within its dwellings but the sighs of the disconsolate', and the groans of the dying. Human wolves, thirsting for the blood of nations', would cease to prowl among men. Nation would not lift up sword against nation', nor would they learn war any more. The instruments of cruelty', the stakè, the rack', the knout', and the lash', would no longer lacerate and torture the wretched culprit'; cannons, and guns, and swords, and darts', would be forged no more'; but the influence of reason and affection would preserve order and harmony throughout every department of society.

The traveler, when landing on distant shores', and on the islands of the ocean', would no longer be assailed with stones, spears, arrows, and other instruments of death', and be obliged to flee from the haunts of his own species', to take refuge in the lion's den', or on the bosom of the deep', but would be welcomed as a friend', and a messenger of peace. The animosities which now prevail among religious bodies would cease'; the nicknames by which the different sects of religionists have been distinguished', would be erased from the vocabulary of every language'; Christians would feel ashamed of those jealousies and evil surmisings which they have so long manifested towards each other', and an affectionate and harmonious intercourse would be established among all the churches of the saints.

LESSON CXXV.

EFFECTS OF UNIVERSAL VERACITY.

WERE falsehood universally detested, and the love of truth universally cherished'; were a single lie never more to be uttered by any inhabitant of this globe', what a mighty change would be effected in the condition of mankind', and what a glorious radiance would be diffused over all the movements of the intelligent system! The whole host of liars, perjurers, sharpers, seducers, slanderers, tale-bearers, quacks, thieves, swindlers, harpies, fraudulent dealers, false friends, flatterers, corrupt judges, despots, sophists, hypocrites, and religious impostors', with the countless multitude of frauds, treacheries, impositions, falsehoods, and distresses, which have followed in their train', would instantly disappear from among men. The beams of truth, penetrating through the

mists of ignorance, error, and perplexity', produced by sophists, sceptics, and deceivers, and which have so long enveloped the human mind', would diffuse a luster and a cheerfulness on the face of the moral world', like the mild radiance of the morning after a dark and tempestuous night. Confidence would be restored throughout every department of social life'; jealousy, suspicion, and distrust' would no longer rankle in the human breast'; and unfeigned affection, fidelity, and friendship', would unite the whole brotherhood of mankind.

With what a beautiful simplicity', and with what smoothness and harmony', would the world of trade move onward in all its transactions! How many cares and anxieties would vanish'! how many perplexities would cease! and how many ruinous litigations would be prevented! For the violation of truth may be considered as the chief cause of all those disputes respecting property, which have plunged so many families into suspense and wretchedness. The tribunals of justice would be purified from every species of sophistry and deceit'; and the promises of kings, and the leagues of nations', would be held sacred and inviolate. Science would rapidly advance towards perfection'; for, as all its principles and doctrines are founded upon facts', when truth is universally held inviolable, the facts on which it is built will always be fairly represented. Every fact asserted by voyagers and travelers, in relation to the physical or the moral world', and every detail of experiments made by the chemist and the philosopher', would form a sure groundwork for the development of truth', and the detection of error', without the least suspicion arising in the mind' respecting the veracity of the persons on whose testimony we rely. For want of this confidence the mind has been perplexed and distracted by the jarring statements of travelers, naturalists, and historians`; false theories have been framed'; systems have been reared on the baseless fabric of a vision'; the foundations of science have been shaken'; its utility called in question', and its most sublime discoveries overlooked and disregarded.

In fine, the clouds which now obscure many of the sublime objects of religion', and the realities of a future world', would be dispelled, were falsehood unknown', and truth beheld in its native light'; and religion, purified from every mixture of error and delusion', would appear arrayed in its own heavenly

radiance', and attract the love and the admiration of men. When exhibited in its native grandeur and simplicity', all doubts respecting its divine origin would soon vanish from the mind the beauty and simplicity of its doctrines would be recognized as worthy of its Author'; and all its moral requisitions would be perceived to be "holy, just, and good," and calculated to promote the order, and the everlasting happiness of the intelligent universe. Divine truth irradiating every mind, and accompanied with the emanations of heavenly love', would dispel the gloom which now hangs over many sincere and pious minds'; would unite man to man', and man to God'; and the inhabitants of this world', freed from every doubt, error, and perplexity', would move forward in harmony and peace', to join "the innumerable company of angels', and the general assembly of the spirits of just men made perfect', whose names are written in heaven."

