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 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 THE COLLECTION OF 
 NORTH CAROLINIANA 
 
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 1831G 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00036720511 
 
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QoJ^'^l^l.tAiXS^^ 
 
 TliE INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY UPON THE WELFARE 
 OF NATIONS. 
 
 ATT 
 
 ORATION, 
 
 CELIVERED AT 
 
 CHAPEL-HILL, 
 
 On Wednesday* June 22, 1831, the day preceding Conimencement at the 
 University of North-Carolinaj 
 
 ACCORDING TO 
 
 THE ANNUAL APPOINTMENT 
 
 THE TWO LITERARY SOCIETIES 
 
 BELONGING TO THE 
 
 UNSVERSlTir. 
 
 BY THE REV. WILLIAM MERCER GREEN 
 
 A,' 
 
 HILLSBOROUGH: 
 
 rPvJNTED BY DENNIS HEARTT. 
 
 I8S1. 
 
«^5t 
 
iLsr WMi.ism^ 
 
 V%^VV\tVWVW 
 
 Young Gentlemen: 
 
 In entering upon the duties which your partiality, 1 
 fear, rather than your sober discretion, has assigned rae, 
 permit me, at the same time that I thank you for this unde- 
 served distinction, to bespeak at your hands that charitable 
 judgment which is the usual attendant as well as the bright- 
 est ornament of enlightened minds. Let me hope, also, that 
 you will sustain mo in the assurance now given to this re- 
 spected audience, that the distinguished honour of being 
 your speaker on this occasion was not only unsought but 
 even deprecated by me; and that t(io, neither from unwil- 
 lingness to serve you, nor from that vain show of modesty 
 which courts solicitation whilst it would seem to sbun it; 
 but from the hearty desire of having due honour paid to 
 your annual appointments, and from ttje unpretending con-- 
 sciousness of my insufficiency for the task. 
 
 But a few years have intervened since your speaker, like 
 yourselves, was a tenant of these classic walls. The peri- 
 od of his acquaintance with the world has therefore been too 
 brief to qualify him for the part of your sage adviser; his 
 manner of life has been too much estranged from the din of 
 political contention to furnish him with any of its spirit- 
 stirring themes; and his attention too closely restricted to 
 the sober contemplation of divine things, to enable him to 
 entertain you, at this time, with either the Howers of fancy, 
 the rich treasures of general science, the studied piirases of 
 the dialectician, or tbe harmonious periods of showy rhe- 
 toriCo 
 
 B 
 
'The subject sele-rted for your consideration, though ol 
 somewhat serious aspect, is nevertheless rfplet*^ uith inter- 
 est to the patriot and philantbio{)ist no less than to the 
 christian — The infeueivce oi Revelation on the wei- 
 PARE OF Nations. 
 
 If in thus consulting your profit more than yoUr momen- 
 tary entertainment, I have chosen a theme which, on the 
 first announcement, may appear better suited to the sacred 
 desk than the literary rostrum, let me find my excuse in the 
 importance of the subject itself, in the spirit of the present 
 age, and in the obligations of my holy calling. And let me 
 hope also, that the time is happily gone by wlsen such a 
 subjprt, on an occasion like the present, would have met 
 with the jepr and scoffing of not only the youth who are 
 here in training, but also of their superiors in age, who hon- 
 our with tlveip presence the a^inual exercises of this institu- 
 tion. 
 
 The position, then, which I shaJI seek to establish, is this 
 — that tiie religion of the Bible is the highest ornament and 
 the surest safeguard of natioiial prosperity. 
 
 It is one of the infirmities of our nature, to undervalue 
 our blessings in exact proportion to the extent and contin- 
 uance of their enjoyment. And this weakness (if it deserve 
 no harsher name) extends not only to the sun and air, and 
 other elements by which we are daily held in being, but 
 even to the more marked providences of plenty, peace, lib* 
 erty and religion. Accustomed as we have been from our 
 infancy to a state of peace and security, and surrounded by 
 every blessing Wiat can render life desirable; instead of feel- 
 ing oppressed by a sense of these daily mercies, we are 
 pron to forget our dependance upon the hand of Gcd, and 
 to took upon all that we enjoy as our own underived and 
 inalienable right. To cure us of this folly, to instruct us 
 in the true secret of our national happiness, and V> teach 
 us a lesson of fervent gratitude to the Givt-r of all gooJ, it 
 will^pniy be necessary to contrast the prei^ent condition of 
 
our beloved roui»ti'> v>uu that of tlie mast highly favoured 
 nations of either ; ?i' irr.t oi' mn.ipru Paganism. 
 
 On taking up the mnp of the world, and casting our 
 eyes over the many kindred and people tiiat inhabit it, we 
 cannot hut rest with exultation on that happy spot which 
 we are privileged to call our na'ive home. But whilst 
 indulging in this pardonable pride, and losing oujseives 
 in fond anticipations of our fuUire glory, it becomes us, 
 as enlightened patriots whu drstre t'la! our nation's pros* 
 perity may be as durable as it is p^^'-emineut, to inquire, 
 what it is that maken us to tliffpr ?iom other nations. Is it 
 the extent of our borders? tlie salubrity of nU'^ climate? the 
 magnitude of our rivers? the capaciousness of our harbours? 
 or the fertijity of our soil? Can we find in any or eveo aU 
 of these natural advantages, an adequate cause for the un- 
 rivalled blessings we er)joy? Can these sutficienily account 
 for the excellency of our political institutions, our literary 
 privileges, our freedom of speech, our equality of rights, 
 and the acknowledged whoJesoraeness of our laws? No; 
 other nations as well as this can boast a genial tniil, a tem- 
 perate sky, extensive domains, and every facility for suc- 
 cessful commerce, yet are most of them far behind us in 
 the enjoyment of those higher privileges v,'hich chkeflv con- 
 stitute a nation's happiness. What then is the mighty se- 
 cret of our prosperity ? It is, in the opinion ot your speaker, 
 because we are a God-fearing ptople; because we enjoy the 
 pure light of revelation, and are blessed with the unspeak- 
 able privilege of serving God according to the dictates of 
 enlightened reason, and the holy precepts of his written 
 word. To become convinced of this, we will now proceed 
 to examine the beneficial effects which the religion of the 
 gospel has ever exerted on the welfare of nations. 
 
 To do justice to this inquiry, it will be necessary to 
 take a brief survey of the state of society, both moral and 
 civil, in the Heathen world, before the advent of the Son of 
 God, that we may the better contrast it with the condiliojo 
 
of those countries in the present day which are blessed 
 with the light of revelation. And in doing this, it will not 
 be necessary to select those nations of ancient times which 
 were ever of a barbarous and untameable character; nei- 
 ther will we confine our views to any one unfavourable era 
 of the heathen world; but we will fearlessly take the re- 
 publics of Greece and Rome, even in their proudest days, 
 as just samples of the utmost limit to which a peoplj-'s hap- 
 piness may be extended without the knowledge of God's 
 revealed will. 
 
 It is usual with the young to kindle at the least men- 
 tion of those far-famed republics, and to associate with 
 their names all that is great in valour, or honourable in 
 virtue; therefore the task of dispelling this pleasing illu- 
 sion, and of pourtraying these people in their true moral 
 colours, is an unpleasant one at all times, but especially on 
 the present occasion, when your speaker stands before so 
 many young and enthusiastic minds who have, as it were, 
 Just risen from the contemplation of their stubborn vir- 
 tues and martial achievements. But however ardently the 
 bosom of our youth may respond to such a theme, it is all- 
 important to them to know the utterly corrupt state of these 
 people, even at the very time when their public virtues 
 shone the brightest, their arms were most successful, and 
 their literature most distinguished. 
 
 What was there, then, in the morality of ancient Pa- 
 ganism, to promote the individual happiness of man, or the 
 general well-being of society? Their mytholo,?y was no- 
 thing but a compound of jarrings, thefts, robberies, rapes, 
 incest, and drunkenness; their religious rites were stained 
 with obscenity and blood; and their general code of morals 
 (if any code they bad) was a just counterpart to a worship 
 so impure. Whilst some of their philosophers asserted the 
 being of a God, an equal number denied it, and others 
 again believed in gods terrestrial, aerial, celestial, and in- 
 fernal. Whilst a few of their wisest men conjectured that 
 
t]m earth might b? the work of some creating Jiantl, a Far 
 greater lusmber held that it was self-macU-, thit it exisJtd 
 from all eternity, or that it sprung from a for uitous con- 
 course of atoms. The consequence of these discoidant sen- 
 timents were tin" grossest poly theism and idolatry Both 
 dead and living persons were deifitd. Temples were erf^rt- 
 «d to all the passions, diseases, fears and evils to vltjch- 
 the human family is liable. Enlightened Athens, in the ze- 
 nith of her renown, was so filled with the statues of the^ 
 ima£;inary deififs, that it became a common sayint;. "In 
 Athens it is easier to find a god than a many Imperial 
 Rome too, when mistress ot tiie wojJU in arms, and arts, 
 and letters, crowded into her capitol all 'he gods ihiit v\erR 
 worshipped by the various nations tributary to her powei:, 
 Such was tlie theology of these boasted republics. Noij 
 were they less ignorant of all other things that constiiate 
 true happiness and the chief good of man. Th«y kn. w not 
 the true origin of evil; and althouglj the more itflfting 
 among Jhem could not shut their eyes to the depraved con- 
 dition of man, yet t!>ey could neither stay its course, nor 
 divine its cause. Equally ignorant were they of any me^ 
 thod ordained of Heaven, by whirli God and man coulti be 
 reconciled, and the pardon and blessedness of the one ni<tde 
 consistent with the holiness and justice of the other. The 
 light of nature was sufficient to show them their lost esfate,, 
 but n'»t the great Restorer provided for it. Ot the mercy of 
 God they could learn nithing from the book of Pro\ lu' nre., 
 Inexorable justice fated them wherever they turned, .inc]| 
 made their whole system one of hopeless, anxious, ein'less, 
 solicitude. They knew nothing of the all-powerful b>'lp 
 of divine grace in the performance of duty. They enti ruin* 
 ed but crude and impi rfect ideas of the providence of God, 
 the immortality of the soul, the resuri'ection (>f the body, 
 and ot a future state of reward and punishment. -.When- 
 ever conjecture would push her adventurous wing into any 
 of these unknown regions, instead of returning with the 
 
10 
 
 glive of yght anil peace, she could only report a land of 
 << shadows, clou^is, and darkness.'* Who can repress the 
 starting tear on hearing one of their poets thus faelingly 
 lament the uncertain doona of man beyond the grave? 
 
 *' Alas! the tender h«rbs and flowery tribes, 
 ■ Though crash'd by winter's unrelenting hand, 
 Revive and rise when vernal zephyrs calL; 
 But wc, the brave, the mighty and the wiee. 
 Bloom, flourish, fade and fall — and then succeeds 
 A long, long, silent, dark, oblivious sleep; 
 A sleep which no propitious power dispels." 
 
 From this uncertainty com;erning these great and fun- 
 damental truths, what could be expected but the most per- 
 nicious effects, both in principle and in practice. From ig- 
 norance of the ways ot Providence, they were led to call in-, 
 question the goodness and justice of God, whenever they 
 saw the wicked prosperous and the righteous in trouble. 
 Without the belief ot a future state of retribution, there was 
 nothing to check the mad career of human passion, to en- 
 courage the virtuous under misfortune, or to put a differ- 
 ence between good and evil; and the unavoidable conse- 
 quence was an erroneous standard of morals among all 
 classes. The blessedness of loving an enemy and forgiv- 
 ing an offending brother, was a stranger to their bosoms* 
 On the contrary, revenge was both commended ami incul- 
 cated as a virtue. (Witness the Carthaginian General^ 
 leading his infant son to the altar and binding down his 
 soul under an oath of everlasting hatred to the Romans.) 
 Pride, and the love of applause, the one the most hateful, 
 and the other the raofst soul-destroying principle of our na- 
 ture, were their chief incentives to virtue. Seif-raurder was 
 esteemed the highest proof of her<iism. Theft was scarcely 
 regarded as a crime, provided it were successfully concealed. 
 Falsehood was allowed, whenever profit or convenience re- 
 quired it. Maimed infancy and decrepid old age were de- 
 voted to certain destruction. Traffic in human blood was 
 nnblusbingly practised. To masters was given the powe«' 
 
11 
 
 of life and death over their slaves. The wife and the child 
 were placed at the mercy of the husband and the father* 
 The poor and destitute were turned over to famine and the 
 pitiless elements. Profane swearing was inculcated by ths 
 precept and practice of their purest moralists. And libid- 
 inous and unnatural gratifications were sanctioned by ex- 
 ample and by law. Such were the vices to which even the 
 wiser and better part of ancient heathenism was addicted; 
 whilst to name the abominations practised among the less- 
 informed classes would wound the ear of indelicacy itself. 
 
