,illustration3 ,,ellen ,,key ,from a    
photograph     ,the ,century of the     
,child  ,by  ,ellen ,key  ,g4 ,p4       
,putnam's ,sons ,new ,york and ,london  
,the ,knickerbocker ,press              
,,copyright1 #aiji ,,by ,g4 ,p4         
,,putnam',s ,,sons  ,published1         
,february1 #aiji ,reprinted1 ,december1 
#aiji  ,the ,knickerbocker ,press1 ,new 
,york     ,,publishers' ,,note   ,the   
present translation is from the ,german 
version of ,frances ,maro1 which was    
revised by the author herself4          
,,contents   ,,chapter                  
,,page    ,i4 ,,the ,,right ,,of ,,the  
,,child ,,to ,,choose ,,his ,,parents   
#a    ,,ii4 ,,the ,,unborn ,,race ,,and 
,,woman',s ,,work               #fc     
,,iii4 ,,education                      
#ajf    ,,iv4 ,,homelessness            
#aia     ,v4 ,,soul ,,murder ,,in ,,the 
,,schools                    #bjc       
,,vi4 ,,the ,,school ,,of ,,the ,,future
                      #bcc   ,,vii4     
,,religious ,,instruction               

#bhd  ,,viii4 ,,child ,,labour ,,and    
,,the ,,crimes ,,of ,,children          
#caf     ,the ,century of the ,child    
,,chapter ,i  ,,the ,,right ,,of ,,the  
,,child ,,to ,,choose ,,his ,,parents   
,filled with sad memories or eager      
hopes1 people waited for the turn of the
 century1 and as the clock struck       
twelve1 felt innumerable undefined      
forebodings4 ,they felt that the new    
century would certainly give them only  
one thing1 peace4 ,they felt that those 
who are labouring to-day would witness  
no new development in that process of   
change to which they had consciously or 
unconsciously contributed their quota4  
,the events at the turn of the century  
caused the new century to be represented
 as a small naked child1 descending upon
 the earth1 but drawing himself back in 
terror at the sight of a world bristling
 with weapons1 a world in which for the 
opening century there was not an inch of
 free ground to set one's foot upon4    
,many people thought over the           

significance of this picture2 they      
thought how in economic and in actual   
warfare all the lower passions of man   
were still aroused2 how despite all the 
tremendous development of civilisation  
in the century just passed1 man had not 
yet succeeded in giving to the struggle 
for existence nobler forms4 ,certainly  
to the question why this still is so1   
very different answers were given4 ,some
 contented themselves with declaring1   
after consideration1 that things must   
remain just as they are1 since human    
nature remains the same2 that hunger1   
the propagation of the race1 the desire 
for gold and power1 will always control 
the course of the world4 ,others again  
were convinced that if the teaching     
which has tried in vain for nineteen    
hundred years to transform the course of
 the world could one day become a living
 reality in the souls of men1 swords    
would be turned into pruning hooks4  ,my
 conviction is just the opposite4 ,it is
 that nothing will be different in the  

mass except in so far as human nature   
itself is transformed1 and that this    
transformation will take place1 not when
 the whole of humanity becomes          
,christian1 but when the whole of       
humanity awakens to the consciousness of
 the holiness of generation4 ,this      
consciousness will make the central work
 of society the new race1 its origin1   
its management1 and its education2 about
 these all morals1 all laws1 all social 
arrangements will be grouped4 ,this will
 form the point of view from which all  
other questions will be judged1 all     
other regulations made4 ,up to now we   
have only heard in academic speeches and
 in pedagogical essays that the training
 of youth is the highest function of a  
nation4 ,in reality1 in the family1 in  
the school1 and in the state1 quite     
other standards are put in the          
foreground4  ,the new view of the       
holiness of generation will not be held 
by mankind until it has seriously       
abandoned the ,christian point of view  

and taken the view1 born thousands of   
years ago1 whose victory has been first 
foreshadowed in the century just        
completed4  ,the thought of development 
not only throws light on the course of  
the world that lies behind us1 continued
 through millions of years1 with its    
final and highest point in man2 it      
throws light1 too1 on the way we have to
 travel over2 it shows us that we       
physically and psychically are ever in  
the process of becoming4 ,while earlier 
days regarded man as a fixed phenomenon1
 in his physical and psychical          
relations1 with qualities that might be 
perfected but could not be transformed1 
it is now known that he can re-create   
himself4 ,instead of a fallen man1 we   
see an incompleted man1 out of whom1 by 
infinite modifications in an infinite   
space of time1 a new being can come into
 existence4 ,almost every day brings new
 information about hitherto unsuspected 
possibilities2 tells us of power        
extended physically or psychically4 ,we 

hear of a closer reciprocal action      
between the external and internal world2
 of the mastery over disease1 of the    
prolongation of life and youth2 of      
increased insight into the laws of      
physical and psychical origins4 ,people 
even speak of giving incurable blind men
 a new kind of capacity of sight1 of    
being able to call back to life the     
dead2 all this and much else which it   
must be allowed still belongs simply to 
the region of hypothesis1 to what       
psychical and physical investigators    
reckon among possibilities4 ,but there  
are enough great results analysed       
already to show that the transformations
 made by man before he became a human   
being are far from being the last word  
of his genesis4 ,he who declares to-day 
that human nature always remains the    
same1 that is1 remains just as it did in
 those petty thousands of years in which
 our race became conscious of itself1   
shows in making this statement that he  
stands on the same level of reflection  

as an ichthyosaurus of the ,jura period1
 that apparently had not even an        
intimation of man as a possibility of   
the future4  ,but he who knows that man 
has become what he now is under constant
 transformations1 recognises the        
possibility of so influencing his future
 development that a higher type of man  
will be produced4 ,the human will is    
found to be a decisive factor in the    
production of the higher types in the   
world of animal and plant life4 ,with   
what concerns our own race1 the         
improvement of the type of man1 the     
ennobling of the human race1 the        
accidental still prevails in both       
exalted and lower forms4 ,but           
civilisation should make man conscious  
of an end and responsible in all these  
spheres where up to the present he has  
acted only by impulse1 without          
responsibility4 ,in no respect has      
culture remained more backward than in  
those things which are decisive for the 
formation of a new and higher race of   

mankind4  ,it will take the thorough    
influence of the scientific view of     
humanity to restore the full nave       
conviction1 belonging to the ancient    
world1 of the significance of the body4 
,in the later period of antiquity1 in   
,socrates and ,plato1 the soul began to 
look down upon the body4 ,the           
,renaissance tried to reconcile the two 
but the effort was unfortunately not    
serious enough4 ,boldness it did not    
lack1 but its effort was not successful 
in carrying out a task which ,goethe    
himself said must be approached both    
with boldness and with serious purpose4 
,only now that we know how soul and body
 together build up or undermine one     
another1 people are beginning to demand 
again a second higher innocence in      
relation to the holiness and the rights 
of the body4  ,a ,danish writer has     
shown how the ,mosaic ,seventh          
,commandment sinks back into nothing1 as
 soon as one sees that marriage is only 
an accidental social form for the living

 together of two people1 while the      
ethically decisive factor is the way    
they live together4 ,in morality there  
is taking place a general displacement  
from objective laws of direction and    
compulsion to the subjective basis from 
which actions proceed4 ,ethics become an
 ethic of character1 a matter dealing   
with the constitution of the            
temperament4 ,we demand1 we forgive1 or 
we judge according to the inner         
constitution of the individual2 we do   
not readily call an action immoral which
 only in an external point of view does 
not harmonise with the law or is opposed
 to the law4 ,in each particular case we
 decide according to the inner          
circumstances of the individual4        
,applying this point of view to         
marriage1 we find in the first place    
that this form offers no guarantee that 
the proper disposition towards the      
relation of the two sexes is present4   
,this can exist as well outside of as   
within marriage4 ,many noble and earnest

 human beings prefer for their relation 
the freer form as the more moral one4   
,but as the result of this1 the         
significance of the ,seventh            
,commandment is altered1 that states    
explicitly that every relationship of   
sex outside of marriage is immoral4     
,people have commenced already to       
experiment with unions outside of       
marriage4 ,people are looking for new   
forms for the common life between man   
and woman4 ,the whole problem is being  
made the subject of debate4  ,in this   
respect humanity occupies a field of    
discovery4 ,people are seeing more and  
more what a complicated subject the     
whole relation of sex is1 how full it is
 of dangers to the happiness of man4    
,new observations are being constantly  
made both in regard to the significance 
of this relation for individuals and for
 posterity4 ,to bring light gradually   
into this chaos is supremely important  
for humanity1 and literature should     
therefore have the greatest possible    

freedom in this sphere1--just the       
opposite to the tendencies of the       
present day that would limit this       
freedom4 ,while ,i fully agree with what
 has been said ,i should like to state  
that the greatest obstacle to the free  
discussion of this theme is still the   
,christian way of looking at the origin 
and nature of man4 ,his only possible   
escape from the results of the fall is  
made to consist in his belief in        
,christ2 for with this point of view1   
there came into ,western ,europe1 by    
means of ,christianity1 the opinion that
 everything concerning the continuation 
of the race was impure2 to be suppressed
 if possible1 and if this could not be  
done1 that it must at least be veiled in
 silence and obscurity4 ,for            
,christianity1 eternal life1 not life in
 the world1 is ever the significant     
factor4 ,the dualism of existence it    
tries in the first place to remove by   
asceticism1 not by attempting to ennoble
 the life of human impulses4 ,this      

standpoint still continues to be popular
 in our days1 as is shown in its        
victories through legislation directed  
against the nude in art and in          
literature4  ,the ,christian way of     
looking at the relation of the sexes as 
something ignoble1 alone capable of     
being made holy by indissoluble         
marriage1 has had great direct influence
 on man's development during a certain  
period of time4 ,it has caused progress 
in self-mastery1 which has elevated the 
life of the soul4 ,modesty1 domesticity1
 sincerity1 have been promoted by it2   
these along with innumerable other      
influences have developed the impulse to
 love4 ,if these emotions disappeared   
from love1 it would not be human1 but   
only animal4  ,but allowing that the    
individual love between every new pair  
of human beings always requires         
seclusion and reserve2 allowing too that
 personal modesty always remains an     
achievement wrought by mankind1         
differentiating man from the animal     

world1 it is still true that this kind  
of spirituality1 which passes over in   
silence and shame all the serious       
questions connected with this subject1  
or treats them as occasions for         
ambiguities calling forth joking and    
blushes1 must be rooted out4  ,each one 
from earliest childhood should on every 
question asked about this subject       
receive honest answers1 suitable for the
 especial stage of his development4 ,one
 should be in this way completely       
enlightened about one's own nature as   
man or woman1 and so acquire a deep     
feeling of responsibility in relation to
 one's future duty as man or woman4 ,one
 should be trained in habits of earnest 
thought and earnest speaking on this    
subject4 ,in this way alone can there   
come into existence a higher type of sex
 with a higher type of morality4  ,but  
at the time when ,bjoernsen in ,thomas  
,rendelen brought up the question of    
training youth to purity through        
intelligence of nature's laws1 ,i       

objected to his book on the ground that 
like the purity sermons of ,christianity
 his efforts were rather directed to the
 mastery of natural impulses than       
towards their ennoblement4 ,i showed    
that ,bjoernsen certainly brought up two
 new points of view1 that of bodily     
health1 and that of the ennobling of    
sex4 ,he did not1 as ,christianity does1
 stress the spiritual and personal side 
of the question4 ,these new points of   
view of his were significant1 because   
they united the just egoism of the      
individual with the combining altruism  
produced by the feeling of solidarity4  
,the great purpose of ,bjoernsen's book 
was to transform inherited              
characteristics as they are related to  
man's attitude towards morality4 ,so he 
proposed to create a sound and happy new
 generation1 in which the sufferings of 
present day sexual discord should be    
brought to an end4 ,for this purpose he 
wished the collaboration of the schools4
 ,they were to communicate the knowledge

 of human beings as members of sex1 and 
to instruct their scholars how1 as human
 beings1 they should protect themselves 
and their posterity4  ,i objected at    
that time to this plan1 showing that the
 school was not the place to lay the    
foundation for such knowledge4 ,it      
should be slowly and carefully          
communicated by the mother herself2 the 
school should only give a theoretical   
basis4 ,more defective still1 ,i found  
the question of chastity handled        
essentially and solely as a question of 
bodily purity1 as a negative not a      
positive ideal4 ,i maintain that only   
erotic idealism could awaken enthusiasm 
for chastity4 ,the basis for such       
idealism must be found in stories1      
history1 and belles-lettres4            
,information derived from physiology is1
 in this respect1 very inadequate1      
unless the imagination and the feeling  
are moved in the same direction4        
,neither imagination nor feeling can be 
helped by natural science and bodily    

exercises alone1 and just as little by  
,christian religious instruction4  ,no1 
we must on the basis of natural science 
attain1 in a newer and nobler form1 the 
whole antique love for bodily strength  
and beauty1 the whole antique reverence 
for the divine character of the         
continuation of the race1 combined with 
the whole modern consciousness of the   
soulful happiness of ideal love4 ,only  
so can the demand for real chastity save
 mankind from the torments which sexual 
divisions and degradations now bring    
with them4 ,it is profoundly significant
 that in the world of the past1 divinity
 was associated with woman on the ground
 of observations concerning the         
continuation of the race2 while in      
,christianity1 woman became divine as   
the ,virgin ,mother4 ,through heathen   
and ,christian thought1 reunited and    
ennobled1 the woman will receive a new  
reference for herself as a sexual being4
 ,antique and modern love1 the love of  
the senses and the love of soul1 will1  

united and ennobled1 induce human       
beings1 men and women alike1 to adore   
again ,eros the ,all-powerful4  ,to     
diminish the significance of love1 to   
oppose it as a lowering sensualism1 does
 not mean the elevation of mankind2 it  
means1 on the other hand1 working for   
its debasement4 ,for as lowering as     
sexual life would be if it were         
continued in man accompanied by a       
feeling of shame as a characteristic of 
animal life1 it would be just the same  
if it were regarded as a degrading duty1
 reluctantly carried out for the        
preservation of the species4  ,antiquity
 stood higher than the present day1 for 
example when ,lycurgus' laws asserted   
that a people's strength lies in the    
breast of blooming womanhood4           
,accordingly in ,sparta1 the physical   
development of the woman was watched    
over as well as of the man1 and the age 
of marriage was determined with         
reference to a healthy offspring4       
,higher1 too1 stood ,judaism in relation

 to the conception of the seriousness of
 bearing children4 ,this conviction     
expressed itself in the strictest       
hygienic legislation known to history4  
,jewish1 like other ,oriental           
legislation1 depended1 in relation to   
sexual morality as in relation to diet1 
on sharp-sighted observations of natural
 law and disease4 ,the foundation to a  
new ethic in these questions cannot be  
laid1 until men begin with ,old         
,testament shrewdness and ,old          
,testament seriousness to handle the    
life questions which the idealism of    
,christianity has indeed spiritualised  
but at the same time debased4  ,this new
 ethic will call no other common living 
of man and woman immoral1 except that   
which gives occasion to a weak          
offspring1 and produces bad conditions  
for the development of their offspring4 
,the ,ten ,commandments on this subject 
will not be prescribed by the founders  
of religion1 but by scientists4  ,up to 
the present day1 partly as a result of a

 perverted modesty in such things1      
science has only been able to offer     
incomplete observations on the physical 
and psychical conditions for the        
improvement of the human type in its    
actual genesis4  ,ontogeny is really a  
new science in our century1 introduced  
by ,von ,leeuwenhock1 de ,graaf1 and    
others4 ,it was founded in #ahbg1 by von
 ,baer4 ,the differences of opinion and 
the discovery of different theories are 
very far from being ended4 ,purely      
scientific points of view are being     
combined with social1 physiological1 or 
ethical ones4 ,it is maintained that by 
changing the diet of the mother the sex 
of the child can be determined4         
,attempts have been made to show that   
about three fifths of all men of genius 
were first-born children4  ,people are  
studying what influence the age of      
parents has on the child2 extreme youth 
of parents seems unfavourable for the   
offspring as well as extreme age4 ,the  
first child of a too youthful mother is 

often weak1 and besides ordinarily the  
joys of motherhood are not desired1     
because she feels that physically and   
psychically a child is too great a      
burden to her1 who herself is only a    
child4 ,the conditions of a strong1     
well-nourished offspring require the    
postponement of the marriage age for    
women4 ,in northern countries it should 
be established1 if not by law at least  
by custom1 at about twenty years4 ,this 
is all the more necessary because then  
the young woman can have behind her some
 years of careless youthful joy1 an     
undisturbed self-development1 and will  
also have reached the physical          
development necessary for motherhood4   
,while twenty years should be regarded  
as the earliest period of marriage it   
should actually be often postponed some 
years still for the well-being of the   
woman1 the man1 and the children1 and   
married life as a whole1 in which most  
conflicts arise because women have      
decided about their fate before their   

personality was definitely formed1      
before their heart was able to find its 
choice4 ,the love of the man chooses and
 the young girl often confuses the      
happiness of being loved with the       
happiness of loving1 an experience which
 later on is gone through in a tragic   
way4 ,to the many questions which are   
related to heredity and natural         
selection1 belongs one which notices the
 significance of nature's purpose to    
cause strong opposites to exert upon one
 another the strongest attraction4 ,this
 attraction often during married life   
changes into antipathy2 it almost       
results in impatience against the       
characteristics which originally had so 
deep an attraction4 ,nature in this case
 seems to wish to reach its end with the
 greatest lack of consideration for the 
happiness of the individual4 ,so often  
the contradictions of parents seem      
really to be moulded in full in the     
child4 ,occasionally these              
contradictions are expressed as a deep  

discord1 but in both cases there often  
arises an exceptional being4 ,to attain 
correct results in this case1 belongs to
 the numerous still open possibilities4 
,differences of opinion are most        
apparent in the theory of heredity1     
where there is a struggle between       
,darwin's view1 that even acquired      
characteristics are inherited1 and      
,galton's and ,weissmann's conviction   
that this is not the case4 ,in          
connection with this stands1 also1 the  
question of the marriage of             
consanguineous relations2 some regard   
these marriages as dangerous1 per se1   
for the posterity2 others only as       
dangerous from the point of view that   
the same family trait is often found in 
both parents1 and so becomes strongly   
impressed on the children4 ,for example1
 congenital shortsightedness of both    
parents develops into blindness of the  
children1 their stupidity becomes       
idiocy1 their melancholy1 insanity4     
,the ,occident has gradually abolished  

the ,oriental marriage law to which     
,moses gave validity1 while other       
,oriental legislators1 for example1     
,manes and ,mohammed1 are still followed
 to a great extent4 ,in ,china1 too1    
similar prohibitions have a binding     
power4 ,here and there the feeling of   
the significance of heredity has vaguely
 appeared in some ,occidental writers4  
,sir ,thomas ,more1 like ,plato1        
required a physical examination before  
entering into marriage4 ,it was not     
until the nineteenth century that the   
question of the rights of the child in  
this respect began to be noticed4 ,it   
was ,robert ,owen who in one way        
awakened the general right feeling in   
favour of children1 by investigations   
begun in #ahae4 ,they showed that       
children under eight years old were     
forced to work by blows from leather    
whips1 to work from fifteen to sixteen  
hours a day1 with the result that a     
fourth or fifth of them ended as        
cripples4 ,another ,englishman1         

,malthus1 published in #agih an essay on
 the ,principle of ,population1 and     
directed the attention of society to the
 conditions which had caused him to     
write his work4 ,he pointed to the      
deficiency of food supply produced by   
over-population and the obstacles it    
offered to legitimate marriages4 ,again1
 these conditions1 he showed1 resulted  
partly in great mortality among         
children1 partly in the murder of       
children4 ,malthus saw the significance 
of selection and the danger of          
degeneration4 ,with perfect calmness of 
conscience he met the storm he had      
evoked4 ,personally a blameless and     
tender hearted man1 ,malthus1 as all    
other reformers of moral ideas1 had to  
allow the shameless accusations of      
corruption and immorality to pass over  
his head4 ,harriet ,martineau1 who      
advocated ,malthus's views1 had the same
 experience4 ,when she wrote her novels 
on this subject she knew very well to   
what she was exposing herself2 but this 

remarkable woman1 who died unmarried and
 childless1 was at an early period of   
her life filled with a feeling for the  
holiness of the child4 ,when nineteen   
years old1 at the time of the birth of a
 small sister1 she fell on her knees and
 devoutly thanked ,god that she had been
 allowed to be the witness of the great 
wonder of the development of the human  
being from the beginning4 ,the same     
feeling caused her in her novels to     
expound the duty of voluntary limitation
 of population4 ,she was pained by the  
thought of the fate endured by children1
 when they were so numerous that their  
parents were unable to maintain and     
educate them4 ,this part of the subject 
of the right of the child called forth  
in all countries books for and against  
it4 ,everywhere the question is         
discussed4 ,i shall briefly handle the  
differences of opinion about other sides
 of the right of the child4  ,in        
,francis ,galton's celebrated work1     
,hereditary ,genius1 almost all has been

 said that is required to-day from the  
point of view of the improvement of the 
race4 ,galton1 as early as the          
seventies1 opposed ,darwin's view that  
acquired characteristics were inherited4
 ,in this respect he had a              
fellow-champion in the ,german          
,weissmann1 who on his side was opposed1
 among others1 by the ,english          
,darwinian ,romanes4  ,galton invented  
from a ,greek word a name for the       
science of the amelioration of the race1
 ,eugenics4 ,he showed that civilised   
man1 so far as care for the amelioration
 of the race is concerned1 stands on a  
much lower plane than savages1 not to   
speak of ,sparta which did not allow the
 weak1 the too young1 and the too old to
 marry1 and where national pride in a   
pure race1 a strong offspring1 was so   
great that individuals were sacrificed  
to the attainment of this end4 ,galton1 
like ,darwin1 ,spencer1 ,a4 ,r4         
,wallace1 and others1 has brought out   
the fact that the law of natural        

selection1 which in the rest of nature  
has secured the survival of the fittest1
 is not applicable to human society1    
where economic motives lead to          
unsuitable marriages1 made possible by  
wealth4 ,poverty hinders suitable       
marriages4 ,besides the development of  
sympathy has come into the field as a   
factor which disturbs natural selection4
 ,the sympathy of love1 chooses         
according to motives that certainly tend
 to the happiness of the individual1 but
 this does not mean that they guarantee 
the improvement of the race4 ,and while 
other writers hope for a voluntary      
abstinence from marriage in those cases1
 where an inferior offspring is to be   
expected1 ,galton1 on the other hand1 is
 in favour of very strict rules1 to     
hinder inferior specimens of humanity   
from transmitting their vices or        
diseases1 their intellectual or physical
 weaknesses4 ,just because ,galton does 
not believe in the inheritance of       
acquired characteristics1 selection has 

the greatest significance for him4  ,on 
the other side1 he advocates using all  
means to encourage such marriages1 where
 the family on both sides gives promise 
of distinguished offspring4 ,for him1 as
 later for ,nietzsche1 the purpose of   
married life is the production of       
strong1 able personalities4  ,galton    
makes it plain that civilised man1 by   
his sympathy with weak1 inefficient     
individuals1 has helped to continue     
their existence4 ,this tendency on its  
own side has lessened the possibility of
 the efficient individuals to continue  
the species4 ,wallace1 too1 and several 
others1 have on different occasions     
declared that men in relation to this   
question must have harder hearts1 if the
 human race is not to become inferior4  
,the moral1 social1 and sympathetic     
factors1 they say1 which in humanity    
work against the law of the survival of 
the fittest1 and have made it possible  
for the lower type1 to continue and to  
multiply in excess1 must give way to new

 points of view where certain moral and 
social questions are concerned4 ,so the 
natural law will be supported by        
altruism1 instead of as now being       
opposed by this sentiment4  ,spencer's  
thoughts contain a great truth4 ,they   
have been quoted in just this           
connection4 ,he says3 ,we see the germ  
of many things that later on are        
developed in a way no one now suspects4 
,profound transformations are worked in 
society and its members1 transformations
 which we could not have hoped for as   
immediate results1 but which we could   
have looked for in confidence as final  
consequences4 ,the effort to find       
natural laws which cause racial progress
 or deterioration is one of these       
germinal ideas4 ,as to scientific       
investigation in this field1 we can     
apply another maxim of the same thinker1
 one often overlooked by science4 ,the  
passion to discover truth must be       
accompanied by the passion to use it for
 the welfare of mankind4 ,but science   

must really reach universally accepted  
conclusions before we can expect        
humanity to begin seriously its         
self-purification2 but it is certain to 
come then4 ,when we read in             
ethnographical and sociological works   
what restrictions in marriage are       
imposed by savage people on themselves1 
and religiously obeyed on the ground of 
superstitious prejudice1 we have a right
 to hope that civilised men will one day
 bow before scientific proofs4 ,this    
hope is not too optimistic4  ,wallace   
pleads not for such absolute regulations
 as ,galton1 in order to prevent the    
marriages of the less worthy and to     
encourage the marriages of the superior 
types of humanity4 ,he perceives that   
the problem is tremendously complicated4
 ,one thing is1 that the personal       
attraction of love is extremely         
essential from the point of view of the 
improvement of the race4 ,if human      
beings could be bred like prize cattle1 
it is not likely that a superior type of

 humanity would be produced4 ,in the    
,middle ,ages1 the human race           
deteriorated1 ,galton said1 because the 
best fled to the monasteries and the    
worst reproduced themselves4 ,but if    
,galton's strict requirements had to be 
carried out in every case before a      
marriage could be allowed1 not only     
would marriage lose its deepest meaning1
 but the race also would lose its       
noblest inheritance4  ,but even with a  
strict limitation of ,galton's          
principles and with a wise limitation of
 his requirements1 science has already  
shown the truth of so many of the first1
 that the significance of the last1     
taken as a whole1 must be granted4 ,we  
know that in the inherited tendencies of
 children1 often another form is taken  
from that which appears in their        
parents4 ,of three hundred idiots1 one  
hundred and forty-five had alcoholic    
parents4 ,epilepsy1 too1 is often       
produced by the same cause4 ,it is known
 that apparently sound individuals are  

often attacked at the same age by a     
disease to which their parents were     
subject4 ,on the other hand1 there are  
fortunately proofs that individuals     
endowed with power of will can resist   
certain dangerous inherited weaknesses4 
,in the discussion on this subject1 it  
should also be justly brought out1 that 
it is possible for the unsound tendency 
of one parent to be neutralised in the  
case of children1 by the soundness of   
the other4 ,but this result1 as well as 
the many other questions involved1 as ,i
 have shown above1 are far from being   
established4  ,the question as to the   
inheritance of mental diseases has been 
especially examined by ,maudsley4 ,in   
this case1 too1 nervous and psychic     
diseases of the parents often change    
their character in the children4 ,he    
requires medical testimony before       
marriage1 and asks that the appearance  
of mental diseases after marriage shall 
form a legitimate ground for divorce4   
,and he hopes that a pure descent1 in a 

new sense of the word1 will be as       
important for the marriages of the      
future1 as for aristocratic marriages in
 early times4 ,one of ,maudsley's       
statements is so interesting that it    
should be mentioned here4 ,fathers1 he  
says1 who have directed their whole     
energy towards attainment of wealth1    
have degenerate children2 for this sort 
of nerve strain undermines the system as
 infallibly as alcohol or opium4 ,if    
this statement be true1 we would add    
another point of view to the many       
already existent1 that show how hostile 
to life is our best social order1 which 
aims at power and gain4 ,it proves how  
necessary is that transformation of     
existence which will make work and      
production serve a new end4 ,each man   
should claim to live wholly1 broadly1   
and in a way worthy of humanity4 ,he    
should be able to leave behind him a    
posterity provided with all capacities  
for a similar life4 ,when this day dawns
 people will regard1 as a terrible      

atavism1 that expression on the face of 
a child1 which an artist of the present 
day has preserved in a picture of a boy 
represented as a future millionaire4  ,i
 will mention now from literary sources1
 some of ,nietzsche's work on this      
subject4 ,although this author did not  
base his ideas of the superman directly 
on ,darwin's theories1 yet they are1 as 
,brandes has lately shown1 the great    
consequences of ,darwinism1 that ,darwin
 himself did not see4 ,in no            
contemporary was there a stronger       
conviction than in ,nietzsche that man  
as he now is1 is only a bridge1 only a  
transition between the animal and the   
superman4 ,in connection with this1     
,nietzsche looked upon the obligations  
of man for the amelioration of the race 
as seriously as ,galton1 but he         
expressed his principles with the power 
of poetic and prophetic expression1 not 
with scientific proof4  ,literature on  
this subject is increasing every day2   
different opinions press one another    

hard4 ,as long as this is the case1     
there is every reason to observe the    
warning of the ,german sociologist      
,kurella1 who says that we must reckon  
with social as well as with             
anthropological factors if we wish to   
prevent the degeneration of the human   
species4 ,a vital point in his position 
is1 that it is a matter of indifference 
whether the ,darwinian theory of the    
transmission of acquired                
characteristics1 or its contrary is     
victorious4 ,the former is the theory of
 an unchangeable germ plasm transmitted 
by the parents to the children2 so that 
better types can only originate through 
a new combination of the characteristics
 of father and mother1 and also by      
natural selection in the struggle for   
existence4 ,we must be careful before   
beginning to act in a social and        
political way on the basis of           
anthropological motives4 ,he finally    
lays down with perfect justice1 that the
 material to be gathered from the works 

of ,spencer1 ,galton1 ,lombroso1 ,ferri1
 ,ribot1 ,latourneau1 ,havelock ,ellis1 
,j4 ,b4 ,haycraft1 ,colajanni1 ,sergi1  
,ritchie1 and others1 must be           
systematically worked over4 ,the        
sociologist must be zologist1           
anthropologist1 and psychologist before 
his plans for civilising man1 and for   
elevating the human race could be       
carried out4  ,as to intellectual       
characteristics it has been maintained  
that exceptionally gifted men have      
mostly inherited their characteristics  
from the mother4 ,this fact has in our  
day1 so very much increased the interest
 taken in the mothers of famous men4    
,this truth is supposed to hold good for
 a son1 but if the daughter is gifted1  
her talent is held to come from the     
father4 ,another and certainly a better 
founded phenomenon seems to be this3    
,that when in a family characteristics  
find their culmination in a world       
genius1 this genius either remains      
childless or his children are not only  

ordinary1 but often insignificant4 ,it  
may be that nature has exhausted her    
power of production in these great      
personalities1 or as is often assumed1  
the creative power of genius in an      
intellectual direction1 diminishes the  
creative power in the physical          
direction4  ,along with the question of 
heredity stands that of the development 
of races4 ,in the beginning of the      
,origin of ,species ,darwin showed how  
essential pure descent is for the       
production of a noble race4 ,this theory
 is appealed to by a modern             
anti-,semitic writer1 who represents the
 ,jew as a typical example of pure race1
 an idea which one of the most          
conspicuous representatives of ,judaism1
 ,disraeli1 has also expressed in the   
following words3 ,race is everything2   
there is no other truth1 and every race 
which carelessly allows mixed blood1    
perishes4 ,yet other specialists        
consider some racial mixture as highly  
advantageous to the offspring4          

,professor ,westermark has offered a    
good reason for the significance        
attached to beauty in the case of love1 
and therefore its importance for the    
race4 ,he has shown how man has         
conceived physical beauty to be the full
 development of all of those            
characteristics which distinguish the   
human organism from the animal1 and     
which mark sex distinctions1 and1 most  
of all1 race distinctions4 ,he thinks   
individuals with these characteristics  
are best suited for their life work4    
,accordingly it is the result of natural
 selection that exactly those           
individuals are found most beautiful and
 are most desired1 who first as human   
beings best fulfil the general demands  
of the human organism1 as sexual beings 
fulfil those of their sex1 and as       
members of the race are best suited to  
the conditions which surround them4 ,in 
the struggle for existence1 those are   
overcome1 who are descended from human  
beings1 whose instincts of love are     

directed to individuals badly adapted to
 that struggle2 while those who are     
victorious are children happily so      
adapted4 ,in this way1 taste has        
developed by which1 what is best adapted
 to environment appears as the highest  
beauty4 ,this is equivalent to health1  
the power to resist the attacks of the  
external world4 ,while every            
considerable deviation from the pure    
type in sex and race1 has a lesser      
degree of adaptability2 that is of      
health1 and also of beauty4  ,another   
writer has used the foot as an example  
of this principle4 ,the small1          
high-arched foot with the fine ankle is 
always1 he says1 regarded as the most   
beautiful4 ,but such a foot is only     
combined with a fine1 strong1 and       
elastic bony structure4 ,such a foot    
besides has1 by its great elasticity1 a 
considerably higher power of bearing    
weight than the flat foot4 ,the         
high-vaulted foot1 in walking and       
jumping1 increases the activity of the  

lungs and the heart4 ,this again makes  
the walk elastic1 strong1 and easy1     
agile and stately4 ,these traits1 for   
the same reason as the beauty of the    
foot itself1 are looked upon as a racial
 sign4 ,this physical power and ease    
influence the mind1 and produce         
self-confidence1 and so increase the    
feeling of superiority and the joy of   
living1 marks of distinction in human   
beings4  ,whether the illustration in   
this special case holds good or not1 it 
proves nothing against the truth of the 
theory on which it rests1 and which is  
gradually becoming prevalent2 the view  
,i mean1 according to which souls and   
bodies are mutually developed through   
adaptability to their surroundings4  ,so
 it is necessary not only to investigate
 what conditions give the best          
selection1 but also what external ones  
strengthen or weaken the characteristics
 found in natural selection4 ,we must   
again see the importance of bodily      
exercise4 ,painful experiences have     

taught us to prevent the consequences of
 overstrain1 over-exertion in           
competitive imbecility1 and mania for   
sport4 ,such results have specially     
shown themselves to be harmful for women
 in respect to motherhood4 ,sport and   
play1 gymnastics and pedestrianism1 life
 in nature and in the open air1 a       
regenerated system of dancing1 after the
 model of the ,swedish peasant dances1  
will be most excellent bases for the    
physical and psychical renewal of the   
new generation4  ,in plans concerning   
this renewal1 people have pointed to the
 influence of art2 it has been shown how
 ,burne-,jones created the new ,english 
type of woman4 ,it was formed by an     
adaption to the quiet1 distinguished    
style1 by a process that went slowly on4
 ,this was the type regarded by him as  
the model one4 ,it is maintained that we
 only need to see a pair of young       
,english girls in front of one of his   
pictures1 in order to notice how not    
only the faces but the expressions show 

a resemblance4 ,the artist has impressed
 his trait on youth before it was       
conscious of it4 ,before these forms    
they grew up1 they have seen them in    
their picture books1 they have been     
dressed in clothes cut in the fashion of
 the master's pictures4 ,there is       
another reason4 ,mothers of the present 
day are supposed to have passed on to   
their children the ,burne-,jones type in
 the same way in which the charm of the 
,greeks was influenced by the beauty of 
their statuary4 ,in antiquity it was    
believed1 even in other details1 7for   
example1 in attaining the               
much-longed-for blonde hair7 that this  
end could be secured by observing the   
proper directions4  ,as to the          
significance of external influences of  
this kind on mothers1 there is too      
little material still to build up       
conclusions4 ,on this point1 learned men
 also disagree4 ,i have only1 therefore1
 incidentally mentioned this factor     
among others4 ,all should be established

 before we can get a final and certain  
insight into the conditions of human    
birth4 ,in the absence of scientific    
knowledge ,i can only refer to the      
literature and comprehensive            
investigations commenced in the         
preceding century1 that throw light on  
the riddle of man's coming into the     
world4 ,many of these matters are still 
involved in obscurity4 ,but man's spirit
 is resting on the waters2 gradually a  
new creation will be called forth from  
them4  ,in connection with this1 must be
 discussed the development of new ideas 
of law in these spheres4 ,heathen       
society in its hardness1 exposed weak or
 crippled children4 ,christian society  
on the other hand1 has gone so far in   
its mildness1 that it prolongs the life 
of the child who is incurably ill1      
physically and psychically1 even if he  
is misshapen and so becomes an hourly   
torment to himself and his surroundings4
 ,yet respect for life is still not     
strong enough in a social order1 which  

keeps up among other things1 the death  
penalty and war1 that one can without   
danger suggest the extinction of such a 
life4 ,only when death is inflicted     
through compassion1 will the humanity of
 the future show itself in such a way1  
that the doctor under control and       
responsibility can painlessly extinguish
 such suffering4 ,on the other hand1    
this ,christian society still maintains 
the distinction between legitimate      
children and the children of sin1 a     
distinction which more than anything    
else has helped to obstruct a real      
ethical conception of the duties of     
parents4 ,every child has the same      
rights in respect to both father and    
mother4 ,both parents have just the same
 obligation to every child4 ,until this 
is recognised there will be no basis for
 the future morality of the common life 
between man and woman4 ,some day society
 will look upon the arrangements of the 
love relation as the private affair of  
responsible individuals4 ,those who are 

lovers1 those who are married will      
regard themselves as completely free1   
and will also be so regarded4 ,binding  
promises in respect of emotions1 demands
 of exclusive possession over           
personality1 have already come to be    
regarded by fine feeling and fully      
developed human beings as a relic of    
erotic sentiments on a lower plane4     
,these sentiments were the outcome of   
desire for mastery1 vanity1 cruelty1 and
 blind passion4 ,people are beginning to
 see that perfect fidelity is only to be
 obtained by perfect freedom2 that      
complete exchange of individuality can  
only take place in perfect freedom2 that
 complete excellence can only come into 
being in perfect freedom4 ,each must    
cease to try to force and bend the      
emotions1 opinions1 habits1 and         
inclinations of the other towards him-  
or herself4 ,each must regard the       
continuance of the feeling of the other 
as a happiness1 not as a right4 ,each   
must regard the possible cessation of   

this feeling as a pain1 not as an       
injustice4 ,only in this way can there  
arise between the two souls such pure1  
full1 freedom that both can move with   
absolute independence1 and complete     
unity4  ,freedom is no danger to        
fidelity4 ,the kind of fidelity required
 by the church and by the law has       
certainly been a notable means of       
education4 ,but the method1 as it is1 is
 opposed to the end4 ,for it has        
produced the feeling of possession4     
,this has led to loss of respect in the 
worship of love4 ,the requirements based
 on force have awakened hostility in    
soul and sense2 the fear of public      
opinion has produced all sorts of       
dishonesty between man and wife1 between
 them and the world4 ,when the bonds of 
compulsion fall away feeling will be    
strengthened4 ,for when the external    
supports of fidelity are wanting1 the   
power required for it will come from the
 inner life4 ,although human beings will
 be exposed always to the possibility of

 serious mistakes about themselves and  
the object of their love2 although time 
can always change human beings and their
 emotions2 although1 even in a marriage 
which has resulted from mutual love1    
conditions can arise which make         
,nietzsche's ideal legitimate1 that it  
is better to break up the marriage than 
to be broken up by it2 yet on the whole 
freedom will encourage fidelity1 which  
itself will always have a support       
through the experience of its           
psychological and ethical value4  ,it is
 not through a series of lightly entered
 into and lightly dissolved connections 
that one is prepared for the happiness  
of great love4 ,voluntary fidelity is a 
sign of nobility1 because it assumes the
 will to concentrate about the centre of
 life's meaning2 because it signifies   
the unity with our own proper innermost 
ego4 ,this is as true of fidelity in    
love as of all other kinds of fidelity4 
,only when love is the practical        
religion of the work-day1 and the       

devotion of the holiday1 when it is kept
 under the constant supervision of the  
soul1 when it brings with it a constant 
growth1 7why should not the fine old    
word sanctification be used7 of         
personality1 is love great4 ,then it    
comes into possession of a higher right 
than some earlier union1 because it then
 means really fidelity and nothing else 
towards our own highest ego4 ,but where 
it does not have this character1 it does
 not possess this right4 ,it is then a  
petty emotion even when it is made      
pardonable by great passion4 ,the       
children which issue from temporary     
unions are often as imperfect as their  
origin4 ,great love is1 as a young      
doctor once said1 only that which grips 
so deeply1 that after its loss one no   
longer feels as a whole1 but as a half  
of a whole4 ,yet nature has protected   
itself against annihilation by giving   
the possibility of love more than once4 
,but what nature's ideal is cannot be   
doubted4 ,the race which would come into

 existence1 provided young men and women
 were given the possibility of uniting  
when the first love took possession of  
them1--that love which is the           
deepest1--this race would be sound and  
strong1 different from what our own race
 is now4 ,but when young people love now
 they seldom have the means for union1  
and when they have the means1 then that 
which leads them to the marriage union  
is not the deepest feeling they have    
ever felt1 but only an impulse1 which1  
even if real1 is still only a           
substitute4  ,such a transformation of  
the conditions of society and of the    
individual view of the true worth of    
life will enable young men and women1   
between the ages of twenty and thirty1  
to found their own home and under simple
 conditions1 to secure their happiness4 
,here would be one of the most essential
 foundations for the origin of a new    
race1 which would have the ancient      
feeling for the hearth as an altar1 and 
would have the life of love as the      

service of a divinity4 ,only through    
such a transformation might it be       
expected that the deepest misery of     
society1 prostitution1 could be         
restrained4 ,only after such a          
transformation could we with full right 
require from our youth that self-mastery
 which is the best pre-condition of the 
sound development of the new generation4
  ,as things are at present1 it is      
certain that just as there are really   
immoral1 unmarried mothers1 so there are
 others deeply moral1 who would be      
mothers with a great pure love to the   
father of their child1 but who for      
various reasons should not be united    
with them in legal marriage4 ,and even  
if the contraction of marriage were     
simplified1 such motherhood on the part 
of single women1 should continue to     
exist4  ,bjoernsen1 when he gave        
lectures in ,norway on sexual morality1 
maintained the view that the woman who  
wished for motherhood1 but who was not  
adapted in her opinion for marriage1    

should be fully entitled to the first1  
without the last being regarded as      
necessary1 on condition that she was    
willing to fulfil to the child her      
maternal duties4 ,this idea certainly   
has a future4 ,in ,germany there was a  
well-known case in which a fully mature 
woman1 not a mere girl1 saw shortly     
after her marriage that the temperaments
 and conditions of both parties to the  
marriage would make it an unhappiness   
for both4 ,she separated1 therefore1    
brought her child into the world        
unmarried1 educated it publicly and with
 self-sacrifice4 ,now she has along with
 the peace which comes from work and the
 happiness of motherhood1 the           
possibility of fulfilling her duty also 
as daughter1 while married life would   
have destroyed this for all parties4    
,this is one of the many cases out of   
the great collection of life1 that shows
 how foolish is that requirement of     
society to press human nature1 in its   
manifold types1 into one mould1 with a  

sphere of duty arranged in the same way 
for all4  ,but the sphere of duty1 an   
ever-widening one1 is the sphere which  
embraces the right of the child4 ,yet   
its lines will be drawn in the future   
bounded in quite a different way from   
now4 ,it will then be looked upon as the
 supreme right of the child that he     
shall not be born in a discordant       
marriage4 ,above everything1 therefore1 
marriage must be free4 ,this means that 
the two parties can freely separate     
after mutual agreement4 ,in entering    
into marriage and in dissolving it1 only
 certain duties towards the children are
 to be assumed4 ,such legal provisions  
might well be superfluous even in this  
case2 in others1 they might be          
important4 ,but in none are they to     
become an obstacle to the development of
 this relation to the children4 ,on the 
other hand1 the compulsory marriage laws
 of to-day1 as well in relation to      
divorce as to the guardianship given the
 man1 have become obstacles to the      

higher development of the common life of
 man and woman4  ,the vigorous drawing  
together of the bonds of marriage will  
not protect children from growing up in 
a destroyed home4 ,this protection will 
be secured by deeper earnestness in     
entering upon marriage1 but above all by
 a deeper sense of responsibility to the
 children themselves4 ,this will make it
 possible for the parents who see       
themselves deceived in their married    
happiness to keep a peaceful            
resignation1 a high character1 as they  
continue to live together1 if they feel 
that this is the best solution of the   
conflict1 for the children who are      
already born4 ,but this resolution does 
not mean the continuance of real married
 life1 but parenthood alone4 ,only so   
can it be really useful to the children 
that the marriage should not be         
dissolved4 ,the parents1 who are        
profoundly and finally alienated must   
not bestow life on any new being4       
,marriages lightly entered into are     

many2 lightly entered into divorces are 
few1 at least where there are children4 
,it is not the prescriptions of the law1
 but those of blood which work as a     
restraining influence here even at the  
present day4 ,the decisive sentence is  
not spoken by society but by the        
children4 ,but these deep motives are   
just as decisive in the case of a free  
union as in the case of a legal one2 if 
the father or the mother is only kept   
with the children by compulsion1 the    
children have not much to lose4 ,the    
important thing for unwritten duties1   
duties which largely can not be         
determined by law1 is to awaken the     
conscience of fathers and mothers in    
order to create a better morality4      
,perhaps for this1 new legislation is   
necessary for the present4 ,certainly   
antiquated legal conceptions should be  
done away with2 they have done good duty
 as a past training for morality4 ,now  
they stand in the way of the higher     
morality4 ,the man or the woman who     

plays the rle of seduction1 spoiling the
 life of a young woman or a young man1  
or disturbing the peace of a happy      
marriage1 this type of character1 is    
being treated with ever-increasing      
contempt4 ,the more one learns to       
distinguish the heartless play of       
masculine or feminine desire for        
conquest1 the selfish soulless claims of
 the senses1 from those of love1 the    
more does the conception of morality    
become equivalent to the feeling of     
responsibility towards the new          
generation4  ,the gratification of      
natural impulses1 which act contrary to 
the real profound intention of nature1  
is what destroys individuals and        
peoples4 ,but as has been said1 these   
devastations cannot be successfully     
restrained by the extermination of man's
 material nature4  ,it is a favourable  
symptom when a poet opposes the mastery 
of material nature1 apart from the      
feeling of responsibility4 ,but it is   
harmful when this sensuousness is made1 

