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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by

EDWARD ROGERS,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of New York.

22 X 12

INTRODUCTION.

The Author presents the MANUAL OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, in a catechetical form, for the instruction of the learner in those things which pertain to his conduct in every day life. It was originally designed as an adjunct in moral instruction to "The Guide Book," which was published and the first edition has been sold.

It is presented in the form of questions and answers, that it may be used as a text book in our schools. It comprises, what is seldom found in or out of our schools, a book of general information on the law of nature, national law, municipal law, criminal law, moral law, government, the making of laws, the ten commandments, religion, manners, notices, facts and opinions connected with the acquisition of knowledge; reading, its object, direction, and end; together with certain maxims for observance in life, explained and commented on. author believes that in this book is contained information that is necessary for every day use. tains the elements of those principles that form the citizen and statesman.

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all the

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A daily examination will furnish information that years of study only will enable him to obtain elsewhere. The questions and answers are adapted to the capacity of the learners of every age. The precepts are practical, and calculated to give information on subjects of every day reading. The work is made as simple as it can be,

IV

in language that every age may receive instruction from it.

The author solicits for it a careful perusal. A former work, he believes, has amused and instructed those who have read it. To the public, generally, he presents it, not as containing the marvels of the age, or the wonders of creation, but as a work designed to enlighten the understanding, mend the manners, and increase the knowledge of all who peruse it. And he hopes farther, that it may be instrumental in softening the heart and improving the good feeling which gives so much pleasure

in the intercourse of man with his fellow-man.

THE AUTHOR.

A CATECHETICAL TREATISE

OF

LAW, MORALS, AND RELIGION.

OF LAW IN GENERAL.

WHAT is law, in its general and most extensive signification?

It is a rule of action: as such it is applicable to mat-ter and motion in all its forms and relations: to the planets in their spheres; to plants in their growth, maturity, and decay; to animals, rational beings, and spirits of the last class our knowledge is indefinite and imperfect. It is dictated by a superior.

These laws as regards matter and motion are certain fixed appearances from which they do not vary.

It is a law of gravity, that bodies near the earth tend directly to it, unless they are without the power of its attraction.

It is a law of motion, that bodies at rest, when set in motion, move in a direct line.

OF THE LAW OF NATURE.

What is the law of nature?

The will of man's Creator. This is immutable and eternal.

What does the law of nature require?

It requires that man should live honestly, should hurt. nobody, and should render to every one his due.

What are the attributes of Deity?

Infinite goodness, power, and wisdom, which have been exhibited in his acts, in causing the happiness of man to depend on a conformity of life to the principles of eternal justice.

To what short precept may the law of nature be reduced?

That man should pursue his own true and substantial happiness. Whenever any act is destructive of man's happiness, it is contrary to the law of nature.

When did the law of nature have its origin?

It is coeval with the creation of man.

By whom was it dictated?

By God himself.

Who are subject to his law?

The whole human family: man wherever he may dwell on the face of the earth.

Are human laws binding, if contrary to the law of nature?

Human laws that contravene the law of nature, have no validity.

To what do all human laws owe their binding force? To a conformity to the divine law.

How is man to determine what will be for his substantial happiness?

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