CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF George B. Wpkeley Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029059644 m iWL^Bf^MBK JKBr |W , itfEP® FOR ^QMT A TUB TUBS', ir.x. BJETKIBTf, MILE.EK 8- C? GOLDEN STEPS fUj&pfiMiliiii, ^LtMvm, unit ISnppnira. BEINO A SERIES OF LECTURES TO YOUTK OE BOTH SEXES, CHARACTER, PRINCIPLES, ASSOCIATES, AMUSE- MENTS, RELIGION, AND MARRIAGE. BY JOHN MATHER AUSTIN, AUTHOR OF "VOICE TO YOUTH ;" "VOICE TO HARRIED, 17 ETC., ETC. * Onward ! onward ! Toils despising, Upward, upward ! Turn thine eyes, Only be content when rising, fix thy goal amid the skies," AUBURN: DERBY, MILLER, AND COMPANY. 1850. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, BY DERBY, MILLER fc CO, In the Clerk's Office of the Northern District of New York. THOMAS B. SMITH, STEREOTYPES, 316 WILLIAM STREET, H. Y. ^-7736^? X u CONTENTS, « » > LECTURE I. PiOE THE VALUE Or A GOOD REPUTATION .... 9 LECTURE II. THE PRINCIPLES AND PURPOSES OF LITE .... 30 LECTURE III. SELECTION OF ASSOCIATES 60 LECTURE IV. THE HABITS AND AMUSEMENTS 80 LECTURE V. THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 116 LECTURE VI. MARRIAGE 194 PREFACE. The Lectures embraced iti this volume, were written for the pulpit, in the usual manner of prep- aration for such labor, without atty expectatidn of their appearing in print. The author is but too sensible that they are imperfect in many featured, both in matter and style. It is only iti the hope that they will be of some benefit to the class td whom they are addressed, that he has consented to submit them to public perusal. He has aimed "at nothing eccentric, odd, or far-fetched ; but ft Sis sought to utter plain and obvious truths, M a plain and simple manner. There is no class more Imter- esting, and none which has higher claims orl the wisdom, experience, and advice, of mature minds, than the young who are about to enter upon the trying duties and responsibilities of active life. Whatever tends to instruct and enlighten them ; to point out the temptations which will beset their pathway, and the dire evils which inevitably flow VI PREFACE. from a life of immorality ; whatever will influence them to honesty, industry, sobriety, and religion, and lead them to the practice of these virtues, as " Golden Steps" by which they may ascend to Re- spectability, Usefulness, and Happiness, must be of benefit to the world. To aid in such a work, is the design of this volume. If it subserves this end — if it becomes instrumental in inciting the youth- ful to high and pure principles of action, in hedging up the way of sin, and opening the path of wisdom, to any — if it drops but a single good seed into the heart of each of its readers, and awakens the slight- est aspiration to morality, usefulness, and religion — it will not have been prepared in vain. With a prayer to God that he would protect and bless the youth of our common country, and prepare them to preserve and perpetuate the priceless legacy of Freedom and Religion, which they will inherit from their fathers, this book is given to the world, to fulfil such a mission as Divine Wisdom shall direct. The Author. Aubtoh, June, 1850. GOLDEN STEPS FOR YOUTH OF BOTH SEXES. LECTURE I. and with- ; out the light of well-selected moral principles to guide them. All may appear fair and promising at the outset, and for a season. But before many years can elapse,; the pros- pects of such youth must qfee oveMloraidjeji ; 2* 34 . LECTURES TO YOUTH. and ere long disappointment, overthrow, dis- grace and ruin, will be the closing scenes of a life, commenced in so much blindness. " Well begun is half done," was one of Dr. Franklin's sound maxims. A career well begun — a life commenced properly, with wise forecast, with prudent rules of action, and under the influence of sound and pure, moral and religious principles — is an advance, half- way at least, to ultimate success and pros- perity. Such a commencement will not, it is true, insure you against the misfortunes which are incident to earthly existence. But if persevered in, it will guard you against the long catalogue of evils, vexatious penalties arid wretchedness, which are the certain fruit of a life of immorality ; and will bestow upon you all the real enjoyments, within the earthly reach of man. As people advance in years, they perceive more and more the importance of commen- cing life properly. See that wretched outcast! Poor and miserable, shunned by all but depraved asso- I lectures to youth. 35 t ciafces, he drags out the worthless remnant of his days. Does he think he has acted wisely f Hark to his soliloquy — " Ob, could I begin life again — could I but live my days over once more — how different the course I would pursue. Instead of rushing on blindly and heedlessly, without forethought or care, and allowing myself to become an easy prey to temptation and sin, I would reflect ma- turely, and choose wisely, the path for my footsteps. Faithfully would I search for the way of virtue, honesty, sobriety, and good- ness, and strictly would I walk therein !" The opportunity he so eagerly covets, and to obtain which he would deem no sacrifice too great, is now before every youth in the as- sembly. This thought is beautifully elaborated in the following allegory : "It was midnight of the new year, and an aged man stood thoughtfully at the window. He gazed with a long, despairing look, upon the fixed, eternal, and glorious heaven, and down upon the silent, still, and snow-white 36 LECTURES TO YOUTH. earth, whereon was none so joyless, so sleep- less as he. For his grave stood open near him ; it was covered only with the snows of age, not decked with the green of youth ; and he brought with him, from a long and rich life, nothing save errors, crimes, and sickness — a wasted body, a desolate soul a breast filled with poison, and an old age heavy with repentance and sorrow. The fair days of his youth at this hour, arose like spectres before his mind, and carried him back to the bright morning, when his father had first planted him at the starting-point of life ; whence, to the right, the way conducts along the sunny path of virtue, to a wide and peaceful land, a land of light, rich in the har- vest of good deeds, and full of the joy of angels ; whilst, to the left, the road descends to the molehills of vice, toward a dark cav- . are their Amusements. That the youthful ' should be allowed a reasonable degree of -recreation, is universally admitted: The laws * Horace Greeley. 104 LECTURES TO YOUTH. of health demand relaxation from the labors and cares of life. The body, the mind, con- stantly strained to the highest exertion, with- out repose, and something to cheer, refreshen, and re-invigorate it, will speedily fall into disease and death. The very word recrea- tion — (re-creation) — indicates that to a de- gree, proper amusement has the power to revive the wearied energies, supply afresh the springs of life, and give a renewed elas- ticity and endurance to all the capacities of our nature. Yet there is no subject surrounded with greater difficulties, than the amusements of the youthful. There is no amusement, how- ever harmless and proper in its nature, but what can be carried to such excess, as to iff- flict deep injury. It is while searching for recreations, that the youthful meet the most dangerous temptations, and fall into the most vicious practices. How important that they should make this a jnatter of mature reflec- tion and jacute discrimination. Pleasure we all desire. It is sought for by every human LECTURES TO YOUTH. 105 being. But it is essential to distinguish be- tween true pleasure, which we can enjoy with real benefit, and false pleasure, which deceives, demoralizes, and destroys. The poet truly describes the nature of this distinction, when he says, ".Pleasure, or wrong, or rightly understood, Our greatest evil, or our greatest good !" One of the first things requisite to be un- derstood is, that in order to enjoy any amuse- ment, a previous preparation is necessary. That preparation is to be obtained by useful occupation. It is only by contrast that we can enjoy anything. Without weariness, we can know nothing of rest. Without first en- during hunger and thirst, we cannot expe- rience the satisfaction of partaking of food and drink. In like manner, it is only by faithful and industrious application to busi- ness of some kind — it is only by occupying the mind in useful employment — that we can draw any satisfaction from recreation. Without this preparation, all amusement 106 LECTURES TO YOUTH. loses its charm. Were the young to engage in one unceasing round of pastimes, from day to day, with no time or thought devoted to useful occupation, recreation would soon be divested of its attractions, and become in- sipid and painfully laborious. To be bene- ficial, amusements should be virtuous in their tendencies, healthful in their influence on the body, and of brief duration. Among the many pastimes to which the young resort for amusement, cardrplaying often fills a prominent place. This is a gen- eral, and in some circles, a fashionable prac- tice ; but it is objectionable and injurious in ajl its influences, and in every possible point of view. Nothing good or instructive, noth- ing elevating or commendable, in any sense, can come from it. All its fruits must neces- sarily be evil. It is a senseless occupation. Nothing can be more unmeaning and fruitless, among all the employments to which a rational mind can devote its attention. It affords no use- ful exercise of the intellect — no food for pro- LECTURES TO YOUTH. 