2. PHILOPROGENITIVENESS.
| No. 47. Large. | No. 48. Small. |
Parental love; attachment to one’s own offspring; love of children, pets, and animals generally, especially those young or small; adapted to that infantile condition in which man enters the world, and to children’s need of parental care and education. This faculty renders children the richest treasure of their parents; casts into the shade all the toil and expense they cause, and lacerates them with bitter pangs when death or distance tears them asunder. It is much larger in woman than in man; and nature requires mothers to take the principal care of infants. Perverted, it spoils children by excessive fondness, pampering, and humoring.
Large.—Loves its own children devotedly; values them above all price; cheerfully endures toil and watching for their sake; forbears with their faults; wins their love; delights to play with them, and cheerfully sacrifices to promote their interests; with Continuity large, mourns long and incessantly over their loss; with Combativeness, Destructiveness, and Self-Esteem large, is kind, yet insists on being obeyed; with Self-Esteem and Destructiveness moderate, is familiar with, and liable to be ruled by them; with Firmness only average, fails to manage them with a steady hand; with Cautiousness large, suffers extreme anxiety if they are sick or in danger; with large moral and intellectual organs, and less Combativeness and Destructiveness, governs them more by moral suasion than physical force—by reason than fear—is neither too strict nor over-indulgent; with Approbativeness large, values their moral character as of the utmost importance; with Veneration and Conscientiousness large, is particularly interested in their moral improvement; with large excitability, Combativeness, and Destructiveness, and only average Firmness, will be, by turns, too indulgent, and over-provoked—will pet them one minute, and punish them the next; with larger Approbativeness and Ideality than intellect, will educate them more for show than usefulness—more fashionably than substantially—and dress them off in the extreme of fashion; with a large and active brain, large moral and intellectual faculties, and Firmness, and only full Combativeness, Destructiveness, and Self-Esteem, is well calculated to teach and manage the young. It renders farmers fond of stock, dogs, etc., and women fond of birds, lap-dogs, etc.; girls fond of dolls, and boys of being among horses and cattle; and creates a general interest in young and small animals: p. 62.
Very Large.—Experiences the feeling above described with still greater intensity and power; almost idolizes its children, grieves immeasurably at their loss, and, with large Continuity, refuses to be comforted; with very large Benevolence and only moderate Destructiveness, cannot bear to see them punished, and, with only moderate Causality, is liable to spoil them by over-indulgence; with large Approbativeness added, indulges parental vanity and conceit; with large Cautiousness and disordered nerves, is always cautioning them, and indulges a world of groundless apprehensions about them with Acquisitiveness moderate, makes them many presents, and lavishes money upon them, but with large Acquisitiveness lays up fortunes for them; with large moral and intellectual organs, is indulgent, yet loves them too well to spoil them, and does his utmost to cultivate their higher faculties, etc.,: p. 63.
Full.—Loves its children well, yet not passionately—does much for them, yet not more than is necessary—and with large Combativeness, Destructiveness, and Self-esteem, is too severe, and makes but little allowance for their faults; but with Benevolence, Adhesiveness, and Conscientiousness large, does and sacrifices much, to supply their wants and render them happy. Its character, however, will be mainly determined by its combinations: p. 63.
Average.—Loves its own children tolerably well, yet cares but little for those of others; with large Adhesiveness and Benevolence, likes them better as they grow older, yet does and cares little for infants—is not duly tender to them, or forbearing toward their faults, and should cultivate parental fondness, especially if Combativeness, Destructiveness, and Self-Esteem are large, and conscience only moderate: p. 61.
Moderate.—Is not fond enough of children; cannot bear much from them; fails to please or take good care of them, particularly of infants; cannot endure to hear them cry, or make a noise, or disturb his things; and with an excitable temperament, and large Combativeness, is liable to punish them for trifling offences, find much fault with them, and be sometimes cruel; yet, with Benevolence and Adhesiveness large, may do what is necessary for their comfort: p. 64.
Small.—Cares little for its own children, and still less for those of others; and with Combativeness and Destructiveness large, is liable to treat them unkindly and harshly, and is utterly unqualified to have charge of them: p. 64.
Very Small.—Has little or no perceptible parental love, or regard for children, but conducts toward them as the other faculties dictate: p. 64.