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Charlotte Mason in Modern English
Charlotte Mason's ideas are too important not to be understood and implemented in the 21st century, but her Victorian style of writing sometimes prevents parents from attempting to read her books. This is an imperfect attempt to make Charlotte's words accessible to modern parents. You may read these, print them out, share them freely--but they are copyrighted to me, so please don't post or publish them without asking.
~L. N. Laurio
Ourselves, Volume 4 of the Charlotte Mason
Series: Book 1––Self-Knowledge
pg 1
'Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three are the only way your life can have sovereign power.'
from Tennyson
Introduction
Chapter 1 - The Country of Mansoul
The
Riches in Mansoul
'Don't you like fair lands?' asks King Alfred, and then he answers
himself, 'Why shouldn't I like fair lands? They're the most beautiful
part of God's creation.' And of all the beautiful places God has made,
the most beautiful is the Kingdom of Mansoul [i.e., the region within
our minds.]
Almost everywhere there, the soil is rich and fertile. Wherever it's
cultivated, there are meadows, corn fields, and orchards with all kinds
of different fruits. There are wild hidden crevices, with rippling
streams bordered by forget-me-nots and buttercups, and birds sing there
and build their nests. There are hazel bushes where you can gather
nuts, and forests with huge trees. There are also wildernesses. They're
desolate, unsightly swamps, but they only need a pair of reliable,
industrious hands to reclaim them and make them as fertile and
beautiful as the rest of the country. Deep under the ground are oil
wells for the taking to provide heating fuel so that every home can be
kept warm and cozy. There are mines, too, where there are practical
metals like copper and metal, and beautiful riches like silver, gold
and precious jewels. When the miners are tired, they can stop and rest
right there because those places have shade trees and pleasant fields
for
recreation. If you listen, you can hear the laughter of
children as they play games and sports.
The
Rivers and Cities
This place has broad, deep rivers for wading and swimming. Ships can
sail on them to carry the things produced in Mansoul to other
countries, and to bring back people and goods from faraway ports.
Mansoul has bustling cities that are pleasant because, although there
are the necessary factories to make the things that are needed for
living and for exporting, there are also beautiful buildings, valued
for the treasures they hold. There are art galleries full of
wonderful rare paintings by the best artists from all different
countries, statues of respected heroes, symphony halls with grand
pianos that can roar like thunder, or tinkle like a baby's laugh, and
all kinds of other instruments. Great musicians come here to play
wonderful compositions they've written. The people of Mansoul listen to
these pieces and great, inspiring thoughts swell inside them. Each
person feels as if he could get up and do something heroic.
The
Books and Playgrounds
Mansoul has impressive libraries that contain every worthy, delightful
book that was ever written. Whenever somebody takes a book off the
shelf and sits down to read, the author comes up to him, leans over his
shoulder, and talks to him about the book. In fact, artists do the same
thing in the art galleries. They come and explain what they meant in
each of their paintings.
None of Mansoul's cities is so built-up that there's no room for parks,
baseball fields, game fields, and places for people to get together for
picnicking, dancing and singing. Nobody needs to be poor in Mansoul. If
anybody is poor, or neglected or malnourished, it's for reasons we'll
discuss later.
Its
Churches and its Delectable Mountains
The most valuable treasures of this country are kept in its most
beautiful buildings, which are its churches. The churches are always
open so that
people can go in and come out any time of day and talk with God as
often as they want, and God comes and speaks with them there. But He
doesn't speak to them only in
the church. He walks around everywhere in that country--in the
workshops, in the art galleries, in the fields. People consult Him
about everything, no matter how trivial or how great, and He advises
the people about all of them.
There's a lot more I could say about this Kingdom of Mansoul, but I
don't want to leave out the most important thing--the 'Delectable
Mountains' where people go to breathe the mountain air, gather the
lovely mountain wildflowers, and stimulate their lungs and limbs with
the refreshing effort of climbing. From the top, they get a spectacular
view that fills them with joy. They can see a good portion of Mansoul
from there, but not all of it. Oddly enough, no map has ever been made
of the country because so much of it is unexplored, and nobody has
discovered how far its boundaries go. That's exciting and pleasant for
the people because, even though here and there they border another
country just like theirs, there are other places where the country goes
on and on farther than the eye can see, where no man has ever been.
Those parts of the country might also be rich and beautiful.
pg 5
Chapter 2 - The Perils Of Mansoul
It's
Government's Fault
You're probably thinking of how beautiful and rich a country Mansoul
must be. But, like any other country, it's subject to many dangers.
But, unlike
many other countries, Mansoul has the means to escape from any of the
dangers that threaten it from time to time. In other countries, the
government is blamed if the poor go hungry, or if the rich are annoyed
because a rooster crows too early in the morning. Those accusations are
usually nonsense, but in Mansoul it isn't nonsense to blame the
government for everything that goes wrong because Mansoul's government
actually has the power to prevent most of the evils that happen in its
country. You'll hear more about how the country is governed later. But
for now, here are some of the dangers that can overtake Mansoul and its
citizens.
Danger
of Laziness
Perhaps the most common danger is an epidemic of laziness that spreads
over the whole country. The garbage collectors sit around and doze with
folded arms, letting trash and filth accumulate in the streets. The
farmers and harvesters say, 'Who cares?' and don't even go out to plow
or plant seeds. Fruit drops off the trees and rots because nobody
bothers to pick it up.
pg 6
The ships lie abandoned in the harbors because nobody is interested in
anything from overseas. The librarians leave the books to get dusty and
eaten by insects, and they don't go out to find new books. Paintings
get faded and tattered because nobody takes care of them. Nobody thinks
it's worthwhile to do anything at all. The people still play, but play
without work gets boring after awhile, and soon they
don't even bother doing that anymore. So, the people, no matter what
job they're supposed be doing, sit around with dull eyes and folded
arms, nodding off to sleep.
