"Who is there that has never, more or less consciously, noticed that our whole education is calculated to produce feelings in us, i.e. impart them to us, instead of leaving their production to ourselves however they may turn out? If we hear the name of God, we are to feel veneration; if we hear that of the prince’s majesty, it is to be received with reverence, deference, submission; if we hear that of morality, we are to think that we hear something inviolable; if we hear of the Evil One or evil ones, we are to shudder; etc. The intention is directed to these feelings, and he who e. g. should hear with pleasure the deeds of the “bad “ would have to be “taught what’s what” with the rod of discipline. Thus stuffed with imparted feelings, we appear before the bar of majority and are “pronounced of age.” Our equipment consists of “elevating feelings, lofty thoughts, inspiring maxims, eternal principles,” etc. The young are of age when they twitter like the old; they are driven through school to learn the old song, and, when they have this by heart, they are declared of age."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Max Stirner, The Ego and Its Own, edited by David Leopold (Cambridge: 1995), pp. 61-62
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Coming_of_age
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Coming of age
15 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Coming of age →
Related Quotes
"Maturity consists in having rediscovered the seriousness one had as a child at play."
"Everyone who achieves strives for totality, and the value of his achievement lies in that totality—that is, in the fa…"
"Three years ago you were a kid. You didn't have a single feeling worth having—cocky and shallow. Like most kids. Then…"
"When the business man rebukes the idealism of his office-boy, it is commonly in some such speech as this: "Ah, yes, w…"
"Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. Humanness came of age when man asked the f…"
"A child is protected by the limit of feebleness against emotions which are too complex. He sees the fact, and little …"
"We confound loss of naiveté (a developmental change) with loss of innocence (a spiritual failing). While each person …"
"It is so easy to be immature. If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a ph…"
"As young people, we are surrounded by expectations that may have little to do with who we really are, expectations he…"
"The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are …"