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314 The Century of the Child
To conclude what I have said against re-
ligious instruction, I will add a statement of
a ten-year-old child, made after three years
struggling with the catechism and biblical his-
tory :
" I do not believe any of this, but I
hope, when men are some day wise enough,
each person may have his own belief, just as
each one has his own face."
This small philosopher in these words hit
unconsciously upon the most serious spiritual
injury done by religious instruction. It
forces on man’s mind a special view of the
world, like a conventional mask on a man’s
face. But freedom and the rights of the
soul’s life can only be secured by its own re-
flections. The soul itself must work out that
assurance of belief in which man can live and
die. For generations the great spiritual dan-
gers of mankind have been caused by looking
backwards to find the ideal and the truth, by
regarding both as once for all given, as ab-
solutely limited.
As soon as a child becomes conscious of
himself he should feel that he is a discoverer
with infinities before him. The king’s son, in
the realm of life, will no longer do menial serv-
ice as a prodigal son in a foreign land. With
the whole power of his will, he can repeat
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