When we look at a copper-plate engraving, we are reminded of the dark and cheerless recesses of the copper mines, where hundreds are employed in digging for this useful metal. When we enjoy the comfort of a cheerful fire, we are reminded of the gloomy subterraneous regions, to which so many of our countrymen are confined, and the toils and dangers to which they are exposed, before our coals can be dragged from the bowels of the earth. And while we feel delighted with the diversified enjoyment which flows from the labour and industry of every class of mankind, is it reasonable that we should look with indifference on any one of them? Is it not accordant with the dictates of enlightened reason, and with every thing that we consider as amiable in the nature of man, that we should embrace them all in the arms of kindness and brotherly affection, and that our active powers, so far as our influence extends, should be employed in endeavouring to promote their present and everlasting happiness? At present, they seldom think about the benefits they are procuring for us and others by their useful labours; but were their circumstances meliorated, were their miseries relieved, were their minds expanded by instruction, were their moral powers cultivated and improved, were they to behold the various branches of the human family for whom they are labouring, exerting every nerve to promote their moral improvement and domestic enjoyment, it would produce many pleasing emotions in their breasts, in the midst of all their toilsome labours, to reflect, that their exertions are the means of distributing numerous comforts and conveniences among men of different nations, ranks, kindreds and languages. Their minds would take a more extensive range among the various tribes of mankind with which they are connected, as intelligences of the same species; they would learn to trace the remotest consequences of every branch of labour, and of every mechanical operation in which they are engaged, and they would thus feel themselves more intimately related to every individual of the great family to which they belong.

That it is the intention of the Creator that an extensive and affectionate intercourse should be carried on between the remotest tribes of mankind, appears even from the

physical constitution and arrangement of our globe. The surface of the earth is every where indented with rivers of various dimensions, winding in every direction through the continents and the larger islands, and some of them running a course of several thousands of miles. In the eastern continent above four hundred rivers of large dimensions are rolling from the mountains towards the sea; and in the western continent, more than one hundred and forty majestic streams are to be found, connecting the highest and remotest parts of the land with the ocean, besides thousands of streams of smaller dimensions. The water of the sea is formed of such a consistency, or specific gravity, that it is capable of supporting large floating edifices; while, at the same time, its parts are so yielding as to permit such vehicles to move with rapidity along its surface through its waves and billows. In virtue of this arrangement, the ocean, instead of standing as an everlasting barrier between the nations, has become a medium for the most speedy intercourse between distant lands. The atmosphere which surrounds the globe, contributes likewise, by its agency, to promote the same important end. By the impulsion of its different masses, in various directions, our ships are wafted, with considerable velocity, along the surface of rivers, seas, and oceans, to the remotest extremities of the globe. By means of these arrangements which the Creator has established, the treasures of the mountains and of the inland parts of the continents and islands, are conveyed towards the sea, and transported from one island and continent to another; and thus the various tribes of mankind have an opportunity of visiting each other, of cultivating an affectionate intercourse, and of contributing to their mutual enjoyment. And, as it is probable that there exist in nature certain powers or principles, not yet discovered, the agency of which may be applied to the propelling of machines and vehicles over land and water, and through the regions of the atmosphere, with a velocity much superior to what has hitherto been effected;-it appears evident, that the Creator, in forming such principles, and in permitting man to discover their nature and energies, intended that they should be applied for promoting a rapid and endearing intercourse among all the branches of that large fam

ily which he has placed upon the globe. And, I have no doubt, that in the future ages of the world, by means of improvements in art and science, such intercourse will be carried on in the spirit of benevolence, to an extent, and with a rapidity of which we cannot at present form any adequate conception.

It appears, then, to be one great design of the Creator in connecting mankind by so many links, and in rendering them dependent upon each other, though placed in opposite regions of the globe-to lay a broad foundation for the exercise of the benevolent affections between men of all nations, and ultimately to unite the whole human race in one harmonious and affectionate society. And, it is obviously the duty of every human being to cultivate those dispositions, and to prosecute that train of action which have a tendency to accomplish the plans of the Universal Parent, and to promote the happiness of his intelligent offspring. In so doing, he contributes to his own individual happiness, and, at the same time, to that of all the moral intelligences in heaven and earth with which he is connected.

