The PREFACE.
ventures of This Great Man; but upon the Subject of his Apologies and Morals; And not of His alone, but of ſeveral other Eminent Men that have Written after his Copy; and abundantly Contributed in thoſe Labours, to the Delight, Benefit, and Inſtruction of Thoſe that were to come after them.
There are, 'tis True, a Certain Set of Moroſe and Untractable Spirits in the World, that look upon Precepts in Emblem, as they do upon Gays and Pictures, that are only fit for Women and Children, and make no more reck'ning of them, then of the Fooleries of ſo many Old Wives Tales. Theſe are a ſort of People that are Reſolv'd to be pleaſ'd with nothing that is not Unſociably Soure, Ill Natur'd, and Troubleſome; Men that make it the Mark as well as the Prerogitave of a Philoſopher, to be Magiſterial, and Churliſh; As if a man could not be Wiſe and Honeſt, without being Inhumane; or, I might have ſaid, without putting an Affront upon Chriſtian Charity, Civil Society, Decency and Good Manners: But they are not aware All this while, that the Foundations of Knowledge and Vertue are laid in our Childhood; when Nothing goes Kindly down with us, that is not Seaſon'd and Adapted to the Palate and Capacity of thoſe Tender Years. 'Tis in the very Nature of us, firſt, to be Inquisitive, and Hankering after New and New Sights and Stories: and 2dly, No less sollicitous to Learn and Underſtand the Truth and Meaning of what we See and Hear: So that betwixt the Indulging and Cultivating of This Diſpoſition, or Inclination, on the One hand, and the Applying of a Profitable Moral to the Figure, or the Fable, on the Other, here's the Sum of All that can be done upon the Point of a Timely Diſcipline and Inſtitution, toward the Forming of an Honourable, and a Vertuous Life. Moſt Certain it is, that without This Early Care and Attention, upon the Main, we are as good as Loſt in our very Cradles; for the Principles that we Imbibe in our Youth, we carry commonly to our Graves; and it is the Education, in ſhort, that makes the Man. To ſpeak All, in a Few Words, Children are but Blank Paper, ready Indifferently to any Impreſſion, Good or Bad for they take All upon Credit; and it is much in the Power of the firſt Comer, to Write Saint, or Devil, upon't, which of the Two He pleaſes. Wherefore let the Method of Communication be never ſo Natural and Agreeable, the Better, the Worſe still, if the Matter be not Suited to the Prudence, the Piety, and the Tenderneſs that is Requiſite in the Exerciſe of such a Function. Now This is a Nicety that Depends, in a great Meaſure, upon the Care, Providence, Sobriety, Conduct and Good Example of Parents, Guardians, Tutors, & c. Nay it Descends to the very Choice of ſuch Nurſes, Servants, and Familiar Companions, as will apply themselves Diligently to the Diſcharge of this Office.
As it is beyond All Diſpute, I ſuppoſe, that the Delight and Genius of Children, lies much toward the Hearing, Learning, and telling of Little
