*The _first temper_ that we try to awaken in children, is _pride_;
as dangerous a passion as that of _lust_. We stir them up to vain
thoughts of themselves, and do every thing we can, to puff up their
minds with a sense of their own abilities.
*Whatever way of life we intend them for, we apply to the _fire_ and
_vanity_ of their minds, and exhort them to every thing from corrupt
motives: we stir them up to action from principles of _strife_ and
_ambition_, from _glory_, _envy_, and a desire of distinction, that
they may excel others, and shine in the eyes of the world.
And when we have taught them to scorn to be outdone by any, to bear no
_rival_, to thirst after _every instance_ of applause, to be content
with nothing but the highest distinctions; then we begin to take
comfort in them, and promise the world some mighty things from youths
of such a glorious spirit.
If children are intended for _holy orders_, we set before them some
eminent _oratory_ whose _fine_ preaching has made him the _admiration_
of the age, and carried him through all the _dignities_ and
_preferments_ of the church.
We encourage them to have these _honours_ in their eye, and to expect
the reward of their studies from them.
If the youth is intended for a _trade_, we bid him look at the rich
men in the _same trade_, and consider how many now are carried in
their _stately coaches_, who began in the same low degree as he now
does. We awaken his ambition, and endeavour to give his mind a _right
turn_, by often telling him how rich such and such a tradesman died.
If he is to be a lawyer, then we set great _counsellors_, _lords_,
_judges_, and _chancellors_, before his eyes. We tell him what great
fees, and great _applause_ attend fine pleading. We exhort him to take
fire at these things to raise a spirit of emulation in himself, and to
be content with nothing less than the highest honours of the _long
robe_.
6. That this is the nature of our _best education_, is too plain to
need any proof; and I believe there are few parents, but would be glad
to see these instructions daily given to their children.
And after all this, we complain of the effects of pride; we wonder
to see _grown men_ acted and governed by _ambition_, _envy_, _scorn_,
and a desire of glory; not considering that they were all the time of
their youth called upon to form all their action and industry upon the
same principles.
You teach a child to _scorn_ to be outdone, to thirst for
_distinction_ and _applause_; and is it any wonder that he continues
to act all his life in the same manner?
*Now if a youth is ever to be so far a Christian, as to govern his
heart by the _doctrines_ of humility, I would fain know at _what time_
he is to begin it; or, if he is _ever_ to begin it at all, why we
train him up in tempers quite contrary to it?
How _dry_ and _poor_ must the doctrine of humility sound to a youth,
that has been spurred up to all his industry by _ambition_, _envy_,
_emulation_, and a desire of _glory_ and _distinction_? And if he is
not to act by these _principles_ when he is a _man_, why do we call
him to act by them in his _youth_?
_Envy_ is acknowledged by all people to be the most _ungenerous_,
_base_ and _wicked_ passion, that can enter into the heart of man.
And is this the temper to be instilled, nourished and established in
the minds of young people?
7. I know it is said, that it is not _envy_, but _emulation_, that is
intended to be awakened in the minds of young men.
*But this is vainly said. For when children are taught to bear no
_rival_, and to _scorn_ to be outdone by any of their age, they are
plainly and directly taught to be _envious_. For it is impossible
for any one to have this _scorn_ to be outdone, this contention with
_rivals_, without burning with _envy_ against all those that seem to
excel him, or get any distinction from him. So that what children are
taught, is _rank envy_, and only covered with a name of a less odious
sound.
*_Secondly_, If _envy_ is thus confessedly bad, and it be only
_emulation_ that is endeavoured to be awakened in children, surely
there ought to be _great_ care taken, that children may know the one
from the other; that they may abominate one as a great _crime_, whilst
they give the other admission into their minds.
But if this were to be attempted, the _fineness_ of the distinction
betwixt envy and emulation, would shew that it was easier to divide
them in words, than to separate them in action.
For _emulation_, when it is defined in its best manner, is nothing
else but a _refinement_ upon envy, or rather the most _plausible part_
of that black and venomous passion.
And though it is easy to separate them in the _notion_, yet the most
_acute philosopher_, that understands the art of distinguishing ever
so well, if he gives himself up to _emulation_, will certainly find
himself _deep_ in _envy_.
