YOUNG GENTLEMEN:

      IN introducing to your notice the Sciences appertaining to the department which has been assigned to me, it seems to me peculiarly appropriate to consider the present condition of the scientific world in general, and some of the leading characteristics of the age in which we live. As the mariner, upon the wide ocean, avails himself of the calm which precedes the gale, to make an observation; to take the altitude of a planet or of the pole; to ascertain his latitude and longitude, and determine by the chart his relative position; it may be well for us, before the busy hours of regular study to consider the circumstances around us, that we may the more happily, when the favoring gales arise, speed upon our way to the shores of Truth.

      We cannot have, I presume, in fewer words, a more graphic description of the distinguishing features of the present era, than in the simple language of the Prophet who, seeing our day afar off in the angelic vision, records that "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." The restless inquietude of mankind, and the increase of human knowledge within the last three centuries, is truly without a parallel in the history of the world, if we except, perhaps, the period immediately succeeding the Fall--that memorable epoch when man, in the youthful vigor of his existence, prolonged his months to years; and, with unenfeebled energies, first invaded the untracked, untravelled dominions of nature, and brought them into an unwonted subjection to Science and to Art. As the child learns more during the first three years of its existence, than, during the same interval, at any subsequent period, so, doubtless, the infancy of mankind was characterized by a rapidity of improvement in the arts and sciences of human life, which would, in the very nature of things, be unequalled in after times. It was then that the eagerness of curiosity was first gratified with the discovery of some of the [29] secrets of the universe. It was then that Jabal first pitched the shepherd's tent, or yoked his oxen to the plough to tear the unfurrowed bosom of the earth. Then Jubal, enraptured with the charms of music, strikes the first harp to songs of joy, or breathes upon the pealing organ psalms of praise; while the sturdy Tubal-Cain, armed with fire, penetrates into the rocky recesses where lie earth's hidden treasures, and excavating the mine, mingles the shining ores, and brings from the forge the brazen shield and the glittering spear; or forms upon the ringing anvil the more useful implements of rustic toil.

      Doubtless, the increase of knowledge in the first age of the world, may be compared with its growth in the present time as respects rapidity. But here the comparison ends. Even the cause of this rapidity is different in the two cases. Then they learned rapidly, because they knew so little. Now men learn the more, because they know so much. It was then like the sudden rush of waters to fill the, empty reservoir--rapid, but transient: it is now the fast rising river, flowing but the more swiftly, the more its waters are increased. The knowledge of the human family then was mainly the knowledge necessary to subsistence and to the immediate gratification of the more urgent passions. Their energy was but the velocity derived from the sudden expansion of the elements of humanity in being first commingled with nature, and was diminished by the very reaction which displayed its power. The force now operative in the world is of a different character--and from a more extensive, more elevated and more constant source. It is rather like the attraction which brings all bodies to a common centre, and which acts with greater vigor and gives but a greater impetus in proportion as they approach that centre. The knowledge of that period was an acquaintance with confused facts. They were ignorant of those fundamental laws and principles of science, so infallible in their application, and so infinite in their consequences, that they furnish unlimited means of investigation, and in communicating knowledge, supply also the power to know. It is to the discovery of the ruling laws of the universe, which, in giving arrangement to science, and order to disconnected facts, has formed a new and bright and spacious world out of a dark and dreary chaos, that we are so greatly indebted;--that we owe so great a triumph over the rude and shapeless materials which were mingled indiscriminately amidst the darkness which in the beginning, rested upon the depths of science.

      They neither possessed, in those days, the means of retaining possession of what they had acquired, nor were the principles by which their researches were guided free from inconstancy and [30] variation. Dependent upon the fading records of oral tradition, or the dim characters inscribed upon the tablets of memory, it was not possible that their knowledge should be either accurate or permanent. Their fields were cultivated only to be again overrun by the thorns and thistles from which they had been redeemed. Their science was somewhat like their navigation, guided by neighboring land, or moving planets, or fixed and twinkling stars most obscurely seen when needed most. Ours is independent of such casual aid, and by the true magnetic needle, whether by night or day, in storm or calm, upon the broad ocean or in view of port, conducts us safely upon our way. With them the sanctuary of Science was but a tent--with us it is a temple. Or, we may say that their progress in knowledge was like that of their wandering tribes upon the level plains of the sunny land which gave them birth. They could come in view of a new location, only by losing sight of their former one. Now, it is rather like file continued ascent of a mountain, and we are so far from losing the prospect we have by a loftier position, that we but see it the more perfectly in proportion as our horizon is enlarged, and we discover its relations to the distant landscape which opens to our view.

