a scandal to them and may hinder them from loving and following truth make them to know that there is none but God alone to whom we owe an entire submission and without any condition that there are no persons no estates no dignity no profession in this life which we ought not to love with limitation and that thus they owe you neither Obedience nor Complacency in such things as would be contrary to the Law of God Repeat often and explicate unto them these words of our Lord If any one comes to me and hates not his Father and his Mother and his Wife and his Brothers and his Sisters and moreover even his own life he cannot be my Disciple Luk. 14.20 Whereupon St. S. Hilary upon the words of the 118. Psal Iniquos odio habui Hilary says these admirable words This discourse of Christ Jesus appears harsh and it seems to be a rude and insupportable precept to force and engage one to a kinde of impiety towards Fathers and Mothers as to the highest degree of Christian perfection yet God commands in this nothing that is harsh nothing that is not well beseeming his goodness nothing that is contrary to his other Commandements And Fathers and Mothers cannot be offended that he thus ordains us to hate them although we owe to them in that quality much tenderness and affection since it is also enjoyned us to hate our selves Christ Jesus knew that there are many Fathers and many Mothers who have such an inconsiderate love for their children that when they see them persevere in the glory of Martyrdom they conjure them to yeild to the times they entreat them to change their opinions and they employ to weaken them the motives of a Piety which is altogether irregular Thus the Hatred says this great Saint which Children then conceive against their Fathers and Mothers is honourable and it is just and advantagious to hate them who strive to divert us from the love of Christ Jesus Avoid therefore my Sister the fault which this Saint reprehends in Parents and from which they finde much difficulty to defend themselves unless they have a zeal altogether sincere and disinteressed for their Children Imitate those Parents of the first ages of the Church who never made shew of greater joy than when they saw their children ready to be sacrificed for the defence of Truth and for the cause of Christ Jesus Reade I pray you the Lives of Saints and the History of the Church and you will see a great number of these Examples of Constancy You shall there meet with a holy Mother nam'd Theodora who after she had encouraged her eldest Son to suffer constantly such miseries as they forced him to undergo for the Faith and had exhorted him with much ardour to consider that he should purchase by these soon-passing torments an eternal happiness she her self was thrown into the Fire with this her dear Son and two other of her Children You shall there see a holy Mother who having a son called Meliton among the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste Meliton one of the 40. Mart. who had been exposed stark-naked in a frozen Pond in the greatest rigour of Winter and in a Country where cold was in extremity and who beholding that although they had broken his Legs as they had done them of his companions who expired in that last torment he was nevertheless yet alive contented not her self to exhort him to perseverance but having observed how they hurried away upon Carts the Bodies of the other Martyrs to bring them to a prepared Wood-Pile where they were to be burnt to ashes and that they left her son behinde in hopes to induce him to adore the Idols and to make him renounce Christ Jesus she took him upon her shoulders to carry him her self all alive as he was to his companions But this blessed childe dying in his dear Mothers arms in the way thither she nevertheless marched on with her now dead burden till she came to the burning pile of wood into which she cast the Body of this Blessed Martyr that he might have the glory to be consumed by the fire for the interests of Christ Jesus as were the Bodies of the other Martyrs which had been before thrown into it You shall there see a Dame of qualitie named Dionysia whose example according to the relation of an Affrican Bishop called Victor who writ the History of the Martyrs of the Church of Affrick Victor Affric l. 3. c. 1. persecuted by the Wandales was the cause of the salvation of almost all her Countrey You shall there see that this generous Woman perceiving that her only Son by name Majoricus who was very delicate and very young began to tremble at the apprehension of the torments which she endured darted upon him such piercing looks and employed so forcibly her maternal authority to reprehend him that she rendred him even more valiant than her self insomuch as this young Champion fought Faiths battel with joy and remaining victorious over his torments and over death gathered the Palm of Martyrdom After he had breathed forth his blessed Soul the noble Mother having embraced him as a holy Sacrifice which she had offered to God and to which she ardently wished to be for evermore united carried him home caused him to be buried in her house and poured forth her Prayers almost continually over his Sepulchre How heroick Sister are these Actions and how pure and disinteressed was the charity which produced them What zeal courage and constancy appeared therein And how well did these Mothers know what love they should bestow on their children since they used not the authority they had over them but only to encourage them to confess Christ Jesus and not to be ashamed of the Gospel But because according to the observation of a holy Father the Discourses one makes use of to excite to Virtue S. Chry. ho. 20. super Ephes carry with them I know not what kinde of repulse for them to whom they are addressed and with whatever sweetness one seasons them they still cause a sadness and a dejection in their spirits therefore Sister you may make use of another means than that of Words to instruct them and you may handsomely gain that of them by Lecture which the fear of tiring them caused you to smother in silence and not to inculate unto them by Discourse The Second Means Lecture or Reading CAuse your children to reade the History of the holy Scripture the New Testament the Acts and the Epistles of the Apostles St. Gregory of Nisse Brother of St. Basil the Great in a letter wherein he describes the Life of St. Macrina his Sister speaking of the manner how her Mother educated her says That she took extreme care to have her instructed not adds he as they ordinarily instruct them of that age by explicating unto them the Fables of Poets For she conceived that that was to act against the shamefacedness
