these matters can not be conceded until after the mind has attained a
certain maturity. And as a matter of fact every good child agrees with
the teacher unhesitatingly when he says, It is wrong to lie. There is an
answering echo in its heart which confirms the teacher's words. But
what, then, is it my business as a moral teacher to do? In the first
place, to deepen the impression of the wrongfulness of lying, and the
sacredness of truth, by the spirit in which I approach the subject. My
first business is to convey the spirit of moral reverence to my pupils.
In the next place, I ought to quicken the pupil's perceptions of what is
right and wrong, in the case supposed, of what is truth and what is
falsehood. Accordingly, I should analyze the different species of lies,
with a view of putting the pupils on their guard against the spirit of
falsehood, however it may disguise itself. I should try to make my
pupils see that, whenever they intentionally convey a false impression,
they are guilty of falsehood. I should try to make their minds
intelligent and their consciences sensitive in the matter of
truth-telling, so that they may avoid those numerous ambiguities of
which children are so fond, and which are practiced even by adults. I
should endeavor to tonic their moral nature with respect to
truthfulness. In the next place, I should point out to them the most
frequent motives which lead to lying, so that, by being warned against
the causes, they may the more readily escape the evil consequences. For
example, cowardice is one cause of lying. By making the pupil ashamed of
cowardice, we can often cure him of the tendency to falsehood. A
redundant imagination is another cause of lying, envy is another cause,
selfishness in all its forms is a principal cause, etc. I should say to
the moral teacher: Direct the pupil's attention to the various dangerous
tendencies in his nature, which tempt him into the ways of falsehood.
Furthermore, explain to your pupils the consequences of falsehood: the
loss of the confidence of our fellow-men, which is the immediate and
palpable result of being detected in a lie; the injuries inflicted on
others; the loosening of the bonds of mutual trust in society at large;
the loss of self-respect on the part of the liar; the fatal necessity of
multiplying lies, of inventing new falsehoods to make good the first,
etc. A vast amount of good, I am persuaded, can be done in this way by
stimulating the moral nature, by enabling the scholar to detect the
finer shades of right and wrong, helping him to trace temptation to its
source, and erecting in his mind barriers against evil-doing, founded on
a realizing sense of its consequences.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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