 Nor were their religious rites less at war with the true 
 interests and the refined feelings of the soul. The sports 
 and spectacles of their imaginary deities cost the humao 
 family a greater annual sacrifice of life than would kow be 
 required for the necessary sell-defence of the whole chris- 
 tian world. The altars of Diana were honoured with the 
 lacerated flesh, and oftentimes the murdered bodies of chiU 
 dren. The festivals of Bacchus were celebrated with drunk- 
 en excesses, and disgusting gestures of lewdness, fury and 
 madness. The Lupercalia of Pan were cbserveu with the 
 snost impure and indecent rites. The priestesses of their 
 temples were the very worst of their ses. Every offtring 
 laid upon the shrine of Venus was at the expense of decen^ 
 cy, chastity, and nature itself. And as to their <' hidden 
 mysteries," the highest boast of their religion, we dare not 
 unveil their accursed abominations; — we can only say of 
 tbem, in the language of inspiration, *' ii is a shame even to 
 speak of those things which were done of them in secret." 
 
 I feel aware, my respected hearers, that this recital 
 must grate upon your ears. Pardon me then, if, in my ans° 
 iety to do justice to my subject, 1 have, for a moment, per- 
 mitted myself to forget what is due to refined feeling. And 
 let me hope that these unpleasant truths will not be without 
 the effect of setting beCure you the extravagance and mad- 
 ness to which the human heart is prone when unblessed mth 
 tfic knowledge of God and his holy worship. 
 
12 
 
 if fVom the principles and practices of private life we 
 turn to the rulers and national councils of ancient Heathen- 
 ism, we shall fitid that tliere was something radir>illy corrupt 
 in all their political institutions, as «ell as in their notions 
 of rn^iral virtue. Their laws not being founded on the true 
 principles! of government, were generally ill- defined and con- 
 flicting, and therefore but little respected. No bond of un- 
 ion and mutual dependence existed between the rulers and 
 the ruled. The one aimed, witii boundless ambition, at the 
 establishment of despotic power, whilst theotlier were con- 
 signed to the tyranny of ignorance, vice and superstition, 
 Altliough a love of freedom, asid the display of heroic pat- 
 riotism, occasionally sliine forth as bright spots upon the 
 darker pages of their history, yet among the great mass of 
 both rulers and people, and especially in their contests with 
 other nations, there was but little regard paid to the rights 
 of either justice or humanity. Their distinguished men 
 were themselves the chief sources of distraction, jealousy 
 and commotion in the state. Ingratitude towards their pub- 
 lic benefactors distinguished the common people, and thus 
 gave rise to the saying that >* licpublics are ungrateful." 
 Envy and hatred were sure to follow the possessor of ex- 
 traordinary virtue; and ostracism and death were not un- 
 frequently the reward of those wiio sought most zealously 
 to reclaim society to the paths of honor and virtue. Dis- 
 sension and civil broils at length subjected them to arbitrary 
 rule; military despotism, borne on the shoulders of a riotous 
 soldiery, usurped the seat ot their sliort lived liberty; till 
 at length luxury and effeminacy brought on the closing 
 scene of feebleness and decay. 
 
 After this hurried review of the moral and political con-, 
 dition of the Heathen world, even in its best estate, we are 
 now prepared to ask, and to receive an answer to the ques- 
 tion, • ' What has rhristisnity done towards promoting the 
 happiness of nations?" But before replying to this inter- 
 esting inquiry^ let us first rapidly glance at the doctrines 
 
1£ 
 
 and precepts of our lioly religion, and consider how wor-- 
 thy tiny arc of their divine Antlior, and hovv admirably 
 adapted to m»'et the wants, and luifil tiie higli purposes of our 
 being. We have seen the lamentable ignorance of even the 
 most polished Headien on the subject of morals, and the 
 consequ'-nt ill etfects of such spiritual darkness. Now on 
 all these points, which to them were shrouded in obs.urity, 
 the gospel of Christ has shed the most abundant lig;lit. 
 Over ihat chaos of corruption, disorder and thick darkness, 
 it has poured the beams of eternal life, and 'bus put it into 
 the power of the most ignorant disciple of the cross, nay 
 even of lisping childhood itself, to boast of clearer and 
 jusier views of the divine nature, than ever entered into 
 the sublimest conceptions of a Socrates, a Seneca, or a Ci- 
 cero. To those who doubted whether there were ten gods 
 or ten thousand, and who offered up at the foot ot a lifeless 
 statue the homage of trie immortal mind, the gospel has re» 
 vealed the one true God. as an eternal Spirit that is to be 
 worshipped only in spirit and in truth; a Being of infinite 
 power, wisdom, holiness, truth, justice and goodness; the 
 only Creator and Sovereign of the world; the present wit= 
 iiess and the future judge of all our actions. It also teaches 
 us that we are fallen and guilty creatures, and places be* 
 fore our view one who is able to save us from our sins, to 
 reconcile us to God, to restore us to holiness, and to fit us 
 for an eternity of happiness beyond the grave. On the sub- 
 ject also of man's immortality, which was so doubtingly 
 entertained by even the best and wisest of heathen philo- 
 sophers, it opens up the awful scenes of a coming judgrat- ot; 
 and sets before our hopes and our fears the eternal bliss 
 and the unending torments of a world io come. 
 
 But however admirably adapted the doctrines of revela- 
 tion may be to the fallen condition of mankmu, its moral 
 precepts will be found equally conducive to natioitHi an*! in- 
 dividoai iiappidess. Unlike the ancient teaci'^rs of moral- 
 ity, who ce^nfined their instructions to a chosen feW; and 
 
H 
 
 t-flughl their discipltis by means uC abstruse rca'soning, ge- 
 neral declarations, and cold and inanimate precepts, the 
 gospel of CI)rist comts Iiome to the business and the bosom 
 of every man. it makes its demands upon every rank in 
 society, and addicsses itself with equal authority to the 
 rich and the poor, the ignoble and the honourable. It per- 
 vades every thought and intent of tlie heart, strikes at th& 
 root of every seltlsh feeling, diffuses on all the most enlar- 
 ged benevolence, and teaches us to refer our every thought 
 and word and work to the will of God and the judgment of' 
 the last day. 
 
 " Pure Plato! how had thy chaste spirit hailed 
 
 A faitli so fitted to Uiy moral seiisel 
 
 What hadst thou felt, to see the fair romance 
 
 Of high imagination,' the bright dream 
 
 Of thy pure fancy more tlian realized! 
 
 Oh! sweet enthusiast! thou ha'lst b'essed a scheme 
 
 Fair, good and perfect. How had thy wrapt soul 
 
 Caught fire, and burnt with a diviner flame! 
 
 For evrn thy fair idea ne'er conceived 
 
 Such plenitude of love, such boundless bliss!" 
 
 We will now no longer delay to answer the demand, 
 ' What has the religion of the Bible done tor the welfare of 
 nations?' 
 
 In addressing the Corinthians wliile in the acme of their 
 .renown, an inspired writer furnishes us with this inciden- 
 tal testimony: « Be not deceived." says he; «* neither for- 
 nicators, nor adulterers, nor idolaters, nor efieminate per- 
 sons, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, 
 nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit 
 the kingdom of God;" he then adds, <• such were some of 
 you; but ye are now washed, ye are satictified, ye are jus- 
 tified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the 
 Spirit of God." Such was the renewing and purifying 
 power of the gospel on the hearts and lives of the early be- 
 lievers. Abundant proof to this effect might be drawn from 
 the sacred page, but let us call in a less suspected witness 
 
15 
 
 Hear then the testimony of otie who, from being a celebra- 
 ted teacher in Uie ht-alhea schools, became an humble le-irn- 
 er at the feel <'f Clirist: I mean the venfci'ablp Laciantiusr 
 In addressinp; the enemies of t!ie gosj)cl on this vrpy sub>- 
 ject, he does not hesitate to use this strong language: »• Give 
 me a man tl»at is passionate, abusive in his language, head- 
 strong and unruly; witii a verv \v\\ words, ilie words of 
 God, I will render him as gentle as a lamb. Give me a 
 greedy, covetous, parsimonious man: and I will presently 
 return him to you a generous creature, freely bestowing 
 his money by hatjufuls. Give nve a cruel and blood-thirsty 
 man; instantly his ferocity shall be transformed into a tj'U' 
 ly mild and merciful disposilion. Give me an unjust mnn, a 
 fooiisli man, a sinful man; and on a sudden he shall become 
 honest, wise and virtuous. And this benefit shall be confer^ 
 red gratuitously, easily, expeditiously, provided (he eais 
 and the heart tiiirst after wisdom.'* He then demands of 
 his opposers whether any of the healhen philosophers ever 
 accomplished by their leaching such important ends as 
 these. 
 
 But as the unintentional testimony of an enemy has ever 
 been allowed to have much weight, we will next appeal to 
 heathen writers themselves, who have incidentally furnish- 
 ed ample proof of tite virtuous lives of the early christians. 
 On looking into tl»eir accredited historians, we learn that 
 it was a current saying amotig (he people, *• Such a one is 
 a good man, but he is a christian." In accordance with 
 this is the language of the younger Pliny, who, tliough fre- 
 quently engaged in examining, and even in putting to death 
 many of the early christians, yet unhesitatingly acknow- 
 ledges that «< they were guilty of no crime, except that of 
 assembling together on a stated day, before light, to sing 
 hymns to Christ as God, and of binding tiitmselves by oath 
 not to be guilty of theft, robbery or adultery, never to fals- 
 ify their word, or deny a pledge committed to their keep- 
 ing," And similar to this is the testimony of the empertfr 
 
m 
 
 Juliff.n himself, the bitterest enemy that ever dipped iiis 
 hands in the blood of God's saints. In writing to one of 
 the heathen pontiffs at a distance from Rome, he enjoins 
 him to ** imitate the charities of the christians, thoir sanc^ 
 tity of life, and their kindness to enenwes and strangers." 
 
 These involuntary proofs ot the benefi(ial effects of 
 Christianity on individual character, are abundantly sup- 
 ported by similar testimony to its benign influence on so^ 
 ciety generally. No sooner had the mild religion of the 
 Son of God obtained a footing in the world, than its bene- 
 volent spirit became a bond of union between independent 
 nations. The middle wall of partition, which had so long 
 divide*) the Jewish and Gentile world, crumbled at its 
 touch. Pride and revenge, those fertile sources of war and 
 bloodshed, were supplanted by humility and forgiveness. 
 Into every family it came a messenger of love, a dispenser 
 of peace. It took by the hand the softrr sex, and easing 
 their shoulders of the onerous burdens that barbarous su- 
 perstition had put upon them, lifted them from a degraded 
 and servile state, and gave to tliem that equal rank in re- 
 fined society to which they are justly entitled. The reli- 
 gion of Christ has aboliihed polygamy, and restricted the 
 power of divorce. Unnatural crime has iled at its ap- 
 proach. The harshness of parental authority has been 
 tempered by the mild precepts of the gospel; and instead of 
 putting to death the old and the decrepit, and weak and 
 deformed children, as was sanctioned by the laws of many 
 heathen states, her benevolent genius has spread over these 
 hapless members of the human family the ample segis of 
 the law, and erected asylums for their preservation and 
 relief. The relations of husband and wile, and of parent and 
 child, which formerly differed hut little from that of master 
 and slave, are now stripped of all unnecessary power. The 
 poor and the ignorant have been taken under the patronage 
 of the rich and enlightened. The prosperous have been 
 taxed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and heal the 
 
17 
 
 afflicted. No matter what may be the form or the (U-e^ree 
 of" iium-sn uji^ery. t?-e spirit ot Ctnistisnity opvtis to \i>\ re- 
 lief tin? hand of privatf b. npvolencp and the muniiittiit 
 store houses ot public rharity. The person of the slii^^t is 
 now not only hr<iugiit uikder the protection of the law, but 
 every engine that providence and a spirit of univc rs;«l be- 
 nevolence can appiove, is at work to free the world frc.m the 
 very name of slavery. The heathen had no asyluni'n for 
 the sick, the poor, the widow, the nrplian, and th* tound- 
 iing; nor v. as there a single hospitaS in all the antt-( ispis- 
 tian world. Now how changed is the scent! Chrislsanity 
 has erected houses of refuge for every grade and spe* ies of 
 humno suff .ring. It has established schools for tht- gs «'u- 
 itous instruction of the poor. It has penetrated into the 
 noxious dungeon, and- not only lighted its darkness with 
 the l:Amp of eternal life, bu! placed within the reach of its 
 wretched tenant every comfort that the strict claims of jus- 
 tice will allow. And in its course of expansive bene\oieiice 
 it has even descended to the care of inferior animals, by 
 diseountenancing every exerrise of cruelty towards ;.liera. 
 and bv making their ease and security a subject of legal 
 enactmc nt. Instead, then, of asking 'NVhat has Chri??tiani- 
 ty done?* we may demand ♦ What has it not done toward 
 meliorating the condition of man?' 
 
