BJ 66 S54p SHELDON PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL v: 1 iTHICAL ADDRESSES ERIE3 V, No. 7, SEPTEMBER, ibgS ■ ■ 1 [ 1 I THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL BY W. £,. SHELDON. Lecture 1 of the Ethical Slphia a* reconH-class matter.) Yearly, 50 cts. Single Numbers, 5 cts. E ETHICAL ADDRESSES. FIFTH SERIES-1898. 1- Subscription, 50 Cents a. year. Single Numbers, 5 Cents. JANUARY.— The Ethical Culture Society as the Meeting Groumf of Gentiles and Jews, Felix Adler. FEBRUARY.— What is of Permanent Value in the Bible (Tiiejj Old Testament) ? Wm. M. Salter. ! MARCH.— What is of Permanent Value in the Bible (The New Testament)? Wm. M. Salter. APRIL.— The Punishment of Children, Felix Adler. [Appen \ dix, The German Ethical Societies, by F. W. Foerster]. MAY.— The Punishment of Children (Concluded), Felix Adler. JUNE.— The Ethics of the War with Spain, S. Burns Weston. SEPTEMBER.— I. The Plan of an Ethical Sunday School, W. J L. Sheldon. OCTOBER.— II. The Plan of an Ethical Sunday School, W. Iv. Sheldon. Subscriptions may be paid to the Librarians at the Sunday morning I meetings of the Ethical Societies, or sent by mail to S. BURNS WESTON, 1305 Arch St., Philadelphia. TBI 55 V P JHE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. BY W. L. SHELDON. I. In venturing to give this outline of a scheme of in- duction for an Ethical Sunday school, I shall simply idertake to describe the system we have been work- g out in connection with our Ethical Society in St. ouis. It was our intention to reverse the process customary the average Sunday school, letting the teaching con- jrning " religious conceptions " come in at the end of ie course, about the time when the young people are issing on into young manhood and young womanhood ; 1 the other hand, beginning the course of instruction ith the elements of morality. It has not been our irpose in any way definitely to antagonize so-called ligious beliefs. But instead of beginning our teaching ith talks about " God," this comes in as the last step, ith which we close our course of instruction for the >ung, just before they leave our charge to enter the rger School of Life. At the same time, I am well aware that we can never ive a satisfactory Sunday school of any kind until thers and mothers shall send their children with the me seriousness of purpose with which they send their tildren to the day-school. In so far as we must hold (ii5) 853S4G I 1 6 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. the young only by pleasing them we can never ac| plish the full purpose we are striving for. I believe, for my own part, in a Sunday school' offers a line of instruction quite unlike, in spirit, 1 ordinarily given in the week-day school. And it is conviction that we should have a separate time for special class of work, so that it could be distinguis in the minds of the young from that form of instruct which is given them chiefly in order that they may able to earn their living. The laws of life, or the ic purposes for which we are to live, ought not to be as ciated in the thoughts of young people with the rat dreary study of reading, writing and arithmetic. It was with this thought in view that, some years aa we began to set apart a portion of each Sunday mo ing exclusively for the young, in connection with 1 work of our St. Louis Ethical Society. It was our tention to divide the hour and a quarter appropriat for this purpose into two portions. In the first pla we wished to have something that would take the pla< for the young, of the so-called " religious service" a appeal to the receptive side of their natures. We desir to work on the sentiments, to touch the heart in certs directions. The opportunities for reaching this side the growing soul in its younger days are great enoug In this part of the work, it is vitally essential that wh we offer the young people should give a certain pleasui To a degree, they must like it, or else the effect for tl most part is lost. If they will not take what is offere we must find something else that will appeal to them. These general exercises which I have thought of as kind of " religious service " for the young, have bee held in part before the class- work, and in part afte: THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. WJ ds. The study-time, during which we ask the young >ple to think, or be active with their minds, comes in, refore, between the two series of general exercises. fjHie foundation of our school is a short " catechism' Responsive Exercise. I know the objection to at is termed a " catechism." We understand only too 11 what mischief has come from undertaking to teach ldren by rote. And yet, on the other hand, I am ivinced that it is worth while to lodge at once in the idnds of the young the few main, fundamental princi- S;s underlying our whole scheme of instruction. j iarly all that we have to give throughout the long urse from seven up to sixteen years of age, is but an astration or working out of these few principles. I will submit this Responsive Exercise, in order that ir first principles may be understood at the outset. e place this catechism on a large scroll before the ! r es of the members of the school where it can be read )m time to time. It will be seen in what way we use The questions or citations are rendered by one • another of the teachers, the responses being read in mcert by the children, the Superintendent beginning id ending the reading with the refrain : " Truth is the rong thing : let man's life be true." We do not read lis every Sunday, as we should not want the young sople to grow tired of it. We do not undertake to aalyze it or explain it, but just let it stand for what it worth in the minds of the pupils. We assume that ttle by little it will unfold itself in the course of in- truction we give them, so that by the time they are teen or sixteen years of age they shall feel what it leans, without anything definite by way of explanation aving been said in regard to it: Il8 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. RESPONSES. Supermtendent : " Truth is the strong thing, Let man's life be true. The School : The Sense of Duty we should place above everything else \ the world. Superintendent : 1 ' Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong, And the most ancient heavens through thee are fresh and strong." The School : The Good Life for its own sake, without thought of reward, what we should most care for. One of the Teachers : One of the Teachers : "Where your treasure is, there "Though the cause of evil prospe will your heart be also. " Yet 'tis truth alone is strong." Superintendent : COMMANDS WE ARE TO OBEY. The School : i. Thou shalt not lie. 2. Thou shalt not steal. 3. Thou shalt do no murder. 4. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 5. Thou shalt not covet what belongs to anothei One of the Teachers : One of the Teachers : " The Eternal seeth not as man " Whoever fights, whoever fall seeth ; for man looketh on the out- Justice conquers evermore, ward appearance, but the Eternal Justice after as before." looketh on the heart." We should all love justice. Superintendent : COMMANDS WE ARE TO OBEY. The School : 1 . Thou shalt obey thy conscience. 2. Thou shalt revere the soul in thyself and in all others. 3. Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother. 4. Thou shalt respect the laws of thy country. 5: Thou shalt make thyself of service to thy fe low man. THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. I 1 9 r of the Teachers : One of the Teachers : Look not outside of yourself for " To thine own self be true ; uge ; be a refuge to yourself. ' ' Thou canst not then be false to ' i > any man l >eri7itendent : WHAT WE ARE TO LOVE. e School : Ve are to love the Good with a supreme love. Ve are to love knowledge, and to seek Truth wherever it may found. e are to love the Beautiful ; but even more we are to love Good and the True. e are to love these as if they were one : the True, the Beau- 1 and the Good. \e of the Teachers : One of the Teachers : ' The Soul itself is the witness of "I do nothing but go about, Soul, and the Soul is the refuge persuading old and young alike, to the Soul ; despise not thine own care first and chiefly for the great- ul, the supreme witness of men." est improvement of the soul." perintendent : WHAT WE ARE TO DO. he School : We should think first of our father and mother. 2. We should labor for the welfare of our own home. 3. We should help those who are weak or in trouble. 4. We should work for the good of our country. 