educator remember that the child, even at four or five years of
age, is making experiments with adults, seeing through them,
with marvellous shrewdness making his own valuations and
reacting sensitively to each impression. The slightest
mistrust, the smallest unkindness, the least act of injustice
or contemptuous ridicule, leave wounds that last for life in
the finely strung soul of the child. While on the other side
unexpected friendliness, kind advances, just indignation, make
quite as deep an impression on those senses which people term
as soft as wax but treat as if they were made of cowhide.

Relatively most excellent was the old education which consisted
solely in keeping oneself whole, pure, and honourable. For it
did not at least depreciate personality, although it did not
form it. It would be well if but a hundredth part of the pains
now taken by parents were given to interference with the life
of the child and the rest of the ninety and nine employed in
leading, without interference, in acting as an unforeseen, an
invisible providence through which the child obtains
experience, from which he may draw his own conclusions. The
present practice is to impress one's own discoveries, opinions,
and principles on the child by constantly directing his
actions. The last thing to be realised by the educator is that
he really has before him an entirely new soul, a real self
whose first and chief right is to think over the things with
which he comes in contact. By a new soul he understands only a
new generation of an old humanity to be treated with a fresh
dose of the old remedy. We teach the new souls not to steal,
not to lie, to save their clothes, to learn their lessons, to
economise their money, to obey commands, not to contradict