eft out the
gas-works?" or "Do you call that sloppy thing a church?" The
particular focus should be vivid, and the record in some way true. The
soul must give earnest attention, that is all.

And so actively disciplined, the child develops for the first ten
years. We need not be afraid of letting children see the passions and
reactions of adult life. Only we must not strain the _sympathies_ of a
child, in _any_ direction, particularly the direction of love and
pity. Nor must we introduce the fallacy of right and wrong.
Spontaneous distaste should take the place of right and wrong. And
least of all must there be a cry: "You see, dear, you don't
understand. When you are older--" A child's sagacity is better than an
adult understanding, anyhow.

Of course it is ten times criminal to tell young children facts about
sex, or to implicate them in adult relationships. A child has a strong
evanescent sex consciousness. It instinctively writes impossible words
on back walls. But this is not a fully conscious mental act. It is a
kind of dream act--quite natural. The child's curious, shadowy,
indecent sex-knowledge is quite in the course of nature. And does
nobody any harm at all. Adults had far better not notice it. But if a
child sees a cockerel tread a hen, or two dogs coupling, well and
good. It _should_ see these things. Only, without comment. Let nothing
be exaggeratedly hidden. By instinct, let us preserve the decent
privacies. But if a child occasionally sees its parent nude, taking a
bath, all the better. Or even sitting in the W. C. Exaggerated secrecy
is bad. But indecent exposure is also very bad. But worst of all is
dragging in the _mental_ consciousness of these shadowy dynamic
realities.

In the same way, to talk to a child about an adult is vile. Let
adults keep their adult feelings and communications for people of
their own age. But if a child sees its parents violently quarrel, all
the better. There must be storms. And a child's dynamic understanding
is far deeper and more penetrating than our sophisticated
interpretation. But _never_ make a child a party to adult affairs.
Never drag the child in. Refuse its sympathy on such occasions. Always
treat it as if it had _no_ business to hear, even if it is present and
_must_ hear. Truly, it has no business mentally to hear. And the
dynamic soul will always weigh things up and dispose of them properly,
if there be no interference of adult comment or adult desire for