The mind is by nature prone to wrong. By this I intend, that it is prone to forget God; to exercise towards him neither love, reverence, gratitude, nor submission; to be governed by selfish, and not benevolent, affections towards mankind; and to indulge pride, envy, wrath, sloth, lewdness, intemperance, and lightness of mind. In a word, it is prone to be impious, unkind, insincere, unjust, and dissolute. These and the like things, notwithstanding the ingenious discoveries of Infidel Philosophy, I call wrong; because they are, beyond a doubt, dishonourable and displeasing to God, injurious to our fellow-men, and debasing to ourselves. They do no good; and produce all the evil which exists. That the human race are naturally prone to these things, is certain; because children evince their propensity to them as soon as they commence moral action. Every man, who sees at all, sees some or other of these characteristics in every one except himself.

There are but two methods, in which these propensities may be either removed, or checked: the Grace and providence of God, and the labour of man: I mean the labour of man, especially, when in the best manner exerted, in the beginning of life, to educate children in virtue. That God may be expected to remove, or even to check, them, will hardly be admitted by most of the men, against whom I am contending. But they will universally acknowledge, that the labours of man are important to this end; and that they coincide in their efficacy, if he acts at all, with the agency of God. So far then, as these evils can be exterminated, or restrained, the labours of man are not only useful, but indispensable.

Childhood is the seed-time of life; the season, in which every thing, sown in the mind, springs up readily, grows with peculiar vigour, and produces an abundant harvest. In this happy season, the garden is fitted by the Author of our being for the best cultivation. If good seeds are then sown; valuable productions may be confidently expected: if not; weeds of every rank and poisonous kind will spring up of themselves, of which no future industry will be able to cleanse the soil.

What is implanted in childhood takes deep root, also; and can never be eradicated in future life. The principles, established in this golden period, are regarded with more veneration and attachment, are retained longer, and are more powerfully operative, than any other. They reappear, after having been for a great length of time invisible; and renew their energy, after having been supposed hopelessly extinct. Such, then, being, confessedly, the importance and strength of early instructions; how interesting must it be in the view of every sober man to prevent, while they can be prevented, the immense evils of wrong principles; and to secure, while they can be secured, the inestimable benefits of those which are right.

The child who is not religiously educated in the dawn of life, must, even with the happiest future advantages, be ignorant of many interesting moral doctrines, during all that season in which doctrines are capable of high and happy influence. In the mean time, he will also imbibe many others, which are false and malignant. No man is better, than his principles will make him. Virtue is nothing, but voluntary obedience to truth. Vice is nothing, but voluntary obedience to falsehood. The doctrines, which he obeys, will form his whole character. If they are false; they will form him to sin, to odiousness, and to ruin; and that they will be false, at least chiefly, if he is left to choose for himself, needs no proof. Thus the child, left, according to this scheme, without a religious education, will become a savage in his morals; not from disposition only, but from ignorance also. In his mind there will be no good principles to counteract the bad; nothing to enlighten, or direct, him in the path of virtue; nothing to suggest the necessity, the wisdom, or the duty, of resisting sin, and avoiding temptation. Such a child will, of course, become a mere beast of prey: and he who sends him out into society, is more hostile to its peace, than he who unchains a wolf, and turns him loose into the

street.

3. The Abettors of this scheme, contradict it in their own conduct.

Many of these men assiduously teach their children industry, economy, justice, veracity, and kindness to their fellow-men. Why do they educate their children in this manner? They will answer, Because they think these things useful to their children; and childhood the time in which they can be most effectually taught. Let us examine their conduct by their own rules.

All these things are by a part, and not a small part, of mankind, denied to be useful. They are, of course, in dispute. I return them, therefore, their own reasoning; and say, "You ought not to teach your children Industry, until they are grown to adult years; lest they should practise industry through prejudice, and not from candour and conviction. Multitudes think sloth preferable to industry. Why do you forestall the judgment of your children; and give them by education a bias to the other side of this question?"

"Why do you teach them Economy? Great numbers of mankind, and among them many persons of superior talents, have thought profusion preferable to economy; and have proved the sincerity of their opinion by their own prodigality. The question is, hitherto, undecided. You ought not to prejudice the minds of your children; but leave them to examine for themselves."

"Why do you teach them justice? Fraud has a numerous train of advocates, who will strenuously urge the error of your judgment. Ought not your children to find the field of decision unoccupied?"

VOL. IV.

24

each them Truth? David said in his haste, that and universal experience proves that the numse who think truth of little value. Preclude the chance of judging candidly on this im

sedulously teach them Kindness? Mark the Nose, who prove by their conduct, that they sar cuce a weak and contemptible characteristic of man. Sa terre, rrejudicing your children concerning a subject & a PR Deng settled, and of pre-eminent importance to All these things are as strenuously 2013 world.

* n İsocted, in the world, as piety, faith, repentance, or geten genis. There is, therefore, no justification of your enning, or the ground."

thing &

• Car wou pretend, that Piety is not as rational, and as imporcan u man as either of the things which you enjoin upon your Piper i love and reverence to God are not important, noA good comes from God. When He gives, we enjoy : wher Sie weetdolds, we are destitute. But he cannot be expected ugg, he certainly will not give; to those, who, finally, neither uvit ne reverence his character. If he is not believed, nor rest: he cannot be reverenced, nor loved. Without faith, these, poety cannot exist. If sin be not hated, regretted, nor enounced; or, in other words, repented of; piety will in like manver be impossible."

