Part 15

I remember a Lady whose Coachman was an Instance of the Mistakes I have been speaking of. I am resolved, says he to some of his Acquaintance, to have one Gentleman in my Family at least. In order thereto, he gave his Son Education, and then put him to an Attorney: this entitled the young Fellow to dress out, and keep, what he call’d, good Company; these led him to Pleasures, Gallantry, and many other Extravagancies; in fine, the old Man broke his Heart; and the young one in a short time was utterly ruined. But how much happier would he probably have been, had he kept to his proper Sphere, and been a Coachman too! It frequently happens, that honest industrious Men among the common Trades, as well as others, grow wealthy, and consequently are ambitious of giving their Children Learning; now as these People have usually but a very small Share themselves, they know little more of it than the Name: they send a Boy to School, and because they hear him speak hard Words, and see him hammering at a Latin Exercise, sagely conclude that he has Learning; when it is fifty to one, that, comparatively speaking, he knows nothing. It requires a great deal of Time, Diligence, and Application for a Boy to become a good Grammarian, tho’ taught by the best Methods and the best Masters; what then must be the Fate of those who are under bad Teachers? and that there are some such, I believe will not be disputed. But supposing a Boy really acquires some Knowledge; let us see of what Use it will be to him: his Father is perhaps a Baker, and it is convenient to him to bring his Son up to his own Business; what does a Baker want with Latin? nothing. Besides, continued Disuse will make him forget it; or, should he retain it, of what Use could it be to him, but to make him pedantic and self-conceited? But perhaps upon the Presumption that this Boy is a Scholar, the honest Baker, desirous that his Son should cut a Figure, sends him to the University, and he becomes a Divine: but what Pity is it that a good Baker should be spoiled? The innocent young Man, tho’ spirited up by his fond mistaken Parents, has perhaps no Talents, no Genius, no Interest; what then must be his Fate? why—he must drudge, and court, and wait his whole Life, and at last gain nothing. What can be more mistaken than this Conduct, and yet what more common? It may be urged, that these are Instances of illiterate Parents only, and that People in better Life know better things: now allowing that to be the Case, still as Parents of this Kind are very numerous, they stand in great need of being set right, as the Errors they commit by this false Education are productive of many Evils.

Every Nation has it’s Custom of dividing the People into Classes. The _Police_ of _France_ divide them into Quality, Noblesse, Artificers, and Peasantry. _England_, a mix’d Government, and a trading Nation, have the Nobility, Gentry, Mercantile or Commercial People, Mechanics, and Peasantry. Were we to subdivide the People, we might run it to an Infinity: to avoid Confusion therefore, I will select five Classes; _viz._ the Nobility, the Gentry, the genteel Trades, all those particularly which require large Capitals, the common Trades, and the Peasantry. But tho’ for the Sake of Perspicuity and Brevity, I confine my Observations to these, yet they may occasionally be applied to others; and tho’ _London_ may in general be called the Scene of Action thro’ my whole Design, yet is it equally applicable to, and intended for, the Benefit of the whole Kingdom.

Persons of Rank and Quality are, I doubt, placed in too high a Sphere for any Instructions of mine to reach them; or should this Attempt fall into their Hands, what Chance is there for it’s being useful to them, since they seem to have every Advantage, every Help at command. Still as true Wisdom consists in seeking Instruction wherever it can be found, and as the lowest among Mankind may drop a Hint that may be useful to the highest, I will, with all due Deference and Respect, venture to speak my Thoughts; and if they reach the Ears of the Great, I dare hope, they will at least commend the Design, if they cannot applaud the Execution.

