EFFECTS OF BENEVOLENCE. 



61 



b thrown ovt- the face of nature. Towns and 

 villages woulc* be built on spacious plans, divest 

 ed of all that gloom and filth which now disgrace 

 the abodes of millions of human beings, and 

 which form an emblem of their physical and 

 moral wretchedness ; and the landscape of every 

 tountrv would present a scene of grandeur, fertil 

 ity, and picturesque beauty, Those immense 

 treasures which have been so long expended in 

 the arts of war and devastation would be em 

 ployed in turning immense deserts into fruitful 

 fields, in beautifying the aspect of rural nature, 

 in planting orchards and vineyards, in forming 

 spacious roads, in establishing seminaries of 

 instruction, in erecting comfortable habitations 

 for the lower orders of society, and promoting 

 their domestic enjoyment. What an immense 

 variety of objects of this description would be 

 accomplished within the limits of Great Britain 

 by means of a thousand millions of pounds, which 

 we all know have been lately expended within 

 the space of twenty-four years, in carrying for 

 ward the work of destruction ! 



Under the influence of the reign of love, the 

 instruction of all ranks, in every department of 

 useful knowledge, would be rapidly promoted ; 

 ignorance and error, with all their attendant 

 evils, would soon evanish from the minds even 

 of the lowest orders of society ; seminaries would 

 be erected and established on a liberal basis, for 

 instructing every class of mankind in all those 

 branches of science which tend to expand the 

 capacity of the human mind, and to extend the 

 range of its contemplations ; the hours of active 

 labour would be abridged, in order that they 

 might have leisure for the cultivation of their 

 understanding and the exercise of their moral 

 powers. To add to their stock of knowledge, 

 and to increase the sum of happiness around 

 them, would be considered as interesting and as 

 delightful as it now is to the sons of Mammon 

 to &quot; add house to house, and field to field,&quot; and 

 to riot on the gains of avarice. Societies would 

 be formed for mutual improvement in knowledge 

 and virtue ; lectures delivered on every interest 

 ing and useful subject ; experiments performed to 

 illustrate the order and mechanism of nature ; 

 and instruments of every description procured 

 for exhibiting the wisdom and omnipotence of 

 the Creator and the glories of the universe. The 

 revelation of heaven would be studied with in 

 telligence in all its aspects and bearings, and 

 every passion, affection, and active exertion 

 would be directed by its moral requisitions. 

 The human mind, thus trained and carried for 

 ward in wisdom and holiness, would shed a 

 moral radiance around it, and be gradually pre 

 pared for entering on a higher scene of contem 

 plation and enjoyment; 



Among all ranks of men, a spirit of selfishness 

 and avarice would be extinguished, and in its 

 stead a spirit of noble generosity and benefi 



cence would pervade the whole mass of tociety. 

 That divine maxim inculcated by our Saviour, 

 &quot; It is more blessed to give than to receive, 1 would 

 be engraven on every heart, and appear in every 

 action. This sublime principle forms a promi 

 nent irait in the character of God, and in all his 

 arrangements towards his creatures ; and it ani 

 mates the minds of superior intelligences in their 

 associations with each other, and in their occa 

 sional intercourses with the inhabitants of our 

 world. In imitation of these glorious beings, the 

 human race would consider it as the grand end 

 of their existence, not merely to acquire wealth, 

 knowledge, or power, but to employ themselves 

 in the unceasing diffusion of beneficence to all 

 around. To communicate happiness through 

 out all the ranks of their fellow-men with whom 

 they mingle, to sooth the disconsolate and the 

 desponding, to relieve the distressed, to instruct 

 the ignorant, to expand the intellect, to animate 

 and direct the benevolent affections, to increase 

 the enjoyments of the lower orders of the com 

 munity, to direct the opening minds of the young, 

 to lead them by gentle steps into the paths of 

 wisdom and holiness, and to* promote every 

 scheme which has a relation to the public good, 

 would form the constant aim of all conditions of 

 men from the highest to the lowest. Every house 

 would be open to the weary and benighted travel 

 ler, every heart would welcome him to the re 

 freshments and repose it afforded, every coun 

 tenance would beam benignity, every comfort 

 would be afforded, every wish anticipated, and 

 every stranger thus entertained would &quot; bless 

 the mansion,&quot; and implore the benediction of 

 heaven on all its inmates. The houseless child 

 of want would no longer wander amidst scenes 

 of plenty, tattered and forlorn, pinched with po 

 verty, exposed to the piercing blasts, and obliged 

 to repose under the open canopy of heaven, for 

 want of more comfortable shelter ; the poor 

 would soon cease out of the land, every one 

 would be active and industrious, and every one 

 would enjoy a comfortable portion of the boun 

 ties of Providence. And what a happy world 

 would it be were kindness and affection the cha 

 racteristic of all its inhabitants! The face of 

 nature would wear a more cheering aspect, &quot; the 

 desert would rejoice and blossom as the rose,&quot; 

 the flowers would look more gay, the &quot; little hills&quot; 

 would be encircled with joy, the light of heaven 

 would appear more glorious and transporting, a 

 thousand delightful emotions would spring up in 

 the mind amidst every rural scene, and every so 

 cial intercourse would be a source of unmingled 

 bliss. Paradise would be restored, heaven would 

 descend to earth, and an emblem would be pre 

 sented of the joys of the blessed above. 



O blissful and auspicious era ! When wilt 

 thou arrive to still the restless agitation of ma 

 lignant passions, to promote peace on earth and 

 good will among men ? When will the benevo- 



