,from images generously made available by ,gallica 7,bibliothque ,nationale de ,france7 at http3_/_/gallica4bnf4fr4 ,,practical ,,essays4 by ,,alexander ,,bain1 ,,ll4,d41 ,,emeritus ,,professor ,,of ,,logic ,,in ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,aberdeen4 ,,london3 #ahhd4 ,,preface4 ,the present volume is in great part a reprint of articles contributed to ,reviews4 ,the principal bond of union among them is their practical character4 ,beyond that1 there is little to connect them apart from the individuality of the author and the range of his studies4 ,that there is a certain amount of novelty in the various suggestions here embodied1 will be admitted on the most cursory perusal4 ,the farther question of their worth is necessarily left open4 ,the first two essays are applications of the laws of mind to some prevailing ,errors4 ,the next two have an educational bearing3 the one is on the subjects proper for ,competitive ,examinations2 the other1 on the present position of the much vexed ,classical controversy4 ,the fifth considers the range of ,philosophical or ,metaphysical ,study1 and the mode of conducting this study in ,debating ,societies4 ,the sixth contains a retrospect of the growth of the ,universities1 with more especial reference to those of ,scotland2 and also a discussion of the ,university ,ideal1 as something more than professional teaching4 ,the seventh is a chapter omitted from the author's ,science of ,education2 it is mainly devoted to the methods of self-education by means of books4 ,the situation thus assumed has peculiarities that admit of being handled apart from the general theory of ,education4 ,the eighth contends for the extension of liberty of thought1 as regards ,sectarian ,creeds and ,subscription to ,articles4 ,the total emancipation of the clerical body from the thraldom of subscription1 is here advocated without reservation4 ,the concluding essay discusses the ,procedure of ,deliberative ,bodies4 ,its novelty lies chiefly in proposing to carry out1 more thoroughly than has yet been done1 a few devices already familiar4 ,but for an extraordinary reluctance in all quarters to adapt simple and obvious remedies to a growing evil1 the article need never have appeared4 ,it so happens1 that the case principally before the public mind at present1 is the deadlock in the ,house of ,commons2 yet1 had that stood alone1 the author would not have ventured to meddle with the subject4 ,the difficulty1 however1 is widely felt3 and the principles here put forward are perfectly general2 being applicable wherever deliberative bodies are numerously constituted and heavily laden with business4 ,,aberdeen1 ,march1 #ahhd4 ,,contents4 ,i4 ,,common ,,errors ,,on ,,the ,,mind4 ,error regarding ,mind as a whole--that ,mind can be exerted without bodily expenditure4 ,errors with regard to the ,,feelings4 ,i4 ,advice to take on cheerfulness4 ,authorities for this prescription4 ,presumptions against our ability to comply with it4 ,concurrence of the cheerful temperament with youth and health4 ,with special corporeal vigour4 ,with absence of care and anxiety4 ,limitation of ,force applies to the mind4 ,the only means of rescuing from dulness--to increase the supports and diminish the burdens of life4 ,difficulties ,in the choice of amusements ,,ii4 ,prescribing certain tastes1 or pursuits1 to persons indiscriminately4 ,tastes must repose as natural endowment1 or else in prolonged education4 ,,iii4 ,inverted relationship of ,feelings and ,imagination4 ,imagination does not determine ,feeling1 but the reverse4 ,examples3--,bacon1 ,shelley1 ,byron1 ,burke1 ,chalmers1 the ,orientals1 the ,chinese1 the ,celt1 and the ,saxon4 ,,iv4 ,fallaciousness of the view1 that happiness is best gained by not being aimed at4 ,seemingly a self-contradiction4 ,butler's view of the disinterestedness of ,appetite4 ,apart from pleasure and pain1 ,appetite would not move us4 ,parallel from other ends of pursuit--,health4 ,life has two aims--,happiness and ,virtue--each to be sought directly on its own account4 ,errors connected with the ,,will4 ,i4 ,cost of energy1 of ,will4 ,need of a suitable physical confirmation4 ,courage1 ,prudence1 ,belief4 ,,ii4 ,free-will a centre of various fallacies4 ,doctrines repudiated from the offence given to personal dignity4 ,operation of this on the history of ,free-will4 ,,iii4 ,departing from the usual rendering of a fact1 treated as denying the fact4 ,metaphysical and ,ethical examples4 ,alliance of ,mind and ,matter4 ,perception of a ,material ,world4 ,,iv4 ,the terms ,freedom and ,necessity miss the real point of the human will4 ,v4 ,moral ,ability and ,inability4--,fallacy of seizing a question by the wrong end4 ,proper signification of ,moral ,inability--insufficiency of the ordinary motives1 but not of all motives4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii4 ,,errors ,,of ,,suppressed ,,correlatives4 ,meanings of ,relativity--intellectual and emotional4 ,all impressions greatest at first4 ,law of ,accommodation and habit4 ,the pleasure of rest presupposes toil4 ,knowledge has its charm from previous ignorance4 ,silence is of value1 after excess of speech4 ,previous pain not1 in all cases1 necessary to pleasure4 ,simplicity of ,style praiseworthy only under prevailing artificiality4 ,to extol ,knowledge is to reprobate ,ignorance4 ,authority appealed to1 when in our favour1 repudiated when against us4 ,fallacy of declaring all labour honourable alike4 ,the happiness of ,justice supposes reciprocity4 ,love and ,benevolence need to be reciprocated4 ,the moral nature of ,god--a fallacy of suppressed correlative ,a perpetual miracle--a self-contradiction4 ,fallacy that1 in the world1 everything is mysterious4 ,proper meaning of ,mystery4 ,locke and ,newton on the true nature of ,explanation ,the ,understanding cannot transcend its own experience4--,time and ,space1 their ,infinity4 ,we can assimilate facts1 and generalise the many into one4 ,this alone constitutes ,explanation4 ,example from ,gravity3 not now mysterious4 ,body and ,mind4 ,in what ways the mysteriousness of their union might be done away with4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,civil ,,service ,,examinations4 ,i4 ,,historical ,,sketch4 ,first official recommendation of ,competitive ,examinations4 ,successive steps towards their adoption4 ,first absolutely open ,competition--in the ,india ,service4 ,macaulay's ,report on the subjects for examination and their values4 ,table of ,subjects4 ,innovations of ,lord ,salisbury4 ,an amended ,table4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,science ,,considered4 ,doubts expressed as to the expediency of the competitive system4 ,criticism of the present prescription for the higher ,services4 ,the ,commissioners' ,scheme of ,mathematics and ,natural ,science objectionable4 ,classification of the ,sciences into ,abstract or fundamental1 and ,concrete or derivative4 ,those of the first class have a fixed order1 the order of dependence4 ,the other class is represented by the ,natural ,history ,sciences1 which bring into play the ,logic of ,classification4 ,each of these is allied to one or other members of the primary ,sciences4 ,the ,commissioners' ,table misstates the relationships of the various ,sciences4 ,the ,london ,university ,scheme a better model4 ,the choice allowed by the ,commissioners not founded on a proper principle4 ,the higher ,mathematics encouraged to excess4 ,amended scheme of comparative values4 ,position of ,languages in the examinations4 ,the place in education of ,language generally4 ,purposes of ,language acquisition4 ,altered position of the ,classical1 languages4 ,alleged benefits of these languages1 after ceasing to be valuable in their original use4 ,the teaching of the languages does not correspond to these secondary values4 ,languages are not a proper subject for competition with a view to appointments4 ,for foreign service1 there should be a pass examination in the languages needful4 ,the training powers attributed to languages should be tested in its own character4 ,instead of the ,languages of ,greece1 ,rome1 c41 substitute the ,history and ,literature4 ,allocation of marks under this view4 ,objections answered4 ,certain subjects should be obligatory4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,classical ,,controversy4 ,,its ,,present ,,aspect4 ,attack on ,classics by ,combe1 fifty years ago4 ,alternative proposals at the present day3-- #a4 ,the existing system ,attempts at extending the ,science course under this system4 #b4 ,remitting ,greek in favour of a modern language4 ,a defective arrangement4 #c4 ,remitting both ,latin and ,greek in favour of ,french and ,german4 #d4 ,complete bifurcation of the ,classical and the ,modern sides4 ,the ,universities must be prepared to admit a thorough modern alternative course4 ,latin should not be compulsory in the modern side4 ,defences of ,classics4 ,the argument from the ,greeks knowing only their own language--never answered4 ,admission that the teaching of classics needs improvement4 ,alleged results of contact with the great authors of ,greece and ,rome--unsupported by facts4 ,amount of benefit attainable without knowledge of originals4 ,the element of training may be obtained from modern languages4 ,the classics said to keep the mind free from party bias4 ,canon ,liddon's argument in favour of ,greek as a study4 99 99 99 99 99 ,v4 ,,metaphysics ,,and ,,debating ,,societies4 ,metaphysics here taken as comprising ,psychology1 ,logic1 and their dependent sciences4 ,importance of the two fundamental departments4 ,the great problems1 such as ,free-will and ,external ,perception should be run up into systematic ,psychology4 ,logic also requires to be followed out systematically4 ,slender connection of ,logic and ,psychology4 ,derivative ,sciences3--,education4 ,aesthetics--a corner of the larger field of ,human ,happiness ,the treatment of ,happiness should be dissevered from ,ethics ,adam ,smith's loose rendering of the conditions of happiness ,sociology--treated1 partly in its own field1 and partly as a derivative of ,psychology4 ,through it lies the way to ,ethics4 ,the sociological and the ethical ends compared4 ,factitious applications of ,metaphysical study4 ,bearings on ,theology1 as regards both attack and defence4 ,incapable of supplying the place of ,theology4 ,polemical handling of ,metaphysics4 ,methodised ,debate in the ,greek ,schools4 ,much must always be done by the solitary thinker4 ,best openings for ,polemic3--,settling' the meanings of terms4 ,discussing the broader generalities4 ,the ,debate a light for mastery1 and ill-suited for nice adjustments4 ,the ,essay should be a centre of amicable co-operation1 which would have special advantages4 ,avoidance of such debates as are from their very nature interminable4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,university ,,ideal--,,past ,,and ,,present4 ,the ,higher ,teaching in ,greece4 ,the ,middle ,age and ,bothius4 ,eve of the ,university4 ,separation of ,philosophy from ,theology4 ,the ,universities of ,scotland founded--their history4 ,first ,period4--,the ,teaching ,body4 ,the ,subjects taught and manner of teaching4 ,second ,period4--,the ,reformation4 ,modified ,curriculum--,andrew ,melville4 ,attempted reforms in teaching4 ,system of ,disputation4 ,improvements constituting the transition to the ,third ,period4 ,the ,universities and the political revolutions4 ,how far the ,universities are essential to professional teaching3 perennial alternative of ,apprenticeship4 ,the ,ideal ,graduate4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,study4 ,study more immediately supposes learning from ,books4 ,the ,greeks did not found an ,art of ,study1 but afforded examples3 ,demosthenes4 ,quintilian's ,institutes a landmark4 ,bacon's ,essay on ,studies4 ,hobbes4 ,milton's ,tractate on ,education4 ,locke's ,conduct of the ,understanding very specific as to rules of ,study4 ,watts's work entitled ,the ,improvement of the ,mind4 ,what an ,art of ,study should attempt4 ,mode of approaching it4 ,i4 ,first ,maxim--,select a ,text-book-in-chief4 ,violations of the maxim3 ,milton's system4 ,form or ,method to be looked to1 in the chief text-book4 ,the ,sciences4 ,history4 ,non-methodical subjects4 ,repudiation of plans of study by some4 ,merits to be sought in a principal ,text-book4 ,question as between old writers and new4 ,paradoxical extreme--one book and no more4 ,single all-sufficing books do not exist4 ,illustration from ,locke's treatment of the ,bible4 ,,ii4 ,what constitutes the study of a book8 #a4 ,copying literally3--,defects of this plan4 #b4 ,committing to memory word for word4 ,profitable only for brief portions of a book4 ,memory in extension and intension4 #c4 ,making ,abstracts4 ,variety of modes of abstracting4 #d4 ,locke's plan of reading4 ,a sense of ,form must concur with abstracting4 ,example from the ,practice of ,medicine4 ,example from the ,oratorical ,art ,choice of a series of ,speeches to begin upon4 ,an oratorical scheme essential4 ,exemplary ,speeches4 ,illustration from the oratorical quality of negative tact4 ,macaulay's ,speeches on ,reform4 ,study for improvement in ,style4 ,,iii4 ,distributing the ,attention in ,reading4 ,,iv4 ,desultory ,reading4 ,v4 ,proportion of book-reading to ,observation at first hand4 ,,vi4 ,adjuncts of ,reading4--,conversation4 ,original ,composition4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,viii4 ,,religious ,,tests ,,and ,,subscriptions4 ,pursuit of ,truth has three departments3--order of nature1 ends of practice1 and the supernatural4 ,growth of ,intolerance4 ,how innovations became possible4 ,in early society1 religion a part of the civil government4 ,beginnings of toleration--dissentients from the ,state ,church4 ,evils attendant on ,subscription3--the practice inherently fallacious4 ,enforcement of creeds nugatory for the end in view4 ,dogmatic uniformity only a part of the religious character3 element of ,feeling4 ,recital of the general argument for religious liberty4 ,beginnings of prosecution for heresy in ,greece3--,anaxagoras1 ,socrates1 ,plato1 ,aristotle4 ,forced reticence in recent times3--,carlyle1 ,macaulay1 ,lyell4 ,evil of disfranchising the ,clerical class4 ,outspokenness a virtue to be encouraged4 ,special necessities of the present time3 conflict of advancing knowledge with the received orthodoxy4 ,objections answered3--,the ,church has engaged itself to the ,state to teach given tenets4 ,possible abuse of freedom by the clergy4 ,the history of the ,english ,presbyterian ,church exemplifies the absence of ,subscription4 ,various modes of transition from the prevailing practice4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ix4 ,,procedure ,,of ,,deliberative ,,bodies4 ,growing evil of the intolerable length of ,debates4 ,hurried decisions might be obviated by allowing an interval previous to the vote4 ,the oral debate reviewed4--,assumptions underlying it1 fully examined4 ,evidence that1 in ,parliament1 it is not the main engine of persuasion4 ,its real service is to supply the newspaper reports4 ,printing1 without speaking1 would serve the end in view4 ,proposal to print and distribute beforehand the reasons for each ,motion4 ,illustration from decisions on ,reports of ,committees4 ,movers of ,amendments to follow the same course4 ,further proposal to give to each member the liberty of circulating a speech in print1 instead of delivering it4 ,the dramatic element in legislation much thought of4 ,comparison of the advantages of reading and of listening4 ,the numbers of backers to a motion should be proportioned to the size of the assembly4 ,absurdity of giving so much power to individuals4 ,in the ,house of ,commons twenty backers to each bill not too many4 ,the advantages of printed speeches4 ,objections4 ,unworkability of the plan in ,committees4 ,how remedied4 ,in putting questions to ,ministers1 there should be at least ten backers4 ,how to compensate for the suppression of oratory in the ,house3--,sectional discussions4 ,the divisions occasioned at one sitting to be taken at the beginning of the next4 ,every deliberative body must be free to determine what amount of speaking it requires4 ,the ,english ,parliamentary system considered as a model4 ,lord ,derby and ,lord ,sherbrooke on the extension of printing4 ,defects of the present system becoming more apparent4 99 99 99 99 99 ,notes and ,references in connection with ,essay ,,viii4 on ,subscription ,first imposition of ,tests after the ,english ,reformation4 ,dean ,milman's speech in favour of total abolition of ,tests4 ,tests in ,scotland3 ,mr4 ,taylor ,innes on the ,law of ,creeds4 ,resumption of ,subscription in the ,english ,presbyterian ,church4 ,other ,english ,dissenting ,churches4 ,presbyterian ,church in the ,united ,states4 ,french ,protestant ,church--its two divisions4 ,switzerland3--,canton of ,valid4 ,independent ,evangelical ,church of ,neuchatel4 ,national ,protestant ,church of ,geneva4 ,free ,church of ,geneva4 ,germanic ,switzerland4 ,hungarian ,reformed ,church4 ,germany3--,recent prosecutions for heresy4 ,holland3--,calvinists and ,modern ,school4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i4 ,,common ,,errors ,,on ,,the ,,mind4#a ,on the prevailing errors on the mind1 proposed to be considered in this paper1 some relate to the ,feelings1 others to the ,will4 ,in regard to ,mind as a whole1 there are still to be found among us some remnants of a mistake1 once universally prevalent and deeply rooted1 namely1 the opinion that mind is not only a different fact from body--which is true1 and a vital and fundamental truth--but is to a greater or less extent independent of the body4 ,in former times1 the remark seldom occurred to any one1 unless obtruded by some extreme instance1 that to work the mind is also to work a number of bodily organs2 that not a feeling can arise1 not a thought can pass1 without a set of concurring bodily processes4 ,at the present day1 however1 this doctrine is very generally preached by men of science4 ,the improved treatment of the insane has been one consequence of its reception4 ,the husbanding of mental power1 through a bodily rgime1 is a no less important application4 ,instead of supposing that mind is something indefinite1 elastic1 inexhaustible1--a sort of perpetual motion1 or magician's bottle1 all expenditure1 and no supply1--we now find that every single throb of pleasure1 every smart of pain1 every purpose1 thought1 argument1 imagination1 must have its fixed quota of oxygen1 carbon1 and other materials1 combined and transformed in certain physical organs4 ,and1 as the possible extent of physical transformation in each person's framework is limited in amount1 the forces resulting cannot be directed to one purpose without being lost for other purposes4 ,if an extra share passes to the muscles1 there is less for the nerves2 if the cerebral functions are pushed to excess1 other functions have to be correspondingly abated4 ,in several of the prevailing opinions about to be criticised1 failure to recognise this cardinal truth is the prime source of mistake4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to begin with the ,,feelings4 ,i4 ,we shall first consider an advice or prescription repeatedly put forth1 not merely by the unthinking mass1 but by men of high repute3 it is1 that with a view to happiness1 to virtue1 and to the accomplishment of great designs1 we should all be cheerful1 light-hearted1 gay4 ,i quote a passage from the writings of one of the ,apostolic ,fathers1 the ,pastor of ,hermas1 as given in ,dr4 ,donaldson's abstract3-- ,command tenth affirms that sadness is the sister of doubt1 mistrust1 and wrath2 that it is worse than all other spirits1 and grieves the ,holy ,spirit4 ,it is therefore to be completely driven away1 and1 instead of it1 we are to put on cheerfulness1 which is pleasing to ,god4 ',every cheerful man works well1 and always thinks those things which are good1 and despises sadness4 ,the sad man1 on the other hand1 is always bad4'#b ,,fallacy ,,of ,,prescribing ,,cheerfulness4 ,dugald ,stewart inculcates ,good-humour as a means of happiness and virtue2 his language implying that the quality is one within our power to appropriate4 ,in ,mr4 ,smiles's work entitled ,self-,help1 we find an analogous strain of remarks3-- ,to wait patiently1 however1 man must work cheerfully4 ,cheerfulness is an excellent working quality1 imparting great elasticity to the character4 ,as a ,bishop has said1 ',temper is nine-tenths of ,christianity1' so are cheerfulness and diligence a considerable make-weight nine-tenths of practical wisdom4 ,sir ,arthur ,helps1 in those essays of his1 combining profound observation with strong genial sympathies and the highest charms of style1 repeatedly adverts to the dulness1 the want of sunny light-hearted enjoyment of the ,english temperament1 and1 on one occasion1 piquantly quotes the remark of ,froissart on our ,saxon progenitors3 ,they took their pleasures sadly1 as was their fashion2 ils se divertirent moult tristement la mode de leur pays ,there is no dispute as to the value or the desirableness of this accomplishment4 ,hume1 in his ,life1 says of himself1 he was ever disposed to see the favourable more than the unfavourable side of things2 a turn of mind which it is more happy to possess than to be born to an estate of ten thousand a year4 ,this sanguine1 happy temper1 is merely another form of the cheerfulness recommended to general adoption4 ,i contend1 nevertheless1 that to bid a man be habitually cheerful1 he not being so already1 is like bidding him treble his fortune1 or add a cubit to his stature4 ,the quality of a cheerful1 buoyant temperament partly belongs to the original cast of the constitution--like the bone1 the muscle1 the power of memory1 the aptitude for science or for music2 and is partly the outcome of the whole manner of life4 ,in order to sustain the quality1 the physical 7as the support of the mental7 forces of the system must run largely in one particular channel2 and1 of course1 as the same forces are not available elsewhere1 so notable a feature of strength will be accompanied with counterpart weaknesses or deficiencies4 ,let us briefly review the facts bearing upon the point4 ,the first presumption in favour of the position is grounded in the concomitance of the cheerful temperament with youth1 health1 abundant nourishment4 ,it appears conspicuously along with whatever promotes physical vigour4 ,the state is partially attained during holidays1 in salubrious climates1 and health-bringing avocations2 it is lost1 in the midst of toils1 in privation of comforts1 and in physical prostration4 ,the seeming exception of elated spirits in bodily decay1 in fasting1 and in ascetic practices1 is no disproof of the general principle1 but merely the introduction of another principle1 namely1 that we can feed one part of the system at the expense of degrading and prematurely wasting others4 ,,light-,,heartedness ,,not ,,in ,,our ,,own ,,power4 ,a second presumption is furnished also from our familiar experience4 ,the high-pitched1 hilarious temperament and disposition commonly appear in company with some well-marked characteristics of corporeal vigour4 ,such persons are usually of a robust mould2 often large and full in person1 vigorous in circulation and in digestion2 able for fatigue1 endurance1 and exhausting pleasures4 ,an eminent example of this constitution was seen in ,charles ,james ,fox1 whose sociability1 cheerfulness1 gaiety1 and power of dissipation were the marvel of his age4 ,another example might be quoted in the admirable physical frame of ,lord ,palmerston4 ,it is no more possible for an ordinarily constituted person to emulate the flow and the animation of these men1 than it is to digest with another person's stomach1 or to perform the twelve labours of ,hercules4 ,a third fact1 less on the surface1 but no less certain1 is1 that the men of cheerful and buoyant temperament1 as a rule1 sit easy to the cares and obligations of life4 ,they are not much given to care and anxiety as regards their own affairs1 and it is not to be expected that they should be more anxious about other people's4 ,in point of fact1 this is the constitution of somewhat easy virtue3 it is not distinguished by a severe1 rigid attention to the obligations and the punctualities of life4 ,we should not be justified in calling such persons selfish2 still less should we call them cold-hearted3 their exuberance overflows upon others in the form of heartiness1 geniality1 joviality1 and even lavish generosity4 ,still1 they can seldom be got to look far before them2 they do not often assume the painfully circumspect attitude required in the more arduous enterprises4 ,they are not conscientious in trifles4 ,they cast off readily the burdensome parts of life4 ,all which is in keeping with our principle4 ,to take on burdens and cares is to draw upon the vital forces--to leave so much the less to cheerfulness and buoyant spirits4 ,the same corporeal framework cannot afford a lavish expenditure in several different ways at one time4 ,fox had no long-sightedness1 no tendency to forecast evils1 or to burden himself with possible misfortunes4 ,it is very doubtful if ,palmerston could have borne the part of ,wellington in the ,peninsula2 his easy-going temperament would not have submitted itself to all the anxieties and precautions of that vast enterprise4 ,but ,palmerston was hale and buoyant1 and the ,prime ,minister of ,england at eighty3 ,wellington began to be infirm at sixty4 ,,limitations ,,of ,,the ,,mental ,,forces4 ,to these three experimental proofs we may add the confirmation derived from the grand doctrine named the ,correlation1 ,conservation1 ,persistence1 or ,limitation of ,force1 as applied to the human body and the human mind4 ,we cannot create force anywhere2 we merely appropriate existing force4 ,the heat of our fires has been derived from the solar fire4 ,we cannot lift a weight in the hand without the combustion of a certain amount of food2 we cannot think a thought without a similar demand2 and the force that goes in one way is unavailable in any other way4 ,while we are expending ourselves largely in any single function--in muscular exercise1 in digestion1 in thought and feeling1 the remaining functions must continue for the time in comparative abeyance4 ,now1 the maintenance of a high strain of elated feeling1 unquestionably costs a great deal to the forces of the system4 ,all the facts confirm this high estimate4 ,an unusually copious supply of arterial blood to the brain is an indispensable requisite1 even although other organs should be partially starved1 and consequently be left in a weak condition1 or else deteriorate before their time4 ,to support the excessive demand of power for one object1 less must be exacted from other functions4 ,hard bodily labour and severe mental application sap the very foundations of buoyancy2 they may not entail much positive suffering1 but they are scarcely compatible with exuberant spirits4 ,there may be exceptional individuals whose total of power is a very large figure1 who can bear more work1 endure more privation1 and yet display more buoyancy1 without shortened life1 than the average human being4 ,hardly any man can attain commanding greatness without being constituted larger than his fellows in the sum of human vitality4 ,but until this is proved to be the fact in any given instance1 we are safe in presuming that extraordinary endowment in one thing implies deficiency in other things4 ,more especially must we conclude1 provisionally at least1 that a buoyant1 hopeful1 elated temperament lacks some other virtues1 aptitudes1 or powers1 such as are seen flourishing in the men whose temperament is sombre1 inclining to despondency4 ,most commonly the contradictory demand is reconciled by the proverbial short life and merry4 ,adverting now to the object that ,helps had so earnestly at heart--namely1 to rouse and rescue the ,english population from their comparative dulness to a more lively and cheerful flow of existence--let us reflect how1 upon the foregoing principles1 this is to be done4 ,not certainly by an eloquent appeal to the nation to get up and be amused4 ,the process will turn out to be a more circuitous one4 ,the mental conformation of the ,english people1 which we may admit to be less lively and less easily amused than the temperament of ,irishmen1 ,frenchmen1 ,spaniards1 ,italians1 or even the ,german branch of our own ,teutonic race1 is what it is from natural causes1 whether remote descent1 or that coupled with the operation of climate and other local peculiarities4 ,how long would it take1 and what would be the way to establish in us a second nature on the point of cheerfulness8 ,again1 with the national temperament such as it is1 there may be great individual differences2 and it may be possible by force of circumstances1 to improve the hilarity and the buoyancy of any given person4 ,many of our countrymen are as joyous themselves1 and as much the cause of joy in others1 as the most light-hearted ,irishman1 or the gayest ,frenchman or ,italian4 ,how shall we increase the number of such1 so as to make them the rule rather than the exception8 ,,sole ,,means ,,of ,,attaining ,,cheerfullness4 ,the only answer not at variance with the laws of the human constitution is--,increase the supports and diminish the burdens of life4 ,for example1 if by any means you can raise the standard of health and longevity1 you will at once effect a stride in the direction sought4 ,but what an undertaking is this6 ,it is not merely setting up what we call sanitary arrangements1 to which1 in our crowded populations1 there must soon be a limit reached 7for how can you secure to the mass of men even the one condition of sufficient breathing-space871 it is that health cannot be attained1 in any high general standard1 without worldly means far above the average at the disposal of the existing population2 while the most abundant resources are often neutralised by ineradicable hereditary taint4 ,to which it is to be added1 that mankind can hardly as yet be said to be in earnest in the matter of health4 ,farther3 it is especially necessary to cheerfulness1 that a man should not be overworked1 as many of us are1 whether from choice or from necessity4 ,much1 ,i believe1 turns upon this circumstance4 ,severe toil consumes the forces of the constitution1 without leaving the remainder requisite for hilarity of tone4 ,the ,irishman fed upon three meals of potatoes a day1 the lazy ,highlander1 the ,lazaroni of ,naples living upon sixpence a week1 are very poorly supported2 but then their vitality is so little drawn upon by work1 that they may exceed in buoyancy of spirits the well-fed but hard-worked labourer4 ,we1 the ,english people1 would not change places with them1 notwithstanding3 our ideal is industry with abundance2 but then our industry sobers our temperament1 and inclines us to the dulness that ,helps regrets4 ,possibly1 we may one day hit a happier mean2 but to the human mind extremes have generally been found easiest4 ,once more3 the light-hearted races trouble themselves little about their political constitution1 about despotism or liberty2 they enjoy the passing moments of a despot's smiles1 and if he turns round and crushes them1 they quietly submit4 ,we live in dread of tyranny4 ,our liberty is a serious object2 it weighs upon our minds4 ,now any weight upon the mind is so much taken from our happiness2 hilarity may attend on poverty1 but not so well on a serious1 forecasting disposition4 ,our regard to the future makes us both personally industrious and politically anxious2 a temper not to be amused with the relaxations of the ,parisian in his caf on the boulevards1 or with the ,sunday merry-go-round of the light-hearted ,dane4 ,our very pleasures have still a sadness in them4 ,then1 again1 what are to be our amusements8 ,by what recreative stimulants shall we irradiate the gloom of our idle hours and vacation periods8 ,doubtless there have been many amusements invented by the benefactors of our species--society1 games1 music1 public entertainments1 books2 and in a well-chosen round of these1 many contrive to pass their time in a tolerable flow of satisfaction4 ,but they all cost something2 they all cost money1 either directly1 to procure them1 or indirectly1 to be educated for them4 ,there are few very cheap pleasures4 ,books are not so difficult to obtain1 but the enjoying of them in any high degree implies an amount of cultivation that cannot be had cheaply4 ,moreover1 look at the difficulties that beset the pursuit of amusements4 ,how fatiguing are they very often6 ,how hard to distribute the time and the strength between them and our work or our duties6 ,it needs some art to steer one's way in the midst of variety of pleasures4 ,hence there will always be1 in a cautious-minded people1 a disposition to remain satisfied with few and safe delights2 to assume a sobriety of aims that ,helps might call dulness1 but that many of us call the middle path4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,fallacy ,,of ,,prescribing ,,tastes4 ,,ii4 ,a second error against the limits of the human powers is the prescribing to persons indiscriminately1 certain tastes1 pursuits1 and subjects of interest1 on the ground that what is a spring of enjoyment to one or a few may be taken up1 as a matter of course1 by others with the same relish4 ,it is1 indeed1 a part of happiness to have some taste1 occupation1 or pursuit1 adequate to charm and engross us--a ruling passion1 a favourite study4 ,accordingly1 the victims of dulness and ennui are often advised to betake themselves to something of this potent character4 ,kingsley1 in his little book on the ,wonders of the ,shore1 endeavoured to convert mankind at large into marine naturalists2 and1 some time ago1 there appeared in the newspapers a letter from ,carlyle1 regretting that he himself had not been indoctrinated into the zoology of our waysides4 ,i have heard a man out of health1 hypochondriac1 and idle1 recommended to begin botany1 geology1 or chemistry1 as a diversion of his misery4 ,the idea is plausible and superficial4 ,an overpowering taste for any subject--botany1 zoology1 antiquities1 music--is properly affirmed to be born with a man4 ,the forces of the brain must from the first incline largely to that one species of impressions1 to which must be added years of engrossing pursuit4 ,we may gaze with envy at the fervour of a botanist over his dried plants1 and may wish to take up so fascinating a pursuit3 we may just as easily wish to be ,archimedes when he leaped out of the bath2 a man cannot re-cast his brain nor re-live his life4 ,a taste of a high order1 founded on natural endowment1 formed by education1 and strengthened by active devotion1 is also paid for by the atrophy of other tastes1 pursuits1 and powers4 ,carlyle might have contracted an interest in frogs1 and spiders1 and bees1 and the other denizens of the wayside1 but it would have been with the surrender of some other interest1 the diversion of his genius out of its present channels4 ,the strong emotions of the mind are not to be turned off and on1 to this subject and to that4 ,if you begin early with a human being1 you may impress a particular direction upon the feelings1 you may even cross a natural tendency1 and work up a taste on a small basis of predisposition4 ,place any youth in the midst of artists1 and you may induce a taste for art that shall at length be decided and strong4 ,but if you were to take the same person in middle life and immure him in a laboratory1 that he might become an enthusiastic chemist1 the limits of human nature would probably forbid your success4 ,such very strong tastes as impart a high and perennial zest to one's life are merely the special direction of a natural exuberance of feeling or emotion4 ,a spare and thin emotional temperament will undoubtedly have preferences1 likings and dislikings1 but it can never supply the material for fervour or enthusiasm in anything4 ,the early determining of natural tastes is a subject of high practical interest4 ,we shall only remark at present that a varied and broad groundwork of early education is the best known device for this end4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,relation ,,of ,,feelings ,,to ,,imagination4 ,,iii4 ,a third error1 deserving of brief comment1 is a singular inversion of the relationship of the ,feelings to the ,imagination4 ,it is frequently affirmed1 both in criticism and in philosophy1 that the ,feelings depend upon1 or have their basis in1 the ,imagination4 ,an able and polished writer1 discussing the character of ,edmund ,burke1 remarks3 ,the passions of ,burke were strong2 this is attributable in great measure to the intensity of the imaginative faculty4 ,again1 ,dugald ,stewart1 observing upon the influence of the ,imagination on ,happiness1 says3 ,all that part of our happiness or misery which arises from our hopes or our fears derives its existence entirely from the power of imagination4 ,he even goes the length of affirming that cowardice is entirely a disease of the imagination4 ,another writer accounts for the intensity of the amatory sentiments in ,robert ,burns by the strength of his imagination4 ,,imagination ,,grounded ,,in ,,feeling4 ,now1 ,i venture to affirm that this view very nearly reverses the fact4 ,the ,imagination is determined by the ,feelings1 and not the ,feelings by the ,imagination4 ,intensity of feeling1 emotion1 or passion1 is the earlier fact3 the intellect swayed and controlled by feeling1 shaping forms to correspond with an existing emotional tone1 is ,imagination4 ,it was not the imaginative faculty that gave ,wordsworth1 ,byron1 ,shelley1 and the poets generally1 their great enjoyment of nature2 but the love of nature1 pre-existing1 turned the attention and the thoughts upon nature1 filling the mind as a consequence with the impressions1 images1 recollections of nature2 out of which grew the poetic imaginings4 ,imagination is a compound of intellectual power and feeling4 ,the intellectual power may be great1 but if it is not accompanied with feeling1 it will not minister to feeling2 or it will minister to many feelings by turns1 and to none in particular4 ,as far as the intellectual power of a poet goes1 few men have excelled ,bacon4 ,he had a mind stored with imagery1 able to produce various and vivid illustrations of whatever thought came before him2 but these illustrations touched no deep feeling2 they were fresh1 original1 racy1 fanciful1 picturesque1 a play of the head that never touched the heart4 ,the man was by nature cold2 he had not the emotional depth or compass of an average ,englishman4 ,perhaps his strongest feeling of an enlarged or generous description was for human progress1 but it did not rise to passion2 there was no fervour1 no fury in it4 ,compare him with ,shelley on the same subject1 and you will see the difference between meagreness and intensity of feeling4 ,what intellect can be1 without strong feeling1 we have in ,bacon2 what intellect is1 with strong feeling1 we have in ,shelley4 ,the feeling gives the tone to the thoughts2 sets the intellect at work to find language having its own intensity1 to pile up lofty and impressive circumstances2 and then we have the poet1 the orator1 the thoughts that breathe1 and the words that burn4 ,bacon wrote on many impressive themes--on ,truth1 on ,love1 on ,religion1 on ,death1 and on the ,virtues in detail2 he was always original1 illustrative1 fanciful2 if intellectual means and resources could make a man feel in these things1 he would have felt deeply2 yet he never did4 ,the material of feeling is not contained in the intellect2 it has a seat and a source apart4 ,there was nothing in mere intellectual gifts to make ,byron a misanthrope3 but1 given that state of the feelings1 the intellect would be detained and engrossed by it2 would minister to1 expand1 and illustrate it2 and intellect so employed is ,imagination4 ,burke had indisputably a powerful imagination4 ,he had both elements3--the intellectual power1 or the richly stored and highly productive mind2 and the emotional power1 or the strength of passion that gives the lead to intellect4 ,his intellectual strength was often put forth in the ,baconian manner of illustration1 in light and sportive fancies4 ,there were many occasions where his feelings were not much roused4 ,he had topics to urge1 views to express1 and he poured out arguments1 and enlivened them with illustrations4 ,he was1 on those occasions1 an able expounder1 and no more4 ,but when his passions were stirred to the depths by the ,french ,revolution1 his intellectual power1 taking a new flight1 supplied him with figures of extraordinary intensity2 it was no longer the play of a cool man1 but the thunders of an aroused man2 we have then the hoofs of the swinish multitude1--the ten thousand swords leaping from their scabbards4 ,such feelings were not produced by the speaker's imagination3 they were produced by themselves2 they had their independent source in the region of feeling3 coupled with adequate powers of intellect1 they burst out into strong imagery4#c ,the ,orientals1 as a rule1 are distinguished for imaginative flights4 ,this is apparent in their religion1 their morality1 their poetry1 and their science4 ,the explanation is to be sought in the strength of their feelings1 coupled with a certain intellectual force4 ,the same intellect1 without the feelings1 would have issued differently4 ,the ,chinese are the exception4 ,they want the feelings1 and they want the imagination4 ,they are below ,europeans in this respect4 ,when we bring before them our own imaginative themes1 our own cast of religion1 accommodated as it is to our own peculiar temperament1 we fail in the desired effect4 ,our august mysteries are responded to1 not with reverential regard1 but with1 cold analysis4 ,the ,celt and the ,saxon are often contrasted on the point of imagination2 the prior fact is the comparative endowment for emotion4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,how ,,happiness ,,should ,,be ,,aimed ,,at4 ,,iv4 ,there is a fallacious mode of presenting the attainment of happiness2 namely1 that happiness is best secured by not being aimed at4 ,we should be aiming always at something else4 ,when examined closely1 the doctrine resolves itself into a kind of paradox4 ,all sorts of puzzles come up when we attempt to follow it to its consequences4 ,we might ask1 first1 whether there is any other object of pursuit in the same predicament--wealth1 health1 knowledge1 fame1 power4 ,these are1 every one1 a means or instrument of happiness1 if not happiness itself4 ,must we1 then1 in the case of each1 avoid aiming straight at the goal8 must we look askance in some other direction8 ,next1 in the case of happiness proper1 are we to aim at nothing at all1 to drift at random2 or may we aim at a definite object1 provided it is not happiness2 or1 lastly1 is there one side aim in particular that we must take8 ,the answer here would probably be--,aim at duty in general1 and at the good of others in particular4 ,these ends are not the same as happiness1 yet by keeping them steadily in the view1 and not thinking of self at all1 we shall eventually realise our greatest happiness4 ,without1 at present1 raising any question as to the fact alleged1 we must again remark that the prescription seems to contradict itself4 ,moralists of the austere type will never allow us to pursue happiness at all2 we must never mention the thing to ourselves3 duty or virtue is the one single aim and end of being4 ,such teachers may be right or they may be wrong1 but they do not contradict themselves4 ,when1 however1 we are told that by aiming at virtue1 we are on the best possible road to happiness1 this is but another way of letting us into the secret of happiness1 of putting us on the right1 instead of on the wrong1 track1 to attain it4 ,our teacher assumes that we are in search of happiness1 and he tells us how we are to proceed2 not by keeping it straight in the view1 but by keeping virtue straight in the view4 ,instead of pointing us to the vulgar happiness-seeker who would take the goal in a line1 he corrects the course1 and shows us the deviation that is necessary in order to arrive at it2 like the sailor making allowance for the deviation of the magnetic pole1 in steering4 ,happiness is not gained by a point-blank aim2 we must take a boomerang flight in some other line1 and come back upon the target by an oblique or reflected movement4 ,it is the idea of ,young on the ,love of ,praise 7,satire ,i41 #e47-- ,the love of ,praise howe'er concealed by art1 ,reigns more or less and glows in every heart1 ,the proud to gain it1 toils on toils endure1 ,the modest shun it but to make it sure4 ,under this corrected method1 we are happiness seekers all the same2 only our aims are better directed1 and our fruition more assured4 ,these remarks are intended to show that the doctrine of making men aim at virtue1 in order to happiness1 has no further effect than to teach us to include the interests of others with our own2 by showing that our own interests do not thereby suffer1 but the contrary4 ,the doctrine does not substitute a virtuous motive for a selfish one2 it is a refined artifice for squaring the two4 ,the world is no doubt a gainer by the change of view1 although the individual is not made really more meritorious4 ,we must next consider whether1 in fact1 the oblique aim at happiness is really the most effectual4 ,a few words1 first1 as to the original source of the doctrine of a devious course4 ,bishop ,butler is renowned for his distinction between ,self-,love and ,appetite2 he contends that in ,appetite the object of pursuit is not the pleasure of eating1 but the food3 consequently1 eating is not properly a self-seeking act1 it is an indifferent or disinterested act1 to which there is an incidental accompaniment of pleasure4 ,we should1 under the stimulus of ,hunger1 seek the food1 whether it gave us pleasure or not4 ,now1 any truth that there is in ,butler's view amounts to this3--,in our ,appetites we are not thinking every instant of subduing pain and attaining pleasure2 we are ultimately moved by these feelings2 but1 having once seen that the medium of their gratification is a certain material object 7food71 we direct our whole aim to procuring that4 ,the hungry wolf ceases to think of his pains of hunger when he is in sight of a sheep2 but for these pains he would have paid no heed to the sheep2 yet when the sheep has to be caught1 the hunger is submerged for the time2 the only relevant course1 even on its account1 is to give the whole mind and body to the chase of the sheep4 ,butler calls this indifferent or disinterested pursuit2 and as much as says1 that the wolf is not self-seeking1 but sheep-seeking1 in its chase4 ,now1 it is quite true that if the wolf could give no place in its mind for anything but its hungry pains1 it would be in a bad way4 ,it is wiser than that2 it knows the remedy2 it is prepared to dismiss the pains from its thoughts1 in favour of a concentrated attention upon the distant flock4 ,this proves nothing as to its unselfishness2 nor does it prove that ,appetite is a different thing from self-seeking or self-love4 ,,appetite ,,declared ,,unselfish4 ,there may be disinterested motives in our constitution2 but ,appetite is not in any sense one of these4 ,we may have instincts answering to the traditional phrase used in defining instinct1 a blind propensity to act1 without aiming at anything in particular1 and without any expectation of pleasure or benefit4 ,such instincts would conform to ,butler's notion of appetite3 they would be entirely out of the course of self-love or self-seeking of any sort4 ,whether the nest-building activity of birds1 and the constructiveness of ants1 bees1 and beavers1 comply with this condition1 ,i do not undertake to say4 ,there is one process better known to ourselves1 not exactly an instinct1 but probably a mixture of instinct and acquirement--,i mean the process of ,imitation--which works very much upon this model4 ,although coming under the control of the ,will1 yet in its own proper character it operates blindly1 or without purpose2 neither courting pleasure1 nor chasing pain4 ,in like manner1 ,sympathy1 in its most characteristic form1 proceeds without any distinct aim of pleasure to ourselves4 ,nothing of this can be affirmed of the ,appetites4 ,in them1 nature places us1 as ,bentham says1 under the government of two sovereign masters1 pain and pleasure4 ,an appetite would cease to move us1 if its painful and pleasurable accompaniments were done away with4 ,it matters not that we remit our attention1 at times1 to the pain or the pleasure2 these are always in the background2 and the strength of the appetite is their strength4 ,so far as concerns ,butler's example of the ,appetites1 there is no case for the view that to obtain happiness we must avoid aiming at it directly4 ,if we do not aim at the pleasure in its own subjective character1 we aim at the thing that immediately brings the pleasure2 which is1 for all practical purposes1 to aim at the pleasure4 ,the prescription to look away from the final end1 ,happiness1 in order to secure that end1 may be tested on the example of one of our intermediate pursuits1 as ,health4 ,it is not a good thing to be always dwelling on the state of our health3 by doing so1 we get into a morbid condition of self-consciousness1 which is in itself pernicious4 ,it does not follow that we are to live at random1 without ever giving a thought to our health4 ,there is a plain middle course4 ,guided by our own experience1 and by the experience of those that have gone before us1 we arrange our plan of life so as to preserve health2 and our actions consist in adhering to that plan in the detail4 ,so long as our scheme answers expectation1 we think of nothing but of putting it in force1 as occasion arises2 we do not dwell upon our states of good health at all4 ,it is some interruption that makes us self-conscious2 and then it is that we have to exercise ourselves about a remedial course4 ,this1 when found1 is likewise objectively pursued2 our only subjectiveness lies in being aware of gradual recovery2 and we are glad to get back to the state of paying no attention to the workings of our viscera4 ,we do not1 therefore1 remit our pursuit2 only1 it is enough to observe the routine of outward actions1 whose sole motive is to keep us in health4 ,the pursuit of the still wider end1 ,happiness1 has much in common with the narrower pursuit4 ,when we have discovered what things promote1 and what things impede our happiness1 we transfer our attention to these1 as the most direct mode of compassing the end4 ,if we are satisfied that working for other people brings us happiness1 we work accordingly2 this is no side aim1 it is as direct as any aim can be4 ,it may involve immediate sacrifice1 but that does not alter the case2 we can get no considerable happiness from any source without temporary sacrifice4 ,,happiness ,,and ,,virtue ,,distinct ,,aims4 ,if it be said that the best mode of attaining happiness is to put ourselves entirely out of account1 and to work for others exclusively1 this1 as already noted1 is a self-contradiction4 ,it is to tell people not to think of their own happiness1 and yet to know that they are securing that in the most effectual way4 ,it is also very questionable1 indeed absolutely erroneous1 in fact4 ,the most apparent way to secure happiness is to ply all the known means of happiness1 just as far as1 and no farther than1 they are discovered to produce the effect4 ,we must keep a check upon the methods that we employ1 and abandon those that do not answer4 ,so long as we find happiness in serving others1 so long we continue in that course4 ,and it is a melancholy fact that ,pope's bold assertion--,virtue alone is happiness below1--cannot be upheld against the stern realities of life4 ,life needs to be made up of two aims--the one1 ,happiness1 the other ,virtue1 each on its own account4 ,there is a certain mutual connection of the two1 but all attempts at making out their identity are failures4 ,it is of very great importance to teach men the bearings of virtue on happiness1 so far as these are known4 ,there will1 however1 always remain a portion of duty that detracts from happiness1 and must be done as duty1 nevertheless4 ,men are entitled to pursue happiness as directly as ever they please2 only1 they must couple with the pursuit their round of duties to others2 in which they may or may not reap a share of the coveted good for self4 99 99 99 99 99 ,let us1 next1 consider some of the difficulties and mistakes attaching to the ,,will4 ,here there are the questions of world-renown1 questions known even in ,pandemonium--,free-will1 ,responsibility1 ,moral ,ability1 and ,inability4 ,it is now suspected1 on good grounds1 that1 on these questions1 we have somehow got into a wrong groove--that we are lost in a maze of our own constructing4 ,a ,,strong ,,will ,,the ,,gift ,,of ,,nature4 ,i4 ,we shall first notice a misconception akin to some of the foregoing mistakes respecting the feelings4 ,in addressing men with a view to spur their activity1 there is usually a too low estimate of what is implied in great and energetic efforts of will4 ,here1 exactly as in the cheerful temperament1 we find a certain constitutional endowment1 a certain natural force of character1 having its physical supports of brain1 muscle1 and other tissue2 and neither persuasion1 nor even education1 can go very far to alter that character4 ,if there be anything at all in the observations of phrenology1 it is the connection of energetic determination with size of brain4 ,lay your hand first on the head of an energetic man1 and then on the head of a feeble man1 and you will find a difference that is not to be explained away4 ,now it passes all the powers of persuasion and education combined to make up for a great cranial inequality4 ,something always comes of assiduous discipline2 but to set up a ,king ,alfred1 or a ,luther1 as a model to be imitated by an ordinary man1 on the points of energy1 perseverance1 endurance1 courage1 is to pass the bounds of the human constitution4 ,persistent energy of a high order1 like the temperament for happiness1 costs a great deal to the human system4 ,a large share of the total forces of the constitution go to support it2 and the diversion of power often leaves great defects in other parts of the character1 as for example1 a low order of the sensibilities1 and a narrow range of sympathies4 ,the men of extraordinary vigour and activity--our ,roman emperors and conquering heroes--are often brutal and coarse4 ,nature does not supply power profusely on all sides2 and delicate sympathies1 of themselves1 use up a very large fraction of the forces of the organisation4 ,even intellectually estimated1 the power of sympathising with many various minds and conditions would occupy as much room in the brain as a language1 or an accomplishment4 ,a man both energetic and sympathetic--a ,pericles1 a ,king ,alfred1 an ,oliver ,cromwell--is one of nature's giants1 several men in one4 ,there is no more notable phase of our active nature than ,courage4 ,great energy generally implies great courage1 and courage--at least in nine-tenths of its amount--comes by nature4 ,to exhort any one to be courageous is waste of words4 ,we may animate1 for the time1 a naturally timid person1 by explaining away the signs of danger1 and by assuming a confident attitude ourselves2 but the absolute force of courage is what neither we nor the man himself can add to4 ,a long and careful education might effect a slight increase in this1 as in other aspects of energy of character3 we can hardly say how much1 because it is a matter that is scarcely ever subjected to the trial2 the very conditions of the experiment have not been thought of4 ,the moral qualities expressed by ,prudence1 ,forethought1 ,circumspection1 are talked of with a like insufficient estimate of what they cost4 ,great are the rewards of prudence1 but great also is the expenditure of the prudent man4 ,to retain an abiding sense of all the possible evils1 risks and contingencies of an ordinary man's position--professional1 family1 and personal--is to go about under a constant burden2 the difference between a thorough-going and an easy-going circumspection is a large additional demand upon the forces of the brain4 ,the being on the alert to duck the head at every bullet is a charge to the vital powers2 so much so1 that there comes a point when it is better to run risks than to pile up costly precautions and bear worrying anxieties4 ,lastly1 the attribute of our active nature called ,belief1 ,confidence1 ,conviction1 is subject to the same line of remark4 ,this great quality--the opposite of distrust and timidity1 the ally of courage1 the adjunct of a buoyant temperament--is not fed upon airy nothings4 ,it is1 indeed1 a true mental quality1 an offshoot of our mental nature2 yet1 although not material1 it is based upon certain forces of the physical constitution2 it grows when these grow1 and is nourished when they are nourished4 ,people possessed of great confidence have it as a gift all through life1 like a broad chest or a good digestion4 ,preaching and education have their fractional efficacy1 and deserve to be plied1 provided the operator is aware of nature's impassable barriers1 and does not suppose that he is working by charm4 ,it is said of ,hannibal that he dissolved obstructions in the ,alps by vinegar2 in the moral world1 barriers are not to be removed either by acetic acid or by honey4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,prejudices ,,due ,,to ,,personal ,,dignity4 ,,ii4 ,the question of ,free-will might be a text for discoursing on some of the most inveterate erroneous tendencies of the mind4 ,for one thing1 it gives occasion to remark on the influence exerted over our opinions by the feeling of ,personal ,dignity4 ,of sources of bias1 prejudices1 ,idola1 fallacies a priori this may be allowed precedence4 ,for example1 the maxim has been enunciated by some philosophers1 that1 of two differing opinions1 preference is to be given 7not to what is true1 but7 to what ennobles and dignifies human nature4 ,one of the objections seriously entertained against ,darwin's theory is that it humbles our ancestral pride4 ,so1 to ascribe to our mental powers a material foundation is held to be degrading to our nobler part4 ,again1 a philosopher of our own day--,sir ,w4 ,hamilton--has placed on the title-page of his principal work this piece of rhetoric3 ,on earth1 there is nothing great but man2 in man1 there is nothing great but mind4 ,now one would suppose that there are on earth many things besides man deserving the appellation of great2 and that the mechanism of the body is1 in any view1 quite as remarkable a piece of work as the mechanism of the mind4 ,there was one step more that ,hamilton1 as an ,aristotelian1 should have made3 ,in mind1 there is nothing great but intellect4 ,doubtless1 we ought not to dissect an epigram2 but epigrams brought into a perverting contact with science are not harmless4 ,such gross pandering to human vanity must be held as disfiguring a work on philosophy4 ,the sentiment of dignity has much to answer for in the doctrine of ,free-will4 ,in ,aristotle1 the question had not assumed its modern perplexity2 but the vicious element of factitious personal importance had already peeped out1 it being one of the few points wherein the bias of the feelings operated decidedly in his well-balanced mind4 ,in maintaining the doctrine that vice is voluntary1 he argues1 that if virtue is voluntary1 vice 7its opposite7 must also be voluntary2 now to assert virtue not to be voluntary would be to cast an indignity upon it4 ,this is the earliest association of the feeling of personal dignity with the exercise of the human will4 ,,false ,,pride ,,in ,,connection ,,with ,,free-,,will4 ,the ,stoics are commonly said to have started the free-will difficulty4 ,this needs an explanation4 ,a leading tenet of theirs was the distinction between things in our power and things not in our power2 and they greatly overstrained the limits of what is in our power4 ,looking at the sentiment about death1 where the idea is everything1 and at many of our desires and aversions1 also purely sentimental1 that is1 made and unmade by our education 7as1 for example1 pride of birth71 they considered that pains in general1 even physical pains and grief for the loss of friends1 could be got over by a mental discipline1 by intellectually holding them not to be pains4 ,they extolled and magnified the power of the will that could command such a transcendent discipline1 and infused an emotion of pride into the consciousness of this greatness of will4 ,in subsequent ages1 poets1 moralists1 and theologians followed up the theme2 and the appeal to the pride of will may be said to be a standing engine of moral suasion4 ,this originating of a point of honour or dignity in connection with our ,will has been the main lure in bringing us into the jungle of ,free-will and ,necessity4 ,it is in the ,alexandrian school that we find the next move in the question4 ,in ,philo ,judaeus1 the good man is spoken of as free1 the wicked man as a slave4 ,except as the medium of a compliment to virtue1 the word freedom is not very apposite1 seeing that1 to the highest goodness1 there attaches submission or restraint1 rather than liberty4 ,the early ,christian ,fathers 7notably ,augustine7 advanced the question to the ,theological stage1 by connecting it with the great doctrines of ,original ,sin and ,predestination2 in which stage it shared all the speculative difficulties attaching to these doctrines4 ,the ,theological world1 however1 has always been divided between ,free-will and ,necessity2 and probably the weightiest names are to be found among the ,necessitarians4 ,no man ever brought greater acumen into theological controversy than did ,jonathan ,edwards2 and he took the side of ,necessity4 ,latterly1 however1 since the question has become one of pure metaphysics1 ,free-will has been the favourite dogma1 as being most consonant to the dignity of man1 which appears to be its chief recommendation1 and its only argument4 ,the weight of reasoning is1 ,i believe1 in favour of necessity2 but the word carries with it a seeming affront1 and hardly any amount of argument will reconcile men to indignity4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iii4 ,another weakness of the human mind receives illustration from the free-will controversy1 and deserves to be noticed1 as helping to account for the prolonged existence of the dispute3 ,i mean the disposition to regard any departure from the accustomed rendering of a fact as denying the fact itself4 ,the rose under another name is not merely less sweet1 it is not a rose at all4 ,some of the greatest questions have suffered by this weakness4 ,,analysis ,,does ,,not ,,destroy ,,the ,,fact4 ,the physical theory of matter that resolves it into points of force will seem to many as doing away with matter no less effectually than the ,berkeleyan ,idealism4 ,a universe of inane mathematical points1 attracting and repelling each other1 must appear to the ordinary mind a sorry substitute for the firm-set earth1 and the majestically-fretted vault of heaven1 with its planets1 stars1 and galaxies4 ,it takes a special education to reconcile any one to this theory4 ,even if it were everything that a scientific hypothesis should be1 the previously established modes of speech would be a permanent obstruction to its being received as the popular doctrine4 ,but the best illustrations occur in the ,ethical and ,metaphysical departments4 ,for example1 some ethical theorists endeavour to show that ,conscience is not a primitive and distinct power of the mind1 like the sense of colour1 or the feeling of resistance1 but a growth and a compound1 being made up of various primitive impulses1 together with a process of education4 ,again and again has this view been represented as denying conscience altogether4 ,exactly parallel has been the handling of the sentiment of ,benevolence4 ,some have attempted to resolve it into simpler elements of the mind1 and have been attacked as denying the existence of the sentiment4 ,hobbes1 in particular1 has been subjected to this treatment4 ,because he held pity to be a form of self-love1 his opponents charged him with declaring that there is no such thing as pity or sympathy in the human constitution4 ,a more notable example is the doctrine of the alliance of ,mind with ,matter4 ,it is impossible that any mode of viewing this alliance can erase the distinction between the two modes of existence--the material and the mental2 between extended inert bodies1 on the one hand1 and pleasures and pains1 thoughts and volitions1 on the other4 ,yet1 after the world has been made familiar with the ,cartesian doctrine of two distinct substances--the one for the inherence of material facts1 and the other for mental facts--any thinker maintaining the separate mental substance to be unproved1 and unnecessary1 is denounced as trying to blot out our mental existence1 and to resolve us into watches1 steam-engines1 or speaking and calculating machines4 ,the upholder of the single substance has to spend himself in protestations that he is not denying the existence of the fact1 or the phenomena called mind1 but is merely challenging an arbitrary and unfounded hypothesis for representing that fact4 ,,perception ,,of ,a ,,material ,,world4 ,the still greater controversy--distinct from the foregoing1 although often confounded with it--relating to the ,perception of a ,material ,world1 is the crowning instance of the weakness we are considering4 ,berkeley has been unceasingly stigmatised as holding that there is no material world1 merely because he exposed a self-contradiction in the mode of viewing it1 common to the vulgar and to philosophers1 and suggested a mode of escaping the contradiction by an altered rendering of the facts4 ,the case is very peculiar4 ,the received and self-contradictory view is exceedingly simple and intelligible in its statement2 it is well adapted1 not merely for all the commoner purposes of life1 but even for most scientific purposes4 ,the supposition of an independent material world1 and an independent mental world1 created apart1 and coming into mutual contact--the one the objects perceived1 and the other the mind perceiving--expresses 7or over-expresses7 the division of the sciences into sciences of matter and sciences of mind2 and the highest laws of the material world at least are in no respect falsified by it4 ,on the other hand1 any attempt to state the facts of the outer world on ,berkeley's plan1 or on any plan that avoids the self-contradiction1 is most cumbrous and unmanageable4 ,a smaller1 but exactly parallel instance of the situation is familiar to us4 ,the daily circuit of the sun around the earth1 supposed to be fixed1 so exactly answers all the common uses that1 in spite of its being false1 we adhere to it in the language of every-day life4 ,it is a convenient misrepresentation1 and deceives nobody4 ,and such will1 in all likelihood1 be the usage regarding the external world1 after the contradiction is admitted1 and rectified by a metaphysical circumlocution4 ,speculators are still only trying their hand at an unobjectionable circumlocution2 but we may almost be sure that nothing will ever supersede1 for practical uses1 the notion of the distinct worlds of ,mind and ,matter4 ,if1 after the ,copernican demonstration of the true position of the sun1 we still find it requisite to keep up the fiction of his daily course2 much more1 after the final accomplishment of the ,berkeleyan revolution 7to my mind inevitable71 shall we retain the fiction of an independent external world3 only1 we shall then know how to fall back upon some mode of stating the case1 without incurring the contradiction4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iv4 ,to return to the ,will4 ,the fact that we have to save1 and to represent in adequate language1 is this3--,a voluntary action is a sequence distinct and sui generis2 a human being avoiding the cold1 searching for food1 and clinging to other beings1 is not to be confounded with a pure material sequence1 as the fall of rain1 or the explosion of gunpowder4 ,the phenomena1 in both kinds1 are phenomena of sequence1 and of regular or uniform sequence2 but the things that make up the sequence are widely different3 in the one1 a feeling of the mind1 or a concurrence of feelings1 is followed by a conscious muscular exertion2 in the other1 both steps are made up of purely material circumstances4 ,it is the difference between a mental or psychological1 and a material or physical sequence--in short1 the difference between mind and matter2 the greatest contrast within the whole compass of nature1 within the universe of being4 ,now language must be found to give ample explicitness to this diametrical antithesis2 still1 ,i am satisfied that rarely in the usages of human speech has a more unfortunate choice been made than to employ1 in the present instance1 the antithetic couple--,freedom and ,necessity4 ,it misses the real point1 and introduces meanings alien to the case4 ,it converts the glory of the human character into a reproach 7although its leading motive throughout has been to pay us a compliment74 ,the constancy of man's emotional nature 7but for which our life would be a chaos1 an impossibility7 has to be explained away1 for no other reason than that1 at one time1 a blundering epithet was applied to designate the mental sequences4 ,great is the difference between ,mind and ,matter2 but the terms ,freedom and ,necessity represent the point of agreement as the point of difference2 and this being made familiar1 through iteration1 as the mode of expressing the contrast1 the rectification is supposed to unsettle everything1 and to obliterate the wide distinction of the two natures4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,seizing ,a ,,question ,,by ,,the ,,wrong ,,end4 ,v4 ,what is called ,moral ,ability and ,inability is another artificial perplexity in regard to the will1 and might also be the text for a sermon on prevailing errors4 ,more especially1 it exemplifies what may be termed seizing a question by the wrong end4 ,the votary1 we shall say1 of alcoholic liquor is found fault with1 and makes the excuse1 he cannot help it--he cannot resist the temptation4 ,so far1 the language may pass4 ,but what shall we say to the not uncommon reply1--,you could help it if you would4 ,surely there is some mystification here2 it is not one of those plain statements that we desire in practical affairs4 ,whether we are dealing with matter or with mind1 we ought to point out some clear and practicable method of attaining an end in view4 ,to get a good crop1 we till and enrich the soil2 to make a youth knowing in mathematics1 we send him to a good master1 and stimulate his attention by combined reward and punishment4 ,there are also intelligible courses of reforming the vicious3 withdraw them from temptation till their habits are remodelled2 entice them to other courses1 by presenting objects of superior attraction2 or1 at lowest1 keep the fact of punishment before their eyes4 ,by these methods many are kept from vices1 and not a few reclaimed after having fallen4 ,but to say1 ,you can be virtuous if you will1 is either unmeaning1 or it disguises a real meaning4 ,if it have any force at all--and it would not be used unless1 some efficacy had been found attaching to it1--the force must be in the indirect circumstances or accompaniments4 ,what1 then1 is the meaning that is so unhappily expressed8 ,in the first place1 it is a vehicle for conveying the strong wish and determination of the speaker2 it is a clumsy substitute for--,i do wish you would amend your conduct2 an expression containing a real efficacy1 greater or less according to the estimate formed of the speaker by the person spoken to4 ,in the next place1 it presents to the mind of the delinquent the ideal of improvement1 which might also be done in unexceptionable phrase2 as one might say--,reflect upon your own state1 and compare yourself with the correct and virtuous liver4 ,then1 there is a touch of the stoical dignity and pride of will4 ,lastly1 there may be a hint or suggestion to the mind of good and evil consequences1 which is the most powerful motive of all4 ,in giving rise to these various considerations1 even the objectionable expression may have a genuine efficacy2 but that does not justify the form itself1 which by no interpretation can be construed into sense or intelligibility4 ,,meaning ,,of ,,moral ,,inability4 ,moral ,inability means that ordinary motives are insufficient1 but not all motives4 ,the confirmed drunkard or thief has got into the stage of moral inability2 the common motives that keep mankind sober and honest have failed4 ,yet there are motives that would succeed1 if we could command them4 ,men may be sometimes cured of intemperance when the constitution is so susceptible that pain follows at once on indulgence4 ,and so long as pleasure and pain1 in fact and in prospect1 operate upon the will1 so long as the individual is in a state wherein motives operate1 there may be moral weakness1 but there is nothing more4 ,in such cases1 punishment may be properly employed as a corrective1 and is likely to answer its end4 ,this is the state termed accountability1 or1 with more correctness1 ,,punishability1 for being accountable is merely an incident bound up with liability to punishment4 ,moral weakness is a matter of a degree1 and in its lowest grades shades into insanity1 the state wherein motives have lost their usual power--when pleasure and pain cease to be apprehended by the mind in their proper character4 ,at this point1 punishment is unavailing2 the moral inability has passed into something like physical inability2 the loss of self-control is as complete as if the muscles were paralysed4 ,in the plea of insanity1 entered on behalf of any one charged with crime1 the business of the jury is to ascertain whether the accused is under the operation of the usual motives--whether pain in prospect has a deterring effect on the conduct4 ,if a man is as ready to jump out of the window as to walk downstairs1 of course he is not a moral agent2 but so long as he observes1 of his own accord1 the usual precautions against harm to himself1 he is to be punished for his misdeeds4 99 99 99 99 99 ,these various questions respecting the ,will1 if stripped of unsuitable phraseology1 are not very difficult questions4 ,they are about as easy to comprehend as the air-pump1 the law of refraction of light1 or the atomic theory of chemistry4 ,distort them by inapposite metaphors1 view them in perplexing attitudes1 and you may make them more abstruse than the hardest proposition of the ,principia4 ,what is far worse1 by involving a simple fact in inextricable contradictions1 they have led people gravely to recognise self-contradiction as the natural and the proper condition of a certain class of questions4 ,consistency is very well so far1 and for the humbler matters of every-day life1 but there is a higher and a sacred region where it does not hold2 where the principles are to be received all the more readily that they land us in contradictions4 ,in ordinary matters1 inconsistency is the test of falsehood2 in transcendental subjects1 it is accounted the badge of truth4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #a3 ,fortnightly ,review1 ,august1 #ahfh4 ,footnote #b3 ,donaldson's ,history of ,christian ,literature and ,doctrine1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #bgg4 ,footnote #c3 ,intensity of passion stands confessed in the self-delineations of men of imaginative genius4 ,we forbear to quote the familiar instances of ,wordsworth1 ,shelley1 or ,burns1 but may refer to a remarkable chapter in the life of the famous ,scotch preacher1 ,dr4 ,thomas ,chalmers4 ,the mere title of the chapter is enough for our purpose4 ,it related to his early youth1 and ran thus1 in his own words3--,a year of mental elysium4 ,it is while living at a white-heat that all the thoughts and conceptions take a lofty1 hyperbolical character2 and the outpouring of these at the time1 or afterwards1 is the imagination of the orator or the poet4 ,the spread of the misconception that we have been combating is perhaps accounted for by the circumstance that imagination in one man is the cause of feeling in others4 ,wordsworth1 by his imaginative colouring1 has excited a warmer sentiment for nature in many spectators of the lake country4 ,that1 however1 is a different thing4 ,we may also allow that the poet intensifies his own feelings by his creative embodiments of them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii4 ,,errors ,,of ,,suppressed ,,correlatives4#d ,by ,relativity is here meant the all-pervading fact of our nature that we are not impressed1 made conscious1 or mentally alive1 without some change of state or impression4 ,an unvarying action on any of our senses is the same as no action at all4 ,an even temperature1 such as that enjoyed by the fishes in the tropical seas1 leaves the mind an entire blank as regards heat and cold4 ,we can neither feel nor know without recognising two distinct states4 ,hence all knowledge is double1 or is the knowledge of contrasts or opposites3 heavy is relative to light2 up supposes down2 being awake implies the state of sleep4 ,the applications of the law in the sphere of emotion are chiefly contemplated in what follows4 ,pleasure and pain are never absolute states2 they have reference always to the previous condition4 ,until we know what that has been in any case1 we cannot pronounce upon the efficacy of a present stimulation4 ,we see a person reposing1 apparently in luxurious ease2 if the state has been immediately consequent upon a protracted and severe exertion1 we are right in calling it highly pleasurable4 ,under other circumstances1 it might be quite the reverse4 ,there is an offshoot or modification of the principle1 arising out of the operation of habit4 ,impressions made upon us are greatest when they are absolutely new3 after repetition they all lose something of their power2 although1 by remission and alternative1 the causes of pleasure and pain have still a very considerable efficacy4 ,many of the consequences of this great fact are sufficiently acknowledged1 or1 if they are not1 it is from other causes than our ignorance4 ,the weakness is moral1 rather than intellectual1 that makes us expect that the first flush of a great pleasure1 a newly-attained joy or success1 will continue unabated4 ,the poor man1 probably1 does not overrate the gratification of newly-attained wealth2 what he fails to allow for is the deadening effect of an unbroken experience of ease and plenty4 ,the author of ,romola says of the hero and the heroine1 in the early moments of their affection1 that they could not look forward to a time when their kisses should be common things4 ,so it is with the attainment of all great objects of pursuit3 the first access of good fortune may not disappoint us2 but as we are more and more removed from the state of privation1 as the memory of the prior experience fades away1 so does the vividness of the present enjoyment4 ,it is the same with changes for the worse3 the agony of a great loss is at first overpowering2 gradually1 however1 the system accommodates itself to the new condition1 and the severity dies away4 ,what is called on these occasions the force of custom is the application of the law of ,accommodation1 or ,relativity modified by habit4 ,,relativity ,,in ,,pleasures4 ,it is a familiar experience of mankind1 yet hard to realise upon mere testimony1 that the pleasures of rest1 repose1 retirement1 are wholly relative to foregone labour and toil2 after the first shock of transition1 they are less and less felt1 and can be renewed only after a renewal of the contrasting experience4 ,the description1 in ,paradise ,lost1 of the delicious repose of ,adam and ,eve in ,eden is fallacious2 the poet credits them with an intensity of pleasure attainable only by the brow-sweating labourer under the curse4 ,the delights of ,knowledge are relative to previous ,ignorance2 for1 although the possession of knowledge is in many ways a lasting good1 yet the full intensity of the charm is felt only at the moment of passing from mystery to explanation1 from blankness of impression to intellectual attainment4 ,this form of the pleasure is sustained only by new acquisitions and new discoveries4 ,moreover1 in the minor forms of the gratification due to knowledge1 we never escape the law of relativity2 the power delights us by relation to our previous impotence4 ,plato supposed that1 in knowledge1 we have an example of a pure pleasure1 meaning one that had no reference to foregone privation or pain2 but such purity would be a barren fact1 not unlike the pure air of a bladeless and waterless desert4 ,a state of uninterrupted good health1 although a prime condition of enjoyment1 is of itself a state of neutrality or indifference4 ,the man that has never been ill cannot sing the joys of health2 the exultation of that strain is attainable only by the valetudinarian4 99 99 99 99 99 ,these examples have been remarked upon in every age4 ,it is the moral weakness of being carried away by a present strong feeling1 as if the state would last for ever1 that blinds each of us in turn to the stern reality of the fact4 ,there are1 however1 numerous instances1 coming under ,relativity1 wherein the indispensable correlative is more or less dropped out of sight and disavowed4 ,these are the proper errors or fallacies of ,relativity1 a branch of the comprehensive class termed ,fallacies of ,confusion4 ,the object of the present essay is to exhibit a few of these errors as they occur in questions of practical moment4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when it is said1 as by ,carlyle and others1 speech is silvern1 silence is golden1 there is implied a condition of things where speech has been in excess2 and but for this excess1 the assertion is untrue4 ,one might as well talk of the delights of hunger1 or of cold1 or of solitary confinement1 on the ground of there being times when food1 warmth1 or society may be in excess1 and when the opposing states would be a joyful change4 ,the ,relativity of ,pleasures1 although admitted in many individual cases1 has often been misconceived4 ,the view is sometimes expressed1 that there can be no pleasure without a previous pain2 but this goes beyond the exigencies of the principle4 ,we cannot go on for ever with any delight2 but mere remission1 without any counterpart pain1 is enough for our entering with zest on many of our pleasures4 ,a healthy man enjoys his meals without any sensible previous pain of hunger4 ,we do not need to have been miserable for some time as a preparation for the reading of a new poem4 ,it is true that if the sense of privation has been acute1 the pleasure is proportionally increased2 and that few pleasures of any great intensity grow up from indifference3 still1 remission and alternation may give a zest for enjoyment without any consciousness of pain4 ,the principle of ,comparison is capriciously made use of by ,paley1 in his account of the elements of ,happiness4 ,he applies it forcibly and felicitously to depreciate certain pleasures--as greatness1 rank1 and station--and withholds its application from the pleasures that he more particularly countenances1--namely1 the social affections1 the exercise of the faculties1 and health4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,simplicity ,,of ,,style ,a ,,relative ,,merit4 ,the great praise often accorded to ,simplicity of ,style1 in literature1 is an example of the suppression of the correlative in a case of mutual relationship4 ,simplicity is not an absolute merit2 it is frequently a merit by correlation4 ,thus1 if a certain subject has never been treated except in abstruse and difficult terminology1 a man of surpassing literary powers1 setting it forth in homely and intelligible language1 produces a work whose highest praise is expressed by ,simplicity4 ,again1 after the last century period of artificial1 complex1 and highly-wrought composition1 the reaction of ,cowper and ,wordsworth in favour of simplicity was an agreeable and refreshing change1 and was in great part acceptable because of the change4 ,it does not appear that ,wordsworth comprehended this obvious fact2 to him1 a simplicity that cost nothing to the composer1 and brought no novelty to the reader1 had still a transcendent merit4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it has been a frequent practice of late years to celebrate the praises of ,knowledge4 ,many eloquent speakers have dilated on the happiness and the superiority of the enlightened and the cultivated man4 ,now1 the correlative or obverse must be equally true3 there must be a corresponding degradation and disqualification attaching to ignorance and the want of instruction4 ,this correlative and equally cogent statement is suppressed on certain occasions1 and by persons that would not demur to the praises of knowledge3 as1 when we are told of the native good sense1 the untaught sagacity1 the admirable instincts of the people1--that is1 of the ignorant or the uneducated4 ,hence the great value of the expository device of following up every principle with its1 counter-statement1 the matter denied when the principle is affirmed4 ,if knowledge is a thing superlatively good1 ignorance--the opposite of knowledge--is a thing superlatively bad4 ,there is no middle standing ground4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the way that people use the argument from ,authority1 there is often an unfelt contradiction from not adverting to the correlative implication4 ,if ,i lay stress upon some one's authority as lending weight to my opinion1 ,i ought to be equally moved in the opposite direction when the same authority is against me4 ,the common case1 however1 is to make a great flourish when the authority is one way1 and to ignore it when it is the other way4 ,this is especially the fashion in dealing with the ancient philosophers4 ,socrates1 ,plato1 and ,aristotle are quoted with much complacency when they chime in with a modern view2 but1 in points where they contradict our cherished sentiments1 we treat them with a kind of pity as half-informed pagans4 ,it is not seen that men liable to such gross errors as they are alleged to have committed--say on ,ethics--are by that fact deprived of all weight in allied subjects1 as1 for example1 ,politics--in which ,aristotle is still quoted as an authority4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,dignity ,,of ,,all ,,labour ,,absurd4 ,many of the sins against ,relativity can be traced to rhetorical exaggeration4 ,some remarkable instances of this can be cited4 ,when a system of ranks and dignities has once been established1 there are associations of dignity and of indignity with different conditions and occupations4 ,it is more dignified to serve in the army than to engage in trade2 to be a surgeon is more honourable than to be a watchmaker4 ,in this state of things a fervid rhetorician1 eager to redress the inequalities of mankind1 starts forth to preach the dignity of all labour4 ,the device is a self-contradiction4 ,make all labour alike dignified1 and nothing is dignified2 you simply abolish dignity by depriving it of the contrast that it subsists upon4 ,pope's lines-- ,honour and shame from no condition rise2 ,act well your part2 there all the honour lies-- cannot be exempted from the fallacy of self-contradiction4 ,differences of condition are made by differences in the degree of honour thereto attached4 ,if every man that did his work well were put on a level1 in point of honour1 with every other man that did the same2 if the gatekeeper of a mansion1 by being unfailingly punctual in opening the gate1 were to be equally honoured with a great leader of the ,house of ,commons1 then1 indeed1 equality of pay would be the only thing wanted to abolish all differences of condition4 ,there is1 no doubt1 in society1 a quantity of misplaced honour2 but so long as there are employments exceptionally arduous1 and virtues signally beneficent in their operation1 honour is a legitimate spur and reward1 and should be graduated according to the desert in each case4 ,in spurring the ardour of youth to studious exertion1 it is common to repeat the ,homeric maxim1 to supplant every one else1 and stand out first4 ,the stimulating effect is undoubted2 it is strong rhetorical brandy4 ,yet only one man can be first1 and the exhortation is given simultaneously to a thousand4#e ,,justice ,,admirable ,,only ,,if ,,reciprocated4 ,in the discussion and inculcation of the moral duties and virtues1 there has been1 in all ages1 a tendency to suppress correlative facts1 and to affirm unconditionally what is true only with a condition4 ,thus1 the admirable nature of ,justice1 and the happiness of the ,just man1 are a proper theme to be extolled with all the power of eloquence4 ,it has been so with every civilized people1 pagan as well as ,christian4 ,in the dialogues of ,plato1 justice is a prominent subject1 and is adorned with the full splendour of his genius4 ,aristotle1 in one of the few moments when he rises to poetry1 pronounces justice greater than the evening-star or the morning-star4 ,now all this panegyric is admissible only on the supposition of reciprocal justice4 ,plato1 indeed1 had the hardihood to say that the just man is happy in himself1 and by reason of his justice1 even although others are unjust to him2 but the position is untenable4 ,a man is happy in his justice if it procure for him justice in return2 as a citizen is happy in his civil obedience1 if it gain him protection in return4 ,there are two parties in the case1 and the moralist should obtain access to both2 he should induce the one to fulfil his share before promising to the other the happiness of justice and obedience4 ,it may be rhetorical1 but it is not true1 that justice will make a man happy in a society where it is not reciprocated4 ,justice1 in these circumstances1 is highly noble1 praiseworthy1 virtuous2 but the applying of these lofty compliments is the proof that it does not bring happiness1 and is an attempt to compensate the deficiency4 ,there is a certain tendency1 not very great as human nature is constituted1 for justice to beget justice in return--for social virtue on one side to procure it on the other side4 ,this is a certain encouragement to each man to perform his own part1 in hope that the other party concerned may do the same4 ,still1 the reciprocity occasionally fails1 and with that the benefits to the just agent4 ,it is necessary to urge strongly upon individuals1 to impress upon the young1 the necessity of performing their duty to society2 it is equally implied1 and equally indispensable1 that society should perform its part to them4 ,the suppressing of the correlative obligation of the ,state to the individual leaves a one-sided doctrine2 the motive of the suppression1 doubtless1 is that society does not often fail of its duties to the individual1 whereas individuals frequently fail of their duties to society4 ,this may be the fact generally1 but not always4 ,it is not the fact where there are bad laws and corrupt administration4 ,it is not the fact where the restraints on liberty are greater than the exigencies of the ,state demand4 ,it is not the fact1 so long as there is a single vestige of persecution for opinions4 ,to be thoroughly veracious1 for example1 in a society that restrains the discussion and expression of opinions1 is more than such a society is entitled to4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,pleasures ,,of ,,benevolence ,,conditional4 ,the same fallacy occurs in an allied theme1--the joys of ,love and ,benevolence4 ,that love and benevolence are productive of great happiness is beyond question2 but then the feeling must be mutual1 it must be reciprocated4 ,one-sided love or benevolence is a virtue1 which is as much as to say it is not a pleasure4 ,the delights of benevolence are the delights of reciprocated benevolence2 until reciprocated1 in some form1 the benevolent man has1 strictly speaking1 the sacrifice and nothing more4 ,there is a great reluctance to encounter this simple naked truth2 to state it in theory1 at least1 for it is fully admitted in practice4 ,we fence it off by the assumption that benevolence will always have its reward somehow2 that if the objects of it are ungrateful1 others will make good the defect at last4 ,now these qualifications are very pertinent1 very suitable to be urged after allowing the plain truth1 that benevolence is intrinsically a sacrifice1 a painful act2 and that this act is redeemed1 and far more than redeemed1 by a fair reciprocity of benevolence4 ,only such an admission can keep us out of a mesh of contradictions4 ,like justice in itself1 ,benevolence in itself is painful2 any virtue is pain in the first instance1 although1 when equally responded to1 it brings a surplus of pleasure4 ,there may be acts of a beneficent tendency that cost the performer nothing1 or that even may chance to be agreeable2 but these examples must not be given as the rule1 or the type4 ,it is the essence of virtuous acts1 the prevailing character of the class1 to tax the agent1 to deprive him of some satisfaction to himself2 this is what we must start from2 we are then in a position to explain how and when1 and under what circumstances1 and with what limitations1 the virtuous man1 whether his virtue be justice or benevolence1 is from that cause a happy man4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is a fallacy of the suppressed relative to describe virtue as determined by the moral nature of ,god1 as opposed to his arbitrary will4 ,the essence of ,morality is obedience to a superior1 to a ,law2 where there is no superior there is nothing either moral or immoral4 ,the supreme power is incapable of an immoral act4 ,parliament may do what is injurious1 it cannot do what is illegal4 ,so the ,deity may be beneficent or maleficent1 he cannot be moral or immoral4 99 99 99 99 99 ,among the various ways1 proposed in the seventeenth century1 of solving the difficulty of the mutual action of the heterogeneous agencies--matter and mind--one was a mode of ,divine interference1 called the ,theory of ,occasional ,causes4 ,according to this view1 the ,deity exerted himself by a perpetual miracle to bring about the mental changes corresponding to the physical agents operating on our senses--light1 sound1 c4 ,now in the mode of action suggested there is nothing self-contradictory2 but in the use of the word miracle there is a mistake of relativity4 ,the meaning of a miracle is an exceptional interference2 it supposes an habitual state of things1 from which it is a deviation4 ,the very idea of miracle is abolished if every act is to be alike miraculous4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mystery ,,correlates ,,with ,,the ,,intelligible4 ,we shall devote the remainder of this exposition to a still more notable class of mistakes due to the suppression of a correlative member in a relative couple--those1 namely1 connected with the designation1 ,mystery1 a term greatly abused1 in various ways1 and especially by disregarding its relative character4 ,mystery supposes certain things that are plain1 intelligible1 knowable1 revealed2 and1 by contrast to these1 refers to certain other things that are obscure1 unintelligible1 unknowable1 unrevealed4 ,when a man's conduct is entirely plain1 straightforward1 or accounted for1 we call that an intelligible case2 when we are perplexed by the tortuosities of a crafty1 double-dealing person1 we say it is all very mysterious4 ,so1 in nature1 we consider that we understand certain phenomena3 such as gravity1 and all its consequences1 in the fall of bodies1 the flow of rivers1 the motions of the planets1 the tides4 ,on the other hand1 earthquakes and volcanoes are very mysterious2 we do not know what they depend upon1 how or in what circumstances they are produced4 ,some of the operations of living bodies are understood1--as the heart's action in the mechanical propulsion of the blood2 others1 and the greater number1 are mysterious1 as the whole process of germination and growth4 ,now the existence of the contrast between things plainly understood1 and things not understood1 gives one distinct meaning to the term ,mystery4 ,in some cases1 a mystery is formed by an apparent contradiction1 as in the ,theological mystery of ,free-will and ,divine ,foreknowledge2 here1 too1 there is a contrast with the great mass of consistent and reconcilable things4 ,but now1 when we are told by sensational writers1 that everything is mysterious2 that the simplest phenomenon in nature--the fall of a stone1 the swing of a pendulum1 the continuance of a ball shot in the air--are wonderful1 marvellous1 miraculous1 our understanding is confounded2 there being then nothing plain at all1 there is nothing mysterious4 ,the wonderful rises from the common2 as the lofty is lofty by relation to something lower3 if there is nothing common1 then there is nothing wonderful2 if all phenomena are mysterious1 nothing is mysterious2 if we are to stand aghast in amazement because three times four is twelve1 what phenomenon can we take as the type of the plain and the intelligible8 ,you must always keep up a standard of the common1 the easy1 the comprehensible1 if you are to regard other things as wonderful1 difficult1 inexplicable4 ,,locke ,,on ,,the ,,limits ,,of ,,the ,,understanding4 ,the real character of a ,,mystery1 and what constitutes the ,explanation of a fact1 have been greatly misconceived4 ,the changes of view on these points make up a chapter in the history of the education of the human mind4 ,perhaps the most decisive turning point was the publication of ,locke's ,essay concerning ,human ,understanding1 the motive of which1 as stated in the homely and forcible language of the preface1 was to ascertain what our understandings can do1 what subjects they are fit to deal with1 and where they should stop4 ,i quote a few sentences3-- ,if by this inquiry into the nature of the ,understanding1 ,i can discover the powers thereof2 how far they reach2 to what things they are in any degree proportionate2 and where they fail us3 ,i suppose it may be of use1 to prevail with the busy mind of man to be more cautious in meddling with things exceeding its comprehension2 to stop when it is at the utmost extent of its tether2 and to sit down in a quiet ignorance of those things which1 upon examination1 are proved to be beyond the reach of our capacities4 ,the candle that is set up in us1 shines bright enough for all our purposes4 ,the discoveries we can make with this ought to satisfy us4 ,and we shall then use our ,understandings aright1 when we entertain all objects in that way and proportion that they are suited to our faculties1 and upon those grounds they are capable of being proposed to us4 ,it is of great use for the sailor to know the length of his line1 though he cannot fathom with it all the depths of the ocean4 ,the course of physical science was preparing the same salutary lesson4 ,locke's great contemporary and friend1 ,isaac ,newton1 was his fellow-worker in this tutorial undertaking2 nor should ,bacon be forgotten1 although there is dispute as to the extent and character of his influence4 ,the combined operation of these great leaders of thought was apparent in the altered views of scientific inquirers as to what is competent in research--what is the proper aim of inquiry4 ,there arose a disposition to abandon the pursuit of mysterious essences and grand pervading unities1 and ascertain with precision the facts and the laws of natural phenomena4 ,the study of astronomy was inaugurated in ,greenwich ,observatory4 ,the experiments of ,priestley and of ,franklin farther exemplified the eighteenth-century key to the secrets of the universe4 ,the lesson imparted by ,newton and ,locke and their successors still remains to be carried out and embodied in the subtler inquiries4 ,the bearing upon what constitutes a ,mystery1 and what constitutes ,explanation1 or the accounting for appearances1 may be expressed thus3-- ,in the first place1 the ,understanding can never pass out of its own experience--its acquired knowledge1 whether of body or of mind4 ,what we obtain by our various sensibilities to the world about us1 and by our self-consciousness1 are the foundation1 the ,,abc of everything that we are capable of knowing4 ,we know colours1 and we know sound2 we know pleasure and pain1 and the various emotions of wonder1 fear1 love1 anger4 ,if there be any being endowed with senses different from ours1 with that being we can have no communion4 ,if there be any phenomena that escape our limited sensibilities1 they transcend the possibility of our knowledge4 ,it is necessary1 however1 to take account of the combining or constructive aptitudes of the mind4 ,we can go a certain length in putting together our alphabet of sensation and experience into many various compounds4 ,we can imagine a paradise or a pandemonium2 but only as made up of our own knowledge of things good and evil4 ,the limits of this constructive power are soon reached4 ,we are baffled to enter into the feelings of our own kindred1 when they are far removed in character and circumstances from ourselves4 ,the youth at twenty cannot approximate to the feelings of men of middle age4 ,the healthy are unable to comprehend the life of the invalid4 ,,time ,,and ,,space ,,relative ,,to ,,our ,,faculties4 ,to come to the practical applications4 ,the great leading notions called ,time and ,space are known to us only under the conditions of our own sensibility4 ,time is made known by all our actions1 all our senses1 all our feelings1 and by the succession of our thoughts2 it is experienced as a continuance and a repetition of movement1 sight1 sound1 fear1 or any other state of feeling1 or of thinking4 ,one motion or sensation is continued longer than another2 or it is more frequently repeated after intermission1 giving the numerical estimate of time1 as in the beats of the pendulum4 ,in these ways we form estimates of seconds1 minutes1 hours1 days4 ,and our constructive faculty can be brought into play to conceive the larger tracts of duration--a century1 or a hundred centuries4 ,nay1 by our arithmetical powers we can put down in cipher1 or conceive symbolically 7which is the meagrest of all conceptions7 millions of millions of centuries2 these being after all but compounds of our alphabet of enduring or repeated sensations and thoughts4 ,we can suppose this arithmetical process to operate upon past duration or upon future duration1 and there is no limit to the numbers that we can write down4 ,but there is one thing that we cannot do2 we cannot fix upon a point when ,time or succession began1 or upon a point when it will cease4 ,that is an operation not in keeping with our faculties2 the very supposition is impracticable4 ,we cannot entertain the notion of a state of things wherein the fact of continuance had no place2 the effort belies itself4 ,time is inseparable from our mental nature2 whatever we imagine1 we must imagine as enduring4 ,some philosophers have supposed that we must be endowed by nature with the conception of ,time1 before we begin to exercise our senses2 but the difficulty would be to deprive us of that adjunct without extinguishing our mental nature4 ,give us sensibility1 and you cannot withhold the element of ,time4 ,the supposition of ,kant and others1 that it is implanted in us as an empty form1 before we begin to employ our senses upon things1 is needless2 for as soon as we move1 see1 hear1 think1 are pleased or pained1 we create time4 ,and our notion of ,time in general is exactly what these sensibilities make it1 only enlarged by our constructive power already spoken of4 ,,matter ,,and ,,void ,,supplementary4 ,while all our senses and feelings give us time1 it is our experience of ,motion and ,resistance1--the energetic or active side of our nature alone1--that gives us ,space4 ,the simplest feature of ,space is the alternation of ,resistance and ,non-,resistance1 of obstructed motion and freedom to move4 ,the hand presses dead upon an obstacle2 the obstacle gives way and allows free motion2 these two contrasting experiences are the elements of the two contrasting facts--,matter and ,space4 ,by none of the five senses1 in their pure and proper character as senses1 can we obtain these experiences2 and hence at an earlier stage of inquiry into the mind1 when our knowledge-giving sensibilities were referred to the five senses1 there was no adequate account of the notion of ,space or ,extension4 ,space includes more than this simple contrast of the resisting and the non-resisting2 it includes what we call the ,co-existing or ,contemporaneous1 the great aggregate of the outspread world1 as existing at any moment1 a somewhat complicated attainment1 which ,i am not now specially concerned with4 ,it sufficiently illustrates the limitation of our knowledge by our sensibilities1 from the nature of space1 to fasten attention on the double and mutually supplementing experience of ,matter and ,void2 the one resisting movement1 and giving the consciousness of resistance1 or dead strain1 the other permitting movement1 and giving the consciousness of the unobstructed sweep of the limbs or members4 ,whatever else may be in space1 this freedom to move1 to soar1 to expatiate 7in contrast to being hemmed in1 obstructed1 held fast71 is an essential part of the conception1 and is formed out of our active or moving sensibilities4 ,now1 as far as movement is concerned1 we must be in one of two states2--we must be putting forth energy without effecting movement1 being met by obstacles called matter2 or we must be putting forth energy unresisted and effecting movement1 which is what we mean by empty space4 ,there is no third position in the matter of putting forth our active energy4 ,where resistance ends and freedom begins1 there is space2 where freedom ends1 and obstruction begins1 there is matter4 ,we find our sentient life to be made up1 as regards movement1 of a certain number and range of these two alternations2 in other words1 free spaces and resisting barriers4 ,and we can1 by the constructive power already mentioned1 imagine other proportions of the two experiences2 we can imagine the scope for movement1 the absence of obstruction1 to be enlarged more and more1 to be counted by thousands and millions of miles2 but the only terminus or boundary that we can imagine is resistance1 a dead obstacle4 ,we are able to conceive the starry spaces widened and prolonged from galaxy to galaxy through enormous strides of increasing amplitude1 but when we try to think an end to this career1 we can think only of a dead wall4 ,there is no other end of space within the grasp of our faculties2 and that termination is not an end of extension2 for we know that solid matter1 viewed in other ways than as obstructing movement1 has the same property of the extended belonging to the empty void4 ,the inference is1 that the limitation of our means of knowledge renders altogether incompetent the imagination of an end to either ,time or ,space4 ,the greatest efforts of our combining faculty cannot exceed the elements presented to it1 and these elements contain nothing that would set forth the situation of space ending1 and obstruction not beginning4 ,,are ,,time ,,and ,,space ,,infinite8 ,under these circumstances1 it is an irrevelant enquiry1 to ask1 ,are ,time and ,space finite or infinite8 ,many philosophers have put the question1 and even answered it4 ,they say ,time has no beginning and no end1 and ,space has no boundaries2 or1 as otherwise expressed1--,time and ,space are ,infinite3 an answer of such vagueness as to mean anything1 from a harmless and proper assertion of the limits of our faculties1 up to the verge of extravagance and self-contradiction4 ,when1 in fact1 people talk of the ,infinite in ,time and ,space1 they can point to one intelligible signification2 as to the rest1 this word is not a subject for scientific propositions1 and the attempt at such can lead only to contradictions4 ,the ,infinite is a phrase most various in its purport3 it is for the most part an emotional word1 expressing human desire and aspiration2 a word of poetry1 imagination1 and preaching1 not a word to be discussed under science2 no intellectual definition would exhibit its emotional force4 ,the second property of our intelligence is1 that we can generalise many facts into one4 ,tracing agreement among the multifarious appearances of things1 we can comprehend in one statement a vast number of details4 ,the single law of gravity expresses the fall of a stone1 the flow of rivers1 the retention of the moon in her circuit round the earth4 ,now1 this generalising sweep is a real advance in our knowledge1 an ascent in the matter of intelligence1 a step towards centralising the empire of science4 ,what is more1 this is the only real meaning of ,,explanation4 ,a difficulty is solved1 a mystery unriddled2 when it can be shown to resemble something else2 to be an example of a fact already known4 ,mystery is isolation1 exception1 or1 it may be1 apparent contradiction2 the resolution of the mystery is found in assimilation1 identity1 fraternity4 ,when all things are assimilated1 so far as assimilation can go1 so far as likeness holds1 there is an end to explanation2 there is an end to what the mind can do1 or can intelligently desire4 ,,gravity ,,not ,a ,,mystery4 ,thus1 when ,gravity was generalised1 by assimilating the terrestrial attraction seen in falling bodies with the celestial attraction of the sun and planets2 and when1 by fair presumption1 the same power was extended to the remote stars2 when1 also1 the law was ascertained1 so that the movements of the various bodies could be computed and predicted1 there was nothing further to be done2 explanation was exhausted4 ,unless we can find some other force to fraternise with gravity1 so that the two might become a still more comprehensive unity1 we must rest in gravity as the ultimatum of our faculties4 ,there is no conceivable modification1 or substitute1 that would better our position4 ,before ,newton1 it was a mystery what kept the moon and the planets in their places2 the assimilation with falling bodies was the solution4 ,but1 say many persons1 is not gravity itself a mystery8 ,we say ,no2 gravity has passed through all the stages of legitimate and possible explanation2 it is the most highly generalised of all physical facts1 and by no assignable transformation could it be made more intelligible than it is4 ,it is singularly easy of comprehension2 its law is exactly known2 and1 excepting the details of calculation1 in its more complex workings1 there is nothing to complain of1 nothing to rectify1 nothing to pretend ignorance about2 it is the very pattern1 the model1 the consummation of knowledge4 ,the path of science1 as exhibited in modern times1 is towards generality1 wider and wider1 until we reach the highest1 the widest laws of every department of things2 there explanation is finished1 mystery ends1 perfect vision is gained4 99 99 99 99 99 ,what is always reckoned the mystery by pre-eminence is the union of ,,body and ,,mind4 ,how1 then1 should we treat this ,mystery according to the spirit of modern thought1 according to the modern laws of explanation8 ,the course is to conceive the elements according to the only possible plan1 our own sensibility or consciousness2 which gives us matter as one class of facts--extension1 inertness1 weight1 and so on2 and mind as another class of facts--pleasures1 pains1 volitions1 ideas4 ,the difference between these two is total1 diametrical1 complete2 there is really nothing common to the experience of pleasure and the experience of a tree2 difference has here reached its acme2 agreement is eliminated2 there is no higher genus to include these two in one2 as the ultimate1 the highest elements of knowledge1 they admit of #aaj fusion1 no resolution1 no unity4 ,our utmost flight of generality leaves us in possession of a double1 a couple of absolutely heterogeneous elements4 ,matter cannot be resolved into mind2 mind cannot be resolved into matter2 each has its own definition2 each negatives the other4 ,this being the fact1 we accept it1 and acquiesce4 ,there is surely nothing to be dissatisfied with1 to complain of1 in the circumstance that the elements of our experience are1 in the last resort1 two1 and not one4 ,if we had been provided with fifty ultimate experiences1 none of them having a single property in common with any other2 and if we had only our present limited intellects1 we might be entitled to complain of the world's mysteriousness in the one proper acceptation of mystery--namely1 as overpowering our means of comprehension1 as loading us with unassimilable facts4 ,as it is1 matter1 in its commoner aspects and properties1 is perfectly intelligible2 in the great number and variety of its endowments or properties1 it is revealed to us slowly and with much difficulty1 and these subtle properties--the deep affinities and molecular arrangements--- are the mysteries rightly so called4 ,mind in itself is also intelligible2 a pleasure is as intelligible as would be any transmutation of it into the inscrutable essence that people often desiderate4 ,it is one of the facts of our sensibility1 and has a great many facts of its own kindred1 which makes it all the more intelligible4 ,the varieties of pleasure1 pain1 and emotion are very numerous2 and to know1 remember1 and classify them1 is a work of labour1 a legitimate mystery4 ,the subtle links of thought are also very various1 although probably all reducible to a small number2 and the ascertaining and following out of these has been a work of labour and time2 they have1 therefore1 been mysterious2 mystery and intellectual toil being the real correlatives4 ,the complications of matter and the complications of mind are genuine mysteries2 the reducing or simplifying of these complications1 by the exertions of thinking men1 is the way1 and the only way out of the darkness into light4 ,,union ,,of ,,mind ,,and ,,body4 ,but what now of the mysterious union of the two great ultimate facts of human experience8 ,what should the followers of ,newton and ,locke say to this crowning instance of deep and awful mystery8 ,only one answer can be given4 ,accept the union1 and generalise it4 ,find out the fewest number of simple laws1 such as will express all the phenomena of this conjoint life4 ,resolve into the highest possible generalities the connections of pleasure and pain1 with all the physical stimulants of the senses--food1 tastes1 odours1 sounds1 lights--with all the play of feature and of gesture1 and all the resulting movements and bodily changes2 and when you have done that1 you have so far truly1 fully1 finally explained the union of body and mind4 ,extend your generalities to the course of the thoughts2 determine what physical changes accompany the memory1 the reason1 the imagination1 and express those changes in the most general1 comprehensive laws1 and you have explained the how and the why brain causes thought1 and thought works in brain4 ,there is no other explanation needful1 no other competent1 no other that would be explanation4 ,instead of our being unfortunate1 as is sometimes said1 in not being able to know the essence of either matter or mind--in not comprehending their union2 our misfortune would be to have to know anything different from what we do or may know4 ,if there be still much mystery attaching to this linking of the two extreme facts of our experience1 it is simply this3 that we have made so little way in ascertaining what in one goes with what in the other4 ,we know a good deal about the feelings and their alliances1 some of which are open and palpable to all mankind2 and we have obtained some important generalities in these alliances4 ,of the connections of thought with physical changes we know very little3 these connections1 therefore1 are truly and properly mysterious2 but they are not intrinsically or hopelessly so4 ,the advancing study of the physical organs1 on the one hand1 and of the mental functions1 on the other1 may gradually abate this mystery4 ,and if a day arrive when the links that unite our intellectual workings with the workings of the nervous system and the other bodily organs shall be fully ascertained and adequately generalised1 no one thoroughly educated in the scientific spirit of the last two centuries will call the union of mind and body any longer inscrutable or mysterious4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #d3 ,fortnightly ,review1 ,october1 #ahfh4 ,footnote #e3 ,we may here recall an incident highly characteristic of the late ,earl of ,carlisle4 ,being elected on one occasion to the office of ,lord ,rector of ,marischal ,college1 ,aberdeen1 he had to deliver an address to the students on the usual topics of diligence and hopefulness in their studious career4 ,referring for a model to the addresses of former rectors1 he found1 in that of his immediate predecessor1 ,lord ,eglinton1 the ,homeric sentiment above alluded to4 ,it grated harshly on his mind1 and he avowed the fact to the students1 he could not reconcile himself to the elevating of one man upon the humiliation of all the rest4 ,in a strain more befitting a civilized age1 he urged upon his hearers the pursuit of excellence as such1 without involving as a necessary accompaniment the supplanting or throwing down of other men4 ,he probably did not sufficiently guard himself against a fallacy of ,relativity2 for excellence is purely comparative2 it subsists upon inferior grades of attainment3 still1 there are many modes of it shared in by a great number1 and not confined to one or a few4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,civil ,,service ,,examinations#f #a4 ,,historical ,,sketch4 ,up to the year #ahec1 the appointing of ,civil ,servants lay wholly in the hands of patrons4 ,in #ahec1 patronage was severely condemned and competitive examination officially recommended1 for the first time1 in a ,report by ,sir ,stafford ,northcote and ,sir ,charles ,trevelyan2 but1 while the recommendation was taken up in the following year and immediately acted upon in the ,indian ,civil ,service1 it was not till very much later that it was fully adopted in the ,home ,service4 ,the history1 indeed1 of this last is somewhat peculiar4 ,after the ,report already referred to1 came an ,order of ,council1 of date ,may #ba1 #ahee1 in which we find it ordered that all such young men as may be proposed to be appointed to any junior situation in any department of the ,civil ,service shall1 before they are admitted to probation1 be examined by or under the ,directors of the said ,commissioners1 and shall receive from them a ,certificate of ,qualification for such situation4 ,this order was rigorously carried out by the ,commissioners1 and1 although its absolute requirement was simply that the nominees should pass a certain examination1 it1 nevertheless1 allowed the heads of departments to institute competition if they cared4 ,accordingly1 we find that competition--but limited--was immediately set on foot in several of the offices1 and the result led to the following remark in the ,report of #ahef3-- ,we do not think it within our province to discuss the expediency of adopting the principle of open competition as contra-distinguished from examination2 but we must remark that1 both in the competitive examination for clerkships in our own and in other offices1 those who have succeeded in attaining the appointments have appeared to us to possess considerably higher attainments than those who have come in upon simple nomination2 and1 we may add1 that we cannot doubt that if it be adopted as a usual course to nominate several candidates to compete for each vacancy1 the expectation of this ordeal will act most beneficially on the education and industry of those young persons who are looking forward to public employment4 ,in #aheg1 a near approach was made to open competition1 in the case of four clerkships awarded by the competing examination in the ,commissioners' own establishment4 ,the fact of the competition was not made public1 but was communicated to one or two heads of schools and colleges1 and mentioned casually to other persons at various times4 ,the number of competitors who presented themselves was forty-six1 of which number1 forty-four were actually examined4 ,,beginning ,,of ,,open ,,competition4 ,it was reserved for #aheh to see the first absolutely open competition1 in the case of eight writerships in the ,office of the ,secretary of ,state for ,india2 and in that year1 too1 a step in advance was made when the ,commissioners in their ,report pointed out the advantage which would result from enlarging the field of competition by substituting1 for the plan of nominating three persons only to compete for each vacant situation1 the system of nominating a proportionate number of candidates to compete for several appointments at one examination4 ,the year #ahfj sounded the death-knell of simple pass examination4 ,it was then recommended by a ,select ,committee of the ,house of ,commons1 and the recommendation was adopted1 that the competitive method1 in its limited form1 should be henceforth universally applied to junior situations4 ,this recommendation was at once acted upon in the case of clerkships under the control of the ,lords ,commissioners of the ,treasury1 and others by and by followed2 but1 as matter of fact1 it was never strictly carried out in all its scope and rigour2 and as late as #ahfh the ,commissioners in their ,report stated that the number of situations filled on the competitive method has been comparatively small4 ,meanwhile1 competitive examination was making way in other quarters4 ,from #aheg1 the ,commissioners had been in the habit of examining competitively1 at the request of the ,lord ,lieutenant of ,ireland1 such candidates as might be nominated for cadetships in the ,royal ,irish ,constabulary2 and1 in #ahfa1 the ,lords ,commissioners of the ,admiralty threw open to public competition appointments as apprentices in ,her ,majesty's dockyards1 and appointments as engineer students in the steam factories connected therewith4 ,in #ahgj1 the end so long aimed at was attained1 and by an ,order in ,council of ,june #d1 open competition was made the only door of entry to the general ,civil ,service4 ,in entire contrast with this1 as has been already said1 was the action in the case of the ,indian ,civil ,service4 ,here the principle of open competition was adopted from the first1 and the examination took a very elevated start1 comprising the highest branches of a learned education4 ,these branches were duly specified in a ,report drawn up in ,november1 #ahed1 by a ,committee1 of which ,lord ,macaulay was chairman2 and1 