5. We should believe in the Brotherhood of Man. ne of the Teachers : One of the Teachers ; ** He that is greatest among you "Now abidelh faith, hope, love, all be as one that serves." these three; but the greatest of May we always be ready to serve. these is love." uperintendent ; WHAT WE ARE TO STRIVE FOR. "he School : To be true to ourselves, true to our home, true to our country, ue to our fellow-men. We are to strive to be true in everything. uperintendent : Truth is the strong thing, Let man's life be true." 120 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. Along with this responsive exercise, or " cate- chism," as I term it, we have songs. We do not can to have a large selection. Forty or fifty songs ought tc be enough for the school, as it is important that the children should gradually come to know them by hear and to sing them with spirit. Unfortunately it is not ai easy matter to find just the selections suitable for ou purpose. For the most part they ought to grow out c our work. It goes without saying that we use a portioi of Dr. Adler's " City of the Light." Then we tak such lines as ' ' The rose is queen among the flowers ; None other is so fair ; The lily nodding on its stem With fragrance fills the air ;" which are sung to the air of " Auld Lang Syne," an the walls fairly ring with the music, as the words ai rendered in that old tune which the children are so fon of. Or we take a portion of the beautiful poem : )! ID " So here hath been dawning Another blue day : Think, wilt thou let it Slip useless away ?' ' To please the youngest, we may have the followir words, wanting in poetry, but with a ring to them th [ leads the little ones to sing them with a glee almost wi in its delight : " Do it, do it with a will, Do it right away ; If you've anything to do, Do it right away." If we are desperate, in order to arouse the children - can always fall back on a song of that kind, and t sc THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 121 title ones are always tempted to rise and leap up and Awn as they half sing it, half shout it forth. tl Then, too, we may strike a deeper chord, with a faint iuch of solemnity in it, as we introduce a song dealing irlth the experience of stern, inevitable toil by which ajen must earn their subsistence, reminding us of the unction laid upon the whole human race : ". . . In e sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread :" ' ' You cannot pay with money the million sons of toil ; The sailor on the ocean ; the peasant on the soil ; The laborer in the quarry ; the heaver of the coal ; Your money pays the labor : it cannot pay the soul." It is not to be expected that the full significance of lese songs will come at once. But if they are rendered ften enough, it is to be assumed that, gradually, some- miing of their meaning will sink into the hearts of those ho sing them, and that the sentiments in such lines [lay eventually blend with the more serious course f instruction we are pursuing. All this naturally be- >ngs to the effort we are making, to reach the young on le receptive side. Along with the songs, before the class work begins, re usually aim to have a five-minute talk to those pres- nt, either by the Superintendent of the school or by guest invited for the occasion, on the " Beautiful nought" chosen for the day, of which each member f the school has received a copy to be committed to nemory. Once in every few weeks it is the plan to give the chool a picture-talk as a feature of the introductory ' religious service." We wish to reach the hearts or yninds of the young through beautiful faces, beautiful >uildings, beautiful scenes from nature or works of art. 122 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. For this purpose we naturally make use of the lanterr slide. If the picture- talk deals with faces, we can ustk some of the rare pictures of the old masters, anc ra through the instinctive sense of beauty we may begir to reach the ethical side of human nature. I canno help thinking that a great result is accomplished jus by letting the young sit quietly for a few moment looking at the face of one of the beautiful Madonna by Raphael. Not much needs to be said ; the younij) people are only to look and feel, taking in the efifecl which to them, so far as they are conscious of it, lift just a delight to the eye. Yet, while it is to them con sciously only a delight to the eye, those radiant, majesti|eg faces must somehow sink deep within the growing sou! of those who are looking on, and leave an " after-glow not easily erased. So, too, I believe we can attain something of the sarr effect through pictures of sculpture. Some of the ai tique works of Greece and Rome, such as the head Pallas, the beautiful face of the Hermes, or the bo' figure of the Apollo Belvidere, are objects of etern beauty and always suggest feelings of the ideal. By such picture-talks we reach or touch the vagi sense of the Infinite lurking in the minds of the younjTo while we are spared from trying to give them positr inly conceptions at the outset as to what the " Infinite loi; means, and by this mistaken method practically destro mtli ing the very sense of the Infinite altogether. Mhe \ In another way, for instance, this result might p accomplished through a short talk about the pyramic jin n We can tell in a general way how old they are ; wt| |bo time and labor were required in building them ; wr majesty of size, or beauty of proportion they suggest I n rel I ■ DC ft ie\ I I'or h D! :st( tss he In re i iano )rar I h htv THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 23 Ithout even alluding to the word Infinite or mentioning y religious conceptions at all. By this means we may atify the instinctive interest in the grand, the majestic, $ the sublime, without torturing or perverting the dawn- g intellectual side of the child nature by endeavoring inculcate conceptions utterly beyond its grasp or com- ehension. It is our desire to associate the sentiments belonging I the Eternal^ the Infinite, the Absolute, with the dis- ctions between Right and Wrong, with the thought i ' the Moral Law — but not to use these words so that i tey shall become hackneyed, before the child-mind has i igun to have any conception at all as to what these ul ords stand for. i All this is intended as a background of sentiment, in Dnnection with our course of Ethical Instruction. If 01 stood by itself, it might have comparatively little value. lis significance comes in only when we connect it with ( le other work. )1 In place of the picture-lecture, once every few weeks ire insert a form of musical service. The song, the iano, the violin, the cornet — almost any form of music u r any instrument pleasing to the young, is made use of. 1^0 them consciously ■, it is of course, as we have said, vnly a delight to the ear. And it would be this and : othing more if it were not that we connect it definitely ■j/ith the other portion of the morning's work, so that he two belong together. The sense of the Infinite I .roused by a combination of beautiful sounds, is reached In this way also. By this other means, we may help [O associate the solemn, mystical feelings about the ' Eternal " the " Absolute," with the teachings of moral- ty. We desire that all that sanctity which in the con- 124 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. ventional Sunday school has been connected with the word " God," should surround the thought of the Moral Law. It is the Moral Law which should sanctify the thought of God, rather than that the thought of God should sanctify the Moral Law. All this may seem rather dreamlike than an actual possibil- ity. But it must be remembered that we ask the privi- lege of influencing the young only little by little over a period of eight or nine or ten years. From the recep- tive side we expect that much of this effect will be un- conscious. To the young, as we have intimated, in so far as they think about it, a good deal of this " religious service " will be merely a pleasure to the eye or a pleas- ure to the ear. In our purpose it means a great deal more. I have spoken of the " Beautiful Thought" for the day. We select from classic literature, from the best thinkers or the great Bibles of the Old World, here and there stray sentences that we desire to have lodged in the memories of the young. We use this method only as a minor feature, knowing only too well how futile much of the bare memorizing has proved in the conven- tional Sunday school. And yet there are gems of thought or sentiment crystalized in a few terse words coming down to us from the past, in such simple, beau- tiful forms that all people ought to know them. If we put off committing these sayings to memory until we are "grown up" the chances are that we shall never know them. Even if, now and then, such a thought or sen- timent is beyond the grasp of the child, we can some- times lodge the words there — not trying to explain them, but assuming that some time in later years these sayings may come back to the mind, with the meaning given to THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 25 the words through the long personal experience which each one must have after entering the arena of life. For the most part, the choicest of these sayings pertain to human life and contain the wisdom gained from ages of human experience. As an illustration I give the list of " Beautiful Thoughts " we have used for one year : No man securely doth command, unless he hath learned read- ily to obey. — Thomas d> Kempis. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. — Proverbs of Solomon. If you wish for anything that belongs to another, that which is your own is lost. — Epictetus. How long I shall live depends upon accident ; but it depends upon myself how well I live. — Seneca. Men are created for the sake of men, that they may mutually do good to one another. — Cicero. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. — St. Paul. The superior man thinks of virtue ; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior man thinks of the sanctions of law ; the small man thinks of favors which he may receive. — Confucius. Nothing that does not enter my mind and get within me, can ever hurt me. Let me hold to this and I am safe. — Marcus Aurelius. There is no condition of life that excludes a wis© man from discharging his duty. — Seneca. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown. — Proverbs of Solomon. Neither the evening nor the morning star is more beautiful than justice. — Aristotle* Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. — Ec- clesiastes. Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time ; hatred ceases by love. This is an old rule. — Buddha. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. — Psalms of the Hebrews. L/et us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. — St. Paul. The reward of doing one duty is the power to perform another. — Ben Azai. Choose the best life, and habit by and by will make you like it the best. — Epictetus. 126 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. What fools say is pleasure, that the noble say is pain ; what fools say is pain, that the noble know as pleasure. — Buddha. Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, not if we enter into the clefts of the mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where a man might be freed from an evil deed. — Buddha. The evil bow before the good ; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. — Proverbs of Solomon. The man whom reason guides is freer, when he lives in a com- munity under the bond of common laws, than when he lives in a solitude where he obeys himself alone. — Spinoza. A man should say: " I am not concerned that I have no place; I am concerned how I may fit myself for one. I am not concerned that I am not known; I seek to make myself worthy to be known." — Confucius. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. — St. Paul. He who lives looking for pleasure only, the tempter will cer- tainly overthrow him, as the wind throws down a weak tree. — Buddha. Now I go the way of all the earth, therefore be thou strong and show thyself a man. — King David. After the lesson hour, during which the young peo- ple have been assembled in their respective classes, and when they come back once more for the second portion of the general exercises or " religious service," the " Beautiful Thought " for the day is recited by a member chosen from each class for that purpose, beginning with the youngest. One of the little ones rises and repeats the words ; then one from the next older class, and so on back until we come to the class of adults, when the sentence is finally recited by the entire school in unison. If any of those present have not committed it to memory at the outset, they are quite sure to know it by heart before the time comes when they all repeat it to- gether. After this we usually have a recitation from one of the young people. It has been our desire that, little by little, they should come to know by heart some of the THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 12J rarest gems of ethical-religious thought or sentiment in prose or verse. We may select for the youngest ones the short poem about " The Daisy" from Wordsworth ; or for the older boys and girls, possibly, such words as Clough's noble lines : " . . . . Say not the struggle naught availeth ;" or perhaps a chapter from the teachings of the " Path of Virtue " of Buddhism ; or the solemn and heart-stir- ring words : " . . . . He was despised and rejected of men," from the prophet Isaiah. We also ask the members of the adult class to give recitations, and they may render from time to time such selections as Matthew Arnold's " Self Dependence;" or the "Apostrophe to Duty" by Immanuel Kant, or a passage from the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Then, perhaps, the leader of our school may read a short story, taking not more than five minutes — some- thing that shall, as it were, " let the minds down " from the high level we have been endeavoring to keep them on during the study time, while giving something con- crete from human life which the young can carry away with them. Naturally, we end with a song, or else with our re- sponsive exercise or " catechism." It is only when we come to the active side of the child's mind and endeavor to reach or develop the ethical side of his nature by making the mind think for itself, that we have the more serious problems confront- ing us. Little by little we have been sketching the out- lines for a series of studies covering a period of nine 128 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. years, from the age of seven to about sixteen ; and I shall endeavor in as terse a way as possible to give some idea of what kind of work we are trying to do in this course of instruction. It is the more important part of the work of the school, and the harder part. It means work, not only on the part of the young, but even more on the part of the teacher. It is not surprising that those who undertake to use such methods for ethical instruction should find difficulties in the way, and assert only too emphatically that the old method in the conven- tional Sunday school was much easier and gave more immediate results. With the youngest of the children, from the ages of seven to nine years, we begin with the Bible stories of the Old Testament, from the account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden down to David and Solomon and the establishment of the kingdom of Israel in Pal- estine. We do not undertake to have these taught in the conventional way, using the exact language of the Bible and giving all that we find there. The main point is to select such stories or tales as may have a meaning to the little ones and carry some sort of an ethical lesson. We tell these stories, as we have already said, not for the purpose of teaching the child about God, but about man, and what man has learned of life and about right and wrong through long ages of history and experience. These tales are told as " stories," with no special discussion as to whether they are true or not true, whether they are history or not history. Problems of this kind may arise with adult classes dealing with the Bible ; but at the outset we have another purpose in view. I think that anyone can see why all children THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. I2Q, should learn the stories of the Bible in one form or an- other ; if for no other reason, because these stories are the basis of the literature of Christendom. Many a grown man nowadays is humiliated to find that he cannot understand some of the simplest allusions in what he reads, because of his ignorance of the stories from the Bible. The young ought to know them, if on no other grounds, just because everybody all over the world is expected to know them. Fathers and mothers cannot afford to submit their children to the possible humilia- tion in later years of being ignorant on subjects about which all cultured persons are supposed to know at least something. But the advantage is that these stories from the Bible are not mere " stories." They are not like the tales from Homer, or like most of the other stories from the classical literatures of the world. These tales from the Bible, be- ginning with Adam and Eve, down to David and Solo- mon, can be told in an interesting way as illustrating the simple elements of morality. But it will be found that we cannot always read these stories to the young exactly as they stand in the Bible. Such a statement may be a shock to orthodox minds. And yet it is surprising how many orthodox minds are coming to admit this fact and to realize that the Bible as it stands, is to be read by the adult mind, and not by the child. Still, the moral thread is there, and it is this moral thread that we undertake to preserve and make use of by telling these stories or tales in simple language, leaving out such portions as are irrelevant, or such stories as may have no ethical import or may give a shock to the moral sense. As to the supernatural side, we do not have to talk about it. Where it becomes necessary for us to introduce it, we 130 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. can just let it stand and read it as a part of the tale. For myself, however, I prefer, in using these stories, to preserve the old Hebrew name of the Deity, " Yahweh," throughout, not positively connecting it with the higher conception of " God " such as comes out later on in the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. I may give a single illustration of one of these les- sons, showing how we use these tales from the Bible, although the selection has to be made somewhat at random. Take, for instance, the story of " The Tower of Babel : " It was a long while ago, just how long I cannot say, and over in another part of the world, after the time of the great Flood — it may have been hundreds of years later, when Noah was no longer alive and there were again a great number of people on earth. They had begun to build cities. They had riches once more, and they were giving themselves over to having a good time — seeking only after pleasures, and just those kind of pleasures which sat- isfy people for the moment and leave nothing behind. They had so much wealth and they had been so successful in building their cities that they were overcome with pride. I suppose you know what that feeling means? In those days it seems that every man somehow felt as if he were better than any other man. So now I am going to tell you of something extraordinary that took place. What put it into the people's heads I do not know. It is never quite easy to explain the strange ideas or plans which some persons have. But be that as it may, the people at that time thought up the strangest sort of a scheme. As to the sense of it all, you must decide for yourselves. But they got it into their heads that they would build a tower. It was not to be just the ordinary kind of a tower, but something great and mighty ; greater than anything which had ever been built before. It was to be high. " How high? " you ask. Why, they meant to make it go on up until it touched the sky. I suppose they did not know in those days just what the sky was, or how high it was up there. At any rate, they thought they could do it ; in fact, they were sure of it. They talked and talked a great deal about that tower, and how they would build it. And so at last they set to work and laid the THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 3 I foundations. You can be sure these foundations were solid and strong. They were not going to have their tower tumble over ;. it was to stay there forever. " What did they do it for? " you ask. Well, I do not quite know. It may be that they did not know themselves. People do not always have the best of reasons for the plans they have. All I know is that they wanted to build a tower, and that it was to be something very large indeed. In fact, they wanted to see just what they could do. They had an idea that they could do almost anything, and they were quite sure they knew almost eve^thing. They had stopped trying to learn anything more because they were so satisfied with themselves, thinking they knew it all, or all that ever could be known. This tower then, I suppose, was to show how clever they were They could look at it after it reached the sky and think what a big thing they had done and how much superior they would show themselves to any other human beings who ever lived before them, or to any people who might come afterwards. What sort of a feeling do you call this? "Pride," do you answer? Yes,, that was it. These people were just proud. They evidently wanted, as we would say nowadays, to " show off." You see the world was young then. There had not been very much history, and people had not found out " what they did not know." Sometimes it happens, as you may be aware, that the more ignorant a person is the more he thinks he knows. He likes to talk about himself, to think about himself ; and he likes to have other people look at him and admire him and talk about him. These strange people lived on what was called the Plain of vShi- nar, away over in Asia somewhere ; and they began to build their tower. Just as soon as the foundations were laid, thousands of people would come out every day to look at it, and the more they looked at it the more esteem they felt for themselves, and the more sure they were that no people would ever be able to do any- thing so great or achieve anything so extraordinary as this tower was going to be. It kept on going up, higher and higher. At first it only reached to the tops of the doors of the houses ; by and by it was as high as the roofs ; then it went on up above the walls of the city, and soon it was higher than anything else in the country. Yet it kept on going up, and they made more brick and brought more stone and built it higher and higher, and as they watched the sky they kept wondering how long it would be before their tower would touch that great blue dome up there. If they had been proud before they laid the foundations of that 132 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. tower, they grew more and more proud every day. They spent pretty much all their time admiring themselves. I suppose if there had been any books in those days they would have stopped reading them. Why should they read books when they "knew all about it " ? What reason did they have for going to see other parts of the world when they were so superior themselves ? Yet, all the while, up went that tower, and it did almost look as if it were going to touch the sky. " What sort of name did they give to it? " you ask. Well, I think I should have called it the "Tower of Pride" ; but that was not the name they gave to it themselves. But by and by something happened. Usually when people get too proud something does happen. Do you think that the tower fell down? No, it stayed there — at least, for awhile; just how long I do not know. But there was a fall of another kind for the Tower of Pride. It seems that Yahweh, the Ruler of the World, got to thinking about it, and he did not altogether approve of what was going on dowm there on the Plain of Shinar. He was quite certain if the human race went on in that way they would think they knew everything and that the world would come to a standstill. Now Yahweh wanted the human race to go on improving, and he knew that the one great vice which would keep the people from improving was Pride. There was no other way. Those people there on the Plain of Shinar had to be taught humility ; their pride must have a fall ; in some way they must be brought back to their senses. I al- most wonder that Yahweh did not despise these people altogether and decide not to have any human beings on earth at all if they were going to be so vain. But no ; he felt pity for them because they were young, and they had not had much experience ; and so he thought he would try another way to teach them humility. The people had almost fancied that their tower was just about to reach the sky. It was higher than anything else in the world, and they were growing more and more supremely satisfied over it. I suppose there must have been thousands of men at work there. But one morning there was trouble. All the work came to a standstill. Yahweh had decided to interfere. And what do you suppose he did ? Well, it is said, you know, that people in those days all talked alike. Nowadays we have any number of lan- guages among the races scattered throughout the world, hundreds of languages, I suppose. But from what we are told, up to that time people talked only one language, and all men could understand each other. This THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 33 may have been one reason why they thought they knew every- thing. But at any rate, one morning the work stopped. Thou- sands of men had come together to work on the tower, when all of a sudden they found they could not understand each other. One man was talking in one language, and another was talking in another language. Just how many languages they were speaking I do not know ; but I fancy it must have been hundreds or thou- sands. There they were. What could they do ? One man would give a direction and the other man could not understand it. The whole plan fell to pieces. They could not talk ; they could not direct each other ; they could not explain to each other what they were trying to do. It was the end of that tower. As far as they were concerned it was just as if that great structure had tumbled down upon their heads. It was there just the same as it was the day before ; but they could not go on with it. And as they tried to talk to each other and found they could not understand what others were saying, it struck them that perhaps, after all, they did not know everything ; otherwise there would not be such a wild and stupid confusion everywhere. It was an awful blow. A blow to what, you ask ? Why, to their pride, I should say. They came to realize that they were not so great as they thought they were ; that they did not know as much as they thought they did ; that they were not nearly as superior as they had fancied. What a state of mind the people must have been in, there in that great city ! They looked up at their tower and they felt ashamed. It no longer added to their pride ; and they wished they could pull it down. It all seemed very childish now, the effort they