,an ,essay on the ,evils of ,popular    
,ignorance  ,by ,john ,foster4  ,revised
 and ,enlarged ,edition4       ,a ,work1
 which1 popular and admired as it       
confessedly is1 has never   met with the
 thousandth part of the attention which 
it deserves4 ,it   appears to me that we
 are now at a crisis in the state of our
 country1   and of the world1 which     
renders the reasonings and exhortations 
of   that eloquent production applicable
 and urgent beyond all power of   mine  
to express4    ,dr4 ,j4 ,pye ,smith4    
,advertisement    ,if the circumstance  
of a manner of introduction somewhat    
different from what would be expected in
 a composition of the essay class were  
worth a very few words of explanation1  
it might be mentioned1 that the         
following production has grown out of   
the topics of a discourse1 delivered at 
a public anniversary meeting in aid of  
the ,british and ,foreign ,school       
,society4  ,when it was thought1 a good 
while after that occasion1 that a more  

extensive use might be made of some of  
the observations1 the writing was begun 
in the form of a ,discourse addressed to
 an assembly1 and commencing with a     
sentence from the ,bible1 to serve as a 
general indication to the subject4 ,but 
after some progress had been made1 it   
became evident that anything like a     
comprehensive view of that subject would
 be incompatible with the proper limits 
of such a composition4  ,in             
relinquishing1 however1 the form of a   
public address1 the writer thought he   
might be excused for leaving some traces
 of that character to remain1 in both   
the cast of expression and the          
theological sentiment2 for reverting    
repeatedly to the sentence from         
,scripture2 and for continuing the use  
of the plural pronoun1 so commodious for
 the modest egotism of public           
discoursers4  ,in the general design and
 course of observations1 the essay      
retains the character of the original   
discourse1 which was1 in accordance to  

the presumed expectations of a grave    
assembly1 an attempt to display the     
importance of the education of the      
people in reference1 mainly1 to moral   
and religious interests4 ,there are     
special relations in which their        
ignorance or cultivation are of great   
consequence to the welfare of the       
community4 ,some of these are of        
indispensable consideration to the      
legislator1 and to the political        
economist4 ,but it is in that general   
and moral view1 in which ignorance in   
the lower orders is beheld the cause of 
their vice1 irreligion1 and consequent  
misery1 that the subject is attempted1  
imperfectly and somewhat desultorily1 to
 be illustrated in the following pages4 
,nor was it within the writer's design  
to suggest any particular plans1        
regulations1 or instrumental expedients1
 in promotion of the system of          
operations hopefully begun1 for raising 
these classes from their degradation4   
,his part has been to make such a       

prominent representation of the         
calamitous effects of their ignorance1  
as shall prove it an aggravated national
 guilt to allow another generation to   
grow up to the same condition as the    
present and the past4 ,in the course of 
attempting this1 occasions have been    
seized of exposing the absurdity of     
those who are hostile to the mental     
improvement of the people4 ,if any one  
should say that this is a mere beating  
of the air1 for that all such hostility 
is now gone by1 he may be assured there 
are many persons1 of no insignificant   
rank in society1 who would from their   
own consciousness smile at the          
simplicity with which he can so easily  
shape men's opinions and dispositions to
 his mind whether they will or not4 ,he 
must have been the most charitable or   
the most obtuse of observers4  ,it is   
feared the readers of the following     
essay will find some defect of          
distribution and arrangement4 ,to the   
candor of those who are practised in    

literary work it would be an admissible 
plea1 that when1 in a preparation to    
meet a particular occasion for which but
 little time has been allowed1 a series 
of topics and observations has been     
hastily sketched out1 it is far from    
easy to throw them afterwards into a    
different order4 ,the author has to     
bespeak indulgence also1 here and there1
 to something too like repetition4 ,if  
he qualifies the terms in which this    
fault is acknowledged1 it is because he 
thinks that1 though there be a          
recurrence of similarities1 a mere bare 
iteration is avoided1 by means of a     
diversity and addition of the matter of 
illustration and enforcement4  ,any     
benevolent writer on the subject would  
wish he could treat it without such     
frequent use of the phrases1 lower      
orders1 subordinate classes1 inferior   
portion of society1 and other           
expressions of the same kind2 because   
they have an invidious sound1 and have  
indeed very often been used in contempt4

 ,he can only say1 that he uses them    
with no such feeling2 that they are     
employed simply as the most obvious     
terms of designation2 and that he would 
like better to employ any less          
ungracious ones that did not require an 
affected circumlocution4  ,in several   
parts of the essay1 there will be found 
a language of emphatic censure on that  
conduct of states1 that predominant     
spirit and system in the administration 
of the affairs of nations1 by which the 
people have been consigned to such a    
deplorable condition of intellectual and
 consequently moral degradation1 while  
resources approaching to immensity have 
been lavished on objects of vanity and  
ambition4 ,so far from feeling that such
 observations can require any apology1  
the writer thinks it is high time for   
all the advocates of intellectual1      
moral1 and religious improvement1 to    
raise a protesting voice against that   
policy of the states denominated        
,christian1 and especially our own1     

which has1 through age after age1 found 
every conceivable thing necessary to be 
done1 at all costs and hazards1 rather  
than to enlighten1 reform1 and refine   
the people4 ,he thinks that nothing can 
more strongly betray a judgment         
enslaved1 or a time-serving dishonesty1 
in those who would assume to dictate to 
such an advocate and to censure him1    
than that sort of doctrine which tells  
him that it is beside his business1 and 
out of his sphere1 as a ,christian      
moralist1 to animadvert on the conduct  
of national authorities1 when he sees   
them1 during one long period of time    
after another1 not doing that which is  
the most important of all things to be  
done for the people over whom they      
preside1 but doing what is in substance 
and effect the reverse2 and doing it on 
that great scale1 which contrasts so    
fearfully with the small one1 on which  
the individuals who deplore such        
perversion of power are confined to     
attempt a remedy of the consequences4   

,this interdiction comes with its worst 
appearance when it is put forth in terms
 affecting a profound reverence of      
religion2 a reverence which cannot      
endure that so holy a thing should be   
defiled1 by being brought in any contact
 with such a subject as the disastrous  
effect of bad government1 on the        
intellectual and moral state of the     
people4 ,the advocate of schemes for the
 improvement of their rational nature   
may1 it seems1 take his ground1 his     
strongest ground1 on religion1 for      
enforcing on individuals the duty of    
promoting such an object4 ,in the name  
and authority of religion he may press  
on their consciences with respect to the
 application of their property and      
influence2 and he may adopt under its   
sanction a strongly judicial language in
 censure of their negligence1 their     
insensibility to their accountableness1 
and their lavish expenditures foreign to
 the most ,important uses3 in all this  
he does well4 ,but the instant he begins

 to make the like judicial application  
of its laws to the public conduct of the
 governing authorities1 that instant he 
debases ,christianity to politics1 most 
likely to party-politics2 and a pious   
horror is affected at the profanation4  
,christianity is to be honored somewhat 
after the same manner as the ,lama of   
,thibet4 ,it is to stay in its temple1  
to have the proprieties of homage duly  
preserved within its precincts1 but to  
be exempted 7in reverence of its        
sanctity67 from all cognizance of great 
public affairs1 even in the points where
 they most interfere with or involve its
 interests4 ,it could show1 perhaps1 in 
what manner the administration of those 
affairs injures these interests2 but it 
would degrade its sacred character by   
talking of any such matter4 ,but        
,christianity must have leave to decline
 the sinister compliment of such        
pretended anxiety to preserve it        
immaculate4 ,as to its sacred character1
 it can venture that1 on the strength of

 its intrinsic quality and of its own   
guardianship1 while1 regardless of the  
limits thus attempted in mock reverence 
to be prescribed1 it steps in a         
censorial capacity on what will be      
called a political ground1 so far as to 
take account of what concern has been   
shown1 or what means have been left     
disposable1 for operations to promote   
the grand essentials of human welfare1  
by that public system which has grasped 
and expended the strength of the        
community1 ,christianity is not so      
demure a thing that it cannot1 without  
violating its consecrated character1 go 
into the exercise of this judicial      
office4 ,and as to its right to do      
so1--either it has a right to take      
cognizance now of the manner in which   
the spirit and measures of states and   
their regulators bear upon the most     
momentous interests1 or it will have no 
right to be brought forward as the      
supreme law for the final award on those
 proceedings and those men4 ,footnote3  

,a censure on this alleged desecration  
of religious topics1 which had been     
pronounced on the ,essay 7first edit47  
by a ,review making no small pretensions
 both religious and literary1 was the   
immediate cause that prompted these     
observations4 ,but they were made with a
 general reference to a hypocritical    
cant much in vogue at that time1 and    
long before4 ,that it was hypocritical  
appeared plainly enough from the        
circumstance1 that those solemn rebukes 
of the profanation of religion1 by      
implicating it with political affairs1  
smote almost exclusively on one side4   
,let the religious moralist1 or the     
preacher1 amalgamate religion as largely
 as he pleased with the proper sort of  
political sentiments1 that is1 the      
servile1 and then it was all right4  ,it
 is now more than twenty years since a  
national plan of education for the      
inferior classes1 was brought forward by
 ,mr4 7now ,lord7 ,brougham4 ,the       
announcement of such a scheme from such 

an ,author1 was received with hope and  
delight by those who had so long        
deplored the condition of those classes4
 ,but when it was formally set forth1   
its administrative organization appeared
 so defective in liberal comprehension1 
so invidiously restricted and           
accommodated to the prejudices and      
demands of one part of the community1   
that another great division1 the one in 
which zeal and exertions for the        
education of the people had been more   
and longer conspicuous1 was constrained 
to make an instant and general protest  
against it4 ,and at the same time it was
 understood1 that the party in whose    
favor it had been so inequitably        
constructed1 were displeased at even the
 very small reserve it made from their  
monopoly of jurisdiction4 ,it speedily  
fell to the ground1 to the extreme      
regret of the earnest friends of popular
 reformation that a design of so much   
original promise should have come to    
nothing4  ,all legislative consideration

 of the subject went into abeyance2 and 
has so remained1 with trifling          
exception1 through an interval in which 
far more than a million1 in ,england    
alone1 of the children who were at that 
time within that stage of their life on 
which chiefly a general scheme would    
have acted1 have grown up to animal     
maturity1 destitute of all that can1 in 
any decent sense of the word1 be called 
education4 ,think of the difference     
between their state as it is1 and what  
it might have been if there had at that 
time existed patriotism1 liberality1 and
 moral principle1 enough to enact and   
carry into effect a comprehensive       
measure4 ,the longer the neglect the    
more aggravated the pressure with which 
the subject returns upon us4 ,it is     
forcing itself on attention with a      
demand as peremptory as ever was the    
necessity of an embankment against the  
peril of inundation4 ,there are no      
indications to make us sanguine as to   
the disposition of the most influential 

classes2 but it were little less than   
infatuation not to see the necessity of 
some extraordinary proceeding1 to       
establish a fortified line between us   
and--not national dishonor2 that is     
flagrantly upon us1 but--the destruction
 of national safety4  ,as to national   
dishonor1 by comparison with what may be
 seen elsewhere1 it is hardly possible  
for a patriot to feel a more bitter     
mortification than in reading the       
description1 as recently given by ,m4   
,cousin1 of the state of education in   
the ,prussian dominions1 and then       
looking over the hideous exhibition of  
ignorance and barbarism in this country2
 in representing to himself the vernal  
intelligence1 7as we may rightly name   
it17 the information1 the sense of      
decorum1 the fitness for rational       
converse1 which must quite inevitably   
diffuse a value and grace throughout the
 general youthful character under such a
 discipline1 and then changing his view 
to what may be seen all over his own    

country--an incalculable and            
ever-increasing tribe of human          
creatures1 growing up in a condition to 
show what a wretched and offensive thing
 is human nature left to itself4  ,when 
neither opprobrium1 nor prospective     
policy1 nor sense of duty1 can constrain
 the attention of the officially and    
virtually ruling part of society to an  
important national interest1 it is sure 
to come on them at last in some more    
alarming and imperative manifestation4  
,the present and very recent times have 
afforded significant indication of what 
an ignorant populace are capable of     
believing1 and of being successfully    
instigated to perpetrate4 ,it is not to 
be pretended that such ignorance1 and   
such liabilities to mischief1 exist only
 in particular spots of the land1 as if 
the local outbreaks were merely         
incidental and insulated facts1 standing
 out of community with anything widely  
pervading the mass4 ,within but very few
 years of the present date1 we have had 

the spectacle of millions1 literally    
millions1 of the people of ,england1    
yielding an absolute credence to the    
most monstrous delusions respecting     
public questions and measures1 imposed  
on them by dishonest artifice1 and what 
may be called moral incendiarism2 and   
these delusions of a nature to excite   
the passions of the multitude to crime4 
,it is difficult to believe that all    
this can be seen without serious        
apprehension1 by those who sustain the  
primary responsibility for devising     
measures to secure the national safety1 
7that we may take the lowest term of    
national welfare27 and that they can be 
content to rest that security on        
expedients which1 in keeping the people 
in order1 make them no wiser or better4 
,it would truly be a glorious change in 
our history1 if we might at length see  
the national power wielded by           
enlightened1 virtuous1 and energetic    
spirits1 not only to the bare effect of 
withstanding disorder and danger1 but in

 a resolute1 invincible determination to
 redeem us from the national ignominy of
 exhibiting to the world1 far in the    
nineteenth century1 a rude1             
unprincipled1 semi-barbarous populace4  
,thus far the hopes which had flattered 
us with such a change1 as a consequence 
of a political movement so considerable 
as to be denominated a revolution1 have 
been grievously disappointed4 ,we must  
wait1 but with prognostics little       
encouraging1 to see whether a professed 
concern for popular education will      
result in any effective scheme4 ,that   
profession has hitherto been followed up
 with so little appearance of earnest   
conviction1 or of high and comprehensive
 purpose1 among the majority of the     
influential persons who1 perhaps for    
decorum's sake1 have made it1 as to     
leave cause for apprehension that1 if   
any such scheme were to be proposed1 it 
would be in the first instance very     
limited in its compass1 indecisive in   
its enforcement1 and niggardly in its   

pecuniary appointments4 ,many of our    
legislators have never thought of       
investigating the condition of the      
people1 and are unaware of their        
deplorable destitution of all mental    
cultivation2 and many have formed but a 
low and indistinct estimate of the kind 
and measure of cultivation desirable to 
be imparted4 ,very slowly does the      
conviction or the desire make its way   
among the favorites of fortune1 that the
 portion of humanity so far below them  
should be raised to the highest mental  
condition compatible with the limitation
 and duties of their subordinate        
allotment4  ,no doubt1 the most genuine 
zeal for the object would find          
difficulties in the way1 of a magnitude 
to require a great and persevering      
exertion of power1 were they only those 
opposed by the degraded condition of the
 people themselves2 by the utter        
carelessness of one part1 and the       
intractableness of another4 ,nor is it  
to be denied1 that the differences of   

religious opinion1 among the promoters  
of the design1 must create considerable 
difficulty as to the mode and extent of 
religious instruction1 to form a part of
 a comprehensive system4 ,but we are    
told1 besides1 of we know not what      
obstruction to be encountered from      
prejudices of prescription1 privileged  
and peculiar interests1 the jealous     
pride of venerable institutions1 assumed
 rights of station and rank1 punctilios 
of precedence1 the tenacity of parties  
who find their advantage in things as   
they are1 and so forth2 all to be       
deferentially consulted4  ,if this mean 
that the old horror of a bold           
experimental novelty is still to be     
yielded to2 that nothing in this so     
urgent affair is to be ventured but in a
 creeping inch-by-inch movement2 that   
the reign of gross ignorance1 with all  
its attendant vices1 is to be allowed a 
very leisurely retreat1 retaining its   
hold on a large portion of the present  
and following generations of the        

children1 and therefore the adults2 that
 their condition and fate shall be      
mainly left at the discretion of        
ignorant and often worthless parents2   
that there shall be no considerable     
positive exaction of local provision for
 the institution1 or of attendance of   
those who should be benefited by it2    
that1 in short1 there shall not be a    
comprehensive application of the        
national power through its organ1 the   
government1 by authoritative1 and1 we   
must say1 in some degree coercive       
measures1 to abate as speedily as       
possible the national nuisance and      
calamity of such a state of the juvenile
 faculties and habits as we see glaring 
around us2 and all this because homage  
is demanded to anticipated prejudices1  
selfishness of privilege1 venerable     
institutions1 pride of station1 jealousy
 of the well-endowed1 and the like3--if 
this be what is meant1 we may well ask  
whether these factitious prerogatives1  
that would thus interfere to render     

feeble1 partial1 and slow1 any projected
 exertion to rescue the nation from     
barbarism1 turpitude1 and danger1 be not
 themselves among the most noxious      
things in the land1 and the most        
deserving to be extirpated4  ,how       
readily will the proudest descend to the
 plea of impotence when the exhortation 
is to something which they care not for 
or dislike1 but to which1 at the same   
time1 it would be disreputable to avow  
any other than the most favorable       
sentiments1 to be duly expressed in the 
form of great regret that the thing is  
impracticable4 ,impracticable--and does 
the case come at last to be this1 that  
from one cause and another1 from the    
arrogance of the high and the           
untowardness of the low1 the obstinacy  
of prejudice1 and the rashness of       
innovation1 the dissensions among       
friends of a beneficent design and the  
discountenance of those who are no      
better than enemies1 a mighty state1    
triumphantly boasting of every other    

kind of power1 absolutely cannot execute
 a scheme for rescuing its people from  
being what a great ,authority on this   
subject has pronounced the worst        
educated nation in ,europe8 ,then let it
 submit1 with all its pomp1 pride1 and  
grandeur1 to stand in derision and      
proverb on the face of the earth4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,with a view to a wider circulation than
 that which is limited by the price of  
the volume published in an expensive    
form and style of printing1 it has been 
deemed advisable to publish a cheap     
edition of the ,essay on ,popular       
,ignorance4 ,it is not in any degree an 
abridgment of the preceding edition2 the
 only omission1 of the slightest        
consequence1 being in a few places where
 changes have been rendered necessary by
 the subsequent conduct of our national 
authorities1 as affecting our           
speculations and prospects in relation  
to general education2 while1 on the     
other hand1 there are numerous little   

additions and corrections1 in attempts  
to bring out the ideas more fully1 or   
with some little afterthought of        
discrimination or exception4 ,in some   
instances the connection and dependence 
of the series of thoughts have been     
rendered more obvious1 and the sentences
 reduced to a somewhat more simple and  
compact construction2 but the principal 
object in this final revised has been   
literary correction1 without any        
material enlargement or change4  ,it is 
hoped that this reprint in a popular    
form may serve the purpose of           
contributing something1 in co-operation 
with the present exertions1 to expose1  
and partially remedy1 the lamentable and
 nationally disgraceful ignorance to    
which the people of our country have    
been so long abandoned4     ,contents4  
,section ,i4    ,defect of sensibility  
in the view of the unhappiness of       
mankind4   --,ignorance one grand cause 
of that unhappiness4--,ignorance        
prevalent   among the ancient ,jewish   

people4--,its injurious operation--and  
ultimately destructive                  
consequence4--,more extended            
consideration of   ignorance as the     
cause of misery among the ancient       
heathens4   ,section ,,ii4    ,brief    
review of the ignorance prevailing      
through the ages subsequent to   those  
of ancient history4--,state of the      
popular mind in ,christendom   during   
the complete reign of                   
,popery4--,supposed reflections of a    
,protestant in one of our ancient       
splendid structures for ecclesiastical  
use4--,slow progress of the             
,reformation1 in its effects on the     
understandings of the people4--,their   
barbarous ignorance even in the   time  
of ,elizabeth1 notwithstanding the      
intellectual and literary glories   of  
this country in that period4--,sunk in  
ignorance still in what has   often been
 called our ,augustan age4--,strange    
insensibility of the   cultivated part  
of the nation with regard to the mental 

and moral   condition of the            
rest4--,almost heathen ignorance of     
religion at the time   when ,whitefield 
and ,wesley began to excite the         
attention of the   multitude to that    
subject4--,signs and means of a change  
for the better   in recent times4       
,section ,,iii4    ,great ignorance and 
debasement still manifest in various    
features of the   popular               
character4--,entire want1 in early life1
 of any idea of a general   and         
comprehensive purpose to be             
pursued--,gratification of the senses   
the chief good4--,cruelty a subsidiary  
resource4--,disposition to cruelty      
displayed and confirmed by common       
practices4--,confirmed especially by    
the manner of slaughtering animals      
destined for food4--,displayed in the   
abuse of the laboring animals4--,general
 characteristic of the people an        
indistinct and faint sense of right and 
wrong4--,various                        
exemplifications4--,dishonor to our     

country that the people should have     
remained in such a condition4--,effects 
of their ignorance as appearing   in    
several parts of the economy of life2 in
 their ordinary occupations2   in their 
manner of spending their leisure time1  
including the ,sunday2 in   the state of
 domestic society2 consequences of this 
last as seen in the   old age of        
parents4--,the lower classes placed by  
their want of education   out of        
amicable communication with the         
higher4--,unhappy and dangerous         
consequences of this4--,great decline of
 the respect which in former   times the
 people felt toward the higher classes  
and the existing order   of the         
community4--,progress of a contrary     
spirit4   ,section ,,iv4    ,objection1 
that a material increase of knowledge   
and intelligence among   the people     
would render them unfit for their       
station1 and discontented   with it2    
would excite them to insubordination and
 arrogance toward   their superiors2 and

 make them the more liable to be seduced
 by the   wild notions and pernicious   
machinations of declaimers1 schemers1   
and   innovators4--,observations in     
answer4--,special and striking absurdity
   of this objection in one important   
particular4--,evidence from matter of   
fact that the improvement of the popular
 understanding has not the   tendency   
alleged4--,the special regard meant to  
be had to religious   instruction in the
 education desired for the lower        
classes1 a security   against their     
increased knowledge being perverted into
 an excitement to   insubordination and 
disorder4--,absurdity of the notion that
 an improved   education of the common  
people ought to consist of instruction  
specifically and almost solely          
religious4--,the diminutive quantity of 
religious as well as other knowledge to 
which the people would be   limited by  
some zealous advocates of order and     
subordination utterly   inadequate to   
secure those objects4--,but1 question   

what is to be   understood by order and 
subordination4--,increased knowledge and
 sense   in the people certainly not    
favorable to a credulous confidence and 
a   passive1 unconditional submission1  
on their part1 toward the presiding     
classes in the community4--,advantage1  
to a wise and upright government1   of  
having intelligent subjects4--,great    
effect which a general   improvement    
among the people would necessarily have 
on the manner of   their being          
governed4--,the people arrived1 in this 
age1 at a state   which renders it      
impracticable to preserve national      
tranquillity   without improving their  
minds and making some concession to     
their   claims4--,folly and probable    
calamity of an obstinate resolution to  
maintain subordination in the nations of
 ,europe in the arbitrary and   despotic
 manner of former times4--,facility and 
certain success of a   better system4   
,section ,v4    ,extreme poverty of     
religious knowledge among the uneducated

 people3   their notions respecting     
,god1 ,providence1 ,jesus ,christ1 the  
invisible   world4--,fatal effect of    
their want of mental discipline as      
causing an   inaptitude to receive      
religious                               
information4--,exemplifications1--in a  
supposed experiment of religious        
instruction in a friendly visit to a    
numerous uneducated family2 in the      
stupidity and thoughtlessness often     
betrayed in attendance on public        
religious services2 in the              
impossibility of imparting religious    
truths1 with any degree of   clearness1 
to ignorant persons1 when alarmed into  
some serious concern   by sickness2 in  
the insensibility and invincible        
delusion sometimes   retained in the    
near approach to death4--,rare instances
 of the   admirable efficacy of religion
 to animate and enlarge the faculties1  
even in the old age of an ignorant      
man4--,excuses for the intellectual     
inaptitude and perversion of            

uncultivated religious                  
minds4--,animadversions on religious    
teachers4   ,section ,,vi4    ,supposed 
method of verifying the preceding       
representation of the   ignorance of the
 people4--,renewed expressions of wonder
 and   mortification that this should be
 the true description of the ,english   
nation4--,prodigious exertions of this  
nation for the accomplishment of        
objects foreign to the improvement of   
the people4--,effects which might   have
 resulted from far less exertion and    
resources applied to that               
object4--,the contrast between what has 
been done1 and what might have   been   
done by the exertion of the national    
strength1 exposed in a series   of      
parallel representations4--,total       
unconcern1 till a recent period1 of     
the generality of persons in the higher 
classes respecting the mental   state of
 the populace4--,indications of an      
important change in the manner   of     
estimating them4--,measures attempted   

and projected for their                 
improvement4--,some of these measures   
and methods insignificant in the        
esteem of projectors of merely political
 schemes for the amendment of   the     
popular condition4--,but questions to   
those projectors on the   efficacy of   
such schemes4--,most desirable1         
nevertheless1 that the   political      
systems and the governing powers of     
states could be   converted to promote  
so grand a purpose4--,but expostulations
 addressed   to those who1 desponding of
 this aid1 despond therefore of the     
object   itself4--,incitement to        
individual exertion4--,reference to the 
sublimest   ,example4--,imputation of   
extravagant hope4--,repelled2 first1 by 
a full   acknowledgment how much the    
hopes of sober-minded projectors of     
improvement are limited by what they see
 of the disorder in the   essential     
constitution of our nature2 and next1 by
 a plain statement1 in   a series of    
particulars1 of what they nevertheless  

judge it rational to   expect from a    
general extension of good               
education4--,answer to the   question1  
whether it be presumed that any merely  
human discipline can   reduce its       
subjects under the predominance of      
religion4--,answer to the   inquiry1    
what is the extent of the knowledge of  
which it is desired to   put the common 
people in possession4--,observations on 
supposed degrees   of possible          
advancement of the knowledge and welfare
 of the community2   with reflections of
 astonishment and regret at the actual  
state of   ignorance1 degradation1 and  
wretchedness1 after so many thousand    
years   have passed                     
away4--,congratulatory notice of those  
worthy individuals who   have been      
rescued from the consequences of a      
neglected education by   their own      
resolute mental exertions4      ,essay  
on ,popular ,ignorance4     ,my people  
are destroyed for lack of knowledge4    
,hosea4     ,section ,i4    ,it may     

excite in us some sense of wonder1 and  
perhaps of self-reproach1 to reflect    
with what a stillness and indifference  
of the mind we can hear and repeat      
sentences asserting facts which are     
awful calamities4 ,and this indifference
 is more than the accidental and        
transient state1 which might prevail at 
seasons of peculiar heaviness or        
languor4 ,the self-inspector will often 
be compelled to acknowledge it as a     
symptom and exemplification of the habit
 of his mind1 that ideas of extensive   
misery and destruction1 though expressed
 in the plainest1 strongest language1   
seem to come with but a faint glimmer on
 his apprehension1 and die away without 
awakening one emotion of that           
sensibility which so many comparatively 
trifling causes can bring into exercise4
  ,will the hearers of the sentence just
 now repeated from the sacred book1 give
 a moment's attention to the effect it  
has on them8 ,we might suppose them     
accosted with the question1 ,would you  

find it difficult to say what idea1 or  
whether anything distinct enough to     
deserve the name of an idea1 has been   
impressed by the sound of words bearing 
so melancholy a significance8 ,and would
 you have to confess1 that they excite  
no interest which would not instantly   
give place to that of the smallest of   
your own concerns1 occurring to your    
thoughts2 or would not leave free the   
tendency to wander loose among casual   
fancies2 or would not yield to feelings 
of the ludicrous1 at the sight of any   
whimsical incident8 ,it would not       
probably be unfair to suspect such      
faintness of apprehension1 and such     
unfixedness and indifference of thought1
 in the majority of any large number of 
persons1 though drawn together          
ostensibly to attend to matters of      
gravest concern4 ,and perhaps many of   
the most serious of them would          
acknowledge it requires great and       
repeated efforts1 to bring themselves to
 such a contemplative realization of an 

important subject1 that it shall lay    
hold on the affections1 though it should
 press on them1 as in the present       
instance1 with facts and reflections of 
a nature the most strongly appealing to 
a mournful sensibility4  ,that the      
people are destroyed1 is perceived to   
have the sound of a lamentable          
declaration4 ,but its import loses all  
force of significance in falling on a   
state of feeling which1 if resolvable   
into distinct sentiments1 would be      
expressed to some such effect as        
this3--that the people's destruction1 in
 whatever sense of the word1 is1        
doubtless1 a deplorable thing1 but quite
 a customary and ordinary matter1 the   
prevailing fact1 indeed1 in the general 
state of this world2 that1 in truth1 it 
would seem as if they were made but to  
be destroyed1 for that they have        
constantly been1 in all imaginable ways1
 the subjects of destruction2 that1     
subjected in common with all living     
corporeal beings to the doom of death1  

and to a fearful diversity of causes    
tending to inflict it1 they have also   
appeared1 through their long sad        
history1 consigned to a spiritual and   
moral destruction1 if that term be      
applicable to a condition the reverse of
 wisdom1 goodness1 and happiness2 that1 
in short1 such a sentence as that cited 
from the prophet1 is too merely an      
expression of what has been always and  
over the whole world self-evident1 to   
excite any particular attention or      
emotion4  ,thus the destruction1 in     
every sense of the word1 of human       
creatures1 is so constantly obvious1 as 
mingled and spread throughout the whole 
system1 that the mind has been          
insensibly wrought to that protective   
obtuseness which 7like the thickness of 
the natural clothing of animals in      
rigorous climates7 we acquire in defence
 of our own ease1 against the           
aggrievance of things which inevitably  
continue in our presence4 ,an           
instinctive policy to avoid feeling with

 respect to this prevailing destruction1
 has so effectually taught us how to    
maintain the exemption1 by all the      
requisite sleights of overlooking1      
diverting1 forgetting1 and admitting    
deceptive maxims of palliation1 that the
 art or habit is become almost          
mechanical4 ,when fully matured1 it     
appears like a wonderful adventitious   
faculty--a power of evading the sight1  
of not seeing1 what is obviously and    
glaringly presented to view on all      
sides4 ,there is1 indeed1 a dim general 
recognition that such things are2 the   
hearing of a bold denial of their       
existence1 would give an instant sense  
of absurdity1 which would provoke a     
pointed attention to them1 the more     
perfectly to verify their reality2 and  
the perception how real and dreadful    
they are1 might continue distinct as    
long as we were in the spirit of        
contradicting and exploding that absurd 
denial2 but1 in the ordinary state of   
feeling1 the mind preserves an easy     

dulness of apprehension toward the      
melancholy vision1 and sees it as if it 
saw it not4  ,this fortified            
insensibility may1 indeed1 be sometimes 
broken in upon with violence1 by the    
sudden occurrence of some particular    
instance of human destruction1 in either
 import of the word1 some example of    
peculiar aggravation1 or happening under
 extraordinary and striking             
circumstances1 or very near us in place 
or interest4 ,an emotion is excited of  
pity1 or terror1 or horror2 so strong1  
that if the person so affected has been 
habitually thoughtless1 and has no wish 
to be otherwise1 he fears he shall never
 recover his state of careless ease2 or1
 if of a more serious disposition1      
thinks it impossible he can ever cease  
to feel an awful and salutary effect4   
,this more serious person perhaps also  
thinks it must be inevitable that       
henceforward his feelings will be more  
alive to the miseries of mankind4 ,but  
how obstinate is an inveterate habitual 

state of the mind against any single    
impressions made in contravention to it6
 ,both the thoughtless and the more     
reflective man may probably find1 that a
 comparatively short lapse of time      
suffices1 to relieve them from anything 
more than slight momentary reminiscences
 of what had struck them with such      
painful force1 and to restore1 in regard
 to the general view of the acknowledged
 misery of the human race1 nearly the   
accustomed tranquillity4 ,the course of 
feeling resembles a listless stream of  
water1 which1 after being dashed into   
commotion1 by a massive substance flung 
into it1 or by its precipitation at a   
rapid1 relapses1 in the progress of a   
few fathoms and a few moments1 into its 
former sluggishness of current4  ,but is
 it well that this should be the state  
of feeling1 in the immediate presence of
 the spectacle exhibiting the people    
under a process of being destroyed8     
,there must be a great and criminal     
perversion from what our nature ought to

 be1 in a tranquillity to which it makes
 no material difference whether they be 
destroyed or saved2 a tranquillity which
 would hardly1 perhaps1 have been awaked
 to an effort of intercession at the    
portentous sign of destruction revealed 
to the sight of ,ornan2 or which might  
at the deluge have permitted the        
privileged patriarch to sink in a soft  
slumber1 at the moment when the ark was 
felt to be moving from its ground4 ,if  
the original rectitude of that nature   
had been retained by any individual1 he 
would be confounded to conceive how     
creatures having their lot cast in one  
place1 so near together1 so much alike1 
and under such a complication of        
connections and dependences1 can yet    
really be so insulated1 as that some of 
them may behold1 with immovable         
composure1 innumerable companies of the 
rest in such a condition1 that it had   
been better for them not to have        
existed4  ,to such a condition a vast   
multitude have been consigned by the    

lack of knowledge4 ,and we have to      
appeal concerning them to whatever there
 is of benevolence and conscience1 in   
those who deem themselves happy         
instances of exemption from this        
deplorable consignment2 and are         
conscious that their state of           
inestimable privilege is the result1    
under the blessing of heaven1 of the    
reception of information1 of truth1 into
 their minds4  ,if it were suggested to 
the well instructed in our companies to 
take an account of the benefit they have
 received through the medium of         
knowledge1 they would say they do not   
know where to begin the long            
enumeration1 or how to bring into one   
estimate so ample a diversity of good4  
,it might be something like trying to   
specify1 in brief terms1 what a highly  
improved portion of the ground1 in a    
tract rude and sterile if left to       
itself1 has received from cultivation2  
an attempt which would carry back the   
imagination through a progression of    

states and appearances1 in which the now
 fertile spots1 and picture-like scenes1
 and commodious passes1 and pleasant    
habitations1 may or must have existed in
 the advance from the original rudeness4
 ,the estimate of what has ultimately   
been effected1 rises at each stage in   
this retrospect of the progress1 in     
which so many valuable changes and      
additions still require to be followed  
by something more1 to complete the      
scheme of improvement4 ,in thus tracing 
backward the condition of a now fair and
 productive place of human dwelling and 
subsistence1 it may easily be           
recollected1 what a vast number of the  
earth's inhabitants there are whose     
places of dwelling are in all those     
states of worse cultivation and         
commodiousness1 and what multitudes     
leading a miserable and precarious life 
amidst the inhospitableness of the      
waste1 howling wilderness4 ,each        
presented circumstance of fertility or  
shelter1 salubrity or beauty1 may be    

named as what is wanting to a much      
greater number of the occupants of the  
world1 than those to whom the lines are 
fallen in such pleasant places4  ,when1 
in like manner1 a person richly         
possessed of the benefits imparted by   
means of knowledge1 finds1 in attempting
 to recount them1 that they rise so fast
 on his view1 in their variety1         
combinations1 and gradations from less  
to greater1 as to overpower his         
computing faculty1 he may be reminded   
that this account of his wealth is1 in  
truth1 that of many other men's poverty4
 ,and if1 while these benefits are      
coming so numerously in his sight1 like 
an irregular crowd of loaded            
fruit-trees1 one partially seen behind  
the offered luxury of another1 and      
others still descried1 through          
intervals1 in the distance1 he can      
imagine them all devastated and swept   
away from him1 leaving him in a scene of
 mental desolation1--and if he shall    
then consider that nearly such is the   

state of the great multitude1--he will  
surely feel that a deep compassion is   
due to so depressed a condition of      
existence4 ,and how strongly is its     
infelicity shown by the very            
circumstance1 that a being who is       
himself but very imperfectly            
enlightened1 and who is exposed to      
sorrow and doomed to death1 is          
nevertheless in a state to be able to   
look down upon the victims of the lack  
of knowledge with profound              
commiseration4 ,the degree of pity is   
the measure of a conscious superiority4 
,we may say to persons so favored1--,if 
knowledge has been made the cause that  
you are1 beyond all comparison1 better  
qualified to make the short sojourn on  
this earth to the greatest advantage1   
think what a fatal thing that must be   
which condemns so many1 whose lot is    
contemporary and in vicinity with yours 
to pass through the most precious       
possibilities of good unprofited1 and at
 last to look back on life as a lost    

adventure4 ,if through knowledge you    
have been introduced into a new and     
superior world of ideas and realities1  
and your intellectual being has there   
been brought into exercise among the    
highest interests1 and into             
communication with the noblest objects1 
think of that condition of the soul to  
which this better economy has no        
existence4 ,if knowledge rendered       
efficacious has become1 in your minds1  
the light and joy of the ,christian     
faith and hope1 look at the state of    
those1 whose minds have never been      
cultivated to an ability to entertain   
the principles of religious truth1 even 
as mere intellectual notions4 ,you would
 not for the wealth of an empire consent
 to descend1 were it possible1 from the 
comparative elevation to which you have 
been raised by means of knowledge1 into 
melancholy region of spirits abandoned  
to ignorance4  ,but in this situation   
have the mass of the people been1 from  
the time of the prophet whose words we  

have cited1 down to this hour4  ,the    
prophets had their exalted privilege of 
dwelling amidst the illuminations of    
heaven effectually countervailed1 as to 
any elation of feeling it might have    
imparted1 by the grief of beholding the 
daily spectacle of the grossest         
manifestations and mischiefs of         
ignorance among the people1 for the very
 purpose of whose exemption from that   
ignorance it was that they bore the     
sacred office4 ,one of the most striking
 of the characteristics by which their  
writings so forcibly seize the          
imagination is1 a strange continual     
fluctuation and strife of lustre and    
gloom1 produced by the intermingling and
 contrast of the emanations from the    
,spirit of infinite wisdom1 with those  
proceeding from the dark1 debased souls 
of the people4 ,we are tempted to       
pronounce that nation not only the most 
perverse1 but the most unintelligent and
 stupid of all human tribes4 ,the       
revealed law of ,god in the midst of    

them2 the prophets and other organs of  
oracular communication2 religious       
ordinances and emblems2 facts1 made and 
expressly intended to embody truths1 in 
long and various series2 the whole      
system of their superhuman government1  
constituted as a school--all these were 
ineffectual to create so much just      
thought in their minds1 as to save them 
from the vainest and the vilest         
delusions and superstitions4  ,but1     
indeed1 this very circumstance1 that    
knowledge shone on them from ,him who   
knows all things1 may in part account   
for an intellectual perverseness that   
appears so peculiar and marvellous4 ,the
 nature of man is in such a moral       
condition1 that anything is the less    
acceptable for coming directly from     
,god2 it being quite consistent1 that   
the state of mind which is declared to  
be enmity against him1 should have a    
dislike to his coming so near1 as to    
impart his communications by his        
immediate act1 bearing on them the fresh

 and sacred impression of his hand4 ,the
 supplies for man's temporal being are  
conveyed to him through an extended     
medium1 through a long process of nature
 and art1 which seems to place the great
 ,first ,cause at a commodious distance2
 and those gifts are1 on that account1  
more welcome1 on the whole1 than if they
 were sent as the manna to the          
,israelites4 ,the manna itself might not
 have been so soon loathed1 had it been 
produced in what we call the regular    
course of nature4 ,and with respect to  
the intellectual communications which   
were given to constitute the light of   
knowledge in their souls1 there can1 on 
the same principle1 be no doubt that the
 people would more willingly have opened
 their minds to receive them and        
exercise the thinking faculties on them1
 if they could have appeared as         
something originating in human wisdom1  
or at least as something which1 though  
primarily from a divine origin1 had been
 long surrendered by the ,revealer1 to  

maintain itself in the world by the     
authority of reason only1 like the      
doctrines worked out from mere human    
speculation4 ,but truth that was        
declared to them1 and inculcated on     
them1 through a continual immediate     
manifestation of the ,sovereign         
,intelligence1 had a glow of ,divinity  
7if we may so express it7 that was      
unspeakably offensive to their minds1   
which therefore receded with instinctive
 recoil1 ,they were averse to look      
toward that which they could not see    
without seeing ,god2 and thus they were 
hardened in ignorance1 through a        
reaction of human depravity against the 
too luminous approach of the ,divine    
presence to give them wisdom4  ,but in  
whatever degree the case might be thus1 
as to the cause1 the fact is evident1   
that the ,jewish people were not more   
remarkable for their pre-eminence in    
privilege1 than for their grossness of  
mental vision under a dispensation      
specially and miraculously constituted  

and administered to enlighten them4 ,the
 sacred history of which they are the   
subject1 exhibits every mode in which   
the intelligent faculties may evade or  
frustrate the truth presented to them2  
every way in which the decided          
preference for darkness may avail to    
defy what might have been presumed to be
 irresistible irradiations2 every       
perversity of will which renders men as 
accountable and criminal for being      
ignorant as for acting against          
knowledge2 and every form of practical  
mischief in which the natural tendency  
of ignorance1 especially wilful         
ignorance1 is shown4 ,a great part of   
what the devout teachers of that people 
had to address to them1 wherever they   
appeared among them1 was in reproach of 
their ignorance1 and in order1 if       
possible1 to dispel it4 ,and were we to 
indulge our fancy in picturing the forms
 and circumstances in which it was      
encountered by those teachers1 we might 
be sure of not erring much by figuring  

situations very similar to what might   
occur in much later and nearer states of
 society4 ,if we should imagine one of  
these good and wise instructors going   
into a promiscuous company of the       
people1 and asking them1 with a view at 
once to see into their minds and inform 
them1 say1 ten plain questions1 relative
 to matters somewhat above the ordinary 
secular concerns of life1 but essential 
for them to understand1 it would be a   
quite probable supposition that he did  
not obtain from the whole company       
rational answers to more than three1 or 
two1 or even one1 of those questions2   
notwithstanding that every one of them  
might be designedly so framed1 as to    
admit of an easy reply from the most    
prominent of the dictates of the law and
 the prophets1 and from the right       
application of the memorable facts in   
the national history of the ,jews4 ,in  
his earlier experiments he might be     
supposed very reluctant to admit the    
fact1 that so many of his countrymen1 in

 one spot1 could have been so faithfully
 maintaining the ascendency of darkness 
in their spirits1 while surrounded by   
divine manifestations of truth4 ,he     
might be willing to suspect he had not  
been happy in the form of words in which
 his queries had been conveyed4 ,but it 
may be believed that all his changes and
 adaptations of expression1 to elicit   
from the contents of his auditors'      
understandings something fairly         
answering to his questions1 might but   
complete the proof that the thing sought
 was not there4 ,and while he might be  
looking from one to another1 with regret
 not unmingled with indignation at an   
ignorance at once so unhappy and so     
criminal1 they probably might little    
care1 excepting some slight feeling of  
mortified pride1 that they were thus    
proved to be nearly pagans in knowledge 
within the immediate hearing of the     
oracles of ,god4  ,or we may represent  
to ourselves this benevolent promoter of
 improvement endeavoring to instruct    

such a company1 not in the way of       
interrogation1 but in the ordinary      
manner of discourse1 and assuming that  
they actually had in their minds those  
principles1 those points of knowledge1  
which would1 on the former supposition  
of a course of questions1 have qualified
 them to make the proper replies4 ,it   
may indeed be too much to imagine a     
discerning man to entertain such a      
presumption2 but supposing he did1 and  
proceeded upon it1 you can well conceive
 what reception the reasonings1 advices1
 or reproofs1 would find among the      
hearers1 according to their respective  
temperaments4 ,some would be content    
with knowing nothing at all about the   
matter1 which they would perhaps say1   
might be1 for aught they knew1 something
 very wise2 and1 according to their     
greater or less degree of patience and  
sense of decorum1 would wait in quiet   
and perhaps sleepy dulness for the end  
of the irksome lecture1 or escape from  
it by a stolen retreat1 or a bold-faced 

exit4 ,to others it would all seem      
ridiculous absurdity1 and they would    
readily laugh if any one would begin4 ,a
 few1 possessed of some natural         
shrewdness1 would set themselves to     
catch at something for exception1 with  
unadroit aim1 but with good will for    
cavil4 ,while perhaps one or two1 of    
better disposition1 imperfectly         
descrying at moments something true and 
important in what was said1 and         
convinced of the friendly intention of  
the speaker1 might feel a transient     
regret for what they would with honest  
shame call the stupidity of their own   
minds1 accompanied with some resentment 
against those to whose neglect it was   
greatly attributable4 ,the instructor   
also1 as the signs grew evident to him  
of the frustration of his efforts upon  
the invincible grossness of the subjects
 before him1 would become animated with 
indignation at the incompetence or      
wicked neglect in the system and office 
of public instruction1 of which the     

intellectual condition of such a company
 of persons might be taken as a proof   
and consequence4 ,and in fact there is  
no class more conspicuous in            
reprobation1 in the solemn invectives of
 the prophets1 than those whose special 
and neglected duty it was to instruct   
the ,jewish people4  ,now if such were  
the state of their intelligence1 how    
would this friend of truth and the      
people find1 how would he have expected 
to find1 their piety1 their morals1 and 
their happiness affected by such        
destitution of knowledge8 ,do men gather
 grapes of thorns1 or figs of thistles8 
,we are supposing them to be in         
ignorance of four parts out of five1 or 
perhaps of nine parts out of ten1 of    
what the ,supreme ,wisdom was           
maintaining an extraordinary            
dispensation to declare to them4 ,why to
 declare1 but because each particular in
 this divine promulgation was pointed to
 some circumstance1 some propensity1    
some temptation1 in their nature and    

condition1 and was exactly fitted to be 
there applied as a rectifier and guard8 
,the revelations and signs from heaven  
were the sum of what the ,perfect       
,intelligence judged indispensable to be
 sent forth from him to his subjects1 as
 seen by him liable to be wrong2 and    
could there be one dictate or fact      
superfluous in such a communication8 ,if
 not1 consider the case of minds in     
which one1 and a second1 and the far    
greater number1 of the points of        
information thus demonstrated to be     
necessary1 had no place to shine or     
exist2 of which minds1 therefore1 the   
estimates1 passions1 volitions1         
principles of action with the actions   
also1 were in so many instances         
abandoned to take their chance for good 
or evil4 ,but had they any chance for   
good in such an abandonment8 ,what      
principle in their nature was to        
determine them to good1 with an impulse 
that rendered needless the rational     
discrimination of it by the light of    

truth8 ,it were an exceedingly probable 
thing truly1 that some happy instinct1  
or some guiding star of good fortune1   
should have beguiled into an unknowing  
choice of what is right1 that very      
nature which knowledge itself1 including
 a recognition of the will of ,god1 is  
so often insufficient to constrain to   
such a choice4  ,but further2 the       
absence of knowledge is sure to be      
something more and worse than simple    
ignorance4 ,even were that absence but a
 mere negation1 a vacancy of truth1 7the
 terms truth and knowledge may be used  
for our present purpose as nearly       
synonymous1 for what is not truth is not
 knowledge17 it would be by its effect  
as a deficiency1 incalculably injurious4
 ,but it could not remain a mere        
deficiency3 the vacancy of truth would  
commonly be found replenished with      
positive error4 ,not indeed replenished1
 7we are speaking of uncultivated       
persons17 with a comprehensive and      
arranged set of false notions2 for there

 would not be thinking enough to form   
opinions in any sufficient number to be 
distinctly and specifically the         
opposites to the many truths that were  
absent2 but a few false notions1 such as
 could hardly fail to take the place of 
absent truth in the ignorant mind1      
however crude they might be1 and however
 deficient for constituting a full      
system of error1 would be sure to dilate
 themselves so as to have an operation  
at all the points where truth was       
wanting4 ,it is frightful to see what a 
space in an ignorant mind one false     
notion can occupy1 working nearly the   
same effect in many distinct            
particulars1 as if there had been so    
many distinct wrong principles1 each    
producing specifically its own bad      
effect4 ,so that in that mind a few     
false notions1 and those the ones most  
likely to establish themselves there1   
shall be virtually equivalent to a whole
 scheme of errors standing formally in  
place of so many truths of which they   

are the reverse4 ,and thus the dark void
 of ignorance1 instead of remaining a   
mere negation1 becomes filled with      
agents of perversion and destruction2 as
 sometimes the gloomy apartments of a   
deserted mansion have become a den of   
robbers and murderers4  ,such a friend  
of the people1 then1 as we were         
supposing to expend his life and zeal on
 the object of rescuing them from their 
ignorance1 would see in that ignorance  
not only the privation of all direction 
and impulsion to good1 but a great      
positive force of determination toward  
evil4  ,but it may be alleged1 that he  
would not find them wholly destitute of 
right information4 ,true2 but he would  
find that the small portion of knowledge
 which an ignorant people did really    
possess1 could be of little avail4 ,it  
is not only that1 from the narrowness of
 its scope1 knowledge so scanty as to   
afford no principles directly adapted   
for application to a vast number of     
matters of judgment and conduct1 would  

of course be of small use1 though it    
were efficient as far as it reached--of 
small use though it did produce that    
very limited quantity of good which     
ought to be its proper share1 in a due  
proportion to the larger amount of good 
to be produced by a larger knowledge4   
,this is not the whole of the           
misfortune2 it would not produce that   
proportionate share4 ,for the fewer are 
the points to which there is knowledge  
that can be applied1 the less availing  
is its application even to those few    
points4 ,it shall be the kind of        
knowledge apposite to them1 and yet be  
nearly useless2 from the obvious cause1 
that a few just notions existing        
disconnected and confused among the mass
 of vain and false ones1 which will1    
like noxious weeds1 infest minds left in
 ignorance1 are not permitted by those  
bad associates to do their duty4 ,weak  
by being few1 insulated1 unsupported1   
and dwelling among vicious neighbors1   
they not only cannot perform their own  

due service1 but are liable to be       
seduced to that of the evil principles  
whose company they are condemned to     
keep4 ,the conjunction of truths is of  
the utmost importance for preserving the
 genuine tendency1 and securing the     
appropriate efficacy1 of each4 ,it is an
 unhappy lack of knowledge when there is
 not enough to preserve1 to what there  
is of it1 the honest beneficial quality 
of knowledge4 ,how many of the follies1 
excesses1 and crimes1 in the course of  
the world1 have taken their pretended   
warrant from some fragment of truth1    
dissevered from the connection of truths
 indispensable to its right operation1  
and in that detached state easily       
perverted into coalescence with the most
 pernicious principles1 which concealed 
and gave effect to their malignity under
 the falsified authority of a truth4    
,there were many and melancholy         
exemplifications of all we have said of 
ignorance1 in the conduct of that       
ancient people at present in our view4  

,doubtless a sad proportion of the      
iniquities which1 by their necessary    
tendency and by the divine vindictive   
appointment1 brought plagues and        
destruction upon them1 were committed in
 violation of what they knew4 ,but also 
it was in no small part from blindness  
to the manifestation of truth and duty  
incessantly confronting them1 that they 
were betrayed into crimes and consequent
 miseries4 ,this is evident equally from
 the language in which their prophets   
reproached their intellectual stupidity1
 and from the surprise which they       
sometimes seem to have felt on finding  
themselves involved in retributive      
suffering1 for what they could not      
conceive to be serious delinquencies4   
,it appeared as if they had never so    
much as dreamed of such a-consequence2  
and their monitors had to represent to  
them1 that it had been through their    
thoughtlessness of divine dictates and  
warnings1 if they did not know that such
 proceedings must provoke such an       

infliction4  ,how one portion of        
knowledge admitted1 with the exclusion  
of other truths equally indispensable to
 be known1 may not only be unavailing1  
but may in effect lend force to         
destructive error1 is dreadfully        
illustrated in the final catastrophe of 
that favored guilty nation4 ,they were  
in possession of the one important point
 of knowledge1 that a ,messiah was to   
come4 ,they held this assurance not     
slightly1 but with strong conviction1   
and as a matter of the utmost interest4 
,but then1 that this knowledge might    
have its appropriate and happy effect1  
it was of essential necessity for them  
to know also the character of this      
,messiah1 and the real nature of his    
great design4 ,but this they closed up  
their understandings in a fatal         
contentment not to know4 ,literally the 
whole people1 with a diminutive         
exception1 had failed1 or rather        
refused1 to admit1 as to that part of   
the subject1 the inspired declarations4 

