young farmer, or mechanic, who gets an honest living by the sweat of his face,—it will be vain to denounce idleness, or recommend industry. Under such circumstances, young men, whose ambition is more than a match for their moral principle, very naturally turn idlers, or set out to live by their wits, well knowing that if they can only keep up a gentlemanly appearance, by almost whatever means, they will be much better received, and rank much higher than if they were plain, industrious, laboring men.

Lo, a ball! a splendid ball,-And who enters now? Who is he, that all the gentlemen greet so heartily, and all the ladies notice so readily? It is Mr. Flash, an itinerant, who, without funds, without industry, without any visible means, always dresses in high taste, and has at his fingers' ends every punctilio of fashionable manners-He is quite the gentleman, every inch of him.

NUMBER XXVII.

OF PRODUCTIVE LABOR, OTHER THAN THAT OF THE HANDS.

"KNOWLEDGE is power." This was a favorite maxim of Bacon, so eminent in the ranks of philosophy.

The weakness of man is marvellously strengthened by his knowledge. It is by his superior knowledge, that he gains dominion. over the various races of animals, of which many are much stronger, and swifter than he; over the stubborn earth, and over the powerful elements, Fire, Air, and Water. Naked came he into the world, and naked must he ever have remained, had not the inspiration of the Almighty given him understanding, and furnished him with motives to employ this noble faculty in an infinite variety of useful ways.

Man is feeble of body; his main strength lies in his mind. Apart from his superior intellectual faculties, he would be one of the most helpless, forlorn, and wretched animals, upon the face of the earth.

The invaluable worth of knowledge, and of education by

which it is acquired, has been ever, in all civilized countries, the standing theme of profound discussion, or, more often, of splendid but empty declamation; so that only scanty gleanings are left to the modern pen. There is, however, one respect in which the subject has been neither exhausted, nor frequently touched; it is the intimate connection between knowledge and Productive Labor.

Productive Labor, so essential to the sustenance and support of the general community of man, is twofold-direct, and indirect.

Direct productive labor consists of that bodily exercise, that "sweat of the face," by means of which we are furnished with food and raiment, and with all the various necessaries and elegancies of life.

By this it is that life is sustained and decorated, and it is in this way that the great bulk of mankind is necessarily employed. Those who labor with their hands in husbandry, and in the various useful arts, are, as it were, the strong pillars that support the living world. But then they are, in no wise, entitled to arrogate the honor to themselves exclusively :-- "The hand cannot say to the eye, I have no need of thee."

Indirectly, there are in the common vineyard productive and efficient laborers, other than those who work with the hands. They are the ones who invent, conceive, plan, guard and regulate. So that, after all, mind is an essential and a most eminent operator throughout the whole process.

I will barely suggest a few particulars; leaving it to the reader to enlarge upon them, and to combine them with others which are alike obvious.

Very little would it signify, though we had hands to labor, if

we knew not how to use them; nor should we know how to use them skilfully, but for the inventions of those who have gone before us. Without the aid of the arts our hands must be idle, or work to no purpose. In all the multitudinous occupations that are now going on, whether upon land or water, whether for the sustenance or the adornment of life, there is a never-ceasing dependence upon the arts. And how were the arts explored, and how brought to the state of wonderful perfection, in which they now are? By intense labor of the Mind. From one generation to another, very many who labored not at all with their hands, have labored abundantly, and most efficiently and usefully, with their intellects. Their inventions and improvements have directed and guided manual labor, and have facilitated and abridged it in a marvellous manner and degree. And assuredly, theirs is to be regarded as belonging to the highest class of productive labor; assuredly, he that contributes to the general stock of knowledge in the arts, is a benefactor of the public, and is entitled to the gratitude of all; assuredly the laboring man is bound to encourage the arts, which so mightily aid the work of his hands. Nor ought he to think lightly of mere science; it is the mother of the arts, and in sundry instances it has, undesignedly and unconsciously, led to the discovery of them. The star-gazers of ancient Chaldea never once dreamed of the vastly important practical purposes, to which the world, in succeeding ages, would apply the knowledge of astronomy.

Again, it is to be considered and distinctly remembered, that the laboring classes spend their strength for nought, unless the fruits of their industry be securely guarded from plunder and robbery, and against the hand of rapaciousness, in whatever manner, or

under whatever guise it may assail them. Hence, of necessity, there must be government, laws, and courts of justice; and of necessity, also, there must be lawgivers, executive and judicial officers, advocates, &c. Now, all these must be paid out of the common stock. But provided they discharge their duties ably and faithfully, and are content with reasonable recompense, no laborer is more worthy of his hire. By no means are they to be regarded as drones in the hive. As they are the necessary guardians over the general treasure which manual labor accumulates, so they have a right to a share of it;—at the same time, on the part of the general community, special care must be taken lest the guardians of its rights and its property, like the ravenous sons of old Eli, should make such free use of the flesh-hook, as to leave little else to the commonalty but the broth.

Moreover, since laws can afford us no effectual protection, unless the morals of the community be preserved from general corruption, it clearly follows that the professional men, who faithfully devote their time and attention to the interests of pure morality, are really, though indirectly, productive laborers, in even the secular sense of the term. I will particularly instance the venerable Ministers of our holy religion, who-laying out of the question all considerations of the future life-do, I presume to affirm, greatly increase the amount of productive labor, by the weight of their exhortations and influence against idleness and profligacy, at the same time that they no less contribute to the security of the fruits of labor, by the generally moralizing effects of their ministrations. So, also, the well-qualified and faithful instructors. of our children and youth are to be regarded in nearly the same point of view—as among the most productive and useful of laborers.