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Article ESSAYS ON EDUCATION—No. IV. ← Page 2 of 4 →
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Essays On Education—No. Iv.
tender and interesting creature , so graceful and so docile—the child—is already considered such an insufferable little demon as to render it imperatively necessary for him to be withdrawn from society ; so that being thus , in a moment deprived of all the flattering delusions of his departed grandeur , he retires to expiate in the chamber of a domestic , the crime of having abused the indiscreet favour which had been shown him . If children were but treated after the manner prescribed bthe
dicy tates of reason , they would be excused for many of their offences while the case would not happen of the great acting towards them with injustice , nay , even with barbarity . For this , it is the mother who is often very much to blame , since to please her , the child is lauded beyond measure , while in an equal ratio are extolled his beauty , his liveliness , and his talent , besides any other qualities which he either does not possess , or whichif he doarein realitydefects ; anclif hereto be added
, , , , , the demonstrations of pleasure which even the most serious individuals are in the habit of manifesting towards children as an effect of the irresistible attraction peculiar to infancy , we must come to the conclusion that every circumstance conspires to encourage insensibly their vanity , and to prepare for them a source of future unbappiness . This , however , is not arguing that children should be treated with harshness and severity . It behoves uson the contraryto act towards
, , them with much indulgence ; to speak to them uniformly with kindness , and to convince them of the interests which ive take in their wellbeing ; yet , at the same time , as little must we—as is too frequently the case—extol to excess , and still less stimulate them importunatel y to the saying witty things , or applaud as extraordinary any silly expression
winch , tney may be in the habit ot mechanically repeating . In a word , it is necessary at the same time , that we watch over the child with the utmost vigilance , to dissimulate our very care , contenting ourselves with replying judiciously to any question which he may think fit to ask , but without in any case provoking him ; diverting him opportunely with such pastimes as may assimilate with his taste and inclination , and may least require in their management the co-operation of another personespecial care being taken that they be of a noiseless nature—and if we
did not , with such precautions , succeed in making of the child ( ancl much to his misfortune it would be ) a little Cato , we should , at the least , render him supportable to others , which is all that need at present be required . But let us put the hypothesis of the child being of a character so daring , so turbulent , and so troublesome that he cannot exist unless he be continually creating a disturbancewhile no one but his motheror
, , some very bosom friend shall be able to bear with , or tolerate him . In this case , at least , should I be told that it will be necessary for her to remove the society either of the child or of the world , my answer is , that between two such alternatives not an instant would a . good mother vacillate in her choice ; since she must not certainly consider her existence as centering in the splendour of a crowded assembly ; in giving ear to , and accepting a string of unmeaning- and insincere compliments
; in applauding any flash of raillery : in condoling with the luckless pamester , or in herself incurring the hazards of the card table—for such is the summary of what takes place in assemblies of this description : the noble title of mother imposes obligations ivhieh are only to be . properly discharged in the retirement of home ; while so far from their being onerous , they , on the contrary , bear with them a thousand plea-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essays On Education—No. Iv.
tender and interesting creature , so graceful and so docile—the child—is already considered such an insufferable little demon as to render it imperatively necessary for him to be withdrawn from society ; so that being thus , in a moment deprived of all the flattering delusions of his departed grandeur , he retires to expiate in the chamber of a domestic , the crime of having abused the indiscreet favour which had been shown him . If children were but treated after the manner prescribed bthe
dicy tates of reason , they would be excused for many of their offences while the case would not happen of the great acting towards them with injustice , nay , even with barbarity . For this , it is the mother who is often very much to blame , since to please her , the child is lauded beyond measure , while in an equal ratio are extolled his beauty , his liveliness , and his talent , besides any other qualities which he either does not possess , or whichif he doarein realitydefects ; anclif hereto be added
, , , , , the demonstrations of pleasure which even the most serious individuals are in the habit of manifesting towards children as an effect of the irresistible attraction peculiar to infancy , we must come to the conclusion that every circumstance conspires to encourage insensibly their vanity , and to prepare for them a source of future unbappiness . This , however , is not arguing that children should be treated with harshness and severity . It behoves uson the contraryto act towards
, , them with much indulgence ; to speak to them uniformly with kindness , and to convince them of the interests which ive take in their wellbeing ; yet , at the same time , as little must we—as is too frequently the case—extol to excess , and still less stimulate them importunatel y to the saying witty things , or applaud as extraordinary any silly expression
winch , tney may be in the habit ot mechanically repeating . In a word , it is necessary at the same time , that we watch over the child with the utmost vigilance , to dissimulate our very care , contenting ourselves with replying judiciously to any question which he may think fit to ask , but without in any case provoking him ; diverting him opportunely with such pastimes as may assimilate with his taste and inclination , and may least require in their management the co-operation of another personespecial care being taken that they be of a noiseless nature—and if we
did not , with such precautions , succeed in making of the child ( ancl much to his misfortune it would be ) a little Cato , we should , at the least , render him supportable to others , which is all that need at present be required . But let us put the hypothesis of the child being of a character so daring , so turbulent , and so troublesome that he cannot exist unless he be continually creating a disturbancewhile no one but his motheror
, , some very bosom friend shall be able to bear with , or tolerate him . In this case , at least , should I be told that it will be necessary for her to remove the society either of the child or of the world , my answer is , that between two such alternatives not an instant would a . good mother vacillate in her choice ; since she must not certainly consider her existence as centering in the splendour of a crowded assembly ; in giving ear to , and accepting a string of unmeaning- and insincere compliments
; in applauding any flash of raillery : in condoling with the luckless pamester , or in herself incurring the hazards of the card table—for such is the summary of what takes place in assemblies of this description : the noble title of mother imposes obligations ivhieh are only to be . properly discharged in the retirement of home ; while so far from their being onerous , they , on the contrary , bear with them a thousand plea-