,now comes the consequence of knowing   
only one thing of several that require  
to be inseparable in knowledge4 ,they   
formed to themselves a false idea of the
 ,messiah1 according to their own       
worldly imaginations2 and they extended 
the full assurance which they justly    
entertained of his coming1 to this false
 notion of what he was to be and to     
accomplish when he should come4 ,from   
this it was natural and inevitable that 
when the true ,messiah should come they 
would not recognize him1 and that their 
hostility would be excited against a    
person who1 while demanding to be       
acknowledged in that capacity1 appeared 
without the characteristics pictured in 
their vain imagination1 and with        
directly opposite ones4 ,and thus they  
were placed in an incomparably worse    
situation for receiving him with honor  
when he did appear1 than if they had had
 no knowledge that a ,messiah was to    
come4 ,for on that supposition they     
might have regarded him as a most       

striking phenomenon1 with curiosity and 
admiration1 with awe of his miraculous  
powers1 and as little prejudice as it is
 possible in any case for depravity and 
ignorance to feel toward sanctity and   
wisdom4 ,but this delusive              
pre-occupation of their minds formed a  
direct grand cause for their rejecting  
,jesus ,christ4 ,and how fearful was the
 final consequence of this lack of      
knowledge6 ,how truly1 in all senses1   
the people were destroyed6 ,the violent 
extermination at length of multitudes of
 them from the earth1 was but as the    
omen and commencement of a deeper       
perdition4 ,and the terrible memorial is
 a perpetual admonition what a curse it 
is not to know4 ,for ,he1 by the        
rejection of whom these despisers       
devoted themselves to perish1 while he  
looked on their great city1 and wept at 
the doom which he beheld impending1     
said1 ,if them hadst known1 even thou in
 this thy day4----  ,so much for that   
selected people3--we may cast a glance  

over the rest of the ancient world1 as  
exemplifying the pernicious effect of   
the want of knowledge4  ,the ignorance  
which pervaded the heathen nations1 was 
fully equal to the utmost result that   
could have been calculated from all the 
causes contributing to thicken the      
mental darkness4 ,the traditional       
glimmering of that knowledge which had  
been originally received by divine      
communication1 had long since become    
nearly extinct1 having gone out in the  
act1 as it were1 of lighting up certain 
fantastic inventions of doctrine1 by    
ignition of an element exhaled from the 
corruptions of the human soul4 ,in other
 words1 the primary truths1 imparted by 
the ,creator to the early inhabitants of
 the earth1 gradually losing their      
clearness and purity1 had passed1 by a  
transition through some delusive        
analogies1 into the vanities of fancy   
and notion which sprang from the        
inventive depravity of man2 which       
inventions carried somewhat of an       

authority stolen from the grand truths  
they had superseded4 ,and thus1 if we   
except so much instruction as we may    
conceive that the extraordinary and     
sometimes dreadful interpositions of the
 ,governor of the world might convey1   
unaccompanied with declarations in      
language1 7and it was in but an         
extremely limited degree that these had 
actually the effect of illumination17   
the human tribes were surrendered to    
their own understanding for all that    
they were to know and think4 ,melancholy
 predicament6 ,the understanding1 the   
intellect1 the reason1 which had not    
sufficed for preserving the true light  
from heaven1 was to be competent to give
 light in its absence4 ,under the       
disadvantage of this loss--after the    
setting of the sun--it was to exercise  
itself on an unlimited diversity of     
important things1 inquiring1 comparing1 
and deciding4 ,all those things1 if     
examined far1 extended into mystery4    
,all genuine thinking was a hard        

repellent labor4 ,casual impressions had
 a mighty force of perversion4 ,the     
senses were not a medium through which  
the intellect could receive ideas       
foreign to material existence4 ,the     
appetites and passions would infallibly 
occupy and actuate the whole man4 ,when 
by these his imagination was put in     
activity1 its gleams and meteors would  
be anything rather than lights of truth4
 ,his interest1 according to his gross  
apprehension of it1 would in numberless 
instances require1 and therefore would  
gain1 false judgments for justification 
of the wrong manner of pursuing that    
interest4 ,and all this while1 there was
 no grand standard and test to which the
 notions of things could be brought4 ,if
 there were some spirits of larger and  
purer thought1 that went out in the     
honest search of truth1 they must have  
felt an oppression of utter hopelessness
 in looking round on a world of doubtful
 things1 on no one of which they could  
obtain the dictate of a supreme         

intelligence4 ,there was no sovereign   
demonstrator in communication with the  
earth1 to tell benighted man what to    
think in any of a thousand questions    
which arose to confound him4 ,there     
were1 instead1 impostors1 magicians1    
vain theorists1 prompted by ambition and
 superior native ability to abuse the   
credulity of their fellow-mortals1 which
 they did with such success as to become
 their oracles1 their dictators1 or even
 their gods4 ,the multitude most        
naturally surrendered themselves to all 
such delusions4 ,if it may be conceived 
to have been possible that their feeble 
and degraded reason1 in the absence of  
divine light and of sound human         
discipline1 might by earnest exertion   
have attained in some small degree to   
judge better that exertion was precluded
 by indolence1 by the immediate wants   
and unavoidable employments of life1 by 
sensuality1 by love of amusement1 by    
subjection1 even of the mind1 to        
superiors and national institutions1 and

 by the tendency of human individuals to
 fall1 if we may so express it1 in dead 
conformity and addition to the lump4    
,the result of all these causes1 the sum
 of all these effects1 was1 that        
unnumbered millions of beings1 whose    
value was in their intelligent and moral
 nature1 were1 as to that nature1 in a  
condition analogous to what their       
physical existence would have been under
 a total and permanent eclipse of the   
sun4 ,it was perpetual night in their   
souls1 with all the phenomena incident  
to night1 except the sublimity4 ,while  
the material economy1 constituting the  
order of things which belonged to their 
temporal existence1 was in conspicuous  
manifestation around them1 pressing with
 its realities on their senses2 while   
nature presented to them its open and   
distinctly-featured aspect2 while there 
was a true light shed on them every     
morning from the sun2 while they had    
constant experimental evidence of the   
nature of the scene2 and thus they had a

 clear knowledge of one portion of the  
things connected with their             
existence--that portion which they were 
soon to leave1 and look back upon as a  
dream when one awaketh2--all this while 
there was subsisting1 present with them1
 unapprehended except in faint and      
delusive glimpses1 another order of     
things involving their greatest         
interest1 with no luminary to make that 
apparent to them1 after the race had    
willingly forgotten the original        
instructions from their ,creator4  ,the 
dreadful consequences of this lack of   
knowledge1 as appearing in the religion 
and morals of the nations1 and through  
these affecting their welfare1 equalled 
and even surpassed all that might by    
theory have been presaged from the      
cause4  ,this ignorance could not       
annihilate the principle of religion in 
the spirit of man2 but in taking away   
the awful repression of the idea of one 
exclusive sovereign ,divinity1 it left  
that spirit to fabricate its religion in

 its own manner4 ,and as the creating of
 gods might be the most appropriate way 
of celebrating the deliverance from the 
most imposing idea of one ,supreme      
,being1 depraved and insane invention   
took this direction with ardor4         
,footnote3 ,those who have read         
,goethe's ,memoirs of ,himself1 may     
recollect the part where that late      
idolized patriarch of ,german literature
 tells of the lively interest he had at 
one time felt in shaping out of his     
imagination and philosophy a theology1  
beginning with the fabrication of a god 
7or gods17 and amplified into a system  
of principles1 existences1 and          
relations4 ,the mind threw a fictitious 
divinity into its own phantasms1 and    
into the objects in the visible world4  
,it is amazing to observe how1 when one 
solemn principle was taken away1 the    
promiscuous numberless crowd of almost  
all shapes of fancy and of matter       
became1 as it were1 instinct with       
ambition1 and mounted into gods4 ,they  

were alternately the toys and the       
tyrants of their miserable creator4     
,they appalled him often1 and often he  
could make sport with them4 ,for        
overawing him by their supposed power1  
they made him a compensation by         
descending to a fellowship with his     
follies and vices4 ,but indeed this was 
a condition of their creation2 they must
 own their mortal progenitor by sharing 
his depravity1 even amidst the lordly   
domination assigned to them over him and
 the universe4 ,we may safely affirm1   
that the mighty artificer of            
deifications1 the corrupt soul of man1  
never once1 in its almost infinite      
diversification of device in their      
production1 struck out a form of        
absolute goodness4 ,no1 if there were   
ten thousand deities1 there should not  
be one that should be authorized by     
perfect rectitude in itself to punish   
him2 not one by which it should be      
possible for him to be rebuked without  
having a right to recriminate4  ,such a 

pernicious creation of active delusions 
it was that took the place of religion  
in the absence of knowledge4 ,and to    
this intellectual obscuration1 and this 
legion of pestilent fallacies1 swarming 
like the locusts from the smoke of the  
bottomless pit in the vision of ,st4    
,john1 the fatal effect on morals and   
happiness corresponded4 ,indeed the     
mischief done there1 perhaps even       
exceeded the proportion of the ignorance
 and the false theology2 conformably to 
the rule1 that anything wrong in the    
mind will be the most wrong where it    
comes the nearest to its ultimate       
practical effect--except when in this   
operation outward it is met and checked 
by some foreign counteraction4  ,the    
people of those nations 7and the same   
description is applicable to modern     
heathens7 did not know the essential    
nature of perfect goodness1 or virtue4  
,how should they know it8 ,a depraved   
mind would not find in itself any native
 conception to give the bright form of  

it4 ,there were no living examples of   
it4 ,the men who held the pre-eminence  
in the community were generally1 in the 
most important points1 its reverse4 ,it 
was for the ,divine nature to have      
presented1 in a manifestation of itself1
 the archetype of perfect rectitude1    
whence might have been derived the      
modified exemplar for human virtue4 ,and
 so would the idea of perfect moral     
excellence have come to dwell and shine 
in the understanding1 if it had been the
 ,true ,divinity that men beheld in     
their contemplations of a superior      
existence4 ,but when the gods of their  
heaven were little better than their own
 evil qualities1 exalted to the sky to  
be thence reflected back upon them      
invested with ,olympian charms and      
splendors1 their ideas of deity would   
evidently combine with the causes which 
made it impossible for them to conceive 
a perfect model for human excellence4   
,see the mighty labor of human depravity
 to confirm its dominion6 ,it would     

translate itself to heaven1 and usurp   
divinity1 in order to come down thence  
with a sanction for man to be           
wicked1--in order1 by a falsification of
 the qualities of the ,supreme ,nature1 
to preclude his forming the true idea of
 what would be perfect rectitude in his 
own4  ,a system which could thus        
associate all the modes of turpitude    
with the most lofty and illustrious     
forms of existence1 would go far toward 
vitiating essentially the entire theory 
of moral good and evil4 ,and it would in
 a great measure defraud of their       
practical efficacy any just principles  
that might1 after all1 maintain their   
place in the convictions of the         
understanding1 and assert at times their
 claim with a voice which not even all  
this ruination could silence4  ,but1 how
 small was the number of pure moral     
principles1 7if indeed any17 that among 
the people of the heathen nations did   
maintain themselves in the convictions  
of the understanding4 ,the privation of 

divine light gave full freedom1 if there
 was any disposition to take such       
license1 for every perverse speculation 
which could operate toward abolishing   
those principles in the natural reason  
of the species4 ,what disposition there 
would be to take it may be imagined1    
when the abolishing of those principles 
was evidently to be also the destruction
 of all intrinsic authority in the      
practical rules founded on them1 which  
destruction would confer an exemption   
infinitely desirable4 ,the freedom for  
such thinking would infallibly be taken1
 in its utmost extent2 and in fact the  
speculation was stimulated by so mighty 
a force of the depraved passions1 that  
it went beyond the primary intention3 it
 not only annulled the right principles 
and rules1 but1 not stopping at such    
negation1 presumed to set forth opposite
 ones1 so that the name and repute of   
virtues was given to iniquities without 
number4 ,it is deplorable to consider   
how large a proportion of all the vices 

and crimes of which mankind were ever   
guilty1 have actually constituted1 in   
some or other of their tribes and ages1 
a part of the approved moral and        
religious system4 ,it is questionable   
whether we could select from the worst  
forms of turpitude any one which has not
 been at least admitted among the       
authorized customs1 if not even         
appointed among the institutes of the   
religion1 of some portion of the human  
race4 ,and depravities thus become      
licensed or sacred would have a fatal   
facility of communicating somewhat of   
their quality to all the other parts of 
the moral system4 ,for this sanction    
both would reinforce their own power of 
infection1 and would so beguile away all
 repugnance and counteraction1 that the 
rest of the customs and institutes would
 readily admit the contamination1 and   
become assimilated in evil2 as the      
,mohamedans have no care to avoid       
contact with their neighbors who are ill
 of the plague1 since the plague has the

 warrant of heaven4 ,wherever1          
therefore1 in the imperfect notices     
afforded us of ancient nations1 we find 
any one virulent iniquity holding an    
authorized place in custom or religion1 
we may confidently make a very large    
inference1 though record were silent1 as
 to the corresponding quality that would
 pervade the remainder of the moral     
system of those nations4 ,indeed the    
inference is equally justified whether  
we regard such a sanction and           
establishment of a flagrant iniquity as 
a cause1 or as an effect4 ,suppose this 
sanction of some one enormity to precede
 the general and equal corruption of    
morals1--how powerfully would it tend to
 bear them all down to a conformity in  
depravation4 ,suppose it to be 7the more
 natural order7 the result and          
completion of that corruption--how      
vicious must have been the previous     
state which could go easily and         
consistently to such a consummation4    
,everything that1 under the advantage   

given by this destitution of knowledge1 
operated to the destruction of the true 
morality1 both in theory and practice1  
must have had a fatal augmentation of   
its power in that part especially of    
this ignorance which respected          
hereafter4 ,the doctrine of a future    
existence and retribution did not1 in   
any rational and salutary form1         
interfere in the adjustment of the      
economy of life4 ,the shadowy notion of 
a future state which hovered about the  
minds of the pagans1 a vague apparition 
which alternately came and vanished1 was
 at once too fantastic and too little of
 a serious belief to be of any avail to 
preserve the rectitude1 or to maintain  
the authority1 of the distinction       
between right and wrong4 ,it was not    
denned enough1 or noble enough1 or      
convincing enough1 or of judicial       
application enough1 either to assist the
 efficacy of such moral principles as   
might be supposed to be innate in a     
rational creature1 and competent for    

prescribing to it some virtues useful   
and necessary to it even if its present 
brief existence were all2 or to enjoin  
effectually those higher virtues to     
which there can be no adequate          
inducement but in the expectation of a  
future life4  ,imagine1 if you can1 the 
withdrawment of this doctrine from the  
faith of those who have a solemn        
persuasion of it as a part of revealed  
truth4 ,suppose the grand idea either   
wholly obliterated1 or faded into a     
dubious trace of what it had been1 or   
transmuted into a poetic dream of       
classic or barbarian mythology1--and how
 many moral principles will be found to 
have vanished with it4 ,how many things1
 before rendered imperative by this     
great article of faith1 would have      
ceased to be duties1 or would continue  
such only on the strength1 and to the   
extent of the requirement1 of some very 
minor consideration which might remain  
to enforce them1 and that probably in a 
most deteriorated practical form4 ,the  

sense of obligation1 if continuing to   
recognize the nature of duty in things  
which could then no longer retain any   
such quality1 otherwise than as looking 
to the most immediate and tangible      
benefit or harm1 the lowest of moral    
calculations1 would be reduced to a     
vulgar and reptile principle4 ,the best 
of its strength1 and all its dignity1   
would be departed from it when it could 
refer no more to eternity1 an invisible 
world1 and a judgment to come4 ,it would
 therefore have none of that emphasis of
 impression which can sometimes dismay  
and quell the most violent passions1 as 
by the mysterious awe of the presence of
 a spirit4 ,it would be deprived of that
 which forms the chief power of         
conscience4 ,and it would be impotent in
 any attempt--if so absurd an attempt   
could be dreamed of--to uphold1 in the  
more dignified character of principle1  
that care of what is right which would  
be constantly degenerating into mere    
policy1 and rationally justifying itself

 in doing so4  ,the withdrawment1 we    
said1 of the grand truth in question1   
from a man's faith1 7together with      
everything of taste and habit which that
 faith might have created17 would       
necessarily break up the government over
 his conscience4 ,how evident then is   
it1 that among the people of the heathen
 lands1 under a disastrous ignorance of 
this and all the other sublime truths1  
that are the most fit to rule an        
immortal being during his sojourn on    
earth1 no man could feel any peremptory 
obligation to be universally virtuous1  
or adequate motives to excite an        
endeavor to approach that high          
attainment1 even were there not a       
perfect inability to form the true      
conception of it4 ,and then how much of 
course it was that the general mass     
would be dreadfully depraved4 ,though a 
momentary surprise may at times have    
seized us on the occurrence1 in their   
history1 of some monstrous form of      
flagitiousness1 we do not wonder at     

beholding a state of the people such in 
its general character as the sacred     
writers exhibit1 in descriptions to     
which the other records of antiquity add
 their confirming testimony and ample   
illustrations4 ,for while the immense   
aggregate is displayed to the mental    
view1 as pervaded1 agitated1 and        
stimulated1 by the restless forces of   
appetites and passions1 and those forces
 operating with an impulse no less      
perverted than strong1 let it be asked  
what kinds and measure of restraint     
there could be upon such a world of     
creatures so actuated1 to keep them from
 rushing in all ways into evil4         
,conceive1 if you can1 the fiction of   
such a multitude1 so actuated1 having   
been placed under an adjustment of      
restraints competent to withhold them4  
,and then take off1 in your imagination1
 one after another of these1 to see what
 will follow4 ,take off1 at last1 all   
the coercion that can be applied through
 the belief of a judgment to come1 and a

 future state of retribution2--by doing 
which you would also empower the race to
 defy1 if any recognition of him        
remained1 the ,supreme ,governor1 whose 
possible inflictions1 being confined to 
the present life1 might at any time be  
escaped by shortening it4 ,all these    
sacred bonds being thus dissolved1      
behold this countless multitude         
abandoned to be carried or driven the   
whole length to which the impulses of   
their appetites and passions would      
go1--or could go before they were       
arrested by some obstruction opposed to 
them from a quarter foreign to          
conscience4 ,and the main and final     
thing in reserve to limit their career1 
after all the worthier restraints were  
annihilated1 would be only this1--the   
resistance which men's self-interest    
opposes to one another's bad            
inclinations4 ,a gloomy and humiliating 
spectacle truly it is1 to be offered by 
a world of rational and moral agents1 if
 we see that1 instead of a repression of

 the propensity to wickedness by        
reverence of the ,sovereign ,judge1 and 
the anticipation of a future life1 there
 is merely a restraint put on its       
external activity1 and that by the force
 of men's fears of one another4 ,but    
nearly to this it was1 as the only      
strong restraint1 that those heathens   
were left by their ignorance1 or a      
notion so slight as to be little better1
 of a future existence and judgment4    
,not but that it has been1 in all       
nations and times1 of infinite practical
 service that there is involved in the  
constitution of the world a law by which
 a coarse self-interest thus interposes 
to obstruct in a degree the violent     
propensity to evil2 for it has          
prevented1 under ,providence1 more      
actual mischief1 beyond comparison more1
 than all other causes together4 ,the   
man inclined to perpetrate an iniquity1 
of the nature of a wrong to his         
fellow-mortals1 is apprized that he     
shall provoke a reaction1 to resist or  

punish him2 that he shall incur as great
 an evil as that he is disposed to do1  
or greater2 that either a revenge       
regardless of all formalities of justice
 will strike him1 or a process          
instituted in organized society will    
vindictively reach his property1        
liberty1 or life4 ,this defensive array1
 of all men against all men1 compels to 
remain shut up within the mind an       
immensity of wickedness which is there  
burning to come out into action4 ,but   
for this1 ,noah's flood had been        
rendered needless4 ,but for this1 our   
planet might have been accomplishing its
 circles round the sun for thousands of 
years past without a human inhabitant4  
,through the effect of this essential   
law1 in the social economy1 it was      
possible for the race to subsist1       
notwithstanding all that ignorance of   
the ,divine ,being1 of heavenly truth1  
and of uncorrupt morality1 in which we  
are contemplating the heathen nations as
 benighted4 ,but while thus it prevented

 utter destruction1 it had no corrective
 operation on the depravity of the      
heart4 ,it was not through a judgment of
 things being essentially evil that they
 were forborne2 it was not by the power 
of conscience that wicked propensity was
 kept under restraint4 ,it was only by a
 hold on the meaner principles of his   
nature1 that the offender in will was   
arrested in prevention of the deed4 ,and
 so the race were such virtually1 as    
they would have hastened to become      
actually1 could they have ceased to be  
afraid of one another's strength and    
retaliation4' ,footnote3 ,it is not very
 uncommon to hear credit given to human 
nature apparently in sober simplicity1  
for the whole amount of the negation of 
bad actions thus prevented1 as just so  
much genuine virtue1 by some dealers in 
moral and theological speculation4 ,but 
even this restraint imposed by mutual   
apprehension1 important as its operation
 was in the absence of nobler           
influences1 was yet of miserably partial

 efficacy4 ,men were continually        
breaking through this protective        
provision1 and committed against one    
another a stupendous amount of crimes4  
,and no wonder1 when we consider that   
the evil passions1 endowed as they seem 
to be with a portentous excess of vigor 
by the very circumstance of being evil1 
7as the demoniacs were the strongest of 
men17 are exasperated the more by a     
certain degree of awe impressed on them 
by the defensive attitude of their      
objects4 ,when strength so great might  
thus be irritated to greater1 and when  
there were no powers of the world to    
come1 to invade the dreadful cavern of  
iniquity in the mind1 and there combat  
and subdue it1 there would often be no  
want of the audacity to send it forth   
into action at all hazards1 and in      
defiance and contempt of the restraining
 force which operated through mutual    
fear of vindictive reaction4  ,but it   
may be said1 perhaps1 that in thus      
representing the people who were        

destitute of divine knowledge1 as left  
with hardly any other control on their  
bad dispositions than one of a quality  
little more dignified than fetters      
literally binding the limbs1 we are     
underrating what there still was among  
them to take effect in the way of       
instruction4 ,even this coarse principle
 of control itself1 it may be alleged1  
this prudence of reciprocal fear became 
refined into something worthier of moral
 agents4 ,for it passed1 by a compromise
 among the species1 from the form of    
individual self-defence and revenge into
 that of institutions of law2 and       
legislation1 it will be said1 is a      
teacher of morals4 ,retaining1 indeed1  
the rough expedient of physical force1  
in readiness to coerce or punish where  
it cannot deter by warning1 it yet      
strongly endeavors the repression of    
evil emotions by means of right         
principles1 marked out1 explained1 and  
inculcated4 ,it teaches these principles
 as dictates of reason and justice1     

while it embodies them in the menacing  
authority of enactments4 ,there was     
therefore1 it may be pleaded1 as much   
instruction among the ancient heathen as
 there was legislation4  ,in answering  
this1 we may forego any rigorous        
examination of the quality of principles
 and precepts enunciated by legislators 
who themselves1 in common with the      
people1 looked on human existence and   
duty through a worse than twilight      
medium2 who had no divine oracles to    
impart wisdom1 and were1 some of them1  
reduced to begin their operations with  
the lie that pretended they had such    
oracles2 from all which it was          
inevitable that some of their maxims and
 injunctions would even in their        
efficacy be noxious1 as being at        
variance with eternal rectitude4 ,it is 
enough to observe1 on the claims of     
legislation to the character of a moral 
preceptor1 that it retained so palpably1
 after all1 the nature of the gross     
element from which it was a refinement  

or transfusion1 that even what it might 
teach right1 as to the matter1 it was   
unable to teach with the right moral    
impression4 ,with all its gravity1 and  
phrases of wisdom1 and show of homage to
 virtue1 it was1 and was plainly        
descried to be1 that very same ,noli me 
tangere1 in a disguised form2 a less    
provoking and hostile manner only of    
keeping up the state of preparation for 
defensive war4 ,every one knew right    
well that the pure approbation and love 
of goodness were not the source of law2 
but that it was an arrangement          
originating and deriving all its force  
from self-interest2 a contrivance by    
which each man was glad to make the     
collective strength of society his      
guarantee against his neighbor's        
interest and wish to do him wrong4      
,while pleased that others were under   
this restraint1 he was often vexed at   
being under it also himself2 but on the 
whole deemed this security worth the    
cost of suffering the interdict on his  

own inclinations1--perhaps as believing 
other men's to be still worse than his1 
or seeing their strength to be greater4 
,we repeat that a preceptive system thus
 estimated could not1 even had the      
principles to which it gave expression  
in the mandates of law been no other    
than those of the soundest morality1    
have impressed them with the weight of  
sanctity on the conscience4 ,and all    
this but tends to show the necessity    
that the rules and sanctions of         
morality1 to come with simplicity and   
power on the human mind1 should         
primarily emanate1 and be acknowledged  
as emanating1 from a ,being exalted     
above all implication and competition of
 interest with man4  ,thus we see1 that 
the pagan ignorance precluded one grand 
requisite for crushing the dominion of  
iniquity2 for there was nothing to      
insinuate or to force its way into the  
recesses of the soul1 to apply there a  
repressive power to the depraved ardor  
which glowed in the passions4 ,that was 

left1 inaccessible and inextinguishable1
 as the subterranean fires in a volcanic
 region4 ,and in the mighty impulse to  
evil with which it was continually      
operating as an energy of feeling1 it   
compelled the subservience of the       
intellect2 and thus combined the        
passions with a faculty skilful to guide
 their direction1 to diversify their    
objects1 to invent expedients1 and to   
seize and create occasions4 ,what was it
 that this intelligent depravity would  
stop short of accomplishing8 ,reflect on
 the extent of human genius1 in its     
powers of invention1 combination1 and   
adaptation2 and then think of all this  
faculty1 in an immense number of minds1 
through many ages1 and in every         
imaginable variety of situation1 exerted
 with unremitting activity in aid of the
 wrong propensities4 ,reflect how many  
ideas1 apt and opportune for this       
service1 would spring up casually1 or be
 suggested by circumstances1 or be      
attained by the earnest study of beings 

goaded in pursuit of change and novelty4
 ,the simple modes of iniquity were put 
under an active ministry of art1 to     
combine1 innovate1 and augment4 ,and so 
indefatigable was its exercise1 that    
almost all conceivable forms of         
immorality were brought to imagination1 
most of them into experiment2 and the   
greater number into prevailing practice1
 in those nations3 insomuch that the    
sated monarch would have imposed as     
difficult a task on ingenuity in calling
 for the invention of a new vice1 as of 
a new pleasure4 ,they would perhaps have
 been nearly identical demands when he  
was the person to be pleased4  ,such are
 some of the most obvious illustrations 
that the absence of knowledge was a     
cause1 and added in an unknown measure  
to the strength of all other causes1 of 
the excessive corruption in the heathen 
nations4 ,and if this depravity of a    
world of moral agents did not1          
contemplated simply as a destruction of 
their rectitude1 appear equivalent to   

the gravest import of the terms the     
people are destroyed1 the misery        
inseparable from the depravity instantly
 comes in our view to complete their    
verification4  ,we are aware that the   
wickedness and misery of the ancient    
world1 as asserted in illustration of   
the natural effect of estrangement from 
divine truth1 are apt to be regarded as 
of the order of topics which have       
dwindled into insignificance1 worn out  
by being repeated just because they have
 often been repeated before2 a sort of  
exhausted quarries and dried-up wells4  
,there is a certain class of vain and   
sneering mortals1 in whose conceit      
nothing is such proof of superior sense 
as discarding the greatest number of    
topics and arguments as obsolete or     
impertinent4 ,it is to be reckoned on   
that some of these1 on hearing again the
 old maxims1 that a people without      
divine instruction must be a vicious    
one1 and that a vicious people must be  
an unhappy one1--and those maxims       

accompanied with a description of the   
old pagan world as illustrative         
evidence1--will be prompt to let forth  
their comments in some such strain as   
the following3--,the state of the       
ancient heathens1 thus brought upon us  
in one cheap declamation more1 is now a 
matter of trivial import1 just fit to   
give some show and exaggeration to the  
stale common-place1 that ignorance is   
likely to produce depravity1 and that   
depravity and misery are likely enough  
to go together4 ,the pagans might be    
wretched enough2 and perhaps also the   
matter has been extravagantly magnified 
for the service of a favorite theme1 or 
to make a rhetorical show4 ,at any rate1
 it is not now worth while to go so far 
back to concern ourselves about it4 ,the
 ancient heathens had their day and     
their destiny1 and it is of little      
importance to us what they were or      
suffered4  ,it is fortunate1 we may     
reply1 to be wiser than the ancients1   
without the trouble of learning anything

 by means of them4 ,it is fortunate1    
also1 to have ascertained how much of   
all that ever existed can teach us      
nothing4 ,we have a signal improvement  
in the fashion of wisdom1 when that high
 endowment may be possessed as a thing  
distinct from compass of thought1 from  
study of causes and effects as          
illustrated on the great scale1 from    
aptitude to be instructed by the past1  
and from contemplation of the divine    
government as carried over a wide extent
 of time4 ,but indeed this is not a     
privilege peculiar to this later day4   
,in any former age there were men in    
sufficient number who were wise enough  
to be indifferent to all but immediate  
passing events1 as knowing no lessons   
that persons like them had to learn from
 remoter views1 looking either into the 
past or the future2 who could even have 
before them the very monuments of awful 
events that were gone by1 without       
perceiving inscribed on them any        
characters for contemplation to read4   

,it is not impossible there might be    
persons who could plan their schemes1   
and debate their questions1 and even    
follow their amusements1 quite exempt   
from solemn reflections1 within view of 
the ruins of ,jerusalem1 after the      
,roman legions had left it and its      
myriads of dead to silence4 ,any        
reference to that dreadful spectacle1 as
 an example of the consequences of the  
ignorance and wickedness of a people1   
might have been heard with unconcern1   
and lightly passed over as foreign to   
the matters requiring their attention3  
it was all over with the people dead1   
and the people alive had their own      
concerns to mind4 ,but would not exactly
 such as these have been the men most   
likely to fall into the vices and       
impieties which would provoke the next  
avenging visitation1 and to perish in   
it8 ,in all times1 the triflers with the
 great exemplifications of the          
connection of depravity with misery and 
ruin1 who thought it but an impertinent 

moralizing that attempted to recall such
 funereal spectacles for admonition1    
were fools1 whatever self-complacency   
they might feel in a habit of thinking  
more fitted1 they would perhaps say1 for
 making our best advantage of the world 
as we find it4 ,and we of the present   
time are convicted of exceeding         
stupidity1 if we think it not worth     
while to go a number of ages back to    
contemplate the mass of mankind1 the    
wide world of beings such as ourselves1 
sunk in darkness and wretchedness1 and  
to consider what it is that is taught by
 so melancholy an exhibition4 ,what is  
to give fulness of evidence to an       
instruction1 if a world be too narrow2  
what is to give it weight1 if a world be
 too light8  ,it is to be acknowledged1 
that the mental darkness which we are   
representing as so greatly the cause of 
the wickedness and unhappiness of those 
nations of old1 had the effect of       
protecting them1 in a measure1 from some
 kinds of suffering4 ,they had not1 as  

we have been observing1 illumination    
enough1 to have conscience enough1 for  
inflicting the severest pains of        
remorse2 and for oppressing them with a 
distinct alarming apprehension of a     
future account4 ,but that they were     
unhappy1 was practically acknowledged in
 the very quality of what they ardently 
and universally sought as the highest   
felicities of existence4 ,those delights
 were violent and tumultuous1 in all    
possible ways and degrees estranged from
 reflection1 and adverse to it4 ,the    
whole souls of great and small1 in the  
most barbarous and in the more polished 
state1 were passionately set on revelry1
 on expedients for inflaming            
licentiousness to madness2 or concourses
 of multitudes for pomps1 celebrations1 
shows1 games1 combats2 on the riots of  
exultation and revenge after victories4 
,the ruder nations had1 in their way1   
however pitiable on the score of        
magnificence1 their grand festive1      
triumphal1 and demoniac confluxes and   

revellings4 ,to these joys of tumult1   
the people of the savage and the more   
cultivated nations sacrificed everything
 belonging to the peaceful economy of   
life1 with a desperate1 frantic fury4   
,all this was the confession that there 
was little felicity in the heart or in  
the home4 ,nor was it found in these    
resources2 if the wild elation might be 
mistaken for happiness while it lasted1 
it was brief in each instance1 and it   
subsided in an aggravated dreariness of 
the soul4  ,the fact of their being     
unhappy had a still more gloomy         
attestation in the mutual enmity which  
seems to have been of the very essence  
of life so vital a principle1 that it   
could not be spared for an hour4 ,no1   
they could not live without this luxury 
drawn from the fountains of death6 ,what
 is the most conspicuous material of    
ancient history1 what is it that glares 
out the most hideously from that        
darkness and oblivion in which the old  
world is veiling its aspect1 but the    

incessant furies of miserable mortals   
against their fellow-mortals1 hateful   
and hating one another8 ,we cannot look 
that way but we see the whole field     
covered with inflicters and sufferers1  
not seldom interchanging those          
characters4 ,if that field widens to our
 view1 it is still1 to the utmost line  
to which the shade clears away1 a scene 
of cruelty1 oppression1 and slavery2 of 
the strong trampling on the weak1 and   
the weak often attempting to bite at the
 feet of the strong2 of rancorous       
animosities and murderous competitions  
of persons raised above the mass of the 
community2 of treacheries and massacres2
 and of war between hordes1 and cities1 
and nations1 and empires2 war never1 in 
spirit1 intermitted1 and suspended      
sometimes in act only to acquire renewed
 force for destruction1 or to find      
another assemblage of hated creatures to
 cut in pieces4 ,powerful as the spirit 
of the first-born ,cain has continued1  
down to our age1 and in the most        

improved divisions of mankind1 there    
was1 nevertheless1 in the ancient pagan 
race1 7as there is in some portions of  
the modern17 a more complete1           
uncontrolled actuation of the           
all-killing1 all-devouring fury1 a more 
absolute possession of ,moloch4  ,now it
 is as misery that we are exhibiting all
 this depravity4 ,to be thus1 was       
suffering4 ,the disease and the pain are
 inseparable in the description1 and    
they were so in the reality4 ,and both  
together1 inevitably seizing on beings  
who had rejected or lost divine         
knowledge1 maintained a hold as fatal   
and invincible as that of the           
intervolved serpents of ,laocoon4  ,it  
is true1 that a comprehensive estimate  
of the state of the people we are       
contemplating1 would bring in view      
several minor circumstances which1      
though not availing to change materially
 the effect of the picture1 are         
themselves of less gloomy color4 ,but at
 the same time such an estimate would   

include other forms also of infelicity1 
besides those which were at once the    
result and punishment of depravity1 the 
stings with which sin rewarded the      
infatuation that loved it4 ,if the      
design had been to exhibit anything like
 a general view1 we must have taken     
account of such particulars as these3   
the unhappiness of being without an     
assurance of an all-comprehending and   
merciful ,providence1 and of wanting    
therefore the best support in sorrow and
 calamity2 the insuppressible           
impatience1 or the deep melancholy1 with
 which the more thoughtful persons must 
have seen departing from life1 leaving  
them hopeless of ever meeting again in a
 life elsewhere1 the relations or       
associates who were dear to them in     
spite of the prevailing effect of       
paganism to destroy philanthropy2 and   
the gloomy sentiment with which they    
must have thought of their own continual
 approach toward death2 a sentiment not 
always unaccompanied with certain       

intimidating hints and hauntings of     
possibilities in the darkness beyond    
that confine4 ,but the more limited     
intention in the preceding description  
has been to illustrate their unhappiness
 as inflicted by their depravity1       
necessarily consequent on their         
ignorance4 ,and what words so true1 so  
irresistibly prompted at the view of    
such a scene1 as those pronounced of a  
nation that at once despised the pagans 
and imitated them1--,the people are     
destroyed for lack of knowledge4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,let us not be suspected of having lost 
sight of the fact1 that vice and misery 
have1 in our nature1 a deeper source    
than ignorance2 or of being so absurd as
 to imagine that if the inestimable     
truths unknown to the heathen world had 
been1 on the contrary1 in all men's     
knowledge1 but a slight portion of the  
depravity and wretchedness we have      
described could then have had an        
existence4 ,to say1 that under long     

absence of the sun any tract of         
terrestrial nature must infallibly be   
reduced to desolation1 is not to say or 
imply1 that under the benignant         
influence of that luminary the same     
region must1 as necessarily and         
unconditionally1 be a scene of beauty2  
but the only hope1 for the only         
possibility1 is for the field visited by
 much of that sweet influence4 ,and it  
were an absurdity no less gross in the  
opposite extreme to the one just        
mentioned1 to assert the uselessness1   
for rectifying the moral world1 of a    
diffusion of the knowledge which shall  
compel men to see what is wrong2 to deny
 that the impulses of the corrupt       
passions and will must suffer some      
abatement of their force and daring when
 encountered1 like ,balaam meeting the  
angel1 by a clear manifestation of their
 bad and ruinous tendency1 by a         
convinced judgment1 a protesting        
conscience1 and the aspect of the       
,almighty ,judge1--instead of their     

being under the tolerance of a judgment 
not instructed to condemn them1 or1 7as 
ignorance is sure to quicken into       
error17 perverted to abet them4         
,section ,,ii4    ,from this view of the
 prevalence and malignant effects of    
ignorance among the people of the       
ancient world1 both ,jews and ,gentiles1
 we may come down1 with a few brief     
notices in passing over the long        
subsequent periods1 towards our own     
times4 ,for any attempt to prosecute the
 object through the ages and regions of 
later heathenism1 7with the infatuated  
,judaism still more destructive to its  
subjects17 would be to lose ourselves in
 a boundless scene of desolation1 an    
immense amplitude of darkness1          
frightfully alive throughout with the   
activity of all noxious and hideous     
things4  ,but by this time we are become
 aware how continually we are driven    
upon what will be in hazard of appearing
 an exaggerated phraseology2 insomuch   
that we are almost afraid of accepting  

the epithets of description and         
aggravation which offer themselves as   
most appropriate to the subject4 ,there 
are some self-complacent persons whose  
minds are so unapt to recognize the     
magnitude of a subject1 or so averse    
perhaps to the contemplation of it if it
 be of tragical aspect1 that strong     
terms accumulated to exhibit even what  
surpasses in its plain reality all the  
powers of language1 offend them as      
declamatory exaggeration4 ,let it then  
be just observed1 without one ambitious 
epithet1 that since that period when    
ancient history1 strictly so named1 left
 off describing the state of mankind1   
more than a myriad of millions of our   
race have been on earth1 and quitted it 
without one ray of the knowledge the    
most important to spirits sojourning    
here1 and going hence4  ,but while any  
attempt to carry the representation of  
the fatal effects of ignorance over the 
extent of so dreary a scene is declined1
 let it not be forgotten that they have 

been an awful reality2 that they have   
actually existed1 in time1 and place1   
and number of victims2 that there       
actually were the men1 and so many men1 
who exemplified1 and in so many ways1   
the truth we are illustrating4 ,and a   
truth which has its demonstration in    
facts ought to come with the weight of  
all the facts that we believe ever did  
demonstrate it4 ,when they are not      
presented in breadth and detail         
prominently in our view1 we are apt to  
lose the due effect of our knowing them 
to have existed4  ,it will be enough to 
advert very briefly to the ,mohammedan  
imposture1 though that is perhaps the   
most signal instance within all time1 of
 a malignant delusion maintained        
directly and immediately by ignorance1  
by an absolute determination and even a 
fanatic zeal not to receive one new     
idea4 ,tenets involving the most        
palpable impossibilities1 and asserted  
in self-contradictory terms1 must stand 
inviolable to all question or           

controversy2 literature must be scouted 
as a profane folly2 not a principle of  
true philosophy is to be admitted2      
hardly is an application of the plainest
 mechanics to improve a machine or      
implement to be tolerated2 or an infidel
 is to be only pardoned1 through        
contempt1 for a successful obtrusion of 
science to render the most important    
service1--to save1 for instance1 a      
,mussulman ship-with its proud1 besotted
 commander and crew from destruction1   
,footnote3 ,there is a very curious     
example of this related in ,dr ,clarke's
 ,travels4 lest an acknowledgment made  
to science should allow one momentary   
surmise of imperfection to insult the   
all-sufficiency and sanctity of the     
unalterable creed and institutes2 lest  
any diminutive crevice should be made on
 any side of the temple of the vile     
superstition1 for the passage of one    
glimpse of true light to annoy the foul 
fiend that dwells there1 invested in the
 dunnest smoke of hell4 ,not1 however1  

that this is the policy of doubt and    
apprehension1 the evading and repelling 
caution of men who suspect themselves to
 be wrong and dread being forced to meet
 the proof4 ,for the subjects of this   
execrable usurpation on the human       
understanding have1 in general1 the     
firmest assurance that all things in the
 system are right3 it has itself secured
 them against knowing anything that     
could discompose their sense of         
certainty4 ,no fell savage1 or serpent1 
or monster1 ever had a more perfect     
instinct to avail itself of an          
impervious obscurity for its            
lurking-place1 than this imposture has  
shown to keep out all mental light from 
its realm4 ,the delusion is so strong   
and absolute in ignorance1 is so        
identified with it1 and so              
systematically repels at all points the 
approach of knowledge1 that it is       
difficult to conceive a mode of its     
extermination that shall not involve    
some fearful destruction1 in the most   

literal sense1 of the people whom it    
possesses4 ,and such a catastrophe it is
 probable the great body of them1 in the
 temper of mind prevailing among them at
 this hour1 would choose to incur by    
preference1 we do not say to a serious1 
patient consideration of the true       
religion1 but even to the admission     
among them of a system merely favoring  
knowledge in general1 an order of       
measures which should urge upon the     
adults1 and peremptorily enforce for the
 children1 a discipline of intellectual 
improvement4 ,there would be little     
national hesitation of choice1 7at least
 in the central regions of the dominion 
of this hateful imposture17 between the 
introduction of any general system of   
expedients for driving them from their  
stupefaction into something like        
thinking and learning1 and a general    
plague1 to rage as long as any remained 
for victims4 ,footnote3 ,in the interval
 since this was written1 some change has
 taken place in favor of the admission  

of the elements of knowledge1 in the    
capital1 and in the second city of the  
,mohammedan regions2 but with very      
slight alterative influence on the mass2
 and with respect to the faith1 probably
 none at all4 ,within this interval1    
also1 the central power has been        
hastening rapidly to its catastrophe4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,but let us now look1 for a moment1 at  
the intellectual state of the people    
denominated ,christian1 during the ages 
preceding the ,reformation4 ,the best of
 all the acquisitions by earth from     
heaven1 ,christianity1 might have seemed
 to bring with it an inevitable         
necessity of a great and permanent      
difference soon to be effected1 in      
regard to the competence of men's       
knowledge to prevent their destruction4 
,it was as if1 in the physical system1  
some one production1 far more salutary  
to life than all the other things       
furnished from the elements1 had been   
reserved by the ,creator to spring up in

 a later age1 after many generations of 
men had been languishing through life1  
and prematurely dying1 from the         
deficient virtue of their sustenance and
 remedies4 ,the image of the inestimable
 plant had been shown to the prophets in
 their visions1 but the reality was now 
given to the world2 it was of wholly a  
right seed1 had the seed in itself1 and 
claimed to be cultivated by the people1 
who in every land were suffering the    
maladies which it had the properties to 
heal4 ,but1 while by the greater part of
 mankind it was not accounted worth     
admission to a place on their blasted1  
desolated soil1 the manner in which its 
virtue was frustrated among those who   
pretended to esteem it1 as it was1 the  
best gift of the divine beneficence1 is 
recorded in eternal reproach of the     
,christian nations4  ,as the hostility  
of heathenism1 in the direct endeavors  
to extirpate the ,christian religion1   
became evidently hopeless1 in the       
nations within the ,roman empire1 there 

was a grand change of the policy of     
evil2 and all manner of reprobate       
things1 heathenism itself among them1   
rushed as by general conspiracy into    
treacherous conjunction with            
,christianity1 retaining their own      
quality under the sanction of its name1 
and by a rapid process reducing it to   
surrender almost everything distinctive 
of it but that dishonored name3 and all 
this under protection of the gross      
darkness covering the people4 ,there    
were indeed in existence the inspired   
oracles1 and these could not be         
essentially falsified4 ,but there was no
 lack of expedients and pre-texts for   
keeping them in a great measure         
secreted4 ,it might be done under a     
pretence that reverence for their       
sanctity required they should be        
secluded as within the recesses of a    
temple1 nor be there consulted but by   
consecrated personages2 a pretence      
excellently contrived1 since it was its 
own security against exposure1 the      

people being thus kept unaware that the 
sacred writings themselves expressly    
invited popular inspection1 by declaring
 themselves addressed to mankind at     
large4 ,the deceivers were not worse off
 for the other facilities4 ,in the      
progress of translation1 the holy       
,scriptures could be intercepted and    
stopped short in a language but little  
less unintelligible than the original   
ones to the bulk of the people1 in order
 that this profane vulgar might never   
hear the very words of ,god1 but only   
such report as it should please certain 
men1 at their discretion1 to give of    
what he had said2 men1 however1 of whom 
the majority were themselves too        
ignorant to cite it in even a falsified 
import4 ,but though the people had      
understood the language1 in the usage of
 social converse1 there was a grand     
security against them in keeping them so
 destitute of the knowledge of letters1 
that the ,bible1 if such a rare thing   
ever could happen to fall into any of   

their hands1 would be no more to them   
than a scroll of hieroglyphics4 ,when to
 this was added1 the great cost of a    
copy of so large a book before the      
invention of printing1 it remained      
perhaps just worth while1 7and it would 
be a matter of no difficulty or daring17
 to make it1 in the maturity of the     
system1 an offence1 and sacrilegious    
invasion of sacerdotal privilege1 to    
look into a ,bible4 ,if it might seem   
hard thus to constitute a new sin1 in   
addition to the long list already       
denounced by the divine law1 amends were
 made by indulgently rescinding some    
articles in that list1 and qualifying   
the principles of obligation with       
respect to them all4  ,in this latency  
of the sacred authorities1 withdrawn    
from all communication with the human   
understanding1 there were retained still
 many of the terms and names belonging  
to religion4 ,they remained1 but they   
remained only such as they could be when
 the departing spirit of that religion  

was leaving them void of their import   
and solemnity1 and so rendered          
applicable to purposes of deception and 
mischief4 ,they were as holy vessels1 in
 which the original contents might1 as  
they were escaping1 be clandestinely    
replaced by the most malignant          
preparations4 ,and as crafty and wicked 
men had a direct interest in this       
substitution1 the pernicious operation  
went on incessantly2 and with an        
ability1 and to an extent to evince that
 the utmost barbarism of the times      
cannot extinguish genius1 when it is    
iniquity that sets it on fire4 ,how     
prolific was the invention of the       
falsehoods and absurdities of notion1   
and of the vanities and corruptions of  
practice1 which it was devised to make  
the terms and names of religion         
designate and sanction6 while it was    
also managed1 with no less sedulity and 
success1 that the inventors and         
propagators should be held in submissive
 reverence by the community1 as the     

oracular depositaries of truth4 ,that   
community had not knowledge enough of   
any other kind1 to create a resisting   
and defensive power against this        
imposition in the concern of religion4  
,a sound exercise of reason on subjects 
out of that province1 a moderate degree 
of instruction in literature and science
 rightly so called1 might have produced1
 in the persons of superior native      
capacity1 somewhat of a competency and a
 disposition to question1 to examine1 to
 call for evidence1 and to detect some  
of the fallacies imposed for ,christian 
faith4 ,but in such completeness of     
ignorance1 the general mind was on all  
sides pressed and borne down to its     
fate4 ,all reaction ceased2 and the     
people were reduced to exist in one     
huge1 unintelligent1 monotonous         
substance1 united by the interfusion of 
a vile superstition1 which permitted    
just enough mental life in the mass to  
leave it capable of being actuated to   
all the purposes of cheats1 and         

tyrants1--a proper subject for the      
dominion of our ,lord ,god the ,pope1 as
 he was sometimes denominated2 and might
 have been denominated without exciting 
indignation1 in the hearing of millions 
of beings bearing the form of men and   
the name of ,christians4  ,reflect that 
all this took place under the nominal   
ascendency of the best and brightest    
economy of instruction from heaven4     
,reflect that it was in nations where   
even the sovereign authority professed  
homage to the religion of ,christ1 and  
adopted and enforced it as a grand      
national institution1 that the popular  
mass was thus reduced to a material fit 
for all the bad uses to which           
priestcraft could wish to put the souls 
and bodies of its slaves4 ,and then     
consider what should have been the      
condition of this great aggregate1      
wherever ,christianity was acknowledged 
by all as the true religion4 ,the people
 should have consisted of so many beings
 having each1 in some degree1 the       

independent1 beneficial use of his mind2
 all of them trained with a reference to
 the necessity of their being apprized  
of their responsibility to their        
,creator1 for the exercise of their     
reason on the matters of belief and     
choice2 all of them capacitated for     
improvement by being furnished with the 
rudiments and instrumental means of     
knowledge2 and all having within their  
reach1 in their own language1 the       
,scriptures of divine truth1 some by    
immediate possession1 the rest by means 
of faithful readers1 while the book     
existed only in manuscript2 all of them 
after it came to be printed4  ,can any  
doubt arise1 whether there were in the  
,christian states resources competent1  
if so applied1 to secure to all the     
people an elementary instruction1 and   
the possession of the printed ,bible8   
,resources competent6 ,all nations1     
sufficiently raised above barbarism to  
exist as states1 have consumed1 in uses 
the most foreign and pernicious to their

 welfare1 an infinitely greater amount  
of means than would have sufficed1 after
 due provision for comfortable physical 
subsistence1 to afford a moderate share 
of instruction to all the people4 ,and  
in those popish ages1 that expenditure  
alone which went to ecclesiastical use  
would have been far more than adequate  
to this beneficent purpose4 ,think of   
the boundless cost for supporting the   
magnificence and satiating the rapacity 
of the hierarchy1 from its              
triple-crowned head1 down through all   
the orders branded with a consecration  
under that head to maintain the delusion
 and share the spoil4 ,recollect the    
immense system of policy for            
jurisdiction and intrigue1 every agent  
of which was a devourer4 ,recollect the 
pomps and pageants1 for which the       
general resources were to be taxed3     
while the general industry was injured  
by the interruption of useful           
employment1 and the diversion of the    
people to such dissipation as their     

condition qualified and permitted them  
to indulge in4 ,think also of the       
incalculable cost of ecclesiastical     
structures1 the temples of idolatry as  
in truth they were4 ,one of the most    
striking situations for a religious and 
reflective ,protestant is1 that of      
passing some solitary hour under the    
lofty vault1 among the superb arches and
 columns1 of any one of the most        
splendid of these edifices remaining at 
this day in our own country4 ,if he has 
sensibility and taste1 the magnificence1
 the graceful union of so many diverse  
inventions of art1 the whole mighty     
creation of genius that quitted the     
world without leaving even a name1 will 
come with magical impression on his     
mind1 while it is contemplatively       
darkening into the awe of antiquity4    
,but he will be recalled--the           
sculptures1 the inscriptions1 the       
sanctuaries enclosed off for the special
 benefit1 after death1 of persons who   
had very different concerns during life 

from that of the care of their          
salvation1 and various other insignia of
 the original character of the place1   
will help to recall him--to the thought1
 that these proud piles were in fact    
raised to celebrate the conquest1 and   
prolong the dominion1 of the ,power of  
,darkness over the souls of the people4 
,they were as triumphal arches1 erected 
in memorial of the extermination of that
 truth which was given to be the life of
 men4  ,as he looks round1 and looks    
upwards1 on the prodigy of design1 and  
skill1 and perseverance1 and tributary  
wealth1 he may image to himself the     
multitudes that1 during successive ages1
 frequented this fane in the assured    
belief1 that the idle ceremonies and    
impious superstitions1 which they there 
performed or witnessed1 were a service  
acceptable to heaven1 and to be repaid  
in blessings to the offerers4  ,he may  
say to himself1 ,here1 on this very     
floor1 under that elevated and decorated
 vault1 in a dim religious light like   

this1 but with the darkness of the      
shadow of death in their souls1 they    
prostrated themselves to their saints1  
or their queen of heaven2 nay1 to       
painted images and toys of wood or wax1 
to some ounce or two of bread and wine1 
to fragments of old bones1 and rags of  
cast-off vestments4 ,hither they came1  
when conscience1 in looking back or     
pointing forward1 dismayed them1 to     
purchase remission with money or atoning
 penances1 or to acquire the privilege  
of sinning with impunity in a certain   
manner1 or for a certain time2 and they 
went out at yonder door in the perfect  
confidence that the priest had secured1 
in the one case the suspension1 in the  
other the satisfaction1 of the divine   
law4 ,here they solemnly believed1 as   
they were taught1 that1 by donatives to 
the church1 they delivered the souls of 
their departed sinful relations from    
their state of punishment2 and they went
 out of that door resolved1 such as had 
possessions1 to bequeath some portion of

 them1 to operate in the same manner for
 themselves another day1 in the highly  
probable case of similar need4 ,here    
they were convened to listen in         
reverence to some representative        
emissary from the ,man of ,sin1 with new
 dictates of blasphemy or iniquity      
promulgated in the name of the          
,almighty3 or to witness the trickery of
 some farce1 devised to cheat or        
frighten them out of whatever remainder 
the former impositions might have left  
them of sense1 conscience1 or property4 
,here1 in fine1 there was never         
presented to their understanding1 from  
their childhood to their death1 a       
comprehensive1 honest declaration of the
 laws of duty1 and the pure doctrines of
 salvation4 ,to think6 that they should 
have mistaken for the house of ,god1 and
 the very gate of heaven1 a place where 
the ,regent of the nether world had so  
short a way to come from his dominions1 
and his agents and purchased slaves so  
short a way to go thither4 ,if we could 

imagine a momentary visit from ,him who 
once entered a fabric of sacred         
denomination with a scourge1 because it 
was made the resort of a common traffic1
 with what aspect and voice1 with what  
infliction but the rebuke with flames of
 fire1 would he have entered this mart  
of iniquity1 assuming the name of his   
sanctuary1 where the traffic was in     
delusions1 crimes1 and the souls of men8
 ,it was even as if1 to use the         
prophet's language1 the very stone cried
 out of the wall1 and the beam out of   
the timber answered it1 in denunciation2
 for a portion of the means of building1
 in the case of some of these edifices1 
was obtained as the price of            
dispensations and pardons4 ,footnote3   
,that most superb ,salisbury ,cathedral1
 for example4  ,in such a hideous light 
would the earlier history of one of     
these mighty structures1 pretendedly    
consecrated to ,christianity1 be        
presented to the reflecting ,protestant2
 and then would recur the idea of its   

cost1 as relative to what that          
expenditure might really have done for  
,christianity and the people4 ,it       
absorbed in the construction1 sums      
sufficient to have supplied1 costly as  
they would have been1 even manuscript   
,bibles1 in the people's own language1  
7as a priesthood of truly apostolic     
character would have taken care the     
,scriptures should speak17 to all the   
families of a province2 and in the      
revenues appropriated to its            
ministration of superstition1 enough to 
have provided men to teach all those    
families to read those ,bibles4  ,in all
 this1 and in the whole constitution of 
the ,grand ,apostasy1 involving         
innumerable forms of abuse and          
abomination1 to which our object does   
not require any allusion1 how sad a     
spectacle is held forth of the people   
destroyed for lack of knowledge4 ,if1 as
 one of their plagues1 an inferior one  
in itself1 they were plundered as we    
have seen1 of their worldly goods1 it   

was that the spoil might subserve to a  
still greater wrong4 ,what was lost to  
the accommodation of the body1 was to be
 made to contribute to the depravation  
of the spirit4 ,it supplied means for   
multiplying the powers of the grand     
ecclesiastical machinery1 and confirming
 the intellectual despotism of the      
usurpers of spiritual authority4 ,those 
authorities enforced on the people1 on  
pain of perdition1 an acquiescence in   
notions and ordinances which1 in effect1
 precluded their direct access to the   
,almighty1 and the ,saviour of the      
world2 interposing between them and the 
,divine ,majesty a very extensive1      
complicated1 and heathenish mediation1  
which in a great measure substituted    
itself for the real and exclusive       
mediation of ,christ1 obscured by its   
vast creation of intercepting vanities  
the glory of the ,eternal ,being1 and   
thus almost extinguished the true       
worship4 ,but how calamitous was such a 
condition6--to be thus intercepted from 

direct intercourse with the ,supreme    
,spirit1 and to have the solemn and     
elevating sentiment of devotion flung   
downward1 on objects to some of which   
even the most superstitious could hardly
 pay homage without a sense of          
degradation4  ,it was1 again1 a         
disastrous thing to be under a directory
 of practical life framed for the       
convenience of a corrupt system2 a rule 
which enjoined many things wrong1       
allowed a dispensation from nearly      
everything that was right1 and abrogated
 the essential principle and ground-work
 of true morality4 ,still again1 it was 
an unhappy thing1 that the consolations 
in sorrow and the view of death should  
either be too feeble to animate1 or     
should animate only by deluding4 ,and it
 was the consummation of evil in the    
state of the people of those dark ages1 
it was1 emphatically to be destroyed1   
that the great doctrines of redemption  
should have been essentially vitiated or
 formally supplanted1 so that multitudes

 of people were betrayed to rest their  
final hopes on a ground unauthorized by 
the ,judge of the world4 ,in this most  
important matter1 the spiritual         
authorities might themselves be subjects
 of the fatal delusion in which they    
held the community2 and well they       
deserved to be so1 in judicial          
retribution of their wickedness in      
imposing on the people1 deliberately and
 on system1 innumerable things which    
they knew to be false4  ,we have often  
mused1 and felt a gloom and dreariness  
spreading over the mind while musing1 on
 descriptions of the aspect of a country
 after a pestilence has left it in      
desolation1 or of a region where the    
people are perishing by famine4 ,it has 
seemed a mournful thing to behold1 in   
contemplation1 the multitude of         
lifeless8 forms1 occupying in silence   
the same abodes in which they had lived1
 or scattered upon the gardens1 fields1 
and roads2 and then to see the          
countenances of the beings yet          

languishing in life1 looking despair1   
and impressed with the signs of         
approaching death4 ,we have even        
sometimes had the vivid and horrid      
picture offered to our imagination1 of a
 number of human creatures shut up by   
their fellow mortals in some strong     
hold1 under an entire privation of      
sustenance2 and presenting each day     
their imploring1 or infuriated1 or      
grimly sullen1 or more calmly woful     
countenances1 at the iron and           
impregnable gates2 each succeeding day  
more haggard1 more perfect in the image 
of despair2 and after awhile appearing  
each day one fewer1 till at last all    
have sunk4 ,now shall we feel it as a   
relief to turn in thought1 as to a sight
 of less portentous evil1 from the      
inhabitants of a country1 or from those 
of such an accursed prison-house1 thus  
pining away1 to behold the different    
spectacle of national tribes1 or any    
more limited portion of mankind1 on     
whose minds are displayed the full      

effects of knowledge denied2 who are    
under the process of whatever           
destruction it is1 that spirits can     
suffer from want of the vital aliment to
 the intelligent nature1 especially from
 a famine of the words of the ,lord8    
,to bring the two to a close comparison1
 suppose the case1 that some of the     
persons thus doomed to perish in the    
tower were in the possession of the     
genuine light and consolations of       
,christianity1 perhaps even had actually
 been adjudged to this fate1 7no        
extravagant supposition17 for zealously 
and persistingly endeavoring the        
restoration of the purity of that       
religion to the deluded community4 ,let 
it be supposed that numbers of that     
community1 having conspired to obtain   
this ad-judgment1 frequented the        
precincts of the fortress1 to see their 
victims gradually perishing4 ,it would  
be quite in the spirit of the popish    
superstition1 that they should believe  
themselves to have done ,god service1   

and be accordingly pleased at the sight 
of the more and more deathlike aspect of
 the emaciated countenances4 ,the while1
 they might be themselves in the        
enjoyment of fulness of bread1 ,we can  
imagine them making convivial           
appointments within sight of the prison 
gates1 and going from the spectacle to  
meet at the banquet4 ,or they might     
delay the festivity1 in order to have   
the additional luxury of knowing that   
the tragedy was consummated2 as ,bishop 
,gardiner would not dine till the       
martyrs were burnt4--,look at these two 
contemporary situations1 that of the    
persons with truth and immortal hope in 
their spirits1 enduring this slow and   
painful reduction of their bodies to    
dissolution1--and that of those who1    
while their bodies fared sumptuously1   
were thus miserably perishing in soul1  
through its being surrendered to the    
curse of a delusion which envenomed it  
with such a deadly malignity3 and say   
which was the more calamitous           

predicament4  ,if we have no hesitation 
in pronouncing1 let us consider whether 
we have ever been grateful enough to    
,god for the dashing in pieces so long  
since in this land1 of a system which   
maintains1 to this hour1 much of its    
stability over the greater part of      
,christendom4 ,if we regret that certain
 fragments of it are still held in      
veneration here1 and that so tedious a  
length of ages should be required1 to   
work out a complete mental rescue from  
the infatuation which possessed our     
ancestors1 let us at the same time look 
at the various states of ,europe1 small 
and great1 where this superstition      
continues to hold the minds of the      
people in its odious grasp2 and verify  
to ourselves what we have to be thankful
 for1 by thinking what reception our    
minds would give to an offer of         
subsistence on their mummeries1 masses1 
absolutions1 legends1 relics1 mediation 
of saints1 and corruptions1 even to     
complete reversal of the evangelic      

doctrines4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,it was1 however1 but very 
slowly that the people of our land      
realized the benefits of the            
,reformation1 glorious as that event    
was1 regarded as to its progressive and 
its ultimate consequences4 ,indeed1 the 
thickness of the preceding darkness was 
strikingly manifested by the deep shade 
which still continued stretched over the
 nation1 in spite of the newly risen    
luminary1 whose beams lost their        
brightness in pervading it to reach the 
popular mind1 and came with the         
faintness of an obscured and tedious    
dawn4  ,a long time there lingered      
enough of night for the evil spirit of  
popery to be at large and in power1 not 
abashed1 as ,milton represents the ,evil
 ,angel on his being surprised by the   
guardians of paradise4 ,rather the case 
was that the vindicator itself of truth 
and holiness1 the true ,lucifer1 shrunk 
at the rencounter and defiance of the   
old possessor of the gloomy dominion4   