8. It is said also, that ambition, and a desire of glory, are
necessary to excite young people to industry; and that if we were to
press upon them the doctrines of humility, we should deject the minds,
and sink them into _dullness_ and _idleness_.
But these people who say this, don’t consider, that this reason, if it
has any strength, is full as strong against pressing the doctrines of
humility upon _grown men_, lest we should deject their minds, and sink
them into dullness and idleness.
This reason therefore that is given, why children should not be
trained up in the principles of true humility, is as good a reason why
the same humility should never be required of grown men.
Again, let those people, who think that children would be spoiled, if
they were not thus educated, consider this.
*Could they think, that if any children had been educated by our
blessed Lord, or his holy apostles, their minds would have been sunk
into dullness and idleness?
*Or could they think, that such children would not have been trained
up in the profoundest principles of humility? Can they say that our
blessed Lord, who was the humblest man that ever was on earth, was
hindered by his humility from being the greatest example of worthy and
glorious actions, that ever were done by man?
Can they say that his apostles, who lived in the humble spirit
of their Master, did therefore cease to be laborious and active
instruments of doing good to all the world?
A few such reflections as these, are sufficient to expose all the poor
pretences for an education in pride and ambition.
9. *_Paternus_ lived about _two hundred_ years ago; he had but one
son, whom he educated himself in his own house. As they were sitting
together in the garden, when the child was _ten years_ old, _Paternus_
thus began to him.
The little time that you have been in the world, my child, you have
spent wholly with me: and my love and tenderness to you, has made
you look upon me as your only friend and benefactor, and the cause of
all the comfort and pleasure you enjoy: your heart, I know, would be
ready to break with grief, if you thought this was the last day that
I should live with you.
But, my child, tho’ you now think yourself mighty happy, because you
have hold of my hand, you are now in the hands, and under the tender
care of a much greater father and friend than I am, whose love to you
is far greater than mine, and from whom you receive such blessings as
no mortal can give.
That God whom you have seen me daily worship; whom I daily call upon
to bless both you and me, and all mankind; whose wondrous acts are
recorded in those scriptures which you constantly read. That God who
created the heavens and the earth; who brought a flood upon the old
world; who saved _Noah_ in the ark; who was the God of _Abraham_,
_Isaac_, and _Jacob_; whom _Job_ blessed and praised in the greatest
afflictions; who delivered the _Israelites_ out of the hands of the
_Egyptians_; who was the protector of righteous _Joseph_, _Moses_,
_Joshua_, and holy _Daniel_; who sent so many prophets into the world;
who sent his Son Jesus Christ to redeem mankind. This God, who has
done all these great things; who has created so many millions of men;
who lived and died before you was born, with whom the spirits of good
men that are departed this life, now live; whom infinite numbers of
angels now worship in heaven. This great God, who is the Creator of
worlds, of angels, and men, is your loving Father and Friend, your
good Creator and Nourisher, from whom, and not from me, you received
your being ten years ago, at the time that I planted that little,
tender _elm_ which you there see.
10. I myself am not half the age of this _shady oak_, under which we
sit; many of our fathers have sat under its boughs; we have all of us
called it ours in our turn, though it stands, and drops its _masters_,
as it drops its _leaves_.
You see, my son, this wide and large _firmament_ over our heads, where
the _sun_ and _moon_, and all the _stars_ appear in their turns. If
you was to be carried up to any of these bodies at this vast distance
from us, you would still discover others as much above you, as the
_stars_ that you see here are above the _earth_. Were you to go up or
down, _east_ or _west_, _north_ or _south_, you would find the same
height without any _top_, and the same depth without any _bottom_.
And yet, my child, so great is God, that all these bodies added
together, are but as a _grain_ of sand in his sight. And yet you are
as much the care of this great God, and Father of all _worlds_, and
all _spirits_, as if he had no son but you, or there were no creature
for him to love and protect but you alone. He numbers the _hairs_ of
your head, watches over you sleeping and waking, and has preserved you
from a thousand dangers, which neither you nor I know ♦any thing of.
♦ duplicate word ‘any’ removed
11. How poor my power is, and how little I am able to do for you, you
have often seen. Your late _sickness_ has shewn you how little I could
do for you in that state; and the frequent pains of your head, are
plain proofs, that I have no power to remove them.
