The School of Virtue, the Second Part, or the Young Scholar’s Paradise
A Digression for Children How They Ought to Be Instructed
By Richard Weste
| R | ightly conceive me, and observe me well, |
| I | do what here is done for children’s good. |
| C | hrist in His Gospel (as St. Mark doth tell) |
| H | ath not forbidden children, nor withstood |
| A | ny that should but ask the ready way, |
| R | egarding children, not to say them nay, |
| D | irecting all that came, how faith should be. |
| W | hat they should crave of God’s high majesty, |
| E | ven salvation, through their faithful prayer, |
| S | ending their contemplations into the air, |
| T | o His high throne, whose love so guide us all, |
| E | ven to the end we never cease to call. |
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Children (draw near), attend what I say:
Observe well these precepts and mark them, I pray.
Though many rules formerly have been set out,
To quicken the spirits of children in doubt,
Yet youth is so fickle and loth to be taught,
That being observed, ’tis unseemly and naught.
For children’s instructions in virtue and good,
Four things must be noted and many withstood.
The first to be marked is so that the mind
Be seasoned with virtue and godly inclined.
The second, to aim at the liberal arts,
To practice and exercise scholar-like parts.
The third, to be taught as times do require,
All moderate actions this age doth desire.
The fourth, that coming to more years and strength,
That all to civility he bend at the length.
Observe well the rules which now shall ensue,
And find them right wholesome, delightful and new.
How Thou Oughtest to Prepare Thyself, When Thou Risest in the Morning
When moderate sleep thy head hath possessed,
And given thy body his natural rest,
Shake sluggishness off, bethink thee of things,
That for thy soul’s health sweet melody brings.
Seven hours for a child is temperate and good,
If more, it offendeth and hurteth the blood.
With heart then unfained, to God first of all
Frame well thy petition, and thus to him call.
[Morning Prayer much as in Seager, p. 142.]
The Charge of Children in Their Carriage
Thy prayer so commended to God, have a care
To wash hands and face, and to combing thy hair.
And then for the school bethink thou to go,
The secrets of God the better to know.
In entering to school, let eyes be upcast,
To God for His blessings, formerly past,
To endue thee with godliness, virtue and piety,
Sent thee from heaven from God in His Deity:
For without His help can nothing be done,
Nothing be finished, nothing begun.
Then mark thou with diligence being so provided,
What shall at school be said or decided.
Let not thy thoughts go wandering about,
And not minding thy practice, abroad for to scout:
And answer with shamefastness what is required,
For modesty in youth is chiefly desired.
Deserve not correction, as near as thou mayest,
Nor to thy schoolmaster give any distaste,
Nor yet thy companions, or school-fellows kind:
Observe what I speak, and bear it in mind.
Be ready to teach, and not to confute
Thy schoolfellows’ arguments, when you dispute.
Let Christ have His library placed in thy heart,
And ever of Scriptures be reading a part.
Let all be well-measured what thou shalt read,
Not posting away with’t, or making much speed;
For haste overthroweth the mind and the wit,
Eschew and abandon then things so unfit.
If all at an instant thou not comprehend,
To-morrow seek further, thy fault to amend.
Desire of authors to read of the choice,
Of such as for eloquence carry the voice,
As Cicero, Sallust, Gellius352 and Terence,
Quintilian and others, great authors of reverénce.
Observe all with care and diligent ear,
Thy learning the greater shall grow and appear.
The Charge of Children in Going From School and Coming
In going from school, observe it full well,
In streets stand not staring, nor tales see thou tell,
What hath been at school said, spoken or done
Among thy companions; but home get thee gone.
And unto thy parents see duty thou do,
With reverent carriage and modesty too,
Not bold or unmannerly, gentle and mild,
And show them the office of a dutiful child.
If that thou have time, ere dinner begin,
Rehearse to thyself the lesson or thing
Thou heard’st at the school, let time be well noted,
The deeper with wisdom thy brains will be quoted.
Laying the Cloth, and Making Ready the Table
Be sure to be ready the board to prepare
At times as accustomed; with diligent care,
The table-cloth first see fairly be spread,
Fair trenchers, clean napkins, the salt and the bread.
Let glasses be scoured in country guise
With salt and fair water, and ever devise
The place most convenient where they may stand,
The safest from breaking, and nearest at hand.
[Here follow several graces and maxims.]
Demeanour in Serving at the Table
Stand straight upright, and both thy feet together closely standing;
Be sure on’t, ever let thine eye be still at thy commanding.
Observe that nothing wanting be which should be on the board.
Unless a question movéd be, be careful—not a word.
If thou do fill or give the drink, with duty set it down;
And take it back with manlike cheer, not like a rustic clown.
If on an errand thou be sent, make haste and do not stay;
When all have done, observe the time, serve God and take away.353
When thou hast done and dinéd well, remember thou repair
To school again with carefulness; be that thy chiefest care.
And mark what shall be read to thee, or given thee to learn;
That apprehend as near as may be; wisdom so doth warn.
With steadfast eye and careful ear, remember every word
Thy schoolmaster shall speak to thee, as memory shall afford.
Let not thy brows be backward drawn, it is a sign of pride.
Exalt them not, it shows a heart most arrogant, beside.
