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.