humor, and giving them a reason of our behavior towards them. It is requisite, says M. de Fénelon, to pursue all possible means to make the things you require of them agreeable to the children. Have you anything displeasing to propose to them? Let them know that the pain will soon be followed by a pleasure; show them always the usefulness of what you teach them; let them see the use of it with reference to conversation with the world and the duties of particular stations. This, tell them, is to enable you to do well what you are one day to do; 'tis to form your judgment, 'tis to accustom you to reason well upon all the affairs of life. It is requisite to show them a solid and agreeable end of their actions, which may support them in their labor, and never pretend to oblige them to the performance by a bare absolute authority.

If the case requires punishment or chiding, 'twill be proper to appeal to themselves as judges, to make them thoroughly sensible of the necessity of using them in that manner, and to demand of them whether they think it possible to act otherwise. I have been sometimes surprised in conjunctures where the just but grievous severity of their correction or public reprimand might have provoked and exasperated the scholars, to see the impression the account I gave them of my conduct has made upon them, and how they have blamed themselves, and allowed that I could not treat them otherwise. For I owe this justice to most part of the boys I have brought up, to own here that I have almost always found them reasonable, though not exempt from faults. Children are capable of hearing reason sooner than is imagined, and they love to be treated like reasonable creatures from their infancy. We should keep up in them this good opinion and notion of honor which they pretend to, and make use of it, as much as possible, as an universal means to bring them to the end we propose.

They are likewise very much affected with praise. It is our duty to make an advantage of this weakness, and strive to raise it in them to a virtue. We should run a risk of discouraging them were we never to praise them when they do well; and though we have reason to be afraid of commendations, lest we should increase their vanity, we must strive to make use of them for their encouragement without making them conceited; for of all the motives that are proper to affect a reasonable soul, there are none more powerful than honor and shame; and when we have once brought the children to be sensible of it, we have gained everything. They find a pleasure in being commended and esteemed, especially by their parents and those upon whom they depend. If, therefore, we caress them and commend them when they do well; if we look coldly and contemptibly upon them when they do ill, and religiously observe this kind of behavior toward them,-this twofold treatment will have a much greater effect upon their mind than either threatenings or punishments. But to make this practice useful, there are two things to be observed. First, when the parents or masters are displeased with a child, and look coldly upon him, it is requisite that all those who are about him should treat him in the same manner, and that he never finds any consolation in the caresses of governesses or servants; for then he is forced to submit,

and naturally conceives an aversion for the faults which draw upon him a general contempt. In the second place, when parents or masters have shown themselves displeased, they must be careful, contrary to the common custom, not presently to put on the same cheerfulness of countenance, or show the same fondness to the child as usual, for he will learn not to mind it when he knows that chiding is a storm but of a short duration, which he need only suffer to pass by. They must not, therefore, be restored to favor without difficulty, and their pardon be deferred till such time as their application to do better has proved the sincerity of their repentance.

Children may be rewarded by innocent plays intermixed with some industry; by walking abroad where the conversation may be advantageous; by little presents, which may be kinds of prizes, such as pictures or prints; by books neatly bound; by the sight of such things as are curious and uncommon in arts and professions,-as, for instance, the manner of making tapestry at the Gobelins, of melting of glass, painting, and a thousand other things of that kind. The industry of parents and masters lies in the invention of such rewards, in varying them, and making them desired and expected; keeping always a certain order, and beginning constantly with the most simple, in order to make them last as long as possible. But in general they must keep exactly to what they have promised, and make it a point of duty and indispensable honor never to disappoint the children.

8. Strict Observance of Truth.

Dissimulation, tricking, and bad excuses come very near to lying, and infallibly lead to it. A child should be told that he should rather be pardoned for twenty faults, than a bare dissimulation of the truth for hiding one only by bad excuses. When he frankly confesses what he has done, fail not to commend his ingenuity, and pardon what he has done amiss without ever reproaching him with it, or speaking to him of it afterwards. If this confession becomes frequent, and turns into a habit, only to escape without punishment, the master must have less regard to it, because it would then be no more than a trick, and not proceed from simplicity and sincerity.

