed. Now just try my prescription. Take the two steps which I have described ; confess fully and minutely the particular fault which you wish first to correct — for it is best to attack one enemy at a time — and then — with careful watchfulness keep a record of your subse- quent transgressions. You can not do this with a proper 342 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Young and old persons. spirit of dependence on God and accountability to him, with- out breaking the chains of any fault or habit which may now be domineering over you. The efficacy of such moral treatment in these moral diseases is far more certain and powerful than that of any cordial in restoring the fainting powers. I hope therefore that every young person who reads this chapter will not merely express a cool approbation of these plans, but will resolutely set to work in examining his character, and in trying these methods of altering or improving it. " Every young person ? — And why not those who are not young?" says some one. "Why can not the old correct their faults in this way ?" They can, but they will not. I recommend it exclusively to the young, not because it is less efficacious with others, but because others will not cordially try it. The difficulty which prevents middle-aged persons from going on as rapidly as the young in improvement of every kind, is, that they are not so easily induced to make the effort. It is a mistake to suppose that it is easier for a child to reform his character than for a man, if the same efforts were made. A child is told of his faults ; the rules of politeness governing in social life forbid us to mention them with the same freedom to a man. A child is encouraged and urged forward in efforts to improve ; the man is solitary in his resolutions and unaided in his efforts. A child is will- ing to do any thing. Confession is not so humiliating to him ; making a catalogue of his sins is not so shrunk from. If the man of fifty is willing to do what the boy of fifteen does, he may improve even faster than he. Some of the most remarkable cases of rapid alteration and improvement of character which I have ever known have been in the decline of age. Let me say therefore respectfully to those who may chance PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 343 Correcting faults. Temptations. An irritable temper. to read this book, but who are beyond the age for which it is specially intended, that we all have faults which we ought to discover and attempt to mend. They affect our happiness. They bring us down lower than we should otherwise stand in the estimation of others. Thus they impede our influence and usefulness. If we would now explore and correct these, taking some such thorough-going course as I have described, how rapidly we should at once rise in usefulness and hap- piness ! Instead of that, however, we listen to moral and religious instruction from the pulpit, to admire the form of its expression, or perhaps to fix the general principles in our hearts ; but the business of exploring thoroughly our own characters to ascertain their real condition, and of going earnestly to work upon all the detail of actual and minute repair — pulling down in this place, building up in that, and altering in the other — ah ! this is a business with which we have but little to do. But I must go on with my account of the means of cor- recting faults, for I have one more expedient to describe. I have been digressing a little to urge you to apply practically what I say, to yourselves, and resolve to try the experiment. This one more expedient relates to your exposure to tempta- tion. In regard to temptation you have I think two duties. First, to avoid all great temptations ; and secondly, to en- counter the small ones with a determination, by God's bless- ing, to conquer them. A boy knows, I will imagjpe, that he has an irritable spirit ; he wishes to cure himself of it. I will suppose that he has taken the two steps which I have already described, and now as the morning comes, and he is about to go forth to the exposures of the day, we may suppose him to hold the following conversation with his father, or some other friend. "I have made a great many resolutions," says the boy, .44 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Conversation between the boy and his friend. " and I am really desirous of not "becoming angiy and im- patient to-day. But I always do, and I am afraid I always shall." " Always ?" asks his friend. " Do you get angry every dayV " I do almost always ; whenever any thing happens to vex me." " What are the most common things that happen to vex you?" " Why, I almost always get angry playing marbles. George does not play fair, and I get angry with him, and he gets angry with me." " Do you always get angry playing marbles ?" " We do very often." " Then I advise you to avoid playing marbles altogether. I know you like to play, but if you find it affords too great a temptation for you to resist, you must abandon it, or you will not cure yourself of your fault. What other temptations do you meet with ?" " Why I get put out with my sums at school." " Get put out with your sums ! — What do you mean by that ?" " I get impatient and vexed because I can not do them, and then I get angry with them." " What, with the sums /" "Yes ; with the sums, and the book, and the slate, and every thing else ; I know it ig very foolish and wicked." " Well ; now I advise you to take your slate and pencil to-day, and find some difficult sum, such a one as you have often been angry with, and sit down calmly to work, and see if you can not go through it, and fail of doing it, and yet not feel vexed and angry. Think before you begin, how sad it is for you to be under the control of wicked passions, and ask God to help you, and then go on expecting to find PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 345 Great and small temptations. difficulty, and endeavoring to meet it with a calm and patient spirit. If you succeed in this, you will really im- prove while you do it. By gaining one victory over your- self you will find another more easy. " Which do you think is the greatest temptation for you, to play marbles or to do sums ?" " Why, I think that to play marbles is ; because the boys don't play fair." " Very well ; now I wish you to practice the easiest les- son first. Conquer yourself in your arithmetical tempta- tion first, and then perhaps you can encounter the other. And I wish you would watch yourself to-day, and observe what are the trials which are too great for you to bear, and avoid them until you have acquired more moral strength. But do not flee from any temptation which you think you can resist. By meeting and resisting it, you will increase your power." Now this is the course to be pursued in the correction of all faults. The temptations which you think you will not be successful in resisting, you ought to avoid, no matter at what sacrifice ; and though you ought not to seek the trial of your strength, yet where Providence gives you the trial, go forward to the effort which it requires, with confidence in his help, and with resolution to do your duty. If you have the right spirit, he will help you ; and virtuous principle will grow by any exposure which does not overpower it. I have however spoken more fully on this subject in the chapter of discipline and trial, where the general effect of such discipline as we have here to pass through was pointed out. I have here only alluded to it again to show how important an auxiliary it is in the correction of particular faults. But I must pass to the consideration of another part of my subject, for the correction of absolute faults of character 346 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Growing in grace. Unavailing efforts. The mother. is by no means the only, or even the most important object of attention in Christian progress. The spirit of piety, which is the mainspring of all these efforts in the improvement of the character, is to be directly cultivated. The command " grow in grace," seems to refer to this progress in the spirit of piety itself. The correction of external faults, and the improvement of the character in all those aspects in which intercourse between man and man is concerned, will result from it. But it is itself something different from these external changes. To grow in grace, is to have the heart itself so changed that sin shall become more and more hate- ful, the promotion of the general happiness an increasing object of interest and desire, and the soul more and more closely united to G-od, so as to receive all its happiness from him. This now is a change in the affections of the heart. Improvement of conduct will result from it, but it is in itself essentially different from right conduct. It is the fountain, from which good actions are the streams. I wish, therefore, that every one of my readers would now turn his attention to this subject, and inquire with me, by what means he may grow most rapidly in attachment to the Savior, and in hatred of sin. A very unwise and ineffectual kind of effort is very often made, which I shall first describe ; and then I shall proceed to describe the means which may be successful, in drawing the heart closer and closer to Je- hovah. To illustrate the unavailing efforts which are sometimes made to awaken in the heart a deeper and deeper interest in piety, I will suppose a case, and it is a case which is exceed- ingly common. A professing Christian — and, to make the case more definite, I will suppose the individual to be the mother of a family — feels that she does not love God as she ought, and she is consequently unhappy. She is aware that her affections are placed too strongly, perhaps, upon her family PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 347 The man of business. — her children. She knows that she is a wanderer from her Savior, aud feels at all times, when she thinks of religious duty, a settled uneasiness which mars many of her enjoy- ments, and often saddens her heart. Now, what does she do to remedy this difficulty ? Why, when the week is past, and her hour of prayer on the Sabbath has arrived, she thinks a little of her cold and wayward condition, and tries, by direct efforts,, to arouse in her heart feelings of penitence and love. But she tries in vain. I acknowledge that she is very guilty in being in such a state, but if she is so, her direct efforts, to feel will be vain. She will have, for an hour, a weary and melancholy struggle — the Sabbath will pass away, rendered gloomy by her condition and her re- flections — and Monday morning will come, with its worldly cares and enjoyments, to drift her still farther from God and from happiness. A man of business, engrossed in the management of his prosperous affairs, knows that he is not living and acting as a servant of God. And yet he is a member of a Christian church ; — -he has solemnly consecrated himself to the Savior ; and when he thinks of it, he really wishes that his heart was in a different state. The world however holds him from day to day, and the only thing which he does to save him- self from wandering to a returnless distance from God, is to strive a little, morning and evening, at his short period of secret devotion, to feel his sins. He makes direct effort to urge his heart to gratitude. He perhaps kneels before the throne of God, and knowing how little love for God he really feels, he exerts every nerve to bring his heart to exercise more. He is trying to control his affections by direct effort — and he probably fails. He is striving in vain. He soon becomes discouraged, and yields himself again to the current which is bearing him away from holiness and peace. 348 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. The dejected Christian. I once knew a young man — and while I describe his case it is possible that there may be many of the readers of this chapter who will say his case is like theirs — who had a faint hope that he was a Christian ; but his penitence was in his opinion so feeble and heartless, his love to Grod was so cold, and his spark of grace, if there was any in his heart, was so faint and languishing, that he scarcely dared to hope. He did not therefore take the stand, or perform the duties of a Christian. He thought that he must make more progress himself in piety before he endeavored to do any thing for others ; he was accordingly attempting to make this progress. He struggled with his own heart to awaken a stronger love and deeper penitence there ; but it was a sad and almost fruitless struggle. He became dejected and desponding ; he thought that his heart was still hardened and cold in sin ; he strove against this, but he found that religious feeling would not come at his bidding. He continued thus for a long time, unhappy himself and useless to others. The principle which I have been designing to illustrate by these cases is, that the best way to improve or alter the affections of the heart, is not by direct efforts upon the heart itself. The degree of power which man has directly over the affections of the heart is very limited. A mere theorist will say that he must have entire control over them, or they can not be blameworthy or praiseworthy. But no one but the mere theorist will say this. A benevolent man, during an inclement season, sends fuel to a destitute and suffering family, and perhaps goes himself to visit and to cheer the sick one there. Does not he take a great pleas- ure in thus relieving misery, and is not this benevolent feeling praiseworthy ? And yet it is not under his direct control ; he can not possibly help taking pleasure in relieving suffering. Suppose I were to say to him, " Sir, just to try a philosophical experiment, will you now alter your heart, so PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 349 Direct efforts. Free agency. as to be glad to know that people are suffering. I will tell you the facts about a child which perished with the cold ; and while I do it, will you so alter your heart (which must be entirely under your control, or else its emotions can not be praiseworthy or blameworthy) as to delight in that cruel suffering?" How absurd would this be! The man must be pained to hear of sufferings which he can not help, and yet sympathy with the sorrows of others is praiseworthy. Again, sister and sister have become alienated from each other. The feeling which was at first coldness has become dislike. And, unnatural as it is that they whom God has placed so near together, should remain sundered in heart, they have become fixed and settled in that condition. Sup- pose the parent were to say to them, " I know you can love each other, and you ought to love each other, and I com- mand you immediately to do it." They may fear parental displeasure, they may know that they should be happier if they were united in heart ; but will affection come at once at their call ? The entire free agency of man, by which is meant his free- dom from all external restraint in his conduct, can not be as- serted too frequently, or kept too distinctly in the view of every human being. There is however a possibility of presenting this subject in such a light as to lead the mind to the erro- neous idea that all the affections of the heart are in the same sense under the control of the will as the motions of the body are. I do not mean that any respectable writer or preacher will advocate such a view, but only that in expressing his belief in human freedom, in sweeping and unqualified terms, he may unintentionally convey the impression. There is unquestionably a very essential difference between a man's freedom of feeling and his freedom of acting. A man may be induced to act by a great variety of means : a motive of 350 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Freedom of feeling and freedom of action. any kind, if strong- enough, determines the will. Suppose, for instance, a sea-captain wishes to induce a man to leap off from the deck of his ship into the sea ; he may attempt in a great many ways to obtain his object. He may command him to do it, and threaten punishment if he disobeys ; he may hire him to do it ; he may show the sailor that his little son has fallen overboard, and thus induce the parent to risk his life that he may save that of his child. He may thus in various ways appeal to very different feelings of the human heart — love of money, fear, or parental affection — and if by any of these, the volition, as metaphysicians term it, that is, the determination, can be formed, the man goes overboard in a moment. He can do any thing which, from any motive whatever, he resolves to do. In regard however to the feelings, of the heart, it is far different. Though man is equally a free agent in regard to these, it is in quite a different way ; that is, the feelings of the heart are not to be managed and controlled by simple determination, as this external conduct may be. Suppose, for instance, the captain wished that the sailor should be grateful for some favor which he had received, and of which he had been entirely regardless ; and suppose that he should command him to be grateful, and threaten him with some punishment if he should refuse ; or suppose he should en- deavor to hire him to be grateful, or should try to persuade him to be thankful for past favors in order to obtain more. It would be absurd. Gratitude, like any other feeling of the heart, though it is of a moral nature, and though man is perfectly free in exercising it, will not always come whenever the man determines to bring it. The external conduct is thus controlled by the determination of the mind, on what- ever motives those determinations may be founded ; but the feelings and affections of the heart are under no such direct control. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 351 Illustration. Metaphysical controversy. There is certainly, for all practical purposes, a great dis- tinction between the heart and the conduct — between the moral condition of the soul and those specific acts which arise from it. Two children, a dutiful and a disobedient one, are walking together in a beautiful garden, and suddenly the gardener informs them that their father did not wish them to walk in a certain part of the ground, which they were just then entering. Now, how different will be the effect which this annunciation will make upon them ! The one will immediately obey, leaving with alacrity the place which his father did not wish him to pass. The other will linger and make excuses, or perhaps altogether disobey. Just before they received the communication they were perhaps not thinking of their father at all ; but though their minds were acting on other subjects, they possessed distinct and opposite characters as sons, characters which rendered it probable that one would comply with his father's wishes as soon as those wishes should be known, and that the other would not. So in all other cases ; a dishonest man is dishonest in char- acter when he is not actually stealing, and an humble and devoted Christian will have his heart in a right state even when he is entirely engrossed in some intellectual pursuit, or involved in the perplexities of business. I am aware that, among metaphysical philosophers, there is a controversy on the question whether all that is of a moral nature, that is, all that is blameworthy or praiseworthy in human character, may not be shown to consist of specific, voluntary acts, of the moral being. Into this question I do not intend to enter here ; — for if what is commonly called character, in contradistinction from conduct, may be resolved into voluntary acts, it is certainly to be done only by a nice metaphysical analysis, which common Christians can not be expected to follow. To illustrate the nature of this subject, that is, the dis- 352 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Story of the duke of Gloucester. tinction, for all practical purposes, between character and conduct, I select the following narrative, which I take from Hume, with some alterations of form to make it more intelli- gible in this connection. In early periods of the English history, Richard, duke of Gloucester, an intriguing and ambitious man, formed the design of usurping the throne. The former king had left several children, who were the proper heirs to the crown. They were however young, and Richard gained possession of the government, ostensibly that he might manage it until these children should become of age, when he was to surren- der it to them again — but really with the design of putting them and all their influential friends to death, and thus making himself king. One of the most powerful and faithful friends of the young princes was Lord Hastings, and the following is the account which Hume gives of the manner in which he was murdered by Richard. " The duke of Gloucester knowing the importance of gain- ing Lord Hastings, sounded at a distance his sentiments by means of a lawyer who lived in great intimacy with that nobleman ; but found him impregnable in his allegiance and fidelity to the children of Edward, who had ever honored him with his friendship. He saw, therefore, that there were no longer any measures to be kept with him ; and he deter- mined to ruin utterly the man whom he despaired of enga- ging to concur in his usurpation. Accordingly, at a certain day, he summoned a council in the Tower, whither Lord Hastings, suspecting no design against him, repaired without hesitation. The duke of Gloucester was capable of commit- ting the most bloody and treacherous murders with the utmost coolness and indifference. On taking his place at the council table, he appeared in the easiest and most jovial humor PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 353 Richard's artful plan. imaginable ; he seemed to indulge himself in familiar con- versation with the counselors before they should enter on business ; and having paid some compliments to one of them, on the good and early strawberries which he raised in his garden, he begged the favor of having a dish of them. A servant was immediately dispatched to bring them to him. Richard then left the council, as if called away by some other business : but soon after returning, with an angry and inflamed countenance he asked them, ' What punishment do those deserve that have plotted against my life, who am so nearly related to the king, and am intrusted with the adminifitration of government V Hastings replied that they merited the punishment of traitors. ' These trait- ors,' then cried the protector, ' are the sorceress, my brother's vvife, and Jane Shore, his companion, with others their asso- ciates : see to what a condition they have reduced me by KING RICHARD. 354 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Violent measures. their incantations and witchcraft.' As he said this, he laid bare his arm, all shriveled and decayed ; but the counselors, who knew that this infirmity had attended him from his birth, looked on each other with amazement ; Lord Hastings began to be alarmed : " ' Certainly, my lord,' said he, ' if they be guilty of these crimes they deserve the severest punishment.' " ' And do you reply to me,' exclaimed Richard, ' with your ifs and your ands ? You are the chief abettor of that witch Shore ! You are yourself a traitor : and by St. Paul I will not dine before your head be brought me.' " He struck the table with his hand : armed men rushed in at the signal : the counselors were thrown into the ut- most consternation ; and one of the guards, as if by accident or a mistake, aimed a blow with a poll-axe at one of the lords, named Stanley, who, aware of the danger, slunk under the table ; and though he saved his life, received a severe wound in the head in Richard's presence. Hastings was seized, was hurried away, and instantly beheaded on a timber log which lay in the court of the Tower. Two hours after, a proclamation, so well penned and fairly written that it must have been prepared before, was read to the citizens of Lon- don, enumerating his offenses, and apologizing to them for the sudden execution of that nobleman, who was very popu- lar among them." After this act of violence Richard went forward with his plans until he attained complete, ultimate success. He caused the unhappy young princes whose claims were be- tween him and the throne, to be confined in the Tower, a famous castle and prison on the banks of the Thames, in the lower part of London. He then sent orders to the constable of the Tower to put his innocent and helpless victims to death. The officer declined performing so infamous an act. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 355 Murder of the boys. Analysis of the story. He then ordered the constable to give up, for one night, the command of the Tower to another man. He did so, and the duke sent Sir James Tyrrel, who promised to see that his cruel orders were executed. But even Tyrrel was not sav- age enough to execute the children with his own hand ; he had not the hardihood even to look on while it was done. He accordingly employed three ruffians, whose names were Slater, Lighten, and Forrest, who came in the night-time to the door of the chamber in the Tower where the poor boys were confined. The murderers found them sleeping quietly in their bed. ' They killed them by suffocating them with the bolster and pillows, and then showed the dead bodies to Tyrrel, that he might assure Richard that they were no more. The ambitious and cruel duke became, by these means, Richard III. king of England. Now, in reviewing this story, and a hundred others might easily have been found which would have answered the pur- poses of this illustration just as well, we see that the guilt which it discloses may be easily analyzed into three distinct portions. I mean they are distinct for all popular and prac- tical purposes. A nice metaphysical investigation may or may not, I shall not consider which, reduce them again to the same. 1. The external acts. I mean the rushing in of armed men at the table — the wounding of Lord Stanley — the be- heading of Lord Hastings — the reading of the false proclama- tion — and the murder of the children in their bed. These deeds were not performed by Richard himself; he hired others to perpetrate these crimes, and he had not himself di- rectly any thing to do with them. It may be difficult to find, in the whole story, any one external act, which Richard did, which was wrong. 2. The internal acts or determinations of mind. That 356 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Richard's wicked character. is, the plans which Richard formed, and the wicked resolu- tions which he came to. He must, for example, at one time have hesitated whether he should have Hastings mur- dered or not. He weighed the difficulties and dangers on the one side, and the advantages to his cause on the other, and at last he resolved to do it. This was a mental act. In the same manner the determination to have the princes murdered was an act of his mind. It was savage and abominable in the extreme, but what I wish the reader par- ticularly to notice in it is, that it was a voluntary act. He deliberated about it, and then he voluntarily resolved upon it. His whole conduct throughout this business is a series of most wicked mental acts, which he deliberately performed, and for which he was guilty, though he contrived to put off the external deeds of violence to the hands of others. 3. The ambitious and cruel heart which instigated these acts. Washington would not have done such things. King Alfred would not have done them. No. Richard had, by a distinction which, for all the practical purposes of life, will always be made, a savage and an unprincipled character, without which he would not have done such things. Another man, when hesitating whether to murder two innocent boys, in order to prepare a way for himself to a throne, would have found principles of compassion and of justice coming up, he knows not how or whither, but still coming up to arrest his hand. Richard had no such obstacles as these to contend with. He was ambitious, and sanguinary, and unrelenting in character as well as in conduct. Before he performed any of these mental acts, that is, came to the wicked deter- minations named under the second head, he had a heart which fitted him exactly for them. It is evident too, — and this is a point of the greatest im- portance, — that this cruel and ambitious disposition, which was the origin of all his wicked plans, was not voluntary in PEPwSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 357 Sense in which character is voluntary. the same sense in which the plans themselves were so. In regard to his positive determination to have the children murdered, for example, he deliberated, and then voluntarily- decided upon it. But who supposes that he ever deliberated, while he was carrying forward his schemes, whether he would be a cruel or a merciful man, and decided upon the former ? When he awoke each morning, he undoubtedly thought about the coming day, and formed his designs. He said to himself, " I will do this, or I will stop that. I will have this man killed to-day, or I will banish that man." But who imagines that, every morning, he considered and decided whether he should be virtuous or vicious that day in heart ? Who can suppose that he formed such resolutions as these : " I will be a cruel man to-day ; I will have no principle and no compassion for others, but will delight only in my own ambition ?" No. He was cruel, and ambitious, and sanguinary, without determining to be so ; for the ques- tion, what general character he should cherish, probably never came up. All that he deliberated and decided upon unquestionably was, by what specific plans he should gratify the impulses of his wicked heart. He determined upon these plans, but he did not determine upon the impulses. He would sometimes resolve to compass the destruction of an enemy, or to take certain steps which should lead him to the throne ; but he never said to himself, " Now I will awaken in myself an impulse of cruelty ; now I will call up into my heart ungovernable ambition and love of power." No. These feelings reigned in his heart from day to day, without any direct effort on his part to keep them there. How they came, and why they remained, is not my present purpose to inquire. All I mean here to insist upon is, that they were not, like the plans of iniquity which he formed, the result of direct choice and determination ; and consequently they were 358 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Distinction between character and conduct. Moral obligation. not voluntary, in the same sense in which these plans them- selves were the result of direct volition. It may be said that this wicked state of heart was the re- sult of previous bad conduct, which had formed a habit of sin ; and perhaps it was. I am not attempting to account for it, but only to bring it to view. I am simply endeavor- ing to show that there is, independently of the conduct, whether external or internal acts are meant by that term, a state of heart from which that conduct flows. Such considerations as these, and many others which might be introduced if necessary, plainly show that man's moral feelings are far less under his direct control than his intellec- tual or his bodily powers. He may try to lift a weight — he may try to run, to think, or to understand — and he will prob- ably succeed ; but it is hard to love or to hate by merely try- ing to do so. But after stating thus, and illustrating this principle, there is one sentence which I ought to write in capitals, and express with the strongest emphasis in my power. The heart is not independent of our control in such a sense as to free us from moral obligation and accountability. We are most unquestionaly free in the exercise of every good and of every evil feeling of the heart, and we are plainly accountable for them most fully, though we may not have exerted a direct determination or volition to bring them into being. But is there any practical advantage, it may be asked, in drawing this distinction between the heart and the conduct ? There is a great practical advantage, otherwise I should by no means have taken so much pains to exhibit it ; for although the intellectual effort which is necessary on the part of the reader in going into such a discussion is of great advantage, I should not have entered upon it with that object alone. I design to introduce nothing into this book but what will be of practical utility. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 359 Importance of it. It is then practically important that we should all under- stand, not only that our conduct — by which I mean our acts, whether internal or external — is wrong ; but also that we have within us an evil heart, inclining us to go astray ; and that this evil heart itself is distinct from the going-astray which results from it. A clear conception of this is the only safeguard against that self-sufficiency which is destructive of all religious progress. " The heart," says the Scriptures, " is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked !" The power which created it, alone can change its tendencies, so as to make it as easy and as natural for us to do right as it is now to do wrong. To this power we must look. We must look to God, too, with a feeling of distrust of ourselves, and a conviction that help can come only from him. " wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" Yes, free as man is, and fully and en- tirely accountable as he is, for all his conduct, there is a sense in which he is a miserable slave to sin, in wretched bondage to a tyrant, from whose chains no struggles of his own will ever set him free. When he realizes this, and feels hum- bled and powerless, and utterly dependent upon divine grace, then God is ready to come into his soul to purify and save him. In thus discussing this subject here, it has not been my in- tention to go metaphysically into the subject of the nature of moral agency. My design has only been to show to Chris- tians, that the feelings of penitence for sin and ardent love to the Savior, are not feelings which they are to bring to their hearts by struggling directly to introduce them. You can not be penitent by simply trying to be penitent. You can not hate sin or love God more sincerely than you do, by sim- ply trying to feel thus. The heart is to be molded and guided in other ways. Some of these ways bv which the heart is to be led more and more to God, I shall describe. 360 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Ways of influencing the character. Effects of Christian knowledge. 1. By acquiring true knowledge. If you are a Christian at all, your piety will be increased and strengthened by bringing often before your mind those truths which show the necessity and the moral beauty of piety. Instead of strug- gling directly to bring penitence to your heart by an effort of the will, spend a part of your little season of retirement in reflecting on the consequences of sin. Look around you and see how many families it has made miserable, how many hearths it has desolated ! Think of the power it has had in ruining the world in which we live, and how dreadful would be its ravages, if God should permit it to have its way among all his creatures. Reflect how it has destroyed your own peace of mind, injured your usefulness, brought a stain upon the Christian name. Heflect upon such subjects as these, so as to increase the vividness of your knowledge — and though you make no effort to feel penitence, even if you do not think of penitence at all, it will rise in your heart if there is any grace there. You can not look upon the consequences of sin without repenting that you have ever assisted to pro- cure them. Peter did not repent of his treachery by trying to feel sorry. The Lord turned and looked upon Peter ; that look brought with it recollections. He saw clearly his rela- tion to his Savior, and the ingratitude of his denial. It is so with all other emotions of piety. You will not suc- ceed in loving God supremely by simply making the effort to do so. Look at his goodness and mercy to you ; see it in the thousand forms in which it shines upon you. Do not dwell upon it in generals, but come to minute particulars ; and whether old or young, and whatever may be the circum- stances of your lives, reflect carefully upon God's kind deal- ings with you. Are you a mother ? — as you hold your infant upon your knee, or observe its playful brothers and sisters in health and happiness around you, consider a moment by whose goodness they were given to you, and by whose mercy PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 361 The child. Gratitude. 1H§£ they are daily spared. Are you a child ? — look upon the comforts, and privileges, and sources of happiness which God has given you — and while you view them, remember that every week there are multitudes of children around you suf- fering from cold, from hunger, from neglect, or who are sum- moned to an early grave. I have stood at the bedside of a child who was, a fort- night before, in her class at the Sabbath School — and seen her sink from day to day under the grasp of sickness and pain, until her reason failed, and her strength was gone, and at last she slum- bered in death. A few days afterward she was deposited, in the depth of winter, in her cold grave. Blustering storms and wintry tempests do not in- deed disturb the repose of the tomb, but when you are sitting in health and happiness at your own cheerful fireside, and hear the howling winds which sweep around you — or in a more genial season feel the warm breath of spring upon your health- ful cheek — can you think of the thousand cases like the one I have alluded to, and not feel grateful to your kind Pro- tector ? If your heart is not entirely unrenewed, these affec- tions will be warmly awakened while you reflect upon God's goodness, and thus learn how much you are indebted to him. It is thus with other feelings ; they are to come to the a THE COLD GRAVE. 362 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Christian action. Why Howard became interested, for prisoners. heart, not by the direct effort to bring them there, but by- bringing to view the truths which are calculated to awaken them. If your heart is right toward God in any degree, the presentation of these truths will awaken penitence and love ; and the more knowledge you acquire in regard to your rela- tions to your Maker and his dealings with you, the more rapid will be your growth in grace. 2. The second means of growing in grace is Christian action. Faith will not only show itself by works, but works will increase faith. Let a man make an effort to relieve a sufferer, and he becomes more and more interested for him. He first sends him a little food, or a little fuel, when he is sick, and he finds that this does good ; it relieves the pressure, and brings cheering and encouragement to the family, before just ready to despair. The benefactor, then, becoming more interested in the case, sends a physician ; and when the pa- tient is cured, he procures business for him ; and thus goes on from step to step, until perhaps at last he feels a greater interest in that one case than in all the suffering poor of the town beside. It all began by the simple act of sending a little wood, which was perhaps almost accidental, or was at least prompted by a very slight benevolent feeling. This feeling has, however, increased to a strong and steady prin- ciple ; and to what is its increase owing ? — simply to his benevolent effort. I have already once or twice alluded to the benevolent Howard, who went through Europe, visiting the prisons, that he might learn the condition of their unhappy tenants and relieve their sufferings. And how was it that he be- came so much interested in prisoners ? It devolved upon him, in the discharge of some public duty in his own county in England, to do something for the relief of prisoners there — and the moment that he began to do something for the prisoner?, that moment he began to love them ; — and the PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 363 Paul. Dependence upon the Holy Spirit. more he did for them, the more strongly he was attached to their cause. The Apostle Paul is one of the most striking examples of the power of Christian effort to promote Christian love. He gave himself wholly to his work, and the consequence was, he became completely identified with it. He loved it better than he did life, and the strongest expressions of attachment to the Savior that the Bible contains, are to be found in the language which he used when he was drawing toward the close of his labors upon earth. If we then would grow in attachment to our Savior, we must do something for him. But notice — it is not the mere external act which will promote your growth in piety ; the act must be performed, in some degree at least, from Chris- tian principle. You can all put this method immediately to the test. Think of something which you can do, by which you will be co-operating with God. The design of God is to relieve suffering and promote happiness wherever there is opportunity ; and as sin is the greatest obstacle in the way, he directs his first and chief efforts to the removal of sin. Now endeavor to find something which you can do, by which sin can be removed or suffering alleviated, and go forth to the work feeling that you are co-operating with your Savior in his great and benevolent plans. Perhaps you will find an opportunity in your own family — or per- haps in your neighborhood ; but wherever it is, if you go forth to the duty under the influence of attachment to the Savior and love to men, these feelings will certainly be increased by the effort. You will feel, while you do it, that you are a co-worker with God — that you are as it were making common cause with him, and the bonds by which you were before only loosely bound to him are strengthened. Go forward then efficiently in doing good ; set your hearts 364 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. An evil heart. upon it. If you feel that you have but little love to God, bring that little into exercise, and it will grow. 3. The last of the means of growing in grace which I shall now mention, is an humble sense of dependence on the influences of the Holy Spirit, and sincere prayer for those influences. I freely acknowledge the difficulty which this subject presents. If we attempt to form any theory by which we can clearly comprehend how accountability can rest upon a soul which is still dependent upon a higher power for all that is good, we shall only plunge ourselves into endless perplexity. We know that we are accountable for all our feelings, as well as for our words and deeds, and at the same time we know that those feelings within us which reason and conscience condemn, will come, unless the Holy Spirit saves us from being their prey. How emphati- cally does the language of Paul describe this our melancholy subjection to this law of sin ! " For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing : for to will is present with me ; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I do not : but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God, after the inward man. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. wretched man that I am ! who shall de- liver me from the body of this death ?" The conclusion to which he comes in the next verse is the right one, that God will deliver us through Jesus Christ our Lord. We must feel, then, humbly dependent on an influ- ence from above. Let us come daily to our Father in heav- en, praying him to draw us to the Savior ; we shall not PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 365 Divine influence necessary. come unless he draw us. Let us feel dependent every day for a fresh supply of divine grace to keep these hearts in a proper frame. It is not enough to express this feeling in our morning prayer ; we must carry it with us into all the cir- cumstances of the day. When we are going into temptation we must say, " Lord, hold thou me up and then I shall be safe," and we must say it with a feeling of entire moral dependence on God. Nor need we fear that this sense of dependence on God will impair our sense of personal guilt, when we willfully sin against him. I do not attempt to present any theory by which the two may be shown to be compatible with each other. We can not easily understand the theory, but we all know that we are guilty for living in sin ; and we feel and know that our hearts do not change simply by our deter- mining that they shall. Since then the two truths are clear,, let us cordially admit them both. Let us in the spirit of humility, and entire trust in God's word, believe our Maker when he says, that he has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Let us believe this cordially, however difficult it may be to understand what can, in such a case, be the guilt of the hardened one : — and applying the declaration to our own case, let us come before him praying that he will turn our hearts to holiness ; and at the same time let us see and feel our guilt in neglecting duty and disobeying God as we do. This feeling of entire dependence on the Holy Spirit for moral progress is the safest and happiest feeling which the Christian can cherish. Such weakness and helplessness as ours loves protection, and if we can fully make up our minds that there is a difficulty in this subject beyond our present powers to surmount, we can feel fully our own moral responsibility, and at the same time know that our dearest moral interests are in God's care. This feeling is 366 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Intellectual improvement. A finished education. committing our souls to our Savior's keeping. Were our hearts entirely under our own direct control, independent of God, we, and we only, could be their keepers ; but if we have given our hearts to him, God has promised to keep us by his power. He is able to keep us. He has control, aftey all, in our hearts ; and if we are willing to put our trust in him, he ivill keep us from falling, and present us at last faultless before the throne of his glory with exceeding joy. II. INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT. It may perhaps seem strange that I should discuss the subject of intellectual progress in a book devoted to an explanation and enforcement of the principles of piety. I should not do this were I not firmly persuaded that a regular aad uninterrupted intellectual progress is a duty which is peculiarly binding upon the Christian. Let the reader reflect a moment, that those intellectual powers which God has given him are intended to exist forever, and that if he shall be prepared at death to enter the world of happi- ness, they will go on expanding forever, adding not only to his means, but to his capacities of enjoyment. The great mass of mankind consider the intellectual powers as susceptible of a certain degree of development in childhood, to prepare the individual for the active duties of life. This degree of progress they suppose to be made before the age of twenty is attained, and hence they talk of an education being finished ! Now, if a parent wishes to convey the idea that his daughter has closed her studies at school, or that his son has finished his preparatory pro- fessional course, and is ready to commence practice, there is perhaps no strong objection to his using of the common phrase, that the education is finished ; but in any general or proper use of language, there is no such thing as a finished education. The most successful student that ever left a PEP.SONAL IMPROVEMENT. 