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2nd. It will point out the superiority of man over all the living creatures upon earth. Examples:-" Animals have not been endued with the perception of beauty, for they will trample under foot what is beautiful, or will eat it, or defile it. Knowledge and speech are the peculiar privilege of man; for did you ever see a brute beast study nature, discover its mysteries, or imitate the works of the Creator? Man may rise in thought up to the Great Creator, and can alone offer to Him the tribute of gratitude and prayer. Animals only know the pleasure and pain which affect the senses; right and wrong are to them as though they existed not. Man asks himself whence he came, and whither he is going; a lofty spirit of enquiry of which the animal knows nothing. The ingenuity of man makes the ox submit to the yoke, the horse to the bit, and harnesses the reindeer to the sledge. Man is the sole object upon earth, and animals are but instruments provided for his service. Man is not merely the first of animals, for though they have some properties in common with him, he is essentially different from them. How noble is that creature, who, through the goodness of his Maker, opens his eyes at his birth upon a world which he may travel over, a universe with which he may acquaint himself, a God whom he may serve, and virtue to which he may attain! Beware of degrading yourself by sensuality and passion to the level of the brute beasts, since God has placed you so far above them. What would become of me if I were to live only for eating and drinking? I should sink below the rank of animals," &c.

3rd. Our course of language, imbued with the spirit of the Gospel, will seek to inspire our pupils with what, for want of a more correct term, we shall call a proper pride, by teaching them to know and to appreciate their relationship to the Creator of heaven and earth. Examples :—

"God is a spirit: and I too am a spirit, though enclosed here below in an earthly tabernacle, and acting by means of earthly organs, in order that I may by their assistance perform my apprenticeship in life. Our Heavenly Father is always near to us, and watches over us, as a father over his children; and He speaks to us continually by the

voice of conscience. Acknowledge the dignity of your nature, for you still bear in your soul the faint traces of the image of God, in which man was first created. As a father teaches his children, so has God provided for our instruction, by placing us in His glorious universe, which is the school from whence we gain all our knowledge. In this beautiful world we are not treated like slaves, but like children in their father's house. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!" God so loved men, that after they had wandered far out of the way of life, He sent His only begotten Son to die for them. Our Saviour, who was the express image of God upon earth, His Word, the fulness of His power, has called us brethren; and when He left the world, He said that He was going to His Father and our Father. Do you know, my child, how you may walk worthy of all the mercies of your Heavenly Father? by seeking to do His will, as it was done by His well-beloved Son. Dishonour not your high origin by following after sin, which separates you from your Heavenly Father, and which can only lead to shame and misery. Do not imitate the fallen angels, who were driven out from the presence of God, because they would not acknowledge His goodness, and submit to His authority," &c.

4th. The high destinies of man are also a point on which our course of language will dwell, in order to give to the desire after self-esteem its proper direction.

To the eye and the ear, man dies entirely; and to them his destiny seems accomplished at death; for the senses can perceive nothing beyond. Whence comes it then, that all the nations upon earth, even the most savage tribes, have at all times, and in all places, agreed in the belief of another life? with the exception indeed of a few ancient and modern philosophers, who have manifestly strayed from the path of reason; and with the exception also of those who "will not come unto the light, because their deeds are evil;" and who wish to disbelieve in a future state, because it can have no good in store for them.

* 1 John iii. 1.

Faith in immortality proceeds in the first instance from man distinguishing himself more or less from the earthly tabernacle which encloses him, and which he sees to be growing old and decaying. Moreover, he is conscious of his superior dignity, because all his faculties, his tendencies, and the desires of his soul, boldly stretch forward beyond the grave, and expatiate in a boundless futurity. And if he is favoured with the knowledge of the Gospel, immortality is no longer to him a vague hope, but a certainty; a certainty too, resting on an immense fact, on the establishment of Christianity, the posthumous work of our Lord Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead to lay its everlasting foundations on the ruins of Judaism and idolatry.

