wth), in order to teach them to overcome
greediness, and an easy and convenient method of correcting naughty
children was to "send them to bed without any supper."

Very similar methods are now adopted by those who insist that children
should pay attention to things they dislike, in order to accustom them
to the necessities of life. But as in the case of psychical
nourishment hunger is never brought to bear upon the "cold and
distasteful viands," the indigestible and heavy food weakens and
poisons the unwilling recipient.

Not thus shall we prepare the robust spirit, ready for all the
difficult eventualities of life. The boy who swallowed the cold soup
and went fasting to bed was the one whose body developed badly, who
was too weak to resist infection when he encountered it, and fell ill;
and morally it was he who, having a store of unsatisfied appetites
within him, looked upon it as the greatest joy of his liberty, when he
became an adult, to eat and drink to excess. How unlike was he to the
boy of to-day, who, rationally fed and made robust of body, becomes
the _abstemious_ man, who eats to live in health, and combats
alcoholism and excessive and injurious feeding; the modern man, who
can defend himself by so many means against infectious diseases, and
who is so ready for effort that, without any compulsion, he braves the
arduous exertion of sport, and attempts and carries out great
enterprises, such as the discovery of the Poles and the ascent of
lofty mountains.

So, too, the man capable of braving the icy wastes of moral conflict,
of undertaking spiritual ascents, will be he whose will is strong,
whose spirit is well balanced, whose decisions are prompt and
stedfast.

And the more a man's inner life shall have grown _normally_,
organizing itself in accordance with the provident laws of nature, and
forming an individuality, the more richly will he be endowed with a
strong will and a well-balanced mind. To be ready for a struggle, it
is not necessary to have struggled from one's birth, but it is
necessary to be strong. He who is strong is ready; no hero was a hero
before he had performed his heroic deed. The trials life has in store
for us are unforeseen, unexpected; no one can prepare us directly to
meet them; it is only a vigorous soul that can be prepared for
everything.

When a living being is in process of evolution, it is essential to
provide for the special requirements of the moment, in order to ensure