THE CULTIVATOR, 
75 
ling with a considerable portion of mankind, though seldom expressed in 
words, that the laws of heaven are too strict and unbending,—that they 
Interfere with what they consider their pleasures and enjoyments, and 
that if one or more of them could be a little modified or relaxed, they 
would have no objections to attempt a compliance with the rest. But 
such feelings and sentiments are altogether preposterous and absurd. It 
would be inconsistent, not only with the rectitude, but with the benevo¬ 
lence, of The Deity, to set aside or to relax a single requisition oi thrt 
Saw which is “ perfect ,” and which, as it novv stands, is calculated to 
promote the happiness of all worlds. Were he to do so, and to permit 
moral agents to act accordingly, it would be nothing less than to shut up 
the path of happiness, and to open the flood-gates ol misery upon the in¬ 
telligent universe. Hence we are told by Him who came to fulfil the 
law, that sooner may “ heaven and earth pass away,” or the whole frame 
of nature be dissolved, than that “ one jot or one tittle can pass from this 
law.” For, as it is founded on the nature of God, and on the relations 
which subsist between Him and created beings, it roust be absolutely per¬ 
fect, and of eternal obligation; and, consequently, nothing could be taken 
from it without destroying its perfection, nor any thingadded to it without 
supposing that it was originally imperfect. Were the bulk of mankind, 
therefore, capable of entering into the spirit ef such investigations, and 
qualified to perceive the true foundations oi moral actions; were they, for 
example, clearly to perceive that truth is the bond of society, and the 
foundation of all delightful intercourse among intelligent beings in every 
world, and that, were the law which enjoins it to be reversed, and ration¬ 
al creatures to act accordingly, all confidence would be completely de¬ 
stroyed,—the inhabitants of all worlds thrown into a state of universal 
anarchy, and creation transformed into a chaos,—such views and senti¬ 
ments could not fail of producing a powerful and beneficial influence on 
the state of morals, and a profound reverence and respect for that law 
“ which is holy, just, and good.” 
4. Knowledge, in combination with habits of reflection, would lead to 
self-examination and self-inspection. The indolent and untutored mind 
shuns all exertions of its intellectual faculties, and all serious reflection on 
what passes within it, or has a relation to moral character and conduct. 
It is incapable of investigating its own powers, of determining the manner 
in which they should operate, or of ascertaining the secret springs of its 
actions. Yet, without a habit of reflection and self-examination, we can¬ 
not attain a knowledge of ourselves, and, without self-knowledge, we can¬ 
not apply aright our powers and capacities, correct our failings and de¬ 
fects, or advance to higher degrees of improvement in knowledge and vir¬ 
tue. In order to ascertain our state, our character, and our duty, such 
inquiries as the following must frequently and seriously be the subject of 
consideration. What rank do I hold in the scale of being, and what place 
do I occupy in the empire of God? Am I merely a sensitive creature, or 
am I also endowed with moral and intellectual powers? In what relation 
do I stand to my fellow-creatures, and what duties do I owe them? What 
is my ultimate destination? Is it merely to pass a few years in eating and 
drinking, in motion and rest, like the lower animals, or am I designed 
for another and higher sphere of existence ? In what relation do I stand 
to my Creator, and what homage, submission, and obedience ought I to 
yield to him? What are the talents and capacities with which I am en¬ 
dowed, and how shall I apply them to the purposes for which they were 
given me? What are the weaknesses and deficiencies to which I am sub¬ 
ject, and how are they to be remedied? What are the vices and follies 
to which I am inclined, and by what means may they be counteracted? 
What are the temptations to which I am exposed, and how shall they be 
withstood? What are the secret springs of my actions, and by what laws 
and motives are they regulated? What are the tempers and dispositions 
which I most frequently indulge, and are they accordant with the rules of 
rectitude and virtue? What are the prejudices I am apt to entertain, and 
by what means may they be subdued? What are the affections and appe¬ 
tites in which I indulge, and are they regulated by the dictates of reason 
and the law of God? What are my great, and governing views in life? 
Are they correspondent to the will of my Creator, and to the eternal des¬ 
tination that awaits me? Wherein do I place my highest happiness? In 
the pleasures of sense, or in the pleasures of intellect and religion,—in 
the creature or in the Creator? How have I hitherto employed my moral 
powers and capacities? How do I stand affected towards my brethren of 
mankind? Do I hate, or envy, or despise any of them? Do I grudge 
them prosperity, wish them evil, or purposely injure and affront them? 
Or do I love them as brethren of the same family, do them all the good in 
my power, acknowledge their excellences, and rejoice in their happiness 
and prosperity? 
