of the lower animals in relation to their natures. This is no more than saying that the Creator has made man as perfect as a reasonable creature, as He has made the lower animals as instinctive creatures.

Keeping, then, these principles in view, we remark, 1st, That man's own constitution is a point of fundamental importance to Hith in all his arrangements; and previous to the discovery of phrenology this was unknown. Man, wandering as a savage, without 'social institutionis, agriculture and arts, follows the impulse of his instinctive desires; but in doing so, he falls, comparatively, below the condition of the 'brutés; because, while their instincts are directed by nature, 'His are not; "and in the savage state reason is nearly dormant. No philosopher, therefore, will seriously maintain that the modes of savage life were adopted in consequence of a clear perception of the nature of man, or that they are judiciously framed with a view to the gratification and improvement of his moral and intellectual powers. As a barbarian, man 'shows more intellect and manifests a wider range of social feeling; but the characteristics of that state are insecurity of life and property, with the prevalence of fraud, violence and superstition; and it was equally impossible to believe that the condition was established from philosophical views of the human constitution, or that it is wisely adapted to gratify the higher powers of the mind.

In some countries men appear as civilized beings, living in large communities, governed by laws, and surrounded by thousands of products of their industry and ingenuity; and in this condition, physical and moral means appear to be more within their reach for the gratification of all their faculties; but before arriving at this conclusion, we'must inquire whether the institutions of civilized society are as wisely adapted to the physical and mental constitution of the individuals who compose it, as the habits of the lower animals are to their nature and condition.

Man, for example, is a compound being, consisting of body and mind These are so intimately connected that the over-excitement of the 'mind wastes and wears out the body; while the neglect of exercising it leaves the vital powers languid and imperfect in their action. Again, excessive bodily labor deadens the mind and renders it incapable of thinking and feeling; while inactivity of body induces a feeble and irritable mental condition, incompatible with usefulness and enjoyment. Now, have the members of civilized society generally studied their own bodily and mental constitution, with their mutual influence, and framed their public institutions and domestic habits with a view to allow to individuals in general that just proportion of bodily and mental exercise, in the forms which is indispensable to the complete enjoyment of their existence?

The answer must be, that they in general know extremely little about their own bodily and mental constitutions, and that among many classes it is held disgusting to study the one, and ridiculous to know any thing about the other; hence their constitutions and habits have not been adopted with designed reference to the elementary qualities and real wants of human nature; they have grown up by chance, and present a mass of incoherent inconsistencies.

It is scarcely necessary to offer any proof of this proposition, but a few illustrations may be mentioned. The lower orders are at this moment extremely ignorant of natural knowledge; severe labor, with inadequate recompence, is entailed on them by their condition; and their circumstances render them incapable of that high degree of exercise of the moral and intellectual powers which is essential to the happiness of rational beings. In consequence, they are, to a great extent, the victims of animal propensities; they are visited by suffering in every form. Individuals belonging to this class are launched into life without any moral chart of the world, or definite object in view. They have no notion of adapting their habits and mode of life to their nature as rational beings. Their ambition, if we may read their feelings in their actions, is to obtain as early as possible, sufficient wages to enable them to marryThey rear children, but are in a great degree incapable of instructing them in every thing that they should learn; because, 1st, An individual of this class has little leisure from excessive labor to bestow on their mental cultivation; 2dly, His labors render his mental faculties incapable of acting with effect during that portion of time which is left to him; and, 3dly, He is destitute of knowledge wherewithal to instruct them, owing to the deficiency of his own education. Now, the lower orders, constitute nine-tenths of the whole population, even in the most civilized countries of Europe; while they remain ignorant and irrational, their condition must affect the welfare of the whole community; and we humbly think that, as the Creator has bestowed on them reasoning and moral powers, and on this account denied them instinctive guidance, they stand in great need of a philosophy of mind, which should make them acquainted with these gifts, and open their eyes to the imperative obligation which the possession of them imposes, to cultivate their higher faculties. and to become capable of directing their conduct by their dictates.

A great difficulty presents itself in regard to this class. They are so low in civilization, that they cannot be trusted with leisure and property at the same time, for they possess few mental resources to preserve them from vicious employment of their vacant hours, and confer on them a relish for refined enjoyment. At the same time, while they are exposed

VOL. III.-24.

to severe labor and doomed to poverty, it is nearly impossible to communicate to them mental cultivation, so as to induce them to act rationally, because in that condition they have neither capacity nor desire to receive it. The remedy appears to be to teach them, while at school, before entering on daily toil, as much of their own nature, of the aim of life, and of their duties, as possible, so as to send them into the sphere of active exertion, possessed of some precise notions of what a rational being ought to know, and how he ought to act, to frame the plan of his life in harmony with his nature, and thus promote his own happiness. We respectfully maintain that acquaintance with Phrenology and its applications, which even young persons can comprehend, would be of the highest value with this object in view.

