The New Zealand Tablet WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1925. HOME LIFE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 1, 7 January 1925, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1925. HOME LIFE.

HOSE .who remember their Dickens will recall how ” Mrs Jollyby” spent her days and nights in. writing hundreds of letters.to.public bodies and wealthy individuals, requesting funds to educate the natives of • Borrioboola-Glva, while her own children roamed-the streets in rags and dirt, and her own home, by reason of her neglect of hexduties as a wife and mother, was a dismal den of apathy and disorder. And the readerwill remember also how ” Mrs Pardigglo,” a - fierce, uncompromising social worker, contrived to devote her own life, and those of her five infants to such projects as Civilising the Tockahoopo Indians, "the Great National Smith ers Testimonial, the Superannuated Widows, and the Infant Bonds of Joy; in addition to all of which this estimable lady occupied her spare time with the duties of School Lady, Visiting Lady, Reading Lady, Distributing Lady, Linen Box Committee Lady, and General Committee Lady. w Unfortunately, “Mrs . Jellyby ” and “Mrs Pardiggle ” are not confined to the pages of a novel. They walk abroad in real streets, neglect, real homes and real children, and make Teal pests of themselves to society at large. Neither arc their particular sins to be attributed Solely to members of the fair sex for. the world contains a vast number. of people of both sexes who, in order to dance in the dazzling glare of the spot light, throw themselves into: public activities, and neglect .the stringent obligations to their families which Heaven, has thrust' upon them. A public spirit is highly commendable when it does- not; interfere with home duties; but when our fervor for; public projects bids us ■shirk our domestic duties it becomes for us a thing of evil cloaked in the mantle of sham benevolence. -V' •' ; : > i ■' :

The world is never at a loss for a weapon with which to attack -the home,; and ? it would indeed be difficult to find in the negative order a more insidious means of making parents neglectful of home than by mounting their vanity and love of display upon the pretence of promoting some public good. i And it sometimes happens that these misguided people spend much time and substance in forming associations to mitigate the evils which were caused in' the first place by their own : neglect of the responsibilities they assumed when they comemnced to found their families. Father Cashin, for many years chaplain at Sing Sing prison, recently told the plain truth to some of these well-meaning folk who had deceived themselves into the ' belief that aggressive public philantrophy could cover domestic neglect. He was invited by the wife of a prominent banker"' to meet some other people whose intention it was .to " lend a helping hand to convicts. "I had," he said, what seemed to be . .. . . a brutal message for the : woman. I had seen, her hastily dismiss her children who had come into the room to talk with her. She had impatiently sent them to the moving pictures with a governess, saying that she had to discuss important matters with me. I told her that she should give her personal attention to those children and not disturb herself about other people's erring offspring. I made it plain that 70 or 80 per cent, of the criminals had come from unsympathetic homes, and that there was no greater preventative for wrongdoing than a great desire on the part of parents to understand their children, to pay attention to them, and become their confidants. Social work, like charity, should begin at home, I told her. Her husband vigorously applauded my sentiments, and told me later that she had been., so shocked ancl unnerved by what I said in the presence of her pleasant callers that she had taken; to bed for three weeks, but he said he didn't mind, and the ■' way he shook my hand convinced me that he felt I had rendered his family a service. Whenever I speak to people about my work at Sing Sing I stress the need for more amicable relationship in the home. It is not surprising that children, after they get old enough to select their own friends, do little more! than eat and sleep at home. If they get in some minor scrapes they know they can not get sympathy at home. They go where they will get a comforting pat on the v back and where they will not be nagged by the hour. It is, perhaps, a far cry from answering the endless questions of a child to the clanging of the big gates„.of Sing' Sing. : And yet I have seen how closely the two are related. Only seldom do we get boys from homes where there was understanding. I do"" not refer to-wealthy homes. Even the poorest parent can give what the'richer one often neglects to provide whole-hearted effort ' to make .the boy feel that his parents are his best friends. -. 7 ." . .'■ ' ;■ - jm . * ' '■__,.." '•■■' ■■ '"''' '• '■ ,; ''' Father Vincent McNab,- 0.P., in a , pungent , article in the Catholic Times, tells how he saw wealthy, women consigning their- babies <i,

