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

minant in the individual according to the development of his intellectual capacities, his moral feelings, his spiritual desires; and in proportion as these are regulated and governed by principle, enlightened by the Spirit of God, and submitted to the law of God: "a prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." Proverbs xxii. 3.

Prudence is not only a conservative virtue, which enables its possessor to avoid danger; but it is likewise that wisdom and discretion which endow him with the power of distinguishing what is the line of conduct to be adopted in circumstances of difficulty; whether of joy or sorrow, of hope or fear, of excitation or depression, according to the time, and place, and object in question, as well as according to the persons with whom we may stand connected, and their thoughts and feelings, together with their modes and habits of action; always yielding, where it is possible, things which are not important, disarming prejudice, conciliating feeling, yet remaining firm and unbending to the plain and positive requisitions of the holy law of God. It is knowledge which directs what is to be done, and what is to be avoided, and this forms the basis for action; but it is prudence which acquaints us how this knowledge is to be applied with the best effect, and instructs how to perform that which is before us duly and conveniently; how to choose a proper time for its accomplishment; and especially how to abstain from doing altogether, at an

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unfortunate or unpropitious period. Much mischief often results from the display of zeal in a good cause, which is not subjugated and tempered by prudence. Thus, then, wisdom must form the ground-work of the prudent character: "be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." It is well known that the serpent was considered as emblematical of prudence, and of that wisdom which assumes its name and attributes, when it becomes an active faculty. This is that "understanding heart," the great object of the wise man's prayer, in order that he might judge the people, and discern between good and evil." 1 Kings iii. 9. This is "that wisdom" which "excelleth folly as far as light excelleth darkness;" and of which it is said, that "the wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness." Ecclesiastes ii. 13, 14. The prudent man walketh in the light; his eyes are ever cast around him to discern the track upon which the rays of knowledge have shone; while thick darkness, the night of ignorance, the clouds of error, the mists of prejudice, the dim twilight of unassisted reason, the uncertain coruscations of wild enthusiasm, the storms of passion, and the alternating seasons of feeling, all serve still farther to bewilder the thoughtless wanderer who has left the path of wisdom, and who has forgotten to take oil with his lamp.

Prudence is not an innate faculty; witness the heedlessness of infancy; its proverbial want of

foresight; its quiet unconscious peace, in the midst of surrounding danger; its preference for the gratified wish of the moment to a future contingent good, however valuable; witness the constant evils to which it is exposed from carelessness, and the reiterated unfortunate trials which are necessary to teach wisdom, and enforce the value of prudence. It is seldom that a boon of any magnitude, as connected with this virtue, can be obtained, except by dearly bought experience; and parents should not therefore be anxious to preserve their children from the mischievous consequences of their heedlessness, since these are really the appointed means of leading them to think of wisdom, and to practise that foresight and care which are frequently not developed until irreparable injury may have resulted from their absence. "I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions." Proverbs viii. 12. The want of this faculty is destructive to life and comfort; not a day, and hardly an hour can be passed without its influence. Scarcely could we be preserved from the many calamities which threaten us on every side, but for the means of defence suggested by prudence. A thousand instances might be mentioned in which this virtue forms the appointed means of safety from imminent danger; and it is by the exercise of the faculty that man may be prompted to flee from the wrath to come; to escape from the dominion of sin, and be translated into the liberty