107 fitable thought — no power to call into activ- ity the higher and better capacities. It is true, I suppose, there is some degree of cun- ning and skill to be displayed in managing the cards. But what high intellectual, or moral capacity is brought into exercise by a game so trivial ? It excludes interesting and instructive interchanges of sentiment, on top- ics of any degree of importance ; and substi- tutes talk of a frivolous and meaningless character. To a spectator, the conversation of a card-table, is of the most uninteresting and childish description. There are, however, more serious objec- tions than these. Card-playing has a ten- dency of the most dangerous description, es- pecially to the youthful. Let a young man become expert in this game, and fond of en- gaging in it, and who does not see he is liar ble to become that most mean and despica- ble of all living creatures — a gambler. Con- fident of his own skill as a card-player, how long would he hesitate to engage in a game for a small sum? He has seen older ones 108 LEGTURES TO YOUTH. playing — perhaps his own parents — and he can discover no great harm in doing the same thing, even if it is for a stake of a few shil- lings. From playing for small sums, the steps are very easy which lead to large amounts. And in due time, the young man becomes a gambler, from no other cause than that he acquired a love for card-playing, when he engaged in it only as an amusement. Parents have a responsibility resting on them in this respect, of which they should not lose sight. They cannot be surprised that their children imitate their examples. With all the dangerous associations and ten- dencies of card-playing, would they have their children acquire a passion for it? What wise parent can make such a choice for his son ? Ah, how many a young man has be- come a gamester, a black-leg, an inmate of the prison cell, because, in the home of his childhood, he acquired a love of the card- table. He but imitated the practice of pa- rents, whose duty it was to set him a better example, and was led to the path of 'ruin! LECTURES TO YOUTH. 109 If, from its influences, card-playing, even for amusement, is improper for gentlemen, I conceive it much more so for ladies. A wo- man — and more especially a young woman — seems Entirely out of place at a card-table. The associations are so masculine- — they "bring to mind so much of the cut-and-shuffle trick- ery, vulgarity and profanity — so many of the words and phrases of that 7ieU, the gaming- table — that for a lady to indulge! in- them, appears entirely opposed to that modesty and refinement, which are so becoming the female character. I trust all young ladies; of discretion will shun the card-table. I am confident, every woman, who possesses a pro- per sense of the dignity and delicacy which form the highest attractions of the female character, will avoid a practice which is made an instrument of the most despicable uses, and to which the most vile and abandoned constantly resort., " Daughters of those who, long ago, Dared the dark storm and angry sea, And walked the desert way of woe, And pain, and- trouble tatie free! 110 LECTURES TO YOUTH. Oh, be like them ! like them endure, And bow beneath affliction's rod ; Like them be watchful, high and pure— In all things seek the smile of God." The same caution I have uttered in regard , to card-playing, I would apply to all games of hazard and chance. The young should never indulge in them, even for amusement. Although they may be able to see no harm in them as recreations, yet the influences they exert, and the associations into which they lead, cannot but exert a deleterious in- fluence. They can do no good. They may lead to the most dire results ! Another amusement in which the youthful frequently engage, is Dancing. This is the most fascinating of pastimes. And it might be made the most proper, healthful, and in- vigorating. In the simple act of dancing — of moving the body in unison with strains of music — there can be no harm. It is a cus- tom which has been practised in all ages, and among all nations, both civilized and barbarous. The very lambs in the green and sunny meadow, and the cattle on a thou- LECTURES TO YOUTH. Ill sand hills, in many a fantastic gambol, exult and rejoice in the blessings a kind Providence bestows upon them. It is one of Nature's methods of attesting the consciousness of en- joyment. Dancing, when viewed in the light of a pleasant bodily exercise, is undoubtedly healthy and beneficial. It is peculiarly so to females, and those whose occupation and habits are of a sedentary character. When properly engaged in, it strengthens the limbs, developes the chest, enlarges the lungs, and invigorates the whole system. But this pastime is greatly abused, and is so perverted as to. have become one of the most serious evils. In this view, it is subject to severe and well-grounded censure. As dancing is usually conducted in modern times, it has proved one of the greatest evils into which the youthful have fallen. The routs and balls to which the young resort, as gen- erally managed, cannot be too severely con- demned. The late hours to which they are prolonged — the rich and unhealthy pas- 112 LECTURES TO YOUTH. fay partaken of in abundance — the intoxicat- ing drinks passed around, or conveniently found in the side-room, or at the bar — the thoughtless manner of dressing, exposing tor cold and damp, and so confining the hmigs, that when, by reason of exercise, they need the most room for expansion, they have the least, thus sowing the seeds of speedy disease and early death — the long-continued excite- ment and over-fatigue — the improper com- pany whieh often assembles on such occa- sions — these all combine to make such assem- blages a source of injury in all their influences and consequences. They should be discoun- tenanced by every parent and well-wisher of public goodl The young of both sexes, who have any just regard for their morals and their health, should avoid these routs, and balls, and cotillion parties. Their tendency, in every respect, is evil in the extreme. Dancing among children, in their pastimes — or by young people, at private parties, or social gatherings, engaged in temperately, and for a brief period, with proper precau- LECTURES TO YOUTH. 113 tions in regard to health, cannot be objec- tionable. In this, as in most other amuse- ments, it is the excess, the abuse, that causes the injury. La urging these considerations on the young, I would not seek to deprive them of any amusement suited to their age and circumstances. Youth is the season of joy- ousness — of light-hearted pleasure, and bud' ding hope. I would not overshadow one ray of its bright and beautiful sunshine — nor check one throb of its innocent pleasure. The shadows, the cares, and burthens of life, will come upon them full early enough, at the latest. In the spring-time of their days —the delicious, romantic morning of their being — they can experience some of the sweetest hours of their earthly existence. Nor would I rob them of that which God and nature designed them to enjoy. But I would have them seek for innocent amuse- ments — for recreations and enjoyment, of a pure and elevated character. None other can make them truly happy. All things 114 LECTURES TO YOUTR sinful in their nature, or demoralizing in their tendency, are unmitigated evils, de- structive in their consequences. However attractive they may appear to the inexpe- rienced, in the form of amusements, yet in the end, they will "bite as a serpent, and sting as an adder." There is no necessity that the young should resort to that which is low and vicious to find amusement. A thousand means of recrea- tion surround them, of the most harmless character. The enjoyments of the paternal roof — the social party, where the young en- gage in sprightly conversation, or innocent pastimes — the friendly call — the perusal of interesting and instructive boohs — the scan- ning of the journals of the day, by which they can look out upon the shifting scene of the busy, restless world — the summer morn- ing walk, to behold the opening beauties of the glorious day, and listen to the singing of the birds, the lowing of the flocks and herds, the murmuring of the streamlet, nature's early anthem of praise to God — or the even- LECTURES TO YOUTH. 115 ing ramble, to watch, the flowers as they open their fragrant leaves to be bathed in sweet distilling dews — to gaze upon the golden sun- set, making the fleecy clouds to blush with a crimson glow, as the king of day bids them " good night ;" or to behold the stars, as one by one they come forth to their appointed stations, bestudding the whole heavens with crystal coronets.— These, O youth ! and count less other fountains, are open for you, from which the sweetest and purest enjoyments can be obtained. Seek for amusement — for pleasure — in these directions, and the cup which you press to your lips shall be one of unmixed happiness ! " While some in folly's pleasures roll, And court the joys that hurt the soul, Be mine that silent, calm repast, A conscience peaceful to the last." LECTURE V. €jjb JUliginitB iratnrants. " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth " — Eccl. xiL 1. HERE are few subjects so generally uninteresting to the youthful as Religion. The great majority prefer to have their attention called in any other direction, and to be ad- dressed on any topic, rather than this, which, in fact, is the most important of all. There is evi- dently a defect somewhere in this matter, which should be corrected. Where shall we seek for it ? Not in any natural, inherent aversion to the subject of religion, resting in the hearts of the young. It is neither reasonable in itself, LECTURES TO YOUTH. 