as ,tolstoi does1 equivalent to the     
conception of love4 ,love must not be   
debased to simple sensuousness1 nor must
 it be etherealised to a simple         
spiritual quality1 if the human race is 
to be freed from the debasing mastery of
 impulse4 ,this happens1 as ,i have     
often shown before1 and in an earlier   
part of this work as well1 by the       
elevation of sensuousness to love4 ,i   
mean by this that the spiritual unity of
 beings1 the indulgence of tenderness1  
the sympathy of souls1 the community of 
work1 and the happiness of comradeship1 
will be as really decisive factors in   
the lofty emotions of love1 and in the  
charm of love1 as the attraction of the 
senses4 ,this wealth in the elements of 
mutual dependence is what keeps fidelity
 in love both inwardly and outwardly4   
,this soft current of the soul's depths 
keeps the sensuous charm fresh2 while   
mere relation1 both legal marriage and  
free union1 very soon exhausts happiness
 and leaves behind ennui1 if love has   

contained only sensuous attraction1 and 
not that mutual feeling of dependence1  
which involves the union of the soul and
 the sense1 and which unites the spirit 
and the sympathies4  ,the duty and      
responsibility towards the children will
 be all the more strict as society      
learns to regard it as one of its       
principal duties to hinder all          
thoughtless and undeserved suffering4   
,the morality of the future will not be 
found in sacrificing to the holiness of 
the family so-called illegitimate       
children1 who are often by nature richly
 endowed1 but who by the prevailing     
legal system receive such treatment1    
that they often become what they are    
called1 and so are filled with vengeance
 against society and the perverse       
conceptions of law whose victims they   
are4 ,child murder1 phosphorous         
poisonings1 angel-making--all these are 
connected with these perverse legal     
ideas4 ,but all of these results are    
still less pernicious than those which  

society draws upon itself through those 
disgraced children1 who go to ruin not  
physically but psychically4 ,in them1   
there are not only frequently good      
powers lost1 but socially destructive   
powers developed4 ,when the whole of    
,europe shuddered over the murder of the
 ,empress ,elizabeth1 one fact above    
every other seemed to me terrible4 ,the 
murderer confessed1 ,i know nothing of  
my parents4  ,the time will come in     
which the child will be looked upon as  
holy1 even when the parents themselves  
have approached the mystery of life with
 profane feelings2 a time in which all  
motherhood will be looked upon as holy1 
if it is caused by a deep emotion of    
love1 and if it has called forth deep   
feelings of duty4  ,then the child1 who 
has received its life from sound1 loving
 human beings and has been afterwards   
brought up wisely and lovingly1 will be 
called legitimate1 even if its parents  
have been united in complete freedom4   
,then will the child1 who has been born 

in a loveless marriage1 and has been    
burdened by the fault of its parents    
with bodily or mental disease1 be       
regarded as illegitimate1 even if its   
parents have been united in marriage by 
the ,pope at ,st4 ,peter's4 ,the shadow 
of contempt will not fall on the        
unmarried tender mother of a radiantly  
healthy child1 but on the legitimate or 
illegitimate mother of a being made     
degenerate by the misdeeds of its       
forefathers4  ,in a much discussed drama
 called ,the ,lion's ,whelp1 there      
occurs the following dialogue between an
 older and younger man3        ,,the    
,,older ,,man3 ,the next century will be
 the century of the child1      just as 
this century has been the woman's       
century4 ,when the child      gets his  
rights1 morality will be perfected4     
,then every man will      know that he  
is bound to the life which he has       
produced with other      bonds1 than    
those imposed by society and the laws4  
,you understand      that a man cannot  

be released from his duty as father even
 if he      travels around the world2 a 
kingdom can be given and taken away1    
but not fatherhood4       ,,the ,,youth3
 ,i know this4       ,,the ,,older      
,,man3 ,but in this all righteousness is
 still not      fulfilled--in man's     
carefully preserving the life which he  
has      called into existence4 ,no man 
can early enough think over the other   
question1 whether and when he has the   
right to call life into      existence4 
,this dialogue has supplied me with a   
title for this book4 ,it is the point of
 departure of my assertion1 that the    
first right of the child is to select   
its own parents4  ,what here must be    
first considered is the thought         
constantly being brought out by         
,darwinian writers1 that the natural    
sciences1 in which must now be numbered 
psychology1 should be the basis of      
juristic science as well as of pedagogy4
 ,man must come to learn the laws of    
natural selection and act in the spirit 

of these laws4 ,man must arrange the    
punishments of society in the service of
 development2 they must be protective   
measures for natural selection4 ,in the 
first place this must be secured by     
hindering the criminal type from        
perpetuating itself4 ,the               
characteristics of this type can only be
 determined by specialists4 ,but the    
criminal must be prevented from handing 
on his characteristics to his posterity4
  ,so the human race will be gradually  
freed from atavisms which reproduce     
lower and preceding stages of           
development4 ,this is the first         
condition of that evolution by which    
mankind will be able to let the ape and 
tiger die4 ,then comes the requirement  
that those with inherited physical or   
psychical diseases shall not transmit   
them to an offspring4  ,as to this type 
of heredity opinions are still very much
 divided4 ,great authorities are in     
conflict with one another on the        
question of tuberculosis4 ,some contend 

that it is hereditary1 others declare   
that it is only transmitted by          
infection4 ,accordingly when a child is 
born of a tuberculous mother1 and is    
taken away from her1 there is no danger 
for the child4 ,views are also divided  
on the subject of cancer4 ,regarding    
other diseases1 however1 there is       
complete certainty4 ,legislation has    
already interfered in the case of       
epilepsy1 although the law in practice  
is not always applied4 ,but in the case 
of syphilis1 alcoholism1 and many kinds 
of nervous complaints1 diseases which   
afflict children most certainly1 in     
various ways1 legislation has yet done  
nothing4  ,there is an old axiom that we
 are obliged to thank our parents for   
life4 ,our parents1 ,i know from my own 
experience1 can themselves have been the
 heirs of bodily and mental health1     
resulting from the fact that maternal   
and paternal ancestors all made early1  
right1 and happy marriages4 ,but        
generally1 parents must on their part1  

ask the children's pardon for the       
children's existence4  ,it makes no     
difference1 whether we talk with people 
sunken in necessity or crime1 or with   
those suffering from nervous and other  
diseases1 or finally with people who are
 spiritually maimed4 ,in most cases we  
are convinced that the main cause of    
their condition as indicated by them1   
goes back to their birth1 or to the time
 of their childish consciousness4       
,sometimes their parents have been too  
young or too old1 their fathers or      
mothers invalids4 ,sometimes they are   
the offspring of intemperance4 ,again   
their mother may have been overburdened 
by the torment of work1 or by a large   
family of children2 or they may have    
received their life in marriages        
concluded without love1 or after the    
cessation of love4 ,they have been      
unwelcome1 or born under feelings of    
revulsion1 bearing in their blood the   
germ of discord or disgust of life4     
,numerous abnormal tendencies1 among    

them misanthropy in women1 can be traced
 back to these causes4 ,finally they    
have been brought up in a home where    
they have suffered from the burden of   
bad examples1 or conflicting influences4
  ,so strong has the conviction of the  
meaning of heredity become that young   
men1 who have themselves borne a burden1
 imposed by generations of one character
 or another1 have begun to see that it  
is their duty rather to abstain from    
marriage than to transmit their         
unfortunate inheritence to a new        
generation4 ,i knew a woman in whose    
family on her father's and mother's     
side1 mental disease was inherited4     
,therefore1 though healthy herself1 she 
refused to marry the man she loved4 ,i  
know of another who broke her           
engagement1 because she was convinced   
that the man whom she loved was a       
drinker1 and she did not want to give   
her children such a father4 ,it is      
especially on this point that women sin 
in marrying from ignorance1 because they

 do not know that epilepsy and other    
diseases1 especially alcoholism1 are    
often caused because the child has had a
 drunkard for a father4 ,a young woman  
could have no more certain test for the 
continuance of her feelings for a man1  
than whether she feels exalted joy or   
tormenting distress1 at the thought of  
seeing his characteristics transmitted  
to their child4  ,men sin against the   
coming race not only by excessive       
drinking1 but in other respects where   
the results are still more destructive4 
,besides the conscience of men must     
begin to awaken4 ,this will express     
itself partly in the requirement to     
abstain from marriage when they know    
that they have to transmit a bad        
inheritance1 partly in other spheres of 
morality as in the following examples3  
,a young man1 himself a physician1      
thought he was healthy when he married4 
,he discovered his mistake and found    
himself confronting the choice of       
wronging his wife or separating from    

her4 ,as they were deeply in love1 the  
only possible way was separation4 ,he   
chose death which he inflicted on       
himself in such a way that his wife     
thought it was caused by accident4      
,another man acted in the same way after
 he had been married several years and  
had three children2 he found out that he
 was his wife's half-brother4  ,but     
these incidents as the one before       
mentioned1 where women are concerned1   
are notoriously only isolated examples4 
,it will require the development of     
several generations before it will be   
the woman's instinct1 an irresistibly   
mastering instinct1 to allow no         
physically or psychically degenerated or
 perverted man to become the father of  
her children4 ,the instinct of the man  
is far stronger in this direction1 but  
it is dulled too by an antiquated legal 
conception1 according to which the woman
 must subject herself as a duty to      
requirements against which her whole    
being revolts4 ,in this respect a woman 

has only one duty1 an unmistakable one1 
against which every transgression is a  
sin1 namely that the new being to which 
she gives life1 must be born in love and
 purity1 in health and beauty1 in full  
mutual harmony1 in a complete common    
will1 in a complete common happiness4   
,until women see this as a duty1 the    
earth will continue to be peopled by    
beings1 who in a moment of their        
existence have been robbed of the best  
pre-conditions of their life's happiness
 and their life's efficiency4           
,occasionally they show plainly at an   
early age the sign of degeneration or of
 discord4 ,occasionally they seem for a 
long time to be healthy and powerful    
specimens of humanity1 until in some    
critical moment they go to pieces       
through an insufficient supply of       
physical and psychical vitality caused  
by their very origin4  ,as to marriages 
between healthy and active individuals1 
legislation can do nothing4 ,ethics     
alone can exert an influence for        

betterment4 ,children must be taught    
from their earliest years about their   
existence and their future duties as men
 and women4 ,so mothers and fathers     
together can impress on the conscience  
of the children not any abstract        
conception of purity1 but the concrete  
commandment of chastity in letters of   
fire4 ,so they will keep their health1  
their attractiveness1 their             
guilelessness1 for the being they are to
 love2 for the children who from this   
love will receive their life4  ,the     
impulse to preserve the species1 it is  
true1 makes human beings low1 small1 or 
laughable2 as poets like ,maupassant1   
,tolstoi1 and others have depicted from 
quite different points of view2 but it  
only does so when the impulse appears   
without relation to the end given it in 
nature1 or when this end is attained    
without consideration for the production
 of an offspring qualified to live4 ,the
 kind of love which disturbs life is    
that which diminishes the value of an   

individual as a creator of life4 ,this  
type of love really degrades human      
beings1 is immoral from the standpoint  
of the modern view1 which wills life to 
be1 but above all1 wills the progress of
 life to ever higher forms4  ,young     
people must therefore learn to reverence
 their future duties4 ,these they       
altogether miss1 if they squander their 
spiritual and bodily obligations1 in    
unions formed and dissolved             
thoughtlessly1 without any intention of 
fidelity1 without the worth of          
responsibility4 ,but they must also know
 that it is a still greater             
transgression of their duty if the life 
of a child is called forth with cold    
hearts and cold temper1 whether this    
happens in a marriage based on worldly  
motives or one maintained on moral      
grounds in which the previously existing
 discord is transmitted to a new being4 
,mothers made apathetic and             
unresponsive1 by the consciousness of   
numerous breaches of faith1 towards     

their youthful dreams1 their ideal      
convictions1 are often precisely those1 
who in their children1 struggle against 
the pure instincts of love1 its chaste  
and strong feelings1 its higher aims4   
,they often teach that love as a rule   
ends after marriage1 that marriages can 
be made without love4 ,this is a process
 of thought resembling the conclusion   
that a vessel can quite well go into the
 sea with some defect1 since it is      
possible in any event that it will be   
damaged4 ,they speak of the impurity of 
the senses1 of the advantages of a      
marriage based on friendship and reason1
 of the calming power of duty4 ,all of  
these are chilly processes of reason by 
which souls1 filled with the warmth of  
life1 are killed4 ,daughters must be    
helped by their mothers1 wisely and     
delicately1 in order to be protected    
from hasty acts1 in order to distinguish
 with open eyes1 when their feelings    
themselves are uncertain4 ,it must be   
branded upon their souls and their      

nerves that they will be fallen beings  
if they give themselves from other      
reasons than from reciprocated love4    
,under these convictions alone1 will    
there be a great transformation of      
present ethical standards4 ,men think   
that they can do with marriage what they
 will2 that they can enter upon it with 
any kind of motive2 they think that they
 must marry from feelings of duty1 to   
fulfil some given engagement1 or to     
atone for some fault2 that they have the
 right to enter upon a marriage without 
love because they long for home life4   
,while these things are regarded as     
legitimate1 men stand on the same       
ethical level as the person who commits 
murder because he has first stolen1 or  
has stolen because he was hungry4 ,the  
great crime against the holiness of     
generation is believing that one can    
treat arbitrarily1 the most sensitive   
sphere of life1 the sphere where        
innumerable secret influences order the 
destiny of a new generation4  ,while    

children continue to be born in the cold
 atmosphere of duty1 or in the stormy   
atmosphere of discord1 while people     
continue to regard such marriages as    
moral1 while people can transmit to     
their children all kinds of intellectual
 mutilation and bodily unsoundness1 and 
their parents continue to be called     
honorable1 so long will the world be    
without the slightest conception of that
 morality which will mould the new      
mankind4  ,this morality has still more 
exalted precepts4 ,to-day it seldom     
happens that a young girl enters        
marriage in ignorance1 but in my        
generation ,i know cases where the      
ignorance of the bride resulted in      
insanity4 ,in another case this         
ignorance led to thoughts of suicide2 in
 a third1 the child was regarded with   
coldness by its mother2 in the fourth1  
the child had abnormal psychic          
qualities4 ,still it is not sufficient  
for the ideal beauty of marriage and the
 harmony of the child that the woman    

knows in general what is before her4 ,a 
young man said once to me that most     
marriages are spoilt at the very        
beginning1 because the man brings with  
him the point of view and the habits of 
those degraded women1 from whom he has  
received his initiation into love2      
frequently he annihilates forever the   
tenderest element in his relation to his
 wife4 ,he damages the most beautiful   
factor in their mutual feelings4 ,man   
must learn to have reverence and        
patience1 and ,i know men who have shown
 these characteristics really because   
they saw that their wives gave1 as is   
not unfrequently the case1 their souls  
and their hearts before their senses    
were awakened4 ,only the constant close 
association taught them to desire a     
completed marriage4 ,a child should     
receive life only through this common   
impulse4 ,many children are born1 as it 
is1 in legalised prostitution1 in       
legalised rape4 ,yet there is wanting in
 the consciences of many women and men1 

the slightest shadow of religious       
reverence1 of sthetic feeling before the
 greatest mystery of existence4 ,and yet
 we continue in the name of morality to 
veil for youth the nakedness of nature  
and we neglect to inspire their feeling 
of devotion towards their own being as  
the shrine in which the mystery of life 
must some day be fulfilled4  ,in this   
mystery there are still hidden fields   
only penetrated by the intuition4 ,here 
and there a profound poet has surmised  
the innumerable affinities or repulsions
 which under changing spiritual and     
material dispositions with altering     
opinions1 condition the life of love in 
modern human beings1 the mystic         
influences which sometimes forever1     
sometimes partially1 can change the     
deepest feeling4 ,all these mystic      
influences1 the tender woof of all these
 fine threads1 will then be a part of   
the living fabric of the child4 ,these  
secret processes explain the great      
differences between children of the same

 parents1--children who externally are  
born and brought up in quite similar    
conditions4  ,in all these promptings of
 instinct1 in all these categorical     
imperatives of the nerves and the blood1
 human beings must be at the same time  
obedient listeners and strict masters4  
,on this depends the future happiness of
 love1 and with it a happier future     
race4  ,the people of to-day live under 
inherited morals and newly acquired     
transgressions of morality4 ,both must  
be conquered before soul and sense in   
love can become inseparable1 or in other
 words1 before this unity is recognised 
as the only possible moral basis of the 
relation between man and woman4         
,talented men1 as well as one-sided     
advocates of women's rights1 think that 
the development will take quite a       
different course1 after the low impulse 
which is at the basis of love has been  
laid bare and scientifically analysed4  
,they say that the superior person will 
satisfy the impulse shamelessly and     

animally1 without any emotional         
decoration2 or he will isolate himself  
from its influence and devote to more   
noble purposes that vital power1 that   
emotional capacity1 which is now        
consumed by love4  ,nothing impossible  
is to be found in this point of view4 ,i
 have shown more than once that woman by
 her maternal functions1 uses up so much
 physical and psychical energy1 that in 
the sphere of intellectual production   
she must remain of less significance4   
,what ,i at an earlier period assumed   
intuitively1 has been substantiated     
since then by a specialist4 ,a ,finnish 
doctor has shown how the vital power of 
lower organisms1 is concentrated in     
sexual production4 ,but the higher man  
goes1 so much more power is made free4  
,this power which is not consumed in the
 production of new generations1 can     
serve intellectual production4 ,each of 
the two different productive expressions
 of human vital action must to a certain
 extent limit the development of the    

power of the other1 and restrict its    
capacity of work4 ,the same writer      
contends that this is the natural cause 
of the more limited fertility of        
civilised man1 and will be1 according to
 the pessimists named above1 the        
decisive factor in the prophesied       
downfall of love4  ,according to my     
conception of the word1 it is love on   
the contrary1 which will win the victory
 by the relative weakening of impulse1  
and by scientific analysis of the same4 
,men will no longer mistake impulse for 
love4 ,of course this impulse is always 
present in love1 but in the same way in 
which the sculpture of the cave man is  
present in the work of ,michael ,angelo4
 ,man will then1 with all the powers of 
his being1 be able to love1 when love1  
according to the happy expression of    
,thoreau1 is not a glow1 but a light4   
,then he will see for the first time1   
what wealth life can have through love1 
when love becomes a happiness worthy of 
man because it becomes an sthetic       

creation1 a religious worship2 when the 
completed unity of those who love is    
expressed in a new being1--a being that 
will some day be really grateful for the
 life it has received4 ,where the       
amelioration of the human race is       
concerned1 the transformation of customs
 and feelings is always the essential   
thing4 ,influence of legislation in     
comparison with it is ever slight4 ,but 
as has been said before1 legislation has
 its role to play4 ,especially where    
there are diseases which can certainly  
be transmitted1 society must interfere  
to restrict marriage4 ,in ,germany and  
,america a good proposal has been made1 
for the period of transition in this    
direction4 ,it is suggested that the law
 shall require as an obligatory         
condition for marriage1 a certificate of
 a medical witness with complete data as
 to the health of both parties4 ,those  
who contract marriage will continue to  
have their freedom of choice but at     
least they would not enter ignorantly   

upon marriage as they do now1 and expose
 themselves and their children to       
disastrous consequences4 ,it appears to 
me to be at least as important for      
society to have a medical certificate as
 to capacity for marriage1 as it is for 
military service4 ,in the one case1 we  
deal with giving life1 in the other with
 taking it away4 ,and although the      
latter has certainly been1 up till now1 
regarded as a more serious occasion than
 the former1 still an awakening social  
conscience should demand progress in    
this direction4 ,it is conceivable that 
from this beginning new customs will    
develop2 further legislation may be     
dispensed with2 human beings will agree 
to sacrifice the most dangerous of all  
liberties1 giving life to a defective   
offspring1 while prohibition of marriage
 now would not hinder parenthood4 ,for  
the great mass might continue1 outside  
of marriage1 to rob children of the     
possibilities of health and happiness1  
by burdening them with inherited        

diseases or bad tendencies4  ,nietzsche1
 who knew little of love because he knew
 nothing of woman1 and who therefore on 
this subject says little worthy of      
attention1 has still spoken more        
profoundly on the subject of parenthood 
than any contemporary writer4 ,he saw   
what impurity1 what poverty are         
concealed under the name of marriage4   
,he saw how meretricious1 how ignorant  
education is4 ,in his writings are to be
 found prophetical and poetical words   
describing the end aimed at in          
parenthood1 and showing what true       
parenthood should be4        ,i will    
that thy victory and thy emancipation   
shall yearn for a      child4 ,living   
memorials shalt thou build for thy      
victory1 and for      thy emancipation4 
,thou must build upward to a height     
beyond thyself4 ,but first ,i      would
 have thee thyself built with a square  
foundation1 body and      soul4         
,see that through thee the race         
progresses1 not continues only4         

,let a true marriage help thee to this  
end4       ,a more exalted being must   
thou create1 a being gifted with        
initiative like a wheel that turns      
itself4 ,a creative principle           
shouldst thou create4       ,marriage3  
,i call marriage the will shared by two1
 to create the      one1--the one that  
is in itself more than its creators4    
,reverence      for one another1 ,i call
 marriage2 such reverence as is meet for
      those whose wills are united in   
this one act of will4     ,,chapter ,,ii
  ,,the ,,unborn ,,race ,,and ,,woman',s
 ,,work   ,there are few factors in the 
life of the present in which the dualism
 between theory and practice is greater 
and more unconscious than in questions  
concerning woman4 ,the protagonists of  
the feminist movement are in many cases 
sturdily ,christian4 ,they protest with 
vigour against the idea that they could 
have any share in the sort of           
emancipation of personality that        
includes freedom for all the powers and 

activities of the personality4          
,individualism1 and the assertion of    
self are for them degrading words with a
 sinful significance4 ,that the         
emancipation of women is practically the
 greatest egoistic movement of the      
nineteenth century1 and the most intense
 affirmation of the right of the self   
that history has yet seen1 they have no 
suspicion4 ,freedom for the powers and  
the personality of woman have never     
appeared to them except as an ideal     
struggle for justice1 as a noble victory
 to be won4 ,in its deepest meaning this
 is as true of every other effort at    
self-affirmation1 the end of which is   
the recognition of the right of human   
personality to the full development of  
capacities in a sphere of freedom1 where
 responsibility belongs to the self     
alone4 ,but just as every other such    
affirmation of the individual self1 of a
 class1 of a race1 easily falls into an 
unjustifiable egoism1 so with the       
emancipation of woman4  ,this great1    

deep1 serious movement for woman's      
emancipation has in the course of time  
received a new name1 the ,woman         
,question4 ,the change in terminology   
signifies a change in the attitude of   
thought4 ,from a real emancipation      
movement1 that is1 a movement to free   
the restricted powers of woman and her  
restricted personality1 the movement has
 become a question1 a social institution
 with officers1 a church system with    
dogmas4 ,certainly we still hear in     
books and speeches that the woman       
question is being discussed and urged1  
in its relation to the happiness and    
development of the whole of humanity4   
,but in reality the woman question1     
since it became a fact1 a cause with an 
end of its own1 since its champions have
 lost more and more their appreciation  
of its connection with other great      
questions of the day1 is tending to     
increase the civil rights and the fields
 of woman's labour4 ,in both cases      
people really have the women of the     

upper classes in view4 ,this has been   
the end1 and it is thoroughly justified 
and justifiable4 ,but1 in striving for  
this end1 those who are aiming at it    
have come more and more into opposition 
to the first and highest of all rights1 
the rights of the individual woman to   
think her own thoughts1 to go her own   
ways1 even when these thoughts and these
 ways follow other courses than those of
 the advocates of woman's rights4 ,while
 this group is1 on one hand1 very far   
from conceding to the individual woman  
the freedom which belongs to her1 it is1
 on the other hand1 blind to the results
 of the self-assertion of the whole     
female sex4 ,in taking up work more and 
more external in character1 they are    
blind to the profound and revolutionary 
effects of this movement1 on the        
conditions of labour in the present day1
 on the existence of man and the family1
 on society as a whole4  ,doing away    
with an unjust paragraph in a law which 
concerns woman1 turning a hundred women 

into a field of work where only ten were
 occupied before1 giving one woman work 
where formerly not one was              
employed1--these are the mile-stones in 
the line of progress of the woman's     
rights movement4 ,it is a line pursued  
without consideration of feminine       
capacities1 nature1 and environment4    
,the exclamation of a woman's rights    
champion when another woman had become a
 butcher1 ,go thou and do likewise1 and 
an ,american young lady working as an   
executioner1 are1 in this connection1   
characteristic phenomena4  ,the         
emancipation of woman has practically   
ceased to be the freedom which enlarges 
soul and heart4 ,it is conducted quite  
officially1 like a business1 and        
dogmatically1 too1 without feeling for  
the pulsating manifoldness of life1 and 
has become an egoistic self-concentrated
 campaign4 ,on this account ,i1 and many
 others of my generation1 with many more
 of the younger generation1 stand       
outside of the movement1 although we    

actively wished1 and still wish1 for the
 freedom of woman4 ,the champions of    
woman's rights1 like the champions of   
other movements for rights1 illustrate  
the truth of the old ,swedish saying1   
that what we are pursuing is really only
 a runaway horse attached to our waggon4
 ,how blindly the fanatics of woman's   
rights have rushed by the other needs of
 the time can be best measured by       
considering their attitude towards the  
greatest question of the day--,i mean   
the social question4  ,the old advocates
 of woman's rights maintain that the    
adult woman must have the same right as 
the adult man to protect herself1 and   
they ask why the woman is hindered from 
working because she is married1 or      
because she has children4 ,protective   
legislation drives woman from the       
factories and workshops2 and this       
legislation is very far1 they tell us1  
from meriting the support of women4     
,women1 on the contrary1 they say1      
should demand the same protective       

legislation for women as for men4 ,they 
ask for technical instruction and an    
extended field of work for women4  ,this
 whole argument is quite logical from   
the point of view that limitation of    
woman's labour is opposed to one of the 
foremost principles of our time1--the   
self-determination of the individual4   
,this implies the right of the adult    
woman1 as well as the adult man1 to     
choose her own work4 ,privileges on the 
ground of sex only hinder the woman from
 being put on an equality with man      
before the law4  ,but all these         
arguments are based on the sophistical  
notion which perverts the whole feminist
 movement4 ,the idea is to free woman   
from the limitations of nature4 ,it     
involves1 too1 the other sophistical    
notion with which capitalistic society  
meets every demand of protective        
legislation for men1 women1 or children4
 ,such legislation is said to be an     
interference with the individual's right
 of choice4  ,every human being who is  

socially alive is aware that this right 
to control one's life is the emptiest   
phrase to describe reality in a society 
built up on a capitalistic basis4 ,it is
 doubly empty where woman is concerned4 
,i have never heard a woman desire that 
woman should fulfil military duties as  
an equivalent for having civil rights   
like man4 ,but this would be the        
consequence of the argument that woman  
should have no privileges on the ground 
of her sex4 ,the greatest privilege that
 can be thought of in modern society is 
to be spared the discomforts and loss of
 time that come from military training1 
to be exempt from the dangers and the   
terrors of war4 ,that women are not     
absolutely incapable of service in      
warfare1 women have shown on many       
occasions1 especially in the ,boer ,war4
 ,so when the advocates of women's      
rights hesitate before this extreme     
consequence of their principle1 and     
introduce the functions of motherhood as
 a cogent ground for the privilege of   

being freed from military service in    
time of war 7even if women at some time 
should receive the same civil rights now
 enjoyed by man71 they are in the       
highest degree illogical4 ,other women  
with more logic declare that on another 
battle-field1 a still more destructive  
one1 that of the factory system1 the    
same maternal functions require certain 
privileges for woman1 and these same    
functions must result in subjecting her 
to certain limitations of her individual
 right to control her life4 ,that is1   
she cannot pass beyond the limits drawn 
by nature1 without interfering with the 
rights of another1 the potential child4 
,it lies in the individual sphere of    
woman's choice as of man's choice not to
 choose marriage1 or to desire it       
without parenthood2 and for exemption   
from the latter1 real altruistic as well
 as real egoistic reasons can be urged4 
,it lies in the individual choice of the
 woman1 as well as of the man1 to       
isolate herself from what may be        

regarded as an obstacle to her          
individual development1 or to her       
freedom of movement4 ,she can do without
 love or motherhood1 if the one or both 
of these are regarded from this point of
 view4 ,woman has the full right to     
allow herself to be turned into a third 
sex1 the sex of the working bees1 or the
 sexless ant1 provided she finds in this
 her highest happiness4  ,a good while  
ago ,i was ingenuous enough to maintain 
that motherhood was the central factor  
of existence for most women4 ,in the    
discussion of this question ,i          
considered several facts3 woman's work  
imposed by necessity1 woman's ambition  
stimulated by the freedom of her power1 
woman's intellectual life modified by   
many other influences of contemporary   
thought1--all these have forced the     
maternal instinct into the background   
for the time being4 ,here was a danger  
which1 it seemed1 was not too late to   
expose4 ,there are women in whom the    
feeling of love is really and absolutely

 stunted2 there are others who do not   
find in modern man the soulful and      
profound harmony in love that they quite
 rightly demand2 there are others1 more 
numerous1 who wish for love but do not  
wish for motherhood4 ,they absolutely   
fear it4 ,the famous ,german authoress  
,gabrielle ,reuter has spoken of this   
fear1 this alarm of motherhood          
continually vigilant1 active1 placing   
woman in an attitude of self-defence1--a
 fear which to-day has taken possession 
of so many strenuous and creative women4
 ,the alarm1 the aversion1 becomes so   
strong1 so dominant in them that one    
might almost believe it a dark perverse 
instinct1 which1 like all unnatural     
instincts1 has been conceived and born  
through cruel necessities1 and through  
these necessities has become            
overmastering4 ,it is as if a secret    
voice in the depths of their nature was 
telling these women that1 by paying     
their tribute to their sex1 they would  
lose that power1 brilliancy1 and        

sharpness of intellect by which they    
have elevated themselves above their    
sex2 and perhaps certain kinds of women 
are right in having this fear4  ,i am   
convinced1 just as the ,german writer   
is1 that every actual phenomenon of     
disease and of health alike is a        
necessary result from given causes2 and 
,i am more convinced than the advocates 
of women's rights ever were1 that it is 
in the sphere of human freedom to choose
 one's own type of development1         
happiness1 or ruin4 ,i am not inclined  
to say anything further to the women who
 do not desire motherhood4  ,it would be
 very disastrous if these women1 who    
have never been moved by tenderness when
 they felt a soft childish hand in their
 own1 who have never longed to surrender
 themselves entirely to another being1  
were to become mothers4 ,their children 
would be more unfortunate than they     
themselves4  ,many women like these are 
to be found to-day1 and if things remain
 as they are1 they are bound to increase

 in numbers4 ,in some of them1 however1 
the maternal instinct is not dead1 but  
only dormant4 ,modern women with their  
capacity for psychic analysis1 with     
their physical and psychical refinement1
 are often repelled by the crudeness1   
the ignorance1 or the importunities of  
man's nature4 ,the whole factor of love 
in the being of these women is          
shrivelled up as a bud that has never   
blossomed1 and in enthusiasm for a duty1
 or for a woman friend1 they find an    
expression for that sacrifice whose real
 aim they deny or overlook1 a something 
which ends often by avenging itself in a
 tragic way4  ,i am simply insisting    
that every woman1 who has not yet ceased
 to desire motherhood1 has duties as a  
girl1 and still more as a woman1 to the 
unborn generation from which she cannot 
free herself without absolute           
selfishness4 ,this selfishness is often 
disguised under a great impulse1 an     
impulse which1 like that of the         
preservation of the species1 masters    

existence4 ,i mean the impulse of       
self-protection4 ,but it is just this   
that should make the obligatory egoism  
of the modern working woman appear so   
terrible to those who are busied with   
the emancipation of woman4  ,to talk of 
the freedom of woman1 of her individual 
right to control her actions1 when she  
works like a beast of burden to reach a 
minimum of existence1 to keep from dying
 of starvation1 to talk of the freedom  
of women where conditions are such that 
the free choice of work1 for man as well
 as for woman1 is an empty phrase--to   
put it mildly1 it is senseless4 ,i will 
throw some light on the results of      
freedom by the following illustration3  
,when women in ,england worked in white 
lead factories1 seventy-seven women were
 examined in one factory4 ,it appeared  
in the time covered by the investigation
 that there were among this number      
ninety miscarriages1 twenty-seven cases 
of still-born children2 beside1 forty   
young children died of convulsions      

produced by the poisoning of their      
mothers4 ,the effects of this occupation
 were most harmful in the case of women 
from eighteen to twenty-three years of  
age4 ,lameness1 blindness1 and other    
infirmities resulted from this kind of  
work4  ,an ,english doctor has shown    
from exact investigations conducted     
during a number of years1 that the      
enormous mortality among young children 
in factory districts arises chiefly     
because the child is deprived of a      
mother's care a few weeks after birth4  
,a child needs its mother's milk at     
least six months1 and the mother's milk 
cannot be substituted by artificial     
means1 least of all when the substitutes
 are used with carelessness4 ,in certain
 textile factory districts1 in          
,nottingham1 for example1 where lace is 
produced1 and where people have         
complained of the law limiting women's  
work1 out of each thousand children1 two
 hundred die annually4 ,mortality in    
factory districts is four to five times 

greater than in country districts2 and  
yet the death of children is1 relatively
 speaking1 a lesser evil4 ,more         
unfortunate still is it that those who  
survive always suffer partial weakness  
from the lack of a mother's care at a   
tender age4  ,in ,silesia1 where        
children and quite young girls are      
employed in the glass industry1 the work
 has so distorted their bodily structure
 that when they bear children1 their    
sufferings are intense4 ,such unique    
material do they offer for the study of 
obstetrics1 that doctors make           
pilgrimages to ,silesia to learn from   
their cases4  ,before women have reached
 maturity1 when they can1 according to  
the advocates of women's rights1 protect
 themselves1 they are ruined physically4
 ,if it is said that the facts mentioned
 above belong to the question of the    
protection of children1 not to that of  
the protection of women1 the answer lies
 close at hand4 ,the physical and moral 
interest of children and of women are so

 mutually related1 that they cannot be  
separated4 ,crippled women have children
 who are stunted at the time of their   
birth4 ,the burden of toil they take up 
with weakened power of resistance and   
they transmit this weakness to their    
offspring4 ,cause and effect are so     
intimately associated here1 that they   
cannot be accurately apportioned between
 the work of women and the work of      
children4  ,even the advocates of       
women's rights must1 allow that the     
limit of their claims to right is to be 
found where the right of another begins4
 ,they cannot suppose that the          
individual right of the woman to control
 her life should go so far that a woman 
could take a piece of a neighbour's     
property to lay out a garden1 or use for
 an industrial scheme a part of the     
water power belonging to some one else4 
,can they not see that woman's          
individual freedom is limited by the    
rights of another1 by the rights of the 
potential child8 ,the potential child   

has its own proper rights1 its own vital
 power4 ,this property1 the woman has   
not the right to encroach upon in       
advance4  ,a woman1 who from one motive 
or another1 great or small1 permanently 
keeps outside of the marriage relation1 
has complete right to ruin herself by   
work1 provided she does not1 as a result
 of so doing1 become a burden to others 
through incapacity4  ,but the woman who 
looks forward to motherhood as a        
possibility for herself1 or the woman   
who is expecting to become a mother1    
should not1 through an unlimited amount 
of voluntary work or of work forced upon
 her contrary to her will1 sacrifice the
 capacities for life and work of an     
unborn generation1 in such a way that   
she will bring into the world weak1     
invalid1 or physically incapable        
children1 who will later on be          
neglected4  ,it does not occur to the   
dogmatic advocates of women's rights    
that their talk about the individual    
freedom of the woman to control her     

career1 their contention that no        
limitation need restrict woman's power  
of deciding her own vocation1 because   
they are married or are mothers1 mean   
the most crying injury1 not only to     
children1 but to women themselves4 ,for 
the demand of equality1 where nature has
 made inequality1 brings about the      
injury of the weaker factor4 ,equality  
is not justice4 ,often it is just the   
opposite1 the most absolute injustice4  
,the strongest reasoning will not       
convince those advocates of women's     
rights who discuss woman's labour from  
the old-fashioned level of              
individualism1 unaffected by the social 
feeling of solidarity1 which is the     
solution offered by our age4 ,but       
fortunately protective legislation does 
not depend on the women who advocate the
 rights of women4 ,the workingmen's     
movement1 aided by women and men of all 
classes who are active in it1 will carry
 through this legislation4 ,the movement
 for the normal working day is steadily 

gaining ground4  ,experience has shown  
that1 because of the greater intensity  
of the work done1 just as much can be   
accomplished in a shorter as in a longer
 time4 ,the first concern has been the  
work of children and of younger adults4 
,the effect of factory life on the      
health of women themselves1 as well as  
on their children1 has excited general  
attention4 ,in ,england first1 then in  
other ,european countries1 it has become
 recognised as necessary that a normal  
period of work should be laid down for  
women as well4 ,the programme was and   
continues to be threefold3--a maximum   
working time for women's work2          
limitation1 or1 better still1 the       
cessation of night work on the part of  
women2 the prevention1 too1 of the work 
of women in mines and in certain other  
industries dangerous to health2 finally 
the protection of women who are about to
 become mothers4 ,in most ,european     
countries there is now a maximum working
 time fixed at eight to eleven hours4   

,night work1 work in mines1 and extra   
work1 is either forbidden or            
considerably limited1 and a rest period 
of three to eight weeks is established  
for women at childbirth4  ,from all     
points of view1 an eight-hour working   
day should be the highest limit for     
woman's work4 ,there are more reasons   
for it in her case than for man's work4 
,the eight-hour day means not only for  
the woman as for the man the possibility
 of enjoying her life in permanent      
health2 it secures time for improving   
recreation4 ,for the married woman it is
 an indispensable requirement4 ,without 
it her home cannot be kept in order and 
comfort1 her children cannot be         
physically cared for2 without it she is 
not able to co-operate in their         
education4 ,the normal working day is1  
therefore1 more necessary for the woman 
than for the man1 because on her1 rather
 than on him1 comes the burden of       
household work4 ,the dangers of night   
work1 as of work in mines1 are from the 

standpoint of health and morality so    
plain1 that no further reason need be   
urged to defend protective legislation  
in this case4  ,but not only the        
theoretical principles of women's rights
 are urged against this legislation4    
,socialists as well as the advocates of 
women's rights are responsible for      
different objections of a more solid    
character4 ,it is urged that legislation
 will increase the number of unemployed 
women who1 in order to live1 will be    
forced into prostitution1 but it is     
forgotten that the same result comes    
from low wages in many occupations1 and 
that these low wages are caused by an   
over-supply of working women4 ,it is    
said1 also1 that if protective          
legislation hinders or prevents women   
from working1 they will not be able to  
care for their children and the children
 will be employed in the factory in     
their stead4 ,the way out of the last   
difficulty is absolutely plain3 the     
complete prohibition of all work by     

children under fifteen years of age4    
,it is urged also that if women are     
hindered by legislation from fulfilling 
the demands of their occupation1 the    
result will be1 not that they are       
protected in their occupation1 but that 
the occupation is protected against     
them4 ,the remedy in this case is       
certainly difficult1 but not impossible 
to find4 ,let only the tenth part of the
 energy now used in agitation for the   
free right of women to labour be        
employed in preparing women for such    
labour as they are suited to undertake4 
,but even when this cannot be done      
protective legislation carries with it  
its own corrective4 ,it is always urged 
that the occupation will be destroyed by
 protective legislation4 ,then new      
methods and new machines will be        
invented to replace cheap labour power4 
,those who are protected often          
themselves complain that they suffer    
economically under protective           
legislation1 but a long experience will 

show them how1 through the reciprocal   
effects of all factors in production1   
the temporary failures will be balanced4
 ,a potent remedy for this effect of    
protective legislation may be looked for
 in the assertion1 found in the         
programmes of all labour parties1 of the
 right of the unemployed to have work1  
and a fixed minimum wage4 ,these demands
 along with that for a normal working   
day1 in which is included rest at night 
and rest on ,sunday1 and other measures 
for the protection of workingmen against
 accident and old age1 are the chief    
methods by which the labour question1   
both for men and women1 will be solved4 
,until these aims are realised ,ruskin's
 judgment on modern industrialism which 
kills the real humanity in man holds    
good both for men and for women4 ,we    
make1 he says1 everything except real   
men2 we bleach cotton2 we harden and    
improve steel2 we refine sugar2 we make 
porcelain and print books2 but to refine
 a single living soul1 to reform it1 to 

improve it never enters into our        
reckoning of profit4  ,the women of the 
working classes must continue to endure 
the suffering1 to bear the dangers1 to  
subject themselves to the forces which  
solidarity in this great struggle       
implies4 ,only under these conditions   
can men as well as women elevate        
themselves1 partly by their own         
combination1 partly by the extension of 
the principle1 more and more coming to  
be recognised1 that society1 through its
 legislation1 can determine the         
conditions under which its members work4
 ,so will be produced conditions of life
 and of work worthy of mankind1--a      
healthier1 stronger1 and more beautiful 
race4 ,in this ever continuing progress 
every part is related to every other    
part4  ,unorganised1 ordinary and       
therefore badly paid work1 done by      
woman1 diminishes the wages of man and  
his opportunity of work4 ,work in a     
factory unfits the woman for the conduct
 of the household1 for her duties as a  

mother4 ,in the turmoil1 heat1 and rush 
of the factory her nerves are destroyed 
and with them her finer emotions4 ,the  
woman loses not only the right hand1 but
 also the right heart for family life4  
,badly conditioned women make marriage  
more difficult for the man2 through     
celibacy1 his mortality is increased4   
,low wages1 or times of lack of         
employment1 cause bad dwellings1 bad    
clothes1 and bad nourishment4 ,the      
tortured or ill-conditioned woman is not
 able to prepare anything good with the 
small amount of money which the man may 
earn4 ,from all of this come            
intemperance and disease4 ,through these
 causes1 combined with those already    
noted1 the population of factory        
districts degenerates1 in republican    
,switzerland1 not less than in          
absolutistic ,russia4  ,it is true that 
such limitations of work in many cases  
are felt1 as well by the single woman as
 by the family4 ,the restriction of     
child labour may bring immediate        

discomfort4 ,but all this is a passing  
evil4 ,it can be corrected1 as soon as  
it is clearly seen in what direction the
 advance along all the line is being    
made4 ,this kind of progress moves in   
zigzag fashion4 ,what decides whether   
temporary limitation of freedom makes   
for progress or not is whether one      
finds1 in turning from the individual1  
or small groups1 to the great whole1    
that the last is gaining1 that in the   
future1 freedom and happiness for all   
will be increased by this temporary     
limitation of freedom4  ,in other       
relations of life it is a just law that 
he who goes into a game must abide by   
its rules4 ,but this rule cannot be     
applied to that very cruel game which we
 call life4 ,we do not go into it of our
 own will4 ,children have the right not 
to be obliged to suffer for the mistakes
 and errors of their parents4 ,how this 
suffering can be best avoided in case of
 an inharmonious marriage must be       
decided by the different individuals1 as

 a question belonging to them alone4 ,as
 ,i have already shown1 change of custom
 in relation to the time1 age1 and      
motives for marriage is the surest      
protection for the children1 a          
protection that will gradually be       
extended4 ,under a serious conviction of
 woman's duty as a member of her sex1 it
 will be regarded as a crime for a young
 wife voluntarily to ill-treat her      
person1 either by excessive study1 or   
excessive attention to sports1 by       
tight-lacing1 or consumption of sweets1 
by smoking or the use of stimulants1 by 
sitting up at night1 excessive work1 or 
by all the thousand other ways by which 
these attractive simpletons sin against 
nature1 until nature finally loses all  
patience with them4  ,it must be        
demanded of the laws of society that    
they hinder involuntary crimes of       
unprotected women against their feminine
 nature4  ,this is the great work of    
woman's emancipation2 everything else   
compared with it is non-essential4      