Human Nature (as daily Experience shews us) is, in the general, alike in all, from the Prince to the Peasant: the same Weaknesses attend us; the same Passions torment us; the same Diseases kill us: all are the Work of ONE GREAT ARTIST! all are born for the same great End! The Gifts of Fortune indeed are innumerably different; the Advantages of Education very many; and as a Train of Vices corrupts our Manners, so a Succession of Virtues may be said to enoble our Birth and purify our Blood. Hence it is we often see those exalted Virtues in the Great and Noble inherited by their Posterity; and hence too we often discover, even where Pains are taken to conceal it, an inbred Dignity, a Mein and Aspect superior to the Generality of Men. Still this Rule is by no Means universal; for the same Experience shews us, that great Men can do little things; even such as the private and obscure would be ashamed of. And how so? because Passion, not Reason, is their Guide. Parents then, we see, even of the highest Rank, are under an indispensable Obligation of regulating the Manners of their Children. Philosophers say, that all Passions are in all Men; but that their Predominance is unequal, and different in different Men: if so, the Great stand in most need of having them subdued, or at least regulated, as the Power to indulge them is greater in them than in others. But granting that Parents of Quality are convinced of these Truths, and take all the Steps already recommended for training up their Children in proper Decorum; granting too, that they design every thing for their real Advantage; they have still many things both to do and avoid which are not common to all.

Their first Care must be to avoid Sycophants, Flatterers, and Hypocrites; they are but too constant Attendants on the Great, and their Business is to diffuse an imperceptible Poison (if I may be allowed the Metaphor) over both Parents and Children. Nothing is so amiable as Truth, nothing more desirable, and yet nothing more difficult to reach the Great. If a Nobleman has a Child whose Parts are weak, whose Genius is slow and shallow, it is undoubtedly a Misfortune, but cannot be his Fault: the natural Blindness of Parents keeps them from seeing these Defects so clearly as another; but the unnatural, at least unmanly Artifices of the Flatterer totally prevent their seeing them at all: and thus the noble Heir is mistakenly taught to think himself what Nature has forbid he shall ever be.

Another Care is, that Youth of Quality, who have Parts and Quickness, be not suffered to waste the first Flower of their Age in Idleness: it is a grievous Error, yet very common. I have already observed, that Parents who know nothing are injudiciously, and even anxiously solicitous to have their Children Scholars; and by a strange reverse Infatuation, Parents of Rank are often very indifferent about it. This Error is undoubtedly sometimes owing to themselves only by a supine Negligence in their own natural Temper; but it is much oftener owing to the false Praises given by those that have both the Parents and the Child’s Ear. A young Heir soon knows the Title, Dignity and Estate he is born to possess; too soon does he know his Independence, and too apt is he to grow careless about his Learning on this very Account, but if to these Impediments be added imaginary Excellence and Knowledge, thro’ the daily Flattery of a Dependent, what is likely to be the Consequence? why, that he will remain ignorant his whole Life. For who will take Pains to learn, that is firmly persuaded he knows enough already? and that many of our young Noblemen are trained up in this Disposition, nobody, I believe, will deny: it is true that Time may convince them of their Error; but it will then perhaps be too late to recover what they have lost.

The Education of a Nobleman should contain every thing that is both useful and ornamental. As he is more conspicuous than others, as he always stands on an Eminence, his Education should be such as may reflect a Lustre on every one that beholds him. He is to be considered as a Pillar of the Laws, an Honour and an Ornament to the Age he lives in. To this End he is to study first, Languages; that is to say, two of the dead ones, _viz._ _Latin_ and _Greek_; and of the living ones, besides his Mother-tongue, _French_ at least. The Learned disagree very much as to the Variety of Languages necessary to be acquired; some are of Opinion, that besides these already named, _Italian_, _Spanish_, _Portuguese_, and more yet, are becoming the Education of a great Man; and urge in their Favour, that the more Languages are gained, the more the Mind is enlarged: others dissent from this, and maintain, that a great Variety rather confuses the Mind than otherwise; that _Latin_ and _Greek_ are indisputably the Languages of all learned Men; after those, _French_, and at most _Italian_, are all that need be added, as every thing may be found in these, either originally or translated into them: but they farther argue, that it is a great Waste of Time, spent merely in the Acquisition of Languages, when so many nobler Studies are to be pursued; Studies which at once strike the Mind, and constitute true Science. This last Reasoning has, I think, great Force; but here for a Moment let me leave the Nobleman, to make an Observation on general Life. Languages, besides being considered as general Parts of Education, are particularly necessary in certain Circumstances of Life. If one, whether for Education or Business, goes to reside in _Holland_, _France_, _Spain_, or _Italy_, it would be an Absurdity not to attain the Language of the Country; so if another is to be a Merchant, surely he should not be a Stranger to the Language of his Correspondents; thus are these, and many other things more or less necessary, just as they are circumstanced: and therefore should Parents, besides the Education they bestow on their Children, as suited to their Station in general, join to it that which is necessary in particular. But, to return;

