A vvarning to all teachers of children, which are called school-masters and school-mistresses, and to parents, which doth send their children to be taught by them; that all school-masters and school-mistresses may train up children in the fear of God, and bring all children to that of God in them, with which they may come to fear him, and to depart from sin and evil. ... This is to go in the world among all that are called school.masters [sic] and school-mistresses, by G.F.

YE that are School-Masters and Mistresses (so called) and Teach∣ers, of what sort soever, children ought to be taught the fear of the Lord; and see that you do teach them the fear of the Lord; the fear of the Lord God is to depart from sin, and to depart

from evil; and here will they come to receive the wisdom of God, which is pure, not earthly, nor sensual, nor devillish; and being trained up in the fear of the Lord, to fear God, corrupt words and speeches, and evil words, and these they will be brought to depart from, which corrupts the good Manners: So now, you that be School-Masters and School-Mistresses, and Teachers of children, and your children that you teach, be found in cor∣rupt words, corrupt speaking, idle communications, and evil communicati∣ons, and wantonness, and filthy pleasures, and filthy jesting, and filthy songs, and filthy Rimes; these actions be all amongst such as be out of the fear of God, Teachers and Schollars; and them which you teach being found in lying, and cursed speaking, and oaths, and mocking, and scoffing, and rep••oaching, and disdaining, and hating, and railing, and reviling, and slandering, and corrupt speeches, and backbiting, and maliciousness, and envy, and pride, and disdain, and in evil words; this shews that their man∣ners is corrupt, though you may teach them all the Scriptures, and they may learn all Books by rote.

Therefore all you Teachers of children, all here is nothing worth, while your children are found in these practises; for you that be Teachers, being taught the fear of the Lord, and having departed from sin and evil, and re∣ceived the wisdom of God, with which you should order, and be ordered, then you will know how to teach children the fear of the Lord, with which you will know how to order them, and to teach them the fear of God, and to bring them into the fear of God; which fear of God is to depart from sin and evil, corrupt words, evil communication, wildness, wantonness and plea∣sures, foolish talking, and jesting, and vain sports, and pride, and ambiti∣on, into lowness and meekness; and from all abusive terms, carriage, posture, jesture, behaviours, and words whatsoever, is contrary to truth; slandering, lying, mocking, reproaching, telling of Tales, Stories, Jests, Rimes, Fables, which feeds the nature which is out of the fear of God; and that none of them do backbite, call evil Names, Nick-names to any people whatsoever; for evil words corrupts the good Manners; and while those be lived in and acted, and children taught all Books, and Histories, and Languages upon the Earth, yet they being found in the evil words, their Manners is corrupt, and their Language not pure; the evil not being departed from, their lips perverse and polluted, their tongues uttering forth froward things, speaking perverse words; these be the cursed children, sporting in the day-time, spor∣ting themselves in wickedness which they are deceived by, though they may boast themselves in their learning and languages; so learning these langua∣ges which puffes them up in the naturals, and boasting of that when they be void of the true knowledge and wisdom of God, and the true understan∣ding, and that which should order man, and direct his pathes; these for a time their Parents boast in, and take much delight and glory in them, be∣cause they can speak many Languages in their much learning, but being out of the fear of God, and found in the evil, out of Gods secrets, out of Gods counsel, out of his wisdom, and out of the true understanding, and the true knowledge, which these at the last growing up in yeeres, in pride, and

