bene accustumed to do seruice, they make rounde hoopes mete, & when they be wrythẽ, ioyne a payre of meete ons together, and so cause the yonge heyfers to gooe forwardes, and often tymes they make them to draw an empty cart, and sleightly go awaye, but afterwards they set on a great heauy axeltree of beeche, and make them to draw a great plough beame of yrõ. Plowmen can skyll howe to handell oxen in youthe, and attemper their exercises after their strength muche more diligently ought this to be done in bringing vp our children. Furthermore the prouidẽce of nature hath geuen vnto litle ons a certen mete habilitte. An infant is not yet meete to whome thou shuldest reade y^e offices of Cicero, or the Ethickes of Aristotle, or the moral bokes of Seneca or Plutarche, or the epistles of Paule, I confesse, but yet if he do any thyng vncomly at the table, he is monyshed, and when he is monyshed, he fashioneth hym selfe to do as he is taught. He is brought into the temple, he lerneth to bowe his kne, to holde hys handes manerly, to put of hys cap, and to fashion all the behaueour of hys bodie to worshyp God, he is cõmaunded to holde hys peace when misteries be in doyng, and to turne hys eyes to the alter. These rudimentes of modestye and vertue the childe lerneth before he can speake, which because they sticke fast vntil he be elder, they profit somwhat to true religiõ. There is no differẽce to a chyld when he is first borne, betwene his parẽntes & straungers. Anon after he learneth to knowe his mother, & after his father. He learneth by litle & litle to reuerẽce thẽ, he learneth to obey them, & to loue thẽ. He vnlerneth to be angrye, to be auẽged, & when he is biddẽ kysse thẽ that he is ãgry withal, he doth it, & vnlerneth to bable out of measure. He lerneth to rise vp, & geue reuerence to an old mã, & to put of his cap at y^e image of the crucifix. Thei that thinke y^t these lytle rudimẽtes help nothing to vertue, in my mind be greatly deceiued, A certẽ yonge man whẽ he was rebuked of Plato because he had plaied at dice cõplained y^t he was so bitterly chiddẽ, for so litle harme. Thẽ quod Plato, although it be but smal hurt to play at dice, yet is it great hurt to vse it. As it is therefore a greate euyll to accustume thy selfe to euyl, so to vse thy selfe to small good thynges is a greate good. And that tender age is so muche the more apte to learne these thyngs, because of it selfe it is plyaunt vnto all fashions, because it is not yet occupyed wyth vyce, and is glad to folowe, if you shewe it to do any thinge. And as cõmonlye it accustumeth it selfe to vyce, or euer it vnderstand what vyce is, so wyth lyke easynes maye it be accustumed to vertue. And it is beste to vse best thinges euen at the fyrst. That fashion wyll endure longe, to the which you make the empty and tender mynde. Horace wrote that if you thruste oute nature wyth a forke, yet wyll it styll come againe. He wrot it and that very truly, but he wrote it of an olde tre.