Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1822-03-26


in operation in civilized society in mo.
dern times, the public ear would never
have been tuned BY the versihcaiion O
Pope; no intellectual relish would have
been produced by the elegant essays o
Addison; the stanzas Of Watts had never
been sung in Christian congre cations
nor had families been instructed by tht
exposilions of the Evangelical Dodg.
ridge The models of national educa
Ition to which we allude, were at variance
with the native powers of the mind
They were adapted to keep society in I
condition perpelually stationary !; they
deforned The system of morals, by max
ing The lore Of country the predominant
I and almost the only virtue. They call.
ed into constant exercise the harshes
passions, and totally shut out the softer
sex from that high improvement, O
ssilich their faculties are SO exquisitely
capable. ,.-.-.@.s
The prener, the natural instructors O
children, arc parents. On the birth o.
an infant, the Creator may be considered
as addressing the father or mother IL
the language Of the daughter o. Pharaoh
/" Take this child, and nurse it for ne
and | will give thee thy wages" Re-
ilgion, not less than nature, enloins on
ip9renis to seek the happiness OF their
offspring, ofwhose involuntary existence
they have been the occasion. AT the
same time, to use the language Of DIR.
Smith, :. VIC may, perhaps, lay 1t dowe
as general rule, that whatever unne-
cossarily opposes the happiness of a
child is not within tha rights ct parent
70 afford it. Il needs counsellor, a
protector, one that will administer con-
solution in the hour Of attlction; and di-
rect lis eye to the wisdom of father,
and to another's sensihiiily and tender
ness. Natural affection, indeed, SO much
engages itself in the future welfare of
children, that enlightened Legislators
have been content to leave the Instruction
of youth exclusively TO parental arrange
ment That the education OF their Off
spring properly belonged to parents
themselves, was sentim ent generally
admitted in Rome especially during the
Aagustan age. The gratitude Of Horace
for the care of his father is sueieicntiy
known; and the solici:ude CT the parent
of Cicero was, in the orator, again dis
played in relation 10 bis beloved Marcus.
tits apart from our design 70 insis, on
whathas bcendcnominatcd physical edu-
6atien. The intimate roaa=sion- % the
body and mind, will suggest 10 every Ju-
dicious governef of youth The necessity
Of course that shall best insure Grmness
of constitution. Cleanliness of person,
and exposure 10 free and wholesome air,
the exclusion OF feathers and down from
the dormitory, muscular and manly exer-
Csc, plain and salubrious food are con-
siderations to which parenta! concern
cannot too early be directed. Sinlplici-
ty of dress may be preserved, without
following the advice of Mr.. Locke, to
have the shoes of boy SO Thin that they
might leak and let in syater whenever he
comes near ii; and cheettulness ofspirits
excited, without copying the example OF
the father Of Montague, who, in morn
ing always awake his son by the sound
Of music. 80
Milton, in his treatise on Education,
well observes, that "the end of learning
is TO repair the ruins of our first parents,
by regaining to know God Alright, and
out of that knowledge to love Him, to
initiate Him, to be like Him." If the
sepulchre were the ultimate term of hu-
man existence, the range of instruction
nigh, properly be limited to " the things
which are seen and are temporal:" but
man will retain the full exercise of his
powers when the pillars of creation shall
have fallen. The present is the mere
title-page Of his being. Possessing ia
culiies imperishableas the throne Of God,
he shall expatiate through the scenes of
eternity, associated with intelligences OF
a moral mould resembling his own, un-
der consciousness of the smiles or dis
pleasure of his Maker and Judge. An
arts, once said, :" paint for eternity"
Whatblessings, may we not expect, shall
descend upon our species, when every
parent, when every preceptor, educates
for eternity! Though an instructor be
convinced Of his incapacity to remove the
spiritual diseases incurred by the apos-
stacy, he can, at least, bring his children
to the pool Of healing. He can incul-
cate, early, the idea of the being Of a
God, and that this God is the Creator Of
all things-a truth that the philosophy
of Greeks and Romans never knew. He
can teach him the Importance and beau
ty Of sincerity and truth, of justice and
temperance, Of diligence and modes,y.
He can recommend charity to the afAict-