_Letters of a Citizen to his Friends in the Country._
No. III.
If the form of government with which we are blessed, is to be durable,
it will depend upon the _virtue and intelligence of the people_.
Ignorance and vice cannot sustain a republican system. It becomes,
therefore, a duty of the highest order, to spread practical learning
over every mind, and cultivate piety in every heart. To do this, the
establishment of good schools, on the plan suggested in my last letter,
is of great importance. But other means are also to be employed.
Parents, guardians, and masters, should discharge their duty toward
those who are entrusted to their care, by judicious advice and good
example, for the conduct of life. The domestic circle ought to be
regarded as a _moral garden_, under the especial care of the head
of every family. Here he may plant good seed, and this he is bound
to protect from all pernicious weeds. Let him therefore frequently
examine the premises; he cannot be too assiduous, and vigilant. In
this particular department, more is to be accomplished, than many are
disposed to admit. And if ever our condition as a people is improved,
in the degree to which it is susceptible, it will owe much to judicious
_family discipline_. In the city, as well as in the country, we have
been too relax in the performance of these manifest obligations.
Private happiness and the public welfare are intimately connected with
the minute government, and careful training, of the minds of youth.
Among other auxiliaries, I would take the liberty to recommend the
establishment of libraries, to be composed of useful books. These might
be located in the school-houses of each neighbourhood, and the teacher
should be appointed to the care of the establishment. In the country,
it is customary to assemble but once, in the day assigned, for social
worship; in the afternoon of that day, the library might be opened
for the delivery and reception of books. How much better would it be,
to witness the people passing, in an orderly manner, to, and from
the library of the vicinage, than assembling at taverns, or employed
in idle and pernicious sports, on the evening of a day, set apart by
Christian professors, for the worship, which is publicly due _to the
Sovereign of the world_!
You may suppose, fellow citizens, that these suggestions are the
offspring of a visionary brain; but the period is coming, with no tardy
step, when sound morals and undefiled religion will be found to be the
best estate. Men and governments prosper solely in proportion as they
are regulated by principles which GOD approves. It is idle, in the last
degree, to expect prosperity from any other source. All history, sacred
and civil, teaches but one lesson; VICE AND IGNORANCE CONDUCT NATIONS
TO THE TOMB!
This epistle is shorter than I had designed it to be; various
avocations have claimed my attention. I have only to solicit your
attention to the subjects submitted in it to your notice, and to assure
you of my good will.