Chapter C: L. S. C. Round-Table (1)

Held in the Hall of Philosophy August 9, 1883.

REPORTS AND QUESTIONS.

DR. VINCENT: There are persons in this world who unite in purely literary and intellectual enterprises. The union creates a sort of literary friendship. There are people who unite in sympathy, loving a common object, sharing in sorrow, sharing in joy, creating a friendship full of sentiment. There are people in this world who are united in practical efforts. They have a common aim. They agree upon a method; they coöperate for the result, and this is practical friendship.

The charm of the C. L. S. C. is found in this, that it is a union in intellectual and literary activity, a union in affection, a union in practical aim and service. It aims to do three things:—To cultivate the intellect, to cultivate the heart, and to develop the executive forces of our natures. By this three-fold bond we are united as members of the C. L. S. C. We meet this glad day in this beautiful grove, under the play of this charming sunshine; we meet to remember, we meet to rejoice, we meet to resolve. And as the years go by may our memories grow sweeter, our rejoicing more intense, and our resolves stronger. And as we meet from year to year “to study the words and the works of God,” let us try “to keep our Heavenly Father in the midst.” The blending of the mottoes, felicitous only as a blending of mottoes, does not express the whole theological truth I would convey.

Mr. Robertson said, in writing one of his charming letters to his brother, “I have through all these years been seeking God, and I am just awakening to the fact that all these years it is God who has been seeking me.” We need not try to keep our Heavenly Father in the midst. In the boundlessness of his grace, he is glad to come into the midst and here to abide, and if we have any longing of heart after him, however feeble it may be, it is because he is already there, breathing into us his own life, and giving to us a measure of his own joy. Let us pray to him.

We thank thee, our Father, that through the year thou hast been with us, and that thou hast guided us; that in hours of prosperity thou hast held us, and in hours of sorrow thou hast given us comfort. And on this beautiful afternoon, in this sacred place, we meet and make mention of thy name and of thy love. We thank thee for thy great kindness to us. We confess our great sinfulness against thee, and our utter unworthiness before thee. We ask for the gifts of grace which thou art ready to bestow, and we open our hearts by the leadings of thy spirit, that thy spirit may enter in and abide with us.

Bless the homes we represent; bless the circles of which we are members; bless the vast sweep of the circle with which we are connected, and may all the members of our fraternity have thy presence and thy grace. And with all their seeking, may they seek spiritual power, and seeking, may they find. Enlighten our understanding with thy wisdom, inspire our hearts with thy love; strengthen our wills with all holy purposes. Bring us after these reunions, and after the separations, after all the joys and sorrows, the gains and the losses of human life, into thine own immediate presence, and we shall praise thee, the only God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

After a song Dr. Vincent said:

Is any body here from Monteagle? Are any here who were present this year at Lakeside, Monona Lake, Lake Bluff, Ocean Grove? Have we any one here who could make us a brief report of the C. L. S. C. work at any of these assemblies? Where is Dr. Hurlbut? Kansas Assembly—Dr. Hurlbut presided there.

DR. HURLBUT: I would state that we recognized the C. L. S. C. at Kansas, and we had a very pleasant time. When we called for the members of the C. L. S. C. to have a meeting I found but five, but we had a Round-Table. And the next day we had twenty present, and when we came to the day for the recognition of the members of ’83, we found three members of the class. We marched the three members of ’83 in procession, and took them down to the tabernacle and made a speech to them. We had a number of Round-Tables, and distributed the circulars, and a great many people said that they were going to join. This was in Ottawa, Kansas.

On the afternoon of graduation an address was delivered by Dr. G. P. Hays, an old Chautauquan, who delivered an admirable address. In the evening we had a camp fire, and though there were only about twenty members present, we had a fine camp fire. We had a good place to hold it, and we gave notice that we would admit no one but members of the C. L. S. C., but we made an exception that any who wished to join, or if they had any friends whom they wished to represent, or if there were any members of the C. L. S. C. in the towns where they lived, they might come. We made a procession three hundred strong by actual count, all interested in the C. L. S. C., to a greater or less degree. We had some interesting addresses. Mr. Hatch, a member of the C. L. S. C. of that city, made a very interesting address, and Dr. Hays spoke, and one or two others from the places around, and we had a few solemn words from Prof. Sherwin, and a few more solemn words from Prof. Beard. At the close of the camp fire we found that the C. L. S. C. stock had gone up above par. People wanted to know all about it. One old gentleman from the country came up to the president and said that he did not know any thing about this C. L. S. C. that we were talking about, but he was going to join if it did not cost more than a dollar, and he joined that night. You will find that the next year there will be over two hundred members of the C. L. S. C. present.

DR. VINCENT: That is a very refreshing report in every sense.

DR. HURLBUT: I could tell you all about Island Park.

DR. VINCENT: Let us hear from that.

A GENTLEMAN: I could tell you about Monteagle.

DR. VINCENT: Let us hear it.

A GENTLEMAN: There were some sixteen or eighteen of the C. L. S. C. present. We did not have very many meetings, but we met once or twice and agreed to form a procession and give Dr. Vincent a welcome when he came. This we did. We met in a body and called on him, and had a very pleasant talk from him.