Everything that the children see or hear from their parents or masters must serve to make them in love with truth, and give them a contempt for all double dealing. Thus they must never make use of any counterfeit pretence to quiet them or to persuade them to do what they have a mind, or make them any promises or threatenings without their being sensible that the performance will soon after follow. For by this means they will be taught tricking, to which they have already but too much Inclination.

To prevent it they must be brought not to stand in need of it, and be taught to tell ingenuously what pleases them or what makes them uneasy. They must be told that tricking always proceeds from a bad disposition, for nobody uses it but with a view to dissemble,-as not being such an one as he ought to be, or from desiring such things as are dis

allowable, or if otherwise, from taking dishonest means to come at them. Let the children see how ridiculous such tricks are as they see practised upon others, which have generally a bad success, and serve only to make them contemptible. Make them ashamed of themselves when you catch them in any dissimulation. Take from them, from time to time, what they are fond of, if they have endeavored to obtain it by any trick, and tell them they shall have it when they ask for it plainly and without artifice.

'Tis upon this point especially they must be put in mind of their honor. Make them comprehend the difference that there is between a child that loves truth and sincerity, upon whose word one may rely, in whom one may fully confide, and who is looked upon as incapable not only of lying and forgery, but of the least dissimulation; and another child who is always suspected and distrusted, and never believed, even though he speaks truth. We should carefully set before them what Cornelius Nepos observes of Epaminondas (and Plutarch says the same of Aristides), that he was so fond of truth that he never told a lie, not even in a jest.

9. Boys must be Genteel, Neat, and Exact.

Good breeding is one of the qualities which parents most desire în their children. The value they set upon it arises from their conversation with the world, where they find that almost everything is judged of by its outside. In short, the want of politeness takes off very much from the most solid merit, and makes virtue itself seem less valuable and lovely. A rough diamond can never serve as an ornament; it must be polished before it can be shown to advantage.

In talking thus I do not mean that we should exercise the children, or bring them up by measure and method to all the formal ceremonies which are fashionable in the world. Such treatment will only give them false notions, and fill them with a foolish vanity. Besides, this. methodical civility, which consists only in forms of insipid compliments. and the affectation of doing everything by rule and measure, is often more offensive than a natural clownishness. A behavior not over courteous, a bow ill made, a hat clumsily taken off, and a compliment ill turned, may deserve some little notice to be taken of them in an easy and gentle manner, but does not deserve sharp chiding or the being exposed to shame before company, and much less to be punished with severity. The going abroad into the world will soon correct these misde

meanors,

But the object is to go to the principle and root of the evil, and to conquer certain dispositions in the boys, which are directly opposite to the rules of society and conversation; such as a savage and clownish rudeness, which makes them careless about what may please or displease those that are about them; self-love, which is concerned only in procuring its own profit and advantage; a haughtiness and pride which tempt us to look upon everything as our due, without our being under any obligation to others; a spirit of contradiction, finding fault, and raillery,

which blames everything, and takes pleasure only in giving pain. These are the faults against which we must declare an open war, Such boys as have been accustomed to be complaisant toward their companions, to oblige them to yield to them upon occasion, to say nothing which may offend them, and not be easily offended themselves at the discourse of others,-boys of this character, when they come abroad into the world, will soon learn the rules of civility and good breeding.

It is also to be wished that children should be accustomed to neatness, order, and exactness; that they take care of their dress, especially on Sundays and holidays, and such days as they go abroad; and that everything should be set in order in their chambers and upon their tables, and every book put in its place when they have done with it; that they should be ready to discharge their different duties precisely at the time appointed. This exactness is of great importance at all times and in every station of life.

