, 1874-10-25

/ heather story Sars that when young Achilles We
! taken into aoon where Dis nurae WAS olspiay
ing some TOYS, he chose tho sword, because
| Certain martial spirit began to rcveai itself
! Thus all the world outside Of tho Church coo,c
| hight donn to this land OF the young, and pick
i out its leaders. Thev are all being mad
down among tue children. 1t is from then
all tlle artists are coming up; all tho architects
engineers mathcmaticians must coma up; and
! for the most palt, somo frlead stands by to ell
! cournge TINS particular drift OF mind. Thi
shows, therefore, that young years are the year
| that storlng up all tue ideas OF life. and, il
| fact, are the years that absorbing the Who'll
color Of life, lust - white wood dipped in TIL
| old TyriEn dye absorbed = purple that neye
could bc washed out, Old books abound viii
atories Of this character. Ne are told tha
UamiIcar took his son Hannibal when ha wEa
years Of age 10 tho altar to make him swear etcr
nal hostility 10 tile Romans, because be naa sur,
it the Young man grew up without his heart be-
ing perfectly filled with this hostility to the
Homaas he would not be so good d warrior as hi
othorwiso might have beeu- He uantcd the
hatred to bs such that Rome would oe destroyed
that his son would neyor rest day or pieA
until it WAS oycrLhtown,- n,-and heuce takes hin
wheu he is years. OF age and fills his heart witt
hostility, With aEger, with prejudice, and Will
the war sp.rit. And when tho boy came
TO be man be t,ampled all over Italy. and wa.
successful e.ary rywhe:o, because his father pre-
pared him for just such 8 azalnpliug upon 4t
Eeeks xud souls of uen.
No are also told that tho father OF Cicero
when the boy ras about IL years OF age know
ing that he waB a born speaker, as Ae would
mako speeches before the family 1t home. SOLD
lis farm, amt took tho boy dorm TO Rome and put
linn under the tuteInge OF AL o1ator. You know
in their childhood By marking IN tho walls.
Nov, this great ouIs1da world shows just
where tho human heart Is forming, where it is
shaped in .ts feelings. and where it gets iss
ideas; and, therefore, tbe Church is bound to
seize upon this great priuciplo OF human nature.
this principle OF God aud is bound to tako
its youth by tho hand and lead them along in
the right Path. II mny Apeak OF personal
matter A boy OF IS years was placed Under MY
care, some twelve years ago, In order 10 bs
instructed es private p1pl. While walking
with him in the woods ono beautiful Saturday
he said s. How Go you suppose all these things
these trees, these flowers, all this magnificent
wo1ld-can1e from fire :" I discovered then
that tho boys father Was a materislist (what
we call an z:heist}. and had taught his CHILD
that al this masnlticent world camo from, some
kind Of sctiou OF the elements, and this lad Of
Is years had no idea that = great intelligent
Creator made all things. lie mad lived verE
secluded life, aud His heart was literally
empty Of that idea OF God which II
entertained by ,noat children. UnconsclouslT
he had absorbed the whole materinlistic system
tho ati1eisI'c szstem--and the father, perhaps,
had simply taught him through curiosity, not
desriug to make 10 iufde! or atheist out OF L!s
xon; had, porlapt. taught linn for pleasure. or
accidentally. nanv Of those principles. But the
lad heard no ono else speak. His father was d
tie would. aud this lid Of Is had all tho philoso-
ply Of old lucretl1s, and the more recent phil
osophy Of Tyulall ut WAS long aSo) f..lly In his
mind aud heart. Look ct the Mahommcdan
,hlld. 1t is full Of Maho!nuef3anisn-ba5 ab-
sorbed it. Now thceo facts show the path Of the
sy,1e
lown f1om Heaven. and spoke to you, and said.
J: This is the way; walk ye it, just as though
hc great God came every day, aud said. t'Train
lp the child in the way ho should SO, aud wheu
le is old ha Will not depart from It.
his: "Why should tesch ny Child sLezs re:!is.
'us dogmas before ha Is able to comprehend
hem:" Yhx? Just because such is human
is Gods plan Of earth. AL truths
re taught the young before they can compre-
lend tlen. The child who learus to play upon
he Piano does not comprehend music
it knows nothing about the great
cience understood BY beethoven and Mozart.
The parent s;ands beside tho child, and is re-
ponsible for it. TIE superior eye OF the parent
8 tho guardian OF the Child. The parent stands
music aud Of education, aud Of sll these things,
lands in tho calld's stead. Every older person
Il tle mediator bstweou every younger pers1n
:al God. Every older person is tho mediator
;etueen every young pcr'on and civilization aud
culture, and thus eternal Ills alBo-
Now the idea that one muet not teach his
:bild these doSmas because his child is not old
enough to understand them Is. perfectly III the
acc OF MI human ua:urc; and vet this is the
'erT argument brought forward by many per-
'oDs. They think this is liberty. II ike no
,atticula- creed" they say; and I want reg
ouh liberty; and want my children to grow
lp i'll this liberty, and then, after they reach lhe
gs Of Is or q ycara, let them choose for them
elves. Oh what havoc OF education thus meth
I'd would make in tie realms outside of the
;aurch! Suppose VIC should cay tia: it my son
t the age OF IL should wish to learn to read let
I'm learu. II ho wants to learu arithmetic, let |
lin seek that branch of stndy. Tie principle
) all false; evsrr part OF it il false. What If
ou snd had been reared in state Of nature,
or example, because our parents did not wish |
0 p.ejudice Us in favor Of dress, or in favor Of
his or that-let Us do without, or choose |
Of ourselves. what would wo bs but
avages this night? The older pcrson stands
Ho stands between him aud ciyli- |
alton, and is responsible in every seuss OF the |
Eord for our carly culture, aud for the great |
ubsequeut results of life.
The general principle is this: That youth is !
he period when we are absorbing the great !
rutls OF life, which in after life are to uuder
tana. Now this may Seem paE.ioxical aud |
1lse, but it is the great principle u2oa which |
society And religion are based. We are to learn
r.
eats understand them. We learn music when |
10 are young, and in after years drink III al the |
! andeur OF that E1ent art aud feel that |
;od il back Of it. We learn to love Nature when |
70 are chillren,-the flowers, the trees, and, in |
itcr vearH, We percelre that God is behind them |
Il. In after years 10 understand this great DIS
ute among the authorities in religion. We !
oust learn its great cardinal truths in early lie,
nd in subsequent life justify them, and go over
he arguments upon which they arc based, and /
ind the great senee OF them. |
But tberc is one other idea that must always !
% with tt1ia or else the whole thing is q dend !
allure, and worse than failure. It is this: You
re bound to teach tile truth. That il tho pr1n- |
iplc. Ii the parent tcaches faisehooi, tic whole
teory is exploded. the wholo plan Of God is |
Ezccked and ruined. The difficulty With Ma- |
child is TINT tho parent has no truth. |
The principle that the older person must TAXA |
lie Younger by the hand and lead 1t along Is |
fod-l1kc. is divine but WOO be to that older |
'erson nho has falschood lustead Of truth in |
lis heart. There il no arrangement made for |
caclng false ideaB to either the Young OF the |
I'D. God has no plan By which .ny parent can |
each anything foolish or false to the child, and
lence there arc two great duties devolying upon |
.vcry one Of you. The first is that rod take
sono ronns person or persons By tho !
1and and lead them; and tho Sec |
md is that ron yourself hare the |
ruth in your mind and il, your heart. Woo 10 |
% you If yon lead anybody. and have not found |
he truth to which to lead them, Hence how |
:areful should every church member be to rise |
thoyA 10 ria al, Fl,