PHI LOS 0 P H Y . - Classic Works of Apologetics Online

Duty oj l'Jrcnls.
resist his partiality to a fLlvouri~e child (which, how~
ever, should be both avoided Cl1~d concealed, as oftentimes
productive of lasting jeolousies and diS!:OR. ·
tents ;) yet, when he sits down to make his will,
these tendemesses must give place to ~!e m:!..llly
deliberations.
A father of a fantily is bound to adjust his etonomy
with a view to these demands upon his fortune;
and until a :iifficiency for these ends is acquired, or
in due rime pT~bably wiil be acquired (for in human
affairs probahility ought to content us) frugality and
exertions of industry are duties. He is also justified
in the declining expensive liberality ; for, to take
from those \vho want, in order to give to those who
w-'c&il£, adds nothing to the stock of public happiness.
Thus far, therefore, and no farther, the pIca otc;,
children," of" large families," "charity begins at
l1ome," &c. is an excU,e for parsimony, and an an·
swer to rtJose who solicit our bounty. Beyond this
point, as the use of riches becomes less, the desire of
Jaying up should abate proportionably. : The truth
is, our children gain not so much as we imagine, i~
the chance of this worJd's happiness, or even of its
external prosperity, by setting out in it with large
capitals. Of those who have died rich, a great part
began with little.. And~ in respect of enjoyment,
there is no comparison betv." ~en a fortu!]e, which a
man acquires by wen applied industry, or by a series
of successes in his busifiC~~) al1d one t~'Jund in his
possession, or received from another.
: A principal part of a parent's duty is still behind,
viz. the using of proper precautions and expedients,
in order to fonn and preserve his children's virtue.
To us~ who believe that in one stage or other of
our existence virtue will conduct to happiness, and
vice terminate in misery; and who observ~ withal,
that men's virtues and vices are, to a certain degree,
produced or affected by the nlanagement of their
youth, and the situations in which they are placed ;
~G all who attend to these reasons, the obligation .. 0