Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Lucy Strange

Quote by Lucy Strange

Work

The Secret of Nightingale Wood

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Lucy Strange

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Lucy Strange. more

You May Also Like

“History is continuous. It flows through us, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. In a society with little history, in the sense of movements, events, inventions struggles and newnesses, when movement seems to be slow, the elderly are respected and useful, the keepers of custom: their children want to be like them. This is a conservative society, often a happy one because it is not fragmented, but it is no fun for the innovators, those with new ideas, In a society where historical events crowd in so fast that people cannot keep up with them - which is what most societies are like at present - the old are comparatively useless and only likely to be respected for certain kinds of success, not for qualities of wisdom. Family continuity is no longer sought after. The one thing children don't want is to be like their parents.”

“A certain mother noticed that her ten year old daughter had a driving desire to take possession of everything – to the extent of using lies to claim something that does not belong to her; and besides that, she noticed that her seven year old son would crush an ant or any other insect cruelly and brutally with his foot – as if he were taking revenge on those weak creatures! To deal with these problems, the mother went to a library and borrowed some stories focusing on generosity and helpfulness, and on kindness to animals. The outcome of this is described by the mother in these words, "The story which left the deepest effect on the children's consciousness was that of 'The Blind Cat', which is about a cat which lost her vision during pregnancy; and when she delivered her kittens she had to face the problem of how to care for them, and how to keep them near her." Then she adds, "More than ten times I told this story to my children; and every time one or more of them wept at hearing it. Then one said, in perfect innocence, 'Mom, why don't you bring this cat to our home, so that we help her care for her kittens?”