 Fi'om its effects on Rociety at large, let us now ascend 
 to the influ'ncH of the religion of the Bible on the govern' 
 meiits of states and nations. No sooner had it gainv^d ac- 
 cess to the palaces of kings and entperors. than its huuiime 
 and benevolent spirit was breatiud inio ail their poliliral 
 codes and institutions. Regicide suddenly ceased to be an 
 every-day occurrence, U' bellioh sunk to sleej) under the 
 potent wand of the gospel of peace. War laid aside half 
 his horrors, and took with him to the field mercy and k nd 
 ness to the vanquished. Ambition put a durk 'qnn. his 
 insatiable appetite; and revenge was diiv«ii t' U} siU< :»is 
 vindictive spirit at the mild remonstrance of the gospel of 
 
18 
 
 peace. What is it but the liberal spirit of Christianity 
 that is now daily deposing the despot, and instructing the 
 rulers of the earth to look for safety, honour and happiness 
 for themselves, only in the safety, honour and happiness of 
 every class of society beneath them? And what but this has 
 tamed the fierceness of ancient barbarism, palsied the arm 
 of arbitrary law, given to even-handed justice an almost 
 universal triumph over bribery and favouritism, and thus 
 secured to the meanest citizen the Ireedom, the justice, the 
 ease and the security wiiich the highest magistrate enjoys? 
 Nor should I, at this time, and before such an audience, 
 fail to notice the beneficial effects of the gospel on (he cause 
 of science and literature, as well as on the moral and poli- 
 tical condition of the world. The religion of Christ bring 
 a written revelation, and composed in several languages, 
 its teachers, and all others who were desirous of embrac- 
 ing it, were thereby compelled to acquire a knowledge of 
 letters. History accordingly shows, that wherever the 
 christian faith has been received, there have followfd in 
 her train all the blessings of moral, classical and tlicolop'i.. 
 cal knowledge. Before her mild genius had establisijcd 
 her sway in the world, it was the received opinion among 
 heathen nations, that a knowledge of the sciences tended 
 only to enervate the mind and unfit it for martial achiev- 
 ment; and that the boy who was taught to tremble at the 
 rod, would never look undaunted on the sword or spear. 
 But far different was the lesson inculcated by the religion of 
 the gospel, and to its happy effects let the present assembly 
 testify. To give some faint idea of the extreme ignorance 
 of many of the nations of Europe before their reception of 
 Christianity, I would point you to Germany and Ireland, 
 the one renowned at the present day for its gigantic achiev- 
 ments in the field of science, and the other acknowledged 
 to be the prolific parent ot genius and oratory. When we 
 contemplate their present rank in the world of letters, we 
 can scarcely believe that these people were indebted for 
 
19 
 
 even a knowledge of the alphabet to the zealous labours 
 of the chiistian missionary. Yet such is the record of 
 faithful history. 
 
 Nor did literature alone experience the aid of the gos- 
 pel. Music, painting, sculpture, drawing and architec- 
 lure felt likewise her fostering hand, being called in to 
 beautify the temples of the Christian's God. 
 
 When in the middle ages th« love of literature yielded 
 to a passion for arms, and the whole of civilized Europe 
 became one greai war-camp, the only refuge to be found 
 for science and the liberal arts was in the cloisters of the 
 christian priesthood. And again, when in the sixteenth 
 century tbe mind of man once more began to struggle from 
 beneath the dominion of ignorance and superstition, it was 
 the Bible that led the way in enlightening the minds, as 
 well as reforming the hearts of men. It was the Bible that 
 first knocked off the shackles of reason, and prepared the 
 way for philosophy to display her splendid triumphs. If a 
 Luthfi', a Melancthon, and a Cranmer had never lived, it 
 is scarcely probable that the names of Bacon, Boyle, New- 
 ton and Locke would have been distinguished from the 
 common mass at the present day. 
 
 If now we withdraw our attention from the histories «f 
 ancient times, and compare the condition of the nations of 
 the present day which are blessed with the Bible, with that 
 of others whicb are still groping in the darkness of heathen^ 
 ism. we shall at once be convinced, that for the knowledge 
 of whatever is valuable in antiquity, in language, in chro- 
 nology, history, morality, philosophy, metaphysics, juris- 
 prudence, national law, and civil and religious freedom, we 
 are indebted Uffder God lo the possession of his gospel. la 
 one word, wherever the christian missionary has set his 
 foot, there have ignorance and barbarism given way to 
 useful knowledge and all the arts of civilized life. The fe- 
 rocious savage, who lived on plunder, and prowled through 
 Wis native forests, feeding like a beast of prey on the flesh 
 
20 
 
 of !iis captive, lias heen ti-ansformod info a pparelul cnlti 
 vator of the earth, a lover of domestic Itappiness, and a 
 child of God. Th^ cavf and ti;p wigwam ol the bu-harian, 
 hav.^ b' en exchanged for abodes jf confort and rtfinement 
 Tb*' prerarious supplies of the chase, have been abandotied 
 ID fav(tup of the more certain and more humanizing pur* 
 suits of agriculture. The sanguinary rites of Druidisra are 
 now known only in history; and the institution of human 
 sacrifice is fast fading Irom the earth. 
 
 But for the blessed knowledge of Jesus Christ, how dif- 
 ferent would have been the aspect of this assembly ! Instead 
 of meeting here to enjoy the feast of reason that is annuaily 
 spread before us, we might this day have been convened to 
 witness the teriific fightings of wild beasts, or the bloody 
 shows of gladiatorial contention. This spot on which we 
 stand might have contained the altar of some senseless idol, 
 or the tripod of some lying oracle; and this hall, dedicated 
 to Vtif, c>»u->e of liberal science, mi.sjht have resounded witl. 
 the raving and beasily worship of some impure dem-m. In- 
 stead of having the blessing of Jehovah invoked upon our 
 presfuf exercises, we might have been crying out with 
 those of old. " O, Baal, hear Un! O, Bah\, hear us!" In- 
 stead of bringin.; your sons to this pla' e to learn to walk in 
 the ways ol useful know ledge, you miglit at this moment have 
 been dragging them from their yourhfu sports to burn them 
 in the fires of Moloci), to whip them to death on tl>e altar 
 of Di-<na, or to casi them as a propitiatory sacrifice under 
 the ponderous wheils ot Juggernviu?. And let me not fitrget 
 to add, that but for the iiumnnizing influence of the reli- 
 gion of Christ, those who sit here as our wives, our mo- 
 thers, our daughters and our equals, might at this moment 
 have Oeen our »• bewers of wood and drawers of water,** 
 our druSges, our menials, the very bond-slaves of our bar- 
 bariaa pt'-asu es. 
 
 Lv>*. however, it should be suppos> d t at these state- 
 ments, because drawa t'rooi distaat bistort are tberefort 
 
21 
 
 liable to much abatement, I will now direct your view to 
 some interesting facts that have falhu withm our own 
 times. Tiie present is, in a remarkable degree, an age of 
 missionary enterprise. The whole christian world srema 
 to be rousing itself to some mighty effort in the t aust- of 
 God; and the remotest corners and most obscure inlands of 
 the esrth are beginning to hail the dawn of gospel light* 
 But in no quarter have the labours of the pious missionary 
 been more amply blessed, than in the distant islands of 
 the Pa( ific. There, and in our own day too, have whole 
 tribes and nations, without the intervention of forcf . or the 
 influence of any earthly potentate, been reclaimed from ig- 
 norance, idolatry and vice, to a rational and heaity pro- 
 fession of the christian faith. And what is the effect on 
 their national and individual bappiui'ss? Idolatry, theft; 
 lewdness, infanticide, human sacriflre. polygamy, canni» 
 balism, and every species of abomination that was practia- 
 ed in their days of ignorance, are now suppressed. The 
 arbitrary rule of despotic chie/tains has been supplanted 
 by a system of equitable law, adopted by the voluntary 
 consent of both prince and people, and founded on the ba- 
 sis of christian principle. Civilization, industry and edii° 
 cation are rapidly effacing the remembrancd of their recent 
 barbarism. The voice of public, social and private wor» 
 ship is universally lifted up to thft Christian's God; and 
 these reclaimed sons of superstition, are rapidly advr.>.rtng 
 in the march of mental improvement, as well as in tlus 
 knowledge of the one true God and his Son Jfsus Clrist, 
 
 Having thus seen the salutary tffects of the gospel of 
 Christ on the interests of nations, let us, for a moment, 
 change the scene, and contemplate a people madly throw> 
 ing off its restraints, and placing themselves under ti<e do- 
 minion of reason alone. That the sun has slione upon such 
 a sight is, alas! too true; and there are somt- now present 
 who can well remember how their ears were made t«: iiu- 
 Sle and their hearts to melt within tbero, when tli« inttlH- 
 
 iii 
 
2£ 
 
 gcnce came tliat a whole nation had renounced the God 
 that ma«ie them, and were endeavouring to expel him Irom 
 his own creation, it needs not he said that I here allude to 
 revolutionary France — to that b'oody period of her history 
 when infideliry. for a time, hefd its undisputed sway; wlieu 
 the cliristian era was abolished, lifeless statues set up ia 
 the temples of the living God. death declared to be an eter- 
 nal sleep, and the existence of a God an idle superstition^ 
 xvh^n all distinctions of right and wrong were confounded^ 
 wh? n proscription followed proscription in breathless suc- 
 cession, and misrule and at «isrQ went hand in hand ii 
 converting the very garden of Europe into a fitld of blood; 
 when a natron, distinguished for tiie refinements of polish-- 
 ed life, became, as in a day. a horde of assassins, and 
 every social and moral tie was burst asunder; when fa- 
 .thers denounced their children, wives their husbands, and 
 mothers their sons; when a whole kingdom presented the 
 awful spectacle of one great slaughter-hou«ej ai»d the 
 sword, the bayonet, the sucking-boat and the guillotine 
 aimed, in the person of man, to banish the image of God 
 from the face of the earth. Such is the spirit of infidelity; 
 such the tender-mercies of religion without revelation; such 
 the history of a people without a God! Oh, what a lesson 
 to the rulers of the earth! How chisely should they lay it 
 to iieart; and how incorttestably does it establish the words 
 of inspiration, that it is *< righteousness that exaiteth a na- 
 tion," and that •' sin is a reproach to any people!" If, then, 
 the religion of Christ, when extended over only a fourth 
 part of the habitable world, and not cordially embraced 
 by the majority of any one people, has already done so much 
 for the happiness of man, what may not be expected; nay, 
 what stretch of imagination ran take in the vast amount of 
 blessing that will ensue, when, in the language of holy writ, 
 « the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of 
 our Lord and his Christ, and tbi knowledge of God shall 
 Cover the earth as the waters cover the sea?" 
 