with the exception of ,sanskrit and ,arabic1 they included simply 7as might have been expected7 the literary and scientific subjects ordinarily taught at the principal seats of general education in the ,kingdom4 ,these were3-- ,english ,language and ,literature 7,composition1 ,history1 and ,general ,literature1--to each of which #ejj marks were assigned1 making a total of #a1ejj72 ,greek and ,latin 7each with #gej marks72 ,french1 ,german1 and ,italian 7valued at #cge marks1 respectively72 ,mathematics1 pure and mixed 7marks #a1jjj72 ,natural and ,moral ,sciences 7each #ejj72 ,sanscrit and ,arabic 7#cge each74 ,,principle ,,of ,,selection ,,of ,,subjects4 ,the principle of selection here is clear and obvious4 ,it did not rest upon any doctrine regarding the utility or value of subjects for mental training1 but simply upon this1 that those subjects already in the field must be accepted1 and that 7as ,mr4 ,jowett1 in his letter to ,sir ,charles ,trevelyan1 of ,january1 #ahed1 put it7 it will not do to frame our examination on any mere theory of education4 ,we must test a young man's ability by what he knows1 not by what we wish him to know4 ,indeed1 this is explicitly avowed in the ,report by the author of the ,scheme himself4 ,the ,natural ,sciences are included1 because 7it is confessed7 of late years they have been introduced as a part of general education into several of our universities and colleges3 and1 as for the ,moral ,sciences1 those ,sciences are1 it is well known1 much studied both at ,oxford and at the ,scottish ,universities4 ,into the details of ,macaulay's interesting ,report1 ,i need not here enter4 ,room1 however1 must be found for one quotation4 ,it deals with the distribution of marks1 and is both characteristic and puts the matter in small compass4 ,it will be necessary1 says the writer1 that a certain number of marks should be assigned to each subject1 and that the place of a candidate should be determined by the sum total of the marks which he has gained4 ,the marks ought1 we conceive1 to be distributed among the subjects of examination in such a manner that no part of the kingdom1 and no class of schools1 shall exclusively furnish servants to the ,east ,india ,company4 ,it would be grossly unjust1 for example1 to the great academical institutions of ,england1 not to allow skill in ,greek and ,latin versification to have a considerable share in determining the issue of the competition4 ,skill in ,greek and ,latin versification has1 indeed1 no direct tendency to form a judge1 a financier1 or a diplomatist4 ,but the youth who does best what all the ablest and most ambitious youths about him are trying to do well will generally prove a superior man2 nor can we doubt that an accomplishment by which ,fox and ,canning1 ,grenville and ,wellesley1 ,mansfield and ,tenterden first distinguished themselves above their fellows1 indicates powers of mind1 which1 properly trained and directed1 may do great service to the ,state4 ,on the other hand1 we must remember that in the north of this island the art of metrical composition in the ancient languages is very little cultivated1 and that men so eminent as ,dugald ,stewart1 ,horner1 ,jeffrey1 and ,mackintosh1 would probably have been quite unable to write a good copy of ,latin alcaics1 or to translate ten lines of ,shakspeare into ,greek iambics4 ,we wish to see such a system of examination established as shall not exclude from the service of the ,east ,india ,company either a ,mackintosh or a ,tenterden1 either a ,canning or a ,horner4 ,,original ,,scheme ,,for ,,the ,,india ,,service4 ,now1 reverting to ,macaulay's ,table of ,subjects as above exhibited1 ,i may observe that1 till quite recently1 no very serious alterations were ever made upon it4 ,the scale of marks1 indeed1 was altered more than once1 and sometimes ,sanskrit and ,arabic were struck off1 and ,jurisprudence and ,political ,economy put in their stead2 but1 if we except the exclusion of ,political ,philosophy in #aheh1 at the desire of the present ,lord ,derby1 from the ,moral ,science branch1 the list remained1 till ,lord ,salisbury's late innovation1 to all intents and purposes what it was at the beginning4 ,here1 for instance1 is the prescription for #ahge3-- ,,makes ,english ,composition #ejj ,history of ,england1 including that of the laws and constitution #ejj ,english ,language and ,literature #ejj ,language1 literature1 and history of ,greece #gej ,rome #gej ,france #cge ,germany #cge ,italy #cge ,mathematics1 pure and mixed #a1bej ,natural ,sciences1 that is1 7#a7 chemistry1 including heat2 7#b7 electricity and magnetism2 7#c7 geology and mineralogy2 7#d7 zoology2 7#e7 botany #a1jjj 999999 ,the total 7#a1jjj7 marks may be obtained by adequate proficiency in any two or more of the five branches of science included under this head4 ,moral ,sciences1 that is1 logic1 mental and moral philosophy #ejj ,sanskrit1 language and literature #ejj ,arabic1 language and literature #ejj ,but ,lord ,salisbury's changes have been great and sweeping4 ,they are probably in keeping with the restriction of the competitor's age to over #ag under #ai2 but1 if so1 they serve only to shew all the more conclusively that the restriction is a mistake4 ,a scheme that distributes marks on anything but a rational and intelligent system2 a scheme that excludes the ,natural ,history ,sciences1 mineralogy and ,geology1 as well as ,psychology and ,moral ,philosophy from its scope altogether2 a scheme that prescribes only ,elements and ,outlines of such important subjects as ,natural ,science 7,chemistry1 ,electricity and ,magnetism1 c47 and ,political ,economy--stands self-condemned4 ,but1 to do it justice1 let us produce the ,table in extenso3-- ,,makes4 ,english ,composition #cjj ,history of ,england1 including a period selected by the candidate #cjj ,english ,literature including books selected by the candidate #cjj ,greek #fjj ,latin #hjj ,french #ejj ,german #ejj ,italian #djj ,mathematics1 pure and mixed #a1jjj ,natural ,science1 that is1 the ,elements of any two of the following ,sciences viz43-- ,chemistry1 #ejj2 ,electricity and ,magnetism1 #cjj2 ,experimental ,laws of ,heat and ,light1 #cjj2 ,mechanical ,philosophy1 with ,outlines of ,astronomy1 #cjj4 ,logic #cjj ,elements of ,political ,economy #cjj ,sanskrit #ejj ,arabic #ejj ,further remarks are reserved for the sequel4 ,meanwhile1 ,i give the scheme advocated by myself in the present ,essay3-- ,,general ,,sciences3-- ,mathematics #ejj ,natural ,philosophy #ejj ,chemistry #ejj ,biology1 as physiology #ejj ,mental ,science #ejj ,,special ,,or ,,concrete ,,sciences3-- ,mineralogy ,botany each #bej ,zoology or #cjj ,geology ,as a substitute for language1 literature1 and philosophy of ,greece1 ,rome1 ,france1 ,germany1 and ,italy3-- ,greece--,institutions and ,history #ejj ,literature #bej ,rome--,institutions and ,history #ejj ,literature #bej ,france--,literature #bej ,germany--,literature #bej ,italy--,literature #bej ,modern ,history #a1jjj 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,scheme ,,considered4 ,the system of competitive examinations for the public service1 of which ,i have laid before the ,section a brief history compiled from the ,reports1 is one of those radical innovations that may ultimately lead to great consequences4 ,for the present1 however1 it leads to many debates4 ,not merely does the working out of the scheme involve conflicting views1 but there is still1 in many quarters1 great hesitation as to whether the innovation is to be productive of good or of evil4 ,the ,report of the ,playfair ,commission1 and the more recent ,report relative to the changes in the ,india ,civil ,service ,regulations1 indicate pretty broadly the doubts that still cleave to many minds on the whole question4 ,it is enough to refer to the views of ,sir ,arthur ,helps1 ,w4,r4 ,greg1 and ,dr4 ,farr1 expressed to the ,playfair ,commission1 as decidedly adverse to the competitive system4 ,the authorities cited in the ,report on the ,india ,examinations scarcely go the length of total condemnation2 but many acquiesce only because there is no hope of a reversal4 ,the question of the expediency of the system as a whole is not well suited to a sectional discussion4 ,we shall be much better employed in adverting to some of those details in the conduct of the examinations that have a bearing on the general education of the country1 as well as on the ,civil ,service itself4 ,it was very well for the ,commissioners1 at first starting1 to be guided1 in their choice of subjects and in their assigning of values to those subjects1 by the received branches of education in the schools and colleges4 ,but1 sooner or later1 these subjects must be discussed on their intrinsic merits for the ends in view4 ,indeed1 the scheme of ,lord ,salisbury has already made the venture that ,macaulay declined to make2 it has absolutely excluded some of the best recognised subjects of our school and college teaching1 instead of leaving them to the option of the candidates4 ,i will occupy the present paper with the consideration of two departments in the examination programme--the one relating to the ,,physical or ,,natural ,,sciences1 the other relating to ,,languages4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,commissioner' ,,scheme ,,of ,,science4 ,the ,commissioners' scheme of ,mathematics and ,natural ,science is not1 in my opinion1 accordant either with the best views of the relations of the sciences1 or with the best teaching usages4 ,in the classification of the ,sciences1 the first and most important distinction is between the fundamental sciences1 sometimes called the ,abstract sciences1 and the derivative or ,concrete branches4 ,my purpose does not require any nice clearing of the meanings of those technical terms4 ,it is sufficient to say that the fundamental sciences are those that embrace distinct departments of the natural forces or phenomena2 and the derivative or concrete departments assume all the laws laid down in the others1 and apply them in certain spheres of natural objects4 ,for example1 ,chemistry is a primary1 fundamental1 or abstract science2 and ,mineralogy is a derivative and concrete science4 ,in ,chemistry the stress lies in explaining a peculiar kind of force1 called chemical force2 in ,mineralogy the stress is laid on the description and classification of a select group of natural objects4 ,the fundamental1 or departmental sciences1 as most commonly accepted1 are these3--#a4 ,mathematics2 #b4 ,natural ,philosophy1 or ,physics2 #c4 ,chemistry2 #d4 ,biology2 #e4 ,psychology4 ,they may be1 therefore1 expressed as ,formal1 ,inanimate1 ,animate1 and ,mental4 ,in these sciences1 the idea is to view exhaustively some department of natural phenomena1 and to assume the order best suited for the elucidation of the phenomena4 ,mathematics1 the ,formal ,science1 exhausts the relations of ,quantity and ,number2 measure being a universal property of things4 ,natural ,philosophy1 in its two divisions 7molar and molecular71 deals with one kind of force2 ,chemistry with another3 and the two together conspire to exhaust the phenomena of inanimate nature2 being indispensably aided by the laws and formulae of quantity1 as given in ,mathematics4 ,biology turns over a new leaf2 it takes up the phenomenon--,life1 or the animated world4 ,finally1 ,psychology makes another stride1 and embraces the sphere of mind4 ,now1 there is no fact or phenomenon of the world that is not comprised under the doctrines expounded in some one or other of these sciences4 ,we may have fifty ologies besides1 but they will merely repeat for special ends1 or in special connections1 the principles already comprised in these five fundamental subjects4 ,the regular1 systematic1 exhaustive account of the laws of nature is to be found within their compass4 ,,order ,,of ,,the ,,fundamental ,,sciences4 ,again1 these sciences have a fixed order or sequence1 the order of dependence4 ,mathematics precedes them all1 as being not dependent upon any1 while all are more or less dependent upon it4 ,the physical forces have to be viewed prior to the chemical2 and both physical and chemical forces are preparatory to vital4 ,so there are reasons for placing ,mental ,science last of all4 ,hence a student cannot comprehend chemistry without natural philosophy1 nor biology without both4 ,you cannot stand a thorough examination in chemistry without indirectly showing your knowledge of physics2 and a testing examination in biology would guarantee1 with some slight qualifications1 both physics and chemistry4 ,let us now turn to the other sciences--those that are not fundamental1 but derivative4 ,the chief examples are the three commonly called ,natural ,history sciences--,mineralogy1 ,botany1 ,zoology4 ,in these sciences no law or principle is at work that has not been already brought forward in the primary sciences4 ,the properties of a ,mineral are mathematical1 physical1 and chemical3 the testing of minerals is by measurement1 by physical tests1 by chemical tests4 ,the aim of this science is not to teach forces unknown to the student of physics and chemistry2 it is to embrace1 under the best classification1 all the bodies called minerals1 and to describe the species in detail under mathematical1 physical1 and chemical characters4 ,it is the first in order of the classificatory sciences4 ,its purpose in the economy of education is distinct and peculiar2 it imparts knowledge1 not respecting laws1 forces1 or principles of operating1 but respecting the concrete constituents of the world4 ,it gives us a commanding view of one whole department of the material universe2 supplying information useful in practice1 and interesting to the feelings4 ,it also brings into exercise the great logical process1 wanted on many occasions1 the process of ,,classification4 ,,classificatory ,,sciences4 ,so much for an instance from the ,inorganic world1 as showing the distinction between the two kinds of sciences4 ,another example may be cited from the field of ,biology2 it is a little more perplexing4 ,for biology is sometimes given as the name for the two concrete classificatory sciences--botany and zoology4 ,in point of fact1 however1 there is a science that precedes those two branches1 although blending with them2 the science commonly expressed by the older term1 ',physiology1' which is not a classificatory and a dependent science1 but a mother science1 like chemistry4 ,it expounds the peculiarities of living bodies1 as such1 and the laws of living processes--such processes as assimilation1 nutrition1 respiration1 innervation1 reproduction1 and so on4 ,one division is ,vegetable ,physiology1 which is generally fused with the classificatory science of botany4 ,animal ,physiology is allied with zoology1 but more commonly stands alone4 ,lastly1 the ,physiology of the ,human animal has been from time immemorial a distinct branch of knowledge1 and is1 of course1 the chief of them all4 ,man being the most complicated of all organised beings1 not only are the laws of his vitality the most numerous1 and the most practically interesting1 but they go far to include all that is to be said of the workings of animal life in general4 ,thus1 then1 the mother science of ,biology1 as a general or fundamental science1 comprises ,vegetable1 ,animal1 and ,human physiology4 ,the classificatory adjunct sciences are ,botany and ,zoology4 ,it is in the various aspects of the mother science that we look for the account of all vital phenomena1 and all practical applications to the preservation of life4 ,even if we stop at these1 we shall have a full command of the laws of the animate world4 ,but we may go farther1 and embrace the sciences that arrange1 classify1 and describe the innumerable host of living beings4 ,these have their own independent interest and value1 but they are not the sciences that of themselves teach us the living processes4 ,thus1 then1 a proper scheme of scientific instruction starts from the essential1 fundamental1 and law-giving sciences--,mathematics1 ,physics1 ,chemistry1 ,biology1 and ,mind4 ,it then proceeds to the adjunct branches --such as ,mineralogy1 ,botany1 ,zoology3 and ,i might add others1 as ,geology1 ,meteorology1 ,geography1 no one of which is primary2 for they all repeat in new connections1 and for special purposes1 the laws systematically set forth in the primary sciences4 ,in the foregoing remarks1 ,i do not advance any new or debatable views4 ,i believe the scientific world to be substantially in accord upon all that ,i have here stated2 any differences that there are in the manner of expressing the points do not affect my present purpose--namely1 to discuss the scheme of the mathematical and physical sciences as set forth in the ,civil ,service ,examinations4 ,,bad ,,groupings ,,of ,,sciences4 ,under ,mathematics 7pure and mixed7 the ,commissioners 7in their ,scheme of #ahge71 include mathematics1 properly so called1 and those departments of natural philosophy that are mathematically handled--statics1 dynamics1 and optics4 ,but the next branch1 entitled ,natural ,science1 is what ,i am chiefly to remark upon4 ,under it there is a fivefold enumeration3 --7#a7 ,chemistry1 including ,heat2 7#b7 ,electricity and ,magnetism2 7#c7 ,geology and ,mineralogy2 7#d7 ,zoology2 7#e7 ,botany4 ,i cannot pretend to say where the ,commissioners obtained this arrangement of natural knowledge4 ,it is not supported by any authority that ,i am acquainted with4 ,if the scheme just set forth is the correct one1 it has three defects4 ,first1 it does not embrace in one group the remaining parts of natural philosophy1 the experimental branches which1 with the mathematical treatment1 complete the department2 one of these1 ,heat1 is attached to chemistry1 to which undoubtedly it has important relations1 but not such as to withdraw it from physics and embody it in chemistry4 ,then1 again1 the physical branches1 ,electricity and ,magnetism1 are coupled in a department and made of co-equal value with chemistry together with heat4 ,i need not say that the united couple--electricity and magnetism--is in point of extent of study not a half or a third of what is included in the other coupling4 ,lastly1 the three remaining members of the enumeration are three natural history sciences2 geology being coupled with mineralogy--which is a secondary consideration4 ,now ,i think it is quite right that these three sciences should have a place in the competition4 ,what is objectionable is1 that ,biology is represented solely by its two classificatory components or adjuncts1 botany and zoology2 there is no mother science of ,physiology3 and consequently the knowledge of the vast region of the ,laws of ,life goes for nothing4 ,nor can it be said that physiology is given with the others4 ,the subject of vegetable physiology could easily enough be taken with ,botany3 ,i would not make a quarrel upon this part4 ,it is zoology and animal physiology that cannot be so coupled4 ,if we look to the questions actually set under zoology1 we shall see that there is no pretence to take in physiology4 ,i contend1 therefore1 that there is a radical omission in the scheme of natural science2 an omission that seems without any justification4 ,i am not here to sing the praises of ,physiology3 its place is fixed and determined by the concurrence of all competent judges3 ,i merely point out that ,zoology does not include it1 but presupposes it4 ,the ,science scheme of the ,london ,university1 to which the first ,civil ,service ,commissioners1 ,sir ,edward ,ryan and ,sir ,john ,lefevre1 were parties1 is very nearly what ,i contend for4 ,it gives the order--,mathematics1 ,natural ,philosophy1 ,chemistry1 ,biology1 ,mental ,science 7including ,logic74 ,in the working of that scheme1 however1 ,biology is made to comprehend both the mother science1 ,physiology1 and the two classificatory sciences1 ,botany and ,zoology4 ,of course the presence of two such enormous adjuncts cramps and confines the purely physiological examination1 which in my opinion should have full justice done to it in the first instance3 still1 the physiology is not suppressed nor reduced to a mere formality4 ,now1 in any science scheme1 ,i would provide for the general sciences first1 and take the others1 so far as expedient1 in a new grouping1 where those of a kind shall appear together1 and stand in their proper character1 not as law-giving1 but as arranging and describing sciences4 ,there is no more reason for coupling ,zoology with ,physiology1 than for tacking on ,mineralogy to ,chemistry4 ,in point of outward form1 ,mineralogy and ,zoology are kindred subjects4 ,when the subjects are placed in the order that ,i have suggested1 there is an end of that promiscuous and random choosing that the arrangement of the ,commissioners suggests and encourages4 ,to the specification of the five heads of natural science1 it is added1 that the whole of the #a1jjj marks may be gained by high eminence in any two2 as if the choice were a matter of indifference4 ,now1 ,i cannot think that this suggestion is in conformity with a just view of the continuity of science4 ,when the sciences are rightly arranged1 there is but one order in the mother sciences2 if we are to choose a single science1 it must be 7with some qualifications7 the first2 if two1 the first and second1 and so on4 ,to choose one of the higher sciences1 ,chemistry or ,physiology1 without the others that precede1 is irrational4 ,indeed1 it would scarcely ever be done1 and for this reason4 ,a man cannot have mastered ,physiology without having gone through ,physics and ,chemistry2 and1 although it is not necessary that he should retain a hold of everything in these previous sciences1 yet he is sure to have done enough in both one and the other to make it worth his while to take these up in the examination4 ,so a good chemist must have so much familiarity with ,physics1 as to make it bad economy on his part not to give in ,physics as well4 ,the only case where an earlier science might be dropped is ,mathematics2 for although that finds its application extensively in ,physics and indirectly in ,chemistry1 yet there is a very large body of physical and chemical doctrine that is not dependent upon any of the more difficult branches1 so that these may admit of being partially neglected4 ,but1 as an examination in ,physics ought to include 7as in the ,london ,university7 all the mathematical applications1 short of the higher calculus1 it is not likely that ,mathematics would be often dropped4 ,so that1 as regards the mother sciences1 the variation of choice would be reduced to the different lengths that the candidate would go in the order as laid down4 ,as regards the other sciences--those of classification and description--the selection might certainly be arbitrary to this extent1 that ,mineralogy1 ,botany1 and ,zoology might each be prescribed alone4 ,but then1 whoever presented one of these would also present the related mother science4 ,he that took up ,mineralogy1 would infallibly also take up the three first as far as ,chemistry4 ,he that gave in ,botany would probably take up ,physiology1 although not so necessarily1 because the area of plant ,physiology is very limited1 and has little bearing on descriptive ,botany1 so that anything like a familiarity with ,physiology might be evaded4 ,but he that took up ,zoology1 would to a certainty take up ,physiology2 and very probably also the antecedent members of the fundamental group4 ,as to ,geology1 it is usually coupled with ,mineralogy1 although involving also a slight knowledge of ,botany and ,zoology4 ,a competent mineralogist would be pretty sure to add ,geology to his professional subjects4 ,before considering the re-arrangement of marks entailed by the proposed distribution of the sciences1 ,i must advert to the position of ,mathematics in the ,commissioners' scheme4 ,this position was first assigned in the original draft of #ahed1 and on the motives therein set forth with such ostentatious candour2 namely1 the wish to reward the existing subjects of teaching1 whatever they might be4 ,now1 ,i contend that it is wholly beside the ends either of the ,indian ,civil ,service1 or of the ,home ,service1 with known exceptions1 to stimulate the very high mathematical knowledge that has hitherto entered into the examination scheme4 ,a certain amount of ,mathematics1 the amount required in a pass examination in the ,london ,university1 is essential as a basis of rational culture2 but1 for a good general education1 all beyond that is misdirected energy4 ,after receiving the modicum required1 the student should pass on to the other sciences1 and employ his strength in adding ,experimental ,physics and ,chemistry to his stock4 ,whether a candidate succeeds or fails in the competitions1 this is his best policy4 ,,proper ,,science ,,values4 ,without arguing the point farther1 ,i will now come to the amended scheme of science markings4 ,it would be over-refining1 and would not bring conviction to the general public1 to make out a case for inequality in the five fundamental branches4 ,it may be said that ,physiology is of more value than ,chemistry1 because it is farther on1 and takes ,chemistry with it2 the answer is1 let the ,physiology candidate go in and take marks in ,chemistry also1 which he is sure to do4 ,i have purposely avoided all discussion about ,mental ,science2 ,i merely assume it as a branch coordinate with the prior sciences placed before it in the general list4 ,i would then simply1 in conclusion1 give the primary sciences1 ,mathematics1 ,natural ,philosophy1 ,chemistry1 ,biology 7as explained71 ,mental ,philosophy1 each #ejj marks4 ,the other sciences1 ,mineralogy1 ,botany1 ,zoology1 ,geology1 ,i would make equal as between themselves1 but somewhat lower than the primaries4 ,the reasons are already apparent3 the candidate for them would always have some of the others to present2 and their importance is1 on the whole1 less than the importance of the law-giving sciences4 ,i should conceive that #bej or #cjj marks apiece would be a proper amount of consideration shewn towards them4 ,with that figure1 ,i believe many science students could take up one or other in addition to the general sciences4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the other topic that ,i am to bring forward is one of very serious import4 ,it concerns the ,civil ,service competitions only as a part of our whole scheme of ,education4 ,i mean the position of ,,languages in our examinations4 ,while the vast field of ,natural ,science is comprised in one heading1 with a total of #a1jjj marks 7raised finally to #a1djj71 our ,civil ,service scheme presents a row of five languages besides our own--two ancient1 and three modern--with an aggregate value of #b1fbe marks1 or #b1hjj1 as finally adjusted4 ,the ,india scheme has1 in addition1 ,sanskrit and ,arabic1 at #ejj marks each2 the reasons for this prescription being1 however1 not the same as for the foregoing4 ,the place of ,language in education is not confined to the question as between the ancient and the modern languages4 ,there is a wider enquiry as to the place of languages as a whole4 ,in pursuing this enquiry1 we may begin with certain things that are obvious and incontestable4 ,in the first place1 it is apparent that if a man is sent to hold intercourse with the people of a foreign nation1 he must be able to understand and to speak the language of that nation4 ,our ,india civil servants are on that ground required to master the ,hindoo spoken dialects4 ,,place ,,of ,,language ,,in ,,education4 ,in the next place1 if a certain range of information that you find indispensable is locked up in a foreign language1 you are obliged to learn the language4 ,if1 in course of time1 all this information is transferred to our native tongue1 the necessity apparently ceases4 ,these two extreme suppositions will be allowed at once4 ,there may1 however1 be an indefinite number of intermediate stages4 ,the information may be partially translated2 and it will then be a question whether the trouble of learning the language should be incurred for the sake of the untranslated part4 ,or1 it may be wholly translated3 but1 conscious of the necessary defects even of good translations1 if the subject-matter be supremely important1 some people will think it worth while to learn the language in order to obtain the knowledge in its greatest purity and precision4 ,this is a situation that admits of no certain rule4 ,our clergy are expected to know the original languages of the ,bible1 notwithstanding the abundance of translations2 many of which must be far superior in worth and authority to the judgment of a merely ordinary proficient in ,hebrew and in ,greek4 ,it is now generally conceded that the classical languages are no longer the exclusive depository of any kind of valuable information1 as they were two or three centuries ago4 ,yet they are still continued in the schools as if they possessed their original function unabated4 ,we do not speak in them1 nor listen to them spoken1 nor write in them1 nor read in them1 for obtaining information4 ,why then are they kept up8 ,many reasons are given1 as we know4 ,there is an endeavour to show that even in their original function1 they are not quite effete4 ,certain professions are said to rely upon them for some points of information not fully communicated by the medium of ,english4 ,such is the rather indirect example of the clergy with ,greek4 ,so1 it is said that ,law is not thoroughly understood without ,latin1 because the great source of law1 the ,roman code1 is written in ,latin1 and is in many points untranslatable4 ,further1 it is contended that ,greek philosophy cannot be fully mastered without a knowledge of the language of ,plato and ,aristotle4 ,but an argument that is reduced to these examples must be near its vanishing point4 ,not one of the cases stands a rigorous scrutiny2 and they are not relied upon as the main justification of the continuance of classics4 ,a new line of defence is opened up which was not at all present to the minds of sixteenth century scholars4 ,we are told of numerous indirect and secondary advantages of cultivating language in general and the classic languages in particular1 which make the acquisition a rewarding labour1 even without one particle of the primary use4 ,but for these secondary advantages1 languages could have no claim to appear1 with such enormous values1 in the ,civil ,service scheme4 ,,language ,,may ,,have ,,secondary ,,uses4 ,my purpose requires me to advert in these alleged secondary uses of language1 not1 however1 for the view of counter-arguing them1 but rather in order to indicate what seems to me the true mode of bringing them to the proof4 ,the most usual phraseology for describing the indirect benefit of languages is1 that they supply a training to the powers of the mind2 that1 if not information1 they are culture2 that they re-act upon our mastery of our own language1 and so on4 ,it is quite necessary1 however1 to find phrases more definite and tangible than the slippery words culture and training3 we must know precisely what particular powers or aptitudes are increased by the study of a foreign language4 ,nevertheless1 the conclusions set forth in this paper do not require me to work out an exhaustive review of these advantages4 ,it is enough to give as many as will serve for examples4 ,now1 it must be freely admitted as a possible case1 that a practice introduced in the first instance for a particular purpose1 may be found applicable to many other purposes2 so much so1 that1 ceasing to be employed for the original use1 the practice may be kept up for the sake of the after uses4 ,for example1 clothing was no doubt primarily contrived for warmth2 but it is not now confined to that3 decoration or ornament1 distinction of sexes1 ranks and offices1 modesty--are also attained by means of clothes4 ,this example is a suggestive one4 ,we have only to suppose ourselves migrating to some ,african climate1 where clothing for warmth is absolutely dispensed with4 ,we should not on that account adopt literal nudity--we should still desire to maintain those other advantages4 ,the artistic decoration of the person would continue to be thought of2 and1 as no amount of painting and tattooing1 with strings of beads superadded1 would answer to our ideal of personal elegance1 we should have recourse to some light filmy textures1 such as would allow the varieties of drapery1 colours1 and design1 and show off the poetry of motion2 we should also indicate the personal differences that we were accustomed to show by vesture4 ,but now comes the point of the moral2 we should not maintain our close heavy fabrics1 our great-coats1 shawls and cloaks4 ,these would cease with the need for them4 ,perhaps the first emigrants would keep up the prejudice for their warm things1 but not so their successors4 ,well1 then1 suppose the extreme case of a foreign language that is entirely and avowedly superseded as regards communication and interpretation of thoughts1 but still furnishing so many valuable aids to mental improvement1 that we keep it up for the sake of these4 ,as we are not to hear1 speak1 or read the language1 we do not need absolutely to know the meaning of every word3 we may1 perhaps1 dispense with much of the technicality of its grammar4 ,the vocables and the grammar would be kept up exactly so far as to serve the other purposes1 and no farther4 ,the teacher would have in view the secondary uses alone4 ,supposing the language related to our own by derivation of words1 and that this was what we put stress upon2 then the derivation would always be uppermost in the teacher's thoughts4 ,if it were to illustrate ,universal ,grammar and ,philology1 this would be brought out to the neglect of translation4 ,,classical ,,teacher',s ,,ideal4 ,i have made an imaginary supposition to prepare the way for the real case4 ,the classical or language teacher1 is assumed to be fully conscious of the fact that the primary use of the languages is as good as defunct2 and that he is continued in office because of certain clearly assigned secondary uses1 but for which he would be superseded entirely4 ,some of the secondary uses present to his mind1 at all events one of those that are put forward in argument1 is that a foreign language1 and especially ,latin1 conduces to good composition in our own language4 ,and as we do compose in our own language1 and never compose in ,latin1 the teacher is bound to think mainly of the ,english part of the task--to see that the pupils succeed in the ,english translation1 whether they succeed in the other or not4 ,they may be left in a state of considerable ignorance of good ,latin forms 7ignorance will never expose them72 but any defects in their ,english expression will be sure to be disclosed4 ,again1 it is said that ,universal ,grammar or ,philology is taught upon the basis of a foreign language4 ,is this object1 in point of fact1 present to the mind of every teacher1 and brought forward1 even to the sacrifice of the power of reading and writing1 which1 by the supposition1 is never to be wanted8 ,further1 the ,latin ,grammar is said to be a logical discipline4 ,is this1 too1 kept in view as a predominating end8 ,once more1 it is declared that1 through the classics1 we attain the highest cultivation of ,taste1 by seeing models of unparalleled literary form4 ,be it so3 is this habitually attended to in the teaching of these languages8 ,i believe ,i am safe in saying that1 whilst these various secondary advantages are put forward in the polemic as to the value of languages1 the teaching practice is by no means in harmony therewith4 ,even when in word the supporters of classics put forward the secondary uses1 in deed they belie themselves4 ,excellence in teaching is held by them to consist1 in the first instance1 in the power of accurate interpretation1--as if that obsolete use were still the use4 ,if a teacher does this well1 he is reckoned a good teacher1 although he does little or nothing for the other ends1 which in argument are treated as the reason of his existence4 ,indeed1 this is the kind of teaching that is alone to be expected from the ordinary teacher2 all the other ends are more difficult than simple word teaching4 ,even when ,english ,composition1 ,logic and ,taste are taught in the most direct way1 they are more abstruse than the simple teaching of a foreign language for purposes of interpretation2 but when tacked on as accessories to instruction in a language1 they are still more troublesome to impart4 ,a teacher of rare excellence may help his pupils in ,english style1 in philology1 in logic1 and in taste2 but the mass of teachers can do very little in any of those directions4 ,they are never found fault with merely because their teaching does not rise to the height of the great arguments that justify their vocation2 they would be found fault with1 if their pupils were supposed to have made little way in that first function of language which is never to be called into exercise4 ,i do not rest satisfied with quoting the palpable inconsistency between the practice of the teacher and the polemic of the defender of languages4 ,i believe1 further1 that it is not expedient to carry on so many different acquisitions together4 ,if you want to teach thorough ,english1 you need to arrange a course of ,english1 allot a definite time to it1 and follow it with undivided attention during that time4 ,if you wish to teach ,philology you must provide a systematic scheme1 or else a text-book of ,philology1 and bring together all the most select illustrations from languages generally4 ,so for ,logic and for ,taste4 ,these subjects are far too serious to be imparted in passing allusions while the pupil is engaged in struggling with linguistic difficulties4 ,they need a place in the programme to themselves2 and1 when so provided for1 the small dropping contributions of the language teacher may easily be dispensed with4 ,,secondary ,,ends ,,of ,,language ,,not ,,pressed4 ,the argument for ,languages may1 no doubt1 take a bolder flight1 and go so far as to maintain that the teacher does not need to turn aside from his plain path to secure these secondary ends--now the only valuable ends4 ,the contention may be that in the close and rigorous attention to mere interpretation1 just as if interpretation were still the living use1 these other purposes are inevitably secured--good ,english1 universal grammar1 logic1 taste1 c4 ,i think1 however1 that this is too far from the fact to be very confidently maintained4 ,of course1 were it correct1 the teacher should never have departed from it1 as the best teachers continually do1 and glory in doing4 ,on the face of the thing1 it must seem an unworkable position to surrender the value of a language1 as a language1 and keep it up for something else4 ,the teaching must always be guided by the original1 although defunct1 use2 this is the natural1 the easy1 course to follow2 for the mass of teachers at all times it is the broad way4 ,whatever the necessities of argument may drive a man to say1 yet in his teaching he cannot help postulating to himself1 as an indispensable fiction1 that his pupils are some day or other to hear1 to read1 to speak1 or to write the language4 ,the intense conservatism in the matter of ,languages--the alacrity to prescribe languages on all sides1 without inquiring whether they are likely to be turned to account--may be referred to various causes4 ,for one thing--although the remark may seem ungracious and invidious--many minds1 not always of the highest force1 are absorbed and intoxicated by languages4 ,but apart from this1 languages are1 by comparison1 easy to teach1 and easy to examine upon4 ,now1 if there is any motive in education more powerful than another1 it is ease in the work itself4 ,we are all1 as teachers1 copyists of that ,irish celebrity who1 when he came to a good bit of road1 paced it to and fro a number of times before going forward to his destination on the rougher footing4 ,so far ,i may seem to be arguing against the teaching of language at all1 or1 at any rate1 the languages expressively called dead4 ,i am not1 however1 pressing this point farther than as an illustration4 ,i do not ask anyone to give an opinion against ,classics as a subject of instruction2 although1 undoubtedly1 if this opinion were prevalent1 my principal task would be very much lightened4 ,i have merely analysed the utilities ascribed to the ancient and the modern languages1 with a view to settling their place in competitive examinations4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,languages ,,not ,,proper ,,for ,,the ,,competition4 ,my thesis1 then1 is1 that languages are not a proper subject for competition with a view to professional appointments4 ,the explanation falls under two heads4 ,in the first place1 there are certain avocations where a foreign language must be known1 because it has to be used in actual business4 ,such are the ,indian spoken languages4 ,now1 it is clear that in these cases the knowledge of the language1 as being a sine qu non1 must be made imperative4 ,this1 however1 as ,i think1 is not a case for competition1 but for a sufficient pass4 ,there is a certain pitch of attainment that is desirable even at first entering the service2 no one should fall below this1 and to rise much above it cannot matter a great deal4 ,at all events1 ,i think the measure should be absolute and not relative4 ,i would not give a man merit in a competition because another man happens to be worse than himself in a matter that all must know2 both the men may be absolutely bad4 ,it may be the case that certain languages are so admirably constructed and so full of beauties that to study them is a liberal education in itself4 ,but this does not necessarily hold of every language that an official of the ,british ,empire may happen to need4 ,it does not apply to the ,indian tongues1 nor to ,chinese1 nor1 ,i should suppose1 to the ,fiji dialects4 ,the only human faculty that is tested and brought into play in these acquisitions is the commonest kind of memory exercised for a certain time4 ,the value to the ,service of the man that can excel in spoken languages does not lie in his superior administrative ability1 but in his being sooner fitted for actual duty4 ,undoubtedly1 if two men go out to ,calcutta so unequal in their knowledge of native languages1 or in the preparation for that knowledge1 that one can begin work in six months1 while the other takes nine1 there is an important difference between them4 ,but what is the obvious mode of rewarding the difference8 ,not1 ,i should think1 by pronouncing one a higher man in the scale of the competition1 but by giving him some money prize in proportion to the redemption of his time for official work4 ,now1 as regards the second kind of languages--those that are supposed to carry with them all the valuable indirect consequences that we have just reviewed4 ,there are in the ,civil ,service ,scheme five such languages--two ancient1 and three modern4 ,they are kept there1 not because they are ever to be read or spoken in the ,service1 but because they exercise some magical efficacy in elevating the whole tone of the human intellect4 ,if ,i were discussing the ,indian ,civil ,service in its own specialities1 ,i would deprecate the introduction of extraneous languages into the competition1 for this reason1 that the ,service itself taxes the verbal powers more than any other service4 ,i do not think that ,lord ,macaulay and his colleagues had this circumstance fully in view4 ,macaulay was himself a glutton for language2 and1 while in ,india1 read a great quantity of ,latin and ,greek4 ,but he was exempted from the ordinary lot of the ,indian civil servant2 he had no native languages to acquire and to use4 ,if a man both speaks and writes in good ,english1 and converses familiarly in several ,oriental dialects1 his language memory is sufficiently well taxed1 and if he carries with him one ,european language besides1 it is as much as belongs to the fitness of things in that department4 ,,secondary ,,uses ,,of ,,language ,,directly ,,tested4 ,my proposal1 then1 goes the length of excluding all these five cultivated languages from the competition1 notwithstanding the influence that they may be supposed to have as general culture4 ,in supporting it1 ,i shall assume that everything that can be said in their favour is true to the letter3 that they assist us in our own language1 that they cultivate logic and taste1 that they exemplify universal grammar1 and so on4 ,all that my purpose requires is to affirm that the same good ends may be attained in other ways3 that ,latin1 ,greek1 c1 are but one of several instruments for instructing us in ,english composition1 reasoning1 or taste4 ,my contention1 then1 is that the ends themselves are to be looked to1 and not the means or instruments1 since these are very various4 ,english composition is1 of course1 a valuable end1 whether got through the study of ,latin1 or through the study of ,english authors themselves1 or through the inspiration of natural genius4 ,whatever amount of skill and attainment a candidate can show in this department should be valued the examination for ,english2 and all the good that ,latin has done for him would thus be entered to his credit4 ,if1 then1 the study of ,latin is found the best means of securing good marks in ,english1 it will be pursued on that account2 if the candidate is able to discover other less laborious ways of attaining the end1 he will prefer these ways4 ,the same applies to all the other secondary ends of language4 ,let them be valued in their own departments4 ,let the improvement of the reasoning faculty be counted wherever that is shown in the examination4 ,good reasoning powers will evince themselves in many places1 and will have their1 reward4 ,the principle is a plain and obvious one4 ,it is that of payment for results1 without inquiring into the means4 ,there are certain extreme cases where the means are not improperly coupled with the results in the final examination2 and these are illustrations of the principle4 ,thus1 in passing a candidate for the medical profession1 the final end is his or her knowledge of diseases and their remedies4 ,as it is admitted1 however1 that there are certain indispensable preparatory studies--anatomy1 physiology1 and materia medica--such studies are made part of the examination1 because they contribute to the testing for the final end4 ,,history ,,and ,,literature ,,detachable ,,from ,,language4 ,the argument is not complete until we survey another branch of the subject of examination in languages4 ,it will be observed in the wording of the programme that each separate language is coupled with 'literature and history 7or1 as latterly expressed1 'literature--including books selected by the candidate'7'4 ,it is the ,language1 ,literature1 and ,history of ,rome1 ,greece1 c4 ,and the examination questions show the exact scope of these adjuncts1 and also the values attached to them1 as compared with the language by itself4 ,let us consider this matter a little4 ,take ,history first1 as being the least perplexed4 ,greece and ,rome have both a certain lasting importance attaching to their history and institutions2 and these accordingly are a useful study4 ,of course1 the extant writings are the chief groundwork of our knowledge of these1 and must be read4 ,but1 at the present day1 all that can be extracted from the originals is presented to the student in ,english books2 and to these he is exclusively referred for this part of his knowledge4 ,in the small portion of original texts that a pupil at school or college toils through1 he necessarily gets a few of the historical facts at first hand2 but he could much more easily get these few where he gets the rest--in the ,english compilations4 ,admitting1 then1 that the history and institutions of ,greece and ,rome constitute a valuable education1 it is in our power to secure it independently of the original tongues4 ,the other branch--,literature--is not so easily disposed of4 ,in fact1 the separating of the literature from the language1 you will say1 is a self-evident absurdity4 ,that1 however1 only shows that you have not looked carefully into examination papers4 ,i am not concerned with what the priori imagination may suppose to be ,literature1 but with the actual questions put by examiners under that name4 ,i find that such questions are1 generally speaking1 very few1 perhaps one or two in a long paper1 and nearly all pertain to the outworks of literature1 so to speak4 ,here is the ,latin literature of one paper3--,in what special branch of literature were the ,romans independent of the ,greeks8 ,mention the principal writers in it1 with the peculiar characteristics of each4 ,who was the first to employ the hexameter in ,latin poetry1 and in what poem8 ,to what language is ,latin most nearly related2 and what is the cause of their great resemblance8 ,the ,greek literature of the same examination involves these points3--,the ,aristophanic estimate of ,euripides1 with criticisms on its taste and justice 7for which1 however1 a historical subject is given as an alternative72 the ,greek chorus1 and choric metres4 ,now such an examination is1 in the first place1 a most meagre view of literature3 it does not necessarily exercise the faculty of critical discernment4 ,in the next place1 it is chiefly a matter of compilation from ,english sources2 the actual readings of the candidate in ,greek and ,latin would be of little account in the matter4 ,of course1 the choric metres could not be described without some knowledge of ,greek1 but the matter is of very trifling importance in an educational point of view4 ,generally speaking1 the questions in literature1 which in number bear no proportion to historical questions1 are such as might be included under history1 as the department of the ,history of ,literature4 ,,languages ,,examination ,,papers ,,reviewed4 ,the distribution of the #gej marks allotted respectively to ,latin and to ,greek1 in the scheme of #ahge1 is this4 ,there are three papers3 two are occupied exclusively with translation4 ,the third is language1 literature1 and history3 the language means purely grammatical questions2 so that possibly #ehc marks are for the language proper4 ,the remaining number1 #afg1 should be allotted equally between literature and history1 but history has always the lion's share1 and is in fact the only part of the whole examination that has1 to my mind1 any real worth4 ,it is generally a very searching view of important institutions and events1 together with what may be called their philosophy4 ,now1 the reform that seems to me to be wanted is to strike out everything else from the examination4 ,at the same time1 ,i should like to see the experiment of a real literary examination1 such as did not necessarily imply a knowledge of the originals4 ,it is interesting to turn to the examination in modern languages1 where the ancient scheme is copied1 by appending literature and history4 ,here the ,literature is decidedly more prominent and thorough4 ,there is also a fair paper of ,history questions4 ,what strikes us1 however1 in this1 is a slavish adherence to the form1 without the reality1 of the ancient situation4 ,we have independent histories of ,greece and ,rome1 but scarcely of ,germany1 ,france1 and ,italy4 ,instead of partitioning ,modern ,european history among the language-examiners for ,english1 ,french1 ,german1 ,italian1 it would be better to relieve them of history altogether1 and place the subject as a whole in the hands of a distinct examiner4 ,i would still allow merit for a literary examination in ,french1 ,german1 and ,italian1 but would strike off the languages1 and let the candidate get up the literature as he chose4 ,the basis of a candidate's literary knowledge1 and his first introduction to literature1 ought to be his own language3 but he may extend his discrimination and his power by other literatures1 either in translations or in originals1 as he pleases2 still the examination1 as before1 should test the discrimination and the power1 and not the vocabulary of the languages themselves4 ,in order to do full justice to classical antiquity1 ,i would allow markings at the rate of #ejj for ,political ,institutions and ,history1 and #bej for ,literature4 ,some day this will be thought too much2 but political philosophy or sociology may become more systematic than at present1 and history questions will then take a different form4 ,in like manner1 ,i would abolish the language-examination in modern languages1 and give #bej marks for the literature of each of the three modern languages--,french1 ,german1 ,italian4 ,the history would be taken as ,modern ,history1 with an adequate total value4 ,the objections to this proposal will mainly resolve themselves into its revolutionary character4 ,the remark will at once be made that the classical languages would cease to be taught1 and even the modern languages discouraged4 ,the meaning of this ,i take to be1 that1 if such teaching is judged solely by its fruits1 it must necessarily be condemned4 ,the only way to fence this unpalatable conclusion1 is to maintain that the results could not be fully tested in an examination as suggested4 ,some of these are so fine1 impalpable1 and spiritual in their texture1 that they cannot be seized by any questions that can be put2 and would be dropped out if the present system were changed4 ,but results so untraceable cannot be proved to exist at all4 ,,language ,,questions ,,take ,,the ,,place ,,of ,,the ,,subject4 ,so far from the results being missed by disusing the exercises of translation1 one might contend that they would only begin to be appreciated fairly when the whole stress of the examination is put upon them4 ,if an examiner sets a paper in ,roman ,law1 containing long ,latin extracts to be translated1 he is starving the examination in ,law by substituting for it an examination in ,latin4 ,whatever knowledge of ,latin terminology is necessary to the knowledge of ,law should be required1 and no more4 ,so1 it is not an examination in ,aristotle to require long translations from the ,greek2 only by dispensing with all this1 does the main subject receive proper attention4 ,if the properly literary part of the present examinations were much of a reality1 there would be a nice discussion as to the amount of literary tact that could be imparted in connection with a foreign language1 as translated or translatable4 ,but ,i have made an ample concession1 when ,i propose that the trial should be made of examining in literature in this fashion2 and ,i do not see any difficulty beyond the initial repugnance of the professors of languages to be employed in this task1 and the fear1 on the part of candidates1 that1 undue stress might be placed on points that need a knowledge of originals4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i will conclude with a remark on the apparent tendency of the wide options in the ,commissioners' scheme4 ,no one subject is obligatory2 and the choice is so wide that by a very narrow range of acquirements a man may sometimes succeed4 ,no doubt1 as a rule1 it requires a considerable mixture of subjects3 both sciences and literature have to be included4 ,but ,i find the case of a man entering the ,indian ,service by force of ,languages alone1 which ,i cannot but think a miscarriage4 ,then the very high marks assigned to ,mathematics allow a man to win with no other science1 and no other culture1 but a middling examination in ,english4 ,to those that think so highly of foreign languages1 this must seem a much greater anomaly than it does to me4 ,i would prefer1 however1 that such a candidate had traversed a wider field of science1 instead of excelling in high mathematics alone4 ,there are1 ,i should say1 three great regions of study that should be fairly represented by every successful candidate4 ,the first is the ,sciences as a whole1 in the form and order that ,i have suggested4 ,the second is ,english ,composition1 in which successful men in the ,indian competition sometimes show a cipher4 ,the third is what ,i may call loosely the ,humanities1 meaning the department of institutions and history1 with perhaps literature3 to be computed in any or all of the regions of ancient and modern history4 ,in every one of these three departments1 ,i would fix a minimum1 below which the candidate must not fall4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #f3 ,the ,civil ,service ,examination ,scheme1 considered with reference 7#a7 to ,sciences1 and 7#b7 to ,languages4 ,a paper read before the ,educational ,section of the ,social ,science ,association1 at the meeting in ,aberdeen4 #ahgg3 with additions relevant to ,lord ,salisbury's ,scheme4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,classical ,,controversy4 ,,its ,,present ,,aspect4#g ,in the present state of the controversy on classical studies1 the publication of ,george ,combe's contributions to ,education is highly opportune4 ,combe took the lead in the attack on these studies fifty years ago1 and ,mr4 ,jolly1 the editor of the volume1 gives a connected view of the struggle that followed4 ,the results were1 on the whole1 not very great4 ,a small portion of natural science was introduced into the secondary schools2 but as the classical teaching was kept up as before1 the pupils were simply subjected to a greater crush of subjects2 they could derive very little benefit from science introduced on such terms4 ,the effect on the ,universities was nil2 they were true to ,dugald ,stewart's celebrated deliverance on their conservatism4#h ,the general public1 however1 were not unmoved2 during a number of years there was a most material reduction in the numbers attending all the ,scotch ,universities1 and the anti-classical agitation was reputed to be the cause4 ,the reasonings of ,combe will still repay perusal4 ,he puts with great felicity and clearness the standing objections to the classical system2 while he is exceedingly liberal in his concessions1 and moderate in his demands4 ,i do not denounce the ancient languages and classical literature on their own account1 or desire to see them cast into utter oblivion4 ,i admit them to be refined studies1 and think that there are individuals who1 having a natural turn for them1 learn them easily and enjoy them much4 ,they ought1 therefore1 to be cultivated by all such persons4 ,my objection is solely to the practice of rendering them the main substance of the education bestowed on young men who have no taste or talent for them1 and whose pursuits in life will not render them a valuable acquisition4 ,before alluding to the more recent utterances in defence of classical teaching1 ,i wish to lay out as distinctly as ,i can the various alternatives that are apparently now before us as respects the higher education--that is to say1 the education begun in the secondary or grammar schools1 and completed and stamped in the ,universities4 ,,the ,,existing ,,classical ,,teaching4 #a4 ,the existing system of requiring proficiency in both classical languages4 ,except in the ,university of ,london1 this requirement is still imperative4 ,the other ,universities agree in exacting ,latin and ,greek as the condition of an ,arts' ,degree1 and in very little else4 ,the defenders of classics say with some truth that these languages are the principal basis of uniformity in our degrees2 if they were struck out1 the public would not know what a degree meant4 ,how exclusive was the study of ,latin and ,greek in the schools in ,england1 until lately1 is too well known to need any detailed statement4 ,a recent utterance of ,mr4 ,gladstone1 however1 has felicitously supplied the crowning illustration4 ,at ,eton1 in his time1 the engrossment with classics was such as to keep out religious instruction6 ,as not many contend that ,latin and ,greek make an education in themselves1 we may not improperly call to mind what other things it has been found possible to include with them in the scope of the ,arts' ,degree4 ,the ,scotch ,universities were always distinguished from the ,english in the breadth of their requirements3 they have comprised1 for many ages1 three other subjects2 mathematics1 natural philosophy1 and mental philosophy 7including logic and ethics74 ,in exceptional instances1 another science is added2 in one case1 natural history1 in another1 chemistry4 ,according to the notions of scientific order and completeness in the present day1 a full course of the primary sciences would comprise mathematics1 natural philosophy1 chemistry1 physiology or biology1 and mental philosophy4 ,the natural history branches are not looked upon as primary sciences2 they give no laws1 but repeat the laws of the primary sciences while classifying the kingdoms of ,nature4 7,see paragraph that begins with3 ,in the classification of the sciences 44474 ,in ,john ,stuart ,mill's celebrated ,address at ,st4 ,andrews1 he stood up for the continuance of the ,classics in all their integrity1 and suddenly became a great authority with numbers of persons who probably had never treated him as an authority before4 ,but his advocacy of the classics was coupled with an equally strenuous advocacy for the extension of the scientific course to the full circle of the primary sciences2 that is to say1 he urged the addition of chemistry and physiology to the received sciences4 ,those that have so industriously brandished his authority for retaining classics1 are discreetly silent upon this other recommendation4 ,he was too little conversant with the working of ,universities to be aware that the addition