LESSON CXXVI.

NUMBERS SLAIN IN WAR.

SUCH is a bird's-eye view of the destruction of the human species, which war has produced in different periods. The instances which I have brought forward present only a few detached circumstances in the annals of warfare', and relate only to a few limited periods in the history of man': and yet, in the four instances above stated', we are presented with a scene of horror which includes the destruction of nearly 50 millions of human beings. What a vast and horrific picture, then, would be presented to the eye', could we take in, at one view, all the scenes of slaughter which have been realized in every period', in every nation', and among every tribe! If we take into consideration not only the number of those who have fallen in the field of battle', but of those who have perished through the natural consequences of war', by the famine and the pestilence', which war has produced'; by disease, fatigue, terror, and melancholy'; and by the oppression, injustice, and cruelty of savage conquerors',-it will not, perhaps, be overrating the destruction of human life', if we affirm that one tenth of the human race has been destroyed by the ravages of war. And if this estimate be admitted',

it will follow that more than fourteen thousand millions of human beings have been slaughtered in war, since the begin ning of the world'—which is about eighteen times the number of inhabitants which, at the present', exist on the globe'; or, in other words', it is equivalent to the destruction of the inhabitants of eighteen worlds of the same population as ours. That this conclusion is rather within than beyond the bounds of truth', will appear from what has been stated elsewhere respecting the destruction of the Goths, in the time of Justinian. In the course of 20 years, 15 millions of persons perished in the wars. Now, if the population of the countries of Europe, in which these wars took place', did not exceed 60 millions', the proportion of the slaughtered to the whole population was as one to four; and, if 20 years be reckoned as only half the period of a generation', the proportion was as one to two`; in other words, at the rate of one half of a whole generation in the course of 40 years.

What a horrible and tremendous consideration!-to reflect, that 14,000,000,000 of beings', endowed with intellectual faculties, and furnished with bodies curiously organized by divine wisdom-that the inhabitants of eighteen' worlds should have been massacred', mangled', and cut to pieces', by those who were partakers of the same common nature, as if they had been created merely for the work of destruction! Language is destitute of words sufficiently strong to express the emotions of the mind', when it seriously contemplates the horrible scene. And how melancholy is it to reflect', that in the present age, which boasts of its improvements in science, in civilization, and in religion', neither reason, nor benevolence, nor humanity, nor Christianity', has yet availed to arrest the progress of destroying armies', and to set a mark of ignominy on "the people who delight in war!"

*This calculation proceeds on the ground, that 145 thousand millions of men have existed since the Mosaic creation. See Christian Philosopher, 3d edit., Art. Geogra phy.

LESSON CXXVII.

THE GREAT REFINER.

"And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

"T is sweet to feel that hé, who tries
The silver', takes his seat'
Beside the fire that purifies';
Lest too intense a heat,

Raised to consume the base alloy',
The precious metal, too, destroy.

"T is good to think how well he knows'
The silver's power to bear

The ordeal to which it goes';

And that, with skill and care',

He'll take it from the fire, when fit'
For his own hand to polish it.

T'is blessedness to know that he'
The piece he has begun'

Will not forsake', till he can see',
(To prove the work well done',)
An image, by its brightness shown',
The perfect likeness of his own.*
But ah! how much of earthly mold',
Dark relics of the mine',

Lost from the oré, must he behold’-
How long must he refiné—

Ere in the silver he can trace'
The first faint semblance to his face.

Thou great Refiner', sit thou by'

Thy promise to fulfill':

Moved by thy hand', beneath thine eyé,

And melted at thy will',

O, may thy work forever shiné,

Reflecting beauty pure as thine!

Silver, undergoing the process of refining, suddenly assumes an appearance of great brilliancy, when purified, and reflects objects like a mirror.