had made to "show off." They wished they had never begun it. It struck them that perhaps, after all, the human race was young, and that if they were to start out and scatter over the world, they might go on improving and learning a great deal more. They left their tower and it crumbled away. They abandoned their city, those speaking one language going one way, others speaking another language going another way. But as they de- parted they had quite a different look on their faces from what they had had a few years before when in their pride they had laid the foundations of that great building. The Tower of their Pride had fallen, and they had learned humility. In this way we can tell the stories of " Noah and the Flood," "The Sacrifice of Isaac," the " Marriage of 134 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. Isaac and Rebekah," of " Joseph and his Brethren," of the " Plagues in Egypt," of " Moses and Mt. Sinai," of the "Crossing of the Jordan," of the " Victories of Joshua over the Canaanites," the " Struggle between the Israelites and the Philistines," of the brave young David and his battle with Goliath, and his beautiful friendship with Jonathan, and so on to the great King Solomon and his court at Jerusalem. These are told, as I have said, as stories. The main point is that the little ones should know them or know about them, and at the same time catch a glimpse of the great moral principles underlying all human history. We do not ask these youngest children to think much for themselves. We wish mainly to have them gain a permanent knowledge of these tales. It is a delight to see how the little ones cluster around their teacher and how fond they become of these stories from the Bible when told in the right way. This is the only consec- utive series of tales or stories we make use of in the school, mainly because they are about the only series in ancient literature having a conspicuous thread of moral teaching running through them. When these tales passed their final revision at the hands of the priests or prophets among the Israelites, it was evidently intended that they should not be merely history or biography, but that they should teach the elements of ethical truth ; and this is what gives them their value, although sometimes the ethical truth may be rather crude and still in need of revision. In so far as we use stories or biographies elsewhere in our course of instruction they are introduced inci- dentally, only by way of illustration, or in order to bring out some special point. For this other purpose it THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 35 is possible to collect illustrative material from all the great literatures of the world. At about the age of nine years we begin the system- atic work we are outlining in our Course of Instruc- tion. The first year is devoted to a study of the " Habits." The teacher takes up one habit after another, talking it over with the boys and girls, seeing what im- pressions they may have concerning it, what they have learned about it for themselves out of their own expe- riences and observations, and then adding to this the wisdom which the older mind can impart. It is necessary at the outset to have a general talk about habits, and what they mean ; distinguishing them from instincts, so that the young may realize how they themselves acquire habits and are responsible for them, and therefore what an important part in life is played by the habits one acquires. Then the teacher may devote a morning to a talk about the habit of " Exaggeration," for instance, asking the boys and girls what they know about it ; how they would describe it ; what examples they have seen of it among themselves. Then comes the question : " What leads people to exaggerate?" Do people, for instance, consciously tell a lie ? If what they tell is not a lie, what does it mean, or what leads to it, or what are the mo- tives inspiring it ? Along with this must go the prob- lem as to the effect on a person's whole life or character from the habit of exaggeration ; how it comes that he cannot be trusted, and cannot even trust himself, so that by and by he does not even know, himself, whether he is telling the truth in what he may be saying. Or it may be a talk about " Being Saving." Why I36 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. should it be worth one's while not to be wasteful with the money one has, whether little or much, why is it that so few people are saving, and what makes the habit so difficult to acquire? There can be a talk as to the mistake in regard to the habit of saving, illustrated by the proverb " penny wise, pound foolish," and the teacher may close the morning's study by having all the members of the class repeat in concert, as one of the great reasons for being saving, the familiar lines : " Not for to hide it in a hedge, Nor for a trained attendant, But for the glorious privilege Of being independent." It will be readily seen that in the study of the habits to what advantage we can put the familiar proverbs that have come down to us, using them as means of illustra- tion and also as a help in the analysis, and at the same time lodging the proverbs in the minds of the young definitely in connection with certain special experiences, rather than as random thoughts which may mean much or little according to the accident of circumstances. I will give just one sample of this series of lessons. In most respects the method is the same throughout all the notes. They are intended as fanciful conversations carried on between the teacher and the children. I take, for instance, the one on " Being Conceited :" Did you ever hear anything about " being conceited?" Do you see any sense in that? What would it mean to you if you heard it said of anybody ? What would conceited people do? "Talk about themselves," you say? Yes, but how much? "Oh," you answer, "a good deal." Then you think, do you, that being conceited would mean talking about one's self a good deal? THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 37 But suppose a person should keep saying how much he wished he was able to do something, or keep lamenting because he was not strong enough to do it ; suppose he went on repeatedly saying how much better some one else could do a certain thing than him- self. That would be talking a great deal about one's self, would it not? Do you think that would necessarily mean self-conceit? " No, not exactly," you answer. But why not? That certainly is talking about one's self? ''Why," you say, "self-conceit mean's talking about one's self in a bragging sort of way." Oh, is that it? I ask. But what do you mean by bragging ? " Why," you say, " bragging means telling how smart we are, and how much we can do." But is that all there is to bragging? What if one were to tell how much one could do, but at the same time admitted that some one else could do it a great deal better — would that be exactly bragging? " No, not quite," you say ? What would be the difference? "Why," you answer, "brag- ging would mean trying to show how much smarter we are than other people, boasting over others, talking about ourselves as supe- rior to others." Then that is what you mean by being conceited, is it — always talking about one's self as being smarter or better than other people ? And you call that " bragging," you tell me. I suppose, then, you mean that a person who never talked about himself could not be conceited. Is that what you mean ? " No," you say ; " for a person could be conceited even if he did not talk about himself." Then what would be going on in his mind if he were a conceited person, and yet did not talk about himself ? What would he be thinking about? You say, "he would be thinking to himself how much smarter or better he was than other people." And so it is your opinion, is it, that merely thinking to one's self about one's superiority would mean being "conceited"? Yes, I agree with you there. How do you think such a conceited person, who did not talk to others about himself, would act ? Do you think there would be any way of people knowing we were conceited, if we were con- ceited in that way? Would anybody find us out? " No, you think not," you tell me. But why ? " Because," you say, " we would keep our thoughts to ourselves ; we wouldn't tell of the feelings we have." Now, do you think you could really do that ? Do you suppose I38 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. that you could deceive iu that way and not show it by your con- duct, even if you said nothing about it? Take, for instance, two boys or girls, one of them very con- ceited, and the other not so. How would they act when trying" to improve themselves ? Which one would be going to others seeking for information, or trying to learn from other people ? Would it be the conceited one ? " No," you say, " it would not be the conceited one." But why not? Would he not want to improve himself just the same? "No," you answer; " he would be thinking that he knew it al- ready, fancying that he could