Read Ebook: Short Studies in Ethics: An Elementary Text-Book for Schools by Miller John Ormsby

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PREFACE This little book has grown out of periodical addresses to my own pupils. An experience of over ten years has convinced me of the necessity of teaching systematically the fundamental principles of Morality. The scarcity of books suitable as elementary texts is a sufficient proof that the subject is neglected in our schools. It cannot be right that children should be left to master so wide a subject from incidental instruction and from example.

I should be sorry if any one thought, from glancing at the topics I have treated, that I seemed content to put lessons in practical Morality in place of instruction in the Scriptures and definite religious teaching. Nothing can take the place of the Scriptures. But I feel convinced that these two aspects of Truth must go hand in hand. The young mind requires the truth to be presented to it from all sides, and nothing appeals to it so strongly as a modern example.

My own idea as to the use of such a book as this is that it should supplement Bible instruction. The lessons are short enough to be taught in half an hour. If one topic is taken up each week, and thoroughly explained, and enlarged on by fresh examples from current life and history, the whole book can be easily mastered in the school year, and leave ample time for review and examination. If it should prove helpful to other teachers, my labour will be amply rewarded.

DUTY

+Duty is something which is due, and which, therefore, ought to be paid or performed. It is something owed by everybody, to God, to self, or to others.+

No other word is more disliked by the slothful than the word Duty. The mention of the word itself causes weariness to a boy or man of that kind. We can only get to like the word and the thing itself by accustoming ourselves to perform it regularly, a little at a time. A boy or girl with a fine ear and a natural talent for music hates, at first, the daily practising and the uninteresting lessons; but, as soon as the difficulties are mastered, playing an instrument becomes a delight. Duty, in itself, is not a distasteful thing; it is because we hate anything which gives us trouble that it seems unbearable. We can teach ourselves to like taking pains.

Duty is, in one sense, the great law which governs the universe. The planets revolving about the sun, the moon encircling the earth, even the erratic comets, in fulfilling the laws of their being, perform the duties which they are set. So, too, the plants and animals of the lower creation obey the laws under which they live. Even of inanimate things, pieces of human mechanism, may this be said. The pendulum of the clock will tick until it is worn out, if it receive the care necessary for its work. We see what wonderful things a machine can be made to do for man in Edison's marvellous inventions of the kinetoscope and the kinetograph.

The longer we practise doing duties the easier they become. A great man once said: "A man shall carry a bucket of water on his head and be very tired with the burden; but that same man, when he dives into the sea, shall have the weight of a thousand buckets on his head without perceiving their weight, because he is in the element, and it entirely surrounds him." After running two miles for the first time, a boy feels great stiffness, but after he has done it twenty times he feels nothing but the pleasure of good health arising from pleasant exercise. In the same way, he translates a single sentence in his Latin grammar with great difficulty at first, but when he can translate Caesar's campaigns without trouble the task becomes a delight.

Duty is something owing to ourselves. Character is made up of duties, and by our character we must stand or fall. We owe it to ourselves to take the greatest care of our bodies. They should be cleansed and exercised every day of our lives. Many a man, who would feel outraged if his favourite horse were not thoroughly groomed and otherwise cared for daily, neglects his own body, which needs "grooming" quite as much as that of the horse. We owe it to ourselves to be careful as to what we eat, and as to the right quantity. If we give a dog too much meat or a horse too much grain, we know the result. We are not so careful about ourselves as about our animals.

We owe it to ourselves to be true in all things. "First to thine own self be true," says the great poet. We owe it to ourselves to be honest in the very smallest things as well as in the great; to be afraid of nothing except evil; to be clean in our thoughts and words; to be modest; to be kind; to be gentle to the weak; to be generous; to be charitable; to be modest about ourselves; to be temperate.

Duty is something owing to others. We owe our parents a return for their love and care for us at a time when we should have perished without it. The return that is due them is that we should be a credit to them instead of a disgrace, so that the world may say, "Those parents have reason to be proud of their children." God has said: "Honour thy father and thy mother." We owe it to them to be diligent in our lessons, so that we may prepare to earn our own living, and not to be dependent upon them all our days. A boy may say: "I am not going to bother my head about this work. My father is rich, and I shall never have to work unless I like." A few years hence, men will say: "Look at that idle fellow! He is a disgrace to his parents. He is fit for nothing; he is going to the bad already."

"He slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour."

