egin before its birth.

In sober truth, if a woman, a few weeks after conception, makes a
mental picture of the sex of the child she is going to bring forth into
the world, of the physical and moral qualities with which she desires
to see it endowed and if she will continue during the time of
gestation to impress on herself the same mental image, the child will
have the sex and qualities desired.

Spartan women only brought forth robust children, who grew to be
redoubtable warriors, because their strongest desire was to give such
heroes to their country; whilst, at Athens, mothers had intellectual
children whose mental qualities were a hundredfold greater than
their physical attributes.

The child thus engendered will be apt to accept readily good
suggestions which may be made to him and to transform them into
autosuggestion which later, will influence the course of his life. For
you must know that all our words, all our acts, are only the result of
autosuggestions caused, for the most part, by the suggestion of
example or speech.

How then should parents, and those entrusted with the education of
children avoid provoking bad autosuggestions and, on the other
hand, influence good autosuggestions?

In dealing with children, always be even-tempered and speak in a
gentle but firm tone. In this way they will become obedient without
ever having the slightest desire to resist authority.

Above all--above all, avoid harshness and brutality, for there the risk
is incurred of influencing an autosuggestion of cruelty accompanied
by hate.

Moreover, avoid carefully, in their presence, saying evil of anyone,
as too often happens, when, without any deliberate intention, the
absent nurse is picked to pieces in the drawing-room.

Inevitably this fatal example will be followed, and may produce
later a real catastrophe.

Awaken in them a desire to know the reason of things and a love of
Nature, and endeavor to interest them by giving all possible
explanations very clearly, in a cheerful, good-tempered tone. You
must answer their questions pleasantly, instead of checking them
with--"What a bother you are, do be quiet, you will learn that later."

Never on any account say to a child, "You are lazy and good for
nothing" because that gives birth in him to the very faults of which
you accuse him.

If a child is lazy and does his tasks badly, you should say to him one
day, even if it is not true, "There this time your work is m