      In the early ages of the world, mankind were acquainted, as already stated, with facts. They were perhaps better acquainted with many facts than we, and with certain of the arts of life. Longevity gave greater scope to personal observation, and perfected individual experience. There was much, too, in the fresh and vivid impressions which nature, just from the mould, made upon minds unoccupied and unsullied by erroneous systems. An artificial and unnatural mode of culture and education had not as yet blunted the keenness of perception, or perverted the powers of the understanding. The bright and beautiful hours of the morning of human life were as yet undimmed by the mists of that vain philosophy, and the darker clouds of that gross idolatry, which at a later period obscured the very heavens, and veiled in shadow the realities of the former world.

      Yet, if we pursue the history of man, we shall find, even amidst the gloomy hours of this later period, some golden moments, when the sun of science poured out, from between the brightened edges of the thick lowering clouds, upon certain favoured districts of the earth, a flood of light, which became itself the more brilliant, as it deepened by contrast the surrounding gloom. It was such a transient gleam, which, failing upon Egypt, gilded the palaces of Heliopolis--the City of the Sun--the ancient Thebes; or drew from Memnon's lofty statue a strain of joyful melody; or glared upon the massy pyramids of the Nile. But it quickly passed on across the deep blue waters of the [31] Mediterranean and illuminated for a time the splendid temples of Greece, and the painted porticoes and: academic walks of her sages and philosophers; and then flitted away to Italy where the magnificence of Imperial Rome glittered in its golden rays, until at length the shades of evening closed around, and a dark and tempestuous and dreary night of Vandal barbarism, monkish superstition and feudal vassalage overspread the world.

      If the present period may be compared with the first age of the world; with the dark ages, it can only be contrasted. How long and dismal were the hours when the gloom of Ignorance and Superstition enwrapt the human race; and not a sound disturbed the sepulchral silence save the hooting of the owl of religious night--the monotonous chant of the sleepy monk in his cloister; or the fierce cry of the beast of prey--the wild shout of the Crusader in his dream of conquered Palestine! Then, indeed, learning forsook the abodes of men, and fled to secret and rocky caves to decipher by the lamp of Truth the parchment records of the past.

      But at length appeared the grey dawn of another day in human history, when the light of Literature and Science revisited the earth, and man arose from his lethargy like a giant refreshed with sleep. It was upon that bright, morning, when the blushing Aurora had as yet scarce opened with her rosy fingers the golden pavillion of the sun, that Martin Luther offered up to the God of the universe a pure oblation, an accepted worship--an auspicious commencement of the busy hours of that eventful period in which we have the happiness to live.

      As it is not the object of the present lecture to trace in accurate detail the progress of the light of science, we will simply observe, in this place, that the era of the revival of Literature was marked by various fluctuations and changes. The newly awakened energies of mind were disposed to spurn control, and to wander free and untrammelled over the spacious fields whose freshness seemed so inviting. It was some time before they could be brought to yield to the bit of due restraint, and consequently the first efforts to cultivate the neglected provinces of nature, were rash, irregular and often abortive. A rage for extravagant speculation prevailed, and systems were adopted in every department of knowledge most unfavorable to improvement. A thousand chimeras floated before the opening eyes of mortals. A thousand fancies filled their imaginations, and a thousand vain experiments occupied their hands. It was, however, but the effervescence which indicated the action of new affinities. It was but the fermentation of the elements of society; the process necessary to the production of that richer and purer draught, which, now mellowed and improved by age, is offered to the lover of Science. [32]

      It will, young gentlemen, be to you neither uninteresting nor unimportant in the prosecution of your studies to become acquainted with the genius of the past ages of the world. You will thus alone learn to understand and appreciate the influences which have conspired to produce the present state of science. Among these influences, it is for you especially to fix your attention upon the Inductive System--the philosophy of the illustrious Bacon, who, coming forward at the very moment when the rapid fermentation of human thoughts and feelings, above adverted to, was likely to issue in the sourness or acerbity of vain disputation, bitter wrangling and universal charlatanry, racked off the brisk and sparkling wine of knowledge into the pure vessel in which its finer qualities have been preserved and improved.