THE Christian Education OF CHILDREN According To the Maxims of the Sacred Scripture and the Instructions of the Fathers of the Church Written and several times Printed in French and now Translated into English At Paris By John Baptist Coignard at the Golden Bible in S. James's-street 1678. With Approbation THE Authours Address TO HIS SISTER My Dearest Sister SInce God would so have it that I should partake with you of the goods of Nature and that our common Birth permits us not to have any thing of Particular in the advantages of the World I hope he will please to accept the desire I have to extend this right to the Goods of Grace and that he will approve-of my making you partaker of what I could gather in the Books of the Church whereby I have reserved nothing from a person whom he hath rendred so dear unto me Nor can I believe that the World it self notwithstanding that it is accustomed to disapprove the doings of them who have abandoned it can condemn this For if people take it not amiss that such as love one another by motives of Interest and for the Goods of this life should make use of these Goods to give pledges of their love to one another why should it be any wonder that they who are linked together by a friendship which is totally disengaged from the Senses should employ Spiritual things to testify reciprocally to each other their true affection Imagine not therefore my Sister that this Book is the effect barely of a natural Love which gives me entrance into all your Interests I am excited to write unto you by more holy and more powerful motives it is no longer lawful for me to act meerly by them of Nature And having drained all that this Work includes from the Well of the Sacred Scripture and from the Writings of the Fathers of the Church I may assure you that I have the least share therein You therefore are not to make any Reflection upon him who presents it unto you but apply it to your self singly for the enriching of your Soul with the Virtues which are here discovered unto you and which God demands of a Christian Mother Consider that you can give him no greater proofs of your Love and of your Fidelity than to bring up your Children according to the Laws of the Gospel and the Counsels of the Fathers of the Church and that you cannot offer to him a sacrifice which will better please him than to consecrate them to him by a holy Education since they are the better part of your self nor is there any thing which can more move him to pour forth upon you and upon them his blessings than the care you shall take to instruct them in his Fear and in his Love and to let all the World see by engaging them to imitate their Heavenly Father that you look upon them as his Children 'T is to help you in this laudable designe that I have begged of our Lord Jesus Christ so much light as was necessary for me to observe in the sacred Scriptures and in the Volumes of the Fathers of the Church those Maxims which ought to be followed in the Education of children that I have instantly besought him to inspire me with such choice Advices as he would have me draw from thence to propose them to you if he would please to make use of me altogether unworthy as I am to give you the knowledge of what your children stand in need of and of his designs upon you and upon them Consider then if you please this little Work as a Collection of what is most holy and most pure in the Doctrine of the Church touching the Subject it treats on I have done no more than joyn the passages to one another And if there are some Propositions the Authours whereof are not cited it is because they were included in the Principles which I have established upon the authorities of these great Saints Nothing now remains but to send up to God my Prayers that what I have done to discharge my Conscience may not make yours criminal but rather that he will effect by his Grace that by putting in practise these wholsome Maxims and Advices which I offer you you may happily experience that which St. Jerome avers That the health and happiness of Children turns to the Glory and to the Advantage of their Fathers and Mothers THE Authours Advice TO THE READER THis Treatise of the Christian Education of Children was Composed Eight or Nine Years since by a Church-man for one of his Sisters who was engaged in Marriage He only proposed to himself in composing it to assist that person in particular and to instruct her how she should worthily acquit her self in one of the principal Obligations of the estate to which God had called her which was to bring up her Children in the Fear and love of God But in process of time this Treatise having been seen by several of his Freinds who judged it very proper to be made publick the Respect and Submission he had to their Opinion obliged him to apply himself to render it fit for all Parents Hereupon he added several Advices and many Maxims which he conceived might be to them profitable and in general he endeavoured to accomodate to all sorts of conditions and to all manner of persons whatever is herein contained He hath moreover studied to present to all Fathers and to all Mothers certain Rules which they may observe in the several ages of their Children and it may be said That if they apply themselves as they ought to the Truths proposed to them in this Book they shall finde all that can contribute to render their Childrens Education conformable to the Rules of the Gospel They who are not yet engaged in Marriage may here also learn with what spirit they ought to undertake that State of life and how great difficult and sublime are the Obligations thereof They who have renounced the State of Marriage to embrace that of Religion may here finde great subjects to praise God in that he hath not permitted them to enter into a condition wherein it is so hard to acquit themselves of their duty Finally all they who are encharged with the Education of Children and who consequently do hold the Places of Fathers and of Mothers over them shall here sinde the lights and succours which are necessary to acquit themselves as they ought Some perhaps will judge that we have too much descended into particulars in some places but the Authour conceived that his designe being to prescribe Rules not of Speculation but of Practise he could not enter too far into the particulars and that he himself ought to make some application of the Maxims he proposes to the end they might more easily be reduced into Practise by such as have a minde to follow them in the conduct of their Family It is to be hoped that God will bestow his blessing upon this
