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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 AC 8 .G74 1831 
 
 Grimk e, Thomas Smith, 1786- 
 
 1834. 
 
 Reflections on the charactei 
 
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REFLECTIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 CHARACTER AND OBJECTS 
 
 OF ALL 
 
 SCIENCE AND LITERATURE, 
 
 AND ON THE 
 
 RELATIVE EXCELLENCE AND VALUE 
 
 OF 
 
 RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR EDUCATION, 
 
 AND OF 
 
 SACRED AND CLASSICAL LITERATURE: 
 
 IN 
 
 TWO ADDRESSES AND AN ORATION WITH ADDITIONS AND 
 
 IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING 
 
 A letter, on the study of the Bible, lo the Committee appointed by the 
 Literary Convention, held at New York, Oct. 20, 1830; and an 
 address, delivered at Charleston, (S. C.) at the dedication of 
 a building designed as a depository for Bibles, Tracts 
 and Sunday School Books, and for anniversary 
 celebrations of Religious Societies. 
 
 / 
 
 BY THOMAS SMITH GRIMKE, 
 
 OF CHARLESTON, S. C, 
 
 NEW HAVEN: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY HEZEKIAH HOWE. 
 
 1831. 
 
DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT, ss. 
 
 ******* Be it remembered, that on the fourth day of April, A. D. 
 
 *L. S.| 1831, Hezekiah Howe, of said District, hath deposited in this 
 
 ******* Office, the title of a Book, the title of which, is in the words fol¬ 
 lowing, to wit:— 
 
 “ Reflections on the character and objects of all Science and Litera¬ 
 ture, and on the relative excellence and value of Religious and secular 
 education, and of Sacred and Classical Literature: in two addresses and 
 an oration with additions and improvements. With an Appendix contain¬ 
 ing a letter, on the study of the Bible, to the committee appointed by the 
 Literary Convention, held at New York, Oct. 20, 1830; and an address, 
 delivered at Charleston, (S. C.) at the dedication of a building designed 
 as a depository for Bibles, Tracts and Sunday School Books, and for an¬ 
 niversary celebrations of Religious Societies. By Thomas Smith Grimke, 
 of Charleston, S. C.” 
 
 The right whereof, he claims as Proprietor, in conformity with an Act 
 of Congress, entitled “ An act to amend the several acts respecting Copy 
 Rights.’ 5 
 
 CHAS. A. INGERSOLL, Clerk of the District of Connecticut. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The three following tracts are on subjects, among the most 
 important and interesting, that can engage the attention of 
 Americans. I have believed that to revise and reprint 
 them at this time, with a view to some discussions connect¬ 
 ed with the University of the city of New York, would nei¬ 
 ther be useless nor unacceptable to its Founders, and Pat¬ 
 rons, and to the Friends of Education generally. I do not 
 indeed flatter myself, that I shall produce any decided im¬ 
 pressions favorable to my views, at all events immediately; 
 for I well know that the majority of educated men are 
 against me, on most of the points, which I present, especial¬ 
 ly respecting mathematical and classical studies. I have 
 not, how T ever, been deterred by the array of great names, in 
 Europe and America, from the exercise of a candid, inde¬ 
 pendent judgment, on our existing schemes of education. 
 To my conclusions against the opinions and practices of so 
 many great and good men, I have been led gradually and de¬ 
 liberately, through the experience and reflections of more 
 than twenty years. The prepossessions of youth and of 
 early manhood, were all in favor of the Classics and Mathe¬ 
 matics. I have then, at least, the satisfaction of knowing, 
 that, like the heathen converted to Christianity, I have 
 wrought out my present convictions against the power of 
 prejudice, the authority of instructors, and all the influences 
 of my own education. May I hope to be pardoned for these 
 sentiments, apparently irrevelant, but, as I believe, really 
 connected with a just regard to myself, and to a cause, in 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 which I feel perhaps too deep an interest. And yet, who 
 can feel too deep an interest, in our country especially, in 
 the construction of an enlightened system of education, 
 Christian, practical, useful, national! 
 
 It is the duty of Parents and Guardians, of Teachers and 
 Trustees of education generally, to examine the theory and 
 practice of existing institutions, to inquire how far they have 
 promoted the glory of God, and individual, social, national 
 welfare: and to consider solemnly, thoughtfully, how far 
 defects can be supplied, and abuses corrected. That these 
 do exist, can hardly be doubted by any one, who reflects on 
 the actual operation of our schools and colleges, as attested 
 by the unimproved state of the great majority of minds that 
 have been subjected to their influence. In the mass, who 
 come out of our schools and colleges, how few have acquired 
 any religion at all, or much valuable knowledge, the habit 
 of study, a taste for reading, the love of improvement, and 
 the great art of thinking soundly and reasoning accurately. 
 Yet all these things our institutions profess to teach; although 
 if we look to facts as the criterion, it is, in forty nine cases 
 out of fifty, little more than profession. I speak this, not 
 under the influence of bitterness and contempt, but with feel¬ 
 ings of deep regret and mortification. It has been our priv¬ 
 ilege, under the blessing of Providence, to exhibit, for the 
 instruction of all mankind, the theory and practice of Gov¬ 
 ernment purified and regenerated, and Religion disencum¬ 
 bered of the civil and political burthens, under which it 
 groans in the old world. The precepts and examples of the 
 Gospel, not those of Classic Antiquity; the rational princi¬ 
 ples of British freedom, not the wild and disorderly impul¬ 
 ses of Grecian and Roman liberty; the plain, strong sense, 
 inherited from an English ancestry, not the taste and acute¬ 
 ness of an Athenian people, have wrought these achieve¬ 
 ments, not for us only, but for the ignorant and degraded 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 y 
 
 posterity of boasted Greece and Rome. I feel assured that 
 the same principles, the same precepts will never rest satis¬ 
 fied till they have redeemed education from the thraldom of 
 European theories, unsupported by experience, and of Eu¬ 
 ropean authority, contradicted by reason and observation. 
 
 It seems to me that our country has yet to learn one great 
 truth on this subject, that the whole European scheme of 
 education ever has been intimately associated with states of 
 society, forms of government and religious establishments 
 totally inconsistent with ours: that the great object there 
 has been to educate the few, and not the many ; to train up 
 the subjects of monarchies , and not the citizens of a repub¬ 
 lic; in a word, to perpetuate aristocracy even in education. 
 Let us learn then, that education with us, like Society, Gov¬ 
 ernment, Religion, must be essentially American , and not 
 European; that it must partake deeply and extensively of 
 the vital spirit of American Institutions ; that it must, in or¬ 
 der to ensure its durability and usefulness, be adapted to 
 our state of Society, forms of Government and modes of 
 Religion: and that this conformity can never be discovered, 
 much less preserved by any imitation of European plans. 
 With the Bible in one hand, and our own history in the oth¬ 
 er, we shall be able to judge best, what education our coun¬ 
 try needs. Literary Education in its highest sense, a sense 
 but little known in this country, is much the same every 
 where; but religious and moral, political and civil educa¬ 
 tion, in a word, for the preparation for practical duty and 
 usefulness, private and public, must be to a great extent, na¬ 
 tional and local, therefore peculiar. Ours ought to be an ed¬ 
 ucation, adapted to our peculiar character, circumstances, and 
 destiny, as a free, educated, peaceful, Christian People. It 
 ought to be eminently adapted to our development and pro¬ 
 gress, to the improvement and preservation of our institutions, 
 in a word, to the great truth the People Govern. Our 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE* 
 
 schools are for the education of that People, our Colleges 
 for the education of the public servants and profession¬ 
 al agents of that People. But all have one end, one object, 
 the good of the people. The youth in our colleges 
 should be educated on this great principle, that they are to 
 be Servants of the People. Let our Schools and Colleges be 
 regenerated then upon the principle, that the Religious and 
 Political departments are every thing, the Classical and 
 Mathematical comparatively, nothing. Now, these are every¬ 
 thing, and those almost nothing. Our ignorance or neglect 
 of these great truths, is producing a host of evils in our coun¬ 
 try. Let us meditate profoundly on these things : and re¬ 
 solve no longer to educate our children, as though, on the one 
 hand, they were Heathens, on the other, Europeans. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CONTENTS OF THE ADDRESS ON SCIENCE. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Science not taught by Scripture,.3 
 
 History of Science found in the biography of a few, - - - 4 
 
 Extraordinary facts in it, - - - - - - - * 5 
 
 Gratitude due to God, - .6 
 
 The Past and the Future of Science, ------ 7 
 
 True value and glory of Science, ------ 8 
 
 Rudiments of Science in Paradise,.9 
 
 Progress to the confusion of tongues, - - - - - -11 
 
 Review till Thales,.- - 12 
 
 Review from do. till Augustus. The great question, 14 
 
 Little value and usefulness of Ancient Letters, and of Ancient Phi¬ 
 losophy, ..15 
 
 State of Science in the Eastern Empire,.17 
 
 The civil Law and the Fathers, ------ IS 
 
 Arabian Science and Literature,.19 
 
 Revival of Learning would have occurred, - - - - 20 
 
 How influenced by the Reformation, ------ 21 
 
 Charles Carroll, - -- -- -- --22 
 
 Catholic and Protestant Countries,.23 
 
 Principles of the Reformation,.21—25 
 
 Consequences of these principles,.26 
 
 Four conclusions from them, - -- -- --27 
 
 Effects of the Reformation, on nine departments of Science and 
 
 Learning,. -----28 
 
 Future progress of Protestant Nations, ----- 35 
 
 Six grand results of the Reformation, ----- 36 
 
 These indestructible,.39 
 
 Our own destiny,—what ? A glorious one, 39 
 
 Three proofs of our future fame, ------ 42 
 
 Causes of character and difference of various National Literatures, 46 
 The Reformation and iEra of 1776 compared, - - - - 49 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 V1U 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Page. 
 
 A. Comparative estimate of Ancient History and of English and 
 
 American, 51 
 
 B. Comparison of Ancient and Modern works—List of English and 
 
 American,. ---52 
 
 C. The writer’s personal judgment of the Classics, 57 
 
 D. Boccalini, - -- -------57 
 
 E. Alg. Sydney, - .- -- .- .-57 
 
 CONTENTS OF THE RICHLAND ADDRESS. 
 
 Introduction, ---------- 
 
 Bible excluded and by whom, ------- 
 
 My position,. 
 
 Character and value of the Christian Ministry, - 
 
 Origin of the exclusion of the Bible, ------ 
 
 Causes of its continuance, 
 
 They prevailed when United States settled, - 
 
 United States the place for a change,. 
 
 This the Age for a change, - 
 
 Conscience and the heart neglected,. 
 
 Duty the great business of life, -. 
 
 Principles and inconsistency of Christians, .... 
 Bible the standard of Truth and Duty, - 
 
 Objection—want of fit Teachers,. 
 
 Objection to my scheme as unnecessary, - 
 Objections to the present plan on five grounds, - 
 
 Its negative influences,. 
 
 Illustrated by the case of a Clergyman as an Instructor of youth, 
 Vast superiority of Christianity in its relations to every faculty, and 
 
 to man in every state,. 
 
 Results of existing state of things,. 
 
 Effects of Christianity illustrated in modern man and woman, in 
 modern private and public life, compared to ancient, 
 
 The modern woman,. 
 
 Conclusions from foregoing views,. 
 
 Illustration from the influence of Heathen and Mahometan reli¬ 
 gions, compared with the Christian,. 
 
 61 
 
 62 
 
 64 
 
 64 
 
 65 
 
 66 
 69 
 
 71 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 74 
 
 75 
 77 
 77 
 
 79 
 
 80 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 85 
 
 86 
 
 87 
 
 88 
 89 
 
 90 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 Page. 
 
 Address to the Parent, the Guardian, the Instructor, See. • - 92 
 
 Address to all of them,.94 
 
 The Destinies of their Children,.95 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 A. Ignorance of Hebrew and Greek, ...... 
 
 B. The Bible, as a Source and Text Book of liberal education, 
 
 C. On Schools for the children of those Christians, who agree in 
 
 essentials,. 
 
 D. Rousseau and Ames on the Scripture, ..... 
 
 E. Neglect of the Religious Education of Children, the chief 
 
 cause of Sunday Schools,. 
 
 F. The Spirit of the Gospel, Peace and Love: of the Classics, the 
 
 reverse,. 
 
 G. Rev. Jonas King: Homer: the Pantheon, .... 
 
 H. Character and Education of Kings,. 
 
 I. Ancient and Modern Female Character, ..... 
 
 K. Fenelon’s character of the Scriptures, ..... 
 
 L. The absolute worthlessness of the Classics compared to the Bible, 
 
 98 
 
 98 
 
 99 
 100 
 
 101 
 
 104 
 
 105 
 
 106 
 
 107 
 
 108 
 108 
 
 CONTENTS OP THE ORATION. 
 
 Introduction—Comparative merits of Sacred and Profane Classics, 113 
 
 Deficiency of Classics in usefulness,.114 
 
 Duty and Usefulness the only genuine tests and vital principles of 
 
 all Literature, . 115 
 
 Elegant Literature consistent with the character of God and the 
 
 objects of the Scriptures,.116 
 
 Why has polite Literature so generally dishonored God and corrupt¬ 
 ed Man ? . . . . . . ..118 
 
 Hebrew Literature a phenomenon—Its extraordinary character, 118 
 Classics never have been and never can be a storehouse of materi¬ 
 als for modern Literature—the Bible only can be, . . . 120 
 
 The Bible excels in thought—the classics in style and the structure 
 of their works, 120 
 
 ^Beauties of the Bible, thought —of the Classics, style, . . 121 
 
 Bible gives the desideratum—a standard of taste, . . . 122 
 
 Bible has had little influence on Literature—its future influence, 124 
 Error of the Christian Fathers, as to Religious and Literary Edu¬ 
 cation, .124 
 
 Elements of modern Literature, ..125 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Causes of alleged inferiority of moderns—neglect of Bible and of 
 Greek Literature, ......... 126 
 
 Who are to establish Sacred Literature as a part of all education ? 127 
 
 Causes of its exclusion from sliemes of education—eight enumer¬ 
 ated, ........... 12S 
 
 State of things at the Reformation, unfavorable to Sacred Literature 
 —character of the Reformation—its great defects, . . . 131 
 
 Disadvantages of neglect of Sacred Literature—five mentioned, 132 
 The Speaker not hostile to Classical or polite Literature, . . 135 
 
 Advantages of introducing Sacred Literature—eleven mentioned, 137 
 Influence of Sacred Literature in rendering all Literature more in¬ 
 tellectual, considered, ........ 142 
 
 Destinies of American Literature—the intellectual its essential 
 
 character, .......... 
 
 Address to the Society, ........ 
 
 The duties of the Members,. 
 
 Their duties to the College,. 
 
 Their duties to the country, ....... 
 
 The character of American Literature inseparable from the union 
 of these states, ......... 
 
 143 
 
 145 
 
 145 
 
 146 
 
 147 
 
 147 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 A. Why does classical Literature still live ? .... 
 
 B. Hebrew the primitive oriental Literature, . . , . 
 
 C. Classics not a storehouse of materials for modern Literature, . 
 
 D. On the conformity to the classic model,. 
 
 E. As to translations,. 
 
 F. On the cultivation of style, ....... 
 
 G. On the Bible as a text book of style, ..... 
 
 H. Treatment of Lowth in England, ...... 
 
 I. Scheme for Institutions and plan of Education, 
 
 J. On the importance of natural history, and on the little practical 
 value of mathematics, as a part of general education, 
 
 K. As to imitating the classics, ....... 
 
 L. As to the 4th book of Virgil, ....... 
 
 M. As to sacred Literature in the United States of America, 
 
 149 
 
 149 
 
 149 
 
 150 
 150 
 153 
 
 155 
 
 156 
 156 
 
 159 
 
 160 
 
 161 
 
 162 
 
 MEMORANDUM. 
 
 It will be perceived, of course, that as the notes were not read to the 
 Society (and indeed they were written after the delivery of the Ora¬ 
 tion,) I only am responsible for the sentiments contained in them, re¬ 
 specting mathematics, the classics, and education generally. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 CONTENTS OF LETTER TO COMMITTEE. 
 
 The subject arranged under eight heads. 
 
 Page. 
 
 1. The fact, that such a question exists, astonishing. 
 
 Illustrations from the Pagan and the Infidel, .... 
 Causes of the exclusion of the Bible before Luther, 
 
 Causes of the exclusion of the Bible after Luther, . 
 
 2. Obligation to study the Bible in all seminaries, 
 
 Illustrations from all lawful business and all innocent pleasures, 
 
 3. The benefits of such study, .. 
 
 Education will be viewed as a religious concern, 
 
 4. Objections answered,. 
 
 1. Religion inevitably sectarian,. 
 
 2. The want of suitable Text Books,. 
 
 3. Laymen must be the Teachers,. 
 
 5. The Bible as a Text Book of Literature,. 
 
 The true standard of Literature,. 
 
 6. Advantages derivable from Sacred Literature, 
 
 Chiefly its influence on all Literature, ..... 
 
 7. Objections answered,. 
 
 8. Best mode for Introduction of the Bible and Sacred Literature, 
 
 1. Should be regarded as a part of a system, 
 
 2. Two professorships proposed, ...... 
 
 3. Hebrew indispensable, ....... 
 
 One great advantage of this, ...... 
 
 Essential principles of Protestantism applied to the subject, 
 Hebrew will draw along with it the Greek Testament, 
 
 4. Study of Greek of New Testament, .... 
 A Grreca Majora Christiana recommended, 
 
 5. A Latina Majora'Chrlstiana recommended, 
 
 For all practical purposes, the study of the heathen classics 
 
 165 
 
 166 
 
 167 
 
 168 
 168 
 
 169 
 
 170 
 
 171 
 
 172 
 172 
 
 172 
 
 173 
 
 173 
 
 174 
 
 175 
 
 176 
 
 176 
 
 177 
 
 178 
 
 178 
 
 179 
 
 180 
 180 
 180 
 181 
 181 
 181 
 
 unnecessary, ....... . 181 
 
 6. No real difficulty in finding Text Books, .... 183 
 
 CONTENTS OF DEDICATION ADDRESS. 
 
 The dignity and loveliness of Religion, 
 
 Occasion of the Address, ...... 
 
 Charitable institutions more valuable than works of art, 
 
 187 
 
 188 
 190 
 
XU 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Objections to these institutions answered, 
 Object of the building now dedicated, 
 Arguments for the distribution of the Bible, 
 “ <c “ “ of Tracts, 
 
 “ “ Sunday Schools, 
 
 The destiny of this country. 
 
 Page. 
 192—195 
 . 195 
 
 . 196 
 
 . 198 
 . 199 
 . 200 
 
AN 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 CHARACTER AND OBJECTS 
 
 OF 
 
 science: 
 
 AND, ESPECIALLY 
 
 ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 ON THE 
 
 SCIENCE AND LITERATURE, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, 
 
 OF 
 
 PROTESTANT NATIONS: 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, AT CHARLES¬ 
 TON, ON WEDNESDAY THE 9th OF MAY, 1S27, 
 
 BEING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
 
 LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
 
 OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 BY THOMAS S. GRIMKE. 
 
 WITH ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
 Set free the mind of Man from slavish awe, 
 
 Which feels Opinion’s Rule, as Reason’s Law; 
 
 And from the Spirit bid vain fears depart, 
 
 Of weakened Nature and exhausted Art. 
 
 Phantoms! that Literary Spleen conceives; 
 
 Dulness adopts, and Indolence believes.— 
 
 Such friends are those, who, in their proud display 
 Of thy young beauty, and thy early sway, 
 
 Pretend thou’rt robbed of all thy worth sublime, 
 
 By the benumbing touch of modern time.”— -Hayley- 
 
* 
 
 
 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 Science is the noblest, unrevealed gift of God to Man. 
 On this subject so comprehensive and profound, so rich, 
 beautiful and various, the Scriptures are silent. Their ob¬ 
 ject is to teach Duty, not Science. Shall we not, however, 
 believe, in the spirit of faith and humility, that although 
 knowledge and duty may be identical, in the world of An¬ 
 gels, God, in the wise dispensations of his Providence, has 
 given them, apparently at least, a separate existence, in the 
 world of Men ? Hence the human family, have not been 
 taught the truths of Science, by the inspired writings of 
 Prophets and Apostles; but it becomes the ignorance of 
 mortals to be assured, that benevolence, wisdom, and justice 
 are in harmony with such a scheme. Yet Science is the 
 Revelation of Nature, vouchsafed to the visions of Genius; 
 and shadowed forth, at intervals, “ in angel visits, short and 
 far between,” in the triumphs of her ministering servants. 
 Whilst then his Creator has not revealed to him, the philoso¬ 
 phy of his works, Man is still without excuse, if he do not 
 study, admire, and adore. Endowed with activity, power, 
 and curiosity, the Human Mind has accordingly gone forth, 
 and shah continue to go forth, conquering and to conquer, 
 from the beginning, till time shall be no more.” Its war¬ 
 fare is against all that degrades the moral sense, corrupts 
 the heart, and darkens the understanding—in behalf of all, 
 that can exalt and enlighten, purify and bless mankind. 
 
 Unguided by that inspiration, which flashes its lightening 
 truth on the dark and untried paths of futurity, the Intellect 
 of Man despairs not; but travels onward rejoicing in its 
 pilgrimage of improvement, confiding in the energy of faith, 
 kindling with the enthusiasm of hope, and taught by the 
 wisdom of experience. No signs and wonders, living wit¬ 
 nesses of the present God, no Seers, and Evangelists, ex¬ 
 press messengers of his love, have ever ministered in the 
 cause of human learning. Yet Man was decreed by the 
 law of his being, to emulate, in the achievements of Science, 
 the miracles of Divine Power, and to show forth in the per¬ 
 sons of the great, in benevolent wisdom and sublime virtue 
 
4 
 
 —a faint image of Prophets and Apostles. Man, assuredly, 
 in his best estate, is less in comparison of his Maker, than 
 the small dust of the balance. But as he is ordained Vice¬ 
 gerent of his Creator, to govern the world of his fellow men, 
 he is gifted, conformably to this constitution of his nature, 
 with that sovereignty of intellect, which becomes the dele¬ 
 gate of Heaven, child of the past, but parent of the future 
 destiny of his species. Man, therefore, is endowed with ca¬ 
 pacity to comprehend, though imperfectly, the laws of his 
 own being, and to read, in the admirable language of the vis¬ 
 ible world, the mysteries of natural revelation. The mind, 
 the heart, the character of the whole human family, the har¬ 
 mony, sublimity, and beauty, of the sensible creation, are 
 the Scriptures of Science. In the heavens above, on the 
 earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth; in the 
 workings of his own soul, and in the revolutions of so¬ 
 ciety; in the lessons of experience, gathered as manna in 
 the wilderness of past ages ; in the evanescent scenes of the 
 present, he finds at once the elements and the motives, for 
 the study of Science. The history of Science is rich in 
 materials, singularly curious, and eminently instructive : cu¬ 
 rious to the Man of literature and taste, instructive to the 
 philosopher and statesman, to the patriot and philanthro¬ 
 pist.—We may contemplate Science, in relation to its cau¬ 
 ses and its effects. 
 
 Considered with a view to its causes, or rather its authors, 
 the history of Science consists of the biography of a small 
 number of highly gifted men, clustered in social splendor, 
 or scattered at intervals, along the progress of society, like 
 the gathered effulgence of constellations, or the solitary beau¬ 
 ty of single stars. Of those ages of the world, the memo¬ 
 ry of which must have perished, without the Scripture rec¬ 
 ord, we may be said to know nothing, on subjects of Sci¬ 
 ence. But as we advance, along the highway, traveled by 
 the human mind, in the rise, progress, and fall of nations, 
 we discover more or less frequently the mighty works of 
 those, who labored with the zeal of martyrs, and the ener¬ 
 gy of patriots, in the high and holy cause of human im¬ 
 provement. At one moment, w r e rejoice at the triumphs of 
 that fixedness of purpose, and energy of character, which 
 distinguished the efforts of Archimedes, Demosthenes, and 
 Postell, of Pascal, Bernouilli, and Newton; and crowned 
 with the wreath of fame, Domenichino and Claude of Lor¬ 
 raine. At another time, we contemplate, with a feeling of 
 
5 
 
 inquisitive delight, those accidental circumstances, which 
 rescued from the prison-house of obscurity and poverty, 
 such men as Cimabue and Sherwin, as Ferguson, Chantry 
 and Sixtus the Fifth. It is equally curious to notice what 
 trilling occurrences and singular coincidences, suggested the 
 discoveries of Magnes and Melcartus, of Linus, and Dibu- 
 tades, of Callimachus and Finiquerra : and led to the use of 
 mezzotinto engraving, glass, geometry and the peruvian bark. 
 
 We are not less charmed, and certainly we are more^d 
 deeply interested, in contemplating Uat original talent, I 
 which seizes some circumstance, insignificant, in all other ) 
 eyes, sets it in the focus of its own creative power : and 
 educes, as it were out of nothing, those grand results, 
 which have canonized the individuals, in the gratitude and 
 admiration of the human family. Such illustrious instan¬ 
 ces adorn the lives of Metius and Pythagoras, of Kepler 
 and Newton, of .Tenner, Davie and Locke; and whilst they 
 exhibit Man, as little lower than the Angels, glorious in the 
 panoply of Genius, and traveling in the greatness of his 
 strength; yet we dare not forget, that he is still mortal, 
 
 “ Frail as the leaf, in Autumn’s yellow bower, 
 
 “ Dust in the wind, and dew upon the flower; 
 
 “Doomed o’er the world’s precarious scene to sweep, 
 
 “ Swift as the tempest travels on the deep!” 
 
 In reviewing the history of Science, as the biography of 
 individuals, we are struck by the remarkable fact that some¬ 
 times a few superior minds, hermits in the solitude of dark 
 ages, shed their unheeded beams, on the moral desert around; 
 and remind us of scattered stars, diffusing unnatural light, 
 amidst the gloom of an eclipse. At other times, we gaze 
 with enthusiasm at those constellations of Genius, whose 
 fires of glory are kindled, at distant intervals, along the sub¬ 
 lime pathway of Man; and emulate in the world of Science, 
 the goodly fellowship of the prophets, and the noble army 
 of martyrs, in the Holy Church Universal. Nor can it es¬ 
 cape our notice, in this interesting retrospect, that hundreds 
 of minds, though contributing much to human happiness 
 and improvement, are limited to the spirit of their own age. 
 
 But there are others, kindred indeed, in genius, yet estranged 
 by intervening centuries, to whose gaze of intense power, 
 the futurity of Science stands revealed, as in vision, amidst 
 encircling shades; even as the spectator from the dark abyss 
 •of the mine, beholds with anxious delight, the stars, in their 
 
 1 * 
 
6 
 
 loveliness and splendor. Another deeply interesting phe¬ 
 nomenon is often presented, in this individual history of the 
 Sciences; for we behold the same man, not only excelling 
 in the sublime conceptions of abstract philosophy ; but dis¬ 
 tinguished, for the felicitous arrangement and admirable ap¬ 
 plication of theory to practical usefulness. Let us not, how¬ 
 ever, omit the homage due to those prodigies of universal 
 talent, comets in the intellectual system, whose spirits ap¬ 
 pear to be wanderers from some other world, where genius 
 and taste, intellect and memory flourish in a state of union 
 and perfection, consistent only with a superior order of be¬ 
 ing. Nor is it the least remarkable circumstance, attending 
 these wonderful Men, that all their versatility of talent, and 
 their almost incredible facility, in the acquisition of knowl¬ 
 edge, have been for the most part, unprofitable to mankind : 
 and have seldom failed to excite the envy and admiration 
 of their contemporaries, the incredulity and astonishment 
 of posterity. To illustrate these sentiments we have only 
 to refer to the lives and works of Crichton and Mirandula, 
 of Servin and Magliabechi. 
 
 But it is time to close this interesting review of the Bi¬ 
 ography of Science ; nor can we shut the volume, so rich 
 in entertainment and instruction, without acknowledging 
 the wisdom and benevolence of God. In his scheme of 
 moral government, a few, as having authority, whether in 
 legislation, or Science, preside over the destinies of their 
 brethren, and take thought for the well being of posterity. 
 To them is entrusted that variety of talent, which elevates, 
 refines and adorns the human character ; converts Man, 
 the destroyer, into the tutelary angel of his species, and con¬ 
 nects him by the enduring relations of benefactor and friend, 
 with the remotest posterity, in every clime and every age. 
 But, whilst we indulge a feeling of veneration, for such men, 
 and swell with our humble voice, the mighty tribute of ad¬ 
 miration and gratitude, which nation after nation has be¬ 
 stowed during a period of more than twenty-live centuries, 
 shall we forget that all this diversity of talent, Hows only 
 from Him, who is “ the Author and Giver of every good and 
 perfect gift.” Had man never enjoyed more than that com¬ 
 mon understanding, which the vast majority possess, even 
 then, our debt of gratitude could not have been estimated 
 by mortal capacity. But something of that elevated, pure, 
 devotional feeling, which may be supposed to characterize 
 the enthusiasm of seraphs and of just men made perfect, 
 
7 
 
 becomes us, in surveying the rich diversity of talent, vouch¬ 
 safed to mankind. The order and majestic simplicity of the 
 heavens above, and of the Earth around, with all their phe¬ 
 nomena, “ forever changing, yet the same,” and all their vi¬ 
 cissitudes, of the sublime, the wonderful, the fair, are inferi¬ 
 or in the estimation even of poets, to the great and the beau¬ 
 tiful in the mind of Man. How eminently, indeed is our 
 conception of these attributes enhanced, when we consider 
 the relations, which Man sustains, in life and death, to his 
 Creator and Benefactor, to his fellow mortals, and to the un¬ 
 known world of spirits ? All his duties, employments and 
 pleasures; all that is valuable, delightful, and curious in his 
 institutions : all that is profound and venerable in Science, 
 permanent and useful in Art, or beautiful in the works of 
 Taste, claims a mysterious, yet sure and indissoluble affinity, 
 to the variety of human powers. How sublime the philos¬ 
 ophy, how felicitous and energetic the poetry of Akenside, 
 the Lucretius of English, may I not say of modern poets, in 
 that memorable passage in which he sets before us the wis¬ 
 dom and benevolence of the creator, in the arrangement and 
 combination of every order of talent, for the harmonious 
 structure of society. 
 
 We have thus considered Science in connection with its 
 origin, as identified with the biography of individuals. Let 
 us continue our survey, by an examination of its effects, as 
 inseparably allied to the history of society. Here we be¬ 
 hold a more spacious and varied field of inquiry than that, 
 which has been already explored—It embraces all the com¬ 
 plex, various, and changeable interests of man, whether civ¬ 
 ilized or barbarous, and comprises all, that belongs to the 
 improvement of our species, individual or social, private or 
 public. Standing, as on an eminence, we look backward, in 
 the spirit of philosophical history, down the long vale of 
 departed ages, to contemplate the progress and decline of 
 those communities, which have perished from the earth. On 
 the same eminence, we look forward up the vista of futurity, 
 to behold, in imagination, people after people, ascending 
 the arduous hights of glory, power and happiness; and 
 passing at their appointed time, from the world of nations, 
 to the world of unimagined communities of the good and 
 the evil. There, our retrospect of the past begins with the 
 garden of paradise. Here, through all the prospect before 
 us, the eye finds no resting place, in the future history of 
 Man, save the final dissolution of government and society, 
 
8 
 
 at the second Advent of the Messiah. We survey the past; 
 as the lawgiver of Israel, looked back on the wilderness, 
 and the Red Sea, on the trials, and dangers, which had gath¬ 
 ered around the march of his people. We look in advance, 
 along the future progress of society, as the founder of the only 
 Theocracy, which ever existed, beheld in vision the prom¬ 
 ised land of the children of Abraham. He, indeed, may 
 have experienced the assurance of prophecy, whatever might 
 be the future destinies of Israel, that the horrors and suffer¬ 
 ings of Egyptian bondage, the feelings of despair at the Red 
 Sea, and the perils of the wilderness should never again be 
 their lot. And may not we feel, in surveying the past, the 
 present, and the future, that, whatever may hereafter be the 
 fortunes of society, in Europe and America, no overflow¬ 
 ings of a barbarous population, no civil, much less foreign 
 wars of religious intolerance, no inquisition, no dark ages, 
 no despotisms of unmingled ferocity and bitterness, shall 
 ever again in the fierceness of wrath and wantonness of 
 power, drive back the nations, in their career of improve¬ 
 ment. 
 
 It is not customary to consider the history of Science, as 
 connected with the history of Society. In tracing the de¬ 
 velopment of its principles, or their progressive application 
 to practical matters, most authors have instituted no inquiry 
 into their effects, beyond the immediate Science itself, or 
 the Arts and other Sciences, connected with, or dependent 
 upon it. But what is the value of human learning, if it do 
 not bless, as well as adorn Society; if it enlighten its Pro¬ 
 fessors only, and not the People ? Is it only a matter of 
 speculation for the intellectual pow r ers of man ; or of enter¬ 
 tainment for his taste? Can its sublimity and beauty be ob¬ 
 jects of just admiration, unless it improve the condition of 
 the ignorant and oppressed ; while it enlightens, and cor¬ 
 rects, refines and elevates those, on whom the progress and 
 future character of society depend ?—No: The true glory 
 and excellency of Science consists in its aptitude to melio¬ 
 rate the condition of man, and to promote substantial, prac¬ 
 tical, permanent improvement, in the education and govern¬ 
 ment of the people: and in all the Arts, which provide, for 
 the health and happiness, the ivants and comforts, the con¬ 
 veniences and elegancies of society , under all its variety of 
 forms, and in all the vicissitudes of its progress. Such is 
 the true end of Science; and in this view, it is indeed an 
 honored and efficient fellow-laborer, with religion, in ad van- 
 
9 
 
 cing the glory of God, as the Moral Governor of the World, 
 and in blessing Mankind, as the children of his Providence. 
 Such, indeed, is the only end of Science, which can render 
 it an object of intense and enduring interest to the whole 
 human family; because, in this view only, is the history of 
 Science, the history of Man. 
 
 The retrospect, which is now to engage our attention, 
 must be, from the limits of an address, exceedingly imper¬ 
 fect. It is, however, the freewill offering of humility and 
 gratitude, after contemplating Science, not merely in the 
 sublime, profound, and comprehensive intellects, which have 
 administered its Systems : not merely in the discoveries, 
 and inventions, which have astonished and delighted the 
 world: not merely in the order educed out of chaos, by a 
 series of sustained efforts, for nearly three thousand years; 
 but, above all, in those admirable practical results, which 
 exhibit man, as a benevolent Brother to his cotemporaries, 
 and as a provident Father, laying up the treasures of his 
 virtue and reason, of his love and justice, for the millions 
 who are to succeed him. 
 
 The rudiments of Science are to be sought, in the earli¬ 
 est states of society. The mightiest rivers can be traced to 
 a spring-head, no larger than the basin of a mimic fountain. 
 So may we follow to their sources, in the very infancy of the 
 human family, those Sciences, whose sublimity in theory, 
 and usefulness in practice, have crowned with glory, “ the 
 immortal band” of philosophy ; and scattered through every 
 civilized community, necessaries and comforts, ornament 
 and pleasure, blessings and honors, dignity, order and beau¬ 
 ty. We would not, indeed, trace every Science, backward 
 to its origin, through all the fluctuations of controversy, and 
 all the vicissitudes of successive improvement: through all 
 the diversities of theory, and all the details of practice; 
 because no attainable results, could reward our labors : nor 
 indeed could it ever be accomplished, from a deficiency of 
 materials. 
 
 In reviewing the history of mankind, the eye rests with 
 confidence on the transactions of the Garden of Eden as the 
 beginnings of human knowledge. There, and in the patri¬ 
 archal state of society, which succeeded, we behold the 
 first image of Science, as unlike itself in the powder and 
 splendor of its maturity, as the babe in swathing bands, is 
 unlike man, in the prime of life, and usefulness, and honor. 
 There, however, must have existed the earliest elements of 
 
10 
 
 human improvement. In Paradise were found the first 
 principles of the sublimest of Sciences—Theology—in the 
 knowledge of God and their relation to Him, vouchsafed to 
 Adam and Eve. There, in the various duties of our first 
 parents, to their Maker, to each other and to themselves, 
 were laid the foundations of morality. In the Garden of Eden, 
 the elements of the philosophy of language, appeared in that 
 speech, bestowed by God himself at their creation : and the 
 miracle was renewed at Babel; for man never could have 
 invented the most subtle and complex, the most profound 
 and abstruse, of all the wonderful means of God’s moral 
 government on earth. There, the lirst principles of that 
 Science existed, which Luther esteemed second only to 
 Theology; for, in the orisons and praises of Paradise, are 
 to be sought the primitive elements of music. 
 
 As soon as our progenitors had been driven out of the 
 garden, and the privileges of that more than poetical heaven 
 upon earth, had vanished forever, the principles of other 
 Arts and Sciences became indispensable to their new condi¬ 
 tion. Accordingly, Architecture may be said to find its 
 corner stone, in the lirst rude building, which sheltered 
 Adam and Eve from the inclemency of the weather. The 
 little field of the Father of the human race, humble and di¬ 
 minutive as that of Cincinnatus himself, afforded the earliest 
 experiments in agriculture. The dress of our first parents, 
 became a matter of present necessity: and, accordingly, 
 the first rude essavs in manufactures must have engaged 
 their immediate attention. The principles of social morals 
 originated with the earliest relations of man in civil society: 
 and the basis of all government was laid, in the patriarchal 
 form, which embraced within the sphere of its influence, the 
 increasing numbers of the lirst family. As society advan¬ 
 ced, and the various social principles, which constitute the 
 bonds of civil union began to develope themselves, man 
 appeared in new, and more complex relations, and other 
 principles in Art and Science, were observed or discovered, 
 and applied to his general improvement. That great pro¬ 
 gress was made, in the ascertaining of principles, in the in¬ 
 stitution of rules, and in practical skill, long before the del¬ 
 uge, need not be questioned; but scarcely any of the achieve¬ 
 ments of talent and skill could have survived that catastro¬ 
 phe. Nor could Man have repaired such losses, in the en¬ 
 suing period of one hundred and fifteen years : not even in 
 those departments of knowledge, to which we find the early 
 
11 
 
 attention of the East, so conspicuously devoted, especially 
 in costly manufactures, and in Architecture. Their progress 
 in the latter is testified by the otherwise inexplicable enter¬ 
 prise, undertaken by the new world, when only one hun¬ 
 dred and fifteen years old, viz. the building of the giant 
 tower of Babel. Whatever we may think of the end or the 
 means, we know that the latter became unavailing, and the 
 former was frustrated by the confusion of tongues. This un¬ 
 precedented phenomenon in the history of mankind, doubtless 
 retarded for a season, the advancement of Art and Science. 
 But the human mind, from its native elasticity, and from 
 the pressure of necessity, soon recovered from this unex¬ 
 pected shock: and thenceforward, instead of a common ef¬ 
 fort by one community, the scattered tribes of men struggled 
 onwards, each a separate nation, in a separate country, for 
 its own happiness and improvement. 
 
 Then for the first time, we behold the institution of sep¬ 
 arate nations; and beyond question, each departed farther 
 and farther, under every variety of change, from the com¬ 
 mon model, such as it was, in the two thousand two hun- 
 dred and thirty third year before the Christian iEra. 
 Thenceforward, the landmarks of nations were set, in all 
 that belonged to independent existence, whether we regard 
 territory and boundaries, or language and government, Arts 
 and Sciences, or manners and customs. But while we can 
 readily imagine much, that appertained to the detailed pro¬ 
 gress of the several Arts and Sciences, before and after this 
 period; yet it must be confessed, that many a century elap¬ 
 sed, after the call of Abraham (B. C. 1921,) and even after 
 the time of Moses, (B. C. 1051.) and, we may even advance 
 beyond this to the time of Solomon, (B. C. 1015,) before we 
 can trace, by the aid of sufficient and authentic documents, 
 the progressive improvement of Arts and Sciences. 
 
 Let us imagine ourselves at the date, when Thales flour¬ 
 ished (B. C. 581,) and look back on the preceding state of 
 the world. Science was then in a most imperfect condi¬ 
 tion; although some of the arts, especially architecture, 
 manufactures and agriculture, had made, comparatively 
 speaking, surprising progress. Still, however, we are for¬ 
 cibly struck by several considerations, arising from a re¬ 
 view of the vast period of three thousand four hundred and 
 twenty three years, before the age of Thales. 
 
 1st. We must reject from our estimate of time the one 
 thousand six hundred and fifty six years, antecedent to the 
 
12 
 
 deluge; because Noah and his family, could have possessed 
 but little of that improvement in Arts and Sciences, which, 
 according to the opinion of many learned men, existed at 
 the time of the flood. 
 
 2dly. From the Deluge to the Age of Thales, is a period 
 of one thousand seven hundred and sixty seven years. Be¬ 
 tween these dates, occurs the invention of writing, pretty 
 generally used at the aera of Cadmus, probably nine hundred 
 and thirteen years before the time of Thales; so that during 
 eight hundred and fifty four years of the entire number of 
 one thousand seven hundred and sixty seven, between the 
 Flood and Thales, little or nothing could have been effectu¬ 
 ally and permanently done, for want of the means of pre¬ 
 serving it. 
 
 3dly. During the greater part of the remaining period of 
 nine hundred and thirteen years, between Cadmus and 
 Thales—we are comparatively ignorant of what was done, 
 and we may judiciously believe that little was effected, if we 
 take in the whole circle of Arts and Sciences. Such was 
 the fact, chiefly, because the means of communication were 
 limited, the number of persons engaged, compared to the 
 population, was very small; this number was an exclusive, 
 peculiar class, not so much influenced by a love of Science, 
 or a just estimate of its value to their fellow men, as gov¬ 
 erned by considerations, connected with political and eccle¬ 
 siastical concerns. 
 
 4thly. We discover every where in this retrospect, that 
 whatever attention may have been lavished on some partic¬ 
 ular branches of Art, and perhaps on one department of 
 philosophy, viz. astronomy ; yet the neglect of Science and 
 Literature was almost universal, and that in moral Science 
 especially , in the extensive meaning of the term , Man had 
 done nothing. Still, however, it may be conceded, that 
 much had been effected in providing necessaries, comforts, 
 conveniences and luxuries. In architecture and manufac¬ 
 tures, society had attained a high degree of improvement; 
 but while this embraced within its sphere, almost every thing 
 which related to the physical , it comprehended very little, 
 that affected the moral condition of Man. The progress of 
 society, in these two important particulars, was indeed sin¬ 
 gularly different. In the splendor of palaces, in the costli¬ 
 ness and pomp of courts, in the magnificence and ostentation 
 of public buildings, and other national works ; in a word, in 
 all that could dazzle the ignorant, invest the monarch with 
 
Imaginary glory, and command the admiration of foreign¬ 
 ers, the world was then conspicuous. But the moral im¬ 
 provement of Man, through the cultivation of those Sciences, 
 which relate to his political and moral welfare, was totally 
 neglected: in a word, the people were as yet unnoti¬ 
 ced AND UNKNOWN, IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE. 
 
 Such is our retrospect, standing at the age of Thales 
 (581 before Christ.) Let us now survey, with a rapid glance, 
 not only the period embraced between that date, and the 
 Christian aera, but also that which follows, down to the de¬ 
 cline of learning in Western Europe, when the northern bar¬ 
 barians had possessed themselves, of Italy and Gaul, of Spain 
 and Northern Africa. The characteristics, which had hither¬ 
 to distinguished the governments of the East and of Egypt, 
 still continued to prevail, in all the oriental regions; but, 
 above the waste of waters in the West, the first popular gov¬ 
 ernments, the world had ever seen, arose, like Fortunate 
 Islands in the barren and desolate sea of human affairs. All 
 these had, indeed, existed long before the age of Thales. 
 It w r as not, however, until after this date, that they appear 
 in themselves, in relation to each other and to the rest of 
 the world, as communities worthy of much consideration in 
 the history of Learning. Aleman, Archilochus and Ter- 
 pander, had indeed flourished in the seventh century: Ly- 
 curgus, the iron-souled, or rather the rock-hearted Lawgiver 
 of Sparta, in the eighth; and “ longo intervalio,” Homer 
 and Hesiod in the ninth ; but as yet, only the morning star 
 and the early flush of dawn had heralded the way to Gre¬ 
 cian glory. 
 
 In the new state of things, which now existed in Europe, 
 the people were comparatively speaking, much considered : 
 and appeared as important agents in all the vicissitudes of 
 Grecian history. Still, however we behold with pain and 
 regret, the same love of conquest and military honors, the 
 same prodigal expenditure of national treasure on objects of 
 mere ambition, the same sacrifice of the people, to the 
 selfish passions and corrupt ambition of rulers, and the same 
 inverted social order, which builds the good of society on the 
 glory of the state, instead of national renown, on the hap¬ 
 piness of the people. All these had marked the Eastern 
 monarchies, and now distinguished, only to dishonor, the 
 self-styled republican governments of the West. Among 
 them, w r e look in vain for the application of political and 
 moral Science, or indeed of any of the Sciences, to the ac- 
 
 2 
 
14 
 
 tual wants and condition of the people; to the individual, do¬ 
 mestic and social improvement of Man or the developement, 
 establishment, and combination of those important princi¬ 
 ples, which constitute real national happiness. In the struc¬ 
 ture and administration of their governments: in political 
 economy, as to the public and private affairs of the commu¬ 
 nity ; we discover an extreme deficiency in practical wisdom, 
 and, if I may so express the thought, in political common 
 Sense. Their alterations in government, seem little better 
 than temporary expedients or occasional changes, accom¬ 
 plished by violence or trick, by fortune or accident. On the 
 one hand, we behold, comparatively speaking, no control¬ 
 ling power to regulate the conduct of rulers: and on the 
 other, no adequate, protective authority to guard the rights 
 of the citizen. All the remarks thus made upon Greece, 
 apply with more than double force, to Rome. While Athens 
 was a Mold democracy, and Sparta a republic in name, but, 
 in reality, a compound of monarchy, oligarchy and democ¬ 
 racy—the imperial republic of antiquity exhibited all the 
 fierce elements of anarchy and tyranny, of rebellion and 
 despotism, under a form still more imperfect, and far more 
 terrible at home and abroad, than the many-headed monster 
 of Athens, or the triple-bodied monster of Sparta. This 
 view of the state of society in the territories of Greece and 
 Rome, brings us down to the Christian csra: and, as we ad¬ 
 vance towards that period, the evils and imperfections of 
 which I have spoken, became aggravated ; until the abom¬ 
 inations and horrors of Roman Provincial Government, had 
 filled the whole empire, while the proscriptions of Marius 
 and Sylla, and the reign of terror, of two Triumvirates, in¬ 
 flicted on Rome and on the boasted Roman citizen, such 
 miseries, as scarcely ever occurred in the annals of despo¬ 
 tism. After reviewing this period of five hundred and eighty 
 one years, if we should inquire, with mortified and indig¬ 
 nant feelings, what was done for the substantial happiness, 
 for the moral and political improvement of the people , the 
 emphatic answer must be, little or nothing. 
 
 Should I be asked, what relation has this survey to the 
 cause of Science, I answer emphatically, as I have said, in 
 a former part of my discourse, Science is nothing worth, 
 except it bless the people , as well as adorn the State. The 
 same is equally true of Literature and the Arts. Of what 
 avail indeed, were the original fires of Grecian genius, and the 
 imitative splendors of Roman taste, if they produced so lit- 
 
15 
 
 tie effect on the actual happiness and improvement of the 
 people? Take the whole body of Grecian philosophy, nat¬ 
 ural, political, moral, social, and we must acknowledge, that 
 it exerted scarcely any salutary influence on the mass of 
 the community; that their education was no part of its the¬ 
 ory, or practice ; that it lived, and moved, and had its being, 
 an alien in the very land of its birth, and existed almost in¬ 
 dependently of the very society, which it boasts to have 
 adorned; and left behind, no monument, save the works of 
 its devotees. Considering the rights and property, the hap¬ 
 piness and improvement of the people as the great objects 
 of society, and government, as the most important of all 
 human concerns, we desire in vain to find proofs, that the 
 lawgivers and statesmen, the orators and philosophers of an¬ 
 tiquity ; rendered permanent, essential services to the cause 
 of the people, of social order, and of good government. 
 It is a melancholy and humiliating reflection, that the gen¬ 
 ius and learning, the eloquence and taste of Greece and 
 Rome, did so little, in the cause of truth,—moral, political 
 and philosophical. This, indeed, is so remarkably the fact, 
 that we refer to*Greece and Rome, as authoritative guides 
 in government* and philosophy, no more than in morals. 
 When, therefore, I reflect upon this surprising state of facts, 
 that Science and Literature were cultivated with such ener¬ 
 gy and enthusiasm, by the Greeks and Romans ; that minds 
 of the first order put forth all their strength, in a spirit of 
 noble, generous emulation; that their works have been 
 almost universally extolled as prodigies of intellectual pow¬ 
 er and literary excellence; that the glory of Grecian and 
 Roman letters, has been generally considered, as unrivaled 
 by the Augustan age of any modern nation ; when I con¬ 
 template these things, I am compelled to believe, that those, 
 who have thus admired and applauded, have overlooked the 
 only legitimate use of Science and Literature,—to bless and 
 not to adorn , We gaze with astonishment, on the wonder¬ 
 ful powers of a Crichton, and a Mirandula, of a Servin, and 
 a Magliabechi; but when we inquire what they did for the 
 substantial good of their fellow men, the answer must be, 
 almost nothing. It is the same with the Science and Learn¬ 
 ing of Greece and Rome. We admire them as phenomena, 
 but we discover in them, comparatively speaking, very little 
 
 * See note A. 
 
16 
 
 ' of solid, durable, practical usefulness, whether we regard 
 their own, or any subsequent age. Before I pass onward, I 
 deem it important to make three remarks, on the subject of 
 Greek and Roman Literature and Science. 
 
 The first is this. If the opinion expressed above, as to 
 their usefulness in their own day, with a view to the people, 
 on whom they conferred dazzling honors, but not practical 
 blessings, be correct, it becomes a momentous question for 
 those, who devote so many precious years to the classics, 
 whether we can hope to derive from them, beyond the mere 
 accomplishments of education, any solid and durable advan¬ 
 tages, in comparison of those, which must flow from the 
 sound, various and wholesome learning, from the profound 
 and experimental wisdom, from the enlightened, practical 
 and comprehensive philosophy of Modern writers.* Is 
 there not a great question, which the general education, and 
 all the institutions, of this country are fltting its people to 
 examine and determine? The educated men of our day are 
 occasionally thinking of it. The educated men of the next 
 generation, will reflect upon and debate it. The educated 
 men, who shall close the present century will reconsider and 
 decide it. This is the question— Are not the languages and 
 authors of Greece and Rome to he regarded as institutions, 
 once indispensable , invaluable; but , having answered their 
 end, shall they not now yield, especially in our country, to a. 
 higher order of institutions, viz. the Science' and Literature' 
 of modern nations ? 
 
 My second remark is, that the absolute failure of Greece 
 and Rome, in moral philosophy, both practical and theoreti¬ 
 cal notwithstanding all their genius and taste, all their intel¬ 
 lect and learning, teaches us, emphatically and eloquently, 
 that man unassisted by Revelation, however richly he may 
 be gifted by Nature, must be the victim of darkness and er¬ 
 ror, on the most important of all subjects— Duty —wheth¬ 
 er to our Maker, to ourselves, or to our fellow mortals; 
 whether social or domestic, public or private. When that 
 accomplished scholar, Sadolet, was recommending to Car¬ 
 dinal Pole, with all the enthusiasm of a disciple, the study 
 of the Platonic philosophy, he replied, with equal judgment 
 and taste, that since the promulgation of Christianity, the 
 ancient philosophy was like Tenedos, in Virgil’s description: 
 
 See Note B. 
 
17 
 
 cc Est in conspectu Tenedos, notissima fama 
 “ Insula, dives opum, Priami dum regna manebant; 
 
 “ Nunc, tantiim sinus, et statio malefida carinis.” 
 
 And do we not see that the total failure of the Greeks and 
 Romans in political philosophy, is due to the same cause, 
 as their failure in morals ? viz. an ignorance of the only true 
 foundations of society and government, of the authority of 
 public, and the obedience of private men, of the political 
 and civil rights of the citizen? All these, according to the 
 wise principles and experienced judgment of modern times, 
 are laid in moral obligation, with God as its author, and 
 Manas its subject. In a word, the code of public morals is 
 founded on the code of private morals. Government is re¬ 
 garded as an institution for the good of society, and rulers 
 but as agents; whilst the relative rights and duties of the 
 governor and the governed, are referred to the plain, prac¬ 
 tical sense, to the divine, yet simple wisdom, to the pure, the 
 just, the immutable principles of Christian morals. In fine, 
 the New Testament , is the moral constitution of modern 
 society. 
 
 My third remark is, that whatever advantages philosophers, 
 whether the Oriental or the Grecian, may have conferred on 
 the world, before the coming of the Savior, they are all 
 outweighed by the incalculable injury, which the principles 
 of philosophy occasioned to the cause of true religion, for 
 many centuries after the Christian aera. In reading ecclesi¬ 
 astical history, we are struck by this remarkable fact, that 
 philosophy was a more formidable enemy than any other, 
 which Christianity encountered ; that the most dangerous 
 and destructive heresies arose from the unnatural influence 
 of the Eastern and Western philosophy over religion : and, 
 that among the greatest of the Christian Fathers, this was 
 productive too often of errors and dissensions, equally 
 dishonorable to the men, and pernicious to the cause. 
 Such were the effects resulting from the ancient philosophy, 
 when its history is traced, concurrently with that of religion. 
 
 Science and literature can hardly be considered as having 
 left any monuments, worthy of particular notice, in the East¬ 
 ern Empire, after the fall of the Western ; nor indeed had 
 any very important services been rendered, prior to that time 
 in the Eastern. Before we proceed to consider the gener¬ 
 al state of Science in the West, after the decline of learning, 
 let us survey the Eastern empire down to the fall of Con- 
 
 2 * 
 
18 
 
 stantinople, for after this sera, we may take our final leave 
 of that portion of the world. 
 
 Though learning continued to bear fruit, in the Eastern 
 empire, at Constantinople and Alexandria, for many centu¬ 
 ries after its extinction in the West, yet we find no works 
 of remarkable eminence. In point of originality there is 
 nothing. In history, philosophy, mathematics, and meta¬ 
 physics there are some compositions of second rate, and 
 many of third and fourth rate excellence. But when the 
 question is asked, what practical, solid advantages, accrued 
 to the people of that, or of any subsequent age, during this 
 period of more than a thousand years from all that was 
 done by the devotees of Science, we must reply, little or noth¬ 
 ing. 
 
 Two exceptions, however, are to be made, and they are 
 equally applicable to the Eastern and Western empires. It 
 is a bold opinion, but I express it with confidence, that the 
 Civil Law, did as much, if not more for the substantial hap¬ 
 piness of the people, among whom it was administered, than 
 all the other Sciences and Literature of Greece and Rome. 
 I hesitate not to say also, that the real welfare of the na¬ 
 tions of Modern Europe, has been more effectually promo¬ 
 ted by the former, than the latter. That exercised a de¬ 
 cided, permanent, meliorating influence over the feudal sys¬ 
 tem of the North. It laid the basis of the law of nations, 
 and of the improved municipal law of continental Europe: 
 and we may justly say, that it was among the ancients, the 
 only great effort of common sense, for the good of the peo¬ 
 ple, in domestic and social relations. One important consid¬ 
 eration must not be forgotten—it is, that the Civil Law, as 
 compiled and settled by Justinian, was the work of a Chris¬ 
 tian prince, for a Christian people. For myself, I rejoice 
 in the belief, that it never would have existed, but for the 
 enlightening, purifying spirit, the mild wisdom and the 
 practical justice of the Christian system. Had the political 
 constitution of Europe been as much improved, as its civil 
 administration, by this admirable code, our own day of 
 popular rights and popular happiness had not been so long 
 deferred. But while it is expedient, even for despots, that 
 the civil right of subjects should be well defined, generally 
 understood, and faithfully protected; because they are effi¬ 
 cient means to ensure domestic peace and order; yet abso¬ 
 lute monarchs must ever act the opposite part, as to polit- 
 cal rights. 
 
19 
 
 The second exception from the general opinion, which I 
 have expressed, relative to the Learning and Science, both 
 of the East and West, after Thales, is found in Christianity. 
 Under its influence, the various means of practical moral 
 education, were far more usefully employed, than they had 
 ever been, for the best interests of mankind. The Greeks 
 and Romans did nothing for the solid good of the human 
 race, in comparison of the services rendered to the cause of 
 true religion, by the Greek and Latin fathers, with all their 
 faults and errors. Perhaps, it may be said, that such men 
 as Origen and Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustin and the Chris¬ 
 tian Cicero, would never have been what they were, but for 
 the philosophers-and orators, the poets and historians of 
 Greece and Rome. I grant it freely, but remark at the same 
 time ; first, that these very men, had they been less imbued 
 with worldly philosophy and eloquence, would have culti¬ 
 vated far more than they even did, the peculiar philosophy, 
 morality and eloquence of the scriptures: and secondly, 
 that Christianity has never invited the assistance of philos¬ 
 ophy, except to repel the attacks of philosophers and phi¬ 
 losophical heretics. Had Celsus and Hierocles, Porphyry 
 and Zozimus : had Cerinthus and Yalentinian, Manes, Arius 
 and Nestorius, never appeared in the ancient world: had Vol¬ 
 taire and Bolingbroke, Shaftesbury, Mandeville and Hume, 
 never written the infidel philosophy of modern times, Re¬ 
 ligion would not have summoned around her, the logic and 
 eloquence of her great defenders. The Gospel requires no 
 such weapons. She, in her own cause, and left to herself, 
 arms the sacramental host of God’s elect, in panoply divine, 
 of Faith, Hope and Charity, such as the Redeemer gave, 
 Apostles taught, and Martyrs died for. Her principles and 
 practice, her reasonings and eloquence, require no aid, no 
 not the least, from Socrates, .Aristotle and Plato, from De¬ 
 mosthenes or Tully. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to dwell on Arabian Science and 
 Literature ; since the former scarcely existed, except in the 
 form of Mathematics and Medicine : and the latter has never 
 produced any material effects on the character and welfare 
 of Society. Indeed, amidst the splendor and magnificence 
 of the Harouns of Bagdat, and the Abderames of Cordova, 
 we behold amongst the Saracens of the East and West, the 
 same state of things, as in the Ancient Eastern empires. 
 All their lavish expenditure in favor of Arts and Sciences, 
 was for the glory of the prince and his court, for the honor 
 
20 
 
 ©f the national character, and not for the solid happiness of 
 the people, in social, domestic, or individual life. 
 
 I pass over the many centuries, between the decline and 
 revival of learning, with the remark, that little more was 
 done in that interval of a thousand years, than to preserve 
 and transmit, chiefly in monastic establishments, the ancient 
 authors, which now survive. And yet those guardians of 
 classical learning, upon the interruption of the trade to the 
 East, effaced many of the works of Greece and Rome, to 
 prepare the parchment, for their own barbarous compo¬ 
 sitions. 
 
 Let us now consider the History of Science and Learn¬ 
 ing, between the revival of letters in modern Europe, and 
 the present time. However interesting and curious may 
 have been the character and progress of knowledge among 
 the Ancients, they bear no comparison with the depth of in¬ 
 terest, which people after people has felt, and shall continue 
 to feel, in the Arts and Sciences of the modern world. 
 