367 Object of education. 1. To strengthen the powers. school, or took his degree at college, never arrived at a good place to stop in his intellectual course. In fact, the farther he goes the more desirous will he feel to go on ; and if you wish to find an instance of the greatest eagerness and interest with which the pursuit of knowledge is prosecuted, you will find it undoubtedly in the case of the most accomplished and thorough scholar that the country can furnish, one who has spent a long life in study, and who finds that the farther he goes the more and more widely does the boundless field of intelligence open before him. Give up then, at once, all idea of finishing your education. The sole object of the course of discipline at any literary in- stitution in our land is not to finish, but just to show you how to begin : — to give you an impulse and a direction upon that course which you ought to pursue with unabated and unin- terrupted ardor as long as you have being. • It is unquestionably true, that every person, whatever are his circumstances or condition in life, ought at all times to be making some steady efforts to enlarge his stock of knowledge, to increase his mental powers, and thus to expand the field of his intellectual vision. I suppose most of my readers are convinced of this, and are desirous, if the way can only be distinctly pointed out, of making such efforts. In fact, no inquiry is more frequently made by intelligent young persons than this : — " What course of reading shall I pursue ? What books shall I select, and what plan in reading them shall I adopt ?" These inquiries I now propose to answer. The objects of study are of several kinds ; some of the most important I shall enumerate. 1. To increase our intellectual powers. Every one knows that there is a difference of ability in different minds, but it is not so distinctly understood that every one's abilities may be increased or strengthened by a kind of culture adapted ex- pressly to this purpose ; — I mean a culture which is intended 368 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Robinson Crusoe and Friday. not to add to the stock of knowledge, but only to increase in- tellectual power. Suppose, for example, that when Robinson Crusoe on his desolate island had first found Friday the sav- age, he had said to himself as follows : " This man looks wild and barbarous enough ; he is to re- main with me and help me in my various plans, but he could help me much more effectually if he were more of an intel- lectual being and less of a mere animal. Now I can increase his intellectual power by culture, and I will. But what shall I teach him ?" On reflecting a little farther on the subject, he would say to himself as follows : " I must not always teach him things necessary for him to know in order to assist me in my work, but I must try to teach him to think for himself. Then he will be far more valuable as a servant, than if he has to depend upon me for every thing that he does." Accordingly some evening when the two, master and man, have finished the labors of the day, Robinson is walking upon the sandy beach, with the wild savage by his side, and he concludes to give him his first lesson in mathematics. He picks up a slender and pointed shell, and with it draws care- fully a circle upon the sand. " What is that ?" says Friday. " It is what we call a circle," says Robinson. " I wish you now to come and stand here, and attentively consider what I am going to tell you about." Now Friday has, we will suppose, never given his serious attention to any thing, or rather he has never made a serious mental effort upon any subject for five minutes at a time in his life. The simplest mathematical principle is a complete labyrinth of perplexity to him. He comes up and looks at the smooth and beautiful curve which his master has drawn in the sand with a gaze of stupid amazement. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 369 Robinson Crusoe's supposed experiment with Friday. " Now listen carefully to what I say," says Robinson, " and see if you can understand it. Do you see this little point that I make in the middle of the circle ?" Friday says he does, and wonders what is to come from the magic character which he sees before him.* " This," continues Robinson, " is a circle, and that point is the center. Now, if I draw lines from the center in any direction to the outside, these lines will all be equal." So saying, he draws several lines. He sets Friday to measuring them. Friday sees that they are equal, and is pleased, from two distinct causes ; one, that he has success- fully exercised his thinking powers, and the other, that he has learned something which he never knew before. Observe now that Robinson does not take this course with Friday because he wishes him to understand the nature of the circle. Suppose we were to say to him, " Why did you choose such a lesson as that for your savage ? You can teach him much more useful things than the properties of the circle. What good will it do him to know how to make circles ? Do you expect him to draw geometrical diagrams for you, or to calculate and project eclipses ?" "No," Robinson would reply; "I do not care to make Friday understand the properties of the circle. But I would have him to be a thinking being, and if I can induce him to think half an hour steadily and carefully, it is of no con- sequence upon what particular subject his thoughts are em- ployed. I chose the circle because that seemed easy and dis- tinct — suitable for the first lesson. I do not know that he will ever have occasion to make use of the fact that the radii of a circle are equal, as long as he shall live — but he will have occasion for the power of iiatient atteiition and thought which he acquired while attempting to understand that subject." * See Vignette upon the title-page. 370 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Conic sections. Difficult studies. This would unquestionably be sound philosophy, and a savage who should study such a lesson on the beach of his own wild island, would forever after be less of a savage than before. The effect upon his mental powers, of one single effort like that, would last ; and a series of such efforts would transform him from a fierce and ungovernable, but stupid animal, to a cultivated and intellectual man. Thus it is with all education. One great object is to in- crease the powers of the mind, and this is entirely distinct from the acquisition of knoivledge. Scholars very often ask, when pursuing some difficult study, " What good will it do me to know this?" But that is not the question. They ought to ask, " What good will it do me to lea.rn it ? What effect upon my habits of thinking, and upon my intellectual powers, will be produced by the efforts to examine and to conquer these difficulties ?" A very fine example of this is the study of conic sections, a difficult branch of the course of mathematics pursued in college ; a study which, from its difficulty and its apparent uselessness, is often very unpopular in the class pursuing it. The question is very often asked, " What good will it ever do us in after-life to understand all these mysteries of the parabola, and the hyperbola, and the ordinates, and abscissas, and asymptotes ?" The answer is, that the knoivledge of the facts, whicn you acquire, will probably do you no good what- ever. That is not the object, and every college officer knows full well that the mathematical principles which this science demonstrates, are not brought into use in after-life by one scholar in ten. But every college officer, and every intelli- gent student who will watch the operations of his own mind and the influences which such exercises exert upon it, knows equally well that the study of the higher mathematics pro- duces an effect in enlarging and disciplining the intellec- tual poiuers, which the whole of life will not obliterate. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 371 Acquisition of knowledge. Do not shrink then from difficult work in your efforts at intellectual improvement. You ought, if you wish to secure the greatest advantage, to have some difficult work, that you may acquire habits of patient research, and increase and strengthen your intellectual powers. 2. The acquisition of knowledge. This is another object of intellectual effort ; and a moment's reflection will convince any one, that the acquisition of knowledge is the duty of all. Sometimes it has been said by an individual under the in- fluence of a misguided interest in religious truth, that he will have nothing to do with human learning ; he will study nothing but the Bible, and his leisure hours he will give to meditation and prayer — and thus he will de- vote his whole time and strength to the promotion of his progress in piety. But if there is any thing clearly manifest of God's intentions in regard to employment for man, it is that he should spend a very considerable portion of his time on earth in acquiring knoivledge — knowledge, in all the extent and variety in which it is offered to human powers. The whole economy of nature is such as to allure man to the investigation of it, and the whole structure of his mind is so framed as to qualify him exactly for the work. If now a person begins in early life, and even as late as twenty, and makes it a part of his constant aim to acquire knowledge — endeavoring every day to learn something which he did not know before, or to fix something in the mind which was be- fore not familiar, he will make an almost insensible, but very rapid and important progress. The field of his intellectual vision will widen and extend every year. His powers of mind as well as his attainments will be increased ; and as he can see more extensively, so he can act more effectually every month than he could in the preceding. He thus goes on through life, growing in knowledge and in intellectual and moral power ; and if his spiritual progress keeps pace, 372 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Skill. Three experiments with Friday. as it ought, with his intellectual advancement, he is, with the divine assistance and blessing, exalting himself higher in the scale of being, and preparing himself for a loftier and wider field of service in the world to come. 3. The acquisition of skill is a third object of intellectual effort. I point out clearly and separately the distinct objects which intellectual effort ought to have in view, that my readers may ascertain whether they are doing something to accomplish them all, and also in order that in all the par- ticular plans which they may adopt, they may have constantly in mind the purpose which is in view in each, so as the more effectually to secure it. I wish, therefore, that my readers would notice particularly this third head, for it is one which, though in some respects quite as important as either of the others, is not often very clearly pointed out. To recur to my illustration of Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday. The conversation which I supposed to be held with him on the subject of the circle, was not merely design- ed to give him information or skill, but to discipline and improve his intellectual powers by the exercise. Let us suppose now that the next day Robinson had concluded to narrate to Friday the story of his own past adventures, and sitting down upon a green bank by the side of their hut, had given him an outline of his early life in England — of his first coming to sea — of his wanderings and adventures on the great ocean, and of his final shipwreck on the island. He describes, as well as he can, the form and appearance of the great ship in which he had sailed, its spacious decks and numerous company, and makes him acquainted with his hope that, ere long, a similar ship, from that same native land, will appear in the horizon and come, attracted by their signals, to the island, and bear him away to his home. Now such a conversation as this is intended to give infor- mation. It may indeed be a useful discipline to Friday's PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 373 Teaching him to count. powers to listen to it, but that is not its main design. Robinson's chief design is, to make his savage companion acquainted with certain facts,, which it is on many ac- counts important that he should know. Now let us take a third case. My readers are all doubtless aware that savages can usually count only as far as they have fingers to illustrate their arithmetic. Some tribes can use both hands, counting as far as ten, and when they get beyond that they hold up both hands, shake their heads as if in per- plexity, and say "-great many — great many'' 1 Other tribes can go no farther than one hand, and have no means for numbering beyond five. Now suppose Hobinson were to undertake to teach Friday to count. He might say to himself that it would often be a great convenience to him if Friday were able to count, so that he might ascertain and express numbers higher than those which he could represent by his fingers. He accordingly commences the task, and perseveres day after day in the les- son. I say day after day, for, easy as it may seem to us, it is a matter of no small difficulty to teach a savage to count. Now, although there is unquestionably an important mental discipline secured by such an effort on the part of the savage, and although the learning to count is in one sense an acqui- sition of knowledge — it is, in a much more important sense, the acquisition of skill. By making the process of counting familiar, Friday is not so properly acquiring a knowledge of facts, as learning something to do. It is of the nature of skill which he is to use in future times for the benefit of himself and of Robinson. If you call to mind the various studies which are urged upon the attention of the young, you will find that skill, that is, ability to do something, is very often the object in view. It is so with arithmetic. In studying the fundamental rules, the main design is not to bring in information to your minds, 374 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Study of mathematics. Imperfect education. but to teach you to do something. When you read history, you are acquiring knowledge — when you study rhetoric or write composition for practice, you are acquiring skill. Now all these three objects in a good scheme of education are to be kept constantly in view, and to be regularly provided for. A young man at college, for instance, will study his demon- stration in mathematics in the morning, for the purpose of improving and strengthening his powers ; he will listen to a philosophical or chemical lecture, or study botany in the fields in the afternoon, to obtain knowledge; and in the evening he will practice in his debating society, to acquire skill. These three things are distinct and independent, but all equally important in the business of life. If one is culti- vated and the others neglected, the man is very poorly quali- fied for usefulness ; and yet nothing is more common than such half-educated men. I have often known persons in whom the first of these objects alone was secured. You will recognize one who is in