silly Fathers and ignorant Mothers, are generally so brought up, that traditionary Opinions are to them, all their lives long, instead of Reason.  They are, perhaps, sometimes told in regard of what Religion exacts, That they must Believe and Do such and such things, because the Word of God requires it; but they are not put upon searching the Scriptures for themselves, to see whether, or no, these things are so; and they so little know why they should look upon the Scriptures to be the Word of God, that but too often they are easily perswaded out of the Reverence due to them as being so:  And (if they happen to meet with such bad examples) are not seldom brought from thence, even to scoff at the Documents of their Education; and, in consequence thereof, to have no Religion at all.  Whilst others (naturally more dispos’d to be Religious) are either (as divers in the Apostles Days were) carry’d away with every wind of Doctrine, ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the Truth; Weak, Superstitious, Useless Creatures; or else, if more tenacious in their Natures, blindly and conceitedly weded to the Principles and Opinions of their Spiritual Guides; who having the direction of their Consciences, rarely fail to have that also of their Affairs and Fortunes.  A Wife of which sort proves, very often, no small unhappiness to the Family where she comes; for this kind of ignorant Persons are, of all others, the most Arrogant; and when they are once intitl’d to Saintship for their blind Zeal, as nothing is more troublesome than they in finding fault with, and censuring every one that differs from them, so to their Admirers (who lead them as they please) they think they can never pay enough for that Incence which is offer’d them:  The dearest Interests of Humane Life being, oftentimes, thus sacrific’d to a vain Image of Piety; whilst makers of long Prayers have devour’d Widows Houses.

But what is here said implying that Ladies should so well understand their Religion, as to be able to answer both to such who oppose, and to such who misrepresent it; this may seem, perhaps, to require that they should have the Science of Doctors, and be well skill’d in Theological Disputes and Controversies; than the Study of which I suppose there could scarce be found for them a more useless Employment.  But whether such Patrons of Ignorance as know nothing themselves which they ought to know, will call it Learning, or not, to understand the Christian Religion, and the grounds of receiving it; it is evident that they who think so much knowledge, as that, to be needless for a Woman, must either not be perswaded of the Truth of Christianity; or else must believe that Women are not concern’d to be Christians.  For if Christianity be a Religion from God, and Women have Souls to be sav’d as well as Men; to know what this Religion consists in, and to understand the grounds on which it is to be receiv’d, can be no more than necessary Knowledge to a Woman, as well as to a Man:  Which necessary Knowledge is sufficient to inable any one so far to answer to the Opposers or Corrupters of Christianity, as to secure them from the danger of being impos’d upon by such Mens Argumentations; which is all that I have thought requisite for a Lady; and not that she should be prepar’d to challenge every Adversary to Truth.