117 nor respectful to the Creator, to insist he has so constituted the human soul, that it is nat- urally and necessarily indisposed to a topic which is most vitally connected with its hap- piness, and which should receive a large share of its attention. This indifference is to be attributed chiefly, I think, to improper impressions in regard to the nature and objects of religion. The young look upon it as something gloomy, saddening, and distasteful — something that forbids enjoyment, chains in dire bondage the free, glad spirit of early life, and casts dark and cheerless shadows on the sunshine of youth's bright morning ! They imagine it to stalk forth from a dark cell, arrayed in hood and cowl, to frown upon them in their innocent pastimes — to curdle their blood with severe rebukes, because of the buoy- ancy of their hearts, and to drive them back with scowling reprimands, when they would walk in the sunny paths which God has kindly opened for their elastic footsteps. Hence they close their ears to its invitations ; 118 LECTURES TO YOUTH. turn away from its instructions, as something designed to impose a heavy yoke upon them ; and postpone its claims, to be attended to among the last acts of life. That these views and feelings should widely prevail, on a subject so important as religion, is a matter of deep regret. They are erro- neous and deleterious, in the extreme. Let the young strive to become acquainted with the true nature of the religion of Christ, and they will learn that such are not its require- ments, nor its fruits. It is not the purpose of its Divine Author to sadden the heart, or fill the mind with gloom ; but to cheer and gladden the soul, and lead it to the highest and sweetest enjoyments of existence. It is not the aim of religion to deprive the young of any real enjoyment— any recreation proper to their age or their nature, as intellectual, moral, and spiritual beings. But it would assist the young to distinguish between per- manent happiness, and those hurtful and wicked gratifications which corrupt the heart, and plunge the whole being into the dark LECTURES TO YOUTH. 119 pool of sin and woe. Religion is the friendly Guide sent from our Father in heaven, to lead his creatures away from peril and woe, and direct their footsteps irito the most 'beau- tiful and happy paths of existence. »,e all dusa weight to its decisions. Freely, abundantly, your Maker has bestowed a reasoning capa- city upon you. Freely, unhesitatingly, always should you appeal to its directing light. Whoever counsel the young against the exercise of reason in regard to religion — whoever warn them to beware of its decisions on a topic so momentous — lay themselves open to a just and legitimate suspicion^ of being the abettors of error. Is not this self- evident? Error is born in ignorance. It burrows in darkness, and draws all its vital- ity from stupid credulity. Enlightened reason strips away the false garbs by which it (Re- ceives the thoughtless, reveals &bjcI 6* 130 LECTURES TO YOUTH. and holds up its absurdities naked and re- pulsive, to the gaze of the passer-by. In view of such an unwelcome office, it is natu- ral that error should dread the eye of reason, should shrink away at its approach, and cry out mightily against its scrutiny. Not so is it with truth. It cultivates no apprehension of reason. It courts, invites its approach, and smiles in conscious strength at its most critical investigations. Truth has everything to gain, and nothing to lose from the researches of reason. The clearer and keener the eye of the one, the more beauti- ful the appearance of the other. Truth and Reason are twin sisters, born of God, and despatched from heaven, to guide and bless earth's children. They are linked together inseparably. The one is never found except in the presence of the other. Their blended light is all that gives value and beauty to Christianity, and all that makes it of any more importance than the merest heathen fable. Mutually they co-operate with, and strengthen each other. All Truth is reason- LECTURES TO YOUTH. 131 able, and all the legitimate deductions of Reason are true. Truth forms the vital at* mosphere which Reason inhales. Reason is the very sunlight in which Truth bathes its beauteous form. Remember, O youth, religion does not re- quire you to separate these heaven-born guides to men. Never expect to find reli- gious truth, without beholding it radiant with the light of reason. Reject without hesitation, whatever is presented to you as truth, unless reason throws its divine sanction around it. In all your investigations, let Reason direct your footsteps; and, guided by revelation, it will at last, and unerringly, lead you to the glorious abode of Truth. It is readily allowed, there are truths in Christianity which reason cannot fathom. Not because they are opposed to reason, but because they are beyond its reach. They are infinite, while man's reason is finite. But it is only by the light of reason that man can see any consistency or propriety in the assertion of such truths. Reason may sane- 132 LECTURES TO YOUTH. tion what it cannot fully grasp, as the bound- lessness of space, or the endlessness of time. One thing may foe above reason, another thing may be opposed to reason. The former it may approve — the latter it will peremptorily condemn. This is an important distinction, which should never be overlooked in its bearing on religious tenets. In all researches for an enlightened reli- gious faith, there are but two sources of in- formation, on which reliance can be placed with entire confidence, viz. the Works of Nature, and the Hevealed Word of God. Both are equally the productions of the In- finite Mind, and can be studied with the highest profit. Nature's works are but an "elder Scrip- ture," written by Jehovah's finger. In glow- ing suns and stars, we read its brilliant and instructive lessons. These all teach us aright <©f the perfections of the Sovereign Creator. t&ey -are "golden steps," on which the mind «£eea<is the Christian name. Every denomi- nation which receives the Scriptures as the inspired word of God, and believes in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God and the Saviour of men, is justly entitled to the name of Christian, and to be acknowledged and treated as such. This is the only test laid down in the New Testament, as a careful examination will satisfy the candid mind. For any one sect to attempt to monopolize LECTURES TO YOUTH. 153 the Christian name, and assume that all the piety, godliness, and virtue in the land, is to be found in its borders alone, is to place itself in a most ridiculous position. A pre- tence so arrogant and groundless, in our en- lightened day, can have no other effect than to excite a smile of pity on the countenance of sincere and candid Christians. I would have the young give no countenance to these pretensions ; but seek- to attain to higher and nobler principles. Let them place sectarian bitterness and prejudice beneath their feet, and imbibe enough of the Christian spirit to acknowledge freely, that, in all denomina- tions, good and pious people can be found. In estimating those of other views, the young should avoid denouncing a whole de- nomination, and condemning their doctrines as demoralizing, because some corrupt men may have been found in their midst. If this rule of judging was generally adopted, where is there a class of Christians which could stand ? Were there not among the chosen twelve of our Saviour, a Judas to 154 LECTURES TO YOUTH. betray him, and a Peter to deny him with paths ? Shall we, therefore, insist that Chris- tianity is false and corrupting ? There are few sects in the land, which have not had both clergymen and church-members guilty of the most corrupt practices. Are we to conclude from this, that the doctrines of those who have had these unworthy members, are false and licentious? Who are willing to adopt this test? A denomination cannot consistently apply a test to others which they are not willing to abide by themselves. Candor will lead all upright minds to acknowledge that corrupt men will find their way into every sect, and that it is manifestly wrong to judge of the whole body by this class. To decide of the practical tendencies of different and conflicting doctrines, seek to understand their effect on the great mass of those who receive them. Do they influ- ence them to honesty, industry, benevolence and neighborly kindness ? Do they inspire respect for the rights and interest of fellow- beings ? Do they open the ear to the cry LECTURES TO YOUTH. 