66 have its due place. Let not an intellectual assent to points of doctrine be mistaken for the Christian faith. But let this faith be allowed to stand forth in its true character, as a personal trust in Christ, and let the doctrines of Christianity be the study of those who are already converted to Christ. From this point of view, all doctrines appear to be equally unevangelical-that is to say, equally foreign to the gospel proclamation, and the faith which this is designed to produce. In this view, the declaration that "Christ died for our sins," is not a doctrine, but a fact; and the same may be said of the announcement that he was buried," and of that, also, which completes the gospel, viz.: that "he rose from the dead." These are simple statements of fact-not doctrines, tenets, or deductions of human reason from premises scriptural or unscriptural-not matters of speculation to engage the intellect, but divine realities to control the heart. The gospel, nevertheless, is the foundation of all true Christian doctrine, but the foundation must precede the superstructure. The gospel is the title to a rich inderitance, from which industry may derive the most precious fruits, and in which sagacity may discover the richest mines of treasure; but these are not mentioned in the deed. Or, it may be compared to the seed which includes and enwraps, but does not display, the future plant which it is designed to produce, with its branching stem, its verdant outspread leaves, its flowers and fruits. It is this seed of the divine word, in all its intact simplicity, that the true evangelist seeks to implant in the human heart, confident that while "he sleeps, and rises night and day," it will " grow up, he knoweth not how," "for the earth bringeth forth of herself first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But the doctrine-loving religionist must, forsooth, presume himself to unfold that seed, to separate its parts, to give to them a new arrangement, to mingle with them the germs of his own philosophy, and endeavor to implant this bulky and complicated substitute in the minds of men. But this dissection has destroyed the vitality of the seed. It cannot vegetate. On the other hand, they are the germs of human philosophy that grow and flourish in the name and stead of the gospel and faith of Christ. It is this philosophy, this doctrinal opinionism, which, like the larva of a parasite in the body of an insect, feeds upon the gospel into which it has been introduced, until, by destroying the life of the truth, and consuming its materials, it has succeeded in effecting its own development, and in establishing itself in the room of that divine faith which was designed to save the world. R. R. THE SOUL. (By Sir John Davis, a contemporary of Shakspere.) Or pleasure of the sense, contentment find? Which seem sweet flowers with lustre fresh and gay, She lights on that and this, and tasteth all, But, pleased with none, doth rise and soar away. So, when the soul finds here no true content, And, like Noah's dove, can no sure footing take, AN ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. THERE is not, in all the expanded | is neither an angel nor an animal. He area of human thought, any theme more has a body, a soul, and a spirit. He important or more prolific of good or has a trinity of natures in one personevil to man, temporal, spiritual orality. While Jehovah has a trinity of eternal, than is the theme of human personalities in one nature, man has a education. It has commanded the at- trinity of natures in one personality. tention, and more or less engrossed the He has an animal nature, an intellectual thoughts, of the most gifted minds and nature, and a moral nature. Hence the most philanthropic hearts that have the prayer of the greatest apostle and adorned our common humanity. The ambassador of heaven was, " May God capacity of man, the dignity of man, sanctify you wholly"-in body, soul, and the destiny of man, have been more and spirit. These are not two, but three or less popular themes in every age, and entities, and these three are in every amongst all the civilized nations of the human being. Man has an animal earth. The three most engrossing ques- body, an animal soul, and a rational tions in every age, in every clime of spirit. Two of these are earthy and earth, and in every tongue of man, are, temporal-one is spiritual and eternal. were, and ever will be, What am I? He is, therefore, not improperly called Whence came I? Whither do I go? a microcosm, a miniature embodiment of universal nature, or of the divine creation. These are the loftiest, the most profound, and soul-engrossing themes, on which the mind of man can concentrate all its powers, and tax all its resources. It is conceded by the highest tribunals of human science and human learning, by the greatest and best of all philosophers, that the only object seen, contemplated, and