Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1861-10-30
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Edited by A. SMITH, County Superintendent.
For the Educational Column.

obedience.
What musty fusty, worn out topic to
write about Who has patience enough
to wade through an essay on it? Well,
brother teacher and friend parent, we ad-
NIT that it is a rather dry, old subject, but
it is nevertheless one which may proftably
engage few moments Of our attention.-
With your permission, then, we shall pres
ent few thoughts on the subject
Submission to proper authority is one Of
(, the highest moral virtues Without it,
anarchy and destruction await the school,
the family, the church, and the State ev-
cry good institution of society must be
subvcrted, man sink to barbarism and the
world become great bedlam.
The important consequences following
from the habit of obedience, ought to make
! this the first lesson of every child The
child and the pupil at school should bc
trained up in the way, and when they be-
come old they will not depart from it
/ Obedience ought to be made to perVade the
/ whole character. With the young it
/ has been well said, 6 it is the substitute for
knowledge and experience. By it they
avail themselves OF the judgement Of their
seniors and practice the duties Of their
/ various relations, fii4l trAternal, soci Il and
/ religious. The transition from hatitual
| obedience to parents and teachers, to the
! obedience to civil, moral and divine law, is
easy and natural. Hence the parent and
! the teacher who carefully implant this hAb,
/ it in those who are intrustcd to their care,
are thereby planting seeds that will bear
the most precious fruit-men and women
whose noble characters will make them a
blessing to their kind. Who would not he
willing to labor and to wait for the at
tainment of an object SO desirable. But
he who neglects this obvious duty, wheth-
! er parent or teacher, is thereby training 9
those committed to him, in a way that will
certainly unfit them for the full and pro
per enjoyment and performance of the
duties Of life. This Is dereliction Of one
Of the most sacred duties we owe to the
young. The unrestrained will, the un-
curbed passion, and the selfish disposition
will not of themselves grow into the good
and beautiful character; they must be
trained in the right direction.
In the well governed school and family
there is obedience, and the result is good
conduct, order and quiet. Children
brought up under this regime have already
laid, broad and deep, the foundation Of I
good character. But when brought up il
loosely governed family and school, where
they are petted and indul gcd in every whim
it is entirely natural for them to become pas
sionate, sour tempered, selfish, and anything
else that can make an individual miserable
and render him disagreeable to others Iti:
contrary to experience and to the laws o.
mental development for those thus bred tC
be, to any satisfactory degree, successful
and happy in life. When they cannot
have their own will and withal be LEI
alone, however unjust and injurious theil
course may be, they are always ready tc
rebel; of the truth of this, clever, old 'Un
Gle Sam can bear abundant testimony from
his own bitter personal experience.
What are the best means of securing
obedience in school and family? Man nev
er eats without a motive motives theI
must be presented; let US briefly mention
a few.
Fear-this very strong motive, but i
secures obedience, not so much because
is right and proper in itself, but becaus,
private, personal considerations make i
agreeable and prudent to avoid punishment
The fear of punishment may deter mai
from committing murder or robbery, bu
this does not constitute him an honest ant
good man. 1t does net animate the hear
and kindle the soul with that lofty enthus
iasm which moves it to noble deeds. Whel
no other motives can be presented in