Among the 'big' virtues, the theological virtue of charity stands out, along with the virtues of justice, and otherness, which are the roots of any formal friendship and of an authentic “pietas”.

The preventive system supposes, firstly, that the educator be a balanced and 'together' type, and therefore sociable, sensitive to the needs of others, to the problems of group living at all levels, local and global. In other words a very much 'relational' person, especially where young people are concerned, and above all with the 'poor and abandoned'. He will be a person of great inner and external self-control, temperate and prudent. Such a person loves practical contact with youth needs and knows how to wisely foster solidarity amongst others who can help, sustain, or who are benefactors. Amorevolezza in its various connotations supposes and demands the contribution of reason, which in turn entails intelligence, willingness to understand, tact and reasonableness. It is practically translated into adapting oneself both to the pressing needs of the young, the needs of the place they come from (also the nation they come from) and the needs of the Church as well, since it is within these worlds that the young learn daily how to be an effective part of them.

Amorevolezza grants to the educator the ability to reawaken in the young their 'reasonable consent'. “Allow yourself to be always guided by reason, not by emotions”, Don Bosco suggested to the one of the assistants.1057

Thanks to the 'system of love', the pupil never grows angry for the correction he has received or for the

punishment he is threatened with or actually given, because there is always a friendly and preventive

warning which goes with it, which ma kes him reason things out and, more often than not, the

correction or punishment succeeds in winning over the pupil's heart. The pupil, treated in this manner,

comes to realise that he needs to be punished and almost wants to be. Had a friendly voice warne d him of his error, the pupil might not have fallen. In conclusion, “in the preventive system ...the pupil becomes a friend, and the assistant a benefactor who advises him, has his good at heart, and wishes to spare him vexation, punishment, and perhaps dishonour”.1058

Educators are able to 'generate' rational human beings, so they will never use their hands (maneschi, was Don Bosco's play on words, here, meaning 'from the Tribe of Manassa' , but in his dialect, manasse also meant 'threats') or develop an overly sentimental attachment to the boys. They will spell out especially, and very clearly what they want from the boys, avoiding complicated setups, and appealing only to what is essential and helpful for the boys' personal and social development.1059

Finally, in a Christian context, the entire system of amorevolezza/loving kindness has charity as its foundation. Charity is spurred on by faith, which is itself a gift and a grace. This is something evident to Don Bosco's awareness as a believer and as a priest, and he acknowledges it very clearly in a letter addressed to the working boys in Valdocco on January10, 1874.

The working boys are the apple of my eye... and so I think I am responding to my heart's

desire by taking delight in writing to you. There is no need for me to tell you that I have

much affection for you. I have given you clear proof of this. There is no need for you to tell

me that you love me, because you have constantly shown it to me. But what is the

foundation of our mutual affection? Is it my purse? Certainly not mine, since I have spent

every penny for you. Certainly not yours because you haven't got any money. Please, I

mean no offence by that! Therefore, my affection for you has as its foundation my desire to

help you save your souls, which were all redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

And you love me, because I try to lead you along the path to eternal salvation. And so, the

1057 MB X, 1023

1058 Il sistema preventivo (1877). p. 48 and 50, OE XXVIII 426 and 428. Any emphasis is ours.

1059 Metodo dell'amore, the preventive system could be equally described as a method of reason and persuasion; cf.

Minimus, 'Metodo della ragione', in Salesianum 9 (1947) 273-277; M Pellerey, Il metodo della ragione, in

«Orientamenti Pedagogici» 35 (1988) 383-396.