14
Christian Education
is unfitting them for real life. Novel and story-book reading is the
greatest evil that youth can indulge in. Novel and love-story readers
always fail to make good practical mothers. They live in an unreal
world. They are air-castle builders, living in an imaginary world. They
become sentimental, and have sick fancies. Their artificial life spoils
them for anything useful. They are dwarfed in intellect, although they
flatter themselves that they are superior in mind and manners. Exercise
in household labor will be of the greatest advantage to young girls.
Physical labor will not prevent the cultivation of the intellect. Far
from this. The advantages gained by physical labor will so balance
the mind that it shall not be overworked. The toil will then come upon
the muscles, and relieve the wearied brain. There are many listless,
useless girls who consider it unladylike-like to engage in active labor.
But their characters are too transparent to deceive sensible persons in
regard to their real worthlessness. They will simper and giggle, and are
all affectation. They appear as though they could not speak fairly and
squarely, but torture all they say with lisping and simpering. Are these
ladies? They are not born fools, but were educated such. It does not
require a frail, helpless, over-dressed, simpering thing to make a lady.
A sound body is required for a sound intellect. Physical soundness,
and a practical knowledge in all the necessary household duties, is
never a hindrance to a well-developed intellect, but is highly important
for a lady.
All the powers of the mind should be called into use, and developed,
in order for men and women to have well-balanced minds. The world
[18]
is full of one-sided men and women, because one set of the faculties
is cultivated, while others are dwarfed from inaction. The education
of most youth is a failure. They overstudy, while they neglect that
which pertains to practical business life. Men and women become
parents without considering their responsibilities, and their offspring
sink lower in the scale of human deficiency than they themselves. Thus
we are fast degenerating. The constant application to study, as the
schools are now conducted, is unfitting youth for practical life. The
human mind will have action. If it is not active in the right direction, it
will be active in the wrong. And in order to preserve the balance of
the mind, labor and study should be united in schools.
There should have been in past generations provisions made for ed-
ucation upon a larger scale. In connection with the schools should have