 That a revival of learning would have taken place in 
 Western Europe, although Constantinople had not fallen, 
 may be readily believed. In the principal countries, men of 
 great eminence in different departments, had appeared, from 
 time to time, and the human mind seemed to be gathering 
 and training its strength, for that sustained effort, which the 
 community of European nations, has been making, during 
 more than three centuries. Dante, Petrarch and iioccacio, 
 first plucked the olive branch of literature, after a deluge of 
 ten centuries. Spain, France and Germany; Holland, Great 
 Britain and Switzerland, emulated this illustrious example : 
 and the North and South, the Middle and the West, soon 
 became, as it were, a mighty brotherhood in the cause of 
 Science. During this period of three hundred years, many 
 an interval, and sometimes a frightful hiatus occurs, in the 
 literary history of particular nations. But the European 
 world has not been stationary, much less retrograde; for if 
 we take a comprehensive view of Society, in relation to 
 human knowledge, its improvement has been successive, 
 though irregular. Even in this, the autumnal age of the 
 world, at the going down of the sun, a Nation has arisen 
 European in language and descent, which has laid the foun¬ 
 dations of literature, broader and deeper than ever nation 
 did before, in the nature of Man, in the character of univer¬ 
 sal society , in the principles of social order, in popular 
 rights and popular government, in the welfare and educa¬ 
 tion of the people . 
 
21 
 
 The fifteenth century was a prologue to the great drama 
 of modern Europe. The invention of printing (A. D. 
 1449;) the fall of Constantinople (A. D. 1463;) the exam¬ 
 ple of Cosmo and Lorenzo de Medici; the discoveries of 
 Columbus and Gama, of Vespucius and Cabot, gave a com¬ 
 bined impulse to the human mind: and marshaled the hosts 
 of Science and Art, on the battle-field of Europe. But 
 these events were still incapable of deciding and fixing, as 
 by an irrevocable decree, the essential principles and char¬ 
 acter, the imperishable influence and objects of all Litera¬ 
 ture. Hitherto, there had been wo focal point in the regions 
 of knowledge, no centripetal force to gather into a system 
 around that point, the scattered orbs of Arts and Sciences; 
 and constrain them by the bonds of a common destiny, to 
 fulfil the prophecy of Scripture, and fit man to answer the 
 ends of his being. At this crisis, the Sun of the Reforma¬ 
 tion arose, and straightway appeared in the Moral World, 
 that phenomenon in the Solar System, described by the 
 English Lucretius, when the soul of Man, in the sublime 
 flights of imagination, hovering o’er the Sun,— 
 
 tc Beholds him pouring the redundant stream 
 
 “ Of light; beholds his unrelenting sway 
 
 “ Bend the reluctant planets to absolve 
 
 “ The fated rounds of time.-” 
 
 Such a Sun was the Reformation, to the whole circle of Arts 
 and Sciences. The ancient world exhibits them under the 
 dominion of a centrifugal force, compounded of ambition, 
 military fame and national pride : and we have beheld them, 
 in obedience to its despotic sway, betraying the interests of 
 society, for the glory of the State, and sacrificing the wel¬ 
 fare of the people, at the shrine of their rulers, But the 
 Reformation summoned them around its standard, to a war¬ 
 fare, the noblest, the most momentous, in which man had 
 ever engaged, excepting that of Christianity against Ea- 
 ganism. 
 
 The essential principle of the Reformation was freedom, 
 freedom of mind, freedom of the individual, freedom of the 
 people. The fundamental position was this —each Man 
 has a right, each is hound to think for himself. This prin¬ 
 ciple and this position were at first the offspring of religious 
 controversy; but it was impossible to limit the circle of 
 their influence to such a field, spacious and fertile as if was, 
 
22 
 
 In his eloquent and ingenious Treatise on Controversy, in 
 vindication of the Catholic Church, Fletcher ascribes to the 
 principles of the Reformation, all the atheism and infidelity 
 of Modern Europe. Without examining the truth of his 
 charge, we may safely grant it, and reply, that without 
 Christianity, the countless heresies of the Primitive Church, 
 would never have existed; without the liberty of the press, 
 its licentiousness would be unknown ; without the freedom of 
 the will, Man could neither be virtuous nor happy ;— 
 
 • 
 
 “ For virtue is the child of liberty, 
 
 “ And happiness of virtue: nor can they 
 “ Be free to keep the path, who are not free to stray.” 
 
 May we not, indeed, fearlessly and securely bid it pass 
 unquestioned ; for, to the Reformation, and to that only, are 
 due the civil, political, and religious liberties of Protestant 
 Europe. And as Villers has said, in his admirable treatise 
 on the aera of Luther, even these our own United States 
 are the legitimate offspring of that Reformation. Cast then, 
 into one scale, these advantages, and into the other, all the 
 abominations of Spinosa, Collins and Paine, of Voltaire, 
 Shaftesbury, and Hume, and nought but the sword of some 
 Brennus in controversy, can award the triumph to the athe¬ 
 ist and the infidel. 
 
 It is neither my object nor my duty, in this address, to 
 justify the principles of the Reformation, as a Religious 
 creed. May I not, therefore, trust that this vindication will 
 be viewed, not as the reply of a Protestant, as such ; but 
 as the opinion of a candid, independent student of histori¬ 
 cal Philosophy", in answer to those, who judging for therm 
 selves, with equal impartiality and freedom, still maintain 
 the opinions of Fletcher. And here, I may be permitted to 
 remark, once for all, with a view to many- parts of this ad¬ 
 dress, that I am deeply^ sensible how difficult and delicate a 
 task it is, consistently", with the sentiments and feelings that 
 become an American, to treat the subject of the Reforma¬ 
 tion, even in its political and literary bearing. This embar¬ 
 rassment is enhanced by the recollection, that many Catho¬ 
 lics are our fellow citizens. Nor ought any" man, who loves 
 and reveres the worthies of the Revolution, to forget, that 
 the Common Father of all has reserved for a Catholic, the 
 venerable Charles Carrol, an enviable distinction, an in¬ 
 teresting privilege, as sole survivor of those, who signed 
 the Declaration of Independence. And, how remarkably, 
 
23 
 
 indeed, will this appear to be a special Providence, when 
 we remember that two hundred years ago, New England in 
 the North, and Virginia in the South, persecuted their broth¬ 
 er refugees, because they differed in religious tenets.* But 
 Maryland, a royal, Catholic colony, the native land of Car¬ 
 rol, first acted on the American principle, perpetuated by 
 the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of 
 these United States, that every man has a right to the un¬ 
 molested enjoyment of his own creed, and of his own mode 
 of worship. Nor is it less remarkable that the same Mary¬ 
 land, when she had become a free Protestant State, should 
 have been the last to receive into the political household, as 
 brethren, the children of Israel. Yet, to behold even this 
 triumph has been vouchsafed to the patriarchal years of 
 Charles Carrol of Carrolton : and he, above all Americans, 
 the Christian and Patriot Simeon of our Western world, 
 may now, in the fulness of time, depart in peace. 
 
 My subject calls, however, for a free, impartial review of 
 the character of the Reformation, and of its influence on 
 Science ; nor is it possible to examine the history of that 
 period, in any T point of view, however remote from Reli¬ 
 gion, without a continual reference to the state of the Cath¬ 
 olic Church, in connection with government and society, 
 both spiritual and temporal—with the Arts and Sciences— 
 with the fortunes and character of nations—with the educa¬ 
 tion and general welfare of the people. Considering the 
 Reformation as matter of history and philosophy, it must 
 be a chief ingredient in every discussion, on enlarged 
 principles, of the state of the world for the last three 
 hundred y'ears, of its actual condition now, and of its future 
 prospects. Besides, the Protestants of these United States 
 may well believe, that without the Reformation, they would 
 have been rather like the South Americans, before the late 
 Revolutions, than what they now are, the wonder, and ad¬ 
 miration, and example of the world. They may well be¬ 
 lieve, also, that their Catholic brethren, fellow-heirs of the 
 same glorious and inestimable heritage of Religious, Politi¬ 
 cal, and Civil Rights, never would have enjoyed, in any 
 Catholic country, the full measure of power and liberty, of 
 property and happiness, which the youngest child of the 
 Reformation confers on the eldest daughter of the Christian 
 
 See Note C. 
 
24 
 
 household. Under these considerations, and with these 
 sentiments, I proceed to execute the task which I have un¬ 
 dertaken ; satisfied that my opinions will be those not mere¬ 
 ly of a Protestant, but of an American, and of a Man, the 
 lover of truth, the thoughtful student of historical philoso¬ 
 phy. In many of the following pages, I shall adopt the 
 very language of Villers, especially in those passages, which 
 express the severe, but deliberate judgment of that invalu¬ 
 able writer, as to the degraded condition of the whole circle 
 of knowledge, at the close of the fifteenth century. 
 
 I have said that the Reformation only, gave or could 
 have given to all literature, not merely to the literature of 
 Theology , a decisive, permanent character. To express it 
 otherwise, my settled judgment is, that without the Reform¬ 
 ation, the revival of learning, which had commenced, would 
 have terminated as all others had, in public ostentation,, 
 princely patronage, and the dazzling homage of Genius and 
 Taste, still intent 
 
 “ To heap the shrine of luxury and pride, 
 
 “ With incense, kindled at the Muse’s flame.’ r 
 
 But the people, the peofle would have remained 
 almost, if not altogether, in the same degraded and mise¬ 
 rable condition, as to civil, political, and religious rights, as 
 to education, as to social improvement, and individual wel¬ 
 fare. To illustrate this opinion, let us advert to the actual 
 state of Europe, before the French Revolution, bearing in 
 mind the remark of Montesquieu, that Loyola would have 
 governed the world, but for Luther and Calvin. lie, in 
 defiance of the reformers, has swayed Italy, Spain and 
 Portugal: they rescued from him and his Church, and have 
 ruled Holland, England and Scotland. Ignatius has gov¬ 
 erned South America: Calvin and Luther, these United 
 States. Is there now an American, whether of the Reform¬ 
 ed or Romish Creed, who would exchange the condition of 
 the Protestant Countries, which have been named, for that 
 of Southern Europe or Southern America 'l Is it not obvi¬ 
 ous, that Society has been comparatively stationary for 300 
 years, in these; while Protestant nations have been con¬ 
 tinually advancing ? Look at the wonderful progress of 
 Holland, Great-Britain, and our own country, since the 
 reformation. Place beside them, Italy, Spain and Portugal: 
 and assign, if practicable, any adequate causes, for the in- 
 
25 
 
 calculable difference, except the principles of the Reform¬ 
 ers. Every student of the philosophy of history, I feel 
 assured, re-echoes the sentiment, these only are the 
 causes. If then, as I have already said, Science and Art 
 are nothing worth, unless they bless the people, as well as 
 adorn the State, and if in Protestant countries, they have 
 thus blessed, as well as adorned, beyond all parallel; it 
 becomes a question most interesting- and momentous, how 
 have the principles of the Reformers wrought this change, 
 in the use and application of the whole circle of knowledge ? 
 I proceed to attempt an explanation; though I believe that 
 every improved mind, already comprehends the develop¬ 
 ment of my subject. 
 
 The Reformers began with the fundamental principle, 
 the obligation and correspondent right of private examina¬ 
 tion and private judgment. They admitted no superior to 
 control and limit this duty and this right, save God and his 
 Scriptures. Whatever uninspired man had done or could 
 do, whether individually or collectively, was acknowledged 
 as guides to the understanding, but not as authority to bind 
 the conscience and the judgment. The position was taken 
 that Man not only had a right, in regard to his fellow men, 
 but was obliged by the law of God, to study his word, and 
 by that standard, to examine the history of the Church ; 
 her doctrine, worship and ceremonies ; the acts of councils ; 
 the writings of the fathers and the scholastic theology; and 
 last, though not least, the authority of the Pope. This 
 
 WAS, IN RELIGION, “ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE” 
 
 —and by its principles the reformers did for the shackled 
 mind, what the angel did for Peter in the prison; they did 
 for the mind’s eye, what Ananias did for Paul, when at his 
 touch, the Apostle received his sight. 
 
 The Fathers of the Reformation began with the Church ; 
 but the intimate union in theory and practice, between 
 Church and State, after the pacification under Constantine ; 
 the temporal as well as spiritual character of the Pope ; the 
 right of the secular power to punish Apostates and Here¬ 
 tics, vindicated by argument and illustrated by example, led 
 directly to an examination of the authority of temporal 
 rulers in spiritual matters. When the Reformer had estab¬ 
 lished this twofold principle, that lie had a right to judge of 
 the authority and acts of temporal and spiritual rulers, in 
 spiritual matters, it was impossible to admit any limits to 
 the right of private judgment. If the Pope, “ Vicarius Dei 
 
 3 
 
26 
 
 gcneralis in terris ,” was held to be subject to this jurisdic¬ 
 tion, no temporal Prince could be allowed to pass unques¬ 
 tioned. If Leo the Tenth and Sixtus the Fifth were tried 
 and condemned, at the bar of reason and the Bible, no pre¬ 
 scription, no power could exempt Francis the First, or 
 Charles the Fifth. 
 
 The next step was, to assert the right to examine the 
 temporal authority of the temporal Prince. If the subjects 
 of a spiritual Prince had a right to examine the character 
 of his government; the principles of authority in the pub¬ 
 lic, and of obedience in the private man; the obligation of 
 the ruler and the rights of the people; the conclusion was 
 too clear for argument, that they must possess the same rights, 
 in relation to the temporal authority of temporal Princes. 
 
 From the first position, viz. the right to examine the spir¬ 
 itual jurisdiction of the spiritual prince, resulted a funda¬ 
 mental conclusion, in spiritual matters. As Man was not 
 made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for Man, so Chris¬ 
 tians were not organized into a religious community for the 
 sake of its Rulers; but these were instituted for the sake of 
 those.—Church government was then but an instrument for 
 the happiness of the people, and the officers of the Church 
 were but the servants of the people. The New Testa¬ 
 ment was, in matters of doctrine, moral precept and dis¬ 
 cipline, the constitution which bound equally the govern¬ 
 or and the governed. To transcend this commission, was 
 usurpation in the former: to disobey its requisitions, was 
 rebellion in the latter. Hence arose the only true princi¬ 
 ples, which determine the nature and extent of the rela¬ 
 tion, between the spiritual ruler and his flock. 
 
 From the second position, viz. the right to examine the 
 temporal jurisdiction, of the temporal Prince, arose in tem¬ 
 poral matters, a correspondent fundamental conclusion. As 
 Man could not answer the ends of his being, without socie¬ 
 ty as society would be anarchy, without government ; and 
 government could only be administered by a few; civil ru¬ 
 lers were ordained only for the sake of the people. If the 
 Divine right of Popes and Bishops, who traced a title to 
 the Apostles, could not screen them from the scrutiny of 
 reason and the test of Scripture, it was impossible that the 
 Reformer, even admitting the divine right of kings, should 
 not assert the amenability of the successors of Constantine, 
 Clovis and Charlemagne to the same tribunal. The infer¬ 
 ence then of the Reformer could not be resisted, that kings 
 were but the servants of the people, ordained for their good, 
 
27 
 
 in the order of Providence; and responsible to them. When 
 Gregory the Great, assumed as his title, “servant of the ser¬ 
 vants of God,” he gave an example of wisdom, humility, 
 and virtue, which kings might have imitated, honorably and 
 advantageously—a lesson, which the people of some mon¬ 
 archies have inscribed, and the people of all others, if equal¬ 
 ly oppressed, will inscribe, in letters of blood, on the cano¬ 
 py of every throne. The result of these two positions, 
 taken together, was, that all the officers and institutions of 
 Church and State, and the entire administration of spiritual 
 and ecclesiatical concerns, of civil and political affairs, were 
 ordained for the good of the whole community; and that 
 the people had the right, and therefore, the power to cor¬ 
 rect abuses, and to resist the tyrant and oppressor, whether 
 he wore a crown or a mitre. 
 
 From the great principles of responsibility thus establish¬ 
 ed, were deduced four conclusions—1st. If the great institu¬ 
 tions of civil and ecclesiastical government were only means 
 to the attainment of an end , and that end the welfare of the 
 people , it followed, that every inferior depository of power, 
 and every possible modification of society, must have been 
 ordained for the same purpose, with the same accountability. 
 
 2dly. Every individual was himself but a fellow laborer 
 in the common cause, for the common good, whether as a 
 Christian, in relation to the Church, or as a subject, in re¬ 
 lation to the state. All his talents and virtues, all his capa¬ 
 cities for usefulness, were indeed his, in point of personal 
 power , but were the property of the community in point of 
 relative duty. Hence, every man was bound by the funda¬ 
 mental principles of the Christian social compact, to promote 
 not only his own, but the welfare and happiness of others. 
 
 3dly. If Man himself, and all that he had received from 
 nature, or had acquired by education, were destined to those 
 ends, by the constitutional law of Christian society, the Arts 
 and Sciences, the whole circle of human knowledge, all that 
 Man ever had done, and all that Man ever could do, were 
 ordained to promote the happiness and interests of the peo¬ 
 ple, and were valueless , if they did not. Hence, the true 
 worth of the respective departments of knowledge, depend¬ 
 ed on their power to meliorate the condition of society, and 
 not on their antiquity, or on their fitness to decorate princes 
 and courts ; and to promote an ostentatious, dazzling, nation¬ 
 al glory.—Hence, also, it followed, that the departments of 
 Moral Science, were incomparably more important, than 
 those o£ the Physical Sciences; that among the Moral Sci- 
 
28 
 
 ences, Religion stood in the first rank, and political philos¬ 
 ophy next.* 
 
 4thly. The grand result of all the principles of the Re¬ 
 formation, and of all the considerations flowing from them, 
 is worthy of such a cause, and of such champions, as the 
 Reformers. It is centered in two words— duty and useful¬ 
 ness : Duty , as the only criterion of right; Usefulness , as 
 the only standard of merit. In a word, the Reformation 
 ordained, not only for its own day, and the communities of 
 that day, but for all time, and for all nations, that the New 
 Testament is the only genuine moral constitution of Society , 
 and, its principles , the only safe and wise foundation of all 
 civil and political establishments. 
 
 After this review, I feel assured, that no one will question, 
 but that the Reformation, must have revolutionized the struc¬ 
 ture of Society, the principles of Government, and all the rela¬ 
 tions of public and private life, whether in spiritual or tem¬ 
 poral matters. But many may perhaps desire, that I should 
 go beyond this, and exhibit the immediate effects of the Re¬ 
 formation on Science: and the mode, by which its princi¬ 
 ples became the focal point of the whole circle of knowl¬ 
 edge arranging by their powerful and harmonizing influence, 
 the anarchy and chaos of one and twenty centuries, into order, 
 at once novel, sublime and beautiful. 
 
 First then, let us consider the immediate effects of the 
 Reformation, on the whole body of literature. 
 
 1st. On Theology. The following passage from Villers* 
 prize essay on the Reformation, exhibits the state of this 
 branch of knowledge, at the beginning of the sixteenth 
 Century. In the time, when the Roman Church reigned 
 alone in the West, the absence of all contradiction, led to 
 that of all inquiry, and of all study of religious antiquities. 
 Besides, the Church, as we have already seen, opposed an 
 active resistance to all investigations into these matters. It 
 prohibited, with all its power, the teaching of the Oriental 
 languages, and the reading of the books of the old and new 
 Testament. Its system was founded on passages and terms 
 in these books, interpreted according to its own views; and 
 on traditions, passages from the holy Fathers, decisions of 
 councils, pontifical bulls, decretals, charters and other his¬ 
 torical monuments. Such was the state of this noble Sci- 
 
 # 
 
 See Note D-. 
 
‘29 
 
 eftee, at the opening - of the sixteenth century, according to 
 the judgment of this admirable writer. The Reformers as¬ 
 sailed and overthrew this system. From the acute study 
 of the Oriental and Greek Archeenlogia, by the Protestant 
 Divines, applied to the study of the sacred books, a perfec¬ 
 tion unknown before, has resulted to the Science, called 
 Exegesis, or a critical examination of the text of the Scrip¬ 
 tures. 
 
 The history of the Church, as well that of its doctrines, 
 as that of the exterior events, which have connected this 
 church as a society, with political bodies, acquired a consis¬ 
 tence and truth, an impartiality and an accuracy, which have 
 made it one of the most important branches of human 
 knowledge. I cannot close the above extracts, better, than 
 with the following, ** Whoever is anxious to be well inform¬ 
 ed in history, in classical literature, in philosophy, can use 
 no better method, than a course of Protestant Theology.” 
 
 2d!y. The second branch of knowledge, on which the 
 Reformation exerted a beneficial influence, was morality. 
 Here, the effect was as decisive, as in any department of 
 philosophy. Under the dominion of the schools, scarce a 
 vestige remained of true morality. In its place, the school¬ 
 men had created the system of casuistic morality, in which 
 duty to the Church, became almost the only substitute for eve¬ 
 ry duty, towards God and man. When the Gospel had re¬ 
 gained its rank, and displaced casuistry, the pure and divine 
 morality of the Scriptures, resumed its place in the pulpits 
 and writings of its Pastors. In fine, we owe to a Protes¬ 
 tant Theologian, Calixtus, the elevation uf religious morali¬ 
 ty, to the rank of a Science. 
 
 3dly. The third branch of knowledge, which may be said, 
 not merely to have been remodeled, but almost to have been 
 created by the principles of the Reformation, is Political 
 Philosophy. That morality of States, which determines 
 political power, and civil rights, as well as the rules of in¬ 
 ternational law, which gives the theory of all human law, and 
 fixes the true limits of natural positive rights, in a civil state, 
 was, in its development and progress, unparalleled. The 
 works of Luther, Melancthon, and Buchanan, of Languet, 
 Boetie and Milton, served to open the subject, and to awa¬ 
 ken attention. These shortly gave way to the superior pro¬ 
 ductions of wise and penetrating minds, which re-created 
 the Science of the rights of nations, and of the people. 
 The moral impulse given by the Reformation, exerted a re- 
 
 3 * 
 
30 
 
 markable and very happy influence, in all Protestant coun¬ 
 tries, on Legislation, formerly plunged in scholastic barbar¬ 
 ism. Protestantism produced and perfected Statistics, one 
 of the most important branches of political economy. The 
 public spirit of each State, revived and enlightened by the 
 Reformation, devoted itself to the public good. The Sci¬ 
 ence of Cameralistics taught the administration of the pub¬ 
 lic revenues ; Agriculture and Commerce had their libraries, 
 and were raised above servile imitation by the inquiries of 
 genius, and the assistance derived from the other Sciences, 
 such as Geography and Navigation, which in their turn also, 
 received improvement. The knowledge of the Mechanical 
 Arts, and of all objects of human industry, under the name 
 of Technology, was exceedingly improved. The study of 
 all these objects became, under the influence of the Refor¬ 
 mation, a part of public instruction among Protestants , and 
 their Universities were, and still are provided with Profes¬ 
 sors of the Political and Cameralistic Sciences, of public 
 and rural Economy, Technology and Statistics.” The Re¬ 
 formation, which, from its birth, was so intimately in con¬ 
 tact with politics, and with every object of public utility, 
 must have directed the minds of men to the Sciences, con¬ 
 nected with the economy and administration of States. 
 
 4thly. The next department of knowledge, to which the 
 Reformation gave a new being and a new form, was Philos¬ 
 ophy, embracing Metaphysics and Dialectics. Before the 
 16th Century, a deformed Philosophy prevailed in the 
 schools: a puerile, extravagant dialectic was amalgamated 
 with the Roman Theology. “To support this system, was, 
 in fact, for many centuries, the only end of Philosophy. 
 The Theologians, who were generally Monks, were the only 
 philosophers.” “ Their subtle and sometimes risible argu¬ 
 ments, tended only to the support of orthodoxy, against in¬ 
 novators and heretics. It never entered into their heads, to 
 teach a useful morality to human society.. They only em¬ 
 ployed themselves in establishing the rights of the Clergy; 
 but never those of the people, or of individuals. This sys¬ 
 tem was assailed ineffectually by Erasmus and other men of 
 talents ; but they had not the coin age, like the Reformers, 
 to quit the Church, supported by this monkish Philosophy. 
 Hence, the Reformation only could have dethroned, as it did, 
 scholastic Philosophy, as well as scholastic Theology. Then 
 began a philosophical period, during which, the interest in 
 truths of a superior order, in the discussion of the most 
 
sublime rules of Logie, Metaphysics and Morality, acquir¬ 
 ed an activity, which had been lost to it for many centu¬ 
 ries. 
 
 5thly. 1 turn now to ancient languages and philology as 
 another branch of learning, which is eminently indebted to 
 the Reformation. The study of languages was indispensa¬ 
 ble to a masterly knowledge of Orientalism, and of sacred 
 and profane antiquities. A profound knowledge, especially 
 of Hebrew and Greek, was absolutely necessary. The cul¬ 
 tivation of Latin followed of course. “ Who does not know 
 (says Villers) that in Protestant Countries, the knowledge of 
 Greek is perhaps more common, than that of Latin, in most 
 Catholic countries.” It is obvious that in the controversy 
 between the Reformers and the Romanists, a critical knowl¬ 
 edge of all the ancient languages, above all, of the Hebrew 
 and Greek, would be indispensable, to enable the former to 
 rival, surpass and conquer the latter. No one, at the pres¬ 
 ent day, who looks back through the 16th, 17th and 18th 
 Centuries can question, but that services of incalculable ex¬ 
 tent and value, have been rendered by the Protestants,, to 
 the cause of languages and Philology. 
 
 Gthly. Modern Languages and National Literature pass 
 next in review. At the date of the Reformation, the mod¬ 
 ern idioms, excepting Italian, were comparatively rude and 
 uncultivated. In the rest of Europe, a Latin jargon was the 
 language of the schools and of books. The learned might 
 treatin Latin, what scholars only were able to read; and there¬ 
 fore, Mathematics, Physics, Philosophy, might appear with 
 tolerable advantage, in this dress. But how could nations 
 have a Literature, without a vulgar tongue, without a peo¬ 
 ple, or, as it may be said, without a public ? All classes, all 
 ages, all sexes, are the proper audience of the literary wri¬ 
 ter. He must speak the language of courts and of taverns, of 
 closets and of camps, of citizens and of peasants. His bu¬ 
 siness is with all minds, all hearts ; and more particularly 
 with those, most ingenuous and open to all impressions, 
 with those who know least of Latin. In order therefore 
 that each nation might have a Literature, it was necessary 
 to write in its own language, it was necessary that all par¬ 
 ties should be accustomed to read. A great event, a power¬ 
 ful interest, a subject which should become the favorite 
 topic of every one, which should agitate all minds, which 
 should find access every where, was wanted. Then alone 
 would be found authors, willing to write for the people, and 
 
a people, who would read their writings with eagerness* 
 The Reformation was such an event. Brought forth within 
 the narrow boundary of a Latin-speaking public, it could 
 never have been consummated, within such limits* It was 
 requisite that it should quit them, and gain millions of heads, 
 to arm millions of hands in its defense. An appeal to the 
 people was the first step of the Reformers ; and this must 
 necessarily have been made in their language. This contro¬ 
 versy, which had left the schools, and become the great bu¬ 
 siness of Europe, was the first active principle, by which 
 modern languages were fertilized. To these disputes on Re¬ 
 ligion we are indebted for the restoration of the fine and good 
 style. The universal animosity between the Papists and 
 Reformists, the long troubles of Germany and Switzerland, 
 those of the League in Prance, those of the Low Countries, 
 those of Scotland and England, became so many furnaces, 
 in which the different languages of these countries were 
 elaborated and purified. The German Bible of Luther is the 
 principal classical foundation of what is called high German. 
 The same is eminently true of the English Bible of James 
 I. It may be also added, that inhabitants of towns and of 
 the country* who hear divine service regularly in their own 
 tongue, who sing rich pieces of sacred poetry in it, acquire 
 by these means a crowd of ideas and a taste, which would 
 be otherwise unattainable. The investigating and reasoning 
 spirit of the Reformation was also introduced into works of 
 Imagination, and took refuge in the theoretic department of 
 the Belles Lettres, in the systems* connected with sentiment 
 and taste, with the beautiful and sublime. 
 
 7thly. Our attention is next directed to the department of 
 Mathematical and Physical Sciences. At first, it might be 
 supposed that the Reformation, which affected so power¬ 
 fully Theological, Historical and Philosophical studies, could 
 not have exercised any direct influence over the methodical 
 and Natural Sciences. But if Man has once received an ex¬ 
 traordinary impulse, if unusual activity and a spirit of cu¬ 
 riosity and research are created, it follows that the human 
 mind cannot remain inactive, as to any thing within its scope ; 
 and, therefore, that the study of Mathematics and Physics 
 must have been very much improved by the Reformation. 
 The Philosophical spirit, revived by the Reformation, exer¬ 
 cised its influence in a very marked manner, on these stud¬ 
 ies. Could it, indeed, be otherwise ; since thinking and rea¬ 
 soning, the vital principles of the Reformation, are the es- 
 
33 
 
 sence of Mathematical science, and, since matter of fact, 
 practical observation, and experimental truth, were, at once, 
 the result of the Reformation, and the only wise, efficient 
 means for the improvement of Physics. It was not enough to 
 extend and perfectionate these Sciences in themselves. 
 Protestants desired also to unveil the sublime theory, to 
 scrutinize their foundations, and fix their bases. The Phi¬ 
 losophy of Nature, distinct from that generally called Phys¬ 
 ics, also acquired a consistence and development, which 
 make it one of the most sublime branches of knowledge. 
 The infant state of tactics, before the thirty years’ war, is well 
 known. Gustavus Adolphus was their Reformer. Freder¬ 
 ick the Great, nearly a century after, completed the work 
 of the Swedish hero. The Reformation thus brought mod¬ 
 ern tactics to a degree of perfection, at which they will 
 doubtless remain, as to their essential elements. 
 
 8thly. Let us now attend to the all-important branch of 
 History. By its new method of studying religion, of ex¬ 
 amining it, and of establishing its evidences, Protestantism 
 gave birth in Europe, and especially in its own bosom, to a 
 more profound culture of profane, as well as of sacred and 
 ecclesiastical antiquity. The Reformation, in the writings 
 of Grotius, Puffendorf, Buchanan, Thuanus, and others, re¬ 
 stored history to its true form. Since their time, it has been 
 united to criticism and philosophy. Grotius is superior to 
 most modem historians, and Mably prefers him to Taci¬ 
 tus ; because he had meditated deeply on the rights and du¬ 
 ties of society. Buchanan is another example of the pow¬ 
 er of study. His history breathes an air of dignity, gener¬ 
 osity, elevation. The only modern historians, whom we 
 venture to compare with the ancients, such as Burnet, Clar¬ 
 endon, Robertson, Hume, Gibbon, Muller, Schiller, &c. 
 were all Protestants. Literary history, that species of his¬ 
 tory, which is employed to exhibit a picture of the progress 
 or variations of the human mind, in the Sciences and Arts, 
 is also indebted to the same impulse of the Reformation, for 
 its very existence. Since that period, history, in all its de¬ 
 partments, has been treated in a more philosophical manner. 
 Great lessons and precepts have been drawn from it. The 
 mind become more scrutinizing, has endeavored to bring 
 together the unformed aggregate of scattered facts; it has 
 seized a guiding clew in the labyrinth of ages : by this, it has 
 discovered the progress of humanity,, Hence arose the 
 philosophy of History- 
 
34 
 
 9thly. The general subject of Education shall close these 
 successive remarks, on the branches of knowledge, which 
 have been improved in an eminent degree, by the Reforma¬ 
 tion. Almost all the system of knowledge to be acquired, 
 having changed its aspect, a great alteration must have been 
 effected, in the scheme of public instruction. Luther first 
 felt and labored successfully to produce this reform. The 
 other principal Reformers being, as he was, Professors in 
 the Universities, turned their attention to these establish¬ 
 ments, and to the secondary schools. The vices of that 
 monachal and scholastic period, were banished, as far as 
 practicable. The spirit which they introduced, survived 
 them, and finished this noble and important work. 
 
 Within the last three centuries, more than twenty Univer¬ 
 sities have been founded in Germany, of which three-fourths 
 are Protestant. There are 36 Universities in Germany, 19 
 Protestant and 17 Catholic, while the Catholic population is 
 double the Protestant. No reasonable person, says Villers, 
 will doubt that the Protestant Universities have the advan¬ 
 tage in the instruction given. It will not, says he, be thought 
 very inconsistent to say, that there is more real knowledge 
 in one single University, such as Jena, Halle or Gottingen, 
 than in the eight Spanish Universities of St. Jago de Com- 
 postella, Alcala, Orihuela, &c. The Protestants have foun¬ 
 ded and endowed a great number of schools; because their 
 existence depends on their being the best informed. The 
 Reformation is essentially learned—it received its impulse 
 from Science, and can only be supported by Science— knowl¬ 
 edge is an affair of State in the reformed nations. To 
 the Reformation, the young of that day, and all that have 
 followed them, and all that shall follow us, are indebted for 
 the mildest, and at the same time, the most efficacious meth¬ 
 ods of instruction. 
 
 I have thus considered the effects of the Reformation, on 
 all the important branches of learning: and it is impossible 
 not to admit, according to my best judgment; that more has 
 been done , in three centuries by the Protestants, in the pro¬ 
 found and comprehensive, the exact, rational, and liberal 
 development, culture and application of every valuable de¬ 
 partment of knowledge, both theoretical and practical, with 
 a view to public and private improvement, than has been done 
 by all the rest of the world, both ancient and modern, since 
 the days of Lycurgus. 
 
 My second position was, that the principles of the Refor¬ 
 mation have become the focal point of the whole circle of 
 
35 
 
 knowledge, and that, by their powerful and harmonizing in¬ 
 fluence, the elements of anarchy and chaos of more than 
 twenty centuries, have been arranged in order, at once no¬ 
 vel and beautiful. Perhaps, I might be content to refer to 
 all that has been already said, as furnishing the amplest 
 proofs of my opinion ; but it is indispensable to show that 
 this sentiment is correct, not only in relation to the past, but 
 also in relation to the present and the future. 
 
 The present is matter of fact: and may, therefore, be safe¬ 
 ly left to the proofs already offered, in regard to the past. 
 They are so entirely identified in causes and character, and 
 the whole present state of the reformed nations is so direct 
 and obvious a consequence of their past condition, that what¬ 
 ever has been stated and established with regard to the past, 
 may be assumed, as equally true of the present. Our at¬ 
 tention, therefore, shall be confined to the future state of 
 Protestant countries, with regard to Science, in the most 
 general acceptation of the term. This, then, is our ques¬ 
 tion—shall Science, hereafter, compared with its actual con¬ 
 dition, be retrograde, stationary, or progressive ? 
 
 Considering the genius of government and the state of 
 society; the nature and objects of every institution ; the 
 liberal, independent, elevated character of thinking and rea¬ 
 soning, of public spirit, and private sentiment : together 
 with the universal anxiety for improvement, which pervades 
 and animates every department of political and civil, of re¬ 
 ligious and philosophical, of social, domestic and individual 
 interests, we may safely affirm, that nothing short of that 
 power, which turned back the shadow on the dial of Ahaz, 
 can give to Protestant communities, a retrograde impulse. 
 And, under the sanction of the same principles and reason¬ 
 ings, we may conclude, with a similar confidence, that He 
 only, who stayed the Sun in his onward course, for Moses 
 and Joshua, is able to suspend the advance of the Protestant 
 world, in its career of improvement. 
 
 The Reformed nations will then go forward, and our in¬ 
 quiry is, what shall be the character of their progress ? 
 Judging from the actual, present state of those countries, 
 we hazard nothing in affirming, that, the departments of 
 knowledge already noticed, will continue to be cultivated 
 with an energy and enthusiasm, every way commensurate 
 with the history of the past. This conviction rests on the 
 fact, that the grand results of the Reformation, are in their 
 very nature immutable, imperishable. Let us review them. 
 
36 
 
 1st. The universal spirit of investigation, both practical 
 and speculative, both public and private. Such a spirit never 
 existed before. That, which prevailed in Greece and Rome, 
 was practically unconnected with the only two departments, 
 which could have given depth, solidity and breadth to its 
 foundation, or durability to its constitution: viz. religion 
 and political philosophy. Besides, the inquiries of the an¬ 
 cients, with few exceptions, were restricted to theoretical 
 matters ; and employed a very small portion of the commu¬ 
 nity. They proudly styled the rest of the world—Barbari¬ 
 ans—little imagining, that many of those barbarians, would 
 arise at a future day, to prove that Classic Antiquity, was 
 never blest with practical wisdom, in religion and govern¬ 
 ment, in political economy and education. The spirit of 
 inquiry, which arose out of the progress of Christianity, was 
 likewise extremely limited. “It is known (says Villers) 
 that the fathers of the Church, who exerted every resource 
 of their minds, in the controversy on tenets, did very little, 
 or even nothing, for the moral Sciences.” The investiga- 
 ting spirit of the primitive Church, was naturally, we may 
 almost say necessarily, limited to its great object, as a reli¬ 
 gious Society—the conversion of the Gentile, and the refu¬ 
 tation of the Heathen, the Jew and the Heretic. Pagan 
 antiquity had its Augustan age of inquiry, from Thales to 
 Seneca ; but it perished. The ancient Christian world had 
 its age of inquiry, from St. Paul to Cyril of Alexandria ; 
 but this likewise perished. The modern world still enjoys 
 its age of inquiry : and, notwithstanding the chances and 
 changes, allotted to nations, we may venture to predict, that 
 the spirit of investigation, created in the age of the Refor¬ 
 mers, shall never perish. It cannot perish ; for it is felt to 
 be the cause of God, the cause of the people, the cause of 
 mankind, the cause of posterity. It is eminently practical; 
 it is universal. By this—were given to the Protestant na¬ 
 tions, “ beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the 
 garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” By this, 
 they still live, move, and have their being. It lives with 
 us, and by the help and blessing of heaven, it shall live with 
 our children, and with our children’s children. By this— 
 our ancestors lived for their God, for their country, for their 
 descendants. By this-—we, their offspring, now live for our 
 God, for our posterity, for our country. *®y this—the gen¬ 
 erations yet unborn, arising each in his appointed season, 
 shall live for their God and our God, for their country, and 
 their children. 
 
37 
 
 2dly. The second grand result of the Reformation is to 
 be found in the system of Education. There are two fea¬ 
 tures in this system, which distinguish it, from that of all oth¬ 
 er periods. First, it is universal, in theory and obligation : 
 and it is undoubtedly very general, in point of fact. A de¬ 
 termined, unwavering effort is continually making, in every 
 possible form, to reduce the theory of the scheme to matter 
 of fact. The time, therefore, must come, and it is now fast 
 approaching, when every community, which acknowledges 
 the political, moral and social principles of the Reformers, 
 shall be universally educated. The second feature of the 
 Reformed system of instruction is, that sound common sense, 
 practical patriotism, as a duty to God, and not merely to the 
 country, the business of life, public, social and private, con¬ 
 stitute the base, on which the edilice rests. Education is no 
 longer in the hands of the Church, or the schools of philos¬ 
 ophy. It is a matter of national 'policy : an affair of the 
 people: the business of every individual. 
 
 3dly1* The third grand result of the Reformation is prop¬ 
 erly a consequence of the preceding; but has become a 
 permanent and powerful cause of security, durability and 
 improvement in the whole system. I refer to the diffusion 
 of knowledge. Here, as in the case of education, the the¬ 
 ory and obligation are universal, and the practice general: 
 with a steady approximation to the actual perfection of the 
 theory. And this perfection is in a course of daily fulfil¬ 
 ment, not only from the constant improvements in educa¬ 
 tion, but from the universal influence of the press, the in¬ 
 satiable demand for practical knowledge, and the trans¬ 
 action of all business, public, social and private, civil, litera¬ 
 ry and religious, in the language of the people. Such ed¬ 
 ucation, and such diffusion of knowledge, were unknown 
 to the ancients, and even to the moderns; until the prin¬ 
 ciples of the Reformation had remodeled society and gov¬ 
 ernment. 
 
 4thly. A fourth leading result of the Reformation is a 
 distinguishing feature of modern society, in Protestant coun¬ 
 tries, especially in our day, and in these United States and 
 England. I mean the universality of social and individual 
 effort. Formerly, the community was a mere bystander, a 
 mere spectator, as to all that was going on. The govern¬ 
 ment, a few ancient, well-endowed institutions, and a hand¬ 
 ful of individuals, were the only agents. Now, the people 
 are every thing, and do every thing, through the medium of 
 
 4 
 
38 
 
 a vast multitude of organized associations, religious and be¬ 
 nevolent, political, civil and literary, commercial, agricultu¬ 
 ral and mechanical. What department of knowledge or 
 business is there, indeed, in which the people are not at 
 once the final and the efficient cause, from the country Sun¬ 
 day school, to the supreme oecumenical council of each de¬ 
 nomination ; from the village society, to the Parliament of 
 England, or the Congress at Washington? 
 
 5thly. I name, as another most important result of the 
 Reformation, religious liberty and equality. In our country, 
 the theory and practice are perfect. In other Protestant 
 countries, there is a constant tendency and a well directed 
 effort, towards a full recognition of the theory, and a wise, 
 discrete application of it, in practice. Success must crow T n 
 the efforts of these resolute, faithful Reformers. Universal 
 toleration, leaves religion where it ought to be, in the hearts 
 and minds, in the families and assemblies of the people. 
 Intolerance is the apple of discord. It makes religion an 
 engine of state, an affair of polemics, a fountain of bitter 
 waters, ever overflowing in social dissensions and jealousies. 
 
 flthly. I shall mention only one more leading result of 
 the Reformation. It is the system of popular rights, now 
 so well understood in theory, by Protestant nations; so 
 firmly established by the practice of some ; so anxiously de¬ 
 sired and labored for by the rest. These rights depend for 
 their security and duration, on the investigating spirit, on 
 education, on the universal diffusion of knowledge, on the 
 system of social effort, and on religious liberty and equality. 
 But these popular rights have now acquired, such consis¬ 
 tence and organization ; such individuality of being, and 
 yet such universality of influence; such constitutional cer- 
 
 V *• 
 
 tainty, and such depth of hold on the interests and affections, 
 on the sentiments and opinions of the citizen and commu¬ 
 nity, that they, in turn, exert an agency of incalculable pow¬ 
 er and value, on every possible relation of man, in Christian, 
 civilized and Republican countries. 
 
 Such are the principles, which have conferred on Protes¬ 
 tant communities, in my judgment, constitutional durability, 
 untiring energy, and inextinguishable enthusiasm, in the 
 cause of improvement, and pre-eminently in the cause of 
 Science, in its noblest and most comprehensive meaning. 
 Such is the moral machinery, by which the Reformation has 
 realized in Moral Science, the thought of Archimedes; for 
 it has moved the world of living men. Such the principles, 
 
39 
 
 which suggested to Henry of Navarre, and to the grand 
 pensioner De Witt, the conception of a Supreme Interna¬ 
 tional Tribunal: and if it ever exist, like the modern law of 
 nations, it will be due to the system of the Reformers. Such 
 the principles which have enabled them to found the only Em¬ 
 pire of thought, free, rational, regulated, that ever existed : 
 a Protestant, Confederate Republic of opinion and feeling, 
 unrivaled in public and private liberyt, intelligence, and 
 happiness. 
 
 The fortunes of this, or of that country may fluctuate. 
 Public calamities may embarrass and retard the progress of 
 one or another. Usurpation or tyranny, conquest or treason, 
 may oppress and trample down for a time, different members 
 of this great international confederacy. Man may have 
 sworn that they shall perish, and that no day of national 
 Resurrection shall ever dawn for them. But, like the wit¬ 
 nesses in the Apocalypse, that died, and yet lived, they shall 
 arise, and live again. The Angel, that hath the everlasting 
 Gospel, to preach unto every kindred and tongue, and peo¬ 
 ple, bears testimony that the spirit of life shall again enter 
 into them.—Never, indeed shall the Reformation be, in the 
 language of Byron, “the Mother of Dead Nations.” Her 
 children shall live to the end of time. 
 
 Our country is the youngest child in the family of Protes¬ 
 tant nations. And, when we contemplate our unexampled 
 progress in freedom, intelligence, happiness and virtue, may 
 we not say, that the Reformation, like Isaac of old, has giv¬ 
 en the birthright blessing of the first born to the youngest? 
 And shall we ever part with that blessing, the blessing of 
 National Independence; of civil, political and religious lib¬ 
 erty; of the investigating spirit; of universal education and 
 knowledge; of a free press; of individual enterprise and so¬ 
 cial effort; of a glorious past, and a still more glorious future? 
 No, never! 
 
 What then shall be our destiny? As a free people, it is 
 written in characters, that the world may read, from the 
 great Lakes, to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic, to 
 the Missouri. As an educated , investigating, practical peo¬ 
 ple, it is recorded in letters of light, on the countless insti¬ 
 tutions for social and individual improvement, that bless and 
 adorn our land. As a Christian people, it stands forth in 
 sculptured language, on the thousands of temples, which 
 flourish side by side, in harmony and emulation, within our 
 happy borders. As a peaceful people, it is registered, as 
 
40 
 
 with the pen of prophecy, on our national, social, individual 
 character; on our sense of justice, and our sentiments of 
 philanthropy; on our consciences—as Christians; our prin¬ 
 ciples—as Americans; our feelings—as men. As a free, as 
 an educated, as a Christian, as a peaceful people, I experi¬ 
 ence the settled, the delightful assurance, that our country 
 shall live to the end of time. As soon would I believe, that 
 there is power on earth, “to pluck up the iron-bound shores 
 of New England, with all their towns, and plant them on the 
 banks of the Miami:”—As soon would I believe, that the 
 commonalty of England will again pass under the iron yoke 
 of the feudal system: as soon would I believe, that the good¬ 
 ly heritage of the Pilgrims can ever be another Sahara, or 
 that the pine forest of the South can become the land of the 
 hill, the valley and the brook, as to believe that this people 
 shall ever cease to be free, educated, Christian, peaceful. 
 
 Let the age of Miracles return, and I may despair of the 
 fortunes of my country, as free, educated, Christian, peace¬ 
 ful. Let that age begin with the day, when the sons of God, 
 shall present themselves before him, and Satan shall again 
 be permitted to lay waste the patrimony, and smite with 
 Egyptian plagues, the hearts of the faithful. Let the Arch¬ 
 angel, terrible and mighty, though fallen, go forth to hurl 
 down on our devoted land, the tempest of his wrath and 
 malice. Let him afflict us, as Job was smitten, in flocks 
 and herds, in children and person. Such trials to a Chris¬ 
 tian people, strengthen faith, and animate hope. Such trials 
 blast not a free people, with the paroxysms of despair; but 
 summon forth into being, the unconquerable energies of pa¬ 
 triotism. Such trials to an educated people, open the way 
 to hidden springs of knowdedge and improvement. Such 
 trials to a peaceful people, only enhance their love of peace; 
 for the grief-stricken heart flees to retirement and tranquil¬ 
 lity. At the overshadowings of such afflictions, I should 
 never tremble for-my country, much less should I despair; 
 for the spirit of the Martyr and Confessor would arise, and 
 shine, more and more, unto the perfect day. But let the 
 arch liend, in the delirium of ferocious malignity and ruth¬ 
 less envy, strip us of the Religion of the Reformers; of our 
 freedom, our education, our love of peace. Let him erase 
 from our memory, the recollections of a free and noble an¬ 
 cestry, the prospect of a future, enriched and endeared by 
 all that is precious in glory* and lovely in virtue. Let him. 
 sweep from our land, as with the besom of destruction, the 
 
41 
 
 Temples of the Most High, the seats of Science, the Courts 
 of Justice, and the Halls of Legislation. Let the palsy o£ 
 death rest on the tongue of the Priest and Teacher, of the 
 Orator, the Patriot, the Statesman. Let the Angel of peace 
 walk no more abroad, through all our borders, dispensing 
 the mild blessings of national tranquillity, and scattering 
 the treasures of her love, by the fireside of home, and in 
 the circles of friendship. Let such a day come, and the 
 blackness of despair shall be our portion. Then, indeed, 
 would be fulfilled in us, the visions of prophecy. “Let all 
 the inhabitants of the land tremble, in the day of darkness 
 and of gloominess, of clouds and of thick darkness.” “I 
 will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken 
 the earth in a clear day; and I will turn your feasts into 
 mourning, and all your songs into lamentation and I will 
 make it, as the mourning of an only son.” But thanks be 
 to God, faith believes and hope rejoices, that such a day will 
 never come for us. The mind holds fast the conviction, the 
 heart cleaves to the persuasion, that we shall never be other¬ 
 wise than free, educated, Christian, peaceful. 
 
 But what shall be our destiny in Science and Literature? 
 Shall foreigners be the Historians and Philosophers, the 
 Orators and Poets, to record our achievements, analyze our 
 institutions, and consecrate our glory? Shall Cyprus send 
 us a Davila, and Germany a Schiller? Shall Switzerland 
 lend us another De Lolme, and France another Mably? 
 Shall English eloquence speak our praise from the lips of 
 another Brougham, another McIntosh, another Erskine? 
 Shall some future Childe Harold go forth on his pilgrimage 
 of Poetry, to the Black Gates of the Mountains, the Natu¬ 
 ral Bridge, the Highlands, and the Falls of Niagara? The 
 language of Guicciardini may record our history, in the 
 volumes of Botta. The French may read our Constitution, 
 in the pages of Mably. England may bear our praise, in 
 the eloquence of Fox; and the Emerald Isle, in the verses 
 of Berkeley. But America shall yet he honored and adorn¬ 
 ed by such Historians as Robertson and Hume; such Phi¬ 
 losophers as Newton and Smith; such Orators as Burke and 
 Chatham; such Poets as Milton and Collins. Doubtless, 
 the proud European, ignorant of what we are, and, there¬ 
 fore, blind to what we maybe, would turn with the smile of 
 incredulity, or the frown of contempt, from such anticipa¬ 
 tions. But, shall the American shrink away, timid and in¬ 
 credulous, from such a prospect? Shall he not rather look 
 
 4* 
 
42 
 
 with the eye of experience on the past and the present, and 
 with the eye of confiding faith and ardent expectation on the 
 future? The people of this day may gaze, with doubt and 
 trembling, at the fortunes of Science and Literature, in the 
 after ages of our country; but those, who shall cross the 
 threshold of the second century of our national existence, 
 will look with gratitude on the past, with rejoicing on the 
 present, and with the energy and enthusiasm of a prophet’s 
 hope, on the future. 
 
 Let us pause and reflect on the reasonableness of this be¬ 
 lief; for that it is reasonable, is, in my opinion, susceptible 
 of demonstration. My proofs are gathered from three re¬ 
 marks. 
 
 First—The moderns, to say nothing more, have shown 
 themselves, not at all inferior to antiquity, in power and ori¬ 
 ginality, in variety and felicity of talent. Indeed, Newton 
 and Leibnitz, Locke, Butler and Bacon, Chatham and Burke, 
 Milton and Shakspeare, Linnaeus, Buflbn and Lavoisier, are 
 unequaled by any of the ancients. Grant that Hume, Rob¬ 
 ertson and Gibbon, are not the rivals in style of Thucydides 
 and Herodotus, of Livy and Sallust, and that they are not, 
 is due to the language and not to the author; yet those are 
 every way superior to these , in all that constitutes the high¬ 
 est value of history. Bossuet, Bourdaloue and Massillon, 
 Pitt, Sheridan, Fox, Erskine and Canning, fear no compari¬ 
 son, if liberal and candid, with Demosthenes, Pericles, Iso¬ 
 crates and Cicero. Schlegel has ranked Shakspeare above 
 all the dramatists of antiquity; while the critical judgment 
 and accomplished taste of the Edinburgh Review, has styled 
 Milton, “the first of poets.” To say no more, by way of 
 comparison, though the parallel might be advantageously 
 pursued, let us remark, how much has been done by the 
 moderns, almost wholly within the last three centuries, in 
 Art and Science, without any or scarcely any model, amomr 
 the ancients. The compass, gunpowder, paper, printing, 
 engraving, and oil painting; the whole department of navi¬ 
 gation, including ship building; the system of modern tac¬ 
 tics by land and by sea, of modern commerce, political econ¬ 
 omy and banking; algebra, fluxions, and the sublime works * 
 of Newton and La Place; anatomy and surgery; chemistry, 
 electricity, magnetism and botany; the telescope and micro¬ 
 scope; the time-piece, the air-pump, the steam-engine and 
 galvanism; the true theory and practice of government; the 
 division and subordination of power; the principles of evi- 
 
43 
 
 l 
 
 deuce and trial; diplomacy, the balance of power and the 
 law of nations ; the history of man, of arts and sciences, 
 and of literature ; philology and the philosophy of history; 
 and lastly, a nobler and better scheme of morals, and a pro* 
 found, rational and comprehensive theology—all these and 
 numberless other inventions, discoveries, and improvements, 
 are the work of the modern world. Whenever that world 
 shall judge boldly , independently , candidly, liberally, the de¬ 
 cision must be in favor of the masters in Literature and 
 Science , who have arisen since the 15 th century. Whether 
 in abstruse and comprehensive, or in refined and elegant 
 speculation ; in profound, energetic, logical reasoning; in 
 powerful, commanding, persuasive eloquence ; in the intel¬ 
 lectual and imaginative poetry, in the descriptive and pa¬ 
 thetic ; in practical wisdom, moral, international, or politi¬ 
 cal, civil, social or domestic ; in those arts, which employ, 
 while they improve and bless the people; in a word, in all 
 that makes man industrious and useful, virtuous and happy, 
 and prepares him for the service of God, of his fellow men 
 and of posterity—if, with a view to these things, we contem¬ 
 plate the great men, who have arisen since the year 1500, 
 we must acknowledge them, unrivaled by the ancients. This 
 is my creed, I glory in it: and this, 1 speak it with trium¬ 
 phant confidence, this, before the close of the 19th century, 
 will be the creed of my country. 
 
 Secondly-—If then the moderns thus rank in a comparison 
 with antiquity, if there never has been, since the Reforma¬ 
 tion, a deficiency of talents, in any department of Science 
 and Art, of Literature and Knowledge; what reason have 
 we to fear, that the time will ever come, when such a defi¬ 
 ciency shall exist ? For myself, I cling with the energy and 
 enthusiasm of religion, philanthropy, and patriotism, to the 
 belief, that such a period shall never exist. “ While the 
 earth remaineth, while seed-time and harvest, and cold and 
 heat, and summer, and winter, and day and night, shall not 
 cease,” I believe that the human mind shall never again be 
 enslaved; that the Protestant nations shall never again sit 
 in darkness; that the bright career of improvement, begun 
 ; by the Reformation, shall never terminate ; till all the na¬ 
 tions shall be gathered into the fold of the one Shepherd, 
 and all sects shall be embosomed, in the holy Sanctuary of 
 the Millenial Church.—Then shall the triumph of the prin¬ 
 ciples of the Reformation be complete. Then shall the 
 Christian religion have become, the only standard of public 
 
44 
 
 and private conduct. Then shall the New Testament have 
 established its dominion every where, substantially and prac¬ 
 tically, as the only fountain of all rights, international, civil 
 and social, as the moral constitution of a world of nations . 
 
 Thirdly—My last remark relates to ourselves. If the ex¬ 
 pectations of Protestant countries, individually, and above 
 all as a community, be thus bright, what hopes of future 
 excellence in Science and Literature, may not our country 
 reasonably indulge? I answer a more glorious hope than 
 any other people, that ever lived. In the daily progress, 
 even “ from rise of morn, to set of sun,” of popular educa¬ 
 tion, of individual usefulness, of social blessings, of public 
 happiness; in all the materials of national power and ag¬ 
 grandizement ; in the prospect of an influence over the for¬ 
 tunes of the world, more wise, more moral, more command¬ 
 ing, than ever state enjoyed; in all that invests a people, 
 with the authority and majesty, the beauty and attractive¬ 
 ness of virtue and justice, of wisdom and knowledge ; I 
 know that this Union lias no rival, among the nations, an¬ 
 cient or modern. And shall not we, in like manner, surpass 
 them, in Science and Literature and Art? We may dispar¬ 
 age ourselves, as the timidity of Domenichino, and the hu¬ 
 mility of Newton undervalued their own genius. Our co¬ 
 temporaries in the great school for the education of States, 
 instituted by the Reformers, may contemn us, even as the fel¬ 
 low-students of the Italian painter and of the English phi¬ 
 losopher, ridiculed and despised them. But the great mas¬ 
 ters of the school of the Reformers, in our day, in our own, 
 as well as in other countries, already anticipate for these 
 United States, a destiny more glorious and happy, than the 
 world has ever witnessed. And well may they predict such 
 fortunes for America, when, besides all that constitutes us 
 the flrst of free, educated, Christian, peaceful States, we en¬ 
 joy advantages, even in relation to Science, Literature and 
 Art, such as no other people ever possessed. We have laid 
 the foundations of improvement in all knowledge, broader 
 and deeper, than ever people did. In all other nations, 
 these have been the result of accident and violence, of sin¬ 
 gular and often fortuitous occurrences ; but, with us, they 
 are the fruits of system in choice, and concentration in ef¬ 
 fort. In other nations, the monarch, the statesman, the phi¬ 
 losopher, the patron, has labored almost single-handed ; but 
 with us, the People have arisen as one Man, to lay these 
 foundations, in the fear of God, and in the presence of the 
 
45 
 
 world. Besides the privilege, that we commenced even 
 our colonial existence, with the principles of the Reformers, 
 and, that they have grown with our growth, and strength¬ 
 ened with our strength, we enjoy a further advantage, con¬ 
 sequent on the triumph of the Reformation. The whole 
 body of British Literature, more profound in Science, more 
 sublime in Genius, and more accomplished in Taste: more 
 substantial, useful, rational and various than that, which any 
 other people has ever produced, constitutes the basis of our 
 structure. And, as the scholars of the British Isles have 
 built on the foundations of Classic antiquity, an edifice more 
 perfect in majesty and loveliness, than the fairy temple of 
 Greece, so, shall our America raise, on the foundations of 
 English Literature, a structure more admirable in “the subr 
 lime, the wonderful, the fair,” than poet’s fancy has ever 
 imaged forth. 
 
 In every department of knowledge, whether theoretical or 
 practical, where thinking and reasoning are the means 
 and the criterion of excellence, our country must, if there 
 
 BE TRUTH AND POWER IN THE PRINCIPLES OF THE REF¬ 
 ORMATION, surpass every people that ever existed . I fear 
 not the great names of Archimedes, Aristotle, and Pla¬ 
 to, of Demosthenes and Cicero, of Tacitus and Thucy¬ 
 dides. I know that we must excel them. I fear not 
 the greater names of Bacon and Newton, of Locke, But¬ 
 ler, Hume and Robertson, of Chatham, Burke and Pitt'., 
 I know that we shall surpass them also. The landmarks of 
 human excellence seemed to have been set, as for an eter¬ 
 nal state of Man, when Archimedes, Aristotle and Plato, 
 Thucydides and Demosthenes constructed the noble edifice 
 of ancient history, philosophy and eloquence. But greater 
 men than these have arisen, and built anew the Holy City 
 of knowledge, placing its foundations amidst a better state 
 of society, on the double bases of the Classic and Christian 
 systems. We have appeared in our turn, and the structures 
 of former ages, and of other nations, have become the ba¬ 
 sis of ours. Instead, therefore, of despairing, let us- feel 
 the strongest assurance, that the present day is to our peo¬ 
 ple, as it were hut the primary school of education: and 
 that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath k en¬ 
 tered into the heart of Man to conceive” the honors* in 
 Science and Literature, reserved for us. I know that hun¬ 
 dreds, perhaps thousands, will regard these sentiments, as 
 visionary in thought, and enthusiatic in feeling. But I 
 would not exchange such delightful anticipations of my 
 
46 
 
 country’s glory, for the timidity of the awe-stricken wor¬ 
 shiper, either of Antiquity, or of that European Literature, 
 whose laurels spring from the very principles, which we are 
 cultivating, with more energy, assiduity and ardor than all 
 other nations. 
 
