juft; for neither parent has authority to abfolve the children of their duty to their other parent. It may be that one of them is of evil fame, or bad example; yet that does not excuse the child's duty or refpect, who muft honour them when they can neither be loved, obeyed, or imitated by their children; because honouring parents is always in children's power: confequently, though the cafe may be fo hard, that children fhall not be able to pay obedience to the feveral or oppofite commands of their parents; yet it can never happen fo that they fhall not always be able to pay refpect to them both of this they muft never fail; for neither parent can be injured by courteous behaviour. So that, if one parent should be fo unreasonable to require the child to affront the other, the child would be fafe in a refpectful refufal; because no parent has a right to take away another's right, and each of them have equal right to the respect of their children; it must indeed be paid to both by all children; and it is a most wicked thing for any parent to command or encourage any rude undutiful behaviour of the children to either of the parents, upon any provocation or account whatsoever. And, If any parent, who calls himself a Chriftian, neglects to To provide make a provifion for his own children, according to his understanding and abilities, he is really a bad Subfiftence. man; he denies the faith; he withdraws himself from the obedience he owes to Chrift's commands, which injoin all parents to provide for their children; and especially, when there is a neceffity of fending them abroad from under their own wing, to make fuch provifion for them, and to difpofe them into fuch circumftances of living, as that they may both know how to spend their time innocently and usefully, and withal be obnoxious to as few dangers and temptations as their condition will admit. And he is fo much worse than an infidel, by how much he is more obliged than unbelievers are to make fuch provifion for his children. But to determine the proportion of provifion parents are to make for children, it will be neceffary to have refpect to their age, capacity, and condition. Their age must be confidered, because there is a time when children are fo helpless, that all they want must be provided for them.

for their

In what

manner.

and

and it can lię on no-body fo well as parents. Provifion includes every thing that children ftand in need of; and as they grow in years, their condition, capacity, and abilities of body and mind, are to come into confideration; which call upon the parent to inure them to labour and diligence.

Parents are not obliged only to provide for their children money, lands, and houses, as if then they had In fome bodone; but they must provide them with abilities neft calling. of body and mind, to preferve and ufe the benefits they intend to bestow upon them: they muft accustom them whilst young to application and attention to bufinefs, things neceffary to poor and rich; and without them the rich will quickly become pcor, and the poor will never become rich. The poor can never difcharge the duty of parents well to their children, without inuring them to labour and hardship; that is the provifion they are only capable of making for them, and that is their obligation. At first it looks like doing them no harm to let them continue lazy and idle; and many poor people are extremely guilty of this way of education, imagining it a piece of kindness to their children, to bring them in fuch an idle life, that, when they should be able to provide for themselves by honeft industry, they must rather beg their bread, than labour for it; a miftake not only mifchievous to the commonwealth, but of pernicious confequence to their children: for, though it please them for the prefent,, yet it intails perpetual mifery, and often untimely death, by engaging them in wicked courses, the ready road to ruin; whereas the bringing them up to labour keeps them at least in a mean fufficiency, if not in plenty, and puts them into a capacity of rubbing through many difficulties, and bettering their condition of life, as Providence fhall direct.

up

And as concerning the richer and better fort of people, let fuch be mindful that they never educate their children above the provifion they are able to make their state Agreeable to for them; and that, whatever provifion they pro- and condipofe to make for them, they ought to inure them tion of life. to as much diligence and industry, attention and application, as they are able to bear. Every one may be ferviceable to God and his country; fome one way, and fome in ano

ther.

idleness.

ther. Here therefore lies the great duty of those who have the care of youth, to place them in fuch circumftances as best agree with their natural temper and talents. It is a ridiculous thing to train up him to learning who hath an averfion for a book; or to put him to a trade, or an active life, that is made for study and retirement. The genius, and difpofition, and capacity of every one is principally to be attended to, and the education to be fuited to them; and then a calling to be chofen which fuits with both; and no worldly confiderations ought to divert us from this proceeding. Experience Never in will quickly fhew that the kindness parents are forward to express, in heaping together vast estates for their children, will not be fo truly beneficial to them, unless they take care about their education, by using them to be diligent and induftrious, to clofe application, and attention to what they are to be employed in. For that must be the best provifion for children, which will ftand them in best stead in all conditions; which will help them to rise from meanness to fufficiency, and to improve a good eftate to a better, andto prevent a fall, or to bear it well, and to recover what has been loft. To be well employed, and full of honeft business, is a much greater fecurity, inafmuch as it is better to be deaf to his call, than to parley with the devil, when he is trying to draw us from our duty. He, that does nothing, will quickly learn to do evil; idleness is the mother of all mischief. So the richest parents living are guilty of a notorious fault, to deal too tenderly with their children, let them leave them as well provided as they can; and it is great cruelty in parents, that are able to leave them little or nothing, to leave them pride and laziness, and incapacity both of body and mind to do themselves any fervice; whofe effects are fo remarkably bad, that 'tis a wonder men should need any caution to prevent it; because thereby we find the male children fall into the meanest of fervitude, the refuge of the idle or uninftructed part of mankind, or betake themselves in defpair to the wars abroad, or to robberies at home; the women fall into the hands of wicked tempters thro' want of ability to employ themselves in honeft courses, and an incapacity of maintaining their condition; their poverty making

