Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1860-02-09
THE CHILD AND THE MAN.

Every child that sees the light, is born with a
nature adapted specially to some one profession
or calling of life. He is born to be a farmer, o
mechanic, doctor, lawyer, a minister, or
something else. To this pursuit the child, il
wisely and literally trained, will manifest an
inclination in early life. One is inclined to
books and pictures, another to hunting and fish,
ing and third to the hammer, saw, anger and
hatchet, from infancy. Children select ttei,
toys and playthings in accordance with this prin'
ciple of taste or inclination.
Thus by carefully watching, parents may dis
cover in their children very early in life, fit
ness for the vocation which they are designed to
follow by nature. But parents must not place
too severe restrictions on the liberties of the
little ones. They must be allowed to 60 freely
to choose their own way of enjoying themselves
in all cases, however, observing constant re-
gard for virture and disapproval of sin, in the
family government. The philosophy of training
CONSISTS in making virture attractive; encoura-
giug the mind to self-reliance and self-develop-
ment filling the heart with cheerful content
ment, and stimulating the body to active exer-
cise-leaving each child free to indicate his
choice of profession in his own way.
The result of such course is, children enter
willingly, and throw the whole force of their
nature, into the business for which they are
adapted and the increased pleasure of life,
passed in conscious obedience to the divine law
of their being, is constantly enuobling their
whole nature. They live for q purpose they
have prospect of success; they hope; they are
encouraged to think, labor and economize, for
the enlargement of their means; and the conse-
quence is growth and prosperity in their busi-
ness.
Many parents pursue course which is di
recty opposite to this, and which is largely
hurtful, if not ruinous, to the child's welfare
They look merely to the supposed honorableness
or prcftableness of the profession. Irrespective
of the childs inclinations or abilities, they de-
termine within themselves that he is to be law
yer, doctor, or minister; they educate him in
this notion, without leaving his nature and
wishes to free and unbiased Development
The tender and plant disposition of the child
soon accommodates itself in some sort to the
will of the parents but if the chosen profession
happen to be the wrong one, it is certain to
prove distasteful; and the commonest observer
will readily perceive that something is taken
away from the buoyant hopefulness and enthu.
siasm of the child's life. He is discouraged and
subdued-just in proportion as the pursuit, Sc
lected for him, is untitled to his tastes and tai
ents.
Children are as different from each other o:
the oak, the ash, the willow, the rose, and tht
daisy that lifts its tender, helpless eyes to thu
Spring heavens. One is modest aud loving,
second is hardy and active, third is sedate ant
thoughtful, while fourth is ardent, passionate
and enthusiastic. One is imaginative anothe
reasons all the time; while third is given owe
entirely to physical pursuits and bodily exer
else. The various spheres Of life require al
this diversity of gifts to fill them properly. TIL
talents requisite to make good mechanic woul'
not answer in the ministry. How unwise ant
one-sided, then, must be any system, which, il
pointing out the child's lifelong vocation, over
looks his nature and predlectiors! An evil i
!, simply done to two businesses, if the wrong ont
lis chosen for the child TO the one he shoulC
hollow, by taking away from it a staunch friend
to the one he does follow, by inaicting upon i
aa untitled and Improbable servant Give tn