have authority over others were like the laws, which punish without anger or emotion, and out of the sole motive of justice and the public good. If the master discovers himself to be ever so little moved by a change of countenance, or alteration of the tone of his voice, the scholar soon perceives it, and discovers that this flame breaks out, not from a zeal for duty, but the heat of passion. And this suffices to render the punishment entirely fruitless; because children, young as they are, know that reason only has a right to correct them.

As punishment should seldom be administered, all possible care is required to make it beneficial. Let a child see, for instance, that you have done all you could to avoid coming to this extreme; seem to be concerned that you are under a necessity of exercising. it against your inclination; talk before him with other persons how unhappy they are, who are so void of reason and honour as to stand in need of being corrected; withdraw your usual marks of friendship, till you perceive it necessrry to console him; make this chastisement public or private, according as you shall judge it most useful for the child, either to be exposed to shame, or made sensible that it is spared him; reserve this public shame as a last remedy; make use 'sometimes of a reasonable person to talk with him, and tell him what is not yet proper for you to tell him yourself one who may cure him of his false shame, dispose him to submit, and to whom the child in the heat of his passion may open his heart more freely, than he durst do before you; but be very careful that you never demand any other submissions than such as are reasonable and necessary. Endeavour to bring him to a self-conviction, and that it only remains for you to mitigate the punishment which he has consented to. These general rules must be applied by every master, according as his particular occasions require.

But if the child that is to be punished be neither to be moved by a sense of honour or shame, care must be taken that in the first Correction he may feel a

sharp

sharp and lasting impression, that fear at least, for want of a more noble motive, may keep him to his duty.

I have no need to take notice, that a box on the ear, blows, or other treatments of the like sort, are absolutely not to be allowed masters. They should never punish, but in order to correct, and passion will not correct at all. Let any one ask himself, whether he can coolly, and without emotion, give a boy a box on the ear; and sure [u] anger, which is in itself a vice, is a very improper remedy for curing the vices of

others.

ARTICLE VI.

OF REPROOFS.

THIS matter is of no less importance than that of punishments, as the use of them is more frequent, and the consequences may be as dangerous.

To make Reproofs useful, there are in my opinion three things principally to be considered, the subject, the time, and the manner of making them.

1. THE SUBJECT OF A REPRIMAND.

It is a very common mistake to use Reprimand for the slightest faults, and such as are almost unavoidable in children, which takes away all their force, and frustrates all their advantage. For, they accustom themselves to them, are no longer affected with them, and even make a jest of them. I do not forget what I have already quoted from Quintilian, that the surest way for a master to avoid punishing children often, is frequently to admonish them, quo sæpiùs monuerit, hoc rariùs castigabit. But I make a great difference between admonitions and Reprimands. The first savours

[u] Cùm ira delictum animi sit, cando. Senec. lib, i. de Irâ. c. 15. non oportet peccata corrigere pec

Y 4

less

'less of the authority of a master than the affection of a friend. They are always attended with an air and tone of gentleness, which gives them a more agreeable reception; and for this reason they may more frequently be used. But as Reprimands always shock self-love, and often assume an air and language of severity, they should be reserved for more considerable faults, and consequently be more seldom used.

II. THE TIME OF REPRIMANDING. /

The master's prudence consists in carefully studying and watching for the favourable moment, when the mind of the child shall be most disposed to improve by correction. This is what Virgil so elegantly calls fr] Molles aditus, mollissima fandi tempora; and wherein he places the address of a negotiation, "quis rebus dexter modus.

. Do not therefore reprimand a child, says M. de Fenelon, in his first emotion, or your own. If you do it in yours, he will find that you have been governed by humour and inclination, and not by reason and friendship, and you will inevitably lose your authority. If you chide him immediately, his mind is not at liberty enough to own his fault, to conquer his passion, and perceive the importance of your advice. You likewise expose the child to losing the respect he owes you. Shew him always that you are master of yourself: and nothing will let him see it better than your patience. Watch a favourable opportunity for several days to time a correction well, if necessary.