      I would not, however, be understood to say that we are thus indebted to the Baconian system alone. In the attempt to exhibit the origin of the present improved condition of science and of society, men have been, perhaps, too prone to refer to a single and special cause. Some have found it in the reaction of the human mind itself, rising up by its native energies against the forces by which it was oppressed. Others have given the credit of the impulse to the Protestant Reformation--the diffusion of the rational and elevating doctrines of true religion, of religious liberty and the right of free discussion. It has by another class been supposed owing almost entirely to the Inductive or Experimental Philosophy, while not a few have derived it from the invention of Printing. But we are not disposed to give the credit of human improvement to any of these agencies exclusively. Each, doubtless, contributed its rill to swell the flowing tide, and there may have been even other tributaries which were unnoticed or have been forgotten. Nay, the larger streams themselves are traceable to innumerable fountains hid in deep and shady recesses. These again have their secret sources into which we cannot follow them. It is not, perhaps, for man to expose the occult springs of human action; to understand the deep workings of the human mind, or to determine with certainty the remote, which are always the true causes of those remarkable events, which, no less irresistible than unexpected, have shaken as with the power of a volcano the very foundations of society; have overthrown the pillars upon which her institutions have been reared, and rendered necessary an entire new-modelling of her institutions. The effect, indeed is obvious: so is the immediate cause--the remote one may be inscrutable. We can feel the earthquake, and see the flames issue from the crater of the volcano, but what it is that occasions the volcano may forever remain a mystery. [33]

      It is to some such secret workings; to some hidden impulse; some inspiration, truly divine, if we may judge its character by its results, that we are to attribute the singular fact that no less than three of those astonishing events to which we are wont to refer the improvement of society, occurred, all within the brief space of seventy years. These three events, any one of which would have adorned an age, or marked an epocha in human history, are, the invention of Printing, the Protestant Reformation, and the discovery of America. The first furnished the means of diffusing, as well as concentrating human thought. The second gave liberty to think; while the third was a practical illustration upon a grand scale, of the happy result of expansion of mind; of reasoning from facts; and of energy of purpose. The first, like a polished mirror, collecting the scattered rays of intellectual light, reflected and concentrated them in the brilliant and powerful focus. The second, by the concussion it produced, opened the prison door, and loosed the bands which Bigotry, Intolerance and Superstition had imposed. Indeed it is hard to fix the boundaries of its influence, for it had such great power that it gave liberty to the earth itself to revolve upon its own axis--a movement upon which the Pope and cardinals, in the days of Galileo, had put an absolute veto. It is not surprising, then, that it should have rendered the very same service to the political and the scientific world. And who can tell how great an influence the wonderful discovery of the American continents had upon that portion of our race who participated in its immediate consequences? Influenced as man is by example and analogy, this startling and glorious achievement, gave a new inspiration to human hopes; and prompted to attempt new discoveries in science, and the subjugation of new worlds to its dominion. The very thought that there must be a Western World, derived from a variety of facts, was, as already intimated, founded upon inductive reasoning. Who knows but that so splendid an illustration of the safety and certainty of induction when resting even upon an imperfect knowledge of the old world, or upon a few canes floating on the broad bosom of the Atlantic, may have first given to this mode of reasoning proper consideration? Who knows but it may even have suggested to the mind of Bacon the propriety of making it the basis of true science? Be this as it may, certain it is, that there is not in the history of the world a spectacle of greater moral grandeur, or more persevering confidence in the truths of nature and science, than Columbus, in the midst of faint-hearted followers, in an unknown sea, and with a varying compass, stipulating (it was on behalf of every thing dear to man,) that for three days more they should stretch away to the unexplored regions of the West. Happy [34] experiment! But it was only to verify an induction no less fortunate.

      The spirit of adventure excited by success, was not, however, always guided by the same justness of observation or unerring principles of reasoning. On the contrary, it led to a variety of wild experiments, and to an enthusiastic pursuit of vain and imaginative objects. The Synthetic Philosophy, in vogue at this period, gave the most unbounded encouragement to this extravagance. It first devised an ingenious theory--a fanciful hypothesis. This being done, it proceeded to build upon it such facts as were collected for the purpose, of which could, by any contrivance, be made to rest upon it. But, founded as it was upon hypothesis, this philosophy could support no structure more substantial, and a thousand airy castles were erected, none of which could afford to Science a secure abode.

