Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

16.

ADVANTAGES OF READING.

I. Pleasure.

a. Reading interesting books, newspapers, and periodicals. b. Reading letters from distant friends.

II. Usefulness.

a. Enables us to obtain information.

b. Protects us against fraud, and enables us to transact busi

ness.

c. Enables us to understand the laws of the land, and our

duties to our country.

d. Fits us for public office, and other high positions in society, if we desire them.

e. Enables us to grow better, by reading good books, and joining in the singing of the praises of God in the

church.

17.

THE MONTH OF MAY.

I. Name,-Latin Maius (from the goddess Maia).
II. Natural appearances.

a. Length of the day, fourteen to fifteen hours.

b. Increase of heat, neither too warm nor too cold.

c. Rapid growth of plants; many in blossom, especially fruit-trees; the orchards very beautiful.

d. Delightful singing of birds returned from the warmer climates.

e. Insects and many animals come forth from the earth, or wake from their winter sleep.

III. Other causes which render the month beautiful. a. Farming and gardening.

b. Religious festivals,

-

Ascension of our Lord, Whitsun

day, the month of Mary.

c. Pleasure, May Day, walks, picnics, &c.

IV. Unpleasantness.

a. The first days are often cold, wet, and otherwise disagreeable.

b. Yet even this is beneficial; for it prevents the growth of noxious insects, and keeps the ground moist.

18.

CLEANLINESS.

I. Cleanliness requires

a. That we should use pure language.

b. That we should keep our person free from impurity.
c. That we should remove dirt from every thing belonging
dress, books, utensils, &c.

to us,

II. Advantages.

a. It tends to make us good and industrious. Many wicked and idle persons are dirty, as drunkards, quarrelsome persons, swearers, and loafers.

b. It promotes health.

c. It adds to our comfort and prosperity. Clean persons are not wasteful.

d. It wins for us the respect and love of others.

I. Sources.

19.

AUTHORITY.

God is the first source of all authority:

secondary sources are,

a. Fathers of families, or patriarchs (Abraham).
b. Strong men (Nimrod).

c. Conquerors (Napoleon).

d. Discoverers (Columbus).

e. Wise and good men (Washington).

f. Religion, teachers, the consent of a virtuous people.

II. Necessity.

a. To make laws for the administration of justice and the preservation of liberty.

b. To enforce laws and punish criminals.

c. To settle disputes.

[ocr errors]

d. To provide public institutions, schools, asylums, poorhouses, prisons, &c.

20.

UTILITY OF FORESTS.

I. To nature in general.

a. They beautify it.

b. They draw vapors from the clouds, and shelter the ground: hence rains, dews, springs, and streams.

II. To living creatures, in particular,

a. To men; furnishing wood, sugar, pitch, &c.

b. To beasts: giving them

1. Shelter from the heat of summer and the storms

of winter.

2. Also food by their own leaves, and by sheltering the more tender grasses and plants.

III. Preserve the forests.

a. By protecting them from injury or destruction. b. And by planting and cultivating if necessary. The above may be written out as follows:

UTILITY OF FORESTS.

If the eye were to rest everywhere only on open fields and treeless plains, it would soon weary with the dull monotony.

It is the ever-changing variety of field, garden, and forest, that makes Nature charming and beautiful. The forests not only form a pleasing feature in a landscape, but serve many other useful purposes. They draw vapor from the atmosphere, and shelter the ground from the heat of the summer's sun, and from the winds and frosts of winter. They keep the earth moist; causing rain to fall from the clouds, and springs to gush forth from the soil.

Forests furnish man with pine and oak for building, with fuel for cooking his food, and for supplying him with the necessary warmth in winter. From the nuts of some trees are pressed valuable oils, and from the sap of the maple is extracted sugar. Beasts, birds, and insects find in shady depths of forests shelter from the inclemency of the weather and a safe retreat from the pursuit of enemies. There, protected from the scorching heat of summer and the severe frosts of winter, plants abound at all times for the subsistence of animals.

Since the forests are of so great utility, we should not neglect the means of their preservation. By sparing young trees, and taking away of the larger growth only so much as shall not exhaust, forests may not only be kept in good condition, but improved. A forest may be obtained in a few years by planting trees of a rapid growth, such as the poplar, locust, or walnut. The careful owner of a forest will see that trees while small are protected, and, if too thickly planted, are properly thinned, so as to admit air, and space for growth.

21.

COMPASSION.

I. Meaning, fortune.

a feeling of sorrow for another's mis

II. Compassion prompts us

a. To help others,

b. And to console them when they are in trouble.

III. Reasons for being compassionate. a. It is the duty of a Christian.

b. We wish others to be compassionate towards us in our need.

c. By being compassionate, we win the love of others.

22.

UTILITY OF THE SENSE OF SMELL.

I. Affords enjoyment,

the fragrance of flowers

and perfumes. A hungry person is pleased with the savor of food.

II. Protects against danger, - poisonous plants, foul air, fire in a building, poison, spirituous liquors, impure water, &c.

III. A means of applying restoratives to the faint and weak,-camphor, hartshorn, &c.

23.

PLAY.

I. Meaning, - any occupation intended for amusement, or for the recreation of mind or body.

II. Other objects.

a. Strengthening and developing the body, — games of ball

and other gymnastic exercises.

b. Improving the faculties of the mind, — chess, riddles, &c.

c. Seeking for gain, — cards and all games of chance.

« AnteriorContinuar »