nything
either for themselves or others.

We, however, suppose that we are developing the imagination of
children by making them accept fantastic things as realities. Thus,
for instance, in Latin countries, Christmas is personified by an ugly
woman, the _Befana_, who comes through the walls and down the
chimneys, bringing toys for the good children, and leaving only lumps
of coal for the naughty ones. In Anglo-Saxon countries, on the other
hand, Christmas is an old man covered with snow who carries a huge
basket containing toys for children, and who really enters their
houses by night. But how can the _imagination_ of children be
developed by what is, on the contrary, the fruit of _our_ imagination?
It is we who imagine, not they; they _believe_, they do not imagine.
Credulity is, indeed, a characteristic of immature minds which lack
experience and knowledge of realities, and are as yet devoid of that
intelligence which distinguishes the true from the false, the
beautiful from the ugly, the possible from the impossible.

Is it, then, _credulity_ we wish to develop in our children, merely
because they show themselves to be credulous at an age when they are
naturally ignorant and immature? Of course, credulity may exist in
adults; but it exists in _contrast_ with _intelligence_, and is
neither its foundation nor its fruit. It is in periods of intellectual
darkness that credulity germinates; and we are proud to have outlived
these epochs. We speak of credulity as a mark of the uncivilized.

Here is a piquant anecdote of the seventeenth century. The Pont Neuf
in Paris was the main highway for foot-passengers, and a meeting-place
for loungers. Many mountebanks and charlatans mingled with the crowd.
There was one of these charlatans who was making a fortune; he sold an
ointment from China which enlarged the eyes, decreased the size of the
mouth, lengthened noses that were too short, and shortened those that
were too long, De Sartine, Chief of the Police, called up this
charlatan to have him imprisoned, and said to him:

"Mariolo, how do you manage to attract so many people and gain so much
money?"

"Sir," replied the other, "how many persons, do you suppose, cross the
bridge in one day?"

"From ten to twelve thousand," replied de Sartine.

"Well, sir, how many intelligent persons do you suppose there are
among them?"

"A hundred," replied the official.

"That's a liberal allowance," said the charlatan, "but let us