Need I stop here to notice the objections brooijht against 
 the religion of tlie Bibie, oh account of the persef iiiions, 
 religious wars and bitter controversies to wliicb ii has giv- 
 en rise? These are consequ*:nce8 for which our holy fnith 
 is not answerable. As well migfit we attribute to civil go- 
 vernment the various wars and tumults it has occasioned; 
 or tn the spirit of liberty all the licenti^iusness and atrocity 
 that have been prartised in her name. For although tnese 
 wars and persecutions may have had rt-ligiun tor tijeir ob- 
 ject, yet are they manifestly resolvable into principles which 
 Christianity does not implant, but on tlie contrary, univer- 
 sally condemns. Did the Bible itself, as does the Koran, 
 authorize coercion in the propagation of its principles, then 
 might such objections have their weight; but when it is the 
 professed aim of the gospel, and, I may safely add. its ac- 
 knowledged tendency too, to break down and root out<'very 
 principle of intolerance and contention from the heart, it 
 should be freely confessed that our holy religion has been 
 the occasion rather than the motive, the reluctant instru- 
 ment instead of the willing author ot evil to mankin>d. 
 Wherever the malevolent passions hold the sway, there 
 will follow persecution, violence, and every evil work; and 
 the cause of virtue, and the mantle of charity, and the very . 
 name of God, will be assumed to sanction crimes against 
 reJigioo and even nature itself. Let not Christianity, th^^re- 
 fore, suffer undeservedly for the evil passions oi those who 
 arrogate to themselves her name; ntither let iier purity be 
 stained with the imputation of intolerance; for, as has been 
 well observed, " among the awful lessons to be learned from 
 the crimes and miseries of mankind, this is not the least, 
 that in order to be a persecutor, it is not necessary to be a 
 bigot; and that in rage and cruelty, in mischief and destruc.? 
 tion, fanaticism itself can be outdone by infidelity." 
 
 Having said thus much of the benoficiai effects of Chris- 
 tianity on the welfare of nations, and of society <it large, 
 but little time is left for noticing th« vast aggregate nf 
 
24 
 
 bappfrneas that it dispenses in the obscurity of private rife. 
 Fr-rn the first preaching of the Baptist to the present day, 
 there have been millions in every age, unknown to fame, 
 who have rejoiced in its saving truths as in •' a pearl of 
 gr-at price,** and have found them to be productive of an 
 inward peace and comfort of the heart, which the world 
 can neitner give nor take away. It is the peculiar glory of 
 our religion that it is adapted to every rank and condition of 
 life. Is the christian in prosperity? then has he a higher 
 enjoyment of the good things of this life, than is felt by bim 
 TPho is a stranger to bis God; for there is a heavenly temper 
 given to bim from above, which mixes its own sweetness 
 \vith every earthly good he receives, and imparts to it a 
 relish that savours as much of heaven as of earth. Is he in 
 adversity? no untoward circumstance can ruffle the seren- 
 ity of his soul. Like the heaven to which he aspires, he is 
 exalted above the tumults and tempests of this lower world, 
 and enjoys a sunshine which never warms or illumines the 
 icy bosom of the unbeliever, in his (deepest sorrows and 
 his darkest hours, he has more joy than belongs to the 
 brightest day of the sinner's life. In the secrecy of his 
 chamber, and in the solemn silence of midnight, he has a 
 resource that the world knows not of, and finds a hiding- 
 plac> from bis suff'-rings in the bosom of his God. 
 
 But it is in the prospect of futurity, that the blessed ef- 
 fecta of the religion of Christ are peculiarly displayed. At 
 that trying hour, when the soul is fluctuating between time 
 and eternity, when the body is wrung with anguish, and 
 conscience rouses from its deceitful slumbers, then the only 
 balm that unbelief can imparl is the cold and cheerless an- 
 ticipation of an eternal sleep. But the Christian has a bet- 
 ter and a brighter hopt; than this. He builds, upon the pra- 
 mises of an all-powerful and unchanging God, the certain 
 assurance of another and a happier state. He knows that 
 thid mortal body, sown here in "corruption," " weakness" 
 ftnd *« dishonour,'^ will be raised beyond the tomb in <«iB> 
 
?i5 
 
 toiTuption," in <' power" and in «« g'ory;" anO that, en- 
 rolled rtinong th'^ pure intelligences of that happv place, 
 he *.\i!l enjoy a felicity which has no measure but the 
 power of Omnipotence, no limit but the duration of eter- 
 nity. 
 
 Thus, my friends, have I endeavoured to establish ihe 
 position with which I set out, that the religion of the Bible 
 is the highest ornament and best security of natioiis. If 
 enough, and more 'ban enough be not already said, this 
 only will I add: Let an impartial observer taKe in his hand 
 the map of the world; let him point to a nation locked up 
 in barbarism and supvrstition. and. my life on it, that is a 
 land where the Bible is unknown. Ler another be desig- 
 nated as fast emerging from the rudeness of nature into be 
 humanizing arts ot civilized life, and there, doubtlt-ss. will 
 be found the humble missionary, labouring and praymir in 
 secret, and sa-ii firing his health, his life, his all to iiiake 
 known the glad tidings of salvation. Show me a p«'ii|jle 
 that, having been once enlightened and made free and happy 
 by the influence of Revelation, have re>eded from their fut- 
 most rank irn'mg the nations of Christendom, .«nd placed 
 themselves once more under the dominion of superstiiion, 
 ignorance, immorality and despotism; and although that 
 may be called a christian people, yet it will be found that 
 the word of Gud is there not permitted to have its free 
 course, and that the *» inventions of men" are taught for the 
 commands of God. Finally, let a nation be pointed out 
 ivhere law is respected, where life and property are secure, 
 where mutu d confi»ieuce subsists b- tween rulers and peo- 
 ple, where order and peace bold tiieir gentle sway, and 
 where every one may sit under his own vine and fig-tree, 
 there beiiig none to make him afraid; show me such a peo- 
 ple, and you show me •* my own, my native land," wh:re 
 the Bible is in tb*- bauds of eveiy man, wherr it is read 
 an«^ reverenced, and wnere the young are carefully instruc- 
 ted ia itB life-giving precepts. 
 
26 
 
 We have heard much, of lafe, about the Gonstiiution of 
 our beloved country; and our hearts have ardent j, respond- 
 ed to the soul-stirring eloquence of those who have caHed 
 on us to rally around it as the palladium of our liberty. 
 And long, long may it remain to these happy states a bond 
 of union, a charter of mutual rights, a check upon usurp- 
 ing power on either hand. My young friends, you should 
 study that instrument, and be familiar with its principles; 
 but at the same time you should know, that it is to the in- 
 fluence of the religion of Christ we are indebteO for the 
 soundness of those principles, and their happy tendency to 
 promote the welfare of our country. With the Bible in 
 their hands and its precepts written on their hearts, it is 
 imp tssible for a people to become the slaves of a tyrant, or 
 to be otherwise than free and prosperous and happy. Tite 
 spirit of liberty is inseparably allied to the spirit of sound 
 religion; and the despot who has carefully studied the his- 
 tory of the last three centuries will tremble sooner for his 
 ill-got power at seeing a Bible than a sword in the hands 
 of his subjects; and yet there is not one word in that 
 blessed book to call up a spirit of faction and disorder. 
 Submission to rulers is there again and again inculcated, 
 and that too upoji grounds unknown to the lawgivers of the 
 heathen world. Before the religion of Christ was admit- 
 ted into the councils and senate-chambers of the earth, 
 princes ruled by fear alone, and mainraint'd their power, as 
 they had acquired it, at the point of the sword. By day 
 they walked abroad preceded by lictors, and all the instru- 
 ments of sanguinary punishmjent; at night they pressed 
 a sleepless pillow, guarded by the unsheathed weapons of 
 a hireling soldiery. Now the principles of Christianity en- 
 graven on the heart, are of more avail than bolts and cliains, 
 imperial edicts, or burning stakes. Now the spirit of re- 
 ligion is no less the ruler's safety than the people's happi- 
 ness. Now the fear of God among his subjects is a more 
 than triple shield to the breast of the sovereign. And the 
 
27 
 
 chief magistrate of this happy nation may pass unariDed 
 and uuritteniled from one limit of our vast territory to the 
 other, and meet with neither insult nor violence. O, happy 
 people, that thus have the Lord lor their God, and his word 
 for their guide! In the contemplation of this subject, your 
 speaker would fain adopt the sentiment of one who, though 
 of another nation, is yet no less than ourselyea the strenu- 
 ous advocate of civil and religious freedom, and say, <* my 
 hope for my country is not built upon her fleets and armies^ 
 but upon the stronger ground of our being a praying peo- 
 ple" — a people blessed with the word, the sabbaths, and 
 the sanctuary of the Lord of hosts. Take these away, and 
 wherein shall we be better than other nations? what 
 shall weh ave to ensure permanency to our free institu- 
 tions more than had ancient Greece or Rome? Is there a 
 more entliusiastic love of liberty in our breast, or more 
 muscle and bone in our arm than those ancient republicans 
 could boast? No: take away the word and the worship of 
 God from amongst us, and we shall fall before our feeblest 
 foe; the strong bond that now unites us as one great fami- 
 ly, will become as the spider's web; the mighty fabric 
 of this glorious republic will sink under its oww weight; 
 and »» sic transit gloria'* be written on the ruins of our ca- 
 pitol, as well as on those of Babylon, Troy, Tyre and 
 Carthage. But wiiilst we continue to be blessed with the 
 saving truths and sacred institutions of Christianity, we 
 need entertain no fears for our liberty or happiness. The 
 word of Heaven is pledged for our safety; the Lord of 
 hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. 
 
 Permit me then, my young friends, in concluding these 
 remarks, to urge upon you as patriots, as enlightened meu, 
 as the rising hope of our country, to make the word of God 
 your daily study, and to revrrence and uphold the sacred 
 institutions which it has established in our land. If there 
 were no religious assemblies throughout our country, no 
 ^^cred temples^ no day set apart for divine worship^ no 
 
an 
 
 consecrated memorials of the being and dominion of a God, 
 and 'vf the ncrountability of man, the pillars of sorjety 
 would be undermini'd, public order and social happiness 
 would censp from amongst us, and our land become as re- 
 markable for lawless and ferocious violence, as it now is 
 fof fhe blessings of good order and peace. Remember, 
 therol'ore, that he who reviles the word of God and treats 
 sacred things with levity, is the worst enemy to society, a 
 very Cataline in the bosom of the commonwealth. Ami 
 remember also, that so far as our eternal interests are con- 
 cerned, it is not the possessi<>n of religion by us as a na- 
 tion that will avail to our happiness, either here or hereaf- 
 ter. We must tt-ei a personal concern m its saving truths, 
 and have an individual experience of its life-giving p wer 
 in our hearts, before we can rejoice in God, or hope for bis 
 blessing either public or private. 
 
 If such be the tendency, such the blessed effects of 
 Christianity as have this day been set before you, carj 
 you desire a stronger proof that it is a revelation trom 
 heaven, or a louder call to interest yourselves in the re- 
 ception and extension of its saving benefits? You have been 
 shown the utter insufficiency of mere human wisdom, aod 
 have seen how far short all the lessons of ancient morality 
 have fallen of promoting the happiness of man. As a fur- 
 ther testimony on this subject. let me refer you to the re- 
 cent language of one of the brightest luminaries of our 
 country, who, though high in public estimation, is content 
 to lay all his honours at the feet of Christ, believing with 
 the poet that 
 
 " Christian is the highest style of man.'* 
 
 «' Public virtue," says this learned jurist and polishd 
 writer, «' has no solid basis but religion. Mere human vir- 
 tue is a cheat, a scintillation at best, wbi( h we set- con- 
 tinually extinguished by every temptation, Motbing jtss 
 t^^an a living conviction ol' an eyer-present Gt^d, before 
 
£9 
 
 whom we are acting and thinking and speaking, and that 
 we have a future state of never-ending existence dependent 
 on bis approbation, can impose a moment's restraint on the 
 indulgence of human passion; and nothing can reconcile 
 man to sucij restraint, but the formation of a new spirit 
 within him, which will convert that restraint into liberty 
 and privilege, and make the service of God bis highest 
 happiness here, as well as his only sure hope hereafter. 
 Tills is the spiritual work of the gospel of the Redeemer, 
 which has < brought life and immortality to light,' and fur- 
 nished to man a motive and a spring of action, which en= 
 ables him to tread the earth and its vile pursuits beneath 
 his feet, in contemplation of the immortality to which he 
 is hastening." 
 
