The mental, moral and spiritual training of children go hand in hand. We shall speak of them under separate chapters, but the one has a great influence upon the other. It is true, the intellectual faculties may be cultivated to a high degree while the moral powers are unimproved, but the individual is out of harmony with true manhood. The spiritual and moral being may be in a fair state of health and the mental powers very much dwarfed, but still he is not in perfect harmony with manhood as designed by the creative mind. Without a blending of the intellectual, moral and spiritual forces there can be no perfect character in the fullest sense. We do not mean by this that man must be a philosopher or a scientist to be a moral or spiritual man; but we mean for man to be a perfect character in every respect and to glorify God in the whole realm of his being, he must cultivate every talent God has given him. The created mental powers must be improved by right study. In order to know and understand God we must have a sound mind. A sound mind is helpful to the enjoyment of grace, and grace is helpful to the enjoyment of a sound mind; so to enjoy existence necessitates a soundness in every part. It is through the mental powers that we acquaint our children with God: “Faith cometh by hearing.” Parents can not be too careful about the impressions made in the mentality of their children; it may affect their morality and spirituality in the whole of after life. Select such books for them as will develop the mental faculties, something that contains food for the brain. There are certain articles of diet that do not contain sufficient nutrition for the development of the physical body. Children fed upon such diet would become weakly. There is also a certain kind of literature that contains no brain nutriment. Reading such degenerates the mental powers. Stimulants or excitants are hurtful to the physical system. All fictitious, exciting tales are hurtful to the mental system. We are persuaded it were better if the unreal, fairy stories were excluded from our common school readers and supplanted by something real. Select such literature as is pure. Reading that produces pure thought in the child’s mind not only improves his moral state, but furnishes the best mental food.