The Western Messenger Volume 7, Nos. 1-12; Devoted to Religion, Life, and Literature (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1841 Excerpt: ...Leaders among their brethren. Leaders to what? To the same spiritual freedom to which the goodness of God has elected them. Upon this rest their claims; from this spring their duties; and if they are not true to this they are traitors. In those old days the free led the mass to battle; they battled for that political freedom which they so much needed: our freemen have to lead in warfare too, warfare against the Powers of Darkness, intellectual and moral, for the spiritual freedom which we need. Let us look now at our Professions and see what each may do in this great contest. In the first place we have the Professional Teacher. He drills our warriors, leaders and all, for the warfare with the Arch-Enemy. To repeat what has been said elsewhere, if a foreigner were to ask where our police is, or where the standing army with which we hope to control millions of men, --we could take him to our Common School houses, and say, "Here are our barracks; these young ladies are our drill-sergeants, and by their aid we are able to put a police-officer into every breast. Napoleon thought his system perfect when he could place a spy over every suspected man in Paris, but we carry the matter a great deal farther, and place each under such a keen-eyed officer as to prevent suspicion." Great are the duties, and vast the influence of the Professional Teacher: he is the leader in our Republic, --the sceptre has passed into his hands. If true to his best powers, and highest ideas; if filled with a spirit becoming his place, he is the first of Freemen, the head of Professional men. Mr. Stephens, a late traveller, tells us that the school of the American Mission at Athens is doing more for Greece than all the Diplomacy of the Empires of Europe. And so it is everywhere; th...