I can bring you _food_ and _medicines_, but have no power to turn them
into your relief and nourishment; it is God alone that can do this for
you.
Therefore, my child, fear, and worship, and love God. Your eyes indeed
cannot yet see him, but every thing you see, are so many marks of his
power and presence, and he is nearer to you than any thing that you
can see.
Take him for your _Lord_, and _Father_, and _Friend_; look up unto
him as the fountain and cause of all the good that you have received
through my hands; and reverence me only as the _bearer_ and _minister_
of God’s good things unto you; and he that blessed my Father before I
was born, will bless you when I am dead.
Your youth and little mind is only yet acquainted with my family, and
therefore you think there is no happiness out of it.
But, my child, you belong to a greater family than mine; you are a
younger member of the family of this Almighty Father of all nations,
who has created infinite orders of angels, and numberless generations
of men, to be fellow-members of one and the same society in heaven.
12. You do well to reverence my authority, because God has given me
power over you, to bring you up in his fear, and to do for you, as the
holy fathers recorded in scripture did for their children, who are now
in rest and peace with God.
I shall in a short time die, and leave you to God and yourself; and
if God forgiveth my sins, I shall go to his Son Jesus Christ, and live
amongst patriarchs and prophets, saints and martyrs, where I shall
pray for you, and hope for your safe arrival at the same place.
Therefore, my child, meditate on these great things, and let your
thoughts often leave these _gardens_, these _fields_ and _farms_, to
contemplate God and heaven, to consider angels, and the spirits of
good men living in light and glory.
As you have been used to look to me in all your actions, and have been
afraid to do any thing, unless you first knew my will; so let it now
be your rule to look up to God in all your actions, to do every thing
in his fear, and to abstain from every thing that is not according to
his will.
Bear him always in your mind; teach your thoughts to reverence him in
every place; for there is no place where he is not.
13. God keepeth a _book_ of life, wherein all the actions of all men
are written; your name is there, my child; and when you die, this book
will be laid open before men and angels; and according as your actions
are there found, you will either be received to the happiness of those
holy men who have died before you, or be turned away among wicked
spirits, that are never to see God any more.
Never forget this book, my son; for it is written, it must be opened,
you must see it, and you must be tried by it. Strive therefore to fill
it with your good deeds, that the hand-writing of God may not appear
against you.
God, my child, is all _love_ and _wisdom_, and _goodness_; and every
thing that he has made, and every action that he does, is the effect
of them all. Therefore you cannot please God, but so far as you
strive to walk in love, wisdom and goodness. As all wisdom, love, and
goodness proceeds from God; so nothing but love, wisdom, and goodness
can lead to God.
When you love that which God loves, you act with him, you join
yourself to him; and when you love what he dislikes, then you oppose
him, and separate yourself from him. This is the true and the right
way; think what God loves, and do you love it with all your heart.
14. First of all, my child, worship and adore God, think of him
magnificently, speak of him reverently, magnify his providence, adore
his power, frequent his service, and pray unto him constantly.
Next to this, love your neighbour, which is all mankind, with such
tenderness and affection as you love yourself. Think how God loves
all mankind, how merciful he is to them, how tender he is of them, how
carefully he preserves them, and then strive to love the world as God
loves it.
God would have all men to be happy, therefore do you _will_ and desire
the same. All men are great instances of divine love, therefore let
all men be instances of your love.
But above all, my son, mark this: never do any thing through strife,
or envy, or emulation, or vain-glory. Never do any thing in order to
excel other people, but in order to please God, and because it is his
will, that you should do every thing in the best manner that you can.
For if it is once a pleasure to you to excel other people, it will
by degrees be a pleasure to you, to see other people not so good as
yourself.
Banish therefore every thought of _pride_ and _distinction_,
and accustom yourself to rejoice in all the excellencies of your
fellow-creatures, and be as glad to see any of their good actions as
your own.
For as God is well pleased with their well-doings, as with yours; so
you ought to desire, that every thing that is wise, and holy, and good,
may be performed in as high a manner by other people, as by yourself.
