A CATECHISM,
THAT IS TO SAY,
AN INSTRUCTION TO BE LEARNED OF EVERY PERSON, BEFORE HE BE BROUGHT TO
BE CONFIRMED BY THE BISHOP
[...]
Question. What dost thou chiefly learn by these Commandments?
Answer. I learn two things: my duty towards God, and my duty towards my Neighbour.
Question. What is thy duty towards God?
Answer. My duty towards God, is to believe in him to fear him, and to love him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength; to worship him, to give him thanks, to put my whole trust in him, to call upon him, to honour his holy Name and his Word, and to serve hum truly all the days of my life.
Question. What is thy duty towards thy Neighbour?
Answer. My duty towards my Neighbour, is to love him as myself, and to do to all men, as I would they should do unto me: To love, honour, and succour my father and mother: To honour and obey the [Queen/King], and all that are put in authority under [her/him]: To submit myself to all my governours, teachers, spiritual pastors and masters: To order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters: To hurt no body by word nor deed: To be true and just in all my dealing: To bear no malice nor hatred in my heart: To keep my hands from picking and stealing, and my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering: To keep my body in temperance, soberness, and chastity: Not to covet nor desire other men's goods; but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life, into which it shall please God to call me.
The Church of England Book of Common Prayer includes a catechism, or answers that are to be recited in response to questions before receiving confirmation. I don't know how rigorously it was enforced, but theoretically just about every Jane Austen character -- and Jane Austen herself -- would have had to go through this. The following is the section of the catechism which sums up the lessons to be learned from the Ten Commandments (which also have to be recited); the "Duty towards thy Neighbor" section is kind of interesting:
