THE HOME THE SOCIAL CENTER
The home is the center of social and national character and from that source issues the habits, principles and maxims that govern public as well as private life. Examples of conduct even in apparently trivial matters are of great importance, inasmuch as they are to become interwoven with the lives of others and contribute to the formation of the character for better or for worse.
We have first certain implanted principles of involuntary action. They are the appetites which are tendencies toward things for bodily life and continuance; the desires which are tendencies toward things necessary for mental life and development, and the affections which are tendencies toward social life and welfare.
The appetites are cravings produced by recurring wants and needs necessary to the body and are seven in number: hunger, thirst, sex, sleep, rest, exercise and air—all of which are necessary for our animal existence. The appetites play a strong part even in our social and moral life, and they may be lifted up to a higher plane of moral action or they may be drawn down to a mere brute impulse. Every gift of the body and soul can be moralized for good.
APPETITE AS A FACTOR IN CHARACTER
The higher moral attainment rests in and arises out of the physical nature. The intellect and the moral structure can be no greater than the foundation will allow. The appetites are attended by an uneasy sensation which incites action. There is no moral quality in the appetites themselves, as can be seen in the brute, but in man with his higher gifts they become important factors of his moral character. They not only impel him to action, but bring him into relationship with the material world and with his fellowmen.
The pleasures accompanying the appetite are legitimate and useful in their proper indulgence, and are necessary to life and existence. The child, naturally born, will soon display the uneasiness naturally attendant upon the appetites and it is the duty of the mothers to supply the needs in a careful, intelligent manner. A child may be so bodily impoverished that he will become a moral degenerate, so we would impress the greatest importance upon the bodily care of the child.
STORY OF THE TWO BROTHERS
The case is recalled of a young mother who had two sons, the younger of whom was a healthy, rosy little lad, while the elder was thin and delicate. The healthy boy ate heartily of all that was served him, while the delicate boy only ate choice bits of food and constantly indulged in sweets. The mother praised the healthy boy and showed her disappointment that the elder was not like his brother. Suddenly the family noticed the thin boy was getting stouter and they all told him how pleased they were, and the mother was beginning to feel very happy when to her dismay she discovered that he had padded himself. Her heart was touched with pity when she thought of the pathos in his little mind that prompted him to resort to such measures. The boy was acting a falsehood in order to meet his mother’s approval. This may have all been prevented had the mother sought to ascertain the cause of the poor appetite and supplied the remedy. Had she taken the time to explain to him food values and the necessity of fresh air and exercise, seeing that he availed himself of them, this desire to deceive would probably never have arisen.
The appetite of sex bears the same relation to the continuance of the species as the other appetites bear to the well-being of the body. The family based first on natural love is essential to the existence and development of man. Afterward paternal and maternal love are added and then come all the wider affections toward mankind.