194 Nations latelij become Literary. [Cil. XXVI. 



Neither in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylva- 

 nia, Delaware, nor Maryland, had any thing 

 taken place, in favour of literature, worthy of 

 notice, prior to the eighteenth ceiitury. The in- 

 habitants of these colonies, struggling with the 

 difficulties of new settlements, not always in a 

 state of perfect harmony among themselves, and 

 of course too frequently encumbered with other 

 engagements, did little to advance the interests of 

 knowledge. A ^ew schools were established, but 

 they were on a small scale, were but indifferently 

 conducted, and attracted but iew pupils. The 

 more wealthy class in these middle colonies, like 

 their southern brethren, were at this time in the 

 habit of sending their sons to Europe for their 

 education; a practice which, though it caused a 

 small portion of the youth in the middle and 

 southern states to be more thoroughly educated 

 than was common in New England, yet rendered 

 education a much more rare attainment among 

 the former than the latter, and, on the whole, ex- 

 ceedingly checked the progress of literature in 

 the colonies. 



It is to be observed, also, that the advancement 

 of literature in the American colonies, during the 

 seventeenth century, was not only retarded by 

 the general poverty of the colonists, and by the 

 numerous difficulties with which they had to 

 struggle while surrounded by tribes of savages, 

 and an uncultivated desert ; but also by the erro- 

 neous opinions at that time prevailing concerning 

 the liberty of the press. The business of printing 

 was laid under very inconvenient and discouraging 



