is certainly very little chance of convincing your opponents that they
are wrong, unless you have a fairly clear notion of what it is they have
in mind.

It is quite natural for a grandmother to regard as "unprincipled," the
conduct of this new generation. It is obviously not controlled by the
same principles that she has lived by. She is impressed and disturbed
by the disappearance of her principles and the shocking effects. The
"impossible notions" that have apparently taken their place are beyond
her comprehension, but she certainly would not dignify them by the name
of principles.

But if these "impossible notions" are all that the new generation has to
go by, and if they represent its spirit and attitude toward the problem
of life, it makes little difference whether they be called principles or
not, a principle of some sort is involved in them.

The first thing to do, therefore, is to arrive at as clear an
understanding as possible as to what this principle is and what it
implies.

Very little observation is needed to arrive at the conclusion that the
essence of this new principle is the right of the individual nature to
its fullest expression, to its most untrammelled development.

A large proportion of the new generation may not be consciously aware of
this doctrine, or of their adhesion to it. But it is in the air and they
absorb it; it grows up within them, as an unconscious product of other
influences; it is present in those about them, and the "herd instinct"
causes them to adopt it.

There are also a number who have given thought to the subject and are
convinced of the soundness and progress of the new principle. They are
prepared to defend it and proclaim it with a touch of superiority. Here
and there, in magazine articles and newspapers, it is finding more or
less authoritative expression and endorsement.

The following quotations, for instance, are from an article which
appeared recently on the editorial page of the Hearst Newspapers. They
represent some views on education by a leading exponent of advanced
thought.

One great end of education that ought forever to be in mind is
that the greatest enemy of attainment, as it is indeed of life
itself, is Fear.

No man or woman can ever do good work, in the world, whatever
be the task, until he has stricken from his hands and head and
his heart the chains of Fear.

The very first lesson to teach a baby is to be unafraid