, to the arms"? of a nurse while, they themselves fondled a pug dog. First of all, he says, we ought to’ be dhakful that the child was not where the dog wason his mother’s icy ! bosom. A nurse’s embrace was not the best thing for poor, forlorn little Dives; but it was infinitely better than the dog shelter. There are some who affect to believe that the pressing family evils of. the day can be removedj by such external remedies as better housing and better economic conditions for the masses olthe people; but as the want of these things 1 is in large measure due to lack of religion in the industrial and commercial 'worlds, they arc not so much the causes of evil as the® effects of evil. In any case they do not apply to the people we are discussing at the moment, as the latter are usually in easy circumstances; and the fact that affluence has not induced'® them to recognise their duties as parents makes us rather sceptical of the idea that V? morals will grow from loaves and fishes supplied in sufficient abundance or from brick H and mortar ' tastefully arranged. What- is x needed is a better understanding of the serious nature of the responsibilities resting on par- ! i cuts. As Bishop Gordon says, great vigilence, wonderful patience, unflagging industry on® the part of parents is required if the children arc to, grow up in virtue. To be a father or % a mother is no easy task.. The one one duty they have to look to, is the weSre of their child. This obligation overshadows” every other. Even their own salvation depends in a very great measure on their labor ing for the salvation of their children. ■

PIUS XI AND LATIN LITERATURE! i Nowadays the patrons of classical studies % are in many countries looked upon as imprac- '. tical and as idealists. They are reminded by | people with strong commercial instincts that'" the attention of youth should be directed/to 1 physical science in the hope of discovering cheaper methods of producing mark-able ar- •' ticles. It is asserted that the ancient cosies should, therefore, be banished from universities and high' schools. ._ - —~ : The lovers of Latin studies will derive much comfort > from; .' the action -of his Holiness in establishing a special school of Latinity" in -'■' the Eternal City. In the document just issued by Pius XI, he alludes to the cifltured || writings of the poets and orators of ancient Rome, as well as to the mastery of Latin acquired by many of the Fathers of the Church. The great orators of modern times, Bossuet and Segneri, a*e referred to as attributing their success to their deep study of Cicero.'s 1 eloquent speeches. The Popes have never ceased to promote the study of the Latin tongue, the Holy Father instancing the notable example of Leo XIII, who was himself; a? most cultured writer of Latin and was an ardent promoter of lucid, ornate writing amongst the secular and regular clergy. Pi has al-S : ready ; iu two epistles urged the priests of the world to cultivate the study of Latin writing! i lb In his recent .propria, his Holiness': states the practical steps he has-taken. First; 3 a special; school for the higher: study of Latin '

will he opened at the Gregorian University, and -will he placed under the supervision of. the Society of Jesus, Secondly, the "best -teachers " are to he procured, under whose ■direction the pupils will acquire a facility of writing forcibly and clearly. Thirdly, after a [two, years’ course, a diploma will he granted to proficient students, and will be taken into account when positions are vacant on the staff of Roman congregations, Episcopal curias, and the like. In the fourth place, a gold medal will he awarded eacH year to the most sue- .

cessful student; and, fifthly, the school will be open to laymen as well as clerical students, It is the Holy Father’s wish that bishops throughout the world should endeavour to offer this advanced course to seminarists or priests who show a special aptitude for Latin, literature. The well-informed of every nation and creed, -aware that the Catholic Church preserved learning from decay and total destruction in ages past, will -welcome with acclamation this action of the learned Pontiff who now occupies the Chair of Peter.

The Charm of Rome X "-. '--: Byron whose centenary - the world of ; . letters commemorates this year, in a moment of genius sang: - : --.•.■ - '..::•■'. r 0 Rome, my country! city of the soul; ■{ The orphans of the heart must turn to thee. No man who ever lived long in the Eternal City escaped the spell which she casts over her children. We come to her from afar and she adopts us. She gives us her love and she wins ours. All the world and all the charm of" the world is in her. She is a universe in herself: V Bine Welt gar hist du, 0 Boml :