The Russellville Democrat., 1890-09-11


 pei the will but they do not compel it," It is by q concurring act of . free will that the soul is brought in to bondage to wrong and sinful ap- petites, affections and desires. It IS thus that moral freedom. mans highest birthright, is limited and may be even lost. Every right choice in the face of wrong desire makes right choosing easier and IS q new moral force in the life.
 Our ideal IS to make of the child 2 moral being who carries within himself his own rule of conduct, who governs himself by his own will, who knows no other rule than the law of right, and has no will except for the good.
 But before we succeed Tn this, years must elapse and during this time all we can ask of the child Is to be innocent. Our only thought IS to prevent him from doing evil and urge him to praiseworthy actions We can impose only an exterior morality while waiting for the req son and the will to become the solid principles of an interior morality freely desired and realized. l can not discuss whether the child is naturally good or bad. Probably he is neither. He is naturally led to do what is good and what is bad But his instincts are not naturally evil in themselves. They are with. pity because they do not understand the evil they do. Envy and ange, are perhaps natural and bad. Par ents are largely to blame for the evil inclinations of children. Parents theach them gluttony by feeding them unwholesome food at all hours SeIfishness by favorIng them oyel others. Vanity by praislng then and by unnecessary dressing. De ceit and lying by example; such al telling them it is sugar and mol medicine. Poor English by baby talk etc. Rowdyism by toy pistols Weakness of character by what ii known as breaking their wills, etc
 Moral education must oppose ant repress. At first the evil will b' opposed by favoring the good. Th' good IS what pleases the bad wha displeases the child. Let it be SC managed that he shall be pleased with only what is good. Later on the good is what father and mothe order and the evil what they forbid Make him love them well enough tt yield to their will.
 Next the good is what is useful the evil what is hurtful. As far al possible make the child's duty ac cord with his interest. Then, tht good is what men approve and the law requires, the evil what is universally condemned Make the child sensitive to public opinion. Teach him to blush and feel shame for every act that incuri general reproach. It is not until the final term of it's evolution that tho conscience comes to grasp the ides of moral good existing by itself, con formed to the dignity of man, which must be practised for the reason that 1t is good. He has now gen eral rule of conduct, the idea of duty
 This is a long, slow process. re qulring years of patience, study, and devotion to the beginning life and growing habits of every child under our care.
 Let it be a first duty to teach that every child stands toward every be ing Tn certain relations parents tc children, creator to creature, pupil to pupil, citizen to citizen, and ma ny others. As soon as he sees the relation in which he stands to an other being, there arises the con curisness of moral obligation. He must see that he must yield his self ishness to the good and rights Of others. He must recognize the per sonal rights of every other one. This will create a public sentimen, which will aid greatly in the discip- line of the school.
 We must study to make the con- ditions for goodness as favorable as possible. We must consider by what arrangement of teachers, studies. re- wards and punishments, and of all detail of instruction and discipline, the conditions for goodness may be made the most favorable, and the mptation to sloth, disobedience etc., be reduced to the lowest point.
 The greatest factor in this is the teachers own personality. To throw the weight of his own in fuence and example on the side of scholarship and truth {; to exemplify in his own person what socrates would call the the improy- ment of the soul; to have his school accomplish what it professes to ac- to have no pretense in teaching and training, and no false hood in his working plans, constitute his highest practical ambition. We must give every pupil our love ana sympathy and draw their hearts to ours by the strongest bonds. The initiative instincts of children leads hem to follow examples of those around them. His parents and teachers are the greatest people in he world and hls highest ideal is his eacher. Every one of them has nore or less of his teacher in him. The teacher and parent then, should ,e all that he wishes the child to ,e. This applies to manners and labits, as well as morals.
 Next to these examples with whom Ie daily comes in contact are the many lessons from history which nay be often brought forward. Boys 'ecome brave, hardy and true, not y being told to be so, but by being