INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS

TO

THOSE FOR WHOM THIS BOOK IS DESIGNED.

DEAR CHILDREN AND YOUTH,

You have a great many school-books already, and you may wonder why a new one is given you to study. You have Grammars and Arithmetics, Geographies and Histories, a Governmental Instructor, and many other works for the improvement of your minds. But is it the purpose of any of these to teach you what is right and what is wrong, what you ought to do, and what you ought not, or, in other words, what your duties are? Can you mention one of which this is the design? Some of you may have good parents or teachers who instruct you in these things, but many of you, perhaps, have never thought much about them.

The object of this book is to point out some of your most important duties, to present to you some of the evils of disregarding them, and to

QUESTIONS.Why might scholars wonder that they should be required to study this new book? Why is it needed? What is the object of it?

lead you to see the beauty and loveliness of right-doing. It would impress upon your young minds this truth, that the great object of man should be to advance in wisdom and holiness; it would gladly lead you, early to make it the aim of your lives to serve God faithfully, to make the best use of the talents He has given you, and to do all in your power to promote the happiness and best good of others. It is called A Manual of Morals. The word, Manual, means, a book that may conveniently be carried in the hand; and it is here intended to imply, that you should always have in mind the precepts which it contains, and make them the guides of your life. The word, Morals, has reference to the practice of duties. A Duty is something which we are under obligation to perform. It means the same thing, whether it is said, you ought to love God, you ought to obey the laws of health, you ought to love your neighbor as yourself; or to say, it is your duty to love God, your duty to obey the laws of health, and your duty to love your neighbor as yourself. And would you not like to understand what your duties are? There is a right and a wrong in regard to all your conduct, in little things as well as in great ones, and do you not wish to know what is the right? Is not the right far better than the wrong, and will you

What truth would this book impress? To what would it lead the young? What is it called? What is the meaning of Manual? What implied? To what has the word, Morals, reference? What is a Duty? How illustrated? What is said about right and wrong?

not learn to practise it in all things? Is it not beautiful to see a child, or any one, who always tries to do what is right, and is not such a one the happiest ?

One of the early Fathers of New England, when his son feared, on account of the Indians and wild beasts, to go through a certain piece of woods, on some important errand, gave him this advice: Never fear to do your Duty. No matter where it calls you, no matter how great the danger, never be afraid to do your duty. But if you are tempted to do a mean thing or a wrong thing, be the greatest coward in the world. Receive this wise counsel, as if it were originally addressed to you, and, enlightened by the knowledge of your duties, and guided by the still small voice within you, let it be your firm resolve to act accordingly.

In addition to the study of the precepts of the Bible, the perfect example of Jesus Christ, and attention to other means of moral instruction, cultivate an acquaintance with Nature. Watch the unfolding of buds and flowers; observe the pure fountain, the gentle river, the calm lake, and let their beauty be reflected in your daily lives. Make the whole universe your libraryso shall it also become your temple, and your life itself one continual act of adoration. And,

Advice of one of the fathers of New England to his son? What direction to those to whom this is addressed? What should you study and attend to? What cultivate in addition? What would you do well to watch and observe? What may you make your library? What may it and your lives become?

above all, have your eyes steadfastly fixed upon the world of the enduring, the true and the holy, and press onward, ever onward, towards the perfection which shall fit you to be a blissful inhabitant of that world.

And now, for you, Children and Youth, who are to be the future men and women of this country, and to wield its destinies, and through it, in some measure the destinies of all lands, for good or for evil, -- for you, this little book is prepared, with the earnest desire that it may aid in making you good and happy, and in fitting you to maintain and disseminate the principles of Liberty, Justice and Benevolence throughout the world; to you, therefore, it is affectionately dedicated, by

Your Friend,

THE AUTHOR.

On what should you fix your eye, and to what press onward? What are the children and youth of our country to be and to do? With what desire is this book prepared

for them?

MANUAL OF MORALS.

PART FIRST.

DUTIES TO GOD.

"Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

WE have duties to God, First, because He made us. We are His, and He has a right over us. Every one feels that he has a right to that which he makes himself, whether it is by the labor of his hands, or by the exercise of his mind. If an artist chisels from the marble a piece of statuary; if a boy whittles from a piece of wood a top, or a pair of castanets; or if a girl makes a doll; they each and all feel that what they have produced is their own, and that they have a perfect right to control it: and if the thing formed had a mind and understanding, they would naturally think that it ought readily to comply with their wishes.

The government of our country allows aud supports the same right of a person to that of which he himself is the author. If a man

Subject of first part? Motto? Why have we duties to God? How illustrated? How further illustrated, by reference to the government of our country?