 Why did Grecian surpass Roman Literature, in all the 
 constituent excellencies of originality, energy and richness, 
 of sublimity, beauty, and variety ? To what causes shall we 
 ascribe this superiority, but to the freedom and power 
 of thought ? And whence did these arise, but from the 
 popular institutions of Greece, from the mutual action and 
 re-action, the national pride, and emulation, which influ¬ 
 enced individuals and the sister States of the same political 
 neighborhood ? And do we not see, moreover, that the Lit¬ 
 erature of Greece was the child of her prime, whilst power, 
 and glory, and liberty flourished; but the Augustan age of 
 Rome was the offspring of her declining years, when the 
 republic had perished, in form as well as in soul ? Why did 
 Italy excel Spain, in the same characteristics of literary 
 merit? Why is there a force, a beauty, a variety, an origin¬ 
 ality of genius in the Fine Arts and in poetry, in Philoso¬ 
 phy and History, which are unrivaled by the Spaniards, em¬ 
 inent as they are? Do we not trace the efficient causes, in 
 that spirit, which once animated Venice and Genoa* Rome 
 and Florence, and many of the small principalities in the 
 North of Italy? Do we not discover them in the national 
 pride and emulation of independent princes ; in the compar¬ 
 ative freedom, activity, boldness and enterprize, which mark¬ 
 ed the Italian people, at the jubilee of their literary glory? 
 Why have the writers of Germany been superior to their gay 
 and gallant neighbors of La Belle France, in the philosophical 
 spirit, in the inventions of original thinking, though not in 
 the graces of the artist; in the profound investigation of 
 principles, though not in the critical application of rules; 
 in various, solid and valuable learning; in the energy and 
 enthusiasm, with which they have studied Man, whether as 
 the subject of Religion or the end of civil society; wheth¬ 
 er as the object of philosophy, history or poetry ? Shall we 
 not assign as adequate causes, that the German States were 
 the Patriarchal family of the Reformation ; that the manner 
 and habit, the love and obligation of intense study, and 
 sound erudition, have been the common inheritance of their 
 Universities: And that the character of their state of soci¬ 
 ety, and political arrangements, has imparted more of na- 
 
47 
 
 lure, energy and individuality, and, if I may venture the 
 expression, more of romantic and picturesque beauty to 
 their Literature ! Why, indeed, have the Protestants of 
 Germany left far behind them, in the Olympic Games of 
 Science and Art, their brethren of the same national house¬ 
 hold, if it be not, that causes of peculiar force, of flexible 
 and diversified character, have exerted a commanding influ¬ 
 ence over the fortunes of the one, but have left untouched 
 the destinies of the other ? Why has Catholic France ex¬ 
 celled Catholic Spain, in genius and taste, in literature and 
 knowledge, in philosophy and history, in the theory and 
 practice both of Arts and Sciences? Was it not chiefly, 
 because the power and intelligence, the learning and enter- 
 prize of the Protestant party, though they had failed to re¬ 
 form France either in Church or in State, yet contributed 
 pre-eminently to that warfare of minds and feelings, of 
 thinking and reasoning, of opinions and sentiments, which 
 made her emphatically Protestant in science and lit¬ 
 erature? 
 
 Why, in fine, have the British Isles excelled the North 
 and the South, the Middle and the West of Europe, in depth, 
 comprehensiveness, and power of thought; in political Sci¬ 
 ence, both practical and speculative ; in all that regards the 
 best interests of Man, as to religion, society and government; 
 in the knowledge of human nature, individual and social; 
 in the intellectual and imaginative sublime, whether of phi¬ 
 losophy, eloquence or poetry ; in a profound moral sympathy 
 with the visible and invisible world ; and in a beauty and 
 pathos, which invest the writings of the Orator, Novelist 
 and Poet, with an air of peculiar majesty, richness, simpli¬ 
 city and taste? What cause shall we assign for these phe¬ 
 nomena, hut the power of study, the freedom of thought, and 
 the liberty, that lives and moves in their institutions? And 
 why, did British Literature, during the reign of the third 
 George, ascend the heights of fame, with a step, so bold and 
 free ; with an air of such elegance, dignity, and grace ? 
 Why did her authors so pre-eminently excel in originality 
 and variety: in reasoning, eloquence, and the knowledge of 
 principles, theoretical and practical; in the power of thought, 
 comprehensive, profound and acute ; in sublimity and beau¬ 
 ty ; in pathos, splendor, and richness ? Shall we not re¬ 
 cognize, in our day, the mysterious agency, the uncontrolla¬ 
 ble working of causes, analogous to those, which created 
 the gigantic literature of the age of Elizabeth? The Re- 
 
48 
 
 formation was the well-spring of thought and principles, at 
 that period. Our Revolution of ’76, is the fountain of liv¬ 
 ing waters now. The war of life and death, waged by Philip 
 the Second gave to the whole nation, unexampled concentra¬ 
 tion of effort, enthusiasm of sentiment, and fixedness of 
 purpose; and an intensity of feeling, endued with all the 
 holiness of martyrdom, all the self-devotion of patriotism, 
 and all the energy of passion. And who can deny, that 
 when the fountains of the great deep of the Moral world, 
 were broken up by the French Revolution, a mightier pow¬ 
 er swayed British minds, profounder emotions swelled Brit¬ 
 ish hearts, and a spirit, unrivaled in decision of character, 
 variety of resource, loftiness of motive, and inextinguisha¬ 
 ble ardor kindled alike in the Prince and the People, in the 
 Warrior, the Statesman, and the Orator, in the Novelist and 
 the Poet ? 
 
 What, though my country may never produce a Homer 
 or a Virgil, a Phidias, or an Apelles ?—What, though Mi¬ 
 chael Angelo and Raphael, Tasso and Shakspeare may never 
 have a rival in our land ; yet have we already brought forth 
 men, greater and better, wiser and more valuable, than the 
 Poet, the Painter, the Statuary, and the Architect. Even 
 at this day, have we done more for the solid, permanent, ra¬ 
 tional happiness of man, than all the Artists, that ever lived. 
 One citizen, the fruit and example of institutions, virtuous, 
 benevolent and peaceful, wise and free, is worth more to his 
 family, his social circle, his country, than the clouds of Aris¬ 
 tophanes, the group of the Rhodian Sculptors, or the trans¬ 
 figuration of Raphael. If the sons of Cornelia were her 
 jewels, each citizen, free, educated, happy, is to America a 
 pearl above all price. 
 
 The time is fast coming, when the wide-spread influence 
 of moral wisdom, and of instructed common sense, shall as¬ 
 sign to Poetry and the Fine Arts, a rank far below that, 
 which they have held, from a singular concurrence of cir¬ 
 cumstances, in the judgment of the world. When this con¬ 
 summation shall have been fulfilled, the Poet and the Artist, 
 however eminent, shall then be classed far, very far below 
 the Statesman and Orator, the Philosopher and Historian. 
 But let me curb the patriot feeling, which hurries me on¬ 
 ward, from flight to flight, in contemplating the rich inheri¬ 
 tance of our children, the glorious destiny of our country. 
 Let me then pause, and gather up the moral, as it were, of 
 all that has been said. 
 
49 
 
 The age of the American Revolution is to the rights of 
 Man, what the age of the Reformers was to his duties. 
 This, republished the true principles of Christian liberty, 
 obligation and happiness—that of natural right, of political 
 and civil freedom. The Reformation of Luther laid the 
 foundation of the rights of Man in Society. The Revolu¬ 
 tion of 1776 finished the superstructure of Religious Lib¬ 
 erty. —The principles of the Protestant epoch remodeled 
 the Church—those of the American tera—Society and Gov¬ 
 ernment. Daughters of the same divine parent, the Reli¬ 
 gion of the Bible, they have founded a new family among 
 the nations. Whilst all Europe trembled, as with an earth¬ 
 quake, amidst the convulsions of the thirty years’ war, the 
 foundations of this new family were laid at Jamestown and 
 Plymouth. Here, on these Western shores, savage and in¬ 
 hospitable, the infant state was born, unnoticed and unknown, 
 like the child in Revelations, that was hidden in the wilder¬ 
 ness. Many a wild torrent of Indian massacre swept over 
 our childhood; and left behind it the desolate pathway of 
 the whirlwind. Many a mountain wave from the battle¬ 
 fields of Europe rushed across the Atlantic; and garments 
 rolled in blood were the portion of our youth. As the prime 
 of life approached, the children of the outcast and wander¬ 
 er arose, and fought on their own soil, by the side, and in 
 the cause of the parent nation. The prime of life came, and 
 the principles of the Reformation taught them, that Inde¬ 
 pendence was a right and a duty, when civil and political 
 liberty was invaded. The Gordian knot of colonial obedi¬ 
 ence w T as severed : a fierce struggle for the mastery ensued: 
 and it pleased the Almighty, that the victory should be ours. 
 That victory was a consequence, however remote—a tri¬ 
 umph, however unlooked for, of the Reformation. 
 
 The spirit of inquiry, first principles, thinking, reasoning, 
 were the very essence, the genius of the Reformation, in 
 the age of Luther. The same were the essence, the genius 
 of the Revolution, under Washington. The Protestant na¬ 
 tions have surpassed all the rest of the European family in 
 the depth and comprehensiveness, in the sublimity and beau¬ 
 ty, in the richness and variety of their Literature and Science. 
 Britain, the guardian angel of the liberty of Europe, the van¬ 
 guard of civilization and freedom in the Old World,— 
 
 5 
 
50 
 
 “ She, in the soul of Man, her better wealth, 
 
 “ The richest: Nature’s noblest produce, she 
 “The immortal mind in perfect height and strength, 
 
 “ Bears with a prodigal opulence.” 
 
 And we, tlie only offspring nation ever bore, worthy of such 
 an ancestry, we must not, we cannot, we shall not rest sat¬ 
 isfied, with inferiority to English fame, in Science and Lit¬ 
 erature. The spirit of inquiry, first principles, thought, 
 reasoning, these are the causes, which, under circumstances 
 singularly felicitous, have made her in power and glory, in 
 wisdom and virtue, in wealth, happiness, freedom and 
 knowledge, the greatest of European States, whether ancient 
 or modern. And the same causes shall enable us, still more 
 fortunate in situation, at our appointed day of meridian ex¬ 
 cellence, to ascend a loftier hight of power and glory, of 
 wisdom and virtue, of wealth, happiness, freedom, and 
 knowledge, than England has ever attained. She has ac¬ 
 complished all, that a European people, subjects of a limited 
 monarchy, can attain, under the transforming, regenerating 
 influence of the Reformation. She is the Rome of the 
 Modern World, but has far excelled the Imperial Republic 
 of Antiquity. We shall accomplish still more, in effecting 
 all, that an American people, citizens of a confederacy of 
 Republics can perform, under the combined influence of the 
 Reformation and of our Revolution. We shall be the 
 Greece of the Modern World, unrivaled by the Literature 
 of three thousand years. All, indeed that the system of the 
 Reformers can bring to pass, our country, the only holy 
 land of Religious liberty, the only promised land of politi¬ 
 cal freedom, shall assuredly accomplish. Then shall our 
 country be—emphatically, pre-eminently— the empire of 
 
 MIND, THE REPUBLIC OF LETTERS. 
 
51 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note A. p. 15. 
 
 About the time, when the above was written, the Hon. Judge Story 
 was delivering, before the Phi Beta Kappa of Harvard, his oration, in 
 which he applauds so tastefully, and recommends so zealously, classical 
 Literature. In that interesting composition, the learned and eloquent 
 author speaks of “ those finished histories, which still enlighten and in¬ 
 struct governments, in their duty and their destiny.” This sentiment 
 awakened surprise, and led to a reconsideration of the opinion, expressed 
 in the text. That opinion, however, after mature reflection, has been re¬ 
 tained, with a firm belief, that it is a just estimate of the value of ancient 
 authors, whether political or historical, as standards for modern nations. 
 The governments of Greece and Rome (to these United States especial¬ 
 ly) are, like heathenism compared with Christian morals— beacons to 
 warn, not guides to instruct.. They exhibit the crimes and follies of 
 others: but cannot teach us our duty, much less our destiny. Gov¬ 
 ernment and society, in ancient times, differed so exceedingly from gov¬ 
 ernment and society in modern days, and especially in our country, that 
 ancient history (above all, as composed by ancient historians) is matter 
 of curiosity, rather than of instruction. The history of England (to 
 say nothing of the history of our own country) is worth more to us, as 
 a text book of knowledge and duty, than the whole body of ancient his¬ 
 tory. Besides, the latter is eminently deficient in Philosophy, in a knowl¬ 
 edge of the human nature of nations, and in political economy ; and is in 
 a remarkable degree, the historical biography of a series of individuals, 
 rather than the history of societies. It is, moreover, conspicuously the 
 record of tyranny and oppression, of ignorance and folly, of treachery 
 and weakness, whether the government, were the despotism of Persia, or 
 the Democracy of Athens; the Oligarchy of Sparta, or the Aristocracy 
 of Rome. In a word, ancient history may be set before the youthful 
 American, as the Spartans exhibited intoxicated slaves, before their 
 children: not as models of duty, but as examples to shock and disgust. 
 Whilst the American shall resort to the ancient historians as standards 
 of public duty, as prophets of the future destinies of his nation; and 
 shall continue to neglect the profound, comprehensive, and minute study 
 of our own peculiar government and society, he never can arrive at 
 that elevation of wisdom and usefulness, as a Statesman or Political Phi¬ 
 losopher, which the intense examination and thorough development of 
 our own institutions and resources, can alone enable him to obtain. 
 
 The Life of Washington, by Ch. J. Marshall, is a book of which Ameri¬ 
 cans may well be proud: not indeed as a rhetorical composition, for which 
 the ancient Historians are so unreasonably extolled: but as surpassing, 
 in the true dignity and usefulness, simplicity and beauty of History, all 
 that can be found in Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon, in Livy or 
 Sallust, Caesar or Tacitus. To be thoroughly versed in the facts, and to 
 be deeply imbued with the spirit of Washington's Administration, is worth 
 
52 
 
 more to the citizen of the United States, than the most intimate acquaint¬ 
 ance with the whole body of Greek and Roman History. How indeed 
 could it be otherwise, since the sentiments and writings, the conduct and 
 entire character of Washington exhibit more of true glory, and of exalt¬ 
 ed patriotism, than is to be found in the Statesmen and Heroes of Anti¬ 
 quity. Washington’s Letter to the Governors of the States, his Inau¬ 
 gural Addresses, his Messages, and his Farewell Address, are of more 
 value to us, as a text-book of national and social morals, of enlightened 
 duty, virtuous moderation, and a dignified, yet ardent love of regulated 
 freedom, than all the political wisdom of Ancient History. To Ch. J. 
 Marshall, as a Representative in Congress, as an Ambassador, as a Judge 
 and a Historian, his Country owes an ample debt of gratitude. May our 
 children’s children acknowledge it with pride, and repay it with a thank¬ 
 ful, admiring spirit. His will ever be, in American annals, peculiarly 
 and emphatically, “clarum et venerabile nomen.” 
 
 Note B. p. 16. 
 
 I believe, that I do not speak unadvisedly or ignorantly, on this sub¬ 
 ject. I have devoted as much time to the study of the classics, and 
 with as much zeal and industry, as perhaps most scholars of our country, 
 excepting Professors and other teachers. I began life with deep feel¬ 
 ings of veneration for the classics, with an exalted opinion of their ex¬ 
 cellence in matter and manner, and with a strong belief of their superi¬ 
 ority over the Moderns. But the reflections and experience of twenty 
 years have led me gradually, yet irresistibly against all my preposses¬ 
 sions and settled opinions, to the conclusion, that the best interests of 
 education in this country, require a total revolution on this subject. For 
 myself, I hope to be excused for setting down here, candidly and inde¬ 
 pendently, the result of much and anxious thought, devoted to this in¬ 
 quiry, especially whilst engaged in the education of my eldest son. 
 Confining the question to British authors only, as compared with those 
 of Greece and Rome, my settled opinion is, that the former are superior 
 to the latter, in all the constituent excellencies of true greatness; in 
 permanent, practical, extensive usefulness; in preparing the individual 
 for the walks of private and social life ; the citizen, for the rational en¬ 
 joyment of his privileges, the patriot, for his public duties; and the 
 Christian, for the service of his God, and of his fellow men. Accord¬ 
 ingly, I would rather have a young man deeply imbued with the spirit, 
 thoroughly instructed in the principles, and enriched with the knowl¬ 
 edge, to be gathered from the eminent authors of the British school, 
 than that he should be the most accomplished classical scholar in the 
 Union, nay, even in the world. 1 would rather he should be a profound 
 student of the Philosophy, Literature, and History, produced by the 
 British Isles, than that he should copy Thucydide nine times, or imitate 
 Dudith, in transcribing Cicero thrice;* * that he should be able to converse 
 
 ( 
 
 * Were instructors, in our day, to recommend an imitation of this ex¬ 
 ample of the Athenian Orator, it would be considered as downright folly. 
 If the Student of Divinity were told to copy Butler’s Analogy; the Stu- 
 denl of Law, Blackstone’s Commentaries; the Student of Belles Lettres, 
 Kaimes or Alison; and the Student of Philosophy, Paley or Locke, it 
 would be pronounced an unpardonable waste of time, and a very unin- 
 
53 
 
 Tike Ritterhusius, in the lines of Homer, or commit, like Lipsius, the 
 whole of Tacitus to memory. Let a young man study, with enthusiasm 
 and devoted application, the following authors, and I feel assured, that he 
 will be a wiser and better, a more useful and happy man, whether in 
 public or private life, than if he should dedicate the prime of his days, 
 to the classics, and be able to write Greek like Heinsius, or Latin like 
 Muretus.* * The English authors, whom I would name as constituting 
 a nobler, richer, and more valuable library, than the whole body of 
 Greek and Roman writers together, are the following. 1 exclude 
 from the catalogue literary writers, such as Novelists and Poets; not, 
 however, that 1 undervalue them. Indeed, I regard the British Isles, 
 as the superiors of Greece and Rome, in the sublime and the beautiful, 
 in the descriptive and pathetic, in the moral and sentimental Poetry. 
 And as to the writings of Scott and Rad cl i fie, of Fielding, Smollett, Rich¬ 
 ardson, Godwin, &c. &c., they have no rivals in the whole compass of 
 ancient Literature. For no one, I presume, would compare with them, 
 '‘the loves of Chaereas and Callirhoe,” or ol “Clitophon and Leucippe;” 
 
 tire Amours of Daphids and Chloe,” or of “ Dosicles and Rhodanthe 
 the Romances of Xenophon and Partkenius, or the ^Ethiopics of the 
 Bishop of Tricca. Fictitious History, in truth, is found among the an¬ 
 cients, only in the state of a raw mate:ial. The profound knowledge of 
 human nature, the original genius, and exquisite workmanship of Brit¬ 
 ish artists, has added another order to the Architecture of Literature. 
 
 The following is the list of books above referred to. 
 
 The Bible with Scott’s, or Henry’s or D’Oyley and Mant’s, and A, 
 Clarke’s Commentaries. Paley’s Evidences. Chalmer’s Evidences. 
 Butler’s Analogy. Cumberland on the Laws of Nature. Campbell on 
 'Miracles. Horseley’s nine Sermons on do. Horseley’s Discourse on 
 Prophesies among the heathen as to the Messiah. Dwight’s Theology. 
 
 Good’s Book of Nature, Paley’s Natural Theology. Magee on the 
 
 Atonement. Hora: Mosaic® 
 Blackwell’s Sacred Classics. 
 
 by Faber. Hor; 
 Lowth’s Lectures 
 
 Paulinas by Paley. 
 on Hebrew Poetry. 
 
 Good’s Book of Job. Horsley's Psalms. Horsley’s Hosea. Robert 
 Lowth’s Isaiah. Horne’s Critical Study of the Scriptures. Berkeley’s 
 Minute Philosopher. Law’s considerations on Natural and Revealed 
 Religion. Neal’s History of the Puritans. God's End in the Creation 
 
 telligible mode of improvement. Does not this act of Demosthenes 
 very remarkably illustrate the fundamental difference, between the 
 Ancients and Moderns, that the former regarded style as an end ; 
 but the latter, as a means : that the former excel chiefly in style, 
 .he latter pre-eminently in thought . If Demosthenes had not 
 copied Thucydides, Dudith would have been ridiculed ami despised as a 
 laborious trifler, destitute of taste, discrimination and judgment. But he 
 may now silence all classical scholars, with Cicero’s memorable senti¬ 
 ment; “ errare mehercule cum Platone malo, quam cum istis vera sen- 
 tire;” unless, indeed one of them should have the courage to return, as 
 a just rebuke, the sentiment of Cicero himself: there is nothing so ab¬ 
 surd, but that some one or other of the Philosophers has advanced it. 
 
 * I mention the Greek of Heinsius, because his Greek Poem (Pando¬ 
 ra, I think,) passed with Scaliger for the work of Hesiod ; and Muretus 
 imposed on the same celebrated critic, Latin verses of bis own compo¬ 
 sition, as fragments of Trabeas. 
 
 *5 
 
54 
 
 of the World, by the Elder Edwards. Beattie on Truth. Smith’s Mor¬ 
 al Sentiments. Paley’s Moral Philosophy Foster’s Essays. Locke’s 
 Essay. Dugald Stewart. Edwards on the Will. Kirwan’s Logic. Watts 
 on the Improvement of the Mind. Enfield’s History of Philosophy. 
 Reid. Brown. Bacon’s Advancement of Learning. Blair’s Lectures. 
 Campbell’s Philosophy of Rhetoric. Alison on Taste. Karnes’ Ele¬ 
 ments. Murray’s Grammar, 8vo. Horne Tooke’s Diversions of Pur- 
 ley. Ferguson on Civil Society. Stuart’s view of Society in Europe. 
 Hallam’s Middle Ages. Robertson’s India. Playfair’s Decline and Fall 
 of Nations. Burke and Mackintosh on Fr. Revol. Madame De Stael 
 on do. Burke’s Letters on a Regicide Peace. Rutherforth. Smith’s 
 Wealth of Nations. Malthus on Population. Brougham’s Colonial Pol¬ 
 icy. Alexander Hamilton’s Reports. De Lolme on the English Gov¬ 
 ernment.* Millar on do. Montague’s Ancient Republics. Hallam’s 
 Constitutional History of England. Chipman’s Piinciples. Niles’Prin¬ 
 ciples and Acts of the Revolution. The Federalist. Chancellor Kent’s 
 Lectures on Constitutional Law. Principal Decisions of the Supreme 
 Court of the United States. Best Speeches of American Statesmen and 
 Lawyers. Best do. of English, as Chatham, Pitt, Fox, Windham, Ersk- 
 ine, Burke, Sheridan, Canning, Brougham, Macintosh. Brown’s An¬ 
 tiquities of the Jews. Milman’s History of the Jews. Russel’s Ancient 
 Europe. Mitford’s Greece. Leland’s Philip. Gillies’ History of the 
 World from Alexander to Augustus. Shuckford’s Connections. Rus¬ 
 sell’s Continuation. Prideaux’s Connections. History of Rome under the 
 Kings, from Hooke. Ferguson’s Roman Republic. Gibbon’s Decline and 
 Fall. Milner’s History of the Christian Church. Russell’s Modern 
 Europe. Roscoe’s Lorenzo de Medici. Roscoe’s Leo X. Robertson’s 
 Charles V. Watson’s Philip II, and III. Irving’s Columbus. Robert¬ 
 son’s America. Marshall’s Washington. Pitkin’s Civil and Political 
 History of the United States. Hume’s History of England, with the con¬ 
 tinuations. Brodie’s History of England, correcting Hume’s Errors. 
 Clarendon’s History of the Rebellion. Cox’s Lite of Marlborough. 
 Gifford’s Life of Pitt. Priestley’s Lectures on History. Bolingbroke. on 
 History. Do. on English History. Gray’s Memoria Techniea. And 
 lastly, the various and general knowledge, found in Cyclopaedias, and the 
 admirable articles on Politics, Philosophy, and Criticism, in the Edin¬ 
 burgh and Quarterly Reviews. 
 
 It is an error to suppose, that a course of study is confined to the pe¬ 
 riod of youth, and that when a young man has lett school or college, he 
 has finished his education, and has nothing to study, but his profession. 
 In truth, he has done little more than treasure up some of the important 
 materials and acquire the elementary habits and discipline, which are 
 indispensable to the continued improvement of his mind. If he expects 
 to be a scholar, not in the Literary sense of the word, but in a far high¬ 
 er and nobler sense, as a Christian, Patriot, Philanthropist, and Public 
 
 * I number De Lolme among English writers ; because, although a 
 Swiss, he never could have written his work, had he not become an in¬ 
 habitant of England. Without a permanent residence, he would have 
 been as little fit for the task, as Montesquieu, or as Mably was to write, 
 respecting the Constitution of the United States. I mention several 
 American writers likewise, as identified with English Literature, in rela¬ 
 tion to the rest of the world, especially as to the Ancients. 
 
Servant, in the State or National Councils, in Literary, Benevolent and 
 Religious Institutions ; if he means to be distinguished for his sense of 
 duty, and his spirit of usefulness, for just principles, enlarged views, 
 dignified sentiments, and liberal feelings, for sound thinking, and clear, 
 close reasoning, let him be assured that he has done little more than lay 
 the foundations, in the school, or even in the college, up to the age of 
 twenty. He must make up his mind to be a devoted student, in spite 
 of his professional engagements, for ten years at least; until he shall 
 have been able to deepen and strengthen, and enlarge, and elevate his 
 mind, so as to fit himself for solid, honorable, permanent usefulness. 
 Let him remember, that the School only prepares the youth to enter on 
 the course of study, appropriate to the young man: and that the Col¬ 
 lege only enables the young man to enter on the course of study, ap¬ 
 propriate to the man. Manhood has its appropriate course of study, 
 and the difference between men arises very much from their selection 
 and pursuit of a right course of study. Many fine minds, capable of en¬ 
 larged and durable improvement and usefulness, are lost every year to 
 the community, in which their lot is cast, to the country they are bound 
 to serve, to the cause of religion, humanity, justice and literature: be¬ 
 cause they have failed in this great duty, they have neglected the course 
 of study, appropriate to manhood. And here let it be remarked, that 
 the true student never considers how much he reads, but rather how lit¬ 
 tle, and only what, and how he reads. 
 
 I hope, that I may state without even the appearance of ostentation, 
 my own practice to illustrate my principle. Six months were devoted 
 to Ferguson on Civil Society, a whole summer to the first volume of 
 Montesquieu, and 2d Biackstone, three months to Hume’s Elizabeth, 
 four to Viilers on the Reformation of Luther, six to the first part of 
 Butler’s Analogy, and so on of very many other works. Of course, oth¬ 
 er studies were pursued at the same time, with these different authors. 
 I believe that 1 may render you a service by stating my mode of study, 
 in three important particulars. 1. Before i commenced an author, 1 
 made myself thoroughly master of the whole scheme of his work, (if a 
 table of bks. chaps, and secs, enabled me to do so,) of the character of 
 his whole system, of the principles, on which he had separated and ar¬ 
 ranged the parts, and of their relation to each other, and to the whole. 
 2. i then studied the author in the following manner. After reading the 
 first sentence, I meditated on it, developing the author’s thought, as well 
 as 1 w r as able ; and reducing the whole, as nearly as possible, to a sin¬ 
 gle, distinct, concise expression. I then read the second sentence, and 
 did the same : and next compared the two sentences together, medita¬ 
 ting on them, and gathering out of them their substance. Thus I went 
 through the paragraph : and then reflected on the whole, until I had 
 reduced it to a single sentence, containing its essence. I then studied 
 the next paragraph in like manner: and having finished it, I compared 
 the two together, and gathered out of them their substance. The same 
 plan was followed in the comparison of sections with sections, chapters 
 with chapters, books with books, until the author was finished. This 
 may appear at first sight an exceedingly tedious process; but any one, 
 acquainted with the nature of the mind, knows the wmnderful facility, 
 that would soon be acquired by a faithful, patient adherence to this mode 
 of study, even through a single chapter. 3. A third rule was to pass 
 nothing unexamined, nothing without reflection, whether in poetry or 
 fiction, history or travels, politics, philosophy, or religion. Gratitude will 
 not allow me to pass unnoticed the vast advantages, derived from a hum- 
 
56 
 
 ble, patient, thankful, perusal of Watts’ admirable^book, on the Improve*- 
 ment of the Mind. Nor ought I to omit the three rules of Professor 
 Whitaker, of Cambridge, given to John Boyse, one of the eminent trans¬ 
 lators of the Bible in the time of James the 1st, to study chiefly stand¬ 
 ing or walking, never to study at a window, and not to go to bed, on 
 any account, with cold feet. Students too often neglect their health, 
 until the constitution becomes impaired, if not undermined: and thus 
 they never fail to lose in the effort to recover health, twice and thrice as 
 much time , as they had been unwilling to devote to its preservation. 
 This loss is sustained at a period of life, when their improvement would 
 be doubly as rapid and efficient, as at an earlier season. 
 
 Let me here notice one circumstance, seldom referred to, yet, in my 
 judgment, of great importance. I allude to the idea, that when a young 
 man has left the school and college, he has nothing farther to do with 
 the books, he had there studied. The very opposite is the wise course. 
 Let him review, deliberately and scrupulously, the most valuable of his 
 class-books. This appears to me indispensable; because he is generally 
 driven through them with a rapidity, which precludes the possibility of 
 studying them as he ought. YV hen young men, even in a senior class, 
 are required, with a full portion of other studies, to prepare themselves 
 in four or six numbers of the Federalist, or in twenty pages of logic, 
 mental philosophy, or the law of Nations, and so of other studies in pro¬ 
 portion, we know that they can do little more, than retail from memory, 
 the prominent thoughts of the writer: but, as to understanding the subject, 
 that is out of the question, except, perhaps, in one case out of a hundred. 
 The radical defect of all schools and colleges is, that they teach superfi¬ 
 cially and imperfectly ; because they allot so many books to be gone 
 through, and it must be done within a given time. Hence arises the 
 necessity for a young man’s reviewing, as soon as he leaves the school 
 or college, the most important hooks he had studied. 1 do not include 
 among these either his classics or his mathematics. The former will be 
 of iittie avail, unless he means to be decidedly a literary man : the lat¬ 
 ter of as little, unless he pursue some profession, to which mathematics 
 are indispensable. In the first case, his classics, like French and Ger¬ 
 man, Spanish and Italian, must still be secondary considerations; for they 
 belong only to the ornamental parts of his course, only to the acconi' 
 pHshments of the mature education of manhood. In the second case, 
 mathematics must be cultivated because they are to become a profes¬ 
 sional instrument. 1 include, then, only works in the moral and politic' 
 al department—such as Locke, Stewart, Murray’s Grammar Svo.. Camp¬ 
 bell, Blair, Karnes, Vattel, the Federalist, Smith’s Wealth of Nations, 
 
 Paley’s Philosophy, Natural Theology and Evidences, Ferguson on Civil 
 Society, Morse’s Geography, or any other corresponding works that may 
 have been read. Let these be thoroughly studied, not at the quick time 
 pace of study for the recitation room, but, in that calm, deliberate, 
 thoughtful spirit, which the student would devote to them, if preparing 
 himself to teach them. While reviewing these works, let him study, at 
 the same time, in order to increase his stock of valuable facts, (the mate¬ 
 rials of future improvement) History, Biography, Geography, Travels, 
 and Natural History, so far as interesting and important facts are concern¬ 
 ed ; but without the technical science. Jn this manner, likewise, such 
 a class-book, as Enfield’s Natural Philosophy may be reviewed. 
 
 1 am so perfectly convinced of the correctness of the opinions above 
 expressed, as to the far superior advantages, derivable from English Wri¬ 
 ters, that it is a source of constant regret, that my youth and early man- 
 
57 
 
 hood, were not devoted to the study of the authors here enumerated, 
 rather than to the Classics. I desire to record here, emphatically my 
 opinion founded on the history of my own mind and the experience of 
 twenty years—that I have derived no substantial improvement from the 
 Classics. I owe to modern writers, chiefly English, all that I have or 
 am. And it is now a source of regret to me, that my own imperfections 
 in this particular, and my condition in life, do not permit me to dedicate 
 myself wholly, to the instruction of my sons, on the plan of an educa¬ 
 tion, founded on common sense and human nature ; adapted to our state 
 of society, to our government, and to the prospects of our Country; and 
 devoted chiefly to the profound and comprehensive culture of Religion and 
 of Moral and Political Science. Few, as yet, have turned their attention 
 much to this subject: and most, who have thought of it, have spoken in 
 the spirit of the old English Barons, “Nolumus leges Angliae mutari.” 
 They have spoken in the spirit of Patrick Henry, in the Virginia Con¬ 
 vention, when he declared, “ I would infinitely rather have a King, 
 Lords and Commons, than a government, so replete with evils, as this 
 which is now offered to us.” They have spoken in the spirit of Raw¬ 
 lins Lowndes, who declared on a similar occasion, in the House of Rep¬ 
 resentatives of South Carolina, that he desired no other epitaph on his 
 tomb, than that he had opposed the new Constitution. 
 
 Note C. p. 23. 
 
 It is a curious circumstance, that about the time, when this intolerant 
 spirit was disgracing New-England and Virginia, Boccalina, the Swift 
 of Italy, published his “ Ragguagli di Parnaso,” in which he condemns 
 Bodin to the flames, as an Atheist , for having held, that liberty of con¬ 
 science should be enjoyed by every sect. 
 
 Note D. p. 28. 
 
 This sentiment is finely illustrated by the thought of Algernon Sydney, 
 carried, however, to an unwarrantable extreme, but admirable in itself, 
 and full of wisdom and dignity ; for he tells us, that he deems all studies 
 unworthy the regard of a man, except the study of the principles of just 
 government. 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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ADDRESS 
 
 03V THE 
 
 EXPEDIENCY AND DUTY 
 
 OF ADOPTING THE BIBLE, 
 
 AS THE 
 
 TEXT BOOK 
 
 OF 
 
 DUTY AND USEFULNESS, IN EVERY SCHEME 
 
 OF 
 
 EDUCATION, 
 
 FROM THE PRIMARY SCHOOL 
 
 TO THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY: 
 
 DELIVERED AT COLUMBIA, S. C. 
 
 In the Presbyterian Church, on Friday Evening, 4th of Dec. 1829, 
 
 before the 
 
 RICHLAND SCHOOL. 
 
 BY THOMAS S. GRIMKE. 
 
 WITH ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 
 

 
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ADDRESS. 
 
 There is a Classic, the best the world has ever seen, the 
 noblest, that has ever honored and dignified the language of 
 mortals. If we look into its antiquity, we discover a title 
 to our veneration, unrivaled in the history of Literature. 
 If we have respect to its evidences, they are found in the 
 testimony of miracle and prophecy ; in the ministry of Man, 
 of Nature and of Angels, yea even of “ God, manifest in 
 the flesh,” of “ God, blessed forever.” If we consider its 
 authenticity, no other pages have survived the lapse of time, 
 that can be compared with it. If we examine its authority, 
 for it speaks, as never man spake, we discover, that it came 
 from Heaven, in vision and prophecy, under the sanction 
 of Him, who is Creator of all things, and the Giver of ev¬ 
 ery good and perfect gift. If we reflect on its truths, they 
 are lovely and spotless, sublime and holy, as God himself, 
 unchangeable as his nature, durable as his righteous domin- 
 ion, and versatile as the moral condition of mankind. If 
 we regard the value of its treasures, we must estimate them, 
 not like the relics of classic Antiquity, by the perishable glo¬ 
 ry and beauty, virtue and happiness of this world, but by 
 the enduring perfection and supreme felicity of an eternal 
 kingdom. If we inquire, who are the men, that have re¬ 
 corded its truths, vindicated its rights, and illustrated the 
 excellence of its scheme—from the depth of Ages and from 
 the living world, from the populous continent and the isles 
 of the Sea—comes forth the answer—the Patriarch and the 
 Prophet, the Evangelist and the Martyr. If we look abroad 
 through the world of men, the victims of folly or vice, the 
 prey of cruelty, or injustice, and inquire what are its bene¬ 
 fits, even in this temporal state, the great and the humble, 
 the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the learned 
 and the ignorant reply, as with one voice, that humility and 
 resignation, purity, order and peace, faith, hope, and charity, 
 are its blessings upon Earth. And if, raising our eyes from 
 Time to Eternity, from the world of mortals to the world 
 of just men made perfect, from the visible creation, marvel¬ 
 ous, beautiful and glorious as it is, to the invisible creation 
 of Angels and Seraphs, from the footstool of God, to the 
 
 6 
 
62 
 
 Throne of God himself, we ask, what are the blessings that 
 flow from this single volume, let the question be answered 
 by the pen of the Evangelist, the harp of the Prophet, and 
 the records of the book of Life. 
 
 Such is the best of Classics the world has ever admired ; 
 such, the noblest that Man has ever adopted as a guide. And 
 yet, incredible as it may seem, and to all but ourselves, it 
 would be incredible, this best, this noblest Classic, is exclu¬ 
 ded from all our plans of education, with a watchfulness, a 
 zeal, a perseverance, worthy of the enemies, but dishonora¬ 
 ble to the friends of the Bible. Had the Infidel constructed 
 the schemes of education, which prevail in Christian coun¬ 
 tries, we should not be surprised to find them, such as they 
 are, for they exclude as much of scriptural elements, as even 
 a politic Infidel could venture to omit; whilst they embrace 
 as ample a share of the constituents of paganism and of the 
 world, as an Infidel could dare to employ, with the hidden 
 purpose of depraving the heart, corrupting the moral taste, 
 and keeping Religion and the Scriptures constantly out of 
 view. I know, that the good and the great, the wise and 
 the learned, and not the Infidel, have been the founders, and 
 are the supporters of these schemes. I know that even the 
 Christian ministry, in every variety of virtue and knowl¬ 
 edge, under all the vicissitudes of wealth and poverty, of 
 glory and obscurity, have honored them with their sanction, 
 and sustained them by their influence. But I also know, 
 that the great and the good, the wise and the learned have 
 had their follies and prejudices, their unreasonable attach¬ 
 ments and pernicious aversions. I know that even the Chris¬ 
 tian ministry have defended the cause of error and super¬ 
 stition, of the bigot and the fanatic. I know that they have 
 preached the crusade against the infidel and the heretic, that 
 they r have justified and acted their part, in the Auto da Fe, 
 that, even among Protestants, they have objected to the 
 scheme of Bible Societies, and to the mutual labors of dif¬ 
 ferent sects. I know that the great and the good, the wise 
 and the learned, in the ministry and among the people, 
 have vindicated the divine right of Kings and the doctrine 
 of passive obedience, the necessity of an Established Church, 
 and of orders of Nobility, the superiority of Monarchy and 
 Aristocracy over Republican forms, the principle, that man 
 is unfit for self-government, and the expediency of arming 
 the civil magistrate with authority in matters of conscience. 
 I know that they expelled the Huguenots from France, the 
 
63 
 
 Jews from Spain, the Puritans from England, and the fol¬ 
 lowers of Roger Williams from Massachusetts. I know, 
 that even in our own Carolina, they denied to the French 
 refugees the rights of fellow-subjects ; that in 1778, they 
 declared the Protestant to be the Established religion of the 
 State ; that within a few years, they resisted the claims of a 
 Hebrew to a seat in the Legislature of North Carolina ; and 
 in Maryland, lirst among the Colonies in toleration, last 
 among the States in intolerance, the Israelite, until within 
 a few years, was condemned to political slavery. 
 
 All these things I know; for they are scattered over the 
 pages of history and biography, they have insulted, degra¬ 
 ded and afflicted mankind, they have dishonored even God 
 himself. And when I look backward through the vista of 
 nearly sixty centuries, and see the condition of Man, during 
 the most of that time : and when I look abroad through the 
 world as it is, and behold the ignorance and vice, that op¬ 
 press the vast majority of our race, I cease to wonder at the 
 inexorability of prejudice, and the unconquerable attachment 
 to existing institutions. And, when I remember that the 
 great and the good, the wise and the learned, advocated 
 James the 2nd., and resisted the Revolution of 1688; that 
 they justified the tyrannical measures of Charles the 1st. and 
 sought in a thirty years’ war the enslavement of Protestant 
 Germany ; that they condemned, even among ourselves, the 
 cause of American Independence, and opposed in every 
 form, the abolition of the Slave Trade by the British Par¬ 
 liament, still less do I wonder at the power of prejudice, 
 and the despotism of ancient predilections. Truth has pre¬ 
 vailed in many a battle against error ; though shielded by 
 authority and strengthened by superstition, decorated by 
 taste and genius, and recommended by talents and learning. 
 1 despair not then, of a total revolution in systems of edu¬ 
 cation ; but the accomplishment of this, as of every other 
 great and good work among men, must be the achievement 
 of time and patience, of rational inquiry and enlightened 
 perseverance, of a spirit of wisdom and moderation, equally 
 removed from rashness and timidity, from the blindness of 
 prejudice, and the spirit of wild innovation. 
 
 I speak to a Christian audience, in a land, adorned by 
 Religion and Literature, by Philosophy and the Arts, and 
 dignified by a sober-minded, rational liberty. In such an 
 audience, the subject of education, even in a foreign land, 
 would awaken a laudable curiosity; but when it concerns 
 
64 
 
 their own children, it appeals to their highest sense of duty 
 as Men, as Christians, as Patriots; and to their noblest af¬ 
 fections, as Parents, Instructors, and Guardians. Let us 
 then proceed to examine, deliberately and anxiously, the po¬ 
 sition, which I propose to establish, “ that the Bible ought to 
 be a prominent and never-ceasing part of all education, from 
 the primary School to the University .' 1 ' 1 This position is, I 
 believe, adverse to the theory and practice of all existing 
 institutions. I shall maintain it, however, with firmness; 
 yet, I trust, not offensively or unkindly, but with delicacy 
 and respect. 
 
 It seems to be required of me, by the nature of my sub¬ 
 ject, to investigate, in the first instance, the origin of that 
 practice, which has excluded the Scriptures from schemes of 
 education : and then to consider what causes have led to the 
 continuance of a system, irreconcilable with the great, the 
 obvious duties of Christians. And if, in the prosecution 
 of this inquiry, I should be laid under the necessity, as as¬ 
 suredly I must be, of expressing opinions, adverse to the 
 practice of the clergy, as Guardians and Instructors of youth, 
 I trust, that I may stand acquitted of any desire to depre¬ 
 ciate the sanctity of their office, or the usefulness of their 
 labors. From the first institution of Christianity, I regard 
 them, as indispensable to the promulgation of the Gospel, 
 the observance of Ecclesiastical rule, the administration of 
 Sacraments, and the perpetuity of the Church. I regard 
 them, as the advocates of virtue, the promoters of happi¬ 
 ness, and the friends of education. Considered as a body, 
 I esteem them a main pillar, in the temple of social order. 
 What though they are inferior in dignity to Patriarchs, and 
 Prophets, and Apostles ; what though the cloven tongue of 
 fire hath never rested on them, and no avenging flame hath 
 ever, at their command, devoured the enemies of God ; 
 what though they speak not, in the twinkling of an eye, in 
 the languages of every nation under heaven; what though 
 the lame have not leaped up, nor the leper been cleansed, 
 the blind hath not seen, nor the deaf heard, the sick have 
 not been healed, and the dead have not arisen, at their bid¬ 
 ding, yet is their office full of dignity and usefulness. To 
 them, indeed, it hath not been given, to be called unto the 
 ministry by the gracious words of Jesus ; to be set apart 
 for the work of Evangelists, by the miraculous voice of the 
 Holy Spirit; nor to be stayed, as by the terrors of another 
 Sinai, in a vision, fearful as that, which smote Paul with 
 
65 
 
 blindness. But to them* it hath been granted, to bear con¬ 
 solation to the afflicted, to pour the light of truth on the 
 darkened mind, to speak words of heavenly peace to the 
 anxious inquirer, to win back the wanderer to the path of 
 duty, and to constrain even the rebellious to cast themselves, 
 contrite and broken-hearted, at the feet of a God of Love. 
 How full then of majesty and beauty, of honor and useful¬ 
 ness is the Christian ministry ! Who can look up to the 
 great and the good in its ranks, but with reverence, admira¬ 
 tion and gratitude ?-—Who can look down on the worst, 
 that have prostituted its authority, degraded its dignity, and 
 polluted its holiness, and yield to anger and contempt, rath¬ 
 er than to pity and regret ? Who can survey the Christian 
 Ministry, in every age and country, and not acknowledge, 
 amidst atrocities and vices, amidst ignorance, folly, and oth¬ 
 er imperfections, that debt of gratitude, which never has 
 been, and never can be paid by mortals. With what spirit 
 doth it then become me to speak of the Heralds of the Cross, 
 of the Ambassadors of God to Man, of the servants of the 
 Most High! Whatever then I may utter, in questioning 
 the soundness of their judgment, or the consistency of their 
 practice, will be spoken, assuredly, in respect, in sorrow, in 
 surprise. 
 
 I proceed now to the inquiry, what may be the origin of 
 this extraordinary character of Education, and to what may 
 its continuance be ascribed ? The former unquestionably, 
 must be referred to the state of things in Catholic countries, 
 before the Reformation ; the latter in Protestant Nations, 
 chiefly if not wholly, to the Christian Clergy. Let us trace 
 the history of this origin and continuance. 
 
 All Christendom was once Catholic, and of course the 
 whole scheme of education arose and subsisted, under the 
 influence of the Romish church. For centuries, scarcely 
 any but the clergy were educated, since the lamentable ig¬ 
 norance of the laitv was one of the most hideous features 
 of the dark ages. Hence, almost the only instructors were 
 of the Clerical order, and education must of necessity have 
 received its character from them. Universities and Colle- 
 gies were Ecclesiastical, rather than Literary establishments. 
 When education began to extend to the Laity, two causes 
 prevented the adoption of the Scriptures into the System. 
 The first was the principle, that the laity were prohibited 
 from reading them; the second, that, as religion then lay 
 buried under a mountain of monkish legends, and was dis- 
 
 6 * 
 
6G 
 
 torted, confounded, and darkened by the subtilties and ab¬ 
 surdities of scholastic theology, there was nothing to recom¬ 
 mend the study of the Bible. While the Clergy had culti¬ 
 vated, with considerable zeal, metaphysical divinity, they 
 had not neglected the seven liberal arts, the trivium and 
 quadrivium of the early ages of the Church. Hence, they 
 were at no loss to furnish abundant employment for the lay 
 youth, under their charge. They needed not to dishonor 
 the Master of Sentences, or the celebrated Doctors, styled 
 the Invincible, the Angelic, or the Subtile, the Irrefragable, 
 or the Seraphic, by unfolding the mysteries of their Meta¬ 
 physical Theology to the eyes of the Laity. Nor is it sur¬ 
 prising, that these should have preferred Homer and Aris¬ 
 totle, Cicero, Virgil and Ovid, (the great favorite of the dark 
 ages) to the ponderous and gloomy folios of Monks and 
 Schoolmen. They were incapable, it is true, of compre¬ 
 hending the genius, or of relishing the beauties of ancient 
 eloquence or poetry ; but the variety and novelty of incident 
 and character, and the ease and spirit of the narrative, must 
 have been eminently interesting, compared with aught else 
 they could read. 
 
 Thus, the combination of these two causes led to a result 
 never contemplated, and laid the foundation for the perma¬ 
 nent exclusion of Religion from schemes of general educa¬ 
 tion.—When the laity were prohibited from the perusal of 
 the Scriptures, the object was not to keep them ignorant of 
 Religion, but to prevent them from interpreting what they 
 were believed to be equally incompetent and unworthy to in¬ 
 terpret, and thus to secure to the Church, absolute, exclusive 
 authority to teach and expound the Scriptures. When the 
 Laity dedicated themselves exclusively to the study of the 
 Classics, it was not, because they regarded Heathen Mythol¬ 
 ogy, as the true Religion, and Christianity as fabulous; but 
 because they could find nothing in the works of Monks and 
 Schoolmen, comparable to the Authors of Greece and Rome. 
 
 I now proceed to examine the causes, which have perpet¬ 
 uated the exclusion of the Scriptures, from schemes of lib¬ 
 eral education, in Protestant countries. The principles of 
 the Reformation, it is to be remembered, were essentially 
 religious; but, in the course of their development, it oc¬ 
 curred from the simplicity and comprehensiveness of their 
 nature, that they embraced the whole circle of human know¬ 
 ledge. Hence it followed, that the system of education 
 
67 
 
 would be remodeled. In doing this, we are not very much 
 surprised, that Religion should still have been excluded ; be¬ 
 cause its prevailing spirit at that period, was controversial, 
 and, as to its character, as a scheme of morals and a system 
 of doctrines, these were left under the guardianship of the 
 church.—Nor must we forget, that, receiving the plan of 
 Education, as they did, without the Bible, and having so 
 much to do, in removing the darkness, rubbish and absurdi¬ 
 ties, which deformed it, they may well have overlooked the 
 question, “ shall not the Bible be an inseparable part of all 
 education from beginning to end ?” When we consider, 
 likewise, that almost the only books, which could be had, 
 were controversial, and chiefly in Latin, we are still less sur¬ 
 prised at the result; more especially since those works were 
 written by the learned, for the learned, against the learned. 
 Hence, the Leaders of the Reformation seemed to have 
 done all that was called for, under the existing state of things, 
 when they incorporated religious education into the Eccle¬ 
 siastical system, in the forms of prayer and psalmody, of 
 creeds and confessions, of preaching and catechetical in¬ 
 struction. 
 
 Nor must we lose sight of some other considerations, which 
 contributed to the existence of this phenomenon. The Old 
 Testament was in Hebrew, a language, at the time of the 
 Reformation, scarcely known to Christians. The foun¬ 
 der of the modern school of Hebrew learning was Reuch- 
 I in, a Catholic; but the progress was very slow, and only a 
 few engaged in its study.* The Hebrew, indeed, was not 
 then, and never has been regarded, (to the disgrace of Chris¬ 
 tians,) as a Classical language, with a view, either to Litera¬ 
 ture or Education. Neither the Septuagint nor the Vulgate 
 could be accepted as a substitute. Both were deficient in 
 authority, neither could be acknowledged as classical compo¬ 
 sitions, and both were considered by Protestants, as, in some 
 respects, objectionable. In like manner, the New Testa¬ 
 ment, though in Greek, neither was then, nor has ever since, 
 been regarded, (to the dishonor of Christians be it spoken,) 
 as a Classic, in point of language and style. Another prin¬ 
 cipal reason for the exclusion of the Bible, is found in the 
 fact, that the study of its languages and history, of its evi¬ 
 dences and antiquities, of its exegesis and connections with 
 
 Note A. 
 
68 
 
 profane history, of its doctrines and mysteries, had beetl 
 always considered as peculiar to a Theological course, and, 
 in no respect, an appropriate part of general education; as 
 though the Bible were not, in the language of Chillingworth, 
 the Religion of Protestants, both Clergy and Laity; and as 
 though, to be ignorant on those subjects, were not disgrace¬ 
 ful to any intelligent man, who professes to have received a 
 liberal education. Yet no provision has ever been made for 
 it, in systems of general education : doubtless in some meas¬ 
 ure because these things have been considered as confined to 
 a theological course, which has been always decidedly sec¬ 
 tarian.—But a liberal course of truly Christian Studies, not 
 indeed of sectarian divinity, ought to constitute the noblest 
 feature in liberal education, commencing in the family, con¬ 
 tinued in the school, expanded in the academy, still farther 
 perfected in the college, and accomplished in the university.* 
 
 The Reformation assumed, at a very early age, the secta¬ 
 rian character. The controversies between the several sects 
 of the reformed, and the polemical warfare between the Pro¬ 
 testants and Romanists, gave, by their combined influence, 
 a still more decisive character of controversy to relioion. 
 The peculiar feeling, which belongs to separate communities, 
 unenlightened by the pure, wise spirit of toleration of our 
 day, aggravated by Church Establishments, and distorted by 
 unnatural governments and artificial states of society, could 
 not fail to prevent any liberal, enlarged scheme of action, 
 on the foundation of the Scriptures. These, unhappily, were 
 chiefly felt to be common ground, as to the Romish Church. 
 Let us add to this, that the course of events led very natu¬ 
 rally to the substitution of Catechisms, and Articles of Creeds, 
 and Confessions, for the Scriptures, in schemes of instruc¬ 
 tion, After having translated the Bible into the vulgar 
 tongue, and placed it in the power of the Laity, the great 
 object with each sect appeared to be, not so much to teach 
 the Scriptures, as to teach the peculiar views, which each 
 entertained as to all others, as well as in relation to the 
 Catholic Church. Hence, public worship, preaching, con¬ 
 fessions, creeds, and catechetical instruction might be expec¬ 
 ted to lill the whole measure of religious education. 
 
 I fear that another reason must be assigned for the gross 
 neglect, which religious education has experienced, even 
 
 ----———- a~ 
 
 * Note B. 
 
69 
 
 at the hands of the Clergy. When placed at the head of 
 schools and colleges, experience justifies too much the opin¬ 
 ion, that overlooking the Ministerial character, they consid¬ 
 er themselves only as Scholars.—They seem to forget, that 
 they are laid under an obligation to teach religion, as well 
 as literature and science. Man has indeed commissioned 
 them, to instruct the young, in these departments of knowl¬ 
 edge ; but have they forgotten, that the vow is upon them, 
 to teach the everlasting gospel ? It may be excusable to de¬ 
 cline a pastoral charge, as incompatible with the extent and 
 variety of their duties, as instructors. But, how can they 
 reconcile it to themselves, how can they stand acquitted in 
 the sight of God, as his servants and ambassadors, when the 
 Bible is actually placed under the ban of outlawry , in all 
 their systems of instruction ? When they themselves never 
 appear to their pupils, but in the character of laymen ? 
 When, excepting the chapel prayers, no one could ever sus¬ 
 pect, that to them was confided the cure of souls, as well as 
 the cure of minds ? Would the Apostles have acted thus ? 
 
 The existing schemes were, of course, brought to our own 
 country, and subsisted in full force, up to the time of our be¬ 
 coming Independent. Then appeared that new aera, which 
 combined all religious denominations, in one common bond 
 of union, against the mother country. The abolition of all 
 sectarian political distinctions and advantages, and the re¬ 
 duction of all to a common level, were but natural results 
 of their mutual dependence, and of the practical principle 
 of the Reformation, that all had a right to think, and judge, 
 and act for themselves. In point of numbers, wealth, tal¬ 
 ents and learning, no sect was endowed with such power 
 and influence, as to aim at supremacy. Hence, their part¬ 
 nership, in the glorious cause of political liberty and nation- 
 tional independence, expanded itself, till it comprehended 
 the advocates and champions of freedom, under the still 
 moie glorious fellowship of Christian equality. 
 
 The leading sects of Protestants in the United States, 
 have always agreed in essentials : and all have acknowledg¬ 
 ed, without any qualification, that the Bible is the religion 
 of Protestants. But they have differed in minor particulars, 
 each from the other, in a greater or less degree. As, how¬ 
 ever, and it is too much the common course, they found re¬ 
 ligion, after the Revolution, not a part of the general scheme 
 of education, they do not appear to have ever considered 
 the question, what reform ought to be made, or, if they did, 
 
TO 
 
 they were deterred from any attempt by the unhappy jealou¬ 
 sies, which still subsist too much among them, and by the 
 absence of a truly Christian spirit of mutual love and mutual 
 labor. When it is considered also, that it has always been 
 a common practice for youth of various denominations, to 
 frequent the same schools, academies and colleges, it was to 
 have been expected, that this state of things should contri¬ 
 bute a very ample share to the exclusion of religion, as a 
 regular, continued part of general education. Unfortunate¬ 
 ly, religion has been always regarded, far more than was 
 right, in its controversial character. The obvious effect has 
 been, to exclude it from any plan of general education ; be¬ 
 cause, it never could be omitted in that form, into any such 
 scheme : and if it were so admitted, the effect would be to 
 banish at once the children of every other denomination.* 
 
 It well becomes Protestants, and especially the Protes¬ 
 tant Clergy, to consider, whether their mutual jealousies, and 
 want of truly Christian liberality, are not the main causes, 
 why Heathen predominates so vastly over Christian Litera¬ 
 ture, in all our schemes of education. I fear that each val¬ 
 ues his peculiar sect , more than his common religion, and 
 his own confession or articles, more than the common stand¬ 
 ard, the Bible. It is not wonderful that such a spirit should 
 still persevere in excluding the Bible from the school and col¬ 
 lege. But, I trust that the truly Christian influences, which 
 are now spreading abroad over the whole world, will do 
 much toward substituting Christian fellowship for sectarian 
 jealousy, and Christian for heathen influences throughout the 
 whole course of education. I would not, indeed, have the 
 architecture of Antiquity defaced, nor the Classics burnt, as 
 is said to have been the fate of both, at the hands of Grego¬ 
 ry the Great; but I would dethrone the latter from their des¬ 
 potic control in our schools and colleges, over the hearts, 
 the consciences and the understandings of the young. I 
 would degrade them from the rank of masters , to the con¬ 
 dition of servants, in the education of Christian children. 
 
 Thus, the original absence of religion, as a feature of gener¬ 
 al education, sectarian jealousy, the want of a practical spir¬ 
 it ol Christian liberality, the controversial character of reli¬ 
 gion, the apparent efficiency of public worship and of cate¬ 
 chetical instruction, and the intermixture of the children of 
 
 •* 
 
 Note C. 
 
71 
 
 various denominations, at the same school, have been the 
 principal causes of the continued exclusion of the Bible, 
 from our plans of general education. 
 
 But has not the time come, when a change may be advan¬ 
 tageously and properly made? Is it credible, that no change 
 ever will be made, that the Bible never will be an insepara¬ 
 ble part of all education, from the earliest and the lowest, 
 to the latest and the highest ? For myself, I have no doubt, 
 as to the answer to be given; and believing as I do, that one 
 of the first duties of the Reformation was to have incor¬ 
 porated the Bible into the whole course of instruction. I 
 trust that the time is not far distant, when this principle will 
 be universally acknowledged and acted on, “that the Bible is 
 the only good basis, and the only safe, enduring cement of all 
 education .” 
 
 Peculiar circumstances incident to our own country, and 
 to the age, in which we live, indicate the present as the time, 
 and the U. States as the place, to take up and consider this 
 deeply interesting and important question. Let us then pro¬ 
 ceed to do so, not daring, however, to hope, that much more 
 can be accomplished now than to direct attention to the sub¬ 
 ject, yet feeling that even that little is an object worthy of 
 accomplishment. 
 
 Our country must be acknowledged an appropriate place; 
 when we consider its freedom from every species of intol¬ 
 erance and persecution, the equality of all sects, under our 
 laws and constitutions, the absence of superstition, of church 
 establishments, and of priestly nobility, the total separation 
 of church and state, the general dependence of the clergy 
 upon the people, and the extensive participation of the laity 
 in church concerns. When we consider, also, the civil and 
 political equality, which prevail among us, our state of so¬ 
 ciety, so natural and inartificial, the general diffusion of 
 knowledge, the constant approximation towards universal 
 education, the unshackled freedom and all-pervading influ¬ 
 ence of the press, the plain practical character of all our 
 institutions, the share of the people in the administration of 
 government, and the paramount authority of popular sen¬ 
 timent, we cannot but see a vast difference between our 
 own and every other country, that has ever existed. Should 
 the question be asked, “why is such a country, the appro¬ 
 priate place, to consider and act upon the question, as to 
 Bible Education?” I would answer thus. It is peculiarly a 
 fit place; because we are a plain, practical people, all our 
 schemes are founded on principles of natural right and duty. 
 