Nor let thine eyes be glumly354 down cast, with a hanging look,
For that to dreamers doth belong, that goodness cannot brook.
Let forehead joyful be and full, it shows a merry part,
And cheerfulness in countenance, and pleasantness of heart.
Nor wrinkled let thy countenance be, still going to and fro,
For that belongs to hedgehogs354 right; they wallow even so.
Nor imitate with Socrates354 to wipe thy snivelled nose
Upon thy cap, as he would do, nor yet upon thy clothes.
But keep it clean with handkerchief provided for the same,
Not with thy fingers or thy sleeve; therein thou art to blame.
Blow not aloud as thou shalt stand, for that is most absurd,
Just like a broken-winded horse; it is to be abhorred.
Nor practice snufflingly to speak, for that doth imitate
The brutish stork355 and elephant, yea, and the wauling356 cat.
If thou perforce do chance to sneeze, then backwards turn away
From presence of the company wherein thou art to stay.
Thy cheeks with shamefaced modesty dipped in Dame Nature’s dye,
Not counterfeit nor pufféd out—observe it carefully.
Keep close thy mouth, for why? Thy breath may hap to give offence,
And other worse may be repaid for further recompense.
Nor put thy lips out like a fool, as thou would’st kiss a horse,
When thou before thy betters art, and what is ten times worse,
To gape in such unseemly sort, with ugly, gaping mouth,
Is like an image picturéd357 a-blowing from the south.
Which to avoid, then turn about, and with a napkin hide
That gaping, foul deformity, when thou art so aside.
To laugh at all things thou shalt hear is neither good nor fit;
It shows the property and form of one with little wit.
To bite the lip, it seemeth base, for why? To lay it open,
Most base, dissembling doggedness, most sure, it doth betoken.
And so to bite the upper lip doth most uncomely show;
The lips set close358 (as like to kiss), in manner seem not so.
To put the tongue out wantonly and draw it in again,
Betokens mocking of thyself, in all the eyes of men.
If spitting chance to move thee so thou canst it not forbear,
Remember, do it modestly, consider who is there.
If filthiness or ordure thou upon the floor do cast,
Tread out and cleanse it with thy foot—let that be done with haste.
Thy head, let that be combed and trimmed, let not thy hair be long;
It is unseemly to the eye, rebukéd by the tongue.
If in thy tale thou hammering359 stand, or coughing twixt thy words,
It doth betoken a liar’s smell—that’s all that it affords.
To belch or bulch like Clitipho,360 whom Terence setteth forth,
Commendeth manners to be base, most foul and nothing worth.
If thou to vomit be constrained, avoid from company,
So shall it better be excused, if not through gluttony.
Keep white thy teeth and wash thy mouth with water pure and clean;
And in that washing, mannerly observe and keep a mean.
And be not like a slothful wight, delighted to hang down
Thy head, and lift the shoulders up, nor with thy brows to frown.
To carry up the body fair is decent and doth show
A comely grace in any one, wherever he doth go.
To hang the head on any side doth show hypocrisy;
And who shall use it, trust him not—he deals with policy.
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And in thy sitting use a mean, as may become thee well,
Not straddling, no, nor tottering, and dangling like a bell.
Observe in courtesy to take a rule of decent kind:
Bend not thy body too far forth, nor back thy leg behind.
In going, keep a decent gait, not feigning lame or broken,
For that doth seem but wantonness, and foolishness betoken.
Let thy apparel not exceed to pass for sumptuous cost,
Nor altogether be too base, for so thy credit’s lost.
Be modest in thy wearing it, and keep it neat and clean,
For spotted, dirty or the like is loathsome to be seen.
This for thy body may suffice, how thou must ordered be,
Now at the church thou shalt observe, to God how all must be.
[Then follows How to Behave Thyself at the Church, much as in Seager, p. 154.]
Not to Walk in the Church
In seat sit thou quiet, and walk not about,
For ’tis most unseemly, without any doubt.
’Tis fit in a fair, or in some market-town,
And not in God’s house for to walk up and down.
The church is ordained for sermons, orations,
And prayers divine for the soul’s recreations.
And not like a playhouse, unhallowed to be,
Despising the reverence to God’s Majesty.
Give ear most attentive to what thou shalt find,
For God’s word is light to the godly in mind.
Great ease cometh (out of the reverent text)
For troubled in heart and in conscience perplexed.
Do all this with duty and reverend heart,
And God will reward thee full well for thy part.
Observe well the times, for to stand or to kneel,
The more inward ease of thy heart shalt thou feel.
To kneel on the ground with one knee alone,
Is even as comely as though it were none.
How can thy devotion be hearty and sound,
If thou do refuse to lay knees to the ground?
’Tis like to the soldier, who mockingly came,
Saluting our Saviour, and gave Him the name
(Hail King of the Jews) his knee was so bent,
Not with any duty, nor godly intent.
If thou in the church alone chance to be,
Still let heart and thy tongue be so free,
As never to cease; but with due veneration,
To call to the Lord with unfeigned contemplation.
Let neither thy tongue be talking nor tattling,
Nor settle of any thing to be a-prattling,
Nor let thine eyes walk, nor cast them about,
For of that devotion there is a great doubt.