Love and reverence poor people; as for many reasons, so particularly for this, because our blessed Saviour was one of the number. Visit and converse with them frequently: you will often find simplicity, innocence, patience, fortitude, and great piety amongst them; and where they are not so, your good example may amend them. For this cause, you know I have divided part of my estate already amongst you, that you each may be charitable out of your own stock, and take it in your turns to provide for the poor and sick of the parish.
Whether married or unmarried, consider yourselves as mothers and sisters, as friends and relations to all that want your assistance; and never allow yourselves to be idle, whilst others want any thing that your hands can make for them.
I have brought you up to all kinds of labour, that are proper for women, as sowing, knitting, spinning, and all other parts of housewifery; not merely for your amusement, and that you may know how to direct your servants; but that you may be serviceable to yourselves and others, and be saved from those temptations which attend an idle life. I must therefore repeat to you, my daughters, what I have often reminded you of before, that I had rather see you reduced to the necessity of maintaining yourselves by your own hands, than to have riches to excuse yourselves from labour. Never therefore consider your labour merely as an amusement to get rid of your time, and so may be as trifling as you please; but consider it as something that is to be serviceable to yourselves and others, that is to serve some sober ends of life, to save and redeem your time, and make it turn to your account, when the works of all people shall be tried by fire.
What would you think of the wisdom of him, that should employ his time in distilling of waters, and making liquors which no body could use, merely to amuse himself with the variety of their colour and clearness; when with less labour and expence, he might satisfy the wants of those who have nothing to drink? And yet he would be as wisely employed, as those that are amusing themselves with such tedious works as they neither need, nor hardly know how to use when they are finished; when with less labour and expence they might be doing as much good, as he that is cloathing the naked, or visiting the sick. Be glad therefore to know the wants of the poorest people, and think it not beneath you, to let your hands be employed in making such mean and ordinary things for them, as their necessities require. Thus Dorcas was employed, who is mentioned with so much honour in holy writ; and by so doing, you will behave like true disciples of that Lord and Master, ‘who came into the world not to be ministered unto, but to minister.’
In short, my dear children, strive to do every thing that is praise-worthy, but do nothing in order to be praised; nor think of any reward of all your works of faith and labours of love, till Jesus Christ cometh with all his holy angels. Think, my children, that the soul of your good father, now with God, speaks to you through my mouth; and let the double desire of your father who is gone, and of me who am with you, above all, let the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, prevail upon you to love God with all your souls, to study your own perfection, to practise humility, and to do all the good you can to all your fellow-creatures, especially to those who are of the houshold of faith, till it shall please God to call you to another life.”
Thus did the pious widow educate her daughters. The spirit of this education speaks so plainly for itself, that, I hope, I need say nothing in its justification. If we could see it in life, as well as read of it in books, the world would soon find the happy effects.
There is nothing more desirable for the common good of all the world, than that we might see it. For though women do not carry on the trade and business of the world, yet as they are mothers and mistresses of families, they have for some time the care of the education of their children of both sorts, and are entrusted with that which is of the greatest consequence to human life. For as the health and strength, or weakness of our bodies, is very much owing to their methods of treating us when we are young; so the soundness or folly of our minds, are not less owing to those first tempers and ways of thinking, which we eagerly received from the love, tenderness, authority and constant conversation of our mothers.
Is it not then much to be lamented, that this sex, on whom so much depends, who have the first forming of our bodies and our minds, are not only educated in pride, but in the silliest and most contemptible part of it?
They are not suffered to dispute with us the proud prizes of arts and sciences, of learning and [♦]eloquence, in which I have much suspicion they would often prove our superiors; but we turn them over to the study of beauty and dress, and the whole world conspire to make them to think of nothing else. Fathers and mothers, friends and relations, seem to have no other wish towards the little girl, but that she may have a fair skin, a fine shape, dress well, and dance to admiration.
[♦] “eloqence” replaced with “eloquence”