72 
 
 all our reforms are of the same description, and have utili¬ 
 ty for their object, religious truth, duty, and usefulness are 
 above all others, every thing depends on individual and so¬ 
 cial enterprise, popular patronage is the only one known, 
 the people are the beginning, middle, and end of every 
 thing. 
 
 But, not only is our country the fit place, the present is, 
 in an eminent degree, the suitable period. It is an sera of 
 unexampled light, in all that regards the social condition and 
 political improvement of man. It is equally an extraordi¬ 
 nary sera, in whatever belongs to Science and Literature, 
 and to all the various Arts, which contribute to adorn and 
 refine society, to multiply the comforts, exalt the happiness, 
 and enlarge the usefulness of man. Nor is it less a remark¬ 
 able period, in a religious point of view, when we bear in 
 mind the institutions, that have arisen, and the spirit that 
 has prevailed more especially, within the last five and twen¬ 
 ty years. The Sunday School and the Bible Society, Tract 
 and Missionary Associations, with those for meliorating the 
 spiritual and moral condition of the Mariner, and many 
 others of a kindred character, have arisen every where to 
 honor and to bless our American Christendom. The spirit 
 of the age is of the same noble order; for it is liberal in 
 contributing both time and money, for all Christian purpo¬ 
 ses ; and still more liberal in the Christian temper and feel¬ 
 ings, which are influencing more and more, both clergy and 
 laity. Now, it is obvious that Christian Education is fitted 
 to refine and dignify public sentiment, to enlighten men on 
 subjects of personal and social, of private and public duty ; 
 to afford a higher, and purer standard of usefulness ; and by 
 its combination with all other means of improvement, to 
 make the people, wiser, and better, and happier, than they 
 would otherwise be. Let the Bible then be brought to bear 
 upon the affections of the heart, upon the powers of the 
 understanding, upon the immortal aspirations of the soul, 
 and upon the whole character, in its interior and exterior 
 relations, and if we have either the faith of religion, or the 
 faith of experience, we must believe, that the happiest con¬ 
 sequences will be the result. Hitherto, like the fabulous 
 streams of Alpheus and Arethusa, secular and Christian edu¬ 
 cation have existed entirely independent, though like them, 
 they commence at the same point, extend, as it were, paral¬ 
 lel through life, and terminate at the same place. But let 
 them be inseparably blended, from infancy to manhood, and 
 
73 
 
 as the waters of Marah became sweet from the tree, that 
 was cast into them, so shall the bitterness of secular be for¬ 
 ever banished, by the purifying influences of Christian Ed¬ 
 ucation. 
 
 We have thus considered the origin of that practice, which 
 excludes religion from schemes of general education, and 
 the causes of its continuance. We have seen that our coun¬ 
 try is peculiarly the appropriate place, and that the present 
 is, in a remarkable degree, a suitable period, for considering 
 and deciding this interesting question. Let us now proceed 
 to inquire into the motives, which invite to a fundamental 
 change in this matter. 
 
 The limits of this Address will not permit me to do more, 
 than assign the reasons, which are derived from the princi¬ 
 ple of Duty. As a spiritual, and not merely a material be¬ 
 ing, man consists of a conscience, an understanding- and a 
 heart. Religion is the sphere of the first, knowledge of the 
 second, and the affections of domestic and social life, of the 
 third. On the first, essentially depend our happiness and 
 perfection, here and hereafter: on the second, chiefly rests 
 the business of life: on the third, the greater part of our 
 enjoyments and comforts, in the family circle, and in social 
 intercourse. As the combination of all makes the most fin¬ 
 ished character, in the sight both of God and Man, so the 
 same union must of necessity, make the most complete 
 scheme of education. How extraordinary then is the fact, 
 that the first and last should have been so carefully excluded 
 from schemes of general education ! From these are banish¬ 
 ed the enlightenment of that conscience, which is the pecu¬ 
 liar empire of God himself; and the cultivation of those 
 affections, which here below, embosom the whole human 
 family, and ascending to heaven, commune with God, and 
 Angels, and the spirits of the just; while the understanding 
 is cultivated, as if this were the only important element, in 
 the moral constitution of man. —The course of study in 
 every school, academy and college, attests the truth of the 
 remark, that almost the only object of all schemes of gen¬ 
 eral education, is to make scholars and men of business. 
 But to cultivate the conscience and the affections, out of 
 which are the issues of life and death, of happiness and 
 misery, forms no part of the scheme. A moment’s reflec¬ 
 tion will satisfy every one, that almost the rvhole of educa¬ 
 tion is devoted to the classics and mathematics. If we take, 
 as the average years of education, from six to eighteen, a 
 
 7 
 
74 
 
 period of twelve years, we shall see at once, that three- 
 fourths of them are dedicated to these two branches. Of 
 the other three, at least hve-sixths are allotted to studies, 
 which have little if any influence at all, on the conscience 
 and the heart. Thus, in a Christian country, in Christian 
 schools, academies and colleges, under the sanction, and 
 and even administration, to a great extent, of the Christian 
 Ministry, and of Professing Christians, we behold the ap¬ 
 palling truth, that in a scheme of general education, not 
 more than one-twenty-fourth part of it is devoted to the en¬ 
 lightenment of the conscience and the cultivation of the 
 affections. In point of fact, then, those things, which even 
 the Angels desire to look into, are neglected or carefully 
 excluded, as though it were intended to demonstrate practi¬ 
 cally, how little they were esteemed. So complete has 
 been the banishment of the Scriptures from all academic 
 and collegiate instruction, one might almost imagine that. 
 Infidel rulers had forbidden the use of the Bible, in schools 
 and universities, in imitation of the Apostate Julian, who 
 prohibited the Christians from studying the Books of the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 Duty is the great business of Man’s life; it is the only 
 standard of usefulness, the only guide to happiness. In 
 exact proportion, as it is correctly taught, justly appreciated, 
 and faithfully practiced, individuals and communities will 
 be prosperous and happy. The Spartan principle, to which 
 they adhered with inexorable fidelity, that may well shame 
 the Christian, was this—to teach that, which would be most 
 valuable to the youth in manhood. Hence, the children of 
 Sparta were regarded as Public Property, and trained for 
 the service of the State. War being the whole end of their 
 institutions, education was accordingly moulded as a means 
 to its attainment, with a skill as iron-nerved, and a spirit, 
 as merciless and uncompromising, as those, which charac¬ 
 terize the Indian of North America. During the supremacy 
 of Napoleon, “ as every young man in the Empire had rea¬ 
 son to anticipate a summons to the Army, the first object of 
 education naturally was, to fit him for the field.” The Per¬ 
 sian children, while at school, “employed their time as dil¬ 
 igently in learning the principles of justice, as the youth in 
 other countries did to acquire the most difficult arts and sci¬ 
 ences.” Diderot, though an Infidel, carefully instructed his 
 daughter in the New Testament, as the only code of morals. 
 Disbelieving its divine origin, he acknowledged the perfec- 
 
75 
 
 tion of its practical morality; and not only desired, but la¬ 
 bored to give to its purity and beauty, a transcendant influ¬ 
 ence over the character of his child.* 
 
 Such are the lessons, which the Christian learns from the 
 Heathen, the Despot, and the Unbeliever. He confesses 
 that duty is the very life of life, the fountain of all good, 
 private and public, of all happiness, individual and domes¬ 
 tic, social and national. He acknowledges, that his children 
 are indeed public property; but he rejoices that they are 
 such only because they are in a higher and nobler sense, 
 the property of God: that he is their Creator, Ruler, and 
 Judge; that his Scriptures have brought life and immortal¬ 
 ity to light; that they are the only genuine standard of truth 
 and obligation; that all are bound to study them, to imbibe 
 their spirit, and to practice their precepts: and that the 
 whole fabric of all our institutions, and of our society and 
 government rests upon them. 
 
 “ In te omnis domus inclinata recumbit.” 
 
 The Heathen, the Tyrant, the Infidel march onward to 
 the accomplishment of their purpose, sustained by a corre¬ 
 spondent energy and perseverance ; but the Christian profits 
 not by the lesson. Like Demosthenes, who loved to swear 
 by the mighty dead of Marathon, but shrunk from the imi¬ 
 tation of their glorious deeds, the Christian has banished 
 from his plans of education, the Holy Scriptures ; as though 
 to be deeply read in the Oracles of God, were not the chief 
 end of life. Plato excluded Homer from his scheme of a 
 Republic; and, as though the Bible were a pestilent and 
 dangerous book, the Christian has rivaled silently, and, I 
 believe for the most part, undesignedly, the example of the 
 Homer of the Poets; for the Bible is no where taught , as a ; 
 part of a complete course of general education. While the 
 Arabians studied the mathematical and metaphysical science 
 of Greece, they rejected her Orators and Poets: the former, 
 because Grecian eloquence had neither part, nor lot in Ma- 
 homedan despotism: the latter, because Grecian Idolatry 
 was “married to immortal verse,” in Grecian poetry. The 
 Saracen acted consistently, whether we look to his politics 
 or his religion; but how inconsistently does the Christian 
 
 See Note D, 
 
76 
 
 act, who excludes from his scheme of education, the elo¬ 
 quence of him, who spake as never man spake; and the 
 poetry of Prophets, unrivaled in Grecian, Roman, and Ara¬ 
 bian Literature ! The Mahomedans valued the Koran too 
 highly, to pollute their sacred volume, by the false and cor¬ 
 rupt mythology of Grecian verse; but Christians not only 
 expose the young, designedly and joyfully, to the unhallow¬ 
 ed influences of Paganism ; but these are constituted almost 
 the vicegerents of education , in history and eloquence, in 
 rhetoric, poetry and morals. The French Poet D’Aurat em¬ 
 ployed the latter years of his life, in the attempt to discov¬ 
 er, as he believed he could, the whole Bible in Homer : and, 
 assuredly, one might almost be excused for the opinion, that 
 the authors of schemes of education, in Christian countries, 
 either set very little value on the Bible, or thought, with 
 D’Aurat, that its sublime morals, its spotless purity, its eter¬ 
 nal sanctions, and spirit of peace, order, humility and love, 
 would be discovered by youth, in the study of Homer and 
 Virgil, of Cicero, Sallust, and Caesar. 
 
 “ Adolescens rempublicam defendi ,” says Tully, “ senex 
 hand deseram but while the Christian believes, that mor¬ 
 al education is far more important than mental, and that the 
 former is indispensable for youths, he abstracts them during 
 their studies, almost wholly from the only scheme of morals, 
 which teaches them to defend and never to forsake the cause 
 of God, in youth, in manhood, or in old age. When He- 
 rault de Sechelles inquired of Buffon, how many authors 
 ought to be thoroughly and profoundly studied, he replied, 
 there are only five, Bacon, Newton, Leibnitz, Montesquieu, 
 and myself. If the Christian were asked the same question, 
 he would not dare to name the Bible first, and second, and 
 third, as Demosthenes named delivery; for his schemes of 
 education would rise up in judgment against him. On the 
 one hand, he admits, that we should train up a child in the 
 way, in which he should go, that when he is old he may not 
 depart therefrom; whilst on the other, he makes reli¬ 
 gion no part of the plan of education. Nulla dies sine lin¬ 
 ed, the maxim of the ancient painter, becomes his rule for 
 youth, in the study of geography and grammar, of languages, 
 rhetoric and geometry. But hopeless would be the search 
 for a Christian Institution, in which the painter’s maxim is 
 applied to the Scriptures. One might have supposed that 
 Christians, esteeming Religion as the pearl above all price, 
 would have considered it an insult to the majesty of God, 
 
77 
 
 contemptuous to the Holy Volume, and a reproach to them¬ 
 selves, to tolerate any scheme of education, of which Chris¬ 
 tian duty and the Bible, were not a prominent feature, an 
 inseparable part. Every day that he lived, Cyprian called 
 for the works of Tertullian, in the language of admiration 
 and gratitude, “ Da milii magistrum And, assuredly, 
 not a day should elapse in any seminary, however humble or 
 lofty, but the pupil should be taught, in imitation of the Af¬ 
 rican Prelate, to dedicate a portion of his time to the study 
 of our best and greatest Master, the only fountain of hap¬ 
 piness, the only standard of duty, the Bible. 
 
 If it be conceded, as it undoubtedly must be, that the 
 Scriptures are the only test of truth, and the only guide to 
 our duties, how exceedingly incomplete must every plan of 
 education be, which does not require of the young, to study 
 daily this standard and this guide. If, indeed, the 3 r oung 
 be exposed to the sectarian spirit and dogmatical style of a 
 divinity professor, more devoted to his own creed, than to 
 the Bible, we are not surprised, that he should acquire among 
 them, the Cambridge nickname “ Malleus Hereticorum .” 
 Assuredly, however, no man would deserve or receive that 
 title, who should reject the Metaphysics of polemical divin¬ 
 ity, for the admirable common sense of the Sermon on the 
 Mount: and the scholastic logic of sectarian Christianity, 
 for the practical simplicity and beauty, benevolence and 
 holiness, that plead so eloquently in the life and death, in 
 the character and sentiments of the Redeemer. Let it not 
 be said, that men cannot be found thus to teach. The ex¬ 
 periment has been actually and successfully tried, to a limi¬ 
 ted extent, in Sunday Schools. If, indeed, you appoint a 
 Professor to explain and vindicate a particular creed, you 
 could scarcely look for any other than the unhappy fruits, 
 which would unavoidably flow from sectarian religion, as a 
 part of general education. Let religion, in this form, be ap¬ 
 propriated to the church, to catechisms, to theological semi¬ 
 naries, and even to the Sunday school. But, if you require 
 of every instructor, to teach the duties of life, from the Bi¬ 
 ble, I at least, believe, that you would have nothing to fear. 
 I speak advisedly, in expressing this opinion. Most teach¬ 
 ers are laymen, and these unquestionably are less devoted to 
 sectarian distinctions, and are much less influenced by the 
 esprit de corps, than the clergy. If, instead of a sectarian 
 text-book, the Bible be given to teachers, as their standard 
 for instruction, it must be obvious, that the risk of their per- 
 
 7 * 
 
verting it to answer party views, is unworthy of notice* A 
 very strong illustration of this remark, is found in the prac¬ 
 tice of clergymen themselves. Almost all of them, are set¬ 
 tled in churches, established with a view to the doctrine, 
 discipline, and worship of particular denominations : and 
 yet how rarely are sermons purely sectarian, heard from 
 their lips ! As a farther illustration, take the same persons, 
 send them forth to preach, not to their own, but to a mixed 
 congregation, and still more rarely do we hear a sectarian 
 discourse. How much more improbable then, would secta¬ 
 rian instruction be from laymen, whose studies, habits, and 
 intercourse, are a still farther security for their good sense 
 and discretion. 
 
 Let it not be said, that most teachers are incompetent to 
 give religious instruction, and that such would sometimes 
 come with an ill-grace from those, who honored religion, 
 neither in precept, nor in practice. The first part of the 
 objection seems to imply, that profound and various knowl¬ 
 edge is necessary; but this is an error. When some one 
 requested the direction of Cardinal Pole, in studying the 
 Epistles of St. Paul, he advised him, first to master those, 
 which arc preceptive and practical, and afterwards such as 
 are chiefly devoted to mysteries and doctrines. Teachers, 
 in like manner, even if left to themselves, would prefer the 
 Gospels to the Epistles. But this would undoubtedly be mat¬ 
 ter of regulation, like every other branch of the general 
 scheme. The second part of the objection also deserves 
 notice, for it supposes an inconsistency between the life and 
 instructions of the Teacher. The first happy effect of the 
 new system would be to make Parents, and Guardians, and 
 Trustees, more circumspect in their choice. Is there a capa¬ 
 ble instructor, whose sentiments and conduct are not deci¬ 
 dedly favorable to religion ? At present, he receives em¬ 
 ployment; but change the plan, and you would never en- 
 oaore him, because he would have to teach from the Bible. 
 Our seminaries have, at times, been dishonored by men, who 
 have been addicted to intemperance and profane swearing, 
 who have spoken and written disrespectfully of religion, 
 who profane the Sabbath, and rarely, if ever, attend the wor¬ 
 ship of Christian assemblies. Such men could not be pat¬ 
 ronized under a scheme, embracing the daily study of the 
 Bible. Whilst education is regarded as merely secular and 
 intellectual, the moral character, in those particulars, will 
 wot be scrutinized before, nor observed after the appoint- 
 
79 
 
 ment. Again, I draw an illustration from the experience in 
 all schools. Is it not a common remark, that to teach oth¬ 
 ers, is the most effectual mode of self-improvement, in the 
 branches taught? No one doubts this, in the case of gram¬ 
 mar and geography, rhetoric, languages and mathematics. 
 And why should it not be equally true, with religious in¬ 
 struction? The testimony of Sunday Schools favors my 
 argument; for, it is well known to all, who take an inter¬ 
 est in them, that the character of the Teacher has been re¬ 
 peatedly improved, by the instruction of the children entrus¬ 
 ted to him. 
 
 Let us now inquire, whether manifest advantages are not 
 presented, in relation to the pupil. And first let us examine 
 such arguments, as are founded on the supposition, that the 
 scheme is unnecessary. If this be so, it must be either, be¬ 
 cause the subject is unworthy of any attention, or because 
 it receives elsewhere sufficient attention. The first view, 
 most assuredly will not be ventured by any one. Let us 
 consider the second. That the public services of the Sab¬ 
 bath are not at all a substitute, must be obvious to every one 
 who reflects ; for the great majority of sermons are neither 
 adapted to the capacity, nor are they intended for the im¬ 
 provement of the young. Catechetical instruction is not a 
 substitute; because it is exceedingly limited, and has almost 
 unavoidably a large infusion of sectarianism. Nor is the 
 Sunday School system a substitute ; for this also is more or 
 less sectarian ; and besides, the course of instruction is ve¬ 
 ry narrow, and is confined almost wholly to mere children. 
 Nor can we rely on domestic education ; for we know, and 
 the Sunday school system is the highest proof, that the ma¬ 
 jority of parents are unwilling or incompetent. It would 
 he as unwise to trust religious education to them, as to con¬ 
 fide to them the general instruction of their children. Sun¬ 
 day schools may answer, with considerable alterations and 
 improvements, for children; but can never be an adequate 
 scheme of instruction from youth to manhood, whether we 
 consider the very small portion of time employed in a whole 
 week, the impossibility of having adequate teachers, in the 
 higher departments, and the great number, who attend gen¬ 
 eral, but not Sabbath Schools.* Independently, however, 
 of these, the principal objection against sermons, catecheti¬ 
 cal instruction, domestic teaching, and Sunday schools, as 
 
 Note E. 
 
80 
 
 adequate substitutes for the proposed plan, arises from the 
 unhappy influence, exerted by the present scheme of exclu¬ 
 sion over the hearts and minds of youth. Let us examine 
 this subject attentively. 
 
 Is it not obvious, that the absolute separation of secular 
 and religious education must unavoidably make this impres¬ 
 sion, that they are essentially unconnected , and ought to he 
 kept totally independent each of the other . But is this true 1 
 The first prepares a man only for the business of life; the 
 second, both for the business and duties of life. Now, the 
 business and duties of life are indissolubly bound together 
 in the nature of man, by God himself. Yet man by his 
 scheme of instruction, has actually put asunder what God 
 had joined together. It is the same with the affections of 
 the heart. God has ordained their exercise in every act of 
 life, as inseparable from the very business of life. Yet, if 
 we judge from his plan of education, Man has declared, that 
 they have not a co-existence in real life ; for he has banished 
 the cultivation of the heart from schools of secular instruc¬ 
 tion. Languages, Grammar, Rhetoric, and the Philosophy 
 of Mind, are taught alongside of Mathematical Science, 
 though totally different in character. Yet, the religious cul¬ 
 tivation of the mind and the heart is excluded from all share 
 in a scheme, whose object is to fit the young for happiness, 
 duty, and usefulness. Assuredly, it must be obvious, that 
 Christian children will never learn their duties, as Christian 
 men and Christian women, from geography and arithmetic, 
 from grammatical or rhetorical works ; nor will the affec¬ 
 tions be cultivated by studying the whole circle of Mathe¬ 
 matics. And yet, there is rarely an instance, in the course 
 of life, when we are called to the use of the various bran¬ 
 ches of knowledge, but that we ought to, and actually do 
 exercise the sense of duty, if the conscience be enlightened, 
 and our feelings, if the heart be well regulated. 
 
 My next objection to the present scheme is, that the sep¬ 
 aration of religious from secular education, gives to the former 
 too much of a local, professional character. Religion seems 
 as though it belonged only to the Clergy, and the Church, and 
 the Sabbath. It acquires an air of constraint, a mannerism, 
 unfriendly to its wholesome influence over the mind, the 
 heart, the conscience, and over the whole life. Its vital, 
 practical, personal operations are obscured and weakened ; 
 because it appears to be exclusively the business of one day 
 and one place. Every other day and all other places, are 
 dedicated, as far as respects education, to the concerns of 
 
81 
 
 the world, if not altogether, at least, to a vast extent. In 
 such a state of things, it is not possible for religion to per¬ 
 vade naturally and harmoniously, the whole structure of 
 character. It cannot be realized to be the business of every 
 day, and an essential element in every transaction of life. 
 
 It appears to me also, that this separation promotes reli¬ 
 gious party spirit, strengthens sectarian prejudices, and 
 ieaves insensibly on the young mind, the impression, that 
 there is no common ground between different sects. It is 
 hardly possible to avoid this consequence ; for children grow 
 up with the idea, not so much, that they are all Christian 
 children, as that they belong to a particular sect. But let 
 the Bible be a part of the education common to all, and 
 Christian fellowship, with its harmonizing influences, would 
 be an early, an all-pervading element in youthful character. 
 Hence, reciprocal love and forbearance, liberal sentiments, 
 and mutual respect and esteem, would be interwoven with 
 all the studies of youth, and they would learn insensibly, but 
 indelibly, experimentally, though not theoretically, that 
 Christianity is above all sects, and the Bible above all creeds 
 and confessions ; that Religion is pure and elevated, simple, 
 beautiful and affecting, and common to all. 
 
 I gather a farther illustration of the defectiveness of the 
 present scheme from the circumstance, that religion is so 
 rarely the subject of conversation. Unquestionably, this 
 arises, in a good measure, from the fact, that most persons 
 are not religious. But is not this very state of things the 
 consequence, in part, of the unnatural separation, above re¬ 
 ferred to ? If you discard religion altogether from the bu¬ 
 siness education of life, and coniine it to the Church and the 
 Sabbath, do you not effectually prevent it from becoming an 
 clement of conversation, except in formal, religious inter¬ 
 course ? But if religion be, as it certainly is, the chief con¬ 
 stituent of all usefulness and happiness, if the Bible abound, 
 and no one denies it, with the most important facts, the most 
 interesting narrative, the noblest, purest sentiments, and the 
 best examples, how can we doubt, that religion ought to en¬ 
 ter largely into all the conversational intercourse of life? 
 That it never will, under the present system, theory demon¬ 
 strates and experience testifies. That it would do so, as a 
 natural consequence of the daily association of religious 
 and secular instruction, is manifest. 
 
 There is, it appears to me, in the present systems of edu¬ 
 cation, a radical and serious deficiency, which the introduc- 
 
82 
 
 tion of the Bible would supply. I allude to the fact, that 
 youth are not taught, daily and habitually that education is 
 a duty. To instruct them in Duty, being no part of the 
 present scheme, until you come to such a work, as Paley’s 
 Moral Philosophy, the Teacher only adverts occasionally 
 to the topic of their duty to study, with a view to their fu¬ 
 ture virtue and usefulness. Emulation and ambition, too 
 often the source of evil to the moral temperament and so¬ 
 cial feelings of youth, when not regulated and subservient 
 to the sense of duty, are too much felt by them, and too 
 much relied upon by Teachers. But if the Bible were the 
 ground work of education, and the companion of youth, from 
 the primary school to the university, all education would be 
 interwoven with the scheme of duty, for that would be de¬ 
 pendent upon and auxiliary to this. The youth would not 
 then be urged to study merely for the honor of his teach¬ 
 er, or through gratitude to his parents, or for the sake 
 of his country, or on account of the pleasures of knowl¬ 
 edge. The higher motives and sanctions of religion would 
 be taught as the basis of his obligation to study. His duty 
 to God would appear as the only fountain of all others: and 
 from the beginning he would learn, that he was bound to 
 study; because his duty to God, required it of him. All 
 other considerations would gather their strength from this: 
 and all other duties would derive their power to bind the 
 conscience, from the paramount authority of this great law 
 of obedience. Can any Christian undervalue the deep and 
 lasting advantages, that would accrue to youth, from this 
 change in the principal motive and prevailing spirit of study? 
 
 The negative influences exerted by the present scheme, 
 on the feelings and opinions, and through them, on the en¬ 
 tire character of youth, are deserving of notice. Nor must 
 we despise them, for they are often more powerful and du¬ 
 rable, because they are silent, secret and indirect. If Teach¬ 
 ers were to proclaim publicly and boldly to their pupils, that 
 Religion was of little consequence, and had nothing to do 
 with their preparation for the business of life, we should be 
 exceedingly shocked. If the Instructor were to express 
 an opinion, in like manner, to the young, that Heathen My¬ 
 thology is a preferable study to the Bible, we could not re¬ 
 strain our indignation and astonishment.—How exceedingly 
 moreover would that indignation and astonishment be en¬ 
 hanced, if we were to hear such a sentiment from the min¬ 
 isters of the holy, humble, perfect Jesus, in favor of a sys- 
 
83 
 
 tem immoral, and licentious, and indecent, as the Pantheon 
 of Paganism ! And yet we tolerate practically very nearly 
 the same thing. What other construction but this, can the 
 young put upon the whole plan of their education ? Are 
 they told that the Bible is the Book of God, written by the 
 inspired pen of the Prophet and the Apostle ? Yet this di¬ 
 vine volume, is wholly abandoned for human works, uncon¬ 
 nected with it. Are they taught, that there is no God, but 
 the God of the Scriptures, that He is their Creator and Gov¬ 
 ernor, and is to be their Judge, and the Dispenser of future 
 rewards and punishments? Yet the attributes of Jehovah, 
 as drawn by himself, are no part of their daily studies ; while 
 the character and actions of Jupiter and Neptune, of Mars 
 and Apollo, of Juno, Minerva and Venus, are continually be¬ 
 fore them. In a word, they are expected to be more famil¬ 
 iar with the Pantheon of Heathenism, than with the Word of 
 God. Are they told that the character of the Savior, is of 
 more value, as a noble, pure, simple model, than all the com¬ 
 bined excellence of Grecian and Roman Antiquity? Yet 
 the sentiments and actions of that Redeemer form no part 
 of their daily education; but they are required to be inti¬ 
 mately acquainted with those of the Gods and Goddesses, 
 Demigods and heroes of Paganism.* Are they told that the 
 New Testament is incomparably superior to all the philoso¬ 
 phy which man has to other—that in the language of the 
 dying Rochester, “this, this is the true philosophy.” Yet, 
 this very book is banished from their course of studies ; while 
 they are led to the formation of their character from a hea¬ 
 then work, the Offices of Cicero. They are told as it were, 
 in. the very language of Sir Win. Jones, that “ the Scriptures 
 contain independently of a divine origin, more true sublim¬ 
 ity, more exquisite beauty, purer morality, more important 
 history, and liner strains both of poetry and eloquence, than 
 could be collected within the same compass, from all other 
 hooks, that were ever composed, in any age, or in any idi¬ 
 om.” And yet this book, “ rich in a more precious treas¬ 
 ure, eloquent in a more sublime language, noble by the right 
 of a miraculous creation, and consecrated by the imposition 
 of a mightier hand,” is banished from the whole system of 
 education ; while the history, poetry, philosophy, and elo¬ 
 quence of pagan Greece and Rome occupy the largest por- 
 
 Note F. 
 
84 
 
 tion of their time. They are told, that the heavens declare 
 the glory of God, that the firmament showeth his handy 
 work, that, in the universe, they ought to study his exis¬ 
 tence and attributes, and yet the Bible, the noblest work of 
 his Creation, of his Providence, and of his Grace, is no 
 part of their education. Perhaps they are required to study 
 the evidences of revealed religion. Yet the Scriptures them¬ 
 selves are never opened : and those infallible, surprising tes¬ 
 timonies to the divinity of the Old and New Testament, 
 which constitute the living witness within them, and can 
 be discovered only in themselves, are sealed up from their 
 view. Is it possible that such things have no influence on 
 the minds and hearts of youth ? Can they respect the Bible, 
 and its religion, and its Ministers, and the services of the 
 House of God, as they ought, when such contradictions 
 are ever before their eyes? What relish can educated men 
 have for the simplicity and purity, humility and holiness of 
 the New Testament, when their youth has been spent in the 
 study and admiration of heathen morals and mythology, of 
 heathen poetry, and eloquence ? Can they know, and love, 
 and serve God, as they ought; can they acquire the Chris¬ 
 tian temper and character; can they rightly estimate their du¬ 
 ties to their fellow men, as Children of a common Parent 
 and brethren of one family, when the only standard of duty, 
 and usefulness, and happiness is thus carefully excluded 
 throughout the whole course of their education ? 
 
 Let us illustrate these views by the case of a clergyman, 
 who is an instructor of youth. When he extols the New 
 Testament, as the supreme code of Morals, and yet teach¬ 
 es morality to Christian youths from the Offices of Cicero : 
 when he places the writings of Solomon above all mortal 
 compositions, for the knowledge of human nature, and for 
 admirable sentiments, and yet selects instead of them, Hor¬ 
 ace, Juvenal and Persius as his Text Books; when he speaks 
 of the historical portions of Scripture, as the most authen¬ 
 tic and valuable of their kind, and yet compels his scholars 
 to study only the Grecian and Roman Historians ; when he 
 acknowledges that the Gospels are the most dignified, pure 
 and interesting of all Biographies, and yet confines his pu¬ 
 pils to Nepos and Plutarch and Tacitus; when he ranks 
 Moses and Job, David and Isaiah, far above the poetry of 
 man, and yet excludes them for Homer, and Virgil, and 
 Ovid; how is it possible that such things should not have a 
 sensible effect on the young? When they find a Clergv- 
 
85 
 
 man taking his text from the Bible on Sunday, yet adopting 
 Pagan Books for their instruction during the week ; when 
 they hear him on the Sabbath, describing the religion of 
 heathenism as idolatrous and corrupt, as full of abomina¬ 
 tions and impurities, as fitted only to darken the understand¬ 
 ing, brutalize the passions, harden the heart, and deprave 
 the moral taste,* and yet find that during the rest of the week 
 he is zealously employed in familiarizing them with the my¬ 
 thology of Greece and Rome, and with the sentiments and ac¬ 
 tions of Greeks and Romans, formed upon that standard; 
 how can they resist the impression, practically, yet deeply, 
 though silently made, that in point of fact, he considers the 
 writings of antiquity, as superior to those of Prophets and 
 Apostles, in preparing youth for the business, the duties, and 
 the happiness of life? 
 
 Christianity, it must be admitted, is altogether superior 
 to heathenism, whether we regard the natural or the moral 
 world; the individual, or society, or government. Chris¬ 
 tianity affects the understanding and imagination, the con¬ 
 science and heart, incomparably more than classic mythol¬ 
 ogy. Its materials are altogether more beautiful, noble 
 and various. Yet we are told, implicitly, though not ex¬ 
 pressly, that the mythology of Greece and Rome is of more 
 consequence in education, than Christianity. Accordingly, 
 the former finds a liberal share of attention from beginning 
 to end, the latter scarcely any place at all. What Master’s 
 table in the school room, is without the Pantheon and the 
 Classical Dictionary ; but who has ever seen there the Scrip¬ 
 tures, or a Concordance, or a Dictionary of the Bible? To 
 hold that Christianity cannot and will not produce a far 
 greater and better effect on the mind, heart and character, 
 than all the works of classic antiquity, would be as inconsis¬ 
 tent, as to believe that man, as affected by our Republican 
 Government, so simple and practical, so natural and equit¬ 
 able, so peaceful and sober, is far inferior to man, such as 
 he appeared in the turbulent, oppressive and military Aris¬ 
 tocracies and Democracies of Greece and Rome. Now the 
 important question is not whether the Bible is better fitted 
 than the Heathen Classics to make Poets and Orators {and 
 yet I doubt not even this ;) but whether the latter can bear 
 any comparison with the former, in moulding public men, 
 by elevating, expanding and refining their minds, and in 
 
 * 
 
 See Note G. 
 
 8 
 
80 
 
 fashioning the private man by teaching him “the whole duty 
 of man” in all the relations of life. 
 
 Our state of Society and Government furnish ample illus¬ 
 tration. Let us suppose that Republican School Masters 
 were to employ the largest portion of the time of their Schol¬ 
 ars in teaching them the principles and histories of monar¬ 
 chies, in setting before them the lives and deaths of Tyrants, 
 and in recommending to their admiration the sentiments and 
 opinions of Despots. This would be strange evidence of 
 republican attachments ; and yet it would not be more in¬ 
 consistent, than the general practice of Christian instructors 
 in banishing the Scriptures and clinging to pagan authors, 
 as the bosom friends of youth ? In vain under the former 
 state of things, with such unnatural and pernicious influen¬ 
 ces, would the Patriot look for citizens, intelligent and high 
 minded, admiring and practicing rational and regulated free¬ 
 dom. Such schemes would never make the Patriot Free¬ 
 man, whose character as portrayed in Lucan, has no parallel 
 in Homer or Virgil, and of which the finest thought was 
 doubtless borro wed from the life and death of the Savior. 
 
 “ Hi mores, hasc duri immota Catonis, 
 
 Secta fuit servare modum finemque tenere, 
 
 Naturamque sequi patriseque irnpendere vitam, 
 
 JYec sibi sed toti genitum se credere mundo 
 
 In vain, under the latter, do v r e look for a divine manifesta¬ 
 tion of the glory and beauty, of the holiness, purity, meek¬ 
 ness and humility of the Christian life. 
 
 The tendency of the existing state of things cannot be 
 mistaken; for we behold their effects all around us. Reli¬ 
 gion is degraded from its proper elevation, and stripped of 
 its daily, hourly influences, in the development and forma¬ 
 tion of character. An abiding sense of its truth and value, 
 a deep reverence for the Bible and its precepts, habitual re¬ 
 currence to them, as the only standard of duty and the only 
 guide to happiness; the acknowledgment of its authority, 
 in all the affairs of life; a ready acquiescence in its lawful 
 control over the conscience and heart; and its ever-living, 
 ever-moving influence over the whole character in thought, 
 word and deed, are actually unknown to a vast extent, under 
 the practical operation of the present system. But change 
 that system, by incorporating the study of the Bible with 
 the whole of education, as neither too lofty for the subordi¬ 
 nate, nor too humble for the most dignified branches, and 
 we may expect a great improvement in the religious and mor¬ 
 al character of each successive generation. 
 
87 
 
 May we not derive ail argument in favor of these views, 
 from a well known fact? 1 refer to the great superiority, 
 both of man and woman, in all the relations of life, under 
 the influence of Christianity, over the character of both sexes, 
 among heathen nations, not excepting even Greece and 
 Rome. Whether we regard private character, in its per¬ 
 sonal, domestic and social attributes, or public character in 
 its home or foreign relations, this superiority is manifest. 
 That other causes have co-operated with Christianity, in 
 producing these results, cannot be doubted; but this has 
 exerted a far greater power than those. Two illustrations 
 of this position occur to me. The first is, that there exists 
 a. wider difference between the ancients and moderns, as to 
 private, than public character. This has arisen from the fact 
 that Christianity has met with less to counteract its influ¬ 
 ences, in private than in public life.—-The connection be¬ 
 tween Church and State, in Europe, so far from meliorating 
 the character of public men, has tended, in the opinion of 
 our country, at least, to corrupt and degrade it. The influ¬ 
 ence of Christianity, in the form of church establishments, 
 is not the legitimate influence of a pure, humble, holy re¬ 
 ligion ; but of wealth and talents, rank and patronage, un¬ 
 der the form of a great national institution, political rather 
 than ecclesiastical, and ecclesiastical rather than religious. 
 When it is considered also, that all Europe, with hardly an 
 exception, has been under the government of hereditary 
 Monarchs, that scarcely any of these have been religious 
 men that hereditary nobles, corrupted by wealth, power, 
 and family pride, have been always around them, and that 
 so many public men have belonged to noble families, or 
 have been connected with them, we are not surprised, that 
 Christianity should have exerted so little influence, in the 
 formation of public character, among the nations of Europe. 
 It may be affirmed with confidence, that an opposite state of 
 things existing in this country, very different results might 
 have been expected. The public character of the United 
 States, whether we look to the great men whom we have 
 produced, or to the nation itself, exhibits, in general, a 
 higher standard of simplicity, candor and dignity—of virtue, 
 moderation, and good sense. In the old world, Christianity, 
 though subject to many grievous oppressions, though de¬ 
 formed and debased, has had a sensible influence on private 
 character. Whenever a reasonable opportunity has been af- 
 
 * See Note H, 
 
88 
 
 forded, as is more especially the case in England, it has puri¬ 
 fied and elevated the individual, and has given a beauty and 
 propriety, a spirit of benevolence, duty and usefulness to 
 private character, unexampled in Greece or Rome. To all 
 the relations of private life, it has imparted a loveliness and 
 dignity, a value and authority, unknown before. It has 
 raised the standard of duty, it has furnished higher motives 
 to usefulness; it has multiplied and exalted rational enjoy¬ 
 ments. With such power, even under all the disadvantages 
 and discouragements, that encircle it, private life, in modern 
 Christian Europe, must then have excelled private life among 
 the Greeks and Romans. If we turn to our own country, 
 these views are confirmed; for, as on the one hand, Chris¬ 
 tianity is unshackled and unmutilated by the institutions, 
 prejudices and superstitions of Europe, so on the other, we, 
 at least, have the satisfaction of believing, that private char¬ 
 acter has attained with us, a higher standard in general, un¬ 
 der Christian influences, than in Europe. 
 
 The second illustration, to which I refer, is found in the 
 fact, that the improvement of woman has exceeded that of 
 man. All, who are acquainted with the history of female 
 character, in ancient and modern Europe, are aware, that 
 Christianity has meliorated in an extraordinary degree, the 
 condition of women. Religion has restored them to their 
 natural station in society, as wives and mothers, as daught¬ 
 ers and sisters. It has given them the influence of temper, 
 manners and affection, of sense and virtue, instead of the 
 power of a haughty, though degraded favorite, or of a wed¬ 
 ded partner, little less than a prisoner for life. It has indeed 
 given “ unto them, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
 mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” 
 Christianity has enlarged and dignified the sphere of their 
 duty and usefulness, has purified their feelings, cultivated 
 their understandings,* and given them a tenfold reward of 
 virtuous enjoyments. Under such influences, women have 
 arisen from the degradation and wretchedness, to which they 
 had been consigned, even by classic Paganism. They have 
 nobly vindicated their rights, by the honorable and efficient 
 discharge of the higher and better duties allotted to them. 
 Our own country certainly affords the most complete and 
 satisfactory exemplification of this contrast. 
 
 * Note I, 
 
89 
 
 Let us now consider the chief argument, derived from 
 this view of female character. Not only has Religion exah 
 ted modern, above ancient female character ; but it has im¬ 
 proved the modern woman, more than the modern man. 
 Perhaps, it may be said, that there was more room for im¬ 
 provement, in the condition and attributes of the former, 
 than of the latter.—Whether this'be so or not, is immateri¬ 
 al ; for if a greater change has been wrought, in the same 
 period of time, in the one, than in the other, and religion 
 has produced it, my argument is still the same. If both 
 were originally on a level, and the former is now more ad¬ 
 vanced than the latter, my proof is complete. Or if woman 
 had been more degraded than man; and both have exceed¬ 
 ingly improved, yet in such a ratio, that the former is now 
 as far advanced as the latter, still my conclusion is just. In 
 point of fact, women are actually in a higher state of im¬ 
 provement than men, so far as the influences of Christianity 
 are concerned. If man boasts of the religion of the under- 
 standing, and of a more varied and extensive religious knowl¬ 
 edge, woman excels him in the religion of the heart. All 
 her affections are the bosom friends of Religion, whenever 
 she is piously disposed. Her tenderness of heart, her sen¬ 
 sibility of conscience, the nature of her duties, and trials, 
 and griefs, her freedom from the temptations of selfishness 
 and vice, of wealth, and ambition, of false honor and false 
 pride, the inward character of her resources against disap¬ 
 pointment and sorrow, pain and misfortune, all contribute to 
 make the personal religion of women, more consistent and 
 firm, more simple, pure, and fervent, than that of men. The 
 number of pious women has always exceeded that of pious 
 men: and the religions character of the female sex has gen¬ 
 erally, approached nearer to the perfect example of the 
 Savior. 
 
 Let us now resume the argument on the subject of educa¬ 
 tion, as sustained by the two illustrations just given. I have 
 said that man, in modern times, has become, from the ope¬ 
 ration of Christianity, a more elevated being in the scale of 
 creation, than man, in Pagan Greece and Rome. I have 
 said also that this difference is more perceptible, in private, 
 than in public life, in the character of woman, than in that 
 of man: and that the reason is, because Religion has been 
 enabled to exert a more steady, intimate, natural influence 
 in private, than in public life, and over woman, than over 
 man. From these premises, I reason thus. We see that 
 
90 
 
 the power of religion is less over men, in public, than in pri¬ 
 vate life. How can this be remedied ? Assuredly, in no 
 other way, than by multiplying and strengthening its influ¬ 
 ences in private life. The private man eventually becomes- 
 the public man. We cannot indeed single out the few, who 
 are destined for public stations, from the many, who are to 
 remain in retirement. We must, therefore, educate all, so 
 as to subject every one to the influences, which are so im¬ 
 portant to public character. This must be done in youth* 
 if done at all; and how can we better accomplish it than by 
 the proposed union, between secular and religious education*. 
 When Leonora Galligai was accused of employing the artsr 
 of sorcery to influence Mary de Medicis, she replied, that 
 she had used only that power, which great minds have over 
 weak ones. Such is the control, which ought to be exer¬ 
 cised by Public Men, over the multitudes, subjected to their 
 lawful authority. And how can their dominion over life, 
 character, liberty, and property, over private and public 
 happiness and improvement, attain the height of moral ex¬ 
 cellence and moral power, unless their superiority be foun¬ 
 ded on the religion of the Bible, the purest fountain of mo¬ 
 ral excellence, the noblest instrument of moral power ? 
 But we have also seen, that from circumstances, arising out 
 of the peculiarity of their respective situations, men are 
 less liable to be affected and governed by religion than wo¬ 
 men. It is impossible to assimilate the condition of men to 
 that of women, in respect to the peculiar causes, which have 
 given such an ascendancy to Chiistian influences, over the 
 character of women. Hence it is obvious, that we ought to 
 shape our schemes of education, with a view to this state 
 of things. Let us endeavor then to train the youth, so as 
 to place him from the earliest, to the latest period of in¬ 
 struction, under the daily influences of religion, as a vital, 
 inseparable ingredient in the daily bread of education. And 
 how can this be done, safely, wisely, effectually* unless by 
 the introduction of the Bible , as a text bookat every stage r 
 of his progress ffrom the primary school to the university. 
 
 The importance of these considerations may be still far¬ 
 ther illustrated, by the following view. In Heathen coun¬ 
 tries, both ancient and modern, we find an exact conformity 
 between the character of religion, as a cause, and that of' 
 individuals and nations, as an effect. This corresponds so 
 accurately in its lineaments and character to that, as to leave 
 uo doubt, that the former was the master hand, which sketch- 
 
01 
 
 tA the picture and disposed its lights and shades* In Ma¬ 
 hometan Nations, also, we observe the same correspond¬ 
 ence, between the state of society and the professed religion. 
 But when we look at Christian countries, we are shocked at 
 the difference between the character of their religion and 
 that of their inhabitants* How shall we account for this 
 wonderful harmony in the one case, for this awful contrast 
 in the other ? Undoubtedly, in this way, that in Pagan and 
 Mussulman Nations, there is nothing to counteract the free 
 and full influence of their religion, on the conscience, the 
 understanding, and the heart, in private and public stations. 
 But, in Christian countries, numberless counter-currents, 
 the relics of barbarism and prejudice, of heathenism and 
 superstition, of obsolete manners and customs, are continu¬ 
 ally disturbing and polluting, the broad and deep, the calm, 
 clear stream of religion. Hence, the imperfections and in¬ 
 consistencies, which we see in the private and public charac¬ 
 ter of Christian communities. This must be admitted to be 
 eminently disgraceful, and must be ascribed to some radical 
 defect in our institutions. I grant that it may be attributed 
 partly to the natural depravity of man, and partly to the de¬ 
 fectiveness of our religious systems ; but I believe the chief 
 cause to be the unnatural and total separation of secular and 
 religious education. Until this evil shall be remedied, we 
 must continue to present a picture of deformity and incon¬ 
 sistency. But, I trust, that the time has arrived, when this 
 subject, all-important, and all-interesting as it is, will be ta¬ 
 ken up, and will be candidly and seriously discussed. Of 
 the result, I cannot doubt, under the blessing of that Provi¬ 
 dence, who hath created man, a little lower than the angels, 
 who hath conferred on him dominion over the works of his 
 hand, who hath promised him a house, not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens, and hath given him the Bible, as the 
 Tree of Life, in this valley of the shadow of Death. 
 
 I shall not attempt, in this discourse, to trace even the 
 outline of a scheme. My present object is not, to propose 
 a plan, but to invite attention to an all-important subject* 
 
 1 have not the ambition, which rejoices to found a new sys¬ 
 tem, and to gather around it a band of converts. But, in 
 the discharge of duty, I do delight, to lead the way in val¬ 
 uable and interesting inquiries : and I shall be amply repaid, 
 if Parents, Guardians, and Instructors, Patriots and Chris¬ 
 tians, Philanthropists and Scholars, will seriously and faith¬ 
 fully examine the question, “ ought not the Bible to be an 
 
n 
 
 inseparable part of all education, from the primary school 
 to the university 
 
 To the Parent , I would say, your offspring are the child* 
 ren of God. On you, they depend for education. God has 
 commanded you to train them betimes, to know and to serve, 
 to love and to enjoy him. The paths of business are equally 
 the paths of temptation and duty. Religion belongs to 
 every thought, and word, and deed. As then the Bible is 
 the only standard of duty, why do you not interweave it 
 with the whole scheme of secular education ? To the Guar¬ 
 dian, I would say, what are you but a Parent, not indeed, 
 after the order of Nature, but by the appointment of de¬ 
 parted friendship, or by the protective authority of the Or¬ 
 phan’s Tribunal? You have assumed the obligations of a 
 Parent. Why then will you not act a Parent’s part, in giv¬ 
 ing to your adopted children, the Bible, as the daily bread 
 of education ? To the Instructor , I would say, you stand in 
 the place of Parent and Guardian. Their duties are unques¬ 
 tionably yours. To you is transferred, not only the obli¬ 
 gation to teach, but more especially the selection of appro¬ 
 priate books, and the regulation of the order and propor¬ 
 tion of studies. What Parent or Guardian has ever inter¬ 
 fered with your plans ? How entirely, and with what a cor¬ 
 dial confidence, have they appointed you to think, to con¬ 
 sult, to decide, to act for them ? Why then have you ex¬ 
 cluded the Bible of those very Parents and Guardians, from 
 the whole scheme for the education of their children and 
 wards ? To the Patriot , I would say, can you doubt, that 
 to the Bible, your country owes not only her religious lib¬ 
 erty, and her entire moral condition, but, to a great extent, 
 her civil and political rights, her science, literature and arts ? 
 The Bible is emphatically the book of truth and knowledge, 
 of freedom and happiness to your country. Children you 
 regard as public property : and you know, that they will 
 honor and serve their country best, the more they are in¬ 
 structed in the Scriptures, and imbued with their spirit. 
 Why then, do you withhold the full bencht of those sacred 
 oracles, by thus proscribing them, in every scheme of edu¬ 
 cation? To the Christian, I would say, you admit the di¬ 
 vinity of the Scriptures, their absolute authority and inesti¬ 
 mable worth. You concede, that they are the common prop¬ 
 erty of all; that even children may. profit by them, since 
 they are so simple and plain, that the way-faring man, though 
 a fool, shall not err therein. Why then do you not give 
 
93 
 
 them this lamp of life, as well as the lamp of knowledge, to 
 guide them daily, with harmonious beams, in their prepara¬ 
 tion for the indissoluble duties and business of life. To the 
 Philanthropist, I would say, the testimony even of the In¬ 
 fidel must satisfy you, that the Believer walks in “ ways of 
 pleasantness and paths of peace.” You know, that Reli¬ 
 gion, viewed merely as a temporal institution, is a treasure- 
 house of blessings to individuals and nations. You are con¬ 
 vinced that religion belongs to the child and the boy, to the 
 youth and the young man, no less than to maturity of years 
 and to age. You love mankind, and watch with intense 
 anxiety, the progress of youth to manhood, in the prepara¬ 
 tion for duty and honor, for usefulness and happiness. 
 These are inseparable from religion, and this must be sought’ 
 in the Bible. Why then have you not made the scriptures 
 a text-book for daily instruction, in common with the usual 
 branches of secular education ? To the Scholar, I would 
 say, we offer you a more ancient, venerable, noble classic, 
 than is to be found in the whole compass of Grecian and Ro¬ 
 man Literature. If you boast that the Aristotles and the 
 Platos, and the Tullies, of the classic ages “dipped their 
 pens in intellect,” the sacred authors dipped theirs in inspi¬ 
 ration. If those were the “ Secretaries of Nature,” these 
 were the Secretaries of the very Author of Nature. If 
 Greece and Rome have gathered into their cabinet of curi¬ 
 osities the pearls of heathen Poetry and Eloquence, the dia¬ 
 monds of Pagan History and Philosophy, God himself has 
 treasured up in the Scriptures, the poetry and eloquence, the 
 philosophy and history of Sacred Lawgivers, of Prophets 
 and Apostles, of Saints, Evangelists and Martyrs. In vain 
 may you seek for the pure and simple light of Universal 
 Truth in the Augustan ages of Antiquity. In the Bible on¬ 
 ly is the Poet’s wish fulfilled, 
 
 “ And like the Sun be all one boundless eye.” 
 
 In sublimity and beauty, in the descriptive and pathetic, in 
 dignity and simplicity of narrative, in power and compre¬ 
 hensiveness, depth and variety of thought, in purity and ele¬ 
 vation of sentiment, the most enthusiastic admirers of the 
 heathen classics have conceded their inferiority to the Scrip¬ 
 tures. The Bible, indeed, is the only universal clas¬ 
 sic, the classic of all mankind, of every age and country, 
 of time and eternity, more humble and simple than the prim- 
 
94 
 
 er of the child, more grand and magnificent than the Epic 
 and the Oration, the Ode and the Drama, when Genius, with 
 his chariot of fire, and his horses of fire, ascends in a whirl¬ 
 wind, into the heaven of his own invention. Why then, ye 
 admirers of the sublime, the wonderful, the fair, in Grecian 
 and Roman Literature, do you admit these, as the daily com¬ 
 panions of youth; whilst you banish the best classic the 
 world has ever seen, the noblest, that has ever honored and 
 dignified the language of mortals ?* 
 
 To All, to the Parent, Guardian, and Instructor, to the 
 Patriot and Christian, the Philanthropist and Scholar, I 
 would say, the Bible is the only Book, which God has ever 
 sent, the only one he ever will send, into this world.f All 
 other books are frail and transient as time, since they are 
 only the Registers of Time ; but the Bible is durable as 
 Eternity, for its pages contain the records of Eternity. All 
 other books are weak and imperfect, like their author, man; 
 but the Bible is a transcript of infinite power and perfection. 
 Every other Volume is limited in its usefulness and influ¬ 
 ence ; but the Bible came forth conquering and to conquer: 
 rejoicing as a giant to run his course, and like the Sun, 
 
 there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” The Bible 
 only, of all the myriads of books, the world has seen, is 
 equally important and interesting to all mankind. Its ti¬ 
 dings, whether of peace or of woe, are the same to the 
 poor, the ignorant and the weak, as to the rich, the wise 
 and the powerful. Among the most remarkable of its attri¬ 
 butes is justice, for it looks with impartial eyes on kings and 
 on slaves, on the hero and the soldier, on philosophers and 
 peasants, on the eloquent and the dumb. From all, it ex¬ 
 acts the same obedience to its commandments, and promises 
 to the good, the fruits of his labors ; to the evil, the reward 
 of his hands. Nor are the purity and holiness, the wisdom, 
 benevolence and truth of the Scriptures, less conspicuous, 
 than their justice. 
 
 In vain, may we look elsewhere, for the only true model 
 of character, the model of the Parent, Guardian, and In¬ 
 structor, of the Patriot and Christian, of the Philanthro¬ 
 pist and Scholar. Would you have your child, if spared in 
 the providence of God, to fill as becomes him, a Father’s 
 part, “in the mild majesty of private life?” Would you 
 
 * Note K, 
 
 f Note L, 
 
95 
 
 have him to be the faithful Guardian, if called to that office ? 
 Would you have him as an Instructor, eminent for temper, 
 fidelity and usefulness ? Then let him daily study the only 
 standard for the Parent, the Guardian, the Instructor. 
 Would you have him a Patriot, pure in his motives, elevated 
 in his views, inflexible in his principles ? Would you have 
 him a Christian, in simplicity of purpose acceptable to God, 
 in fervor of adoration the imitator of seraphs, in benevolent 
 deeds approved of archangels, and the delight of his fellow- 
 men ? Bid him then, daily, to drink, at the Christian foun¬ 
 tain of living waters. Would you have him a Philanthro¬ 
 pist, gentle, compassionate, liberal, considerate? Send him, 
 every day that he lives, to the Book of Him, who is the in¬ 
 finite, supreme Philanthropist, peculiarly and emphatically 
 such ; for God so loved the world, that he gave his only be¬ 
 gotten son, to die for the world, even the death of the cross. 
 Would you have him a scholar, rich in the treasures of gen¬ 
 ius, adorned by the accomplishments of taste, and familiar 
 with the sublimity and beauty, not only of the natural, but 
 of the moral, intellectual and spiritual world? Then, let 
 him dedicate a portion of each day, with intense enthusiasm, 
 to the study of Him, who is the Author of Genius and Taste, 
 and the Creator of the visible and invisible Universe. 
 
 To all, I would say, what are to be the destinies of your 
 children in this world ? To the many among them, we 
 know will be assigned the private station, rich in the bles¬ 
 sings and enjoyments, but encircled with the trials, tempta¬ 
 tions and griefs of social and domestic life. To the few will 
 be entrusted the honor and welfare of their country, the 
 peace and improvement of the world, the highest and best 
 interests of man. These indeed cannot now be separated 
 from those, as we survey, with mortal eyes, the countless 
 multitudes of the young, that crowd the schools and colle- 
 <res of our land. If we look abroad from the mountain’s 
 
 o 
 
 head, over the vast expanse of vallies and plains, buried from 
 our view in an ocean of mist, we know that most of it is 
 destined to return again to the earth, in the morning dew, 
 in the showers of spring, or in the summer rain. But some, 
 we feel assured, though undistinguished by mortal sight, 
 will furnish forth the bridal chamber of the setting sun, and 
 dazzle in the glorious arch of the rainbow. In like man¬ 
 ner, though we cannot discern the illustrious few from the 
 obscure multitude, we know with absolute certainty, that, 
 some at least of your children, will be, in future years, in- 
 
96 
 
 vested with the powers and honors of Public Men? Arc 
 they, then, in the order of Providence, to wield the sceptre 
 of a mighty influence, among the Great of the Earth ? Are 
 they to be summoned to control the fortunes of their coun¬ 
 try, as Statesmen and Legislators, as Orators and Patriots ? 
 Are they to lay down their lives, holy and precious offerings, 
 in the martyrdom of Patriotism or Religion? Are they to 
 extend the boundaries of Science, to adorn the empire of 
 the Arts, to enrich and decorate the Literature of their Age, 
 and not to leave behind them “a line, which dying they might 
 wish to blot”? Are they to visit “Earth’s loneliest bounds, 
 and Ocean’s wildest shore,” to dare the perils of frozen or 
 burning climes, to plant the dwellings of man, in the wilder¬ 
 ness of the brute, or to bless with civilization, the desolate 
 life of the savage and barbarian ? Are they to be the holiest 
 of the holy, best and greatest among the good, Heralds of 
 the Everlasting Gospel, Priests of the Most High God ? 
 Are they to be the Apostles of their Age, rivals of Augus¬ 
 tine, Boniface and Xavier, of Gilpin and Schwartz, of Eli¬ 
 ot, Martyn and Heber? Are they to scatter the lightnings 
 of divine wrath, with Massillon and Bourdaloue, with Tay¬ 
 lor and Whitfield, with Dwight, Hall, Mason and Chalmers ? 
 Or like Fenelon and Flechier, Beveridge, Channing and 
 Wilson, to persuade in the eloquence of heavenly love ? 
 Are these, indeed, to be the destinies of some, at least, of 
 your children? Look abroad then, through the world of the 
 living and the dead, and you will search in vain for a stand¬ 
 ard of real greatness, or a fountain of sublime virtues, for 
 a parent of exalted duties, or a model of true glory, com¬ 
 parable to the Scriptures ? Let their beams shine then daily- 
 on the minds, let their tires daily glow in the hearts of your 
 children. Thus, if they r are to be among the Great of the 
 Earth, they will be greatest of the great; for they will be 
 servants of God, as well as of man. 
 
 But such can be the destinies of only a few'. What then 
 is to become of all the rest? To them will be allotted the 
 calm, sequestered vale of life, the duties and enjoyments of 
 social and domestic circles. Their only titles will be found 
 in the names of Father and Son, of Husband and Brother, 
 of Neighbor, Friend and Citizen. To some will be entrust¬ 
 ed an enlarged usefulness, even in the narrow sphere of 
 their obscurity. But to others will allotted little more, than 
 
 “Rhymes uncouth, with shapeless sculpture decked, 
 
 And names and years, spelt by th’unlettered muse.” 
 
97 
 
 On some,* will descend the glittering shower of riches, and 
 the fortunate stream of life will roll over golden sands. On 
 others, the storm of ruin will burst, in fearful desolation. 
 To some will be given, to sit each under his own fig tree 
 and vine ; whilst others must pass under the yoke of depend¬ 
 ence. Some, in fine, will behold in the covenant cloud, a 
 never-failing rainbow of peace; and others that go forth on 
 their way, weeping, shall sow in tears, to reap in joy. But, 
 whatever be their lot, whether poverty, or wealth, prosper¬ 
 ity or adversity, social influence or a solitary station, the 
 Bible is the only land mark they can trust. Send them 
 forth then, on the ocean of life, perilous and treacherous as 
 it is; but teach them in daily education, to regard the Bible 
 as their Beacon of safety, and, wdiether sunshine or gloom, 
 the storm or the calm, the beauty and wealth of spring, or 
 the nakedness and desolation of wfinter be their lot, all must 
 be well with them in Time ; for all shall be well with them 
 in Eternity. 
 
 9 
 
9S 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 Note A. p. 67. 
 
