ved by all his followers to the end of the world, which are usually called sacraments.

The one is baptism, wherein persons are to be washed with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit, to signify their being given up to Christ as his disciples, or professors of Christianity; and as an emblem of that purity of heart and life, which, as such, they must aim at and endeavour after.

The other is the Lord's supper, wherein bread is broken, and wine is poured out, and distributed, to be eaten and drank by Christians in remembrance of the body of Christ, which was put to a bloody death, as a sacrifice to obtain pardon for the sins of men.

The first of these, namely baptism, is but once to be administered to any person; but the last, namely the Lord's supper, is to be frequently performed, to keep us always in mind of the death of Christ, till he comes again from heaven to judge the world.

This is the sum and substance of the Christian religion, drawn out into a very few plain articles; and I think a child of common capacity, who is arrived at three or four years of age, may be taught some part of these articles, and may learn to understand them all at seven, or eight, or nine; at least so far as is needful for all his own exercises of devotion and piety. As his age increases, he may be instructed more at large in the principles and practices of our holy religion, as I shall shew more particularly in the third section.

SECT. II.

The Exercise and Improvement of their natural Powers. HAVING mentioned religion as the principal thing in which children should be instructed, I proceed to say, in the second place, that children should be taught the true use, the exercise, and improvement of their natural powers: and we may, for order sake, distinguish these into the powers of the body,

and

and those of the mind: now, though nature gives these powers and faculties, yet it is a good education that must instruct us in the exercise and improvement of them: otherwise, like an uncultivated field, they will be ever barren and fruitless, or produce weeds and briers, instead of herbs and corn.

Among the powers of the mind which are to be thus cultivated, we may reckon the understanding, the memory, the judgement, the faculty of reasoning, and the conscience.

1. Teach them to use their understanding aright. Persuade them to value their understanding as a noble faculty, and allure them to seek after the enrichment of it with a variety of knowledge. Let no day escape without adding some new ideas to their understanding, and giving their young unfurnished minds some further notion of things.

Almost every thing is new to a child, and novelty will entice them onward to new acquisitions: shew them the birds, the beasts, the fishes, and insects, trees, herbs, fruits, and all the several parts and properties of the vegetable and the animal world: teach them to observe the various occurrences in nature and providence, the sun, moon, and stars, the day and night, summer and winter, the clouds. and the sky, the hail, snow and ice, winds, fire, water, earth, air, fields, woods, mountains, rivers, &c. Teach them that the great God made all these things, and his providence governs them all. Acquaint a child also with domestic affairs so far as is needful, and with the things that belong to the civil and the military life, the church and the state, with the works of God and the works of men. A thousand objects that strike their eyes, their ears, and all their senses, will furnish out new matter for their curiosity and your instructions.

There are some books which are published in the world, wherein a child may be delightfully led into the knowledge of a great number of these things, by pictures, or figures of birds, beasts, &c. well graven with their names under them: this will much assist the labour of the teacher, and add to the pleasure of children in their daily learning.

You who instruct them should allure their young curiosity to ask many questions, encourage them in it, and gratify their inquiries, by giving them the best and most satisfactory answers you can frame, and accommodate all your language to their capacity.

Give them, as far as possible, clear ideas of things, and teach them how to distinguish one thing from another by their different appearances, by their different properties, and by their different effects. Shew them how far some things agree with others, and how far they differ from them; and above all things teach them, as far as their young understanding will admit, to distinguish between appearances and realities, between truth and falsehood, between good and evil, between trifles, and things of importance; for these are the most valuable pieces of knowledge and distinction which can be lodged in the young understandings

of children.

2. The memory is another faculty of the soul, which should be cultivated and improved: endeavour carefully to impress on their minds things of worth and value. Such are, short and useful and entertaining stories, which carry in them some virtue recommended, some vice ridiculed or punished; various human and divine truths, rules of piety and virtue, precepts of prudence, &c. Repeat these things often to them by day and by night; teach them these things in verse and in prose; rehearse them in their ears at all proper seasons, and take occasion to make them repeat these things to you.

Be solicitous to know what it is they learn when they are out of your sight, and take good care that their memories be not charged with trifles, and idle trumpery. Thẹ memory is a noble repository or cabinet of the soul; it should not be filled with rubbish and lumber. Silly tales and foolish songs, the conundrums of nurses, and the dull rhymes that are sung to lull children asleep, or to sooth a froward humour, should be generally forbidden to entertain those children where a good education is designed, Some

thing more innocent, more solid and profitable, may be invented, instead of these fooleries. If it were possible, let a very few things be lodged in the memory of children which they need to forget when they are men.

The way to strengthen and improve the memory is to

put it upon daily exercise. I do not mean that young children should be kept so close to their book as to be crammed with lessons all the day long, and made to receive and sustain a heavy load every hour. The powers of the soul (especially such as act in close concert with the body, and are so much aided by the brain) may be overburdened and injured as well as the limbs; the mind may be perplexed and confounded, the head may be overstrained and weakened, and the health impaired in those tender years of life, by an excessive imposition on the memory: the teachers of children should have some prudence, to distinguish their ages and their several capacities; they should know how to avoid extremes.

But in general it may be said that the powers of the mind, as well as those of the body, grow stronger by a constant and moderate exercise. Every day let the memory of a child be entrusted with something new; every day let some lesson be learned: and every Lord's day at least, even in their youngest years, let them learn by heart some one text of scripture (chiefly that on which the minister preaches): this will grow up in time to a considerable treasure of scriptural knowledge, which will be of unspeakable use to them in the Christian life. I have known children, who, from their early years, have been constantly trained up and taught to remember a few sentences of a sermon besides the text, and by this means have grown up by degrees to know all the distinct parts and branches of a discourse, and in time to write down half the sermon after they came home, to their own consolation, and the improvement of their friends: whereas those who have been never taught to use their memories in their younger parts of life, lose every thing from their thoughts when it is past off

from

from their ears, and come home from noble and edifying discourses, pleased (it may be) with the transient sound, and commending the preacher, but uninstructed, unimproved, without any growth in knowledge or piety.

3. The judgement is another natural power of the mind, which should be exercised and improved in children. They should be taught to pass no judgement on men or things rashly or suddenly, but to with-hold their judgement till they see sufficient reason to determine them. To this end, shew them, in little common instances, how often they are deceived when they judge on a sudden, without due consideration, and how often they are forced to change their opinions. Put them in mind how soon they have found themselves mistaken, when they have given their opinions too hastily. This will make them cautious, and afraid of being so rash, either in praising one thing, or in condemning another.

Teach them to judge, not merely by outward shew and appearance, but by searching things to the bottom. Convince them that every man who hath fine clothes is not rich, and that every man who talks hard words is not wise or learned; and that every one who wears a red coat is not a soldier; nor is every person good-humoured who speaks very complaisant things in company. Take frequent occasion to shew them how much they will be mistaken if they judge immediately by outward appearances of things.

:

Tell them that they must not judge of things by custom, nor by the common opinions of the multitude, nor by the practices of the rich and the great; for all these things may deceive them but that they must judge of things merely by reason, except in matters of religion, and there they must judge rather by scripture or the word of God. Let them know that customs change and alter, and the customs of one age or of one nation differ greatly from those of another; but that the nature and the reason of things is still the same, and that scripture is the constant and unchangeable rule of our religion,

The