Morning journal and courier., 1885-02-25
Parents and Children

from Discourse by Felix Adler in Chickering
Hall, New York
How the ideal law of unity is to be applied
to life is the large theme which runs through
all my present discourses. The object of mar
riage is not merely to continue the race; it is
rather to lift the duality of sex into the unity
OF life. Still, the possession of own children
is necessary to moral completeness. Husband
and wife cannot experience the highest happi-
ness and perfection if the sweet boon of chill
dren be denied them. Fatherhood and moth
erhood not only are sacred names, they in
volve sacred experiences and raise before us
whole ranges of spiritual fact which otherwise
are never caught sight of. 1t is the first duty
of parents to support their children. If you
have given the babe life you must also give
it through the long years of its helplessness
careful nursing, food and shelter. This in
wolves much self-sacriice your part, but
this very self-sacriice reacts with wonderful
effect upon your own moral development
The love of children is the great means of
creating self sacrificing love in the world
Again. it is the duty of parents to watch over
the mental and moral growth of the young.
The presence of children in the home is an
immense stimulus to self-inprovement 4; it
should purify the parents language and make
their speech correct, ,idicmatic and expressive.
transmit to our children. A single word of
race prejudice uttered in child's hearing
will leave bad impression for life upon its
mind If we do not want to be posing and
acting part before our children, and thus
run the risk of being detected when off our
guard then nothing remains but to make
ourselves what we want our children to be,
in their presence Thus should children slim
ulate US to take active measures toward our
own moral development. In our child, a life
which is a far higher moral plane bends
down to our lives, which are far below, and
strives to raise them upward toward their
own true selves. 1t is not without cause that
the old child-like religions called their God
father, and said, "Our Father who art in
heaven"
The relation of parents to children is that
of moral superior brought into unity with
a moral inferior 1t follows, if we are vice
gerents of the moral law, that we must de-
mand exact obedience to our commands. The
first thing a child must learn is to yield per-
feet obedience to his parents, and on their
part good rule in governing their children
is to ask themselves the question: eff the
child were grown up to the full maturity of
its powers, would it approve my commands"
The child is gift from the infinite; nay, it
is rather a trust confided to our keeping. As
its moral superior we must beware of coming
into such relations with it as would destroy
it's reverence for us. If we are as gods to our
children, let us take care to keep our god
head well about US. In my boyhood used
to read how AGneas rescued his aged father,
Anchises. by carrying him on his own back
out of burning Troy, but could not under
stand why Virgil persisted in calling him pi
Gus Eneas. I understand it all now. The
root of all piety in the world is in the filial
relation. The names of father and mother
are the dearest, holiest names we know.
Even when our heads are silvered with age,
our thoughts go back to the father who guild
ed our first steps, and to the sweet mother
who cared for us no one will ever care
again.