ious to enforce, an empty name; becauſe they will not let it reſt on the only baſis on which a duty can reſt ſecurely: for unleſs it be founded on knowledge, it cannot gain ſufficient ſtrength to reſiſt the ſqualls of paſſion, or the ſilent ſapping of ſelf-love. But it is not the parents who have given the ſureſt proof of their affection for their children, or, to ſpeak more properly, who by fulfilling their duty, have allowed a natural parental affection to take root in their hearts, the child of exciſed ſympathy and reaſon, and not the over-weening offspring of ſelfiſh pride, who moſt vehemently inſiſt on their children ſubmitting to their will merely becauſe it is their will. On the contrary, the parent, who ſets a good example, patiently lets that example work; and it ſeldom fails to produce its natural effect—filial reſpect.
Children cannot be taught too early to ſubmit to reaſon, the true definition of that neceſſity, which Rouſſeau inſiſted on, without defining it; for to ſubmit to reaſon is to ſubmit to the nature of things, and to that God, who formed them ſo, to promote our real intereſt.
Why ſhould the minds of children be warped as they juſt begin to expand, only to favour the indolence of parents, who inſiſt on a privilege without being willing to pay the price fixed by nature? I have before had occaſion to obſerve, that a right always includes a duty, and I think it may, likewiſe, fairly be inferred, that they forfeit the right, who do not fulfil the duty.
It is eaſier, I grant, to command than reaſon; but it does not follow from hence that children cannot comprehend the reaſon why they are made