      The eagerness of theorists to build up their respective systems, led, indeed, to the discovery of many important facts. Vying with each other, and jealous of each other's fame, they compassed sea and land to collect materials for an edifice which might secure to them a name and a place on earth. But their error was, that their foundation was hypothetical--a flimsy and airy theory; so that the very truths which they discovered, and dug up from the quarries of Fact and Nature, often proved too weighty for their slender foundations, and occasioned the whole superstructure to fall to the ground, and to become not unfrequently the tomb of the builder--a fate, indeed, not undeserved by those who sought to build, with materials which belonged to Science, a habitation for themselves.

      It was in the midst of this confusion that the wise master-builder, to whom we have alluded, Francis Bacon, stood forth, and proposed a system directly the reverse of the Synthetic Philosophy. This was that facts should be first carefully ascertained by observation and experiment, and that just deductions should be drawn from these. He advised in short (if we may continue the figure just introduced) that all the votaries of Science should renounce their personal and private interests, and unite together to build a splendid temple to her honour. He taught them to lay a broad, solid and substantial foundation of facts; and, in carrying up the building, to lay no more weight upon these than they were fitted to sustain. He sketched out the just proportions of the superstructure, and laid down infallible rules by which unsuitable materials might be detected. His views prevailed: the work proceeded. It is, young gentlemen, to survey the results that you are now invited. Approach then the noble structure. But while yet in the outer courts of this glorious temple, examine, I pray you, its massy foundations formed of the [35] hard, unyielding, primitive rocks--the unchanging Facts of Nature; and admire the skilful masonry which has so exactly fitted and based upon them those beautiful walls of Truth. Walk round about the edifice; consider its bulwarks; calculate, if you be able, its vast dimensions; and look aloft, if you can without giddiness, to those lofty spires which the genius of a Newton has carried into the very heavens, and embellished with those bright prismatic tints derived by himself from the divine pallet when he was permitted to dip his pencil in the solar light. Then entering with reverence upon the spacious vestibule, pass through those golden gates opened wide by the ready hands of Diligence and Attention;--but while, within its vaulted chambers, surrounded by the magnificence which Nature and Art have furnished, you offer up the pure incense of a sincere devotion, do not, I beseech you, forget to honour that illustrious Architect to whose genius we are indebted for the plan of so glorious an edifice.

      Bacon was the Luther of Science. His system subverted the authority of popes and councils throughout the entire scientific world. Let us congratulate ourselves that no proud dogmatist has, since his day, been permitted to sit in the temple of Science to usurp her place and honours. All the world are now Protestant in Science. They have renounced allegiance to the schoolmen. They regard no one as infallible, and submit to no dictation. Each one studies the volume of Nature for himself. We have universal toleration; full and free discussion; unlimited investigation. We are so happy too as to have amongst the Protestants of Science but few parties. A spirit of union has almost universally prevailed, and all have felt themselves labouring in a common cause. This is one of the best features of the age. Each one contributes as to a common stock his respective share. Each one labors with a common interest to rear up the walls of the edifice, and it is not to be wondered at, that the work is so well performed. Another important characteristic is, that Science has for its object now, the general good of society--the promotion of human happiness. Its tendencies are therefore eminently practical. It leads to a knowledge of things as well as words. It consults utility, and rejects every thing which does not in some way tend to improve, and elevate man in the varied relations in which, by the very constituent elements of his nature, he is involved. Its spirit, in short, is that of philanthropy; of liberality; of candour; of kindness, Oh! long may it reign in the hearts of all who labor in the cause of education, and under its benign influence may they preserve inviolate the bonds of union, and rendering to each other mutual aid and mutual honor, enjoy in its fullest measure, the benefit of mutual prosperity!

