THE MORAL SENSE 151 



We are apt to credit the doing of those things to 

 God, the method of doing of which is hidden from 

 our view. Then some day, when we look through 

 a little glass and discover God in the doing of it, 

 our first exclamation is, 0, it was not God, after 

 all, who did it; it was somebody or something 

 else! But this second thought is our blunder. 

 God does it just the same when He puts a parent 

 at the heart of the task, and through them accom- 

 plishes His purpose. May it exalt our view of 

 parenthood when we see that they are vitally con- 

 nected with this problem, and in their absence it 

 is never well done ; nor is it well done when they, 

 careless of their task, do not recognize that they 

 are in the place of God to their child. 



What particular actions are wrong will be de- 

 termined by the commandments from his parents 

 until the time when he may have an understand- 

 ing of the Higher Parent. Then His command- 

 ments will also be regarded as the content of 

 moral conduct.* 



The dawning of this spiritual sense is com- 

 paratively early, though no fixed age can be 

 named that will hold for all children. Some chil- 

 dren have it as early as four years ; others as late 

 as seven; others possibly later. If we should 



* "Poor soul, here for so little, cast among so many hardships, filled with desires 

 so incommensurate, and so inconsistent, savagely surrounded, savagely descended, ir- 

 redeemably condemned to prey upon his fellows' lives; who should have blamed him 

 had he been of a piece with his destiny? To touch the heart of his mystery, we find in 

 him one thought strange to the point of lunacy; the thought of duty; the thought of 

 something owing to himself, to his neighbor, to his God; an ideal of decency to which he 

 would rise, if it were possible; a limit of shame, below which if it were possible he will 

 not stoop." (R. L. Stevenson; "Pulvis et Umbra," quoted by TylerO 