DR. VINCENT: That was not all that was done by the C. L. S. C. at Monteagle. I was greeted very warmly by the C. L. S. C. members at Monteagle. I found Monteagle literally a very high place, something over 2000 feet above the sea. To my surprise there were more than twenty members of the C. L. S. C. at our Round-Table. Going up the mountain on the railway a young gentleman came to me and introduced himself. He said, “I am a member of the C. L. S. C., and my sister is a member. She is on the train, and very anxious to see you.” I saw her, and found her to be an enthusiastic C. L. S. C. She knew all about the Memorial Days, and knew all about everything in connection with the C. L. S. C. work, the C. L. S. C. column, the news from the various states, the mottoes, and all the special directions that had been given. She had read all the reading for the year and much on the Seal Course. I think she had completed the White Crystal Seal. She said she was all alone in the town where she lived. She had done everything that was required, even to the buying a badge, and wearing it, and observing the five o’clock hour. She said that next year there would be a large number from her town.

I am always afraid of obtruding Chautauqua on these other centers, lest they suggest that Chautauqua be a little more modest. I therefore do not allow the name to be used too much.

DR. HURLBUT: In Kansas, I know that one person wrote to a newspaper and said that there was one evil that ought to be nipped in the bud. He said that this evil was the peddling around of Chautauqua ideas by professionals through the country.

DR. VINCENT: I am always sensitive about speaking too much of Chautauqua. At Lakeside I made my first speech without naming Chautauqua, and I did the same at Framingham, until others came to me and said that I need not be so particular, that they considered themselves in some degree a part of Chautauqua. I found the same spirit at Monteagle. I did not see a thing, or hear a syllable at Monteagle, that did not indicate a hearty sympathy with the Chautauqua work. I never was more royally treated.

At one Round-Table on errors of speech they criticised several of my mispronunciations, and what was the worst of it, when I sent for Webster, Webster sustained those southerners. They got an idea that I rather enjoyed the pointing out of my errors. We had a good time in the correction of errors in speech. We had also a recognition speech. We formed in procession, one graduate of ’83, and I had the satisfaction of extending the right hand of fellowship to the one in the procession at that service.

Mr. Van Lennep told me that they kept up their Round-Tables every day until the close of the Assembly, and that they numbered seventy strong and raised a fund of $500 toward building a hall of philosophy at Monteagle. (Applause.)

This is a sort of reunion meeting; for songs, for questions, for statements of difficulties, and for reports. Are there any large local circles represented here? Is there a local circle of one hundred members represented here to-day? Let the leader of that circle stand up and raise the hand. Are there any? Mr. Martin, of Pittsburgh, has such a circle.

MR. MARTIN: I would say that we have a circle in Pittsburgh that has enrolled something like seven or eight hundred members altogether. Occasionally one or two hundred of them will drop out, so we do not claim that we have a circle quite up to that number all the time. We have fifty-four graduates enrolled as a sort of executive committee to keep up our Local Circle movement. We have monthly meetings, and also have numerous weekly meetings in different parts of the city. These weekly meetings are usually reported to the central circle, and the members attend more or less at our monthly meetings.

As an alumni association, we have got up on a little higher plane, and during the past year we held three meetings. Our first meeting was a reunion and banquet at one of the leading hotels. Our second meeting was a very enthusiastic one, conducted by the members of the alumni association in the eastern part of our city. At our last and final meeting we had Bishop Warren to address us. We had one of the largest churches in the city filled, and charged an admission fee as well. We felt rich. We have a fund of about $60 to start with next year. We expect to bring a large number of ’83 members into our alumni association. We are still enthusiastic over the C. L. S. C. We were enthusiastic five years ago, have been every year since, and propose to continue to be enthusiastic as long as the C. L. S. C. exists. (Applause.)

DR. VINCENT: That is good. Is there any one here who can make some report from Monterey Circle? They had an unusual time last year. Is Miss Hudson present? Although she has not been at Monterey, she has been in communication with the Monterey people. Would you object to make a statement as you have it?

MISS HUDSON: I can give a few facts.

DR. VINCENT: Please do so. Miss Myrtie Hudson, of Ann Arbor.

MISS HUDSON: I have received quite enthusiastic reports from Monterey. There were present in July twenty-five members to graduate. I do not know how large the class was through the state, but they had about that number present. The exercises held were in the hall, which was beautifully decorated for the occasion. An address was delivered and the diplomas were given out by Dr. Stratton, our president of the branch of the Pacific coast. He was one of the graduates of ’83. Dr. Wythe, the author of our book on biology, was also one of the graduates.

I have received this message from there to-day, that the book, “The Hall in the Grove,” has been of very great value in their work, and they want to make the suggestion, that it would be a good idea to have this book read by members in the first year, instead of the fourth year.

DR. VINCENT: The suggestion of having “The Hall in the Grove” read in the first year instead of the fourth year is a very good one.

MRS. BARLOW, of Detroit: I would like to speak in behalf of “The Hall in the Grove.” I was a graduate of ’82. We have a large circle in Detroit, but I do not know the membership, because I have not been able to attend very frequently. Our president of that circle, Mrs. A. L. Clark, who has been president for five years, died this summer. I suppose that she intended to come to Chautauqua this year. I waited here some minutes, thinking some one else from Detroit would speak of her. I wish you could know what a work she did in Detroit, what an influence she had in the community of young people, not always among the wealthy, but among those in the stores, and those who had no other way of cultivation. No one knows how much they owe to Mrs. Clark.

