ungenial element which more or less pervades the national character may not fairly be attributed to the variability of our climate.

Here we are arrested in our speculations by the remembrance that we are the victims-though, perhaps, our readers may hardly coincide in the idea of a circumstance as arbitrary as any whereupon we have dilated,—the necessities of space; and ere we have exhibited the “lord of the creation” in his various phases as the "creature" of his imagination, his wit, his superstition, or his ambition, we are compelled to close our article, already protracted to an unwonted length, with the assurance to our readers, that if they are the "creatures," they are no less, in many respects, the "creators" of their circumstances. "There is a tide in the affairs of men," &c.: so says the great artist of human nature. Happy the man who knows not only himself but his opportunity! If he but blend the woof of his own energy and foresight with the warp of circumstances, he may rest assured that he shall make to himself a garment which will cover him from the winds of adversity, and temper the beams of a too prosperous sun. For the evils of that undeveloped mind and wasted body, which are but too often the misfortunes of his birth or lot in life, no man is accountable; but for that mental inertia, which is more fatal in its consequences than the sloth of the sluggard, and that "crassa ignorantia," which visits its effects upon himself and his fellows with unerring retribution, he is responsible both to God and man. VINCULUM.

THE public do not generally know that at the South Eastern London Bridge Station, over the little refreshment room facing the railway, stands a clock, whose pendulum is some five miles off-that is, at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It was made a present to the company by the government, for permission to lay down its telegraph wires over their line, and is kept going by the wires of the telegraph attached to the clock of the Observatory. It is curious to observe the assumption of positive dignity with which the second-hand of the clock beats its time, as if conscious of its royal and learned source of motion.Herapath.

HYDROSTATIC RAILWAY BREAK.-This invention was lately tested on the Hereford and Shrewsbury Railway with perfect success. The express train calling at six stations was easily stopped by the apparatus. The train was stopped, when going at the rate of forty miles an hour, in 300 yards; the distance required when the common break apparatus is used being 1,600 yards. As the engineer is nearest generally to the point of danger, he has, under this arrangement, no occasion to lose time by whistling to arouse the guard; the top is merely opened, and at once every carriage is placed under the pressure of the break.

F

The Essayist.

SELF-CULTURE: ITS IMPORTANCE TO YOUNG MEN, AND THE BEST MEANS BY WHICH IT MAY BE SECURED.

A PRIZE ESSAY, BY MR. DUNCAN M. WEST, GLASGOW. THERE is a time in the life of all individuals when their character and destiny are determined either by themselves or by the circumstances which surround them. There is a period when they either choose Wisdom or Folly to be their conductor through life. There is, therefore, freedom in man to choose good or evil. This liberty of thought, conjoined with the knowledge of his destiny and the means by which it may be effected, constitute man a responsible being.

Youth is the determining time of life. The weal or woe of existence depends on the use or abuse of that period. Every young man ought, therefore, to realize, by earnest reflection, whether life has been valued by him, or its purpose determined.

The object of self-culture, in its truest and most comprehensive sense, is to unfold and develop the spiritual, moral, emotional, intellectual, and physical being of man, as these correspond to the soul, conscience, heart, intellect, and body. This education is the work and duty of life.

Man is a religious being. Consciousness, biography, and history attest this truth. As the religious principle of his nature, when cultured, influences the whole character, it ought to form the first object of the work of life. We begin, therefore, with soul-culture, as the first element involved in the term SelfCulture, and lay the basis of the success and enjoyment of life in the cultivation and development of the soul. The purpose of man's existence is religious. The inner life guides the outer. Actions, duties, and studies are guided by its principles. Christianity enables man to realize the personality of life, the connection of the soul with God, the necessity of and the means by which reconciliation may be obtained, and his relations to eternity. By its transforming power, moral, social, and intellectual culture are directed; and from it are acquired those principles which give consistency to character and unity to action in fulfilling personal and social duties. Each individual is bound to consider his relations to human and divine existences, and to realize and perform the duties which those relations involve.

From the adaptation of the truths of the Bible to the constitu

tion of man, it is evident that there can be no hope without its revelations, no character without its principles, no successful self-culture without its motives, no triumphing over circumstances without its religion, and no victory without its purifying and strengthening power. To unfold and develop the religious element of life ought, therefore, to form the first work of selfculture, as it enables man to fulfil the object of his creation.

The second element of self-culture is moral. This part of man's being is represented by conscience, which has been termed, the "God in man." It exists in every human bosom, and is the rule of life to those persons who do not possess the revelation. To those who have accepted the teachings of divine truth, moral culture is a necessary result of soul-culture. A religious man is a moral man. The performance of his duties to the Supreme Governor of the universe necessitates the fulfilment of the duties he owes to home, society, and the world. Conscience, as the judge of others and ourselves, regulated by the standard of the Bible, enables man to decide between right and wrong, gives fixedness to character and accuracy to judgment.

The object of this culture is to train and regulate the desire for power, which includes the desires for society, fame, continued existence, knowledge, and the approbation of others, that it may be made conducive to success in life. The passions, too, of love and hatred, joy and grief, hope and fear, require either to be cherished or subdued. Selfishness, so insidious in its operations in the human heart, is watched, vanity abhorred, and hypocrisy shunned. The principles of honour, integrity, and candour are also cultivated, that the actions of life may be in harmony with the teachings of the "inward light." There may be, however, morality without religion; but the standard of this morality will be a fallible guide in enabling man to decide between right and wrong. Conscience, to attain its natural supremacy in the human bosom, must be regulated by divine truth, that motives may accurately traced and duties rightly performed. There is as close a connection between spiritual and moral culture as there is between the root and branches of the vine. This element of self-education is, therefore, a duty resulting from man's relations to God and to the world.

