[]
HINTS TO A SCHOOL-MASTER. Addreſs'd to the Revd. Dr. TURNBULL.
By STEPHEN DUCK.
LONDON: Printed for J. ROBERTS, in Warwick-Lane; and R. DODSLEY, in Pall-mall. M.DDC.XLI. [Price Six-pence.]
HINTS TO A SCHOOL-MASTER.
[][]I.
SHOULD You, my Friend, employ your Time
In teaching tuneful POPE to rhyme,
And harmonize his Style:
Or ſhould our Poet ceaſe to write,
And teach brave VERNON how to fight,
The wond'ring World would ſmile.
[2]II.
Not leſs abſurd may I be thought,
Who bred, from Colleges remote,
In honeſt ſimple Truth;
Ne'er ſtudy'd Science at the Schools,
And yet preſume to give You Rules
For educating Youth.
III.
Yet if the Maxims I advance
May be of Uſe, or right by chance,
They cannot give Offence:
Forgive me then, for Reaſon's ſake;
For Reaſon dictates what I ſpeak,
And ſays, 'tis Common Senſe.
IV.
A Man of mod'rate Skill may teach
His Pupils all the Parts of Speech,
Perhaps old HOMER's Songs:
But there are other things, my Friend,
Important things! that far tranſcend
This wond'rous Gift of Tongues.
[3]V.
O! skill'd in all the various Parts
Of Learning, and the lib'ral Arts,
That poliſh Human Kind,
Early inſtruct your tender Youth
In Heav'n's unerring Law of Truth,
Engrave it on their Mind.
VI.
Ere Vice the ſpotleſs Paper foul,
Imprint the Volume of the Soul
With VIRTUE's noble Mark!
The Mark, extending by degrees,
Shall grow like Letters carv'd on Trees,
That widen with the Bark.
VII.
As VIRTUE ſhall her Charms diſplay,
(Charms! which increaſing ev'ry Day,
Shall make her more approv'd)
Your Pupils ſhall adore the Dame,
Shall court her with a Lover's Flame,
As worthieſt to be lov'd.
[4]VIII.
To make her Beauty more complete,
The Handmaid Sciences ſhall wait
Around her Day and Night;
To poliſh and adorn the Fair,
To make her pleaſing Charms appear
In more conſpicuous Light.
IX.
Be VIRTUE, then, their chief Regard;
For VIRTUE is her own Reward,
Were there no other giv'n:
Let nothing mean their Souls entice;
Teach them to tremble more at Vice,
Than at the Bolts of Heav'n.
X.
For conſcious Merit is a Meed
That amply crowns each honeſt Deed
With Joy of acting well:
While conſcious Guilt allows no Reſt,
But ſtings and burns the Villain's Breaſt,
Worſe than the Flames of Hell.
[5]XI.
A Senſe of Honour, and of Shame,
Will beſt your erring Youth reclaim,
Whene'er they give Offence:
By gentle Methods guide your School,
Nor follow BUSBY's bloody Rule,
To flog them into Senſe.
XII.
No. Be not rigid, ſtern and ſour;
Diſplay your Mercy more than Pow'r,
And imitate your GOD:
For Tyrants cannot be approv'd,
They may be fear'd, but never lov'd,
Who daily uſe the Rod.
XIII.
Teach them a reaſonable Awe
Of true Religion, as by Law
Eſtabliſh'd in the Land.
Yet never puzzle Truth with Lyes;
But leave all heav'nly Myſteries
For Heav'n to underſtand.
[6]XIV.
Avoid the Rock where Thouſands ſplit,
On purpoſe to diſplay their Wit,
Or Folly to expoſe;
Where he who wrangles beſt, confutes,
And with raſh Eloquence diſputes
Of what he nothing knows.
XV.
Beware your Pupils tender Age
Imbibe no ſuperſtitious Rage,
Which Fools Religion call;
Such narrow Principles remove,
Inculcate univerſal Love,
And Charity to all.
XVI.
Bid them aſſert their Country's Cauſe,
Teach them our Government and Laws,
All ſervile Precepts ſhun,
Such as, contriv'd by holy Knaves,
Perſuade us, Subjects are but Slaves,
And All were made for One.
[7]XVII.
The Law of Nature * let them know,
Inſtruct their Boſoms how to glow
And pant for honeſt Fame;
Make it their Bus'neſs and Delight
To vindicate the native Right,
Which free-born Britons claim.
XVIII.
Yet ſhun the furious Zeal of ſuch
Who act the Patriot overmuch,
And Monarchy invade;
Who mindleſs of their Laws at home,
Would copy thoſe of Greece and Rome,
Where Commonwealths-men ſway'd.
XIX.
Where Civil Wars were often wag'd,
Where mad Ambition hotly rag'd,
While Public Spirit cool'd;
Where Tyrants now uſurp'd Command,
Where now a Senate ſway'd the Land,
And now a Rabble rul'd.
[8]XX.
Where, wanting Pilots at the Helm,
To guide and moderate the Realm,
The Bark of State was toſt
By Waves of Faction to-and-fro,
Sometimes too high, ſometimes too low,
And frequently was loſt.
XXI.
Our Fathers wiſely dar'd to raiſe
Their Fabric on the triple Baſe
Of COMMONS, LORDS, and KING;
And hence BRITANNIA's happy Fate,
Hence all the Muſic of our State,
Hence all our Bleſſings ſpring.
XXII.
We ſee a MONARCH grace the Throne,
Who makes our Happineſs his own,
Our Property defends:
Maintains, in ſpite of Party Hate,
The well-pois'd Balance of the State,
On which our Bliſs depends.
[9]XXIII.
Let HIM be chearfully obey'd,
Inſtruct your Pupils how to aid
Their KING with loyal Care;
That all may ſome Aſſiſtance yield,
For Council theſe, and thoſe to wield
The Thunder of the War.
XXIV.
So ſhall your SCHOOL increaſe each Day,
And flouriſh like the verdant Bay,
Or branching Vine in Spring;
Your Youth be virtuouſly inclin'd,
Be real PATRIOTS of Mankind,
And loyal to their KING.
XXV.
But whither would my Thoughts aſpire?
Raſh daring Muſe, reſign the Lyre;
For Shame! be not ſo bold;
Nor uſeleſs Hints to Him impart,
Who knows ſo well to caſt the Heart
In VIRTUE's genuine Mould.
FINIS.
Notes
*
Alluding to the Law of Nature and Nations, lately publiſh'd by Dr. Turnbull.
- Citation Suggestion for this Object
- TextGrid Repository (2016). TEI. 3313 Hints to a school master Address d to the Revd Dr Turnbull By Stephen Duck. University of Oxford Text Archive. University of Oxford, License: Distributed by the University of Oxford under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/]. https://hdl.handle.net/11378/0000-0005-D11A-2