About “The Hall in the Grove.” I have tried in our neighborhood for four years to organize a local circle, but have failed. But this last summer I had two copies of “The Hall in the Grove” which I have circulated very industriously, and I hope to organize a circle in October.

DR. VINCENT: I intended to speak at the proper time, concerning Mrs. Clark, this devoted worker. There is no woman in connection with our Circle who has done more hearty work. I have received from many members of the Circle tributes to her worth and work.

MRS. BARLOW: Mrs. Clark had a very large class of colored adult people that she taught every Sabbath in the Y. M. C. A. room. They would have filled almost any house. A great many of them have been converted, I have no doubt, from her work.

DR. HURLBUT: I had the privilege last winter in Washington City of visiting a circle composed entirely of colored people, and I thought I should like to make a little mention of that circle. It was a circle of between thirty and forty people of color. They met at a private house, a handsome residence, with every thing about it in the finest taste. The exercises that night in that circle impressed me wonderfully. From the conversation that I had with the members I learned that some of them were teachers in the city of Washington, and one was a member of the Washington Board of Education. Another had read five times as much as we required on geology last year. One of the city teachers read a paper of great interest. Every person connected with the circle belonged to what we call the African race. I never in my life was impressed with the earnestness, thoroughness, efficiency and downright energy in the C. L. S. C. work of any class of people more than I was on that occasion with that of these members in Washington City.

MR. BRIDGE: You have not spoken about New England.

DR. VINCENT: At Framingham, Mass., we have an Assembly which opens immediately after the close of Chautauqua Assembly, and this year a little before the close. Last year we had four hundred and forty recorded members present at that Assembly, and the sales of the books are reported as being double what they were the year before. And I believe the prospects for this year are much more brilliant.

After various announcements Dr. Vincent said: Turn to the nineteenth number. We must sing “Day is Dying in the West,” or it would not seem natural. The other evening we omitted it, and a few of us came back and sang it.

After the song, the Round-Table was dismissed with the benediction by Rev. Mr. Alden.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

1. FIFTY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON “PHILOSOPHY OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION”—FROM CHAPTER 15 TO THE END OF THE BOOK.—2. FIFTY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON “HOW TO GET STRONG AND HOW TO STAY SO.”

By A. M. MARTIN, GENERAL SECRETARY C. L. S. C.

I.

1. Q. What was the difference between the dispensation under the Old Testament and the one under the New? A. The first was a preparatory dispensation, its manifestations, for the most part, being seen and temporal; the second was a perfect system of truth, spiritual in its character and in the methods of its communication.

2. Q. What difference would there be in the methods adapted to move men’s nature under different dispensations? A. The same methods under all dispensations would be necessary, varied only to suit the advancement of the mind in knowledge, the difference existing in the habits and circumstances of men, and the character of the dispensation to be introduced.

3. Q. What would be an essential requisite under any dispensation, after the way for its introduction was prepared? A. Such manifestations of God to men as would produce love in the human heart for the object of worship and obedience.

4. Q. According to the constitution which God has given the soul, what must it feel before it can feel love for the giver of spiritual mercies? A. It must feel the want of spiritual mercies; and just in proportion as the soul feels its lost, guilty and dangerous condition, in the same proportion will it exercise love to the being who grants spiritual favor and salvation.

5. Q. What is the only possible way by which man could be made to hope for and appreciate spiritual mercies, and to love a spiritual deliverer? A. To produce a conviction in the soul itself of its evil condition, its danger as a spiritual being, and its inability, unaided, to satisfy the requirements of the spiritual law, or to escape its just and spiritual penalty.

6. Q. What does the degree of kindness and self-denial in a benefactor, temporal or spiritual, create? A. The degree of affection and gratitude that will be awakened for him.

7. Q. At the advent of Jesus how was the moral law generally applied by him? A. It was applied to the external conduct of men, not to the internal life. If there was conformity to the letter of the law in external manners, there was a fulfillment, in the eyes of the Jew and the Gentile, of the highest claims that God or man held upon the spirit.

8. Q. How did Jesus apply the divine law? A. He taught that all wrong thoughts and feelings were acts of transgression against God, and as such would be visited with the penalty of the divine law. Thus he made the law spiritual and its penalty spiritual.

9. Q. What does Jesus declare to be the consequence of these spiritual acts of transgression against God? A. Exclusion from the kingdom and presence of God, a penalty which involves either endless spiritual suffering, or destruction of the soul itself.

10. Q. What was then necessary in order that man’s affections might be fixed upon the proper object of love and obedience? A. That a spiritual God should, by self-denying kindness, manifest spiritual mercy to those who felt their spiritual wants, and thus draw to himself the love and worship of mankind.

11. Q. In order to the accomplishment of this end, without violating the moral constitution of the universe, what would be essentially necessary? A. That the holiness of God’s law should be maintained.

12. Q. What does Jesus uniformly speak of as being necessary previous to accepting him as a Savior? A. That the soul should feel the need of salvation.

