Strengthening the Will

My mom has written recently of being nudged by noble ideas in literature.  Last night I sat in my rocking chair after tucking Benjamin into bed.  While waiting for him to drift to sleep and while I read a chapter of Little Men, a swirl of words wrapped around my mind, urging me to go back and re-read.  What a thought to ponder and what a high standard to set for ourselves in training our little ones:

Being early taught the secret of self-control, he was not left at the mercy of appetities and passions, as some poor little mortals are, and then punished for yielding to the temptations against which they have no armor.