on the present State of the Waldenses," happened to be on his visit to the Valleys, and in an interview with M. Peyrani, expressed his regret that no answer had been made to this redoubtable pamphlet. The Moderator drew some papers from his desk, and showed Mr. Lowther that he himself had drawn up a reply. But why have you not published it?" it was asked. "Because I have not the means. I cannot print it at my own expense, and know of nobody who will undertake it." Mr. Lowther begged, and obtain- and was so admirably well written, was so convincing, so keen and cutting, that the popish polemic bought up all the remaining unsold pamphlets of his own, out of shame. Mr. Lowther assured me that he was unable to buy a single impression, though he offered a louis for one, when he wanted to have it inserted in a volume of miscellaneous articles; and that he was obliged to borrow one, and to have it written out in the place of a printed copy.* "Lettre de Ferrari à M. Cellerier," was the title of the first pamphlet, and " Réponse à la Lettre de M. Ferrari, Curé du Grand Sacconex, par un Protestant," was the title of the second. ON INFANT EDUCATION. To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine. Ir is an opinion that extends beyond the members of your Society, or even the readers of your Magazine, that the Wesleyan Methodists have been, in the hands of Divine Providence, no unimportant instruments in helping forward the great moral improvements which are taking place in the world. The spark first kindled by the Almighty in the breast of your venerable Founder, has indeed burst into a great flame; and not only do many of the valuable institutions of our day owe much of their system to the plans originally projected by Mr. Wesley, but the Methodist Ministry, the Methodist Sunday-Schools, and the Methodist Missionary Societies, claim no small share in the honour of promoting that advancement of intellect and religion, which is, we trust, gradually appearing in our land. At the present period, when the culture of the human mind seems to have become a serious consideration with men of rank and science; when so many, high in station and intelligence, are advocating its cause, perhaps no part of it is more interesting than that of Infant Education; because here we are beginning at the root, and are immediately obeying the scriptural injunction: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Since, therefore, the Wesleyan Methodists have so successfully engaged in other departments of this great work, and have been so eminently owned of God, the writer of this address ventures, through the medium of your Magazine, to solicit their attention to this first step: and when we call to mind the pleasing effects which have, in numerous instances, followed the instruction 'imparted in the Wesleyan SundaySchools, and with what energy and perseverance they have been carried on in foreign lands, as well as in our own country, may we not hope that these efforts, if devoted to the yet more susceptible mind of an infant, and continued every day, instead of being confined to the Sabbath, would prove peculiarly successful? Time was, when it would have been judged chimerical to have talked of bestowing much cultivation on the mind of a child less than six or seven years of age; but experience has convinced to the contrary; and in the Infant Schools already established, we discover an extension of powers in infants, even under that age, which has surprised most of the visiters. But it is not merely as it concerns mental cultivation that this system is so valuable; in a moral point of view it is much more so. Sad and convincing have been the proofs that that knowledge is evil, which does not lead to God; and surely it is of importance, that the first dawnings of reason should be guided to the Holy Scriptures, as the basis of its future attainments. Hitherto this has been the aim in these institutions; and the scriptural knowledge of the infants educating in them, is greater than would generally be imagined. This is imparted by the exhibition of scripture prints, and by the relation of historical facts out of the Bible; while its most vital truths, which have been hung round the school-room in large printed characters, have, in one instance which has fallen under the notice of the writer, and doubtless in many others, been practically applied by the children to the regulation of their own conduct when absent from their teacher. It is not my intention to occupy your pages with entering fully into the system; that has been done by far abler pens; and, after all, it can only be perfectly under stood by viewing its operations at those places where it has already been carried into effect. The theory is simply this: A child presents itself for instruction, at the usual age of two or three years, possessing a heart, a head, and hands; the tools of the will, the understanding, and the other energies of the mind; the proper developement of which will be in love, knowledge, and usefulness. To awaken and direct these faculties, becomes at once the sole care of the teacher. The first object is, to arouse in the heart of the child love to God and man': and since nothing but love can excite love, it is the unremitting affection of the teacher, which kindles this feeling in the child: his fellow-children participate in it; and when he sees that love is the ruling principle of the school-room, his young and tender heart gladly embraces this principle as its own. He is then told who it is that made him, and who it is that has done him good all the days of his life; and thus he feels, that, while all around him have a claim to his affection, Almighty God is to be the supreme object of his love. He is then told, that because God made every body, and loves every body, he must do the same, and prove it by doing others all the good he can. He is pointed to his fellow-children as the objects nearest to him; and the practical adoption of this sentiment has already been delightfully realized, in the tender sympathy which these little children have been observed to manifest towards each other, by soothing a companion in his little troubles, or in imparting