      I cannot imagine a more striking evidence of the advantages [36] now enjoyed, than the rapid progress of those Sciences which have but recently originated. During the age of speculation, a science was compelled to wade through the deep morass, the Serbonian bog of obscure hypothesis or dogmatic error, and could scarce at length reach the Terra Firma of truth. And even when the wandering philosophers of the days of T. Bombastus Paracelsus succeeded in gaining the solid ground, they often, like the first settlers of Virginia, in their choice of Jamestown, pitched upon a bad location. The settlement, however, being once made, the roads immediately converge to it as to a central point, and Habit pursues the beaten track which Ignorance or Caprice occasioned. It is not without difficulty that men are induced to change the ancient sites, and hence those sciences which had progressed to some extent before the time of Bacon, could with much ado be new modelled, and placed upon more suitable foundations. Several of the natural sciences, and Chemistry among the rest, suffered much from this cause. Like one whose constitution has suffered from quackery, in early life, an injury which the most prudent treatment in after years can scarcely repair, the science of Chemistry was not only for a long time thus retarded in its growth, but has hardly even yet been freed, by all the power of the Inductive system, from the effects of the course at first adopted by alchemical and speculative charlatans.

      Far otherwise is it with those sciences which have lately come into existence. We have reason to wish them joy of being born at so propitious a period, when they have been suffered to grow up with goodly nursing according to Nature's laws, and to attain to such maturity and perfection in so short a time. Among the most well favoured of these, we may mention Phrenology and Geology which have sprung up within an incredibly short space, and in the blooming vigor of youth have obtained a place among their venerable elders, brown grey with age and wrinkled with care.

      The ancient sciences, however, have not failed to participate largely in the benefits of the improved systems; Chemistry and Mineralogy, as well as Medicine, have been carried to great perfection in modern times. The splendid discoveries of Priestly, Davy and their European fellow-laborers and the great improvements which have been introduced into the laboratory by them, and by our own Silliman and Hare, have elevated Chemistry, both as a science and as an art, to the most distinguished eminence. To such an extent, indeed, have discoveries and improvements been carried in every department of human knowledge, that almost the whole territory has been explored. Hence it is, that what remains can be entered upon with such facility. [37] The traveller does not now need to climb the precipitous mountains of Ignorance, or ford the rapid streams of Folly which formerly obstructed his progress. He moves swiftly upon the railroad of unimpeded thought, or floats securely in the barge of truth upon the graceful aqueduct or through the deeply excavated tunnel, and smiles at the rugged peaks and foaming floods which now only minister to his fancy or amusement. Modern sciences have the greatest advantage, since the ancient ones have preceded them and cleared the way. They have only as it were to choose their location. They have not now to fell the forests, but simply to plough, to sow, and to reap an immediate and an abundant harvest.

      It is then, young gentlemen, under the auspicious circumstances to which I have endeavoured to direct your attention, that we have the happiness to commence our labors. With regard to the sciences assigned to this Chair, I doubt not they will be to you most interesting. Mutually related to each other, and each one forming in itself a delightful subject of study, they give order and harmony to the immense variety of objects and influences which every where present themselves in the vast domains of Nature; and are no less useful in their practical application to the necessary arts of life, than pleasing to the mind in the singular revelations which they supply.

      Chemistry is one of the most sublime, important and extensive of the sciences. Entering into the elements of things, it considers the reaction of the particles of inorganic matter, and embraces, in fact, the whole phenomena of Nature, there being but few changes which do not at least in some of their causes or effects, fall under its notice. Every effect, indeed, or change which occurs in inorganic bodies, and which is not purely mechanical, is chemical. It takes, therefore, the widest range and presents to view the most interesting subjects of contemplation.

      Mineralogy is also of great extent, for it considers the characters and relations of every substance which is not organized or the immediate product of organization. It is a science which boasts the highest antiquity, being coeval with the creation of man, and the discovery of the pure gold of the land of Havilah, where, we are told, was also the bluish and translucent onyx, and the bitter but fragrant bdellium.

      Geology, on the contrary, is, as already intimated, a modern science. Intimately connected with Mineralogy, it takes a more extensive range, embracing not only the various substances which enter into the composition of the earth, but their arrangement also, and the changes which they have undergone. It has been rendered especially interesting by the evidences of the former condition of the globe which it derives from the arrangement [38] of the earth's materials, and the singular organic remains imbedded in fossiliferous rocks. It is not indeed so extensive as the science of the Astronomer, to whom it is matter of amusement to sport with worlds and their satellites. But we shall have no reason to complain of want of room, for it is at least as wide as the world in which we live. And while the Astronomer ascends to the attic story of our old fashioned family mansion--the earth, to wander among the stars or perhaps to lose himself in the cloudiness of the milky way; the Geologist, on the other hand, rummages the cellar, and discovers in its deep and rocky recesses secret stores of ancient treasure (though in earthen vessels,) and casks of the old and mellow wine of knowledge, of which even the Astronomer when he descends from his lofty position, is not unwilling to partake.