,the ,reformation was not empowered to  
speak with a voice like that which said1
 ,let there be light--and there was     
light4 ,consider what1 on its avowed    
national adoption in our land1 were its 
provisions for acting on the community1 
and how slow and partial must have been 
their efficacy1 for either the          
dissipation of ignorance in general1 or 
the riddance of that worst part of it   
which had thickened round the ,romish   
delusion1 as malignant a pestilence as  
ever walked in darkness4 ,there was an  
alteration of formularies1 a curtailment
 of rites1 a declaration of renouncing1 
in the name of the church and state1 the
 most palpable of the absurdities2 and a
 change1 in some instances of the       
persons1 but in very many others of the 
professions merely1 of the hierarchy4   
,such were the appointments and         
instrumentality1 for carrying an        
innovation of opinions and practices    
through a nation in which the           
profoundest ignorance and the most      

inveterate superstition fortified each  
other4 ,and we may well imagine how fast
 and how far they would be effective1 to
 convey information and conviction among
 a people whose reason had been just so 
much the worse1 with respect to religion
 at least1 as it had not been totally   
dormant2 and who were too illiterate to 
be ever the wiser for the volume of     
inspiration itself1 had it been in their
 native language1 in every house1       
instead of being scarcely in one house  
in five thousand4  ,doubtless some      
advantage was gained through this change
 of institutions1 by the abolition of so
 much of the authority of the spiritual 
despotism as it possessed in virtue of  
being the imperative national           
establishment4 ,and if1 under this      
relaxation of its grasp1 a number of    
persons declined and escaped into the   
new faith1 they hardly knew how or why1 
it was happy to make the transition on  
any terms1 with however little of the   
exercise of reason1 with however little 

competence to exercise it4 ,well was it 
to be on the right ground1 though a man 
had come thither like one conveyed while
 partly asleep4 ,to have grown to a     
state of mind in which he ceased and    
refused to worship relics and wafers1 to
 rest his confidence on penance and     
priestly absolution1 and to regard the  
,virgin and saints as in effect the     
supreme regency of heaven1 was a        
valuable alteration though he could not 
read1 and though he could not assign1   
and had not clearly apprehended1 the    
arguments which justified the change4   
,yes1 this would be an important thing  
gained2 but not even thus much was      
gained to the passive slaves of popery  
but in an exceedingly limited extent1   
during a long course of time after it   
was supplanted as a national            
institution4 ,it continued to maintain  
in the faith1 feelings1 and more private
 habits of the people1 a dominion little
 enfeebled by the necessity of          
dissimulation in public observances4 ,as

 far as to secure this exterior show of 
submission and conformity1 it was an    
excellent argument that the state had   
decreed1 and would resolutely enforce1 a
 change in religion1--that is to say1   
till it should be the sovereign pleasure
 of the next monarch1 readily seconded  
by a majority of the ecclesiastics1 just
 to turn the whole affair round to its  
former position4  ,but the argument     
would expend nearly its whole strength  
on this policy of saving appearances4   
,for what was there conveyed in it that 
could strike inward to act upon the     
fixed tenets of the mind1 to destroy    
there the effect of the earliest and ten
 thousand subsequent impressions1 of    
inveterate habit and of ancient         
establishment8 ,was it to convince and  
persuade by authority of the maxim1 that
 the government in church and state is  
wiser than the people1 and therefore the
 best judge in every matter8 ,this1 as  
asserted generally1 was what the people 
firmly believed3 it has always1 till    

lately1 been the popular faith4 ,but    
then1 was the benefit of this obsequious
 faith to go exclusively to the         
government of just that particular      
time1--a government which1 by its       
innovations and demolitions1 was        
exhibiting a contemptuous dissent from  
all past government remembered in the   
land8 ,were the people not to hesitate a
 moment to take this innovating         
government's word for it that all their 
forefathers1 up through a long series of
 ages1 had been fools and dupes in      
reverencing1 in their time1 the wisdom  
and authority of their governors8 ,the  
most unthinking and submissive would    
feel that this was too much3 especially 
after they had proof that the government
 demanding so prodigious a concession   
might1 on the substitution of just one  
individual for another at its head1     
revoke its own ordinances1 and punish   
those who should contumaciously continue
 to be ruled by them4 ,you summon us1   
they might have said to their governors1

 at your arbitrary dictate to renounce1 
as what you are pleased to call         
idolatries and abominations1 the faith  
and rites held sacred by twenty         
generations of our ancestors and yours4 
,we are to do this on peril of your     
highest displeasure1 and that of ,god1  
by whose will you are professing to act2
 now who will ensure us that there may  
not be1 some time hence1 a vindictive   
inquisition1 to find who among us have  
been the most ready of obedience to     
offer wicked insult to the ,holy        
,catholic ,apostolic ,church8  ,this    
deficiency of the moral power of the    
government1 to promote the progress of  
conviction in the mind of the nation1   
would be slenderly supplied by the      
authority of the class next to the      
government in the claim to deference1   
and even holding the precedence in      
actual influence1--that is1 the families
 of rank and consequence throughout the 
country4 ,for the people well knew1 in  
their respective neighborhoods1 that    

many of these had never in reality      
forsaken the ancient religion1          
consulting only the policy of a         
time-serving conformity2 and that some  
of them hardly attempted or wished to   
conceal from their inferiors that they  
preserved their fidelity4 ,and then the 
substituted religion1 while it came with
 a great diminution of the pomp which is
 always the delight of the ignorant1    
acknowledged1--proclaimed as one of its 
chief merits1--a still more fatal defect
 for attracting converts from among     
beings whose ignorance had never been   
suffered to doubt1 till then1 that men  
in ecclesiastical garb could modify1 or 
suspend1 or defeat for them the justice 
of ,god2 it proclaimed itself unable to 
give any exemptions or commutations in  
matters of conscience4  ,when such were 
the recommendations which the new mode  
of religion not1 and when the           
recommendation which it had was simply1 
7the royal authority set out of the     
question17 an offer of evidence to the  

understanding that it was true1 no      
wonder that many of a generation so     
insensate through ignorance should never
 become its proselytes4 ,but even as to 
those who did1 while it was a happy     
deliverance1 as we have said1 to escape 
almost any way from the utter grossness 
of popery1 still they would carry into  
their better faith much of the unhappy  
effect of that previous mental          
debasement4 ,how should a man in the    
rudeness of an intellect left completely
 ignorant of truth in general1 have a   
luminous apprehension of its most       
important division8 ,there could not be 
in men's minds a phenomenon similar to  
what we image to ourselves of ,goshen in
 the preternatural night of ,egypt1 a   
space of perfect light1 defined out by a
 precise limit amidst the general       
darkness4  ,only consider1 that the new 
ideas admitted into the proselyte's     
understanding as the true faith1 were to
 take their situation there in nearly   
those very same encompassing            

circumstances of internal barbarism     
which had been so perfectly commodious  
to the superstition recently dwelling   
there2 and that which had been favorable
 and adapted in the utmost degree1 that 
which had afforded much of the          
sustenance of life1 to the false        
notions1 could not but be most adverse  
to the development of the true ones4    
,these latter1 so environed1 would be in
 a condition too like that of a candle  
in the mephitic air of a vault4 ,the    
newly adopted religion1 therefore1 of   
the uncultivated converts from popery1  
would be far from exhibiting1 as        
compared with the renounced             
superstition1 a magnitude of change1 and
 force of contrast1 duly corresponding  
to the difference between the lying     
vanities of priestcraft and a           
communication from the living ,god4 ,the
 reign of ignorance combined with       
imposture had fixed upon the common     
people of the age of the ,reformation1  
and of several generations downward1 the

 doom of being incapable of admitting   
genuine ,christianity but with an       
excessively inadequate apprehension of  
its attributes2--as in the patriarchal  
ages a man might have received with only
 the honors appropriate to a saint or   
prophet1 the visitant in whom he was    
entertaining an angel unawares4 ,happy  
for both that ancient entertainer of    
such a visitant1 and the ignorant but   
honest adopter of the reformed religion1
 when that which they entertained       
rewarded them according to its own      
celestial quality1 rather than in       
proportion to their inadequate          
reception4 ,we may believe that the     
,divine ,being1 in special compassion to
 that ignorance to which barbarism and  
superstition had condemned inevitably   
the greater number of the early converts
 to the reformed religion1 did render   
that faith beneficial to them beyond the
 proportion of their narrow and still   
half superstitious conception of it4    
,and this is1 in truth1 the             

consideration the most consolatory in   
looking back to that tenebrious period  
in which popery was slowly retiring1    
with a protracted exertion of all the   
craft and strength of an able and       
veteran tyrant contending to the last   
for prolonged dominion4  ,it is1        
however1 no consideration of a portion  
of the people sincere1 inquiring1 and   
emerging1 though dimly enlightened1 from
 the gloom of so dreary a scene1 that is
 most apt to occur to our thoughts in   
extenuation of that gloom4 ,our         
unreflecting attention allows itself to 
be so engrossed by far different        
circumstances of that period of our     
history1 that we are imposed upon by a  
spectacle the very opposite of mournful4
 ,for what is it but a splendid and     
animating exhibition that we behold in  
looking back to the age of ,elizabeth8  
,and was not that1 it may be asked1 an  
age of the highest glory to our nation8 
,why repress our delight in             
contemplating it8 ,how can we refuse to 

indulge an inspiring sympathy with the  
energy of those times1 an elation of    
spirit at beholding the unparalleled    
allotment of her reign1 of statesmen1   
heroes1 and literary geniuses1 but for  
whom1 indeed1 that bright occidental    
star would have left no such brilliant  
track of fame behind her8  ,permit us to
 answer by inquiring1 ,what should the  
intellectual condition of the people1   
properly so denominated1 have been in   
order to correspond in a due proportion 
to the magnificence of these their      
representative chiefs1 and complete the 
grand spectacle as that of a nation8    
,determine that2 and then inquire what  
actually was the state of the people all
 this while4 ,there is evidence that it 
was1 what the fatal blight and blast of 
popery might be expected to have left   
it1 generally and most wretchedly       
degraded4 ,what it was is shown by the  
facts1 that it was found impossible1    
even under the inspiring auspices of the
 learned ,elizabeth1 with her           

constellation of geniuses1 orators1     
scholars1 to supply the churches        
generally with officiating persons      
capable of going with decency through   
the task of the public service1 made    
ready1 as every part of it was1 to their
 hands2 and that to be able to read1 was
 the very marked distinction of here and
 there an individual4 ,it requires      
little effort but that of going low     
enough1 to complete the general estimate
 in conformity to these and similar     
facts4  ,and here we cannot help        
remarking what a deception we suffer to 
pass on us from history4 ,it celebrates 
some period in a nation's career1 as    
pre-eminently illustrious1 for          
magnanimity1 lofty enterprise1          
literature1 and original genius4 ,there 
was1 perhaps1 a learned and vigorous    
monarch1 and there were ,cecils and     
,walsinghams1 and ,shakspeares and      
,spensers1 and ,sidneys and ,raleighs1  
with many other powerful thinkers and   
actors1 to render it the proudest age of

 our national glory4 ,and we            
thoughtlessly admit on our imagination  
this splendid exhibition as in some     
manner involving or implying the        
collective state of the people in that  
age6 ,the ethereal summits of a tract of
 the moral world are conspicuous and    
fair in the lustre of heaven1 and we    
take no thought of the immensely greater
 proportion of it which is sunk in gloom
 and covered with fogs4 ,the general    
mass of the population1 whose physical  
vigor1 indeed1 and courage1 and fidelity
 to the interests of the country1 were  
of such admirable avail to the purposes1
 and under the direction1 of the mighty 
spirits that wielded their rough        
agency1--this great assemblage was sunk 
in such mental barbarism1 as to be      
placed at about the same distance from  
their illustrious intellectual chiefs1  
as the hordes of ,scythia from the      
finest spirits of ,athens4 ,it was      
nothing to this debased1 countless      
multitude spread over the country1      

existing in the coarsest habits1        
destitute1 in the proportion of         
thousands to one1 of cultivation1 and   
still in a great degree enslaved by the 
popish superstition1--it was nothing to 
them1 in the way of direct influence to 
draw forth their minds into free        
exercise and acquirement1 that there    
were1 within the circuit of the island1 
a profound scholarship1 a most          
disciplined and vigorous reason1 a      
masculine eloquence1 and genius         
breathing enchantment4 ,both the actual 
possessors of this mental opulence1 and 
the part of society forming1 around     
them1 the sphere immediately pervaded by
 the delight and instruction imparted by
 them1 might as well1 for anything they 
diffused of this luxury and benefit     
among the general multitude1 have been a
 ,brahminical caste1 dissociated by an  
imagined essential distinction of       
nature4 ,while they were exulting in    
this elevation and free excursiveness of
 mental existence1 the prostrate crowd  

were grovelling through a life on a     
level with the soil where they were at  
last to find their graves4 ,but this    
crowd it was that constituted the       
substance of the nation2 to which1      
nation1 in the mass1 the historian      
applies the superb epithets1 which a    
small proportion of the men of that age 
claimed by a striking exception to the  
general state of the community4 ,history
 too much consults our love of effect   
and pomp1 to let us see in a close and  
distinct manner anything    ,on the low 
level of th' inglorious throng2  and our
 attention is borne away to the         
intellectual splendor exhibited among   
the most favored aspirants of the seats 
of learning1 or in councils1 courts1 and
 camps1 in heroic and romantic          
enterprises1 and in some immortal works 
of genius4 ,and thus we are gazing with 
delight at a fine public bonfire1 while1
 in all the cottages round1 the people  
are shivering for want of fuel4  ,our   
history becomes very bright again with  

the intellectual and literary riches of 
a much later period1 often denominated a
 golden age1--that which was illustrated
 by the talents of ,addison1 ,pope1     
,swift1 and their numerous secondaries  
in fame2 and could also boast its       
philosophers1 statesmen1 and heroes4    
,and in the lapse of four or five ages1 
according to the average term of human  
life1 since the earlier grand display of
 mind1 what had been effected toward    
such an advancement of intelligence in  
the community1 that when this next tribe
 of highly endowed spirits should       
appear1 they would stand in much loss   
opprobrious contrast to the main body of
 the nation1 and find a much larger     
portion of it qualified to receive their
 intellectual effusions4 ,by this time1 
the class of persons who sought         
knowledge on a wider scale than what    
sufficed for the ordinary affairs of    
life1 who took an interest in           
literature1 and constituted the         
,authors' ,public1 had indeed extended a

 little1 extremely little1 beyond the   
people of condition1 the persons        
educated in learned institutions1 and   
those whose professions involved some   
necessity1 and might create some taste  
for reading4 ,still they were a class1  
and that with a limitation marked and   
palpable1 to a degree very difficult for
 us now to conceive4 ,they were in      
contact1 on the one side1 with the great
 thinkers1 moralists1 poets1 and wits1  
but very slightly in communication with 
the generality of the people on the     
other4 ,they received the emanations    
from the assemblage of talent and       
knowledge1 but did not serve as         
conductors to convey them down          
indefinitely into the community4 ,the   
national body1 regarded in its          
intellectual character1 had an          
inspirited and vigorous superior part1  
as constituted of these men of eminent  
talents and attainments1 and this small 
class of persons in a measure           
assimilated to them in thinking and     

taste2 but it was in a condition        
resembling that of a human frame in     
which1 7through an injury in the spinal 
marrow17 some of the most important     
functions of vitality have terminated at
 some precise limit downward1 leaving   
the inferior extremities devoid of      
sensation and the power of action4  ,it 
is on record1 that works admirably      
adapted to find readers and to make     
them1 had but an extremely confined and 
slowly widening circulation1 according  
to our standard of the popular success  
of the productions of distinguished     
talents4 ,nor did the writers reckon on 
any such popular success4 ,in the       
calculations of their literary ambition1
 it was a thing of course that the      
people went for nothing4 ,it is apparent
 in allusions to the people occurring in
 these very works1 that the lower sort1 
the vulgar herd1 the canaille1 the mob1 
the many-headed beast1 the million1 7and
 even these designations generally meant
 something short of the lowest classes  

of all17 were no more thought of in any 
relation to a state of cultivated       
intelligence than ,turks or ,tartars4   
,the readers are habitually recognized  
as a kind of select community1 conversed
 with on topics and in a language with  
which the vulgar have nothing at all to 
do1--a converse the more gratifying on  
that account4 ,and any casual allusions 
to the bulk of the people are expressed 
in phrases unaffectedly implying1 that  
they are a herd of beings existing on   
quite other terms and for essentially   
other ends1 than we1 fine writers1 and  
you1 our admiring readers4 ,it is       
evident in our literature of that age1  
7a feature still more prominent in that 
of ,france1 at the same and down to a   
much later period17 that the main       
national population1 accounted as       
creatures to which souls and senses were
 given just to render their limbs       
mechanically serviceable1 were regarded 
by the intellectual aristocracy with    
hardly so active a sentiment as         

contempt2 they were not worth that2 it  
was the easy indifference toward what   
was seldom thought of as in existence4  
,wickedly wrong as such a feeling was1  
there is no doubt that the actual state 
of the people was quite such as would   
naturally cause it1 in men whose large  
and richly cultivated minds did not     
contain philanthropy or ,christian      
charity enough to regret and pity the   
popular debasement as a calamity4 ,for  
while they were indulging their pride in
 the elevation1 and their taste in all  
the luxuries and varieties1 of that     
ampler higher range of existence enjoyed
 by such men1 in what light must they   
view the bulk of a nation1 that knew    
nothing of their wit1 genius1 or        
philosophy1 could not even read their   
writings1 but as a coarse mass of living
 material1 the mere earthy substratum of
 humanity1 not to be accounted of in any
 comparison or even relation to what man
 is in his higher style8 ,while they of 
that higher style were revelling in     

their mental affluence1 the vast        
majority of the inhabitants of the      
island were subsisting1 and had always  
subsisted1 on the most beggarly pittance
 on which mind could be barely kept     
alive4 ,probably they had at that time  
still fewer ideas than the people of the
 former age which we have been          
describing4 ,for many of those with     
which popery had occupied the faith and 
fancy of that earlier generation1 had   
now vanished from the popular mind1     
without being replaced in equal number  
by better ideas1 or by ideas of any     
kind4 ,and then their vices had the     
whole grossness of vice1 and their      
favorite amusements were at best rude   
and boisterous1 and a large proportion  
of them savage and cruel4 ,so that when 
we look at the shining wits1 poets1 and 
philosophers1 of that age1 they appear  
like gaudy flowers growing in a putrid  
marsh4  ,and to a much later period this
 deplorable ignorance1 with all its     
appropriate consequences1 continued to  

be the dishonor and the plague of the   
intellectual and moral condition of the 
inhabitants of ,england4 ,of ,england6  
which had through many centuries made so
 great a figure in ,christendom2 which  
has been so splendid in arms1 liberty1  
legislation1 science1 and all manner of 
literature3 which has boasted its       
universities1 of ancient foundation and 
proudest fame1 munificently endowed1 and
 possessing1 in their accumulations of  
literary treasure1 nearly the whole     
results of all the strongest thinking   
there had been in the world3 and which  
has had also1 through the charity of    
individuals1 such a number of minor     
institutions for education1 that the    
persons intrusted to see them           
administered have1 in very numerous     
instances1 not scrupled to divert their 
resources to total different purposes1  
lest1 perchance1 the cause of damage to 
the people should change from a lack of 
knowledge to a repletion of it4 ,of     
,england6 so long after the             

,reformation1 and all the while under   
the superintendence and tuition of an   
ecclesiastical establishment for both   
instruction and jurisdiction1           
co-extended with the entire nation1 and 
furnished for its ministry with men from
 the discipline of institutions where   
everything the most important to be     
known was professed to be taught4 ,thus 
endowed had ,england been1 thus was she 
endowed at the period under our review1 
7the former part of the last century17  
with the facilities1 the provisions1 the
 great intellectual apparatus1 to be    
wielded in any mode her wisdom might    
devise1 and with whatever strength of   
hand she chose to apply1 for promoting  
her several millions of rational1       
accountable1 immortal beings1 somewhat  
beyond a state of mere physical         
existence4 ,when therefore1             
notwithstanding all this1 an awful      
proportion of them were under the       
continual process of destruction for    
want of knowledge1 what a tremendous    

responsibility was borne by whatever    
part of the community it was that stood1
 either by office and express vocation1 
or by the general obligation inseparable
 from ability1 in the relation of       
guardianship to the rest4  ,but here the
 voice of that sort of patriotism which 
is in vogue as well in ,england as in   
,china1 may perhaps interpose to protest
 against malicious and exaggerated      
invective4 ,as if it were a question of 
what might beforehand be reasonably     
expected1 instead of an account of what 
actually exists1 it may be alleged that 
surely it is a representation too much  
against antecedent probability to be    
true1 that a civilized1 ,christian1     
magnanimous1 and wealthy state like that
 of ,england1 can have been so careless 
and wicked as to tolerate1 during the   
lapse of centuries1 a hideously gross   
and degraded condition of the people4   
,but besides that the fact is plainly   
so1 it were vain to presume1 in         
confidence on any supposed consistency  

of character1 that it must be otherwise4
 ,there is no saying what a civilized   
and ,christian nation1 7so called17 may 
not tolerate4 ,recollect the ,slave     
,trade1 which1 with the magnitude of a  
national concern1 continued its         
abominations while one generation after 
another of ,englishmen passed away2     
their intelligence1 conscience1         
humanity1 and refinement1 as quietly    
accommodated to it1 as if one portion of
 the race had possessed an express      
warrant from ,heaven to capture1 buy1   
sell1 and drive another4 ,this is but   
one of many mortifying illustrations how
 much the constitution of our moral     
sentiments resembles a ,manichan        
creation1 how much of them is formed in 
passive submission to the evil          
principle1 acting through prevailing    
custom2 which determines that it shall  
but very partially depend on the real   
and most manifest qualities of things   
present to us1 whether we shall have any
 right perception of their characters of

 good and evil4 ,the agency which works 
this malformation in our sentiments     
needs no greater triumph1 than that the 
true nature of things should be         
disguised to us by the very effect of   
their being constantly kept in our      
sight4 ,could any malignant enchanter   
wish for more than this1--to make us    
insensible to the odious quality of     
things not only though they stand       
constantly and directly in our view1 but
 because they do so8 ,and while they do 
so1 there may also stand as obviously in
 our view1 and close by them1 the truths
 which expose their real nature1 and    
might be expected to make us instantly  
revolt from them2 and these truths shall
 be no other than some of the plainest  
principles of reason and religion4 ,it  
shall be as if men of wicked designs    
could be compelled to wear labels on    
their breasts wherever they go1 to      
announce their character in conspicuous 
letters2 or nightly assassins could be  
forced to carry torches before them1 to 

reveal the murder in their visages2 or1 
as if1 according to a vulgar            
superstition1 evil spirits could not    
help betraying their dangerous presence 
by a tinge of brimstone in the flame of 
the lamps4 ,thus evident1 by the light  
of reason and religion1 shall have been 
the true nature of certain important    
facts in the policy of a ,christian     
nation2 and nevertheless1 even the      
cultivated part of that nation1 during a
 series of generations1 having directly 
before their sight an enormous nuisance 
and iniquity1 shall yet never be struck 
with its quality1 never be made restless
 by its annoyance1 never seriously think
 of it4 ,and so its odiousness shall    
never be decidedly apprehended till some
 individual or two1 as by the           
acquisition of a new moral sense1       
receive a sudden intuition of its       
nature1 a disclosure of its whole       
essence and malignity1--the essence and 
malignity of that very thing which has  
been exposing its quality1 without the  

least reserve1 by the most flagrant     
signs1 to millions of observers4  ,thus 
it has been with respect to the         
barbarous ignorance under which         
nine-tenths of the population of our    
country have continued1 through a number
 of ages subsequent to the ,reformation1
 surrendered to everything low1 vicious1
 and wretched4 ,this state of national  
debasement and dishonor lay spread out1 
a wide scene of moral desolation1 in the
 sight of statesmen1 of dignified and   
subordinate ecclesiastics1 of           
magistrates1 of the philosophic         
speculators on human nature1 and of all 
those whose rank and opulence brought   
them hourly proofs what great influence 
they might have1 in any way in which1   
they should choose to exert it1 on the  
people below them4 ,and still it was all
 right that the multitudes1 constituting
 the grand living agency through the    
realm1 should remain in such a condition
 that1 when they died1 the country      
should lose nothing but so much animated

 body1 with the quantum of vice which   
helped to keep it in action4 ,when at   
length some were beginning to apprehend 
and proclaim that all this was wrong1   
these classes were exceedingly slow in  
their assent to the reformed doctrine4  
,a large proportion of them even        
declared1 on system1 against the        
speculations and projects for giving the
 people1 at last1 the use and value of  
their souls as well as their hands4 ,the
 earnest and sanguine philanthropists   
might be pardoned the simplicity of not 
foreseeing such an opposition1 though   
they ought1 perhaps1 to have known      
better than to be surprised at the      
phenomenon4 ,they were to be made wiser 
by force1 with respect to men's         
governing prejudices and motives4 ,and  
from credulity mortified is a short     
transit to suspicion4 ,so ungracious a  
manner of having the insight into       
motives sharpened1 does not tend to make
 its subsequent exercise indulgent1 when
 it comes to inspect the altered        

appearances assumed by persons and      
classes who have previously been in     
decided opposition4 ,what arguments have
 prevailed with you1 7the question might
 be17 since you have never frankly      
retracted your former contempt of those 
which convinced us8 ,may any sinister   
thought have occurred1 that you might   
defeat our ends by a certain way of     
managing the means8 ,or do you hope to  
deter mine and limit to some subordinate
 purposes1 what we wish to prosecute for
 the most general good8 ,or would you   
rather impose on yourselves the         
grievance of promoting an object which  
you dislike1 than that we should have   
the chief credit of promoting it8 ,do   
you sometimes accompany your working in 
the vineyard with maledictions on those 
who have reduced you to such a          
necessity8 ,would you have been glad to 
be saved the unwelcome service by their 
letting it alone8  ,those friends of man
 and their country who were the earliest
 to combine in schemes for enlightening 

the people1 and who continue to         
prosecute the object on the most liberal
 and comprehensive principle1 have to   
acknowledge surmises like these4        
,nevertheless1 they are willing to      
forego any shrewd investigation into the
 causes of the later silence and        
apparent acquiescence of former         
opposers2 and into the motives which    
have induced some of them1 though in no 
very amicable mood1 to take a part in   
measures tending in their general effect
 to the same end4 ,whatever were their  
suspicion of those motives1 they would  
be reminded of an example1 not          
altogether foreign to the nature of     
their business1 and quite in point to   
their duty1--that of the magnanimous    
principle through which the great       
,apostle disappointed his adversaries1  
by finding his own triumph in that of   
his cause1 while he saw that cause      
availing itself of these foes after the 
manner of some consummate general1 who  
has had the art to make those who have  

come into the field as but treacherous  
auxiliaries1 co-operate effectually in  
the battle which they never intended he 
should gain4 ,some preached ,christ of  
envy1 and strife1 and contention1       
supposing to add affliction to his      
bonds2 but1 says he1 ,what then8        
notwithstanding every way1 whether in   
pretence or truth1 ,christ is           
preached--the thing itself is done--and 
,i therein rejoice1 yea1 and will       
rejoice4 ,when animated by this high    
principle1 this ambition absolutely for 
the cause itself1 its servant is a      
gainer1 because it is a gainer1 by all  
things convertible into tribute1        
whatever may be the temper or intention 
of the officers1 either as towards the  
cause or towards himself4 ,he may say to
 them1 ,i am more pleased by what you   
are actually doing1 be the motive what  
it will1 in advancement of the object to
 which ,i am devoted1 than it is        
possible for you to aggrieve me by      
letting me see that you would not be    

sorry for the frustration of my schemes 
and exertions for its service2 or even  
by betraying1 though ,i should lament   
such a state of your minds1 that you    
would be content to sacrifice it if that
 might be the way to defeat me4  ,we    
revert but for a moment to the review of
 past times4--,we said that long after  
the brilliant show of talent1 and the   
creation of literary supplies for the   
national use1 in the early part of the  
last century1 the deplorable mental     
condition of the people remained in no  
very great degree altered4 ,to pass from
 beholding that bright and sumptuous    
display1 in order to see what there was 
corresponding to it in the subsequent   
state of the popular cultivation1 is    
like going out from some magnificent    
apartment with its lustres1 music1      
refections1 and assemblage of elegant   
personages1 to be beset by beggars in   
the gloom and cold of a winter night4   
,take a few hours' indulgence in the    
literary luxuries of ,addison1 ,pope1   

and their secondaries1 and then turn to 
some authentic plain representation of  
the attainments and habits of the mass  
of the people1 at the time when         
,whitefield and ,wesley commenced their 
invasion of the barbarous community4    
,but the benevolent reader1 7or let him 
be a patriotically proud one17 is quite 
reluctant to recognize his country1 his 
celebrated ,christian nation1 the most  
enlightened in the world1 7as song and  
oratory have it17 in a populace for the 
far greater part as perfectly estranged 
from the page of knowledge1 as if       
printing1 or even letters1 had never    
been invented2 the younger part finding 
their supreme delight in rough frolic   
and savage sports1 the old sinking down 
into impenetrable stupefaction with the 
decline of the vital principle4  ,if he 
would eagerly seek to fix on something  
as a counterbalance to this1 and        
endeavor to modify the estimate and     
relieve the feeling1 by citing perhaps  
the courage1 and a certain rudimental   

capacity of good sense1 in which the    
people are deemed to have surpassed the 
neighboring nations1 he will be         
compelled to see how these native       
endowments were overrun and befooled by 
a farrago of contemptible               
superstitions2--contemptible not only   
for their stupid absurdity1 but also as 
having in general nothing of that       
pensive1 solemn1 and poetical character 
which superstition is capable of        
assuming4--,it is an exception to be    
made with respect to the northernmost   
part of the island1 that superstition   
did there partake of this higher        
character4 ,it seems to have had        
somewhat of the tone imitated1 but in a 
softer mode1 in the poetry1 denominated 
of ,ossian4  ,as to religion1 there is  
no hazard in saying1 that several       
millions had little further notion of it
 than that it was an occasional1 or1 in 
the opinion of perhaps one in twenty1 a 
regular appearance at church1 hardly    
taking into the account that they were  

to be taught anything there4 ,and what  
were they taught--those of them who gave
 their attendance and attention8 ,what  
kind of notions it was that had settled 
in their minds under such ministration1 
would be1 so to speak1 brought out1 it  
would be made apparent what they were or
 were not taught1 when so strong and    
general a sensation was produced by the 
irruption among them of the two         
reformers just named1 proclaiming1 as   
they both did1 7notwithstanding very    
considerable differences of secondary   
order17 the principles which had been   
authoritatively declared to be of the   
essence of ,christianity1 in that model 
of doctrine which had been appointed to 
prescribe and conserve the national     
faith4 ,if such doctrine had been       
imparted to a portion of the popular    
mind1 even though with somewhat less    
positive statement1 less copiousness of 
illustration1 and less cogency of       
enforcement than it ought2 if it had    
been but in crude substance fixed in the

 people's understanding1 by the ministry
 of the many thousand authorized        
instructors1 who were by their institute
 solemnly enjoined and pledged not to   
teach a different sort of doctrine1 and 
not to fail of teaching this2 if1 we    
repeat1 this faith1 so conspicuously    
declared in the articles1 liturgy1 and  
homilies1 had been in any degree in     
possession of the people1 they would    
have recognized its main principles1 or 
at least a similarity of principles1 in 
the addresses of these two new          
preachers4 ,they would have done so1    
notwithstanding a peculiarity of        
phraseology which ,whitefield and       
,wesley carried to excess2 and          
notwithstanding certain specialities    
which the latter did not1 even supposing
 them to be truths1 keep duly           
subordinate in exhibiting the prominent 
essentials of ,christianity4 ,the       
preaching1 therefore1 of these men was a
 test of what the people had been       
previously taught or allowed to repose  

in as ,christian truth1 under the       
tuition of their great religious        
guardian1 the national church4 ,what it 
was or was not would be found1 in their 
having a sense of something like what   
they had been taught before1 or         
something opposite to it1 or some thing 
altogether foreign and unknown1 when    
they were hearing those loud proclaimers
 of the old doctrines of the            
,reformation4 ,now then1 as carrying    
with them this quality of a test1 how   
were those men received in the          
community8 ,why1 they were generally    
received1 on account of the import of   
what they said1 still more than from    
their zealous manner of saying it1 with 
as strong an impression of novelty1     
strangeness1 and contrariety to         
everything hitherto heard of1 as any of 
our voyagers and travellers of discovery
 have been by the barbarous tribes who  
had never before seen civilized man1 or 
as the ,spaniards on their arrival in   
,mexico or ,peru4 ,they might1 as the   

voyagers have clone1 experience every   
local difference of moral temperament1  
from that which hailed them with        
acclamations1 to that which often       
exploded in a volley of mud and stones2 
but through all these varieties of      
greetings1 there was a strong sense of  
something then brought before them for  
the first time4 ,thou bringest certain  
strange things to our ears1 was an      
expression not more unaffectedly uttered
 by any hearer of an apostle1 preaching 
in a heathen city4 ,and to many of the  
auditors1 it was a matter of nearly as  
much difficulty as it would to an       
inquisitive heathen1 and required as new
 a posture of the mind1 to attain an    
understanding of the evangelical        
doctrines1 though they were the very    
same which had been held forth by the   
fathers and martyrs of the ,english     
,church4  ,we have alluded to the       
violence1 which sometimes encountered   
the endeavor to restore these doctrines 
to the knowledge and faith of the       

people4 ,and if any one should have     
thought that1 in the descriptions we    
have been giving1 too frequent and      
willing use has been made of the epithet
 barbarous1 or similar words1 as if we  
could have a perverse pleasure in       
degrading our nation1 we would request  
him to select for himself the           
appropriate terms for characterizing    
that state of the people1 in point of   
sense and civilization1 to say nothing  
of religion1 which could admit such a   
fact as this to stand in their          
history--namely1 that1 in a vast number 
of instances and places1 where some     
person unexceptionable in character as  
far as known1 and sometimes well known  
as a worthy man1 has attempted to       
address a number of the inhabitants1    
under a roof or under the sky1 on what  
it imported them beyond all things in   
the world to know and consider1 a       
multitude have rushed together1 shouting
 and howling1 raving and cursing1 and   
accompanying1 in many of the instances1 

their furious cries and yells with      
loathsome or dangerous missiles2        
dragging or driving the preacher from   
his humble stand1 forcing him1 and the  
few that wished to encourage and hear   
him1 to flee for their lives1 sometimes 
not without serious injury before they  
could escape4 ,and that such a history  
of the people may show how deservedly   
their superiors were denominated their  
betters1 it has to add1 that these      
savage tumults were generally instigated
 or abetted1 sometimes under a little   
concealment1 but often avowedly1 by     
persons of higher condition1 and even by
 those consecrated to the office of     
religious instruction2 and this         
advantage of their station was lent to  
defend the perpetrators against shame1  
or remorse1 or just punishment1 for the 
outrage4  ,there would be no hazard in  
affirming1 that since ,wesley and       
,whitefield began the conflict with the 
heathenism of the country1 there have   
been in it hundreds of occurrences      

answering in substance to this          
description4 ,from any one1 therefore1  
who should be inclined to accuse us of  
harsh language1 we may well repeat the  
demand in what terms he would think he  
gave the true character of a mental and 
moral condition1 manifested in such     
uproars of savage violence as the       
,christian missionaries among eastern   
idolaters never had the slightest cause 
to apprehend4 ,these outrages were so   
far from uncommon1 or confined to any   
one part of the country1 some time      
before1 and for a very long while after1
 the middle of the last century1 that   
they might be fairly taken as indicating
 the depth at which the greatest part of
 the nation lay sunk in ignorance and   
barbarism4 ,yet the good and zealous men
 whose lot it was to be thus set upon by
 a depraved1 infuriate rabble1 the      
foremost of them active in direct       
assault1 and the rest venting their     
ferocious delight in a hideous blending 
of ribaldry and execration1 of joking   

and cursing1 were taxed with a canting  
hypocrisy1 or a fanatical madness1 for  
speaking of the prevailing ignorance and
 barbarism in terms equivalent to our   
sentence from the ,prophet1 ,the people 
are destroyed for lack of knowledge1 and
 for deploring the hopelessness of any  
revolution in this empire of darkness by
 means of the existing institutions1    
which seemed indeed to have become      
themselves its strong-holds4  ,but they 
whom serious danger could not deter from
 renewing and indefinitely repeating    
such attempts at all hazards1 were      
little likely to be appalled by these   
contumelies of speech4 ,to the persons  
so abusing them they might coolly reply1
 ,now really you are inconsiderately    
wasting your labor4 ,don't you know1    
that on the account of this same        
business we have sustained the battery  
of stones1 brickbats1 and the contents  
of the ditch8 ,and can you believe we   
can much care for mere words of insult1 
after that8 ,albeit the opprobrious     

phrases have the fetid coarseness       
befitting the bluster of property       
without education1 or the more highly   
inspirited tone of railing learnt in a  
college1 they are quite another kind of 
thing to be the mark for1 than such     
assailments as have come from the brawny
 arms of some of your peasants1 set on  
probably by broad hints or plain        
expressions how much you would be       
pleased with such exploits4--,it is     
gratifying to see thus exemplified1 in  
the endurance of evil for a good cause1 
that provision in our nature for        
economizing the expense of feeling1     
through which the encountering of the   
greater creates a hardihood which can   
despise the less4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,that our         
descriptive observations do not         
exaggerate the popular ignorance1 with  
its natural concomitants1 as prevailing 
at the middle of the last century and   
far downward1 many of the elderly       
persons among us can readily confirm1   

from what they remember of the testimony
 of their immediate ancestors4 ,it will 
be recollected what pictures they gave  
of the moral scene spread over the      
country when they were young4 ,they     
could convey lively images of the       
situations in which the vulgar notions  
and manners had their free display1 by  
representing the assemblages1 and the   
fashion of discourse and manners1 at    
fairs1 revels1 and other rendezvous of  
amusement2 or in the field of rural     
employment1 or on the village green1 or 
in front of the mechanic's workshop4    
,they could recount various anecdotes   
characteristic of the times2 and repeat 
short dialogues1 or single sayings1     
which expressed the very essence of what
 was to the population of the township  
or province instead of law and prophets1
 or sages or apostles4 ,they could      
describe how free from all sense of     
shame whole families would seem to be1  
from grand-sires down to the third rude 
reckless generation1 for not being able 

to read2 and how well content1 when     
there was some one individual in the    
neighborhood who could read an          
advertisement1 or ballad1 or last dying 
speech of a malefactor1 for the benefit 
of the rest4 ,they could describe the   
desolation of the land1 with respect to 
any enlightening and impressive         
religious instruction in the places of  
worship2 in the generality of which1    
indeed1 the whole spirit and manner of  
the service tended to what we just now  
described as the fact--that religion1 in
 its proper sense1 was absolutely a     
thing not recognized at all4 ,to most of
 the persons there the forms attended to
 were representative of literally       
nothing--they were themselves the all4  
,footnote3 ,none of the anecdotes1 that 
have come down in traditions now fading 
away1 are more illustrative of those    
times1 than those which show both people
 and priest satisfied with the          
observances at church as constituting   
religion1 never thinking of them as but 

the means to teach and inspire it4 ,such
 anecdotes must have been heard by every
 one who has conversed much with such   
aged persons as remember the most of    
former times4 ,some traditions of this  
kind may be recalled to mind1 through   
similarity of character1 by hearing such
 an instance as the following4 ,a friend
 of the writer mentions1 that he heard  
his father1 whose veracity was above all
 question1 relate as one of the         
recollections of the time when he was a 
young man1 that in the parish church    
where he attended1 the service was one  
,sunday morning performed with a        
somewhat unusual despatch1 and every    
abbreviation that depended on the       
discretion of the minister2 who at the  
conclusion explained the circumstance   
publicly1 by saying1 that as neighbor   
such-a-one 7mentioning the name7 was    
going to bait his bull in the afternoon1
 he had been as short as possible that  
the congregation might have good time   
for the sport4--,it is on the same      

principle that the ,catholics on the    
continent1 having attended mass in the  
morning1 never think of doubting their  
license for every frivolity the rest of 
the day4 ,and as to those who really did
 in the course of their attendance      
acquire something assignable as their   
creed1 our supposed reporters could tell
 what wretched and delusive notions of  
religion1 or rather instead of religion1
 they were permitted and authorized1 by 
their appointed spiritual guides1 to    
carry with them to their last hour4 ,at 
which hour1 some ceremonial form was to 
be a passport to heaven3 a little bread 
and wine1 converted into a mysterious   
object of superstition1 by receiving an 
ecclesiastical name of unknown import1  
accompanied with some sentences regarded
 much in the nature of an               
incantation--and all was safe6 ,the     
sinner expiring believed so1 and the    
sinners surviving were left to go on in 
their thoughtless way of life1 on a     
calculation of the same final resource4 

,thus the past age has left an image of 
its character in the minds of the       
generation now themselves grown old1    
received by immediate tradition from    
persons who lived in it4 ,here and      
there1 indeed1 there still lingers1 so  
long after the departure of the great   
company to which he belonged1 an ancient
 who retains a trace of this image      
immediately from the reality1 as having 
become of an age to look at the world1  
and take a share in its activities1     
about the middle of the last century4   
,footnote3 ,they are here supposed to be
 looking back from about the year #ahbj4
 ,and it might be an employment of      
considerable though rather melancholy   
interest1 for a person visiting many    
parts of the land1 to put in            
requisition1 in each place1 for a day or
 two1 the most faithful of the memories 
of the most narrative of the oldest     
people1 for materials toward forming an 
estimate of the mental and moral state  
of the main body of the inhabitants1 of 

town or country1 in the period of which 
they themselves saw the latter part1 and
 remember it in combination with what   
their progenitors related of the former4
 ,after these few retainers of the      
original picture from the life shall    
have left the world1 it will be         
comparatively a faint conception that   
can be formed of that age from written  
memorials1 which exist but in a very    
imperfect and scattered state4  ,but    
supposing the scene could be brought    
back to the mental eye1 in full verity  
and distinctness1 as in a vision        
supernaturally imparted1 are we sure we 
should not have the mortification of    
perceiving that the change1 from the    
condition of the people then to their   
condition now1 has been in but poor     
proportion to the amount of the         
advantages1 which we are apt to be      
elated in recounting as the boast and   
happiness of later times8 ,to assume    
that we should not1 is to impute to that
 former age still more ignorance and    

debasement than appear in the above     
description4 ,for what could1 what must 
that condition have been1 if it was     
worse than the present by anything near 
the difference made by what would be a  
tolerably fair improvement of the       
additional means latterly afforded8 ,an 
estimate being made of the measure of   
intelligence and worth found among the  
descendants1 let so much be taken out as
 we would wish to attribute to the      
effect of the additional means1 and what
 will that remainder be which is to     
represent the state of the ancestors1   
formed under a system of means wanting  
all those which we are allowing         
ourselves to think important enough to  
warrant the frequent expression1 ,this  
new era8  ,the means wanting to the     
former generation1 and that have sprung 
into existence for the latter1 may be   
briefly noted2 and those of a religious 
nature may be named first4 ,it is the   
most obvious of public expedients1 that 
good men who wish to make others so     

should preach to them4 ,and there has   
been a wonderful extension of this      
practice since the zealous exertions of 
,whitefield1 ,wesley1 and their         
co-operators awakened other good men to 
a sense of their capacity and duty4 ,the
 spirit actuating the associated        
followers of the latter of those two    
great agitators1 has impelled forth     
their whole disposable force 7to use a  
military phrase7 to this service2 and   
they have sent preachers into many parts
 of the land where preaching itself1 in 
any fair sense of the term1 was wholly a
 novelty2 and where there was roused as 
earnest a zeal to crush this alarming   
innovation1 as the people of ,iceland   
are described to feel on the occasion of
 the approach of a white bear to invade 
their folds or poorly stocked pastures4 
,footnote3 ,the writer had just been    
reading that description4 ,to a         
confederacy of ,christians so well aware
 of their own strength and progress1 it 
may seem a superfluous testimony that   

they are doing incalculable good among  
our population1 more good probably than 
any other religious sect4 ,this tribute 
is paid not the less freely for a       
material difference in theological      
opinion2 nor for a wish1 a quite        
friendly one1 that they may admit some  
little modification of a spirit perhaps 
rather too sectarian in religion1 and   
rather less than independent in         
politics4  ,an immense augmentation has 
been brought to the sum of public       
instruction1 by the continually         
enlarging numbers of dissenters of other
 denominations4 ,whatever may be thought
 of some of the consequences of the     
great extension of dissent1 it will     
hardly be considered as a circumstance  
tending to prolong the reign of         
ignorance that thus1 within the last    
fifty years1 there have been put in     
activity to impart religious ideas to   
the people not fewer 7exclusively of the
 ,wesleyans7 than several thousand minds
 that would1 under a continuance of the 

former state of the nation1 have been   
doing no such service2 that is to say1  
the service would not have been done at 
all4 ,let it be considered1 too1 that   
the doctrines inculcated as of the first
 importance1 in the preaching of far the
 greatest number of them1 were exactly  
those which the ,established ,church    
avowed in its formularies and disowned  
in its ministry1--one of the            
circumstances which contributed the most
 to make dissenters of the more         
seriously disposed among the            
people4--,it is to be added1 that so    
much public activity in religious       
instruction could not be unaccompanied  
by an increase of exertion in the more  
private methods of imparting it4  ,it is
 another important accession to the     
enlarged system of operations against   
religious ignorance1 that a proportion  
of the ,established ,church itself has  
been recovered to the spirit of its     
venerable founders1 by the progressive  
formation in it of a zealous evangelical

 ministry2 dissenters within their own  
community1 if we may believe the        
constant loud declarations of the bulk  
of that community1 and especially of the
 most dignified1 learned1 and powerful  
classes in it4 ,but in spite of whatever
 discredit they may suffer from being   
thus disowned1 these worthy and useful  
men have still1 in their character of   
clergymen1 a material advantage above   
other faithful teachers1 for influence  
on many of the people1 by being invested
 with the credentials of the ancient    
institution1 from which the popular mind
 has been slow and reluctant in         
withdrawing its veneration2 and for     
which that sentiment1 when not quite    
extinct1 is ready to revive at any      
manifestation in it of the quickening   
spirit of the ,gospel4 ,we say1 if the  
sentiment be not quite extinct2 for we  
are aware what a very large proportion  
of the people are gone beyond the       
possibility of feeling it any more4 ,but
 still the number is great of those who 

experience1 at this new appearance1 a   
reanimation of their affection for the  
,church2 and so fondly identify the     
partial change with the whole           
institution1 that they feel as if a     
parent1 who had for a long while        
neglected or deserted them1 but for whom
 they could never cease to cherish a    
filial regard1 were beginning to be     
restored to them1 with a renewal of the 
benignant qualities and cares of the    
parental character4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,thus far the     
account of the means which ,england was 
not to furnish for its people till the  
latter part of the eighteenth century1  
relates to their better instruction in  
religion4 ,this will not be thought     
beside the purpose of an enumeration of 
expedients for lessening their          
ignorance1 by any one who can allow that
 religion1 regarded as a subject of the 
understanding1 is the most important    
part of knowledge1 and who has observed 
the fact that religion1 when it begins  

to interest uncultivated minds1 works   
surprisingly in favor of the            
intellectual faculties2 an effect       
exactly the reverse of that of          
superstition1 and produced by the       
contrary operation2 for while           
superstition represses1 and even curses 
any free action of the intellect1       
genuine religion both requires and      
excites it4 ,though it is too true that 
the great ,christian principles1 when   
embraced with conviction and seriousness
 by a very uneducated man1 must greatly 
partake1 by contractedness of           
apprehension1 the ill fortune which has 
confined his mental growth1 yet they    
will often do more than any other thing 
within the same space of time to avenge 
him of it4  ,in addition to the great   
extension of instruction in a form      
specifically religious1 there have been 
various causes and means contributing to
 the increase of knowledge among the    
people4 ,after it had been seen for     
centuries in what manner the children of

 the poor were suffered to spend the    
,sunday1 it struck one observer at last1
 that they might on that day be taught  
to read6--a possibility which had never 
been suspected2 a disclosure as of some 
hitherto hidden power of nature4 ,and   
then the schools which taught the       
children to read made some of the       
parents so much better pleased with     
their children for their first steps in 
so new an attainment1 that they could   
not be indifferent to the opening of    
other schools of a humble order to      
continue that instruction through the   
week4 ,it was within the same period    
that there was a large circulation of   
tracts1 by some of which many who might 
be little desirous of instruction1 were 
beguiled into it by the amusing vehicle 
ingeniously contrived to convey it2 and 
the most popular of which will remain a 
monument of the talent1 knowledge1 and  
benevolence1 of that distinguished      
benefactor of her country and age1 ,mrs4
 ,h4 ,more1 perhaps even pre-eminent    

above her many excellent works in a     
higher strain4 ,later and continual     
issues of this class of papers1 of every
 diversity of composition1 and diffused 
by the activity of numberless hands1    
have solicited perhaps a fourth part of 
the thoughtless beings in the nation to 
make at least one short effort to think4
  ,the enormous flight of periodical    
miscellanies1 and of newspapers1 must be
 taken as both the indication and the   
cause that hundreds of thousands of     
persons were giving some attention to   
the matters of general information1     
where their grandfathers had been1      
during the intervals of time allowed by 
their employments1 prating1 brawling1   
sleeping1 or drinking their hours away4 
,footnote3 ,since this was written there
 has been a prodigious augmentation of  
all such means of general excitement2   
and happily a diversified multiplication
 of a class of them calculated to       
benefit the inferior people1 at once by 
giving them a new and enlarged range of 

ideas1 and by bringing them on some     
tracts of common ground with the        
liberally educated2 thus abating the    
former almost total incapacity1 on the  
part of those inferiors1 for intelligent
 intercommunication4  ,it is perhaps an 
item of some small value in the account1
 that a new class of ideas was furnished
 by the many wonderful effects of       
science1 in the application of the      
elements and mechanical powers4 ,the    
people saw human intelligence so        
effectually inspiriting inanimate       
matter1 as to create a new and mighty   
order of agency1 appearing in a certain 
degree independent of man himself1 and  
in its power immensely surpassing any   
simple immediate exertion of his power4 
,they saw wood and iron1 fire1 water1   
and air1 actuated to the production of  
effects which might vie with what their 
rude ancestors had been accustomed to   
believe1 7those of them who had heard of
 such beings17 of giants1 magicians1    
alchymists1 and monsters2 effects1 the  

dream of which1 if any one could so have
 dreamed1 would have been scoffed at by 
even the more intelligent of the former 
race4  ,it is true that very ignorant   
persons can wonder at such things       
without deriving much instruction from  
them2 and that much sooner than the more
 cultivated ones they become so         
familiarized with them as not to think  
of them4 ,all effects1 however          
astonishing1 are apt1 if they are but   
regular in their recurrence1 to become  
soon insignificant to those who have    
never learnt to inquire into causes4    
,but still1 it would be some little     
advantage to the people's understanding 
to see what prodigious effects could be 
produced without any preternatural      
interference4 ,though not comprehending 
the science employed1 they could        
comprehend that what they saw was purely
 a matter of science1 and that the cause
 and the effect were natural and        
definite2 unlike the present race of    
,egyptians1 who not long since regarded 

the very mechanics of an ,european as an
 operation of magic2 and were capable of
 suspecting that a machine constructed  
by a man from ,england1 for raising     
water from the ,nile1 should inundate   
the country in an hour4 ,these wonders  
of science and art must therefore have  
contributed somewhat to rid our people  
of the impression of being at every turn
 beset by occult powers1 under the name 
perhaps of witchcraft1 and to expel the 
notions of a vague and capricious agency
 interfering and sporting with events   
throughout the system around them4      
,their rationality thus obtained an     
improvement1 which may be set against   
the injury undoubtedly done them through
 that diminished exercise of the        
understanding which accompanied the     
progressive division of labor2 an       
alteration rendered inevitable1 and in  
other respects so advantageous4  ,when  
we come down to a comparatively recent  
time1 we see the ,bible going up on the 
breadth of the land4 ,in passing by any 

given number of houses of the inferior  
class1 we may presume there are in them 
four or five times as many copies of    
that sacred book as there were in the   
same number thirty or forty years since4
 ,and when we consider how many more    
persons in those houses can read1 and   
that in some of them the book may be    
more read for having come there as a    
novelty1 than it is in many others where
 it has been an old article of the      
furniture1 we may fairly presume that   
the increased reading is in a greater   
proportion than the increased number of 
,bibles4--,this late period has also    
brought into action a new expedient1    
worthy to stand1 in the province of     
education1 parallel and rival to the    
most useful modern inventions in the    
mechanical departments2 an organization 
for schools1 by which1 instead of one or
 two overlabored agents upon a mass of  
reluctant subjects1 that whole mass     
itself shall be animated into a system  
of reciprocal agency4 ,it has all the   

merit of a contrivance which associates 
with mental labor a pleasure never known
 to young learners before4  ,one more   
distinction of our times has been1 that 
effect which missionary and other       
philanthropic societies have had1 to    
render familiar to common knowledge1 by 
means of their meetings and             
publications1 a great number of such    
interesting and important facts1 in the 
state of other countries and our own1 as
 were formerly quite beyond the sphere  
of ordinary information4  ,in aid of all
 these means at work in the trial to    
raise the people from the condition in  
which they had been so many ages sunk   
and immovable1 there has been of late   
years the unpretending but important    
ministration of an incessant            
multifarious inventiveness in making    
almost every sort of information offer  
itself in brief1 familiar1 and          
attractive forms1 adapted to youth or to
 adult ignorance2 so that knowledge1    
which was formerly a thing to be        

searched and dug for as for hid         
treasures1 has seemed at last beginning 
to effloresce through the surface of the
 ground on all sides of us4  ,the       
statement of what recent times have     
produced for effecting an alteration    
among the people1 must include the      
prodigious excitement in the political  
world4 ,it were absurd1 it is true1 to  
name this in the simple character of a  
cause1 when we speak of the rousing of  
the popular mind from a long stagnation2
 it being itself a proof and result of  
some preceding cause beginning to       
pervade and disturb that stagnation4    
,but whatever may be assigned as the    
true and sufficient explanation of its  
origin1 we have to look on the mighty   
operation of its progress1 forcing a    
restlessness1 instability1 and tendency 
to change1 into almost every part of the
 social economy4 ,in the whole compass  
of time there has been no train of      
events1 that has within so short a      
period stirred to the very bottom the   

mind of so vast a portion of the race4  
,and the power of this great commotion  
has less consisted in what may be termed
 its physical energy1 evinced in grand  
exploits and catastrophes1 than in its  
being an intense activity of principles4
 ,it was as different from other        
convulsions in the moral world1 as would
 be a tempest attributed to the direct  
intervention of a mighty spirit1 whether
 believed celestial or infernal1 from   
one raised in the elements by mere      
natural causes4 ,the people were not1 as
 in other instances of battles1         
revolutions1 and striking alternations  
of fortune1 gazing a at mere show of    
wonderful events1 but regarded these    
events as the course of a great         
practical debate of questions affecting 
their own interests4  ,and now1 when we 
have put all these things together1 we  
may well pause to indulge again our     
wonder what could have been the mental  
situation of a majority of the          
inhabitants of this country1            

antecedently to this creation and       
conjunction of so many means and        
influences for awaking them to something
 of an intelligent existence4           
,section ,,iii4    ,the review of the   
past may here be terminated4 ,and how   
welcome a change it would be if we might
 here completely emerge from the gloom  
which has overspread it4 ,how happy were
 it if in proceeding to an estimate of  
the people of the present times1 we     
found so rich a practical result of the 
means for forming a more enlightened    
race1 that we should have no further    
recollection of that sentence from the  
,prophet1 which has hitherto suggested  
itself again at every step in           
prosecution of the survey4 ,but we are  
compelled to see how slow is the        
progress of mankind toward thus         
rendering obsolete any of the darker    
lines of the sacred record4 ,so         
completely1 so desperately1 had the     
whole popular body and being been       
pervaded by the stupifying power of the 

long reign of ignorance1 with such heavy
 reluctance1 at the best1 does the human
 mind open its eyes to admit light1--and
 so incommensurate as yet1 even on the  
supposition of its having much less of  
this reluctance1 has been in quantity   
the whole new supply of means for a     
happy change1--that a most melancholy   
spectacle still abides before us4 ,time1
 in sweeping away successive            
generations1 has preserved1 in          
substance1 the sad inheritance to that  
which is as yet the latest4  ,even that 
portion of beneficial effect which      
actually has resulted from this         
co-operation of new forces1 has served  
to make a more obvious exposure of the  
unhappiness and offensiveness of what is
 still the condition of the far greater 
part of our population2 as a dreary     
waste is made1 to give a more sensible  
impression how dreary it is1 by the     
little inroads of cultivation and beauty
 in its hollows1 and the faint advances 
of an unwonted green upon its borders4  

,the degradation of the main body of the
 lower classes is exposed by a          
comparison with the small reclaimed     
portion within those classes themselves4
 ,it is not with the philosophers1      
literati1 and most accomplished persons 
in higher life1 that we should think of 
placing in immediate comparison the     
untutored rustics and workmen in stones 
and timber1 for the purpose of showing  
how much is wanting to them4 ,these     
extreme orders of society would seem    
less related in virtue of their common  
nature1 than separated by the wide      
disparity of its cultivation4 ,they     
would appear so immeasurably asunder1   
such antipodes in the sphere of human   
existence1 that the state of the one    
could afford no standard for judging of 
the defects or wants of the other4 ,it  
was not in a speculation which amused   
itself1 as with a curious fact1 in      
seeing that the same material can be    
made into scholars1 legislators1 sages1 
and models of elegance--and also into   

helots2 and then went into a fanciful   
question of how near they might possibly
 be brought together3 it was in a       
speculation which1 instead of dwelling  
on the view of what was impossible to   
the common people in a comparative      
reference to the highest classes of     
their fellow-men1 considered what was   
left practicable to them within their   
own narrow allotment1 that the schemes  
originated which have actually imparted 
to a proportion of them an invaluable   
share of the benefits of knowledge4     
,there has thus been formed a small     
improved order of people amidst the     
multitude2 and it is the contrast       
between these and the general state of  
that multitude that most directly       
exposes the popular debasement4 ,it     
certainly were ridiculous enough to fix 
on a laboring man and his family1 and   
affect to deplore that he is doomed not 
to behold the depths and heights of     
science1 not to expatiate over the wide 
field of history1 not to luxuriate among

 the delights1 refinements1 and infinite
 diversities of literature2 and that his
 family are not growing up in a training
 to every high accomplishment1 after the
 pattern of some family in the          
neighborhood1 favored by fortune1 and   
high ability and cultivation in those at
 their head4 ,but it is a quite         
different thing to take this man and his
 family1 hardly able1 perhaps1 even to  
read1 and therefore sunk in all the     
grossness of ignorance1--and compare    
them with another man and family in the 
same sphere of life1 but who have       
received the utmost improvement within  
the reach of that situation1 and are    
sensible of its value2 who often employ 
the leisure hour in reading1 7sometimes 
socially and with intermingled          
converse17 some easy work of instruction
 or innocent entertainment2 are         
detached1 in the greatest degree that   
depends on their choice1 from society   
with the absolute vulgar2 have learnt   
much decorum of manners2 can take an    

intelligent interest in the great events
 of the world2 and are prevented1 by    
what they read and hear1 from forgetting
 that there is another world4 ,it is1 we
 repeat1 after thus seeing what may1 and
 in particular instances does exist1 in 
a humble condition1 that we are         
compelled to regard as really a dreadful
 spectacle the still prevailing state of
 our national population4  ,we shall    
endeavor to exhibit1 though on a small  
scale1 and perhaps not with a very      
strict regularity of proportion and     
arrangement1 a faithful representation  
of the most serious of the evils        
conspicuous in an uneducated state of   
the people4 ,much of the description and
 reflections must be equally applicable 
to other countries2 for spite of all    
their mutual antipathies and            
hostilities1 and numberless             
contrarieties of customs and fashions1  
they have been wonderfully content to   
resemble one another in the worst       
national feature1 a deformed condition  

of their people4 ,but it is here at home
 that this condition is the most        
painfully forced on our attention2 and  
here also of all the world it is1 that  
such a wretched exhibition is the       
severest reproach to the nation for     
having suffered its existence4  ,the    
subject is to the last degree           
unattractive1 except to a misanthropic  
disposition2 or to that1 perhaps1 of a  
stern theological polemic1 when tempted 
to be pleased with every superfluity of 
evidence for overwhelming the opposers  
of the doctrine which asserts the       
radical corruption of our nature4 ,as   
spread over a coarse and repulsive moral
 and physical scenery1 it is a subject  
in the extreme of contrast with that    
susceptibility of magnificent display1  
on account of which some of the most    
cruel evils that have preyed on mankind 
have ever been favorite themes with     
writers ambitious to shine in           
description4 ,nor does it present a wild
 and varying spectacle1 where a crowd of

 fantastic shapes 7as in a view of the  
pagan superstitions17 may stimulate and 
beguile the imagination though we know  
we are looking on a great evil4 ,it is a
 gloomy monotony2 ,death without his    
dance4 ,moreover1 the representation    
which exhibits one large class degraded 
and unhappy1 reflects ungraciously1 and 
therefore repulsively1 by an imputation 
of neglect of duty1 on the other classes
 who are called upon to look at the     
spectacle4 ,there is1 besides1 but      
little power of arresting the attention 
in a description of familiar matter of  
fact1 plain to every one's observation4 
,yet ought it not to be so much the     
better1 when we are pleading for a      
certain mode of benevolent exertion1    
that every one can see1 and that no one 
can deny1 the sad reality of all that   
forms the object1 and imposes the duty1 
of that exertion8  ,look1 then1 at the  
neglected ignorant class in their       
childhood and youth4 ,one of the most   
obvious circumstances is the perfect    

non-existence in their minds of any     
notion or question what their life is   
for1 taken as a whole4 ,among a crowd of
 trifling and corrupting ideas that soon
 find a place in them1 there is never   
the reflective thought1--,for what      
purpose am ,i alive8 ,what is it that ,i
 should be1 more than the animal that ,i
 am8 ,does it signify what ,i may       
be8--,but surely1 it is with ill omen   
that the human creature advances into   
life without such a thought4 ,he should 
in the opening of his faculties receive 
intimations1 that something more belongs
 to his existence than what he is about 
to-day1 and what he may be about        
to-morrow4 ,he should be made aware that
 the course of activity he is beginning 
ought to have a leading principle of    
direction1 some predominant aim1 a      
general and comprehensive purpose1      
paramount to the divers particular      
objects he may pursue4 ,it is not more  
necessary for him to understand that he 
must in some way be employed in order to

 live1 than to be apprized that life    
itself1 that existence itself1 is of no 
value but as a mere capacity of         
something which he should realize1 and  
of which he may fail4 ,he should be     
brought to apprehend that there is a    
something essential for him to be1 which
 he will not become merely by passing   
from one day into another1 by eating and
 sleeping1 by growing taller and        
stronger1 seizing what share he can of  
noisy sport1 and performing appointed   
portions of work2 and that if he do not 
become that which1 he cannot become     
without a general and leading purpose1  
he will be worthless and unhappy4  ,we  
are not entertaining the extravagant    
fancy that it is possible1 except in    
some rare instances of premature        
thoughtfulness1 to turn inward into deep
 habitual reflection1 the spirit that   
naturally goes outward in these         
vivacious1 active1 careless beings1 when
 we assert that it is possible to teach 
many of them with a degree of success1  

in very juvenile years1 to apprehend and
 admit somewhat of such a consideration4
 ,we have many times seen this          
exemplified in fact4 ,we have found some
 of them appearing apprized that life is
 for something as a whole2 and that1 to 
answer this general purpose1 a mere     
succession of interests and activities1 
each gone into for its own sake1 will   
not suffice4 ,they could comprehend1    
that the multiplicity of interests and  
activities in detail1 instead of        
constituting of themselves the purpose  
of life1 were to be regarded as things  
subordinate and subservient to a general
 scope1 and judged of1 selected1 and    
regulated1 in reference and amenableness
 to it4--,by the presiding comprehensive
 purpose1 we do not specifically and    
exclusively mean a direction of the mind
 to the religious concern1 viewed as a  
separate affair1 and in                 
contradistinction to other interests2   
but a purpose formed upon a collective  
notion of the person's interests1 which 

shall give one general right bearing to 
the course of his life2 an aim          
proceeding in fulfilment of a scheme1   
that comprehends and combines with the  
religious concern all the other concerns
 for the sake of which it is worth while
 to dispose the activities of life into 
a plan of conduct1 instead of leaving   
them to custom and casualty4 ,the scheme
 will look and guide toward ultimate    
felicity3 but will at the same time take
 large account of what must be thought  
of1 and what may be hoped for1 in       
relation to the present life4  ,now1 we 
no more expect to find any such idea of 
a presiding purpose of life1 than we do 
the profoundest philosophical           
reflection1 in the minds of the         
uneducated children and youth4 ,they    
think nothing at all about their        
existence and life in any moral or      
abstracted or generalizing reference    
whatever4 ,they know not any good that  
it is to have been endowed with a       
rational rather than a brute nature1    

excepting that it affords more diversity
 of action1 and gives the privilege of  
tyrannizing over brutes4 ,they think    
nothing about what they shall become1   
and very little about what shall become 
of them4 ,there is nothing that tells   
them of the relations for good and evil1
 of present things with future and      
remote ones4 ,the whole energy of their 
moral and intellectual nature goes out  
as in brute instinct on present objects1
 to make the most they can of them for  
the moment1 taking the chance for       
whatever may be next4 ,they are left    
totally devoid even of the thought1 that
 what they are doing is the beginning of
 a life as an important adventure for   
good or evil2 their whole faculty is    
engrossed in the doing of it2 and       
whether it signify anything to the next 
ensuing stage of life1 or to the last1  
is as foreign to any calculation of     
theirs1 as the idea of reading their    
destiny in the stars4 ,not only1        
therefore1 is there an entire preclusion

 from their minds of the faintest hint  
of a monition1 that they should live for
 the grand final object pointed to by   
religion1 but also1 for the most part1  
of all consideration of the attainment  
of a reputable condition and character  
in life4 ,the creature endowed with     
faculties for large discourse1 looking  
before and after1 capable of so much    
design1 respectability1 and happiness1  
even in its present short stage1 and    
entering on an endless career1 is seen  
in the abasement of snatching1 as its   
utmost reach of purpose1 at the low     
amusements1 blended with vices1 of each 
passing day2 and cursing its privations 
and tasks1 and often also the sharers of
 those privations1 and the exactors of  
those tasks4  ,when these are grown up  
into the mass of mature population1 what
 will it be1 as far as their quality    
shall go toward constituting the quality
 of the whole8 ,alas6 it will be1 to    
that extent1 just a continuation of the 
ignorance1 debasement1 and misery1 so   

conspicuous in the bulk of the people   
now4 ,and to what extent8 ,calculate    
that from the unquestionable fact that  
hundreds of thousands of the human      
beings in our land1 between the ages1   
say of six and sixteen1 are at this hour
 thus abandoned to go forward into life 
at random1 as to the use they shall make
 of it1--if1 indeed1 it can be said to  
be at random1 when there is strong      
tendency and temptation to evil1 and no 
discipline to good4 ,looking at this    
proportion1 does any one think there    
will be1 on the whole1 wisdom and virtue
 enough in the community to render this 
black infusion imperceptible or         
innoxious8  ,but are we accounting it   
absolutely inevitable that the sequel   
must be in full proportion to this      
present fact1--must be everything that  
this fact threatens1 and can lead       
to1--as we should behold persons carried
 down in a mighty torrent1 where all    
interposition is impossible1 or as the  
,turks look at the progress of a        

conflagration or an epidemic8 ,it is in 
order to frustrate the tokens of such   
melancholy divination1 to arrest        
something of what a destructive power is
 in the act of carrying away1 to make   
the evil spirit find1 in the next stages
 of his march1 that all his enlisted    
host have not followed him1 and to quell
 somewhat of the triumph of his boast1  
,my name is legion1 for we are many2--it
 is for this that the friends of        
improvement1 and of mankind1 are called 
upon for efforts greatly beyond those   
which are requisite for maintaining in  
its present extent of operation the     
system of expedients for intercepting1  
before it be too late1 the progress of  
so large a portion of the youthful tribe
 toward destruction4  ,another obvious  
circumstance in the state of the        
untaught class is1 that they are        
abandoned1 in a direct1 unqualified     
manner1 to seize recklessly whatever    
they can of sensual gratification4 ,the 
very narrow scope to which their        

condition limits them in the pursuit of 
this1 will not prevent its being to them
 the most desirable thing in existence1 
when there are so few other modes of    
gratification which they either are in a
 capacity to enjoy1 or have the means to
 obtain4 ,by the very constitution of   
the human nature1 the mind seems half to
 belong to the senses1 it is so shut    
within them1 affected by them1 dependent
 on them for pleasure1 as well as for   
activity1 and impotent but through their
 medium4 ,and while1 by this necessary  
hold which they have on what would call 
itself a spiritual being1 they          
absolutely will engross to themselves1  
as of clear right1 a large share of its 
interest and exercise1 they will strive 
to possess themselves of the other half 
too4 ,and they will have it1 if it has  
not been carefully otherwise claimed and
 pre-occupied4 ,and when the senses have
 thus usurped the whole mind for their  
service1 how will you get any of it     
back8 ,try1 if you will1 whether this be

 a thing so easy to be done4 ,present to
 the minds so engrossed with the desires
 of the senses1 that their main action  
is but in these desires and the         
contrivances how to fulfil them1--offer 
to their view nobler objects1 which are 
appropriate to the spiritual being1 and 
observe whether that being promptly     
shows a sensibility to the worthier     
objects1 as congenial to its nature1    
and1 obsequious to the new attraction1  
disengages itself from what has wholly  
absorbed it4  ,nor would we require that
 the experiment be made by presenting   
something of a precisely religious      
nature1 to which there is an innate     
aversion on account of its divine       
character1 separately from its being an 
intellectual thing1--an aversion even   
though the mental faculties be          
cultivated4 ,it may be made with        
something that ought to have power to   
please the mind as simply a being of    
intelligence1 imagination1 and          
sentiment1--a pleasure which1 in some of

 its modes1 the senses themselves may   
intimately partake2 as when1 for        
instance1 it is to be imparted by       
something beautiful or grand in the     
natural world1 or in the works of art4  
,let this refined solicitation be       
addressed to the grossly uncultivated1  
in competition with some low            
indulgence--with the means1 for example1
 of gluttony and inebriation4 ,see how  
the subjects of your experiment1        
7intellectual and moral natures though  
they are17 answer to these respective   
offered gratifications4 ,observe how    
these more dignified attractives        
encounter and overpower the meaner1 and 
reclaim the usurped1 debased spirit4 ,or
 rather1 observe whether they can avail 
for more than an instant1 so much as to 
divide its attention4 ,but indeed you   
can foresee the result so well1 that you
 may spare the labor4 ,still less could 
you deem it to be of the nature of an   
experiment1 7which implies uncertainty17
 to make the attempt with ideal forms of

 nobleness or beauty1 with intellectual1
 poetical1 or moral captivations4  ,yet 
this addiction to sensuality1 beyond all
 competition of worthier modes and means
 of interest1 does not altogether refuse
 to admit of some division and diversion
 of the vulgar feelings1 in favor of    
some things of a more mental character1 
provided they be vicious4 ,a man so     
neglected in his youth that he cannot   
spell the names of ,alexander1 ,csar1 or
 ,napoleon1 or read them if he see them 
spelt1 may feel the strong incitement of
 ambition4 ,this1 instead of raising    
him1 may only propel him forward on the 
level of his debased condition and      
society2 and it is a favorable          
supposition that makes him the best     
wrestler on the green1 or a manful      
pugilist2 for it is probable his grand  
delight may be1 to indulge himself in an
 oppressive1 insolent arrogance toward  
such as are unable to maintain a strife 
with him on terms of fair rivalry1      
making his will the law to all whom he  

can force or frighten into submission4  
,coarse sensuality admits1 again1 an    
occasional competition of the           
gratifications of cruelty2 a flagrant   
characteristic1 generally1 of           
uncultivated degraded human creatures1  
both where the whole community consists 
of such1 as in barbarian and savage     
tribes1 and where they form a large     
portion of it1 as in this country4--,it 
is hardly worth while to put in words   
the acknowledgment of the obvious and   
odious fact1 that a considerable share  
of mental attainment is sometimes       
inefficient to extinguish1 or even      
repress1 this infernal principle of     
human nature1 by which it is gratifying 
to witness and inflict suffering1 even  
separately from any prompting of        
revenge4 ,but why do we regard such     
examples as peculiarly hateful1 and     
brand them with the most intense        
reprobation1 but because it is judged   
the fair and natural tendency of mental 
cultivation to repress that principle1  

insomuch that its failure to do so is   
considered as evincing a surpassing     
virulence of depravity8 ,every one is   
ready with the saying of the ancient    
poet1 that liberal acquirements suppress
 ferocious propensities4 ,but if the    
whole virtue of such discipline may     
prove insufficient1 think what must be  
the consequence of its being almost     
wholly withheld1 so that the execrable  
propensity may go into action with its  
malignity unmitigated1 unchecked1 by any
 remonstrance of feeling or taste1 or   
reason or conscience4  ,and such a      
consequence is manifest in the lower    
ranks of our self-extolled community2   
notwithstanding a diminution1 which the 
progress of education and religion has  
slowly effected1 in certain of the once 
most favorite and customary practices of
 cruelty2 what we might denominate the  
classic games of the rude populace4     
,these very practices1 nevertheless1    
still keep their ground in some of the  
more heathenish parts of the country2   

and if it were possible1 that the more  
improved notions and taste of the more  
respectable classes could admit of any  
countenance being given to their revival
 in the more civilized parts1 it would  
be found that1 even there1 a large      
portion of the people is to this hour   
left in a disposition which would       
welcome the return of savage            
exhibitions4 ,it may be1 that some of   
the most atrocious forms and degrees of 
cruelty would not please the greater    
number of them2 there have been         
instances in which an ,english populace 
has shown indignation at extreme and    
unaccustomed perpetrations1 sometimes to
 the extent of cruelly revenging them2  
very rarely1 however1 when only brute   
creatures have been the sufferers4 ,not 
many would be delighted with such scenes
 as those which1 in the ,place de ,grve1
 used to be a gratification to a        
multitude of all ranks of the           
,parisians4 ,but how many odious facts1 
characteristic of our people1 have come 

under every one's observation4  ,who has
 not seen numerous instances of the     
delight with which advantage is taken of
 weakness or simplicity1 to practise    
upon them some sly mischief1 or inflict 
some open mortification2 and of the     
unrepressed glee with which the rude    
spectators can witness or abet the      
malice8 ,and if1 in such a case1 an     
indignant observer has hazarded a remark
 or expostulation1 the full stare1 and  
the quickly succeeding laugh and retort 
of brutal scorn1 have thrown open to his
 revolting sight the state of the recess
 within1 where the moral sentiments are2
 and shown how much the perceptions and 
notions had been indebted to the cares  
of the instructor4 ,could he help       
thinking what was deserved somewhere1 by
 individuals or by the local community  
collectively1 for suffering a being to  
grow up to quite or nearly the complete 
dimensions and features of manhood1 with
 so vile a thing within it in           
substitution for what a soul should be8 

