,,the ,,new ,,ideal ,,in ,,education ,,an ,,address ,,given ,,before ,,the ,,league ,,of ,,the ,,empire ,on ,july #afth1 #aiaf4 ,,by ,,fr4 ,,nicholai ,,velimirovic1 ,,ph4,d4 ,reprinted from the ,,federal ,,magazine4 ,,london ,,the ,,electrician ,,printing ,,and ,,publishing ,,co41 ,,limited4 ,,salisbury ,,court1 ,,fleet ,,street1 ,e4,c4 ,,the ,,new ,,ideal ,,in ,,education4 ,by ,father ,nicholai ,velimirovic1 ,ph4,d4 ,nature takes sufficient care of our individualistic sense1 leaving to ,education the care of our panhumanistic sense4 ,ladies and ,gentlemen1 ,if we do not want war we must look to the children4 ,there is the only hope and the only wise starting point4 ,it is not without a deep prophetic significance that ,christ asked children to come unto ,him4 ,in all the world-calamities1 in all wars1 strifes1 religious inquisitions and persecutions1 in all the hours of human misery and helplessness1 ,he has been asking1 through centuries1 the children to come unto ,him4 ,i am sure1 if anybody has ears for ,his voice to-day1 amidst the thunderings of guns and passions and revenges1 one would hear the same call3 ,let the children come unto ,me6--,not kings and politicians1 not journalists and generals1 not the grown-up people1 but children4 ,and so to-day also1 when we ask for a way out of the present world-misery1 when we in profundis of darkness to-day ask for light1 and in sorrow for to-morrow ask for advice and comfort1 we must look to the children and ,christ4 ,,why ,,not ,,kings8 ,why does ,christ not ask the kings to come to ,him--the kings1 and politicians1 and journalists1 and generals8 ,because they are too much engaged in a wrong state of things1 and because they are greatly responsible themselves for such a wrong state of things1 and because consequently it is difficult for them to change their ways1 their hearts and their minds4 ,it would be very hard for ,napoleon and ,pitt to kneel together down before ,christ and to embrace each other4 ,it would be almost impossible for ,bismarck and ,gambetta to walk together4 ,not less it would be impossible for the ,pope and ,monsieur ,loisy or ,george ,tyrrel to pray in the same bench4 ,every generation is laden with sins and prejudices4 ,that is the reason why ,christ goes only a little way with every generation1 and then ,he becomes tired and asks for a new generation--,he calls for children4 ,christ is always new and fresh as children are4 ,every generation is spoiled and corrupted by long living and struggling4 ,but for a new generation the world is quite a new wonder4 ,god is shown only to those for whom the world is a new thing1 a wonder4 ,no one1 who does not admire this world as a wonder1 can find ,god4 ,for the old ,hckel no ,god exists1 just because for him no wonder exists4 ,he pretends to know everything4 ,christ means for him nothing and he means for ,christ nothing4 ,every foolish child1 believing in ,god and in this wonderful world1 has more wisdom than the materialistic professor from ,germany4 ,christ is getting tired of an old generation4 ,sadly ,he calls for a new one--for children4 ,in our distress to-day1 ,i think1 we should multiply ,his voice1 calling for ,him1 for a new generation and for a new education4 ,,the ,,education ,,which ,,makes ,,for ,,war4 ,it is called by a very attractive name1 the individualistic education4 ,the true name of it is selfishness1 or egotism4 ,no religion of ,asia ever boasted of having been the birthplace of such an education4 ,it is born in the heart of ,europe1 in ,germany4 ,it was brought up by ,schopenhauer and ,goethe4 ,it was subsequently supported by the ,german biologists1 by the musicians1 sculptors1 philosophers1 poets1 soldiers1 socialists and priests1 by the wisest and by the madmen beyond the ,rhine4 ,unfortunately ,france1 ,russia and even ,great ,britain have not been quite exempt from this pernicious theory of individualistic education4 ,the sophistic theories of ,athens of old have been renewed in ,central ,europe--the individuum is the ultimate aim of education4 ,a human individuum is of limitless worth1 said the ,german interpreters of the ,new ,testament4 ,materialistic science1 contradicting itself1 agreed on that point with modern theology4 ,art1 in all its branches1 presented itself as the sole expression of one individuum1 i4e41 of the artist4 ,the modern socialism1 contradicting its own name1 supported individualism very strongly in every department of human activity4 ,consequently modern ,pedagogy1 based upon the general tendencies1 put up the same individualistic ideal as the aim to be achieved by the schools1 church1 state1 and by many other social institutions4 ,,the ,,results ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,ideal4 ,war is the result of the old ideal of education4 ,i call it old because it is over for ever1 ,i hope1 with this war4 ,the old ,european ideal of education was