LIII.

overcharged recoils the more terribly it hath SERM. fomething in it like the spring of an engine, which being forcibly prefs'd does upon the firft liberty return back with fo- much the greater violence. In like manner the vicious difpofitions of children, when reftrained merely by the severity of parents, do break forth ftrangely as foon as ever they get loofe and from under their difcipline.

Secondly, another miscarriage in this matter is when reproof and correction are accompanied and managed with paffion. This is to betray one fault, and perhaps a greater in the punishment of another. Befides, that this makes reproof and correction to look like revenge and hatred, which ufually does not perfuade and reform but provoke and exafpeAnd this probably may be one reafon of the parents provoke not your Heb. x because that is never likely to have any good effect. Correction is a kind of phyfick, which ought never to be adminiftred in paffion, but upon counsel and good advice.

rate.

apostle's admonition,

"children unto wrath,"

12.

that Heb. xus

And that paffion is incident to parents upon this occafion, the apostle tells us when he says, "the parents of our flesh chaften us for their plea- 12. "fure," that is, they do it many times to gratify their paffion; but GOD chaftens us for our profit, not in anger but with a defign to do us good; and can we have a better pattern than our heavenly Father to imitate?

A father is as it were a prince and a judge in his family: there he gives laws, and inflicts cenfures and punishments upon offenders. But how misbe

VOL. IV.

6 E

coming

LIII.

SER M. coming a thing would it be to fee a judge pafs sentence upon a man in choler? It is the fame thing to fee a father in the heat and fury of his paffion correct his child. If a father could but fee himself in this mood, and how ill his paffion becomes him, instead of being angry with his child he would be out of patience with himself. I proceed to the next thing I propofed, namely,

IV. To make out the truth of of the propofition contained in the text, by fhewing how the good education of children comes to be of so great advantage, and to have fo good and lafting an influence upon their whole lives.

I confefs there are fome wild and favage natures, monftrous and prodigious tempers, hard as the rocks, and barren as the fand upon the fea-fhore; which difcover ftrong and early propenfions to vice, and a violent antipathy to goodness. Such tempers are next to desperate, but yet they are not utterly intractable to the grace of GoD and the religious care of Pa

rents.

I hope fuch tempers as these are very rare, though GOD is pleafed they should fometimes appear in the world, as inftances of the great corruption and degeneracy of humane nature, and of the great need of divine grace. But furely there is no temper that is abfolutely and irrecoverably prejudiced against that which is good. This would be fo terrible an objection against the providence of GoD as would be very hard to be answered. God be thanked, moft tempers are tractable to good education, and there is very great probability of the good fuccefs of it, if it be carefully and wifely managed,

And

LIII.

And for the confirmation of this truth I fhall in- SERM. stance in two very great advantages of a religious and virtuous education of children.

ift, It gives religion and virtue the advantage of the first poffeffion.

2dly, The advantage of habit and cuftom.

First, good education gives religion and virtue the advantage of the firft poffeffion. The mind of man is an active principle, and will be employed about fomething or other. It cannot ftand idle, and will therefore take up with that which first offers itself. So foon as reafon puts forth itself, and the understanding begins to be exercifed, the mind of man discovers a natural thirft after knowledge, and greedily drinks in that which comes firft. If it have not the waters of life and the pure ftreams of goodness to allay that thirst, it will feek to quench it in the filthy puddles and impure pleasures of this world.

Now fince children will be bufying their minds about fomething, it is good that they fhould be entertained with the best things and with the best notions and principles of which their understanding and age are capable. It is a happy thing to be principled, and, as I may fay, prejudiced the better way, and that religion fhould get the firft poffeffion of their hearts. For it is certainly a great advantage to religion to be planted in a tender and fresh foil. And if parents be careless, and neglect this advantage, the enemy will be fure to fow his tares while the husbandman is afleep.

Therefore we should prevent the devil by giving GOD and goodness an early poffeffion of our chil=dren, and by letting him into their hearts betimes. Poffeffion is a great point, and it is of mighty con

SERM. fequence to have nature planted with good feeds beLIII. fore vicious inclinations spring up and grow into ftrength and habit.

I know that there is a spiteful proverb current in the world, and the devil hath taken care to fpread it to the difcouragement of an early piety, "A young "faint and an old devil;" but notwithstanding this, a young faint is most likely to prove an old one. Solomon to be fure was of this mind, and I make no doubt but he made as wife and true proverbs as any body hath done fince him only excepted who was a much greater and wiser man than Solomon.

Secondly, good education gives likewife the advantage of habit and cuftom; and cuftom is of mighty force. It is, as Pliny in one of his Epiftles fays of it, efficaciffimus omnium rerum magifter, "the "most powerful and effectual master in every kind.” It is an acquired and a fort of fecond nature, and next to nature itself a principle of greateft power. Custom bears a huge fway in all humane actions, Men love thofe things and do them with ease to which they have been long inured and accustomed. And on the contrary men go against custom with great regret and uneafinefs.

And among all others, that cuftom is most strong which is begun in childhood: and we fee in experience the ftrange power of education in forming perfons to religion and virtue. Now education is nothing but certain customs planted in childhood, and which have taken deep root whilft nature was tender,

We

LIII.

We fee likewise in common experience how dan- SERM. gerous an evil habit and cuftom is, and how hard to be alter❜d. Therefore the Cretians, when they would curfe a man to purpose, wished that the gods would engage him in fome bad custom, looking upon a man after that to be irrecoverably loft. So on the other fide, to be engaged in a good cuftom is an unspeakable advantage; efpecially for children to be habituated to a holy and virtuous course, before the habits of fin and vice have taken root and are confirmed in them.

We are too naturally inclined to that which is evil; but yet this ought not to discourage us, because it is certain in experience that a contrary cuftom hath done much in many cafes, even where nature hath been strongly inclined the other way. Demofthenes did by great refolution and almost infinite pains, and after a long habit, alter the natural imperfection of his speech, and even in despite of nature became the most eloquent man perhaps that ever lived. And this amounts even to a demonstration, for what hath been done may be done.

So that it is not univerfally true which Ariftotle fays, "that nature cannot be altered." It is true indeed in the inftance which he gives of throwing a stone upward; you cannot, fays he, by any custom, nay though you fling it up never fo often, teach a stone to afcend of itfelf: and fo it is in many other inftances in which nature is peremptory: but nature is not always fo; but fometimes hath a great latitude: as we fee in young trees, which though they naturally grow ftraight up, yet being gently bent may be made to grow any way. But above all, moral inclinations