if children have not a sufficient number of words to make their
thoughts intelligible, we cannot assist them to reason by our
conversation, we cannot communicate to them the result of our
experience; they will have a great deal of useless labour in comparing
objects, because they will not be able to understand the evidence of
others, as they do not understand their language; and at last, the
reasonings which they carry on in their own minds will be confused for
want of signs to keep them distinct. On the contrary, if their
vocabulary exceed their ideas, if they are taught a variety of words
to which they connect no accurate meaning, it is impossible that they
should express their thoughts with precision. As this is one of the
most common errours in education, we shall dwell upon it more
particularly.

We have pointed out the mischief which is done to the understanding of
children by the nonsensical conversation of common acquaintance.[87]
"Should you like to be a king? What are you to be? Are you to be a
bishop, or a judge? Had you rather be a general, or an admiral, my
little dear?" are some of the questions which every one has probably
heard proposed to children of five or six years old. Children who have
not learned by rote the expected answers to such interrogatories,
stand in amazed silence upon these occasions; or else answer at
random, having no possible means of forming any judgment upon such
subjects. We have often thought, in listening to the conversations of
grown up people with children, that the children reasoned infinitely
better than their opponents. People, who are not interested in the
education of children, do not care what arguments they use, what
absurdities they utter in talking to them; they usually talk to them
of things which are totally above their comprehension; and they
instil errour and prejudice, without the smallest degree of
compunction; indeed, without in the least knowing what they are about.
We earnestly repeat our advice to parents, to keep their children as
much as possible from such conversation: children will never reason,
if they are allowed to hear or to talk nonsense.

When we say, that children should not be suffered to talk nonsense, we
should observe, that unless they have been in the habit of hearing
foolish conversation, they very seldom talk nonsense. They may express
themselves in a manner which we do not understand, or they may make
mistakes from not accurately compreh