so called individualistic4 ,this ideal was supported equally by the churches and by science and art4 ,extreme individualism1 developed in ,germany more than in any other country1 resulted in pride1 pride resulted in materialism1 materialism in pessimism4 ,put upon a dangerous and false base every evil result followed quite naturally4 ,if my poor personality is of limitless value1 without any effort and merit of my own1 why should not ,i be proud8 ,if the aim of the world's history is to produce some few genial personalities1 as ,carlyle taught1 why should not ,i think that ,i am such a personality for my own generation1 and why should ,i not be proud of that8 ,once filled with pride ,i will soon be filled also with contempt for other men4 ,selfishness and denial of ,god will follow my pride2 this is called by a scientific word materialism4 ,being a materialist1 as long as ,i possess a certain amount of intellectual and physical strength1 ,i will be proud of myself4 ,but as soon as my body or spirit are affected by any illness 7it may be only a headache or toothache71 ,i will plunge into a dark pessimism1 always the shadow and the end of materialism4 ,modern ,germany was1 as you know1 the hearth of individualism1 and consequently also of pride1 materialism1 atheism and pessimism4 ,the worship of strong personalities 7to-day3 ,kaiser ,william and ,hindenburg7 holds the whole of ,germany in unity during this war1 which is not the case either in ,france or in ,great ,britain or ,russia1 where the common cause inspires the unity4 ,,the ,,education ,,which ,,makes ,,for ,,peace4 ,when will wars really stop in the world's history8 ,as soon as a new ideal of education is realised4 ,what is this new ideal of education which makes for peace8 ,i will give it in one word3 ,panhumanism4 ,this word includes all ,i wish to say4 ,individualism means a brick1 ,panhumanism means a building4 ,even the greatest individuality 7may it be ,csar1 or ,raphael1 or ,luther7 is no more than a brick in the panhuman building of history4 ,the lives of individuals are only the points1 whereas the life of mankind is a form1 a deep1 high and large form4 ,if a great and original individuality were the aim of history1 ,i think history should stop with the first man upon earth1 for our first ancestor must have been the most striking individual who ever existed4 ,men coming after ,adam have been like their parents and each other4 ,kaiser ,william is not such an interesting and striking a creature by far as the first man was4 ,when ,kaiser ,william opens his mouth to speak1 he speaks words that are known4 ,when he moves or sits1 when he eats or prays--all that is a nuance only of what other people do1 all is either from heritage or imitation1 and quite an insignificant amount is individual4 ,whereas every sound that the first man uttered was quite new for the ,universe2 every movement striking and dramatic2 every look of his eyes was discovering new worlds2 every joy or sorrow violently felt2 every struggle a great accumulation of experiences4 ,and so forth4 ,well1 if one striking individuum is the aim of history1 history should close with the death of ,adam4 ,but history still continues4 ,why8 ,just because not ,adam was its aim1 but mankind2 not one1 or two1 or ten heroes1 but millions of human creatures2 not some few great men1 but all men1 all together1 all without exception4 ,from this point of view we get the true ideal of education4 ,the purpose of education is not to make grand personalities1 but to make bricks for the building1 i4e41 to make suitable members of a collective body and suitable workers of a collective work4 ,,collective ,,works ,are greater than personal works4 ,a pupil from the old1 individualistic school would object3 --,and what do you think of the work of ,ibsen8 ,i3 ,i think it is incomparably smaller than the ancient ,scandinavian legends4 ,he3 ,do you not grant that ,alfred the ,great was the real creator of the ,english ,kingdom8 ,i3 ,never4 ,millions and millions of human creatures are built into this building that we call ,england1 or ,english history1 or ,english civilisation4 ,he3 ,and what about the man who built ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral8 ,i3 ,it is a collective work1 as are all the great works that have been done4 ,the architecture of ,st4 ,paul's is one of the ancient styles1 and no style in architecture was ever invented or created by one person1 but by generations and generations4 ,he3 ,and what about ,victor ,hugo and ,milton8 ,are they not great poets8 ,i3 ,yes1 they are if compared with certain minor poets1 but they are not great if compared with the popular poetry of ,india or ,greece4 ,mahabarata1 the ,koran1 and ,zend-,avesta1 and the ,bible1 are products of collective efforts--therefore they are superior to every personal effort4 ,he3 ,do you not appreciate the great economists and what