force and efficacy, that none but a few stubborn minds have been capable of resisting it. It is possessed of the most wonderful properties-in a moment it enlightens the understanding, wins the affections, removes every doubt, silences every objection, clears up every difficulty, banishes every scruple, and generally causes the most sturdy logician to give up his point, and bend to its power. In short, it is an intermediate idea, or major proposition, which will lead to almost any conclusion. By this argument the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent, have been more quickly and effectually refuted than by all the wisdom of Solomon, or by all the reasonings of philosophy; and its powerful effects are to be seen in our own land, and in every nation under heaven.

Such have been the modes of reasoning which have most generally prevailed in the world. O! foolish and infatuated reasoners! Is it not high time to undermine your logical principles and systems, to build on a new foundation, and to train the rising generation in such a manner, that they may employ their mental powers in accordance with the dictates of reason and the word of God?

SECTION XIII.—Natural Theology.

Natural Theology is that branch of knowledge which proves and illustrates the attributes of the Deity from the works of nature-a study which is open to all the inhabitants of the earth, and from which they may derive impressive views of the existence, the perfections, and the incessant agency of that Great Being who made and who governs the universe. "For, the invisible things of God, even His eternal Power and Divinity, are, when duly attended to, clearly seen by the things that are made," and have been so in all ages, " from the creation of the world;" so that, "even the heathen nations are without excuse," if they neglect to trace in those works the being and attributes of their Creator, and refuse that tribute of reverence and obedience which is due to His perfections. This is a study in which the young should be early initiated. It lies at the foundation of the religion of the Bible; for the inspired writers take for granted that we know the evidences of the existence of the Divine Being, and of some of the attributes with which he is invested, and direct us to the contemplation of the works of his hands, as proofs and illus trations of the truths they unfold. Lift up thine eyes on high, and behold Him who hath created these orbs: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. Great is the Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite. His works are

manifold, and in wisdom He hath made them all." In exhibiting the works of God to the young, in performing experiments to illustrate their properties, and in describing the laws and mechan ism of the material world, every opportunity should be taken of directing them to the displays of power, benevolence, wisdom, and intelligence, which these works exhibit. It should be deeply impressed upon their minds, that it is the highest and noblest end of science, to mark the evidences of wise and benevolent design, and to trace the incessant agency of our Creator in all our surveys and investigations of the works of creation-without an attention to which, the mere knowledge of natural facts is an acqui sition of a comparatively trivial nature.

An intelligent teacher can seldom be at a loss to direct the attention of his pupils to this subject; for there is no part of the scenery of nature in which a discerning eye will not perceive the most evident traces of benevolent design and infinite intelligence, not only in the exquisite mechanism of animated beings, but in the structure of vegetables and minerals, and the general arrange ment of the earth, the waters, and the atmosphere. The adaptation of the solid parts of the globe for the habitation of man and other terrestrial animals-the adaptation of the waters of the ocean and of the rivers to the purposes of commerce, and for the abode of countless multitudes of organized beings-the colouring thrown over the canopy of heaven, and over the landscape of the earth-the process of evaporation, and the innumerable benefits it confers the agency of the atmosphere, the wonderful properties of its component parts, and its extensive influence in the animal and vegetable kingdoms-the solar light, and the infinity of beautiful effects it produces the thousands of diversified objects which delight the eye in the natural embellishments of creationthe harmony and order, the grandeur and sublimity, of the celestial motions-the arrangements of the planetary system, and the provision made for securing its perpetuity-the relation of man to the agencies of external nature, as the action of water, air, light, heat, electricity, &c.—the proportion between the body of man, and the objects and living beings around him—the mutual relations which subsist between animals and vegetables, and their co-operation in promoting the same design-the adaptation of almost every vegetable to the support of some species of animals -the power of vegetables to reproduce and continue their species, and the variety of admirable means by which it is effected—the various methods employed to disperse the seeds of plants over the surface of the globe, and to adorn it with vegetable beauties--the adaptation of plants to the different climates, and to the necessities of

their respective inhabitants—the admirable structure of their seeds, roots, leaves, and sap-vessels, particularly as discovered by the microscope in transverse sections of plants, &c-their important uses in the system of nature, and the numerous beauties and varieties which they spread over the face of our terrestrial creation; particularly, the curious and admirable mechanism displayed in the construction of animated beings, from the microscopic animalcula, ten hundred thousand times less than a visible point, to the elephant and the whale-the organs of mastication, deglutition, digestion, and secretion, all differently contrived, according to the structure of the animal and the aliments on which it feeds -the eyes of insects, and the thousands of transparent globules of which they consist-the metamorphoses of caterpillars and other insects, and the peculiar organization adapted to each state of their existence-the numerous beauties and minute adaptations in the wings, feet, probosces, and feathers, of gnats and other insects the respiratory apparatus of fishes, and the nice adaptation of their bodies to the watery fluid in which they pass their existence the construction of birds, their pointed bills to penetrate the air, their flexible tails serving as rudders, the lightness, strength, and tenacity of their feathers, and the whole structure of their bodies adapted to the air in which they fly, and the food by which they are sustained-above all, the wonders of the hu man frame, the numerous parts of which it is composed, the hundreds of bones and muscles, the thousands of veins, arteries, glands, nerves, and lymphatics, the millions of scales and pores in the skin, the heart with its ventricles and auricles, the brain with its infinity of fibres, the lungs with their millions of vesicles, the organs of sense, with their multifarious adaptations and connections, and the harmonious movements, adjustments, and adaptations of all these parts to the system of external nature and to the promotion of the happiness of man,-these, and thousands of similar objects, adaptations, and contrivances, will afford ample scope for expatiating on the Power, Wisdom, and Intelligence, of the Almighty Creator, and on the Benevolent contrivances which appear throughout every part of the universal system; and were specimens of some of the objects now alluded to exhibited to the young, it could not fail of arresting their attention, and inspiring them with admiration of the wonderful works of God.

