peasant paused before the work of the royal artist and read,-for he could read, — “I govern all," "I plead for all," "I fight for all," "I "I pray for all." "Yes," said the peasant, "and I pay for all." That man was a philosopher, capable of reflection. And in our time, and under our civilization, such philosophers govern the world and direct the course of events.

The aspiration to become something better is the natural force of development, and is inherent in every human being, expands his individuality, makes him independent of his fellows, creates him his own sovereign, and liberates him from all conventionalities. This is natural liberty, - the ultimatum to which this individualism leads were it not restrained by other influences and considerations, which are of two characters. First, the coercive force of power, natural or acquired, and rightly or wrongfully exercised by the superior in compelling the inferior to submit. This principle, with few exceptions, has been the cohesive power of nations until near the close of the last century. This principle does not favor, and is not favored, by popular education. Second, the intelligent perception of our needs and advantages, and the conscientious recognition of the rights of others. This principle of government is the child of Free Thought, and fosters, and is fostered, by popular education.

Society and nations organized, on this basis protect all the natural rights of individuals, except such as are compromised and surrendered, for the good of the community, and given in exchange for the security thus afforded. This latter principle has for generations been supplanting! the former, usually moving slowly, it is true, but sometimes with a bold stroke, as witness the English Barons at Runnimede, the American Independence, the Swiss Struggles, and the Abolition of Slavery.

The French Revolution was the bloodiest and most horrible epoch in all history, yet it was at once the result and cure of feudal opression and landed aristocracy in France. It gave to the peasantry the soil of France, and republicanism has been growing there ever since; and to make it permanent and successful the French have only to purify and reform their domestic lives. The general education of Germany secured the land to its tillers, and has kept that nation apace with the freest in everything but the mere form of government. The issue is now joined in Spain, and it will never finally cease till feudal give way to allodial tenures. The civilized world looks with horror upon the assassinations and other crimes across the sea, but Ireland,-distressed Ireland, wright or wrong, will yet

teach England that the lands of her lords must be divided up and made the property of the tenants.

A nation is never so secure, with a people so happy, as when her soil is owned by those who cultivate it. John Bright said, a few days ago, that the French Revolution, the American Independence, and the English Reform bill, had made the people instead of the monarch the source of power, and thus revolutionized the theory of government. The transition from the former to the latter condition of society, in government both temporal and spiritual, is the natural and inevitable issue of education, and is as sure as progress. It has rarely been sudden, has not become universal, and is yet nowhere complete or wholly secure. Even in our own time and country the work is not finished. True, the old monarchial dogma, that the king or political head is the fountain of all governmental power, has long ago been exploded; and the maxim, that governments derive "their just power from the consent of the governed," is believed, taught, and revered by us all. And power is quadrennially and biennially gathered from the people, and, in its own proper season, is returned to them again. Like the vapors of the ocean are gathered in clouds by the wooing of the sun, drift over the earth, descend in rain, refreshing vegetation and beautifying the flowers, and through rill, rivulet, and river, unite in the seas once more only to reproduce the phenomenon again, and again to perform the circuit, an endless, perpetual chain in the economy of natnre!-so have we maintained our political circulation for over a century with ever-increasing health and strength. Still men's minds must be clearer and their hearts purer, before we reap the full fruition of our independence, and develop our nation to its highest possibility for good to mankind.

So, while education has robbed the state of its arbitrary power and the church of its arrogance, it has given to the world full compensation. It has taught the common people to protect each other; it has taught them to settle their religious account, not with the curate, but with conscience. So, while it diminishes the strength of, it lessens the need for, government; and while it decimates the church organizations, it cultivates morality and elevates man's notions of nature and God, which are the very purposes of religion. I have sometimes thought it a popular error to attribute our civilization to our religion. Religion, I believe, is rather the product than the cause of civilization, and they are both the finite of education. Paganism must have had its foundation in superstition, and the inability of the ancients to worship anything not material and tangible. Judaism, which was eminently disciplinarian in its purpose and cere

monial in its form, was best suited to the character and civilization of the Hebrews. The Peruvian, in his primitive life, could see nothing better or grander to worship than the sun, which, after all, is the material god of the heavens.

Living, as we do, in a dual world, with the psychological above the physical, what could so comfort, soothe, and ennoble us as the doctrines of the meek and lowly Nazarene? In the world's need of him at that hour, and in the opportune time of his birth, we see the divinity of his coming. While we are still far off from the standard He raised for us, we only approach nearer as we grow in culture and expand in thought. It still seems that religion is not in advance, but only a few paces in the rear of civilization and progress.

