24. Conclusion
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Any person who has acquired the art of examining and analyzing his own thoughts, will generally find that the mental pictures which he forms of the landscapes, or the interiors, in which the scenes are laid of the events or incidents related in any work of fiction which interests him, are modeled more or less closely from prototypes previously existing in his own mind—and generally upon those furnished by the experiences of his childhood. If, for example, he reads an account of transactions represented as taking place in an English palace or castle, he will usually, on a careful scrutiny, find that the basis of his conception of the scene is derived from the arrangement of the rooms of some fine house with which he was familiar in early life. Thus, a great many things which attract our attention—and impress themselves upon our memories in childhood, become the models and prototypes—more or less aggrandized and improved, perhaps—of the conceptions and images which we form in later years.
'Nature of the Effect produced by Early Impressions'.
Few people who have not specially reflected on this subject, or examined closely the operations of their own minds, are aware what an extended influence the images thus stored in the mind in childhood, have in forming the basis, or furnishing the elements of the mental structures of future life. But the truth, when once understood, shows of what vast importance it is with what images the youthful mind is to be stored. A child who ascends a lofty mountain, under favorable circumstances in his childhood, has his conceptions of all the mountain scenery that he reads of, or hears of through life, modified and aggrandized by the impression made upon his sensorium at this early stage. Take your daughter, who has always, we will suppose, lived in the country, on an excursion with you to the sea-shore—and allow her to witness for an hour, as she sits in silence on the cliff, the surf rolling in incessantly upon the beach—and infinitely the smallest part of the effect, is that one day's gratification which you have given her. That is comparatively nothing. You have made a life-long change, if not in the very structure, at least in the permanent furnishing of her mind—and performed a work which can never by any possibility be undone. The images which have been awakened in her mind, the emotions connected with them—and the effect of these images and emotions upon her faculties of imagination and conception, will infuse a life into them which will make her a different being as long as she lives.
'The Nature and Origin of general Ideas'.
It is the same substantially in respect to all those abstract and general ideas on moral or other kindred subjects which constitute the mental furnishing of the adult man—and have so great an influence in the formation of his habits of thought and of his character. They are chiefly formed from combinations of the impressions made in childhood. A person's idea of justice, for instance, or of goodness—is a generalization of the various instances of justice or goodness which ever came to his knowledge; and of course, among the materials of this generalization, those instances which were brought to his mind during the impressible years of childhood must have taken a very prominent part. Every story, therefore, which you relate to a child to exemplify the principles of justice or goodness takes its place, or, rather, the impression which it makes takes its place, as one of the elements out of which the ideas that are to govern his future life are formed.
'Vast Importance and Influence of this mental Furnishing'.
The ideas and generalizations thus mainly formed from the images and impressions received in childhood become, in later years, the elements of the machinery, so to speak, by which all his mental operations are performed. Thus they seem to constitute more than the mere furniture of the mind; they form, as it were, almost a part of the structure itself. So true, indeed, is this—and so engrossing a part does what remains in the mind of former impressions play in its subsequent action—that some philosophers have maintained that the whole of the actual consciousness of man consists only in the 'resultant' of all these impressions preserved more or less imperfectly by the memory—and made to mingle together in one infinitely complicated but harmonious whole. Without going to any such extreme as this, we can easily see, on reflection, how vast an influence on the ideas and conceptions, as well as on the principles of action in mature years, must be exerted by the nature and character of the images which the period of infancy and childhood impresses upon the mind. All parents should, therefore, feel that it is not merely the present welfare and happiness of their child which is concerned in their securing to him a tranquil and happy childhood—but that his capacity for enjoyment through life is greatly dependent upon it! They are, in a very important sense, entrusted with the work of building up the structure of his soul for all time! It is incumbent upon them, with reference to the future as well as to the present—to be very careful what materials they allow to go into the work, as well as in what manner they lay them.
Among the other bearings of this thought, it gives great weight to the importance of employing gentle measures in the management and training of the young, provided that such measures can be made effectual in the accomplishment of the end. The pain produced by an act of hasty and angry violence to which a father subjects his son may soon pass away—but the memory of it does not pass away with the pain. Even the remembrance of it may at length fade from the mind—but there is still an 'effect' which does not pass away with the remembrance. Every strong impression which you make upon his perceptive powers, must have a very lasting influence—and even the impression itself may, in some cases, be forever indelible!
Let us, then, take care that these impressions shall be, as far as possible, such as shall be sources of enjoyment for them in future years. It is true that we 'must' govern them. They are committed to our charge during the long time which is required for the gradual unfolding of their youthful powers, for the express purpose that during that interval they may be guided by our reason—and not by their own. We cannot surrender this trust. But there is a way of faithfully fulfilling the duties of it—if we have discernment to see it—and skill to follow it—which will make the years of their childhood years of tranquility and happiness, both to ourselves and to them.
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