Page:Whole works of joseph butler.djvu/269

238 Consider next the manner in which the children of the poor, who have vicious parents, are brought up in comparison with other children whose parents are of the same character. The children of dissolute men of fortune may have the happiness of not seeing much of their parents. And this, even though they are educated at home, is often the case, by means of a customary distance between them, which cannot be kept amongst the poor. Nor is it impossible that a rich man of this character, desiring to have his children better than himself, may provide them such an education as may make them so, without his having any restraint or trouble in the matter. And the education which children of better rank must have for their improvement in the common accomplishments belonging to it, is of course, as yet for the most part, attended with some sort of religious education. But the poor, as they cannot provide persons to educate their children, so, from the way in which they live together in poor families, a child must be an eye and ear-witness of the worst part of his parent's talk and behaviour. And it cannot but be expected that his own will be formed upon it. For as example in general has very great influence upon all persons, especially children, the example of their parents is of authority with them, when there is nothing to balance it on the other side. Now take in the supposition that these parents are dissolute, profligate people; then over and above giving their children no sort of good instruction, and a very bad example, there are more crimes than one, in which it may be feared they will directly instruct and encourage them; besides letting them ramble abroad wherever they will, by which, of course, they learn the very same principles and manners they do at home. And from all these things together, such poor children will have their characters formed to vice, by those whose business it is to restrain them from it. They will be disciplined and trained up in it. This surely is a case which ought to have some public provision made for it. If it cannot have an