,we need not remark1 what every one has 
noticed1 how much the vulgar are amused 
by seeing vexatious or injurious        
incidents1 7if only not quite disastrous
 or tragical17 befalling persons against
 whom they can have no resentment2 how  
ferocious often their temper and means  
of revenge when they have causes of     
resentment2 or how intensely delighted1 
7in company1 it is true1 with many that 
are called their betters17 in beholding 
several of their fellow-mortals1 whether
 in anger or athletic competition1      
covering each other with bruises1       
deformity1 and blood4  ,our             
institutions1 however1 protect1 in some 
considerable degree1 man against man1 as
 being framed in a knowledge of what    
would else become of the community4 ,but
 observe a moment what are the          
dispositions of the vulgar as indulged1 
and with no preventive interference of  
those institutions1 on the inferior     
animals4 ,to a large proportion of this 
class it is1 in their youth1 one of the 

most vivid exhilarations to witness the 
terrors and anguish of living beings4   
,in many parts of the country it would  
be no improbable conjecture in          
explanation of a savage yell heard at a 
distance1 that a company of rationals   
may be witnessing the writhings1        
agonies1 and cries1 of some animal      
struggling for escape or for life1 while
 it is suffering the infliction1        
perhaps1 of stones1 and kicks1 or wounds
 by more directly fatal means of        
violence4 ,if you hear in the clamor a  
sudden burst of fiercer exultation1 you 
may surmise that just then a deadly blow
 has been given4 ,there is hardly an    
animal on the whole face of the country1
 of size enough1 and enough within reach
 to be a marked object of attention1    
that would not be persecuted to death if
 no consideration of ownership          
interposed4 ,the children of the        
uncultivated families are allowed1      
without a check1 to exercise and improve
 the hateful disposition1 on flies1     

young birds1 and other feeble and       
harmless creatures2 and they are        
actually encouraged to do it on what1   
under the denomination of vermin1 are   
represented in the formal character of  
enemies1 almost in such a sense as if a 
moral responsibility belonged to them1  
and they were therefore not only to be  
destroyed as a nuisance1 but deserving  
to be punished as offenders4  ,the      
hardening against sympathy1 with the    
consequent carelessness of inflicting   
pain1 combined as this will probably be1
 with the love of inflicting it1 must be
 confirmed by the horrid spectacle of   
slaughter2 a spectacle sought for       
gratification by the children and youth 
of the lower order2 and in many places  
so publicly exhibited that they cannot  
well avoid seeing it1 and its often     
savage preliminary circumstances1       
sometimes directly wanton aggravations2 
perhaps in revenge of a struggle to     
resist or escape1 perhaps in a rage at  
the awkward manner in which the victim  

adjusts itself to a convenient position 
for suffering4 ,horrid1 we call the     
prevailing practice1 because it is the  
infliction1 on millions of sentient and 
innocent creatures every year1 in what  
calls itself a humane and ,christian    
nation1 of anguish unnecessary to the   
purpose4 ,unnecessary--what proof is    
there to the contrary8--,to what is the 
present practice necessary8--,some      
readers will remember the benevolent 7we
 were going to say humane1 but that is  
an equivocal epithet17 attempt made a   
number of years since by ,lord          
,somerville to introduce1 but he failed1
 a mode of slaughter1 without suffering2
 a mode in use in a foreign nation with 
which we should deem it very far from a 
compliment to be placed on a level in   
point of civilization4 ,and it is a     
flagrant dishonor to such a country1 and
 to the class that virtually1 by rank1  
and formally1 by official station1 have 
presided over its economy1 one          
generation after another1 that so       

hideous a fact should never1 as far as  
we know1 have been deemed by the highest
 state authorities worth even a question
 whether a mitigation might not be      
practicable4 ,an inconceivable daily    
amount of suffering1 inflicted on       
unknown thousands of creatures1 dying in
 slow anguish1 when their death might be
 without pain as being instantaneous1 is
 accounted no deformity in the social   
system1 no incongruity with the national
 profession of religion of which the    
essence is charity and mercy1 nothing to
 sully the polish1 or offend the        
refinement1 of what demands to be       
accounted1 in its higher portions1 a    
pre-eminently civilized and humanized   
community4 ,precious and well protected 
polish and refinement1 and humanity1 and
 ,christian civilization6 to which it is
 a matter of easy indifference to know  
that1 in the neighborhood of their      
abode1 those tortures of butchery are   
unnecessarily inflicted1 which could not
 be actually witnessed by persons in    

whom the pretension to these fine       
qualities is anything better than       
affectation1 without sensations of      
horror2 which it would ruin the         
character of a fine gentleman or lady to
 have voluntarily witnessed in a single 
instance4  ,they are known to be        
inflicted1 and yet this is a trifle not 
worth an effort toward innovation on    
inveterate custom1 on the part of the   
influential classes2 who may be far more
 worthily intent on a change in the     
fashion of a dress1 or possibly some new
 refinement in the cookery of the dead  
bodies of the victims4 ,or the living   
bodies2 as we are told that the most    
delicious preparation of an eel for     
exquisite palates is to thrust the fish 
alive into the fire3 while lobsters are 
put into water gradually heated to      
boiling4 ,the latter1 indeed1 is an old 
practice1 like that of crimping another 
fish4 ,such things are allowed or       
required to be done by persons          
pretending to the highest refinement4   

,it is a matter far below legislative   
attention2 while the powers of          
definition are exhausted under the      
stupendous accumulation of regulations  
and interdictions for the good order of 
society4 ,so hardened may the moral     
sense of a community be by universal and
 continual custom1 that we are perfectly
 aware these very remarks will provoke  
the ridicule of many persons1 including1
 it is possible enough1 some who may    
think it quite consistent to be         
ostentatiously talking at the very same 
time of ,christian charity and          
benevolent zeal4 ,footnote3 ,this was   
actually done in a religious periodical 
publication4 ,nor will that ridicule be 
repressed by the notoriety of the fact1 
that the manner of the practice referred
 to steels and depraves1 to a dreadful  
degree1 a vast number of human beings   
immediately employed about it2 and1 as a
 spectacle1 powerfully contributes to   
confirm1 in a greater number1 exactly   
that which it is1 by eminence1 the      

object of moral tuition to              
counteract--men's disposition to        
make-light of all suffering but their   
own4 ,this one thing1 this not caring   
for what may be endured by other beings 
made liable to suffering1 is the very   
essence of the depravity which is so    
fatal to our race in their social       
constitution4 ,this selfish hardness is 
moral plague enough even in an inactive 
state1 as a mere carelessness what other
 beings may suffer2 but there lurks in  
it a malignity which is easily          
stimulated to delight in seeing or      
causing their suffering4 ,and yet1 we   
repeat it1 a civilized and ,christian   
nation feels not the slightest          
self-displacency for its allowing a     
certain unhappy but necessary part in   
the economy of the world to be executed1
 7by preference to a harmless method17  
in a manner which probably does as much 
to corroborate in the vulgar class this 
essential principle of depravity1 as all
 the expedients of melioration yet      

applied are doing to expel it4  ,were it
 not vain and absurd to muse on         
supposable new principles in the        
constitution of the moral system1 there 
is one that we might have been tempted  
to wish for1 namely1 that1 of all       
suffering unnecessarily and wilfully    
inflicted by man on any class of        
sentient existence1 a bitter intimation 
and participation might be conveyed to  
him through a mysterious law of nature1 
enforcing an avenging sympathy in severe
 proportion to that suffering1 on all   
the men who are really accountable for  
its being inflicted4  ,after children   
and youth are trained to behold with    
something worse than hardened           
indifference1 with a gratifying         
excitement1 the sufferings of creatures 
dying for the service of man1 it is no  
wonder if they are barbarous in their   
treatment of those that serve him by    
their life4 ,and in fact nothing is more
 obvious as a prevailing disgrace to our
 nation1 than the cruel habits of the   

lower class toward the laboring animals 
committed to their power4 ,these animals
 have no security in their best         
condition and most efficient services2  
but generally the hateful disposition is
 the most fully exercised on those that 
have been already the greatest          
sufferers4 ,meeting1 wherever we go1    
with some of these starved1 abused1     
exhausted figures1 we shall not         
unfrequently meet with also another     
figure accompanying them--that of a     
ruffian1 young or old1 who with a visage
 of rage1 and accents of hell1 is       
wreaking his utmost malevolence on a    
wretched victim for being slow in       
performing1 or quite failing to perform1
 what the excess of loading1 and perhaps
 the feebleness of old age1 have        
rendered difficult or absolutely        
impracticable2 or for shrinking from an 
effort to be made by a pressure on      
bleeding sores1 or for losing the right 
direction through blindness1 and that   
itself perhaps occasioned by hardship or

 savage violence4 ,many of the exacters 
of animal labor really seem to resent it
 as a kind of presumption and insult in 
the slave1 that it would be anything    
else than a machine1 that the living    
being should betray under its toils that
 it suffers1 that it is pained1 weary1  
or reluctant4 ,and if1 by outrageous    
abuse1 it should be excited to some     
manifestation of resentment1 that is a  
crime for which the sufferer would be   
likely to incur such a fury and         
repetition of blows and lacerations as  
to die on the spot1 but for an          
interfering admonition of interest      
against destroying such a piece of      
property1 and losing so much service4   
,when that service has utterly          
exhausted1 often before the term of old 
age1 the strength of those wretched     
animals1 there awaits many of them a    
last short stage of still more          
remorseless cruelty2 that in which it is
 become a doubtful thing whether the    
utmost efforts to which the emaciated1  

diseased1 sinking frame can be forced by
 violence1 be worth the trouble of that 
violence1 the delays and accidents1 and 
the expense of the scanty supply of     
subsistence4 ,as they must at all events
 very soon perish1 it has ceased to be  
of any material consequence1 on the     
score of interest1 how grossly they may 
be abused2 and their tormentors seem    
delighted with this release from all    
restraint on their dispositions4 ,those 
dispositions1 as indulged in some       
instances1 when the miserable creatures 
are formally consigned to be destroyed1 
cannot be much exceeded by anything we  
can attribute to fiends4 ,some horrid   
exemplifications were adduced1 not as   
single casual circumstances1 but as     
usual practices1 by a patriotic senator 
some years since1 in endeavoring to     
obtain a legislative enactment in       
mitigation of the sufferings of the     
brute tribes4 ,the design vanished to   
nothing in the ,house of ,commons1 under
 the effect of argument and ridicule    

from a person distinguished for         
intellectual cultivation2 whose         
resistance was not only against that    
specific measure1 but avowedly against  
the principle itself on which any       
measure of the same tendency could ever 
be founded4 ,footnote3 ,lord ,erskine's 
memorable ,bill1 triumphantly scouted by
 the late ,mr4 ,windham4--,undoubtedly  
there are considerable difficulties in  
the way of legislation on the subject2  
but an equal share of difficulty        
attending some other subjects--an affair
 of revenue1 for instance1 or a measure 
for the suppression 7at that time7 of   
political opinion--would soon have been 
overcome4 ,nor could any victory have   
pleased him better1 probably1 than one  
which contributed to prolong the        
barbarism of the people1 as the best    
security1 he deemed1 for their          
continuing fit to labor at home and     
fight abroad4 ,it might have added to   
this gratification to hear 7as was the  
fact7 his name pronounced with delight  

by ruffians of all classes1 who regarded
 him as their patron saint4  ,if any one
 should be inclined to interpose here   
with a remark1 that after such a        
reference1 we have little right to      
ascribe to those classes1 as if it were 
peculiarly one of their characteristics1
 the insensibility to the sufferings of 
the brute creation1 and to number it    
formally among the results of the lack  
of knowledge1 we can only reply1 that   
however those of higher order may       
explode any attempt to make the most    
efficient authority of the nation bear  
repressively upon the evil1 and however 
it may in other ways be abetted by them1
 it is1 at any rate1 in those inferior  
classes chiefly that the actual         
perpetrators of it are found4 ,it is    
something to say in favor of            
cultivation1 that it does1 generally    
speaking1 render those who have the     
benefit of it incapable of practising1  
themselves1 the most palpably flagrant  
of these cruelties which they may be    

virtually countenancing1 by some things 
which they do1 and some things which    
they omit or refuse to do4 ,mr4 ,windham
 would not himself have practised a     
wanton barbarity on a poor horse or ass1
 though he scouted any legislative      
attempt to prevent it among his         
inferiors4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,the proper place would    
perhaps have been nearer the beginning  
of this description of the              
characteristics of our uneducated       
people1 for one so notorious1 and one   
entering so much into the essence of the
 evils already named1 as that we mention
 next2 a rude1 contracted1 unsteady1 and
 often perverted sense of right and     
wrong in general4  ,it is curious to    
look into a large volume of religious   
casuistry1 the work of some divine of a 
former age1 7for instance ,bishop       
,taylor's ,ductor ,dubitantium17 with   
the reflection what a conscience        
disciplined in the highest degree might 
be2 and then to observe what this       

regulator of the soul actually is where 
there has been no sound discipline of   
the reason1 and where there is no deep  
religious sentiment to rectify the      
perceptions in the absence of an        
accurate intellectual discrimination of 
things4 ,this sentiment being wanting1  
dispositions and conduct cannot be taken
 account of according to the distinction
 between holiness and sin2 and in the   
absence of a cultivated understanding1  
they cannot be brought to the test of   
the distinguishing law between propriety
 and turpitude2 nor estimated upon any  
comprehensive notion of utility4 ,the   
evidence of all this is thick and close 
around us2 so that every serious        
observer has been struck and almost     
shocked to observe1 in what a very small
 degree conscience is a necessary       
attribute of the human creature2 and how
 nearly a nonentity the whole system of 
moral principles may be1 as to any      
recognition of it by an unadapted       
spirit4 ,while that system is of a      

substance veritable and eternal1 and    
stands forth in its exceeding breadth1  
marked with the strongest characters and
 prominences1 it has to these persons   
hardly the reality or definiteness of a 
shadow1 except in a few matters1 if we  
may so express it1 of the grossest bulk4
 ,there must be glaring evidence of     
something bad in what is done1 or       
questioned whether to be done1 before   
conscience will come to its duty1 or    
give proof of its existence4 ,there must
 be a violent alarm of mischief or      
danger before this drowsy and ignorant  
magistrate will interfere4 ,and since   
occasions thus involving flagrant evil  
cannot be of very frequent occurrence in
 the life of the generality of the      
people1 it is probable that many of them
 have considerably protracted exemptions
 from any interference of conscience at 
all2 it is certain that they experience 
no such pertinacious attendance of it1  
as to feel habitually a monitory        
intimation1 that without great thought  

and care they will inevitably do        
something wrong4 ,but what may we judge 
and presage of the moral fortunes of a  
sojourner1 of naturally corrupt         
propensity1 in this bad world1 who is   
not haunted1 sometimes to a degree of   
alarm1 by this monitory sense1 through  
the whole course of his life8 ,what is  
likely to become of him1 if he shall go 
hither and thither on the scene exempt  
from all sensible obstruction of the    
many interdictions1 of a nature too     
refined for any sense but the vital     
tenderness of conscience to perceive8   
,obstructions of a more gross and       
tangible nature he is continually       
meeting4 ,a large portion of what he is 
accustomed to see presents itself to him
 in the character of boundary and       
prohibition2 on every hand there is     
something to warn him what he must not  
do4 ,there are high walls1 and gates1   
and fences1 and brinks of torrents and  
precipices2 in short1 an order of things
 on all sides signifying to him1 with   

more or less of menace1--,thus far and  
no further4 ,and he is in a general way 
obsequious to this arrangement4 ,we do  
not ordinarily expect to see him        
carelessly transgressing the most       
decided of the artificial boundaries1 or
 daring across those dreadful ones of   
nature4 ,but1 nearly destitute of the   
faculty to perceive1 7as in coming in   
contact with something charged with the 
element of lightning17 the awful        
interceptive lines of that other        
arrangement which he is in the midst of 
as a subject of the laws of ,god1 we see
 with what insensibility he can pass    
through those prohibitory significations
 of the ,almighty will1 which are to    
devout men as lines streaming with an   
infinitely more formidable than material
 fire4 ,and if we look on to his future 
course1 proceeding under so fatal a     
deficiency1 the consequence foreseen is1
 that those lines of divine interdiction
 which he has not conscience to perceive
 as meant to deter him1 he will seem as 

if he had acquired1 through a perverted 
will1 a recognition of in another       
quality--as temptations to attract him4 
,but to leave these terms of generality 
and advert to a few particulars of      
illustration3--,recollect how commonly  
persons of the class described are found
 utterly violating truth1 not in hard   
emergencies only1 but as an habitual    
practice1 and apparently without the    
slightest reluctance or compunction1    
their moral sense quite at rest under   
the accumulation of a thousand          
deliberate falsehoods4 ,it is seen that 
by far the greater number of them think 
it no harm to take little unjust        
advantages in their dealings1 by        
deceptive management2 and very many     
would take the greatest but for fear of 
temporal consequences2 would do it1 that
 is to say1 without inquietude of       
conscience1 in the proper sense4 ,it is 
the testimony of experience from persons
 who have had the most to transact with 
them1 that the indispensable rule of    

proceeding is to assume generally their 
want of principle1 and leave it to time 
and prolonged trial to establish1 rather
 slowly1 the individual exceptions4     
,those unknowing admirers of human      
nature1 or of ,english character1 who   
are disposed to exclaim against this as 
an illiberal rule1 may be recommended to
 act on what they will therefore deem a 
liberal one--at their cost4  ,that power
 of established custom1 which is so     
great1 as we had occasion to show1 on   
the moral sense of even better          
instructed persons1 has its dominion    
complete over that of the vulgar2       
insomuch that the most unequivocal      
iniquity of a practice long suffered to 
exist1 shall hardly bring to their mere 
recollection the common acknowledged    
rule not to do as we would wish not done
 to us4 ,from recent accounts it        
appears1 that the entire coast of our   
island is not yet clear of those people 
called wreckers1 who felt not a scruple 
to appropriate whatever they could seize

 of the lading of vessels cast ashore1  
and even whatever was worth tearing from
 the personal possession of the         
unfortunate beings who might be escaping
 but just alive from the most dreadful  
peril4 ,the cruelty we have so largely  
attributed to our ,english vulgar1 never
 recoils on them in self-reproach4 ,the 
habitual indulgence of the irascible1   
vexatious1 and malicious tempers1 to the
 plague or terror of all within reach1  
scarcely ever becomes a subject of      
judicial estimate1 as a character       
hateful in the abstract1 with them a    
reflection of that estimate on the man's
 own self4 ,he reflects but just enough 
to say to himself that it is all right  
and deserved1 and unavoidable1 too1 for 
he is unpardonably crossed and provoked2
 nor will he be driven from this        
self-approval1 when it may be evident to
 every one else that the provocations   
are comparatively slight1 and are only  
taken as offences by a disposition      
habitually seeking occasions to vent its

 spite4 ,the inconvenience and vexation 
incident to low vice1 may make the      
offenders fret at themselves for having 
been so foolish1 but it is in general   
with an extremely trifling degree of the
 sense of guilt4 ,suggestions of        
reprehension1 in even the discreetest   
terms1 and from persons confessedly the 
best authorized to make them1 would not 
seldom be answered by a grinning1       
defying carelessness1 in some instances 
by abusive retort2 instead of any       
betrayed signs of an internal           
acknowledgment of deserving reproof4    
,and while thus the censure of a        
fellow-mortal meets no internal         
testimony to own its justice1 this      
insensate self-complacency is           
undisturbed also on the side toward     
heaven4 ,a mere philosopher1 that should
 make little account of religion1       
otherwise than as capable of being      
applied to enforce and aggravate the    
sense of obligation with respect to     
rules of conduct1 and would not1        

provided it may have this effect1 care  
much about its truth or                 
falsehood1--might be disposed to assert 
that the ignorant and debased part of   
the population1 of this ,christian and  
,protestant country1 are but so much the
 worse for the riddance of some parts of
 the superstitions of former ages4 ,he  
might allege1 with plausibility1 that   
the system which imposed so many        
falsehoods1 vain observances1 and       
perversions of moral principles1        
acknowledging nevertheless some correct 
rules of morality1 as an external       
practical concern1 had the advantage of 
enjoining them1 as far as it chose to do
 so1 with the force of superstition1 a  
stronger authority with a rude          
conscience than that of plain simple    
religion4 ,that system exercised a      
mighty complexity and accumulation of   
authority1 all avowedly divine2 by which
 it could artificially augment1 or      
rather supersede1 the mere divine       
prescription of such rules1 making      

itself the authority and prescriber2 and
 thus could infix them in the moral     
sense of the people with something more1
 or something else1 than the simple     
divine sanction4 ,whereas1 now when     
those superstitions which held the      
people so powerfully in awe1 are gone1  
and have taken away with them that      
spurious sanction1 there remains nothing
 to exert the same power of moral       
enforcement2 since the people have not1 
in their exemption from the             
superstitions of their ancestors1 come  
under any solemn and commanding effect  
of the true idea of the ,divine         
,majesty4 ,and it is undeniable that    
this is the state of conscience among   
them4 ,the vague1 faint notion1 as they 
conceive it1 of a being who is said to  
be the creator1 governor1 lawgiver1 and 
judge1 and who dwells perhaps somewhere 
in the sky1 has not1 to many of them1   
the smallest force of intimidation from 
evil1 at least when they are in health  
and daylight4 ,one of the large         

sting-armed insects of the air does not 
alarm them less4 ,a certain transitory  
fearfulness that occasionally comes upon
 them1 points more to the ,devil1 and   
perhaps 7in times now nearly gone by7 to
 the ghosts of the dead1 than to the    
,almighty4 ,it may be1 indeed1 that this
 feeling is in its ultimate principle1  
if it were ever followed up so far1 an  
acknowledgment of justice and power in  
,god1 reaching to wicked men through    
these mysterious agents2 who though     
intending no service to him1 but        
actuated by dispositions of their own1  
malignant in the greatest of them1 and  
supposed inauspicious in the others1 are
 yet carrying into effect his hostility4
 ,but it is little beyond such proximate
 objects of apprehension that many minds
 extend their awe of invisible spiritual
 existence4 ,even the notion really     
entertained by them of the greatness of 
,god1 may be entertained in such a      
manner as to have but slight power to   
restrain the inclinations to sin1 or to 

impress the sense of guilt after it is  
committed4 ,he is too great1 they       
readily say1 to mind the little matters 
that such creatures as we may do amiss2 
they can do him no harm4 ,the idea1 too1
 of his bounty1 is of such unworthy     
consistency as to be a protection       
against all conscious reproach of       
ingratitude and neglect of service      
toward him2--he has made us to need all 
this that it is said he does for us2 and
 it costs him nothing1 it is no labor1  
and he is not the less rich2 and        
besides1 we have toil1 and want1 and    
plague enough1 notwithstanding anything 
that he gives4  ,it is probable this    
unhappiness of their condition1 oftener 
than any other cause1 brings ,god into  
their thoughts1 and that as a being     
against whom they have a complaint      
approaching to a quarrel on account of  
it4 ,and this strongly assists the      
reaction against whatever would enforce 
the sense of guilt on the conscience4   
,when he has done so little for us1     

7something like this is the sentiment17 
he cannot think it any such great matter
 if we do sometimes come a little short 
of his commands4 ,there is no doubt that
 their recollections of him as a being  
to murmur against for their allotment1  
are more frequent1 more dwelt upon1 and 
with more of an excited feeling1 than   
their recollections of him as a being   
whom they ought to have loved and       
served1 but have offended against4 ,the 
very idea of such offence1 as the chief 
and essential constituent of wickedness1
 is so slightly conceived1 7because he  
is invisible1 and has his own felicity1 
and is secure against all injury17 that 
if the thoughts of one of these persons 
should1 by some rare occasion1 be forced
 into the direction of unwillingly      
seeing his own faults1 it is probable   
his impiety would appear the most       
inconsiderable thing in the account2    
that he would easily forgive himself the
 negation of all acts and feelings of   
devotion towards the ,supreme ,being1   

and the countless multiplications of    
insults to him by profane language4  ,to
 conclude this part of the melancholy   
statement2 it may be observed of the    
class in question1 that they have but   
very little notion of guilt1 or possible
 guilt1 in anything but external        
practice4 ,that busy interior existence1
 which is the moral person1 genuine and 
complete2 the thoughts1 imaginations1   
volitions2 the motives1 projects1       
deliberations1 devices1 the indulgence  
of the ideas of what they cannot or dare
 not practically realize1--all this1 we 
have reason to believe1 passes nearly   
exempted from jurisdiction1 even of that
 feeble and undecisive kind which may   
occasionally attempt an interference    
with their actions4 ,they do indeed take
 such notice of the quality of these    
things within1 as to be aware that some 
of them are not to be disclosed in their
 communications2 which prudential       
caution has of course little to do with 
conscience1 when the things so withheld 

are internally cherished in perfect     
disregard of the ,omniscient ,observer1 
and with hardly the faintest monition   
that the essence of the guilt is the    
same1 with only a difference in degree1 
in intending or deliberately desiring an
 evil1 and in acting it4  ,it is not    
natural obtuseness of mental faculty    
that we are attributing1 all this while1
 to the uneducated class of our people1 
in thus exposing the defectiveness of   
their discernment between right and     
wrong4 ,if it were1 there might arise   
somewhat of the consolation afforded in 
contemplating some of the very lowest of
 the savage tribes of mankind1 by the   
idea that such outcasts of the rational 
nature must stand very nearly exempt    
from accountableness1 through absolute  
natural want of mind4 ,but in the       
barbarians of our country we shall often
 observe a very competent1 and now and  
then an abundant1 share of native sense4
 ,we may see it evinced in respect to   
the very questions of morality1 in cases

 where they are quite compelled1 as will
 occasionally happen1 to feel themselves
 brought within the cognizance of one or
 other of its plainest rules4 ,in such  
cases we have witnessed a sharpness and 
activity of intellect claiming almost   
our admiration4 ,what contrivance of    
deception and artful evasion4 ,what     
dexterity of quibble1 and captious      
objection1 and petty sophistry4 ,what   
vigilance to observe how the plea in    
justification or excuse takes effect1   
and1 if they perceive it does not       
succeed1 what address in sliding into a 
different one4 ,what quickness to avail 
themselves of any mistake1 or apparent  
concession1 in the examiner or reprover4
 ,what copious rhetoric in exaggeration 
of the cause which tempted to do wrong1 
or of the great good hoped to be        
effected by the little deviation from   
the right1--a good surely enough to     
excuse so trifling an impropriety4 ,what
 facility of placing between themselves 
and the censure1 the recollected example

 of some good man who has been overtaken
 in a fault4  ,here is mind1 after all1 
we have been prompted to exclaim2 mind  
educating itself to evil1 in default of 
that discipline which should have       
educated it to good4 ,how much of the   
wisdom of evil1 7if we may be allowed   
the expression17 there is faculty enough
 in the neglected corrupt popular mass  
of this nation to attain1 by the        
exercise into which the individual's    
mind is carried by its own impulse1 and 
in which he may everywhere and every    
hour find ample co-operation4 ,each of  
these self-improvers in depraved sense  
has the advantage of finding himself    
among a great tribe of similar          
improvers1 forming an immense school1 as
 if for the promotion of this very      
purpose2 where they all teach by a      
competition in learning2 where the rude 
faculty which is not expanded into      
intelligence is1 however1 sharpened into
 cunning2 where the spirit which cannot 
grow into an eagle1 may take the form   

and action of a snake4 ,this            
advantage1--that there should not be a  
diminution of the superabundant plenty  
of associates always at hand1 to assist 
each man in making the most of his      
native intellect for its least worthy   
use1--has been from age to age secured  
to our populace1 as if it had been the  
most valuable birthright of ,englishmen4
 ,whatever else the person born to the  
inheritance of low life was destined to 
find in it1 the national state had made 
as sure to him as it had before made the
 same privilege to his ancestors1 that  
the generality of his equals should be  
found fit and ready to work with him in 
the acquirement of a depraved           
shrewdness4  ,but while the bulk of the 
people have been1 in every period1      
abandoned to such a process of educating
 themselves and one another1 where has  
been that character of parental         
guardianship1 which seems to be ascribed
 when poets1 orators1 and patriots1 are 
inspired with tropes1 and talk of       

,england and her children8 ,this        
imperial matron of their rhetoric seems 
to have little cared how much she might 
be disgraced in the larger portion of   
her progeny1 or how little cause they   
might have to all eternity to remember  
her with gratitude4 ,she has had far    
other concern about them1 and employment
 for them1 than that of their being     
taught the value of their spiritual     
nature1 and carefully trained to be     
enlightened1 good1 and happy4 ,laws     
against crime1 it is true1 she has      
enacted for them in liberal quantity2   
appointed her quorums of magistrates2   
and not been sparing of punishments4    
,she has also maintained public sabbath 
observances to remind them of religion1 
of which observances she cared not that 
they little understood the very terms2  
except when the reading of a ,book of   
,sports was appointed an indispensable  
part at one time long after her adoption
 of the ,reformation4 ,but she might    
plainly see what such provisions did not

 accomplish4 ,it was a glaring fact     
before her eyes1 that the majority of   
her children had far more of the mental 
character of a colony from some         
barbarian nation1 than of that which an 
enlightened and ,christian state might  
have been expected to impart4 ,she had  
most ample resources indeed for         
supplying the remedy2 but1 provided that
 the productions of the soil and the    
workshop were duly forthcoming1 she     
thought it of no consequence1 it should 
seem1 that the operative hands belonged 
to degraded minds4 ,and then1 too1 as at
 all times1 her lofty ambition destined 
a good proportion of them to the        
consumption of martial service1 she     
perhaps judged that the less they were  
trained to think1 the more fit they     
might be to be actuated mechanically1 as
 an instrument of blind impetuous force4
 ,or perhaps she thought it would be    
rather an inconsistency1 to be making   
much of the inner existence of a thing  
which was to be1 in frequent wholesale  

lots1 sent off to be cut or dashed to   
pieces4 ,footnote3 ,killed off1 was the 
sentimental phrase emitted in           
parliament1 in easy unconsciousness of  
offence1 by the accomplished senator    
named in a former page4 ,he probably was
 really unaware that the creatures were 
made for anything better4 ,and besides1 
a certain measure of instruction to     
think1 especially if consisting1 in a   
considerable part1 of the inculcation of
 religion1 might have done something to 
disturb that notion1 7so worthy to have 
been transferred from the ,mohammedan   
creed17 which she was by no means       
desirous to expel from her fleets and   
armies1 that death for king and country 
clears off all accounts for sin4  ,let  
our attention be directed a little while
 to the effects of the privation of     
knowledge1 as they may be seen          
conspicuous in the several parts of the 
economy of life1 in the uneducated part 
of the community4 ,observe those people 
in their daily occupations4 ,none of us 

need be told that1 of the prodigious    
diversity of manual employments1 some   
consist of1 or include1 operations of   
such minuteness or complexity1 and so   
much demanding nicety1 arrangement1 or  
combination1 as to necessitate the      
constant and almost entire attention of 
the mind2 nor that all of them must     
require its full attention at times1 at 
particular stages1 changes1 and         
adjustments1 of the work4 ,we allow this
 its full weight1 to forbid any         
extravagant notion of how much it is    
possible to think of other things during
 the working time4 ,it is however to be 
recollected1 that persons of a class    
superior to the numerous one we have in 
view1 take the chief share of those     
portions of the arts and manufactures   
which require the most of mental        
effort1--those which demand extreme     
precision1 or inventive contrivance1 or 
taste1 or scientific skill4 ,we may also
 take into the account of the allotment 
of employments to the uncultivated      

multitude1 how much facility is acquired
 by habit1 how much use there is of     
instrumental mechanism1 7a grand        
exempter from the responsibility that   
would lie on the mind17 and how merely  
general and very slight an attention is 
exacted in the ordinary course of some  
of the occupations4 ,these things       
considered1 we may venture perhaps to   
assume1 on an average of those          
employments1 that the persons engaged in
 them might be1 as much at least as one 
third part of the time1 without         
detriment to the manual performance1    
giving the thoughts to other things with
 attention enough for such interest as  
would involve improvement4 ,this is     
particularly true of the more ordinary  
parts of the labors of agriculture1 when
 not under any critical circumstances1  
or special pressure owing to the season4
  ,but as the case at present is1 what  
does become1 during such portion of the 
time1 of the ethereal essence which     
inhabits the corporeal laborer1 this    

spirit created1 it is commonly said and 
without contradiction1 for thought1     
knowledge1 religion1 and immortality8   
,if we be really to believe this        
doctrine of its nature and destiny1 7for
 we are not sure that politicians think 
so17 can we know without regret1 that in
 very many of the persons in the        
situations supposed1 it suffers a dull  
absorption1 subsides into the mere      
physical nature1 is sunk and sleeping in
 the animal warmth and functions1 and   
lulled and rocked1 as it were1 in its   
lethargy1 by the bodily movements1 in   
the works which it is not necessary for 
it to keep habitually awake to direct8  
,and its obligation to keep just enough 
awake to see to the right performance of
 the work1 seems to give a licensed     
exemption from any other stirring of its
 faculties4 ,the employment is something
 to be minded1 in a general way1 though 
but now and then requiring a pointed    
attention2 and therefore this said      
intellectual being1 if uninformed and   

unexercised1 will feel no call to mind  
anything else3 as a person retained for 
some service which demands but          
occasionally an active exercise1 will   
justify the indolence which declines    
taking in hand any other business in the
 intervals1 under the pretext that he   
has his appointment2 and so1 when not   
under the immediate calls of that       
appointment1 he will trifle or go to    
sleep1 even in the full light of day1   
with an easy conscience4  ,but here we  
are to beware of falling into the       
inadvertency of appearing to say1 that  
the laboring classes1 in this country   
and age1 have actually this full        
exemption1 during their employments1    
from all exercise of thought beyond that
 which is immediately requisite for the 
right performance of their work4 ,it is 
true that there is little enough of any 
such mental activity directed to the    
instructive uses we were supposing4 ,but
 while such partial occupation of the   
thoughts 7of course it is admitted1 in  

an irregular and discontinuous1 but     
still a beneficial manner7 with topics  
and facts of what may be called         
intellectual and moral interest as we   
are assuming to be compatible with      
divers of the manual operations1 is a   
thing to which most among the laboring  
classes are strangers1 many of them are 
equally strangers to an easy vacancy of 
mind2 experiencing amidst their         
employments a severe arrest of those    
thoughts which the mere employment      
itself may leave free4 ,during the      
little more than mechanical action of   
their hands and eyes1 the circumstances 
of their condition press hard into their
 minds4 ,the lot of many of those       
classes is placed in a melancholy       
disproportion between what must be given
 to the cares and toils for a bare      
subsistence1 and what can1 at most1 be  
given to the interests of the nobler    
part of their nature1 either during     
their work or in its intervals4 ,it is a
 sad spectacle to behold so many myriads

 of spiritual beings1 7proviso1 again1  
that we may call them so without being  
suspected to forget that their proper   
calling is to work with their hands17   
doomed to consume a proportion so little
 short of the whole of their vigor and  
time1 in just merely supporting so many 
bodies in the struggle to live4  ,when  
it is in special relation to the present
 times that we speak of this struggle to
 live1 we of course mean by it something
 more than that circumstance of the     
general lot of humanity which is        
expressed in the sentence1 ,in the sweat
 of thy brow thou shalt eat thy bread1  
,we put the emphasis on the peculiar    
aggravation of that circumstance in this
 part of the world in this and recent   
times1 by the adventitious effect of    
some dreadful disorder of the social    
economy1 in consequence of which the    
utmost exertions of the body and mind   
together but barely suffice in so many  
cases1 in some hardly do suffice1 for   
the mere protraction of life2           

comfortable life being altogether out of
 the question4 ,the course of the       
administration of the civilized states1 
and the recent dire combustion into     
which they have almost unanimously      
rushed1 as in emulation which of them   
should with the least reserve1 and with 
the most desperate rapidity1 annihilate 
the resources that should have been for 
the subsistence and competence of their 
people1 have resulted in such           
destitution and misery in this country  
as were never known before1 except as   
immediately inflicted by the local      
visitation of some awful calamity4 ,the 
state of very many of our people1 at    
this hour1 is nearly what might be      
conceived as the consequence of a       
failure of the accustomed produce of the
 earth4 ,footnote3 ,no exaggeration at  
the time when it was written4 ,the      
condition of the working classes during 
the subsequent years does not admit of  
any comprehensive uniform description4  
,it has suffered successive harassing   

fluctuations1 and been probably at all  
times severely distressing in one part  
of the country or another4  ,there is no
 wish to deny or underrate the additions
 made to the evil by the intervention of
 causes1 whose operation admits of being
 traced in some measure distinctly from 
the effect of this grand one4 ,they may 
be traced in an operation which is      
distinguishable2 and referable to each  
respectively2 but it were most absurd to
 represent them as working out of       
connection1 or otherwise than           
subordinately concurring1 with that     
cause which has invaded with its        
pernicious effects everything that has  
an existence or a name in the social    
system4 ,and it were simply monstrous to
 attribute the main substance of so wide
 and oppressive an evil to causes of any
 debateable quality1 while there is     
glaring in sight a cause of stupendous  
magnitude1 which could not possibly do  
otherwise than produce immense and      
calamitous effects4 ,it would be as if a

 man were prying about for this and the 
other cause of damage1 to account for   
the aspect of a region which has        
recently been devastated by inundations 
or earthquakes4 ,it has become much a   
fashion to explain the distresses of a  
country on any principles rather than   
those that are taught by all history1   
and prominently manifest in the nature  
of things4 ,and airs of superior        
intelligence shall be assumed on hearing
 a plain man fix the main charge of     
national exhaustion and distress on the 
nation's consuming its own strength in  
an unquenchable fury to destroy that of 
others2 just as if such madness had     
never been known to result in poverty   
and distress1 and it were perfectly     
inexplicable how it should4 ,this is    
partly an affectation of science1       
accompanied1 it is likely1 by somewhat  
of that sincere extravagance with which 
some newly developed principle is apt to
 be accounted the comprehension of all  
wisdom1 a nostrum that will explain     

everything4 ,but we suspect that in many
 instances this substitution of         
subordinate causes for a great          
substantial one1 proceeds from something
 much worse than such affectation or    
self-duped extravagance4 ,it is from a  
resolute determination that ambition    
shall be the noblest virtue of a state2 
that martial glory shall maintain its   
ground in human idolatry and that wars  
and their promoters shall be justified  
at all hazards4  ,we were wishing to    
show how the laboring people's thoughts 
might be partly employed1 during their  
daily task1 and consistently with       
industry and good workmanship4 ,but what
 a state of things is exhibited where   
the very name of industry1 the virtue   
universally honored1 the topic of so    
many human and divine inculcations1     
cannot be spoken without offering a     
bitter insult2 where the heavy toil1    
denounced on man for his transgression1 
in the same sentence as death1 is in    
vain implored as the greatest privilege2

 or thought of in despair1 as a blessing
 too great to be attainable2 and when   
the reply of the artisan to an unwitting
 admonition1 that even amidst his work  
he might have some freedom for useful   
thinking1 may be1 ,thinking6 ,i have no 
work to confine my thinking2 ,i may1 for
 that1 employ it all on other subjects2 
but those subjects are1 whether ,i      
please or not1 the plenty and luxury in 
which many creatures of the same kind as
 myself are rioting1 and the starvation 
which ,i and my family are suffering4   
,we hope in ,providence1 more than in   
any wisdom or disposition shown by men1 
that this melancholy state of things    
will be alleviated1 otherwise than by a 
reduction of number through the diseases
 generated by utter penury4 ,footnote3  
,it has been alleviated2 but not till   
after a considerable duration4 ,in      
,england it has2 but look at ,ireland8  
,we trust the time will come when the   
,christian monitor shall no longer be   
silenced by the apprehension of such a  

reply to the suggestion he wishes to    
make to the humble class1 that they     
should strive against being reduced to  
mere machines amidst their manual       
employments2 that it is miserable to    
have the whole mental existence shrunk  
and shrivelled as it were to the breadth
 of the material they are working upon2 
that the noble interior agent1 which    
lends itself to maintain the external   
activity1 and direct the operations     
required of the bodily powers for the   
body's welfare1 has eminently a right   
and claim to have employments on its own
 account1 during such parts of those    
operations as do not of necessity       
monopolize its attention4 ,it may claim1
 in the superintendence of these1 a     
privilege analogous to that possessed in
 the general direction of subordinate   
agents by a man of science1 who will    
interfere as often as it is necessary1  
but will not give up all other thought  
and employment to be a constant mere    
looker-on1 during such parts of the     

operations as are of so ordinary a      
nature that he could not really fix his 
attention on them4  ,but how is the mind
 of the laborer or artisan to be        
delivered from the blank and stupified  
state1 during the parts of his          
employment that do not necessarily      
engross his thoughts8 ,how1 but by its  
having within some store of subjects for
 thought2 something for memory1         
imagination1 reflection2 in a word1 by  
the possession of knowledge8 ,how can it
 be sensibly alive and active1 when it  
is placed fully and decidedly out of    
communication with all things that are  
friendly to intellectual life1 all      
things that apply a beneficial stimulus 
to the faculties1 all things1 of this   
world or another1 that are the most     
inviting or commanding to thought and   
emotion8 ,we can imagine this ill-fated 
spirit1 especially if by nature of the  
somewhat finer temperament1 thus        
detached from all vital connection1     
secluded from the whole universe1 and   

inclosed as by a prison wall1--we can   
imagine it sometimes moved with an      
indistinct longing for its appropriate  
interests2 and going round and round by 
this dark1 dead wall1 to seek for any   
spot where there might be a chance of   
escape1 or any crevice where a living   
element for the soul transpires2 and    
then1 as feeling it all in vain1        
dejectedly resigning itself again to its
 doom4 ,some ignorant minds have        
instinctive impulses of this kind2      
though far more of them are so deeply   
stupified as to be habitually safe from 
any such inquietude4 ,but let them have 
received1 in their youth and            
progressively afterwards1 a considerable
 measure of interesting information1    
respecting1 for instance1 the many      
striking objects on the globe they      
inhabit1 the memorable events of past   
ages1 the origin and uses of remarkable 
works within their view1 remaining from 
ancient times2 the causes of effects and
 phenomena familiar to their observation

 as now unintelligible facts2 the       
prospects of man1 from the relation he  
stands in to time1 and eternity1 and    
,god1 explained by the great principles 
and facts of religion4 ,let there be    
fixed in their knowledge so many ideas  
of these kinds1 as might be imparted by 
a comparatively humble education1 7one  
quite compatible with the destination to
 a life of ordinary employment17 and    
even involuntarily the thoughts would   
often recur to these subjects1 in those 
moments and hours when the manual       
occupation can1 and actually will1 be   
prosecuted with but little of exclusive 
attention4 ,slight incidents1 casual    
expressions1 would sometimes suggest    
these subjects2 by association they     
would suggest one another4 ,the mere    
reaction of a somewhat cultivated spirit
 against invading dulness1 might recall 
some of the more amusing and elating    
ones2 and they would fall like a gleam  
of sunshine on the imagination4 ,an     
emotion of conscience1 a                

self-reflection1 an occurring question  
of duty1 a monitory sensation of        
defective health1 would sometimes point 
to the serious and solemn ones4 ,the    
mind might thus go a considerable way1  
to recreate or profit itself1 and1 on   
coming back again1 find all safe in the 
processes of the field or the loom4 ,the
 man would thus come from these         
processes with more than the bare       
earnings to set against the fatigue4    
,there would thus be scattered some     
appearances to entertain1 and some      
sources and productions to refresh1 over
 what were else a dead and barren flat  
of existence4  ,there is no romancing in
 all this2 we have known instances of   
its verification to a very pleasing and 
exemplary extent4 ,we have heard persons
 of the class in question tell of the   
exhilarating imaginations1 or solemn    
reflections1 which1 through the         
reminiscences of what they had read in  
youth or more advanced years1 had       
visited their minds2 and put them1 as it

 were1 in communication for a while with
 diversified1 remote1 and elevated      
objects1 while in their humble          
employments under the open sky or the   
domestic roof4 ,and is not this1 7if it 
be true1 after all1 that the            
intellectual1 immortal nature is by     
emphasis the man17 is not this vastly   
better than that this mind should lie   
nearly as dormant1 during the laborer's 
hours of business1 as his attendant of  
the canine species shall be sometimes   
seen to do in the corner of the field   
where he is at work8  ,but perhaps it   
will be said1 that the minds of the     
uncultivated order are not generally in 
this state of utter inanity during their
 common employments2 but are often awake
 and busy enough in recollections1      
fancies1 projects1 and the tempers      
appropriate2 and that they abundantly   
show this when they stop sometimes in   
their work to talk1 or talk as they are 
proceeding in it4 ,so much the stronger1
 we answer1 the argument for supplying  

them with useful knowledge2 for it were 
better their mental being were sunk in  
lethargy1 than busy among the reported1 
recollected1 or imagined transactions1  
the wishes1 and the schemings1 which    
will be the most likely to occupy the   
minds of persons abandoned to ignorance1
 vulgarity1 and therefore probably to   
low vice4  ,we may add to the           
representation1 the manner in which they
 spend the part of their time not       
demanded for the regular1 or the        
occasional1 exercise of their industry4 
,it is not to be denied that many of    
them have too much truth in their       
pleading that1 with the exception of    
,sunday1 they have little remission of  
their toils till they are so weary that 
the remainder of the time is needed for 
complete repose4 ,this is particularly  
the case of the females1 especially     
those who have the chief cares and the  
actual work of a family4 ,nevertheless1 
it is within our constant observation   
that a considerable proportion of the   

men1 a large one of the younger men1 in 
the less heavily oppressed divisions of 
our population1 do in fact include1 for 
substance1 their manual employments     
within such limits of time1 as often to 
leave several hours in the day to be    
spent nearly as they please4 ,and in    
what manner1 for the most part1 is this 
precious time expended by those of no   
mental cultivation8 ,it is true1 again1 
that in many departments of labor1 a    
diligent exertion during even this      
limited space of the day1 occasions such
 a degree of lassitude and heaviness as 
to render it almost inevitable1         
especially in certain seasons of the    
year1 to surrender some moments of the  
spare time1 beyond what is necessary for
 the humble repast1 to a kind of        
listless subsidence of all the powers of
 both body and mind4 ,but after all     
these allowances fully conceded1 a great
 number in the class under consideration
 have in some days several hours1 and in
 the whole six days of the week1 on an  

average of the year1 very many hours1 to
 be given1 as they choose1 to useful    
purposes or to waste2 and again we ask1 
where the mind itself has been left     
waste how is that time mostly expended8 
,if the persons are of a phlegmatic     
temperament1 we shall often see them    
just simply annihilating those portions 
of time4 ,they will for an hour1 or for 
hours together1 if not disturbed by some
 cause from without1 sit on a bench1 or 
lie down on a bank or hillock1 or lean  
on a wall1 or fill the fire-side chair2 
yielded up to utter vacancy and torpor1 
not asleep perhaps1 but more lost to    
mental existence than if they were2     
since the dreams1 that would probably   
visit their slumbers1 would be a more   
lively train of ideas than any they have
 awake4 ,of a piece with this is the    
habit1 among many of this order of      
people1 of giving formally to sleep as  
much as one-third part1 sometimes       
considerably more1 of the twenty-four   
hours4 ,certainly there are innumerable 

cases in which infirmity1 care1 fatigue1
 and the comfortlessness and penury of  
the humble dwelling1 effectually plead  
for a large allowance of this balm of   
oblivion4 ,but very many surrender      
themselves to this excess from          
destitution of anything to keep their   
minds awake1 especially in the evenings 
of the winter4 ,what a contrast is here 
suggested to the imagination of those   
who have read ,dr4 ,henderson's1 and    
other recent descriptions1 of the habits
 of the people of ,iceland6  ,these1    
however1 are their most harmless modes  
of wasting the time4 ,for1 while we     
might think of the many hours merged by 
them in apathy and needless sleep1 with 
a wish that those hours could be        
recovered to the account of their       
existence1 we might well wish that the  
hours could be struck out of it which   
they may sometimes give1 instead1 to    
conversation2 in parties where          
ignorance1 coarse vulgarity1 and        
profaneness1 are to support the         

dialogue1 on topics the most to their   
taste2 always including1 as the most    
welcome to that taste1 the depravities  
and scandals of the neighborhood2 while 
all the reproach and ridicule1 expended 
with good-will on those depravities1    
have the strange result of making the   
censors the less disinclined themselves 
to practise them1 and only a little     
better instructed how to do it with     
impunity4 ,in many instances there is   
the additional mischief1 that these     
assemblings for corrupt communication   
find their resort at the public-house1  
where intemperance and ribaldry may     
season each other1 if the pecuniary     
means for the former ingredient can be  
afforded1 even at the cost of distress  
at home4--,but without including        
depravity of this degree1 the           
worthlessness of the communications of a
 number of grossly ignorant associates  
is easy to be imagined2 besides that    
most of us have been made judges of     
their quality by numberless occasions of

 unavoidably hearing samples of them4   
,in the finer seasons of the year1 much 
of these leisure spaces of time can be  
expended out of doors2 and we have still
 only to refer to every one's own       
observation of the account to which they
 are turned1 in the lives of beings     
whose lot allows but so contracted a    
portion of time to be1 at the best1     
applied directly to the highest purposes
 of life4--,here the hater of all such  
schemes of improvement1 as would        
threaten to turn the lower order into   
what that hater may probably call       
,methodists1 7a term we venture to      
interpret for him as meaning thoughtful 
beings and ,christians17 comes in with a
 ready cant of humanity and             
commiseration4 ,and why1 he says1 with  
an affected indignation of philanthropy1
 why should not the poor creatures enjoy
 a little fresh air and cheerful        
sunshine1 and have a chance of keeping  
their health1 confined as many of them  
are1 for the greatest part of the time1 

in narrow1 squalid rooms1 unwholesome   
workshops1 and every sort of            
disagreeable places and employments8    
,very true1 we answer2 and why should   
not numbers of them be collected in     
groups by the road-side1 in readiness to
 find in whatever passes there occasions
 for gross jocularity2 practising some  
impertinence1 or uttering some jeering  
scurrility1 at the expense of persons   
going by2 shouting with laughter at the 
success of the annoyance1 or to make it 
successful2 and all this blended with   
language of profaneness and imprecation1
 as the very life of the hilarity8 ,or  
why should not the boldest spirits among
 them form a little conventicle for     
cursing1 blaspheming1 and blackguard    
obstreperousness in the street1 about   
the entrance of one of the haunts of    
intoxication2 where they are perfectly  
safe from that worse mischief of a      
gloomy fanaticism1 with which they might
 have been smitten if seduced to        
frequent the meeting-house twenty paces 

off8 ,or why should not the children1   
growing into the stage called youth1 be 
turned loose through the lanes1 roads1  
and fields1 to form a brawling1 impudent
 rabble1 trained by their association to
 every low vice1 and ambitiously        
emulating1 in voice1 visage1 and        
manners1 the ruffians and drabs of      
maturer growth8 ,or why should not the  
young men and women collect in clusters1
 or range about or beyond the           
neighborhood in bands1 for revel1       
frolic1 and all kinds of coarse mirth2  
to come back late at night to quarrel   
with their wretched elders1 who perhaps 
envy them their capacity for such wild  
gaieties and strollings1 while rating   
them for their disorderly habits8 ,we   
say where can be the harm of all this8  
,what reasonable and benevolent man     
would think of making any objection to  
it8 ,reasonable and benevolent1--for    
these have been among the qualities     
boasted for the occasion by the opposers
 of any materially improved education of

 the people2 while in such opposition   
they virtually avowed their willing     
tolerance of all that is here described4
  ,we have allowed most fully the plea  
of how little time1 comparatively1 could
 be afforded to the concern of mental   
improvement by the lower classes from   
their indispensable employments2 and    
also that of the consequent fatigue1    
causing a temporary incapacity of effort
 in any other way4 ,but this latter plea
 cannot be admitted without great       
abatement in the case of our neglected  
young people of the working classes2 for
 when we advert to their actual habits1 
we see that1 nevertheless1 time1        
strength1 and wakefulness1 and spring   
and spirit for exertion1 are found for a
 vast deal of busy diversion1 much of it
 blended with such folly as tends to    
vice4  ,if such is the manner in which  
the spare time of the week-days goes to 
waste and worse1 the ,sunday is welcomed
 as giving scope for the same things on 
a larger scale4 ,it is very striking to 

consider1 that several millions1 we may 
safely assert1 of our ,english people1  
arrived at what should be years of      
discretion1 are almost completely       
destitute of any manner of conscience   
respecting this seventh part of time2   
not merely as to any required           
consecration of it to religion1 but as  
to its being under any claim or of any  
worth at all1 otherwise than for        
amusement4 ,it is actually regarded by  
them as a section of time far less under
 obligation than any other4 ,they take  
it as so absolutely at their free       
disposal1 by a right so exclusively     
vested in their taste and will1 that a  
demand made even in behalf of their own 
most important interests1 is            
contemptuously repelled as a            
sanctimonious impertinence4 ,if the idea
 occurs at all 7with multitudes it never
 does7 of claims which they have heard  
that ,god should make on the hours1 it  
is dismissed with the thought that it   
really cannot signify to him how        

creatures1 condemned by his appointment 
to toil all the rest of the week1 may   
wish to spend this one day1 on which the
 secular taskmaster manumits them1 and  
,he1 the spiritual one1 might surely do 
as much4 ,an immense number pay no      
attention whatever to any sort of       
religious worship2 and many of those    
that do give an hour or two to such an  
observance1 do so1 some of them as      
merely a diversification of amusement1  
and the others by way of taking a       
license of exemption from any further   
accountableness for the manner in which 
they may spend the day4 ,it is the      
natural consequence of all this1 that   
there is more folly1 if not more crime1 
committed on this than on all the other 
six days together4  ,thus man1 at least 
ignorant man1 is unfit to be trusted    
with anything under heaven2 since a     
remarkable appointment for raising the  
general tenor of moral existence1 has   
with these persons the effect of sinking
 it4 ,there is interposed1 at frequent  

regular intervals throughout the series 
of their days1 a richer vein1 as it     
were1 of time4 ,the improvement of this1
 in a manner by no means strained to the
 austerity of exercise prescribed in the
 ,puritan rules1 might diffuse a worth  
and a grace over all the time between1  
and assist them against the tendency    
there may be in its necessary habits and
 employments1 to depress the intelligent
 nature into meanness or debasement4    
,the space which they are passing over  
is marked1 at near intervals1 with broad
 lines of a benignant light1 which might
 spread an appearance of mild lustre    
over the whole extent as contemplated in
 retrospect2 but how many1 in looking   
back when near the end of their         
progress1 have to perceive its general  
shade rendered darker by the very spaces
 where that light had been shed from    
heaven4  ,the ,sundays of those who do  
not improve them to a good purpose1 will
 infallibly be perverted to a bad one4  
,but it were still a melancholy account 

