the preceding, an idea might be obtained of the relative situations of the lungs, the heart, the diaphragm, the liver, the gall-bladder, the pancreas, the stomach, the kidneys, and various other parts, and much more so from a variety of separate figures delineated on a large scale, and coloured after nature. There would be no necessity for exhibiting or describing any other parts or organs but those which are common to both sexes, so that there would be no room for objections on the score of indelicacy. The female sex, however, as well as the male, ought to be instructed in this science; for, as females have the physical education of children more immediately under their control, it is of vast importance to the human race at large, that they should be endowed with that knowledge of the functions of the human frame, which will enable them to conduct such education with intelligence and discre tion. There is no department of science, moreover, in which a pious and intelligent teacher has a better opportunity of directing the minds of his pupils to the evidences of design, and of descanting on the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator, than when describing the mechanism of the human frame. In the various articulations of the bones, in the construction of the venous and arterial system, in the process of respiration, in the circulation of the blood, in the muscular and nervous systems, in the motion of the heart, in the mechanism of the eye and the ear, in the con. struction of the spine, the hand, the skull, and other parts of this admirable machine, the Divine Wisdom and benevolence shine conspicuous; and, when clearly exhibited to the young, must im. press their minds with the truth that they are, indeed, "fearfully and wonderfully made," and that they ought to consecrate the temple of their bodies for "a habitation of God through the Spirit."

One great practical end which should always be kept in view in the study of physiology is the invigoration and improvement of the corporeal powers and functions, the preservation of health, and the prevention of disease. For this purpose frequent instruction, illustrated by examples, should be imparted in relation to diet and regimen. The young should be instructed in the laws of the animal economy, and the sources of diseases; the practices which induce certain disorders, and the means of counteracting them; the functions of the skin, lungs, stomach, and bowels; the nature and importance of insensible perspiration, the means of regulating it, and the evils which flow from its obstruction; the rules which should be observed in bathing and swimming; the importance of pure atmospheric air to the health and vigour of the animal system, the circumstances by which it is deteriorated, and the means by which its purity may be preserved; the neces

sity of cleanliness, in respect to the hands, face, neck, and other parts of the body, and to the clothes, linens, blankets, sheets, and household furniture, and the rules which should be attended to for preserving the person and dwelling from filth and noxious efflu. via; the articles most proper for dress, and the mode of con structing it so as not to impede the vital functions; the proper use of food and drink, and especially the moral and physical evils which flow from intemperance, and the frequent use of ardent spirits; the exercise and rest requisite for body and mind, the means by which they may be duly proportioned, and the evils which arise from immoderate exertion either of the mental or corporeal powers;* the improvement of the organs of sensation, particularly the organs of vision, and the treatment requisite for preserving them in health and vigour. Instructions on these and similar topics, when occasionally illustrated by striking facts and examples, could scarcely fail to exert a powerful and beneficial influence on the minds of the young, on the families with which they are connected, on society at large, and even on succeeding generations. That such information has never yet been regu larly communicated in our schools and seminaries, reflects disgrace on our scholastic arrangements, which are frequently directed to objects of far inferior importance. Till such instruc tions be generally communicated, in connection with other por tions of useful knowledge, man will never rise to the highest dig. nity of his physical and intellectual nature, nor enjoy the happiness of which he is susceptible even in the present state.

SECTION XII.-Logic, or the Art of Reasoning.

Logic may be defined to be "that art or branch of knowledge which has for its object the investigation of truth, and the bes method of communicating it to others;" or, in other words, the art of employing our rational faculties in the best manner in searching after truth and duty on any subject. Although all men have essentially the same mental faculties, yet there is a great difference in respect to the vigour of these faculties in different individuals, according to the improvement they have received, and the objects to which they have been directed. The improvement of the reasoning powers, and the manner in which they have been exercised by the wise and learned in Europe, America, and other parts of the civilized world, have raised them almost as high in the scale of intelligence above the Hottentots, the African negroes, or the inhabitants of New Holland or Nootka Sound, as

* See Appendix.

hose savages are superior to the beasts of the forest or the fowls of heaven. The acquisition of truth, in relation to all those subjects which are connected with the present and future happiness of man, is obviously a matter of the highest importance. By the proper application of our reasoning faculty we become acquainted with the properties and relations of the objects around us in this lower world, and the distances, magnitudes, and real motions of the celestial bodies, and the purposes for which they appear to have been created. By the same means we acquire a knowledge of the perfections of God, the principles of Natural Religion, the evidences of Divine Revelation, the improvements of art, and the discoveries of science. By the cultivation of reason we discover our duty to God and to our fellow-creatures, either from the light of nature or from the study of Revelation, and learn to distinguish truth from falsehood, and good from evil; and to apply the truths we thus acquire to the direction of our moral conduct, to the promotion of human happiness, and to the invigorating of our hopes of eternal felicity.