of the soul But verses which are animated with the modulation charm the soul with their sweetness they get possession of the spirit of the hearer and push him on with violence whither they please they perswade him to all that which they make him fancy is agreeable and they almost surprize him and entirely master his will whilst they flatter his senses You ought not then concludes this Authour conceive any thing to be sweet to your ears but that which nourishes your soul and renders it better and you should particularly apply your self to avert that Organ from vice which is given us by God to hear his truth and to receive his doctrine If you take delight in singing and in Poetry please your selves in warbling forth the prayses of God There is no true pleasure but that which is evermore accompanied with virtue Behold my Sister what you are timely to instill into your Children never suffer any thing to be done or spoken in their presence which is in the least wise unbeseeming the modesty the prudence and the charity which is due to your Neighbour whereof you make profession in quality of Christian S. Chrystost hom de ann Permit them not to hear effeminate and lascivious songs for fear lest they may prove to be an unhappy charm to mollify their soul and to make them lose all their vigour Endure not that the mouths which are to be one day sanctified by the celestial food of the Body of Christ Jesus be profaned by infamous songs and that the tongues which are to be dipped in the blood of our Saviour be employed in a language which is altogether corrupted Have evermore present to your spirit those excellent words of St. Paul Ephes 5.3 4 17 19. which includes the Rules of the conversation of the Faithful Let not fornication or any other impurity whatsoever be so much as once named among you Neither filthiness nor foolish talk nor jesting all which things are disagreeable to your vocation but rather words of thanksgiving to God Be not indiscreet but know how to discern what is the will of our Lord entertaining your selves with Psalms with Hymns and with spiritual Canticles singing and making melody from the bottom of your hearts to the glory of our Lord. Let all dishonest Words be banished from your mouth Let the word of Christ Jesus dwell in you with fulness and replenish you with Wisdom Instruct and admonish one another with Psalms with Hymns and with Spiritual Canticles Thus you see by these words of the Apostle that Christians are not permitted to speak the least word not only which is dishonest but even which is not serious or which hath in it any thing of jesting so far is he from suffering them to make such things all their joy and divertisement and that if they sing S. Augustin l. 10. confes c. 33. it must be Psalms Hymns and spiritual Canticles that so by the pleasure which touches the ears the spirit yet weak may raise up it self to feelings of piety and that being more ardently moved to devotion by the tunes animated with Divine words it may receive with more respect and sweetness the verities there included and employ it self therein more profitably Parents who will not endeavour to follow these Apostolical Rules in the education of their Children and who have not absolutely forbidden them these corrupted songs will be found by so much the more culpable before God by how much it is more easy for them in this age to hinder them from it since there are many persons of piety who have successfully laboured in putting into Verse the Psalms the Hymns and the Canticles of the Church that there are many who have composed spiritual songs which are very sweet pleasing and that they have set these Psalms these Hymns and these spiritual songs to very harmonious tunes and airs which by recreating the spirit raise it to God and nourish piety in the soul 3. Advice Concerning Romances 'T Is not yet enough my Sister to watch over the tender years of your children to hinder them from learning accursed sonnets you must furthermore when they are more advanced in age and capable to apply themselves to reading keep carefully from them the Romances and other Books of that nature which only serve to instill the spirit of the world into their mindes and to ruine in them the spirit of Christ Jesus I cannot better make you comprehend the importance of this Advice then by relating to you the words of St. Teresa St. Teresa c. 2. of her life wherein you will see how dangerous it is for Mothers to indulge their children in this point and for themselves to take pleasure in these kinde of Lectures which charming the spirit by agreeable dotages corrupt the heart with real irregularities It seems to me says she that what I am going about to relate was to me very prejudiciall I consider sometimes the great evil done by Parents to their children in not endeavouring with all their authority to place continually before their eyes the objects of virtue For although my Mother was as virtuous as I now have declared her yet when I had attained the use of reason I remember very little and almost nothing at all of her good qualities whereas the bad ones which I observed in her did strangely hurt and dammage me She was delighted with the reading of Romances but this divertisement was not to her so dangerous as it was to me because she lost no more time than what she employed in reading them and that perhaps she did it only to untire her self from the wearisome cares of her family and to hinder her children from worse employments but as for me although my Father was so much against it that we were forced to take care he might not perceive it I ceased not to keep on my ordinary custom of reading these Books and how small soever this fault was in my Mother it failed not to cool my good desires and was the cause of my falling insensibly into other defects It seemed to me that it was not evil to lose many hours of the day and of the night in so vain an occupation although I hid my self from my Father and I was so enchanted with the extreame pleasure I took in it that methought I could not be content if I had not some new Romance in my hands I began to imitate the Mode to take delight in being well dressed to take great care of my hands to make use of the most excellent perfumes in a word to affect all the vain trimmings which my condition permitted and which my curiosity invented in a very great number Indeed my intention was not bad for I would not in the immoderate passion which I had to be decent give any occasion to any person of the world to offend God but I now acknowledge how far these things which during several years space appeared to me innocent are