Page:Petty 1647 Advice to Hartlib.djvu/30

 seven years bondage, and having spent but about three years with a Master, may spend the other foure in Travelling to learn breeding, and the perfection of their Trades.

As it would be more profitable to Boyes, to spend ten or twelve years in the study of Things, and of this Book of Faculties, then in a rabble of words, so it would be more easie and pleasant to them, as more suitable to the naturall propensions we observe in them. For we see Children to delight in Drums, Pipes, Fiddels, Guns made of Elder-sticks and bellowes noses, piped Keyes, &c. for painting Flags and Ensignes with Elder-berries and Corn-poppy, making ships with Paper, and setting even Nut-shels a swimming, handling the tooles of workemen assoone as they turne their backs, and trying to worke themselves, fishing, fowling, hunting, setting sprenges and traps for birds, and other animals, making pictures in their writing bookes, making Tops, Gigs, and Whirligigs, quilting balls, practising divers jugling tricks upon the Cards, &c. with a million more besides. And for the Females, they will be making Pyes with Clay, making their Babies Clothes, and dressing them therewith, they will spit leaves on sticks, as if they were roasting meate, they will imitate all the talke and Actions, which they observe in their Mother and her Gossips, and punctually act the Comedy or Tragedy (I know not whether to call it) of a Womans lying in. By all which it is most evident, that Children do most naturally delight in things, and are most capable of learning them, having quick Sences to receive them and unpreoccupied memories to retaine them. As for other things whereunto they are now adayes set, they are altogether unfit, for want of judgement, which is but weake in them, and also for want of Will, which is sufficiently seene both by what we have said before, by the difficultie in keeping them at Schools, and the punishment they will endure rather then be altogether debarred from this pleasure which they take in Things. Rh