them

them unfit for their equals, and their soft education making their inferiors afraid to take them in marriage.

In the next place, it is agreed on by all hands, that the children should fucceed to their parents, and inherit Children their eftate and goods; becaufe no one hath a better fhould fucright to them, when we confider the labour of the ceed to thir parents for parents in acquiring them, or their affection to the tune. children of their own body: for, fince they love no-body like their children, and have a right to the fruits of their own industry, this love intitles them beft to their eftates when they have done with them; and therefore the civil law gives to children the eftates of their parents, tho' they die without a will, prefuming, that they, who make no declaration to the contrary, do always intend to go along with natural affection, which bestows the eftates of parents on the children of their own body. Yet the proportion in In what dividing estates to children isunfettled. Whenachild proportion. is born, the parent fees one fucceed to his labours, and feeks no farther for an heir to inherit his eftate: it then is natural this child should enjoy all the parent leaves, and build up his family, because there is no one elfe to do it: but after the parent has more children, then the neceffity of the eldest succeeding grows lefs; because there are more children to anfwer the fame end, and to build up the name and family, as well as the eldeft; and the neceflity is changed into other motives. It is decency prefers the elder to the younger; because he was before him, and has done nothing to deferve being caft behind: so far it is reasonable that he should fucceed to advantages; and thefe confiderations induce an obligation on the confciences of parents, to make provifion for their eldest children, by leaving them the better part of their wealth; and they feel concern when they offend against this rule, without fuch caufe as wife and civil nations affign by their customs and laws. Therefore,

When a

may

be

VIII. Some of the causes that juftify parents difinheriting their children are the ftriking of parents; because there is fo much impiety in fuch violence, that one child cannot hear of fuch an action without affenting to definberited. its punishment in the utmost degree: the contriving their death by poifon, or other fecret method; or the having laid

fhares

fnares to draw them into mischief, makes a child unworthy to receive benefit from his parents: as he alfo was, who had been privy to any defign of doing them mischief, not only to their lives, but to the hurting them in body and fortune. Other causes that juftify the parent difinheriting children are when they are negligent of their duty to a parent fallen into frenfy, or any difability; or when, if he is taken captive by enemies abroad, or imprisoned at home, the child neglects to make provision for him, or to get him fet at liberty, if it be in his power; thefe cafes afford the parent, when he recovers his understanding and his freedom, juft occafion of difinheriting fucha child: for he was unnatural, and deferves no favour from him to whom he fhewed no love and affection. Wherefore it is fit that he fhould be fo ferved, when he could have hindered his misfortune. Not that hereby it is. understood that children are obliged to discharge a parent's debt, for which he has juftly loft his liberty; for fometimes the children are just able to live, and have families to maintain and if they thould difcharge their parents debts, they muft contract new ones; and fome parents are fo extravagant, that there would be no end of paying. But when children's faults are fcandalous, and reflect difgrace on the parents and family; when they are extremely wicked and give no hopes of reformation, but appear irreclaimable, they may be difinherited. For vice and virtue are to be confidered by laws, as right and wrong, in the preferving families and tribes and it tends to the advantage of a ftate, that virtue in children should have the encouragement of fucceeding to their father's eftate, and the like difcouragement fhould be given to notorious vice. Yet there is a difference to be made betwixt an unnatural clofenefs, that will part with nothing to children before death, and a profufe folly, which will lay the parent at the mercy of the child; for in fuch a cafe the parent lofes one of the most effectual means of keeping them virtuous and dutiful; because it is often found, that, when there is no more expectation from, there will be no more dependence on the parent: therefore it is highly juftifiable in parents to difinherit children, whofe immoralities cry aloud to heaven, reflect dishonour on the family, and exclude

all