,through their failure to see this the  
present representatives of women's      
rights are working against progress1    
though they themselves apply the word   
reactionary to all who assert that the  
only way by which the woman question as 
a whole can be solved is through the    
social revolution4 ,in this revolution  
protective legislation is an important  
factor4  ,according to my method of     
thinking1 and that of many others1 not  
woman but the mother is the most        
precious possession of the nation1 so   
precious that society advances its own  
highest well-being when it protects the 
functions of the mother4 ,these         
functions are not limited to birth nor  
to the nourishment of the child2 but    
they go on during the whole time of its 
training4 ,i believe that in the new    
society where all women and men alike   
will be compelled to work 7not children1
 not invalids1 and not the aged7 people 
will regard the maternal function as so 
important for the whole social order1   

that every mother under fixed           
conditions1 subject to certain control1 
during a certain period1 and for a      
certain number of children1 will obtain 
from society an allowance for education4
 ,she will receive this during the time 
in which her children require all her   
care1 while she herself is freed from   
work outside the home4 ,naturally this  
does not exclude the case of mothers who
 from one or another reason cannot      
devote themselves to the care and       
training of their children2 they can by 
their own productive work secure a      
substitute4 ,but for the majority of    
women1 the proposal made above would    
undoubtedly be the real solution of many
 problems which now seem insoluble4 ,i  
do not believe that social development  
will maintain the old ideal of the      
father as the one who takes care of the 
family4 ,i hope1 rather1 that the new   
conception of having every individual   
look after himself will gain more       
ground4 ,the father will then be1 in the

 real sense of the word1 the educator1  
when the care for the maintenance of the
 family does not press him down to the  
ground4 ,a woman will then1 as mother of
 the family1 not be in dependence on the
 man1--a position she feels as          
humiliating1 if as a girl she earned her
 own living4 ,people are bound to return
 to this new form of matriarchy1 when   
they begin to consider care of the new  
generation1 as the great business the   
mother takes over for society4 ,during  
its progress society must guarantee her 
existence4 ,in many cases1 the answer of
 the married woman who works outside the
 home would be as follows3 ,that her    
happiness would consist in quietly      
looking after her children1 and in being
 able to keep house1 but that she must  
have an income that would make her      
independent of her husband4 ,a ,swedish 
evening paper1 the special organ of the 
feminist movement1 two years ago started
 an investigation on the productive work
 of married women4 ,the answers1        

contrary to the expectations of the     
paper1 were nearly unanimous in showing 
what dangers for children1 and what     
interference with household comfort1    
were caused by the woman working outside
 the home4 ,an impartial investigation  
of the causes of the increasing         
brutality of the young would show       
certainly that the rapid increase in    
crime in several countries among the    
young is caused partly by their         
prematurely taking up productive work1  
and partly by early lack of home life1  
the result of the mother working outside
 the home4  ,if the world is agreed that
 children must still continue to be born
 and that a home furnishes generally the
 best means for training them during the
 first years of their life1 the present 
consequences of woman's work done       
outside the home must cause pessimism2  
such work must be stopped4 ,after we    
have thought over the matter1 it is     
plain that nothing is now more needed   
than such plans of social order1 such   

programmes of education1 as will give   
the mother back to her children and to  
her home4  ,everything that philanthropy
 now does to heal the injurious and     
disintegrating effects of the           
capitalistic industrial system is on the
 whole wasted power4 ,children's crches1
 kindergartens1 providing meals for     
children1 hospitals1 vacation homes1    
cannot with all their noble efforts     
replace a hundredth part of the life    
energy1 taken directly or indirectly    
from the new generation by women working
 outside the home4  ,there are some     
people who expect the problem of        
domestic life to be solved by collective
 institutions which will take care of   
the children1 and give them meals4 ,just
 as brewing1 baking1 slaughtering1      
making candles and clothes1 have more   
and more ceased to be done in the home1 
much of the work which now absorbs the  
greatest part of household activity1    
cooking1 washing1 mending and cleaning  
clothes1 will1 ,i firmly believe1       

finally be done by collective effort1 by
 the help of electricity and machines4  
,but ,i hope the tendency of man towards
 individualisation will overcome the    
tendency towards impersonal1 uniform    
application of power en masse1 in       
everything by which the innermost       
relations of life and private habits are
 deeply affected4 ,a strong family life 
will1 ,i hope1 be regarded as the basis 
for true happiness and for the          
development of personality4 ,when women 
are free from the barbarous relics of   
present methods of housekeeping1--the   
market basket1 the kitchen utensils1 the
 scrubbing brush gone from every house1 
electricity everywhere spreading warmth 
and life1--they will still be forced to 
do a certain amount of work4 ,this      
cannot be avoided even by the help of   
the most perfect apparatus and by       
co-operative methods1 provided the house
 is not to be replaced by the barrack4  
,and since the custom of keeping        
servants will soon cease because1       

probably1 there will be no servants to  
keep1 all women will be forced to do    
housework1 or find the remedy already   
discovered in ,america where bureaus    
supply domestic help for a fixed time   
for a fixed price4 ,in ,london1 too1    
there is at present a guild for general 
houseworkers who are trained for        
occupation and work under regularly     
established conditions4 ,in the country1
 not only wives but daughters will be   
needed for agricultural labour1 when    
there are no more hired labourers to be 
had4 ,this will be a natural corrective 
against that pressure towards outside   
fields of labour1 that has taken the    
daughters in multitudes away from home1 
and has crowded and overflowed the      
cities with them4  ,finally if we weigh 
the economic loss occasioned by the fact
 that women after five or ten years'    
preparation have to give up work or     
study as a result of marriage1 it is    
easy to see that the modern work of     
women has had results which must soon   

lead to earnest thought1 in balancing up
 the accounts for or against the system4
 ,from the point of view of the woman   
herself1 from the children's point of   
view1 from the man's point of view1 and 
finally1 from the productive point of   
view1 it has become pretty plain that   
society must either change the          
conditions of woman's labour or see a   
progressive disintegration in home life4
 ,society must either transform the     
conditions of life and work1 or it will 
witness the degeneration of the sexes4  
,all philanthropy--no age has seen more 
of it than our own--is only a savoury   
fumigation burning at the mouth of a    
sewer4 ,this incense offering makes the 
air more endurable for passers-by1 but  
it does not hinder the infection in the 
sewer from spreading4  ,selfishness1 the
 instinct of self-preservation1 will    
perhaps end by forcing the leaders of   
society to direct their actions from the
 social point of view4 ,then the woman  
question will become a question of      

humanity2 then will its champions       
perhaps come to see that there can be no
 enduring good for the woman1 if she    
works under conditions injurious to men 
and to children4 ,it will be seen that  
the old axiom can be justly applied to  
the demands made in the name of woman's 
individuality2 supreme right becomes    
supreme injustice4 ,justice is not to be
 reached by having the woman work under 
conditions which ruin both her and the  
whole generation physically4 ,in other  
respects she must be able to use her    
free choice1 and be educated enough to  
make good use of it4 ,justice consists  
in protecting innumerable women1 who are
 not able as yet to protect themselves1 
against the abuses of which capital is  
guilty in employing their labour power4 
,it is an instructive feature in the    
history of class conflict1 and of the   
movement for women's progress1 that as  
women began by driving men out of       
certain fields of labour1 so now        
unmarried women try to force married    

women from the labour market4 ,in       
,america1 where everything goes at full 
speed1 an association has been founded  
among unmarried women with this         
intention4 ,these and similar phenomena 
belong to the system of free            
competition1 the creation of the leading
 thought of our time1 the right of the  
individual to determine his own         
vocation4 ,perhaps when the war of women
 against women becomes the rule1 the    
women's rights women will see that the  
problem of woman's work is more         
complicated than they imagine4 ,they    
have continued to look at it till now   
only from the point of view of a woman's
 right to take care of herself4 ,perhaps
 they will then understand that         
individualism1 apart from the feeling of
 solidarity1 leads to social conflict1  
class against class1 sex against sex1   
unmarried against married1 young against
 old4 ,so it will be seen that only in  
the transformation of the whole of      
society can woman attain her full rights

 without impairing1 through her advance1
 the rights of others4  ,the sooner the 
women's rights party understands this1  
the better4 ,instead of fighting        
protective legislation1 they should     
advocate it2 instead of regarding unions
 and strikes with disfavour1 they should
 help labouring women to organise       
unions1 and support strikes where       
strikes are justified4  ,our century1   
which has opened up to women new fields 
of labour1 has made life very hard for  
her by forcing her in the competitive   
struggle4 ,as wives1 as married or      
unmarried mothers1 as divorced women1 as
 widows1 women often not only have the  
burden of their own support to bear1 but
 they have frequently the rle of        
guardian of a family1 working for an    
invalid or intemperate husband2 for     
children1 or sisters1 or aged parents4  
,these women1 whether they belong to    
those who labour with the brain or with 
the hand1 are worn out1 partly by       
earning their own living1 partly by     

household tasks4 ,while the man goes    
from home to his work1 refreshed by     
rest1 the woman often goes already tired
 out1 and she comes back to the house   
perhaps to work at night4 ,it is as     
clear as day that by so doing she loses 
her bodily health and mental equanimity1
 both needed by her children4 ,it is    
astonishing how many working women      
despite all this have enough energy for 
intellectual effort in reading and      
thinking4 ,they soon see1 women like    
these1 that an occupation is not        
emancipation4 ,the best that can be said
 is that it is only a means to          
emancipation4 ,those who work with their
 hands are not the worst off in this    
respect4 ,bookkeepers1 telephone and    
telegraph operators1 post-office        
employees1 shop girls1 waiters in public
 establishments1 and servants in private
 houses1 who must often serve the public
 standing1 and who are often deprived of
 rest at night and on ,sunday1 are      
practically labour's worst slaves4 ,who 

can wonder if the possible income       
obtained by an immoral life is reckoned 
by the employer1 when he secures for his
 establishment1 at low wages1 the       
services of attractive young girls8     
,small wonder it is that such employees1
 worried to death in shops1 telephone   
bureaus1 post and telegraph offices1    
should often be driven to hysteria1     
insanity1 and suicide4  ,the advocates  
of women's rights are not blind to all  
these incongruities4 ,they ask equal    
salaries for men and women1 and claim1  
often with justice1 and often without1  
that women's work is too inadequately   
compensated4 ,but they do not see that  
they have contributed to the evil by    
constantly urging women to work in all  
possible occupations1 and that a low    
rate of wages and an overcrowding of all
 fields of labour is the result4 ,it is 
far more necessary to pay attention to  
these things than to open up new fields 
of labour to women1 if their vital      
energy is not to be dried up1 if they   

are not to lose their youthful freshness
 and attractiveness prematurely1 and    
their possibilities for development and 
happiness as human beings1 wives1 and   
mothers4  ,a loss of freedom            
accomplished gradually1 this is1 on the 
whole1 the sad result of the so-called  
emancipation of women in our century1 if
 the subject is looked at broadly1 apart
 from the few thousand women of the     
upper classes in good paying positions4 
,for several decades1 ,i have felt      
strongly against the importance given by
 the advocates of women's rights to the 
work of women outside of the home1 for  
the reasons ,i have given above4 ,i have
 applied to such work the objection     
formulated by ,feuerbach in these words3
 ,mediocrity always weighs correctly1   
only its weight is false4  ,wherever we 
look1 in ,europe or ,america1 we find   
new and injurious results from the new  
conditions1 from the free activity of   
women's work through the development of 
industry on a large scale1 through the  

transformation of home work1 and the    
growing conviction on the part of women 
that celibacy is the aristocracy of the 
future1 to quote the words of a         
distinguished supporter of woman's      
rights4  ,yet it would be foolish to    
wish a change in these unhappy results  
through a reaction that would again rob 
the woman of her essential freedom in   
relation to her choice of work1 and the 
control of her life4  ,the line of      
progress is tending towards a new       
society1 where all will be compelled to 
work and all will find work2 where all  
will work moderately under healthy      
conditions for an adequate wage4 ,then  
neither the unmarried nor the married   
woman will lose her strength by         
exhausting work done to earn a living1  
or impair the powers she needs for      
motherhood4 ,if she becomes a mother1 in
 most cases she will really rejoice at  
the possibility offered to her by       
society of working for society1 as a    
mother and an educator4  ,we are yet    

very far from such a society1 but every 
social regulation should1 as we have    
said1 be tested as to whether it brings 
us nearer this ideal or leads us farther
 away from it4 ,the question should be  
asked whether the direction of thought  
is encouraged or restricted1 that will  
in the end transform everything1 the    
conviction ,i mean that economic        
production is here in the world for the 
sake of men1 not1 as now1 men for the   
sake of production2 that work is to be  
done for the sake of freedom1 not1 as   
now1 freedom created for the sake of    
work4  ,when ,i tried in my book called 
,the ,misuse of the ,power of ,woman to 
urge women to test the consequences of  
this process1 my thesis was as follows3 
,in our programme of civilisation1 we   
must start out with the conviction that 
motherhood is something essential to the
 nature of woman and the way in which   
she carries out this profession is of   
value for society4 ,on this basis we    
must alter the conditions which more and

 more are robbing woman of the happiness
 of motherhood and are robbing children 
of the care of a mother4 ,or1 we must   
begin with the assumption that          
motherhood is not essential3 then       
everything must continue to go on as it 
is going on now1 and work directed      
towards external spheres with its       
satisfaction in the joy of creation1 of 
ambition1 of gain1 of enjoyment1 of     
independence1 will be more and more the 
end towards which women will arrange    
their plan of life4 ,for this end they  
will modify their fundamental habits and
 remould their feelings4 ,the nave      
belief that every woman1 who has the    
liberty to do so1 is following her own  
nature1 shows a complete ignorance of   
psychology and history4 ,some ideal     
considered worth striving for1 the      
prevailing view of a period1 will obtain
 supremacy over nature4 ,this is shown  
best in the stunted feeling of          
motherhood peculiar to the eighteenth   
century1 by the plain results of medival

 asceticism4 ,by a new ideal innumerable
 women are now driven from a life       
directed inwards to a life directed     
outwards4  ,i am in favour of real      
freedom for woman2 that is1 ,i wish her 
to follow her own nature1 whether she be
 an exceptional or an ordinary woman4   
,but the opinion held by the feminine   
advocates of woman's emancipation1 in   
regard to the nature and the aims of the
 everyday woman1 does violence to the   
real nature of most women4 ,it is one of
 the most remarkable manifestations of  
the times that1 while women preach about
 the rights of woman and her will to    
work and to act unrestrained by family  
ties1 men like ,ibsen1 for example1 in  
,when ,we ,dead ,people ,awake1 show    
that the real ,fall of ,man in life is  
transgression of the law of love1       
meaning that man through this           
transgression not only diminishes his   
personality1 but lessens his creative   
capacity4  ,it would appear as though   
men were approaching the conception of  

love once held by women1 while women    
were beginning to regard love as a petty
 episode in life compared with what are 
really its true concerns1 an episode    
which gives life the colour of a        
sensual1 sentimental1 psychological1 or 
sportsmanlike adventure1 an episode     
which she treats as a game which she can
 get into1 and just as easily get out   
of4 ,from this new position in which    
extremes meet1 suffering1 previously    
undreamed of1 must arise4 ,such results 
coming to the emancipated woman will ,i 
hope reveal to her the eternal laws of  
her own being1 laws from which she      
cannot be freed without destroying      
herself4  ,i would not put the slightest
 hindrance1 however1 in the way of a    
single isolated woman pursuing her own  
path freely1 if it leads her even to the
 most unusual forms of labour and       
attempts to make a living4 ,but for the 
sake of women themselves1 for the sake  
of children1 for the sake of society1 ,i
 wish men as well as women to think     

earnestly over the present position of  
things4 ,they will see that in the near 
future1 one of two things must be       
chosen4 ,either there must be such a    
transformation of the way in which      
modern society thinks and works that the
 majority of women will be restored to  
motherhood1 or the disintegration of the
 home and the substitution of general   
institutions will inevitably result4    
,there is no alternative4  ,undoubtedly 
it required the whole egoistic          
self-assertion of woman1 all her efforts
 towards individuality1 her temporary   
separation from home and from family1   
her independent efforts to make a living
 to convince man and society of the     
following truths3 that woman is not     
solely a sexual being1 not solely       
dependent on man1 the home and the      
family1 no matter in what form these may
 exist4 ,only in this way could woman   
fulfil her destiny as wife and mother   
with really free choice4 ,only in this  
way could she secure the right of being 

regarded as man's intellectual equal in 
the field of the home and the family1   
the recognition that in her way she was 
just as complete a being as he4  ,but it
 is clear that this fragment of feminine
 egoism must have a further consequence4
 ,with the rights of sex the feeling of 
solidarity must be awakened4 ,the woman 
must see that her emancipated and       
developed human personality will lead to
 this solidarity by the realisation of  
her especial vocation as woman4 ,women  
in parliament and in journalism1 their  
representation in the local and general 
government1 in peace congress and in    
workingmen's meetings1 science and      
literature1 all this will produce small 
results until women realise that the    
transformation of society begins with   
the unborn child1 with the conditions   
for its coming into existence1 its      
physical and psychical training4 ,it    
must be the general conviction that the 
new instincts1 the new feelings1 the new
 thoughts1 the new ideas1 which mothers 

and fathers pass on into the flesh and  
blood of their children1 will transform 
existence4 ,when1 after many successive 
generations1 the new spiritual kingdom  
of this world has arisen1 there will    
come into being these greater ideas     
through which life may be renewed4      
,until that time secular misdeeds1      
political injustice1 economic           
struggles1--all these socially          
destructive abuses will go on from      
generation to generation4 ,mankind      
remains the same though its acts may    
take different shapes4 ,thinkers will   
always find new ideas1 scholars new     
methods and systems1 artists new sthetic
 creations1 but on the whole everything 
must remain the same4 ,only when woman  
heeds the message which life proclaims  
to her1 that1 through her1 salvation    
must come--will the face of the earth be
 renewed4 ,oratorical talk of the high  
task of mothers and of the great        
profession of education are empty       
phrases1 until we see that the          

possibility of humanity and civilisation
 winning some day the victory over      
savagery depends on the physiological   
and psychological transformation of     
man's nature4 ,this transformation      
requires an entirely new conception of  
the vocation of mother1 a tremendous    
effort of will1 continuous inspiration4 
,those who believe they can fulfil their
 duties as mothers and at the same time 
can accomplish other valuable work have 
never made the experiment of education4 
,the long continued habit of alternately
 caressing and striking one's children  
is not education4 ,it needs tremendous  
power to do one's duty to a single      
child4 ,this by no means signifies      
giving up to the child every hour of    
one's time1 but it does mean that our   
soul is to be filled by the child1 just 
as the man of science is possessed by   
his investigations and the artist by his
 work4 ,the child should be in one's    
thoughts when one is sitting at home or 
walking along the road1 when one is     

lying down or when one is standing up4  
,this devotion1 much more than the hours
 immediately given to one's children1 is
 the absorbing thing2 the occupation    
which makes an earnest mother always go 
to any external activity with divided   
soul and dissipated energy4 ,therefore  
the mother1 if she gives her children   
the share they need1 can devote to      
social activities only her occasional   
attention4 ,and for the same reason she 
should be entirely free from working to 
earn her living during the most critical
 years of the children's training4      
,neither in the upper nor in the lower  
classes1 have ,i ever heard of any      
mother forced to do work of this kind or
 one engaged in artistic productions    
through the stimulus of her talents1 who
 was able to satisfy her children in the
 period when they were growing up4      
,adele ,gerhard and ,helen ,simon under 
the title of ,motherhood and            
,intellectual ,work published a very    
interesting investigation in which ,i   

found my own observations substantiated4
 ,the book showed that a mother who     
wished to train her children and at the 
same time engage in an occupation1 or   
take part in some public activity1 could
 give to neither her whole personality4 
,the result is a mediocre education for 
the children and for herself2 mediocre  
work done with a divided soul4 ,this is 
allowed to be true by all of those      
really conscientious mothers who have   
maintained a high aim in their work and 
in the bringing up of their children4   
,they are dilettantes in both           
directions2 what they do is half done   
owing to the effort to unite two        
separate fields of work4  ,from the     
point of view of women's rights1 it is  
said1 in reply to these opinions of     
mine1 that motherhood can be made       
infinitely easier by a natural method of
 life1 that work can be very well       
combined with it4 ,it is said that      
children soon grow out of needing the   
protection of their mother1 that the    

mothers can then devote themselves      
entirely to their work4 ,they contend   
besides that motherhood is no           
unconditional obligation2 that people   
are fully justified in making different 
individual arrangements2 one woman      
wishes to become a mother1 another not4 
,the one gets married with the hope of  
becoming a mother2 the other with the   
resolution of avoiding maternity4 ,the  
third does not marry at all4 ,attempts  
to generalise on this matter in which   
individual freedom has every right to be
 recognised1 they consider reactionary4 
,full freedom for the woman1 married or 
unmarried1 to choose her work and to    
continue it2 full freedom to choose     
motherhood or to do without it1 this    
they say is the way to free woman1 this 
is the line of progress4 ,here woman is 
subject to that economic law which has  
made it necessary for her to work for   
her own living4 ,just as woman's        
household work has been superseded by   
factory work1 so too1 they say1 will the

 maternal obligations of woman be       
fulfilled collectively1 and the         
difficulties on which the so-called     
reactionary members of the women's      
rights movement base their arguments1   
will in the future only arise in        
exceptional cases4 ,as regards these    
arguments1 ,i have already shown that ,i
 recognise fully the right of the       
feminine individual to go her own way1  
to choose her own fortune or misfortune4
 ,i have always spoken of women         
collectively and of society             
collectively4  ,from this general1 not  
from the individual standpoint1 ,i am   
trying to convince women that vengeance 
is being exacted on the individual1 on  
the race1 when woman gradually destroys 
the deepest vital source of her physical
 and psychical being1 the power of      
motherhood4  ,but present-day woman is  
not adapted to motherhood2 she will only
 be fitted for it when she has trained  
herself for motherhood and man is       
trained for fatherhood4 ,then man and   

woman can begin together to bring up the
 new generation out of which some day   
society will be formed4 ,in it1 the     
completed man--the ,superman--will be   
bathed in that sunshine whose distant   
rays but colour the horizon of to-day4  
,,chapter ,,iii  ,,education   ,goethe  
showed long ago in his ,werther a clear 
understanding of the significance of    
individualistic and psychological       
training1 an appreciation which will    
mark the century of the child4 ,in this 
work he shows how the future power of   
will lies hidden in the characteristics 
of the child1 and how along with every  
fault of the child an uncorrupted germ  
capable of producing good is enclosed4  
,always1 he says1 ,i repeat the golden  
words of the teacher of mankind1 'if ye 
do not become as one of these1' and now1
 good friend1 those who are our equals1 
whom we should look upon as our models1 
we treat as subjects2 they should have  
no will of their own2 do we have none8  
,where is our prerogative8 ,does it     

consist in the fact that we are older   
and more experienced8 ,good ,god of     
,heaven6 ,thou seest old and young      
children1 nothing else4 ,and in whom    
,thou hast more joy1 ,thy ,son announced
 ages ago4 ,but people believe in ,him  
and do not hear ,him--that1 too1 is an  
old trouble1 and they model their       
children after themselves4 ,the same    
criticism might be applied to our       
present educators1 who constantly have  
on their tongues such words as          
evolution1 individuality1 and natural   
tendencies1 but do not heed the new     
commandments in which they say they     
believe4 ,they continue to educate as if
 they believed still in the natural     
depravity of man1 in original sin1 which
 may be bridled1 tamed1 suppressed1 but 
not changed4 ,the new belief is really  
equivalent to ,goethe's thoughts given  
above1 i4e41 that almost every fault is 
but a hard shell enclosing the germ of  
virtue4 ,even men of modern times still 
follow in education the old rule of     

medicine1 that evil must be driven out  
by evil1 instead of the new method1 the 
system of allowing nature quietly and   
slowly to help itself1 taking care only 
that the surrounding conditions help the
 work of nature4 ,this is education4    
,neither harsh nor tender parents       
suspect the truth expressed by ,carlyle 
when he said that the marks of a noble  
and original temperament are wild1      
strong emotions1 that must be controlled
 by a discipline as hard as steel4      
,people either strive to root out       
passions altogether1 or they abstain    
from teaching the child to get them     
under control4  ,to suppress the real   
personality of the child1 and to        
supplant it with another personality    
continues to be a pedagogical crime     
common to those who announce loudly that
 education should only develop the real 
individual nature of the child4  ,they  
are still not convinced that egoism on  
the part of the child is justified4     
,just as little are they convinced of   

the possibility that evil can be changed
 into good4  ,education must be based on
 the certainty that faults cannot be    
atoned for1 or blotted out1 but must    
always have their consequences4 ,at the 
same time1 there is the other certainty1
 that through progressive evolution1 by 
slow adaptation to the conditions of    
environment they may be transformed4    
,only when this stage is reached will   
education begin to be a science and art4
 ,we will then give up all belief in the
 miraculous effects of sudden           
interference2 we shall act in the       
psychological sphere in accordance with 
the principle of the indestructibility  
of matter4 ,we shall never believe that 
a characteristic of the soul can be     
destroyed4 ,there are but two           
possibilities4 ,either it can be brought
 into subjection or it can be raised up 
to a higher plane4  ,madame de ,stal's  
words show much insight when she says   
that only the people who can play with  
children are able to educate them4 ,for 

success in training children the first  
condition is to become as a child       
oneself1 but this means no assumed      
childishness1 no condescending baby-talk
 that the child immediately sees through
 and deeply abhors4 ,what it does mean  
is to be as entirely and simply taken up
 with the child as the child himself is 
absorbed by his life4 ,it means to treat
 the child as really one's equal1 that  
is1 to show him the same consideration1 
the same kind confidence one shows to an
 adult4 ,it means not to influence the  
child to be what we ourselves desire him
 to become but to be influenced by the  
impression of what the child himself is2
 not to treat the child with deception1 
or by the exercise of force1 but with   
the seriousness and sincerity proper to 
his own character4  ,somewhere ,rousseau
 says that all education has failed in  
that nature does not fashion parents as 
educators nor children for the sake of  
education4 ,what would happen if we     
finally succeeded in following the      

directions of nature1 and recognised    
that the great secret of education lies 
hidden in the maxim1 do not educate8    
,not leaving the child in peace is the  
greatest evil of present-day methods of 
training children4 ,education is        
determined to create a beautiful world  
externally and internally in which the  
child can grow4 ,to let him move about  
freely in this world until he comes into
 contact with the permanent boundaries  
of another's right will be the end of   
the education of the future4 ,only then 
will adults really obtain a deep insight
 into the souls of children1 now an     
almost inaccessible kingdom4 ,for it is 
a natural instinct of self-preservation 
which causes the child to bar the       
educator from his innermost nature4     
,there is the person who asks rude      
questions2 for example1 what is the     
child thinking about8 a question which  
almost invariably is answered with a    
black or a white lie4 ,the child must   
protect himself from an educator who    

would master his thoughts and           
inclinations1 or rudely handle them1 who
 without consideration betrays or makes 
ridiculous his most sacred feelings1 who
 exposes faults or praises              
characteristics before strangers1 or    
even uses an open-hearted1 confidential 
confession as an occasion for reproof at
 another time4  ,the statement that no  
human being learns to understand        
another1 or at least to be patient with 
another1 is true above all of the       
intimate relation of child and parent in
 which1 understanding1 the deepest      
characteristic of love1 is almost always
 absent4  ,parents do not see that      
during the whole life the need of peace 
is never greater than in the years of   
childhood1 an inner peace under all     
external unrest4 ,the child has to enter
 into relations with his own infinite   
world1 to conquer it1 to make it the    
object of his dreams4 ,but what does he 
experience8 ,obstacles1 interference1   
corrections1 the whole livelong day4    

,the child is always required to leave  
something alone1 or to do something     
different1 to find something different1 
or want something different from what he
 does1 or finds1 or wants4 ,he is always
 shunted off in another direction from  
that towards which his own character is 
leading him4 ,all of this is caused by  
our tenderness1 vigilance1 and zeal1 in 
directing1 advising1 and helping the    
small specimen of humanity to become a  
complete example in a model series4  ,i 
have heard a three-year-old child       
characterised as trying because he      
wanted to go into the woods1 whereas the
 nursemaid wished to drag him into the  
city4 ,another child of six years was   
disciplined because she had been naughty
 to a playmate and had called her a     
little pig1--a natural appellation for  
one who was always dirty4 ,these are    
typical examples of how the sound       
instincts of the child are dulled4 ,it  
was a spontaneous utterance of the      
childish heart when a small boy1 after  

an account of the heaven of good        
children1 asked his mother whether she  
did not believe that1 after he had been 
good a whole week in heaven1 he might be
 allowed to go to hell on ,saturday     
evening to play with the bad little boys
 there4  ,the child felt in its         
innermost consciousness that he had a   
right to be naughty1 a fundamental right
 which is accorded to adults2 and not   
only to be naughty1 but to be naughty in
 peace1 to be left to the dangers and   
joys of naughtiness4  ,to call forth    
from this unvirtue the complimentary    
virtue is to overcome evil with good4   
,otherwise we overcome natural strength 
by weak means and obtain artificial     
virtues which will not stand the tests  
which life imposes4  ,it seems simple   
enough when we say that we must overcome
 evil with good1 but practically no     
process is more involved1 or more       
tedious1 than to find actual means to   
accomplish this end4 ,it is much easier 
to say what one shall not do than what  

one must do to change self-will into    
strength of character1 slyness into     
prudence1 the desire to please into     
amiability1 restlessness into personal  
initiative4 ,it can only be brought     
about by recognising that evil1 in so   
far as it is not atavistic or perverse1 
is as natural and indispensable as the  
good1 and that it becomes a permanent   
evil only through its one-sided         
supremacy4  ,the educator wants the     
child to be finished at once1 and       
perfect4 ,he forces upon the child an   
unnatural degree of self-mastery1 a     
devotion to duty1 a sense of honour1    
habits that adults get out of with      
astonishing rapidity4 ,where the faults 
of children are concerned1 at home and  
in school1 we strain at gnats1 while    
children daily are obliged to swallow   
the camels of grown people4  ,the art of
 natural education consists in ignoring 
the faults of children nine times out of
 ten1 in avoiding immediate             
interference1 which is usually a        

mistake1 and devoting one's whole       
vigilance to the control of the         
environment in which the child is       
growing up1 to watching the education   
which is allowed to go on by itself4    
,but educators who1 day in and day out1 
are consciously transforming the        
environment and themselves are still a  
rare product4 ,most people live on the  
capital and interest of an education1   
which perhaps once made them model      
children1 but has deprived them of the  
desire for educating themselves4 ,only  
by keeping oneself in constant process  
of growth1 under the constant influence 
of the best things in one's own age1    
does one become a companion half-way    
good enough for one's children4  ,to    
bring up a child means carrying one's   
soul in one's hand1 setting one's feet  
on a narrow path2 it means never placing
 ourselves in danger of meeting the cold
 look on the part of the child that     
tells us without words that he finds us 
insufficient and unreliable4 ,it means  

the humble realisation of the truth that
 the ways of injuring the child are     
infinite1 while the ways of being useful
 to him are few4 ,how seldom does the   
educator remember that the child1 even  
at four or five years of age1 is making 
experiments with adults1 seeing through 
them1 with marvellous shrewdness making 
his own valuations and reacting         
sensitively to each impression4 ,the    
slightest mistrust1 the smallest        
unkindness1 the least act of injustice  
or contemptuous ridicule1 leave wounds  
that last for life in the finely strung 
soul of the child4 ,while on the other  
side unexpected friendliness1 kind      
advances1 just indignation1 make quite  
as deep an impression on those senses   
which people term as soft as wax but    
treat as if they were made of cowhide4  
,relatively most excellent was the old  
education which consisted solely in     
keeping oneself whole1 pure1 and        
honourable4 ,for it did not at least    
depreciate personality1 although it did 

not form it4 ,it would be well if but a 
hundredth part of the pains now taken by
 parents were given to interference with
 the life of the child and the rest of  
the ninety and nine employed in leading1
 without interference1 in acting as an  
unforeseen1 an invisible providence     
through which the child obtains         
experience1 from which he may draw his  
own conclusions4 ,the present practice  
is to impress one's own discoveries1    
opinions1 and principles on the child by
 constantly directing his actions4 ,the 
last thing to be realised by the        
educator is that he really has before   
him an entirely new soul1 a real self   
whose first and chief right is to think 
over the things with which he comes in  
contact4 ,by a new soul he understands  
only a new generation of an old humanity
 to be treated with a fresh dose of the 
old remedy4 ,we teach the new souls not 
to steal1 not to lie1 to save their     
clothes1 to learn their lessons1 to     
economise their money1 to obey commands1

 not to contradict older people1 say    
their prayers1 to fight occasionally in 
order to be strong4 ,but who teaches the
 new souls to choose for themselves the 
path they must tread8 ,who thinks that  
the desire for this path of their own   
can be so profound that a hard or even  
mild pressure towards uniformity can    
make the whole of childhood a torment4  
,the child comes into life with the     
inheritance of the preceding members of 
the race2 and this inheritance is       
modified by adaptation to the           
environment4 ,but the child shows also  
individual variations from the type of  
the species1 and if his own character is
 not to disappear during the process of 
adaptation1 all self-determined         
development of energy must be aided in  
every way and only indirectly influenced
 by the teacher1 who should understand  
how to combine and emphasise the results
 of this development4  ,interference on 
the part of the educator1 whether by    
force or persuasion1 weakens this       

development if it does not destroy it   
altogether4  ,the habits of the         
household1 and the child's habits in it 
must be absolutely fixed if they are to 
be of any value4 ,amiel truly says that 
habits are principles which have become 
instincts1 and have passed over into    
flesh and blood4 ,to change habits1 he  
continues1 means to attack life in its  
very essence1 for life is only a web of 
habits4  ,why does everything remain    
essentially the same from generation to 
generation8 ,why do highly civilised    
,christian people continue to plunder   
one another and call it exchange1 to    
murder one another en masse1 and call it
 nationalism1 to oppress one another and
 call it statesmanship8  ,because in    
every new generation the impulses       
supposed to have been rooted out by     
discipline in the child1 break forth    
again1 when the struggle for            
existence--of the individual in society1
 of the society in the life of the      
state--begins4 ,these passions are not  

transformed by the prevalent education  
of the day1 but only repressed4         
,practically this is the reason why not 
a single savage passion has been        
overcome in humanity4 ,perhaps          
man-eating may be mentioned as an       
exception4 ,but what is told of         
,european ship companies or ,siberian   
prisoners shows that even this impulse1 
under conditions favourable to it1 may  
be revived1 although in the majority of 
people a deep physical antipathy to     
man-eating is innate4 ,conscious incest1
 despite similar deviations1 must also  
be physically contrary to the majority1 
and in a number of women1 modesty--the  
unity between body and soul in relation 
to love--is an incontestable provision  
of nature4 ,so too a minority would find
 it physically impossible to murder or  
steal4 ,with this list ,i have exhausted
 everything which mankind1 since its    
conscious history began1 has really so  
intimately acquired that the achievement
 is passed on in its flesh and blood4   

,only this kind of conquest can really  
stand up against temptation in every    
form4  ,a deep physiological truth is   
hidden in the use of language when one  
speaks of unchained passions2 the       
passions1 under the prevailing system of
 education1 are really only beasts of   
prey imprisoned in cages4  ,while fine  
words are spoken about individual       
development1 children are treated as if 
their personality had no purpose of its 
own1 as if they were made only for the  
pleasure1 pride1 and comfort of their   
parents2 and as these aims are best     
advanced when children become like every
 one else1 people usually begin by      
attempting to make them respectable and 
useful members of society4  ,but the    
only correct starting point1 so far as a
 child's education in becoming a social 
human being is concerned1 is to treat   
him as such1 while strengthening his    
natural disposition to become an        
individual human being4  ,the new       
educator will1 by regularly ordered     

experience1 teach the child by degrees  
his place in the great orderly system of
 existence2 teach him his responsibility
 towards his environment4 ,but in other 
respects1 none of the individual        
characteristics of the child expressive 
of his life will be suppressed1 so long 
as they do not injure the child himself1
 or others4 ,the right balance must be  
kept between ,spencer's definition of   
life as an adaptation to surrounding    
conditions1 and ,nietzsche's definition 
of it as the will to secure power4  ,in 
adaptation1 imitation certainly plays a 
great rle1 but individual exercise of   
power is just as important4 ,through    
adaptation life attains a fixed form2   
through exercise of power1 new factors4 
,thoughtful people1 as ,i have already  
stated1 talk a good deal about          
personality4 ,but they are1             
nevertheless1 filled with doubts when   
their children are not just like all    
other children2 when they cannot show in
 their offspring all the ready-made     

virtues required by society4 ,and so    
they drill their children1 repressing in
 childhood the natural instincts which  
will have freedom when they are grown4  
,people still hardly realise how new    
human beings are formed2 therefore the  
old types constantly repeat themselves  
in the same circle1--the fine young men1
 the sweet girls1 the respectable       
officials1 and so on4 ,and new types    
with higher ideals1--travellers on      
unknown paths1 thinkers of yet unthought
 thoughts1 people capable of the crime  
of inaugurating new ways1--such types   
rarely come into existence among those  
who are well brought up4  ,nature       
herself1 it is true1 repeats the main   
types constantly4 ,but she also         
constantly makes small deviations4 ,in  
this way different species1 even of the 
human race1 have come into existence4   
,but man himself does not yet see the   
significance of this natural law in his 
own higher development4 ,he wants the   
feelings1 thoughts1 and judgments       

already stamped with approval to be     
reproduced by each new generation4 ,so  
we get no new individuals1 but only more
 or less prudent1 stupid1 amiable1 or   
bad-tempered examples of the genus man4 
,the still living instincts of the ape1 
double1 in the case of man1 the effect  
of heredity4 ,conservatism is for the   
present stronger in mankind than the    
effort to produce new types4 ,but this  
last characteristic is the most         
valuable4 ,the educator should do       
anything but advise the child to do what
 everybody does4 ,he should rather      
rejoice when he sees in the child       
tendencies to deviation4 ,using other   
people's opinion as a standard results  
in subordinating one's self to their    
will4 ,so we become a part of the great 
mass1 led by the ,superman through the  
strength of his will1 a will which could
 not have mastered strong personalities4
 ,it has been justly remarked that      
individual peoples1 like the ,english1  
have attained the greatest political and

 social freedom1 because the personal   
feeling of independence is far in excess
 of freedom in a legal form4            
,accordingly legal freedom has been     
constantly growing4  ,for the progress  
of the whole of the species1 as well as 
of society1 it is essential that        
education shall awake the feeling of    
independence2 it should invigorate and  
favour the disposition to deviate from  
the type in those cases where the rights
 of others are not affected1 or where   
deviation is not simply the result of   
the desire to draw attention to oneself4
 ,the child should be given the chance  
to declare conscientiously his          
independence of a customary usage1 of an
 ordinary feeling1 for this is the      
foundation of the education of an       
individual1 as well as the basis of a   
collective conscience1 which is the only
 kind of conscience men now have4 ,what 
does having an individual conscience    
mean8 ,it means submitting voluntarily  
to an external law1 attested and found  

good by my own conscience4 ,it means    
unconditionally heeding the unwritten   
law1 which ,i lay upon myself1 and      
following this inner law even when ,i   
must stand alone against the whole      
world4  ,it is a frequent phenomenon1 we
 can almost call it a regular one1 that 
it is original natures1 particularly    
talented beings1 who are badly treated  
at home and in school4 ,no one considers
 the sources of conduct in a child who  
shows fear or makes a noise1 or who is  
absorbed in himself1 or who has an      
impetuous nature4 ,mothers and teachers 
show in this their pitiable incapacity  
for the most elementary part in the art 
of education1 that is1 to be able to see
 with their own eyes1 not with          
pedagogical doctrines in their head4  ,i
 naturally expect in the supporters of  
society1 with their conventional        
morality1 no appreciation of the        
significance of the child's putting into
 exercise his own powers4 ,just as      
little is this to be expected of those  

,christian believers who think that     
human nature must be brought to         
repentance and humility1 and that the   
sinful body1 the unclean beast1 must be 
tamed with the rod1--a theory which the 
,bible is brought to support4  ,i am    
only addressing people who can think new
 thoughts and consequently should cease 
using old methods of education4 ,this   
class may reply that the new ideas in   
education cannot be carried out4 ,but   
the obstacle is simply that their new   
thoughts have not made them into new    
men2 the old man in them has neither    
repose1 nor time1 nor patience1 to form 
his own soul1 and that of the child1    
according to the new thoughts4  ,those  
who have tried ,spencer and failed1     
because ,spencer's method demands       
intelligence and patience1 contend that 
the child must be taught to obey1 that  
truth lies in the old rule1 ,as the twig
 is bent the tree is inclined4  ,bent is
 the appropriate word1 bent according to
 the old ideal which extinguishes       

personality1 teaches humility and       
obedience4 ,but the new ideal is that   
man1 to stand straight and upright1 must
 not be bent at all1 only supported1 and
 so prevented from being deformed by    
weakness4  ,one often finds1 in the     
modern system of training1 the crude    
desire for mastery still alive and      
breaking out when the child is          
obstinate4 ,you won't6 say father and   
mother2 ,i will teach you whether you   
have a will4 ,i will soon drive         
self-will out of you4 ,but nothing can  
be driven out of the child2 on the other
 hand1 much can be scourged into it     
which should be kept far away4  ,only   
during the first few years of life is a 
kind of drill necessary1 as a           
pre-condition to a higher training4 ,the
 child is then in such a high degree    
controlled by sensation1 that a slight  
physical pain or pleasure is often the  
only language he fully understands4     
,consequently for some children         
discipline is an indispensable means of 

enforcing the practice of certain       
habits4 ,for other children1 the        
stricter methods are entirely           
unnecessary even at this early age1 and 
as soon as the child can remember a     
blow1 he is too old to receive one4     
,the child must certainly learn         
obedience1 and1 besides1 this obedience 
must be absolute4 ,if such obedience has
 become habitual from the tenderest age1
 a look1 a word1 an intonation is enough
 to keep the child straight4 ,the       
dissatisfaction of those who are        
bringing him up can only be made        
effective when it falls as a shadow in  
the usual sunny atmosphere of home4 ,and
 if people refrain from laying the      
foundations of obedience while the child
 is small1 and his naughtiness is       
entertaining1 ,spencer's method         
undoubtedly will be found unsuitable    
after the child is older and his caprice
 disagreeable4  ,with a very small      
child1 one should not argue1 but act    
consistently and immediately4 ,the      

effort of training should be directed at
 an early period to arrange the         
experiences in a consistent whole of    
impressions according to ,rousseau and  
,spencer's recommendation4 ,so certain  
habits will become impressed in the     
flesh and blood of the child4  ,constant
 crying on the part of small children   
must be corrected when it has become    
clear that the crying is not caused by  
illness or some other                   
discomfort1--discomforts against which  
crying is the child's only weapon4      
,crying is now ordinarily corrected by  
blows4 ,but this does not master the    
will of the child1 and only produces in 
his soul the idea that older people     
strike small children1 when small       
children cry4 ,this is not an ethical   
idea4 ,but when the crying child is     
immediately isolated1 and it is         
explained to him at the same time that  
whoever annoys others must not be with  
them2 if this isolation is the absolute 
result1 and cannot be avoided1 in the   

child's mind a basis is laid for the    
experience that one must be alone when  
one makes oneself unpleasant or         
disagreeable4 ,in both cases the child  
is silenced by interfering with his     
comfort2 but one type of discomfort is  
the exercise of force on his will2 the  
other produces slowly the self-mastery  
of the will1 and accomplishes this by a 
good motive4 ,one method encourages a   
base emotion1 fear4 ,the other corrects 
the will in a way that combines it with 
one of the most important experiences of
 life4 ,the one punishment keeps the    
child on the level of the animal4 ,the  
other impresses upon him the great      
principle of human social life1 that    
when our pleasure causes displeasure to 
others1 other people hinder us from     
following our pleasures2 or withdraw    
themselves from the exercise of our     
self-will4  ,it is necessary that small 
children should accustom themselves to  
good behaviour at table1 etc4 ,if every 
time an act of naughtiness is repeated1 

the child is immediately taken away1 he 
will soon learn that whoever is         
disagreeable to others must remain      
alone4 ,thus a right application is made
 of a right principle4 ,small children1 
too1 must learn not to touch what       
belongs to other people4 ,if every time 
anything is touched without permission1 
children lose their freedom of action   
one way or another1 they soon learn that
 a condition of their free action is not
 to injure others4  ,it is quite true1  
as a young mother remarked1 that empty  
,japanese rooms are ideal places in     
which to bring up children4 ,our modern 
crowded rooms are1 so far as children   
are concerned1 to be condemned4 ,during 
the year in which the real education of 
the child is proceeding by touching1    
tasting1 biting1 feeling1 and so on1    
every moment he is hearing the cry1 ,let
 it alone4 ,for the temperament of the  
child as well as for the development of 
his powers1 the best thing is a large1  
light nursery1 adorned with handsome    

lithographs1 wood-cuts1 and so on1      
provided with some simple furniture1    
where he may enjoy the fullest freedom  
of movement4 ,but if the child is there 
with his parents and is disobedient1 a  
momentary reprimand is the best means to
 teach him to reverence the greater     
world in which the will of others       
prevails1 the world in which the child  
certainly can make a place for himself  
but must also learn that every place    
occupied by him has its limits4  ,if it 
is a case of a danger1 which it is      
desirable that the child should really  
dread1 we must allow the thing itself to
 have an alarming influence4 ,when a    
mother strikes a child because he       
touches the light1 the result is that he
 does this again when the mother is     
away4 ,but let him burn himself with the
 light1 then he is certain to leave it  
alone4 ,in riper years when a boy       
misuses a knife1 a toy1 or something    
similar1 the loss of the object for the 
time being must be the punishment4 ,most

 boys would prefer corporal punishment  
to the loss of their favourite          
possession4 ,but only the loss of it    
will be a real education through        
experience of one of the inevitable     
rules of life1 an experience which      
cannot be too strongly impressed4  ,we  
hear parents who have begun with        
,spencer and then have taken to corporal
 punishment declare that when children  
are too small to repair the clothing    
which they have torn there must be some 
other kind of punishment4 ,but at that  
age they should not be punished at all  
for such things4 ,they should have such 
simple and strong clothes that they can 
play freely in them4 ,later on1 when    
they can be really careful1 the natural 
punishment would be to have the child   
remain at home if he is careless1 has   
spotted his clothes1 or torn them4 ,he  
must be shown that he must help to put  
his clothes in good condition again1 or 
that he will be compelled to buy what he
 has destroyed carelessly with money    

earned by himself4 ,if the child is not 
careful1 he must stay at home1 when     
ordinarily allowed to go out1 or eat    
alone if he is too late for meals4 ,it  
may be said that there are simple means 
by which all the important habits of    
social life may become a second nature4 
,but it is not possible in all cases to 
apply ,spencer's method4 ,the natural   
consequences occasionally endanger the  
health of the child1 or sometimes are   
too slow in their action4 ,if it seems  
necessary to interfere directly1 such   
action must be consistent1 quick1 and   
immutable4 ,how is it that the child    
learns very soon that fire burns8       
,because fire does so always4 ,but the  
mother who at one time strikes1 at      
another threatens1 at another bribes the
 child1 first forbids and then          
immediately after permits some action2  
who does not carry out her threat1 does 
not compel obedience1 but constantly    
gabbles and scolds2 who sometimes acts  
in one way and just as often in another1