in boystrousness, and unruliness, cometh to be a greif unto their Parents, and a sorrow, and Runs into the evill Courses, having that which he hath known naturally, in which he hath Corrupted himself, which shall perish in their Corruption; for Children ought all to be trained up in the nurture, and fear of God while they be young; for he that spareth the Rod loveth not the Childe; And Children ought all to be taught to know the witness of God in them, which lets them seesin and transgression; and so that is it which must keep them from wildeness, and wantonness, and corrupt words, and let them know when they speak and act them. Therefore all you School Masters consider what Condition you your selves in stand, and then how you your selves are taught, and then how you teach your children, and what condition you bring them up in, & in what Condition you leave them, and what fruits follows them, and whether many was not better when they came to you, then when they leave you. And again all you School-Mistresses, that teach children fashions according to the Lusts of ignorance, which fashions and Lusts of the world, are to pass away; and moreover teacheth young women to play of Instruments and musick of all kinds, and severall tunes, and teaching them to Dance, and Catches, Songs, and Jests, which makes them lose modesty, and shamefastness, but enlarges bra∣zen-facedness, and boldness, and impudence; this is that which traines up people in that which draws from God, and to keep them out of the fear of God; training them up out of it, in wildeness, and wantonness, and bold∣ness, in defame and disdain, and envying such as be out of their fashions; and these be fitted for them that live in the Lusts of the world, and have great habitation therein, which have not a habitation in God, nor Eter∣nal Life in them, that live and abide in envy: And all ye that teach young men to fence, and keep fencing Schools, consider what you are doing in your very Actions, whether or no you be not training up them, in those Actions that Leads out of the fear of God, to glory in their strength, and to boast in it, wherein it shall fall, and the Carnal weapon, with all its Arts, and with all its hope, and strength; Therefore come you to the fear of God, to put on the Armour of Light, the Armour of Righteousness, and come all to Christs School and Learn of him, that you may come to know the shield of Faith, and Brest-plate of Righteousness, the Spiritual weapon; And all ye teachers of children and people whatsoever, Consider, for the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to look for fruits amongst you, and to teach himself; I am the Light of the world, and doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, him by whom it was made, before it was made glorified with the Father before the world began; now you all that be come into the world, Christ having enlightened you all, with which Light you see sin and evill, and know the Truth in the inward parts; which sin and evill must be departed from, before the wisdome of God you come to re∣ceive, which if you act contrary to the Light (which Christ hath enlight∣ned you withall that through the Light you may beleeve) and go from it into evill Communications that corrupt the good manners; as you abide in the Light, which Christ hath enlightned you withall, you will know the

good manners and teach children the same, which brings them to depart from evill words which corrupts them; That children might come to the Light, and hearken to that which lets them see their Transgression, and makes manifest their sin; the Light which Christ doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world withall, which is in them, which will let them see their evill words, and sin, and evill Communications, which must be departed from, for if not, that corrupts the good manners; and the Light will let you see all wantonness and pleasures, foolish talking, and jestings, all must be departed from; and it will teach you soberness and watchfulness, and the fear of God, and to be grave and temperate, and to give good words, and to know good words, and the pure Communicati∣ons, and the good manners which is honourable and of good report; and it will bring you to know the Adorning, which is a meek and a quiet Spirit, which is with the Lord of great price, and this Light (which every one of you be enlightned withal, that be come into the world, which comes from the Father of Light) it will bring you from the Lusts of the Eye [Mark, from the Lusts of the Eye] and the Lusts of the Flesh, and the pride of Life, and the costly Attire, and the costly Array, or of wearing Gold or Silver, and let you to know and see these things, which is not of the Father, but of the World; the Light that comes from the Father, which if you all love, the Light which you are enlightned withall, it will teach you in private when you be by your selves, and when you be among company (both chil∣dren and Teachers) for to forsake that which the Light doth make mani∣fest, which if you do not, that will be your Condemnation, the Light saith Christ; And so to the Light in you all I speak (and remember that you are all warned in your Life-time) which is my Witness, and your Condemna∣tion, if you hate it.

G.F.

Notes

• Psa. 111.10. Prov. 1.7.
• Prov. 16 6. 1 Cor. 15.33. Isa. 47.8, 9. Titus 3.3. James 5.5. Eph. 3.29, 30, 31.
• Prov. 8.13.
• Eph. 5.4. Prov. 10.18.
• Prov. 17.5. Prov. 4.24. Prov. 10.31. 2 Pet. 2.13. Isai. 57.4.
• Prov. 17.25. Jude 10. Prov. 13.24. Eccles. 22.1.
• 1 Joh. 2.17.
• 1 Jo•• 2.
• Jer. 9.23, 24 Phil. 3.18, 19. Eph. 6.13. Mat. 11.29.
• John 1.9. Joh. 8.12.
• Eph. 5, 13.
• 2 Pet. 3.4.
• 1 John 2.16.
• John 3.19, 20.