Such inquiries and self examinations, when seriously conducted, would 
necessarily lead to the most beneficial moral results. In leading us to a 
knowledge of our errors and defects, they would teach us the excellence 
of humility, the reasonableness of this virtue, and the foundation on which 
it rests, and of course, the folly of pride, and of all those haughty and su¬ 
percilious tempers which are productive of so much mischief and unhap¬ 
piness, both in the higher and the lower spheres of life. Pride is uni¬ 
formly the offspring of self-ignorance. For, if a man will but turn his 
eyes within, and thoroughly scrutinize himself, so as to perceive his er¬ 
rors and follies, and the germs of vice which lodge in his heart, as well as 
the low rank he holds in the scale of creation, he would see enough to 
teach him humbleness of mind, and to render a proud disposition odious 
and detestable, and inconsistant with the relations in which he stands to 
his Creator, to his fellow-creatures, and to the universe at large. Such 
mental investigations would also lead to self-possession under affronts and 
injuries, and amid the hurry and disorder of the passions,—to charity, 
candor, meekness and moderation, in regard to the sentiments and con¬ 
duct of others, to the exercise of self-denial, to decorum and consistency 
of character, to a wise and steady conduct in life, and to an intelligent 
performance of the offices of piety and the duties of religion. But how 
can we ever expect that an ignorant, uncultivated mind, unaccustomed 
to a regular train of rational thought, can enter, with spirit and intelli¬ 
gence, on the process of self-examination? It requires a certain portion, 
at least, of information, and a habit of reflection, before a man can be 
qualified to engage in such an exercise; and these qualifications can only 
be attained by the exercise which the mind receives in the acquisition of 
general knowledge. If, then, it be admitted, that self-ignorance is the 
original spring of all the follies and incongruities we behold in the charac¬ 
ters of men, and the cause of all that vanity, censoriousness, malignancy, 
and vice which abound in the world; and if self-knowledge would tend to 
counteract such immoral dispositions, we must endeavor to communicate 
a certain portion of knowledge to mankind, to fit them for the exercise of 
self-examination and self-inspection, before we can expect that the moral 
world will be renovated, and “ all iniquity, as ashamed, hide its head, 
and stop its mouth.” 
5, Knowledge, by expanding the mind, will enable it to take a clear 
and comprehensive view of the motives, bearings, tendencies, and con¬ 
sequences of moral actions. A man possessed of a truly enlightened mind 
must have his moral sense, or conscience, much more sensible and ten¬ 
der, and more judiciously directed, than that of a person whose under¬ 
standing is beclouded with ignorance. When he has to choose between 
good and evil, or between good and better, or between any two actions 
he has to perform, he is enabled to bring before his mind many more ar¬ 
guments, and much higher and nobler arguments and motives, to deter¬ 
mine the choice he ought to make. When he is about to perform any 
particular action, his mental eye is enabled to pierce into the remote con¬ 
sequences which may result from it. He can, in some measure, trace 
its bearings, not only on his friends and neighbors, and the community 
to which he belongs, but also on surrounding nations, on the world at 
large, on future generations, and even on the scenes of a future eternity. 
For an action, whether good or bad, performed by an individual in a cer¬ 
tain station in society, may have a powerful moral influence on tribes and 
nations far beyond the sphere in which it was performed, and on millions 
who may people the world in the future ages of time. We know that ac¬ 
tions, both of a virtuous and vicious nature, performed several thousands 
of years ago, and in distant places of the world, have had an influence 
upon the men of the present generation, which will redound either to 
the honor or the disgrace of the actors, “ in that day when God shall 
judge the world in righteousness, and reward every man according to his 
works.” We also know, that there are certain actions which to some 
minds may appear either trivial or indifferenl, and toother minds bene¬ 
ficial, which nevertheless involve a principal which, if traced to its re¬ 
moter consequences, would lead to the destruction of the intelligent crea¬ 
tion Now, it is the man of knowledge and of moral perception alone 
who can recognize such actions and principles, and trace them to all their 
natural and legitimate results. He alone can apply, with judgment and 
accuracy, the general laws of moral action to every particular circum¬ 
stance, connect the present with the future, and clearly discern the mere 
semblance of truth and moral rectitude from the reality. 
In short, the knowledge of divine Revelation, and a serious study of 
its doctrines and precepts, must accompany every other species of infor¬ 
mation, if we wish to behold mankind reformed and moralized. It is in 
the sacred oracles alone that the will of God, the natural character of 
man, the remedy of moral evil, the rules of moral conduct, and the 
means of moral improvement, are clearly and fully unfolded. And the 
man who either rejects the revelations of Heaven, or refuses to study 
and investigate the truths and moral requisitions they contain, can never 
expect to rise to the sublime heights of virtue, and to the moral dignity 
of his nature. But, were the study of the Scriptures uniformly con¬ 
joined with the study of overy other branch of useful knowledge, we 
should ere long, behold a wonderful transformation upon the face of the 
moral world. Pride, selfishnesss, malice, envy, ambition, and revenge 
would gradually be undermined. The spirit of warfare and contention 
would be subdued; rioting, drunkenness and debauchery would be held 
in abhorrence by all ranks; kindness and affection would unite the whole 
biotherhood of mankind; peace, harmony, and subordination would be 
displayed in every department of social life; “ our judges would be just, 
and our exactors righteous; wars would be turned into peace to the ends 
of the earth, and righteousness and praise spring forth before all the na¬ 
tions,” Were moral principle thus diffused among the dffbrent classes of 
society, it could not fail of producing a beneficial influence on the pro¬ 
gress of the arts and sciences, and on every thing that might tend to 
