to relate his whole life in successive lessons, or to explain the great traits of his character and his mission. A word, insignificant in appearance, can be passed unnoticed, or, if there be a desire, can lead to explanations of great interest; thus, the paragraphs 67 and 68 can lead to the subject of astronomy, and of the later discoveries in the knowledge of the earth or of antiquity. There are not in this book the ordinary questions and answers. would have been easy, if desirable, to have arranged the paragraphs as questions, but it would have uselessly enlarged the vol

ume.

It

The method I prefer is to develop by many questions; notes can be taken and reduced to an analysis, which the teacher can correct, and the scholar can arrange and recopy after this examination. By this means, the scholar puts his religion in writing; it is his work, not his teacher's.

"The Introduction forms a part entirely separate, which, according to circumstances, can be omitted, or used to commence or to complete the course. It must,

then, be understood that this book is not a complete summary of religious knowledge, but only of that part of religion which ought to enter into a catechism; it concerns faith, piety, morality, and not theology. Thus, dogmatic terms are carefully avoided. substitute expressions of human invention for those of which the inspired writers have made use."

No one has the right to

INTRODUCTION.

1. RELIGION is the bond which exists between God and man. There is, then, only one true religion, that which gives a correct idea of God and man, and the relations which subsist between them.

2. To have, to obey, and to profess a religion, is to believe in God and to enter into relation with him. Thus, a prayer is a relation which is established between God and ourselves; but in order to pray to him we must first believe in him. It is, then, of extreme importance that our faith should be firm. A careless, forgetful, wavering faith will render our religion very imperfect. Our belief or faith is the basis of our religion. "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. xi. 6.)

3. Our faith will have a solid foundation, if all the truths of our religion rest upon a truth at