 has not learned the effective          
educational methods of the fire4  ,the  
old-fashioned strict training that in   
its crude way gave to the character a   
fixed type rested on its consistent     
qualities4 ,it was consistently strict1 
not as at present a lax hesitation      
between all kinds of pedagogical methods
 and psychological opinions1 in which   
the child is thrown about here and there
 like a ball1 in the hands of grown     
people2 at one time pushed forward1 then
 laughed at1 then pushed aside1 only to 
be brought back again1 kissed till it is
 disgusted1 first ordered about1 and    
then coaxed4 ,a grown man would become  
insane if joking ,titans treated him for
 a single day as a child is treated for 
a year4 ,a child should not be ordered  
about1 but should be just as courteously
 addressed as a grown person in order   
that he may learn courtesy4 ,a child    
should never be pushed into notice1     
never compelled to endure caresses1     
never overwhelmed with kisses1 which    

ordinarily torment him and are often the
 cause of sexual hypersthesia4 ,the     
child's demonstrations of affection     
should be reciprocated when they are    
sincere1 but one's own demonstrations   
should be reserved for special          
occasions4 ,this is one of the many     
excellent maxims of training that are   
disregarded4 ,nor should the child be   
forced to express regret in begging     
pardon and the like4 ,this is excellent 
training for hypocrisy4 ,a small child  
once had been rude to his elder brother 
and was placed upon a chair to repent   
his fault4 ,when the mother after a time
 asked if he was sorry1 he answered1    
,yes1 with emphasis1 but as the mother  
saw a mutinous sparkle in his eyes she  
felt impelled to ask1 ,sorry for what8  
and the youngster broke out1 ,sorry that
 ,i did not call him a liar besides4    
,the mother was wise enough on this     
occasion1 and ever after1 to give up    
insisting on repentance4  ,spontaneous  
penitence is full of significance2 it is

 a deeply felt desire for pardon4 ,but  
an artificial emotion is always and     
everywhere worthless4 ,are you not      
sorry8 ,does it make no difference to   
you that your mother is ill1 your       
brother dead1 your father away from     
home8 ,such expressions are often used  
as an appeal to the emotions of         
children4 ,but children have a right to 
have feelings1 or not have them1 and to 
have them as undisturbed as grown       
people4 ,the same holds good of their   
sympathies and antipathies4 ,the        
sensitive feelings of children are      
constantly injured by lack of           
consideration on the part of grown      
people1 their easily stimulated         
aversions are constantly being brought  
out4 ,but the sufferings of children    
through the crudeness of their elders   
belong to an unwritten chapter of child 
psychology4 ,just as there are few      
better methods of training than to ask  
children1 when they have behaved        
unjustly to others1 to consider whether 

it would be pleasant for them to be     
treated in that way1 so there is no     
better corrective for the trainer of    
children than the habit of asking       
oneself1 in question small and          
great1--,would ,i consent to be treated 
as ,i have just treated my child8 ,if it
 were only remembered that the child    
generally suffers double as much as the 
adult1 parents would perhaps learn      
physical and psychical tenderness       
without which a child's life is a       
constant torment4  ,as to presents1 the 
same principle holds good as with       
emotions and marks of tenderness4 ,only 
by example can generous instincts be    
provoked4 ,above all the child should   
not be allowed to have things which he  
immediately gives away4 ,gifts to a     
child should always imply a personal    
requital for work or sacrifice4 ,in     
order to secure for children the        
pleasure of giving and the opportunity  
of obtaining small pleasures and        
enjoyments1 as well as of replacing     

property of their own or of others which
 they may have destroyed1 they should at
 an early age be accustomed to perform  
seriously certain household duties for  
which they receive some small           
remuneration4 ,but small occasional     
services1 whether volunteered or asked  
for by others1 should never be rewarded4
 ,only readiness to serve1 without      
payment1 develops the joy of generosity4
 ,when the child wants to give away     
something1 people should not make a     
pretence of receiving it4 ,this produces
 the false conception in his mind that  
the pleasure of being generous can be   
had for nothing4 ,at every step the     
child should be allowed to meet the real
 experiences of life2 the thorns should 
never be plucked from his roses4 ,this  
is what is least understood in          
present-day training4 ,thus we see      
reasonable methods constantly failing4  
,people find themselves forced to       
afflictive methods which stand in no    
relation with the realities of life4 ,i 

mean1 above all1 what are still called  
means of education1 instead of means of 
torture1--blows4  ,many people of to-day
 defend blows1 maintaining that they are
 milder means of punishment than the    
natural consequences of an act2 that    
blows have the strongest effect on the  
memory1 which effect becomes permanent  
through association of ideas4  ,but what
 kinds of association8 ,is it not with  
physical pain and shame8 ,gradually1    
step by step1 this method of training   
and discipline has been superseded in   
all its forms4 ,the movement to abolish 
torture1 imprisonment1 and corporal     
punishment failed for a long time owing 
to the conviction that they were        
indispensable as methods of discipline4 
,but the child1 people answer1 is still 
an animal1 he must be brought up as an  
animal4 ,those who talk in this way know
 nothing of children nor of animals4    
,even animals can be trained without    
striking them1 but they can only be     
trained by men who have become men      

themselves4  ,others come forward with  
the doctrine that terror and pain have  
been the best means of educating        
mankind1 so the child must pursue the   
same road as humanity4 ,this is an utter
 absurdity4 ,we should also1 on this    
theory1 teach our children1 as a natural
 introduction to religion1 to practise  
fetish worship4 ,if the child is to     
reproduce all the lower development     
stages of the race1 he would be         
practically depressed beneath the level 
which he has reached physiologically and
 psychologically through the common     
inheritance of the race4 ,if we have    
abandoned torture and painful           
punishments for adults1 while they are  
retained for children1 it is because we 
have not yet seen that their soul life  
so far as a greater and more subtle     
capacity for suffering is concerned has 
made the same progress as that of adult 
mankind4 ,the numerous cases of child   
suicide in the last decade were often   
the result of fear of corporal          

punishment2 or have taken place after   
its administration4 ,both soul and body 
are equally affected by this practice4  
,where this is not the result1 blows    
have even more dangerous consequences4  
,they tend to dull still further the    
feeling of shame1 to increase the       
brutality or cowardice of the person    
punished4 ,i once heard a child pointed 
out in a school as being so unruly that 
it was generally agreed he would be     
benefited by a flogging4 ,then it was   
discovered that his father's flogging at
 home had made him what he was4 ,if     
statistics were prepared of ruined sons1
 those who had been flogged would       
certainly be more numerous than those   
who had been pampered4  ,society has    
gradually given up employing retributive
 punishments because people have seen   
that they neither awaken the feeling of 
guilt1 nor act as a deterrent1 but on   
the contrary retribution applied by     
equal to equal brutalises the ideas of  
right1 hardens the temper1 and          

stimulates the victim to exercise the   
same violence towards others that has   
been endured by himself4 ,but other     
rules are applied to the psychological  
processes of the child4 ,when a child   
strikes his small sister the mother     
strikes him and believes that he will   
see and understand the difference       
between the blows he gets and those he  
gives2 that he will see that the one is 
a just punishment and the other vicious 
conduct4 ,but the child is a sharp      
logician and feels that the action is   
just the same1 although the mother gives
 it a different name4  ,corporal        
punishment was long ago admirably       
described by ,comenius1 who compared an 
educator using this method with a       
musician striking a badly tuned         
instrument with his fist1 instead of    
using his ears and his hands to put it  
into tune4  ,these brutal attacks work  
on the active sensitive feelings1       
lacerating and confusing them4 ,they    
have no educative power on all the      

innumerable fine processes in the life  
of the child's soul1 on their obscurely 
related combinations4  ,in order to give
 real training1 the first thing after   
the second or third year is to abandon  
the very thought of a blow among the    
possibilities of education4 ,it is best 
if parents1 as soon as the child is     
born1 agree never to strike him1 for if 
they once begin with this convenient and
 easy method1 they continue to use      
corporal discipline even contrary to    
their first intention1 because they have
 failed while using such punishment to  
develop the child's intelligence4  ,if  
people do not see this it is no more use
 to speak to them of education than it  
would be to talk to a cannibal about the
 world's peace4  ,but as these savages  
in educational matters are often        
civilised human beings in other         
respects1 ,i should like to request them
 to think over the development of       
marriage from the time when man wooed   
with a club and when woman was regarded 

as the soulless property of man1 only to
 be kept in order by blows1 a view which
 continued to be held until modern      
times4 ,through a thousand daily secret 
influences1 our feelings and ideas have 
been so transformed that these crude    
conceptions have disappeared1 to the    
great advantage of society and the      
individual4 ,but it may be hard to      
awaken a pedagogical savage to the      
conviction that1 in quite the same way1 
a thousand new secret and mighty        
influences will change our crude methods
 of education1 when parents once come to
 see that parenthood must go through the
 same transformation as marriage1 before
 it attains to a noble and complete     
development4  ,only when men realise    
that whipping a child belongs to the    
same low stage of civilisation as       
beating a woman1 or a servant1 or as the
 corporal punishment of soldiers and    
criminals1 will the first real          
preparation begin of the material from  
which perhaps later an educator may be  

formed4  ,corporal punishment was       
natural in rough times4 ,the body is    
tangible2 what affects it has an        
immediate and perceptible result4 ,the  
heat of passion is cooled by the blows  
it administers2 in a certain stage of   
development blows are the natural       
expression of moral indignation1 the    
direct method by which the moral will   
impresses itself on beings of lower     
capacities4 ,but it has since been      
discovered that the soul may be         
impressed by spiritual means1 and that  
blows are just as demoralising for the  
one who gives them as for the one who   
receives them4  ,the educator1 too1 is  
apt to forget that the child in many    
cases has as few moral conceptions as   
the animal or the savage4 ,to punish for
 this--is only a cruelty1 and to punish 
by brutal methods is a piece of         
stupidity4 ,it works against the        
possibility of elevating the child      
beyond the level of the beast or the    
savage4 ,the educator to whose mind     

flogging never presents itself1 even as 
an occasional resource1 will naturally  
direct his whole thought to finding     
psychological methods of education4     
,administering corporal punishment      
demoralises and stupefies the educator1 
for it increases his thoughtlessness1   
not his patience1 his brutality1 not his
 intelligence4  ,a small boy friend of  
mine when four years old received his   
first punishment of this kind2 happily  
it was his only one4 ,as his nurse      
reminded him in the evening to say his  
prayers he broke out1 ',yes1 to-night ,i
 really have something to tell ,god1 and
 prayed with deep earnestness1 ,dear    
,god1 tear mamma's arms out so that she 
cannot beat me any more4  ,nothing would
 more effectively further the           
development of education than for all   
flogging pedagogues to meet this fate4  
,they would then learn to educate with  
the head instead of with the hand4 ,and 
as to public educators1 the teachers1   
their position could be no better raised

 than by legally forbidding a blow to be
 administered in any school under       
penalty of final loss of position4      
,that people who are in other respects  
intelligent and sensitive continue to   
defend flogging1 is due to the fact that
 most educators have only a very        
elementary conception of their work4    
,they should constantly keep before them
 the feelings and impressions of their  
own childhood in dealing with children4 
,the most frequent as well as the most  
dangerous of the numerous mistakes made 
in handling children is that people do  
not remember how they felt themselves at
 a similar age1 that they do not regard 
and comprehend the feelings of the child
 from their own past point of view4 ,the
 adult laughs or smiles in remembering  
the punishments and other things which  
caused him in his childhood anxious days
 or nights1 which produced the silent   
torture of the child's heart1 infinite  
despondency1 burning indignation1 lonely
 fears1 outraged sense of justice1 the  

terrible creations of his imagination1  
his absurd shame1 his unsatisfied thirst
 for joy1 freedom1 and tenderness4      
,lacking these beneficent memories1     
adults constantly repeat the crime of   
destroying the childhood of the new     
generation1--the only time in life in   
which the guardian of education can     
really be a kindly providence4 ,so      
strongly do ,i feel that the unnecessary
 sufferings of children are unnatural as
 well as ignoble that ,i experience     
physical disgust in touching the hand of
 a human being that ,i know has struck a
 child2 and ,i cannot close my eyes     
after ,i have heard a child in the      
street threatened with corporal         
punishment4  ,blows call forth the      
virtues of slaves1 not those of freemen4
 ,as early as ,walther von der          
,vogelweide1 it was known that the      
honourable man respects a word more than
 a blow4 ,the exercise of physical force
 delivers the weak and unprotected into 
the hands of the strong4 ,a child never 

believes in his heart1 though he may be 
brought to acknowledge verbally1 that   
the blows were due to love1 that they   
were administered because they were     
necessary4 ,the child is too keen not to
 know that such a must does not exist1  
and that love can express itself in a   
better way4  ,lack of self-discipline1  
of intelligence1 of patience1 of        
personal effort--these are the          
corner-stones on which corporal         
punishment rests4 ,i do not now refer to
 the system of flogging employed by     
miserable people year in and year out at
 home1 or1 particularly in schools1 that
 of beating children outrageously1 or to
 the limits of brutality4 ,i do not mean
 even the less brutal blows administered
 by undisciplined teachers and parents1 
who avenge themselves in excesses of    
passion or fatigue or disgust1--blows   
which are simply the active expression  
of a tension of nerves1 a detestable    
evidence of the want of self-discipline 
and self-culture4 ,still less do ,i     

refer to the cruelties committed by     
monsters1 sexual perverts1 whose brutal 
tendencies are stimulated by their      
disciplinary power and who use it to    
force their victims to silence1 as      
certain criminal trials have shown4  ,i 
am only speaking of conscientious1      
amiable parents and teachers who1 with  
pain to themselves1 fulfil what they    
regard as their duty to the child4      
,these are accustomed to adduce the good
 effects of corporal discipline as a    
proof that it cannot be dispensed with4 
,the child by being whipped is1 they    
say1 not only made good but freed from  
his evil character1 and shows by his    
whole being that this quick and summary 
method of punishment has done more than 
talks1 and patience1 and the slowly     
working penalties of experience4        
,examples are adduced to prove that only
 this kind of punishment breaks down    
obstinacy1 cures the habit of lying and 
the like4 ,those who adopt this system  
do not perceive that they have only     

succeeded1 through this momentarily     
effective means1 in repressing the      
external expression of an evil will4    
,they have not succeeded in transforming
 the will itself4 ,it requires constant 
vigilance1 daily self-discipline1 to    
create an ever higher capacity for the  
discovery of intelligent methods4 ,the  
fault that is repressed is certain to   
appear on every occasion when the child 
dares to show it4 ,the educator who     
finds in corporal punishment a short way
 to get rid of trouble1 leads the child 
a long way round1 if we have the only   
real development in view1 namely that   
which gradually strengthens the child's 
capacity for self-control4  ,i have     
never heard a child over three years old
 threatened with corporal punishment    
without noticing that this wonderfully  
moral method had an equally bad         
influence on parents and children4 ,the 
same can be said of milder kinds of     
folly1 coaxing children by external     
rewards4 ,i have seen some children     

coaxed to take baths and others         
compelled by threats4 ,but in neither   
case was their courage1 or self-control1
 or strength of will increased4 ,only   
when one is able to make the bath itself
 attractive is that energy of will      
developed that gains a victory over the 
feeling of fear or discomfort and       
produces a real ethical impression1     
viz41 that virtue is its own reward4    
,wherever a child is deterred from a bad
 habit or fault by corporal punishment1 
a real ethical result is not reached4   
,the child has only learnt to fear an   
unpleasant consequence1 which lacks real
 connection with the thing itself1 a    
consequence it well knows could have    
been absent4 ,such fear is as far       
removed as heaven from the conviction   
that the good is better than the bad4   
,the child soon becomes convinced that  
the disagreeable accompaniment is no    
necessary result of the action1 that by 
greater cleverness the punishment might 
have been avoided4 ,thus the physical   

punishment increases deception not      
morality4 ,in the history of humanity   
the effect of the teaching about hell   
and fear of hell illustrates the sort of
 morality produced in children's souls  
by corporal punishment1 that inferno of 
childhood4 ,only with the greatest      
trouble1 slowly and unconsciously1 is   
the conviction of the superiority of the
 good established4 ,the good comes to be
 seen as more productive of happiness to
 the individual himself and his         
environment4 ,so the child learns to    
love the good4 ,by teaching the child   
that punishment is a consequence drawn  
upon oneself he learns to avoid the     
cause of punishment4  ,despite all the  
new talk of individuality the greatest  
mistake in training children is still   
that of treating the child as an        
abstract conception1 as an inorganic or 
personal material to be formed and      
transformed by the hands of those who   
are educating him4 ,he is beaten1 and it
 is thought that the whole effect of the

 blow stops at the moment when the child
 is prevented from being bad4 ,he has1  
it is thought1 a powerful reminder      
against future bad behaviour4 ,people do
 not suspect that this violent          
interference in the physical and        
psychical life of the child may have    
lifelong effects4 ,as far back as forty 
years ago1 a writer showed that corporal
 punishment had the most powerful       
somatic stimulative effects4 ,the       
flagellation of the ,middle ,ages is    
known to have had such results2 and if  
,i could publish what ,i have heard from
 adults as to the effect of corporal    
punishment on them1 or what ,i have     
observed in children1 this alone would  
be decisive in doing away with such     
punishment in its crudest form4 ,it very
 deeply influences the personal modesty 
of the child4 ,this should be preserved 
above everything as the main factor in  
the development of the feeling of       
purity4 ,the father who punishes his    
daughter in this way deserves to see her

 some day a fallen woman4 ,he injures   
her instinctive feeling of the sanctity 
of her body1 an instinct which even in  
the case of a small child can be        
passionately profound4 ,only when every 
infringement of sanctity 7forcible      
caressing is as bad as a blow7 evokes an
 energetic1 instinctive repulsion1 is   
the nature of the child proud and pure4 
,children who strike back when they are 
punished have the most promising        
characters of all4  ,numerous are the   
cases in which bodily punishment can    
occasion irremediable damage1 not       
suspected by the person who administers 
it1 though he may triumphantly declare  
how the punishment in the specific case 
has helped4 ,most adults feel free to   
tell how a whipping has injured them in 
one way or another1 but when they take  
up the training of their own children   
they depend on the effect of such       
chastisement4  ,what burning bitterness 
and desire for vengeance1 what canine   
fawning flattery1 does not corporal     

punishment call forth4 ,it makes the    
lazy lazier1 the obstinate more         
obstinate1 the hard1 harder4 ,it        
strengthens those two emotions1 the root
 of almost all evil in the world1 hatred
 and fear4 ,and as long as blows are    
made synonymous with education1 both of 
these emotions will keep their mastery  
over men4  ,one of the most frequent    
occasions for recourse to this          
punishment is obstinacy1 but what is    
called obstinacy is only fear or        
incapacity4 ,the child repeats a false  
answer1 is threatened with blows1 and   
again repeats it just because he is     
afraid not to say the right thing4 ,he  
is struck and then answers rightly4     
,this is a triumph of education2        
refractoriness is overcome4 ,but what   
has happened8 ,increased fear has led to
 a strong effort of thought1 to a       
momentary increase of self-control4 ,the
 next day the child will very likely    
repeat the fault4 ,where there is real  
obstinacy on the part of children1 ,i   

know of cases when corporal punishment  
has filled them with the lust to kill1  
either themselves or the person who     
strikes them4 ,on the other hand ,i know
 of others1 where a mother has brought  
an obstinate child to repentance and    
self-mastery by holding him quietly and 
calmly on her knees4  ,how many untrue  
confessions have been forced by fear of 
blows2 how much daring passion for      
action1 spirit of adventure1 play of    
fancy1 and stimulus to discovery has    
been repressed by this same fear4 ,even 
where blows do not cause lying1 they    
always hinder absolute                  
straightforwardness and the downright   
personal courage to show oneself as one 
is4 ,as long as the word blow is used at
 all in a home1 no perfect honour will  
be found in children4 ,so long as the   
home and the school use this method of  
education1 brutality will be developed  
in the child himself at the cost of     
humanity4 ,the child uses on animals1 on
 his young brothers and sisters1 on his 

comrades1 the methods applied to        
himself4 ,he puts in practice the same  
argument1 that badness must be cured    
with blows4 ,only children accustomed to
 be treated mildly1 learn to see that   
influence can be gained without using   
force4 ,to see this is one of man's     
privileges1 sacrificed by man through   
descending to the methods of the brute4 
,only by the child seeing his teacher   
always and everywhere abstaining from   
the use of actual force1 will he come   
himself to despise force on all those   
occasions which do not involve the      
defence of a weaker person against      
physical superiority4 ,the foundation of
 the desire for war is to be sought for 
less in the war games than in the       
teachers' rod4  ,to defend corporal     
discipline1 children's own statements   
are brought in evidence1 they are       
reported as saying they knew they       
deserved such discipline in order to be 
made good4 ,there is no lower example of
 hypocrisy in human nature than this4   

,it is true the child may be sincere in 
other cases in saying that he feels that
 through punishment he has atoned for a 
fault which was weighing upon his       
conscience4 ,but this is really the     
foundation of a false system of ethics1 
the kind which still continues to be    
preached as ,christian1 namely2 that a  
fault may be atoned for by sufferings   
which are not directly connected with   
the fault4 ,the basis of the new        
morality is just the opposite as ,i have
 already shown4 ,it teaches that no     
fault can be atoned for1 that no one can
 escape the results of his actions in   
any way4  ,untruthfulness belongs to the
 faults which the teacher thinks he must
 most frequently punish with blows4 ,but
 there is no case in which this method  
is more dangerous4  ,when the           
much-needed guide-book for parents is   
published1 the well-known story of      
,george ,washington and the hatchet must
 appear in it1 accompanied by the remark
 which a clever ten-year-old child added

 to the anecdote3 ,it is no trouble     
telling the truth when one has such a   
kind father4  ,i formerly divided       
untruthfulness into unwilling1          
shameless1 and imaginative lies4 ,a     
short time ago ,i ran across a much     
better division of lying2 first cold    
lies1 that is1 fully conscious          
untruthfulness which must be punished1  
and hot lies2 the expression of an      
excited temperament or of a vigorous    
fancy4 ,i agree with the author of this 
distinction that the last should not be 
punished but corrected1 though not with 
a pedantic rule of thumb measure1 based 
on how much it exceeds or falls short of
 truth4 ,it is to be cured by ridicule1 
a dangerous method of education in      
general1 but useful when one observes   
that this type of untruthfulness        
threatens to develop into real          
untrustworthiness4 ,in dealing with     
these faults we are very strict towards 
children1 so strict that no lawyer1 no  
politician1 no journalist1 no poet1     

could exercise his profession if the    
same standard were applied to them as to
 children4  ,the white lie is1 as a     
,french scientist has shown1 partly     
caused by pure morbidness1 partly       
through some defect in the conception4  
,it is due to an empty space1 a dead    
point in memory1 or in consciousness1   
that produces a defective idea or gives 
one no idea at all of what has happened4
 ,in the affairs of everyday life the   
adults are often mistaken as to their   
intentions or acts4 ,they may have      
forgotten about their actions1 and it   
requires a strong effort of memory to   
call them back into their minds2 or they
 suggest to themselves that they have   
done1 or not done1 something4 ,in all of
 these cases1 if they were forced to    
give a distinct answer1 they would lie4 
,in every case of this kind1 where a    
child is concerned1 the lie is assumed  
to be a conscious one1 and when on being
 submitted to a strict                  
cross-examination1 he hesitates1 becomes

 confused1 and blushes1 it is looked    
upon as a proof that he knows he has    
been telling an untruth1 although as a  
rule there has been no instance of      
untruthfulness1 except the finally      
extorted confession from the child that 
he has lied4 ,yet in all these          
complicated psychological problems1     
corporal punishment is treated as a     
solution4  ,the child who never hears   
lying at home1 who does not see         
exaggerated weight placed on small1     
merely external things1 who is not made 
cowardly by fear1 who hears conscious   
lies always spoken of with contempt1    
will get out of the habit of            
untruthfulness simply by psychological  
means4 ,first he will find that         
untruthfulness causes astonishment1 and 
a repetition of it1 scorn and lack of   
confidence4 ,but these methods should   
not be applied to untruthfulness caused 
by distress or by richness of           
imagination2 or to such cases as        
originate from the obscure mental ideas 

noted above1 ideas whose connection with
 one another the child cannot make clear
 to himself4 ,the cold untruth on the   
other hand1 must be punished2 first by  
going over it with the child1 then      
letting him experience its effect in    
lack of confidence1 which will only be  
restored when the child shows decided   
improvement in this regard4 ,it is of   
the greatest importance to show children
 full and unlimited confidence1 even    
though one quietly maintains an attitude
 of alert watchfulness2 for continuous  
and undeserved mistrust is just as      
demoralising as blind and easy          
confidence4  ,no one who has been beaten
 for lying learns by it to love truth4  
,the accuracy of this principle is      
illustrated by adults who despise       
corporal punishment in their childhood  
yet continue to tell untruths by word   
and deed4 ,fear may keep the child from 
technical untruth1 but fear also        
produces untrustworthiness4 ,those who  
have been beaten in childhood for lying 

have often suffered a serious injury    
immeasurably greater than the direct    
lie4 ,the truest men ,i ever knew lie   
voluntarily and involuntarily2 while    
others who might never be caught in a   
lie are thoroughly false4  ,this        
corruption of personality begins        
frequently at the tenderest age under   
the influence of early training4        
,children are given untrue motives1     
half-true information2 are threatened1  
admonished4 ,the child's will1 thought1 
and feeling are oppressed2 against this 
treatment dishonesty is the readiest    
method of defence4 ,in this way         
educators who make truth their highest  
aim1 make children untruthful4 ,i       
watched a child who was severely        
punished for denying something he had   
unconsciously done1 and noted how under 
the influence of this senseless         
punishment he developed extreme         
dissimulation4  ,truthfulness requires  
above everything unbroken determination2
 and many nervous little liars need     

nourishing food and life in the open    
air1 not blows4 ,a great artist1 one of 
the few who live wholly according to the
 modern principles of life1 said to me  
on one occasion3 ,my son does not know  
what a lie is1 nor what a blow is4 ,his 
step-brother1 on the other hand1 lied   
when he came into our house2 but lying  
did not work in the atmosphere of calm  
and freedom4 ,after a year the habit    
disappeared by itself1 only because it  
always met with deep astonishment4      
,this makes me1 in passing1 note one of 
the other many mistakes of education1   
viz41 the infinite trouble taken in     
trying to do away with a fault which    
disappears by itself4 ,people take      
infinite pains to teach small children  
to speak distinctly who1 if left to     
themselves1 would learn it by           
themselves1 provided they were always   
spoken to distinctly4 ,this same        
principle holds good of numerous other  
things1 in children's attitude and      
behaviour1 that can be left simply to a 

good example and to time4 ,one's        
influence should be used in impressing  
upon the child habits for which a       
foundation must be laid at the very     
beginning of his life4  ,there is       
another still more unfortunate mistake1 
the mistake of correcting and judging by
 an external effect produced by the act1
 by the scandal it occasions in the     
environment4 ,children are struck for   
using oaths and improper words the      
meaning of which they do not understand2
 or if they do understand1 the result of
 strictness is only that they go on     
keeping silence in matters in which     
sincerity towards those who are bringing
 them up is of the highest importance4  
,the very thing the child is allowed to 
do uncorrected at home1 is not seldom   
corrected if it happens away from home4 
,so the child gets a false idea that it 
is not the thing that deserves          
punishment1 but its publicity4 ,when a  
mother is ashamed of the bad behaviour  
of her son she is apt to strike         

him--instead of striking her own breast6
 ,when an adventurous feat fails he is  
beaten1 but he is praised when          
successful4 ,these practices produce    
demoralisation4 ,once in a wood ,i saw  
two parents laughing while the ice held 
on which their son was sliding2 when it 
broke suddenly they threatened to whip  
him4 ,it required strong self-control in
 order not to say to this pair that it  
was not the son who deserved punishment 
but themselves4  ,on occasions like     
these1 parents avenge their own fright  
on their children4 ,i saw a child become
 a coward because an anxious mother     
struck him every time he fell down1     
while the natural result inflicted on   
the child would have been more than     
sufficient to increase his carefulness4 
,when misfortune is caused by           
disobedience1 natural alarm is1 as a    
rule1 enough to prevent a repetition of 
it4 ,if it is not sufficient blows have 
no restraining effect2 they only        
embitter4 ,the boy finds that adults    

have forgotten their own period of      
childhood2 he withdraws himself secretly
 from this abuse of power1 provided     
strict treatment does not succeed in    
totally depressing the level of the     
child's will and obstructing his        
energies4  ,this is certainly a danger1 
but the most serious effect of corporal 
punishment is that it has established an
 unethical morality as its result4      
,until the human being has learnt to see
 that effort1 striving1 development of  
power1 are their own reward1 life       
remains an unbeautiful affair4 ,the     
debasing effects of vanity and ambition1
 the small and great cruelties produced 
by injustice1 are all due to the idea   
that failure or success sets the value  
to deeds and actions4  ,a complete      
revolution in this crude theory of value
 must come about before the earth can   
become the scene of a happy but         
considerate development of power on the 
part of free and fine human beings4     
,every contest decided by examinations  

and prizes is ultimately an immoral     
method of training4 ,it awakens only    
evil passions1 envy and the impression  
of injustice on the one side1 arrogance 
on the other4 ,after ,i had during the  
course of twenty years fought these     
school examinations1 ,i read with       
thorough agreement a short time ago1    
,ruskin's views on the subject4 ,he     
believed that all competition was a     
false basis of stimulus1 and every      
distribution of prizes a false means4   
,he thought that the real sign of talent
 in a boy1 auspicious for his future    
career1 was his desire to work for      
work's sake4 ,he declared that the real 
aim of instruction should be to show him
 his own proper and special gifts1 to   
strengthen them in him1 not to spur him 
on to an empty competition with those   
who were plainly his superiors in       
capacity4  ,moreover it ought not to be 
forgotten that success and failure      
involve of themselves their own         
punishment and their own reward1 the one

 bitter1 the other sweet enough to      
secure in a natural way increased       
strength1 care1 prudence1 and endurance4
 ,it is completely unnecessary for the  
educator to use1 besides these1 some    
special punishments or special rewards1 
and so pervert the conceptions of the   
child that failure seems to him to be a 
wrong1 success on the other hand as the 
right4  ,no matter where one turns one's
 gaze1 it is notorious that the         
externally encouraging or awe-inspiring 
means of education1 are an obstacle to  
what are the chief human                
characteristics1 courage in oneself and 
goodness to others4  ,a people whose    
education is carried on by gentle means 
only 7,i mean the people of ,japan71    
have shown that manliness is not in     
danger where children are not hardened  
by corporal punishment4 ,these gentle   
means are just as effective in calling  
forth self-mastery and consideration4   
,these virtues are so imprinted on      
children1 at the tenderest age1 that one

 learns first in ,japan what attraction 
considerate kindliness bestows upon     
life4 ,in a country where blows are     
never seen1 the first rule of social    
intercourse is not to cause discomfort  
to others4 ,it is told that when a      
foreigner in ,japan took up a stone to  
throw it at a dog1 the dog did not run4 
,no one had ever thrown a stone at him4 
,tenderness towards animals is the      
complement in that country of tenderness
 in human relationship1 a tenderness    
whose result is observed1 among other   
effects1 in a relatively small number of
 crimes against life and security4      
,war1 hunting for pleasure1 corporal    
discipline1 are nothing more than       
different expressions of the tiger      
nature still alive in man4 ,when the rod
 is thrown away1 and when1 as some one  
has said1 children are no longer boxed  
on their ears but are given magnifying  
glasses and photographic cameras to     
increase their capacity for life and for
 loving it1 instead of learning to      

destroy it1 real education in humanity  
will begin4  ,for the benefit of those  
who are not convinced that corporal     
punishment can be dispensed with in a   
manly education1 by so remote and so    
distant an example as ,japan1 ,i should 
like to mention a fact closer to us4    
,our ,germanic forefathers did not have 
this method of education4 ,it was       
introduced with ,christianity4 ,corporal
 discipline was turned into a religious 
duty1 and as late as the seventeenth    
century there were intelligent men who  
flogged their children once a week as a 
part of spiritual guardianship4 ,i once 
asked our great poet1 ,victor ,rydberg1 
and he said that he had found no proof  
that corporal punishment was usual among
 the ,germans in heathen times4 ,i asked
 him whether he did not believe that the
 fact of its absence had encouraged the 
energetic individualism and manliness in
 the ,northern peoples4 ,he thought so1 
and agreed with me4 ,finally1 ,i might  
note from our own time1 that there are  

many families and schools1 our girls'   
schools for example1 and also boys'     
schools in some countries1 where        
corporal punishment is never used4 ,i   
know a family with twelve children whose
 activity and capacity are not damaged  
by bringing them under the rule of duty 
alone4 ,corporal punishment is never    
used in this home2 a determined but mild
 mother has taught the children to obey 
voluntarily1 and has known how to train 
their wills to self-control4  ,by       
voluntary obedience1 ,i do not mean that
 the child is bound to ask endless      
questions for reasons1 and to dispute   
them before he obeys4 ,a good teacher   
never gives a command without there     
being some good reason1 but whether the 
child is convinced or not1 he must      
always obey1 and if he asks why the     
answer is very simple2 every one1 adults
 as well as children1 must obey the     
right and must submit to what cannot be 
avoided4 ,the great necessity in life   
must be imprinted in childhood4 ,this   

can be done without harsh means by      
training the child1 even previous to his
 birth1 by cultivating one's            
self-control1 and after his birth by    
never giving in to a child's caprices4  
,the rule is1 in a few cases1 to work in
 opposition to the action of the child1 
but in other cases work constructively2 
,i mean provide the child with material 
to construct his own personality and    
then let him do this work of            
construction4 ,this is1 in brief1 the   
art of education4 ,the worst of all     
educational methods are threats4 ,the   
only effective admonitions are short and
 infrequent ones4 ,the greatest skill in
 the educator is to be silent for the   
moment and then so reprove the fault1   
indirectly1 that the child is brought to
 correct himself or make himself the    
object of blame4 ,this can be done by   
the instructor telling something that   
causes the child to compare his own     
conduct with the hateful or admirable   
types of behaviour about which he hears 

information4 ,or the educator may give  
an opinion which the child must take to 
himself although it is not applied      
directly to him4  ,on many occasions a  
forceful display of indignation on the  
part of the elder person is an excellent
 punishment1 if the indignation is      
reserved for the right moment4 ,i know  
children to whom nothing was more       
frightful than their father's scorn2    
this was dreaded4 ,children who are     
deluged with directions and religious   
devotions1 who receive an ounce of      
morality in every cup of joy1 are most  
certain to be those who will revolt     
against all this4 ,nearly every thinking
 person feels that the deepest          
educational influences in his life have 
been indirect2 some good advice not     
given to him directly2 a noble deed told
 without any direct reference4 ,but when
 people come themselves to train others 
they forget all their own personal      
experience4  ,the strongest constructive
 factor in the education of a human     

being is the settled1 quiet order of    
home1 its peace1 and its duty4          
,openheartedness1 industry1             
straightforwardness at home develop     
goodness1 desire to work1 and simplicity
 in the child4 ,examples of artistic    
work and books in the home1 its         
customary life on ordinary days and     
holidays1 its occupations and its       
pleasures1 should give to the emotions  
and imagination of the child1 periods of
 movement and repose1 a sure contour and
 a rich colour4 ,the pure1 warm1 clear  
atmosphere in which father1 mother1 and 
children live together in freedom and   
confidence2 where none are kept isolated
 from the interests of the others2 but  
each possesses full freedom for his own 
personal interest2 where none trenches  
on the rights of others2 where all are  
willing to help one another when        
necessary1--in this atmosphere egoism1  
as well as altruism1 can attain their   
richest development1 and individuality  
find its just freedom4 ,as the evolution

 of man's soul advances to undreamed-of 
possibilities of refinement1 of         
capacity1 of profundity2 as the         
spiritual life of the generation becomes
 more manifold in its combinations and  
in its distinctions2 the more time one  
has for observing the wonderful and deep
 secrets of existence1 behind the       
visible1 tangible1 world of sense1 the  
more will each new generation of        
children show a more refined and a more 
consistent mental life4 ,it is          
impossible to attain this result under  
the torture of the crude methods in our 
present home and school training4 ,we   
need new homes1 new schools1 new        
marriages1 new social relations1 for    
those new souls who are to feel1 love1  
and suffer1 in ways infinitely numerous 
that we now can not even name4 ,thus    
they will come to understand life2 they 
will have aspirations and hopes2 they   
will believe2 they will pray4 ,the      
conceptions of religion1 love1 and art1 
all these must be revolutionised so     

radically1 that one now can only surmise
 what new forms will be created in      
future generations4 ,this transformation
 can be helped by the training of the   
present1 by casting aside the withered  
foliage which now covers the budding    
possibilities of life4  ,the house must 
once more become a home for the souls of
 children1 not for their bodies alone4  
,for such homes to be formed1 that in   
their turn will mould children1 the     
children must be given back to the home4
 ,instead of the study preparation at   
home for the school taking up1 as it now
 does1 the best part of a child's life1 
the school must get the smaller part1   
the home the larger part4 ,the home will
 have the responsibility of so using the
 free time as well on ordinary days as  
on holidays1 that the children will     
really become a part of the home both in
 their work and in their pleasures4 ,the
 children will be taken from the school1
 the street1 the factory1 and restored  
to the home4 ,the mother will be given  

back from work outside1 or from social  
life to the children4 ,thus natural     
training in the spirit of ,rousseau and 
,spencer will be realised2 a training   
for life1 by life at home4  ,such was   
the training of ,old ,scandanavia2 the  
direct share of the child in the work of
 the adult1 in real labours and dangers1
 gave to the life of our ,scandanavian  
forefathers 7with whom the boy began to 
be a man at twelve years of age71 unity1
 character1 and strength4 ,things       
specially made for children1 the anxious
 watching over all their undertakings1  
support given to all their steps1       
courses of work and pleasure specially  
prepared for children1--these are the   
fundamental defects of our present day  
education4 ,an eighteen-year-old girl   
said to me a short time ago1 that she   
and other girls of the same age were so 
tired of the system of vigilance1       
protection1 amusement1 and pampering at 
school and at home1 that they were      
determined to bring up their own        

children in hunger1 corporal discipline1
 and drudgery4  ,one can understand this
 unfortunate reaction against an        
artificial environment2 the environment 
in which children and young people of   
the present grow up2 an existence that  
evokes a passionate desire for the      
realities of life1 for individual action
 at one's own risk and responsibility1  
instead of being1 as is now the case1 at
 home and in the school1 the object of  
another's care4  ,what is required1     
above all1 for the children of the      
present day1 is to be assigned again    
real home occupations1 tasks they must  
do conscientiously1 habits of work      
arranged for week days and holidays     
without oversight1 in every case where  
the child can help himself4 ,instead of 
the modern school child having a mother 
and servants about him to get him ready 
for school and to help him to remember  
things1 he should have time every day   
before school to arrange his room and   
brush his clothes1 and there should be  

no effort to make him remember what is  
connected with the school4 ,the home and
 the school should combine together     
systematically to let the child suffer  
for the results of his own negligence4  
,just the reverse of this system rules  
to-day4 ,mothers learn their children's 
lessons1 invent plays for them1 read    
their story books to them1 arrange their
 rooms after them1 pick up what they    
have let fall1 put in order the things  
they have left in confusion1 and in this
 and in other ways1 by protective       
pampering and attention1 their desire   
for work1 their endurance1 the gifts of 
invention and imagination1 qualities    
proper to the child1 become weak and    
passive4 ,the home now is only a        
preparation for school4 ,in it1 young   
people growing up1 are accustomed to    
receive services1 without performing any
 on their part4 ,they are trained to be 
always receptive instead of giving      
something in return4 ,then people are   
surprised at a youthful generation1     

selfish and unrestrained1 pressing      
forward shamelessly on all occasions    
before their elders1 crudely            
unresponsive in respect of those        
attentions1 which in earlier generations
 were a beautiful custom among the      
young4  ,to restore this custom1 all the
 means usually adopted now to protect   
the child from physical and psychical   
dangers and inconveniences1 will have to
 be removed4 ,throw the thermometer out 
of the window and begin with a sensible 
course of toughening2 teach the child to
 know and to bear natural pain4         
,corporal punishment must be done away  
with not because it is painful but      
because it is profoundly immoral and    
hopelessly unsuitable4 ,repress the     
egoistic demands of the child when he   
interferes with the work or rest of     
others2 never let him either by caresses
 or by nagging usurp the rights of grown
 people2 take care that the servants do 
not work against what the parents are   
trying to insist on in this and in other

 matters4  ,we must begin in doing for  
the child in certain ways a thousand    
times more and in others a hundred      
thousand times less4 ,a beginning must  
be made in the tenderest age to         
establish the child's feeling for       
nature4 ,let him live year in and year  
out in the same country home2 this is   
one of the most significant and profound
 factors in training4 ,it can be held to
 even where it is now neglected4 ,the   
same thing holds good of making a choice
 library1 commencing with the first     
years of life2 so that the child will   
have1 at different periods of his life1 
suitable books for each age2 not as is  
now often the case1 get quite spoilt by 
the constant change of summer           
excursions1 by worthless children's     
books1 and costly toys4 ,they should    
never have any but the simplest books2  
the so-called classical ones4 ,they     
should be amply provided with means of  
preparing their own playthings4 ,the    
worst feature of our system are the     

playthings which imitate the luxury of  
grown people4 ,by such objects the      
covetous impulse of the child for       
acquisition is increased1 his own       
capacity for discovery and imagination  
limited1 or rather1 it would be limited 
if children with the sound instinct of  
preservation1 did not happily smash the 
perfect playthings1 which give them no  
creative opportunity1 and themselves    
make new playthings from fir cones1     
acorns1 thorns1 and fragments of        
pottery1 and all other sorts of rubbish 
which can be transformed into objects of
 great price by the power of the        
imagination4  ,to play with children in 
the right way is also a great art4 ,it  
should never be done if children do not 
themselves know what they are going to  
do2 it should always be a special treat 
for them as well as their elders4 ,but  
the adults must always on such          
occasions1 leave behind every kind of   
educational idea and go completely into 
the child's world of thought and        

imagination4 ,no attempt should be made 
to teach them at these times anything   
else but the old satisfactory games4    
,the experiences derived from these     
games about the nature of the children1 
who are stimulated in one direction or  
another by the game1 must be kept for   
later use4  ,games in this way increase 
confidence between children and adults4 
,they learn to know their elders better4
 ,but to allow children to turn all the 
rooms into places to play in1 and to    
demand constantly that their elders     
shall interest themselves in them1 is   
one of the most dangerous species of    
pampering common to the present day4    
,the children become accustomed to      
selfishness and mental dependence4      
,besides this constant educational      
effort brings with it the dulling of the
 child's personality4 ,if children were 
free in their own world1 the nursery1   
but out of it had to submit to the      
strict limits imposed by the habits1    
wills1 work1 and repose of parents1     

their requirements and their wishes1    
they would develop into a stronger and  
more considerate race than the youth of 
the present day4 ,it is not so much     
talking about being considerate1 but the
 necessity of considering others1 of    
really helping oneself and others1 that 
has an educational value4 ,in earlier   
days1 children were quiet as mice in the
 presence of elder persons4 ,instead of1
 as they do now1 breaking into a guest's
 conversation1 they learned to listen4  
,if the conversation of adults is       
varied1 this can be called one of the   
best educational methods for children4  
,the ordinary life of children1 under   
the old system1 was lived in the nursery
 where they received their most         
important training from an old faithful 
servant and from one another4 ,from     
their parents they received corporal    
punishment1 sometimes a caress4 ,in     
comparison with this system1 the present
 way of parents and children living     
together would be absolute progress1 if 

parents could but abstain from          
explaining1 advising1 improving1        
influencing every thought and every     
expression4 ,but all spiritual1 mental1 
and bodily protective rules make the    
child now indirectly selfish1 because   
everything centres about him and        
therefore he is kept in a constant state
 of irritation4 ,the six-year-old can   
disturb the conversation of the adult1  
but the twelve-year-old is sent to bed  
about eight o'clock1 even when he1 with 
wide open eyes1 longs for a conversation
 that might be to him an inspiring      
stimulus for life4  ,certainly some     
simple habits so far as conduct and     
order1 nourishment and sleep1 air and   
water1 clothing and bodily movement1 are
 concerned1 can be made the foundations 
for the child's conceptions of morality4
 ,he cannot be made to learn soon enough
 that bodily health and beauty must be  
regarded as high ethical                
characteristics1 and that what is       
injurious to health and beauty must be  

regarded as a hateful act4 ,in this     
sphere1 children must be kept entirely  
independent of custom by allowing the   
exception to every rule to have its     
valid place4 ,the present anxious       
solicitude that children should eat when
 the clock strikes1 that they get       
certain food at fixed meals1 that they  
be clothed according to the degree of   
temperature1 that they go to bed when   
the clock strikes1 that they be         
protected from every drop of unboiled   
water and every extra piece of candy1   
this makes them nervous1 irritable      
slaves of habit4 ,a reasonable          
toughening process against the          
inequalities1 discomforts1 and chances  
of life1 constitutes one of the most    
important bases of joy of living and of 
strength of temper4 ,in this case too1  
the behaviour of the person who gives   
the training1 is the best means of      
teaching children to smile at small     
contretemps1 things which would throw a 
cloud over the sun1 if one got into the 