Besides Languages, a Nobleman is to learn Philosophy, both Moral and Natural; Mathematics; the ancient and modern Laws of our own Country; and the Customs, Laws and Manners of other Nations. He should particularly be a Critic in our own History, and our own Language; because they are what in real Life he will have most occasion to exercise. To this solid Learning should be added the Embellishments of polite Literature, Poetry, Painting, and Music; and to compleat the Character, Dancing, Fencing, Riding and Architecture. Tho’ this is going a considerable Way, it is much the least Part of what ought reasonably to be expected from him, considering the Light he stands in. It is of great Consequence that his Preceptor have a good Head; but it is of much more that he has an honest Heart. He is to humanize his Pupil’s Soul, and form him for all those Actions that will give him a real, not a fancied Dignity. He should raise in him an ardent Love of his own Country; but, as every other Nation has it’s Virtues as well as Vices, he should at the same time avoid the customary Prejudice of allowing them nothing. While he is taught to think and act nobly, he should be informed that the Knowledge, the Care and the Improvement of his Estate, are essential Obligations, and such as cannot be dispensed with. He must be easy of Access, without which Truth will seldom reach his Ear; nor will he be able to distinguish Merit from Demerit; or know how to right the Injured, or punish the Injurer. While he maintains his Dignity, he must be ready to condescend to Inferiors with an humble Deportment where necessary; and be taught to see and feel another’s Woe: which nothing will more inforce, than convincing him of the Instability of all human Grandeur. His Dress and Behaviour should be like his Quality, noble; yet perfectly free from Affectation, Vanity and Pride. He must be taught to know, that ’tis not for himself alone he is to live, but, from the politest Manners, a wise Conduct, and a benevolent Heart, to diffuse Pleasure and Joy to all that know him. Vice and Virtue are to be placed before him in their genuine Light; and the Beauty of the one made a Contrast to the Deformity of the other. While he is taught to distinguish Honour from Infamy, Nobility from Meanness, the utmost Care should be taken to shew him how much he would sink beneath a Man, should he become a Slave to any irregular Passion. He should, for Example sake, as well as his own, be instructed to shun every thing that is mean, base or vicious; and, in a word, be endowed with all those Virtues that will make him generous, noble, wise, and good. Much more might be said on this Occasion, much more might be added; but as the Great are supplied with far abler Helps from other Hands, I will only add on this Head, that if the Admonitions here offered be reduced to Practice, every other Virtue, even the most heroic, will become familiar and easy.

My next Topic is the Education of a young Lady of the first Quality; from which, if the Course of my Design did not make it necessary, I would gladly be excused: for as the most delicate Flowers require the tenderest Treatment, so the conducting a Woman of Quality thro’ the first Stages, and ushering her into the World, is of all others the nicest Part to act. Still, as Nature and Reason are my Guides; by them I hope to be enabled to offer some Aid, however small, for the promoting this great End.