155 of poverty and want ? Do they lead to a love supreme to God, and to our neighbor as ourselves ? These are the legitimate fruits of Christianity. Where they abound, you need not doubt the spirit of Christ prevails, and that the truths of his gospel are in the midst of such a people. I would exhort the young to respect re- ligion, in whatever form they find it, and to have a high and just regard for the rights and feelings of professing Christians of every class, Li this, as in. all things else, be gov- erned by the Redeemer's golden rule — "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them." Amid the multiplicity of sects and doc- trines, let every youth search for religious truth, as the "pearl of great price!" Be careful that your researches are in the right direction — not downward to the dark and mysterious of past and ignorant, ages, but upward to the bright, the simple, and glorious. Ever seek for expansive and enlightened conceptions of God, his character and pur- 156 LECTURES TO YOUTH. poses — of Christ, his gospel and its results — of man, his nature, his high relationship, his duty and destiny. The more elevated and comprehensive your views on these subjects, the more exalted will be your feelings and principles of action ; and the better will you be prepared to live a life of purity and use- fulness, and to die triumphing in the brightest and sweetest hopes of immortal light and happiness. In concluding this subject, I would call attention to the following suggestions of sev- eral able writers, in regard to Religion and its influence on its possessors : — "In the great and universal concern of religion, both sexes, and all ranks are equally interested. The truly catholic spirit of Chris- tianity accommodates itself, with an astonish- ing condescension, to the circumstances of the whole human race. It rejects none on ac- count of their pecuniary wants, their personal infirmities, or their intellectual deficiencies. No superiority of parts is the least recom- mendation, nor is any depression of fortune LECTURES TO YOUTH. 157 the smallest objection. None are too wise to be excused from performing the duties of religion, nor are any too poor to be excluded from the consolations of its promises. " If we admire the wisdom, of God in hav- ing furnished different degrees of intelligence, so exactly adapted to their different condi- tions, and in having fitted every part of this stupendous work, not only to serve its own immediate purpose, but also to contribute to the beauty and perfection of the whole ; how much morr ought we to adore that goodness which has perfected the divine plan, by ap- pointing one wide and comprehensive means of salvation : a salvation which all are invited to partake ; by a means which all are capable of using ; which nothing but voluntary blind- ness can prevent our comprehending, and nothing but wilful error can hinder us from embracing. " The muses are coy, and will only be wooed and won by some highly-favored suitors. The sciences are lofty, and will not stoop to the reach of ordinary capacities. But ' wisdom 166 LECTtJRES TO YOtJTH. (by which the royal preacher means piety) is a loving spirit ; she is easily seen of them that love her, and found of all Such as seek her.' Nay, she is so accessible and conde- scending, 'that she preventeth them that desire her, making herself first known unto them.' " We are told by the same animated writer, ' that wisdom is the breath of the power of God.' How infinitely superior in grandeur and sublimity, is this description to the origin of the wisdom of the heathens, as described by their poets and mycologists! In the exalted strains of the Hebrew poetry, we read, that ' wisdom is the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness.' . " The philosophical author of ' The Defence of Learning,' observes, that knowledge has something of venom and malignity in it, when taken without its proper corrective; and what that is, the inspired St. Paul teaches us, by placing it as the immediate antidote — LECTURES TO YOUTH. ' 159 ' Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.' Perhaps it is the vanity of human wisdom, unchastised by this correcting principle, which has made so many infidels. It may proceed from the arrogance of a self-sufficient pride, that some philosophers disdain to acknowl- edge their belief in a Being who has judged proper to conceal from them the infinite wis- dom of his counsels; who (to borrow the lofty language of the man of Uz) refused to consult them when he laid the foundations of the earth, when he shut up the sea with doors, and made the clouds the garment thereof. "A man must be an infidel either from pride, prejudice, or bad education ; he cannot be one unawares, or by surprise ; for infidel- ity is not occasioned by sudden impulse or violent temptation. He may be hurried by some vehement desire into an immoral action, at which he will blush in his cooler moments, and which he will lament as the sad effect of a spirit unsubdued by religion ; but infidelity is a calm, considerate act, which cannot plead 160 LEGTUKES TO YOUTH. the weakness of the heart, or the seduction of the senses. Even good men frequently fail in their duty through the infirmities of nature and the allurements of the world; but the infidel errs on a plan, on a settled and deliberate principle. " But though the minds of men are some- times fatally infected with this disease, either through unhappy prepossession, or some of the other causes above-mentioned, yet I am unwilling to believe that there is in nature so monstrously incongruous a being as a fe- male infidel. . The least reflection on the tem- per, the character, and the education of wo- men, makes the mind revolt with horror from an idea so improbable and so unnatural. "May I be allowed to observe that, in general, the minds of girls seem more aptly prepared in their early youth for the reception of serious impressions than those of the other sex, and that their less exposed situations in more advanced life qualify them better for. the preservation of them ! The daughters (of good parents I mean) are often more care- LECTURES TO YOUTH. 161 fully instructed in their religious duties than the sons, and this from a variety of causes. They are not so soon sent from under the paternal eye into the bustle of the worlds and so early exposed to the contagion of bad example: their hearts are naturally more flexible, soft, and liable to any kind of im- pression the forming hand may stamp on them ; and, lastly, as they do not receive the same classical education with boys, their feeble minds are not obliged at once to re- ceive and separate the precepts of Christian- ity, and the documents of pagan philosophy. The necessity of doing this perhaps somewhat weakens the serious impressions of young men, at least till the understanding is formed ; and confuses their ideas of piety, by mixing them with so much heterogeneous matter. They only casually read, or hear read, the Scriptures of truth, while they are obliged to learn by heart, construe, and repeat, the' poetical fables of the less than human god*, of the ancients. And, as the excellent author of ' The Internal Evidence of the Christian: 162 LECTURES TO YOUTH. Religion' observes, 'Nothing has so much contributed to corrupt the true spirit of the Christian institution, as that partiality which we contract, in our earliest education, for the manners of pagan antiquity.' " Girls, therefore, who do not contract this early partiality, ought to have a clearer no- tion of their religious duties : they are not obliged, at an age when the judgment is so weak, to distinguish between the doctrines of Zeno, of Epicurus, and of Christ ; and to embarrass their minds with the various mor- als, which were taught in the Porch, in the Academy, and on the Mount. " It is presumed that these remarks cannot possibly be so misunderstood, as to be con- strued into the least disrespect to literature, or a want of the highest reverence for a learned education, the basis of all elegant knowledge : they are only intended, with all proper deference^ to point out to young wo- men that, however inferior their advantages of acquiring a knowledge of the belles-lettres are to those of the other sex, yet it depends LECTUEES TO YOUTH. 163 on themselves not to be surpassed in this most important of all studies, for which their abil- ities are equal, and their opportunities per- haps greater. " But the mere exemption from infidelity is so small a part of the religious character, that I hope no one will attempt to claim any merit from this negative sort of goodness, or value herself merely for not being the very worst thing she possibly can be. Let no mistaken girl fancy she gives a proof of her wit by her want of piety, or that a contempt of things serious and sacred will exalt her understanding, or raise her character, even in the opinion of the most avowed male infidels. For one may venture to affirm, that with all their profligate ideas, both of women and religion, neither Bolingbroke, Wharton, Buck- ingham, or even Lord Chesterfield himself, would have esteemed a woman the more for her being irreligious. "With whatever ridicule a polite free- thinker may affect to treat religion himself, he will think it necessary his wife should 164 LECTURES TO YOUTH. entertain different notions of it. He may pretend to despise it as a matter of opinion, depending on creeds and systems ; but, if he is a man of sense, he will know the value of. it as a governing principle, which is to in- fluence her conduct and direct her action. If he sees her unaffectedly sincere in the practice of her religious duties, it will be a secret pledge to him that she will be equally exact in fulfilling the conjugal ; for he can have no reasonable dependence on her attachment to him, if he has no opinion of her fidelity to God ; for she who neglects first duties, gives but an indifferent proof of her disposition to fill up inferior ones ; and how can a man of any understanding (whatever his own re- ligious professions may be) trust that woman with the cares of his family, and the education of his children, who wants herself the best incentive to a virtuous life, the belief that she is an accountable creature, and the reflection that she has an immortal soul ? " Cicero spoke it as the highest commen- dation of Cato's character, that he embraced LECTURES TO YOUTH. 