Duty is something owing to one's country. The names of the patriots will be the last to die from men's memories. Every man owes to his country his name, his influence, his strenuous labour, his liberty, his life itself, should that be needed. When Nelson, on the day of Trafalgar, gave to his ships the signal, "England expects every man to do his duty," he spoke for all nations, in all ages, under all circumstances. When Pompey's friends tried to dissuade him from setting sail for Rome in a storm, telling him that he did so at the peril of his life, he said, "It is necessary for me to go, it is not necessary for me to live." Perhaps the greatest example of patriotism shown in a love of Duty of modern times is that of Wellington. His greatness lay in doing thoroughly every duty that came in his way. For that he would sacrifice everything else. Late in his life he was content to suffer a temporary loss of popularity through devotion to what he believed to be a duty. He was even mobbed in the streets of London, and had his windows smashed while his wife lay dead in the house. The great motive power that underlay his whole career was whole-hearted devotion to Duty. He himself said that Duty was his watchword. "There is little or nothing in this life worth living for," said he; "but we can all of us go straight forward and do our duty." Nelson's last words were: "I have done my duty; I praise God for it."

The highest form of prayer is that God's will may be done in our lives. If we are sincere in that, and pray it with our hearts, and not merely with our lips, it will be found sufficient to cover every request that we can make, because our supreme duty is to do God's will in every act and desire of life. Arising out of that prayer come the principal duties of life, viz., thankfulness for God's goodness to us, the fight against evil in every form, the showing to others by example how God's will may be done, and, lastly, perfect trust in God in every circumstance of life.

OBEDIENCE

+Obedience is doing promptly and cheerfully what is commanded by those in authority over us.+

Obedience is the first great law of life. No nation could continue to exist if its citizens were not law-abiding. The most highly civilized nations are those whose citizens yield loyal Obedience to the laws, and strive to make all men obey them. Every society has its rules which the members agree to obey, and it can only exist so long as that obedience is observed voluntarily and faithfully. No army could be successful against the enemy if the soldiers did not obey their officers. Unquestioning obedience to the commands of the captain is necessary for the safety of the ship and of the lives of the passengers. Those who are employed in business must obey the instructions of their employers if the business is to succeed. The first lesson that a schoolboy is set to learn is the lesson of Obedience. What happiness could there be in our homes if the children did not obey their parents?

The greatest part of life is Conduct, and Conduct can only be attained by practising Obedience. The little child learns it from its mother, the boy from his father, and from his master at school. The young man must practise it at college, or at business. The older man continues to obey some one all through his life. If he wish to govern others, he must first obey himself. If he will not obey himself, he cannot rule others. There is only One who is above Obedience--that is God.

At the battle of Balaklava, a small brigade of cavalry was ordered to attack an immensely strong battery. The order was a mistake, as every one knew that such an attempt would mean certain death. Yet the officer commanding the cavalry did not hesitate for a moment to carry out the orders, though he well knew what the result would be. Not a single soldier among those six hundred refused to obey.

"Theirs not to reason why; Theirs but to do and die."

And so the charge was made, and out of the six hundred only one-quarter returned.

Boys sometimes think it a manly thing to question the orders given them, and even to assert their independence by refusing to obey. Brave men think it childish to stop to reason about the commands of those in authority. The wisest men believe that disobedience is one of the strongest signs of radically bad character. Experience teaches us that disobedience will, in time, destroy the character altogether. He that will not submit to authority must become, in time, not merely a useless, but a dangerous, member of society.

Real Obedience is always cheerfully given. He who grumbles at an order, and only does it through fear, is not obedient. A boy who will not cheerfully give up a game, in order to carry out a command from one in authority, must always be looked upon as one who is at heart disobedient. If the officers of the cavalry, mentioned above, had chafed under the order to put their lives in peril, and had sent the messenger back to find out if they were really to make the attack, they would have lost their claim to our admiration as truly brave men. If the troopers had grumbled when the order was given to advance into the valley of death, and had made the attack in a half-hearted way, they would never have gained the undying glory that is theirs, and they would probably have sacrificed the lives of the few who did at last return in safety. Their Obedience gained them immortal fame because it was prompt and cheerful.

He who would become a good citizen, and a really useful member of society, can only do so by practising Obedience, with great patience, and with all his heart, throughout the whole of his life. To attain excellence in it, as in many other things, it must be begun very early in life. Above all, it must be willingly given. Real Obedience is prompt, cheerful, and from the heart.

