,heath's ,pedagogical ,library--#d      
,,mile3  ,,or1 ,,concerning ,,education 
,,by  ,,jean ,,jacques ,,rousseau       
,,extracts  ,,containing ,,the          
,,principal ,,elements ,,of ,,pedagogy  
,,found ,,in ,,the ,,first ,,three      
,,books2 ,,with ,,an ,,introduction     
,,and ,,notes ,,by   ,,jules ,,steeg1   
,d,,put1 ,,paris1 ,,france              
,,translated ,,by  ,,eleanor            
,,worthington  ,,formerly ,,of ,,the    
,,cook ,,county 7,,ill47 ,,normal       
,,school     ,d4 ,c4 ,,heath  ,,co41    
,,publishers  ,,boston -- ,,new ,,york  
-- ,,chicago     ,entered1 according to 
,act of ,congress1 ,in the year #ahhh1  
by  ,,ginn1 ,,heath1  ,,co41  ,in the   
,office of the ,librarian of ,congress1 
at ,washington4    ,printed in ,u4 ,s4  
,a4     ,,translator',s ,,preface4  ,m4 
,jules ,steeg has rendered a real       
service to ,french and ,american        
teachers by his judicious selections    
from ,rousseau's mile4  ,for the        
three-volume novel of a hundred years   

ago1 with its long disquisitions and    
digressions1 so dear to the heart of our
 patient ancestors1 is now distasteful  
to all but lovers of the curious in     
books4  mile is like an antique mirror  
of brass2 it reflects the features of   
educational humanity no less faithfully 
than one of more modern construction4   
,in these few pages will be found the   
germ of all that is useful in present   
systems of education1 as well as most of
 the ever-recurring mistakes of         
well-meaning zealots4  ,the eighteenth  
century translations of this wonderful  
book have for many readers the          
disadvantage of an ,english style long  
disused4  ,it is hoped that this attempt
 at a new translation may1 with all its 
defects1 have the one merit of being in 
the dialect of the nineteenth century1  
and may thus reach a wider circle of    
readers4     ,,introduction4  ,jean     
,jacques ,rousseau's book on education  
has had a powerful influence throughout 
,europe1 and even in the ,new ,world4   

,it was in its day a kind of gospel4    
,it had its share in bringing about the 
,revolution which renovated the entire  
aspect of our country4  ,many of the    
reforms so lauded by it have since then 
been carried into effect1 and at this   
day seem every-day affairs4  ,in the    
eighteenth century they were unheard-of 
daring2 they were mere dreams4  ,long   
before that time the immortal satirist  
,rabelais1 and1 after him1 ,michael     
,montaigne1 had already divined the     
truth1 had pointed out serious defects  
in education1 and the way to reform4    
,no one followed out their suggestions1 
or even gave them a hearing4  ,routine  
went on its way4  ,exercises of         
memory1--the science that consists of   
mere words1--pedantry1 barren and       
vain-glorious1--held fast their bad     
eminence4  ,the child was treated as a  
machine1 or as a man in miniature1 no   
account being taken of his nature or of 
his real needs2 without any greater     
solicitude about reasonable method--the 

hygiene of mind--than about the hygiene 
of the body4  ,rousseau1 who had        
educated himself1 and very badly at     
that1 was impressed with the dangers of 
the education of his day4  ,a mother    
having asked his advice1 he took up the 
pen to write it2 and1 little by little1 
his counsels grew into a book1 a large  
work1 a pedagogic romance4  ,this       
romance1 when it appeared in #agfb1     
created a great noise and a great       
scandal4  ,the ,archbishop of ,paris1   
,christophe de ,beaumont1 saw in it a   
dangerous1 mischievous work1 and gave   
himself the trouble of writing a long   
encyclical letter in order to point out 
the book to the reprobation of the      
faithful4  ,this document of            
twenty-seven chapters is a formal       
refutation of the theories advanced in  
mile4  ,the archbishop declares that the
 plan of education proposed by the      
author1 far from being in accordance    
with ,christianity1 is not fitted to    
form citizens1 or even men4  ,he accuses

 ,rousseau of irreligion and of bad     
faith2 he denounces him to the temporal 
power as animated by a spirit of        
insubordination and of revolt4  ,he sums
 up by solemnly condemning the book as  
containing an abominable doctrine1      
calculated to overthrow natural law1 and
 to destroy the foundations of the      
,christian religion2 establishing maxims
 contrary to ,gospel morality2 having a 
tendency to disturb the peace of        
empires1 to stir up subjects to revolt  
against their sovereign2 as containing a
 great number of propositions           
respectively false1 scandalous1 full of 
hatred toward the ,church and its       
ministers1 derogating from the respect  
due to ,holy ,scripture and the         
traditions of the ,church1 erroneous1   
impious1 blasphemous1 and heretical4    
,in those days1 such a condemnation was 
a serious matter2 its consequences to an
 author might be terrible4  ,rousseau   
had barely time to flee4  ,his arrest   
was decreed by the parliament of ,paris1

 and his book was burned by the         
executioner4  ,a few years before this1 
the author would have run the risk of   
being burned with his book4  ,as a      
fugitive1 ,rousseau did not find a safe 
retreat even in his own country4  ,he   
was obliged to leave ,geneva1 where his 
book was also condemned1 and ,berne1    
where he had sought refuge1 but whence  
he was driven by intolerance4  ,he owed 
it to the protection of ,lord ,keith1   
governor of ,neufchtel1 a principality  
belonging to the ,king of ,prussia1 that
 he lived for some time in peace in the 
little town of ,motiers in the ,val de  
,travera4  ,it was from this place that 
he replied to the archbishop of ,paris  
by an apology1 a long-winded work in    
which he repels1 one after another1 the 
imputations of his accuser1 and sets    
forth anew with greater urgency his     
philosophical and religious principles4 
,this work1 written on a rather confused
 plan but with impassioned eloquence1   
manifests a lofty and sincere spirit4   

,it is said that the archbishop was     
deeply touched by it1 and never         
afterward spoke of the author of mile   
without extreme reserve1 sometimes even 
eulogizing his character and his        
virtues4  ,the renown of the book1      
condemned by so high an authority1 was  
immense4 ,scandal1 by attracting public 
attention to it1 did it good service4   
,what was most serious and most         
suggestive in it was not1 perhaps1      
seized upon2 but the craze of which it  
was the object had1 notwithstanding1    
good results4  ,mothers were won over1  
and resolved to nurse their own infants2
 great lords began to learn handicrafts1
 like ,rousseau's imaginary pupil2      
physical exercises came into fashion2   
the spirit of innovation was forcing    
itself a way4  ,it was not among        
ourselves1 however1 that the theories of
 ,rousseau were most eagerly            
experimented upon2 it was among         
foreigners1 in ,germany1 in             
,switzerland1 that they found more      

resolute partisans1 and a field more    
ready to receive them4  ,three men above
 all the rest are noted for having      
popularized the pedagogic method of     
,rousseau1 and for having been inspired 
in their labors by mile4  ,these were   
,basedow1 ,pestalozzi1 and ,froebel4    
,basedow1 a ,german theologian1 had     
devoted himself entirely to dogmatic    
controversy1 until the reading of mile  
had the effect of enlarging his mental  
horizon1 and of revealing to him his    
true vocation4  ,he wrote important     
books to show how ,rousseau's method    
could be applied in different           
departments of instruction1 and founded 
at ,dessau1 in #aggd1 an institution to 
bring that method within the domain of  
experience4  ,this institution1 to which
 he gave the name of ,philanthropinum1  
was secular in the true sense of the    
word2 and at that time this was in      
itself a novelty4  ,it was open to      
pupils of every belief and every        
nationality1 and proposed to render     

study easy1 pleasant1 and expeditious to
 them1 by following the directions of   
nature itself4  ,in the first rank of   
his disciples may be placed ,campe1 who 
succeeded him in the management of the  
,philanthropinum4  ,pestalozzi of       
,zrich1 one of the foremost educators of
 modern times1 also found his whole life
 transformed by the reading of mile1    
which awoke in him the genius of a      
reformer4  ,he himself also1 in #agge1  
founded a school1 in order to put in    
practice there his progressive and      
professional method of teaching1 which  
was a fruitful development of seeds sown
 by ,rousseau in his book4  ,pestalozzi 
left numerous writings1--romances1      
treatises1 reviews1--all having for sole
 object the popularization of his ideas 
and processes of education4  ,the most  
distinguished among his disciples and   
continuators is ,froebel1 the founder of
 those primary schools or asylums known 
by the name of kindergartens1 and the   
author of highly esteemed pedagogic     

works4  ,these various attempts1 these  
new and ingenious processes which1 step 
by step1 have made their way among us1  
and are beginning to make their workings
 felt1 even in institutions most stoutly
 opposed to progress1 are all traceable 
to ,rousseau's mile4  ,it is therefore  
not too much for ,frenchmen1 for        
teachers1 for parents1 for every one in 
our country who is interested in what   
concerns teaching1 to go back to the    
source of so great a movement4  ,it is  
true that mile contains pages that have 
outlived their day1 many odd precepts1  
many false ideas1 many disputable and   
destructive theories2 but at the same   
time we find in it so many sagacious    
observations1 such upright counsels1    
suitable even to modern times1 so lofty 
an ideal1 that1 in spite of everything1 
we cannot read and study it without     
profit4  ,there is no one who does not  
know the book by name and by reputation2
 but how many parents1 and even         
teachers1 have never read it6  ,this is 

because a large part of the book is no  
longer in accordance with the actual    
condition of things2 because its very   
plan1 its fundamental idea1 are outside 
of the truth4  ,we are obliged to       
exercise judgment1 to make selections4  
,some of it must be taken1 some left    
untouched4  ,this is what we have done  
in the present edition4  ,we have not1  
indeed1 the presumption to correct      
,rousseau1 or to substitute an          
expurgated mile for the authentic mile4 
,we have simply wished to draw the      
attention of the teachers of childhood  
to those pages of this book which have  
least grown old1 which can still be of  
service1 can hasten the downfall of the 
old systems1 can emphasize1 by their    
energy and beauty of language1 methods  
already inaugurated and reforms already 
undertaken4  ,these methods and reforms 
cannot be too often recommended and set 
in a clear light4  ,we have desired to  
call to the rescue this powerful and    
impassioned writer1 who brings to bear  

upon every subject he approaches the    
magical attractiveness of his style4    
,there is absolutely nothing practicable
 in his system4  ,it consists in        
isolating a child from the rest of the  
world2 in creating expressly for him a  
tutor1 who is a phoenix among his kind2 
in depriving him of father1 mother1     
brothers1 and sisters1 his companions in
 study2 in surrounding him with a       
perpetual charlatanism1 under the       
pretext of following nature2 and in     
showing him only through the veil of a  
factitious atmosphere the society in    
which he is to live4  ,and1             
nevertheless1 at each step it is sound  
reason by which we are met2 by an       
astonishing paradox1 this whimsicality  
is full of good sense2 this dream       
overflows with realities2 this          
improbable and chimerical romance       
contains the substance and the marrow of
 a rational and truly modern treatise on
 pedagogy4  ,sometimes we must read     
between the lines1 add what experience  

has taught us since that day1 transpose 
into an atmosphere of open democracy    
these pages1 written under the old order
 of things1 but even then quivering with
 the new world which they were bringing 
to light1 and for which they prepared   
the way4  ,reading mile in the light of 
modern prejudices1 we can see in it more
 than the author wittingly put into it2 
but not more than logic and the instinct
 of genius set down there4  ,to unfold  
the powers of children in due proportion
 to their age2 not to transcend their   
ability2 to arouse in them the sense of 
the observer and of the pioneer2 to make
 them discoverers rather than imitators2
 to teach them accountability to        
themselves and not slavish dependence   
upon the words of others2 to address    
ourselves more to the will than to      
custom1 to the reason rather than to the
 memory2 to substitute for verbal       
recitations lessons about things2 to    
lead to theory by way of art2 to assign 
to physical movements and exercises a   

prominent place1 from the earliest hours
 of life up to perfect maturity2 such   
are the principles scattered broadcast  
in this book1 and forming a happy       
counterpoise to the oddities of which   
,rousseau was perhaps most proud4  ,he  
takes the child in its cradle1 almost   
before its birth2 he desires that       
mothers should fulfil the sacred duty of
 nursing them at the breast4  ,if there 
must be a nurse1 he knows how to choose 
her1 how she ought to be treated1 how   
she should be fed4  ,he watches over the
 movements of the new-born child1 over  
its first playthings4  ,all these       
counsels bear the stamp of good sense   
and of experience2 or1 rather1 they     
result from a power of divination       
singular enough in a man who was not    
willing to take care of his own         
children4  ,in this way1 day by day1 he 
follows up the physical and moral       
development of the little being1 all    
whose ideas and feelings he analyzes1   
whom he guides with wisdom and with tact

 throughout the mazes of a life made up 
of convention and artifice4  ,we have   
carefully avoided suppressing the       
fictions of the gardener and of the     
mountebank2 because they are            
characteristic of his manner1 and       
because1 after all1 these pre-arranged  
scenes which1 as they stand1 are        
anything in the world rather than real  
teaching1 contain1 nevertheless1 right  
notions1 and opinions which may suggest 
to intelligent teachers processes in    
prudent education4  ,such teachers will 
not copy the form2 they will not imitate
 the awkward clap-trap2 but1 yielding to
 the inspiration of the dominant idea1  
they will1 in a way more in accordance  
with nature1 manage to thrill with life 
the teaching of facts1 and will aid the 
mind in giving birth to its ideas4      
,this is the old method of ,socrates1   
the eternal method of reason1 the only  
method which really educates4  ,we have 
brought this volume to an end with the  
third book of mile4 ,the fourth and     

fifth books which follow are not within 
the domain of pedagogy4  ,they contain  
admirable pages1 which ought to be read2
 which occupy one of the foremost places
 in our literature2 which deal with     
philosophy1 with ethics1 with theology2 
but they concern themselves with the    
manner of directing young men and women1
 and no longer with childhood4  ,the    
author conducts his mile even as far as 
to his betrothal2 he devotes an entire  
book to the betrothed herself1 ,sophie1 
and closes his volume only after he has 
united them in marriage4  ,we will not  
go so far4  ,we will leave mile upon the
 confines of youth1 at the time when he 
escapes from school1 and when he is     
about beginning to feel that he is a    
man4  ,at this difficult and critical   
period the teacher no longer suffices4  
,then1 above all things1 is needed all  
the influence of the family2 the        
father's example1 the mother's          
clear-sighted tenderness1 worthy        
friendships1 an environment of          

meritorious people1 of upright minds    
animated by lofty ideas1 who attract    
within their orbit this ardent and      
inquisitive being1 eager for novelty1   
for action1 and for independence4       
,artifices and stratagems are then no   
longer good for anything2 they are very 
soon laid open to the light4  ,all that 
can be required of a teacher is that he 
shall have furnished his pupils with a  
sound and strong education1 drawn from  
the sources of reason1 experience1 and  
nature2 that he shall have prepared them
 to learn to form judgments1 to make use
 of their faculties1 to enter valiantly 
upon study and upon life4  ,it seems to 
us that the pages of ,rousseau here     
published may be a useful guide in the  
pursuit of such a result4  ,,jules      
,,steeg4     ,,book ,,first4  ,the first
 book1 after some general remarks upon  
education1 treats especially of early   
infancy2 of the first years of life2 of 
the care to be bestowed upon very young 
children2 of the nursing of them1 of the

 laws of health4  ,he makes education   
begin at birth2 expresses himself on the
 subject of the habits to be given or to
 be avoided2 discusses the use and      
meaning of tears1 outcries1 gestures1   
also the language that should be used   
with young children1 so that1 from their
 tenderest years1 the inculcating of    
false ideas and the giving a wrong bent 
of mind may be avoided4    ,,general    
,,remarks4  ,the ,object of ,education4 
,coming from the hand of the ,author of 
all things1 everything is good2 in the  
hands of man1 everything degenerates4   
,man obliges one soil to nourish the    
productions of another1 one tree to bear
 the fruits of another2 he mingles and  
confounds climates1 elements1 seasons2  
he mutilates his dog1 his horse1 his    
slave4  ,he overturns everything1       
disfigures everything2 he loves         
deformity1 monsters2 he desires that    
nothing should be as nature made it1 not
 even man himself4  ,to please him1 man 
must be broken in like a horse2 man must

 be adapted to man's own fashion1 like a
 tree in his garden4#a  ,were it not for
 all this1 matters would be still worse4
  ,no one wishes to be a half-developed 
being2 and in the present condition of  
things1 a man left to himself among     
others from his birth would be the most 
deformed among them all4  ,prejudices1  
authority1 necessities1 example1 all the
 social institutions in which we are    
submerged1 would stifle nature in him1  
and would put nothing in its place4  ,in
 such a man nature would be like a shrub
 sprung up by chance in the midst of a  
highway1 and jostled from all sides1    
bent in every direction1 by the         
passers-by4  ,plants are improved by    
cultivation1 and men by education4  ,if 
man were born large and strong1 his size
 and strength would be useless to him   
until he had learned to use them4  ,they
 would be prejudicial to him1 by        
preventing others from thinking of      
assisting him2 and left to himself he   
would die of wretchedness before he had 

known his own necessities4 ,we pity the 
state of infancy2 we do not perceive    
that the human race would have perished 
if man had not begun by being a child4  
,we are born weak1 we need strength2 we 
are born destitute of all things1 we    
need assistance2 we are born stupid1 we 
need judgment4  ,all that we have not at
 our birth1 and that we need when grown 
up1 is given us by education4  ,this    
education comes to us from nature       
itself1 or from other men1 or from      
circumstances4  ,the internal           
development of our faculties and of our 
organs is the education nature gives us2
 the use we are taught to make of this  
development is the education we get from
 other men2 and what we learn1 by our   
own experience1 about things that       
interest as1 is the education of        
circumstances4  ,each of us is therefore
 formed by three kinds of teachers4     
,the pupil in whom their different      
lessons contradict one another is badly 
educated1 and will never be in harmony  

with himself2 the one in whom they all  
touch upon the same points and tend     
toward the same object advances toward  
that goal only1 and lives accordingly4  
,he alone is well educated4  ,now of    
these three different educations1 that  
of nature does not depend upon us2 that 
of circumstances depends upon us only in
 certain respects2 that of men is the   
only one of which we are really masters1
 and that solely because we think we    
are4  ,for who can hope to direct       
entirely the speech and conduct of all  
who surround a child8  ,as soon1        
therefore1 as education becomes an art1 
its success is almost impossible1 since 
the agreement of circumstances necessary
 to this success is independent of      
personal effort4  ,all that the utmost  
care can do is to approach more or less 
nearly our object2 but1 for attaining   
it1 special good fortune is needed4     
,what is this object8  ,that of nature  
itself1 as has just been proved4 ,since 
the agreement of the three educations is

 necessary to their perfection1 it is   
toward the one for which we ourselves   
can do nothing that we must direct both 
the others4  ,but perhaps this word     
nature has too vague a meaning2 we must 
here try to define it4  ,in the natural 
order of things1 all men being equal1   
the vocation common to all is the state 
of manhood2 and whoever is well trained 
for that1 cannot fulfil badly any       
vocation which depends upon it4         
,whether my pupil be destined for the   
army1 the church1 or the bar1 matters   
little to me4  ,before he can think of  
adopting the vocation of his parents1   
nature calls upon him to be a man4  ,how
 to live is the business ,i wish to     
teach him4  ,on leaving my hands he will
 not1 ,i admit1 be a magistrate1 a      
soldier1 or a priest2 first of all he   
will be a man4  ,all that a man ought to
 be he can be1 at need1 as well as any  
one else can4  ,fortune will in vain    
alter his position1 for he will always  
occupy his own4  ,our real study is that

 of the state of man4  ,he among us who 
best knows how to bear the good and evil
 fortunes of this life is1 in my        
opinion1 the best educated2 whence it   
follows that true education consists    
less in precept than in practice4  ,we  
begin to instruct ourselves when we     
begin to live2 our education commences  
with the commencement of our life2 our  
first teacher is our nurse4  ,for this  
reason the word education had among the 
ancients another meaning which we no    
longer attach to it2 it signified       
nutriment4  ,we must then take a broader
 view of things1 and consider in our    
pupil man in the abstract1 man exposed  
to all the accidents of human life4 ,if 
man were born attached to the soil of a 
country1 if the same season continued   
throughout the year1 if every one held  
his fortune by such a tenure that he    
could never change it1 the established  
customs of to-day would be in certain   
respects good4  ,the child educated for 
his position1 and never leaving it1     

could not be exposed to the             
inconveniences of another4  ,but seeing 
that human affairs are changeable1      
seeing the restless and disturbing      
spirit of this century1 which overturns 
everything once in a generation1 can a  
more senseless method be imagined than  
to educate a child as if he were never  
to leave his room1 as if he were obliged
 to be constantly surrounded by his     
servants8  ,if the poor creature takes  
but one step on the earth1 if he comes  
down so much as one stair1 he is ruined4
  ,this is not teaching him to endure   
pain2 it is training him to feel it more
 keenly4  ,we think only of preserving  
the child3 this is not enough4  ,we     
ought to teach him to preserve himself  
when he is a man2 to bear the blows of  
fate2 to brave both wealth and          
wretchedness2 to live1 if need be1 among
 the snows of ,iceland or upon the      
burning rock of ,malta4  ,in vain you   
take precautions against his dying1--he 
must die after all2 and if his death be 

not indeed the result of those very     
precautions1 they are none the less     
mistaken4  ,it is less important to keep
 him from dying than it is to teach him 
how to live4  ,to live is not merely to 
breathe1 it is to act4  ,it is to make  
use of our organs1 of our senses1 of our
 faculties1 of all the powers which bear
 witness to us of our own existence4    
,he who has lived most is not he who has
 numbered the most years1 but he who has
 been most truly conscious of what life 
is4  ,a man may have himself buried at  
the age of a hundred years1 who died    
from the hour of his birth4  ,he would  
have gained something by going to his   
grave in youth1 if up to that time he   
had only lived4   ,the ,new-born ,child4
  ,the new-born child needs to stretch  
and to move his limbs so as to draw them
 out of the torpor in which1 rolled into
 a ball1 they have so long remained4    
,we do stretch his limbs1 it is true1   
but we prevent him from moving them4    
,we even constrain his head into a      

baby's cap4  ,it seems as if we were    
afraid he might appear to be alive4     
,the inaction1 the constraint in which  
we keep his limbs1 cannot fail to       
interfere with the circulation of the   
blood and of the secretions1 to prevent 
the child from growing strong and       
sturdy1 and to change his constitution4 
,in regions where these extravagant     
precautions are not taken1 the men are  
all large1 strong1 and well             
proportioned4  ,countries in which      
children are swaddled swarm with        
hunchbacks1 with cripples1 with persons 
crook-kneed1 stunted1 rickety1 deformed 
in all kinds of ways4 ,for fear that the
 bodies of children may be deformed by  
free movements1 we hasten to deform them
 by putting them into a press4  ,of our 
own accord we cripple them to prevent   
their laming themselves4  ,must not such
 a cruel constraint have an influence   
upon their temper as well as upon their 
constitution8  ,their first feeling is a
 feeling of constraint and of suffering4

  ,to all their necessary movements they
 find only obstacles4  ,more unfortunate
 than chained criminals1 they make      
fruitless efforts1 they fret themselves1
 they cry4  ,do you tell me that the    
first sounds they make are cries8  ,i   
can well believe it2 you thwart them    
from the time they are born4  ,the first
 gifts they receive from you are chains1
 the first treatment they undergo is    
torment4 ,having nothing free but the   
voice1 why should they not use it in    
complaints8  ,they cry on account of the
 suffering you cause them2 if you were  
pinioned in the same way1 your own cries
 would be louder4  ,whence arises this  
unreasonable custom of swaddling        
children8  ,from an unnatural custom4   
,since the time when mothers1 despising 
their first duty1 no longer wish to     
nurse their own children at the breast1 
it has been necessary to intrust the    
little ones to hired women4  ,these1    
finding themselves in this way the      
mothers of strange children1 concerning 

whom the voice of nature is silent to   
them1 seek only to spare themselves     
annoyance4  ,a child at liberty would   
require incessant watching2 but after he
 is well swaddled1 they throw him into a
 corner without troubling themselves at 
all on account of his cries4  ,provided 
there are no proofs of the nurse's      
carelessness1 provided that the nursling
 does not break his legs or his arms1   
what does it matter1 after all1 that he 
is pining away1 or that he continues    
feeble for the rest of his life8  ,his  
limbs are preserved at the expense of   
his life1 and whatever happens1 the     
nurse is held free from blame4  ,it is  
pretended that children1 when left free1
 may put themselves into bad positions1 
and make movements liable to injure the 
proper conformation of their limbs4     
,this is one of the weak arguments of   
our false wisdom1 which no experience   
has ever confirmed4  ,of that multitude 
of children who1 among nations more     
sensible than ourselves1 are brought up 

in the full freedom of their limbs1 not 
one is seen to wound or lame himself4   
,they cannot give their movements force 
enough to make them dangerous2 and when 
they assume a hurtful position1 pain    
soon warns them to change it4  ,we have 
not yet brought ourselves to the point  
of swaddling puppies or kittens2 do we  
see that any inconvenience results to   
them from this negligence8  ,children   
are heavier1 indeed2 but in proportion  
they are weaker4  ,they can scarcely    
move themselves at all2 how can they    
lame themselves8  ,if laid upon the back
 they would die in that position1 like  
the tortoise1 without being able ever to
 turn themselves again4   ,this want of 
intelligence ,in the care bestowed upon 
young children is seen particularly in  
those mothers who give themselves no    
concern about their own1 do not         
themselves nurse them1 intrust them to  
hireling nurses4  ,this custom is fatal 
to all2 first to the children and       
finally to families1 where barrenness   

becomes the rule1 where woman sacrifices
 to her own convenience the joys and the
 duties of motherhood4   ,would you     
recall every one to his highest duties8 
,begin with the mothers2 you will be    
astonished at the changes you will      
effect4  ,from this first depravity all 
others come in succession4  ,the entire 
moral order is changed2 natural feeling 
is extinguished in all hearts4 ,within  
our homes there is less cheerfulness2   
the touching sight of a growing family  
no longer attaches the husband or       
attracts the attention of strangers4    
,the mother whose children are not seen 
is less respected4  ,there is no such   
thing as a family living together2 habit
 no longer strengthens the ties of      
blood4  ,there are no longer fathers and
 mothers and children and brothers and  
sisters4  ,they all scarcely know one   
another2 how then should they love one  
another8  ,each one thinks only of      
himself4  ,when home is a melancholy1   
lonely place1 we must indeed go         

elsewhere to enjoy ourselves4  ,but let 
mothers only vouchsafe to nourish their 
children1#b and our manners will reform 
themselves2 the feelings of nature will 
re-awaken in all hearts4  ,the ,state   
will be repeopled2 this chief thing1    
this one thing will bring all the rest  
into order again4  ,the attractions of  
home life present the best antidote to  
bad morals4  ,the bustling life of      
little children1 considered so tiresome1
 becomes pleasant2 it makes the father  
and the mother more necessary to one    
another1 more dear to one another2 it   
draws closer between them the conjugal  
tie4  ,when the family is sprightly and 
animated1 domestic cares form the       
dearest occupation of the wife and the  
sweetest recreation of the husband4     
,thus the correction of this one abuse  
would soon result in a general reform2  
nature would resume all her rights4     
,when women are once more true mothers1 
men will become true fathers and        
husbands4  ,if mothers are not real     

mothers1 children are not real children 
toward them4  ,their duties to one      
another are reciprocal1 and if these be 
badly fulfilled on the one side1 they   
will be neglected on the other side4    
,the child ought to love his mother     
before he knows that it is his duty to  
love her4  ,if the voice of natural     
affection be not strengthened by habit  
and by care1 it will grow dumb even in  
childhood2 and thus the heart dies1 so  
to speak1 before it is born4  ,thus from
 the outset we are beyond the pale of   
nature4  ,there is an opposite way by   
which a woman goes beyond it2 that is1  
when1 instead of neglecting a mother's  
cares1 she carries them to excess2 when 
she makes her child her idol4  ,she     
increases and fosters his weakness to   
prevent him from feeling it4  ,hoping to
 shelter him from the laws of nature1   
she wards from him shocks of pain4  ,she
 does not consider how1 for the sake of 
preserving him for a moment from some   
inconveniences1 she is heaping upon his 

head future accidents and perils2 nor   
how cruel is the caution which prolongs 
the weakness of childhood in one who    
must bear the fatigues of a grown-up    
man4  ,the fable says that1 to render   
her son invulnerable1 ,thetis plunged   
him into the ,styx4  ,this allegory is  
beautiful and clear4  ,the cruel mothers
 of whom ,i am speaking do far          
otherwise2 by plunging their children   
into effeminacy they open their pores to
 ills of every kind1 to which1 when     
grown up1 they fall a certain prey4     
,watch nature carefully1 and follow the 
paths she traces out for you4 ,she gives
 children continual exercise2 she       
strengthens their constitution by       
ordeals of every kind2 she teaches them 
early what pain and trouble mean4  ,the 
cutting of their teeth gives them fever1
 sharp fits of colic throw them into    
convulsions1 long coughing chokes them1 
worms torment them1 repletion corrupts  
their blood1 different leavens          
fermenting there cause dangerous        

eruptions4  ,nearly the whole of infancy
 is sickness and danger2 half the       
children born into the world die before 
their eighth year4  ,these trials past1 
the child has gained strength1 and as   
soon as he can use life1 its principle  
becomes more assured4  ,this is the law 
of nature4  ,why do you oppose her8  ,do
 you not see that in thinking to correct
 her you destroy her work and counteract
 the effect of all her cares8  ,in your 
opinion1 to do without what she is doing
 within is to redouble the danger4  ,on 
the contrary1 it is really to avert1 to 
mitigate that danger4  ,experience      
teaches that more children who are      
delicately reared die than others4      
,provided we do not exceed the measure  
of their strength1 it is better to      
employ it than to hoard it4  ,give them 
practice1 then1 in the trials they will 
one day have to endure4  ,inure their   
bodies to the inclemencies of the       
seasons1 of climates1 of elements2 to   
hunger1 thirst1 fatigue2 plunge them    

into the water of the ,styx4  ,before   
the habits of the body are acquired we  
can give it such as we please without   
risk4  ,but when once it has reached its
 full vigor1 any alteration is perilous 
to its well-being4 ,a child will endure 
changes which a man could not bear4     
,the fibres of the former1 soft and     
pliable1 take without effort the bent we
 give them2 those of man1 more hardened1
 do not without violence change those   
they have received4  ,we may therefore  
make a child robust without exposing his
 life or his health2 and even if there  
were some risk we still ought not to    
hesitate4  ,since there are risks       
inseparable from human life1 can we do  
better than to throw them back upon that
 period of life when they are least     
disadvantageous8  ,a child becomes more 
precious as he advances in age4  ,to the
 value of his person is added that of   
the cares he has cost us2 if we lose his
 life1 his own consciousness of death is
 added to our sense of loss4 ,above all 

things1 then1 in watching over his      
preservation we must think of the       
future4  ,we must arm him against the   
misfortunes of youth before he has      
reached them4  ,for1 if the value of    
life increases up to the age when life  
becomes useful1 what folly it is to     
spare the child some troubles1 and to   
heap them upon the age of reason6  ,are 
these the counsels of a master8  ,in all
 ages suffering is the lot of man4      
,even to the cares of self-preservation 
pain is joined4  ,happy are we1 who in  
childhood are acquainted with only      
physical misfortunes--misfortunes far   
less cruel1 less painful than others2   
misfortunes which far more rarely make  
us renounce life4  ,we do not kill      
ourselves on account of the pains of    
gout2 seldom do any but those of the    
mind produce despair4#c  ,we pity the   
lot of infancy1 and it is our own lot   
that we ought to pity4  ,our greatest   
misfortunes come to us from ourselves4  
,at birth a child cries2 his earliest   

infancy is spent in crying4 ,sometimes  
he is tossed1 he is petted1 to appease  
him2 sometimes he is threatened1 beaten1
 to make him keep quiet4  ,we either do 
as he pleases1 or else we exact from him
 what we please2 we either submit to his
 whims1 or make him submit to ours4     
,there is no middle course2 he must     
either give or receive orders4  ,thus   
his first ideas are those of absolute   
rule and of slavery4  ,before he knows  
how to speak1 he commands2 before he is 
able to act1 he obeys2 and sometimes he 
is punished before he knows what his    
faults are1 or rather1 before he is     
capable of committing them4  ,thus do we
 early pour into his young heart the    
passions that are afterward imputed to  
nature2 and1 after having taken pains to
 make him wicked1 we complain of finding
 him wicked4  ,a child passes six or    
seven years of his life in this manner  
in the hands of women1 the victim of his
 own caprice and of theirs4  ,after     
having made him learn this and          

that1--after having loaded his memory   
either with words he cannot understand1 
or with facts which are of no use to    
him1--after having stifled his natural  
disposition by the passions we have     
created1 we put this artificial creature
 into the hands of a tutor who finishes 
the development of the artificial germs 
he finds already formed1 and teaches him
 everything except to know himself1     
everything except to know how to live   
and how to make himself happy4          
,finally1 when this enslaved child1 this
 little tyrant1 full of learning and    
devoid of sense1 enfeebled alike in mind
 and body1 is cast upon the world1 he   
there by his unfitness1 by his pride1   
and by all his vices1 makes us deplore  
human wretchedness and perversity4  ,we 
deceive ourselves2 this is the man our  
whims have created4  ,nature makes men  
by a different process4  ,do you then   
wish him to preserve his original form8 
,preserve it from the moment he enters  
the world4  ,as soon as he is born take 

