Day 59 Deputed Authority

Elizabeth Shippen Green, Harper's Magazine illustration, Dec. 1907

(see also Art of Standing Aside, Authority)

​
“The Rule of Parents cannot be Deputed––Now, the first thing we ask for in a ruler is, 'Is he able to rule? Does he know how to maintain his authority?' A ruler who fails to govern is like an unjust judge, an impious priest, an ignorant teacher; that is, he fails in the essential attribute of his office. This is even more true in the family than in the State; the king may rule by deputy; but, here we see the exigeant nature of the parent's functions; he can have no deputy. Helpers he may have, but the moment he makes over his functions and authority to another, the rights of parenthood belong to that other, and not to him”

                                                   *

“For it is indeed true that none of us has a right to exercise authority, in things great or small, except as we are, and acknowledge ourselves to be, deputed by the one supreme and ultimate Authority.”
 
                                                   *

“In proportion as we keep ourselves fully alive to our tendency in this matter of authority may we trust ourselves to administer the law to creatures so tender in body and soul as are the little children. We shall remember that a word may wound, that a look may strike as a blow. It may indeed be necessary to wound in order to heal, but we shall examine ourselves well before we use the knife. There will be no hasty dealing out of reproof and punishment, reward and praise, according to the manner of mood we are in. We shall not only be aware that our own authority is deputed, and to be used with the meekness of wisdom; but we shall be very careful indeed in our choice of the persons in whose charge we place our children. It is not enough that they be good Christian people. We all know good Christian persons of an arbitrary turn who venture to wield that rod of iron which is safe in the hands of One alone. Let them be good Christian persons of culture and self-knowledge; not the morbid self-knowledge that comes of introspection, but that wider, humbler cognisance of self that comes of a study of the guiding principles and springs of action common to us all as human beings, and which brings with it the certainty that––‘I am just such an one as the rest, and might even be as the worst, were it not for the grace of God and careful walking.’”

                                                    *

 “Every king and commander, every mother, elder sister, school prefect, every foreman of works and captain of games, finds that within himself which secures faithful obedience, not for the sake of his merits but because authority is proper to his office. Without this principle, society would cease to cohere.”

  
 
Examen: Is there someone greater than I in the universe?  What does this mean for my role in the classroom?  How is this part of the "art of standing aside?"

~~~~~~~
​
The Rule of Parents: Charlotte M. Mason, Parents and Children, 2:10–11.
For it is indeed: Charlotte M. Mason, School Education, 3:7.
In proportion as: Charlotte M. Mason,  Formation of Character, 5:73.
Every king and commander: Charlotte M. Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education, 6:69.


Day 59 Deputed Authority meditation/100 Days  copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025