13. Q. What is the testimony of the Scriptures as to God manifesting himself in self-denying kindness for mankind? A. The testimony of the Scriptures is that God did thus manifest himself in Christ as suffering and making self-denials for the spiritual good of men.

14. Q. What would be impossible for a human soul, exercising full faith in the testimony of the Scriptures as to his needs and his ransom by Christ, not to do? A. Not to love the Savior.

15. Q. Previous to the introduction of Christianity, in what efforts had all the resources of human wisdom been exhausted? A. To confer upon man true knowledge and true happiness.

16. Q. What are two insuperable difficulties which would forever hinder the restoration of mankind to truth and happiness from being accomplished by human means? A. First, human instruction, as such, has no power to bind the conscience; and, second, truth, whether sanctified by conscience or not, has no power to produce love in the heart.

17. Q. To what are the laws which govern physical nature analogous? A. To those which the Gospel introduces into the spiritual world.

18. Q. Men can not love God for what he truly is, unless they love him as manifested how? A. As manifested in the suffering and death of Christ Jesus.

19. Q. To deny the divine and meritorious character of the atonement is to shut out what from the soul? A. Both the evidence and the effect of God’s mercy.

20. Q. What is the influence of faith in Christ upon the moral disposition of the soul? A. It assimilates the moral feelings of man to God, and produces an aversion to sin.

21. Q. What is the influence of faith in Christ upon the moral sense, or conscience of believers? A. By faith in Jesus Christ the conscience is not only guided by a perfect rule, but it is likewise quickened and empowered by a perfect sense of obligation.

22. Q. What is the influence of faith in Christ upon the imagination? A. It controls and purifies the imagination of believers.

23. Q. What would a religion from heaven be designed ultimately to bless? A. The whole world.

24. Q. What does the best good of mankind as a family require? A. That they should be the instruments of disseminating this religion among themselves.

25. Q. What is the great principle by which the operation of spreading this religion would be carried on? A. The principle of self-denial, or denying ourselves the ease and pleasure of selfishness in order to perform acts of benevolence.

26. Q. How does the Gospel of Christ possess all the characteristics of a universal religion? A. It is adapted to human nature; not to any particular country or class of men, but to the nature of the race.

27. Q. In the instructions of Christ to regulate the conduct of men, how were their lives to be spent? A. In efforts to impart those blessings which they possessed to their brethren of the human family who possessed them not.

28. Q. In what did Christ teach the principle of self-denial? A. By his precepts, by his example, and especially by his identifying himself with those in need.

29. Q. What is faith in Jesus Christ therefore directly designed and adapted to do and to produce? A. To strengthen men’s benevolent affections, and to produce in believers that active desire and effort for the good of others which will necessarily produce a dissemination of the light and love of the Gospel throughout the whole habitable world.

30. Q. What are three of the most important means of grace? A. Prayer, praise and preaching.

31. Q. In order that men may receive the greatest benefit from prayer, what is essential? A. That there should be strong desire and importunity in prayer.

32. Q. In order to offer acceptable prayer, what should men possess? A. A spirit of faith and dependence upon Christ.

33. Q. What are two important means to impress the mind with religious truth? A. Music and poetry.

34. Q. Among the means which God appointed to disseminate his truth throughout the world, what holds a first and important place? A. The living preacher.

35. Q. What is the agency of God in carrying on the work of redemption and giving efficiency to its operations? A. The Holy Spirit.

36. Q. What is evidence to the world of the divine efficacy and power of the doctrines of the gospel system? A. Its effects in restoring the soul to moral health.

37. Q. The discussion of religious subjects for the past few years, both in Europe and America, has been mainly between what two classes? A. Between those who believe in the divine authority of the Christian religion as a rule of duty, and those who believe in the authority of conscience and reason as the highest guides of man.

38. Q. How does each class receive the Messiah and his teachings? A. One as of God, and the other as of man.

39. Q. In what light and as what means does one view consider a written revelation? A. In the light of the moral wants of man, and as adapted and necessary means in order to human development.

40. Q. What proposition is attempted to be proven in this connection? A. That a written revelation is a demand of man’s moral constitution, without which his moral culture is impossible.

41. Q. What is a first fact connected with this inquiry? A. Man is a cultivating and a cultivable being, and he is the only being created that possesses the double capability to receive and to impart culture.

42. Q. What are three endowments by which men are particularly distinguished from irrational beings? A. Written language, faith and conscience.

43. Q. What fact is fairly settled in reference to man aiding himself by a written language? A. That without aiding himself by a written language man can not ascend even to the first stages of civilization.

44. Q. In what way only can the character of God be known? A. Only by faith; and it is the character of God that is the element of moral culture.

45. Q. Upon what does the character of conscience in all religious duties depend? A. Upon faith.

46. Q. What is said of reason, faith and conscience without revealed truth? A. Without revealed truth reason has no data, faith is false, and conscience is corrupt.

47. Q. As there can be no moral culture with a false faith and a corrupt or dead conscience, what is a moral necessity in order to the culture of the human soul? A. Revelation of objective truth, rendered efficient by the perceived presence and authority of God.

48. Q. What is the conclusion reached as to how the moral culture of the soul must be accomplished? A. By a system of truth, revealed objectively in written language, by divine authority; and that the Christian Scriptures contain that system of truth.