possession of him1 and do not leave him 
until he is a man4  ,without this you   
will never succeed4  ,as the mother is  
the true nurse1 the father is the true  
teacher4  ,let them be of one mind as to
 the order in which their functions are 
fulfilled1 as well as in regard to their
 plan2 let the child pass from the hands
 of the one into the hands of the other4
  ,he will be better educated by a      
father who is judicious1 even though of 
moderate attainments1 than by the most  
skilful master in the world4 ,for zeal  
will supplement talent better than      
talent can supply what only zeal can    
give4  ,a father1 when he brings his    
children into existence and supports    
them1 has1 in so doing1 fulfilled only a
 third part of his task4  ,to the human 
race he owes men2 to society1 men fitted
 for society2 to the ,state1 citizens4  
,every man who can pay this triple debt1
 and does not pay it is a guilty man2   
and if he pays it by halves1 he is      
perhaps more guilty still4  ,he who     

cannot fulfil the duties of a father has
 no right to be a father4  ,not poverty1
 nor severe labor1 nor human respect can
 release him from the duty of supporting
 his children and of educating them     
himself4  ,readers1 you may believe my  
words4  ,i prophesy to any one who has  
natural feeling and neglects these      
sacred duties1--that he will long shed  
bitter tears over this fault1 and that  
for those tears he will find no         
consolation4#d   ,it being supposed that
 the father is unable or unwilling to   
charge himself personally with the      
education of his son1 he must charge a  
third person with it1 must seek out a   
master1 a teacher for the child4   ,the 
qualifications of a good tutor are very 
freely discussed4  ,the first           
qualification ,i should require in him1 
and this one presupposes many others1   
is1 that he shall not be capable of     
selling himself4 ,there are employments 
so noble that we cannot fulfil them for 
money without showing ourselves unworthy

 to fulfil them4  ,such an employment is
 that of a soldier2 such a one is that  
of a teacher4  ,who1 then1 shall educate
 my child8  ,i have told you            
already1--yourself4  ,i cannot6 ,then   
make for yourself a friend who can4  ,i 
see no other alternative4  ,a teacher6  
what a great soul he ought to be6       
,truly1 to form a man1 one must be      
either himself a father1 or else        
something more than human4 ,and this is 
the office you calmly entrust to        
hirelings6#e   ,the ,earliest           
,education4  ,children's first          
impressions are purely those of feeling2
 they perceive only pleasure and pain4  
,unable either to move about1 or to     
grasp anything with their hands1 they   
need a great deal of time to form       
sensations which represent1 and so make 
them aware of objects outside of        
themselves4  ,but1 during all this time1
 while these objects are extending1 and1
 as it were1 receding from their eyes1  
assuming1 to them1 form and dimension1  

the constantly recurring sensations     
begin to subject the little creatures to
 the sway of habit4  ,we see their eyes 
incessantly turning toward the light2   
and1 if it comes to them from one side1 
unwittingly taking the direction of that
 side2 so that their faces ought to be  
carefully turned toward the light1 lest 
they become squint-eyed1 or accustom    
themselves to look awry4  ,they should1 
also1 early accustom themselves to      
darkness1 or else they will cry and     
scream as soon as they are left in the  
dark4  ,food and sleep1 if too exactly  
proportioned1 become necessary to them  
after the lapse of the same intervals2  
and soon the desire arises not from     
necessity1 but from habit4  ,or rather1 
habit adds a new want to those of       
nature1 and this must be prevented4     
,the only habit a child should be       
allowed to form is to contract no habits
 whatever4  ,let him not be carried upon
 one arm more than upon another2 let him
 not be accustomed to put forth one hand

 rather than the other1 or to use it    
oftener2 nor to desire to eat1 to sleep1
 to act in any way1 at regular hours2   
nor to be unable to stay alone either by
 night or by day4  ,prepare long        
beforehand for the time when he shall   
freely use all his strength4  ,do this  
by leaving his body under the control of
 its natural bent1 by fitting him to be 
always master of himself1 and to carry  
out his own will in everything as soon  
as he has a will of his own4  ,since the
 only kinds of objects presented to him 
are likely to make him either timid or  
courageous1 why should not his education
 begin before he speaks or understands8 
,i would habituate him to seeing new    
objects1 though they be ugly1 repulsive1
 or singular4  ,but let this be by      
degrees1 and from a distance1 until he  
has become accustomed to them1 and1 from
 seeing them handled by others1 shall at
 last handle them himself4  ,if during  
his infancy he has seen without fear    
frogs1 serpents1 crawfishes1 he will1   

when grown up1 see without shrinking any
 animal that may be shown him4  ,for one
 who daily sees frightful objects1 there
 are none such4  ,all children are      
afraid of masks4  ,i begin by showing   
mile the mask of a pleasant face4  ,by  
and by some one puts the mask upon his  
own face1 so that the child can see it4 
,i begin to laugh2 every one else       
laughs1 and the child with the rest4    
,by degrees ,i familiarize him with less
 comely masks1 and finally with really  
hideous ones4  ,if ,i have managed the  
process well1 he will1 far from being   
frightened at the last mask1 laugh at it
 as he laughed at the first4  ,after    
that1 ,i shall not fear his being       
frightened by any one with a mask4      
,when1 in the farewell scene between    
,hector and ,andromache1 the little     
,astyanax1 terrified at the plume       
floating from a helmet1 fails to        
recognize his father1 throws himself1   
crying1 upon his nurse's breast1 and    
wins from his mother a smile bright with

 tears1 what ought to be done to soothe 
his fear8  ,precisely what ,hector does4
  ,he places the helmet on the ground1  
and then caresses his child4  ,at a more
 tranquil moment1 this should not have  
been all4  ,they should have drawn near 
the helmet1 played with its plumes1     
caused the child to handle them4  ,at   
last the nurse should have lifted the   
helmet and laughingly set it on her own 
head--if1 indeed1 the hand of a woman   
dared touch the armor of ,hector4  ,if  
,i wish to familiarize mile with the    
noise of fire-arms1 ,i first burn some  
powder in a pistol4  ,the quickly       
vanishing flame1 the new kind of        
lightning1 greatly pleases him4  ,i     
repeat the process1 using more powder4  
,by degrees ,i put into the pistol a    
small charge1 without ramming it down2  
then a larger charge2 finally1 ,i       
accustom him to the noise of a gun1 to  
bombs1 to cannon-shots1 to the most     
terrific noises4  ,i have noticed that  
children are rarely afraid of thunder1  

unless1 indeed1 the thunder-claps are so
 frightful as actually to wound the     
organ of hearing4  ,otherwise1 they fear
 it only when they have been taught that
 thunder sometimes wounds or kills4     
,when reason begins to affright them1   
let habit reassure them4  ,by a slow and
 well conducted process the man or the  
child is rendered fearless of           
everything4  ,in this outset of life1   
while memory and imagination are still  
inactive1 the child pays attention only 
to what actually affects his senses4    
,the first materials of his knowledge   
are his sensations4  ,if1 therefore1    
these are presented to him in suitable  
order1 his memory can hereafter present 
them to his understanding in the same   
order4  ,but as he attends to his       
sensations only1 it will at first       
suffice to show him very clearly the    
connection between these sensations1 and
 the objects which give rise to them4   
,he is eager to touch everything1 to    
handle everything4  ,do not thwart this 

restless desire2 it suggests to him a   
very necessary apprenticeship4  ,it is  
thus he learns to feel the heat and     
coldness1 hardness and softness1        
heaviness and lightness of bodies2 to   
judge of their size1 their shape1 and   
all their sensible qualities1 by        
looking1 by touching1 by listening2     
above all1 by comparing the results of  
sight with those of touch1 estimating   
with the eye the sensation a thing      
produces upon the fingers4  ,by movement
 alone we learn the existence of things 
which are not ourselves2 and it is by   
our own movements alone that we gain the
 idea of extension4  ,because the child 
has not this idea1 he stretches out his 
hand indifferently to seize an object   
which touches him1 or one which is a    
hundred paces distant from him4  ,the   
effort he makes in doing this appears to
 you a sign of domination1 an order he  
gives the object to come nearer1 or to  
you to bring it to him4  ,it is nothing 
of the kind4 ,it means only that the    

object seen first within the brain1 then
 upon the eye1 is now seen at arm's     
length1 and that he does not conceive of
 any distance beyond his reach4  ,be    
careful1 then1 to walk often with him1  
to transport him from one place to      
another1 to let him feel the change of  
position1 and1 in this way to teach him 
how to judge of distances4  ,when he    
begins to know them1 change the plan2   
carry him only where it is convenient   
for you to do so1 and not wherever it   
pleases him4  ,for as soon as he is no  
longer deceived by the senses1 his      
attempts arise from another cause4      
,this change is remarkable and demands  
explanation4  ,the uneasiness arising   
from our wants expresses itself by signs
 whenever help in supplying these wants 
is needed2 hence the cries of children4 
,they cry a great deal1 and this is     
natural4  ,since all their sensations   
are those of feeling1 children enjoy    
them in silence1 when the sensations are
 pleasant2 otherwise they express them  

in their own language1 and ask relief4  
,now as long as children are awake they 
cannot be in a state of indifference2   
they either sleep or are moved by       
pleasure and pain4  ,all our languages  
are the result of art4  ,whether there  
is a natural language1 common to all    
mankind1 has long been a matter of      
investigation4  ,without doubt there is 
such a language1 and it is the one that 
children utter before they know how to  
talk4  ,this language is not articulate1
 but it is accentuated1 sonorous1       
intelligible4  ,the using of our own    
language has led us to neglect this1    
even so far as to forget it altogether4 
,let us study children1 and we shall    
soon acquire it again from them4        
,nurses are our teachers in this        
language4  ,they understand all their   
nurslings say1 they answer them1 they   
hold really connected dialogues with    
them4  ,and1 although they pronounce    
words1 these words are entirely useless2
 the child understands1 not the meaning 

of the words1 but the accent which      
accompanies them4  ,to the language of  
the voice is added the no less forcible 
language of gesture4  ,this gesture is  
not that of children's feeble hands2 it 
is that seen in their faces4  ,it is    
astonishing to see how much expression  
these immature countenances already     
have4  ,from moment to moment1 their    
features change with inconceivable      
quickness4  ,on them you see the smile1 
the wish1 the fear1 spring into life1   
and pass away1 like so many lightning   
flashes4  ,each time you seem to see a  
different countenance4  ,they certainly 
have much more flexible facial muscles  
than ours4  ,on the other hand1 their   
dull eyes tell us almost nothing at all4
  ,such is naturally the character of   
their expression when all their wants   
are physical4  ,sensations are made     
known by grimaces1 sentiments by looks4 
,as the first state of man is           
wretchedness and weakness1 so his first 
utterances are complaints and tears4    

,the child feels his need and cannot    
satisfy it2 he implores aid from others 
by crying4  ,if he is hungry or thirsty1
 he cries2 if he is too cold or too     
warm1 he cries2 if he wishes to move or 
to be kept at rest1 he cries2 if he     
wishes to sleep or to be moved about1 he
 cries4  ,the less control he has of his
 own mode of living1 the oftener he asks
 those about him to change it4 ,he has  
but one language1 because he feels1 so  
to speak1 but one sort of discomfort4   
,in the imperfect condition of his      
organs1 he does not distinguish their   
different impressions2 all ills produce 
in him only a sensation of pain4  ,from 
this crying1 regarded as so little      
worthy of attention1 arises the first   
relation of man to all that surrounds   
him2 just here is forged the first link 
of that long chain which constitutes    
social order4  ,when the child cries1 he
 is ill at ease2 he has some want that  
he cannot satisfy4  ,we examine into it1
 we search for the want1 find it1 and   

relieve it4  ,when we cannot find it1 or
 relieve it1 the crying continues4  ,we 
are annoyed by it2 we caress the child  
to make him keep quiet1 we rock him and 
sing to him1 to lull him asleep4  ,if he
 persists1 we grow impatient2 we        
threaten him2 brutal nurses sometimes   
strike him4  ,these are strange lessons 
for him upon his entrance into life4    
,the first crying of children is a      
prayer4  ,if we do not heed it well1    
this crying soon becomes a command4     
,they begin by asking our aid2 they end 
by compelling us to serve them4  ,thus  
from their very weakness1 whence comes1 
at first1 their feeling of dependence1  
springs afterward the idea of empire1   
and of commanding others4  ,but as this 
idea is awakened less by their own      
wants1 than by the fact that we are     
serving them1 those moral results whose 
immediate cause is not in nature1 are   
here perceived4  ,we therefore see why1 
even at this early age1 it is important 
to discern the hidden purpose which     

dictates the gesture or the cry4  ,when 
the child stretches forth his hand with 
an effort1 but without a sound1 he      
thinks he can reach some object1 because
 he does not properly estimate its      
distance2 he is mistaken4  ,but if1     
while stretching out his hand1 he       
complains and cries1 he is no longer    
deceived as to the distance4  ,he is    
commanding the object to come to him1 or
 is directing you to bring it to him4   
,in the first case1 carry him to the    
object slowly1 and with short steps2 in 
the second case1 do not even appear to  
understand him4  ,it is worth while to  
habituate him early not to command      
people1 for he is not their master2 nor 
things1 for they cannot understand him4 
,so1 when a child wants something he    
sees1 and we mean to give it to him1 it 
is better to carry him to the object    
than to fetch the object to him4  ,from 
this practice of ours he will learn a   
lesson suited to his age1 and there is  
no better way of suggesting this lesson 

to him4   ,maxims to ,keep us ,true to  
,nature4  ,reason alone teaches us to   
know good and evil4  ,conscience1 which 
makes us love the one and hate the      
other1 is independent of reason1 but    
cannot grow strong without its aid4     
,before reaching years of reason1 we do 
good and evil unconsciously4  ,there is 
no moral character in our actions1      
although there sometimes is in our      
feeling toward those actions of others  
which relate to us4  ,a child likes to  
disturb everything he sees2 he breaks1  
he shatters everything within his reach2
 he lays hold of a bird just as he would
 lay hold of a stone1 and strangles it  
without knowing what he is doing4  ,why 
is this8  ,at first view1 philosophy    
would account for it on the ground of   
vices natural to us--pride1 the spirit  
of domination1 self-love1 the wickedness
 of mankind4  ,it would perhaps add1    
that the sense of his own weakness makes
 the child eager to do things requiring 
strength1 and so prove to himself his   

own power4  ,but see that old man1      
infirm and broken down1 whom the cycle  
of human life brings back to the        
weakness of childhood4  ,not only does  
he remain immovable and quiet1 but he   
wishes everything about him to be in the
 same condition4  ,the slightest change 
disturbs and disquiets him2 he would    
like to see stillness reigning          
everywhere4  ,how could the same        
powerlessness1 joined to the same       
passions1 produce such different effects
 in the two ages1 if the primary cause  
were not changed8  ,and where can we    
seek for this difference of cause1      
unless it be in the physical condition  
of the two individuals8  ,the active    
principle common to the two is          
developing in the one1 and dying out in 
the other2 the one is growing1 and the  
other is wearing itself out2 the one is 
tending toward life1 and the other      
toward death4  ,failing activity        
concentrates itself in the heart of the 
old man2 in the child it is             

superabounding1 and reaches outward2 he 
seems to feel within him life enough to 
animate all that surrounds him4         
,whether he makes or unmakes matters    
little to him4  ,it is enough that he   
changes the condition of things1 and    
that every change is an action4  ,if he 
seems more inclined to destroy things1  
it is not out of perverseness1 but      
because the action which creates is     
always slow2 and that which destroys1   
being more rapid1 better suits his      
natural sprightliness4  ,while the      
,author of nature gives children this   
active principle1 he takes care that it 
shall do little harm2 for he leaves them
 little power to indulge it4  ,but no   
sooner do they look upon those about    
them as instruments which it is their   
business to set in motion1 than they    
make use of them in following their own 
inclinations and in making up for their 
own want of strength4  ,in this way they
 become disagreeable1 tyrannical1       
imperious1 perverse1 unruly2 a          

development not arising from a natural  
spirit of domination1 but creating such 
a spirit4  ,for no very long experience 
is requisite in teaching how pleasant it
 is to act through others1 and to need  
only move one's tongue to set the world 
in motion4  ,as we grow up1 we gain     
strength1 we become less uneasy and     
restless1 we shut ourselves more within 
ourselves4  ,the soul and the body put  
themselves in equilibrium1 as it were1  
and nature requires no more motion than 
is necessary for out preservation4  ,but
 the wish to command outlives the       
necessity from which1 it sprang2 power  
to control others awakens and gratifies 
self-love1 and habit makes it strong4   
,thus need gives place to whim2 thus do 
prejudices and opinions first root      
themselves within us4  ,the principle   
once understood1 we see clearly the     
point at which we leave the path of     
nature4  ,let us discover what we ought 
to do1 to keep within it4  ,far from    
having too much strength1 children have 

not even enough for all that nature     
demands of them4  ,we ought1 then1 to   
leave them the free use of all natural  
strength which they cannot misuse4      
,first maxim4  ,we must aid them1       
supplying whatever they lack in         
intelligence1 in strength1 in all that  
belongs to physical necessity4  ,second 
maxim4  ,in helping them1 we must       
confine ourselves to what is really of  
use to them1 yielding nothing to their  
whims or unreasonable wishes4  ,for     
their own caprice will not trouble them 
unless we ourselves create it2 it is not
 a natural thing4  ,third maxim4  ,we   
must study carefully their language and 
their signs1 so that1 at an age when    
they cannot dissemble1 we may judge     
which of their desires spring from      
nature itself1 and which of them from   
opinion4  ,fourth maxim4  ,the meaning  
of these rules is1 to allow children    
more personal freedom and less          
authority2 to let them do more for      
themselves1 and exact less from others4 

,thus accustomed betimes to desire only 
what they can obtain or do for          
themselves1 they will feel less keenly  
the want of whatever is not within their
 own power4  ,here there is another and 
very important reason for leaving       
children absolutely free as to body and 
limbs1 with the sole precaution of      
keeping them from the danger of falling1
 and of putting out of their reach      
everything that can injure them4        
,doubtless a child whose body and arms  
are free will cry less than one bound   
fast in swaddling clothes4  ,he who     
feels only physical wants cries only    
when he suffers1 and this is a great    
advantage4  ,for then we know exactly   
when he requires help1 and we ought not 
to delay one moment in giving him help1 
if possible4  ,but if you cannot relieve
 him1 keep quiet2 do not try to soothe  
him by petting him4  ,your caresses will
 not cure his colic2 but he will        
remember what he has to do in order to  
be petted4  ,and if he once discovers   

that he can1 at will1 busy you about    
him1 he will have become your master2   
the mischief is done4  ,if children were
 not so much thwarted in their          
movements1 they would not cry so much2  
if we were less annoyed by their crying1
 we would take less pains to hush them2 
if they were not so often threatened or 
caressed1 they would be less timid or   
less stubborn1 and more truly themselves
 as nature made them4  ,it is not so    
often by letting children cry1 as by    
hastening to quiet them1 that we make   
them rupture themselves4  ,the proof of 
this is that the children most neglected
 are less subject than others to this   
infirmity4  ,i am far from wishing them 
to be neglected1 however4  ,on the      
contrary1 we ought to anticipate their  
wants1 and not wait to be notified of   
these by the children's crying4  ,yet ,i
 would not have them misunderstand the  
cares we bestow on them4  ,why should   
they consider crying a fault1 when they 
find that it avails so much8  ,knowing  

the value of their silence1 they will be
 careful not to be lavish of it4  ,they 
will1 at last1 make it so costly that we
 can no longer pay for it2 and then it  
is that by crying without success they  
strain1 weaken1 and kill themselves4    
,the long crying fits of a child who is 
not compressed or ill1 or allowed to    
want for anything1 are from habit and   
obstinacy4  ,they are by no means the   
work of nature1 but of the nurse1 who1  
because she cannot endure the annoyance1
 multiplies it1 without reflecting that 
by stilling the child to-day1 he is     
induced to cry the more to-morrow4  ,the
 only way to cure or prevent this habit 
is to pay no attention to it4  ,no one1 
not even a child1 likes to take         
unnecessary trouble4  ,they are stubborn
 in their attempts2 but if you have more
 firmness than they have obstinacy1 they
 are discouraged1 and do not repeat the 
attempt4  ,thus we spare them some      
tears1 and accustom them to cry only    
when pain forces them to it4            

,nevertheless when they do cry from     
caprice or stubbornness1 a sure way to  
prevent their continuing is1 to turn    
their attention to some agreeable and   
striking object1 and so make them forget
 their desire to cry4  ,in this art most
 nurses excel1 and when skilfully       
employed1 it is very effective4  ,but it
 is highly important that the child     
should not know of our intention to     
divert him1 and that he should amuse    
himself without at all thinking we have 
him in mind4  ,in this all nurses are   
unskilful4  ,all children are weaned too
 early4  ,the proper time is indicated  
by their teething4  ,this process is    
usually painful and distressing4  ,by a 
mechanical instinct the child1 at that  
time1 carries to his mouth and chews    
everything he holds4  ,we think we make 
the operation easier by giving him for a
 plaything some hard substance1 such as 
ivory or coral4 ,i think we are         
mistaken4  ,far from softening the gums1
 these hard bodies1 when applied1 render

 them hard and callous1 and prepare the 
way for a more painful and distressing  
laceration4  ,let us always take        
instinct for guide4  ,we never see      
puppies try their growing teeth upon    
flints1 or iron1 or bones1 but upon     
wood1 or leather1 or rags1--upon soft   
materials1 which give way1 and on which 
the tooth impresses itself4  ,we no     
longer aim at simplicity1 even where    
children are concerned4 ,golden and     
silver bells1 corals1 crystals1 toys of 
every price1 of every sort4  ,what      
useless and mischievous affectations    
they are6  ,let there be none of        
them1--no bells1 no toys4  ,a little    
twig covered with its own leaves and    
fruit1--a poppy-head1 in which the seeds
 can be heard rattling1--a stick of     
liquorice he can suck and chew1 these   
will amuse a child quite as well as the 
splendid baubles1 and will not          
disadvantage him by accustoming him to  
luxury from his very birth4   ,language4
  ,from the time they are born1 children

 hear people speak4  ,they are spoken to
 not only before they understand what is
 said to them1 but before they can      
repeat the sounds they hear4  ,their    
organs1 still benumbed1 adapt themselves
 only by degrees to imitating the sounds
 dictated to them1 and it is not even   
certain that these sounds are borne to  
their ears at first as distinctly as to 
ours4  ,i do not disapprove of a nurse's
 amusing the child with songs1 and with 
blithe and varied tones4  ,but ,i do    
disapprove of her perpetually deafening 
him with a multitude of useless words1  
of which he understands only the tone   
she gives them4  ,i would like the first
 articulate sounds he must hear to be   
few in number1 easy1 distinct1 often    
repeated4  ,the words they form should  
represent only material objects which   
can be shown him4  ,our unfortunate     
readiness to content ourselves with     
words that have no meaning to us        
whatever1 begins earlier than we        
suppose4  ,even as in his               

swaddling-clothes the child hears his   
nurse's babble1 he hears in class the   
verbiage of his teacher4  ,it strikes me
 that if he were to be so brought up    
that he could not understand it at all1 
he would be very well instructed4#f     
,reflections crowd upon us when we set  
about discussing the formation of       
children's language1 and their baby talk
 itself4  ,in spite of us1 they always  
learn to speak by the same process1 and 
all our philosophical speculations about
 it are entirely useless4  ,they seem1  
at first1 to have a grammar adapted to  
their own age1 although its rules of    
syntax are more general than ours4  ,and
 if we were to pay close attention to   
them1 we should be astonished at the    
exactness with which they follow certain
 analogies1 very faulty if you will1 but
 very regular1 that are displeasing only
 because harsh1 or because usage does   
not recognize them4  ,it is unbearable  
pedantry1 and a most useless labor1 to  
attempt correcting in children every    

little fault against usage2 they never  
fail themselves to correct these faults 
in time4  ,always speak correctly in    
their presence2 order it so that they   
are never so happy with any one as with 
you2 and rest assured their language    
will insensibly be purified by your own1
 without your having ever reproved them4
  ,but another error1 which has an      
entirely different bearing on the       
matter1 and is no less easy to prevent1 
is our being over-anxious to make them  
speak1 as if we feared they might not of
 their own accord learn to do so4  ,our 
injudicious haste has an effect exactly 
contrary to what we wish4  ,on account  
of it they learn more slowly and speak  
more indistinctly4  ,the marked         
attention paid to everything they utter 
makes it unnecessary for them to        
articulate distinctly4  ,as they hardly 
condescend to open their lips1 many     
retain throughout life an imperfect     
pronunciation and a confused manner of  
speaking1 which makes them nearly       

unintelligible4  ,children who are too  
much urged to speak have not time       
sufficient for learning either to       
pronounce carefully or to understand    
thoroughly what they are made to say4   
,if1 instead1 they are left to          
themselves1 they at first practise using
 the syllables they can most readily    
utter2 and gradually attaching to these 
some meaning that can be gathered from  
their gestures1 they give you their own 
words before acquiring yours4 ,thus they
 receive yours only after they          
understand them4  ,not being urged to   
use them1 they notice carefully what    
meaning you give them2 and1 when they   
are sure of this1 they adopt it as their
 own4  ,the greatest evil arising from  
our haste to make children speak before 
they are old enough is not that our     
first talks with them1 and the first    
words they use1 have no meaning to them1
 but that they have a meaning different 
from ours1 without our being able to    
perceive it4 ,thus1 while they seem to  

be answering us very correctly1 they are
 really addressing us without           
understanding us1 and without our       
understanding them4  ,to such ambiguous 
discourse is due the surprise we        
sometimes feel at their sayings1 to     
which we attach ideas the children      
themselves have not dreamed of4  ,this  
inattention of ours to the true meaning 
words have for children seems to me the 
cause of their first mistakes1 and these
 errors1 even after children are cured  
of them1 influence their turn of mind   
for the remainder of their life4  ,the  
first developments of childhood occur   
almost all at once4  ,the child learns  
to speak1 to eat1 to walk1 nearly at the
 same time4  ,this is1 properly1 the    
first epoch of his life4  ,before then  
he is nothing more than he was before he
 was born2 he has not a sentiment1 not  
an idea2 he scarcely has sensations2 he 
does not feel even his own existence4   
#a ,it is useless to enlarge upon the   
absurdity of this theory1 and upon the  

flagrant contradiction into which       
,rousseau allows himself to fall4  ,if  
he is right1 man ought to be left       
without education1 and the earth without
 cultivation4  ,this would not be even  
the savage state4 ,but want of space    
forbids us to pause at each like        
statement of our author1 who at once    
busies himself in nullifying it4  #b    
,the voice of ,rousseau was heard4  ,the
 nursing of children by their own       
mothers1 which had gone into disuse as  
vulgar and troublesome1 became a        
fashion4  ,great ladies prided          
themselves upon returning to the usage  
of nature1 and infants were brought in  
with the dessert to give an exhibition  
of maternal tenderness4  ,this          
affectation died out1 but in most       
families the good and wholesome custom  
of motherhood was retained4  ,this page 
of ,rousseau's contributed its share to 
the happy result4  #c ,this remark is   
not a just one4  ,how often have we seen
 unhappy creatures disgusted with life  

because of some dreadful and incurable  
malady8  ,it is true that suicide1 being
 an act of madness1 is more frequently  
caused by those troubles which          
imagination delights itself in          
magnifying up to the point of insanity4 
#d ,this is an allusion to one of the   
most unfortunate episodes in the life of
 ,rousseau1--his abandoning of the      
children whom ,thrse ,levasseur bore    
him1 and whom he sent to a foundling    
hospital because he felt within him     
neither courage to labor for their      
support1 nor capacity to educate them4  
,sad practical defect in this teacher of
 theories of education6  #e ,for the    
particular example of education which he
 supposes1 ,rousseau creates a tutor    
whom he consecrates absolutely1         
exclusively1 to the work4  ,he desires  
one so perfect that he calls him a      
prodigy4  ,let us not blame him for     
this4  ,the ideal of those who assume   
the noble and difficult office of a     
teacher of childhood cannot be placed   

too high4 ,as to the pupil1 ,rousseau   
imagines a child of average ability1 in 
easy circumstances1 and of robust       
health4  ,he makes him an only son and  
an orphan1 so that no family            
vicissitudes may disturb the logic of   
his plan4  ,all this may be summed up by
 saying that he considers the child in  
himself with regard to his individual   
development1 and without regard to his  
relations to ordinary life4  ,this at   
the same time renders his task easy1 and
 deprives him of an important element of
 education4  #f ,no doubt this sarcasm  
is applicable to those teachers who talk
 so as to say nothing4  ,a teacher      
ought1 on the contrary1 to speak only so
 as to be understood by the child4  ,he 
ought to adapt himself to the child's   
capacity2 to employ no useless or       
conventional expressions2 his language  
ought to arouse curiosity and to impart 
light4     ,,book ,,second4   ,the      
second book takes the child at about the
 fifth year1 and conducts him to about  

the twelfth year4  ,he is no longer the 
little child2 he is the young boy4  ,his
 education becomes more important4  ,it 
consists not in studies1 in reading or  
writing1 or in duties1 but in           
well-chosen plays1 in ingenious         
recreations1 in well-directed           
experiments4  ,there should be no       
exaggerated precautions1 and1 on the    
other hand1 no harshness1 no            
punishments4  ,we must love the child1  
and encourage his playing4  ,to make him
 realize his weakness and the narrow    
limits within which it can work1 to keep
 the child dependent only on            
circumstances1 will suffice1 without    
ever making him feel the yoke of the    
master4  ,the best education is         
accomplished in the country4  ,teaching 
by means of things4  ,criticism of the  
ordinary method4  ,education of the     
senses by continually exercising them4  
,avoid taking too many ,precautions4    
,this is the second period of life1 and 
the one at which1 properly speaking1    

infancy ends2 for the words infans and  
puer are not synonymous4#a  ,the first  
is included in the second1 and means one
 who cannot speak3 thus in ,valerius    
,maximus we find the expression puerum  
infantem4  ,but ,i shall continue to    
employ the word according to the usage  
of the ,french language1 until ,i am    
describing the age for which there are  
other names4  ,when children begin to   
speak1 they cry less often4  ,this step 
in advance is natural2 one language is  
substituted for another4  ,as soon as   
they can utter their complaints in      
words1 why should they cry1 unless the  
suffering is too keen to be expressed by
 words8  ,if they then continue to cry1 
it is the fault of those around them4   
,after mile has once said1 ,it hurts me1
 only acute suffering can force him to  
cry4  ,if the child is physically so    
delicate and sensitive that he naturally
 cries about nothing1 ,i will soon      
exhaust the fountain of his tears1 by   
making them ineffectual4  ,so long as he

 cries1 ,i will not go to him2 as soon  
as he stops1 ,i will run to him4  ,very 
soon his method of calling me will be to
 keep quiet1 or at the utmost1 to utter 
a single cry4 ,children judge of the    
meaning of signs by their palpable      
effect2 they have no other rule4        
,whatever harm a child may do himself1  
he very rarely cries when alone1 unless 
with the hope of being heard4  ,if he   
fall1 if he bruise his head1 if his nose
 bleed1 if he cut his finger1 ,i should1
 instead of bustling about him with a   
look of alarm1 remain quiet1 at least   
for a little while4  ,the mischief is   
done2 he must endure it2 all my anxiety 
will only serve to frighten him more1   
and to increase his sensitiveness4      
,after all1 when we hurt ourselves1 it  
is less the shock which pains us than   
the fright4  ,i will spare him at least 
this last pang2 for he will certainly   
estimate his hurt as he sees me estimate
 it4  ,if he sees me run anxiously to   
comfort and to pity him1 he will think  

himself seriously hurt2 but if he sees  
me keep my presence of mind1 he will    
soon recover his own1 and will think the
 pain cured when he no longer feels it4 
,at his age we learn our first lessons  
in courage2 and by fearlessly enduring  
lighter sufferings1 we gradually learn  
to bear the heavier ones4  ,far from    
taking care that mile does not hurt     
himself1 ,i shall be dissatisfied if he 
never does1 and so grows up unacquainted
 with pain4 ,to suffer is the first and 
most necessary thing for him to learn4  
,children are little and weak1          
apparently that they may learn these    
important lessons4  ,if a child fall his
 whole length1 he will not break his    
leg2 if he strike himself with a stick1 
he will not break his arm2 if he lay    
hold of an edged tool1 he does not grasp
 it tightly1 and will not cut himself   
very badly4  ,our pedantic mania for    
instructing constantly leads us to teach
 children what they can learn far better
 for themselves1 and to lose sight of   

what we alone can teach them4  ,is there
 anything more absurd than the pains we 
take in teaching them to walk8  ,as if  
we had ever seen one1 who1 through his  
nurse's negligence1 did not know how to 
walk when grown6  ,on the contrary1 how 
many people do we see moving awkwardly  
all their lives because they have been  
badly taught how to walk6  mile shall   
have no head-protectors1 nor carriages1 
nor go-carts1 nor leading-strings4  ,or 
at least from the time when he begins to
 be able to put one foot before the     
other1 he shall not be supported1 except
 over paved places2 and he shall be     
hurried over these4  ,instead of letting
 him suffocate in the exhausted air     
indoors1 let him be taken every day1 far
 out into the fields4  ,there let him   
run about1 play1 fall down a hundred    
times a day2 the oftener the better1 as 
he will the sooner learn to get up again
 by himself4  ,the boon of freedom is   
worth many scars4  ,my pupil will have  
many bruises1 but to make amends for    