 Is it your ambition to excel in the powers of thought 
 and in the graces of diction? Read, then, the Scriptures: 
 for in them, and in them only, is found truth unmixed with 
 error; in tbem only isgrandeur of conception, undebased by 
 the littlenass of human conceit; and in them (if I may so 
 speak,) may be seen the very mind of God Nothing can be 
 imagined more elevated, more glowing, or more btrHutifui 
 than the writings of the inspired penmen; of whom it has 
 been justly said, that «• their energy of language and dig- 
 nity of style are equalled only by the unspeakable sublimit 
 ty of the subjects which thpy treat." It is a cheering 
 prospect to the christian scholar, that the learned world is 
 awakening to the importance of this subject; and be cannot 
 but indulge the hope that the day is not far distant, when 
 noedufation will be deemed complete without a knowledge 
 of the scriptures, and when the volume of inspiration shall 
 b» adopted in our schools as the standard of good taste 
 and fine writing, no less than of sound morals and true 
 religion. 
 
 But among the many motives by which our youth may 
 be urged to the study of the word of God, this should not be 
 oyeHook.ed, yiz. that a l^nowledge of the sacred writings is 
 
so 
 
 sjecesaary to correct the early false impressions made upoa 
 the mind by the study of the anriont riassics Lp! me not, 
 ho\^ever, from this remj^rk, be reckoned among those who, 
 in S'-eking to improve the present systems of education, 
 ^ould entirely exclude those heathen writings from the 
 place which long prescription has assigned them in a libe- 
 ral course of education. My only aim, in adverting to this 
 subjpct, is to £(uard the unwary mind against an> errone- 
 ous ideas on the subj^'ct of religion and murals which it is 
 Iik«Iy to imbibi' from resorting so earl) and so frequently 
 to the sometimes impure fountains of antiqmty. Our youth at 
 school are tauglit torea-l the deedsof Pagan heroes bel'ore they 
 are competet»t to si'p,»rate what is praiseworthy from what is 
 vile m 'it»eir characters; and it ton ohcn happens, that to read 
 is to admire, and to admire is to emulate.. Thus some idol of 
 false honour is set up and consecrated, an erroneous stand- 
 ard ot morals is established, public applause becomes the 
 chief incentive to virtue, resentment is ennobled, and pride, 
 and many other hatelul passions, erect«d ,into honourable 
 virtues. Curiosity in these things is apt to beget venera- 
 tion; daily familiarity strengthens first impressions; the 
 moral taste becomes vitiated; and the almost certain con- 
 sequence is a disrelish for the sober and blessed realities of 
 the Christian faith. Thus, whilst we are learning from 
 the sages of ancient times, the beauties of imagery, the 
 graces of diction, the arts of eloquence, and the h<»rmony of 
 numbers, we need some sage Mentor at hand to warn us 
 continually against their principles, which insensibly steal 
 in upon us through the fascinating influences of poetry and 
 oratory. Eminent scholars have confessed and lamented 
 the ill effects experienced in themselves, by a too close at- 
 tention to their classical •engagements. They have, in this 
 way, lost their relish for theological study, become puffed 
 up with the vanity of conscious erudi ion, and, before they 
 were aware of it, acquired so debauched a mind as to be- 
 come first neglecters, then despisers and opposers of the 
 
31 
 
 reHgion of Christ. If such bo. the effect of Ihese studies on 
 the mature and uell disriplitied student, may we not trem- 
 ble for their deiiioralizint; ii;fluiMC<^ on the plastic and in- 
 cautious mind of youth? and need we wonder at the school- 
 boy who asked his pi •.y-fellovv, »« which was the gre^iterj, 
 Jupiter or God Almighty?" These are consideravions which 
 should he ever present with p .r'^nt^ und teachers of youthj, 
 in order thai, by a timely instruction in the word of G »u. by 
 •* line upon line and precept upon precept," at tlie mater- 
 na! kn« e. and m the earlier stages of education, they may 
 forestrtl I his threatened evil, and protect their youthful 
 chargp against the inroads of false principles, at that critic 
 cal period of life when the mind may be moulded into al< 
 most any form. 
 
 But I will detain you no longer. My young friends, I 
 {bank you, and this respected audience, for your patient at- 
 tention, and regret that I have been able to repay it by no 
 better offering. If, horvever, what has been said sbali tend, 
 in the least degree, to excite in your breasts an increased 
 sense of God's goodness to us as a people; if it shall inspire 
 you with more exalted notions of the religion ot Ct)rist; en- 
 able vou to make a more correct estimate of true happiness; 
 or suggest to you juster views of your duty as citizens ot 
 this favoured republic; I shall feel as if I had not spoken al- 
 together in vain. Let me once more entreat you then, as you 
 value your best interests, to study diligently that volume 
 which contains the secret of your happiness. The truths 
 which it reveals once dwelt,undivulged,in the bosom of God. 
 Its every sentence is charmed with the divine presence, and 
 is powerful to the saving of the soul. Its doctrines are of 
 everlastinginterest, and its precepts duly reverenced would 
 liken us unto God himself. All ths great objects of this 
 world's history lose their value through the lapse of time; 
 but the words of that book are co-existent with the immor- 
 tality of our nature. While we are discussing the events of 
 the day, they cease to be; while we are adopting fashions. 
 
32 
 
 tbey become obsolete; while defending or condemning par- 
 ties, they fliange siiles; while contemplating opposing fac- 
 tions, t'ley are extinct. Of all created things, mutability and 
 vanity are written on the best estate, and brief is their dura- 
 tion at the longest. But ♦' the word of the Lord endunth for 
 ever, atsd bis mpmorial to all generations." Remember that 
 this life, which is now opening upon you in all its flattering 
 prospects, is nothing more tfiari the seed-time of eternity; 
 and that tb^re is a da^ at hand when theproudf*9t efforts of 
 unsancti^ed genius, and the brightest accomplishments of 
 polished life, will avail you nothing; when a single tear, 
 shed for sin over the page of eternal truth, shall have be- 
 hind it a iDore blessed memory, and ensure a brighter re- 
 version above, than the wisdom of a Socrates, combined 
 with the wealth of i Croesus and the renown of a Napo- 
 leon. ♦» In hoc vincei''* is inscribed on the word of God, ani? 
 on it alone. In vain will you seek for success under anv 
 other banner. 
 
 " Beware what earth calls happiness; beware 
 All joys but joys that never can expire. 
 In vain wc seek a heaven below the sky; 
 The world has false but flattering charms; 
 '^ Its distant joys show big in our esteem. 
 
 But lessen still as they draw near the eye. 
 In our embrace the visions die; 
 And when we grasp the airy forms, 
 Wc loie the pleasing dream." 
 
Delivered befoi-e the Philanthropic and Dialectic Societies at Chapel-Hinj^ 
 on the 20th of June, 1832. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Dialectic and Philanth7-opic Societies : ' 
 
 Wiicn I look around on this extriiordinary concourse 
 of visitors, I cannot but feel that expectation has been too highly 
 excited, and cannot but anticipate and regret the disappointmejit 
 which it must necessarily meet with. Aware of the value which 
 is here set upon the ceremony of the annual address; knowing 
 that the friends of the U nivei'sity throughout the State, regard it 
 as calculated not only to excite a spirit of emulation among tiic 
 Students, but to attract t!ie public attention to the Institution it- 
 self; and warmly attaciied to that noble cause, for the advance- 
 ment of whiclj, these edifices have been erected and your associa- 
 tions formed, I felt myself bound to acce])t of the invitation, in 
 obedience to which I appear before you. Could 1 indeed have 
 foreseen the unusual engagements, which added to the ordinary 
 occupations of a busy life, have left me no leisure to prepare any 
 (thing W'Orthy of the general expectation, I should have deemed 
 I myself at liberty to decline the call. But the discovery w'as not 
 made until after my word w as pledged, and it w as too late to hope 
 that the duty could be devolved on another* Compelled then to 
 choose between an entire disappointment of your hopes, and the 
 presenting myself to you without the advantages of full preparation, 
 I have resolved to execute the undertaking imperfectly, rather than 
 ifoi'ego it altogetlier. To whatever petty mortifications the adop- 
 itiun of this alternative may expose me elsewhere, from you, my 
 lyoung friends, I am sure of a favourable reception. You will sec 
 iin it an expression of the sense which I entertain of the honor 
 (conferred on me, by your choice, of my readiness to gratify your 
 wishes, and of my solicitude to cheer you on in the noble career 
 on which y(m have entered. The few homely truths which I wish* 
 ! to impress upon your minds, will not indeed come mended from 
 imy tongue, but I do not despair thp.t, presented in their naked 
 i plaiimess, but urged with the earnestness and sincerity of friendship, 
 they may win their way to your generous and affectionate appro- 
 bation. 
 
 The authority of Shakespeare is often invoked for the position, 
 
 ^that ''there is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the 
 
 flood leads on to fortune.*' Without venturing to deny altogether 
 
 ] 
 
the fitness of this metaphor, and fully admitthig it to haA'c enough 
 of ti'uth to i-ender it appropriate to the occasion for which it was 
 used, and the character to whom the great poet assigned it, I yet 
 regard it as too favourable to that indolence of disposition which 
 is always ready to imagine success in life as depending on some 
 fortunate tide. I hold, that generally, every man is the architect 
 of liis own fortune, the author of liis own greatness or insignifi- 
 cance, happiness or misery. True it is, that casualties, neither 
 to be foreseen nor prevented, may defeat schemes which have been 
 wisely concerted and vigorously prosecuted ; and that success, 
 undeserved, and perhaps unsought for, may sometimes befal the 
 weak and slothful. Tliese, however, are but occasional deviations 
 from the ordinary course of nature, according to which man's 
 energies, wisely or foolishly directed, and diligently or carelessly 
 exerted, are made to determine his character and condition in so- 
 ciety. The stoutest ship that was ever manned with prudent 
 heads, brave hearts, and strong hands, has foundered in a hurri- 
 cane, while the feeble bai'k that " owns no mastery in floating," is 
 sometimes safely wafted into port ; yet, who can deny that ordi- 
 narily the fate of the voyage must depend on the skill, care and 
 courage with which it is conducted. 
 
 Much too, very much, either for permanent good or ill in the 
 fate of every individual, has been found to follow almost necessa- 
 rily from the habits formed, the propensities cherished or restrained, 
 and the rules of conduct adopted at a vtery early ])eriod of life. 
 ArYe might, perhaps, be tempted to regret that such important and 
 often awful consequences should follow on the doings of an age, 
 when the unworn senses are alive to every impression, and the 
 keen appetite greedy for every enjoyment ; when the imagination 
 is wild, the judgment feeble, and '"heedless rambling impulse" 
 has scarcely learned to think. Yet such is the constitution of 
 nature, and such consequently the appointment of Him, whose 
 ways are always wise, benevolent and just, and whose will it wei-e 
 not more madness to resist, than it is impiety to question. Look 
 through the world, and the least observant cannot fail to discover 
 talents abused, opportunities squandered, and men ruiiied, because 
 of early folly, misbehaviour or thoughtlessness ; and let those who 
 have passed through life's ordeal with safety and honor, look back 
 on their trials, and they will acknowledge how much they owe t(»^ 
 1 ery early impressions, and to habits contracted almost without a 
 sense of their use or a foresight of their consequences. He there- 
 fore, who aspires to excellence, cannot too soon propose to himself 
 the objects which he should strive to obtain, nor lix his aim too 
 early, or too steadily, on the end to which his efforts should be di- 
 rected. The shortness of life, the large fragments of it which are 
 
necessarily occupied by animal wants, or wastcdin frivolous care^ 
 and amusements, leave, at best, but an inconsiderable portion to 
 be devoted to intellectual cultivation and exertion. To waste this 
 portion would be criminal improvidence, and it is of the higbest 
 moment to learn betimes how it may be most beneficially applied. 
 Tiie end which an ingenuous youth naturally proposes to bimself 
 is, a faitbful and honorable discbarge of tbe dtities of life. His ob- 
 jects are to realize tbe fond hopes of his parents and friends, to ac- 
 quire tbe affection and esteem of tbose around him, to become the 
 dispenser of good to his fellow-men, and thus to fulfil the purposes; 
 for which it has pleased God to place him in this world of trial and 
 discipline. He feels that these objects, are indeed good. By a mo- 
 ral instinct, he is propelled towards them as fit to fill his heart, 
 kindle his aspirations and animate bis exertions. Reason, as she 
 gradually unfolds her powers and assumes dominion over him, 
 sanctions this choice with her approbation ; and Religion comes 
 in aid of Nature and Reason, to teach him that talents are but lent 
 to be improved, and that an account must be one day rendered, in 
 which their use or neglect will be amply rewarded or sev erely pun- 
 ished. How much is it not to be lamented, that sloth should ener- 
 vate, dissipation corrupt, or vice brutalize, this child of hope and 
 promise. You who have him in charge, watch over him with ne- 
 ver sleeping vigilance and affectionate solicitude. Give him a hap- 
 py start, sustain him when disposed to flag, reanimate him where 
 discouraged, check kindly his wanderiugs, soothe his wounded 
 feelings, guide him with your counsels, and save him from the foes 
 by which he is waylaid and beset. 
 