they did for the household1 and common-wealth in general8 ,i3 ,certainly ,i do2 but their work is too much overestimated4 ,not a handful of economic writers1 like ,adam ,smith and ,marx1 but the common genius of generations and generations arranged the house1 set the furniture1 created the cooking1 constructed towns1 invented plays and enjoyments1 customs1 language1 and so forth4 ,he3 ,you agree1 ,i think1 that ,shaljapin and ,caruso have wonderful voices1 don't you8 ,i3 ,yes1 ,i agree4 ,but don't you agree that a choir of millions of human voices would be something much more striking and wonderful than any solo singer since the beginning of time8 ,he3 ,don't you believe in the wisdom of wise men like ,kant and ,spencer8 ,i3 ,no1 ,i don't4 ,i think there is incomparably more healthy and more applicable wisdom in the popular sayings1 proverbs1 parables1 and tales of the nations1 cultivated and uncultivated1 in ,macedonia1 ,armenia1 ,ceylon1 ,new ,zealand1 ,japan1 c41 than in some dozen of the greatest thinkers of ,europe4 ,he3 ,who is then in your opinion a great man8 ,i3 ,only a good man is a great man to me1 who is conscious that he is a cell in the panhuman organism1 or a brick in the building of human history4 ,such a man is more a man of truth and of the future than any conqueror1 who thinks that a hundred millions of people and hundreds of years have waited just for him and his guidance1 his work1 or his wisdom4 ,that is what ,i would say to a pupil of individualism in education4 ,and at the end ,i would remind him of ,christ and ,his call after the children1 and of the new ideal of education1 of panhumanism which stands over individualism1 and of the collective work of people which stands over every individual work and merit4 ,,education ,,as ,,an ,,international ,,affair4 ,it is quite surprising and humiliating that other things can be discussed and settled as international affairs1 before education4 ,yet you have hundreds of things regulated by international laws1 and among these hundred things education is net yet reckoned4 ,you have the ,international ,institution of the ,red ,cross1 international laws on trade1 fishery1 travel1 copyright1 political crimes1 barbarities in war-time1 c4 ,but this war shows quite clearly that education--before anything else--should be a matter of international consideration and regulation4 ,behold1 how illusory are all international restrictions when the education of a nation is quite excluded from any control6 ,when the ,nitzschean education of ,germany teaches the ,german youth to despise all neighbours1 all nations and races as inferior ones1 how could you expect the ,germans to respect the laws and regulations about ,belgium1 and submarines--and ,zeppelin-warfare1 and use of the dum-dum bullets and of poisonous gases8 ,if there is anything to be learned from this war it is doubtless this3 ,the education of youth in all the countries of the world must become an international affair of the very first importance4 ,,the ,,russian ,,tsar1 ,,mr4 ,,carnegie ,,and ,,nobel4 ,the ,russian ,tsar suggested the ,peace ,conference of ,the ,hague4 ,mr4 ,carnegie built a wonderful ,hall of ,peace there1 formed several commissions for the investigation of war cruelties during the ,balkan ,wars1 and founded many public libraries for the instruction of the poor4 ,the noble ,nobel left his big fortune for the support of the best works of literature or science having as their aim the general good of mankind4 ,if ,i were either the ,russian ,tsar or ,mr4 ,carnegie or ,professor ,nobel ,i would do neither of the three mentioned things1 but ,i would give suggestions and material support to an ,international ,board of ,education4 ,that is the point to start with in the consolidation of the ,world4 ,i am sorry to say that no one of these three great friends of mankind listens to the prophetic words of ,christ3 ,let children come unto me6 and that no one thought that no great social reform and no real philanthropic foundation of mankind is possible to realise--yea1 even to start--otherwise than through the children4 ,the ,peace ,conference1 being rather a law court than anything else1 is beaten by the uncontrolled warlike education of the ,german nation4 ,carnegie's books have been read by grown-up people who had already got a direction in life1 and ,carnegie's ,hall of ,peace in ,the ,hague is still an office without business4 ,nobel's prize was given also to some ,german professors who are responsible for the new pedagogy in ,germany4 ,,mothers1 ,,patriots1 ,,and ,,priests4 ,these three can be the best possible supporters or the worst enemies of your educational scheme4 ,mothers by nature adore their children and excite their individualism4 ,patriots try to engage the whole heart and imagination of a child for its own country4 ,priests are asking the whole sympathy of a child for their creed and their