to one still more ignorant, the small degree of knowledge they may themselves have acquired. This principle is admirably traced through all the duties and obligations of life; and in familiar conversations with the teacher, the infant discovers that, according to our Saviour's definition, a fellowcreature, however distant, is his neighbour; and that, because" God made of one blood all nations of men," all men are his brethren. In the cultivation of the understanding, care is taken to give a knowledge of things, not of sounds merely; hence it is attained through visible objects presented to the eye of the child, and so leading him to reason upon it, as rather to elicit his own latent ideas, than to burden his memory with the ideas of others. The motive is not only to teach but to develope. As the seed contains the whole of a plant, but requires culture to develope it; so the soul possesses in itself, faculties that are to be called out by culture. Those who have had an opportunity of visiting the Infant-Schools, will universally bear testimony, how easily information is thus communicated; how diversified it is; and how superior is the intelligence of the children belonging to those institutions, to most others of a far more advanced age. In short, an intelligent master and mistress have thus led their youthful charge, consisting of one or two hundred, to the study of language, figures, geography, the rudiments of mathematics, of natural philosophy, of botany, of natural history, and also to the manner in which most of the articles in common use are formed. But one point is always to be kept in view; viz. that every thing which is known must have a practical end, and become useful, or it need not be known it is, therefore, the aim of the teacher, to direct the stimulated energies of the infant into a proper channel. Upon this theory, a brief outline of which is here but imperfectly sketched, schools of this description are conducted; and, when it is remembered, that the mind is thus acted upon, before bad habits, if acquired at all, can have attained to any degree of strength; and that the years spent in this manner, from two to seven, are those usually passed in the streets, where evil of the worst kind is so readily contracted; its advantages will appear in the strongest light. And let it not be supposed that this accumulation of learning, as it may appear to some, when the age of the infant is taken into account, is gained at the expense of laborious and fatiguing drudgery. This method of expanding the faculties of a child, becomes its amusement; while the variety of its employments, which change every quarter of an hour, and the lively singing, of itself and companions, with the entertaining manual exercises which form a very conspicuous part of the performances of the school-room,-throw such an air of cheerfulness over the whole, that, perhaps, without exception, each child considers the hours spent in school, as the happiest in the day. Indeed the most pleasing consequences of the system have been remarked by the parents themselves, in the increased vigour of body and improved tempers of their offspring. The efficient application of this theory, to a practical result, is, however, still in its infancy; comparatively little attention has been paid to the system, and but few children brought under its operation; it therefore becomes of importance to invite more generally the religious part of the community to an examination of the subject; and though Infant Schools, conducted according to their present mode, can never be narrowed to party feeling, (and highly undesirable would it be that this should ever be the case,) yet might not many of the respectable members of the Methodist Society, with peculiar advantage, promote its object, in their local situations? By the union of the efforts of a few charitably-disposed individuals of affluence, the expense of a school of this kind would not necessarily be very considerable; particularly if the plan be adopted, as it has been in some already established, of receiving a penny a week from the parent of each child: where the number of scholars amounts to a hundred or more, this weekly augmentation of the funds is a great assistance. It is also suggested, whether this method, especially so far as the learning language by things is concerned, might not prove exceedingly beneficial to your Foreign Missions, in the acquisition of the English tongue by the children under Methodistical instruction? The whole system may probably deserve the consideration of your Missionaries as foreigners are now coming over from several parts of the world, for the sole purpose of inspecting it, that it may be adopted among themselves. No adequate idea of it can be conceived but by a personal visit to one of the schools, which certainly ought to be paid by every person, so inclined to benefit the next generation as to promote such an institution. When knowledge is increasing, and when it is feared vice is also increasing, does it not become those who look upon their fellow-creatures, not only as intellectual, but likewise as immortal and responsible beings, to embrace the means thus placed within their reach; and gather some of the tender lambs of our wandering race into that fold, where, by the blessing of the Almighty, such divine principles shall be implanted in their minds, as no future sophisms of infidelity or temptations to crime, can easily obliterate? Should the hints contained in this paper be succeeded by any such resuft, much gratitude will be excited in the bosom of the writer, F... LITURGY OF ST. DIOSCORUS, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA. TRANSLATED BY THE REV. ADAM CLARKE, LL.D., F.A.S. To the Editor of the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine. THE following Liturgy was found in an ancient Ethiopic MS., formerly belonging to Dr. Pocock, and published by J. M. Wansleb, of Erfurt, at the end of Ludolph's Ethiopic Lexicon. Scarcely any person knows it. In my sight it is deeply pathetic, sublime, and beautiful. If your readers do not thank you for its insertion, I may pity, but certainly shall not envy, their taste. I send this and I send this and other pieces to you, as a proof of that friendship in which I ever remain, your affectionate brother, ADAM CLARKE. London, Oct. 31st, 1825. THE CONSECRATION OF THE FROM eternity to eternity is the Lord in his kingdom. He is Jehovah in his Trinity, and Jehovah in his Divinity. Before the heavens were stretched out, and before the dry land appeared, and before the grass budded forth, was the Lord in his kingdom. Before the sun, and moon, and stars, and before the revolutions of the luminaries, was the Lord in his kingdom. Before the animals that creep, and before the birds that fly, and before the monsters of the sea, was the Lord in his kingdom. Before man was created in His image and similitude, and before the precept was transgressed, was the Lord in his kingdom. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Spirit, for ever and ever ! Hear, O heavens! and give ear, O earth! and let the foundations of the strong (mountains) tremble! The well-beloved of his Father descended to ...... (Here is a chasm in the MS.) He was a stranger. God was born in the immaculate Virginity He was brought into a cave belonging to cattle. He received the gifts of his regal honour. As an infant he wept, demanding nourishment from the breasts of his mother. He walked as a man, and was seen openly. He grew up by degrees, and in his thirtieth year he was baptized in Jordan. He fasted evidently as a man, and dwelt in the desert. He was tempted by the Devil; and by the virtue of his Divinity he dispersed the princes of darkness. Holy holy! holy! is the Lord in his Trinity! Although he were a King, yet he showed his humility like to a servant. He stretched out his hands, which created man, that he might redeem men from the yoke of sin. In that night in which they (i.e. the Jews) betrayed him, he took bread in his holy, pure, and inmaculate hands. He looked up to heaven, where his Father is. He gave thanks, he blessed and brake it, and gave it to them; to his holy Disciples, and to his pure Apostles, and he said unto them, "Take, eat; this bread is my body, which is broken for you, for the remission of sins." He likewise mingled wine and water; he gave thanks, blessed and sanctified it, and gave it to them; to his holy Disciples, and to his pure Apostles, and said unto them, "Take, and drink; this cup is my blood; that which is poured out for you, for the remission of sins." The Jews apprehended him, and set in judgment Him before whom archangels stand with fear and trembling. They hung him on a tree, and pierced him through with nails; they smote his head with a reed, and pierced his side with a spear. They quenched His thirst with gall, mingled with myrrh, who gave the wandering Israelites drink from that one rock (in the wilderness.) He died, though he was immortal. He died that he might take away death. He died that he might give life to the dead, according to his promise in the word of the covenant. They took him down from the tree, and rolled him in fine linen, and buried him in a tomb. The third day he arose from the dead. He came where his disciples were gathered together; and he appeared to them in the palace of Zion. On the fortieth day, in which he ascended into the heavens, he commanded them, saying, "Wait for the promise of the Father." And on the fiftieth day, he sent down the Holy Spirit upon them, in the likeness of fire; and they spoke the languages of all countries. Send down thy Spirit upon this bread, and upon this cup! Let the (paschal) Lamb come, that we may see him in our camps, that we may rejoice in him! (Here follows a prayer in breaking.) Because he hath not despised, nor was averse from our times,-for the Lord our God is merciful. Thou art indeed the Lord, the Lord of all. Thou art indeed the Lord, the Governor of all. Thou art indeed the Lord, the Creator of all. Thou art indeed the Lord, who comprehendest all. Thou art indeed the Lord, who leadest all to veneration. Thou art indeed the Lord, the Saviour of all. Thou art indeed the Lord, the King of all. Thou art indeed the Lord, the Nourisher of all. We who are fleshly, think of the things of the flesh, and do the works of the flesh, and walk in the way of the flesh; but teach thou us the law of thy Spirit, and make us understand the works of the Spirit, and lead thou us in the way of the Spirit! If thou wilt be merciful to us sinners, thou shalt be called the Merciful. Compassionate the righteous according to the goodness of their works, and reward them according to their righteousness: but be not mindful of us according to our old offences; but let thy mercy speedily come upon us, O Lord! We invoke thee; we lift up a mournful cry unto thee; and we supplicate thee, world without end. St. Dioscorus, the author of this Liturgy, succeeded St. Cyril in the Patriarchate of Alexandria, A. D. 444. He is said to have espoused the errors of Eutyches, who confounded the divine and human nature of Christ. After the Council of Ephesus, held in 449, (by which Eutyches was re-. deemed from the sentence of excommunication, and restored to the government of his monastery,) Dioscorus excommunicated Pope Leo, and procured ten bishops to sign the instrument. In the Council of Chalcedon, which was held in 451, hewas condemned and deposed, and the Emperor banished him to Gangres, in Paphlagonia, where he died in 458. The Ethiopic Christians be-lieve him to have been unjustly condemned, and therefore never acknowledge the authority of the above Council. ORIGINAL LETTERS OF MR. CHARLES WESLEY. To Mr. William Perronet. Bristol, March 25, 1759. DEAR WILL, I EXPECTED to have seen you before this time; but a severe fall has stopped me for a season. Mr. Ford blooded me the next day; and Dr. Middleton, and a troop of female surgeons, joined in consultation about me. I cannot stoop without pain: neither do I expect a perfect cure in this world. So much for my (important) self. Your last but one mentions "business, and variety of company, as a remedy for your dejection of spirits." Strange that one who has tasted the true medicine of life should talk so idly! If you have forsaken the Fountain, in vain do you hew out broken cisterns. They can hold po water. Despair of help, |