 The following extract from the Introductory Lecture of Mr. Hurwitz, 
 at the London University, illustrates what is said here. “Excepting 
 Origenin the second, and Jerome in the fourth century, very few Chris¬ 
 tians could boast of a considerable knowledge of the Hebrew, before the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century. Reuchlin was the first, that led 
 the way. He was followed by a few others; but the prejudice of the 
 times, joined with the prevailing ignorance, prevented the general diffu¬ 
 sion of Hebraic learning ” 
 
 We may form some idea of the ignorance even of the clergy in those 
 days, from w r hat Conr. Heresbach relates in his work (Orat. de Laudibus 
 Literal'. Graec.). He states that he heard a monk announce from the pulpit 
 to his audience, “ They (I suppose the heretics) have introduced a new 
 language called the Greek : this must be shunned, it occasions nothing 
 but heresies. Here and there, these people have a book in that lan¬ 
 guage, called the New Testament. This book is full of stones and ad¬ 
 ders. Another language is starting up-—the Hebrew. Those that learn 
 it, are sure to become Jews.” 
 
 Note B. p. 68. 
 
 I hardly know any fact so extraordinary, as the almost total exclusion of 
 Religion and Biblical Literature from schemes of Education. Why 
 should not the Old and New Testament be illustrated (and all Classic 
 Antiquity together affords not such a subject for illustration) from sacred 
 and profane history, from geography and travels, from manners and cus¬ 
 toms, from literature, science, natural religion, and prophecy ? Whether 
 we look to its truth and importance, to its universal and enduring 
 character, or to the variety, sublimity, and beauty of its elements, ail 
 other books are vastly inferior to it. Is there any comparison, as to the 
 depth of interest and diversity of materials, between the connection of 
 Assyrian and Persian, of Persian and Grecian, of Grecian and Roman 
 History, and those of sacred and profane History, as exhibited in Shuck- 
 ford and Prideaux ? And is not the same question equally applicable to 
 profane, as compared with Ecclesiastical history, in its great master, 
 Mosheim? Is any commentary on Homer, and Virgil, comparable to 
 Lovvth on Isaiah and Horsely on Hosea ? Do Grecian or Roman Letters 
 boast of anything, that rivals Lowth on Hebrew Poetry? If the ex¬ 
 amples of private and public virtue among the Greeks and Romans be 
 counted so valuable, as incentives to youth, who can doubt their vast in¬ 
 feriority to the like instances in the Old and New Testaments ? Why 
 should not all the virtues, taught and required by the Christian Religion, 
 be illustrated by a multitude of anecdotes, drawn from the sentiments* 
 
99 
 
 trials, and sufferings, the lives and deaths of Christians? To treasure 
 up such facts in memory, would be of more value to our youth, than 
 to know Nepos and Plutarch by heart Classic biography and history 
 are counted invaluable; and yet Christian Biography and History are 
 neglected. Classic Poetry and Eloquence are regarded as indispensa¬ 
 ble; but those of the Bible are rejected. Cicero’s Offices are taught as 
 a model of duty, while the New Testament, the only model, worth 
 teaching or worth learning, is banished. When shall liberal education 
 in Christian countries mean Christian education ? When shall the great 
 object of Education be, to teach Duty, private and public, Christian 
 duty ; and above all things, to prepare Christian children, to be Chris¬ 
 tian men and Christian women ? When shall the great end of all educa¬ 
 tion be, to teach the young, that education is worth nothing, if it do not 
 fit them to live well, in order to die well ? 
 
 Note C. p. 70. 
 
 I should experience real pain and mortification, if I thought that the 
 sentiments, which I am about to express, could be justly regarded as 
 illiberal. That some will so consider them, I doubt not; but their opin¬ 
 ion would give me neither pain, nor mortification. I speak with much 
 confidence to two classes of persons, to those, who are decidedly reli¬ 
 gious, and to those, who not being such, do yet acknowledge the Bible 
 to be, as a mere composition, above all other books, and to be the only 
 safe foundation of morals, the only complete standard of character. 
 As religion is the every day business of mature years, it ought to be the 
 every day work of youth. No method can accomplish this object, short 
 of interweaving it into the whole course of education. It is possible, 
 that an objection might be made on the ground, that each sect of Chris¬ 
 tians must have its own separate school. This is true, if each school is 
 to be a species of theological seminary, and the articles or catechism 
 or confession of faith is to be taught; but not if each is to be simply a 
 Christian school, and the New Testament the text-book. Those denomi¬ 
 nations, which agree in essentials, can easily unite in a scheme of Edu¬ 
 cation, with the Bible as a daily text-book; provided they realize the 
 inestimable value of Religion, the importance of early and continued 
 instruction, and above ail, provided they meet on the common ground 
 of an agreement in essentials, and in a truly liberal spirit of Christian 
 fellowship. Where this agrement, and this liberality of sentiment do 
 not prevail, no such union could be expected. It is neither unjust nor 
 illiberal on the part of those, who can thus harmonize, so to construct 
 their schemes of education, as to attain their first great object, even 
 though the effect should be to exclude from their schools, the children of 
 those sects, which cannot unite with them. Those, who adopt the views 
 of the Address, on the subject of religious education, and on the expe¬ 
 diency and duty of making the Bible a daily text-book, will feel that 
 these are ends, far too important to be sacrificed to the gratifications of 
 admitting into the same school, the children of every religious denomi¬ 
 nation. Assuredly they are as little bound to make this sacrifice, as to 
 accommodate their worship to the views of others, who disagree with 
 them; for, according to my sentiments, the school is as much the ap¬ 
 propriate place and season for the Christian instruction of the young, 
 as the church for the Religious improvement of those of mature years. 
 The minority have no reason to complain that the majority do, what 
 
100 
 
 they conceive to be their duty by their own children, instead of disre¬ 
 garding that duty, by providing a scheme to embrace the children of 
 both. Who can hesitate between the children of others and his own, 
 even in temporal concerns ? Still less should he pause, when the ques¬ 
 tion is, shall the temporal good of those be preferred to the spiritual 
 good of these ? 
 
 Note D. p. '75. 
 
 Gataker, in his Apology for bestowing, though a Christian Minister, 
 so many years and so much labor on the Meditations of the Heathen 
 Antoninus, says, “ Another thing of no small moment is this, we dis¬ 
 cover the equity of the Christian doctrine, and its perfect agreement 
 with reason, while we show it is approved and praised even by strangers 
 and adversaries. A testimony from enemies is of great weight.” And 
 Dion Prusseus tells us, that “ the encomium of those, who admire, though 
 they do not receive, must be the finest of all praises.” I place here, 
 with real satisfaction, the following just and eloquent eulogium by Rous¬ 
 seau : and I cannnot doubt, that he would have recommended such a 
 book, as an elementary work, in the whole course of education. 
 
 £< The majesty of the scriptures strikes me with astonishment, and the 
 sanctity of the gospel addresses itself to my heart. Look at the vol¬ 
 umes of the philosophers, with all their pomp: how contemptible do 
 they appear in comparison to this! Is it possible, that a book at once 
 so simple and sublime, can be the work of man ? Can he who is the 
 subject of its history, be himself a mere man ? Was his the tone of an 
 enthusiast, or of an ambitious sectary ? What sweetness ! What purity 
 in his manners! What an affecting gracefulness in his instructions? 
 What sublimity in his maxims! "What profound wisdom in his discours¬ 
 es ! What presence of mind, what sagacity and propriety in his an¬ 
 swers! How great the command over his passions! Where is the man, 
 where the Philosopher, who could so live, suffer, and die, without weak¬ 
 ness and without ostentation! When Plato described his imaginary 
 s good man, covered with all the disgrace of crime, yet worthy of all the 
 rewards of virtue, he described exactly the character of Jesus Christ. 
 The resemblance was so striking, it could not be mistaken, and all the 
 Fathers of the Church perceived it. What prepossession, what blind¬ 
 ness must it be to compare the son of Sophronius, to the son of Mary I 
 What an immeasurable distance between them ! Socrates, dying with¬ 
 out pain, and without ignominy, easily supported his character to the 
 last; and if his death, however easy, had not crowned his life, it might 
 have been doubted whether Socrates, with all his wisdom, was any 
 thing more than a mere sophist. He invented, it is said, the theory of 
 moral science. Others however, had before him put it in practice; and 
 he had nothing to do but to tell what they had done, and to reduce 
 their examples to precept. Aristides had been just, before Socrates 
 defined what justice was; Leonidas had died for his country, before 
 Socrates made it a duty to love one’s country. Sparta had been tempe¬ 
 rate before Socrates eulogized sobriety : and before he celebrated the 
 praises of virtue, Greece had abounded in virtuous men. But from 
 whom of all his countrymen, could Jesus have derived that sublime and 
 pure morality, of which he only has given us both the precepts and 
 example? In the midst of the most licentious fanaticism, the voice of 
 the sublimest wisdom was heard; and the simplicity of the mqst heroic 
 virtue crowned one of the humblest of all the multitude. 
 
The death of Socrates, peaceably philosophising with his friends, is 
 khe most pleasant that could be desired ! That of Jesus, expiring in 
 torments, outraged, reviled, and execrated by a whole nation, is the 
 most horrible that could be feared. Socrates, in receiving the cup of 
 poison, blessed the weeping executioner, who presented it; but Jesus in 
 the midst of excruciating torture, prayed for his merciless' tormentors. 
 Yes! if the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and 
 •death of Jesus were those of a God. Shall We say that the evangelical 
 history is a mere fiction—it does not bear the Stamp of fiction, but the 
 contrary. The History of Socrates, which no body doubts, is not as 
 well attested as that of Jesus Christ. Such an assertion in fact only 
 Shifts the difficulty, without removing it. It is more inconceivable that 
 a number of persons should have agreed to fabricate this book, than that 
 one only should have furnished the subject of it. 
 
 “ The Jewish authors were incapable of the diction, and strangers to 
 the morality, contained in the gospel, the marks of whose truth are so 
 striking, so perfectly inimitable, that the inventor would be a more as¬ 
 tonishing man than the hero.” Rousseau’s Emilius, Bk. 4, 
 
 The following sentiments from the pen of Fisher Ames will be read 
 With interest, in connection with the admirable encomium of Rousseau. 
 
 Fisher Ames ’ opinion of the Bible as a School Booh .—Should not 
 the Bible regain the place it once held as a school book ? Its morals are 
 pure, its examples captivating and noble. The reverence for the sacred 
 book that is thus early impressed, lasts long; and probably, if not im¬ 
 pressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind. One considera¬ 
 tion more is important. In no book is there so good English, so pure, 
 and so eiegant; and by teaching all the same book, they will speak 
 alike, and the Bible will justly remain the standard of language, as well 
 as of faith. A barbarous provincial jargon will be banished, and taste, 
 
 , corrupted by pompous Johnsonian affectation, will be restored.” 
 
 Note E„ p. 79. 
 
 It seems to me very manifest, that if Christians had done their duty 
 all along, as to religious education, Sunday Schools would never have 
 been employed, except for the instruction of the poor. This, indeed. 
 Was their original object; but they now embrace the children of every 
 part of the community. The primitive Christians took vast pains in the 
 religious instruction of the young: and to this cause must be undoubted¬ 
 ly assigned great influence, in the propagation of Christianity. But the 
 neglect of this wise and benevolent scheme, led eventually to such a 
 state of things, that in Christian countries, children, because they hap¬ 
 pened to be born of Christian parents, seemed to be regarded as scarce¬ 
 ly, if at all, in need of religious education. After providing them with 
 a brief catechetical course, and requiring their attendance on public 
 worship, it appeared to be thought, that the Bible had no more to do 
 with their education, than the Koran, or the Zendavest, or the Veda. 
 Independently of all other considerations, I regard Sunday Schools and 
 Bible Societies as invaluable ; because they are preparing the way for 
 the Bible to become the handmaid of all education , from the infant 
 School to the University . In a few generations, the influence of the 
 Sunday School on this great subject, the combination of religious and 
 -secular education, will be felt through the whole community. Then 
 will Robert Raikes, the founder of the system, be looked back upon, as 
 
 9 * 
 
102 
 
 one of the wisest of Philanthropists, and one of the noblest beirefaetcfrs- 
 of his species. 
 
 I hope 1 may be pardoned for adding here the following extracts from 
 my Address at the dedication of the Depository for Bibles, Tracts, and 
 Sunday School Books, in Charleston, delivered April S, 1829. 
 
 Let me rather turn to the excellent founder of Sunday Schools, and 
 offer to the benevolent Robert Raikes, the homage of virtuous admira¬ 
 tion and gratitude. Compared to him, what are the heroes of ancient 
 and modern times, the illustrious statesmen, the founders of empires I 
 Who that comprehends the true dignity of man, his solemn responsibili¬ 
 ty to God, and his fellow men, the blessedness of doing good, the beauty 
 of holiness, the pure, elevated, noble wisdom of Love to God and Man, 
 would for a moment compare with Robert Raikes, Alexander or Caesar, 
 Alaric or Atlila, Wolsey or Richelieu, Charles the XII. or Bonaparte? 
 To illustrate this, let us draw a parallel between the benevolent author 
 of Sunday Schools, and the Lawgiver of Sparta, and the Founder of 
 Rome. 
 
 Lycurgus exclaimed, as he rode through the country of Laconia, that 
 it looked like the patrimony of brothers. It was, indeed, the patrimony 
 of a family ; but that family w r as degraded and brutalized by institutions, 
 whose sole object was the destruction of their fellow creatures. Sparta 
 regarded peace, the natural condition of man, as disgraceful; war, his 
 unnatural state, as honorable. The Spartan had no feelings, no senti¬ 
 ments, but thosp of a soldier; no conception of glory, but as military 
 fame: no happiness or duties at home, but in warlike education, no joy 
 or ambition abroad, but in the camp, the march, or the battle-field. To 
 receive his wounds in front; to die sword in hand; to be carried home¬ 
 ward upon his shield, were the limit of his desires, the highest satisfac¬ 
 tion, of which he was capable. The character of man was stretched 
 on the iron bed of Procrustes; that of woman was degraded, and her ten¬ 
 derness, delicacy, and loveliness, were broken as on the wheel of a 
 ruthless tyranny; while the infant, if unfit for the bloody work of des¬ 
 truction, was cast out to perish in the fields. Under such institutions, 
 the Spartan was a savage, scarcely more elevated than the Indian of 
 North America. Such were the boasted institutes of Lycurgus; and 
 what a commentary on the character of them and their author, is found 
 in the fact, that he should have cheated the people, by a miserable trick, 
 into their perpetual observance. 
 
 Let us now turn to the Founder of the Roman monarchy. In him we 
 behold a man, who slew his brother with his own hand, who violated the 
 sacred laws of hospitality, who inveigled by fraud the Sabine women 
 into his power, aud seized them by force. What other morality, indeed 
 could have been expected of a fratricide, the captain of robbers, and 
 murderers and outlaws! Such was the man who laid the foundation* 
 of Rome, called, in the boastful language of her people, the Eternal 
 City. And what were her institutions, from beginning to end, but those 
 of war ? What washer sole employment, from the cradle to the grave, 
 but rapine and murder ? She died, as she had lived—by the sword ; and 
 as she had carried fire and carnage, with unrelenting fury and insatiable 
 ambition into all the neighboring countries, she perished at last, not in 
 the lists of chivalry, with the gallant, the civilized, and the polished, but 
 by the hands of barbarians, who rolled backward over the Alps upon her 
 beautiful Italy, the deluge of blood, which had overflowed Helvetia 
 and Germany, Gaul antjl Belgium, and Britain. Such has been the fat® 
 
103 
 
 of every people, with scarcely an exception ! How just and awful are 
 the judgments of God ! for all of them arose and flourished by rapine and 
 bloodshed. Shall I be told that Rome carried her arts with her arms, 
 and civilized the independent states, which she enslaved? What then 
 shall we say to the thief and assassin, who should act in like manner ? 
 Shall we regard it as a merit, that after slaying the parent, they have 
 educated the child out of his father’s property ? After invading the 
 peace of a family, laying waste its heritage, seizing all its property, and 
 murdering or imprisoning its natural protectors, is it matter of commen¬ 
 dation, that they should restore and improve agriculture and the arts, 
 out of its own wealth, more especially since they delivered that family to 
 the charge ot oppressive strangers ? Such were the principles, and such 
 the conduct ot kingly, of republican, of imperial Rome. Romulus, 
 then, was the founder of a state whose whole life of twelve hundred 
 years, was devoted to carnage and rapine. Lycurgus was the author 
 of a petty scheme of violence and destruction ; Romulus of a vast sys¬ 
 tem of selfishness and ambition, of fraud, bloodshed and ruin. Each 
 had the merit, and only the merit of creating a Nation of Murderers and 
 Plunderers. 
 
 O! how consolatory, how delightful, how refreshing, to turn from 
 such monsters, and contemplate the serene and benevolent life, the dif¬ 
 fusive charity, and wide-spreading usefulness of Robert Raikes! If it 
 were possible for him to meet in the world of spirits, Sesostris and Per¬ 
 icles, Hannibal, Alcibiades and Lucullus, how would they stand rebu¬ 
 ked in his presence, and look upon his form of light, and his angel coun¬ 
 tenance, as Satan beheld Zephon— 
 
 “Abashed the devil stood, 
 
 And felt how awful goodness is, and saw 
 Virtue in her shape how lovely !’ 5 
 
 The institutions of Raikes were those of peace and love, of justice and 
 order. Their principle was obedience to God, good will to man; their 
 means—the improvement of the mind and heart, their end—the tempo¬ 
 ral and eternal good of mankind. They have sent forth soldiers into ev¬ 
 ery land; but these were the soldiers of the Cross. Their armies have 
 gone forth, throughout the earth, conquering and to conquer, but it is in 
 the name and to the glory of the Prince of Peace. They have inva¬ 
 ded the little sanctuary of home, the social circle of the village, the crow- 
 died streets of the city, and the vast community of nations. But they 
 have gone forth, in the spirit of faith and love, to bless and not to curse, 
 to ransom the captive, and not to enslave the free, to comfort the afflic¬ 
 ted, to enlighten the ignorant, to gladden the wilderness and solitary 
 place, and bid the desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose. Pyrrhus 
 exclaimed, as he walked over the battle-ground on the banks of the Li- 
 ris, 0! with what ease could I conquer the world, had 1 the Romans 
 for soldiers, or they me for their king ! The Christian knows that there 
 shall be but one universal Conqueror, and one universal Empire. That 
 Conqueror, Isaiah beheld in the visions of prophecy, glorious in his ap¬ 
 parel, traveling in the greatness of his strength; he that speaks in right¬ 
 eousness, mighty to save. That empire is the Kingdom of our Lord and 
 of his Christ, the Holy Church Universal. The Bible, the Missionary 
 and the Tract, are the invincible army, that go forth, under the banner* 
 of the Lord of Elosts, to achieve this conquest, so full of glory to God, 
 and of blessing to man. And what is the Sunday School, with its youth- 
 
ful bands, the joy of parents, the hope of their country, but the van¬ 
 guard in this Holy War, arrayed in the panoply divine of early piety? 
 
 Note F. p. 83. 
 
 There is one consideration of vast importance in determining the best 
 character of a scheme of education : and it bears directly on the ques¬ 
 tion of the comparative merits of the Christian and Classical standards, 
 It is this. The spirit of the Gospel is essentially the spirit of peace and 
 humility, of love and forbearance. It is an amiable, conciliating, philan¬ 
 thropic spirit. It is full of moral dignity, and beauty, and courage. It 
 is essentially the spirit of duty, the spirit of God himself. But what is 
 the spirit that lives and moves throughout the classical models ? 11 is the 
 
 spirit of war, foreign and civil, the spirit of ambition, and pride, of 
 hatied, contempt, and oppression. It is a blood-thirsty, unforgiving, in¬ 
 tolerant spirit. Take from the Iliad or the PEneid, its military scenes, 
 and achievements, and heroes, and the poem is in ruins. Take the like 
 from the Scripture Epic of Milton, and the great, the mighty whole is 
 scarcely more impaired, than “ Jerusalem Delivered,” by discarding 
 the Episode of Olindo and Sophronia. Take the like from the Classic 
 Historians, and the sun-bright History of Greece and Rome, “ in dim 
 eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds.” But take the same from the History 
 of Europe, since the Reformation, and especially froth the history of 
 England and of these United States, and that remains, which we look 
 for in vain among the Ancients, political, constitutional, commercial, 
 literary and religious history, the history of principles, and institutions , 
 of society and government . W'ar is the Very soul of poetry and histo¬ 
 ry in the classics. Does it not then become us to abandon them, as unfit 
 means of instruction for youth ; unless we mean practically to deny the 
 incomparable superiority of the peaceful spirit of the New Testament? 
 Can we doubt that the warlike spirit, which has desolated Europe, for 
 eighteen hundred years, in spite of the religion of Jesus, is to be ascri¬ 
 bed in a good measure, to the extravagant admiration of the classics, to 
 the imitation of Greek and Roman, instead of Christian Heroes, and to 
 the unchristian character of general education? Christianity has war- 
 red in vain against military ambition and military glory ; since every ed¬ 
 ucated man, has been thoroughly imbued with the military, that ruling- 
 spirit of Greece and Rome. Banish this spirit, and we shall see and hear 
 less of war and more of peace, less of Heroes and more of Philanthro¬ 
 pists, less of Watriors and more of Statesmen, less of false glory and 
 honor, and more of true, less of the spirit of the French Revolution, and 
 more of the spirit of our own. I rejoice that the spirit of the Age, and 
 the spirit of our Country especially, are becoming more and more ration¬ 
 al, peaceful, Christian. Let this great change in education be made, and 
 we may rest assured, that the rulers and politicians of all nations will be 
 
 “-bent on higher views, 
 
 To civilize the rude unpolished world, 
 
 And lay it under the restraint of laws; 
 
 To make man mild and sociable to man ; 
 
 To cultivate the wild licentious sava°-e 
 With wisdom, discipline and liberal arts ; 
 
 Th’ embellishments of life-.” 
 
105 
 
 Note G. p. 85. 
 
 I cannot but confess my surprise at a letter from the Rev. Jonas King, 
 in which he urges the necessity of sending to Greece a printing press, 
 for the express purpose of publishing Homer. Assuredly, Homer, and 
 especially his Iliad, is one of the last books that can be valuable to the 
 modern Greeks. Their ferocity and lawless character, their ignorance 
 and superstition, demand far other books, than the works of Homer and 
 the other Greek Poets. Let the New Testament be the basis of the civ¬ 
 ilization and education of the modern Greeks, and w T e have nothing to 
 fear, on the score of their public and private happiness. But if they 
 are now taught, and now is the crisis, to look for their models in ancient 
 Greece, Christianity will languish and mourn there, as she has every where 
 else, under the overruling influences of Paganism. To offer to Mr. King, 
 as a friend of the Greeks, in their present degraded, darkened state, for 
 their improvement, the works of Horner, would be in my judgment, 
 like the Macedonian Monarch’s invitation to a feast, given to the Athe¬ 
 nian Ambassador, sent to negotiate for the ransom of his captive coun¬ 
 trymen. Mr. King might appropriately reply, in the language of Ulys¬ 
 ses to Circe, adopted by the Envoy of Athens, as a rebuke to the King 
 of Macedon: 
 
 “ Ill fits it me, whose friends are sunk to beasts, 
 
 To quaff thy wine, and riot in thy feasts ; 
 
 Me wouldst thou please, for them thy cares employ, 
 
 And them to me restore, and me to joy.” 
 
 For Mr. King as a personal acquaintance, ! have a sincere regard, and 
 for him as a Christian Missionary, respect and gratitude. But I would 
 submit to himself the question, whether it be wise and humane, in the 
 degraded state of the Greeks, as to religion, morals, and knowledge, to 
 revive the influence of Paganism over the heart and understanding of 
 youth. The Pantheon is inseparable from the study of the Greek Po¬ 
 ets every where; but how transcendant would be its power in such a 
 country as Greece ! What would every good man say, if a book like 
 the Pantheon were sent as a manuel to any people whatever, and such 
 it must inevitably be to the Greeks ? What would he say to such a col¬ 
 lection of Biographies, so shocking from the wilful atrocities, s,o revolt¬ 
 ing from the loathsome pollutions, that deform and stain every page ? 
 What is the Pantheon, to speak in the plain, unvarnished language of 
 Truth, but the Biography of the Tyrant and Rebel, of the Murderer and 
 Robber, of the Adulterer and Adulteress, of the Seducer and Liar ? What 
 scene is there exhibited, in which you do not find, that crime, or vice, 
 or meanness, stands forth in bold relief, with all the effrontery of impudent 
 guilt, and all the recklessness of wanton folly? Is this the Book, which 
 Christians ought to place with the Testament, in the hands of Grecian 
 youth, as their daily manual? To be instrumental in establishing such 
 a state of things, can never be the duty of the Christian Missionary. 
 His office should be to enlighten the conscience, to purify the affections, 
 to lead those who are dead in trespasses and sins, into the way of life, 
 the ways of pleasantness, the paths of peace. But, surely, he can nev¬ 
 er reconcile it to himself to make the Pantheon the companion of the 
 Testament, and thus to bind the dead to the living. 
 
106 
 
 Note H. p. 87. 
 
 Religious Kings are scattered, “ like Angel’s visits, short and far be¬ 
 tween,” at distant intervals along the centuries of European History. 
 In all this dreary length of way, “ they appear like live or six light¬ 
 houses, on as many thousand miles of coast.” “ The Good King Lewis 
 is dead,” was the simple proclamation in the streets of Paris, at the death 
 of Lewis the 12th. Scores of Monarchs never deserved a sigh or a tear, 
 for one who did: and yet of those scores, how many might not have 
 uttered the hypocritical sentiment of the ambitious, deceitful, warlike 
 Pericles, on his death-bed, “ not a citizen of Athens has been obliged 
 to put on mourning on my account.” Napoleon might have said the 
 same with equal truth ; for not only hundreds of Athenians had to put on 
 mourning, in the Samian and Peloponnesian wars; but the latter redu¬ 
 ced his country to slavery and misery. When Edward 6th ran to take 
 up, kiss, and replace the Bible, which one of his Council had laid on the 
 ground, as a step to reach a paper; and when Robert, King of Sicily said, 
 “ the holy books are dearer to me than my kingdom,” we behold a phe¬ 
 nomenon. Henry of Navarre had no higher idea of a King’s duties, 
 than are found in his celebrated wish, that the meanest of his subjects 
 might have a fowl for his Sunday dinner. Lewis the 14th, desired, (if 
 his instructions to his grandson are to be believed against the tenor of his 
 whole life ) that the time might come, when not a beggar should be found 
 in his kingdom. But George the 3d. longed to see the day, when not a 
 subject should be without a Bible. If, instead of the Delphin Editions 
 of the Classics, of which France was once so proud, the various books 
 of the Bible had been edited by religious literati, with a view to the ed¬ 
 ucation of the Heir Apparent, and if they had been faithfully taught, 
 who can doubt, that France would have been a blessing, instead of a 
 curse, as she has been to Europe. While Charles the 5th held the sons of 
 Francis the 1st as hostages in his stead, who would have imagined such 
 a preposterous mode of spending their time, as Vida recommended, since 
 he composed his art of poetry to teach the captive princes to write epic 
 poetry!! But are we surprised at any thing from Vida, though a Chris¬ 
 tian Bishop, when we find him at the end of the 2d. Book, thus celebrating 
 the death of Leo X, a Christian Pontiff, a servant of the meek and holy 
 Jesus. He invokes the Gods of Rome, and chiefly Apollo; and paints 
 in vision this vicegerent of God, as the offspring and priest of the Gods, 
 high on his car and “ Lord of the vanquished world, with captive kings 
 and a barbarian host behind his chariot.” He describes “ the sacred 
 Father,” as treasuring up barbaric gold and heaps of spoil, in the sacred 
 temples of the Redeemer, and finishes by a pagan denunciation of Prov¬ 
 idence, from the pen of a Christian Bishop! 
 
 “But by your crime, ye Gods, our hopes are cross’d, 
 
 And those imaginary triumphs lost.”* 
 
 We are not surprised at such folly and impiety, as long as Christians shall 
 feel and act, on subjects of education, in the spirit of a Christian minis- 
 
 r “ Verum, heu ! DU, vestrum crimen ! spes tanta repente 
 Italiae absumpta, ac penitus fiducia cessit! 
 
 Egregius moriens heros secum omnia vertit.” 
 
 9 
 
107 
 
 ter’s apology, (C. Pitt) “ it would look indecent in one of my profession, 
 not to spend as much time on the psalms of David, as on the hymns of 
 Callimachus.” While Princes shall be taught to write Epic poems on 
 heathen models, and to value Homer and Virgil, as much as the Bible, 
 their people must expect them to imitate Achilles and Agamemnon, 
 iEneas and Turnus, rather than the Prince of Peace. 
 
 Note I. p. 88. 
 
 It is one of the remarkable features, and not the least shocking and 
 disgusting, in the state of things among the ancients, that woman was 
 shut out from social intercourse with the other sex; unless she spurned 
 the character of Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, and became a Courte¬ 
 zan. Aspasia, Phryne, Lamia, Thais, &c. enjoyed the most refined and 
 educated society of their day ; while virtuous women exercised no influ¬ 
 ence beyond the domestic circle, being literally exiles from social life. 
 Christianity has redeemed woman from an Egyptian bondage of soul, 
 mind and heart. Whilst it has given greater depth, and sensibility, and 
 delicacy to her affections, it has enlarged her understanding, purified 
 her taste, adorned her manners, and dignified her character. Such 
 women as Hannah More, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. f Barbauld, Miss Edge- 
 worth, are the triumph and illustration of Christian influences. Eng¬ 
 land has more reason to be proud of Mrs. Hemans, so holy and pure, 
 than France of Mad’lle Lc Fevre, (afterwards Madame Dacier) when 
 unmarried, the translator of the vile and licentious Anacreon, when mar¬ 
 ried, of the vile and licentious Horace and Plautus. It would have been 
 more to her credit, to have burnt those versions unpublished, as Henault 
 did his translation of Lucretius, at the instance of his confessor, than to 
 have printed them, and received the praise of Boileau, that hers ought to 
 deter any person from a translation of Anacreon into verse. 1 have said 
 nothing in the Address on the subject of Female Education, as to the 
 great question there discussed. But no one can doubt, that the same 
 principles and arguments are even more applicable to the instruction 
 of daughters than of sons. Woman is emphatically the child of the 
 Scriptures. By them she has been invested with a moral beauty, and 
 crowned with a moral dignity, that have indeed elevated her, when com¬ 
 pared with females of Antiquity, to a rank in the creation, a little lower 
 than the Angels. May the Mothers of our Land, yet employ their holy 
 influences, in preparing the way for that millennial change, when the 
 Bible shall be a class-book in every school and college within our bor¬ 
 ders ! It is difficult for a man, who values female purity, delicacy and mod¬ 
 esty, to imagine a grosser insult to his daughter or sister, than for Dem- 
 oustier to have addressed to her, the “ Lettres a Emilie sur la mytbolo- 
 gie.” The writer was only fit to have kept the company of such women 
 as the courtezans of Antiquity; if we are to judge of his ideas of female 
 character from those Letters. The Society of Christian women, purifi¬ 
 ed, exalted, sanctified by religion, would have been to him full of re¬ 
 buke and reproach. Those Letters are a fair specimen of a Lady’s Pan¬ 
 theon, full of insult to her good sense, her virtue and her delicacy. 
 
 Note K. p. 94. 
 
 To those who admire the Classics so extravagantly, as to forget, as 
 most seem to do, that such a book as the Bible exists, (if we judge at 
 least from their schemes of education) I would recommend the follow- 
 
108 
 
 ing sentiments of Fenelon, than whom a more calm, dignified and dis¬ 
 passionate judge, never compared Christian with Heathen Classics. 
 
 “The Scripture surpasses the most ancient Greek authors, vastly in 
 native simplicity, liveliness and grandeur. Homer himself never reach¬ 
 ed the sublimity of Moses’ Songs, especially the last, which all Israel- 
 itish children were to learn by heart. Never did any Ode, either Greek 
 or Latin, come up to the loftiness of the Psalms, particularly “The 
 Mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken.” This surpasses the utmost 
 stretch of human invention. Neither Homer nor any other poet ever 
 equaled Isaiah describing the Majesty of God, in whose sight “ the na¬ 
 tions of the earth are as small dust, yea, less than nothing and vanity,” 
 seeing it is he that stretcheth out the heavens “ like a curtain, and 
 spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.” Sometimes this prophet has 
 all the sweetness of an eclogue in the smiling image he gives us of 
 peace, and sometimes he soars so high, as to leave every thing below 
 him. What is there in Antiquity, that can be compared to the lamenta¬ 
 tions of Jeremiah, when he tenderly deplores the misery of his country? 
 Or the prophecy of Nahum, when he foresees in spirit the proud Nine¬ 
 veh fall under the rage of an invincible army ? We fancy that we see 
 the army and hear the noise of arms and chariots. Every thing is paint¬ 
 ed in such a lively manner, as strikes the imagination—the prophet far 
 outdoes Horner. Read likewise Daniel denouncing to Belshazzar, the 
 Divine vengeance ready to overwhelm him, and try if you can find 
 any thing in the most sublime originals of antiquity, that can be com¬ 
 pared to those passages of Sacred writ. As for the rest of Scripture, 
 every portion of it is uniform and constant, every part bears the pecu¬ 
 liar character that becomes it. The history, the particular detail of 
 laws, the descriptions, the vehement and pathetic passages, the myste¬ 
 ries and prophecies, the moral discourses, in all these, appears a natural 
 and beautiful variety. In short, there is as great a difference between 
 the Heathen poets and the prophets, as there is between a false enthu¬ 
 siasm and the true. The sacred writers being truly inspired, do in a 
 sensible manner express something divine, while the others, striving to 
 soar above themselves, always show human weakness in their loftiest 
 flights.”— Cambray’s Dialogues upon Eloquence. 
 
 Note L. p. 94. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that the Bible, is the only book, which has 
 ever been translated from a sense of duty. All other books have been 
 translated as matter of enjoyment, as presents to Literature, or to make 
 money. But the Bible has been dealt with in this particular, as became 
 its holiness and purity, its awful sanctions and eternal usefulness. It 
 has been translated, in the spirit of the commandment, to preach the 
 Gospel to the poor: in the spirit of the song of the heavenly host, 
 
 “ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward 
 men.” Corneille, it is said, had in his Library translations of the Cid, 
 in every European language, except the Slavonic and Turkish. But no 
 human power can give to a human author so general, and durable a 
 character, as to ensure to his works that universal interest and perpetual 
 infuence, which are indispensable to their living every where, through 
 all time, in every language. To the Bible only, is assigned this univer¬ 
 sal dojninion, in every language , over every people. The utter insignifi¬ 
 cance of the whole body of Classical Literature is seen at once, w'hen 
 
109 
 
 we reflect, that the Bible only will be the foundation of new states oi 
 society, and the standard of education among all the heathen world , 
 destined to be converted by it. The Bible only will be sent forth with 
 the Missionary to speak to every nation under heaven, in their own 
 tongue. The absolute worthlessness of the Classics, when compared 
 with the Bible, cannot be exhibited in a more striking light, than by the 
 suggestion to translate them, and send them abroad through the heathen 
 world, to the Chinese and the Hindoo, to the Persian and the Tartar, to 
 the North American Indian, and the Islanders of the South Sea. The 
 most extravagant admirers of the classics, among Christians at least, 
 would shudder at such a proposal, as an act of folly and madness, ruin¬ 
 ous to the heathen, and mockery to God. Ask them to send translations 
 of Homer and Virgil, of Phasdrus and Ovid, hand in hand with the 
 Bible, to the Hottentot and Mohawk, to Burmah, Ceylon and Madagascar, 
 and they would reject the idea with horror, as little less than sacrilege. 
 And yet, although they would esteem it a sin, to subject the Heathen to 
 the Pagan influence of Greece and Rome, even with the Bible, they 
 persist in exposing their own children to those very influences, without 
 the Bible, as a part of the scheme of education!! When will the Christian 
 world acknowledge the Bible, in spirit and in truth, in thought, w'ord 
 and deed, to be their standard of all that is good and great, honorable, 
 pure and lovely? When will they acknowledge practically, in their 
 schemes of education, that the Bible is every thing , the classics of Greece 
 and Rome, when compared to it, nothing ? 
 
O R A T1 O IN 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ADVANTAGES, TO BE DERIVED, 
 
 f N A LITERARY POINT MERELY, 
 
 * ' 
 
 FBOM THE 
 
 INTRODUCTION OF THE BIBLE, 
 
 AS A 
 
 TEXT BOOK 
 
 OF 
 
 SACRED LITERATURE, 
 
 IA 
 
 EVERY SCHEME OF EDUCATION, 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 PRIMARY SCHOOL TO THE UNIVERSITY: 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 B E F O R E THE C O N N E C T I C II T A L P H A 
 
 OF 
 
 THE B K SOCIETY, 
 
 ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 , 1830 , 
 
 BY THOMAS S. GRIMKR. 
 
 WITH ADDITION'S AND IMPROVEMENTS. 
 
ORATION. 
 
 The Traveler, who stands at the well-spring of some 
 mighty river, illustrious alike in the verse of the Poet, and 
 the roll of the Historian, looks in imagination down its 
 “ monarchy of waters,” to contemplate all the variety of its 
 fortunes, amid the wilderness of nature, and the habitations 
 of man. He beholds it sweeping with graceful line, through 
 the verdant meadow, or the maze of emerald isles; here— 
 expanding into the mirror of the lake, there—rushing down¬ 
 ward in the rapid, or leaping in cataracts from the precipice ; 
 here—with ever-moving, ever-living waters, piercing the 
 dark recesses of the forest, there—rolling in majestic curve, 
 around the base of the mountain. He beholds in its course, 
 the humble cottage of the peasant, and the splendid palace 
 of opulence and rank; the rural scenery of field, and or¬ 
 chard, and meadow, or the garden of fashion, glittering with 
 its “ wilderness of lamps the hamlet or the village, “when 
 unadorned, adorned the most,” and the ancient city, enriched 
 by the treasures of every clime, embellished with the crea¬ 
 tions of every art, and glorious in power, magnificence and 
 wealth. The Astronomer lifts his eye from the narrow 
 boundary of the visible horizon, and the diminutive forms, 
 which decorate the surface of the Earth, to the heavens 
 above, and gazes, with the intelligence of philosophy and 
 the enthusiasm of poetry, on the serenity of its azure depths, 
 on its wandering orbs, on the bickering flame of its comets, 
 or the pure light of its host of stars. His soul expands and 
 rises in its conceptions of the grandeur, wisdom, benevo¬ 
 lence of God, and worships, in aspirations of praise and 
 gratitude, at the mercy-seat of the invisible Creator. As 
 he contemplates the miracles of worlds innumerable and of 
 a boundless universe, his thoughts are exalted and purified, 
 and he is filled with amazement, at the marvellous system of 
 the visible Universe, and with joy and gratitude at the eter¬ 
 nal destiny and still more glorious attributes of the human 
 soul. 
 
 The Traveler, when he looks on the river, arrayed in the 
 sublime, the wonderful, the fair, in the works of nature and 
 
 10 * 
 
114 
 
 of art, beholds the image of Classic Literature. The As¬ 
 tronomer, who views the heavens, with the science that com¬ 
 prehends, and the taste which admires, contemplates in that 
 glorious personification of the unseen God, the sublimity, 
 beauty and variety of Sacred Literature. Classic Litera¬ 
 ture stands, like the statue of Prometheus, graceful in its 
 beauty, majestic in its power. But Sacred Literature is the 
 ever-living fire, that descends from heaven, instinct with life, 
 immortal, universal. That is the mausoleum of departed 
 nations, splendid yet desolate ; and bearing an inscription, 
 written indeed, u in the kingly language of the mighty 
 dead.” This is none other than the house of God, this is 
 the gate of heaven; its record is the book of life, spotless 
 and eternal; its penmen are Prophets, Apostles and Mar¬ 
 tyrs; its ministering servants are Cherubim and Seraphim, 
 the Angel and the Archangel. 
 
 Doubtless there are many, who will be disposed to regard 
 this estimate of the comparative merit of the Classics and 
 the Scriptures, in a literary point of view, as extravagant. 
 Such persons, we feel assured, have never meditated, with 
 the profound attention which it deserves, on the universal 
 character, all-pervading energy, and glorious destinies of 
 Literature—co-extensive with the world, commensurate with 
 time, and consecrated to the noblest duties. If, indeed we 
 take our standard of the usefulness of Letters, from Classic 
 Antiquity, we may well regard the comparison as unjust. 
 For when we turn to the Classics, with a view to the pro¬ 
 gress and improvement of Society, are we not constrained 
 to acknowledge, that they exercised very little of that ele¬ 
 vating, pure and harmonizing influence, which is the essen¬ 
 tial attribute of genuine Literature ? What, indeed, are the 
 Classic authors,'"with all their marvellous achievments in Art 
 and Science, but the gilded horn, and the flowery chaplet of 
 victim-nations, offered up in living sacrifice to the Idols of 
 Passion and Pleasure, of War and Ambition? Theirs was 
 not that provident, prophetic Literature , which studies 
 the past and the present for the improvement of the future, 
 which labors now upon Man as he is, to make him in years 
 to come, Man as he should he. Their Literature was mod¬ 
 eled almost exclusively on their own mythology and states of 
 Society. These were at once its fountains and its standard. 
 But we undervalue Literature exceedingly, if we measure 
 its capacities and usefulness, by any other standard than the 
 
115 
 
 Scriptures: if we exclude from our view, the momentous 
 relations between God and Man, between Time and Eter¬ 
 nity ; if we banish from our estimate, the pure thoughts 
 and holy affections, the profound emotions and lofty hopes, 
 the energy of purpose, the sublime duties, and eternal felici¬ 
 ty, which spring from Religion. Rightly considered, Liter¬ 
 ature is but a sensible manifestation of the admirable work¬ 
 manship, displayed by the Creator in the structure of the 
 human mind. The foliage that robes the woodlands, and 
 the blossoms that spangle the orchard, are emblems of gen¬ 
 uine Literature. They are indeed equally frail and beauti¬ 
 ful; but are they not the spontaneous efflorescence of the 
 forest-tree and of the fruit-tree, inseparable from their 
 growth, durability and usefulness ? 
 
 The two cardinal principles, which fix the character and 
 decide the worth of all literature, in any age or country, are 
 duty and usefulness, duty—in all its various relations to 
 God, usefulness—through all the endless diversity of its 
 connexions with Man. Apart from these considerations, 
 Literature is of little value, and the farther it recedes from 
 this standard, the less does it merit our praise or imitation. 
 If we would estimate rightly the worth of Literature, at 
 any given period of time, we have only to apply these tests, 
 how far has it honored God , how far has it improved man¬ 
 kind? If it has dishonored God, if it has debased and cor¬ 
 rupted the human mind, let it perish—however various and 
 profound its learning, however beautiful its taste and mag¬ 
 nificent its genius. We at least, are prepared to say of it, 
 in the inexorable spirit of Burley of Balfour, and in the .very 
 language of Minerva’s allusion to Ajax in the Odyssey, 
 
 6 < 
 
 ,f Qg dtfcXoi-ro xai uWcg 
 
 ovig ‘Totavra ys 
 
 1 '</ 
 
 oi. 
 
 11 
 
 Such a Literature cannot live either in its own forms, or in 
 those which spring from it. They contain no principle of 
 perpetuity.* But the Literature, which is ever mindful of 
 its duty to God and of its obligations to Man, has within it¬ 
 self the seeds of life, and lives from age to age, transmitted 
 in its original forms, or in endless successions of modifica¬ 
 tions and improvements. The Christian at least, and to a 
 
 
 Note A. 
 
116 
 
 Christian audience we speak, must believe that no other 
 than such a Literature can be perpetuated. None other, 
 indeed, harmonizes with the Christian system; none other 
 can be its handmaid, its counselor and defender, in the re¬ 
 formation of Christian, and the transformation of Pagan 
 communities. He, who looks abroad over the world as it 
 is, and contemplates, in the visions of philanthropy, or the 
 prophecies of Scripture, that world as it is to be, cannot but 
 realize how much remains to be done by a purified, elevated, 
 moral Literature. Such a Literature only is worthy to vin¬ 
 dicate and recommend, to illustrate and adorn Religion: 
 and to advance, with an ever-accelerated step, the best in¬ 
 terests of free, peaceful, educated, Christian Nations. Such 
 a Literature, in all its departments of truth and fiction, and 
 we speak it to the dishonor of Christendom, but especially 
 of the Reformation, such a Literature has never existed. 
 Yet such a Literature must exist, and must continue its as¬ 
 cent, from one height of glory to another, 
 
 “’Till every bound at length shall disappear, 
 
 And iniinite perfection close the scene.” 
 
 We are now speaking of Literature, in its most compre¬ 
 hensive meaning, as embracing every species of composi¬ 
 tion, whether in Religion or morals, in diplomacy, legisla¬ 
 tion or jurisprudence, in history or philosophy, in poetry or 
 eloquence. We are sensible, that in the narrow sense, in 
 which the term is generally used, as descriptive of polite, or. 
 elegant literature, there are many who imagine, that it has 
 no community of interest, no sympathy of feeling with 
 Religion. But the error lies in judging of such literature, 
 by the forms in which it has appeared, and by the spirit 
 which has animated it, rather-than by those forms and bv 
 that spirit, of which it is capable. When the block of 
 marble lay before Michael Angelo, he beheld in its savage 
 mass, with the poetic eye of a sculptor, the grandeur and 
 beauty of the perfect statue. But the chi'seler saw nothing 
 beyond its shapeless surface. Yet scarcely had he struck 
 from it, flake after flake, in obedience to the genius and taste 
 of his master, when even his imagination was kindled, and 
 he started back in wonder at the rapid development of its 
 future glories. Thus will polite Literature appear even to 
 unpracticed eyes, whenever the Bacon or the Newton, the 
 Calvin or the Luther of this department shall arise, and 
 remodel with the bold spirit of a reformer, and the purified 
 
117 
 
 taste of a Christian, the whole system of elegant Literature. 
 Painting, said Paul Veronese, is a gift from heaven: and 
 elegant Literature would indeed be a heavenly gift, if it 
 were Christian. 
 
 Let it not be said, that the Scriptures were never intended 
 to be the basis or model of Literature; and that such an 
 association degrades their majesty, and soils their purity. 
 For ourselves, we hold that when justly considered, Litera¬ 
 ture is a part, though but a subordinate part, in the scheme 
 of Providence, in the moral Government of the world. God 
 has not indeed revealed his will, to teach us either the truths 
 of philosophy, or the beauties of Literature. As however, 
 the former are inherent in his Works, so< are the latter but 
 the results of their natural influence over the mind and the 
 heart. The sublime and the beautiful in Nature, were not or¬ 
 dained simply to be gazed at, but likewise, to furnish the 
 materials and incentives for elegant Literature. Neither 
 were the passions of man created, only for the practical 
 purposes of human life ; but also, as we are confident, to be 
 inexhaustible fountains of polite Literature. May we not 
 indeed well believe that such uses are embraced within the 
 scheme of the Scriptures ? And are they not, if we regard 
 the natural world, inseparable from the very law of its be¬ 
 ing ; if we regard the moral world, from the very end of its 
 creation? Can it be seriously contended, that God did not 
 contemplate Literature in all its elegant forms, as honorable 
 to himself and useful to the human race, as incident to the 
 study of mankind, and to the cultivation of a taste for the 
 beauties of Nature and of the Scriptures? We do not assu¬ 
 redly find any sanction for a vulgar or a licentious, for an 
 extravagant or unfeeling Literature, in the works of Crea¬ 
 tion, in the order of Providence, or in the Scriptures of 
 truth. But the study of these manifestations of divine pow¬ 
 er and goodness, unfolds so naturally all the beauty and re¬ 
 finement of the most accomplished Literature, as to leave 
 no doubt, that it has been ordained as a mode of our being. 
 It is indeed a mode, in which the Creator loves to be honored 
 and praised, by the cultivation of our powers, in all the va¬ 
 riety and grandeur, novelty and loveliness, of which the 
 soul is susceptible. 
 
 Such being the true character and destiny of polite Lite¬ 
 rature, how surprising is the fact, that it should almost uni¬ 
 versally have dishonored God and have degraded or cor- 
 
118 
 
 rupted man. How can this phenomenon be accounted for? 
 The causes must be sought in the melancholy truth, that the 
 great body of literary men have never written , either under 
 a sense of duty to God , or in the Spirit of usefulness to man. 
 Necessity or the love of fame, emulation or envy, love or 
 hatred has been the ruling motive with countless numbers. 
 And why have these inducements possessed such transcen- 
 dant authority, over the minds and hearts of this host of 
 Authors ? The chief reason must be traced to the absolute 
 exclusion of the Bible, as the only standard of duty , the 
 only fountain of usefulness, from all our schemes of educa¬ 
 tion. But the banishment of Sacred Literature from them 
 may well be assigned as an auxiliary cause, that has exerted 
 a powerful, extensive and enduring influence. When the 
 Gauls were ravaging with fire and sword the city of Rome, 
 Albinus bore away in his chariot the vestal Virgins, and 
 left his family to perish; but the Christian scholar, with no 
 such dreadful alternative before him, is content to leave the 
 Vestal Virgin of sacred Literature to perish; while he 
 welcomes to his home, as the choicest friends and instructors 
 of his children, the Priests of Mars, and Bacchus, and Ve¬ 
 nus, the poetry and mythology of Pagan Antiquity. Lan¬ 
 guage can hardly express too strongly and vividly, our 
 astonishment, indignation and sorrow, that such should be 
 the fact. Let us now consider what explanation can be 
 given of this extraordinary truth. 
 
 We should have rejoiced, before we proceeded with this 
 inquiry, to review with a rapid glance, the history of Lite¬ 
 rature. We should have rejoiced to stand, as it were in the 
 center of this vast and magnificent Panorama, and to con¬ 
 template the splendid succession of the monuments of its 
 glory, from the cathedral grandeur and chaste Architecture 
 of Hebrew Literature, to the Gothic pile, the enchanted 
 castle and the fairy palace of Literature, in the British Isles. 
 But our time will not permit us to survey this Coliseum of 
 the Arts and Sciences. We must enter at once on our 
 subject. 
 
 The existence of such Poetry, as is to be found in the 
 Pentateuch, five hundred and fifty years before the age of 
 Homer, and of such history, as is contained in the same 
 collection, one thousand years before Herodotus, is of itself 
 one ot the highest proofs of the divinity of the Scriptures. 
 In all other Countries the style of poetry has preceded by 
 
119 
 
 many a century, the style of prose ; but here we behold both 
 of them, written at the same time and in the same work, 
 with a skill and beauty never rivaled, except in other parts 
 of the holy volume. That such a body of Literature should 
 have appeared successively, during one thousand and fifty 
 years, from Moses to Malachi, among such a people as the 
 Jews, unaided by the leading influences, that have produced 
 the Literature of other Nations, is the more unaccountable, 
 when we consider its vast superiority over every other, 
 and the perfection of its language, in its earliest form as a 
 written tongue, without any discoverable, or even imagin¬ 
 able, antecedent progress, preparatory to its fulness of 
 glory in the works of Moses. Shall we not, indeed, adopt 
 the language of the Psalmist, so happily applied by Lord 
 Chesterfield, to one of the most memorable events of English 
 History, “It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our 
 eyes !” In all that period of one thousand and fifty years, 
 notwithstanding the changes in the form of government, and 
 the revolutions in the state of society; whether the Nation 
 was at the summit of power and glory, or sunk in the abyss 
 of misery and captivity; whether the true religion swayed 
 the Prince and the people, or both of them bowed before 
 the shrines of Idolatry, the same dignity and gravity, the 
 same simplicity and purity mark the style; the same origi¬ 
 nality and grandeur of thought, the same comprehensive 
 and lofty genius, the same beauty and chastity of sentiment 
 distinguish the intellectual power of the sacred Authors. 
 All other literature has been degraded and deformed by 
 bombast and conceit, by puerile sentiment and unnatural 
 exaggeration, by vanity and ambition, by passion and preju¬ 
 dice. But no such reproach can be cast upon the Literature 
 of the Scriptures. In them, all is elevated, pure, lovely, 
 consistent. This is the more remarkable, when we reflect, 
 that Hebrew is the primitive oriental Literature!!* And yet, 
 whilst it possesses, in an unrivaled degree, all the distin¬ 
 guishing excellencies of Eastern Literature, it is entirely 
 free from the peculiar defects of orientalism. Indeed, we 
 may justly say, that there is no valuable quality of thought 
 or style in any Literature, Ancient or Modern, but the same 
 is surpassed in the Scriptures of the Children of Israel. 
 
 * Note B. 
 
120 
 
 Denina has said, in his Revolutions of Literature, that the 
 age of the Antonines produced no poetry, because the sub¬ 
 jects of poetry had been exhausted. If he looked at Classic 
 Antiquity, as at once the fountain and standard, he was right; 
 for, with the exception of Claudian’s verse, the last wave 
 had gushed from that fountain of Arethusa. However admi¬ 
 rably the classics may exhibit the various forms of Litera¬ 
 ture, however skilfully they may be finished, as models of 
 style, are we blind to the fact, that they never have furnished 
 the materials of the noblest and best Literature of the mod¬ 
 ern nations ? The more indeed, the great modern writers 
 have rejected the constituent elements of Classic Antiquity, 
 the better have they succeeded. Do we forget, that we have 
 laid aside for ever the religion, state of society, and forms 
 of government; the political, social and domestic economy; 
 the legislation and commerce ; the military and naval war¬ 
 fare ; the scheme of morals and manners; the forms of 
 public and private life; the social intercourse and domestic 
 habits, and pre-eminently the female character of antiquity? 
 Hence , the classics can no longer be regarded as a store* 
 house of materials for Literature * But the predominant 
 feature of the Bible, is thought, universal in its operation, 
 imperishable in its character, endless in its varieties, and 
 unbounded in its relations. The Bible then is the only store¬ 
 house of universal Literature , of a Literature fitted to every 
 clime and every age, to every state of society and form of 
 government. 
 
 W e are too apt to believe, and it is one of the calamities 
 of Modern Literature, that nothing can rival classic excel¬ 
 lence, that nothing can be regarded as finished, except it 
 conform to some classic model.f But the beauties of the 
 Scriptures are essentially, characteristically, the beauties of 
 thought ; while those of the classic writers are chiefly to 
 be found in the structure of their compositions , and in their 
 style. In the workmanship of their materials, they have 
 displayed the consummate skill and delicate taste of accom¬ 
 plished artists ; but the materials themselves were unworthy 
 of the genius conferred on them by the Creator of all genius. 
 The authors of Greece and Rome were indeed the morning 
 star of modern Literature, but the Bible only can be its 
 
 * Note C. 
 
 1 Note D. 
 
121 
 
 never-setting sun. To build our literature, and found onr 
 schemes of literary education, primarily on the Scriptures, 
 seems then to be the dictate of sound judgment and pure 
 taste. It conforms to that wise maxim, equally just in theory 
 and safe in practice, that genius will always produce more 
 admirable works, the richer and more various, the nobler 
 and more beautiful the materials. A remarkable illustration 
 of the supreme excellence of the Scriptures is found in the 
 fact, that they are the only book, whose beauties cannot be 
 destroyed by the worst translation. And such is the truth 
 only because theirs are emphatically the beauties of 
 thought. How common is the boast, for it never has been, 
 and never will be, the lamentation of the classic devotee, 
 that no translator can rival the beauties of the classics.* 
 And this, so far as the remark is just, arises from the fact, 
 that those beauties consist to a vast extent of the 4 curios a 
 felicitas ’ of expression , of the beauties of style. That the 
 Greeks derived much from the original fountain of Hebrew 
 Literature, through the medium of tradition, and of inter¬ 
 course by traveling and commerce, we cannot doubt. Those 
 elements, however, in the new forms and combinations, in¬ 
 vented by Grecian genius, appear disfigured and darkened: 
 for, if vve compare them with the Bible, we feel their vast 
 inferiority, and yet we acknowledge cheerfully that the pure, 
 the simple, and the grand of Hebrew Literature, as beheld 
 in its Grecian forms, have never lost 
 
 “ All their original brightness, nor appear 
 
 Less than Archangel ruined, and th’ excess 
 
 01’ Glory obscured.” 
 
 Grecian and Roman Literature are indeed two of the forms, 
 as Persian and Arabian, Troubadour, Italian and Spanish 
 are others, in which the principles of universal Literature 
 are embodied. Those principles are found in their primitive 
 beauty, energy and purity, only in the Scriptures. These 
 we are accustomed to speak of, as Hebrew and Christian 
 Literature, or perhaps more properly, as the fountains or 
 text-books. With the exception, however, of allusions and 
 illustrations, drawn from manners and customs, scenery and 
 Jewish peculiarities, they are appropriately the literature of 
 no age and of no country , but of all ages and all countries. 
 
 * Note E. 
 
 11 
 
122 
 
 Mademoiselle Cfournay expressed a wish that the language 
 of Ronsard might never die ; and La Harpe has styled Ra¬ 
 cine, “le modele eternel de la poesie Francoise.” Let them 
 live to the end of time ; and yet neither can ever be the lan¬ 
 guage or the model of the world. This glorious destiny is 
 the privilege only of the Bible. 
 
 There is one point of view, in which we love to contem¬ 
 plate the Scriptures, and to us at least, it is new. We re¬ 
 gard them as furnishing the desideratum of the Critic, so 
 anxiously and hitherto so vainly sought, the standard o“f 
 taste ; because they are the only standard of immortal, all- 
 pervading, immutable thought. Thought is the only foun¬ 
 tain of taste, the only parent of style. To cultivate taste 
 and style, as though they were independent of thought, is 
 too much the error of our schemes of literary education 
 and it lias arisen to a vast extent, from that idolatrous admi¬ 
 ration of the Classics, so happily reproved by Perrault. 
 
 “ La docte antiquite fut toujours venerable, 
 
 Je ne la trouve pas cependant adorable.” 
 
 What, indeed, is taste, rightly considered, but the art of 
 judging correctly of the forms and modes, in which thought 
 is expressed ? And what is style, but those forms and modes ? 
 Thought is the living soul, invisible, intangible : style is the 
 speaking features of the human countenance divine. This 
 soul of the Scriptures, is eternal, universal, supreme, in its 
 original beauty, power and purity. But this soul of Classic 
 Literature has fled forever. The Bible then affords the only 
 true, unchangeable standard of thought. And if we look to 
 style, the Bible is equally preeminent. Perspicuity, says 
 Aristotle, is the great excellence of the poetic dialect, and 
 Michaelis has said the same of oratory. But, in truth, per¬ 
 spicuity is the great excellence of every style; and Cowley 
 was right when he condemned Persius, as not a good poet, 
 because of his obscurity. Now, the Scripture stvle is re¬ 
 markable for simplicity, purity, clearness : and, as Lowth 
 remarks, the sententious is the essence of Hebrew Poetry. 
 Here then are the real elements of all style .f It may indeed 
 be safely asserted, that if Christian writers had formed them¬ 
 selves more upon the Scripture standard of thought and 
 
 Note F. 
 
 t Note G 
 
123 
 
 style, and less after the Classic model, we should now have 
 a nobler order of thought, a better style. And whenever 
 the Bible shall be the text-book of duty and usefulness, and 
 the pattern of taste and style, Literature will become more 
 valuable and dignified, more chaste and lovely. 
 
 We regard the Bible as illustrating most happily, and in¬ 
 deed as establishing, in our opinion at least, that usefulness 
 is the only f undamental, genuine standard of taste. We 
 have said that the beauties of the Bible are essentially the 
 beauties of thought: tlieir dress is the pure, the artless, yet 
 graceful and lovely robes of Angel forms. In the Scrip¬ 
 tures, all is usefulness, grand and comprehensive in the 
 scheme, delicate and accurate in the details ; with all the 
 beauty of coloring, and all the fascination of simplicity. 
 Usefulness here is inseparable from beauty: that is the end, 
 this the means. It is only to such a Standard of Taste, that 
 we can apply the happy thought of Ariosto, 
 
 “ Non e un si bello in tante altre persone ; 
 
 Natura il fece, e poi ruppe lastampa.” 
 
