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Page 37
Culture, on the other hand, is something which a responsible being seeks
for himself, to the end that his power may be increased and his
faculties have harmonious development.
The soul grows according to its innate tendencies; it is also subject
to attractions from without. All souls are bound together; and all,
whether they wish or not, vitally and permanently affect those by whom
they are surrounded. Hence nurture and culture alike are both conscious
and unconscious.
The growth of the soul is largely affected by the nurture which it
receives. This is usually provided for it by parents, or by those who
take the places of the parents; and, where possible, their unwearying
efforts should be to remove all obstacles from the pathway of their
children, to surround them with a pure and helpful environment, and to
provide them with such training as will make their progress inevitable
and easy. The importance of wholesome domestic influences cannot be
exaggerated. Their part in the formation of character is greater than
that of all others, because they touch the powers and faculties of the
child during those years in which it is most plastic. Neither the
school nor the university can ever entirely counteract the effect of the
home. The whole period of childhood is one in which the soul is under
tutelage, and in which more is done for it by others than by itself. It
can no more select its own environment than it could have chosen its
parents, or the time and place of its birth. For a few years it is
utterly dependent. The question as to how its growth may most wisely be
promoted is, therefore, one of surpassing importance.
The object of nurture is to provide an unhindered path along which the
soul may move, to bring into full and free exercise all the powers which
it possesses, and to secure for them development and harmony. To insure
for each individual soul in the struggle of life a fair opportunity to
be itself is the end of nurture. Emerson has said that at birth every
child is loaded with bias, and that the purpose of culture is to remove
all impediment and bias, and to secure a balance among the faculties so
as to leave nothing but pure power. The same may be said as to the
object of nurture. Since impediment and bias are never a part of the
essence of the soul, the statement that the aim of nurture is to furnish
a full and free opportunity for each individual to secure a normal
development is, practically, identical with what Emerson has said of
culture.
What are the agencies which have most to do with promoting the ascent of
the soul? The first is atmosphere. In a bright, clear, sunshiny
atmosphere the body attains its most healthful growth. So with the soul.
Atmosphere is one of those intangible things that every one understands
and no one can easily define. It is composed of a thousand different
elements. The atmosphere of a household is the spirit by which it is
pervaded. Are all reverent, earnest, cheerful, optimistic? Do love and
mutual helpfulness prevail? Do the members of the family live as if God
were a near and blessed reality, and right and duty were more sacred
than life? Then there will be an atmosphere of hopefulness, devotion,
service, reverence, pure religion, which will affect all as sunlight and
air, unconsciously but evidently, grow into the beauty and fruitfulness
of meadows and gardens. The rare spirituality, the urbane manner, the
exquisite regard for others, the dignity and deference which are found
in some persons have no explanation except that they have been absorbed
from the households in which their early lives were passed. Nurture is
chiefly a matter of mental and spiritual atmosphere. Attraction is
always stronger than compulsion. A child born into conditions in which
love prevails, where truth, duty, honor, are reverenced, and where all
dwelling together seek the highest things, will need neither instruction
in morals nor motives in religion. It will naturally turn toward truth
and righteousness. It will revere virtue and worship God as inevitably
and spontaneously as it breathes. We are all influenced more by the
words which we hear and the examples which we see than by the lessons
given us to learn, by the spirit of a man, or an institution, rather
than by rules. Persons show the conditions in which they have been
reared by their choice of words, their bearing, the subjects of their
conversation, by their mental and spiritual attitude. Reverence is
seldom found except in an atmosphere of reverence, and sincerity grows
among those who are sincere. It is a moral necessity that some men
should be earnest and enthusiastic, and impossible for their neighbors
to be other than cringing and mean. The largest element in environment
is atmosphere, and in the development of character environment is quite
as potent as heredity. Indeed, in the sphere of the spirit, as in that
of the body, heredity is always modified by environment. The chief
factor in nurture, therefore, is atmosphere. If that is healthful,
growth will be toward beauty and strength; if that is malarial, no
antiseptic force but the grace of God will be able to counteract its
influence.
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