church4 ,to be individualistic1 to be a patriot and a believer are the quite natural gifts of a healthy person4 ,but maternal love exaggerates very often the individualism of a child and makes it egotistic and selfish2 exclusively cultivated patriotism degenerates into chauvinism2 and exclusive church education makes a bigot4 ,these three kinds of people 7alas6 the majority71 egotists1 chauvinists and bigots1 will be against an international scheme of education4 ,but you must say to the sensible mothers3 ,the international education of your child will not kill its individuality1 but1 on the contrary1 will use it to the best advantage for mankind and for itself4 ,you are an enemy of your son if you educate him to be an egotist and egoist4 ,in egotism and egoism one has the worst company in this life1 the company which leads to pessimism and disgust of life4 ,you must say to the sensible patriots3 ,international education approves of patriotic as of a natural inclination2 only the new education intends to make a window in every fatherland so that the child may see its neighbours and stretch its hand to greet them4 ,and you must say to the sensible priests3 ,the international board of education will let every child go to its own church and learn the catechism from its own parish priest2 but it will be brought in touch with the children of different creeds1 and it will pray with them upon the general ground of all the creeds4 ,,the ,,international ,,board ,,of ,,education4 #a4 ,it shall consist of the representatives of all the boards of education in the world4 #b4 ,the members of the board shall officially represent their own country4 #c4 ,the board will be supported materially by the respective ,governments1 and it will dispose of a great fortune from private legacies4 ,for all the philanthropists and peacemakers and peace wishers will support such an institution rather than any other in the world4 #d4 ,the authority of this board shall be equal to the authority of an international political congress4 #e4 ,its duty will be to control education all over the world1 banishing or restricting individualism1 egotism1 chauvinism and bigotism1 and promoting by all means panhumanism by developing the mind for collective work1 mutual help1 personal goodness and humbleness and social greatness4 ,,to ,,bring ,,children ,,of ,,the ,,world ,,closer ,,together4 ,let them meet as often as possible2 ,i mean the children from ,england and the children from ,serbia1 the children from ,russia and the children from ,france4 ,so they will know about each other that they all are human beings1 and that they all can smile in friendliness on each other4 ,let them travel to each other's country2 ,i mean the children from ,germany and the children from ,italy1 the children from ,japan and those from ,scandinavia4 ,let them see how every spot on earth is wonderful in its way1 and how worthy of love1 of patriotism4 ,when will the railway companies and ship companies say3 ,let the children come to us8 ,when will they arrange the best trains1 better than the royal trains1 the most commodious and decorated with flowers and flags of different nations and with one special flag of the ,children ,world ,union8 ,when the moment comes that the wonderful modern communication begins to help the children to meet each other and to pay visits to each other1 at that moment the invention of steam and electricity will justify itself4 ,in transferring the troops and facilitating crime it does net justify itself4 ,let the word communication be not only for the sake of crime and for the sake of bread2 let it be for the sake of peace and of souls4 ,let them sing together1 everyone in his own tongue2 ,i mean the children from the ,east and ,west and ,north and ,south4 ,you should have been the other day in the ,mansion ,house when the ,english and ,serbian boys met together1 and have listened to the ,english singing the ,serbian and the ,serbian singing the ,english ,national ,anthems1 and you would have been fascinated by the sweet revelation of the future world4 ,let the children from the ,east and ,west and ,south and ,north1 pray together4 ,why not8 ,bring them1 thousands of them1 to a mountain1 upon which our ancestors prayed1 and let them at sunset kneel down and sing some common prayer that they all know1 or1 if they have no such common prayer in their creeds1 let them just kneel and silently pray6 ,such a silent prayer will do more good than any thousand years' old discussion about religion4 ,it is very easy to convince all the children of the world1 just because they are children1 that they have one ,father in ,heaven1 and that they shall send their prayers to ,him4 ,but even if they send their prayers in different directions1 they will arrive at the same place4 ,all prayers1 whenever and wherever sent1 go always the same way4 ,let the children from the northern ice and from