原帖由 hi5 于 2009-4-13 10:17 发表 ![]()
如果方便的话， 就请麻烦传上来对比对比。谢谢。
整理起来有点麻烦，先传一章。
CHAPTER XIV MUST CHILDREN PLAY MUCH WITH OTHER CHILDREN?
SINCE I was repeatedly informed that Karl should have a playmate, for otherwise he
would not enjoy his childhood and would get tired, ill-humored, or even stubborn, I
finally gave in and, with the aid of my wife, chose, one after the other, two somewhat
grown girls who at that time were apparently the best-behaved children in the whole community.
They sang, danced, and played with him, and he naturally was happy.
But the same child that heretofore had never been stubborn and had never told an untruth, now learned both.
He also became accustomed to coarse expressions, and grew arbitrary and domineering, because these
girls, who came to us on account of some small advantage to them, did not oppose him.
Our assurances that we should be happy if they did not give in to his will, but let us know of his arbitrariness, did no good. Their years, their social standing, their education, and the prejudices which are inseparable from it made them deaf against it, and we had to banish them.
It is indeed a foolish and highly injurious idea that children cannot be merry without other children.
It is only natural for them to wish to be with children, for with them they need not be so careful about their thoughts, inclinations, talks, and actions, and they are not guarded and supervised so constantly. But one need only be a child with them, need only take part in merry jests, let the children now and then get the upper hand and be more
clever, by allowing them to occupy a place of greater dignity, and so forth, and they will
feel just as happy playing with older persons, will learn to avoid naughty things, and will not so easily take any harm.
Worst of all it is to make playmates out of uneducated children, especially without
any close observation. I have constantly found the troubles, which I mentioned in re-
gard to Karl, repeated in other families as well, and even worse troubles. The virtues
Playing with Other Children 185 of the well-brought-up child pass over less
readily to the ill-brought-up children than the faults of the latter infect the still unspoiled
child, for virtues demand, at least in the beginning, effort and self-control, because they
are contrary to our inclinations and passions.
But faults are more easily adopted, because our sensuousness naturally leans that way, and
the bad example of the little friend acts as an encouragement.
Most dangerous of all is the being together in an institution or public school. In regard
to the latter it has been a settled principle for more than thirty years, observed by every sensible father,
not to send his child, without the most urgent necessity, to the lower classes of
the same, because there are more ill-brought-up children there than in the upper classes.
So long as our schools are not at the same time schools of moral training, so long as the
pupils, from the first moment to the last (more especially in the recesses, as well as
before and after school), are not constantly under the supervision of a teacher, the expe-
rienced father would gladly sacrifice all attendance at school, if the mass of information,
which a large number of teachers can impart, did not make the instruction given by each of
them in his specialty so desirable.
One ought to take but a very few children, say two or three, under one's charge, when
the supervision could be made successful. If one, for financial reasons, wishes to take fif-
teen to twenty, one should keep enough teachers to have but two or three under the charge
of one.
If none of these precautions have been taken, the faults which have been brought together from all the corners of the world must soon become the common possession, to out-grow and crush the few virtues which are
present.
It is rank stupidity to imagine that children cannot be agreeable and sociable unless they all the time go around with other children. I have repeatedly found the very opposite to be the truth.
Karl and every child that was treated in the same way, were by that very treatment made more yielding, and it was, therefore, no hardship for them to have to yield. Other children tease what they want out of their
playmates in various ways, and so become accustomed to self-assertion.
From this there Playing with Other Children 187 grow shrewdness, simulation, untruth, quarreling, stubbornness, hatred, envy, haughtiness, aspersion, fighting, calumniation, etc. A child remains quite free from all these, so long as he plays only with his parents or with other sensible persons.
Naturally the opportunity for coming together with children is not excluded, but their
commingling should occur only now and then, and under supervision. Such an occasional
meeting, when all the reserve has not been thrown off, can do no harm. Karl has had
many a chance for meeting children under such circumstances during his longer or shorter journeys.
He got along so well with them that they invariably became very fond of him and nearly
always parted from him with tears in their eyes. Having become accustomed to calm,
merriment, order, and sensible reasoning, even in his games, he observed these virtues
also when with other children. There was for him no ready cause for quarreling. On
the contrary, he frequently avoided it by clearing away misunderstandings, or put an end to
it by prayers, sensible arguments, and so forth.
Since he never quarreled at home with any one, such action appeared to him repulsive
and unseemly. He felt that quarreling put an end to playing, nor was his blood roused
by daily recurring quarrels. He consequently did not so easily become excited, nor did
his blood boil as easily as that of children constantly quarreling and fighting with one
another. He knew nothing of that anger which so frequently puts an end to children's
playing. He remained calm, while others grew excited. Not even the naughtiest of boys
could ever have brought him so far as to make him swear or fight.
Nearly all the children, boys and girls, who knew him more intimately became fond of
him. There was but one opinion about him, that he was very amiable and could get along
well with others. I do not know a single case, not even in his maturer years, of his having
quarreled with one of his many youthful friends, or of having fallen out with them,
although many an occasion offered itself for it during his investigation, and even lively dis-
cussion, of learned subjects. I may say there should have been such occasions, because his
opponents were usually considerably older than he.
He generally sided with his betters, and these betters knew him well, hence that intimate respect
and love which they still have for him. Their mutual relations have frequently moved me to tears.
My thanks are due to these worthy young men for having so tenderly and lastingly clung to him.
They are sure of my respect and of his.
People would, therefore, do well to drop that harmful prejudice that children can be
made happy and merry only by playing with other children. With the same right one may
say that they should be left much in the company of the servants, for they like to be in
their company for similar reasons, whereas, who would be so rash as to abandon them to
servants, except in a case of dire necessity? |
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发表于 2009-4-13 00:37:30
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