Danger
of Fire
Another risk in the country of Mansoul is the threat of great blazes.
Sometimes a subversive troublemaker will land at one of Mansoul's ports
from some foreign country, perhaps with the intent of deliberately
setting fire to the best things in Mansoul. Or someone may set fire to
things by accident because he doesn't know how flammable they are. And
once the fire has started, the wind carries the flames over miles and
miles of countryside. Everything in its path is consumed--distinguished
buildings, precious works of art, farms with corn already stacked. Only
devastation and ruin are left in its blackened path. Sometimes those
fires are started right beneath the ground of Mansoul itself. I
mentioned earlier that the country has great underground pools of fuel.
Sometimes flammable gases rise up from them. If a spark is dropped
anywhere near these gasses, that's all it takes to cause a wide blaze.
Mansoul needs to be as careful as the people of Switzerland, where a
strong wind
called the Fohn sometimes
blows and
everyone has to put out their fires and lamps.
Danger
of Plague, Flood, and Famine
Sometimes there's a plague epidemic because
pg 7
the houses, the streets and barns aren't kept clean and fresh, and the
drains are allowed to back up.
Sometimes the springs swell and overflow in the hills, the rivers rise
and rush over the banks, and there's a flood. But that's not always a
bad thing because a lot of rotten garbage is swept away. land that's
been washed by floodwaters is very fertile afterwards.
Sometimes crops may fail even though the land has been diligently
tended and good seed has been planted. But neighboring regions are kind
and willing to help Mansoul in times of need, and the next year's crops
are usually abundant.
Danger of Dissent
Another occasional cause for misery in Mansoul is that a spirit of
contention breaks out among a community's citizens. It sometimes
becomes so violent that it results in a devastating civil war. Servants
and employees refuse to obey their masters, the masters don't consider
their workers, and even bicker among themselves. One employee refuses
to do his own job and insists on doing someone else's job. All
necessary work is neglected, and the people are easy targets for envy
and discontent. I could tell you more causes of misery in Mansoul, but
I'll only mention one more. It is by far the worst evil to overtake the
country.
Danger
of Darkness
As lovely and pleasant as Mansoul is when things are going well,
sometimes chilling, soaking mists come from it. They're so dense and
dark that not even a ray of sun can penetrate. There's no light, no
warmth. Nobody can see where they're going for so long that people
begin to say, 'The sun doesn't exists any more,' and some of the more
foolish people say, 'There never was a sun
pg 8
and there never will be.' If they can't see the sun, then of course,
they can't see each other, either, and they bump into each other in the
darkness. It's not uncommon for some places, especially low-lying
valleys, to have frequent fog. But no fog is as thick and heavy, or
lasts as long, as the mists in the Kingdom of Mansoul. The interesting
thing about these mists is that they can be controlled by the
government, especially the Prime Minister. I can't fully explain why
that's true here, but I'll explain more later.
But, just because these dangers threaten Mansoul, we shouldn't think
that it's an unhappy place. On the contrary, it's radiant and
beautiful, busy and happy, full of lots of different interests and the
joy of living--as long as the government takes care of its
responsibilities.
Chapter 3 - The Government of Mansoul
There's
a Kingdom of Mansoul Within Each of Us
I'm going to quit talking about the Kingdom of Mansoul in riddles.
You've probably found it difficult to figure all of the details out,
but that's okay. Whatever doesn't make sense now will be clearer some
day. You might even come up with a better, truer meaning than I
originally had in
mind! There's a Kingdom of Mansoul inside every human being, no matter
how old or how young. Being born as a human being is like inheriting a
huge, beautiful estate--that's how much possibility we have within us
for goodness, greatness, heroism, wisdom, and knowledge. That's why I
said that the boundaries of Mansoul have never been discovered. Nobody
knows the limits of a person's possibilities. Many people go through
their entire lives and never realize this. They have no idea how much
they're capable of doing, feeling, knowing, being. So their lives turn
out poor, stifled and disappointing.
Mansoul is like a great, rich country with a more or less powerful,
peaceful government. There's a part of each of us that has the job of
managing and making the best use of all that's within us. We'll call
that part of ourselves the Government.
pg 10
Officers
of State
There are many Officers of State in Mansoul. Each has his own distinct
job to do to keep Mansoul running smoothly. If every one does his own
work, and if they all work together, then the Kingdom of Mansoul is
happy and prosperous. I'll list the Officers, and later in the book
we'll discuss what each one's job is. The lowest ones are the
Assistants of the Body, or what we call appetites. Then come the
Managers of the Revenue, also called Desires. Then the Managers of the
Treasury, also called the Affections. Then the Foreign Secretary, or
the Intellect, and his co-workers, My Lord Chief Explorer (the
imagination), and My Lord President of The Arts (the beauty sense).
Then is the Lord Attorney-General, that is, the Reason. Then the Lords
of the House of Heart, which are the Lord Chief Justice (the
conscience), and the Prime Minister (the will). There are various other
Officers of State that we won't name now, but these are the main ones.
Above and beyond all of these is the King. Mansoul is a kingdom, after
all.
The
Four Houses
We might think of the various Officers as sitting in the specific House
of Government where they're needed. There are four Houses. They are the
House of Body, the House of the Mind, the House of the Heart, and the
House of the Soul.
Keep in mind that these aren't different parts of a person. People aren't
divided into separate parts. No, they are different abilities that
every person has. Each person must use them if they're going to make
the most of the great inheritance they have--the inheritance that every
person comes into because they were born as a human being.
Paraphrased by L. N. Laurio
Please direct any comments or questions to me by emailing me at cmseries-owner at yahoogroups dot com.
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