upon the child, while he indulges it in these gratifications of youth and inclination: a wise parent will daily observe whether the son or the little daughter begin to be too much charmed with any of the gay ornaments and amusements of life; and, with a prudent and secret solicitude, will take care lest any of them intrench on the more necessary and more important duties of life and religion. And according to this view of things, the parent's hand will either give a looser rein to the pursuit of these exercises, or will manage the propensities of the child with a needful and becoming restraint.

But among all the accomplishments of youth, there is none preferable to a decent and agreeable behaviour among men, a modest freedom of speech, a soft and elegant manner of address, a graceful and lovely deportment, a cheerful gravity and good humour, with a mind appearing ever serene under the ruffling accidents of human life: add to this, a pleasing solemnity and reverence when the discourse turns upon any thing sacred and divine, a becoming neglect of injuries, a hatred of calumny and slander, a habit of speak. ing well of others, a pleasing benevolence and readiness to do good to mankind, and special compassion to the miserable; with an air and countenance, in a natural and unaffected manner, expressive of all these excellent qualifications.

Some of these, I own, are to be numbered among the duties and virtues, rather than among the ornaments of mankind: but they must be confessed to be ornaments as well as virtues. They are graces in the eye of man as well as of God. These will bespeak the affection of all that know us, and engage even an ill-natured world betimes in our favour. These will enable the youth of both sexes, who are so happy to attain them, to enter upon the stage of life with approbation and love, to pass through the world with ease (as far as ease may be expected in so degenerate and unhappy a state of things), to finish the scenes of action on earth with applause, and to leave behind them the mo

nument

nument of a good name, when their bodies sleep in the dust, and their souls dwell with God.

A Guard against evil Influences from Persons
and Things.

Ir belongs also to a good education that children be guarded and secured (as far as possible) from all evil influences, and unhappy impressions, which they may be exposed to receive both from persons and things. I shall sufficiently explain this direction by particular instances.

Let not nurses or servants be suffered to fill their minds with silly tales, and with senseless rhymes, many of which are so absurd and ridiculous that they will not bear to be represented in a grave discourse. The imagination of young creatures is hereby flattered and deceived: their reason is grossly abused and imposed upon : and by this means they are trained up to be amused with follies and nonsense, rather than to exercise their understanding, which is the glory of human nature.

Let not any persons that are near them terrify their tender minds with dismal stories of witches and ghosts, of devils and evil spirits, of fairies and bugbears, in the dark. This hath had a most mischievous effect on some children, and hath fixed in their constitutions such a rooted slavery and fear, that they have scarcely dared to be left alone all their lives, especially in the night. These stories have made such a deep and frightful impression on their tender fancies, that it hath enervated their souls, it hath broken their spirits early, it hath grown up with them, and mingled with their religion, it hath laid a wretched foundation for melancholy and distracting sorrows. Let these sort of informations be reserved for their firmer years, and let them not be told in their hearing, till they can better judge what truth or reality there is in them, and be made sensible how much is owing to romance and fiction.

Nor

- Nor let their little hearts be frightened at three or four years old with shocking and bloody histories, with massacres and martyrdoms, with cuttings and burnings, with the images of horrible and barbarous murders, with racks and red-hot pincers, with engines of torment and cruelty, with mangled limbs, and carcases drenched in gore. It is time. enough, when their spirits are grown a little firmer, to acquaint them with these madnesses and miseries of human nature. There is no need that the histories of the holy confessors and martyrs should be set before their thoughts so early in all their most ghastly shapes and colours. These things, when they are a little older, may be of excellent use to discover to them the wicked and bloody principles of persecution, both among the Heathens and the Papists; and to teach them the power of the grace of Christ, in supporting these poor sufferers under all the torments which they sustained for the love of God and the truth.

Let their ears be ever kept from all immodest stories, and from wanton songs: from riddles and puns with double meanings and foul intentions: let them not be suffered to read wanton jests or amorous romances: and due care should be taken to remove all books out of their way that may defile their imagination, or teach them the language or the sentiments of impurity. Nor let their eyes be entertained with lewd and unclean pictures, and images of things or actions that are not fit to be exposed. These things indeed have too often an unhappy influence to corrupt the fancy and the manners; and, in riper years, have been the occasion of numberless mischiefs: but especially they should be kept far away from the sight or hearing of children, lest too deep and dangerous impressions be made in those early years of life. Nothing but what is chaste, pure, and innocent, should come within the reach of their eyes and ears. Even the common necessities and actions of nature should be always expressed before them in the most modest forms of speech that our mother-tongue can furnish

ùs with. In this respect (as the poet says) children should be treated with great reverence.

Maxima debetur pueris reverentia.

It is confessed that books of anatomy, and other parts of necessary science, are proper to be written; and these may be consulted by persons who are grown up to a due age, especially by those whose profession requires it. There is also some necessity of foul narratives, where foul crimes are committed, and ought to be publicly exposed, and brought to justice and punishment. As the affairs of mankind stand, these things cannot always be avoided: but there is no manner of necessity that children should read them, or rash unguarded youth.

For some of the reasons before mentioned, there should be a wise conduct in shewing children what parts of the Bible they should read; for though the word of God expresseth all things with due decency, yet there are some things which have been found necessary to be spoken of in scripture, both in the laws of Moses, and in the representation of the wickedness of the Gentiles in the New Testament, in which adult persons have been concerned, which there is no necessity for children to read and hear, and they may he passed over or omitted among them. The Jews were wont to with-hold Solomon's Song from their children till they were thirty years old: and the late pious and prudent Bishop Tillotson (in a manuscript which I have seen) wishes that those parts of the Bible, wherein there are some of the affairs of mankind expressed too naturally (as he calls it), were omitted in the public lessons of the church : I think they may as well be excepted also out of the common lessons of children, and out of the daily course of reading in family worship.

Let parents take as much care as they can in the choice of companions and play-fellows for their sons and their daughters. It would be a happy thing if children, who are

bred

bred up in schools, could be secured from the company and evil influence of other children who curse and swear, who take the name of God in vain, and use filthy and unclean language. Masters and mistresses should be very watchful and strict in their inquiries into the behaviour of their scholars of both sexes when they are out of their sight, that, if it were possible, there might not be one among them whose lips are impure or profane: for one diseased sheep may infect the whole flock. However, where children find such immorality practised by any of their fellows, they should be taught to shew their utmost abhorrence of it, and speedily forsake such pernicious company.

SECT. IX.

A Guard set on the Sports and Diversions of Children. As parents should take care to have their children employed in proper learning and business, so they should not think it beneath them to concern themselves a little about their sports and recreations. Human nature, especially in younger years, cannot be constantly kept intent on work, learning, or labour. There must be some intervals of pleasure to give a loose to the mind, and to refresh the natural spirits. Too long and intense a confinement to one thing is ready to overtire the spirits of youth, and to weaken the springs of activity by excessive fatigue. It is an old simile on this occasion, and a very just one, that a bow kept always bent will grow feeble, and lose its force. The alternate successions of business and diversion preserve the body and soul of children in the happiest temper: and learning is more closely pursued, and work better done, after some agreeable relaxations. The young creatures apply themselves to their business with new vigour after the enjoyment of some pleasurable release.

I confess it would be a considerable advantage if the various parts of learning and business in which children are employed