218 
the primary business of education. It 
is the foundation-stone, and the “ head 
of the corner;” it is alpha and omega, 
the first and the last of our studies; in 
short, the all of our life ; for it embraces 
every thought, word, and action; it is the 
brightener of our bliss, the soother of our 
sorrows, the Almighty’s best gift to man, 
for it unites him with himself. 
' Tothis end then it seems, that educa- 
tion, on the liberal and christian plan of 
Mr. Laicaster, is the most competent. 
Tt gives to the student such an aequaint- 
ance with the art of writing, and of ac- 
compts, as is sufficient to enable him to 
éxecute with propriety the usual busi- 
ness of ordinary life; it opens to him the 
Sober use of his reason; it-unfolds to him 
the path of knowledge; and, as the 
grounds of his progress, and the prin- 
ciple of action, places’ the Holy Serip- 
tures inhis hands. No commentary ac- 
companies them; no fathers of creeds 
attempt to say, Believe this, Reject that : 
All is the word of God, and as such it is 
veceived and réverenced. 
We are not called by Christ to be of 
Paul, Cephas, or Apollos; we are com- 
manded by him to “ search the scrip- 
tures; in which are the words of 
eternal life.” He put his divine spirit 
upon the apostles; they spoke his words, 
they wrote his words; and it is in the 
Gospel alone, we can be assured to find 
them pure from the passion-blinded in- 
terpretations of this world, The in- 
'spired followers of the Redeemer no 
where tell us: After times shall come, 
when greater teachers than even Christ, 
‘and his disciples shall arise; and they shalt 
better know the will of the Father thar 
we do: heir ye them! ‘This is the lan- 
‘guage which too many commentators on 
‘holy writ would imply; but fet it spedk 
for itself. Know that God has already 
eried unto us fromthe Heavens: “ This 
_is my beloved son, hear ye him.” Then 
why do the professors of different sects 
exclaim against the plan of Lancaster, on 
the plea that it neglects the one thing 
needful, that it leaves the youth it edu- 
cates without the rudder of religion! 
Wan religion. be found at ‘a surer and 
purer source than in the word of God? 
than from the lips of him whose cup 
presents the evereliving water, of which, 
 whoeverdrinks, shallneverthirstagain.”” 
“ fs man more just than God?” or 
is the nature of the immutable ai- 
tered, that he will now call earthly fire 
to be mingled with the heaven-lit flame 
‘en his altar? No; he has spoken once 
Thoughts on the Education of the Poor. 
(Aipril ty 
and twice, that in the Scriptutes of his 
Revelation is deposited * the word of 
eternal life!” And there shall alf find it 
in simplicity and in power. - 
Let this sacred volume, this holy di+ 
rector of the ways of men, this purifier 
of the thoughts and intentionsy be put 
early into the hands of youth; let then» 
read it, study it, imprint it on their me- 
mories, and write it on their hearts; and 
we shall find in thé scholars of Christ the 
only unswerving practitioners of virtue. 
Here, in this one little book, we find 
concentred the whole substance of all 
the large volumes which~ philosophers 
and sages and legislators ever wrote: we 
see before us more than all the lore of 
Greece and Rome, more than the wis- 
dom of all the world; for it is the wis- 
dom of God, “given without measure ;” 
the wisdom of the Eternal One, who, by 
the tongues of former times, gave know- 
ledge “ with measure” to the learned of 
the earth. i Mie, 
The great end of life is virtue (that is, 
righteousness); that virtue which pays to 
our Maker the homage due to him; that 
virtue which promotes the good of our 
fellow-creatures ; that virtue which makes: 
us happy here and hereafter: and this 
virtue the Holy Scripture inculcates with- 
out commentary, without need of expla- 
nation, or any point essentially. nes 
cessary to salvation. They speak “ not 
as the Scribes and Pharisees, but as of 
one with authority.” Such is their truth, 
such their power, that did a man find 
the sacred pages in a desertygamongst 
unlettered savages, they would be sufli~ 
cient to lead him securely to salvation. 
Let us then hear no more that Mr. Lan- 
caster’s. plan leaves his pupils without 
relivion: “ they have Moses and'the Pros 
phets,” Christ and his. Apostles; - and 
surely “one” from the dead” could 
not teach them more! No true Chris. 
tian, no honest member of the Protestant 
church, can lay his hand om his breast,. 
and answer, as he would before the 
throne of God,—that more is-necessary to- 
wards the knowledge of salvation, than: 
the study of the Holy Scriptures. Their 
sufficiency once granted, (and: who. be- 
fore so awful’ a tribunal will dare deny. 
it), the primary objection to the Lan- 
caster scheme disappears; and:little now 
remains for controversy, but to disprove 
the idea, that education is subversive of 
alaborious and humble disposition a: 
wrong education may, but never a right.. 
Admit the first position in’ my own are 
gament, and it annililates: this last obe- 
; in. Jectivirs 