 Macfe nova virtule pucv sic itiir ad astra. 
 Most faithfully, no doubt, are these duties performed by the able 
 and excellent men who are here charged witli the oflice of insti'uc- 
 tion. Little can be done in aiil of their efforts, but to exhort and 
 entreat all placed under their care to attend to their admonitions, 
 treasure up their counsels, and obey their injunctions. Yet there 
 are some errors which were prevalent when I was a boy, which I 
 have reason to believe still prevail in public schools, and which may 
 perhaps be better handled by an old friend t!ian an acknowledged 
 instructor — and to these, therefore, I would for a few moments re- 
 quest the favorable attention of the younger portion of my hearers. 
 ---^Vigorous, diligent and persevering a])plication is essential to the 
 attainment of excellence in every pursuit of man. It is undoubt- 
 edly a mistake to suppose, that there is no original inequality in the 
 mental faculties of different individuals. Probably, there is as 
 great a disparity in their intellectual, as in their physical confor- 
 mation. But however false this extravagant theory may be, there 
 
is another error far more common, and practically, far more mis^ 
 chievous — the error of exaggerating the difference between the ori- 
 ginal energies of intellect, and of attributing to splendid and re- 
 sistless genius those victories which are not to le achieved but by 
 well directed and continued industry. It is in the infancy of life, 
 that the inequalities of original talent are most striking, and it is 
 not strange, that vanity on the one hand, and indolent admiration 
 on the other, should hyperbolical ly extol these obvious advantages. 
 In what this disparity consists, it may not be easy to state with 
 precision.^\But from an observation of many years, I venture to 
 suggest, that the chief natural superiority manifested by the favor- 
 ed few over their competitcu'S in the intellectual conflict, is to be 
 found in the facility with which their attention is directed and con- 
 fined to its proper subjects. That youth may be regarded as for- 
 tunate indeed, who in early life can restrain bis wandering thoughts 
 and tie down his mind at will, to the contemplation of whatever he 
 wishes to comprehend and to make his own. A few moments of 
 this concentrated application, is woith days and weeks of a vague, 
 interrupted, scattered attention. The first resembles the well 
 known manceuvre in Strategy, so sini])le in its conception and yet 
 so astonishing in its results, by which all the arms of a military 
 force arc made to bear upon a given point at the same moment. 
 £very thing Jiere tells, because there is no power wasted, and none 
 misapplied. CVow let no one desj)air, because he finds this effort 
 to confine \n$ attention difficult, or for a considerable length of 
 time, impracticable. Nothing is more certain, than that this pow- 
 er over the mind may be acquired. Let the attempt be repeated 
 again and again — first for short, afterwards, as the ability is in- 
 creased, for longer periods, and success will ultimately follow. — • 
 The hahit of fixed attention w ill thus be created, and it is one of 
 the peculiarities of all active habits, that in proportion to the difl[i- 
 culty with which they were produced, is their inveteracy, when 
 once thoroughly formed. Thus it not unfrequently happens, that 
 the advantages with which the individual commenced his career, 
 who was naturally alert and devoted in his attention to every sub- 
 ject, as it was successively ])i'escnted to his notice, have not ena- 
 bled him to contend successfully with him, who, by hard efforts, 
 has chained down his wandering thoughts and dissipates! faculties 
 to the habit of attention.-TC Among the best results which attend a 
 course of regular academical education, is this exclusive and con- 
 centrated direction of the mental powers to their appropriate ob- 
 jects. In the years employed principally in the study of the learn- 
 ed languages, the necessity of finding out the meaning of each 
 word, and discerning either the agreement between different 
 words, or the depeudance of some of them upon others in certain 
 
grammatical relations, licccssarily sliarpeiis and fixes the atten- 
 tion. After this prejiaratory disri])line of the intellect, the Stu- 
 dent is inti'oduced to the study ol' mathematical science, where [wo- 
 position leads on to projjosition in regular order, and his attc.stion 
 is Jiecessnrily cjichained to each trntli, as it follows, with logical 
 certainty, from truths previously den^onstrated. He is then initia- 
 ted into the mysterious laws of Natural Philosophy, as they iirive 
 been discovered. e.x])]ained and illustrated by a course of rigorous 
 induction, and is ultimalcly familitsrized Y,ith the yet nobler and 
 more sublime investigations of moral science, the refinements of 
 taste, the beauties of eloquence and tlie charms of lieavenly poesy. 
 And this admirable training, is conducted I'emotc from the bustle 
 and cares of the world, in the very liush of the passions, and be- 
 yond the reach of beguiiing and distracting pleasures. Here sure- 
 ly, then, the understar.ding is discipline^!, its discrimination ren- 
 dered moi'e acr.te, its general hca'lth and \igor confirmed, while 
 a facility is created for directing its powers to the various manly 
 and trying services which may a'v\ ait it, in life's busy theatre, — 
 'But not unfrequently is, the question liskcd by querclous Students, 
 why rill this devoted attentioii to the dead languages, to mathema- 
 tical theorems, philosophical experiments, metaphysical disquisi- 
 tions and critical subtleties ? in the world, no one talks Greek 
 or Latin, and at the foi-uni, (sr in the Legislative liall, we shall not 
 be called upon to demonstrate the ]>ropositior!S of Euclid, or ex- 
 ! plain the phenomena of hydrostatics and optics. Tlie motives of 
 'human action are bettei* learned in that great practical school, the 
 world, than by poring over t!ie theories of metaphysicians ; and 
 all the rules of Qninclillian. Roliin oi' Blair, v.ill never make a 
 lpo\\erful reasoner or an eloquent orator. Why, then, shall we con- 
 sume our nights and days in the acquisit-on of tliat which is to be 
 I of no practical utility hereafter, and wliicli brings with it no im- 
 i mediate advantage, except th.e gralifjcation of pride, a short-lived 
 1 honor, a distinction at Commencenvcnt r Eeware, my young 
 ifrieiids, beware of the tempter. These are the suggestions of 
 ! Sloth — the most insidious, persuasive and dangerous of deceivers. 
 
 " Viinnda est. ii-proha syren Daldia.'''' 
 Ilf you cannot close yo-n* ears against her insiiiuaticms. strengthen 
 *youi- understandings to triunijdi over her swphisms. and nerve your 
 
 coui-age to resist her wiles. Ee sure, if you submit to her benumb- 
 ling influence, and waste your days here in idleness, the time will 
 
 come, when with bitter, but perhaps unavailing anguish, you shall 
 ■bemoan your folly. Remembex% tliat it is not designed by an aca- 
 
 denr^al e*Uication, to teach yon all that it behoves you to learn — 
 
 Education is not complete?! within tliese walls. When you shall 
 
JiaTC quitted tliis peaceful retreat, and selected the prc^ssioit or 
 state in life in which ymx are to be engaged, then you should apply 
 all your cffbrts to tlic acquisition of that species of knowledge 
 which is more especially needed. Here are inculcated those ele- 
 mentary princt])les of science and literature, which experience has 
 shewn to be best fitted to form the foundation of the character of 
 the scholar and gentleman — those rudiments of instruction, which 
 omitted here, are rarely indeed acquired afterwards. Here are to 
 be formed those habits of vigorous and continuous application — 
 here, the capacities for improvement are to be cultivated and 
 strengthened, so that every occasion and every employment with- 
 out these walls may become subsidiary to further advancement in 
 knowledge, ability and usefulnesss. It is a miserable fallacy, to 
 mistake the exception for the rule. True it is, that those who have 
 won the highest honours at College, do not always realize the 
 hopes which these glorious beginnings have excited. " The fair 
 bloom of fairest fruit" may be be blasted by pestilent dews. Fol- 
 ly, vanity and vice, low pursuits and vulgar associations, indo^ 
 leiice, intemperance and debauchery, but too often debase and de- 
 stroy the generous youth who entered on life's career, rich in aca- 
 demical distinctions, docile, ardent for fame, patient of labour, of 
 manly purpose and noblest promise. Mourn over these moral 
 wrecks. Lament the instability of all earthly good, the frail cha- 
 racter of all Inmian excellence. Weep for those who have fallen 
 from their high estate, but say not it was folly in them thus to have 
 riseir. True it is also, that it sometimes, tliough. very rarely hap- 
 pens, that those who have been idle during their academical course, 
 have, by extraordinary exertions, retrieved their early neglect, an<l 
 in the end, outstripped others who started in the race far ahead. 
 These are the exceptions — they furnish cause to humble arro- 
 gance, check presumption, banish despair, and encourage refor- 
 mation. But so surely as a virtuous life usually precedes a hapjyy 
 death, so surely it will be found, that within the College precincts, 
 is laid the groundwork of that pre-eminence afterward acquired 
 in the strife of men, and that College distinctions are not only 
 good testimony of the fidelity with whicli College duties have been 
 performed, but the best presages and pledges of excellence on a 
 more elevated and extensive field of action. In defiance, there- , 
 fore, of all the lures of pleasure, and seductive suggestions of sloth, 
 let active, persevering industry, be the habit of y9ur lives. Form 
 this habit here, and cherish and preserve it ever afterwards. 
 
 But however earnestly you are thus exhorted to diligence, let it 
 not be forgotten^ that diligence itself is but a subordinate quality, 
 an<! derives its chief value from the end to which it is directed, and 
 the motives by which it is impelled. It is diligence in a good 
 
7 
 
 cause only that is commendable. The first great maxim of liuniaif 
 conduct, that whtch it is all-important to impress on tlie understand- 
 ings of young men, and recommend to their iiearty adoption, is, above 
 all tilings, in all circumstances, and under every emergency, to 
 preserve a clean heart and an honest purpose. Integrity, firm, 
 determined integrity, is tliat quality, which of all others, raises 
 man to the highest dignity of his nature, and fits him to adorn and 
 bless the sj)here in which he is appointed to move. Without it, 
 neither genius nor learning, neitlier the gifts of God, nor human 
 exertions, can avail aught for the accomplishment of the great 
 objects of human existence. Integrity is the crowning virtue — 
 integrity is the pervading principle which ought to regulate, guide^ 
 control and vivify every impulse, desire and action. Honesty is- 
 sometimes spoken of as a vulgar virtue ; and perhaps that honesty, 
 which barely refrains from mitraging the positive i-ules ordained 
 by society for the protection of jiroperty, and which ordinarily 
 pays its debts and perfoi*ms its engagements, however useful and 
 commendable a quality, is not to be numbered among the highest 
 efforts 6f human virtue. But that integrity which, however tempt- 
 ing .the opportunity, or however secure against detection, no sel- 
 fishness nor resentment, no lust of power, place, favour, profit or 
 pleasure, can cause to swerve from the strict rule of right, is the 
 pej'fection of man's moral nature. In this sense, the poet was right, 
 when he pronounced "an honest man the noblest work of God." 
 It is almost inconceivable what an erect and independent spirit 
 this high endowment communicates to the man, and what a moral 
 intrepidity and vivifying energy it imparts to his character. 
 There is a family alliance between all the virtues, and perfect in- 
 tegrity is always followed by a train of goodly qualities, frankness, 
 benevolence, iiumanity, patriotism, promptness to act, and patience 
 to endure. In moments of public need, these indicate the man who 
 is worthy of universal confidence. Erected on such a basis, and 
 built up of such materials, fame is enduring. Such is the fame of 
 our Washington, of the man "inflexible to ill and obstinately 
 just." While, therefore, otlier monuments, intended to perpetuate 
 human greatness, are daily mouldering into dust, and belie the 
 proud inscriptions which they bear, the solid granite pyramid of 
 liis glory lasts from age to age, imperishable, seen afar off, loom- 
 ing high over the vast desert, a mark, a sign and a wonder, for 
 the way-farcrs through this pilgrimage of life. 
 
