Book III - Age 12 to Age 15

The whole course of man's life up to adolescence is a period of
weakness; yet there comes a time during these early years when the
child's strength overtakes the demands upon it, when the growing
creature, though absolutely weak, is relatively strong. His needs
are not fully developed and his present strength is more than enough
for them. He would be a very feeble man, but he is a strong child.

What is the cause of man's weakness? It is to be found in
the disproportion between his strength and his desires. It is our
passions that make us weak, for our natural strength is not enough
for their satisfaction. To limit our desires comes to the same
thing, therefore, as to increase our strength. When we can do more
than we want, we have strength enough and to spare, we are really
strong. This is the third stage of childhood, the stage with which
I am about to deal. I still speak of childhood for want of a better
word; for our scholar is approaching adolescence, though he has
not yet reached the age of puberty.

About twelve or thirteen the child's strength increases far more
rapidly than his needs. The strongest and fiercest of the passions
is still unknown, his physical development is still imperfect and
seems to await the call of the will. He is scarcely aware of extremes
of heat and cold and braves them with impunity. He needs no coat,
his blood is warm; no spices, hunger is his sauce, no food comes
amiss at this age; if he is sleepy he stretches himself on the
ground and goes to sleep; he finds all he needs within his reach;
he is not tormented by any imaginary wants; he cares nothing what
others think; his desires are not beyond his grasp; not only is
he self-sufficing, but for the first and last time in his life he
has more strength than he needs.

I know beforehand what you will say. You will not assert that the
child has more needs than I attribute to him, but you will deny
his strength. You forget that I am speaking of my own pupil, not
of those puppets who walk with difficulty from one room to another,
who toil indoors and carry bundles of paper. Manly strength, you say,
appears only with manhood; the vital spirits, distilled in their
proper vessels and spreading through the whole body, can alone make
the muscles firm, sensitive, tense, and springy, can alone cause
real strength. This is the philosophy of the study; I appeal to
that of experience. In the country districts, I see big lads hoeing,
digging, guiding the plough, filling the wine-cask, driving the
cart, like their fathers; you would take them for grown men if
their voices did not betray them. Even in our towns, iron-workers',
tool makers', and blacksmiths' lads are almost as strong as their
masters and would be scarcely