What would any one say, says [y] M. Nicole, speaking of the duty of brotherly correction, what would they say of a surgeon, who, in treating an imposthume, should surprise the patient, by giving him a blow with his fist upon the part affected, and that before the imposthume was sufficiently ripened, by preparatory re

[x] En. lib. iv. ver. 393, 425.

[y] Evang. du Mardi de la troisieme Sem. de Car.

medies,

medies, to be lanced, or the sick person disposed for so painful an operation? We should doubtless say he was a very imprudent and unskilful man. It is easy to apply this comparison to the subject I am treating of,

III. THE MANNER OF REPRIMANDING.

The same M. Nicole, in the same passage, shews how difficult it is to give corrections and reprimands, The cause of this difficulty is, because they set before men what they care not for seeing, and attack self-love in the dearest and most sensible part, where it never gives way without great reluctance and opposition. We love ourselves as we are, and would have reason for doing so. Thus we are careful to justify ourselves in our faults by various deceitful colours; and it must not seem strange, that men should be displeased with being contradicted and condemned, as it is an attack at the same time upon the reason which is deceived, and the heart which is corrupted.

This is properly the foundation of the care and caution which is required in correction and reprimand. We must leave nothing for a child to discern in us, that may hinder the effect of it. [z] We must avoid raising his ill-will by the severity of our expressions, his anger by exaggerations, or his pride by expressions of contempt.

We must not heap upon him such a multitude of reproofs, as may deprive him of the hope of being able to correct the faults he is reproached with. It might be advisable likewise not to tell a child his fault, without adding some means of amending it. For correction, when it is sharp, is apt to occasion chagrin and discouragement.

We must avoid giving him any occasion to think that we are prejudiced; let he should thence take occasion to defend the faults laid to his charge, and to attribute our admonitions to our prejudice.

[z] Omnis animadversio & cas- Cic. lib. i. de Offic. n. 88. tigatio contumelià vacare debet.

8

Neither

Neither must there be any room left for him to believe, that they are occasioned by any interest or particular passion, or indeed by any other motive than that of his good.

[a] We are sometimes obliged, says Tully, to raise our voice a little in correction, and to use somewhat sharper expressions, but this should be very seldom; as physicians make use of certain remedies only in extremities. We should besides be careful to avoid all anger and severity in these reproaches, for they can be of no service; and the child should see, that whatever sharpness we express in our reproofs, it is with regret, and only for his good.

We may conclude that reprimands have had all the success that can be expected from them, when they bring a boy to a sincere confession of his faults, to desire that he may be told of them, and to receive the instructions that are given him with docility. [b] He has already made a great progress, who is desirous of doing it. It is a certain mark of a solid change, to have our eyes open to the imperfections, which before were unknown to us: as it is a reason to hope well of a sick person, when he begins to be sensible of his ailment.

[c] There are some children of so happy and so tractable a temper, that it suffices to shew them what they must do, and without standing in need of long instructions from a master, they shall seize upon what is good and honest at the first signal, and give themselves up entirely to it. Rapacia virtutis ingenia. [d] One would think they had in them some sparks of every virtue, which, in order to unfold themselves, and catch fire, require only a slight blast, a mere hint. [e]

[a] Offic. lib. i. n. 136, 137. [6] Magna pars est profectûs, velle proficere. Senec. Epist. 71.

[c] Felix ingenium illis fuit, & salutaria in transitu rapuit. . . . In ea quæ tradi solent, perveniunt sine longo magisterio; & honesta complexi sunt, cùm primùm audierunt. Senec. Epist. 95.

[d] Omnium honestarum rerum semina animi gerunt, quæ admonitione excitantur; non aliter quàm scintilla flatu levi adjuta, ignem suum explicat, Ibid. 94.

[e] Huc illuc frænis leniter motis flectendus est paucis animus sui rector optimus. Senec. lib. v. de Benef. cap. 25.

These