His mental and moral stature has been reached by gradual and almost unnoticed gradations; and such growth, which had its beginning in blank chaos, has been even greater and more marvelous than his physical growth between birth and maturity. Self-flattered, unexperienced, high in hope, When young, with sanguine cheer and streamers gay, We cut our cable, launch into the world And fondly dream each wind and star our friend. --Young’s NIGHT THOUGHTS. CHAPTER V THE BOY’S VIEWPOINT A correct understanding of boy-nature is conditioned on one’s ability to obtain his point of view, which differs widely from that of the adult. It has been stated in a previous chapter that the viewpoints of a boy at six, ten, fourteen, and eighteen years of age differ as widely from each other as those of four adults of remotely differing natures and temperaments. We frequently make the mistake of assuming that the boy is a small edition of a man, possessing faculties, emotions, desires, and understanding the same as in the adult but developed in a lesser degree. On the contrary, his mental and psychological processes differ fundamentally from those of maturity. Boys are not little men and should not be judged by men’s standards. The ignorant peasant who views the masterpieces of the Louvre sees them through dull, uncomprehending eyes. He sees but does not _perceive_, because his appreciation of artistic beauty is limited by a circumscribed capacity. Just so, the boy, circumscribed by the limitations of his mind and soul, views life and its complex manifestations with such capacities as he possesses. If your mental and psychological limits were those of a boy in the hero-worship period, your tastes, desires, judgments, opinions, and actions would conform exactly to that boy-standard. Your standards of ambition and achievement would be purely physical and therefore you would prefer the prize fighter to the scientist. The physical and mental requirements for youth and age are as wide apart as the two poles. As reminiscence characterizes old age, so enjoyment of the present typifies young age. The Bard of Avon has thus compared their physical and mental characteristics: Crabbed age and youth, Cannot live together; Youth is full of pleasure, Age is full of care: Youth like summer morn, Age like winter weather; Youth like summer brave, Age like winter bare; Youth is full of sport, Age’s breath is short; Youth is nimble, age is lame; Youth is hot and bold, Age is weak and cold; Youth is wild and age is tame. Age I do abhor thee; O, my love, my love is young: Age I do defy thee; O sweet shepherd hie thee, For methinks thou stay’st too long.