A wish for union of churches appears to be another common mistake. In a nation that patronizes no creed, and protects all, with general education and freedom of conscience, it is not natural and should not be desired. It could not be accomplished without ignorance or maintained without oppression. Unity of thought begets intolerance and leads to tyranny; diversity of thought begets tolerance and leads to liberty. General education stimulates individual independence in the forms of worship as well as in any other department. Jurisprudence, which is one of the chief departments of government in its growth and adaptations, illustrates the force of education. Men early learned that they must have some common arbiter for the determination of all disputes. At first they resorted to the usages of battle, but it was soon strikingly evident that strength was not always justice, and weakness not always a fault. Then the disputants were allowed to appear by champions in the fistic arena. This was abandoned as unsatisfactory. It was doubtless too hard upon the advocates, I am sure if this were still the practice, so many schoolmasters would not become lawyers. Afterward trials were by ordeal, until it was discovered that the lucky were not always right, and that the unlucky were not always wrong. At length it began to dawn upon the intellect, that the best thing in all this world was a just and upright man, and that it was safest to leave to his judgment the most intricate question, and to his honor the most sacred trust. This system is not yet perfect, it is only growing.

An old man, brought from his quiet, useful life to the court-room, as a witness, by subpoena, is about to give testimony in some cause in progress of trial. His name is called, and with hesitation, almost awe, he approaches the august presence of the Judge; he holds up his hand, and, with great solemnity, swears before Almighty God

"to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," and, with reverence he takes the witness-box, honesty and candor lighting up his inexperienced brow as he firmly resolves to tell the truth and nothing more. At his very first word, "We object" comes from Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, attorneys in the case. Again the old man, with less firmness, starts to tell his story. "Hold on " greets him from the other counsel in the case. Much shaken in his self-confidence, and suspecting that the truth may not be the proper thing in that place, the witness once more proceeds. "Not that,you must not tell that," sternly interposes the Judge. And so the witness is buffeted back and forth by opposing counsel like a shuttlecock between battle-doors, till at last he leaves the stand with a confused notion of having told nothing he intended to tell, and everything he ought not to have told, and thoroughly convinced in his own mind that the truth was not wanted at all, and vowing to have nothing to do with law and lawyers, judge and jury evermore. And yet the same man, when he finds, or fancies, his rights invaded, and his blood is up, seeks out, as he thinks, the best lawyer he can find. He says he will spend the whole subject-matter rather than yield. He declares he would rather the lawyers than his adversary should have it, and his attorney invariably agrees with him in this sentiment.

Men very rarely go to a solicitor for counsel or advice, but nearly always for justification and advocacy. Still, courts are to society a kind of safety-valve, like the volcanoes are to the earth. As individual rights are developed, and individual transactions are multiplied, and domestic, commercial, financial, social, and industrial relations are complicated, by educational force, controversies necessarily arise more frequently, and we must have some tribunal in which they can be settled. And imperfect as man is, with all his passions and dullness, it is a thousand times better to resort to a court of disinterested judge and jury, than to brutally disfigure each other in fight, or blunt our sense of justice by the shifting chance of a lottery. Jurisprudence has not been insensible to the growth around it, and the courts have not been stationary, but their movements have become more intelligible, their forms more flexible, their precedents more general, their rules more adaptable, and their principles more equitable. As the schools have enlarged science, developed arts, improved mechanism, and diversified industries, the courts have fostered the new and defended the old against the encroachments our energies are constantly awakening, and preserved a healthy harmony throughout the whole.

A most striking example of the effect of education may be seen in

All

a comparison of the mechanism, inventions, and arts of the ancients and medievals with those of present civilization. Then, as before suggested, individuals were of no consequence, except as things served the purpose of the government; now governments are of no consequence, except as they protect and care for the individual. Hence, in the former condition of society, there was great unity in labor and construction, and little diversity in skill and design. Excellence consisted in magnitude. All enterprises were national; all monuments were for the Commonwealth; all decoration, embellishment, and improvement were for the sovereign or for the State. arts, achievements, and all events that went into history, or left their ruins upon the flood of years, were under the patronage of the prince, and were usually idealistic and not practical. The Colossus of Rhodes, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Temple of Diana, have long been classed among the wonders of the world, but antiquarians have never been able to find in them any noteworthy design, much less utility. However they may challenge our admiration, they scarcely inspire us with respect for a civilization that leaves no other monuments. The pyramids may have been the mausoleum of kings, but why should a nation do so much more for dead royalty than for living commonalty? The Coliseum at Rome was no doubt a favorite place for superb entertainment, but had no tendency to exalt public sentiment or to purify public morals. I think it did less for Rome living than its ruins have done for Rome dead. The Chinese wall is a result of coöperative labor and sustained effort; so are the castles and cathedrals of the middle ages. The former was a formidable fortification in its time, but now such a work would hardly be necessary, and surely inefficient. The latter indicate superb architectural knowledge and skill, but were not intended to serve any useful purpose for the common people.

Greece and Rome had some unequaled sculptors, unrivaled arcl itects and some matchless painters, whose works demonstrate the ideality of the artists of those days, but there is not much else in their civilization worthy of emulation. They had no pleasant homes, with carpets, furniture, decorations and adornments for the common people, like those which now charm the eye and gladden the heart wherever modern civilization extends. They lived for the State alone; there was no general education, no individual enterprise, and the era of inventions had not yet dawned. In all undertakings of any magnitude, it required aggregation of individuals and continued effort in ancient times as it does now. But there is this difference: Their large achievements were ideal and useless, because