The Moral Instructor Vol 3

Excerpt from The Moral Instructor, Vol. 3: Or Culture of the Heart, Affections, and Intellect, While Learning to Read When we consider how much progress has been made of late, in sharpening and improving the intellect, while so very little has even been attempted, in our public schools, towards developing and exercising the moral sense, can we wonder at the strides our community have been taking towards utter depravation of morals? That every mail should bring new instances of breach of faith among all classes of our citizens? Is not a want of conscientious ness the true source of near] all our political and social evils? And is it not time t at some attempt should be made to arrest them? A clerical friend of mine lately remarked, that he had frequently serious doubts whether he and his brethren of the ministry could be acting right in expending so much time and exertion, in the way of religious instruction, with such small results. But how can the trifling amount of these results be a matter of surprise, when it is recollected, that one of the most important means of spreading religion is entirely neglected? God has commanded us to train up a child in the way he should go. Have we fulfilled that command? Are our children trained in the way they should go? What should we think of a farmer, who should sow his seeds upon hard, stony ground, without the slightest previous effort to soften and mellow it by plough or spade? Would it be rational to expect any return? And yet, is not this precise] the course we adopt respecting religious instruction? E take no pains to awaken and develop the consciences of our youth, and to excite them to action. They are never called on to look within, to judge between right and wrong. How can we wonder, then, that the seeds sown from the pulpit on this unprepared ground should fail to take root, and that, when the sun was up, they should be scorched, and wither away We do perform a part of our duty. We do provide religious instruction for the people. But we neglect an equally essential part, for the want of which what we do perform is rendered almost null, and of no effect. And yet we calmly wash our hands, and sa We are innocent of the blood of this people. W}; exclaim against the hardness of men's hearts, and com plain of the inefficiency of the preached gospel. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.