fourth period of education begins at fifteen, the period of
adolescence. At this time, "_Emile_ will know nothing of history,
nothing of humanity, nothing of art and literature, nothing of God; but
he will know a manual trade." Rousseau himself says, "_Emile_ has but
little knowledge, but that which he has is really his own; he knows
nothing by halves." He has a mind which, "if not instructed, is at least
capable of being instructed." The remaining work to be done in the
education of _Emile_ consists in training the sentiments of affection,
the moral and the religious sentiments. The feeling of love for his
fellow-beings is now to be cultivated. The error of this is shown by
Compayre, who says, "For fifteen years Rousseau leaves the heart of
_Emile_ unoccupied.... Rousseau made the mistake of thinking that a
child can be taught to love as he is taught to read and write, and that
lessons could be given to _Emile_ in feeling just as lessons are given
to him in geometry."

In morals Rousseau taught that the first duty of every one is to take
care of himself; we must love ourselves first of all, and find our
greatest interest in those things that best serve us. We must seek that
which is useful to us and avoid what harms us, instead of loving our
enemies and doing good to those that hate us, as taught by Christ. We
must love those who love us, while we must avoid and hate those who hate
us.

As to religion, _Emile_ does not yet know at fifteen that he has a soul,
and Rousseau thinks that perhaps the eighteenth year is still too early
for him to learn that fact; for, if he tries to learn it before the
proper time, he runs the risk of never really knowing that he possesses
an immortal soul. But as religion furnishes a check upon the passions,
it should be taught to the boy when eighteen years of age. He is not to
be instructed in the doctrines of any particular sect, but should be
allowed to select that religious belief which most strongly appeals to
his reason. Modern investigation has proven the utter fallacy of
Rousseau's teachings in this respect. Indeed, it seems to be established
that the most orthodox period of the child's life occurs before the
fifteenth year, the time when Rousseau would begin his religious
training. Conformable to this truth, many sects confirm children and
receive them into the church at or before the fifteenth year.[126]

(_f_) Having brought _Emile_ to the period of life at which he is to
mar