view, in order that she may avoid, as far as possible, those unfortunate days termed " holydays;" days generally the most wearisome to infancy, the most productive of little vexations and sorrows, and ever followed by a loss of the energy of industry. There must be action, or there cannot be peace let then the holyday be a day of change of active duty, of more interesting employment and pursuit, but let it still be a day of

action.

:

The spirit of idleness is encouraged, particularly in eastern countries, by the doctrine of fatalism; a doctrine upon which industry cannot be engrafted; exertion withers, and fruitfulness is impossible. There are also those who have perverted the doctrine of Providence, and the promises of the Most High to his faithful followers, so as to make them careless of the future. But this is a perversion of the truth; and a reliance upon Providence is feeble and groundless, if it be employed as a motive to indolence; or as an excuse for the want of perseverance; or as a reason for the diminution of exertion; for however delightful it may be to repose with confidence upon the unchanging goodness of Jehovah, it will be of no avail beyond the mere sensitive enjoyment, to him who does not strive and contend for the goods of nature, of intellect, and of grace, as if they might be procured by his own utmost exertions; for "if any would not work, neither should he eat;" (2 Thessalonians iii. 10;) the boons of Providence are not designed for the

VOL II.

BB

idle, and the ban of starvation is placed upon him.

Idleness leads to a criminal waste of time; of that invaluable talent, which we shall never duly estimate; but of which we shall regret every mispent hour, as we approach the close of life; and for one single moment of which we would hereafter give worlds of pleasurable enjoyment, should we then occupy the place of torment of the luxurious rich man. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."

Idleness is the fatal atmosphere in which intellect cannot breathe; it withers, becomes feeble, sinks and dies; the immortal soul is imprisoned by the merest wants of the animal; it grasps after futurity, and it is attempted to be satisfied with the more than emptiness of sensual desire, the entire exhaustion of that principle which should support its vitality, and the consequent overpowering weight of the medium which surrounds it. "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and lo! it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone-wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction." Proverbs xxiv. 30, 31, 32. So true is it, that by indolence the image of the Most High is exhibited in man, as overgrown

with vices and follies, and his understanding is crumbled away from the want of employment.

But again, idleness is opposed to happiness and success; for as pursuit is the great secret of peace, and the only road to acquisition and consideration is by industry; and the best means of obtaining influence is by persevering energy of character; and the only mode of fulfilling the great design of living, is by doing the will of God: so," the idle soul shall suffer hunger;" and "he becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand; while the hand of the diligent maketh rich;" and the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." Proverbs xix. 15, x. 4, xiii. 4.

The encouragement of this vice leads to dependence upon others, and renders man a slave to his passions, and the needy vassal of those who will contribute to their indulgence. A miserable penalty, the due meed of those who will deliberately prefer the most degraded villeinage; the meat and drink of worse than feudal power, to the freedom of conscious usefulness, to the activity of intellect, to the subjugation of desire, to the expansion of the heart, the enlargement of the feelings, the independence of industry, the conscious majesty of mind. "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule; but the slothful shall be under tribute." Proverbs xii. 24.

Indolence concentrates the views of the individual upon himself; he is too feeble, and too contracted to supply his own wants; and of course, has no heart to think of the necessities of

others; and thus is he left a monument of uselessness, and a misery to himself; for "the soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing." Proverbs xiii. 4.

Again, idleness leads to the indulgence of unreal fears, and produces an attention to little inconveniences, which should only serve as a stimulus to surmount difficulty, and to pass over the lesser trials of life; aye, the veriest trifles are magnified into momentous obstacles; the web of the gossamer will serve to deflect the indolent from his course; and the chirping of the grasshopper will be enough to destroy his firmness of purpose, to dissipate his resolution, and leave him a prey to idle fears, and pusillanimous inaction. "The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." "The slothful man saith, there is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.” Proverbs xx. 4, xxvi. 13.

The spirit of indolence leads to the indulgence of sleep; is an enemy to early rising; produces hebetude of the faculties; destroys the chance of improvement, and leaves the mind a waste, whose exclusive quality is, that it continually extends, and encroaches farther and farther upon the yet remaining resources of its border territory. “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep; so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man." Proverbs xxiv. 33, 34. "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and

thou shalt be satisfied with bread." Ibid. xx. 13. "As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth."

Lastly, indolence degrades the man in his own eyes, or it ministers to his conceit; for in the latter case," the sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason;" (Proverbs xxvi. 16;) while in the former, the curse and the consciousness of unprofitableness rest upon him, and the conviction of uselessness leads him to disesteem himself; vilifies the mind; conducts him to deceit, and leaves him to the absence of candour, and frankness, and rectitude of conduct. To all these evils, we have only to observe in conclusion, that every thing around us is constant action; not a pause is allowed; nothing stands still; nothing is happy without exertion; and surely with such lessons before their eyes, parents will studiously eradicate this destructive vice.

SECTION IV. On Prudence.

PRUDENCE is the faculty of foreseeing by the aid of reason, of moral tact, or of enlightened conscience, what is or is not favourable to our personal safety, or future hopes; and it is predo