passion, he was led on to the unspeakable crime which, indeed, he had
never contemplated, to which he had never given an inward assent. The
story also illustrates the vain subterfuges with which we still seek to
smother the consciousness of guilt after we have done wrong, until the
time comes when our eyes are opened and we are compelled to face the
consequences of our deeds and to realize them in all their bearings. The
story of Cain and Abel is thus a further development of the theme
already treated in simpler fashion in the story of Adam and Eve, only
that, while in the latter case the filial duty of obedience to parents
is in the foreground, attention is here directed to the duty which a
brother owes to a brother. It is a striking tale, striking in the
vividness with which it conjures up the circumstances before our minds
and the clearness with which the principal motives are delineated; and
it contains an awful warning for all time.
The question here presents itself, whether we should arrange the
biblical stories according to subjects--e. g., grouping together all
those which treat of duty to parents, all those which deal with the
relations of brothers to brothers, etc.--or whether we should adopt the
chronological arrangement. On the whole, I am in favor of the latter. It
is expected that the pupils, as they grow older, will undertake a more
comprehensive study of the Bible, and for this they will be better
prepared if they have been kept to the chronological order from the
outset. Another more practical reason is, that children tire of one
subject if it is kept before their minds too long. It is better,
therefore, to arrange the stories in groups or cycles, each of which
will afford opportunity to touch on a variety of moral topics. It will
be impossible to continue to relate _in extenso_ the stories which I
have selected, and I shall therefore content myself in the main with
giving the points of each story upon which the teacher may lay stress.
_The Story of Noah and his Sons._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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