admired by man, which the sun surveys or the earth contains -the only existence within the human horizon that will never cease to be, is man. He of all earth's tenantry, had a beginning, but will never, never, never have an end. It is this view of man, and this view only, that magnifies and aggrandizes the theme of his education; and that, in every age of civilization, has, more than all other [themes, engrossed the attention, elicited the energies, and commanded the activities of every truly enlightened philosopher. But the proper philosophy of man, indicated in his origin, constitution, and destiny, is an essential preliminary to a rational disposition and development of this theme. The first question, then, necessarily is, What is man? He We do not, then, wonder, standing on the pinnacle of this temple, that there was a divine interposition in behalf of humanity in its ruins, and none for the angels who kept not their first estate. And this, indeed, is no ordinary attestation of the dignity of man. Hence the institution of a remedial system, to elevate, dignify, and beatify man, was introduced by the Creator himself, and consummated by the incarnation of the divinity in our humanity. This is the proper stand-point whence to survey the special providence and the special grace vouchsafed to man as he now is, in his lapsed and ruined condition. Hence the true and enduring subbasis of a rational and adequate education of a human being, is a just and true conception of man, not as he was, but as he is now, and as he must for ever be. Any system not based on these conceptions, cannot possibly meet the demands of our nature, nor develope and perfect a human being to act well his part in the great drama of human life. The only text-book for such a system, and such a study, and such a full-orbed development of man, is that inestimable volume, vouchsafed by God | himself, in progress of completion some 1600 years. It developes his nature, his origin, his destiny, and counsels his course in life with special reference to his full development and preparation for the highest honors, pleasures, and enjoyments, of which he is capable. It adapts itself to his highest reason, to the strongest and most enduring cravings of his nature, and reveals to him the only pathway to true glory, honor, and immortality. Hence we conclude that this volume should be a standing and a daily text-book in every primary school, academy, and college in Chris tendom. But this is not all ;-the true philosophy of man demands that a rational and systematic course of instruction should be instituted and prosecuted with a special reference to the conscience, the heart, and the spirit of man, as to the understanding or intellectual powers, the taste and the imagination of the pupil or the student. The whole world within him, as well as the whole world without him, should not only be defined and developed, but cultivated, matured and perfected, in full harmony with his origin and destiny, not only as far as appertains to the present world, but also as relates to the future and the eternal world. Man was not created for this earth as his whole patrimony. He was destined to be a cosmopolite, not of cur planet only, or of our solar system, but to have intercourse, free and cordial, with the tenantry of all worlds, and to be a peer of the highest circles of the highest sphere of God's universe. He is, in fact, through the interposition of the second Adam, made a peer of the highest realms in creation, and a joint heir with Adam the Second, who is himself heir of all things. May we not, then, with still more emphasis and earnestness, inquire, What should his education be? What, then, is the meaning of the word education, inquires the sparkling eyes around me? It is a Roman word, of etymological composition. It is tantamount to development-full orbed development. It enlarges, invigorates, beautifies, adorns, and beatifies the 66 soul and spirit of man. King Solomon endorses this theory in affirming that a man's wisdom makes his face to shine;" that its "merchandize is better than silver, its increase than that of fine gold." "It is more precious than pearls, and all the objects of desire are not equal to wisdom." He affirms that "its ways are ways of pleasantness that all its paths are paths of peace that "it is a tree of life to those who possess it, and that happy is he who retains it." But there is knowledge without wisdom; and there may be, at a certain angle, wisdom without much knowledge. We have occasionally met with persons of much knowledge possessing little wisdom, and with some possessing much wisdom with little knowledge. Education, however, imparts knowledge rather than wisdom, while wisdom uses knowledge with discretion, applying and appropriating it to high and holy purposes. Wisdom and knowledge are of the same paternity, but not of the same maternity. They are, however, eagerly to be