

Plato, in his Republic, which is considered so stern, teaches the children only through festivals, games, songs, and amusements. What! is it nothing to be happy, nothing to run and jump all day? He will never be so busy again all his life long. You are afraid to see him spending his early years doing nothing. You fail to perceive that it is a greater waste of time to use it ill than to do nothing, and that a child ill taught is further from virtue than a child who has learnt nothing at all. You assert that you know the value of time and are afraid to waste it. Give nature time to work before you take over her business, lest you interfere with her dealings. Leave exceptional cases to show themselves, let their qualities be tested and confirmed, before special methods are adopted. “Hold childhood in reverence, and do not be in any hurry to judge it for good or ill.