49. Q. In view of the reasonings and facts presented by the author, to what conclusion is it his opinion unprejudiced readers should come? A. That the religion of the Bible is from God, and divinely adapted to produce the greatest present and eternal spiritual good of the human family.

50. Q. Of what does he consider the demonstration conclusive? A. That the Gospel is the only religion possible for man in order to perfect his nature and restore his lapsed powers to harmony and holiness.

II.

1. Q. What proportion of men either erect or thoroughly well-built will be seen among those usually passing a given point on Broadway, in New York? A. Scarcely one in ten.

2. Q. What is said of the training ordinarily had by farmers, merchants, mechanics and laborers, who constitute a very great majority of Americans? A. No one of the four classes has ordinarily had any training at all aimed to make him equally strong all over.

3. Q. What is said of regular exercise among the great majority of the women of this country? A. No regular exercise is common among the great majority of the women of this country which makes them use both their hands alike, and is yet vigorous enough to add to the size and strength of their shoulders, chests and arms.

4. Q. What is the character of the popular sports and pastimes of boyhood and youth to supply the lack of inherited development? A. Good as these sports are, as far as they go, they are not in themselves vigorous enough, or well enough chosen to remedy the lack.

5. Q. What does a leading metropolitan journal say an inquirer will see by standing at the door of almost any public or private school or academy at the hour of dismissal? A. He will see a crowd of under-sized, listless, thin-faced children, with scarcely any promise of manhood to them.

6. Q. What is stated in reference to the play-grounds of our cities and towns? A. It is not a good sign, or one that bodes well for the future, to see them so much neglected; and many of our large cities are wretchedly off for play-grounds.

7. Q. What description is given of the physical appearance of the majority of the girls in any of our cities or towns, as seen passing to and from school? A. Instead of high chests, plump arms, comely figures, and a graceful and handsome mien, you constantly see flat chests, angular shoulders, often round and warped forward, with scrawny necks, pipe-stem arms, narrow backs, and a weak walk.

8. Q. What does a distinguished surgeon say as to the ability to endure protracted brain-work without ill result? A. It is not brain-work that kills, but brain-worry.

9. Q. What does our author state there ought to be in every girls’ school in our land, for pupils of every age? A. A system of physical culture which should first eradicate special weaknesses and defects, and then create and maintain the symmetry of the pupils, increasing their bodily vigor and strength up to maturity.

10. Q. What is the first thing most women should do in order to get health and strength and the bloom of perfect physical development? A. The first thing is to bring up the weaker muscles by special effort, calling them at once into vigorous action, and to restore to its proper position the shoulder, back, or chest which has been so long allowed to remain out of place.

11. Q. What is the next step after the symmetry is once secured? A. Then equal work for all the muscles, taken daily, and in such quantities as are found to suit best.

12. Q. In our Christian lands what do we find in regard to the fathers and mothers of the great men? A. We find that the great men have almost invariably had remarkable mothers, while their fathers were as often nothing unusual.

13. Q. What does our author say as to the means of getting a vigorous and healthy body kept toned up by rational, systematic, daily exercise, by every girl and woman? A. The means of getting it are so easily within the reach of all who are not already broken by disease, that it is never too late to begin, and that one hour a day, properly spent, is all that is needed to secure it.

14. Q. Had the lungs and also the muscles of the man had vigorous daily action to the extent that frequent trial had shown best suited to that man’s wants, of what is there very little doubt? A. That a large majority of the ailments would be removed, or rather would never have come at all.

15. Q. What is well nigh essential to attain success and length of service in any of the learned professions, including that of teaching? A. A vigorous body.

16. Q. To win lasting distinction in sedentary, in-door occupations which tax the brain and the nervous system, what does all professional biography teach? A. Extraordinary toughness of body must accompany extraordinary mental powers.

17. Q. What are all that people need for their daily in-door exercises? A. A few pieces of apparatus which are fortunately so simple and inexpensive as to be within the reach of most persons.

18. Q. What appliances can be readily fitted up for the home gymnasium? A. A horizontal bar, a pair of parallel bars, or their equivalent for certain purposes, a pair of pulling-weights, and a rowing-weight, to which may be added a pair of dumb-bells.

19. Q. What may be accomplished with these few bits of apparatus? A. Every muscle of the trunk, nearly all those of the legs, and all those of the arms, can, by a few exercises so simple that they can be learned at a single trying, be brought into active play.

20. Q. To what extent should these articles of the home gymnasium be used? A. Every member of the family, both old and young, should use them daily, enough to keep both the home gymnasium and its users in good working order.

21. Q. What is said of the shaping power of teachers with children in school? A. When children are with their teacher in school is almost the best time in their whole lives to shape them as the teacher chooses, not morally or mentally only, but physically as well.

22. Q. With what should prompt and vigorous steps be taken to acquaint every school teacher in this country? A. With such exercises as would quickly restore the misshapen, insure an erect carriage, encourage habits of full breathing, and strengthen the entire trunk and every limb.

23. Q. What did President Eliot of Harvard say a few years ago of a majority of those coming into that university? A. That they had undeveloped muscles, a bad carriage, and an impaired digestion, without skill in any out-of-door games, and unable to ride, row, swim or shoot.