It is therefore a matter of considerable importance, that, at an early period, the reasoning powers of the young be directed, both by precepts and examples, in their inquiries after truth, and guarded from the influence of false principles and fallacious reasonings, by which errors have been propagated, prejudices promoted, truth obscured, and the improvement of the human race prevented.— Were this subject to be illustrated in all its extent, it would be requisite, in the first place, to give a description and analysis of the intellectual powers, which are the means or instruments by which we are to pursue our discovery after truth. In the second place, to exhibit an arrangement and classification of the objects in nature to which these powers are applied. In the third place, to illustrate the most successful method of applying our naturai powers in the investigation of truth; and lastly, to explain the best method of communicating the truth to others, when discovered. Under the first head, it would be requisite to enter into the discussion of the faculties of sensation and perception, attention, consciousness, memory, conception, abstraction, imagination, judg. ment, taste, the moral faculty, and other powers; or, according to the phrenological system, the knowing and reflecting faculties, the moral sentiments, and the animal propensities-which may be considered as so many different modes of the operation of mind. Under the second, a brief view might be given of the peculiar characteristics of mind and matter, and a more particular survey of the sciences, or the knowledge which men have acquired respecting the objects of human thought, which might be arranged

under the three following heads:-1. History, comprehending sacred, prophetic, and ecclesiastical history; literary history, including the history of philosophy and the arts; civil history, including particular history, general history, memoirs, antiquities, and biography; also, geography and chronology, which have been denominated the Eyes of history; natural history, including mineralogy, botany, and general zoology, meteorology, geology, and the facts which relate to the heavenly bodies.-2. Philosophy, including ontology, the mathematical sciences, pure and mixed; natural and revealed theology, esthetics, or the science of our feelings and emotions; ethics, logic, political economy and legislation; natural philosophy, chemistry, physical astronomy, medicine, the physiology of plants, human and comparative anatomy, &c.-3. Art, including the fine arts, as poetry, oratory, painting, architecture, gardening, &c.; the liberal arts, as practical logic, practical geometry, practical chemistry, surgery, &c. and the mechanical arts, as dyeing, weaving, clock and watch making, &c. Under the third head might be illustrated the different kinds of evidence, as the evidence of intellection, of sense, of testimony, of analogy, &c. and the means by which evidence on any subject may be most successfully obtained; which would include a discussion of the modes of reasoning by syllogism, induction, analysis, and synthesis-of the sources of error, and of the dispositions and circumstances among mankind from which errors and fallacious reasonings arise-a subject which would require to be illustrated with considerable minuteness from the facts of history, and the circumstances which exist in the present state of the human race. Under the fourth head might be included-1. A general view of the different means which men have employed for communicating their thoughts to each other.-2. An explanation of the nature of arbitrary signs, and the principles of universal grammar.-3. An enumeration and description of the different qualities of style, and the best method of constructing a discourse on any subject.

To a class of young persons, about the age of fifteen or sixteen, a popular illustration of some of the above topics might be attended with many beneficial effects, particularly in inducing upon hem habits of reasoning and reflection, and guarding them against the influence of prejudices, and sophistical arguments and reasonings. Although it would evidently be injudicious and premature to attempt such discussions in primary schools, yet a judicious teacher, well acquainted with the science of mind and the nature of evidence, might occasionally illustrate certain parts of this subject, particularly in teaching the young to reason with propriety

on any familiar objects or incidents with which they are acquainted. It may be laid down as an axiom, that from the earliest dawn of reason children should be accustomed to exercise their reasoning faculty on every object to which their attention is directed, and taught to assign a reason for every opinion they adopt, and every action they perform. Without troubling them with explanations of the various forms and moods of syllogisms, they may be taught the nature of reasoning, and the force of arguments, by familiar examples taken from sensible objects with which they are in some measure acquainted. Logicians define reasoning to be that power which enables us, by the intervention of intermediate ideas, to perceive the relation of two ideas, or their agreement or disagreement. This might be illustrated to the young by such examples as the following:-Suppose there are two tables, A and B, which cannot be applied to each other, and we wish to know whether A be longer or shorter than B; we endeavour to find an "intermediate idea," or measure, name. ly, a three-feet rule, and apply it, first to table A, and then to table B. We find that A measures thirty-six inches, coinciding exactly with the three-feet rule, and that B measures only thirty-four inches; therefore, the inference or conclusion, at which we wished to arrive, is evident, that table A is longer than table B. Again, suppose we would know whether the space contained in the triangle C, be equal to, or greater or less than that contained in the circle E; we cannot apply these figures to each other in

H

ол

E

20

16

order to determine this point; we must therefore search for an intermediate idea which will apply to both. We fix on a square -a square foot for example, and from the length of the base, E F, and the perpendicular F G, in the triangle C, we find the