habit of treating them as if they were  
of great importance4 ,if the child sees 
the parent doing readily an unpleasant  
duty1 which he honestly recognises as   
unpleasant2 if he sees a parent endure  
trouble or an unexpected difficulty     
easily1 he will be in honour bound to do
 the like4 ,just as children without    
many words learn to practice good deeds 
when they see good deeds practised about
 them2 learn to enjoy the beauty of     
nature and art when they see that adults
 enjoy them1 so by living more          
beautifully1 more nobly1 more           
moderately1 we speak best to children4  
,they are just as receptive to          
impressions of this kind as they are    
careless of those made by force4  ,since
 this is my alpha and omega in the art  
of education1 ,i repeat now what ,i said
 at the beginning of this book and half 
way through it4 ,try to leave the child 
in peace2 interfere directly as seldom  
as possible2 keep away all crude and    
impure impressions2 but give all your   

care and energy to see that personality1
 life itself1 reality in its simplicity 
and in its nakedness1 shall all be means
 of training the child4  ,make demands  
on the powers of children and on their  
capacity for self-control1 proportionate
 to the special stage of their          
development1 neither greater nor lesser 
demands than on adults4 ,but respect the
 joys of the child1 his tastes1 work1   
and time1 just as you would those of an 
adult4 ,education will thus become an   
infinitely simple and infinitely harder 
art1 than the education of the present  
day1 with its artificialised existence1 
its double entry morality1 one morality 
for the child1 and one for the adult1   
often strict for the child and lax for  
the adult and vice versa4 ,by treating  
the child every moment as one does an   
adult human being we free education from
 that brutal arbitrariness1 from those  
over-indulgent protective rules1 which  
have transformed him4 ,whether parents  
act as if children existed for their    

benefit alone1 or whether the parents   
give up their whole lives to their      
children1 the result is alike           
deplorable4 ,as a rule both classes know
 equally little of the feelings and     
needs of their children4 ,the one class 
are happy when the children are like    
themselves1 and their highest ambition  
is to produce in their children a       
successful copy of their own thoughts1  
opinions1 and ideals4 ,really it ought  
to pain them very much to see themselves
 so exactly copied4 ,what life expected 
from them and required from them was    
just the opposite--a richer combination1
 a better creation1 a new type1 not a   
reproduction of that which is already   
exhausted4 ,the other class strive to   
model their children not according to   
themselves but according to their ideal 
of goodness4 ,they show their love by   
their willingness to extinguish their   
own personalities for their children's  
sake4 ,this they do by letting the      
children feel that everything which     

concerns them stands in the foreground4 
,this should be so1 but only indirectly4
  ,the concerns of the whole scheme of  
life1 the ordering of the home1 its     
habits1 intercourse1 purposes1 care for 
the needs of children1 and their sound  
development1 must stand in the          
foreground4 ,but at present1 in most    
cases1 children of tender years1 as well
 as those who are older1 are sacrificed 
to the chaotic condition of the home4   
,they learn self-will without possessing
 real freedom2 they live under a        
discipline which is spasmodic in its    
application4  ,when one daughter after  
another leaves home in order to make    
herself independent they are often      
driven to do it by want of freedom1 or  
by the lack of character in family life4
 ,in both directions the girl sees      
herself forced to become something      
different1 to hold different opinions1  
to think different thoughts1 to act     
contrary to the dictates of her own     
being4 ,a mother happy in the friendship

 of her own daughter1 said not long ago 
that she desired to erect an asylum for 
tormented daughters4 ,such an asylum    
would be as necessary as a protection   
against pampering parents as against    
those who are overbearing4 ,both alike1 
torture their children though in        
different ways1 by not understanding the
 child's right to have his own point of 
view1 his own ideal of happiness1 his   
own proper tastes and occupation4 ,they 
do not see that children exist as little
 for their parent's sake as parents do  
for their children's sake4 ,family life 
would have an intelligent character if  
each one lived fully and entirely his   
own life and allowed the others to do   
the same4 ,none should tyrannise over1  
nor should suffer tyranny from1 the     
other4 ,parents who give their home this
 character can justly demand that       
children shall accommodate themselves to
 the habits of the household as long as 
they live in it4 ,children on their part
 can ask that their own life of thought 

and feeling shall be left in peace at   
home1 or that they be treated with the  
same consideration that would be given  
to a stranger4 ,when the parents do not 
meet these conditions they themselves   
are the greater sufferers4 ,it is very  
easy to keep one's son from expressing  
his raw views1 very easy to tear a      
daughter away from her book and to bring
 her to a tea-party by giving her       
unnecessary occupations2 very easy by a 
scornful word to repress some powerful  
emotion4 ,a thousand similar things     
occur every day in good families through
 the whole world4 ,but whenever we hear 
of young people speaking of their       
intellectual homelessness and sadness1  
we begin to understand why father and   
mother remain behind in homes from which
 the daughters have hastened to depart2 
why children take their cares1 joys1 and
 thoughts to strangers2 why1 in a word1 
the old and the young generation are as 
mutually dependent as the roots and     
flowers of plants1 so often separate    

with mutual repulsion4  ,this is as true
 of highly cultivated fathers and       
mothers as of simple bourgeois or       
peasant parents4 ,perhaps1 indeed1 it   
may be truer of the first class2 the    
latter torment their children in a nave 
way1 while the former are infinitely    
wise and methodical in their stupidity4 
,rarely is a mother of the upper class  
one of those artists of home life who   
through the blitheness1 the goodness1   
and joyousness of her character1 makes  
the rhythm of everyday life a dance1 and
 holidays into festivals4 ,such artists 
are often simple women who have passed  
no examinations1 founded no clubs1 and  
written no books4 ,the highly cultivated
 mothers and the socially useful mothers
 on the other hand are not seldom those 
who call forth criticism from their     
sons4 ,it seems almost an invariable    
rule that mothers should make mistakes  
when they wish to act for the welfare of
 their sons4 ,how infinitely valuable1  
say their children1 would ,i have found 

a mother who could have kept quiet1 who 
would have been patient with me1 who    
would have given me rest1 keeping the   
outer world at a distance from me1 with 
kindly soothing hands4 ,oh1 would that  
,i had had a mother on whose breast ,i  
could have laid my head1 to be quiet and
 dream4  ,a distinguished woman writer  
is surprised that all of her            
well-thought-out plans for her children 
fail--those children in whom she saw the
 material for her passion for governing1
 the clay that she desired to mould4    
,the writer just cited says very justly 
that maternal unselfishness alone can   
perform the task of protecting a young  
being with wisdom and kindliness1 by    
allowing him to grow according to his   
own laws4 ,the unselfish mother1 she    
says1 will joyfully give the best of her
 life energy1 powers of soul and spirit 
to a growing being and then open all    
doors to him1 leaving him in the broad  
world to follow his own paths1 and ask  
for nothing1 neither thanks1 nor praise1

 nor remembrance4 ,but to most mothers  
may be applied the bitter exclamation of
 a son in the book just mentioned1 even 
a mother must know how she tortures     
another2 if she has not this capacity by
 nature1 why in the world should ,i     
recognise her as my mother at all4      
,certain mothers spend the whole day in 
keeping their children's nervous system 
in a state of irritation4 ,they make    
work hard and play joyless1 whenever    
they take a part in it4 ,at the present 
time1 too1 the school gets control of   
the child1 the home loses all the means 
by which formerly it moulded the child's
 soul life and ennobled family life4    
,the school1 not father and mother1     
teaches children to play1 the school    
gives them manual training1 the school  
teaches them to sing1 to look at        
pictures1 to read aloud1 to wander about
 out of doors2 schools1 clubs1 sport and
 other pleasures accustom youth in the  
cities more and more to outside life1   
and a daily recreation that kills the   

true feeling for holiday4 ,young people1
 often1 have no other impression of home
 than that it is a place where they meet
 society which bores them4  ,parents    
surrender their children to schools in  
those years in which they should        
influence their minds4 ,when the school 
gives them back they do not know how to 
make a fresh start with the children1   
for they themselves have ceased to be   
young4  ,but getting old is no          
necessity2 it is only a bad habit4 ,it  
is very interesting to observe a face   
that is getting old4 ,what time makes   
out of a face shows better than anything
 else what the man has made out of time4
 ,most men in the early period of middle
 age are neither intellectually fat nor 
lean1 they are hardened or dried up4    
,naturally young people look upon them  
with unsympathetic eyes1 for they feel  
that there is such a thing as eternal   
youth1 which a soul can win as a prize  
for its whole work of inner development4
 ,but they look in vain for this second 

eternal youth in their elders1 filled   
with worldly nothingnesses and things of
 temporary importance4  ,with a sigh    
they exclude the old people from their  
future plans and they go out in the     
world in order to choose their spiritual
 parents4  ,this is tragic but just1 for
 if there is a field on which man must  
sow a hundred-fold in order to harvest  
tenfold it is the souls of children4    
,when ,i began at five years of age to  
make a rag doll1 that by its weight and 
size really gave the illusion of reality
 and bestowed much joy on its young     
mother1 ,i began to think about the     
education of my future children4 ,then  
as now my educational ideal was that the
 children should be happy1 that they    
should not fear4 ,fear is the misfortune
 of childhood1 and the sufferings of the
 child come from the half-realised      
opposition between his unlimited        
possibilities of happiness and the way  
in which these possibilities are        
actually handled4 ,it may be said that  

life1 at every stage1 is cruel in its   
treatment of our possibilities of       
happiness4 ,but the difference between  
the sufferings of the adult from        
existence1 and the sufferings of the    
child caused by adults1 is tremendous4  
,the child is unwilling to resign       
himself to the sufferings imposed upon  
him by adults and the more impatient the
 child is against unnecessary suffering1
 the better2 for so much the more       
certainly will he some day be driven to 
find means to transform for himself and 
for others the hard necessities of life4
  ,a poet1 ,rydberg1 in our country who 
had the deepest intuition into child's  
nature1 and therefore had the deepest   
reverence for it1 wrote as follows3     
,where we behold children we suspect    
there are princes1 but as to the kings1 
where are they8 ,not only life's tragic 
elements diminish and dam up its vital  
energies4 ,equally destructive is a     
parent's want of reverence for the      
sources of life which meet them in a new

 being4 ,fathers and mothers must bow   
their heads in the dust before the      
exalted nature of the child4 ,until they
 see that the word child is only another
 expression for the conception of       
majesty2 until they feel that it is the 
future which in the form of a child     
sleeps in their arms1 and history which 
plays at their feet1 they will not      
understand that they have as little     
power or right to prescribe laws for    
this new being as they possess the power
 or might to lay down paths for the     
stars4  ,the mother should feel the same
 reverence for the unknown worlds in the
 wide-open eyes of her child1 that she  
has for the worlds which like white     
blossoms are sprinkled over the blue orb
 of heaven2 the father should see in his
 child the king's son whom he must serve
 humbly with his own best powers1 and   
then the child will come to his own2 not
 to the right of asking others to become
 the plaything of his caprices but to   
the right of living his full strong     

personal child's life along with a      
father and a mother who themselves live 
a personal life1 a life from whose      
sources and powers the child can take   
the elements he needs for his own       
individual growth4 ,parents should never
 expect their own highest ideals to     
become the ideals of their child4 ,the  
free-thinking sons of pious parents and 
the ,christian children of freethinkers 
have become almost proverbial4  ,but    
parents can live nobly and in entire    
accordance to their own ideals which is 
the same thing as making children       
idealists4 ,this can often lead to a    
quite different system of thought from  
that pursued by the parent4  ,as to     
ideals1 the elders should here as       
elsewhere1 offer with timidity their    
advice and their experience4 ,yes they  
should try to let the young people      
search for it as if they were seeking   
fruit hidden under the shadow of leaves4
 ,if their counsel is rejected1 they    
must show neither surprise nor lack of  

self-control4  ,the query of a          
humourist1 why he should do anything for
 posterity since posterity had done     
nothing for him1 set me to thinking in  
my early youth in the most serious way4 
,i felt that posterity had done much for
 its forefathers4 ,it had given them an 
infinite horizon for the future beyond  
the bounds of their daily effort4 ,we   
must in the child see the new fate of   
the human race2 we must carefully treat 
the fine threads in the child's soul    
because these are the threads that one  
day will form the woof of world events4 
,we must realise that every pebble by   
which one breaks into the glassy depths 
of the child's soul will extend its     
influence through centuries and         
centuries in ever widening circles4     
,through our fathers1 without our will  
and without choice1 we are given a      
destiny which controls the deepest      
foundation of our own being4 ,through   
our posterity1 which we ourselves       
create1 we can in a certain measure1 as 

free beings1 determine the future       
destiny of the human race4  ,by a       
realisation of all this in an entirely  
new way1 by seeing the whole process in 
the light of the religion of            
development1 the twentieth century will 
be the century of the child4 ,this will 
come about in two ways4 ,adults will    
first come to an understanding of the   
child's character and then the          
simplicity of the child's character will
 be kept by adults4 ,so the old social  
order will be able to renew itself4     
,psychological pedagogy has an exalted  
ancestry4 ,i will not go back to those  
artists in education called ,socrates   
and ,jesus1 but ,i commence with the    
modern world4 ,in the hours of its      
sunrise1 in which we1 who look back1    
think we see a futile ,renaissance1 then
 as now the spring flowers came up amid 
the decaying foliage4 ,at this period   
there came a demand for the remodelling 
of education through the great figure of
 modern times1 ,montaigne1 that skeptic 

who had so deep a reverence for         
realities4 ,in his ,essays1 in his      
,letters to the ,countess of ,gurson1   
are found all of the elements for the   
education of the future4 ,about the     
great ,german and ,swiss specialists in 
pedagogy and psychology1 ,comenius1     
,basedow1 ,pestalozzi1 ,salzmann1       
,froebel1 ,herbart1 ,i do not need to   
speak4 ,i will only mention that the    
greatest men of ,germany1 ,lessing1     
,herder1 ,goethe1 ,kant and others1 took
 the side of natural training4 ,in      
regard to ,england it is well known that
 ,john ,locke in his ,thoughts on       
,education1 was a worthy predecessor of 
,herbert ,spencer1 whose book on        
education in its intellectual1 moral1   
and physical relations1 was the most    
noteworthy book on education in the last
 century4  ,it has been noted that      
,spencer in educational theory is       
indebted to ,rousseau2 and that in many 
cases1 he has only said what the great  
,german authorities1 whom he certainly  

did not know1 said before him4 ,but this
 does not diminish ,spencer's merit in  
the least4 ,absolutely new thoughts are 
very rare4 ,truths which were once new  
must be constantly renewed by being     
pronounced again from the depth of the  
ardent personal conviction of a new     
human being4  ,that rational thoughts on
 the subject of pedagogy as on other    
subjects1 are constantly expressed and  
re-expressed1 shows among other things  
that reasonable1 or practically untried 
education has certain principles which  
are as axiomatic as those of            
mathematics4 ,every reasonable thinking 
man must as certainly discover anew     
these pedagogical principles1 as he must
 discover anew the relation between the 
angles of a triangle4 ,spencer's book it
 is true has not laid again the         
foundation of education4 ,it can rather 
be called the crown of the edifice      
founded by ,montaigne1 ,locke1          
,rousseau1 and the great ,german        
specialists in pedagogy4 ,what is an    

absolutely novel factor in our times is 
the study of the psychology of the      
child1 and the system of education that 
has developed from it4  ,in ,england1   
through the scientist ,darwin1 this new 
study of the psychology of the child was
 inaugurated4 ,in ,germany1 ,preyer     
contributed to its extension4 ,he has   
done so partly by a comprehensive study 
of children's language1 partly by       
collecting recollections of childhood on
 the part of the adult4 ,finally he     
experimented directly on the child1     
investigating his physical and psychical
 fatigue and endurance1 acuteness of    
sensation1 power1 speed1 and exactness  
in carrying out physical and mental     
tasks4 ,he has studied his capacity of  
attention in emotions and in ideas at   
different periods of life4 ,he has      
studied the speech of children1         
association of ideas in children1 etc4  
,during the study of the psychology of  
the child1 scholars began to substitute 
for this term the expression genetic    

psychology4 ,for it was found that the  
bio-genetic principle was valid for the 
development both of the psychic and the 
physical life4 ,this principle means    
that the history of the species is      
repeated in the history of the          
individual2 a truth substantiated in    
other spheres2 in philology for example4
 ,the psychology of the child is of the 
same significance for general psychology
 as embryology is for anatomy4 ,on the  
other hand1 the description of savage   
peoples1 of peoples in a natural        
condition1 such as we find in ,spencer's
 ,descriptive ,sociology or ,weitz's    
,anthropology is extremely instructive  
for a right conception of the psychology
 of the child4  ,it is in this kind of  
psychological investigation that the    
greatest progress has been made in this 
century4 ,in the great publication1     
,zeitschrift fr psychologie1 etc41 there
 began in #ahid a special department for
 the psychology of children and the     
psychology of education4 ,in #ahih1     

there were as many as one hundred and   
six essays devoted to this subject1 and 
they are constantly increasing4  ,in the
 chief civilised countries this         
investigation has many distinguished    
pioneers1 such as ,prof4 ,wundt1 ,prof4 
,t4 ,h4 ,ribot1 and others4 ,in ,germany
 this subject has its most important    
organ in the journal mentioned above4   
,it numbers among its collaborators some
 of the most distinguished ,german      
physiologists and psychologists4 ,as    
related to the same subject must be     
mentioned ,wundt's ,philosophischen     
,studien1 and partly the                
,vierteljahrschrift fr                  
,wissenschaftlichie ,philosophie4 ,in   
,france1 there was founded in #ahid1 the
 ,anne ,psychologique1 edited by ,binet 
and ,beaunis1 and also the ,bibliotheque
 de ,pedagogie et de ,psychologie1      
edited by ,binet4 ,in ,england there are
 the journals1 ,mind and ,brain4        
,special laboratories for experimental  
psychology with psychological apparatus 

and methods of research are found in    
many places4 ,in ,germany the first to  
be founded was that of ,wundt in the    
year #ahgh at ,leipzig4 ,france has a   
laboratory for experimental psychology  
at ,paris1 in the ,sorbonne1 whose      
director is ,binet2 ,italy1 one in      
,rome4 ,in ,america experimental        
psychology is zealously pursued4 ,as    
early as #ahid1 there were in that      
country twenty-seven laboratories for   
experimental psychology and four        
journals4 ,there should also be         
mentioned the societies for child       
psychology4 ,recently one has been      
founded in ,germany2 others before this 
time have been at work in ,england and  
,america4  ,a whole series of           
investigations carried out in           
,kraepelin's laboratory in ,heidelberg  
are of the greatest value for           
determining what the brain can do in the
 way of work and impressions4  ,an      
,english specialist has maintained that 
the future1 thanks to the modern school 

system1 will be able to get along       
without originally creative men1 because
 the receptive activities of modern man 
will absorb the co-operative powers of  
the brain to the disadvantage of the    
productive powers4 ,and even if this    
were not a universally valid statement  
but only expressed a physiological      
certainty1 people will some day perhaps 
cease filing down man's brain by that   
sandpapering process called a school    
curriculum4  ,a champion of the         
transformation of pedagogy into a       
psycho-physiological science is to be   
found in ,sweden in the person of ,prof4
 ,hjalmar ,oehrwal who has discussed in 
his essays native and foreign           
discoveries in the field of psychology4 
,one of his conclusions is that the     
so-called technical exercises1          
gymnastics1 manual training1 sloyd1 and 
the like1 are not1 as they are          
erroneously called1 a relaxation from   
mental overstrain by change in work1 but
 simply a new form of brain fatigue4    

,all work1 he finds1 done under         
conditions of fatigue is uneconomic     
whether one regards the quantity        
produced or its value as an exercise4   
,rest should be nothing more than       
rest1--freedom to do only what one wants
 to1 or to do nothing at all4 ,as to    
fear1 he proves1 following ,binet's     
investigation in this subject1 how      
corporal discipline1 threats1 and       
ridicule lead to cowardice2 how all of  
these methods are to be rejected because
 they are depressing and tend to a      
diminution of energy4 ,he shows1        
moreover1 how fear can be overcome      
progressively1 by strengthening the     
nervous system and in that way          
strengthening the character4 ,this      
result comes about partly when all      
unnecessary terrorising is avoided1     
partly when children are accustomed to  
bear calmly and quietly the inevitable  
unpleasantnesses of danger4  ,prof4     
,axel ,key's investigations on school   
children have won international         

recognition4 ,in ,sweden they have      
supplied the most significant material  
up to the present time for determining  
the influence of studies on physical    
development and the results of          
intellectual overstrain4  ,it is to be  
hoped that when through empirical       
investigation we begin to get acquainted
 with the real nature of children1 the  
school and the home will be freed from  
absurd notions about the character and  
needs of the child1 those absurd notions
 which now cause painful cases of       
physical and psychical maltreatment1    
still called by conscientious and       
thinking human beings in schools and in 
homes1 education4     ,,chapter ,,iv    
,,homelessness   ,from time to time the 
present age is criticised1 as if its    
corruption contrasted with the moral    
strictness of earlier periods4 ,such    
charges are as crude and as groundless  
as is most of the same kind of criticism
 that is common to every generation of  
man's history4 ,they have been repeated 

ever since man began to strive          
consciously for other ends than the     
momentary gratification of his          
undisciplined impulses4  ,one need only 
to consult the men of the present       
generation and the still living         
representatives of the past generation1 
to be assured that bad conduct at school
 is not characteristic of our time4 ,let
 any one read the account of life at    
universities in earlier periods when the
 younger students were of the same age  
as schoolboys in high schools and it    
will soon be plain that the cause of the
 evil is not modern literature nor      
modern belief4  ,the really direct      
causes of this difficulty must be looked
 for in human emotions4 ,this side of   
the question ,i do not intend to discuss
 here4 ,it can only be solved by an     
expert in psychology and physiology2 by 
one who1 along with this capacity1 is a 
pedagogical genius4 ,there might not be 
sufficient material for such a task1    
even if an individual could be found    

able to put together the original       
elements in the systems of ,socrates1   
,rousseau1 ,spencer1 and give them life4
 ,under no other condition could a real 
contribution be made adequate to meet   
the requirements of the present day in  
the field of education4 ,my intention is
 only to make some remarks on the       
secondary cause of the evil1 for not    
sufficient attention has been devoted to
 this side of the problem4 ,the cause ,i
 have in view is the increasing         
homelessness of all branches of society4
 ,living with one's parents as children 
do who go to school in the city is not  
the same as living at home4 ,family life
 in the working classes is unsettled by 
the mother working out of the house4 ,in
 the upper classes the same result is   
produced by the constantly increasing   
pressure of social pleasures and        
obligations4  ,formerly it was only the 
husband and father whom outside         
interests took from the home4 ,now the  
home is deserted by the wife and mother 

also1 not alone for social gatherings   
but for clubs for self-improvement1     
meetings1 lectures1 committees2 one     
evening after another1 just at the time 
which she should be devoting herself to 
her children who have been occupied in  
the morning at school4  ,the            
ever-growing social life1 the incessant 
extension of club and out-of-door life1 
result in the mother sending her        
children as early as possible to school1
 even when there is nothing but the     
conditions above mentioned to prevent   
her from giving the children their first
 instruction herself4 ,as a rule the    
present generation of mothers who have  
had school training could do this quite 
well1 in the case of children who do not
 need the social stimulus of the school4
 ,indeed before the school time begins1 
and in the hours out of school1 children
 are as a rule taken by a maid servant  
to walk or to skate and so on4 ,children
 of the upper classes in most cases     
receive just as much1 perhaps more1 of  

their education from the nursery maid or
 from the school than from the mother4  
,the father need not be mentioned at    
all1 for as a rule he is an only        
occasional and unessential factor in the
 education of the child4  ,many will say
 by way of objection1 that at no time   
has so much been done for the education 
of children as at present2 that parents 
were never so watchful over the physical
 and psychical needs of the children2   
that at no time has the intercourse     
between children and parents been so    
free2 at no time have schools been so   
actively at work4  ,this is true but    
much of this tends to increase the      
homelessness of which ,i am speaking4   
,the more the schools develop the more  
they are burdened with all the          
instruction for children1 the more hours
 of the day they require for their      
demands4 ,the school is expected to give
 instruction even in such simple matters
 as making children acquainted with     
their national literature1 and handwork1

 which mothers could do perfectly well1 
certainly as well as our grandmothers4  
,the greater the attention given at     
school to such essentially good things  
as gymnastics1 handwork1 and games1 the 
more children are withdrawn from home4  
,and even when at home1 they are        
hindered by lessons and written         
exercises from being with their father  
and mother1 on those exceptional        
occasions when the parents are at home4 
,if we take into consideration the way  
in which the modern school system uses  
up the children's time1 and present     
social and club life take up the time of
 parents1 we come to the conclusion ,i  
began with1 that domestic life is more  
and more on the decline4  ,the reforms  
that must be demanded from the schools  
in order to restore the children to the 
home cannot be discussed now1 since it  
is my intention to deal here only with  
those matters which must be reformed by 
the family itself1 if reforms at school 
are to really benefit the young4        

,reforms of this kind have been made in 
schools but mothers complain that       
children have too little work at home or
 too few hours at school2 that they1 the
 mothers1 absolutely do not know how    
they can keep the children occupied in  
so much free time4  ,what may justly be 
considered the great progress in the    
family life of the present day1 the     
confidential intercourse between parents
 and children1 has not taken an entirely
 right direction4 ,the result has been  
that children have been permitted to    
behave like grown people1 sharing the   
habits and pleasures of their parents1  
or that the parents have ceased to live 
their own life4 ,in neither of these two
 ways can a deep and sound relation     
between children and parents be         
produced4  ,we see on the one side a    
minority of conscientious mothers and   
fathers1 who in a real sense live only  
for the children4 ,they mould their     
whole life for the life of the children2
 and the children get the idea that they

 are the central point of existence4 ,on
 the other side1 we see children who    
take part in all the life and           
over-refinements of the home4 ,they     
demand like adults the amusements and   
elegancies of life2 they even give balls
 and suppers at home or in hotels for   
their school companions4 ,in these      
social functions1 the vanity and        
stupidity of adults are conscientiously 
imitated4  ,then we require from these  
boys and girls1 when they reach a time  
of life in which the passions awake1 a  
self-control1 a capacity of self-denial1
 a stoicism towards temptations to which
 they have never been trained1 and which
 they have never seen their parents     
exercise4  ,most homes of the upper     
classes have not the means to keep up   
the life that is lived in them4 ,by the 
money of creditors1 or by an exorbitant 
profit made at the cost of working      
people1 or by careless consumption of   
the very necessary savings to be laid by
 for hard times1 or against the death of

 the family provider1 a luxurious style 
of living is maintained4 ,but even when 
in rare cases there is real ability to  
live in this way1 parents would not do  
it1 if the best interests of the        
children were taken into account4       
,elders may speak of industry as much as
 they like2 if the father's and mother's
 work for children has no reality about 
it1 the parents would do best to be     
silent4 ,the same must be said of       
warnings and arbitrary prohibitions to  
children concerning the satisfaction of 
their desire for enjoyment1 if the      
parents themselves do not influence the 
children by their own example4  ,on the 
other hand there are just as disturbing 
consequences when industrious parents   
conceal their self-denial from their    
children1 when they deprive themselves  
in the effort to spare their children   
the knowledge that their parents are not
 in a position to clothe them as well as
 their companions or to give them the   
same pleasures4 ,least of all is home   

life successful in helping children     
through the difficulties of their       
earlier years1 when discipline has      
killed confidence between them and their
 parents1 when they become insincere    
from want of courage and careless from  
want of freedom2 when parents present   
themselves to the children as           
exceptional beings1 asking for blind    
reverence and absolute subjection4 ,from
 such homes in old days fine men and    
women could proceed1 but now extremely  
seldom4 ,young people recognise in our  
days no such requirements2 confidential 
intercourse with parents has robbed them
 of this nimbus of infallibility4       
,homes which send out men and women with
 the strongest morality1 with the       
freshest stimulus to work1 are those    
where children and parents are          
companions in labour1 where they stand  
on the same level1 where1 like a good   
elder sister or an elder brother1       
parents regard the younger members of   
the household as their equals2 where    

parents by being children with the      
children1 being youthful with young     
people1 help those who are growing up1  
without the exercise of force1 to       
develop into human beings1 always       
treating them as human beings4 ,in a    
home like this nothing is especially    
arranged for children2 they are regarded
 not as belonging to one kind of being  
while parents represent another1 but    
parents gain the respect of their       
children by being true and natural2 they
 live and conduct themselves in such a  
way that the children gain an insight   
into their work1 their efforts1 and as  
far as possible into their joys and     
pains1 their mistakes and failures4     
,such parents without artificial        
condescension or previous consideration 
gain the sympathy of children and       
unconsciously educate them in a free    
exchange of thought and opinions4 ,here 
children do not receive everything as a 
gift2 according to the measure of their 
power they must share in the work of the

 home2 they learn to take account of    
their parents1 of servants1 and one     
another4 ,they have duties and rights   
that are just as firmly fixed as those  
of their parents2 and they are respected
 themselves just as they are taught to  
respect others4 ,they come into daily   
contact with realities1 they can do     
useful tasks1 not simply pretend that   
they are doing them2 they can arrange   
their own amusements1 their own small   
money accounts1 their own punishments   
even1 by their parents never hindering  
them from suffering the natural         
consequences of their own acts4  ,in    
such a home a command is never given    
unless accompanied at the same time with
 a reason for it1 just as soon as a     
reason can be understood4 ,so the       
feeling of responsibility is impressed  
upon the children from the tenderest    
age4 ,the children are as seldom as     
possible told not to do things1 but such
 commands when given are absolute       
because they always rest on good        

reasons1 not on a whim4 ,mother and     
father are watchful1 but they do not act
 as spies on their children4 ,partial   
freedom teaches children to make use of 
complete freedom4 ,a system of negative 
commands and oversight produces         
insincerity and weakness4 ,an old       
illiterate housekeeper who earned a     
living by taking school children to     
board was one of the best educators ,i  
have ever seen4 ,her method was loving  
young people and believing in them--a   
confidence that they as a rule sought to
 deserve4 ,moreover a good home is      
always cheerful1 its affection real1 not
 sentimental4 ,no time is wasted in it  
in preaching about petty details or     
prosing4 ,mother and sisters do not look
 shocked when the small boy tells a     
funny story or uses strong language4 ,a 
joke is not regarded as evidence of     
moral corruption1 nor keen views as an  
indication of depravity4 ,liveliness1   
want of prudishness1 which can be       
combined1 so far as the feminine part of

 the household is concerned1 with purity
 of mind and simple nobility1 are       
characteristics for which there can be  
no substitutes4 ,in such a household    
concord prevails1 the young and old     
work1 read1 and talk together1 together 
take common diversions2 sometimes the   
young people1 sometimes their elders1   
take the lead4 ,the house is open for   
the friends of the children2 they are   
free to enjoy themselves as completely  
as possible but in all naturalness      
without allowing their amusements to    
change the habits of the home4  ,it is  
told of the childhood of a great        
,finnish poet1 ,runeberg1 that his      
mother when she invited the young guests
 of her son to dance as long as they    
could1 added1 ,when you are thirsty1 the
 water cooler is there1 and by it hangs 
the cup2 and more delightful dances1 the
 old lady who told the story never      
remembered to have seen4 ,this          
old-fashioned distinction1 the courage  
to show oneself as one is1 is absent    

from modern homes1 and lack of courage  
has resulted in lack of happiness4  ,the
 simple hospitable homely pleasures that
 have now been superseded by children's 
parties1 lesson drudgery1 and by parents
 living outside of the home must come   
back again if what is bad now is not to 
become worse4 ,evil is not to be        
expelled by evil2 it is to be overcome  
by good4 ,if the home is not to be again
 sunny1 quiet1 simple1 and lively1      
mothers may go out as much as they like 
to discuss education and morality in the
 evening4 ,there will be no real change4
 ,mothers must seriously perceive that  
no social activity has greater          
significance than education1 and that in
 this nothing can replace their own     
appropriate influence in a home4 ,they  
must make up their minds to real reform1
 such reforms as those introduced by a  
lady in ,stockholm2 burdened though she 
was with social engagements and public  
obligations1 she refused to accept any  
invitation except on one day of the     

week1 in order to spend her evenings    
quietly with her children4 ,how long    
will the majority of mothers sacrifice  
children to the eternal ennui and       
vacuity of our modern social and club   
life8  ,there is no intention here to   
recommend that social life and public   
activities shall be deprived of the     
influence of experienced and thinking   
mothers4 ,but ,i only wish to point to  
the cases of overstrain now caused by   
the stress of excessive sociability and 
outside activity4 ,this kind of         
over-exertion1 more especially1 injures 
the home through the mother4 ,in our day
 as in all other periods1 be our        
opinions in other respects what they    
may1 pagan1 ,christian1 ,jewish1 or free
 thinking1 a good home is only created  
by those parents who have a religious   
reverence for the holiness of the home4 
,,chapter ,v  ,,soul ,,murder ,,in ,,the
 ,,schools   ,any one who would attempt 
the task of felling a virgin forest with
 a penknife would probably feel the same

 paralysis of despair that the reformer 
feels when confronted with existing     
school systems4 ,the latter finds an    
impassable thicket of folly1 prejudice1 
and mistakes1 where each point is open  
to attack1 but where each attack fails  
because of the inadequate means at the  
reformer's command4  ,the modern school 
has succeeded in doing something which1 
according to the law of physics1 is     
impossible3 the annihilation of once    
existent matter4 ,the desire for        
knowledge1 the capacity for acting by   
oneself1 the gift of observation1 all   
qualities children bring with them to   
school1 have1 as a rule1 at the close of
 the school period disappeared4 ,they   
have not been transformed into actual   
knowledge or interests4 ,this is the    
result of children spending almost the  
whole of their life from the sixth to   
the eighteenth year at the school desk1 
hour by hour1 month by month1 term by   
term2 taking doses of knowledge1 first  
in teaspoonfuls1 then in                

dessert-spoonfuls1 and finally in       
tablespoonfuls1 absorbing mixtures which
 the teacher often has compounded from  
fourth- or fifth-hand recipes4  ,after  
the school1 there often comes a further 
period of study in which the only       
distinction in method is1 that the      
mixture is administered by the ladleful4
  ,when young people have escaped from  
this rgime1 their mental appetite and   
mental digestion are so destroyed that  
they for ever lack capacity for taking  
real nourishment4 ,some1 indeed1 save   
themselves from all these unrealities by
 getting in contact with realities2 they
 throw their books in the corner and    
devote themselves to some sphere of     
practical life4 ,in both cases the      
student years are practically           
squandered4 ,those who go further       
acquire knowledge ordinarily at the cost
 of their personality1 at the price of  
such qualities as assimilation1         
reflection1 observation1 and            
imagination4 ,if any one succeeds in    

escaping these results1 it happens      
generally with a loss of thoroughness in
 knowledge4 ,a lower grade of           
intelligence1 a lower capacity for work1
 or a lower degree of assimilation1 than
 that bestowed upon the scholar by      
nature1 is ordinarily the result of ten 
or twelve school years4 ,there is much  
common-sense in the ,french humourist's 
remark4 ,you say that you have never    
gone to school and yet you are such an  
idiot4  ,the cases in which school      
studies are not injurious1 but partially
 useful1 are those where no regular     
school period has been passed through4  
,in place of this there was a long      
period of rest1 or times of private     
instruction1 or absolutely no           
instruction at all1 simply study by     
oneself4 ,nearly every eminent woman in 
the last fifty years has had such       
self-instruction1 or was an irregularly 
instructed girl4 ,knowledge so acquired1
 therefore1 has many serious gaps1 but  
it has much more freshness and breadth4 

,one can study with far greater scope   
and apply what one studies4  ,yet it is 
still true to-day that1 however         
vehemently families complain about      
schools1 they do not see that their     
demands in general education must       
change1 before a reasonable school      
system1 a school system in all respects 
different from the prevailing one1 can  
come into existence4 ,the private       
schools1 few in number1 that differ to a
 certain extent from the ordinary system
 are swallows that are very far from    
making a summer4 ,rather they have met  
the fate of birds who have come too     
early on the scene4  ,as long as schools
 represent an idea1 stand for an        
abstract conception1 like the family and
 the state1 so long will they1 just as  
the family and the state1 oppress the   
individuals who belong to them4 ,the    
school no more than the family and the  
state represents a higher idea or       
something greater than just the number  
of individuals out of which it is       

formed4 ,it1 like the family and the    
state1 has no other duty1 right1 or     
purpose than to give to each separate   
individual as much development and      
happiness as possible4 ,to recognise    
these principles is to introduce reason 
into the school question4 ,the school   
should be nothing but the mental        
dining-room in which parents and        
teachers prepare intellectual           
bills-of-fare suitable for every child4 
,the school must have the right to      
determine what it can place on its      
bill-of-fare1 but the parents have the  
right to choose1 from the mental        
nourishment supplied by it1 the food    
adapted to their children4 ,the phantom 
of general culture must be driven from  
school curricula and parents' brains2   
the training of the individual must be a
 reality substituted in its place2      
otherwise reform plans will be drawn up 
in vain4  ,but just as certain simple   
chemical elements are contained in all  
nourishment1 there are certain simple   

elements of knowledge that make up the  
foundation of all higher forms of       
learning4 ,reading and writing one's own
 language1 the elements of numbers1     
geography1 natural science1 and history1
 must be required by the schools1 as the
 obligatory basis for advanced          
independent study4  ,the elementary     
school beginning with the age of nine to
 ten years1 ,i regard as the real       
general school4 ,the system of          
instruction must assume that the        
children have breadth1 repose1          
comprehensiveness1 and capacity for     
individual action4 ,all these qualities 
are destroyed by the present hare and   
hound system and by its endless         
abstractions4 ,such are the results of  
course readings1 multiplicity of        
subjects1 and formalism1 all defects    
that have passed from the boys' schools 
into the girls' schools1 from the       
elementary schools into the people's    
schools4 ,they too are burdened by all  
these faults1 which1 though deplored by 

most people1 can only be cured by       
radical reform4  ,the instruction must  
be arranged in groups1 certain subjects 
placed among the earlier stages of study
 while others are put aside for a later 
period4 ,and in this connection it is   
not sufficient to consider the          
psychological development of the child4 
,certain subjects must be assigned to   
certain times of the year4  ,the courses
 in these schools must come to an end at
 about the age of fifteen or sixteen4   
,from them our young people can pass    
either into practical life1 or go on to 
schools of continuation and application4
 ,it would be desirable to adopt the    
plan recommended by ,grundtvig1 that one
 or more vacation years should follow1  
before studies are taken up again4      
,girls1 especially1 would then come back
 to their studies with strengthened     
bodily powers and an increased desire   
for knowledge4 ,it is now a common      
experience that the desire to learn1    
even in the case of talented young      

people1 becomes quiescent1 if they go on
 continuously with their studies1 as    
they often do1 from the sixth to the    
twentieth year and longer4  ,to mark out
 the courses of such a school would     
offer tremendous difficulties4 ,but     
these difficulties will not be found    
insuperable1 after people have agreed   
that the souls of children require more 
consideration than a school programme4  
,among objections coming from parents1  
may be heard the following3 ,that while 
the state refuses to take initiative in 
school reform1 no one would dare to     
embark on a road which makes the future 
of their children so uncertain4 ,in the 
meantime children must be allowed to    
learn what all others learn4 ,when the  
state has taken the first step1 the     
parents would be willing they say to    
follow with remarkable eagerness4       
,what1 ,i ask1 has been always the right
 way to carry out reforms8 ,there must  
be first an active revolt against       
existing evils4 ,this particular revolt 

is yet not sufficiently supported1      
especially on the part of parents4 ,the 
children themselves have begun to feel  
the need of protest1 and1 if not        
earlier1 ,i hope that when the present  
generation of school children become    
fathers1 mothers1 and teachers1 a reform
 will come about4  ,no one can expect a 
system to be changed1 until those who   
disapprove of it show that they are in  
earnest1 show that they are taking upon 
themselves the sacrifices necessary to  
protect themselves from the unhappy     
results of the system4 ,families        
complain of the excessive aggregation of
 subjects1 and yet they constantly      
burden the school with new subjects1    
even when these subjects are things the 
family can undertake itself4 ,while     
families complain of overstrain1 but    
make no use of the elective system in   
schools1 where it has been introduced1  
while parents are willing to risk       
nothing to realise their principles1 we 
cannot wonder that the state does not   

embark on reforms of any kind4  ,there  
is an old pedagogical maxim1 ,man learns
 for life not for school4 ,while1 for a 
great part of their time1 the sexes are 
separated from one another1 boys        
studying by themselves and the girls by 
themselves1 the training for their      
future life is a bad one--a life in     
which the common work and co-operation  
between man and woman is1 according to  
nature's ordinance1 the normal thing4   
,so long as the general school is a     
school for a special class1 and not for 
everybody1 it is no general school in   
the high sense of the word1 and besides 
no school in which people learn for     
life4  ,i have therefore always warmly  
held that the school should be no boys'1
 no girls' school1 no elementary and no 
people's school1 but should be a real   
general or public school as in ,america1
 where both sexes1 the children of all  
grades of society1 will learn that      
mutual confidence1 respect1             
understanding1 by which their efficient 

co-operation in the family and state may
 be made possible4 ,the common school1  
so arranged1 is perhaps the most        
important means to solve definitely the 
problem of morality1 the woman question1
 the marriage question1 the labour      
question1 in less one-sided and more    
human ways4 ,from this point of view the
 establishment of the common school is  
much more than a pedagogical question2  
it is the vital question of our social  
order4  ,men and women1 upper and lower 
classes1 are walking on different sides 
of a wall4 ,they can stretch their hands
 over it2 the important thing to be done
 is to break the wall down4 ,the school1
 as described above1 is the first breach
 in this wall4  ,a school like this     
would be like leaven4 ,the many never   
reform the few2 it is the few who       
gradually introduce reforms for the     
many4 ,because the few have strong      
enough dissatisfaction with present     
defects1 courage great enough to show   
their disgust1 a belief in the new      

truths real enough1 they are ready to   
prepare the ground for the future4      
,such a school must be guided by the    
same principle which has humanised      
morality and law in other spheres4 ,it  
must consider individual peculiarities4 
,personal freedom will thus have as few 
hindrances as possible to obstruct it4  
,the rights of others must not be       
approached too close4 ,the limits1 where
 the rights of others can be affected1  
must be maintained1 even enlarged4      
,this humanising process will be        
introduced into the schools1 when       
scholars are no longer regarded as      
classes1 but each individual for        
himself4 ,the schools will then commence
 to fulfil one of the many conditions   
necessary to give young people real     
nourishment and so develop them and make
 them happy4  ,such a school life will  
make its first aim to discover in early 
years uncommon talent1 to direct such   
talent to special studies4  ,secondly1  
for those who lack definite talent1 a   

plan of study will be arranged1 in which
 their individuality too can be         
developed1 and their intellectual       
tension increased4 ,this condition is1  
if possible1 more important than the    
first1 for unusual talents are          
accompanied by greater power of         
self-conservation4 ,ordinary or lesser  
talented people1 i4e41 the larger       
majority1 are rather confused by a      
plurality of studies and are much easier
 impaired1 as personalities1 by the     
uniformity of the prevailing system4    
,the rights of unusually gifted people1 
and those of other classes too1 can be  
considered when1 as mentioned above1 the
 school curriculum is so arranged1 that 
certain subjects are studied during part
 of the school year1 another class of   
subjects during another part4 ,moreover1
 certain subjects are to be studied at  
different times1 not finished once for  
all4  ,the instruction must be so       
arranged that real independent study1   
under the direction of the teacher1 will

 be the ordinary method4 ,the           
presentation of the subject by the      
teacher will be the exception1 a treat  
for holidays1 not for every day4  ,the  
instruction too must take the scholar to
 the real thing1 as far as possible1 not
 direct him to report about the thing4  
,such a school must break up absolutely 
the whole system of lecturing1 arranged 
in concentric circles4 ,in certain      
cases1 it must return to the methods of 
the old-fashioned school1 which         
concentrated its attention on humanistic
 study4 ,but dead languages should not  
be the subjects around which its studies
 should centre4  ,early specialisation  
must be allowed1 where there are        
distinct individual tendencies for such 
work2  ,concentration on certain        
subjects at certain points of time2     
,independent work during the whole      
period of school2  ,contact with reality
 in the whole school curriculum2--these 
must be the four corner-stones of the   
new school4  ,but the time is far       

distant still1 when government schools  
will begin to build on this basis4 ,what
 follows is meant1 therefore1 to apply1 
not to the great revolutions of school  
systems indicated above1 but deals with 
improvements to take place at present4  
,learning lessons should be assigned to 
school hours as in ,france4 ,children   
should have an entirely free day in the 
week2 study at home should be confined  
to the reading of literary works1 tales 
of travel1 and the like1 which teachers 
can recommend in combination with the   
studies pursued at school4  ,tasks done 
at home are inconvenient2 they do not   
increase the independence of the        
scholar2 they are prepared as a rule    
with excessively free and often unwise  
help from the parents4 ,at school such  
work would be done as a rule without    
help2 besides1 it is individual and     
quickly finished4  ,in the school1 time 
can be taken for study selected at the  
scholar's free choice4 ,it can be       
arranged for in the following way4 ,take

 a class of about twelve scholars2 in   
larger classes no reasonable or personal
 method of instruction is possible4     
,there may be three scholars with       
distinct tastes1 one for history1 one   
for languages1 one for mathematics4     
,there may be two without any distinct  
talent for mathematics or languages4    
,the other seven may have ordinary      
capacities4 ,the first three must1      
during the whole term1 apply themselves 
specially in certain hours1 set aside   
for independent study1 each in his      
chosen subject4 ,the first will read    
some historical work on the periods     
taken up in the history class2 the      
second will devote this time to         
mathematics2 the third will read the    
books in foreign languages1 mentioned in
 the language course4 ,the other seven  
with ordinary gifts can devote this time
 to ordinary reading and handwork4 ,in  
this way all will get some portion of   
history1 mathematics1 and languages1 but
 those who are specially interested will

 have the opportunity of going deeper   
into the subject4 ,if one of the three  
gifted scholars shows a great           
inclination for and a ready             
comprehension of all three subjects1 he 
should study by himself at home1        
provided the more thorough study of one 
subject does not impair work on the     
other4 ,the two who have special        
difficulty in mathematics or languages  
could either substitute one subject     
wholly for the other1 or in those       
periods remain away from school1 or1    
finally1 the hours used by gifted       
scholars for individual study beyond the
 requirements of the common course could
 be devoted by these to work1 under the 
teacher's supervision1 in the course    
common to the whole class4  ,to carry   
out this plan1 there is need of such    
concentration of subjects as ,i have    
mentioned2 there should be never more   
than one or at most two main            
subjects--history1 geography1 natural   
science--studied at once4 ,moreover no  

more than one language should be studied
 at the same time2 practice in those    
already learnt is to be acquired by     
literary readings1 written rsums1 and   
conversation4  ,another kind of         
concentration is necessary4 ,not every  
subject should be split up into         
subdivisions but history should be made 
to include literary history1 church     
history1 etc4 ,in geography at the early
 stage1 a part of natural science should
 be included1 and the history of art    
combined with both4 ,another not less   
important method implied in             
concentration is in all general courses 
to direct one's attention to the main   
questions1 and to sacrifice the mass of 
details4 ,detailed work should not have 
been incorporated1 as indispensable for 
general culture 7from generation to     
generation71 during the constant growth 
of the contents of knowledge4  ,in      
regard to instruction1 methods now      
popular should be forced out of the     
field4 ,the two obligatory features1 the

 careful hearing of lessons by the      
teacher1 and the equally careful        
preparation of the next lesson1 must be 
changed for other methods according to  
the age of the scholar1 the special     
character of the subject1 and of the    
scholar himself2 or according to the    
particular stage of the subject4 ,at one
 time the teacher should give an        
attractive1 comprehensive account of a  
period1 a character1 a land1 a natural  
phenomenon4 ,another time it will be    
enough to give a simple1 introductory   
reference to the reading of one or more 
works on the subject1 best of all an    
original authority4 ,sometimes he should
 require an oral account of what he has 
said1 or what has been read2 sometimes  
this should be done in writing4 ,when   
the lesson is filled with many facts the
 scholar should write them down in the  
hour2 another time he should summarise  
them from memory4 ,an assigned amount   
too can be gone through along with the  
teacher's explanation2 on another       

occasion1 the assignment need not be    
gone over at all1 but the scholars could
 show their capacity to understand it   
and comprehend it without assistance4   
,occasionally the task might be done in 
a short time from one day to another1   
sometimes it might take a longer period4
  ,but this work would1 as has been     
said1 take place ordinarily in the      
school4 ,purely literary readings and   
books of a similar type must be assigned
 for work at home1 to be done during a  
considerable length of time4 ,for we all
 know that the reading which has made a 
deep impression on us was only what was 
read freely2 reading for which we       
ourselves could set the time1 place1 and
 inclination4 ,and since1 in this case1 
the important thing is the impression1  
not the knowledge1 freedom is more      
important than in other subjects4       
,individual initiative can be furthered 
by having the teacher1 as is done in    
,france1 explain in passing all words   
and subjects in a poem difficult to     

understand4 ,the teacher too should now 
and then1 by reading poetry aloud1      
stimulate the desire of the scholar to  
learn more of the same poet4 ,a poem has
 the greatest effect when it is         
presented unexpectedly4 ,when a history 
lesson is ended there should be read    
aloud a passage from an historical poem4
 ,scholars do not forget either the     
poem1 or the episode handled in it1 even
 if they forget everything else4 ,but   
test questions1 used in the period of   
literature-study1 go in at one ear and  
out at the other4  ,a teacher who wishes
 to use this concentrated system in     
detail1 that rests on the intelligent   
co-operation of the scholar1 will       
naturally find that the method is to be 
derived from the personality of the     
teacher himself4 ,i think the teacher of
 history should not take up the         
prehistoric period1 but should give the 
scholar some good popular work on it and
 let him go to a museum2 he should then 
require a written essay1 to be          

illustrated by the scholar with drawings
 of characteristic types of archological
 specimens4 ,in the same way1 he could  
give a comparative view of the same     
period among other people4 ,then1 if    
there were a scholar especially anxious 
to learn1 he could put in his hands a   
work about the primitive condition of   
man4 ,every teacher1 man or woman1 can  
easily think out1 for the subjects they 
teach1 analogous methods4 ,the teacher  
of geography who is talking about       
,siberia can give some good general     
description of it to all the scholars   
for their private study4 ,those         
particularly interested would be        
recommended to read a narrative of      
travels in ,siberia1 ,dostojewsky's ,out
 of the ,dead ,house1 and so on4 ,if the
 teacher of history were taking up      
,napoleon1 he could read in the ,french 
hour a work like ,vigny's ,servitude et 
,grandeur ,militaire4 ,for the ,dutch   
,war of ,independence1 ,motley's        
history1 ,goethe's ,egmont1 and         

