ke his father
grieve, or give his mother a headache, or because his parents have
reasoned with him and shown him that compliance is for his good, or who
has been wheedled into compliance by petty bribes and promises, has not
learned that doctrine of obedience which lies at the foundation of all
government, human and divine. God has given to the parent the right to
the obedience of his children, and the power to enforce it. That parent
has failed in his duty who has not trained his child, not only to love
him, but to obey him, in the strict sense of the word, that is to yield
his will to the will of a superior, from a sense of appointed
subordination and rightful authority. This sense of subordination and of
obedience to appointed and rightful authority, is of the very essence of
civil government, and the place where it is to be first and chiefly
learned is in the household. To teach this is a main end of the parental
relation. The parent who fails to teach it, fails to give his child the
first element of good citizenship, and leaves him often to be in
after-years the victim of his own uncontrolled passions and tempers. The
want of a proper exercise of parental authority is, in this age of the
world, the most prolific source of those frightful disorders that
pervade society, and that threaten to upturn the very foundations of all
civil government. The feeling of reverence, the sense of a respect for
authority, the consciousness of being in a state of subordination, the
feeling of obligation to do a thing simply because it is commanded by
some one having a right to obedience--all these old-fashioned notions
seem to be dying out of the minds of men. The popular cry is, Don't make
your children fear you. Govern them by love. Conquer them by kindness.
Treat them as Mr. Rarey did his horses.

I protest against the notion. It is a mistake of Mr. Rarey's system,
and it is not the true basis for government, whether of brutes or men.
The doctrine may seem harsh in these dainty times. But, in my opinion, a
certain degree of wholesome fear in the mind of a child towards its
parent, is essential, and is perfectly compatible with the very highest
love. I have never known more confiding, affectionate, and loving
children, than those who not only regarded their parents as kind
benefactors and sympathizing friends, but who looked up to them with a
certain degree of reverence. The fear spoken of in the Bible, as being
cast out by perfect