mind, for eternity. How momentous, then, the duty of enlightening our conscience, and obeying it!

This is the last and greatest of personal duties. The empire of the conscience extends to every action which has reference to right and wrong. If we have a good conscience, and always listen to its dictates, we shall, as far as ourselves are concerned, always do right. This truth was recognized by one of the sages of ancient times, who bequeathed, as a parting legacy to his friends, the advice-"Reverence thyself." Fear not men, and refer not to their opinions in regard to your own duty; but fear yourself, and never violate what are your own convictions of right. These are some of the personal duties.

Social Duties. In the next place, we have duties to our fellow men, or social duties.

We find ourselves existing in such connexion with those about us, that we depend, in a thousand ways, upon them, and are able, in an equal degree, to contribute to their good. The dependence is mutual. The benefits we receive from others are such, that life would be hardly worth having, without them. It is the duty, then, of each individual in society to contribute his proportion towards that common good, from which the happiness of each one, and of the whole, is derived.

It would be impossible, in a few pages, to give an intelligible account of all the duties which are incumbent upon a man as a member of society. Nothing more will be attempted, than to mention a few of the more important ones.

At the foundation of all duties, and of all virtue, both personal and social, is the love of truth. The value to ourselves of the love of truth, is inestimable. Without it, we cannot search into and discover our own character; and, whilst we remain ignorant of ourselves, we are not prepared to make any progress in perfecting the best part, that is, the immortal part, of

our nature.

The importance of regarding the truth merely as a social duty, arises from the fact, that the business of society could not go on, unless we could depend upon the promises of others. Each individual would have to do every thing for himself, if he could not trust to the expressed or implied promise which every one makes, when he undertakes to act for another. Universal disregard of truth would, therefore, make men lower than savages. Every departure from truth does something to destroy the confidence which is essential to the well-being of society, and, therefore, has a tendency to disorder and destroy society.

A principle which is so important to individual and to public happiness, ought to be deeply seated; and the love of truth should be inculcated upon children, and should be cherished by all who are judges of their own conduct, with earlier and more constant and sedulous care, than any other principle. The first departure from truth, is the first step to vice and ruin. As long as a child or a man is a lover of the truth, there is hope of him.

He who disregards the truth, or is indifferent to it, is already without principle.

Truth concerns ourselves and our fellow men. The way in which we violate truth to ourselves is, by breaking our resolutions. We should, therefore, be exceedingly averse to making resolutions, or binding ourselves by vows; and it seems to be against these that the command in the Gospel-Swear not at all-is directed. The personal consequences of departing from truth, in our conversation with others, are, the loss of the confidence and esteem of others, and all the particular evils which all the falsehoods we are guilty of produce. The liar is despised by others, even by other liars, and by himself. In the Scriptures of the New Testament, a deeper detestation is expressed of lying, than of any other vice or crime whatever. The love of truth in words, is connected with a love of truth in nature and in the sciences. When the moral taste is corrupted, the power of perceiving, comprehending and enjoying the truth, in all which comes under the examination of the mind, is essentially diminished.

The great foundation of our duties to each other is charity. The word is here, employed in the comprehensive sense in which it is used in the New Testament. This leads us to love our neighbor as ourself, and is thus the source, not only of justice, but of kindness, benevolence, generosity, and all the noblest of the virtues. It teaches us to love our neighbor for his sake, and not for our own, and thus excludes selfishness, and other unworthy motives. It leads us to judge of our neighbor as we would wish to be judged ourselves, and condemns censoriousness, distrust, and the imputation of mean and evil motives. In this enlarged sense, charity influences the manners, looks and words, as well as the actions. An unkind look, or a harsh word, as really offends against the charity of the Gospel, as an unjust action; and rude manners are as inconsistent with the delicacy of feeling for others, which is the essence of charity, as a blow, or a fraudulent bargain.

Politeness has sometimes been considered as having no reference to morality; and it has even been supposed that incivility and rudeness were not inconsistent with the Christian character. To perceive how unjust this supposition is, both to Christianity and to politeness, it is only necessary to consider what politeness really is. True politeness, then, not only seems to respect the feelings of others, but actually does respect them; it leads a man, not to pretend to make a sacrifice of his own ease or convenience to gratify another, but to make the sacrifice, and to take a pleasure in it. If this be a correct account of politeness, how does it differ, so far as it goes, from the kindness which belongs to charity? Gracefulness of manners, and refinement of language, which are gained by long associating with well-bred and intelligent people, are not essential to politeness, but only an agreeable dress which it often appears in.

These two, the love of truth and charity, we conceive to be the most important and comprehensive of those principles, upon which a willingness to perform our duties must depend.

The several social duties arise from the several relations in which we stand towards others. The simplest of these relations is that of parent and child. The duties of the parent, which spring from this relation, are those of supporting and educating his child. By the first of these, he is bound to provide for him suitable food, clothes and maintenance; by the second, he is bound to set him a good example, to form him to virtuous habits, to defend him from the corrupting influence of others, and to give him a suitable preparation for a respectable and honest situation in life.

The answer to the question why the parent is bound to do these things more than any other individual, is, shortly, this:It is of infinite importance to the child, that some one should do them for him, and of vast consequence to society that they should be done for every child; and the natural and intimate relation between the parent and the child distinguishes the parent, in a manner not to be mistaken, as the one individual, upon whom the duty rests. If the parent shall not do it, who shall? And if it be not done, the child is ruined, and a great injury done to society.