Mechanics' institutions and Sunday schools are excellent in design; but their effects are extremely limited in consequence of the nature of man being unknown, and necessarily excluded from the list of subjects taught. The precept, for example, "Train up a child in the way he should go," is admirable, and forms part of the instruction at Sunday schools; but extremely little information is communicated concerning, 1st, The way in which he should go; and, 2dly, The proper mode of training him to go in it. To find out the first, we must know human nature and its relations clearly and precisely, as these display themselves in the institutions of society, and also the talents and dispositions of the child; because successful training implies judicious dictation of the individual in his proper department of life, enlightened with all the knowledge that is necessary to enable him to discharge the duties of it well. Unfortunately, however, those who ought to train the child in the way he should go, in these respects are ignorant themselves. To discover the second, we must either have enjoyed extensive experience in teaching and training children, or have made this subject a special study; neither of which advantages are generally enjoyed by the domestic trainers of children. Farther, until the elementary qualities of mind shall be familiarly known, it will be impossible to render the experience of one man in teaching thoroughly available to others, because vagueness and inconsistency will be unavoidable as long as practice is purely empirical, which education must continue to be until it shall be founded on the philosophy of mind. We repeat, therefore, that the very first effectual step in the improvement of the mass of the people, must be to communicate to them a knowledge of the science of their own nature, with the duties resulting from it, and to teach them the mode of beneficially applying this knowledge in ameliorating their own condition.

The study of the means by which the condition of the laboring classes may best be improved, clearly belongs to political economy. The labor

ing classes themselves must be enlightened on the subject of their own. state, and of the remedies suited to amend it; and they must be induced also cordially to assist the higher classes in applying the means, before permanent amelioration can be accomplished. The grand question here presents itself, what mode of life and what kind of pursuits are best adapted to the nature of man? In answering this question, we must keep constantly in mind, that human nature consists of the following elements:

1st, An organized body requiring food, exercise and rest, in due proportions;

2d, Animal propensities requiring gratification;

3d, Moral sentiments demanding exercise;

4th, Intellectual faculties calculated to acquire knowledge, and intended to preside over the body and the other departments of mind.

In the present state of society, the operatives or great mass of the people, of necessity live in the habitual infringement of the most important laws of their nature. Their life is spent to so great an extent in labor, that their moral and intellectual powers are stinted of exercise and gratification; and hence their mental enjoyments are chiefly those afforded by the propensities. In other words, their existence is essentially animal; they are organized machines, whose office is to labor; the chief duty performed by their moral and intellectual powers being to communicate so much intelligence and honesty as to enable them to execute their tasks skilfully and faithfully. We speak, of course, of the great body of the laboring population, there being many individual exceptions. who possess higher attainments; and we mean no disrespect even to the mass of this most deserving portion of society; on the contrary, we represent their condition in what appears to us to be its true light, only with a view to excite them to amend it.

Does human nature, then, admit of such a modification of the employments and habits of this class as to raise them to the condition of rational creatures? that is, creatures whose bodily powers and animal propensities shall be subservient to their moral and intellectual faculties, and who shall derive their chief pleasures from the latter. To attain this end, it would not be necessary that they should cease to labor; on the contrary, the necessity of labor or exercise to the enjoyment of life, is imprinted in strong characters on the structure of man. Commerce is rendered advantageous by the Creator, because different climates give forth different productions. Agriculture, manufactures and commerce, therefore, are adapted to man's nature, and we are not their enemies. But they are not the ends of human existence even on earth. Labor is beneficial, but the great principle is, that it must be moderate both in severity

and duration, so that men may enjoy and not be oppressed by it. We say enjoy it; because moderate exertion is pleasure, and it has been only labor carried to excess which has given rise to the common opinion, that retirement from active industry is the goal of happiness. It may be objected that a healthy and vigorous man is not oppressed by ten or twelve hours' labor a day; and we grant that, if he be well fed, his physical strength may not be so much exhausted by this exertion as to cause him pain; but this is regarding him merely as a working animal. Our proposition is, that after ten or twelve hours of muscular exertion a-day, continued for six days in the week, and every year of adult life, a man is not in a fit condition for that active exercise of his moral and intellectual faculties, which alone constitutes him a rational creature. This proposition is demonstrable on physiological principles, and is supported by general experience; and, nevertheless, the teachers of mankind have too often neglected it. The first change, therefore, must be to limit the hours of labor.

So far from this limitation being unattainable, it appears to us that the progress of arts, science, and of society, is rapidly forcing its adoption. Ordinary observers appear to conceive man's chief end, in Britain at least, to be to manufacture hard ware, broad cloth, and cotton goods, for the use of the whole world, and to store up wealth collected from all quarters of the globe, in return for such productions. They forget that the same impulse which inspires the British with so much ardor in manufacturing, will sooner or later inspire other nations also; and that, if all Europe shall follow our example, which they are fast doing, the four quarters of the globe will at length be deluged with manufactures, only part of which will be required. When this state of things shall arrive, and it does not appear to be more than a century distant, men will be compelled to abridge their toil from mere necessity, because excessive labor will not be remunerated. The admirable inventions which are the boast and glory of civilized men, are at this moment adding to the misery and degradation of the people. Power-looms, steam-carriages and steam-ships, have all hitherto operated directly in increasing the hours of exertion and abridging the reward of the laborer; and the ultimate effect of them on human society, is not yet divined by the multitude. We hail them as the grand instruments of civilization, but in a manner not commonly perceived. In proportion as they shall be generally diffused over the world, they will increase the powers of production to such an extent as to supply, by moderate labor, every want of man. Whenever civilized nations shall generally manufacture with efficient machines, superfluity of goods will every where abound, and then the great body of the people will find themselves in possession of reasonable