All this is to be wished for, but must not, in my opinion, be exacted with severity, nor under pain of correction. For we must always distinguish the faults which arise from the levity of their age, from such as spring from indocility and perverseness. My method was to bring the boys to be very civil to such strangers as entered into the court during their recreation, and almost scrupulously exact in repairing to every exercise at the first sound of the clock, but not by menaces or corrections. I publicly used to commend them for their civility to strangers, who complimented me upon it, and for the readiness wherewith they quitted their play, because they knew it would please me. I sometimes added, that though some of them were wanting in their little duties, I judged it must be through inadvertency, which was not surprising in the heat of play. I desired them to be more careful for the future, and to follow the example of the greatest part of their companions; and I succeeded better by these civilities than I could have done by all the chiding and menaces in the world..

10. Study must be made Agreeable.

This point depends very much on the first impressions, and it should be the great care of masters who teach children their letters, to do it in such manner that a child who is not yet capable of being fond of his book should not take an aversion to it, and the dislike continue when he grows up. For this reason, says Quintilian, his study must be made a diversion to him. The master must proceed by asking him easy questions. He must be encouraged by commendation, and allowed to set some value upon himself, and be pleased with having learned anything. Sometimes what he refuses to learn must be taught another, to raise his jealousy. We must enter into little disputes with him, and let him think that he has often the better; we must entice him likewise by little rewards, which children at that age are very fond of.

But the great secret, says Quintilian further, to make children love their books, is to make them fond of their master. In this case they willingly give ear to him, become tractable by him, strive to please him,

and take a pleasure in his lessons. They readily receive his advice and correction, are much affected with his commendation, and strive to merit his friendship by a proper discharge of their duty.

There is implanted in children, as in all mankind, a natural spirit of curiosity, or desire of knowledge and information, of which a good use may be made toward rendering their study agreeable. As everything is new to them, they are continually asking questions, and inquiring the name and use of everything they see. And they should be answered without expressing any pain or uneasiness. Their curiosity should be commended, and satisfied by clear and express answers, without anything in them that is deceitful or illusory; for they will soon find it out and be shocked at it.

In every art and science the first elements and principles have something in them that is dry and disheartening; for which reason it is of great service to abridge and facilitate the rudiments of the languages which are taught to children, and to take off from the bitterness of them as agreeably as we can.

When they are privately brought up, a careful and skilful masteromits nothing that may make study agreeable to them. He takes their time, studies their taste, consults their humor, intermixes diversion with labor, seems to leave the choice to them, does not make their study reg. ular, stirs them up to it sometimes by refusing it, and by the cessation, or, rather, interruption of it. In a word, he puts on a thousand shapes, and invents a thousand artifices to compass what he aims at.

This way in college is not practicable. In a common chamber and a numerous class, discipline and good order require an uniform rule, and that all should follow it exactly; and herein lies the great difficulty of managing them. A master must have a good capacity, a great deal of skill to guide and direct the reins of so many different characters, whereof some are brisk and impetuous, others slow and phlegmatic; whereof some want the spur, and others the bridle,-to manage, I say, all these dispositions at the same time, and yet so as to make them all move by concert, and lead all to the same point, notwithstanding this difference of temper. It must be owned that, in the business of education, 'tis here that the greatest ability and prudence are required.

This is only to be obtained by great gentleness, reason, moderation, coolness, and patience. This great principle must be always in view, that study depends upon the will, which admits of no constraint. Studium discendi voluntate quae cogi non potest constat. We may confine the body, make a scholar sit at his table against his inclination, double his labor by punishment, force him to finish a task that is imposed on him, and, for that end, take away from him his play and recreation; but can laboring thus upon force be properly called study? And what will follow upon it but the hatred both of books and learning and masters, too, very often as long as they live? The will, therefore, must be gained, and this can only be by mildness, friendliness, and persuasion, and, above all, by the allurement of pleasure.

As we are born idle, enemies to labor, and still more to constraint, it