We have comparatively few books on this subject. Derham's "Physico-Theology," Ray's "Wisdom of God in the Creation," Nieuwentyt's "Religious Philosopher," Paley's "Natural Theology," Lesser's "Insecto-Theology," and several other works, contain a number of valuable fragments illustrative of the being

and perfections of God from the works of Nature. But we have no complete or comprehensive system of Natural Theology; and the works now alluded to, however valuable and worthy of being perused, are not adapted to the capacities of the young. We require a comprehensive compend on this subject, for the use of schools, in which the descriptions and reflections should be as much as possible divested of the technicalities of science, and which should be illustrated with numerous engravings. The best treatise of this kind I have yet seen, is "The Youth's Book of Natural Theology," by the Rev. T. H. Gallaudet, lately published at Hartford, Connecticut. This work is clear and explicit in its descriptions, and, for the most part, level to the comprehension of the juvenile mind. But its illustrations are chiefly confined to the human body and the parts and functions of animals. It is thrown into the form of Dialogues, which has a tendency to render it interesting for the private perusal of the young; but a work on this plan is not so well adapted to serve the purpose of a text-book for public seminaries.* By means of instructions on this subject, the young would be prepared for the study of Christian Theology, and would be qualified to appreciate the beauty and sublimity of those descriptions, given by the inspired writers, of the agency of God in the economy of nature.

Having enlarged to a greater extent than I originally intended on the preceding departments of knowledge, I shall do little more than barely mention several other branches which should occasionally form the subject of instruction in all our schools. These are such as the following:-Natural History, including not only a description of animals, but likewise of the most interesting facts connected with the earth, the waters, and the atmosphere; such as earthquakes, volcanoes, ice-islands, caverns, cataracts, natural bridges, glaciers, boiling springs, the phenomena of thunder, lightning, aurora-borealis, parhelia, luminous arches, fiery meteors, whirlwinds, water-spouts, &c. The objects connected with natural history should be among the first that are presented to the view of the young, and they should be introduced as subjects of attention throughout every period of their subsequent education, as they form the groundwork of our physical knowledge and investigations. Botany is another pleasing subject on which sketches might be occasionally given, and which might be illus

* The reader is respectfully referred, for some illustrations of this subject, to "The Christian Philosopher," particularly to Chapters i, ii, and iv, and to the author's volume "On the Improvement of Society," &c. Section vi, "On the Influence of Knowledge in promoting Enlarged Conceptions of the Attributes of the Deity."

trated by the shrubs and flowers connected with the garden belonging to the seminary, formerly described. Microscopic views of the seeds and farina of flowers, the vessels and ramifications of the small leaves of minute plants and flowers, the prickles on the leaves of nettles and other shrubs, transverse sections of plants, displaying the beautiful arrangement of the sap-vessels, and similar objects, should be exhibited, and the attention directed to the fine polishings, the numerous minute vessels compressed into the smallest space, and the other exquisite pieces of Divine workmanship connected with the process of vegetation.-Mineralogy is another department of nature, on which a few instructions might be given, wherever there are specimens to illustrate the descriptions. But descriptions of metals or minerals, without presenting to view the metallic substances described, will be of little avail. Sketches of Political Economy, illustrating the principles of commerce and manufactures, and other topics connected with this subject, might be given to the advanced pupils, as soon as they are able to enter into the spirit of such disquisitions. In such sketches, noble and liberal views should be inculcated; the selfishness and antipathies of nations, and the inconveniences and absurdities of those restrictions which one nation imposes upon another, should be strongly reprobated; and a spirit of good-will, and generosity enforced towards other nations and communities, considered as members of the same great family to which we all belong. In connection with this subject, they should be taught something of the civil and criminal laws of their country, of the duties of magistrates, and of their own duties as subjects; of the form of government under which they live, and of their social rights and privileges. Of no less importance to all classes, particularly to the lower, are instructions on Domestic Economy-including directions and rules respecting orderliness and cleanliness in dwellings-the best modes of cooking victuals -the proper nursing and management of children-the rearing and treatment of domestic animals-the economy of bees-the cultivation of gardens, and the best mode of rearing culinary vegetables the decoration of their houses, areas, and flowerplots, and whatever else has a tendency to promote health and comfort, especially among the working classes of society. In short, instructions in Vocal Music should be occasionally interspersed with the other scholastic exercises, and church tunes and airs, adapted to some beautiful or sublime pieces of poetry, might be sung, at convenient seasons, in unison, by all the pupils. The words adapted to the different airs should be calculated to convey instruction, and to raise the soul to some interesting or sublime