Day 66 Discipline

Image by Jason Mills,

“The whole group of habitudes, half physical and half moral, on which the propriety and comfort of everyday life depend, are received passively by the child; that is, he does very little to form these habits himself, but his brain receives impressions from what he sees about him; and these impressions take form as his own very strongest and most lasting habits.”

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“Discipline is not Punishment––What is discipline? Look at the word; there is no hint of punishment in it. A disciple is a follower, and discipline is the state of the follower; the learner, imitator.”

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“…the discipline of habit is at least a third part of the great whole which we call education, and here we feel that the physical science of to-day has placed us in advance of the philosopher of fifty years ago. We hold with him entirely as to the importance of great formative ideas in the education of children, but we add to our ideas, habits, and we labour to form habits upon a physical basis. Character is the result not merely of the great ideas which are given to us, but of the habits which we labour to form upon those ideas.”

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“The discipline of habit is never complete until it becomes self-discipline in habits.”
 
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“By ‘education is a discipline,’ we mean the discipline of habits, formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body. Physiologists tell us of the adaptation of brain structures to habitual lines of thought, i.e., to our habits.”

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“…by a course of discipline. There is no other way of forming any good habit, though the discipline is usually that of the internal government which the person exercises upon himself; but a certain strenuousness in the formation of good habits is necessary because every such habit is the result of conflict.”

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“And in general I think we should be very cautious about promising and providing rewards and punishments. Because life rarely has its rewards and punishments; usually sacrifices have no reward and often evil goes unpunished; yet they must love good and hate evil, and it is not possible to give any explanation for this.”
         
                                                   ~ Natalia Ginzburg


Examen: “Distinguish between discipline and punishment.” “How are disciples lured?” “Show that discipline means steady progress on a careful plan.” “Show that discipline must become self-discipline.” Where am I self-disciplined?

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The whole group: Charlotte M. Mason, Home Education, 1:124–25.
Discipline is not: Charlotte M. Mason, Parents and Children, 2:66.
...the discipline of habit: Charlotte M. Mason, School Education, 3:99.
The discipline of: 3:107.
By “education is a discipline,”: Charlotte M. Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education, 6:XXIX.
..by a course: 6:101–2.
And in general: Natalia Ginzburg, Little Virtues, 1st edition (Arcade Publishing, 2013), 105.
How are disciples:  Mason, Parents, 2:295.
Show that discipline must: Mason, School, 3:258.

Day 66 Dicipline meditation/100 days copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025

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