of two sciences to the existing course was impracticable2 and he was never asked which alternative he would prefer4 ,i am inclined to believe that he would have sacrificed the classics to scientific completeness2 he would have been satisfied with the quantum of these already gained at school4 ,but while we have no positive assurance on this point1 ,i consider that his opinion should be wholly discounted as not bearing on the actual case4 ,,university ,,of ,,london ,,curriculum4 ,the founders of the ,university of ,london attempted to realise ,mill's conception to the full4 ,they retained ,classics2 they added ,english and a modern language1 and completed the course of the primary sciences by including both ,chemistry and ,physiology4 ,this was a noble experiment1 and we can now report on its success4 ,the classical languages1 ,english and ,french or ,german1 mathematics and natural philosophy1 and 7after a time7 logic and moral philosophy1 were all kept at a good standard2 thus exceeding the requirements of the ,scotch ,universities at the time by ,english and a modern language4 ,the amount of attainment in chemistry was very small1 and was disposed of in the ,matriculation examination4 ,physiology was reserved for the final ,b4,a4 examination1 and was the least satisfactory of all4 ,having myself sat at the ,examining ,board while ,dr4 ,sharpey was ,examiner in ,physiology1 ,i had occasion to know that he considered it prudent to be content with a mere show of studying the subject4 ,thus1 though the experience of the ,university of ,london1 as well as of the ,scotch ,universities1 proves that the classical languages are compatible with a very tolerable scientific education1 yet these will need to be curtailed if every one of the fundamental sciences1 as ,mill urged1 is to be represented at a passable figure4 ,in the various new proposals for extending the sphere of scientific knowledge1 a much smaller amount of classics is to be required1 but neither of the two languages is wholly dispensed with4 ,if not taught at college1 they must be taken up at school as a preparation for entering on the ,arts' curriculum in the ,university4 ,this can hardly be a permanent state of things1 but it is likely to be in operation for some time4 #b4 ,the remitting of ,greek in favour of a modern language is the alternative most prominently before the public at present4 ,it accepts the mixed form of the old curriculum1 and replaces one of the dead languages by one of the living4 ,resisted by nearly the whole might of the classical party1 this proposal finds favour with the lay professions as giving one language that will actually be useful to the pupils as a language4 ,it is the very smallest change that would be a real relief4 ,that it will speedily be carried we do not doubt4 ,except as a relaxation of the grip of classicism1 this change is not altogether satisfactory4 ,that there must be two languages 7besides ,english7 in order to an ,arts' ,degree is far from obvious4 ,moreover1 although it is very desirable that every pupil should have facilities at school or at college for commencing modern languages1 these do not rank as indispensable and universal culture1 like the knowledge of sciences and of literature generally4 ,they would have to be taught along with their respective literatures to correspond to the classics4 ,another objection to replacing classics by modern languages is the necessity of importing foreigners as teachers4 ,now1 although there are plenty of ,frenchmen and ,germans that can teach as well as any ,englishman1 it is a painful fact that foreigners do oftener miscarry1 both in teaching and in discipline1 with ,english pupils1 than our own countrymen4 ,foreign masters are well enough for those that go to them voluntarily with the desire of being taught2 it is as teachers in a compulsory curriculum that their inferiority becomes apparent4 ,the retort is sometimes made to this proposal--,why omit ,greek rather than ,latin8 ,should you not retain the greater of the two languages8 ,this may be pronounced as mainly a piece of tactics2 for every one must know that the order of teaching ,latin and ,greek at the schools will never be topsyturvied to suit the fancy of an individual here and there1 even although ,john ,stuart ,mill himself was educated in that order4 ,on the scheme of withdrawing all foreign languages from the imperative curriculum1 and providing for them as voluntary adjuncts1 such freedom of selection would be easy4#i ,,alternative ,,of ,,modern ,,languages4 #c4 ,another alternative is to remit both ,latin and ,greek in favour of ,french and ,german4 ,strange to say1 this advance upon the previous alternative was actually contained in ,mr4 ,gladstone's ill-fated ,irish ,university ,bill4 ,had that ,bill succeeded1 the ,irish would have been for fourteen years in the enjoyment of a full option for both the languages4#aj ,from a careful perusal of the debates1 ,i could not discover that the opposition ever fastened upon this bold surrender of the classical exclusiveness4 ,the proposal was facilitated by the existence of professors of ,french and ,german in the ,queen's ,colleges1 ,in the ,english and ,scotch ,colleges endowments are not as yet provided for these languages2 although it would be easy enough to make provision for them in ,oxford and ,cambridge4 ,in favour of this alternative1 it is urged that the classics1 if entered on at all1 should be entered on thoroughly and entirely4 ,the two languages and literatures form a coherent whole1 a homogeneous discipline2 and those that do not mean to follow this out should not begin it4 ,some of the upholders of classics take this view4 #d4 ,more thorough-going still is the scheme of complete bifurcation of the classical and the modern sides4 ,in our great schools there has been instituted what is called the modern side1 made up of sciences and modern languages1 together with ,latin4 ,the understanding hitherto has been1 that the votaries of the ancient and classical side should alone proceed to the ,universities2 the modern side being the introduction to commercial life1 and to professions that dispense with a ,university degree4 ,here1 as far as the schools are concerned1 a fair scope is given to modern studies4 ,as was to be expected1 the modern side is now demanding admission to the ,universities on its own terms2 that is1 to continue the same line of studies there1 and to be crowned with the same distinctions as the classical side4 ,this attempt to render school and college homogeneous throughout1 to treat ancient studies and modern studies as of equal value in the eye of the law1 will of course be resisted to the utmost4 ,yet it seems the only solution likely to bring about a settlement that will last4 ,the defenders of the classical system in its extreme exclusiveness are fond of adducing examples of very illustrious men who at college showed an utter incapacity for science in its simplest elements4 ,they say that1 by classics alone1 these men are what they are1 and if their way had been stopped by serious scientific requirements1 they would have never come before the world at all4 ,the allegation is somewhat strongly put2 yet we shall assume it to be correct1 on condition of being allowed to draw an inference4 ,if some minds are so constituted for languages1 and for classics in particular1 may not there be other minds equally constituted for science1 and equally incapable of taking up two classical languages8 ,should this be granted1 the next question is--,ought these two classes of minds to be treated as equal in rights and privileges8 ,the upholders of the present system say1 ,no4 ,the ,language mind is the true aristocrat2 the ,science mind is an inferior creation4 ,degrees and privileges are for the man that can score languages1 with never so little science2 outer darkness is assigned to the man whose forte is science alone4 ,but a war of caste in education is an unseemly thing2 and1 after all the levelling operations that we have passed through1 it is not likely that this distinction will be long preserved4 ,,claims ,,of ,,the ,,modern ,,side4 ,the modern side1 as at present constituted1 still retains ,latin4 ,there is a considerable strength of feeling in favour of that language for all kinds of people2 it is thought to be a proper appendage of the lay professions2 and there is a wide-spread opinion in favour of its utility for ,english4 ,so much is this the case1 that the modern-siders are at present quite willing to come under a pledge to keep up ,latin1 and to pass in it with a view to the ,university4 ,in fact1 the schools find this for the present the most convenient arrangement4 ,it is easier to supply teaching in ,latin than in a modern language1 or in most other things2 and while ,latin continues to be held in respect1 it will remain untouched4 ,yet the quantity of time occupied by it1 with so little result1 must ultimately force a departure from the present curriculum4 ,the real destination of the modern side is to be modern throughout4 ,it should not be rigorously tied down even to a certain number of modern languages4 ,english and one other language ought to be quite enough2 and the choice should be free4 ,on this footing1 the modern side ought to have its place in the schools as the co-equal of classics2 it would be the natural precursor of the modernised alternatives in the ,universities2 those where knowledge subjects predominate4 ,the proposal to give an inferior degree to a curriculum that excludes ,greek should1 in my judgment1 be simply declined4 ,it is1 however1 a matter of opinion whether1 in point of tactics1 the modern party did not do well to accept this as an instalment in the meantime4 ,the ,oxford offer1 as ,i understand it1 was so far liberal1 that the new degree was to rank equal in privileges with the old1 although inferior in prestige4 ,in ,scotland1 the decree conceded by the classical party to a ,greekless education was worthless1 and was offered for that very reason4#aa ,,surrender ,,of ,,claims ,,for ,,some4 ,among the adherents of classics1 ,professor ,blackie is distinguished for surrendering the study of them in the case of those that cannot profit by them4 ,he believes that with a free alternative1 such as the thorough bifurcation into two sides would give1 they would still hold their ground1 and bear all their present fruits4 ,his classical brethren1 however1 do not in general share this conviction4 ,they seem to think that if they can no longer compel every ,university graduate to pass beneath the double yoke of ,rome and ,greece1 these two illustrious nationalities will be in danger of passing out of the popular mind altogether4 ,for my own part1 ,i do not share their fears1 nor do ,i think that1 even on the voluntary footing1 the study of the two languages will decline with any great rapidity4 ,as ,i have said1 the belief in ,latin is wide and deep4 ,whatever may be urged as to the extraordinary stringency of the intellectual discipline now said to be given by means of ,latin and ,greek1 ,i am satisfied that the feeling with both teachers and scholars is1 that the process of acquisition is not toilsome to either party2 less so perhaps than anything that would come in their place4 ,of the hundreds of hours spent over them1 a very large number are associated with listless idleness4 ,carlyle describes ,scott's novels as a beatific lubber land2 with the exception of the beatific1 we might say nearly the same of classics4 ,to all which must be added the immense endowments of classical teaching2 not only of old date but of recent acquisition4 ,it will be a very long time before these endowments can be diverted1 even although the study decline steadily in estimation4 ,the thing that stands to reason is to place the modern and the ancient studies on exactly the same footing2 to accord a fair field and no favour4 ,the public will decide for themselves in the long run4 ,if the classical advocates are afraid of this test1 they have no faith in the merits of their own case4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the arguments pro and con on the question have been almost exhausted4 ,nothing is left except to vary the expression and illustration4 ,still1 so long as the monopoly exists1 it will be argued and counter-argued2 and1 if there are no new reasons1 the old will have to be iterated4 ,,example ,,from ,,the ,,greeks ,,themselves ,perhaps the most hackneyed of all the answers to the case for the classics is the one that has been most rarely replied to4 ,i mean the fact that the ,greeks were not acquainted with any language but their own4 ,i have never known an attempt to parry this thrust4 ,yet1 besides the fact itself1 there are strong presumptions in favour of the position that to know a language well1 you should devote your time and strength to it alone1 and not attempt to learn three or four4 ,of course1 the ,greeks were in possession of the most perfect language1 and were not likely to be gainers by studying the languages of their contemporaries4 ,so1 we too are in possession of a very admirable language1 although put together in a nondescript fashion2 and it is not impossible that if ,plato had his ,dialogues to compose among us1 he would give his whole strength to working up our own resources1 and not trouble himself with ,greek4 ,the popular dictum--multum non multa1 doing one thing well--may be plausibly adduced in behalf of parsimony in the study of languages4 ,the recent agitation in ,cambridge1 in ,oxford1 and indeed1 all over the country1 for remitting the study of ,greek as an essential of the ,arts' ,degree1 has led to a reproduction of the usual defences of things as they are4 ,the articles in the ,march number of the ,contemporary ,review1 #ahgi1 by ,professors ,blackie and ,bonamy ,price1 may claim to be the derniers mots4 ,professor ,blackie's article is a warning to the teachers of classics1 to the effect that they must change their front2 that1 whereas the value of the classics as a key to thought has diminished1 and is diminishing1 they must by all means in the first place improve their drill4 ,in fact1 unless something can be done to lessen the labour of the acquisition by better teaching1 and to secure the much-vaunted intellectual discipline of the languages1 the battle will soon be lost4 ,accordingly1 the professor goes minutely into what he conceives the best methods of teaching4 ,it is not my purpose to follow him in this sufficiently interesting discussion4 ,i simply remark that he is staking the case1 for the continuance of ,latin and ,greek in the schools1 on the possibility of something like an entire revolution in the teaching art4 ,revolution is not too strong a word for what is proposed4 ,the weak part of the new position is that the value of the languages as languages has declined1 and has to be made up by the incident of their value as drill4 ,this is1 to say the least1 a paradoxical position for a language teacher4 ,if it is mere drill that is wanted1 a very small corner of one language would suffice4 ,the teacher and the pupil alike are placed between the two stools--interpretation and drill4 ,a new generation of teachers must arise to attain the dexterity requisite for the task4 ,professor ,blackie's concession is of no small importance in the actual situation4 ,no one is to receive a full degree without showing a fair proficiency in two foreign languages1 one ancient and one modern1 with free option4 ,this would almost satisfy the present demand everywhere1 and for some time to come4 ,,argument ,,from ,,results4 ,the article of ,professor ,bonamy ,price is conceived in even a higher strain than the other4 ,there is so far a method of argumentation in it that the case is laid out under four distinct heads1 but there is no decisive separation of reasons2 many of the things said under one head might easily be transferred without the sense of dislocation to any other head4 ,the writer indulges in high-flown rhetorical assertions rather than in specific facts and arguments4 ,the first merit of classics is that they are languages2 not particular sciences1 nor definite branches of knowledge1 but literatures4 ,under this head we have such glowing sentences as these3 ,think of the many elements of thought a boy comes in contact with when he reads ,caesar and ,tacitus in succession1 ,herodotus and ,homer1 ,thucydides and ,aristotle4 ,see what is implied in having read ,homer intelligently through1 or ,thucydides or ,demosthenes2 what light will have been shed on the essence and laws of human existence1 on political society1 on the relations of man to man1 on human nature itself4 ,there are various conceivable ways of counter-arguing these assertions1 but the shortest is to call for the facts--the results upon the many thousands that have passed through their ten years of classical drill4 ,professor ,campbell of ,st4 ,andrews1 once remarked1 with reference to the value of ,greek in particular1 that the question would have to be ultimately decided by the inner consciousness of those that have undergone the study4 ,to this we are entitled to add1 their powers as manifested to the world1 of which powers spectators can be the judges4 ,when1 with a few brilliant exceptions1 we discover nothing at all remarkable in the men that have been subjected to the classical training1 we may consider it as almost a waste of time to analyse the grandiloquent assertions of ,mr4 ,bonamy ,price4 ,but if we were to analyse them1 we should find that boys never read ,caesar and ,tacitus through in succession2 still less ,thucydides ,demosthenes1 and ,aristotle2 that very few men read and understand these writers2 that the shortest way to come into contact with ,aristotle is to avoid his ,greek altogether1 and take his expositors and translators in the modern languages4 ,the professor is not insensible to the reproach that the vaunted classical education has been a failure1 as compared with these splendid promises4 ,he says1 however1 that though many have failed to become classical scholars in the full sense of the word1 it does not follow that they have gained nothing from their study of ,greek and ,latin2 just the contrary is the truth4 ,the contrary must mean that they have gained something2 which something is stated to be the extent to which the faculties of the boy have been developed1 the quantity of impalpable but not less real attainments he has achieved1 and his general readiness for life1 and for action as a man4 ,but it is becoming more and more difficult to induce people to spend a long course of youthful years upon a confessedly impalpable result4 ,we might give up a few months to a speculative and doubtful good1 but we need palpable consequences to show for our years spent on classics4 ,next comes the admission that the teaching is often bad4 ,but why should the teaching be so bad1 and what is the hope of making it better8 ,then we are told that science by itself leaves the largest and most important portion of the youths' nature absolutely undeveloped4 ,but1 in the first place1 it is not proposed to reduce the school and college curriculum to science alone2 and1 in the next place1 who can say what are the impalpable results of science8 ,,worth ,,of ,,the ,,classical ,,writers4 ,the second branch of the argument relates to the greatness of the classical writers4 ,undoubtedly the ,greek and ,roman worlds produced some very great writers1 and a good many not great4 ,but the greatness of ,herodotus1 ,thucydides1 ,demosthenes1 ,plato1 and ,aristotle can be exhibited in a modern rendering2 while no small portion of the poetical excellence of ,homer and the ,dramatists can be made apparent without toiling at the original tongues4 ,the value of the languages then resolves itself1 as has been often remarked1 into a residuum4 ,something also is to be said for the greatness of the writers that have written in modern times4 ,sir ,john ,herschel remarked long ago that the human intellect cannot have degenerated1 so long as we are able to quote ,newton1 ,lagrange and ,laplace1 against ,aristotle and ,archimedes4 ,i would not undertake to say that any modern mind has equalled ,aristotle in the range of his intellectual powers2 but in point of intensity of grasp in any one subject1 he has many rivals2 so that to obtain his equal1 we have only to take two or three first-rate moderns4 ,if a few fanatics are to go on lauding to the skies the exclusive and transcendent greatness of the classical writers1 we shall probably be tempted to scrutinize their merits more severely than is usual4 ,many things could be said against their sufficiency as instructors in matters of thought2 and many more against the low and barbarous tone of their morale--the inhumanity and brutality of both their principles and their practice4 ,all this might no doubt be very easily overdone1 and would certainly be so1 if undertaken in the style of ,professor ,price's panegyric4 ,the professor's third branch of the argument comes to the real point2 namely1 what is there in ,greek and ,latin that there is not in the modern tongues8 ,for one thing1 says the professor1 they are dead2 which of course we allow4 ,then1 being dead1 they must be learnt by book and by rule2 they cannot be learnt by ear4 ,here1 however1 ,professor ,blackie would dissent1 and would say that the great improvement of teaching1 on which the salvation of classical study now hangs1 is to make it a teaching by the ear4 ,but1 says ,professor ,price3 ,a ,greek or ,latin sentence is a nut with a strong shell concealing the kernel--a puzzle1 demanding reflection1 adaptation of means to end1 and labour for its solution1 and the educational value resides in the shell and in the puzzle4 ,as this strain of remark is not new1 there is nothing new to be said in answer to it4 ,such puzzling efforts are certainly not the rule in learning ,latin and ,greek4 ,moreover1 the very same terms would describe what may happen equally often in reading difficult authors in ,french1 ,german1 or ,italian4 ,would not the pupil find puzzles and difficulties in ,dante1 or in ,goethe8 ,and are there not many puzzling exercises in deciphering ,english authors8 ,besides1 what is the great objection to science1 but that it is too puzzling for minds that are quite competent for the puzzles of ,greek and ,latin8 ,once more1 the teaching of any language must be very imperfect1 if it brings about habitually such situations of difficulty as are here described4 ,,arguments ,,for ,,classics4 ,the professor relapses into a cooler and correcter strain when he remarks that the pupil's mind is necessarily more delayed over the expression of a thought in a foreign language 7whether dead or alive matters not71 and therefore remembers the meaning better4 ,here1 however1 the desiderated reform of teaching might come into play4 ,granted that the boy left to himself would go more rapidly through ,burke than through ,thucydides1 might not his pace be retarded by a well-directed cross-examination2 with this advantage1 that the length of attention might be graduated according to the importance of the subject1 and not according to the accidental difficulty of the language8 ,the professor boldly grapples with the alleged waste of time in classics1 and urges that the gain may be measured by the time expended1 which is very like begging the question4 ,one advantage adduced under this head deserves notice4 ,the languages being dead1 as well as all the societies and interests that they represent1 they do not excite the prejudices and passions of modern life4 ,this1 however1 may need some qualification4 ,grote wrote his history of ,greece to counterwork the party bias of ,mitford4 ,the battles of despotism1 oligarchy1 and democracy are to this hour fought over the dead bodies of ,greece and ,rome4 ,if the professor meant to insinuate1 that those that have gone through the classical training are less violent as partisans1 more dispassionate in political judgments1 than the rest of mankind1 we can only say that we should not have known this from our actual experience4 ,the discovery of some sweet1 oblivious1 antidote to party feeling seems1 as far as we can judge1 to be still in the future4 ,if we want studies that will1 while they last1 thoroughly divert the mind from the prejudices of party1 science is even better than ancient history2 there are no party cries connected with the ,binomial ,theorem4 ,the professor's last branch of argument1 ,i am obliged1 with all deference1 to say1 contains no argument at all4 ,it is that1 in classical education1 a close contact is established between the mind of the boy and the mind of the master4 ,he does not even attempt to show how the effect is peculiar to classical teaching4 ,the whole of this part of the paper is1 in fact1 addressed1 by way of remonstrance1 to the writer's own friends1 the classical teachers4 ,he reproaches them for their inefficiency1 for their not being ,arnolds4 ,it is not my business to interfere between him and them in this matter4 ,so much stress does he lay upon the teacher's part in the work1 that ,i almost expected the admission--that a good teacher in ,english1 ,german1 natural history1 political economy1 might even be preferable to a bad teacher of ,latin and ,greek4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,canon ,,liddon',s ,,argument4 ,the recent ,oxford contest has brought out the eminent oratorical powers of ,canon ,liddon2 and we have some curiosity in noting his contributions to the classical side4 ,i refer to his letters in the ,times4 ,the gist of his advocacy of ,greek is contained in the following allegations4 ,first1 the present system enables a man to recur with profit and advantage to ,greek literature4 ,to this1 it has been often replied1 that by far the greater number are too little familiarized with the classical languages1 and especially ,greek1 to make the literature easy reading4 ,but farther1 the recurring to the study of ancient authors by busy professional men in the present day1 is an event of such extreme rarity that it cannot be taken into account in any question of public policy4 ,the second remark is1 that the half-knowledge of the ordinary graduate is a link between the total blank of the outer world1 and the thorough knowledge of the accomplished classic4 ,i am not much struck by the force of this argument4 ,i think that the classical scholar1 might1 by expositions1 commentaries1 and translations1 address the outer world equally well1 without the intervening mass of imperfect scholars4 ,lastly1 the ,canon puts in a claim for his own cloth4 ,the knowledge of ,greek paves the way for serious men to enter the ministry in middle life4 ,argument would be thrown away upon any one that could for a moment entertain this as a sufficient reason for compelling every graduate in ,arts to study ,greek4 ,the observation that ,i would make upon it has a wider bearing4 ,middle life is not too late for learning any language that we suddenly discover to be a want2 the stimulus of necessity or of strong interest1 and the wider compass of general knowledge1 compensate for the diminution of verbal memory4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #g3 ,,contemporary ,,review1 ,august1 #ahgi4 ,a few months previously1 there were printed1 in the ,review1 papers on the ,classical question1 by ,professors ,blackie and ,bonamy ,price2 both of which are here alluded to and quoted1 so far as either is controverted or concurred with4 ,footnote #h3 ,the academical establishments of some parts of ,europe are not without their use to the historian of the human mind4 ,immovably moored to the same station by the strength of their cables and the weight of their anchors1 they enable him to measure the rapidity of the current by which the rest of the world is borne along4 ,footnote #i3 ,if the two ,literatures were studied1 as they might be1 by means of expositions and translations1 the ,greek would be first as a tiling of course4 ,historians of the ,latin authors are obliged to trace their subject1 in every department1 to the corresponding authors in ,greece4 ,footnote #aj3 ,no doubt the classical languages would have been required1 to some extent1 in matriculating to enter college4 ,this arrangement1 however1 as regarded the students that chose the modern languages1 would have been found too burdensome by our ,irish friends1 and1 on their expressing themselves to that effect1 would have been soon dispensed with4 ,footnote #aa3 ,one possible consequence of a ,natural ,science ,degree might have been1 that the public would have turned to it with favour1 while the old one sank into discredit4 99 99 99 99 99 ,v4 ,,metaphysics ,,and ,,debating ,,societies4#ab ,by ,metaphysical ,study1 or ,metaphysics1 ,i here mean--what seems intended by the designation in its current employment at present--the circle of the mental or subjective sciences4 ,the central department of the field is ,,psychology1 and the adjunct to psychology is ,,logic1 which has its foundations partly in psychology1 but still more in the sciences altogether1 whose procedure it gathers up and formulates4 ,the outlying and dependent branches are3 the narrower metaphysics or ,ontology1 ,ethics1 ,sociology1 together with ,art or ,aesthetics4 ,there are other applied sciences of the department1 as ,education and ,philology4 ,the branches most usually looked upon as the cognate or allied studies of the subjective department of human knowledge are1 ,psychology1 ,logic1 ,ontology1 ,ethics4 ,the debates in a society like the present will generally be found to revolve in the orbit thus chalked out4 ,it is the sphere of the most animated controversies1 and the widest discordance of view4 ,the additional branch most nearly connected with the group is ,sociology1 which under that name1 and under the older title1 the ,philosophy of ,history1 has opened up a new series of problems1 of the kind to divide opinions and provoke debate4 ,a quieter interest attaches to ,aesthetics1 although the subject is a not unfruitful application and test of psychological laws4 ,my remarks will embrace1 first1 the aims1 real and factitious1 in the study of this group of sciences2 and next1 the polemic conduct of such study1 or the utility and management of debating societies1 instituted in connection therewith4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,psychology ,,and ,,logic ,,fundamental4 ,the two sciences--,,psychology and ,,logic--,i consider the fundamental and knowledge-giving departments4 ,the others are the applications of these to the more stirring questions of human life4 ,now1 the successful cultivation of the field requires you to give at least as much attention to the root sciences as you give to the branch sciences4 ,that is to say1 psychology1 in its pure and proper character1 and logic1 in its systematic array1 should be kept before the view1 concurrently with ontology1 ethics1 and sociology4 ,essays and debates tending to clear up and expound systematic psychology and systematic logic should make a full half of the society's work4 ,does any one feel a doubt upon the point1 as so stated8 ,if so1 it will be upon him to show that ,psychology1 in its methodical pursuit1 is a needless and superfluous employment of strength2 that the problems of ethics1 ontology1 c41 can be solved without it--a hard task indeed1 so long as they are unsolved in any way4 ,i have no space for indulging in a dissertation on the value of methodical study and arrangement in the extension of our knowledge1 as opposed to the promiscuous mingling of different kinds of facts1 which is often required in practice1 but repugnant to the increase of knowledge4 ,if you want to improve our acquaintance with the sense of touch1 you accumulate and methodize all the experiences relating to touch2 you compare them1 see whether they are consistent or inconsistent1 select the good1 reject the bad1 improve the statement of one by light borrowed from the others2 you mark desiderata1 experiments to be tried1 or observations to be sought4 ,all that time1 you refrain from wandering into other spheres of mental phenomena4 ,you make use of comparison with the rest of the senses1 it may be1 but you keep strictly to the points of analogy1 where mutual lights are to be had4 ,this is the culture of knowledge as such1 and is the best1 the essential1 preparation for practical questions involving the particular subject along with others4 ,to take an example from the question of the ,will4 ,i do not object3 to the detaching and isolating of the problem of free-will1 as a matter for discussion and debate2 but ,i think that it can be handled to equal1 if not greater advantage1 in the systematic psychology of voluntary power4 ,those that have never tried it in this last form have not obtained the best vantage-ground for overcoming the inevitable subtleties that invest it4 ,the great problem of ,external ,perception has a psychological place1 where its difficulties are very much attenuated1 to say the least of it2 and1 however convenient it may be to treat it as a detached problem1 we should carry with us into the discussion all the lights that we obtain while regarding it as it stands among the intellectual powers4 ,it is in systematic ,psychology that we are most free to attend to the defining of terms 7without which a professed science is mere moonshine71 to the formulating of axioms and generalities1 to the concatenating and taking stock of all the existing knowledge1 and to the appraising of it at its real value4 ,if these things are neglected1 there is nothing that ,i see to constitute a psychology at all4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,discussions ,,in ,,logic ,,proper4 ,as to the other fundamental science1 ,,logic1 the same remarks may be repeated4 ,of debated questions1 a certain number pertain properly to logic2 yet most of these relate to logic at its points of contact with psychology4 ,since we have got out of the narrow round of the ,aristotelian syllogism1 we have agreed to call logic ars artium1 or1 better still1 scientia scientiarum1 the science that deals with the sciences altogether--both object sciences and subject sciences4 ,now this ,i take to be a study quite apart from psychology in particular1 although1 as ,i have said1 touching it at several points4 ,it reviews all science and all knowledge1 as to its structure1 method1 arrangement1 classification1 probation1 enlargement4 ,it deals in generalities the most general of any4 ,by taking up what belongs to all knowledge1 it seems to rise above the matter of knowledge to the region of pure form2 it demands1 therefore1 a peculiar subtlety of handling1 and may easily land us1 as we are all aware1 in knotty questions and quagmires4 ,now what ,i have to repeat in this connection is1 that you should1 in your debates1 overhaul portions or chapters of systematic logic1 with a view to present the difficulties in their natural position in the subject4 ,you might1 for example1 take up the question as to the ,province of logic1 with its divisions1 parts1 and order--all which admit of many various views--and bring forward the vexed controversies under lights favourable to their resolution4 ,regarding logic as an aid to the faculties in tackling whatever is abstruse1 you should endeavour to cultivate and enhance its powers1 in this particular1 by detailed exposition and criticism of all its canons and prescriptions4 ,the department of ,classification is a good instance2 a region full of delicate subtleties as well as bread-and-butter applications4 ,it is in this last view of logic that we can canvass philosophical systems upon the ground of their method or procedure alone4 ,looking at the absence1 in any given system1 of the arts and precautions that are indispensable to the establishment of truth in the special case1 we may pronounce against it1 priori2 we know that such a system can be true only by accident1 or else by miracle4 ,we may reasonably demand of a system-builder--,is he in the narrow way that leadeth to truth1 or in the broad way that leadeth somewhere else8 ,i have said that ,i consider the connection between ,logic and ,psychology to be but slender1 although not unimportant4 ,the amount and nature of this connection would reward a careful consideration4 ,there would be considerable difficulty in seeing any connection at all between the ,aristotelian ,syllogism and psychology1 but for the high-sounding designations appended to the notion and the proposition--simple apprehension and judgment--of which ,i fail to discover the propriety or relevance4 ,i know that ,grote gave a very profound turn to the employment of the term judgment by ,aristotle1 as being a recognition of the relativity of knowledge to the affirming mind4 ,i am not to say1 absolutely1 ,ice is cold2 ,i am to say that1 to the best of my judgment or belief1 or in so far as ,i am concerned1 ice is cold4 ,this1 however1 has little to do with the logic of the syllogism1 and not much with any logic4 ,so1 when we speak of a notion1 we must understand it as apprehended by some mind2 but for nearly all purposes1 this is assumed tacitly2 it need not appear in a formal designation1 which1 not being wanted1 is calculated to mislead4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,applied ,,or ,,derivative ,,sciences4 ,with these remarks on the two fundamental sciences of our group1 ,i now turn to the applied or derivative sciences1 wherein the great controversies stand out most conspicuous1 which1 in fact1 exist for the purpose of contention--,ontology and ,ethics4 ,these branches were in request long before the mother sciences--psychology and logic--came into being at all4 ,they had occupied their chief positions without consulting the others1 partly because these were not there to consult1 and partly because they were not inclined to consult any extraneous authority4 ,by ,ontology we may designate the standing controversies of the intellectual powers--perception1 innate ideas1 nominalism versus realism1 and noumenon versus phenomenon4 ,i am not going to pronounce upon these questions2 ,i have already recommended the alternative mode of approaching them under systematic psychology and logic2 and ,i will now regard them as constituents of the fourfold enumeration of the metaphysical sciences4 ,the ,germans may be credited for teaching us1 or trying to teach us1 to distinguish bread and butter from what passes beyond1 transcends bread and butter4 ,with them the distinction is thoroughly ingrained1 and comes to hand at a moment's notice4 ,if ,i am to review in detail what may be considered the practical or applied departments of logic and psychology1 ,i am in danger of trenching on their bread-and-butter region4 ,before descending1 therefore1 into the larder1 let us first spend a few seconds in considering psychology as the pursuit of truth in all that relates to our mental constitution4 ,if difficulty be a stimulus to the human exertions1 it may be found here4 ,to ascertain1 fix1 and embody the precise truth in regard to the facts of the mind is about as hard an undertaking as could be prescribed to a man4 ,but this is another way of saying that psychology is not a very advanced science2 is not well stored with clear and certain doctrines2 and is unable1 therefore1 to confer any very great precision on its dependent branches1 whether purely speculative or practical4 ,in a word1 the greatest modesty or humility is the deportment most becoming to all that engage in this field of labour1 even when doing their best2 while the same virtues in even greater measure are due from those engaging in it without doing their best4 ,it must be admitted1 however1 that the highest evidence and safeguard of truth is application4 ,in every other science1 the utility test is final4 ,the great parent sciences--mathematics1 physics1 chemistry1 physiology--have each a host of filial dependents1 in close contact with the supply of human wants2 and the success of the applications is the testimony to the truth of the sciences applied4 ,thus1 although we may not narrow the sphere of truth to bread and butter1 yet we have no surer test of the truth itself4 ,our trade requires navigation1 and navigation verifies astronomy2 and1 but for navigation1 we may be pretty confident that astronomy would now have very little accuracy to boast of4 ,to come then to the practical bearings or outgoings of psychology1 assisted by logic4 ,my contention is that the parent sciences and the filial sciences should be carried on together2 that theses should be extracted by turns from all2 that the lights thus obtained would be mutual4 ,i will support the position by a review of the subjects thus drawn into the metaphysical field4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,problems ,,of ,,education4 ,foremost among these applied sciences ,i would place ,,education1 the subject of the day4 ,the priority of mention is due not so much to its special or pre-eminent importance1 as to its being the most feasible and hopeful of the practical applications of conjoined psychology and logic4 ,i say this1 however1 with a more express eye to intellectual education4 ,i deem it quite possible to frame a practical1 science applicable to the training of the intellect that shall be precise and definite in a very considerable measure4 ,the elements that make up our intellectual furniture can be stated with clearness2 the laws of intellectual growth or acquisition are almost the best ascertained generalities of the human mind2 even the most complicated studies can be analyzed into their components1 partly by psychology and partly by the higher logic4 ,in a word1 if we cannot make a science of education1 as far as ,intellect is concerned1 we may abandon metaphysical study altogether4 ,i do not speak with the same confidence as to moral education4 ,there has long been in existence a respectable rule-of-thumb practice in this region1 the result of a sufficiently wide experience4 ,there are certain psychological laws1 especially those relating to the formation of moral habits1 that have a considerable value2 but to frame a theory of moral education1 on a level in a point of definiteness with the possible theory of intellectual education1 is a task that ,i should not like to have imposed upon me4 ,in point of fact1 two problems are joined in one1 to the confusion of both4 ,there is first the vast question of moral control1 which stretches far and wide over many fields1 and would have to be tracked with immense labour3 it belongs to the arts of government2 it comes under moral suasion1 as exercised by the preacher and orator2 it even implicates the tact of diplomacy4 ,i do not regard this as a properly educational question 7although it refers to an art that every teacher must try to master72 that is to say1 its solution is not connected with education processes strictly so called4 ,the second problem of moral education is the one really within the scope of the subject--the problem of fixing moral bents or habits1 when the right conduct is once initiated4 ,on this head1 some scientific insight is attainable2 and suggestions of solid value may in time accrue1 although there never can be the precision attainable in the intellectual region4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i will next advert to the applied science of ,art or ,aesthetics1 long a barren ground1 so far as scientific handling was concerned1 but now a land of promise4 ,the old thesis1 ,what is ,beauty8 a good debating society topic1 is1 ,i hope1 past contending about4 ,the numerous influences that concur in works of art1 or in natural beauty1 present a fine opening for delicate analysis2 at the same time1 they implicate the vaguest and least advanced portion of psychology--the ,emotions4 ,the ,german philosophers have usually ranked aesthetics as one of the subjective sciences2 but1 it is only of late that the department has taken shape in their country4 ,lessing gave a great impulse to literary art1 and originated a number of pregnant suggestions2 and the ,german love of music has necessarily led to theories as well as to compositions4 ,we are now in the way to that consummation of aesthetics which may be described as containing 7#a7 a reference to psychology as the mother science1 7#b7 a classification1 comparison1 and contrast of the fine arts themselves1 and 7#c7 an induction of the principles of art composition from the best examples4 ,anything like a thorough sifting of fine-art questions would strain psychology at every point--senses1 emotions1 intellect2 and1 if criticism is to go deep1 it must ground upon psychological reasons4 ,now the mere artist can never be a psychologist2 the art critic may1 but seldom will2 hence1 as they will not come over to us1 some of us must go over to them4 ,the ,art discussion of the greatest fountains of human feeling--love and anger--would react with advantage upon the very difficult psychology of these emotions1 so long the sport of superficiality4 ,,aesthetics3 ,,hedonics4 ,but ,i hold that aesthetics is but a corner of a larger field that is seldom even named among the sciences of mind2 ,i mean human happiness as a whole1 eudaemonics1 or hedonics1 or whatever you please to call it4 ,that the subject is neglected1 ,i do not affirm2 but it is not cultivated in the proper place1 or in the proper light-giving connection--that is to say1 under the psychology of the human feelings4 ,it should have at once a close reference to psychology1 and an independent construction2 while either in comprehending aesthetics1 or in lying side by side with that1 it would give and receive illumination4 ,the researches now making into the laws and limits of human sensibility1 if they have any value1 ought to lead to the economy of pleasure and the abatement of pain4 ,the analysis of sensation and of emotion points to this end4 ,whoever raises any question as to human happiness should refer it1 in the first instance1 to psychology2 in the next1 to some general scheme that would answer for a science of happiness2 and1 thirdly1 to an induction of the facts of human experience2 the three distinct appeals correcting one another4 ,if psychology can contribute nothing to the point1 it confesses to a desideratum for future inquirers4 ,,hedonics ,,separate ,,from ,,ethics4 ,i am not at all satisfied with the coupling of happiness with ethics1 as is usually done4 ,ethics is the sphere of duty2 happiness is mentioned only to be repressed and discouraged4 ,this is not the situation for unfolding all the blossoms of human delight1 nor for studying to allay every rising uneasiness4 ,he would be a rare ethical philosopher that would permit full scope to such an operation within his grounds2 neither ,epicurus nor ,bentham could come up to this mark4 ,but even if the thing were permitted1 the lights are not there2 it is only by combining the parent psychology and the hedonic derivative1 that the work can be done4 ,it is neither disrespect nor disadvantage to duty1 that it is not mentioned in the department until the very end4 ,to cultivate happiness is not selfishness or vice1 unless you confine it to self2 and the mere act of inquiring does not so confine it4 ,if you are in other respects a selfish man1 you will apply your knowledge for your own sole behoof2 if you are not selfish1 you will apply it for the good of your fellows also1 which is another name for virtue4 ,but the obstacles to a science of happiness are not solely clue to the gaps and deficiencies in our psychological knowledge2 they are equally owing to the prevailing terrorism in favour of self-denial at all hands4 ,many of the maxims as to happiness would not stand examination if people felt themselves free to discuss them4 ,you must work yourselves into a fervour of revolt and defiance1 before you call in question ,paley's declaration that happiness is equally distributed among all orders of the community4 ,i do not know whether ,i should wonder most at the cheerful temperament or the complacent optimism of ,adam ,smith1 when he asks1 ,what can be added to the happiness of the man who is in health1 who is out of debt1 and has a clear conscience8#ac ,when the greatest philosophers talk thus1 what is to be expected from the unphilosophic mob8 ,the dependence of health on activity is always kept very loose1 it may be for the convenience of shutting our mouths against complaints of being overworked4 ,to render this dependence precise is a matter of pure psychology4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sociology4 ,before coming to ,ethics ,i must1 as a preparation1 view another derivative branch of psychology1 the old subject of politics and society1 under its new name1 ,,sociology4 ,it is obvious that all terms used in describing social facts and their generalities are terms of mind3 command and obedience1 law and right1 order and progress1 are notions made up of human feelings1 purposes1 and thoughts4 ,sociology is usually studied in its own special field1 and nowhere else2 that is to say1 the sociologist employs himself in observing and comparing the operations of societies under all varieties of circumstances1 and in all historic ages4 ,the field is essentially human nature1 and the laws arrived at are laws of human nature4 ,a consummate sociologist is not often to be found2 the really great theorists in society could be counted on one's fingers4 ,some of them have been psychologists as well2 ,i need mention only ,aristotle1 ,hobbes1 ,locke1 ,hume1 the ,mills4 ,others as ,vico1 ,montesquieu1 ,millar1 ,condorcet1 ,auguste ,comte1 ,de ,tocqueville1 have not independently studied the mind on the broad psychological basis4 ,now the bearings on sociology of a pure psychological preparation can be convincingly shown4 ,the laws of society1 if not the merest empiricisms1 are derivative laws of the mind2 hence a theorist cannot be trusted with the handling of a derivative law1 unless he knows1 as well as can be known1 the simple or constituent laws4 ,all the elements of human character crop up in men's social relations2 in the foreground are their self-interest or sense of self-preservation1 together with their social and anti-social promptings2 a little farther back are their active energy1 their intelligence1 their artistic feelings1 and their religious susceptibilities4 ,now all these should be broadly examined as elements of the mind1 without an immediate reference to the political machine4 ,of course1 the social feelings need a social situation1 and cannot be studied without that2 but there are many social situations that give scope for examining them1 besides what is contemplated in political society2 and the psychologist proper ought to avail himself of all the opportunities of rendering the statement of these various elements precise4 ,for this purpose1 his chief aim is the ultimate analysis of the various faculties and feelings4 ,this analysis nobody but himself cares to institute2 and yet a knowledge of the ultimate constitution of an emotional tendency is one of the best aids in appreciating its mode of working4 ,without a good preliminary analysis of the social and anti-social emotions1 for example1 you are almost sure to be counting the same thing twice over1 or else confounding two different facts under one designation4 ,on the one hand1 the precise relationship of the states named love1 sympathy1 disinterestedness2 and1 on the other hand1 the common basis of domination1 resentment1 pride1 egotism1--should be distinctly cleared up1 as is possible only in psychological study strictly so called4 ,the workings of the religious sentiment cannot be shown sociologically1 without a previous analysis of the constituent emotions4 ,,sociological ,,foundations ,,of ,,ethics4 ,an allusion so very slender to so vast a subject as sociology would be a waste of words1 but for the conviction1 that through sociology is the way to the great field of ,ethics4 ,this is to reverse the traditional arrangement--ethics1 politics1 or government--followed even by ,bentham4 ,the lights of ethics are1 in the first instance1 psychological2 its discussions presuppose a number of definitions and distinctions that are pure psychology4 ,but before these have to be adduced1 the subject has to be set forth as a problem of sociology4 ,how is the ,king's government to be carried on8 ,how is society to be held together8 is the first consideration2 and the sociologist--as constitution-builder1 administrator1 judge--is the person to grapple with the problem4 ,it is with him that law1 obligation1 right1 command1 obedience1 sanction1 have their origin and their explanation4 ,ethics is an important supplement to social or political law4 ,but it is still a department of law4 ,in any other view it is a maze1 a mystery1 a hopeless embroilment4 ,that ethics is involved in society is of course admitted2 what is not admitted is1 that ethical terms should be settled under the social science in the first place4 ,i may refer to the leading term law1 whose meaning in sociology is remarkably clear2 in ethics remarkably the reverse4 ,the confusion deepens when the moral faculty is brought forward4 ,in the eye of the sociologist1 nothing could be simpler than the conception of that part of our nature that is appealed to for securing obedience4 ,he assumes a certain effort of the intelligence for understanding the signification of a command or a law2 and1 for the motive part1 he counts upon nothing but volition in its most ordinary form--the avoidance of a pain4 ,intelligence and ,will1 in their usual and recognised workings1 are all that are required for social obedience2 law is conceived and framed exactly to suit the every-day and every-hour manifestations of these powers4 ,the lawgiver does not speak of an obedience-faculty1 nor even of a social-faculty4 ,if there were in the mind a power unique and apart1 having nothing in common with our usual intelligence1 and nothing in common with our usual will or volition1 that power ought to be expressed in terms that exclude the smallest participation of both knowledge and will2 it ought to have a form special to itself1 and not the form3--,do this1 and ye shall be made to suffer4 ,i am quite aware that there are elements in ethics not included in the problem of social obedience2 what ,i contend for is1 that the ground should be cleared by marking out the two provinces1 as is actually done by a very small number of theorists1 of whom ,john ,austin is about the best example4 ,the ethical philosopher1 from not building on a foregone sociology1 is obliged to extemporize1 in a paragraph1 the social system2 just as the physical philosopher would1 if he had no regularly constructed mathematics to fall back upon1 but had to stop every now and then to enunciate a mathematical theorem4 ,the question of the ethical end should first appear as the question of the sociological end4 ,for what purpose or purposes is society maintained8 ,all the ethical difficulties are here met by anticipation1 and in a form much better adapted to their solution4 ,it is from the point of view of the social ruler1 that you learn reserve1 moderation1 and sobriety in your aims2 you learn to think that something much less than the ,utopias--universal happiness and universal virtue--should be propounded2 you find that a definite and limited province can be assigned1 separating what the social power is able to do1 must do1 and can advantageously do1 from what it is unable to do1 need not do1 and cannot with advantage do2 and this or a similar demarcation is reproducible in ethics4 ,,precepts ,,of ,,ethics ,,mainly ,,social4 ,the precepts of ethics are mainly the precepts of social authority2 at all events the social precepts and their sanctions have the priority in scientific method4 ,some of the highest virtues are sociological2 patriotic self-sacrifice is one of the conditions of social preservation4 ,the inculcation of this and of many other virtues would not appear in ethics at all1 or only in a supplementary treatment1 if social science took its proper sphere1 and fully occupied that sphere4 ,once more4 ,the great problem of moral control1 which ,i would remove entirely from a science of education1 would be first dealt with in ,sociology4 ,it there appears in the form of the choice and gradation of punishments1 in prison discipline1 and in the reformation of criminals1--all which have been made the subject of enlightened1 not to say scientific1 treatment4 ,it is in the best experience in those subjects that ,i would begin to seek for lights on the comprehensive question4 ,i would next go to diplomacy for the arts of delicate address in reconciling opposing interests2 after which ,i would look to the management of parties and conflicting interests in the ,state4 ,i would farther inquire how armies are disciplined1 and subordination combined with the enthusiasm that leads to noble deeds4 ,there is an abundant field for the application of pure psychology to ethics1 when it takes its own proper ground4 ,the exact psychological character of disinterested impulse needs to be assigned2 and1 if that impulse can be fully referred to the sympathetic or social instincts and habits1 the supposed moral faculty is finally eviscerated of its contents for all ethical purposes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so far ,i have exemplified what seems to me real or genuine aims and applications of metaphysical study4 ,i now proceed to the objects that are more or less factitious4 ,we are here on delicate ground1 and run the risk of discrediting our pursuit1 as regards the very things that in the eyes of many people make its value4 ,first1 then1 as psychology involves all our sensibilities1 pleasures1 affections1 aspirations1 capacities1 it is thought on that ground to have a special nobility and greatness1 and a special power of evoking in the student the feelings themselves4 ,the mathematician1 dealing with conic sections1 spirals1 and differential equations1 is in danger of being ultimately resolved into a function or a co-efficient2 the metaphysician1 by investigating conscience1 must become conscientious2 driving fat oxen is the way to grow fat4 ,,man',s ,,relations ,,to ,,the ,,infinite4 ,but to pass to a far graver application4 ,it has usually been supposed that metaphysical theory is more especially akin to the speculation that mounts to the supernatural and the transcendental world4 ,man's relations to the infinite is a frequent phrase in the mouth of the metaphysician4 ,metaphysics is supposed to be philosophy by way of eminence2 and philosophy in the large sense has not merely to satisfy the curiosity of the human mind1 it has to provide scope for its emotions and aspirations2 in fact1 to play the part of theology4 ,in times when the prevailing orthodox beliefs are shaken1 some scheme of philosophy is brought forward to take their place4 ,if ,i understand aright the drift of the ,german metaphysical systems for a century back1 they all more or less propose to themselves to supply the same spiritual wants as religion supplies4 ,in our own country1 such of us as are not under ,german influence put the matter differently2 but we still consider that we have something to say on the highest questions4 ,we are apt to believe that on us more than on any other class of thinkers1 does it depend whether the prevailing theology shall be upheld1 impugned1 or transformed4 ,the chief weapons of the defenders of the faith are forged in the schools of metaphysics4 ,locke and ,butler1 ,reid1 ,stewart and ,brown are theological authorities4 ,and when theology is attacked1 its metaphysical buttresses have to be assailed as the very first thing4 ,if these are declared unsound1 either it must fall1 or it must change its front4 ,it is ,natural ,theology1 more particularly1 that is thus allied to metaphysics2 yet1 not exclusively2 for the defence of ,revelation by miracles involves at the outset a point of logic4 ,now ,i do not mean to say1 that this is a purely factitious and ill-grounded employment of the metaphysical sciences4 ,i fully admit that the later defences of theology1 as well as the attacks1 have been furnished from psychology1 logic1 ethics1 and ontology4 ,the earliest beliefs in religion1 the greatest and strongest convictions1 had little to do with any of these departments of speculation4 ,but when simple traditionary faith gave place to the questionings of the reason1 the basis of religion was transferred to the reason-built sciences2 and metaphysics came in for a large share in the decision4 ,,metaphysics ,,and ,,theology4 ,what ,i maintain is1 that there is something factitious in the degree of prominence given to metaphysics in this great enterprise2 that its pretentions are excessive1 its importance over-stated2 and when most employed for such a purpose1 it is least to be trusted4 ,theological polemic is only in part conducted through science2 and physical science shares equally with moral4 ,the most serious shocks to the traditional orthodoxy have come from the physical sciences4 ,the argument from ,design has no doubt a metaphysical or logical element--the estimate of the degree of analogy between the universe and a piece of human workmanship2 but the argument itself needs a scientific survey of the entire phenomena of nature1 both matter and mind4 ,our ,bridgewater ,treatises proceeded upon this view2 they embraced the consideration of the whole circle of the sciences1 as bearing on the theological argument4 ,the scheme was so far just and to the purpose2 the obvious drawback to the value of the ,treatises lay in their being special pleadings1 backed by a fee of a thousand pounds to each writer for maintaining one side4 ,if a similar fee had been given to nine