ADDRESS.

THERE is a Classic, the best the world has ever seen, the noblest, that has ever honored and dignified the language of • mortals. If we look into its antiquity, we discover a title to our veneration, unrivaled in the history of Literature. If we have respect to its evidences, they are found in the testimony of miracle and prophecy; in the ministry of Man, of Nature and of Angels, yea even of "God, manifest in the flesh," of "God, blessed forever." If we consider its authenticity, no other pages have survived the lapse of time, that can be compared with it. If we examine its authority, for it speaks, as never man spake, we discover, that it came from Heaven, in vision and prophecy, under the sanction of Him, who is Creator of all things, and the Giver of every good and perfect gift. If we reflect on its truths, they are lovely and spotless, sublime and holy, as God himself, unchangeable as his nature, durable as his righteous dominion, and versatile as the moral condition of mankind. If we regard the value of its treasures, we must estimate them, not like the relics of classic Antiquity, by the perishable glory and beauty, virtue and happiness of this world, but by the enduring perfection and supreme felicity of an eternal kingdom. If we inquire, who are the men, that have recorded its truths, vindicated its rights, and illustrated the excellence of its scheme-from the depth of Ages and from the living world, from the populous continent and the isles of the Sea-comes forth the answer-the Patriarch and the Prophet, the Evangelist and the Martyr. If we look abroad through the world of men, the victims of folly or vice, the prey of cruelty, or injustice, and inquire what are its benefits, even in this temporal state, the great and the humble, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the learned and the ignorant reply, as with one voice, that humility and resignation, purity, order and peace, faith, hope, and charity, are its blessings upon Earth. And if, raising our eyes from Time to Eternity, from the world of mortals to the world of just men made perfect, from the visible creation, marvelous, beautiful and glorious as it is, to the invisible creation of Angels and Seraphs, from the footstool of God, to the

Throne of God himself, we ask, what are the blessings that flow from this single volume, let the question be answered by the pen of the Evangelist, the harp of the Prophet, and the records of the book of Life.

Such is the best of Classics the world has ever admired; such, the noblest that Man has ever adopted as a guide. And yet, incredible as it may seem, and to all but ourselves, it would be incredible, this best, this noblest Classic, is excluded from all our plans of education, with a watchfulness, a zeal, a perseverance, worthy of the enemies, but dishonorable to the friends of the Bible. Had the Infidel constructed the schemes of education, which prevail in Christian countries, we should not be surprised to find them, such as they are, for they exclude as much of scriptural elements, as even a politic Infidel could venture to omit; whilst they embrace as ample a share of the constituents of paganism and of the world, as an Infidel could dare to employ, with the hidden purpose of depraving the heart, corrupting the moral taste, and keeping Religion and the Scriptures constantly out of view. I know, that the good and the great, the wise and the learned, and not the Infidel, have been the founders, and are the supporters of these schemes. I know that even the Christian ministry, in every variety of virtue and knowledge, under all the vicissitudes of wealth and poverty, of glory and obscurity, have honored them with their sanction, and sustained them by their influence. But I also know, that the great and the good, the wise and the learned have had their follies and prejudices, their unreasonable attachments and pernicious aversions. I know that even the Christian ministry have defended the cause of error and superstition, of the bigot and the fanatic. I know that they have preached the crusade against the infidel and the heretic, that they have justified and acted their part, in the Auto da Fe, that, even among Protestants, they have objected to the scheme of Bible Societies, and to the mutual labors of different sects. I know that the great and the good, the wise and the learned, in the ministry and among the people, have vindicated the divine right of Kings and the doctrine of passive obedience, the necessity of an Established Church, and of orders of Nobility, the superiority of Monarchy and Aristocracy over Republican forms, the principle, that man is unfit for self-government, and the expediency of arming the civil magistrate with authority in matters of conscience. I know that they expelled the Huguenots from France, the

Jews from Spain, the Puritans from England, and the followers of Roger Williams from Massachusetts. I know, that even in our own Carolina, they denied to the French refugees the rights of fellow-subjects; that in 1778, they declared the Protestant to be the Established religion of the State; that within a few years, they resisted the claims of a Hebrew to a seat in the Legislature of North Carolina; and in Maryland, first among the Colonies in toleration, last among the States in intolerance, the Israelite, until within a few years, was condemned to political slavery.

All these things I know; for they are scattered over the pages of history and biography, they have insulted, degraded and afflicted mankind, they have dishonored even God himself. And when I look backward through the vista of nearly sixty centuries, and see the condition of Man, during the most of that time: and when I look abroad through the world as it is, and behold the ignorance and vice, that oppress the vast majority of our race, I cease to wonder at the inexorability of prejudice, and the unconquerable attachment to existing institutions. And, when I remember that the great and the good, the wise and the learned, advocated James the 2nd., and resisted the Revolution of 1688; that they justified the tyrannical measures of Charles the 1st. and sought in a thirty years' war the enslavement of Protestant Germany; that they condemned, even among ourselves, the cause of American Independence, and opposed in every form, the abolition of the Slave Trade by the British Parliament, still less do I wonder at the power of prejudice, and the despotism of ancient predilections. Truth has prevailed in many a battle against error; though shielded by authority and strengthened by superstition, decorated by taste and genius, and recommended by talents and learning. I despair not then, of a total revolution in systems of education; but the accomplishment of this, as of every other great and good work among men, must be the achievement of time and patience, of rational inquiry and enlightened perseverance, of a spirit of wisdom and moderation, equally removed from rashness and timidity, from the blindness of prejudice, and the spirit of wild innovation.

