Perfecting this kind of necessity in his states, I mean the public schools, will be the finest enterprise that a prince can do. By applying his greatest (373) concern to the education of youth, he will imperceptibly purge his states of a large number of monsters who are disruptive and stop his wealth from increasing. In this way another kind of public necessity of the state—what we call in Germany _Zuchtheuser_ [^1]— that is to say, reformatories,[^2] where the immoral are locked up and reformed, will become unnecessary; and, in the future, foundations could be used for buildings and public works that will be agreeable to everyone. In my opinion, we should often imprison and punish the fathers, mothers and tutors rather than their dissolute children who are usually only bad because of the foolish indulgence of (374) those who raised them. If the first bad deed of a child, the first lie, the first theft, and the first debauchery were severely punished immediately, one would prevent many dissolute behaviors and misfortunes. The slightest corporal punishment makes more of an impression on the minds of children than much of the reasoning that comes after it. If children saw only good examples from those who raise them, if afterwards these first impressions were supported by sound reasoning, if each one from his early childhood were accustomed to seeking his pleasures in an occupation that is useful to society, we would no longer find so many vagabonds and immoral people. There are (375) intelligent people who think that one should never beat a small child because, they say, this child does not understand what he is doing. But I say that it is necessary to make him feel by blows that he has been bad, so that in the future magistrates are not obliged to have him broken on the wheel. For the same reason, the child must be made to feel that he has been good by presenting him something that flatters his senses the most. This will clear the way for the reasoning that comes later. There is only the present good or evil that makes an impression on the minds of most men and especially on children. I have always wished that a prince could make sufficient establishments to completely release fathers and (376) mothers from the education of their children as soon as they are weaned from the breast.[^3] I see an infinite amount of good for a state from this, and I do not believe it to be as difficult as one could imagine.
There is still a lot more to say on this subject, but now I will stick to the general principles and to what I was obliged to say in the previous chapters.
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