MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. 



887 



about It ; many of them just and 

 sensible, though almost all differing 

 from each other. With respect to 

 the education of boys, I think they 

 arc generally made to draw in Latin 

 and Greek trammels too soon. It 

 is pleasing no doubt to a parent, to 

 see his child already in sonic sort a 

 a proficient in those languages, at 

 an age uhen most others are entirely 

 ignorant of them: but hence it 

 often happens, that a boy, who 

 would construe a fable of .Esop, at 

 six or seven years of age, having 

 exhausted his little stock of atten- 

 tion and diligence, in making that 

 notable acquisition, grows weary of 

 his task, conceives a dislike for 

 study, and perhaps makes but a 

 Tery indifferent progress afterwards. 

 The mind and body have in this 

 n-siject, a striking resemblance of 

 each other. In childhood they are 

 both nimble, but not strong; they 

 can skip, and frisk about with 

 wonderfid agility, but hard labour 

 spoils them both. In maturer years 

 they become less active, but more 

 vigorous, more capable of a fixt ap- 

 plication, and can make themselves 

 sport with that which a little earlier 

 would have affected them with in- 

 tolerable fatigue. I should recom- 

 mend it to you therefore, (but after 

 all you must judge for yourself) to 

 allot the two next years of little 

 John's scholarship, to writing and 

 arithmetic, togclher with which, 

 for variety's sake, and because it is 

 Ciipable of being formed into an 

 amusement, I would miiislc geogra- 

 phy, (a science which if not at- 

 tended to betimes, is seldom made 

 an object of much consideration ;) 

 essentially necessary to the accom- 

 plishment of a genlleman, yet (as I 

 know by sad experience) imper- 

 fectly if at all, inculcated in the 



schools. Lord Spencer's son, when 

 he was four years of age, knew the 

 situation of every kirg.lom, coun- 

 try, city, river, and remarkable 

 mountain in the world. F'or this at- 

 tainment, which I suppose his fa- 

 ther had never made, he was in- 

 debted to a plaything ; having been 

 accustomed to amuse himself with 

 those maps which are cut into seve- 

 ral compartments, so as to be 

 thrown into a heap of confusion, that 

 they may be put together again with 

 an exact coincidence of all their 

 angles and bearings, so as to form 

 a perfect vihole. 



If he begins Latin and Greek at 

 eight, or even at nine years of age, 

 it is surely soon enough. Seven 

 years, the usual allowance for those 

 acquisitions, are more than sufficient 

 for that purpose, especially with 

 his readiness in learning ; for you 

 would hardiv wish to have him qua- 

 lified fof the university before fif- 

 teen, a period, in my mind, much 

 too early for it, and when he could 

 hardly be trusted there without the 

 utmost danger to his morals. Upon 

 the whole, you will perceive that in 

 my judgment the difficulty, as well 

 as the wisdom, consists more in 

 bridling in, and keeping back, a 

 boy of his parts, than in pushing 

 him forward. If, th.erefore, at the 

 end of the t\yo next years, instead 

 of putting a grammar into his 

 hand, you should allow him to 

 amuse himself v.ith some agreeable 

 writers upon the sul)jeci ol natural 

 philosophy, for another year, I 

 think it would answer well. There 

 is a book called Cosmotheoria Puc- 

 rilis, there are Durham's Physico, 

 and Astrothcology, together with 

 several others in the same maimer, 

 very intelligible even to a child, 

 ajid full of useful instructiou. 



vv. c. 



3 L 4 LETTER 



