commonly leave their Innocency 5. The means of procuring to Children a happy Education are not used as they should be These Means are Instruction Encouragement and Correction Instruction is very much neglected as I shall more particularly shew when I come to speak of the Education of Youth with reference to Religion Parents seldom give good Directions to their Children to teach them how they ought to live They do worse they train them up to ill things and give them bad Instruction By the Discourse and the Maxims they utter in the hearing of their Children they infuse Sentiments and Principles of Covetousness Pride Sensuality and Dissimulation into them they teach them to act upon the Motives of Interest and Passion or by the Notions of a false Honour Nay they do sometimes directly teach them Vice they encourage them to Lye and Cheat to be Revengeful and Passionate So that Young People are not only destitute of good Instructions but they are besides infected from their Infancy with several most pernicious Principles I need not say what the Consequences of such an Education are like to be If few Children are formed to Virtue by Instruction few are made Virtuous by the good Example of their Parents It is much when this Example is not bad and dangerous In most Families Children see nothing that Savours of Christianity except some external Acts of Religion they observe that every one of the Family is imployed about Temporal things the discourses they hear turn altogether on Interest or some trifling Subject They are Witnesses of a great many Disorders of the Heats and Quarrels of their Fathers and Mothers of their Avarice their Swearing their Lying their Intemperance their Impiety and their want of Respect for Religion These are the Examples which for the most part Children have before their Eyes and which Corrupt them more than any thing else At that Age almost every thing is done by Imitation and Example and no Example makes more Impression upon them than the Example of their Parents because it is always in sight and they think besides they cannot do amiss as long as they Copy after it It is very useful in educating Children to encourage them I mean not only that they should be exhorted and incited to their Duty and that from the Motives of Honour and from the pleasure that attends the doing of it but that likewise we should express our Satisfaction and our love and esteeem of them when they do as we would have them A Word of Praise a little Reward inspires new Ardor into them We may do what we please with Children when we can prevail upon them with gentle Methods and win their Love They then accustom themselves betimes to do their Duty out of Inclination and from noble and generous Views But to use always Severity towards Children and to take no notice of their Endeavours to do well is the way to discourage them and to extinguish in them the Love of Virtue Yet Severity is necessary and upon some occasions we ought not to forbear Rigour and Correction Those indulgent Parents who being restrained by a false Tenderness cannot find in their heart to Chastise their Children do infallibly ruin them But if the want of Correction and Discipline makes Children unruly Chastisement ill dispensed produces the same effect There are commonly three Faults committed in the Correcting of Children The first relates to the Cause for which they are chastised Correction should not be used but for those Faults which have something of Vice in them as when Children are guilty of Malice of some ill Habit or of great Negligence and even then we should not proceed to Chastisement but after we have tried other ways to no purpose But this Rule is little observed Children are punished for all sorts of Faults indifferently and very often for small ones They will sometimes be severely chastised because they can not say their Lesson without Book or for some other little disorder they have done in the House through Imprudence and without Malice and at the same time Faults against Piety and good Manners shall be passed over These Corrections produce several ill effects and especially this that Children form to themselves false Notions of their Duty The fancy that the Faults for which they are punished are the most considerable and that there is more hurt in spoiling their Cloaths or in missing a word of their Lesson that in Lying or in praying without attention which lessens in them the Abhorrence of Vice The Second Error which relates to the Nature of the Correction inflicted upon Children is when no other Chastisements are used but those which make the Body smart Such Corrections without doubt are useful and necessary because Children are chiefly moved by those things which strike the Senses but they are not the only Ones to which recourse is to be had To beat Children every time they do amiss is to use them like Beasts There are other ways of punishing are mortifying them The most profitable Corrections are those which excite in them Sorrow and Shame for the ill they have done Lastly There is an Error in the Chastising of Children when they are not Corrected with Discretion and Gentleness Prudence and even Justice requires that regard should be had to the Nature of their Fault to the Disposition they are in and to other Circumstances and it becomes that Love which a Father owes his Children to Correct them with Lenity and Moderation and to forbear excessive Severities Children should perceive the Tenderness of their Parents even in their Corrections and be made sensible that it is with Reluctancy and only in order to their Good that they treat them with some Rigour If Chastisements were dispensed with these Cautions they would at the same time that they cause Pain beget in Childrens Minds a Sorrow for having done amiss and they would make them love their Parents even while they are Punishing them But for the