if we could regard them as merely       
standing for nothing1 as a blank in the 
life of this class of the people4 ,it is
 a deeply unhappy spectacle and         
reflection1 to see a man of perhaps more
 than seventy1 sunk in the grossness and
 apathy of an almost total ignorance of 
all the most momentous subjects1 and    
then to consider1 that1 since he came to
 an age of some natural capacity for the
 exercise of his mind1 there have been  
more than three thousand ,sundays4 ,in  
their long succession they were his     
time4 ,that is to say1 he had the       
property in them which every man has in 
duration2 they were present to him1 he  
had them1 he spent them4 ,perhaps some  
compassionate friend may have been      
pleading in his behalf1--,alas6 what    
opportunity1 what time1 has the poor    
mortal ever had8 ,his lot has been to   
labor hard through the week throughout  
almost his whole life4 ,yes1 we answer1 
but he has had three thousand ,sundays2 
what would not even the most moderate   

improvement of so vast a sum of hours   
have done for him8 ,but the ill-fated   
man1 7perhaps rejoins the commiserating 
pleader17 grew up from his childhood in 
utter ignorance of any use he ought to  
make of time which his necessary        
employment would allow him to waste4    
,there1 we reply1 you strike the mark4  
,sundays are of no value1 nor ,bibles1  
nor the enlarged knowledge of the age1  
nor heaven nor earth1 to beings brought 
up in estrangement from all right       
discipline4 ,and therefore we are       
pleading for the schemes and            
institutions which will not let human   
beings be thus brought up4  ,in so      
pleading1 we happily can appeal to one  
fact in evidence that the intellectual  
and religious culture1 in the           
introductory stages of life1 tends to   
secure that the persons so trained shall
 be1 when they are come to maturity1    
marked off from the neglected barbarous 
mass1 by at least an external respect1  
but accompanied1 we trust1 in many of   

them1 by a still better sentiment1 to   
the means for keeping truth and duty    
constantly in their view4 ,observe the  
numbers now attending1 with a becoming  
deportment1 public worship and          
instruction1 as compared with what the  
proportion is remembered or recorded to 
have been half a century since1 or any  
time previous to the great exertions of 
benevolence to save the children of the 
inferior classes from preserving the    
whole mental likeness of their          
forefathers4  ,it can be testified also1
 by persons whose observation has been  
the longest in the habit of following   
children and youth from the instruction 
of the school institutions into mature  
life1 that1 in a gratifying number of   
instances1 they have been seen          
permanently retaining too much love of  
improvement1 and too much of the habit  
of a useful employment of their minds1  
to sink1 in their ordinary daily        
occupations1 into that wretched inanity 
we were representing2 or to consume the 

free intervals of time in the           
listlessness1 or worthless gabble1 or   
vain sports1 of which their neighbors   
furnished plenty of example and         
temptation4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,these              
representations have partly included1   
what we may yet specify distinctly as   
one of the unhappy effects of gross     
ignorance--a degraded state of domestic 
society4  ,whatever is of nature to     
render individuals uninteresting or     
offensive to one another1 has a         
specially bad effect among them as      
members of a family2 because there is in
 that form of community itself a        
peculiar tendency to fall below the     
level of dignified and complacent social
 life4--,a number of persons cannot be  
placed in a state of social             
communication1 without having a certain 
sense of claiming from one another a    
conduct meant and adapted to please4 ,it
 is expected that a succession of       
efforts should be made for this purpose1

 with a willingness of each individual  
to forego1 in little things1 his own    
inclination or convenience4 ,this is all
 very well when the society is          
voluntary1 and the parties can separate 
when the cost is felt to be greater than
 the pleasure4 ,under this advantage of 
being able soon to separate1 even a     
company of strangers casually assembled 
will often recognize the claim and      
conform to the law2 with a certain      
indistinct sentiment partaking of       
reciprocal gratitude for the disposition
 which is so accommodating4 ,but the    
members of the domestic community also  
have each this same feeling which       
demands a mutual effort and self-denial 
to please1 while the condition of their 
association is adverse to their yielding
 what they thus respectively claim4     
,theirs1 when once it is formed1 is not 
exactly a voluntary companionship1 and  
it is one of undefinable continuance4   
,the claim therefore seems as if it were
 to be of a prolongation interminable1  

while the grateful feeling for the      
concession is the less for the more     
compulsory bond of the association4 ,and
 to be thus required1 in a community    
which must not be dissolved1 and in a   
series that reaches away beyond         
calculation1 to exercise a              
self-restraint on their wills and humors
 in order to please one another1 goes so
 hard against the great principle of    
human feeling--namely1 each one's       
preference of pleasing himself--that    
there is an habitual impulse of reaction
 against the claim4 ,this shows itself  
in their deportment1 which has the      
appearance of a practical expression of 
so many individuals that they will      
maintain each his own freedom4 ,hence   
the absence1 very commonly1 in domestic 
society1 of the attentiveness1 the tone 
of civility1 the promptitude of         
compliance1 the habit of little         
accommodations1 voluntary and           
supernumerary1 which are so observable  
in the intercourse of friends1          

acquaintance1 and often1 as we have     
said1 even of strangers4  ,and then     
consider1 in so close a kind of         
community1 what near and intimate       
witnesses they are of all one another's 
faults1 weaknesses1 tempers1            
perversities2 of whatever is offensive  
in manner1 or unseemly in habit2 of all 
the irksome1 humiliating1 or sometimes  
ludicrous circumstances and situations4 
,and also1 in this close association1   
the bad moods1 the strifes1 and         
resentments1 are pressed into immediate1
 lasting1 corrosive contact with        
whatever should be the most vital to    
social happiness4 ,if there be1 into the
 account1 the wants1 anxieties1 and     
vexations of severe poverty1 they will  
generally aggravate all that is         
destructive to domestic complacency and 
decorum4  ,now add gross ignorance to   
all this1 and see what the picture will 
be4 ,how many families have been seen   
where the parents were only the older   
and stronger animals than their         

children1 whom they could teach nothing 
but the methods and tasks of labor4     
,they naturally could not be the mere   
companions1 for alternate play and      
quarrel1 of their children1 and were    
disqualified by mental rudeness to be   
their respected guardians4 ,there were  
about them these young and rising forms1
 containing the inextinguishable        
principle1 which was capable of entering
 on an endless progression of wisdom1   
goodness1 and happiness6 needing        
numberless suggestions1 explanations1   
admonitions1 brief reasonings1 and a    
training to attend to the lessons of    
written instruction4 ,but nothing of all
 this from the parent4 ,their case was  
as hopeless for receiving these         
necessaries of mental life1 as the      
condition1 for physical nutriment1 of   
infants attempting to draw it1 7we have 
heard of so affecting and mournful a    
fact17 from the breast of a dead parent4
 ,these unhappy heads of families       
possessed no resources for engaging     

youthful attention by mingled           
instruction and amusements2 no          
descriptions of the most wonderful      
objects1 or narratives of the most      
memorable events1 to set1 for superior  
attraction1 against the idle stories of 
the neighborhood2 no assemblage of      
admirable examples1 from the sacred or  
other records of human character1 to    
give a beautiful real form to virtue and
 religion1 and promote an aversion to   
base companionship4  ,requirement and   
prohibition must be a part of the       
domestic economy habitually in operation
 of course2 and in such families you    
will have seen the government exercised1
 or attempted to be exercised1 in the   
roughest1 barest shape of will and      
menace1 with no aptitude or means of    
imparting to injunction and censure1 a  
convincing and persuasive quality4 ,not 
that the seniors should allow their     
government to be placed on such a ground
 that1 in everything they enforce or    
forbid1 they may be liable to have their

 reasons demanded by the children1 as an
 understood condition of their          
compliance4 ,far from it2 they will     
sometimes have to require a prescribed  
conduct for reasons not intelligible1 or
 which it may not be discreet to        
explain1 to those who are to obey4 ,but 
their authority becomes odious1 and as a
 moral force worse than inefficient1    
when the natural shrewdness of the      
children can descry that they really    
have no reasons better than an obstinate
 or capricious will2 and infallibly     
makes the inference1 that there is no   
obligation to submit1 but that necessity
 which dependence imposes4 ,but this    
must often be the unfortunate condition 
of such families4  ,now imagine a week1 
month1 or year1 of the intercourse in   
such a domestic society1 the course of  
talk1 the mutual manners1 and the       
progress of mind and character2 where   
there is a sense of drudgery approaching
 to that of slavery1 in the unremitting 
necessity of labor2 where there is none 

of the interest of imparting knowledge  
or receiving it1 or of reciprocating    
knowledge that has been imparted and    
received2 where there is not an acre1 if
 we might express it so1 of intellectual
 space around them1 clear of the thick1 
universal fog of ignorance2 where1      
especially1 the luminaries of the       
spiritual heaven1 the attributes of the 
,almighty1 the grand phenomenon of      
redeeming mediation1 the solemn         
realities of a future state and another 
world1 are totally obscured in that     
shade2 where the conscience and the     
discriminations of duty are dull and    
indistinct1 from the youngest to the    
oldest2 where there is no genuine       
respect on the one side1 nor affection  
unmixed with vulgar petulance and       
harshness1 expressed perhaps in language
 of imprecation1 on the other2 where a  
mutual coarseness of manners and words  
has the effect1 without their being     
aware of it as a cause1 of debasing     
their worth in one another's esteem1 all

 round2 and where1 notwithstanding all1 
they absolutely must pass a great deal  
of time together1 to converse1 to       
display their dispositions toward one   
another1 and exemplify the poverty of   
the mere primary relations of life1 as  
divested of the accessories which give  
them dignity1 endearment1 and           
conduciveness to the highest advantage  
of existence4  ,home has but little to  
please the young members of such a      
family1 and a great deal to make them   
eager to escape out of the house2 which 
is also a welcome riddance to the elder 
persons1 when it is not in neglect or   
refusal to perform allotted tasks4 ,so  
little is the feeling of a peaceful     
cordiality created among them by their  
seeing one another all within the       
habitation1 that1 not unfrequently1 the 
passer-by may learn the fact of their   
collective number being there1 from the 
sound of a low strife of mingled voices1
 some of them betraying youth replying  
in anger or contempt to maturity or age4

 ,it is wretched to see how early this  
liberty is boldly taken4 ,as the        
children perceive nothing in the minds  
of their parents that should awe them   
into deference1 the most important      
difference left between them is that of 
physical strength4 ,the children1 if of 
hardy disposition1 to which they are    
perhaps trained in battles with their   
juvenile rivals1 soon show a certain    
degree of daring against their superior 
strength4 ,and as the difference        
lessens1 and by the time it has nearly  
ceased1 what is so natural as that they 
should assume equality1 in manners and  
in following their own will8 ,but       
equality assumed where there should be  
subordination1 inevitably involves      
contempt toward the party in defiance of
 whom it is asserted4  ,the relative    
condition of such parents as they sink  
in old age1 is most deplorable4 ,and all
 that has preceded1 leads by a natural  
course to that consequence which we have
 sometimes beheld1 with feelings        

emphatically gloomy1--the almost perfect
 indifference with which the            
descendants1 and a few other relations1 
of a poor old man of this class1 could  
consign him to the grave4 ,a human being
 was gone out of the world1 a being they
 had been with or near all their lives1 
some of them sustained in their         
childhood by his labors1 and yet perhaps
 not one heart1 at any moment1 felt the 
sentiment--,i have lost----4 ,they never
 could regard him with respect1 and     
their miserable education had not taught
 them humanity enough to regard him in  
his declining days as an object of pity4
 ,some decency of attention was perhaps 
shown him1 or perhaps hardly that1 in   
his last hours4 ,his being now a dead1  
instead of a living man1 was a burden   
taken off2 and the insensibility and    
levity1 somewhat disturbed and repressed
 at the sight of his expiring struggle1 
and of his being lowered into the grave1
 recovered by the day after his         
interment1 if not on the very same      

evening1 their accustomed tone1 never   
more to be interrupted by the effect of 
any remembrance of him4 ,such a closing 
scene one day to be repeated is         
foreshown to us1 when we look at an     
ignorant and thoughtless father         
surrounded by his untaught children4 ,in
 the silence of thought we thus accost  
him1--,the event which will take you    
finally from among them1 perhaps after  
forty or fifty years of intercourse with
 them1 will leave no more impression on 
their affections1 than the cutting down 
of a decayed old tree in the            
neighborhood of your habitation4  ,there
 are instances1 of rare occurrence1 when
 such a man becomes1 late in life1 far  
too late for his family to have the     
benefit of the change1 a subject of the 
only influence which could awake him to 
earnest thoughtfulness and the full     
sensibility of conscience4 ,when the sun
 thus breaks out toward the close of his
 gloomy day1 and when1 in the energy of 
his new life1 he puts forth the best    

efforts of his untaught spirit for a    
little divine knowledge1 to be a lamp to
 him in entering ere long the shades of 
death1 with what bitter regrets he looks
 back to the period when a number of    
human beings1 some perhaps still with   
him1 some now scattered from him1 and   
here and there pursuing their separate  
courses in careless ignorance1 were     
growing up under his roof1 within his   
charge1 but in utter estrangement from  
all discipline adapted to ensure a      
happier sequel4 ,his distressing        
reflection is often representing to him 
what they might now have been if they   
had grown up under such discipline4 ,and
 gladly would he lay down his life to   
redeem for them but some inferior share 
of what the season for imparting to them
 is gone forever4  ,another thing is to 
be added1 to this representation of the 
evils attendant on an uncultivated state
 of the people1 namely--that this mental
 rudeness puts them decidedly out of    
beneficial communication with the       

superior and cultivated classes4  ,we   
are assuming 7with permission7 that a   
national community should be constituted
 for the good of all its parts1 not to  
be obtained by them as detached1        
independent portions1 but adjusted and  
compacted into one social body2 an      
economy in which all the parts shall    
feel they have the benefit of an        
amicable combination2 in other words1   
that they are the better for one        
another4 ,but it can be no such         
constitution when the most palpable     
relations between the two main divisions
 of society consist of such direct      
opposites as refinement and barbarism1  
dignity and gross debasement1           
intelligence and ignorance2 which are   
the distinctions asserted by the higher 
classes as putting a vast distance      
between them and the lower4 ,if so      
little of the correct understanding1 the
 information1 the liberalized feeling1  
and the propriety of deportment1 which  
we are to ascribe to the higher and     

cultivated portion1 goes downward into  
the lower1 it should seem impossible but
 there must be more of repulsion than of
 amicable disposition and communication 
between them4 ,we may suspect1 perhaps1 
that those more privileged classes are  
not generally desirous that the interval
 were much less wide1 provided that     
without cultivation of the lower orders 
the nuisance of their annoying and      
formidable temper could be abated4 ,but 
however that may be1 it is exceedingly  
desirable1 for the good of both1 that   
the upper and inferior orders should be 
on terms of communication and mutual    
good-will1 and therefore that there     
should be a diminution of that rudeness 
of mind and habits which must contribute
 to keep them alienated and hostile4    
,if it were asked what communication1 at
 all of a nature to be described by     
epithets of social and friendly import1 
we can be supposing by possibility to   
subsist between classes so different and
 distant1 we may exemplify it by such an

 instance as we have now and then the   
pleasure of seeing4 ,each reader also1  
of any moderate compass of observation1 
may probably recollect an example1 in   
the case of some man in humble station1 
but who has had 7for his condition7 a   
good education2 having been well        
instructed in his youth in the elements 
of useful knowledge2 having had good    
principles diligently inculcated upon   
him2 having subsequently instructed     
himself1 to the best of his very        
confined means and opportunity1 through 
a habit of reading2 and being in his    
manners unaffectedly observant of all   
the decorums of a respectable human     
being4 ,it has been seen1 that such a   
man has not found in some of his        
superiors in station and attainment any 
disposition to shun him2 and has not    
felt in himself or his situation any    
reason why he should seek to shun them4 
,he would occasionally fall into        
conversation with the wealthy and       
accomplished proprietor1 or the         

professional man of learning1 in the    
neighborhood4 ,his intelligent manner of
 attending to what they said1 his       
perfect understanding of the language   
naturally used by cultivated persons1   
the considerateness and pertinence of   
his replies1 and the modest deference1  
combined with an honest freedom in      
making his observations on the matters  
brought in question1 pleased those      
persons of superior rank1 and induced   
various friendly and useful attentions1 
on their part to him and his family4 ,he
 and his family thus experienced a      
direct benefit of superior sense1       
civility1 and good principle1 in a      
humble condition2 and were put under a  
new responsibility to preserve a        
character for those distinctions4--,now 
think of the incalculable advantage to  
society1 if anything approaching to this
 were the general state of social       
relation between the lower and the      
higher orders4  ,on the contrary1 there 
is no medium of complacent communication

 between the classes of higher condition
 and endowment1 and an ignorant1 coarse 
populace4 ,except on occasion of giving 
orders or magisterial rebukes1 the      
gentleman will never think of such a    
thing as converse with the clowns in his
 vicinity4 ,they1 on their part1 are    
desirous to avoid him2 excepting when   
any of them may have a purpose to gain1 
by arresting his attention1 with an     
ungainly cringe2 or when some of those  
who have no sort of present dependence  
on him1 are disposed to cross his way   
with a look and strut of rudeness1 to   
show how little they care for him4 ,the 
servility1 and the impudence1 almost    
equally repress in him all friendly     
disposition toward a voluntary          
intercourse with the class4 ,there is   
thus as complete a dissociation between 
the two orders1 as mutual dislike1 added
 to every imaginable dissimilarity1 can 
create4 ,and this broad ungracious      
separation intercepts all modifying     
influence that might otherwise have     

passed1 from the intelligence and       
refinement of the one1 upon the         
barbarism of the other4  ,but there is  
in human nature a pertinacious          
disposition to work disadvantages1 in   
one way or other1 into privileges4 ,the 
people1 in being thus consigned to a low
 and alien ground1 in relation to the   
cultivated part of society1 are put in  
possession1 as it were1 of a territory  
of their own2 where they can give their 
disposition freer play1 and act out     
their characters in their own manner2   
exempt equally from the voluntary and   
the involuntary influence of the        
cultivated superiors2 that is to say1   
neither insensibly modified by the      
attraction of what is the most laudable 
in them as a pattern1 nor swayed through
 policy to a studied accommodation to   
their understood opinion and will4 ,this
 is a great emancipation enjoyed by the 
inferiors4 ,and however injurious it may
 be1 it is one of which they will not   
fail to take the full license4 ,for in  

all things and situations1 it is one of 
the first objects with human beings1 to 
verify experimentally the presumed      
extent of their liberty and privilege4  
,in this dissociation1 the people are   
rid of the many salutary restraints and 
incitements which they would have been  
made to feel1 if on terms of friendly   
recognition with the respectable part of
 the community2 they have neither honor 
nor disgrace1 from that quarter1 to take
 into their account2 and this           
contributes to extinguish all sense and 
care of respectability of character1--a 
care to which there will be no motive in
 any consideration of what they may1 as 
among themselves1 think of one another2 
for1 with the low estimate which they   
mutually and justly entertain1 there is 
a conventional feeling among them that1 
for the ease and privilege of them all1 
they are systematically to set aside all
 high notions and nice responsibilities 
of character and conduct4 ,there is a   
sort of recognized mutual right to be no

 better than they are4 ,and an          
individual among them affecting a high  
conscientious principle would be apt to 
incur ridicule1 as a man foolishly      
divesting himself of a                  
privilege2--unless1 indeed1 he let them 
understand that hypocrisy was his way of
 maintaining that privilege1 and turning
 it to account4  ,the people are thus1  
by their ignorance1 and what inseparably
 attends it1 far removed and estranged  
from the more cultivated part of their  
fellow-countrymen2 and consequently from
 every beneficial influence under which 
a state of friendly contiguity1 if we   
may so express it1 would have placed    
them4 ,let us now see what1 in this     
abandonment to themselves1 are their    
growing dispositions toward the superior
 orders and the existing arrangements of
 the community2 dispositions which are  
promoted by causes more definite than   
this estrangement considered merely as  
the negation of benevolent intercourse1 
but to which it mightily contributes4   

,times may have been when the great     
mass1 while placed in such decided      
separation from the upper orders1       
combined such a quietude with their     
ignorance1 that they had little other   
than submissive feelings toward these   
superiors1 whose property1 almost1 for  
all service and obsequiousness1 they    
were accustomed to consider themselves2 
when no question would occur to them why
 there should be so vast a difference of
 condition between beings of the same   
race2 when no other proof was required  
of the right appointment of their lot1  
however humble it might be1 than their  
being1 and their forefathers having     
been1 actually in it2 and when they did 
not presume1 hardly in thought1 to make 
any inferences from the fact of the     
immense disproportion of numbers and    
consequent physical strength between    
them and their superiors4 ,footnote3    
,here1 however1 it should be observed   
that in the former age1 when there was  
far less of jealous invidious feeling   

between the upper and lower classes than
 has latterly intervened1 there was a   
more amicable manner of                 
intercommunication4 ,the settled and    
perfectly recognized state of           
subordination precluded on the one side1
 all apprehension of encroachment1 and  
on the other the disposition to it4 ,but
 the times of this perfect1             
unquestioning1 unmurmuring succumbency  
under the actual allotment have passed  
away2 except in such regions as the     
,russian empire1 where they have yet    
long to continue4 ,in other states of   
,europe1 but especially in our own1 the 
ignorance of the people has nowhere     
prevented them from acquiring a sense of
 their strength and importance2 with a  
certain ill-conceived1 but stimulant    
notion1 of some change which they think 
ought to take place in their condition4 
,how1 indeed1 should it have been       
possible for them to remain unaware of  
this strength and importance1 while the 
whole civilized world was shaken with a 

practical and tremendous controversy    
between the two grand opposed orders of 
society1 concerning their respective    
rights2 or that they should not have    
taken a strong1 and from the rudeness of
 their mental condition1 a fierce       
interest1 in the principle and progress 
of the strife8 ,and how should they have
 failed to know that1 during this       
controversy1 innumerable persons raised 
from the lower rank by talent and       
spirit1 had left no place on earth      
except in courts 7and hardly even there7
 for the dotage of fancying some innate 
difference between the classes          
distinguished in the artificial order of
 society8  ,the effect of all this is   
gone deep into the minds of great       
numbers who are not excited1 in         
consequence1 to any worthy exertion for 
raising themselves1 individually1 from  
their degraded condition1 by the earnest
 application and improvement of their   
means and faculties4 ,the feeling of    
many of them seems to be1 that they must

 and will sullenly abide by the         
ill-starred fate of their order1 till   
some great comprehensive alteration in  
their favor shall absolve them from that
 bond of hostile sentiment1 in which    
they make common cause against the      
superior classes2 and shall create a    
state of things in which it shall be    
worth while for the individual to make  
an effort to raise himself4 ,we can at  
best1 7they seem to say17 barely        
maintain1 with the utmost difficulty1 a 
miserable life2 and you talk to us of   
cultivation1 of discipline1 of moral    
respectability1 of efforts to come out  
from our degraded rank6 ,no1 we shall   
even stay where we are2 till it is seen 
how the question is to be settled       
between the people of our sort1 and     
those who will have it that they are of 
a far worthier kind4 ,there may then1   
perhaps1 be some chance for such as we2 
and if not1 the less we are disturbed   
about improvement1 knowledge1 and all   
those things1 the better1 while we are  

bearing the heavy load a few years1 to  
die like those before us4  ,we said they
 are banded in a hostile sentiment4 ,it 
is true1 that among such a degraded     
populace there is very little kindness1 
or care for one another's interests4    
,they all know too well what they all   
are not1 to feel mutual esteem or       
benevolence4  ,but it is infinitely     
easier for any set of human beings to   
maintain a community of feeling in      
hostility to something else1 than in    
benevolence toward another2 for here no 
sacrifice is required of anyone's       
self-interest4 ,and it is certain1 that 
the subordinate portions of society have
 come to regard the occupants of the    
tracts of fertility and sunshine1 the   
possessors of opulence1 splendor1 and   
luxury1 with a deep1 settled1 systematic
 aversion2 with a disposition to        
contemplate in any other light than that
 of a calamity an extensive downfall of 
the favorites of fortune1 when a        
brooding imagination figures such a     

thing as possible2 and with but very    
slight monitions from conscience of the 
iniquity of the most tumultuary         
accomplishment of such a catastrophe4   
,in a word1 so far from considering     
their own welfare as identified with the
 stability of the existing social order1
 they consider it as something that     
would spring from the ruin of that      
order4 ,the greater number of them have 
lost that veneration by habit1 partaking
 of the nature of a superstition1 which 
had been protracted downward1 though    
progressively attenuated with the lapse 
of time1 from the feudal ages into the  
last century4 ,they have quite lost1    
too1 in this disastrous age1 that sense 
of competence and possible well-being1  
which might have harmonized their       
feelings with a social economy that     
would have allowed them the enjoyment of
 such a state1 even as the purchase of  
great industry and care4 ,whatever the  
actual economy may have of wisdom in its
 institutions1 and of splendor1 and     

fulness of all good things1 in some     
parts of its apportionment1 they feel   
that what is allotted to most of them in
 its arrangements is pressing hardship1 
unremitting poverty1 growing still more 
hopeless with the progress of time1 and 
of what they hear trumpeted as national 
glory1 nay1 even national prosperity and
 happiness unrivalled4 ,this bitter     
experience1 which inevitably becomes    
associated in their thoughts with that  
frame of society under which they suffer
 it1 will naturally have a far stronger 
effect on their opinion of that system  
than all that had ever rendered them    
acquiescent or reverential toward it4   
,that it brings no relief1 or promise of
 relief1 is a circumstance              
preponderating in the estimate1 against 
all that can be said of its ancient     
establishment1 its theoretical          
excellences1 or the blessings in which  
it may be pretended to have once        
abounded1 or still to abound4 ,what were
 become of the most essential laws of   

human feeling1 if such experience could 
leave those who are undergoing its      
discipline still faithfully attached to 
the social order on the strength of its 
consecration by time1 and of the former 
settled opinions in its favor1--however 
tenacious the impressions so wrought    
into habit are admitted to be8 ,and the 
minds of the people thus thrown loose   
from their former ties1 are not arrested
 and recovered by any substitutional    
ones formed while those were decaying4  
,they are not retained in a temper of   
patient endurance and adherence1 by the 
bond of principles which a sedulous and 
deep instruction alone could have       
enforced on them4 ,the growth of sound  
judgment under such instruction1 might  
have made them capable of understanding 
how a proportion of the evil may have   
been inevitable1 from uncontrollable    
causes2 of perceiving that it could not 
fail to be aggravated by a disregard of 
prudence in the proceedings in early    
life among their own class1 and that so 

far it were unjust to impute it to their
 superiors or to the order of society2  
of admitting that national calamities   
are visitations of divine judgment1 of  
which they were to reflect whether they 
had not deserved a heavy share2 of      
feeling it to be therefore no           
impertinent or fanatical admonition that
 should exhort them to repentance and   
reformation1 as an expedient for the    
amendment of even their temporal        
condition2 and of clearly comprehending 
that1 at all events1 rancor1 violence1  
and disorder1 cannot be the way to      
alleviate any of the evils1 but to      
aggravate them all4 ,but1 we repeat it1 
there are millions in this land1 and if 
we include the neighboring island       
politically united to it1 very many     
millions1 who have received no          
instruction adequate1 in the smallest   
degree1 to counteract the natural effect
 of the distresses of their condition2  
or to create a class of moral restraints
 and mitigations in prevention of a     

total hostility of feeling against the  
established order1 after the ancient    
attachments to it have been worn down by
 the innovations of opinion1 and the    
pressure of continued distress4  ,thus  
uninstructed to apprehend the           
considerations adapted to impose a moral
 restraint1 thus unmodified by          
principles of mitigation1 there is a    
large proportion of human strength and  
feeling not in vital combination with   
the social system1 but aloof from it1   
looking at it with gloomy and malign    
regard2 in a state progressive towards a
 fitness to be impelled against it with 
a dreadful shock1 in the event of any   
great convulsion1 that should set loose 
the legion of daring1 desperate1 and    
powerful spirits1 to fire and lead the  
masses to its demolition4 ,there have   
not been wanting examples to show with  
what fearful effect this hostility may  
come into action1 in the crisis of the  
fate of a nation's ancient system2 where
 this alienated portion of its own      

people1 rushing in1 have revenged upon  
it the neglect of their tuition2 that   
neglect which had abandoned them to so  
utter a lack of knowledge1 that they    
really understood no better than to     
expect their own solid advantage in     
general havoc and disorder4 ,but how    
bereft of sense the ,state too must be1 
that would thus let a multitude of its  
people grow up in a condition of mind to
 believe1 that the sovereign expedient  
for their welfare is to be found in     
spoliation and destruction6 ,it might   
easily have comprehended what it was    
reasonable to expect from the matured   
dispositions and strength of such of its
 children as it abandoned to be nursed  
by the wolf4  ,while this principle of  
ruin was working on by a steady and     
natural process1 this supposed          
infatuated ,state was1 it is extremely  
possible1 directing its chief care to   
maintain the splendor of a court1 or to 
extort the means for prosecuting some   
object of vain and wicked ambition1 some

 project of conquest and military glory4
 ,and probably nothing could have       
appeared to many of its privileged      
persons more idle and ridiculous1 or to 
others of them more offensive and       
ill-intentioned1 than a remonstrance    
founded on a warning of such a          
consequence4 ,the despisers would have  
been incomparably the greater number2   
and1 ,go 7they would have said7 with    
your mock-tragical fortune-telling1 to  
whoever can believe1 too1 that one day  
or other the quadrupeds of our stalls   
and meadows may be suddenly inspirited  
by some supernatural possession to turn 
their strength on us in a mass1 or those
 of our kennels to imitate the dogs of  
,acton4     ,section ,,iv4    ,there may
 be persons ready to make a question    
here1 whether it be so certain that     
giving the people of the lower order    
more knowledge1 and sharpening their    
faculties1 will really tend to the      
preservation of good order4 ,would not  
such improvement elate them1 to a most  

extravagant estimate of their own worth 
and importance2 and therefore result in 
insufferable arrogance1 both in the     
individuals and the class8 ,would they  
not1 on the strength of it1 be          
continually assuming to sit in judgment 
on the proceedings and claims of their  
betters1 even in the most lofty         
stations2 and demanding their own       
pretended rights1 with a troublesome and
 turbulent pertinacity8 ,would they not1
 since their improvement cannot1 from   
their condition in life1 be large and   
deep1 be in just such a half taught     
state1 as would make them exactly fit to
 be wrought upon by all sorts of crafty 
schemers1 fierce declaimers1 empirics1  
and innovators8 ,is it not1 in short1   
too probable that1 since an increase of 
mental power is available to bad uses as
 well as good1 the results would greatly
 preponderate on the side of evil8  ,it 
would be curious to observe how         
objections so plausible1 so decisive in 
the esteem of those who admire them1    

would sound if expressed in other terms4
 ,let them be put in the form of such   
sentences and propositions as the       
following3--,though understanding is to 
be men's guide to right conduct1 the    
less of it they possess the more safe   
are we against their going wrong4 ,the  
duty of a human being has many branches2
 there are connected with all of them   
various general and special             
considerations1 to induce and regulate  
the performance2 it must be well for    
these to be defined with all possible   
clearness2 and it is also well for the  
great majority of men to be utterly     
incapable of apprehending them with any 
such definiteness4 ,it is desirable that
 the rule1 or set of rules1 by which the
 demeanor of the lower orders toward    
those above them is to be directed1     
should appear to them reasonable as well
 as distinctly defined2 but let us take 
the greatest care that their reason     
shall be in no state of fitness to      
perceive this rectitude of the rules4   

,it would be a noble thing to have a    
competent understanding of all that     
belongs to human interest and duty2 and 
therefore the next best thing is to be  
retained very nearly in ignorance of    
all4 ,it would be a vast advantage to   
proceed a hundred degrees on the scale  
of knowledge2 but the advantage is      
nowhere in the progress2 each of the    
degrees is in itself worth nothing2 nay1
 less than nothing2 for unless a man    
could attain all1 he had better stop at 
two or one1 than advance to four1 six1  
or ten4 ,truths support one another2 by 
the conjunction of several each is kept 
the clearer in the understanding1 the   
more efficient for its proper use1 and  
the more adequate to resist the pressure
 of the surrounding ignorance and       
delusion2 therefore let there be the    
greatest caution that we do not give to 
three truths in a man's understanding   
the aid of a fourth1 or four the aid of 
a fifth2 let the garrison be so         
diminutive that its successful          

resistance to the siege must be a       
miracle4----,the reader will be in      
little danger of excess in shaping into 
as many forms of absurdity as he pleases
 a notion which goes to the depreciation
 of the desire and use of truth1 of all 
that has been venerated as wisdom1 of   
the divine revelation of knowledge1 and 
of our rational nature itself4  ,if it  
be a rational nature that the lower     
ranks possess as well as the superior1  
one should have imagined it must be in  
the highest degree important that they1 
as well as their superiors1 should      
habitually make their duty and conduct a
 matter of thought1 of intelligent      
consideration1 instead of going through 
it mechanically1 or with little more    
than a brute accommodation of what they 
do to a customary and imposed manner of 
doing it2 but this thoughtful way of    
acting will never prevail among them1   
while they are unexercised in that      
thinking which 7generally speaking7 men 
will never acquire but in the exercise  

of gaining knowledge4 ,it were1 again1  
better1 one would think1 that they      
should be capable of seeing some reason 
and use in gradations and unequal       
distributions in the community1 than be 
left to regard it as all a matter of    
capricious or iniquitous fortune1 to    
their allotment under which there is no 
reason for submission but a bare        
necessity4 ,the improvement of          
understanding by which we are wishing to
 raise them in this humble allotment1   
without carrying them from the ground   
where it is placed1 will explain to them
 the best compensations of their        
condition1 will show them it is no      
essential degradation1 and point them to
 the true respectability which may be   
obtained in it4 ,and even if they should
 be a little too much elated with the   
supposed attainments1 7while the        
flattering possession is yet new1 and   
far from general in their class17 what  
taste would it be in their superiors not
 to deem this itself a far better thing 

than the contented1 or more probably    
insolent and malignant1 grossness of a  
stupid vulgarity8--as some little excess
 of self-complacency in appearing in a  
handsome dress is accounted much less   
disgusting than a careless self-exposure
 in filth and rags4  ,as to their being 
rendered liable by more knowledge to be 
caught by declaimers1 projectors1 and   
agitators1 we may confidently ask1      
whether it be the natural effect of more
 knowledge and understanding to be less 
suspicious of cajoling professions1 less
 discerning of what is practicable and  
impracticable1 and more credulous to    
extravagant doctrines1 and wild theories
 and schemes4 ,is it the well-instructed
 and intelligent poor man that believes 
the demagogue who may assert or         
insinuate that1 if things were ordered  
right1 all men might live in the        
greatest plenty8 ,or if we advert to    
those of the lower order whom a         
diminutive freehold or other            
qualification may entitle to vote for a 

member of parliament1 is it the         
well-instructed and intelligent man     
among them that is duped by the         
candidate's professions of kind         
solicitude for him and his family1      
accompanied with smiling equivocal hints
 that it may be of more advantage than  
he is aware for a man who has sons to   
provide for1 to have a friend who has   
access and interest in a certain high   
quarter8 ,nor is it among the best      
instructed and most thinking part of the
 subordinate class1 that we shall find  
persons capable of believing that a     
community might1 if those who govern it 
so pleased1 be rich and prosperous by   
other means than a general industry in  
ordinary employments4  ,if1 again1 it is
 apprehended that a great increase of   
intelligence among the people would     
destroy their deference and respectful  
deportment toward their superiors1 the  
ground of this apprehension should be   
honestly assigned4 ,if the claim to this
 respect be definable1 and capable of   

being enforced upon good reasons1 it is 
obvious that improved sense in the      
people will better appreciate them4     
,especially1 if the claim is to owe any 
part of its validity to higher mental   
qualifications in the claimants1 it will
 so far be incomparably better          
understood1 and if it be valid1 far more
 respected than it is now4 ,by having a 
measure of knowledge1 and of the power  
and practice of thinking1 the people    
would be enabled to form some notion of 
what it must be1 and what it is worth1  
to have a great deal more of these      
endowments4 ,they would observe and     
understand the indications of this      
ampler possession in the minds of those 
above them1 and so would be aware of the
 great disparity between themselves and 
those superiors4 ,and since they would  
value themselves on their comparatively 
small share of these mental advantages1 
7for this is the very point of the      
objection against their attaining them17
 they would be compelled to estimate by 

the same scale the persons dignified by 
so far surpassing a share of this       
admired wealth4 ,whereas an ignorant    
populace can understand nothing at all  
about the matter2 they have no guess at 
the great disparity1 nor impression of  
its importance2 so that with them the   
cultivated superiors quite lose the     
weight of this grand difference1 and can
 obtain none of the respect which they  
may deserve on account of it4 ,the      
objection against enlightening the lower
 classes appears so remarkably absurd as
 viewed in this direction1 that it might
 tempt us to suspect a motive not       
avowed4 ,it is just the sort of caveat  
to be uttered by persons aware that     
themselves1 or many of their class1     
might happen to betray to the sharpened 
inspection of a more intelligent people1
 that a higher ground in the allotments 
of fortune is no certain pledge for a   
superior rank of mind4 ,it were strange1
 very strange indeed1 if persons        
combining with superior station a great 

mental superiority1 should be content1  
while claiming the deference of the     
subordinate part of the community around
 them1 that this high distinction should
 go for nothing in that claim1 and that 
the required respect should be paid only
 in reverence of the number of their    
acres1 the size of their houses1 the    
elegance of their equipage and domestic 
arrangements1 and perhaps some official 
capacity1 in which many a notorious     
blockhead has strutted and blustered4   
,we think such considerations as the    
above1 opposed to the objection that any
 very material cultivation of the minds 
of the common people would destroy their
 industry in ordinary employments1 their
 contentment with their station1 and    
their respectful demeanor to their      
superiors2 and would render them        
arrogant1 disorderly1 factious1 liable  
to be caught by wild notions1 misled by 
declaimers and impostors1 and1 in short1
 all the worse for being able to        
understand their duty and interest the  

better1 ought to go far toward          
convicting that objection of great      
folly1--not to apply terms of stronger  
imputation4  ,but we need not have dwelt
 so long on such arguments1 since       
fortunately there is matter of fact in  
answer to the objection4 ,to the extent 
of the yet very limited experiment1 it  
is proved that giving the people more   
knowledge and more sense does not tend  
to disorder and insubordination2 does   
not excite them to impatience and       
extravagant claims2 does not spoil them 
for the ordinary business of life1 the  
tasks of duty and necessity2 does not   
make them the dupes of knaves2 nor teach
 them the most profitable use of their  
improved faculties is to turn knaves    
themselves4 ,employers can testify1 from
 all sides1 that there is a striking    
general difference between those bred up
 in ignorance and rude vulgarity1 and   
those who have been trained through the 
well-ordered schools for the humble     
classes1 especially when the habits at  

home have been subsidiary2 a difference 
exceedingly in favor of the latter1 who 
are found not only more apt at          
understanding and executing1 but more   
decorous1 more respectful1 more         
attentive to orders1 more ready to see  
and acknowledge the propriety of good   
regulations1 and more disposed to a     
practical acquiescence in them2 far less
 inclined to ebriety and low company2   
and more to be depended on in point of  
honesty4 ,in almost any part of the     
country1 where the experiment has been  
zealously prosecuted for a moderate     
number of years1 a long resident        
observer can discern a modification in  
the character of the neighborhood2 a    
mitigation of the former brutality of   
manners1 a less frequency of brawls and 
quarrels1 and less tendency to draw     
together into rude riotous assemblages4 
,there is especially a marked difference
 on the ,sabbath1 on which great numbers
 attend public worship1 whose           
forefathers used on that day to         

congregate for boisterous sport on the  
common1 or even within the inclosure    
vainly consecrated round the church2    
,footnote3 ,we know a church where1     
within1 the remembrance of an immediate 
ancestor1 it was not unusual1 or thought
 anything amiss1 for the foot-ball to be
 struck up within the consecrated ground
 at the close of the afternoon service  
of the ,sunday4 and who would themselves
 in all probability have followed the   
same course1 but for the tuition which  
has led them into a better4 ,in not a   
few instances1 the children have carried
 from the schools inestimable benefits  
home to their unhappy families2 winning 
even their depraved1 thoughtless parents
 into consideration and concern about   
their most important interests1--a      
precious repayment of all the long toils
 and cares1 endured to support them     
through the period of childhood1 and an 
example of that rare class of phenomena1
 in which 7as in the instance of the    
,grecian ,daughter7 a superlative beauty

 arises from an inversion of the order  
of nature4  ,even the frightful         
statements of the increase1 in recent   
years1 of active juvenile depravity1    
especially in the metropolis1 include a 
gratifying testimony in favor of        
education--at least did so some years   
since4 ,the result of special inquiries1
 of extensive compass1 into the wretched
 history of juvenile reprobates1 has    
fortified the promoters of schools with 
evidence that it was not from these     
seminaries that such noxious creatures  
were to go out1 to exemplify that the   
improvement of intelligence may be but  
the greater aptitude for fraud and      
mischief4 ,no1 it was found to have been
 in very different places of resort1    
that these wretches had been1 almost    
from their infancy1 accomplished for    
crime2 and that their training had not  
taken or needed any assistance from an  
exercise on literary rudiments1 from    
,bibles1 catechisms1 or religious and   
moral poetry1 or from an attendance on  

public worship4 ,indeed1 as if          
,providence had designed that the       
substantial utility should be           
accompanied with a special circumstance 
to confound the cavillers1 the children 
and youth of the schools were found to  
have been more generally preserved from 
falling into the class of premature     
delinquents1 than a moral calculator1   
keeping in sight the quality of human   
nature and the immediate pressure of so 
much temptation1 would have ventured to 
anticipate1 upon the moderate estimate  
of the efficacy of instruction4         
,experience equally falsifies the notion
 that knowledge1 imparted to the lower  
orders1 beyond what is necessary to the 
handling of their tools1 tends to       
factious turbulence2 to an impatience   
7from the instigation of certain wild   
theories17 under law and regular        
government in society4 ,the maintainers 
of which notion should also affirm1 that
 the people of ,scotland have been to   
this day about the most disaffected1    

tumultuary1 revolutionary rabble in     
,europe2 and that the ,cornish miners1  
now so worthily distinguished at once by
 exercised intellect and religion1 are  
incessantly on the point of             
insurrection1 against their employers or
 the state4 ,and we shall be just as    
ready to believe them1 if they also     
assert1 that1 in those popular          
irregularities which have too often     
disturbed1 in particular places1 the    
peace of our country1 the clamorous     
bands or crowds1 collected for purposes 
of intimidation or demolition1 have     
consisted chiefly of the better         
instructed part of the poorer           
inhabitants2--yes1 or that this class   
furnished one in twenty or fifty of the 
numbers forming such lawless bands2 even
 though many of these more instructed of
 the people might be suffering1 with    
their families1 the extremity of want1  
the craving of hunger1 which1 no less   
than oppression1 may make a wise man    
mad4 ,many of these1 in their desolate  

abodes1 with tears of parents and       
children mingled together1 have been    
committing themselves to their ,father  
in heaven1 at the time that the ruder   
part of the population have been        
carrying alarm1 and sometimes mischief1 
through the district1 and so confirming 
the faith1 we may suppose1 of sundry    
magnates of the neighborhood1 who had   
vehemently asserted1 a few years before1
 the pernicious tendency of educating   
the people4 ,footnote3 ,what proportion 
were found to have been educated1 in the
 very lowest sense of the term1 of the  
burners of ricks and barns in the       
south-eastern counties1 a few years     
since8 ,what proportion of the          
ferocious1 fanatical1 and sanguinary    
rout who1 the other day1 near the centre
 of the metropolitan see of ,canterbury1
 were brought into action by the madman 
,thom1 alias ,sir ,w4 ,courtenay2 stout1
 well-fed1 proud                        
,englishmen--,englishmen the glory of   
all lands1 who were capable of believing

 that madman a divine personage1 ,christ
 himself1 invulnerable1 till the fact   
happened otherwise1 and then were       
confident he would come to life again8  
,when will the ,government adopt some   
effectual means to avert from the nation
 the infamy of having such a populace in
 any part of the country1 and especially
 such a part of it8  ,it would be less  
than what is due to suffering humanity1 
to leave this topic without observing1  
that if a numerous division of the      
community should be sinking under       
severe1 protracted1 unmitigated         
distress1 distress on which there       
appears to them no dawn of hope from    
ordinary causes1 it is not to be held a 
disparagement to the value of education1
 if some of those who have enjoyed a    
measure of that advantage1 in common    
with a greater number who have not1     
should become feverishly agitated with  
imaginations of great sudden changes in 
the social system2 and be led to        
entertain suggestions of irregular      

violent expedients for the removal of   
insupportable evils4 ,it must1 in all   
reason1 be acknowledged the last lesson 
which education could be expected to    
teach with practical effect1 that one   
part of the community should be willing 
to resign themselves to a premature     
mortality1 that the others may live in  
sufficiency and tranquillity4 ,such     
heroic devotement might not be difficult
 in the sublime elation of ,thermopylae2
 but it is a very different matter in a 
melancholy cottage1 and in the midst of 
famishing children4 ,footnote3 ,this was
 almost the desperate condition of      
numberless families in this country at a
 period of which they1 or the survivors 
of them1 retain in memory an indelible  
record2 and we think it right to retain 
here also that record4 ,while thankful  
for all subsequent amendment1 we say    
again1 ,look at ,ireland4  ,after thus  
referring to matter of fact1 for        
contradiction of the notion1 that the   
mental cultivation of the lower classes 

might render them less subject to the   
rules of good order1 we have to say1 in 
further reply1 that we are not heard    
insisting on the advantages of increased
 knowledge and mental invigoration among
 the people1 unconnected with the       
inculcation of religion4  ,undoubtedly1 
the zealous friends of popular education
 account knowledge valuable absolutely1 
as being the apprehension of things as  
they are2 a prevention of delusion2 and 
so far a fitness for right volitions4   
,but they consider religion1 7besides   
being itself the primary and infinitely 
the most important part of knowledge17  
as a principle indispensable for        
securing the full benefit of all the    
rest4 ,it is desired1 and endeavored1   
that the understandings of these opening
 minds may be taken possession of by    
just and solemn ideas of their relation 
to the ,eternal ,almighty ,being2 that  
they may be taught to apprehend it as an
 awful reality1 that they are           
perpetually under his inspection2 and as

 a certainty1 that they must at length  
appear before him in judgment1 and find1
 in another life1 the consequences of   
what they are in spirit and conduct     
here4 ,it is to be impressed on them1   
that his will is the supreme law2 that  
his declarations are the most momentous 
truth known on earth2 and his favor and 
condemnation the greatest good and evil4
 ,under an ascendency of this divine    
wisdom it is1 that their discipline in  
any other knowledge is designed to be   
conducted2 so that nothing in the mode  
of their instruction may have a tendency
 contrary to it1 and everything be      
taught in a manner recognizing the      
relation with it1 as far as shall       
consist with a natural1 unforced way of 
keeping this relation in view4 ,thus it 
is sought to be secured that1 as the    
pupil's mind grows stronger and         
multiplies its resources1 and he        
therefore has necessarily more power and
 means for what is wrong1 there may be  
luminously presented to him1 as if      

celestial eyes visibly beamed upon him1 
the most solemn ideas that can enforce  
what is right4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,such is the      
discipline meditated1 for preparing the 
subordinate classes to pursue their     
individual welfare1 and act their part  
as members of the community4--,they are 
to be trained in early life to diligent 
employment of their faculties1 tending  
to strengthen them1 regulate them1 and  
give their possessors the power of      
effectually using them4 ,they are to be 
exercised to form clear1 correct        
notions1 instead of crude1 vague1       
delusive ones4 ,the subjects of these   
ideas will be1 a very considerable      
number of the most important facts and  
principles2 which are to be presented to
 their understandings with a patient    
repetition of efforts to fix them there 
as knowledge that cannot be forgotten4  
,by this measure of actual acquirement1 
and by the habit formed in so acquiring1
 they will be qualified for making      

further attainment in future time1 if   
disposed to improve their opportunities4
 ,during this progress1 and in          
connection with many of its exercises1  
their duty is to be inculcated on them  
in the various forms in which they will 
have to make a choice between right and 
wrong1 in their conduct toward society4 
,there will be reiteration of lessons on
 justice1 prudence1 inoffensiveness1    
love of peace1 estrangement from the    
counsels and leagues of vain and bad    
men2 hatred of disorder and violence1 a 
sense of the necessity of authoritative 
public institutions to prevent these    
evils1 and respect for them while       
honestly administered to this end4 ,all 
this is to be taught1 in many instances 
directly1 in others by reference for    
confirmation1 from the ,holy            
,scriptures1 from which authority will  
also be impressed1 all the while1 the   
principles of religion4 ,and religion1  
while its grand concern is with the     
state of the soul towards ,god and      

eternal interests1 yet takes every      
principle and rule of morals under its  
peremptory sanction2 making the primary 
obligation and responsibility be towards
 ,god1 of everything that is a duty with
 respect to men4 ,so that1 with the     
subjects of this education1 the sense of
 propriety shall be conscience2 the     
consideration of how they ought to be   
regulated in their conduct as a part of 
the community1 shall be the recollection
 that their ,master in heaven dictates  
the laws of that conduct1 and will      
judicially hold them amenable for every 
part of it4  ,and is not a discipline   
thus addressed to the purpose of fixing 
religious principles in ascendency1 as  
far as that difficult object is within  
the power of discipline1 and of infusing
 a salutary tincture of them into       
whatever else is taught1 the right way  
to bring up citizens faithful to all    
that deserves fidelity in the social    
compact8  ,but perhaps far less of      
sacred knowledge than all this pleading 

admits and assumes to be indispensable  
to them1 will answer the end4 ,for it is
 but a slender quantity of it that is1  
in effect1 proposed to be imparted to   
them by those who would give them very  
little other knowledge4 ,they will talk 
of giving the people an education       
specifically religious2 a training to   
conduct them on through a close avenue1 
looking straight before them to descry  
distant spiritual objects1 while shut   
out from all the scene right and left1  
by fences that tell them there is       
nothing that concerns them there4 ,there
 may be rich and beautiful fields of    
knowledge1 but they are not to be       
trampled by vulgar feet4  ,now1 may we  
presume that by knowledge1 or           
information1 is meant a clear           
understanding of a subject8 ,if so1 it  
is but little religious information that
 can be imparted while that of a more   
general nature is withheld4 ,the case is
 so1 partly because1 in order to a clear
 conception of the principal things in  

the doctrine of religion1 the mind wants
 facts1 principles1 associations of     
ideas1 and modes of applying its        
thoughts1 which are to be acquired from 
the consideration of various other      
subjects2 and partly because1 even      
though it did not1 and though it were   
practicable to understand religious     
truths clearly without the subsidiary   
ideas1 and the disciplined mental habit 
acquired in attention to other subjects1
 it is flatly contrary to the radical   
disposition of human nature that        
youthful spirits should yield themselves
 to a bare exclusively religious        
discipline4 ,it were supposing a        
reversal of the natural taste and       
tendency1 to expect them to apply their 
attention so patiently1 so willingly1 so
 long1 and with such interest1 to this  
one subject1 as to be brought to an     
intelligent apprehension through the    
almost sole exercise of thinking on     
this4 ,by thinking on this6--which is   
the subject on which they are by their  

very nature the least of all inclined to
 think2 the subject on which it is the  
most difficult as well as the most      
important point in education to induce  
them to think2 the subject which1 while 
it is essential to give it the          
ascendency in the instruction of both   
the lower classes and all others1 it    
requires so much care and address to    
present in an attractive light2 and     
which it is so desirable to combine with
 other subjects naturally more engaging1
 in order to bring it oftener by such   
associations into the thoughts1 in that 
secondary manner1 which causes somewhat 
less of recoil4  ,it is curious to see  
what some persons can believe1 or affect
 to believe1 when reduced to a dilemma4 
,on the one hand1 they cannot endure the
 idea of any considerable raising of the
 common people by mental improvement1 in
 the general sense3 that were ruin to   
social order4 ,but then on the other1 if
 it must not be plainly denied1 that the
 said common people are of the very same

 rational nature as the most elevated   
divisions of the race2 and that their   
essential worth must be in this         
spiritual thinking being1 which worth is
 lost to them1 if that being is sunk and
 degraded in gross ignorance1 it follows
 that some kind of cultivation is       
required4 ,well then2 we must give them 
some religious knowledge1 unaccompanied 
by such other knowledge as would much   
more attractively invite them to        
exercise their minds1 and it will be    
practicable and easy enough to engage   
their habitual attention to that very   
subject1 almost exclusively1 to which   
the natural taste of the species is     
peculiarly averse4  ,in exposing the    
absurdity of any scheme of education for
 the inferior classes1 which should     
propose to make them intelligent about  
religion while intelligent about nothing
 else except their ordinary employments1
 we do not forget the instances now and 
then met with of pious poor men who1    
while very uncultivated in the general  

sense1 evince a remarkable clearness of 
conception on religious topics1 and in  
the application of these topics to their
 duties as men and citizens4 ,but       
remarkable we involuntarily call these  
phenomena1 whenever adverting to them4  
,we naturally use some expression       
importing a degree of wonder at such a  
fact4 ,we think it a striking           
illustration of the power of religion   
itself1 and not of the power of         
religious instruction4 ,the extreme     
force with which the vital spirit has   
seized and actuated his faculties1 has  
in a measure remedied the incapacity he 
had otherwise been under of forming     
clear ideas of the subject4 ,even1      
however1 while acknowledging and        
admiring this effect of a special       
influence from heaven1 we still find    
ourselves involuntarily surmising1 in   
such an instance1 that the man must also
 have been superior in natural capacity 
to the generality of ignorant persons2  
so much out of the common course of     

things we account it for a man who knows
 so few things to know this one thing so
 well4 ,we account it so from the       
settled conviction received through     
experience1 that it is very unlikely a  
man ignorant of almost all other things 
should well understand one subject1 of a
 nature quite foreign to that of his    
ordinary occupations4  ,it is           
superfluous to observe1 that such       
instances of a very considerable        
comprehension of religious truth1       
obtained in spite of what naturally     
makes so much against its being         
attainable1 cannot affect the           
calculation when we are devising schemes
 which can only work according to       
natural laws and with ordinary powers4  
,they who devise and apply them will    
rejoice at these evidences that there is
 an ,agent who can open men's minds to  
the light of religion independently and 
in the absence of other intellectual    
advantages4 ,but the question being how 
to bring the people1 by the ordinary    

means of education1 to a competent      
knowledge of religious truth1 we have to
 consider what way of attempting to     
impart that knowledge may be the best   
fitted1 at once to obviate the natural  
indisposition to the subject1 and to    
provide that when it does obtain a place
 in their understanding1 it shall not be
 a meagre1 diminutive1 insulated        
occupant there1 but in its proper       
dimensions and relations4 ,and if1 in   
attentively studying this1 there be any 
who come to ascertain1 that the right   
expedient is a bare inculcation of      
religious instruction1 disconnected1 on 
system1 from the illustrative aid of    
other knowledge1 divested of the        
modification and attraction of          
associated ideas derived from subjects  
less uncongenial with the natural       
feelings1--they really may take the     
satisfaction of having ascertained one  
thing more1 namely1 that human nature   
has become at last so mightily changed1 
that it may be left to work itself right

 very soon1 as to the affair of         
religion1 with little further trouble of
 theirs4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,the special view in which 
we were pleading1 on behalf of popular  
education1 that religious instruction   
would form a material part of it1 was1  
that this essential ingredient would be 
a security against its being injurious  
to the good order and subordination in  
society4 ,it is the more necessary to be
 particular on this1 as some of those   
who have professed to lay much stress on
 the religious instruction of the people
 have seemed to have little further     
notion of the necessity or use of       
religion to the lower classes1 than as  
merely a preserver of good order4 ,in   
this character it has been insisted on  
by persons who avowed their aversion to 
every idea of an education in a more    
enlarged sense4 ,we have heard it so    
insisted on1 no such long while past1 by
 members of the most learned            
institutions1 at the same moment that   

they expressed more than a doubt of the 
prudence of enabling the common people  
to read1 literally to read1 the ,bible4 
,but assuredly the good order of a      
populace left in the stupid general     
ignorance to which some of these good   
friends of theirs would have doomed     
them1 cannot be preserved by any such   
feeble infusion of religious knowledge  
as these same good friends would instil 
into their mental grossness4 ,as long as
 they are in this condition1 there must 
be some far stronger power acting on    
them to preserve that good order4 ,and  
if there actually has been such a power1
 hitherto competent to preserve it1 with
 only such an impotent scantling of     
religious knowledge in the majority of  
the mass1 and competent still to        
preserve it1 a great deal of            
hypocritical canting might have been    
spared1 on the part of those whose chief
 or only argument for teaching the      
people religion is the maintenance of   
that good order4  ,but all this while we

 are forgetting to inquire how much is  
to be understood as included in that    
good order1 that deference and          
subordination1 which the possession of  
more mind and knowledge by the people   
might disturb or destroy4 ,may not the  
notion of it1 as entertained by some    
persons1 be rather an image of the      
polity of an age long past1 or of that  
which remains unaltered as if it were a 
part of eternal nature in the dominions 
of the ,east1 than a model for the      
conformation of society here in the     
present times8 ,is it required1 that    
there should be a sentiment of          
obsequiousness in the people1 affecting 
them in a manner like the instinct by   
which a lower order of animals is in awe
 of a higher1 by which the common tribe 
of beasts would cower at the sight of   
lions8 ,or1 is the deference expected to
 be paid1 not on any understanding of   
reciprocal advantage1 but absolutely and
 unconditionally1 as to a claim founded 
in abstract or divine right8 ,is it to  

be held a criminal presumption in the   
people1 to think of examining their     
relations to the community any further  
than the obligation of being industrious
 in the employments to which it assigns 
them1 and dutiful to its higher orders8 
,are they to entertain no question      
respecting the right adjustment of their
 condition in the arrangements of the   
great social body8 ,are they forbidden  
ever to admit a single doubt of its     
being quite a matter of course1 that    
everything which could be done for the  
interests of their class1 consistently  
with the welfare of the whole1 is done2 
or1 therefore1 to pretend to any such   
right as that of examining1             
representing1 complaining1              
remonstrating1 or an ultimate recourse1 
perhaps1 in a severe necessity1 to      
stronger expedients8  ,a subordination  
founded in such principles1 and required
 to such a degree1 it is true enough    
that the communication of knowledge is  
not the way to perpetuate4 ,for the     

first use which men will infallibly make
 of an enlargement of their faculties   
and ideas1 will be1 to take a larger    
view of their interests2 and they may   
happen1 as soon as they do so1 to think 
they discover that it was quite time2   
and the longer they do so1 to retain    
still less and less of implicit faith   
that those interests will be done       
justice to1 without their own vigilance 
and intervention4 ,an educated people   
must be very slow indeed in the         
application of what they learn1 if they 
do not soon grow out of all belief in   
the necessary wisdom and rectitude of   
any order of human creatures whatever4  
,they will see how unreasonable it were 
to expect1 that any sort of men will    
fail in fidelity to the great natural   
principle1 of making their own advantage
 the first object2 and therefore they   
will not be apt to listen1 with the     
gravity which in other times and regions
 may have been shown in listening1 to   
injunctions of gratitude for the        

willingness evinced by the higher orders
 to take on them the trouble of watching
 and guarding the people's welfare1 by  
keeping them in due submission4  ,but   
neither will it necessarily be in the   
spirit of hostility1 in the worst sense 
of the word1 that a more instructed     
people will thus show a diminished      
credulity of reverence toward the       
predominant ranks in the social economy2
 and will keep in habitual exercise upon
 them a somewhat suspicious observation1
 and a judicial estimate2 with an honest
 freedom in sometimes avowing           
disapprobation1 and strongly asserting  
any right which is believed to be       
endangered or withheld4 ,this will only 
be expressing that1 since all classes   
naturally consult by preference their   
own interests1 it is plainly unfit1 that
 one portion of the community should be 
trusted with an unlimited discretion in 
ordering what affects the welfare of the
 others2 and that1 in all prudence1 the 
people must refuse an entire affiance1  

and unconditional1 unexamining          
acquiescence2 except the gods1 whose    
dwelling is not with flesh1 would come  
to harmonize1 and then administer1      
interests which are so placed           
unappeasably at strife2--at strife2 for1
 what is so often asserted of those     
interests being in reality the same1 is 
true only on that comprehensive theory  
which neither party is prompt to        
understand1 or willing to make          
sacrifices of a more immediate          
self-interest to realize2 and it is     
evidently impossible for either1 even if
 believing it true1 to concede to the   
other the exclusive adjustment of the   
practical mode of identification4  ,but 
only let the utmost that is possible be 
done1 to train the people1 from their   
early years1 to a sound use of their    
reason1 under a discipline for imparting
 a valuable portion of knowledge1 and   
assiduously inculcating the principles  
of social duty and of religion2 and then
 something may be said1 to good purpose1

