SECT, III, of a Fool; and therefore they should never grow fullen, nor let the Sun go down upon their Wrath. THE Occafions of Childish Refentment and the rifings of Anger are ready to return often, and therefore they fhould often have fuch Warnings given them and fuch Inftructions repeated. Tell them how lovely a Thing it is to be meek and free from Paffion, and how much fuch Children are be loved of all: Inftruct them how much it tends to their own Peace to fuffer nothing to ruffle and difcompose them: And when their little Hearts are ready to fwell again and grow big within them, and their Wrath takes fudden Fire, put in fome pretty foft Word to cure the Return of this inward Swelling, to quench the new Flame that is kindling in their Bofom, and to affwage the rifing Storm. Teach them by Degrees to get an habitual Conqueft over this Disorder of Nature in Youth, and you will lay a Foundation for their Deliverance from a thousand Mischiefs in the following Years and Events of Life. THIS fhall fuffice for the third Head of Inftruction, which relates to Self-Government: I have dwelt the longer upon it be. caufe it is of fo great and evident Importance towards the Eafe and Happiness of Life, as well as fo confiderable a Part of Religion; and Men can hardly ever get fo fuc cefsful cessful a Victory over themselves unless they begin when they are Children. SECT. IV. The common Arts of Reading and Writing. TH HE next Thing that I fhall mention as a Matter of Inftruction for Children, is the common Arts of Reading, Spelling and Writing. WRITING is almost a divine Art, whereby Thoughts may be communicated without a Voice, and understood without Hearing: To these I would add some small Knowledge of Arithmetick or Accounts, as the Practice of it is in a Manner fo univerfal in our Age, that it does almost neceffarily belong to a tolerable Education. THE Knowledge of Letters is one of the greatest Bleffings, that ever God bestowed on the Children of Men: By this Means Mankind are enabled to preferve the Memory of Things done in their own Times, and to lay up a rich Treasure of Knowledge for all fucceeding Generations. By the Art of Reading we learn a thoufand Things which our Eyes can never see, and which our own Thoughts would never have reached to: We are inftructed by Books in the Wisdom of antient Ages; we learn what our Ancestors have faid and done, and enjoy the Benefit of the wife and judicious Remarks which they have made through their whole Courfe of Life, without the Fatigue of their long and painful Experiments. By this Means Children may be led, in a great Measure, into the Wifdom of old Age. It is by the Art of Reading that we can fit at Home, and acquaint ourfelves what has been done in the diftant Parts of the World. The Hiftories and the Cuftoms of all Ages and all Nations are brought, as it were, to our Doors. By this Art we are let into the Knowledge of the Affairs of the Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans, their Wars, their Laws, and their Religion; and we can tell what they did in the Nations of Europe, Afia and Africa above a thousand Years ago. BUT the greatest Bleffing that we derive from Reading, is the Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, wherein God has conveyed down to us the Difcoveries of his Wifdom, Power and Grace through many paft Ages, and whereby we attain the Knowledge of Chrift and of the way of Salvation by a Me diator. IT must be confeffed that in former Ages, before Printing was invented, the Art of Reading was not fo common even in polite Nations, because Books were much more coftly, fince they must be all written with a Pen, a Pen, and were therefore hardly to be obtained by the Bulk of Mankind: But fince the Providence of God has brought Printing into the World, and Knowledge is fo plentifully diffused through our Nation at fo cheap a Rate, it is a Pity that any Children should be born and brought up in Great Britain without the Skill of Reading; and especially fince by this Means every one may fee with his own Eyes what God requires of him in order to eternal Happiness. THE Art of Writing alfo is fo exceeding ufeful, and is now grown fo very common, that the greatest Part of Children may attain it at an easy Rate: By this Means we communicate our Thoughts and all our Affairs to our Friends at never fo great a Distance! We tell them our Wants, our Sorrows, and our Joys, and intereft them in our Concerns as though they were near us. We maintain Correfpondence and Traffick with Perfons in diftant Nations, and the Wealth and Grandeur of Great Britain is maintained by this Means. By the Art of Writing we treasure up all Things that concern us in a fafe Repofitory; and as often as we please, by confulting our Paper Records, we renew our Remembrance of Things that relate to this Life or the Life to come: And why should any of the Children of Men be debarred from this Privilege, if it may be attained at a cheap and easy Rate, without intrenching upon upon other Duties of Life, and without omitting any more neceffary Business that may belong to their Station. I MIGHT add here also, true Spelling is. fuch a Part of Knowledge as Children ought to be acquainted with, fince it is a Matter of Shame and Ridicule in fo polite an Age as ours, when Perfons who have learned to handle the Pen cannot write three Words together without a Miftake or Blunder, and when they put Letters together in fuch an aukward and ignorant Manner that it is hard. to make Sense of them or to tell what they mean. ARITHMETICK or the Art of Numbers is, as was obferved before, to be reckoned also a neceffary Part of a good Education. Without fome Degrees of this Knowledge there is indeed no Traffick among Men. And efpecially it is more needful at prefent, fince the World deals much more upon Truft and Credit than it did in former Times; and therefore the Art of keeping Accounts is made, in fome Measure, neceflary to Perfons even in meaner Stations of Life, below the Rank of Merchants or great Traders. A little Knowledge of the Art of Accounts is alfo needful, in fome measure, in order to take a true Survey and make a just Judgment of the common Expences of a Perfon or a Family: But this part of Learning, in the various Degrees of it, is morę |