accompanied, as this labour frequently is, with the wearing and wasting of the material frame. Much less should any one be satisfied, when he gets his diploma in his hands, that he has gained the blessing, which he has been for years anticipating.

It is none of these objects which the work of education is designed to answer; but one far nobler than all. Its purpose is to render the world full of interesting things, and to open the eyes to perceive them; to break the seal of mystery, that has been set on whatever God has made; to people the air, the earth, the water, yea, all things with subjects of thought; to subordinate the animal nature, and to make the world of mind assume its ascendancy. It is to take man from the degraded state of a mere thing, that breathes, and eats, and sleeps, and dies-and make him a student of the universe; an humble pupil of the Almighty; an honour to his race, and a benefactor of the world. It is, so to lengthen out his existence on earth, through the continued operation of the causes he may have put in motion, that, "being dead," he may "yet speak"-may speak, for ages to come, things that shall make men bless his memory. It is to train the mind to the dignity, and bliss, and glory of the angels-to make man (a poor, weak infant as he was but yesterday) equal, in learning, and in mental ability, and in profound thought, and in gratitude, adoration, and praise, to the noblest seraph that now ministers before the throne. It is, to restore to him in truth the image of his Creator; and, in a brighter than the earthly Eden, to admit him to eternal communion with God. In short, it is its design to secure a full development of all the mental powers.

It is not to be doubted, that every item of knowledge we acquire, of whatever kind and from whatever source, contributes to the cultivation of the mind. Every hour of study-of deep, abstracted, thorough study-is an advance in the work of mental discipline. The more facts we treasure up, or rather, the more we learn to incorporate into the materiel of our own minds, and thus get the ability to turn to useful account the facts we treasure up-the nearer do we approach to a state of perfect mental development. But it well becomes us to inquire what attainments, and of what kind, are requisite, in order to perfection. For with nothing less than perfection, it would seem, should he be contented, who has perceived but dimly the enjoyment of a cultivated mind. Indeed, we see not how he can be satisfied to remain away from the source of knowledge, who has drunk at its We see not how he can rest at ease, if he knows that the fairest fields lie yet untrodden-that the most blessed fountains, so

streams.

far as his profit is concerned, roll on their pure currents in vain—that he has been spending his life, rejoicing in a reflected light, while he has never looked upon the great exhaustless orb that supplies it. How can he sit down at ease, as if he were 66 already perfect," if he learns that he is without that which is indispensable to the full development of his powers?

It is not our design to assume for the influence of religion upon the mental powers more than we think can be proved, nor yet to investigate the reasons, why some men, of fervent piety and public education, remain all their life-time intellectual dwarfs. We imagine, however, the whole would be accounted for by saying, that their education was not sufficient to give them facility in the use of the instruments of mental cultivation; or, in addition to this deficiency, they have intrenched themselves in "the castle of indolence," and refuse, on some inglorious and unworthy apology, to continue the work that is begun. We repeat, it is not our design to assume for the influence of religion on mental cultivation more than we think can be proved; but, in the remainder of this article, we shall endeavour to establish the following sentiment, viz., “Piety is essential to the full development of the mental powers.'

Perhaps this might, for some reasons, be expected, as a matter of course. When we become the disciples of Christ, the intelligent mind begins to be obedient to its intellectual author. It begins, for the first time in its history, to acknowledge its own dependence; to perceive the excellence, to adore the goodness, to admire the forbearance, to take interest in fathoming the mysteries of Him whose greatness is unsearchable; and to pant for pure and perfect resemblance to him. Thus commences in that spirit the work of honouring God and living for his glory. And, if mental strength is a source of happiness-yea, one item of the divine image impressed upon the soul-will not He, who has "given for us his own Son, with him also freely give us all things?" If, with the first thrill of piety, we are so far waked up as to long for intellectual development, that we may enter more fully and far into the deep things of God, will not He, who has bestowed the greater blessing, much more add the less? But in this matter inferential reasoning is not alone. We have argument.

I. Piety is the source of a class of emotions, which, in its absence, are unknown. Every emotion, or series of emotions, indeed, every act of the mind, goes to promote its culture. For it is the exercise of the mind, as of the body, which contributes to its perfection. In this argument we do not mean to say that piety confers upon man any new

natural faculties, such as he did not always possess; but only that a mode of action, of which those faculties are capable, and which has never before been put forth, commences as soon as the heart is renovated. For example, as a fruit of piety the mind is led to cherish such thoughts as result in vivid perceptions of the nature and reality of the spiritual world. This dark and dingy planet, and the suns and systems that roll in the same universe with it, cease to be its absorbing themes of meditation. A window is, as it were, opened— not into heaven only, but into the world of spiritual beings; and their existence, their character, their prospects, and his own anticipated companionship with them, put on the definiteness of reality. The Christian learns properly to appreciate divine revelation-to view the Bible as the word of God addressed to him. He has a more fervent gratitude; a sweet, though sad, regret for failures in duty, mingled with cheering thoughts of the great Intercessor; a pure, and reasonable, and sanctifying joy; an unfailing hope; all which spring from his pious emotions, and lead the mind into a sort of action, to which the unholy are strangers. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