As all Parents have a Right to exercise a proper Authority, so all Children, however high their Rank, should be taught to obey. Great Spirits may think Obedience mean; but Parents are to remember their Children’s Happiness is at stake: without Obedience they cannot regulate their Passions: and if not regulated, they have but little Chance for Happiness. Misfortunes with a Coronet, Misfortunes with a Coach and Six, are still Misfortunes; and it is the Business of every Parent so to conduct their Children, that they may on their part avoid them, or so to fortify them that they may bear them as they ought. But, as it is most agreeable to good Sense, I will conclude that Parents of the highest Rank are convinced of this, and have employed the Infant Age of their Children accordingly. What next is to be done? What Education is most proper for a young Lady of the first Quality? Such surely as will distinguish her from the Crowd; such as will more adorn her Mind, than the Jewels she wears adorn her Person.

The Errors committed in the Education of the Children of private Persons are many, from the Parents educating them above their Rank; still there is one general Excuse may be made for them, which is, that as the Turns of Fortune are sometimes very great, they don’t know what Occasion they may have for it. But in Persons of Quality the Case is different; they are already at the Summit, and their Education should suit their Rank. As soon therefore as the first Stage is over, (not to mention what she may have learnt during that Period) a young Lady’s Time is to be esteemed precious: Reading, Writing, Working, Dancing, _French_, _Italian_ and Music are all to be taught her; and that not superficially, as is too much the Custom; not so as to puzzle and confound her Understanding, but to enlarge and improve it. A certain Author says, that there is not a Man in a thousand who reads well; if so, and Men assert a Superiority of Knowledge, it will be no unfair Conclusion to say, there is not a Woman in two thousand that does: but I hope this Gentleman’s Assertion is not true, and then the Conclusion falls of course. Still it is very certain, that much more is required to read our Mother-Tongue well, than is commonly imagined; and as that is really graceful, a young Lady should be taught to set a great Value on it. To know the Words and their Meaning is not sufficient; she must know the Pointing, the Emphasis and the Cadence; and she must know too, how, in different Parts, and on different Subjects, to modify her Voice, or she will never read well. To read with Energy and Beauty, we should know our Subject; and here the Understanding is concerned; this gain’d, we have nothing more to do but to keep close to Nature; for the greatest Fault committed in reading is, the throwing ourselves out of Nature. As I have formerly attended the Lectures of several public Professors, I remember one who committed this Fault of throwing himself out of Nature, as I have just observed; when he read, he put on a Tone of Voice not his own; when he laid down his Paper to explain what he had been reading, he was himself again; and thus was he in and out of himself, if I may be allowed the Expression, ten times in an Hour. And yet this was a Man of Letters, a Man of Science, a Philosopher!

The Hand-writing of a young Lady should have an easy Elegance in it; a Medium between the _Italian_, which tho’ beautiful to see is usually wrote very slowly, and that Meanness of Hand too common in the Sex. Either of these Faults in a Lady’s Hand-writing will appear in their true Light, if we consider that the Custom of writing familiar Epistles is one of the most important Steps in her Education. Nothing tends more to open the Mind, nothing bids fairer for gaining a Knowledge of the World, next to the seeing it, than the giving and receiving one another’s Thoughts with Freedom, in a virtuous Intercourse of friendly Epistles. Now an evident Obstacle to this is the Manner of Writing; if a young Lady’s Hand is a fine _Italian_, she hates the Thoughts of writing a Letter, because it will take up so much Time; and if it be a bad Hand, she says her Scrawl is so frightful, she is asham’d that any body should see it. But there is another important Reason for familiarizing a young Lady to her Pen, which is that of writing correctly. For a fine Lady not to spell with exact Propriety, is frightful beyond Expression; but when she has gained that, she possesses nothing till she writes with Grammar, with Stile, and a suitable Turn of Expression. Some, it is true, have by Nature a happier Turn this way than others, and may be said to be born with a Talent for Writing; but tho’ this be granted, yet certainly a great deal may be obtained by a due Care of their Education in this Point.