danger of such a result in his education, by his strong interest — if he is in college for example — in those pursuits of his class which require great mental effort ; and by his neglect of the equally important parts of his course, which would store his mind with facts. He attracts the admiration of his class by his fluent familiarity with all the mazes of the most intricate theorem or problem ; and he excites an equal sur- prise by his apparent dullness at the recitation in history, making, as he does, the most ludicrous blunders, and show- ing the most lamentable ignorance of every thing which is beyond the pale of demonstration. When at last he comes out into the world, his mind is acute and powerful, but he is an entire stranger to the scene in which he is to move ; he can do no good, because he does not know where his efforts are to be applied ; he makes the same blunders in real life that he did in college in its historv, and is soon neglected PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 375 Neglect of important duties. and forgotten. He had cultivated simple power, but was without information or skill; his power was consequently almost useless. On the other hand, a young man may spend his whole strength in simply obtaining knowledge — neglecting the cultivation of mental power, or the acquisition of skill. He neglects his severer studies, and his various opportunties for practice. "Spherics!" says he, "and trigonometrical formulas ! what good will they ever do me ? I am not going to be an almanac-maker, or to gain my livelihood by calculating eclipses." So he reads history, and voyages, and travels, and devours every species of periodical literature which finds its way within college walls. He very probably neglects those duties which, if faithfully performed, would cultivate the powers of conversation, and writing, and public speaking ; and he comes into the world equally celebrated among all who know him, on the one hand for the variety and extent of his general knowledge, and on the other, for the slenderness of his original mental power, and his utter want of any skill in bringing his multifarious acquisitions to bear upon the objects of life. In the same manner I might illustrate the excessive pur- suit of the last of the objects I have named, namely, the ac- quisition of skill, but it is unnecessary. My readers will, I think, all clearly see that these objects are distinct, and that all are of great importance to every one. To be most exten- sively useful, you must have original mental power, and knowl- edge of facts, and skill to apply that knowledge in the most effectual manner. The illustrations which I have employed, have referred more directly to the cases of young men in a course of public education, but I have not intended that these principles should be exclusively applied to them. Nor are they to be confined in their application to the preparatory stages of edu- 376 YOUNG CHRISTIAN, Intellectual progress of a mother. cation. Take for example a young mother of a family. She ought at all times to "be making daily intellectual progress, and this intellectual progress ought to he such as to secure a proportional attention to all the three objects which I have named. She ought to investigate something which shall task her powers to the utmost, so as to secure the discipline and im- provement of those powers. She ought also to make regular and systematic efforts to acquire information — by reading and by conversation, enlarging as much as possible the field of her vision, so that she can the more fully understand the circumstances in which she is placed, and the means of influ- ence and usefulness within her reach. She ought also to adopt systematic plans for increasing her skill — by learning, for example, system in all her affairs — by studying improve- ments in the manner in which all her duties are performed — endeavoring to become more faithful, and systematic, and regular in all her employments. By this means, she may ac- quire dexterity in every pursuit, an important influence over other minds, and especially a higher skill in interesting, and instructing, and governing her children. But I must not go more into detail in this part of my sub- ject. The best means of intellectual improvement demand a volume instead of a chapter, though a chapter is all which can be properly appropriated to the subject in a work like this. What I have already said in regard to the three separate and distinct objects in view in education, has been chiefly designed to persuade my young readers to engage cheerfully and cordially in all the pursuits which those who are older and wiser than they have prescribed in the various literary institutions with which they are connected. I shall, with these remarks, leave the subject of the pursuit of study in literary seminaries, and close the chapter with a few di- rections in regard to such means of improvement as may be privately resorted to by individuals, in their efforts to improve. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 377 Reading. System. I. Reading. There are several detached directions which will he of great service to you in your private reading, if they are faithfully followed. Read systematically. I mean by this, do not take up and read any books because they merely chance to fall in your way. You see on your neighbor's table a book which, as you turn over the leaves in a very careless manner, appears to be interesting, as you say, and you think you would like to read it. You borrow it, carry it home, and at some con- venient time you begin. Soon, however, either from taking it up at a time when you were interested in something else, or from being frequently interrupted, or perhaps from the character of the book, you find it dull, and after wasting a few hours upon the first fifty pages, you turn over the remain- der of the leaves, and then send the book home. After a few days more, you find some other book by a similar accident, and pursue the same course. Such a method of attempting to acquire knowledge from books, will only dissipate the mind, destroy all habits of accurate thinking, and unfit you for any intellectual progress. But you must not go into the opposite extreme of draw- ing up for yourself a set of rules and a system of reading full enough to occupy you for years, and then begin upon that with the determination of confining yourself, at all hazards, rigidly to it. What I mean by systematic reading is this. Reflect upon your circumstances and condition in life, and consider what sort of knowledge will most increase your usefulness and happiness. Then inquire of some judicious friend for proper books. If accident throws some book in your way, consider whether the subject upon which it treats is one which comes within your plan. Inquire about it, if you can not form an opinion yourself, and if you conclude to read it, persevere and finish it 378 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Variety. Thorough reading. Systematic reading requires, too, that you should secure variety in your books. Look over the departments of hu- man knowledge, and see that your plan is so formed that it will give you some knowledge of them all. In regard to the precise time and manner in which you shall fill up the details, it is undoubtedly best not to form any exact plan. It is better to leave such to be decided by circumstances, and even by your inclinations, from time to time. You will enter with more spirit and success into the prosecution of any in- quiry, if you engage in it at a time when it seems alluring and interesting to you. Reading thoroughly. Avoid getting into the habit of go- ing over the page in a listless and mechanical manner. Make an effort to penetrate to the full meaning of your author, and think patiently of every difficult passage until you understand it ; or if it baffles your unassisted efforts have it explained. Thorough reading requires also that you should make yourself acquainted with all those attendant circumstances which en- able you the more fully to understand the author's meaning. Examine carefully the title-page and preface of every book that you read, in order that you may learn who wrote it, where it was written, and what it was written for. Have at hand, if possible, such helps as maps, and a gazetteer, and a biographical dictionary. Be careful, then, to find upon the map every place mentioned, and learn from the gazetteer what sort of a place it is. If an allusion is made to any cir- cumstance in the life of an eminent man, or in public history, investigate the allusion by books or by inquiry, so as fully to understand it. If possible, find other accounts of the trans- actions which your author is describing, and compare one with another ; reflect upon the differences in the statements, and endeavor to ascertain the truth. Such a mode of read- ing as this is a very slow way of getting over the pages of a book, but it is a very rapid way of acquiring knowledge. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 379 Short works. Conversation. Do not rashly undertake to read very extensive works. A young person will sometimes commence Hume's England, or Gibbon's Decline and Fall, or Hallam's Middle Ages, or some other extensive work, beginning it with no calculation of the time which will be required to complete it, and in fact with no definite plan whatever. Such an undertaking is almost always a failure. Any mind under twenty years of age will get wearied out again and again in going through a dozen octavo volumes on any subject whatever. There is no ob- jection to reading such works, but let it be in detached por- tions at a time. Select, for instance, from Hume's most in- teresting narrative, the reign of some one monarch, Elizabeth or Alfred ; or make choice of such a subject as the crusades, or the life of Mary Queen of Scots, and mark off such a por- tion of the whole work as shall relate to the topic thus chosen. This you can readily do, and with no greater difficulty on ac- count of being compelled to begin in the middle of the history, than must always be felt in reading works of that nature. If you begin at the beginning of a work, and go regularly through to the end, you will find a thousand cases in which the narrative which you read is connected with other his- tories in such a way as to demand the same effort to under- stand the connection, that will be necessary in the course that I have proposed. Form then, for your reading, short and definite plans. When you commence a work, calculate how long it will take you to finish it, and endeavor to adhere to the plan you shall form in regard to the degree of rapidity with which you will proceed. This habit, if once formed, will be the means of promoting regularity and efficacy in all your plans. II. Conversation. This topic deserves a volume, instead of the very brief notice which is all that is consistent with the plan of this book. It is known and admitted to be one of the most important of all attainments, and perhaps nothing 380 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Difficulty of cultivating it. is more desired by all intelligent young persons who reflect at all upon their means of influence and improvement, than conversational power. But, notwistanding this general im- pression in its favor, there is nothing of half its importance, which is so entirely neglected in education. And there is, it must be acknowledged, a very great difficulty in the sub- ject. It can not be taught in schools and by classes, like the other branches of knowledge or skill. Some few successful experiments have indeed been made, but almost every effort to make it a distinct object of attention in a literary semi- nary, has either failed entirely, or resulted in producing a stiff and formal manner, which is very far from being pleas- ing. The acquisition of skill in conversation therefore must, in most cases, be left to individual effort ; and even here, if the acquisition of skill is made the direct object, the indi- vidual will notice his manner so much, and take so much pains with that, as to be in peculiar danger of affectation or formality. To acquire the art of conversation then, I would recommend that you should practice conversation systemati- cally and constantly, but that you should have some other objects than improvement in your manner of expressing your- self, mainly in view. You will become interested in these objects, and consequently interested in the conversation which you make use of as a means of promoting them ; and by not having your own manner directly in view, the danger of that stiffness, precision, or affectation, which is so common a result of efforts to improve in such an art as this, will be escaped. I will mention what these objects may be. Make conversation a means of acquiring knowledge. Every person with whom you are thrown into casual connec- tion, has undoubtedly some knowledge which would be use- ful or valuable to you. You are riding in the stage-coach, I will suppose, and the rough-looking man who sits before you appears so unattractive that you do not imagine that he PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 381 Moans of cultivating it. Experiments proposed. THE SEA-CAPTAIN. has any thing to say which can interest you. But speak tc him — draw him into conversation, and you will find that he is a sea-captain who has visited a hundred ports, and can tell you many interesting stories about every clime. He will like to talk, if he finds that you are interest- ed in hearing him ; and you may make, by his assistance, a more important pro- gress in really useful knowledge, during that day's ride, than by the study of the best lesson from a book that was ever learned. Avail yourselves, in this way, of every opportunity which Providence may place within your reach. You may do much to anticipate and to prepare for conver- sation. You expect, I will suppose, to be thrown into the company of a gentleman residing in a distant city. Now, before you meet him, go to such sources of information as are within your reach, and learn all that you can about that city. You will certainly be able to obtain some hints in regard to its public institutions, its situation, its business, and its objects of interest of every kind. Now you can not read the brief notices of this sort which common books can fur- nish, without having your curiosity excited in regard to some points at least, and you will go into the company of the stranger, not dreading his presence and shrinking from the necessity of conversation, but eager to avail yourself of the 382 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Plans and experiments. opportunity of gratifying your curiosity, and learning some- thing full and satisfactory from an eye-witness of the scenes which the book had so briefly described. By this means, too, the knowledge of books and of conversation — of study and of real life — will be brought together ; and this is a most important object for you to secure. It will give vivid- ness and an air of reality to written description, if you can frequently, after reading the description, have an opportunity to converse with one who has seen the object or the scene described. You may make, too, a more general preparation for the opportunities for conversation which you will enjoy. Con- sider what places and what scenes those with whom you may be casually thrown into connection, will most frequently have visited, and make yourself as much acquainted with them as possible ; you can then converse about them. As- certain, too, what are the common topics of conversation in the place in which you reside, and learn by reading or by inquiry all you can about them ; so that you can be prepared to