II. Piety removes many of the obstructions in the way of advancement in common knowledge. For it frees man from the dominion of sense, and sets the mind at liberty. Any, even the smallest, subordination of the mind to sense dims its powers of perception, and clouds the firmament into which it is gazing after knowledge. It is subjection to sense, if not sensuality, that darkens the brightest powers, and prevents minds, apparently of the most promising character, from attaining that perfection of which they are capable. It was such a subjection, which clipped the wings, and brought down the soaring eagle of Dryden, and Pope, and Byron. When we think of such a catastrophe, we cannot help exclaiming, “Oh, if they had possessed fervent, humble, prevalent piety, those minds might soon have rivalled the angels!" We might have seen in them, what is so rarely found, an approximation on earth to the mental vigour of heaven. It is one great result of piety, that it frees man from the thraldom of sense, and gives the dominion to mind. Hence, in this way, piety contributes to perfection of knowledge on common themes.

A second means by which it effects this object is by giving the mind a habit of clear meditation on the higher themes of divinity. It is probable that the multitude of men pass through life with no more lofty effort of thought than is required to solve the questions, "What

shall we eat? What shall we drink? Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" an effort of mind, which scarcely ranks above the instinct of the meanest of the brute creation, whose grand inquiry is, where they shall find the best and most abundant eating. But piety originates in thought, more or less regular and systematical, leading the soul, in view of reasons and motives which it summons into its own notice, as directed by divine influence, to prefer holiness to sin, and God to the world. And growth in grace, which is, by divine command, made binding on every Christian, depends, it might almost be said entirely, on the exercise of the mind on religious themes. For, however much nutriment the Holy Spirit should furnish, if the soul do not incorporate it, as it were, into its own nature, and appropriate it to the supply of its spiritual demands, as the body uses the food we consume, growth in grace would be wholly out of the question. It is, moreover, essential to the advantage to be expected from religious contemplations, that they should be clear and distinct. Though they concern matters that lie above and beyond the world of sense, yet they are, in some degree, within the grasp of a sanctified and humble understanding. And the Christian will daily seek to attain all the definiteness in his contemplations of spiritual realities, which is, in the nature of things, possible. But if it be the tendency of piety to give the mind an increase of clearness and power in its meditations on those higher themes, much more will it gain in its capacity to comprehend the mysteries of common knowledge.

A third way in which piety produces this effect is by teaching the proper province of human reason, and enabling men humbly to yield to the sentiment, that, in some things in the present life, they "know only in part." The history of the schoolmen is proof enough of the waste of talent, upon matters beyond the circle of human attainment as well as upon trifles, which might have been employed in promoting the good of men and the glory of God. It is eminently the work of religion in the soul, to guide human reason, in its inquiries on every subject, to its proper limits; and, after it has reared there a stone of memorial, and poured itself out in humble adoration of Him who "is wiser than men," to lead it to some other train of investigation, which it shall follow out to the same barrier. The proud mind, unsanctified by grace, would rather proceed in the track of its own choice; and if it finds a ledge of rocks in its way, would dash, and break, and founder upon them, as if it were expecting to leap over the resistance which God has opposed, rather than leave that place as impassable, and go back in search of other outlets into the ocean of truth. But

the prevailing philosophy which now regulates our religious speculations, just so far as it becomes practical to us, will lead to an humble submission to the will of God. And although reason, without religion, may effect such a result partially, yet it is evident that the humbling and adoring views that spring from faith are most likely to produce a state of mind which is so necessary in the advancement of common learning.

III. Piety is essential to perfect mental development, because it leads to the highest themes of meditation, and gives the mind an interest in them. A person, whose life was expended in performing some of the most trivial and insignificant operations, would gain but little physical development. For instance, in the pin-manufactories of England, each pin passes through eighteen different hands; and each one of eighteen persons, contributes his portion to its perfection, before it is ready for the market. Now if it could be conceived that one of these persons should have no other bodily exercise at all during his life, and no knowledge higher than that which is involved in the making of the eighteenth part of a pin, how very very far would his, faculties be from perfect development! In order to gain perfection of bodily culture, it is necessary to train every faculty to the utmost limit of its capacity. And, in order to gain perfection of mental culture, it is equally necessary to train every faculty of the mind to the utmost limit of its capacity. In the former, this can only be done by employing those faculties on the objects proper to call them into exercise: the same is true in the latter. But the man without piety is spending all his life without attention to those themes which are essential to mental perfection, without interest in them, or employment upon them. In fact, he is, in the mental world, just what the artist would be in the natural, who should never do, nor care to do any thing, except to make the eighteenth part of a pin.

This can be shown. However profound may be their learning, men without piety devote all their attention to the material and the spiritual world, (spiritual, in its proper signification, as contradistinguished from material.) Their thoughts are all expended on investigations of the laws of matter and the laws of mind. The wonders of the created universe form the limit of their inquiries. Some let imagination go out and stray among stars and suns, or penetrate the depths of the earth, or plunge into the store-houses of natural science; and when it comes back to them, bewildered and amazed with what it has seen, they care only to reason out for it some plausible interpretation, and then send it out on another voyage. Others are led by their