equally able writers to represent the other side1 the argument from design would have been far more satisfactorily sifted than by the exclusively metaphysical criticism of ,kant4 ,when theology is supported exclusively by such doctrines as--an independent and immaterial soul1 a special moral faculty1 and what is called free-will1--the metaphysician is a person of importance in the contest2 he is powerful either to uphold or to subvert the fabric4 ,but1 if these were ever to constitute the chief stronghold of the faith1 its tenure would not be very secure4 ,it is only a metaphysician1 however1 that believes or disbelieves in metaphysical grounds alone2 such a man as ,cousin1 no doubt1 rests his whole spiritual philosophy on this foundation4 ,but the great mass will either adhere to religion in spite of metaphysical difficulties1 or else abandon it notwithstanding its metaphysical evidences4 ,an eminent man now departed said in my hearing1 that he was a believer in ,christianity until he became acquainted with geology1 when1 finding the first chapter of ,genesis at variance with geological doctrines1 he applied to the ,bible the rule falsus in uno1 falsus in omnibus1 and thenceforth abandoned his old belief4 ,i never heard of any one that was so worked upon by a purely metaphysical argument4 ,the aspect of theological doctrine that has come most to the front of late is the question of the ,divine goodness1 as shown in the plan of the universe4 ,speculations are divided between optimism and pessimism4 ,how shall we decide between these extremes1 or1 if repudiating both1 how shall we fix the mean8 ,is a metaphysician more especially qualified to find out the truth8 ,i hardly think so4 ,i believe he could contribute1 with others1 to such a solution as may be possible4 ,he has1 we shall suppose1 surveyed closely the compass of the human sensibilities1 and is able to assign1 with more than common precision1 what things operate on them favourably or unfavourably4 ,so far good4 ,then1 as a logician1 he is more expert at detecting bad inferences in regard to the form of reasoning2 but whether certain allegations of fact are well or ill founded1 he may not be able to say1 at least out of his own department4 ,if a mixed commission of ten were nominated to adjudicate upon this vast problem1 metaphysics might claim to be represented by two4 ,,filling ,,the ,,theological ,,void4 ,least of all1 do ,i understand the claims made in behalf of this department to supply the spiritual void in case the old theology is no longer accredited4 ,when one looks closely at the stream and tendency of thought1 one sees a growing alliance and kinship between religion and poetry or art4 ,there is1 as we know1 a dogmatic1 precise1 severe1 logical side of theology1 by which creeds are constructed1 religious tests imposed1 and belief made a matter of legal compulsion4 ,there is also a sentimental1 ideal1 imaginative side that resists definition1 that refuses dogmatic prescription1 and seeks only to satisfy spiritual needs and emotions4 ,metaphysics may no doubt take a part in the dogmatic or doctrinal treatment1 but it must qualify itself by biblical study1 and become altogether theology4 ,in the other aspect1 metaphysics1 as ,i conceive it1 is unavailing2 the poet is the proper medium for keeping up the emotional side1 under all transformations of doctrinal belief4 ,but as conceived by others1 metaphysics is philosophy and poetry in one1 to which ,i can never agree4 ,the combination of the two1 as hitherto exhibited1 has been made at the expense of both4 ,the leading terms of philosophy--reason1 spirit1 soul1 the ideal1 the infinite1 the absolute1 phenomenal truth1 being1 consciousness--are lubricated with emotion1 and thrown together in ways that defy the understanding4 ,the unintelligible1 which ought to be the shame of philosophy1 is made its glory4 ,these remarks prepare for the conclusion that ,i arrive at as to the scope of metaphysics with reference to the higher questions4 ,that it has bearings upon these questions ,i allow2 and those bearings are legitimately within the range of metaphysical debates4 ,but ,i make a wide distinction between metaphysical discussion and theological discussion2 and do not consider that they can be combined to advantage4 ,in the great latitude of free inquiry in the present day1 theology is freely canvassed1 and societies might be properly devoted to that express object2 but ,i cannot see any benefit that would arise by a philosophical society undertaking1 in addition to its own province1 to raise the questions belonging to theology4 ,i am well aware that there is one society of very distinguished persons in the metropolis1 calling itself metaphysical1 that freely ventures upon the perilous seas of theological debate4#ad ,no doubt good comes from any exercise of the liberty of discussion1 so long restrained in this region2 yet1 ,i can hardly suppose that purely metaphysical1 studies can thrive in such a connection4 ,many of the members must think far more of the theological issues than of the cultivation of mental and logical science2 and a purely metaphysical debate can seldom be pursued with profit under these conditions4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,polemics ,,in ,,greece4 ,i now pass to the ,,polemical handling of the metaphysical subjects4 ,we owe to the ,greeks the study of philosophy through methodised debate2 and the state of scientific knowledge in the age of the early ,athenian schools was favourable to that mode of treatment4 ,the conversations of ,socrates1 the ,dialogues of ,plato1 and the ,topics of ,aristotle1 are the monuments of ,greek contentiousness1 turned to account as a great refinement in social intercourse1 as a stimulus to individual thought1 and a means of advancing at least the speculative departments of knowledge4 ,grote1 both in his ,plato1 and in his ,aristotle1 while copiously illustrating all these consequences1 has laid extraordinary stress on still another aspect of the polemic of ,socrates and ,plato1 the aspect of free-thought1 as against venerated tradition and the received commonplaces of society4 ,the assertion of the right of private judgment in matters of doctrine and belief1 was1 according to ,grote1 the greatest of all the fruits of the systematised negation begun by ,zeno1 and carried out in the ,search ,dialogues of ,plato4 ,in the ,exposition ,dialogues it is wanting2 and in the ,topica1 where ,eristic is reduced to method and system by one of ,aristotle's greatest logical achievements1 the freethinker's wings are very much clipt2 the execution of ,socrates probably had to answer for that4 ,it is to the ,platonic dialogues that we look for the full grandeur of ,grecian debate in all its phases4 ,the ,plato of ,grote is the apotheosis of ,negation2 it is not a philosophy so much as an epic2 the theme--,the ,noble ,wrath of the ,greek ,dissenter4 ,at all times1 there is much that has to be achieved by solitary thinking4 ,some definite shape must be given to our thoughts before we can submit them to the operation of other minds2 the greater the originality1 the longer must be the process of solitary elaboration4 ,the ,principia was composed from first to last by recluse meditation2 probably the attempt to discuss or debate any parts of it would have only fretted and paralysed the author's invention4 ,indeed1 after an enormous strain of the constructive intellect1 a man may be in no humour to have his work carped at1 even to improve it4 ,in the region of fact1 in observation and experiment1 there must be a mass of individual and unassisted exertion4 ,the use of allies in this region is to check and confirm the accuracy of the first observer4 ,again1 an inquirer1 by dint of prolonged familiarity with a subject1 may be his own best critic2 he may be better able to detect flaws than any one he could call in4 ,this is another way of stating the superiority of a particular individual over all others in the same walk4 ,such a monarchical position as removes a man alike from the rivalry and from the sympathy of his fellows1 is the exception2 mutual criticism and mutual encouragement are the rule4 ,the social stimulants are of avail in knowledge and in truth as well as everything else4 ,a comparison of the state of speculation in the golden age of debate1 with the state of the sciences in the present day1 both metaphysical and physical1 shows us clearly enough1 what are the fields where polemic is most profitable4 ,i set aside the struggles of politics and theology1 and look to the scientific form of knowledge1 which is1 after all1 the type of our highest certainty everywhere4 ,now1 undoubtedly1 it is in classifying1 generalising1 defining1 and in the so-called logical processes--induction and deduction--that a man can be least left to himself4 ,until many men have gone over the same field of facts1 a classification1 a definition1 or an induction1 cannot be held as safe and sound4 ,in modern science1 there are numerous matters that have passed through the fiery furnace of iterated criticism1 seven times purified2 but there are1 attaching to every science1 a number of things still in the furnace4 ,most of all does this apply to the metaphysical or subject sciences1 where1 according to the popular belief1 nothing has yet passed finally out of the fiery trial4 ,in psychology1 in logic1 in eudaemonics1 in sociology1 in ethics1 the facts are nearly all around our feet2 the question is how to classify1 define1 generalise1 express them4 ,this was the situation of ,zeno1 ,socrates1 and ,plato1 for which they invoked the militant ardour of the mind4 ,man1 they saw1 is a fighting being2 if fighting will do a thing1 he will do it well4 ,,most ,,useful ,,classes ,,of ,,debates4 ,in conformity with this view1 the foremost class of debates1 and certainly not the least profitable1 are such as discuss the meanings of important terms4 ,the genius of ,socrates perceived that this was the beginning of all valid knowledge1 and1 in seeing this1 laid the foundation of reasoned truth4 ,i need not repeat the leading terms of metaphysical philosophy2 but you can at once understand the form of proceeding by such an instance as consciousness1 debated so as to bring out the question whether1 as ,hamilton supposed1 it is necessarily grounded on knowledge4 ,next to the leading terms are the broader and more fundamental generalities3 for example1 the law of relativity2 the laws of memory and its conditions1 such as the intensity of the present consciousness2 ,hamilton's inverse relationship of sensation and perception4 ,these are a few psychological instances4 ,the value of a debate on any of these questions depends entirely upon its resolving itself into an inductive survey of the facts1 and such surveys are never without fruit4 ,a debating society that includes logic in its sphere should cultivate the methods of debate2 setting an example to other societies and to mankind in general4 ,the ,topica of ,aristotle shows an immensity of power expended on this object1 doubtless without corresponding results4 ,nevertheless the attempt1 if resumed at the present day1 with our clearer and wider views of logical method1 would not be barren4 ,this is too little thought of by us2 and we may say that polemic1 as an art1 is still immature4 ,the best examples of procedure are to be found in the ,law ,courts1 some of whose methods might be borrowed in other debates4 ,for one thing1 ,i think that each of the two leaders should provide the members beforehand with a synopsis of the leading arguments or positions to be set forth in the debate4 ,this1 ,i believe1 should be insisted on everywhere1 not even excepting the debates of ,parliament4 ,it is the custom of debating societies to alternate the ,debate and the ,essay3 a very important distinction1 as it seems to me2 and ,i will endeavour to indicate how it should be maintained4 ,frequently there is no substantial distinction observed2 an essay is simply the opening of a debate1 and a debate the criticism of an essay4 ,i should like to see the two carried out each on its own principle1 as ,i shall now endeavour to explain4 ,,the ,,debate3 ,a ,,fight ,,for ,,mastery4 ,the ,debate is the fight for mastery as between two sides4 ,the combatants strain their powers to say everything that can be said so as to shake the case of their opponents4 ,the debate is a field-day1 a challenge to a trial of strength4 ,now1 while ,i admit that the intellectual powers may be quickened to unusual perspicacity under the sound of the trumpet and the shock of arms1 ,i also see in the operation many perils and shortcomings1 when the subject of contest is truth4 ,in a heated controversy1 only the more glaring and prominent facts1 considerations1 doctrines1 distinctions1 can obtain a footing4 ,now truth is the still small voice2 it subsists often upon delicate differences1 unobtrusive instances1 fine calculations4 ,whether or not man is a wholly selfish being1 may be submitted to a contentious debate1 because the facts and appearances on both sides are broad and palpable2 but whether all our actions are1 in the last resort or final analysis1 self-regarding1 is almost too delicate for debate4 ,chalmers upholds1 as a thesis1 the intrinsic misery of the vicious affections3 there could not be a finer topic of pure debate4 ,my conception of the ,essay1 on the other hand1 is that it should represent amicable co-operation1 with an eye to the truth4 ,by it you should rise from the lower or competitive1 to the higher or communistic attitude4 ,there may be a loss of energy1 but there is a gain in the manner of applying it4 ,the essayist should set himself to ascertain the truth upon a subject2 he should not be anxious to make a case4 ,the listeners1 in the same spirit1 should welcome all his suggestions1 help him out where he is in difficulties1 be indulgent to his failings1 endeavour to see good in everything4 ,if there be a real occasion for debate1 it should be purposely forborne and reserved4 ,in propounding subjects1 the respective fitness for the debate and for the essay might be taken into account4 ,,co-,,operative ,,discussion ,,in ,,the ,,essay4 ,when questions have been often debated without coming nearer to a conclusion1 it should be regarded as a sign that they are too delicate and subtle for debate4 ,a trial should then be made of the amicable or co-operative treatment represented by the ,essay4 ,the ,freedom of the ,will might1 ,i think1 be adjusted by friendly accommodation1 but not by force of contention4 ,external ,perception is beyond the province of debate4 ,it is fair and legitimate to try all problems by debate1 in the first instance1 because the excitement quickens the intelligence1 and leads to new suggestions2 but if the question involves an adjustment of various considerations and minute differences1 the contending sides will be contentious still4 ,a society that really aims at the furtherance of knowledge1 might test its operations by now and then preparing a report of progress2 setting forth what problems had been debated1 what themes elucidated1 and with what results4 ,it would be very refreshing to see a candid avowal that after several attempts--both debate and essay--some leading topic of the department remained exactly where it stood at the outset4 ,after such a confession1 the ,society might well resolve itself into a ,committee of the ,whole ,house1 to consider its ways1 and indeed its entire position1 with a view to a new start on some more hopeful track4 ,my closing remark is1 as to avoiding debates that are in their very nature interminable4 ,it is easy to fix upon a few salient features that make all the difference between a hopeful and a hopeless controversy4 ,for one thing1 there is a certain intensity of emotion1 interest1 bias1 or prejudice if you will1 that can neither reason nor be reasoned with4 ,on the purely intellectual side1 the disqualifying circumstances are complexity and vagueness4 ,if a topic necessarily hauls in numerous other topics of difficulty1 the essay may do something for it1 but not the debate4 ,worst of all is the presence of several large1 ill-defined1 or unsettled terms1 of which there are still plenty in our department4 ,a not unfrequent case is a combination of the several defects each perhaps in a small degree4 ,a tinge of predilection or party1 a double or triple complication of doctrines1 and one or two hazy terms1 will make a debate that is pretty sure to end as it began4 ,thus it is that a question1 plausible to appearance1 may contain within it capacities of misunderstanding1 cross-purposes1 and pointless issues1 sufficient to occupy the long night of ,pandemonium1 or beguile the journey to the nearest fixed star4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ab3 ,an ,address1 delivered on the #bhth of ,march1 #ahgg1 to the ,edinburgh ,university ,philosophical ,society4 ,,contemporary ,,review1 ,april1 #ahgg4 ,footnote #ac3 ,this very plausible utterance begs every question4 ,there would be some difficulty in condensing an equal amount of fallacy1 confusion of thought1 in so few words4 ,in the first place1 it assumes that the three requisites--health1 freedom from debt1 and a good conscience--are matters of easy and general attainment2 that they are1 in fact1 the rule among human beings4 ,is this really so8 ,take ,health1 a word of very wide import4 ,there is a certain small amount1 such as is marked by being out of the physician's hands1 but implying very little of the energy needed for the labours and the enjoyment of life4 ,there is a high and resplendent degree that renders toil easy1 and responds to the commonest stimulants1 so that enjoyment cannot be quashed without unusually unfavourable circumstances4 ,the first kind is widely diffused2 the second is very rare1 except in the earlier portion of life4 ,most men and women1 as they pass middle age1 lose the elasticity required for easy and spontaneous enjoyment1 and1 even if they keep the appearance of health1 have too little animal spirits for enjoyment under cheap and ordinary excitements4 ,but there is more to be said4 ,in order to obtain1 and to retain1 health1 freedom from debt1 and a good conscience1 there are pre-supposed very considerable advantages4 ,we cannot continue healthy and out of debt1 unless we have a fair start in life1 that is1 unless we have a tolerable provision to begin with2 a circumstance that the maxim keeps out of sight4 ,yet farther4 ,the conditions named are of themselves mere negatives2 they imply simply the absence of certain decided causes of unhappiness--ill-health1 poverty1 and bad conduct4 ,there is a farther stealthy assumption1 namely1 that the individual is placed in a situation otherwise conducive to happiness4 ,health1 absence of debt1 and a good conscience will not make happiness1 under severe or ungenial toil1 irritation1 ill-usage1 affliction1 sorrow1--- even if they could be long maintained under such circumstances4 ,nor even1 in the case of exemption from the worst ills of life1 can we be happy without some positive agreeables--family1 general society1 amusements1 and gratifications4 ,there is a certain degree of loneliness1 seclusion1 dulness1 that destroys happiness without sapping health1 or miming us into debt and vice4 ,the maxim1 as expressed1 professes to aim at happiness1 but it more properly belongs to duty4 ,if we fail in the conditions mentioned1 we run the risk rather of neglecting our duties than of missing our pleasures4 ,it is not every form of ill-health that makes us miserable2 and we may become seared to debt and ill-conduct1 so as to suffer only the incidental misery of being dunned1 which many can take with great composure4 ,the definition of happiness by ,paley is vague and incomplete2 but it does not omit the positive conditions4 ,after health1 ,paley enumerates the exercise of the affections and some engaging occupation or pursuit2 both which are highly relevant to the attainment of happiness4 ,indeed with an exemption from cares1 and a considerable share of the positive gratifications1 we can enjoy life on a very slender stock of health2 otherwise1 where should we be in the inevitable decline that age brings with it8 ,footnote #ad3 ,this ,society has since been dissolved4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,university ,,ideal--,,past ,,and ,,present4#ae ,,gentlemen1 ,by your flattering estimate of my services1 ,i have been unexpectedly summoned from retirement1 to assume the honours and the duties of the purple1 and to occupy the most historically important office in the ,universities of ,europe4 ,the present demands upon the ,rectorship somewhat resemble what we are told of the ,homeric chief1 who1 in company with his ,council or ,senate1 the ,boul1 and the ,popular ,assembly1 or ,agora1 made up the political constitution of the tribe4 ,the functions of the chief1 it is said1 were to supply wise counsel to the ,boul 7as we might call our ,court71 and unctuous eloquence to the ,agora4 ,the second of these requirements is what weighs upon me at the present moment4 ,whatever may have been the practice of my predecessors1 generally strangers to you1 it would be altogether unbecoming in me to travel out of our ,university life1 for the materials of an ,address4 ,my remarks then will principally bear on the ,,university ,,ideal4 ,,the ,,higher ,,teaching ,,in ,,greece4 ,to the ,greeks we are indebted for the earliest germ of the ,university4 ,it was with them chiefly that education took that great leap1 the greatest ever made1 from the traditional teaching of the home1 the shop1 the social surroundings1 to schoolmaster teaching properly so called4 ,nowadays1 we1 schoolmasters1 think so much of ourselves1 that we do not make full allowance for that other teaching1 which was1 for unknown ages1 the only teaching of mankind4 ,the ,greeks were the first to introduce1 not perhaps the primary schoolmaster1 for the ,r's1 but certainly the secondary or higher schoolmaster1 known as ,rhetorician or ,sophist1 who taught the higher professions2 while their ,philosophers or wise men1 introduced a kind of knowledge that gave scope to the intellectual faculties1 with or without professional applications2 the very idea of our ,faculty of ,arts4 ,so self-asserting were these new-born teachers of the ,sophist class1 that ,plato thought it necessary to recall attention to the good old perennial source of instruction1 the home1 the trade1 and the society4 ,he pointed out that the pretenders to teach virtue by moral lecturing1 were as yet completely outrivalled by the influence of the family and the social pressure of the community4 ,in like manner1 the arts of life were all originally handed down by apprenticeship and imitation4 ,the greatest statesmen and generals of early times had simply the education of the actual work4 ,philip of ,macedon could have had no other teaching2 his greater son was the first of the line to receive what we may call a liberal1 or a general education1 under the educator of all ,europe4 ,,logic ,,in ,,the ,,middle ,,ages4 ,,the ,,middle ,,age ,,and ,,bo,,thius4 ,i must skip eight centuries1 to introduce the man that linked the ancient and the modern world1 and was almost the sole luminary in the west during the dark ages1 namely1 ,bothius1 minister of the ,gothic ,emperor ,theodoric4 ,as much of ,aristotle as was known between the #fth and the #aath centuries was handed down by him4 ,during that time1 only the logical treatises existed among the ,latins2 and of these the best parts were neglected4 ,historical importance attaches to a small circle of them known as the ,old ,logic 7vectus logica71 which were the pabulum of abstract thought for five dreary centuries4 ,these consisted of the two treatises or chapters of ,aristotle called the ,categories1 and the ,de ,interpretatione1 or the ,theory of ,propositions2 and of a book of ,porphyry the ,neo-,platonist1 entitled ',introduction' 7,isagoge71 and treating of the so-called ,five ,predicables4 ,a hundred average pages would include them all2 and three weeks would suffice to master them4 ,bothius1 however1 did much more than hand on these works to the mediaeval students2 he translated the whole of ,aristotle's logical writings 7the ,organon71 but the others were seldom taken up4 ,it was he too that handled the question of ,universals in his first ,dialogue on ,porphyry1 and sowed the seed that was not to germinate till four centuries afterwards1 but which1 when the time came1 was to bear fruit in no measured amount4 ,and ,bothius is the name associated with the scheme of higher education that preceded the ,university teaching1 called the quadrivium1 or quadruple group of subjects1 namely1 ,arithmetic1 ,geometry1 ,music and ,astronomy4 ,this1 together with the trivium1 or preparatory group of three subjects--,grammar1 ,rhetoric1 and ,logic--constituted what was known as the seven liberal arts2 but1 in the darkest ages1 the quadrivium was almost lost sight of1 and few went beyond the trivium4 ,,eve ,,of ,,the ,,university4 ,in the #gth century1 the era of deepest intellectual gloom1 philosophy was at an entire stand-still4 ,light arises with the #hth1 when we are introduced to the ,cathedral and ,cloister ,schools of ,charlemagne2 and the #ith saw these schools fully established1 and an educational reform completed that was to be productive of lasting good results4 ,but the range of instruction was still narrow1 scarcely proceeding beyond the ,old ,logic1 and the teachers were1 as formerly1 the ,monks4 ,the #aath century is really the period of dawn4 ,the ,east was now opened up through the ,crusades1 and there was frequent intercourse with the learned ,saracens of ,spain2 and thus there were brought into the ,west the whole of ,aristotle's works1 with ,arabic commentaries1 chiefly in ,latin translations4 ,the effervescence was prodigious and alarming4 ,the schools were reinforced by a higher class of teachers1 ,lay as well as ,clerical2 a marked advance was made in ,logic and ,dialectic2 and the great controversy of ,realism versus ,nominalism1 which had found its birth in the previous century1 raged with extraordinary vigour4 ,we are now on the eve of the founding of the ,universities2 ,bologna1 indeed1 being already in existence4 ,,two ,,classes ,,of ,,medieval ,,churchmen4 ,,separation ,,of ,,philosophy ,,from ,,theology4 ,the ,university proper1 however1 can hardly be dated earlier than the #abth century2 and the important particulars in its first constitution are these3--,first1 the separation of ,philosophy from ,theology4 ,to expound this1 would be to give a chapter of mediaeval history4 ,suffice it to say that ,aristotle and the awakening intellect of the #aath century were the main causes of it4 ,two classes of minds at this time divided the ,church--the pious1 devout believers 7such as ,st4 ,bernard71 who needed no reasons for their faith1 and the polemic speculative divines 7such as ,abaelard71 who wished to make ,theology rational4 ,it was an age1 too1 of stirring political events2 the crusading spirit was abroad1 and found a certain gratification even in the war of words4 ,the nature of ,universals was eagerly debated2 but when this controversy came into collision with such leading theological doctrines as the ,trinity and ,predestination1 it was no longer possible for ,philosophy and ,theology to remain conjoined4 ,a separation was effected1 and determined the leading feature of the ,university system4 ,the foundation was ,philosophy1 and the fundamental ,faculty the ,faculty of ,arts4 ,bologna1 indeed1 was eminent for ,law or ,jurisprudence1 and this celebrity it retained for ages2 but the ,university of ,paris1 which is the prototype of our ,scottish ,universities1 as of so many others1 taught nothing but ,philosophy--in other words1 had no ,faculty but ,arts--for many years4 ,neither ,theology1 ,medicine1 nor ,law had existence there till the #acth century4 ,second1 the system of conferring ,degrees1 after appropriate trials4 ,these were at first simply a licence to teach4 ,they acquired their commanding importance through the action of ,pope ,nicholas ,i1 who gave to the graduates of the ,university of ,paris1 the power of teaching everywhere1 a power that our own countrymen were the foremost to turn to account4 ,,the ,,office ,,of ,,rector4 ,third1 the ,organisation of the primitive ,university4 ,europe was unsettled2 even in the capitals1 the civil power was often unhinged4 ,wherever multitudes came together1 there was manifested a spirit of turbulence4 ,the ,universities often exemplified this fact2 and it was found necessary to establish a government within themselves4 ,the basis was popular2 but1 while1 in ,paris1 only the teaching body was incorporated1 in ,bologna1 the students had a voice4 ,they elected the ,rector1 and his jurisdiction was very great indeed1 and much more important than speechifying to his constituents4 ,his ,court had the power of internal regulation1 with both a civil and criminal jurisdiction4 ,the ,scotch ,universities1 on this point1 followed ,bologna2 and that fact is the remote cause of this day's meeting4 ,,scotchmen ,,abroad4 ,,the ,,universities ,,of ,,scotland ,,founded4 ,so started the ,university4 ,the idea took2 and in three centuries1 many of the leading towns in ,italy1 ,france1 the ,german ,empire1 had their ,universities2 in ,england arose ,oxford and ,cambridge2 the model was ,paris or ,bologna4 ,scotland did not at first enter the race of ,university-founding1 but worked on the plan of the cuckoo1 by laying its eggs in the nests of others4 ,for two centuries1 ,scotchmen were almost shut out of ,england2 and so could not make for themselves a career in ,oxford and ,cambridge1 as in later times4 ,they had1 however1 at home1 good grammar schools1 where they were grounded in ,latin4 ,they perambulated ,europe1 and were familiar figures in the great ,university towns1 and especially ,paris4 ,from their disputatious and metaphysical aptitude1 they worked their upward way-- ,and gladly would they learn and gladly teach4 ,at length1 the nation did take up the work in good earnest4 ,in #adaa1 was founded the first of the ,st4 ,andrews' ,colleges2 #adea is the date of ,glasgow2 #adid1 ,king's ,college1 ,aberdeen4 ,these are the pre-,reformation colleges2 but for the ,reformation1 we might not have had any other4 ,their founders were ecclesiastics2 their constitution and ceremonial were ecclesiastical4 ,they were intended1 no doubt1 to keep the ,scotch students at home4 ,they were also expected to serve as bulwarks to the ,church against the rising heretics of the times4 ,in this they were a disappointment2 the first-begotten of them became the cradle of the ,reformation4 ,in these our three eldest foundations1 we are to seek the primitive constitution and the teaching system of our ,universities4 ,in essentials1 they were the same2 only between the dates of ,glasgow and ,old ,aberdeen occurred two great events4 ,one was the taking of ,constantinople1 which spread the ,greek scholars with their treasures over ,europe4 ,the other was the progress of printing4 ,in #adea1 when ,glasgow commenced1 there was no printed text-book4 ,in #adid1 when ,king's ,college began1 the ancient classics had been largely printed2 the early editions of ,aristotle in our ,library1 show the date of #adhf4 ,,first ,,period--,,the ,,teaching ,,body4 ,our ,universities have three well-marked periods2 the first anterior to the ,reformation2 the second from the ,reformation to the beginning of last century2 the third1 the last and present centuries4 ,confining ourselves still to the ,faculty of ,arts1 the features of the ,pre-,reformation ,university were these3-- ,first1 as regards the teaching ,body4 ,the quadriennial ,arts' course was conducted by so-called ,regents1 who each carried the same students through all the four years1 thus taking upon himself the burden of all the sciences--a walking ,encyclopaedia4 ,the system was in full force1 in spite of attempts to change it1 during both the first and the second periods4 ,you1 the students of ,arts1 at the present day1 encountering in your four years1 seven faces1 seven voices1 seven repositories of knowledge1 need an effort to understand how your predecessors could be cheerful and happy1 confined all through to one personality2 sometimes juvenile1 sometimes senile1 often feeble at his best4 ,,aristotle ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,the ,,teaching4 ,,the ,,subjects ,,taught4 ,next1 as regards the ,subjects taught4 ,to know these you have simply to know what are the writings of ,aristotle4 ,the little work on him by ,sir ,alexander ,grant supplies the needful information4 ,the records of the ,glasgow ,university furnish the curriculum of ,arts soon after its foundation4 ,the subjects are laid out in two heads--,logic and ,philosophy4 ,the ,logic comprised first the three ,treatises of the ,old ,logic2 to these were now added the whole of the works making up ,aristotle's ,organon4 ,this brought in the ,syllogism1 and allied matters4 ,there was also a selection from the work known as the ,topics1 not now included in ,logical teaching1 yet one of the most remarkable and distinctive of ,aristotle's writings4 ,it is a highly laboured account of the whole art of ,disputation1 laid out under his scheme of the ,predicables4 ,the selection fell chiefly on two books--the second1 comprising what ,aristotle had to say on ,induction1 and the sixth1 on ,definition2 together with the ,logical ,captions or ,fallacies4 ,disputation was one of the products of the ,greek mind2 and ,aristotle was its prophet4 ,now for ,philosophy4 ,this comprised nearly the whole of ,aristotle's ,physical treatises--his very worst side--together with his ,metaphysics1 some parts of which are hardly distinguishable from the ,physics4 ,next was the very difficult treatise--,de ,anima1 on the mind1 or ,soul--and some allied ,psychological treatises1 as that on ,memory4 ,such was the ordinary and sufficing curriculum4 ,it was allowed to be varied with a part of the ,ethics2 but in this age we do not find the ,politics2 and the ,rhetoric is never mentioned4 ,so also1 the really valuable ,biological works of ,aristotle1 including his book on ,animals1 appear to have been neglected4 ,certain portions of ,mathematics always found a place in the curriculum4 ,likewise1 some work on ,astronomy1 which was one of the quadrivium subjects4 ,all this was given in ,latin4 ,greek was not then known 7it was introduced into ,scotland1 in #aecd74 ,no classical ,latin author is given2 the education in ,latin was finished at the ,grammar ,school4 ,,teaching ,,exclusively ,,in ,,texts4 ,,manner ,,of ,,teaching4 ,such was the ,arts' ,faculty of the #aeth century2 a dreary1 single-manned1 ,aristotelian quadriennium4 ,the position is not completely before us1 till we understand farther the manner of working4 ,the pupils could not1 as a rule1 possess the text of ,aristotle4 ,the teacher read and expounded the text for them2 but a very large portion of the time was always occupied in dictating1 or diting1 notes1 which the pupils were examined upon1 viv voce2 their best plan usually being to get them by heart1 as any one might ask them to repeat passages literally2 while perhaps few could examine well upon the meaning4 ,the notes would be selections and abridgments from ,aristotle1 with the comments of modern writers4 ,the diting system was often complained of as waste of time1 but was not discontinued till the third1 or present1 ,university dynasty1 and not entirely then1 as many of us know4 ,the teaching was thus exclusively ,text teaching4 ,the teacher had little or nothing to say for himself 7at least in the earliest period74 ,he was even restricted in the remarks he might make by way of commentary4 ,he was as nearly as possible a machine4 ,but lastly1 to complete the view of the first period1 we must add the practice of ,disputation1 of which we shall have a better idea from the records of the next period4 ,this practice was co-eval with the ,universities2 it was the single mode of stimulating the thought of the individual student2 the chief antidote to the mechanical teaching by ,text-books and dictation4 ,the pre-,reformation period of ,aberdeen ,university was little more than sixty years4 ,for a portion of those years it attained celebrity4 ,in #aeda1 the town was honoured by a visit from ,james ,v41 and the ,university contributed to his entertainment4 ,the somewhat penny-a-lining account is1 that there were exercises and disputations in ,greek1 ,latin1 and other languages6 ,the official records1 however1 show that the ,college at that very time had sunk into a convent and conventual school4 ,,second ,,period--,,the ,,reformation4 ,the ,reformation introduced the second period1 and made important changes4 ,first of all1 in the great convulsion of ,european thought1 the ascendancy of ,aristotle was shaken4 ,it is enough to mention two incidents in the downfall of the mighty ,stagyrite4 ,one was the attack on him by the renowned ,peter ,rainus1 in the ,university of ,paris4 ,our countryman1 ,andrew ,melville1 attended ,ramus's ,lectures1 and became the means of introducing his system into ,scotland4 ,the other incident is still more notable4 ,the ,reformers had to consider their attitude towards ,aristotle4 ,at first their opinion was condemnatory4 ,luther regarded him as a very devil2 he was a godless bulwark of the ,papists4 ,melancthon was also hostile2 but he soon perceived that ,theology would crumble into fanatical dissolution without the co-operation of some philosophy4 ,as yet there was nothing to fall back upon except the pagan systems4 ,of these1 ,melancthon was obliged to confess that ,aristotle was the least objectionable1 and was1 moreover1 in possession4 ,the plan1 therefore1 was to accept him as a basis1 and fence him round with orthodox emendations4 ,this done1 ,aristotle1 no longer despotic1 but as a limited constitutional monarch1 had his reign prolonged a century and a half4 ,,new ,,subjects ,,introduced ,,by ,,melville4 ,,the ,,modified ,,curriculum--,,andrew ,,melville4 ,the first thing1 after the ,reformation in ,scotland1 was to purge the ,universities of the inflexible adherents of the old faith4 ,then came the question of amending the ,curriculum1 not simply with a view to ,protestantism1 but for the sake of an enlightened teaching4 ,the right man appeared at the right moment4 ,in #aegd1 ,andrew ,melville1 then in ,geneva1 received pressing invitations to come home and take part in the needed reforms4 ,he was immediately made ,principal of ,glasgow ,university1 at that time in a state of utter collapse and ruin4 ,he had matured his plans1 after consultation with ,george ,buchanan1 and they were worthy of a great reformer4 ,he sketched a curriculum1 substantially the curriculum of the second ,university period4 ,the modifications upon the almost exclusive ,aristotelianism of the first period1 were significant4 ,the ,greek language was introduced1 and ,greek classical authors read4 ,the reading in the ,roman classics was extended4 ,a text-book on ,rhetoric accompanied the classical readings4 ,the dialectics of ,ramus made the prelude to ,logic1 instead of the three treatises of the old ,logic4 ,the ,mathematics included ,euclid4 ,geography and ,cosmography were taken up4 ,then came a course of ,moral ,philosophy on an enlarged basis4 ,with the ,ethics and ,politics of ,aristotle1 were combined ,cicero's ,ethical works and certain ,dialogues of ,plato4 ,finally1 in the ,physics1 ,melville still used ,aristotle1 but along with a more modern treatise4 ,he also gave a view of ,universal ,history and ,chronology4 ,this curriculum1 which ,melville took upon himself to teach1 in order to train future teachers1 was the point of departure of the courses in all the ,universities during the second period4 ,with variations of time and place1 the ,arts' course may be described as made up of the ,greek and ,latin classics1 with ,rhetoric1 ,logic1 and ,dialectics1 ,moral ,philosophy1 or ,ethics1 ,mathematics1 ,physics1 and ,astronomy4 ,the little text-book of ,rhetoric1 by ,talon or ,talaeus1 was made up of notes from the ,lectures of ,peter ,ramus1 and used in all our ,colleges till superseded by the better compilation of the ,dutch scholar1 ,gerard ,john ,voss4 ,melville had to contend with many opponents1 among them the sticklers for the infallibility of the ,stagyrite4 ,like the ,german ,reformers1 he had accepted ,aristotelianism as a basis1 with a similar process of reconciliation4 ,so it was that ,aristotle and ,calvin were brought to kiss each other4 ,,melville ,,defeated ,,on ,,the ,,regenting4 ,,attempt ,,to ,,abolish ,,regenting4 ,melville's next proposal was all too revolutionary4 ,it consisted in restricting the ,regents each to a special group of subjects2 in fact1 anticipating our modern professoriate4 ,he actually set up this plan in ,glasgow3 one ,regent took ,greek and ,latin2 another1 his nephew1 ,james ,melville1 took ,mathematics1 ,logic1 and ,moral ,philosophy2 a third1 ,physics and ,astronomy4 ,the system went on1 in appearance at least1 for fifty years2 it is only in #afdb1 that we find the ,regents given without a specific designation4 ,why it should have gone on so long1 and been then dropt1 we are not informed4 ,melville's influence started it in the other ,universities1 but it was defeated in every one from the very outset4 ,after six years at ,glasgow1 he went to ,st4 ,andrew's as ,principal and ,professor of ,divinity1 and tried there the same reforms1 but the resistance was too great4 ,in spite of a public enactment1 the division of labour among the ,regents was never carried out4 ,yet such was ,melville's authority1 that the same enactment was extended to ,king's ,college1 in a scheme having a remarkable history--the so-called ,new ,foundation of ,aberdeen ,university1 promulgated in a ,royal ,charter of about the year #aeha4 ,the ,earl ,marischal was a chief promoter of the plan of reform comprised in this charter4 ,the division of labour among the ,regents was most expressly enjoined4 ,the plan fell through2 and there was a legal dispute fifty years afterwards as to whether it had ever any legal validity4 ,charles ,i4 was made to express indignation at the idea of reducing the ,university to a school6 ,we now approach the foundation of ,marischal ,college4 ,the ,earl ,marischal may have been actuated by the failure of his attempt to reform ,king's ,college4 ,at all events1 his mind was made up to follow ,melville in assigning separate subjects to his ,regents4 ,the ,charter is explicit on this head4 ,yet in spite of the ,charter and in spite of his own presence1 the intention was thwarted2 the old ,regenting lasted #afj years4 ,,aristotelian ,,physics ,,too ,,long ,,maintained4 ,still the ,curriculum reform was gained4 ,there was1 indeed1 one great miss4 ,the year before ,marischal ,college was founded1 ,galileo had published his work on ,mechanics1 which1 taken with what had been accomplished by ,archimedes and others1 laid the foundations of our modern ,physics4 ,copernicus had already published his work on the ,heavens4 ,it was now time that the ,aristotelian ,physics should be clean swept away4 ,in this whole department1 ,aristotle had made a reign of confusion2 he had thrown the subject back1 being himself off the rails from first to last4 ,had there been in ,scotland an adviser in this department1 like ,melville in general literature1 or like ,napier of ,merchiston in pure mathematics1 one fourth of the college teaching might have been reclaimed from utter waste1 and a healthy tone of thinking diffused through the remainder4 ,a curious fascination always attached to the study of ,astronomy1 even when there was not much to be said1 apart from the unsatisfactory disquisitions of ,aristotle4 ,a little book1 entitled ,sacrobosco on the ,sphere1 containing little more than what we should now teach to boys and girls1 along with the ,globes1 was a ,university text-book throughout ,europe for centuries4 ,i was informed by a late ,king's ,college professor that the ,use of the ,globes was1 within his memory1 taught in the ,magistrand ,class4 ,this would be simply what is termed a survival4 ,,graduation ,,by ,,means ,,of ,,disputes ,,on ,,thesis4 ,,system ,,of ,,disputation4 ,now as to the mode of instruction4 ,there were viv voce examinations upon the notes1 such as we can imagine4 ,but the stress was laid on ,disputations and ,declamations in various forms4 ,besides disputing and declaiming on the regular class work before the ,regent1 we find that1 in ,edinburgh1 and ,i suppose elsewhere1 the classes were divided into companies1 who met apart1 and conferred and debated among themselves daily4 ,the students were occupied1 altogether1 six hours a day4 ,then the higher classes were frequently pitched against each other4 ,this was a favourite occupation on ,saturdays4 ,the doctrines espoused by the leading students became their nicknames4 ,the pass for ,graduation consisted in the propugning or impugning of questions by each candidate in turn4 ,an elaborate ,thesis was drawn up by the ,regent1 giving the heads of his philosophy course2 this was accepted by the candidates1 signed by them1 and printed at their expense4 ,then on the day of trial1 at a long sitting1 each candidate stood up and propunged or impunged a portion of the ,thesis2 all were heard in turn2 and on the result the ,degree was conferred4 ,a good many of these ,theses are preserved in our ,library2 some of them are very long--a hundred pages of close type2 they are our best clue to the teaching of the period4 ,we can see how far ,aristotle was qualified by modern views4 ,,regenting ,,doomed4 ,i said there might have been times when the students never had the relief of a second face all the four years4 ,the exceptions are of importance4 ,first1 as regards ,marischal ,college4 ,within a few years of the foundation1 ,dr4 ,duncan ,liddell founded the ,mathematical ,chair1 and thus withdrew from the ,regents the subject that most of all needed a specialist2 a succession of very able mathematicians sat in this chair4 ,king's ,college had not the same good fortune4 ,from its foundation it possessed a separate functionary1 the ,humanist or ,grammarian2 but he had also1 till #agec1 to act as ,rector of the ,grammar ,school4 ,edinburgh obtained from an early date a ,mathematical chair1 occupied by men of celebrity4 ,there was no other innovation till near the end of the #agth century1 when ,greek was isolated both in ,edinburgh and in ,marischal ,college2 but the end of ,regenting was then near4 ,the old system1 however1 had some curious writhings4 ,during the troubled #agth century1 ,university reform could not command persistent attention4 ,but after the #afhh-,revolution1 opinions were strongly expressed in favour of the ,melville system4 ,the obvious argument was urged1 that1 by division of labour each man would be able to master a special subject1 and do it justice in teaching4 ,yet1 it was replied1 that1 by the continued intercourse1 the master knew better the humours1 inclinations1 and talents of their scholars4 ,to which the answer was--the humours and inclinations of scholars are not so deeply hid but that in a few weeks they appear4 ,moreover1 it was said1 the students are more respectful to a ,master while he is new to them4 ,the final division of subjects took place in ,edinburgh1 in #agjh2 in ,glasgow1 in #agbg2 in ,st4 ,andrews1 in #agdg4 ,in ,marischal ,college1 the change was made by a minute of #aath ,jan41 #agec2 but1 whether from ignorance1 or from want of grace1 the ,senatus did not record its satisfaction at having1 after a lapse of five generations1 fulfilled the wishes of the pious founder4 ,in ,king's ,college1 the old system lasted till #agih4 ,this closes the second age of the ,universities1 and introduces the third age1 the age of the ,professoriate1 of ,lecturing instead of ,text-books1 the end of ,disputation1 and the use of the ,english ,language4 ,it was now1 and not till now1 that the ,scottish ,universities stood forth1 in several leading departments of knowledge1 as the teachers of the world4 ,,age ,,of ,,the ,,professoriate4 ,,the ,,universities ,,and ,,the ,,political ,,revolutions4 ,the second age of the ,universities was ,scotland's most trying time4 ,in a hundred and thirty years1 the country had passed through four revolutions and counter-revolutions2 every one of which told upon the ,universities4 ,the victorious party imposed its test upon the ,university teacher1 and drove out recusants4 ,you must all know something of the purging of the ,university and the ,ministry of ,aberdeen by the ,covenanting ,general ,assembly of #afdj4 ,these deposed ,aberdeen doctors may have had too strong leanings to episcopacy in the ,church and to absolutism in the ,state1 but they were not ,vicars of ,bray4 ,the first half of the century was adorned by a band of scholars1 who have gained renown by their cultivation of ,latin poetry2 a little oasis in the desert of ,aristotelian ,dialectics4 ,it would be needless and ungracious to enquire whether this was the best thing that could have been done for the generation of ,bishop ,patrick ,forbes4 ,your reading in the ,history of ,scotland will thus bring you face to face with the great powers that contended for the mastery from #aefj3 the ,monarchy1 always striving to be absolute2 the ,church1 whose position made it the advocate of popular freedom2 the ,universities1 fluctuating as regards political liberty1 but standing up for intellectual liberty4 ,in the #agth century the ,church ruled the ,universities2 in the #ahth1 it may be said1 that the ,universities returned the compliment4 ,,professional ,,teaching ,,by ,,apprenticeship ,,universities ,,not ,,essential ,,for ,,professions4 ,enough for the past4 ,a word or two on the present4 ,what is now the need for a ,university system1 and what must the system be to answer that need8 ,many things are altered since the #abth century4 ,first1 then1 ,universities1 as ,i understand them1 are not absolutely essential to the teaching of professions4 ,let me make an extreme supposition4 ,a great naval commander1 like ,nelson1 is sent on board ship1 at eleven or twelve2 his previous knowledge1 or general training1 is what you may suppose for that age4 ,it is in the course of actual service1 and in no other way1 that he acquires his professional fitness for commanding fleets4 ,is this right or is it wrong8 ,perhaps it is wrong1 but it has gone on so for a long time4 ,well1 why may not a preacher be formed on the same plan8 ,john ,wesley was not a greater man in preaching1 than ,nelson in seamanship4 ,take1 then1 a youth of thirteen from the school4 ,apprentice him to the minister of a parish4 ,let him make at once preparations for clerical work4 ,let him store his memory with sermons1 let him make abstracts of ,divinity systems2 master the best exegetical commentators4 ,then1 in a year or two1 he would begin to catechise the young1 to give addresses in the way of exposition1 exhortation1 encouragement1 and rebuke4 ,practice would bring facility4 ,might not1 ,i say2 seven years of the actual work1 in the susceptible period of life1 make a preacher of no mean power1 without the ,grammar ,school1 without the ,arts' ,classes1 without the ,divinity ,hall8 ,what then do we gain by taking such a roundabout approach to our professional work8 ,the answer is twofold4 ,first1 as regards the profession itself4 ,nearly every skilled occupation1 in our time1 involves principles and facts that have been investigated1 and are taught1 outside the profession2 to the medical man are given courses of ,chemistry1 ,physiology1 and so on4 ,hence to be completely equipped for your professional work1 you must repair to the teachers of those tributary departments of knowledge4 ,the requirement1 however1 is not absolute2 it admits of being evaded4 ,your professional teachers ought to master these outside subjects1 and give you just as much of them as you need1 and no more2 which would be an obvious economy of your valuable time4 ,thus1 ,i apprehend1 the strictly professional uses of general knowledge fail to justify the ,grammar ,school and the ,arts' curriculum4 ,something1 indeed1 may still be said for the higher grades of professional excellence1 and for introducing improved methods into the practice of the several crafts2 for which wider outside studies lend their aid4 ,this1 however1 is not enough2 inventors are the exception4 ,in fact1 the ground must be widened1 and include1 secondly1 the life beyond the profession4 ,we are citizens of a self-governed country2 members of various smaller societies2 heads1 or members of families4 ,we have1 moreover1 to carve out recreation and enjoyment as the alternative and the reward of our professional toil4 ,now the entire tone and character of this life outside the profession1 is profoundly dependent on the compass of our early studies4 ,he that leaves the school for the shop at thirteen1 is on one platform4 ,he that spends the years from thirteen to twenty in acquiring general knowledge1 is on a totally different platform2 he is1 in the best sense1 an aristocrat4 ,those that begin work at thirteen1 and those that are born not to work at all1 are alike his inferiors4 ,he should be able to spread light all around4 ,he it is that may stand forth before the world as the model man4 ,,the ,,graduate ,,as ,,such4 ,,the ,,ideal ,,graduate4 ,all this supposes that you realise the position2 that you fill up the measure of the opportunities2 that you keep in view at once the ,professional life1 the ,citizen life1 and the life of ,intellectual tastes4 ,the mere professional man1 however prosperous1 cannot be a power in society1 as the ,arts' graduate may become4 ,his leisure occupations are all of a lower stamp4 ,he does not participate in the march of knowledge4 ,he must be aware of his incompetence to judge for himself in the greater questions of our destiny2 his part is to be a follower1 and not a leader4 ,it is not1 then1 the name of graduate that will do all this4 ,it is not a scrape pass2 it is not decent mediocrity with a languid interest4 ,it is a fair and even attention throughout1 supplemented by auxiliaries to the class work4 ,it is such a hold of the leading subjects1 such a mastery of the various alphabets1 as will make future references intelligible1 and a continuation of the study possible4 ,our curriculum is one of the completest in the country1 or perhaps anywhere4 ,by the happy thought of the ,senatus of ,marischal ,college1 in #agec1 you have a fundamental class 7,natural ,history7 not existing in the other colleges4 ,you have a fair representation of the three great lines of science--the ,abstract1 the ,experimental1 and the ,classifying4 ,when it is a general education that you are thinking of1 every scheme of option is imperfect that does not provide for such three-sided cultivation of our reasoning powers4 ,a larger quantity of one will no more serve for the absence of the rest than a double covering of one part of the body1 will enable another part to be left bare4 ,,voluntary ,,extension ,,of ,,the ,,basis4 ,your time in the ,arts' curriculum is not entirely used up by the classes4 ,you can make up for deficiences in the course1 when once you have formed your ideal of completeness4 ,for a year1 or two after graduating1 while still rejoicing in youthful freshness1 you can be widening your foundations4 ,the thing then is1 to possess a good scheme and to abide by it4 ,now1 making every allowance for the variation of tastes and of circumstances1 and looking solely to what is desirable for a citizen and a man1 it is impossible to refuse the claims of the department of ,historical and ,social study4 ,one or two good representative historical periods might be thoroughly mastered in conjunction with the best theoretical compends of ,social ,philosophy4 ,,the ,,well-,,instructed ,,man4 ,farther1 the ideal graduate1 who is to guide and not follow opinion1 should be well versed in all the bearings of the ,spiritual ,philosophy of the time4 ,the subject branches out into wide regions1 but not wider than you should be capable of following it4 ,this is not a professional study merely2 it is the study of a well-instructed man4 ,once more4 ,a share of attention should be bestowed early on the higher ,literature of the ,imagination4 ,as1 in after life1 poetry and elegant composition are to be counted on as a pleasure and solace1 they should be taken up at first as a study4 ,the critical examination of styles1 and of authors1 which forms an admirable basis of a student's society1 should be a work of study and research4 ,the advantages will be many and lasting4 ,to conceive the exact scope and functions of the ,imagination in art1 in science1 in religion1 and everywhere1 will repay the trouble4 ,,the ,,arts' ,,graduate ,,in ,,literature4 ,ever since ,i remember1 ,i have been accustomed to hear of the superiority of the ,arts' graduate1 in various crafts1 more especially as a teacher4 ,many of you in these days pass into another vocation--,letters1 or the ,press4 ,here too1 almost everything you learn will pay you professionally4 ,still1 ,i am careful not to rest the case for general education on professional grounds alone4 ,i might show you that the highest work of all--original enquiry--needs a broad basis of liberal study2 or at all events is vastly aided by that4 ,genius will work on even a narrow basis1 but imperfect preparatory study leaves marks of imperfection in the product4 ,the same considerations that determine your voluntary studies1 determine also the ,university ,ideal4 ,a ,university1 in my view1 stands or falls with its ,arts' ,faculty4 ,without debating the details1 we may say that this ,faculty should always be representative of the needs of our intelligence1 both for the professional and for the extra-professional life2 it should not be of the shop1 shoppy4 ,the ,university exists because the professions would stagnate without it2 and still more1 because it may be a means of enlarging knowledge at all points4 ,its watchword is ,progress4 ,we have1 at last1 the division of labour in teaching2 outside the ,university1 teachers too much resemble the ,regent of old--having too many subjects1 and too much time spent in grinding4 ,our teachers are exactly the reverse4 ,yet1 there cannot be progress without a sincere and single eye to the truth4 ,the fatal sterility of the middle ages1 and of our first and second ,university periods1 had to do with the mistake of gagging men's mouths1 and dictating all their conclusions4 ,things came to be so arranged that contradictory views ran side by side1 like opposing electric currents2 the thick wrappage of ingenious phraseology arresting the destructive discharge4 ,there was1 indeed1 an elaborate and pretentious ,logic1 supplied by ,aristotle1 and amended by ,bacon2 what was still wanted was a taste of the ,logic of ,freedom4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ae3 ,,rectorial ,,address1 to the ,students of ,aberdeen ,university1 #aeth ,november1 #ahhb4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,study4 ,of hackneyed subjects1 a foremost place may be assigned to the ,art of ,study4 ,allied to the theory and practice of ,education generally1 it has still a field of its own1 although not very precisely marked out4 ,it relates more to self-education than to instruction under masters2 it supposes the voluntary choice of the individual rather than the constraint of an outward discipline4 ,consequently1 the time for its application is when the pupil is emancipated from the prescription and control of the scholastic curriculum4 ,there is another idea closely associated with our notion of study--namely1 learning from books4 ,we may stretch the word1 without culpable licence1 to comprise the observation of facts of all kinds1 but it more naturally suggests the resort to book lore for the knowledge that we are in quest of4 ,there is a considerable propriety in restricting it to this meaning2 or1 at all events1 in treating the art of becoming wise through reading1 as different from the arts of observing facts at first hand4 ,in short1 study should not be made co-extensive with knowledge getting1 but with book learning4 ,in thus narrowing the field1 we have the obvious advantage of cultivating it more carefully1 and the unobvious1 but very real1 advantage of dealing with one homogeneous subject4 ,in the current phrase1 studying under some one1 there is a more express reference to being taught by a master1 as in listening to lectures4 ,there is1 however1 the implication that the learner is applying his own mind to the special field1 and1 at the same time1 is not neglecting the other sources of knowledge1 such as books4 ,the master is looked upon rather as a guide to enquiry1 than as the sole fountain of the information sought4 ,thus1 then1 the mental exercise that we now call study began when books began2 when knowledge was reduced to language and laid out systematically in verbal compositions4 ,a certain form of it existed in the days when language was as yet oral merely2 when there might be long compositions existing only in the memory of experts1 and communicable by speech alone4 ,but study then was a very simple affair3 it would consist mainly in attentive listening to recitation1 so as to store up in the memory what was thus communicated4 ,the art1 if any1 would attach equally to the reciter and to the listener2 the duty of the one would be to accommodate his lessons in time1 quantity1 and mode of delivery to the retentive capacity of the other2 who1 in his turn1 would be required to con and recapitulate what he had