DUTY TO PARENTS.
There ſeems to be an indolent propenſity in man to make preſcription always take place of reaſon, and to place every duty on an arbitrary foundation. The rights of kings are deduced in a direct line from the King of kings; and that of parents from our firſt parent.
Why do we thus go back for principles that ſhould always reſt on the ſame baſe, and have the ſame weight to-day that they had a thouſand years ago—and not a jot more? If parents diſcharge their duty they have a ſtrong hold and ſacred claim on the gratitude of their children; but few parents are willing to receive the reſpectful affection of their offspring on ſuch terms. They demand blind obedience, becauſe they do not merit a reaſonable ſervice: and to render theſe demands of weakneſs and ignorance more binding, a myſterious ſanctity is ſpread round the moſt arbitrary principle; for what other name can be given to the blind duty of obeying vicious or weak beings merely becauſe they obeyed a powerful inſtinct?
The ſimple definition of the reciprocal duty, which naturally ſubſiſts between parent and child, may be given in a few words: The parent who pays proper attention to helpleſs infancy has a right to require the ſame attention when the feebleneſs of age comes upon him. But to subju-
