14 AN ESSAY ON CHARITY- SCHOOLS. xxix. 11. What an envious creature is he who would obstruct the free entrance of the common light of the heavens to mortals who are born in darkness, or would forbid sight to be given to the blind ? What a provoking crime is this against the God of nature ? And is it not a heinous and provoking sin against theGod of grace, that when he has opened the hook of life amongst us, there should be any persons, who should forbid us to be taught to read it, because we happen to be poor ? Would it not be a most flagrant and complicated instance of ill- nature, prideand scorn, if we should hear a rich man say concerning his poor neighbours, Because they are born in extreme poverty, let them live and die in darkness? 6. If we lay the case of religion aside, and those important duties which all men owe to God, yet how ignorant will the poor be of the various duties which they owe to their fellow-creatures, if they have no manner of learning bestowedupon them ? . How. little sense will they have of justice, of truth, of honesty and faithfulness ? :How little,sense will servants have of the honour and obedience that is due to their ownmasters ? How little will they knew of that equity and righteous dealingwhich should be practisedbetween man and man ? What happy seeds of equity and truth, of labour, diligence and temperance are sown in the hearts of children by a wise and careful education in their younger years ? But how many young creature's have been easily allured to theft and robbery, to lying and deceit, and all manner of iniquity and mischief, for want of a virtuous educa- tion ? Their honest neighbours have been deprived of .theirjust property by pilfering and plúnder, and the criminals themselves . have run headlong to the destruction of body and soul. Tell me, you that forbid children the knowledgeof letters and would not suffer them to learn the art of reading, tell me, whether you can suppose they can ever become the worse labourers, worse servants, worse ploughmen or soldiers by reading in the word of God what duties they owe to men ? Are not all the principles and rules of virtue and goodness, of diligence and sobriety, of obedi- ence to superiors, of justice to their neighbours, of truth, faith- fulness and love to all men contained in his holy book ? And When the poor young creatures shall find all these things com- manded and required by the great God that made them, when they shall read many happy examples of these duties, and the vengeance of God against transgressors, will all this have no in- fluence upon their hearts, to lead them to practise these virtues ? Are there not many other little books drawn out ofthe holy scrip- tures, wherein these virtues of the civil life are, reduced to a shorter form, and set in a plain and easy view for those who have but little time to read ? And if childrenhave these manuals put into their hands, is it not the most likely way to train them up
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