Education is a very extensive Subject; it is a vast Field to expatiate in; and has employed the Thoughts and Pens of many great Men, with whom I pretend not to vie: I confess myself far unequal to the Task; and perhaps the greatest Service I can do my Readers, is to inform them, that, besides the ancient Writers, the Archbishop of Cambray, Tanaquil Faber, Mr. Locke, Monsieur Crousaz, and Monsieur Rollin, with some others still later, have handled this important Subject. To these then I refer them, as great and useful Guides; but not to these alone; they must go farther; and apply to those, whose Province it is to reduce the Theory of these to Practice: such are many of our living Guides; who tho’ they have not perhaps distinguished themselves by their Writings, are notwithstanding deservedly eminent for their Skill in teaching.

Nor is Education what I principally engaged in, in this Treatise; Manners alone, I have declared to be my Design; and if I can do the present or future Age any real Service by the Plan of puerile Government already laid down, I shall be happy in considering myself as a useful Member of Society. Still it will appear that Education and Manners have so great a Connection, that they are not always to be separated: many of the Writers on these Subjects have considered them as one and the same thing; many just Sentiments are imbibed at the same time that we are acquiring Languages, and other Parts of Learning: and notwithstanding a Truth which was advanced at our first setting out, that much Manners might be acquired without School-learning, yet it is not to be doubted that they ought to rise in proportion to the Education bestowed on us. Two things therefore I aim at in pursuing this Subject, without attempting to teach, or invading the Province of the Preceptor; the one, to point out what seems necessary for both Boys and Girls, in different Spheres of Life, to learn or avoid; the other, to shew how far the Education bestowed on them is applicable to the Improvement of their Manners; or to their Engagement in any Art, Profession, or Science.

As entering on the Subject of Education will naturally carry the Ideas of Parents back to the Childhood of their Offspring, I will, in Conformity with that, suppose, that the Rules already laid down chiefly regard the first Stage of Life; at most, that they are the Ground-work of a future Superstructure: this granted, I will suppose too, that Parents have employed these first seven Years in moulding their Children, and rendering them so far pliable, as readily to submit to whatever their Parents think proper for them to engage in. There is a strong Passion in many Parents to have their Children forward and early in their Learning; where there is really a Genius, a very great Propensity and Aptness to learn, this may certainly not only be allowed, but improved; yet in general I think very little Account is to be made of what they can learn before seven Years old: it is commonly Rote-work, and often forgot almost as soon as learned. However, let these things be taken as they are found: if a Child has a great Quickness and Facility in learning, let it by no Means be check’d; on the other hand, let not another be severely chastised, or it’s Life rendered miserable, who has not the same early Aptness. Those who would avoid Error on this Point must consider, that a Child’s Memory and Judgment are yet too weak to be much exercised; that close Application and intense Labour are very unfit for this Infant Age; that it is putting their tender Minds too much upon the Stretch; and endangers either a fix’d Aversion to learn, or an incurable Dulness: let them farther consider, that such a quick Child as I have been speaking of, learns without the least Difficulty; and if they oblige one of another Cast to learn as much in the same time, it is odds but they give him more Pain than his Frame can bear. Parents then must be very careful to avoid these first Mistakes in the educating their Children; since from a natural Fondness to have them appear to Advantage, they often thrust them on things that are unsuitable to their Age, and such as they are by no Means qualified to undertake.

It must not here be understood, that nothing is to be attempted in the first Stage of Life; that would be the opposite Extreme of Error; and playful as Children usually are at that Age, the leaving them wholly to themselves for seven Years would be not only injuring their Capacities, but might endanger a Habit of Idleness: what I mean is, that all which relates to Education should now be made as light, as easy, and as pleasant as possible; that, as I have observed before, Parents should take things as they are, and not be dissatisfied or disappointed, if they find no extraordinary Progress made.

But this first Stage being over, the Business becomes serious; they are now to enter the Schools. Parents of almost every Rank aim, or seem to aim, at giving their Children Learning; ’tis a natural Ambition, and, if rationally used, highly laudable. Those of an inferior Class say, with a significant Shake of the Head, ’Tis a fine thing to be a Scholar! True, it is so: but surely it is a sad thing to be a learned Beggar; and worse yet to be a learned Blockhead: an unlearned Cobler is a Prince to either of these. To judge of the Propriety of Education, we should, I think, argue from a Knowledge of Life; for as no one surely will say that the same Degree of it is equally proper for all, it follows of course that it will be right or wrong, in proportion to our Knowledge or Ignorance of Mankind, and of those Stations wherein it is so variously exercised. Now in viewing it in this judicious Light, it appears to me, that the Steps frequently taken by Parents in the educating their Children, are in many respects erroneous. Nor is this by any means to be ascribed to the Teachers, but to the Parents; not to the Plan, but to the Execution: for as in the Order of Nature, every thing has it’s own Sphere, it’s Province assign’d it, which cannot be departed from without Error; so in the various Degrees of Mankind, if a proper Regard be not had to Situation and Abilities, the Mistakes committed in educating our Children must be very many.

At the same time that I venture to think our Notions of Education sometimes erroneous, I confess it is extremely difficult to fix precise Rules for a better; no wonder therefore if I err in the Attempt; and in that Case, I hope, the Goodness of my Intention will plead my Excuse. But here let me ask a natural Question; What is it all Mankind aim at in the Education of their Children? certainly to give them such a Degree of Knowledge as will qualify them to fill some certain Post, some certain Station in Life: in short, to fit them for an Employment suited to their Condition, such as will make them happy in themselves, and useful to Society. This, I say, is, or ought to be our Aim: but how grievously do we pervert it? Parents often mistakenly soar above their Reach; like Adventurers in a Lottery, all gape for the highest Prizes; all ambitiously strive to make their Children something more than common, something above themselves; and by these Means often, very often, overturn and utterly ruin them.

The principal Aim of Parents should be, to know what Sphere of Life their Children will act in; what Education is really suitable for them; what will be the Consequence of neglecting that; and what Chance a superior Education will give them for their Advancement to Posts of Dignity. I grant, it is Pity that a fine Genius should be uncultivated and buried in Oblivion; but surely it is greater Pity that Parents should so generally mistake their Children’s Station, Genius, Capacity, and Inclinations, as they generally do; nay more, mistake their own Capacity too; by engaging them in things above their Ability to conduct them through. The first thing many Parents do, is, blindly to magnify their Children’s Parts; in consequence whereof they engage them in such Studies as square with their Fancy; they then turn their Eyes on some few great Men, whose uncommon Merit, Genius, or Good-fortune, have rais’d them to conspicuous Stations; and thus, in the Vanity of their Hearts, conclude their Sons are to be Judges, Bishops, Generals, and I know not what. But I would here earnestly dissuade Parents from this capital Mistake; indeed it seems so glaringly absurd, that I am surprized it should be so common. But those in inferior Stations will say, May we not then give our Children Education? yes certainly: but it should be a suitable one. What then, may we not aspire to raise our Children in the World? or must they, from Generation to Generation, remain Mechanics, Tradesmen, or the like? Let me not be misunderstood. Every one should look forward; there is a necessary Degree of Spirit becoming all Mankind; but then to be judicious, it must be rational: thus, at the same time that we avoid sinking into Meanness, we must be very careful not to tower so high as to endanger our dashing down into Error.

Education, tho’ design’d to lead us to every Advantage, is often bestowed to our Disadvantage, by being the Cause of many Errors, we should otherwise have escaped. Education is often wasted on us, either by being improper for our Station, or by engaging us in things we are unfit for. Education is a Term that often misleads Parents themselves; for many do not know either it’s Extent or Use, nor know if their Children possess it or not. These things considered, it is easy to conclude how common an erroneous Education must be; and how much it behoves Parents to reflect on the necessary Means to obviate the like Errors for the future.

I remember a Lady whose Coachman was an Instance of the Mistakes I have been speaking of. I am resolved, says he to some of his Acquaintance, to have one Gentleman in my Family at least. In order thereto, he gave his Son Education, and then put him to an Attorney: this entitled the young Fellow to dress out, and keep, what he call’d, good Company; these led him to Pleasures, Gallantry, and many other Extravagancies; in fine, the old Man broke his Heart; and the young one in a short time was utterly ruined. But how much happier would he probably have been, had he kept to his proper Sphere, and been a Coachman too! It frequently happens, that honest industrious Men among the common Trades, as well as others, grow wealthy, and consequently are ambitious of giving their Children Learning; now as these People have usually but a very small Share themselves, they know little more of it than the Name: they send a Boy to School, and because they hear him speak hard Words, and see him hammering at a Latin Exercise, sagely conclude that he has Learning; when it is fifty to one, that, comparatively speaking, he knows nothing. It requires a great deal of Time, Diligence, and Application for a Boy to become a good Grammarian, tho’ taught by the best Methods and the best Masters; what then must be the Fate of those who are under bad Teachers? and that there are some such, I believe will not be disputed. But supposing a Boy really acquires some Knowledge; let us see of what Use it will be to him: his Father is perhaps a Baker, and it is convenient to him to bring his Son up to his own Business; what does a Baker want with Latin? nothing. Besides, continued Disuse will make him forget it; or, should he retain it, of what Use could it be to him, but to make him pedantic and self-conceited? But perhaps upon the Presumption that this Boy is a Scholar, the honest Baker, desirous that his Son should cut a Figure, sends him to the University, and he becomes a Divine: but what Pity is it that a good Baker should be spoiled? The innocent young Man, tho’ spirited up by his fond mistaken Parents, has perhaps no Talents, no Genius, no Interest; what then must be his Fate? why—he must drudge, and court, and wait his whole Life, and at last gain nothing. What can be more mistaken than this Conduct, and yet what more common? It may be urged, that these are Instances of illiterate Parents only, and that People in better Life know better things: now allowing that to be the Case, still as Parents of this Kind are very numerous, they stand in great need of being set right, as the Errors they commit by this false Education are productive of many Evils.

Every Nation has it’s Custom of dividing the People into Classes. The Police of France divide them into Quality, Noblesse, Artificers, and Peasantry. England, a mix’d Government, and a trading Nation, have the Nobility, Gentry, Mercantile or Commercial People, Mechanics, and Peasantry. Were we to subdivide the People, we might run it to an Infinity: to avoid Confusion therefore, I will select five Classes; viz. the Nobility, the Gentry, the genteel Trades, all those particularly which require large Capitals, the common Trades, and the Peasantry. But tho’ for the Sake of Perspicuity and Brevity, I confine my Observations to these, yet they may occasionally be applied to others; and tho’ London may in general be called the Scene of Action thro’ my whole Design, yet is it equally applicable to, and intended for, the Benefit of the whole Kingdom.

Persons of Rank and Quality are, I doubt, placed in too high a Sphere for any Instructions of mine to reach them; or should this Attempt fall into their Hands, what Chance is there for it’s being useful to them, since they seem to have every Advantage, every Help at command. Still as true Wisdom consists in seeking Instruction wherever it can be found, and as the lowest among Mankind may drop a Hint that may be useful to the highest, I will, with all due Deference and Respect, venture to speak my Thoughts; and if they reach the Ears of the Great, I dare hope, they will at least commend the Design, if they cannot applaud the Execution.

Human Nature (as daily Experience shews us) is, in the general, alike in all, from the Prince to the Peasant: the same Weaknesses attend us; the same Passions torment us; the same Diseases kill us: all are the Work of one great Artist! all are born for the same great End! The Gifts of Fortune indeed are innumerably different; the Advantages of Education very many; and as a Train of Vices corrupts our Manners, so a Succession of Virtues may be said to enoble our Birth and purify our Blood. Hence it is we often see those exalted Virtues in the Great and Noble inherited by their Posterity; and hence too we often discover, even where Pains are taken to conceal it, an inbred Dignity, a Mein and Aspect superior to the Generality of Men. Still this Rule is by no Means universal; for the same Experience shews us, that great Men can do little things; even such as the private and obscure would be ashamed of. And how so? because Passion, not Reason, is their Guide. Parents then, we see, even of the highest Rank, are under an indispensable Obligation of regulating the Manners of their Children. Philosophers say, that all Passions are in all Men; but that their Predominance is unequal, and different in different Men: if so, the Great stand in most need of having them subdued, or at least regulated, as the Power to indulge them is greater in them than in others. But granting that Parents of Quality are convinced of these Truths, and take all the Steps already recommended for training up their Children in proper Decorum; granting too, that they design every thing for their real Advantage; they have still many things both to do and avoid which are not common to all.

Their first Care must be to avoid Sycophants, Flatterers, and Hypocrites; they are but too constant Attendants on the Great, and their Business is to diffuse an imperceptible Poison (if I may be allowed the Metaphor) over both Parents and Children. Nothing is so amiable as Truth, nothing more desirable, and yet nothing more difficult to reach the Great. If a Nobleman has a Child whose Parts are weak, whose Genius is slow and shallow, it is undoubtedly a Misfortune, but cannot be his Fault: the natural Blindness of Parents keeps them from seeing these Defects so clearly as another; but the unnatural, at least unmanly Artifices of the Flatterer totally prevent their seeing them at all: and thus the noble Heir is mistakenly taught to think himself what Nature has forbid he shall ever be.