that1 he will be always light-hearted4  
,though your pupils are less often hurt1
 they are continually thwarted1         
fettered2 they are always unhappy4  ,i  
doubt whether the advantage be on their 
side4  ,the development of their        
physical strength makes complaint less  
necessary to children4  ,when able to   
help themselves1 they have less need of 
the help of others4  ,knowledge to      
direct their strength grows with that   
strength4  ,at this second stage the    
life of the individual properly begins2 
he now becomes conscious of his own     
being4  ,memory extends this feeling of 
personal identity to every moment of his
 existence2 he becomes really one1 the  
same one1 and consequently capable of   
happiness or of misery4  ,we must       
therefore1 from this moment1 begin to   
regard him as a moral being4            
,childhood is to be ,loved4  ,although  
the longest term of human life1 and the 
probability1 at any given age1 of       
reaching this term1 have been computed1 

nothing is more uncertain than the      
continuance of each individual life3    
very few attain the maximum4  ,the      
greatest risks in life are at its       
beginning2 the less one has lived1 the  
less prospect he has of living4  ,of all
 children born1 only about half reach   
youth2 and it is probable that your     
pupil may never attain to manhood4      
,what1 then1 must be thought of that    
barbarous education which sacrifices the
 present to an uncertain future1 loads  
the child with every description of     
fetters1 and begins1 by making him      
wretched1 to prepare for him some       
far-away indefinite happiness he may    
never enjoy6  ,even supposing the object
 of such an education reasonable1 how   
can we without indignation see the      
unfortunate creatures bowed under an    
insupportable yoke1 doomed to constant  
labor like so many galley-slaves1       
without any certainty that all this toil
 will ever be of use to them6  ,the     
years that ought to be bright and       

cheerful are passed in tears amid       
punishments1 threats1 and slavery4  ,for
 his own good1 the unhappy child is     
tortured2 and the death thus summoned   
will seize on him unperceived amidst all
 this melancholy preparation4  ,who     
knows how many children die on account  
of the extravagant prudence of a father 
or of a teacher8  ,happy in escaping his
 cruelty1 it gives them one advantage2  
they leave without regret a life which  
they know only from its darker side4#b  
,o men1 be humane6 it is your highest   
duty2 be humane to all conditions of    
men1 to every age1 to everything not    
alien to mankind4  ,what higher wisdom  
is there for you than humanity8  ,love  
childhood2 encourage its sports1 its    
pleasures1 its lovable instincts4  ,who 
among us has not at times looked back   
with regret to the age when a smile was 
continually on our lips1 when the soul  
was always at peace8  ,why should we rob
 these little innocent creatures of the 
enjoyment of a time so brief1 so        

transient1 of a boon so precious1 which 
they cannot misuse8  ,why will you fill 
with bitterness and sorrow these        
fleeting years which can no more return 
to them than to you8  ,do you know1 you 
fathers1 the moment when death awaits   
your children8  ,do not store up for    
yourselves remorse1 by taking from them 
the brief moments nature has given them4
 ,as soon as they can appreciate the    
delights of existence1 let them enjoy   
it4  ,at whatever hour ,god may call    
them1 let them not die without having   
tasted life at all4  ,you answer1 ,it is
 the time to correct the evil tendencies
 of the human heart4  ,in childhood1    
when sufferings are less keenly felt1   
they ought to be multiplied1 so that    
fewer of them will have to be           
encountered during the age of reason4   
,but who has told you that it is your   
province to make this arrangement1 and  
that all these fine instructions1 with  
which you burden the tender mind of a   
child1 will not one day be more         

pernicious than useful to him8  ,who    
assures you that you spare him anything 
when you deal him afflictions with so   
lavish a hand8  ,why do you cause him   
more unhappiness than he can bear1 when 
you are not sure that the future will   
compensate him for these present evils8 
,and how can you prove that the evil    
tendencies of which you pretend to cure 
him will not arise from your mistaken   
care rather than from nature itself6    
,unhappy foresight1 which renders a     
creature actually miserable1 in the     
hope1 well or ill founded1 of one day   
making him happy6  ,if these vulgar     
reasoners confound license with liberty1
 and mistake a spoiled child for a child
 who is made happy1 let us teach them to
 distinguish the two4  ,to avoid being  
misled1 let us remember what really     
accords with our present abilities4     
,humanity has its place in the general  
order of things2 childhood has its place
 in the order of human life4  ,mankind  
must be considered in the individual    

man1 and childhood in the individual    
child4  ,to assign each his place1 and  
to establish him in it--to direct human 
passions as human nature will permit--is
 all we can do for his welfare4  ,the   
rest depends on outside influences not  
under our control4   ,neither ,slaves   
nor ,tyrants4  ,he alone has his own way
 who1 to compass it1 does not need the  
arm of another to lengthen his own4     
,consequently freedom1 and not          
authority1 is the greatest good4  ,a man
 who desires only what he can do for    
himself is really free to do whatever he
 pleases4  ,from this axiom1 if it be   
applied to the case of childhood1 all   
the rules of education will follow4  ,a 
wise man understands how to remain in   
his own place2 but a child1 who does not
 know his1 cannot preserve it4  ,as     
matters stand1 there are a thousand ways
 of leaving it4  ,those who govern him  
are to keep him in it1 and this is not  
an easy task4  ,he ought to be neither  
an animal nor a man1 but a child4  ,he  

should feel his weakness1 and yet not   
suffer from it4  ,he should depend1 not 
obey2 he should demand1 not command4 ,he
 is subject to others only by reason of 
his needs1 and because others see better
 than he what is useful to him1 what    
will contribute to his well-being or    
will impair it4  ,no one1 not even his  
father1 has a right to command a child  
to do what is of no use to him whatever4
  ,accustom the child to depend only on 
circumstances1 and as his education goes
 on1 you will follow the order of       
nature4  ,never oppose to his imprudent 
wishes anything but physical obstacles1 
or punishments which arise from the     
actions themselves1 and which he will   
remember when the occasion comes4  ,it  
is enough to prevent his doing harm1    
without forbidding it4  ,with him only  
experience1 or want of power1 should    
take the place of law4  ,do not give him
 anything because he asks for it1 but   
because he needs it4  ,when he acts1 do 
not let him know that it is from        

obedience2 and when another acts for    
him1 let him not feel that he is        
exercising authority4  ,let him feel his
 liberty as much in your actions as in  
his own4  ,add to the power he lacks    
exactly enough to make him free and not 
imperious1 so that1 accepting your aid  
with a kind of humiliation1 he may      
aspire to the moment when he can        
dispense with it1 and have the honor of 
serving himself4  ,for strengthening the
 body and promoting its growth1 nature  
has means which ought never to be       
thwarted4  ,a child ought not to be     
constrained to stay anywhere when he    
wishes to go away1 or to go away when he
 wishes to stay4  ,when their will is   
not spoiled by our own fault1 children  
do not wish for anything without good   
reason4  ,they ought to leap1 to run1 to
 shout1 whenever they will4  ,all their 
movements are necessities of nature1    
which is endeavoring to strengthen      
itself4  ,but we must take heed of those
 wishes they cannot themselves          

accomplish1 but must fulfil by the hand 
of another4  ,therefore care should be  
taken to distinguish the real wants1 the
 wants of nature1 from those which arise
 from fancy or from the redundant life  
just mentioned4  ,i have already        
suggested what should be done when a    
child cries for anything4  ,i will only 
add that1 as soon as he can ask in words
 for what he wants1 and1 to obtain it   
sooner1 or to overcome a refusal1       
reinforces his request by crying1 it    
should never be granted him4  ,if       
necessity has made him speak1 you ought 
to know it1 and at once to grant what he
 demands4  ,but yielding to his tears is
 encouraging him to shed them3 it       
teaches him to doubt your good will1 and
 to believe that importunity has more   
influence over you than your own        
kindness of heart has4  ,if he does not 
believe you good1 he will soon be bad2  
if he believes you weak1 he will soon be
 stubborn4  ,it is of great importance  
that you at once consent to what you do 

not intend to refuse him4  ,do not      
refuse often1 but never revoke a        
refusal4  ,above all things1 beware of  
teaching the child empty formulas of    
politeness which shall serve him instead
 of magic words to subject to his own   
wishes all who surround him1 and to     
obtain instantly what he likes4  ,in the
 artificial education of the rich they  
are infallibly made politely imperious1 
by having prescribed to them what terms 
to use so that no one shall dare resist 
them4  ,such children have neither the  
tones nor the speech of suppliants2 they
 are as arrogant when they request as   
when they command1 and even more so1 for
 in the former case they are more sure  
of being obeyed4  ,from the first it is 
readily seen that1 coming from them1 ,if
 you please means ,it pleases me2 and   
that ,i beg signifies ,i order you4     
,singular politeness this1 by which they
 only change the meaning of words1 and  
so never speak but with authority6  ,for
 myself1 ,i dread far less mile's being 

rude than his being arrogant4  ,i would 
rather have him say ,do this as if      
requesting than ,i beg you as if        
commanding4  ,i attach far less         
importance to the term he uses than to  
the meaning he associates with it4      
,over-strictness and over-indulgence are
 equally to be avoided4  ,if you let    
children suffer1 you endanger their     
health and their life2 you make them    
actually wretched4  ,if you carefully   
spare them every kind of annoyance1 you 
are storing up for them much            
unhappiness2 you are making them        
delicate and sensitive to pain2 you are 
removing them from the common lot of    
man1 into which1 in spite of all your   
care1 they will one day return4  ,to    
save them some natural discomforts1 you 
contrive for them others which nature   
has not inflicted4  ,you will charge me 
with falling into the mistake of those  
fathers ,i have reproached for          
sacrificing their children's happiness  
to considerations of a far-away future  

that may never be4  ,not so2 for the    
freedom ,i give my pupil will amply     
supply him with the slight discomforts  
to which ,i leave him exposed4  ,i see  
the little rogues playing in the snow1  
blue with cold1 and scarcely able to    
move their fingers4  ,they have only to 
go and warm themselves1 but they do     
nothing of the kind4  ,if they are      
compelled to do so1 they feel the       
constraint a hundred times more than    
they do the cold4  ,why then do you     
complain8 ,shall ,i make your child     
unhappy if ,i expose him only to those  
inconveniences he is perfectly willing  
to endure8  ,by leaving him at liberty1 
,i do him service now2 by arming him    
against the ills he must encounter1 ,i  
do him service for the time to come4    
,if he could choose between being my    
pupil or yours1 do you think he would   
hesitate a moment8  ,can we conceive of 
any creature's being truly happy outside
 of what belongs to its own peculiar    
nature8  ,and if we would have a man    

exempt from all human misfortunes1 would
 it not estrange him from humanity8     
,undoubtedly it would2 for we are so    
constituted that to appreciate great    
good fortune we must be acquainted with 
slight misfortunes4  ,if the body be too
 much at ease the moral nature becomes  
corrupted4  ,the man unacquainted with  
suffering would not know the tender     
feelings of humanity or the sweetness of
 compassion2 he would not be a social   
being2 he would be a monster among his  
kind4  ,the surest way to make a child  
unhappy is to accustom him to obtain    
everything he wants to have4  ,for1     
since his wishes multiply in proportion 
to the ease with which they are         
gratified1 your inability to fulfil them
 will sooner or later oblige you to     
refuse in spite of yourself1 and this   
unwonted refusal will pain him more than
 withholding from him what he demands4  
,at first he will want the cane you     
hold2 soon he will want your watch2     
afterward he will want the bird he sees 

flying1 or the star he sees shining4    
,he will want everything he sees1 and   
without being ,god himself how can you  
content him8  ,man is naturally disposed
 to regard as his own whatever is within
 his power4  ,in this sense the         
principle of ,hobbes is correct up to a 
certain point2 multiply with our desires
 the means of satisfying them1 and each 
of us will make himself master of       
everything4  ,hence the child who has   
only to wish in order to obtain his     
wish1 thinks himself the owner of the   
universe4  ,he regards all men as his   
slaves1 and when at last he must be     
denied something1 he1 believing         
everything possible when he commands it1
 takes refusal for an act of rebellion4 
,at his age1 incapable of reasoning1 all
 reasons given seem to him only         
pretexts4  ,he sees ill-will in         
everything2 the feeling of imagined     
injustice embitters his temper2 he      
begins to hate everybody1 and without   
ever being thankful for kindness1 is    

angry at any opposition whatever4  ,who 
supposes that a child thus ruled by     
anger1 a prey to furious passions1 can  
ever be happy8  ,he happy8  ,he is a    
tyrant2 that is1 the vilest of slaves1  
and at the same time the most miserable 
of beings4  ,i have seen children thus  
reared who wanted those about them to   
push the house down1 to give them the   
weathercock they saw on a steeple1 to   
stop the march of a regiment so that    
they could enjoy the drum-beat a little 
longer2 and as soon as obedience to     
these demands was delayed they rent the 
air with their screams1 and would listen
 to no one4  ,in vain everybody tried   
eagerly to gratify them4  ,the ease with
 which they found their wishes obeyed   
stimulated them to desire more1 and to  
be stubborn about impossibilities4      
,everywhere they found only             
contradictions1 impediments1 suffering1 
and sorrow4  ,always complaining1 always
 refractory1 always angry1 they spent   
the time in crying and fretting2 were   

these creatures happy8  ,authority and  
weakness conjoined produce only madness 
and wretchedness4  ,one of two spoiled  
children beats the table1 and the other 
has the sea lashed4#c ,they will have   
much to beat and to lash before they are
 satisfied with life4  ,if these ideas  
of authority and of tyranny make them   
unhappy from their very childhood1 how  
will it be with them when they are      
grown1 and when their relations with    
others begin to be extended and         
multiplied8  ,accustomed to seeing      
everything give way before them1 how    
surprised they will be on entering the  
world to find themselves crushed beneath
 the weight of that universe they have  
expected to move at their own pleasure6 
,their insolent airs and childish vanity
 will only bring upon them              
mortification1 contempt1 and ridicule2  
they must swallow affront after affront2
 cruel trials will teach them that they 
understand neither their own position   
nor their own strength4  ,unable to do  

everything1 they will think themselves  
unable to do anything4  ,so many unusual
 obstacles dishearten them1 so much     
contempt degrades them4 ,they become    
base1 cowardly1 cringing1 and sink as   
far below their real self as they had   
imagined themselves above it4  ,let us  
return to the original order of things4 
,nature has made children to be loved   
and helped2 has she made them to be     
obeyed and feared8  ,has she given them 
an imposing air1 a stern eye1 a harsh   
and threatening voice1 so that they may 
inspire fear8  ,i can understand why the
 roar of a lion fills other creatures   
with dread1 and why they tremble at     
sight of his terrible countenance4  ,but
 if ever there were an unbecoming1      
hateful1 ridiculous spectacle1 it is    
that of a body of magistrates in their  
robes of ceremony1 and headed by their  
chief1 prostrate before an infant in    
long clothes1 who to their pompous      
harangue replies only by screams or by  
childish drivel6#d  ,considering infancy

 in itself1 is there a creature on earth
 more helpless1 more unhappy1 more at   
the mercy of everything around him1 more
 in need of compassion1 of care1 of     
protection1 than a child8  ,does it not 
seem as if his sweet face and touching  
aspect were intended to interest every  
one who comes near him1 and to urge them
 to assist his weakness8  ,what then is 
more outrageous1 more contrary to the   
fitness of things1 than to see an       
imperious and headstrong child ordering 
about those around him1 impudently      
taking the tone of a master toward those
 who1 to destroy him1 need only leave   
him to himself6  ,on the other hand1 who
 does not see that since the weakness of
 infancy fetters children in so many    
ways1 we are barbarous if we add to this
 natural subjection a bondage to our own
 caprices by taking from them the       
limited freedom they have1 a freedom    
they are so little able to misuse1 and  
from the loss of which we and they have 
so little to gain8 ,as nothing is more  

ridiculous than a haughty child1 so     
nothing is more pitiable than a cowardly
 child4  ,since with years of reason    
civil bondage#e begins1 why anticipate  
it by slavery at home8  ,let us leave   
one moment of life exempt from a yoke   
nature has not laid upon us1 and allow  
childhood the exercise of that natural  
liberty which keeps it safe1 at least   
for a time1 from the vices taught by    
slavery4  ,let the over-strict teacher  
and the over-indulgent parent both come 
with their empty cavils1 and before they
 boast of their own methods let them    
learn the method of ,nature herself4    
,reasoning should not begin too soon4   
,locke's great maxim was that we ought  
to reason with children1 and just now   
this maxim is much in fashion4  ,i      
think1 however1 that its success does   
not warrant its reputation1 and ,i find 
nothing more stupid than children who   
have been so much reasoned with4        
,reason1 apparently a compound of all   
other faculties1 the one latest         

developed1 and with most difficulty1 is 
the one proposed as agent in unfolding  
the faculties earliest used6  ,the      
noblest work of education is to make a  
reasoning man1 and we expect to train a 
young child by making him reason6  ,this
 is beginning at the end2 this is making
 an instrument of a result4  ,if        
children understood how to reason they  
would not need to be educated4  ,but by 
addressing them from their tenderest    
years in a language they cannot         
understand1 you accustom them to be     
satisfied with words1 to find fault with
 whatever is said to them1 to think     
themselves as wise as their teachers1 to
 wrangle and rebel4  ,and what we mean  
they shall do from reasonable motives we
 are forced to obtain from them by      
adding the motive of avarice1 or of     
fear1 or of vanity4  ,nature intends    
that children shall be children before  
they are men4  ,if we insist on         
reversing this order we shall have fruit
 early indeed1 but unripe and tasteless1

 and liable to early decay2 we shall    
have young savants and old children4    
,childhood has its own methods of       
seeing1 thinking1 and feeling4  ,nothing
 shows less sense than to try to        
substitute our own methods for these4   
,i would rather require a child ten     
years old to be five feet tall than to  
be judicious4  ,indeed1 what use would  
he have at that age for the power to    
reason8  ,it is a check upon physical   
strength1 and the child needs none4  ,in
 attempting to persuade your pupils to  
obedience you add to this alleged       
persuasion force and threats1 or worse  
still1 flattery and promises4  ,bought  
over in this way by interest1 or        
constrained by force1 they pretend to be
 convinced by reason4  ,they see plainly
 that as soon as you discover obedience 
or disobedience in their conduct1 the   
former is an advantage and the latter a 
disadvantage to them4  ,but you ask of  
them only what is distasteful to them2  
it is always irksome to carry out the   

wishes of another1 so by stealth they   
carry out their own4  ,they are sure    
that if their disobedience is not known 
they are doing well2 but they are ready1
 for fear of greater evils1 to          
acknowledge1 if found out1 that they are
 doing wrong4  ,as the reason for the   
duty required is beyond their capacity1 
no one can make them really understand  
it4  ,but the fear of punishment1 the   
hope of forgiveness1 your importunity1  
their difficulty in answering you1      
extort from them the confession required
 of them4  ,you think you have convinced
 them1 when you have only wearied them  
out or intimidated them4  ,what results 
from this8  ,first of all that1 by      
imposing upon them a duty they do not   
feel as such1 you set them against your 
tyranny1 and dissuade them from loving  
you2 you teach them to be dissemblers1  
deceitful1 willfully untrue1 for the    
sake of extorting rewards or of escaping
 punishments4  ,finally1 by habituating 
them to cover a secret motive by an     

apparent motive1 you give them the means
 of constantly misleading you1 of       
concealing their true character from    
you1 and of satisfying yourself and     
others with empty words when their      
occasion demands4  ,you may say that the
 law1 although binding on the           
conscience1 uses constraint in dealing  
with grown men4  ,i grant it2 but what  
are these men but children spoiled by   
their education8  ,this is precisely    
what ought to be prevented4  ,with      
children use force1 with men reason2    
such is the natural order of things4    
,the wise man requires no laws4         
,well-,regulated ,liberty4  ,treat your 
pupil as his age demands4  ,from the    
first1 assign him to his true place1 and
 keep him there so effectually that he  
will not try to leave it4  ,then1       
without knowing what wisdom is1 he will 
practise its most important lesson4     
,never1 absolutely never1 command him to
 do a thing1 whatever it may be4#f  ,do 
not let him even imagine that you claim 

any authority over him4  ,let him know  
only that he is weak and you are strong3
 that from his condition and yours he is
 necessarily at your mercy4  ,let him   
know this--learn it and feel it4  ,let  
him early know that upon his haughty    
neck is the stern yoke nature imposes   
upon man1 the heavy yoke of necessity1  
under which every finite being must     
toil4  ,let him discover this necessity 
in the nature of things2 never in human 
caprice4  ,let the rein that holds him  
back be power1 not authority4  ,do not  
forbid1 but prevent1 his doing what he  
ought not2 and in thus preventing him   
use no explanations1 give no reasons4   
,what you grant him1 grant at the first 
asking without any urging1 any entreaty 
from him1 and above all without         
conditions4  ,consent with pleasure and 
refuse unwillingly1 but let every       
refusal be irrevocable4  ,let no        
importunity move you4  ,let the ,no once
 uttered be a wall of brass against     
which the child will have to exhaust his

 strength only five or six times before 
he ceases trying to overturn it4  ,in   
this way you will make him patient1     
even-tempered1 resigned1 gentle1 even   
when he has not what he wants4  ,for it 
is in our nature to endure patiently the
 decrees of fate1 but not the ill-will  
of others4  ,there is no more1 is an    
answer against which no child ever      
rebelled unless he believed it untrue4  
,besides1 there is no other way2 either 
nothing at all is to be required of him1
 or he must from the first be accustomed
 to perfect obedience4  ,the worst      
training of all is to leave him wavering
 between his own will and yours1 and to 
dispute incessantly with him as to which
 shall be master4  ,i should a hundred  
times prefer his being master in every  
case4  ,it is marvellous that in        
undertaking to educate a child no other 
means of guiding him should have been   
devised than emulation1 jealousy1 envy1 
vanity1 greed1 vile fear1--all of them  
passions most dangerous1 readiest to    

ferment1 fittest to corrupt a soul1 even
 before the body is full-grown4  ,for   
each instruction too early put into a   
child's head1 a vice is deeply implanted
 in his heart4  ,foolish teachers think 
they are doing wonders when they make a 
child wicked1 in order to teach him what
 goodness is2 and then they gravely tell
 us1 ,such is man4  ,yes2 such is the   
man you have made4  ,all means have been
 tried save one1 and that the very one  
which insures success1 namely1          
well-regulated freedom4  ,we ought not  
to undertake a child's education unless 
we know how to lead him wherever we     
please solely by the laws of the        
possible and the impossible4  ,the      
sphere of both being alike unknown to   
him1 we may extend or contract it around
 him as we will4  ,we may bind him down1
 incite him to action1 restrain him by  
the leash of necessity alone1 and he    
will not murmur4  ,we may render him    
pliant and teachable by the force of    
circumstances alone1 without giving any 

vice an opportunity to take root within 
him4  ,for the passions never awake to  
life1 so long as they are of no avail4  
,do not give your pupil any sort of     
lesson verbally3 he ought to receive    
none except from experience4  ,inflict  
upon him no kind of punishment1 for he  
does not know what being in fault means2
 never oblige him to ask pardon1 for he 
does not know what it is to offend you4 
,his actions being without moral        
quality1 he can do nothing which is     
morally bad1 or which deserves either   
punishment or reproof4#g  ,already ,i   
see the startled reader judging of this 
child by those around us2 but he is     
mistaken4  ,the perpetual constraint    
under which you keep your pupils        
increases their liveliness4  ,the more  
cramped they are while under your eye   
the more unruly they are the moment they
 escape it4  ,they must1 in fact1 make  
themselves amends for the severe        
restraint you put upon them4  ,two      
school-boys from a city will do more    

mischief in a community than the young  
people of a whole village4  ,shut up in 
the same room a little gentleman and a  
little peasant2 the former will have    
everything upset and broken before the  
latter has moved from his place4  ,why  
is this8  ,because the one hastens to   
misuse a moment of liberty1 and the     
other1 always sure of his freedom1 is   
never in a hurry to use it4  ,and yet   
the children of villagers1 often petted 
or thwarted1 are still very far from the
 condition in which ,i should wish to   
keep them4   ,proceed ,slowly4  ,may ,i 
venture to state here the greatest1 the 
most important1 the most useful rule in 
all education8  ,it is1 not to gain     
time1 but to lose it4 ,forgive the      
paradox1 ,o my ordinary reader6  ,it    
must be uttered by any one who reflects1
 and whatever you may say1 ,i prefer    
paradoxes to prejudices4  ,the most     
perilous interval of human life is that 
between birth and the age of twelve     
years4  ,at that time errors and vices  

take root without our having any means  
of destroying them2 and when the        
instrument is found1 the time for       
uprooting them is past4  ,if children   
could spring at one bound from the      
mother's breast to the age of reason1   
the education given them now-a-days     
would be suitable2 but in the due order 
of nature they need one entirely        
different4  ,they should not use the    
mind at all1 until it has all its       
faculties4  ,for while it is blind it   
cannot see the torch you present to it2 
nor can it follow on the immense plain  
of ideas a path which1 even for the     
keenest eyesight1 reason traces so      
faintly4  ,the earliest education ought1
 then1 to be purely negative4  ,it      
consists not in teaching truth or       
virtue1 but in shielding the heart from 
vice and the mind from error4  ,if you  
could do nothing at all1 and allow      
nothing to be done2 if you could bring  
up your pupil sound and robust to the   
age of twelve years1 without his knowing

 how to distinguish his right hand from 
his left1 the eyes of his understanding 
would from the very first open to       
reason4  ,without a prejudice or a      
habit1 there would be in him nothing to 
counteract the effect of your care4     
,before long he would become in your    
hands the wisest of men2 and beginning  
by doing nothing1 you would have        
accomplished a marvel in education4     
,reverse the common practice1 and you   
will nearly always do well4 ,parents and
 teachers desiring to make of a child   
not a child1 but a learned man1 have    
never begun early enough to chide1 to   
correct1 to reprimand1 to flatter1 to   
promise1 to instruct1 to discourse      
reason to him4  ,do better than this3 be
 reasonable yourself1 and do not argue  
with your pupil1 least of all1 to make  
him approve what he dislikes4 ,for if   
you persist in reasoning about          
disagreeable things1 you make reasoning 
disagreeable to him1 and weaken its     
influence beforehand in a mind as yet   

unfitted to understand it4  ,keep his   
organs1 his senses1 his physical        
strength1 busy2 but1 as long as         
possible1 keep his mind inactive4       
,guard against all sensations arising in
 advance of judgment1 which estimates   
their true value4  ,keep back and check 
unfamiliar impressions1 and be in no    
haste to do good for the sake of        
preventing evil4  ,for the good is not  
real unless enlightened by reason4      
,regard every delay as an advantage2 for
 much is gained if the critical period  
be approached without losing anything4  
,let childhood have its full growth4    
,if indeed a lesson must be given1 avoid
 it to-day1 if you can without danger   
delay it until to-morrow4  ,another     
consideration which proves this method  
useful is the peculiar bent of the      
child's mind4  ,this ought to be well   
understood if we would know what moral  
government is best adapted to him4      
,each has his own cast of mind1 in      
accordance with which he must be        

directed2 and if we would succeed1 he   
must be ruled according to this natural 
bent and no other4  ,be judicious3 watch
 nature long1 and observe your pupil    
carefully before you say a word to him4 
,at first leave the germ of his         
character free to disclose itself4      
,repress it as little as possible1 so   
that you may the better see all there is
 of it4  ,do you think this season of   
free action will be time lost to him8   
,on the contrary1 it will be employed in
 the best way possible4  ,for by this   
means you will learn not to lose a      
single moment when time is more         
precious2 whereas1 if you begin to act  
before you know what ought to be done1  
you act at random4  ,liable to deceive  
yourself1 you will have to retrace your 
steps1 and will be farther from your    
object than if you had been less in     
haste to reach it4  ,do not then act    
like a miser1 who1 in order to lose     
nothing1 loses a great deal4  ,at the   
earlier age sacrifice time which you    

will recover with interest later on4    
,the wise physician does not give       
directions at first sight of his        
patient1 but studies the sick man's     
temperament1 before prescribing4  ,he   
begins late with his treatment1 but     
cures the man3 the over-hasty physician 
kills him4  ,remember that1 before you  
venture undertaking to form a man1 you  
must have made yourself a man2 you must 
find in yourself the example you ought  
to offer him4  ,while the child is yet  
without knowledge there is time to      
prepare everything about him so that his
 first glance shall discover only what  
he ought to see4  ,make everybody       
respect you2 begin by making yourself   
beloved1 so that everybody will try to  
please you4 ,you will not be the child's
 master unless you are master of        
everything around him1 and this         
authority will not suffice unless       
founded on esteem for virtue4  ,there is
 no use in exhausting your purse by     
lavishing money3 ,i have never observed 

that money made any one beloved4  ,you  
must not be miserly or unfeeling1 or    
lament the distress you can relieve2 but
 you will open your coffers in vain if  
you do not open your heart2 the hearts  
of others will be forever closed to you4
  ,you must give your time1 your care1  
your affection1 yourself4  ,for whatever
 you may do1 your money certainly is not
 yourself4  ,tokens of interest and of  
kindness go farther and are of more use 
than any gifts whatever4  ,how many     
unhappy persons1 how many sufferers1    
need consolation far more than alms6    
,how many who are oppressed are aided   
rather by protection than by money6     
,reconcile those who are at variance2   
prevent lawsuits2 persuade children to  
filial duty and parents to gentleness4  
,encourage happy marriages2 hinder      
disturbances2 use freely the interest of
 your pupil's family on behalf of the   
weak who are denied justice and         
oppressed by the powerful4  ,boldly     
declare yourself the champion of the    

unfortunate4 ,be just1 humane1          
beneficent4  ,be not content with giving
 alms2 be charitable4  ,kindness        
relieves more distress than money can   
reach4 ,love others1 and they will love 
you2 serve them1 and they will serve    
you2 be their brother1 and they will be 
your children4  ,blame others no longer 
for the mischief you yourself are doing4
 ,children are less corrupted by the    
harm they see than by that you teach    
them4  ,always preaching1 always        
moralizing1 always acting the pedant1   
you give them twenty worthless ideas    
when you think you are giving them one  
good one4  ,full of what is passing in  
your own mind1 you do not see the effect
 you are producing upon theirs4  ,in the
 prolonged torrent of words with which  
you incessantly weary them1 do you think
 there are none they may misunderstand8 
,do you imagine that they will not      
comment in their own way upon your wordy
 explanations1 and find in them a system
 adapted to their own capacity1 which1  

if need be1 they can use against you8   
,listen to a little fellow who has just 
been under instruction4  ,let him       
prattle1 question1 blunder1 just as he  
pleases1 and you will be surprised at   
the turn your reasonings have taken in  
his mind4  ,he confounds one thing with 
another2 he reverses everything2 he     
tires you1 sometimes worries you1 by    
unexpected objections4  ,he forces you  
to hold your peace1 or to make him hold 
his4  ,and what must he think of this   
silence1 in one so fond of talking8  ,if
 ever he wins this advantage and knows  
the fact1 farewell to his education4    
,he will no longer try to learn1 but to 
refute what you say4  ,be plain1        
discreet1 reticent1 you who are zealous 
teachers4  ,be in no haste to act1      
except to prevent others from acting4   
,again and again ,i say1 postpone even a
 good lesson if you can1 for fear of    
conveying a bad one4  ,on this earth1   
meant by nature to be man's first       
paradise1 beware lest you act the       

tempter by giving to innocence the      
knowledge of good and evil4  ,since you 
cannot prevent the child's learning from
 outside examples1 restrict your care to
 the task of impressing these examples  
on his mind in suitable forms4  ,violent
 passions make a striking impression on 
the child who notices them1 because     
their manifestations are well-defined1  
and forcibly attract his attention4     
,anger especially has such stormy       
indications that its approach is        
unmistakable4  ,do not ask1 ,is not this
 a fine opportunity for the pedagogue's 
moral discourse8  ,spare the discourse3 
say not a word3 let the child alone4    
,amazed at what he sees1 he will not    
fail to question you4  ,it will not be  
hard to answer him1 on account of the   
very things that strike his senses4  ,he
 sees an inflamed countenance1 flashing 
eyes1 threatening gestures1 he hears    
unusually excited tones of voice2 all   
sure signs that the body is not in its  
usual condition4  ,say to him calmly1   

unaffectedly1 without any mystery1 ,this
 poor man is sick2 he has a high fever4 
,you may take this occasion to give him1
 in few words1 an idea of maladies and  
of their effects2 for these1 being      
natural1 are trammels of that necessity 
to which he has to feel himself subject4
  ,from this1 the true idea1 will he not
 early feel repugnance at giving way to 
excessive passion1 which he regards as a
 disease8  ,and do you not think that   
such an idea1 given at the appropriate  
time1 will have as good an effect as the
 most tiresome sermon on morals8  ,note 
also the future consequences of this    
idea2 it will authorize you1 if ever    
necessity arises1 to treat a rebellious 
child as a sick child1 to confine him to
 his room1 and even to his bed1 to make 
him undergo a course of medical         
treatment2 to make his growing vices    
alarming and hateful to himself4  ,he   
cannot consider as a punishment the     
severity you are forced to use in curing
 him4  ,so that if you yourself1 in some