TRUTHFULNESS

+Truthfulness is speaking and acting in a perfectly straightforward way, without any attempt to add to, or take from, the facts. Its opposite is Lying or Deception.+

If Lying were the rule and Truthfulness the exception, society would soon be destroyed. Men could not do business with each other if they could not be trusted to speak the truth, and to keep faithfully a promise once made. Instead of trusting, they would fear one another; every time they were assured of anything they would doubt, and perhaps suspect a trap. If all men resorted to lying, they would soon begin to destroy each other, because it is an instinct of human nature to preserve one's self from the attack of enemies. The liar is the enemy of mankind. A great man was once asked: "Do the devils lie?" "No," was his answer; "for then even hell could no longer exist."

Regard for Truthfulness forbids us to tell, as truth, what we know to be false. This is the worst form of lying. Only the most hardened will lie deliberately; no one who has not had long practice in this vice can tell a deliberate falsehood without despising himself. That can only be done when the Conscience is at last asleep, and when the character has become vicious.

Another form of lying is telling, as truth, what we do not know to be true. People often assert things which they cannot possibly know to be true; for instance, the motives of other persons. There are also things which are only probable, and of which we cannot be certain. To state as absolutely true what we cannot know to be true is falsehood. Again, there are things which are merely matters of opinion, and upon which vastly different opinions may be held. If we would be strictly truthful, we must be careful to state as true only what can be proved to be facts.

Another form of deceit is telling what may be true in fact, but telling it in such a way as to convey a false impression. This may be done by exaggerating, or adding to, the facts; or by withholding some important part of the facts. Many a character has been ruined by some enemy who wilfully overstated, or understated, facts of the highest importance to the person's reputation. Many a man has ruined his own character by allowing himself to acquire the habit of exaggeration.

Untruthfulness shows itself in other ways. A lie may be acted as well as spoken. For example, when a boy allows himself to be praised for some action he never performed and does not give the praise to the right person, or at least disown it for himself, he acts a lie. The boy who tries to make his master believe him to be obedient and studious when he is not acts a lie. The boy who brings up as his own work an exercise which he has cribbed, or in which he has been assisted, acts a lie.

Trickery, or underhand dealing of any kind, is a kind of lying. A London merchant had business with another in a foreign country. The latter asked the former to send out certain packages of goods marked less than the real weight, so as to escape the customs duty. "I can't do it," said the English merchant. "Very well," said the foreigner, "if you won't, there are plenty of others who will, and I shall take my business away from you"--which he did, causing the other firm a heavy loss. A few years afterwards the foreigner wrote to the English merchant: "Enclosed is a draft for so much, which please put to my credit. I am sending my son to England to learn your way of business. There is nobody in whom I have such confidence as I have in you. Will you take him into your office and make him the same sort of man that you are yourself?"

Lord Chesterfield once said: "It is truth that makes the success of the gentleman." Those words should be taken to heart by every boy who wishes to honour truth. Clarendon said of Falkland, one of the noblest and purest of men, that he "was so severe an adorer of truth that he could as easily have given himself leave to steal as to dissemble." Shakespeare said:

"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any man."

COURAGE

+Courage is that disposition which enables us to meet danger or difficulties firmly and without fear. There are two kinds of Courage: Physical and Moral; and it has two aspects: Fearlessness and Boldness.+

The opposite of Courage is Cowardice, and no greater insult can be offered a man than to call him a coward. Courage has always been looked upon as one of the greatest virtues. Men may be willing to forfeit purity, truth, and honour, but they cling to Courage to the very end. Courage is a quality that boys love and respect, because it is a manly virtue.

Physical Courage appeals most to the young. Nothing so excites their admiration as a feat of daring. Physical Courage is a splendid thing, a thing to be prized by every one. As a rule, it is something that every one may possess a good share of. Physical Courage depends very largely upon bodily vigour and strength of muscle. It is when we are nervous and feel our limbs to be weak that our Courage is small. The boy or man who exercises his muscles regularly is sure to store up a large amount of physical Courage--enough, at least, to develop its first stage--Fearlessness.