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The third element of self-culture is the affections. The affections of the heart are either parental, filial, fraternal, or conjugal; and in these relations much of the enjoyment of life is bound up. Home is the school of the affections. The hallowed presence of a mother's love, the counsels of a father, the joyinspiring influence of a sister or a brother's kindness, soften the obdurate will, mould the rugged temper, and subdue the passions of youth. Home is, therefore, ever dear to the memory from its sacred associations. But if there the affections have been untrained, they are sources of sorrow in future years. Suspicion

takes the place of confidence, parsimony of generosity, thanklessness of gratitude, baseness of honour. The effects of this neglect are too apparent in the world of life. Brothers are separated from sisters, children from parents, and husbands from wives, through the peace-destroying influences of anger, envy, and jealousy. There is no sight on earth so beautiful as a happy home, where kindness gleams in every eye, and love reigns in every heart, and sheds its benign influences over all the events of the household. The home of Thomas Arnold, of Rugby, presented such a sight. Our connection with the world leads to the formation of friendships. These, too, have great influence on the development of the affections; but they are only perpetual and benefiting when based on moral worth. "David and Jonathan in ancient times, and Hallam and Tennyson in modern, are memorable examples of pure and perfect friendship. Then there are the conjugal relations of life, which exert so powerful an influence on the enjoyment of life. Man is formed for society; not only for the society of his own sex, but for that of woman. This desire for attachment is one of the indestructible principles of his nature, and leads to those conjugal relations of life on which the structure of society rests. The glimpses of the house. holds of Foster, Chalmers, and Scott, as seen in their biographies, reveal the happiness which results from cultured affections in the married state. Dark and sorrowful, however, are the episodes in those of Milton, Shelley, and Byron. As the pleasures of home, the purity of friendship, and the enjoyment of this world, depend on the culture of the affections, it forms an important element in the education of life.

The fourth element of self-culture is the mind. There are none but may adorn and cultivate their minds. There are none engaged in the business of the world who may not employ some time in training their intellectual powers. There is no man but requires knowledge. Reason, judgment, memory, and imagination are, therefore, necessary to be disciplined, for by their exercise man learns to think, and thinks to learn. He examines the old and new worlds of knowledge, and extracts wisdom from their records as the bee extracts honey from the flowers. He strives to trace and analyze the phenomena of nature, to perceive its beauties and sublimities, and understand their spiritual significance. He holds converse with the illustrious dead, enjoys the grandeurs of song, and is delighted with the marvels of science. By reason and judgment truth is separated from error, and the principles of ethical and political science are investigated, from which beliefs are formed to aid in the performance of duty. Then, too, the pleasure of society is enhanced by a cultivated mind. Much of the conversation of social gatherings is "stale, flat, and unprofitable." What a difference from the intellectual company who interchange thought and sentiment on subjects of

passing and enduring importance. Their talk is seasoned with salt, and collision with opposite minds is mentally exhilarating. There is also the influence which the cultivated mind exerts on those with whom it comes in contact, or associates with.

There is no danger of the student of knowledge sitting down, Alexander-like, to weep because there are no more worlds to conquer; for science and literature are inexhaustible sources of knowledge, and the more the mind is enriched with these treasures, the better is man fitted to enjoy life, perform its manifold duties, and realize its great responsibilities. The mind, however, when uncared for, becomes, like the garden of the sluggard, full of weeds and briars.

The fifth element of self-culture is physical. The ardour of spiritual worship, the performance of duty, the training of the affections, and the strength of the mind, are aided by health. The house man inhabits is "fearfully and wonderfully made." The object of this culture is to know the laws of health, and obey them. Without strength of body comprehensive culture is impossible. With its aid it may be accomplished. Man, therefore, in this work controls his appetites and lives temperately, that his usefulness may be increased, and the acquisition of knowledge facilitated. The weak in body cannot be said to enjoy life. The "Confessions of an English Opium Eater," and the misery of Coleridge, related by Cottle, are well-known examples of the retributive character of the violated laws of nature, not only on the body, but also on the mind. Benjamin Franklin is a good illustration of the observance of physical laws. The preservation of health is one of the imperative duties of life, and ought, therefore, to form a part of self-education. The necessity of this culture is every year being more felt and recognized as essential to the promotion of happiness.

Another idea involved in the term self-culture is its personality. Each person must individually realize the worth and work of life. No one can think, feel, or judge for another. Every man is, therefore, the architect of his own fortune. Until the personality of life is felt and acknowledged, there can be no progress, no assimilation of the external agencies by which life is unfolded and developed, no knowledge of the powers and capacities of the mind. "The one thing needful," says Niebuhr, "is to cultivate one's understanding for one's self, so as to render it capable of production." The education of existence will proceed vigorously when the habit of meditation is formed, which consolidates character, purifies the affections, and strengthens the intellect.

The theory of self-culture, laid down in the preceding remarks, comprehends man as a spiritual, moral, social, intellectual, and physical being; and it is our opinion, that only as these elements of his being are cultivated and developed, will it approach to