 hasty moment1 are perhaps stirred out  
of the coolness and moderation it should
 be your study to preserve1 do not try  
to disguise your fault1 but say to him  
frankly1 in tender reproach1 ,my boy1   
you have hurt me4  ,i do not intend to  
enter fully into details1 but to lay    
down some general maxims and to         
illustrate difficult cases4  ,i believe 
it impossible1 in the very heart of     
social surroundings1 to educate a child 
up to the age of twelve years1 without  
giving him some ideas of the relations  
of man to man1 and of morality in human 
actions4  ,it will suffice if we put off
 as long as possible the necessity for  
these ideas1 and when they must be      
given1 limit them to such as are        
immediately applicable4  ,we must do    
this only lest he consider himself      
master of everything1 and so injure     
others without scruple1 because         
unknowingly4  ,there are gentle1 quiet  
characters who1 in their early          
innocence1 may be led a long way without

 danger of this kind4  ,but others1     
naturally violent1 whose wildness is    
precocious1 must be trained into men as 
early as may be1 that you may not be    
obliged to fetter them outright4   ,the 
,idea of ,property4  ,our first duties  
are to ourselves2 our first feelings are
 concentrated upon ourselves2 our first 
natural movements have reference to our 
own preservation and well-being4  ,thus 
our first idea of justice is not as due 
from us1 but to us4  ,one error in the  
education of to-day is1 that by speaking
 to children first of their duties and  
never of their rights1 we commence at   
the wrong end1 and tell them of what    
they cannot understand1 and what cannot 
interest them4  ,if therefore ,i had to 
teach one of these ,i have mentioned1 ,i
 should reflect that a child never      
attacks persons1 but things2 he soon    
learns from experience to respect his   
superiors in age and strength4  ,but    
things do not defend themselves4  ,the  
first idea to be given him1 therefore1  

is rather that of property than that of 
liberty2 and in order to understand this
 idea he must have something of his own4
  ,to speak to him of his clothes1 his  
furniture1 his playthings1 is to tell   
him nothing at all2 for though he makes 
use of these things1 he knows neither   
how nor why he has them4  ,to tell him  
they are his because they have been     
given to him is not much better1 for in 
order to give1 we must have4  ,this is  
an ownership dating farther back than   
his own1 and we wish him to understand  
the principle of ownership itself4      
,besides1 a gift is a conventional      
thing1 and the child cannot as yet      
understand what a conventional thing is4
  ,you who read this1 observe how in    
this instance1 as in a hundred thousand 
others1 a child's head is crammed with  
words which from the start have no      
meaning to him1 but which we imagine we 
have taught him4  ,we must go back1     
then1 to the origin of ownership1 for   
thence our first ideas of it should     

arise4  ,the child living in the country
 will have gained some notion of what   
field labor is1 having needed only to   
use his eyes and his abundant leisure4  
,every age in life1 and especially his  
own1 desires to create1 to imitate1 to  
produce1 to manifest power and activity4
  ,only twice will it be necessary for  
him to see a garden cultivated1 seed    
sown1 plants reared1 beans sprouting1   
before he will desire to work in a      
garden himself4  ,in accordance with    
principles already laid down ,i do not  
at all oppose this desire1 but encourage
 it4  ,i share his taste2 ,i work with  
him1 not for his pleasure1 but for my   
own3 at least he thinks so4  ,i become  
his assistant gardener2 until his arms  
are strong enough ,i work the ground for
 him4  ,by planting a bean in it1 he    
takes possession of it2 and surely this 
possession is more sacred and more to be
 respected than that assumed by ,nuez de
 ,balboa of ,south ,america in the name 
of the king of ,spain1 by planting his  

standard on the shores of the ,pacific  
,ocean4  ,he comes every day to water   
the beans1 and rejoices to see them     
thriving4  ,i add to his delight by     
telling him ,this belongs to you4 ,in   
explaining to him what ,i mean by       
belongs1 ,i make him feel that he has   
put into this plot of ground his time1  
his labor1 his care1 his bodily self2   
that in it is a part of himself which he
 may claim back from any one whatever1  
just as he may draw his own arm back if 
another tries to hold it against his    
will4  ,one fine morning he comes as    
usual1 running1 watering-pot in hand4   
,but oh1 what a sight6  ,what a         
misfortune6  ,the beans are uprooted1   
the garden bed is all in disorder3 the  
place actually no longer knows itself4  
,what has become of my labor1 the sweet 
reward of all my care and toil8  ,who   
has robbed me of my own8  ,who has taken
 my beans away from me8  ,the little    
heart swells with the bitterness of its 
first feeling of injustice4  ,his eyes  

overflow with tears2 his distress rends 
the air with moans and cries4  ,we      
compassionate his troubles1 share his   
indignation1 make inquiries1 sift the   
matter thoroughly4  ,at last we find    
that the gardener has done the deed3 we 
send for him4  ,but we find that we have
 reckoned without our host4  ,when the  
gardener hears what we are complaining  
of1 he complains more than we4  ,what6  
,so it was you1 gentlemen1 who ruined   
all my labor6  ,i had planted some      
,maltese melons1 from seed given me as a
 great rarity3 ,i hoped to give you a   
grand treat with them when they were    
ripe4  ,but for the sake of planting    
your miserable beans there1 you killed  
my melons after they had actually       
sprouted2 and there are no more to be   
had4  ,you have done me more harm than  
you can remedy1 and you have lost the   
pleasure of tasting some delicious      
melons4  ,,jean ,,jacques4  ,excuse us1 
my good ,robert4  ,you put into them    
your labor1 your care4  ,i see plainly  

that we did wrong to spoil your work3   
but we will get you some more ,maltese  
seed1 and we will not till any more     
ground without finding out whether some 
one else has put his hand to it before  
us4  ,,robert4  ,oh well1 gentlemen1 you
 may as well end the business2 for      
there's no waste land4  ,what ,i work   
was improved by my father1 and it's the 
same with everybody hereabout4  ,all the
 fields you see were taken up long ago4 
,,mile4  ,mr4 ,robert1 do you often lose
 your melon-seed8  ,,robert4  ,pardon1  
my young master3 we don't often have    
young gentlemen about that are careless 
like you4  ,nobody touches his          
neighbor's garden2 everybody respects   
other people's work1 to make sure of his
 own4  ,,mile4  ,but ,i haven't any     
garden4  ,,robert4  ,what's that to me8 
,if you spoil mine1 ,i won't let you    
walk in it any more2 for you are to     
understand that ,i'm not going to have  
all my pains for nothing4  ,,jean       
,,jacques4  ,can't we arrange this      

matter with honest ,robert8  ,just let  
my little friend and me have one corner 
of your garden to cultivate1 on         
condition that you have half the        
produce4  ,,robert4  ,i will let you    
have it without that condition2 but     
remember1 ,i will root up your beans if 
you meddle with my melons4  ,in this    
essay on the manner of teaching         
fundamental notions to children it may  
be seen how the idea of property        
naturally goes back to the right which  
the first occupant acquired by labor4   
,this is clear1 concise1 simple1 and    
always within the comprehension of the  
child4 ,from this to the right of       
holding property1 and of transferring   
it1 there is but one step1 and beyond   
this we are to stop short4  ,it will    
also be evident that the explanation ,i 
have included in two pages may1 in      
actual practice1 be the work of an      
entire year4  ,for in the development of
 moral ideas1 we cannot advance too     
slowly1 or establish them too firmly at 

every step4  ,i entreat you1 young      
teachers1 to think of the example ,i    
have given1 and to remember that your   
lessons upon every subject ought to be  
rather in actions than in words2 for    
children readily forget what is said or 
done to them4  ,as ,i have said1 such   
lessons ought to be given earlier or    
later1 as the disposition of the child1 
gentle or turbulent1 hastens or retards 
the necessity for giving them4  ,in     
employing them1 we call in an evidence  
that cannot be misunderstood4  ,but that
 in difficult cases nothing important   
may be omitted1 let us give another     
illustration4  ,your little meddler     
spoils everything he touches2 do not be 
vexed1 but put out of his reach whatever
 he can spoil4  ,he breaks the furniture
 he uses4  ,be in no hurry to give him  
any more2 let him feel the disadvantages
 of doing without it4  ,he breaks the   
windows in his room2 let the wind blow  
on him night and day4  ,have no fear of 
his taking cold2 he had better take cold

 than be a fool4  ,do not fret at the   
inconvenience he causes you1 but make   
him feel it first of all4  ,finally1    
without saying anything about it1 have  
the panes of glass mended4  ,he breaks  
them again4  ,change your method3 say to
 him coolly and without anger1 ,those   
windows are mine2 ,i took pains to have 
them put there1 and ,i am going to make 
sure that they shall not be broken      
again4  ,then shut him up in some dark  
place where there are no windows4  ,at  
this novel proceeding1 he begins to cry 
and storm3 but nobody listens to him4   
,he soon grows tired of this1 and       
changes his tone2 he complains and      
groans4  ,a servant is sent1 whom the   
rebel entreats to set him free4         
,without trying to find any excuse for  
utter refusal1 the servant answers1 ,i  
have windows to take care of1 too1 and  
goes away4  ,at last1 after the child   
has been in durance for several hours1  
long enough to tire him and to make him 
remember it1 some one suggests an       

arrangement by which you shall agree to 
release him1 and he to break no more    
windows4  ,he sends to beseech you to   
come and see him2 you come2 he makes his
 proposal4  ,you accept it immediately1 
saying1 ,well thought of2 that will be a
 good thing for both of us4  ,why didn't
 you think of this capital plan before8 
,then1 without requiring any            
protestations1 or confirmation of his   
promise1 you gladly caress him and take 
him to his room at once1 regarding this 
compact as sacred and inviolable as if  
ratified by an oath4  ,what an idea of  
the obligation1 and the usefulness1 of  
an engagement will he not gain from this
 transaction6  ,i am greatly mistaken if
 there is an unspoiled child on earth   
who would be proof against it1 or who   
would ever after think of breaking a    
window purposely4   ,falsehood4  ,the   
,force of ,example4  ,we are now within 
the domain of morals1 and the door is   
open to vice4 ,side by side with        
conventionalities and duties spring up  

deceit and falsehood4  ,as soon as there
 are things we ought not to do1 we      
desire to hide what we ought not to have
 done4  ,as soon as one interest leads  
us to promise1 a stronger one may urge  
us to break the promise4  ,our chief    
concern is how to break it and still go 
unscathed4  ,it is natural to find      
expedients2 we dissemble and we utter   
falsehood4  ,unable to prevent this     
evil1 we must nevertheless punish it4   
,thus the miseries of our life arise    
from our mistakes4  ,i have said enough 
to show that punishment1 as such1 should
 not be inflicted upon children1 but    
should always happen to them as the     
natural result of their own wrong-doing4
  ,do not1 then1 preach to them against 
falsehood1 or punish them confessedly on
 account of a falsehood4  ,but if they  
are guilty of one1 let all its          
consequences fall heavily on their      
heads4  ,let them know what it is to be 
disbelieved even when they speak the    
truth1 and to be accused of faults in   

spite of their earnest denial4  ,but let
 us inquire what falsehood is1 in       
children4  ,there are two kinds of      
falsehood2 that of fact1 which refers to
 things already past1 and that of right1
 which has to do with the future4  ,the 
first occurs when we deny doing what we 
have done1 and in general1 when we      
knowingly utter what is not true4  ,the 
other occurs when we promise what we do 
not mean to perform1 and1 in general1   
when we express an intention contrary to
 the one we really have4  ,these two    
sorts of untruth may sometimes meet in  
the same case2 but let us here discuss  
their points of difference4  ,one who   
realizes his need of help from others1  
and constantly receives kindness from   
them1 has nothing to gain by deceiving  
them4  ,on the contrary1 it is evidently
 his interest that they should see      
things as they are1 lest they make      
mistakes to his disadvantage4  ,it is   
clear1 then1 that the falsehood of fact 
is not natural to children4  ,but the   

law of obedience makes falsehood        
necessary2 because1 obedience being     
irksome1 we secretly avoid it whenever  
we can1 and just in proportion as the   
immediate advantage of escaping reproof 
or punishment outweighs the remoter     
advantage to be gained by revealing the 
truth4  ,why should a child educated    
naturally and in perfect freedom1 tell a
 falsehood8  ,what has he to hide from  
you8  ,you are not going to reprove or  
punish him1 or exact anything from him4 
,why should he not tell you everything  
as frankly as to his little playmate8   
,he sees no more danger in the one case 
than in the other4  ,the falsehood of   
right is still less natural to children1
 because promises to do or not to do are
 conventional acts1 foreign to our      
nature and infringements of our liberty4
  ,besides1 all the engagements of      
children are in themselves void1        
because1 as their limited vision does   
not stretch beyond the present1 they    
know not what they do when they bind    

themselves4  ,it is hardly possible for 
a child to tell a lie in making a       
promise4  ,for1 considering only how to 
overcome a present difficulty1 all      
devices that have no immediate effect   
become alike to him4  ,in promising for 
a time to come he actually does not     
promise at all1 as his still dormant    
imagination cannot extend itself over   
two different periods of time4  ,if he  
could escape a whipping or earn some    
sugar-plums by promising to throw       
himself out of the window to-morrow1 he 
would at once promise it4  ,therefore   
the laws pay no regard to engagements   
made by children2 and when some fathers 
and teachers1 more strict than this1    
require the fulfilling of such          
engagements1 it is only in things the   
child ought to do without promising4    
,as the child in making a promise is not
 aware what he is doing1 he cannot be   
guilty of falsehood in so doing3 but    
this is not the case when he breaks a   
promise4  ,for he well remembers having 

made the promise2 what he cannot        
understand is1 the importance of keeping
 it4 ,unable to read the future1 he does
 not foresee the consequences of his    
actions2 and when he violates           
engagements he does nothing contrary to 
what might be expected of his years4    
,it follows from this that all the      
untruths spoken by children are the     
fault of those who instruct them2 and   
that endeavoring to teach them how to be
 truthful is only teaching them how to  
tell falsehoods4  ,we are so eager to   
regulate1 to govern1 to instruct them1  
that we never find means enough to reach
 our object4  ,we want to win new       
victories over their minds by maxims not
 based upon fact1 by unreasonable       
precepts2 we would rather they should   
know their lessons and tell lies than to
 remain ignorant and speak the truth4   
,as for us1 who give our pupils none but
 practical teaching1 and would rather   
have them good than knowing1 we shall   
not exact the truth from them at all1   

lest they disguise it2 we will require  
of them no promises they may be tempted 
to break4  ,if in my absence some       
anonymous mischief has been done1 ,i    
will beware of accusing mile1 or of     
asking ,was it you8#h  ,for what would  
that be but teaching him to deny it8    
,if his naturally troublesome           
disposition obliges me to make some     
agreement with him1 ,i will plan so well
 that any such proposal shall come from 
him and never from me4  ,thus1 whenever 
he is bound by an engagement he shall   
have an immediate and tangible interest 
in fulfilling it4  ,and if he ever fails
 in this1 the falsehood shall bring upon
 him evil results which he sees must    
arise from the very nature of things1   
and never from the vengeance of his     
tutor4  ,far from needing recourse to   
such severe measures1 however1 ,i am    
almost sure that mile will be long in   
learning what a lie is1 and upon finding
 it out will be greatly amazed1 not     
understanding what is to be gained by   

it4  ,it is very plain that the more ,i 
make his welfare independent of either  
the will or the judgment of others1 the 
more ,i uproot within him all interest  
in telling falsehoods4  ,when we are    
less eager to instruct we are also less 
eager to exact requirements from our    
pupil1 and can take time to require only
 what is to the purpose4  ,in that case1
 the child will be developed1 just      
because he is not spoiled4  ,but when   
some blockhead teacher1 not             
understanding what he is about1         
continually forces the child to promise 
things1 making no distinctions1 allowing
 no choice1 knowing no limit1 the little
 fellow1 worried and weighed down with  
all these obligations1 neglects them1   
forgets them1 at last despises them2 and
 considering them mere empty formulas1  
turns the giving and the breaking of    
them into ridicule4  ,if then you want  
to make him faithful to his word1 be    
discreet in requiring him to give it4   
,the details just entered upon in regard

 to falsehood may apply in many respects
 to all duties which1 when enjoined upon
 children1 become to them not only      
hateful but impracticable4  ,in order to
 seem to preach virtue we make vices    
attractive1 and actually impart them by 
forbidding them4  ,if we would have the 
children religious1 we tire them out    
taking them to church4  ,by making them 
mumble prayers incessantly we make them 
sigh for the happiness of never praying 
at all4  ,to inspire charity in them1 we
 make them give alms1 as if we disdained
 doing it ourselves4 ,it is not the     
child1 but his teacher1 who ought to do 
the giving4 ,however much you love your 
pupil1 this is an honor you ought to    
dispute with him1 leading him to feel   
that he is not yet old enough to deserve
 it4  ,giving alms is the act of one who
 knows the worth of his gift1 and his   
fellow-creature's need of the gift4  ,a 
child who knows nothing of either can   
have no merit in bestowing4  ,he gives  
without charity or benevolence3 he is   

almost ashamed to give at all1 as1      
judging from your example and his own1  
only children give alms1 and leave it   
off when grown up4  ,observe1 that we   
make the child bestow only things whose 
value be does not know3 pieces of metal1
 which he carries in his pocket1 and    
which are good for nothing else4  ,a    
child would rather give away a hundred  
gold pieces than a single cake4  ,but   
suggest to this free-handed giver the   
idea of parting with what he really     
prizes--his playthings1 his sugar-plums1
 or his luncheon2 you will soon find out
 whether you have made him really       
generous4  ,to accomplish the same end1 
resort is had to another expedient1 that
 of instantly returning to the child    
what he has given away1 so that he      
habitually gives whatever he knows will 
be restored to him4  ,i have rarely met 
with other than these two kinds of      
generosity in children1 namely1 the     
giving either of what is no use to      
themselves1 or else of what they are    

certain will come back to them4  ,do    
this1 says ,locke1 that they may be     
convinced by experience that he who     
gives most generously has always the    
better portion4  ,this is making him    
liberal in appearance and miserly in    
reality4  ,he adds1 that children will  
thus acquire the habit of generosity4   
,yes2 a miser's generosity1 giving an   
egg to gain an ox4  ,but when called    
upon to be generous in earnest1 good-bye
 to the habit2 they soon cease giving   
when the gift no longer comes back to   
them4  ,we ought to keep in view the    
habit of mind rather than that of the   
hands4  ,like this virtue are all others
 taught to children2 and their early    
years are spent in sadness1 that we may 
preach these sterling virtues to them6  
,excellent training this6  ,lay aside   
all affectation1 you teachers2 be       
yourselves good and virtuous1 so that   
your example may be deeply graven on    
your pupils' memory until such time as  
it finds lodgment in their heart4       

,instead of early requiring acts of     
charity from my pupil ,i would rather do
 them in his presence1 taking from him  
all means of imitating me1 as if ,i     
considered it an honor not due to his   
age4  ,for he should by no means be in  
the habit of thinking a man's duties the
 same as a child's4 ,seeing me assist   
the poor1 he questions me about it and1 
if occasion serve1 ,i answer1 ,my boy1  
it is because1 since poor people are    
willing there should be rich people1 the
 rich have promised to take care of     
those who have no money or cannot earn a
 living by their labor4  ,and have you  
promised it too8 inquires he4  ,of      
course2 the money that comes into my    
hands is mine to use only upon this     
condition1 which its owner has to carry 
out4  ,after this conversation1 and we  
have seen how a child may be prepared to
 understand it1 other children besides  
mile would be tempted to imitate me by  
acting like a rich man4  ,in this case  
,i would at least see that it should not

 be done ostentatiously4  ,i would      
rather have him rob me of my right1 and 
conceal the fact of his generosity4  ,it
 would be a stratagem natural at his    
age1 and the only one ,i would pardon in
 him4  ,the only moral lesson suited to 
childhood and the most important at any 
age is1 never to injure any one4  ,even 
the principle of doing good1 if not     
subordinated to this1 is dangerous1     
false1 and contradictory4  ,for who does
 not do good8  ,everybody does1 even a  
wicked man who makes one happy at the   
expense of making a hundred miserable3  
and thence arise all our calamities4    
,the most exalted virtues are negative3 
they are hardest to attain1 too1 because
 they are unostentatious1 and rise above
 even that gratification dear to the    
heart of man1--sending another person   
away pleased with us4  ,if there be a   
man who never injures one of his        
fellow-creatures1 what good must he     
achieve for them6  ,what fearlessness1  
what vigor of mind he requires for it6  

,not by reasoning about this principle1 
but by attempting to carry it into      
practice1 do we find out how great it   
is1 how hard to fulfil4  ,the foregoing 
conveys some faint idea of the          
precautions ,i would have you employ in 
giving children the instructions we     
sometimes cannot withhold without risk  
of their injuring themselves or others1 
and especially of contracting bad habits
 of which it will by and by be difficult
 to break them4  ,but we may rest       
assured that in children rightly        
educated the necessity will seldom      
arise2 for it is impossible that they   
should become intractable1 vicious1     
deceitful1 greedy1 unless the vices     
which make them so are sowed in their   
hearts4  ,for this reason what has been 
said on this point applies rather to    
exceptional than to ordinary cases4     
,but such exceptional cases become      
common in proportion as children have   
more frequent opportunity to depart from
 their natural state and to acquire the 

vices of their seniors4  ,those brought 
up among men of the world absolutely    
require earlier teaching in these       
matters than those educated apart from  
such surroundings4 ,hence this private  
education is to be preferred1 even if it
 do no more than allow childhood leisure
 to grow to perfection4   ,negative or  
,temporizing ,education4  ,exactly      
contrary to the cases just described are
 those whom a happy temperament exalts  
above their years4  ,as there are some  
men who never outgrow childhood1 so     
there are others who never pass through 
it1 but are men almost from their birth4
  ,the difficulty is that these         
exceptional cases are rare and not      
easily distinguished2 besides1 all      
mothers capable of understanding that a 
child can be a prodigy1 have no doubt   
that their own are such4  ,they go even 
farther than this3 they take for        
extraordinary indications the           
sprightliness1 the bright childish      
pranks and sayings1 the shrewd          

simplicity of ordinary cases1           
characteristic of that time of life1 and
 showing plainly that a child is only a 
child4  ,is it surprising that1 allowed 
to speak so much and so freely1         
unrestrained by any consideration of    
propriety1 a child should occasionally  
make happy replies8  ,if he did not1 it 
would be even more surprising2 just as  
if an astrologer1 among a hundred false 
predictions1 should never hit upon a    
single true one4  ,they lie so often1   
said ,henry ,,iv41 that they end by     
telling the truth4  ,to be a wit1 one   
need only utter a great many foolish    
speeches4  ,heaven help men of fashion1 
whose reputation rests upon just this   
foundation6  ,the most brilliant        
thoughts may enter a child's head1 or   
rather1 the most brilliant sayings may  
fall from his lips1 just as the most    
valuable diamonds may fall into his     
hands1 without his having any right     
either to the thoughts or to the        
diamonds4  ,at his age1 he has no real  

property of any kind4  ,a child's       
utterances are not the same to him as to
 us2 he does not attach to them the same
 ideas4  ,if he has any ideas at all on 
the subject1 they have neither order nor
 coherence in his mind2 in all his      
thoughts nothing is certain or stable4  
,if you watch your supposed prodigy     
attentively1 you will sometimes find him
 a well-spring of energy1 clear-sighted1
 penetrating the very marrow of things4 
,much oftener the same mind appears     
commonplace1 dull1 and as if enveloped  
in a dense fog4  ,sometimes he outruns  
you1 and sometimes he stands still4  ,at
 one moment you feel like saying1 ,he is
 a genius1 and at another1 ,he is a     
fool4  ,you are mistaken in either case3
 he is a child2 he is an eaglet that one
 moment beats the air with its wings1   
and the next moment falls back into the 
nest4  ,in spite of appearances1 then1  
treat him as his age demands1 and beware
 lest you exhaust his powers by         
attempting to use them too freely4  ,if 

this young brain grows warm1 if you see 
it beginning to seethe1 leave it free to
 ferment1 but do not excite it1 lest it 
melt altogether into air4  ,when the    
first flow of spirits has evaporated1   
repress and keep within bounds the rest1
 until1 as time goes on1 the whole is   
transformed into life-giving warmth and 
real power4  ,otherwise you will lose   
both time and pains2 you will destroy   
your own handiwork1 and after having    
thoughtlessly intoxicated yourself with 
all these inflammable vapors1 you will  
have nothing left but the dregs4        
,nothing has been more generally or     
certainly observed than that dull       
children make commonplace men4  ,in     
childhood it is very difficult to       
distinguish real dullness from that     
misleading apparent dullness which      
indicates a strong character4  ,at first
 it seems strange that the two extremes 
should meet in indications so much      
alike2 and yet such is the case4  ,for  
at an age when man has no real ideas at 

all1 the difference between one who has 
genius and one who has not is1 that the 
latter entertains only mistaken ideas1  
and the former1 encountering only such1 
admits none at all4  ,the two are       
therefore alike in this1 that the       
dullard is capable of nothing1 and the  
other finds nothing to suit him4 ,the   
only means of distinguishing them is    
chance1 which may bring to the genius   
some ideas he can comprehend1 while the 
dull mind is always the same4  ,during  
his childhood the younger ,cato was at  
home considered an idiot4 ,no one said  
anything of him beyond that he was      
silent and headstrong4 ,it was only in  
the antechamber of ,sulla that his uncle
 learned to know him4  ,if he had never 
crossed its threshold1 he might have    
been thought a fool until he was grown4 
,if there had been no such person as    
,caesar1 this very ,cato1 who read the  
secret of ,caesar's fatal genius1 and   
from afar foresaw his ambitious designs1
 would always have been treated as a    

visionary4#i  ,those who judge of       
children so hastily are very liable to  
be mistaken4  ,they are often more      
childish than the children themselves4  
,concerning the ,memory4  ,respect      
children1 and be in no haste to judge   
their actions1 good or evil4  ,let the  
exceptional cases show themselves such  
for some time before you adopt special  
methods of dealing with them4  ,let     
nature be long at work before you       
attempt to supplant her1 lest you thwart
 her work4  ,you say you know how       
precious time is1 and do not wish to    
lose it4  ,do you not know that to      
employ it badly is to waste it still    
more1 and that a child badly taught is  
farther from being wise than one not    
taught at all8  ,you are troubled at    
seeing him spend his early years in     
doing nothing4  ,what6 is it nothing to 
be happy8  ,is it nothing to skip1 to   
play1 to run about all day long8  ,never
 in all his life will he be so busy as  
now4  ,plato1 in that work of his       

considered so severe1 the ,republic1    
would have children accustomed to       
festivals1 games1 songs1 and pastimes2  
one would think he was satisfied with   
having carefully taught them how to     
enjoy themselves4  ,and ,seneca1        
speaking of the ,roman youth of old1    
says1 ,they were always standing2       
nothing was taught them that they had to
 learn when seated4  ,were they of less 
account when they reached manhood8      
,have no fear1 then1 of this supposed   
idleness4  ,what would you think of a   
man who1 in order to use his whole life 
to the best advantage1 would not sleep8 
,you would say1 ,the man has no sense2  
he does not enjoy life1 but robs himself
 of it4 ,to avoid sleep1 he rushes on   
his death4  ,the two cases are parallel1
 for childhood is the slumber of reason4
  ,apparent quickness in learning is the
 ruin of children4  ,we do not consider 
that this very quickness proves that    
they are learning nothing4  ,their      
smooth and polished brain reflects like 

a mirror the objects presented to it1   
but nothing abides there1 nothing       
penetrates it4  ,the child retains the  
words2 the ideas are reflected2 they who
 hear understand them1 but he himself   
does not understand them at all4        
,although memory and reason are two     
essentially different faculties1 the one
 is never really developed without the  
other4  ,before the age of reason1 the  
child receives not ideas1 but images4   
,there is this difference between the   
two1 that images are only absolute      
representations of objects of sense1 and
 ideas are notions of objects determined
 by their relations4  ,an image may     
exist alone in the mind that represents 
it1 but every idea supposes other ideas4
  ,when we imagine1 we only see2 when we
 conceive of things1 we compare them4   
,our sensations are entirely passive1   
whereas all our perceptions or ideas    
spring from an active principle which   
judges4  ,i say then that children1     
incapable of judging1 really have no    

memory4 ,they retain sounds1 shapes1    
sensations2 but rarely ideas1 and still 
more rarely the relations of ideas to   
one another4  ,if this statement is     
apparently refuted by the objection that
 they learn some elements of geometry1  
it is not really true2 that very fact   
confirms my statement4 ,it shows that1  
far from knowing how to reason          
themselves1 they cannot even keep in    
mind the reasonings of others4  ,for if 
you investigate the method of these     
little geometricians1 you discover at   
once that they have retained only the   
exact impression of the diagram and the 
words of the demonstration4  ,upon the  
least new objection they are puzzled4   
,their knowledge is only of the         
sensation2 nothing has become the       
property of their understanding4  ,even 
their memory is rarely more perfect than
 their other faculties3 for when grown  
they have nearly always to learn again  
as realities things whose names they    
learned in childhood4  ,however1 ,i am  

far from thinking that children have no 
power of reasoning whatever4#aj  ,i     
observe1 on the contrary1 that in things
 they understand1 things relating to    
their present and manifest interests1   
they reason extremely well4  ,we are1   
however1 liable to be misled as to their
 knowledge1 attributing to them what    
they do not have1 and making them reason
 about what they do not understand4     
,again1 we make the mistake of calling  
their attention to considerations by    
which they are in no wise affected1 such
 as their future interests1 the         
happiness of their coming manhood1 the  
opinion people will have of them when   
they are grown up4  ,such speeches1     
addressed to minds entirely without     
foresight1 are absolutely unmeaning4    
,now all the studies forced upon these  
poor unfortunates deal with things like 
this1 utterly foreign to their minds4   
,you may judge what attention such      
subjects are likely to receive4   ,on   
the ,study of ,words4  ,pedagogues1 who 

make such an imposing display of what   
they teach1 are paid to talk in another 
strain than mine1 but their conduct     
shows that they think as ,i do4  ,for   
after all1 what do they teach their     
pupils8 ,words1 words1 words4  ,among   
all their boasted subjects1 none are    
selected because they are useful2 such  
would be the sciences of things1 in     
which these professors are unskilful4   
,but they prefer sciences we seem to    
know when we know their nomenclature1   
such as heraldry1 geography1 chronology1
 languages2 studies so far removed from 
human interests1 and particularly from  
the child1 that it would be wonderful if
 any of them could be of the least use  
at any time in life4  ,it may cause     
surprise that ,i account the study of   
languages one of the useless things in  
education4  ,but remember ,i am speaking
 of the studies of earlier years1 and   
whatever may be said1 ,i do not believe 
that any child except a prodigy1 will   
ever learn two languages by the time he 

is twelve or fifteen4#aa  ,i admit that 
if the study of languages were only that
 of words1 that is1 of forms1 and of the
 sounds which express them1 it might be 
suitable for children4  ,but languages1 
by changing their signs1 modify also the
 ideas they represent4  ,minds are      
formed upon languages2 thoughts take    
coloring from idioms4  ,reason alone is 
common to all4  ,in each language the   
mind has its peculiar conformation1 and 
this may be in part the cause or the    
effect of national character4  ,the fact
 that every nation's language follows   
the vicissitudes of that nation's       
morals1 and is preserved or altered with
 them1 seems to confirm this theory4    
,of these different forms1 custom gives 
one to the child1 and it is the only one
 he retains until the age of reason4    
,in order to have two1 he must be able  
to compare ideas2 and how can he do this
 when he is scarcely able to grasp them8
  ,each object may for him have a       
thousand different signs1 but each idea 

can have but one form2 he can therefore 
learn to speak only one language4  ,it  
is nevertheless maintained that he      
learns several2 this ,i deny4  ,i have  
seen little prodigies who thought they  
could speak six or seven3 ,i have heard 
them speak ,german in ,latin1 ,french1  
and ,italian idioms successively4  ,they
 did indeed use five or six             
vocabularies1 but they never spoke      
anything but ,german4  ,in short1 you   
may give children as many synonyms as   
you please1 and you will change only    
their words1 and not their language2    
they will never know more than one4  ,to
 hide this inability we1 by preference1 
give them practice in the dead          
languages1 of which there are no longer 
any unexceptionable judges4  ,the       
familiar use of these tongues having    
long been lost1 we content ourselves    
with imitating what we find of them in  
books1 and call this speaking them4  ,if
 such be the ,greek and ,latin of the   
masters1 you may judge what that of the 

children is4  ,scarcely have they       
learned by heart the rudiments1 without 
in the least understanding them1 before 
they are taught to utter a ,french      
discourse in ,latin words2 and1 when    
further advanced1 to string together in 
prose1 phrases from ,cicero and cantos  
from ,virgil4  ,then they imagine they  
are speaking ,latin1 and who is there to
 contradict them8#ab  ,in any study1    
words that represent things are nothing 
without the ideas of the things they    
represent4  ,we1 however1 limit children
 to these signs1 without ever being able
 to make them understand the things     
represented4  ,we think we are teaching 
a child the description of the earth1   
when he is merely learning maps4  ,we   
teach him the names of cities1          
countries1 rivers2 he has no idea that  
they exist anywhere but on the map we   
use in pointing them out to him4  ,i    
recollect seeing somewhere a text-book  
on geography which began thus3  ,what is
 the world8  ,a pasteboard globe4       