24. Q. What do both the physician and experience tell us rest the tired brain? A. Nothing rests a tired brain like sensible physical exercise, except, of course, sleep.

25. Q. When exposure to out-of-door air is associated with a fair share of physical exertion, what does Dr. Mitchell say it is an immense safeguard against? A. The ills of anxiety and too much brain work.

26. Q. In a country like ours, where the masses are so intelligent, concerning what does our author consider the ignorance of the people as marvelous? A. As to what can be done to the body by a little systematic physical education.

27. Q. Of what do few people seem to be aware on this subject? A. That any limb, or any part of it, can be developed from a state of weakness and deficiency to one of fullness, strength, and beauty, and that equal attention to all the limbs, and to the body as well, will work like results throughout.

28. Q. What course of exercise with many has resulted in largely reducing superfluous flesh with fleshy people? A. Vigorous muscular exercise, taken daily and assiduously.

29. Q. What contributes to keeping some people thin? A. Most thin people do not keep still enough, do not take matters leisurely, and do not rest enough; while, if their work is muscular, they do too much daily in proportion to their strength.

30. Q. What is the character of the physical exercises the late William Cullen Bryant continued up to the last year of his life? A. Immediately after rising he began a series of exercises performed with dumb-bells, a pole, a horizontal bar, and a light chair swung around his head, continued for a full hour and sometimes longer.

31. Q. What does a former business associate of Mr. Bryant, who knew him intimately, say of his health? A. “During the forty years that I have known him, Mr. Bryant has never been ill—never been confined to his bed except on the occasion of his last accident. His health has always been good.”

32. Q. What two classes of men are there in our cities and larger towns that more than almost any others need daily and systematic bodily exercise in order to make them efficient for their duties, and something like what men in their line ought to be? A. The police and firemen.

33. Q. What are some of the ways of developing the muscles of the leg below the knee? A. Walking, and at the same time pressing hard with the toes and the soles; running on the soles and toes; hopping on one foot; jumping.

34. Q. What are some of the methods of developing the muscles of the front thigh? A. Holding one foot out, either in front or back, and then stooping down wholly on the other; jumping, fast walking and running.

35. Q. What exercise is especially recommended for strengthening the sides of the waist? A. Hopping straight ahead on one foot, and then on the other.

36. Q. What kind of a walk does a man usually have who is not strong in the abdominal muscles? A. A feeble walk.

37. Q. What is said of the development of men generally above the waist? A. It is not an uncommon thing, especially among Englishmen, to find a man of very strong legs and waist, yet with but an indifferent chest and shoulders, and positively poor arms.

38. Q. With the use of what can the muscles above the belt be nearly all thoroughly developed? A. With the use of dumb-bells.

39. Q. What is a simple method for improving the ordinary grip of the hand? A. Take a rubber ball in the hand, or a wad of any elastic material, even of paper, and repeatedly squeeze it.

40. Q. What will expand the chest? A. Anything which causes one to frequently fill his lungs to their utmost capacity, and then hold them full as long as he can.

41. Q. What practice of breathing is a great auxiliary to enlarging the lung room? A. The practice of drawing air slowly in at the nostrils until every air-cell of the lungs is absolutely full, holding it long, and then expelling it slowly.

42. Q. Beside light gymnastic exercises in school, what should a teacher insist upon with his pupils? A. He should insist upon the value of an erect position in school hours, whether the pupils be standing or sitting.

43. Q. What care should be taken in regard to school chairs? A. That they should have broad and comfortable seats, and that the pupil never sits on a half of the seat or on the edge of it, but far back on the whole of it.

44. Q. What weight of dumb-bells should be used in ordinary exercises with them by pupils? A. Dumb-bells of a pound each would be fit for pupils under ten years of age. For older pupils the same work with two pound bells will prove generally vigorous enough.

45. Q. What are some of the daily exercises recommended for girls and women? A. The use of dumb-bells, walking, riding, and, with girls, running.

46. Q. Beside these things, what ought a girl or woman to determine to do while sitting? A. To sit with the head and neck up, trunk erect, and with the shoulders low.

47. Q. How ought every man in this country whose life is in-door to divide his time? A. So that come what may he will make sure of his hour of out-of-doors in the late afternoon, when the day’s work is nearly or quite done.

48. Q. What two things ought consumptives to determine to do when sitting? A. To sit far back on the chair, and to sit at all times upright.

49. Q. To what does a great German anatomist attribute the principal cause of pulmonary diseases? A. To the breathing of foul air.

50. Q. What is it far from uncommon for delicate persons to do who take good care of the small stock of vigor they have? A. To outlive sturdier ones who are more prodigal and careless.

CHAUTAUQUA NORMAL COURSE.

Season of 1884.

LESSON V.—BIBLE SECTION.

_The World of The Bible._

By REV. J. L. HURLBUT, D.D., AND R. S. HOLMES, A.M.

