4 Building a Good Life 



play and recreation. Such uniform and character- 

 building discipline tends to preserve the solidarity of 

 the race, and to acquaint all the young with the 

 thoughts and feeling of the great productive classes. 

 It may be this is now regarded as both a direct 

 means of culture and of leading the young mind 

 into an intimate acquaintance with the lives of the 

 masses. Such training is regarded also as one of 

 the best means of preserving our social democracy. 

 Therefore, although on account of inherited wealth 

 the child may apparently be destined for a life of 

 comparative ease, even then there is every justifi- 

 cation for teaching him early how to work as if he 

 must do so to earn his own living. Much more will 

 be said about this point later. 



3. Moral strength. In the construction of a good 

 life, moral strength must be estimated as one of the 

 important foundation stones. But this quality is not 

 so much a gift of nature or an inheritance as it is an 

 acquisition. It cannot be bought or acquired through 

 merely hearing about it, but it must come as a result 

 of a large number of experiences of trial and error. 

 The child acquires moral self-reliance from the prac- 

 tice of overcoming temptation in proportion to his 

 strength, the test being made heavier as fast as his 

 ability to withstand temptation increases. As will 

 be shown later, it proves weakening to the charac- 

 ter of the growing child to keep him entirely free 

 from temptation and the possible contamination of 