Besides, you teach your children, as you teach others, both with diligence, and ardour, to disbelieve, despise, and hate the Scriptures. The Scriptures, you know, profess themselves to be a Revelation from God. To the question, whether they are such a Revelation, Christians believe the positive, and you the negative, answer. You will not deny, that they have the same right to adopt their belief, and their consequent obedience, which you have to adopt your disbelief, and your consequent disobedience. Neither can you doubt, that he, who believes with the best evidence, is the wisest man. Their arguments you have utterly failed to answer. Your objections they claim to have refuted; and can plead this strong proof of the justice of their claim, furnished by yourselves, that for many years you have quitted the field of discussion. On good grounds, therefore, they regard you as vanquished. In this respect, at least, you must acknowledge, that they have an advantage over you, which is infinite. Should the Scriptures prove to be false, they will lose nothing by believing them. Should they prove to be true, you will gain nothing, and lose your all."

"The case of yourselves, and Christian parents, is the case of your children and theirs. By teaching your children to disbelieve the Scriptures, you expose them to infinite loss. Christians, by teaching their children to believe the Scriptures, do what is in their

power to secure to them infinite gain. You may, therefore, be challenged to show, that their conduct is not wiser, and more defensible, than yours."

"But it is enough for the present purpose, that you prove yourselves insincere in your scheme by pursuing the contrary conduct. You prove unanswerably, that, in your opinion, children ought diligently to be taught that system of moral principles, which you think good and useful. The conduct, to which you object in Christians, is exactly the same. All, that they teach, they think good; eminently good, and infinitely useful."

4. As Virtue is nothing but Obedience to Truth; 80 Truth must be taught, before Virtue can be practised.

If the former part of this position be admitted; the latter will be self-evident. As the former cannot be denied, with even a pretence of argument; I shall take it for granted, that truth must be taught to children, in order to render them virtuous. But the Religion of the Scriptures is the only system of Truth, which will make children virtuous. This I say with confidence; because no other system of doctrines has ever made men virtuous. Cicero testifies this of the western heathen philosophy. The Brahmans frankly acknowledge it of the eastern.* Every man of common information, knows it to be true of Infidel Philosophy.

If, then, children are to be rendered virtuous while they are children; that is, while there is the best reason to hope that they may become virtuous; they must be educated in the religious system of the Scriptures.

5. Virtue is a simple indivisible thing; and must therefore exist, and be taught, entire, or not at all.

There never was an instance, in which a man was possessed of half the character of virtue; or in which he exercised the affections, and voluntarily performed the duties, of virtue towards one class of objects, and not towards another, and towards all. A man may unquestionably be virtuous, and yet not perfectly virtuous: but it is impossible, that he should be the subject of piety, and not of benevolence; or of benevolence, and not of piety. It is impossible, that he should love God, whom he hath not seen, and hate, or not love his brother whom he hath seen. It is equally impossible to love our fellow-creatures, and not love Him, who made, preserves, and blesses, both us and them. Equally impossible is it, as was shown in the preceding discourse, to love either God or man, without governing our selfish passions. Thus it is plain, that virtue cannot exist in parcels, or by halves.

As virtue cannot exist in this manner; it cannot to any purpose, be taught in this manner. The whole use of teaching is to effectuate the practical end of the instructions, which are given.

They declare, that in the present Youge all men are only sinful. See Asiat. Research. Maur. Ind. Antiq. and Bapt. Miss. Reports.

If these are limited in such a manner, as not to comprise the object in view; they will necessarily fail of their effect. Partial instructions on this subject fall utterly short of teaching what virtue is; and must therefore be fruitless. Virtue is love to God, love to mankind, and the subordination of all our passions to this great affection. If this be not taught; nothing is taught, to the purpose in view. The very doctrine, that a part of this is virtue, will, by leading him into a fundamental and fatal error, effectually prevent the child from becoming virtuous. Thus the Christian system alone teaches what virtue is; and leads alone to the attainment of this glorious attribute, and the practical obedience of its dictates. If children, then, are not religiously educated; they will be perfectly destitute of all human aid towards becoming virtuous. Should they die before they arrive at adult years; they must, if this scheme be pursued, die without a hope.

6. If children are not religiously educated; they will, instead of being candid, be strongly prejudiced against Christianity.

The professed intention of those with whom I contend, is to establish candour in the minds of children, and prevent them from bias and prejudice. This, undoubtedly, wears a fair appearance; but, like many other specious things, is false and hollow. Children, by means of the evil propensities, which I have mentioned, are naturally prejudiced against every thing, which is morally good. They are unfriendly to the Scriptures, to God, and to their duty; and are prone to all unbelief, and to all sin. The sin, which they love, and practise, the Scriptures forbid ; and threaten the commission of it with the most awful penalties. Still they choose to practise it; and therefore hate the Scriptures, by which it is thus forbidden and threatened. Thus their minds are spontaneously prejudiced against the religion of the Scriptures. If, then, they are not religiously educated; the very bias, the very want of candour, which the authors of this scheme professedly design to prevent, will exist, of course, in the highest degree. Thus the scheme defeats itself; and frustrates the only purpose, for which it is proposed.

These truths are obvious in fact; particularly in the conduct of the objectors themselves. Both they and their children are always prejudiced against Christianity. Among all the Infidels, whom I have known, I do not recollect an individual, who appeared to me to have examined thoroughly even the objections of Infidels against the Scriptures; much less the arguments, which have been adduced by Christians in support of their divine origin. I do not remember one, who appeared to have investigated, with serious attention, the truth, evidence, or excellence, of the doctrines, which they contain. So far as my knowledge extends, they have all rejected them both in the gross, and without a single earnest inquiry. Such cannot be the conduct either of candour, or com

mon sense.