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and it is vain to think of correcting the one without removing the other, to think of improving the morals without cultivating the intellectual powers. For, while ignorant and thoughtless men are prone to evil, thoughtful and contemplative habits subdue the passions, and bring the animal into subjection to the spiritual nature, raising man above sensual gratifications, and enabling him to occupy the exalted rank in creation which his beneficent Creator designed him to fill.

But how are thoughtless people to be induced to think? How are the dormant faculties of uncultivated intellect to be brought into action?

It has been asserted, that, in a spiritual being, thought and existence are inseparable, and that to cease to think, it must cease to exist. It may be said, with equal truth, that in an animal being, motion and life are inseparable, and that to cease to move it must cease to live. But as there is a difference between mere motion and useful motion, so there is a difference between mere thought, or consciousness of existence, and useful and intelligent reflection. What can be more simple than the art of walking, yet it requires years of practice to do it without stumbling. Were it possible for a person to arrive at maturity without ever having walked; his strength, if he had any, would give his first attempts but little superiority over the futile efforts of the infant; but as strength is derived from exercise, he would be in that, also, deficient. It is much the same with the reasoning powers: without practice, the man is not only ignorant how to use them, but he is destitute of intellectual strength; and as it is scarcely practicable to make a person understand the value of what he never had, and of which he has no conception, so it is proportionally difficult to convince ignorant persons of the value of reason, and the importance of cultivating their intellectual faculties.

The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge has done much towards correct. ing immorality and vice, by improving men's minds, and giving them a taste for higher and nobler enjoyments; and it might do more, were greater discretion used in the selection of their works, and more regularity observed in publishing, not allowing years to intervene between the numbers of a treatise, and thereby rendering it, for the time, useless.

The propriety of admitting the workingclasses, gratuitously, to exhibitions of paint ing and sculpture, has been suggested as a means of improving their taste and exalting their minds; and I think if they were ad

mitted freely to the royal palaces, parks, and gardens, the abbeys, cathedrals, and other public buildings, it would do much towards raising them from the grovelling pursuits in which, at present, they are engaged.

Mechanics' Institutions have been another powerful means of raising and improving the human intellect; and the establishment of coffee and reading rooms, may be said to constitute a new era in the history of the human mind, substituting, as they do, a sober for an intoxicating beverage, quiet for noise, and wholesome intellectual entertainment for gaming and strife. All these means united would do much towards forming the taste, improving the mind, and thereby refining and humanizing the man; for as it has been observed by a lover of natural sublimity, speaking of the majestic Snowden, "that it was impossible to ascend to its summit, and not come down a better man," so I believe it impossible frequently to contemplate the beauties and wonders of nature and art, without improving in morals, as well as increasing in wisdom. "As when a wretch, from thick polluted air, Darkness, and stench, and suffocating damps, And dungeon-horrors, by kind fate discharged, Climbs some fair eminence, where æther pure Surrounds him, and Elysian prospects rise; His heart exults, his spirits cast their load, As if new-born, he triumphs in the change! So joys the soul, when from inglorious aims And sordid sweets, from feculence and froth Of ties terrestrial, set at large, she mounts To reason's region, her own element, Breathes hopes immortal, and affects the skies."

But while the success, attending the efforts made to raise the intellectual and moral character of the working-classes, has been sufficient to cheer the hearts and strengthen the hands of those philanthropists who have devoted time, talents, and wealth to this great work, past experience convinces us, that we must begin with youth, if we would accomplish any great and general improvement in the human mind. Our youth must be taught to think. They who suppose education consists in merely teaching children the knowledge of letters and figures, have but an imperfect idea of the delightful task," which is

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to rear the tender thought,
To teach the young idea how to shoot,
To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind,
To breathe th' enlivening spirit, and to fix
The generous purpose in the glowing breast."