understand fully what you hear, and make your own in- quiries advantageously, and thus be prepared to engage intelligently and with good effect, in the conversation in which you may have opportunity to join. On the same principle it will be well for you, when you meet with any difficulty in your reading or in your studies, or when in your private meditations any inquiries arise in your minds which you can not yourselves satisfactorily an- swer, not to dismiss them from your thoughts as difficulties which must remain because you can not yourselves remove them. Consider who of your acquaintances will be most probably able to assist you in regard to each. One may be a philosophical question, another a point of general litera- ture, and a third may be a question of Christian duty. By a moment's reflection you will easily determine to whom PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 383 Digesting knowledge. Necessity of digesting what is read. each ought to be referred ; and when the next opportunity- occurs you can refer them, and give yourself and your friend equal pleasure by the conversation which you will thus in- troduce. Make conversation a means of digesting your knowledge. The food that is received into the system is, by a peculiar set of vessels, dissolved, and so incorporated with the very system itself as to become actually a part of it ; it is assimi- lated completely, and then, and only then, does it promote its growth and strength. Now, it is just so with the recep- tion of knowledge. It must not only be received by the mind, but it must be analyzed and incorporated with it, so as to form a part of the very mind itself; and then, and not till then, can the knowledge be properly said to be really possessed. If a scholar reads a passage in an author, simply receiving it into the mind as a mass, it will do him very little good. Take for example these very remarks on con- versation : a reader may peruse the pages thoroughly, and fully understand all that I say, and yet the whole that I present may lie in the mind an undigested mass, which never can nourish or sustain the intellect. On the other hand, it may be not merely received into the mind, but made a sub- ject of thought and reflection there ; it may be analyzed ; the principles which it explains may be applied to the cir- cumstances of the reader ; the hints may be carried out, and resolutions formed for acting in accordance with the views presented. By these and similar means the reader becomes possessed, really and fully, of new ideas on the subject of conversation. His thoughts and notions in regard to it are permanently changed. His knowledge, in a word, is digest- ed — assimilated to his own mind, so as to become as it were a part of it, and so intimately united with it as not to be separated again. Now, conversation affords one of the most important means •84 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Writing. Personal journals. of digesting what is read and heard. In fact, you can not talk about what you learn, without digesting it. Sometimes two persons read together, aloud, by turns, — each one freely remarking upon what is heard, making inquiries, or bringing forward additional facts or illustrations connected with the subject. Sometimes two persons reading separately, come afterward together for a walk, and each one describes his own book, and relates the substance of what it contains as far as he has read it, bringing down at each successive meet- ing the narrative or the description as far as the reader has gone. By this means each acquires the power of language and expression, digests and fixes what he has read, and also gives information to his companion. If any two of my read- ers will try this experiment, they will find much pleasure and improvement from it. III. Writing. The third and perhaps the most import- ant of the means of intellectual improvement is the use>.of the pen. The powers of the pen, as an instrument for ac- complishing all the objects of intellectual effort, discipline, knowledge, and skill, are almost altogether unknown among the young. I am satisfied, however, that any general re- marks which I might make would be less likely to interest my readers in this subject, than a particular description of the manner in which they can best use the pen to accom- plish the objects in view. I shall accordingly come at once to minute detail. 1. Personal Journals. Every young person old enough to write, may take a great deal of pleasure in keeping a journal of his own personal history. After a very little practice the work itself will be pleasant, and the improvement which it will promote is far greater than one who has not actually experienced it would expect. The style should be a simple narrative of facts, — chiefly descriptions of scenes through which you have passed, and memoranda in regard to impor- PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 385 Form and manner. Running titles. tant points of your history. Every thing relating to your progress in knowledge, your plans for your own improvement, the books that you read, and the degree of interest which they excited, should be noted down. You ought not to re- solve to write every day, because sometimes it will be impos- sible to do so ; and then when your resolution has once yielded to necessity, it will afterward more easily be broken by negligence. Resolve simply to write when you can ; only be careful to watch yourself, and see that you persevere in your plan, whatever interruptions may for a time suspend it. At the close of the week, think how you have been em- ployed during the week, and make a record — a short one at least you certainly can — -of what has interested you. When, from forgetfulness, or loss of interest in it, or pressure of other duties, you have for a long time neglected your journal, do not throw it aside and take up a new book and begin formally once more — but begin in the same book, at the place where you left off before — filling up, with a few brief paragraphs, the interval of the history ; and thus persevere. There should be in a journal, and in all the other sets of books which I shall describe, a double running title, like that over the pages of this book, with two lines ruled as above, so that the general title may be above the upper one, and the particular subjects of each individual page above the under one. This double running title would be in the following form : 1850. PERSONAL JOURNAL. 61. Ride into the country. My sister's sickness. The reader will understand that the number 61 represents the page. Corresponding with 1850 on the left hand page, should be written the name of the place in which the writer resides, and the word private may be used instead of per- R 386 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Engravings. The child and the bill of fare. sonal, if it is preferred. The book should be of such a form as can be easily written in, and of moderate or small size. You can begin a second volume when you have finished the first, and the volumes will in a few years begin to be numer- ous. I have seen very many manuscript volumes made in this way. Whatever may be the size or form of your journal, it may be made attractive by being embellished with illustra- tions. These illustrations may consist of drawings made by yourself or your friends, or of engravings given to you for keepsakes, or coming into your possession when traveling, as representations of the places that you visit. Many such will come into your possession if you have a journal to put them into, and if you value them for that purpose. Once, when I had been spending several days at a hotel with some friends, a child of twelve years of age who was of the party, asked me one day at dinner if she should take one of the " bills of fare" from the table. " Certainly," I said, " but what do you want it for ?" "I want to cut off the picture of the hotel from the top of it," she replied, " to put it into my journal." I saw the engraving afterward in its place in the journal, where I have no doubt it remained many years, and often served to remind the ingenious preserver of it of her pleasant sojourn at the hotel. In some cases a delicate flower, carefully pressed, will serve as a very beautiful and very lasting memorial of the place where it grew, and of the circumstances under which it was gathered.^ A journal, now, kept in this systematic manner, will be * Engravings can be most conveniently fastened in by wafers, which have been first split with a penknife to make them thin, and then quar- tered. Of course white wafers are the most suitable. Flowers can best be secured by means of a few touches of a very thick solution of gum arabic, upon the underside of every leaf and stem. PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 387 Family journal. By brothers and sisters. Its advantages. interesting and valuable, if you describe in it the things that most interested you at the age in which you kept it ; and if it is carried on regularly through life, even with such inter- ruptions as I have alluded to, it will be a most valuable and most interesting document. You will read its pages again and again with profit and pleasure. 2. Family Journal. Let three or four of the older brothers and sisters of a family agree to write a history of the family. Any father would procure a book for this purpose, and if the writers are young, the articles intended for insertion in it might be written first, on separate paper, and then corrected and transcribed. The subjects suitable to be recorded in such a book will suggest themselves to every one ; a descrip- tion of the place of residence at the time of commencing the book, with similar descriptions of other places from time to time, in case of removals — the journeys or absences of the head of the family or its members — the sad scenes of sickness or death which may be witnessed, and the joyous ones of weddings, or festivities, or holydays — the manner in which the members are from time to time employed — and pictures of the scenes which the fireside group exhibits in the long winter evenings — or the conversation which is heard and the plans formed at the supper table, or in the morning walk, — these and a thousand similar topics would furnish ample ma- terial for the work. If a family, when first established, should commence such a record of their own efforts and plans, and the various deal- ings of Providence toward them, the father and the mother carrying it on jointly until the children are old enough to take the pen, they would find the work a source of great im- provement and pleasure. It would tend to keep distinctly in view the great object for which they ought to live, and re- peatedly recognizing, as they doubtless would do, the hand 388 YOUNG CHEJSTIAN. Subjects. Notes and abstracts. of God, they would feel more sensibly and more constantly their dependence upon him. The form and manner in which such a journal should be written might properly be the same with that described under the last head — the word family being substituted for per- sonal in the general title. It ought also to be written in such a style and upon such subjects as shall render it proper for the perusal of children. On this account, it will be well to avoid such particulars, in regard to any child, as may be flattering to his vanity when he shall become old enough to read them, and to refrain from making a record of faults which would remain a standing source of suffering and dis- grace, when perhaps they ought soon to be forgotten. It is true, that one of the most important portions of such a jour- nal would consist of the description of the various plans adopted for correcting faults, and for promoting improvement — the peculiar moral and intellectual treatment which each child received — the success of the various experiments in education which intelligent parents will always be disposed to try — and anecdotes of the children, illustrating the lan- guage, or the sentiments, or the difficulties of childhood. With a little dexterity, however, on the part of the writer, a faithful record of all these things can be kept, and yet, by an omission of names, or of some important circumstances, the evils I have above alluded to may be avoided. 3. Notes and Abstracts. It is sometimes the case, that young persons, when they meet with any thing remarkable in the course of their reading, transcribe it, with the expec- tation of referring to their copy afterward to refresh their memories ; and thus, after time, they get their desks perhaps very full of knowledge, while very little remains in the head. Now it ought to be remembered that knowledge is of no value, or at least of very little, unless it is fairly lodged in the mind, and so digested as to become a permanent posses- PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 389 True design of taking notes. sion. If the transcribing or writing of notes and abstracts of what you read is made the means of fixing thus firmly in the mind your various acquisitions, it is of immense value ; if made the substitute for it, it is worse than useless. It may be a most powerful means, as any one may prove to himself by the folio wiug experiment. Read some history in the ordinary way, without the use of the pen, except in respect to some one chapter in the middle of the work, with which you may try the experiment of an abstract. After having read this chapter attentively, shut the book and write off the substance of the narrative which it contains, in your own language. The more you deviate in style and language from your author the better, because, by such a deviation you employ your own original resources, you reduce the knowledge which you have gained to a form adapted to your own habits of thought, arid you consequently make it more fully your own, and fix it more indelibly in the mind. After finishing the abstract of that chapter, go on with the remainder of the book in the usual way, by simply reading it attentively. You will find now, if you carefully try this experiment, that the chapter which you have thus treated will, for many years, stand out most conspicuous among all the rest in your recollections of the work. The facts which it has stated, will retain possession of your mind when all the rest are forgotten, and they will come up, when wanted for use, with a readiness which will show how en- tirely you made them your own. It is on this principle, and with such a view, that notes and abstracts are to be written. Some very brief practical direc- tions will be of service to those who wish to adopt the plan. Do not resolve to write copious abstracts of all that you read ; the labor would be too great. Never read, however, without your abstract-book at hand, and record whatever strikes you as desirable to be remembered. Sometimes, when 390 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Form of books. Plan. Variety. reading a book of great importance, and full of information which is new and valuable, you may write a full abstract of the whole. Gibbon, the celebrated historian, attributed, it is said, much of the success of his writing to the influence of a very copious abstract which he had made of Blackstone's Commentaries, a most interesting book, and one which no young man of education can read without profit and pleasure. Let the form of your abstract-books be like the journals already described ; with ruled lines at the top for a double running title, to facilitate reference. Let your abstracts be of every variety of form and manner, — sometimes long and sometimes short, sometime fully written in a finished style, and sometimes forming merely a table of contents of your book. There may be a blank line left be- tween the separate articles, and the title of each article should be written before it, and doubly underscored, that is, distinguished by a double line drawn under it. When this caption is the title of a book read, and is prefixed to a long abstract, it may properly be placed over the article. Some- times the writer, in making his notes, will merely copy a re- markable expression, or a single interesting fact ; and at other times a valuable moral sentiment, or a happy illustration. He will often insert only a single parapraph from a long book, and at other times make a full abstract of its contents. In a word, the manner in which such note-books will be filled, will vary according to the taste or ingenuity of the individual student ; and also according to the nature of the studies in which he is engaged. Whatever may be the form which is adopted, the substantial advantages to be secured will be al- ways the same. The reader will observe that a great prominence has been given in this chapter to the use of the pen, as a means of in- tellectual and moral improvement. I assure my readers that PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT. 391 Power of the pen. the power of the pen for such a purpose is not overrated. I am aware that a great many persons, though they may ap- prove what I have said, will not make any vigorous and earn- est efforts to adopt the plan. Still more will probably begin a book or two, but will soon forget their resolution, and leave the half-finished manuscript in some neglected corner of their desks finally abandoned. But if any should adopt these plans, and faithfully prosecute them, they will find that the practice of expressing in their own language, with the pen, such facts as they may learn, and such observations or reflec- tions as they may make, will exert a most powerful influence upon all the habits of the mind, and upon the whole intel- lectual character. 