Another Care is, that Youth of Quality, who have Parts and Quickness, be not suffered to waste the first Flower of their Age in Idleness: it is a grievous Error, yet very common. I have already observed, that Parents who know nothing are injudiciously, and even anxiously solicitous to have their Children Scholars; and by a strange reverse Infatuation, Parents of Rank are often very indifferent about it. This Error is undoubtedly sometimes owing to themselves only by a supine Negligence in their own natural Temper; but it is much oftener owing to the false Praises given by those that have both the Parents and the Child’s Ear. A young Heir soon knows the Title, Dignity and Estate he is born to possess; too soon does he know his Independence, and too apt is he to grow careless about his Learning on this very Account, but if to these Impediments be added imaginary Excellence and Knowledge, thro’ the daily Flattery of a Dependent, what is likely to be the Consequence? why, that he will remain ignorant his whole Life. For who will take Pains to learn, that is firmly persuaded he knows enough already? and that many of our young Noblemen are trained up in this Disposition, nobody, I believe, will deny: it is true that Time may convince them of their Error; but it will then perhaps be too late to recover what they have lost.

The Education of a Nobleman should contain every thing that is both useful and ornamental. As he is more conspicuous than others, as he always stands on an Eminence, his Education should be such as may reflect a Lustre on every one that beholds him. He is to be considered as a Pillar of the Laws, an Honour and an Ornament to the Age he lives in. To this End he is to study first, Languages; that is to say, two of the dead ones, viz. Latin and Greek; and of the living ones, besides his Mother-tongue, French at least. The Learned disagree very much as to the Variety of Languages necessary to be acquired; some are of Opinion, that besides these already named, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and more yet, are becoming the Education of a great Man; and urge in their Favour, that the more Languages are gained, the more the Mind is enlarged: others dissent from this, and maintain, that a great Variety rather confuses the Mind than otherwise; that Latin and Greek are indisputably the Languages of all learned Men; after those, French, and at most Italian, are all that need be added, as every thing may be found in these, either originally or translated into them: but they farther argue, that it is a great Waste of Time, spent merely in the Acquisition of Languages, when so many nobler Studies are to be pursued; Studies which at once strike the Mind, and constitute true Science. This last Reasoning has, I think, great Force; but here for a Moment let me leave the Nobleman, to make an Observation on general Life. Languages, besides being considered as general Parts of Education, are particularly necessary in certain Circumstances of Life. If one, whether for Education or Business, goes to reside in Holland, France, Spain, or Italy, it would be an Absurdity not to attain the Language of the Country; so if another is to be a Merchant, surely he should not be a Stranger to the Language of his Correspondents; thus are these, and many other things more or less necessary, just as they are circumstanced: and therefore should Parents, besides the Education they bestow on their Children, as suited to their Station in general, join to it that which is necessary in particular. But, to return;

Besides Languages, a Nobleman is to learn Philosophy, both Moral and Natural; Mathematics; the ancient and modern Laws of our own Country; and the Customs, Laws and Manners of other Nations. He should particularly be a Critic in our own History, and our own Language; because they are what in real Life he will have most occasion to exercise. To this solid Learning should be added the Embellishments of polite Literature, Poetry, Painting, and Music; and to compleat the Character, Dancing, Fencing, Riding and Architecture. Tho’ this is going a considerable Way, it is much the least Part of what ought reasonably to be expected from him, considering the Light he stands in. It is of great Consequence that his Preceptor have a good Head; but it is of much more that he has an honest Heart. He is to humanize his Pupil’s Soul, and form him for all those Actions that will give him a real, not a fancied Dignity. He should raise in him an ardent Love of his own Country; but, as every other Nation has it’s Virtues as well as Vices, he should at the same time avoid the customary Prejudice of allowing them nothing. While he is taught to think and act nobly, he should be informed that the Knowledge, the Care and the Improvement of his Estate, are essential Obligations, and such as cannot be dispensed with. He must be easy of Access, without which Truth will seldom reach his Ear; nor will he be able to distinguish Merit from Demerit; or know how to right the Injured, or punish the Injurer. While he maintains his Dignity, he must be ready to condescend to Inferiors with an humble Deportment where necessary; and be taught to see and feel another’s Woe: which nothing will more inforce, than convincing him of the Instability of all human Grandeur. His Dress and Behaviour should be like his Quality, noble; yet perfectly free from Affectation, Vanity and Pride. He must be taught to know, that ’tis not for himself alone he is to live, but, from the politest Manners, a wise Conduct, and a benevolent Heart, to diffuse Pleasure and Joy to all that know him. Vice and Virtue are to be placed before him in their genuine Light; and the Beauty of the one made a Contrast to the Deformity of the other. While he is taught to distinguish Honour from Infamy, Nobility from Meanness, the utmost Care should be taken to shew him how much he would sink beneath a Man, should he become a Slave to any irregular Passion. He should, for Example sake, as well as his own, be instructed to shun every thing that is mean, base or vicious; and, in a word, be endowed with all those Virtues that will make him generous, noble, wise, and good. Much more might be said on this Occasion, much more might be added; but as the Great are supplied with far abler Helps from other Hands, I will only add on this Head, that if the Admonitions here offered be reduced to Practice, every other Virtue, even the most heroic, will become familiar and easy.

My next Topic is the Education of a young Lady of the first Quality; from which, if the Course of my Design did not make it necessary, I would gladly be excused: for as the most delicate Flowers require the tenderest Treatment, so the conducting a Woman of Quality thro’ the first Stages, and ushering her into the World, is of all others the nicest Part to act. Still, as Nature and Reason are my Guides; by them I hope to be enabled to offer some Aid, however small, for the promoting this great End.

As all Parents have a Right to exercise a proper Authority, so all Children, however high their Rank, should be taught to obey. Great Spirits may think Obedience mean; but Parents are to remember their Children’s Happiness is at stake: without Obedience they cannot regulate their Passions: and if not regulated, they have but little Chance for Happiness. Misfortunes with a Coronet, Misfortunes with a Coach and Six, are still Misfortunes; and it is the Business of every Parent so to conduct their Children, that they may on their part avoid them, or so to fortify them that they may bear them as they ought. But, as it is most agreeable to good Sense, I will conclude that Parents of the highest Rank are convinced of this, and have employed the Infant Age of their Children accordingly. What next is to be done? What Education is most proper for a young Lady of the first Quality? Such surely as will distinguish her from the Crowd; such as will more adorn her Mind, than the Jewels she wears adorn her Person.

The Errors committed in the Education of the Children of private Persons are many, from the Parents educating them above their Rank; still there is one general Excuse may be made for them, which is, that as the Turns of Fortune are sometimes very great, they don’t know what Occasion they may have for it. But in Persons of Quality the Case is different; they are already at the Summit, and their Education should suit their Rank. As soon therefore as the first Stage is over, (not to mention what she may have learnt during that Period) a young Lady’s Time is to be esteemed precious: Reading, Writing, Working, Dancing, French, Italian and Music are all to be taught her; and that not superficially, as is too much the Custom; not so as to puzzle and confound her Understanding, but to enlarge and improve it. A certain Author says, that there is not a Man in a thousand who reads well; if so, and Men assert a Superiority of Knowledge, it will be no unfair Conclusion to say, there is not a Woman in two thousand that does: but I hope this Gentleman’s Assertion is not true, and then the Conclusion falls of course. Still it is very certain, that much more is required to read our Mother-Tongue well, than is commonly imagined; and as that is really graceful, a young Lady should be taught to set a great Value on it. To know the Words and their Meaning is not sufficient; she must know the Pointing, the Emphasis and the Cadence; and she must know too, how, in different Parts, and on different Subjects, to modify her Voice, or she will never read well. To read with Energy and Beauty, we should know our Subject; and here the Understanding is concerned; this gain’d, we have nothing more to do but to keep close to Nature; for the greatest Fault committed in reading is, the throwing ourselves out of Nature. As I have formerly attended the Lectures of several public Professors, I remember one who committed this Fault of throwing himself out of Nature, as I have just observed; when he read, he put on a Tone of Voice not his own; when he laid down his Paper to explain what he had been reading, he was himself again; and thus was he in and out of himself, if I may be allowed the Expression, ten times in an Hour. And yet this was a Man of Letters, a Man of Science, a Philosopher!

The Hand-writing of a young Lady should have an easy Elegance in it; a Medium between the Italian, which tho’ beautiful to see is usually wrote very slowly, and that Meanness of Hand too common in the Sex. Either of these Faults in a Lady’s Hand-writing will appear in their true Light, if we consider that the Custom of writing familiar Epistles is one of the most important Steps in her Education. Nothing tends more to open the Mind, nothing bids fairer for gaining a Knowledge of the World, next to the seeing it, than the giving and receiving one another’s Thoughts with Freedom, in a virtuous Intercourse of friendly Epistles. Now an evident Obstacle to this is the Manner of Writing; if a young Lady’s Hand is a fine Italian, she hates the Thoughts of writing a Letter, because it will take up so much Time; and if it be a bad Hand, she says her Scrawl is so frightful, she is asham’d that any body should see it. But there is another important Reason for familiarizing a young Lady to her Pen, which is that of writing correctly. For a fine Lady not to spell with exact Propriety, is frightful beyond Expression; but when she has gained that, she possesses nothing till she writes with Grammar, with Stile, and a suitable Turn of Expression. Some, it is true, have by Nature a happier Turn this way than others, and may be said to be born with a Talent for Writing; but tho’ this be granted, yet certainly a great deal may be obtained by a due Care of their Education in this Point.

Needle-work is by no means below the Dignity of a Woman of Quality, therefore she should certainly be taught it; for tho’ it may not be called a thing she wants, yet the very Change of Employment is often a Pleasure: besides that the knowing it is really useful. I have seen a Woman of Quality at her sick Lord’s Bed-side, so far from being ashamed to own she could use a Needle, that what things of that kind were wanted during the Course of his Illness she would let nobody do for him but herself; and thus at the same time that her Tenderness and Concern proved the Sincerity of her Affection, she proved that it was not below her Quality to be notable too.

Dancing I mention in course, tho’ it is needless to recommend it here, not only because I have elsewhere done justice to this Part of Education, but because all are convinced of it’s Importance, as an Accomplishment which strikes the Beholder’s Eye, and gives more or less favourable Impressions in proportion as we excel in it. But here, to avoid Error, the End of Dancing should be remembered; that it is not so much for the sake of shining at a Ball (tho’ that too may sometimes be necessary) but to give an easy Air and Grace to all the Motions of the Body.

French, in it’s Purity and Perfection, is a great Ornament to a Lady’s Education; but that is not all: it is not only polite, but highly useful; both as she may have frequent Occasions to speak it, and as there are many good Authors in that Language not yet translated into ours.

Italian and Music for a fine Lady should be inseparable; for tho’ it is allowed that our Music is vastly improved within half a Century past, yet the Critics in that way insist, that Music in our Language is incapable of equalling the Italian, from the great Number of Consonants it abounds with.

When a young Lady is advanced thus far, she has certainly done a great deal; but not enough. If she is taught to think that the Great must be distinguished by their superior Knowledge, she will be animated with a Desire to acquire it; and not sit down contented with an inferior Degree of it. Still, as deep Studies and very close Application seem by Nature more the Province of Men than Women, so I have not urged the Study of the more learned Languages; and will leave this Point to be determined by the Parents and Preceptors. History, ’tis true, gives us many Examples of Queens and Ladies of every Rank, who were distinguished by their great Learning. Sir Thomas More, High Chancellor of England, in a Letter to his Daughter, commends her for the Purity and Elegance of her Latin; and Madam Dacier, Daughter of Tanaquil Faber, is well known (besides her other learned Works) to have translated Homer from the Greek: but these are rare Examples, and such perhaps as should rather be admired than imitated. Nature, I think, points out to us, that the Education of a Woman should rather be sprightly than grave; thus polite Literature seems a fitter Study for a Lady than Syllogisms in Logic. However, that a Lady of Quality may by no means be deficient, she should have, besides what is already recommended, a Knowledge of Arithmetic, Geography, and Drawing; to which may, with great Propriety, be added, at least a general Acquaintance with Moral and Experimental Philosophy.

