When we have created young people freed from fear and inhibitions and rebellious or thwarted instincts, we shall be able to open to them the world of knowledge, freely and completely, without dark hidden corners; and if instruction is wisely given, it will be a joy rather than a task to those who receive it. It is not important to increase the amount of what is learnt above that now usually taught to the children of the professional classes. What is important is the spirit of adventure and liberty, the sense of setting out upon a voyage of discovery. If formal education is given in this spirit, all the more intelligent pupils will supplement it by their own efforts, for which every opportunity should be provided. Knowledge is the liberator from the empire of natural forces and destructive passions; without knowledge, the world of our hopes cannot be built. A generation educated in fearless freedom will have wider and bolder hopes than are possible to us, who still have to struggle with the superstitious fears that lie in wait for us below the level of consciousness. Not we, but the free men and women whom we shall create, must see the new world, first in their hopes, and then at last in the full splendour of reality. The way is clear. Do we love our children enough to take it? Or shall we let them suffer as we have suffered? Shall we let them be twisted and stunted and terrified in youth, to be killed afterwards in futile wars which their intelligence was too cowed to prevent? A thousand ancient fears obstruct the road to happiness and freedom. But love can conquer fear, and if we love our children nothing can make us withhold the great gift which it is in our power to bestow. THE END FOOTNOTES: [1] “The Child: His Nature and His Needs.” Prepared under the editorial supervision of M. V. O’Shea, Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin, 1924. I shall allude to this book as “O’Shea”. [2] Probably many of Dr. Arnold’s pupils suffered from adenoids, for which medical men do not usually prescribe flogging, although they cause habitual idleness. [3] On fear and anxiety in childhood, see _e.g._ William Stern, “Psychology of Early Childhood”, Chap. XXXV. (Henry Holt, 1924). [4] If it be objected that, after all, the world progressed, the reply is that it did not progress nearly as fast as it might have done, or as it will do if children are wisely handled. [5] This is perhaps not strictly accurate. Most children have periods of apparent stagnation, which cause anxiety to inexperienced parents. But probably throughout these periods there is progress in ways that are not easily perceptible. [6] “Studies in Infant Psychology”, _Scientific Monthly_, December, 1921, p. 506. [7] I came to know of these passages from a quotation in Dr. Paul Bousfield’s “Sex and Civilization”, where the same point of view is strongly advocated.