People often have the tendency to talk about little children as 'innocent', meaning 'not as yet corrupted by adult vices'. That's a misunderstanding. The average adult is miles less selfish, inconsiderate, even cruel, than a little child. The 'innocence' consists in the child's not having as yet learned not only the vices, but neither the virtues of adulthood.
Saturday, 9 May 2020
J. M. Barrie: Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy)
"Children are gay and innocent and heartless."
People often have the tendency to talk about little children as 'innocent', meaning 'not as yet corrupted by adult vices'. That's a misunderstanding. The average adult is miles less selfish, inconsiderate, even cruel, than a little child. The 'innocence' consists in the child's not having as yet learned not only the vices, but neither the virtues of adulthood.
People often have the tendency to talk about little children as 'innocent', meaning 'not as yet corrupted by adult vices'. That's a misunderstanding. The average adult is miles less selfish, inconsiderate, even cruel, than a little child. The 'innocence' consists in the child's not having as yet learned not only the vices, but neither the virtues of adulthood.
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