Vice, and Difobedience, in Pride, Lying, Luft, Idleness, or keeping ill Company, at the Peril of their own Souls and Bodies; that may imprint upon their pliant Hearts, a becoming Modefty, and Humiliation of Spirit, which is the only Prefervative againft fuch juvenile Contagions, or Corruptions of Virtue: 4thly, By infafing into their Virgin-minds, the purest Precepts of Prudence and Piety, how to avoid Luxury, Delicateness, or Superfluity in Expences; ill Language, moral Turpitude, or Prophaneness in Difcourfe; and uncivil Choler, unmannerly Paffion, or Impatience in Converfation, whereby their Behaviour may be deem'd not only difhoneft, and difagreeable, but also difingenuous and difhonourable, according to the Rules of good Breeding: 5thly, By fetting before their Eyes the good and bad Examples, of Virtue and Vice, in reading true Hiftories, that they may learn how to follow the Former, and forfake the Latter, for their own Welfare, Profperity, or Prefervation; as the old Romans us'd to fing the famous Exploits of their Ancestors at Feafts, for the better Imitation of their Touth: And, Laftly, by informing their youthful Understandings, in giving them the best Lessons of Industry, Diferetion and Frugality, how their Bodies were naturally form'd for Labour, as well as fram'd for Pleafure; that they may thereby, willingly undertake fome profitable Employment, of getting an honest Livelihood, and making their own regular Lives happy to Pofterity. Admonition, in like Manner, is as indifpenfably neceffary, for the better Institution of Youth. Youth is active, vehement, and vigorous; but very apt to ftumble at the Threshold of Virtue, for Want of good Advice. They are giddy-brain'd and for getful,

getful, and must be often told of their Duty. Their Memories are treacherous, and have the greatest Need of Repetitions. The glorious Steps of their Predeceffors should be throughly inculcated, to make them tread in their Paths. Promifes are likewife proper Motives, for the Ap plication of their Minds to Learning. They are the most powerful, and perfwafive Arguments to Goodness. Nothing draws Youth more to the Study of Glory, than Commendation. The Bible abounds with fuch Encouragements of Wifdom, and Well-doing. God Himself promifes eternal Life and Happiness, for the Reward of their Perfeverance in Juftice, Uprightness, and Integrity. Horace preffes a young Man to go on with Joy whither Virtue leads the Van, and he fhall reap the great Advantage of his induftrious Deferts. Plautus alfo ftipulates the fame extraordinary Recompence of his Labour, and Lucubrations. Praifes, and Threatnings alfo, in fine, are to be difcreetly made Ufe of in the Education of Children, either as a TerFour to Evil, or a Titillation to good Works. Children expect to be commended when they do well, as an Encouragement of doing and deferving better. Ovid obferves, that Glory gives Vigour to the Mind, and the Love of Praise makes the Heart refolutely ready to undertake Wonders. Quintilian advises, that industrious Touth may be exceedingly praised for their laudable Improvements, and the Slothful, ignominiously disprais'd, for their fordid Negligence or Obftinacy. And if Menaces will not make them amend their Lives, nor Threats induce them to put in Practice, the good Admonitions that are given them; why then good Difcipline, difcreet Correction, or feverer Chastisement,

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must be exercis'd, to reform their disingenuous Childhood. To this Purpose, Plutarch lays down the Hope of Reward, and Fear of Punishment, as the Two great Elements of Honour in their tender Age, and the fure Foundation of future Honefty. This is the best Method Parents can take of making Provifion betimes, by a virtuous Education, for the wifer Maintenance of their Pofterity.

