A true mother will never say this: “You cannot keep yourself from the desire to give them sweets, toys, to take them to the circus?”
But surely you don't give them poisonous berries to eat, you do not let them go out alone in a boat, you do not take them to a café chantant? Why then can you restrain yourselves in this case and not in that? Because you do not tell the truth. You say that you love the children so much that you fear for their life, you are so afraid of hunger, and cold, and that is why you appreciate so much the security, which your husband's position provides for you, though you consider it unlawful.
You are so afraid of future eventualities, calamities for your children which are very distant and doubtful,—and you therefore encourage your husband to do things unjustifiable in your opinion; but what are you doing now to secure your children in their present conditions of life from the unfortunate eventualities of the present life?
Do you spend much of your time during the day with your children? You do well if you spend one-tenth of the day!
The remaining time they are under the care of strangers, hired people, often taken from the street, or they are in institutions, open to the dangers of moral and physical infection.
Your children eat, they are nourished. Who cooks their dinner and what from? Mostly you know nothing about it. Who instills moral principles into them? Neither do you know that!
Then do not say, that you are suffering evil for the good of your children—it is not true. You do evil because you like it.
A true mother, the one who in bearing and bringing up children sees her self-sacrificing vocation of life and the fulfilment of God's will—will not say it.
She will not say it, because she knows it is not her business to make of her children what she herself or current opinions require. She knows that children, i.e., the following generations,—are the greatest and most sacred thing which is given to men to behold in reality: and, to serve with all her being, this sacred cause is her life.
She knows herself,—being constantly between life and death and ever rearing the feebly flickering life,—that life and death are not her business, her business is to serve life, and she will not therefore search for distant paths of this service but will only endeavour not to avoid the near one.