PESTA LOZZI.-ADDRESS ON HIS SEVENTY-THIRD BIRTHDAY. 719

ance of many things amongst us might have been understood by a practiced eye to indicate only their ephemeral nature, most of them thought my imprudence and weakness perennial. This could of course not do otherwise than to originate almost incurable evils amongst us. Even the best enterprise, if it increases too rapidly, becomes degraded by the evil qualities of the mass which accretes to it; then seizes, with the vigorous radical power of evil, upon the usually weak roots of what is good; and then becomes, even while intermingled with the overpowered goodness yet remaining, a recruiting-station for evil, which gathers in every incautious passer-by; and experience shows that men once enlisted on the side of evil soon become sworn conspirators for it, and, although feeble in the ordinary operations of life, show great power and much bad cunning in promoting their evil objects, whether idleness, disorder, impudence, or whatever they may be—or at least in obstructing the dominion of their opposites. When things come to this pass, whether in a small or large association of men, the necessity of some governing authority, competent to control such a state of affairs, becomes fully recognized; and, at however late a period, aid from such authority is sought for. But the very cause that makes such control sought for, disenables those who apply to such authority from judging of it. Judgments formed in such cases are, therefore, commonly wrong; and the necessitous state into which such applicants have fallen, is almost always a bad counselor. This was the case with us. We sought and sought, but did not find. And at no time was there more error relative to myself. Every one thought me unfit to govern; but I was still permitted to remain, as if I were fit, and the relations of all remained such as if I were so. This condition of affairs could lead to no relief. I should surely have succumbed under it, had not the protecting providence of God so graciously watched over me, that often the apparently unavoidable results of my faults passed by, as if they had not happened. This is so true, that I myself do not know, and can not explain it to myself, how I have been able to pass through the turbulent and trackless chaos into which I have been cast, without entire ruin; and to attain to that point of power and efficiency upon which I see and feel myself to be standing.

PATERNAL INSTRUCTIONS.

DURING that happiest period of Pestalozzi's career, his labors at Burgdorf, he sketched out many rough drafts of lessons, to be filled up by his assistants, in their class room exercises, as a sort of encyclopedia of social science. Many of these fragments came into the possession of Krüsi, who, after the death of Pestalozzi, edited and published them under the title of "Paternal Instructions, a Bequest of Father Pestalozzi to His Pupils." We give a few extracts from Biber's volume.

Almsgiving.

"The best alms is that which enables the receiver to cease begging."

Changing.

66 Change, my child, change all that thou doest and performest, until thou hast perfected it, and thou be fully satisfied with it. Change not thyself, however, like a weathercock, with every wind; but change thyself so that thou mayest become better and nobler, and that all that thou doest may be ever more excellent and perfect. No such change will ever cause thee to repent."

Baking.

"Baking is, like all cooking, a fruit of civilization. The savage knows of no preparation of his food; he eats every thing raw, like the brutes, and, accordingly, he eats it, like them, with brutal greediness. A wise diet of meat and drink is only possible when the food is prepared by art, and it is then only that man can guard himself against the voracity of the animal. Baking, therefore, and every other sort of cooking, is a far more important business than it appears to be at first sight. It procures to us the most wholesome of all nutriments-that bread which, as a common necessary of life, we daily ask of God, in the most sublime of all prayers."

Bathing.

"By bathing we cleanse ourselves from bodily impurities; the impurities of the soul, however, are not removed either by common or by consecrated water, but only by a renovation of mind in faith and love."

Quaking.

"The most violent quaking, which causes houses and cities to fall in ruins, and which shakes even the foundations of the mountains, is that terrible convulsion of nature which we call an earthquake; but infinitely more terrible is the secret quaking of a guilt-laden soul, at the prospect of the inevitable discovery and punishment of its crimes."

Beginning.

