The education of youth, an employment of more consequence than making laws and preaching the gospel, because it lays the foundation on which both law and gospel rest for success.
Noah WebsterRead
Nothing has a greater tendency to lessen the reverence which mankind ought to have for the Supreme Being, than a careless repetition of his name upon every trifling occasion . . . . To prevent this profanation, such passages are selected from scripture, as contain some important precepts of morality and religion, in which that sacred name is seldom mentioned. Let sacred things be appropriated to sacred purposes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of treating sacred things with respect and avoiding casualness in their mention.
Noah Webster cautions against the casual use of the name of the Supreme Being, suggesting that frequent and trivial invocation can diminish the reverence it deserves. He advocates for the sanctity of spiritual matters and recommends that important moral and religious teachings, which do not frequently mention this name, should be emphasized to maintain the respect for the divine.
Themes
ReverenceSacredMoralityRespectDivine
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture on the importance of religious respect.
More from Noah Webster
All quotes βIt is an object of vast magnitude that systems of education should be adopted and pursued which may not only diffuse a knowledge of the sciences but may implant in the minds of the American youth the principles of virtue and of liberty and inspire them with just and liberal ideas of government and with an inviolable attachment to their own country.
Noah WebsterRead
The virtues of men are of more consequence to society than their abilities, and for this reason, the heart should be cultivated with more assiduity than the head.
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In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate-look to his character.
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Language is not an abstract construction of the learned, or of dictionary makers, but is something arising out of the work, needs, ties, joys, affections, tastes, of long generations of humanity, and has its bases broad and low, close to the ground
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To exterminate our popular vices is a work of far more importance to the character and happiness of our citizens than any other improvements in our system of education.
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