165 philosophy, not for the sake of disputing like a philosopher, but of living like one. The chief purpose of Christian knowledge is to promote the great end of a Christian life. Every rational woman should, no doubt, be able to give a reason of the hope that is in her; but this knowledge is best acquired, and the duties consequent on it best per- formed, by reading books of plain piety and practical devotion, and not by entering into the endless feuds, and engaging in the un- profitable contentions of partial controver- sialists. Nothing is more unamiable than the narrow spirit of party zeal, nor more disgusting than to hear a woman deal out judgments, and denounce vengeance, against any one who happens to differ from her in some opinion, perhaps of no real importance, and which, it is probable, she may be just as wrong in rejecting, as the object of her cen- sure is in embracing. A furious and unmer- ciful female bigot wanders as far beyond the limits prescribed to her sex, as a Thalestris or a Joan d'Arc. Violent debate has made 166 LECTURES TO YOUTH. as few converts as the sword; — and both these instruments are particularly unbecom- ing when wielded by a female hand. " But, though no one will be frightened out of their opinions, yet they may be per- suaded out of them ; they may be touched by the affecting earnestness of serious con- versation, and allured by the attractive beauty of a consistently serious life. And while a young woman ought to dread the name of a wrangling polemic, it is her duty to aspire after the honourable character of a sincere Christian. But this dignified charac- ter she can by no means deserve, if she is ever afraid to avow her principles, or ashamed to defend them. A profligate, who makes it a point to ridicule everything which comes under the appearance of formal instruction, will be disconcerted at the spirited, yet modest rebuke of a pious young woman. But there is as much efficacy in the manner of reproving profaneness, as in the words. If she corrects it with moroseness, she defeats the effect of her remedy by her unskilful LECTURES TO YOUTH. 167 manner of administering it. If, on the otter hand, she affects to defend the insulted cause of God in a faint tone of voice, and studied ambiguity of phrase, or with an air of levity, and a certain expression of pleasure in her eyes, which proves she is secretly delighted with what she pretends to censure, she injures religion much more than he did who publicly profaned it ; for she plainly indicates-, either that she does not believe or respect what she professes. The other attacked it as an open foe ; she betrays it as a false friend. No one pays any regard to the opinion of an avowed enemy ; but the desertion or treachery of a professed friend is dangerous indeed !" " A desire after happiness is inseparable" from the human mind. It is the natural and healthy craving of our spirit; an appetite which we have neither will nor power to destroy, and for which all mankind are busily employed in making provision. This is as natural, as for birds to fly, or fishes' to swim. For this the scholar and the philoso- 168 LECTURES TO YOUTH. pher, who think it consists in knowledge, pore over their books and their apparatus, light the midnight lamp, and keep frequent vigils, when the world around them is asleep. For this the warrior, who thinks that happi- ness is inseparably united with fame, pursues that bubble through the gory field of con- flict, and is as lavish of his life, as if it were not worth a soldier's pay. The worldling, with whom happiness and wealth are kindred terms, worships daily at the shrine of Mam- mon, and offers earnest prayers for the golden shower. The voluptuary gratifies every crav- ing sense, rejoices in the midnight revel, ren- ders himself vile, and yet tells you he is in the chase of happiness. The ambitious man, conceiving that the great desideratum blos- soms on the sceptre, and hangs in rich clus- ters from the throne, consumes one half of his life, and embitters the other half, in climbing the giddy elevation of royalty. All these, however, have confessed their disap- pointment ; and have retired from the stage exclaiming, in reference to happiness, what LECTURES TO YOUTH. 169 Brutus, just before lie stabbed himself, did in reference to virtue, ' I have pursued thee everywhere, and found thee nothing but a name.' This, however, is a mistake ; for both virtue and happiness are glorious realities, and if they are not found, it is merely be- cause they are not sought from the right sources. " 1. That religion is pleasure, will appear, if you consider what part of our nature it more particularly employs and gratifies. " It is not the gratification of the senses, or of the animal part of our nature, but a provi- sion for the immaterial and immortal mind. The mind of man is an image not only of God's spirituality, but of his infinity. It is not like the senses, limited to this or that kind of object; as the sight intermeddles not with that which affects the smell ; but with an universal superintendence, it arbitrates upon, and takes them all in. It is, as I may say, an ocean, into which all the little rivulets of sensation, both external and internal, dis- charge themselves. Now this is that part of 170 LECTURES TO YOUT& man to which the exercises of religion prop- erly belong. The pleasures of the under- standing, in the contemplation of truth, have been sometimes so great, so intense, so en- grossing of all the powers of the soul, that there has been no room left for any other kind of pleasure. How short of this are the delights of the epicure ! How vastly dispro- portionate are the pleasures of the eating, and of the thinking man ! Indeed, says Dr. South, as different as the silence of an Archi- mides in the study of a problem, and the stillness of a swine at her wash. Nothing is comparable to the pleasures of mind ; these are enjoyed by the spirits above, by Jesus Christ, and the great and blessed God. " Think what objects religion brings before the mind, as the sources of its pleasure : no less than the great God himself, and that both in his nature and in his works. For the eye of religion, like that of the eagle, di- rects itself chiefly to the sun, to a glory that neither admits of a superior nor an equal. The mind is conversant, in the exercises of LECTURES TO YOUTH. 171 piety, with all the most stupendous events that have ever occurred in the history of the universe, or that ever will transpire till the close of time. The creation of the world ; its government by a universal Providence ; its redemption by the death of Christ ; its conversion by the power of the Holy Ghost ; the immortality of the soul ; the resurrection of the body ; the certainty of an eternal ex- istence ; the secrets of the unseen state ; sub- jects, all of them of the loftiest and sub- limest kind, which have engaged the inqui- ries of the profoundest intellects, are the mat- ter of contemplation to real piety. What topics are these for our reason, under the guidance of religion, to study : what an ocean to swim in, what a heaven to soar in : what heights to measure, what depths to fathom. Here are subjects, which, from their infinite vastness, must be ever new, and ever fresh ; which can be never laid aside as dry or empty. If novelty is the parent of pleasure, here it may be found ; for although the sub- ject itself is the same, some new view of it, 172 LECTURES TO YOUTH. some fresh discovery of its wonders, is ever bursting upon the mind of the devout and attentive inquirer after truth. " How then can religion be otherwise than pleasant, when it is the exercise of the noble faculties of the mind, upon the subliniest topics of mental investigation ; the volun- tary, excursive, endless pursuits of the hu- man understanding in the region of eternal truth. Never was there a more interesting or important inquiry than that proposed by Pilate to the illustrious Prisoner at his bar ; and if the latter thought it not proper to an- swer it, it was not to show that the question was insignificant, but to condemn the light and flippant manner in which a subject so important was taken up. Religion can an- swer the question, and with an ecstasy greater than that of the ancient Mathematician, ex- claims, ' I have found it : I have found it.' The Bible is not only *rue, but tkuth. It contains that which deserves this sublime emphasis. It settles the disputes of ages, and of philosophers, and makes known what LECTURES TO YOUTH. 