 A nice sense of integrity cannot, therefore, be too early cherished, 
 lortqo sedulously cultivated. In the Aery dawnings of life, occa- 
 sions are presented for its exercise. Within these walls, tempta- 
 tions every day occur, where temporary advantage solicits a de- 
 Tiation from the rule of right. In the d^charge of the various 
 
8 
 
 Unties which you ov\ c to your companions, let no petty selfishness 
 be indulgetl, no iirtifices practised, by which you are to escape 
 from your fair share of hibour, incouvenience or contribution, or 
 any one deprived of the full nieasiuc of whatever he may right- 
 fully claim. Cultivate singleness of purpose and franliness of de- 
 meanor, and hold in contemjit whatever is sordid, disingenuous, 
 cunning or mean. But it is when these peaceful shades shall have 
 been left behind, and the fitful course of busy life begun, that se- 
 ductions will be presented under every form by which inexperience, 
 infirmity of purpose, and facility of disposition, can be waylaid. 
 Tlien is the crisis of the young man's fate — then is the time to take 
 bis sta)ul, to seize his vantage ground. If he ca)i then defy the allure- 
 ments of cupidity, sensuality and ambition, the laugh of fools, the 
 arts of parasites, and the contagion of improbity; then indeed, 
 may he hope, 
 
 " In sight of mortal and immortal powers, 
 
 " As in a boundless theatre to run 
 
 " The great career of justice — 
 
 " And through the mists of passion and of sense, 
 
 " And through tlie tossing tide of chance and pain 
 
 " To hold his course unfaultering."' 
 
 You. ray young friends, who are standing at the threshold, and 
 waiting with eager impatience the signal for entrance upon life, 
 must not think that I mean to alarm you with idle fears, because 
 I thus warn you of the approaching conflict. The enraged bull 
 may close his eyes before he rushes upon his foe, but rational 
 couj'age, calmly surveys danger, and then deliberately jjrepares 
 and determines to encounter it. Apprized of your peril, and 
 armed for the encounter, enter on your course with resolved hearts, 
 and fear not for the issue. 
 
 So sweet are the notes of human praise, and so abhorrent the 
 tones of reproach, th;it it.is among the highest efforts of magnanimity 
 to pursue the straight forward course of duty without being turned 
 aside by commen*hition or reproof, by flattery or calumny. 
 Whatever be our journey ihi'ougli life. like the princes in the East- 
 ern tale ascending the mountain in seiirch of the wondrous bird, 
 we are sure to hear around us the confused sounds of blandishment 
 and solicitation, of menace and insult, until with many of us. the 
 giddy head is turned, and we are converted into monuments of 
 warning to those who are to follow us in life's adventure. Rare 
 indeed is that moral courage, which, like the prudent Parisade, 
 closes its ears against the impression of these sounds, and casts 
 not an eye beiiind until its destined course be accomplished. Rare, 
 however, as may be this excellence, and in its perfection perhaps 
 
unattainable, there can be no true dignity and derision of charac.- 
 tei- vitlioiit a near approacli to it» Let youth be ever modest ever 
 delereiitiai to.the counsels, the suggestions and the claims of others. 
 But in matters of right and wrong, whatever be tlie lures, the 
 taunts, orthe usages of tlie world, or whatever tlie supposed incon- 
 veniences of singularity, let judgment and conscience always rule 
 with absolute sway. Carry this maxim with you through life, 
 whatever be the station you are to occupy, or the business you am 
 to pursue; and carry witii it anotlier kindred maxim, rely for 
 success in your undertakings, not on the patronage of others, but 
 on your own capacity, resolution, diligence and exertions. Rise 
 by merit, or rise not at all. Suited as these injunctions are believ- 
 ed to be to all, they are peculiarly addressed to those among you, 
 who, panting for renown, are resolved to enter upon a public ca- 
 reer, and long " to read their history in a nation's eyes." 
 
 " How wretched," exclaims the Poet of Nature, ^' is that poor 
 man who hangs on Princes' favours." Miserable is the condition 
 of every being who hangs on the favours of creati:res like himself. 
 iDeserve, and strive by desert, to win the esteem of your fellow-men. 
 iThus acquired, it decorates him who obtains, and bic-ssos those 
 who bestow it. To them, it is returned in faithful service, and 
 to him, it comes in aid of the approbationof conscience to animate 
 diligence and reward exertion. Those too, who engage in public 
 service, are bound to cheiish a hearty sympathy with the wants, 
 feelings, comforts and wishes of tlie people whose welfare is com- 
 mitted to their cliarge. It is essential for the preservation of that 
 confidence whicii ought to subsist between the principal and the 
 Ligent, the constituent and tlie representative, that all haughtiness 
 and reserve should be banished from their intercourse. It some- 
 times happens, that he who hasjived too const;intly among books, 
 manifests a disgust in an associatiosi with the uneducated and un- 
 refined, which mortifies and repels them. This is absurd in him, 
 And unjust to them. It is absurd, for he ought to know, and know 
 well, those for whom, and upon whom, he expects to act — they 
 constitute, in fact, one of the first and most appro])riate objerts of 
 iiitS study ; and it is unjust, for not unfrequently, under this rough- 
 less wdiich shocks the man of books, is to be found astockof prac- 
 iical information, in which he is miserably deficient. B.iuish, 
 hen, all superciliousness, for it is criminal and ridiculous. H ni- 
 -istly seek to serve your country, for it is glorious to advance the 
 'jood of your fellow-men, and thus, »s far as feeble mortals may, 
 ict up to the great example of Him to whose im:!ge an<l likeness 
 'ou are made. Seek also by all honest rts, to win their co -fi- 
 lence, but beware how you ever prefer their favour to tiieir scr- 
 ice. The high road of seiwice is indeed laborious, exposed to tUe 
 
16 
 
 v,Hin aiul suu, tlie heat and dust ; while the by-path of favour ha,^, 
 apparently, at first, much the same direction, and is bordered witli 
 ilo^\crs and sheltered by trees, *' cooled with fountains and mur- 
 muring with water-falls." No wonder, then, that like the son of 
 Abensina, in Johnson's beautiful Apologue, the young adventurer 
 is tempted to try the happy experiment of uniting pleasure with 
 business, and gaining the rewards of diligence without suffering 
 its fatigues. But once entered upon, the path of favour, though 
 found to decline more and more from its first direction, is pursued 
 through all its deviations, till at length, even the thought of return 
 to the road of service is utterly abandoned. To court the fondness 
 of the people, is found, or supposed to be, easier than to merit their 
 approbation. Meanly ambitious of public trust,without the virtues 
 to deserve it : intent on personal distinction, and having foj'gotten 
 the ends for which alone itis worth possessing, the miserable being 
 concentered all in self, learns to pander to every vulgar prejudice, 
 to advocate every popular error, to chime in with every dominant 
 party, to fawn, flatter and deceive, and becomes a demagogue. 
 How wretched is that poor being who hangs on the people's favour! 
 All manliuess of principle has been lost in this long course of 
 meanness ; he dai-e not use his temporary popularity for any pur- 
 poses of public good, in which there may be a hazard of forfeiting 
 it; and the very eminence to which he is exalted, renders but 
 more conspicuous his servility and degradation. However clear the 
 convictions of his judgment, however strong the admonitions of his, 
 as yet, not thoroughly stifled conscience, not these, not the law of 
 God, nor the lule of right, nor the public good — but the caprice of 
 his constituents, must be his only guide. Having risen by artiiice, 
 and conscious of no worth to support him, he is in hourly dread of 
 being supplanted in the favour of the deluded multitude by some 
 more cuuning deceiver. And such, sooner or later, is .sure to be 
 his fate. At some unlucky moment, when he bears his blushing , 
 honours tliick upon !iim, (and well may such honours blush!) he is 
 jirked from his elevation by some more dexterous demagogue.', and 
 falls unpilied, never to rise again. And can this be the lot of liim v/ho 
 has been hei-e trained to admire and love high-minded excellence — 
 who has been taught by high classical authority to regard na ith the | 
 same fearless and immovable indifference, the stern countenance of ' 
 the tyrant aid the wicked ardour of the multitude, and who lias learn- 
 ed from a yet higher and holier authority, to hold fast on '* whatso- 
 ever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
 things are just, whatsoever things are pure, to abhor that, which ; 
 is evil and cleave to that which is good ?" Believe me, however, 
 this is no fancy picture. The original may be found in the world 
 every day. Nor will it sui-prize those who liave had occasion to 
 
11 
 
 h;cc how the vain heart is swoln, and ilic giddy head turned, ho%v 
 honesty oCpiii-pose and manliness of spirit, are perAerte<i hy popu- 
 lar applause. It is but the first step tliat costs. Oiue yield to 
 the suggestion, that a little deceit or prevarication, a sligiit sacri- 
 fice of principle and independence, a compromise of conscience in 
 matters not absolutely fundamental, may be excused, when the 
 immediate gain is obvious and the end in view important, and 
 the downward path becomes every day more and more smooth, 
 until, in its descent, it reach the very abyss of vulgar, trading, 
 intriguing, electioneering, office-hunting politicians. If in this 
 lowest deptli, a lower deep can be found, noiie of us, I am sure, 
 have the curiosity to explore it. 
 
 But is Integrity sure to meet here its merited I'cward ? Unques- 
 tioirably not. If it were, and the fact generally known, there 
 would scarcely be room for choice, and men would be honest from 
 the wasit of a ])lausible temptation to be othervv ise. But it is not 
 too much to say, that, in general. Integrity lias a tendency to pro- 
 mote the interest of him who pursues it. and it is therefore recom- 
 mended to our adoption by pi'udence, not less than by principle. 
 Success in the acquisition of any extrinsic object is necessarily 
 uncertain, since it depends on contingencies which cannot be fore- 
 seen, and which if foreseen, are frequently beyond our power. It 
 is not in mortals to command success. No talcitt, no courage, no 
 industry, and no address, can be certain to effect it. But wiien 
 it is attempted by cunning, disingenuous means, it is usually ren- 
 dered more difficult of attainment, because of the complexity of the 
 scheme, and the risk of detection and counteraction. Honesty, in 
 the long run, is therefore the surer policy. It is impossible to 
 thrive without the reputation of it, and it is far easier to be honest 
 indeed, than to cheat the world into the belief of integrity, where 
 it is not. The crooked sti'atagems, the arts, toils, concealments 
 and self-denials, which are necessary to cari'y on a successful 
 imposition, are far more onerous and painful, than :ill the duties 
 which a life of probity enjoins ; while the consciousness of an up- 
 riglit deportment, diifuses through the whole man, that security 
 and serenity which infinitely outweigh all the advantages of suc- 
 cessful cunning. Nor in recommending a spirit of Independence, 
 is it intended to proscribe the acceptance of friendly aid, freely 
 tendered, and won by no mean solicitation. Children of the same 
 common family, we are bound to help each other in the trials and 
 difficulties of our common pilgrimage, nor should we ever be too 
 proud to receive from others that assistance, which it is our duty 
 to render to them. Now such aid, is not only more likely to be be- 
 stowed, but comes with far greater effect, when there has been a 
 manly and sustained effort to do without it. The spindling plant 
 
12 
 
 whicl) lias always been supported by a prop, is not only nnable to 
 st^nd p|:>;)P. but can scarcely be sustained by props when the sea- 
 son of fruit arrives ; whereas, the slightest assistance then be- 
 stowed on the hardy tree, that self sustained has always braved 
 the breeze, will enable it to bear up under the heaviest and rich- 
 est burthen. He who trusts to others, must necessarily be often 
 disappointed, and the habit of dependence creates a helplessness 
 which is almost incapable of exertion. Fancy dwells on expected 
 aid, until it mistakes its own creations for realities, and the child 
 of illusion wastes life in miserable day-dreams, unable to act for 
 himself, and confidently relying on assistance which he is destined 
 never to receive. 
 
