FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

NEW SERIES.

VOLUME III.-----NUMBER XII.

B E T H A N Y, VA. DECEMBER, 1839.

Carrollton, Carroll county, Ohio, Oct. 24, 1839.      

Beloved Brother:

      Is not the following essay on "Self-Education," worthy of extensive circulation? Are not the remarks true and worthy of regard? Yea, verily.

      "Education, in the broadest and most comprehensive, sense of the term, is the just and harmonious development of all the faculties and powers, by which each is prepared to fulfil its appropriate purpose, and all are made to advance the highest improvement of the individual. In fewer words, man's whole nature is the subject upon which education should be made to operate, and the perfection of his whole nature is its end. But as man's whole nature is made, up of various parts, each [593] requiring a culture, in some respects, peculiar to itself; it is expedient, and indeed, necessary, in considering the subject, to divide and subdivide it, and to examine it under distinct points of view.

      Thus, education considered in reference to the grand divisions of man's intellectual and moral nature, is of two kinds:--that which teaches him to know, and that which induces him to be; that which instructs him, and that which improves him; that which makes him a wiser being; that which fills his mind with light, and that which fills his heart with love; that which opens to him a fuller communion with the intelligence of the Deity, and that which brings him into an ever-increasing conformity to his moral perfections.

      Education farther viewed in reference to the modes in which it is conducted, is of three kinds:

      First, there is that which consists of direct instruction, and is communicated by parents, teachers, and in seminaries prepared for this purpose.

      Secondly, there is that instruction, which is indirect, and consists of the insensible influence of events, and of the condition in which, in providence, we are placed. It is that, for example, which a child sees, when we perceive him not; what he thinks of us, and of our conduct, when we do not think of him; his silent inferences from our modes of life, habits, opinions, likings, and prejudices, the unsuspected influences of our associates, and of his own; in a word, all the influence of all the circumstances wherein he is placed, which, though quick and unsuspected in their operation, are very palpable and decisive in their effects.

      And thirdly, there is that education which the individual accomplishes in and for himself; that self-education which is the result of voluntary effort and self-discipline.

      Of these three modes of education, the first, namely, direct instruction, has great influence in the formation of character; the second, or the silent education of events and circumstances, exerts a more decisive influence; and the third, self-education, is, on all accounts, the most essential.

      It is on this, that we propose to offer some remarks. We shall first attempt to establish and illustrate the position, that knowledge and virtue, or in other words, intellectual and moral improvement, are mainly the mind's own work; and we shall next advert to some practical uses of this truth.

      In the first place, it is a plain fact, that without this self-labor, self-discipline, self-education, all direct instruction must be unavailing and useless. And is not this obvious? For what is the nature and extent of all the ordinary processes of direct instruction? They are, at best, but means, facilities, and aids, which pre-suppose in the mind to which they are applied an active, self-moving co-operation. Without this they can effect nothing. They are efficacious just so far as the individual by his own energies seconds their application, and no farther. They cannot advance him a single step, unless he makes corresponding efforts to go. As means, facilities, and aids, they are of immense importance. They may put us in a condition for improvement; they may afford us the light of experience to direct our efforts; they may remove unnecessary obstacles from our path; they may point out [594] defects and show us the method of correcting them; they may enable us to strengthen what is weak, and to use well what is strong; they may instruct us in the best employment of our faculties; they may teach us how to study, when to study, what to study, and wherefore to study. But after all, study we must, and study is self-work, and incomparably the hardest work that is accomplished beneath the sun. For study, be it remembered, is not dreaming awake, though we sit through the live-long day, in the student's posture, with our eyes fixed upon a book. It, is not much preparation and bustle about the means of knowledge. But it is, and it is nothing less than--the intense concentration of all our intellectual powers upon a given train of thought, to the temporary annihilation of all things else, to the forgetfulness even of our own existence. It is the grappling of the entire mind with a subject, as if for life, until it yields the blessing we seek. It is an effort, compared with which, the hardest toil of the day-laborer is play and pastime. And this, we need not say, is self-work. None can do it for another. None can carry us up the hill of learning. It must be done, if done, by the strain upon our own sinews; by the wrenching of our own muscles; by the blood and toil from our own feet; by the indomitable resolution of our own wills. Without this effort on our own parts, all the means of instruction which this, and all other ages have devised, are vain, worse than vain; they are wasted, thrown away, and might as well be heaped upon a dead man or a statue.

