's seal placed on strict discipline. There is power in purity;
vitality depends much on sanitation.

THE FIRST SCHOOLS--1561.

The Public School system is the offspring of Protestantism. The human
mind, when liberated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, aspires after
education, as the eagle soars into the upper air when set free from its
cage. Freedom in Christ Jesus awakens consciousness of rights, powers,
privileges, obligations, and the immeasurable boundaries of mind and
spirit. With such breathings and aspirations these Presbyterian fathers
planted free schools over their country and set the example for the
world. The General Assembly authorized a school for every "parish", and
made attendance imperative. The children of the poor were instructed
free, the rich contributed support. The studies covered "religion,
grammar, and Latin." Also in every "notable town, a college was to be
erected for instruction in logic, rhetoric, and the learned languages."
Such was the work of the General Assembly in the year of our Lord 1561.
Our system of Public Schools is but the extension of the orchard these
fathers planted, in their far-reaching plans and great-hearted purposes.

Such were some of the steps taken by the fathers, in the Church of
Scotland, at the dawn of the First Reformation. They were master
builders in laying foundation stones. They were preparing for the
onward movement, which gave to the world the most brilliant example of
Church and State in Covenant with God. The like has not been witnessed
since the days of Jesus of Nazareth. These beginnings were the stately
steppings of God within His sanctuary. The Lord raised up men after His
own heart, and empowered them by the Holy Spirit to perform this
stupendous task. They were men of like passions with others, yet
possessing the rare quality of an inviolate conscience. They were
governed by principle, not expediency; were guided by truthfulness, not
diplomacy; consulted God's law, not convenience; accepted duty at God's
command, not at man's dictate. Not all who were enrolled in the Church
stood the test; some grew faint and fell back from the firing line. But
enough were ever there to glorify God and do His service at any cost.
Scotland's First Reformation reached its climax in 1567.

The diligence and success of the fathers in the Lord's work should
inspire us to do the best within our power for the enlargement of the
Church. Are we building, as they built, upon