392 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Conclusion. CHAPTER XII. CONCLUSION. " And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified." As I draw toward the close of this volume, I think of the influence which it is to exert upon the many who will read it, with mingled emotions of hope and fear. I have en- deavored to state, and to illustrate as distinctly as I could, ll • te CONCLUSION. CONCLUSION. 393 Responsibility of religious teachers. the principles of Christian duty ; and if, my reader, you have perused these pages with attention and care, they must have been the means of bringing very plainly before your mind the question, whether you will or will not confess and forsake your sins, and henceforth live to God, that you may accomplish the great object for which life was given. I shall say nothing, in these few concluding paragraphs, to those who have read the book thus far without coming in heart to the Savior. If they have not been persuaded ere this to do it, they would not be persuaded by any thing which I have time and space now to say. I have, however, before ending this volume, a few parting words for those who have accompanied me thus far with at least some attempt at self- application — some desire to cherish the feelings which I have endeavored to portray — some penitence for sin, and resolu- tions to perform the duties which I have from time to time pressed upon them. It is, if the Bible is true, a serious thing to have opportu- nity to read a religious book — and more especially for the young to have opportunity to read a practical treatise on the duties of piety, written expressly for their use. The time is coming when we shall look back upon all our privileges with sad reflections at the recollection of those which we have not improved ; and it is sad for me to think that many of those who shall have read these pages will in a future, and per- haps not a very distant day, look upon me as the innocent means of aggravating their sufferings, by having assisted to bring them light, which they nevertheless would not regard. This unpleasant part of my responsibility I must necessarily assume. I share it with every one who endeavors to lay be- fore men the principles of duty, and the inducements to the performance of it. He who enlightens the path of piety, pro- motes the happiness of those who are persuaded to walk in it, but he is the innocent means of adding to the guilt and 394 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Injury to be done by this book. Imperfect self-application. misery of such as will still turn away. To the one class of persons, says Paul, " we are the savor of death unto death, and to the other, the savor of life unto life." It is not merely to those who absolutely neglect or refuse to do their duty to God, that the ill consequences of having neglected their privileges and means of improvement will accrue. These consequences will be just as sure to those who partially neglect them. I will suppose that a young person, whose heart is in some degree renewed, and who has begun to live to God, receives and reads this book. She feels desirous of cultivating Christian principles, and she sits down to the work with a sincere desire to derive spiritual benefit from the instructions which it contains. She does not run over the pages, dissecting out the stories for the sake of the interest of the narrative, and neglecting all the applications of them for the purposes of instruction ; but she inquires when a fact or an illustration is introduced, for what purpose it is used — what moral lesson it is intended to teach — and how she can learn from it something to guide her in the dis- charge of duty. She goes on in this manner through the book, and generally understands its truths, and the principles which it inculcates. But she does not cordially and in full earnest engage in the practice of them. For example, she reads the chapter on confession, and understands what I mean by full confession of all sins to God, and forms the vague and indefinite resolution to confess her sins more minutely tiien she has done ; but she does not, in the sp'irit of that chapter, explore fully all her heart, and scrutinize with an impartial eye all her conduct, that every thing which is wrong may be brought to light, and frankly confessed and abandoned. She does not, in a word, make a serious and an earnest busi- ness of confessing and forsaking all sin. In another case, a young man who is perhaps sincerely a Christian, though the influence of Christian principle is yet CONCLUSION. 395 A useless way of reading. weak in his heart, reads that portion of the work which relates to the Sabbath. He knows that his Sabbaths have not been spent in so pleasant or profitable a manner as they might be, and he sees that the principles pointed out there would guide him to duty and to happiness on that day, if he would faithfully and perseveringly apply them to his own case. He accordingly makes a feeble resolution to do it. The first Sabbath after he reads the chapter, his resolutions are partially kept. But he gradually neglects them, and returns to his former state of inaction and spiritual torpor on God's holy day. Now there is no question that many young Christians will read this book in the manner I have above described ; that is, they throw themselves as it were passively before it, allow- ing it to exert all the influence it will, by its own power, but doing very little in the way of vigorous effort to obtain good from it. They seem to satisfy themselves by giving the book an opportunity to do them good, but do little to draw from it, by their own efforts, the advantages which it might afford. Now a book of religious instruction is not like a medicine, which, if it is once admitted into the system, will produce its effect without any further effort on the part of the patient. It is rather a tool or an instrument which you are to use industri- ously yourself. The moral powers will not grow unless you cultivate them by your own active efforts. If you satisfy yourself with merely bringing moral and religious truth into contact with your mind, expecting it, by its own power, to produce the hoped-for fruits, you will be like a farmer who should, in the spring, just put a plow or two in one part of his field, and half a dozen spades and hoes in another, and expect by this means to secure a harvest. Many persons read religious books continually, but make no progress in piety. The reason is, their own moral powers are inert while they do it. The intellect may be active in reading 396 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Effectual reading. Plan recommended. and understanding the successive pages, but the heart and the conscience lie still, hoping that the truth may of itself do them good. They bring the instrument to the field and lay it down, and then stand by its side wondering why it- does not do its work. I beg my readers not to treat this volume in that way, and not to suppose that simply to read and understand it, how- ever thoroughly it may be done, will do them any good. The book, of itself, never can do good. It is intended to show its readers how they may do good to themselves, and it will produce no good effect upon any who are not willing to be active in its application and use. Do you, my reader, really wish to derive permanent and real benefit from this book ? If so, take the following meas- ures ; it is a course which it would be well for you always to take at the close of every book that you read on the subject of duty. Recall to mind all those passages which, as you have read its pages, have presented to you something which at the time you resolved to do. Recollect, if you can, every plan recommended, which, at the time when you were read- ing it, seemed to be suited to your own case, and which you then thought you should adopt. If you have forgotten them, you can easily call them to mind by a little effort, or by a cursory review. You will thus bring up again to your mind those points in which the instructions of the book are particularly adapted to your own past history and present spiritual condition. After having thus fully reconsidered the whole ground, and gathered all the important points which are peculiarly adapted to your own case into one view, consider deliberately, before you finally close the book, what you will do with re- gard to them. If any thing has been made plain to be your duty, consider and decide distinctly whether you will do it or not. If any thing has been shown to be conducive to CONCLUSION. 397 Be in earnest. your happiness, determine, deliberately and understandingly, whether you will adopt it or not. Do not leave it to be de- cided by chance,, or by your own accidental feelings of energy or of indolence, what course you will take in reference to a subject so momentous as the question of religious duty. I fear, however, that notwithstanding all that I can say, very many, even among the most thoughtful of my readers, will close this book without deriving from it any permanent good, either in their conduct or their hearts. It will have only produced a few good intentions, which will never be carried into effect, or arouse them to momentary effort, which will soon yield again to indolence and languor. There is no impression that I more strongly desire to produce in these few remaining pages, than that you should be in earnest, in deep and persevering earnest, in your efforts after holiness and salvation. If you are interested enough in religion to give up the pleasures of sin, you lose all enjoy- ment unless you grasp the happiness of piety. There are, at the present day, great numbers in whose hearts religious principle has taken so strong a hold as to awaken conscience and to destroy their peace, if they continue to sin ; but they do not give themselves up with all their hearts to the service of the Savior. They feel, consequently, that they have lost the world ; — they can not be satisfied with its pleasures, and they are unhappy, and feel that they are out of place when in the company of its votaries. But though they have thrown themselves out of one home, they do not, in earnest, provide themselves with another. They do not give all the heart to God. No life is more delightful than one spent in intimate communion with our Father above, and in earnest and devoted efforts to please him by promoting human hap- piness ; and none is perhaps more unhappy, and prepares more effectually for a melancholy dying hour, than to spend our days with the path of duty plain before us, and conscience 398 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. A great proportion of life gone. urging us to walk in it, while we hang back, and walk with a slow and hesitating step, and look away wistfully at the fruits which we dare not taste. Do not take such a course as this. When you abandon the world, abandon it entirely ; and when you choose God and religion for your portion, do it with all your heart. Outrun conscience in the path of duty, instead of waiting to have your lagging steps quickened by her scourge. Once more. Much less of life is left to you than you generally suppose. Perhaps the general age of the readers of this book will be between fifteen and twenty, and fifteen or twenty years is probably, upon an average, half of life. I call you young, because you are young in reference to the active business of this world. You have just reached the full development of your powers, and have consequently but just begun the actual work of life. The long years that are past have been spent in preparation. Hence you are called young — you are said to be just beginning life, under- standing, by life, the pursuits and the business of maturity. But life, if you understand by it the season of preparation for eternity, is more than half gone ; — life, so far as it presents opportunities and facilities for penitence and pardon — so far as it bears on the formation of character, and is to be con- sidered as a period of probation — is unquestionably more than half gone to those who are between fifteen and twenty. In a vast number of cases, it is more than half gone, even in duration, at that time ; and if we consider the thousand influences which crowd around the years of childhood and youth, winning to piety, and making a surrender to Jehovah easy and pleasant then, and on the other hand look forward beyond the years of maturity, and see these influences losing all their power, and the heart becoming harder and harder under the deadening effects of continuance in sin, we shall not doubt a moment that the years of immaturity make a far CONCLUSION. 