ABSTRACT
Self-control is by no means to be understood as purely negative, as a rejection and suppression, as if the natural were nothing but evil. It is the inner construction and transformation of everything natural in man, of all the obscure powers which he finds present there, which, rising up out of the unconscious depths, confront consciousness as something real. Because it is morally basic and because it can be trained, very definite educational tasks adhere to the valuational direction of self-control. Equipped with submission of the will alone, however valuable that may be, a man is not ready for active life; he must also be capable of independent self-direction. Accordingly many have often fallen into the error of mistaking “discipline” for the whole of morality. That is as untrue as the notion that all virtue is justice or bravery. The whole training of the lower powers in man is only a prerequisite, to provide scope for the higher moral qualities.
