MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 225 



and the self respect and dignity that belongs to the 

 well-born. 



History proves that wherever woman has been The Principles 

 elevated and liberated she has transmitted the ele- Transmitted, 

 ments of freedom and self respecting independ- 

 ence to her offspring. Wherever she has been 

 enslaved and subjected to the will of another, she 

 has given birth to slaves, to men who easily be- 

 come the subjects of another's will. One of the 

 greatest factors, if not the greatest, that marks 



the difference between the progress made under P**? ois *? e Bom 

 - ~, ...,.. ,. . of Free Women, 



the Christian religion and under pagan religions 



is the independence and personal liberty that 

 Christianity has brought to women. No republic 

 can survive that enslaves womanhood, and no 

 monarchy can maintain its power to rule over men 

 born of free women. 



The general surroundings in and about the 

 home of the prospective mother should be as beau- 

 tiful and agreeable as possible. Every mother in- influence O f 

 terweaves the impressions made by her sur- Surroundings, 

 roundings into her child. If the home and its ap- 

 purtenances are simple, rough and crude, the child 

 will partake more or less of these conditions. If 

 the mother is surrounded by beauty, art, flowers 

 and music, these elements and their refining in- 

 fluences will become a part of the child's inherit- 

 ance. The ancient Greeks believed so strongly 

 in the potency of prenatal environment, that they 

 not only guarded mothers from whatever was 

 coarse, vicious and cruel, but gave them the kind- 

 est care and surrounded them with beautiful 

 works of art. 



It has long been observed that nearly all Ital- 