sought after; and he that seeketh them with all his heart, shall attain to wise counsels. They are the richest gifts of God to mortal man. Education, we repeat, is the development of what is in man, and according to Webster, "it comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations." It is, consequently, physical, literary, moral, and religious. No irreligious man is, therefore, a welleducated man. His head may be large and crowded with ideas; but his heart is dwarfed and cold to God and man. His conscience is callous, if not seared with guilt; and his moral sensibilities morbid, if not paralyzed to death. When we affirm the conviction, that every well-educated person must be a genuine Christian, we would not be understood as holding or expressing the idea, that a Christian is the mere fruit of a good literary, moral, or religious education. Still, without education, in some measure of it, no man can be a Christian. He must understand, in some degree, or in some measure, the Oracles of God. Since the Bible contains the Oracles of God, and since these Oracles are written in human language, that language, whatever it may be as a mother tongue, must be the vehicle of all intercommunication between heaven and earth between God and man. Now if that language be not understood by any particular person, he cannot come to the knowledge of his God or of himself, so far as God has spoken to man, either of himself or of man; or so far as the most enlightened man can develop, in words, the being of God, the providence of God, the moral government of God, or the general salvation which he has provided for man in his moral ruin. Education is, therefore, essential to the salvation of any man into whose hand God, in his moral government or overruling providence, has placed a Bible. This measure of education, essential to a man's confidence of himself, his origin, responsibilities, and destiny, and to his appreciation of a revelation from God concerning a remedial system, and man's present lapsed and ruined circumstances, is as indispensable to his immortal spirit and happy destiny, as atmosphere and lungs to his animal life and health. We merely assert these positions, because they are conceded by every man of sound judgement and self-disposing memory. And, therefore, a certain amount of education is absolutely necessary to give to every man the means of possessing and enjoying the life that now is, or that future and everlasting life to come. For this end, there is in every child an innate craving after knowledge, as constant and insatiate as the craving for congenial food. This appetite for knowledge in the human family is as universal as the appetite for food. There are, indeed, degrees of it discernible in all children; and as a general rule, in the exact ratio of the cravings for knowledge, is the power or faculty of acquiring it. But of all the knowledges of earth and time, the knowledge of our eternal destiny is rationally the all-absorbing, soul-captivating, and soul - subduing craving of humanity. A human being devoid of this is not compus mentis, nor, indeed, compos corporis. Lungs without atmosphere, would not be more useless or worthless than this insatiate craving for light and knowledge, without some communication from the Father of our B spirits, on the soul-absorbing theme of our future and everlasting destiny. This is, after all the disquisitions on the certainty of a revelation from God to man, embracing his future and eternal destiny, the most palpable a priori argument in favor of the prince of schoolbooks-the Holy Bible. But we argue not this question as though it were still a doubtful one. We argue from it as from a fixed fact, fully, and cordially, and gratefully conceded by those whom we now address. The Bible, indeed, is the tongue of the universe, ever unfolding its mysteries, ever developing the awful and glorious character of that magnificent Architect whose sublime and awful fiat broke the solemn silence of eternity, and gave birth and being to a thousand millions of suns, and thirty thousand millions of attendant planets, "For ever singing as they shine, One of the most obvious and impressive arguments of the intellectual and moral dignity of man, is the fact, that nothing short of the infinite, the eternal, and the immutable, can meet and satisfy the cravings of his spiritual nature. There is more of philosophical fact than fable in the tradition, that the son of Philip and Olympias-Philip of Macedon having conquered the world that then was, hung his sword and trumpet in the hall, weeping that his arm was hampered and had not room to do its work, in a world so small as ours. Ambition reddens at this tale, and hangs its head in solemn contemplation. But the truth, the glorious truth, the soul-subduing truth, is, that nothing but the infinite and the eternal can satisfy the cravings of an enlightened human soul. This thought-fact, may