53
shall be feared, but I will take that upon myself,
for I bear the responsibility.'
But he found in Floris a child who had a will of
his own and often had to be beaten, because the
impulse that drove him was stronger than the fear
of punishment. At first it was fear and pain that
made him scream, then pain alone, but when he
was a little older he screamed, and kicked, too, in
protest. And on the very same day he would com-
mit the same fault. ' Yes,' sighed his mother,c he
is a troublesome child. Oh, brother, mightn't it be
better to treat him with kindness ?'—' By severity,'
was the answer, ' and only by severity will evil
inclinations be suppressed. Today it's naughtiness,
tomorrow it's the downward path.'
Before the boy was five years old he knew that
he did wrong, and that somewhere there was
injustice.