most part Parents or those who have an Authority over Children Chastise them without Discretion and with a Rigour which borders upon Cruelty they punish them rather out of Passion Spite or Revenge than upon wise and sober Consideration Such a proceeding discourages and provokes Children and it makes them hate their Duty I confess this Method may strike Terror into them and Curb them a little but they grow the more stout and incorrigible by it and they will certainly run into Licentiouness assoon as they are no longer restrained by the fear of Punishment From what has been said hitherto it is plain that Men's Corruption is a consequence of the Education they had in their Youth But this will yet more evidently appear by the Reflections I am now going to make upon the way of bringing up Children in Religion and Piety We are here to consider Education in reference to the two Ends of it which are the educating of Youth First in the Knowledgwe and then in the
is enough to fill them with a good opinion of themselves Now when Men are thus blinded by Self-love and do not know themselves there is but little hope of them and they will undoubtedly fall into a state of Security These Considerations plainly shew if I â—m not mistaken that Men for the most â—art live in very great Ignorance But I â—hink my self bound to answer an Objectiâ—n which may be offer'd against what has â—een said Some will think no doubt â—â—at it is very difficult for Men to be so â—ell instructed as I suppose they ought to â—e and that the People are not capable â—f such an exact Kowledge of Moraliâ—y To satisfie those who make this Objeâ—tion and to clear this Matter fully I obâ—erve first that by all I have said I do â—â—y no means pretend that all Christians â—â—an or ought to be equally instructed I â—now that there are degrees of Knowledge â—nd that in Morality as well as in Doâ—trines Divines and Men of Parts go a â—reat way beyond the bulk of Mankind It 〈◊〉 sufficient for every one to be instructed â—ccording to his Capacity and his Condition â—ut after all it must be granted that the â—nowledge of the Principles of Morality â—s necssary to every Body or else we must â—â—rike several Precepts out of the Gospel â—nless we imagine that those Precepts are â—ntended only for a small number of Learnâ—d and Subtil Men which is directly opâ—osite to our Saviour's Words who said that his Doctrine is designed for all Mankind for the little ones and the simple rather than for * Mat. XI 25 1 Cor. X. John VI. 45. 1 Thess V. 20. Phil. IV. 8. 2 Pet. II. 5 6 7 8. the Wise and Prudent There is no Christian but ought to be a spiritual man and taught of God When St. Paul says prove all things hold fast that which is good Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue if there be any praise think on these things When St. Peter exhorts Christians to add to their faith all Christian Virtues to grow and abound in all these Virtues such Exhortations do belong equally to all the Professors of Christianity It must not be said that there are Men in the World of very dull and shallow Capacities and that Countrey People and Mechanicks cannot comprehend all these Maxims of Morality This is not so difficult as it is imagined The Duties of Morality are clear they presently affect a Man because they are consonant to the common notices and sentiments of Conscience Chuse what part of Morality you please and you may with due endeavours make either a Handy-crafts-man or a Day-labourer apprehend it so you confine your self to the Knowledge and Practice of those Duties which are necessary to such People in their several Callings Is there any thing more subtil or difficult in the Rules of Morality than there is in a hundred dexterities and shifts which are practised in the Affairs of this Life and which common People can attain to without any great pains If therefore Mens Understandings are so gross and stupid in moral Matters is not because these Matters are above their reach but because they were never taught them â—or never applied themselves to them We ought not to judge of what Men might be by what they are The best Ground becomes barren when it is not cultivated If things were well ordered among Christians in relation especially to the instruction of the People and the Education of Children the generality of them would not be so stupid and ignorant as they are We may therefore conclude that Ignorance is one of the general Causes of Corruption Christians being ill informed of the Truths and Duties of their Religion and wanting instruction both as to Faith and Manners they must needs live in a great neglect of Religious Matters It may be asked whence does this Ignorance proceed I shall observe three principal Causes of it The first is Education the way in which Children are bred up does infallibly lead to Ignorance The second is the want of Means to get good Instruction and particularly the defect of those Instructions which are delivered to Christians in Sermons Catechisms and Books The third is the Sloth and Carelesness of Men who will be at no pains to acquire necessary Knowledge We might bestow very weighty Considerations upon every one of these three Heads but since they will again come in our way in the sequel of this Treatise it is enough to have pointed at them in this place as the three main Sources of Ignorance In truth if Men are ill Educated if they are destitute of the necessary Means of Instruction and take no care about it whence should they have sufficient Knowledge unless they were instructed by Miracles by Revelations and Inspirations they cannot but be Ignorant and Corrupt But now if Ignorance be the first Cause of Corruption it is plain that the first remedy to be used against Corruption is the removing that Ignorance It is that we are to begin at if we would bring back Christians to a Life worthy of the Religion