not learn anything from anybody else." Have you ever come across boys and girls who acted as if they knew more than their teachers did? Don't you think they were rather ridiculous? Are such boys and girls conceited, do you think ? " Yes, decidedly," you say. Then which class of persons, do you suppose, are most likely to go on improving themselves— those who are very conceited, and think they " know it already," or those who are rather doubt- ful about how much they know and try to learn from others ? You think, do you, that " the conceited boy or girl would not im- prove so much?" Yes, I agree with you there. How do you think a conceited boy or girl would act toward other people in the way of helping them ? If he felt that he knew more and was smarter than they were, then he would try to help them, would he not, and make them as smart as himself, or make them think they were — would not that be his way? You smile at that, I see ; but what makes you smile ? Why should that seem ridiculous? "Oh," you say, "he would feel himself so much superior that he would have a kind of contempt for them and would not try to help them." As a rule, do people like us or dislike us, if we are conceited ? "Oh, they dislike us," you answer. But can you explain that? Why should others dislike us if we show self-conceit? " Why," you say, " they would dislike us because we should be showing that we had a feeling of contempt for them ; we should not be trying to help them when they needed our help." "We should be inclined to 'show off,' to them," you tell me. But why should people mind our trying to " show off," as you say? "Oh," you answer, "people who do that are tiresome." You think, do you, that we get tired of people who are all the time talking about themselves ? I am afraid you are right, there. And you think, do you, that people can even show off without THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 39 talking ? That is what you meant when you said that a person could be conceited without constantly speaking of himself ? Do you mean to say, for example, that a person who never talks of himself could constantly call attention to himself? "Yes," you say. How? I ask. He does not say to you, " look at me." '■' Oh, yes," you answer, " but he acts that way." Why, how could a man act that way, if he did not say anything? " Oh," you tell me, "he could show it by the way he walks, how he holds his head, by the way he smiles." Now, as to a proverb about self-conceit, let me give one thought that is two or three thousand years old. Think what it means when I read it to you : " Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit ? There is more hope of a fool than of him." What sense is there in that saying? What do you mean when you say that there is no hope for a man wise in his own conceit, or that you could do more with a fool than with such a man? Does it imply that the man has no hope for himself? " Oh, no," you answer, " he has a great deal of hope for himself; he thinks he is going to do wonderful things." Yes, I think you are right. You mean, do you, that other people are hopeless about him. But why do they feel that way ? What did we say about the con- ceited man improving himself? Did you tell me that he was more, or less, liable to improve than the man who was not con- ceited? "Less so," you answer. Then you see, do you, why there is little hope for a self-conceited man — he thinks he knows it all and will not improve — is that what you have in mind ? " Yes," you say. Already, then, two or three thousand years ago, people knew that even the most stupid person had more chance of improving than the conceited person. The trouble would be that a conceited person might also be stupid and not know it ; or, even if he were smart at the beginning, the stupid man might pass ahead of him by gradually improving. And so there is a great deal of wisdom in this old proverb. What are the points that we have learned now about being con- ceited ? In the first place, that conceited people may talk a great deal about themselves. In the second place, that they may feel or be Mzxy conceited, and yet not say it in w ords. 140 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. In the third place, that a conceited person can show it by the way he acts. In the fourth place, that a conceited person is not so liable to improve, because he feels that he knows it already, and will not try to learn from others. In the fifth place, that a conceited person is not liable to be helpful to others, but rather contemptuous toward them. And then we had the talk about the proverb. Each lesson is worked out in this manner for the teacher. It will be readily seen why we make use of this special form of dialogue. These are notes exclusively for the teacher, prepared in this way in order to suggest the method to be pursued and the points to be elaborated. We take it for granted, how- ever, that each teacher will introduce the questions in his own way and draw out the answers in any manner he finds most feasible. The members of the class do not see these notes and really should not know of their existence. The aim is, as far as possible, to get the boys and girls to see the points of the lessons as coming out of their own experience, leaving them to give the answers wherever this is possible, and so having them feel that what is being taught them may really come to them through what is going on in their own lives. To be sure, this method may be carried too far, and the teacher ought always to make the young feel that he knows more than they do. At times the method of instruction should be dogmatic. We may be obliged to say that we know this to be true, because it has been found out through hundreds and thousands of years in the experience of other people. In this way we can go on with one habit after an- other, as, for instance, "Generosity" or " Stinginess ;" habits of "Borrowing," "Being Lazy," "Swearing," THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. I4I "Being Studious," "Pride," "Perseverance," "Or- der," "Humility," " Self-Denial," or "Procrastina- tion." We may discuss such a habit as " Consideration for Others." Any amount of talk can be aroused over what such a habit really means. We begin, for instance, with an illustration of a young man in a crowded street car, where an old person, feeble in health or strength, comes in, together with a beautiful young woman ; and the man gives his seat to the young woman, leaving the old person standing. Was that true consideration for others ? If not, why ? What was wrong with the motive ? Then we can show the various reasons for displaying true consideration for others, and the meth- ods of doing it. A fine opportunity is offered in such a theme for discussing what the word "gentleman" or " gentlemanlike," " lady " or " ladylike," really means ; so that the boys and girls may get some definite idea of these terms in their earlier years, and may be able to see that the spirit of the " lady " or " gentleman " is shown, not by the mere forms in dealing with others, but by a true consideration for people's feelings, inasmuch as con- duct of this kind is concerned with what is on the in- side, rather than what is on the outside. We may go on with the habits of " Bravery," of " Play," " Cheating," " Teasing," " Frugality " — dis- tinguishing between the habit of "being saving" with money, and the larger frugality of being saving in the way of using one's time or employing one's efforts, A very successful lesson — especially with the boys — deals with the subject of " Being Soldierly," and what ad- vantages are offered for developing a broader and higher idea of chivalry ; at the same time the elemental feature 142 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. of becoming " soldierly " involved in the idea of drill, opens up the whole subject as to the method for acquir- ing good habits, and how such habits can be strength- ened only by a slow process of drill, so that a man may acquire the habit of courage, of truth, or of generosity only by the same sort of drill or discipline by which one becomes a good soldier. Then, about the age of ten or eleven, we pass on to a series of studies connected with the "institutions," or what we might call " institutional life," taking up from year to year, first the " Home," then " Citizenship and One's Country," and afterwards the " Self," or " The Duties to One's Self." We begin with the Home as the simpler study, and a subject most easily understood by the young. Natur- ally we do not talk to them of " institutions " or " insti- tutional life." To them it is just home. The teacher at the outset, talking about the subject for the years' study, may have a bird's nest in his hand, and introduce the subject of "home' with a talk about the "nest." There is the question as to what makes home. Is it the house we live in ? the place ? the locality ? or the people? What constitutes "home?" In what way is home unlike any other place in the world ? And here the point comes out