Needle-work is by no means below the Dignity of a Woman of Quality, therefore she should certainly be taught it; for tho’ it may not be called a thing she wants, yet the very Change of Employment is often a Pleasure: besides that the knowing it is really useful. I have seen a Woman of Quality at her sick Lord’s Bed-side, so far from being ashamed to own she could use a Needle, that what things of that kind were wanted during the Course of his Illness she would let nobody do for him but herself; and thus at the same time that her Tenderness and Concern proved the Sincerity of her Affection, she proved that it was not below her Quality to be notable too.

Dancing I mention in course, tho’ it is needless to recommend it here, not only because I have elsewhere done justice to this Part of Education, but because all are convinced of it’s Importance, as an Accomplishment which strikes the Beholder’s Eye, and gives more or less favourable Impressions in proportion as we excel in it. But here, to avoid Error, the End of Dancing should be remembered; that it is not so much for the sake of shining at a Ball (tho’ that too may sometimes be necessary) but to give an easy Air and Grace to all the Motions of the Body.

_French_, in it’s Purity and Perfection, is a great Ornament to a Lady’s Education; but that is not all: it is not only polite, but highly useful; both as she may have frequent Occasions to speak it, and as there are many good Authors in that Language not yet translated into ours.

_Italian_ and Music for a fine Lady should be inseparable; for tho’ it is allowed that our Music is vastly improved within half a Century past, yet the Critics in that way insist, that Music in our Language is incapable of equalling the _Italian_, from the great Number of Consonants it abounds with.

When a young Lady is advanced thus far, she has certainly done a great deal; but not enough. If she is taught to think that the Great must be distinguished by their superior Knowledge, she will be animated with a Desire to acquire it; and not sit down contented with an inferior Degree of it. Still, as deep Studies and very close Application seem by Nature more the Province of Men than Women, so I have not urged the Study of the more learned Languages; and will leave this Point to be determined by the Parents and Preceptors. History, ’tis true, gives us many Examples of Queens and Ladies of every Rank, who were distinguished by their great Learning. Sir _Thomas More_, High Chancellor of _England_, in a Letter to his Daughter, commends her for the Purity and Elegance of her _Latin_; and Madam _Dacier_, Daughter of _Tanaquil Faber_, is well known (besides her other learned Works) to have translated _Homer_ from the _Greek_: but these are rare Examples, and such perhaps as should rather be admired than imitated. Nature, I think, points out to us, that the Education of a Woman should rather be sprightly than grave; thus polite Literature seems a fitter Study for a Lady than Syllogisms in Logic. However, that a Lady of Quality may by no means be deficient, she should have, besides what is already recommended, a Knowledge of Arithmetic, Geography, and Drawing; to which may, with great Propriety, be added, at least a general Acquaintance with Moral and Experimental Philosophy.

The Sketch here given is not to be considered as the Edifice, but the Ground-work, the Foundation alone; the Superstructure is still to be raised. In order thereto a young Lady is to be nicely directed what Language she should speak, and what shun: what ought to be her Sentiments, her Deportment, and her Actions. But first she should be taught to know that the World has it’s Eyes upon her, and that in proportion as she increases in Merit, so much nearer will she approach to gaining universal Admiration and Esteem. The Reasonableness of this Admonition will appear, if it be considered how many Actions we do unworthy ourselves, only because we are unobserved, or at least think we are so; whereas by keeping our Attention awake, and considering ourselves as always beheld, we shall often blush at the very Approach of Vice and Folly, and thus nobly fly from them. Yet this Consideration of being beheld, tho’ in itself a Virtue, must be carefully inculcated and nicely distinguished, lest it degenerate into a vain Desire of Applause: her Business is to deserve Esteem, but not to look for it. We often see a half-bred Player stare about him when he has finished his Speech, as if he would beg a Clap, a Smile, or a Nod of Approbation; but we never see this in a thorough bred one; he attends to his Part, to his Business, and nothing else; he knows that the best way to obtain and secure Applause, is to deserve it.