they profess Exhortations Censures and all other such Methods will signifie nothing as long as Mens Minds are not prepared by proper Instructions From all that has been said in this Chapter it may be gathered that the right way to instruct Men is before all things to convince them of the Truth of Religion and to make them sensible that there is nothing more certain or of greater Consequence in the World than the Principles of Christianity The Belief of the General Truths ought especially to be well fixed in their Minds as that there is a God a Providence a Judgment and another Life After this we must proceed to the particular Truths of the Gospel and as we go on in explaining them we ought to shew what influence those Truths have upon Holiness and Salvation But the most important thing of all when these Truths are settled is to shew that the bare Knowledge of the Christian Doctrines is not able to make Men happy that the scope of Religion is to make Men truly good and that without Piety and good Works there is no Salvation It will not be sufficient to recommend Sanctification in general but the Nature of it must besides be distinctly explained it must be shewed which are the general and particular Obligations of a Christian life and what Sins are contrary to these And here those whose business it is to instruct the People ought to be as particular as possibly they can shewing upon each Virtue and Vice what the Nature of it is and what are the several Characters Kinds and Degrees of it and proposing likewise the Motives which should discourage Men from those Vices and prompt them to the practice of the opposite Virtues as also the
Practice of Religion I. The Considerations to be insisted on concerning the first Head relate either to the Things which Children are to be Instructed in or to the manner of Instructing them 1. As to the Things themselves there are Two Articles upon which the Instruction of Youth ought to depend and those are the Truths and the Duties of Religion The chief Rule to be observed with relation to the Truths of Religion is to insist upon those which are the most necessary and to give a distinct Notion of them to Children And here Two Faults are committed The first is when they are not Instructed in all the Truths which are to be known in order to be a Christian the second is when such Instructions are proposed to them as are unsuitable to their Age or even useless To explain my Meaning a little further I say First that there are some essential things which Children are not at all or but imperfectly taught Among these we may reckon the knowledge of Sacred History Religion being founded upon History Religion being founded upon History and Facts it would be requisite that Instruction should begin at the Historical part of Religion and at the main Events which are related both in the Old and New Testament so that Children might know at least in general the principal Ages of the World and the most remarkable things which did happen from the Creation to the coming of our Saviour what the Flood was what were the Egyptian and the Babilonish Captivities what time Moses David the Patriarchs and the Prophets lived in what sort of People the Heathens and the Jews were and what kind of Life our Saviour led It must not be said that History is above the Capacity of Children for on the contrary it is that which is to them the easiest part of Religion which they hearken to with the greatest pleasure and which they remember best Nothing does more smoothly enter into their Minds than History all the things I have no mentioned may be taught them in a Week And this Knowledge is as necessary as it is easily acquired A Man can never understand his Religion well or be thoroughly convinced of its Truth if he does not know the Facts which is supposes We see that it was by the Means of History that God chose to instruct Mankind and that matters of Fact make up the most considerable part of the sacred Writings And therefore it is a strange thing that in Catechisms and other Instructions given to Youth History should be so little insisted upon This is visibly one of the Causes of that profound Ignorance which the greatest part of Christians live in This is the reason why they understand almost nothing of what they read or hear in Sermons and why the Doctrines which they are taught make so little impression upon them Teaching Children History gives them beforehand some Notions of the Truths and Doctrines of Christianity but yet these Truths and Doctrines ought to be proposed to them separately that they may have a more distinct apprehension of them Above all things great care should be taken to imprint upon the Minds of those who are to be instructed the knowledge and the belief of the Principles of Christianity But this likewise is not done as it should be In Catechisms as well as in Sermons particular Truths are dwelt upon and the general ones are touched only by the by This is a Fault I have observed in the very beginning of this Work Now at the same time that Children are suffered to be ignorant about many important Articles they are perplexed with divers useless or not very necessary Instruction Instead of limiting them to the essential parts of Religion their Minds and Memories are filled up with many things which they may safely be Ignorant of Some would have them understand the Disputes of Divines concerning the most curious and abstruse Questions and they are made to get several things by heart which they do not understand and which are of no great use In the mean time Children learn these things and say them without Book and being possessed with the conceit that they are as many Articles of Faith they rank among Divine Truths School terms and Doctrines of which they neither apprehend the Certainty nor the use And thus having none but intricate Ideas about Religion they