a reason for continuing to cry; but they
will soon give over of themselves when they see no notice is taken of
them; for, old or young, nobody loves to throw away his trouble. This
is exactly the case with my eldest boy, who was once the most peevish
little bawler, stunning the whole house with his cries; whereas now
you can hardly hear there is a child in the house. He cries, indeed,
when he is in pain; but then it is the voice of nature, which should
never be restrained; and he is again hushed as soon as ever the pain
is over. For this reason I pay great attention to his tears, as I am
certain he never sheds them for nothing; and hence I have gained the
advantage of being certain when he is in pain and when not; when he is
well and when sick; an advantage which is lost with those who cry out
of mere humor and only in order to be appeased. I must confess,
however, that this management is not to be expected from nurses and
governesses; for as nothing is more tiresome than to hear a child cry,
and as these good women think of nothing but the time present, they do
not foresee that by quieting it to-day it will cry the more to-morrow.
But, what is still worse, this indulgence produces an obstinacy which
is of more consequence as the child grows up. The very cause that
makes it a squaller at three years of age will make it stubborn and
refractory at twelve, quarrelsome at twenty, imperious and insolent at
thirty, and insupportable all its life.

In every indulgence granted to children they can easily see our desire
to please them, and therefore they should be taught to suppose we have
reason for refusing or complying with their requests. This is another
advantage gained by making use of authority, rather than persuasion,
on every necessary occasion. For, as it is impossible they can be
always blind to our motives, it is natural for them to imagine that we
have some reason for contradicting them, of which, they are ignorant.
On the contrary, when we have once submitted to their judgment, they
will pretend to judge of everything, and thus become cunning,
deceitful, fruitful in shifts and chicanery, endeavoring to silence
those who are weak enough to argue with them; for when one is obliged
to give them an account of things above their comprehension, they
attribute the most prudent conduct to caprice, because they are
incapable of understanding it. In a word, the only way to render
children docile and capable of reasoning is