,schiller's ,don ,carlos could be read4 
,a whole book could be written on plans 
like these1 with indications how the    
different fields of knowledge could     
supplement one another1 how history1    
geography1 literature1 and art could be 
intertwined just as on the other side   
geography and natural science4          
,similarly it would show how different  
teachers could be of use to one another 
in communicating to their scholars a    
fuller knowledge4  ,i should like to    
propose an hypothesis for discussion and
 examination that ,i have formulated1   
after a wide experience in              
story-telling1 both as a listener and as
 a narrator4 ,if ,i might put together  
in a statement1 without intending to    
prove it1 the result of my experience in
 the subject named1 ,i should say that  
the mental food which is most attractive
 for the child1 also gives the most     
nourishment4 ,this is the fact that the 
physiology of our day has proved in the 
case of the organic existence of the    

child4 ,pedagogy is beginning1          
consciously or unconsciously1 to apply  
it to the mental sphere1 yet without    
daring to hold that nature is so simple1
 that need and inclination can be so    
nearly related4 ,naturally1 it cannot be
 maintained that what is most attractive
 for children's stories should          
constitute their whole training1 as     
physiology maintains that what tastes   
most agreeable to the child1 for example
 sugar1 should form his sole            
nourishment4  ,what every story-teller  
finds as specially attractive to        
children1 is the epic smoothness1 the   
clear comprehensiveness of the tale1 its
 consistent objectivity4 ,every         
narrative which will win the attention  
of the child1 whether it be from        
,scandinavian1 classical1 or biblical   
history1 must have these characteristics
 of the tale4 ,there are hardly any     
story-tellers who so completely absorb  
children as old nurses4 ,they never     
forget any picturesque trait in the     

tale1 they always give the same broad1  
full narrative4 ,they tell their stories
 without explanations and without       
applications1 with the real direct      
feeling of the child for grasping the   
subject4 ,everything which disturbs the 
smooth flow of the narrative1 above all1
 when the narrator puts himself outside 
of it by indulging in a joke1 strikes   
the child as a profound incongruity4    
,children are always more or less       
artistic in their nature1 in the sense  
that they desire to receive an          
impression in its purity1 not as a means
 to something else4 ,they wish through  
the story to go through a real          
experience2 at the same time they will  
say ,no1 if they are asked whether they 
would prefer to hear a real history to a
 story4 ,this apparent contradiction can
 be explained in this way3 the tale     
presents reality1 as reality is         
conceived of by the nave fancy of early 
ages1 and is in just the form in which  
the imagination of the child can receive

 it4  ,in telling stories1 we find1     
besides1 that what attracts children is 
the narrative of actions2 in this       
roundabout way they get hold of emotions
 and sentiments4 ,the development of the
 child--this is a truth which has to be 
worked out before it can really be taken
 in--answers in miniature to the        
development of mankind as a whole4 ,and 
it follows from this that children      
combine idealism and realism1 as epic   
national poetry does4 ,great1 good1     
heroic1 supernatural traits affect them 
most2 but only in a concrete shape      
sensibly perceived1 with the richness of
 the power which comes from life1       
without any adaptation to our present   
conceptions4  ,we can test this by      
telling a real folk-lore tale1 and      
,anderson's version of it4 ,with a few  
exceptions children are unanimous in    
calling the first type the most         
beautiful4  ,besides what is attractive 
for lively children1 with sound         
appetites1 is quantity1 but in no way   

multiplicity4  ,first of all they ask   
whether the story is long after they    
have begun to hope that it is beautiful4
 ,they are glad to hear the same story  
innumerable times2 they have an         
unconscious need for thorough           
assimilation1 just as soon as what is   
given to them harmonises with their     
stage of development4 ,this is true of  
all subjects4 ,i know children who      
detest the choice stories from the      
,bible1 with which their morning prayers
 are commenced1 but who read the ,new   
,testament as a story-book4 ,in this    
respect1 all small children are like    
great ones1 the artists4 ,the           
imagination of children requires full1  
entire1 deep impressions1 as material   
for their energies that are incessantly 
creating and reconstructing4 ,and if    
their sound feeling has not been        
disturbed by a dualism foreign to them  
it brings them with remarkably sure     
instinct to choose the sound1 pure1 and 
beautiful1 and to reject the unsound1   

hateful1 and crude4 ,finally1 we find in
 story-telling that children much prefer
 continuity of impressions though they  
are said to express preference for      
change4 ,we never hear children say1    
,now tell a funny story1 the one before 
was too gloomy4 ,but if we commence     
telling gloomy stories they want one    
after another of the same type4 ,if we  
had begun telling amusing stories1 they 
never tire of laughing4 ,the            
changeableness of children in playing1  
reading1 and working is not so general a
 characteristic of childish nature as is
 believed4 ,it is true only of children 
whose readings and games are not adapted
 to their nature and inclinations4      
,changeableness is1 in a certain way1   
nature's self-defence against what is   
unconsciously injurious4  ,as to comic  
narratives1 it is found in story-telling
 that the child has the most keen sense 
for the humour of a situation4 ,on the  
other hand they have hardly a trace of  
feeling for the humour that rests on    

deep intellectual contrasts1 least of   
all for humour of the ironical type4 ,if
 a narrative out of their own world is  
really to make impression on them1 it   
must be like a tale1 full of life1 with 
action and surprises1 broad and nave in 
its style1 without any noticeable aim4  
,all the children's books which children
 through their life recollect and by    
which they are impressed1 are those that
 at least in one way or another fulfil  
these conditions4 ,the rest give other  
impressions1 but even so they become no 
more harmless than arsenic wall-paper   
covered by fresh undyed layers4 ,as to  
the humour of children1 it can be easily
 tested4 ,we can tell them the most     
comic psychological children's stories2 
ninety-nine out of a hundred they will  
declare to be terribly stupid1 while a  
simple history presenting a funny       
situation doubles them up with laughter4
  ,children do not feel drawn to        
abstract things2 this is an old truth1  
whose correctness is established best by

 story-telling4 ,all virtues and        
qualities1 no matter how well concealed 
they may be1 are very quickly pronounced
 stupid by children4 ,for fables1       
children have seldom any taste1 least of
 all for essays4 ,the introduction of a 
fox or a bear into the story or in a    
real adventure makes the story-teller   
the dearest friend of children4 ,but the
 most lively and childish essay on the  
bear or the fox leaves them cold1 unless
 it is made real by some personal       
experience in the country or by a visit 
to a zological garden4 ,this truth is so
 recognised and proved from so many     
points of view1 that ,i will simply say 
here that experience in story-telling   
gives additional evidence of it4        
,children show1 in listening to stories1
 a finely developed sensitiveness to all
 attempts to descend to1 or to adopt1   
the standpoint of the child1 to         
everything that is artificial in the    
narrative4 ,in intercourse with         
children1 especially with those who     

represent progressive methods1 can be   
seen how the reaction against the old   
lesson and hidebound methods has        
produced an artificial navet1 a richness
 of illustrations1 and a liveliness that
 children soon feel as something        
specially prepared for them1 something  
not quite real4 ,this way of partially  
giving to children their own imaginative
 power puts them to sleep1 even when it 
succeeds at first in giving them a good 
entertainment in their lessons4 ,for the
 illustrations and comparisons1 as well 
as the consequences which another has   
thought out for them1 obstruct the      
initiative of the child2 besides they   
are all soon forgotten4 ,it is the same 
with playthings2 those they make        
themselves give inexhaustible pleasure1 
while those that are ready made only    
confer joy once or twice4 ,they are     
shown and then broken in pieces in order
 to extract the clockwork1 for this is  
the only possible way for the child to  
do something with it himself4           

,instruction is beginning to resemble   
children's playthings and children's    
books2 it is too complete1 too richly   
illustrated4 ,it hinders individual free
 voyages of discovery of the            
imagination4 ,even good illustrations   
are often injurious2 but we do not      
intend to speak at length on this       
subject4 ,as a matter of fact children  
often feel themselves deceived by       
illustrations4  ,the reserve in a story 
is also a property that attracts the    
child4 ,its pictures are indicated with 
a few definite but repeated details4    
,the imagination is allowed to fill the 
picture with colours4 ,the uniformity1  
the rhythm1 and the symmetry1 all       
qualities belonging to the folk-lore    
tale1 are for the child extremely       
absorbing4 ,they enjoy such repetitions 
as the first1 second1 and third year and
 so on1 quite like the refrain in rhyme 
and poetry4  ,but all these observations
 lead to a final result4 ,the present   
reading-book system is neither the most 

attractive for children1 nor does it    
best supply them with what they want4   
,instead of epic smoothness and unity1  
reading-books bring a confused mixture  
of all kinds1 nursery rhymes1 religious 
teaching1 poetry1 natural history1 and  
history4 ,occasionally there comes a    
tale or a real poem1 standing apart     
distinctly from its neighbours1 in tone 
and in comprehensiveness4 ,instead of   
clear impressions1 children get through 
the reading-book a disturbing jumble2   
instead of objectivity1 they get        
instructive children's stories2 instead 
of poetry1 edifying versification2      
instead of action1 reflection2 instead  
of much of one thing1 a little of       
everything2 instead of continuity of    
impressions1 constant change2 instead of
 concrete impressions of life1 essays2  
instead of nave tales1 things written   
down to their level4  ,i ask what is the
 result of this reading-book system on  
the development of the child from six to
 sixteen years old8  ,what1 in general1 

is the result on the development of     
character when one flits from impression
 to impression1 nipping in flight at    
different things1 letting one picture   
after another slip away1 making no halt 
anywhere8  ,as to the effect on adults1 
immediate answers can be given4 ,these  
answers are so unfavourable that they do
 not need to be repeated4 ,but1 should a
 principle which applies to the adult be
 less suitable for the child8 ,it really
 applies much more to the child4 ,adults
 generally have some work1 some         
occupation1 some one centre around which
 they can arrange manifold events1      
change may often be advantageous for    
them2 but the whole school day of the   
child is change2 the way the child      
absorbs knowledge is by the teaspoonful4
 ,is not this condition enough to urge  
us to work with all our might against   
the system of diffusion wherever it is  
unnecessary8  ,in reading-books         
diffusion is not necessary2 in foreign  
languages1 as in his own tongue1 the    

interest of the child is much more      
stimulated by a book than by a reader2  
his vocabulary is increased4 ,but even  
if this were not the case1 what the     
child gains through reading-books1 in   
quick readiness in the mother tongue or 
in foreign languages1 does not          
compensate for the loss their use       
signifies in development in the way     
already mentioned4  ,the schools deal   
improperly with the mental powers of    
youth1 through their lack of            
specialising1 of concentration1 in their
 depreciation of initiative1 in their   
being out of touch with reality4  ,high 
schools and colleges are absolutely     
destructive to personality4 ,here1 where
 only oral examinations should take     
place from time to time1 where all      
studies should tend to be individual1   
the hunger of the scholar for reality is
 hardly satisfied in any direction4     
,nothing is done to help his longing to 
see for himself1 to read1 to judge1 to  
get impressions at first-hand1 not from 

second-hand reports4  ,certainly here1  
too1 the direction of the teacher is    
necessary4 ,he can economise superfluous
 work by clarifying generalisations2 he 
can criticise a one-sided account in    
order to complete the picture fully     
himself4 ,often the teacher must excite 
interest by a vigorous account from his 
own point of view2 by a fine            
psychological study1 he can illustrate a
 complex historical picture4 ,he will   
help the scholar to find laws1 governing
 the phenomena which he has come to know
 by his own experiments1 or he can      
suggest comparisons which lead to such  
experiments4 ,here1 also1 oral and      
written exercise must have great weight4
  ,but the end of all instruction in    
college1 as in the school1 should not   
consist in examinations and diplomas2   
these must be obliterated from the face 
of the earth4 ,the aim should be that   
the scholars themselves1 at first hand1 
should acquire their knowledge1 should  
get their impressions1 should form their

 opinions1 should work their way through
 to intellectual tastes1 not as they now
 do1 taking no trouble themselves1 but  
being supposed to acquire these gifts   
through interesting lectures given by   
the teacher on five different subjects1 
heard every morning while the students  
are dozing1 and soon forgotten4 ,facts  
slip away from every one's memory1      
quickest from the memory of those who   
have learned according to the dose and  
teaspoonful system4 ,but education      
happily is not simply the knowledge of  
facts1 it is1 as an admirable paradox   
has put it1 what is left over after we  
have forgotten all we have learnt4  ,the
 richer one is in such permanent        
acquisitions1 the greater the profit of 
study4 ,the more subjective pictures we 
have2 the more numerous our vibrating   
emotions and associations of ideas are2 
the more we are filled with suggestively
 active impressions2--so much the more  
development we have1 won by study for   
our personality4 ,the fact that our     

students acquire so little1 even if they
 have passed through every school with  
excellent marks1 is a serious injustice 
they feel during their whole life4 ,the 
beautifully systematised1 ticketed1     
checkerboard knowledge given by         
examinations soon disappears4 ,the      
person who has kept his desire for      
knowledge and his capacity for work by  
his free choice and by his independent  
labor can easily fill out the gaps left 
by this method of study in the knowledge
 he has acquired4  ,only the person who 
by knowledge has obtained a view of the 
great connected system of existence1 the
 connection between nature and man's    
life1 between the present and the past1 
between peoples and ideas1 cannot lose  
his education4 ,only the person who1    
through the mental nourishment he has   
received1 sees more clearly1 feels more 
ardently1 has absorbed completely the   
wealth of life1 has been really         
educated4 ,this education can be gained 
in the most irregular way1 perhaps      

around the hearth or in the field1 on   
the seashore or in the wood2 it can be  
acquired from old tattered books or from
 nature itself4 ,it can be terribly     
incomplete1 very one-sided1 but how     
real1 personal1 and rich it appears to  
those who for the period of fifteen     
years in school have ground out the     
wheat on strange fields1 like oxen with 
muzzled mouths6 ,our age cries for      
personality2 but it will ask in vain1   
until we let our children live and learn
 as personalities1 until we allow them  
to have their own will1 think their own 
thoughts1 work out their own knowledge1 
form their own judgments2 or1 to put the
 matter briefly1 until we cease to      
suppress the raw material of personality
 in schools1 vainly hoping later on in  
life to revive it again4     ,,chapter  
,,vi  ,,the ,,school ,,of ,,the ,,future
   ,i should like to set down here      
briefly my dreams of a future school1 in
 which the personality may receive a    
free and complete self-development4 ,i  

purposely say dreams1 because ,i do not 
want any one to believe that ,i am      
pretending in the following outline to  
give a reformed programme for the       
present time4  ,my first dream is that  
the kindergarten and the primary school 
will be everywhere replaced by          
instruction at home4  ,undoubtedly a    
great influence has proceeded from that 
whole movement which has resulted1 among
 other things1 in the                   
,pestalozzi-,froebel kindergartens1 and 
in institutions modelled after them4    
,better teachers have been produced by  
it2 but what ,i regard as a great       
misfortune1 is the increasing           
inclination to look upon the crche1 the 
kindergarten1 and the school as the     
ideal scheme of education4 ,every       
discussion dealing with the             
possibilities of women working in public
 life exalts the advantage of freeing   
the mother from the care of children1   
emancipating children from the improper 
care of their mothers1 and giving women 

possibilities of work outside of the    
home4 ,mrs4 ,perkins ,stetson proposes  
as a compromise1 that every mother1     
pedagogically qualified1 shall take care
 of a group of children along with her  
own4 ,but what her own children will    
receive under such conditions is        
sufficiently shown in the case of those 
poor children who grow up in educational
 institutions presided over by their    
parents2 and also by the experience of  
the poor parents who are not able under 
these conditions to look after their own
 children4  ,the crche and the          
kindergarten were and continue to be a  
blessing undoubtedly for those          
innumerable mothers who work outside of 
their homes and are badly prepared for  
their duties4 ,some type of kindergarten
 will perhaps be necessary under        
particular circumstances as a partial   
substitute for the home1 as1 for        
example1 when a child has no companions 
to play with1 or when the mother herself
 is disinclined or not able to educate  

the child4 ,this incapacity is          
ordinarily the result of an extremely   
nervous temperament1 caused by weak will
 or depression4  ,mary ,wollstonecraft's
 remarks1 made more than a hundred years
 ago1 still call for our approval4 ,if  
children are not physically murdered by 
their ignorant mothers1 they are ruined 
psychically by the inability of the     
mother to bring them up4 ,mothers1 in   
those first six years that determine the
 whole development of the child's       
character1 turn them over to the hands  
of servants1 whose authority is often   
undermined by the way in which they are 
treated4 ,then children are passed on to
 school to control the bad behaviour    
which the vigilance of the mother could 
have prevented1 and which she controls  
with means that become the basis for all
 kinds of vices4 ,but because such cases
 are still frequent and because there   
will always be mothers incapable of     
bringing their children up1 it would be 
a premature assumption to believe that  

the majority of women cannot be trained 
to become parents1 if the development of
 the woman has this end in view4 ,one of
 the tasks of the future is the creation
 of a generation of trained mothers1 who
 among other things will emancipate     
children from the kindergarten system4  
,children are handled in crowds from two
 and three years up1 they are made to   
appear before the public in crowds1 made
 to work on the one plan1 made to do the
 same petty1 idiotic1 and useless tasks4
 ,in this way1 we believe at the present
 time that we are forming men1 while    
actually we are only training units4    
,any one who remembers how1 as a child1 
he played on the beach or in the wood1  
in a big nursery or in an old-fashioned 
attic1 or has seen other children       
playing in these surroundings1 will know
 how such unrestrained play deepens the 
soul1 increases the capacity for        
invention1 and stimulates the           
imagination a hundredfold more than     
children's games and occupations devised

 by the arrangement1 and promoted by the
 interference1 of elder persons4 ,adults
 are accustomed to amuse children in    
crowds1 a custom which comes from       
intellectual vulgarity1 instead of      
leaving them alone to amuse themselves4 
,besides this system encourages children
 to produce what they do not need1 and  
leads them to imagine that they are     
working by so doing4 ,children should be
 taught to despise all the numerous     
unnecessary things which put life on a  
false level and make it artificial4     
,they should be taught to try to        
simplify it1 to aim for its supreme     
values2 this should be the end of       
education4 ,the kindergarten system is1 
on the contrary1 one of the most        
effective means to produce the weak     
dilletante and the self-satisfied       
average man4  ,if there is any further  
need for the kindergarten in the near or
 distant future1 let it be a place where
 children may have the same freedom as  
cats or dogs1 to play by themselves1 and

 for themselves1 to think out something 
of their own1 where they can be provided
 with means to carry out their own      
plans1 where they have companions to    
play with them4 ,a sensible woman may be
 near at hand to look on or to          
supervise1 but only to interfere when   
the children are likely to hurt         
themselves4 ,let her draw something for 
them occasionally1 tell them a story1 or
 teach them an amusing game1 but        
otherwise let her be apparently quite   
passive and yet untiringly active in the
 observation of the traits of character 
and of disposition which play of this   
free type reveals4 ,in like manner the  
mother should observe the play of       
children1 their treatment of their      
companions at play1 their inclinations1 
and collect as much material as she can 
but interfere as little directly as     
possible4 ,the mother finally by this   
constant1 many-sided1 strenuous1 yet    
passive kind of observation gets a      
knowledge of the child that is partially

 exact4 ,one being never learns to know 
another being entirely1 not even when   
that being has received its life from   
the other1 not even when that life is   
daily renewed by the other being1 in    
order to reach the full happiness of    
spiritual motherhood4 ,it has been well 
said that as people regard the birth of 
a child as the sign of physical         
maturity1 the education of a child is   
regarded as a sign of psychical         
maturity4 ,but through lack in          
psychological insight1 most parents     
remain their whole life immature4 ,they 
can have the best principles1 the most  
zealous fidelity to duty1 combined with 
absolute blindness to the nature of     
children1 the real causes of their      
actions1 and the different combinations 
of different characteristics4  ,take    
some examples of the worst blunders of  
this type2 the small child is often     
called vain who studies1 full of        
interest1 his own identity in the glass2
 the child who1 from fear or confusion  

at a hard or incomprehensible question1 
does not answer or obey is called       
stubborn2 the child that cannot explain 
his actions in those small things which 
adults every day entirely forget is     
looked upon as lying2 and even before   
the child has a conception of the right 
of property1 when he pilfers1 he is     
called thievish4 ,the child who says    
that he knows that he is naughty1 and   
wants to be naughty1 is called obdurate 
and impertinent1 while this statement is
 really a self-confession and shows a   
character to which one may appeal with  
the best results4 ,the child1 sunk in   
thought1 who forgets the small things of
 daily life1 people call thoughtless4   
,even when a child is really selfish and
 is really lying or lazy1 these         
characteristics are treated as if they  
were something individual1 while        
actually they are caused often by some  
serious fault which must be dealt with4 
,these characteristics can proceed from 
a good quality which may be destroyed1  

if the fault is not treated suitably4   
,but even parents who now observe their 
children with more psychological insight
 than was used in earlier times are not 
able to study them1 if their children go
 to school and kindergarten at an early 
age4 ,this want of insight produces     
mistakes which often cause deep         
antagonisms between children and their  
parents1 the sort of thing which now    
embitters so many households4 ,only     
fathers and mothers who reverence the   
individuality of their children1 and    
combine with this feeling a careful     
observation of them through their whole 
life1 are able to avoid this typical    
fault of our own time4 ,people expect to
 gather grapes from thistles1 instead of
 being satisfied with haws4 ,parents    
must see that they cannot create where  
there is no material to be created4 ,but
 they must be capable of developing the 
characteristics which they discover in  
the nature of their children4 ,this work
 they must undertake with optimism and  

resignation1 for it represents the      
teaching of real psychological study4   
,this will stop those efforts1 painful  
alike for children and parents1 that are
 applied in directions which offer no   
reward to effort4  ,but the study of the
 psychology of the child1 begun at its  
birth1 continued in its play1 its work1 
its rest1 means a daily comparative     
study1 and requires the undivided       
attention of one person4 ,it can only be
 done by a person who has charge of but 
a few children2 in a crowd it is        
impossible4 ,it is all the more         
impossible because children in a crowd  
resemble one another more or less2 and  
this makes observation more difficult4  
,the kindergarten is only a factory4    
,children learn in it to model1 instead 
of making mud pies according to their   
own taste4 ,this process is typical of  
what these small atoms of humanity go   
through themselves4 ,from the first     
floor of the factory the objects that   
have been turned out there are sent to  

the next floor above1 the school2 and   
from this they then go out put up in    
packages4  ,the aim of school training  
is to carry out1 with all its might1    
production by quantities that expresses 
the demands of our time in all spheres4 
,the invention of individual school     
methods may reduce the influence of     
canned education4  ,as long as there are
 large cities1 poor children in them    
must be able to obtain the possibilities
 of country children4 ,their playthings 
must be made out of the world which     
surrounds them4 ,the obligations of     
their own home must supply them with    
work4 ,this is altogether different from
 the play work of the kindergarten that 
has no connection with the seriousness  
of reality4 ,a wise mother or teacher   
will adopt from the kindergarten system 
just so much as will enable her to teach
 children to observe nature and their   
surroundings2 will take from it what    
enables her to make them combine their  
activity with some useful end2 their    

amusement with some kind of knowledge4  
,the ,froebel dictum1 ,let us live for  
the children1 must be changed into a    
more significant phrase1 ,let us allow  
the children to live4 ,this1 among other
 things1 means let them be emancipated  
from the burden of learning by heart1   
from the forms of system1 from the      
pressure of the crowd1 in those years   
while the quiet1 secret work of the soul
 is as vital for them as the growing of 
the seed in the earth4 ,the kindergarten
 system is opposed to this2 it is       
forcing up the seed to life on a plate1 
where it looks very pretty1 but only for
 the time being4  ,the school with its  
esprit de corps opens the way public    
lack of conscience4 ,modern society     
manages thus to reproduce the crimes of 
every past period2 manages too1 to      
reproduce them through men who are      
conscientious in their own private life4
 ,for those without consciences1 who    
lead criminal movements1 would never be 
able to put the masses of people in     

motion1 unless they were just masses and
 nothing more2 unless they were made to 
follow collective laws of honour1       
collective patriotic feelings1          
collective conceptions of duty4 ,the    
child learns to be obedient to his      
school1 to be loyal to his comrades1    
just as later on in life he learns these
 qualities as they are presented in his 
university1 his student society1 and his
 profession4 ,all of this he learns     
sooner than to reverence his conscience1
 his feeling of right1 his individual   
impulse4 ,he learns to wink at1 pardon1 
and disguise the sins committed by his  
own circle of companions1 his own club1 
and his own country4  ,this is the way  
the world produces its ,dreyfus         
,affairs1 its ,transvaal ,wars4 ,if the 
aim is to create men and not masses1 we 
should follow the educational programme 
of the great statesman ,stein--to       
develop all those impulses on which the 
value and strength of mankind depend4   
,this is only possible when the child is

 taught1 at the earliest age1 the       
freedom and danger of his own choice1   
the right and responsibility of his own 
will1 the conditions and duties of being
 put to the test himself4 ,all of these 
elements of character are unconsciously 
opposed by the kindergarten2 the home   
alone can develop them4 ,the highest    
result of education is to bring the     
individual into contact with his own    
conscience4 ,this does not mean that the
 individual cannot experience by degrees
 the happiness and the necessity of     
being a factor in the service of the    
whole1 first in his home1 then among his
 companions and in his country1 and     
finally in the world4 ,the difference is
 this3 in the first case the man is a   
living cell1 co-operating and building  
up living forms2 in the other he is a   
piece of cut stone used in artificial   
construction4  ,both for the development
 of individuality1 as well as for the   
cultivation of the emotions1 the home is
 to be preferred to the kindergarten and

 to the school4 ,in the limited small   
circle of the home the emotional element
 can be deepened and tenderness can be  
developed1 by the acts called for in the
 realities of domestic life4 ,the       
kindergarten first1 and then the school1
 free children from their natural       
individual obligations and put in their 
place demands that can only be fulfilled
 en masse4 ,the child enters into a     
number of superficial relations4 ,this  
situation tends to make his emotions    
superficial2 here is the great danger of
 beginning school life at a tender age4 
,on the other hand a one-sided home life
 brings with it the danger of           
concentrating the emotions to an excess4
 ,education at home in the years when   
the emotions become harmonious and      
receive their decisive training is just 
as important for the child as is later  
on a pleasant sociable life with others 
of the same age1 after the twelfth year 
is passed4 ,all intellectual cultivation
 done according to the most excellent   

method1 all social feelings1 are        
worthless unless they have as their     
basis an individual development of the  
emotions4 ,somewhere in our body we must
 have a heart1 to act as a real balance 
against our head4 ,only the man who has 
learnt to love a few1 deep enough to die
 for them1 is able to live profitably   
for the many4  ,i should like to see not
 only the kindergarten but the          
preparatory school transferred to the   
home4 ,there things can be considered   
that are never taken into account in a  
general school4 ,the child need not have
 the nourishment he does not want1 and  
which he does not need1 at the time he  
now generally receives it4 ,in the home 
school1 one child can put off reading to
 a later age1 another can be taught     
reading early4 ,the desire for action in
 one child can be satisfied2 the        
book-hunger of the other encouraged4    
,bodily development1 the desire to make 
a real acquaintance with external nature
 can be considered in home work1 play1  

and out-of-door activities4 ,then we can
 begin to teach when the child himself  
asks for teaching2 that is1 when he     
wishes to hear or do something in which 
knowledge alone can assist him4 ,the    
child can twice as easily learn at ten  
years1 under these conditions1 what he  
now learns at eight2 at eight what he   
now learns at six1 if he comes to his   
study with developed powers of          
observation and an eager desire for     
action4 ,schools can never attain a full
 insight into the peculiar character of 
personality1 into the ways in which     
knowledge must be placed before         
different individuals1 into the right   
time for taking a subject or giving it  
up4 ,the home school must be considered 
the ideal method where the child studies
 with a small group of well-selected    
companions4 ,individuality can be       
considered1 plans of study and courses  
can be neglected4 ,through such neglect 
only1 is a real living instruction      
possible4 ,the advantages the modern    

school has over the home are hardly     
worth discussing4 ,the order of the     
school1 its method1 system1 and         
discipline1 so much praised by its      
advocates as advantages1 are1 from my   
point of view1 nothing but              
disadvantages4 ,habits of fulfilling    
duties1 or work1 orderly and punctual   
activity1 that belong to a sound        
education1 can be attained in the home  
school through far less artificial      
means4 ,of course it is urged as another
 advantage of the school that the school
 child becomes a member of a small      
community where he learns social duties4
 ,but the home is the natural community 
where the child1 in full seriousness1   
learns the real social duties of        
readiness to help1 and readiness to act1
 while the present-day school           
artificially replaces that domestic     
social education1 of which the child is 
now robbed by studies at school and     
preparation at home4 ,the real value of 
school life among companions can be had 

from the home school without its        
ordinary dangers4 ,these dangers are not
 only evil influences1 but1 more than   
anything else1 that collective process  
of reaching a standard of stupidity1 due
 to the pressure of public opinion that 
comes from association in masses4 ,the  
fear of common opinion1 of being laughed
 at1 is created in the receptive years  
of childhood1 so open to such           
influences4 ,the slightest deviation in 
dress1 or taste1 is criticised          
unsparingly4 ,if an investigation were  
conducted on the sufferings of children 
through the tyranny of their fellows1 a 
tyranny which sometimes takes harsher1  
sometimes milder forms1 it would upset  
the prejudice that the usefulness of the
 school in this respect cannot be       
replaced4  ,besides there is the        
levelling pressure of a uniform         
discipline1 which stunts personality    
from above1 while life with school      
companions restricts it on all sides4   
,every criticism on this formal pedantry

 is met with the answer1 ,in a school it
 is absolutely impossible to permit     
children to do what can be done in the  
household2 only fancy if all children in
 the school were to sharpen their lead  
pencils or erase words in their         
exercises4 ,there is no need to insist  
further on this point4 ,hundreds of     
petty rules must exist1 we are told1 for
 the sake of discipline4 ,and even if   
the rules could be reduced to a fourth  
of their present cubic contents1 even   
the best schools would still feel the   
pressure of uniformity4 ,the more this  
pressure is resisted by individuals1 so 
much the better4  ,education in the     
first years must aim to strengthen      
individuality4 ,the whole of            
biographical literature supplies an     
almost uniform proof of the importance  
of not commencing too early the         
levelling social education of the       
school4 ,early attendance at school is  
one of the reasons why we so frequently 
meet1 as ,dumas says1 so many clever    

children1 and so many stupid adults4    
,almost all great men and women1 who    
have thought and created for themselves1
 have received either no education in   
school at all1 or have gone to school at
 a rather later period1 with longer or  
shorter interruptions1 or have been     
trained in different schools4 ,in most  
cases it was an accident1 some living   
point of view1 a book read in secret1 a 
personal choice of subject that gave    
these exceptional beings their training4
 ,in this respect ,goethe's education   
was ideal1 considered apart from some   
pedantry due to his father's influence4 
,at his mother's work-table he learnt to
 know the ,bible2 ,french he learnt from
 a theatrical company2 ,english from a  
language master1 in company with his    
father2 ,italian1 because he heard his  
sister being taught the language2       
mathematics from a friend in the        
household1 a study which ,goethe applied
 immediately1 first in cardboard        
diagrams1 later in architectural        

drawings4 ,his essays he prepared in the
 form of a correspondence in different  
languages between different relatives1  
scattered in various parts of the world4
 ,geography he eagerly studied in books 
of travel in order to be able to give   
his narrative local colour4 ,he knocked 
about with his father1 learnt to observe
 different kinds of handwork1 and also  
to try himself small experiments of his 
own skill4  ,but some one may say1 all  
men are not geniuses1 and accordingly   
the majority without distinct talent    
need the school4 ,is it possible that   
the connection between originality and  
irregular attendance at school is merely
 accidental8 ,how often does the school 
sin in its watering down of originality6
 ,as for unoriginal people1 the argument
 urged here is an application of the    
biblical axiom1 that from him who has   
nothing even the little will be taken   
away4 ,i mean the individual who has no 
distinct personality will be forced in  
the school to give up the little that he

 can call his own4 ,the old-fashioned   
school where a few subjects were learnt 
by heart1 where the teachers were often 
badly prepared1 where the students could
 go to sleep or pretend to learn1 where 
the courses were simple and attention   
concentrated on ,latin1 seems barbarous 
to us4 ,but it had less danger for the  
personality than the present-day school 
with its thorough preparation1 its      
interest in readings1 its perfected     
methods1 its capital instructors who    
take every little stone out of the      
student's road1 and prepare as much     
delightful intellectual nourishment as  
possible1 sometimes even in a cooked-up 
form4 ,this good school with its        
over-insistence on versatility is       
responsible for the nervousness of our  
day4 ,its general intellectual apathy   
has caused the negativeness of our      
times4  ,the quietest1 most obedient    
child is thought the best pupil1 that   
is1 the most impersonal individual is   
the model4 ,so we see how the school    

confuses its conception of values4 ,the 
more the soul and body are passive1 are 
willing to be controlled and receptive1 
so much the better are the results from 
the school standpoint4 ,mischievous     
children1 obstinate characters1         
one-sided and original natures1 are     
always martyrs at school because of     
their desire for action1 their spirit of
 opposition1 their so-called stupidity4 
,only the easy-going1 amiable1 commonly 
endowed natures can keep some of their  
own individual tendencies1 slip through 
the school1 and at the same time get    
good certificates of industry1 moral    
character1 order1 and progress4 ,in the 
first-class modern school1 the mobile   
structure of personality is forced into 
shape--or rather it is knocked about by 
wind and waves1 like a pebble on the    
seashore4 ,it is struck by one wave     
after another1 day by day1 term by term2
 on they come--forty-five minutes for   
religious instruction1 the same period  
for history1 then ,french1 then sloyd1  

then natural history2 the next day new  
subjects in new1 small doses4 ,in the   
afternoon1 there is preparation at home1
 and writing exercises1 previously      
arranged and marked out1 then corrected 
with care1 and the prepared readings    
made the basis of questioning by the    
most approved methods1 the mother having
 at home first gone over them with the  
child4 ,these powerful billows stupefy  
the brain1 and take the edge off the    
souls of both teacher and scholar4 ,even
 the most active teachers move along    
fettered by requirements and prejudices1
 unconditional necessities and          
methodical principles4 ,only            
occasionally is a soul saved from this  
fate by total skepticism4 ,some exalt   
this pettifogging professionalism to a  
plan of salvation1 others are untiringly
 busy in changing details1 in discussing
 minor improvements4 ,every real        
thoroughgoing reform affecting the      
principle1 not the methods alone1 goes  
to pieces1 because it conflicts with the

 system supported by the state4 ,it     
fails1 through the obedient acceptance  
of the system on the part of parents1   
through the incapacity of teachers to   
look at the whole results of the system1
 through their disinclination to all    
radical methods of improvement4  ,the   
school1 like the home and society1 in   
general should aim to fight more        
vigorously and more successfully the    
influences belittling life1 and should  
further its development towards ever    
higher forms4 ,this end is opposed by   
the modern schools4 ,it is a gross      
mistake to hold up their excellent      
material and their number as proofs of  
popular culture4 ,how the people are    
educated in the schools1 how the        
material is used1 what subjects are     
pursued in them are the momentous       
questions4  ,goethe's saying that       
fortune is the development of our       
capacities is as applicable to children 
as to adults4 ,what these capacities are
 can be determined soon in the case of  

the talented child2 his future can be   
secured by obtaining for him the        
possibility of such a development4 ,but 
there are common capacities1 proper to  
every normal human being1 and from their
 development1 fortune too can be the    
outcome4 ,among such capacities is      
memory1 which modern man has nearly     
destroyed4 ,we throw ashes1 says ,max   
,muller1 every day on the glowing coals 
of memory while men of past ages could  
retain in their minds the treasures of  
our present literature4 ,to these       
capacities belong1 among others1 power  
of thought1 not in the sense of         
philosophic thinking1 but in the simpler
 use of the word1 gifts of observation1 
ability to draw conclusions and to      
exercise judgment4 ,of the common       
universal human faculties the emotions  
suffer most at the hand of the modern   
school4  ,one of the fundamentally wrong
 pedagogical assumptions1 is that       
mathematics and grammar develop the     
understanding4 ,this is only true after 

a higher stage is reached in these      
courses4 ,but there is no one who       
seriously maintains that1 so far as     
nature or man is concerned1 he has used 
directly or indirectly1 in a single     
observation1 conclusion1 or exercise of 
judgment1 the theses1 hypotheses1       
statements1 problems1 the rules and     
exceptions1 of mathematics and grammar1 
with which his childish brain was       
burdened4 ,i have heard from            
mathematicians and philologians the same
 heresy that ,i am proclaiming1 that    
mathematics and grammar1 when they are  
not pursued as sciences1 must be reduced
 to a minimum4 ,provided a person has   
mathematical talent1 the study of       
mathematics is naturally agreeable1     
through the development of a capacity in
 a certain direction4 ,if one has the   
gift for languages1 the same is true of 
linguistic study4 ,but without such     
special talent1 these subjects have no  
educational value1 because the powers of
 observation1 drawing conclusions1      

exercising judgment1 are just as        
undeveloped as they were before the     
mathematical problem was solved or the  
grammatical rules learned4  ,life--the  
life of nature and of man--this alone is
 the preparation for life4 ,what the    
world of nature and the world of man    
offers in the way of living forms1      
objects of beauty1 types of work1       
processes of development1 can1 by       
natural history1 geography1 history1    
art1 and literature1 give real value to 
memory2 can teach the understanding to  
observe1 to judge and distinguish2 can  
train the feeling to become intense1 and
 through its intensity combine the      
varying material in that unity which    
alone is education4 ,in brief1 real     
things are what the home and school     
should offer children in broad1 rich1   
and warm streams4 ,but the streams      
should not be taken off in canals and   
dammed up by methods1 systems1 divisions
 of courses1 and examinations4  ,i never
 read a pedagogical discussion without  

the fine words self-activity1 individual
 development1 freedom of choice1        
suggesting to me the music which        
accompanies the sacrificial feasts of   
cannibals4 ,the moment these words are  
used1 limitations and reservations are  
introduced by their advocates4 ,their   
proposed application is ludicrously     
insignificant1 in contrast with the     
great principle in the name of which    
they urge these changes4 ,and so the    
pupil continues to be sacrificed to     
educational ideals1 pedagogical systems1
 and examination requirements1 that they
 refuse to abandon4 ,the everlasting sin
 of the school against children is to be
 always talking about the child4  ,the  
sloyd system 7manual dexterity1         
handwork1 artistic production7 has      
certain good results on children4       
,accordingly the sloyd must be          
introduced into the school1 and all must
 be made to share the advantages of this
 training2 but there are children for   
whom the sloyd is as inappropriate and  

as useless a requirement as learning    
,latin4 ,the child who wants to devote  
himself to his books should be no more  
forced to take up the sloyd1 than the   
child who is happy with his planing     
table should be dragged to literature4  
,all talk about harmonious training must
 be given the place where it belongs--in
 the pedagogical culinary science4      
,certainly harmonious development is the
 finest result of man's training1 but it
 is only to be attained by his own      
choice4 ,it implies a harmony between   
the real capacities of the individual1  
not a harmony worked up from a          
pedagogical formula4 ,the results from  
the school kneading trough with its     
mince-meat processes are something quite
 different4  ,isolated reforms in the   
modern school have no significance2 they
 will continue to have none1 until we   
prepare for the great revolution1 which 
will smash to pieces the whole present  
system and will leave not one stone of  
it upon another4 ,undoubtedly a ,deluge 

of pedagogy must come1 in which the ark 
need only contain ,montaigne1 ,rousseau1
 ,spencer1 and the modern literature of 
the psychology of the child4 ,when the  
ark comes to dry land man need not build
 schools but only plant vineyards where 
teachers will be employed to bring the  
ripe grapes to the children1 who now get
 only a taste of the juice of culture in
 a thin watery mixture4  ,the school has
 only one great end1 to make itself     
unnecessary1 to allow life and fortune1 
which is another way of saying          
self-activity1 to take the place of     
system and method4  ,from the           
kindergarten period on the child is now1
 as has been said1 a material moulded1  
sometimes by hostile1 sometimes by      
friendly hands4 ,the mildest1 the       
apparently freest methods produce       
uniformity by insisting on the same     
work1 the same impression1 the same     
regulations1 day by day1 year by year4  
,besides in the school1 classes are     
never arranged according to the child's 