do not perceive the Beauty the Solidity or the Excellence of it and they have neither true Love nor Respect for it When Children are once instructed in the Truths of Christianity it is particularly necessary to acquaint them with the Duties of it There are two distinct sorts of duties in Religion First the Duties conceming Divine Worship or Service and then the Duties of Morality The First are Adoration the Honour which is paid to God Prayer and Thanks-giving But as these Duties may be performed either outwardly or in wardly it is of very great moment to make Children apprehend that Brayer and all the other Acts of Divine Worship ought to proceed from the Heart that * John IV. God will be served in Spirit and in Truth and that without this the Worship which is paid to him either in private or in publick does only provoke his Displeasure It is not enough therefore to tell Children that they must pray to God or go to Church and to teach them some Form of Prayer to be said at certain Times and Hours All this is but external and if we go no farther if we do not carefully inform them that true Worship is Internal and Spiritual we shall make but Hypocrites of them by tenching them to pray and to perform Religious Acts. The Faults then which are committed in this point are of great Moment and we may easily perceive that Hypocrisy and Indevotion are the Consequences of this Negligence The Religion of most Christians consists only in some external Actions they think they have fulfilled their Duty when they have recited some Prayers or been present at the Publick Worship of God tho' in all they do this kind they have neither Attention nor Elevation of Heart but this Errour which is so capital and yet so common arises chiefly from hence that Children are formed only to a meer outside Devotion and Worship Young People are not much better instructed in Moral Duties I shall not enter here upon all the Consideration which the Subject might afford because I have treated of the want of Instruction concerning Morals in several places of this Treatise and particularly in the 1 Chap. of the First Part. Yet I must say that this Defect proceeds from the Instructions which are given to Youth Much greater care is taken to inform them about the Doctrines than about the Duties of Christianity The Articles of the Creed the Questions concerning the Sacraments and the other Points of Doctrine are handled and examined largely enough in Catechisms and Controversie is not forgot but the Ten Commandments are explained in so
succinct and superficial a manner that we do not find there so much as the Names of a great many Vices Virtues and Duties Children who should be raised up to Christian Perfection are only taught the Ten Commandments and from the Explication which is given of these they gather that they should not be Idolaters Blasphemers or profane Persons that they should neither commit Murder nor Adultery that they should not steal or bear false witness But how many other Duties are there of which they have no manner of Notion They are not taught what it is to be Gentle Humble Sincere Charitable Pure Sober and Patient Many Persons because they were never instructed in these Virtues which are the principal Ornaments of a Christian do not practise or so much as know them We are to impute to these slight and defective Instructions that Opinion which is commonly received That whosoever is free from those six or seven great sins forbidden in the Decalogue is a good Man 2. The Success of Instruction depends in the second place upon the Method and way of Teaching The Method of Teaching should on the one hand be clear and proportioned to the Age and Capacity of Children and on the other it should be delightful and fit to make them love Religion By this two Ends which ought to be aimed at will be attained the Mind will be enlightned and the Heart moved What is clear informeth the Mind and what is delightful wins the Heart and inspires into it a strong Affection for Religion and for the Duties of it 1. Perspicuity is never more necessary than it is in the Instructing of Youth Children having no Ideas as yet of most things and not being used to the signification of Words cannot understand what is said to them unless it be delivered with much clearness and simplicity and unless every thing be avoided which may puzzle or seem obscure to them This Perspicuity results First from the things that are taught It is a certain Truth is always clear and easie to be understood and that on the contrary Whatsoever is obscure and difficult is not very necessary So that provided Instruction goes no farther than essential Doctrines and Duties it cannot be very hard for Children to apprehend what is said to them Secondly Clear Expressions and plain and popular ways of speaking produce distinct Ideas in the Minds of those who are instructed but a dark or too high a Stile figurative or learned Phrases spoil the Fruit of Instructions Lastly Order and Method contribute mightily to Clearness It is not fit that Children should be loaded at first with many Doctrines and Precepts General Instructions the Principles of Religion and the simplest Ideas ought to go foremost and then particular Instructions and more complex Ideas may be proposed but still with a due Regard to the Age Capacity and Progress of Children 2. Instruction is to be delivered in a delightful manner This is the way to insinuate our selves into the Minds of Children Nothing wins more upon them than a sweet and pleasant way of speaking and nothing gives them so much disgust as roughness and severity If Religion was represented to them with an attractive Aspect they would certainly embrace it with eagerness But for the most part those who teach or speak to them of Religion do it with an Air of Severity and a dismal Tone and with those Circumstances which make them averse