been told1 until he made it his own1 whatever it might be worth4 ,,book ,,study ,,among ,,the ,,ancients ,even when books came into existence1 an art of study would be at first very simple4 ,the whole extent of book literature among the ,jews before ,christ would be soon read2 and1 when once read1 there was nothing left but to re-read it in whole or in part1 with a view of committal to memory1 whether for meditative reflection1 or for awakening the emotions4 ,we see1 in the ,psalms of ,david1 the emphasis attached to mental dwelling on the particulars of the ,mosaic ,law1 as the nourishment of the feelings of devotion4 ,the ,greek ,literature about #cej ,b4,c41 when ,aristotle and ,demosthenes had reached manhood 7being then #cd71 had attained a considerable mass2 as one may see at a glance from ,jebb's chronology attached to his ,primer4 ,there was a splendid poetical library1 including all the great tragedians1 with the older and the middle ,comedy4 ,there were the three great historians--,herodotus1 ,thucydides1 and ,xenophon2 and the orators--- ,lysias1 ,isocrates1 and ,isaeus2 there were the precursors of ,socrates in ,philosophy2 and1 finally1 the ,platonic ,dialogues4 ,to overtake all these would employ several years of learned leisure2 and to imbibe their substance would be a rich and varied culture1 especially of the poetic and rhetorical kind4 ,to make the most of the field1 a judicious procedure would be very helpful2 there was evident scope for an art of study4 ,the fertile intellect of the ,greeks produced the first systematic guides to high culture2 the ,rhetorical art for ,oratory and ,poetry1 the ,logical art for ,reasoning1 and the ,eristic art for ,disputation4 ,there was nothing precisely corresponding to an ,art of ,study1 but there were examples of the self-culture of celebrated men4 ,the most notorious of these is ,demosthenes2 of whom we know that1 while he took special lessons in the art of oratory1 he also bestowed extraordinary pains upon the general cultivation of his intellectual powers4 ,his application to ,thucydides in particular is recounted in terms of obvious mythical exaggeration2 showing1 nevertheless1 his idea of fixing upon a special book with a view to extracting from it every particle of intellectual nourishment that it could yield3 in which we have an example of the art of study as ,i have defined it4 ,then1 it is said that1 in his anxiety to master his author1 he copied the entire work eight times1 with his own hand1 and had it by heart verbatim1 so as to be able to re-write it when the manuscripts were accidentally destroyed4 ,both points enter into the art of study1 and will come under review in the sequel4 ,we do not possess from the genius of ,aristotle--the originator or improver of so many practical departments--an ,art of ,study4 ,the omission was not supplied by any other ,greek writer known to us4 ,the oratorical art was a prominent part of education both in ,greece and in ,rome2 and was discussed by many authors--notably by ,cicero himself2 but the exhaustive treatment is found in ,quintilian4 ,the very wide scope of the ,institutes of ,oratory comprises a chapter upon the orator's reading1 in which the author reviews the principal ,greek and ,roman classics from ,homer to ,seneca1 with remarks upon the value of each for the mental cultivation of the oratorical pupil4 ,something of this sort might be legitimately included in the art of study1 but might also be withheld1 as being provided in the critical estimates already formed respecting all writers of note4 ,,modern ,,guides ,,to ,,study4 ,after ,ouintilian1 it is little use to search for an art of study1 either among the later ,latin classics1 or among the mediaeval authors generally4 ,i proceed at once to remark upon the well-known essay of ,bacon1 which shows his characteristic subtlety1 judiciousness1 and weight2 yet is too short for practical guidance4 ,he hits the point1 as ,i conceive it1 when he identifies study with reading1 and brings in1 but only by way of contrast and complement1 conference or conversation and composition4 ,he endeavours to indicate the worth of book learning1 as an essential addition to the actual practice of business1 and the experience1 of life4 ,he marks a difference between books that we are merely to dip into 7books to be tasted7 and such as are to be mastered2 without1 however1 stating examples4 ,he ventures also to settle the respective kinds of culture assignable to different departments of knowledge--history1 poetry1 mathematics1 natural philosophy1 moral philosophy1 logic and rhetoric2 a very useful attempt in its own way1 and one that may well enough enter into a comprehensive art of study1 if not provided for in the still wider theory of ,education at large4 ,bacon's illustrious friend1 ,hobbes1 did not write on studies1 but made a notable remark bearing on one topic connected with the art1--namely1 that if he had read as much as other men1 he should have remained still as ignorant as other men4 ,this must not be interpreted too literally4 ,hobbes was really a great reader of the ancients1 and must have studied with care some of the philosophers immediately preceding himself4 ,still1 it indicates an important point for discussion in the art of study1 in which great men have gone to opposite extremes--,i mean in reference to the amount of attention to be given to previous writers1 in taking up new ground4 ,to come down to another great name1 we have ,milton's ideal of ,education1 given in his short ,tractate4 ,here1 with many protestations of knowing things1 rather than words1 we find an enormous prescription of book reading1 including1 in fact1 every known author on every one of a wide circle of subjects4 ,this was characteristic of the man3 he was a voracious reader himself1 and an example to show1 in opposition to ,hobbes1 that original genius is not necessarily quenched by great or even excessive erudition4 ,as bearing on the art of study1 especially for striplings under twenty1 ,milton's scheme is open to two criticisms3 first1 that the amount of reading on the whole is too great2 second1 that in subjects handled by several authors of repute1 one should have been selected as the leading text-book and got up thoroughly2 the others being taken in due time as enlarging or correcting the knowledge thus laid in4 ,think of a boy learning ,rhetoric upon six authors taken together6 ,,locke',s ,,conduct ,,of ,,the ,,understanding4 ,the transition from ,milton to ,locke is the inverse of that from ,hobbes to ,milton4 ,locke was also a man of few books4 ,if he had been sent to school under ,milton1 as he might have been1#af he would have very soon thrown up the learned drudgery prescribed for him1 and would have bolted4 ,the practical outcome of ,locke's enquiries respecting the human faculties is to be found in the little treatise named--,the ,conduct of the ,understanding4 ,it is an earnest appeal in favour of devotion to the attainment of truth1 and an exposure of all the various sources of error1 moral and intellectual2 more especially prejudices and bias4 ,there are not1 however1 many references to book study2 and such as we find are chiefly directed to the one aim of painful and laborious examination1 first1 of an author's meaning1 and next of the goodness of his arguments4 ,two or three sentences will give the clue4 ,those who have read of everything1 are thought to understand everything too2 but it is not always so4 ,reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge2 it is thinking makes what we read ours4 ,we are of the ruminating kind1 and it is not enough to cram ourselves with a great deal of collections1 unless we chew them over again1 they will not give us strength and nourishment4 ,farther3 ,books and reading are looked upon to be the great helps of the understanding1 and instruments of knowledge1 as it must be allowed that they are2 and yet ,i beg leave to question whether these do not prove a hindrance to many1 and keep several bookish men from attaining to solid and true knowledge4 ,here1 again1 is his stern way of dealing with any author3--,to fix in the mind the clear and distinct idea of the question stripped of words2 and so likewise1 in the train of argumentation1 to take up the author's ideas1 neglecting his words1 observing how they connect or separate those in the question4 ,of this last1 more afterwards4 ,,watt',s ,,improvement ,,of ,,the ,,mind4 ,a disciple of ,locke1 and a man of considerable and various powers1 the non-conformist divine ,isaac ,watts1 produced perhaps the first considerable didactic treatise on ,study4 ,i refer1 of course1 to his well-known work entitled ,the ,improvement of the ,mind2 on which1 he tells us1 he was occupied at intervals for twenty years4 ,it has two ,parts3 one on the acquisition of knowledge2 the other on ,communication or leaching4 ,the scheme is a very wide one4 ,observation1 ,reading1 attending ,lectures1 ,conversation1--are all included4 ,to the word ,study1 ,watts attaches a special meaning1 namely ,meditation and ,reflection1 together with the control or regulation of all the exercises of the mind4 ,i doubt if this meaning is well supported by usage4 ,at all events it is not the signification that ,i propose to attach to the term4 ,observation is an art in itself3 so is ,conversation1 whether amicable or contentious4 ,the proportions that these exercises should bear to reading1 would fairly claim a place in the complete ,art of ,study4 ,watts has two short chapters on ,books and ,reading1 containing sensible remarks4 ,he urges the importance of thorough mastery of select authors2 but assumes a power of discriminating good and bad beyond the reach of a learner1 and does not show how it is to be attained4 ,he is very much concerned all through as to the moral tone and religious orthodoxy of the books read1 he also reproves hasty and ill-natured judgments upon the authors4 ,watts's ,essay is so pithily written1 and so full of sense and propriety1 that it long maintained a high position in our literature2 he tells us1 that it had become a text-book in the ,university4 ,i do not know of any better work on the same plan4 ,a ,student's ,guide1 by an ,american named ,todd1 was in vogue with us1 some time ago2 but anyone looking at its contents1 will not be sorry that it is now forgotten4 ,it would not1 however1 be correct to say that the subject has died out4 ,if there have not been many express didactic treatises of late1 there has been an innumerable host of small dissertations1 in the form of addresses1 speeches1 incidental discussions1 leading articles1 sermons--all intended to guide both young and old in the path of useful study4 ,what to read1 when to read1 and how to read1--have been themes of many an essay1 texts of many a discourse4 ,according as ,education at large has been more and more discussed1 the particular province of self-education1 as here marked out1 has had an ample share of attention from more or less qualified advisers4 ,what we have got before us1 then1 is1 first1 to define our ground1 and then to appropriate and value the accumulated fruits of the labour expended on it4 ,i have already indicated how ,i would narrow the subject of ,study1 so as to occupy a field apart1 and not jumble together matters that follow distinct laws4 ,the theory of ,education in general is the theory of good ,teaching3 that is a field by itself1 although many things in it are applicable also to self-education4 ,to estimate the values of different acquisitions--,science1 ,language1 and the rest1 is good for all modes of culture4 ,the laws of the understanding in general1 and of the memory in particular1 must be taken into account under every mode of acquiring knowledge4 ,yet the alteration of circumstances1 when a pupil is carving out his own course1 and working under his own free-will1 leads to new and distinct rules of procedure4 ,also1 that part of self-education consisting in the application to books is distinct from the other forms of mental cultivation1 namely1 conversing1 disputing1 original composition1 and tutorial aid4 ,each of these has its own rules or methods1 which ,i do not mean to notice except by brief allusion4 ,in connection with the ,plan of study1 it is material to ask what the individual is studying for4 ,each profession1 each accomplishment1 has its own course of education4 ,if book reading is an essential part1 then the choice of books must follow the line of the special pursuit4 ,this is obvious2 but does not do away with the consideration of the best modes of studying whatever books are suitable for the end4 ,one man has to read in ,chemistry1 another in ,law1 another in ,divinity1 and so on4 ,for each and all of these1 there is a profitable and an unprofitable mode of working1 and the speciality of the matter is unessential4 ,,different ,,ends ,,of ,,study4 ,the more important differences of subject1 involving differences of method1 are seen in such contrasted departments as ,science and ,language1 ,thought and ,style1 ,reality and ,poetry1 ,generality and ,particularity4 ,in applying the mind to these various branches1 and in using books as the medium of acquisition1 there are considerable differences in the mode of procedure4 ,the study of a book of ,science is not on the same plan as the study of a ,history or a ,poem4 ,yet even in these last1 there are many circumstances in common1 arising out of the constitution of our faculties and the nature of a verbal medium of communication of thought4 ,an art of ,study in general should not presume to follow out in minute detail the education of the several professions4 ,there should still be1 for example1 a distinct view of the training special in an ,orator1 on which the ancients bestowed so much pains2 there being no corresponding course hitherto chalked out for a ,philosopher as such1 or even for a ,poet4 ,next1 there is an important distinction between studies for a professional walk1 and the studies of a man's leisure1 with a view to gratifying a special taste1 or for the higher object of independent thinking on all the higher questions belonging to a citizen and a man4 ,both positions has its peculiarities2 and an art of study should be catholic enough to embrace them4 ,to have the best part of the day for study1 and the rest for recreation and refreshment1 is one thing3 and to study in by-hours1 in snatches of time1 and in holidays is quite another thing4 ,in the latter case1 the choice of subjects1 and the extent of them1 must be considerably different2 while the consideration of the best modes of economizing time and strength1 and of harmonizing one's life as a whole1 is more pressing and more arduous4 ,but1 when the course is chalked out1 the details of study must conform to the general conditions of all acquirements in knowledge through the instrumentality of books4 ,one1 and only one1 more preliminary clearing4 ,when an instructor proceeds1 as ,milton in his school1 or as ,james ,mill with his son1 by prescribing to each pupil a mass of books to be read1 with more or less of examination as to their contents2 in such a case1 education from without has passed into study in our narrow sense2 and the procedure for one situation is applicable to both4 ,the two cases are equally in contrast to educating by the direct instruction of the teacher4 ,in so far1 however1 as any teacher requires book study to co-operate with his own addresses1 to that extent do the methods laid down for private study come into play4 ,under every view1 it is a momentous fact1 that the man of modern times has become a book-reading animal4 ,the acquisition of knowledge and the cultivation of the intellectual powers of the mind1 form only a small part of the use of books2 although the part more properly named ,study4 ,the moral tendencies are controlled2 the emotions regulated2 sympathy with mankind1 or the opposite1 generated2 pleasurable excitement afforded4 ,these other uses may be provided apart1 as in our literature of amusement1 or they may be given in combination with the element of knowledge1 in which case they are apt to be a disturbing force1 rendering uncertain our calculations as to the efficacy of particular modes of study4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the practical problem of ,study is not to be approached by any high priori road2 in other words1 by setting out from abstract principles as to the nature of the mind's receptivity and the operation of book-reading upon that receptivity4 ,a humbler line of approach will be more likely to succeed4 ,there exist a number of received maxims on study1 the result of many men's experience and wisdom4 ,our endeavour will be to collect these1 arrange them in a methodical plan1 so that they may give mutual aid1 and supply each other's defects4 ,we shall go a little farther1 and criticise them according to the best available lights2 and1 when too vague or sweeping1 supply needful qualifications4 ,the ,choice of ,books1 in the first instance1 depends on the merits attributed to them severally by persons most conversant with the special department4 ,in some degree1 too1 this choice is controlled by the consideration of the best modes of study1 as will soon be apparent4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,text-,,book-,,in-,,chief4 #a4 ,our first maxim is--,select a ,text-book-in-chief4 ,the meaning is1 that when a large subject is to be overtaken by book study alone1 some one work should be chosen to apply to1 in the first instance1 which work should be conned and mastered before any other is taken up4 ,there being1 in most subjects1 a variety of good books1 the thorough student will not be satisfied in the long run without consulting several1 and perhaps making a study of them all2 yet1 it is unwise to distract the attention with more than one1 while the elements are to be learnt4 ,in ,geometry1 the pupil begins upon ,euclid1 or some other compendium1 and is not allowed to deviate from the single line of his author4 ,if he is once thoroughly at home on the main ideas and the leading propositions of ,geometry1 he is safe in dipping into other manuals1 in comparing the differences of treatment1 and in widening his knowledge by additional theorems1 and by various modes of demonstration4 ,in principle1 the maxim is generally allowed4 ,nevertheless1 it is often departed from in practice4 ,this happens in several ways4 ,,milton',s ,,plan ,,with ,,his ,,pupils4 ,,keeping ,,to ,a ,,single ,,line ,,of ,,thought4 ,one way is exemplified in ,milton's ,tractate1 already referred to4 ,his method of teaching any subject would appear to have been to take1 the received authors1 and to read them one after another1 probably according to date2 the reading pace1 and degree of concentration1 being apparently equal all through4 ,his six authors on ,rhetoric were--,plato 7select ,dialogues1 of course71 ,aristotle1 ,phalereus1 ,cicero1 ,hermogenes1 ,longinus4 ,to read their several treatises through in the order named1 with equal attention1 would undoubtedly leave in the mind a good many thoughts on ,rhetoric1 but in a somewhat chaotic state4 ,much better would it have been to have adopted a ,text-book-in-chief1 the choice lying between ,aristotle and ,ouintilian 7who comes in at a prior stage of the ,miltonic curriculum74 ,the book so chosen would be read1 and re-read2 or rather each chapter would be gone over several times1 with appropriate testing exercises and examinations4 ,the other works might then be overtaken and compared with the principal text-book2 the judgment of the pupil being so far matured1 as to see what in them was already superseded1 and what might be adopted as additions to his already acquired stock of ideas4 ,milton's views of education embraced the useful to a remarkable degree2 he was no pamperer of imagination and the ornamental4 ,his list of subjects might be said to be utility run wild3--comprising the chief parts of ,mathematics1 together with ,engineering1 ,navigation1 ,architecture1 and ,fortification2 ,natural ,philosophy2 ,natural ,history2 ,anatomy1 and ,practice of ,physic2 ,ethics1 ,politics1 ,economics1 ,jurisprudence1 ,theology2 a full course of the ,orators and ,poets2 ,logic1 ,rhetoric1 and ,poetics4 ,he tumbles out a whole library of reading3 but only in ,ethics1 does he indicate a leading or preferential work2 the half-dozen of classical books on the subject are to be perused1 under the determinate sentence of the scripture authorities4 ,with all this voracity for the useful1 ,milton had no conception of scientific form1 or method2 and indeed1 few of the subjects had as yet passed the stage of desultory treatment2 so that the idea of casting the knowledge into some one form1 under the guidance of a chosen author1 would never occur to him4 ,better things might have been expected of ,james ,mill1 in conducting the education of his son4 ,yet we find his plan to have been to require an even and exhaustive perusal of nearly every book on nearly every subject1 without singling out any one to impart the best known form in each case4 ,the disadvantage of the process would be that1 at first1 all the writers were regarded as profitable alike4 ,nevertheless1 in the special subjects that he knew himself1 he gave his own instructions as the leading text1 and his pupil's knowledge took form according to these4 ,in some cases1 accident gave a text-in-chief1 as when young ,mill at ten years of age1 studied ,thomson's ,chemistry1 without the distraction of any other work4 ,if there had been half-a-dozen ,chemical manuals in existence1 he would probably have read them all1 and fared much worse4 ,it happens1 however1 that1 in the more exact sciences1 there is a greater sameness in the leading ideas1 than in ,politics1 ,morals1 or the ,human ,mind2 and the evil of distraction is so much smaller4 ,undoubtedly1 the best of all ways of learning anything is to have a competent master to dole out a fixed quantity every day1 just sufficient to be taken in1 and no more2 the pupils to apply themselves to the matter so imparted1 and to do nothing else4 ,the singleness of aim is favourable to the greatest rapidity of acquirement2 and any defects are to be left out of account1 until one thread of ideas is firmly set in the mind4 ,not unfrequently1 however1 and not improperly1 the teacher has a text-book in aid of his oral instructions4 ,to make this a help1 and not a hindrance1 demands the greatest delicacy2 the sole consideration being that the pupil must be kept in one single line of thought1 and never be required to comprehend1 on the same point1 conflicting or varying statements4 ,even the foot-notes to a work may have to be disregarded1 in the first instance4 ,they may act like a second author1 and keep up an irritating friction4 ,there is1 doubtless1 a consummate power of annotation that anticipates difficulties1 and clears away haze1 without distracting the mind4 ,there is also an art of bringing out relief by an accompaniment1 like the two images of the stereoscope4 ,this is most likely to arise through a living teacher or commentator1 who1 by his tones and emphasis1 as well as by his very guarded and reserved additions1 can make the meaning of the author take shape and fulness4 ,as the chief text-book is chosen1 among other reasons1 for its method and system1 any defects on this head may be very suitably supplied1 during the reader's progress1 by notes or otherwise4 ,when the end is clearly kept in view1 we shall not go wrong as to the means3 the spirit will remedy an undue bias to the letter4 ,the subjects that depend for their full comprehension upon a certain method and order of details1 are numerous1 and include the most important branches of human culture4 ,the ,sciences1 in mass1 are avowedly of this character3 even such departments as ,theology1 ,ethics1 ,rhetoric1 and ,criticism have their definite form2 and1 until the mind of the student is fully impressed with this1 all the particulars are vague and chaotic1 and comparatively useless for practical application4 ,so1 any subject cast in a polemic form must be received and held in the connection thereby given to it4 ,if the arguments pro and con fall out of their places in the mind of the reader1 their force is missed or misconceived4 ,history is pre-eminently a subject for method1 and1 therefore1 involves some such plan as is here recommended4 ,every narrative read otherwise than for mere amusement1 as we read a novel1 should leave in the mind--7#a7 the ,chronological sequence 7more or less detailed72 and 7#b7 the ,causal sequence1 that is1 the influences at work in bringing about the events4 ,these are best gained by application to a single work in the first place2 other works being resorted to in due time4 ,of the non-methodical subjects1 forming an illustrative contrast1 mention may be made of purely didactic treatises1 where the precepts are each valuable for itself1 and by itself3 such as1 until very recently1 the works on ,agriculture1 and even on ,medicine4 ,a book of ,domestic ,receipts1 consulted by index1 is not a work for study4 ,poems and fictitious narrations will naturally be regarded as of the un-methodical class4 ,if there are exceptions1 they consist of long poems--,epics and ,dramas--whose plan is highly artistic1 and must be felt in order to the full effect4 ,probably1 however1 this is the merit that the generality of readers are content to miss1 especially if greater strain of attention is needed to discover it4 ,readers bent on enjoyment dwell on the passing page1 and are not inclined to carry with them what has gone before1 in order to understand what is to follow4 ,,repudiation ,,of ,,method ,,by ,,men ,,of ,,repute4 ,very intelligent and superior men have wholly repudiated the notion of study by method4 ,we must not lay too much stress upon these disclaimers1 seeing that they are usually cited from those in advanced years1 or men whose day of methodical education is passed4 ,when ,johnson said--,a man ought to read just as inclination leads him1 he was not thinking of beginners1 for whom he would probably have dictated a different course4 ,still1 it is a prevailing tendency of many minds1 to read all books equally1 provided the interest or enjoyment of them is equal4 ,macaulay1 ,sir ,william ,hamilton1 ,de ,quincey1 as well as ,johnson1 and a numerous host besides1 were book-gluttons1 books in breeches2 they imbibed information copiously1 and also retained it1 but as a matter of chance4 ,the enjoyment of their life was to read2 whereas1 to master thoroughly a considerable field of knowledge1 can never be all enjoyment4 ,gibbon was a book devourer1 but he had a plan2 he was organizing a vast work of composition4 ,macaulay1 also1 showed himself capable of realizing a scheme of composition2 both his ,history and his ,speeches have the stamp of method1 even to the pitch of being valuable as models4 ,hamilton and ,de ,quincey1 each in his way1 could form high ideals of work1 and in part execute them2 but their productiveness suffered from too much bookish intoxication4 ,while readers generally mix the motive of instruction with stimulation1 the class that seek instruction solely is but small2 the other extreme is frequent enough4 ,,difficulty ,,in ,,choosing ,a ,,first ,,text-,,book4 ,in many subjects1 the difficulties of fixing upon the proper ,text-book are not inconsiderable4 ,the mere reputation of a book may be great1 and well-founded2 and yet the merits may not be of the kind that fits it for the commencing student4 ,such conditions as the following must be taken into account4 ,the ,form or ,method should be of a high order3 this we shall have occasion to illustrate under the next head4 ,it should be abreast3 of the time1 on its own subject4 ,it should be moderately full1 without being necessarily exhaustive in detail4 ,it is on this point that the cheap primers of the present day are mainly defective4 ,they state general ideas1 and lay down outlines2 but they do not provide sufficiently expanded illustration to stamp these on the mind of the learner4 ,a shilling primer is really a more advanced book than one on a triple scale1 that should embrace the same compass of leading ideas4 ,as a farther condition1 the work chosen should not have so much of individuality as to fail in the character of representing the prevailing views4 ,the greatest authors often err on this point2 and1 while a work of genius is not to be neglected1 it may1 for this reason1 have to take the second place in the order of study4 ,newton's ,principia could never be a work suited for an early stage of mathematical study4 ,lyell's ,geology has been a landmark in the history of the subject2 but it is not cast in the form for a beginner in ,geology4 ,it is1 in its whole plan1 argumentative2 setting up and defending a special thesis in ,geology2 the facts being arrayed with that view4 ,many other great works have assumed a like form2 such are ,malthus on ,population1 ,grove's ,correlation of ,physical ,forces1 ,darwin's ,origin of ,species4 ,even expressly didactic works are often composed more to bring forward a peculiar view1 than from the desire to develop a subject in its due proportions4 ,locke's ,essay on the ,understanding does not propose to give a methodical and exhaustive handling of the ,powers of the ,mind1 or even of the ,intellect4 ,that was reserved for ,reid4 ,the question as between old writers and new1 would receive an easy solution upon such grounds as the foregoing1 were it not for the sentiment of veneration for the old1 because they are old4 ,if an ancient writer retains a place by virtue of surpassing merits1 as against all subsequent writers1 his case is quite clear4 ,in the nature of things1 this must be rare3 if there be an example1 it is ,euclid2 yet his position is held only through the mutual jealousy of his modern rivals4 ,the only motive for commencing a study upon a very old writer is a desire to work out a subject historically2 which1 in some instances may be allowed1 but not very often4 ,in ,politics1 ,ethics1 and ,rhetoric1 the plan might have its advantages2 but1 with this imperative condition1 that we shall follow out the development in the modern works4 ,in proportion as a subject assumes a scientific shape1 it must carefully define its terms1 marshal its propositions in proper dependence1 and offer strict proof of all matters of fact2 now1 in these respects1 every known branch of knowledge has improved with the lapse of ages2 so that the more recent works are necessarily the best for entering upon the study4 ,a historical sequence may be proper to be observed2 but that should be backward and not forward4 ,the earlier stages of some subjects are absolutely worthless2 as1 for example1 ,physics1 ,chemistry1 and most of ,biology1 in other subjects1 as ,politics and ,ethics1 the tentatives of such men as ,plato and ,aristotle have an undying value2 nevertheless1 the student should not begin1 but end1 with them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is an extreme form of putting our present doctrine that runs it into paradox3 namely1 the one-book-and-no-more maxim4 ,scarcely any book in existence is so all-sufficient for its purpose that a student is better occupied in re-reading it for the tenth time1 than in reading some others once4 ,even the merits of the one book are not fully known unless we compare it with others2 nor have we grasped any subject unless we are able to see it stated in various forms1 without being distracted or confused4 ,it is not a high knowledge of horsemanship that can be gained by the most thorough acquaintance with one horse4 ,,no ,,work ,,entirely ,,self-,,sufficient4 ,any truth that there is in the paradox of excluding all books but one from perusal1 belongs to it as a form of the maxim we have now been considering4 ,there is not in existence a work corresponding to the notion of absolute self-sufficiency4 ,suppose we were to go over the chef-d'oeuvres of human genius1 we should not find one in the position of entire independence of all others4 ,take1 for example1 the poems of ,homer2 the ,republic and a few other of ,plato's pre-eminent ,dialogues2 the great speeches of ,demosthenes2 the ,ethics and ,politics of ,aristotle2 the poems of ,dante2 ,shakespeare1 as a whole2 ,bacon's ,novum ,organum2 ,newton's ,principia2 ,locke on the ,understanding2 the ,mchanique ,cleste of ,laplace4 ,no one of all these could produce its effect on the mind without referring to other works1 previous1 contemporary1 or following4 ,the remark is not confined to works of elucidation and comment merely--as the contemporary history of ,greece1 or the speeches of ,demosthenes--but extends to other compositions1 of the very same tenor1 by different1 although inferior1 writers4 ,shakespeare himself is made much more profitable by a perusal of the other ,elizabethans1 and by a comparison with dramatic models before and after him4 ,the nearest approach to a perfectly all-sufficing book is seen in scientific compilations by a conjunction of highly accomplished editors4 ,a new edition of ,quain's ,anatomy1 revised and brought up to date by the best anatomists1 would1 for the moment1 probably be fully adequate to the wants of the student1 and dispense with all other references whatsoever4 ,not that even then1 it would be desirable to abstain from ever opening a different compendium2 although undoubtedly there would be the very minimum of necessity for doing so4 ,nevertheless1 literature presents few analogous instances4 ,one of the great works of an original genius1 like ,aristotle1 might1 by profuse annotation1 be made nearly sufficing2 but this is another way of reading by quotation a plurality of writers2 and it would be better still to peruse some of these in full1 there being no need for studying them with the degree of intensity bestowed on a main work4 ,,locke',s ,,treatment ,,of ,,the ,,bible4 ,the example1 by pre-eminence1 of one self-sufficing work is the ,bible4 ,being the sole and ultimate authority of ,christian doctrine1 it holds a position entirely apart2 and1 among ,protestants at least1 there is a becoming jealousy of allowing any extraneous writing to overbear its contents4 ,yet we are not to infer1 as many have done practically1 that no other work needs to be read in company with it4 ,granting that its genuine doctrines have been overlaid by subsequent accretions1 the way to get clear of these is not to neglect the entire body of fathers1 commentators1 and theologians1 and to give the whole attention to the scriptural text4 ,locke himself set an example of this attempt4 ,he proposed1 in his ,reasonableness of ,christianity1 to ascertain the exact meaning of the ,new ,testament1 by casting aside all the glosses of commentators and divines1 and applying his own unassisted judgment to spell out its teachings4 ,he did not disdain to use the lights of extraneous history1 and the traditions of the heathen world2 he only refused to be bound by any of the artificial creeds and systems devised in later ages to embody the doctrines supposed to be found in the ,bible4 ,the fallacy of his position obviously was1 that he could not strip himself of his education and acquired notions1 the result of the teaching of the orthodox church4 ,he seemed unconscious of the necessity of trying to make allowance for his unavoidable prepossessions4 ,in consequence1 he simply fell into an old groove of received doctrines2 and these he handled under the set purpose of simplifying the fundamentals of ,christianity to the utmost4 ,such purpose was not the result of his ,bible study1 but of his wish to overcome the political difficulties of the time4 ,he found1 by keeping close to the ,gospels and by making proper selections from the ,epistles1 that the belief in ,christ as the ,messiah could be shown to be the central fact of the ,christian faith2 that the other main doctrines followed out of this by a process of reasoning2 and that1 as all minds might not perform the process alike1 these doctrines could not be essential to the acceptance of ,christianity4 ,he got out of the difficulty of framing a creed1 as many others have done1 by simply using ,scripture language1 without subjecting it to any very strict definition2 certainly without the operation of stripping the meaning of its words1 to see what it amounted to4 ,that his short and easy method was not very successful1 the history of the ,deistical controversy sufficiently proves4 ,the end in view would1 in our time1 be sought by an opposite course4 ,instead of disregarding commentators1 and the successions of creed embodiments1 a scholar of the present day would ascend through these to the original1 and find out its meaning1 after making allowance for all the tendencies that operated to give a bias to that meaning4 ,as to putting us in the position of listening to the ,bible authors at first hand1 we should trust more to the erudition of a ,pusey or an ,ewald1 than to the unassisted judgment of a ,locke4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii4 ,what constitutes the study of a book8 ,mere perusal at the average reading pace is not the way to imbibe the contents of any work of importance1 especially if the subject is new and difficult4 ,there are various methods in use among authoritative guides4 ,to revert to the ,demosthenic traditions3 we find two modes indicated--namely1 repeated copying1 and committing to memory verbatim4 ,a third is1 making abstracts in writing4 ,a fourth may be designated the ,lockian method4 ,let us consider the respective merits of the four4 ,,study ,,by ,,literal ,,copying4 #a4 ,of copying a book literally through1 there is this to be said1 that it engages the attention upon every word1 until the act of writing serves to impress the memory4 ,but there are very important qualifications to be assigned in judging of the worth of the exercise4 ,observe what is the main design of the copyist4 ,it is to produce a replica of an original upon paper4 ,he cannot do this without a certain amount of attention to the original2 enough at least to enable him to put down the exact words in the copy2 and1 by such attention1 he is so far impressed with the matter1 that a certain portion may remain in the memory4 ,if1 however1 instead of the paper1 he could write directly on the brain1 he would be aiming straight at his object4 ,now1 experience shows that the making of a copy of any document is compatible with a very small amount of attention to the purport4 ,the extreme case is the copying clerk4 ,he can literally reproduce an original1 with entire forgetfulness of what it is about4 ,if his eye takes a faithful note of the sequence of words1 he may entirely neglect the meaning4 ,in point of fact1 he constantly does so4 ,he remembers nobody's secrets2 and he cannot be counted on to check blunders that make nonsense of his text4 ,probably no one could go on copying for eight hours a day unless the strain of attention to the originals were at a minimum4 ,i conceive1 therefore1 that copying habits arising from a certain amount of experience at the vocation1 would be utterly fatal to the employment of the exercise as a means of study4 ,it may be valuable to such as have seldom used their pen except in original composition4 ,very probably1 in school lessons1 to write an exercise two or three times may be a help to the usual routine of saying off the book4 ,i have heard experienced teachers testify to the good effects of the practice4 ,yet very little would turn the attention the wrong way4 ,even the requirement of neatness on the part of the master1 or the pupil's own liking for it1 would abate the desired impression4 ,the multiplied copying set as punishment might stamp a thing on the memory through disgust2 it might also engender the mechanical routine of the copyist4 ,in short1 to sit down and copy a long work is about the last thing that ,i should dream of1 as a means of study4 ,to copy ,thucydides eight times1 as the tradition respecting ,demosthenes goes1 would be about the same as copying ,gibbon three times3 and who would undertake that8 ,,committing ,,to ,,memory ,,word ,,for ,,word4 #b4 ,committing to memory verbatim1 or nearly so4 ,this too belongs to the same tradition regarding ,demosthenes1 and is probably as inaccurate as the other4 ,certainly the eight copyings would not suffice for having the whole by heart4 ,excepting a professional rhapsodist1 or some one gifted with extraordinary powers of memory that would hardly be compatible with a great understanding1 nobody would think of committing ,thucydides to memory4 ,that ,demosthenes should be a perfect master both of the narrated facts1 and of the sagacious theorisings of ,thucydides in those facts1 we may take for granted4 ,and1 farther1 the orations delivered by opposing speakers in the great critical debates1 might very well have been committed verbatim by a young orator2 many of them are masterpieces of oratory in every point of view4 ,but the reason for getting them by heart does not apply to the general narrative4 ,even to imbibe the best qualities of the style of ,thucydides would not require whole pages to be learnt verbatim2 a much better way would readily occur to any intelligent man4 ,in fact1 there is no case where it is profitable to load the memory with a whole book1 or with large portions of a book4 ,there are many small portions of every leading work that might be committed with advantage4 ,principal propositions ought to be retained to the letter4 ,passages1 here and there1 remarkable for compact force1 for argumentative power1 or elegant diction1 might be read and re-read till they clung to the memory2 but this should be the consummation of a thorough and critical estimate of their merits4 ,to commit to memory without thinking of the meaning is a senseless act2 and could not be ascribed to ,demosthenes4 ,at the stage when the young student is forming a style1 he is assisted by laying up memoriter a number of passages of great authors2 but it is never necessary to go beyond select paragraphs4 ,detached sentences are valuable1 and strain the memory least4 ,entire paragraphs have a farther value in impressing good paragraph connection2 but1 to string a number of paragraphs together1 or to learn whole chapters by memory1 has nothing to recommend it in the way of mental culture4 ,there is a memory in extension that holds a long string of words and ideas together4 ,its value is to get readily at anything occurring in a certain train1 as in a given book4 ,it is the memory of easy reference4 ,there is also a memory of intension1 that takes a strong grasp of brief expressions and thoughts1 and brings them out for use1 on the slightest relevancy4 ,the two modes interfere with each other's development2 we cannot be great in both2 while1 for original force1 the second is worth the most3 it extracts and resets gems to tesselate our future structures2 it constitutes depth as against fluency4 ,to commit poetical passages to memory is a valuable contribution to our stock of material for emotional resuscitation in after years4 ,it also aids in adorning our style1 even although we may not aspire to compose in poetry4 ,but the burden of holding the connection of a long poem should be eschewed4 ,children can readily learn a short psalm or hymn1 and can retain it in permanence2 but to repeat the #aaith psalm from the beginning is the mere tour-de-force of a strong natural memory1 and a waste of power2 just as much as committing an entire book of the ,aeneid or of ,paradise ,lost4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,making ,,abstracts4 #c4 ,making ,abstracts4--,this is the plan of studying that most advances our intelligent comprehension of any work of difficulty1 and also impresses it on the memory in the best form4 ,but there are many ways of doing it2 and beginners1 from the very fact that they are beginners1 are not competent to choose the best4 ,if a book has an obvious and methodical plan in itself1 the reader can follow that plan1 taking down the leading positions1 selecting some of the chief examples or illustrations1 giving short headings of chapters and paragraphs1 and thus making a synopsis1 or full table of contents4 ,all this is useful4 ,the memory is much better impressed through the exertion of picking1 choosing1 and condensing1 than by copying verbatim2 and the plan or evolution of the whole is more fully comprehended4 ,but1 if a work does not easily lend itself to a methodical abstract1 the task of the beginner is much harder4 ,to abstract the treatises of ,aristotle was fitting employment for ,hobbes4 ,the ,wealth of ,nations is not easy to abstract2 but1 at the present day1 it would not be chosen as the ,text-book-in-chief for ,political ,economy3 as a third or fourth work to be perused at a reading pace1 it would have its proper effect4 ,the best studious exercise upon it would be to mark the agreements and disagreements with the newer authority1 the weak and strong points of the exposition1 and the perennial force of a certain number of the propositions and examples4 ,many parts could be skipped entirely as not even repaying historical study4 ,yet1 as the work of a great and original mind1 its interest is perennial4 ,to go back once more to the example of ,thucydides4 ,setting aside1 from intrinsic improbability1 both the traditions--the copyings1 and the committal to memory verbatim1--we can easily see what ,demosthenes could find in the work1 and how he could make the most of it4 ,the narrative or story could be indelibly fixed in his memory by a few perusals1 and1 if need be1 by a full chronology drawn up by his own hand4 ,the speeches could be committed in whole or in part1 for their arguments and language2 and a minute study could be made of the turns of expression1 as they seemed to be either meritorious or defective4 ,the young orator had already studied the more finished styles of ,isocrates1 ,lysias1 ,isanis1 and ,plato1 and could make comparisons between their forms and the peculiarities of ,thucydides1 which belonged to an earlier age4 ,this1 however1 was a discipline altogether apart1 and had nothing to do with copying1 committing1 or abstracting4 ,it involved one exercise more or less allied to the last1 namely1 making changes upon an author1 according to ones best ideal at the time3 changes1 if possible1 for the better1 but perhaps not2 still requiring1 however1 an effort of mind1 and so far favourable to culture4 ,,various ,,modes ,,of ,,abstracting4 ,every one's first attempts at abstracting must be very bad4 ,there is no more opportune occasion for the assistance of a tutor or intelligent monitor1 than to revise an abstract4 ,the weaknesses of a beginner are apparent at a glance2 even better than by a viva voce interrogation4 ,useful abstracting comes at a late stage of study1 when one or two subjects have been pretty well mastered4 ,it is then that the pupil can best overtake more advanced works on the subjects already commenced1 or can enter upon an entirely new department1 in the light of previous acquisitions4 ,any work that deserves thorough study deserves the labour of making an abstract2 without which1 indeed1 the study is not thorough4 ,it is quite possible to read so as to comprehend the drift of a book1 and yet forget it entirely4 ,the point for us to consider is--,are we likely to want any portion of it afterwards8 ,if we can fix upon the parts most likely to be useful1 we either copy or abstract these1 or preserve a reference so as to turn them up when wanted4 ,in the case of a work1 containing a mass of new and valuable materials1 such as we wish to incorporate with our intellectual structure1 we must act the part of the beginner in a new field1 and make an abstract on the most approved plan3 that is1 by such changes as shall at once preserve the author's ideas1 and intersperse them with our own4 ,there is an ideal balance of two opposing tendencies3 one to take down the writer too literally1 which fails to impress the meaning2 the other to accommodate him too much to our own language and thinking1 in which case1 we shall remember more1 but it will be remembering ourselves and not him4 ,he that can hit the just mean between these extremes is the perfect student4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there are easier modes of abstracting1 such as serve many useful purposes1 although not sufficient for the mastery of a leading ,text-book1 or even of a second or third in a new subject4 ,we may pencil on the margin1 or underscore1 all the leading propositions1 and the typical examples4 ,in a well-composed scientific manual1 the proceeding is too obvious to be impressive4 ,very often1 however1 the main points are not given in the most methodical way1 but have to be searched out by carefully scanning each paragraph4 ,this is an exercise that both instructs and impresses us2 it is the kind of change that calls our faculties into play1 and gives us a better hold of an author1 without superseding him4 ,a ,table of ,contents carefully examined is favourable to a comprehensive view of the whole2 and1 this attained1 the details are remembered in the best possible way1 that is1 by taking their place in the scheme4 ,any other form of recollection is of the desultory kind4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,locke',s ,,recommendations4 #d4 ,let us next glance at ,locke's method of reading1 which is unique and original1 like the man himself4 ,it is given with much iteration in his ,conduct of the ,understanding1 but comes in substance to this3-- ,we are to fix in the mind the author's ideas1 stripped of his words2 to distinguish between such ideas as are pertinent to the subject1 and such as are not2 to keep the precise question steadily before our minds2 to appreciate the bearing of the arguments2 and1 finally1 to see what the question bottoms upon1 or what are the fundamental verities or assumptions underneath4 ,all this is very thorough in its way2 but1 in the first place1 it applies chiefly to argumentative works1 and1 in the second place1 it is entirely beyond the powers of ordinary students4 ,such an examination of an author as ,locke contemplates is not seen many times in a generation4 ,his own controversies give but indifferent examples of it2 several of ,bentham's works and a few of ,john ,mill's polemical articles also give an idea of thorough handling2 but it is not so properly a studious effort1 as the consummated product of a highly logical discipline1 and is within the reach of only a small elect number4 ,locke would have been more intelligible1 if1 instead of telling us to strip an author's meaning of the words1 he had impressed strongly the necessity of defining all leading terms2 and of making sure that each was always used in the same meaning4 ,while1 in order to veracious conclusions1 it is necessary that every matter of fact should be truly given1 it is equally necessary that the language should be free from ambiguity4 ,if an author uses the word law1 at one time as an enactment3 by some authority1 and at another time1 as a sequence in the order of nature1 he is sure to land us in fallacy and confusion1 as ,butler did in explaining the ,divine government4 ,the remedy is1 not to perform the operation of separating the meaning entirely from the language1 but to vary the language1 so as to substitute terms that have no ambiguity4 ,law is equivocal2 social enactment1 and order of nature1 are both unequivocal2 and when one is chosen1 and adhered to1 the confusion is at an end4 ,the mere art of study is no preparation for such a task4 ,it demands a very advanced condition of knowledge on the particular subject1 as well as a logical habit of mind1 however acquired2 and to include it in a practical essay on the ,conduct of the ,understanding is to overstep the limits of the subject4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as our present head represents the very pith and marrow of the art of study1 we may dwell a little longer on the process of changing the form of an author1 whether by condensing1 expanding1 varying the expression1 altering the order1 selecting1 and rejecting1--or by any other known device4 ,worst of all is change for the mere sake of change2 it is simply better than literal copying4 ,but1 to rise above it1 needs a sense of ,,form already attained4 ,according as this sense is developed1 the exercise of altering or amending is more and more profitable4 ,consequently1 there should be an express application of the mind to the attainment of form2 and particular works pre-eminent for that quality should be sought out and read4 ,form is doubtless a wide word1 and comprises both the logical or pervading method of a work1 and the expression or dress throughout4 ,method by itself can be soonest acquired because it turns on a small number of points2 language is a multifarious acquirement1 and can hardly be forced1 although it will come eventually by due application4 ,,example ,,from ,,practice ,,of ,,medicine4 ,to show what is meant by learning ,form1 with a view to the more effectual study of subject-matter1 ,i will take the example of a work on the ,practice of ,medicine2 in which the idea is to describe ,diseases seriatim1 with their treatment or cures4 ,at the present day1 this subject possesses method or form3 there is a systematic classification of diseased processes and diseases2 also1 a regular plan of setting forth the specific marks of each disease1 its diagnosis1 and1 finally1 its remedies4 ,there are more and less perfect models of the methodical element2 while there are differences among authors in the fulness of the detailed information4 ,there is1 besides1 a ,logic of ,medicine1 representing the absolute form1 in a kind of logical synopsis1 by which it is more easily comprehended in the first instance3 not to mention the general body of the ,logic of the ,inductive ,sciences1 of which medicine is one4 ,now1 undoubtedly1 the best work to begin with--the ,text-book-in-chief--would be one where ,form is in its highest perfection2 the amount of matter being of less consequence4 ,in a subject of great complication1 and vast detail1 the student cannot too soon get possession of the best method or form of arrangement4 ,when a work of this character is before him1 he is to read and re-read it1 till the form becomes strongly apparent2 he is to compare one part with another1 to see how the author adheres to his own pervading method2 he should1 if possible1 make a synopsis of the plan in itself1 disentangling it from the applications1 for greater clearness4 ,the scheme of a medical work1 for example1 comprises the ,classification of ,diseases1 the parting off of ,diseased ,processes---,fever1 ,inflammation1 c4--from ,diseases properly so called2 the modes of defining ,disease2 the separation of defining marks1 from predications1 and so on3 all involved in a strict ,logic of ,disease4 ,armed with these logical or methodical preliminaries1 the student next attacks one of the extended treatises on the ,practice of ,medicine4 ,he is now prepared to work the process of abstracting to the utmost advantage1 both for clearness of understanding1 and for impressing the memory4 ,as in such a vast subject1 no one author is deemed adequate to a full exposition1 and as1 moreover1 a great portion of the information occurs1 apart from systems1 in detached memoirs or monographs1--the only mode of unifying and holding together the aggregate1 is to reduce all the statements to a common form and order1 by help of the pre-acquired plan4 ,the progress of study may amend the plan1 as well as add to the particular information2 but absolute perfection in the scheme is not so essential as strict adherence to it through all the details4 ,to work without a plan at all1 is not merely to tax the memory beyond its powers1 but probably also to misconceive and jumble the facts4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to enhance the illustration of the two main heads of the ,art of ,study1 ,i will so far deviate from the idea of the essay1 as to take up a special branch of education1 which1 more than any other1 has been reduced to form and rule1 ,i mean the great accomplishment of ,oratory1 or the ,art of ,persuasion4 ,the practical ,science of ,rhetoric1 cultivated both by ancients and by moderns1 has especially occupied itself with directions for acquiring this great engine of influencing mankind4 ,it was emphatically averred by the ancient teachers of the ,oratorical art1 that it must be grounded on a wide basis of general information4 ,i do not here discuss the exact scope of this preparatory study1 as my purpose is to narrow the illustration to what is special to the faculty of persuasion4 ,i must even omit all those points relating to delivery or elocution1 on which so much depends2 and also the consideration of how to attain readiness or fluency in spoken address1 except in so far as that follows from abundant oratorical resources4 ,we thus sink the difference between spoken oratory1 and persuasion through the press4 ,even as thus limited1 oratory is still too wide for a pointed illustration3 and1 so1 ,i propose farther to confine my references to the department of ,political ,oratory2 coupling with that1 however1 the ,forensic branch--which has much in common with the other1 and has given birth to some of our most splendid examples of the art of persuasion4 ,while declining to enter on the wide field of the general education of the orator1 ,i may not improperly advert to the more immediate preparation for the political orator1 by a familiar acquaintance with ,history and ,political ,philosophy1 howsoever obtained4 ,then1 on the other hand1 the course here to be chalked out assumes a considerable proficiency in language or expression4 ,the special education will incidentally improve both these accomplishments1 but must not be relied on for creating them1 or for causing a marked advance in either4 ,the effect to be looked for is rather to give them direction for the special end4 ,,example ,,from ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,oratory4 ,these things premised1 the line of proceeding manifestly is to study the choicest examples of the oratorical art1 according to the methods already laid down1 with due adaptation to the peculiarities of the case4 ,now1 we have not1 as in a ,science1 two or three systematic works1 one of which is to be chosen as a chief1 to be followed by a reference more or less to the others4 ,our material is a long series of detached orations2 from these we must make a selection at starting1 and such selection1 which may comprise ten or twenty or more1 will have to be treated with the intense single-minded devotion that we hitherto limited to a single work4 ,repeated perusal1 with a process of abstracting to be described presently1 must be bestowed upon the chosen examples1 before embarking1 as will be necessary1 upon the wide field of miscellaneous oratory4 ,no doubt1 an oratorical education could be grounded in a general and equal study of the orators at large1 taking the ancients either first or last1 according to fancy4 ,probably the greater number of students have fallen into this apparently obvious course4 ,our present contention is1 that it is better to make a thorough study of a proper selection of the greatest speeches1 together with the most persuasive unspoken compositions4 ,this1 however1 is not all4 ,we are following the wisdom of the ancients1 in insisting on the farther expedient of proceeding to the study of the great examples by the aid of an oratorical scheme4 ,at a very early stage of ,oratory in ,greece1 its methods began to be studied1 and1 in the education of the orator1 these methods were made to accompany the study of exemplary speeches4 ,the principles of ,rhetoric at large1 and of the ,persuasive art in particular1 have been elaborated by successive stages1 and are now in a tolerable state of advancement4 ,the learner will choose the scheme that is judged best1 and will endeavour to master it provisionally1 before entering on the oratorical models2 holding it open to amendment from time to time1 as his education goes on4 ,the scheme and the examples mutually act and re-act3 the better the scheme1 the more rapidly will the examples fructify2 and the scheme will1 in its turn1 profit by the mastery of the details4 ,,necessity ,,of ,,an ,,oratorical ,,analysis4 ,one great use of an oratorical analysis1 as supplied by the teachers of ,rhetoric1 is to part off the different merits of a perfect oration2 and to show which are to be extracted from the various exemplary orators4 ,one man excels in forcible arguments1 another in the lucid array of facts2 one is impressive and impassioned1 another is quiet but circumspect4 ,now1 the benefit of studying on principle1 instead of working at random1 is1 that we concentrate attention on each one's strong points1 and disregard the rest4 ,but it needs a preparatory analysis1 in order to make the discrimination4 ,all that the uninstructed reader or hearer of a great oration knows is1 that the oration is great3 this may be enough for the persons to be moved2 it is insufficient for an oratorical disciple4 ,in the hazardous task of pursuing the illustration by naming the examples of oratory most suitable to commence with1 ,i shall pass over living men1 and choose from the past orators of our own country4 ,without discussing minutely the respective merits of individuals1 ,i am safe in selecting1 as in every way suitable for our purpose1 ,burke1 ,fox1 ,erskine1 ,canning1 ,brougham1 and ,macaulay4 ,burke's ,speeches on ,america2 ,fox on the ,westminster ,scrutiny2 ,erskine on ,stockdale1 and on ,hardy1 ,tooke1 c42 ,canning on the ,slave ,trade2 ,brougham1 ,lyndhurst1 and ,denman in the ,queen's ,trial2 ,macaulay on the ,reform ,bill1--would comprise1 in a moderate compass1 a considerable range of oratorical excellence4 ,i doubt if any member of the list would be more suitable for a beginning than ,macaulay's ,reform ,speeches4 ,these are no mere displays of a brilliant imagination3 they are known to have influenced thousands of minds otherwise averse to political change4 ,the reader finds in them an immense repository of historical facts as well as of doctrines2 but facts and doctrines1 by themselves1 do not make oratory4 ,it is the use made of these1 that gives us the instruction we are now in quest of4 ,in a first or second reading1 however1 matter and form equally captivate the mind4 ,it would be impossible1 at that early stage1 to make an abstract such as would separate the oratorical from the non-oratorical merits4 ,only when1 by help of our scheme1 we have made a critical distinction between the two kinds of excellence1 are we able to arrive at an approach to a pure oratorical lesson2 and1 for a long time1 we shall fail to make the desired isolation4 ,we have to learn not to expect too much from any one speech3 to pass over in ,macaulay1 what is more conspicuously shown1 say in ,fox1 or in ,erskine4 ,if our political and historical education has made some progress1 the mere thoughts and facts do not detain us2 their employment for the end of persuasion is what we have to take account of4 ,,comprehensive ,,principle ,,of ,,oratory4 ,it is impossible here to indicate1 except in a very general way1 the successive steps of the operation4 ,the one summary consideration in the ,rhetoric of ,oratory1 from which flows the entire array of details1 is the regard to the dispositions and state of mind of the audience2 the presenting of topics and considerations that chime in with these dispositions1 and the avoiding of everything that would conflict with them4 ,to grasp this comprehensive view1 and to follow it out in some of the chief circumstantials of persuasive address--the leading forms of argument1 and the appeals to the more prominent feelings1--would soon provide a touchstone to a great oration1 and lead us to distinguish the materials of oratory from the use made of them4 ,take the circumstance of negative tact2 by which is meant the careful avoidance of whatever might grate on the minds of those addressed4 ,forensic oratory in general1 and the oratory of ,parliamentary leaders in particular1 will show this in perfection2 and1 for a first study of it1 there is probably nothing to surpass the ,erskine ,speeches above cited4 ,it could1 however1 be found in ,macaulay2 although in a different proportion to the other merits4 ,the ,macaulay ,speeches have the abundance of matter1 and the powers of style1 that minister to oratory1 although not constituting its distinctive feature4 ,in these speeches1 we may note how he guages the minds of the men of rank and property1 in and out of ,parliament1 who constituted the opposition to ,reform2 how tenderly he deals with their prejudices and class interests2 how he shapes and adduces his arguments so as to gain those very feelings to the side he advocates2 how he brings his accumulated store of historical illustrations to his aid1 under the guidance of both the positive and the negative tact of the orator2 saying everything to gain1 and nothing to alienate the dispositions that he has carefully measured4 ,after ,erskine and ,macaulay have yielded their first contribution to the oratorical student1 he could turn with profit to ,burke1 who has the materials of oratory in the same high order as ,macaulay1 but who in the employment of them so often miscarries--sometimes partially1 at other times wholly4 ,it then becomes an exercise to distinguish his successes from his failures2 to resolve these into their elementary merits and defects1 according to the oratorical scheme4 ,the close study of one or two orations is still the preferable course2 and the most profitable transition from the ,burke sample is to the selected speech or speeches of some other orator as ,canning or ,brougham4 ,all the time1 the pupil must be enlarging and improving his analytic scheme1 which is the means of keeping his mind to the point in hand1 amid the distraction of the orator's gorgeous material4 ,the subsequent stages of oratorical study are much plainer than the commencement4 ,a time comes when the pupil will roam freely over the great field of oratory1 modern and ancient1 knowing more and more exactly what to appropriate and what to neglect4 ,he will be quite aware of the necessity of rivalling the great masters in resources of knowledge on the one hand1 and of style on the other2 but he will look for these elsewhere1 as well as in the professed orators4 ,,examples ,,of ,,persuasive ,,art4 ,moreover1 as the persuasive art is exemplified in men that have never been public speakers1 the oratorical pupil will make a selection from the most influential of this class4 ,he will find1 for example1 in the argumentative treatises of ,johnson1 in the ,letters of ,junius1 in the writings of ,godwin1 in ,sydney ,smith1 in ,bentham1 in ,cobbett1 in ,robert ,hall1 in ,fonblanque1 in ,j4,s4 ,mill1 in ,whately1 and a host besides1 the exemplification of oratorical merits1 together with materials that are of value4 ,it is understood1 however1 that the search for materials and the acquisition of oratorical form1 are not made to advantage on the same lines1 and1 for this and other reasons1 should not go together4 ,the extreme test of the principle of concentration as against equal application1 is the acquirement of ,style1 or the extending of our resources of diction and expression in all its particulars4 ,being a matter of endless minute details1 we may feel ourselves at a loss to compass it by the intensive study of a narrow and select example4 ,still1 with due allowance for the speciality of the case1 the principle will still be found applicable4 ,we should1 however1 carry along with us1 the maxim exemplified under oratory1 of separating in our study1 as far as may be1 the style from the matter4 ,we begin by choosing a treatise of some great master4 ,we may then operate either 7#a7 by simple reading and re-reading1 or 7#b7 by committing portions to memory verbatim1 or 7#c71 best of all1 by making some changes according to an already acquired ideal of good composition4 ,this too shows the great importance of attaining as early as possible some regulating principles of goodness of style3 the action and reaction of these1 on the most exemplary authors1 constitute our progress in the art1 and1 in the quickest way1 store the memory with the resources of good expression4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,economics ,,of ,,book ,,reading4 ,,iii4 ,the head just now finished includes really by far the greatest portion of the economy of study4 ,there are various other devices of importance in their way1 but much less liable to error in practice4 ,of these1 a leading place may be assigned to the best modes of ,distributing the ,attention in reading4 ,such questions as the following present themselves for consideration to the earnest student4 ,how many distinct studies can be carried on together8 ,what interval should be allowed in passing from one to another8 ,how much time should be given to the art of reading1 and how much to subsequent meditating or ruminating on what has been read8 ,these points are all susceptible of being determined1 within moderate limits of error4 ,as to the first1 the remark was made by ,quintilian1 that1 in youth1 we can most easily pass from one study to another4 ,the reason of this1 however1 is1 that youth does not take very seriously to any study4 ,when a special study becomes engrossing1 the alternatives must rather be recreative than acquisitive2 not much progress being made in what is slighted1 or left over to the exhaustion caused by attention to the favourite topic4 ,a more precise answer can be made to the second and third queries1 namely1 as to an interval for recall and meditation1 after putting down a book1 and before turning the attention into other channels4 ,there is a very clear principle of economy here4 ,we should save as far as possible the fatigue of the reading process1 or make a given amount of attention to the printed page yield the greatest impression on the memory4 ,this is done by the exercise of recalling without the book2 an advantage that we do not possess in listening to a lecture1 until the whole is finished1 when we have too much to recall4 ,to hurry from book to book is to gain stimulation at the cost of acquisition4 ,i have alluded to the case of an engrossing subject1 which starves all accompanying studies4 ,there are but two ways of obviating the evil1 if it be an evil2 which it indeed becomes1 when the alternative demands also are legitimate4 ,the one is peremptorily to limit the time given to it daily1 so as to rescue some portion of the strength for other topics4 ,the other is to intermit it wholly for a certain period1 and let other subjects have their swing4 ,in advancing life1 and when our studious leisure is only what is left from professional occupation1 two different studies can hardly go on together4 ,the alternative of a single study needs to be purely recreative4 ,one other point may be noted under this head4 ,in the application to a book of importance and difficulty1 there are two ways of going to work3 to move on slowly1 and master as we go2 or to move on quickly to the end1 and begin again4 ,there is most to be said for the first method1 although distinguished men have worked upon the other4 ,the freshness of the matter is taken off by a single reading2 the re-reading is so much flatter in point of interest4 ,moreover1 there is a great satisfaction in making our footing sure at each step1 as well as in finishing the task when the first perusal is completed4 ,we cannot well dispense with re-reading1 but it need not extend to the whole2 marked passages should show where the comprehension and mastery are still lagging4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,desultory ,,reading4 ,,iv4 ,another topic is ,desultory ,reading4 ,this is the whole of the reading of the unstudious mass2 it is but a part of the reading of the true student4 ,it may mean1 for one thing1 jumping from book to book1 perhaps reading no one through1 except for pure amusement4 ,it may also include the reading of periodicals1 where no one subject is treated at any length4 ,as a general rule1 such reading does not give us new foundations1 or constitute the point of departure of a fresh department of knowledge2 yet the amount of labour and thought bestowed upon articles in periodicals1 may render them efficacious in adding to a previous stock of materials1 or in correcting imperfect views4 ,the truth is1 that to the studious man1 the desultory is not desultory4 ,the only difference with him is that he has two attitudes that he may assume--the severe and the easy-going2 the one is most associated with systematic works on leading subjects2 the other with short essays1 periodicals1 newspapers1 and conversation4 ,in this last attitude1 which is reserved for hours of relaxation1 he skips matters of difficulty1 and absorbs scattered and interesting particulars without expressly aiming at the solution of problems or the discussion of abstract principles4 ,there is no reason why an essay in a periodical1 a pamphlet1 or a speech in ,parliament1 may not take a first place in anyone's education4 ,all the labour and resource that go to form a work of magnitude may be concentrated in any one of these4 ,still1 they are presented in the form that we are accustomed to associate with our desultory work1 and our times of relaxation2 and so1 they seldom produce in the minds of readers the effect that they are capable of producing4 ,the thorough student will not fail to extract materials from one and all of them1 but even he will scarcely choose from such sources the text for the commencement of a new study4 ,the desultory is not a bad way of increasing our resources of expression4 ,although there be a systematic and a best mode of acquiring language1 there is also an inferior1 yet not ineffective mode2 namely1 reading copiously whatever authors have at once a good style and a sustaining interest4 ,hence1 for this purpose1 shifting from book to book1 taking up short and light compositions1 may be of considerable value2 anything is better than not reading at all1 or than reading compositions inferior in point of style4 ,the desultory man will not be without a certain flow of language as well as a command of ideas2 notwithstanding which1 he will never be confounded with the studious man4 99 99 99 99 99 ,v4 ,a fifth point is the proportion of book-reading to ,observation of the facts at first hand4 ,from want of opportunity1 or from disinclination1 many persons have all their information on certain subjects cast in the bookish mould1 and do not fully conceive the particular facts as these strike the mind in their own character4 ,a reader of ,history1 with no experience of affairs1 is likely to have imperfect bookish notions2 just as a man of affairs1 not a reader1 is subject to narrowness of another kind4 ,it was remarked by ,sir ,g4 ,cornewall ,lewis1 that the ,german historians of the ,athenian ,democracy write like men that never had any actual experience of popular assemblies4 ,a lawyer must be equally versed in principles and in cases as heard in court3 this is a type of knowledge generally4 ,in the ,natural ,history ,sciences1 observation and reading go hand in hand from the first4 ,in the science of the ,human ,mind1 there are general doctrines1 contrived to embrace the world of mental phenomena3 the student may have to begin with these1 and work upon them exclusively for a time1 but in the end1 phenomena must be independently viewed by him in their naked character1 as exhibited directly in his own mind1 and inferentially in the minds of those that fall under his observation4 ,book knowledge of ,disease has to be coupled with bed-side knowledge2 neither will take the place of the other4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vi4 ,i began by limiting the meaning of study to the reading of books1 and have reviewed the various points in the economy of this process4 ,the other means of attaining1 enlarging1 deepening our knowledge1 namely1 ,observation of facts1 ,conversation1 ,disputation1 ,composition1 have each an art of its own--especially ,disputation1 which has long been reduced to rule4 ,observation also admits of specific directions1 but1 in stating the necessity of combining observation with book theories and descriptions1 ,i have assumed the knowledge of how to observe4 ,,aids ,,of ,,conversation ,,and ,,composition4 ,of all the adjuncts of study1 none is so familiar1 so available1 and1 on the whole1 so helpful1 as ,conversation4 ,the authors of ,guides to ,students1 as ,isaac ,watts1 give elaborate rules for carrying on conversation1 a good many of them being more moral than intellectual2 but an art of conversation would be very difficult to formulate2 it would take quite as long an essay as ,i have devoted to study1 and even then would not follow half of the windings of the subject4 ,the only notice of it that my plan requires1 is such as ,i have already bestowed upon ,observation3 namely1 to point out the advantage of combining a certain amount of reading with1 conversation2 a thing that almost everybody does according to their opportunities4 ,to rehearse what we have read to some willing and sympathizing listener1 is the best way of impressing the memory and of clearing up difficulties to the understanding4 ,it brings in the social stimulus1 which ranks so high among human motives4 ,it is a wholesome change of attitude2 relieving the fatigue of book-study1 while adding to its fruitfulness4 ,even beginners in study are mutually helpful1 by exchanging the results of their several book acquirements2 while it is possible to raise conversation to the rank of a high art1 both for intellectual improvement and for mutual delectation4 ,i cannot say that the ideal is often realized2 since two or more must combine to conversation1 and it is not often that the mutual action and re-action is perfectly adjusted for the highest effect4 ,the last great adjunct of study is original ,composition1 which also would need to be formulated distinct from the theory of book-study4 ,viewed in the same way as we have viewed the other collateral exercises1 one can pronounce it too an invaluable adjunct to book-reading1 as well as an end in itself2 it is a variation of effort that diverts the mental strain1 and re-acts powerfully upon the extraction of nutriment from books4 ,besides the pride of achievement1 it evokes the social stimulus with the highest effect2 our compositions being usually intended for some listeners4 ,but1 when to begin the work of original composition1 as distinct from the written exercises upon books1 in the way of abstracting1 amending1 and the rest2 what forms it should assume at the outset1 and by what steps it should gradually ascend to the culminating effects of the art1--would all admit of expansion and discussion as an altogether separate theme4 ,enough to remark here1 that a course of book-reading without attempts at original composition is as faulty an extreme1 as to begin and carry on writing upon a stinted basis of reading4 ,the thorough student1 as concerned in my present essay1 carrying on book-study in the manner ,i have sketched1 will almost infallibly end1 at the proper time1 in a self-thinker1 and a self-originator4 ,an adequate familiarity with the great writers of the past both checks presumptuous or hasty efforts of reproduction1 and encourages modest attempts of our own as we feel ourselves becoming gradually invigorated through the combined influence of all the various modes of well-directed study4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #af3 ,milton had charge of pupils in #afdd1 when ,locke was twelve4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,viii4 ,,religious ,,tests ,,and ,,subscriptions4 ,every man has an interest in arriving at truth for himself4 ,however useful it may be to mislead other people1 however sweet to look down from a height on the erring throng beneath1 it is neither useful nor sweet to be ourselves at sea without a compass4 ,we may not care to walk by the light we have1 but we do not choose to exchange it for darkness4 ,this reflection is most obvious with reference to the order of ,nature4 ,our life depends on adapting means to ends2 which supposes that we know cause and effect in the world around us4 ,a long story is cut short by the adage1 ,knowledge is power2 otherwise rendered1 ,truth is bliss4 ,the bearing of truth is free from all doubt when the problem is1 how to gain certain ends--how to be fed1 how to get from one place to another1 how to cure disease4 ,a new case is presented by the choice of ends4 ,the tyrannical ,french minister1 when appealed to by a starving peasantry in the terms1 ,we must live1 replied1 ,i do not see the necessity4 ,there was here no question of true and false1 no problem for science to solve4 ,it was a question of ends1 and could not be reargued4 ,the only possible retort was to ask1 ,what does your ,excellency consider a necessity8 ,if the reply were1 ,that ,i and my ,king may rule ,france and be happy1 then might the starving wretches find some aid from a political scientist who could show that1 in the order of nature1 ruler and people must stand or fall together4 ,so1 it is no question of true or false in the order of nature1 whether ,i shall adopt1 as the end of life1 my own gratification purely1 the good of others purely1 or part of both4 ,in like manner the ,benthamite1 who propounds happiness as the general end of human society1 cannot prove this1 as ,newton could prove that gravity follows the inverse square of the distance2 nor can his position be impugned in the way that ,newton impugned the vortices of ,descartes1 by showing that they were at variance with fact4 ,there is a third case4 ,assertions are made out of the sphere of the sensible world1 and beyond the reach of verification by the methods of science4 ,there is a region of the supersensible or supernatural1 where cause and effect may be affirmed and human interests involved1 but where we cannot supply the same evidence or the same confutation as in sublunary knowledge4 ,that all human beings shall have an existence after death is matter of truth or falsehood1 but the evidence is of a kind that would not be adduced for proving that a caterpillar becomes a butterfly or that a seed turns to a plant4 ,the reasoning employed1 no doubt1 makes references to facts of the order of nature2 but it is circuitous and analogical1 and is admitted merely because better cannot be had4 ,,three ,,different ,,classes ,,of ,,assertions4 ,the peculiarity of this last class of affirmations is that they give great room for the indulgence of our likings4 ,so little being fixed with any precision1 we can shape our beliefs to please ourselves4 ,even as regards the sensible world1 we can sometimes accommodate our views to what we wish1 as when we assume that our favourite foods and stimulants are wholesome2 but such license soon meets with checks in the physical sphere1 while there are no such checks in the realms of the superphysical4 ,now1 in all these three departments of opinion1 the interest of mankind lies in obtaining the best views that can possibly be obtained4 ,as regards the first and third--- the region of true and false1 one in the sensible1 the other in the supersensible world--we are clearly interested in getting the truth4 ,as regards the second--the region of ends--if there be one class of ends preferable to another1 we should find out that class4 ,the only doubt that can arise anywhere is1 whether in the third case--the case of the supernatural1--truth is of the same consequence to us4 ,such a doubt1 however1 begs the whole question at issue4 ,if the truth be of no consequence here1 it is because we shall never be landed in any reality corresponding to what is declared3 that the nature of the future life is purely imaginary and not to be converted into fact2 in other words1 that there is no future life2 that there is merely a land of dreams and fiction1 which can never be proved true and never proved false4 ,it would then be a projection of thought from the present life1 and would cease with that life4 ,all that people could claim in the matter would be the liberty of imagination2 and this being so1 we are not to be committed to any one form4 ,in short1 we are to picture what we please in a world that cannot be made out to exist4 ,the point is not1 to be true or false2 it is1 to be well or ill imagined4 ,what1 then1 is to be the criterion of proper or improper imagination8 ,on what grounds are we to make our preference between the different schemes of the supersensible world8 ,is each one of us to be free to imagine for ourselves1 or are we to submit to the dictation of others8 ,these questions lead up to another4 ,how far are the interests of the present life concerned in the form given to our conceptions of a future life8 ,it would seem to be an unanswerable assumption that1 in all the three situations above supposed1 we should do the very best that the case admits of4 ,in the order of nature we should get1 as far as possible1 the truth and the whole truth2 in the choice of ends for this life we should embrace the best ends2 in the shaping of another life we should be free to follow out whatever may be the course suitable to the operation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,early ,,sources ,,of ,,intolerance4 ,the means for arriving at truth in the order of nature is an active search according to certain well-known methods4 ,it farther involves the negative condition of perfect freedom to canvass1 to controvert1 or to refute1 every received doctrine or opinion4 ,there is no use in going after new facts1 or in rising to new generalities1 if we are not to be allowed to displace errors4 ,this is now conceded1 except at the points of contact of the natural and the supernatural4 ,in spite of the wide separation of the two worlds--the world of fact and the world of imagination1--we cannot conceive the second except in terms of the first2 and if the shaping of the supernatural acquires fixity and consecration1 the natural facts made use of in the fabric acquire a corresponding fixity1 even although the rendering is found to be inaccurate4 ,the prevailing conception of a future life needs a view of the separate and independent subsistence of the mental powers of man1 very difficult to reconcile with present knowledge4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the growth of intolerance is quite explicable1 but the explanation is not necessarily a justification4 ,although every division of the human family must have passed through many social phases1 and must therefore have experienced revolutionary shocks1 yet the rule of man's existence has been a rigorous fixity of institutions1 with a hatred of change4 ,innovations1 when not the effect of conquest1 would be made under the pressure of some great crisis1 or some tremendous difficulty that could not otherwise be met4 ,the idea of individuals being allowed1 in quiet times1 to propose alterations in government1 in religion1 in morals1 or even in the common arts of life1 was thought of only to be stamped out4 ,there was a step in advance of the ancient and habitual order of things1 when an innovating citizen was permitted to make his proposal to the assembled tribe1 with a rope about his neck1 to be drawn tight if he failed to convince his audience4 ,this might make men think twice before advancing new views1 but it was not an entire suppression of them4 ,the first introduction of the great religions of the world would in each case afford an interesting study of the difficulties of change and of the modes of surmounting these difficulties4 ,there must always have concurred at least two things1--general uneasiness or discontent from some cause or other2 and the moral or intellectual ascendency of some one man1 whose views1 although original1 were yet of a kind to be finally accepted by the people4 ,these conditions are equally shown in political changes1 and are historically illustrated in many notable instances4 ,it is enough to cite the ,greek legislation of ,lycurgus and of ,solon4 ,such changes are the exceptions in human affairs2 they occur only at great intervals4 ,in the ordinary course of societies1 the governing powers not merely adhere to what is established1 but forbid under severe penalties the very suggestion of change4 ,the chronic misery of the race is compatible with unreasoning acquiescence in a state of things once established2 incipient reformers are at once immolated pour encourager les autres4 ,it is the aim of governments to make themselves superfluously strong2 they take precautions against unfavourable ideas no less than against open revolt4 ,in this1 they are seconded by the general community1 which would make things too hot even for a reforming king4 ,,separation ,,of ,,religion ,,from ,,politics4 ,it is said by the evolution or historical school of politicians1 that this was all as it should be4 ,the free permission to question the existing institutions1 political and religious1 would have been incompatible with stability4 ,in early society more especially1 religion and morality were a part of civil government2 a dissenter in religion was the same thing as a rebel in politics2 the distinction between the civil and the religious could not yet be drawn4 ,without saying whether this was the case or not--for ,i should not like to commit myself to the position1 ,whatever was1 was right at the time--,i trust we are now far on the way to being agreed that the civil and the religious are no longer to be identified2 that the ,state1 as a state1 is not concerned to uphold any one form of religious belief4 ,modern civilized communities are believed capable of existing without an official religion2 the citizens being free to form themselves into self-governed religious bodies1 as various as the prevailing modes of religious belief4 ,it may be long ere this goal be fully reached2 but even the upholders of the present state religions admit that1 supposing these were not in existence1 nobody would now propose to institute them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the foregoing remarks may appear somewhat desultory1 as well as too brief for the extent of the theme4 ,they must be accepted1 however1 as an introduction to a more limited topic1 which presupposes in some measure the general principle of toleration by the state of all forms of religious opinion4 ,whether with or without established religions1 perfect freedom of dissent is now demanded1 and1 with some hankering reservations1 pretty generally conceded4 ,individuals are allowed to congregate into religious societies1 on the most various and opposite creeds4 ,so far good4 ,yet there remains a difficulty4 ,long before the age of toleration1 when each state had an established religion1 the people in general formed their habits of religious observance in connection with the ,state ,church--its doctrines1 its ritual1 its buildings1 and its sacred places4 ,when disruption took place1 the separatists formed themselves into societies on the original model1 merely dropping the matters of disagreement4 ,fixity of creed and of ritual was still enacted2 the only remedy for dissatisfaction on either subject was to swarm afresh1 and set up a new variety of doctrine or of ritual1 to which a rigid adherence was still expected as a condition of membership4 ,by this costly and troublesome process1 ,churches have been multiplied according to the changes of view among sections of the community4 ,a certain energy of conviction has always been necessary to such a result4 ,equally great changes of opinion occur among members of the older ,church communities1 without inducing them to break with these2 so that nominal membership ceases to be a mark of real adhesion to the articles of belief4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,evils ,,of ,,penal ,,restraint ,,on ,,discussion4 ,these few commonplaces are meant to introduce the enquiry--now a pressing one--whether1 and how far1 fixed creeds are desirable or expedient in religious bodies generally2 no difference being made between state ,churches and voluntary ,churches4 ,this is the question of ,subscription to ,articles by the clergy4 ,let us now review the evils attendant on subscription1 and next consider the objections to its removal4 ,in the first place1 the process of restraining discussion by penal tests is inherently untenable1 absurd1 and fallacious4 ,in support of this strong assertion1 we have only to repeat1 that every man has an interest in getting at the truth1 and consequently in whatever promotes that end4 ,we live by the truth2 error is death4 ,to stand between a man and the attainment of truth1 is to inflict an injury of incalculable amount4 ,the circumstances wherein the prohibition of truth is desirable1 must be extraordinary and altogether exceptional4 ,the few may have a self-interest in withholding truth from the many2 neither the few nor the many have an interest in its being withheld from themselves4 ,each one of us has the most direct concern in knowing on what plan this universe is constituted1 what are its exact arrangements and laws4 ,whether for the present life1 or for any other life1 we must steer our course by our knowledge1 and that knowledge needs to be true4 ,obstruction to the truth recoils upon the obstructors4 ,to flee to the refuge of lies is not the greatest happiness of anybody4 ,it has been maintained that there are illusions so beneficial as to be preferable to truth4 ,occasionally1 in private life1 we practise little deceptions upon individuals when the truth would cause some great temporary mischief4 ,this case need not be discussed4 ,the important instance is in reference to religious belief4 ,a benevolent ,deity and a future life are so cheering and consoling1 it is said1 that they should be secured against challenge or criticism2 they ought not to be weakened by discussion4 ,this1 of course1 assumes that these doctrines are unable to maintain themselves against opponents1 that1 with all their intrinsic charm 7which nobody can be indifferent to71 they would give way under a free handling4 ,such a confession is fatal4 ,men will go on cherishing pleasing illusions1 but not such as need to be protected in order to exist4 ,according to ,plato1 the belief in the goodness of the ,deity was of so great importance that it was to be maintained by state penalties--about the worst way of making the belief efficacious for its end4 ,what should we think of an ,act passed to imprison whoever disputed the goodness of ,king ,alfred1 the ,man of ,ross1 or ,howard8 ,granting that certain illusions are highly beneficial1 it does not follow that they are to be exempted from criticism4 ,their effect depends on the prestige of their truth4 ,that is1 they must have reasons on their side4 ,but a doctrine is not supported by reasons1 unless the objections are stated and answered2 not sham objections1 but the real difficulties of an enquiring mind4 ,if the statement of such difficulties is forcibly suppressed1 the rational foundations will sooner or later be sapped4 ,,freedom ,,essential ,,to ,,the ,,search ,,for ,,truth4 ,if illusions are themselves good1 freedom of thought will give us the best4 ,why should we protect inferior illusions against the discovery of the superior8 ,the unfettered march of the intellect may improve the quality of our illusions as illusions1 while also strengthening their foundations4 ,if religion be a good thing1 the best religion is the best thing2 and we cannot be sure of having the best1 if men are forbidden to make a search4 ,supposing1 then1 truth is desirable1 the means to the end are desirable4 ,now one of the means is perfect liberty to call in question every opinion whatsoever4 ,this is not all that is necessary2 it is not even the principal condition of the discovery of new truth4 ,it is1 however1 an indispensable adjunct1 a negative condition4 ,while laborious search for facts1 care in comparing them1 genius in detecting deep identities1 are the highways to knowledge1--the permission to promulgate new doctrines and to counter-argue the old is equally essential4 ,men cannot be expected to go through the toil of making discoveries at the hazard of persecution4 ,if a few have done so1 it is their glory and everybody else's shame4 ,that the torch of truth should be shaken till it shine1 is generally admitted4 ,still1 exceptions are made2 otherwise the present argument would be superfluous4 ,on certain subjects there is a demand for protection against innovating views4 ,the implication is that1 in these subjects1 truth is better arrived at by delegating the search to a few1 and treating their judgment as final4 ,i need not ask where we should have been1 if this mode of arriving at truth had been followed universally4 ,the monopoly of enquiry claimed for the higher subjects1 if set up in the lower1 would be treated as the empire of darkness4 ,second4 ,the subscription to articles1 and the enforcement of a creed by penalties1 are nugatory for their own purpose2 they fail to secure uniformity of belief4 ,this is shown in various ways4 ,for instance1 to inculcate adhesion to a set of articles1 is merely to ensure that none shall use words that formally deny one or other of the doctrines prescribed4 ,it does not say1 that the subscriber shall teach the whole round of doctrines1 in their due order and proportion4 ,a preacher may at pleasure omit from his pulpit discourses any single doctrine2 so that1 in so far as his ministrations are concerned1 to the hearers such doctrine is non-existent2 without being denied1 it is ignored4 ,against omission1 a prosecution for heresy would not hold4 ,in this way1 the clergy have always had a certain amount of liberty1 and have freely used it4 ,in so doing1 they have altered the whole character of the prescribed creed1 without being technically heterodox4 ,everyone of us has listened to preachers of this description4 ,some ignore the ,trinity1 some the ,atonement2 many nowadays1 without denying future punishment1 never mention hell to ears polite4 ,if the rigorous exclusion of a leading doctrine should excite misgivings1 a very slight1 formal1 and passing admission may be made1 while the stress of exhortation is thrown upon quite different points4 ,,subscription ,,fails ,,to ,,attain ,,its ,,end4 ,to attain a conviction for heresy1 involving deprivation of office1 the forms of justice must be respected4 ,it is only under peculiar circumstances1 that the ecclesiastical authority can be content with saying1 ,i do not like thee1 ,dr4 ,fell1 or ,dr4 ,smith1 and ,i depose thee accordingly4 ,a regular trial1 with proof of specific contradiction of specific articles1 allowing the accused the full benefit of his explanations1 must be the rule in every corporation that respects justice4 ,in the ,church of ,england1 a man cannot be deprived unless he contradict the articles clearly and consistently2 the smallest incoherence on his part1 the slightest vacillation in the rigour of his denial1 is enough to save him4 ,we may easily imagine1 therefore1 how widely a clergyman may stray from the fair1 ordinary1 current rendering of the doctrines of the ,church1 without danger4 ,the whole essence of ,christianity may be perverted under a few cunning precautions and by observing a few verbal formalities4 ,it has been pointed out1 many times over1 that the legally imposed creeds were the creatures of accident and circumstances at the time of their enactment1 and are wholly unsuitable to the conservation of the more permanent and essential articles of the ,christian faith4 ,the amount of heresy1 as against the more truly representative doctrines1 that may pass through their meshes is very great4 ,this weakness is aggravated by another--the want of any provision for amending the creed from time to time4 ,if it were desirable to adopt measures for maintaining uniformity of opinions among the clergy1 the creed should be excised1 or added to1 according to the needs of every age4 ,that this is not done1 shows that the machinery of tests is altogether abnormal2 it is not within the type of regular legislation4 ,that any given creed should be regarded as out of keeping1 as both redundant and defective1 and yet that the ecclesiastical authority should shrink from applying a remedy to its most obvious defects1 proves that the system itself is bad4 ,all healthy legislation lends itself to perpetual improvement2 that the enactments of articles of belief cannot be reconsidered1 is a sign of rottenness4 ,a third objection to tests is1 that mere dogmatic uniformity1 if it were more complete than any tests can make it1 is at best but a part of the religious character4 ,it does nothing to secure or promote fervour1 feeling1 the emotional element in religion4 ,it is by moral heat1 far more than by its mould of doctrine1 that religion influences mankind4 ,there is no means of censuring preachers for coldness or languid indifference2 or rather1 there is another and more legitimate means than penal prosecutions1 namely1 expressed dissatisfaction and the preference of those that excel in the quality4 ,a warm1 glowing manner1 an unctuous delivery1 commands hearers and conducts to popularity and importance4 ,the men of cold and unfeeling natures may get into office1 but they are lightly esteemed4 ,they are not had up to a public trial and deposed1 but they are treated1 and spoken of1 in such a way as to discourage men of their type from becoming preachers1 and to encourage the other sort4 ,there are many qualifications that go to forming a good preacher2 the holding of the creed of the body is only one4 ,yet1 with the exception of gross immorality or abandonment of duty1 correctness of creed is the only one that is subjected to the extreme penalty of loss of office2 the others are secured by different means4 ,is it too much to infer that1 without the extreme penalty1 a reasonable conformity to the prevailing creed might also be secured8 ,,element ,,of ,,feeling ,,not ,,secured4 ,the importance of the element of feeling has been most perceived in times when the religious current was strongest4 ,at these times1 its expression would not be hemmed in by rigorous formulas4 ,the first communication of religious doctrines has always partaken of a broad and free rendering2 apparent discrepancies were disregarded4 ,to reduce all the utterances of the prophets and the apostles to definite forms and rigid dogmas1 was to misconceive the situation4 ,we may well suppose that the ,new ,testament writers would have refused to subscribe the ,athanasian ,creed or the ,westminster ,confession2 not because these were in flat contradiction to ,scripture1 but because the way of embodying the religious verities in these documents would be repugnant to their ideas of form in such matters4 ,the creed-builders may have been never so anxious to give exact equivalents of the original authorities2 yet their fine distinctions and subtle logic would have1 in all probability1 been ranked by ,paul and ,peter among the latter-day perversions of the faith4 ,the very composition of a creed would have been as distasteful to the first century1 as it is incongruous to the nineteenth4 ,the evil operation of religious tests1 and of the accompanying intolerance of the public mind as shown towards any form of dissent from the stereotyped orthodoxy1 admits of a very wide handling4 ,it is of course the problem of religious liberty4 ,some parts of the argument need to be reproduced here1 to help us in replying to the objections against an unconditional abolition of compulsory creeds4 ,in conversing1 many years ago1 with the late ,jules ,mohl1 the great ,oriental scholar1 professor of ,persian in the ,college de ,france1 ,i was much struck with his account of the nature of his duties as an expounder of the modern ,persian authors4 ,these authors1 for example the poet ,sadi1 were in creed adherents of the ancient ,persian fire-worship1 notwithstanding the ,mohammedan conquest of their country4 ,they were1 of course1 forbidden to avow that creed directly2 and in consequence1 they had recourse to a form of composition by doubles entendres1 veiling the ancient creed under ,mohammedan forms4 ,mohl's business1 as their expounder1 was to strip off the disguise and show the true bearings of the writers1 under their show of conformity to the established opinions4 ,this is a typical illustration of what has happened in ,europe for more than two thousand years4 ,the first recorded martyr to free speculation in philosophy was ,anaxagoras in ,greece4 ,muleted in the sum of five talents1 and expelled from ,athens1 he was considered fortunate in being allowed to retire to ,lampsacus and end his days there4 ,his fate1 however1 was soon eclipsed by the execution of ,socrates1--an event whereby the ,athenian burghers were enabled to bias the expression of free opinions from that time to this4 ,the first person to feel the shock was ,plato4 ,that he was affected by it1 to the extent of suppressing his views on the higher questions1 we can infer with the greatest probability4 ,,consequences ,,of ,,the ,,execution ,,of ,,socrates4 ,aristotle was equally cowed4 ,a little before his death1 the chief priest of ,eleusis1 following the ,socratic precedent1 entered an indictment against him for impiety4 ,this indictment was supported by citations of certain heretical doctrines from his published writings2 on which ,grote makes the significant remark1 that his paean in honour of his friend ,hermeias would be more offensive to the feelings of an ordinary ,athenian citizen than any philosophical dogma extracted from the cautious prose compositions of ,aristotle4 ,that is to say1 the execution of ,socrates was always before his eyes2 he had to pare his expressions so as not to give offence to ,athenian orthodoxy4 ,we can never know the full bearings of such a disturbing force4 ,the editors of ,aristotle complain of the corruptness of his text2 a far worse corruptness lies behind4 ,in ,greece1 ,socrates alone had the courage of his opinions4 ,while his views as to a future life1 for example1 are plain and frank1 the real opinion of ,aristotle on the question is an insoluble problem4 ,now1 considering the enormous sway of ,aristotle in modern ,europe1--how desirable was it that his real sentiments had reached us unperverted by the ,athenian burgher and the hemlock6 ,it would be too adventurous to continue the illustration in detail through the ,christian ages4 ,it is well known that the later schoolmen strove to represent reason as against authority1 but wrote under the curb of the ,papal power2 hence their aims can only be divined4 ,a modern instance or two will be still more effective4 ,it can at last be clearly seen what was the motive of ,carlyle's perplexing style of composition4 ,we now know what his opinions were1 when he began to write1 and that to express them then would have been fatal to his success2 yet he was not a man to indulge in rank hypocrisy4 ,he1 accordingly1 adopted a studied and ambiguous phraseology1 which for long imposed upon the religious public1 who put their own interpretation upon his mystical utterances1 and gave him the benefit of any doubts4 ,in the ,life of ,sterling he threw off the mask1 but still was not taken at his word4 ,had there been a perfect tolerance of all opinions he would have begun as he ended2 and his strain of composition1 while still mystical and high-flown1 would never have been identified with our national orthodoxy4 ,i have grave doubts as to whether we possess ,macaulay's real opinions on religion4 ,his way of dealing with the subject is so like the hedging of an unbeliever that1 without some good assurance to the contrary1 ,i must include him also among the imitators of ,aristotle's caution4 ,some future critic will devote himself1 like ,professor ,mohl1 to expounding his ambiguous utterances4 ,,evil ,,of ,,disfranchising ,,the ,,clergy4 ,when ,sir ,charles ,lyell brought out his ,antiquity of ,man he too was cautious4 ,knowing the dangers of his footing1 he abstained from giving an estimate of the extension of time required by his evidences of human remains4 ,society in ,london1 however1 would not put up with that reticence1 and he had to disclose at dinner parties what he had withheld from the public--namely1 that1 in his opinion1 the duration of man could not be less than fifty thousand years4 ,these few instances must suffice to represent a long history of compelled reticence on the part of the men best qualified to instruct mankind4 ,the question now is--,what has been gained by it8 ,what did the condemnation of ,socrates do for the ,athenian public8 ,what did the chief priest of ,eleusis hope to attain by indicting ,aristotle8 ,unless we can show1 as is no doubt attempted1 that the set of opinions that happen to be consecrated at any one time1 whether right or wrong1 were essential to the existence of society1--then the attempt to improve upon them was truly meritorious1 instead of being censurable4 ,if the good of society as a whole is not plainly implicated1 there remains only the interest of the place-holders under the existing system1 as opposed to the interest of the mass of the people1 who are1 one and all1 concerned in knowing the truth4 ,again contracting the discussion to the narrow limits of the title of the essay1 ,i must urge the special injury done to mankind by disfranchising the whole clerical class2 that is to say1 by depriving their authority of its proper weight in matters of faith4 ,it is an incontrovertible rule of evidence1 that the authority of an interested party is devoid of worth4 ,reasons are good in themselves1 whoever utters them2 but in trusting to authority1 apart from reason1 we need a disinterested authority4 ,this the clergy at present are not1 except on the points left undecided by the articles4 ,if a man has five thousand a year1 conditional on his holding certain views1 his holding those views says nothing in their favour4 ,for a much less bribe1 plenty of men can be 'got to maintain any opinions whatsoever4 ,when to this is added that1 for certain other views1 the holders are subjected to loss--it may be to fine1 imprisonment1 or death1--the value of men's adhesion to the favoured creed1 as mere authority1 is simply nil4 ,truth1 honesty1 outspokenness1 are not so well established as virtues1 that we can afford to subject them to discouragement4 ,the contrary course would be more for the general good in every way4 ,when the law is intolerant in principle1 men will be hypocrites from policy4 ,you cannot train children to speak the truth if1 from whatever cause1 they have an interest in deception4 ,a repressive discipline induces a coarse outward submission1 but cannot reach the inward parts3 it only engenders hatred1 and substitutes for open revolt an insidious secret retaliation4 ,those only that come under the generous nurture of freedom can be counted on for hearty and willing devotion4 ,if we would reap the higher virtues1 we must sow on the soil of liberty4 ,encourage a man to say whatever he thinks1 and you make the most of him2 for difficult questions1 where the mind needs all its powers1 there should be no burdensome 'caution' in giving out the results4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,relaxation ,,now ,,pressing4 ,the imposing of subscription has its defenders1 and these have to be fairly met4 ,first1 however1 let us advert to the reasons why relaxation is more pressing now than formerly4 ,it is known that1 among dissentients from the leading dogmas of the prevailing creed of ,christendom1 are to be included some of the most authoritative names of the last three centuries2 our present formulas would not have been subscribed by ,bacon1 ,newton1 ,locke1 ,kant2 unless from mere pliancy and for the sake of quiet1 like ,hobbes4 ,if they had been in clerical orders1 and had freely avowed their opinions as we know them1 they would have been liable to deposition4 ,yet the difficulties that these men might feel were far less than those that now beset the profession of our prevailing creeds4 ,the advances of knowledge on all the subjects that come into contact with the various articles1 as received by the orthodox ,churches1 may not1 indeed1 compel the relinquishment of those articles1 but will force the holders to change front1 to re-shape them in different forms4 ,to such necessary modification1 the creeds are a fatal obstacle4 ,on a few points1 such as the ,creation in six days1 these have been found elastic4 ,the doctrine that death came by the fall has been explained away as spiritual death4 ,this process cannot go much further1 without too much paltering with obvious meanings4 ,the recently-proclaimed doctrine of the ,antiquity of ,man comes into apparent conflict with man's creation and fall1 as set forth in ,genesis1 on which are suspended the most vital doctrines of our creed4 ,a reconciliation may be possible1 but not without a very extensive modification of the scheme of the ,atonement4 ,it is not necessary to press ,darwin's doctrine of ,evolution2 the deficiency of positive proof for that hypothesis may always be pleaded1 as against the havoc it would make with the more distinctive points of ,christian doctrine4 ,but the existence of man on the earth1 at the very lowest statement1 must be carried back twenty thousand years2 this is not hypothesis1 but fact4 ,the record of the creation and the fall of man will probably have to be subjected to a process of allegorising1 but with inevitable loss4 ,now1 whoever refuses a matter of fact counts on being severely handled2 it is a different thing to refuse an allegory4 ,the modern doctrine named the struggle for existence is the old difficulty1 known as the origin of evil1 presented in a new shape4 ,it is rendered more formidable1 as a stumbling-block to the benevolence of the ,author of nature1 by making what was considered exceptional the rule4 ,it gathers up into one comprehensive statement the scattered occasions of misery1 and reveals a system whereby the few thrive at the expense of the many4 ,the apologist for ,divine goodness has thus an aggravation of his load1 and needs to be freed from all unnecessary trammels in the shaping of his creed4 ,,opposing ,,dogmas ,,to ,,the ,,reconciled4 ,it has not escaped attention1 that the honours paid to the illustrious ,darwin1 are an admission that our received ,christianity is open to revision4 ,in consequence of a few conciliatory phrases1 ,darwin has been credited with theism2 nevertheless he has ridden rough-shod over all that is characteristic in our established creeds4 ,can the creeds come scathless out of the ordeal8 ,it is passing from the greater to the less1 to dwell upon the increasing difficulties connected with the ,inspiration of the ,bible4 ,the ,church-of-,englander luckily escapes making shipwreck here2 the legal interpretation of the formularies saves him4 ,yet to mankind1 generally1 it seems necessary that a superior weight should attach to a revealed book2 and the other ,churches cling to some form of inspiration1 notwithstanding the growing difficulties attending it4 ,here too there must be more freedom given to the men that would extricate the situation4 ,at all events1 the doctrine should be made an open question4 ,even ,cardinal ,newman suggests doubts as to its being an imperative portion of the creed4 ,the attacks made on all sides against the ,miraculous element in religion will force on a change of front4 ,when an eminent popular writer and sincere friend of the ,church of ,england surrenders miracles without the slightest compunction1 it needs not the elaborate argumentation of ,supernatural ,religion to show that some new treatment of the question is called for4 ,but may it not be impossible to put the new wine into the sworn bottles8 ,like most great innovations1 the proposal to liberate the clergy from all restraint as to the opinions that they may promulgate1 necessarily encounters opposition4 ,we are1 therefore1 bound to consider the reasons on the other side4 ,these reasons may be quoted in mass4 ,as regards ,established ,churches in particular1 it is said there is a ,state compact or understanding with the clergy that they should teach certain doctrines and no other2 that if tests were abolished1 there would be no security against the most extreme opinions2 men eating the bread of a ,reformed ,church might inculcate ,romanism instead of ,protestantism2 the pulpits might give forth ,deism or ,agnosticism4 ,no sect could hope to maintain its principles1 if the clergy might preach any doctrine that pleased themselves4 ,more especially would it be monstrous and unjust1 to allow the rich benefices of our highly endowed ,church of ,england to be enjoyed by men whose hearts are in some quite different form of religion1 or no religion1 and who would occupy themselves in drawing men away from the faith4 ,on certain assumptions1 these arguments have great force4 ,clearly a man ought not to take pay for doing one thing and do something quite different4 ,when a body of religionists come together upon certain tenets1 it would be a reductio ad absurdum for any of its ministers to be occupied in denying and controverting these tenets4 ,all this supposes1 however1 that men will not be made to conform by any means short of prosecution and deprivation2 that the suspending of a severe penalty over men's heads is in itself a harmless device2 and that religious systems are now stereotyped to our satisfaction1 so that to deviate from them is mere wantonness and love of singularity4 ,such are the assumptions that we feel called upon to challenge4 ,the plea that the ,church has engaged itself to the ,state to teach certain tenets1 in return for its emoluments and privileges1 has lost its point in our time4 ',l'tat1 c'est moi4' ,the ,church and the ,state are composed of the same persons4 ,gibbon's famous mot has collapsed4 ',the religions of the ,roman world1' he says1 'were all considered by the people as equally true1 by the philosopher as equally false1 and by the magistrate as equally useful' ,the people are now their own magistrates1 and the true and the useful must contrive to unite upon the same thing4 ,if the ,church feels subscription and fixity of creed a burden1 it has only to turn its members to account in their capacity of citizens of the ,state to relieve itself4 ,if it silently ignores the creed1 it is still responsible mainly to itself4 ,,possible ,,abuses ,,of ,,clerical ,,freedom4 ,the more serious objection is the possible abuse of the freedom of the clergy to utter opinions at variance with the prevailing creed4 ,this position needs a careful scrutiny4 ,in the first place1 the argument3 supposes a condition of things that has now ceased4 ,when creeds were accepted in their literality by the bodies professing them1 when the state of general opinion contained nothing hostile1 and suggested no difficulties1--for any one member of a body to turn traitor may have well seemed mere perversity1 temper1 love of singularity1 or anything but a wish to get at truth4 ,the offence assumed the character of a moral obliquity1 and discipline can never be relaxed for immorality proper4 ,all the circumstances are now changed4 ,the ministers and members of religious communities no longer cherish the same set of doctrines with only immaterial varieties2 they no longer accept their articles in the sense of the original framers4 ,the body at large has contracted the immoral taint2 the whole head is sick2 any remaining soundness is not with the acquiescent mass1 but with the out-spoken individuals4 ,in such a state of things1 ordinary rules are inapplicable4 ,there is a sort of paralysis of authority1 an uncertainty whether to punish or to wink at flagrant heresy4 ,to say in such a case that the relaxation of the creed is not a thing to be proposed1 is to confess1 like ,livy on the condition of ,rome1 that we can endure neither our vices nor their remedies4 ,too much has at all times been made of individual divergences from the established creed4 ,the influence of a solitary preacher smitten with the love of heretical peculiarity has been grossly overrated4 ,the assumption is1 that his own flock will1 as a matter of course1 follow their shepherd2 that is to say1 the adhesion of individual congregations to the creed of the ,church depends upon its being faithfully reproduced by their regular minister4 ,such is not by any means the fact2 the creed of the members of a ,church is not at the mercy of any passing influence4 ,it has been engrained by a plurality of influences2 one man did not make it1 and one man cannot unmake it4 ,moreover1 allowance should be made for the spirit of opposition found in ,church members1 as well as in other people4 ,,individual ,,divergences ,,unimportant4 ,it may be said that persons ought not to be subjected to the annoyance of hearing attacks upon their hereditary tenets1 in which they expect to be more and more confirmed by their spiritual teacher4 ,this is of course1 in itself1 an evil4 ,we are not to expect ordinary men to recognise the necessity of listening to the arguments against their views1 in order to hold these all the stronger4 ,if this height were generally reached1 every ,church would invite1 as a part of its constituted machinery1 a representative of all the heresies afloat2 a certain number of its ministers should be the avowed champions of the views most opposed to its own--advocati diaboli1 so to speak4 ,there would then be nothing irregular in the retention of converts from its own number to these other doctrines4 ,it would be1 however1 altogether improper to found any argument on the supposition of such a state of matters4 ,it is an incident of every institution made up of a large collection of officials1 that some one or more are always below the standard of efficiency1 whence those that depend on their services must suffer inconvenience4 ,a great amount of dulness in preaching has always to be tolerated2 so also might an occasional deviation from orthodoxy2 the more so1 that the severity of the discipline for heresy has a good deal to do with the dulness4 ,if heretical tendencies have shown themselves in a ,church communion1 either they are absurd1 unmeaning1 irrelevant--perhaps a reversion to some defunct opinion1--or they are the suggestion of new knowledge in theology1 or outside of it4 ,in the first case1 they will die a natural death1 unless prosecution gives them importance2 in the other case1 they are to be candidly examined1 to be met by argument rather than by deposition4 ,an individual heretic can always be neglected2 if he is enthusiastic and able1 he may have a temporary following1 especially when the community has sunk into torpor4 ,if two or three in a hundred adopt erroneous opinions1 it is nothing2 if thirty or forty in a hundred have been led astray1 the matter hangs dubious1 and discretion is advisable4 ,when a majority is gained1 the fulness of the time has arrived2 the heresy has triumphed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,however strong may be the theoretical reasons for the abolition of the penal sanctions to orthodoxy1 they do not dispense with the confirmation of experience2 and ,i must next refer to the more prominent examples of ,churches constituted