The Sketch here given is not to be considered as the Edifice, but the Ground-work, the Foundation alone; the Superstructure is still to be raised. In order thereto a young Lady is to be nicely directed what Language she should speak, and what shun: what ought to be her Sentiments, her Deportment, and her Actions. But first she should be taught to know that the World has it’s Eyes upon her, and that in proportion as she increases in Merit, so much nearer will she approach to gaining universal Admiration and Esteem. The Reasonableness of this Admonition will appear, if it be considered how many Actions we do unworthy ourselves, only because we are unobserved, or at least think we are so; whereas by keeping our Attention awake, and considering ourselves as always beheld, we shall often blush at the very Approach of Vice and Folly, and thus nobly fly from them. Yet this Consideration of being beheld, tho’ in itself a Virtue, must be carefully inculcated and nicely distinguished, lest it degenerate into a vain Desire of Applause: her Business is to deserve Esteem, but not to look for it. We often see a half-bred Player stare about him when he has finished his Speech, as if he would beg a Clap, a Smile, or a Nod of Approbation; but we never see this in a thorough bred one; he attends to his Part, to his Business, and nothing else; he knows that the best way to obtain and secure Applause, is to deserve it.

I have said a young Lady should be nicely directed what Books she is to read; indeed it is too nice a Matter for me to determine; Mr. Addison, in one of his Spectators, has, in a burlesque Way, given a Sort of Lady’s Library; but I wish he had reversed it, and told them seriously what Books would grace a Lady’s Closet, and improve her Mind. For my own Part I think nothing is more difficult, even among Men, than a proper Choice of Books. Wisdom and Virtue are the great Sciences we are born to learn; Books and Men are the Channels to convey the Knowledge of them to us. Now most Parents give their Children some general Cautions against bad Company, but Books are usually thrown into one undistinguished Heap: and tho’ some perhaps are pointed out to us as good, we are not instructed to shun the bad; at least they are still open to our View. Witness the Swarms of lewd Plays, Poems and Romances, calculated to inflame the Minds, and corrupt the Hearts of the Readers: witness the Sophistry and false Reasoning of many Writers, who take Pride in shewing how ingeniously they can deceive: witness the Loads of Lumber produced by those, whose Talents have been mistaken by making them Scholars without Genius: and witness too the Train of Trifles the present Age abounds with. From this clear and rational View of the State of Books, is it not apparent how liable we are to be misled? True it is, that we may read our whole Lives and learn nothing, nay far worse than nothing; learn Vice, Error, and Impiety. Since then this Point is of such Consequence to all, those in exalted Stations of both Sexes should have very able and faithful Guides herein; as from their Influence so much Good or Bad must flow. Still I must beg leave to caution Parents of the highest Quality, to imprint on their Children’s Minds and Hearts this Maxim, that all their Studies should tend to make them wise and good. Convinced of this, as they advance in Years, their own Judgment and Goodness of Heart will, in great measure, instruct them what to read, and what to avoid.

A young Lady should be taught to speak her Mother-tongue with great Clearness, Purity, and Elegance; nothing coarse, mean, or vulgar should ever drop from her Lips; nothing uncouth, strained, or affected; the one debases her Quality, and the other her Understanding. Great Ladies may perhaps think that their Greatness entitles them to say any thing; but where this happens, it is certainly an Error in their Education; or at least it is one in their Practice. There is yet a third Error in Speech which Women of Rank should carefully avoid; an Error consistent with good Sense, but good Sense obscured; that of catching every new-coin’d Word. The English being a living Language, is subject to great Variations and Changes; but is now deservedly esteemed in high Perfection, as it is certainly stronger, more expressive, and more copious than heretofore. Still there is Reason to fear, that every Change is not an Amendment; and if it be, a Lady should not be the first to adopt it: yet so it happens, that a Desire to appear wise and learned sometimes makes them over-shoot themselves, and thus by aiming too high, they are liable to fall too low.

The Sentiments of a young Lady of Quality should be noble, virtuous, and pure. While she is surrounded with external Grandeur, she must be taught to support a Dignity of Mind, without which, all her Pomp will be mere Farce and Pageantry, and only tend to inflame her Vanity; she must be taught to know, that the noblest Sentiments are those which inspire her with a Love of Virtue; and to be truly great, she must condescend frequently to revolve in her Mind the Hardships, Sorrow, Pain, and Sufferings of the various States beneath her: above all, she must be taught to maintain a spotless Innocence; and live in a constant Resolution to suffer any thing, however great, rather than disgrace her Birth and Quality by any Action unworthy of herself.

Her Deportment must answer her Quality, and be elevated, majestic, and noble; such as will strike us with Awe, at the same time that we see in it a Complacency and Affability which charms us: such as will not suffer even the most bold and abandoned to offer the least Indecency or Rudeness, at the same time that it discovers a Heart susceptible of the tenderest Impressions. An easy Grace, a lively chearful Air should accompany all she says and does; but lest this should degenerate into Levity, she must be instructed never to throw off, that great Ornament of the Sex, Modesty.

Her Actions must be such as will contribute to others Happiness and her own; such as will reflect a Lustre on herself, and attract the Beholders of them to an unfeigned Esteem for her: Generosity, Benevolence, Charity, and Humility, accompanied with a Sweetness of Temper, should alternately prevail: and if the Distresses of others sometimes intrude too far upon her, (which from their great Severity they are apt to do) let her not add Misery to Misery, by dropping the Air of her Countenance, or use any Bitterness of Expression, at the same time that she refuses to relieve.

I have here laboured to shew what Education is necessary to adorn a Woman of Quality; and will leave it to abler Pens to refine, to correct, and improve it. What I hope and wish is, that the Plan here laid down may be deemed natural, practicable, and no way repugnant to good Sense: nothing stoical, wild, or romantic; nothing, in short, (allowing for the Difference of Genius, Health, and other Circumstances) but what every Woman of Quality may and ought to be. But before I quit this Head, I cannot help remarking how injuriously Men often think and speak of the Capacities of the other Sex. If all be true that they urge, (which with some is still a Doubt) that the Understandings of Women are weaker than those of Men, yet it by no means excuses our excluding them from Education. Nature indeed seems to have formed the Men strong in Mind and Body, that they may labour either with their Understandings or their Limbs as Occasion requires; the Women more tender, for Employments of a gentler Kind: thus each have their several Provinces: allowing then the Woman to be the weaker Vessel, that is, neither her Frame nor Faculties so strong as the Man’s, does it imply that she has no Strength, no Faculties at all? by no Means. Experience shews us that the Sex have Wit, Judgment, and a Capacity to learn; how then can we justify our too general Neglect of them? But this Error is of great Consequence even to ourselves. If our Love for the Sex extends no farther than a gross Sense, we miss our Aim if we expect to find Happiness; or if we go so far as to consider them useful in their domestic Capacity, that will not secure to us the agreeable: good Sense, and good Temper, improved more or less by Education, should be every Man’s View in a Partner for Life; and where shall we find them, if their Education be universally neglected? A rational Man should choose a rational Companion; but how will such be found, if Pains are taken to keep them ignorant? Thus it is evident, that we are injuring ourselves, and Posterity too, by this unworthy Treatment of the Sex. Still it seems reasonable, that as Men are to bear the Burden of Business, they should have superior Education, as well as superior Strength; therefore the only thing here contended for, is, that every Woman should have her Mind improved, her Understanding enlarged by such an Education as is best suited to her Condition in Life: such an one, in short, as will make her lastingly pleasing by being both useful and agreeable.

The Transition from the Nobility to the Gentry is very easy; for whatever Difference there may be as to Rank and Title, it is certain that many private Gentlemen have equal Ability to educate their Children as they please. The Plan then already laid down for the Education of a Nobleman, will in general hold good here. The eldest Son, to whom our Laws give the Estate, should resemble our young Nobleman as nearly as may be; not from a vain Desire of being equal to him, (tho’ it is the Way to make him so) but from a laudable Ambition of being excell’d by none in Learning and Virtue. Still there will sometimes be great Difficulty to persuade young Gentlemen who are thus situated to apply themselves to Study: the early Knowledge they have of the Fortune they are to inherit makes them giddy; and they leave Study to their younger Brothers. What then is to be done? Parents must discard their outward Fondness for their Children, to prove their inward Affection; for how can they be said to love them, while they suffer them to live in Ignorance? how can they be said to love Virtue, yet lead their Children into Vice? Parents then must do violence to themselves, they must be in earnest, and consider that the Education of their Children is an indispensable Obligation. Parents, whatever be their Fortune, must exert a due Authority over their Children; must shew them they are serious, and convince them that they will not be trifled with. Dr. Busby, the famous Master of Westminster School, is said to have made more eminent Scholars than any Man of his Time; the Reason is obvious, he was in earnest; his Scholars durst not trifle their Time away, or neglect their Studies: whether or no he carried it with so nice a Hand as never to err by his Rigour, I will not presume to determine; but if he did, it is no Matter of Surprise, since every Man is liable to Error. Whoever considers the Depravity of our Nature, how propense we are to love Ease, and fly from Labour, will be convinced that Boys stand in need of every Help to make them diligent. The Authority of the Parents, the Authority of the Masters, a Sense of their Duty, and a pleasing Prospect of Reward, by the Acquisition of Knowledge, must all combine to enforce their Compliance: and happy will it be for them if they can all produce the desired Effect. But it will be happier still, if the joint Endeavours of Parents and Teachers can create in Boys a Love for Study, and an ardent Desire to gain Knowledge: then it is we see them go to their Book with as much Alacrity as they go to Dinner; then it is we see them striving to excel; and the Knowledge they gain from a Love of Learning, makes them sprightly and happy in themselves and pleasing to all that see them. Besides, this Turn of Mind has something in it so promising, that it is what every thinking Parent would wish for, and should earnestly strive to inculcate; yet he must not be surprised if he does not always find it; and indeed Experience shews us, that it is generally necessary to govern Children with a tight Rein: for early Indulgence does them incredible Mischief; in particular, it gives them a Reluctance for Study very hard to be conquered.

When these first Difficulties are got over, Parents should then apply themselves to their Children’s Understanding: the joining Reason and Authority together will give double Weight to their Injunctions. Suppose then a Father addressing his Son, let us see what Reason will dictate. “Do you know, my Dear, why you go to School? why I engage you in Study, and threaten you so severely if you neglect it? is it for my Sake, think you? or is it because I take Pleasure in giving you Pain? no; it is for your Sake alone that I thus urge your Obedience. Providence has made me the Instrument of your Being; therefore, as your natural Guardian, I am accountable for your Education: Learning is the Road to Knowledge; Knowledge will lead you to Virtue; and Virtue to Happiness. Need you then any other Inducements to learn than the Duty you owe to me, and the Advantages that will accrue to yourself? no surely; I trust you will want no other Motive.” Is not this Method both rational and natural? I think it is undeniably so; and that, by these easy Means, Parents may, in general, promise themselves great Comfort in their Children by guiding them as they see proper. Children, if moulded while young, readily yield, like Wax, to the Impression; yet now they are merely passive: but when Reason gains Strength, when they see their Parents acting with a generous Affection for their Good alone, then it is that they are animated with a Love of Duty, and with a Desire to become every thing that they would have them be.

Every Gentleman of Fortune should certainly give all his Sons the Education of Gentlemen; and therefore the younger Brothers are, in the fundamental Points of Education, to accompany the eldest: but tho’ this be granted in general, yet there are certain particular Rules to be observed; some one Point to be excepted against, another to be pursued, with many other things, according as Circumstances vary, all which require the Parents Attention. I have just observed, that the Foundation of their Learning should in all the Sons be becoming the Stock they spring from: but the eldest must be graced with every Ornament. He must be taught to know, that possessing a Fortune superior to his Brothers, obliges him to acquire superior Qualifications. He is to consider himself as one designed to do Honour to his Family, and to his Country; and be convinced, that if he neglects to cultivate his Mind, he will be a Disgrace to both.

Parents of this Class have, with regard to their younger Sons, two principal things to do: first, they are carefully to attend to their Genius, Temper, and Inclinations; and next they are to resolve on an Employment suited to them: this settled, they are to pursue their Education accordingly. The three learned Professions, Divinity, Law, and Physic, require not only deep Erudition, but require too a Species of Learning proper to each; besides, as these are Employments of the most serious Nature, and of the most weighty Consequence, not to give them all the Qualifications that human Wit is capable of attaining, is surely a grievous Error. Yet are there sometimes other Errors too material to pass unobserved: not those of the Head, but of the Heart. It is in general hoped, that where due Care is taken in forming the Manners, the natural Corruption of the Heart may be corrected; but where that is neglected, or our Endeavours to effect it prove fruitless, which, it is to be feared, they sometimes will, the utmost Care should be taken in the Choice of an Employment for Life. It is a Rule in Life, that where we cannot do any great Good, we should do no Harm; and therefore it should be a Rule with Parents to place their bad Children, if they are so unhappy as to have any, as remote from Mischief as possible. Now to apply this to the Matter in hand, we must observe, that to fill up these important Stations with all their just Requisites, we must not only have a sound Education, and a clear Head; but we must also have an upright Heart: that is, we must resolve to banish every sinister Aim, and have no Views but those of Justice, Probity, and Honour. To what must we ascribe the general Reproaches thrown with so much Freedom on Professions which have in their Nature the strongest Claim to Respect, as their Foundation is Virtue, Truth, and Justice; but to the corrupted Channels the Stream passes through? For tho’ Men’s Judgments frequently err, and false Constructions are often put on the best Actions; yet it is to be feared the Complaints are sometimes but too just. Men strongly tempted by irregular Passions, whether Pride, Avarice, Revenge, or others, will naturally incline to gratify them: hence then appears the Necessity, in these Professions particularly, of well-regulated Hearts: that on one side no Injury may be done, and on the other, that no Censure may be justly incurred.