to it Commands Threatnings and Constraint are used to make them take their Catechisms or say their Prayers if they fail to do this their Teachers are angry and beat them When we exhort them to Piety in stead of going about this with such a Gentleness as might make Virtue amiable to them we speak in a harsh and chiding manner The Effect of this is that Children seeing nothing in Religion that is inticing take up a Prejudice against it they look upon that Instruction to which they are compelled as a hard piece of Labour and Drudgery Religion is no sooner mentioned but it damps their good humour they do nothing but by Constraint and against their Will they free themselves from that Constraint assoon as they can and they bear during their whole Life an Aversion or at least an Indifference to Religion II. I have been discoursing hitherto of what relates to the Knowledge of Religion and I hope I have clearly proved that generally speaking Children are ill instructed I am now to consider Education with relation to Practice For it would be to no Purpose to infuse into young People a perfect Knowledge of the Truths and Duties of Religion if they were noâ— taught to make a good use of that Knowledge and to direct it to its true End which is the Practice of Virtue and Piety But it is seldom that the Care of Parents and of those who have the instructing of Children goes so far If they take some Care about their Instruction they generally neglect them as to the practical Part and they little enquire whether they live according to the Precepts of Religion Now Instructions thus dispensed do not only prove useless but they may likewise make Children doubly wicked and fill them with the most dangerous Prejudices When Children observe that Religion is proposed to them only in an Historical and Speculative Manner and that provided they remember what is told them and are able to give an Account of it they are commended for being well skilled in Religion and that as for the rest they are permitted to live as they please and that they are not chid tho' they do not practise what they were taught they conclude from all this that Religion consists wholly in the Knowledge and Profession of certain Truths and that it is not absolutely necessary to frame their Lives according to the Rules of the Gospel They accustom themselves besides to slight their Knowledge and to act against the Principles of their own Consciences These pernicious Sentiments are infused into Children when Instructions are not directed to Practice To prevent so great an Evil these Rules are to be observed 1. The Design of proposing the Truths and Doctrines of Christianity to Children should be to beget in them a love and a respect for them and in order to that we should let them see their Certainty their Importance and their Use It ought then to be carefully inculcated to them that there is nothing more true and certain nothing of greater Importance or that concerns us nearer than Religion and that in Comparison with it all that we see in the World is of very little or no Consequence and lastly that it was revealed for no other End but to make us good and to conduct us to the highest Bessedness By this Method Instruction will always terminate in Practice By teaching Children to know God we shall excite in them a Love and Reverence towards that Supreme Being By speaking to them of Providence we shall make them apprehend that God
sees every thing and what Reasons we have to depend upon and to fear him By telling them the History of the Bible we shall make them observe in those various Events the Effects of God's Wisdom of his Goodness Power and Justice In explaining to them the Doctrine of the Sacraments we shall chiefly apply our selves to make them understand what these sacred Ceremonies oblige Christians to what an August and Venerable thing Baptism is and what Purity is required in those who are baptized And so when we speak to Children of Christ and his Sufferings of the Resurrection and a future Judgment of the Punishments and Rewards of another Life and of all the other Truths we should do it in such a manner as may stir them up to Piety and Holiness 2. In the next place we ought to engage Children to the Practice and Observation of the Duties of Christianity with relation both to Worship and Manners And first it is altogether necessary to teach them to render to God the Worship that is due to him There are few Christian Families where something is not done with this Intention Children are made to learn some Prayers to say them Mornings and Evenings and to be present at the publick and private Exercises of Piety But the main should be to bring them to sincerity in Divine-Service lest they fall into Impiety and Hypocrisy The greatest endeavour should be to accustom them to Pray with Attention and Reverence This may at first seem difficult we neither see the Heart of Children nor can regulate the motions of it But yet I think there are ways to fix their Minds which might be successfully used And I hope my Readers will not think it amiss if I dwell a little upon this Head considering the importance of it 1. I Would not have Children Pray before they have some knowledge of what they are doing There is a Custom established every where which I look upon as the first Cause of Indevotion and that is to make little Children recite Prayers and long ones too I do not apprehend the use of this nor where the inconvenience would be if Children did not Pray at an Age when they can hardly speak an articulate Word It would be time enough to make them Pray when they are capable of some Reflection If we did wait till then they might Pray with Attention and I make no doubt but they would do it with Pleasure and Reverence Children think it an Honour to do what is done by Men if therefore they were not permitted to Pray till they came to a certain