      We may say of Geology, indeed, as of the city of God.--Its foundations are in the lofty mountains. So deeply are they fixed in the solid granite, that the earthquake itself, so far from disturbing, serves only to reveal more fully their firmness and stability. And lifting itself on high to the level of Chimborazo or Himmalayehs, it exhibits in legible characters upon the massy pillar: of its portico, the ancient and authentic records of a world of which Columbus never dreamed.

      But, gentlemen, it, is not the object of this general and introductory discourse to give you a special account of these sciences. To this we shall in future address ourselves. We have now been endeavouring to fix your minds upon the present state of science and the peculiar character of the age. We find this one of incessant activity--of running to and fro--of deep research--of true philosophy--of superlative regard for facts--of practical improvement and useful knowledge. Can we then better conclude our remarks than by briefly considering the corresponding obligations it imposes upon us? It requires then, in a word, a spirit precisely in accordance with its own. Energy of character; laborious study; the love of truth; careful observation, and a desire for beneficial knowledge, should now be characteristics of all the lovers of science. There is nothing more admirable in the Baconian system, than the state of mind which it requires; and that humble spirit of inquiry; that patient induction of facts; that modest firmness of conclusion, to which it leads. These have been noble traits in the investigations of those lofty and illustrious men, the Newtons, the Lockes, the Davys, the Hershells, who have adorned the world, and the lustre of whose names emblazons, with its brightest glory, the escutcheon of Science. While, then, our infant institution will seek to imbibe the spirit of the age to which it owes its birth, and to adapt itself to the present wants and circumstances of society, it is to be hoped that her [39] Alumni wily with a laudable zeal, second her efforts, and endeavour to carry out into practice a plan of education so highly approved by the community.

      Be assured, young gentlemen, that it will be your highest happiness in after life, to have improved your youthful hours and opportunities. It is in the spring time of life that the seeds of future usefulness and honor must be sown and cultivated. And while the agriculturist may sow his fields, and yet another reap the product, the diligent student has the pleasing reflection to encourage and sustain him in his labors, that he toils for himself, to promote his own--his truest interests; and that no envious hand; no revolutions in society; no adverse circumstances whatever, can deprive him of those rich fruits--those intellectual treasures which he has, laid up within the imperishable store house of the mind.

      And may I not add, inasmuch as moral culture is to be made one of the distinguishing features of this Institution, that it is especially in the attainment of this species of education, that the secret of future success, and eminence is to be found. Morality is the ground upon which any one must stand, if, like the ancient geometrician, he would move the world with the lever of Science. It is Virtue which breathes into Science a living and a life-giving spirit. It is a remarkable fact that if you search the records of history, you will scarcely find among those who have benefitted the world by true Science, by splendid discoveries or useful inventions, the name of a single infidel, skeptic, or sensualist. These glorious achievements were reserved for those who paid regard to the claims of morality and religion, and who, like Newton, among the multitude of books before them, studied, with the greatest application, the Bible. This illustrious man "could not rest, says Brougham, from his immortal labors in setting forth the system of the universe, without raising his mind to the contemplation of Him, who weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance." He it was who declared that the business of Physical Science is "to deduce causes from effects, till we come to the very First Cause," and that "every true step made in Inductive Philosophy is to be highly valued, because it brings us nearer to the First Cause." Be it then ever remembered, that the chain of induction is not yet complete until it will reach from earth to heaven, and is linked with Hope of future joy, that anchor to the soul which is securely fixed within the veil, that, but for a brief interval, hides from our view, the audience chamber of the palace of the universe. The results of science are indeed interesting and every way gratifying to the intellect, but it is virtue and morality which must warm the heart. The processes of the Chemist will end in empty air; the diamonds of the [40] Mineralogist will exchange their brilliancy for opacity and darkness, the laws of Geology will be found to be written on tables of stone; but elevation of principle; sterling integrity of soul; noble and generous affections; a life, governed by the laws of the Author of Nature inscribed upon the heart, and consecrated to the good of society and the improvement of the world, will never fail to invest the character with imperishable lustre, and lead their possessor to a knowledge of that science which is superior to all others--the Science of Happiness.

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