 The mould is indeed broken ; since never again shall the sa¬ 
 cred legislator, prophet and apostle, give us a divine stand¬ 
 ard of .Duty and Usefulness, of thought and reasoning, of 
 cdoquence, poetry, taste, and style. 
 
 Let us then prize the Scriptures, not merely as the rich¬ 
 est treasure-house of thought; but as the unerring standard 
 of taste. Let us add to them, what indeed ought ever to be 
 inseparable from them, the study of the human heart and of 
 the natural world ; and we shall have no reason to imitate 
 or to envy the forms or the style of Grecian and Roman 
 models. Let us look for thought preeminently in the Bible. 
 There, let us seek the most energetic, simple, perspicuous 
 modes of expressing it. Let us contemplate the sublimity 
 and loveliness of the natural world, not in the classic page, 
 but as Claude, and Thomson, and Gainsborough did, beside 
 the river bank, on the mountain, and in the forest. Let us 
 study the human heart, in all its varieties of good and evil, 
 of beauty and deformity, not in Grecian and Roman authors, 
 but in the world of living men. With such materials and 
 such a standard, we feel assured that a literature, founded 
 upon and inspired by them, however justly it may respect 
 the authors of Greece and Rome, will be far above the court¬ 
 ly humility of Statius, 
 
124 
 
 “ Nec tu divinam ASneida tenta, 
 
 Sed longe sequere et vestigia semper adora.” 
 
 The Bible has hitherto influenced but little the literature of 
 modern Europe ; nor do we need a stronger illustration of 
 the fact, in regard to English Literature, than that Paradise 
 Lost, the poem of poems, the great Scripture Epic, is un¬ 
 taught in schools or colleges. And yet the Iliad and iEneid, 
 far inferior as poetry, pernicious in principles and sentiments, 
 in morals and manners, are the companions of the boy and 
 the youth. But the Bible is destined to exercise a far greater 
 influence over the Literature of future ages, than it has over 
 that of the past or the present. Nations will hereafter arise, 
 of whose Literature the Bible will be, not only the corner¬ 
 stone, but the broad and deep foundation. What that Litera¬ 
 ture shall be, in all its height, breadth, and depth, time only 
 can show. But if we may venture to give at least one individ¬ 
 ual opinion, we hesitate not to express the firm belief, that 
 it will not only exceed all the varieties, that have hitherto 
 existed, in its conformity to the sole standard of duty and 
 usefulness; but will surpass them, in all that is most rich 
 and simple, most noble and beautiful. Our settled judgment 
 is, that many a people will rear up for themselves a Litera¬ 
 ture of a higher order, with the Bible only as their fountain 
 of thought, taste and style, than they ever could, with the 
 whole casket of Grecian and Roman jewels. Does any one 
 esteem the opinion, idle or extravagant? We would ask 
 him then to point us to the origin of Grecian Literature. 
 He can discover no primitive standard there, at all compara¬ 
 ble to the Bible. And if Greece, without models, could 
 build such a structure, as she has transmitted to us, from the 
 imperfect materials, which she possessed, does it require a 
 martyr’s faith, to believe that with vast advantages over her, 
 Greece shall be excelled, as far as she has surpassed the 
 fame of Rome? 
 
 To us, it has always appeared an astonishing fact, that the 
 Christian Fathers should have subjected themselves, and the 
 whole Christian Church, to the influence of Fagan Litera¬ 
 ture, as extensively as they did. The meat, in the Bithyni- 
 an shambles, often remained unsold, as Pliny tells us ; be¬ 
 cause the Christians would not purchase what had been of¬ 
 fered to idols. And yet the Bishops and Pastors of their 
 Church, sought in the Eastern and Western Philosophy, and 
 in the history, eloquence and poetry of Greece and Rome,. 
 
125 
 
 those thoughts and that standard, which were alien to the 
 spirit and objects of the Scriptures. When Alexander pla¬ 
 ced the Iliad, with his sword, under his pillow, and the Em¬ 
 peror iElius Verus did the like with Ovid’s Art of Love, we 
 perceive an exact conformity with the warlike character of 
 the one, and the licentious habits of the other. But when 
 we find that Chrysostom slept with Aristophanes under his 
 bead, we are filled with surprise, indignation and sorrow. 
 Had the Scriptures been made inflexibly the basis of Edu¬ 
 cation and Literature, the Christian Church would never 
 have been so disgracefully corrupted and deformed by heath¬ 
 en influences; nor should we have ever recognized in its 
 character such striking proofs of the empire of the oriental 
 and western pagan literature. That the New Testament 
 was in Greek, and that Greek and Latin were the living' lan- 
 guages of the Roman Dominions, will certainly account, in 
 a great measure, for this phenomenon. But, when we con¬ 
 sider that Christianity was actually engaged for centuries, in 
 a war of extermination, with Heathenism, in all its forms, 
 as well as in its spirit, this familiarity and good understanding 
 between the Literature of each, must appear extraordinary. 
 It is with us a subject of astonishment and regret, that the 
 talented and the learned, in the early Christian Church, did 
 not employ themselves steadfastly and zealously from age to 
 age, in founding and perfecting a complete scheme of Chris¬ 
 tian education; so as to supersede gradually, if not at once, 
 the use of the Greek and Roman Classics. A noble exam¬ 
 ple was set by Gregory Nazianzen, who composed a num¬ 
 ber of Poems, as a substitute for the classics, when the Apos¬ 
 tate Julian forbade the study of these by Christian youth; 
 but the death of Julian restored the ascendancy of Pagan 
 Literature. Had they loved the practical, moral improve¬ 
 ment of the Church more, and polemical divinity less, we 
 believe that much of the calamity and dishonor, which be¬ 
 jel that church, and her literature and education, would have 
 been avoided. Then if the age of the Reformation must 
 have come, Religion would only have needed the dexterous 
 hand, which sets the broken bone, not the intrepid skill of 
 the surgeon, who cuts away the cancer or amputates the 
 shattered limb. 
 
 We have said that the Scriptures have exercised but lit¬ 
 tle influence over Modern Literature. Its elements must 
 be sought in Classic Authors; in the Mythology of the 
 
 IP 
 
126 
 
 northern Nations, more grand, terrible, and marvellous, than 
 that of ancient Greece; in the relics of Gothic States of 
 society and of feudal institutions ; in Eastern fictions, and 
 the power, magnificence and letters of the Mohammedan 
 Empire, in the wild, adventurous spirit of Northern Europe, 
 and in the sentiment, gallantry and luxury of the South ; 
 in the age of chivalry, the wonders of the Crusades, 
 and the wars with the Saracens; in new states of Society, 
 manners and customs ; and, throughout the whole period, 
 in the influence of woman, over the mind, the heart and the 
 character, in the State and in the Church, in all the forms of 
 public and private life, but above all in social and domestic 
 circles. These indeed are a fund, incomparably more rich 
 and various, than the Greeks and Romans ever possessed. 
 Perhaps then, the question may be asked, why are the Mod¬ 
 erns according to the received opinion, inferior to the An¬ 
 cients ? Without conceding the fact, and we utterly deny it, 
 we assign in our judgment, adequate reasons, when we reply, 
 first and chiefly , because they have neglected the Scriptures 
 so much , and next, because they have been to such an extent , 
 the “ pedissequ/i Senator es” of Greek and Roman models. 
 Nor can it be doubted, that Latin Authors have been the 
 basis of modern Literature, to a far greater extent, than 
 those of Greece. Yet these have been always acknowledg¬ 
 ed superior to those in the energy, beauty and variety both 
 of thought and style. Casimir, the Polish Poet, read Vir¬ 
 gil sixty times, and every other Latin Poet thirty; and Ber- 
 nardine Maflisi, that he might not injure the purity of his 
 Latin style obtained from the Pope a dispensation, to read 
 his breviary in Greek. In these instances, we behold an illus¬ 
 tration of the comparative neglect of Greek Authors, in the 
 structure of the modern European Literature. Though 
 there are many good and fine things in the Psalms, said 
 Politian, yet they appear more bright and sweet in Pindar : 
 and while composing his splendid “Oraisons Funebres,” 
 Homer lay open before Bossuet, for, said he, i love to light 
 my lamp at the Sun. These are a specimen of the too gen¬ 
 eral neglect and degrading estimate of that volume, which 
 Alphonso the 10th had read fourteen times, and which Chat¬ 
 ham loved to peruse, in common with Barrow and Milton, 
 to draw forth the hidden powers of his eloquence. 
 
 The Moderns then, according to our opinion, have experi¬ 
 enced but partially, the advantages to be derived from the 
 Literature of Ancient Greece. The fact is the more remark- 
 
127 
 
 able, because it came into Western Europe, and was taught 
 by the learned who had tied from Constantinople, as the Lit¬ 
 erature of a living tongue; while the Latin Languages had 
 then been dead, nearly one thousand years. Perhaps the 
 restoration of Modern Greece to a rank among the States of 
 Europe, may yet give to the Literature of their ancestors, 
 that ascendancy in Western Europe, which has hitherto 
 been the privilege of Latin Authors. 
 
 But, to what quarter shall we turn for the introduction of 
 Sacred Literature as a branch of education, and for its even¬ 
 tual ascendancy as the most important in a literary point of 
 view. I fear that we look in vain to the Academy, the Col¬ 
 lege, the University. Their spirit has rarely been that of 
 the Reformer, who loves to regenerate. It is rather that of 
 the Antiquary, who seeks to abide by the ancient landmarks. 
 Languages and Mathematics are their summum bonum of 
 education, in the systems of our times as they were a thou¬ 
 sand years since. But individual sentiment, social inter¬ 
 course, religious influence can do much. To the private 
 Christian, to the minister of the Gospel, to religious and lit¬ 
 erary journals, and to theological Institutions, is allotted the 
 noble and interesting duty of preparing the way for the tri¬ 
 umph of Sacred Literature, for the ascendancy of the Scrip¬ 
 tures, in all our schemes of education. Are any willing to 
 deny that such ought to be the state of things, whether we 
 look to Duty and Usefulness, or to Literature ? That the 
 time must come, when the fact will exist, cannot be doubted. 
 That it will be accomplished, not by miracles, but by the in¬ 
 strument of human agency, is unquestionable. Who then 
 is privileged to say, that he has neither lot nor part, in this 
 momentous concern? No pious or educated man, no minis¬ 
 ter of the Gospel, or trustee of a school, no parent, guar¬ 
 dian or instructor is exempt from the obligation of doing 
 something in this matter. All of them are, in some sense 
 or other, vested with more or less influence over education: 
 and let them remember, that there is more, even of truth 
 than of beauty, in the sentiment of the Arabians, ‘ the gov¬ 
 ernors of the young preside over the stars of their youth.’ 
 
 We have said that the Bible is the only original, pure and 
 inexhaustible fountain of thought, the only storehouse of the 
 elements of universal Literature, the only safe, unerring 
 standard of taste, the richest, noblest specimen of the awful or 
 the majestic, of the graceful or the beautiful. We have said 
 
128 
 
 that Sacred Literature sits enthroned, amid the grandeur and 
 serenity, the loveliness and purity of her own heaven of 
 heavens, far above the idolatrous temples of Grecian and 
 Roman genius. We have said that the exclusion of the 
 Scriptures from all our systems of education, even in a lite¬ 
 rary point of view, is an astonishing, a melancholy fact. 
 We gaze on the long line of the Institutions of Literature, 
 through the centuries that are past, and missing their finest 
 model, the Scriptures, we feel as the Roman, when he beheld 
 not the statue of Brutus or Cassius in the funeral pro¬ 
 cession of their families, “praefulget, quia non cernitur.” 
 But like the Roman, we mourn as a calamity the banishment 
 of its noblest ornament, from so illustrious an array of 
 genius and learning. Let us pause then and inquire into the 
 origin of this phenomenon. 
 
 Jerome tells us, that he was led to abandon the Classics 
 by a vision, in which he was taken up to. the judgment seat 
 of Christ, and threatened, and even scourged for having 
 taught them. The example of Jerome appears to have had 
 no influence on the studies of his own day, or on those of 
 succeeding ages. The monks were indeed innocent of the 
 crime, laid to their charge by father Hardouin, of formny 
 the Lyric poetry of Horace and the JEneid of Virgil; yet 
 they cultivated the Latin writers, and Ovid was the favorite 
 author of the dark ages. Religion was always more or less 
 a department of education, but it was in the legends of saints, 
 or in the forms of a narrow-minded, subtle, obscure divinity. 
 It was not as a practical System, as enlightened Theology, 
 or as accomplished Literature. The gulf of darkness, that 
 lies between the sunset of Roman letters and the dawn of 
 learning in Western Europe, may well therefore be over¬ 
 leaped at once. We come then to the age of the revival of 
 letters. 
 
 1. The first cause for the absence of Sacred Literature is 
 found in the fact, that during two hundred years, from the 
 age of Petrarch to the age of Luther, one Church reigned 
 over the whole of Western Europe, and the only spirit of 
 investigation, which existed within it, was found in Scholas¬ 
 tic Theology and Metaphysics. These ruled with imperial 
 sway, and when to their influence we add the practical char¬ 
 acter of that Church, as rebuked and cast off forever by the 
 Reformers, we are not surprised, that the Bible should have 
 been the text-book neither of Duty and Usefulness, nor of 
 Literature. 
 
129 
 
 2. A second cause was the principle of the Catholic 
 Church, which forbade the reading of the Scriptures by the 
 laity. It is not a matter of much astonishment that such a 
 laity, as this scheme inevitably produced, should have been 
 not only alien to the spirit of the Bible, but altogether indif¬ 
 ferent to its Literature. 
 
 3. We may assign as a third reason the fact, that the lan¬ 
 guage of that country, in which the revival commenced, 
 and tirst made a remarkable progress, was the offspring of 
 the Latin tongue, and it seemed a natural, indeed, we may 
 say, an inevitable course, to cultivate the Latin with a view 
 to the improvement of the Italian. The same cause would 
 lead to a similar result, in Spain and France, and even in 
 England. 
 
 4. The circumstance, that none of the nations of Europe 
 had any Literature of their own, and that Latin was the 
 universal language, not only of the learned, but even of the 
 Christian Church, throughout the whole of Western Europe, 
 was a fourth cause. The absence of any works in their 
 native languages created an inevitable dependence on the 
 Latin writers; andffhe state of the vernacular tongues pre¬ 
 sented to the scholar no temptation to clothe his thoughts in 
 such a dress. What motive could he have for adopting any 
 other, than the Latin, since the learned only read ? They 
 were the only Public, for whom the scholar wrote. They 
 understood him in Latin all over Europe ; whilst a few only 
 could have perused his writings, in Spanish or Italian, in 
 French or in English. The People and the language of the 
 People were as yet unknown to Literature. As therefore 
 th vernacular dialects furnished no books on sacred litera¬ 
 ture, and no temptation to write them, and as the same was 
 equally true of the Latin tongue, for the Fathers, like the 
 Bible, were forbidden ground, we are not surprised at finding 
 the classics predominant. 
 
 5. A fifth cause may be traced to the character and pre¬ 
 mature fate of Provenzal Literature. During the period of 
 its glory, from the time of Raymond de Bercnger, A. D. 1092, 
 to the age of Raymond the 6th and 7th, A. D. 1222, the 
 other dialects of Europe lay in a barbarous state. Had the 
 Troubadour Literature been of a general, durable and vari¬ 
 ous character, it would have done much towards the estab¬ 
 lishment of a corresponding Literature in all the neighbor¬ 
 ing countries. But it was exclusively a gay literature, as 
 
130 
 
 its title, ‘el gai saber,’ ‘la gaie science,’ indicates. It pro¬ 
 duced scarcely any thing but poetry, and that of the lightest 
 kind, the tale, the satire and amatory verse. It was the 
 child of love aad chivalry, and is it wonderful that it could 
 not survive the age of knight-errantry ? Its genius fled with 
 the spirit of the crusades ; the power that had sustained it, 
 perished with the sovereignty of Provence : and the war 
 against the Albigenses was equally the martyr-frame of Trou¬ 
 badour Literature, and of the pure, the constant faith of 
 Lano-uedoc and Provence. To such a quarter, we look then 
 in vain, for any inlluence favorable to Sacred Literature. 
 
 G. We may discover another reason in the circumstances, 
 under which the Greek emigrants resorted to Italy. They 
 came, not as missionaries to teach Religion or as Christian 
 scholars to teach Sacred Literature, but as refugees to teach 
 Greek. They came from a degraded, superstitious Church, 
 which cultivated and recommended Sacred Literature as little 
 in the East, as the sister-church in the West. They had no 
 motive to study it themselves, and none to induce them to 
 teach it to others. Besides, they were in the land of the 
 Inquisition, and had they ventured, like Galileo, to disturb 
 the established order of things, they must have fled from 
 Italy, like Bernardino Ochino, or have suffered, like the in¬ 
 trepid and eloquent Savonarola. 
 
 7. The fact, that the greater part of sacred Literature is 
 to be found in the old Testament, may be stated as a farther 
 cause, why it became not a part of education, on the revival 
 of learning. The ignorance of Hebrew, of Arabic, Chaldee, 
 and Syriac, and of the ancient manners and customs of the 
 East, was universal and deplorable. Nor is it surprising 
 that such should be the fact, during the two centuries pre¬ 
 ceding the Reformation, since Camerarius, the Phoenix of 
 Germany, as late as the year 1550, was very imperfectly 
 acquainted even with Hebrew. 
 
 8. We are constrained to assign as another, and a princi¬ 
 pal cause of the utter neglect of sacred Literature, the 
 absence of a religious spirit among the founders and pro¬ 
 moters of modern letters. What could not have been done 
 in such a field, by the genius and accomplished learning of 
 Petrarch and Boccaccio, of Dante, Machiavelli and Ariosto ? 
 What might we not have expected from the station, and 
 talents, and taste of Vida, Caro and Sadolet, of Casa and 
 Bembo ; but all of them abandoned the pulpit to the monks : 
 
131 
 
 and Cardinal Bembo reveled in a licentiousness of compo¬ 
 sition, unsurpassed by any of the flagitious writers of ancient 
 or modern times. Sacred literature, indeed, was utterly 
 unknown to the vast majority of the literati; nor do we 
 discern any inducement to its cultivation, in their lives or 
 characters as private men, in their public stations or social 
 intercourse. 
 
 This survey of the causes leads us to conclude, that when 
 the Reformation arrived, the state of things was singularly 
 unfavorable to the cause of Sacred Literature, and eminently 
 propitious to that of classical. The age of the Reforma¬ 
 tion is, with the single exception of the Christian aera, the 
 most remarkable period, in the annals of time. It came to 
 republish the Religion of the Cross, and to deliver from the 
 darkness and thralldom of the Church and the State, the civil 
 and political branches of knowledge, and all the departments 
 of philosophy and literature. It was, indeed, another age 
 of Apostles and Martyrs, another age of Christian Fathers. 
 The last of the Romans had perished in the dungeon of 
 Theodoric ; but more than Roman souls lived in the bosoms 
 of Luther and Calvin. Around them circled a host of kind¬ 
 red spirits, not as the satellites of their power and glory, 
 but as constituent though inferior stars of the holy constel¬ 
 lation of Reformers. Had we beheld the origin and pro¬ 
 gress, the character and objects of their warfare, could we 
 have imagined it possible, that they would not have be* 
 queathed to all posterity, the Bible , as an essential element 
 in every stage of education , and Sacred Literature, as the 
 most noble and valuable department of Universal Litera¬ 
 ture? Yet this age, so fruitful in the great and the good, in 
 the divine and the scholar; in the courage that quailed, nei¬ 
 ther at the sceptre of princes, nor at the thunders of the 
 Vatican; and in the spirit, which regenerated Christianity 
 and remodeled the whole circle of the sciences, even this 
 age passed away, and left unfinished the glorious work of 
 Religious Education and Sacred Literature. And yet the 
 monument of the Reformers is the most sublime in its con¬ 
 ception, the most durable in its materials, the most perfect 
 in its execution, which the genius and learning of Man have 
 ever erected to immortalize his fame. In the inscription, 
 indeed, which records the achievments of the departed great 
 and good, blanks are left at intervals, yet what are they but 
 the fragment-verses in the Epic of the prince of Latin 
 Poets ? 
 
132 
 
 We have now surveyed those excellences of the Scrip¬ 
 tures, which place the title of Sacred Literature above the 
 claims of every other : and we have considered the reasons, 
 why the former was so entirely neglected as an inseparable 
 part of all education, at the revival of learning, and even 
 during the progress of the Reformation. Although Europe 
 has produced from time to time her Herbelots and Hottin- 
 gers, her Buxtorfs, Pococks and Lowths,* yet still Sacred 
 Literature has never been regarded as the superior, nor 
 even as the equal of the classics. These have been court¬ 
 ed and patronized as the teachers of the young, from youth 
 to manhood, while Sacred Literature, undervalued and de¬ 
 serted, hangs her harp on the willow, and weeps by the 
 rivers of Babylon. Sacred Literature is intimately connect¬ 
 ed with religion, and though it be possible, at least in a sec¬ 
 tarian point of view, to keep them almost entirely if not 
 altogether apart; yet the total banishment of the former 
 from all our schemes of education, must have an unfavora¬ 
 ble effect upon the latter. Let us now proceed to the inqui¬ 
 ry, whether serious disadvantages do not arise from this 
 state of things. 
 
 1. The miserable ignorance of the Literature of the Scrip¬ 
 tures that prevails among the great body of educated laymen 
 must ever be a formidable barrier to the study of the Bible 
 with them. That Book, so full of attractions for learning and 
 taste, is to most of them an unsightly object: and Foster 
 might well have assigned this as the fundamental cause of 
 the aversion of men of taste, to evangelical religion. How 
 indeed, can they respect and value the Bible, as a store¬ 
 house of Literature, when the opportunity has never been 
 afforded of becoming acquainted with its beauties? Shall it 
 be said that we degrade the Scriptures, by making them a 
 text book of Literature, and that it does not become their 
 holiness and dignity, to invite to their perusal, as though 
 they consisted of Orations and Poems? But if a course of 
 Sacred Literature, sound, tasteful and learned, will recom¬ 
 mend the Bible to the respect and even admiration of many, 
 who now regard it with indifference, not to say with con¬ 
 tempt, an important end is attained, whether we regard the 
 individuals, or the cause of religion. They will be induced 
 
 
 * Note H. 
 
133 
 
 to read and to study what they would otherwise never have 
 looked at, and can we doubt, that some, perhaps many might 
 be led eventually to a pious life ? And with regard to the 
 cause of religion, is it not obvious, that numbers, though 
 not religious, would yet, for the sake of their attachment to 
 Sacred Literature, favor Christianity, would patronize the 
 benevolent enterprises of the day, and would respect all the 
 institution and officers of religion. Alexander saved the 
 house of Pindar, and Prince Eugene, the residence of Fen- 
 elon ; while Demetrius Poliorcetes spared that quarter of 
 Rhodes, where Protogenes was painting. Something assu¬ 
 redly, of a kindred spirit would be found in many a bosom, 
 which had been familiarized in youth with the beauties of 
 Sacred Literature. 
 
 2. But we may present the argument with still greater 
 force, by considering the value of Sacred Literature to the 
 pious. Will any one deny that the study of the sublime 
 and the beautiful in the natural World, affords to the educa¬ 
 ted religious man, noble and delightful illustrations of the 
 power and wisdom, and goodness of his Creator? And is 
 it possible that still more affecting and interesting views will 
 not be drawn from the beauties of the Bible, to exemplify 
 the same attributes ? Shall the land and the ocean, the for¬ 
 est, the river and the mountain, attest the glory and benevo¬ 
 lence of God, and shall the use, which is made in the Scrip¬ 
 tures of the various objects of the visible world, be regar¬ 
 ded with indifference ? The good man will find his piety 
 exalted and purified, his understanding enlightened, his 
 moral taste refined, by cultivating an intimate knowledge of 
 the Literature of the Bible, and a strong relish for its rich 
 variety of beauties. When Dionysius the Elder, robbed 
 -the Statue of Jupiter of its golden mantle, and cast over its 
 shoulders a woolen cloak, he vras guilty of that species of 
 Sacrilege, which we commit, when we strip the Bible of 
 its Literature. For ourselves, we should feel, if compelled 
 to abandon the Literature of the Scriptures for life, as the 
 Naturalist Loquin, when he exclaimed on his death bed, “O 
 richesses iniinies de la Nature, il faut done vous quitter I” 
 
 3. Nor let us overlook the fact, that the general neglect 
 of sacred Literature has necessarily an unfavorable effect 
 on the acquisition of it, by the Clergy. Instead of being a 
 department of all liberal education, it is never touched, till 
 
 12 
 
134 
 
 the course of divinity is commenced. Hence, instead of 
 being regarded habitually, as a part of the religious instruc¬ 
 tion of the young, and a chief constituent in the whole pro¬ 
 gress of their improvement, from the primary school to the 
 University, it comes to be considered as exclusively theo¬ 
 logical. It is not surprising then that it should languish, as 
 it does, in the keeping of the clergy ; when it is only an in¬ 
 habitant of theological Halls, and only the companion of 
 theological students. It is impossible for the clergyman to 
 feel its full dignity and beauty, or to realize that it is the 
 common privilege and common property of all the educa¬ 
 ted, whilst it is confined to the chair of the Divinity Profes¬ 
 sor. And when he knows that of the hundreds, who listen 
 to his preaching, frequently not one knows any thing of Sa¬ 
 cred Literature, or has the least relish for its beauties, he 
 must feel that silence on such a subject, though unnatural, 
 is imposed by necessity. 
 
 4. All must be sensible that this state of things contrib¬ 
 utes to lower the standard of literary spirit, and of literary 
 composition among the clergy. What a held would be open 
 to the preacher, in the opinion of the classical scholar, if 
 the resources and beauties of ancient Literature were ad¬ 
 missible in the pulpit! The discourse of Horseley on the 
 prophecies of the Messiah, scattered among the Heathen, is 
 indeed an illustration of the admirable use, that can be made 
 of Literature, in the sacred desk ; but it shows us also, how 
 rarely and with how much difficulty, the classics can be resor¬ 
 ted to by the minister of the Gospel. But the pulpit is the nat¬ 
 ural home of a nobler, richer, better Literature,—Sacred 
 Literature. Yet until it shall be a department of all edu¬ 
 cation, and therefore of the education of the clergy, from 
 their earliest years, we shall not see, in the prime and in the 
 eventide of life, those selectest influences of Sacred Litera¬ 
 ture, which could be the offspring only of early impressions. 
 We would say of Sacred Literature, a more dignified and 
 suitable theme for the pen of a Christian Father, what St. 
 Augustine says of Virgil; “Virgilium pueri legant, ut po- 
 cta magnus omniumque praeclarissimus atque optimus, ten¬ 
 ons imbibitus annis, non facile oblivione possit aboleri.” 
 
 5. Another unfortunate circumstance, arising from the 
 general neglect of Sacred Literature, is in our judgment, the 
 ascendancy of the Heathen Classics, in all our schemes of 
 education. It is not stating it too strongly to say, that 
 
135 
 
 Christians — yes, professors , of the religion of the cross — 
 yea , the very ministers of that cross , have resolved, may we 
 not say inexorably resolved , that in schools and colleges, the 
 pagans of Greece and Rome shall form the minds , the hearts 
 and the characters of Christian youth. And yet, of all the 
 multitude, who thus combine to maintain a state of things, 
 so singular, so unnatural, so unpropitious, not one, will ad¬ 
 mit a comparison between the Bible and the Classics, wheth¬ 
 er we look to Duty and Usefulness, or to Literature. Ask 
 them—do you believe, that the apostles would have foun¬ 
 ded or sanctioned such a scheme? Ask them—can the 
 spirits of just men made perfect, behold it from their seats 
 of bliss, with approving eyes ? Ask them—can the angels, 
 in the realms of light and glory, look down with applause 
 on this idolatrous exaltation of the Classics, on this rejec¬ 
 tion, this degradation of the Scriptures ? Their answer, we 
 venture to say, will be negative. George Fabricius would 
 not use a word in his poems, which savored in the least of 
 paganism : and he exceedingly condemned those Christians, 
 who resorted for their materials to the divinities of Parnas¬ 
 sus, and the fables of the ancient Mythology. Would that hun¬ 
 dreds, who have spent half a century of their length of life 
 in illustrating and recommending the Classics, had felt like 
 Fabricius, and had spent but a tithe of that time, in illustra¬ 
 ting and recommending Sacred Literature ! 
 
 We are not enemies to the cultivation of classical learn¬ 
 ing, at a suitable age, in an appropriate place, and by those, 
 who will receive profit, without injury.* Like Petrarch’s 
 father, we would not in our wrath, hurl the Classics of our 
 sons into the fire. Like Cheynel, when he flung the de¬ 
 tested book of Chillingworth into his grave, we would not 
 bury them in our anger. Like Watteau, when he shrunk 
 on liis death-bed from the miserably painted crucifix; likt 
 the dying Malherbe, when he rebuked the bad French of 
 his confessor, we would not carry the fastidiousness of 
 Christian taste so far, as to banish from the whole circle of 
 education, the poet, or the orator, the historian, or the phi¬ 
 losopher of antiquity. But we do protest, and if fifty years 
 more of life were to be our lot, we should protest to the 
 
 Note 1. 
 
136 
 
 last moment of that half century, against the scheme, which 
 constitutes the Classics—the monarchy, not the subjects of 
 the bible, in the instruction of Christian youth. 
 
 We are not the enemies of polite literature, the most re¬ 
 fined, the most learned. We admire its elegance, we revere 
 its erudition. We believe that we set a high estimate on 
 the comprehensiveness of its views, and the variety of its 
 knowledge, on the embellishments of its taste, and the rich¬ 
 ness of its stores. We look with a chastened pleasure, on 
 the beautiful in the countenance, on the graceful in the form 
 of woman. We look with a sentiment of just exultation, 
 upon man in the expressiveness of his features and majes¬ 
 ty of his deportment. We look with admiration on the 
 fair, the rich, the magnificent in Architecture ; on the mas¬ 
 ter-sketch, the coloring, the light and shade of the Painter ; 
 on the transforming power and decorative taste of the sculp¬ 
 tor. We gaze with a child’s rejoicing, on the bud and the 
 blossom, on the flower and the leaf; on the gaudy butterfly, 
 the glittering scales of the fish, and the dazzling plumage of 
 the bird. We gaze with a poet’s feelings, if not with a poet’s 
 eye, on the cheerful landscape of morning, and the pensive 
 scenery of evening ; on the beauty and serenity of the lake, 
 the meadow and the woodland. We gaze with a religious 
 awe, upon the deep silence of the heavens, and the calm ma¬ 
 jesty of the ocean, on the gloom of the forest and the fury 
 of the storm, on the savage rush of the cataract and the sol¬ 
 emn grandeur of the mountain. And what are these ! what 
 indeed are the loveliness of woman and the dignity of man, 
 the marvellous in sculpture, the fair in painting and the au¬ 
 gust in architecture, the sublime and the beautiful in nature, 
 but the Literature of the visible world! And if it be a du¬ 
 ty and a pleasure to cultivate this, we, at least, esteem it a 
 nobler duty, and a higher pleasure, to cultivate that elegant 
 Literature, which springs fresh and living from the heart, 
 the soul, the mind of man. It is our admiration of this 
 Literature, it is our grief at the dishonor cast upon it, it is 
 our anxiety for its progress and improvement, it is our in¬ 
 flexible faith in its glorious destinies, which constrains us to 
 mourn over the desertion of its richest fountain, of its no¬ 
 blest standard, the Scriptures. O! that the day might speed¬ 
 ily come, that day of glory and beauty for Religion, Sci¬ 
 ence, Letters, when we might say of every educated man* 
 
13 ? 
 
 throughout our country, in relation to Sacred Literature, as 
 Warton of the antiquary Dugdale, 
 
 “Ingenuous views engage 
 His thoughts, on themes, unclassic falsely styled, 
 
 Intent.” 
 
 We have now considered the intrinsic, the peculiar excel¬ 
 lences of the Bible, compared with the classics ; we have 
 examined the causes of its exclusion from schemes of Lit¬ 
 erary education ; and we have surveyed the disadvantages, 
 resulting from this unnatural state of things. Let us now 
 therefore pass onward to the last branch of our subject— 
 the benefits, which may be expected to arise from the intro¬ 
 duction of Sacred Literature, into the whole course of ed¬ 
 ucation. 
 
 L We have long thought the banishment of the Bible, as 
 a text-book of duty and usefulness, from all our plans of 
 general education, to be a great calamity. We should there¬ 
 fore welcome Sacred Literature to the School and College, 
 as a chief instrument, eventually, in the firm establishment 
 of the Bible, as a standard of duty and usefulness, in these 
 institutions. Those, therefore, who approve the latter ob¬ 
 ject, and yet feel some scruples, in a sectarian point of view, 
 or know not how to begin the reformation, will do well to 
 consider, whether the introduction of Sacred Literature 
 would not be the safe and advisable mode. Those, who 
 object on sectarian grounds, to the use of the Bible in gen¬ 
 eral schools, on account of contested points of doctrine, 
 cannot surely object to the same book, as a literary stan¬ 
 dard of thought and composition. The dividing lines be¬ 
 tween different denominations of Christians can scarcely 
 be said to exist, as to the Old Testament; and there the 
 chief body of Sacred Literature is found. Here then, is a 
 species of middle or neutral ground, where the experiment 
 may be safely tried, of adopting the Bible into schemes of 
 general education, confining it to the purpose now contem¬ 
 plated. 
 
 2. It is another advantage, that the Bible will be far more 
 generally respected and admired, as well by the pious as by 
 those, who in a religious point of view, are indifferent to 
 the Scriptures. The introduction of such works as the 
 Paradise Lost and Regained, of Sampson Agonistes, of Cow- 
 
 12 * 
 
138 
 
 per’s Task and Boyse’s Deity, would be among the accom¬ 
 paniments of Sacred Literature. Oughtred styled the math¬ 
 ematics, his “ Elysian Fields.” We would desire to see the 
 knowledge of the elegant literature of the Bible, so gener¬ 
 ally and ardently cultivated, that Sacred Letters should be 
 acknowledged to be, as they are, the only Elysian Fields 
 of a Christian Literature. We would not care to see the 
 Christian Scholar, so intimate with all the classical learn¬ 
 ing of Milton, as to be able, like John Phillips, to point out 
 every allusion to Homer and Virgil. But we should rejoice 
 to see the day, and come it must, if Sacred Literature be 
 generally taught, when the educated man will be familiar 
 with all the beauties of the Scriptures. Such a state of 
 things would invest the Bible with a more venerable author¬ 
 ity, with a more comprehensive influence, with a species of 
 attractiveness now denied to it by its friends. 
 
 3. A better knowledge of the history, antiquities and ev¬ 
 idences of Religion, would be another result of the culti¬ 
 vation of Sacred Literature ; for they are inseparable. It is 
 singular how completely these are neglected in most plans 
 of education, and yet who is insensible to their value? 
 How strange does it appear, that the history and antiquities 
 of Greece and Rome should be regarded as indispensable 
 to the liberal education of a Christian, while the same de¬ 
 partments, as to the Jewish Nation and Christian Church 
 are excluded! 
 
 4. We are satisfied that the change we desire to see, will 
 raise the standard of Literary Education and composition 
 among the clergy. When the educated, whom they meet 
 with, shall have attained a considerable acquaintance with 
 Sacred Literature, theological institutions must set a higher 
 value upon it, as an instrument of greater practical power 
 and good. The held of usefulness for the clergy will thus 
 be enlarged; as a greater variety of interesting topics will 
 be within their control. Their compositions will be im¬ 
 proved of course, for the whole circle of Sacred Literature, 
 will be brought to bear on the spirit and style of their ser¬ 
 mons. 
 
 5. We believe, it would be a natural and happy conse¬ 
 quence of the change proposed, that the Scriptures would 
 thus become the topic of interesting conversation. Instead 
 of being excluded, as they now are, to so great an extent, 
 
139 
 
 partly because it seems, oil account of that very ignorance, 
 to savor of theological pedantry, they would be a fund of 
 literary conversation. Nor of literary only; for the depart¬ 
 ments of sacred history and geograph)', antiquities, man¬ 
 ners and customs, would increase and diversify the common 
 stock of valuable and interesting materials for conversation. 
 
 0. We look upon the encouragement of the study of Nat¬ 
 ural History,* as among the important effects of the con¬ 
 templated plan. Not less than two hundred and fifty botani¬ 
 cal terms are used in the Scriptures; and these are princi¬ 
 pally found in the sacred poets. The history of beasts and 
 birds, of fish, reptiles and insects, of trees and plants, and 
 of the whole physical world, is far more important to the 
 great body of those, who receive an education, than the 
 smattering of Greek, Latin and Mathematics, which is all 
 that nine out of every ten now acquire at our Schools and Col¬ 
 leges, and which as a matter of course, they abandon forever, 
 as soon as they leave the Academy or University. If then 
 Sacred Literature will promote such a desirable study as 
 Natural History, so full of interesting materials for thought 
 and conversation, we are sure that its introduction will an¬ 
 swer an important end. 
 
 7. We believe that a better and more general knowledge 
 of Hebrew, among the clergy themselves, will be a promi¬ 
 nent result of the general cultivation of Sacred Literature. 
 Among the educated Laity, we should also find many ac¬ 
 quainted with this tongue, who would otherwise never have 
 known even the letters. And is it no object to establish this 
 most venerable and noble language on a basis, so durable 
 and extensive, so honorable and gratifying? The commen¬ 
 dation bestowed upon the ancient dialect of the chosen peo¬ 
 ple of God, the language of Moses and David, of Isaiah, 
 Jeremiah and Daniel, entitles it in a philogicai and literary 
 point of view, to the attention of every scholar. And no 
 doubt if this sacred tongue is ever to become the common 
 property of scholars, it will be indebted for such a triumph 
 to the general cultivation of Sacred Literature. 
 
 8. A highly probable result of the change, for which we 
 are pleading, is that the great amount of Scripture knowl¬ 
 edge, which must then be abroad in the community, will 
 
 * Note J. 
 
140 
 
 prevent numbers from becoming a prey to infidelity. Nu¬ 
 merous apparent difficulties in the Bible are effectually re¬ 
 moved by Sacred Literature. Many an unbeliever would 
 be stripped of his specious, and to the uninstructed, appa¬ 
 rently unanswerable arguments, by the diffusion of such 
 knowledge. This would become both a shield to defend, 
 and a sword to assail; and to the young particularly, as 
 they grew up, would be a happy preventive against the 
 sneers and ridicule of ingorance and malice. Nor must we 
 forget, that the more religion assumes the air of a refined 
 Literature, the more respectable must it and its professors 
 become; the less of gloom and austerity, of pedantry and 
 mannerism will attach to them; and as every one must 
 know, the less will they be exposed to ill nature, contempt 
 and levity. Sacred Literature will contribute materially to 
 make religion a cheerful, estimable, welcome companion. 
 Such a companion is rarely the object of scorn and derision. 
 
 9. Greek Literature, it seems to us, under the influence 
 of the Sacred Classics, w r ould acquire that superior rank 
 over the Latin, to which it is unquestionably entitled. In 
 several important particulars,, it is more akin to that of the 
 Scriptures, than the Roman Authors. It is far more ancient 
 and venerable, it is richer in original thought, in energy of 
 expression, in beauty of sentiment, in versatility, refinement, 
 and delicacy of language. Latin Literature is, indeed, as 
 Andres has remarked, little better than an imitation of 
 Greek. Luca Giardino was called the ape of Painters, and 
 Latin deserves to be called the ape of Literature. Yet the 
 ape has usurped the place of the man.* 
 
 10. May we not reasonably number among the advan¬ 
 tages, growing out of the cultivation of Sacred Literature, 
 that the New Testament, in the original Greek, will be stu¬ 
 died as a classic, edited, illustrated, and explained as such, 
 not indeed as a Royal road to Literature, in usum Delphini, 
 but for the common instruction of youth. At present, 
 as far as education is concerned, this divine book, if tolera¬ 
 ted at all, in its primitive language, is condescendino-ly 
 allowed to perform the humble, subordinate office of fitting 
 a boy for entering the lowest classes in a college. When 
 that is accomplished, it is flung aside for life, as rubbish, in 
 
 * Note K. 
 
141 
 
 the practical judgment of his teachers, unworthy ever again 
 to be looked at. 
 
 11. We should not be faithful to our well considered and 
 deeply seated opinions, if we did not hail, as a momentous 
 consequence of the general cultivation of Sacred Literature, 
 its ascendancy and final triumph over the classics. These 
 deserve only to be subordinate to that. But now, these are 
 every thing, and that is nothing. Sacred Literature ought to 
 be regarded as indispensable to education; the classics as 
 desirable and appropriate only for the scholar. That is 
 eminently useful, these are merely ornamental, and deserve 
 a correspondent attention; as Trajan honored and patron¬ 
 ized Tacitus, Plutarch and Dion Cassius, but disregarded 
 Juvenal and Martial. We desire never to see the day, in 
 our country, when a scholar shall be found so forgetful of 
 both duty and improvement, as like A1 Farabi, the Arabian, 
 to read Aristotle two hundred times, or like Madame Dacier, 
 to peruse the Clouds of Aristophanes the same number of 
 times. We envy not for the scholars of our country, the 
 sentiment of De Lille, in the preface to Les Jardins: “ Et 
 tous ceux, qui connoissent la langue Latine, savent par coeur 
 le quatrieme livre de l’Eneide.”* We covet not for our 
 country, that she, like Europe, should be the land of the 
 Classics, and of the Editors of the Classics. Be it her 
 honor, privilege, happiness, to be emphatically and pecu¬ 
 liarly the land of Sacred Litefature.f Let it appear in her 
 schools and academies, in its plainer, practical forms ; in her 
 colleges and universities, in a more refined and dignified 
 character; in her theological institutions and churches, in 
 all its majesty and beauty, variety and learning. Athens 
 was called the Eye of Greece. Let Sacred Literature be 
 the Eye of our Country: and we should inscribe on the 
 monument of its glory and usefulness, the patriot sentiment 
 of father Paul, ‘Esto perpetua.’ 
 
 But the deep and extensive influence, which Sacred Lite¬ 
 rature is eminently fitted to exert over all the other depart¬ 
 ments of polite learning, is in our view, among the most 
 interesting and valuable of its benefits. We have only time 
 to contemplate one of its most conspicuous features. 
 
 * Note L. 
 
 f Note M. 
 
142 
 
 A prominent advantage of the ascendancy of Sacred 
 Literature is, that all Literature may be expected to become 
 more intellectual. As the Bible is the noblest and richest 
 fountain of original, elevated and comprehensive thought, 
 the general cultivation of sacred letters must impart its own 
 character to all the departments of Literature. The Lite¬ 
 rature of Germany and England is more intellectual, than that 
 of France, Italy or Spain. Can we doubt, independently of 
 the influence of other subordinate causes, that the Bible is the 
 paramount reason of the difference? In the Scriptures only, 
 do we find any just views of the character and attributes of 
 God, of the scheme of creation and providence, of atone¬ 
 ment, redemption and acceptance, of the being, and nature, 
 and offices of spiritual existences, of heaven and hell, of 
 the trials and sufferings of man in this world, of the immor¬ 
 tality of the soul, of its glory and happiness, or of its dis¬ 
 honor and misery in a future world. And is it possible, that 
 these ideas, so grand and solemn, so interesting and affecting, 
 are destined never to have a deep, all-pervading, quickening 
 influence over modern Literature? It is obvious, that in the 
 Grecian authors, sublime and lovely conceptions, relics of 
 an elder, of the patriarchal age, are seen to struggle for life, 
 against the oppressive power of their vicious and absurd my¬ 
 thology. And what are those finer and better thoughts, but 
 the faint glimmerings of tradition, seen by them darkly at 
 a distance, but vouchsafed iA the Law and the Prophets, to 
 the children of Israel ? Those few imperfect thoughts have 
 done more for Grecian letters, than the whole body of her 
 fabulous religion. This has indeed given beauty and variety 
 to her Literature, but to those only is it indebted for the 
 awful and the majestic. The mythology of Greece never 
 has been and never can be the parent of vigorous, original, 
 versatile thought. The Bible pre-eminently exacts and en¬ 
 courages the exercise of power and freedom, of compre¬ 
 hensiveness and depth of thought. What the profound, 
 ardent study of the Scriptures as an inexhaustible fund of 
 Literature is able to do, may be seen in the unrivaled sub¬ 
 limity and beauty of Paradise Lost, the great poem not 
 merely of English, but of all ancient and modern Literature. 
 Give then to the Bible its natural, rightful influence over the 
 whole circle of polite learning, and we despair not of be¬ 
 holding in our country, a Literature more rich, original and 
 dignified, than the world has ever seen. 
 
143 
 
 The scholars of our land complain of the character of 
 our Institutions, as overcrowded with the simplicity and 
 homeliness of common sense, and of our state of society, 
 as chiefly remarkable for its unpoetical, business-like aspect. 
 In our judgment they undervalue exceedingly the literary 
 capacities and fertility of our country. A nobler and more 
 affecting origin, a more interesting and wonderful progress, 
 a destiny, more sublime, glorious and solemn, we have never 
 beheld. Who, that has a memory to look back over all the 
 past; who, that has a mind to comprehend all the present; 
 who, that has an imagination to embody the dim visions of 
 the future, will despair ? Who, that has a heart, to love his 
 family, his state, the nation, the living and the unborn world; 
 and a soul, that ascends in thought to the throne of God, to 
 the mansions of Angels, and the habitations of the just 
 made perfect, will despair of the Literature of our Country i 
 We behold not, indeed, scattered over our land, the beauti¬ 
 ful and august antiquities of Greece and Rome. We behold 
 not the Cathedral and the Abbey, the tower and the castle, 
 relics of Gothic grandeur and feudal power. Not a solitary 
 spot in our land is hallowed by the fantastic and elegant 
 mythology of classic Fable. The wild and the terrible, the 
 mysterious and the marvellous of the Enchanter, the Fairy 
 and the Goblin, have no place in our traditions. Popular 
 superstitions, in all their endless variety of the curious and 
 the horrible, are unknown to us. Ours has never been the 
 land of Romance ; for the purple light of the age of chiv¬ 
 alry has never beamed on our people, in its richness and 
 beauty. But we despair not. We have a strong faith in 
 the destinies of American Literature. We have a faith, 
 strong as a Christian’s hope, strong as a Patriot’s love. 
 We will not despair. We feel assured, that in the noon-tide 
 of our greatness, we shall look down upon all the nations, 
 that have gone before us. We envy not the riches of their 
 inheritance. The patrimony of the Old World is the heri¬ 
 tage of the New; so far as we may choose to avail ourselves 
 of its wealth. We can enter unbidden, the store-house 
 of its treasures, not sword in hand, like Julius Csesar, but 
 by the Enchanter’s Key, the Press, and revel amidst the 
 gathered opulence of all ages and all nations. But our trust 
 is built on better promises and brighter hopes. The living 
 spirit of American Literature must be intellectual . He 
 who does not see that the intellectual will be the essential 
 
144 
 
 character of American Literature, must be blind to the 
 visions, that crowd on the fancy, and deaf to the thou¬ 
 sand voices of gratulation and encouragement, that call 
 from the past, the present and the future, through all our 
 land. His are not the deep and delicate feelings of the 
 heart, which sympathize with all that is majestic, lovely and 
 Graceful, whether in man, or in the visible world. His can 
 not be that enthusiasm of soul, which invests the grand and the 
 beautiful in nature and in art, with a nobler grandeur, a more 
 attractive beauty. His never will be those sublime thoughts, 
 which live on the great, the wonderful and the fair, in the 
 recollections of the past; which inhabit the whole living 
 world, ever meditating on its history, progress and desti¬ 
 nies ; and wander through eternity, to contemplate the pu¬ 
 rity and felicity, the glory and wonders of an immortal state. 
 We at least scruple not—to gaze with a Christian’s hope and 
 a Patriot’s love. And we have received the reward of that 
 hope and of that love, in the rejoicings that sympathize with 
 all that is American, and in the gratitude which ascending to 
 God as the moral Governor of the World, beholds in our 
 Country the fairest province of his magnificent Empire upon 
 Earth. 
 
 The foundations of our hope and our love are laid in the 
 
 POWER OF THOUGHT, THE INTELLECTUAL SPIRIT. But tile 
 
 Scriptures only can create, diffuse, perpetuate that spirit. 
 They only can redeem us from the vassalage, without the 
 glory of European Letters. They only can breathe into 
 all our Literature the breath of life, intellectual power. 
 Scatter then the Scriptures with a prodigal benevolence, 
 over all our land. Imbue with their spirit, the child, the 
 youth, the young man, through the whole course of educa¬ 
 tion. Let them be the study of manhood and the medita¬ 
 tions of old age. Then, but then only, shall we have rea¬ 
 son neither to envy nor to fear the scholarship of Europe, 
 Let the Literature of the Eastern Hemisphere worship in 
 the Parthenon of Athens or the Coliseum of Rome, in the 
 Abbey or the Cathedral of a Gothic ancestry. Let it revel 
 in the beauties of Grecian fable, in the wonders of enchan¬ 
 ted castles and fairy bowers, amid the splendor of courts 
 and the magnificence of palaces, amid the glory and gallan¬ 
 try of the age of Romance. American Literature rejoices 
 that hers is a more holy, a nobler, a lovelier land of promise. 
 'The shrine of her worship is the Falls of Niagara; the 
 
145 
 
 black gates of the mountains are the portals of her fane ; 
 the Father of Western Waters is the majestic stream of her 
 inspiration; the valley of the Mississippi with its giant col¬ 
 onnade, the Ilocky and the Alleghany, the temple of her 
 glory. The genius of American Literature walks abroad, 
 through the land of his birth ; and beholds an endless di- 
 versity of the grand and the beautiful. He looks to the 
 world of Memory, and feels that the wealth of ancient and 
 modern Literature is his. He looks to the realms of Imag¬ 
 ination, and rejoices in its visions of glory; for he knows 
 that they are his. Fie looks to the Empire of Mind, and 
 shrinks not at the mysterious depth of its abyss, or the aw¬ 
 ful grandeur of its elevation; for his are the power and 
 freedom of thought. In the intellectual spirit, he lives, and 
 moves, and has his being. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Society, to most of you I am a stranger: 
 a stranger by the land of my birth, and the pursuits of my 
 life. But though a stranger, I feel that I am not an alien, 
 when I remember that ours is a common country, a common 
 parent, a common fellowship. That country is the bequest 
 of wise and virtuous ancestors. That parent is this vener¬ 
 able university. That fellowship is this society, the bond of 
 our union, in the cause of Literature and Science. Let us 
 not be insensible to the sacredness of that inheritance, to 
 the dignity of that parentage, to the value of that fellow¬ 
 ship. Although the Society has hitherto exercised, and 
 perhaps unavoidably, little influence beyond the walls of 
 this College, it becomes us to consider whether important 
 duties do not devolve upon us. To each is allotted his 
 sphere of humble or distinguished usefulness, in private 
 life, or in a public station. To each is assigned, in the order 
 of Providence, his trials and temptations, his calamities or 
 happiness, the honors of a well spent life, or the ignominy 
 of unprofitable years. From all is exacted that duty, which 
 “ does justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God.” 
 From all is equally demanded that usefulness, which lives 
 not only for our family and friends, but for all the commu¬ 
 nity around us; not only for our country, but for all man¬ 
 kind; not only for our fellow men of this day, but of all suc¬ 
 ceeding ages. Tell me not that such a sphere is beyond 
 the eye or the influence of ordinary men. Few, indeed, 
 are destined to glitter on the radiant heights of Literature, 
 or to wield with master-hand the responsible power of ele- 
 
 13 
 
146 
 
 vated station. But let it not be forgotten, that ours is pe¬ 
 culiarly the country of individual and social enterprise, of 
 individual and social patronage, not merely in business and 
 pleasure, but in all the improvements of Education, Litera¬ 
 ture and Religion. These are peculiarly the property of 
 the People. A few may found their institutions, and give 
 the impulse ; but the People only can sustain and encourage 
 
 them. All then are co-workers in the same glorious cause ; 
 for Religion, Literature, Education are one. To each of us 
 
 then, as to every other individual, through all our borders, 
 is allotted some share in the task. What though we are 
 not worthy to fill the presidencies or the professorships of 
 our colleges ! what though we cannot rival the illustrious 
 in literature or science! what though we must gaze, and 
 gaze in vain, at the greatness of Edwards and Dwight, at 
 the fame of Channing, Cooper and Irving ? Yet each of 
 us may, and if he value his duty to God and to Man, he must 
 do something; if it be only to cast a widow’s mite into this 
 treasury of our country. Remember that even a single act, 
 done for the improvement of Education, for the promotion 
 of Literature, for the advancement of Christianity, is that 
 widow’s mite. And where is the man, however narrow his 
 means, however imperfect his education, who cannot, even 
 in a short life, cast in his hundreds, if not his thousands, of 
 such offerings ? 
 
 Whilst we thus remember our social and individual duties, 
 we can never forget our common parentage. To consult 
 the interests of this college, as opportune may serve, and 
 other obligations permit; to watch over her fair fame, to 
 honor the renowned of her sons, whether among the living 
 or the dead ; and above all, according to our years, to cher¬ 
 ish with a brother's friendship, or venerate with filial love, 
 the memory of her late illustrious President, will be at 
 once honorable and delightful. And if, in aught that has 
 been said, I have seemed to speak irreverently or unthank- 
 fully of the great and the good of my own or of any other 
 land, of the founders, and patrons, and instructors of this or 
 of other institutions, I know that realities do not justify the 
 appearance. I have, indeed, spoken with the sincerity of 
 Christian candor, with the free spirit of an American, with 
 the enthusiasm, if not with the judgment and taste, of an 
 accomplished Scholar. For all, that has been done, by the 
 eminent in talent, and learning, and virtue of former days. 
 
147 
 
 1 have a heart, that overflows with admiration and grati¬ 
 tude. And, as to all that is now doing, in our own country, 
 and throughout the world, by the Statesman and the Orator, 
 by the Philosopher and the Philanthropist, by the Patriot, 
 the Christian, and the Scholar, I have a soul to realize the 
 magnitude of our obligation, the dignity of their enterprise, 
 and its glorious rewards in time and Eternity. 
 
 Nor, Gentlemen, while we remember our fellowship, and 
 our common parentage, let us forget our common inheri¬ 
 tance, our country. We cannot honor our country with 
 too deep a reverence; we cannot love her with an affection, 
 too pure and fervent; we cannot serve her with an energy 
 of purpose or a faithfulness of zeal, too stedfast and ardent. 
 And what is our country ? It is not the East, with her hills 
 and her vallies, with her countless sails, and the rocky ram¬ 
 parts of her shores. It is not the North, with her thousand 
 villages and her giant canal, with her frontiers of the Lake and 
 the ocean. It is not the West, with her forest-sea and her 
 inland-isles, with her luxuriant expanses, clothed in the ver¬ 
 dant corn, with her beautiful Ohio, and her majestic Mis¬ 
 souri. Nor is it yet the South, opulent in the mimic snow of 
 the cotton, in the rich plantations of the rustling cane, and 
 in the golden robes of the rice-field. What are these but 
 the sister families of one greater, better , holier family, our 
 country ? I come not here to speak the dialect, or to give 
 the counsels of the patriot-statesman. But I come a patriot- 
 scholar, to vindicate the rights, and to plead for the interests 
 of American Literature. And be assured, Gentlemen, that 
 we cannot, as patriot-scholars, think too highly of that coun¬ 
 try or sacrifice too much for her. And let us never forget, 
 let us rather remember with a religious awe, that the union 
 of these States is indispensable to our Literature, as it is 
 to our national independence and civil liberties, to our pros¬ 
 perity, happiness, and improvement. If, indeed, we desire 
 to behold a Literature like that, which has sculptured, with 
 such energy of expression, which has painted so faithfully and 
 vividly, the crimes, the vices, the follies of ancient and 
 modern Europe : if we desire that our land should furnish 
 for the orator and the novelist, for the painter and the poet, 
 age^after age, the wild and romantic scenery of war ; the 
 glittering march of armies and the revelry of the camp; the 
 shrieks and blasphemies, and all the horrors of the battle¬ 
 field ; the desolation of the harvest, and the burning cottage; 
 
148 
 
 the storm, the sack, and the ruin of cities: If we desire to 
 unchain the furious passions of jealousy and selfishness, of 
 hatred, revenge and ambition, those lions, that now sleep 
 harmless in their den : If we desire, that the lake, the river, 
 the ocean, should blush with the blood of brothers ; that the 
 winds should waft from the land to the sea, from the sea to 
 the land, the roar and the smoke of battle ; that the very 
 mountain-tops should become altars for the sacrifice of 
 brothers; if we desire that these, and such as these—the 
 elements to an incredible extent, of the Literature of the old 
 world—should be the elements of our Literature, then, but 
 then only, let us hurl from its pedestal the majestic statue of 
 our union, and scatter its fragments over all our land. But, 
 if we covet for our country the noblest, purest, loveliest 
 Literature, the world has ever seen, such a Literature, as 
 shall honor God, and bless Mankind; a Literature, whose 
 smiles might play upon an Angel’s face, whose tears “ would 
 not stain an Angel’s cheek;” then let us cling to the Union 
 of these States, with a Patriot’s love, with a Scholar’s en¬ 
 thusiasm, with a Christian’s hope. In her heavenly charac¬ 
 ter, as a holocaust self-sacrificed to God; at the hight 
 of her glory, as the ornament of a free, educated, peaceful, 
 Christian people, American Literature will find that the 
 
 INTELLECTUAL SPIRIT IS HER VERY TREE OF LIFE, AND THAT 
 UNION, HER GARDEN OF PARADISE. 
 
149 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note A. p. 157. 
 
 The question may then be asked why does Classical Literature still 
 survive ? I believe of the Authors of Greece and Rome, as Ovid says 
 of his Metamorphoses, “ nomenque erit indelebile nostrum but it will 
 be chiefly, if not altogether, in the Biographical Dictionary, and in the 
 library of the Scholar, not in Christian Schools and Academies. Good 
 sense and virtuous sentiment, have already banished Ovid and Plautus 
 pretty generally from the course of education : and they will do the 
 same, in due time, with Horace, Virgil, “ et id genus omne But why 
 do the Classics live in our seminaries ? for they have been long abandon¬ 
 ed as materials of Literature, in all its departments. I answer, because 
 the neglect of the Bible, as the only true basis of all education in point 
 of duty, usefulness and Literature, and the only cement of its whole su¬ 
 perstructure, permits them to live, a standing dishonor to Christians, a 
 monument of that zeal and of those dissensions, which banish all reli¬ 
 gious instruction from our Schools and Colleges, rather than not have it 
 sectarian . But this state of things cannot last in any Christian country, 
 and above all notin this. Good sense, religious principles, and Christian 
 liberality, will not tolerate it. 
 
 Note B. p. 119. 
 
 The Oriental taste, as exhibited in the Persian and Arabian Literature, 
 corresponds exactly to their voluptuous and delightful climate, to the 
 richness and luxuriance of their scenery, to the costly and magnificent 
 style of their Architecture, to their dress and habits of life, to their pri¬ 
 vate and social character, and to the splendor and ostentation of their 
 forms of government. But the Orientalism of Hebrew Literature is of 
 a higher and nobler order; because it did not spring from the correspond¬ 
 ing sources just mentioned, as the Very causes which produced both the 
 author and the work, hut arose as altogether subordinate to the grand 
 and severe, the simple and solemn truths of the Scriptures. 
 