Age they would look upon Praying as a particular Priviledge But when they are made to Pray before they have any sense of what they do it put this Notion into their Heads that Praying in nothing else but reciting of Prayers And besides that Obligation which is laid upon them to perform regularly a Duty of which they do not yet understand the Necessity or the Use makes that they only observe it out of Custom 2. I could wish that when we begin to make Children Pray we should Teach them plain and short Prayers wherein they might say nothing but what they understood Two or Three Sentences are enough in those beginnings and as they grow in Years longer Prayers may be prescribed them Brevity is to every Body a help to Devotion but Children being not capable of a long attention it is certain that long Prayers are not at all fit for them 3. It would be very useful to Discourse with them about the Excellency and the Necessity of Prayer and to make them apprehend what an Honour it is for us to speak to God and to lay open our Necessities before him 4. In order to accustom Children to look upon Prayer with Reverence and to go about it with Seriousness they should not be allowed to Pray when they are strongly posseffed with some Passion or Object or when they have committed a considerable Fault against Piety 5. It is particularly necessary to regulate and observe their behaviour and looks while they are at Prayers and then likewise to express a Reverence our selves and to say or do nothing that may give them any distraction It is a Custom as bad as it is ordinary in Families to go to and fro to be busy and to talk all the while that Children are saying their Prayers How is it possible that amidst all that noise which would even hinder older People to Pray as they ought Children whose Thoughts are so rambling should not be distracted And what Reverence can be expected from them about the Exercises of Piety when their Fathers and Mothers who are 〈◊〉 shew none at all This is what I have to observe concerning Prayer which is the principal part of Divine Worship As to what concerns the Duties of Morality very particular care ought to be taken to make Children observe them The first mean to be used next to Instruction is to exhort them to the Practice of Virtue and to represent to them that Piety and Holiness are the essential Characters of a Christian But the Exhortations directed to them will have no great effect if they are not dispensed with Prudence Sometimes Parents spoil all tho' they mean well They Exhort and Chide at every turn they are perpetually Admonishing and Moralizing by this they give a disgust to their Children instead of winning upon them Exhortations ought to be accompanied with Discretion and Gentleness above all we should endeavour to persuade and to prevail upon Children by Reason that so being convinced in their own Hearts of the Justice Beauty and Usefulness of Virtue they might practise it of their own accord out of Inclination and with Pleasure That we may be able to Exhort Children as is fitting it is requisite to be well acquainted with their Temper and to observe which are their predominant Inclinations that if those Inclinations are good they may be cultivated and if bad corrected And it is easy to know the Temper of Children because they deal ingenuously and have not yet â—â—arned the Art of Dissembling If Men did make this their Study if they did take hold of the good Disposition which may be in Children if they did apply themselves to oppose the predominant Faults to which either their Age or their Constitution inclines them they would preserve them from many Vices and make them great Proficients in Virtue Besides this Parents either by themselves or others ought to watch over the Conduct of their Children and to enquire strictly whether they practise the Lessons which are given them whether they are afraid of doing ill things whether they forbear those Faults for which they have been reproved whether they resist their vicious inclinations whether they are gentle sober humble and moderate in their Discourses Actions and Behaviour To this End it is very proper that they should not have too much liberty and that they should be for the most part under the
Eye of some Wise Persons who may observe their Deportment I do not enlarge upon these Considerations because they would carry me too far neither do I speak here of Encouragement Correction and Example nor of some other Means which might be very usefully taken in hand for regulating the Conduct of Children because these have been spoken to already There is ground enough to conclude from what has been said that Corruption proceeds primarily and chiefly from the ill Education of Youth The ordinary Education of Children being not Christian what wonder is it that true Christianity and folid Virtue should be so scarce The first Impressions are the strongest The Principles which have been imbibed in the first Years of Life do not wear out afterwards and those who had not a good Education are not often known to be wise and regular in their Conduct Let it not be objected here what many are wont to alledge upon this Subject That the Errors of Education are not so considerable but that they may be corrected afterwards and that Wisdom comes with Years Thus those Men reason who only examine things superficially but such Persons did never seriously reflect upon Man's Temper upon the manner how ill Habits are formed or upon Experience Almost all good or ill Habits begin in Infancy and they grow stronger afterwards The Age which succeeds Youth is so far from supplying the Defects of Education that on the contrary the longer a Man lives the more difficult it is for him to return to Virtue if he did not set out well at first For besides that Habits are then stronger and deeper rooted Business does also come with Age and People have