,precisely such is the geography of     
children4  ,i will venture to say that  
after two years of globes and           
cosmography no child of ten1 by rules   
they give him1 could find the way from  
,paris to ,st4 ,denis4  ,i maintain that
 not one of them1 from a plan of his    
father's garden1 could trace out its    
windings without going astray4  ,and yet
 these are the knowing creatures who can
 tell you exactly where ,pekin1         
,ispahan1 ,mexico1 and all the countries
 of the world are4  ,i hear it suggested
 that children ought to be engaged in   
studies in which only the eye is needed4
  ,this might be true if there were     
studies in which their eyes were not    
needed2 but ,i know of none such4  ,a   
still more ridiculous method obliges    
children to study history1 supposed to  
be within their comprehension because it
 is only a collection of facts4#ac  ,but
 what do we mean by facts8  ,do we      
suppose that the relations out of which 
historic facts grow are so easily       

understood that the minds of children   
grasp such ideas without difficulty8    
,do we imagine that the true            
understanding of events can be separated
 from that of their causes and effects8 
and that the historic and the moral are 
so far asunder that the one can be      
understood without the other8  ,if in   
men's actions you see only purely       
external and physical changes1 what do  
you learn from history8  ,absolutely    
nothing2 and the subject1 despoiled of  
all interest1 no longer gives you either
 pleasure or instruction4  ,if you      
intend to estimate actions by their     
moral relations1 try to make your pupils
 understand these relations1 and you    
will discover whether history is adapted
 to their years4  ,if there is no       
science in words1 there is no study     
especially adapted to children4  ,if    
they have no real ideas1 they have no   
real memory2 for ,i do not call that    
memory which retains only impressions4  
,of what use is it to write on their    

minds a catalogue of signs that         
represent nothing to them8  ,in learning
 the things represented1 would they not 
also learn the signs8  ,why do you give 
them the useless trouble of learning    
them twice8  ,besides1 you create       
dangerous prejudices by making them     
suppose that science consists of words  
meaningless to them4 ,the first mere    
word with which the child satisfies     
himself1 the first thing he learns on   
the authority of another person1 ruins  
his judgment4 ,long must he shine in the
 eyes of unthinking persons before he   
can repair such an injury to himself4   
,no2 nature makes the child's brain so  
yielding that it receives all kinds of  
impressions2 not that we may make his   
childhood a distressing burden to him by
 engraving on that brain dates1 names of
 kings1 technical terms in heraldry1    
mathematics1 geography1 and all such    
words1 unmeaning to him and unnecessary 
to persons at any age in life4 ,but all 
ideas that he can understand1 and that  

are of use to him1 all that conduce to  
his happiness and that will one day make
 his duties plain1 should early write   
themselves there indelibly1 to guide him
 through life as his condition and his  
intellect require4  ,the memory of which
 a child is capable is far from         
inactive1 even without the use of books4
  ,all he sees and hears impresses him1 
and he remembers it4  ,he keeps a mental
 register of people's sayings and       
doings4  ,everything around him is the  
book from which he is continually but   
unconsciously enriching his memory      
against the time his judgment can       
benefit by it4  ,if we intend rightly to
 cultivate this chief faculty of the    
mind1 we must choose these objects      
carefully1 constantly acquainting him   
with such as he ought to understand1 and
 keeping back those he ought not to     
know4  ,in this way we should endeavor  
to make his mind a storehouse of        
knowledge1 to aid in his education in   
youth1 and to direct him at all times4  

,this method does not1 it is true1      
produce phenomenal children1 nor does it
 make the reputation of their teachers2 
but it produces judicious1 robust men1  
sound in body and in mind1 who1 although
 not admired in youth1 will make        
themselves respected in manhood4  mile  
shall never learn anything by heart1 not
 even fables such as those of ,la       
,fontaine1 simple and charming as they  
are4  ,for the words of fables are no   
more the fables themselves than the     
words of history are history itself4    
,how can we be so blind as to call      
fables moral lessons for children8  ,we 
do not reflect that while these stories 
amuse they also mislead children1 who1  
carried away by the fiction1 miss the   
truth conveyed2 so that what makes the  
lesson agreeable also makes it less     
profitable4  ,men may learn from fables1
 but children must be told the bare     
truth2 if it be veiled1 they do not     
trouble themselves to lift the veil4#ad 
,since nothing ought to be required of  

children merely in proof of their       
obedience1 it follows that they can     
learn nothing of which they cannot      
understand the actual and immediate     
advantage1 whether it be pleasant or    
useful4  ,otherwise1 what motive will   
induce them to learn it8  ,the art of   
conversing with absent persons1 and of  
hearing from them1 of communicating to  
them at a distance1 without the aid of  
another1 our feelings1 intentions1 and  
wishes1 is an art whose value may be    
explained to children of almost any age 
whatever4  ,by what astonishing process 
has this useful and agreeable art become
 so irksome to them8 ,they have been    
forced to learn it in spite of          
themselves1 and to use it in ways they  
cannot understand4  ,a child is not     
anxious to perfect the instrument used  
in tormenting him2 but make the same    
thing minister to his pleasures1 and you
 cannot prevent him from using it4      
,much attention is paid to finding out  
the best methods of teaching children to

 read4  ,we invent printing-offices and 
charts2 we turn a child's room into a   
printer's establishment4#ae  ,locke     
proposes teaching children to read by   
means of dice2 a brilliant contrivance  
indeed1 but a mistake as well4  ,a      
better thing than all these1 a thing no 
one thinks of1 is the desire to learn4  
,give a child this desire1 and you will 
not need dice or reading lotteries2 any 
device will serve as well4  ,if1 on the 
plan ,i have begun to lay down1 you     
follow rules exactly contrary to those  
most in fashion1 you will not attract   
and bewilder your pupil's attention by  
distant places1 climates1 and ages of   
the world1 going to the ends of the     
earth and into the very heavens         
themselves1 but will make a point of    
keeping it fixed upon himself and what  
immediately concerns him2 and by this   
plan you will find him capable of       
perception1 memory1 and even reasoning2 
this is the order of nature4#af  ,in    
proportion as a creature endowed with   

sensation becomes active1 it acquires   
discernment suited to its powers1 and   
the surplus of strength needed to       
preserve it is absolutely necessary in  
developing that speculative faculty     
which uses the same surplus for other   
ends4 ,if1 then1 you mean to cultivate  
your pupil's understanding1 cultivate   
the strength it is intended to govern4  
,give him constant physical exercise2   
make his body sound and robust1 that you
 may make him wise and reasonable4  ,let
 him be at work doing something2 let him
 run1 shout1 be always in motion2 let   
him be a man in vigor1 and he will the  
sooner become one in reason4  ,you would
 indeed make a mere animal of him by    
this method if you are continually      
directing him1 and saying1 ,go2 come2   
stay2 do this2 stop doing that4  ,if    
your head is always to guide his arm1   
his own head will be of no use to him4  
,but recollect our agreement2 if you are
 a mere pedant1 there is no use in your 
reading what ,i write4  ,to imagine that

 physical exercise injures mental       
operations is a wretched mistake2 the   
two should move in unison1 and one ought
 to regulate the other4  ,my pupil1 or  
rather nature's pupil1 trained from the 
first to depend as much as possible on  
himself1 is not continually running to  
others for advice4  ,still less does he 
make a display of his knowledge4  ,on   
the other hand1 he judges1 he foresees1 
he reasons1 upon everything that        
immediately concerns him2 he does not   
prate1 but acts4  ,he is little informed
 as to what is going on in the world1   
but knows very well what he ought to do1
 and how to do it4  ,incessantly in     
motion1 he cannot avoid observing many  
things1 and knowing many effects4  ,he  
early gains a wide experience1 and takes
 his lessons from nature1 not from men4 
,he instructs himself all the better for
 discovering nowhere any intention of   
instructing him4  ,thus1 at the same    
time1 body and mind are exercised4      
,always carrying out his own ideas1 and 

not another person's1 two processes are 
simultaneously going on within him4  ,as
 he grows robust and strong1 he becomes 
intelligent and judicious4  ,in this way
 he will one day have those two         
excellences1--thought incompatible      
indeed1 but characteristic of nearly all
 great men1--strength of body and       
strength of mind1 the reason of a sage  
and the vigor of an athlete4  ,i am     
recommending a difficult art to you1    
young teacher1--the art of governing    
without rules1 and of doing everything  
by doing nothing at all4  ,i grant1 that
 at your age1 this art is not to be     
expected of you4 ,it will not enable    
you1 at the outset1 to exhibit your     
shining talents1 or to make yourself    
prized by parents2 but it is the only   
one that will succeed4  ,to be a        
sensible man1 your pupil must first have
 been a little scapegrace4  ,the        
,spartans were educated in this way2 not
 tied down to books1 but obliged to     
steal their dinners2#ag and did this    

produce men inferior in understanding8  
,who does not remember their forcible1  
pithy sayings8  ,trained to conquer1    
they worsted their enemies in every kind
 of encounter2 and the babbling         
,athenians dreaded their sharp speeches 
quite as much as their valor4  ,in      
stricter systems of education1 the      
teacher commands and thinks he is       
governing the child1 who is1 after all1 
the real master4  ,what you exact from  
him he employs as means to get from you 
what he wants4  ,by one hour of         
diligence he can buy a week's           
indulgence4  ,at every moment you have  
to make terms with him4  ,these         
bargains1 which you propose in your way1
 and which he fulfils in his own way1   
always turn out to the advantage of his 
whims1 especially when you are so       
careless as to make stipulations which  
will be to his advantage whether he     
carries out his share of the bargain or 
not4  ,usually1 the child reads the     
teacher's mind better than the teacher  

reads his4  ,this is natural2 for all   
the sagacity the child at liberty would 
use in self-preservation he now uses to 
protect himself from a tyrant's chains2 
while the latter1 having no immediate   
interest in knowing the child's mind1   
follows his own advantage by leaving    
vanity and indolence unrestrained4  ,do 
otherwise with your pupil4  ,let him    
always suppose himself master1 while you
 really are master4  ,no subjection is  
so perfect as that which retains the    
appearance of liberty2 for thus the will
 itself is made captive4  ,is not the   
helpless1 unknowing child at your mercy8
  ,do you not1 so far as he is          
concerned1 control everything around    
him8  ,have you not power to influence  
him as you please8  ,are not his work1  
his play1 his pleasure1 his pain1 in    
your hands1 whether he knows it or not8 
,doubtless he ought to do only what he  
pleases2 but your choice ought to       
control his wishes4  ,he ought to take  
no step that you have not directed2 he  

ought not to open his lips without your 
knowing what he is about to say4  ,in   
this case he may1 without fear of       
debasing his mind1 devote himself to    
exercises of the body4  ,instead of     
sharpening his wits to escape an irksome
 subjection1 you will observe him wholly
 occupied in finding out in everything  
around him that part best adapted to his
 present well-being4  ,you will be      
amazed at the subtilty of his           
contrivances for appropriating to       
himself all the objects within the reach
 of his understanding1 and for enjoying 
everything without regard to other      
people's opinions4  ,by thus leaving him
 free1 you will not foster his caprices4
  ,if he never does anything that does  
not suit him1 he will soon do only what 
he ought to do4  ,and1 although his body
 be never at rest1 still1 if he is      
caring for his present and perceptible  
interests1 all the reason of which he is
 capable will develop far better and    
more appropriately than in studies      

purely speculative4  ,as he does not    
find you bent on thwarting him1 does not
 distrust you1 has nothing to hide from 
you1 he will not deceive you or tell you
 lies4 ,he will fearlessly show himself 
to you just as he is4  ,you may study   
him entirely at your ease1 and plan     
lessons for him which he will all       
unconsciously receive4  ,he will not pry
 with suspicious curiosity into your    
affairs1 and feel pleasure when he finds
 you in fault4  ,this is one of our most
 serious disadvantages4  ,as ,i have    
said1 one of a child's first objects is 
to discover the weaknesses of those who 
have control of him4  ,this disposition 
may produce ill-nature1 but does not    
arise from it1 but from their desire to 
escape an irksome bondage4  ,oppressed  
by the yoke laid upon them1 children    
endeavor to shake it off2 and the faults
 they find in their teachers yield them 
excellent means for doing this4  ,but   
they acquire the habit of observing     
faults in others1 and of enjoying such  

discoveries4  ,this source of evil      
evidently does not exist in mile4       
,having no interest to serve by         
discovering my faults1 he will not look 
for them in me1 and will have little    
temptation to seek them in other people4
  ,this course of conduct seems         
difficult because we do not reflect upon
 it2 but taking it altogether1 it ought 
not to be so4  ,i am justified in       
supposing that you know enough to       
understand the business you have        
undertaken2 that you know the natural   
progress of the human mind2 that you    
understand studying mankind in general  
and in individual cases2 that among all 
the objects interesting to his age that 
you mean to show your pupil1 you know   
beforehand which of them will influence 
his will4  ,now if you have the         
appliances1 and know just how to use    
them1 are you not master of the         
operation8  ,you object that children   
have caprices1 but in this you are      
mistaken4 ,these caprices result from   

faulty discipline1 and are not natural4 
,the children have been accustomed      
either to obey or to command1 and ,i    
have said a hundred times that neither  
of these two things is necessary4 ,your 
pupil will therefore have only such     
caprices as you give him1 and it is just
 you should be punished for your own    
faults4  ,but do you ask how these are  
to be remedied8  ,it can still be done  
by means of better management and much  
patience4   ,physical ,training4  ,man's
 first natural movements are for the    
purpose of comparing himself with       
whatever surrounds him and finding in   
each thing those sensible qualities     
likely to affect himself4  ,his first   
study is1 therefore1 a kind of          
experimental physics relating to his own
 preservation4  ,from this1 before he   
has fully understood his place here on  
earth1 he is turned aside to speculative
 studies4  ,while yet his delicate and  
pliable organs can adapt themselves to  
the objects upon which they are to act1 

while his senses1 still pure1 are free  
from illusion1 it is time to exercise   
both in their peculiar functions1 and to
 learn the perceptible relations between
 ourselves and outward things4  ,since  
whatever enters the human understanding 
enters by the senses1 man's primitive   
reason is a reason of the senses1       
serving as foundation for the reason of 
the intellect4  ,our first teachers in  
philosophy are our own feet1 hands1 and 
eyes4  ,to substitute books for these is
 teaching us not to reason1 but to use  
the reason of another2 to believe a     
great deal1 and to know nothing at all4 
,in practising an art we must begin by  
procuring apparatus for it2 and to use  
this apparatus to advantage1 we must    
have it solid enough to bear use4  ,in  
learning to think1 we must therefore    
employ our members1 our senses1 our     
organs1 all which are the apparatus of  
our understanding4  ,and to use them to 
the best advantage1 the body which      
furnishes them must be sound and robust4

  ,our reason is therefore so far from  
being independent of the body1 that a   
good constitution renders mental        
operations easy and accurate4  ,in      
indicating how the long leisure of      
childhood ought to be employed1 ,i am   
entering into particulars which maybe   
thought ridiculous4  ,pretty lessons1   
you will tell me1 which you yourself    
criticize for teaching only what there  
is no need of learning6  ,why waste time
 in instructions which always come of   
their own accord1 and cost neither care 
nor trouble8  ,what child of twelve does
 not know all you are going to teach    
yours1 and all that his masters have    
taught him besides8  ,gentlemen1 you are
 mistaken4  ,i am teaching my pupil a   
very tedious and difficult art1 which   
yours certainly have not acquired1--that
 of being ignorant4  ,for the knowledge 
of one who gives himself credit for     
knowing only what he really does know   
reduces itself to a very small compass4 
,you are teaching science3 very good2 ,i

 am dealing with the instrument by which
 science is acquired4  ,all who have    
reflected upon the mode of life among   
the ancients attribute to gymnastic     
exercises that vigor of body and mind   
which so notably distinguishes them from
 us moderns4  ,montaigne's support of   
this opinion shows that he had fully    
adopted it2 he returns to it again and  
again1 in a thousand ways4 ,speaking of 
the education of a child1 he says1 ,we  
must make his mind robust by hardening  
his muscles2 inure him to pain by       
accustoming him to labor2 break him by  
severe exercise to the keen pangs of    
dislocation1 of colic1 of other         
ailments4  ,the wise ,locke1#ah the     
excellent ,rollin1#ai the learned       
,fleury1#bj the pedantic de ,crouzas1#ba
 so different in everything else1 agree 
exactly on this point of abundant       
physical exercise for children4  ,it is 
the wisest lesson they ever taught1 but 
the one that is and always will be most 
neglected4   ,clothing4  ,as to         

clothing1 the limbs of a growing body   
should be entirely free4 ,nothing should
 cramp their movements or their growth2 
nothing should fit too closely or bind  
the body2 there should be no ligatures  
whatever4  ,the present ,french dress   
cramps and disables even a man1 and is  
especially injurious to children4  ,it  
arrests the circulation of the humors2  
they stagnate from an inaction made     
worse by a sedentary life4 ,this        
corruption of the humors brings on the  
scurvy1 a disease becoming every day    
more common among us1 but unknown to the
 ancients1 protected from it by their   
dress and their mode of life4  ,the     
hussar dress does not remedy this       
inconvenience1 but increases it1 since1 
to save the child a few ligatures1 it   
compresses the entire body4  ,it would  
be better to keep children in frocks as 
long as possible1 and then put them into
 loosely fitting clothes1 without trying
 to shape their figures and thereby     
spoil them4  ,their defects of body and 

of mind nearly all spring from the same 
cause3 we are trying to make men of them
 before their time4  ,of bright and dull
 colors1 the former best please a       
child's taste2 such colors are also most
 becoming to them2 and ,i see no reason 
why we should not in such matters       
consult these natural coincidences4     
,but the moment a material is preferred 
because it is richer1 the child's mind  
is corrupted by luxury1 and by all sorts
 of whims4  ,preferences like this do   
not spring up of their own accord4  ,it 
is impossible to say how much choice of 
dress and the motives of this choice    
influence education4  ,not only do      
thoughtless mothers promise children    
fine clothes by way of reward1 but      
foolish tutors threaten them with       
coarser and simpler dress as punishment4
  ,if you do not study your lessons1 if 
you do not take better care of your     
clothes1 you shall be dressed like that 
little rustic4  ,this is saying to him1 
,rest assured that a man is nothing but 

what his clothes make him2 your own     
worth depends on what you wear4  ,is it 
surprising that sage lessons like this  
so influence young men that they care   
for nothing but ornament1 and judge of  
merit by outward appearance only8       
,generally1 children are too warmly     
clothed1 especially in their earlier    
years4  ,they should be inured to cold  
rather than heat2 severe cold never     
incommodes them when they encounter it  
early4  ,but the tissue of their skin1  
as yet yielding and tender1 allows too  
free passage to perspiration1 and       
exposure to great heat invariably       
weakens them4  ,it has been observed    
that more children die in ,august than  
in any other month4  ,besides1 if we    
compare northern and southern races1 we 
find that excessive cold1 rather than   
excessive heat1 makes man robust4  ,in  
proportion as the child grows and his   
fibres are strengthened1 accustom him   
gradually to withstand heat2 and by     
degrees you will without risk train him 

to endure the glowing temperature of the
 torrid zone4   ,sleep4  ,children need 
a great deal of sleep because they take 
a great deal of exercise4  ,the one acts
 as corrective to the other1 so that    
both are necessary4  ,as nature teaches 
us1 night is the time for rest4         
,constant observation shows that sleep  
is softer and more profound while the   
sun is below the horizon4  ,the heated  
air does not so perfectly tranquillize  
our tired senses4  ,for this reason the 
most salutary habit is to rise and to go
 to rest with the sun4  ,in our climate 
man1 and animals generally1 require more
 sleep in winter than in summer4  ,but  
our mode of life is not so simple1      
natural1 and uniform that we can make   
this regular habit a necessity4  ,we    
must without doubt submit to            
regulations2 but it is most important   
that we should be able to break them    
without risk when occasion requires4    
,do not then imprudently soften your    
pupil by letting him lie peacefully     

asleep without ever being disturbed4    
,at first let him yield without         
restraint to the law of nature1 but do  
not forget that in our day we must be   
superior to this law2 we must be able to
 go late to rest and rise early1 to be  
awakened suddenly1 to be up all night1  
without discomfort4  ,by beginning      
early1 and by always proceeding slowly1 
we form the constitution by the very    
practices which would ruin it if it were
 already established4  ,it is important 
that your pupil should from the first be
 accustomed to a hard bed1 so that he   
may find none uncomfortable4            
,generally1 a life of hardship1 when we 
are used to it1 gives us a far greater  
number of agreeable sensations than does
 a life of ease1 which creates an       
infinite number of unpleasant ones4     
,one too delicately reared can find     
sleep only upon a bed of down2 one      
accustomed to bare boards can find it   
anywhere4  ,no bed is hard to him who   
falls asleep as soon as his head touches

 the pillow4  ,the best bed is the one  
which brings the best sleep4            
,throughout the day no slaves from      
,persia1 but mile and ,i1 will prepare  
our beds4  ,when we are tilling the     
ground we shall be making them soft for 
our slumber4   ,exercise of the ,senses4
  ,a child has not a man's stature1     
strength1 or reason2 but he sees and    
hears almost or quite as well4  ,his    
sense of taste is as keen1 though he    
does not enjoy it as a pleasure4  ,our  
senses are the first powers perfected in
 us4  ,they are the first that should be
 cultivated and the only ones forgotten1
 or at least1 the most neglected4  ,to  
exercise the senses is not merely to use
 them1 but to learn how to judge        
correctly by means of them2 we may say1 
to learn how to feel4 ,for we cannot    
feel1 or hear1 or see1 otherwise than as
 we have been taught4  ,there is a kind 
of exercise1 purely natural and         
mechanical1 that renders the body robust
 without injuring the mind4  ,of this   

description are swimming1 running1      
leaping1 spinning tops1 and throwing    
stones4 ,all these are well enough2 but 
have we nothing but arms and legs8      
,have we not eyes and ears as well8 and 
are they of no use while the others are 
employed8  ,use1 then1 not only your    
bodily strength1 but all the senses     
which direct it4  ,make as much of each 
as possible1 and verify the impressions 
of one by those of another4  ,measure1  
count1 weigh1 and compare4  ,use no     
strength till after you have calculated 
the resistance it will meet4  ,be       
careful to estimate the effect before   
you use the means4  ,interest the child 
in never making any useless or          
inadequate trials of strength4  ,if you 
accustom him to forecast the effect of  
every movement1 and to correct his      
errors by experience1 is it not certain 
that the more he does the better his    
judgment will be8  ,if the lever he uses
 in moving a heavy weight be too long1  
he will expend too much motion2 if too  

short1 he will not have power enough4   
,experience will teach him to choose one
 exactly suitable4  ,such practical     
knowledge1 then1 is not beyond his      
years4  ,if he wishes to carry a burden 
exactly as heavy as his strength will   
bear1 without the test of first lifting 
it1 must he not estimate its weight by  
the eye8 ,if he understands comparing   
masses of the same material but of      
different size1 let him choose between  
masses of the same size but of different
 material4  ,this will oblige him to    
compare them as to specific gravity4  ,i
 have seen a well-educated young man    
who1 until he had tried the experiment1 
would not believe that a pail full of   
large chips weighs less than it does    
when full of water4   ,the ,sense of    
,touch4  ,we have not equal control of  
all our senses4  ,one of them1 the sense
 of touch1 is in continual action so    
long as we are awake4  ,diffused over   
the entire surface of the body1 it      
serves as a perpetual sentinel to warn  

us of what is likely to harm us4  ,by   
the constant use of this sense1         
voluntary or otherwise1 we gain our     
earliest experience4  ,it therefore     
stands less in need of special          
cultivation4  ,we observe however1 that 
the blind have a more delicate and      
accurate touch than we1 because1 not    
having sight to guide them1 they depend 
upon touch for the judgments we form    
with the aid of sight4  ,why then do we 
not train ourselves to walk1 like them1 
in the dark1 to recognize by the touch  
all bodies we can reach1 to judge of    
objects around us1 in short1 to do by   
night and in the dark all they do in    
daytime without eyesight8  ,so long as  
the sun shines1 we have the advantage of
 them2 but they can guide us in         
darkness4  ,we are blind during half our
 life-time1 with this difference1 that  
the really blind can always guide       
themselves1 whereas we dare not take a  
step in the dead of night4  ,you may    
remind me that we have artificial light4

  ,what6 must we always use machines8   
,who can insure their being always at   
hand when we need them8  ,for my part1  
,i prefer that mile1 instead of keeping 
his eyes in a chandler's shop1 should   
have them at the ends of his fingers4   
,as much as possible1 let him be        
accustomed to play about at night4 ,this
 advice is more important than it would 
seem4  ,for men1 and sometimes for      
animals1 night has naturally its        
terrors4  ,rarely do wisdom1 or wit1 or 
courage1 free us from paying tribute to 
these terrors4  ,i have seen reasoners1 
free-thinkers1 philosophers1 soldiers1  
who were utterly fearless in broad      
daylight1 tremble like women at the     
rustle of leaves by night4  ,such       
terrors are supposed to be the result of
 nursery tales4  ,the real cause is the 
same thing which makes the deaf         
distrustful1 and the lower classes      
superstitious2 and that is1 ignorance of
 objects and events around us4  ,the    
cause of the evil1 once found1 suggests 

the remedy4  ,in everything1 habit      
benumbs the imagination2 new objects    
alone quicken it again4 ,every-day      
objects keep active not the imagination1
 but the memory2 whence the saying ,ab  
assuetis non fit passio4#bb  ,for only  
the imagination can set on fire our     
passions4  ,if1 therefore1 you wish to  
cure any one of the fear of darkness1 do
 not reason with him4  ,take him into   
the dark often1 and you may be sure that
 will do him more good than             
philosophical arguments4  ,when at work 
on the roofs of houses1 slaters do not  
feel their heads swim2 and those        
accustomed to darkness do not fear it at
 all4  ,there will be one advantage of  
our plays in the dark4  ,but if you mean
 them to be successful1 you must make   
them as gay as possible4  ,darkness is  
of all things the most gloomy2 so do not
 shut your child up in a dungeon4  ,when
 he goes into the dark make him laugh2  
when he leaves it make him laugh again2 
and all the time he is there1 let the   

thought of what he is enjoying1 and what
 he will find there when he returns1    
protect him from the shadowy terrors    
which might otherwise inhabit it4  ,i   
have heard some propose to teach        
children not to be afraid at night1 by  
surprising them4  ,this is a bad plan1  
and its effect is contrary to the one   
sought3 it only makes them more timid   
than before4  ,neither reason nor habit 
can accustom us to a present danger1 the
 nature and extent of which we do not   
know1 nor can they lessen our dread of  
unexpected things however often we meet 
with them4  ,but how can we guard our   
pupil against such accidents8  ,i think 
the following is the best plan4  ,i will
 tell my mile1 ,if any one attacks you  
at night1 you are justified in defending
 yourself2 for your assailant gives you 
no notice whether he means to hurt you  
or only to frighten you4  ,as he has    
taken you at a disadvantage1 seize him  
boldly1 no matter what he may seem to   
be4  ,hold him fast1 and if he offers   

any resistance1 hit him hard and often4 
,whatever he may say or do1 never let go
 until you know exactly who he is4  ,the
 explanation will probably show you that
 there is nothing to be afraid of2 and  
if you treat a practical joker in this  
way1 he will not be likely to try the   
same thing again4  ,although1 of all our
 senses1 touch is the one most          
constantly used1 still1 as ,i have said1
 its conclusions are the most rude and  
imperfect4 ,this is because it is always
 used at the same time with sight2 and  
because the eye attains its object      
sooner than the hand2 the mind nearly   
always decides without appealing to     
touch4  ,on the other hand1 the         
decisions of touch1 just because they   
are so limited in their range1 are the  
most accurate4  ,for as they extend no  
farther than our arm's length1 they     
correct the errors of other senses1     
which deal with distant objects1 and    
scarcely grasp these objects at all1    
whereas all that the touch perceives it 

perceives thoroughly4  ,besides1 if to  
nerve-force we add muscular action1 we  
form a simultaneous impression1 and     
judge of weight and solidity as well as 
of temperature1 size1 and shape4  ,thus 
touch1 which of all our senses best     
informs us concerning impressions made  
upon us by external things1 is the one  
oftenest used1 and gives us most        
directly the knowledge necessary to our 
preservation4   ,the ,sense of ,sight4  
,the sense of touch confines its        
operations to a very narrow sphere      
around us1 but those of sight extend far
 beyond2 this sense is therefore liable 
to be mistaken4  ,with a single glance a
 man takes in half his own horizon1 and 
in these myriad impressions1 and        
judgments resulting from them1 how is it
 credible that there should be no       
mistakes8  ,sight1 therefore1 is the    
most defective of all our senses1       
precisely because it is most            
far-reaching1 and because its           
operations1 by far preceding all others1

 are too immediate and too vast to      
receive correction from them4  ,besides1
 the very illusions of perspective are  
needed to make us understand extension1 
and to help us in comparing its parts4  
,if there were no false appearances1 we 
could see nothing at a distance2 if     
there were no gradations in size1 we    
could form no estimate of distance1 or  
rather there would be no distance at    
all4  ,if of two trees the one a hundred
 paces away seemed as large and distinct
 as the other1 ten paces distant1 we    
should place them side by side4  ,if we 
saw all objects in their true           
dimensions1 we should see no space      
whatever2 everything would appear to be 
directly beneath our eye4  ,for judging 
of the size and distance of objects1    
sight has only one measure1 and that is 
the angle they form with our eye4  ,as  
this is the simple effect of a compound 
cause1 the judgment we form from it     
leaves each particular case undecided or
 is necessarily imperfect4  ,for how can

 ,i by the sight alone tell whether the 
angle which makes one object appear     
smaller than another is caused by the   
really lesser magnitude of the object or
 by its greater distance from me8  ,an  
opposite method must therefore be       
pursued4  ,instead of relying on one    
sensation only1 we must repeat it1      
verify it by others1 subordinate sight  
to touch1 repressing the impetuosity of 
the first by the steady1 even pace of   
the second4  ,for lack of this caution  
we measure very inaccurately by the eye1
 in determining height1 length1 depth1  
and distance4  ,that this is not due to 
organic defect1 but to careless use1 is 
proved by the fact that engineers1      
surveyors1 architects1 masons1 and      
painters generally have a far more      
accurate eye than we1 and estimate      
measures of extension more correctly4   
,their business gives them experience   
that we neglect to acquire1 and thus    
they correct the ambiguity of the angle 
by means of appearances associated with 

it1 which enable them to determine more 
exactly the relation of the two things  
producing the angle4  ,children are     
easily led into anything that allows    
unconstrained movement of the body4     
,there are a thousand ways of           
interesting them in measuring1          
discovering1 and estimating distances4  
,yonder is a very tall cherry-tree2 how 
can we manage to get some cherries8     
,will the ladder in the barn do8  ,there
 is a very wide brook2 how can we cross 
it8  ,would one of the planks in the    
yard be long enough8  ,we want to throw 
a line from our windows and catch some  
fish in the moat around the house2 how  
many fathoms long ought the line to be8 
,i want to put up a swing between those 
two trees2 would four yards of rope be  
enough for it8  ,they say that in the   
other house our room will be twenty-five
 feet square2 do you think that will    
suit us8  ,will it be larger than this8 
,we are very hungry2 which of those two 
villages yonder can we reach soonest1   

and have our dinner8  ,as the sense of  
sight is the one least easily separated 
from the judgments of the mind1 we need 
a great deal of time for learning how to
 see4  ,we must for a long time compare 
sight with touch1 if we would accustom  
our eye to report forms and distances   
accurately4  ,without touch and without 
progressive movement1 the keenest       
eye-sight in the world could give us no 
idea of extent4  ,to an oyster the      
entire universe must be only a single   
point4  ,only by walking1 feeling1      
counting1 and measuring1 do we learn to 
estimate distances4  ,if we always      
measure them1 however1 our eye1         
depending on this1 will never gain      
accuracy4  ,yet the child ought not to  
pass too soon from measuring to         
estimating4  ,it will be better for him1
 after comparing by parts what he cannot
 compare as wholes1 finally to          
substitute for measured aliquot parts   
others1 obtained by the eye alone4  ,he 
should train himself in this manner of  

measuring instead of always measuring   
with the hand4  ,i prefer that the very 
first operations of this kind should be 
verified by actual measurements1 so that
 he may correct the mistakes arising    
from false appearances by a better      
judgment4  ,there are natural measures1 
nearly the same everywhere1 such as a   
man's pace1 the length of his arm1 or   
his height4  ,when the child is         
calculating the height of the story of a
 house1 his tutor may serve as a unit of
 measure4  ,in estimating the altitude  
of a steeple1 he may compare it with    
that of the neighboring houses4  ,if he 
wants to know how many leagues there are
 in a given journey1 let him reckon the 
number of hours spent in making it on   
foot4  ,and by all means do none of this
 work for him2 let him do it himself4   
,we cannot learn to judge correctly of  
the extent and size of bodies without   
also learning to recognize their forms1 
and even to imitate them4  ,for such    
imitation is absolutely dependent on the

 laws of perspective1 and we cannot     
estimate extent from appearances without
 some appreciation of these laws4       
,drawing4  ,all children1 being natural 
imitators1 try to draw4  ,i would have  
my pupil cultivate this art1 not exactly
 for the sake of the art itself1 but to 
render the eye true and the hand        
flexible4  ,in general1 it matters      
little whether he understands this or   
that exercise1 provided he acquires the 
mental insight1 and the manual skill    
furnished by the exercise4  ,i should   
take care1 therefore1 not to give him a 
drawing-master1 who would give him only 
copies to imitate1 and would make him   
draw from drawings only4  ,he shall have
 no teacher but nature1 no models but   
real things4  ,he shall have before his 
eyes the originals1 and not the paper   
which represents them4  ,he shall draw a
 house from a real house1 a tree from a 
tree1 a human figure from the man       
himself4  ,in this way he will accustom 
himself to observe bodies and their     

appearances1 and not mistake for        
accurate mutations those that are false 
and conventional4  ,i should even object
 to his drawing anything from memory1   
until by frequent observations the exact
 forms of the objects had clearly       
imprinted themselves on his imagination1
 lest1 substituting odd and fantastic   
shapes for the real things1 he might    
lose the knowledge of proportion and a  
taste for the beauties of nature4  ,i   
know very well that he will go on       
daubing for a long time without making  
anything worth noticing1 and will be    
long in mastering elegance of outline1  
and in acquiring the deft stroke of a   
skilled draughtsman4  ,he may never     
learn to discern picturesque effects1 or
 draw with superior skill4  ,on the     
other hand1 he will have a more correct 
eye1 a truer hand1 a knowledge of the   
real relations of size and shape in     
animals1 plants1 and natural bodies1 and
 practical experience of the illusions  
of perspective4  ,this is precisely what