173 is truth, and where it is to be found. It brings us from amongst the quicksands and shelves, and rocks of skepticism, ignorance, and error, and shows us that goodly land, in quest of which myriads of minds have sailed; and multitudes have been wrecked ; and re : ligion is setting our foot on this shore, and dwelling in the region of eternal truth. " 2. That a religious life is pleasant, is evi- dent from the nature of religion itself. " Religion is a principle of spiritual Ufe in the soul. Now all the exercises and acts of vitality are agreeable. To see, to hear, to taste, to walk, are all agreeable, because they are the voluntary energies of inward life. So religion, in all its duties, is the exercise of a living principle in the soul : it is a new spiritual existence. Piety is a spiritual taste. Hence it is said, 'If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.' No matter what the object Of a taste is, the exercises of it are al- ways agreeable. The painter goes with de- light to his picture ; the musician to his in- strument ; the sculptor to his bust ; because 174 LECTURES TO YOUTH. they have a taste for these pursuits. The same feeliug of delight attends the Christian to the exercises of godliness: and this is his language, ' It is a good thing to give thanks, and to draw near to God. O how I love thy law ! it is sweeter to my taste than honey. How amiable are thy tabernacles.' Eeligion, where it is real, is the natural element of a Christian ; and every creature rejoices in its own appropriate sphere. If you consider true piety with disgust, as a hard, unnatural, involuntary thing, you are totally ignorant of its nature, entirely destitute of its influ- ence, and no wonder you cannot attach to it the idea of pleasure : but viewing it as it ought to be viewed, in the light of a new natuie, you will perceive that it admits of most exalted delight. " 3. Consider the miseries which it pre- vents. " It does not, it is true, prevent sickness, poverty, or misfortune : it does not fence off from the wilderness of this world, a mystic enclosure, within which the ills of life never LECTURES TO YOUTH, 175 intrude. No ; these things happen to all alike ; but how small a portion of human wretchedness flows from these sources, com- pared with that which arises from the dispo. sitions of the heart. 'The mind is its own place, can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.' Men carry the springs of their hap- piness or misery in their own bosom. Hence it is said of the wicked, ' that they are like, the troubled sea which cannot rest, which is never at peace, but continually casting up mire and dirt' In contrast with which, it is affirmed that ' the work of righteousness is peace ; and that the good man shall be satis- fied from himself.' Would you behold the misery entailed hj pride, look at Haman ; by covetoumess, look at Ahab ; by malice, look at Cain ; by profaneness and sensuality, united with the forebodings of a guilty con- science, look at Belshazzar ; by envy, and a consciousness of being rejected of God, look at Saul ; by revenge, look at Herodias writh- ing beneath the accusations of John, and thirsting for his blood ; by apostasy, look at 176 LECTURES TO YOUTH. Judas. Religion would have prevented all this, and it will prevent similar misery in you. Hearken to the confessions of the out cast in the land of his banishment ; of the felon in his irons, and in his dungeon ; of the prostitute expiring upon her bed of straw ; of the malefactor at the gallows — ' Wretch- ed creature that I am, abhorred of men, ac- cursed of God ! To what have my crimes brought me !' Religion prevents all this : all that wretchedness which is the result of crime, is cut off by the influence of gen- uine piety. Misery prevented is happiness gained. " 4. Consider the consolations it imparts. " Our world has been called, in the lan- guage of poetry, a vale of tears, and human life a bubble, raised from those tears, and in- flated by sighs, which, after floating a little while, decked with a few gaudy colors, is touched by the hand of death, and dissolves. Poverty, disease, misfortune, unkindness, in- constancy, death, all assail the travellers as they journey onward to eternity through LECTURES TO YOUTH. 177 this gloomy valley ; and what is to comfort them but religion ? ( " The consolations of religion are neither few nor small ; they arise in part from those things which we have already mentioned ioi this chapter ; *'. e. from the exercise of the understanding on the revealed truths of God's word, from the impulses of the spiritual life, within us, and from a reflection upon our spiritual privileges ; but there are, some others, which, though partially implied in these things, deserve a special enumeration and distinct consideration. " A good conscience, which the wise man says is a perpetual feast, sustains a high place amongst the comforts of genuine piety. It is unquestionably true, that a man's /happi- ness is in the keeping of his conscience ; all the sources of his felicity are under the com- mand of this faculty. ' A wounded spirit who can bear V A troubled conscience con- verts a paradise into a hell, for it is the flame of hell kindled on earth ; but a quiet conscience would illuminate the horrors of 8* j'| 178 LECTURES TO YOUTH. the deepest dungeon with the beams of heav- enly day ; the former has often rendered men like tormented fiends amidst an elysium of delights, while the latter has taught the : songs of cherubim to martyrs in the prison or ^he flames. • " In addition to this, religion comforts the naincl, with the assurance of an all-wise, all- pervading Providence, so minute in its su- perintendence and control, that not a spar- row falls to the ground without the knowl- edge of our heavenly Father : a superintend- ence which is excluded from no point of space, no moment of time, and overlooks not the mieanest creature in existence. Nor is this all ; for the Word of God assures the be- liever that ' all things work together for good to' them that love God, who are the called according to his purpose.' Nothing that invagination could conceive, is more truly ccjnsolatory than 'this, to be assured that all tilings, however painful at the time, not ex- cepting the, failure , of our favorite schemes, the disappointment of our fondest hopes, the LECTURES TO YOUTH. 179 loss of our dearest comforts, shall be over- ruled by infinite wisdom for the promotion of oitr ultimate good. This is a spring of comfort whose waters never fail. " Religion consoles also by making mani- fest some of the benefits of affliction, even at the time it is endured. It crucifies the world, mortifies sin, quickens prayer, extracts the balmy sweets of the promises, endears the Saviour ; and, to crown all, it directs the mind to that glorious state, where the days of our mourning shall be ended : that happy country where God shall wipe every tjear from our eyes, and there shall be no more sorrow or crying. Nothing so composes the mind, and helps it to bear the load of trouble which God may lay upon it, as the near pros- pect of its termination. -Religion shows the weather-beaten mariner the haven of eternal repose, where no storms arise, and the sea is ever calm ; it exhibits to the weary traveller the city of habitation, within whose walls he will find a pleasant home, rest from his labors, and friends to welcome his arrival; it dis- 180 LECTURES TO YOUTH. closes to the wounded warrior his native country, where the alarms of war, and the dangers of conflict, will be no more encoun- tered, but undisturbed peace forever reign. In that one word, heaven, religion provides a balm for every wound, a cordial for every care. " Here, then, is the pleasure of that wis- dom which is from above ; it is not only en- joyed in prosperity, but continues to refresh us, and most powerfully to refresh us, in ad- versity ; a remark which will not apply to any other kind of pleasure."* " In many persons, a seriousness and sense of awe overspread the imagination, whenever the idea of the Supreme Being is presented to their thoughts. This effect, which forms a considerable security against vice, is the consequence not so much of reflection as of habit ; which habit being generated by the external expressions of reverence which we use ourselves, or observe in others, may be * Christian Father's Present LECTURES TO YOUTH. 181 destroyed by causes opposite to these, and especially by that familiar levity with which some learn to speak of the Deity, of his attri- butes, providence, revelations or worship. "God hath been pleased (no matter for what reason, although probably for this,) to forbid the vain mention of his name : — ' Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.' Now the mention is vain when it is useless ; and it is useless when it is neither likely nor intended to serve any good pur- pose ; as when it flows from the lips idle and unmeaning, or is applied, on occasions incon- sistent with any consideration of religion and devotion, to express our anger, our earnest- ness, our courage, or our mirth; or indeed when it is used at all, except in acts of reli- gion, or in serious and seasonable discourse upon religious subjects. " The prohibition of the third command- ment is recognized by Christ in his sermon upon the mount ; which sermon adverts to none but the moral parts of the Jewish law : 'I say unto you, swear not at all: but let 182 LECTURES TO YOUTH. your communication be Yea, yea ; Nay, nay : for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.' The Jews probably interpreted the prohibition as restrained to the name Jeho- vah, the name which the Deity had ap- pointed and appropriated to himself ; Exod. vi. 3. The words of Christ extend the pro- hibition beyond the name of God, to every- thing associated with the idea : — ' Swear not, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is God's footstool ; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King." Matt. v. 35. " The offence of profane swearing is aggra- vated by the consideration, that in it duty and decency are sacrificed to the slenderest of temptations. Suppose the habit, either from affectation, or by negligence and inad- vertency, to be already formed, it must al- ways remain within the power of the most ordinary resolution to correct it : and it can- not, one would think, cost a great deal to re- linquish the pleasure and honor which it con- fers. A concern for duty is in fact never LECTURES TO YOUTH. 