that in the home, more than any- where else, we belong together. We do not work for pay, nor do we share, in the home, according to what we do but rather according to what we need. The young can see how it is, therefore, that in the family there is a "clinging together" that exists nowhere else in the world. THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. I43 Along with this must come the study of the relations between the different members of the home, beginning, naturally, with the relation of the child to the father and the mother. There comes the query what the young owe to their fathers and mothers. " Obedience," for in- stance, is the answer. Then, what does obedience mean ? There must be a series of lessons telling about the subject of obedience and submission to father and mother. There comes in the old illustration about " eye-service " and obeying in the letter and not in the spirit, with some of the reasons why the young should obey father and mother. Then there should be a talk about what father and mother do for their children. The children are to name over everything they can pos- sibly think of that is done for them by their parents. But when the final question comes as to why one should obey, this theme always ends with the one cru- cial answer : Because they are my father and mother. These words are to be lodged with a fixity in the mind as if beyond analysis or explanation. Then there is to be a talk concerning obedience in the larger sense, and what it means. The young are to understand that they are not to obey simply because they are young, but because obedience is a great, uni- versal rule of life, and that all persons of all ages are obliged to obey. They can see from their school-life how their teacher, whom they have to obey, must sub- mit to the rules prescribed by the principal of the school ; how the principal must submit to the rules of the school board, and how the school board must sub- mit to the rules laid down by the city government or by the people ; and it can be shown how, in the work we have to do, whatever employment we have, while we 144 THE PLAN ON AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. may be in a position to command certain persons, there are others who are in a position to command us. The wage-earner must submit to the man in the office ; the man in the office to the president of the company ; and the president to his board of directors. One very important lesson is concerned with what we owe to our fathers and mothers when we are grown up, and it is to be shown how mean and base those people are who neglect their aged parents. As an illustration of these various lessons I select from the course of the year's study a portion of the one dealing with the " Meaning of Obedience ": Did you ever hear of the phrase " eye-servant " ? " No," you say, "you have never heard of it." But can you guess what it would mean ? Suppose I give you an example. Have you ever known a pet dog to take food from the family table when no one was in the room, although he would never do it if anybody were present? "Some dogs would not doit," you say. Yes, that is true, but how about all kinds of dogs ? " Oh," you answer, " there are other dogs which would steal in just that way." And so you really call it stealing, do you? But why was it that the dog dared to take the food when nobody was present? "Why," you answer, " he somehow felt that nobody was seeing him, and so that nobody would know anything about it." You mean, do you, then, that he was a dog who would obey when somebody had an eye on him ? Do you begin to see what is meant by an "eye-servant"? What sense is there in that kind of a term ? " You know now," you answer? Well, what does it mean? "Oh," you say, "it means anybody who obeys when he is being watched, and dis- obeys when nobody can see him." Yes, I suspect that you have found out what is meant by " eye-service." Did you ever see any persons working harder when somebody is near looking at them — when, for instance, their teacher or father or mother is near — and then working more carelessly when nobody is near ? What is the difference between such conduct and the dog we have talked about ? " It is pretty much the same," you say. THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. I45 Then what would you call such persons? "Eye-servants?" Yes, that is the word ; we should call them eye-servants. And do you think people who follow rules in that way can say that the}* are obedient? Is that real obedience, or is it " make- believe "? You answer, " it is make-believe." What is it, then, that you lose in the mind of your father and mo- ther when they discover your disobedience ? You have answered that question already in the other illustration. "Their confidence and trust," you say. Yes, that is just it. Then when a person disobeys under those circumstances, he has done something else besides showing disobedience, has he not? He has shown, besides, that he cannot be trusted. But do you think that this sort of disobedience ever takes place among grown people ? Perhaps you don't understand my question, as you don't answer. But if, when you are grown up and there are a number of you working together, and you have agreed to work according to cer- tain rules ; then suppose that only one of you should be present at the work for a time, and he should break the rules because it would be easier, although it would make more work for the rest of you when you came back. Now when you found that other one out, what would he have lost in your respect? "Your confidence," you say? Exactly. And what would you be inclined to call that man ; would he not be like the dog you have described ? How would you name him ? " An eye-servant?" Yes, that would be it, exactly. Do you think then that a boy or girl who would do that way with a father or mother might have the same habit when grown up, and dealing with other people? I wonder if you can think of another term for that sort of disobedience. Suppose you write it down, I will spell it for you. There is the word — "Cheating." Is not such disobedience a kind of cheating towards your parents when you are children, or toward grown people when they are grown up ? You said, however, that if one acted in this respect towards one's father or mother and were found out, one would lose their confidence. But suppose one were not found out, then would it make any difference? "Not so far as father and mother would be concerned," you say. But would it make any difference at all ? "Yes," you answer, "it might lead one to do it again, and so be found out next time." But suppose you would not be found out next time, yet in that case you would lose something ; can I46 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. you think what it is? Self what? "You don't know?" Well, write it down — I will tell you — Self-respect ! You would lose your own self-respect. Talking of this subject of obedience leads me to one other rather curious question. I suppose you admire courage ; we all do. Does it take more pluck or courage to obey or disobey ? For instance, when a boy or girl says ' ' I won't," does that show that he is weak or strong ? "Oh," you say, "it shows courage; he is bold; he is able to say that, even if he is going to be punished." Then you would admire him, would you, when he says "I won't"? But if, when you ask him a favor, suppose at that moment he should say " no, I won't "; would that show courage on his part? It would be boldness and defiance, " No," you answer, "it would be mean." When we talk about courage, do we usually understand by the word doing easy things or hard things? "Why," you say, "it usually means doing hard things, perhaps doing things that we don't like to do." Now which comes easier, when a man has something disagree- able before him that he has been told to do, to say "I won't," or to go and do it? "Why," you say, "it is easier to say 'I won't.'" Then which is the courageous course? I wonder if you ever knew of a boy or girl who was laughed at because he was going to do something which he had been told to do by his father or mother. What if he had given in to the laugh- ter of the other boys and girls and not shown obedience, would that have been courage or cowardice? "Oh, that would have been a kind of cowardice," you say. Then it looks, does it not, as if showing obedience, after all, meant showing courage, and that it is the coward who tries not to obey, or who tries to sneak out of what he has to do ? Talking of grown people, of those who become strong, power- ful men, do you think, as a rule, they were the kind of boys who were obedient or disobedient — which ? We go on into a study of the relation between the children themselves in the home, what they owe to each other, and what is the fundamental principle under- lying such a relationship. Sometimes, in answer to a question of this kind, we give them a word or phrase THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 47 which they are permanently to remember. Each