 ,i intend2 not so much that he shall   
imitate objects as that he shall know   
them4  ,i would rather have him show me 
an acanthus than a finished drawing of  
the foliation of a capital4  ,yet ,i    
would not allow my pupil to have the    
enjoyment of this or any other exercise 
all to himself4  ,by sharing it with him
 ,i will make him enjoy it still more4  
,he shall have no competitor but myself2
 but ,i will be that competitor         
continually1 and without risk of        
jealousy between us4  ,it will only     
interest him more deeply in his studies4
 ,like him ,i will take up the pencil1  
and at first ,i will be as awkward as   
he4  ,if ,i were an ,apelles1 even1 ,i  
will make myself a mere dauber4  ,i will
 begin by sketching a man just as a boy 
would sketch one on a wall1 with a dash 
for each arm1 and with fingers larger   
than the arms4 ,by and by one or the    
other of us will discover this          
disproportion4  ,we shall observe that a
 leg has thickness1 and that this       

thickness is not the same everywhere2   
that the length of the arm is determined
 by its proportion to the body2 and so  
on4  ,as we go on ,i will do no more    
than keep even step with him1 or will   
excel him by so little that he can      
always easily overtake and even surpass 
me4  ,we will get colors and brushes2 we
 will try to imitate not only the       
outline but the coloring and all the    
other details of objects4  ,we will     
color2 we will paint2 we will daub2 but 
in all our daubing we shall be          
continually peering into nature1 and all
 we do shall be done under the eye of   
that great teacher4  ,if we had         
difficulty in finding decorations for   
our room1 we have now all we could      
desire4  ,i will have our drawings      
framed1 so that we can give them no     
finishing touches2 and this will make us
 both careful to do no negligent work4  
,i will arrange them in order around our
 room1 each drawing repeated twenty or  
thirty times1 and each repetition       

showing the author's progress1 from the 
representation of a house by an almost  
shapeless attempt at a square1 to the   
accurate copy of its front elevation1   
profile1 proportions1 and shading4  ,the
 drawings thus graded must be           
interesting to ourselves1 curious to    
others1 and likely to stimulate further 
effort4  ,i will inclose the first and  
rudest of these in showy gilded frames1 
to set them off well2 but as the        
imitation improves1 and when the drawing
 is really good1 ,i will add only a very
 simple black frame4  ,the picture needs
 no ornament but itself1 and it would be
 a pity that the bordering should       
receive half the attention4  ,both of us
 will aspire to the honor of a plain    
frame1 and if either wishes to condemn  
the other's drawing1 he will say it     
ought to have a gilt frame4  ,perhaps   
some day these gilded frames will pass  
into a proverb with us1 and we shall be 
interested to observe how many men do   
justice to themselves by framing        

themselves in the very same way4        
,geometry4  ,i have said that geometry  
is not intelligible to children2 but it 
is our own fault4  ,we do not observe   
that their method is different from     
ours1 and that what is to us the art of 
reasoning should be to them only the art
 of seeing4  ,instead of giving them our
 method1 we should do better to take    
theirs4  ,for in our way of learning    
geometry1 imagination really does as    
much as reason4  ,when a proposition is 
stated1 we have to imagine the          
demonstration2 that is1 we have to find 
upon what proposition already known the 
new one depends1 and from all the       
consequences of this known principle    
select just the one required4 ,according
 to this method the most exact reasoner1
 if not naturally inventive1 must be at 
fault4  ,and the result is that the     
teacher1 instead of making us discover  
demonstrations1 dictates them to us2    
instead of teaching us to reason1 he    
reasons for us1 and exercises only our  

memory4  ,make the diagrams accurate2   
combine them1 place them one upon       
another1 examine their relations1 and   
you will discover the whole of          
elementary geometry by proceeding from  
one observation to another1 without     
using either definitions or problems1 or
 any form of demonstration than simple  
superposition4  ,for my part1 ,i do not 
even pretend to teach mile geometry2 he 
shall teach it to me4  ,i will look for 
relations1 and he shall discover them4  
,i will look for them in a way that will
 lead him to discover them4  ,in drawing
 a circle1 for instance1 ,i will not use
 a compass1 but a point at the end of a 
cord which turns on a pivot4            
,afterward1 when ,i want to compare the 
radii of a semi-circle1 mile will laugh 
at me and tell me that the same cord1   
held with the same tension1 cannot      
describe unequal distances4  ,when ,i   
want to measure an angle of sixty       
degrees1 ,i will describe from the apex 
of the angle not an arc only1 but an    

entire circle2 for with children nothing
 must be taken for granted4  ,i find    
that the portion intercepted by the two 
sides of the angle is one-sixth of the  
whole circumference4  ,afterward1 from  
the same centre1 ,i describe another and
 a larger circle1 and find that this    
second arc is one-sixth of the new      
circumference4  ,describing a third     
concentric circle1 ,i test it in the    
same way1 and continue the process with 
other concentric circles1 until mile1   
vexed at my stupidity1 informs me that  
every arc1 great or small1 intercepted  
by the sides of this angle1 will be     
one-sixth of the circumference to which 
it belongs4  ,you see we are almost     
ready to use the instruments            
intelligently4  ,in order to prove the  
angles of a triangle equal to two right 
angles1 a circle is usually drawn4  ,i1 
on the contrary1 will call mile's       
attention to this in the circle1 and    
then ask him1 ,now1 if the circle were  
taken away1 and the straight lines were 

left1 would the size of the angles be   
changed8  ,it is not customary to pay   
much attention to the accuracy of       
figures in geometry2 the accuracy is    
taken for granted1 and the demonstration
 alone is regarded4  mile and ,i will   
pay no heed to the demonstration1 but   
aim to draw exactly straight and even   
lines2 to make a square perfect and a   
circle round4  ,to test the exactness of
 the figure we will examine it in all   
its visible properties1 and this will   
give us daily opportunity of finding out
 others4  ,we will fold the two halves  
of a circle on the line of the diameter1
 and the halves of a square on its      
diagonal1 and then examine our two      
figures to see which has its bounding   
lines most nearly coincident1 and is    
therefore best constructed4  ,we will   
debate as to whether this equality of   
parts exists in all parallelograms1     
trapeziums1 and like figures4           
,sometimes we will endeavor to guess at 
the result of the experiment before we  

make it1 and sometimes to find out the  
reasons why it should result as it does4
  ,geometry for my pupil is only the art
 of using the rule and compass well4    
,it should not be confounded with       
drawing1 which uses neither of these    
instruments4  ,the rule and compass are 
to be kept under lock and key1 and he   
shall be allowed to use them only       
occasionally1 and for a short time1 lest
 he fall into the habit of daubing4     
,but sometimes1 when we go for a walk1  
we will take our diagrams with us1 and  
talk about what we have done or would   
like to do4   ,hearing4  ,what has been 
said as to the two senses most          
continually employed and most important 
may illustrate the way in which ,i      
should exercise the other senses4       
,sight and touch deal alike with bodies 
at rest and bodies in motion4  ,but as  
only the vibration of the air can arouse
 the sense of hearing1 noise or sound   
can be made only by a body in motion4   
,if everything were at rest1 we could   

not hear at all4  ,at night1 when we    
move only as we choose1 we have nothing 
to fear except from other bodies in     
motion4  ,we therefore need quick ears  
to judge from our sensations whether the
 body causing them is large or small1   
distant or near1 and whether its motion 
is violent or slight4  ,the air1 when in
 agitation1 is subject to reverberations
 which reflect it back1 produce echoes1 
and repeat the sensation1 making the    
sonorous body heard elsewhere than where
 it really is4  ,in a plain or valley1  
if you put your ear to the ground1 you  
can hear the voices of men and the sound
 of horses' hoofs much farther than when
 standing upright4  ,as we have compared
 sight with touch1 let us also compare  
it with hearing1 and consider which of  
the two impressions1 leaving the same   
body at the same time1 soonest reaches  
its organ4  ,when we see the flash of a 
cannon there is still time to avoid the 
shot2 but as soon as we hear the sound  
there is not time2 the ball has struck4 

,we can estimate the distance of thunder
 by the interval between the flash and  
the thunderbolt4  ,make the child       
understand such experiments2 try those  
that are within his own power1 and      
discover others by inference4  ,but it  
would be better he should know nothing  
about these things than that you should 
tell him all he is to know about them4  
,we have an organ that corresponds to   
that of hearing1 that is1 the voice4    
,sight has nothing like this1 for though
 we can produce sounds1 we cannot give  
off colors4  ,we have therefore fuller  
means of cultivating hearing1 by        
exercising its active and passive organs
 upon one another4   ,the ,voice4  ,man 
has three kinds of voice3 the speaking  
or articulate voice1 the singing or     
melodious voice1 and the pathetic or    
accented voice1 which gives language to 
passion and animates song and speech4   
,a child has these three kinds of voice 
as well as a man1 but he does not know  
how to blend them in the same way4      

,like his elders he can laugh1 cry1     
complain1 exclaim1 and groan4  ,but he  
does not know how to blend these        
inflections with the two other voices4  
,perfect music best accomplishes this   
blending2 but children are incapable of 
such music1 and there is never much     
feeling in their singing4  ,in speaking1
 their voice has little energy1 and     
little or no accent4  ,our pupil will   
have even a simpler and more uniform    
mode of speaking1 because his passions1 
not yet aroused1 will not mingle their  
language with his4  ,do not1 therefore1 
give him dramatic parts to recite1 nor  
teach him to declaim4  ,he will have too
 much sense to emphasize words he cannot
 understand1 and to express feelings he 
has never known4  ,teach him to speak   
evenly1 clearly1 articulately1 to       
pronounce correctly and without         
affectation1 to understand and use the  
accent demanded by grammar and prosody4 
,train him to avoid a common fault      
acquired in colleges1 of speaking louder

 than is necessary2 have him speak loud 
enough to be understood2 let there be no
 exaggeration in anything4  ,aim1 also1 
to render his voice in singing1 even1   
flexible1 and sonorous4  ,let his ear be
 sensitive to time and harmony1 but to  
nothing more4  ,do not expect of him1 at
 his age1 imitative and theatrical      
music4  ,it would be better if he did   
not even sing words4  ,if he wished to  
sing them1 ,i should try to invent songs
 especially for him1 such as would      
interest him1 as simple as his own      
ideas4   ,the ,sense of ,taste4  ,of our
 different sensations1 those of taste   
generally affect us most4 ,we are more  
interested in judging correctly of      
substances that are to form part of our 
own bodies than of those which merely   
surround us4  ,we are indifferent to a  
thousand things1 as objects of touch1 of
 hearing1 or of sight2 but there is     
almost nothing to which our sense of    
taste is indifferent4  ,besides1 the    
action of this sense is entirely        

physical and material4  ,imagination and
 imitation often give a tinge of moral  
character to the impressions of all the 
other senses2 but to this it appeals    
least of all1 if at all4  ,generally1   
also1 persons of passionate and really  
sensitive temperament1 easily moved by  
the other senses1 are rather indifferent
 in regard to this4  ,this very fact1   
which seems in some measure to degrade  
the sense of taste1 and to make excess  
in its indulgence more contemptible1    
leads me1 however1 to conclude that the 
surest way to influence children is by  
means of their appetite4  ,gluttony1 as 
a motive1 is far better than vanity2 for
 gluttony is a natural appetite         
depending directly on the senses1 and   
vanity is the result of opinion1 is     
subject to human caprice and to abuse of
 all kinds4  ,gluttony is the passion of
 childhood1 and cannot hold its own     
against any other2 it disappears on the 
slightest occasion4  ,believe me1 the   
child will only too soon leave off      

thinking of his appetite2 for when his  
heart is occupied1 his palate will give 
him little concern4  ,when he is a man1 
a thousand impulsive feelings will      
divert his mind from gluttony to vanity2
 for this last passion alone takes      
advantage of all others1 and ends by    
absorbing them all4  ,i have sometimes  
watched closely those who are especially
 fond of dainties2 who1 as soon as they 
awoke1 were thinking of what they should
 eat during the day1 and could describe 
a dinner with more minuteness than      
,polybius uses in describing a battle2  
and ,i have always found that these     
supposed men were nothing but children  
forty years old1 without any force or   
steadiness of character4  ,gluttony is  
the vice of men who have no stamina4    
,the soul of a gourmand has its seat in 
his palate alone2 formed only for       
eating1 stupid1 incapable1 he is in his 
true place only at the table2 his       
judgment is worthless except in the     
matter of dishes4  ,as he values these  

far more highly than others in which we 
are interested1 as well as he1 let us   
without regret leave this business of   
the palate to him4  ,it is weak         
precaution to fear that gluttony may    
take root in a child capable of anything
 else4  ,as children1 we think only of  
eating2 but in youth1 we think of it no 
more4  ,everything tastes good to us1   
and we have many other things to occupy 
us4  ,yet ,i would not use so low a     
motive injudiciously1 or reward a good  
action with a sugar-plum4  ,since       
childhood is or should be altogether    
made up of play and frolic1 ,i see no   
reason why exercise purely physical     
should not have a material and tangible 
reward4  ,if a young ,majorcan1 seeing a
 basket in the top of a tree1 brings it 
down with a stone from his sling1 why   
should he not have the recompense of a  
good breakfast1 to repair the strength  
used in earning it8  ,a young ,spartan1 
braving the risk of a hundred lashes1   
stole into a kitchen1 and carried off a 

live fox-cub1 which concealed under his 
coat1 scratched and bit him till the    
blood came4  ,to avoid the disgrace of  
detection1 the child allowed the        
creature to gnaw his entrails1 and did  
not lift an eyelash or utter a cry4#bc  
,was it not just that1 as a reward1 he  
was allowed to devour the beast that had
 done its best to devour him8  ,a good  
meal ought never to be given as a       
reward2 but why should it not sometimes 
be the result of the pains taken to     
secure it8  mile will not consider the  
cake ,i put upon a stone as a reward for
 running well2 he only knows that he    
cannot have the cake unless he reaches  
it before some other person does4  ,this
 does not contradict the principle      
before laid down as to simplicity in    
diet4  ,for to please a child's appetite
 we need not arouse it1 but merely      
satisfy it2 and this may be done with   
the most ordinary things in the world1  
if we do not take pains to refine his   
taste4  ,his continual appetite1 arising

 from his rapid growth1 is an unfailing 
sauce1 which supplies the place of many 
others4  ,with a little fruit1 or some  
of the dainties made from milk1 or a bit
 of pastry rather more of a rarity than 
the every-day bread1 and1 more than all1
 with some tact in bestowing1 you may   
lead an army of children to the world's 
end without giving them any taste for   
highly spiced food1 or running any risk 
of cloying their palate4  ,besides1     
whatever kind of diet you give children1
 provided they are used only to simple  
and common articles of food1 let them   
eat1 run1 and play as much as they      
please1 and you may rest assured they   
will never eat too much1 or be troubled 
with indigestion4  ,but if you starve   
them half the time1 and they can find a 
way to escape your vigilance1 they will 
injure themselves with all their might1 
and eat until they are entirely         
surfeited4  ,unless we dictate to our   
appetite other rules than those of      
nature1 it will never be inordinate4    

,always regulating1 prescribing1 adding1
 retrenching1 we do everything with     
scales in hand4  ,but the scales measure
 our own whims1 and not our digestive   
organs4  ,to return to my illustrations2
 among country folk the larder and the  
orchard are always open1 and nobody1    
young or old1 knows what indigestion    
means4   ,result4  ,the ,pupil at the   
,age of ,ten or ,twelve4  ,supposing    
that my method is indeed that of nature 
itself1 and that ,i have made no        
mistakes in applying it1 ,i have now    
conducted my pupil through the region of
 sensations to the boundaries of        
childish reason4 ,the first step beyond 
should be that of a man4  ,but before   
beginning this new career1 let us for a 
moment cast our eyes over what we have  
just traversed4  ,every age and station 
in life has a perfection1 a maturity1   
all its own4  ,we often hear of a       
full-grown man2 in contemplating a      
full-grown child we shall find more     
novelty1 and perhaps no less pleasure4  

,the existence of finite beings is so   
barren and so limited that when we see  
only what is1 it never stirs us to      
emotion4  ,real objects are adorned by  
the creations of fancy1 and without this
 charm yield us but a barren            
satisfaction1 tending no farther than to
 the organ that perceives them1 and the 
heart is left cold4  ,the earth1 clad in
 the glories of autumn1 displays a      
wealth which the wondering eye enjoys1  
but which arouses no feeling within us2 
it springs less from sentiment than from
 reflection4  ,in spring the landscape  
is still almost bare2 the forests yield 
no shade2 the verdure is only beginning 
to bud2 and yet the heart is deeply     
moved at the sight4  ,we feel within us 
a new life1 when we see nature thus     
revive2 delightful images surround us2  
the companions of pleasure1 gentle      
tears1 ever ready to spring at the touch
 of tender feelings1 brim our eyes4     
,but upon the panorama of the vintage   
season1 animated and pleasant though it 

be1 we have no tears to bestow4  ,why is
 there this difference8  ,it is because 
imagination joins to the sight of       
spring-time that of following seasons4  
,to the tender buds the eye adds the    
flowers1 the fruit1 the shade1 sometimes
 also the mysteries that may lie hid in 
them4  ,into a single point of time our 
fancy gathers all the year's seasons yet
 to be1 and sees things less as they    
really will be than as it would choose  
to have them4  ,in autumn1 on the       
contrary1 there is nothing but bare     
reality4  ,if we think of spring then1  
the thought of winter checks us1 and    
beneath snow and hoar-frost the chilled 
imagination dies4  ,the charm we feel in
 looking upon a lovely childhood rather 
than upon the perfection of mature age1 
arises from the same source4  ,if the   
sight of a man in his prime gives us    
like pleasure1 it is when the memory of 
what he has done leads us to review his 
past life and bring up his younger days4
  ,if we think of him as he is1 or as he

 will be in old age1 the idea of        
declining nature destroys all our       
pleasure4  ,there can be none in seeing 
a man rapidly drawing near the grave2   
the image of death is a blight upon     
everything4  ,but when ,i imagine a     
child of ten or twelve1 sound1 vigorous1
 well developed for his age1 it gives me
 pleasure1 whether on account of the    
present or of the future4  ,i see him   
impetuous1 sprightly1 animated1 free    
from anxiety or corroding care1 living  
wholly in his own present1 and enjoying 
a life full to overflowing4  ,i foresee 
what he will be in later years1 using   
the senses1 the intellect1 the bodily   
vigor1 every day unfolding within him4  
,when ,i think of him as a child1 he    
delights me2 when ,i think of him as a  
man1 he delights me still more4  ,his   
glowing pulses seem to warm my own2 ,i  
feel his life within myself1 and his    
sprightliness renews my youth4  ,his    
form1 his bearing1 his countenance1     
manifest self-confidence and happiness4 

,health glows in his face2 his firm step
 is a sign of bodily vigor4  ,his       
complexion1 still delicate1 but not     
insipid1 has in it no effeminate        
softness1 for air and sun have already  
given him the honorable stamp of his    
sex4  ,his still rounded muscles are    
beginning to show signs of growing      
expressiveness4  ,his eyes1 not yet     
lighted with the fire of feeling1 have  
all their natural serenity4  ,years of  
sorrow have never made them dim1 nor    
have his cheeks been furrowed by        
unceasing tears4  ,his quick but decided
 movements show the sprightliness of his
 age1 and his sturdy independence2 they 
bear testimony to the abundant physical 
exercise he has enjoyed4  ,his bearing  
is frank and open1 but not insolent or  
vain4 ,his face1 never glued to his     
books1 is never downcast2 you need not  
tell him to raise his head1 for neither 
fear nor shame has ever made it droop4  
,make room for him among you1 and       
examine him1 gentlemen4  ,question him  

with all confidence1 without fear of his
 troubling you with idle chatter or     
impertinent queries4  ,do not be afraid 
of his taking up all your time1 or      
making it impossible for you to get rid 
of him4  ,you need not expect brilliant 
speeches that ,i have taught him1 but   
only the frank and simple truth without 
preparation1 ornament1 or vanity4  ,when
 he tells you what he has been thinking 
or doing1 he will speak of the evil as  
freely as of the good1 not in the least 
embarrassed by its effect upon those who
 hear him4  ,he will use words in all   
the simplicity of their original        
meaning4  ,we like to prophesy good of  
children1 and are always sorry when a   
stream of nonsense comes to disappoint  
hopes aroused by some chance repartee4  
,my pupil seldom awakens such hopes1 and
 will never cause such regrets3 for he  
never utters an unnecessary word1 or    
wastes breath in babble to which he     
knows nobody will listen4  ,if his ideas
 have a limited range1 they are         

nevertheless clear4  ,if he knows       
nothing by heart1 he knows a great deal 
from experience4  ,if he does not read  
ordinary books so well as other         
children1 he reads the book of nature   
far better4  ,his mind is in his brain1 
and not at his tongue's end4  ,he has   
less memory than judgment4  ,he can     
speak only one language1 but he         
understands what he says3 and if he does
 not say it as well as another1 he can  
do things far better than they can4  ,he
 does not know the meaning of custom or 
routine4  ,what he did yesterday does   
not in any wise affect his actions of   
to-day4  ,he never follows a rigid      
formula1 or gives way in the least to   
authority or to example4  ,everything he
 does and says is after the natural     
fashion of his age4  ,expect of him1    
therefore1 no formal speeches or studied
 manners1 but always the faithful       
expression of his own ideas1 and a      
conduct arising from his own            
inclinations4  ,you will find he has a  

few moral ideas in relation to his own  
concerns1 but in regard to men in       
general1 none at all4  ,of what use     
would these last be to him1 since a     
child is not yet an active member of    
society8 ,speak to him of liberty1 of   
property1 even of things done by common 
consent1 and he may understand you4  ,he
 knows why his own things belong to him 
and those of another person do not1 and 
beyond this he knows nothing4  ,speak to
 him of duty and obedience1 and he will 
not know what you mean4  ,command him to
 do a thing1 and he will not understand 
you4 ,but tell him that if he will do   
you such and such a favor1 you will do  
the same for him whenever you can1 and  
he will readily oblige you2 for he likes
 nothing better than to increase his    
power1 and to lay you under obligations 
he knows to be inviolable4  ,perhaps1   
too1 he enjoys being recognized as      
somebody and accounted worth something4 
,but if this last be his motive1 he has 
already left the path of nature1 and you

 have not effectually closed the        
approaches to vanity4  ,if he needs     
help1 he will ask it of the very first  
person he meets1 be he monarch or       
man-servant2 to him one man is as good  
as another4  ,by his manner of asking1  
you can see that he feels you do not owe
 him anything2 he knows that what he    
asks is really a favor to him1 which    
humanity will induce you to grant4  ,his
 expressions are simple and laconic4    
,his voice1 his look1 his gesture1 are  
those of one equally accustomed to      
consent or to refusal4  ,they show      
neither the cringing submission of a    
slave1 nor the imperious tone of a      
master2 but modest confidence in his    
fellow-creatures1 and the noble and     
touching gentleness of one who is free1 
but sensitive and feeble1 asking aid of 
another1 also free1 but powerful and    
kind4  ,if you do what he asks1 he does 
not thank you1 but feels that he has    
laid himself under obligation4  ,if you 
refuse1 he will not complain or insist2 

he knows it would be of no use4  ,he    
will not say1 ,i was refused1 but ,it   
was impossible4  ,and1 as has been      
already said1 we do not often rebel     
against an acknowledged necessity4      
,leave him at liberty and by himself1   
and without saying a word1 watch what he
 does1 and how he does it4  ,knowing    
perfectly well that he is free1 he will 
do nothing from mere thoughtlessness1 or
 just to show that he can do it2 for is 
he not aware that he is always his own  
master8  ,he is alert1 nimble1 and      
active2 his movements have all the      
agility of his years2 but you will not  
see one that has not some definite aim4 
,no matter what he may wish to do1 he   
will never undertake what he cannot do1 
for he has tested his own strength1 and 
knows exactly what it is4  ,the means he
 uses are always adapted to the end     
sought1 and he rarely does anything     
without being assured he will succeed in
 it4  ,his eye will be attentive and    
critical1 and he will not ask foolish   

questions about everything he sees4     
,before making any inquiries he will    
tire himself trying to find a thing out 
for himself4 ,if he meets with          
unexpected difficulties1 he will be less
 disturbed by them than another child1  
and less frightened if there is danger4 
,as nothing has been done to arouse his 
still dormant imagination1 he sees      
things only as they are1 estimates      
danger accurately1 and is always        
self-possessed4  ,he has so often had to
 give way to necessity that he no longer
 rebels against it4  ,having borne its  
yoke ever since he was born1 he is      
accustomed to it1 and is ready for      
whatever may come4  ,work and play are  
alike to him2 his plays are his         
occupations1 and he sees no difference  
between the two4  ,he throws himself    
into everything with charming           
earnestness and freedom1 which shows the
 bent of his mind and the range of his  
knowledge4  ,who does not enjoy seeing a
 pretty child of this age1 with his     

bright expression of serene content1 and
 laughing1 open countenance1 playing at 
the most serious things1 or deeply      
occupied with the most frivolous        
amusements8  ,he has reached the        
maturity of childhood1 has lived a      
child's life1 not gaining perfection at 
the cost of his happiness1 but          
developing the one by means of the      
other4  ,while acquiring all the        
reasoning power possible to his age1 he 
has been as happy and as free as his    
nature allowed4  ,if the fatal scythe is
 to cut down in him the flower of our   
hopes1 we shall not be obliged to lament
 at the same time his life and his      
death4  ,our grief will not be          
embittered by the recollection of the   
sorrows we have made him feel4 ,we shall
 be able to say1 ,at least1 he enjoyed  
his childhood2 we robbed him of nothing 
that nature gave him4  ,in regard to    
this early education1 the chief         
difficulty is1 that only far-seeing men 
can understand it1 and that a child so  

carefully educated seems to an ordinary 
observer only a young scapegrace4  ,a   
tutor usually considers his own         
interests rather than those of his      
pupil4  ,he devotes himself to proving  
that he loses no time and earns his     
salary4  ,he teaches the child such     
accomplishments as can be readily       
exhibited when required1 without regard 
to their usefulness or worthlessness1 so
 long as they are showy4  ,without      
selecting or discerning1 he charges the 
child's memory with a vast amount of    
rubbish4  ,when the child is to be      
examined1 the tutor makes him display   
his wares2 and1 after thus giving       
satisfaction1 folds up his pack again1  
and goes his way4  ,my pupil is not so  
rich2 he has no pack at all to display2 
he has nothing but himself4  ,now a     
child1 like a man1 cannot be seen all at
 once4  ,what observer can at the first 
glance seize upon the child's peculiar  
traits8  ,such observers there are1 but 
they are uncommon2 and among a hundred  

thousand fathers you will not find one  
such4    #a ,puer1 child2 infans1 one   
who does not speak4  #b ,reading these  
lines1 we are reminded of the admirable 
works of ,dickens1 the celebrated       
,english novelist1 who so touchingly    
depicts the sufferings of children made 
unhappy by the inhumanity of teachers1  
or neglected as to their need of free   
air1 of liberty1 of affection3 ,david   
,copperfield1 ,hard ,times1 ,nicholas   
,nickleby1 ,dombey and ,son1 ,oliver    
,twist1 ,little ,dorrit1 and the like4  
#c ,here he means ,xerxes1 ,king of     
,persia1 who had built an immense bridge
 of boats over the ,hellespont to       
transport his army from ,asia into      
,europe4  ,a storm having destroyed this
 bridge1 the all-powerful monarch1      
furious at the insubordination of the   
elements1 ordered chains to be cast into
 the sea1 and had the rebellious waves  
beaten with rods4  #d ,the feeling of a 
republican1 of the citizen of ,geneva1  
justly shocked by monarchial            

superstitions4  ,louis ,,xiv4 and ,louis
 ,,xv4 had had1 in fact1 from the days  
of their first playthings1 the degrading
 spectacle of a universal servility     
prostrated before their cradle4  ,the   
sentiment here uttered was still        
uncommon and almost unknown when        
,rousseau wrote it4  ,he did much toward
 creating it and making it popular4  #e 
,civil bondage1 as understood by        
,rousseau1 consists in the laws and     
obligations of civilized life itself4   
,he extols the state of nature as the   
ideal condition1 the condition of       
perfect freedom1 without seeing that1 on
 the contrary1 true liberty cannot exist
 without the protection of laws1 while  
the state of nature is only the         
enslavement of the weak by the          
strong--the triumph of brute force4  #f 
,in this unconditional form the         
principle is inadmissible4  ,any one who
 has the rearing of children knows this4
  ,but the idea underlying the paradox  
ought to be recognized1 for it is a just

 one4  ,we ought not to command merely  
for the pleasure of commanding1 but     
solely to interpret to the child the    
requirements of the case in hand4  ,to  
command him for the sake of commanding  
is an abuse of power3 it is a baseness  
which will end in disaster4  ,on the    
other hand1 we cannot leave it to       
circumstances to forbid what ought not  
to be done4  ,only1 the command should  
be intelligible1 reasonable1 and        
unyielding4  ,this is really what       
,rousseau means4  #g ,this is not       
strictly true4  ,the child early has the
 consciousness of right and wrong2 and  
if it be true that neither chastisement 
nor reproof is to be abused1 it is no   
less certain that conscience is early   
awake within him1 and that it ought not 
to be neglected in a work so delicate as
 that of education3 on condition1 be it 
understood1 that we act with simplicity1
 without pedantry1 and that we employ   
example more than lectures4  ,rousseau  
says this admirably a few pages farther 

on4  #h ,nothing is more injudicious    
than such a question1 especially when   
the child is in fault4  ,in that case1  
if he thinks you know what he has done1 
he will see that you are laying a snare 
for him1 and this opinion cannot fail to
 set him against you4  ,if he thinks you
 do not know he will say to himself1    
,why should ,i disclose my fault8  ,and 
thus the first temptation to falsehood  
is the result of your imprudent         
question4--,note by ,j4 ,j4 ,,rousseau4 
#i ,he refers to ,cato1 surnamed of     
,utica1 from the ,african city in which 
he ended his own life4  ,when a child1  
he was often invited by his brother to  
the house of the all-powerful ,sulla4   
,the cruelties of the tyrant roused the 
boy to indignation1 and it was necessary
 to watch him lest he should attempt to 
kill ,sulla4  ,it was in the latter's   
antechamber that the scene described by 
,plutarch occurred4  #aj ,while writing 
this ,i have reflected a hundred times  
that in an extended work it is          

impossible always to use the same words 
in the same sense4  ,no language is rich
 enough to furnish terms and expressions
 to keep pace with the possible         
modifications of our ideas4  ,the method
 which defines all the terms1 and       
substitutes the definition for the term1
 is fine1 but impracticable2 for how    
shall we then avoid travelling in a     
circle8  ,if definitions could be given 
without using words1 they might be      
useful4  ,nevertheless1 ,i am convinced 
that1 poor as our language is1 we can   
make ourselves understood1 not by always
 attaching the same meaning to the same 
words1 but by so using each word that   
its meaning shall be sufficiently       
determined by the ideas nearly related  
to it1 and so that each sentence in     
which a word is used shall serve to     
define the word4  ,sometimes ,i say that
 children are incapable of reasoning1   
and sometimes ,i make them reason       
extremely well2 ,i think that my ideas  
do not contradict each other1 though ,i 

cannot escape the inconvenient          
contradictions of my mode of expression4
  #aa ,another exaggeration3 the idea is
 not to teach children to speak another 
language as perfectly as their own4     
,there are three different objects to be
 attained in studying languages4        
,first1 this study is meant to render   
easy by comparison and practice the     
knowledge and free use of the mother    
tongue4  ,second1 it is useful as       
intellectual gymnastics1 developing     
attention1 reflection1 reasoning1 and   
taste4 ,this result is to be expected   
particularly from the study of the      
ancient languages4  ,third1 it lowers   
the barriers separating nations1 and    
furnishes valuable means of intercourse 
which science1 industries1 and commerce 
cannot afford to do without4  ,the      
,french have not always shown wisdom in 
ignoring the language of their neighbors
 or their rivals4  #ab ,from this       
passage1 it is plain that the objections
 lately raised by intelligent persons   

