Miscellanies, moral and instructive, in prose and verse, collected from various authors, for the use of schools, and improvement of young persons of both sexes
Milcah Martha Moore, Miscellanies, moral and instructive, in prose and verse, collected from various authors, for the use of schools, and improvement of young persons of both sexes (Philadelphia : Joseph James, 1787). New-York Historical Society Library.
Document Text |
Summary |
| REPUTATIONS are of a subtle, insinuating nature— like water, derived from the clearest spring, when it chances to mix with a foul current, it runs undistinguished in one muddy stream; and they both partake of the same color and condition. If we keep bad company, however little we may be criminal in reality, we must expect the same censure that is due to the worst of our associates. | Reputations, like water, are easily polluted. If you spend time with bad people, you will get a reputation for being a bad person, even if you’ve done nothing wrong. |
| HUMILITY is a virtue, which highly adorns the character in which it resides, and sets off every other virtue; it is an admirable ingredient of a contented mind, and an excellent security against many of those ills in life, which are most sensibly felt by people of a delicate nature. | Being humble improves every other good quality you have. Being humble will also protect you from getting into trouble. |
| THAT man is most blessed, who receives his daily bread with gratitude and thankfulness from the hand of God; and he who does, experiences a pleasure that exceeds description. It is this that gives a relish to every repast; it is this that makes the coarsest morsel delicious to the taste; and it is the want of this that makes affluence a burthen, instead of a blessing to the rich. | Having gratitude for the things in your life makes every day special. You can be poor and live happily if you are grateful for what you have. You can be rich and unhappy if you are not thankful for your blessings. |
| THE sleep of the laboring man is sweet; and if he toil hard for the bread that perishes, he has, in the midst of every want, if a follower of Christ, bread to eat that the world knows nothing of. It is not said, happy are they who possess abundance; but happy is the man who finds wisdom, which is Christ, the pearl of great price. In him are hid those durable riches and righteousness, the merchandize of which is better than that of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. | Those who work hard get the best rewards. Even if they have nothing, God will bless them for their work, and God’s blessings are worth more than any riches. |
Milcah Martha Moore, Miscellanies, moral and instructive, in prose and verse, collected from various authors, for the use of schools, and improvement of young persons of both sexes (Philadelphia : Joseph James, 1787). New-York Historical Society Library.
Background
Milcah Martha Moore, author of this book for school children, was a member of the Quaker community in Philadelphia. The Quakers were a Protestant faith that believed in the equality of the sexes in the eyes of God. Quaker women were allowed to preach, interpret the Bible, write and publish religious essays, and teach others about their faith. This meant Quaker women were generally more educated and more comfortable speaking and writing publicly than women of other faiths in the English colonies.
For all their religious freedom, Quaker women were still expected to be subordinate to the men in their communities. For example, they were responsible for caring for the poor and making sure their children were raised properly, but most of their decisions had to be approved by Quaker men before they could be enacted.
About the Document
Milcah Martha Moore followed the eighteenth-century practice of keeping a common book. Common books were notebooks where women recorded their favorite sermons, poetry, passages from books, excerpts from letters, and bits of wisdom. Women shared their common books with one another, and wrote original poems and essays for their friends’ books. These books were rarely published, making them a semipublic, and distinctly feminine, form of entertainment, instruction, and information sharing.
Milcah’s common book came to the attention of a Philadelphia publisher in the 1780s. He asked her to turn it into an instructional book for school children. The book reveals the strong religious themes prevalent in eighteenth-century education, as well as the personal qualities prized by eighteenth-century communities. Benjamin Franklin endorsed the book, writing an introduction in which he said the book was exactly what the new country needed to instruct the next generation of citizens.
Vocabulary
- common book: A scrap book of favorite poems, essays, and bits of wisdom collected by women in the eighteenth century.
- Protestant: The Christian faiths that separated from the teachings of the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.
- Quakers: A Protestant community that had two core beliefs: pacifism and the equality of the sexes.
- subordinate: Lower in rank or position.
- sermon: A talk based on a passage from the Bible.
Discussion Questions
- What does this book reveal the values taught to children in the eighteenth century?
- What personal qualities were most prized by eighteenth-century communities?
- Very few women in eighteenth-century America were writers, and only a handful were published. Why was Milcah Martha Moore singled out in this way?
Suggested Activities
- Include this document in lessons about Quaker communities and values.
- Combine this image with any of the following resources for a larger lesson about childhood in the American colonies: Life Story: Malitzen of New Spain, Life Story: Kateri Tekakwitha of New France, The Mourning Poetry of Anne Bradstreet, Life Story: Lisbeth Anthonijsen, Life on the Encomienda, The Middle Passage, Children at Work, The Business of Slavery, Education in New France, Life Story: Dennis and Hannah Holland, Life Story: Mother Esther Marie-Joseph Wheelwright de l’Enfant, The Rapalje Children, Symbols of Accomplishment, and The Casket Girls.
- Compare this document with Cotton Mather’s Ornaments of the Daughters of Zion for a lesson on the differences between Quaker and Puritan instruction and values.
- Combine this document with Elizabeth Fortune’s indenture contract and the sampler for a lesson about girl’s education and opportunities in the eighteenth century.
- After reading the passage from Milcah Martha Moore’s book, work with students to compile a list of modern-day traits and virtues American students are expected to have. What has changed? What has stayed the same?
- Religion was a powerful force in the daily lives of many people in the European colonies of the Americas. For some it offered a way to escape the confined of expected gender roles, and for others it was a corrosive force. Combine this life story with any of the following resources for a lesson on colonial women and religious life: Life Story: Doña Teresa de Aguilera y Roche, Witchcraft in Bermuda, The Mourning Poetry of Anne Bradstreet, Life Story: Lady Deborah Moody, Ornaments of the Daughters of Zion, Life Story: Mother Esther Marie-Joseph Wheelwright de l’Enfant, Life Story: Kateri Tekakwitha, A Nun Challenges the Patriarchy, Life Story: Susanna Wright , Life Story: Tituba, Life in the Mission System, Life Story: Toypurina, Life Story: Margrieta van Varick, and Life Story: The Public Universal Friend.
Themes
AMERICAN CULTURE
New-York Historical Society Curriculum Library Connections
- For more resources relating to childhood in the English colonies, see New World—New Netherland—New York.
