arrogant, distant or spiteful demeanor toward his students”.388 The teacher is given some significant warnings in reference to self-restraint,(reserve, self-control), as far as his behavior toward his young students is concerned. “He scrupulously shuns friendship, dangerous familiarity with them. Self- restraint forbids touching their face, caressing them, laughing with them, and receiving a hug from them. The teacher should often remember that among the children there may be some so full of malice that they might give a malicious interpretation to some words and actions which only a malicious and already corrupt heart detects as having the appearance of evil, even though in fact they are not so”.389 Meekness is a typical theme, namely the theme of gentleness390 and even St. Francis de Sales is quoted accurately. Meekness is a virtue which inspires and produces “goodness, sensitivity, tenderness”. Br. Agathon writes:
It is a general principle that love is gained through love. A teacher therefore, first of all and most of all should have a father’s feeling for them and always think of himself as someone who takes the place of those who have entrusted them to him; namely, he should have heartfelt goodness and tenderness like their very fathers for them. Now these qualities will be inspired by his gentleness and gentleness in turn will provide for them the affection, sensitivity and kindness, the very same obliging and persuasive manners. Gentleness removes whatever seems harsh and painful from authority and smooths out all
difficulties”.391
The problem of how to reconcile authority and freedom is practically solved by having recourse to gentleness:
This authority does not depend on age, height, stature, tone of voice, threats, but on the
character which displays and features a steady spirit always firm, moderate, and with
reason as its guide. A spirit which does not act on whim or impulse The same result can be
obtained by blending gentleness with firmness and love with fear. Love must win over the
hearts of children without making them effeminate, and fear must control them without
frightening them off”.392
In the middle of the 19th century, Br. Theoger wrote a short work in which he added to the twelve virtues. He added constancy, firmness, and good example.393 The usual pointers are brought up and they all focus on charity: love, gentleness, benevolence, fatherliness, besides prevention and vigilance, which entail order, discipline and firmness. “Firmness in itself is nothing but the power and constancy used to oppose what is evil, to forestall and repress disorders. A teacher cannot operate without it. And the reason for this is that children are naturally inclined towards evil and it is quite appropriate to instill a reverential fear in them which may control them, without irritating them. “However, the teacher should be concerned about not having a wrong idea of firmness”.
“Firmness is not rigor or harshness or inflexibility, but a spiritual strength of reason in order to have children walk steadily on the path of what is good”. “Since its main objective is to incline the students to keep far away from what is evil out of fear, firmness cannot be truly useful if it is not accompanied by gentleness, which alone cannot succeed in aving the students want what is good, out of love”.394
388 Ibid.,14-17
389 Ibid., 35.
390 The longest chapter in this brief work is dedicated to it.
391 Fr.Agatone, Le dodici virtù, 38-39.
392 Ibid., 38.
393 Cf. Virtù e doveri di un buon maestro. Short work published with Brother Vittorio Théoger of the Christian Schools as
editor, (Turin: G.B. Paravia and l’Unione Tipografica-editrice, 1836), 64 pages.
394 Ibid., 42-43; for love of the teacher of love of good?