SECTION III.

The ultimate destination of mankind considered as a basis for love to our neighbour, and as a motive to its exercise.

THE present world is not the ultimate destination of mankind. It is only a passing scene through which they are now travelling to that immortal existence which will have no termination. Man is, at present, in the infancy of his being, his faculties are only beginning to expand, his moral powers are feeble and depraved, his intellectual views are circumscribed within a narrow range, and all the relations in which he stands, demonstrate that the present scene is connected with the future, and is introductory to a higher sphere of action and enjoyment. "We know," says the Apostle Paul, "that if this earthly house of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with

hands, eternal in the heavens." And, our Saviour declares, that "the hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth," and that our vile bodies shall be changed, and fashioned like unto his glorious body," and shall enter into the enjoyment of a new world, "which is incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away."

The capacity of making perpetual advances in knowledge and moral improvement in a future state of existence, is that in which the true dignity of man consists; and, in this capacity, and the high destination with which it is connected, there is no difference between the high and the low, the slave who is chained to a galley, and the sovereign, at whose nod the nations tremble. They are equally destined to immortality, and will exist in a future world, when time, and all the arrangements of the present state shall come to a close. If man were only the creature of a day, whose prospects are bounded by this terrestrial scene, and whose hopes terminate in the tomb, it might appear a matter of comparatively little importance whether or not our benevolent regards were extended to our fellow-men, except in so far as our self-interest and avarice were concerned. The happiness of a fellow-creature might then be considered as a matter of indifference, and his dissolution, at death, a circumstance as trivial as the falling of a leaf in autumn, or the sinking of a stone to the bottom of the ocean. Even in this case, however, it would still be conducive to human happiness, during the short and uncertain span of our existence, that all the branches of the human family were cemented together in union and affection. But, when we reflect that all the intelligent beings around us, with whom we more immediately associate, and all those in distant lands with whom we are connected by the ties of one common nature, and on whom we depend for many of our comforts, are destined, along with ourselves, to an eternal world, in another region of the Creator's empire; and that the affections we now cultivate, and the conduct we pursue, in reference to our brethren, have an intimate relation to that immortal existence ;-this consideration stamps an importance on the exercise of brotherly affection which is beyond the power of human

language to express. It shows us, that the dispositions which we now indulge, and the manner in which we treat the meanest of our fellow-creatures, may be recognized, and attended with the most important effects a thousand millions of years hence, and may run parallel, in their consequences, even with eternity itself.

We

We may, perhaps, view it as a matter of trivial moment in what manner we now conduct ourselves towards a servant or a slave; whether we render his life miserable by hard labour, cruel insults and contemptuous treatment, or study to promote his comfort and domestic enjoyment; whether we neglect to instruct him in the knowledge of his duty to his God and to his fellow-men, or labour to promote his moral and religious improvement. may view with indifference or contempt the person and the family of a poor pious neighbour, who has earned a scanty subsistence by the sweat of his brow, and may behold his body laid in the grave with as much apathy as we behold the carcass of a dog thrown into a pond. But, could we follow the pious man beyond the precincts of the tomb, into that immortal scene which has burst upon his disencumbered spirit; could we trace the gradual expansion of his faculties towards objects which lie beyond the grasp of mortals, and the perfection of his moral powers; could we behold his mouldered frame starting up to new life at "the resurrection of the just," and arrayed in new splendour and beauty; could we contemplate him placed in a station of dignity and honour among "the sons of God," in that glorious residence to which he is destined; his intellectual powers expanding, grasping the most sublime objects, and pushing forward in the career of perpetual improvement, without the least stain of moral imperfection,-would we now treat such a with malevolence, or even with indifference or neglect ? And, were we placed by his side in such a dignified station, what would our feelings be, when we recollected the apathy, the indifference, and even the contempt with which he was treated in this sublunary scene? On the other hand, could we follow the poor wretched slave to the future world, and contemplate the degradation and misery to which he is there reduced in consequence of our malevolence and neglect, what emotions of horror

one