 Note C. p. 120. 
 
 This position, if it be correct, and the more I have thought of it, the 
 more am I convinced that it is, appears to me to demonstrate that Classi¬ 
 cal Literature cannot live. If it be not a storehouse of materials , it 
 cannot live. Now, as far as poetry is concerned, it contains no materi¬ 
 als worth having, except such as are common to all nations and countries , 
 and these, no poet, unless he belonged to the plagiarist school of Virgil, 
 or the artificial school of Pope, would ever think of studying in Greek or 
 Latin; for he would find them original, fresher, brighter in the landscape 
 ol nature, and in the scenery of human life. The mythology of Greece 
 and Rome, belong no more to the materials of modern poetry, than the 
 
 13 * 
 
150 
 
 ancient religion of Mexico and Peru. It is worth nothing, but to fur-- 
 nish illustrations : and what is remarkable, the allusions of the gifted 
 modern are far more poetical, than the same thing in the Greek or Latin 
 poet, as a part of the material of his poem. Of what use to us are the 
 materials of ancient eloquence ? What interest have we in the con¬ 
 cerns of Athens and Rome ? These can never be the materials of our 
 eloquence. Ours are of a nobler order, of a richer diversity. It is much 
 the same, with their Philosophy, whether natural, mental, moral or po¬ 
 litical, and with their Geography, History and Biography. Whatever in 
 them is worth preserving, we have made our own, with vast improve¬ 
 ments : and if all the Greek and Latin writers, not even excepting Plu¬ 
 tarch, the favorite of Gaza and Budasus, were to be cut off in one night, 
 we should have nothing to regret on the score of materials. If such 
 an event were to occur, I believe that the eagle wing of modern genius 
 would ascend by a wider circuit, to a loftier bight. Genius then, glo¬ 
 rying in the freedom of intellectual power, would exhibit all the rich 
 and admirable achievements, so beautifully sketched by Cawthorne. 
 
 “ Genius all sunbeam where he sheds a smile, 
 
 Impregnates nature swifter than the Nile : 
 
 Wild and gigantic, high as Heaven aspires; 
 
 All science animates, all virtue fires ; 
 
 Creates ideal worlds, and there convenes 
 Aerial forms and visionary scenes.” 
 
 Note D. p. 120. 
 
 Scholars ought to be—the freest of the free ; and yet it is lamentable 
 to witness the little freedom they actually enjoy. If there be no censor¬ 
 ship of the press, there is at least the censorship of classical Literature, 
 as rigid and inexorable as that of the Elder Cato. The common position, 
 that the Ancients never have been and never can be rivaled, much less 
 surpassed, is the very creed of an idolatrous superstition, that must en¬ 
 slave and narrow the mind. When Guido was asked where his model 
 of beauty was, he pointed to his ugly color-grinder; when some one en¬ 
 quired of Rembrandt for his antiques, he showed a heap of old rusty ar¬ 
 mor ; when a brother-Sculptor asked Michael Angelo for his compases, 
 he replied, they are in my eye. These are specimens of the independ¬ 
 ence of genius. Scholars, both as philosophers, and statesmen, have al¬ 
 most totally abandoned the ancient philosophy and politics; yet they ad¬ 
 here to the forms of Ancient Literature, as though a conformity to the 
 classic model, were an article of the Christian Faith. It is not surpri¬ 
 sing, that the Moderns have done so little, (for I myself think that they 
 have done far less than they could have done,) since they have almost 
 universally traveled the same round of imitation. 
 
 Note E. p. 121. 
 
 The common failure of translators is always appealed to as a trium¬ 
 phant proof of the absolute necessity of studying the Greek and Latin 
 authors in the original. The error of the argument lies in this, that as a 
 general rule only inferior writers translate : and where superior men 
 condescend to be translators, it is a hundred to one, but they choose a 
 work for which they are unfit. Thus, Pope selected Homer, and Dry- 
 
151 
 
 den Virgil, whereas the latter should have translated the Greek, and the 
 former, the Latin poet. Cowper chose Homer, when he could not prob¬ 
 ably have found in the whole compass of ancient verse, a single poem, 
 suited to his peculiar cast of mind. It is a fact that the great body of 
 those, who have translated out of Latin and Greek, have totally failed. 
 The fault is not in the English language, which is capable, in the hands 
 of a suitable writer, of representing to the life, all the excellencies of the 
 classics. If Milton had translated Sophocles and Euripides ; Lord Byron 
 -—iEschylus; Tasso—Virgil and Ariosto—Homer; if Campbell would 
 translate Virgil and Tasso—and Scott, Homer and Ariosto ; if Brougham 
 would translate Demosthenes, and Canning had left us Cicero, no man of 
 taste could deny the equality, even if he would not concede the superi¬ 
 ority of the translation. The classic devotee has apparently a triumph¬ 
 ant argument in favor of the superiority of the ancients, when he cites the 
 failure of so many scores of translators. But there is a view of vast im¬ 
 portance against him. All of the translators were classical scholars., in 
 Latin and Greek; but not in English. They undertook to render an 
 elegant poet or orator into English, when they had never cultivated the 
 composition of elegant English; though they had religiously ob¬ 
 served the maxim, “ nocturna versate manft, versate diurncL’* Now, does 
 not this demonstrate, when we look at the English translation, that the 
 writers had actually derived no assistance , as English writers, from all 
 their Greek and Latin Studies ? Hobbes, says Sir Jas. Macintosh, affords 
 in his translation of Thucydides, “ a specimen of a version still valued 
 for its remarkable fidelity, tho’ written with a stiffness and constraint , 
 very opposite to the masterly facility of his original compositions.” 
 
 The translation of the Bible, in the reign of James the First, is the 
 most remarkable and interesting event in the History of Translations. 
 That of the Septuagint, in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, bears no 
 comparison with it. Their simplicity and modesty, humility, learning 
 and admirable sense, entitle the translators of the English Bible to the 
 praise bestowed by Pope oaLord Roscommon. 
 
 “To him,the wit of Greece and Rome was known, 
 
 And every Author’s merit, but his own.” 
 
 It is remarkable how the translators have been influenced not only by 
 the Spirit of the Scriptures, which pervades the whole work, but by 
 I’neir indestructible metre, a metre the more curious and surprising, be¬ 
 cause it has none of the monotony, which a critic would have pronounced 
 a priori to be inseparable from it. The great excellence of the transla¬ 
 tion is due to six considerations. First, it was made under a very solemn 
 sense of the important duty, devolved on those, who were thus selected. 
 Hence arose that prevailing air of dignity, gravity, simplicity, which is 
 so conspicuous. Secondly, the Translators came to the task, looking to 
 the thoughts, not to. the style.. Their object was not that of all other 
 translators, to imitate and rival the beauty of style. Their sole object 
 was to render faithfully, and in a plain, appropriate style the thoughts of 
 the Sacred Writers. Hence, they became thoroughly imbued with the 
 spirit of the original t and gave an incomparably better version of the 
 Hebrew and Greek Testaments, than any or all of them together could 
 have done of any classic. Had each of them left us translations of some 
 classic, I hesitate not to say, they would not now have been found in any 
 library, but as mere curiosities. Thirdly, the number of persons em- 
 
ployed contributed very much to prevent any 'personal style from pre¬ 
 vailing : and gave to the whole an air of plain, simple uniformity. 
 Fourthly, the aera was providential in one important view. As the trans¬ 
 lation was made before all the bitterness of sectarian spirit distracted the 
 English Protestant Church, it was executed far less with a view to par¬ 
 ty differences, than could have been the case, at any time afterwards. 
 Fifthly, fortunately the only great religious difference, that could have 
 affected it, was the dispute with the Catholic Church, and, as to that, all 
 Protestants were agreed in England, on every important point. Sixthly, 
 the English Language was then at the happiest stage of its progress, with 
 all the strength, simplicity, and clearness of the Elder Literature ; whilst, 
 at the same time, it was free from the cant of the age of Charles 1. and 
 Cromwell, from the vulgarity and levity of that of Charles 2., and from 
 the artificial character of that of Anne. 
 
 Such a translation is an illustrious monument of the Age, the Na¬ 
 tion, the Language. It is properly speaking, less a translation than an 
 Original; having most of the merit of the former as to style, and all the 
 merit of the latter as to thought. It is the noblest, best, most finished 
 classic of the English Tongue. 
 
 I trust that I may be pardoned for intruding on the peculiar province 
 of the Divine, by suggesting a scheme for making the present transla¬ 
 tion more perfect. It is agreed among Protestants, that our English 
 Bible admits of improvement, arising from a better knowledge of He¬ 
 brew and the other Oriental Languages, of ancient Eastern history, 
 geography, manners and customs, and from a more extensive and accu¬ 
 rate acquaintance with all the departments of Sacred Literature. The 
 various able commentators of different denominations have pointed out, 
 from time to time, the amendments, which they have thought desirable. 
 I regard the English Bible, as the Religious Constitution of Pro¬ 
 testant America. Why then may not a plan of this kind be acted on, 
 a plan bearing some analogy to the scheme for the amendment of the 
 Constitution of the United States ? Let any one of the various Theologi¬ 
 cal Institutions of our country, propose to every other, such alterations, 
 as may appear to the Seminary suggesting them, to be desirable. If any 
 one of the proposed changes be disapproved by any one of all the other 
 Divinity Colleges, let it be considered as rejected. But, if any one of the 
 amendments ottered be accepted by all the other Institutions, let it then 
 be regarded as adopted by them. This step being taking by the pre¬ 
 paratory tribunals, let the amendment then be proposed to the highest 
 ecclesiasticai body of each denomination, such as the General Convention 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the General Assembly of the Presby¬ 
 terian Church, &c. If agreed to by all, let it then be considered as an 
 admissible change, in any edition of the English Bible, that may be after¬ 
 wards published by any of those denominations, or by the American Bible 
 Society If no amendments be proposed, but such as are free from 
 sectarian difficulties; and if the whole matter be conducted in a truly 
 Christian, Protestant, American spirit; in the spirit of Christian love, of 
 Protestant freedom, and American fellowship; as servants of the same 
 Heavenly Master, as children of the same glorious Reformation, as 
 brothers of the same national family, I can not doubt, that much good 
 would flow from the plan proposed. 
 
 To look to England for any change in the present version of the Eng¬ 
 lish Bible, is out of the question. The relative situation of the Estab¬ 
 lished and Dissenting Churches, is sufficient to satisfy any one, that 
 
153 
 
 while it subsists, there can be no agreement, even on such points as a 
 reformation of the present English Bible, in matters not sectarian. We 
 must, therefore, judge and act for ourselves ; and as unquestionably the 
 changes, that might be adopted in this country, would be sanctioned, for 
 the most part, if not altogether, by the best English and Scotch com¬ 
 mentators, we may indulge the hope that we might thus be instrumental 
 in preparing the way in Great Britain, for an amendment of King James’ 
 Bible among themselves. 
 
 Note F. p. 122. 
 
 The idea of cultivating style, as in a manner independent of thought, 
 is a sad mistake. It is like the cultivation of manners, without any regard 
 to duty and affection, their only genuine source. Style may be called 
 the manners of the mind. And like them it will be natural or artificial, 
 according as it arises from natural or artificial cultivation. Every mind 
 has its own appropriate style, and that style can only be drawn forth and 
 finished, by the cultivation of thinking and reasoning. It is not surpri¬ 
 sing that we see such lamentable deficiences in style; when the writers 
 have been led to cultivate a foreign, artificial style, instead of their own 
 natural style, flowing out of the character of their own minds. “ The 
 style of a man,” said Buffon to Herault de Sechelles, “is the man him¬ 
 self.” Does it not then seem little less than absurd, to select this or 
 that writer for his style, as a text hook, and it is chiefly in Latin or 
 Greek,—without any regard to the character of the student’s mind, 
 whether gifted with talents, or possessed only of common sense ? Can the 
 study of style make any other than a cold, unnatural style; unless the 
 model be congenial to the character of the student’s mind ? But by culti¬ 
 vating the mind of the student, and teaching him to keep constantly be¬ 
 fore him thinking and reasoning, as the only fountains of style, he would 
 acquire, or rather, would develope his own peculiar, personal style, far 
 better than in any other mode. How seldom does an Instructor pay any 
 attention to the peculiar character of mind of this or that pupil, with a 
 view to its appropriate cultivation! This neglect is one of the chief rea¬ 
 sons, why so little valuable improvement is discovered in those, who have 
 received liberal educations. One half of life, if not more, is wasted 
 by our youth on Greek and Roman models, (and there is scarcely any 
 writer studied that contains sufficient valuable thought to compensate 
 for the time spent,) for the sake of their style; but—the mind—the mind 
 is neglected. It seems to me no answer to say, that the student acquires 
 a discipline of mind by the study of language, through the Grammar 
 and Dictionary. Except to those, who pursue the study of languages 
 afterwards, and they are as one out of every hundred, who learn Latin 
 and Greek, it is to be remembered, that this species of discipline is abso¬ 
 lutely useless ; for they never have occasion for it in life. The discipline 
 of mind, which the vast majority want, is that which arises from impor¬ 
 tant and interesting/acfs, as the basis of thinking and reasoning. Things 
 and their relations constitute the whole substance of life : and yet, of 
 the whole body of education, through the medium of mathematics and 
 languages, how very little has any thing to do with the practical, and 
 purely practical life, to which the great majority are destined ! This 
 disregard of the species of discipline of mind, which the great majority 
 need, (and the remark is as true of mathematics as of languages,) and the 
 disregard of the small relative value of the species of knowledge now 
 
154 
 
 acquired in our present schemes of instruction, appear to me two other 
 fundamental reasons, for the little benefit so generally derived from edu¬ 
 cation. The truth is, instead of being accommodated to the difference 
 of minds, and the actual wants of the majority of the educated in real 
 life, the whole scheme of liberal education is founded on this, that all 
 ought to b q fitted to become scholars in the exact sciences, and in the 
 classics. Now it is matter of fact, that not one out of twenty is capa¬ 
 ble of being such, in the latter, and not one out of fifty in the former. 
 And it is equally matter of fact, that the vast majority of those who 
 study mathematics and languages, abandon them forever when they 
 leave. Thus the knowledge acquired in a course of ten or fifteen years 
 of study, in these branches, is cast aside for life. And the mind having 
 been exercised almost altogether on facts and relations in languages and 
 mathematics, having nothing to do with the employments and interests 
 of the great majority, they find themselves, on entering life, with minds 
 actually undisciplined for the purposes of life. Is it not then a lamen¬ 
 table truth, that the majority are thus sacrificed to a very small minority? 
 The same sacrifice is continually made in another form. In a class of 
 any size, whether ten or a hundred, there are different orders of minds, 
 and different degrees of talent. And yet, this actual state of things is 
 totally disregarded ; for our schemes proceed on the supposition that all 
 have the same talents, and in the same degree. Is not this a strange 
 violation of duty, common sense and justice ? The effect is seen in every 
 class. The inferior minds are disheartened, and neglected. The minds 
 of a middling quality are never able to rival the few superiors, who stand 
 above them—and they are either discouraged and indifferently attended 
 to, or they are tasked far beyond their capacity. It is my personal expe¬ 
 rience, and that of every one with whom I have conversed, that in lan¬ 
 guages and mathematics especially, the studies are adapted only to the 
 best minds in each class. My observation has invariably confirmed this. 
 
 Is there no remedy for such evils? I answer, yes: the remedy is a 
 very obvious one. Follow JYature. Respect the variety of talents, 
 and the different degrees of them, in different members of the class. 
 Let the^/zrsf great object of the teacher be to discover these all impor - 
 tant facts. Let him ascertain who has memory and who has not? Who 
 has imagination, and who has not ? Who is quick and who is dull ? 
 Who has a fine intellect, and who is deficient in the power of think¬ 
 ing ? Who is adapted to literature, who to languages, and who to 
 mathematics ? Let him ascertain the actual state of each mind, (a 
 thing never, never thought of,) as to the species of powers, which 
 it possesses; as to the degree of those powers; as to the extent, 
 to which they have been cultivated; and the knowledge that has 
 been acquired. Now, there is no personal relation between each 
 mind and the teacher. Each feels, that the Instructor has nothing to do 
 with him. His only concern is with the class. I admit that the task 
 thus imposed is arduous and delicate. But is it not a plain duty? Do 
 not common sense and common justice both demand it? There can be but 
 one answer. Education thus conducted would give a tenfold value even 
 to what is now taught. 
 
 If the difference in the kinds and degrees of talents be the order of 
 nature, and who doubts it? then let us conform our schemes to this in¬ 
 destructible order of nature. Let the scholars of the highest char¬ 
 acter of mind in each department, whether languages or mathematics, 
 speaking or composition, literature or philosophy, be placed in one di¬ 
 vision to compete with one another. Let those of the second or or- 
 
155 
 
 dinary rank be placed in a second, and those of inferior capacity in the 
 third. Let those of the third rise to the second, and those of the second 
 to the first division, whenever they shall have proved themselves fit. 
 If necessary, have more divisions. Thus the specific talents of each 
 student would be regarded and improved : and the degree of talent in 
 each would be carefully consulted. Thus the specific studies and the 
 quantity of each could be adapted to the pupil’s powers and state of 
 mind. All this, I am sensible, will enhance the labor of every teacher. 
 And is not this equally true of every addition made to the difficulties and 
 extent of studies ? The standard of education is raised, indeed, as to 
 the quantum; but not in the all-important particular, the mode of in¬ 
 struction. The same disregard of the species of discipline, of the relative 
 value of the knowledge to be acquired by the great majority, of the 
 variety and degrees of talent, of the actual state of improvement and 
 information, and the same mechanical mode of instruction, continue to 
 prevail from year to year. I feel that these are solemn, affecting truths. 
 1 feel that the fate of the country depends on them ; for on the adher¬ 
 ence to or abandonment of the present plan, depend the happiness, wel¬ 
 fare and usefulness of every educated man. 
 
 Note G. p. 122. 
 
 I am of opinion that the great majority of educated men would write 
 and speak in a better style and taste ; if their instruction in youth were 
 founded on the thorough study of the Scriptures. I think so; because 
 these excel in thought, the vital principle of taste, the primum mobile 
 of style ; and in the most simple, perspicuous, energetic modes of express¬ 
 ing it. The prevailing style and taste of the Scriptures, are every where 
 the same, artless, grave, clear, vigorous. This is the only book, in which 
 you cannot study style as something separate from thought. You must 
 study thought, or you cannot move a step. Thought is the engrossing, 
 the overpowering object. Style holds but an exceedingly subordinate 
 rank. Now these characteristics of the style of the Bible, are necessa¬ 
 ry to all educated men: and of supreme importance to the great ma¬ 
 jority, who cannot rise to the compositions of philosophy, poetry, elo¬ 
 quence. It is in these departments of writing, that mannerism pre¬ 
 vails : not in those, to which the great majority are called. Now, man¬ 
 nerism can only arise from imitation : and the style of the Bible as to its 
 formal peculiarities never would be imitated. It would be far more 
 difficult to imitate these, (which may be called unnatural, compared 
 with the ordinary forms of style in conversation and business) than to 
 transfer to that natural, ordinary style, the excellencies of the Scripture 
 style, the clear, the concise, the simple, the grave, and the vigorous. 
 No doubt if the master taught the pupil to imitate the forms of Scrip¬ 
 ture phraseology, he would become a mannerist. But we do not be¬ 
 lieve that any master would he so deficient in good taste and in good 
 sense. We insist then strenuously on the study of the Bible, even for 
 the sake of style : not upon the ordinary principle of imitating forms 
 of expression; hut on the master-principle that thought is the only true 
 source of style ; that every mind has its own appropriate style ; that the 
 cultivation of its powers of thinking and reasoning is the only wise and 
 efficient mode of developing that style ; that thought in the Bible stands 
 in a more intimate and varied relation to the mind of each man, then the 
 same quality in any other book; and that consequently in the study of 
 
156 
 
 this volume only, can thought, as the genuine parent of style, have its 
 full, natural, and rightful influence. 
 
 Note II. p. 132. 
 
 How little effect Lowtli produced, may be estimated in some measure 
 from the fact, that though he was the author of a new aera in Sacred Lit¬ 
 erature ; England, so honored and adorned by him, abandoned the subject 
 to Germany. Lowth has had no successor, to the disgrace of the di¬ 
 vines of England, especially of the established church, with the vast 
 advantages of their two Universities. They have even left it to Mi- 
 chaelis and Rosenmueller to edit, as a classic, the Prelections of Lowth. 
 
 I trust that no Lowth of our country will ever be guilty of what would 
 be not only affectation, but worse than useless here, the composition of 
 his Lectures in Latin. For myself, I have no desire that the mockery 
 of examinations in Latin, and of Theses in Latin, (notoriously transla¬ 
 ted by the tribe of Grinders ,) should ever form any part of the Drama¬ 
 tis person® of education with us. 
 
 Note I. p. 135. 
 
 1 am not the enemy of the classics. I believe them indeed to have 
 been surpassed, repeatedly and triumphantly, by the great moderns, in 
 all the departments of thought and valuable knowledge . And when 
 these have thoroughly cultivated their own languages, they have fre¬ 
 quently rivaled the ancients in the department of taste, and in my opin¬ 
 ion have at times excelled them. Yet I would not object to the study 
 of Greek and Latin, as a part of liberal education, at a proper age, in a 
 proper place, and by those, whose previous education and state of char¬ 
 acter would enable them to derive profit, without injury. 1 admit that 
 a knowledge of Latin and Greek are indispensable to the accomplished 
 scholar ; but they are totally useless to the great majority , who study 
 them now. Hence, considering it uncertain, who are to be scholars, 
 I would construct the scheme of education on the principle, that every 
 one, whatever his lot in life was to be, should derive substantial advan¬ 
 tage from whatever he might learn, in each successive stage of his 
 progress. To illustrate my views, I would arrange Seminaries in four 
 ranks—Schools, Academies, Colleges, Universities. The distinctive 
 feature of the first should be a plain, substantial, useful, English educa¬ 
 tion, comprising spelling, reading, writing, common arithmetic, book¬ 
 keeping, geography, history, and biography, sacred and profane, espe¬ 
 cially American history and biography, natural history, chiefly with a 
 view to facts, composition, speaking, thinking and reasoning of a plain 
 and business-like character. The school would occupy the boy, from 
 six to thirteen years of age. The distinctive features of the second rank 
 would be one or more modern languages, French, German or Spanish, 
 as circumstances might direct, taught as spoken and written tongues, 
 for the purposes of business ; the principal and most interesting scien¬ 
 ces taught chiefly with a view to facts, chronology, English grammar, 
 the history of the arts and sciences chiefly as facts, and the practical 
 elements of rhetoric, of moral and political philosophy. The academy 
 would employ the youth from thirteen to seventeen. The distinctive 
 features of the third rank would be mathematics, except such branches 
 as conics, spherics, fluxions, &c. natural philosophy, natural history. 
 
157 
 
 moral and political philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, history and chronology, 
 all taught as sciences: Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, the law of nations, 
 the history of literature and society, constitutional law, mental philos¬ 
 ophy, and antiquities. The college would occupy the young man four 
 years, from seventeen to twenty-one. The last rank would embrace 
 all the preceding studies. Its distinctive features would probably be 
 found in the following particulars. 1. All the studies ought to be vol¬ 
 untary. 2. The students should be instructed altogether by Professors. 
 3. The great object would be two fold—to prepare the professional man 
 for life, or to finish the accomplished scholar, in any or all the depart¬ 
 ments already pursued in the college. The University education would 
 employ the man from twenty-one to twenty-five. 
 
 Each rank would presuppose an acquaintance with the studies of the 
 previous: and whatever from its nature and usefulness, and its suscep¬ 
 tibility of higher cultivation, required it, such as thinking, reasoning, 
 composition, speaking, (not mere declamation,) would be pursued through 
 each of the four ranks of Seminaries. 
 
 I would distinguish the four ranks thus, with a view to the character 
 of instruction, and its object. The school would give a common educa¬ 
 tion for the working classes.—The Academy would furnish a respecta¬ 
 ble education to the man of business. The College would afford a liber¬ 
 al education to the gentleman. The University would yield a profes¬ 
 sional education, for the Clergyman, the Physician or the Lawyer, or 
 an accomplished education for the Scholar. I would arrange the third 
 class on the principle of leaving the selection of studies, and the ex¬ 
 tent to which he should pursue them, to the Student, or rather to his 
 parents or guardian: and if he should not designate, then to the faculty, 
 or such one or more as they might name, to ascertain by careful exam¬ 
 ination, the state of improvement, kind and degree of talent, and ob¬ 
 jects of the student. 
 
 Education is four fold—Moral, which teaches duty, in order to make 
 us good: Mental, which instructs us in valuable knowledge and its 
 right use: Social, which regulates the affections and manners: Phys¬ 
 ical, which consults health. When we look at this scheme, so natural, 
 simple, and obvious, how are we shocked at the deformities and imper¬ 
 fections in the plans of education, that prevail throughout our land. 
 The first and the third, the most important of any of the four, and in¬ 
 dispensable to every human being, form no part of our systems. The 
 second is crowded with studies, useless to most who pursue them, and is 
 destitute of many branches, which are valuable to all— thus forever sac¬ 
 rificing the great majority to a small minority. The last till latter¬ 
 ly, was scarcely thought of: and even now is but little attended to. 
 
 There are three most important objects in education, which are not 
 only disregarded, through all our existing schemes; but these actual¬ 
 ly operate so as to defeat those. The first is, to teach the habit of 
 thinking and reasoning—as inseparable from all knowledge acquired. 
 The second, to fill the mind with an abundant supply of valuable and 
 interesting knowledge ,—the materials for reflection, writing and con¬ 
 versation, through life. The third, to create a love for knowledge, 
 and a taste for reading. If I err in my judgment, that our schemes 
 of education, as actually administered, disregard, and even thwart these 
 objects, I can only say that my personal experience and observation, and 
 the testimony of very many intelligent men, have constrained me to 
 adopt this opinion. Let any one look at the great majority of those, who 
 
come out of our schools, academies, and colleges, and observe how little 
 idea they have of thinking and reasoning, notwithstanding the boasted 
 discipline of languages and mathematics; how little of valuable, inter¬ 
 esting knowledge they possess; and how little love of knowledge, and 
 taste for reading has resulted from their whole education. 
 
 A complete scheme of general education, embraces the seven things 
 that have been thus noticed, viz. four, as the constituent parts of edu¬ 
 cation, duty, mental improvement, the culture of the affections, with 
 the formation of the manners, and health; and the three last, as most 
 important results of education; viz. habitual reflection, a stock of valu¬ 
 able and interesting knowledge, the love of knowledge, with a taste 
 for reading. Duty is the only true basis of all education—Virtue, Use¬ 
 fulness, and Happiness, its great ends.—Yet the former is utterly re¬ 
 jected from all our schemes: and the two latter are sacrificed to an¬ 
 cient prejudices, old habits of study, and antiquated schemes of in¬ 
 struction, without testing their real value, by the only safe guide—ex¬ 
 perience, founded on the observation of their consequences, as exhibited 
 through manhood in actual life. 
 
 1 need hardly say, after the sentiments contained in this Oration, and 
 in the Richland Address, that I regard the Bible and Sacred Literature, 
 as inseparable and all-important parts of any scheme of education. Nor 
 need I say that I regard thinking and reasoning as perfectly inseparable 
 from all sound instruction, in each of the four ranks of seminaries. The 
 great business of faithful, competent instructors, is to let nothing pass 
 through the mind of the boy, the youth, the young man, the man, without 
 reflecting upon it —without drawing out the pupil’s mind, by questions 
 or preparatory remarks, to think and reason on the facts he is treasuring 
 up. The neglect of the young mind in this particular, through its 
 whole progress, is indeed melancholy and astonishing. 
 
 I have thus expressed my opinions on education. I have said I am 
 not the enemy of the classics ; and I have expressed my views thus at 
 large, in order to show what my estimate of the classics is. I regard 
 them as valuable only in a literary point of view. They belong in my 
 judgment not at all to the departments of duty , wisdom, usefulness ; but 
 exclusively to the department of Literature. Those are the armor and 
 weapons for the whole warfare of Life, this —what is it but the plume 
 of the casque, the silken belt, the embossments of the shield, and the 
 dazzling polish of the sword ! I have no objection, no not the least, to 
 a corps of classical Argyraspides. But I must object to training up the 
 mass of our youth, as though each was to bear a silver shield; when 
 we know that the vast majority must and will be content with vile brass 
 and homely iron. 
 
 I may not deserve the character bestowed by Churchill, in his Ros- 
 ciad, on Lloyd, 
 
 “ He talked of Ancients, as the man became, 
 
 Who prized our own, but envied not their fame ; 
 
 With noble reverence spoke of Greece and Rome, 
 
 And scorned to tear the laurel from their tomb.” 
 
 Yet even Lloyd is represented by the Poet as saying 
 
 “ And Shakspeare’s muse aspires 
 Beyond the reach of Greece : with native fires 
 Mounting aloft, he wings his daring flight, 
 
 While Sophocles below r stands trembling at his flight.” 
 
159 
 
 Note J. p. !39„ 
 
 Natural History is very little estimated, as it ought to be. Three 
 «onsiderations recommend it, as a most important branch of study for 
 boys and youths, in the school and academy. 
 
 1. I regard Natural History, when judiciously and faithfully taught, 
 as one of the best preservatives against irreligion. Young people enter 
 into life, in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred, as ignorant of Natural 
 History as a boy of his father’s library, which he has only seen through 
 the glass doors of the bookcase. The natural world, instead of a living, 
 is actually a dead world to the mass of educated persons. They know 
 little or nothing of its facts, and absolutely nothing of its science. It is 
 not surprising, therefore, that most educated persons look upon the works 
 of God, in the visible world, 'with as little emotion or thought, as upon 
 the works of man. They have no settled opinion, no habitual feeling 
 that a tree, as a specimen of mechanism and workmanship, is more admi¬ 
 rable than the group of Laocoon, the Parthenon, the Transfiguration of 
 Raphael, or the Church of St. Peter. But, if young people were 
 thoroughly acquainted with the important and interesting facts of Natural 
 History, and faithfully instructed in its curiosities and wonders, with an 
 express view to illustrate the power, wisdom and benevolence of God, can 
 we doubt that they would grow up, with such deep and fixed opinions on 
 those important points, as to leave no avenue for doubts, either in early 
 manhood, or in later years? Is it possible that youth can appreciate 
 rightly these attributes of their Maker, Ruler and Judge, when they 
 are so lamentably ignorant of his works ? 
 
 2. The second advantage to which I refer, is that this knowledge, 
 more than any other, except Religion, (and what is Natural History but 
 the handmaid of Religion ?) becomes a perpetual companion, by land or 
 by sea, in the town or in the country. 
 
 3. A third consideration is that the curious and interesting facts of 
 Natural History are an inexhaustible and varied fund, for social inter¬ 
 course ; so that many an hour now passed in frivolous or useless, if not 
 in pernicious conversation, would be both agreeably and instructively 
 spent. 
 
 It appears to me, that an acquaintance with the Natural History of 
 man, is more important to educated persons, and more worthy of a high 
 rank in the scheme of a liberal education, than all the mathematics, that 
 are taught in colleges. Tvd>9c osavtov is eminently true of our frame : 
 and yet the grossest ignorance prevails on this subject. I conceive 
 Anatomy to be a far more valuable, interesting and noble study for a 
 young man, than Spherics, Conics, &c. and if the choice lay between 
 Mathematics, and the Natural History of the human species, 1 should 
 prefer the latter, as a branch of College education. Though I was ar¬ 
 dently attached to Mathematics, in my early life, just as 1 was to the 
 Classics, yet my experience and observation have gradually, and I may 
 add, unexpectedly and reluctantly convinced me of two things—1. That 
 
 xVoths of the Mathematics, taught in our Colleges, are absolutely use¬ 
 less, either as science or fact, to the great body of those who study 
 them—2. That in point of discipline of mind, they are of little value, 
 as a part of general education; because the materials, the principles , 
 and the species and reasoning are not only peculiar to the mathematical 
 
160 
 
 department; but are totally inapplicable to the subjects, the truths and 
 the logic of any province of the moral department, which is the field of 
 action and usefulness to y 9 ^ths of all educated men. D’Aguesseau re¬ 
 sorted to Mathematics, as a recreation ; but I do not believe, that any 
 man ever reasoned better, out of Mathematics, for being a Mathema¬ 
 tician. I well remember Dr. Dwight’s saying, that he knew a distin¬ 
 guished Mathematician, who w T as, on ordinary subjects no match for a 
 common man, as to reasoning: and Warburton said, that in his day, the 
 best Mathematician in England, was the worst reasoner. I did once 
 think that Mathematics, which I had cultivated assiduously, had taught 
 me to reason. Twenty years of reconsideration have left no doubt on 
 my mind to the contrary. I have accordingly long held the opinion, so 
 admirably expressed by Mr. Brougham, in his Article on the London 
 University, in the Edinburgh Review. But I cannot regard Mathe¬ 
 matics, to the extent to which they are taught in our Colleges, as a 
 necessary ingredient in a liberal education; nor do I believe that “ a 
 man, who understands the nature of mathematical reasoning, is likely 
 to reason better than another on points not mathematical,” except that 
 he then has a beacon to warn him by the very contrast, against adopt¬ 
 ing the forms, or expecting the rigorous analysis of the Mathematician, 
 in the investigation of moral subjects. 
 
 “ What peculiar title then has the mere speculative knowledge of 
 mathematical truth, to such costly remuneration ? The answer is well 
 known. It makes men good reasoners; it habituates them to strict 
 accuracy in drawing inferences. In this statement there is unquestion¬ 
 ably some truth. A man who understands the nature of mathematical 
 reasoning, the closest of all kinds of reasoning, is likely to reason better 
 than another, on points not mathematical, as a man who can dance, gen¬ 
 erally walks better than a man who cannot. (Qy.) But no people walk 
 so ill as dancing masters, and no people reason so ill as mere mathema¬ 
 ticians. They are accustomed to look only for one species of evidence ; 
 a species of evidence which the transactions of life do not admit. When 
 they come from certainties to probabilities, from a syllogism to a witness, 
 their superiority is at an end. They resemble a man, who, having never 
 seen any object, which was not either black or white, should be required 
 to discriminate between two near shades of grey. Hence, on questions 
 of religion, policy, or common life, we perpetually see these boasted dem¬ 
 onstrators, either extravagantly credulous, or extravagantly sceptical. 
 That the science is a necessary ingredient in a liberal education, we 
 admit. But it is only an ingredient, and an ingredient which is pecu¬ 
 liarly dangerous, unless diluted by a large admixture of others.”— Ed. 
 Rev. JYo. LXXXVI, p. 328. 
 
 Note K. p. 140. 
 
 The prevailing character of Latin Literature, is imitation: and here 
 is the chief cause of its great inferiority to the Greek. Yet, with this 
 monument of the pernicious effects of imitation, the admirers of the 
 Classics still insist on following the example of Rome. They would 
 have all modern nations as dependent on Greek and Latin Literature, as 
 Virgil was on Homer. Modern Literature, according to them, ought to 
 be in perpetual wardship to the Guardian Classics : just as iEneas in 
 Virgil, is forever in leading strings to the machinery of gods and god- 
 esses, of dreams and portents. Hence it has come to pass that the ipse 
 
101 
 
 dixit of the Classics has the combined influence of tyranny and super¬ 
 stition: and the great majority of those who have studied them, are 
 actually overawed by their authority, and unwilling to question either 
 their excellence or their value. I desire no better beacon, to warn me 
 against the evil of studying, in order to imitate the classics, than the 
 character of Latin Literature, and of all that mass among the moderns, 
 which well deserves the praise bestowed by the great Conde on the 
 Abbe d’Aubignac, after reading his Tragedy, Zenobia, composed so faith¬ 
 fully according to the rules of Aristotle:—“Jesais bon gre a l’Abbe 
 d’Aubignac, d’avoir si bien suivi les regies d’Aristote, maisjene par- 
 donne point aux regies d’Aristote, d’avoir fait faire k l’Abbe d’Aubignac 
 une si mechante tragedie.” 
 
 Note L. p. 141. 
 
 My instructor often insisted on this, that every boy ought to 'commit 
 the fourth Book of the JEneid to memory. Fortunately, I never took 
 his advice. I would certainly rather know by heart, Campbell’s lovely 
 and spotless poem, Gertrude of Wyoming, than the fourth Book of the 
 JEneid ; just as I would rather treasure up in my memory, Paradise 
 Lost, than the Epic triumvirate of Antiquity, the Iliad and the Odyssey 
 of Homer, and the Odyssey-Iliad of Virgil. The fourth Book of the 
 ./Eneid, so far as it attempts to paint the passion of forbidden love in a 
 female, is a failure; more especially if we have a due regard to the 
 rank and character of Dido. The tale of Rimini, by Leigh Hunt, as a 
 picture of the developement and catastrophe of forbidden love, is alto¬ 
 gether superior to this Tenth Legion of Virgil’s Epic, in nature and 
 power, in delicacy and pathos. The Shipwreck of the Ariel, in Coop¬ 
 er’s Pilot, far excels the storm in the first Book of the vEneid : and the 
 Episode of Nisus and Euryalus bears no comparison, for truth and ten¬ 
 derness, with that of Angelica and Medoro, or the death of Zerbino, in 
 the Orlando Furioso. For myself, (saving his indecencies and impro¬ 
 prieties,) I would rather be the author of that wild and romantic Cru¬ 
 sade, by the Cceur de Lion of Italian bards, to the Holy Land of Heroic 
 Poetry, than to have written the AEneid, after the Composite Order of 
 Epic Architecture. With the exception I have just mentioned, I would 
 rather be such a poet as “ 11 Divino Ariosto,” the Knight Errant of Epic 
 poetry, than to be a worker in Mosaic like Virgil. I hardly know 
 whether most to admire the preposterous judgment of Vida, in recom¬ 
 mending to the princes of France such a model as aEneas, mean, treach¬ 
 erous, and hard-hearted, or his extravagant adulation of Virgil, in the 
 following lines of his Art of Poetry. 
 
 “ Te sine nil nobispulchrum. Omnes ora Latini 
 In te oculosque ferunt versi. Tua maxima virtus 
 Omnibus auxilio est. Tua libant carmina passim 
 Assidui: primis et te venerantur ab annis.” 
 
 Lib. 3, v. 571. 
 
 I can never hold such language of any Classic, much less of such a 
 copyist as Virgil has been shown to be, in the work (I think) of Fulviu* 
 Ursinus. 
 
 14 * 
 
162 
 
 Note M. p. 141, 
 
 This is my deliberate opinion. I would prefer that every educated' 
 man in our country should be familiar with sacred, rather than with clas¬ 
 sical Literature; and that our colleges should produce such sacred schol¬ 
 ars as Lowth and Herder, than fifty such classical editors, as Kuster, 
 Heyne, Gronovius, Wyttenbach. I would rather an American should 
 have written Villers on the Reformation, Ferguson on Civil Society, 
 or Alison on Taste, than to have published a better edition of any 
 dozen classics, than even Germany can boast. Considering the clas¬ 
 sics, as of very little substantial value to a people, possessing such a 
 body of Literature as the English language contains, and believing, 
 that as much has been done by editors of the classics, as the subject 
 admits, and far more than they ever deserved, I have no desire to see 
 my country enter on the race of rivalry in classic editorship. The 
 scholars of Europe have done quite enough for us and themselves 
 too: and it is certainly wiser to use their labors, so far as we need 
 them, than to incur the prodigious waste of time and talent that must 
 be spent in forming a corps of classic editors. Besides, the experi¬ 
 ence of Europe shows us that a man need not be an editor of classics, 
 in order to make the most profound or elegant use of them. 1 believe 
 it would be a matter of no very material consequence, if new editions 
 of the classics should never again be published. I have no doubt, that 
 the cultivation neither of sacred nor of classical Literature, requires 
 them. But it may be asked—can that flourish, without this? In its 
 highest state of excellence it cannot; but for the purposes of the great 
 mass of educated men, they may be sufficiently instructed in the for¬ 
 mer, without any knowledge of Latin and Greek. The professor, and 
 the accomplished scholar, and the distinguished divine ought to excel 
 in both. But these are as one to hundreds. I would therefore prefer 
 that my country should abound in learned and elegant editors of the sa¬ 
 cred, rather than of the profane classics: and that our educated men 
 should be familiar with sacred, rather than with classical Literature 
 
 i 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 THOMAS S. GRIMKE, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 STUDY OF THE BIBLE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 COMMITTEE APPOINTED 
 
 »Y THE 
 
 LITERARY CONVENTION, 
 
 HELD AT 
 
 NEW YORK, OCTOBER 20, 1830. 
 
LETTER, &c. 
 
 Charleston, 4th December, 1830. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 A variety of circumstances, the enumeration of which 
 would be neither useful nor agreeable, have prevented an 
 earlier attention to your letter dated the 23d of October, but 
 post marked the 9th ultimo. Your favor requests my views 
 on a topic proposed in the late convention at New York, and 
 referred to yourself, the Rev. Tho. H. Gallaudet and Pro¬ 
 fessor Robinson. The subject for examination is stated in 
 the following words : “The propriety of studying the Bible 
 as a Classic, in the Institutions of a Christian Country.” I 
 shall endeavor to meet your wishes, as far as I am able, and 
 proceed accordingly to offer my sentiments, under the fol¬ 
 lowing heads: 
 
 1. The fact of the exclusion of the Bible as an indispensa¬ 
 ble text book of all education—and the reasons. 
 
 2. The obligation to incorporate the Bible as a text book 
 of duty and usefulness with the whole course of education, 
 in every School, Academy and College. 
 
 3. The advantages of this plan. 
 
 4. The objections considered and answered. 
 
 5. The obligation of making Sacred Literature a regular 
 branch of Study, in all our Seminaries for the Instruction 
 of youth. 
 
 (>. The advantages of such a plan. 
 
 7. The objections considered and answered. 
 
 8. The best means of effecting these two objects. 
 
 Fii st. How astonishing is the fact, that m the 19th cen¬ 
 tury, and in a Christian Country, that Country, the noblest 
 fruit of the Reformation, the peculiar offspring of the Bi¬ 
 ble, and emphatically the land of useful, plain, popular insti¬ 
 tutions, this subject should be gravely debated, tlie proprie¬ 
 ty of studying the Bible , as a classic , in the Institutions of 
 a Christian Country. Not less astonishing is the fact, that 
 this question should be discussed, at such an aera and in such 
 a land, not by the Atheist and the Deist, not by the ignorant 
 and unpolished, but by the Christian, and the Minister, and 
 
 
166 
 
 the Scholar. The very statement of the question is enough 
 to kindle a blush on the Christian’s cheek; to fill him with 
 amazement that a doubt should exist, and to startle him with 
 the solemn reflection, “it is impossible that Christians could 
 have done their duty, or such a question never could have 
 arisen.” If Modern Greece were Pagan, like their memo¬ 
 rable Ancestry, and the question were debated, “ shall the 
 Pantheon be a School Book ?”—the reasoning against it 
 would be, that the study of such a work could have no 
 other effect, than to destroy all faith in the National Religion. 
 If the Infidels of France had made the same inquiry as to 
 the Bible, the great argument against it would have been, 
 that if faithfully taught from childhood to manhood, it would 
 render the Christian Religion invulnerable, imperishable. If 
 modern Italy were a heathen land, and her pagan Scholars 
 were considering the question “ Shall the Bible be taught as 
 a Classic in all our Schools ?” they would reject it unani¬ 
 mously ; because they would know, that the more thor¬ 
 oughly it was studied, and the more familiarly it was known, 
 the more would its vast superiority impair the claims of their 
 mythology, and the admiration for their own Literature. 
 The Infidel and the Heathen would act consistently; but 
 where is the consistency of the Christian, when he glories 
 in such acknowledgments of the excellence and beauty of 
 the Scriptures, triumphantly extorted from its adversaries; 
 and yet proceeds to banish that very book, which they, if 
 they were Christians , would rejoice to adopt. The Deist 
 and the Infidel can look on the conduct of the Christian, on¬ 
 ly with exultation and astonishment. Does the Christian 
 desire to feel how rational are that exultation and astonish¬ 
 ment ? Let him remember that the Pagan and the Infidel 
 may conscientiously pray to the objects of their adoration 
 that the Scriptures may never be admitted, as a text Book 
 of duty and usefulness, even into our Seminaries, much less 
 into theirs. But will the Christian venture to offer up such 
 a prayer, to the God of those Scriptures, in the prevailing 
 name of his dear Son? Let those, who have adopted a pre¬ 
 composed Service, prepare the form, and embody it in their 
 liturgy ; and they shall be horror-struck at the insulting blas¬ 
 phemy of such a petition. Let the worshiper in extempore 
 prayer, hear from the lips of his Pastor a supplication, that 
 God would bless the endeavors of his servants, to perpetu¬ 
 ate such a banishment of the Scriptures:—and he would 
 
167 
 
 hardly know, whether to wonder most at the impiety or the 
 folly of such an appeal. I say then boldly, fervently, that 
 the Christian dare not pray for the perpetuity of the present 
 scheme of exclusion; that he must acknowledge the exist¬ 
 ence of such a state of things, to be a monster in the Chris¬ 
 tian system : that he must mourn over it as irrefragable 
 proof, that Christians have hearkened unto men, more than 
 unto God: that he must know it is impossible for such a 
 plan to endure always : that he must believe the important 
 change is to be accomplished by human means: and that he 
 can assign no adequate reason for the postponement of the 
 great reformation, to a future day. I say emphatically, this 
 is the accepted time ; and it becomes Christians every where 
 to arise, in the might of faith, in the ardor of hope, in the 
 fulness of love, and do the work set before them. They at 
 least may rest assured, that if this work be of man, it will 
 come to naught even in their hands ; but if it be of God, he 
 who can of the stones raise up children unto Abraham, will 
 employ the lukewarm and even the Infidel, to accomplish 
 his ends, if his own children 'are unfaithful. 
 
 Let us consider briefly the causes of this exclusion. They 
 are found before the Reformation, in the following facts. 
 1. The ignorance among the Clergy themselves of Hebrew 
 and Oriental antiquities, and indeed of the whole body of 
 Religious Science and Literature. 2. The predominance 
 of the absurd and metaphysical theology of the Schools over 
 the grand and simple doctrines of the Bible, and the preva¬ 
 lence of superstition and bigotry, instead of the pure and 
 practical morals, the brotherly love and liberty of conscience, 
 taught in the New Testament. 3. The gross ignorance of 
 the Laity, and the utter neglect of any schemes for their 
 general, permanent improvement. 4. The inexorable rule, 
 which prohibited the reading, and much more the study and 
 interpretation of the Scriptures by the Laity. 5. The want 
 of any suitable works, as the companions of the Bible, in the 
 expositions of its truths, and the illustration of its literature. 
 6. The traditionary reverence for the Classics. ?. The uni¬ 
 versality of Latin, as the language of the Church and the 
 schools, to the total exclusion of Hebrew, Greek, and the 
 vernacular tongues. 8. The absence of a religious sense, 
 and of the spirit of usefulness among the founders of mod¬ 
 ern letters. 9. The utter ignorance or disregard of the fun¬ 
 damental truth, that Religion and education are the prop- 
 
168 
 
 erty of the whole 'people: and that they can accomplish the 
 great end of their institution, only when they exert a com¬ 
 bined, continued influence over the people, from infancy to 
 manhood. 
 
 The causes for the exclusion of the Bible, after the Re¬ 
 formation, are the following. 1. The inveterate habits and 
 opinions respecting education, prevalent at that day. 2. 
 The controversial, sectarian character of the Reformation, 
 even in its early years. 3. The institution of reading the 
 Scriptures and of prayer, of preaching, confessions of faith, 
 and catechisms all in the vernacular dialects, as adequate 
 modes of religious instruction for the young as well as the 
 old. 4. The notion that the Bible was not a Classic, and 
 the Hebrew not a classical language; and that biblical and 
 ecclesiastical literature, were the exclusive province of the 
 Clergy. 5. The translations of the Bible into the popular 
 dialects, and the annulment of the prohibition against the 
 Laity’s reading it. 6. The jealous spirit and bickerings of 
 various sects, and the absence of a broad, practical rule of 
 Christian liberality, combining in the common cause of re¬ 
 ligion and education as one system, the harmonious efforts 
 of all, who agree in essentials. 7. The ignorance of He¬ 
 brew and Oriental Literature generally, and the fact that 
 the great body of Scripture Literature is found in the Old 
 Testament. 8. To these we may add several of the causes 
 enumerated above, as existing prior to the Reformation, and 
 indeed all of them exerted an influence in a greater or less 
 degree, in preparing the way for the continuance of a scheme, 
 so unnatural, anti-Christian and unjust. It is obvious that 
 many of the causes, which existed as well before as since 
 the asra of Luther, have continued, even to the present time, 
 to exercise an unhappy influence over religion and education. 
 
 Secondly. —I proceed now to consider the obligation to 
 incorporate the Bible, as a text-book of duty and usefulness, 
 with the whole course of education, in every School, Acad¬ 
 emy and College, throughout our land. It will not be de¬ 
 nied, that the sum and substance of life are found in the 
 sense of duty, and in the spirit of usefulness; that without 
 them, there is neither virtue nor happiness; that upon their 
 cultivation and practice, depend the peace and prosperity, the 
 moral improvement and steady progress of Society ; that in 
 a free Country, with popular institutions, they are indispen¬ 
 sable to private welfare and the public good; upon them, 
 especially in our own Country, do actually and incontesti- 
 
1(59 
 
 bly defend our free institutions, the durability of our Union, 
 our peace, improvement and literature at home, and all our 
 valuable influence abroad. Nor will it be denied by any of 
 those for whom this argument is intended, that the Scrip¬ 
 tures are the only pure and all sufficient standard of duty, 
 the only fountain of usefulness, at once comprehensive and 
 particular, durable, elevated, and peculiarly of a practical 
 ■character. Nor yet will it be denied, that duty and useful¬ 
 ness, rightly understood, are inseparable from the whole 
 circle of valuable, honest business, and from all the virtuous 
 and innocent pleasures of life. It is impossible to transact 
 any business, as a general Rule, advantageously to ourselves, 
 and with justice and fidelity to others ; unless our manage¬ 
 ment of it be regulated by the sense of duty. Equally ob¬ 
 vious is it, that virtuous and innocent pleasures derive their 
 whole excellence from the simple fact, that they are useful: 
 and that no pleasures can be virtuous and innocent, which 
 do not exercise a wholesome influence over the moral 
 and intellectual character. I presume it will be also con¬ 
 ceded, that the professed object of education is to tit us for 
 duty and usefulness, for business and pleasure, in order to 
 make us happy, here and hereafter,--that education attains 
 or comes short of this end, precisely in proportion, as it 
 teaches the sense of duty and the spirit of usefulness, and 
 successfully establishes them, as the only basis of business 
 and pleasure : that as those are inseparable from these, in a 
 well regulated mind and heart, so they cannot be safely and 
 wisely separated, in a well constructed scheme of education; 
 that as this unnatural separation actually exists, there must 
 be some radical defect in the organization of all our schemes, 
 and that it is the duty of the Christian Patriot, Philanthro¬ 
 pist and Scholar not to rest, until he has remedied the evil. 
 
 I feel myself also at liberty to assume as conceded, that our 
 existing plans, answer very imperfectly the ends, for which 
 they were framed, that in them the conscience or the sense 
 of duty as regulated by the Scriptures, is almost wholly 
 overlooked, that the heart, with all its affections, is equally 
 neglected, and that even the mind, the all-absorbing subject 
 of our present systems, is in the great majority of cases, 
 when education is completed, but very indifferently provi¬ 
 ded with valuable discipline, useful information, the love of 
 Knowledge, and a taste for reading. Now, the mind, the 
 heart, the conscience exist indissolubly together, and they 
 
170 
 
 are forever acting upon each other, and exercising a combi¬ 
 ned influence over the thoughts, words and deeds of every In¬ 
 dividual. It is impossible to separate them in the constitution 
 of our nature; and the attempt to do so in practice, could 
 only have led to the lamentable consequences, so frequently 
 witnessed in educated persons. Thus we are perpetually 
 violating the fundamental laws of human character, and is it 
 wonderful that the results of our schemes of instruction are 
 disappointments and mortifications, without end or number? 
 It seems to me to be a very plain and solemn duty, after an 
 unsatisfactory experiment, through so many years, to insti¬ 
 tute a plan, founded on a close observance of human nature, 
 and on the great principles, that duty and usefulness are 
 inseparable from lawful business and virtuous pleasures; 
 that the mind, the heart, the conscience, are parts of One 
 whole ; that to cultivate them together is the dictate of duty 
 and Common Sense, but to cultivate them apart, is unnatu¬ 
 ral and irrational; that the Bible is the only standard of 
 
 duty, the only fountain of usefulness : and that henceforth 
 
 * •- 
 
 it ought to be inseparable from the whole course of civil or 
 secular education. 
 
 Thirdly .—Let us proceed to consider what advantages 
 we may promise ourselves from such a Scheme. We shall 
 cultivate the most important department of human charac¬ 
 ter, the sense of duty, according to the best model, and with 
 unremitted attention. We shall teach the young, that the 
 great object of life is not to be men of business or scholars, 
 but to be good and useful in the Scripture sense, and in 
 conformity with that highest and purest standard. We shall 
 place the Bible on the proper footing, as the basis of all 
 that is valuable in life, as the daily ingredient of education, 
 as the every day guide of the conscience, modeler of the 
 affections and light of the understanding. We shall secure 
 to religion, the attachment and reverence of the youth, in 
 the impressions of childhood, the associations of youth, and 
 the settled habit of early Manhood. We shall save the 
 young, in numberless instances, from the ruin that would 
 otherwise be their lot, by guarding them seasonably, and far 
 more effectually than at present, from the temptations of 
 folly, vice and crime, from the cheerless, heartless gloom 
 of infidelity, or the black despair of atheism. We shall 
 multiply ten-fold, if not a hundred-fold, the virtuous and 
 useful actions of life, and all the varieties of happiness, of 
 
171 
 
 which man is susceptible. We shall add thousands and 
 tens of thousands every year to the band of generous bene¬ 
 factors, active Patrons, and indefatigable Servants, in the 
 great cause of Christian Institutions, at home and abroad. 
 We shall rear up annually a host of advocates of regulated 
 freedom, of sound morals, of a pure, enlightened public 
 sentiment, of political integrity and independence, and of 
 fervent, rational patriotism. We shall send forth, as the 
 future authors of our land, in all the departments of knowl¬ 
 edge, the friends of more valuable information, of a nobler 
 order of usefulness, of a purer and more dignified literature, 
 of a sounder and wiser philosophy, than have hitherto char¬ 
 acterized, the graduates of our Colleges. Nor do I count it 
 the least important advantage of the new plan, that it is 
 calculated to unite more closely together in the bonds of 
 Christian fellowship, all those denominations, which agree 
 in essentials, to combine their exertions more harmoniously 
 and steadily, in all common objects, and to elevate the Chris¬ 
 tian Character, by the influences of a stronger faith, of loftier 
 hopes, and of a charity, more tender and humble, more ac¬ 
 tive and liberal, than we have yet beheld. May we not add 
 to the above reflections, that the incorporation of the Bible 
 into the whole course of study, will impart a new character 
 to Education, in the eyes both of the teacher and the taught ? 
 Education is now indeed regarded as a duty ; but it is so re¬ 
 garded as a matter of expediency , with a view to the busi¬ 
 ness of life. It is not felt by Parents to be a religious duty: 
 and is this wonderful, when they are aware that no part of 
 it, from iftfginning to end is connected with religion: and 
 when they know that Christianity is never taught, as a 
 branch of education in Schools ?* It is the same with the 
 master and the pupil. The one instructs and the other 
 learns without any distinct abiding impression that each 
 is discharging a religious duty. But let the truth be 
 
 * I am aware it is sometimes said in reply to this, that Paley’s Phi¬ 
 losophy is taught, and that he formed his scheme on the Scriptures. 
 But Paley is taught, not as Religion , but as moral philosophy , not as 
 practical piety, but as theoretical Science. —And even in this question¬ 
 able shape, the only one, which Christianity has been generally suffer¬ 
 ed to assume, it is postponed to the third or fourth year of College-life ; 
 as though instruction in sound morals were not indispensable to earlier 
 years. 
 
172 
 
 known and felt, and let the state of facts correspond to that, 
 truth, viz. that Religion is the most important part of all 
 education, that all others ought to be based upon it, that 
 they ought to be regarded as inseparable from, though subor¬ 
 dinate to it, and that their excellence lies in their tendency 
 to harmonize with it, and to prepare the individual for the 
 business and the enjoyments of life, according to the stand¬ 
 ard of duty and usefulness. Let such a state of things, ex¬ 
 ist, and it is obvious, that the motive to faithfulness on the 
 part both of teacher and pupil, are enhanced and multiplied. 
 When parents, instructors and learners shall be brought to 
 regard the Bible as the most valuable book in the whole 
 course of study, and Religion, as the chief object of educa¬ 
 tion, we may rest assured that brighter and better days are 
 at hand, and that a nobler and better order of Patriots, Phi- 
 lanthropists, Christians and Scholars,, will honor and bless 
 our Country. 
 
 Fourthly .—Some objections are made to the proposed plan.. 
 Let us briefly consider them. And 1st. it is contended that 
 Religion is inevitably sectarian, and that it cannot be taught 
 in any other form. This may be true of those, who are so 
 devoted to sectarian distinctions, as to have no conception 
 of Christianity, save when incumbered by all the trappings of 
 sect. But there is a nobler and better Christianity, than 
 such people have ever seen, much less felt, a Christianity 
 of essentials, a spiritual-minded and liberal Christianity of 
 mutual labor and mutual love. Under such a view of it, 
 religion pure, simple, practical, full of love to God and love 
 to man, can be common ground to those, who, ♦#hile they 
 adhere to sectarian distinctions, in their own theological, 
 seminaries, and Sunday Schools, and Churches, yet feel with 
 joy and gratitude, that a vast field of faith, hope and charity, 
 still remains for mutual labor. 2nd. It is said, that there are 
 no suitable books for such a course of study. It is a sufficient 
 answer to say, that if such an argument had prevailed, we 
 should not have a single Sunday School, and perhaps we 
 may add, not even Schools of secular education; for there 
 was a time, when we could obtain no books for any study 
 whatever. The multitude of valuable school books, pub¬ 
 lished in our own Country, within the last thirty years, 
 are of themselves a sufficient answer. In truth, it is with 
 this, as with every other branch of business, the demand 'pro¬ 
 duces the supply. Besides, if the plan of instruction be 
 
173 
 
 once arranged, I doubt not enlightened and benevolent in¬ 
 dividuals will be found in New York, and elsewhere; who 
 will offer adequate premiums to call forth the requisite tal¬ 
 ents, learning and piety. This much at least may be said 
 of the Scripture-Department, that it is the only one which 
 never has been and never will be unprovided with a text¬ 
 book of supreme excellence, and destined to endure un¬ 
 changed to the end of time. And of this department, may 
 also be said, without the risk of contradiction, that it pos¬ 
 sesses a greater amount and variety of materials for the en¬ 
 forcement of its truths, and the illustrations of its beauties, 
 than piety, wdsdom and learning, genius and taste have ever 
 collected, or can ever collect for any other. My own opin¬ 
 ion is, that the construction of admirable text-books, in this 
 department, is a much easier work, than is commonly sup¬ 
 posed. 3rd. It is said that religious instruction would be 
 contided to laymen. And why should it not he? You will 
 indeed have less of sectarianism, than if the Clergy taught; 
 for I believe the Clergy themselves will admit, that eseteris 
 paribus, the Laity, with some exceptions of course, are less 
 imbued with the sectarianism of non-essentials, than them¬ 
 selves. Cannot a pious, sensible, well informed layman, 
 tit himself for the discharge of his duties, with no greater 
 difficulty, than the teacher of languages or mathematics has 
 to encounter? There is nothing to prevent or discourage 
 him : and if you select an instructor in this department, with 
 an especial view to his Christian character, you have a se¬ 
 curity for his fidelity and kindness, which it is hopeless to 
 look for, in the principle of any other branch of study. And 
 may I not add, as an obvious remark, that as soon as the 
 Bible becomes incorporated with the whole scheme of edu¬ 
 cation, from beginning to end, as its prominent feature, the 
 practice of employing the free thinker, or the totally indif¬ 
 ferent, because they are fine Scholars or excellent Mathema¬ 
 ticians, will vanish forever. None but Christian teachers 
 will be employed for the instruction of Christian youth, in 
 any department of education: and all schools will be Chris¬ 
 tian Schools, as to the teacher, the taught, and the studies. 
 This is a glorious triumph, yet reserved for the zeal and 
 love of Christians. 
 