"The beginning of every thing precedes its existence and its continuation. The first day of creation was the beginning of the world. From the beginning God hath set forth his almighty power, his wisdom, and goodness, in all that he

has made. From the beginning, the hand of his providence has ordained the destinies of mankind; it has ordained thy destiny also, my child. Rejoice, therefore, and put thy trust in him, who is, and was, and shall be, the everlasting God."

Bowing and Bending.

"Man, the only creature that carries his head so erect, should he never bow it? Verily, he does! For God has deeply impressed upon his heart the feeling of his weakness, and a reverential awe for all that is great and lofty. His head is involuntarily bowed down under the oppressive consciousness of his guilt. His eye sinks in gratitude before the saver of his life, his wife, his child. Verily, verily, it was no art that bent the knee of the first man who prostrated himself in the dust at the sight of the rising sun. It was God within him, who thus laid him low; and he rose more humanized in his feelings, than if he had proudly faced its bright beam. But the work of God is defiled in the bowings and bendings of hypocrisy, by which human nature is as much degraded as it is elevated and ennobled by pious adoration, lowly modesty, and kneeling gratitude."

Blossoming.

"Youth, thou season of blossoms, how fair thou art! But, remember that thy charms are destined quickly to pass away. Thou canst not ripen, unless they vanish. Therefore, value thou the lasting fruits of life above the fleeting beauty of its blossoms."

Thanking.

'Good men and good things, my child, cause joy to the man of pure heart, even though he derive no benefit from them; but when he is benefited by them, his joy is increased. He then seeks the author of all goodness and of all joy; and, when he has found him, his voice is drowned in the overflowing of his feel ings. Tears glisten in his eyes. These, my child, are the thanks of the heart, which elevate and ennoble the soul. Whoever thanks not God, deserves not to be called man; and whoever thanks not his fellow-men, is unworthy of all the good which God bestows upon him through the hand of man.”

Thinking.

"Thinking leads men to knowledge. He may see and hear, and read and learn whatever he please, and as much as he please; he will never know any of it, except that which he has thought over, that which, by thinking, he has made the property of his mind. Is it then saying too much, if I say that man, by thinking only, becomes truly man. Take away thought from man's life, and what remains?"

Threatening.

"It is a misfortune if one man threaten another. Either he is corrupt who does it, or he who requires it."

Failing.

"All men fail, and manifold are their failings. Nothing is perfect under the sun. But, unless a man despise himself, he will not think lightly of any of his failings."

Refining.

"Man wishes to have things not only good, but shining; therefore is there so much refining in the world. Silver, gold, and steel are polished; the finest silk,

the softest wool, the clearest cotton, the mellowest tints, the most exquisite fragrancies, the most delicate sounds, the most delicious spices, and the most luxurious pillows are preferred. But where human nature has attained the greatest refinement of sense, a man of nerve is hardly to be found. The highest degree of this refinement is generally the point from which the decline of individuals and nations takes its beginning.

"The builder, who wishes to erect a durable structure, must do it with strong timber; he must not, by sawing and planing, make his bearers and planks so thin as to render them unfit for the purpose for which they are intended. And in the same way, parents and teachers ought never to refine the children, nor governments the nations, to such a point as to make them lose the strength of their limbs, the freshness of their cheeks, and the muscle of their arms."

Darkening.

"The setting of the sun darkens the earth; and the failing of hope the soul of man. Why, then, is it that every hope of man is not daily renewed, like that of the rising sun. It is well that he should not forever set his hope upon outward things; but seek his repose and his happiness within himself, in those things which do not rise and set daily, like the sun of this earth."

Hoping.

"Hoping and waiting make many a fool. And are we, then, not to hope at all? How unhappy would man be without that beam of hope which, in suffering and sorrow, sheds light through the darkness of his soul. But his hope must be intelligent. He must not hope where there is no hope.

He must look

at the past with a steady eye, in order to know what he may hope of the future."

INDEX TO VOLUME VII.

BARNARD'S AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.