These are objects not to be attained by a mere knowledge of letters. Reason forms the grand distinction between the human race and the brute creation; but reason uncultivated is dormant, and a dormant faculty is wholly inoperative; consequently, where the intellectual powers or reasoning facul ties are not cultivated, and brought into

action by a judicious system of instruction, no difference can be seen between immortal man, and the brutes which perish. Enough has already been said, to prove that reason cannot act unless properly trained; and while this noble faculty lies dormant, no benefit can be derived from its mere possession.

Much has been said, both by way of boast and sneer, respecting the "march of intellect." But, alas! where is it? We read of such a thing; but among men, where shall we find it? Much has been said, also, about the march of education, and it is echoed from place to place, that "the school-master is abroad." The ignorance I see on all sides, loudly proclaims he is not at home! I do not deny that the knowledge of letters is more widely diffused than formerly; but I do assert, with out fear of contradiction, that little, very little, has been done towards the cultivation of the intellect, towards training and bringing into action that ennobling faculty, Reason, which raises man above the animal tribes. The "march of intellect" has scarcely yet commenced, neither will it, until an efficient system of mental cultivation is adopted in our schools.

It has been asserted, that memory is the only faculty of which the teacher can avail himself; a more erroneous and pernicious opinion could not be entertained. Yet it has been very generally adopted, and to this may be ascribed, in part, the past inefficiency of education, for no beneficial results can be expected from burdening the memory, while the reason is neglected; nor will any great improvement in morals be effected, until a more intellectual system of education is generally pursued; and, therefore, in conclusion, I shall submit to the reader the following brief outline of such a system.

The pupils having been taught reading, writing, and the first four rules of arithmetic, the teacher ought to commence a course of instruction in Geometry, which may be done by writing on boards the definitions, postulates, and axioms, and hanging them up in the school-room, frequently directing the attention of the pupils to them, and instructing and questioning them upon their import, until he is satisfied they are perfectly understood and remembered. may then proceed with the propositions, by working one with chalk on a black board before the pupils, explaining and demonstrating it as he goes on, and questioning them until they understand it. They ought then to endeavour to work the same propo sition on their slates without assistance, and shew it to him, when, if wrong, he must point out the error, and make them do it

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again, after which they may proceed in the same manner with the next, and so on. This process may appear slow at first, but the pupils will soon become expert, and it will be found an easy and pleasant way of training youth to form comparisons and draw conclusions, which are the first steps towards correct reasoning.

From reasoning on geometrical questions, an ingenious teacher will find it easy to advance to questions in philosophy, and from thence to theology, thus gradually proceeding from things seen to things unseen, from things natural to things spiritual, not by encumbering the memory with words, but by enlightening the mind with clear and correct ideas. For however highly creeds and catechisms may be prized, and however valuable they may be in the hands of intelligent christian parents, who, teaching their own children, will explain them in a manner adapted to the juvenile understanding, it is well-known that they are more frequently learnt than understood; and much as some may think of committing to memory, in youth, words only to be understood in after life, ere which they will probably be forgotten, it must be admitted, that time might be more profitably employed in acquiring correct ideas.

The existence of the Supreme Being, his attributes, his cognizance of human actions, man's immortality, a future state of rewards and punishments, the inspiration of the scriptures, the duty of prayer, &c. &c., may all be demonstrated by a process that will not rise above the comprehension of a school-boy. Thus will the mind be improved by exercising its powers in reasoning on the great fundamental truths and doctrines of Christianity, teaching not the differences, but the agreements, of Christians, and preparing the mind to receive that charity which beareth, believeth, hopeth, and endureth all things.

Does any one object to reasoning on religious subjects, and assert it to be our duty passively to receive, and implicitly to believe, the doctrines contained in our authorized formularies? I would remind him, that it is the duty of all, at all times, to be able to give a reason for the hope which is in them, and thus put to silence gainsayers. He who takes his religious opinions without examination or reflection, cannot be stedfast in the faith; for "Reason is the root, fair Faith is but the flower," and he will be liable to be carried about by every wind of doctrine, and to fall an easy prey to the sophistries of designing sceptics. But those who have the truths of religion demonstrated to them, and their minds exercised by rea

soning, will be established in its principles, and be proof against all the snares and temptations of man's arch enemy, and his most subtile agents.