I call it ? — is enough to show to any one of grave reflection, that whatever may be said of the physical or intellectual nature of man, the moral and the spiritual are his transcendent glory and felicity. And hence we argue, that any and every system of education that does not contemplate this at a proper stand-point, is perfectly at sea, in a boisterous ocean, without sail, compass, or pilot aboard, and, therefore, can never anchor in the haven of safety and happy repose. Hence our position, our capital posi tion is, that the holy Bible must be in every school worthy of a Christian public patronage, and not in the library only, but daily in the hand of teacher and pupil, professor and student. A dwelling-house without a table, a chair, or a couch, would not, in our esteem, be more unfit for guests, than a primary school, an academy, or a college without a Bible not in the library only, but daily in the hand of the student, in solemn reading, study, and exegetical development. The most highly educated minds in Christendom will, nemine contradicente, with one accord depose, that for simplicity, beauty, and intelligibility of style, as well as for the grandeur, the majesty, and the sublimity of its oracular developments, it has no equal, much less no superior, in all the libraries and archives of literature and science, of ancient or modern institution. It stimulates all the energies of the human soul, awakens all its powers of thought, elevates its conceptions, directs its activities, chastens its emotions, and urges it onward and upward in the career of glory, honor, and immortality. There is an unreasonable and an unfortunate prejudice in some regions, touching the introduction of the whole subject of religion, especially of speculative creeds and catechisms, into the public seminaries of this our age and nation. Into the merits or demerits of this economy and dispensation of religious truth, or of theoretic and speculative disquisitions, of a religious bearing, we have neither taste nor time to enter. Suffice it to say, that there is a catholic, as well as a provincial formula of divine truth, and that neither of them ought to be placed upon the table, to be theologically dissected or embalmed. Christianity is an abstract noun, from the adjective Christian, and that from Christ, the consecrated. But the Bible being a book of facts, and not of theories, it may in these be studied, believed, obeyed, and enjoyed, without one speculative oracle on the part of teacher or pupil. It is universally conceded by all whose judgment is mature and worthy of authority amongst the masses, that no man was ever healed, saved, or restored to health or life, by an assent or subscription to any abstract formula in physics, metaphysics, or theology. We live not, we cannot live on alcohol, or on any distilled spirits whatever; but we can live and enjoy good health on bread and water. And so it is in religion; no man ever entered heaven, according to the Bible, either on physics or metaphysics. It is by faith, based on facts, and not by mere doctrines, orthodox, assented to, that any one is reformed, sanctified, or saved. So the learned and the truly religious of all creeds and human platforms unequivocally proclaim. Why not, then, rather carry the Bible than the catechism to school? Why not listen to God rather than to man? Are we more safe in the teachings or in the hand of man than of God? Who teaches like Him who possesses not by measure, but without measure, the spirit of all wisdom and understanding - who taught on earth, and who speaks from heaven, with the plenary inspiration of the Holy Spirit of all wisdom and understanding? No school, worthy of Christian patronage, ever was or can be founded on a catechism, or on the speculative dogmata of any sectarian formula of opinions. We demand, and the age we live in demands, facts and not theories - divine oracles, and not human dogmata. Had it been compatible with divine wisdom and prudence to substitute a formula of abstract doctrine, or to give what we call a synopsis of Christian doctrine and sound orthodoxy, could he not, would he not, have given us an infallible summary-a stereotyped and a divinely-patented formula of sound opinions, in mode and form to a scruple? The fact that he who foresaw the end of every institution from the beginning, and who foreknew all the involutions and evolutions of human kind, did not do it, is, to our mind, an unanswerable argument against any effort of man to do it. In our studies of what is commonly called nature, or the material and spiritual universe, we observe that, despite of the four elements of the modernsGod in nature, in providence, in moral government, and in redemption, presents nothing to man in the abstract, or absolute elementary form, but everything in a concrete and relative form. So contemplated, the universe and the Bible bear the demonstrable impress of |