 Deeply rooted principles of probity, confirmed liabits of indus- 
 tjy. an<l a determination to rely on one's own exertion, constitute 
 then tlie great preparation for the discharge of the duties of man, 
 and the best security for performing them with honoi" to one's self 
 and benefit to others. But it may be asked, what is there in sucli 
 a life of never ending toil, effort and privation, to recommend it to 
 the acceptance of the young and the gay ? Tiiosc who aspire to 
 hei'oic renown, may indeed make up their minds to embrace these 
 *' hard doctrines :" but it miiy be well questioned, whether happi- 
 ness is not preferable to greatnt?ss. and enjoyment more desirable 
 than distinction. Let others, if tlicy v> ill. toil up ' tl;e steep where 
 Fnme's proud temple shines afar," we choose j'ather to sport in 
 luxurious ease and careless glee in the valley below. It is, in- 
 deed, on those wlio aspire to eminence, that these injunctions are 
 intended to be pressed with the greatest emphasis, not only because 
 a faihire in them would be more disastrous than in others, but be- 
 cause they are exposed to greater and ujore numei'ous dangers of 
 error. But it is a sad mistake to suppose that they are not suited 
 to all, and are not earnestly urged upon all. however humble their 
 pretensions or moderate their views. Happiness, as well as great- 
 ness ejijoyment as well as renown, have no friends so sure as In- 
 tegrity, Diligence and Independence. We are not placed here to 
 waste our days in wanton riot or inglorious ease, with appetites 
 perpetually gratified and never palled, exempted from all care and 
 solicitude, with life ever fresh, and joys ever new. He who has 
 fitted us for our condition, and assigned to us its appropriate du- 
 ties, has not left his woi'k unfinished, and omitted to provide a 
 penalty for the neglect of our obligations. Labour is not more 
 the duty, tjjan the blessing of man. Without it, there is neither 
 mental nor physical vigour, health, cheerfulness nor animation ; 
 neithei- the eagerness of hope, nor tlie capacity to enjoy. Every 
 human being must have some object to eng.ige his attention, excite 
 liis wislies, and rouse him to action, or he sinks, aprey toJistless- 
 
18 
 
 iiess. For want of proper ocnipations, sec streniioiis idleness re- 
 sorting to ;! tlioiisaiul exjic'leiits — the racc-r'>iiise, the hottle or 
 tlie gaming-table, the frivolities of fashion, the dehasemeiits of sen- 
 suality, the petty contentions of envy, the gi'ovelling pnrscits of 
 avarice, and all the various distracting agitations of vice. Call 
 you these enjoyments ? Is such the happiness which it is so dread- 
 ful to forego r 
 
 " Vast happiness enjoy tli}' gay allies ! 
 
 " A jouth of follies, an old ag'e of cares, 
 
 " Young yet enervate, old yet never wise ; 
 
 " Vice wastes their vigor and their mirid iinpairs. 
 
 '* Vain, idle, dissolute, in thoughtless ease, 
 
 " Keserving woes for age, their prime they spend ; 
 
 " All wretched, iiopeless to the evil days, 
 
 " With sorrow to tlie verge of life they tend ; 
 
 " Grieved with the present, of the past ashamed ; 
 
 " They live and are despised, th.ey die, no more are named." 
 
 {f to every bounty of Providence there be annexed, as assuredly 
 there is, some obligation as a condition for its enjoyment ; on us, 
 blest as we Iiave been, and as we novv arc. witii tlic choicest gifts of 
 Heaven here below — with freedom, peace, order, civilization and 
 social virtue — then are unquestionably imposed weighty olliga- 
 tions. You whom I now address, will, in a few years, be aniimg 
 the men (tf the succeeding age. In a country like ours, where the 
 public will is wliolly unfettered, and every man is a comp');ient 
 part of that countiy, tliere is no individual so humble who !ias not 
 duties of a public kinci to discharge. His vicMs and actions have 
 an influence on tiio.se of others, and his opinions, witli theirs, serve 
 to make up that public will. More especially is this thccaj^e witli 
 (hose who, whatever may be their purtiuits in life, have been raised 
 by education to a comparative superiority in intellectual vigor and 
 attainments. On you. and such as you, depends the fate of the 
 aiost precious heritage eYcv \^ on by the valor, or preserved by the 
 prudence, or consecrated by the virtue of an illustrious ancestry — 
 lillustrious. not because of factitious titles, but nature's riobles, 
 wise, good, generous and brave! To you, and such as you, will 
 ic connded iti deposit, thein.stitutionsof our renowned and beloved 
 country. Receive them with awe. clicrish them with loyalty, and 
 Tansmit them whole, and if possible, improved to y^ur children. 
 Tours will, indeed, be no sinecui'c ofiice. As the public will is the 
 operative spring of all j)ublic action, it will be your duty to make 
 md to keep the public will enlightene«l. Tiierc will always be some 
 'rror to dispel, some ])reju;iice to correct, some illusion to guard 
 igainst, some imposition to detect and exp(Kse. In aid of tliese in- 
 liviUual efforts, yon must provide, hy public institutions, for dif- 
 
14 
 
 Ijising among the ].)eople, that general information without which 
 they cannot be protected from the machinations of deceivers. As your 
 country grows in years, you must also cause it to grow in science, 
 literature, arts and refinement. It will be for you to develope 
 and multiply its resources, to check the faults of manners as they 
 rise, and to advance the cause of industry, temperance, moderation, 
 justice, morals and religion, all around you. On you too, will de- 
 volve the duty which has been too long neglected, but which can- 
 not with impunity be neglected mucli longer, of providing for the 
 mitigation, and (is it too much to hopefor in North-Carolina?) for 
 the ultimate extirpation of the worst evil that afflicts the Southern 
 part of our Confederacy. Full well do you know to what I refer, 
 for on this subject there is, with all of us, a morbid sensitiveness 
 which gives warning even of an approacli to it. Disguise the truth 
 as we may, and throw the blame whei-e we will, it is Slavery 
 which, more than any other cause, keeps us back in the career of 
 improvement. It stifles industry and rej)resses enterprize — it is 
 fatal to economy and providence — it discourages skill — impairs our 
 strength as a community, and poisons morals at the fountain head. 
 How this evil is to be encountered, how subdued, is indeed a diffi- 
 cult and delicate enquiry, which this is not the time to examine, 
 nor the occasion to discuss. I felt, however, that I could not dis- 
 charge my duty, without referring to this subject, as one which 
 ought to engage the prudence, moderation and firmness of those 
 "who, sooner or later, must act decisively upon it. 
 
 I would not depress your buoyant spirits with gloomy anticipa- 
 tions, but I should be wanting in frankness, if 1 did not state my 
 conviction that you will be called to the performance of other duties 
 unusually grave and important. Perils surround you and are im- 
 minent, which will require clear heads, pure intentions, and stout 
 hearts, to discern and to overcome. There is no side on which 
 danger may not make its approach, but from the wickedness and 
 madness of factions, it is most menacing. Time' was, indeed, 
 when factions contended amongst us with virulence and fury ; but 
 they were, or affected to be, at issue on questions of principle: now, 
 Americans band together under the names of men, and wear the 
 livery, and put on the badges of their leaders. Then, the indivi- 
 duals of the different pai'ties were found side by side, dispersed 
 throughout the various districts of our confederated Republic; but 
 now, the parties that distract the land, are almost identified with 
 our geographical distinctions. Now, there has come that period, 
 foreseen and dreaded by our Washington, by him " who, more 
 than any other individual, founde i this our wide-spreading Em- 
 pire; and gave to our western wori.l independence and fj-eedom" — 
 by ])im, who with a father's warning-voice, bade us beware of 
 
15 
 
 *• parties founikd OH geographical discriminatioHS." As yet, tlie 
 sentiment so deeply planted in tiie hearts of our honest yeomanry, 
 that union is strength, has not been uprooted. As yet, they ac- 
 knowledge the tiuth, and feel the force of the liomely, but excellent 
 aphorism, •' United we stand, divided we fall." As yet, they take 
 pride in the name of '< the United States" — in recollection of the 
 fields that were won, the blood which was poured forth, and the 
 glory which was gained in the common cause, and under the rom- 
 mon banner of a united country. May God, in his mercy, forbid 
 •that I, or you, ray friends, should live to see the day, when these 
 sentiments and feelings shall be extinct ! Whenever tliat day comes, 
 then is the hour at hand, when this glorious Republic, this at onc« 
 national and confederated Republic, which for nearly half a cen- 
 tury has presented to tiie eyes, the hopes and the gratitude of man, 
 a more brilliant and lovely image than Plato, or ;More,or Harrington, 
 ever feigned or fancied, shall belike a tale that is told, like a vision 
 that hath passed away. Butthesesentiments and feelings are neces- 
 sarily weakened, and in the end must be destroyed, unless the mode- 
 rate, the good and the wise united, " frow n indignantly upon the first 
 itlawnings of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country 
 from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred tics which now link together 
 its various parts." Threats of resistance, secession, separation — 
 have become common as household words, in the wicked and silly 
 violence of public declaimers. The public ear is familiarized, amL 
 the public mind will soon be accustomed, to the detestable sugges- 
 tion of Disu\"iox! Calculations and conjectures, what may the 
 East do without the South, and what may the South do without 
 the East, sneers, menaces, reproaches, and recriminations, all 
 ix?nd to the same fatal end! What can the East do without the 
 South? What can the South do without the East? They may do 
 much ; they may exhibit to the curiosity of political anatomists, 
 md the pity and wonder of the world, the ^'disjecta membra.''* the 
 Hindered bleeding limbs of a once gigantic body instinct with life 
 md strength and vigor. They can furnish to the philosophic his- 
 :orian, another melancholy and striking instance of the political 
 ixioui, that al! Republican confederacies have an inherent and una- 
 voidable tendency to dissolution. They will present fields and 
 >ccasions for border wars, for leagues and counter-leagues, for the 
 intrigues of petty statesmen, the struggles of militai-y chiefs, for 
 ■onfiscations, insurrections, and deeds of darkest hue. They will 
 gladden the hearts of those who have proclaimed, that men are not 
 it to govern themselves, and shed a aisastrous eclipse on the hopes 
 if )*ational freedom throughout the world. Solon, in his Code, 
 iroposed no punishment foi' parricide, treating it as an impossible 
 rime. Sucii, with us, ouglit to be the crime of political parricide 
 
-*-the dismemberment of our " rather-Iand." ^^Carisuntparcntes^ carl 
 sun! liberie propiuqiii, familiarcs, seel oinnes omnium curitates patria una ; 
 complexa est ; pro qua quis bonus dubitet mortem appdere si ei sit profufu- \ 
 rus .^ ^uo est detestabilior istorum imnianitas qui lacerarimt scelere pa- j 
 triam, et in eafunditus delenda Qccupali et sunt et J uerunt.^^ \ 
 
 If it must be so, let pariies and pai ty men continue to quarrel with | 
 litde or no regard to the public giKid. Tliej may mystify themselves | 
 and others with diS[jutations on jjolitical economy, proving the most j 
 opposite doctrines to their own sati-ractiun, and ptriiaps, to the con- \ 
 viciion of no one eise on t-arth. They may deserve reprobation tor i 
 thc;r •eifishness, their violence, the.r errors, or their wickedness. : 
 Tiiey muy do our country mucn liarm. Tliey may retard its growth, , 
 destroy its harmony, impair us character, render its institutions un- ' 
 stab!H, pei-vert the public mind, and deprave the public morals. These ' 
 are, indeed, evils, and soie evils, but the principle of life remains, 
 and will yet struggle with asiureil .success, over tiiese temporary ma- 
 ladies. Still we aie great, i;,iorious, united and free j slih we have a 
 name that is revered abroad and loveti at nome — a name whicli is a 
 tower of strengtii to us against loreign wrong, and a bond ol inierual 
 union and harmony — a. name, wiiicn no enemy pronounces but with 
 respect, and whicii no ciiizen hear^, but witu a throb of exuliatioD. 
 Still we have ihal blessed Constitution, which, with all its pretended 
 defects, and ail its alleged viulatio;.s, has conferred more benefit on 
 man, than ever yet flowed fioin any other human institution — which 
 ha-i esabiished justice, insured domestic tranquillity, provided tor the 
 commoi defence, promoted the general weilare, and which, under j 
 God, if we be true to ourseivis, will insure the blessings of Liberty 
 to us and our posterity. 
 
 Surely, such a Country, and such a Constitution, have claims upon 
 \ou, my friends, which cannot b .ii'Megarded. I entreat and adjure 
 vou then, by all tnat is near and dear to you on eartn, by all the ob- 
 ligations of Patriotism, by the memory of your latiiers, wno fell in the 
 great and glorious struggle, for tiie sake of your sons whom you would 
 not have to blush for your degeneracy, by all your proud recollections 
 of the past, and all your fond aniicpatio.is «i the future renown of; 
 our nation — preserve ciat Country, uphold .hat Consutution. liesolve» 
 that they shall not be lost wlule in youi keeping, and may God AI-' 
 mighty strengthen you to peiform that vow! 
 
 Ct li^jitr ;'* , 
 
 -o