The teacher ought further to use his utmost endeavour to implant in his pupils a taste for instructive and profitable reading, and to lead them to reflect on what they read, and to understand it, by frequent questions and explanations. Nothing will tend more to improve the taste, cultivate the intellect, and exalt the man, than extensive reading, where a judicious selection of books has been made, and it has been accompanied by suitable instruction.

To aid them in understanding what they read, they ought to be instructed in geography, and have maps explained to them; the latter might easily be done, by drawing a plan of the neighbourhood in which they live. As the mind expands, such pictures, figures, and other works of art as lie within their reach, may be exhibited, and their respective beauties and defects pointed out, and thus the principles of true criticism will be implanted in their minds, without which there can be no real taste. Further, the elements of astronomy, zoology, entomology, botany, mineralogy, conchology, and the various sciences embraced by natural philosophy, might be introduced to their notice, thus leading them

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To some not steep, though philosophic, height,
Thence to exhibit to their wond'ring eyes
Yon circling worlds, their distance, and their size,
The moons of Jove, and Saturn's belted-ball,
And the harmonious order of them all;

To shew them in an insect or a flow'r
Such microscopic proof of skill and pow'r,
As, hid from ages past, God now displays,
To combat atheists with in modern days;
To spread the Earth before them, and commend,
With designation of the finger's end,
Its various parts to their attentive note,
Thus bringing home to them the most remote;
To teach their hearts to glow with gen'rous flame,
Caught from the deeds of men of ancient fame:
And, more then all, with commendation due,
To set some living worthy in their view,
Whose fair example may at once inspire
A wish to copy, what they must admire.
Such knowledge gain'd betimes, and which appears,
Though solid, not too weighty for their years,
Sweet in itself, and not forbidding sport,
When health demands it, of athletic sort,
Would make them-what some lovely boys have
been,

And more than one, perhaps, that I have seen—
An evidence and reprehension both

Of the mere school-boy's lean and tardy growth."

Not that I consider it possible or necessary for children to remain long enough at school to acquire a profound knowledge of all these sciences, but merely to give them an opportunity of making a choice of one, the study of which may furnish amusement for the leisure hours of after life. This will impart a sufficiency of preliminary instruction

to qualify them for future study, and provide a cheap, innocent, improving, and satisfying

recreation.

Does any one object that " a little learning is a dangerous thing?" Admitting the truth of the assertion, I ask, What is a little learning? A knowledge of the alphabet is a little learning; there can be no less, and if a little learning is dangerous, the smallest possible quantity of learning must be fraught with the greatest possible danger; and as it is impossible to prevent the acquisition of a little learning, the only remedy is, to impart as much as possible, since it must be evident that every advance in knowledge must be a remove from the dangerous point. But as I have in a former article * answered the most popular objections to universal and unlimited education, I shall conclude with exhorting every true patriot and philanthropist to exert himself in the cause of universal education and mental cultivation.

London, June 5th, 1832.

ON TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES.

G. Y.

MR. EDITOR, SIR,-Having, in common with most of your readers, heard much of Temperance Societies, and believing the subject to be one of great importance, may I beg to suggest a few thoughts upon it, through the medium of the Imperial Magazine. In so doing, I have no wish to convey an idea that your readers in general need any remarks of mine on the subject of temperance as a christian virtue; but they may have many doubts on the subject of temperance societies, which I should feel it a high honour to be instrumental in removing.

If I should venture to remark, that much misconception seems to prevail on the subject, the observation will not be considered arrogant, when coupled with the confession, that few have participated more largely in this than myself. When I first heard of these societies, I scarcely thought them worthy of serious notice, and placed them amongst those well-intended but utopian schemes which sometimes float in the minds of worthy people, who have more zeal than knowledge, and yet are aiming to do good. However, an attentive reading of some of the publications of the society, brought home to my mind a conviction, which I felt it impossible to resist, that it was my immediate duty to abstain altogether from ardent spirits, except for medicinal purposes, and

"On the Importance of Educating the Children of the Poor."-Imp. Mag. July, 1831, page 321.

to do all I could to persuade others to do the same. Still I felt a very strong objection to signing a declaration to that effect it appeared to me, that having resolved for myself, my signature was, to say the least, quite unnecessary; and I thought it would savour a little of ostentation, and be like saying to all the world,-Come, see! how temperate I am!

