53. For this reason it is best to finish the erection of a building without any interruption; otherwise the sun, the wind, and the rain spoil the work, the later additions will not be so firm, and on every side there will be cracks, weak spots, and loose joints.
54. The gardener too acts with wisdom, for when once he has begun to work at a graft he does not cease until the operation is completed. Since, if the sap dry in the stock or in the graft, owing to a delay in completing the process, the plant is ruined.
55. Deviation.—It is therefore injurious if boys are sent to school for months or years continuously, but are then withdrawn for considerable periods and employed otherwise; equally so if the teacher commence now one subject, now another, and finish nothing satisfactorily; and lastly, it is equally fatal if he do not fix a certain task for each hour, and complete it, so that in each period his pupil can make an unmistakable advance towards the desired goal. Where such a fire is wanting, everything grows cold. Not without reason does the proverb say “Strike while the iron is hot.”
For if it be allowed to cool it is useless to hammer it, but it must once more be placed in the fire, and thus much time and iron are wasted. Since every time that it is heated, it loses some of its mass.
56. Rectification.—It follows therefore
(i) That he who is sent to school must be kept there until he becomes well informed, virtuous, and pious.
(ii) That the school must be situated in a quiet spot, far from noise and distractions.
(iii) That whatever has to be done, in accordance with the scheme of study, must be done without any shirking.
(iv) That no boys, under any pretext whatever, should be allowed to stay away or to play truant.