the tropical heat carry on a correspondence4 ,millions of letters are written and sent every day1 which mean nonsense and evil4 ,the post communication will justify itself much more by bearing the children's mail1 with truth and love1 than by bearing perfidious diplomatic notes or letters which mean nonsense and evil4 ,one of the unforgettable events in ,serbia during this war happened in #aiad on ,christmas ,day1 when an ,american ship arrived and brought gifts and letters from the children of ,america to the children of ,serbia4 ,this wonderful mail produced the greatest imaginable excitement among the ,serbian children4 ,they were busy1 very busy for some weeks1 reading the friendly letters from so far1 and answering them4 ,i am sure they will forget many sad events of the war1 but they never can forget this wonderful and surprising mail1 which made for peace more than any of the costly commissions for the investigation of war cruelties1 or any of ,carnegie's empty1 although wonderful1 luxurious halls of peace4 ,let the children1 the representatives of all the countries in the world1 come to ,the ,hague to hold the ,international ,peace ,congress4 ,the programme of this ,congress should be3 ,singing1 playing1 dancing1 smiling and praying4 ,they will meet as friends and speak every one in his native language1 and they will understand each other very well as friends always understand each other4 ,this ,children's ,hague ,conference will promote the world peace more than ,the ,hague ,conference composed of enemies1 mutually annoying themselves by obligatory politeness and bad ,french4 ,but1 you will ask1 who is going to arrange and execute all this8 ,the ,international ,board of ,education4 ,but1 you will say1 it will be very expensive8 ,yes1 but1 supposing it will be as expensive as the war1 for which of the two do you prefer to give money--for such a salvatory experiment or for the war8 ,yet1 ,i am sure of one thing1 it will cost less than a war4 ,,the ,,international ,,control ,,of ,,education4 ,if you do not watch the education of a country all other international precautions for peace and mutual understanding will be wholly illusory4 ,an ,international ,board of ,education should control the programmes of education of all countries4 ,it should watch that one principle prevails in every educational programme1 i4e41 the principle of ,panhumanism4 ,it should not interfere as to the form of education1 no1 far from that1 but look to the unity of the principle of education upon the whole globe4 ,it should carefully avoid all the watchwords which make for separations and wars1 like ,germany1 ,germany over all6 ,the child must love its own country1 but it must know also that its country is not the thing over all other things4 ,it must be taught that ,god and mankind are something which stands above its country4 ,it should control not only the governmental programmes of education1 but it should also watch the mothers1 patriots and priests4 ,it should try to have these three world-powers not for the enemies but for the allies and missionaries of a higher1 and a panhuman education4 ,,the ,,third ,,stage ,,of ,,the ,,european ,,education4 ,there are three stages of the ,christian ,european education3-- #a4 ,compulsory obedience4 ,this was in the ,middle ,ages when men were compelled to do the common work by the authority of the church and nobility4 #b4 ,the experiment with ,individualism4 ,this has been since the ,renaissance1 especially since ,rousseau--a personality put as the centre and aim of education1 the abhorrence of every compulsion whatsoever4 #c4 ,voluntary ,obedience4 ,it is the education of tomorrow4 ,it is a stage where all men will see their mission in their collective work1 and therefore voluntarily enchain themselves into the panhuman organism1 plunging their imaginative1 pointlike personalities into a big and mystic personality of mankind4 ,the ,voluntary ,obedience will mean a voluntary slavery4 ,we are going to be slaves again1 but not by royal or papal compulsion1 but by our good will2 we are going to be slaves as the parts of a body are slaves and servants of each other1 and as the bricks are slaves and servants of a great building4 ,we are going to be prisoners of the ,lord1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 instead of being as now the prisoners of our dreams1 imaginations and ambitions4 ,this war will close a period of a wrong education1 and will open a period of a right one4 ,it will open our eyes that we may see how we all are one1 and how the greatest of us is nothing else than a bigger cell in the immense organism of history4 ,there is no hope for the future in the politicians1 or generals1 now struggling4 ,the only hope and guarantee lies in the children4 ,a new education in personal goodness making for social greatness is the only salutary war4 ,therefore1 let us look to the children6