can be formed from any other elements than those of human nature; or, that if such a structure could be raised, it would be lasting. If we are not previously assured of the solidity of the ground on which we have built, if the edifice have been erected on the deceitful foundation of natural purity, then "when the rains descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat against that house, it will fall, and great will be the fall thereof."

The moral consequences of this doctrine, — a doctrine, in my opinion, so favourable to the developement of the conscience,—will be treated of in a later part of this work. I shall only remark at present, that the Holy Scriptures have pronounced the heart of man to be corrupt; and that this judgment, taken, as it ought to be, in connection with the general views of Christianity, has one great advantage, in the spirit of gentleness which it infuses into the work of education. Parents who are convinced of their own natural tendency to evil, view the faults of their children without feeling that excessive surprise and indignation, which so frequently lead to severity of treatment: they are already prepared to encounter those foreseen tendencies, and have not lulled themselves into a deceitful security. And, on the other hand, children, easily convinced of their errors, do not receive their parents' reproofs with a rebellious spirit, a

proud obstinacy, or an assertion (so often false) of good intentions, as an excuse for their conduct, faults which serve only to aggravate those previously committed. More gentle, more sincerely penitent when they have done wrong, they are less likely to transgress again; nor do they seek an idle justification of themselves in the idea of the vice inherent in their nature. They had felt themselves free to act or not: and the conviction that they might have resisted the temptation by which they were assailed is too just and too strong to be shaken.

But if we would have our children able to resist temptations, and truly grieved when they have yielded to them, we must endeavour to give them such religious feelings as, at their age, they are capable of imbibing. This most important subject remains to be considered in the concluding part of this volume.

CHAPTER VII.

ADVANTAGES OF AN EARLY CULTIVATION OF THE RELIGIOUS FEELINGS.

IN treating of education I have hitherto been reasoning on the subject, recommending observation, and calling in the aid of experience. Perhaps, in bringing forward the subject of religion, I may be accused of a blind enthusiasm. Though long wishing to arrive at this part of my task, yet now, that I have accomplished my intention of beginning by drawing a portraiture of infancy, an undefinable dread seems to restrain me. I am confused and overwhelmed by the greatness of the subject, and my mind is pre-occupied by the feebleness of the age.of which I am treating. How can I venture to express the desire I feel? How dare to advise that we should present to the confined intellect of a child of three or four years old, that Being who transcends the comprehension even of the most enlarged capacity?

But in the contemplation of such a Being, all idea of any common measure vanishes. When compared with immensity, every thing is reduced to the same level. Who but God him

self can understand God! Men, angels, childrenwe can only prostrate ourselves before Him. To adore Him, to bless Him, to obey his holy laws, to submit to his immutable decrees, dimly to view his perfections without being able to see them in all their brightness; such must be our lot in time and in eternity.

In many respects children are happily constituted for the fulfilment of this universal duty. Not bound down, as we are, by fixed habits, their connection with earth is not so intimate. They can believe in what is unseen; they can love, without having any very definite idea of the object of their love. A marked gravity is sometimes depicted on their countenances, though they are as yet unable to express themselves by words. Their whole language is that of prayer; feeling more strongly than we do the sense of their weakness, they also feel more strongly their need of help, while at the same time their filial affection is more warm and lively. What then is wanting to bring them near to God? Religion already slumbers in their breast; requiring, not to be brought into existence, but only to be awakened.

The human soul is naturally religious. This may be observed even in the earliest infancy,

# 66 Worms, angels, men, in every different sphere, Are equal all, for all are nothing here."

Mrs. Barbauld's Address to the Deity.

but it is the part of education, and, doubtless, her most important task and indispensable duty, to bring this dormant faculty fully to light.

To unfold the most noble instinct of human nature, and give it a true and healthy direction, to bestow upon our children by degrees, and in proportion to their progress, suitable religious instruction, must be our constant aim; and this care, in itself so pleasing, will, if begun sufficiently early, be rewarded by certain success. But the longer we are in beginning, the more uncertain and difficult of attainment. will this success, otherwise so infallible, become.

It appears sometimes as if parents were deterred, by a sort of reverence for holy things, from introducing the subject of religion to their children before they are capable of reasoning. There might be some excuse for such a scruple, if those, who profess to be influenced by it, were not exempt from it with regard to many other things, for which they also profess a great respect. We hear of no such scruples when the question concerns any other, necessary or even merely praiseworthy, feeling. In order to render the name of father dear and sacred to your son, do you wait till he is of an age to comprehend the exact nature of this relationship? Is the name of his country never mentioned to him with love and pride, till he is able to form an idea of his connection with it,