It is to be presumed that the younger Sons of every Gentleman’s Family (unless by any lateral Means they have an independent Fortune) are to engage in some Profession or Employment, in order to their Advancement in the World; and it is perfectly right that they should: for by this means they may not only fill up their Time like reasonable Creatures, but become capable of doing Honour to some Profession, be useful to Mankind in general, and often raise a Fortune equal to their elder Brother. Now besides the learned Professions; the Sea, the Army, and the Exchange, with many others, needless to enumerate, are open for them to engage in; and hence farther appears not only the Necessity of considering their Fortune, but of attending to their Genius, Temper, and Inclinations.

Nothing is more talked of than the Necessity of consulting our Children’s Genius; and I think verily there is nothing so little understood, or so little attended to. I know that many People say, there is nothing more easy to discover than the Genius of Children; but if we view the continual Errors committed in this Point, we shall have reason to think otherwise. What is more evident than a general Partiality of Parents to their Children? and what will naturally be the Consequence of it? certainly a false Estimation of their Capacity. However, difficult as I think this Knowledge is to be obtained, either from general Partiality, Want of Penetration, or the natural Inconstancy of Youth; yet let us not throw aside our Attention, nor wildly give up our Children to Chance; but rather let us improve the Reason Providence has endowed us with, and labour to draw such Conclusions as will most conduce to their real Happiness. To act therefore with Judgment in this weighty Matter, Parents must not, because a Boy says he will go to Sea, immediately send him; nor because another says he will be a Soldier, directly buy him a Commission. One perhaps only wants to get away from his Studies, and the other thinks it a fine thing to wear a laced Coat. Youth is naturally giddy, and what they like to-day, they will often dislike to-morrow; Parents therefore would be grievously mistaken, were they to take every Start of Fancy, every premature Request of their Children for Genius. Still it is certain that they have many Ways of discovering what they are capable of, and what they are inclined to; therefore our Prudence and Judgment are to go hand in hand with these Discoveries. For Instance: if we see a Boy of intrepid Courage, loving, seeking, and enduring Hardships, and dwelling with Delight on maritime Affairs, at the same time that he has virtuous Dispositions, and both loves and applies to his Books; we need not hesitate to breed him to the Sea. So if we are convinced, that another seeks a Commission from true Honour and Courage, and from an ardent Desire to serve his King and Country, we may encourage his laudable Ambition; but if we discover that his Motives are those of being conspicuously dress’d, of sauntering and dangling one part of his Time away, and raking and gaming another part; if we see too, that his only Fear, is the Fear of having occasion to fight; we should certainly reject his Request, and oblige him to apply another way: nay more, we should convince him how mean a Soul he must have, to seek so inglorious a life. In like manner, if we see a Boy whose Head is manifestly turned for Business, whose Cast of Temper argues Method in every Action, we may pretty safely conclude we hit his Genius, by making him a Merchant. But there is a capital Mistake Parents frequently commit, that is, their being influenced by some oblique Interest; which often tends to ruin their Children. For Example: the Family has a Living in their Gift, and a Boy must be bred a Clergyman on purpose to fill it: or there is an Uncle a Bishop, therefore the Nephew must be a Bishop too; tho’ perhaps he has no more Genius nor Chance for it, than he has of being Emperor of Morocco. Thus another, who would have been an Adept in the Mathematics, and have done Honour to the Science, or whose Sprightliness would have made a Figure in polite Literature, is cramp’d with the Study of the Law; not because he likes it, but because it is a Profession that may raise him to be a Judge; perhaps Lord Chancellor: tho’ he has as little Chance for either as the Clerk to a Justice of Peace. A third, in Nature’s spite, is made a Physician, only because his Parents have seen a Mead, a Hulse, or a Wilmot standing at the Top of the Profession; and therefore conclude their Son will have equal Genius and equal Merit.

Here then it is evident, that Parents are often mistaken, not only by Inattention to the Genius of their Children, but by overrating their Parts; by fixing a Profession for them, perhaps as soon as they are born, or by blundering them into an Employment which their Education is not equal to. On this last Point let me explain myself. Suppose I have not over-rated a Boy’s natural Parts; suppose too that I have at great Expence kept him at School for ten Years; it does not from hence follow that he is learned: I must know if he has applied and improved these Years to his real Advantage; that is, whether his Learning is deep or superficial; I must know too the Tenor of his Studies, for even of those who are very diligent, all Parts of Learning are not equal Favourites; some are sprightly, some grave, some in short more striking to them than others: lastly, I must know if the Nature of his Education be adapted to the Employment I am about to engage him in. Without Attention and Regard to these Circumstances, it will be impossible to keep clear of Error in the Disposal of our Children for Life: and as not only themselves, but Society too, must feel the good or bad Effects of our Choice, it is of the highest Consequence that it be judicious.

But Genius is not the only thing to be considered in the fixing our Sons for Life. Mr. Pope has a Position,[8] which does not tally with general Observation; for according to him there will hardly be a Man in ten thousand qualify’d for the Station he is in. True Genius is, I think, but rarely to be met with; plain natural good Sense, carefully improved by Education, will certainly enable the Generality of Men to become Proficients in any single Art or Science: that is, as by well directed Steps they are capable of acquiring great Perfection in one Way, so would they have been equally perfect had their Steps been directed another Way. Our Defects in general are not so much owing to the Want of Parts, as to the Want of cultivating them; hence appears that amazing Weakness in some Parents, in shewing a Boy as a Prodigy, when every other Eye can see there is nothing uncommon in him; and hence too appears the Folly of others in neglecting those Improvements so essentially necessary for him.

From what has been here advanced it is pretty evident, that a young Gentleman of moderate Parts well improved, is capable of becoming whatever is pointed out for him, provided he is diligent. But here it is my earnest Request, that Parents resolve to make their Children happy; and this they cannot do but by complying in some measure with their Temper and Inclinations; for it is on this chiefly their Felicity depends. The same Boy (as I observed before) would become an Adept either in This or That Employment, but it is perhaps one only that will make him happy: therefore it is not always Genius, but Inclination, that requires our Regard.

The seeming Resemblance of Genius and Inclination may make some People take them for the same thing. Genius is a natural Gift, a Power in the Soul to do what another, without that Genius, cannot do: Inclination is a natural Propensity to pursue some certain Employment, whether we have Genius to execute it or not. We are told of Cicero, that no Man had a stronger Inclination to be a Poet than himself; yet with all his great Abilities he had not a Genius for it. So in our own Times, we have seen Men with the greatest Itch of Writing produce nothing that argued Genius; some fond of Music almost to Distraction, without a Power of acquiring it: and others with a Passion for Painting, whose Genius amounted to nothing more than to dawb. On the other hand, there are Men possessed of Genius, but devoid of Inclination; so true is it, that however similar they appear, they are really distinct in themselves, sometimes very near to, at other times very distant from, one another. But to return to our Subject. As we have observed, that uncommon Genius is not to be always expected, and as we have shewn, that general good Capacity seldom is wanting; nothing more remains but to learn what Employment will suit our Sons Temper and Inclinations, and then compleat their Education accordingly. For surely it is wrong to insist on a Boy’s applying to the Law, when the Delight of his Soul is the Study of Physic and the Knowledge of Nature. Or is it not wrong to pin another down to the Study of Divinity, when Commerce engrosses his whole Attention; or his dauntless Heart burns to traverse the Ocean? and is it not equally wrong to make a Boy a Merchant, who delights in the Study of the Law? most certainly. These therefore are the things we must attend to, these the general Steps to be taken or avoided; and as none but general Rules can be laid down, the particular Exceptions every Parent’s Judgment must supply.

A young Lady of the second Rank comes next under my Consideration: but as I have dwelt pretty largely on the Woman of Quality, I have not occasion to say much here. One material Distinction to be made in a Lady of this Class is, whether she is an only Child, an Heiress, no Brother in the way to enjoy the Estate; or whether she is only a younger Child, and is to share the Fate of her younger Brothers or Sisters. In the first Case, I would recommend that her Education approach to that of a Woman of Quality, since it is highly probable she will become one; at least if her Education, Conduct, and Deportment correspond with those of superior Rank, she will always be Company for them: but, in the other Case, that is, where a Brother sweeps away the Estate, it is certain that her Education need not be so brilliant, nor ought to be so expensive as in the first. Yet let not this damp a young Lady’s Spirits; I do not mean to make her less happy, nor recommend the least Neglect of her; far from it. A State Coach with three Footmen answers no better than a plain Coach with one, for all the Purposes of a Coach: and a Diamond Necklace keeps a Lady no warmer than a Necklace of inferior Value. Thus it is with the Education of a Woman of Quality; it is in some measure merely ornamental, without being essential to her Happiness. Still it is fit it should be so. When the Superscription of a Letter begins with Her Grace, or Right Honourable, when a Coach or Chair appears with a Coronet, ’tis fit that due Deference and due Distance be observed; and to secure this, ’tis fit that her Education have a suitable Dignity. But, as I have just observed, this is not essential to her Happiness: and if those in private Life, and of moderate Fortunes, aim at equalling these either in external Appearances, or in too exalted an Education, they are pretty sure of running into Error; for Happiness much depends on an Education suited to our Condition in Life. Thus while I esteem it a Misfortune for a Woman of Rank not to appear to the utmost Advantage, it seems no less a Misfortune for a young Lady in private Life vainly to aspire at equalling her.

Still I warmly urge, that no contemptuous Neglect be shewn her; let her be taught as thorough a Knowledge of her Mother-tongue as if she were a Princess; let her too write, and dance, and speak French to Perfection: Music too I recommend, but not to Perfection. Here, I am afraid, my Readers will start, and think that either the Author or the Printer has committed an Error; but a little Patience, and we shall, I hope, understand one another. When we consult a Physician, or a Council, they take the Fee, and give us their Opinion; which Opinion we may either reject or follow as we please. When I set out in this Undertaking, I declared myself not a Lawgiver, but an Adviser; as such then let me be considered. I speak my Mind freely, and like an honest Lawyer give my Opinion honestly; where the Advice is good, follow it; where erroneous, reject it: thus should all reasonable People do, taking along with them this Caution, not to condemn rashly and precipitately, but weigh the Matter well; and neither lavishly bestow unjust Praises, nor unfairly rob Merit of it’s Due. This premised, I return to my Subject. It is very certain, that a young Lady of this Class should learn Music; it gives her a sprightly pleasing Air; it is a fine Relaxation from more serious Employments; and it greatly contributes to keep up a Chearfulness thro’ the whole Family: but I would not have her ambitious to excel; and I think Parents ought not to covet it. To attain Music to great Perfection, and to study the Italian for that Purpose, is a Work of great Labour, Time, and Expence; too much by far to gain what at last amounts to no more than an Amusement. Ladies of great Rank and Fortune have every thing at their Command, therefore should aim at Perfection in all they undertake; but those in more private Life, have certainly other things to do. They are, by all the Rules of Prudence, to be taught to work: they should be taught to know too, that they must reduce their Theory to Practice. They are to stoop likewise to domestic Cares; whereby they will often be enabled to boast a Happiness which greater Ladies are Strangers to. But supposing that either to gratify herself or her Friends she engages deeply in the Study of Music; Parents are here often cajoled out of their Money, and their Senses too, by their Daughter’s fancied Excellence: and the same Man that is lavish in his Praises to the fond Father’s Face, will perhaps in the very next Company swear the Girl squeaks like a Pig. There is a great deal of Insincerity, nay the grossest Flattery, attends this kind of Study; and Parents in general have need of better Eyes than common to see thro’ it. However, not to injure the young Lady’s Capacity, I will grant that she really does excel: still I say, her Time might have been much better employed in acquiring more useful Knowledge: such as is properly suited to her Station. There are yet other Inconveniencies attending this Study when a Lady excels, or has the Reputation of it; that of exposing both her and the Parents to a great deal of gay Company at least, if no worse; such as tends to dissipate the Mind, to shut out Reflection, and thereby check or prevent the Knowledge of more weighty Obligations: and it often likewise exposes them to a great deal of ill-timed Expence: which, as every Day’s Experience shews us, frequently does great Harm, but seldom any Good.

