ADOLESCENCE 



59 



ADRIAN 



by reason. This is the impulsive age, and the 

 youth is prone to make moral decisions, which, 

 after more careful consideration, he may regret. 

 Self-hood is strongly assertive, and the youth 

 keenly resents being treated as a child. It is 

 difficult for parents to realize that their chil- 

 dren have grown up, but failure to accept this 

 fact and treat the youth accordingly is the 

 source of many a heartache to fathers and 

 mothers in after years. 



During early adolescence the moral judg- 

 ment of others is severe. From lack of expe- 

 rience the youth has little sympathy and he 

 sees nothing lying between the breaking of 

 a law and the punishment that should follow. 

 He is equally severe in his judgment upon him- 

 self and often sees an impassable gulf yawning 

 between himself and his ideals. Fortunately, 

 however, his courage is good and his ambition 

 unfaltering and he gradually overcomes the 

 seeming obstacles that beset his pathway. A 

 word of encouragement from his parents and 

 teachers now and then is a great incentive* to 

 the youth of tender age. 



Social Instincts. The youth has a strong 

 desire for the companionship of those of his 

 own age, and this desire lies at the foundation 

 of the large number of boys' and girls' organi- 

 ns. The best of these organizations when 

 directed by a person who is in sympathy with 

 their purpose are beneficial. See AUDUBON SO- 

 CIETY; BOY SCOUTS; CAN*? FIRE GIRLS. Unless 

 organizations of this sort are provided, boys 

 especially are liable to form "gangs" whose 

 influence over their members may be anything 

 but beneficial. 



During early adolescence boys' and girls' in- 

 terests are separate, and they work better in 

 separate organizations, but after sixteen they 

 usually enjoy working together along lines in 

 which their tastes are similar. In games, and 

 sports boys prefer those that are more strongly 

 lian girls enjoy. Boys like to play ball, 

 wrestle, swim, hunt and fi>h. Girls prefer 

 in.loor games and outdoor games not requiring 

 severe exertion. 



The Awakening. Youth is the time of high 

 ispirations, and boundless ambi- 

 tion. During this period most of the habits of 

 lit* !><. and vocations are chosen. 



- a time of day-dreaming and castle-buiM- 

 mjr. hut, not withstanding all the difficulties in 

 vay, as surely as day follows day and one 

 coeds another, just so surely will the 

 of awakening mine to every boy and girl. 

 It may come gradually, like the dawn; it may 



appear suddenly, like a burst of sunshine 

 through a rift in the clouds, but come it will. 

 It is the time of regeneration when all things 

 take on a new significance. The view of life 

 broadens ; experiences deepen ; some great ideal 

 is selected, the following of which becomes a 

 life purpose. The dauntless youth takes a far 

 look into the future and sets forth upon life's 

 journey with a zeal and energy that knows no 

 defeat. 



Consult G. Stanley Hall's Y<mth: Its Educa- 

 tional Requirements and Hygiene; Ellis' s Psy- 

 chology of Sex. 



ADONIS, ado' nis, a genus of plants, so 

 named because one species, the pheasant's eye, 

 has bright scarlet petals which legend declares 

 to have been stained by the blood of the beau- 

 tiful youth Adonis (see below). Some of the 

 species, which are native to Europe, have been 

 naturalized in the United States and Southern 

 Canada, where they are cultivated as garden 

 plants. They belong to the same botanical 

 family as the buttercup. 



Adonis, in Greek mythology, was a beautiful 

 youth loved by Venus. This goddess, refusing 

 to be consoled after his death, begged Proser- 

 pina to let him return to the earth from the 

 lower world. The goddess of the lower regions 

 at length consented that the boy should live 

 eight months of each year on earth. This was 

 one of the myths of the seasons, Adonis' 

 months on earth representing the spring, sum- 

 mer and early autumn, his months below the 

 ground the gloomy winter. Another myth re- 

 lating to the seasons is given in the article 

 PROSERPINA. The myth of Adonis is of Phoeni- 

 cian origin. 



ADOPTION, adop' shun, in law, is the legal 

 act of taking into the family a child, upon 

 whom are conferred all the privileges belong- 

 ing to a child born in wedlock. All of the 

 American states and Canadian provinces have 

 statutes governing the adoption of children, as 

 have also most of the countries of Europe. 

 An adoption is not legal in the sense of con- 

 ferring upon the adopted person rights of in- 

 heritance unless these statutes have been 

 strictly complied with. 



ADRIAN, a' drian, a name borne by six 

 popes, the most noteworthy of whom were 

 Adrian IV and Adrian VI. 



Adrian IV, pope from 1164 to 1159, was an 

 Englishman tin- only man of .that nationality 

 who ever occupied the Papal chair. His name 

 originally was NICHOLAS BRAK8PERE, and he was 

 born about 1100. When but a boy ho entered 