temperament and tendency1 but according 
to his age and knowledge4 ,so he is     
condemned in deadly tediousness to waste
 an infinite amount of time while he is 
waiting for others4  ,the very earliest 
period of instruction should use the    
power the child has for observation and 
work4 ,these capacities should be made  
the means of his education1 the standard
 for using his own observation4 ,if the 
power of observation is vigorous1 no    
general rules are to be drawn1 but only 
particular ones4 ,one child must read1  
play1 or do handwork in a different     
degree to another4 ,one can at an early 
age1 the other only at a later period1  
take advantage of the education to be   
obtained from going to museums or from  
travel 7the best of all travel is       
tramping74 ,the indispensable elements  
will be reduced to their lowest measure2
 for what any one man needs to be able  
to do1 in order to find himself at home 
in life1 is not considerable4 ,the      
minimum is to read well1 to spell       

properly1 to write with both hands1 to  
copy simple objects1 so that one learns 
picture writing just as alphabet        
writing4 ,this skill is quite different 
from artistic gifts4 ,besides there must
 be instruction in looking at things    
geometrically1 the four simple rules of 
arithmetic and decimal fractions1 as    
much geography as will help one to use a
 map and a time-table1 as much knowledge
 of nature as will give one a           
fundamental conception of the simplest  
requirements of hygiene2 and finally1   
the ,english language1 in order to put  
one in touch with the increasing        
intercourse in the great world4 ,through
 these requirements the child will be   
endowed with what he needs1 in order to 
find himself at home in the world of    
books and of life4 ,let there be added  
to these the ability to darn a stocking1
 sew on a button1 and thread a needle4  
,only the indispensable should be the   
obligatory foundation of further        
culture1 which is only the trimming on a

 simple garment4 ,the trimming receives 
its entire value because the individual 
has prepared it himself2 it must not be 
made by a machine according to a model  
prepared in a factory4  ,what is        
mentioned here supplies the same basis  
for all1 but children should be able to 
throw themselves into the pastoral life 
of the ,old ,testament1 into the life of
 the ,greek and ,scandinavian gods and  
heroes1 into the life of popular legends
 and national history2 but this should  
be done only through the books which    
they get for their amusement4 ,at the   
present time all of these things are    
made pure subjects of study6  ,assume1  
then1 that this foundation is laid4 ,the
 school of the future1 which will be a  
school for all1 will advance general    
education1 but the plan it follows will 
be adapted to every individual4 ,in the 
school of my dreams there will be no    
report books1 no rewards1 no            
examinations2 at graduation time        
examinations will be arranged for but   

they will be oral4 ,in them detailed    
knowledge will not be considered2       
education as a whole will determine the 
decision of the examiners1 who will     
personally accompany the children in the
 open air in order to become quietly    
acquainted with what they know of       
mankind1 of past and present history4   
,and the education which will make the  
training aim at this end will be        
diametrically opposed to that given by  
the teacher of the present day4 ,the    
teacher will be required to make his own
 observations1 he will guide the scholar
 in the choice of books1 and show him   
how to work4 ,but he will not give first
 his own observation1 judgment1 and     
knowledge in the form of lectures1      
preparations1 and experiments4          
,occasionally he will without giving    
notice ask for an oral or written       
account of work1 and so ascertain how   
thoroughly the scholar has gone into the
 subject4 ,at another time1 when he     
knows that the scholar is prepared for  

it1 he will give a general treatment1 a 
comprehensive review of the subject1 a  
stimulating and stirring impression1 as 
a reward for independent work4 ,finally1
 when the scholar wishes it1 he will    
examine him formally1 but his real work 
will be to teach the scholar to make his
 own observations1 to solve his own     
problems1 to find his own aids to study 
in books1 dictionaries1 maps1 etc41 to  
fight his way through his own           
difficulties to victory and so reach the
 only moral reward for his trouble with 
broadened insight and increased         
strength4  ,the scholar who sits down   
and listens to1 or looks at1 the        
demonstration or experiment of the      
teacher does not learn to observe1 nor  
does he whose exercise book is corrected
 with painful accuracy learn to write2  
nor does the one who pedantically       
carries out the system of models in the 
sloyd system learn to make articles fit 
for every-day use4 ,the student must    
make his investigations himself1 he must

 find the mistakes himself when their   
presence is indicated to him1 he must   
himself think out the objects brought   
before him4 ,above all1 the separate    
errors must not be corrected except when
 they are so constant and serious that  
they waste time4 ,but the scholar       
himself must try to find out the correct
 and complete method of work and of     
expression4 ,this is what training1 what
 education is4  ,text-books will be     
attractive and virile1 the ,reader will 
disappear1 the complete books in the    
original 7the text may be revised if it 
is filled with confusing details7 will  
be placed in the hands of children4 ,the
 school library will be the largest1    
most beautiful1 and important room2     
lending books in the schools will be an 
essential part of the curriculum4  ,the 
future school of my dreams will be      
surrounded by large gardens1 where1 as  
in already-existing schools in some     
places1 the feeling for beauty will be  
directly encouraged4 ,the individual    

scholars will arrange the flowers in the
 school and at home4 ,they will take    
them home in order to adorn the window  
garden1 and every schoolroom in winter  
will have a garden of this kind4 ,this  
will be the natural method of making the
 simplest of all esthetic enjoyments a  
universal need4 ,but taste must not be  
developed by instruction in the art of  
arranging flowers2 this is to be        
attained only by pointing out those that
 have been arranged in the most         
beautiful way4 ,in this as in all other 
things1 self-help is essential4         
,natural dexterity will be attained by  
book-binding1 turning1 and other kinds  
of handwork1 also by gardening and play4
 ,such training has far greater         
educational value than the systematic   
types4 ,the purposelessness and the     
uniformity of these are the terror of   
youth4 ,gymnastics should only be used  
on days when the weather makes bodily   
exercise in the open air impossible2    
they can certainly be made more living  

by being connected with physiology and  
hygiene1 just as mathematics can be made
 real by being combined with handwork   
and drawing4 ,but nothing can equal the 
value of movement in the open air4      
,besides its garden1 the future school  
will have its hall4 ,outside it will    
have a playground for dancing and really
 free play--,i mean the kind of play    
where children1 after they have learnt  
the game1 are left to themselves4 ,games
 constantly accompanied by a teacher    
make play a parody4  ,the development of
 beauty will become the aim of physical 
instruction as it once was with the     
,greeks1 not simply physical strength4  
,through different kinds of hand and    
garden work1 the child will be spared   
from a number of requirements in        
mathematics and physics1 because he will
 in many things make discoveries        
himself4 ,in the methods of school      
drudgery the child learns that a seed   
grows by warmth and moisture4 ,in real  
training1 the child himself sows the    

seed and sees what happens to it2 this  
system is followed ,i believe in many   
schools1 but only as proofs of a given  
abstract statement4 ,the mistake of the 
modern school is really just here2 it   
illustrates its course of instruction   
by1 as it were1 over-charging the       
child's attention1 instead of giving him
 time and opportunity to originate for  
himself4  ,in the future                
school-building1 there will be no       
class-rooms at all1 but different halls 
with ample material provided for        
different subjects1 and1 by the side of 
them1 rooms for work where each scholar 
will have a place assigned to him for   
private study4 ,common examinations will
 only take place when several scholars  
are ready and willing1 anxious to be    
examined on the same subject2 and each  
student can ask for the examination     
independent of the rest4  ,in every     
room1 on the outside of the building1   
architecture and decoration will form a 
beautiful whole2 and the artistic       

objects1 detached from the building1 for
 the adornment of the school will be    
partly originals1 partly casts and      
copies of famous originals4  ,the sense 
for art will not be awakened by direct  
artistic instruction1 either in the     
school or when visiting museums4        
,classes can perhaps get such knowledge 
when taken around museums2 but love for 
art can only be gained when the scholar 
is surrounded by art2 when he can absorb
 it in peace and freedom4 ,let this     
quiet progress be anticipated by        
instruction--,i don't mean the admiring 
criticism of the teacher himself1 which 
he in passing expresses without         
explanation or questioning--and the     
inevitable result is troubling the water
 of a living well4 ,interference here1  
as in all other cases1 destroys the     
individual pleasure of discovery4       
,constantly being taken about really    
impairs the capacity for seeing for     
oneself4 ,in art1 in literature1 and in 
religion1 all instruction is a mistake  

until the young mind has chosen some    
part of it as an object to be known4    
,knowledge destroys1 feeling creates1   
life4 ,but the roots of feeling are     
easily injured4  ,as to visits to       
museums under the direction of a        
teacher1 they are only of use when the  
scholar has previously made1 on his own 
account1 his own discoveries4 ,to these 
he should be stimulated by the teacher4 
,when occupied in the study of ,greek   
history1 he will be asked for a         
description of ,greek sculpture that is 
to be found in such and such a museum4  
,when lectures are given on the ,dutch  
,war of ,independence1 ,dutch pictures  
will be described4 ,only after the      
scholar has used his own eyes1 and      
formed his own judgments1 will a        
synthesis of his experiences under      
external guidance be of use4 ,the same  
holds good of natural-history1          
historical1 and ethnographical museums4 
,taking children around in herds        
produces very slight results unless they

 have been put in the way of noticing   
things by themselves4  ,among the books 
of the school1 the best literature in   
the original and in good accessible     
translations should be found4 ,works    
should be at hand capable of giving aid 
to those who have artistic interests4   
,there is no greater fault in modern    
education than the care spent in        
selecting books for different ages4     
,this is essentially an individual      
matter1 and can only be decided by the  
choice of the child himself4 ,a general 
crusade against all children's books1   
and freedom for the young to read great 
literature1 is essential to the sound   
development of the modern child4 ,what  
is too old for him may be set aside     
according to the taste of the child     
himself4 ,suppose at the age of ten     
years1 the child is absorbed in ,faust  
7,i know such cases72 the child then    
gets at this age an impression for life 
that does not prevent him receiving from
 the same poem another impression at    

twenty years1 or again another at thirty
 or forty years4 ,the so-called dangers 
in standard literature are1 for the     
child1 almost nil4 ,incidents that      
excite adults1 his calm feelings pass   
over entirely4 ,and even if children    
reach the emotional period of youth1    
only rarely does the plain downright    
expression of a great mind about natural
 things stain the imagination1 falsify  
reality1 and spoil taste4 ,it is the    
modern romance1 women's novels1 just as 
much as ,french novels1 that do this4   
,children cannot in these days1 even if 
parents are unreasonable enough to wish 
it1 be kept in ignorance4 ,crude or     
stolen impurity gets a greater power    
over a mind that has not absorbed       
respect for the absolute seriousness of 
natural processes4 ,this reverence is   
sure to come from education1 and through
 the impressions of standard literature 
and first-class art4  ,veiling this     
subject is apt to lead astray and to    
vulgarise4 ,to those who can be harmed  

in this way the ,bible is as suggestive 
as any of the crudities of modern       
literature4 ,in the temperament which   
quietly accepts natural things as a     
matter of course1 is laid the foundation
 of real purity1 and only through real  
purity can life1 like art and           
literature1 become great and sound4  ,in
 the works of great minds1 one meets an 
infinite world in which the erotic      
element is only one factor4 ,this gives 
them great repose4 ,moreover imagination
 must have nourishment outside of       
itself2 otherwise it will live upon its 
own product4 ,its nourishment should be 
what is most readable4 ,the child's mind
 should be first fed on legends and then
 on great literature4 ,this should be   
all the more insisted on because great  
literature often remains unread1 when   
modern literature in its varied types   
begins later on to be absorbing4  ,to be
 able to use one's eyes in the worlds of
 nature1 man1 and art1 to be able to    
read good things--these are the two     

great ends to which home and school     
education should direct their course4   
,if the child has these capacities1 he  
can learn almost everything else        
himself4 ,i may remark in passing1 that 
a sound development of the imagination  
has not only an sthetic but an ethical  
significance4 ,it is really the         
foundation for active sympathy all      
round4 ,numerous cruelties are committed
 now by people who have not sufficient  
imagination to see how their acts affect
 others4  ,in my dreamed-of school1     
founded along these lines1 there is     
perfect freedom in selecting subjects4  
,the school offers the subjects1 but it 
forces no one to take them4 ,english1   
,german1 ,french1 natural science1      
mathematics1 history1 and geography are 
taught4 ,the mother tongue is practiced 
fluently in speaking1 reading1 and      
writing4 ,but in this case grammar is   
superfluous both for general education  
and for using a language2 it belongs to 
scientific study1 not to general        

culture4 ,grammar should be applied in  
the case of foreign languages1 only so  
far as it is absolutely necessary to    
appreciate the literature4 ,this is the 
sole aim general culture has in view4   
,those who wish to speak the languages  
fluently1 and write them correctly1 must
 attain facility by continual study4    
,those who have mastered the literature 
very easily learn the rest4 ,those who  
are familiar with the literature of a   
foreign language1 write it1 even with   
the mistakes they make1 better than the 
person who has put together a perfectly 
correct composition according to        
grammatical rules4 ,after the child1 in 
his language study1 has made enough     
progress to understand a fairly easy    
book1 he ought to work through one book 
after another1 with the help of a       
dictionary and explain in his own       
language extempore what he reads4 ,in   
this way is laid the foundation of a    
knowledge of literature1 not the        
ready-made opinions of the histories of 

literature4 ,both in their own and in   
foreign literatures1 the young must be  
lead to reality1 not1 as now1 to its    
copy2 to the sea1 not to the water pipe4
 ,while the teacher is directing the    
study of language1 he should try at the 
same time to help the scholar to a      
definite choice of books1 and his choice
 should if possible be brought into     
relation with other subjects4 ,so he    
will recommend literature connected with
 historical1 scientific1 or geographical
 study4 ,afterwards he will give a      
general analysis1 and will read a       
passage aloud1 or will encourage the    
scholar to read some favorite poem4 ,but
 all poetry mongering--such as hacking a
 poem to pieces by divisions into       
strophies and sections--is to be        
forbidden4  ,since childhood is the best
 time for securing the familiar use of  
languages1 after parents and teachers   
agree which scholars shall take up      
languages1 children so selected will    
study ,english and ,french1 each for two

 years successively1 then let them have 
two years of ,german1 or reverse this   
arrangement4 ,in this way a language    
will always be studied with other       
subjects1 never three languages         
together4 ,it is really only possible to
 take in a language1 as a possession to 
be kept through the future1 and never   
lost1 by giving to it alone two years of
 really thorough study4  ,scholars who  
want to continue their drawing or learn 
any kind of handwork1 can combine it    
with the study of the main subjects4    
,chorus singing should be practised     
every day for the whole year1 indoors   
and in the open air4 ,it should be      
treated as a means of expressing the    
feelings1 not as an introduction for    
developing musical capacities1 though   
for that matter singing can give a lead 
to the discovery of musical talent4  ,as
 to the four principal subjects1        
history1 geography1 natural science1 and
 mathematics1 they should not be studied
 at the same time4 ,the shallow         

multiplicity of the present system is a 
burden to all2 it works like the water  
torture on talented individuals4 ,it    
wears out their desire to learn1 their  
initiative1 their individuality1 their  
joy of living4 ,those under this torture
 never get a breathing spell1 are never 
able to do thorough work1 and so become 
superficial4  ,in my ideal school1      
mathematics will be learnt in winter1 as
 it is suitable for the cold and clear  
winter air4 ,in spring and in autumn1   
nature1 out of doors1 in nature itself1 
will be studied1 not each department of 
nature as a special subject4 ,an insight
 into geology1 botany1 and the animal   
world will be attained in their close   
natural union4 ,the scholar will learn  
separate objects through the actual     
observation of life4 ,in the text-book  
of life they will gain in its broad     
outlines a combined sketch of what they 
have acquired through intellectual      
processes4 ,on rainy days they will     
construct for themselves in writing and 

in drawing a general sketch of what they
 have seen4 ,general culture does not   
mean knowing the number of stamens or   
the number of articulations of a hundred
 flowers or skeletons4 ,what educates   
and acts on the feelings and            
imagination1 on thought and character1  
too1 for that matter1 is observing and  
combining natural phenomena2 the ability
 to follow the laws of life and         
development in the natural world about  
us4 ,the last member in the scheme of   
development is man4 ,so the study of man
 from the standpoint of physiology and  
hygiene1 should come last2 consideration
 for the psychology of the child1 urges 
too1 that the foundation for the        
knowledge of organic nature1 physics1   
and chemistry1 should complete the      
educational structure4  ,as in natural  
sciences we are beginning to give up    
false methods1 and make the student     
return to the same subject1 with a      
broader point of view1 in the same way  
the child should at certain periods     

devote his attention to history and     
geography1 and then leave them entirely 
alone4 ,the endless circle1 the         
drudgery1 the repetitions1 all looking  
to examinations as the end1 will with   
the examinations be abolished4 ,it is a 
matter of experience that the small     
details of all subjects slip from the   
memory two months after examinations4   
,most educated men have no recollection 
of the detailed knowledge they acquired 
in school1 while the general impressions
 of that period still influence soul1   
heart1 character1 and will4 ,this       
experience will be used1 not as is done 
now1 simply recognised as a common one4 
,in my school the scholar interested in 
history will apply himself to it in the 
winter months2 will read works about it1
 while others are devoting themselves to
 mathematics or geography4 ,in spring   
these two classes of students can share 
in the excursions without active        
participation in the studies1 while     
those who are inclined to natural       

science will draw1 make collections1 and
 use the microscope4 ,one group can by  
studying geography bring themselves into
 contact with the life of nature and the
 life of man4 ,so they will be led next 
year to study history in winter and to  
take part in science study during the   
spring and autumn4 ,all these different 
combinations are to be thought out by   
parents1 teachers1 and scholars2 they   
can only be indicated here4 ,the final  
principle is that only two subjects can 
be studied at the same time4 ,after the 
scholar has acquired from these all the 
education he can absorb at this stage1  
these subjects will be dismissed and    
taken up again by those who wish to     
specialise in one direction or the      
other4 ,instead of the separation of    
subjects that divides interest and      
strength in our present schools1 in the 
new ones the chief aim will be          
concentration4 ,in history1 the space   
devoted to work will be limited to the  
amount demanded by present-day culture4 

,history will then be the only subject  
suitable for general intellectual       
training1--the history of man's         
development4 ,it will bring out the     
great principles of ethnography and     
sociology1 of political economy1 the    
lives of great men1 the history of the  
church1 art1 and literature4 ,in        
scientific study and in teaching        
mathematics1 the men prominent in       
science and in discovery will find a    
place4 ,geography brings up points of   
view related to almost every study1 and 
experience already acquired gives good  
reason for making this subject the      
centre of all instruction4  ,what are   
the results of the present-day school8  
,exhausted brain power1 weak nerves1    
limited originality1 paralysed          
initiative1 dulled power of observing   
surrounding facts1 idealism blunted     
under the feverish zeal of getting a    
position in the class--a wild chase in  
which parents and children regard the   
loss of a year as a great misfortune4   

,after the examinations have been passed
 and the year gone by1 the best students
 realise the need of beginning their    
studies in a living way at almost every 
point4 ,the majority of students are    
unable to read even a paper with any    
real profit1 and those who are given a  
book in a foreign language to which they
 have devoted innumerable hours1 very   
seldom understand it completely1 unless 
the language instruction of the school  
has been supplemented at home4 ,the     
incapacity to observe for one's self1 to
 get at the bottom of what is observed  
and reflect upon it1 is constantly more 
remarkable1 as a result of the          
preparation system at school1 even when 
this is aided by the mothers hearing    
lessons at home4 ,the late ,professor   
,key said that it was his experience1 as
 teacher in a medical institution1 that 
scholars in school were incapable of    
seeing1 thinking1 or working4 ,i have   
heard the same observation made in      
,stockholm lately in a government       

office1 that the young men were         
incapable of taking up practical duties 
in which they should have shown the     
knowledge they were supposed to have    
after the fine examination they had     
passed4 ,the system then does not serve 
even secondary ends2 to all the higher  
aims of human existence it is directly  
opposed4  ,in the course of a hundred   
years or so1 experience of this sort    
will cause the downfall of the system4  
,then1 perhaps1 these dreamed-of schools
 will arise4 ,in them1 the youth will   
learn first of all to observe and to    
love life1 and their own powers will be 
consciously cultivated as the highest   
values in life4 ,by mixing children of  
all classes together1 the upper class1  
provided it still exists1 will get that 
colouring of earnest character which it 
now lacks1 as ,almquist said long ago2  
the lower classes will get the polish1  
that general cultivation they now lack4 
,through these schools1 where common    
training is given to all1 the natural   

circulation between all classes will be 
furthered4 ,the aristocrat's son and the
 workingman's son will change places1 if
 nature has made the first adapted for  
the position of the second1 and vice    
versa4 ,through these schools the       
country child will always be able to    
grow up in the country1 and need not be 
sent for educational purposes into the  
city1 provided there are still great    
cities4 ,finally boys and girls will    
enjoy in them all the advantages of     
co-education1 without the particular    
capacities of each being forced into the
 uniformity of a common examination     
system4  ,after the children all over   
the country have been educated to about 
fifteen years of age1 in such real      
common schools1 some working more with  
the brain1 others with their hands1 the 
application schools will begin--schools 
for classical studies1 for exact1 for   
social or sthetic sciences2 for         
handicrafts and handwork2 for different 
professions and state positions2 schools

 with different principles and methods1 
schools which can produce manifold      
differing forms of training and         
individuality4 ,education then1 instead 
of being as now1 the creator of servile 
souls1 the devotees of formalism1 or of 
characters who hate all forms in a      
spirit of revolt1 will bring fresh      
personal powers to intellectual and     
material culture alike1 to the sciences 
and the inventive faculties1 to artistic
 talent and to the whole art of life4   
,it will awaken and encourage capacity  
to find out new scientific methods1 to  
think youthful thoughts1 to make clever 
discoveries4 ,educated human beings will
 apply to the whole sphere of culture   
their experience in their own           
experiments1 their own activity1 their  
own efforts2 for all of which the school
 and the home will have already laid the
 foundation4  ,in the school1 the       
painful restlessness of the present to  
get somewhere will disappear entirely4  
,in the calm1 profound atmosphere of my 

school1 the young generation will be    
trained to believe that the most        
important thing for man is not to do    
something1 but to be something4 ,it may 
be harsh to say that common natures are 
reckoned by what they do1 noble natures 
by what they are2 yet it is a deep      
truth1 forgotten in this century of     
activity1 in this age of woman4 ,but it 
is bound to be remembered in the century
 of contemplation1 in the century of the
 child4  ,these principles will be      
applied1 too1 perhaps1 in the field of  
practical work4 ,machines and           
electricity accomplish work that can    
give no creative enjoyment2 handwork    
will be again a portion of man's        
happiness2 we shall live through a      
second ,renaissance1 the renewal of the 
personal joy which the man of earlier   
times experienced when the artistic     
moulding1 when the rich1 coloured       
tapestry1 the beautiful piece of carving
 came from his own hand4 ,the present   
school system leads to the fabrication  

of unnecessary articles by the dozen4   
,it does not lead to a true love and    
appreciation of professional work1 that 
love and appreciation from which1 in the
 great period of art1 artistic          
production organically arose4  ,the     
present system1 in all fields of study1 
limits the natural capacity of the child
 in the concentration1 the combination1 
and development of its powers4 ,when it 
produces its best results1 it turns     
children at the close of their school   
years into pocket encyclopedias1        
representing humanity's progress and    
knowledge4 ,only when such results as   
these cease to be called a harmonious   
development1 will it be conceded that   
the school can and should have no other 
meaning than to give the child a        
preparation for continuing1 through his 
whole life1 the work of training and    
education4 ,only then will the school   
become a place where individuals get    
learning to last a lifetime1 not as now1
 even when the best face is put upon    

it--where they are impoverished for     
life4 ,through the victory of these     
convictions alone will each individual  
get his rights at school2 both the      
person who does not want to study1 as   
well as the one who does4 ,consideration
 will be given to the individual who has
 to have books as means of training and 
to the other case where the activity of 
the eye and hand is required as a means 
to the same end4 ,it will be a place for
 the person with practical talent and   
for the theorist1 for the realist as    
well as for the idealist4 ,both classes 
can freely do what they can do best2 the
 members of each class will often feel  
tempted to test their powers by doing   
what the other class is able to do4     
,one-sidedness will be corrected        
naturally1 not1 as it is now1           
mercilessly flattened out through the   
steam-roller methods of the harmonious  
ideal of training4  ,to supply workers  
in these future schools1 new normal     
schools must be provided4 ,patented     

pedagogy will give place to a type of   
teaching which considers the individual4
 ,only the person who naturally or by   
training can play with children1 live   
with children1 learn from children1 is  
fond of children1 will be placed in the 
school to develop there for himself his 
individual methods4 ,positions will be  
given only after a year's trial4 ,when  
this period is passed the teachers will 
not be tested by the examiner alone1 one
 who has followed the instruction given 
by them during the year1 but the        
children themselves will also be heard  
from on this question4 ,of course1 no   
absolute value can be assigned to the   
judgment of children1 but nevertheless  
it has a really great importance4 ,the  
instinct of the child chooses with      
astonishing accuracy what is            
first-class4 ,but what1 in the case of  
the child1 has this character8 ,this    
question has been answered by ,goethe1  
,the greatest fortune of the earth's    
children is personality alone4  ,at the 

present time objectivity in instruction 
is exalted1 but every great educator has
 achieved success by being entirely     
subjective4 ,the teacher should be a    
lover of truth4 ,therefore he should    
never force a resisting object to serve 
his own views4 ,as a result of this     
attitude1 the more subjective he is1 the
 better4 ,the fuller and richer he      
communicates to the children the essence
 and power of his own view of life and  
his own character1 so much the more will
 he forward their real development1     
provided1 however1 that he does not     
force upon them his opinions with the   
claim of infallibility4 ,in this as in  
all other matters1 the young should be  
allowed to exercise free choice4  ,the  
teachers of both sexes in my school will
 have short hours of work1 a long time  
to rest1 and a large salary2 that is1   
they will have the possibility of a     
continuous development4 ,the limit of   
their service will be twenty years4     
,after this period1 they will become    

members of a school jury composed of    
parents and teachers1 or they will      
assist in final examinations1 as        
censors4 ,these will be conducted as    
indicated above1 in such a way that each
 censor shall pass a summer either at   
home or abroad1 in company with young   
people1 not more than five in number4   
,by living with them the censor will be 
able to measure their capacity for      
absorbing an education2 he can direct   
them in the choice of a profession4 ,by 
a ,socratic communication of practical  
wisdom1 he will supply a substitute for 
the ,confirmation ,instruction which    
will no longer be given4 ,the           
psychological value of this instruction 
is not to be actually found in what one 
learns from it1 but in the direction of 
the mind to the serious questions and   
pursuits of life1 in the awakening of   
ethical self-development1 which is the  
factor of supreme importance in passing 
from childhood to youth4 ,in this way   
the young will be initiated into the art

 of life4 ,i mean by this the art of    
making one's own personality1 one's own 
existence1 an object of artistic        
interest and pursuit4 ,the initiation   
will be conducted by a wise man1 or by a
 woman who has kept her youthfulness1 so
 that she understands the joys and pains
 of the young1 their play and their     
seriousness1 their dreams and           
aspirations1 their faults and their     
dangers--leaders who can give indirect  
suggestions how young people should play
 their own melodies in the orchestra of 
life4  ,my school will not come into    
existence while governments make their  
greatest sacrifices for militarism4     
,only when this tendency is overcome1 a 
point in development will be reached1   
where one can see that the dearest      
school programme is also the cheapest4  
,people will realise that strong manly  
brains and heart have the greatest      
social value4 ,i have already said that 
this is no reform plan for the present  
that ,i am outlining here1 only a dream 

for the future4 ,but in our wonderful   
existence dreams are becoming at last   
actual realities4#a  ,footnote #a3      
,since ,i wrote the above1 there have   
been founded in ,england1 ,france1 also 
in ,norway1 reformed schools1 working   
more or less in the direction ,i have   
outlined4     ,,chapter ,,vii           
,,religious ,,instruction   ,at the     
present moment the most demoralising    
factor in education is ,christian       
religious instruction4 ,what ,i mean by 
this is principally catechism1          
,scripture history1 theology1 and church
 history4 ,even earnest ,christians have
 said1 regarding the ordinary           
instruction in these subjects1 that     
nothing shows better how deeply religion
 is rooted in man's nature than the fact
 that religious education is not able to
 destroy religion4  ,but beside this1 ,i
 believe that even a more living1 a more
 actual instruction in ,christianity    
injures the child4 ,children should     
bring themselves by themselves to live  

in the patriarchal world of the ,old    
,testament2 indeed1 in the world of the 
,new ,testament as well4 ,this can be   
done best in the form of children's     
,bibles4 ,these works will be treasured 
by children2 they will find in them     
infinite material for nourishing the    
imagination and the emotions4 ,but this 
can only be done by allowing children to
 read the ,bible undisturbed1 without   
the need of pedagogical or dogmatic     
explanation4 ,at home this book1 like   
other children's books1 should be only  
talked about and explained when the     
child requests it4 ,it should never be  
treated as a school book or appear on   
the school desk4 ,if the child gets     
impressions in this way from the ,bible1
 freed from all other authority1 apart  
from the subjective one of the          
impressions themselves1 the myths of the
 ,bible will no more contradict the rest
 of his instruction1 than the           
,scandinavian story of creation or the  
,greek legends of the gods4  ,but the   

most dangerous of all educational       
mistakes in influencing humanity1 is due
 to the fact1 that children are now     
taught the ,old ,testament account of   
the world as absolute truth1 although it
 wholly contradicts their physical and  
historical instruction4 ,besides        
children learn to regard the morality of
 the ,new ,testament as absolutely      
binding1 while its commands are         
everywhere seen to be transgressed by   
the child1 the moment he takes his first
 step into life4 ,our whole industrial  
and capitalistic society rests on a     
contradiction of the ,christian command 
to love one's neighbour as one's self4  
,the capitalistic axiom is that every   
man is nearest neighbour to himself4    
,the eyes of children are here and in   
similar cases1 clear-sighted in their   
simplicity4 ,at a tender age they are   
able to observe whether their           
surroundings are in living accord with  
,christian teaching4 ,from a            
four-year-old child1 with whom ,i was   

talking about ,jesus' commandment to    
love one another1 ,i received the reply1
 ,if ,jesus really said so1 ,papa is no 
,christian4 ,before long the child gets 
into conflict with his instructors and  
with the commands of ,christianity4 ,a  
small child in a ,swedish city took the 
word of ,jesus about charity to heart4  
,not only his playthings1 but his       
clothes he gave to the poor2 his parents
 cured1 by corporal punishment1 this    
practical type of ,christianity4 ,a     
teacher who was impressing on a small   
girl in a ,finnish city the commandment 
to love one's enemies1 received as an   
answer that this was impossible1 for no 
one in ,finland could love ,bobrikoff4  
,i know the sophism used in both cases  
to overcome the invulnerable logic of   
the child2 but ,i also know how these   
sophisms make hypocrisy so natural among
 ,christians1 that it is now            
unconscious4 ,it would take a new       
,kirkegaard to shake up our consciences4
 ,everywhere ,rousseau's words hold     

true1 ,the child gets high principles to
 direct him1 but he is forced by his    
surroundings to act according to petty  
principles1 every time he wishes to put 
the high ones into practice4 ,he goes on
 to say people have innumerable ifs and 
buts1 by which the child has to learn   
that great principles are only words1   
that the reality of life is something   
quite different4  ,the dangerous thing  
is not that the ideal of ,christianity  
is high2 it comes from the fact that    
every ideal in its essence is           
unattainable4 ,the nearer we get to it  
the more lofty it is4 ,this is the      
characteristic of every ideal4 ,but the 
demoralising feature in ,christianity as
 an ideal is1 that it is presented as   
absolute1 while man as a social being is
 obliged to transgress it every day4    
,besides he is taught in his religious  
instruction1 that as a fallen being he  
cannot in any case attain the ideal1    
although the only possibility of his    
living righteously in temporal things1  

and happily in the world to come1       
depends on his capacity for realising   
it4  ,in this net of unsolvable         
contradictions1 generation after        
generation has seen its ideal of belief 
obscured4 ,gradually each new generation
 has learned not to take its new ideal  
seriously4 ,as to the cowardly or       
braggart concessions to the idiocies of 
fashion1 and the follies by which people
 are ruined in order to live according  
to their position1 among other          
psychological grounds for man's lack of 
steadiness must be placed1 as its       
ultimate cause1 the following3 ,the     
child1 along with religion1 has breathed
 in the conviction that opinions are one
 thing1 actions another4 ,this          
experience goes through the whole of    
life1 even in the case of those who have
 lost the conviction that the ,christian
 religion is absolute4 ,the free-thinker
 is married1 has his children baptised1 
and allows them to be confirmed1 without
 considering whether he is forced to it 

by his own wish1 or the wish of doing   
like other people4 ,the republican sings
 the royal hymn1 sends loyal salutations
 by telegraph1 accepts decorations1--but
 ,i must break off1 otherwise ,i should 
have to enumerate all the small acts of 
insincerity to one's self1 of which the 
daily life of most people consists1 and 
which are defended under the name of    
non-essentials2 ,i could never get to   
the end4 ,this is not the way the       
,christian martyrs thought who might    
have freed themselves from death by     
casting a few grains of incense on the  
emperor's altar4 ,two grains of         
incense1--what an unimportant matter1   
thinks the modern man1 and with quiet   
conscience he daily sacrifices to many  
gods in whom he does not believe4  ,how 
illogical ,protestantism is too1 and yet
 for so long it possessed a spiritually 
educative power1 while its dualism was  
unsuspected1 while one with full        
sincerity gave to holiday and work day  
its due share4 ,but now that a new      

,protestantism is come to life within   
the fold of ,protestantism1 this method 
of speaking in two voices is deeply     
demoralising4  ,piece by piece has been 
torn down that system of teaching which 
the ,catholic church built up1 so       
wonderfully adapted to the psychological
 needs of the majority of people4 ,it   
formed its fundamental creeds1 just as  
they still remain1 on the deepest       
experiences of mankind4 ,but            
,protestantism is ever looking back from
 the results of its own handiwork4  ,in 
home1 in the school1 in the high school1
 during military service1 in office     
work1 everywhere passive dependence is  
insisted on under the name of           
discipline1 discretion1 faithfulness to 
duty4 ,and like all the fine words1 by  
which the living souls of men are turned
 into the slaves of discipline1 these   
terms exalt esprit de corps1 and pass   
over really serious faults4 ,discipline 
means subordinating one's self to every 
crude force4 ,only when all ,protestants

 really become actual ,protestants1 and 
refuse to receive the greatest good of  
life1 their religion1 through authority1
 will they begin even in social and     
political questions to attain an        
independent opinion of their own4 ,as   
teachers and leaders1 they will secure  
for school children1 and for students1  
for officers and for officials1 the     
freedom in word and deed that is the    
right of the citizen and the man4 ,men  
and women1 who in their private life are
 strictly honourable1 have learnt1 in   
general questions1 to put their         
thoughts1 their acts1 under the command 
of a leader1 and above all they have    
learnt to do this in the name of        
religious belief4  ,the courage to      
construct one's own opinion in          
everything that makes the essential     
worth of life1 but chiefly in one's     
religious belief1 the power to express  
it1 the will of making some sacrifice   
for it1 all these give man a new share  
of civilisation and culture4 ,as long as

 education and social life do not       
consciously forward this kind of        
courage1 power1 and will1 the world will
 remain as it is1 a parade ground of    
stupidity1 crudeness1 force1 and        
selfishness1 no matter whether radicals 
or conservatives1 the democratic or     
aristocratic elements1 have the upper   
hand4  ,the most demoralising of all    
principles of belief was the            
discouraging teaching that human nature 
was fallen and incapable of reaching    
holiness by its own effort--the teaching
 that one could only come through grace 
and forgiveness of sins into a proper   
relation with temporal and eternal      
things4 ,for those below the ordinary   
level1 this position of grace produced  
spiritual stagnation1 not to speak of   
the business people1 who daily allowed  
the blood of ,jesus to wipe out their   
day's debit in the score of morality4   
,only those who were naturally superior 
increased in holiness on being convinced
 that they were children of ,god in     

,christ4 ,mankind1 on the whole1 showed 
the deep demoralisation of a double     
morality4 ,this dualism commenced as    
soon as the first ,christians ceased to 
expect the return of ,jesus1--an        
expectation which brought their life    
into real unity with his teaching4 ,but 
this double morality has for nineteen   
hundred years retained man's soul and   
the social order in practical           
heathenism4 ,although some pure and     
great spirits really received aid from  
,christianity in their longings for     
infinity1 and although in the ,middle   
,ages many strong hearts tried seriously
 to realise its teaching1 yet the       
majority of mankind lived and lives     
still in wavering irresolution4 ,this is
 the result of having no place to anchor
 to while the citizens of antiquity had 
an ethic1 which could be translated into
 reality and could turn them into       
sincere1 steadfast personalities4       
,since nineteen hundred years have      
proved that there is no possibility1 in 

a humanly constructed society1 of living
 according to the teaching of ,jesus1 as
 a practical1 infallible rule of        
holiness1 man can escape this immoral   
duplicity only in one way3 the way      
already travelled over by many separate 
individuals1 who with ,prometheus cry   
out1 ,hast thou not1 thyself1 completed 
all1 ,o holy glowing heart6 ,in other   
words1 these individuals have become    
convinced that ,christianity is the     
product of humanity4 ,just as little as 
any other product of humanity does it   
exhaust absolute and eternal truth4     
,when men cease to teach their children 
belief in an eternal providence1 without
 whose will no sparrow falls from the   
roof1 they will be able1 instead of     
this1 to imprint on the minds of        
children the new religious conception of
 the divinity of a world1 proceeding    
according to law4 ,the new morality will
 be built on this new religious idea4   
,it will be filled with reverence for   
the absolute conjunction of cause and   

effect--a connection which no grace can 
remove4 ,man's actions will really be   
directed by this certainty4 ,he will not
 rock himself to sleep in any sort of   
hope1 based on providence or a          
reconciliation1 able to defer surely    
fixed effects4 ,this new morality1      
strengthened by the realities of life1  
admits of logical consequences4 ,no     
single command of this teaching needs to
 remain an empty phrase4 ,in its system1
 too1 there will be a place to apply all
 the eternal profound words uttered by  
,jesus or by other great human souls4   
,these words will ever furnish further  
material for application1 which is the  
same as saying material for             
self-application4 ,yet the application  
will be worked out in complete freedom4 
,each word will be used as furnishing   
the material just suited to that style  
which men wish to apply to the          
architecture of their personality4 ,yet 
neither the words nor the examples of   
one or the other teacher will be taught 

as absolutely binding4  ,the soul of the
 child will not be stained by tears of  
repentance for sins nor by the fear of  
hell4 ,it will not be stained by a      
realism without ideas and without       
ideals1 by the contemptuous mistrust1   
which the mouldering effects of fine    
words leave behind1 like cold damp      
spots4 ,the weak1 as well as the strong1
 will progress in the happy and         
responsible belief in their own         
personality1 as their only source of    
help4 ,the pulse of their purpose will  
be strong and warm with red blood4 ,they
 will not be forced to humility2 they   
will not accept even equality with all  
others1 or with any other one4 ,on the  
contrary they will be strengthened in   
their right1 to give their own          
individual stamp to their joys1 their   
sufferings1 and their works4 ,they will 
be warned to do their best because it is
 their own2 to seek their highest good1 
by drawing their own boundaries at the  
place where the rights of others begin4 

