ON THE NECESSITY OF COUNTERACTING THE NATURAL TENDENCY TO EVIL.

"AND ye Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Eph. vi. 4. This passage should be rendered in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.'

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The end of education is to counteract and remove all the corruption of nature; and of Christian education in particular. Set yourselves, therefore, ye Christian parents, to the work. deed it is not a little one. In order to accomplish it, you will need both the wisdom and the power of God, in order to root up instead of strengthening, as most do, all those roots of bitterness which are by nature in the hearts of your children; these are, self-will, pride, atheism, anger, falsehood, and idolatry.

As self-will is the root of all sin and misery, so whatever cherishes this in children, ensures their after wretchedness and irreligion; and whatever checks and mortifies it, promotes their future happiness and piety. This is evident, if we consider that religion is nothing else but doing the will of God, not our own; and that self-will, being the

grand impediment to our temporal and eternal happiness, no indulgence of it can be trivial, no denial of it unprofitable.

The next evil to be opposed is pride. In order to guard against this, never commend children to their face, either for their goodness, sense, or beauty. It is deadly poison. It is the direct way to plunge their souls into everlasting perdition. -And suffer no other to do it if you can possibly prevent it. Lovingly shew them their faults, especially their wrong tempers, as soon as ever the understanding dawns.

In particular, labour to convince them of atheism. Shew them that they are without God in the world; that they do not know God; that they do not love, delight in, or enjoy him.

Do not encourage them in anger, by laughing at, or seeming pleased with their little froward tricks. Rather check them for the least appearance of it; much more for an angry word or action.

Innure them to confess their faults, and to tell the truth at all hazards,

Begin early to guard them against idolatryagainst the love of the world, in all its branches. Do nothing to feed in them the desire of the flesh, that is, the pleasures of sense. Keep them, on this account (as well as on account of health) to the plainest, simplest diet. Do nothing to feed in them the desire of the eye. Let their dress also,

be plain and simple. Let them never wear any thing that is showy, any thing that is gay or glittering. Put nothing upon them that attracts the eye; either their own or that of others. Give them nothing, nor suffer others to give them any thing that is purely ornamental. WESLEY.

ON FEMALE EDUCATION.

THE right education of females is of the utmost importance to human life. There is nothing that is more desirable for the common good of all the world. For though women do not carry on the trade and business of the world, yet as they are the mothers and mistresses of families, that have for some time, the care and education of their children of both sorts, they are intrusted with that which is of the greatest consequence to human life. For as the health and strength, or weakness of our bodies, is very much owing to their methods of treating us when we were young, so the soundness or folly of our minds are not less owing to those tempers, and ways of thinking, which we eagerly received, from the love, tenderness, authority, and first conversation of our mothers. As we call our first language our mothertongue, so we may justly call our first tempers,

our mother-tempers; and perhaps it may be found more easy to forget the language, than to part entirely with those tempers which we learnt in the nursery. It is therefore much to be lamented, that this sex on whom so much depends, who have the first forming both of our bodies and our minds, are generally not only educated in pride, but in the silliest and most contemptible part of it. LAW.

THE first step towards a woman's humility, seems to require a repentance of her education.

IBID.

ON INEQUALITY OF TREATMENT.

Ir is not to be supposed that the majority of parents do not think of their children, and of their future well-being; but this is done periodically: and great inequality, if not entire relaxation, intervenes between these periods. At these moments of reflection, oh could a wish but secure the end, the end would be gained at once; but then they have as yet no system, which is in fact equivalent to having no principle. They are resolved however to have a plan, and week after

week it is to be acted upon; and that with determined resolution. Many go not even thus far; but whether they do so or not, all these parents proceed without any fixed thought, or any conscientious principle. The whole of their conduct may be described as a continued series of fits and starts; and upon careful inspection it will, I presume, be found that thousands, nay tens of thousands, of lovely children are ruined, merely owing to this baneful irregularity. ANDERSON.

ON OVER-INDULGENCE.

OWING to the perversity of human nature, unhappily it seems to many parents that over-indulgence is actually little else than an amiable weakness. 'His children,' say they, 6 are fine children, but their father, good man, is too indulgent.' Now Eli was a good man; but what did this avail in the day of his calamity, when the ruin of his house, and the degradation of his family, were so directly traced up to him, and to his want of principle displayed in over-indulgence? The following passage is often quoted, without observing that it applies directly to a good easy parent-' He that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed.'