On coming to our lessons, our pupils will bring with them the belief in eternal life, because their mothers will not have failed to suggest it, since their own need of it is so urgent. But this faith, though secretly favoured by the vast desires of the human heart, and also by filial piety, will not be a reasonable faith, such as is required in our days, to withstand all the dangers which threaten it both from within and from without. Education must therefore strengthen it to the utmost of its power, and give to selfesteem the direction of immortality. The task is a com plicated one; and it presents a series of subjects which we shall treat in succession.

To distinguish the Soul from the Body.

To teach the child to distinguish that self, which sees, hears, feels, thinks, loves, hates, wills and acts, or in other words, to distinguish himself from his organs, which are destitute of thought, feeling, and will, and are but his blind intruments; this is to guard him against materialism and all its grievous consequences.

Our course of language will therefore dwell all the more on this vast distinction, because it is in general overlooked in education; and thus children are exposed to the danger of confounding mind and matter; the natural result of which is, that on seeing the one destroyed at death, they conclude that the whole man perishes also. We consider this subject to be so important, that we

should wish to include it in the preliminary instruction which we have recommended for pupils, before they come to our regular lessons in language. And in these we shall -continually recur to this essential point, in order to produce a full and indelible conviction of its truth. With

this view, we must begin from afar, and with the minute details which will favour our object; and our course of language will touch upon it in its earliest propositions. Here we shall only subjoin a few phrases to show our manner of treating it.

"My stomach digests its food, I know not how. My lungs inspire and expire the air without my interference. My heart sends the blood through all the veins of my body without my help. The blood is brought back from every part of my body to my heart, to recommence its circulation; and I am quite unconscious of it all the while. My body is a wonderful machine, like a clock that is wound up. I am enclosed in my body, and can only disengage myself from it in thought. My body is in itself as immoveable as a stone, and is only moved by my own exertions. My legs only carry me where I will. My eyes are like spectacles, by means of which I look all around me at pleasure. My ears convey to me the words of my fellowcreatures, but I can only understand them by listening attentively. I must impart words to my lips, or they would remain dumb. I am the writer; my hand and fingers are but my instruments, like the pen.

If it were not for myself, my body would perish from inanition, for I feed it. My body only chews and swallows the food, in so far as I call upon it to perform this work. My body resembles a pianoforte, which only emits the sounds which I elicit from it. My body is composed of a variety of parts, but I myself am one, and the same from my birth upwards. My body is composed of matter, which nourishes it and repairs its losses. The elements of my body have neither will nor thought, therefore it has none itself. Since I think and will, I am quite distinct from my coarser organs. I myself am a spirit enclosed, and administered by material organs. I make use of my body as of an instrument; I animate it, I am its soul."

To exclude the Judgment of the Senses with regard to the Reality of a Future Life.

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It is not unusual even in our days to hear men dispute another life, because our senses do not bear witness to it, and because death appears to destroy the whole man. Our course of language must guard against this false and dangerous conclusion. Therefore it will say: At death, we do not see the soul quit the body, because the soul is invisible. Not only are we unable to see spirits with our mortal eyes, but we cannot even discern an infinity of little living creatures which have nevertheless organized bodies. Mind and thought, will and power, are these things which can be either visible or tangible? The soul is not involved in the ruin of the body, because it is quite distinct from it. It is to the soul and not to the body that belong sight, hearing, feeling, thought, &c.; therefore the soul may live without the body. To say we will not believe in another life till we see it, is to ask to die before we die. God is a Spirit, and is present everywhere, and yet our eyes cannot behold Him. Say not that no one has ever returned to bring us tidings from the other world, since our Saviour did at His resurrection.

Immortality of the Soul.

Here we shall only touch on the principal foundations of our hopes for eternity. "God is our father; and a father will not slay his children. The Creator has breathed into our souls the idea of eternity, and the longing after it; and He would not have done so in order to deceive us. He allows us from this lower world to catch glimpses of the immensity of His universe; and these are pledges to us that we shall hereafter enjoy it. Holiness is the sublime object to which God has directed our consciences; and this object can only be fully attained in an endless life. Conscience, by its duties, its promises, and its threats, reveals to us another world as surely as our senses reveal to us the present. The Almighty is able to continue our life for ever; and therefore He will, for His goodness is equal to His power. Doubtless there is a

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