no longer that leisure and freedom which they had when they were young Those therefore who do not take right Measures early and who lanch into the World with ill Principles are still growing worse instead of amending This is verified by daily experience Age seldom alters Men for the better I do not deny but that People who were neglected in their Infancy or whose Youth has been unruly are sometimes known to change their Manners and their Conduct when they come to a riper Age. But we are to consider how this Change happens and what the Nature of it is In some it is a thorough Change and a sincere return to Virtue God sometimes works Conversion in the greatest Sinners and he does this commonly by Afflictions Sicknesses and Pains But such kinds of Conversion are not very frequent The Change which we think we observe both in our selves and others is not always sincere it is often no more than an effect of Age of the State we are in or of Custom Age does Two Things it deadens the Passions and it changes them In the heat of Youth Passions are violent and make a great stir when the prime of Life is over a Man perhaps is no longer a Libertine or a Deboshee but his Exterior only is reformed The same Principle of Corruption remains in his Heart He that was Sensual and given to Lewdness moderates himself but still his Heart and his Imaginations are defiled He that was Profane and Impious does no longer profess Libertinism openly he practises some Duties of Religion But for all that he has no more Devotion or Faith than before Age does likewise change Mens Passions and Inclinations Young People have their Passions and supposing these should abate about Forty or Fifty or even that they should be quite left off which yet happens but seldom there are other Passions which succeed those of Youth and which work the stronger because they are not so much mistrusted and because they make less noise and are hid under the pretence of a Lawful Calling Thus we see often that Libertines and Deboshees end with Ambition and Covetousness The World calls the Change which is observed in those Men Conversion and Amendment A Man is said to be reclaimed from the Errors of his younger Days when his Conduct is no longer Scandalous or manifestly Criminal but if he is free from the Faults of his Youth he is guilty of others which he had not then He is no longer Dissolute but he is a Slave to Ambition he is Covetous Unjust and wedded to the World more than ever Nay all things well considered he is worse than he was in his youth since he has run from one Vice into another and loaded himself with the Sins of the several Stages of Life We are not to imagine that every alteration which Age makes in Mens Conduct and Manners is a true Conversion The various States Callings and Professions of Men do likewise put many of them upon altering their way of Living and make them give over those Excesses to which they have been addicted for some time As soon as a Man come to be the Master of a Family or to be preferred to Places he must of hecessity grow more regular in his Conduct and forsake several Disorders which he alâ—owed himself in before He becomes more â—erious he applies himself closer to labour â—e lives more retired and he takes leave of â—he Amusements of Youth Honour Decenâ—y Interest the necessity of making a Famiâ—y and other Considerations oblige him to â—his but Religion has not always a share in â—his Change Lasty a Habit of Sinning does often blind â—nd harder Men to that degree that they â—magine there is a sincere Amendment in â—hem when there is none at all nay when â—hey are more Corrupt than when they were young Men at first are sensible of their Faults Conscience checks them for the sins â—hey commit but in process of time they perâ—eive them no more Conscience grows seared â—nd they Sin without being aware of it Haâ—its seldom fail to produce this Effect of which we see a Thousand Instances in old Sinners All this shews that the Foundations of the Conduct of our whole Lives are laid in Youth â—nd that the chief reason why Men live ill is because they have not been well Educated I do not think it necessary to mention the Remedies of this Cause of Corruption I have observed them all along in shewing the Faults which are committed in the Education of Youth I shall only add before I dismiss the Subject that all this does properly concern Masters of Families and Pastors It were therefore to be wished in the first place that Parents would take more Care than they do to Breed their Children well and that in this they would proceed by the Rules which Reason and Religion prescribe They are mistaken if they think they may excuse themselves from this Obligation which both Nature and Piety lay upon them and which cannot be neglected without a Sin But the Carelesness of Parents in this Point may very justly be wondered at the Education of their Children is generally that of all things which they mind the least and the reason of it is that they themselves want Religion and Piety It would be requisite in the
