parts of one system, devised by Infinite Wisdom, to secure the temporal and eternal well being of mankind. The ministry do not labor alone for human good. The sage in his closet, the philosopher in his laboratory, the philanthropist in the public assembly, the author at his desk, the editor at the press, the judge in the court of justice, the professor in the halls of science, are all co-workers in the same great cause of human comfort, improvement, and happiness.

LECTURE VIII.

ON THE PROGRESS AND THE PROSPECTS OF SOCIETY.

THE last lecture was devoted to the investigation of the Moral Constitution of Man. That discussion led us to the conclusion that man's moral nature developes itself in the form of law, of public opinion, and religious institutions. These in turn react upon his individual character and his social condition, continually elevating them to higher degrees of purity and perfection. I spoke of religious institutions as springing out of man's moral nature, because it is man's moral nature alone which makes God known as the Lawgiver, the Judge, and Rewarder. By reason he is made known as the Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor. But these relations constitute too faint a tie to be the foundation of religious institutions. They say nothing of futurity, and were there no belief in

immortality, all religion would fall to the ground. It is only the feeling of responsibility created by man's moral nature, and the natural expectation of immortality, modified by the fear of punishment and the hope of reward, which keep alive religious investigation, sustain worship and public instruction, and thus give force and sanction to man's moral convictions.

Laws, public opinion, religion,-these are the means of human progress, the ultimate hope of man. As these improve, man will advance to higher degrees of perfection and happiness. If they are stationary, so will be the condition of the species. If they deteriorate, the hope of humanity is just so far eclipsed. We shall speak of them in their order, laws, public opinion, and religion.

It will not be necessary, I hope, to prove to such an audience as this, the immense influence of government and legislation over the morality and prosperity of a people. It will only be necessary to illustrate it by examples. The physical prosperity of a people depends upon industry, guided by intelligence, and secured by morality. Man

will never act without a motive, and the most natural and powerful motive is the hope of enjoying the fruits of his labors. This certainty, or this hope is strong just in proportion to the goodness of the government under which we live. Under a good government enterprize is kept perpetually upon the stretch. Every hand capable of producing is kept constantly at work, every brain capable of contriving is kept continually employed to invent new methods by which the productiveness of the earth may be increased, and by which the same labor may create more material for the satisfaction of human wants. There have been probably more labor saving machines invented in this country since the declaration of independence, than there were in the whole world since the beginning of time. A bad government paralyzes all enterprize by extinguishing all hope. It puts an end to all invention by taking away all motive. It makes a people idle, vicious, discontented, miserable. Under a good government men work together with intelligence and energy for the good of the whole. Under a bad government the few use the many as mere machines to accom

plish their own purposes, without regard to the general interest. Good government makes men, bad government makes slaves.

As a people cannot prosper under a bad government, so a prosperous people is the indubitable evidence of a good government. If you see a man growing rich, you are certain that there must be industry and good management. If you see a nation continue for ages rich and powerful, you are sure that it must have had good laws and wise institutions. Forms are not of so much consequence as it would at first sight appear. A despot, if he were perfectly wise and perfectly good, would be the best government. He would enact the best laws, and see that they were faithfully executed. And the best institutions, when administered by bad or incompetent men, may be made the means of ruining a nation. The welfare of a monarch, virtuous and enlightened, is so far identified with that of his people, that he has few temptations to go radically wrong. Perhaps the best code of municipal law, that the world has ever seen, was drawn up under the inspection of the most absolute sovereign of modern times. Legislation is a moral science, which has no