The actual Condition of Society

Enough has been said to illustrate generally the influence of the natural world in the development of the mind. The actual condition of society operates to produce the same effect, with hardly less power. In this are comprised the religious and civil institutions of one's own country; that peculiar character in which they originate; and a knowledge of the past, as, by disclosing the origin and progress of things, it throws light on the prospect actually before us. As the philosophy connected with the natural world is that in which the mind may take root, by which it may possess an independence worthy a being whose eternal destiny is in his own hands—so the moral and civil institutions, the actual condition of society, is the atmosphere which surrounds and protects it; in which it sends forth its branches and bears fruit.

The spiritual part of man is as really a substance as the material; and is as capable of acting upon spirit, as matter is upon matter. It is not from words of instruction and advice, that the mind of the infant derives its first impetus; . it gathers strength from the warmth of those affections which overshadow it, and is nourished by a mother's love, even before it has attained the power of thought. It is the natural tendency of things, that an individual should be brought into a situation, in which the external condition of the place, and the circle of society in which he is, are particularly adapted to bring forth to view his hereditary character. The actual condition of the human mind is, as it were, the solid substance, in which the laws of moral and intellectual philosophy and political economy (whatever may be their quality) exist embodied, as the natural sciences do in the material world. A knowledge of those laws, such as they exist, is the natural consequence of the development of the affections by which a child is connected with those that surround him.

The connection of mind is not less powerful or universal than that of matter. All minds, whatever may be their condition, are not unconnected with God; and, consequently, not unconnected with each other. All nations, under whatever system of government, and in whatever state of civilization, are under the Divine Providence surely, but almost imperceptibly, advancing to a moral and political order, such as the world has not yet seen. They are guided by the same hand, and with a view to the same destiny. Much remains to be done, and more to be suffered; but the end is certain. The humblest individual may, nay, must aid in the accomplishment of this consummation. It is not for time or space to set limits to the effects of the life of a single man. Let then the child be so initiated into a knowledge of the condition of mankind, that the love at first indulged in the circle of his father's family shall gradually subside into a chaste and sober love of his country; and of his country, not as opposed to other countries, but as aiding them in the Same great object. Let the young mind be warmed and cherished by whatever is chaste and generous in the mind of the public; and be borne on to a knowledge of our institutions, by the rich current of the disposition to preserve them.

Thus it is, that the child is no sooner brought into this world, than the actual condition, both of the world itself and of society , acts powerfully to draw forth the energies of his mind. If mankind had retained that order in which they were created, this influence, in cooperation with the Divine, would have been sufficient, as it was designed to have been, for all the purposes of God. Nature, the very image of divine loveliness and the purest affections of the heart, which approach still nearer the same origin, acting together on the infant mind; it would seem as if the effect would be almost as certain as any process of growth which is witnessed among the productions of the natural world. But man is fallen; and the operation of this influence, in different conditions of society, may produce different results, but in none is sufficient to capacitate him for that life of usefulness and happiness for which he was designed. The influence of society cannot be sufficient, since this cannot raise a man above its own level; and the society of earth is no longer the society of heaven. This influence may bring for ward all the warlike energies of the young savage, and direct them in their utmost vigor to the destruction of his enemies, and of the beasts of the forest; and he may look onward with rapture to the happy hunting-grounds beyond the grave. What disappointment awaits him in the other world, all of us may easily imagine. This influence may bring forth and gratify the unchaste and beastly passions of the Turk; and he may look forward, with his Koran in his hand, to a heaven of sensuality and crime. It need not be said how widely different will be found the reality. Christians generally are standing in expectation of a happiness as boundless in extent, as it is undefined in its nature; and with an infinite variety of passions, in whose gratification alone they have experienced delight, are expecting a heaven in which simple useless enjoyment will rise like a flood and immerse the mind. The result must of necessity, be as various as the condition of the individuals by whom it is anticipated. Still there is a church yet in its coming, unseen, though not unseeing, shrouded from the rest of the world by the very brilliancy of its own light, which would resist the impulse of every evil affection, and look for heaven simply in the delight of that which is chaste, pure, and holy; which, by removing that which renders duty undelightful, would draw nigh to the only Source of real enjoyment; which would find its happiness and its God in the very commandments which have been the terror of the world; to which the effect is no longer doubtful, since it is made acquainted with the cause, and which, as it anticipates no reward, will meet with no disappointment. When this church shall be fully established on the earth, the voice of the Lord will be no longer obstructed as it descends from above the heavens :—"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God."

The influence of the natural world, however beneficial it may prove, is not such as it was designed to have been. Man has ever sought a condition in nature, which should correspond with the state of his own mind. The savage would pine and droop, if too suddenly removed to scenes of civilization, like grass which had grown in rank luxuriance under the shade of the oak, if the branches were cleft, and it was at once exposed to the power of the sun. The character of all the lower orders of creation has suffered a change in consequence of that in the condition of man, the extent of which cannot be measured. That the sun was darkened at the crucifixion of our Lord was no miracle. It was as much the necessary consequence of that event, as its present lustre is of His glory. It is not then for these, the objects of nature, to restore to us that moral order, the want of which has wrought such changes on themselves.

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