 to their understanding and conscience1 
while they are maintaining the          
competition of claims with their        
superiors4 ,they will then be capable of
 seeing put in a fair balance1 many     
things which headlong ignorance would   
have taken all one way4 ,they will be   
able to appreciate many explanations1   
alleged causes of delay1 statements of  
difficulty between opposing reasons1    
which would be thrown away on an        
ignorant populace4 ,and it would be an  
inducement to their making a real       
exertion of the understanding1 that they
 thus found themselves so formally put  
upon their responsibility for its       
exercise2 that they were summoned to a  
rational discussion1 instead of being   
addressed in the style of ,pharaoh to   
the ,israelites4 ,the strife of         
interests would thus come to be carried 
on with less fierceness and malice1 in  
the spirit and manner1 on the part of   
the people4 ,and the ground itself of   
the contention1 the substance of the    

matters in contest1 would be gradually  
diminished1 by the concessions of the   
higher classes to the claims of the     
lower2 for there is no affecting to     
dissemble1 that a great mental and moral
 improvement of the people would        
necessitate1 though there were not a    
single movement of rude force in the    
case1 important concessions to them1 on 
the part of the superior orders4 ,a     
people advanced to such a state1 would  
make its moral power felt in a thousand 
ways1 and every moment4 ,this general   
augmentation of sense and right         
principle would send forth1 against all 
arrangements and inveterate or more     
modern usages1 of the nature of         
invidious exclusion1 arbitrary          
repression1 and the debasement of great 
public interests into a detestable      
private traffic1 an energy1 which could 
no more be resisted than the power of   
the sun1 when he advances in the spring 
to annihilate the relics and vestiges of
 the winter4 ,this plastic influence    

would modify the institutions of the    
national community1 to a state better   
adapted to secure all the popular       
rights2 and to convey the genuine1      
collective opinion1 to bear directly on 
the counsel and transaction of national 
concerns4 ,that opinion would be so     
unequivocally manifested1 as to leave no
 pretence for a doubtful interpretation 
of its signs2 and with such authority as
 to preclude any question whether to set
 it at defiance4  ,that such effects    
would be inseparable from a great       
general advancement of the people in    
knowledge and corrected character1 must 
be freely acknowledged to its           
disapproves4 ,and is it because these   
would be the consequences1 that they    
disapprove it8 ,then let them say1 what 
it is that they would expect from an    
opposite system4 ,what is it1 that they 
could seriously promise themselves1 from
 the conservative virtue of all the     
ignorance1 that can henceforward be     
retained among the people of this part  

of the world8 ,it is true1 the remaining
 ignorance is so great that they cannot 
well overrate its general amount2 but   
how can they fail to perceive the       
importance of those particulars in which
 its dominion has been broken up8 ,there
 is indeed a hemisphere of gross        
darkness over the people2 it may be     
possible to withhold from it long the   
illumination of the sun2 but in the mean
 time it has been rent by portentous    
lights and flashes1 which have excited a
 thought and agitation not to be stilled
 by the continuance of the gloom4 ,there
 have come in on the popular mind some  
ideas1 which the wisest of those who    
dread or hate their effect there1 look  
around in vain for the means of         
expelling4 ,and these glimpses of       
partial intelligence1 these lights of   
dubious and possibly destructive        
direction amidst the night1 will        
continue to prompt and lead that mind1  
with a hazard which can sease only with 
the opening upon it of the true daylight

 of knowledge4 ,that knowledge should   
have been antecedent to the falling of  
these inflammatory ideal among the      
people2 and if they have come before the
 proper time1 that is to say1 before the
 people were prepared to judge          
rationally of their rights1 and to      
apprehend clearly the duties inseparable
 from them as a condition of their      
enjoyment1 the calamitous consequences  
to the higher classes1 as seen in the   
recent history of ,europe1 may be       
regarded as a righteous judgment of     
heaven upon them1 for having suffered it
 to be possible for these new ideas of  
liberty and rights to come to the people
 in a state so unprepared4 ,what were   
all their commanding authorities of     
government1 their splendid              
ecclesiastical establishments1 their    
great personal wealth and               
influence1--all their lofty powers and  
distinctions which even their basest    
sycophants1 sacerdotal or poetical1 told
 them1 as one topic of adulation1 that  

they were not entrusted with for their  
own sole gratification1--what were all  
these for1 if the great body of the     
communities over which they presided    
were to be retained in a state in which 
they could not be touched by a few bold 
speculations in favor of popular rights1
 without exploding as with infernal     
fire8 ,how appropriate a retribution of 
,sovereign ,justice1 that those who were
 wickedly the cause should be the       
victims of the effect4  ,where such a   
consequence has not followed1 but where1
 nevertheless1 these notions of popular 
rights have come into the minds of the  
people very much in precedence and      
disproportion to the general cultivation
 of their intelligence and moral sense1 
it is most important that all diligence 
should be given to bring up these       
neglected improvements to stand in rank 
with those too forward speculations4    
,whether this shall be done or not1     
these notions and feelings are not      
things come into life without an        

instinct of what they have to do4 ,the  
disapproves of schemes for throwing the 
greatest practicable measure of sound   
corrective knowledge into the minds of  
the multitude1 may take instruction or  
may decline it from seeing that1 both in
 this country and other states of       
,europe1 there has gone forth among the 
mass of the people a spirit of revolt   
from the obligation1 which would retain 
their reverence to institutions on the  
strength simply of their being          
established or being ancient2 a spirit  
that reacts1 with deep and settled      
antipathy1 against some of the          
arrangements and claims of the order    
into which the national community has   
been disposed by institutions and the   
course of events2 a spirit which regards
 some of the appointments and           
requirements of that order1 as little   
better than adaptations of the system to
 the will and gratification of the more 
fortunate divisions of the species4 ,and
 it has shown itself in a very different

 character from that of a mere pining   
despondency1 or the impotent resentment 
excited sometimes in timidity itself by 
severe grievance1 but quelled by alarm  
at its own rashness4 ,the element and   
the temperament of its nature1 and the  
force of its action1 have been displayed
 in the tremendous concussions attending
 its conflict with the power arrayed in 
behalf of the old order of things to    
crush it4 ,and is this spirit crushed8  
,is it subdued8 ,is it in the least     
degree reduced8--reduced1 we mean1 in   
its internal power1 as a combination of 
the most absolute opinion with the      
impulse of some of the strongest        
passions4  ,is it1 we repeat1 repressed8
 ,there may have been persons who could 
not1 good easy men1 conceive a          
possibility of its surviving the fiery  
storm of the whole resources of the     
world converted into the materials of   
war1 to be poured on it1 and followed by
 the mightiest leagues and the most     
systematic legislation1 all aimed at its

 destruction2 surviving to come forth   
with unabated vigor at the opportune    
junctures in the future progress of     
events2 like some great serpent1 coming 
out again to glare on the sight1 with   
his appalling glance and length of      
volume1 after a volley of missiles had  
sent him to his retreat4 ,the old       
approved expedients against unreasonable
 discontents1 and refractory tempers1   
and local movements of hostility excited
 by some worthless competitor for power1
 had been combined and applied on the   
grand scale2 and henceforward all was to
 be still4 ,it was not given to these   
spell-bound understandings to apprehend 
that the spirit to be repressed might be
 of a nature impassive to these         
expedients1 possibly to be confirmed by 
their application4 ,repressed6 ,what is 
it that is manifesting itself in the    
most remarkable events in the old1 and  
what has been called the new world1 at  
the present time8 ,and what are the     
measures of several of the great state  

authorities of ,europe1 whether adopted 
in deliberate policy1 or in a fitful    
mood between rashness and dismay2 what  
are1 especially1 the meetings1          
conferences1 and military preparations1 
of the mightiest despots of the globe1  
assembled at this very hour against a   
small and unoffending nation1 ,footnote3
 ,the meeting of imperial and royal     
personages at ,troppau and ,laybach1 for
 the detestable purpose of crushing the 
newly acquired liberty of the kingdom of
 ,naples4--,january1 #ahba4--what are   
these but a confession or proclamation1 
that the spirit which the most enormous 
exertions had been made to overwhelm1   
has preserved its life and energy2 like 
those warring immortal powers whom      
,milton describes as having mountains   
thrown on them in vain8 ,the progress of
 time renders it but more evident1 that 
the principle in action is something far
 different from a superficial transient 
irritation2 that it has gone the whole  
depth of the mind2 has possessed itself 

of the very judgment and conscience of  
an innumerable legion1 augmented by a   
continual and endless accession4 ,no    
doubt is permitted to remain of the     
direction which has been taken by the   
current of the popular feeling1--to be  
recovered to its ancient obsequious     
course when some great river which has  
farced a new channel shall resume that  
which it has abandoned4 ,for when once  
the great mass1 of the lower and        
immensely larger division of the        
community1 shall have become filled with
 an absolute1 and almost unanimous      
conviction1 that they1 the grand        
physical agency of that community2 that 
they1 the operators1 the producers1 the 
preparers1 of almost all it most        
essentially wants2 that they1 the part1 
therefore1 of the social assemblage so  
obviously the most essential to its     
existence1 and on which all the rest    
must depend2 that they have their       
condition in the great social           
arrangement so disposed as not to       

acknowledge this their importance1 as   
not to secure an adequate reward of     
these their services2--we say1 when this
 shall have become the pervading intense
 conviction of the millions of ,europe1 
we put it as a question to any rational 
thinker1 whether and how this state of  
feeling can be reversed or neutralized1 
if the economy which has provoked it    
shall yield to no modification4 ,but it 
is no question1 he will confess4 ,then  
will he pretend not to foresee any      
material change in an order of things   
obnoxious to so vast a combination of   
wills and agents8 ,this may indeed be   
seriously avowed by some1 who are so    
walled up in old prejudice and          
presumption that they really have no    
look out2 who1 because a thing has been 
long established1 mistake its artificial
 substruction of crumbling materials for
 the natural rock2 and it will be       
pretended by others1 who think the      
bravado of asserting the impossibility  
of the overthrow may be a good policy   

for deterring the attempt4 ,there has   
not been one of the great alterations   
effected by the popular spirit within   
the last half-century1 that was not     
preceded by professions of contemptuous 
incredulity1 on the part of the         
applauders of things as they were1      
toward those who calculated on the      
effects of that spirit4 ,there were     
occasionally betrayed1 under these shows
 of confidence and contempt1 some signs 
of horror at the undeniable excitement  
and progress of popular feeling2 but the
 scorn of all serious and monitory      
predictions of its ultimate result was  
at all events to be kept up1--in        
whatever proportions a time-serving     
interest and an honest fatuity might    
share in dictating this elated and      
contemptuous style4 ,should the latter  
of these ingredients at present         
predominate in the temper which throws  
off the fume of this high style1 it will
 not leave much faculty in the defiers  
of all revolution1 for explaining what  

it is they have to trust to as security 
against such consequences as we should  
anticipate from the progress of         
disapprobation and aversion in the      
people2 unless indeed the security      
mainly relied on is just that plain1    
simple expedient--force1 for all nations
 on earth--downright force4 ,it is      
plainly this that is meant1 when persons
 disinclined to speak out give us a     
circumlocution of delicate phrases1 the 
conservative energies of the public     
institutions1 the majesty of the law1   
perhaps1 and others of similar          
cast2--which fine phrases suggest to    
one's imagination the ornamented fashion
 of the handle and sheath of the        
scimitar1 which is not the less keen1   
nor the less ready to be drawn1 for all 
this finery that hides and garnishes so 
menacing a symbol of power4  ,the       
economy of states shall not be modified 
in favor of the great body of those who 
constitute them4--,and are1 then1 the   
higher and privileged portions of the   

national communities to have1           
henceforward1 just this one grand object
 of their existence1 this chief         
employment for their knowledge1 means1  
and power1 namely1 to keep down the     
lower orders of their fellow-citizens by
 stress of coercion8 ,are they resolved 
and prepared for a rancorous1           
interminable hostility in prosecution of
 such a benign purpose2 with a continual
 exhaustion upon it of the resources    
which might be applied to diminish that 
wretchedness of the people1 which is the
 grand inflamer of those principles that
 have caused an earthquake under the    
foundations of the old social systems8  
,but1 interminable is no proper epithet 
to be applied to such a course4 ,this   
policy of a bare uncompromising rigor1  
exerted to keep the people just where   
they are1 in preference to adjustments  
formed on a calculation of a material   
change1 and adapted to prepare them for 
it--how long could it be successful--not
 to ask what would be the value or the  

glory of that success8 ,with the light  
of recent history to aid the            
prognostication1 by what superstitious  
mode of estimating the self-preserving1 
and self-avenging competence of any     
artificial form of social order1 can we 
believe in its power to throw back the  
general opinions1 determinations1 and   
efforts1 of the mass of mankind in      
endless recoil on themselves8 ,that must
 be a very firm structure1 must be of   
gigantic mass or most excellent basis   
and conformation1 against which the     
ocean shall unremittingly wear and foam 
in vain4 ,and it does not appear what   
there can be of such impregnable        
consistence in any particular           
construction of the social economy which
 is1 by the supposition1 resolved to be 
maintained in sovereign immutability1 in
 permanent frustration of the           
persevering1 ever-growing aim and       
impulse of the great majority1 pressing 
on to achieve important innovations in  
their favor2 innovations in those       

systems of institution and usage1 under 
which they will never cease to think    
they have had far less happiness1 or    
means of happiness1 than they ought to  
have had4 ,we cannot see how this       
impulse can be so repelled or diverted  
that it shall not prevail at length1 to 
the effect of either bearing down1 or   
wearing away1 a portion of the order of 
things which the ascendant classes in   
every part of ,europe would have fondly 
wished to maintain in perpetuity1       
without one particle of surrender4  ,but
 though they cannot preserve its        
entireness1 the manner in which it shall
 yield to modification is in a great    
measure at their command4 ,and here is  
the important point on which all these  
observations are meant to bear4 ,if a   
movement has really begun in the general
 popular mind of the nations1 and if the
 principle of it is growing and         
insuppressible1 so that it must in one  
manner or another ultimately prevail1   
what will the state be of any national  

community where it shall be an          
unenlightened1 half-barbarous people    
that so prevails8--a people no better   
informed1 perhaps1 than to believe that 
all the hardship and distress endured by
 themselves and their forefathers were  
wrongs1 which they suffered from the    
higher orders2 than to ascribe to bad   
government1 and the rapacity and        
selfishness of the rich1 the very evils 
caused by inclement seasons2 and than to
 assume it as beyond question1 that the 
whole accumulation of their resentments1
 brought out into action at last1 is    
only justice demanding and inflicting a 
retribution4  ,in such an event1 what   
would not the superior orders be glad to
 give and forego1 in compromise with    
principles1 tempers1 and demands1 which 
they will know they should never have   
had to encounter1 to the end of time1   
if1 instead of spending their vast      
advantages on merely their own state and
 indulgence1 they had applied them in a 
mode of operation and influence tending 

to improve1 in every way1 the situation 
and character of the people8 ,it is     
true1 that such a wild triumph of       
overpowering violence would necessarily 
be short4 ,a blind1 turbulent monster of
 popular power never can for a long time
 maintain the domination of a political 
community4 ,it would rage and riot      
itself out of breath and strength1      
succumb under some strong coercion of   
its own creating1 and lie subject and   
stupified1 till its spirit should be    
recovered and incensed for new          
commotion4 ,but this impossibility of a 
very prolonged reign of confusion1 would
 be little consolation for the classes  
against whose privileged condition the  
first tremendous eruption should have   
driven4 ,it would not much cheer a man  
who should see his abode carried away1  
and his fields and plantations          
devastated1 to tell him that the agent  
of this ruin was only a transient       
mountain torrent4 ,a short prevalence of
 the overturning force would have       

sufficed for the subversion of the      
proudest1 longest established state of  
privilege2 and most improbable would it 
be1 that those who lost it in the       
tumult1 would find the new authority1 of
 whatever shape or name it were1 that   
would arise as that tumult subsided1    
either able or disposed to restore it4  
,they might perhaps1 7on a favorable    
supposition17 survive in personal       
safety1 but in humiliated fortunes1 to  
ruminate on their manner of occupying   
their former elevated situation1 and of 
employing its ample means of power1 a   
due share of which1 exerted for the     
improvement of the general condition1   
both intellectual and civil1 with an    
accompanying liberal yet gradual        
concession of privileges to the people1 
would have prevented the catastrophe4   
,let us urge1 then1 that a zealous      
endeavor to render it absolutely        
impossible that1 in any change whatever1
 the destinies of a nation should fall  
under the power of an ignorant          

infuriated multitude1 may take place of 
the presumption that there is no great  
change to be ever effected by the       
progressive and conscious importance of 
the people2 a presumption than which    
nothing can appear more like            
infatuation1 when we look at the recent 
scenes and present temperament of the   
moral world4 ,lay hold on the myriads of
 juvenile spirits1 before they have time
 to grow up through ignorance into a    
reckless hostility to social order2     
train them to sense and good morals3    
inculcate the principles of religion1   
simply and solemnly as religion1 as a   
thing directly of divine dictation1 and 
not as if its authority were chiefly in 
virtue of human institutions2 let the   
higher orders generally make it evident 
to the multitude that they are desirous 
to raise them in value1 and promote     
their happiness2 and then whatever the  
demands of the people as a body1 thus   
improving in understanding and the sense
 of justice1 shall come to be1 and      

whatever modification their             
preponderance may ultimately enforce on 
the great social arrangements1 it will  
be infallibly certain that there never  
can be a love of disorder1 an insolent  
anarchy1 a prevailing spirit of revenge 
and devastation4 ,such a conduct of the 
ascendant ranks would1 in this nation at
 least1 secure that1 as long as the     
world lasts1 there never would be any   
formidable commotion1 or violent sudden 
changes4 ,all those modifications of the
 national economy to which an improving 
people would aspire and would deserve to
 obtain1 would be gradually             
accomplished1 in a manner by which no   
party would be wronged1 and all would be
 the happier4  ,footnote3 ,the          
considerations in the latter part of    
this section 7so plainly on the surface 
of the subject that they would occur to 
any thoughtful and observant man7 have  
been verified in part by the course of  
events in our country1 since the time   
they were written4 ,at that1 time the   

superior1 and till then irresistibly and
 invariably predominant1 portion of the 
community1 felt themselves in perfect   
security against any comprehensive and  
radical change within the ensuing twelve
 or fourteen years4 ,there might indeed 
be one or two subordinate matters in the
 established national system in which   
they might deem it not unlikely that the
 advocates and laborers for innovation  
would be successful2 but such an amount 
of innovation did not come within the   
view of even a feverish dream4 ,any man 
who should have predicted1 especially1  
the recent greatest achievement against 
the inveterate system1 ,footnote3 ,the  
,reform ,bill4 would have been laughed  
at as an incorrigible visionary2 so     
proudly confident were they that the    
structure would be kept compact and     
impregnable in all its essential parts1 
by the cement of ancient institution1   
national veneration1 opulence1 and the  
inherence of actual power1 possessed    
from generation to generation4  ,in the 

next place1 they were obstinately       
resolute against all material           
concessions4 ,when at intervals the     
complaints1 claims1 and remonstrances of
 the people sought to be heard1 they    
treated them as unreasonable1 absurd1   
factious2 and asserted that none of the 
good sense and right feeling of the     
nation went that way4 ,they declared    
that the existing order of things was on
 the whole so superlatively excellent   
that1 if there were1 perhaps1 any       
trifling defects1 it were far better to 
let them alone than to presume to touch 
with an innovating hand the integrity of
 so noble a system1 the admiration and  
envy of all the world4 ,as it was1 it   
had worked well for our happiness and   
glory2 and who could say1 if a tampering
 of alteration were once suffered to    
begin1 where it might end8 ,order the   
people to be quiet2 let their factious  
demands and seditious movements be      
promptly and firmly repressed by        
authority2 and they would sink into     

insignificance and silence4 ,to think of
 such a thing as condescending to       
conciliate by moderate concessions would
 be weakness1 and might eventually bring
 a hazard which otherwise could have no 
existence4  ,and now for the            
consequence3 the popular spirit1 thus   
set at naught in present account and in 
calculation for the future1 was         
discouraged from active outward         
manifestation1 by the invetorate1       
perfectly organized1 and1 for the       
present1 resistless domination4 ,but    
under the pressure of wide-spread and   
unabating grievance1 which quickened and
 envenomed every sentiment previously   
entertained regarding the rights and    
wrongs of the people1 it was gradually  
acquiring1 throughout the country1 a    
more determinate sense of being absolved
 from all submissive respect toward the 
ascendant party1 a more entire          
conviction of its right to vindicate its
 claims in any manner that should become
 practicable1 and a hostility1 but the  

more deep and intense for its being kept
 under by despondency of present        
success1 against those who were         
rejecting and contemptuously defying    
those claims4 ,it wanted1 then1 only    
some occurrence that should present a   
possibility and a hope of success to    
burst out in sudden ardor4 ,it was thus 
in collective power and readiness for   
action1 when several events of          
prodigious excitement came close        
together2 and then1 like a stream in one
 of the ,swiss valleys1 dammed up by a  
mound of earth or ice fallen across1 to 
a lake deepening without noise1 till its
 vast weight breaks away the obstruction
 with a tremendous tumult1 the popular  
will bore down the aristocratic         
embankment1 consolidated through so many
 years or ages4 ,the overpowered party  
found the consequence of their obstinate
 and entire resistance2 and had to      
reflect with unmixed mortification how  
much less than they had lost1 and       
without mitigating by the loss the      

hostile feeling of those who had taken  
it from them1 would have been received  
with gratitude if yielded in the way of 
gradual voluntary concession4 ,happily  
the change was not left to be           
accomplished by physical force1 as all  
such changes must be in purely despotic 
states2 but the people fully believe    
that they chiefly owe the forced        
surrender to the alarm which their      
demonstrations excited lest they should 
bring the question ere long to that     
arbitrament4  ,but in the last place1   
there is a deplorable circumstance1     
attending this sudden rising of the     
popular spirit into power1 and which    
throws a strong light on the criminal   
infatuation of a ,state that suffers the
 commonalty of its citizens to remain   
grossly uncultivated and                
uncivilized--perhaps even fancies it    
sees in that ignorance a main security  
for its own stability4 ,the fact is1    
that the people have acquired their     
power and privileges1 before they are   

7speaking as to many of them7 qualified 
for a wise and useful exercise of them4 
,a large proportion of those who are now
 brought into what may be called        
political existence have grown up so    
destitute of all means and habits for a 
right use of their minds1 that their    
notions1 wishes1 expectations1 and      
determinations1 respecting public       
interests1 will exemplify anything      
rather than a competent judgment4 ,and  
the proportion so raised is but perhaps 
a minor part of the multitude in which  
the popular spirit is embodied and      
vehemently excited4 ,great numbers on a 
lower level1 and having no formal       
political capacity to act in1 are       
nevertheless pervaded by a spirit which 
will bring the rude impulse of mass and 
combination into the movement of the    
popular will4  ,if alarmed at such a    
view1 will not they who have so long    
held the sovereign control over the     
national economy feel the bitterest     
regret that it had not been given them  

to obviate the possible dangers of such 
a crisis and such a change1 or rather to
 prevent such a crisis and a change so  
abrupt1 by exertions in every way1 and  
on the widest scale1 to rescue the      
people from their ignorance and         
barbarism1 instead of trusting to it for
 an uncontested undisturbed continuance 
of their own domination8 ,but they      
scorned the idea1 if it ever occurred1  
that the many-headed1 many-handed       
monster1 7so named in the dialect of    
some of them17 after lying prone1 and   
inert1 and submissive1 from time        
immemorial1 should at last become       
instinct with spirit1 and rise up       
roaring in defiance of their power4  ,it
 is now for them to consider whether1 by
 maintaining a temper and attitude of   
sullen1 vindictive1 pugnacious          
alienation from the people1 they shall  
wilfully aggravate whatever injurious   
consequences may be threatened by so    
sudden a revolution2 or endeavor to     
intercept them by giving their best     

assistance to every plan and expedient  
for rescuing the lower orders from the  
curse and calamity of ignorance and     
debasement4 ,other remedial measures1   
besides that of education1 are          
imperiously demanded by the miserable   
and formidable condition of the         
populace1 but no other1 nor all others  
together1 can avail without it4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,since the date of the above note1 the  
spirit and policy of the ascendant class
 have been just that which a            
philanthropist would have deprecated1   
and a cynic predicted4  ,their moral    
chagrin at the acquisition by the people
 of a new political rank1 an event by   
which they1 7the ascendant class17 had  
for a while appeared amazed and stunned1
 has soon recovered to a prodigious     
activity of device and exertion to      
nullify that rightful acquisition4 ,for 
this purpose have been brought into     
play1 on the widest scale1 that of the  
whole kingdom1 all the means and        

resources of wealth1 station1 and power2
 with the utmost recklessness of equity1
 honor1 and even humanity2 deluding the 
ignorant1 corrupting the venal1 and     
intimidating and punishing the          
conscientious3 insomuch that the        
nominally conceded right or privilege is
 practically reduced to an              
inconsiderable proportion of its        
pre-estimated worth2 while aristocratic 
tyranny has rendered it to many of the  
most deserving to possess it no better  
than an inflicted grievance4 ,one       
important measure for the improvement of
 the condition of the lower orders has  
been effected1 because the anti-popular 
party saw it advantageous also to their 
own interests4 ,but for the general     
course of their policy1 we have         
witnessed a systematic determination to 
frustrate measures framed in recognition
 of the rights and wants of the people4 
,as to their education1 it continues    
abandoned to the efforts and totally    
inadequate means of private individuals 

and societies2 except a comparative     
trifle from the ,state1 not so much for 
the whole nation for the whole year as  
the cost of some useless1 gaudy1        
barbaric pageant of one day4--,it is    
evident the predominant portion of the  
higher classes trouble themselves very  
little about the mental condition of the
 populace4 ,it is even understood that a
 chief obstacle in the way of any       
comprehensive legislation on the subject
 is found or apprehended in the         
repugnance of those classes to any      
liberal scheme3 any scheme that1 aiming 
simply at the general good1 should      
boldly set aside invidious restrictions 
and a jealous1 parsimonious limitation2 
a scheme that should not work in        
subjection to the mean self-interest of 
this party or that1 but for the one     
grand purpose of raising millions from  
degradation into rational existence4    
,section ,v4    ,the most serious form  
of the evil caused by a want of mental  
improvement1 is that which is exposed to

 us in its consequences with respect to 
the most important concern of all1      
,religion4 ,this has been briefly       
adverted to in a former part of these   
descriptive observations4 ,but the      
subject seems to merit a more amplified 
illustration1 and may be of sufficient  
interest to excuse some appearance of   
repetition4 ,the special view in which  
we wish to place it1 is that of the     
inaptitude of uncultivated minds for    
receiving religious instruction4--,but  
first1 a slight estimate may be         
attempted of the actual state of        
religious notions among our uneducated  
population4  ,some notion of such a     
concern1 something different in their   
consciousness from the absolute negation
 of the idea1 something that faintly    
responds to the terms which would be    
used by a person conversing with them1  
in the way of questioning them on the   
subject1 may be presumed to exist in the
 minds of all who are advanced a        
considerable way into youth1 or come to 

mature age1 in a country where all are  
familiar with several of the principal  
terms of theology1 and have the monitory
 spectacle of edifices for religious    
use1 on spots appointed also for the    
interment of the dead4 ,if this sort of 
measured caution in the assumption seem 
bordering on the ridiculous1 we would   
recommend those who would smile at it to
 make some little experiments4 ,let them
 insinuate themselves into the company  
of some of the innumerable rustics who  
have grown up destitute of everything   
worth calling education2 or of the      
equally ill-fated beings in the alleys1 
precincts1 and lower employments of     
towns4 ,with due management to avoid the
 abruptness and judicial formality1     
which1 would preclude a communicative   
disposition1 they might take occasion to
 introduce remarks tending1 without the 
express form of questions in the first  
instance1 to draw out the thoughts of   
some of these persons respecting ,god1  
,jesus ,christ1 the human soul1 the     

invisible world4 ,and the answers would 
often put them to a stand to conceive1  
under what suspension of the laws of    
rational existence the utterers could   
have been passing so many years in the  
world4 ,these answers might dispel1 as  
by a sudden shock1 the easy and         
contented assurance1 if so unknowing a  
notion had been entertained1 that almost
 all the people must1 in one way or     
another1 have become decently apprized  
of a few first principles of religion2  
that this could not have failed to be   
the case in what was expressly          
constituted a great ,christian          
community1 with an obligation upon it1  
that none of its members should be left 
destitute of the most essential         
requisite to their well-being4 ,this    
agreeable assurance would vanish1 like a
 dream interrupted1 at the spectacle    
thus presented1 of persons only not     
quite as devoid of those first          
principles1 after living eighteen1      
thirty1 forty1 or twice forty years1    

under the superintendence of that       
community1 as if they had been the      
aboriginal rovers of the ,american      
forests1 or natives of unvisited        
coral-built spots in the ocean4 ,if     
these examiners were to prosecute the   
investigation widely1 and with an effect
 on their sentiments correspondent to   
the enlarging disclosure of facts1 they 
could find themselves fallen into a very
 altered estimate of this our ,christian
 tract of the earth4 ,a fancied         
sunshine1 spread over it before1 would  
have faded away4 ,from appearing to     
them1 according to an accustomed notion1
 peculiarly auspicious1 as if almost by 
some virtue of its climate1 to the      
growth of religious intelligence in the 
minds of the people1 it might come to be
 regarded as favorable to the           
development of all things rather than   
that4 ,plants and trees1 the diversity  
of animal forms and powers1 the human   
frame1 the features enlarging or        
enlarged to manhood in the younger      

persons looked at by the supposed       
examiner while answering his questions1 
with their passions also1 and prevailing
 dispositions1--see how all things can  
unfold themselves in our territory1 and 
grow and enlarge to their               
completeness1--except the ideas of the  
human soul relating to the ,almighty1   
and to the grand purpose of its own     
existence6  ,the supposed answers would 
in many instances betray1 that any      
thought of ,god at all was of very rare 
occurrence1 the idea having never become
 strongly associated with anything      
beheld in the whole creation4 ,we should
 think it probable1 as we have said     
before1 that with many1 while in health1
 weeks or months often pass away without
 this idea being once so presented as to
 fix the mind in attention to it for one
 moment of time4 ,if they could be set  
to any such task as that of retracing1  
at the end of the days or the weeks1 the
 course of their thoughts1 to recollect 
what particulars in the series had      

struck the most forcibly and stayed the 
longest1 it may be suspected that this  
idea1 thus impressively apprehended1    
would be as rare a recollection as that 
of having seen a splendid meteor4 ,yet  
during that space of time1 their        
thoughts1 such as they were1 shall have 
run through thousands of changes2 and   
even the name of ,god may have been     
pronounced by them a multitude of times1
 in jocularity or imprecation4 ,thus    
there is a broad easy way to atheism    
through thoughtless ignorance1 as well  
as a narrow and difficult one through   
subtle speculation4  ,but that idea of  
,god which has1 by some means1 found its
 way into their understandings1 to abide
 there so nearly in silence and         
oblivion1--what is it1 when some direct 
call does really evoke it8 ,it is       
generally a gross approximation of the  
conception of the ,infinite ,being to   
the likeness of man4 ,if what they have 
heard of his being a ,spirit1 has indeed
 some little effect in prevention of the

 total debasement of the idea1 it       
prevents it rather by confusion than by 
magnificence4 ,it may somewhat restrain 
and baffle the tendency of the          
imagination to a direct degrading       
definition2 but it does so by a         
dissolution of the idea as into an      
attenuated cloud4 ,and ever and anon1   
this cloudy diffusion is again drawing  
in1 and shaping itself toward an image1 
vast perhaps1 and spectral1 portentous  
across the firmament1 but in some near  
analogy to the human mode of            
personality4  ,the divine attribute     
which is apprehended by them with most  
of an impression of reality1 is a       
certain vastness of power4 ,but1 through
 the grossness of their intellectual    
atmosphere1 this appears to them in the 
character of something prodigiously     
huge1 rather than sublimely             
glorious4--,as considered in his quality
 of moral judicial ,governor1 ,god is   
regarded by some of them as more        
disposed1 than there is any reasonable  

cause1 to be displeased with what is    
done in this world4 ,but the far greater
 number have no prevailing sentiment    
that he takes any very vigilant account 
or concern4 ,footnote3 ,some have no    
very distinct impression the one way or 
the other4 ,not very long since1 a      
friend of the writer1 in one of the     
midland counties1 fell into talk1 on a  
,sunday1 with a man who had been in some
 very plain violation of the consecrated
 character of the day4 ,he seriously    
animadverted on this1 adding1 ,don't you
 think ,god will be displeased at and   
punish such conduct8 or words to that   
effect4 ,the man1 after a moment's      
consideration1 answered1 with unaffected
 cool simplicity1 exactly thus3 ,that's 
according as how a takes it4  ,numerous 
anecdotes of the same cast have been    
more recently heard2 and among them that
 of a conversation with a thoughtless   
man1 of worthless character1 not in the 
lowest condition in society1 and then   
consciously near death4 ,the religious  

visitor represented to him the serious  
and alarming situation of a man on the  
point of going from a sinful life into  
the presence of ,god as a ,judge4 ,the  
man1 with a sort of general             
acknowledgment that it was so1 yet hoped
 that ,god would not be severe with him4
 ,but the visitor anxiously pressed upon
 him the consideration that ,god is a   
just ,being1 and judges by a holy law3  
to which at last the answer was1 with   
little emotion1 ,then ,god and ,i must  
fight it out as well as we can4 ,the    
phrase1 in his use of it1 did not mean  
anything of the nature of a hostile     
contest1 but simply the settling of an  
affair1 which he thought might be done  
without any great danger or trouble4    
,and even those who entertain the more  
ungracious apprehension1 have it not in 
sufficient force to make them1 once in  
whole months1 deliberately think it     
worth while to care what he may         
disapprove4  ,the notions that should   
answer to the doctrine of a ,providence1

 are a confusion of some crude idea of a
 divine superintendence1 with stronger  
fancies and impressions of luck and     
chance2 a confusion of them not unaptly 
exemplified in a grave and well-meaning 
sentiment heard from a man in a temporal
 condition to be envied by many of his  
neighbors1 ,providence must take its    
chance4 ,and these are still further1   
and most uncouthly1 confounded by the   
admixture of the ancient heathen notion 
of fate1 reduced from its philosophy to 
its dregs4 ,in many instances1 however1 
this last obtains such a predominance1  
as to lessen the confusion1 and withal  
to preclude1 in a great measure1 the    
sense of accountableness4 ,in neither of
 these rude states of the understanding1
 7that which confounds ,providence and  
chance1 and that which sinks in dull    
acquiescence to something obscurely     
imagined like fate17 is there any       
serious admission1 at least during the  
enjoyment of health1 of the duty or     
advantage of prayer4  ,the supposed     

examiner may endeavor to possess himself
 of the notions concerning the ,redeemer
 of the world4 ,they would be found1 in 
numerous instances1 amounting literally 
to no more than1 that ,jesus ,christ was
 a worthy kind of person1 7the word has 
actually been gentleman1 in more than   
one instance that we have heard from    
unquestionable testimony17 who once1    
somewhere1 7these national ,christians  
had never in their lives1 thought of    
inquiring when or where17 did a great   
deal of good1 and was very ill used by  
bad people4 ,the people now1 they think1
 bad as they may be1 would not do so in 
the like case4 ,some of these persons   
may occasionally have been at church2   
and are just aware that his name often  
recurs in its services2 they never      
considered why2 but they have a vague   
impression of its repetition having some
 kind of virtue1 perhaps rather in the  
nature of a spell4--,the names of the   
four evangelists are by some held       
literally and technically available for 

such a use4  ,a few steps withdrawn from
 this thickest of the mental fog1 there 
are many who are not entirely uninformed
 of something having been usually       
affirmed1 by religious formularies and  
teachers1 of ,jesus ,christ's being more
 than a man1 and of his having done some
 thing of great importance toward       
preventing our being punished for our   
sins4 ,this combination of a majestic   
superiority to the human nature1 with a 
subsistence yet confessedly human1 just 
passes their minds like a shape formed  
of a shadow1 as one of the unaccountable
 things that may be as it is said1 for  
what they know1 but which they need not 
trouble themselves to think about4 ,as  
to the great things said to be done by  
him1 to save men from being punished1   
they see indeed no necessity for such an
 expedient1 but if it is so1 very right1
 and so much the better2 for between    
that circumstance in our favor1 and     
,god's being too good1 after all that is
 said of his holiness and wrath1 to be  

severe on such poor creatures1 we must  
have a good chance of coming off safely 
at last4 ,but multitudes of the         
miserably poor1 however wicked1 have a  
settled assurance of this coming off    
well at last1 independently of anything 
effected for men by the ,mediator3 they 
shall be exempted1 they believe1 from   
any future suffering in consideration of
 their having suffered so much here4    
,there is nothing1 in the scanty creed  
of great numbers1 more firmly held than 
this4  ,it is true1 they believe that   
the most atrociously wicked must go to a
 state of punishment after death4 ,they 
consider murderers1 especially1 as under
 this doom4 ,but the offences so        
adjudged1 according to any settled      
estimate they have of the demerit of bad
 actions1 are comprised in a very short 
catalogue4 ,at least it is short if we  
could take it exclusively of the        
additions made to it by the resentments 
of individuals4 ,for each one is apt to 
make his own particular addition to it1 

of some offence which he would never    
have accounted so heinous1 but that it  
has happened to be committed against    
him4 ,we can recollect the exultation of
 sincere faith1 seen mingling with the  
anger1 of an offended man1 while        
predicting1 as well as imprecating1 this
 retribution of some injury he had      
suffered2 a real injury1 indeed1 yet of 
a kind which he would have held in small
 account had he only seen it done to    
another person4--,as to the nature of   
that future punishment1 the ideas of    
these neglected minds go scarcely at all
 beyond the images of corporal anguish1 
conveyed by the well-known metaphors4   
,they have no impressive idea of the    
pain of remorse1 and scarcely the       
faintest conception of an infelicity    
inflicted by the conscious loss of the  
,divine favor4  ,it is most striking to 
observe how almost wholly negative are  
their conceptions of that future        
happiness which must be something--but  
what8--as the necessary alternative of  

the evil they so easily assure          
themselves of escaping4 ,the abstracted1
 contemplative1 and elevated ideas of   
the celestial happiness are far above   
their apprehension2 and indeed1 though  
they were not1 would be little          
attractive4 ,and the more ordinary modes
 of representing it in religious        
discourse1 7if they should ever have    
heard enough of such discourse to be    
acquainted with them17 are too          
uncongenial with their notions of       
pleasure to have a welcome1 or abiding  
place1 in their imagination or          
affections4 ,thus the soul1 as to this  
great subject1 is vacant and cold4 ,and 
here the reflection again returns1 what 
an inexpressible poverty of the mind    
there is1 when the people have no longer
 a mythology1 and yet have not obtained 
in its place any knowledge of the true  
religion4 ,the martial vagrants of      
,scandinavia glowed with the vivid      
anticipations of ,valhalla2 the savages 
of the western continent had their      

animating visions of the land of souls2 
the modern ,christian barbarians of     
,england1 who also expect to live after 
death1 do not know what they mean by    
the6 phrase of going to heaven4  ,most  
of this class of persons think very     
little in any way whatever of the       
invisible spiritual economy4 ,and some  
of them would be pleased with a still   
more complete exemption from such       
thought4 ,for there are among them those
 who are liable to be occasionally      
affected with certain ghostly           
recognitions of something out of the    
common world4 ,but it is remarkable how 
little these may contribute to enforce  
the salutary impressions of religion4   
,for instance1 a man subject to the     
terror of apparitions shall not         
therefore be in the smallest degree the 
less profane1 except just at the time   
that this terror is upon him4 ,a number 
of persons1 not one of whom durst walk1 
alone1 at midnight1 round a lonely      
church1 encompassed with graves1 to     

which has perhaps lately been added that
 of a notoriously wicked man1 will      
nevertheless1 on a fine ,sunday morning1
 form a row of rude idlers1 standing in 
the road to this very church1 to vent   
their jokes on the persons going thither
 to attend the offices of religion1 and 
on the performers of those offices4     
,such1 as regarding religion1 is the    
state out of which it is desired to     
redeem a multitude of the people of this
 land4 ,or rather1 we should say1 it is 
sought to save a multitude from being   
consigned to it4 ,for consider1 in the  
next place1 7what we wished especially  
to point at1 in this most important     
article in the enumeration of the evils 
of ignorance17 consider what a fatal    
inaptitude for receiving the truths of  
religion is created by the neglect of   
training minds to the exercise of their 
faculties1 and the possession of the    
elements of knowledge4  ,how inevitably 
it must be so1 from the nature of the   
case6--,there is a sublime economy of   

invisible realities4 ,there is the      
,supreme ,existence1 an infinite and    
eternal ,spirit4 ,there are spiritual   
existences1 that have kindled into      
brightness and power1 from nothing1 at  
his creating will1 ,there is an         
universal government1 omnipotent1       
all-wise1 and righteous1 of that        
,supreme ,being over the creation4      
,there is the immense tribe of human    
spirits1 in a most peculiar and alarming
 predicament1 held under eternal        
obligation of conformity to a law       
proceeding from the holiness of that    
,being1 but perverted to a state of     
disconformity to it1 and opposition to  
him4 ,next1 there is a signal anomaly of
 moral government1 the constitution of a
 new state of relation between the      
,supreme ,governor and this alienated   
race1 through a ,mediator1 who makes an 
atonement for human iniquity1 and stands
 representative before ,almighty        
,justice1 for those who in grateful     
accordance to the mysterious appointment

 consign themselves to this charge4     
,there are the several doctrines        
declaratory of this new constitution    
through all its parts4 ,there is the    
view of religion in its operative       
character1 or the doctrine of the       
application of its truths and precepts  
by a divine agency to transform the mind
 and rectify the life4 ,and this solemn 
array of all the sublimest reality1 and 
most important intelligence1 is         
extending infinitely away beyond the    
sensible horizon of our present state to
 an invisible world1 to which the       
spirits of men proceed at death for     
judgment and retribution1 and with the  
prospect of living forever4  ,look at   
this scene of faith1 so distinct1 and   
stretching to such remoteness1 from the 
field of ordinary things2 of a          
subsistence which it is for intellect   
alone to apprehend2 presenting objects  
with which intellect alone can hold     
converse4 ,look at this scene2 and then 
consider1 what manner of beings you are 

calling upon to enter into it by        
contemplation4 ,beings who have never   
learned to think at all4 ,beings who    
have hardly ever once1 in their whole   
lives1 made a real effort to direct and 
concentrate the action of their         
faculties on anything abstracted from   
the objects palpable to the senses2     
whose entire attention has been         
engrossed1 from their infancy1 with the 
common business1 the low amusements and 
gratifications1 the idle talk1 the local
 occurrences1 which formed the whole    
compass of the occupation1 and          
practically acknowledged interests1 of  
their progenitors4 ,beings who have     
never been made in the least familiar   
with even the matters of fact1 those    
especially of the scripture history1 by 
which religious truths have been        
expressed and illustrated in the        
substantial form of events1 and personal
 characters4 ,beings who1 in natural    
consequence of this unexercised and     
unfurnished condition of their          

understandings1 will combine the utmost 
aversion to any effort of purely        
intellectual labor1 with the especial   
dislike which it is in the human        
disposition to feel toward this class of
 subjects4 ,what kind of ideas should   
you imagine to be raised in their minds1
 by all the words you might employ1 to  
place within their intellectual vision  
some portion of this spiritual order of 
things1--even should you be able1 which 
you often would not1 to engage any      
effort of attention to the              
subject8--,and yet we have heard this   
disqualification for receiving religious
 knowledge1 in consequence of the want  
of early mental culture1 made very light
 of by men whose pretensions to judgment
 had no less a foundation than an       
academical course and a consecrated     
profession4 ,they would maintain1 with  
every appearance of thinking so1 that a 
very little1 that the barest trifle1 of 
regulated exercise of the mind in youth1
 would be enough for the common people  

as a preparation for gaining as much    
knowledge of religion as they could ever
 want2 that any such thing as a practice
 of reading1 7a practice of hazardous   
tendency47 would be needless for the    
purpose1 since they might gain a        
competence of that knowledge by         
attendance on the public ministration in
 the church4 ,and there must have been a
 very recent acquiescence in a new      
fashion of opinion1 if numbers of the   
same class of men would not1 in honestly
 avowing their thoughts1 say something  
not far different at this hour4  ,but   
the pretended facility of gaining a     
competence of religious knowledge by    
such persons on such terms1 can only    
mean1 that the smallest conceivable     
portion of it may suffice4 ,for we may  
appeal to those pious and benevolent    
persons who have made the most numerous 
trials1 for testimony to the inaptitude 
of uneducated people to receive that    
kind of instruction4 ,you have visited1 
perhaps1 some numerous family1 or       

,sunday assemblage of several related   
families2 to which you had access       
without awkward intrusion1 in           
consequence of the acquaintance arising 
from near neighborhood1 or of little    
services you had rendered1 or of the    
circumstance of any of their younger    
children coming to your charity schools4
 ,it was to you soon made sensible what 
a sterile1 blighted spot of rational    
nature you were in1 by indications      
unequivocal to your perception1 though1 
it may be1 not easily reducible to exact
 description4 ,and those indications    
were perhaps almost equally apparent in 
the young persons1 in those advanced to 
the middle of life1 and in those who    
were evidently destined not long to     
remain in it1 the patriarch1 perhaps1   
and the eldest matron1 of the kindred   
company4 ,you attempted by degrees1 with
 all managements of art1 as if you had  
been seeking to gain a favor for        
yourselves1 to train into the talk some 
topic bearing toward religion2 and which

 could be followed up into a more       
explicit reference to that great        
subject1 without the abruptness which   
causes instant silence and recoil4 ,we  
will suppose that the gloom of such a   
moral scene was not augmented to you1 by
 the mortification of observing         
impatience of this suspension of their  
usual and favorite tenor of discourse1  
betrayed in marks of suppressed         
irritation1 or rather by the withdrawing
 of one1 and another1 from the company4 
,but it was quite enough to render the  
moments and feelings some of the most   
disconsolate you had ever experienced1  
to have thus immediately before you a   
number of rational beings as in a dark  
prison-house1 and to feel the impotence 
of your friendly efforts to bring them  
out4 ,their darkness of ignorance       
infused into your spirit the darkness of
 melancholy1 when you perceived that the
 fittest words you could think of1 in   
every change and combination in which   
you could dispose them1 failed to impart

 to their understanding1 in the meaning 
you wanted to convey1 the most          
elementary and essential ideas of the   
most momentous subject4  ,you thought   
again1 perhaps1 and again1 ,surely this 
mode of expression1 or this1 as it is in
 words not out of common usage1 will    
define the thing to their apprehension4 
,but you were forced to perceive that   
the common phraseology of the language1 
those words which make the substance of 
ordinary discourse on ordinary subjects1
 had not1 for the understandings of     
these persons1 a general applicableness4
 ,it seemed as if the mere elemental    
vehicle1 7if we may so name it17        
available indifferently for conveying   
all sorts of sense1 except science1 had 
become in its meaning special and       
exclusive for their own sort of topics4 
,their narrow associations had rendered 
it incapable of conveying sense to them 
on matters foreign to their habits4     
,when used on a subject to which they   
were quite unaccustomed1 it became like 

a stream which1 though one and the same 
current1 flows clear on the one side1   
and muddy 7as we sometimes see for a    
space7 on the other2 and to them it was 
clear only at their own edge4 ,and if   
thus even the plain popular language    
turned dark on their understandings when
 employed in explanation of religion1 it
 is easy to imagine what had been the   
success of a more peculiarly theological
 phraseology1 though it were limited to 
such terms as are of frequent use in the
 ,bible4  ,you continued1 however1 the  
effort for a while4 ,as desirous to show
 you due civility1 some of the persons1 
perhaps the oldest1 would give assent to
 what you said1 with some sign of       
acknowledgment of the importance of the 
concern4 ,the assent would perhaps be   
expressed in a form meant and believed  
to be equivalent to what you had said4  
,and when it gave an intelligible idea1 
it might probably betray the grossest   
possible misconception of the first     
principles of ,christianity4 ,it might  

be a crude formation from the very same 
substance of which some of the worst    
errors of popery are constituted2 and   
might strongly suggest to you1 in a     
glance of thought1 how easily popery    
might have become the religion of       
ignorance2 how naturally ignorance and  
corrupt feeling mixing with a slight    
vague notion of ,christianity1 would    
turn it into just such a thing as       
popery4 ,you tried1 perhaps1 with       
repeated modifications of your          
expression1 and attempts at             
illustration1 to loosen the false       
notion1 and to place the true one       
contrasted with it in such a near       
obviousness to the apprehension1 that at
 least the difference should be seen1   
and 7perhaps you hoped7 a little        
movement excited to think on the        
subject1 and make a serious question of 
it4 ,but all in vain4 ,the hoary subject
 of your too late instruction1 7a       
spectacle reminding you painfully of the
 words which denominate the sign of old 

age crown of glory17 either would still 
take it that it came all to the same    
thing1 or1 if compelled to perceive that
 you really were trying to make him     
unthink his poor old notions1 and learn 
something new and contrary1 would       
probably retreat1 in a little while1    
into a half sullen1 half despondent     
silence1 after observing1 that he was   
too old1 the worse was the luck1 to be  
able to learn about such things1 which  
he never had1 like you1 the scholarship 
and the time for4  ,in several of the   
party you perceived the signs of almost 
a total blank4 ,they seemed but to be   
waiting for any trifling incident to    
take their attention1 and keep their    
minds alive4 ,some one with a little    
more of listening curiosity1 but without
 caring about the subject1 might have to
 observe1 that it seemed to him the same
 kind of thing that the methodist       
parson1 7the term most likely to be used
 if any very serious and earnest        
,christian instructor had appeared in   

the neighborhood17 was lately saying in 
such a one's funeral-sermon4 ,it is too 
possible that one or two of the visages 
of the company1 of the younger people   
especially1 might wear1 during a good   
part of the time1 somewhat of a derisive
 smile1 meaning1 ,what odd kind of stuff
 all this is2 as if they could not help 
thinking it ludicrously strange that any
 one should be talking of ,god1 of the  
,saviour of mankind1 the facts of the   
,bible1 the welfare of the soul1 the    
shortness and value of life1 and a      
future account1 when he might be talking
 of the neighboring fair1 past or       
expected1 or the local quarrels1 or the 
last laughable incident or adventure of 
the hamlet4 ,it is particularly         
observable1 that grossly ignorant       
persons are very apt to take a ludicrous
 impression from high and solemn        
subjects2 at least when introduced in   
any other time or way than in the       
ceremonial of public religious service2 
when brought forward as a personal      

concern1 demanding consideration        
everywhere1 and which may be urged by   
individual on individual4 ,you have     
commonly enough seen this provoke the   
grin of stupidity and folly4 ,and if you
 asked yourselves1 7for it were in vain 
to ask them17 why it produced this so   
perverse effect1 you had only to        
consider that1 to minds abandoned       
through ignorance to be totally         
engrossed by the immediate objects of   
sense1 the grave assumption1 and        
emphatic enforcement1 of the            
transcendent importance of a wholly     
unseen and spiritual economy1 has much  
the appearance and effect of a great lie
 attempted to be passed on them4 ,you   
might indeed recollect also1 that the   
most which some of them are likely to   
have learnt about religion1 is the      
circumstance1 that the persons          
professing to make it an earnest concern
 are actually regarded as fit objects of
 derision by multitudes1 not of the     
vulgar order only1 but including many of

 the wealthy1 the genteel1 the          
magisterial1 and the dignified in point 
of rank4  ,individuals of the most      
ignorant class may stroll into a place  
of worship1 bearing their character so  
conspicuously in their appearance and   
manner as to draw the particular notice 
of the preacher1 while addressing the   
congregation4 ,it may be1 that having   
taken their stare round the place1 they 
go out1 just1 it may happen1 when he is 
in the midst of a marked1 prominent1 and
 even picturesque illustration1 perhaps 
from some of the striking facts or      
characters of the ,scripture history1   
which had not made the slightest ingress
 on their thoughts or imagination4 ,or  
they are pleased to stay through the    
service2 during which his eye is        
frequently led to where several of them 
may be seated together4 ,without an     
appearance of addressing them           
personally1 he shall be excited to      
direct a special effort toward what he  
surmises to be the state of their minds4