He who possesses a good constitution and a body whose strength he has tested by repeated trials is not apt to turn tail at small fears, as are the weak and delicate. He is able to present to difficulties, or, it may be, to danger, a steadfast mind and a calm exterior. It is this sort of Courage which makes the English soldier renowned in war. Had it not been for the dogged persistence of his soldiers in holding their ground, in spite of a hurricane of shot and shell, Wellington could never have held Napoleon at bay at Waterloo. But, while this Fearlessness is much to be admired, it is, after all, the least heroic form of Courage, because so much of it is purely physical.

Fighting, as a test of Courage, is greatly overestimated. Experienced soldiers tell us that it requires a good deal of Courage to go into battle for the first time. "You look pale," said one officer to another, as he came within range of the enemy's guns for the first time; "are you afraid?" "Yes," answered the other; "if you were half as much afraid, you would turn tail." But, with most soldiers, the feeling of fear soon wears off, and where there is no fear there is not much trial of Courage. The physical Courage that we all covet is that which leads a man to do what others dare not. In 1892, a young clergyman, on a visit to this country, was crossing the foot-bridge at Niagara Falls. When about one-third of the way across, he saw a lady stepping up from the carriage path to the sidewalk. She caught her toe against the edge, stumbled forward, and fell through the open iron work at the side of the bridge. She happened to be over the place where the broken rocks line the edge of the water. In her swift descent, she struck her head against one of the girders and was stunned; her body then turned over and fell across another girder. At this moment the clergyman came up. Looking over, he saw her body swaying gently, and evidently about to drop very soon to the awful rocks, over two hundred feet below. Without a moment's hesitation, he sprang out over the edge of the bridge, and, seizing one of the iron rods that supported the girder, he slid down, and then crept along the narrow girder till he reached the lady. Bracing himself with immense difficulty, he kept her from plunging into the abyss until help arrived, death beckoning to him from below, if he should lose his head for a single moment. At length a rope was lowered to him, and they were soon drawn up. That is a splendid example of physical Courage.

The highest type of Courage is that which is called Moral Courage, and is exercised about matters of right and wrong as they affect us individually. "It is shown by the man who pays his debts, who does without when he cannot afford, who speaks his mind when necessary, but who can be silent when it is better not to speak. It requires Moral Courage to admit that we have been wrong." It requires Moral Courage to stand being laughed at, although it is the sign of a wise man to be able to enjoy a laugh at his own expense. It requires Moral Courage to run the risk of losing one's popularity. Socrates was the greatest teacher of ancient times, and he was beloved by many of his pupils; but because his lofty teaching ran beyond the attainments and spirit of his age, he was condemned to drink the deadly hemlock. He died calmly, even joyfully, discoursing to his judges of the immortality of the soul. Galileo was imprisoned when seventy years of age, and, probably, tortured. He was content to suffer it, and refused to retract what he had proved to be scientific truth.

When we are laughed at or threatened with persecution of any kind, Courage bids us stand by our principles.

"As the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of a fool,"

said Solomon. It is the part of wisdom to disregard being laughed at. When a boy lacks backbone, we say he is easily led, which means, easily led wrong. How we pity such a boy!

Courage is a very different thing from Recklessness, or Foolhardiness. An old proverb says: "Courage is the wisdom of manhood; foolhardiness the folly of youth." And Carlyle said: "The courage that dares only die is, on the whole, no sublime affair.... The Courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully."

PURITY

Purity involves three things: Clean language, clean thoughts, clean actions. They are put in this order because it generally happens among the young that impurity begins with hearing unclean language, and by imitating it. A little boy hearing others use foul language soon begins to use it himself, though he may not know its real meaning. Alas! it does not take long for him to learn the meaning of it also; and it is but a short step from foul language to impure thoughts and filthy actions.

Purity is one of the three heroic virtues; the others are Truth and Courage. In the age of chivalry men valued Purity above all things except Truth and Courage. Tennyson makes his hero say:

"My good blade carves the casques of men, My tough lance thrusteth sure; My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure."

Purity is one of the most manly virtues. Impurity marks the coward and the sneak, because it is nearly always directed in thought or action secretly against those weaker than ourselves. In "Tom Brown at Oxford," one of Tom Brown's friends says: "I have been taught ever since I could speak that the crown of all real manliness is Purity." You may ask: "Why is it manly?" It is manly because it cannot be got without a hard struggle; the temptation to be impure in thought, if not in language, is one of the hardest temptations to overcome. A little boy may not feel it, but the older he grows the harder he has to fight against impurity in his heart, and in his life.

UNSELFISHNESS

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