[FRONTISPIECE]
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LECTURES
FROM NEW ZEALAND.
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LECTURES
FROM NEW ZEALAND,
ADDRESSED TO YOUNG MEN.
BY
ROBERT WARD.
LONDON:
WARD AND CO., 27, PATERNOSTER ROW;
R. DAVIES, CONFERENCE OFFICES, SUTTON STREET,
ST. GEORGE'S-IN-THE-EAST.
1862.
[TITLE VERSO]
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ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.
LONDON
PRINTED BY THOMAS DANKS, 9, CRANE COURT,
FLEET STREET, E.C.
[PREFACE]
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PREFACE.
SEVERAL of the following Lectures were delivered to the Young Men's Christian Association in Auckland, New Zealand. But while the Author is anxious that the colony, in which seventeen years of his life have been spent as a minister of the Gospel, should stand before the world in fair proportions, offering honourable attractions to intending emigrants in the mother country, shedding a happy influence upon the surrounding native tribes, and answering the purposes of the grace of God, he is desirous, if possible, to contribute something towards the moral and religious welfare of the youth of his father-land. These Lectures are laid before the British public and the colonies, with the hope that the principles which they contain may be safely recommended to the young men of both hemispheres. A few words may be said concerning the subjects
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of these Lectures. Self-education was suggested by the fact that the education of many families is considerably disturbed by the voyage to the colonies, and the new circumstances into which they are thrown, the effects of which will injure them through life unless a decisive effort be made to educate themselves. The Lecture on the Acts of the Apostles professes nothing more than to bring together some of the facts of the sacred narrative, with remarks on the places where they occurred, and the people among whom they were wrought. The Taranaki war, by which this beautiful province has been for nearly two years laid in ruins, suggested another theme. The other subjects were thought necessary to fill up the series of Lectures which were delivered by ministers and laymen of different churches, to the Christian Association already named.
The reader will probably meet with some tautology, as a considerable time elapsed between the delivery of some of the Lectures. Remarks may also be met with which will not strictly apply to society in England, but which may be appropriate to society in the colonies. The writer wishes to mention Monaster's History of the Vaudois Church, Milner's Church History, and Bennett's Lectures on the Acts of the
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Apostles, among many others, as books from which he has drawn many of the facts inserted in the historical Lectures. This remark is made instead of crowding the pages with references to events which have been described by almost every respectable historian who has written on their respective subjects.
The writer respectfully solicits the attention of Sunday-school teachers to this little volume, as he ventures to hope that it may contribute to the formation of a useful and honourable character, if it be put into the hands of the advanced classes of Sunday-schools. May that God whom we serve, and to whom we belong, give His blessing. Amen.
R. WARD.
New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Dec. 10th, 1861.
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[CONTENTS]
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CONTENTS.
LECTURE I.
ON SELF-EDUCATION.
Importance of Education. Self-Education embraces the entire man. Questions--"For what purposes am I created?" "Is it possible to answer the end of my existence?" "What course must I pursue to become what I ought to be?" The field of knowledge,--first efforts. Education increases the sources of enjoyment, prepares a man for usefulness, is an assistant to religion, raises the social position. Commencement of self-education. Advice: reading a book, use of the pen, public speaking, learning a language, branches of science. Examples of self-education. Objections.
LECTURE II.
LIFE A REALITY.
Life--The materials which life supplies.--Human changes--The globe we inhabit--The results of human thought--Changes in the material world--The moral world. The instrumentality by which the business of life is executed:--Learning--Skilled labour--Policy of government--Commerce--Science--Religion. The agent to whom the affairs of life are entrusted--His responsibility. Objects of life--Should be defined--The present day--Decision of character--Great principles.
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LECTURE III.
THE WOES AND WANTS OF THE WORLD.
Woes: Those arising from outward circumstances--The sorrows which arise from our disordered constitution--The miseries which flow from want of mental culture--Evils resulting from ill-training--From the prevalence of error--From licentiousness--From mistakes concerning religion--Their origin--Development--Consequences. Wants; "Given the World's woes, how can they be removed?" Attempts to solve the problem. The true solution. Agents employed. Instruments used.
LECTURE IV.
BRITONS AND THEIR BIRTHRIGHTS.
Britannia.--Invaded by Julius Caesar--Roman forces withdrawn in the fifth century.--The Angles and Saxons.--Formal introduction of Christianity.--William of Normandy.--Birthrights: Choice in Religious profession--Personal freedom--Cultivation of the mind--Improvement of social position--Freedom of the press.--Means by which these rights have been obtained.--Battle for political freedom--Great moral principles.--How to transmit our birthrights to posterity.
LECTURE V.
CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
The dark ages: foretold--Marked by doctrinal errors, immorality, worldly influence.--The Crusades: their origin, object, progress.--The Waldenses: their history, doctrines, character--Bishop Claude--Missionary efforts--Revivals--Mission in England.--Persecutions: Bull of Innocent III.--Horrible persecutions--Milton's sonnet--An Inquisitor converted--The Waldenses arm in self-defence.--The Churches compared--Lessons taught.
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LECTURE VI.
ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
Preparatory events. The triumphs of the Gospel in Asia--Jerusalem, Samaria, Caesarea, Antioch. The introduction and progress of the Gospel in Europe--Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Athens, Ephesus, Rome. Conversion of remarkable persons--Saul of Tarsus, the Eunuch of Ethiopia, Simon the sorcerer. Timothy. Persecutions. Miracles. General remarks.
LECTURE VII.
TARANAKI: IN PEACE AND IN WAR.
Taranaki. War. Taranaki as it was:--In Maori Times--First Settlers--Bush Scenes--Open Country--Prosperity. Natives: Their Improvement. General Character of the Province. Taranaki as it is in the Time of War:--Remarks on War--The Taranaki War was unexpected--Effects of War on the Natives--Their Cruelty--Destruction of Property--Disease--Alarms--Prospect of Peace. Probabilities of the Future.
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