against the abuse of ,latin             
conversations and verses are not of     
recent date1 after all4  #ac ,there is  
indeed a faulty method of teaching      
history1 by giving children a dry list  
of facts1 names1 and dates4  ,on the    
other hand1 to offer them theories upon 
the philosophy of history is quite as   
unprofitable4  ,yet it is not an absurd 
error1 but a duty1 to teach them the    
broad outlines of history1 to tell them 
of deeds of renown1 of mighty works     
accomplished1 of men celebrated for the 
good or the evil they have done2 to     
interest them in the past of humanity1  
be it melancholy or glorious4  ,by abuse
 of logic ,rousseau1 in protesting      
against one excess1 falls into another4 
#ad ,rousseau here analyzes several of  
,la ,fontaine's fables1 to show the     
immorality and the danger of their      
ethics4  ,he dwells particularly upon   
the fable of the ,fox and the ,crow4    
,in this he is right2 the morality of   
the greater part of these fables leaves 

much to be desired4  ,but there is      
nothing to prevent the teacher from     
making the application4  ,the memory of 
a child is pliable and vigorous2 not to 
cultivate it would be doing him great   
injustice4  ,we need not say that a true
 teacher not only chooses1 but by his   
instructions explains and rectifies     
everything he requires his pupil to read
 or to learn by heart4  ,with this      
reservation one cannot but admire this  
aversion of ,rousseau's for             
parrot-learning1 word-worship1 and      
exclusive cultivation of the memory4    
,in a few pages may here be found a     
complete philosophy of teaching1 adapted
 to the regeneration of a people4  #ae  
,rousseau here alludes to the           
typographical lottery invented by ,louis
 ,dumas1 a ,french author of the        
eighteenth century4  ,it was an         
imitation of a printing-office1 and was 
intended to teach1 in an agreeable way1 
not only reading1 but even grammar and  
spelling4  ,there may be good features  

in all these systems1 but we certainly  
cannot save the child all trouble2 we   
ought to let him understand that work   
must be in earnest4  ,besides1 as       
moralists and teachers1 we ought not to 
neglect giving children some kinds of   
work demanding application4  ,they will 
be in better spirits for recreation     
hours after study4  #af ,it is well to  
combine the two methods2 to keep the    
child occupied with what immediately    
concerns him1 and to interest him also  
in what is more remote1 whether in space
 or in time4  ,he ought not to become   
too positive1 nor yet should he be      
chimerical4  ,the order of nature itself
 has provided for this1 by making the   
child inquisitive about things around   
him1 and at the same time about things  
far away4  #ag ,this expresses rather   
too vehemently a true idea4  ,do not try
 to impart a rigid education whose      
apparent correctness hides grave        
defects4  ,allow free course to the     
child's instinctive activity and        

turbulence2 let nature speak2 do not    
crave reserve and fastidiousness at the 
expense of frankness and vigor of mind4 
,this is what the writer really means4  
#ah ,an ,english philosopher1 who died  
in #agja4  ,he wrote a very celebrated  
,treatise on the ,education of          
,children4  #ai ,a celebrated professor1
 ,rector of the ,university of ,paris1  
who died in #agda4  ,he left a number of
 works on education4  #bj ,an abb of the
 seventeenth century who wrote a much   
valued ,history of the ,church1 and a   
,treatise on the ,method and ,choice of 
,studies4  ,he was tutor to ,count      
,vermandois1 natural son to ,louis      
,,xiv4  #ba ,a professor of mathematics1
 born at ,lausanne1 tutor to ,prince    
,fredrick of ,hesse ,cassel4  #bb       
,passion is not born of familiar things4
  #bc ,recorded as illustrating ,spartan
 education4     ,,book ,,third4   ,the  
third book has to do with the youth as  
he is between the ages of twelve and    
fifteen4  ,at this time his strength is 

proportionately greatest1 and this is   
the most important period in his life4  
,it is the time for labor and study2 not
 indeed for studies of all kinds1 but   
for those whose necessity the student   
himself feels4  ,the principle that     
ought to guide him now is that of       
utility4  ,all the master's talent      
consists in leading him to discover what
 is really useful to him4 ,language and 
history offer him little that is        
interesting4  ,he applies himself to    
studying natural phenomena1 because they
 arouse his curiosity and afford him    
means of overcoming his difficulties4   
,he makes his own instruments1 and      
invents what apparatus he needs4  ,he   
does not depend upon another to direct  
him1 but follows where his own good     
sense points the way4  ,robinson ,crusoe
 on his island is his ideal1 and this   
book furnishes the reading best suited  
to his age4  ,he should have some manual
 occupation1 as much on account of the  
uncertain future as for the sake of     

satisfying his own constant activity4   
,side by side with the body the mind is 
developed by a taste for reflection1 and
 is finally prepared for studies of a   
higher order4 ,with this period         
childhood ends and youth begins4    ,the
 ,age of ,study4  ,although up to the   
beginning of youth life is1 on the      
whole1 a period of weakness1 there is a 
time during this earlier age when our   
strength increases beyond what our wants
 require1 and the growing animal1 still 
absolutely weak1 becomes relatively     
strong4  ,his wants being as yet partly 
undeveloped1 his present strength is    
more than sufficient to provide for     
those of the present4  ,as a man1 he    
would be very weak2 as child1 he is very
 strong4  ,whence arises this weakness  
of ours but from the inequality between 
our desires and the strength we have for
 fulfilling them8  ,our passions weaken 
us1 because the gratification of them   
requires more than our natural strength4
  ,if we have fewer desires1 we are so  

much the stronger4  ,whoever can do more
 than his wishes demand has strength to 
spare2 he is strong indeed4 ,of this1   
the third stage of childhood1 ,i have   
now to speak4  ,i still call it         
childhood for want of a better term to  
express the idea2 for this age1 not yet 
that of puberty1 approaches youth4  ,at 
the age of twelve or thirteen the       
child's physical strength develops much 
faster than his wants4  ,he braves      
without inconvenience the inclemency of 
climate and seasons1 scarcely feeling it
 at all4  ,natural heat serves him      
instead of clothing1 appetite instead of
 sauce4  ,when he is drowsy1 he lies    
down on the ground and falls asleep4    
,thus he finds around him everything he 
needs2 not governed by caprices1 his    
desires extend no farther than his own  
arms can reach4  ,not only is he        
sufficient for himself1 but1 at this one
 time in all his life1 he has more      
strength than he really requires4  ,what
 then shall he do with this             

superabundance of mental and physical   
strength1 which he will hereafter need1 
but endeavor to employ it in ways which 
will at some time be of use to him1 and 
thus throw this surplus vitality forward
 into the future8  ,the robust child    
shall make provision for his weaker     
manhood4  ,but he will not garner it in 
barns1 or lay it up in coffers that can 
be plundered4  ,to be real owner of this
 treasure1 he must store it up in his   
arms1 in his brain1 in himself4  ,the   
present1 then1 is the time to labor1 to 
receive instruction1 and to study2      
nature so ordains1 not ,i4  ,human      
intelligence has its limits4  ,we can   
neither know everything1 nor be         
thoroughly acquainted with the little   
that other men know4  ,since the reverse
 of every false proposition is a truth1 
the number of truths1 like the number of
 errors1 is inexhaustible4  ,we have to 
select what is to be taught as well as  
the time for learning it4  ,of the kinds
 of knowledge within our power some are 

false1 some useless1 some serve only to 
foster pride4  ,only the few that really
 conduce to our well-being are worthy of
 study by a wise man1 or by a youth     
intended to be a wise man4  ,the        
question is1 not what may be known1 but 
what will be of the most use when it is 
known4  ,from these few we must again   
deduct such as require a ripeness of    
understanding and a knowledge of human  
relations which a child cannot possibly 
acquire2 such as1 though true in        
themselves1 incline an inexperienced    
mind to judge wrongly of other things4  
,this reduces us to a circle small      
indeed in relation to existing things1  
but immense when we consider the        
capacity of the child's mind4 ,how      
daring was the hand that first ventured 
to lift the veil of darkness from our   
human understanding6  ,what abysses1 due
 to our unwise learning1 yawn around the
 unfortunate youth6  ,tremble1 you who  
are to conduct him by these perilous    
ways1 and to lift for him the sacred    

veil of nature4  ,be sure of your own   
brain and of his1 lest either1 or       
perhaps both1 grow dizzy at the sight4  
,beware of the glamour of falsehood and 
of the intoxicating fumes of pride4     
,always bear in mind that ignorance has 
never been harmful1 that error alone is 
fatal1 and that our errors arise1 not   
from what we do not know1 but from what 
we think we do know4#a   ,the ,incentive
 of ,curiosity4  ,the same instinct     
animates all the different faculties of 
man4  ,to the activity of the body1     
striving to develop itself1 succeeds the
 activity of the mind1 endeavoring to   
instruct itself4  ,children are at first
 only restless2 afterwards they are     
inquisitive4  ,their curiosity1 rightly 
trained1 is the incentive of the age we 
are now considering4 ,we must always    
distinguish natural inclinations from   
those that have their source in opinion4
  ,there is a thirst for knowledge which
 is founded only upon a desire to be    
thought learned1 and another1 springing 

from our natural curiosity concerning   
anything which nearly or remotely       
interests us4  ,our desire for happiness
 is inborn1 and as it can never be fully
 satisfied1 we are always seeking ways  
to increase what we have4  ,this first  
principle of curiosity is natural to the
 heart of man1 but is developed only in 
proportion to our passions and to our   
advance in knowledge4  ,call your       
pupil's attention to the phenomena of   
nature1 and you will soon render him    
inquisitive4  ,but if you would keep    
this curiosity alive1 do not be in haste
 to satisfy it4  ,ask him questions that
 he can comprehend1 and let him solve   
them4  ,let him know a thing because he 
has found it out for himself1 and not   
because you have told him of it4  ,let  
him not learn science1 but discover it  
for himself4  ,if once you substitute   
authority for reason1 he will not reason
 any more2 he will only be the sport of 
other people's opinions4  ,when you are 
ready to teach this child geography1 you

 get together your globes and your maps2
 and what machines they are6  ,why1     
instead of using all these              
representations1 do you not begin by    
showing him the object itself1 so as to 
let him know what you are talking of8   
,on some beautiful evening take the     
child to walk with you1 in a place      
suitable for your purpose1 where in the 
unobstructed horizon the setting sun can
 be plainly seen4  ,take a careful      
observation of all the objects marking  
the spot at which it goes down4  ,when  
you go for an airing next day1 return to
 this same place before the sun rises4  
,you can see it announce itself by      
arrows of fire4  ,the brightness        
increases2 the east seems all aflame2   
from its glow you anticipate long       
beforehand the coming of day4  ,every   
moment you imagine you see it4  ,at last
 it really does appear1 a brilliant     
point which rises like a flash of       
lightning1 and instantly fills all      
space4  ,the veil of shadows is cast    

down and disappears4  ,we know our      
dwelling-place once more1 and find it   
more beautiful than ever4  ,the verdure 
has taken on fresh vigor during the     
night2 it is revealed with its brilliant
 net-work of dew-drops1 reflecting light
 and color to the eye1 in the first     
golden rays of the new-born day4  ,the  
full choir of birds1 none silent1 salute
 in concert the ,father of life4  ,their
 warbling1 still faint with the languor 
of a peaceful awakening1 is now more    
lingering and sweet than at other hours 
of the day4  ,all this fills the senses 
with a charm and freshness which seems  
to touch our inmost soul4  ,no one can  
resist this enchanting hour1 or behold  
with indifference a spectacle so grand1 
so beautiful1 so full of all delight4   
,carried away by such a sight1 the      
teacher is eager to impart to the child 
his own enthusiasm1 and thinks to arouse
 it by calling attention to what he     
himself feels4  ,what folly6  ,the drama
 of nature lives only in the heart2 to  

see it1 one must feel it4  ,the child   
sees the objects1 but not the relations 
that bind them together2 he can make    
nothing of their harmony4  ,the complex 
and momentary impression of all these   
sensations requires an experience he has
 never gained1 and feelings he has never
 known4  ,if he has never crossed the   
desert and felt its burning sands scorch
 his feet1 the stifling reflection of   
the sun from its rocks oppress him1 how 
can he fully enjoy the coolness of a    
beautiful morning8  ,how can the perfume
 of flowers1 the cooling vapor of the   
dew1 the sinking of his footstep in the 
soft and pleasant turf1 enchant his     
senses8  ,how can the singing of birds  
delight him1 while the accents of love  
and pleasure are yet unknown8  ,how can 
he see with transport the rise of so    
beautiful a day1 unless imagination can 
paint all the transports with which it  
may be filled8  ,and lastly1 how can he 
be moved by the beautiful panorama of   
nature1 if he does not know by whose    

tender care it has been adorned8  ,do   
not talk to the child about things he   
cannot understand4  ,let him hear from  
you no descriptions1 no eloquence1 no   
figurative language1 no poetry4         
,sentiment and taste are just now out of
 the question4 ,continue to be clear1   
unaffected1 and dispassionate2 the time 
for using another language will come    
only too soon4  ,educated in the spirit 
of our principles1 accustomed to look   
for resources within himself1 and to    
have recourse to others only when he    
finds himself really helpless1 he will  
examine every new object for a long time
 without saying a word4  ,he is         
thoughtful1 and not disposed to ask     
questions4  ,be satisfied1 therefore1   
with presenting objects at appropriate  
times and in appropriate ways4  ,when   
you see his curiosity fairly at work1   
ask him some laconic question which will
 suggest its own answer4  ,on this      
occasion1 having watched the sunrise    
from beginning to end with him1 having  

made him notice the mountains and other 
neighboring objects on the same side1   
and allowed him to talk about them just 
as he pleases1 be silent for a few      
minutes1 as if in deep thought1 and then
 say to him1 ,i think the sun set over  
there1 and now it has risen over here4  
,how can that be so8  ,say no more2 if  
he asks questions1 do not answer them3  
speak of something else4  ,leave him to 
himself1 and he will be certain to think
 the matter over4  ,to give the child   
the habit of attention and to impress   
him deeply with any truth affecting the 
senses1 let him pass several restless   
days before he discovers that truth4    
,if the one in question does not thus   
impress him1 you may make him see it    
more clearly by reversing the problem4  
,if he does not know how the sun passes 
from its setting to its rising1 he at   
least does know how it travels from its 
rising to its setting2 his eyes alone   
teach him this4  ,explain your first    
question by the second4  ,if your pupil 

be not absolutely stupid1 the analogy is
 so plain that he cannot escape it4     
,this is his first lesson in            
cosmography4  ,as we pass slowly from   
one sensible idea to another1           
familiarize ourselves for a long time   
with each before considering the next1  
and do not force our pupil's attention2 
it will be a long way from this point to
 a knowledge of the sun's course and of 
the shape of the earth4  ,but as all the
 apparent motions of the heavenly bodies
 are upon the same principle1 and the   
first observation prepares the way for  
all the rest1 less effort1 if more time1
 is required to pass from the daily     
rotation of the earth to the calculation
 of eclipses than to understand clearly 
the phenomena of day and night4  ,since 
the sun 7apparently7 revolves about the 
earth1 it describes a circle1 and we    
already know that every circle must have
 a centre4  ,this centre1 being in the  
heart of the earth1 cannot be seen2 but 
we may mark upon the surface two        

opposite points that correspond to it4  
,a rod passing through these three      
points1 and extending from one side of  
the heavens to the other1 shall be the  
axis of the earth1 and of the sun's     
apparent daily motion4  ,a spherical    
top1 turning on its point1 shall        
represent the heavens revolving on their
 axis2 the two extremities of the top   
are the two poles4  ,the child will be  
interested in knowing one of them1 which
 ,i will show him near the tail of ,ursa
 ,minor4  ,this will serve to amuse us  
for one night4  ,by degrees we shall    
grow familiar with the stars1 and this  
will awaken a desire to know the planets
 and to watch the constellations4  ,we  
have seen the sun rise at midsummer2 we 
will also watch its rising at ,christmas
 or some other fine day in winter4  ,for
 be it known that we are not at all     
idle1 and that we make a joke of braving
 the cold4  ,i take care to make this   
second observation in the same place as 
the first2 and after some conversation  

to pave the way for it4  ,one or the    
other of us will be sure to exclaim1    
,how queer that is6 the sun does not    
rise where it used to rise6  ,here are  
our old landmarks1 and now it is rising 
over yonder4  ,then there must be one   
east for summer1 and another for winter4
  ,now1 young teacher1 your way is      
plain4  ,these examples ought to suffice
 you for teaching the sphere very       
understandingly1 by taking the world for
 your globe1 and the real sun instead of
 your artificial sun4   ,things ,rather 
than their ,signs4  ,in general1 never  
show the representation of a thing      
unless it be impossible to show the     
thing itself2 for the sign absorbs the  
child's attention1 and makes him lose   
sight of the thing signified4  ,the     
armillary sphere#b seems to me poorly   
designed and in bad proportion4  ,its   
confused circles and odd figures1 giving
 it the look of a conjurer's apparatus1 
are enough to frighten a child4  ,the   
earth is too small2 the circles are too 

many and too large4  ,some of them1 the 
colures1#c for instance1 are entirely   
useless4  ,every circle is larger than  
the earth4  ,the pasteboard gives them  
an appearance of solidity which creates 
the mistaken impression that they are   
circular masses which really exist4     
,when you tell the child that these are 
imaginary circles1 he understands       
neither what he sees nor what you mean4 
,shall we never learn to put ourselves  
in the child's place8  ,we do not enter 
into his thoughts1 but suppose them     
exactly like our own4 ,constantly       
following our own method of reasoning1  
we cram his mind not only with a        
concatenation of truths1 but also with  
extravagant notions and errors4  ,in the
 study of the sciences it is an open    
question whether we ought to use        
synthesis or analysis4  ,it is not      
always necessary to choose either4  ,in 
the same process of investigation we can
 sometimes both resolve and compound1   
and while the child thinks he is only   

analyzing1 we can direct him by the     
methods teachers usually employ4  ,by   
thus using both we make each prove the  
other4  ,starting at the same moment    
from two opposite points and never      
imagining that one road connects them1  
he will be agreeably surprised to find  
that what he supposed to be two paths   
finally meet as one4  ,i would1 for     
example1 take geography at these two    
extremes1 and add to the study of the   
earth's motions the measurement of its  
parts1 beginning with our own           
dwelling-place4  ,while the child1      
studying the sphere1 is transported into
 the heavens1 bring him back to the     
measurement of the earth1 and first show
 him his own home4  ,the two            
starting-points in his geography shall  
be the town in which he lives1 and his  
father's house in the country4          
,afterward shall come the places lying  
between these two2 then the neighboring 
rivers2 lastly1 the aspect of the sun1  
and the manner of finding out where the 

east is4 ,this last is the point of     
union4  ,let him make himself a map of  
all these details2 a very simple map1   
including at first only two objects1    
then by degrees the others1 as he learns
 their distance and position4 ,you see  
now what an advantage we have gained    
beforehand1 by making his eyes serve him
 instead of a compass4  ,even with this 
it may be necessary to direct him a     
little1 but very little1 and without    
appearing to do so at all4  ,when he    
makes mistakes1 let him make them2 do   
not correct them4  ,wait in silence     
until he can see and correct them       
himself4  ,or1 at most1 take a good     
opportunity to set in motion some thing 
which will direct his attention to them4
  ,if he were never to make mistakes1 he
 could not learn half so well4 ,besides1
 the important thing is1 not that he    
should know the exact topography of the 
country1 but that he should learn how to
 find it out by himself4  ,it matters   
little whether he has maps in his mind  

or not1 so that he understands what they
 represent1 and has a clear idea of how 
they are made4  ,mark the difference    
between the learning of your pupils and 
the ignorance of mine4  ,they know all  
about maps1 and he can make them4 ,our  
maps will serve as new decorations for  
our room4   ,imparting a ,taste for     
,science4  ,bear in mind always that the
 life and soul of my system is1 not to  
teach the child many things1 but to     
allow only correct and clear ideas to   
enter his mind4  ,i do not care if he   
knows nothing1 so long as he is not     
mistaken4  ,to guard him from errors he 
might learn1 ,i furnish his mind with   
truths only4  ,reason and judgment enter
 slowly2 prejudices crowd in2 and he    
must be preserved from these last4  ,yet
 if you consider science in itself1 you 
launch upon an unfathomable and         
boundless sea1 full of unavoidable      
dangers4  ,when ,i see a man carried    
away by his love for knowledge1         
hastening from one alluring science to  

another1 without knowing where to stop1 
,i think ,i see a child gathering shells
 upon the seashore4  ,at first he loads 
himself with them2 then1 tempted by     
others1 he throws these away1 and       
gathers more4  ,at last1 weighed down by
 so many1 and no longer knowing which to
 choose1 he ends by throwing all away1  
and returning empty-handed4  ,in our    
early years time passed slowly2 we      
endeavored to lose it1 for fear of      
misusing it4  ,the case is reversed2 now
 we have not time enough for doing all  
that we find useful4  ,bear in mind that
 the passions are drawing nearer1 and   
that as soon as they knock at the door1 
your pupil will have eyes and ears for  
them alone4  ,the tranquil period of    
intelligence is so brief1 and has so    
many other necessary uses1 that only    
folly imagines it long enough to make   
the child a learned man4 ,the thing is1 
not to teach him knowledge1 but to give 
him a love for it1 and a good method of 
acquiring it when this love has grown   

stronger4  ,certainly this is a         
fundamental principle in all good       
education4  ,now1 also1 is the time to  
accustom him gradually to concentrate   
attention on a single object4  ,this    
attention1 however1 should never result 
from constraint1 but from desire and    
pleasure4  ,be careful that it shall not
 grow irksome1 or approach the point of 
weariness4  ,leave any subject just     
before he grows tired of it2 for the    
learning it matters less to him than the
 never being obliged to learn anything  
against his will4  ,if he himself       
questions you1 answer so as to keep     
alive his curiosity1 not to satisfy it  
altogether4  ,above all1 when you find  
that he makes inquiries1 not for the    
sake of learning something1 but to talk 
at random and annoy you with silly      
questions1 pause at once1 assured that  
he cares nothing about the matter1 but  
only to occupy your time with himself4  
,less regard should be paid to what he  
says than to the motive which leads him 

to speak4  ,this caution1 heretofore    
unnecessary1 is of the utmost importance
 as soon as a child begins to reason4   
,there is a chain of general truths by  
which all sciences are linked to common 
principles and successively unfolded4   
,this chain is the method of            
philosophers1 with which1 for the       
present1 we have nothing to do4 ,there  
is another1 altogether different1 which 
shows each object as the cause of       
another1 and always points out the one  
following4  ,this order1 which1 by a    
perpetual curiosity1 keeps alive the    
attention demanded by all1 is the one   
followed by most men1 and of all others 
necessary with children4  ,when1 in     
making our maps1 we found out the place 
of the east1 we were obliged to draw    
meridians4  ,the two points of          
intersection between the equal shadows  
of night and morning furnish an         
excellent meridian for an astronomer    
thirteen years old4  ,but these         
meridians disappear2 it takes time to   

draw them2 they oblige us to work always
 in the same place2 so much care1 so    
much annoyance1 will tire him out at    
last4  ,we have seen and provided for   
this beforehand4  ,i have again begun   
upon tedious and minute details4        
,readers1 ,i hear your murmurs1 and     
disregard them4  ,i will not sacrifice  
to your impatience the most useful part 
of this book4  ,do what you please with 
my tediousness1 as ,i have done as ,i   
pleased in regard to your complaints4   
,the ,juggler4  ,for some time my pupil 
and ,i had observed that different      
bodies1 such as amber1 glass1 and wax1  
when rubbed1 attract straws1 and that   
others do not attract them4  ,by        
accident we discovered one that has a   
virtue more extraordinary still1--that  
of attracting at a distance1 and without
 being rubbed1 iron filings and other   
bits of iron4  ,this peculiarity amused 
us for some time before we saw any use  
in it4  ,at last we found out that it   
may be communicated to iron itself1 when

 magnetized to a certain degree4  ,one  
day we went to a fair1 where a juggler1 
with a piece of bread1 attracted a duck 
made of wax1 and floating on a bowl of  
water4  ,much surprised1 we did not     
however say1 ,he is a conjurer1 for we  
knew nothing about conjurers4           
,continually struck by effects whose    
causes we do not know1 we were not in   
haste to decide the matter1 and remained
 in ignorance until we found a way out  
of it4  ,when we reached home we had    
talked so much of the duck at the fair  
that we thought we would endeavor to    
copy it4  ,taking a perfect needle1 well
 magnetized1 we inclosed it in white    
wax1 modelled as well as we could do it 
into the shape of a duck1 so that the   
needle passed entirely through the body1
 and with its larger end formed the     
duck's bill4  ,we placed the duck upon  
the water1 applied to the beak the      
handle of a key1 and saw1 with a delight
 easy to imagine1 that our duck would   
follow the key precisely as the one at  

the fair had followed the piece of      
bread4  ,we saw that some time or other 
we might observe the direction in which 
the duck turned when left to itself upon
 the water4 ,but absorbed at that time  
by another object1 we wanted nothing    
more4  ,that evening1 having in our     
pockets bread prepared for the occasion1
 we returned to the fair4  ,as soon as  
the mountebank had performed his feat1  
my little philosopher1 scarcely able to 
contain himself1 told him that the thing
 was not hard to do1 and that he could  
do it himself4  ,he was taken at his    
word4  ,instantly he took from his      
pocket the bread in which he had hidden 
the bit of iron4  ,approaching the table
 his heart beat fast2 almost            
tremblingly1 he presented the bread4    
,the duck came toward it and followed   
it2 the child shouted and danced for    
joy4  ,at the clapping of hands1 and the
 acclamations of all present1 his head  
swam1 and he was almost beside himself4 
,the juggler was astonished1 but        

embraced and congratulated him1 begging 
that we would honor him again by our    
presence on the following day1 adding   
that he would take care to have a larger
 company present to applaud our skill4  
,my little naturalist1 filled with      
pride1 began to prattle2 but ,i silenced
 him1 and led him away loaded with      
praises4  ,the child counted the minutes
 until the morrow with impatience that  
made me smile4  ,he invited everybody he
 met2 gladly would he have had all      
mankind as witnesses of his triumph4    
,he could scarcely wait for the hour    
agreed upon1 and1 long before it came1  
flew to the place appointed4  ,the hall 
was already full1 and on entering1 his  
little heart beat fast4  ,other feats   
were to come first2 the juggler outdid  
himself1 and there were some really     
wonderful performances4  ,the child paid
 no attention to these4  ,his excitement
 had thrown him into a perspiration2 he 
was almost breathless1 and fingered the 
bread in his pocket with a hand         

trembling with impatience4  ,at last his
 turn came1 and the master pompously    
announced the fact4 ,rather bashfully   
the boy drew near and held forth his    
bread4  ,alas for the changes in human  
affairs6  ,the duck1 yesterday so tame1 
had grown wild4  ,instead of presenting 
its bill1 it turned about and swam away1
 avoiding the bread and the hand which  
presented it1 as carefully as it had    
before followed them4  ,after many      
fruitless attempts1 each received with  
derision1 the child complained that a   
trick was played on him1 and defied the 
juggler to attract the duck4  ,the man1 
without a word1 took a piece of bread   
and presented it to the duck1 which     
instantly followed it1 and came towards 
his hand4  ,the child took the same bit 
of bread2 but far from having better    
success1 he saw the duck make sport of  
him by whirling round and round as it   
swam about the edge of the basin4  ,at  
last he retired in great confusion1 no  
longer daring to encounter the hisses   

which followed4  ,then the juggler took 
the bit of bread the child had brought1 
and succeeded as well with it as with   
his own4  ,in the presence of the entire
 company he drew out the needle1 making 
another joke at our expense2 then1 with 
the bread thus disarmed1 he attracted   
the duck as before4  ,he did the same   
thing with a piece of bread which a     
third person cut off in the presence of 
all2 again1 with his glove1 and with the
 tip of his finger4  ,at last1 going to 
the middle of the room1 he declared in  
the emphatic tone peculiar to his sort1 
that the duck would obey his voice quite
 as well as his gesture4  ,he spoke1 and
 the duck obeyed him2 commanded it to go
 to the right1 and it went to the right2
 to return1 and it did so2 to turn1 and 
it turned itself about4  ,each movement 
was as prompt as the command4  ,the     
redoubled applause was a repeated       
affront to us4  ,we stole away          
unmolested1 and shut ourselves up in our
 room1 without proclaiming our success  

far and wide as we had meant to do4     
,there was a knock at our door next     
morning2 ,i opened it1 and there stood  
the mountebank1 who modestly complained 
of our conduct4  ,what had he done to us
 that we should try to throw discredit  
on his performances and take away his   
livelihood8  ,what is so wonderful in   
the art of attracting a wax duck1 that  
the honor should be worth the price of  
an honest man's living8  ,faith1        
gentlemen1 if ,i had any other way of   
earning my bread1 ,i should boast very  
little of this way4  ,you may well      
believe that a man who has spent his    
life in practising this pitiful trade   
understands it much better than you1 who
 devote only a few minutes to it4  ,if  
,i did not show you my best performances
 the first time1 it was because a man   
ought not to be such a fool as to parade
 everything he knows4  ,i always take   
care to keep my best things for a fit   
occasion2 and ,i have others1 too1 to   
rebuke young and thoughtless people4    

,besides1 gentlemen1 ,i am going to     
teach you1 in the goodness of my heart1 
the secret which puzzled you so much1   
begging that you will not abuse your    
knowledge of it to injure me1 and that  
another time you will use more          
discretion4  ,then he showed us his     
apparatus1 and we saw1 to our surprise1 
that it consisted only of a powerful    
magnet moved by a child concealed       
beneath the table4  ,the man put up his 
machine again2 and after thanking him   
and making due apologies1 we offered him
 a present4  ,he refused1 saying1 ,no1  
gentlemen1 ,i am not so well pleased    
with you as to accept presents from you4
  ,you cannot help being under an       
obligation to me1 and that is revenge   
enough4  ,but1 you see1 generosity is to
 be found in every station in life2 ,i  
take pay for my performances1 not for my
 lessons4  ,as he was going out1 he     
reprimanded me pointedly and aloud4  ,i 
willingly pardon this child1 said he2 he
 has offended only through ignorance4   

,but you1 sir1 must have known the      
nature of his fault2 why did you allow  
him to commit such a fault8  ,since you 
live together1 you1 who are older1 ought
 to have taken the trouble of advising  
him2 the authority of your experience   
should have guided him4  ,when he is old
 enough to reproach you for his childish
 errors1 he will certainly blame you for
 those of which you did not warn him4#d 
,he went away1 leaving us greatly       
abashed4  ,i took upon myself the blame 
of my easy compliance1 and promised the 
child that1 another time1 ,i would      
sacrifice it to his interest1 and warn  
him of his faults before they were      
committed4  ,for a time was coming when 
our relations would be changed1 and the 
severity of the tutor must succeed to   
the complaisance of an equal4  ,this    
change should be gradual2 everything    
must be foreseen1 and that long         
beforehand4  ,the following day we      
returned to the fair1 to see once more  
the trick whose secret we had learned4  

