On her the fairest hopes of educated man depend, and in the
exercise of her power there, she sways a nation's destiny, gives to the
infant body and soul their beauty, their bias and their direction. She
there possesses the immense force of first impressions. The soul of her
child lies unveiled before her, and she makes the stamp of her own spirit
and personality upon its pliable nature. She there engrafts it, as it were,
into her own being, and from the combined elements of her own character,
builds up and establishes the character of her offspring. Hers will,
therefore, be the glory or the shame.
"Then take the heart thy charms have won,
And nurse it for the skies."
The nursery is that department of home in which the formation of our
character is begun. Infancy demands the nursery. It is not full-formed and
equipped for the battle of life. It lies in the cradle in a state of mere
involution, and in the hands of its parents is altogether passive, and
susceptible of impressions as wax before the sun. The germ of the man is
there; but it has yet to be developed. Its indwelling life must be nurtured
with tender and assiduous care. It demands an influence suited to the
expansion of its nature into bloom and maturity. It demands physical
development, mental evolution, moral training, and spiritual elevation. In
order to these it must live amidst the sweet and plastic socialities of
maternal relationship.
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