 ,he may in this effort acquire an      
additional force1 emphasis1 and         
pointedness of delivery2 but especially 
his utmost mental force shall be brought
 into action to strike upon their       
faculties with vivid1 rousing ideas1    
plainly and briefly expressed4 ,and he  
fancies1 perhaps1 that he has at least  
arrested their attention2 that what is  
going from his mind is in some manner or
 other taking a place in theirs2 when   
some inexpressibly trivial occurring    
circumstance shows him1 that the hold he
 has on them is not of the strength of a
 spider's web4 ,those thoughts1 those   
intellects1 those souls1 are instantly  
and wholly gone--from a representation  
of one of the awful visitations of      
divine judgment in the ancient world--a 
description of sublime angelic agency1  
as in some recorded fact in the         
,bible--an illustration of the          
discourse1 miracles1 or expiatory       
sorrows of the ,redeemer of the world--a
 strong appeal to conscience on past    

sin--a statement1 perhaps in the form of
 example1 of an important duty in given 
circumstances--a cogent enforcement of  
some specific point as of most essential
 moment in respect to eternal           
safety2--from the attempted grasp1 or   
supposed seizure1 of any such subject1  
these rational spirits started away1    
with infinite facility1 to the movements
 occasioned by the falling of a hat from
 a peg4  ,by the time that any semblance
 of attention returns1 the preacher's   
address may have taken the form of      
pointed interrogation1 with very defined
 supposed facts1 or even real ones1 to  
give the question and its principle as  
it were a tangible substance4 ,well2    
just at the moment when his questions   
converge to a point1 which was to have  
been a dart of conviction striking the  
understanding1 and compelling the common
 sense and conscience of the auditors to
 answer for themselves1--at that moment1
 he perceives two or three of the       
persons he had particularly in view     

begin an active whispering1 prolonged   
with the accompaniment of the           
appropriate vulgar smiles4 ,they may    
possibly relapse at length1 through     
sheer dulness1 into tolerable decorum2  
and the instructor1 not quite losing    
sight of them1 tries yet again1 to impel
 some serious ideas through the         
obtuseness of their mental being4 ,but  
he can clearly perceive1 after the      
animal spirits have thus been a little  
quieted by the necessity of sitting     
still awhile1 the signs of a stupid     
vacancy1 which is hardly sensible that  
anything is actually saying1 and        
probably makes1 in the case of some of  
the individuals1 what is mentally but a 
slight transition to yawning and sleep4 
,utter ignorance is a most effectual    
fortification to a bad state of the     
mind4 ,prejudice may perhaps1 be        
removed2 unbelief may be reasoned with2 
even demoniacs have been compelled to   
bear witness to the truth2 but the      
stupidity of confirmed ignorance not    

only defeats the ultimate efficacy of   
the means for making men wiser and      
better1 but stands in preliminary       
defiance to the very act of their       
application4 ,it reminds us of an       
account1 in one of the relations of the 
,french ,egyptian campaigns1 of the     
attempt to reduce a garrison posted in a
 bulky fort of mud4 ,had the defences   
been of timber1 the besiegers might have
 set fire to and burned them2 had they  
been of stone1 they might have shaken   
and ultimately breached them by the     
battery of their cannon2 or they might  
have undermined and blown them up4 ,but 
the huge mound of mud had nothing       
susceptible of fire or any other force2 
the missiles from the artillery were    
discharged but to be buried in the dull 
mass2 and all the means of demolition   
were baffled4  ,the most melancholy of  
the exemplifications of the effect of   
ignorance1 as constituting an incapacity
 for receiving religious instruction1   
have been presented to those who have   

visited persons thus devoid of knowledge
 in sickness and the approach to death4 
,supposing them to manifest alarm and   
solicitude1 it is deplorable to see how 
powerless their understandings are1 for 
any distinct conception of what1 or why1
 it is that they fear1 or regret1 or    
desire4 ,the objects of their           
apprehension come round them as vague   
forms of darkness1 instead of distinctly
 exhibited dangers and foes1 which they 
might steadily contemplate1 and think   
how to escape or encounter4 ,and how    
little does the benevolent instructor   
find it possible for him to do1 when he 
applies his mind to the painful task of 
reducing this gloomy confused vision to 
the plain defined truth of their unhappy
 situation1 set in order before their   
eyes4  ,he deems it necessary to speak  
of the most elementary principles--the  
perfect holiness and justice of         
,god--the corresponding holiness and the
 all-comprehending extent of his law1   
appointed to his creatures--the absolute

 duty of conformity to it in every act1 
word1 and thought--the necessary        
condemnation consequent on failure--the 
dreadful evil1 therefore1 of sin1 both  
in its principle and consequences4      
,god--perfect                           
holiness--justice--law--universal       
conformity--sin--condemnation6 ,alas6   
the hapless auditor has no such sense of
 the force of terms1 and no such        
analogical ideas1 as to furnish the     
medium for conveying these              
representations to his understanding4   
,he never had1 at any time2 and now     
there may be in his mind all the        
additional confusion1 and incapacity of 
fixed attention1 arising from pain1     
debility1 and sleeplessness4 ,all this  
therefore passes before him with a      
tenebrious glimmer2 like lightning      
faintly penetrating to a man behind a   
thick black curtain4  ,the instructor   
attempts a personal application1        
endeavoring to give the disturbed       
conscience a rational direction1 and a  

distinct cognizance4 ,but he finds1 as  
he might expect to find1 that a         
conscience without knowledge has never  
taken but a very small portion of the   
man's habits of life under its          
jurisdiction2 and that it is a most     
hopeless thing to attempt to send it    
back reinforced1 to reclaim and conquer1
 through all the past1 the whole extent 
of its rightful but never assumed       
dominion4 ,so feeble and confined in the
 function of judgment through which it  
must see and act1 it is especially      
incapable of admitting the monitor's    
estimate of the measure of guilt        
involved in omission1 and in an         
irreligious state of the mind1 as an    
exceedingly grave addition to the       
account of criminal action4 ,the man is 
totally and honestly unable to conceive 
of the substantial guilt of anything of 
which he can ask1 what injury it has    
done to anybody4 ,this single           
point--whether positive harm has been   
done to any one--comprehends the whole  

essence and sum of the conscious        
accountableness of very ignorant people4
 ,material wrong1 very material wrong1  
to their fellow mortals1 they have a    
conscience that they should not do2 a   
conscience1 however1 which they would   
deem it hard to be obliged to maintain  
entire even to this confined extent2 and
 which therefore admits some compromise 
and gives some license1 with respect    
especially to any kind of wrong which   
has the extenuation1 as they deem it1 of
 being commonly practised in their      
class2 and against which there is a sort
 of understanding that each one must    
take the best care he can of himself4   
,at this confine1 so undecidedly marked1
 of practical1 tangible wrong1 these    
very ignorant persons lose the sense of 
obligation1 and feel absolved from any  
further jurisdiction4 ,so coarse and    
narrow a conscience as to what they do1 
is not likely to be refined and extended
 into a cognizance of what they are4 ,as
 for a duty absolute in the nature of   

things1 or as owing to themselves1 in   
respect to their own nature1 or as      
imposed by the ,almighty--that their    
minds should be in a certain prescribed 
state--there does really require a      
perfectly new manner of the action of   
intellect to enable them to apprehend   
its existence4 ,and this habitual       
insensibility to any jurisdiction over  
their internal state1 now meets1 in its 
consequences1 the supposed instructor4  
,in consideration of the vast importance
 of this part of a rational creature's  
accountableness1 and partly1 too1 from a
 desire to avoid the invidiousness of   
appearing as a judicial censor of the   
sick man's practical conduct1 he insists
 in an especial manner on this subject  
of the state within1 endeavoring to     
expose that dark world by the light of  
religion to the sick man's conscience4  
,but to give in an hour the             
understanding which it requires the     
discipline of many years to render      
competent6 ,how vain the attempt6 ,the  

man's sense of guilt fixes almost       
exclusively on something that has been  
improper in his practical courses4 ,he  
professes to acknowledge the evil of    
this2 and perhaps with a certain stress 
of expression2 intended1 by an apparent 
respondence to the serious emphasis     
which the monitor is laying on another  
part of the accountableness and guilt1  
to take him off from thus endeavoring1  
as it appears to the ignorant sufferer1 
to make him more of a sinner than there 
is any reason1 so little can he conceive
 that it should much signify what his   
thoughts1 tempers1 affections1 motives1 
and so forth1 may have been4 ,by        
continuing to press the subject1 the    
instructor may find himself in danger of
 being regarded as having taken upon him
 the unkind office of inquisitor and    
accuser in his own name1 and of his own 
will and authority4  ,when inculcating  
the necessity of repentance1 he will    
perceive the indistinctness of          
apprehension of the difference between  

the horror of sin merely from dread of  
impending consequences1 and an antipathy
 to its essential nature4 ,and even if  
this distinction1 which admits of easy  
forms of exemplification1 should thus be
 rendered in a degree intelligible1 the 
man cannot make the application4 ,the   
instructor observes1 as one of the most 
striking results of a want of           
disciplined mental exercise1 an utter   
inability for self-inspection4 ,there is
 before his eyes1 looking at him1 but a 
stranger to himself1 a man on whose mind
 no other mind1 except ,one1 can shed a 
light of self-manifestation1 to save him
 from the most fatal mistakes4  ,if the 
monitor would turn1 7rather from an     
impulse to relieve the gloom of the     
scene1 than from anything he sees of a  
hopeful approach toward a right         
apprehension of the austerer truths of  
religion17 if he would turn his efforts1
 to the effect of directing on this dark
 spirit the benign rays of the          
,christian redemption1 what is he to do 

for terms1--yes1 for very terms8        
,mediator1 sacrifice1 atonement1        
satisfaction1 faith2 even the           
expression1 believing in ,christ2 merit 
of the death of ,christ1 acquittal1     
acceptance1 justification2--he knows1 or
 soon will find1 that he is talking the 
language of an occult science4 ,and he  
is forced down to such expedients of    
grovelling paraphrase1 and humiliating  
analogy1 that he becomes conscious that 
his method of endeavoring to make a     
divine subject comprehensible1 is to    
divest it of its dignity1 and reduce it1
 in order that it may not confound1 to  
the rank of things which have not       
majesty enough to impress with awe4 ,and
 after this has been done1 to the utmost
 of his ability1 and to the unavoidable 
weariness of his suffering auditor1 he  
is distressed to think of the proportion
 between the insignificance of any ideas
 which this man's mind now possesses of 
the economy of redemption1 and the      
magnitude of the interest in which he   

stands dependent on it4 ,a symptom or   
assurance which should impart to the    
sick man a confidence of his recovery1  
would appear to him a far greater good  
than all he can comprehend as offered to
 him from the ,physician of the soul4   
,some crude sentiment1 as that he hopes 
,jesus ,christ will stand his friend2   
that it was very good of the ,saviour to
 think of us2 that he wishes he knew    
what to do to get his help2 that ,jesus 
,christ has done him good in other      
things1 and he hopes he will now again  
at the last2 ,footnote3 ,such an        
expression as this would hardly have    
occurred but from recollection of fact1 
in the instance of an aged farmer1 7the 
owner of the farm17 in his last illness4
 ,in the way of reassuring his somewhat 
doubtful hope that ,christ would not    
fail him when now had recourse to1 at   
his extreme need1 he said1 7to the      
writer17 ,jesus ,christ has sent me a   
deal of good crops4--such expressions   
will afford little to alleviate the     

gloomy feelings1 with which the serious 
visitor descends from the chamber in    
which1 perhaps1 he may hear1 a few days 
after1 that the man he conversed with   
lies a dead body4  ,but such benevolent 
visitors have to tell of still more     
melancholy exemplifications of the      
effects of ignorance in the close of    
life4 ,they have seen the neglect of    
early cultivation1 and the subsequent   
estrangement from all knowledge and     
thinking1 except about business and     
folly1 result in such a stupefaction of 
mind1 that irreligious and immoral      
persons1 expecting no more than a few   
days of life1 and not in a state of     
physical lethargy1 were absolutely      
incapable of being alarmed at the near  
approach of death4 ,they might not deny1
 nor in the infidel sense disbelieve1   
what was said to them of the awfulness  
of that event and its consequences2 but 
they had actually never thought enough  
of death to have any solemn associations
 with the idea4 ,and their faculties    

were become so rigidly shrunk up1 that  
they could not now admit them2 no1 not  
while the portentous spectre was        
unveiling his visage to them1 in near   
and still nearer approach2 not when the 
element of another world was beginning  
to penetrate through the rents of their 
mortal tabernacle4 ,it appeared that    
literally their thoughts could not go   
out from what they had been through life
 immersed in1 to contemplate1 with any  
realizing feeling1 a grand change of    
being1 expected so soon to come on them4
 ,they could not go to the fearful brink
 to look off4 ,it was a stupor of the   
soul not to be awaked but by the actual 
plunge into the realities of eternity4  
,in such a case the instinctive         
repugnance to death might be visible and
 acknowledged4 ,but the feeling was1 ,if
 it must be so1 there is no help for it2
 and as to what may come after1 we must 
take our chance4 ,in this temper and    
manner1 we recollect a sick man1 of this
 untaught class1 answering the inquiry  

how he felt himself1 ,getting worse2 ,i 
suppose ,i shall make a die of it4 ,and 
some pious neighbors1 earnestly         
exhorting him to solemn concern and     
preparation1 could not make him         
understand1 we repeat with emphasis1    
understand why there was occasion for   
any extraordinary disturbance of mind4  
,yet this man was not inferior to those 
around him in sense for the common      
business of life4  ,after a tedious     
length of suffering1 and when death is  
plainly inevitable1 it is not very      
uncommon for persons under this         
infatuation to express a wish for its   
arrival1 simply as a deliverance from   
what they are enduring1 without         
disturbing themselves with a thought of 
what may follow4 ,i know it will please 
,god soon to release me1 was the        
expression to his religious medical     
attendant1 of such an ignorant and      
insensible mortal1 within an hour of his
 death1 which was evidently and directly
 brought on by his vices4 ,and he       

uttered it without a word1 or the       
smallest indicated emotion1 of penitence
 or solicitude2 though he had passed his
 life in a neighborhood abounding with  
the public means of religious           
instruction and warning4  ,when earnest1
 persisting1 and seriously menacing     
admonitions1 of pious visitors or       
friends1 almost literally compel such   
unhappy persons to some precise         
recognition of the subject1 their       
answers will often be faithfully        
representative1 and a consistent        
completion1 of their course through     
mental darkness1 from childhood to the  
mortal hour4 ,we recollect the instance 
of a wicked old man1 who1 within that   
very hour1 replied to the urgent        
admonitions by which a religious        
neighbor felt it a painful duty to make 
a last effort to alarm him1 ,what6 do   
you believe that ,god can think of      
damning me because ,i may have been as  
bad as other folk8 ,i am sure he will do
 no such thing3 he is far too good for  

that4  ,we cannot close this detailed   
illustration of so gloomy a subject1    
without again adverting to a phenomenon 
as admirable as1 unhappily1 it is rare2 
and for which the observers who cannot  
endure mystery in religion1 or religion 
itself1 may go1 if they choose1 round   
the whole circle of their philosophy1   
and begin again1 to find any adequate   
cause1 other than the most immediate    
agency of the ,almighty ,spirit4 ,here  
and there an instance occurs1 to the    
delight of the ,christian               
philanthropist1 of a person brought up  
in utter ignorance and barbarian        
rudeness1 and so continuing till late in
 life2 and then at last1 after such a   
length of time and habit has completed  
its petrifying effect1 suddenly seized  
upon by a mysterious power1 and taken1  
with an alarming and irresistible force1
 out of the dark hold in which the      
spirit has lain imprisoned and torpid1  
into the sphere of thought and feeling4 
,occasion is taken this once more of    

adverting to such facts1 not so much for
 the purpose of magnifying the nature1  
as of simply exhibiting the effect1 of  
an influence that can breathe with such 
power on the obtuse intellectual        
faculties2 which it appears1 in the most
 signal of these instances1 almost to   
create anew4 ,it is exceedingly striking
 to observe how the contracted1 rigid   
soul seems to soften1 and grow warm1 and
 expand1 and quiver with life4 ,with the
 new energy infused1 it painfully       
struggles to work itself into freedom1  
from the wretched contortion in which it
 has so long been fixed as by the       
impressed spell of some infernal magic4 
,it is seen filled with a distressed and
 indignant emotion at its own ignorance2
 actuated with a restless earnestness to
 be informed2 acquiring an unwonted     
pliancy of its faculties to thought2    
attaining a perception1 combined of     
intelligence and moral sensibility1 to  
which numerous things are becoming      
discernible and affecting1 that were as 

non-existent before4 ,it is not in the  
very extreme strength of their import   
that we employ such terms of            
description2 the malice of irreligion   
may easily parody them into poetical    
excess2 but we have known instances in  
which the change1 the intellectual      
change1 has been so conspicuous1 within 
a brief space of time1 that even an     
infidel observer must have forfeited all
 claim to be esteemed a man of sense1 if
 he would not acknowledge1--,this that  
you call divine grace1 whatever it may  
really be1 is the strangest awakener of 
faculties after all4 ,and to a devout   
man1 it is a spectacle of most          
enchanting beauty1 thus to see the      
immortal plant1 which has been under a  
malignant blast while sixty or seventy  
years have passed over it1 coming out at
 length in the bloom of life4  ,we      
cannot hesitate to draw the inference1  
that if religion is so auspicious to the
 intellectual faculties1 the cultivation
 and exercise of those faculties must be

 of great advantage to religion4  ,these
 observations on ignorance1 considered  
as an incapacitation for receiving      
religious instruction1 are pointed      
chiefly at that portion of the people1  
unhappily the largest1 who are little   
disposed to attend to that kind of      
instruction4 ,but we should notice its  
prejudicial effect on those of them to  
whom religion has become a matter of    
serious and inquisitive concern4 ,the   
preceding assertions of the efficacy of 
a strong religious interest to excite   
and enlarge the intellectual faculty    
will not be contradicted by observing1  
nevertheless1 that in a dark and crude  
state of that facility those            
well-disposed persons1 especially if of 
a warm temperament withal1 are          
unfortunately liable to receive delusive
 impressions and absurd notions1 blended
 with religious doctrine and sentiment4 
,it would be no less than plain miracle 
or inspiration1 a more entire and       
specific superseding of ordinary laws   

than that which we have just been       
denominating an immediate agency of the 
,almighty ,spirit1 if a mind left       
uncultivated all up through the earlier 
age1 and perhaps far on in life1 should 
not come to its new employment on a most
 important subject with a sadly         
defective capacity for judgment and     
discrimination4 ,the situation reminds  
us of an old story of a tribe of        
,indians denominated moon-eyed1 who1 not
 being able to look at things by the    
light of the sun1 were reduced to look  
at them under the glimmering of the     
moon1 by which light it is an inevitable
 circumstance of human vision to receive
 the images of things in perverted and  
deceptive forms4  ,even in such an      
extremely rare instance as that above   
described1 an example of the superlative
 degree of the animating and            
invigorating influence of religion on   
the uncultivated faculties1 there would 
be visible some of the unfortunate      
consequences of the inveterate rudeness2

 a tendency1 perhaps1 to magnify some   
one thing beyond its proportionate      
importance to adopt hasty conclusions2  
to entertain some questionable or       
erroneous principle because it appears  
to solve a difficulty1 or perhaps falls 
in with an old prepossession2 to make   
too much account of variable and        
transitory feelings2 or to carry zeal   
beyond the limits of discretion4 ,in    
examples of a lower order of the        
correction or reversal of the effects of
 ignorance by the influence of religion1
 the remains will be still more         
palpable4 ,so that1 while it is an      
unquestionable and gratifying fact1 that
 among the uneducated subjects of       
genuine religion many are remarkably    
improved in the power and exercise of   
their reason2 and while we may assume   
that some share of this improvement     
reaches to all who are really under this
 most beneficent influence in the       
creation1 ,footnote3 ,really under this 
influence1 we repeat1 pointedly2 for we 

justly put all others out of the        
account4 ,it is nothing 7as against this
 asserted influence on the intelligent  
faculty7 that great numbers who may     
contribute to swell a public bustle     
about religion2 who may run together at 
the call of whim1 imposture1 or         
insanity1 assuming that name2 who may   
acquire1 instead of any other folly1 a  
turn for talking1 disputing1 or ranting1
 about that subject3 it is nothing1 in  
short1 that any who are not in real1    
conscientious seriousness the disciples 
of religion1 can be shown to be no      
better for it1 in point of improved     
understanding4 it still is to be        
acknowledged of too many1 who are in a  
measure1 we may candidly believe1 under 
the genuine efficacy of religion1 that  
they have attained1 through its         
influence1 but so inferior a proportion 
of the improvement of intellect1 that   
they can be well pleased with the great 
deal of absurdity of religious notions  
and language4 ,but while we confess and 

regret that it is so1 we should not     
overlook the causes and excuses that may
 be found for it1 in unfortunate        
super-addition to their lack of         
education2 partly in the natural turn of
 the mind1 partly in extraneous         
circumstances4 ,many whose attention is 
in honest earnestness drawn to religion1
 are endowed by nature with so scanty an
 allotment of the thinking power1       
strictly so denominated1 that it would  
have required high cultivation to raise 
them to the level of moderate           
understanding4 ,there are some who      
appear to have constitutionally an      
invincible tendency to an uncouth1      
fantastic mode of forming their notions4
 ,it is in the nature of others1 that   
whatever cultivation they might have    
received1 it would still have been by   
their passions1 rather than1 in any due 
proportion1 by their reason1 that an    
important concern would have taken and  
retained hold of them4 ,it may have     
happened to not a few1 that             

circumstances unfavorable to the        
understanding were connected with the   
causes or occasions of their first      
effectual religious impressions4 ,some  
quaint cast in the exposition of the    
,christian faith1 not essentially       
vitiating1 but very much distorting and 
cramping it1 or some peculiarity or     
narrow-mindedness of the teachers1 may  
have conveyed their effect1 to enter1 as
 it were1 at the door at the same moment
 that it was opened by the force of a   
solemn conviction1 and to be retained   
and cherished ever after on the strength
 of this association4 ,this may have    
tended to give an obliquity to the      
disciple's understanding1 or to arrest  
and dwarf its growth2 to fix it in      
prejudices instead of training it to    
judgments2 or to dispense with its      
exercise by merging it in a kind of     
quietism2 so that the proper tendency of
 religion to excite intellectual        
activity was partly overruled and       
frustrated4 ,it is most unfortunate that

 thus there may be1 from things casually
 or constitutionally associated with a  
man's piety1 an influence operating to  
disable his understanding2 as if there  
had been mixed with the incense of a    
devout service in the temple1 a         
soporific ingredient which had the      
effect of closing the worshipper's eyes 
in slumber4  ,now suppose all these     
worthy persons1 with so many things of a
 special kind against them1 to be also  
under the one great calamity of a       
neglected education1 and is it any      
wonder that they can admit religious    
truths in shapes very strange and       
faintly enlightened2 that they have an  
uncertain and capricious test of what is
 genuine1 and not much vigilance to     
challenge plausible semblances2 that    
they should be caught by some fanciful  
exhibition of a truth which would be of 
too intellectual a substance as         
presented in its pure simplicity2 and   
should be ready to receive with         
approbation not a little of what is a   

heavy disgrace to the name of religious 
doctrine and ministration8 ,where is the
 wonder that crudeness1 incoherence1 and
 inconsistency of notions1 should not   
disappoint and offend minds that have   
not1 ten times since they came into the 
world1 been compelled to form two ideas 
with precision1 and then compare them   
discriminately or combine them strictly1
 on any subject beyond the narrow scope 
of their ordinary pursuits8 ,where is   
the wonder1 if many such persons take   
noise and fustian for a glowing zeal and
 a lofty elevation2 if they mistake a   
wheedling cant for affectionate         
solicitude2 if they defer to pompous    
egotism and dogmatical assertion1 when  
it is so convenient a foundation for all
 their other faith to believe their     
teacher is an oracle8 ,no marvel if they
 are delighted with whimsical conceits  
as strokes of discovery and surprise1   
and yet at the same time are pleased    
with common-place1 and endless          
repetition1 as an exemption from mental 

effort2 and if they are gratified by    
vulgarity of diction and illustration1  
as bringing religion to the level where 
they are at home8 ,nay1 if an artful    
pretender1 or half-lunatic visionary1 or
 some poor set of dupes of their own    
inflated self-importance1 should give   
out that they are come into the world   
for the manifestation1 at last1 of true 
,christianity1 which the divine         
revelation has failed1 till their       
advent1 to explain to any of the        
numberless devout and sagacious         
examiners of it1--what is there in the  
minds of the most ignorant class of     
persons desirous to secure the benefits 
of religion1 that can be securely relied
 on to certify them1 that they shall not
 forego the greatest blessing ever      
offered to them by setting at naught    
these pretensions8  ,it is grievous to  
think there should be an active         
extensive currency of a language        
conveying crudities1 extravagances1     
arrogant dictates of ignorance1 pompous 

nothings1 vulgarities1 catches of idle  
fantasy1 and impertinences of the       
speaker's vanity1 as religious          
instruction to assemblages of ignorant  
people4 ,but then for the means of      
depreciating that currency1 so as to    
drive it at last out of circulation8    
,the thing to be wished is1 that it were
 possible to put some strong coercion on
 the minds 7we deprecate all other      
restraint7 of the teachers2 a compulsion
 to feel the necessity of information1  
sound sense1 disciplined thinking1 the  
correct use of words1 and an honest1    
careful purpose to make the people      
wiser4 ,there are signs of amendment1   
certainly2 but while the passion of     
human beings for notoriety lasts1 7which
 will be yet some time17 there will not 
fail to be men1 in any number required1 
ready to exhibit in religion1 in any    
manner in which the people are willing  
to be pleased with them4 ,let us1 then1 
try the inverted order1 and endeavor to 
secure that those who assemble to be    

taught1 shall already have learnt so    
much1 by other means1 that no professed 
teacher shall feel at liberty to treat  
them as an unknowing herd4 ,but by what 
other means1 except the discipline of   
the best education possible to be given 
to them1 and the subsequent voluntary   
self-improvement to which it may be     
hoped that such an education would often
 lead8  ,we cannot dismiss this topic1  
of the unhappy effect of extreme        
ignorance on persons religiously        
disposed1 in rendering them both liable 
and inclined to receive their ideas of  
the highest subject in a disorderly1    
perverted1 and debased form1 mixed      
largely with other men's folly and their
 own1 without noticing with pleasure an 
additional testimony to the connection  
between genuine religion and            
intelligence4 ,it arises from the fact1 
apparent to any discriminating observer1
 that as a general rule the most truly  
pious of the illiterate disciples of    
religion1 those who have the most of its

 devotional feeling and its humility1 do
 certainly manifest more of the         
operation of judgment in their religion 
than is evinced by those of less solemn 
and devout sentiment4 ,the former will  
unquestionably be found1 when on the    
same level as to the measure of natural 
faculty and the want of previous        
cultivation1 to show more discernment1  
to be less captivated by noise and      
extravagance1 and more intent on        
obtaining a clear comprehension of that 
faith1 which they feel it is but a      
reasonable obligation that they should  
endeavor to understand1 if they are to  
repose on it their most important hopes4
     ,section ,,vi4    ,thus it has been
 attempted1 we fear with too much       
prolixity and repetition1 to describe   
the evils attendant on a neglected state
 of the minds of the people4 ,the       
representation does not comprehend all  
those even of magnitude and prominence2 
but it displays that portion of them    
which is the most serious and           

calamitous1 as being the effect which   
the people's ignorance has on their     
moral and religious interests4 ,and we  
think no one who has attentively        
surveyed the state and character of the 
lower orders of the community1 in this  
country1 will impute exaggeration to the
 picture4 ,it is rather to be feared    
that the reality is of still darker     
shade2 and that a more strikingly gloomy
 exhibition might be formed1 by such a  
process as the following3--,that a      
certain number of the most observant of 
the philanthropic persons1 who have had 
most intercourse with the classes in    
question1 for the purposes of           
instruction1 charitable aid1 or perhaps 
of furnishing employment1 should relate 
the most characteristic circumstances   
and anecdotes within their own          
experience1 illustrative of this mental 
and moral condition2 and that these     
should be arranged1 without any comment1
 under the respective heads of the      
preceding sketch1 or of a more          

comprehensive enumeration4 ,each of them
 might repeat1 in so many words1 the    
most notable things he has heard uttered
 as disclosing the notions entertained  
of the ,deity1 or any part of religion2 
or those which have been formed of the  
ground and extent of duty and           
accountableness2 or the imaginations    
respecting the termination of life1 and 
a future retribution4 ,they might relate
 the judgments they have heard          
pronounced on characters and particular 
modes of conduct2 on important events in
 the world2 on anything1 in short1 which
 may afford a test of the quality and   
compass of uncultivated thought4 ,let   
the recital include both the expressions
 of individual conception1 and those of 
the most current maxims and             
common-places2 and let them be the      
sayings of persons in health1 and of    
those languishing and dying4 ,then let  
there be produced a numerous assortment 
of characteristic samples of practical  
conduct2 conduct not simply proceeding1 

in a general way1 from wrong            
disposition1 but bearing the special    
marks of the cast and direction which   
that disposition takes through extreme  
ignorance3 samples of action that is    
wrong because the actor cannot think    
right1 or does not think at all4 ,the   
assemblage of things thus recounted1    
when the actual circumstances were also 
added of the wretchedness corresponding 
and inseparable1 would constitute such  
an exhibition of fact1 as any           
description of those evils in general   
terms would incur the charge of         
rhetorical excesses in attempting to    
rival4 ,we can well imagine that some of
 these persons1 of large experience1 may
 have accompanied us through the        
foregoing series of illustrations1 with 
a feeling that they could have displayed
 the subject with a far more striking   
prominence4  ,and now again the         
mortifying reflection comes on us1 that 
all this is the description of too      
probably the major part of the people of

 our own nation4 ,of this nation1 the   
theme of so many lofty strains of       
panegyric2 of this nation1 stretching   
forth its powers in ambitious           
enterprise1 with infinite pride and     
cost1 to all parts of the globe2--just  
as if a family were seen eagerly intent 
on making some new appropriation1 or    
going out to maintain some competition  
or feud with its neighbors1 or mixing   
perhaps in the strife of athletic games1
 or drunken frays1 at the very time that
 several of its members are lying dead  
in the house4 ,so that the fame of the  
nation resounded1 and its power made    
itself felt1 in every clime1 it was not 
worth a consideration that a vast       
proportion of its people were           
systematically consigned1 through       
ignorance and the irreligion and        
depravity inseparable from it1 to a     
wretchedness on which that fame was the 
bitterest satire4 ,it is matter for     
never-ending amazement1 that during one 
generation after another1 the presiding 

wisdom in this chief of ,christian and  
,protestant ,states1 should have thrown 
out the living strength of that state   
into almost every mode of agency under  
heaven1 rather than that of promoting   
the state itself to the condition of a  
happy community of cultivated beings4   
,what stupendous infatuation1 what      
disastrous ascendency of the ,power of  
,darkness1 that this energy should have 
been sent forth to pervade all parts of 
the world in quest of objects1 to       
inspirit and accomplish innumerable     
projects1 political and military1 and to
 lavish itself1 even to exhaustion and  
fainting at its vital source1 on every  
alien interest2 while here at home1 so  
large a part of the social body was in a
 moral and intellectual sense dying and 
putrefying over the land4 ,and it was   
thus perishing for want of the vivifying
 principle of knowledge1 which one-fifth
 part of this mighty amount of exertion 
would have been sufficient to diffuse   
into every corner and cottage in the    

island4 ,within its circuit1 a countless
 multitude were seen passing away their 
mortal existence little better1 in any  
view1 than mere sentient shapes of      
matter1 and by their depravity          
immeasurably worse2 and yet this hideous
 fact had not the weight of the very    
dust of the balance1 in the deliberation
 whether a grand exertion of the        
national vigor and resource could have  
any object so worthy1 7with ,god for the
 ,judge17 as some scheme of foreign     
aggrandizement1 some interference in    
remote quarrels1 an avengement by       
anticipation of wrongs pretended to be  
foreseen1 or the obstinate prosecution  
of some fatal career1 begun in the very 
levity of pride1 by a decision in which 
some perverse individual or party in    
ascendency had the influence to obtain a
 corrupt1 deluded1 or forced            
concurrence4  ,the national honor1      
perhaps1 would be alleged1 in a certain 
matter of punctilio1 for the necessity  
of undertakings of incalculable         

consumption1 by men who could see no    
national disgrace in the circumstance   
that several millions of the persons    
composing the nation could not read the 
ten commandments4 ,or the national      
safety has been pleaded to a similar    
purpose1 with a rant or a gravity of    
patriotic phrases1 upon the appearance  
of some slight threatening symptoms2 and
 the wise men so pleading1 would have   
scouted as the very madness of          
fanaticism any dissuasion that should   
have advised1--,do you1 instead1 apply  
your best efforts1 and the nation's     
means1 to raise the barbarous population
 from their ignorance and debasement1   
and you really may venture some little  
trust in ,divine ,providence for the    
nation's safety meanwhile4  ,if a       
contemplative and religious man1 looking
 back through little more than a        
century1 were enabled to take1 with an  
adequate comprehension of intellect1 the
 sum and value of so much of the        
astonishing course of the national      

exertions of this country as the        
,supreme ,judge has put to the criminal 
account of pride and ambition2 and if he
 could then place in contrast to the    
transactions on which that mighty amount
 has been expended1 a sober estimate of 
what so much exerted vigor might have   
accomplished for the intellectual and   
moral exaltation of the people1 it could
 not be without an emotion of horror    
that he would say1 ,who is to be        
accountable1 who has been accountable1  
for this difference8 ,he would no longer
 wonder at any plagues and judgments    
which may have been inflicted on such a 
state4 ,and he would solemnly adjure all
 those1 especially1 who profess in a    
peculiar manner to feel the power of the
 ,christian ,religion1 to beware how    
they implicate themselves1 by avowed or 
even implied approbation1 in what must  
be a matter of fearful account before   
the highest tribunal4 ,if some such     
persons1 of great merit and influence1  
honored performers of valuable public   

services in certain departments1 have   
habitually given1 in a public capacity1 
this approbation1 he would urge it on   
their consciences1 in the evening of    
life1 to consider whether1 in the       
prospect of that tribunal1 they have not
 one duty yet to perform1--to throw off 
from their minds the servility to party 
associations1 to estimate as            
,christians1 about to retire from the   
scene1 the actual effects on this nation
 of a policy which might have been      
nearly the same if ,christianity had    
been extinct2 and then to record a      
solemn1 recanting1 final protest against
 a system to which they have concurred  
in the profane policy of degrading that 
religion itself into a party4  ,any     
reference made to such a prospect       
implies1 that there is attributed to    
those who can feel its seriousness a    
state of mind perfectly unknown to the  
generality of what are called public    
men4 ,for it is notorious that1 to the  
mere working politician1 there is       

nothing on earth that sounds so idly or 
so ludicrously as a reference to a      
judgment elsewhere and hereafter1 to    
which the policy and transactions of    
statesmen are to be carried4 ,if the    
,divine jurisdiction would yield to     
contract its comprehension1 and retire  
from all the ground over which a        
practical infidelity heedlessly         
disregards or deliberately rejects it1  
how large a province it would leave     
free6 ,if it be assumed that the        
province of national affairs is so left 
free1 on the pretence that they cannot  
be transacted in faithful conformity to 
the ,christian standard1 that plea is   
reserved to be tried in the great       
account1 when the responsibility for    
them shall be charged4 ,for assuredly   
there will be persons found1 to be      
summoned forth as accountable for that  
conduct of states which we are          
contemplating4 ,such a moral agency     
could not throw off its responsibility  
into the air1 to be dissipated and lost1

 like the black smoke of forges or      
volcanoes4 ,this one grand thing 7the   
improvement of the people7 left undone1 
while a thousand arduous things have    
been done or strenuously endeavored1    
cannot be less than an awful charge     
somewhere4 ,and where8--but on all who  
have voluntarily concurred and          
co-operated in systems and schemes1     
which could deliberately put such a     
thing last8 ,last6 nay1 not even that2  
for they have1 till recently1 as we have
 seen1 thrown it almost wholly out of   
consideration4 ,a long succession of men
 invested with ample power are gone to  
this audit4 ,how many of those who come 
after them will choose to proceed on the
 same principles1 and meet the same     
award8  ,we were supposing a thoughtful 
man to draw out to his view a parallel  
and contrast1 exhibiting1 on the one    
side1 the series of objects on which1   
during several ages1 an enormous        
exertion of the national energy has been
 directed2 and on the other1 those      

improvements of the people which might  
have been effected by so much of that   
exertion as he deems to have been worse 
than wasted4 ,in this process1 he might 
often be inclined to single out         
particular parts in the actual series1  
to be put in special contrast over      
against the possibilities on the        
opposite line4 ,for example2 there may  
occur to his view some inconsiderable   
island1 the haunt of fatal diseases1 and
 rendered productive by means involving 
the most flagrant iniquity2 an iniquity 
which it avenges by opening a premature 
grave for many of his countrymen1 and by
 being a moral corrupter of the rest4   
,such an infested spot1 nevertheless1   
may have been one of the most material  
objects of a widely destructive war1    
which has in effect sunk incalculable   
treasure in the sea1 and in the sands1  
ditches1 and fields of plague-infested  
shores2 with a dreadful sacrifice of    
blood1 life1 and all the best moral     
feelings and habits4 ,its possession1   

perhaps1 was the chief prize and triumph
 of all the grand exertion1 the         
equivalent for all the cost1 misery1 and
 crime4  ,or there may occur to him the 
name of some fortress1 in a less remote 
region1 where the ,christian nations    
seem to have vied with one another which
 of them should deposit the greatest    
number of victims1 securely kept in the 
charge of death1 to rise and testify for
 them1 at the last day1 how much they   
have been governed by the peaceful      
spirit of their professed religion4 ,he 
reads that his countrymen1 conjoined    
with others1 have battled round this    
fortress1 wasting the vicinity1 but     
richly manuring the soil with blood4    
,they have co-operated in hurling upon  
the abodes of thousands of inhabitants  
within its walls1 a thunder and         
lightning incomparably more destructive 
than those of nature2 and have put fire 
and earthquake under the fortifications2
 shouting1 to make the welkin ring1 at  
sight of the consequent ruin and chasm1 

which have opened an entrance for       
hostile rage1 or compelled an immediate 
submission1 if1 indeed1 it would then be
 accepted to disappoint that rage of its
 horrible consummation4 ,they have taken
 the place1--and they have surrendered  
it4 ,the next year perhaps they have    
taken it again2 to be again at last     
given up1 on compulsion or in           
compromise1 to the very same party to   
which it had belonged previously to all 
this destructive commotion4 ,the        
operations in this local and very narrow
 portion of the grand affray of         
monarchies1 he may calculate to have    
cost his country as much as the amount  
earned by the toils of half the life of 
all the inhabitants of one of its       
populous towns2 setting aside from his  
view the more portentous part of the    
account1--the carnage1 the crimes1 and  
the devastation perpetrated on the      
foreign tract1 the place of abode of    
people who had little interest in the   
contest1 and no power to prevent it4    

,and why was all this8 ,he may not be   
able to divest himself of the principles
 that should rule the judgment of a     
moralist and a ,christian1 in order to  
think like a statesman2 and therefore   
may find no better reason than that1    
when despots would quarrel1 ,britain    
must fancy itself called upon to take   
the occasion to prove itself a great    
power1 by bearing a high hand amidst    
their rivalries2 or must seize the      
opportunity of revenging some trivial   
offence of one of them2 though this     
should be at the expense of having the  
scene at home chequered between children
 learning little more than how to curse1
 and old persons dying without knowing  
how to put words together to pray4  ,the
 question may have been1 in one part of 
the world or another1 which of two      
wicked individuals of the same family1  
competitors for sovereign authority1    
should be actually invested with it1    
they being equal in the qualifications  
and dispositions to make the worst use  

of it4 ,and the decision of such a      
question was worthy that ,england should
 expend what remained of her depressed  
strength from previous exertions of it  
in some equally meritorious cause4  ,or 
the supposed reviewer of our national   
history may find1 somewhere in his      
retrospect1 that a certain brook or     
swamp in a wilderness1 or a stripe of   
waste1 or the settlement of boundaries  
in respect to some insignificant        
traffic1 was difficult of adjustment    
between jealous1 irritated1 and mutually
 incursive neighbors2 and therefore1    
national honor and interest equally     
required that war should be lighted up  
by land and sea1 through several        
quarters of the globe4 ,or a dissension 
may have arisen upon the matter of some 
petty tax on an article of commerce3 an 
absolute will had been rashly signified 
on the claim2 pride had committed       
itself1 and was peremptory for          
persisting2 and the resolution was to be
 prosecuted through a wide tempest of   

destruction1 protracted perhaps many    
years2 and only ending in the forced    
abandonment by the leading power        
concerned1 of infinitely more than war  
had been made in the determination not  
to forego2 and after an absolutely      
fathomless amount of every kind of cost1
 financial and moral1 in this progress  
to final frustration4--,but there would 
be no end of recounting facts of this   
order4  ,now the comparative estimator  
has to set against the extended rank of 
such enormities the forms of imagined   
good1 which might1 during the ages of   
this retrospect1 have been realized by  
an incomparably less exhausting series  
of exertion1 an exertion1 indeed1       
continually renovating its own          
resources4 ,imagined good1 we           
said2--alas6 the evil stands in long and
 awful display on the ground of history2
 the hypothetical good presents itself  
as a dream2 with this circumstance only 
of difference from a dream1 that there  
is resting on the conscience of beings  

somewhere still existing1 a fearful     
accountableness for its not having been 
a reality4  ,for such an island1 as we  
have supposed our comparer to read of1  
he can look1 in imagination1 on a space 
of proportional extent in any part of   
his native country1 taking a district as
 a detached section of a general        
national picture4 ,and he can figure to 
himself the result1 resplendent upon    
this tract1 of so much energy1 there    
beneficently expended1 as that island   
had cost3 an energy1 we mean equivalent 
in measure1 while put forth in the      
infinitely different mode of an         
exertion1 by all appropriate means1 to  
improve the reason1 manners1 morals1 and
 with them the physical condition of the
 people4 ,what a prevalence of          
intelligence1 what a delightful civility
 of deportment1 what repression of the  
more gross and obtrusive forms of vice1 
what domestic decorum1 attentive        
education of the children1              
appropriateness of manner1 and readiness

 of apprehension in attendance on public
 offices of religion1 sense and good    
order in assemblages for the assertion  
and exercise of civil and political     
rights6 ,all this he can imagine as the 
possible result4  ,we were supposing his
 attention fixed a while on the recorded
 operations against some strongly       
fortified place1 in a region marked     
through every part with the traces and  
memorials of the often-renewed conflicts
 of the ,christian states4 ,and we      
suppose him to make a collective        
estimate of all kinds of human ability  
exerted around and against that         
particular devoted place2 an estimate   
which divides this off as a portion of  
the whole immense quantity of exertion1 
expended by his country in all that     
region in the campaigns of a war1 or of 
a century's wars4 ,he may then again    
endeavor1 by a rule of equivalence1 to  
conceive the same amount of exertion in 
quite another way2 to imagine human     
forces equal in quantity to all that    

putting forth of strength1 physical1    
mental1 and financial1 for annoyance and
 destruction1 expended instead1 in the  
operation of effecting the utmost       
improvement which they could effect1 in 
the mental cultivation and the morals of
 the inhabitants of one large town in   
his own country4  ,in figuring to       
himself the channels and                
instrumentality1 through which this     
great stream of energy might have passed
 into this operation1 on a detached spot
 of his country1 he will soon have many 
specific means presented to his view3   
schools of the most perfect appointment1
 in every section and corner of the     
town2 a system of friendly but cogent   
dealing with all the people of inferior 
condition1 relatively to the necessity  
of their practical accordance to the    
plans of education2,footnote3 ,it is    
here confidently presumed1 that any man 
who looks1 in a right state of his      
senses1 at the manner in which the      
children are still brought up1 in many  

parts of the land1 will hear with       
contempt any hypocritical protest       
against so much interference with the   
discretion1 the liberty of parents2--the
 discretion1 the liberty1 forsooth1 of  
bringing up their children a nuisance on
 the face of the earth4 an exceedingly  
copious supply1 for individual          
possession1 of the best books of        
elementary knowledge2 accompanied1 as we
 need not say1 by the sacred volume2 a  
number of assortments of useful and     
pleasing books for circulation1         
established under strict order1 and with
 appointments of honorary and other     
rewards to those who gave evidence of   
having made the best use of them2 a     
number of places of resort where various
 branches of the most generally useful  
and attainable knowledge and arts should
 be explained and applied1 by every     
expedient of familiar1 practical1 and   
entertaining illustration1 admitting a  
degree of co-operation by those who     
attended to see and hear2 and an        

abundance of commodious places for      
religious instruction on the ,sabbath1  
where there should be wise and zealous  
men to impart it4 ,our speculator has a 
right to suppose a high degree of these 
qualifications in his public teachers of
 religion1 when he is to imagine a      
parallel in this department to the skill
 and ardor displayed in the supposed    
military operations4 ,he may add as     
subsidiary to such an apparatus1        
everything of magistracy and municipal  
regulation2 a police1 vigilant and      
peremptory against every cognizable     
neglect and transgression of good order2
 a resolute breaking up of all haunts   
and rendezvous of intemperance1         
dishonesty and other vice2 and the best 
devised and administered institutions   
for correcting and reclaiming those whom
 education had failed to preserve from  
such depravity2 and besides all this1   
there would be a great variety of       
undefinable and optional activity of    
benevolent and intelligent men of local 

influence4  ,under so auspicious a      
combination of discipline1 he will not  
indeed fancy1 in his transient vision1  
that he beholds ,athens revived1 with   
its bright intelligence all converted to
 minister to morality1 religion1 and    
happiness2 but he will1 in sober        
consistency1 we think1 with what is     
known of the relation of cause and      
effect1 imagine a place far surpassing  
any actual town or city on earth4 ,and  
let it be distinctly kept in view1 that 
to reduce the ideal exhibition to       
reality1 he is not dreaming of means and
 resources out of all human reach1 of   
preternatural powers1 discovered        
gold-mines1 grand feats of genius4 ,he  
is just supposing to have been expended1
 on the population of the town1 a       
measure of exertion and means equal1 7as
 far as agencies in so different a form 
and direction can be brought to any rule
 of comparative estimate7 to what has   
been expended by his country in         
investing1 battering1 undermining1      

burning1 taking1 and perhaps retaking1  
one particular foreign town1 in one or  
several campaigns4  ,if he should       
perchance be sarcastically questioned1  
how he can allow himself in so strange a
 conceit as that of supposing such a    
quantity of forces concentrated to act  
in one exclusive spot1 while the rest of
 the country remained under the old     
course of things2 or in such an         
absurdity as that of fancying that any  
quantity of those forces could          
effectually raise one local section of  
the people eminently aloft1 while       
continuing surrounded and unavoidably in
 constant intercourse with the general  
mass1 remaining still sunk in           
degradation--he has to reply1 that he is
 fancying no such thing4 ,for while he  
is thus converting1 in imagination1 the 
military exertions against one foreign  
town1 into intellectual and moral       
operations on one town at home1 why may 
he not1 in similar imagination1 make a  
whole country correspond to a whole     

country8 ,he may conceive the           
incalculable amount of exertion made by 
his country1 in martial operations over 
all that wide foreign territory of which
 he has selected a particular spot1 to  
have been1 on the contrary1 expended in 
the supposed beneficent process on the  
great scale of this whole nation4 ,then 
would the hypothetical improvement in   
the one particular town1 so far from    
being a strange insulated phenomenon1   
absurd to be conceived as existing in   
exception and total contrast to the     
general state of the people1 be but a   
specimen of that state4  ,he may proceed
 along the series of such confronted    
spectacles as far as bitter             
mortification will let him4 ,but he will
 soon be sick of this process of        
comparison4 ,and how sick will he       
thenceforward be1 to perpetual loathing1
 of the vain raptures with which an     
immortal and anti-,christian patriotism 
can review a long history of what it    
will call national glory1 acquired by   

national energy ambitiously consuming   
itself in a continual succession and    
unlimited extent of extraneous          
operations1 of that kind which has been 
the grand curse of the human race ever  
since the time of ,cain2 while the one  
thing needful of national welfare1 the  
very summum bonum of a state1 has been  
regarded with contemptuous indifference4
  ,these observations are not made on an
 assumption1 that ,england could in all 
cases have kept clear of implication in 
foreign interests1 and remote and       
sanguinary contests4 ,but they are made 
on the assumption of what is admitted   
and deplored by every thoughtful        
religious man1 whose understanding and  
moral sense are not wretchedly          
prostrated in homage to a prevailing    
system1 and chained down by a           
superstition that dares not question the
 wisdom and probity of high national    
authorities and counsels4 ,what is so   
admitted and deplored by the true and   
,christian patriots is1 that this nation

 has gone to an awfully criminal extent 
beyond the line of necessity2 that it   
has been extremely prompt to find or    
make occasions for appearing again1 and 
still again1 in array for the old work  
of waste and death2 and that the        
advantage possessed by the              
preponderating classes in this          
protestant country1 for being instructed
 7if they had cared for such            
instruction7 to look at these           
transactions in the light of religion1  
has reflected a peculiar aggravation on 
the guilt of a policy persevered in from
 age to age1 in disregard of the laws of
 ,christianity1 and the warning of      
accountableness to the ,sovereign       
,judge4  ,these observations assume1    
also1 that there cannot be such a thing 
as a nation so doomed to a necessity and
 duty of expending its vigor and means  
in foreign enterprise1 as to be         
habitually absolved from the duty of    
raising its people from brutish         
ignorance4 ,this concern is a duty at   

all events and to an entire certainty2  
is a duty imperative and absolute2 and  
any pretended necessity for such a      
direction of the national exertion as   
would be1 through a long succession of  
time1 incompatible with a paramount     
attention to this1 would be a virtual   
denial of the superintendence of        
,providence4 ,it would be the same thing
 as to assert of an individual1 that his
 duties of other kinds are so many and  
great1 as to render it impossible for   
him to give a competent attention to his
 highest interests1 and that therefore  
he stands exempted from the obligations 
of religion4  ,such as we have described
 has been1 for ages1 the degraded state 
of the multitude4 ,and such has been the
 indifference to it1 manifested by the  
superior1 the refined1 the ascendant    
portion of the community2 who1 generally
 speaking1 could see these sharers with 
them of the dishonored human nature1 in 
endless numbers around them1 in the city
 and the field1 without its ever        

flashing on conscience that on them was 
lying a solemn responsibility1 destined 
to press one day with all its weight1   
for that ill arrangement of the social  
order which abandoned these beings to an
 exclusion from the sphere of rational  
existence4 ,it never occurred to many of
 them as a question of the smallest     
moment1 in what manner the mind might be
 living in all these bodies1 if only it 
were there in competence to make them   
efficient as machines and implements4   
,contented to be gazed at1 to be envied1
 or to be regarded as too high even for 
envy1 and to have the rough business of 
the world performed by these inhalers of
 the vital air1 they perhaps thought1 if
 they reflected at all on the subject1  
that the best and most privileged state 
of such creatures was to be in the least
 possible degree morally accountable3   
and that therefore it would be but doing
 them an injury to enlarge their        
knowledge4 ,and might not the thought be
 suggested at some moment1 7see how many

 things may be envied in their turns67  
how happy they should be1 if1 with the  
vast superiority of their advantages1   
they could still be just as little      
accountable8 ,but if even in this way1  
of envy1 they received an unwelcome     
admonition of their own high            
responsibility1 not even then was it    
suggested to them1 that they should ever
 be arraigned on a charge to which they 
would vainly wish to be permitted to    
plead1 ,were we our brothers' keepers8  
,and if an office designated in those   
terms had been named to them1 as a part 
of their duty1 by some unearthly voice  
of imperious accent1 their thoughts     
might have traversed hither and thither1
 in various conjectures and protracted  
perplexity1 before the objects of that  
office had been presented explicitly to 
their apprehension as no other than the 
reason1 principles1 consciences1 and the
 whole moral condition of the vulgar    
mass4 ,they would understand that its   
condition was1 in some way or other1 a  

concern lying at their door1 but        
probably not in this4--,we speak        
generally1 and not universally4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,but we would believe there are signs of
 a revolution beginning2 a more         
important one1 by its higher principle  
and its expansive impulse toward a wide 
and remote beneficence1 than the        
ordinary events of that name4 ,what have
 commonly been the matter and           
circumstance of revolutions8 ,the last  
deciding blow in a deadly competition of
 equally selfish parties2 actions and   
reactions of ambition and revenge2 the  
fiat of a conqueror2 a burst of blind   
fury1 suddenly sweeping away an old     
order of things1 but overwhelming to all
 attempts to substitute a better        
institution2 plots1 massacres1 battles1 
dethronements1 restorations3 all        
actuated by a fermentation of the       
ordinary or the basest elements of      
humanity4 ,how little of the sublime of 
moral agency has there been1 with one or

 two partial exceptions1 in these mighty
 commotions2 how little wisdom or       
virtue1 or reference to the ,supreme    
,patron of national interests2 how      
little nobleness or even distinctness of
 purpose1 or consolidated advantage of  
success6 ,but here is1 as we trust1 the 
approach of a revolution with different 
phenomena4 ,it displays the nature of   
its principle and its ambition in a     
conviction1 far more serious and        
extensive than heretofore1 of the       
necessity of education to the mass of   
the population1 with earnest discussions
 of its scope and methods by both       
speculative and practical men2 in       
schemes1 more speedily animated into    
operation than good designs were wont to
 be1 for spreading useful knowledge over
 tracts of the dead waste where there   
was none2 in exciting tens of thousands 
of young persons to a benevolent and    
patient activity in the instruction of  
the children of the poor2 in an extended
 and extending system of means and      

exertions for the universal diffusion of
 the sacred scriptures2 in multiplying  
endeavors1 in all regular and all       
uncanonical ways1 to render it next to  
impossible for the people to avoid      
hearing some sounds at least of the     
voice of religion2 in the formation of  
useful local institutions too various to
 come under one denomination2 in        
enterprises to attempt an opening of the
 vast prison-houses of human spirits in 
dark distant regions2 in bringing to the
 test of principles many notions and    
practices which have stood on the       
authority of prejudice1 custom1 and     
prescription3 and all this taking       
advantage of the new and powerful spirit
 which has come on the world to drive   
its affairs into commotion and          
acceleration2 as bold adventurers have  
sometimes availed themselves of a       
formidable torrent to be conveyed       
whither the stream in its ordinary state
 would never have carried them2 or as we
 have heard of heroic assailants seizing

 the moment of a tempest to break       
through the enemy's lines4--,such are   
some of the insignia by which it stands 
distinguished out and far off from the  
rank of ordinary revolutions4  ,we are  
not unaware that1 with certain          
speculators on this same subject of     
meliorating the state and character of  
the people1 some of the things here     
specified will be of small account1     
either as signs of a great change1 or as
 means of promoting it4 ,the widely     
spreading activity of a humble class of 
laborers1 who seek no fame for their    
toils and sacrifices1 is but a creeping 
process1 almost invisible in the survey4
 ,the multiplied1 voluntary1 and        
extraordinary efforts to diffuse some   
religious knowledge and sentiment among 
the vulgar1 appear to them1 if not even 
of doubtful tendency1 at least of such  
impotence for corrective operation1 that
 any confidence founded on them is      
simple fanaticism2 that the calculation 
is1 to use a commercial term1 mere      

moonshine4 ,we remember when a          
publication of great note and influence 
flung contempt on the sanguine          
expectations entertained from the rapid 
circulation of ,bibles among the        
inferior population4 ,at the hopeful    
mention of expedients of the religious  
kind especially1 the class of           
speculators in question might perhaps be
 reminded of ,glendower's grave and     
believing talk of calling up spirits to 
perform his will2 or 7should they ever  
have happened to read the ,bible7 of the
 people who seized1 in honest credulous 
delight1 the mockery of a proposal of   
pulling a city1 to the last stone1 into 
the river with ropes1 as a prime stroke 
of generalship4  ,when we see such      
expedients rated so low in the process  
for raising the populace from their     
degradation1 we ask what means these    
speculators themselves would reckon on  
for the purpose4 ,and it would appear   
that their scheme would calculate mainly
 on some supposed dispositions of a     

political and economical nature4 ,let   
the people be put in possession of all  
their rights as citizens1 and thus      
advanced in the scale of society4 ,let  
all invidious distinctions which are    
artificial1 arbitrary1 and not          
inevitable1 be abolished2 together with 
all laws and regulations injuriously    
affecting their temporal well-being4    
,give them thus a sense of being        
something in the great social order1 a  
direct palpable interest in the honor   
and prosperity of the community4 ,there 
will then be a dignified sense of       
independence2 the generous1             
liberalizing1 ennobling sentiments of   
freedom2 the self-respect and conscious 
responsibility of men in the full       
exercise of their rights2 the manly     
disdain of what is base2 the innate     
perception of what is worthy and        
honorable1 developing itself            
spontaneously on the removal of the     
ungenial circumstances in the           
constitution of society1 which have been

 as a long winter on the intellectual   
and moral nature of its inferior        
portions4 ,all this will conduce to the 
practicability and efficacy of          
education4 ,it will be an education to  
fit them for an education to be         
introduced with the progress of that    
fitness2 intellectual culture finding a 
felicitous adaptation of the soil4 ,we  
may then adopt with some confidence a   
public system1 or stimulate and assist  
all independent local exertions for the 
instruction of the people in the        
rudiments of literature and general     
knowledge2 and religion too1 if you     
will4  ,but1 to say nothing of the vain 
fancies of the virtues ready to disclose
 themselves in a corrupt mass1 under the
 auspices of improved political         
institutions1 it is unfortunate for any 
such speculation that what it insists on
 as the primary condition cannot as yet1
 but very imperfectly1 be had4 ,the     
higher and commanding portion of the    
community have1 very naturally1 the     

utmost aversion to concede to the people
 what are claimed as theoretically their
 rights4 ,they have1 indeed1 latterly   
been constrained to make considerable   
concessions in name and semblance4 ,but 
their great and various power will be   
strenuously exerted1 for probably a long
 while yet1 to render the acquisitions  
made by the people as nearly as possible
 profitless in their hands4 ,and        
unhappily these predominant classes have
 to allege the mental and moral rudeness
 of the lower1 in vindication of this   
determined policy of repression and     
frustration2 thus turning the           
consequences of their own criminal      
neglect into a defence of their         
injustice4 ,they will say1 ,if the      
subordinate millions had grown up into a
 rational existence2 if they had been   
rendered capable of thinking1 judging1  
distinguishing1 if they were in         
possession of a moderate share of useful
 information1 and withal a strong sense 
of duty2 then might this and the other  

privilege1 or call it right1 in the     
social constitution be yielded to them4 
,but as long as they continue in their  
present mental grossness they are unfit 
for the possession1 because unqualified 
for the exercise1 of any such privileges
 as would take them from under our      
authoritative control4  ,since they can 
and will1 for the present1 maintain this
 controlling power1 to the extent of    
nearly invalidating any political       
advancement attained1 or likely to be   
soon attained1 by the lower grades1 a   
speculation that should place on that   
advancement1 as a pre-requisite1 our    
hope of a great change in the mental    
condition of the people1 would be1 to   
adopt a humble figure1 setting us to    
climb to an upper platform without a    
ladder1 or rather telling us not to     
climb at all4 ,and while this supposed  
pre-requisite will be refused1 on the   
allegation that the uncultivated        
condition of the people renders them    
unfit for a liberal political           

arrangement1 the parties so refusing    
will be little desirous to have the     
obstacle removed2 foreseeing1 as the    
inevitable consequence of a highly      
improved cultivation1 a more resolute   
demand of the advantages withheld1 a    
constantly augmenting force of popular  
opinion1 and therefore a diminution of  
their own predominant power4 ,they will 
deem it much more commodious for        
themselves1 that the people should not  
be so enlightened and raised as to come 
into any such competition4 ,and since   
they1 with these dispositions1 have the 
preponderance in what we denominate the 
,state1 we fear we are not to look with 
much hope to the ,state for a liberal   
and effective system of national        
education4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,what then is to be        
done8--,we earnestly wish it might      
please the ,sovereign ,ruler to do one  
more new thing in the earth1 compelling 
the dominant powers in the nations to an
 order of institutions and              

administrations that would apply the    
energy of the state to so noble a       
purpose4 ,nor can we imagine any test of
 their merits so fair as the question   
whether1 and in what degree1 they do    
this2 nor any test by which they may    
more naturally decline to have those    
merits tried4 ,but since1 to the shame  
of our nature1 there is no use to which 
we are so prone to turn our condemnation
 of evil in one form1 as that of        
purchasing a license for it in another1 
the persons who are justly arraigning   
the powers at the head of nations should
 be warned that they do not take from   
the guilty omissions of states a        
sanction for individuals to do nothing4 
,let them not suffer an imposition on   
their minds in the notion entertained of
 a state1 as a thing to be no otherwise 
accounted of than in a collective       
capacity1 acting by a government2 as if 
the collective power and agency of a    
nation became1 in being exerted through 
that political organ1 an affair         

altogether foreign to the will1 the     
action1 the duty1 the responsibility1 of
 the persons of whom the nation is      
composed4 ,let them not put out of sight
 that whatever is the duty of the       
national body in that collective        
capacity1 acting through its government1
 is such only because it is the duty of 
the individuals composing that body1 as 
far as it is in the power of each2 and  
that it would be their duty individually
 not the less1 though the government1 as
 the depositary of the national power1  
neglect it4 ,but more than this2 to     
speak generally1 and with certain       
degrees of possible exception1 we may   
affirm that a government cannot be      
lastingly neglectful of a great duty but
 because the individuals constituting   
the community are so4 ,an assertion1    
that a government has been utterly and  
criminally neglectful of the moral      
condition of the inferior population1   
age after age1 and through every change 
of its administrators2 but that1        

nevertheless1 the generality of the     
individuals of intelligence1 wealth1 and
 influence1 have all the while been of a
 quite opposite spirit1 zealously intent
 on remedying the flagrant evil1 would  
be instantly rejected as a              
contradiction4 ,such an enlightened and 
philanthropic spirit prevailing widely  
among the individuals of the nation     
would carry its impulse into the        
government in one manner or another4 ,it
 would either constrain the             
administrators of the state to act in   
conformity1 or ultimately displace them 
in favor of better men4 ,even if1 short 
of such a general activity of the       
respectable and locally influential     
members of society1 a large proportion  
of them had vigorously prosecuted such a
 purpose1 it would have compelled the   
administrators of the state to consider1
 even for their own sake1 whether they  
should be content to see so important a 
process going on independently of them1 
and in contrast with their own          

disgraceful neglect4  ,but at the worst1
 and on the supposition that they were  
obstinately inaccessible to all moral   
and philanthropic considerations1 still 
a grand improvement would have been     
accomplished1 if many thousands of the  
responsible members of the community had
 attempted it with zealous and          
persevering exertion4 ,the neglect1     
therefore1 of the improvement of the    
people1 so glaring in the review of our 
conduct as a nation1 has been1 to a very
 great extent1 the insensibility of     
individuals to obligations lying on them
 as such1 independently of the          
institutions and administration of the  
state4  ,and are individuals now        
absolved from all such responsibility2  
and the more so1 that the conviction of 
the importance of the object is come    
upon them with such a new and cogent    
force8 ,when they say1 reproachfully1   
that the nation1 as a body politic1     
concentrating its powers in its         
government1 disowns or neglects a most  

important duty1 is it to be understood  
that this accusatory testimony is their 
share1 or something equivalent in       
substitution for their share1 of that   
very duty8 ,does a collective duty of   
such very solid substance1 vanish into  
nothing under any attempted process of  
resolving it into fractions and portions
 for individuals8 ,and do they          
themselves1 as some of the individuals  
to whom this duty might thus be         
distributively assigned1--do they       
themselves1 in spite of self-love1      
self-estimation1 and all the sentiments 
which they will at other times indulge  
in homage of their own importance1--do  
they1 when this assignment is attempted 
to be made to them1 instantly and       
willingly surrender to a feeling of     
crumbling down from this proud          
individuality into an undistinguishable 
existence in the mass2 and1 profaning   
the language of religion1 say to the    
,state1 ,in thee we live1 move1 and have
 a being8 ,or1 will they1 7in           

assimilation to eastern pagans1 who hold
 that a divinity so pervades them as to 
be their wills and do their actions1    
leaving the mere human vehicle without  
power1 duty1 or accountableness17 will  
they account themselves but as passive  
matter1 moved or fixed1 and in all      
things necessitated1 by a sovereign     
mythological something denominated the  
state8  ,no1 not in all things4 ,it is  
not so that they feel with respect to   
those other interests and projects1     
which they are really in earnest to     
promote1 though those concerns may lie  
in no greater proportion than the one in
 question does within the scope of their
 individual ability4 ,the incubus has   
then vanished2 and they find themselves 
in possession of a free agency1 and a   
degree of power1 which they will not    
patiently hear estimated in any such    
contemptuous terms4 ,what is there then 
that should reduce them1 as individual  
agents1 to such utter and willing       
insignificance in the affair of which we

 are speaking8 ,besides1 they may form  
themselves1 in indefinite number1 into  
combination4 ,and is there no power in  
any collective form in which they can be
 associated1 save just that one in which
 the aggregation is constituted under   
the political shape and authority       
denominated a state8 ,or is it at last  
that some alarm of superstitious loyalty
 comes over them2 that they grow uneasy 
in conscience at the high-toned censure 
they have been stimulated and betrayed  
to pronounce on the state2 that they    
relapse into the obsequiousness of      
hesitating1 whether they should presume 
to do good of a kind which the ,power   
ordained of ,god has not seen fit to do2
 that they must wait for the sanction of
 its great example2 that till the shout 
of kings is among them it were better   
not to march against the vandalism and  
the paganism which are1 the while1 quite
 at their ease1 destroying the people8  
,but if such had always been the way in 
which private individuals1 single or    

associated1 had accounted of themselves 
and their possible exertions1 in regard 
to great general improvements1 but very 
few would ever have been accomplished4  
,for the case has commonly been1 that   
the schemes of such improvements have   
originated with persons not invested    
with political power2 have been urged on
 by the accession and co-operation of   
such individuals2 and at length slowly  
and reluctantly acceded to by the       
holders of dominion over the community1 
always1 through some malignant fatality1
 the last to admit what had long        
appeared to the majority of thinking men
 no less than demonstrative evidence of 
the propriety and advantage of the      
reformation4  ,in all probability1 the  
improvement of mankind is destined1     
under ,providence1 to advance nearly in 
proportion as good men feel the         
responsibility for it resting on        
themselves as individuals1 and are      
actuated by a bold sentiment of         
independence1 7humble at the same time1 

in reference to the necessity of ,divine
 intervention17 in the prosecution of   
it4 ,each person who is standing still  
to look1 with grief or indignation1 at  
the evils which are overrunning the     
world1 would do well to recollect what  
he may have read of some gallant        
partisan1 who1 perceiving where a prompt
 movement1 with the comparatively       
slender force at his own command1 would 
make an impression infallibly tending to
 the success of the warfare1 could not  
endure to lose the time till some great 
sultan should find it convenient to come
 in slow march1 and the pomp of state1  
to take on him the direction of the     
campaign4  ,in laying this emphasis of  
incitement and hope on the exertions of 
good men as individuals1 we cannot be   
understood to mean that the government  
of states1 if ever they did come to be  
intent on rendering the condition of    
society better and happier1 could not   
contribute beyond all calculation to the
 force and efficacy of every project and

 measure for that grand purpose4 ,how   
far from it6 it is melancholy to        
consider what they might do and do not4 
,but it is because their history1 thus  
far1 affords such feeble prognostics of 
their becoming1 till some better age1   
actuated by such a spirit1--it is       
because the ,divine ,governor has       
hitherto put upon them so little of the 
honor of being the instruments of his   
beneficence1--that the anticipations of 
good1 and the exhortations to attempt   
it1 are so peculiarly directed to its   
promoters in an individual capacity4    
,happily1 the accusatory part of such   
exhortations is becoming1 we trust we   
may say fast becoming1 less extensively 
applicable2 and we return with pleasure 
to the animating idea of that revolution
 of which we were noting the            
introductory signs4 ,it is a revolution 
in the manner of estimating the souls of
 the people1 and consequently in the    
judgment of what should be done for both
 their present and future welfare4      

