“Yes; the right of undoing the failures of their own education and doing it for the benefit of beings who are not responsible for their own existence. Can you imagine a greater crime than calling a soul into existence without its own desire and volition, and then making it your slave instead of making yourself its friend?”
“Why, Tom, you’re perfectly dreadful,” exclaimed Mrs. Burton.” One would suppose that parents were a lot of pre-ordained monsters!”
“They’re worse,” said Tom; “they’re unthinking people with a lot of self-satisfaction, and a reputation for correctness of life. Malicious people are easily caught and kept out of mischief by the law. The respectable, unintentional evil-doers are those who make most of the trouble and suffering in the world.”
“And you propose to go through life dying deaths daily for the sake of those children,” said Alice, “rather than make them what you would like them to be?”
“No,” said Tom, “I propose to live a new life daily, and learn what life should be, for the sake of making them what I would like them to be; for I don’t value them so much as conveniences and playthings, as for what they may be to themselves, and to a world that sorely needs good men.”
“And women,” added Mrs. Lawrence. “I do believe you’ve forgotten the baby, you heartless wretch!”
“I accept the amendment,” said Tom, “but the world has already more good women than it begins to appreciate.”
“Bless me! what a quantity of governing that poor sister-baby will get!” said Mrs. Burton. “But, of course, you don’t call it governing; you’ll denominate it self-immolation; you’ll lose your remaining hair, and grow ten years older in the first year of its life.”
“I shouldn’t wonder,” said Tom, with an expression of countenance which banished the smiles occasioned by his sister-in-law’ remark.
“Oh, dear!” exclaimed Mrs. Burton; “is there any more?”