,we approached our juggling ,socrates   
with deep respect1 hardly venturing to  
look at him4  ,he overwhelmed us with   
civilities1 and seated us with a marked 
attention which added to our            
humiliation4  ,he performed his tricks  
as usual1 but took pains to amuse       
himself for a long time with the duck   
trick1 often looking at us with a rather
 defiant air4  ,we understood it        
perfectly1 and did not breathe a        
syllable4  ,if my pupil had even dared  
to open his mouth1 he would have        
deserved to be annihilated4  ,all the   
details of this illustration are far    
more important than they appear4  ,how  
many lessons are here combined in one6  
,how many mortifying effects does the   
first feeling of vanity bring upon us6  
,young teachers1 watch carefully its    
first manifestation4  ,if you can thus  
turn it into humiliation and disgrace1  
be assured that a second lesson will not
 soon be necessary4  ,what an amount of 
preparation6 you will say4  ,true2 and  

all to make us a compass to use instead 
of a meridian line6  ,having learned    
that a magnet acts through other bodies1
 we were all impatience until we had    
made an apparatus like the one we had   
seen1--a hollow table-top with a very   
shallow basin adjusted upon it and      
filled with water1 a duck rather more   
carefully made1 and so on4  ,watching   
this apparatus attentively and often1 we
 finally observed that the duck1 when at
 rest1 nearly always turned in the same 
direction4 ,following up the experiment 
by examining this direction1 we found it
 to be from south to north4  ,nothing   
more was necessary2 our compass was     
invented1 or might as well have been4   
,we had begun to study physics4         
,experimental ,physics4  ,the earth has 
different climates1 and these have      
different temperatures4  ,as we approach
 the poles the variation of seasons is  
more perceptible1--all bodies contract  
with cold and expand with heat4 ,this   
effect is more readily measured in      

liquids1 and is particularly noticeable 
in spirituous liquors4  ,this fact      
suggested the idea of the thermometer4  
,the wind strikes our faces2 air is     
therefore a body1 a fluid2 we feel it   
though we cannot see it4  ,turn a glass 
vessel upside down in water1 and the    
water will not fill it unless you leave 
a vent for the air2 therefore air is    
capable of resistance4  ,sink the glass 
lower1 and the water rises in the       
air-filled region of the glass1 although
 it does not entirely fill that space4  
,air is therefore to some extent        
compressible4  ,a ball filled with      
compressed air bounds much better than  
when filled with anything else3 air is  
therefore elastic4  ,when lying at full 
length in the bath1 raise the arm       
horizontally out of the water1 and you  
feel it burdened by a great weight2 air 
is therefore heavy4  ,put air in        
equilibrium with other bodies1 and you  
can measure its weight4  ,from these    
observations were constructed the       

barometer1 the siphon1 the air-gun1 and 
the air-pump4 ,all the laws of statics  
and hydrostatics were discovered by     
experiments as simple as these4  ,i     
would not have my pupil study them in a 
laboratory of experimental physics4  ,i 
dislike all that array of machines and  
instruments4  ,the parade of science is 
fatal to science itself4  ,all those    
machines frighten the child2 or else    
their singular forms divide and distract
 the attention he ought to give to their
 effects4  ,i would make all our own    
machines1 and not begin by making the   
instrument before the experiment has    
been tried4  ,but after apparently      
lighting by chance on the experiment1 ,i
 should by degrees invent instruments   
for verifying it4  ,these instruments   
should not be so perfect and exact as   
our ideas of what they should be and of 
the operations resulting from them4     
,for the first lesson in statics1       
instead of using balances1 ,i put a     
stick across the back of a chair1 and   

when evenly balanced1 measure its two   
portions4  ,i add weights to each part1 
sometimes equal1 sometimes unequal4     
,pushing it to or fro as may be         
necessary1 ,i finally discover that     
equilibrium results from a reciprocal   
proportion between the amount of weight 
and the length of the levers4  ,thus my 
little student of physics can rectify   
balances without having ever seen them4 
,when we thus learn by ourselves instead
 of learning from others1 our ideas are 
far more definite and clear4  ,besides1 
if our reason is not accustomed to      
slavish submission to authority1 this   
discovering relations1 linking one idea 
to another1 and inventing apparatus1    
renders us much more ingenious4  ,if1   
instead1 we take everything just as it  
is given to us1 we allow our minds to   
sink down into indifference2 just as a  
man who always lets his servants dress  
him and wait on him1 and his horses     
carry him about1 loses finally not only 
the vigor but even the use of his limbs4

  ,boileau boasted that he had taught   
,racine to rhyme with difficulty4       
,there are many excellent labor-saving  
methods for studying science2 but we are
 in sore need of one to teach us how to 
learn them with more effort of our own4 
,the most manifest value of these slow  
and laborious researches is1 that amid  
speculative studies they maintain the   
activity and suppleness of the body1 by 
training the hands to labor1 and        
creating habits useful to any man4  ,so 
many instruments are invented to aid in 
our experiments and to supplement the   
action of our senses1 that we neglect to
 use the senses themselves4  ,if the    
graphometer measures the size of an     
angle for us1 we need not estimate it   
ourselves4  ,the eye which measured     
distances with precision intrusts this  
work to the chain2 the steelyard saves  
me the trouble of measuring weights by  
the hand4  ,the more ingenious our      
apparatus1 the more clumsy and awkward  
do our organs become4  ,if we surround  

ourselves with instruments1 we shall no 
longer find them within ourselves4  ,but
 when1 in making the apparatus1 we      
employ the skill and sagacity required  
in doing without them1 we do not lose1  
but gain4  ,by adding art to nature1 we 
become more ingenious and no less       
skilful4  ,if1 instead of keeping a     
child at his books1 ,i keep him busy in 
a workshop1 his hands labor to his      
mind's advantage3 while he regards      
himself only as a workman he is growing 
into a philosopher4  ,this kind of      
exercise has other uses1 of which ,i    
will speak hereafter2 and we shall see  
how philosophic amusements prepare us   
for the true functions of manhood4  ,i  
have already remarked that purely       
speculative studies are rarely adapted  
to children1 even when approaching the  
period of youth2 but without making them
 enter very deeply into systematic      
physics1 let all the experiments be     
connected by some kind of dependence by 
which the child can arrange them in his 

mind and recall them at need4  ,for we  
cannot without something of this sort   
retain isolated facts or even reasonings
 long in memory4  ,in investigating the 
laws of nature1 always begin with the   
most common and most easily observed    
phenomena1 and accustom your pupil not  
to consider these phenomena as reasons1 
but as facts4  ,taking a stone1 ,i      
pretend to lay it upon the air2 opening 
my hand1 the stone falls4 ,looking at   
mile1 who is watching my motions1 ,i say
 to him1 ,why did the stone fall8  ,no  
child will hesitate in answering such a 
question1 not even mile1 unless ,i have 
taken great care that he shall not know 
how4  ,any child will say that the stone
 falls because it is heavy4  ,and what  
does heavy mean8  ,whatever falls is    
heavy4  ,here my little philosopher is  
really at a stand4  ,whether this first 
lesson in experimental physics aids him 
in understanding that subject or not1 it
 will always be a practical lesson4     
,nothing to be ,taken upon ,authority4  

,learning from the ,pupil's own         
,necessities4  ,as the child's          
understanding matures1 other important  
considerations demand that we choose his
 occupations with more care4  ,as soon  
as he understands himself and all that  
relates to him well enough and broadly  
enough to discern what is to his        
advantage and what is becoming in him1  
he can appreciate the difference between
 work and play1 and to regard the one   
solely as relaxation from the other4    
,objects really useful may then be      
included among his studies1 and he will 
pay more attention to them than if      
amusement alone were concerned4  ,the   
ever-present law of necessity early     
teaches us to do what we dislike1 to    
escape evils we should dislike even     
more4  ,such is the use of foresight    
from which1 judicious or injudicious1   
springs all the wisdom or all the       
unhappiness of mankind4  ,we all long   
for happiness1 but to acquire it we     
ought first to know what it is4  ,to the

 natural man it is as simple as his mode
 of life2 it means health1 liberty1 and 
the necessaries of life1 and freedom    
from suffering4  ,the happiness of man  
as a moral being is another thing1      
foreign to the present question4  ,i    
cannot too often repeat that only       
objects purely physical can interest    
children1 especially those who have not 
had their vanity aroused and their      
nature corrupted by the poison of       
opinion4  ,when they provide beforehand 
for their own wants1 their understanding
 is somewhat developed1 and they are    
beginning to learn the value of time4   
,we ought then by all means to accustom 
and to direct them to its employment to 
useful ends1 these being such as are    
useful at their age and readily         
understood by them4  ,the subject of    
moral order and the usages of society   
should not yet be presented1 because    
children are not in a condition to      
understand such things4  ,to force their
 attention upon things which1 as we     

vaguely tell them1 will be for their    
good1 when they do not know what this   
good means1 is foolish4  ,it is no less 
foolish to assure them that such things 
will benefit them when grown2 for they  
take no interest in this supposed       
benefit1 which they cannot understand4  
,let the child take nothing for granted 
because some one says it is so4 ,nothing
 is good to him but what he feels to be 
good4  ,you think it far sighted to push
 him beyond his understanding of things1
 but you are mistaken4  ,for the sake of
 arming him with weapons he does not    
know how to use1 you take from him one  
universal among men1 common sense3 you  
teach him to allow himself always to be 
led1 never to be more than a machine in 
the hands of others4  ,if you will have 
him docile while he is young1 you will  
make him a credulous dupe when he is a  
man4  ,you are continually saying to    
him1 ,all ,i require of you is for your 
own good1 but you cannot understand it  
yet4  ,what does it matter to me whether

 you do what ,i require or not8  ,you   
are doing it entirely for your own sake4
  ,with such fine speeches you are      
paving the way for some kind of         
trickster or fool1--some visionary      
babbler or charlatan1--who will entrap  
him or persuade him to adopt his own    
folly4  ,a man may be well acquainted   
with things whose utility a child cannot
 comprehend2 but is it right1 or even   
possible1 for a child to learn what a   
man ought to know8  ,try to teach the   
child all that is useful to him now1 and
 you will keep him busy all the time4   
,why would you injure the studies       
suitable to him at his age by giving him
 those of an age he may never attain8   
,but1 you say1 will there be time for   
learning what he ought to know when the 
time to use it has already come8  ,i do 
not know2 but ,i am sure that he cannot 
learn it sooner4  ,for experience and   
feeling are our real teachers1 and we   
never understand thoroughly what is best
 for us except from the circumstances of

 our case4  ,a child knows that he will 
one day be a man4  ,all the ideas of    
manhood that he can understand give us  
opportunities of teaching him2 but of   
those he cannot understand he should    
remain in absolute ignorance4  ,this    
entire book is only a continued         
demonstration of this principle of      
education4   ,finding out the ,east4    
,the ,forest of ,montmorency4  ,i do not
 like explanatory lectures2 young people
 pay very little attention to them1 and 
seldom remember them4  ,things6 things6 
,i cannot repeat often enough that we   
attach too much importance to words4    
,our babbling education produces nothing
 but babblers4  ,suppose that while we  
are studying the course of the sun1 and 
the manner of finding where the east is1
 mile all at once interrupts me1 to ask1
 ,what is the use of all this8  ,what an
 opportunity for a fine discourse6  ,how
 many things ,i could tell him of in    
answering this question1 especially if  
anybody were by to listen6  ,i could    

mention the advantages of travel and of 
commerce2 the peculiar products of each 
climate2 the manners of different       
nations2 the use of the calendar2 the   
calculation of seasons in agriculture2  
the art of navigation1 and the manner of
 travelling by sea1 following the true  
course without knowing where we are4  ,i
 might take up politics1 natural        
history1 astronomy1 even ethics and     
international law1 by way of giving my  
pupil an exalted idea of all these      
sciences1 and a strong desire to learn  
them4  ,when ,i have done1 the boy will 
not have understood a single idea out of
 all my pedantic display4  ,he would    
like to ask again1 ,what is the use of  
finding out where the east is8 but dares
 not1 lest ,i might be angry4 ,he finds 
it more to his interest to pretend to   
understand what he has been compelled to
 hear4  ,this is not at all an uncommon 
case in superior education1 so-called4  
,but our mile1 brought up more like a   
rustic1 and carefully taught to think   

very slowly1 will not listen to all     
this4  ,he will run away at the first   
word he does not understand1 and play   
about the room1 leaving me to harangue  
all by myself4  ,let us find a simpler  
way2 this scientific display does him no
 good4  ,we were noticing the position  
of the forest north of ,montmorency1    
when he interrupted me with the eager   
question1 ,what is the use of knowing   
that8  ,you may be right1 said ,i2 we   
must take time to think about it2 and if
 there is really no use in it1 we will  
not try it again1 for we have enough to 
do that is of use4  ,we went at         
something else1 and there was no more   
geography that day4  ,the next morning  
,i proposed a walk before breakfast4    
,nothing could have pleased him better2 
children are always ready to run about1 
and this boy had sturdy legs of his own4
  ,we went into the forest1 and wandered
 over the fields2 we lost ourselves1    
having no idea where we were2 and when  
we intended to go home1 could not find  

our way4  ,time passed2 the heat of the 
day came on2 we were hungry4  ,in vain  
did we hurry about from place to place2 
we found everywhere nothing but woods1  
quarries1 plains1 and not a landmark    
that we knew4  ,heated1 worn out with   
fatigue1 and very hungry1 our running   
about only led us more and more astray4 
,at last we sat down to rest and to     
think the matter over4 mile1 like any   
other child1 did not think about it2 he 
cried4  ,he did not know that we were   
near the gate of ,montmorency1 and that 
only a narrow strip of woodland hid it  
from us4  ,but to him this narrow strip 
of woodland was a whole forest2 one of  
his stature would be lost to sight among
 bushes4  ,after some moments of silence
 ,i said to him1 with a troubled air1   
,my dear mile1 what shall we do to get  
away from here8  ,,mile4  ,in a profuse 
perspiration1 and crying bitterly4 ,i   
don't know4  ,i'm tired4  ,i'm hungry4  
,i'm thirsty4  ,i can't do anything4    
,,jean ,,jacques4  ,do you think ,i am  

better off than you1 or that ,i would   
mind crying too1 if crying would do for 
my breakfast8  ,there is no use in      
crying2 the thing is1 to find our way4  
,let me see your watch2 what time is it8
  ,,mile4  ,it is twelve o'clock1 and ,i
 haven't had my breakfast4  ,,jean      
,,jacques4  ,that is true4  ,it is      
twelve o'clock1 and ,i haven't had my   
breakfast1 either4  ,,mile4  ,oh1 how   
hungry you must be6  ,,jean ,,jacques4  
,the worst of it is that my dinner will 
not come here to find me4  ,twelve      
o'clock8  it was just this time         
yesterday that we noticed where         
,montmorency is4  ,could we see where it
 is just as well from this forest8      
,,mile4  ,yea2 but yesterday we saw the 
forest1 and we cannot see the town from 
this place4  ,,jean ,,jacques4  ,that is
 a pity4  ,i wonder if we could find out
 where it is without seeing it8  ,,mile4
  ,oh1 my dear friend6  ,,jean          
,,jacques4  ,did not we say that this   
forest is--  ,,mile4  ,north of         

,montmorency4  ,,jean ,,jacques4  ,if   
that is true1 ,montmorency must be--    
,,mile4  ,south of the forest4  ,,jean  
,,jacques4  ,there is a way of finding  
out the north at noon4  ,,mile4  ,yes2  
by the direction of our shadows4  ,,jean
 ,,jacques4  ,but the south8  ,,mile4   
,how can we find that8  ,,jean          
,,jacques4  ,the south is opposite the  
north4  ,,mile4  ,that is true2 all we  
have to do is to find the side opposite 
the shadows4  ,oh1 there's the south6   
there's the south6  ,montmorency must   
surely be on that side2 let us look on  
that side4  ,,jean ,,jacques4  ,perhaps 
you are right4  ,let us take this path  
through the forest4  ,,mile4  ,clapping 
his hands1 with a joyful shout4 ,oh1 ,i 
see ,montmorency2 there it is1 just     
before us1 in plain sight4  ,let us go  
to our breakfast1 our dinner2 let us run
 fast4  ,astronomy is good for          
something6  ,observe that even if he    
does not utter these last words1 they   
will be in his mind4  ,it matters little

 so long as it is not ,i who utter them4
 ,rest assured that he will never in his
 life forget this day's lesson4 ,now if 
,i had only made him imagine it all     
indoors1 my lecture would have been     
entirely forgotten by the next day4  ,we
 should teach as much as possible by    
actions1 and say only what we cannot do4
   ,robinson ,crusoe4  ,in his          
legitimate preference for teaching by   
the eye and hand and by real things1 and
 in his aversion to the barren and      
erroneous method of teaching from books 
alone1 ,rousseau1 constantly carried    
away by the passionate ardor of his     
nature1 rushes into an opposite extreme1
 and exclaims1 ,i hate books2 they only 
teach us to talk about what we do not   
understand4  ,then1 checked in the full 
tide of this declamation by his own good
 sense1 he adds3--   ,since we must have
 books1 there is one which1 to my mind1 
furnishes the finest of treatises on    
education according to nature4  ,my mile
 shall read this book before any other2 

it shall for a long time be his entire  
library1 and shall always hold an       
honorable place4  ,it shall be the text 
on which all our discussions of natural 
science shall be only commentaries4  ,it
 shall be a test for all we meet during 
our progress toward a ripened judgment1 
and so long as our taste is unspoiled1  
we shall enjoy reading it4  ,what       
wonderful book is this8  ,aristotle8    
,pliny8  ,buffon8  ,no2 it is ,robinson 
,crusoe4  ,the story of this man1 alone 
on his island1 unaided by his           
fellow-men1 without any art or its      
implements1 and yet providing for his   
own preservation and subsistence1 even  
contriving to live in what might be     
called comfort1 is interesting to       
persons of all ages4  ,it may be made   
delightful to children in a thousand    
ways4  ,thus we make the desert island1 
which ,i used at the outset for a       
comparison1 a reality4  ,this condition 
is not1 ,i grant1 that of man in        
society2 and to all appearance mile will

 never occupy it2 but from it he ought  
to judge of all others4  ,the surest way
 to rise above prejudice1 and to judge  
of things in their true relations1 is to
 put ourselves in the place of an       
isolated man1 and decide as he must     
concerning their real utility4          
,disencumbered of its less profitable   
portions1 this romance from its         
beginning1 the shipwreck of ,crusoe on  
the island1 to its end1 the arrival of  
the vessel which takes him away1 will   
yield amusement and instruction to mile 
during the period now in question4  ,i  
would have him completely carried away  
by it1 continually thinking of ,crusoe's
 fort1 his goats1 and his plantations4  
,i would have him learn1 not from books1
 but from real things1 all he would need
 to know under the same circumstances4  
,he should be encouraged to play        
,robinson ,crusoe2 to imagine himself   
clad in skins1 wearing a great cap and  
sword1 and all the array of that        
grotesque figure1 down to the umbrella1 

of which he would have no need4  ,if he 
happens to be in want of anything1 ,i   
hope he will contrive something to      
supply its place4  ,let him look        
carefully into all that his hero did1   
and decide whether any of it was        
unnecessary1 or might have been done in 
a better way4  ,let him notice ,crusoe's
 mistakes and avoid them under like     
circumstances4  ,he will very likely    
plan for himself surroundings like      
,crusoe's1--a real castle in the air1   
natural at his happy age when we think  
ourselves rich if we are free and have  
the necessaries of life4  ,how useful   
this hobby might be made if some man of 
sense would only suggest it and turn it 
to good account6  ,the child1 eager to  
build a storehouse for his island1 would
 be more desirous to learn than his     
master would be to teach him4  ,he would
 be anxious to know everything he could 
make use of1 and nothing besides4  ,you 
would not need to guide1 but to restrain
 him4   ,here ,rousseau insists upon    

giving a child some trade1 no matter    
what his station in life may be2 and in 
#agfb he uttered these prophetic words1 
remarkable indeed1 when we call to mind 
the disorders at the close of that      
century3--   ,you trust to the present  
condition of society1 without reflecting
 that it is subject to unavoidable      
revolutions1 and that you can neither   
foresee nor prevent what is to affect   
the fate of your own children4 ,the     
great are brought low1 the poor are made
 rich1 the king becomes a subject4  ,are
 the blows of fate so uncommon that you 
can expect to escape them8  ,we are     
approaching a crisis1 the age of        
revolutions4  ,who can tell what will   
become of you then8  ,all that man has  
done man may destroy4  ,no characters   
but those stamped by nature are         
ineffaceable2 and nature did not make   
princes1 or rich men1 or nobles4   ,this
 advice was followed4  ,in the highest  
grades of society it became the fashion 
to learn some handicraft4  ,it is well  

known that ,louis ,,xvi4 was proud of   
his skill as a locksmith4  ,among the   
exiles of a later period1 many owed     
their living to the trade they had thus 
learned4  ,to return to mile3 ,rousseau 
selects for him the trade of a joiner1  
and goes so far as to employ him and his
 tutor in that kind of labor for one or 
more days of every week under a master  
who pays them actual wages for their    
work4   ,judging from ,appearances4     
,the ,broken ,stick4  ,if ,i have thus  
far made myself understood1 you may see 
how1 with regular physical exercise and 
manual labor1 ,i am at the same time    
giving my pupil a taste for reflection  
and meditation4  ,this will             
counterbalance the indolence which might
 result from his indifference to other  
men and from the dormant state of his   
passions4  ,he must work like a peasant 
and think like a philosopher1 or he will
 be as idle as a savage4  ,the great    
secret of education is to make physical 
and mental exercises serve as relaxation

 for each other4  ,at first our pupil   
had nothing but sensations1 and now he  
has ideas4  ,then he only perceived1 but
 now he judges4  ,for from comparison of
 many successive or simultaneous        
sensations1 with the judgments based on 
them1 arises a kind of mixed or complex 
sensation which ,i call an idea4  ,the  
different manner in which ideas are     
formed gives each mind its peculiar     
character4  ,a mind is solid if it shape
 its ideas according to the true        
relations of things2 superficial1 if    
content with their apparent relations2  
accurate1 if it behold things as they   
really are2 unsound1 if it understand   
them incorrectly2 disordered1 if it     
fabricate imaginary relations1 neither  
apparent nor real2 imbecile1 if it do   
not compare ideas at all4  ,greater or  
less mental power in different men      
consists in their greater or less       
readiness in comparing ideas and        
discovering their relations4  ,from     
simple as well as complex sensations1 we

 form judgments which ,i will call      
simple ideas4  ,in a sensation the      
judgment is wholly passive1 only        
affirming that we feel what we feel4    
,in a preception or idea1 the judgment  
is active2 it brings together1 compares1
 and determines relations not determined
 by the senses4  ,this is the only point
 of difference1 but it is important4    
,nature never deceives us2 it is always 
we who deceive ourselves4  ,i see a     
child eight years old helped to some    
frozen custard4  ,without knowing what  
it is1 he puts a spoonful in his mouth1 
and feeling the cold sensation1         
exclaims1 ,ah1 that burns6  ,he feels a 
keen sensation2 he knows of none more so
 than heat1 and thinks that is what he  
now feels4  ,he is of course mistaken2  
the chill is painful1 but does not burn 
him2 and the two sensations are not     
alike1 since1 after encountering both1  
we never mistake one for the other4  ,it
 is not1 therefore1 the sensation which 
misleads him1 but the judgment based on 

it4  ,it is the same when any one sees  
for the first time a mirror or optical  
apparatus2 or enters a deep cellar in   
mid-winter or midsummer2 or plunges his 
hand1 either very warm or very cold1    
into tepid water2 or rolls a little ball
 between two of his fingers held        
crosswise4  ,if he is satisfied with    
describing what he perceives or feels1  
keeping his judgment in abeyance1 he    
cannot be mistaken4  ,but when he       
decides upon appearances1 his judgment  
is active2 it compares1 and infers      
relations it does not perceive2 and it  
may then be mistaken4  ,he will need    
experience to prevent or correct such   
mistakes4  ,show your pupil clouds      
passing over the moon at night1 and he  
will think that the moon is moving in an
 opposite direction1 and that the clouds
 are at rest4  ,he will the more readily
 infer that this is the case1 because he
 usually sees small objects1 not large  
ones1 in motion1 and because the clouds 
seem to him larger than the moon1 of    

whose distance he has no idea4 ,when    
from a moving boat he sees the shore at 
a little distance1 he makes the contrary
 mistake of thinking that the earth     
moves4  ,for1 unconscious of his own    
motion1 the boat1 the water1 and the    
entire horizon seem to him one immovable
 whole of which the moving shore is only
 one part4  ,the first time a child sees
 a stick half immersed in water1 it     
seems to be broken4  ,the sensation is a
 true one1 and would be1 even if we did 
not know the reason for this appearance4
  ,if therefore you ask him what he     
sees1 he answers truly1 ,a broken stick1
 because he is fully conscious of the   
sensation of a broken stick4  ,but when1
 deceived by his judgment1 he goes      
farther1 and after saying that he sees a
 broken stick1 he says again that the   
stick really is broken1 he says what is 
not true2 and why8  ,because his        
judgment becomes active2 he decides no  
longer from observation1 but from       
inference1 when he declares as a fact   

what he does not actually perceive2     
namely1 that touch would confirm the    
judgment based upon sight alone4  ,the  
best way of learning to judge correctly 
is the one which tends to simplify our  
experience1 and enables us to make no   
mistakes even when we dispense with     
experience altogether4  ,it follows from
 this that after having long verified   
the testimony of one sense by that of   
another1 we must further learn to verify
 the testimony of each sense by itself  
without appeal to any other4  ,then each
 sensation at once becomes an idea1 and 
an idea in accordance with the truth4   
,with such acquisitions ,i have         
endeavored to store this third period of
 human life4  ,to follow this plan      
requires a patience and a circumspection
 of which few teachers are capable1 and 
without which a pupil will never learn  
to judge correctly4  ,for example3 if1  
when he is misled by the appearance of a
 broken stick1 you endeavor to show him 
his mistake by taking the stick quickly 

out of the water1 you may perhaps       
undeceive him1 but what will you teach  
him8  ,nothing he might not have learned
 for himself4 ,you ought not thus to    
teach him one detached truth1 instead of
 showing him how he may always discover 
for himself any truth4  ,if you really  
mean to teach him1 do not at once       
undeceive him4  ,let mile and myself    
serve you for example4  ,in the first   
place1 any child educated in the        
ordinary way would1 to the second of the
 two questions above mentioned1 answer1 
,of course the stick is broken4  ,i     
doubt whether mile would give this      
answer4 ,seeing no need of being learned
 or of appearing learned1 he never      
judges hastily1 but only from evidence4 
,knowing how easily appearances deceive 
us1 as in the case of perspective1 he is
 far from finding the evidence in the   
present case sufficient4  ,besides1     
knowing from experience that my most    
trivial question always has an object   
which he does not at once discover1 he  

is not in the habit of giving heedless  
answers4  ,on the contrary1 he is on his
 guard and attentive2 he looks into the 
matter very carefully before replying4  
,he never gives me an answer with which 
he is not himself satisfied1 and he is  
not easily satisfied4  ,moreover1 he and
 ,i do not pride ourselves on knowing   
facts exactly1 but only on making few   
mistakes4  ,we should be much more      
disconcerted if we found ourselves      
satisfied with an insufficient reason   
than if we had discovered none at all4  
,the confession1 ,i do not know1 suits  
us both so well1 and we repeat it so    
often1 that it costs neither of us      
anything4  ,but whether for this once he
 is careless1 or avoids the difficulty  
by a convenient ,i do not know1 my      
answer is the same3 ,let us see2 let us 
find out4  ,the stick1 half-way in the  
water1 is fixed in a vertical position4 
,to find out whether it is broken1 as it
 appears to be1 how much we must do     
before we take it out of the water1 or  

even touch it6  ,first1 we go entirely  
round it1 and observe that the fracture 
goes around with us4 ,it is our eye     
alone1 then1 that changes it2 and a     
glance cannot move things from place to 
place4  ,secondly1 we look directly down
 the stick1 from the end outside of the 
water2 then the stick is no longer bent1
 because the end next our eye exactly   
hides the other end from us4  ,has our  
eye straightened the stick8  ,thirdly1  
we stir the surface of the water1 and   
see the stick bend itself into several  
curves1 move in a zig-zag direction1 and
 follow the undulations of the water4   
,has the motion we gave the water been  
enough thus to break1 to soften1 and to 
melt the stick8  ,fourth1 we draw off   
the water and see the stick straighten  
itself as fast as the water is lowered4 
,is not this more than enough to        
illustrate the fact and to find out the 
refraction8  ,it is not then true that  
the eye deceives us1 since by its aid   
alone we can correct the mistakes we    

ascribe to it4  ,suppose the child so   
dull as not to understand the result of 
these experiments4  ,then we must call  
touch to the aid of sight4  ,instead of 
taking the stick out of the water1 leave
 it there1 and let him pass his hand    
from one end of it to the other4  ,he   
will feel no angle2 the stick1          
therefore1 is not broken4  ,you will    
tell me that these are not only         
judgments but formal reasonings4  ,true2
 but do you not see that1 as soon as the
 mind has attained to ideas1 all        
judgment is reasoning8  ,the            
consciousness of any sensation is a     
proposition1 a judgment4  ,as soon1     
therefore1 as we compare one sensation  
with another1 we reason4  ,the art of   
judging and the art of reasoning are    
precisely the same4  ,if1 from the      
lesson of this stick1 mile does not     
understand the idea of refraction1 he   
will never understand it at all4  ,he   
shall never dissect insects1 or count   
the spots on the sun2 he shall not even 

know what a microscope or a telescope   
is4  ,your learned pupils will laugh at 
his ignorance1 and will not be very far 
wrong4  ,for before he uses these       
instruments1 ,i intend he shall invent  
them2 and you may well suppose that this
 will not be soon done4  ,this shall be 
the spirit of all my methods of teaching
 during this period4  ,if the child     
rolls a bullet between two crossed      
fingers1 ,i will not let him look at it 
till he is otherwise convinced that     
there is only one bullet there4         
,result4  ,the ,pupil at the ,age of    
,fifteen4  ,i think these explanations  
will suffice to mark distinctly the     
advance my pupil's mind has hitherto    
made1 and the route by which he has     
advanced4  ,you are probably alarmed at 
the number of subjects ,i have brought  
to his notice4  ,you are afraid ,i will 
overwhelm his mind with all this        
knowledge4  ,but ,i teach him rather not
 to know them than to know them4  ,i am 
showing him a path to knowledge not     

indeed difficult1 but without limit1    
slowly measured1 long1 or rather        
endless1 and tedious to follow4  ,i am  
showing him how to take the first steps1
 so that he may know its beginning1 but 
allow him to go no farther4  ,obliged to
 learn by his own effort1 he employs his
 own reason1 not that of another4  ,most
 of our mistakes arise less within      
ourselves than from others2 so that if  
he is not to be ruled by opinion1 he    
must receive nothing upon authority4    
,such continual exercise must invigorate
 the mind as labor and fatigue          
strengthen the body4  ,the mind as well 
as the body can bear only what its      
strength will allow4  ,when the         
understanding fully masters a thing     
before intrusting it to the memory1 what
 it afterward draws therefrom is in     
reality its own4  ,but if instead we    
load the memory with matters the        
understanding has not mastered1 we run  
the risk of never finding there anything
 that belongs to it4  mile has little   

knowledge1 but it is really his own2 he 
knows nothing by halves2 and the most   
important fact is that he does not now  
know things he will one day know2 that  
many things known to other people he    
never will know2 and that there is an   
infinity of things which neither he nor 
any one else ever will know4  ,he is    
prepared for knowledge of every kind2   
not because he has so much1 but because 
he knows how to acquire it2 his mind is 
open to it1 and1 as ,montaigne says1 if 
not taught1 he is at least teachable4   
,i shall be satisfied if he knows how to
 find out the wherefore of everything he
 knows and the why of everything he     
believes4  ,i repeat that my object is  
not to give him knowledge1 but to teach 
him how to acquire it at need2 to       
estimate it at its true value1 and above
 all things1 to love the truth4  ,by    
this method we advance slowly1 but take 
no useless steps1 and are not obliged to
 retrace a single one4  mile understands
 only the natural and purely physical   

sciences4  ,he does not even know the   
name of history1 or the meaning of      
metaphysics and ethics4  ,he knows the  
essential relations between men and     
things1 but nothing of the moral        
relations between man and man4  ,he does
 not readily generalize or conceive of  
abstractions4  ,he observes the         
qualities common to certain bodies      
without reasoning about the qualities   
themselves4  ,with the aid of geometric 
figures and algebraic signs1 he knows   
something of extension and quantity4    
,upon these figures and signs his senses
 rest their knowledge of the            
abstractions just named4  ,he makes no  
attempt to learn the nature of things1  
but only such of their relations as     
concern himself4  ,he estimates external
 things only by their relation to him2  
but this estimate is exact and positive1
 and in it fancies and conventionalities
 have no share4  ,he values most those  
things that are most useful to him2 and 
never deviating from this standard1 is  

not influenced by general opinion4  mile
 is industrious1 temperate1 patient1    
steadfast1 and full of courage4  ,his   
imagination1 never aroused1 does not    
exaggerate dangers4 ,he feels few       
discomforts1 and can bear pain with     
fortitude1 because he has never learned 
to contend with fate4  ,he does not yet 
know exactly what death is1 but1        
accustomed to yield to the law of       
necessity1 he will die when he must1    
without a groan or a struggle4  ,nature 
can do no more at that moment abhorred  
by all4  ,to live free and to have      
little to do with human affairs is the  
best way of learning how to die4  ,in a 
word1 mile has every virtue which       
affects himself4  ,to have the social   
virtues as well1 he only needs to know  
the relations which make them necessary2
 and this knowledge his mind is ready to
 receive4  ,he considers himself        
independently of others1 and is         
satisfied when others do not think of   
him at all4  ,he exacts nothing from    

others1 and never thinks of owing       
anything to them4  ,he is alone in human
 society1 and depends solely upon       
himself4  ,he has the best right of all 
to be independent1 for he is all that   
any one can be at his age4  ,he has no  
errors but such as a human being must   
have2 no vices but those from which no  
one can warrant himself exempt4  ,he has
 a sound constitution1 active limbs1 a  
fair and unprejudiced mind1 a heart free
 and without passions4  ,self-love1 the 
first and most natural of all1 has      
scarcely manifested itself at all4      
,without disturbing any one's peace of  
mind he has led a happy1 contented life1
 as free as nature will allow4  ,do you 
think a youth who has thus attained his 
fifteenth year has lost the years that  
have gone before8    #a ,this might be  
carried too far1 and is to be admitted  
with some reservations4  ,ignorance is  
never alone2 its companions are always  
error and presumption4  ,no one is so   
certain that he knows1 as he who knows  

nothing2 and prejudice of all kinds is  
the form in which our ignorance is      
clothed4  #b ,the armillary sphere is a 
group of pasteboard or copper circles1  
to illustrate the orbits of the planets1
 and their position in relation to the  
earth1 which is represented by a small  
wooden ball4  #c ,the imaginary circles 
traced on the celestial sphere1 and     
figured in the armillary sphere by      
metallic circles1 are called culures4   
#d ,rousseau here informs his readers   
that even these reproaches are expected1
 he having dictated them beforehand to  
the mountebank2 all this scene has been 
arranged to deceive the child4  ,what a 
refinement of artifice in this          
passionate lover of the natural6