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Child Guidance
Thwart Satan’s Effort to Claim Infant Children—Parents, you
fail generally to begin your work early enough. You let Satan preoc-
cupy the soil of the heart by putting in the first crop of seed
You have a work to do that Satan shall not gain the control of your
children and take them away from you before they are out of your
arms. Mothers, you should see to it that the powers of darkness do not
control your little ones. You should set your will that the enemy shall
not raise his banner of darkness in your home
In Preparing Also for Practical Life—There are but very few
who take time to carefully consider what an amount of knowledge
both of temporal and eternal things may be gained by the child during
its first twelve or fifteen years. Not only should children in these first
years of life be obtaining book knowledge, but they should be learning
the arts essential for practical life; the latter should not be neglected
for the former
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Napoleon’s Heritage—The character of Napoleon Bonaparte was
greatly influenced by his training in childhood. Unwise instructors
inspired him with a love for conquest, forming mimic armies and
placing him at their head as commander. Here was laid the foundation
for his career of strife and bloodshed. Had the same care and effort
been directed to making him a good man, imbuing his young heart
with the spirit of the Gospel, how widely different might have been
his history
Hume and Voltaire—It is said that Hume, the skeptic, was in early
life a conscientious believer in the Word of God. Being connected
with a debating society, he was appointed to present the arguments
in favor of infidelity. He studied with earnestness and perseverance,
and his keen and active mind became imbued with the sophistry of
skepticism. Erelong he came to believe its delusive teachings, and his
whole afterlife bore the dark impress of infidelity.
When Voltaire was five years old, he committed to memory an
infidel poem, and the pernicious influence was never effaced from his
mind. He became one of Satan’s most successful agents to lead men
10
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885
.
11
The Signs of the Times, July 22, 1889
.
12
Manuscript 43, 1900
.
13
The Signs of the Times, October 11, 1910
.