Upon a map of the world mark out a section between 42° and 27° north latitude, and 54° and 12° east longitude (Greenwich). This will include a rectangle having the Black Sea on the north; the Caspian and Persian Gulf on the east, the Sinaitic peninsula on the south, and Rome on the west; a section of 1050 miles north and south, by 2400 east and west; an area of 2,520,000 square miles, about two-thirds the size of the United States. Within these limits were transacted all the events of Bible history. This area should be considered in connection with two maps, overlapping each other in the center, those of the Old Testament, and the New Testament world.

I. The Old Testament world will embrace the lands between 54° and 31° east longitude, or from the Nile to the Persian Gulf; and between 42° and 27° north latitude, or from the Black Sea to the Red Sea.

1. Observe the location of the following _Seas_, and draw such portions of them as are included in the map. 1. The Caspian, in the northeast corner. 2. The Persian Gulf, southeast corner. 3. The Red Sea, on the south. 4. The Mediterranean Sea, on the west. 5. The Black Sea on the north. 6. The Dead Sea, due north of the eastern arm of the Red Sea.

2. Locate the following _Mountain Ranges_: 1. Mount Ararat, the nucleus of the mountain system, situated between the Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean. 2. The Caspian range, branching from Ararat eastward, and following the border of the Caspian Sea. 3. Mount Zagras, running from Ararat southeasterly, toward the Persian Gulf. 4. Mount Lebanon, from Ararat southwesterly, toward the Red Sea. (Anti-Lebanon, the mountains of Palestine, Mount Seir and Mount Sinai, are all parts of this great range.) 5. Mount Taurus, from Ararat westward, following the northern shore of the Mediterranean.

3. Next draw the important _Rivers_, nearly all following the line of the mountain ranges. 1. The Araxes, from eastward into the Caspian Sea. 2. The Tigris, called in the Bible Hiddekel, from Ararat, following the Zagras Mountain, into the Persian Gulf. 3. The Euphrates, from Ararat westward to Mount Taurus, then southward, following the course of Lebanon, then southeasterly through the great plain, until it unites with the Tigris. 4. The Orontes, between two parallel chains of the Lebanon range northward into the Mediterranean. 5. The Jordan, between the same chains of Lebanon southward into the Dead Sea. 6. The Nile, in Africa, northward into the Mediterranean.

4. This world has its great Natural Divisions, somewhat like those of the United States. 1. The eastern slope, from Mount Zagras eastward to the great desert. 2. The central plain, between Zagras and Lebanon. 3. The Mediterranean Slope, between Lebanon and the great sea.

5. These natural divisions suggest the arrangement of the _Lands_. 1. Locate the lands of the eastern slope; Armenia, Media, Persia. 2. The lands of the central plain, as follows: Between Mount Zagras and the river Tigris. Assyria and Elam; between the Tigris and Euphrates. Mesopotamia and Chaldea; the great desert. Arabia; between the desert and Lebanon, Syria. 3. The lands of the Mediterranean; Egypt, the wilderness, Palestine, Phœnicia, Asia Minor, though the last does not appear in Old Testament history.

6. Locate the following cities, and name the Bible events associated with them. 1. Eden, the original home of the human race, probably at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates. 2. Babylon, the capital of Chaldea, on the Euphrates. 3. Shushan, or Suza, the capital of Persia, and the place of Esther’s deliverance. 4. Nineveh, on the Tigris, the capital of Assyria. 5. Haran, in Mesopotamia, a home of Abraham. 6. Damascus, the capital of Syria. 7. Jerusalem, in Palestine. 8. Tyre, in Phœnicia. 9. Memphis, on the Nile, in Egypt.

II. _The New Testament World._ This extends from Asia Minor to Italy, and from the Black Sea to Mount Sinai, between the same parallels as the last map, and from 12° to 42° east longitude; and represents the lands of the eastern Mediterranean.

1. Upon this map locate five _Seas_. The Mediterranean; Dead Sea; Black Sea; Ægean Sea (between Asia Minor and Europe); Adriatic Sea, between Greece and Italy.

2. Locate also five _Islands_. Cyprus, in the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean; Crete, south of the Ægean; Patmos, in the Ægean; Sicily, southwest of Italy, and Melita, now Malta, south of Sicily.

3. Arrange and bound the lands by their continents. 1. African lands. Egypt, Libya, and Africa proper. 2. Asiatic lands. Palestine, Phœnicia, Syria, Asia Minor. 3. European lands. Macedonia, Greece, Illyricum, Italy.

4. Locate definitely the provinces of Asia Minor, which may be arranged thus: Three on the north, bordering on the Black Sea. Pontus, Paphlagonia, Bithynia; three on the west, bordering on the Ægean Sea. Mysia, Lydia, Caria; three on the south, bordering on the Mediterranean; Lycia, Pamphylia, Cilicia; four in the interior; north, Galatia; east, Cappadocia; south, Pisidia; west, Phrygia; central, Lycaonia.

5. Notice the location of several important _Cities_. Alexandria, in Egypt; Jerusalem, in Palestine; Damascus and Antioch, in Syria; Tyre, in Phœnicia; Tarsus, in Cilicia; Ephesus, in Lydia; Philippi and Thessalonica, in Macedonia; Athens and Corinth, in Greece; and Rome, in Italy.

6. Notice with regard to the New Testament world. 1. There were many lands, yet but one government, the Roman Empire. 2. There were many tongues, yet one language everywhere spoken, the Greek. 3. There were many races, but one people found everywhere, the Jews. 4. There were many religions, yet no deep-seated belief, and consequently, everywhere a hunger for the Gospel.

