The benevolence and wisdom of this arrangement are obvious. For had happiness been made to depend on the possession of _intellectual_ power, few comparatively could have commanded the time and means which are necessary for the purpose; and had it been attached to the possession of riches, or honour, or any other species of _physical_ good, there would have been still fewer. But it is not necessarily attached to the possession of either. Men may enjoy riches and honours, beauty and health, and yet they may be unhappy. The highest mental attainments also, when disjoined from moral excellence, tend only, as in the fallen angels, to stimulate their pride, and to aggravate their misery. But happiness is exclusively and unalterably attached to the cultivation of _the affections_,--to the acquisition of moral excellence;--so that it is equally within the reach of every individual, however obscure, or however talented. Few men can be intellectually great,--fewer still can be rich or powerful; but every man may, if he pleases, be good,--and therefore happy. In choosing the subjects and exercises then for the education of the young, those which tend to the production and to the cultivation of the moral affections,--love to God, and love to men,--are always to be preferred to those which have relation merely to the attainment of _intellectual_ acquirements, or the possession of mere _physical_ good. 4. In choosing subjects and exercises for the education of the young, reference should be had, all other things being equal, to _the prosperity and welfare of the community in general_.--We have already shewn that, under God, the happiness and welfare of every individual are his own special property, and must in all cases, therefore, be at his special disposal. No ordinary combination of circumstances will ever warrant an unjust encroachment on what is so peculiarly his own. But the happiness and welfare of an individual are almost uniformly found to be connected with the happiness and prosperity of those with whom he has to associate. The Educationist, therefore, ought to have the welfare of the community in view, while he is selecting those exercises which are specially to benefit his pupil; and he will almost invariably find, that by choosing those subjects and exercises for the individual, which will tend most surely to promote the general well-being of society, he will not only not require a sacrifice of any of the personal benefits to which the child has a claim, but that he will greatly increase their amount, and add to their value. When this is the case, to overlook the good of the community in selecting exercises and subjects for the school, would be of no advantage to the pupils, and would be an act of positive injustice to the public at large.