of our classes has a small blackboard at hand, and when there are any special terms or phrases that we care to lodge permanently in the minds of the boys and girls, we have the word or phrase written on the blackboard by one of the members of the class. It is to stay there for a time before their eyes, and by this means to receive special emphasis. In this way we give the young the term " mutual service' as something they are always to remember, describing the relationship between brothers and sisters in the home, what this relationship has to be at the out- set, and what it should be all through life. We must go into some discussion as to the feelings that may develop among boys and girls in the home ; what leads to bad feelings ; how, to some extent, those feelings can be avoided. We may raise the question, why in one home brothers and sisters are fond of each other, and in another home do not seem to care for each other at all ; — why, again, when boys and girls grow up, in certain families a feeling of "mutual service" contin- ues all through life ; whereas, in other families, this seems to die out altogether. The question as to the relationship between brothers and sisters when they are grown up cannot be too strongly dwelt upon. They must see that it may be necessary for them to use special effort in order to preserve the relationship of mutual service among themselves as brothers and sisters in the way it prevailed in the earlier years of their home-life. In the study of the home there must be a talk about the " Family Table," and what it means ; why we have a family table ; what reasons there are for taking our I48 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. meals together ; what are the common courtesies at the family table ; the reasons for refinement in table man- ners ; why it is that people take their meals together, rather than each one eat as he pleases or when he pleases. The opportunity is afforded here of contrast- ing the way animals eat, with the family table of a refined, civilized home. Anyone can see the importance of having a talk about " Sickness and Sorrow " in the home, and how we ought to conduct ourselves under these circumstances ; as to what can be done to be of service at such times ; how we can be of assistance to those who are sick ; and in what way we can try to be less selfish if we happen to be sick ourselves. This subject also carries one far beyond the study of childhood, and the main thought of the lesson should rather be directed further ahead to the time when the young will be grown up and have to consider how they should conduct themselves in homes of their own when there is illness there, or when they themselves are the afflicted ones. In connection with the study of the Home as an institution, we introduce a series of lessons explaining the meaning of Festivals. It adds a little variety or charm to what may seem like the monotony of the subject. Hence, for instance, in this special series of lessons, the Sunday after " Thanksgiving Day " is de- voted to a talk about that festival, what it means, how it arose, what sort of significance it may have, or what it stands for. So, too, during the holidays, a Sunday morning is devoted to a talk as to the meaning of the Christmas festival. One other Sunday morning in the year is given in the THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1 49 Home studies to a talk about " Birthdays ; " why we commemorate birthdays ; the sentiments connected with them ; what reason there may be for recognizing each other's birthdays, or the birthdays of great men. In this connection, some idea may be given to the young of what we mean by " Memorial Days," and why we have them in connection with famous persons who have been of service to the world. At Easter-time, of course, we must give one lesson to an analysis of the Easter festival. We wish naturally to give a wider significance to it than it receives in the con- ventional Sunday-school ; and so we connect it with the universal "Spring Festival;' with the thought of the renewal of the life of Nature. And the lesson may be connected with some " Nature poetry." In dealing with this study of the Home, the teacher is sure to find that, ere long, the members of the class become a little weary of the theme. Before the season ends one or another of the children is quite sure to be overheard saying " Oh, I am tired of the Home." And yet we wish, as far as possible, to avoid having this feel- ing arise. As a result of such experience, we have in- troduced another feature in connection with these Home studies, and one that has worked quite happily in avoid- ing the monotony of just one theme for a whole season. Along with the study of Home, or Family Life, we have a series of studies telling of the home or social life in the great Animal Kingdom. In a way, this part of the lesson can also be made subsidiary to the main theme, while adding charm and variety to it. It will be very readily found that the children would be only too glad to employ the whole lesson hour throughout the year talking about animals and telling animal stories. 150 THE PLAN OF AN ETHICAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. We need take only from ten to fifteen minutes of the morning lesson for this purpose, perhaps studying the home or social life of one type of animal each Sunday. At one time it may be the home life among birds ; then again, among fishes, and we tell about sticklebacks and their nests. Another Sunday there may be some talk about the termites and the colonies or homes which they build for themselves. Here and there we can introduce beautiful stories dealing with animal life, as, for instance, making use of Kipling's " The White Seal." Then, too, we can go into some little account of the home and social life of the larger animals ; to what extent they live by themselves ; how they take care of their young ; to what extent they have separate homes, or live in herds or colonies. At the same time, we take the greatest care that these animal stories shall not be of all sorts and kinds, just with the idea of amus- ing or entertaining the children. We adhere rigidly to our theme, and nothing is to be introduced or talked about in these animal studies save in connection with the home, family or social life of animals. On the other hand, this study affords an opportunity of show- ing the superiority of human beings over the whole Animal Kingdom, in that they preserve the family relationship all through life ; whereas, for the most part throughout the Animal Kingdom, it is only a relationship between parent and child during the early portion of life when the young cannot take care of themselves. iHTEf^ATIOFlALi JoU^^aii op Ethics EDITORIAL COMMITTEE. HENRY C. ADAMS, Ph. D., Ann Arbor HAROLD HOFFDING, Ph. D., Copen- FELIX ADLER, Ph. D., New York hagen GIACOMO BARZELOTTI, Ph. D.,Na- J. S. MACKENZIE, M. A., Cardiff, pies Wales STANTON COIT, Ph. D., London J. H. MUIRHEAD, M. A., Birming- ALFRED FOUILLEE, Ph. D., Paris ham, Eng. FR. JODL, Ph. D., Vienna JOS1AH ROYCE, Ph. D., Cambridge Managing Editor, S. BURNS WESTON, Philadelphia. APRIL NUMBER ETHICAL SURVIVALS IN MUNICIPAL CORRUPTION. Jane Addams. THEORY AND PRACTICE. J. B. Baillie, Edinburgh University. THE ETHICAL MOTIVE. Franklin H. Giddings, Columbia University. SELF-REALIZATION AS A WORKING MORAL PRINCIPLE. Henry Sturt, Oxford, England. THE MORAL VALUE OF SILENCE. Felix Abler, New York. DISCUSSION AND BOOK REVIEWS. JULY NUMBER THE NATIONAL ARBITRATION LAW. F. J. Stimson, Boston. THE BEARINGS OF PHILOSOPHY ON EDUCATION. J. S. Mackenzie Cardiff, Wales. THE BROTHERS OF SINCERITY. Thomas Davidson, New York. PHILOSOPHY AND THE ACTIVITY-EXPERIENCE. William Caldwell, Northwestern University. DEFECTIVE CHILDREN : THEIR RIGHTS AND THEIR NEEDS. Mar- tin W. Barr, M. D., Philadelphia. SIDGWICK AND SCHOPENHAUER ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF MO- RALITY. Michael Macmillan, Bombay, India. BOOK REVIEWS. "This is the ablest of all magazines dealing with ethical questions, and is simply indispensable to students and thinkers on these subjects." — Boston Herald. JRNAL OF ETHICS, 1305 YEARLY, $2.50. SINGLE NUMBERS, 65 CTS. Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. LD URL MAY 24 31) N \2® ii FEB 1 2 19 AUG 05 muv 1 2C04 NOVO Form L9-50m-7,'54 (5990)444 the Place of a Church? by FELIX adlek ; vvriaiiu ucuovc. #-».. Ethical Creed ; by W. L. Sheldon; Moral and Spiritual Educa- tion of Children, W. Sanford Evans ; The Progress of the Eth- ical Movement, by F. W. Foerster ; The Justice of the Single Tax, by W. M. Salter; The Modern Attitude Toward Religion,, by Prof. Morris Jastrow ; Why Progress Is so Slow. Edward Bellamy Again, by W. L. Sheldon ; Does Justice Triumph in the End? A Study of Shakespeare's " Lear," by W. L. Sheldon. Each Series, bound in fine cloth, cents. 75 cents postpaid ; single numbers,, S. BURNS WESTON, 1305 Arch St., Philadelphia. TTIE LIBRARY TERSITY OF CALIFQ2U04L LOS ANGELES ^w&ooidJXPTHp \m\ y* ^'. f%0 a* >v* V*-