SUNDAY-SCHOOL SECTION.

LESSON IV.—THE TEACHER’S WEEK-DAY WORK.

I. _Its Necessity._—The teacher’s purpose is the conversion and spiritual education of the scholar; a purpose too great to be compassed in the session of the Sunday-school. Consider the following facts:

1. _The brief time which the Sunday-school affords; a half hour_ to the lesson; fifty-two half hours in a year; less than one school week of the secular school. What progress could be expected from a year’s study, in which the school time is only a week?

2. _The difficult subjects of Sunday-school teaching_; upon themes which are the loftiest contemplated by the human mind; worthy of the ablest intellects; yet to be simplified to the understanding of childhood and youth by the teacher.

3. _The lack of preparation on the part of the pupil._—The teacher can not take for granted _any_ study at home by the class, but must supplement their absolute neglect by his own increased diligence and skill.

4. _The natural aversion of the scholar’s heart to the teacher’s efforts._—The pupil does not desire to be saved and to learn about salvation; all his unregenerate nature is hostile to the subject, and the teacher has dull hearts as well as unprepared minds to contend against.

5. _The intervening time of a week between the sessions of the school_ is sufficient to efface even what impression is produced by the lesson.

With all these hindrances it is plain that the teacher who is to succeed, must supplement his Sunday with week-day work.

II. The next question is, _What shall the week-day work of the teacher be?_ Our space forbids more than a mere outline.

1. _A daily study by the teacher of teaching methods_, in order to best employ the brief time at command for actual work. It is said Napoleon’s battles were fought in detail in his own mind before even the enemy were in sight, and his force, will and genius were sufficient to carry out the details. A study of the methods employed by the best secular teachers would furnish means for planning all the details of any Sunday half hour.

2. _A daily study of the lesson itself._—The teacher’s preparation will occupy another lesson in this series; but when once that art has been learned, a part of the teacher’s week-day work should be to practice it daily.

3. _A daily watching the methods of life of the class of society from which one’s pupils come._—If they are children or youth or adults, if from the lower, middle or higher walks of society, the teacher should know the influences which surround the life and the methods which govern it, in order to rightly fit the teaching to the life.

4. _A sedulous scrutiny of the face of every child met in daily life._—Such care will prevent ever passing a scholar of the class without notice, and will reveal the workings of the child heart, and give an insight into child nature that will be of great value.

5. _A careful listening to the conversation of children, and entering into conversation with them whenever practicable._

6. _Earnestly seeking an interest in the things which are of interest to the pupil._—It will furnish a common ground of meeting in the class on Sunday. _Community of interest will result._

7. _Daily seeking contact with the pupil, either personal or by some means which will recall the teacher to the pupil’s mind._—If the teacher is daily present with the pupil there is hope that the teacher’s influence and teachings will be also.

8. _Daily endeavoring by all means in the teacher’s power to render the pupil’s daily life pleasanter._

III. But how can all these things be accomplished?

1. By a regular attendance on the weekly teachers’ meeting. That is an essential part of a teacher’s week-day work.

2. By systematic visiting of pupils in their homes. This will insure an acquaintance which could in no other way be obtained.

3. By cultivating the reading habit in the pupil. How? By giving some good weekly paper or magazine which you have finished; by loaning good books; by interesting the family in such organizations as the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.

4. By inviting pupils to entertainments, to the teacher’s home in winter, and to the woods and fields in summer.

5. By establishing little class Normal classes, and teaching some of the many interesting things parallel to the general work of the Sunday-school.

This brief outline may serve as a nucleus for thought by the student, and may suggest a general plan, of which the details can be wrought out by the individual teacher.

LESSON V.—THE TEACHER’S PREPARATION.

I. _The Necessity of Preparation._—All that was adduced in the last lesson to show the importance of the week-day work, might well be repeated as arguments for the preparation of the lesson.

1. _It is necessary from the limitation of time._—The teacher must study his subject thoroughly, in order to employ to the utmost that precious half hour of the lesson.

2. _It is necessary from the nature of the subjects._—No one should venture to instruct upon the all-important, the profound, the difficult themes of the Gospel, who has not given them special and intense thought.

3. _It is necessary from the condition of the pupil._—Because the scholar is unprepared, careless, unthinking, the teacher must be alert, able, equipped. Any one can teach a genius, but it requires a genius to teach a dullard.

II. _The general aims of preparation._—In the teacher’s study of the Scripture three aims should at all times be kept in view.

1. _His first aim should be to interpret the meaning of the Word._—We should study, not to interject into the Scriptures our own views, or the doctrines of our school of thought, but to ascertain what God meant in the Book, to learn “the mind of the Spirit.”

2. _His second aim should be to satisfy the needs of his own spiritual nature._—No man can feed others unless he has himself been fed. Let the teacher fill his own heart with the Word of life, and then he will be able to inspire his class with hunger for the truth.

3. _His third aim should be to supply the needs of his class._—He is a teacher as well as a learner, and must ever study with the full knowledge of his scholar’s needs, seeking in the lesson for that which is especially fitted for them and can be adapted to them.