though it had never been taken care of this way. What the mind is intent upon, and careful of, that it remembers beft, and for the reafon above-mentioned: To which, if me. thod and order be joined, all is done, I think that can be, for the help of a weak memory; and he that will take any other way to do it, efpecially that of charging it with a train of other people's words, which he that learns cares not for, will, I guefs, fcarce find the profit anfwer half the time and pains employed in it.

I

What

I do not mean hereby, that there should be no exercise given to children's memories. think their memories (hould be employed, but not in learning by rote whole pages out of books, which, the lesson being once faid, and that talk over, are delivered up again to ob. livion, and neglected for ever. for ever. This mends neither the memory nor the mind. they should learn by heart out of authors, I have above mentioned: And fuch wife and ufeful fentences being once given in charge to their memories, they fhould never be fuffered to forget again, but be often called to an account for them; whereby, befides the ufe thofe fayings may be to them in their future life, as fo many good rules and obfervations, they will be taught to reflect often, and bethink themfelves what they have to remember, which is the only way to make the memory quick

quick and ufeful. The cuftom of frequent reflection will keep their minds from running adrift, and call their thoughts home from useless unattentive roving: And therefore, I think, it may do well, to give them fomething every day to remember, but fomething ftill, that is in itself worth the remembring, and what you would never have out of mind, whenever you call, or they themselves fearch for it. This will oblige them often to turn their thoughts inward, than which you cannot wish them a better intellectual habit.

S 177. But under whofe care fo Latin. ever a child is put, to be taught, du ring the tender and flexible years of his life, this is certain, it should be one, who thinks Latin and languages the leaft part of education; one who knowing how nuch virtue, and a well-tempered foul is to be preferred to any fort of learning or lanmakes it his chief bufinefs to form the guage, mind of his fcholars, and give that a right diffcfition; which, if once got, though all the reft fhould be neglected, would, in due time, produce all the reft: And which, if it be not got, and fettled, so as to keep out ill and vicious habits, languages and fciences, and all the other accomplishments of educati on, will be to no purpose, but to make the worfe, or more dangerous man. And indeed whatever flirthere is made about getting of La

tin, as the great and difficult bufinefs, his mother may teach it him herself, if he will but spend two or three hours in a day with. him, and make him read the evangelifts in Latin to her: For the need but buy a Latin teftament, and having got fomebody to mark the laft syllable but one, where it is long, in words above two fyllables, (which is enough to regulate her pronunciation, and accenting the words) read daily in the golpels, and then let her avoid understanding them in Latin if the And when the understands the evangelifts in Latin, let her in the fame manner read Æfop's fables, and fo proceed on to Eutropius, Juftin, and other fuch books. I do not mention this, as an imagination of what I fancy may do, but as of a thing I have known done, and the Latin tongue with ease got this way.

can.

But to return to what I was faying: He that takes on him the charge of bringing up young men, especially young gentlemen, fhould have fomething more in him than Latin, more than even a knowledge in the liberal fciences. He fhould be a perfon of eminent virtue and prudence, and with good fenfe, have good humour, and the fkill to carry himself with gravity, eafe and kindness, in a conftant convérfation with his pupils. But of this I have spoken at large in another place. $178. At the fame time that he is learning French, and Latin, a child, as has been faid, may

M 5

may also be entered in arithmetick, geography chronology, hiftory and geometry, too. Forif these be taught him in French or Latin, when he begins once to underftand either of the fe tongues, he will get a knowledge in these fciences, and the language to boot.

Geography, I think, fhould be beGeogra gun with: For the learning of the phy. figure of the globe, the fituation and boundaries of the four parts of the world, and that of particular kingdoms and countries, being only an exercife of the eyes and memory, a child, with pleasure will learn and retain them. And this is fo certain, that I now live in the house with a child, whom his mother has fo well inftructed this way in geography, that he knew the limits. of the four parts of the world, could readily point, being asked, to any country upon the globe, or any county in the map of England; knew all the great rivers, promontories, freights, and bays in the world, and could find the longitude and latitude of any place, before he was fix years old. These things, that he will thus learn by fight, and have by rote in his memory, is not all, I he is to learn upon the globes. But yet it is a good fep and preparation to it, and will make the remainder much eafier, when his judgment is grown ripe enough for it: Befdes that, it gets fo much time now; and by

old.

confefs, that

the

the pleasure of knowing things, leads him on infenfibly to the gaining of languages.

Arith

$179. When he has the natural parts of the globe well fixed in metick. his memory, it may then be time

to begin arithmetick. By the natural parts of the globe, I mean feveral pofitions of the parts of the earth and fea, under different names and diftinctions of countries, not coming yet to thofe artificial and imaginary lines, which have been invented, and are only fuppofed for the better improvement of that fci

ence.

§ 180. Arithmetick is the eafieft, and confequently the first fort of abstract reafoning, which the mind commonly bears, or accuftoms itself to: And is of fo general ufe in all parts of life and bufinefs, that thing is to be done without it.

fcarce any This is cer

tain, a man cannot have too much of it, nortoo perfectly: He fhould therefore begin to be exercifed in counting, as foon, and as far, as he is capable of it; and do fomething in it eevery day, till he is mafter of the art of numbers. When he underlands addition and fubtraction, he then may be advanced farther in geography, after he is acquainted with the poles, zones, parallel, circles, and meridians, be taught longitude and latitude, and by them be made to understand the ufe of maps, and by the numbers placed on their fides, to know M 6 the