It is certain that every populous Place, especially a polite City like London, ought to have some Entertainments of this Kind; and Persons of Quality and Fortune should give due Encouragement to them, as the Performers make it their Bread, and labour their whole Lives to excel, that they may give them the utmost Entertainment in their Power: all this, I say, is highly reasonable, if reasonably used. But will not a Concert, an Opera, or an Oratorio always furnish this? most certainly. Is it worth a young Lady’s while, whose Fortune perhaps will be but scanty, to consume a great deal of Time and Money, and at last fall short of a Stage-performer? by no Means: any more than it is an Honour to a Man of Quality to be called the first Fiddle in the Kingdom; or for a Gentleman to boast that he can beat his Coachman at driving.

If to the Steps already laid down of a young Lady’s Education of this Rank be added Arithmetic, Drawing, and Geography, I think every thing will be done that her Parents need Wish; and enough, if well improved, to enable her to make a very advantageous Figure. Still she should be taught to know that this is only learning the Road; and she herself, with these Guides, is to take care not to go wrong: good Company, good Books, and an Attention to her own Actions, are to compleat her. She should not aim at more deep or learned Studies, which probably would only make her affected or pedantic; make her a Pain to herself, and disgustful to all who converse with her, particularly her own Sex. Knowledge does not consist in Words, but in Things; and a Language, merely as a Language, conveys only the Knowledge of Words. If on this Foundation, and with these Materials, she builds with Care, with Diligence and Judgment, I dare affirm, that these alone will furnish her with every Means of being wise and happy.

I am now to treat of the third Class of People, the Men of Trade and Commerce, in which I comprize the Merchants, and all those that are usually distinguished by the Epithets of genteel Trades and good Businesses: such as require Figure, Credit, Capital, and many other Circumstances to conduct and support them: But I confess there is no small Difficulty herein. In some Countries the Gentry and the Men of Trade are as distinct People as if each were a Kingdom by itself: England, a trading Nation, connects more closely the whole Body of the People; links them, as it were, in one continued Chain, and brings them nearer to a Level. The Man of Trade marries the Daughter of the Gentleman; the Gentleman the Tradesman’s Daughter: and again, the Gentleman makes his Son (the younger at least) a Man of Trade. Hence arises the Difficulty of separating them; nor can it indeed be altogether done. The Reputation and Value of Trade has convinced Gentlemen of the Usefulness and Necessity of an Alliance with it; and Trade is greatly indebted to the many and great Fortunes thrown into it from the Produce of Estates: thus are they blended and interwoven; and thus are they become reciprocally beneficial. Still, according to the general State of things, regarding the various Ranks in Life, I think we may make one sensible Distinction without Offence; that is, Gentlemen may be said to stoop or condescend to Trade, and Trade may be said to aspire not only to an Alliance with Gentry, but to become Gentry too. Thus while I honour Trade, I would by no means fail to pay a due Respect to Gentry; and therefore give them that Preference they are intitled to.

Birth, Education, and Manners, may be said to constitute the Gentleman. Birth alone, tho’ a Claim, is too poor a one to deserve that Title; Education adds indeed a Lustre to Birth; but both together are not sufficient without Manners: that is, to complete the Gentleman, they should all unite. To adjust this Matter fairly, we may without Impropriety urge, that Manners alone will give us a better Claim than Birth and Education together; and why? because these are not in our Power to choose. For Example: It is not my Fault that I was not born a Nobleman, nor did I choose my own Education, but my Parents for me; yet when once I have learnt to know Right from Wrong, if I chuse the Right, and labour to maintain it for Virtue’s Sake; surely some Degree of Merit is mine: therefore, to use again the good old Bishop of Winchester’s Motto, Manners maketh Man. Still, as I observed before, to perfect the Character, all should combine: and thus if the Man of Trade depends on his Acquisitions only, he will find himself greatly mistaken. There is a pleasant Story told of King Charles II. I think not unapplicable here. An unbred Citizen becoming very rich, made a Friend at Court, who informed the King he desired much to be made a Gentleman; That, says the King, with a Smile, is not perhaps in my Power; but tell him, I’ll do better, I’ll make him a Knight. Thus at the same time that he conferred an Honour, he ingeniously reproached him, by shewing, that, to make a Gentleman, required something more than even Money or Title. The principal thing then that Men of Trade have to do is, to keep clear of Self-sufficiency; and avoid that Arrogance and Conceit which Money is apt to create. Their frequent Marriages and Intermarriages with well-bred People, are some Means to effect this; and educating their Children suitably is another. Thus the rising Generation at least will be improved; and hence appears the Necessity of good Education and well-regulated Manners for this Class of People: that as they insensibly, as it were, become allied to their Betters, they may be taught properly to coincide with them.

Many Reasons prove the Necessity of good Education for People of this Class. In a Society of Men, suppose a Coffee-house, we see a promiscuous Croud of Gentlemen and Men of Trade; in an Assembly of Women, we see mixed with the Gentry, not only the Wife of the Merchant, but that of the Brewer, the Distiller, the Druggist, and the Draper; and it is highly necessary that these should have such Education, and their Manners so regulated, as will make them fit Company for those. But there are more weighty Reasons yet. Every Man conversant in Life, must have observed, not only the many calamitous Falls from high to low; but also the frequent Progressions from low to high; and where these Advancements are the Fruits of honest Industry, I rejoice with them in their Success. A Citizen grown rich by Trade, resolves to approach to the Gentry; and his first Advance is usually to the Center of the Town. Here for a while he sits down, and with sweet Content enjoys the Fruit of his past Labours; but perhaps it is only for a while; the Heart of Man is restless, and he burns to taste the Manners of the Court: thus he flies to St. James’s Square, Grosvenor Square, Berkley Square, or one of the surrounding Streets; thus the Son gets a Post, and the Daughter marries a Lord; and thus the next Generation or two reaches the Summit of Grandeur and Honour. If things are so, and daily Experience proves they are, is it not highly necessary to set out with a good Education? most certainly. Still it should be a suitable one. A Man of Trade may be qualified to keep his Betters Company, without vainly aspiring to be like them; for that would be rendering him unfit for the very Trade he is engaged in. Every Man may and ought to look forward; but if every Man anxiously dwells on future Greatness, and continually dreams of Posts, Titles, and Palaces, it is the certain Way never to reach them: for tho’ the Advancements just pointed out are, I think, literally true, yet are the Instances but few in comparison with the whole. Therefore the Business of Parents is, to give their Children first a just Sense of their present Station; then to guide their Education, and regulate their Manners accordingly; that done, leave the rest to Providence.

I hope this Reasoning upon the close Connection of Gentry and Trade is clear and express; and proves what I advanced, that they are not to be wholly separated. Whence it appears, that the Education both of Boys and Girls of this Class must in general be like that of the preceding. Still some Judgment, Prudence, and Self-knowledge are necessary to guide Parents herein.

The first wise Caution is, that Parents consider their own Fortune, and the real Prospects before them: it is not enough that a Man be of such or such a Trade, to entitle him to train his Child equal to another of the same Trade; for if this be taken as a Guide, many grievous Errors will be committed. What can be a greater Misfortune, than to educate a Boy like a fine Gentleman, and not be able to support it? or to train a Girl with the Expectation of keeping her Coach, and have little or nothing to give her? yet is this often the Case. Another Caution is, not to neglect such an Education as may be at least solidly useful, if they cannot reach the ornamental Part; for as Carving, Gilding, and Painting may at any time be added to adorn a well-proportioned Room, so a sound Education is every Day capable of Improvement: and as the Vicissitudes of Life are many, it is right that Children should on every proper Occasion be able to prove the Goodness of the Stock they spring from. To set this Matter in the clearest Light, let us suppose any two of the same Business, no matter what; one has a large Trade and small Family, the other a small Trade and large Family; the Trade being the same, our Idea of both the Men will at first Sight be alike; but if we come to a nearer View, and thence draw a Comparison, we shall find it very unequal: for tho’ a Merchant is still a Merchant, yet while one has great Difficulty to give his Daughter a single thousand Pound, the other can with Ease give his twenty thousand. Thus, tho’ each should educate his Children suitable to his Character, yet each should at the same consider his Abilities.

Many other Rules laid down in the preceding Class hold equally good in this. The Genius and Frame of Mind are to be attended to; particular Studies are to be appropriated to particular Employments; the Disposition of Soul should be nicely searched into, that every thing mean, narrow, or base, may be subdued by the Principles of a generous Education. Most young People, even of both Sexes, place their Happiness in external Appearance, but Girls have naturally the strongest Passion for Dress and Show; now Parents can never make the Education of their Children solid, unless they reverse this Disposition, not only by teaching them the Emptiness of this false Happiness, but by teaching them where to find the true. There is indeed an Appearance suitable to every Station, which to neglect, would be sinking into Meanness, and be a Disrespect to those we live among; that then should be regarded, but that alone; for all above should be made indifferent to us: Happiness is in the Mind, and to improve the Mind is the Way to reach it. Nor is Happiness more among the Great, with all their Grandeur, than among the Little; and if it be, the Fault is in ourselves; since nothing is truer than the Maxim, which says, that Happiness does not consist in enlarging our Possessions, but in contracting our Desires. Nothing therefore can be more dangerous in the educating our Children, than cherishing in them a Passion for Dress, especially the raising them above their Abilities. Children should be taught to know, that it is not how they look, but what they feel, that deserves Solicitude: thus too in estimating Riches; it is not what we lose, but what we suffer, that merits our Regard; since we may sometimes lose a great deal, and suffer nothing.

Parents, in educating their Children, are to make them pleasing and useful. It is the Opinion of several ingenious Writers, that the first Appearance of a Stranger makes the strongest and most lasting Impression on us; that, as they shew to more or less Advantage at first Sight, so do we think more or less favourably of them ever after. Now, tho’ I do not think this is universally true, since Experience shews us that some who strike us at first never give us any Pleasure in their Company afterwards, and others who have nothing very pleasing in the Beginning of our Acquaintance, improve upon us at every Visit, and insensibly gain our Esteem; yet it is certain, that our Deportment should always be such as may dispose People to think favourably of us, and never such as can justly offend. But here I must observe, that young People are very apt to prostitute this Disposition, by using it only occasionally; whereas, to make it a Virtue, it must be exercised universally, and become a settled Habit; in short, it must flow from the Heart. A young Gentleman is to pay a Visit to a great Man, to a rich Aunt, or to some Person of Distinction, of whom perhaps he has Views or Expectations; what Pains are taken to make a graceful Appearance, how exact is his Deportment, how nice is his Behaviour, and how pleasing his Conversation! The Visit paid, the Mask is thrown off, and he is a very Bear to every one else; nay perhaps even to his Parents, to whom he owes all that he enjoys. So too a young Lady who is to make her Appearance at an Assembly; no Player studies more to get their Part before they come on the Stage, than she to attract her Beholders; but then, like them too, when her Part is over, she often falls below herself. But have Actions like these any Merit in them? can it be a Virtue never to be civil but where we expect to gain by it? ought we not to give every thing it’s proper Name, and call such Behaviour Dissimulation and Hypocrisy? most certainly. To obviate then this Error in our Children, and prove the real Use of Education, let Parents be very careful to teach them an universal good Behavior; not partial, narrow, or confined, but such as will shew itself at all Times, on all Occasions, and to all Degrees of People: and if, as has been observed, the first Impressions generally make for or against us according as we behave, Youth must be taught to consider themselves as continually seen by somebody or other for the first time; and therefore they must always demean themselves in such manner as to deserve Esteem, if they ever hope to gain it.

The other Point of Education is to make our Children useful; therefore nothing that can contribute to it should be omitted. A young Man, besides the first Education bestowed on him, besides the Pains taken by his Parents to engage him in such a Station as gives him the fairest Prospect of Happiness to himself, must be instructed to employ his Talents to the Benefit of others; and in all things, as far as is consistent with Prudence, Justice, and Self-preservation, promote the Happiness and Advantage of every one within his Reach. Here let me add, that while our Laws give the Men superior Power, a Father should be very careful to fix in his Son a tender regard to the opposite Sex; not indeed to become their Slaves, or degenerate into Effeminacy; not to be the Dupe of those who study to allure; but to have a just Sense of their Merit, their Innocence, and their Virtue: and thence resolve never to despise, insult, or oppress them, nor ever to impose a Hardship on them too great to bear. A Girl, on the other hand, is to be taught, that a Degree of Subjection is allotted her; but that it must never be base, nor ever need be mean. She must know too, that the Fruits of her Education are to appear in her Actions; to this End, besides her Knowledge of Books, the Exercise of her Needle, her Pen, and her Figures, she is to understand the Management of a House, be acquainted with the various Seasons of Provisions, the Price of Markets, Skill in Carving, Demeanour at Table, and, in a Word, the whole Oeconomy of a Family. Lastly, she must know that her Province is to please, and that every Deviation from it, is thwarting Nature; but that the chearful Exercise of those Obligations her Station requires, will best secure Happiness to herself, and the Esteem of all who behold her.

I flatter myself that what I have here said, will furnish my Readers of this Class with some Help to guide them thro’ the Difficulties that naturally attend their Duty as Parents. And if to this they add the Exercise of their own Judgment, by varying the Rules as they see necessary, their Children will undoubtedly receive much Improvement; and reflect great Honour on themselves, who thus aim at the general Good, not only of their own Offspring, but of all Posterity.