      All this, thus stated, is very plain, and will be readily admitted. And yet there is nothing, in point of fact, more frequently forgotten.

      There is a vague notion, as has been justly remarked, widely prevalent, that schools and ampler seminaries are able, by a power inherent in themselves, to fill the mind with learning, or that it is to be received inertly, like the influences of the atmosphere, by a mere residence at the place of instruction. Put this is a sad mistake. Something in this way, doubtless may be effected. Something may be thus insensibly imbibed. A young man cannot pass his time, for years, in scenes like these, without catching something from the inspiration of the place. Intercourse, conversation, and sympathy with his companions, will, without much voluntary effort on his part, convey some information, and mould, in some degree, the habits of his mind. But this, admitting it in its full extent, amounts to but very little. It is, moreover, too vague to be of any practical value. The truth, after all, is, that the most elaborate and manifold apparatus of instruction can impart nothing of importance to the passive and inert mind. It is almost as unavailing as the warmth and light of the sun, and all the sweet influences of the heavens, shed upon desert sands.

      If all the means of education which are so profusely scattered over the world: and if all the philosophers and teachers of ancient and modern times were to be collected together, and made to bring their combined efforts to bear upon an individual--all they could do would be to afford the opportunity of improvement: they could not give him a single valuable thought independently of his own exertion. All that could be accomplished, must still be done within the little compass of his own mind; and they could not approach this, by a hair's breadth nearer, than access was made for them by his own co-operation. Nothing short of a miracle can teach a man any thing independently of [595] this. All that he learns is effected by self-discipline, and self-discipline is the mind's own work. We all are under God, intellectually, the makers of ourselves."

      Yours in him who is always willing to help those who help themselves,

CHAS. D. HURLBUTT.      

      If all that is above asserted respecting the indirect or involuntary influence of circumstances, and the indispensable necessity of self-discipline, or self-education, be evidently true (and who that duly considers the subject can rationally doubt it,) then what must be the real condition of the Christian world, morally and religiously considered!!! Surely it must be truly deplorable. For where shall we find the due and requisite attention paid to the Bible?--Where shall we find the family thus practising, and so realizing the divine injunctions, as prescribed in the following scriptures:--Deut. xi. 18-21: 1 Cor. x. 31: and 1 Tim. iv. 7-8.--"Ye shall lay up these my words in your heart, and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children--as the days of heaven upon the earth. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God. For--Godliness is profitable to all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." And what is godliness but a real, intentional, practical conformity to the divine will? For "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:" and holiness is the order of love, without which none shall see, that is enjoy, the Lord.

      If then "it is a plain fact," that without the self-labor, self-discipline, and self-education, above described, "all direct instruction must be unavailing and useless."--And "if study is nothing less than the entire concentration of all our intellectual powers upon a given train of thought, to the temporary annihilation of all things else,--to the forgetfulness even of our own existence,--the grappling of the entire mind with a subject, as if for life, till it yields the blessing we seek." Then, indeed, how few are there, that attain to the enjoyment of the blessings divinely intended by the due and diligent perusal and study of the Holy Scriptures. For how few are there that can truly say with the Psalmist, "O how love I thy law! it is my study all the day!" Nevertheless it will still hold good--that truly, and only blessed is the man, "whose delight is in the law of the Lord; and who doth meditate in his law day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

T. C. [596]      

[The Millennial Harbinger (December 1839): 593-596.]

      Thomas Campbell's "Remarks upon the Above [Chas. D. Hurlbutt's 'Self-Education']" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, New Series, Vol. 3, No. 12, December 1839. The electronic version of the essay and remarks has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1839), pp. 593-596.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. I have let stand variations and inconsistencies in the author's (or editor's) use of italics, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the essay. Emendations are as follows:

            Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 593:    "Self-Education, [ Self-Education,"
 p. 594:    of this truth [ of this truth.
            self discipline, [ self-discipline,
 p. 596:    HURLBOTT. [ HURLBUTT.
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 13 March 1998.
Updated 9 July 2003.