183 strong, when the exertion requisite to van,-: quish a habit founded in no antecedent pro-, pensity is thought too much or too painful. " A contempt of positive duties, or rather of those duties for which the reason is not so plain as the command, indicates a disposition upon which the authority of revelation has obtained little influence. This remark is ap- plicable to the offence of profane swearing, and describes, perhaps pretty exactly, the general character of those who are most ad- dicted to it. ; "Mockery and ridicule, when exercised upon the Scriptures, or even upon the plaeesj persons, and forms set apart for the ministra; tion of religion, fall within the meaning of ? the law which forbids the profanation of God's name ; especially as that law is ex- tended by Christ's interpretation. They are moreover inconsistent with a religious frame of mind : for as no one ever either feels him- self disposed to pleasantry, or capable of being diverted with the pleasantry of others, upon matters in which he is deeply interj 184 LECTURES TO YOUTH. ested ; so a mind intent upon the acquisition of heaven rejects with indignation every at- tempt to entertain it with jests, calculated to degrade or deride subjects which it never recollects but with seriousness and anxiety. Nothing but stupidity, or the most frivolous disposition of thought, can make even the in- considerate forget the supreme importance of everything which relates to the expecta- tion of a future existence. Whilst the in- fidel mocks at the superstitions of the vulgar, insults over their credulous fears, their child- ish errors, or fantastic rites, it does not occur to him to observe, that the most preposter- ous device by which the weakest devotee ever believed he was securing the happiness of a future life, is more rational than uncon- cern about it. Upon this subject nothing is so absurd as indifference ; no folly so con- temptible as thoughtlessness and levity. ";The knowledge of what is due to the solemnity of those interests, concerning which Revelation professes to inform and direct us, may teach even those who are least inclined LECTURES TO YOUTH. 185 to respect the prejudices of mankind, to ob- serve a decorum in the style and conduct of religious disquisitions, with the neglect of which many adversaries of Christianity are justly chargeable. Serious arguments are fair on all sides. Christianity is but ill de- fended by refusing audience or toleration to the objections of unbelievers. But whilst we would have freedom of inquiry restrained by no laws but those of decency, we are entitled to demand, on behalf of a religion which holds forth to mankind assurances of immor- tality, that its credit be assailed by no other weapons than those of sober discussion and legitimate reasoning ; — that the truth or falsehood of Christianity be never made a topic of raillery, a theme for the exercise of wit or eloquence, or a subject of contention for literary fame and victory; — that -the cause be tried upon its merits ; — that all ap- plications to the fancy, passions or prejudices of the reader, all attempts to preoccupy, en- snare, or perplex his judgment, by any art, influence, or impression whatsoever, extrinsic 186 LECTURES TO YOUTH. to the proper grounds and evidence upon which his assent ought to proceed, be rejected from a question which involves in its deter- mination the hopes, the virtue, and the re- pose of millions; — that the controversy be managed on both sides with sincerity ; that is, that nothing be produced, in the writings of either, contrary to or beyond the writer's own knowledge and persuasion ; — that objec- tions and difficulties be proposed, from no other motive than an honest and serious -de- sire to "obtain satisfaction, or to communicate information which may promote the discov- ery and progress of truth ; — that, in conform- ity with this design, everything be stated with integrity, with method, precision, and simplicity ; and above all, that whatever is published in opposition to received and con- fessedly beneficial persuasions, be set forth under a form which is likely to invite in- quiry and to meet examination. If with these moderate and equitable conditions be compared the manner in which hostilities have been waged against the Christian re- LECTURES TO YOUTH. 187 Hglon, not only the votaries of the prevailing faith, but every man who looks forward with anxiety to the destination of his being, will see much to blame and to complain of. By one unbeliever, all the follies which have adhered in a long course of dark and super- stitious ages, to the popular creed, are as- sumed as so many doctrines of Christ and his Apostles, for the purpose of subverting the whole system by the absurdities which it is thus represented to contain. By (mother, the ignorance and vices of the sacerdotal order, their mutual dissensions and persecutions, their usurpations and encroachments upon the intellectual liberty and civil rights of mankind, have been displayed with no small triumph and invective ; not so much to guard the Christian laity against a repetition of the same injuries (which is the only proper use to be made of the most flagrant examples of the past,) as to prepare the way for an in- sinuation, that the religion itself is nothing but a profitable fable, imposed upon the fears and credulity of the multitude, and upheld 188 LECTURES TO YOUTH. by the frauds and influence of an interested and crafty priesthood. And yet, how re- motely is the character of the clergy con- nected with the truth of Christianity ! What, after all, do the most disgraceful pages of ecclesiastical history prove, but that the pas- sions of our common nature are not altered or excluded by distinctions of name, and that the characters of men are formed much more by the temptations than the duties of their profession ? A third finds delight in collect- ing and repeating accounts of wars and mas- sacres, of tumults and insurrections, excited in almost every age of the Christian era by religious zeal ; as though the vices of Christ tians were parts of Christianity ; intolerance and extirpation precepts of the Gospel ; or as if its spirit could be judged of from the counsels of princes, the intrigues of statesmen, the pretences of malice and ambition, or the unauthorized cruelty of some gloomy and virulent superstition. By a fourth, the suc- cession and variety of popular religions ; the vicissitudes with which sects and tenets have LECTUBES TO YOUTH. 189 flourished and decayed ; the zeal with which they were once supported, the negligence with which they are now remembered ; the little share which reason and argument ap- pear to have had in framing the creed, or regulating the religious conduct of the mul- titude ; the indifference and submission with which the religion of the state is generally received by the common people ; the caprice and vehemence with which it is sometimes opposed ; the frenzy with which men have been brought to contend for opinions and ceremonies, of which they knew neither the proof, the meaning, nor the original : lastly, the equal and undoubting confidence with which we hear the doetrines of Christ or of Confucius, the law of Moses or of Mahomet, the Bible, the Koran, or the Shaster, main- tained or anathematized, taught or abjured, revered or derided, according as we live on this or on that side of a river ; keep within or step over the boundaries of a state; or even in the same country, and by the same people, so often as the event of a battle, or 190 LECTURES TO YOUTH. the issue of a negotiation, delivers them to the dominion of a new master ; — points, we say, of this sort are exhibited to the public attention, as so many arguments against the triith of the Christian religion ; — and with success. For these topics being brought to- gether, and set off with some aggravation of circumstances, and with a vivacity of style and description familiar enough to the writ- ings and conversation of free-thinkers, insen- sibly lead the imagination into a habit of classing Christianity with the delusions that have taken possession, by turns, of the pub- lic belief; and of regarding it as, what the scoffers of our faith represent it to be, the superstition of the day. But is this to deal honestly by the subject, or with the world ? May not the same things be said, may not the same prejudices be excited by these rep- resentations, whether Christianity be true or false, or by whatever proofs its truth be at- tested ? May not truth as well as falsehood be taken upon credit ? May not a religion be founded upon evidence accessible and LECTURES TO YOUTH. 