reach distinction, - these are well; but to form the character is the great acquisition. Without it, the rest is but accumulating treasures to be laid down at the tomb. Some things may be taught, but virtue must be acquired; some things may be imparted, but a good character must be won; riches and honor may be inherited, but heaven and immortality must be earned. Men may clothe, and feed, and honor you; but they cannot educate you; that you must do for yourself. The opportunity is nothing; the use you make of it is every thing. The written volume might as well be a burnt roll of Herculaneum, and the bright tuition of Christ but the mummery of a savage, if you do not apply your own intellect vigorously, and submit your own life actively to their power. You yourself might as well have been born a wild rover of the forest, or a dumb inhabitant of the ocean, if you will not cultivate that character which alone makes you truly superior to them, nor lay hold on that glory, honor, and immortality, by securing which you alone make your being of longer continuance than theirs. Be persuaded of this, and live accordingly. Take fast hold of Instruction; let her not go; keep her; for SHE IS YOUR

LIFE.

SERMON XXI.

EDUCATION THE BUSINESS OF LIFE.

PHILIPPIANS III. 12.

NOT AS THOUGH I HAD ALREADY ATTAINED, EITHER WERE ALREADY PERFECT; BUT I FOLLOW AFTER, IF THAT I MAY APPREHEND THAT FOR WHICH ALSO I AM APPREHENDED OF CHRIST JESUS.

We were engaged, in the morning, with some remarks on the nature and objects of education, regarded as the business of human life. I proceed, as proposed, to make application of the doctrine then advanced to the circumstances of the present occasion. This I do in the spirit and under the guidance of the sentiment expressed by Paul in the text. That sentiment, which he uttered in reference to the Christian progress, is the suitable one to be adopted by all who, to-day or at any time, are surveying the course they have past, and from one step in human progress are advancing to another. In point of knowledge and character, they must feel that they have not yet attained, are not yet perfect; their education is not completed; they are yet to follow after, to press forward, to strive further, for the perfection that is required of them. That perfection is moral and immortal. Christ is the guide to it. That he may lead them to it, he has apprehended them, that is, has seized upon them, has urged his doctrines on their regard, and his motives on

their conscience; and they are bound, therefore, like the apostle, to attempt also to seize upon, to apprehend, that which he has laid before them; namely, their moral perfection.

This sentiment, applicable to all the acquisitions of human education, I would urge on the attention of those who are about to leave this place of instruction. Although, in the language of the world, they have "finished their education," let them be persuaded that they have only begun it, and that to complete it is henceforth to be the business of their life.

This is the point to which I ask their attention; and if I can succeed in making them aware of its magnitude, and in earnest to lay their plans accordingly, I shall feel that a worthy close has been put to the teaching and worship of this place.

I. Their business henceforth is to carry on to its completion the education here begun.

We have seen that there are three purposes to be accomplished by that education; namely, the development of the faculties, the acquisition of knowledge, and fitness for the future calling of the individual. In respect to each of these, the remark is to be made, that they have not yet attained, they are not yet perfect, they are to follow after. The development of the faculties is as yet but partial. The minds of few of them have approached their maturity. Many have been cultivated so partially, by being exercised on certain favorite subjects, to the comparative neglect of others, that some of their faculties lie almost dormant and untried; and those which have been universally exercised have yet been so imperfectly disciplined, that their whole force and capacity are not yet tested. Then, too, they havẹ evidently but commenced the acquisition of knowledge.

They have learned just enough to understand how much is yet to be known, and to be introduced to a Pisgah sight of the rich lands before them. As to what is styled a classical education in the older countries, no university on this side the water pretends to impart it; and if our scholars ever intend to stand up with the masters of the other hemisphere, they must esteem their labors to be only begun when they leave the bosom of alma mater. In like manner, for the professional labors of life, they yet have the chief preparation to make; and they can enter on them hopefully only by resolving to continue the studious diligence manifested hitherto. In regard to moral character, the same remark is still more emphatically just. The subjection of the will to the conscience; the obedience of the appetite and passions to the law of right; the habitual selfcontrol, gentleness, disinterestedness, and generosity of feeling and action, which make the honorable and amiable man; the purity, devoutness, and spirituality, which make the religious and immortal man,-in regard to these high requisites of character, how many are but children, wayward, self-willed, self-indulgent, lawless, godless! How many have but just awakened to their moral responsibility, have scarcely begun the serious discipline of life, and are seen feeling their way along, vacillating and unsteady! How few have arrived at a settled, single-hearted purpose and pursuit of excellence as the principal thing! How few have made up their minds that virtue is the chief good, that God is the first of friends, that Christ is the best of masters, that heaven is the most desirable possession! And as for those who have received this holy conviction, and devoted themselves to it with resolute principle, how deeply do they feel, they have not yet attained, are not yet perfect!

None of these objects are

as yet accomplished. Life is

henceforth to be devoted to them.

II. Let us attend to some suggestions on the manner in which this is to be done, in connection with the principles laid down in the previous discourse.

1. It is to be done, first, by continuing the course of intellectual action already begun.

It is a strange fact, that many, whose early years have given them the best opportunities of intellectual culture, no sooner arrive at manhood, and choose their own pursuits, than they abandon their habits of mental activity, and enter on engagements incompatible with studious life. The demand for action in this growing country is so great, and its rewards are so immediate and so dazzling, that young men are easily tempted to prefer the competitions of business to the unexciting toils of the library, and the ranks of sober scholarship are liable to be deplorably thinned. Let us not deny that the entrance of men highly educated into the various branches of business and all orders of society, may have a tendency, like so much leaven, to affect the whole community, pervade it with higher tastes, and give it a better tone. But let us remember that this can hardly be done if these individuals cease their intellectual habits, forsake their scholarly pursuits, and set no example of honoring, cherishing, and loving letters. If they would make good their apology, let them be found among the patrons of learning. Let them be distinguished for an interest in whatever enlarges and informs the mind. Let them be marked for the honor they do to their early studies, by retaining and displaying the savor of their influence. Let them evince a sense of their value by still dedicating to them their leisure, and finding in them their choice recreation. Let them