“[17th-century] Puritans were the first modern parents. Like many of us, they looked on their treatment of children as a test of their own self-control. Their goal was not to simply to ensure the child's duty to the family, but to help him or her make personal, individual commitments. They were the first authors to state that children must obey God rather than parents, in case of a clear conflict.” FirstsChildrenSelfStatesHelpingIndividualParentGoalCasesClearModernCenturyDutyConflictCommitmentTestsTreatmentSelf ControlPuritan17th Century Author:C. Sommerville
“Character is distilled out of our daily confrontation with temptation, out of our regular response to the call of duty. It is formed as we learn to cherish principles and to submit to self-discipline. Character is the sum total of all the little decisions, the small deeds, the daily reactions to the choices that confront us. Character is not obtained instantly. We have to mold and hammer and forge ourselves into character. It is a distant goal to which there is no shortcut.” LittlesSelfCharacterChoicesGoalDecisionPrinciplesDutyDisciplineResponseDeedsReactionsTemptationCherishSubmitSelf DisciplineHammersMoldConfrontationShortcutsCall Of DutySmall Deeds Author:Sidney Greenberg