But, upon a close examination, I became most deeply and thoroughly convinced of the fallacy of such reasoning; and felt it an honour and privilege to be permitted to add my humble name,-indeed, had not this been previously attended to, what I heard at the late important and memorable meeting at Exeter Hall would, I think, have decided the matter at once.

Amongst the tracts issued by the society, there is one written by the Solicitor-general of Ireland, entitled, " Objections to Subscribing a Declaration against the Use of Ardent Spirits, considered and answered." To that tract I would most earnestly call the attention of those of your readers who may still hesitate; and thankful shall I be, if they will read and weigh its contents, following the perusal with prayer for divine direction. The fear of occupying too much space in your pages, alone prevents me from transcribing page 3, and requesting its insertion in connexion with these imperfect hints.

Let none imagine that they are out of the reach of danger from intemperance. No doubt, many have thought the same, who are fallen into disgrace and ruin, and on this subject, "let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." And, let none imagine that neutrality here, is a matter of small importance. Let not the temperate man lend himself to the opposite side of this great question. By the providence of God, we are now furnished with an opportunity of doing that which may produce the most beneficial effects on the minds of our children, and many others within the circle of our influence. It may be said by some, that this applies only to public characters, or at least to those whose circle of influence is large,-this, however, is a great mistake. A certain writer remarks, "That every man has a circle of influence, whether he has clothes to his back, or not." Let us then willingly, joyfully, give our influence on this point, to the side of temperance. Why should we not do so? If we think that on our own account it is unnecessary-still let us think of others—let us think of the general welfare-let us not on this subject live any longer to ourselves, but giving thanks to

God that such a noble stand is made against one great source of misery and crime. Let us not withhold our individual sanction from a plan which must be innocent, which has already been attended with innumerable personal and relative advantages, and which, if generally sanctioned, may be productive of the happiest effects in all classes of the community.

The tract to which I have referred, as well as the other publication of the society, may be obtained, I believe, either at the office of the Temperance Society, or at Mr. Bagster, Bookseller, Paternoster Row. --Permit me to subscribe myself, yours, very respectfully,

June 22, 1832.

A CONSTANT READER.

CREATION-NO. V.

Second Series.

ON concluding the last article, we noted, "Thus far our discourse has been solely upon that magnificent luminary—the Sun -the ascendant of day; under the impression that all which is related by the inspired penman, Moses, of and respecting this orb, had a direct reference to the whole universe. It remains, that we discourse on the inferior luminary—the Moon-the ascendant of night, separately; because what is said of the moon, refers to this one sphere, our earth, almost exclusively.”

Eternity knows no period, and it is the province of time to note its own progress; because its existence is short and fleeting, and passing away, it bears with it all its being, who, amidst the swift career on which they are borne forward, need to be warned of this at every stage toward that futurity, into which they must so soon be launched; and no note can be more striking than periodical orbs, alternately illumed and dark, in the stillness of evening, the gloom of midnight, or at the dawn of day. The moon, therefore, the ascendant of night, is at once an enlightener and a monitor to mankind. Light was pronounced to be beautifully perfect before the sun was, and, in concert with the moon, no addition is made to that crown of creation; but certainly the sun eminently, and the moon in its degree, tend to the diffusion of light, and of course increase its splendour and its usefulness in creation.

Light, while it does not appear to be one with the body of the sun, is certainly not attached to the moon; for the moon, like the earth, is an opaque sphere; but the rays of light which issue from the luminous circumambient assemblage of light near

the sun, and strike the surface of the moon, are reflected thence to our earth, in great plenitude; because the earth is near the moon, and being a much larger sphere than it, receives many of these rays, and thus prevents them from being diffused through space.

