Those who would quell the apparently
lawless tossing of the spirit, called the youthful imagination, would
suppress all that is to grow out of it. They fear the enthusiasm they
never felt; and instead of cherishing this divine thing, instead of
giving it room and air for healthful growth, they would crush and
confine it--with but one result of their victorious endeavours--
imposthume, fever, and corruption. And the disastrous consequences
would soon appear in the intellect likewise which they worship. Kill
that whence spring the crude fancies and wild day-dreams of the young,
and you will never lead them beyond dull facts--dull because their
relations to each other, and the one life that works in them all,
must remain undiscovered. Whoever would have his children avoid this
arid region will do well to allow no teacher to approach them--not
even of mathematics--who has no imagination.
"But although good results may appear in a few from the indulgence of
the imagination, how will it be with the many?"
We answer that the antidote to indulgence is development, not restraint,
and that such is the duty of the wise servant of Him who made the
imagination.
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