ments; for instance, in looking through history, he may observe the rise, decline, and fall of the papal power, and he should observe what events, but more especially what conduct of persons in power, or of combinations of party, has tended to secure or endanger the interests of that church. From this study of history he may be enabled to form a judgment of what conduct ought to be pursued in our own times, and by our own clergy, for the security and advantage of religion and our establishments. He will ascertain the just medium between mild and candid toleration, and weak or rash concessions to the spirit of innovation and insubordination. Having calmly formed his principles from these comprehensive views, when he enters the world he will not be carried away by any wind of party doctrine, but will steadily pursue that course, which he knows will attain his end; he will not perhaps immediately satisfy the zeal of partisans, but by temperate, judicious conduct, he will support in the best manner the true interests of religion. In whatever station of life a clergyman may be placed, he may do much good by such conduct; but the higher he rises in the church, the more his power is enlarged, and the more his knowledge will be useful to the world. Though every man cannot expect to be a bishop, yet every clergyman of merit and learning has more than a chance of preferment. Those who from their birth, fortune, connexions, or talents, have immediate prospects of rising to be dignitaries of the church, are peculiarly called upon to prepare themselves by the acquisition of knowledge for the exercise of ecclesiastical and political power.

The student is now arrived at the awful period, when he is

to enter into holy orders; an awful period it is here called, not from the habit of joining an appropriate epithet with a substantive, but from the sincere belief, that it must be an awful period to every man of conscience and reflexion. It is now that he is to decide, what no human being can or ought to decide for him, whether he have such a full knowledge of what he is to teach, such a conformity of opinion with the doctrines of the established church, and such moral principles and habits, as dispose and qualify him to be a minister of the Gospel. This self-examination it is his bounden duty, as a Christian, and as an honest man, even in the worldly sense of the phrase, to make, before he presents himself for the approbation of any ecclesiastical authority; before he engages to perform the duties, or becomes a candidate for any of the emoluments of the church.

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CHAPTER III.

ON MILITARY AND NAVAL EDUCATION.

COURAGE is the cardinal virtue of a soldier or a sailor; therefore it should be cultivated with the utmost care from the earliest years of life in all, who are destined for the military or naval profession. Courage, considered as a permanent principle of action, is not a natural virtue; on the contrary, it is artificially produced in opposition to some of the strongest feelings of our nature. Every human being is naturally averse to pain, and consequently anxious to avoid danger. It is only by the motive of greater pain, or by the superior excitement of appetite, or hope, or habit, that we are induced to conquer this original cowardice. Every man," as it has been said, “would "be a coward if he durst;" that is, if the fear of disgrace did not overbalance the fear of death. A virtue, which is thus formed in spite of our nature, requires to be sedulously supported by the combination of every possible motive, that education, discipline, and institution can provide. Upon the stage, it is fit to speak of courage in another style, as an inborn virtue by which the hero is distinguished from vulgar mortals. A hero on the stage, or in romance, must never know what fear is; but in real life such a being is not easily to

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be found. When some one attempted to compliment the Earl of Peterborough, by telling him, that " he feared nothing," that truly brave man replied, "Show me a certain danger, " and I shall be as much afraid as any one"." The chance of escape, the fear of disgrace, the hope of success, the desire of obtaining reputation, all combine to excite courage; it is fortified and increased by the recollection of past escapes, of success from exertions of mind or body, and by familiarity with danger. All the assistance, that can be derived from eloquence, from public opinion, from the influence of the fair sex, from the distinctions of ranks, and the ideas of honour and patriotism, must combine to support the martial spirit, among civilized and luxurious nations, whose courage is not instigated by the appetites and passions, which hurry savages to battle. The passion of revenge is in itself a host, with which none can be compared in strength. Among the puny passions of civilized society; not one can be named, that has been found equally capable of inspiring desperate valour. The complex motives of honour and ambition are indeed superior, and able to produce more permanent, and far nobler exertions. But it should never be forgotten, that the more mankind are instructed, and the more they are taught to taste the refined pleasures of society, the more value they set upon life, and the more difficult it is to sustain that heroism, which requires its voluntary sacrifice.

Since it is more easy to communicate enthusiasm to numbers, than to raise it separately in the minds of individuals,

* See an excellent essay on the martial character of nations.

b A similar anecdote is related of Lord Howe.

and since sympathy, example, and emulation have all powerful influence in exciting the virtue of courage, it is obvious, that a public education will be most advantageous for military and naval youth. Early domestic education must, however, in this, as in all other professions, prepare the pupils for public instruction and discipline.

"Give me but strong men," said Pyrrhus, "them brave."

"I will make

Strength and health are the first indispensable requisites for a military profession: every other qualification may be acquired, but vigour of body is a gift of nature, which cannot be supplied by art. No consideration therefore should induce a parent to breed up an unhealthy child for the army or navy. If a young man of a delicate constitution should, by perverse accidents, acquire a taste for a military life, and should, when he has arrived at years of maturity, persist in making it his choice, his parents will not have to reproach themselves for what may happen: but no kind or prudent father will prepare for himself the dreadful regret, which must be the consequence of exposing a son to hardships too great for his natural constitution.

Let his

Let him

A boy who is to be brought up for a military life must from his cradle be enured to the vicissitudes of the seasons. head be accustomed to the sun, his feet to the snow. be habituated to variety of clothing. Let his hours of sleeping and waking be frequently varied. Give him the useful power of sleeping in the day-time whenever he is tired, and of wak