 Fifthly .—Thus far, I have considered the Bible, as the Text¬ 
 book of duty and usefulness. I am now to view it, as the 
 basis of Sacred Literature. The Scriptures may be regard- 
 
 15* 
 
ed in a two-fold point of view, viz. as to doctrine, myste¬ 
 ry and precept, and as to Literature. In the first, they be** 
 long appropriately to the department of. duty and useful¬ 
 ness : in the second, to that of Sacred Literature, embra¬ 
 cing peculiarly the history, biography and poetry of the 
 Bible, with all their incidents of manners and customs, of 
 arts and Sciences, of traditions and antiquities; and of the 
 connections between Sacred and Profane History and Lit¬ 
 erature. With such a variety of the noblest and richest, 
 materials, it is astonishing, that such a literature should 
 have been so long neglected, by the Christian and the Schol¬ 
 ar. Their own ignorance of its inexhaustible resources, or 
 an erroneous estimate of its value, can alone account for such 
 an oversight. What is the literature of any age or country,. 
 but the bud and the blossom, the flower and the fruit of the 
 national Religion, of the state of society, of the form of 
 government,, in a word, of the entire moral constitution of. 
 a people. Now, the Literature of the Scriptures is not only 
 all this, as to the Jewish people ; but it is, by virtue of its 
 prophecies, doctrines and precepts, and especially on ac¬ 
 count of the universality and destinies of Christianity, the 
 literature of all ages and all countries. What people is there 
 whether Christian or Pagan, that has not an interest, coeval 
 with their birth, and commensurate with their existence, in 
 the Literature of the Scriptures? Literature rightly under¬ 
 stood and rightly estimated, must be measured, not by the 
 standard of beauty, but by that of usefulness. Apply this 
 test and of what value to us in these United States is Greek 
 or Latin, Italian, French, or Spanish, or even English Lit¬ 
 erature, in comparison of that of the Scriptures ? In Prot¬ 
 estant Countries, where Christianity exercises a deep and 
 all-pervading influence over every thing, public and private, 
 social and domestic, where it is interwoven more or less 
 with every institution, and with human nature in every form, 
 in which it exists, to neglect its cultivation, is a phenomenon, 
 inexplicable on any known principles of duty, or expedien¬ 
 cy, or taste. It is granted that the Bible contains the most 
 ancient and authentic history, the most dignified and impar¬ 
 tial biography, wisdom the most profound, morals the most 
 pure, eloquence and poetry the most sublime and pathetic, 
 the most beautiful and natural. Its doctrines, prophecies 
 and mysteries, peculiarly its own, enhance incalculably its 
 grandeur, variety and beauty, and give to its entire character,., 
 
175 
 
 M\ air of originality and a sanctity, that elevate it immeasu¬ 
 rably above all other Literature. And yet, this is the vol¬ 
 ume whose claims in a literary point of view, have been so 
 strangely neglected; that Sacred Literature is absolutely a 
 foreigner, in the Institutions of our Christian land. The 
 Truth is, and it is equally lamentable and disgraceful, that 
 not a College in the Union, has a department of Sacred Lit¬ 
 erature, as a branch of general education ; and the great ma¬ 
 jority of our graduates, are just as ignorant of Sacred, as 
 they are of Chinese or Hindoo Literature. The fact may 
 justly overwhelm a Christian People with amazement, shame 
 and dismay. The obligation then to study Biblical Lit¬ 
 erature appears to me to rest on reasoning of the highest 
 authority. 
 
 Sixthly .—Let us now consider the advantages, to be deri¬ 
 ved from the incorporation of Sacred Literature into the whole 
 scheme of education. Perhaps it may appear superfluous 
 to add even a single argument derived from expediency,, to 
 those already stated, as founded on duty. But I consider it 
 as advisable, that the view presented may be more complete 
 and satisfactory. And 1st. such an adoption of Sacred Lit¬ 
 erature will give to the Bible a dignity and authority, far be¬ 
 yond its present influence, among, literary men. 2nd. A 
 knowledge of the Bible, and of the true character of RelL 
 gion, will be more general, than at present; since no one 
 can study its Literature, without being sensible of its great 
 excellence, as a standard of duty and usefulness. 3dly. Sa¬ 
 cred Literature will gain many an admirer and patron for 
 Christianity and all the benevolent operations- of the day, 
 who would otherwise have taken no interest in either, 
 4thly. That such a course of study would in many instances,, 
 affect not merely the head but the heart, and lead the young 
 to serious reflection, and eventually to piety, I cannot doubt. 
 5thly. The standard of Sacred Literature among the Clergy,, 
 would be raised far above its present obscurity and compar¬ 
 ative uselessness: and the whole literary spirit and general 
 education of the Clergy, must keep pace with it. Gthly. A 
 rich field of valuable knowledge and interesting illustration 
 would thus be thrown open to the Preacher, and would fur¬ 
 nish never failing materials for conversation to the Christian 
 and the Scholar. 7thly. A knowledge of Sacred Literature, 
 will afford to its students, and through them to many others, 
 ready answers to various infidel objections, sufficiently spe- 
 
176 
 
 cions in themselves ; till removed by an acquaintance with 
 Biblical Literature. 8thly. Unquestionably, a prominent 
 result of the contemplated change must be, that Hebrew 
 will become peculiarly, the classical language ; and the 
 Hebrew Testament, emphatically the classic, and that no 
 one will be regarded as a man of liberal education, much 
 less as a scholar, unless he can read the Scriptures of the Old 
 Testament in Hebrew. Othly. I add what I esteem, among 
 the most important and durable results of the introduction 
 of the Bible, as a Text-Book of Sacred Literature. I refer 
 to its direct influence on the character of all literature, for 
 that its agency will be deeply, extensively, and permanently 
 felt, is not the prediction of a prophet, but the obvious con¬ 
 clusion of sagacity and experience. Sacred Literature then 
 will ennoble and purify all literature; will impart to it more 
 dignity of thought, more delicacy of sentiment, more ten¬ 
 derness of feeling; will give to it more of the sublimity of 
 genius, and more of the refinement and beauty of taste, and 
 preeminently, will infuse into it, the sense of duty, and the 
 spirit of usefulness. Under the legitimate, steady, enduring 
 influence of the Scriptures, all Literature must become more 
 decidedly intellectual; for they are the only fountain of 
 original, unchangeable thought, equally distinguished for 
 truth and power, for usefulness and versatility. 
 
 Seventhly .—I proceed now to consider such objections, as 
 maybe offered against the introduction of Sacred Literature. 
 And 1st. it may be said, that we have done very well with¬ 
 out it hitherto in our Schools, Academies, and Colleges : and 
 that we may well be content to leave such institutions in 
 this particular, at least, as we find them. Sentiments like 
 these, may answer with such as are content, to take things 
 as they find them, in all the branches of usefulness, knowl¬ 
 edge and happiness. But such a spirit is alien to this coun¬ 
 try, and finds nothing in harmony with it. Here the test 
 of all things is, and must continue to be, “ What good will 
 it do ? What evil will it lessen or remove?” 2nd. It may 
 be said that Sacred Literature, is not sufficiently valuable, to 
 justify a departure from the established routine of study. 
 In addition to what has been already said, in a former part 
 of this letter, I would remark, that as Sacred Literature is 
 embodied in the best and noblest book, the world has ever 
 seen, whether we regard duty and usefulness, or history, el¬ 
 oquence, and poetry, the position involves a paradox; for 
 
177 
 
 that Literature is unquestionably the most valuable, which is 
 incident and devoted to the most important subjects. 3rd. 
 It may be said there is not time for all that may be proposed, 
 in this department and others; but if this be thoroughly 
 taught from the commencement; though all be not attained, 
 (and only a few will; for only a few can reap the full har¬ 
 vest of knowledge,, wisdom and accomplishment;) yet the 
 foundation will be laid, with a better prospect of improve¬ 
 ment through life, than is now the case with any other study, 
 in the majority of instances. 4th. It may be said, that the 
 introduction of Hebrew, of the Scriptures, and of Sacred 
 Literature, will have the effect of banishing the classics, or 
 of narrowing very considerably the field now occupied by 
 them. If such be the fact, it will be so, only because it 
 ought to be so. In such case, I presume, that every sincere 
 Christian is ready to say, in imitation of the good Quaker, 
 as to Bible Societies, if the classics can not keep their ground, 
 alongside of the Bible, I am content to let them go. Wheth¬ 
 er they will or not, must depend entirely on the estimate to 
 be set upon them at a future day, after the Bible and Sacred 
 Literature, shall have had justice done to them, by the enjoy¬ 
 ment of that enlarged influence, which they are fitted to exert 
 over the whole of human life, and-all the departments of Lit¬ 
 erature. 5th. To the objection, that we have neither teach¬ 
 ers nor text-books, I answer as I have said on the corres¬ 
 ponding subject, a demand will create a supply: and with 
 regard to text-books, there is less difficulty on this, than 
 there is on the previous subject. That future years will pro¬ 
 vide better books and better teachers, cannot be doubted. 
 But we have better to begin with, than any other depart¬ 
 ment could boast at its outset. 
 
 Eighthly .—I now approach the last division of my sub¬ 
 ject, viz. the best means to be employed in the introduction 
 of the Bible and of Sacred Literature, into the Institutions 
 of a Christian Country. Before however I proceed to this 
 duty, permit me to say, that I can advise, neither with the 
 authority of a Professor, nor even with the comparative 
 confidence of a scholar. I can only offer the suggestions 
 of one, who, if his capacity and learning were equal to his 
 good will, would feel himself very especially charged with 
 in answer to your enquiries. As it is, however, I can hard¬ 
 ly venture to counsel; I can only present my imperfect re¬ 
 flections. I shall distribute what I have to say under differ¬ 
 ent heads, for greater distinctness. 
 
178 
 
 First .—It seems to me that the introduction of the Bible 
 and of Sacred Literature into the University of the city of 
 New York, should be founded on an enlarged view of the 
 whole ground of instruction, from the School to the Univer¬ 
 sity. Without insisting on the distribution of Seminaries 
 into four ranks or classes, (as proposed in Note I. to the 
 Oration of last Sept, before the Phi Beta Kappa of Yale,) 
 I shall consider the College and University as one. I would 
 then say, that the proper department of the general school 
 would be the same, as that of the Sunday School; only 
 with a greater variety of similar studies, though pursued to 
 a greater extent. Practical religion as found in the Gospels 
 and Acts, with the ordinary explanations of facts and pre¬ 
 cepts, of manners and customs, of history and geography 
 would fill up the period of the school. In the rank of sem¬ 
 inaries above the school, call it the Academy or Gymnasium, 
 religion would not only be taught as above ; but I would 
 add the antiquities of the Bible, the evidences of its truth, 
 the superiority of Christianity over every other system of 
 morals and Religion ; Ecclesiastical History and Sacred Lit¬ 
 erature, in its English forms only, together with the connec¬ 
 tions between Sacred and Ecclesiastical History and Liter- 
 erature, and Profane History and Literature. In the Uni¬ 
 versity or College, would be taught all beyond the above, 
 including Hebrew and Greek, the philosophy and meta¬ 
 physics of religion and Scripture Literature in the highest 
 and broadest sense of the term. 
 
 Secondly .—In order to carry the above into execution, I 
 would institute two Professorships, which it seems to me, 
 though I may not be fortunate in the selection of suitable 
 descriptive terms, would embrace the wdiole held. The first 
 I would style the Professorship of the Christian Religion, 
 the second of Sacred Literature. To the first I would allot 
 all that belongs to practical piety, and the scheme of Chris¬ 
 tian morals, to the superiority of the Christian, over all 
 other systems of Religion and Morals, and to the evidences 
 of Christianity. To the second, I would assign Hebrew 
 and Greek, sacred Criticism and Philology, the Philosophy 
 and Metaphysics of Religion, Sacred History and antiqui¬ 
 ties, and the connection of Biblical and Ecclesiastical, with 
 profane History, Antiquities and Literature. May I be ex¬ 
 cused for repeating, that I dare not say I advise, so much as 
 that I express my opinions for consideration. No one, in- 
 
179 
 
 deed, but an accomplished Divine or Sacred Scholar is com¬ 
 petent to recommend, with confidence in himself, or with 
 any well founded expectation, that others would rely on his 
 judgment. 
 
 Thirdly. —It seems to me that the study of Hebrew would 
 be indispensable. I must take for granted, of course, that 
 in the existing state of education, throughout our Country, 
 the Student who enters the University, would carry with 
 him the customary knowledge of Latin and Greek. But any 
 scheme of thorough and comprehensive religious instruc¬ 
 tion must be incomplete, without a knowledge of Hebrew. 
 Assuredly, if it be thought so desirable to study Latin and 
 Greek, in order to read the Classic Authors in the original, 
 either for their thoughts or their style, it must be far more 
 desirable to obtain a knowledge of the Hebrew, as the lan¬ 
 guage of the first of books, whether we look to thoughts or 
 to style. The argument in favor of those modern classic 
 tongues , for I call the Hebrew, the ancient classic language, 
 is that the study of them produces the happiest and liveli¬ 
 est effects on the intellectual powers, on the taste and vari¬ 
 ous knowledge of the student. Let us grant it all, and must 
 not a correspondent influence be allowed to far superior 
 Authors, in a more ancient, simple, majestic dialect ? It is 
 denied that the study of the profane classics, can be advan¬ 
 tageously carried on, through translations. Be it so : and 
 must not the argument be at least equally forcible, when ap¬ 
 plied to the Bible? Is there any comparison between the 
 importance of reading Cicero de Officiis, Virgil or Livy in 
 Latin, and that of perusing Solomon, Isaiah and Moses in 
 Hebrew ? If the question were submitted to a people, who 
 had never yet studied Hebrew, Greek, or Latin, they would 
 smile at the very idea, that any doubt could exist. Of this, 
 we may rest assured, that nothing but the prejudices of edu¬ 
 cation, and our familiarity with an unnatural state of things, 
 could produce the least hesitation in our minds. And is 
 such a state of things, such a species of tyranny over our 
 judgment, and of superstitious influence over our taste, to 
 have no end ? I answer with confidence, it must have an 
 end. Our Country has shown in her political and civil le¬ 
 gislation, a just disregard of the practice of the Old World, 
 however venerable from antiquity and authority, whenever 
 it is condemned by principle and reason : and shall not her 
 Christian Ministry, and her Christian Scholars do the like. 
 
180 
 
 in the construction of schemes of Education and Literary 
 Institutions ? I trust that her Legislators in Science and Lit¬ 
 erature will not be unmindful of the glorious example of 
 their Compatriots in the Convention of Statesmen and the 
 Assembly of Lawgivers. 
 
 There is one point of view in which I regard the cultiva¬ 
 tion of Hebrew as of great value. The more we can ap¬ 
 proximate the Clergy and the Laity to each other, the more, 
 it seems to me, must the bond of union, and their recipro¬ 
 cal influence be strengthened. Now, a knowledge of the 
 world, and habits of business are the chief features, that dis¬ 
 tinguish the Laity from the Clergy. In these particulars, 
 we cannot assimilate the latter to the former. But we can 
 approximate those to these, by giving them a knowledge ol 
 Hebrew, and of other branches of study, hitherto, very un¬ 
 justly and unfortunately regarded as purely theological. 
 The example of a learned Laity, would elevate the standard 
 of Biblical knowledge and Sacred Literature among the 
 Clergy; while the religious spirit of the Laity, more liber¬ 
 al and moderate than that of the Clergy, would have a salu¬ 
 tary influence on the genius of controversy, so often dishorn 
 orable to the man and the Christian. 
 
 I must not fail to notice another consideration, of great 
 importance, in my opinion. The essential principle of Prot* 
 estantism is, that every man has the right, and is bound to 
 search the Scriptures for himself. Is this cardinal, invalua¬ 
 ble principle held sacred, by such a construction of schemes 
 of education, that, on the one hand, no facilities for the ex¬ 
 ercise of this right, are afforded in our Schools, by prepara¬ 
 tory religious instruction ; and, on the other, the Scriptures 
 of the Old Testament are reserved in the original language 
 for the Clergy only ? No one, it is true, desires to see an 
 attempt made, to teach Hebrew to all the Laity. But is it 
 not desirable, that a portion of them, however small, should 
 be able to read the Old Testament in the original, and should 
 thus possess the motive and the means of becoming a select 
 body of learned laymen, a worthy representative of the 
 whole ? 
 
 Let us add to the above, another consideration of kin¬ 
 dred character. It is disgraceful to Christians, that no at¬ 
 tention whatever is paid to the New Testament in Greek, 
 as an important part of a Collegiate course. But the culti¬ 
 vation of Hebrew for the sake of the Old Testament, will 
 
'ensure that of Greek, for the sake of the new. At present, 
 the Scholar, who preserves his Greek, does so to enable 
 him to read Homer, and Xenophon, and Theocritus; but 
 he never thinks of Luke, and John, and Paul. If, howev¬ 
 er, the study of the Bible, in the original languages, should 
 become a prominent feature in a Collegiate System, the 
 graduate will cherish his Greek and Hebrew, for the sake 
 of perusing the Old and New Testaments, in their original 
 tongues. Such a state of things will be advantageous to 
 the cause of Literature and Religion. 
 
 Fourthly .—After thus strenuously insisting on the study 
 of Hebrew, I need hardly say, that I should of course re¬ 
 commend the thorough study of Greek, so far as the New 
 Testament is concerned. You will not be surprised at my 
 saying, that I would not care to have the language pursued 
 farther; because I am perfectly satislied, that thorough in¬ 
 struction in this text-book would enable the student to pursue 
 Greek, as far as he may choose to carry it. But whatever 
 may be determined as to this point, I would earnestly press 
 upon all the friends of Christian Education the substitution 
 of select parts of the Septuagint, and of the writings of 
 Justin, Origen, Chrysostom, Nazianzen, Basil, &c. &c.—• 
 instead of the Graeca Majora. When we bear in mind the 
 commendations universally bestowed on the above, and on 
 many of the other Greek writers of the early Christian 
 Church, it is a singular and lamentable fact, that they should 
 be so totally neglected in the education of Christian youth. 
 The best judges have bestowed such praise on these wri¬ 
 ters, that the identical language, applied to the Classics, 
 would be regarded as descriptive of the highest merit in the 
 best of them. 
 
 Fifthly .—I would, by analogy to the above suggestions, 
 propose that a Latina Majora should be prepared, in like 
 manner, from the writings of Lactantius, Augustin, Hilary, 
 Ambrose, Cyprian and others; because such a collection 
 would possess the highest recommendations to the Christian 
 Scholar. And here, I would make a remark, which seems 
 to me just, both as to the Greek and the Latin languages. Be¬ 
 tween the best modern Latin, such as that of Buchanan, 
 Lowth, Gray, Casimir, Milton, and that of the Augustan 
 a^e, none but the most finished Critics can discriminate ; and 
 they can only do it, by carping at such expressions, as the 
 “Gloriari” in Milton’s character of Cromwell. But in 
 
 Hi 
 
182 
 
 those writers, the most accomplished Scholar would look in 
 vain for such a multitude of mistakes, as Dr. Blair has 
 pointed out, in his Critique on Addison. The truth is, Ad¬ 
 dison wrote Latin so much more accurately than he wrote 
 English, that it would be much more judicious to use his 
 Latin, than his English, as a model of composition for youth. 
 Boileaux said of him, that he was the only modern Latin 
 writer, who had succeeded. Whether this be admitted or 
 not, I am sure that three positions will not be denied. 1st. 
 That for all practical purposes of etymology, of technical or 
 other terms, of phrases, quotations, extracts, &c., Latin 
 can be as advantageously learnt from the Christian, as from 
 the Augustan classics. 2nd. That not one of the whole nuin- 
 ber of the graduates at our colleges, after having thus far 
 completed his classical education, is competent to distinguish 
 the Latin of Lactantius, Ambrose, or Hilary, of Politian, 
 Vida and Erasmus, from that of Cassar, Virgil and Quine- 
 tilian. Nor need they be ashamed to admit the fact; since 
 Scaliger was deceived bv the Latin of Muretus, and Cicero’s 
 Oration for Marcellos is still debatable ground with the 
 Critics. 3rd. That the great majority, I feel conlident I 
 may say forty nine out of every fifty, who learn Latin, 
 abandon their Classics for life, as soon as they have left col¬ 
 lege ; and never look at them afterwards, except perhaps to 
 assist their children in their lessons. But forty nine out of 
 every fifty abandon them forever as works of taste or amuse¬ 
 ment, as repositories of knowledge, of as models of compo¬ 
 sition. So far then as the forty nine are concerned, it is of 
 no consequence from what books they are taught: and as to 
 the fiftieth it is equally immaterial, because he will have learnt 
 enough from the Christian and modern Latin writers, to 
 enable him to follow out his improvement, if so disposed, as 
 far as he pleases, and more than that he would not have ac¬ 
 quired from the Augustan classics. I am convinced that this 
 is equally true of the Greek; and that none of our gradu¬ 
 ates could distinguish the Greek poetry of Petavius and 
 Milton, of Scaliger and Heinsius from that of the ancients. 
 And this would not be a fair ground of reproach; since 
 Scaliger mistook the Greek of Heinsius for that of Hesiod, 
 and Hallam—an extract from Pindar, for the verses of Pavne 
 Knight. My observations as to both Greek and Latin, in 
 this particular, relate of course to the style; for the thoughts 
 in an extract from the Christiad of Vida, umuld be a clue to 
 
the critic. I would remark, in conclusion, on this head, that 
 the great majority who study the classics, learn very little 
 from them in the way of taste and elegant composition. 
 Almost all that they do know in these respects, whether in 
 speaking or writing, is derived from English authors. I am, 
 therefore, satisfied that, if Greek and Latin are still to be ad¬ 
 hered to, a Graeca Majora Christiana and a Latina Maj ora 
 Christiana are desiderata in the institutions of a Christian 
 people. May the sacred scholars of our country be the 
 first to redeem Christendom from the reproach of neither 
 having nor teaching such collections! 
 
 Sixthly .—I have said that I apprehended no very great 
 difficulty, in finding appropriate text-books, either in the re¬ 
 ligious,* or the literary department. How indeed could it 
 be otherwise, with the rich stock of materials on these sub¬ 
 jects, which we possess, almost entirely in English, either 
 original or translated. The Horse Mosaicse of Faber, and 
 the Horae Paulinse of Paley, the Connections of Shuckford, 
 and Prideaux and Gray, the Evidences of Grotius, Paley 
 and Chalmers; the Origines Sacrse of Stillingfleet; the 
 work of Bishop Cumberland; the Analogy of Butler, and 
 the Minute Philosopher of Berkeley, Blackwall’s Sacred 
 Classics, Lowth’s Prelections, and his Isaiah; Horseley’s 
 Hosea, Horseley’s Sermons on the Resurrection, and his 
 Discourse on the Sibyline Oracles ; Horne’s Introduction ; 
 the Sermons of Hall on Modern Infidelity, of Magee on the 
 Atonement, and of Chalmers on the Modern Astronomy; to¬ 
 gether with numberless other sermons, tracts and elaborate 
 works, and Bryant’s gigantic production on the ancient my¬ 
 thology ; are a fund of piety and morality, of sound think¬ 
 ing and reasoning, of learning, eloquence and taste, alto¬ 
 gether unrivaled by the whole body of profane Literature. 
 
 I have thus discharged the duty laid upon me by your 
 letter: and I leave the subject, I trust, with a well grounded 
 confidence, in the hands of the committee, and to the con¬ 
 vention. Your fellow laborer, , 
 
 THOMAS S. GRIMKE. 
 
 The Rev. William C. Woodbridge, Hartford, Connecticut. 
 
 * If the Latin work of CEcolampadius on the Eucharist, really deserves 
 the praise bestowed on it by Erasmus, that its eloquence of style and 
 power of reasoning were such, that the very elect must be deceived by 
 it, unless guarded by the special providence of God, most certainly it 
 ought to be adopted as a Text Book,. 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 AT THE 
 
 DEDICATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BUILDING IN CHALMERS STREET, 
 
 DESIGNED AS A DEPOSITORY 
 
 FOR 
 
 BIBLES, TBilCTS AND SUNDAY SCHOOL BOOKS, 
 
 AND FOR 
 
 THE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES, 
 
 DELIVERED ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 8 , 1829 * 
 
 BY THOMAS S. GRIMKE. 
 
 16 * 
 

 
 
 
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 ADDRESS. 
 
 How lovely, how honorable is the service of God! How 
 full of dignity and beauty, the cause of Religion ! To be 
 obedient, even in the affairs of this world, to the wise and 
 the good, is justly esteemed a source of pleasure and of 
 praise. Yet, what comparison is there, between the nature, 
 and the importapce of the duty, which bound their follow" 
 ers to Alfred, Gustavus or Washington, and those which 
 constitute the relation between God and Man ! We con¬ 
 template with delight, the cause of ancient Freedom in 
 Greece and Rome. We behold with a feeling more lofty, 
 pure and rational, the nobler cause of British freedom. We 
 dwell with an admiration, still more grateful and virtuous, 
 with an awe more sacred and elevated, on the cause of Amer¬ 
 ican freedom, more dignified and momentous, than aught, 
 which the Patriot of Ancient or Modern Europe can boast. 
 And yet, what comparison can exist, between the perisha¬ 
 ble cause of civil and political liberty, and the eternal cause 
 of that liberty, wherewith Christ hath made us free? How 
 shall we liken our deliverance from the captivity of war, or 
 from the slavery of civil and political institutions, to our 
 deliverance from the bondage of corruption, into the glori¬ 
 ous liberty of the children of God ? What shall we say of 
 him, who pleads, or suffers, or dies, a patriot victim, when 
 compared with those, who plead, and suffer, and die, as 
 Christian martyrs? Our minds are filled and exalted, in 
 contemplating the great subjects that involve the happiness, 
 security and improvement of nations. Questions of Peace 
 and War, of Treaties and Confederacy, of Revolution and 
 Reform, of ordaining a Constitution, “ to form a more per¬ 
 fect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, pro¬ 
 vide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, 
 and secure the blessings of liberty,” are full of interest, 
 dignity and importance. Yet, who would attempt a paral¬ 
 lel between them, and the beauty, the grandeur, the sancti¬ 
 ty of the cause of religion ? How do they sink into utter 
 insignificance, when compared with the sublime and holy 
 subjects, which angels desire to look into: with the Being, 
 
188 
 
 and Attributes, and Works of God; the Fall and Redemp^ 
 tion of Man ; the character and offices of Angels; the* 
 scheme of Patriarchs, and Judges and Kings ? of Prophets 
 and Apostles and Martyrs ; the character of the Church 
 Universal, suffering on earth, triumphant in heaven ; the 
 restoration of the Ancient People of God ; the conversion 
 of the Gentile World; the banishment of error and perse¬ 
 cution, of fraud and violence, of folly and corruption; the 
 glory and beauty of the Millenial Church ; the Day of Res¬ 
 urrection and the last Judgment; the new heaven and the 
 new earth; and that far more exceeding and eternal weight 
 of glory, which shall be revealed, in the spirits of just men 
 made perfect, the inhabitants of the new Jerusalem! How 
 lovely, how honorable then, is the service of God ! How 
 full of dignity and beauty, the cause of Religion ! 
 
 This service, this cause, have assembled us this evening. 
 We come in the fear of God, and in the spirit of love to our 
 fellow men, to dedicate this building to his honor, and to 
 their good. Humble indeed is the offering, for we boast no 
 prodigal expenditure of wealth, no splendor and beauty of 
 decoration, no triumphs of architectural science. Simple 
 and unadorned, it engages our attention only by its objects. 
 These we know to be in harmony with the glory of God and 
 with good will to Man. That is our noblest inducement, as 
 fellow servants of the same Master; this, our most affect¬ 
 ing, endearing motive, as children of the same Parent. Be 
 it our duty thus to serve that Master, and our joy thus to bless 
 those children. 
 
 The building which we dedicate with this evening’s so¬ 
 lemnities of prayer and praise, is then to be counted as noth¬ 
 ing, as the small dust of the balance, in comparison of its 
 use. This and this only, constitutes its real beauty, digni¬ 
 ty and value. Taste and Science may lavish on the Thea¬ 
 tre all the treasured riches of architecture, sculpture and 
 painting; yet while the institution is such as the Christian 
 dare not approve, how must he mourn over the prostitution 
 of genius, the prodigality of wealth, and the waste of hu¬ 
 man labor! The ancient world boasted its Seven Won¬ 
 ders. Of most of them, as of the princes and nations that 
 constructed them, we may say, in the language of truth,, 
 though of poetry,— 
 
 “ Not e’en the ruins of their pomp remain, 
 
 Not e’en the dust they sunk in, by the wrath 
 
189 
 
 Of Omnipotence offended, hurled 
 Down to the bottom of the stormy deep.” 
 
 Enough remains, indeed, “ to point a moral and adorn a 
 tale but we look in vain for their usefulness, either in their 
 own day, or in succeeding ages. And with what feelings of 
 shame and regret must we regard them, when we reflect, 
 that the only one, whose object we can approve,* lasted but 
 seventy years, while the most useless, extravagant, and 
 criminal, have endured more than three thousand. Let us 
 go to the cities, once so proud of those miracles of architec¬ 
 ture and sculpture. Let us inquire, not of the mighty dead, 
 whose glory lay in wasting the life and happiness, time and 
 labor of their subjects or fellow-citizens ; but let us inquire 
 of those subjects and those citizens, what advantage they 
 derived from these costly and magnificent works ? Let us 
 
 * Allusion was here made to the Colossus and the Pyramids, under the 
 impression, that the image held in one hand a light, to serve as a beacon 
 for vessels. But even this redeeming quality, I have been unable to 
 verify, in any of the authors, whom I have since consulted. It is wor¬ 
 thy of remark, that this giant statue is a singular proof of the pigmy 
 character of Greek navigation. Ex pede Herculem is reversed here. 
 The Colossus was 105 feet high. Allow 56, not to cavil at a few feet, to 
 be the height from the base to the hips, which would be reduced to about 
 50 for the inner line of the legs. Consider these, when extended, as 
 forming, with a third side from foot to foot, an isosceles triangle, having 
 a base of 45 feet. We might suppose an equilateral triangle, but the 
 admirers of Chares, Phidias and Praxiteles, would revolt at such an an¬ 
 gle (45 degrees) as an outrage on taste. Here, then, is an elevation of 
 about 40 feet. Place the statue on Pedestals, elevated 50 feet above the 
 water, and we have the hight of 90 feet. Thus no vessel could enter 
 the port of Rhodes, except through a narrow passage of 35 by 90 feet, 
 or rather of 35 by 70: for no vessel, whose mast reached above the knees, 
 would venture in. We say nothing of the mathematical accuracy of 
 navigation, indispensable to a vessel’s passing under, as the books say, 
 in full sail, nor of the servile passiveness of being always towed in, (not 
 even by a Steam-Boat,) nor yet of the impossibility of entering at those 
 very times, when the safety of the vessel would most require it. Suffice 
 it to remark, that the trade of the Rhodians, (for years the most commer¬ 
 cial people of antiquity, and the founders of the only ancient code of 
 maritime laws) could have been carried on in vessels scarcely equaling 
 in size, our coasting sloops and schooners of the better class ! The Trade 
 indeed, of the Ancient World, whether we regard the art of Ship-build¬ 
 ing or the Science of Navigation, the enterprize of the merchant and the 
 mariner, or the value and variety of the subjects of trade, is to that of 
 the modern world, like the Mediterranean lake, compared to the Pacific 
 ocean. 
 
190 
 
 ask the Roman, how the Coliseum benefited him; the Greek, 
 of what avail to him were the statues of Jove and Miner¬ 
 va, the Parthenon and the Ephesian temple, the Mausoleum 
 and the Colossus ? Let us ask the Cretan, the Assyrian, the 
 Egyptian, to say, whether the Labyrinth, the hanging walls 
 and gardens of Babylon, or the Pyramids, were blessings 
 to them? Would they arise, as one man, to invoke bene¬ 
 dictions on the monarch and his ministers, on the sculptor 
 and the architect? Not so ; for a voice, as the sound of ma¬ 
 ny waters, would come forth from the cities of Dead Nations, 
 to curse their deceivers and oppressors. 
 
 Let us survey, in imagination, ere yet the corner stone 
 was laid, the spot once adorned by the Ephesian temple. 
 Let us behold the architect, preparing its spacious site, gath¬ 
 ering the giant blocks of marble, arranging his army of 
 workmen, and watching, with all the anxiety of genius, all 
 the sensibility of taste, and all the skill of science, the as¬ 
 cending fabric. Let us behold the wealth of kingdoms lav- 
 
 o o 
 
 ished, to provide its imperial columns. Let us gather into 
 one view, the lapse of more than two centuries, and look 
 upon it, when the architect had finished the labors of two 
 hundred and twenty years. The day of dedication has 
 come : the whole city is poured around it, rejoicing in its 
 magnificence and beauty ; sacrifices are offered on many an 
 altar; hymns of adoration are swelling within and without; 
 while at intervals, thousands and tens of thousands of voi¬ 
 ces, send up the shout, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” 
 And why this prodigal display of wealth and art, this host 
 of enthusiastic admirers and worshipers? To honor an 
 imaginary being, a cruel, polluted goddess, whose charac¬ 
 ter would fill a Christian family with shame and mourning; 
 and even in the fashionable circles of our own country, would 
 kindle indignation and horror. 
 
 Not such are the wonders of the Christian world, in our 
 day and our nation: not such the objects, for which we 
 build. Millions upon millions are not lavished on palaces 
 and amphitheatres, on the statues and temples of false gods, 
 vile, cruel and deceitful. But it is our glory, that while we 
 have no Coliseum, no Labyrinth, no Pyramids, we have bles¬ 
 sed our country, adorned our age, and honored our species 
 by institutions, whose beauty lies in their simple, practical 
 character, in their purity, usefulness and wisdom. We boast 
 not here of our civil and political improvements ; the admira- 
 
191 
 
 lion of the world, the hope of posterity, the model of the wise 
 and virtuous, among the patriots of Europe. We refer to those 
 benevolent and valuable institutions, which are the offspring 
 of the Gospel, which honor God, and bless mankind, which 
 have arisen, and continue to arise, through all our borders, 
 and exert on every age and condition, an influence, pure and 
 meek, compassionate and holy. We speak of those, whose 
 objects are to distribute Bibles and Tracts; to send forth 
 Missionaries for the destitute at home, for the heathen 
 abroad; to establish and support the Sunday School; to 
 convert the Sailor ; to provide for the sick and the poor ; 
 to gladden the hearts of the deaf and the dumb; to promote 
 education, temperance and peace. Be these the wonders of 
 our land ; for they are indeed pearls above all price. Who 
 would exchange for them, thrice the Seven Wonders of the 
 ancient world? Who does not rejoice, when he beholds 
 such institutions, with their simple, tranquil, charitable spirit, 
 smiling through all our land, shedding their blessings on the 
 social and domestic circle, scattering the treasures of their 
 love at home and abroad, and sending up to heaven the nev¬ 
 er-failing incense of gratitude, supplication and praise? 
 Had I the power to gather into the bosom of our dear coun¬ 
 try, all the glories of the ancient sculptors, architects and 
 painters, on the condition that such institutions should cease 
 to exist among us, I would hold myself to have sinned a 
 sin, never to be forgiven, were I to pause, even for an in¬ 
 stant, in the decision. Those would indeed make our coun¬ 
 try a theatre of wonders, to the eye of taste and science; 
 but these have dedicated her to the service and glory of God, 
 and are daily preparing her, more and more, to act with 
 gratitude and honor, that noble part, which becomes a free, 
 a peaceful, an educated, a Christian people. 
 
 In the spirit, which created and sustains such institutions, 
 this building has been erected, and is now dedicated as a 
 Depository for Bible, Tract, and Sunday School Societies. 
 No selfish purposes are to be answered, no ambitious views 
 to be accomplished, no vanity to be flattered, no ostentation 
 to be displayed. Practical usefulness is our guide, a com¬ 
 munity of labor our instrument, and the good of our fellow 
 men, social and domestic, temporal and eternal, our end. 
 Nor are such institutions—I speak of the great, as well as 
 the humble—limited in the circle of their usefulness, or in 
 the objects of their benevolence. Some are devoted to the 
 
192 
 
 young, the ignorant, and the destitute, whilst others arfe 
 taking thought for the old and infirm, for the healthy and the 
 instructed. Some are dressers of the vineyard at home, 
 whilst others have gone forth as reapers, in the plenteous 
 harvest of foreign fields. Every age and condition, every 
 variety of human character, every evil incident to mortality, 
 experiences the guardian kindness of one or other of these 
 institutions. And yet, against some of them, objections 
 have been raised, which condemn their views* deny their 
 obligations, and question their usefulness. 
 
 ►Sometimes, it is said, that it is no part of our duty or in- 
 terest, to set aside, for the good of other countries, a por¬ 
 tion of our wealth and of our services ; that whilst the poor 
 and ignorant, the vicious and unconverted, abound in our 
 own land, they should be the sole objects of our care. But, 
 assuredly, he, who said to us, freely ye have received, freely 
 give, could never hold us guiltless, if having received liber¬ 
 ally at his hands, we should only give to such of his chil¬ 
 dren, as are our fellow citizens, and not to all, as our breth¬ 
 ren. And as it has pleased our heavenly father to command, 
 that prayer and supplication be made for all men, can we 
 believe that we shall escape condemnation, if we give to the 
 heathen our prayers, but deny to them any portion of our 
 time, and labor, and riches ? Besides, if the argument 
 avail, we ought to spend no part of our income, out of our 
 own immediate families, while a single member is unprovi¬ 
 ded in any thing. But, do we not see, that all men are re¬ 
 lated to us, and have claims upon us, as their brethren, 
 under the Christian system, just as our fellow citizens of the 
 same town or country, are connected with us, under the 
 same charter or constitution? We are bound to our fami¬ 
 lies, by the ties of natural love ; to our neighbors, by the 
 bonds of social intercourse ; to our countrymen, by the ob¬ 
 ligations of patriotism ; to our fellow men, by the commands, 
 and promises, and hopes of the Gospel. And if the human 
 race be indeed but one family, though dwelling in different 
 lands, as brothers and sisters often reside in different cities, 
 or villages, or countries : and if the Gospel be the Charter, 
 the Constitution, ordained for the government of the whole 
 human race, to the end of Time, then are our obligations to 
 the heathen of the highest authority. Shall we not indeed, 
 imitate the example of him, who, although he sent forth his 
 disciples, before his ascension, only to the lost sheep of the 
 
193 
 
 house of Israel, yet ordained as the unchangeable law of 
 his church, that they should go out into all the world, and 
 preach the Gospel to every creature ? They waited not, 
 till the whole land of Judea was christianized ; for then 
 had they waited until this day, and waited in vain. It was 
 in an age of miracles, that the Spirit commanded Philip to 
 draw nigh to the Ethiopian ; that a vision taught Peter, what 
 God hath cleansed, call not thou common or unclean ; that 
 a man of Macedonia appearing by night said to Paul, “Come 
 over into Macedonia, and help us.” Now, whatsoever things 
 were written aforetime, were written for our admonition: 
 and shall we profit nothing by the heavenly examples of the 
 Scripture record, speaking as never man spake, teaching as 
 never man taught ? Shall we await, until the Angel, or 
 the dream, or the vision, sent to Prophets and Apostles, shall 
 come to enlighten our understandings and open our hearts ? 
 In vain may we wait; for if we hear not Moses and the 
 Prophets, neither should we be persuaded, though one rose 
 from the dead. And if we thus wait, for some star to lead 
 our way, even the mild reproof, “ ye men of Galilee, why 
 stand ye gazing up into heaven?” shall not be vouchsafed 
 to us. 
 
 But there are others, who object to the Bible and the Mis¬ 
 sionary, and the Tract Society, upon the ground, that the 
 results produced are so disproportionate to the means em¬ 
 ployed. Is this the argument of the Christian or of the In¬ 
 fidel ? If of the Christian, is he a Christian in spirit and in 
 truth; or one, who hath the form, but denies the power of 
 godliness ? Assuredly, no real Christian, who hath dedica¬ 
 ted his thoughts, and his words, and his deeds to the service 
 of God, will ever admit the force of such an argument. 
 His maxim is, to search the Scriptures, to be obedient to 
 their holy commands, and to leave the issue to God. To 
 him, the walks of duty are ways of pleasantness, and paths 
 ■of peace ; for he knows that he stands by faith, and he feels 
 that he labors in love. Is lie able to do and to give much, 
 —he is content, knowing that God will do with the abun¬ 
 dance of his offerings, just as much or as little, as he sees 
 to be right. Is he able to do and to give but little-—still he 
 is satisfied ; because he knows, (if God should so ordain) 
 that his mite may become as the mustard seed of the para¬ 
 ble. The faithful disciple will then do what duty requires 
 of him, not indeed regardless of consequences, but leaving 
 
 17 
 
194 
 
 them with enlightened faith and cheerful resignation, to be 
 unfolded, at his own appointed season, and in Isis own ap¬ 
 pointed mode, by the Author of all causes, and the controller 
 of all events. To the nominal Christian, what answer shall 
 we give ? If he supports such societies by stated contribu¬ 
 tions because he believes the truth and excellence of Chris¬ 
 tianity, he has decided the question. If he does not, I would 
 ask him to look abroad for abundant illustrations, through 
 the works of Creation, of Providence, of Redemption. Of 
 Creation—for the myriads of trees and plants, the undiscov¬ 
 ered treasures of the ocean and the mine, that have never 
 rendered any service on our earth, as far as we are able to 
 comprehend their use, reprove his presumptuous reasoning. 
 Of Providence—for sunlight and shade, dew and rain, the 
 vicissitudes of the seasons, and all the fair variety of things, 
 have been useless, so far as we know, in millions upon mil¬ 
 lions of instances. Of Redemption—for God himself has 
 said, that many are called, but few are chosen ; and yet the 
 scheme of redemption embraces all mankind. And when 
 we reflect, that even under the ministry of the Savior him¬ 
 self, the primitive church contained only a few hundreds of 
 disciples, how shall we sutler an apparent disproportion be¬ 
 tween the means and the results, to influence our judgment? 
 Let us rather believe that our heavenly Father hath with¬ 
 held an abundant blessing on our exertions, because the 
 Christian world, in the narrow-minded spirit of a miser, 
 hath sent forth gleaners into the field, few and far between, 
 instead of a host of laborers, to reap the riches of an over¬ 
 flowing harvest. To the unbeliever, we shall make no re¬ 
 ply. If he acknowledges the wisdom and usefulness of the 
 Christian system, even in a temporal point of view, we should 
 only address to him the argument, already offered to the 
 nominal Christian. And if he denies them, we should hold 
 all reasoning with him to be folly. 
 
 But there are those who complain of the thousands ex¬ 
 pended annually, in forwarding the ends of religious socie¬ 
 ties. The children of this world cast their mites by tens 
 of thousands on the altars of vice and fashion. The Thea¬ 
 tre alone, swallows up in one year, as in a fearful, mighty 
 Maelstrom, more of our wealth, than all the religious socie¬ 
 ties of the union. The gambling table, inexorable as death, 
 insatiable as the grave, consumes its hundreds of thousands; 
 while the Demon of Ardent Spirits levies a yearly tribute 
 
195 
 
 of twenty-eight millions. The children of this world are 
 indeed wiser than the children of light; those jpour out their 
 pleasures, with a spendthrift joy, at the shrine of vice, and 
 luxury, and fashion; but these, in the cause of God, and of 
 eternity, and of perishing souls, too often yield up with re¬ 
 luctance, even the crumbs that fall from their tables. The 
 primitive Christians dedicated to charitable uses, the tenth 
 of their income ; but a great majority of modern Christians 
 are content to give, some the thirtieth, some the sixtieth, 
 and some even the hundredth part. May the day yet come, 
 and may its dawn have arisen, even now on our dear coun¬ 
 try ; when her people, so privileged, and blessed and honor¬ 
 ed by God, shall bestow, with a prodigal gratitude, on the 
 noble institutions of Religion, Literature, and Benevolence, 
 those thousands and tens of thousands now wasted, like 
 showers in the desert, on crimes and vices, on follies and 
 and fashions !—And as for those, who have dedicated a por¬ 
 tion of their worldly goods to the erection of this building, 
 they have the delightful assurance, that it is an offering ac¬ 
 ceptable to the God of Love. Never will they repent of 
 such an appropriation ; for it well becomes them as Chris¬ 
 tians, Patriots, and Philanthropists. 
 
 This building is set apart principally as a Depository for 
 Bibles, Tracts, and Sunday School Books, and to accommo¬ 
 date them and other Societies of a kindred character, in the 
 celebration of their Anniversaries. I have said that no build¬ 
 ing can have any value, in the estimation of good sense and 
 virtue, except its object be such as they can approve. Let 
 us then examine the ends proposed, in setting apart this 
 building from the ordinary uses of worldly affairs. As a 
 Depository, its true character is to be found in the Books 
 and Pamplilets, which are to be kept continually on hand for 
 distribution. No one acquainted with the operations of the 
 Societies above referred to, can doubt the expediency of pro¬ 
 viding this fountain, whence may issue those living waters, 
 that are destined to refresh and to make glad the city of 
 our God. I have already considered the general arguments 
 against religious Associations; and I shall now offer some 
 views in favor of those, to patronize which, is the primary 
 object of this building. 
 
 1. And first as to the Bible. 
 
 That the distribution of the Scriptures should have been 
 so much neglected for nearly three hundred years, by Prot- 
 
196 
 
 estant Nations, is matter of astonishment and sorrow. They, 
 who had boldly asserted and triumphantly vindicated the 
 liberty of conscience, the duty of private judgment, and the 
 simple, fundamental truth, that the Bible is the religion of 
 Protestants, they, yes, even they overlooked the grand, 
 practical improvement of their victory. Even the contro¬ 
 versial spirit of the first age of the Reformation, seems 
 hardly to account for such an oversight. Perhaps the want 
 of education in the people at large, is the only satisfactory 
 explanation, and the only reasonable excuse. Hence the 
 vast progress in general education since that era, more es¬ 
 pecially in these United States, leaves us without an apolo¬ 
 gy. The many and great improvements in the Art of Print¬ 
 ing, in our day and our country, and especially in the ster¬ 
 eotype department, place the obligation on still higher 
 ground. The difficulty of distributing Bibles, when manu¬ 
 script copies only were known, must have been almost in¬ 
 superable ; and it is matter of surprise, not that so many, 
 comparatively speaking, were distributed in manuscript, 
 before the invention of Printing, as that so few printed co¬ 
 pies were scattered abroad, after the close of the fifteenth 
 century. It well becomes, then, the people of this Repub¬ 
 lic, the noblest fruit of the Reformation, the fairest star in 
 the galaxy of Protestant nations, to scatter the Scriptures 
 with a liberal hand, throughout their own, and all other 
 countries. < 
 
 Two considerations decide my opinion on this subject. 
 First—The analogy, gathered from received opinions and 
 practices, as to political institutions, convinces us, that the 
 distribution of the Scriptures is a duty equally clear, in its 
 obligation and expediency. All must admit, that an igno¬ 
 rance of their own institutions, becomes slaves, and not free¬ 
 men. To have a Constitution, and not to know and under¬ 
 stand it, may well characterize the subjects of a tyrant, but 
 not the citizens of a representative democracy. And what 
 are the Scriptures, but the constitution of our country, as a 
 religious community, acknowledging obedience to the law of 
 the Scriptures, as our best, and safest, and most honorable 
 guide. Banish from our land the knowledge of our politi¬ 
 cal institutions, and how soon would our boasted freedom 
 perish! Take away from us our religion, and not only our 
 liberty would die, but we should be a changed people, in 
 domestic and social happiness, in public apd private irm 
 provement, 
 
19 ? 
 
 My second reason is found in the fact, that the people of 
 Chis country are striving with enlightened zeal, and unwea¬ 
 ried diligence, to carry into practice, a scheme of general 
 instruction. And what book is adapted, like the Scriptures, 
 to every stage in the progress of education ? What vol¬ 
 ume fits the human mind equally, in all the various forms of 
 its capacity, and all the various states of its knowledge ? 
 Where shall we look for such a collection of history, the 
 most important and authentic; of eloquence the most dig¬ 
 nified and affecting; of philosophy, the most comprehen¬ 
 sive, profound and useful; of poetry, the loveliest and pu¬ 
 rest, the most sublime and pathetic ? In vain may we search 
 the treasures of ancient and modern genius and learning, 
 for a volume equally important, to the old and the young, the 
 wise and the ignorant, the prosperous and the unfortunate, 
 the happy and the miserable, the great and the humble, the 
 ruler and the citizen. In every state of society, under all 
 forms of government, in peace or in war, during national 
 happiness or national adversity, and amidst all the variety of 
 revolutions, to which States are subject, the Bible is the on¬ 
 ly book, that is equally indispensable. How, then, can we 
 doubt for a moment, the obligation and expediency of scat¬ 
 tering it far and wide, as the precious manna, provided for 
 us and our fellow men, in our journey through the wilder¬ 
 ness of this world ? And must we not concede, that the Bi¬ 
 ble is the only true foundation, on which to build, whether 
 we look to the mind or to the heart, to principle or example, 
 to character or conduct? Who then, is prepared to ques¬ 
 tion, who, indeed, is not prepared to admit, that the bible 
 
 IS THE ONLY TRUE BASIS OF ALL EDUCATION, ill the infant 
 
 and the primary school, in the Academy,- the College, and 
 the University ? Well may we mourn, with mingled shame 
 and remorse, since we must confess, that even our country, 
 the land of Religion, pure, simple and free, of enlightened 
 reason, and sound practical sense, has never yet realized 
 
 the SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF THIS GREAT TRUTH. May 
 
 the Teachers in all our Seminaries, reflect on this solemn 
 truth, the Bible is the only true basis of all education. May 
 the Clergy, on whom rests so large a share of the responsi¬ 
 bility of instruction, and of all our schemes of mental im¬ 
 provement, meditate on this neglecteu'truth, the Bible is the 
 only true basis of all education. Let them, and I speak em¬ 
 phatically to them, as the noblest order of teachers, let them 
 
 17 * 
 
198 
 
 remember, that the Bible only can fit us for the company 
 of angels, and the presence of God ; that man is educated 
 in the school of Time, to fit him for the concerns of Eterni¬ 
 ty ; that life is to be spent here in preparation for heaven; 
 that the Bible , therefore , as the only true basis of our eter¬ 
 nal, must be the only true basis of our temporal education. 
 Go on, then, ye friends and servants of the Bible Cause. 
 Rest not from your labors of faith and love, till the pious 
 wish of George the Third, incomparably more noble and 
 benevolent than that of Henry the Fourth, shall have been 
 accomplished : and not a family within our borders, shall be 
 destitute of the Scriptures. Be it then your delightful duty, 
 to go forth as pioneers in the cause of Christian improve¬ 
 ment: to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight in 
 the desert a highway for our God : and to lay the founda¬ 
 tions, broad and deep, durable and extensive, of a purer 
 and better, of a more practical and harmonious scheme of 
 Christian education. 
 
 2. The second object of this building is, to provide a suit¬ 
 able Depository for the Tract Society. When we consider, 
 that until the institution of such Societies, pamphlets were 
 chiefly employed in controversy , we rejoice to find that they 
 have thus become instruments of so much good. Voltaire 
 employed them for the destruction of religion, we employ 
 them in the cause of piety and benevolence. Allow me to 
 recommend the object of this Society, to your approbation 
 and patronage, by several reasons, derived from their na¬ 
 ture. The great improvement, which has taken place with¬ 
 in a few years, in the style and subjects, in the form and 
 appearance of Tracts, justifies a warmer commendation, 
 than would otherwise be correct. The adoption of narrative 
 Tracts, to so great an extent, in preference to those of doc¬ 
 trinal, sectarian, or merely preceptive character, may well 
 be mentioned with the highest satisfaction. Such as those 
 are written after the model of the Savior’s parables, so beau¬ 
 tiful, touching and practical; and many of them are admi¬ 
 rably fitted to engage the attention of the young, and in¬ 
 deed of every age and condition in life. Thus teaching, 
 after the approved mode of the Scriptures, they contribute 
 to form an early taste for reading ; and to fashion the youth¬ 
 ful mind and heart, in conformity with the pure and simple 
 standard of the Gospel. Nor must it be forgotten, that they 
 are an excellent auxiliary in education, and do much to train 
 
199 
 
 the understanding and affections, for the instruction and dis¬ 
 cipline of schools. They exercise also, a most salutary in¬ 
 fluence on the young, by exhibiting so many practical proofs 
 of the excellence of Christianity, by winning them insensi¬ 
 bly and persuasively, to the love and imitation of scriptural 
 sentiments and conduct, and by so preparing the mind and 
 heart, that the young grow up unconsciously, with a settled 
 belief in the truth and divine authority of revelation. Nor 
 must we omit to mention, that Tracts are a great advantage, 
 not only to children, but likewise to persons of every other 
 age. Those, who have neither time, nor patience for the 
 perusal of a volume, readily and willingly spend an hour, in 
 the reading of these little pamphlets. In how many instan¬ 
 ces do we not know, that they have produced a happy change 
 in the lives of those, who had read them ! And, can we doubt, 
 that, like all other sources of virtuous influence, they have en¬ 
 lightened the ignorant, encouraged the desponding, strength¬ 
 ened the weak and confirmed the wavering, in thousands of 
 instances, unknown to their Patrons and Benefactors. In 
 this point of view, we desire to place the cause of the Tract, 
 on the same ground, on which experience places the exam¬ 
 ple of a good man. He himself but rarely knows the bless¬ 
 ed effects, resulting from the model of living excellence, 
 which he continually presents to the public ; and even his 
 friends and acquaintances have but an imperfect knowledge 
 of the benefits, that flow from his virtuous conduct, within 
 his social circle, much less within the sphere of the commu¬ 
 nity, in which he lives. Yet, although we neither see nor 
 hear of them, we have no doubt that a blessing has been shed 
 upon numbers around him, by the faithfulness of his obe¬ 
 dience to God, and the benevolence of his services to Man. 
 
 3. The third object of this building is, to furnish a De¬ 
 pository for the Sunday School. The general adoption of 
 this system, among Christians, is a satisfactory proof of its 
 many excellences. Like every other scheme of instruction, 
 which prepares the way for the succeeding part of the course, 
 this fills up an important blank in the education of most 
 young persons. Some, it is true, would be as well informed 
 in religious matters, though not a Sunday School existed ; 
 but the number of these is unquestionably small. I believe, 
 I err not in the opinion, that numbers would remain untaught, 
 where one would be what he should be. How admirable, 
 then, is the scheme, which rescues the many from ignorance 
 
and wickedness! which makes them models of virtue, in¬ 
 stead of examples of vice ! How worthy of our veneratioir 
 and patronage is a system, whose purifying, ennobling influ¬ 
 ences, cling, as with a mother’s love, to the character of chil¬ 
 dren : and, exerting through life, an unexampled power over 
 their habits and affections, have saved them, almost invaria¬ 
 bly from the degradation of folly, and the misery of sin ! 
 I shall not dwell on the various arguments in favor of Sun¬ 
 day Schools; for the fact just mentioned, and the hundreds 
 of thousands of children, brought under their blessed ope¬ 
 ration, sufficiently attest their capacity to do good, and the 
 actual benefits derived from them. 
 
 Let us not be impatient as to the results, that may be ex¬ 
 pected to flow from the institutions, of which I have spoken. 
 That noble, extensive, durable effects will arise from them, 
 cannot be doubted. Let us reflect on the few and simple 
 elements which constitute our admirable state of society and 
 form of government. Let us remember, that our people 
 continued a century and a half, as it were in a state of pro¬ 
 bation, under their influence, before they began to produce 
 those visible fruits, which now' adorn and bless our native 
 country. Let us consider, how imperfectly we ourselves 
 comprehended our actual situation and prospects, even after 
 the great principles of our society and government had be¬ 
 gun to develope themselves. Let us look back on the pro¬ 
 phetic sketches of Edmund Burke, either not understood in 
 their day, or ridiculed as visionary. In all these things, wc 
 may behold a happy illustration of the future progress of 
 Society in these United States, under the religious, and mo¬ 
 ral, and literary influences, of which I have spoken. Even 
 now, when we behold the glorious triumph of our experi¬ 
 ment in government thus far, we find it impossible to trace, 
 through all their changes, and under all the various forms of 
 their subtle agency, the principles that have worked togeth¬ 
 er for our good, in a manner unexampled in the history of 
 Nations. How then shall w r e hope to discover by anticipa¬ 
 tion, the results that must arise from the select and all-per¬ 
 vading influence of the Bible, the Tract, and the Sunday 
 School ? That they must and will produce deep and last¬ 
 ing effects on the heart and mind, and through them on our 
 entire character, social and domestic, private and public, 
 cannot be questioned. That their operation will be emi¬ 
 nently beneficial, must be conceded; because they harmo- 
 
201 
 
 nize so perfectly with the whole character of our institutions, 
 and with the spirit of the Gospel. 
 
 We feel a deep and solemn conviction, that our country 
 has been destined, in the order of Providence, to make the 
 fairest experiment on the principles of popular government; 
 and may we not well believe, that by the same appointment, 
 we have been set apart, a peculiar people, to make the still 
 greater, better, nobler experiment, on the pure elements of 
 Christianity, in their simplest forms and combinations. Be 
 it our duty to realize the affecting solemnity, the deep re¬ 
 sponsibility of such a situation. Let us then go forth, as 
 fellow laborers in this holy cause; the more interesting, be¬ 
 cause it has been entrusted, not to the ancient, learned and 
 experienced states of Europe, but to a young Republic of 
 the New World. Our Fathers, unconscious of the magni¬ 
 tude of the charge, dedicated themselves and their children, 
 as in the presence of all mankind, to this honorable service. 
 They have acted well the part assigned them, and it becomes 
 not us to shrink from the obligations, that have descended 
 on us, with the glorious heritage of Americans. That her¬ 
 itage consists in the principles, which constitute us a free, 
 an educated, a peaceful, and pre-eminently a Christian peo¬ 
 ple. That pledge can only be redeemed by obedience to 
 the Gospel, and by a liberal patronage of all Christian insti¬ 
 tutions. Be it then our duty and delight thus to acknowl¬ 
 edge in our hearts, and show forth in our lives, “how love¬ 
 ly, and honorable is the service of God! how full of digni¬ 
 ty and beauty the cause of religion !” 
 
* 
 
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 Princeton 
 
 Theological Seminar 
 
 v Libraries 
 
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