399 Closing address to parents. more important part of our time of probation than all those that follow. You do right, then, when you are thinking of your busi- ness or your profession, to consider life as but begun ; but when you look upon the great work of preparation for an- other world, you might more properly consider it as nearly ended. Almost all moral changes of character are usually effected before the period at which you have arrived, and soon all that will probably remain to you on earth will be to exemplify, for a few years, the character which in early life you formed. If, therefore, you would do any thing in your own heart for the cause of truth and duty, you must do it in earnest, and must do it now. I have intended this book chiefly for the young, but I can not close it without a word at parting to those of my readers who have passed the period of youth. If the work shall at all answer the purpose for which it is intended, it will, in some instances at least, be read by the mature ; and I may perhaps, without impropriety, address a few words respectfully to them. You are probably parents ; your children have been read- ing this book, and you have perhaps taken it up because you are interested in whatever interests them. You feel also a very strong desire to promote their piety, and this desire leads you to wish to hear, yourselves, whatever on this subject is addressed to them. I have several times in the course of this work intimated, that the principles which it is designed to illustrate and explain, are equally applicable to the young and the old. It has been adapted, in its style and manner only, to the former class ; and I have hoped, as I have penned its pages, that a father might sometimes himself be affected by truths which he was reading during a winter evening to his assembled family ; or that a mother might take up the 400 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Their co-operation. Ways in which they may co-operate. book purchased for her children, and be led herself to the Savior by a chapter which was mainly written for the pur- pose of winning them. I do not intend, however, to press here again your own personal duties. I have another object in view. That object is to ask you to co-operate fully and cordially in this, and in all similar efforts to promote the welfare of your children. If you have accompanied them through this volume, you will know what parts of it are peculiarly adapt- ed to their condition and wants. These parts you can do much to impress upon their minds by your explanations, and by encouraging them to make the efforts which are required. The interest which a father or a mother takes in such a book, is a pretty sure criterion — nay, it is almost the very regulator, of that felt by the child. If you notice any thing in the volume which you think erroneous, or calculated to lead to error ; or if there is any fault which your child discovers and brings to you, with a criticism which you feel to be just, do not deny or attempt to conceal the fault because it occurs in a book whose gen- eral object and aim you approve. Separate the minute imperfections from the general object and design of the whole ; and while you freely admit a condemnation of the one, show that it does not affect the character of the other, and thus remove every obstacle which would impede what is the great design of the book, to press the power of religious obligation in its most plain and simple form. On the other hand, do not magnify the faults which you may find, or think you find, or turn off the attention of your children from the serious questions of duty which the book is intended to bring before the conscience and the heart, to a cold and speculative discussion of the style, or the logic, or the phraseology of the author. A religious book is in some degree entitled to the privilege of a religious speaker. CONCLUSION. 401 Religious example of parents. Parents easily can, on their walk home from church, oblit- erate all serious impressions from the minds of their children, by conversation which shows that they are looking only at the literary aspects of the performance to which they have listened. In the same manner they can destroy the influence of a hook, by turning away attention from the questions of duty which it brings up, to an inquiry into the logic of an argument, or a comment upon the dullness or the interest of a story. There is one thing more which I may perhaps without impropriety say. Your religious influence over your chil- dren will depend far more on your example, than upon your efforts to procure for them good religious instruction. They look to you for an exemplification of piety, and if they do not see this, you can not expect that they will yield them- selves to its principles on your recommendation. Your chil- dren, too, must see piety exemplified in a way which they can appreciate and understand. To make vigorous efforts for the support of the Gospel — to contribute generously for the various benevolent objects of the day — and even to cul- tivate in your hours of secret devotion the most heartfelt and abasing penitence for sin, will not alone be enough to recom- mend piety effectually to your children. They look at other aspects of your conduct and character. They observe the tone of kindness or of harshness with which you speak — the tranquillity or the irritation with which you bear the little trials and disappointments of life — your patience in suffering, and your calmness in danger. They watch to observe how faithfully you perform the ordinary duties of your station. They look with eager interest into your countenance, to see with what spirit you receive an injury, or rebuke what is wrong. By making faithful and constant efforts to live like Chris- tians yourselves, and to exhibit to your children those effects 402 YOUNG CHRISTIAN. Blessing obtained by religious example. of piety upon your conduct and character which they can understand and appreciate, and by adapting religious instruc- tion to the peculiar intellectual habits of the young, you may anticipate a sure and an abundant blessing upon your labors. Chilhood is a most fertile part of the vineyard of the Lord. The seed which is planted there vegetates very soon, and the weeds which spring up are easily eradicated. It is in fact in every respect an easy and a pleasant spot to till, and the flowers and fruits which, with proper effort, will bloom and ripen there, surpass all others in richness and beauty. THE END. ABBOTT '§ BI8TORXBS, PUBLISHED BV lurpr k 33rntjjra, (Cliff Itmt, Mm fut *** The Volumes of the Series are printed and bound uniformly, and are adorned with richly Illuminated Title-pages, Maps, and nu- merous Engravings. 16mo, Muslin, 60 cents per Volume; Muslin, gilt edges, 75 cents per Volume. Each Volume sold separately. ^flsritlritn This series of historical narratives is scarcely inferior in interest to Sir Walter Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather." Mr. Abbott has a remarkable power of seizing on the most available features of the character which he undertakes to delineate, and is never at a loss for forcible and felicitous expression.— Courier and Enquirer. MnUmt 3R nlatttr. This book ranks fairly with its predecessors in that beautiful series which we have so often noticed and approved. The story of Madame Roland and the French Rev- i olution, as far as necessary to make her memoirs intelligible, is told with that grace- ! ful ease and transparent perspicuity which mark all these books of Mr. Abbott. — I Richmond Watchman. ♦ 3fHarxa Ititnitnttt. Charming compendiums of history. We know of few books we are more ready j to commend to the public than Mr. Abbott's. They fill a little place which has heretofore been empty. — Two Worlds. Cknptra. Another of the crimson -garbed works of the historic series that have proved them- selves so popular, not only with the young, but all classes of readers. * * * The de- tails are given with clearness and simple beauty ; the style suitable to the compre- hension of the child, as being interesting to the adult. — Alfred B. Street. ^ttiitts (taar. The author seems gifted with that peculiar faculty, possessed by so few, of hold- ing communion with and drawing out ardent imagination and budding genius, and at the same time of directing both into the great channel of truth. The labors of such a man are productive of incalculable good, and deserve the highest reward. — New Hampshire Patriot. ABBOTT'S HISTORIES. $5att tubal. A new volume of the series projected by the skillful book-manufacturer, Mr. Ab- bott, who displays no little tact in engaging the attention of that marvelous body, " the reading public," in old scholastic topics hitherto almost exclusively the property of the learned. The latter, with their ingenious implements of lexicons and scholia, will be in no danger of being superseded, however, while the least-furnished reader may gain something from the attractively-printed and easily-perused volumes of Mr. Abbott. The story of Hannibal is well adapted for popular treatment, and loses noth- ing for this purpose in the present explanatory and pictorial version. — Literary World. Ikmitbr tfjt #nat. The history of Alexander the Great, as penned by Jacob Abbott, will be read with thrilling interest. It is profusely embellished, containing maps of the Expedition of Alexander, of Macedon and Greece, the plain of Troy, the Granicus, and the plain of Issus ; and engravings of Alexander and Bucephalus ; Paris and Helen ; the bath- ing in the River Cyndus ; the siege of Tyre ; Alexander at the siege of Susa; and the proposed improvement of Mount Athos. It is written in a most graphic and attract- ive style. — Spectator. Full of entertainment and instruction. — Independent. lariuj tfr? #nat. Mr. Abbott's design to write a succession of histories for the young is admirable, and worthy of all encouragement, and the manner in which he has executed the work thus far is most excellent. Let him be encouraged to proceed till he has reached the last volume of history, that the coming generation may turn from the world of romance to that of reality, and learn that what is and has been is as brilliant in character, as glorious in description, and as captivating in detail, as that which the genius of fiction ever created. — New York Observer. Ctjntfl \\t #nat. The style is smooth, easy, and attractive, and the whole preparation of the work is such as will secure a large popularity for the series. The great condensation of facts,' and the picturesqueness of the style will commend these books to the young. The illuminated title-pages are very beautiful. — Southern Methodist Pulpit. They possess more than the interest of fiction, and yet are replete with solid infor- mation. The youth that becomes interested in these glowing pictures will find a growing taste for historical reading generally. — Christian Parlor Magazine. llfnn ttte #nat. History, under the pen of Mr. Abbott, discloses its narratives and utters its les- sons in a style of great simplicity and intelligence, and, above all, with no danger of detriment to morals. He has selected his field with excellent taste. In their line, these volumes have never been surpassed. — Baptist Recorder. ABBOTT'S HISTORIES. 3 Mliiam tljB Cnttpnnr. These historical works by Mr. Abbott have so much merit for the interesting- style in which they are written, and the beauty of their mechanical execution, that we place them at the head of the more unpretending- histories. We know of no works extant calculated to produce a more salutary effect upon the young- reader of his- tory ; certainly none where leading historical incidents are communicated in a more fascinating manner. — Buffalo Courier. art] dUtmtr nf %nti. The history is here given minute in every point of real interest, and without the encumbrance of useless opinions. There is no sentence thrown away — no time lost in mere ornament. Perhaps no book extant, containing so few pages, can be said to convey so many genuine historical facts. There is here no attempt to glaze over re- corded truth, or win the reader by sophistry to opinions merely those of the author. The pure, simple history of Queen Mary is placed before the reader, and each one is left to form an unbiased opinion from events impartially recorded there. One great and most valuable feature in this little work is a map of Scotland, with many en- gravings of the royal castles and wild scenes connected with Mary's history. There is also a beautiful portrait of the Queen, and a richly illuminated title-page such as only the Harpers can get up. — National Magazine. dUtmtt d&lijahtjr. Full of instructive and heart-stirring incident, displayed by the hand of a master. We doubt whether old Queen Bess ever before had so much justice done to her within the same compass. Such a pen as Jacob Abbott wields, especially in this depart- ment of our literature, has no right to lie still. — Albany Express. We have read each and all of them successively in the order of their issue with far more interest than it is possible for us to feel in any work of fiction; and there has been no series of books published in this country that we would honor or more confidently place in the hands of the youthful reader than "Abbott's Historical Se- ries." — Mirror. Cjjarkfl tlu f\xz\. We incline to think that there never was before so much said about this unfortu- nate monarch in so short a space ; so much to the purpose ; with so much impar- tiality ; and in such a style as just suits those for whom it is designed — the "two millions" of young persons in the United States, who ought to be supplied with such works as these. The engravings represent the prominent persons and places of the history, and are well executed. The portrait of John Hampden is charming. The antique title-page is rich. — Southern Christian Advocate. Cjjarhs tyi %uu\. A valuable engraving of Lely's portrait of Cromwell opens the book, and there are several illustrative wood-engravings and an illuminated title-page. This is a com- prehensive and simple narration of the main features of the period during which Charles the Second reigned, and it is done with the clear scope and finely-written style which would be expected from the pen of Jacob Abbott — one of the most able and useful literary men of his time — Home Journal. abbntt's fnnnniu &tmn. FRANCOIIA STOEIES: COMPRISING WALLACE, MALLEVILLE, BEECHNUT, MARY ERSKINE, MARY BELL. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE "ROLLO BOOKS." Complete in Five Volumes, 16mo, elegantly bound in Muslin, with engraved Title-pages and numerous Illustrations, price Fifty Cents per Volume. Each Volume sold separately. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Pleasing pictures of still life in the country, which the young will gladly read, and gather much useful knowledge, while they find pleasure in the story. — Presbyterian. The pleasing simplicity of style in which these volumes are written — the amusing anecdotes related — and the little sketches of scenery so nat- urally introduced, can not fail to secure for them the warm appreciation of that class of readers for which they are prepared. — Toronto Globe. Delightful stories for children. — Albany State Register. If any of our readers are troubled with noisy urchins, who disturb their evening's comfort, they may find an effective opiate in these attractive vol- umes. We hope the experiment may be fairly tested — Christ. Chronicle. The whole tendency of this series is in favor of a high tone of morals, and these graceful and simple lessons of life can not fail to be useful to those who read them. — Watchman and Observer. No better or more acceptable present could be made from parent to child than a set of the "Franconia Stories." — Buffalo Courier. The author is so well known to the juvenile world that he needs no in- troduction from us. His histories for children have long been the delight of our little circle, and it welcomes his new and beautiful story-books as it would the visit of an old friend. — National Era. Mr. Abbott's books have been, and doubtless always will be, popular I with all. — Worcester Palladium. A delightful series of stories. — American Spectator. Mr. Abbott is doing very much for the instruction and healthful amuse- ment of the young. The " Franconia Stories" are delightful reading for young people of both sexes. — Providence Daily Journal. An admirable series of tales for children. — New Orleans Bee. The most attractive tales for children which have been issued from the press for years. — Cincinnati Gazette. It is not often we meet with better told fictions. — Alfred B. Street. HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers, ffew York. %.#' %. **- % ./' *>> / v- X - ■/ -4. ^ & o , V 8 '«; 7 XS rO" -o* v' \ ^ H °^, ^ o$ /% <* -^ "• > '^ V Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 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