No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.

The quotation argues that children possess an often-unrecognized moral and emotional “treasure”: an innate capacity for sympathy, kindness, and generosity. Rather than treating education as mere discipline, rote instruction, or social conformity, it frames “true education” as a liberating practice—one that draws out and cultivates these latent humane impulses. The metaphor of unlocking a hidden wealth suggests both potential and responsibility: adults and institutions can either repress children’s natural fellow-feeling through coercion and fear, or nurture it through freedom, respect, and empathetic guidance. In this view, education is fundamentally ethical and relational, shaping not only intellect but the social character of future adults.