AN ESSAY ON CHARITY-SCHOOLS. 13 practise all theirgay and senseless superstitions, though they are never so contrary to reason and scripture, when they are not ca- pable of saying any thing against them. They will be led blind- ly by the priests into any absurdities of faith, or any criminal practices which they please to consecrate by the name of religion. Besides, if there be no care of the instruction of the minds of the poor among us, whatsoever forms of worship, or of political ser- vice they happen to fall into, it is, as it were, by chance and without knowledge : It isalla mere matter of stupid mechanism : Whether they are in the church, or the street, in a fleet or an army ; it is like a croud of bodies without souls. And can such a set of creatures when they are grown up to the age of men, and know nothing, can they be either acceptable to God in their pretences to religion, or can they be useful to Great Britain in itsbest interests ? But this thought leads me to the next par- ticular. 5. If young persons have no manner of education, they will notso much as know the God that made them, nor what is their duty towards their maker. What lamentable profaneness, what irreligion,what horrid blasphemy, what swearing and cursing, and all manner ofimpiety would abound amongst us, it'the poorer part ofmankind werenever taught to read,nor instructed in the things of God ? And indeed the instruction which this sort ofobjectors would allow them, is so very small, bypermitting them to go to church once a week, that they would gain very little knowledge of God and Christ, and our holy religion thereby, if they were deprived of all other advantages of knowledge. I have some- times conversed with some of those miserablecreatures, and I have found them ignorant to a most amazing degree of the first principles of religion and the gospel. Has Great Britain been blessed of God with many rich conveniences, for the improvement of the mind, by writing or printing, books of every useful kind, and shall these blessings be made useless to so great a part of our nation ? This would be to practise much as the papists do, who rob the common people pf the bible, thebook of life, and permit none to enjoy it, but in the Latin tongue. It is a fountain ofheavenly grace, but it is a seal- ed one to the poor, that are educated in popish countries. And . is it not a shame in this protestant nation, that the scripture should be a fountain sealed to any of her children ? When the bible is translated into our mother tongue, is it not a lamentable thought and almost a scandal, that there should be any amongst us to whom it should be a useless book, because they have never learned to read ? And those that are unwilling that their fellow- creatures should attain the knowledge of reading; it isas if they sealed up the book of life. If I am not learned enough to read, it is all one towe, as though the book were for ever shut ;. Is.
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