-
Articles/Ads
Article ON FAMILY GOVERNMENT. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Family Government.
ON FAMILY GOVERNMENT .
TN spite of modern whims about liberty and equality , the govern- - 1 ment of a family must be absolute ; mild , not tyrannical . The laws of nature and the voice of reason have declared the dependence of the child on the parent . The weakness of youth must be controlled by the band of age and experience . Parental tenderness is too apt to degenerate into ntal weakness : ' If you please ,
pare child , ' or , ' will you , dear , ' are soon answered with a surly ' no , I won ' t ! ' The reigns of government should be always gently drawn ; not twitched like a curb bridle at one time , and dangling loosely at another . Uniformity in parents produces ¦ uniformity in children . Whip at one minute and caress , the next , or let the culprit go unpunished for the same crime , and-to-morrow he will shake his . list in
behind your back ; in a few months it will be - your face . Consider before you threaten ; then be as good as your word . ' I will whip you , if you don ' t mind me , ' says the parent in a pet . — ' I a ' n ' t afraid of it , ' says the child ; the parent , enraged , flies towards it with the airs-of a cannibal rather than a reprover : the child prefers flight to broken bones . ' ' You may go now , but you shall have your pay ' dont believe thatthinks
with interest next time youdo so . ' ' I ' , ' the child . Its experience gives the parent the lie . ' Spare the rod and spoil the child , " says one who was far from being an old bachelor . But say you , whips and rods were the scourges of the dark ages ; the . present age is more enlig htened ; their law is reason ; their authority is mildness . Beware of that reason which makes vour child dogmatical , and that mildness which makes him
obstinate . There are other rods besides those of birch ; there is the rod of reproof . ' Arguments addressed to the heart are more powerful than those applied to the back . ' Let these be properly administered in case of disobedience ; if ineffectual , try the harsher method . Never begin to correct till your auger has subsided . Cease not till you have subdued the will of the offender ; if you do , your authority is at
an end . Let your commands be reasonable . Never deliver them in a passion , as though they were already disobeyed ; nor with'a timid distrustful tone , as if you suspected your own authority . Remember that loud scolding is directly " the reverse of weighty reasoning . It is the dyin . < - "roans of good government . Never let it be- heard under your " roof , unless you intend your house should be a nursery of
faction , which may at some future time rear its hydra head , not only against you , but in opposition to the parents and guardians of our country . Patriotism , as well as charity , begins at home . Let the voice of concord be heard in your iimiily , it will charm your domestics , to a love of order . Your grandchildren will never be pointed at as the offspring of a termigant jacobin , and you will merit more praise of your country than many who spout in Parliament . . VOL . IX . 3 D
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Family Government.
ON FAMILY GOVERNMENT .
TN spite of modern whims about liberty and equality , the govern- - 1 ment of a family must be absolute ; mild , not tyrannical . The laws of nature and the voice of reason have declared the dependence of the child on the parent . The weakness of youth must be controlled by the band of age and experience . Parental tenderness is too apt to degenerate into ntal weakness : ' If you please ,
pare child , ' or , ' will you , dear , ' are soon answered with a surly ' no , I won ' t ! ' The reigns of government should be always gently drawn ; not twitched like a curb bridle at one time , and dangling loosely at another . Uniformity in parents produces ¦ uniformity in children . Whip at one minute and caress , the next , or let the culprit go unpunished for the same crime , and-to-morrow he will shake his . list in
behind your back ; in a few months it will be - your face . Consider before you threaten ; then be as good as your word . ' I will whip you , if you don ' t mind me , ' says the parent in a pet . — ' I a ' n ' t afraid of it , ' says the child ; the parent , enraged , flies towards it with the airs-of a cannibal rather than a reprover : the child prefers flight to broken bones . ' ' You may go now , but you shall have your pay ' dont believe thatthinks
with interest next time youdo so . ' ' I ' , ' the child . Its experience gives the parent the lie . ' Spare the rod and spoil the child , " says one who was far from being an old bachelor . But say you , whips and rods were the scourges of the dark ages ; the . present age is more enlig htened ; their law is reason ; their authority is mildness . Beware of that reason which makes vour child dogmatical , and that mildness which makes him
obstinate . There are other rods besides those of birch ; there is the rod of reproof . ' Arguments addressed to the heart are more powerful than those applied to the back . ' Let these be properly administered in case of disobedience ; if ineffectual , try the harsher method . Never begin to correct till your auger has subsided . Cease not till you have subdued the will of the offender ; if you do , your authority is at
an end . Let your commands be reasonable . Never deliver them in a passion , as though they were already disobeyed ; nor with'a timid distrustful tone , as if you suspected your own authority . Remember that loud scolding is directly " the reverse of weighty reasoning . It is the dyin . < - "roans of good government . Never let it be- heard under your " roof , unless you intend your house should be a nursery of
faction , which may at some future time rear its hydra head , not only against you , but in opposition to the parents and guardians of our country . Patriotism , as well as charity , begins at home . Let the voice of concord be heard in your iimiily , it will charm your domestics , to a love of order . Your grandchildren will never be pointed at as the offspring of a termigant jacobin , and you will merit more praise of your country than many who spout in Parliament . . VOL . IX . 3 D