,through many ages1 that immense        
multitude had been but obscurely        
presented to view in any such character 
as that of rational1 improvable         
creatures4 ,they were recognized no     
otherwise than as one large mass of rude
 moral substance1 but faintly           
distinguishable into individuals2       
existing1 and to be left to exist1 in   
their own manner2 and that manner hardly
 worth concern or inquiry4 ,little      
consideration could there be of how much
 spiritual immortal essence must be     
going to waste1 absorbed in the very    
earth1 all over the wide field where the
 inferior portion of humanity was seen  
only through the gross medium of an     
economical estimate1 by the more favored
 part of the race4 ,but now it is as if 
a mist were rising and dispersing from  
that field1 and leaving the multitude of
 possessors of uncultivated and degraded
 mind exhibited in a light in which they
 were never seen before1 except by the  
faithful promoters of ,christianity1 and

 a few philanthropists of a less special
 order4  ,it is true1 this manifestation
 forms so tragic a vision1 that if we   
had only to behold it as a spectacle1 we
 might well desire that the misty       
obscurity should descend on it again1 to
 shroud it from sight2 while we should  
be left to indulge and elate our        
imaginations by dwelling on the pomps   
and splendors of the terrestrial        
scene1--the mighty empires1 the heroes1 
the victories1 the triumphs2 the        
refinements and enjoyments of the most  
highly cultivated of the race2 the      
brilliant performances of genius1 and   
the astonishing reach of science4 ,so   
the tempter would have beguiled our     
,lord into a complacent contemplation of
 the kingdoms and glories of the world4 
,but he was come to look on a different 
aspect of it6 ,nor could he be withdrawn
 from the gloomy view of its degradation
 and misery4 ,and a good reason why4    
,for the sole object for which he had   
appeared in the only world where        

temptation could even in form approach  
him was to begin in operation1 and      
finish in virtue1 a design for changing 
that state of degradation and misery4   
,in the prosecution of such a design1   
and in the spirit of that divine        
benevolence in which it sprung1 he could
 endure to fix on the melancholy and    
odious character of the scene1 the      
contemplation which was vainly attempted
 to be diverted to any other of its     
aspects4 ,what1 indeed1 could sublunary 
pomps and glories be to him in any case2
 but emphatically what1 when his object 
was to redeem the people from darkness  
and destruction8  ,those who1 actuated  
by a spirit in some humble resemblance  
to his1 have entered deeply into the    
state of the people1 such as it is found
 in our own nation1 have often been     
appalled at the spectacle disclosed to  
them4 ,they have been astonished to     
think1 what can have been the direction1
 while successive ages have passed away1
 of so many thousands of acute and      

vigilant mental eyes1 that so dreadful a
 sight should scarcely have been        
descried4 ,they have been aware that in 
describing it as they actually saw it1  
they would be regarded by some as gloomy
 fanatics1 tinctured with insanity by   
the influence of some austere creed2 and
 that others1 of kinder nature1 but     
whose sensibility has more of           
self-indulging refinement than tendency 
to active benevolence1 would almost wish
 that so revolting an exhibition had    
never been made1 though the fact be     
actually so4 ,there may have been       
moments when they themselves have       
experienced a temporary recoil of their 
benevolent zeal1 under the impression at
 once of the immensity of the evil1 so  
defying the feebleness of their remedial
 means and efforts1 and of its noisome  
quality4 ,at times1 the rudeness of the 
subjects1 and perhaps the ungracious    
reception and thankless requital of     
their disinterested labors1 aggravating 
the general feeling of the miserableness

 7so to express it7 of seeing so much   
misery1 have lent seduction to the      
temptations to ease and self-indulgence4
 ,why should they1 just they of all men1
 condemn themselves to dwell so much in 
the most dreary climate of the moral    
world1 when they could perhaps have     
taken their almost constant abode in a  
little elysium of elegant knowledge1    
taste1 and refined society8 ,then was   
the time to revert to the example of    
,him who1 though he was rich1 for our   
sakes became poor4  ,or1 again1 they may
 have been betrayed to indulge too long 
in the bitter mood of thinking1 how     
entirely the higher and more amply      
furnished powers leave such generous    
designs to proceed as they can1 in the  
mere strength of private individual     
exertion4 ,and they may have yielded to 
depressive feelings after the fervor of 
indignant ones2 for such indignation1   
unless qualified by the purest          
principle--unless it be the anger that  
sins not--is very apt1 when it cools1 to

 settle into misanthropic despondency4  
,it is as if 7they have said7 armies and
 giants would stand aloof to amuse      
themselves1 while we are to be committed
 and abandoned in the ceaseless1        
unavailable toil of a conflict1 which   
these armies and giants have no business
 even to exist as such but for the very 
purpose of waging4 ,we are1 if we       
will1--and if we will we may let it     
alone--to try to effect in diminutive   
pieces1 and detached local efforts1 a   
little share of that1 to the            
accomplishment of which the greatest    
human force on earth might be applied on
 system1 and to the widest compass4 ,so 
they have said1 perhaps1 and been       
tempted to leave their object to its    
destiny4  ,but really it is now too late
 for this resentful and desponding      
abandonment4 ,they cannot now retire in 
the tragic dignity of despair4 ,it must 
be some more forlorn predicament that   
would allow them any grace of rhetoric  
in saying1 as in parody of ,cato1       

,witness heaven and earth1 that we have 
done our duty1 but the stars and fate   
are against us2 and here it becomes us  
to terminate a strife1 which would      
degenerate into the ridiculous1 if      
prosecuted against impossibilities4 ,on 
the contrary1 the zeal which could begin
 so onerous a work1 and prosecute it    
thus far1 could not now remit without   
convicting its past ardor of cowardice  
lurking under its temporary semblance of
 bravery4 ,is it for the projectors of a
 noble edifice of public utility1 to    
abandon the undertaking when it has     
risen from its foundation to be seen    
above the ground2 or is just come to be 
level with the surface of the waters1 in
 defiance of which it has been          
commenced1 and the violence of which it 
was designed to control1 or the         
unfordable depths and streams of which  
it was to bear people over8 ,let the    
promoters of education and ,christian   
knowledge among the inferior classes1   
reflect what has already been           

accomplished2 though regarding it as    
quite the incipient stage4 ,it is most  
truly as yet the day of small things2   
and shall they despise it1 from an idea 
of what it might have been if the great 
powers had been directed to its         
advancement8 ,they have found that in   
the good cause thus unaided they have   
not wholly labored in vain2 that it can 
be brought in contact with a            
considerable portion of what would      
otherwise be so much human existence    
abandoned2 and that already1 as from the
 garments of the ,divine ,healer of     
diseases1 a sanative virtue goes out of 
it4 ,let them recount the individuals   
they have seen1 and not despond as to   
many more1 rescued from what had all the
 signs of a destination to the lowest   
debasement1 and utter ruin2 some of whom
 are returning animated thanks1 and will
 do so in the hour of death1 for what   
these1 their best human friends1 have   
been the means of imparting to them4    
,let them recollect of how many families

 they have seen the domestic condition  
pleasingly1 and in some instances       
eminently and delightfully amended4 ,and
 let them reflect how they have trampled
 down prejudices1 nearly silenced a     
heathenish clamor1 and provoked the     
imitative and rival efforts of many who 
would1 but for them1 have been willing  
enough for all such schemes to lie in   
abeyance to the end of time4 ,let them  
think of all this1 and faithfully       
persist in the trial what it may please 
,god that they shall accomplish1 whether
 the possessors of national power will  
acknowledge his demand for such an      
application of it or not2 whether1 when 
the infinite importance of the concern  
is represented to them1 they will hear1 
or whether they will forbear4  ,but let 
them not doubt that the time will come1 
when the rulers and the ascendant       
classes in states will comprehend it to 
be their best policy to promote all     
possible improvement of the people4 ,it 
will be given to them to understand1    

that the highest glory of those at the  
head of great communities1 must consist 
in the eminence attained by those       
communities generally1 in whatever it is
 that constitutes the worth1 the honor1 
the happiness1 of individuals2 a glory  
with which would be combined the        
advantage that the office of presiding  
over such a nation could be administered
 in a liberal spirit4 ,they will one day
 have learned to esteem it a far nobler 
form of power to lead and direct an     
immense society of intelligent minds1   
than to delude1 coerce1 and drive a vast
 semi-barbarous herd4 ,providence surely
 will one day1 in the progress of       
society1 confer on it such wise and     
virtuous rulers as can feel1 that it is 
better for them to have a people who can
 understand and rationally approve1 when
 deserving of approbation1 their system 
and measures1 than one bent in stupid   
submission1 even if ignorance could     
henceforward suffice 7which it cannot7  
to retain the people in that posture2   

better1 therefore1 by a still stronger  
reason1 than to have a people fermenting
 in ignorant disaffection1 constantly   
believing the governors to be in the    
wrong1 and without the sense to         
comprehend any arguments in             
justification1 excepting such as might  
be addressed in the shape of bribes to  
corruption4 ,and a time will come when  
it will not be left to the philanthropic
 or censorial speculatists alone1 to    
make the comparative estimate between   
what has been effected by the enormously
 expensive apparatus of coercive and    
penal administration--the prisons1      
prosecutions1 transportations1 and a    
large military police1 7things quite    
necessary in our past and present       
national condition17--and what might    
have been effected by one half of that  
expenditure devoted to popular          
reformation1 to be accomplished by means
 of schools1 and every practicable      
variety of methods for placing men's    
judgment and conscience as the lion in  

the way1 when they are inclined and     
tempted to go wrong4--,all this will    
come to pass at length4 ,and if the     
promoters of the best designs see cause 
to fear that the time is remote1 this   
should but enforce upon them the more   
strongly the admonition that no time is 
theirs1 but the present4  ,it was not   
possible to pursue the long course of   
these observations so nearly to the     
conclusion1 without being reminded still
 again of what we have adverted to      
before1 that there will be persons ready
 to impute sanguine extravagance to our 
expectations of the result of such an   
order of means and exertions1 for the   
improvement of the education and mental 
condition of the people1 as we see      
already beginning to work4 ,when the    
means are of so little splendid a       
quality1 it will be said1 by what       
inflation of fancy is their power       
admeasured to such effects8  ,and what  
is it1 then1 and how much1 that is      
expected as the result1 by the zealous  

advocates of schools1 and the whole     
order of expedients1 for the instruction
 of that part of the rising generation  
till lately so neglected8 ,are they     
heard maintaining that the communication
 of knowledge1 or true notions of       
things1 to youthful minds1 will         
infallibly ensure their virtue and      
happiness8 ,they are not quite so new to
 the world1 to experimental labor in the
 business of tuition1 or to             
self-observation4 ,their vigilance would
 hardly overlook such a circumstance as 
the very different degree of assurance  
with which the effects may be predicted1
 of ignorance on the one hand1 and of   
knowledge on the other4 ,there is very  
nearly an absolute certainty of success 
in the method for making clowns1 sots1  
vagabonds1 and ruffians4 ,you may safely
 leave it to themselves to carry on the 
process for becoming complete4 ,let     
human creatures grow up without         
discipline1 destitute therefore of      
salutary information1 sound judgment1 or

 any conscience but what will shape     
itself to whatever they like1 serving in
 the manner of some vile friar pander in
 the old plays1--and no one takes any   
credit for foresight in saying they will
 be a noxious burden on the earth2      
except indeed in those tracts of it     
where they seem to have their           
appropriate place and business1 in being
 matched against the wolves and bears of
 the wilderness4 ,when they infest what 
should be a civilized and ,christianized
 part of the world1 the philanthropist  
is sometimes put in doubt whether to    
repress1 or indulge1 the sentiment which
 tempts him to complacency in the       
operation of an epidemic which is       
thinning their numbers4  ,the           
consequences of ignorance are certain1  
unless almost a miracle interpose2 but  
unhappily those of knowledge are of     
diffident and restricted calculation2   
unless we could make a trifle of the    
testimony of all ages1 and suppress the 
evidence of present experience1 that men

 may see and approve the better1 and yet
 follow the worse4 ,it is the hapless   
predicament of our nature1 that the     
noblest of its powers1 the              
understanding1 has but most imperfectly 
and precariously that commanding hold on
 the others1 which is essential to the  
good order of the soul4 ,our            
constitution is like a machine in which 
there is a constant liability of the    
secondary wheels to be thrown out of the
 catch and grapple of the master one4   
,and worse than so1 these powers which  
ought to be subordinate and obedient to 
the understanding1 are not left to stand
 still when detached from its control4  
,they have a strong activity of their   
own1 from the impulse of other          
principles3 indeed1 it is this impulse  
that causes the detachment4 ,it is      
frightful to look at the evidence from  
facts1 that these active powers may grow
 strong in the perversity which will set
 the judgment at defiance1 during the   
very time that it is successfully       

training to a competence for dictating  
to them what is right4 ,the assertions  
of those who are determined to find the 
chief or only cause of the wrong        
direction of the passions and will in   
misapprehension of the understanding1   
are a gross assumption1 in a question of
 fact1 against an infinite crowd of     
facts pressing round with their         
evidence4 ,this evidence is offered by  
men without number distinctly and       
deliberately acknowledging their        
conviction of the evil quality and fatal
 consequences1 of courses which they are
 soon afterwards seen pursuing1 and     
without the smallest pretence of a      
change of opinion2 by the same men in   
more advanced stages still owning the   
same conviction1 and sometimes in strong
 terms of self-reproach1 in the checks  
and pauses of their career2 and by men  
in the near prospect of death and       
judgment expressing1 in bitter regret1  
the acknowledgment that they had        
persisted in acting wrong when they knew

 better4 ,and this assumption1 made     
against such evidence1 is to be         
maintained for no better reason1 that   
appears1 than a wilful determination    
that human nature cannot1 must not1     
shall not1 be so absurd and depraved as 
to be capable of such madness3 as if    
human nature were taking the smallest   
trouble to put on any disguise before   
them1 to beguile them into a good       
opinion2 as if it could be cajoled by   
their flattery to assume even a         
semblance of deserving it2 as if it had 
the complaisance to check one bad       
propensity1 to save them from standing  
contradicted and exposed to ridicule for
 speaking of it with indulgence or      
respect2 as if it stayed or cared to    
thank them for their pains in attempting
 to make out a plausible extenuation4   
,it has1 and keeps1 and shows its       
character1 in perfect indifference to   
the puzzled efforts of its apologists to
 reduce its moral turpitude to just so  
much error of the understanding4 ,but1  

as for understanding--it should be time 
to look to their own1 when they find    
themselves asserting1 in other words1   
that there is actually as much virtue in
 the world as there is knowledge of its 
principles and laws4 ,we should rather  
have surmised that1 deplorably deficient
 as that knowledge is1 the reduction of 
a fifth or tenth part of it to practice 
would make a glorious change in ,england
 and ,europe4  ,the persons1 therefore1 
whose zeal is combined with knowledge in
 the prosecution of plans for the       
extension of education1 proceed on a    
calculation of an effect more limited1  
in apparent proportion to the means1 and
 with less certainty of even that more  
limited measure in any single instance1 
than they would have been justified in  
anticipating in many other departments  
of operation4 ,they would1 for example1 
predict more positively the results of  
an undertaking to cultivate any tract of
 waste land1 to reclaim a bog1 or to    
render mechanical forces available in an

 untried mode of application2 or1 in    
many cases1 the decided success of the  
healing art as applied to a diseased    
body4 ,they must needs be moderate in   
their confidence of calculation for     
good1 on a moral nature whose corruption
 would yield an enemy of mankind a      
gratifying probability in calculating   
for evil4 ,in comparing these opposite  
calculations1 they would be glad if they
 might make an exchange of the          
respective probabilities4 ,that is to   
say1 let a man1 if such there be1 who   
could be pleased with the depravity and 
misery of the race1 a sagacious judge   
too1 of their moral constitution1 and a 
veteran observer of their conduct1--let 
him survey with the look of an evil     
spirit a hundred children in one of the 
benevolent schools1 and indulge himself 
in prognosticating1 on the strength of  
what he knows of human nature1 the      
proportion1 in numbers and degree1 in   
which these children will1 in subsequent
 life1 exemplify the failure of what is 

done for their wisdom and welfare2--let 
him make his calculation1 and1 we say1  
there may be times when the friends of  
these institutions would be glad to     
transfer the quantity of probability    
from his side to theirs2 would feel they
 should be happy if the proportion in   
which they fear he may be right in      
calculating on evil from the nature of  
the beings under discipline1 were1      
instead1 the proportion in which it is  
rational to reckon on good from the     
efficacy of that discipline4 ,evil1 be  
thou my good1 might be their involuntary
 apostrophe1 in the sense of wishing to 
possess the stronger power1 transmuted  
to the better quality4  ,but we shall   
know where to stop in the course of     
observations of this darkening color3   
and shall take off the point of the     
derider's taunt1 just forthcoming1 that 
we are here unsaying1 in effect1 all    
that we have been so laboriously urging 
about the vast benefit of knowledge to  
the people4 ,it was proper to show1 that

 the prosecutors of these designs are   
not suffering themselves to be duped out
 of a perception of what there is1 in   
the nature of the youthful subjects1 to 
counteract the intention of the         
discipline1 and with too certain a power
 to limit its efficacy to a very partial
 measure of the effect desired4 ,these  
projectors might fairly be required to  
prove they are not unknowing            
enthusiasts2 but then1 in keeping clear 
of the vain extravagances of            
expectation1 they are not to surrender  
their confidence that something great   
and important can be done2 it should be 
possible for a man to be sober1 short of
 being dead4 ,they are not to gravitate 
into a state of feeling as if they      
thought the understanding and the moral 
powers are but casually associated in   
the mind2 as if an important            
communication to the one1 might1 so to  
speak1 never be heard of by the others2 
as if these subordinates had just one   
sole principle of action--that of       

disobeying their chief1 so that it could
 be of no use to appeal to the master of
 the house respecting the conduct of his
 inmates2 as if1 therefore1 all         
presumption of a relation between means 
and ends1 as a ground of confidence in  
the efficacy of popular instruction1    
must be illusory4 ,it might not indeed  
be amiss for them to be told that the   
case is so1 by those who would desire1  
from whatever motive1 to repress their  
efforts and defeat their designs4 ,for  
so downright a blow at the vital        
principle of their favorite object would
 but serve to provoke them to ascertain 
more definitely what there really is for
 them to found their schemes and hopes  
upon1 and therefore to verify to        
themselves the reasons they have for    
persisting1 in assurance that the labor 
will be far from wholly lost4 ,and for  
this assurance it is1 at the very       
lowest1 self-evident1 that there is at  
any rate such an efficacy in            
cultivation1 as to give a certainty that

 a well-cultivated people cannot remain 
on the same degraded moral level as a   
neglected ignorant one--or anywhere near
 it4 ,none of those even that value such
 designs the least1 ever pretend to     
foresee1 in the event of their being    
carried into effect1 an undiminished    
prevalence of rudeness and brutality of 
manners1 of delight in spectacles and   
amusements of cruelty1 of noisy revelry1
 of sottish intemperance1 or of         
disregard of character4 ,it is not      
pretended to be foreseen1 that the      
poorer classes will then continue to    
display so much of that almost desperate
 improvidence respecting their temporal 
means and prospects1 which has          
aggravated the calamities of the present
 times4 ,it is not predicted that a     
universal school-discipline will bring  
up several millions to the neglect1 and 
many of them in an impudent contempt1 of
 attendance on the ministrations of     
religion4 ,the result will at all       
hazards1 by every one's acknowledgment1 

be the contrary of this4  ,but more     
specifically3--,the promoters of the    
plans of popular education see a most   
important advantage gained in the very  
outset1 in the obvious fact1 that in    
their schools a very large portion of   
time is employed well1 that otherwise   
would infallibly be employed ill4 ,let  
any one introduce himself into one of   
these places of concourse1 where there  
has been time to mature the             
arrangements4 ,he should not enter as an
 important personage1 in patronizing and
 judicial state1 as if to demand the    
respectful looks of the whole tribe from
 their attention to their printed       
rudiments and their slates2 but glide in
 as a quiet observer1 just to survey at 
his leisure the character and operations
 of the scene4 ,undoubtedly he may      
descry here and there the signs of      
inattention1 weariness or vacancy1 not  
to say of perverseness4 ,even these     
individuals1 however1 are out of the way
 of practical harm2 and at the same time

 he will see a multitude of youthful    
spirits acknowledging the duty of       
directing their best attention to       
something altogether foreign to their   
wild amusements2 of making a rather     
protracted effort in one mode or another
 of the strange business of thinking4   
,he will perceive in many the           
unequivocal indications of a serious and
 earnest effort made to acquire1 with   
the aid visible signs and implements1 a 
command of what is invisible and        
immaterial4 ,they are thus rising from  
the mere animal state to tread in the   
precincts of an intellectual economy2   
the economy of thought and truth1 in    
which they are to live forever2 and     
never1 in all futurity1 will they have  
to regret1 for itself1 ,footnote3 ,for  
itself--a phrase of qualification       
inserted to meed the captious remark1   
that there have been instances of bad   
men1 under the reproach of conscience of
 the dread of consequences1 expressing a
 regret that they had ever been well    

instructed1 since this was an           
aggravation of their guilt1 and perhaps 
had subserved their evil propensities   
with the more effectual means and       
ability4 this period and part of their  
employments4 ,he will be delighted to   
think how many regulated actions of the 
mind1 how many just ideas distinctly    
admitted1 that were unknown or          
unimpressed at the beginning of the     
day's exercise1 7and among these ideas1 
some to remind them of ,god and their   
highest interest17 there will have been 
by the time the busy and well-ordered   
company breaks up in the evening1 and   
leaves silence within these walls4 ,he  
will not indeed grow romantic in hope2  
he knows the nature of which these      
beings partake2 knows therefore that the
 desired results of this process will   
but partially follow2 but still rejoices
 to think those partial results which   
will most certainly follow1 will be     
worth incomparably more than all they   
will have cost to the learners1 or the  

teachers1 or the patrons4  ,now let him1
 when he has contemplated this scene1   
consider how the greatest part of this  
numerous company would have been        
employed during the same hours1 whether 
of the ,sabbath or other days1 but for  
such a provision of means for their     
instruction4 ,and1 for the contrast1 he 
has only to leave the school1 and walk a
 mile round the neighborhood1 in which  
it will be very wonderful1 7we may say  
this of most parts of ,england17 if he  
shall not1 in a populous district1      
especially near a great town1 and on a  
fine day1 meet with a great number of   
wretched1 disgusting imps1 straggling or
 in knots1 in the activity of mischief  
and nuisance1 or at least the full cry  
of vile and profane language2 with here 
and there1 as a lord among them1 an     
elder larger one growing fast into an   
insolent adult blackguard4 ,he may make 
the comparison1 quite sure that such as 
they are1 and so employed1 would many   
now under the salutary discipline of    

yonder school have been1 but for its    
institution4 ,but the two classes so    
beheld in contrast1 might they not seem 
to belong to two different nations8 ,do 
they not seem growing into two extremely
 different orders of character8 ,do they
 not even seem preparing for different  
worlds in the final distribution8  ,the 
friends of these designs for a general  
and highly improved education1 may      
proceed further in this course of       
verifying to themselves the grounds of  
their assurance of happy consequences4  
,a number of ideas1 the most important  
that were ever formed in human thought1 
or imparted to men from the ,supreme    
,mind1 will be so communicated and      
impressed in these institutions1 that it
 is absolutely certain they will be     
fixed irrevocably in the minds of the   
pupils4 ,and in the case of many1 if not
 the majority of these destined         
adventurers into the temptations of     
life1 these important ideas1 thus       
inserted deep in their souls1 will      

distinctly present themselves to        
judgment and conscience an incalculable 
number of times4 ,what a number1 if the 
sum of all these reminiscences1 in all  
the minds now assembled in a numerous   
school1 could be conjectured6 ,but if   
one in a hundred of these recollections1
 if one in a thousand1 shall be         
efficacious1 who can compute the amount 
of the good resulting from the          
instruction which shall have so enforced
 and fixed these ideas that they shall  
inevitably be thus recollected8 ,and is 
it altogether out of reason to hope that
 the desired efficacy will1 far oftener 
than once in a thousand times1 attend   
the luminous rising again of a solemn   
idea to the view of the mind6 ,is still 
less than this to be predicted for our  
unhappy nature1 while1 however fallen1  
it is not abandoned by the care of its  
,creator6  ,the institutions themselves 
will gradually improve1 in both the     
method and the compass of their         
discipline4 ,they will acquire a more   

vigorous mechanism1 and a more decidedly
 intellectual character4 ,in this latter
 respect1 it is but comparatively of    
late years that schools for the inferior
 classes have ventured anything beyond  
the humblest pretensions4 ,mental       
cultivation--enlarged                   
knowledge--elements of science--habit of
 thinking--exercise of judgment--free   
and enlightened opinion--higher grade in
 society--were terms which they were to 
be reverently cautious of taking in     
vain4 ,there would have been an         
offensive sound in such phrases1 as     
seeming to betray somewhat of the       
impertinence of a disposition1 7for the 
idea of the practicability of any such  
invasion would have been scorned17 to   
encroach on a ground exclusively        
appropriate to the superior orders4     
,schools for the poor were to be as     
little as possible scholastic4 ,they    
were to be kept down to the lowest level
 of the workshop1 excepting perhaps in  
one particular--that of working hard3   

for the scholars were to throw time away
 rather than be occupied with anything  
beyond the merest rudiments4 ,the       
advocates and the petitioners for aid of
 such schools1 were to avow and plead   
how little it was that they pretended or
 presumed to teach4 ,the argument in    
their behalf was either to begin or end 
with saying1 that they taught only      
reading and writing2 or if it could not 
be denied that there was to be some     
meddling with arithmetic and            
grammar1--we may safely appeal to some  
of the veterans of these pleaders1      
whether they did not1 thirty or forty   
years since1 bring out this addition    
with the management and hesitation of a 
confession and apology4 ,it is a        
prominent characteristic of that happy  
revolution we have spoken of as in      
commencement1 that this aristocratic    
notion of education is breaking up4 ,the
 theory of the subject is loosening into
 enlargement1 and will cease by degrees 
to impose a niggardly restriction on the

 extent of the cultivation1 proper to be
 attempted in schools for the inferiors 
of the community4  ,as these            
institutions go on1 augmenting in number
 and improving in organization1 their   
pupils will bring their quality and     
efficacy to the proof1 as they grow to  
maturity1 and go forth to act their part
 in society4 ,and there can be no doubt1
 that while too many of them may be     
mournful exemplifications of the power  
with which the evil genius of the       
corrupt nature1 combined with the       
infection of a bad world1 resists the   
better influences of instruction1 and   
may1 after the advantage of such an     
introductory stage1 be carried down     
towards the old debasement1 a very      
considerable proportion will take and   
permanently maintain a far higher       
ground4 ,they will have become imbued   
with an element1 which must put them in 
strong repulsion to that coarse vulgar  
that will be sure to continue in        
existence1 in this country1 long enough 

to be a trial of the moral taste of this
 better cultivated race4 ,it will be    
seen that they cannot associate with it 
by choice1 and in the spirit of         
companionship4 ,and while they are thus 
withheld on their part1 from            
approximating1 it may be hoped that in  
certain better disposed parts of that   
vulgar1 there may be a conversion of the
 repelling principle into an impulse to 
approach and join them on their own     
ground4 ,there will be numbers among it 
who cannot be so entirely insensate or  
perverse1 as to look with carelessness  
at the advantages obtained through the  
sole medium of personal improvement1 by 
those who had otherwise been exactly on 
the same level of low resources and     
estimation as themselves4 ,the effect of
 this view on pride1 in some1 and on    
better propensities1 it may be hoped1 in
 others1 will be to excite them to make 
their way upward to a community which1  
they will clearly see1 could commit no  
greater folly than to come downward to  

them4 ,and we will presume a friendly   
disposition in most of those who shall  
have been raised to this higher         
standing1 to meet such aspirers and help
 them to ascend4  ,and while they will  
thus draw upward the less immovable and 
hopeless part of the mass below them1   
they will themselves1 on the other hand1
 be placed1 by the respectability of    
their understanding and manners1 within 
the influence of the higher cultivation 
of the classes above them2 a great      
advantage1 as we have taken a former    
occasion to notice3--a great advantage1 
that is to say1 if the cultivation among
 those classes be generally of such a   
quality and measure1 that the people    
could not be brought a few degrees      
nearer to them without becoming1 through
 the effect of their example1 more in   
love with sense1 knowledge1 and         
propriety of conduct4 ,for it were      
somewhat too much of simplicity1        
perhaps1 to take it for quite a thing of
 course that the people would always    

perceive such intellectual              
accomplishments as would keep them      
modest or humble in their estimate of   
their own1 and such liberal spirit and  
manners as would at once command their  
respect and conduce to their refinement1
 when they made any approach to a       
communication with the classes superior 
in possessions and station4 ,if this    
might have been assumed as a thing of   
course1 and if therefore it might have  
been confidently reckoned on1 that the  
more improving of the people would      
receive from the ranks above them a     
salutary influence1 similar to that     
which we have been supposing they will  
themselves exert on a part of the vulgar
 mass below them1 there had been a happy
 omen for the community2 and if it may  
not be so assumed1 are we to have the   
disgraceful deficiencies of the upper   
classes pleaded as an argument against  
raising the lower from their            
degradation8 ,must the multitude        
flounder along the mud at the bottom of 

the upward slope1 because their betters 
will not be at the cost of making for   
themselves a higher terraced road across
 it than that they are now walking on8  
99       99       99       99       99  
,but it would be an admirable turn to   
make the lower orders act beneficially  
on the higher4 ,and it is an important  
advantage likely to accrue from the     
better education of the common people1  
that their rising attainments would     
compel not a few of their superiors to  
look to the state of their own mental   
pretensions1 on perceiving that this1 at
 last1 was becoming a ground on which1  
in no small part1 their precedence was  
to be measured4 ,surely it would be a   
most excellent thing1 that they should  
find themselves thus incommodiously     
pressed upon by the only circumstance1  
perhaps1 that could make them sensible  
there are more kinds of poverty than    
that single one to which alone they had 
hitherto attached ideas of disgrace2 and
 should be forced to preserve that      

ascendency for which wealth and station 
would formerly suffice1 at the cost1    
now1 of a good deal more reading1       
thinking1 and general self-discipline4  
,and would it be a worthy sacrifice1    
that to spare some substantial          
agriculturalists1 idle gentlemen1 and   
sporting or promenading ecclesiastics1  
such an afflictive necessity1 the actual
 tillers of the ground1 and the workers 
in manufacture and mechanics1 should    
continue to be kept in stupid ignorance8
  ,it is very possible this may excite a
 smile1 as the threatening of a         
necessity or a danger to these          
privileged persons1 which it is thought 
they may be comfortably assured is very 
remote4 ,this danger 7namely1 that a    
good many of them1 or rather of those   
who are coming in the course of nature  
to succeed them in the same rank1 will  
find that its relative consequence      
cannot be sustained but at a very       
considerably higher pitch of mental     
qualification7 is threatened upon no    

stronger presages than the              
following3--,allow us first to take it  
for granted1 that it is not a very      
protracted length of time that is to    
pass away before the case comes to be1  
that a large proportion of the children 
of the lower classes are trained1       
through a course of assiduous           
instruction and exercise in the most    
valuable knowledge1 during a series of  
years1 in schools which everything      
possible is done to render efficient4   
,then1 if we include in one computation 
all the time they will have spent in    
real mental effort and acquirement      
there1 and all those pieces and         
intervals of time which we may          
reasonably hope that many of them will  
improve to the same purpose in the      
subsequent years1 a very great number of
 them will have employed1 by the time   
they reach middle age1 many thousands of
 hours more than people in their        
condition have heretofore done1 in a way
 the most directly tending to place them

 greatly further on in whatever of      
importance for repute and authority     
intelligence is to bear in society4 ,and
 how must we be estimating the natural  
capacities of these inferior classes1 or
 the perceptions of the higher1 not to  
foresee as a consequence1 that these    
latter will find their relative         
situation greatly altered1 with respect 
to the measure of knowledge and mental  
power requisite as one most essential   
constituent of their superiority1 in    
order to command the unfeigned deference
 of their inferiors8  ,our strenuous    
promoters of the schemes for cultivating
 the minds of all the people1 are not   
afraid of professing to foresee1 that   
when schools1 of that completely        
disciplinarian organization which they  
are1 we hope1 gradually to attain1 shall
 have become general1 and shall be      
vigorously seconded by all those        
auxiliary expedients for popular        
instruction which are also in progress1 
a very pleasing modification will become

 apparent in the character1 the moral   
color1 if we might so express it1 of the
 people's ordinary employment4 ,the     
young persons so instructed1 being      
appointed1 for the most part1 to the    
same occupations to which they would    
have been destined had they grown up in 
utter ignorance and vulgarity1 are      
expected to give evidence that the      
meanness1 the debasement almost1 which  
had characterized many of those         
occupations in the view of the more     
refined classes1 was in truth the       
debasement of the men more than of the  
callings2 which will come to be in more 
honorable estimation as associated with 
the sense1 decorum1 and self-respect of 
the performers1 than they were while    
blended and polluted with all the low   
habits1 manners1 and language1 of       
ignorance and vulgar grossness4 ,and    
besides1 there is the consideration of  
the different degrees of merit in the   
performance itself2 and who will be the 
persons most likely to excel1 in the    

many branches of workmanship and        
business which admit of being better    
done in proportion to the degree of     
intelligence directed upon them8 ,and   
again1 who will be most in requisition  
for those offices of management and     
superintendence1 where something must be
 confided to judgment and discretion1   
and where the value is felt1 7often     
vexatiously felt from the want17 of some
 capacity of combination and foresight8 
,such as these are among the subordinate
 benefits reasonably1 we might say      
infallibly1 calculated upon4 ,our       
philanthropists are confident in        
foreseeing also1 that very many of these
 better educated young persons will be  
valuable co-operators with all who may  
be more formally employed in            
instruction1 against that ignorance from
 which themselves have been so happily  
saved2 will exert an influence1 by their
 example and the steady avowal of their 
principles1 against vice and folly in   
their vicinity2 and will be useful      

advisers of their neighbors in their    
perplexities1 and sometimes moderators  
in their discords4 ,it is predicted1    
with a confidence so much resting on    
general grounds of probability1 as      
hardly to need the instances already    
afforded in various parts of the country
 to confirm it1 that here and there one 
of the well-instructed humbler class    
will become a competent and useful      
public teacher of the most important    
truth4 ,it is1 in short1 anticipated    
with delightful assurance1 that great   
numbers of those who shall go forth from
 under the friendly guardianship which  
will take the charge of their youthful  
minds1 will be examples through life and
 at its conclusion1 of the power and    
felicity of religion4  ,here we can     
suppose it not improbable that some one 
may1 in pointed terms1 put the          
question1--,do you then1 at last1 mean  
to affirm that you can1 by the proposed 
course1 by any course1 of discipline1   
absolutely secure that effectual        

operation and ascendency of religion in 
the mind1 which shall place it in the   
right condition toward ,god1 and in a   
state of fitness for passing1 without   
fear or danger1 into the scenes of its  
future endless existence8  ,we think the
 cautious limitation of language1       
hitherto observed in setting forth our  
expectations1 might preclude such a     
question4 ,but let it be asked1 since   
there can be no difficulty to reply4 ,we
 do not affirm that any form of         
discipline1 the wisest and best in the  
power of the wisest and best men to     
apply1 is competent of itself thus to   
subject the mind decidedly and          
permanently to the power of religion4   
,on the contrary1 we believe that grand 
effect can be accomplished only by a    
special influence of the ,divine ,being1
 operating by the means applied in a    
well-judged system of instruction1 or1  
if he pleases1 independently of them4   
,but next1 it is perfectly certain1     
notwithstanding1 that the application of

 these human means will1 in a multitude 
of instances1 be efficacious to that    
most happy end4  ,this certainty arises 
from a few very plain general           
considerations4 ,the first is1 that the 
whole system of means appointed by the  
,almighty to be employed as a human     
process for presenting religion solemnly
 in view before men's minds1 and        
enforcing it on them1 is an appointment 
expressly intended for working that     
great effect which secures their final  
felicity2 though to what extent in point
 of number is altogether unknown to the 
subordinate agents4 ,they are perfectly 
certain1 in employing the appointed     
expedients in prosecution of the work1  
that they must be proceeding on the     
strength of a positive relation         
subsisting between those means and the  
results to be realized1 in what         
instances1 in what measure1 at what     
time1 it shall please the sovereign     
,power4 ,the appointment cannot be one  
of mere exercise for the faculties and  

submissive obedience of those who are   
summoned to be active in its execution4 
,accordingly1 there are in the divine   
revelation very many explicit and       
animating assurances1 that their        
exertions shall certainly be in a       
measure effectual to the proposed end4  
,and if these assurances are made in    
favor of the exertions for inculcating  
religion generally1 that is1 on men of  
all conditions and ages1 they may be    
assumed as giving special encouragement 
to those for impressing it on young     
minds1 before they can be preoccupied   
and hardened by the depravities of the  
world4 ,there is plainly the more hope  
for the efficacy of those exertions the 
less there is to frustrate them4 ,but   
besides1 the authority itself1 which has
 assured a measure of success to        
religious instruction as administered   
generally1 has marked with peculiar     
strength the promise of its success as  
applied to the young2 thus affording    
rays of hope which have in ten thousand 

instances animated the diligence of     
pious parents1 and the other benevolent 
instructors of children4  ,there is also
 palpable matter of fact to the point1  
that an education which combines the    
discipline of the conscience and the    
intellectual faculty will be rendered1  
in many instances1 efficacious to the   
formation of a religious character4     
,this obvious fact is1 that a much      
greater proportion of the persons so    
educated do actually become the subjects
 of religion1 than of a similar number  
of those brought up in ignorance and    
profligacy4 ,take collectively any      
number of families in which such an     
education prevails1 and the same number 
in which it does not1 and follow the    
young persons respectively into         
subsequent life4 ,but any one who hears 
the suggestion1 feels there is no need  
to wait the lapse of time and follow    
their actual course4 ,as instructed by  
what he has already seen in society1 he 
can go forward with them prophetically1 

with perfect certainty that many more of
 the one tribe than that of the other1  
will become persons not only of moral   
respectability but decided piety4 ,any  
one that should assert respecting them  
that the probabilities are equal and    
indifferent1 would be considered as     
sporting a wilful absurdity1 or         
betraying that he is one of those who   
did not come into the world for anything
 they can learn in it4 ,and the         
experience which thus authorizes a      
perfect confidence of prediction1 is    
evidence that1 though discipline must   
wholly disclaim an absolute power to    
effect the great object in question1    
there is1 nevertheless1 such a          
constitution of things that it most     
certainly will1 as an instrumental      
cause1 in many instances effect it4     
,the state of the matter1 then1 is very 
simple4 ,the ,supreme ,cause of men's   
being made wise to salvation1 in        
appointing a system of means1 to be put 
by human activity in operation toward   

this effect1 has also appointed that in 
this operation they shall infallibly be 
attended with a measure of success in   
accomplishing that highest good1--a     
measure which was not to be accomplished
 otherwise than by such means4 ,so much 
he has signified to men as an absolute  
certainty3 but then1 he has connected   
this certainty in an arbitrary1 and as  
to our knowledge1 indefinite manner with
 the system4 ,it is a certainty         
connected with the system as taken      
generally and comprehensively2 and which
 it is not given to us to affix to the  
particular instances in which the       
success will take place4 ,it is a       
,divine ,volition suspended over the    
whole scene of cultivation2 like a cloud
 from which we cannot tell where        
precisely the shower to fertilize it    
will fall1 certain1 however1 that there 
are spots whose verdure and flowers will
 tell after awhile4 ,the agents under   
the ,sovereign ,dispenser are to proceed
 on this positive assurance that the    

success shall be somewhere1 though they 
cannot know that it will be in this one 
instance1 or in the other3 ,in the      
morning sow thy seed1 and in the evening
 withhold not thy hand2 for thou knowest
 not whether shall prosper1 this1 or    
that4 ,if they rate the value of their  
agency so high1 as to hold it derogatory
 to their dignity that any part of their
 labors should be performed under the   
condition of possibly being             
unsuccessful1 they may be assured that  
such is not exactly the estimate of ,him
 to whom they look for the acceptance of
 their services1 and for the reward4    
,but it may be added1 that the great    
majority of those who are intent on the 
schemes for enlightening and reforming  
mankind1 are entertaining a confident   
hope of the approach of a period1 when  
the success will be far greater in      
proportion to the measure of exertion in
 every department of the system of      
instrumentality for that grand object4  
,we cherish this confidence1 not on the 

strength of any pretension to be able to
 resolve prophetic emblems and numbers1 
into precise dates and events of the    
present and approaching times4 ,it rests
 on a more general mode of apprehending 
a relation between the extraordinary    
indications of the period we live in1   
and the substantial purport of the      
divine predictions4 ,there              
unquestionably gleams forth1 through the
 plainer lines1 and through the mystical
 imagery of prophecy1 the vision of a   
better age1 in which the application of 
the truths of religion to men's minds   
will be irresistible4 ,and what should  
more naturally be interpreted as one of 
the dawning signs of its approach1 than 
a new spirit come into action with      
insuppressible impulse1 at once to      
dispel the fog from their intellects and
 bring the heavenly light to shine close
 upon them2 accompanied by a prodigious 
convulsion in the old system of the     
world1 which hardly recognized in the   
inferior millions the very existence of 

souls to need or be worth such an       
illumination8 ,it is true that an       
eruptive activity of evil1 beyond what  
was witnessed by our forefathers1 has   
attended and followed that convulsion2  
as mephitic exhalations are emitted     
through the rents of an earthquake4     
,viewed in itself1 this outbreak of the 
bad principles and passions might seem  
to portend anything rather than a grand 
improvement in the state of a nation or 
of mankind4 ,it appears like an actual  
augmentation of the evil previously     
existing4 ,but it should rather be      
regarded as the setting loose of the    
noxious elements accumulated and        
rankling under the old system2 a        
phenomenon inevitably attendant on its  
breaking up1 by a catastrophe absolutely
 necessary to open and clear the field  
for operations on the great scale       
against those evils themselves1 and to  
give scope and means for the advancement
 toward a better condition of humanity4 
,the laborers in the institutions for   

instructing the young descendants of an 
ill-fated generation1 may often regret  
to perceive how little the process is as
 yet informed with the energy which is  
ultimately to pervade the world4 ,but   
let them regard as one great undivided  
economy and train of operation1 these   
initiatory efforts and all that is to   
follow1 till that time when all shall   
know the ,lord2 and take by             
anticipation1 as in fraternity with the 
happier future laborers1 their just     
share of that ultimate triumph4 ,those  
active spirits1 in the happier periods1 
will look back with this sentiment of   
kindred and complacency to those who    
sustained the earlier toils of the good 
cause1 and did not suffer their zeal to 
languish under the comparative smallness
 of their success4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,we shall conclude
 with a few sentences in the way of     
reply to another question1 which we can 
surmise there may be persons ready to   
ask1 after this long iteration of the   

assertion of the necessity of knowledge 
to the common people4 ,the question     
would be to this effect3 ,what do you1  
all this while1 mean to assign as the   
measure of knowledge proper for the     
people to be put in possession of8--for 
you do not specify the kinds1 or limit  
the extent3 you talk in vague general   
terms of mental improvement2 you leave  
the whole matter indefinite2 and for all
 that appears1 the people are never to  
know when they know enough4  ,it is     
answered1 that we do leave the extent   
undefined1 and should request to be     
informed where1 and why1 the line of    
circumscription and exclusion should be 
drawn4  ,is it1 we could really wish to 
know1 a point at all yet decided1       
wherein consist the value and importance
 of the human nature8 ,any liberal      
scheme for its universal cultivation is 
met by such a jealous parsimony toward  
the common people1 such a ready         
imputation of wild theory1 such         
protesting declamations against the     

mischief of practically applying        
abstract principles1 such an undisguised
 or betrayed precedence given to mere   
interests of state1 and those perhaps   
very sordid ones1 before all others1 and
 such whimsical prescriptions for making
 a salutary compound of a little        
knowledge and much ignorance1--that it  
might seem to be doubtful1 after all1   
whether the human nature1 in the mass of
 mankind at least1 be of any such       
consistence1 or for any such purpose1 as
 is affirmed in our common-places on the
 subject4 ,it is uniformly assumed in   
the language of divines1 and of the     
philosophers in most repute1 that the   
worth1 the dignity1 the importance of   
man1 are in his rational1 immortal      
nature2 and that therefore the best     
condition of that is his true felicity  
and glory1 and the object chiefly to be 
aimed at in all that is done by him1 and
 for him1 on earth4 ,but whether this   
should be regarded as anything more than
 the elated faith of ascetics1 a fine   

dogma of academics1 or a theme for show 
in the pomp of moral rhetoric8 ,for we  
often see1 and it is very striking to   
see1 how principles which are suffered  
to pass for infallible truth while      
content to stay within the province of  
speculation1 and to be pronounced as    
mere doctrine1 may be disowned and      
repelled when they come demanding to    
have their appropriate place and        
influence in the practical sphere4 ,even
 many pretended advocates of            
,christianity1 who in naming certain    
principles would seem to make them of   
the very essence of the moral part of   
that religion1 and1 in discoursing      
merely as religionists1 will insist on  
their vital importance1 will yet shuffle
 and equivocate about these principles1 
and in effect set them aside1 when they 
are attempted to be applied to some of  
their most legitimate uses4 ,if1 for    
example1 these religionists are among   
the servile adherents of corrupted      
institutions and iniquity invested with 

power1 they will easily find            
accommodating interpretations1 or pleas 
of exemption from the direct authority1 
of some of the most sacred maxims of    
their professed religion4 ,serve the    
true ,god when we happen to be in the   
right place2 but at all events we must  
attend our master to pay homage in the  
temple of ,eimmon1 or1 should he please 
to require it1 that of ,moloch1--with   
this signal difference from the ancient 
instance of peccant servility1 that     
whereas in that case pardon for it was  
implored1 in the present case a merit is
 made of the sycophancy and the         
idolatry4 ,unless the principles of     
,christianity will acknowledge the      
supremacy of something else than        
,christianity1 in the mode of their     
application to estimate the importance  
of the popular mind1 they may take their
 repose in bodies of divinity1 sermons1 
catechisms1 systems of ethics1 or       
wherever they can find a place4  ,but is
 it really admitted1 as a great         

principle for practical application1    
that the mind1 the intelligent1         
imperishable existence1 is the supremely
 valuable thing in man8 ,it is then     
admitted1 inevitably1 that the          
discipline1 the correction1 the         
improvement1 the maturation of this     
spiritual being to the highest          
attainable degree1 is the great object  
to be desired by men1 for themselves and
 one another4 ,that is to say1 that     
knowledge1 cultivation1 salutary        
exercise1 wisdom1 all that can conduce  
to the perfection of the mind1 form the 
state in which it is due to man's nature
 that he should be endeavored to be     
placed4 ,but then1 this is due to his   
nature by an absolutely general law4 ,he
 cannot be so circumstanced in the order
 of society that this shall not be due  
to it4 ,no situation in which the       
arrangements of the world1 or say of    
,providence1 may place him1 can         
constitute him a specific kind of       
creature1 to which is no longer fit and 

necessary that which is necessary to the
 well-being of man considered generally1
 as a spiritual1 immortal nature4 ,the  
essential law of this nature cannot be  
abrogated by men's being placed in      
humble and narrow circumstances1 in     
which a very large portion of their time
 and exertions are required for mere    
subsistence4 ,this accident of a        
confined situation is no more a reason  
why their minds should not require the  
best attainable cultivation1 than would 
be the circumstance that the body in    
which a man's mind is lodged happens to 
be of smaller dimensions than those of  
other men4  ,that under the             
disadvantages of this humble situation  
they cannot acquire all the mental      
improvement1 desirable for the          
perfection of their intelligent nature1 
that the situation renders it           
impracticable1 is quite another matter4 
,so far as this inhibition is real and  
absolute1 that is1 so far as it must    
remain after the best exertion of human 

wisdom and means in their favor1 it must
 be submitted to as one of the          
infelicities of their allotment by      
,providence4 ,what we are insisting on  
is1 that since by the law of their      
nature there is to them the same general
 necessity as to any other human beings1
 of that which is essential to the      
well-being of the mind1 they should be  
advanced in this improvement as far as  
they can2 that is1 as far as a wise and 
benevolent disposition of the community 
can make it practicable for them to be  
advanced4  ,it is an odious hypocrisy to
 talk of the narrow limits to this      
advancement as an ordination of         
,providence1 when a well-ordered        
constitution and management of the      
community might enlarge those limits4   
,at least it is so in the justifiers of 
that social system3 those who deplore   
and condemn it may properly speak of the
 appointment of ,providence1 but in     
another sense2 as they would speak of   
the dispensations of ,providence in     

consolation to a man iniquitously       
imprisoned or impoverished4  ,let the   
people then be advanced in the          
improvement of their rational nature as 
far as they can4 ,a greater degree of   
this progress will be more for their    
welfare than a less4 ,this might be     
shown in forms of illustration easily   
conceived1 and as easily vindicated from
 the imputation of extravagance1 by     
instances which every observer may have 
met with in real life4 ,a poor man1     
cultivated in a small degree1 has       
acquired a few just ideas of an         
important subject1 which lies out of the
 scope of his daily employments for     
subsistence4 ,be that subject what it   
may1 if those ideas are of any use to   
him1 by what principle would one idea   
more1 or two1 or twenty1 be of no use to
 him8 ,of no use6--when all the thinking
 world knows1 that every additional     
clear idea of a subject is valuable by a
 ratio of progress greater than that of 
the mere numerical increase1 and that by

 a large addition of ideas a man triples
 the value of those with which he began4
 ,he has read a small meagre tract on   
the subject1 or perhaps only an article 
in a magazine1 or an essay in the       
literary column of a provincial         
newspaper4 ,where would be the harm1 on 
supposition he can fairly afford the    
time1 in consequence of husbanding it   
for this very purpose1 of his reading a 
well-written concise book1 which would  
give him a clear1 comprehensive view of 
the subject8  ,but perhaps another      
branch of the tree of knowledge bends   
its fruit temptingly to his hand4 ,and  
if he should indulge1 and gain a        
tolerably clear notion of one more      
interesting subject1 7still punctually  
regardful of the duties of his ordinary 
vocation17 where1 we say again1 is the  
harm8 ,converse with him2 observe his   
conduct2 compare him with the wretched  
clown in a neighboring dwelling2 and say
 that he is the worse for having thus   
much of the provision for a mental      

subsistence4 ,but if thus much has      
contributed greatly to his advantage1   
why should he be interdicted still      
further attainments8 ,are you alarmed   
for him1 if he will needs go the length 
of acquiring some knowledge of          
geography1 the solar system1 and the    
history of his own country and of the   
ancient world8 ,footnote3 ,these        
denominations of knowledge1 so strange  
as they will to some person8 appear1 in 
such a connection1 we have ventured to  
write from1 observing that they stand in
 the schemes of elementary instruction  
in the ,missionary schools for the      
children of the natives of ,bengal4 ,but
 of course we are to acknowledge1 that  
the vigorous1 high-toned spirits of     
those ,asiatic idolaters are adapted to 
receive a much superior style of        
cultivation to any of which the feeble  
progeny of ,england can be supposed to  
be capable4 ,let him proceed2 supply him
 gratuitously with some of the best     
books on these subjects2 and if you     

shall converse with him again1 after    
another year or two of his progress1 and
 compare him once more with the         
ignorant1 stunted1 cankered beings in   
his vicinity1 you will see whether there
 be anything essentially at variance    
between his narrow circumstances in life
 and his mental enlargement4  ,you are  
willing1 perhaps1 that he should know a 
few facts of ancient times1 and can1    
though with hesitation1 trust him with  
some such slight stories as ,goldsmith's
 ,histories of ,greece and ,rome4 ,but  
if he should then by some means find his
 way into such a work as that of        
,rollin1 7of moral and instructive      
tendency1 however defective otherwise17 
or betray that he covets an acquaintance
 with those of ,gillies1 or even        
,thirlwall1--it is all over with him for
 being a useful member of society in his
 humble situation4 ,you would consent   
7may we suppose87 to his reading a      
slender abridgment of voyages and       
travels2 but what is to become of him if

 nothing less will content him than the 
whole-length story of ,captain ,cook8   
,he will direct1 it is to be hoped1 some
 of his best attention to the supreme   
subject of religion4 ,and you would     
quite approve of his perusing some      
useful tracts1 some manuals of piety1   
some commentary on a catechism1 some    
volume of serious1 plain discourses2 but
 he is absolutely undone if his ambition
 should rise at length to ,barrow1 or   
,howe1 or ,jeremy ,taylor4 ,footnote3   
,it should be unnecessary to observe1   
that the object in citing any names in  
this paragraph was1 to give a somewhat  
definite cast to the description of the 
supposed progress of the plebeian       
self-instructor4 ,the principal of them 
are mentioned simply as being of such   
note in their departments1 that he would
 be likely to hear of them among the    
first of the authors to be sought1 if he
 were aspiring to something beyond his  
previously humble and abridged reading4 
,the reader may substitute for these    

names any others1 of the superior order1
 that he may think more proper to stand 
in their place4 ,it would therefore be  
animadversion or ridicule misspent1 to  
make the charge of extravagance on this 
imagined course of a plain man's        
reading1 with a specific reference to   
the authors here named1 as if it had    
been meant that precisely these1 by a   
peculiar selection1 were to be the      
authors he may be supposed to peruse1   
and in perusing1 to waste his time and  
destroy his sense of duty4 ,he is by all
 means1 you say1 to be kept out of all  
such pernicious company1 in which it is 
impossible he can learn any lesson but  
one1--an aversion to good morals1 just  
laws1 virtuous kings1 a polished and    
benevolent gentry1 and learned and pious
 teachers4 ,well2 let him be kept as far
 as possible from the mischief of all   
such books and knowledge2 let him hardly
 know that there was an ancient world1  
or that there are on the globe such     
regions and wonders as travellers have  

described2 or that a reason and         
eloquence above the pitch of some plain 
homily ever illustrated and enforced    
religion4 ,let him keep clear of all    
such evil communications2 and then1     
7since we were expressly making it a    
condition1 that he can fairly spare the 
time for such reading from his common   
employment17 and then1--he will have    
just so much the more time for needless 
sleep1 for discussing the trifles and   
characters of the neighborhood1 or1     
7supposing him still of a religious     
habit17 for tiring his friends and      
family with the well-meant but very     
unattractive iteration of a few serious 
phrases and remarks1 of which they will 
have long since learnt to anticipate the
 last word from hearing the first4      
,advantages like these he certainly may 
enjoy in consequence of his preclusion  
from the higher and wider field of      
ideas4 ,but however valuable these may  
be in themselves1 they will not ensure  
his being better qualified for the      

common business and proprieties of his  
station1 than another man in the same   
sphere of life whose mind has acquired  
that larger reach which we are          
describing4 ,it is no more than what we 
have repeatedly seen exemplified1 when  
we represent this transgressor into the 
prohibited field as probably acquitting 
himself with exemplary regularity and   
industry in his allotted labors1 and    
even in this very capacity preferred by 
the men of business to the illiterate   
tools in his neighborhood2 nay1 most    
likely preferred1 in the more technical 
sense of the word1 to the honorable1 but
 often sufficiently vexatious office of 
directing and superintending the        
operations of those tools4  ,and where1 
now1 is the evil he is incurring or     
causing1 during this progress of        
violating1 step after step1 the         
circumscription by which the            
aristocratic compasses were again and   
again1 with small reluctant extensions  
to successive greater distances1        

defining the scope of the knowledge     
proper for a man of his condition8 ,it  
is a bad thing1 is it1 that he has a    
multiplicity of ideas to relieve the    
tedium incident to the sameness of his  
course of life2 that1 with many things  
which had else been but mere            
insignificant facts1 or plain dry       
notions and principles1 he has a variety
 of interesting associations2 like      
woodbines and roses wreathing round the 
otherwise bare1 ungraceful forms of     
erect stones or withered trees2 that the
 world is an interpreted and            
intelligible volume before his eyes2    
that he has a power of applying himself 
to think of what it becomes at any time 
necessary for him to understand8 ,is it 
a judgment upon him for his temerity1 in
 seeking and intermeddling with wisdom  
with which he had no business1 that he  
has so much to impart to his children as
 they are growing up1 and that if some  
of them are already come to maturity1   
they know not where to find a man to    

respect more than their father8 ,or if  
he takes a part in the converse and     
devotional exercises of religious       
society1 is no one there the better for 
the clearness and the plenitude of his  
thoughts and the propriety of his       
expression8--,but there would be no end 
of the preposterous suppositions fairly 
attachable to the notion1 that the      
mental improvement of the common people 
has some proper limit of arbitrary      
prescription1 on the ground simply of   
their being the common people1 and quite
 distinct from the restriction which    
their circumstances may invincibly      
impose on their ability4  ,taken in this
 latter view1 we acknowledge that their 
condition would be a subject for most   
melancholy contemplation1--if we did not
 hope for better times4 ,the benevolent 
reflector1 when sometimes led to survey 
in thought the endless myriads of beings
 with minds within the circuit of a     
country like this1 will have a momentary
 vision of them as they would be if all 

improved to the highest mental condition
 to which it is naturally possible for  
them to be exalted a magnificent        
spectacle2 but it instantly fades and   
vanishes4 ,and the sense is so          
powerfully upon him of the unchangeable 
economy of the world1 which1 even if the
 fairest visions of the millennium      
itself were realized1 would still render
 such a thing actually impossible1 that 
he hardly regrets the bright scene was  
but a beautiful mirage1 and melts away4 
,his imagination then descends to view  
this immense tribe of rational beings in
 another1 and comparatively moderate    
state of the cultivation of their       
faculties1 a state not one-third part so
 lofty as that in which he had beheld   
all the individuals improved to the     
utmost of their natural capacity2 and he
 thinks1 that the condition of man's    
abode on earth might admit of their     
being raised to this elevation4 ,but he 
soon sees that1 till a mighty change    
shall come on the management of the     

affairs of nations1 this too is         
impossible2 and with regret he sees even
 this inferior ideal spectacle pass     
away1 to rest on an age in distant      
prospect4 ,at last he takes his         
imaginary stand on what he feels to be a
 very low level of the supposed         
improvement of the general popular mind2
 and he says1 ,thus much1 at the least1 
should be a possibility allowed by the  
circumstances of the people under any   
tolerable disposition of national       
interests2--and then he turns to look   
down on an actual condition in which    
care1 and toil1 and distress1 render it 
impossible for a great proportion of the
 people to reach1 or even approach1 this
 his last and lowest conception of what 
the state of their minds ought to be4   
,in spite of all the optimists1 it is a 
grievous reflection1 after the race has 
had on earth so many thousands of years 
for attaining its most advantageous     
condition there1 that all the           
experience1 the philosophy1 the science1

 the art1 the power acquired by mind    
over matter1--that all the contributions
 of all departed and all present spirits
 and bodies1 yes1 and all religion too1 
should have come but to this2--to this1 
that in what is self-adulated as the    
most favored and improved nation of all 
terrestrial space and time1 a vast      
proportion of the people are found in a 
condition which confines them1 with all 
the rigor of necessity1 to a mere       
childhood of intelligent existence1     
without its innocence4  ,but at the very
 same time1 and while the compassion    
rises1 at such a view1 there comes in on
 the other hand the reflection1 that    
even in the actual state of things1     
there are a considerable number of the  
people who might acquire a valuable     
share of improvement which they do not4 
,great numbers of them1 grown up1 waste 
by choice1 and multitudes of children   
waste through utter neglect1 a large    
quantity of precious time which their   
narrow circumstances still leave free   

from the iron dominion of necessity4    
,and they will waste it1 it is certain  
that they will1 till education shall    
have become general1 and much more      
vigorous in discipline4 ,if through a   
miracle there were to come down on this 
country1 with a sudden1 delightful      
affluence of temporal melioration1      
resembling the vernal transformation    
from the dreariness of winter1 a        
universal prosperity1 so that all should
 be placed in comparative ease and      
plenty1 it would require another miracle
 to prevent this benignity of heaven    
from turning to a dreadful mischief4    
,what would the great tribe of the      
uneducated people do with the half of   
their time1 which we will suppose that  
such a state would give to their        
voluntary disposal8 ,every one can      
answer infallibly1 that the far greater 
number of them would consume it in      
idleness1 vanity or every sort of       
intemperance4 ,educate them1 then1 bring
 them under a grand process of          

intellectual and moral reformation2--or1
 in all circumstances and events1       
calamitous or prosperous1 they are still
 a race made in vain6  ,in taking leave 
of the subject1 we wish to express1 in  
strong terms1 the applause and          
felicitations due to those excellent    
individuals1 found here and there1 who  
,in very humble circumstances1 and      
perhaps with very little advantage of   
education in their youth1 have been     
excited to a strenuous1 continued       
exertion for the improvement of their   
minds2 and thus have made 7the          
unfavorable situation considered17      
admirable attainments1 which are        
verifying to them that knowledge is     
power1 over rich resources for their own
 enjoyment1 and are in many instances   
passing with inestimable worth into the 
instruction of their families1 and a    
variety of usefulness within their      
sphere4 ,they have nobly struggled with 
their threatened destiny1 and have      
overcome it4 ,when they think1 with     

regret1 how confined1 after all1 is     
their portion of knowledge1 as compared 
with the possessions of those who have  
had from their infancy all facilities   
and the amplest time for its            
acquirement1 let them be consoled by    
reflecting1 that the value of mental    
progress is not to be measured solely by
 the quantity of knowledge possessed1   
but partly1 and indeed still more1 in   
the corrective1 invigorating effect     
produced on the mental powers by the    
resolute exertions made in attaining it4
 ,and therefore1 since1 under their     
great disadvantages1 it has required a  
much greater degree of this resolute    
exertion in them to force their way     
victoriously out of ignorance1 than it  
has required in those who have had      
everything in their favor to make a     
long1 free career over the field of     
knowledge1 they may be assured they     
possess one greater benefit in          
proportion to the measure of their      
acquirements4 ,this persistence of a    

determined will to do what has been so  
difficult to be done1 has infused a     
peculiar energy into the exercise of    
their powers2 a valuable compensation1  
in part1 for their more limited share of
 the advantage that one part of         
knowledge becomes more valuable in      
itself by the accession of many others4 
,let them persevere in this worthy      
self-discipline1 appropriate to the     
introductory period of an endless mental
 life4 ,let them go on to complete the  
proof how much a mind incited to a high 
purpose may triumph over a depression of
 its external condition2--but solemnly  
taking care1 that all their improvements
 may tend to such a result1 that at     
length the rigor of their lot and the   
confinement of mortality itself bursting
 at once from around them1 may give them
 to those intellectual revelations1 that
 everlasting sunlight of the soul1 in   
which the truly wise will expand all    
their faculties in a happier economy4   
,the ,end4