next place that Pastors should discharge their Duty with relation to young People and that to this end in all Places and Churches the necessary Order and Method were established for instructing the People and particularly Children I remark this because in this respect things are not well ordered so that in many Places such helps andmeans are very much wanting It is well known that the opportunities of Instruction and the helps to Piety are mighty scarce in the Country and in Villages Schools are there managed at a very ordinary rate and many Places have no School at all whereby it happens that many Persons cannot so much as read There likewise Divine Service is but seldom performed and very carelesly too The Ministers who are appointed in those Places are generally either Men of little worth or Men who do not watch over their Flocks as they ought and who are remiss in the Exercise of their Office These are the essential Defects which should be remedied by those who have Authority in Church or State Above all it is requisite that Church-Men should have a strict inspection over Schools and Families and that Catechisings were more frequent than they are Young People ought to be the chief objects of the care of Pastors no part of their Office is more useful or rewards their Labours with better success than that Their endeavours to mend those who are come to Age are for the most part to little purpose but what they do for Children â—s of great benefit If therefore they have a Zeal for the Glory of God and if they wish to see a change in the face of the Church let them apply themselves to the instructing of youth and make it their Business to form a New Gneration Among the particular Establishments which might be made for the edification of the Church and the benefit of young People there is one which would be of great use and which seems to me absolutely necessary And that is that with relation to Children who have attained the Age of discretion the same order should be observed for their admission to the Sacrament which was practised in the Primitive Church when Catechumens were to be received into the Church by Baptism This admission was very solemn A long Probation and Instruction went before it The Catechumens were required to give an account of their Faith and the bound themselves by solemn Promises and Vows to renounce the World and to live Holy No such thing is done at this day in the Administration of Baptism because young Children are baptized but what is not done at the time of Baptism should be done when they come to Years of discretion And truly if there be not a publick and solemn Profession a Promise in due form on the Children's part I do not see how we can well answer what is objected by some against Infant-Baptism which yet is a good and laudable Practice A Man cannot be obliged to profess the Christian Religion against his will or without his knowledge This engagement is a personal thing is which every bold should act and answer for himself When Children are baptized they know nothing of what is done to them it is there fore absolutely necessary that when they come to the years of Reason they should ratify and confirm the Engagements they came under by their Baptism and that they should become Members of the Church out of Knowledge and Choice Now the fittest time for such a Confirmation and Promise is when they are admitted to the participation of the Holy Sacrament The Order then which I mean is this First that when Children desire to be admitted to the Sacrament they should be instructed for some Weeks before and that at the same time they should be informed of the Sacredness and importance of this Action and of the Promise they are to make that so they might prepare for it betimes In the next Place that they should be examined and that they should publickly render an account of their Faith This Examination being over that they should be required to renew and confirm in a publick and solemn Manner their Baptismal Vow to renounce the Devil and his Works the World and the Pomp of it the Flesh and its Lusts and to promise that they will live and die in the Christian Faith And then that they should be admitted to the Communion by Benediction and Prayers It will no doubt seem to some that I am here proposing a Novelty and that too not very necessary that there is no occasion for all this Solemnity that it is enough to examine and exhort Children in private and that this Confirmation of the Baptismal Vow is included and supposed in the admission to the Sacrament To this I say that the order I propose will be thought a Novelty by none but such as do not know what was anciently practised and who call Innovation every thing which does not agree with the Custom of their Country or their Church This is an imitation of the Ancient and the Apostolical Order and besides this Establishment being altogether sutable to the Nature of the Christian Religion as I have just now made it appear it ought not to be rejected As for what is said that it is sufficient if Children are examined and admitted in Private I answer that the Corruption of the Age we live in is so great that in many Churches this Admission and the Examination which precedes it is but three or four hours Work and sometimes less Pastors and those to whom this Function is committed do often go about it very negligently they content themselves with some Questions which for the most part relate only to Doctrine and Controversy the address to Chidren general exhortations to Piety but they take no care to instruct them in Morals or to examine their Conduct they do not require of them an express Ratification of the Baptismal Vow I know there are Pastors who do their Duty but the best thing would be to have this Form of Examination and Admission regulated in such a manner that it might not be in the Breast of every Minister to do in this Matter as he thinks fit And that all this might be done the more orderly it would be fitting that according to the Practice of the Primitive Church some Persons should be appointed on Purpose to instruct Young People and Catechumens What Care soever may be taken of Children and whatever may be done for them in private Instructions it is certain that publick and solemn Exhortations on the one hand and Promises on the other would make a much greater Impression upon them They would then look upon their Admission with Respect they would remember it all their Lives and this Solemnity would prove as useful and edifying to the whole Church as it would be to young People I offer this with the greater Confidence because an Order like this has been setled of late in some Churches and is there observed