I have here enlarged on the Steps necessary to be taken for educating three Classes of People, and now proceed to treat of the fourth; which comprehends a very large Part of the Kingdom, but London particularly; viz. all the inferior Trades, and many others, that, according to the Custom of associating together, we may consider as forming one Division. Men, very valuable in their Way, and of boundless Use to Society: tho’ by the Wisdom of Providence born rather to Labour than to Idleness; to be obedient to the Laws, than to be the Dispensers of them.

I am well aware that Difficulties will occur to me on this Head, and thereby sometimes break the Order of my Design; but, as I have elsewhere observed, when Exceptions from general Rules are reasonable, it is perfectly right to adhere to them. It would be Affectation in me to call myself such a Stranger to the World, as not to know the Influence of Money: Mankind is apt to contract a Degree of Esteem for all who possess it; and the Possessor seldom fails to set a sufficient Value on himself for it. Thus it often happens that Men, whose Business is but mean, grow wealthy, have perhaps an only Child, and think they have a Right to educate it as they please; for my own Part I do not mean expressly to oppose it, because it may be nipping a promising Fruit in the Bud; but Parents of this Class stand in need of more Knowledge to conduct themselves herein than commonly speaking they are possess’d of.

Nothing is more frequent than for Men in different Stations to ruin themselves by rashly aspiring; and he who has Reputation and Credit in one Sphere, is perhaps undone if he moves beyond it. But while we see that Money is apt to make Men even of good Understanding and good Education giddy, no wonder that those of obscure Birth, no Education, and a Life of ordinary Employment, spent mostly in ordinary Company, value themselves for their Possessions far beyond Desert. To this is owing that vain Strut, that supercilious Air, and Contempt of others, so frequent in People of this Class; and hence too arise those Errors they daily commit, by an ostentatious Education of their Children; by vainly aspiring to equal their Betters, and often to surpass them, at least in Appearance. I had occasion, some Years ago, to make a Visit to a young Lady of Fashion and Fortune at one of our Boarding-Schools near Town, where the best dress’d Girl in the whole House was a Poulterer’s Daughter. Can there be any thing more absurd than this? yet is there any thing more common? It is a general Observation, that ordinary People dress their Children finer than People of Fashion; and why? only because they will shew the World they are able to do it, and therefore will not be outdone. Parents are not aware how destructive this false Pride, this vain mistaken Fondness is to their Children: and the first Effect it has on them is, to make them ashamed of their Parents, those very People who thus mislead them. Can any thing be more preposterous and unnatural? yet is it undeniably true.

There is an unhappy Propensity among Mankind in general of being ashamed of their poor and mean Relations, even among the Good; it is a Spark of Pride very hard to be extinguished, yet it may and ought to be done. And considering that scarcely a Family in the Kingdom is without them, more or less, it is Matter of Surprise that such Pains should be taken to stifle and conceal them: especially too if we reflect how much real Honour it does ourselves to cherish, to countenance, and to espouse them. Still it is true, that there is this Propensity, this Weakness in Men, either from their Nature, or their Education. Shall we then, instead of keeping under this Pride in ourselves, lead our Children into it too? shall we deck them out so far above themselves only to despise us? and to make them falsely happy, make ourselves truly wretched? nothing can be a greater Folly, and nothing requires more the Parents Care to avoid. I remember I once called to see a Friend who was an Apothecary; a young Fellow, my Friend’s Apprentice, was at Work behind the Counter, and out peep’d a laced Waistcoat. (I must observe it was in those Days when a laced Waistcoat stood for something, for it has now, I think, lost all it’s Significance.) As the Appearance was unusual, I enquired who that young Gentleman was; and, to my great Surprise, was informed he was the Son of a Coachman; and the Lace he wore was taken off his Father’s Livery. Thus what was before no better than the Badge of Dependence, is now turned into an Instrument of Contempt and Ridicule. In how many of these things do the Weakness and Folly of Parents appear? would such a Boy own his Father on the Coach-box? or would he not rather, with an audacious Cock of his Hat, pass contemptuously by him? nothing better could be expected. And yet People who take these Steps wonder their Children are not good; wonder they are proud, vain, and untoward, when they themselves have made them so.

Another Effect attending this misplaced Indulgence, this false Education, besides the making them ashamed of their Parents and Relations, is, the Influence it has on the Children’s future Lives: the Parents, it is true, are often made wretched, but the Children are not happy. Every thing raised above itself is in a precarious tottering State; the Building, whose Foundation is weak, is every Day liable to fall; and the Man who pretends to what he cannot maintain or support, is in perpetual Danger of Ruin. Self-sufficiency and Money may make his Outside passable; but if he is all Meanness, all Ignorance within, he can never procure a Grain of Esteem, nor ever be solidly happy. Children may in time discover their Parents Mistakes and their own Misfortune, but will then perhaps have no Remedy to apply. Happy had it been for them had their Education suited their Condition in Life; they would then have laboured with honest Chearfulness; and by keeping within their proper Sphere, have had their Labours crown’d with Success.

My Readers of this Class will, I am afraid, be apt to mistake me, and think I design to keep them in a low dependent State; such an one as they call being unhappy; far from it: I would not have undertaken this Treatise at all, had I not designed the real, the universal Good of Mankind. Without Vanity I can say it, no one has a more disinterested, a more general Love of human Nature than myself; thousands have superior Abilities, but few, perhaps none, have superior good Wishes for the Happiness of Society; and should this very Performance prove a Trifle, the Fault may be in my Head, but it is not in my Heart: my Intention is good, if my Power is weak. Let this then serve as an Apology to all my Readers, but let those of this Class in particular be persuaded, that my Design is to augment the Happiness of their Children, not to lessen it. But then, they must resolve to seek Happiness where it can be found; if they wander into a Maze of Difficulties, and get into a Sphere they are utter Strangers to, they will most probably miss of it; but if they confine themselves within their own proper Orb, they need not fear to find it. Still there is Reason to apprehend, that Men of every Rank, and even among the lowest, will value themselves not for what they are, but for what they have; and while People mistake Head for Brains, and Money for Merit, the best Advice will often be useless.

But great as this Folly is, there is a much greater reigning. Money, as I have already observed, is extremely apt to intoxicate Mankind; and it’s Influence is but too visible both in high and low Life: but there are thousands of this Class of People who pride themselves in educating their Children learnedly and expensively, without the least Pretensions upon Earth. If a Gentleman upon the Decay can get his Son educated suitable to his Birth, Regard to his Family, and Regard to his Education, may obtain him a genteel and profitable Employment: so too, if a Man in an inferior Station is convinced he can purchase his Son a Place or a Commission suitable to his superior Education, there is certainly room to justify him, tho’ we blame his Vanity; but that People without the least Expectations, that are conscious they cannot give their Children a Shilling, who have not the Honour of a Family to support, nor a Reputation to maintain, should run these strange Lengths, is amazing! The Truth is, Pride and Ignorance are their Guides; they scorn to be outdone by their Neighbours, tho’ all the while they really don’t know what it is they are doing.

It is to be presumed that Children while Children, and while educating, are in general Strangers to what may be their future Fortune on the part of their Parents: now if they are taught to think themselves equal to their Betters, taught to expect mighty things, and at length find nothing, it is, I think, a grievous Calamity on one side, and gross Injustice on the other: and yet is this evidently a daily Error.

The same things that yield us great Good, are often productive of great Evil. Food, designed by the Laws of Nature to preserve Life and Health, is often made the Instrument to destroy it. Education, designed to lead us to Happiness, by enlarging and improving our Understandings in some certain Way, is often made the Instrument of our Destruction. Hence appears the Necessity of a temperate and a judicious Use of both; and hence too we see, that the Education suitable for one, is very unfit for another. But I will now point out what Education appears to me to be generally proper for People of this Class; and where solid Reasons make particular Exceptions necessary, it is my Advice that Reason take place of general Rules.

I will suppose then that my Readers design with me the real Good of their Children; and neither mean to neglect them, nor to hazard their Ruin by overdoing things. To this End Boys are to be taught Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Drawing; to which may be added, a Knowledge of Maps. This Plan, tho’ comprized in a few Words, contains all they need, nay all they ought to learn. It is usual in the common Businesses to put Boys Apprentice at about fourteen Years old; now supposing they begin to learn at seven, they have Work enough cut out for seven Years at least; which if well attended to, and their Time be well employed, is capable of turning to great account. I mean not to give offence to any one, but as the Province I am engaged in obliges me to speak my Thoughts, I may offend without Intention: and honest Truth, in a Matter of this Importance, is not to be disguised. My Advice then is, that Boys of this Class never once attempt to learn Latin. What do they want with it? or what use can they make of it? will it enable a Man to make better Shoes? will it assist a Taylor in cutting out a Coat? or will it give a Barber a keener Edge to his Razor? Parents, when they send a Boy to School, are often guided by the Master what he shall learn; he, naturally fond of advancing his Scholar, puts him into Latin; and thinks him shabby without it. But is it not possible that this Gentleman may be a Man of real Merit, a good Grammarian, nay a compleat classic Scholar, yet a very bad Judge of Life? most certainly. The Boy is thrust headlong into things he does not want, and neither Parents nor Master consider the End: for tho’ it is certain that Parents cannot always tell what their Children will be, yet those of this Class are pretty sure they want not deep Learning.

Of all the Mistakes committed in Education, none is equal to that of our being thrust into an Employment for which we are unqualified; especially too if it be one of a serious important Nature; now no People on Earth are so liable to this as the Class we are treating of; for as they are apt to take a Remove beyond themselves for profound Knowledge, they plunge their Children into a Labyrinth of Difficulties, by engaging them in a Profession or Science far beyond their Power to reach.

I have already urged, that, in the Case before us, a learned Education is needless and improper; but this is saying too little of it, and treating it too mildly: we may go farther, and shew that it is even hurtful, by being an Impediment to more useful Knowledge: and farther still, that it is not always what it is taken for. A Boy in common Life has perhaps about seven Years Schooling; the greatest Part whereof is employed in learning Latin: his English is notoriously neglected; and Writing and Arithmetic he gains but imperfectly. Now I beg leave to ask, whether these three last are not more useful to a Boy of this Stamp than Latin? and whether it is not a Misfortune to spend his Time in gaining what he has no use for, and omitting what he wants? But it is an Error in me to call it gaining, when in Reality it is losing: for after a Boy has been puzling his poor Brains, and been tortured with Latin for several Years, it is ten to one that, comparatively speaking, he knows nothing: that is, nothing radical, and to the Bottom; nothing, in short, but what one Year’s Apprenticeship will entirely efface. As a Proof that this is no Exaggeration, losing Learning is not only the Fate of Boys in common Life, who seldom get more than a Smattering, but it is confessed by every Gentleman, by the deepest Scholars, that a long Disuse of a Language, or almost any Branch of Learning, will in great measure wear it out of our Memories: or at least take off that Facility which constitutes Perfection. A Relation of mine was sent to London some Years ago to be educated fit for Business; a Friend had the Care of him; who, after sending him to learn Reading, Writing, and Accompts for some Time, resolved to compleat him by putting him for a Year to Merchant-Taylors School to learn Latin. He did so; and that finished, he was put Apprentice to a Cabinet-maker. But what availed his Latin? just nothing. In three Months time he saw’d and planed it all away; he was not a Pin the better for it; but he lost a Year of precious Time, that might have been very usefully employed in improving what he had before learn’d, and in applying himself to Drawing: a thing absolutely necessary for the very Business he was put to, and which, to my own Knowledge, he has often lamented the Want of. Now this is not a single Instance, an accidental Mistake, but a general Error; hundreds and thousands of which might be every day produced: the Consequences whereof are always more or less wrong, and sometimes very fatal.

I have observed that useful things are neglected, to run in pursuit of what to them is useless; that is, they leave a certain Good for a precarious one. But we may reason still farther on this Head with great Utility. Mankind is by Nature aspiring and ambitious; and where Wisdom and Prudence accompany our Steps herein, they are highly laudable. But if, instead of these, Ignorance and Vanity are our Guides, we are pretty sure of going wrong. A Man of mean Extraction, and illiterate, takes these mistaken Steps already pointed out, in bringing up his Son; whence a false Pride is stamped on both, and is sure to increase with the Boy’s Learning. The Father’s Care is to keep his Boy from disgracing his Education. “Jack, (says he) I have bestowed Learning on you, to make you a Man; look forward, and I don’t fear but you will make your Fortune.” And the Son at the same time takes care to think himself a better Man than his Father. But let us conduct him on; he is now a Gentleman; because he has, or fancies he has, Learning. He must dress fine, and keep Company with his Betters; this leads him to Expences he cannot afford; no matter, he is a Gentleman, and must appear like one. His Father, after rumaging his Brains for a genteel Employment, at length puts his Son to an Attorney. But that’s a dull Life, he likes the Stage better; and after having seen Plays by the hundred, he concludes himself equal to any thing, and turns Player: where perhaps his highest Character is to speak the Prologue in Hamlet’s mock Play, or to be the rueful Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet. It is too well known what kind of Lives these Gentlemen lead; they are mostly riotous, extravagant, miserable, and short. Now can it be denied that these, and such as these, are the fatal Consequences of this false Education? surely daily Experience convinces us it cannot. But as I labour for the public Good, so I desire to do the strictest Justice. I will grant then that a Boy of this Stamp, and thus trained, does all on his Part to advance himself; that he is prudent, temperate, and virtuous; still he has neither Bottom, Interest, nor Friends; it is an hundred, perhaps a thousand to one, if he arrives at any thing higher than being a Hackney-Writer, an Usher to a School, or at most the slavish Master of an insignificant one.

