So far as human perfection can be defined, it consists in the purity and sublimity of moral action,--a perfection which may be approached, if not reached, by all who are so disposed. How truly has it been said that we are never too old or too wise to learn! Nor is any man so ignorant but he may teach a philosopher something. No matter how conservative we may be in our creeds and opinions, the world will continue to move onward; nor can it stand still if it would. The time is at hand when errors in creed, as well as in education, to which we cling, will not only be exposed, but exploded. However hopeless the condition of the masses may seem, they are already demanding more light and only await an opportunity to proclaim their emancipation from mental thraldom. The statistics relating to the numbers of mankind, and to the frail tenure of human life, convey lessons which ought not to be disregarded in the estimate we make of what man can do to elevate himself. Strange as it may seem, it is a fact pretty well ascertained that the entire population of the globe neither increases nor diminishes, but remains essentially the same. And yet the population of the earth is continually undergoing changes from the operation of local causes, increasing here and diminishing there, as the ages advance. The law involved seems based on the principle of a just compensation for all diminution. In other words, the earth has a limited capacity, and like a cup when filled, can hold no more, yet always remains full. When we consider the fact that one fourth of mankind die before reaching seven years of age; one half before reaching seventeen years; and that sixty persons die every minute,--we are struck with astonishment, and are naturally led to inquire into the reasons. The causes which abridge life may for the most part be attributed to popular ignorance, or disregard of physical law,--either in ancestor, parent, or child. Nothing can be truer than the fact that the "sins of the fathers are visited upon their children unto the third and fourth generation," and even to indefinite generations. It is indeed a fearful inheritance, when life comes to us tainted with constitutional disease. For this there seems to be no remedy, except in the adoption of such a popular system of education as will diffuse a practical knowledge of the laws of health.