LESSON VIII
INDEPENDENCE
Scholars, who are enjoying the priceless blessings of that liberty which cost our forefathers so much treasure and so much blood,—have you read the Declaration of Independence? If you have not, read it; if you have, read it again; study it; make its noble sentiments your own, and do not fail to grave deep in your memories these immortal lines:—
"We hold these truths to be self-evident; That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such forms, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."