191 satisfactory to every mind competent to the inquiry, which yet, by the greatest part of its professors, is received upon authority ? ; " But if the matter of these objections be reprehensible, as calculated to produce an effect upon the reader beyond what their real weight and place in the argument de- serve, still more shall we discover of manage- ment and disingenuousness in the form under which they are dispersed among the public. Infidelity is served up in every shape that is likely to allure, surprise, or beguile the imagination ; in a fable, a tale, a novel, a poem ; in interspersed and broken hints, re- mote and oblique surmises ; in books of travels, of philosophy, of natural history ; in a word, in any form rather than the right one, that of a professed and regular disquisi- tion. And because the coarse buffoonery and broad laugh of the old and rude adver- saries of the Christian faith would offend the taste, perhaps, rather than the virtue, of this cultivated age, a graver irony, a more skilful and delicate banter is substituted in its place. 192 LECTURES TO YOUTH. •An eloquent historian, beside his more direct, and therefore fairer, attacks upon the credi- bility of Evangelic story, has contrived to weave into his narration one continued sneer upon the cause of Christianity, and upon the writings and characters of its ancient patrons. The knowledge which this author possesses of the frame and conduct of the human mind must have led him to observe, that such at- tacks do their execution without inquiry. Who can refute a sneer? Who can com- pute the number, mnch less, one by one, scru- tinize the justice of those disparaging insinua- tions which crowd the pages of this elaborate history ? What reader suspends his curios- ity, or calls off his attention from the prin- cipal narrative, to examine references, to search into the foundation, or to weigh the reason, propriety, and force of every transient sarcasm and sly allusion, by which the Chris- tian testimony is depreciated and traduced ; and by which, nevertheless, he may find his persuasion afterwards unsettled and per- plexed ?" LECTURES TO YOUTH. 193 " But the enemies of Christianity have pur- sued her with poisoned arrows. Obscenity itself is made the vehicle of infidelity. The fondness for ridicule is almost universal ; and ridicule to many minds is never so irresistible as when seasoned with obscenity, and em- ployed upon religion. But in proportion as these noxious principles take hold of the im- agination, they infatuate the judgment ; for trains of ludicrous and unchaste associations, adhering to every sentiment and mention of religion, render the mind indisposed to re- ceive either conviction from its evidence, or impressions from its authority. And this effect, being exerted upon the sensitive part of our frame, is altogether independent of argument, proof, or reason ; is as formidable to a true religion as to a false one ; to a well- grounded faith as to a chimerical mythology, or fabulous tradition. Neither, let it be ob- served, is the crime or danger less, because impure ideas are exhibited under a v«iJ, in covert and chastised language." 9 LECTURE VI. (Kb Btotrwg*. 11 Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female 1 And said, Fur this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they' twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, bnt one flesh. What, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."— Matt. xix. 4, 5, 6. T is not impossible that some may doubt the propriety of introducing into the pulpit the subject which will claim our attention this evening. Marriage is a topic of so much every-day conversation ; it is so often and habitually treated as a light and trivial affair — forming as it does, in every circle of society, a standing matter for jest and laughter, for tattle and gossip — that many are surprised at the idea LECTURES TO YOUTH. 195 of treating it in a thoughtful and serious manner. So far from this being an objec- tion, it is an urgent reason for presenting this subject under the sedate influences of this place and occasion. I would bring out the important event of Marriage, from amid the frivolity with which it is usually associated, and present it in its real and true aspect — as a topic demanding the most sober and mature consideration. Marriage is a divine covenant, instituted by God himself. — " And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone. ■I will make him a help-meet for him." From the body of Adam, woman was formed," and given to him as a companion, a wife. " And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife : and they shall be one flesh." The Saviour also, in the language of the text, unqualifiedly sanctions the marriage covenant, and adopts 196 LECTURES TO YOUTH. it as one of the sacred institutions of the Christian dispensation. The marriage relation is vitally connected with the highest interests of human society. It restrains, purifies, elevates mankind. It is the great preserver of morality and religion ; and forms one of the most effective of the influences which prevent the world from being deluged with licentiousness, and every loathsome form of evil. All the comforts of domestic life — the sacred and deathless ties of the family circle — the dear delights, the cherished associations, the hallowed mem- ories of the paternal fireside — spring di- . reefly from the marriage state. It is this alone that gives us the home of our child- hood, the love, the protection, the wise coun- sel and advice of parents. It is this that affords the sacred retreat in mature days, where, from the strifes, and cares, and bitter disappointments of the business mart, the hnsband and father can retire, and amid the soothing attentions and the unbought love of wife and children, renew his strength and LECTURES TO YOUTR 197 courage for future struggles. It is this that furnishes the aged patriarch and the venerable matron, with the safe covert, the quiet refuge, the warm, snug corner, where they can pass the winter of life, surrounded by children and children's children, who delight to rise up and do them reverence, and minister to their comforts. m . " Domestic happiness ! thou only bliss Of paradise that hath survived the Ml ! Thou art the nurse of virtue ; in thine arms She smiles, appearing, as in truth she is, Heaven-born, and destined to the skies again." Among all nations, wherever the marriage tie is the most generally formed, and held the most sacred, there woman holds the highest position and obtains her truest estimation — there civilization and refinement — there truth, purity, fidelity, and all the virtues and graces that can adorn and elevate humanity, bloom in vigorous luxuriance. And in the same degree that this sacred relationship is neglect- ed, and its obligations disregarded, in any 198 LECTURES TO YOUTH. nation, do we find woman degraded, and ig- norance, barbarism, sensuality and ]£ce, in every shape, prevailing and preying on the vitals of society. In view of these considerations, it assuredly cannot be deemed improper, in addressing the young, to call their especial attention to a subject so interesting as Marriage, and one so vitally connected with all that is valuable and sacred. Indeed any series of discourses designed to counsel them, which should omit this all-important topic, would seem to be deficient in one of the first essentials of salutary admonition. In presenting this subject to the considera- tion of the youthful, I would admonish them against thoughtless engagements, and hasty marriages. A heedlessness in these matters, is fraught with dangerous consequences. Mat- rimony is not to be viewed as a mere joke, or frolic, to be engaged in at any moment, without forethought or preparation. It is the first great step, the most momentous event, in the life of a young couple. Their position, LECTURES TO YOUTH. 199 their circumstances, their habits, their man- ner o^occupying time, their prospects, all undergo an almost total change at this im- portant era. It will be to them a source of prosperity, of peace, of the highest . enjoy- ments, or of adversity, misfortune, wrangling, and bitter wretchedness — as they do, or do not, exercise discretion and judgment in forming the connection. No thoughtful young man, no prudent young woman, will enter into an engagement of marriage, much less consummate the act, without viewing it in all its bearings. They will maturely weigh the consequences which follow, and seriously re- flect upon the new scenes, duties, responsi- bilities, and labors, to which it leads. -/- I know that to many, perhaps most of the young, the whole matter of matrimony is viewed in a light so romantic — its pathway seeming to be so in the midst of rosy clouds, so fanned by ambrosial gales, so intermixed with flowery meads and rural bowers, the songs of birds and murmuring streams — that it is exceedingly difficult for them to follow a 200 LECTURES TO YOUTH. train of sober thought on the subject. It is important, however, that they should seek to rise above these deceptive conceptions, and take such a view of this matter, as shall ap- proach the reality", and save them from the disappointment which so often follows this consummation of their fondest dreams. The selection of a companion for life is a transaction altogether more serious than the young appear generally to view it. They too often forget, that from all the world, they are choosing one to walk with them in closest intimacy, during all their days ; and that it depends on the wisdom of their choice, whe- ther the journey of life shall be peaceful and pleasant, or sad and wretched. It has passed into a species of proverb, that the selection of a wife or a husband, is like purchasing a ticket in a lottery — no one knows whether a prize or a blank will be drawn. There is too much truth in this saying, as selections of husbands and wives are often made. When the young are governed in such things, by fancy rather than judgment — when they ar