Page:The collected works of Theodore Parker volume 8.djvu/42

38 almost imperceptible when measured by his whole nature—and the particular circumstances to which he is exposed, make all this difference between savage and civilized. Some five-and-twenty centuries ago our ancestors, in the wilds of Europe, were quite as ignorant, cruel, and savage, as these men of New Zealand, and we have become what we are only through the influence of culture and education, which ages have produced and matured. But each child in Boston is born a savage as much as at Otaheite. No doubt, in the passage our fathers went through from the savage to the civilized state, much has been lost, but more is won, and it is time to retrieve what is lost, and grasp more for the future. No doubt there are some in this, as in all civilized countries, who are still barbarians, and by no means gainers through the civilization of their brethren; but it is time the foremost turned round to look after their straggling brothers. If education, through schools, churches, books, and all the institutions of society, were neglected, all over the earth, for a single generation, the whole race would fall back into a savage state. But if the culture of one single generation could be enhanced, the spiritual welfare of mankind would also be enhanced to the end of time.

It must appear plain to all who will think, that after providing for the support and comfort of the body—which must be the basis of all spiritual operations—the great work of the men and women now on the earth is to educate themselves and the next generation of men and women rising up to take their place. All things which do not tend, directly or indirectly, to one of these two ends—the physical or the spiritual development of man—are worse than worthless. We are sent into the world that we might accomplish this work of education. The world without harmonizes most beautifully with the craving spirit within. If a man start with the requisite outfit, and use diligently the means before him, all the callings of life, the vicissitudes that chequer our days, the trials we are in, the crosses we carry, our hopes and our fears, our foes and our friends, our disappointment and success, are all guides and instructors to help us on, be our condition what it may.

Now, it may be laid down as a rule that will stand the test of rigid scrutiny, that all men are to be educated to