Thus, in
consequence of his education, he looses two thirds of his time in tedious
and unprofitable, if not in baneful pursuits. The young Quaker, on the
other hand, comes, by means of his education, to the same maxims of
philosophy and religion, as the foundation of his happiness, at a very
early period of life, and therefore saves the time, and preserves the
constitution which the other has been wasting for want of this early
knowledge. I know of no fact more striking, or more true in the
Quaker-history, than this, namely, that the young Quaker, who is educated
as a Quaker, gets such a knowledge of human nature, and of the paths to
wisdom and happiness, at an early age, that, though he is known to be a
young mariner by the youth displayed in his countenance, he is enabled to
conduct his bark through the dangerous rocks and shoals of life, with
greater safety than many others, who have been longer on the ocean of this
probationary world.
I may observe again, as the second fact, that it is not unusual to hear
persons say, that you seldom see a disorderly Quaker, or, that a
Quaker-prostitute or a Quaker criminal is unknown. These declarations,
frequently and openly made, shew at least that there is an opinion among
the world at large, that the Quakers are a moral people.
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