Permit me here a short Digression. There are no People in the World, whom I at the same time both honour and pity, so much as Schoolmasters and Preceptors; those particularly to whom we owe the most essential, the most solid Part of our Education. There is something strangely inconsistent in Mankind, or they could not see a Master incessantly slave, and toil, and sweat to instruct others, and leave him at last without Reward. The Man who is qualified for a Teacher, must have laboured many Years in the Pursuit of Knowledge. If we would wish this Man to do Justice to our Sons, we certainly should do Justice to him; that is, we should prove, at the same time that we desire our Children to be made wise, that we have so much Gratitude as to make him happy, by rewarding him as he deserves. From this ungrateful Disposition, or, from a very misplaced Frugality, it often happens that Parents do not seek the best Teachers, but the cheapest; whence not only follow the fatal Consequences attending a bad Education, by a seeming one passing for real, but also that many, who are by no means qualified, undertake the important Task. To return then to my Subject, we cannot doubt but that some of these unqualified Teachers are the Fruits of this false Education we have been speaking of; Men, who tho’ unequal to the Task they are engaged in, would have been distinguished as eminent Proficients in another Way, and been very valuable to Society; while in this, the highest Honour they arrive at, is perhaps the holding forth with a dictatorial Air in an Ale-house.

Many are the evil Effects this false Education produces; for thro’ the Mistakes of Parents, the Pride of Children shews itself very early, and daily gathers Strength: they soon look down with Scorn and Contempt on the mean Business of their Father; and soon aspire to what they have not the least Chance to reach. But as they have been injudiciously taught to aspire, we cannot greatly wonder at their mistaken Conduct: hence we see them spending their Lives not merely in Trifles, but in Riot, Extravagancies, and Debauchery: averse to Employment, averse to Labour; too learned to be industrious, too ignorant to be wise. But how much happier would they be to know themselves, and keep within that Self-knowledge! How sweet is that Bread which is earn’d with honest Industry! How much happier is the Man that labours at his Loom, than he who with mistaken Pride, despising it, is perhaps reduced to be dependent on others! Could then Parents in general of this Rank, but learn Content in their Stations, and keep their Children from soaring beyond their Reach, they would secure much Comfort to both, besides contributing to the Happiness of Posterity.

My Readers will remember that the Scheme of Education for Boys of this Class, is Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Drawing, and a Knowledge of Maps. I will now shew what Advantage may be made of these, and endeavour to prove, that this is so far from being a contemptible Education, that when attained to Perfection, it is not only useful, but very extensively so.

Mr. Addison says, that every Man who reasons is a Logician, tho’ he has never studied the Rules of Logic: so too we may say, that every Man who speaks grammatically is a Grammarian, tho’ he has not been taught Grammar. What I here mean is, that a due Attention to Children, and proper Instructions with regard to English only, will enable them to make a very considerable Figure both in Reading and Speaking. Nature furnishes us with the Faculty of Speech, but the Mode of it in great measure depends on the Place we are born in, and the Language we are accustomed to hear. The Court, and the learned Part of a Nation, certainly speak the purest Language; the Vulgar and the Illiterate speak the coarsest, and the most corrupt: but there are many Degrees between, who may be said to have the Power of choosing, as they frequently hear both. It is then the Parents Business to be greatly attentive in this important Point; especially as Experience shews us that a great Man can be vulgar, and a little one polite, and the Medium can neglect the Advantages in his Power by adhering to the wrong Side, when with equal Ease he may attain the right. I have already cautioned the Great never to sink beneath their Quality; and while they learn to be humble, they must carefully avoid being mean. I have also recommended to the Gentry to approach as near to the Quality in good Behaviour and polite Language as possible: and to those of this Class, I strongly urge, that every thing coarse, vulgar, and incorrect, is not only improper, but highly unbecoming; is not only abusing the Faculties Providence has furnished them with, but is debasing their Nature. If then the Parents of this Class enter upon the Education of their Children with just Reflections (which all, more or less, are capable of making) the natural Consequence will be, that they will seek such Methods as are most conducive to their acquiring a thorough Knowledge of their Mother-tongue.

It may be urged that a compleat Knowledge of the English cannot be acquired without Latin; but, with all due Respect, I beg leave to dissent from this: I have seen a good Latin Scholar greatly deficient in the Knowledge of English, and a very correct Englishman who did not know a Word of Latin. But nice grammatical Rules are not strictly the Province of Boys in common Life, and much may be done without them. A good Master will enable them to read in a very expressive and significant Manner, at the same time that he makes them acquainted with his Subject. He will teach them the different Types, why a Roman, why an Italic Letter is used; where the Accent is to be laid on different Words, and on the same Word in different Senses; where capital Letters are to be used, and why; the different Stops, which we call Pointing, and their Force; the Cadence, or Falling of the Voice, in ending a Sentence, or a Paragraph; and, what is the greatest Beauty of all, where to lay the Emphasis or Stress on every Expression, so as to give it it’s utmost Energy. Farther, he will teach his Scholars to keep close to Nature; and not suffer them to borrow a Whine, a Tone of Voice from that almost universal Destroyer of Nature, Affectation. He will shew them that the only thing which can be granted in this Case, is a certain adjusting, or rather a little Elevation of the Voice in Reading, above Speaking; and that they come nearest to true Reading, who would be supposed to be Speaking, were a blind Man the Hearer. He will shew too, that, according to Nature, all Subjects do not require equal Energy in Reading; and consequently the Voice must be modify’d and varied, on suitable Occasions: for as we are susceptible of various Impressions; and as Joy, Grief, Anger, and other Passions, are differently expressed by us without any previous Study, purely from the Force of Nature, so a good Master will shew, that a Prayer, a History, and a Poem, have each something different in their Nature; and that to give them their due Propriety, Force, and Beauty, each must be read in a different way. Besides these, the Master will shew his Scholars, that in order to speak to Perfection they must observe first, what Language their Betters speak, and by comparing it with that of the Vulgar, they will be enabled to distinguish, not only good from bad, but Propriety from Impropriety; whence they will insensibly learn, Gender, Number, and Case; Person, Mood, and Tense, with many other things relating to Grammar, without once supposing that they are acquiring them. Secondly, he will direct them in the Choice of such Books as will give a double Relish to Reading, by the Goodness of the Language they are wrote in. And lastly, he will recommend their seeking Opportunities of hearing their Betters read, that they may compleat by Imitation, what Instruction has laid the Foundation of.

But to give all the Satisfaction in my Power, I beg leave to observe, that as Grammar (if I may be allow’d the Expression) is the Soul of every Language, it may, in essential Matters, be taught in English as well as in Latin: it is true, that, in compound Words, and some of the Derivations, both Latin and Greek are necessary, and indeed many other Languages; but they are only so for Gentlemen and professed Scholars; and tho’ a mere English Scholar cannot give all the Derivations of Words, yet he can give all the Meanings, and all, or most of their Rules; and thereby be enabled to acquire a considerable Degree of Perfection, a pretty thorough Knowledge of his Own Language; and sometimes a Knowledge superior to those who in other respects are superior Scholars. Should it still be urged, that if Boys learn Latin, a Knowledge of English will be a necessary Consequence, and that Grammar in Latin is Grammar in English; I am ready to grant it: but the Point here maintained is, that what is called a learned Education is unnecessary and often hurtful to Boys of this Class, nor have they Time to acquire it. Besides, there are always Difficulties in referring or applying grammatical Niceties from one Language to another; Difficulties which are not within the Province of every one to get over. If therefore Boys of this Class, instead of engaging in Latin, which, as has been shewn, they have not Time to acquire, nor in general have any use for it if they did, would apply to the Study of English only, and make the most of that, they may improve to a great Degree; vastly more than is usually done, because prevented by an injudicious Application to the Latin.

Thus much have I said, in some measure to do Honour to the Language of my own Country; but chiefly with a View to remove the Errors too generally run into by inferior People, partly from their Vanity, and partly from their being Strangers to the many and great Advantages which this Branch of Education only is capable of affording. I know that innocent well-meaning People are often misled in educating their Children; and have heard many say, that a Boy must learn Latin to enable him to spell English; but this is a vulgar Error, and henceforward, I hope, will be removed. But yet farther to prove the Usefulness of our Language in the real Concerns of Life, we may add, that by this alone may be learnt, from those whose Province it is to teach, every Duty, every Obligation we owe to God and Man; by this we are enabled to read the sacred Writings; by this we can become acquainted not only with the History of all Europe, both ancient and modern, but of the whole World; and particularly with the History of our own Country: by this we are furnished with Books containing Helps in Building, Planting, Gardening, and many other things of great Use to Mankind; and by this, in a word, we are furnished with vast Abundance of both Instruction and Delight; not only from the excellent Translations from Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, &c. but from the original Writings of many of our own Countrymen: Men, whose Geniuses were perhaps inferior to none. Here, without Flourish, Parade, or Exaggeration, my Readers will see how noble an Use may be made of our Mother-tongue; how much Pleasure it will yield us, how much Knowledge it will convey to us; and hence, I hope, Parents will be induced to consider it in the Light it deserves.

Boys are next to engage in Writing; and I earnestly recommend that it be closely attended to, and considered as a Matter of great Importance. The present Method of teaching, and the Kind of Hand now usually wrote in Business is, I think, admirable; the Merchants of London, and some of our public Offices, shew great Perfection in this Way; and I would recommend that every Boy both learn and practise a mercantile Hand, as it is at the same time useful and beautiful. Every Man who is acquainted with Life must daily see the too general Defects of Hand-writing. If a Bricklayer, or any other Workman, brings in a Bill, what a pitiful Figure it makes; nay, it is sometimes so very bad, that none but the Writer himself can read it; and where we see one wrote out in a masterly Way, it is ten to one but he has, at considerable Expence, employed somebody to do it for him. Now this must surely be considered as a grievous Misfortune, both as it is an Inconvenience, and a Loss; and which ought carefully to be prevented in the rising Generation. Besides, if we reflect on the unforeseen Advantages which many meet with who are fine Penmen, we shall be convinced how necessary it is to excel in this Art.

We come now to Arithmetic, which includes a large Field of Knowledge. The Use of Figures, is so universally known and allowed, that it seems needless to urge any thing in their Favour. Men of all Degrees want their Aid; they are the first Introduction to the Mathematics; and the Knowledge of them is more or less necessary from the Prince to the Peasant. If a Man fails in Holland, they immediately say, he has not kept good Accounts; in Truth People of almost every Rank stand in need of their Help; and their Use and Power thoroughly known and attended to, would preserve thousands from Ruin. Parents then cannot do too much to instruct their Children in this important Branch of Knowledge; especially if they consider on one hand the Confusion and Perplexity which attends the Ignorance of it, and on the other hand the many surprising Turns for the Advancement of their Fortune, when possessed of the Knowledge of it. All young People, as I have before recommended, should be taught Method, and nothing more likely to initiate them in it than a masterly Knowledge of Figures. Besides, Debtor and Creditor, Loss and Gain, are by no means confined to the Merchant; every Man, however low his Trade, or however narrow his Dealings, while he does trade or deal, should understand what he is about: and he has no other Way than this of attaining that necessary Knowledge. I am very sensible, that some Men, even in Trade, have got thro’ the World, and make good Acquisitions, without any considerable Degree of this Kind of Knowledge; but we may truly say of such, that Fortune stood so very near them, that they stumbled upon her: tho’, for one who has thus succeeded, a thousand have miscarried. But my Aim is, to have the rising Generation so educated, that either Misfortunes may be prevented, or, if they do come, that their own Conduct may be irreproachable: and, I say again, no way more likely to effect this, than knowing thoroughly and attending closely to Figures. But farther, this and the foregoing Branch of Knowledge are strong Recommendations in various Stations of Life: many, even from nothing, have by these Qualifications become great Merchants; our East-India and other Companies frequently want Boys who write and account in a masterly Way; and when young People set out in the World and act for themselves, the Knowledge of their Affairs, from their Skill in Figures, is often a Restraint upon them, and a Curb to their Passions; by keeping them from what they see they cannot afford.

