370 THE ASCENT OF MAN 



between the flickering flame and death ; and for 

 years to come, until the budding intellect could 

 take its own command, this Love dare not grow 

 .cold, or pause an hour in its unselfish ministry. 



Begin at the beginning again and recall the 

 fact of woman's passive strain. A tendency to 

 passivity means, among other things, a capacity 

 to sit still. Be it but for a minute or an hour 

 does not matter ; the point is that the faintest 

 possible capacity is there. For this is the embryo 

 of Patience, and if much and long nursed a fully 

 fledged Patience will come out of it. Supply next 

 to this new virtue some definite object on which 

 to practise, let us say a child. When this child 

 is in trouble the Mother will observe the signs of 

 pain. Its cry will awaken associations, and in 

 some dull sense the Mother will feel with it. But 

 " feeling with another " is the literal translation 

 of the name of a second virtue — Sympathy. 

 From feeling with it, the parent will sooner or 

 later be led to do something to help it ; then 

 it will do more things to help it ; finally it will 

 be always helping it. Now, to care for things 

 is to become Careful ; to tend things is to become 

 Tender. Here are four virtues — Patience, Sym- 

 pathy, Carefulness, Tenderness — already dawning 

 upon mankind 



