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Farrar, Frederic William, 1831-1903

"Eric"

I will briefly give you my
own opinion.
"You mean, no doubt, that, from your own experience, you fear that
Vernon will hear at school many things which will shock his modesty, and
much language which is evil and blasphemous; you fear that he will meet
with many bad examples, and learn to look on God and godliness in a way
far different from that to which he has been accustomed at home. You
fear, in short, that he must pass through the same painful temptations
to which you have yourself been subjected; to which, perhaps, you have
even succumbed.
"Well, Eric, this is all true. Yet, knowing this, I say, by all means
let Vernon come to Roslyn. The innocence of mere ignorance is a poor
thing; it _cannot_, under any circumstances, be permanent, nor is it at
all valuable as a foundation of character. The true preparation for
life, the true basis of a manly character, is not to have been ignorant
of evil, but to have known it and avoided it; not to hare been sheltered
from temptation, but to have passed through it and overcome it by God's
help.


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