15. Let this therefore be your only motive to all good actions, to do
every thing in as perfect a manner as you can; for this only reason,
because it is pleasing to God, who writes all your actions in a book.
When I am dead, my son, you will be master of all my estate, which
will be a great deal more than the necessities of one family require.
Therefore, as you are to be charitable to the souls of men, and wish
them the same happiness with you in heaven; so be charitable to their
bodies, and endeavour to make them as happy as you upon earth.
As God has created all things for the common good of all men; so let
that part of them, which is fallen to your share, be employed, as God
would have all employed, for the common good of all.
Do good, my son, first of all to those that most deserve it, but
remember to do good to all. The greatest sinners receive daily
instances of God’s goodness towards them; he nourishes and preserves
them, that they may repent, and return to him; do you therefore
imitate God, and think no one too bad to receive your relief and
kindness, when you see that he wants it.
16. I am teaching you _Latin_ and _Greek_, not that you should desire
to be a great _critic_, a fine _poet_, or an eloquent _orator_. I
would not have your heart feel any of these desires; for the desire of
these accomplishments is vanity, and the masters of them are generally
vain men.
But I teach you these languages, that at proper times you may
look into the history of past ages, and learn the methods of God’s
providence over the world: that reading the writings ♦of the ancient
sages, you may see how wisdom and virtue have been the praise of great
men of all ages.
♦ duplicate word removed ‘of’
Let truth and plainness be the only ornament of your language, and
study nothing but how to think of all things as they deserve, to chuse
every thing that is best, to live according to reason, and to act in
every part of your life in conformity to the will of God.
Study how to fill your heart full of the love of God, and the love
of your neighbour, and then be content to be no deeper a scholar, no
finer a gentleman, than these tempers will make you. As true religion
is nothing else but simple nature governed by right reason; so it
loves and requires great plainness and simplicity of life. Therefore
avoid all superfluous shews, finery, and equipage, and let your house
be plainly furnished with moderate conveniences. Don’t consider what
your estate can afford, but what right reason requires.
17. Let your _dress_ be sober, clean, and modest; not to set out the
beauty of your person, but to declare the sobriety of your mind, that
your outward garb may resemble the plainness of your heart. For it is
highly reasonable, that you should be _one man_, all of a piece, and
appear outwardly such as you are inwardly.
As to your _meat_ and _drink_, in them observe the _highest rules_
of Christian temperance and sobriety: consider your body only as the
servant of your soul; and only so nourish it, that it may perform an
humble and obedient service to it.
But, my son, observe this as a principal thing, which I shall remember
you of as long as I live.
Hate and despise all _human glory_, for it is nothing else but human
folly. It is the greatest _snare_, and the greatest _betrayer_ that
you can possibly admit into your heart.
Let every day therefore be a day of humility; condescend to all the
infirmities of your fellow-creatures, cover their frailties, love
their excellencies, encourage their virtues, relieve their wants,
rejoice in their prosperities, compassionate their distress, receive
their friendship, overlook their unkindness, forgive their malice,
be a servant of servants, and condescend to do the lowest offices to
the lowest of mankind.
18. *Aspire after nothing but your own purity and perfection, and have
no ambition but to do every thing in so religious a manner, that you
may be glad God is every where present, and sees all your actions. The
greatest trial of humility, is an humble behaviour towards your equals
in _age_, _estate_, and _condition_. Therefore be careful of all the
motions of your heart towards these people. Let all your behaviour
towards them be governed by unfeigned love. Have no desire to put
any of your equals below you, nor any anger at those that would put
themselves above you, if they are proud, they are ill of a very bad
distemper; let them therefore have your tender pity, and perhaps your
meekness may prove an occasion of their cure; but if your humility
should do them no good, it will however be the greatest good to
yourself.
Remember that there is but one man in the world, with whom you are to
have perpetual contention, and be always striving to excel him, and
that is yourself.
The time of practising these precepts, my child, will soon be over
with you; the world will soon slip thro’ your hands, or rather you
will soon slip thro’ it; it seems but the other day since I received
these instructions from my dear father, that I am now leaving with you.
And the God that gave me ears to hear, and a heart to receive what my
father said unto me, will, I hope, give you grace to love and follow
the same instructions.