Henry James Sr. Henry James Sr.'s children were exposed to a most unconventional upbringing, and though their father stressed personal freedom, his philosophy also dictated a strict moral code. The following is an excerpt from Henry Sr.'s 1856 book, The Nature of Evil. I desire my child to become an upright man, a man in whom goodness shall be induced not by mercenary motives as brute goodness is induced, but by love for it or a sympathetic delight in it. And inasmuch as I know that this character or disposition cannot be forcibly imposed upon him, but must be freely assumed, I surround him as far as possible with an atmosphere of freedom.