Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/29

Rh Ferucci is the importance she lays upon the young woman being educated to a consciousness of citizenship, “to an insight into that which causes the greatness or the fall of nations, their honor or shame. The mother who does not understand this, who does not herself understand what is the true love of country, is not capable of instructing her child in it.” It is peculiar to her also, as an Italian, to assign the part which she does to the beautiful, as a means of instruction in the good and the right. Her views of the national in education appear to me infinitely beautiful and true. The individuality, which above all, belongs to a people from its country, scenery, history, natural character—these are what every individual should learn to understand, appropriate, and develop in beauty. It is by this means that nations can first attain to the purpose of their being, and fulfill the vocation given to them of God. That which distinguishes the Italian national character is, according to Catharina Ferucci, the necessity to love God according to the doctrine of the gospel, the necessity for wisdom, order, and beauty. These high necessities are, above all else, peculiar to the Italians. The satisfying of them is the condition of the people's honor and happiness.

“Let us be ourselves,” Siamo noi, says she in conclusion, “be that which we have been made by God, by our climate, by the country which we inhabit, by the great memories and the example of our forefathers. Let us be ourselves, and not, by imitating other nations, lose the sense of our own life and the honor of Italy.”