way hurt or have its anger excited, lest you open up to the child a way to condemn your exhortations and chastisements.
18. There is no need of great effort to accustom children to services and officiousness, since of themselves they generally take hold of everything, provided they are not prevented and be taught how to do so properly. Let the father or mother therefore enjoin it upon them, to execute immediately some service, which they of themselves or through another may do, saying—“My child, give that to me,—carry this—place it upon the desk,—go call Johnnie,—tell Annie to come to me,—give this to that little begging child,—run to grandmamma,—bid her good-bye for me, and say that I asked how she is. Come back again as soon as you can”;—and all such things as are suitable to their increasing years. Children ought also to be trained in alacrity and agility, so that when anything is enjoined upon them, they, leaving their play and everything else, should with the greatest promptitude execute the order. This promptness in obeying superiors may be learned from their earliest years, and will afterwards be of very great importance to them.
19. Respecting civility of manners,[1] parents can instruct their children as far as they themselves know. There is no need of a great amount of instruction in this respect. The child is amiable which conducts itself courteously and respectfully, both toward its parents and others. This is born with certain children, whereas others require training, consequently it must not be neglected.
20. That courteousness and amiability may nob be irra-
- ↑ Of manners Emerson says: “It is a spontaneous fruit of talents and feelings of precisely that class who have most vigor, who take the (lead in the world of this hour, and, though far from pure, far from constituting the gladdest and highest tone of human feeling, is as good as the whole society permits it to be.”
