"A mother should give her children a superabundance of enthusiasm; that after they have lost all they are sure to lose on mixing with the world, enough may still remain to prompt fated support them through great actions"

Augustus Hare’s remark explores the influential and lasting impact a mother’s spirit can have on her child’s resilience and capacity for achievement. By urging that a mother instill a “superabundance of enthusiasm,” Hare highlights the value of imparting not just enough encouragement or zeal to last through childhood, but an overflowing supply that carries well into adulthood. The word “superabundance” is deliberate; it suggests abundance beyond necessity, provision beyond need, an excess that serves as a crucial surplus for times of future depletion.

As children grow and venture into society, their innate optimism, confidence, and hopefulness are often tested by the realities of the world, failure, criticism, disappointment, and hardship. These inevitable encounters can erode the initial stores of enthusiasm with which a mother arms her child. Understanding this, Hare suggests that the maternal bestowal must be generous enough that, after the inevitable wearing down caused by life’s challenges, there remains a substantial amount. What is left is not merely residual, but enough to “prompt and support” great actions. The enthusiasm left over acts as a wellspring for ambition and perseverance, fueling the adult to press forward successfully even when external motivation or support is scarce.

A mother’s influence, in Hare’s view, is not merely to nurture, but to endow her children with an enduring passion and positivity robust enough to endure disappointments. This emphasis on early emotional abundance serves as an important recognition of the formative role that maternal affirmation and encouragement play in shaping character, self-belief, and the courage to tackle formidable goals later in life. Hare implicitly acknowledges that while society may often sap one’s spirit, a deep internal reserve, stocked by a mother’s early, unstinting supply of enthusiasm, can inspire greatness that persists long after childhood, providing steadfast energy throughout a lifetime of challenges and achievements.