In the exercise, however, of this important office, the diffusion of light, the earth is a moon, or light to the moon; and by reason of its superior magnitude, and being of course equally near, it is to the moon a powerful light indeed. Every single planet is also a light to its fellow planets; and those planets which are furnished with satellites, have moons at hand, and are moons to these, in a manner similar to our moon and our earth; while the great planet Saturn is furnished with a luminous ring, and the yet greater planet Jupiter with splendid belts, all of which, by reflection, diffuse light. Thus, light, that essential substance to creation, is kept in incessant action; and diffused and re-diffused in and throughout the universe, in perpetuity; and thus the assemblage of light constituting the sun, by its incessant action converts every planet in this system into a moon or a star to all the rest.

It is the language of Elohim to us, upon our earth, which announces the moon, to be a light to rule the night, in concert with the stars; because of its immediate vicinity to our abode; knowing that its vicinity would erect it into a greater light, during the absence of the sun's rays, than any other orb in the system. Had inspiration been vouchsafed, (and who knows that it has not?) to an inhabitant of any other sphere, then, instead of our moon, the moon, or moons, or ring, or belt, or perhaps, the nearest sphere, would have been announced, to be a light to rule the night, in a manner somewhat similar to the announcement made to us in respect of our

moon.

The sun is the ascendant of day. When he arises, every star is eclipsed; yea, even those which shine with light independent of and similar to his own: not a single luminary is visible throughout creation; in the blaze of his beams all other light is lost. The moon is, also, the ascendant of our night: When she arises, every star fades before her splendour, and the united light issuing from every orb in creation is by no means equal to the light which, reflected from her surface, lustres the earth. It is, therefore, true; "Elohim formed two magnificent luminaries: the grander, ascendant of day; and the inferior, of night." There they are, established in the expanse of

heaven, to diffuse light throughout the terraqueous-our earth consisting of land and water. Lift up your eyes, O ye nations; behold these, and praise the Creator. Were all the planets in a state of rest, certain portions of them would be involved in perpetual darkness, other portions would enjoy a twilight, and the remaining parts, in the full blaze of unceasing day, would be parched with heat intolerable. How salubrious, how beautiful, are the alternations of night and day; and with what serenity and ease do these flow out of the rotary motions of the spheres!

"For signs let these be." This is equally manifest, upon the earth, in respect of the moon as of the sun. The frequent and obvious changes in the position of the moon, in the area of its enlightened surface, and in the quantity of light reflected therefrom to the earth, are so obvious, that they are proverbial; and to say of any thing, that it is as changeable as the moon, is to mark it with a note of instability in the extreme. Yet, amidst all these changes, the precision of its full and wane, and of every intermediate period therein, are subjects to be calculated upon to a second of time, long prior to these results, and thus are the lunar months signs throughout the solar year.

"For

What a sign from month to month, of light and darkness, in their alternations and separations, of influx and reflux in the oceans and atmospheres, and of the stability of creation in its orbs, does this fleeting orb present-ever changing and eccentric, yet precise in its periods as the earth, and stable as the mountains; whoso runneth may read, in letters of light there, the verity of inspiration from Deity to men, and the truth of God, in His word and in His works; for, of these is the moon a sign throughout the ages of the earth. seasons, for days, and for years." If solar days, months, and years, exist, so also do lunar; and the round of the seasons is meted out on earth, from equinox to equinox, by the phases of the moon, as distinctly as the hand of time can note his progressions and periods to mankind. We behold the sun and it is day; he is hidden behind the earth, and lo, it is night—thick darkness surrounds our dwellings, and the golden-tinted landscape of day, fraught with verdure and joy, ceases from before us; anon the silver moon arises, and its milder day diffuses, far and wide, that joy which fled with the setting sun, to remoter regions of our sphere; and anew, above, beneath and around, it reigns, in light, ascendant of night, recreating vision; but

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