I. WELL may the Children of this virtuous Wife, therefore, call her Blessed, with mutual Affection, as well as Truth. She is highly bleft with fuch a dutiful Offspring; and they no lefs, with fo incomparable a Parent. Both are fufficiently happy in the reciprocal Satisfactions of their Love, Tenderness, and Obedience. Their Injoyments are all of a Piece, uninterrupted by any Offence, either justly given, or fairly taken, to disturb their Peace and Complacency. Nothing can interfere, or clash with the Performance of their bounden Duties, and relative Obligations. There are no finifter Paffions, or Partialities on the Mother's Side, to provoke her Children to a pettish Humour, and irritate them to Heart-burnings, or to breed ill Blood in the Family. There are no peevish Mutterings, or Murmurings of Unwillingness on the Part of the Children in doing their Duty, either to incenfe their Mother's Anger, ruffle her Repofe, or exafperate her Temper. They - contend only, who fhall deserve the best by their good Offices, in their respective Stations: whether the prudent Mother, by her Love, and Care of her Children; or the pious Children, by their Honour, and Dutifulness to their Mother; who bare them, and brought them up with fo much Grace, Favour, or Indulgence, out of

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fiatural Gratitude, both for their Birth and their Well-Being.

II. WELL may her Husband also praise her for the best of Conforts; the most affectionate, obedient, and obliging; free from all wilful Obftinacy, and Stubbornness of Mind; never impatient of her facred Duty, and folemn 0bligation but always fubmiffively acquiefcing with his Defires, or Demands, how difagreeable foever to her own Humour; if not repugnant to the positive Commands of God Almighty's diviner Laws. He extols her Fidelity, with the greatest Reason, not only as the most chaft, continent, and conftant Friend to his Bed, or an utter Enemy to all strange Embraces, and Abandoner of Foreign Views; but alfo, as the most juft, trufty, and ingenuous Manager of his worldly Affairs, or the trueft Dealer for his Domeftick Advantage; without either misapplying his Goods to forbidden Uses, or mifemploying his Money to unlawful Ends. In short, he applauds her Love, with the greateft Gratitude, for her kind, affable, and courteous Converfation, as well as other good Offices of Help, Affiftance, and Confolation, in all the providential Conditions of humane Life; whether in Health or Sickness, Wealth or Poverty, Poffeffion or Deprivation of Fortune and Estate. Her Affection is nevertheless unlimited; her Conftancy, immutable; and her Loving-kindness, next to Infinite. Infomuch that no Woman can better deferve the Praises of Matrimony, and the Panegyricks of the Pen, more than fhe does in the happy State of Wedlock.

DEGENERACY, or ill Manners, cannot be better prevented as a Curfe in Families,

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than by a faithful Performance of parental Du ties to Children, in all Points of Affection. The Care of nursing, nourishing, and sustaining their Bodies from their Birth, is a natural Obligation; as the very Brutes fhew, by providing ingenuously for their tender Young, till they can fhift for themselves fecurely Abroad. The Care of cultivating their Souls from their Infancy, is of the highest Concern; by bringing them betimes to the blessed Sacrament of Salvation, for fear of their dying fuddenly, and lofing the Benefit, either of publick or private Baptifm: ẹfpecially, confidering their Breaths are gone in a Moment; and their Lives fo precarious at their Births, as not to be, almost as soon as they are born. The Care of inftructing their Minds, and educating their Perfons from their Childhood, is a facred Injunction; by feafoning their younger Years with found Principles of Religion, and folid Arguments of Virtue: for they are like new Veffels, that long retain the Scent, and Savour of the generous Liquor they firft imbibed with Nature, as true as the Poet, or the Proverb affirms it; and Goodness that is bred in the Bone, will never become a Vice in the Flesh. But there are many other particular Duties Parents owe to their growing Children; in the exact Difcharge of which, they may grofsly fail, and be egregionfly deficient. As, in that of giving fuitable Encouragements, and neceffary Corrections with Moderation; not to be too harsh, or Auftere with them; and yet not fo gentle or remifs, as to spare the Rod, to the spoiling of the froward Child: That, of watching over their Welfare, when they are grown-up, past the Age of Education, and exhorting them to Perfeverance, in the Practice of those wholefome Pre

cepts