'I take
you,' said he, 'for a man of integrity, and therefore the advice I must
give you in general is--to act in all cases according to the best of
your judgment. However, I have this rule to recommend: never give your
reasons. You will gain no ground that way, and may, perhaps, bring
yourself into great difficulties by attempting it. Let your motives be
those of an honest man, and such as your conscience will support you in;
but never expose them to your inferiors, who will be sure to have their
reasons against yours; and while these matters are discussed, authority
is lost, and the public interest suffers.' Thus, my dear Ferdinand, you
see, that when children submit to the direction of their parents and
teachers, who are bound, by affection and interest, to promote their
happiness, and who will certainly take pleasure in explaining to them,
at proper times, the motives by which they are actuated, they do but
follow the example of all communities of men in the world: who are
passive for their own good; who are governed by laws, which not one in
five hundred of them understand; and who submit to actions, of which
they cannot see either the propriety or justice. Now, if children are
only required to submit to the same necessary restraints that are
imposed upon men, no indignity is offered to them, nor can they have any
just cause of complaint. Your own sense, my love, if you consult it,
will convince you, that society could not subsist, nor could any
instruction go forward, without obedience.
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