,while the home and the school make     
compromises between two opposed views of
 life1 people obtain from neither of    
them any real good for the education of 
children4 ,i have already shown how in  
one and the same school religious       
instruction and a certain amount of     
knowledge and love for nature as well as
 history can be communicated4 ,in one   
and the same school the course of       
natural development and history can be  
taught in connection with instruction in
 religious history4 ,in this instruction
 ,judaism and ,christianity will receive
 the first place4 ,so the reverence and 
love children were wont to acquire for  
the personality and morality of ,jesus1 
previously obtained in the ,bible1 can  
be increased4 ,guided by sincere and    
serious purposes one can select either  
plan4 ,but1 during religious            
instruction1 to make ,moses and ,christ 
the absolute teachers of truth1 and in  
the hours devoted to natural history1 to
 expound ,darwinism1 cause more than    

anything else that want of logic1 that  
moral laxity and flaccidity that can    
effect nothing and want nothing4        
,everything ,i have learnt1 since these 
words were written1 has strengthened a  
hundred fold my previous convictions    
that the most essential thing is not1   
what kind of view of life we have--this 
may be important enough too--but that we
 have enough capacity of faith to       
appropriate for ourselves some view of  
life1 enough force to bring it to       
reality in life4 ,but nothing works more
 depressingly on the ethical energy of  
growing generations than the dualistic  
view of life1 received at the present   
time at school4 ,the school too must    
exercise its choice2 there must be no   
compromise between two schemes of       
education and two views of life1 if the 
strength of will and the power of faith 
in young people is not to be broken4    
,the question of a compromise is in this
 case not a question of application2 it 
is a most important question of         

principle in education4  ,since ,i set  
down these words1 many points of view   
have been brought out in this           
connection4 ,one which made a sensation 
when it was published1 in #ahij1 was    
,professor ,dodel's book1 ,moses or     
,darwin8 ,the author showed how deeply  
,darwinism was implanted in science and 
in civilisation2 how popular education  
was restricted1 because it was kept     
remote from the scientific views of the 
present day and forced into the circle  
of ecclesiastical ideas4 ,religious     
instruction is simply a crime against   
the psychological law of development4   
,for children are taught by a           
theological system to think about       
abstract conceptions1 while they are in 
no condition to do it4 ,the worst is1 he
 said1 that in high schools the theory  
of development is now taught as         
scientific truth1 while in the common   
schools1 built and maintained by the    
same government1 the myth of the ,mosaic
 story of creation continues to be      

taught1 in the sharpest contrast with   
what science and living nature teach the
 child4 ,this is an immoral and         
dishonest state of affairs that must be 
brought to an end4  ,it is my deepest   
conviction that man1 without religion in
 the emotional element of his nature1   
can pursue no ideal ends1 cannot see    
beyond his own personal interest1 cannot
 realise great purposes1 cannot be ready
 to sacrifice himself4 ,religious       
enthusiasm broadens our soul1 binds us  
to the acts we hold as ideals4 ,but     
because ,christianity weighs upon the   
soul and can no longer be the connecting
 link of all factors in our conduct1    
earnest men are abandoning it more and  
more1 influenced by purely religious    
reasons4 ,such men should not have their
 children brought up as ,christians1    
under the excuse that the child requires
 ,christianity4 ,here1 as in other      
cases1 in which adults are not agreed   
about what the child needs1 we should   
try to get1 not from adults but from    

children themselves1 some information   
about their real needs4 ,in this way we 
can learn that the child himself begins 
at a very early period to be concerned  
with the eternal riddles of mankind1 to 
be troubled with the questions of whence
 and whither4 ,at the same time one     
discovers that the sincere and honest   
childish nature is opposed to the       
,christian explanation of the world1    
until the child's sincerity is dulled   
and he either takes without question    
what is taught1 or in his own soul      
denies what his lips must repeat1 or    
finally allows his heart to be possessed
 by the only nourishment offered to his 
religious needs4  ,my own recollections 
of childhood caused me to make          
observations of the religious ideas of  
children at an early period4 ,i have now
 before me comprehensive accounts of    
this investigation1 going back          
twenty-five years4 ,i recollect my own  
fierce hate against ,god1 when ,i1 at   
the age of six years1 heard of the death

 of ,jesus being caused by ,god's demand
 for an atonement1 and at ten years ,i  
recall my denial of ,god's providence1  
when a young workman died far away from 
his wife and his five children1 to whom 
his existence was so necessary4 ,my     
brooding about the existence of ,god    
took on this occasion the form of a     
challenge4 ,i wrote in the sand1 ,god is
 dead4 ,in doing so ,i thought1 ,if     
there is a ,god1 he will kill me now    
with a thunderbolt4 ,but since the sun  
continued to shine1 the question was    
answered for the time being2 but it soon
 turned up again4 ,i had no other       
religious instruction than reading the  
,bible on ,sunday1 preaching on ,sunday1
 and reading from the catechism1 which1 
by the way1 was never explained4 ,yet   
the ,new ,testament belonged to my play 
books2 ,i learnt in it to love ,jesus as
 profoundly as other great personalities
 of whom ,i read4 ,but during the       
confirmation period1 ,i received        
explanations of the ,bible2 in them     

every point1 every name in the ,gospel  
was explained1 every sentence made the  
basis of hair-splitting distinctions1 to
 show the fulfilment of prophecies and  
the edifying hidden meaning of every    
word1 that formerly seemed so simple4   
,the dogma of the ,trinity for example  
was shown to be contained in the second 
verse of ,genesis4 ,this was a terribly 
sad discovery for me1 that the living   
book of my childish heart and my        
childish imagination could be so stone  
dead4 ,that religious indifference is a 
frequent result of religious            
instruction1 that spiritual maladies    
come from the desire to convert the     
souls of children1 numerous proofs can  
be given4 ,i have heard children of six 
years speak with holy horror of their   
four-year-old brother who dug with a    
spade on ,sunday4 ,on the other hand ,i 
have heard a six-year-old child who was 
dragged in one day to three church      
services ask after reflection whether it
 was not more tolerable to go to hell   

immediately4  ,the ,judaic ,christian   
conception of a creative and sustaining 
providence1 which gives the fullest     
perfection to all things1 is so         
absolutely opposed to all that          
experience and evolution teaches us     
about existence1 that one cannot even   
conceive of the possibility of holding  
both ideas theoretically at the same    
time4 ,much less can one practically    
unite them by the paste of compromise4  
,the child with sharp-sighted simplicity
 does not allow himself to be deceived4 
,if we do not wish to speak the truth   
then let us not speak to children about 
life at all--life in its unity and      
diversity1 its manifold creative acts1  
its process of continuous creation1 its 
eternal divine subjection to law4  ,but 
this means that it is impossible to save
 the ,christian ,god for children1 after
 the child begins to think about this   
,god1 in whom he is taught blind        
confidence4 ,nor can the child be       
prepared in this way for the new        

conception of ,god with its religious1  
its uniting and elevating power1 ,i mean
 for the conception of a ,god whose     
revealed book is the starry heavens1 and
 whose prophetic sight is in the        
unfathomable sea1 and in the deeps of   
man's heart1 the ,god who is in life and
 is life4 ,nothing shows better how     
imperfect is the real belief of modern  
thinkers1 than the fact that they always
 teach their children a system which    
they do not wish to live by spiritually 
themselves1 but which they hold as      
indispensable for the moral and social  
future of the child4  ,when we pass from
 the conception of providence to the    
conception of sin1 we find in children  
the same natural logic4 ,a small girl1  
an only child1 asked3 ,how could ,god   
allow his only child to be killed8 ,you 
could not have done it to me6 ,and a    
small boy said1 ,it is a very good thing
 for us that the ,jews crucified        
,christ1 so that nothing happened to us4
 ,these are both poles of an emotional  

and a practical way of looking at the   
,atonement4 ,within them all similar    
circumferences are drawn4 ,to a more    
comic and nave sphere of ideas belongs  
the proposal of a small girl to call the
 ,virgin ,mary ,god's wife4 ,also there 
is the story of a boy who spoke in      
school of ,our ,lord and the two other  
,lords1 meaning the ,trinity4  ,from the
 classes in ,bible history and          
catechism1 there are innumerable        
examples of children reading the words  
incorrectly1 and misunderstanding the   
ideas they stand for4 ,a boy1 warned to 
keep the lamps burning1 answered        
contentedly1 ,we have petroleum gratis4 
,another1 asked whether he would like to
 be born again1 said1 ,no1 ,i might be  
turned into a girl4 ,these are typical  
examples4 ,there is an anecdote of a    
child1 who1 on being consoled with the  
statement that ,god was in the dark near
 her1 asked her mother to put ,god out  
and light the lamp4 ,another child1     
seeing the pictures of the ,christian   

martyrs in the arena1 cried out         
sympathetically1 ,look at that poor     
tiger2 he hasn't got a ,christian4      
,these are a few out of a mass of       
examples1 typical of the explanation    
given by children to the religious ideas
 they receive1 notions forcing them into
 a world of ideas which they either     
accept in a material sense1 or by which 
they are absolutely nonplussed4  ,the   
childish circle of ideas is revealed by 
anecdotes of this kind1 or by the       
comment of a small girl who asked when  
she heard that she had been born about  
eleven o'clock at night1 ,how could ,i  
have remained out so late8 ,these       
examples show that such conceptions as  
original sin1 the fall of man1          
regeneration and salvation1 are first   
necessarily meaningless words1 and      
afterwards terribly difficult words4 ,in
 my whole life fear of hell never       
absorbed my attention for five minutes1 
but ,i know children and grown people   
who are martyrs to this terror4 ,i know 

children too who1 when belief in hell   
was presented to them in school as      
absolutely necessary1 bewailed that     
their mother had said she did not       
believe in hell1 and therefore thought  
she must be very wicked4  ,we are       
certainly a long way off from those     
times when1 to use the picturesque      
expression of an historian of           
civilisation1 ,the fear of the devil    
constantly darkened the life of men1 as 
the shadow of the sails of a windmill   
darkens the windows of the miller2 far  
from the times1 too1 when divine persons
 constantly revealed themselves to the  
believer1 and when miracles belonged    
just as really to the daily habits of   
thought as to-day they are disregarded  
even by the believer4 ,but so long as   
belief in the devil1 providence and     
miracles is upheld in religious         
instruction1 it will be impossible for  
the sunshine of the civilised view1     
which is the scientific as opposed to   
the superstitious view1 to penetrate the

 darkness where the bacilli of cruelty  
and insanity are nurtured4  ,the ideas  
children form of heaven are generally   
fine examples of childish realism4 ,a   
child thought his brother could not be  
in heaven1 because he would have to     
climb a ladder1 and so would be         
disobedient1 for he had been forbidden  
to climb one4 ,a girl asked1 when she   
heard that her grandmother was in       
heaven1 whether ,god was sitting there  
and holding her from falling out4 ,these
 are a few of the many proofs of the    
child's sense of reality1 that leads to 
mistaken answers here1 as in so many    
other instances4 ,if it is said by way  
of protest that the childish imagination
 needs myths and symbolism1 the answer  
is an easy one4 ,we cannot and should   
not rob the child of the play of        
imagination1 but play should not be     
taken in earnest4 ,it is not to be      
wondered at that children construct for 
themselves realistic ideas about        
spiritual things4 ,this practice is no  

more to be opposed1 than any of the     
other expressions of the life of the    
child's soul4 ,but when these false     
ideas are presented as the highest truth
 of life1 they must disturb the sacred  
simplicity of the child4  ,i know       
children in whom the origin of unbelief 
is to be traced to the words of ,jesus1 
that everything asked for by the        
believing heart will be received4 ,a    
small child1 locked up in a dark room1  
prayed that ,god might show people how  
badly he was being treated1 by causing a
 lamp of precious stones to be lit in   
the dark4 ,another asked to have a sick 
mother saved2 another prayed by the side
 of a dead companion that she might rise
 again4 ,for all these three1 the       
experience of having their most         
believing1 most fervent prayer          
unanswered1 was the great turning point 
in their spiritual life4 ,i can         
authenticate from my own experience and 
the experiences of others the ethical   
revolt which the cases of injustice in  

the ,old ,testament--for example ,god's 
preference of ,jacob over               
,esau--occasion in a healthy child4 ,the
 explanations offered in this case and  
in others like it fill the child with   
silent contempt4 ,when the child ends in
 finding that adults themselves do not  
believe the religion they teach1 the    
childish instinct for belief and for    
reverence1 that capacity which is the   
real ground for all religious feeling1  
is injured for life4  ,i will say       
nothing of the heroes and heroines of   
the pious literature written for        
children1 with their stories of         
conversion and holiness4 ,parents are   
able to protect their children from     
them4 ,i speak here only of that way of 
looking at the world1 which is forced on
 children with or against the will of   
their parents4 ,this degrades their     
conceptions of ,god1 of ,jesus1 of      
nature4 ,these conceptions1 the child if
 left to himself can develop simply or  
powerfully4 ,it is this way of looking  

at the world that causes unnecessary    
suffering and dangerous prejudices4 ,the
 inclination of the child to deep       
religious feeling1 sound faith1 and     
ardent zeal for holiness will be        
strengthened by an ability to draw the  
standards of life as freely from the    
,bible as from the world's literature4  
,the same result will be produced by    
books on other religions1 like          
,buddhism1 from the great religious     
personalities who illustrate the        
struggle for an ideal1 and from such    
children's books as show like efforts in
 a healthy form4 ,no child has the      
slightest need of the catechism or      
theology for his religion or for his    
training2 no other church history is    
needed than that connected with the     
general history of the world4 ,in this  
last study the chief stress should be   
laid in teaching on the errors1 in order
 to impress on the young the conviction1
 that all new truths are called by their
 contemporaries errors4 ,in other words 

these errors are the best negative      
material man has for discovering the    
truth4  ,working over and explaining the
 contradictions met with by the child in
 such religious instruction1 as ,i am   
outlining here1 belongs to the          
preparation for a true life1 in which   
people have to put up with innumerable  
contradictions4 ,but this personal work 
injures neither the piety nor the       
soundness of the child's soul4 ,such    
injuries come rather from irritating    
pietism or vain hypocrisy1 from         
spiritual fanaticism1 from deceits of   
the reason1 barrenness of soul1 or      
perverted feeling of right1 all of which
 are the notorious results of ,christian
 training and ,christian instruction1   
given according to the usual methods of 
the present day4 ,for the present as    
well as for the future1 a child will be 
able to solve more easily these         
spiritual problems if his fine feeling  
for right and his quick logic have not  
been dulled by the dogmatic answers to  

those eternal problems1 that place him  
in as much difficulty as the thinker4   
,kant exposed long ago the most serious 
injuries of the kind of religious       
instruction which still prevails4 ,he   
showed that by making the church's      
teaching the basis of morality1 improper
 motives were assigned to action4 ,a    
thing must be avoided1 not because ,god 
has forbidden it1 but because it is in  
and for itself wrong4 ,man must aim at  
good1 not because heaven or hell awaits 
the good or the bad1 but because good   
has a higher value than evil4 ,to this  
point of view of ,kant there must be    
added the truth1 that a position is     
ethically weakening1 when man is        
presented as incapable of doing good by 
his own power4 ,so he is told in this as
 in all other cases1 he must be humble  
and trust in ,god's help4 ,confidence in
 our strength and the feeling of our own
 responsibility have a strong moral     
influence4 ,the belief that man is      
sin-laden1 without chance of change1 has

 led him to remain where he is4  ,if the
 future generation is to grow up with   
upright souls1 the first condition of   
such growth is to obliterate from the   
existence of children and young people1 
by a mighty scratch of the pen1 the     
catechism1 ,bible history1 theology and 
church history4  ,we must bow down      
before the infinities and mysteries of  
our earthly existence and of the world  
beyond4 ,we must distinguish between and
 select real ethical values2 we must be 
convinced of the solidarity of mankind1 
of man's individual duty1 to construct  
for the benefit of the whole race a rich
 and strong personality4 ,we must look  
to great models4 ,we must reverence the 
divine and the regular in the course of 
the world1 in the processes of          
development of man's mind4 ,these are   
the new lines of meditation1 the new    
religious feelings of reverence and     
love1 that will make the children of the
 new century strong1 sound1 and         
beautiful4  ,these changes will destroy 

that idea of ,god that combines ,god    
help us with our victories1 that has    
increased the national lust for         
conquest1 the passion for mastery1 the  
instinct of gain4 ,it will be felt that 
mixing up ,god in the standards of human
 passions is blasphemous4 ,people will  
see1 that patriotism1 nourished on      
egoism and ambition1 is the most godless
 thing because the most inhuman of all  
the life-perverting sins with which man 
outrages the holiness of life4          
,intellects which can now pass over the 
contradiction between ,christianity and 
war1 which can even derive strength and 
consolation from them1 have been        
depraved by the ideas forced upon       
mankind through thousands of years4     
,nothing more can be expected from men  
of such brains1 than that they should   
die in the wilderness1 without ever     
obtaining a sight of the promised land4 
,but the brains of children can be      
protected from the most unholy of all   
mental misconceptions1 from the         

superstition that the patriotism1 and   
the nationalism1 which injures the      
rights of others1 have something in     
common with ideas about ,god4  ,let     
children be taught that national        
characteristics1 the use of force1 the  
right of independent action1 is as      
essential for a people as for an        
individual1 that it is worth every      
sacrifice4 ,let them be taught that1 on 
their appreciation of the nature of     
their country1 of its life in the past  
and in the present1 depends their own   
development4 ,let them be taught to     
dream beautiful inspiring dreams of the 
future of their country1 of their own   
work1 as the necessary foundation of    
this future4  ,they should be taught at 
an early age to understand the deep gulf
 between patriotic feeling and the      
egoism which is called patriotism4 ,this
 is the patriotism in whose name small  
countries are oppressed by great        
countries1 in whose name                
nineteenth-century ,europe has armed    

itself under the stimulus of revenge1 in
 whose name the close of the century    
witnessed the extension of violence in  
north and south1 in west and east4      
,militarism and clericalism1 both       
principles presenting authority as      
opposed to individual standards of      
right1 are ever closely combined2 but   
they are not what they are called4 ,they
 are not patriotism and religion4 ,these
 two words involve a sense of common    
citizenship1 of freedom1 of justice1    
exalted above the narrow sphere of the  
individual1 of the interests of class1  
of the interests of one's own country4  
,such are the principles which unite    
different groups within a land in great 
interests common to all1 just as they   
unite different peoples in great vital  
questions common to all4 ,but militarism
 and clericalism oppress freedom by the 
principles of authority1 oppress the    
idea of individual development1 by that 
of discipline1 oppress the feeling of   
common weal by the desire for glory and 

war1 oppress the feeling for right by   
the feeling for military honour4 ,in    
,germany under the badge of             
,christianity and militarism1 the civil 
rights of the citizen1 his claims for   
social freedom1 have been seriously     
menaced4 ,hypnotised by these principles
 many members of the ,russian1 ,french1 
and ,english nations1 respectable as    
they are individually1 have gloated over
 the deeds of unrighteousness committed 
by their respective governments4  ,all  
this will go on2 people will continue to
 be burdened to the ground by ever      
increasing military preparations4 ,the  
rights of the small nations will be     
constantly encroached upon by the larger
 ones1 even after the present world     
powers1 like those that have preceded   
them1 have broken down under the burden 
of their own expansion4 ,it will        
continue to be so1 until mothers implant
 in the souls of their children the     
feeling for humanity before the feeling 
for their country2 until they strive to 

expand the sympathies of their children 
to embrace all living things1 plants1   
animals1 and men2 until they teach them 
to see1 that sympathy involves not only 
suffering with others but rejoicing with
 others1 and that the individual        
increases his own emotional capacity1   
when he learns to feel with other       
individuals and with other peoples4 ,it 
will go on1 as it is now1 until mothers 
implant in the souls of their children  
the certainty1 that the patriotism      
which1 in the name of national          
interests1 treads under foot the rights 
of other people1 is to be condemned4    
,the moment children undertake to act as
 adults1 we shall see a harmony between 
ideas so taught and facts4 ,when the    
conception of nationalism in the child's
 mind is freed from injustice and       
arrogance2 when the idea of ,god is     
freed from its debased union with a     
selfish patriotism1 then the idea of the
 soldier will be ennobled4 ,it will no  
longer be identified with blind         

obedience and limited class courage4    
,the word will come to mean a man and a 
fellow-citizen with the same civilised  
interests1 the same conception of law1  
the same need of freedom1 the same      
feeling for honour1 as all other        
fellow-citizens4 ,the soldier will be a 
defender of his fatherland1 whose       
character will have no other warlike    
traits1 than those called forth for the 
protection of sacred human and civil    
rights4  ,self-defense1 personal or     
national1 will be imprinted on the child
 as the first of duties1 not as it is   
represented in the commands of          
,christianity4 ,or to speak more        
accurately the child has this           
instinctive feeling2 all that need be   
done is not to confuse this instinct4   
,the child understands quite well1 that 
evil men1 when not resisted1 become     
lords over the property of others4 ,he  
knows that the low and the unrighteous  
get the victory1 and that right-thinking
 and high-minded people are sacrificed  

by unrighteous and low-thinking people4 
,the impulse to resistance is the first 
germ of the social feeling for          
righteousness1 and by this feeling will 
the unreflecting judgment of the child  
be led also in the study of history4    
,the child never doubts that ,william   
,tell was right1 even when1 in his      
instruction in religion1 he has been    
definitely taught obedience to the      
powers that be1 that come from ,god4    
,every straight childish soul applauds  
,andreas ,hofer1 despite his            
uncompromising conflict with lawful     
authority4 ,with his natural directness 
the child cuts off all sophisms2 at     
least all children do who are not       
irrevocably stupefied by ,christian     
principles4  ,to conclude what ,i have  
said against religious instruction1 ,i  
will add a statement of a ten-year-old  
child1 made after three years struggling
 with the catechism and biblical        
history3 ,i do not believe any of this1 
but ,i hope1 when men are some day wise 

enough1 each person may have his own    
belief1 just as each one has his own    
face4  ,this small philosopher in these 
words hit unconsciously upon the most   
serious spiritual injury done by        
religious instruction4 ,it forces on    
man's mind a special view of the world1 
like a conventional mask on a man's     
face4 ,but freedom and the rights of the
 soul's life can only be secured by its 
own reflections4 ,the soul itself must  
work out that assurance of belief in    
which man can live and die4 ,for        
generations the great spiritual dangers 
of mankind have been caused by looking  
backwards to find the ideal and the     
truth1 by regarding both as once for all
 given1 as absolutely limited4  ,as soon
 as a child becomes conscious of himself
 he should feel that he is a discoverer 
with infinities before him4 ,the king's 
son1 in the realm of life1 will no      
longer do menial service as a prodigal  
son in a foreign land4 ,with the whole  
power of his will1 he can repeat those  

old words1 ,i will arise and go to my   
father4  ,when ,jaquino di ,fiori in the
 ,middle ,ages preached of the ,kingdom 
of the ,father1 the ,son1 and the ,holy 
,ghost1 till his hair became as silvery 
grey as the leaves of the olive tree1 he
 compared these three realms with the   
nettle1 the rose1 and the lily1 the     
light of the stars1 the sunlight1 and   
the sun4  ,in all the ends of the world 
this preaching is being heard now4 ,but 
that dream of a ,third ,kingdom1 pure as
 the lily1 warm as the sun1 can only be 
realised in the temper of the child who 
looks for life and happiness1 who       
brushes away joyously and frankly the   
clouds of man's fall and man's          
humiliation4  ,without becoming as      
little children1 men cannot enter into  
the ,third ,kingdom1 the ,kingdom of the
 ,holy ,ghost1 the ,kingdom of the human
 spirit4     ,,chapter ,,viii  ,,child  
,,labour ,,and ,,the ,,crimes ,,of      
,,children   ,leaving aside questions of
 heredity and kindred topics1 and       

considering only the conditions under   
which the child is born1 developed1 and 
reared1 it is terrible to contemplate   
the misfortunes which happen to children
 through lack of insight on the part of 
their mothers4 ,doctors are never tired 
of telling what malformations           
tight-lacing causes4 ,how many children 
in the first year of their life become  
blind through neglect4 ,we only mention 
here some of the troubles which crude   
ignorance or lack of conscience on the  
part of the mothers inflict on          
themselves or on their children4 ,there 
must be noticed too the uncertainty and 
the want of system in the care of       
children that come from such ignorance4 
,a thorough improvement in all these    
things is not to be expected until women
 have secured universal suffrage1 and   
until they1 at the same age in which men
 serve their years of military service1 
are legally obliged to pass through a   
period of training lasting just as long1
 devoting themselves to the care of     

children1 hygiene1 and sick nursing4 ,no
 other exceptions must be made1 except  
those which exempt a man from military  
service4 ,such duties done for one's    
country would come for many women just  
at the time in which their interest in  
the subject is awakened by marrying or  
the thought of marrying4 ,this training 
would give a profounder meaning to their
 thoughts on this subject4 ,but even    
women who never become mothers          
themselves would in this way learn      
certain general principles of           
psychology1 hygiene1 and care of the    
sick1 that they might make use of       
afterwards in every station of life4    
,further1 ,i look for increasing        
limitations of the right of parents over
 children4 ,such limitations ,i mean as 
those which have forbidden the exposure 
of children1 have imposed penalties for 
child murder1 for cruelty towards       
children1 and the laws which have       
enforced obligatory attendance at       
school4 ,in ,england there are          

organisations which investigate the     
treatment of children at home and which 
prevent cruelties against them4 ,mothers
 who forget their duties can be reported
 and punished with imprisonment2        
neglectful fathers can be made to       
support their children1 etc42 and where 
parents show themselves hopelessly      
incompetent children can be taken from  
them by law4 ,in the different states of
 ,germany there are also laws which     
allow children to be taken from parents 
who1 through misuse of that             
relationship1 injure the child's        
spiritual or bodily welfare4 ,children  
receive this so-called compulsory       
training in cases1 too1 where it is     
necessary to preserve them from moral   
destruction4 ,the compulsory training   
may be carried out either in a suitable 
family or in institutions2 it continues 
up to the eighteenth year4 ,a notable   
provision is that which places the      
supervision over such children1 in the  
hands of women4  ,an increased extension

 of the right of society in this        
direction is one of its most important  
provisions for self-protection1 and is  
just as legitimate a limitation of      
individual freedom1 as the laws to      
prevent the extension of contagious     
diseases4 ,unfortunately such           
regulations are often made ineffective  
by red tape4 ,the parents or guardians  
of the neglected child must be          
admonished2 the unruly child must be    
warned1 and if this is not sufficient1  
the law provides that it must be        
disciplined4 ,all of these provisos are 
absolutely senseless in such cases4 ,by 
such warnings bad parents are not       
instructed in the art of training their 
children1 nor is an incorrigible child  
to be led by admonitions to change its  
character1 if he is left in the         
surroundings which have caused his      
degeneration4 ,by corporal punishment   
administered in the presence of         
witnesses1 a child already accustomed to
 cuffs and blows is made more hardened  

and shameless4 ,a person with only a    
superficial knowledge of the subject1   
enough to understand the causes which   
produce such parents and such children1 
soon realises that he is concerned in   
each detail with the infinite horizon of
 the social question4 ,it is clear for  
example that low wages1 combined with   
the work of women and children1 are the 
main factors in poor dwellings1         
insufficient food1 and bad clothing4    
,the fact that the wife works out of the
 house causes the neglect of the        
children and the home4 ,the             
lodging-house system is the result of   
the lack of dwellings2 want of comfort  
at home causes the husband to frequent  
saloons and public houses4 ,all these   
factors1 taken together1 cause          
immorality and intemperance2 these last 
again produce those physical and mental 
diseases to which children are often    
heirs at their birth4  ,leaving out of  
discussion the notion that by ,god's    
help the battlefields are covered with  

torn1 maimed beings1 with whose         
destroyed brains innumerable thoughts   
and feelings are extinguished which     
could have enriched humanity1 ,i know no
 more abnormal idea than the custom of  
people speaking of a guardian angel when
 a chance has kept two children from an 
accident4 ,where is this guardian angel 
in the innumerable other cases of       
misfortune3 when children remain alone  
because their mother must go to work and
 they fall out of the window or into the
 fire8 ,when they lose their eyesight in
 dark cellars8 ,when they are pressed to
 death because in miserable lodgings    
they have to share a bed with their     
parents8 ,when the parents are drunk and
 the children lose their lives8 ,where  
is this guardian angel when parents     
murder their children1 from religious   
fanaticism or disgust of life3 when the 
children themselves1 tired of life or   
through fear of parental cruelty1 take  
their own lives8 ,where are these       
protective angels on the occasions when 

they are most wanted8--in the narrow    
streets of great cities1 in the great   
industrial centres where lack of        
sunlight1 of pure air1 and of all the   
other primary conditions for the        
development of soul and body1 undermines
 the bodily strength and efficiency of  
children before their birth8  ,to see   
the hand of ,providence in an accidental
 case of preservation1 while the same   
,providence is released from all share  
in natural occurrences1 from all part in
 the terrible phenomena of society1 that
 fill every second of the earth's       
existence with terror1 is a relic of    
superstition to be overcome if man is to
 be filled with a sense of obligation to
 conditions he must master and mould4   
,modern man is ever becoming more and   
more his own ,providence2 he has already
 protected himself against fire by fire 
engines and fire insurance2 against the 
sea by life-saving stations2 against    
smallpox and cholera1 diphtheria and    
tuberculosis1 he has found other means  

of defence4 ,the blind belief that death
 is dependent on ,god's will man is     
losing by the witness of statistics     
which declare that duration of life     
increases with improved sanitary        
condition2 which show that when disease 
or summer heat mows down the children of
 the poor in dark tenements the rich man
 can preserve his own children in his   
healthy1 light dwelling4  ,every man who
 has his heart in the right spot does   
not wait for an angel1 but rushes to    
save a child from danger4 ,but the      
superstitious belief of the majority of 
people in ,god's ,providence perhaps    
will cause the same man to regard with  
complete apathy conditions by which     
millions and millions of children are   
yearly sacrificed4 ,doctors know that   
the destruction caused by bacteria is   
insignificant1 as compared with         
pauperism as a cause of disease4        
,mothers who have over-exerted          
themselves1 drunken fathers1 bad        
dwellings1 like those where the poor dry

 out newly built houses for the rich1   
induced by the low rate of rents1       
insufficient nourishment1 inherited     
diseases1 especially syphilis1 too early
 work1--all this shows its result in the
 emaciated1 shrivelled1 ulcerated bodies
 of children who occasionally are cured 
of their momentary disease in hospitals1
 but cannot be freed from the results of
 the conditions of life under which they
 were born and brought up4 ,the efforts 
of doctors will be in vain while they1  
like the other factors in society1 do   
not devote their whole energy to        
avoiding diseases1 instead of healing   
them4 ,what they can now do in the way  
of prevention is but a palliative in    
comparison with the incurable evil which
 flourishes in abundance4 ,the situation
 will remain as it is so long as hygiene
 does not receive the same attention in 
society as the soul4 ,this solicitude   
may take the form of religious          
edification1 or intellectual            
enlightenment1 but it remains nothing   

but a cut flower1 stuck in a dust heap4 
,it is possible1 with sufficient        
certainty1 to show from criminal        
statistics that degenerate children are 
the creation of society itself4 ,by     
allowing them to be forced into the path
 of virtue1 by punishment1 society      
behaves like a tyrant1 who has put out a
 man's eyes and then beats him because  
he cannot by himself find his road4     
,the categorical imperative for the     
social consciousness at the present     
moment1 is an effective legislation for 
the protection of children and women4   
,wherever industry is developed1 the    
woman is taken away from the home1 the  
child from play and school4 ,in the     
period of guilds1 women and children    
worked in the house1 and in the workshop
 of the husband4 ,but since the factory 
system has constantly restricted the    
household work of woman1 industrial     
occupations on the scale of modern      
capitalism can satisfy its needs for    
cheaper work by woman's work4 ,this like

 children's work has forced down in many
 places the pay of adult workmen4 ,the  
pay with which a married man can care   
for his family by his work is now       
divided among several members of the    
family4 ,as long as special work        
required great personal bodily strength 
or developed manual dexterity1 it fell  
as a rule to the men1 not to women or   
children4 ,but the natural protection of
 women and children disappeared with the
 introduction of machinery4 ,in many    
cases working a machine required neither
 strength nor dexterity4 ,in other      
cases1 like cotton spinning or mining1  
delicate fingers were more valued       
because they were more adaptable1 tender
 bodies more desirable because they were
 smaller4  ,in ,england the work of     
women and children first reached its    
highest point4 ,the poorhouses sent     
crowds of children to the wool weaving  
industry in ,lancashire1 children who   
worked in shifts at the same machine and
 slept in the same dirty beds4 ,the     

population in the industrial districts  
pined away1 as the result2 diseases     
unknown before came into existence2     
ignorance and roughness increased4      
,women and children from four to five   
years old worked fourteen to eighteen   
hours4 ,the report of the investigations
 made on this subject caused ,elizabeth 
,barrett to write her poem1 ,the ,cry of
 the ,children that made the employers  
of children so indignant1 but which     
helped to produce the ,ten ,hour bill4  
,this bill laid down that women1        
children1 and young persons should not  
work more than ten hours a day in       
textile factories4 ,this law was        
succeeded by others of the same type4   
,similar conditions in other lands have 
produced similar legislation4 ,in       
,saxony1 ,belgium1 ,alsace1 and the     
,rhine ,provinces the results of the    
system seemed to be just as frightful as
 in ,england4 ,on the ,rhine1 as early  
as the year #ahch1 a ,prussian army     
officer noticed that the number of those

 able to bear arms had diminished as a  
result of the degenerating influence of 
woman and child labour4 ,but            
notwithstanding the introduction of this
 legislation generally1 the labour of   
women and children continues4 ,it takes 
the most destructive forms in those     
occupations which lie outside of the    
sphere of legislation4 ,there are places
 in which child labour is as shocking as
 it was in ,england in #ahdh4 ,in       
,russia1 in the ,bastmat weaving        
industry1 children of three or four     
years have been found at work2 and      
masses of children under ten working as 
much as eighteen hours a day4 ,in       
,germany the toy industry can show as   
cruel figures in connection with        
children's work1 all the more cruel     
because in order to provide enjoyment   
for happy children the living energy of 
others is forced out of existence4      
,industrial work at home is done by     
children four to five years old1 while  
the age limit for child labour in       

factories1 both in ,germany and in      
,switzerland1 is fourteen years4 ,the   
government of ,denmark has proposed the 
same limit of age4 ,in ,italy most of   
the crippled young children were brought
 up in the sulphur districts of ,sicily1
 crowded together in low galleries1     
burdened with heavy sacks at an age at  
which their tender limbs under such     
conditions must inevitably and incurably
 be contorted4 ,as early as twelve and  
thirteen years old many of them are     
incapable of work4 ,in the magnesium    
mines of ,spain1 quantities of children 
six to eight years old are kept at work2
 through the poisonous odours they fall 
victims to severe diseases4 ,other      
children carrying heavy pitchers on     
their head are employed to water dry    
places4 ,the child is a cheaper means of
 transportation than the ass4  ,despite 
protective legislation the average of   
height and weight in the ,lancashire    
children is and continues to be lower   
than anywhere else4 ,of the two thousand

 children investigated in this district 
only one hundred and fifty-one were     
really sound and strong2 one hundred and
 ninety-eight were seriously crippled2  
the rest more or less under the standard
 of good health4 ,all work in the cotton
 industry done from six o'clock in the  
morning till five in the evening        
changes1 so this doctor says1 the       
hopeful ten-year-old child into the thin
 pallid thirteen-year-old boy4 ,this    
degeneration of the population in       
industrial districts is becoming a      
serious danger for ,england's future4   
,after people are convinced that all    
civilised nations are exposed to this   
same danger1 industrial and street work 
of children will be everywhere          
forbidden4 ,this will be a victory for  
the principle of child protection1      
which1 in this as in other like spheres1
 was opposed at first on both economic  
and industrial grounds4 ,among these was
 the uncontested right of fathers to    
decide on the work of their children4   

,it is not alone the question of child  
labour that reveals the low standpoint  
taken by the civil authorities of       
,europe1 but it is proved also by the   
introduction of corporal punishment4    
,corporal punishment is as humiliating  
for him who gives it as for him who     
receives it2 it is ineffective besides4 
,neither shame nor physical pain have   
any other effect than a hardening one1  
when the blow is delivered in cold blood
 long after the act occasioning it has  
been done4 ,most of the victims are so  
accustomed to blows already that the    
physical effect is little or nothing1   
but they awaken feelings of detestation 
against a society which so avenges its  
own faults4 ,if the soul of the child is
 sensitive1 corporal punishment can     
produce deep spiritual torment1 as was  
the case with ,lars ,kruse1 the hero of 
,skagen1 who some years ago met his     
death by drowning4 ,everybody knows his 
story from the fine account of him by   
the ,danish poet1 ,drachmann4 ,lars1 in 

his childhood1 had taken a plank1 a     
piece of driftwood1 and sold it4 ,for   
this he was condemned to be punished4   
,till late in life1 what he had suffered
 was ever present with him4 ,he was not 
ashamed of his action but of his        
punishment--a punishment which          
embittered the whole life of a really   
great character4  ,the blows            
administered by society are inflicted on
 children whose poverty and neglected   
education are in most cases responsible 
for their faults4 ,the victims1 often   
emaciated by hunger1 and trembling with 
shame or terror1 can experience no      
spiritual emotion fit to be the basis of
 moral shame4  ,if the statistics of the
 life-history of those who are so       
disciplined were revealed1 we should    
find that the majority come from1 and   
return to1 a home where the mother1 as a
 result of working out of the home1 is  
hindered from caring for her children4  
,they have suffered from the custom of  
sleeping together1 the result of        

overcrowded dwellings1 with its         
demoralising influence4 ,it may be the  
child has commenced to make his living  
on the street as messenger1 cigar       
picker1 or newspaper boy1 or has been   
engaged in such like occupations1 and so
 in his immediate neighbourhood has seen
 the luxurious living of the upper      
classes1 which he strives to imitate4   
,hardly a week passes that the street   
youngster does not read about the       
embezzlements1 fraudulent acts in the   
capitalistic classes1 frequently        
committed by grey-headed men1 whose     
childish impressions go back to the good
 old time1 on whom the lax education of 
the present could not have any          
influence4 ,no day passes in which he   
does not see how the representatives of 
the upper classes1 old and young alike1 
satisfy their desires for pleasure4 ,but
 from the child of the tenement and the 
street1 people expect ,spartan virtue or
 try to thrash it into him4 ,it is hard 
to say which is greater here1 stupidity 

or savagery4  ,while the upper classes  
show that they are crude1 immoderate1   
lazy1 devoted to enjoying themselves2   
while the majority are aiming at getting
 and spending money2 while so many are  
able to eat without working1 and so few 
can find work who look for it2 while    
careless luxury lives side by side with 
careless necessity1 the upper class has 
not the shadow of right to expect an    
improved lower class4 ,the society of   
the present day creates and maintains a 
social system whose effects are         
notorious in the economic crimes of the 
upper and lower class alike4 ,it is not 
surprising that great cities are full of
 tramps and street urchins1 like a      
spoilt cheese full of maggots4  ,a      
destroyed home life1 an idiotic school  
system1 premature work in the factory1  
stupefying life in the streets1 these   
are what the great city gives to the    
children of the under classes4 ,it is   
more astonishing that the better        
instincts of human nature generally are 

victorious in the lower class1 than the 
fact that this result is occasionally   
reversed4  ,there is another argument   
against child labour1 to be found in its
 immediate effect on industry itself4   
,working men trained in the schools are 
everywhere notoriously most efficient2  
even in ,russia1 where popular education
 is still so defective1 this experience 
has been noted4 ,the working man able to
 read and to write receives without     
exception on that account a higher pay  
than the illiterate ones who can be only
 used for the coarsest kind of work4    
,the present development of ,german     
industry1 as compared with ,english1 is 
to be ascribed among other things to the
 superior educational training of the   
,german people4 ,the intensive and      
intelligent work of the ,american       
working man has apparently the same     
cause4 ,but when children made sleepy by
 work in the factory enter evening      
schools1 or when children are taken too 
early from school1 they lose under      

continuous hard work the desire and     
possibility of adapting themselves to a 
higher education2 they become organic   
machines which feed the inorganic ones4 
,this must cause the value of their work
 to decline4 ,these organic machines are
 passive1 they do not try to improve    
their condition of life1 as do the      
higher workmen4 ,besides living machines
 cannot increase the product of labour4 
,intelligent working men who watch over 
their own rights and increase them are  
also those who learn easiest new methods
 of work1 discover new inventions which 
are of advantage to their line of work1 
and so increase the value of their      
product4 ,it is only by the growth of   
this class of workmen1 that any country 
to-day can stand the pressure of foreign
 competition4 ,but the chief condition  
of this growth is that the bodily and   
mental powers of the child shall be used
 for his own development in school games
 and play2 at the same time his capacity
 for work must be trained by occupation 

at home and in the technical school1 not
 by work in a factory4  ,some years ago1
 a poem created a furore over the whole 
civilised world1 from ,canada to the    
islands of ,polynesia4 ,the author of   
this poem1 ,edwin ,markham1 was inspired
 by ,millet's simple and wonderful      
picture1 ,the ,man with the ,hoe4 ,an   
agricultural labourer with bowed back   
stands there1 one hand folded on the    
other1 supported on the handle of the   
hoe4 ,millet in him has eternalised the 
expression so often observed in old     
workmen1 especially in those who are    
worn out by day labour4 ,the man's face 
is empty1 says nothing1 every human     
aspect has disappeared2 we only see in  
his face the look of the patient beast  
of burden4 ,for while moderate work     
ennobles the animal in man1 immoderate  
work kills humanity in the beast4       
,millet's picture was to the poet1 who  
was once himself a slave to bodily      
labor1 a revelation1 the eternal        
artistic type of the generation of man  

bowed down from childhood under the yoke
 of labour4 ,in one strophe after       
another of that finely conceived poem he
 pictures this being that does not      
sorrow1 and never hopes1 his destroyed  
soul for which ,plato and the ,pleiades1
 the sunrise and the rose1 all the      
treasures of mind and nature1 are       
nothing4 ,the poet asks sovereigns1     
masters1 and governors how they will    
restore to this thing a soul1 how they  
will give it music and dreams4 ,what1 he
 asks1 will become of the people who    
have made this being what it is now2    
when after a thousand years' silence    
,god's terrible question is             
answered1--,what has become of his soul4
  ,many such employers of labour go to  
church1 they hear explanations of texts 
like these1 ,inasmuch as ye did it unto 
444 even the least of these1 444 ye did 
it unto me4 ,all that ye wish others    
should do to you1 that do to them4 ,it  
does not occur to them to think how     
,jesus1 the most inconsiderate of men1  

at the right place1 would have          
characterised their demands to have     
small children employed in glass works  
at ten years of age4 ,it never occurs to
 them to ask whether they would like to 
see their own children in these         
factories or others like them4  ,this   
complete dualism between life and       
teaching in our present-day society will
 continue to exist until people realise 
that the opinions about life which are  
expressed by the lips1 but are denied by
 deeds1 should no longer be proclaimed  
as an absolute explanation of life and  
rule of life4 ,the permanent element in 
,christianity can only be realised      
through the conviction that mankind is  
master of ,christianity just as it is   
over all its other creations4 ,the      
ardent idea of the ,galilean carpenter1 
fraternity among men1 will give man no  
rest until man has wiped out the last   
trace of injustice in his social        
relations4 ,but the thought will not be 
realised by those ideals regarded by    

,jesus as absolute4 ,this is the point  
of view which has crippled man's        
conscience and it applies equally to the
 realisation of this and all other      
ideals4 ,an ideal impossible to carry   
out under the ordinary assumptions of   
human life1 yet to which men have given 
the authority of a divine revelation1   
and which they conceive of as absolute1 
this is the main cause for the          
demoralisation which has gone on for    
nineteen hundred years4 ,the history of 
humanity has really revealed to men how 
this absolute ideal of theirs has been  
betrayed4 ,the cause of this            
demoralisation must cease before        
existence can be remodelled seriously by
 those who are convinced that ideals can
 really be binding4  ,people will then  
not do as they do now1 misuse the name  
of the ,father1 whom ,jesus has taught  
men to proclaim with their lips1 will   
not murder one another en masse on the  
battlefield1 to solve political and     
economic questions of supremacy4 ,a     

society which calls itself ,christian   
will no longer tolerate capital         
punishment1 prostitution1 stock exchange
 gambling1 and child slavery4 ,men will 
not then as they do now1 learn on their 
mother's breast to love their neighbours
 as themselves1 and then tread in the   
footsteps of their fathers1 trampling   
one another down in the struggle for    
bread4  ,our reverence for ,god will    
then be found in our capacity to        
humanise existence by humanising the    
human race4  ,the youth of our day have 
not always successfully passed out of   
the ,christian circles of ideals into   
another circle4 ,the successful method  
would be to face immediately new        
purposes and aims that are really       
believed1 and for which men wish to     
live4 ,but many of our young generation 
know of no new purposes and aims in     
which they can believe4 ,hence comes    
that spiritual apathy which has mastered
 a great part of the young generation4  
,without undervaluing the influences of 

environment1 ,i still believe that young
 people who have lost their ideals      
without getting new ones in their place 
are to be pitied4 ,the young who are not
 making ideals out of their own souls   
will have no other time than this to    
find ideals4 ,a generation of young men 
of this type laughed at ,socrates4 ,they
 would have nailed ,jesus of ,nazareth  
to the ,cross1 with a shrug of the      
shoulders2 they would have become1      
undoubtedly1 in #aghi1 emigrs with the  
,bourbons4  ,when the youth of any      
period remains without ideals1 we pass  
through a fin de sicle period no matter 
what the exact date may be4 ,but when   
the young generation is inspired with   
the feeling of having great acts to do1 
a new century begins4 ,it is always the 
fortunate right of young people to      
stimulate individualism before          
everything else4 ,this is done every    
time a young person full of sound egoism
 develops his own personality completely
 and powerfully1 throws himself keenly  

into the struggle for his own fortune4  
,any one who takes his individual       
development seriously will find that it 
is hard to become an independent1 noble1
 and exalted personality by treading    
underfoot other individuals4 ,he will   
moreover see that it makes more demands 
on his personal powers to try to create 
new values by new means1 to devote his  
youthful energy to new tasks1 than to   
look back to ideas that are already     
exhausted4 ,there is another truth the  
young man will soon find to be valid4   
,if an individual throws himself into   
the struggle of life without            
consideration for any one else1 he is   
all the more likely to get hurt in the  
struggle4 ,the more developed1 too1 an  
individual is1 the more assailable      
points there are about him to be        
wounded4 ,great pain1 as well as great  
happiness1 is for great men a part of   
the fulness of life4 ,failures of a     
personality are often better proofs that
 it is above the average than its       

victories4 ,but failures1 even if they  
frequently leave our innermost          
personality shattered1 can be borne1    
when we have learnt that there is a     
bandage to heal our own wounds1 the     
bandage1 ,i mean1 that we lay on the    
wounds of others4  ,no real man needs to
 wait until life has taught him1 to     
sympathise with others4 ,the inspiring  
age of youth may experience this1 as    
well as the strong individual feeling of
 power4 ,in this sense1 many remain ever
 young1 always able to pass through     
inspired moments1 such moments when a   
great action1 a great truth1 a great and
 beautiful thing1 or great good fortune1
 absorbs our whole existence2 moments   
when our eyes fill with tears1 when our 
arms stretch out to embrace the world   
and the thoughts which it contains4     
,such moments include the most intensive
 emotion of our own personality2 at the 
same time they bring the fullest        
absorption in the common feeling of     
existence as a whole4 ,a great life     

means giving continuity of action to    
such inspired moments4  ,there are young
 people who can look back on no such    
moments1 who arrogantly look down on the
 problems of their times from the height
 of their superman theories or from     
their superior learning2 who measure    
them by the iron law of historical      
development4 ,at all times there have   
been such people4 ,there is no question 
in which it is more fatal for young     
people to isolate themselves1 than that 
which deals with social conflicts4 ,this
 age requires the young above all others
 to test this question from all points  
of view1 to investigate all other ideas 
in connection with it4 ,every reform    
plan must be investigated in connection 
with its influence on the problems of   
individualism and socialism4 ,from youth
 we have a right to expect something for
 the future4 ,this hope implies that    
youth1 in approaching it1 in thinking   
and acting for the many whose lot it is 
the immediate task of the future to     

improve1 adopt as their own the words of
 ,walt ,whitman1 ,i do not ask whether  
my wounded brother suffers2 ,i will     
myself be this wounded brother4         
,,advertisements   ,a ,selection from   
the ,catalogue of  ,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s  
,,sons  ,complete ,catalogues sent on   
application   ,clever1 original1 and    
fascinating   ,the ,lost ,art of        
,reading  ,mount ,tom ,edition  ,new    
,edition in ,two ,volumes  ,i4 ,the     
,child and the ,book  ,a ,manual for    
,parents and for ,teachers in ,schools  
and ,colleges  ,,ii4 ,the ,lost ,art of 
,reading  or1 ,the ,man and ,the ,book  
,two ,volumes1 ,crown #hvo4 ,sold       
separately4  ,each net1 #a4ej  ,by      
,gerald ,stanley ,lee  ,i must express  
with your connivance the joy ,i have    
had1 the enthusiasm ,i have felt1 in    
gloating over every page of what ,i     
believe is the most brilliant book of   
any season since ,carlyle's and         
,emerson's pens were laid aside4 ,the   
title does not hint at any more than a  

fraction of the contents4 ,it is a      
highly original critique of philistinism
 and gradgrindism in education1 library 
science1 science in general1 and life in
 general4 ,it is full of humor1 rich in 
style1 and eccentric in form and all    
suffused with the perfervid genius of a 
man who is not merely a thinker but a   
force4 ,every sentence is tinglingly    
alive1 and as if furnished with long    
antenn of suggestiveness4 ,i do not know
 who ,mr4 ,lee is1 but ,i know          
this--that if he goes on as he has been1
 we need no longer whine that we have no
 worthy successors to the old           
,brahminical writers of ,new ,england4  
,i have been reading with wonder and    
laughter and with loud cheers4 ,it is   
the word of all words that needed to be 
spoken just now4 ,it makes me believe   
that after all we haven't a great       
kindergarten about us in authorship1 but
 that there is virtue1 race1 sap in us  
yet4 ,i can conceive that the date of   
the publication of this book may well be

 the date of the moral and intellectual 
renaissance for which we have long been 
scanning the horizon4--,,wm4 ,,sloane   
,,kennedy in ,boston ,transcript4  ,new 
,york--,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s              
,,sons--,london   ,a ,book for ,parents 
and ,teachers   ,up ,through ,childhood 
,a ,study of ,some ,principles of       
,education in ,relation to ,faith and   
,conduct  ,by  ,george ,allen ,hubbell1 
,ph4,d4 7,columbia7  ,vice-,president of
 ,berea ,college  ,with ,introduction by
  ,dr4 ,frank ,m4 ,mc,murray  ,teachers 
,college1 ,n4 ,y4  #abmo4 #a4be net4 ,by
 mail1 #a4dj  ,the book is divided into 
four parts3 ,part ,i41 dealing with the 
,school of ,life1 in which are discussed
 7#a7 life as opportunity1 7#b7 that aim
 of education which will make it        
possible to use this opportunity aright1
 and 7#c7 the institutions of education 
which1 as environment1 contribute to the
 unfolding and instruction of the child4
 ,part ,,ii4 deals with the teacher in  
relation to his work as a quickener1 and

 then passes to the teacher's           
preparation1 his relation to the ,bible1
 and last and best his relation to the  
child4 ,part ,,iii4 deals with the young
 being in all stages of his growth from 
birth to adult life1 first taking up the
 broad question of man's place in       
nature1 and dealing with that as        
fundamental to all further              
interpretation4 ,the other topics       
concern themselves with man's reaction  
on environment1 with the development of 
the mental powers and the placing of    
these in due relation to each other1    
with the training of the child's faith1 
with the specific consideration of the  
boy's and girl's experiences to adult   
life1 and with the rounded life4  ,new  
,york--,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s              
,,sons--,london