I speak to a Christian audience, in a land, adorned by Religion and Literature, by Philosophy and the Arts, and dignified by a sober-minded, rational liberty. In such an audience, the subject of education, even in a foreign land, would awaken a laudable curiosity; but when it concerns

their own children, it appeals to their highest sense of duty as Men, as Christians, as Patriots; and to their noblest affections, as Parents, Instructors, and Guardians. Let us then proceed to examine, deliberately and anxiously, the position, which I propose to establish, "that the Bible ought to be a prominent and never-ceasing part of all education, from the primary School to the University." This position is, I believe, adverse to the theory and practice of all existing institutions. I shall maintain it, however, with firmness; yet, I trust, not offensively or unkindly, but with delicacy and respect.

It seems to be required of me, by the nature of my subject, to investigate, in the first instance, the origin of that practice, which has excluded the Scriptures from schemes of education and then to consider what causes have led to the continuance of a system, irreconcilable with the great, the obvious duties of Christians. And if, in the prosecution of this inquiry, I should be laid under the necessity, as assuredly I must be, of expressing opinions, adverse to the practice of the clergy, as Guardians and Instructors of youth, I trust, that I may stand acquitted of any desire to depreciate the sanctity of their office, or the usefulness of their labors. From the first institution of Christianity, I regard them, as indispensable to the promulgation of the Gospel, the observance of Ecclesiastical rule, the administration of Sacraments, and the perpetuity of the Church. I regard them, as the advocates of virtue, the promoters of happiness, and the friends of education. Considered as a body, I esteem them a main pillar, in the temple of social order. What though they are inferior in dignity to Patriarchs, and Prophets, and Apostles; what though the cloven tongue of fire hath never rested on them, and no avenging flame hath ever, at their command, devoured the enemies of God; what though they speak not, in the twinkling of an eye, in the languages of every nation under heaven; what though the lame have not leaped up, nor the leper been cleansed, the blind hath not seen, nor the deaf heard, the sick have not been healed, and the dead have not arisen, at their bidding, yet is their office full of dignity and usefulness. To them, indeed, it hath not been given, to be called unto the ministry by the gracious words of Jesus; to be set apart for the work of Evangelists, by the miraculous voice of the Holy Spirit; nor to be stayed, as by the terrors of another Sinai, in a vision, fearful as that, which smote Paul with

blindness. But to them, it hath been granted, to bear consolation to the afflicted, to pour the light of truth on the darkened mind, to speak words of heavenly peace to the anxious inquirer, to win back the wanderer to the path of duty, and to constrain even the rebellious to cast themselves, contrite and broken-hearted, at the feet of a God of Love. How full then of majesty and beauty, of honor and usefulness is the Christian ministry! Who can look up to the great and the good in its ranks, but with reverence, admiration and gratitude?-Who can look down on the worst, that have prostituted its authority, degraded its dignity, and polluted its holiness, and yield to anger and contempt, rather than to pity and regret? Who can survey the Christian Ministry, in every age and country, and not acknowledge, amidst atrocities and vices, amidst ignorance, folly, and other imperfections, that debt of gratitude, which never has been, and never can be paid by mortals. With what spirit doth it then become me to speak of the Heralds of the Cross, of the Ambassadors of God to Man, of the servants of the Most High! Whatever then I may utter, in questioning the soundness of their judgment, or the consistency of their practice, will be spoken, assuredly, in respect, in sorrow, in surprise.

I proceed now to the inquiry, what may be the origin of this extraordinary character of Education, and to what may its continuance be ascribed? The former unquestionably, must be referred to the state of things in Catholic countries, before the Reformation; the latter in Protestant Nations, chiefly if not wholly, to the Christian Clergy. Let us trace the history of this origin and continuance.

All Christendom was once Catholic, and of course the whole scheme of education arose and subsisted, under the influence of the Romish church. For centuries, scarcely any but the clergy were educated, since the lamentable ignorance of the laity was one of the most hideous features of the dark ages. Hence, almost the only instructors were of the Clerical order, and education must of necessity have received its character from them. Universities and Collegies were Ecclesiastical, rather than Literary establishments. When education began to extend to the Laity, two causes prevented the adoption of the Scriptures into the System. The first was the principle, that the laity were prohibited from reading them; the second, that, as religion then lay buried under a mountain of monkish legends, and was dis