decision. The mother and the sick child. Restless repining. Sum-

mary of the chapter.

CHAPTER IV.-THE POOR.

Common idea of giving to the poor. Causes of poverty. Exceptions.

An example. The child. Its value.

can be done? Effect of charitable aid.

Vice and misery. What

The wicked woman's plan

of life. Treating symptoms. Another scene. The little beggar.

Misery not innocence. The return. A hopeless case. Reflections.

Character. The way to save mankind. Sentimental feeling. Some

cases of virtuous poverty. These exceptions rare. First direction.

Suffering vice and suffering virtue. A caution. Suffering virtue un

common. Artifices of the vicious. Hypocrisy. Danger of deceiving

ourselves. The stage-driver. The power of habit. Third rule.

Danger of overdoing. Encourage exertion. Illustration. Effects of

profusion. Danger of envy and jealousy. The benevolence of the

poor. The right way. Profuse benefactions.
A case. The cabin.

Description of the interior. The physician's visit. A mediation.

The wise course. Last direction. Public charity. Its abuses.

Cause of pauperism. Its remedy. Too much ignorant labor.

Conclusion.

CHAPTER V.-PROMOTION OF PERSONAL PIETY.

Connection between sin and suffering. Divine and human benevolence.

Expectations of the young. The only way to do real and perma-

nent good. Power of moral sympathy. Experiment with a child.

The power of persuasion and of sympathy compared. The child-

ren in a thunder-storm. Light; salt; leaven. The Savior's moral

power. Sermons. The mother. The way by which religion is to

be spread.

1. The Preparation. Honesty. Assumed interest in religion. Interest

in human salvation. Companions; friends; neighbors. Prayer.

A test of sincere prayer. Religious emotion. Nature and prov-

ince of it. Illustration. The traveller at the West. His letter.

Emotion. Conditions of religious emotion. Wasted efforts. Strug-

gling for feeling. The agency of the Holy Spirit. Greatness of

the change. Difficulties. Walk softly.

11. The Measures. Examination of the ground. Popularity of our Savior's

preaching. Limitation of the principle. Estimation of virtue in

this world. Common impression. A distinction. We must expect

a we.come. Favorable opportunities. Artifice. Anonymous let-

ters Courtesies of social life. Discussions. Truth spiritually

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116

discerned. Examples. Effect of a discussion. A common error.

Degree of knowledge necessary to salvation. A dialogue. Investi-

gation not the first duty. The difficulty in the heart. Another case.

A proposed argument. Its uselessness. The proper course. Aim

to produce conviction of sin. Means of grace. Common impres-

sion;-groundless. Immediate action. Religious duties of the im-

penitent. Instructions of the bible. Paul's case. General direc-

tions. Philosophy of human nature. Immediate duty. Promote

a very thorough change. Approximation desirable. It lessens

danger, though not guilt. Cases. A family brought rear. Ap-

proximation to right opinions. The greatest error the most danger-

ous. Caution. Dependence on divine influences. Perfection of

nature, and moral ruin of man. Man a moral wreck

133

CHAPTER VI.-PUBLIC MORALS.

Influence of Christianity on the community. Christian and Pagan coun-

tries. Crime and punishment in Boston. Crime and punishment

in Constantinople. The Christian's appropriate work. Relation

to the community. A common scene at home. Persuasion. Christ-

ians in the minority. No hope from open war. Weakened by in-

testine divisions. Denominational jealousies. Drawing lines, and

setting the battle in array. A wrong spirit. Its effects. The true

tactics. Wrong feelings. Censoriousness. Party spirit. Anger

and irritation. True sorrow for sin. Example of Jesus Christ.

Self deception. The public conscience. A cruel master. Means

of awakening moral sentiment. Excessive zeal. The true field of

Christian labor. Political evils and their remedy. Forms of gov-

ernment. Spread of individual virtue. France and New England.

The true support of despotism. The Christian citizen. Progress

of Christianity.

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CHAPTER VII.-THE CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION.

The plan of the Savior. He founded a church. Various branches.
Dissensions among them. Religious party spirit. Two ways to
make peace. Union of Christians necessary. Subordinate place
of forms. Attachments to them. The eight propositions. Chan-
ges. Times of Abraham, Moses and David. Time of the Savior.
His ecclesiastical polity. Ecclesiastical polity of the apostles.
Apostolic arrangements provisional. Election. Ordinations. The
general council. Description of usages. Levitical law. Fourth
commandment. Not strictly observed. Ordination. Ordination
of the twelve; of Paul. Ceremony waived, and why. Paul not

ordained by Ananias. Apollos. The ceremony of ordination,

specimen. Apostolic practice not infallible. Distinction between

writings and acts. Apostolic example of great value. Scripture sys-

tem incomplete. Congregational additions;-episcopal. The most

essential points unprovided for. Possible perversion of these views.

