such case, one or the other party must yield, to avoid the greatest of all evils in such a society,-continual dissension, -the duty of yielding devolves upon the wife. And it is to be remembered, that the act of submission is, in every respect, as dignified and as lovely as the act of authority; nay, more, it involves an element of virtue which does not belong to the other. It supposes neither superior excellence nor superior mind in the party which governs; but merely an official relation, held for the mutual good of both parties and of their children. The teaching of Scripture on this subject is explicit; see 1 Peter iii, I—7: “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may, without the word, be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation united with respect. Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, and of putting on of apparel; but let it be the inward disposition of the mind, which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, in the sight of God, of great price. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, as with the weaker party; rendering respect to them, as heirs with you of the grace of life." That is, if 1 understand the passage, conduct towards them, as knowing that they are weak; that is, needing support and protection; and, at the same time, rendering them all that respect which is due to those who are, as much as yourselves, heirs to a blessed immortality. A more beautiful exhibition of the duties of the marriage relation cannot be imagined.

I shall close this chapter with the following well known extract from a poet, whose purity of character and exquisite sensibility have done more than any other in our language, to clothe virtue in her own native attractiveness:

Domestic happiness, thou only bliss

Of Paradise, that has survived the fall!
Though few now taste thee unimpaired and pure,
Or, tasting, long enjoy thee! too infirm,
Or too incautious, to preserve thy sweets
Unmixed with drops of bitter, which neglect
Or temper sheds into thy crystal cup:
Thou art the nurse of virtue; in thine arms

She smiles, appearing, as in truth she is, Heaven-born, and destined to the skies again. Thou art not known where pleasure is adored,That reeling goddess, with her zoneless waist And wandering eyes, still leaning on the arm Of novelty, her fickle, frail support;

For thou art meek and constant, hating change; And finding in the calm of truth-tried love, Joys which her stormy rapture never yields. Forsaking thee, what shipwreck have we seen, Of honor, dignity, and fair renown!

'Till prostitution elbows us aside In all our crowded streets.

Task.

CHAPTER THIRD.

THE LAW OF PARENTS

THE adaptation of the physical and moral laws under which man is placed, to the promotion of human happiness, is beautifully illustrated in the relation which exists between the law of marriage and the law of parent and child. Were the physical or moral conditions of marriage different in any respect from those which exist, the evils which would ensue would be innumerable. And, on the contrary, by accurately observing these conditions, we shall see that they not only contain a provision for the well-being of successive generations, but also establish a tendency to indefinite social progress.

For instance, we see that mankind are incapable of sustaining the relation of parent until they have arrived at the age of maturity, attained to considerable knowledge and experience, and become capable of such labor as will enable them to support and protect their offspring. Were this otherwise, were children liable to become parentsparent and child growing up together in physical and intellectual imbecility-the progress of man in virtue and knowledge would be impossible, even if the whole race did not perish from want and disease.

Again, the parent is endowed with a love of his offspring, which rer ders it a pleasure to him to contribute to its wel. fare, and to give it, by every means in his power, the benefit of his own experience. And, on the contrary, there is in the child, if not a correspondent love of the parent, a disposition to submit to the parent's wishes, and to yield (unless its instincts have been mismanaged) to his authority. Were either of these dispositions wanting, it is evident that the whole social system would be disarranged, and incalcu lable misery entailed upon our race.

Again, it is evident that civil society is constituted by the surrender of the individual's personal desires and propensities to the good of the whole. It of course involves the necessity of self-restraint—that is, of habitual self-government. Now, in this point of view, the domestic society s designed to be, as has been frequently remarked, the nursery for the state.

Thus, the parent being of an age and having experience sufficient to control and direct the child, and being instinc tively impelled to exert this control for the child's benefit; and the child being instinctively disposed to yield to his authority, when judiciously exerted; the child grows up under a system in which he yields to the will of another, and thus he learns at home to submit to the laws of the society of which he is soon to become a member. And hence it is that the relaxation of parental authority has always been found one of the surest indications of the de cline of social order, and the unfailing precursor of public turbulence and anarchy.

But still more, it is a common remark, that children are influenced by example more readily than by any other means. Now, by the marriage constitution, this principle of human nature is employed as an instrument of the greatest possible good. We stated that the basis of the marriage covenant is affection, and that it supposes each party to prefer the happiness of the other to its own. While the domestic society is governed by this principle, it presents to the children a continual example of disinterestedness and self-denial, and of the happiness which results from the exercise of these virtues. And yet more, the affection of the parents prompts them to the exercise of the same virtues in behalf of their children; and, hence, the latter have before their eyes a constantly operating motive to the cultivation of ti ese very dispositions. And, lastly, as the duty of the wife is submission, children are thus taught, by the example of one whom they respect and love, that submission is both graceful and dignified; and that it in no manner involves the idea of baseness or servility.

1. From these considerations, we learn the relation which exists, by nature, between parents and children.

It

is the relation of a superior to an inferior. The right of the parent is to command; the duty of the child is to obey Authority belongs to the one, submission to the other. This relation is a part of our constitution, and the obligation wnich arises from it is, accordingly, a part of our duty. It is not a mere matter of convenience or of expediency, but it belongs to the relations under which we are created; and to the violation of it, our Creator has affixed peculiar and afflicting penalties.

2. While this is the relation, yet the motive which should govern the obligation, on both sides, is affection. While the authority to command rests with the parent, and the duty of submission is imposed upon the child, yet the parent is not at liberty to exercise this authority from caprice, or from love of power, or for his own advantage, but from simple love to the child, and for the child's advantage The constitution under which we are placed, renders it necessary that the parent should exercise this power; but that parent abuses it, that is, he uses it for purposes for which it was not conferred, if he exercise it from any other motive than duty to God, and love to his offspring.

3. This relation being established by our Creator, and the obligations consequent upon it being binding upon both parties, the failure in one party does not annihilate the obligations of the other. If a child be disobedient, the parent is still under obligation to act towards it for its own good, and not to exert his authority for any other purpose. If a parent be unreasonable, this does not release the child; he is still bound to honor, and obey, and reverence his parent. The duty of parents is, then, generally, to educate, or to bring up, their children in such a manner as they believe will be most for their future happiness, both temporal and eternal.

This comprehends several particulars :

I. SUPPORT, OR MAINTENANCE.

That it is the duty of the parents to keep alive the help less being whom they have brought into existence, need no be provea. As to the expensiveness of this maintenance, I do not know that any thing very definite can be asserted. The general rule would seem to be, that the mode of he