Rock Island Argus., 1905-01-21

a too easy life brings with it sor,
of lassitude in vital energy. One he
comes blase, disillusioned, an old young
man. past being diverted. How many
young people are in this state, Upon
, them have been deposited, like sort
of mold. the traces of our decrepitude
our skepticisrn, our vices and the bad
habits they have contracted in our
company. What reflections upon our
selves these youths weary of life force
us to make, What announcements are
craven on their brows,
These shadows say to us by contrast
| that happiness lies in n life true. ac-
tive. spontaneous. ungalled by the yoke
Of the passions. of unnatural needs. OF
unhealthy stimulus. keeping intact the
| physical faculty of enjoying the light
of day and the air we breathe and in
| the heart the capacity to thrill with
the love OF all that is generous, simple
| and fine.
The artificial life engenders artificial
thought and speech little sure of it
self Normal habits. deep impressions.
the ordinary contact with reality. bring
frankneSs with them. Ealsehood is the
vice of q slave. the refuge of the cow
ardly and weak. He who is free and
strong is unilinching in speech. We
should encourage in our children the
hardihood to speak frankly. What do
we ordinarily do? We trample on
natural disposition. level it down to
the uniformity which for the crowd is
synonymous with good form. To think
with ones own mind. feel with ones
own heart, express ones own person
ality-how unconventional, how rustic!
oh. the atrocity of an education which
consists in the perpetual muzzling of
the only thing that gives any of us his
reason for being! OF how many soul
murders DO we become guilty! Some
are struck down with bludgeons, others
gently smothered with pillows. Every
thing conspires against independence OF
character. When we are little, people
wish us TO be dolls or craven images;
when we grow up they approve of us
on condition that we are like all the
rest of the world-automatons; when
you have seen one of them you've seen
them all. So the lack OF originality
and initiative is upon us, and platitude
and monotony are the distinctions of
today. Truth can free us from this
bondage. Let our children be taught
to be themselves. to ring clear, with
out crack or mufile Make loyalty n
need to them, and in their gravest fail
ures, if only they acknowledge them,
account it for merit that they have not
covered their sin.
To Oh nII t,,n
ness in our soicitude as educators. Let
us have for this comrade of childhood
Il trifie uncivilized, ii is true, but so
gracious and friendly-all possible re-
gard. We must not friGhten 1t away.
When Ii has once fed Il so rarely
comes back, IngenuOuSness is not sim
ply the sister of truth. the guardian of
the individual qualities of each of us;
1t is besides Il great informing and edu-
eating force. l see among us too many
practical people, SO called, who go
about armed with terrifying spectacles
and huge shears to ferret out naive
things and clip their wings. They up
root fngenuouSneSS from life. from
thought. from education, and pursue 1t
even TO the region of dreams. Under
pretext of making men of their chill
dren they prevent their being children
at all; as If before the ripe fruit Of au-
tumn. flowers did not have to be. and
perfumes. and songs of birds, and all
the fairy springtime.
1 ask indulgence for everything naive
and simple-not alone for the innocent
conceits that fiutter round the curly
heads of children, but also for the leg
end, the folk song. the tales of the
world of marvel and mystery. The
sense of the marvellous Is in the child
the first form of that sense of the in
finite without which a man Is like n
bird deprived of wings. Let us not
wean the child from it. but let us guard
in him the faculty of rising above
what is earthly, so that he may appre-
ciate later on those pure and moving
symbols of vanished ages wherein hui
man truth has found forms OF expression
that our arid logic will never replace.