The duties of the child are, respect and obedience,—because, without these, the duties of the parent cannot be performed with effect,--and, in case of need, maintenance.

Another class of duties arises from the relation between master and servant. Of this important relation, which comprehends the condition of apprentices, of domestics, of laborers, of sailors, and many others, in reference to the person or persons to whom their services are due, it will be sufficient to give a single instance. In the case of the apprentice, who is put, at an early age, to learn some art or business, under a competent person, the duty of a parent is, by the nature of the case, transferred to the master. He is, therefore, bound to take the same charge of his apprentice, in reference to his education and character, as if it were his own child, in that situation; and he is clothed with the same authority in regard to him. A consideration of the mutual duties of parent and child will, therefore, answer the question, What are the reciprocal duties of a master and his apprentice, when the apprentice is a minor?

The institution of government gives rise to many duties, which it is unnecessary to dwell upon in this place, as they may be learned from the preceding volume.

Religious Duties. The highest of our duties are our duties to God. To him we owe love, worship and obedience. The explanation and enforcement of these duties, which are called religious duties, properly belong to the ministers of religion. The consideration of our immortality, and our relation to our Creator, ought, however, never to be long absent from the

thoughts of any one. Without them, our condition here, our trials, our sufferings, our capacities, our hopes, are a perplexing and unsolved mystery.

An unfailing guide for our motives, and a rule of conduct in all respects, enjoyment of the present life, and preparation for the life to come, are found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, contained in the Scriptures of the New Testament. But in our intercourse with men, many questions arise, in which considerations of a temporary nature, not particularly spoken of in the Scriptures, are necessary to our adopting a right line of conduct. For the solving of these questions, books have been written upon moral philosophy; not to lay down new principles of conduct, but to show the application of the principles already acknowledged, to the circumstances and events which occur, and to give reasons for our being guided by these principles.

The Scriptures, for example, give us the commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," but do not explain what it is to bear false witness, and give us no reason for the command but that such is the will of God. The writer on moral philosophy defines the offence, and gives such reasons for avoiding its commission, as show that obedience to this commandment is favorable to our own happiness, and that of others; thus showing that God wills the happiness of men. The Scriptures command us to "do justly," but do not define justice, nor show the application of the rule to the various circumstances of our intercourse with other men. This the writer on moral philosophy does. He explains the nature of justice, and shows the evil consequences which proceed from an infringement of the rule in our promises, bargains and other transactions. The book of moral philosophy in no degree supersedes the Scriptures, nor substitutes any other principles than those contained in them. It only elucidates those principles, shows their application to our conduct, sets forth their reasonableness, and gives us additional inducements to be guided by them. The writer on moral philosophy addresses us as reasonable creatures, desirous of our own good and the good of others, and endeavoring to elevate ourselves, and to act worthily the part assigned us in life. The Scriptures do more; they speak to us with authority, as a voice from heaven; they speak to the heart; they speak to us as immortal beings, accountable, for every action, word and thought, to our Creator. Paley's Moral Philosophy. The only work upon moral philosophy, which has extensive circulation, and which is level to the comprehension of common readers, is the Moral Philosophy of Dr. Paley. This work, like all others of the same author, is remarkable for its clearness, and the apposite and natural manner in which it illustrates principles. But it cannot be recommended without a warning to the reader to beware of being misled by the principle, upon which, as a foundation, the system of Dr. Paley is built. This is the principle of expediency. Dr.

Paley says, "Whatever is expedient, is right." But, then, it "must be expedient on the whole, at the long run, in all its effects, collateral and remote, as well as in those which are immediate and direct." Now, this is undoubtedly true, to a being capable of estimating all effects, direct and indirect, collateral and remote, through all time, and upon all beings,-and to such a one alone. No person can safely act upon this principle, in questions of right and wrong, but one who can take into view the boundless future. Now, it need not be proved that none but God has this perfect foreknowledge; no one else can, therefore, safely act upon the principle of expediency.

With this exception, and one or two others, the morality of Dr. Paley is the morality of the Gospel; and he constantly enforces his principles by quotations from thence, and has been guided throughout by light borrowed from the Gospel.

The substance of this chapter may be summed up in a few words:

66

1. The first of physical blessings is health of the body. This depends on temperance and exercise. 'Keep your head cool by temperance, and your feet warm by exercise," was the rich lesson of a life devoted to the practice of the healing art. Health and activity of mind are the greatest good of an intellectual being, and the best possession of a moral being is a good conscience. Hence the most important personal duties are, temperance, faithful cultivation of the faculties, and self-respect, or reverence for the dictates of conscience.

2. For a large part of our present life, we must associate with our brethren of the human race, receive good from them, in numberless ways, and be dependent on them for much of our happiness. We are bound to pay back this debt, and add what we can to the great sum of good and happiness, by rendering ourselves, according to our powers, agreeable and useful. To these ends, truth and charity are most of all essential-truth, which is always safe, brave and generous, while falsehood is uncertain, cowardly and mean-and charity, which is the soul of whatever is disinterested and benevolent, in deed, or word, or outward show. We must, therefore, be true to all, and at all times; and let our charity embrace all upon whom the light of the sun is shed, that we may be perfect in our social duties.

3. We must spend the whole of our existence, and that without end, in the presence of God. We ought, therefore, to study to secure his favor. This can only be done by obeying his commandments, the first of which conveys a principle establishing the most momentous and comprehensive of human duties.

* Paley's Moral Philosophy, Book II., Chapter VIII.