I shall now speak of that important, tho’ much neglected Branch of Knowledge, Drawing. It is matter of Surprise to me that a thing so obviously useful, and in many Respects so indispensably necessary, should be so generally disregarded. Young Gentlemen at an Academy indeed sometimes learn a little Drawing; but neither so often, nor so compleatly as they ought; but it is not of those I now mean to speak, but of that large Body of Youth comprehended in the fourth Class of People.[9] As Parents cannot know certainly what their Children will be, it is fit that, according to their Station, they should be so educated, as to be prepared for whatever may suit their Circumstances, their Capacity, and their Inclinations: to this End, besides Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, I earnestly recommend Drawing. To prove it’s Use, let us first view the various Branches of Building; where we shall immediately see the Necessity of understanding it. It is my Advice to all Parents, without Exception, that they implant in their Children an ardent Desire to excel; not to engage them in things they are unequal to, not to fill their Heads with Chimeras of fancied Power and Abilities, but that they labour with unwearied Industry to become perfect in their Way, be their Profession, Trade, or Business what it will. Thus, if a Boy is to be a Bricklayer, a Carpenter, a Smith, or any other Trade relating to Building, it is right that he should be animated with a Desire to become perfect, and not sit down contented with a scanty, superficial Knowledge of his Business: and, to attain this, Drawing should be made as familiar to him as Writing; which would greatly tend to his Advancement in the World: for how often does it happen that a Gentleman wants his own Conceptions and Designs explained and improved; which are easily done by a masterly Workman, but are entangled and made worse by a Blunderer. Drawing shews us the Difference between Beauty and Deformity; as Features, Mein, Aspect, Stature, and the Power of Light and Shade. It teaches us the Use of Lines, Angles, Squares, and Circles; it teaches us the Rules of Proportion, what Base is proper for an Edifice of different Dimensions; what constitutes a regular, what an irregular Building; it distinguishes true Taste from false; it assists our Fancy, and enlivens our Imagination; it is the Foundation of Architecture, and therefore necessary for every Branch of Building: for tho’ there are general Rules and Principles in each Order of Building, yet is there great Latitude for what we call Fancy, Taste, and Judgment: and thus the whole Beauty and Propriety of an Edifice may be said to depend on the artful blending of the several Orders into one perfect Superstructure.

Thus much for the Usefulness of Drawing in Building; but I should injure this Art if I stop’d here, for it is still far more extensive. It is not enough that a Gentleman builds himself a House, it must be furnish’d too; and if he be a Man of Fortune and Taste, he will not be contented with what is merely useful, but will add the ornamental likewise: hence appears the Necessity of the Artificers in this Way learning to draw in order to excel. If an Upholsterer be sent for, it is an Advantage to him not only to give the proper Dimensions of Furniture, but to display the several Ornaments and Fancies in use, and even strike out new Designs of his own; that he may convince People he is a Master in his Way: he cannot shew a Piece of Damask or printed Linen, but the Draughtsman appears in it; and it is right that he should be equally knowing in his own Business.

But if we take a more general Survey of things, in order to give us a true and solid Estimation of real Life, we shall find this Art of surprising Use. How many Trades are there subservient to the Arts and Sciences? all those who make Maps, Charts, and Globes; all those who make mathematical Instruments, and the vast Apparatus for the different Parts of Experimental Philosophy; so too Engravers, Sculptors, Painters, and Anatomists; all these, with many others, needless to enumerate, stand in need of Drawing: So vast is it’s Use, and so necessary is the Knowledge of it!

The last Step of Education for Boys of this Class is Geography, or the Knowledge of Maps. Geography makes us acquainted with the whole Surface of the Earth; the whole terraqueous Globe: it is first divided into Quarters, viz. Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; again, these Quarters are subdivided, so as to make us acquainted with particular Provinces, Kingdoms, States, and Empires: hence it is easy to see the Pleasure and Use that arises from this Knowledge. Men of every Rank are liable to leave their native Country; and indeed it is often the only Way to their Advancement. What a Pleasure then must it be to be acquainted with a Road we never saw? to travel in a Country without Pain from our Fore-knowledge of it? which is really the Case with an Adept in Geography. But supposing our Travels exceed not the Bounds of our own Country; it is a Subject of great Delight to be thoroughly acquainted with that. Or farther yet: supposing we do not travel at all; Geography has still it’s Use: it assists us in the Knowledge of History, and thereby adds Instruction and Pleasure to our Reading: in fine, it makes us acquainted with the whole World, without going out of our Closets.

My Readers are, I hope, by this time convinced, how advantageous these Steps of Education are for many of the Purposes of Life; nay they are such as some in better Stations are in great measure Strangers to, tho’ they may be possessed of Qualifications otherwise useful. If then to this be added virtuous Dispositions, a docile Mind, a becoming Behaviour, and, in a word, that genuine Manners recommended to all, I think Parents in general of this Class may promise themselves much more Comfort in their Children than they usually find.

Girls too of this Class are capable of being very valuable; but again I must caution Parents to be aware of those Banes of Happiness, Idleness, Pride, and Vanity. Idleness is justly called the Root of all Evil; and Pride and Vanity are empty nothings: or if they can be said to produce any thing, it is Evil. Girls of this Class have many things within their Reach, and if well attended to, may attain them. They may read and write to great Advantage; and learn so much of Accompts as will be necessary for conducting their Concerns, and understanding those Affairs they may in future Life be engaged in. They may and ought to work to Perfection, but principally the useful Parts: and tho’ the ornamental is highly commendable, yet it must not here be encouraged to the Prejudice or Neglect of the useful. When this Foundation is solidly laid, let them be carefully instructed in the Management of a House, according to what has already been observed in the foregoing Class; from whence they will receive such a Fund of useful Knowledge, as when joined with good Demeanour, will procure them not only the Esteem of their Equals, but that of their Superiors. Let Parents farther inspire them with Dispositions daily to improve their Minds; to maintain with firmest Resolution the nicest Innocence, even amidst the rudest Attacks, should they occur to them; and lastly, to support themselves with a chearful Mind in that State which is allotted them. In fact, Happiness is much more within their Reach than they commonly imagine; but if they neglect to consider the Advantages they enjoy beyond thousands who are beneath them, and anxiously dwell on the Splendor of those above them, it is the certain way never to find it.

Notwithstanding what has been said on this Class, Allowances are still to be made as Circumstances vary; and if the Plan be in general practicable, it is all that can be expected. Education is in some measure accidental; and it is right to embrace those Advantages which Accident offers, provided they do not interfere with more useful Knowledge, for then they are no Advantages. For Example: nobody should neglect their Mother-tongue; yet if they are so situated that they can add French to it, they ought by all means to do so. In the preceding Classes French is considered as a necessary Part of Education chiefly from it’s Politeness, and the Advantage of reading French Authors; but according to the present Age it is far more useful. French is now so universal, that a Man who speaks it can do Business with whatever Foreigner comes in his Way; or should he go abroad, he can transact his Affairs in any Country, or on any Exchange in Europe. But it is still farther necessary. Moliere, in one of his Comedies, introduces a Conversation, where a Servant is accused of flattering his Master: “What can I do? replies he: I am to please, I am to secure my Service by keeping in his good Graces, and I have no other way of doing it: therefore, continues he, it is not the Fault of me who flatter, but of him who will be flattered.” So in taking a View of Life we may sometimes observe, that to secure the Interest and Favour of the Great, the Taylor, the Milliner, the Shoe-maker, and many others, are expected to introduce their Modes under a French Tongue. But to do justice to the Wisdom of our Nation, this is far from being general; therefore a general and close Application to the French for the fourth Class does not seem either necessary or practicable; because to some it would be useless, in others it would be forgot again, and by many it would never be attained.

Another Part of Education which is oftentimes merely accidental, is Music. If a Man plays on any Instrument, it will be delightful to him to employ his Son’s leisure Time in giving him something of so agreeable an Accomplishment; or if he can improve his Daughter’s Ear or Voice, by giving her a pleasing Manner in Singing, she should not be deprived of it; for these things make young People sprightly in themselves, and pleasing to others. But then Care must be taken that they stop here: they must not engage in an expensive and laborious Study of Music, unless it is to be their Trade; nor must they be attached to it so as to neglect other Obligations, or so as to engage them in irregular Company: and above all, great Care must be taken that they be not tainted by that Torrent of Corruption, bad Songs.

There is indeed a Step of Education for this Class, as well as all the preceding, which I think of Importance, could it be obtained without the usual Inconveniencies attending it; that is, Dancing. I consider Dancing as conducive to Health; I consider it as sometimes a Means of preventing Deformity; and where there is no danger of that, all must see that it is the great Means of making young People of both Sexes stand, and walk, and sit, and even look and speak to advantage. Mr. Locke, speaking of a docile Mind, and good Dispositions, as superior to every other Consideration, says, “Parents surely must have a strange Affection for Latin and Greek, who will prefer them to their Sons Virtue.” So too I may say of Dancing; if we cannot get the Good without the Bad, it is better to let it alone. First, it is, for a great many People, too expensive; nothing indeed to those of Fortune, and in great Business; but to others, more so than is convenient. Next, it is apt to inflame young People’s Vanity, as well as increase the Expence of their Apparel. A Boy who learns to Dance is dissatisfied unless he has Pumps, white Stockings, laced Hat, and many other things not necessary to his Station; and a Girl rejoices when the dancing Days come, only because she is to have her Silk Coat on. A third Objection is, the Danger of their contracting a Passion for Dancing; for tho’ young People may sometimes very innocently divert themselves with an Evening Ball or a Country Dance, yet an eager Desire for these Engagements, especially to those of lower Rank, and to those who live in London, are extremely dangerous. Still, as this Qualification seems really necessary, if the Expence of the Master can be submitted to, the other Difficulties may, I think, be got over. But here the Manners are concerned: Children must obey, and wear without a Struggle, and without a Blush, such Apparel as their Parents judge fit for them. If besides this, they are made sensible that every Step in their Education is taken purely for their Good, and are carefully instructed never to abuse by an inordinate Attachment what is bestowed on them only for Use; if Parents I say do this, they may in general hope that all their Children learn will turn to good account.

The Province I am engaged in, and the tender Regard I pay to all human Nature, demands that I speak of a fifth Class of People, usually term’d the Peasantry: tho’ I think the principal thing to be done here, is to admonish those in higher Spheres to behave with Justice and Humanity to them, rather than to address themselves. If we speak of Education, here it will naturally carry our Ideas to the Spade, the Plough, or the Team; and which may without Impropriety be called Education to them. It is a true Saying, that there is a right way and a wrong in doing every thing; if so, it is an useful Part of Education to instruct them how to till the Earth with greatest Ease to themselves, and with greatest Profit to those who employ them. As early and constant Labour is the Province of this Class, there is but a small Share either of Time or Abilities for Instruction; still as they are by Nature susceptible of it, those who have Power cannot employ it better than by bestowing it; so far at least as may open their Minds to distinguish Truth from Falsehood, Right from Wrong, Innocence from Guilt. If to this were added, at least the Power of reading their Mother-tongue, it would at times be an Entertainment and a Consolation to them; and it would remove, in some Degree, that total Darkness and Ignorance they must otherwise remain in.

But here, for the Sake of Instruction, I must depart from the strict Propriety of the Word Peasant, to touch on another Species of Rustics; that is, those of the lowest Class of People, in London particularly. These People possess indeed the Ignorance of the Peasants, but they seldom equal them in Innocence. Many are abandoned to every Vice; many indeed are honest and industrious; but even among those who are themselves good, their Children, thro’ an early false Fondness, or the Corruption of others, are usually ignorant, untoward, and vicious. Whence we daily see and hear in the open Streets such things as are Insults on Mankind; such as must shock the Ears, and make the Heart tremble; and such as cannot but be a Reflection on any civilized Nation. We say, it is easier to obey than govern; and, in this Case, it is perhaps easier to propose a Remedy, than to put it in Execution. But to cure an Evil among the Little, we must address ourselves to the Great; for if they have either their Example or Countenance, all Attempts to remedy it are fruitless. Next we must turn our Eyes on those in Power, as Magistrates, and Men in Office; if these exercise their Authority with Justice and Fidelity, much may be done: but if they not only neglect this, but give ill Example too, little is to be expected. Thirdly, the Children of these People are to have some Degree of Education; the Boys, Reading, Writing, and the first Rules in Arithmetic at least; which, if carefully taught them, will qualify them for many useful Employments. The Girls should at least read and work at their Needle. But all this, tho’ indispensably necessary, is too weak to effect the Purpose designed. The Perverseness of the Will, the Unruliness of the Head, and the Corruption of the Heart, are still to be conquered. Manners alone then is the effectual Remedy: and as, to cure a Disease, we must strike at the Root of it; so, to rectify the Morals and Misbehaviour of the Corrupt, we must, on solid Principles of Reason and Reflection, awaken the Mind, and regulate the Heart.