The marriage ceremony. Rite of confirmation. Danger of one

consolidated government. Sanction of God's Spirit. The result.

Present state of the church. Cities; villages. The real difficulty.

Permanence of it. The disease an intermittent. Hot fit and cold

fit. The old texts. The only remedy for the evil. Prospect of a

change. Summning up the case. Spiritual integrity of the church.

Conclusion.

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CHAPTER VIII.-THE SICK.

Plan of this work. Safe to do good to the sick. The sick laborer.

Good easily and safely done. The child. Happiness. Old age

Consumption and her victims. The family and friends of the sick

Cases. A family changed. A danger pointed out. Spiritual good

of the patient. Dangers. Various classes. Deceptions of friends.

Indifference and stupor. The deceived. Nervous influence of sick-

ness. The attendant of piety; its counterfeit. Little Nathan

Dickerman. Practical rules. Imposture. Necessity of caution.

Quietness and delicacy. The skilful attendant. Stillness and

gentleness. Honesty. Manoeuvring. A case of it. Its effects.

Plain dealing safer. Frankness. Privileged persons. Quiet for

the sick. Real object to be accomplished. Truth to be presented

quietly. A change of heart. The Savior. John Randolph. Re-

morse. An atonement. Questioning the patient. Difficulty of

judging. Faint hope of success.
The sick Christian. How de-

cline. Expressions of piety by the sick. Professions. Authority

of physician. Limits and restrictions. Conclusion.

227

CHAPTER IX.-CHILDREN.

A supposition. The infants. Effect of education. Education of cir-
cumstances. Instructions not exclusively for parents. Influence
of relatives. The worsted pocketbook. Plan of the chapter.
I. Prominent Characteristics of Childhood. Mental processes. Pleas
ure of action. Understanding language. Stories. Stories for
children. Source of pleasure. Love of employment. An offer and
the choice. Counting. Steps minute and simple. Make work for
children. Second principle. "More stories." Subjects for talk.
Every thing new. The sand-box. Talk about it. A thousand

subjects. Describe any thing to children. The way to tell stories.
A specimen. Subjects. Fiction. A danger. Is fiction allowable
at all? The true line to be drawn. The senses the avenue. Ex-
ample. Generalization and abstraction. Minute details. An
example. The boat. Explain minutely. The black sand. Style
abrupt. Tones. Gesticulations. The man and his dog again.
Third characteristic of childhood. Conditions of gratitude. The
way to a child's heart. Reasoning with children. The baby's
name. The logic of childhood. Power of association. Common
failure. The father. Power of affection.

II. Practical Directions. The field. Influence to be sought. The pa-

rent disappointed. Brothers and sisters. Indulgence. Presents.

Decision and firmness. The way to gain an influence. Way to

use it. Expression of the truth. The winter walk and the snow

bird. The expression of kindness or of cruelty. Formal instruc-

tion. Solitude. Influence of man upon man.
Solitude. Learn-

ing by experience. Recapitulation.

2.50

CHAPTER X.-INSTRUCTION.

Instruction. Plan of the chapter. Five propositions. Mode of divine

instruction. Our methods. The contrast. Reason for it. Illus-

tration. Botany. The two students. The thistle. The rose.

Nature and use of science and system. The theologians. Province

and value of theological science. Systematic education. The Bible

the storehouse. Korah. Korah's mutiny. The parties. Their

designs. Conversation with Korah. A coincidence. Dathan and

Abiram. Their reply. Moral lessons to be deduced. Various

questions. Two kinds of interest in a story. Example. Job.

The dramatic interest. The moral interest. Both combined.

Third general head. Observation. Effect of a habit of observa-

tion. Refined and vulgar taste. The evidence for moral truth.

Mathematical truth. A difference between intellectual and moral

science. Apparent exceptions. Proof of Christianity. Proof by

experiment. Illustrations. Difficulty of sound induction. Truth

accessible. Arguing with error. First case. Another case.

Great forces to be overcome. Dangers. Practical directions.

The strange light. Two ways of combatting error. Collisions.

Misunderstandings. Sympathy. Effects of disputation. Exagger-

ation. Defending error, and its effects. Deal in great arguments,

not in minute details. Faint hopes of success. Classes of reason-

Way in which human opinions are formed. Result of the

hussion. Grounds of human belief. The way to spread the

Infidelity. Its spirit. Voltaire.

ers.

809

CHAPTER XI.-CONCLUSION.

Conclusion. Plan completed. Recapitulation. Views of God. Pan-

theism. Of sin. The slavery of sin. Freedom. Bondage. Un-

limited freedom. The difficulty. Suffering. Existence of suffer-

ing inexplicable. Christ the atoning sacrifice. The way of peace.

The soul thirsts for it. Difficulties. Disposal of the difficulties.

The church and the denominations. Various modes of doing good.

The author's farewell.

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