Qiap. VIII. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 91 



ed the wifdom of the antient phllofophers, particularly Arlftotle, 

 who did not think it was pofTible to govern well any very great 

 community ; and, therefore, he limited the number of the citizens 

 in his commonwealth to the number, as I remember, of 10,000. 



They beftowed the greateft pains on the education of their Neo- 

 phytes, as they called the new converted chriftians, inftru£ling them, 

 with the greateft care, in all the ufeful arts of life ; and particular- 

 ly agriculture, which they learned from the Jefuits themfelves, who 

 taught them the ufe of the plough and fpade, to fow and to reap, 

 working themfelves with them *. They had {hops and work houfes 

 where they were taught the mechanic arts, fuch as the arts of carpen- 

 ters, fmiths and even painters, of fculptors and guilders and likewife 

 of clock-makers: And the children were applied to thofe different 

 trades, according as their genius and inclination feemed to dire<£l:; for, 

 as Charlevoix has obferved, art ought to be direded by nature f. They 

 had fchools alfo where they were taught reading and writing, and 

 alfo arithmetic, which went no farther among them, while in their 

 favage ftate, than to count as far as tiventy, the number of their 

 fingers and toes. They taught them alfo, the art of building, fo 

 that they not only built churches for themfelves, but ornamented 

 them in very good tafte with paintings and engravings %. The 

 women alfo were taught all the arts proper for their fex, fuch as 

 fpinning and weaving §. 



In all thefe arts, according to the accounts of which Charlevoix 

 and Muratori have given us, they made great proficiency ; but in 

 none, I think fo much, as in mufic ; for which they fhowed fuch 



M 2 a 



* Charlevoix, vol. I. p. 242. 

 t Ibid. 

 X Ibid. 



$ Ibid. p. 243. 



