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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



that it fixes the child's attention upon its hurt, and causes it to attain 

 that habit of self-consciousness which is in after-life found to have most 

 pernicious effects. Now, what does the sensible and judicious nurse 

 do ? She distracts the child's attention, holding it up to the window 

 to look at the pretty horses, or gets it a toy to look at. This excites 

 the child's attention, and the child forgets its hurt, and in a few mo- 

 ments is itself again, unless the hurt has been severe. When I speak 

 of coddling, I mean about a trifling hurt such as is forgotten in a few 

 moments; a severe injury is a different matter. But I believe that the 

 coddling is only next in its evil results (when followed out as a sys- 

 tem) to the evil effects of the system of scolding ; the distraction of the 

 attention is the object to be aimed at. Well, after a time the child 

 comes to be able to distract its own attention. It feels that it can 

 withdraw its own mind from the sense of its pain, and can give its 

 mind to some other object, to a picture-book or to some toy, or what- 

 ever the child feels an interest in ; and that is the great secret of self- 

 government in later life. We should not say, " I won't think of this " 

 some temptation, for instance ; that simply fixes the attention upon the 

 very thought that we wish to escape from ; but the true method is, 

 " I will think of something else ; " that, I believe, is the great secret of 

 self-government, the knowledge of which is laid in the earliest periods 

 of nursery-life. 



Now, just direct your attention to this diagram, as a sort of sum- 

 mary of the whole : 



[diagram.] 



-THE WLLL- 



Intellectual Operations 



Emotions 



J-Cebebettm 



centre of emotional and ideo-motor reflection. 



Ideas 



Sensations- 



centre of sensori -motor reflection. 



! 



Motor Impulse 



Impressions- 



}- Spinal Coed 



centre of excito-motor reflection. 



y 



You see I put at the top the Will. The will dominates every thing 

 else. I do not pretend to explain it, but I simply say, as Archbishop 

 Manning said, in applying my own language to this case, that our 

 common-sense teaches us that we have a will, that we have the power 

 of self-government and self-direction, and that we have the power of 



