90. Eighthly, since the concerns of re ligion and a future state are of infinitely more importance than those which re late to this world, it should be our most earnest object to contribute, as far as in us lies, to the moral and religious im provement of our fellow-creatures. In various ways we have this power; and this is a field in which all can, more or less, employ their talents. Here no effort can be altogether thrown away; at least no effort will be prejudicial; and if to others they will be useless, their effects return to our own bosoms.
91. Ninthly, we ought to pay the strict est regard to truth both in our affirma tions and promises. There are very few instances where veracity of both kinds is not evidently conducive to the public good, and falsehood in every degree per nicious. It follows, therefore, that, in cases where appearances are otherwise, the general regard to truth, which is of so much consequence to the world, ought to make us adhere inviolably to it ; and that it is a most dangerous practice to falsify, as is often done, from false deli cacy, or even from those motives which border upon virtue. The harm which these things do, by creating a mutual diffidence, and tendency to deceive, is incalculable; and perhapsin no instance to be counterbalanced by the present good effects assigned as the reason for their practice.
92. Tenthly, obedience to the civil magistrate, and to the laws of the com munity, is a subordinate general rule of the greatest importance.—It is evidently for the public good that every member of a state should submit to the governing power, whatever that be. Peace, order, and harmony result from this in the gene ral ; confusion and mischief of all kinds from the contrary. So that, though it may, and must be supposed, that diso bedience in certain particular cases will, as far as the single act and its immediate consequences are considered, contribute more to the public good than obedience, yet as it is a dangerous example to others, and will probably lead the per son himself into other instances of diso bedience afterwards, disobedience be comes in every case, upon the whole, of st tendency destructive of the public welfare. We ought, therefore, in conse quence of this rule, to respect all per sons in authority ; not to pass hasty cen sures upon their actions ; to make candid allowances on account of the difficulties of government, the bad education of princes, and of persons of high birth, and the flattery and extraordinary tempta tions with which they are surrounded ; to observe the laws ourselves, and to promote the observance of them where the penalties may be evaded, or are found insufficient; to look upon property as a thing absolutely determined by the laws, so that, though a man may, and ought to rescind from what the law would give him out of compassion, generosity, love of peace, view of greater good upon the whole, &c.; yet he must never in any way evade, strain, or do violence to the laws, in order to obtain what he may think his own according to equity : and whenever lie has offended, or is judged by lawful authority to have offended, he must submit to the punishment, whatever it be.
93. Other rules, beside the ten fore going, might be assigned, and these might be expressed in a different way. "I have
put down," says Hartley, " those which appear to be in fact the chief principles of social conduct to wise and good men. They must all be supposed to influence and interpret each other. Let a man only divest himself as much as possible of all selfish regards, and he will generally find some point, and that without much difficulty, or perplexity, in which all these rules unite to produce the greatest good upon the whole, to all persons con cerned." 94. Though our plan and limits will not allow of our entering at length into the duties arising from the particular re lations of social life, yet we deem the observations of Hartley on the subject of the parental relation so important, that we shall make an abstract of his leading statement. The principal duty of the parental relation is, the giving of a right education, or the imprinting such asso ciations on the minds of children, as may conduct them safe through this world, to a happy futurity. In the latter respect there can be no doubt, because religion must on all hands be allowed to be the one thing necessary; and, in the course of these investigations respecting the primary pursuit of life, it appears that it contributes as certainly to 5ive us the maximum of happiness in this world, at least the fairest prospect of it, as to se cure it in the next : so that a parent ought to inculcate it in every point of view. The chief errors of education are owing to the want of a practical persua sion of this point ; or, to a false tender ness or opinion on the part of a parent, by which he is led to believe that the object does not require, in the case of his child, frequent corrections and re straints, with perpetual encouragements and incentives to virtue, by reward, ex ample, advice, books, conversation, &c. When due care is taken from the first, little severity would ordinarily be neces sary; but in proportion as this care is neglected in the first years, a much greater degree of care, with high de grees of severity, both bodily and men tal, become absolutely necessary to pre serve from misery both here and here after. Affectionate parents should, there fore, labour, from the earliest dawnings of understanding and desire, to check the growing obstinacy of the will ; to curb all sallies of passion; to impress the deepest, most amiable, reverential, and awful impressions of God, a future state, and all sacred things; to restrain anger, jealousy, and selfishness ; to encourage love, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, gratitude ; to excite, and even oblige, to such industry as the tender age will pro perly admit. For one principal end and difficulty of life is, to generate such mo derate, varying, and perpetually actuat ing motives, by means of the natural sensible desires being associated with, and apportioned to, foreign objects, as may keep up a state of moderate cheer fulness, and useful employment, during the whole course of our lives : whereas sensual, blind, and uninformed desire, presses violently for immediate gratifica tion, is injurious to others, and destroys its own aims, or, at the best, gives way only to spleen and dissatisfaction.