CHAPTER V.--RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE.

The American mechanic at Paris. A congregational teacher among Quakers. Parents have the ultimate right to decide how their children shall be educated.

Agreement in religious opinion, in this country. Principle which is to guide the teacher on this subject. Limits and restrictions to religious influence in school. Religious truths which are generally admitted in this country. The existence of God. Human responsibility. Immortality of the soul. A revelation. Nature of piety. Salvation by Christ. Teacher to do nothing on this subject but what he may do by the common consent of his employers. Reasons for explaining distinctly these limits.

Particular measures proposed. Opening exercises. Prayer. Singing. Direct instruction. Mode of giving it. Example; arrangement of the Epistles in the New Testament. Dialogue. Another example; scene in the woods. Cautions. Affected simplicity of language. Evils of it. Minute details. Example; motives to study. Dialogue. Mingling religious influence with the direct discipline of the school. Fallacious indications of piety. Sincerity of the Teacher. 152