on the principle of freedom to the clergy4 ,,the ,,english ,,presbyterian ,,church ,,exemplary4 ,the most remarkable and telling instance is that furnished by the ,english ,presbyterian ,church1 with its coadjutor in ,ireland4 ,the history of this ,church is not unfamiliar to us2 the great lawsuit relating to ,lady ,hewley's charity gave notoriety to the changes of opinion that had come over it in the course of a century4 ,but whoever is earnest on the question as to the expediency of tests should study the history thoroughly1 as being in every way most instructive4 ,the leading facts1 as concerns the present argument1 are mainly these3-- ,first1 the great decision at the ,salters' ,hall conference1 on the #ajth of ,march1 #agai1 when1 by a majority of #gc to #fi1 it was resolved to exact no test from the clergy as a condition of their being ordained ministers of the body4 ,the point more immediately at issue was the ,trinity1 on which opinions had been already divided2 but the decision was general4 ,the principle of the right of private judgment admitted of no exceptions4 ,second4 ,long before this decision1 the minds of the ministers had been ripening to the conviction1 that creeds and subscriptions could do no good1 and often did harm1 indeed1 the terms employed by some of them are everything that we now desire4 ,for example1 ,joseph ,hunter1 on the eve of the decision1 wrote thus3 ,we have always thought that such human declarations of faith were far from being eligible on their own account1 since they tend to narrow the foundations of ,christianity and to restrain that latitude of expression in which our great ,legislator has seen fit to deliver ,his ,will to us4 ,third4 ,most remarkable is it to witness the consequences of this great act of emancipation4 ,a hundred and sixty-five years have elapsed--a sufficient time for judging of the experiment4 ,the ,presbyterian body at the time were made up partly of ,arians1 partly of ,trinitarians1 who held each other in mutual tolerance2 the ministers freely exchanging pulpits4 ,no bad consequence followed4 ,we do not hear of individual ministers going to extravagant lengths in either direction4 ,a large body gravitated1 in the course of time1 to the modern ,unitarian position2 but1 considering the start1 the stride was not great4 ,in such a century as the eighteenth1 there might well have been greater modifications of the creeds than actually occurred4 ,evidently1 in the absence of any compulsory adherence to settled articles1 there was an abundant tendency to conservatism4 ,commencing with ,baxter1 ,howe1 and ,calamy1 we find1 in the course of the century1 such names as ,lardner1 ,price1 ,priestley1 ,belsham1 ,kippis1 ,james ,lindsay1 ,lant ,carpenter--men of liberal and enlightened views on all political questions1 and earnest in their good works4 ,these men's testimony to what is truth in religion1 is of more value to us than the opinions of the creed-bound clergy4 ,reason is still reason1 but the weight of authority is with the free enquirers4 ,fourth4 ,the history of the ,presbyterians answers a question that may be properly asked of the creed-abolitionist2 namely1 ,what bond is left to hold a religious community together8 ,the bond1 in their case1 simply was voluntary adhesion and custom4 ,a religious community may hold together1 like a political party1 with only a vague tacit understanding4 ,when a body is once formed1 it has an outward cohesion1 which is quite enough for maintaining it in the absence of explosive materials4 ,the established ,churches could retain their historical continuity under any modification of the articles4 ,by the present system1 they have been habituated to take their creed as their legal definition2 for that they could substitute their history and framework4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,modes ,,of ,,transition ,,from ,,the ,,present ,,system4 ,various modes have been suggested for making the transition from the present system4 ,one way is1 to fall back upon the ,bible as a test4 ,this is the same as no test at all4 ,a man could not call himself a ,christian minister1 if he did not accept the ,bible in some sense2 and it would be obviously impracticable to frame a libel1 and conduct a process for heresy1 on an appeal to the ,old and ,new ,testaments at large4 ,the ,bible may be the first source of the ,christian faith1 but other confluent streams have entered into its development2 and we must accept the consequences of a fact that we cannot deny4 ,however much religion may have to be broadened and liberalised1 the operation cannot consist in reverting to the literal phraseology of the ,bible4 ,a second method is1 to prune away the portions of the creed that are no longer tenable4 ,it could not have been intended by the original framers of the creeds1 that they should remain untouched for centuries4 ,with many ,churches1 there was a clear understanding that the formulas should be revised at brief intervals4 ,the non-established ,churches show a disposition to resume this power4 ,the ,united ,presbyterian ,church of ,scotland has had the courage to make a beginning2 still1 relief will not in this way be given to minorities1 and small changes do not correspond to the demands of new situations4 ,a more effectual mode is to discourage and suspend prosecutions for heresy4 ,the practice of heresy-hunting might be allowed to fall into disuse4 ,instead of deposing heretics1 the orthodox champions should simply refute them4 ,in the ,church of ,england1 in particular1 a change of the law may be necessary to give the desired relaxation4 ,the judges before whom heretics are tried are very exacting in the matter of evidence1 but they cannot stop a prosecution made in regular form4 ,the ,church of ,scotland has more latitude in this respect1 and has already given indications of entering on the path leading to desuetude4#ag ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ag3 ,see1 at the end1 ,notes and ,references on the history and practice of ,subscription and ,penal ,tests4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,procedure ,,of ,,deliberative ,,bodies4#ah ,that great institution of political liberty1 the ,deliberative ,assembly1 seems to be on the eve of breaking down4 ,i do not speak merely of the highest assembly in the country1 but of the numerous smaller bodies as well1 from many of which a cry of distress may be heard4 ,the one evil in all is the intolerable length of the debates4 ,business has increased1 local representative bodies have a larger membership than formerly1 and1 notwithstanding the assistance rendered by committees1 the meetings are protracted beyond bounds4 ,in this difficulty1 attention naturally fastens1 in the first instance1 on the fact that the larger part of the speaking is entirely useless2 neither informing nor convincing any of the hearers1 and yet occupying the time allotted for the despatch of business4 ,how to eliminate and suppress this ineffectual oratory would appear to be the point to consider4 ,but as ,inspiration itself did not reveal a mode of separating in advance the tares from the wheat1 so there is not now any patent process for insuring that1 in the debates of corporate bodies1 the good speaking1 and only the good speaking1 shall be allowed4 ,partial solutions of the difficulty are not wanting4 ,the inventors of corporate government--the ,greeks1 were necessarily the inventors of the forms of debate1 and they introduced the timing of the speakers4 ,to this is added1 occasionally1 the selection of the speakers1 a practice that could be systematically worked1 if nothing else would do4 ,both methods have their obvious disadvantages4 ,the arbitrary selection of speakers1 even by the most impartial ,committee of ,selection1 would1 according to our present notions1 seem to infringe upon a natural right1 the right of each member of a body to deliver an opinion1 and give the reasons for it4 ,it would seem like reviving the censorship of the press1 to allow only a select number to be heard on all occasions4 ,may not something be done to circumvent this vast problem8 ,may there not be a greater extension given to maxims and forms of procedure already in existence8 99 99 99 99 99 ,,obviating ,,hurried ,,decisions4 ,first1 then1 we recognize in various ways the propriety of obviating hurried and unpremeditated decisions4 ,giving previous notice of motions has that end in view2 although1 perhaps1 this is more commonly regarded simply as a protection to absentees4 ,advantage is necessarily taken of the foreknowledge of the business to prepare for the debates4 ,it is a farther help1 that the subject has been already discussed somewhere or other by a committee of the body1 or by the agency of the public press4 ,very often an assembly is merely called upon to decide upon the adoption of a proposal that has been long canvassed out of doors4 ,the task of the speakers is then easy--we might almost say no speaking should be required3 but this is to anticipate4 ,in legislation by ,parliament1 the forms allow repetition of the debates at least three times in both ,houses4 ,this is rather a cumbrous and costly remedy for the disadvantage1 in debate1 of having to reply to a speaker who has just sat down4 ,in principle1 no one ought to be called to answer an argumentative speech on the spur of the moment4 ,the generality of speakers are utterly unfit for the task1 and accordingly do it ill4 ,a few men1 by long training1 acquire the power of casting their thoughts into speaking train1 so as to make a good appearance in extempore reply2 yet even these would do still better if they had a little time4 ,the adjournment of a debate1 and the reopening of a question at successive stages1 furnish the real opportunities for effective reply4 ,in a debate begun and ended at one sitting1 the speaking takes very little of the form of an exhaustive review1 by each speaker1 of the speeches that went before4 ,it is always reckoned a thing of course to take the vote as soon as the debate is closed4 ,there are some historical occasions when a speech on one side has been so extraordinarily impressive that an adjournment has been moved to let the fervour subside2 but it is usually not thought desirable to let a day elapse between the final reply and the division4 ,this is a matter of necessity in the case of the smaller corporations1 which have to dispose of all current business at one sitting2 but when a body meets for a succession of days1 it would seem to be in accordance with sound principle not to take the vote on the same day as the debate4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,assumptions ,,at ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,oral ,,debate4 ,these few remarks upon one important element of procedure are meant to clear the way for a somewhat searching examination of the principles that govern the1 entire system of oral debate4 ,it is this practice that ,i propose to put upon its trial4 ,the grounds of the practice ,i take to be the following3-- #a4 ,that each member of a deliberative body shall be provided with a complete statement of the facts and reasons in favour of a proposed measure1 and also an equally complete account of whatever can be said against it4 ,and this is a requirement ,i would concede to the fullest extent4 ,no decision should be asked upon a question until the reasonings pro and con are brought fairly within the reach of every one2 to which ,i would add--in circumstances that give due time for consideration of the whole case4 #b4 ,the second ground is that this ample provision of arguments1 for and against1 should be made by oral delivery4 ,whatever opportunities members may have previously enjoyed for mastering a question1 these are all discounted when the assembly is called to pronounce its decision4 ,the proposer of the resolution invariably summarizes1 if he is able1 all that is to be said for his proposal2 his arguments are enforced and supplemented by other speakers on his side2 while the opposition endeavours to be equally exhaustive4 ,in short1 though one were to come to the meeting with a mind entirely blank1 yet such a one1 having ordinary faculties of judging1 would in the end be completely informed1 and prepared for an intelligent vote4 ,now1 ,i am fully disposed to acquiesce in this second assumption likewise1 but with a qualification that is of considerable moment1 as we shall see presently4 #c4 ,the third and last assumption is as follows3--,not only is the question in all its bearings supposed to be adequately set forth in the speeches constituting the debate1 but1 in point of fact1 the mass of the members1 or a very important section or proportion of them1 rely upon this source1 make full use of it1 and are equipped for their decision by means of it2 so much so1 that if it were withdrawn none of the other methods as at present plied1 or as they might be plied1 would give the due preparation for an intelligent vote2 whence must ensue a degradation in the quality of the decisions4 ,it is this assumption that ,i am now to challenge1 in the greatest instance of all1 as completely belied by the facts4 ,but1 indeed1 the case is so notoriously the opposite1 that the statement of it will be unavoidably made up of the stalest commonplaces2 and the novelty will lie wholly in the inference4 ,the ordinary attendance in the ,house of ,commons could be best described by a member or a regular official4 ,an outsider can represent it only by the current reports4 ,my purpose does not require great accuracy2 it is enough1 that only a very small fraction of the body makes up the average audience4 ,if an official were posted to record the fluctuating numbers at intervals of five minutes1 the attendance might be recorded and presented in a curve like the fluctuations of the barometer2 but this would be misleading as to the proportion of effective listeners--those that sat out entire debates1 or at all events the leading speeches of the debates1 or whose intelligence was mainly fed from the speaking in each instance4 ,the number of this class is next to impossible to get at2 but it will be allowed on all hands to be very small4 ,perhaps1 in such an inquiry1 most can be made of indirect evidences4 ,if members are to be qualified for an intelligent decision in chief part by listening to the speeches1 why is not the ,house made large enough to accommodate them all at once8 ,it would appear strange1 on the spoken-debate theory of enlightenment1 that more than one-third should be permanently excluded by want of space4 ,one might naturally suppose that1 in this fact1 there was a breach of privilege of the most portentous kind4 ,that it is so rarely alluded to as a grievance1 even although amounting to the exclusion of a large number of the members from some of the grandest displays of eloquence and the most exciting ,state communications1 is a proof that attendance in the ,house is not looked upon as a high privilege1 or as the sine qu non of political schooling4 ,,evidence ,,of ,,the ,,inutility ,,of ,,the ,,mere ,,speaking4 ,if it were necessary to listen to the debates in order to know how to vote1 the messages of the whips would take a different form4 ,the members on each side would be warned of the time of commencement of each debate1 that they might hear the comprehensive statement of the opener1 and remain at least through the chief speech in reply4 ,they might not attend all through the inferior and desultory speaking1 but they would be ready to pop in when an able debater was on his legs1 and they would hear the leaders wind up at the close4 ,such1 however1 is not the theory acted on by the whips4 ,they are satisfied if they can procure attendance at the division1 and look upon the many hours spent in the debate as an insignificant accessory1 which could be disregarded at pleasure4 ,it would take the genius of a satirist to treat the whipping-up machinery as it might well deserve to be treated4 ,we are here concerned with a graver view of it--namely1 to inquire whether the institution of oral debate may not be transformed and contracted in dimensions1 to the great relief of our legislative machinery4 ,of course1 no one is ignorant of the fact that the great body of members of ,parliament refrain altogether from weighing individually the opposing arguments in the several questions1 and trust implicitly to their leaders4 ,this1 however1 is merely another nail in the coffin of the debating system4 ,the theory of independent and intelligent consideration1 by each member1 of every measure that comes up1 is the one most favourable to the present plan1 while1 even on that theory1 its efficiency breaks down under a critical handling4 ,it is time now to turn to what will have come into the mind of every reader of the last few paragraphs--the reporting of the speeches4 ,here1 ,i admit1 there is a real and indispensable service to legislation4 ,my contention is1 that in it we possess what is alone valuable2 and1 if we could secure this1 in its present efficiency1 with only a very small minimum of oral delivery1 we should be as well off as we are now4 ,the apparent self-contradiction of the proposal to report speeches without speaking1 is not hard to resolve4 ,to come at once1 then1 to the mode of arriving at the printed debates1 ,i shall proceed by a succession of steps1 each one efficient in itself1 without necessitating a farther4 ,the first and easiest device1 and one that would be felt of advantage in all bodies whatsoever1 would be for the mover of a resolution to give in1 along with the terms of his resolution1 his reasons--in fact1 what he intends as his speech1 to be printed and distributed to each member previous to the meeting4 ,two important ends are at once gained--the time of a speech is saved1 and the members are in possession beforehand of the precise arguments to be used4 ,the debate is in this way advanced an important step without any speaking2 opponents can prepare for1 instead of having to improvise their reply1 and every one is at the outset a good way towards a final judgment4 ,,debates ,,introduced ,,by ,,printed ,,statements4 ,as this single device could be adopted alone1 ,i will try and meet the objections to it1 if ,i am only fortunate enough to light on any4 ,my experience of public bodies suggests but very few2 and ,i think the strongest is the reluctance to take the requisite trouble4 ,most men think beforehand what they are to say in introducing a resolution to a public body1 but do not consider it necessary to write down their speech at full4 ,then1 again1 there is a peculiar satisfaction in holding the attention of a meeting for a certain time1 great in proportion to the success of the effort4 ,but1 on the other hand1 many persons do write their speeches1 and many are not so much at ease in speaking but that they would dispense with it willingly4 ,the conclusive answer on the whole is--the greater good of the commonwealth4 ,such objections as these are not of a kind to weigh down the manifest advantages1 at all events1 in the case of corporations full of business and pressed for time4 ,i believe that a debate so introduced would be shortened by more than the time gained by cutting off the speech of the mover4 ,the greater preparation of everyone's mind at the commencement would make people satisfied with a less amount of speaking1 and what there was would be more to the purpose4 ,we can best understand the effects of such an innovation by referring to the familiar experience of having to decide on the ,report of ,committee1 which has been previously circulated among the members4 ,this is usually the most summary act of a deliberative body2 partly owing1 no doubt1 to the fact that the concurrence of a certain proportion is already gained2 while the pros and cons have been sifted by a regular conference and debate4 ,yet we all feel that we are in a much better position by having had before us in print1 for some time previous1 the materials necessary to a conclusion4 ,at a later stage1 ,i will consider the modes of raising the quality and status of the introductory speech to something of the nature of a ,committee's ,report4#ai ,the second step is to impose upon the mover of every amendment the same obligation to hand in his speech1 in writing1 along with the terms of the amendment4 ,many public bodies do not require notice of amendments4 ,it would be in all cases a great improvement to insist upon such notice1 and of course a still greater improvement to require the reasons to be given in also1 that they might be circulated as above4 ,the debate is now two steps in advance without a moment's loss of time to the constituted meeting2 while what remains is likely to be much more rapidly gone through4 ,the movers of resolutions and of amendments should1 as a matter of course1 have the right of reply2 a portion of the oral system that would1 ,i presume1 survive all the advances towards printing direct4 ,there remains1 however1 one farther move1 in itself as defensible1 and as much fraught with advantage as the two others4 ,the resolution and the amendments being in the hands of the members of a body1 together with the speeches in support of each1 any member might be at liberty to send in1 also for circulation in print1 whatever remarks would constitute his speech in the debate1 thereby making a still greater saving of the time of the body4 ,this would1 no doubt1 be felt as the greatest innovation of all1 being tantamount to the extinction of oral debate2 there being then nothing left but the replies of the movers4 ,we need not1 however1 go the length of compulsion2 while a certain number would choose to print at once1 the others could still1 if they chose1 abide by the old plan of oral address4 ,one can easily surmise that these last would need to justify their choice by conspicuous merit2 an assembly1 having in print so many speeches already1 would not be in a mood to listen to others of indifferent quality4 ,,the ,,magic ,,of ,,oratory ,,not ,,done ,,away ,,with4 ,such a wholesale transfer of living speech to the silent perusal of the printed page1 if seriously proposed in any assembly1 would lead to a vehement defence of the power of spoken oratory4 ,we should be told of the miraculous sway of the human voice1 of the way that ,whitfield entranced ,hume and emptied ,franklin's purse2 while1 most certainly1 neither of these two would ever have perused one of his printed sermons4 ,and1 if the reply were that ,whitfield was not a legislator1 we should be met by the speeches of ,wilberforce and ,canning and ,brougham upon slavery1 where the thrill of the living voice accelerated the conviction of the audience4 ,in speaking of the ,homeric ,assembly1 ,mr4 ,gladstone remarks1 in answer to ,grote's argument to prove it a political nullity1 that the speakers were repeatedly cheered1 and that the cheering of an audience contributes to the decision4 ,now1 ,i am not insensible to the power of speech1 nor to the multitudinous waves of human feeling aroused in the encounters of oratory before a large assembly4 ,apart from this excitement1 it would often be difficult to get people to go through the drudgery of public meetings4 ,any plan that would abolish entirely the dramatic element of legislation would have small chance of being adopted4 ,it is only when the painful side of debate comes into predominance1 that we willingly forego some of its pleasures3 the intolerable weariness1 the close air1 the late nights1 must be counted along with the occasional thrills of delirious excitement4 ,but as far as regards our great legislative bodies1 it will be easy to show that there would still exist1 in other forms1 an ample scope for living oratory to make up for the deadness that would fall upon the chief assembly4 ,a friend of mine once went to ,roebuck to ask his attention to some point coming up in the ,house of ,commons1 and offered him a paper to read4 ,roebuck said1 ,i will not read1 but ,i will hear4 ,this well illustrates one of the favourable aspects of speech4 ,people with time on their hands prefer being instructed by the living voice2 the exertion is less1 and the enlivening tones of a speaker impart an extraneous interest1 to which we have to add the sympathy of the surrounding multitude4 ,the early stages of instruction must be conducted viv voce2 it is a late acquirement to be able to extract information from a printed page4 ,yet circumstances arise when the advantage of the printed page predominates4 ,the more frequent experience in approaching public men is to be told1 that they will not listen but will read4 ,an hour's address can be read in ten minutes3 it is not impossible1 therefore1 to master a ,parliamentary debate in one-tenth of the time occupied in the delivery4 ,a passing remark is enough to point out the revolution that would take place in ,parliamentary reporting1 and in the diffusion of political instruction through the press1 by the system of printing the speeches direct4 ,the full importance of this result will be more apparent in a little4 ,there has been much talk of late about the desirability of a more perfect system of reporting1 with a view to the preservation of the debates4 ,yet it may be very much doubted1 whether the ,house of ,commons would ever incur the expense of making up for the defects of newspaper reporting1 by providing short-hand writers to take down every word1 with a view to printing in full4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,seconding ,,extended ,,to ,a ,,plurality ,,of ,,backers4 ,,proportioning ,,of ,,backers4 ,before completing the survey of possible improvements in deliberative procedure1 ,i propose to extend the employment of another device already in use1 but scarcely more than a form2 ,i mean the requiring of a seconder before a proposal can be debated4 ,the signification of this must be1 that in order to obtain the judgment of an assembly on any proposal1 the mover must have the concurrence of one other member2 a most reasonable condition surely4 ,what ,i would urge farther in the same direction is that1 instead of demanding one person in addition to the mover1 as necessary in all cases1 there should be a varying number according to the number of the assembly4 ,in a copartnery of three or four1 to demand a seconder to a motion would be absurd2 in a body of six or eight it is scarcely admissible4 ,i have known bodies of ten and twelve1 where motions could be discussed without a seconder2 but even with these1 there would be a manifest propriety in compelling a member to convince at least one other person privately before putting the body to the trouble of a discussion4 ,if1 however1 we should begin the practice of seconding with ten1 is one seconder enough for twenty1 fifty1 a hundred1 or six hundred8 ,ought there not to be a scale of steady increase in the numbers whose opinions have been gained beforehand8 ,let us say three or four for an assembly of five-and-twenty1 six for fifty1 ten or fifteen for a hundred1 forty for six hundred4 ,it is permissible1 no doubt1 to bring before a public body resolutions that there is no immediate chance of carrying2 what is termed ventilating an opinion is a recognized usage1 and is not to be prohibited4 ,but when business multiplies1 and time is precious1 a certain check should be put upon the ventilating of views that have as yet not got beyond one or two individuals2 the process of conversion by out-of-door agency should have made some progress in order to justify an appeal to the body in the regular course of business4 ,that the ,house of ,commons should ever be occupied by a debate1 where the movers could not command more than four or five votes1 is apparently out of all reason4 ,the power of the individual is unduly exalted at the expense of the collective body4 ,there are plenty of other opportunities of gaining adherents to any proposal that has something to be said for it2 and these should be plied up to the point of securing a certain minimum of concurrence1 before the ear of the ,house can be commanded4 ,with a body of six hundred and fifty1 the number of previously obtained adherents would not be extravagantly high1 if it were fixed at forty4 ,yet considering that the current business1 in large assemblies1 is carried on by perhaps one-third or one-fourth of the whole1 and that the quorum in the ,house of ,commons is such as to make it possible for twenty-one votes to carry a decision of the ,house1 there would be an inconsistency in requiring more than twenty names to back every bill and every resolution and amendment that churned to be discussed4 ,now ,i can hardly imagine restriction upon the liberty of individual members more defensible than this4 ,if it were impossible to find any other access to the minds of individual members than by speeches in the ,house1 or if all other modes of conversion to new views were difficult and inefficient in comparison1 then we should say that the time of the ,house must be taxed for the ventilating process4 ,nothing of the kind1 however1 can be maintained4 ,moreover1 although the ,house may be obliged to listen to a speech for a proposal that has merely half a dozen of known supporters1 yet1 whenever this is understood to be the case1 scarcely any one will be at the trouble of counter-arguing it1 and the question really makes no way2 the mover is looked upon as a bore1 and the ,house is impatient for the extinguisher of a division4 ,the securing of twenty names would cost nothing to the ,government1 or to any of the parties or sections that make up the ,house3 an individual standing alone should be made to work privately1 until he has secured his backing of nineteen more names1 and the exercise would be most wholesome as a preparation for convincing a majority of the ,house4 ,if ,i might be allowed to assume such an extension of the device of seconding motions1 ,i could make a much stronger case for the beneficial consequences of the operation of printing speeches without delivery4 ,the ,house would never be moved by an individual standing alone2 every proposal would be from the first a collective judgment1 and the reasons given in along with it1 although composed by one1 would be revised and considered by the supporters collectively4 ,members would put forth their strength in one weighty statement to start with2 no pains would be spared to make the argument of the nominal mover exhaustive and forcible4 ,so with the amendment2 there would be more put into the chief statement1 and less left to the succeeding speakers1 than at present4 ,and1 although the mover of the resolution and the mover of the amendment would each have a reply1 little would be left to detain the ,house1 unless when some great interests were at stake4 ,of course the preparation of the case in favour of each measure would be entrusted to the best hands2 in ,government business1 it would be to some official in the department1 or some one engaged by the chief in shaping the measure itself4 ,the statement so prepared would have the value of a carefully drawn-up report1 and nothing short of this should ever be submitted to ,parliament in the procuring of new enactments4 ,in like manner1 the opponents and critics could employ any one they pleased to assist them in their compositions1 ,a member's speech need not be in any sense his own2 if he borrows1 or uses another hand1 it is likely to be some one wiser than himself1 and the public gets the benefit of the difference4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,objections ,,to ,,direct ,,printing ,,of ,,speeches4 ,i may now go back for a little upon the details of the scheme of direct printing1 with the view of pressing some of its advantages a little farther1 as well as of considering objections4 ,i must remark more particularly upon the permission1 accorded to the members generally1 to send in their speeches to be circulated with the proceedings4 ,this ,i regard as not the least essential step in an effective reform of the debating system4 ,it is the only possible plan of giving free scope to individuals1 without wasting the time of the assembly4 ,there need be no limit to the printing of speeches2 the number may be unnecessarily great1 and the length sometimes excessive1 but the abuse may be left to the corrective of neglect4 ,the only material disadvantage attending the plan of sending in speeches in writing1 without delivery1 is that the speakers would have before them only the statements-in-chief of the movers of motion and amendment4 ,they could not comment upon one another1 as in the oral debate4 ,not but this might not3 be practicable1 by keeping the question open for a certain length of time1 and circulating every morning the speeches given in the day previously2 but the cumbrousness of such an operation would not have enough to recommend it4 ,the chief speakers might be expected to present a sufficiently broad point for criticism2 while the greater number are well content1 if allowed to give their own views and arguments without reference to those of others4 ,and not to mention that1 in ,parliament1 all questions of principle may be debated several times over1 it is rare that any measure comes up without such an amount of previous discussion out of doors as fully to bring out the points for attack and defence4 ,moreover1 the oral debate1 as usually conducted1 contains little of the reality of effective rejoinder by each successive speaker to the one preceding4 ,the combined plan of printing speeches1 and of requiring twenty backers to every proposal1 while tolerable perhaps in the introduction of bills1 and in resolutions of great moment1 will seem to stand self-condemned in passing the bills through ,committee1 clause by clause4 ,that every amendment1 however trivial1 should have to go through such a roundabout course1 may well appear ridiculous in the extreme4 ,to this ,i would say1 in the first place1 that the exposing of every clause of every measure of importance to the criticism of a large assembly1 has long been regarded as the weak point of the ,parliamentary system4 ,it is thirty years since ,i heard the remark that a ,code would never get through the ,house of ,commons2 so many people thinking themselves qualified to cavil at its details4 ,in ,mill's ,representative ,government1 there is a suggestion to the effect1 that ,parliament should be assisted in passing great measures by consultative commissions1 who would have the preparation of the details2 and that the ,house should not make alterations in the clauses1 but recommit the whole with some expression of disapproval that would guide the commission in recasting the measure4 ,,difficulties ,,of ,,printing ,,in ,,committees4 ,it must be self-evident that only a small body can work advantageously in adjusting the details of a measure1 including the verbal expressions4 ,if this work is set before an assembly of two hundred1 it is only by the reticence of one hundred and ninety that progress can be made4 ,amendments to the clauses of a bill may come under two heads3 those of principle1 where the force of parties expends itself2 and those of wording or expression1 for clearing away ambiguities or misconstruction4 ,for the one class1 all the machinery that ,i have described is fully applicable4 ,to mature and present an amendment of principle1 there should be a concurrence of the same number as is needed to move or oppose a second reading2 there should be the same giving in of reasons1 and the same unrestricted speech 7in print7 of individual members1 culminating in replies by the movers4 ,if this had to be done on all occasions1 there would be much greater concentration of force upon special points1 and the work of ,committee would get on faster4 ,as to the second class of amendments1 ,i do not think that these are suitable for an open discussion4 ,they should rather be given as suggestions privately to the promoter of the measure4 ,but1 be the matter small or great1 ,i contend that nothing should bring about a vote in the ,house of ,commons that has not already acquired a proper minimum of support4 ,i am very far from presuming to remodel the entire procedure of the ,house of ,commons4 ,what ,i have said applies only to the one branch1 not the least important1 of the passing of bills4 ,there are other departments that might1 or might not1 be subjected to the printing system1 coupled with the twentyfold backing2 for example1 the very large subject of ,supply1 on which there is a vast expenditure of debating4 ,the demand for twenty names to every amendment would extinguish a very considerable amount of these discussions4 ,there is a department of the business of the ,house that has lately assumed alarming proportions--the putting of questions to ,ministers upon every conceivable topic4 ,i would here apply1 without hesitation1 the printing direct and the plural backing1 and sweep away the practice entirely from the public proceedings of the ,house4 ,no single member unsupported should have the power of trotting out a ,minister at will4 ,i do not say that so large a number of backers should be required in this case1 but ,i would humbly suggest that the concurrence of ten members should be required even to put a public question4 ,the leader of the ,opposition1 in himself a host1 would not be encumbered with such a formality1 but everyone else would have to procure ten signatures to an interrogative3 the question would be sent in1 and answered2 while question and answer would simply appear in the printed proceedings of the ,house1 and not occupy a single moment of the legislative time4 ,this is a provision that would stand to be argued on its own merits1 everything else remaining as it is4 ,the loss would be purely in the dramatic interest attaching to the deliberations4 ,,alternative ,,scope ,,for ,,oratory4 ,the all but total extinction of oral debate by the revolutionary sweep of two simple devices1 would be far from destroying the power of speech in other ways4 ,the influence exerted by conversation on the small scale1 and by oratory on the great1 would still be exercised4 ,while the conferences in private society1 and the addresses at public meetings1 would continue1 and perhaps be increased in importance1 there would be a much greater activity of sectional discussion1 than at present2 in fact1 the sectional deliberations1 preparatory to motions in the ,house1 would become an organized institution4 ,a certain number of rooms would be set aside for the use of the different sections2 and the meetings would rise into public importance1 and have their record in the public press4 ,the speaking that now protracts the sittings of the ,house would be transferred to these2 even the highest oratory would not disdain to shine where the reward of publicity would still be reaped4 ,as no man would be allowed to engage the attention of the ,house without a following1 it would be in the sections1 in addition to private society and the press1 that new opinions would have to be ventilated1 and the first converts gained4 ,among the innovations that are justified by the principle of avoiding at all points hurried decisions1 there is nothing that would appear more defensible than to give an interval between the close of a debate and the taking of the vote4 ,i apprehend that the chief and only reason why this has never been thought of is1 that most bodies have to finish a mass of current business at one sitting4 ,in assemblies that meet day after day1 the votes on all concluded debates could be postponed till next day2 giving a deliberate interval in private that might improve1 and could not3 deteriorate1 the chances of a good decision4 ,let us imagine that1 in the ,house of ,commons1 for example1 the first hour at each meeting should be occupied with the divisions growing out of the previous day's debates4 ,the consequences would be enormous1 but would any of them be bad8 ,the hollowness of the oral debate as a means of persuasion would doubtless receive a blasting exposure2 many would come up to vote1 few would remain to listen to speeches4 ,the greater number of those that cared to know what was said1 would rest satisfied with the reports in the morning papers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we need to take account of the fact that even greater moderation in the length of speeches would not entirely overcome the real difficulty--the quantity of business thrown upon our legislative bodies4 ,doubtless1 if there were less talk upon burning questions there would be more attention given to unobtrusive matters at present neglected4 ,the mere quantity of work is too great for an assembly to do well4 ,if this amount cannot be lessened--and ,i do not see how it can be--there are still the six competing vehicles at old ,temple ,bar4 ,the single legislative rail is crowded1 and the only device equal to the occasion is to remove some of the traffic to other rails4 ,let a large part of the speaking be got rid of1 or else be transferred to some different arena4 ,,every ,,body ,,entitled ,,to ,,control ,,speech-,,making4 ,i regard as unassailable ,lord ,sherbrooke's position that every deliberative body must possess the entire control of its own procedure1 even to the point of saying how much speaking it will allow on each topic4 ,the rough-and-ready method of coughing down a superfluous speaker is perfectly constitutional1 because absolutely necessary4 ,if a more refined method of curtailing debates could be devised1 without bringing in other evils1 it should be welcomed4 ,the forcible shutting of anyone's mouth will always tend to irritate1 and it is impossible by any plan to prevent a minority from clogging the wheels of business4 ,the freedom of print seems to me one good safety-valve for incontinent speech-makers2 it allows them an equal privilege with their fellows1 and yet does not waste legislative time4 ,i remember hearing1 some time ago1 that our ,chancellor of the ,exchequer was induced1 on the suggestion of the ,times1 to put into print and circulate to the ,house beforehand the figures and tables connected with his financial statement4 ,i could not help remarking1 why might the ,chancellor not circulate1 in the same fashion1 the whole statement1 down to the point of the declaration of the new taxes8 ,it would save the ,house at least an hour and a half1 while not a third of that time would be required to read the printed statement4 ,i believe the first thing that would occur to anyone hearing this suggestion would be--so the ,chancellor might1 but the same reason would apply to the movers of bills1 and to all other business as well 4 99 99 99 99 99 ,our ,english ,parliamentary system having been matured by centuries of experience1 has become a model for other countries just entering upon representative government4 ,but the imitation1 if too literal1 will not be found to work4 ,our system supposes a large gentry1 staying half the year in ,london for pure pleasure1 to which we may add the rich men of business resident there4 ,a sufficient number of these classes can at any time be got to make up the ,house of ,commons2 and1 the majority being composed of such1 the ways of the ,house are regulated accordingly4 ,daily constant attendance1 when necessary1 and readiness to respond to the whip at short notice1 are assumed as costing nothing4 ,but in other countries1 the case is not the same4 ,in the ,italian ,chamber ,i found professors of the ,university of ,turin1 who still kept up their class-work1 and made journeys to ,rome at intervals of a week or two1 on the emergence of important business4 ,even the payment of members is not enough to bring people away from their homes1 and break up their avocations1 for several months every year4 ,the forms of procedure1 as familiar to us1 do not fit under such circumstances4 ,the system of printed speeches1 with division days at two or three weeks' interval1 might be found serviceable4 ,but1 at all events1 the entire arrangements of public deliberation need to be revised on much broader grounds than we have been accustomed to2 and it is in this view1 more than with any hope of bringing about immediate changes1 that ,i have ventured to propound the foregoing suggestions4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,opinions ,,favourable ,,to ,,printing4 ,since the foregoing paper was written1 opinions have been expressed favourable to the use of printing as a means of shortening the debates in the ,house of ,commons4 ,among the most notable of the authorities that have declared their views1 we may count ,lord ,derby and ,lord ,sherbrooke4 ,both advocate the printing of the answers by ministers to the daily string of questions addressed to them4 ,lord ,derby goes a step farther4 ,he would have everyone introducing a bill to prepare a statement of his reasons1 to be circulated among members at the public expense4 ,even this small beginning would be fruitful of important consequences2 the greatest being the inevitable extension of the system4 ,i am not aware that my suggestion as to requiring a plurality of members to back every bill and every proposal1 has gained any degree of support4 ,it was urged that1 if the power were taken away from single members to move in any case whatever1 the few that are accustomed to find themselves alone1 would form into a group to back each other4 ,i do not hesitate to say that the supposition is contrary to all experience4 ,crotcheteers have this in common with the insane1 that they can seldom agree in any conjoined action4 ,even in the very large body constituting our ,house of ,commons1 it is not infrequent for motions to be made without obtaining a seconder4 ,the requirement of even five concurring members would put an extinguisher upon a number of propositions that have at present to be entertained4 ,the last session 7#ahhc7 has opened the eyes of many to the absurdity of allowing a single member to block a bill4 ,when it is considered that1 in an assembly of six hundred1 there is probably at least one man1 like ,fergus ,o',conner1 verging on insanity1 and out of the reach of all the common motives1--we may well wonder that a deliberative body should so put itself at the mercy of individuals4 ,surely the rule1 for stopping bills at half-past twelve1 might have been accompanied with the requirement of a seconder1 which would have saved many in the course of the recent sessions4 ,it is the gross abuse of this power that is forcing upon reluctant minds the first advance to plural backing1 and there is now a demand for five or six to unite in placing a block against a measure4 ,it occurred to ,mr4 ,gladstone1 during the autumn session of #ahhb1 to take down the statistics of attendance in the ,house for several days running4 ,his figures were detailed to the ,house1 in one of his speeches1 and were exactly what we were prepared for4 ,they completely pounded and pulverised the notion1 that listening to the debates is the way that members have their minds made up for giving their votes4 ,,extra-,,parliamentary ,,discussion ,,increasing4 ,the recent parliamentary recess has witnessed an unusual development in the out-of-door discussion of burning questions4 ,in addition to a full allowance of vacation oratory1 and the unremitted current of the newspaper press1 the monthlies have given forth a number of reasoned articles by cabinet ministers and by men of ministerial rank in the opposition4 ,the whole tendency of our time is1 to supersede parliamentary discussion by more direct appeals to the mind of the public4 ,to stop entirely the oral discussion of business in ,parliament would have some inconveniences2 but the want of adequate consideration of such measures as possessed the smallest interest with any class1 would not be one of them4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ah3 ,contemporary ,review1 ,november1 #ahhj4 ,footnote #ai3 ,i have often thought that1 the practice of circulating1 with a motion1 the proposer's reasons1 would1 on many occasions1 be worthy of being voluntarily adopted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,notes and ,references in connection with ,essay ,,viii41 on ,subscription4 ,it may be useful here to supply a few memoranda as to the history and present practice of ,subscription to ,articles4 ,in the ,quarterly ,review1 ,no4 #aag1 the following observations are made respecting the first imposition of ,tests after the ,english ,reformation3-- ,before the ,reformation no subscription was required from the body of the clergy1 as none was necessary4 ,the bishops at their consecration took an oath of obedience to the ,king1 in which1 besides promising subjection in matters temporal1 they 'utterly renounced and clearly forsook all such clauses1 words1 sentences1 and grants1 which they had or should have of the ,pope's ,holiness1 that in any wise were hurtful or prejudicial to ,his ,highness or ,his ,estate ,royal'2 whilst to the ,pope they bound themselves by oath to keep the rules of the ,holy ,fathers1 the decrees1 ordinances1 sentences1 dispositions1 reservations1 provisions1 and commandments ,apostolic1 and1 to their powers1 to cause them to be kept by others4 ,and1 as their command over their clergy was complete1 and they could at once remove any who violated the established rule of opinion1 no additional obligation or engagement from men under such strict discipline was requisite4 ,the statement1 therefore 7by ,dean ,stanley71 that 'the ,roman ,catholic clergy1 and the clergy of the ,eastern ,church1 neither formerly1 nor now1 were bound by any definite forms of subscription2 and that the unity of the ,church is preserved there as the unity of the ,state is preserved everywhere1 not by preliminary promises or oaths1 but by the general laws of discipline and order'2 though true to the letter1 is really wholly untrue in its application to the argument concerning subscriptions4 ,for it is to the total absence of liberty1 and to the severity of 'the general laws of discipline and order1' and not to a liberty greater than our own1 that this absence of subscription is due4 ,in point of fact1 the requirement of subscription from the clergy was coeval with the upgrowth of liberty of opinion3 while the circumstances of the ,english ,reformation of religion made it essential to the success and the safety of that great movement4 ,it was essential to its success2 for as it was accomplished mainly by a numerical minority1 both of the clergy and laity of the land1 there could be no other guarantee of its maintenance than the assurance that its doctrines would be honestly taught1 and its ritual observed by the whole body of the conforming clergy4 ,thus the ,reformation subscriptions aimed at the prevention of covert ,popery1 a danger to which the ,reforming laity felt that they were exposed by the strong wishes of a majority of their own class2 by the undissembled bias of many of the parochial clergy2 and by the secret bias of some even of the bi-hops2 whilst the diminution of their absolute control over the clergy lessened the power of enforcing the new opinions when the bishop was sincerely attached to them4 ,the entire article is of value both for its historical information as to the history of ,tests in the ,english ,church1 and for its mode of advocating the retention of subscription to the ,articles1 as at present enforced4 99 99 99 99 99 ,subscription came with the ,english ,reformation4 ,the ,report of the ,royal ,commission of #ahfd1 on ,subscription in the ,english ,church1 supplied a complete account of all the changes in subscription from the ,reformation downwards4 ,reference may also be made to ,stoughton's ,history of ,religion in ,england1 for the incidents in greater detail4 ,perhaps the most remarkable defence of ,liberty1 as against the prevailing view in the ,english ,church1 is ,dean ,milman's speech before the ,clerical ,subscription ,commission1 of which he was a member4 ,it is printed in ,fraser's ,magazine1 ,march1 #ahfe1 and is included in the criticism of the ,quarterly ,review article1 already quoted4 ,the ,dean's ,resolution submitted to the ,commission was as follows3-- ,conformity to the ,liturgy of the ,church of ,england being the best and the surest attainable security for 'the declared agreement of the ,clergy with the doctrines of the ,church'2 with many the daily1 with all the weekly public reading of the services of the ,church of ,england 7containing1 as they do1 the ancient creeds of the ,church ,catholic71 and the constant use of the ,sacramental offices and other formularies in the ,book of ,common ,prayer1 being a solemn and reiterated pledge of their belief in those doctrines1 the ,subscription to the thirty-nine ,articles is unnecessary4 ,such ,subscription adds no further guarantee for the clergyman's faithfulness to the doctrines of the ,church2 while the peculiar form and controversial tone in which the ,articles were compiled is the cause of much perplexity1 embarrassment1 and difficulty1 especially to the younger clergy and to those about to enter into ,holy ,orders4 ,much doubt was entertained1 whether this motion came within the terms of the ,commission4 ,it was not pressed by the ,dean4 ,i give the following quotation from the speech3-- 444 ,and if ,i venture to question the expediency1 the wisdom1 ,i will say the righteousness of retaining subscription to the thirty-nine ,articles as obligatory on all clergymen1 ,i do so1 not from any difficulty in reconciling with my own conscience what1 during my life1 ,i have done more than once1 but from the deep and deliberate conviction that such subscription is altogether unnecessary as a safeguard for the essential doctrines of ,christianity1 which are more safely and fully protected by other means4 ,it never has been1 is not1 and never will be a solid security for its professed object1 the reconciling or removing religious differences1 which it tends rather to create and keep alive2 is embarrassing to many men who might be of the most valuable service in the ministry of the ,church2 is objectionable as concentrating and enforcing the attention of the youngest clergy on questions1 some abstruse1 some antiquated1 and in themselves at once so minute and comprehensive as to harass less instructed and profound thinkers1 to perplex and tax the sagacity of the most able lawyers and the most learned divines4444 ,one of my chief objections to subscription to the thirty-nine ,articles as a perpetual test of ,english ,churchmanship is that they are throughout controversial1 and speak1 as of necessity they must speak1 the controversial language of their day2 they cannot1 therefore1 in my opinion1 be fully1 clearly1 and distinctly understood without a careful study and a very wide knowledge of the disputes and opinions of those times1 a calm yet deep examination of their meaning1 objects1 limitations1 which cannot be expected from young theological students1 from men fresh from their academical pursuits4 ,i venture to add1 indeed to argue1 that their true bearing and interpretation seems to me to have escaped some of our most eminent judges from want of that full study and perfect knowledge2 and ,i must say that1 in these laborious and practical day1 it may be questioned whether this study of controversies1 many of them bygone1 will be so useful1 so profitable1 as entire devotion to the plainer and simpler duties of the clergyman4 ,their immense range1 too1 the infinite questions into which they branch out 7it has been said1 ,i know not how truly1 that five hundred questions may be raised upon them71 is a further objection to their maintenance as a preliminary and indispensable requirement before the young man is admitted to ,holy ,orders4 ,on the whole ,i stand1 without hesitation1 to my proposition1 that the doctrines of the ,english ,church are not only more simply1 but more fully1 assuredly1 more winningly1 taught in our ,liturgy and our ,formularies than in our ,articles4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the very elaborate work of ,mr4 ,taylor ,innes1 entitled the ,law of ,creeds1 is exhaustive for ,scotland2 including both the ,established ,church and the various sects of ,protestant ,dissenters4 ,it also incidentally takes notice of some of the more critical decisions on heresy cases in the ,english ,church4 ,mr4 ,innes properly points out1 that the abolition of ,subscription is compatible with compulsory adherence to ,articles4 ,the relaxation of the forms of ,subscription in the ,english ,church1 by the ,act of #ahfe1 gave a certain amount of relief to the consciences of the clergy1 but left them as much exposed as ever to suits for heresy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,report of ,presbyterian ,alliance4 ,for the usages of the ,reformed ,churches1 on the ,continent1 and in ,america1 a mass of valuable information has been furnished in the ,report of the ,second ,general ,council of the ,presbyterian ,alliance1 convened at ,philadelphia1 ,september1 #ahhj4 ,at the previous meeting of the ,council1 held at ,edinburgh1 ,july1 #ahgg1 a ,committee was appointed to ,report on the ,creeds and ,subscriptions in use among the various bodies forming the ,alliance4 ,it is unnecessary to refer to the answers given in to the ,committee's ,queries1 from ,great ,britain and ,ireland1 except to complete the history of the ,presbyterian ,church of ,england1 so long distinguished for the abeyance of clerical subscription4 ,it was in #agee1 that the ,presbytery of ,newcastle made a movement towards disclaiming the ,arian1 ,socinian and other heresies1 but without proposing a ,confession4 ,in #aghd1 the same ,presbytery adopted a ,formula accepting the ,westminster ,confession2 in #ahjb1 however1 subscription to the ,formula was rescinded4 ,through ,scottish influence1 the return to the ,westminster ,confession was gradually brought about in the early part of the century4 ,that ,confession was formally adopted by the ,presbytery of ,newcastle in #ahbd2 and since #ahcf1 all the ministers of the body have been required to accept it in the most unqualified manner4 ,the ,calvinistic ,methodists of ,wales drew up1 in #ahbc1 a ,confession consisting of forty-four articles1 agreeing substantially with the ,westminster ,confession4 ,subscription is not required3 but the clergy1 prior to ordination1 make a statement of their doctrinal views1 which amounts to nearly the same thing4 ,like the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 the ,methodists depend upon discipline rather than upon ,subscription4 ,the ,congregational ,churches take up almost the same attitude towards their clergy4 ,there is no subscription2 but any great deviation from the prevailing views of the body leads to forfeiture of the position of brotherhood1 and possibly also to severance from the charge of a congregation4 ,still1 the absence of a binding and penal test is favourable to freedom1 from the present tendency of men's minds in that direction4 ,as regards the ,presbyterian ,church in the ,united ,states of ,america1 we find that the first ,presbytery was constituted in #agje4 ,no formal statement of doctrine was considered necessary till the lapse of about a quarter of a century1 when the spread of ,arianism in ,england urged the ,synod of ,philadelphia to pass what was called the ,adopting ,act in #agbi1 by which they hoped to exclude from ,american churches ,british ministers tainted with ,arian views4 ,they agreed that all the ministers of this ,synod1 or that shall hereafter be admitted into this ,synod1 shall declare their agreement in and approbation of the ,confession of ,faith1 with the ,larger and ,shorter ,catechisms of the ,assembly of ,divines at ,westminster1 as being1 in all the essential and necessary articles1 good forms of sound words and systems of ,christian doctrine1 and we do also adopt the said confession and the catechisms as the ,confession of our faith 4 ,the formula subscribed by ministers at their ordination is1 however1 less stringent than that in use in the ,churches of ,scotland4 99 99 99 99 99 ,french ,protestant ,churches4 ,turning next to the ,continent we may refer1 first1 to the ,french ,protestant ,church1 now consisting of two divisions--7#a7 ,the ,reformed ,church united to the ,state1 and 7#b7 ,the ,union of the ,evangelical ,churches4 ,the ,gallic ,confession1 styled ,la ,rochelle1 the joint work of ,calvin and ,chaudien1 was adopted as the doctrinal standard of the ,reformed ,french ,churches in their first national synod1 which met at ,paris in ,may1 #aeei1 and was revised and confirmed by the seventh synod1 which assembled at ,la ,rochelle under the presidency of ,theodore ,beza in #aega4 ,it is composed of forty articles1 which reproduce faithfully the ,calvinistic doctrine4 ,but it is not accepted as infallible2 the final authority1 in the light of which successive synods may reform it1 is the ,bible4 ,the reformed doctrine1 as sanctioned by the ,confession of ,la ,rochelle1 was1 in its essential features1 recognised and professed by all ,protestant ,france2 and1 notwithstanding its sufferings and internal dissensions1 the ,church during the first quarter of the #agth century held its own course and remained faithful to itself4 ,a consistory1 that of ,caen1 had1 even as late as #ahdj1 restored in the churches of its jurisdiction the ,confession of ,la ,rochelle in its full vigour4 ,little by little1 however1 under the influence of the naturalistic philosophy of the #ahth century1 the negative criticism of ,germany1 and above all the religious indifference which followed the repose which the ,church was enjoying after two centuries of persecution1 the ,confession of ,faith as well as the discipline fell into disuse4 ,it was never really abrogated4444 ,however1 it is a practical fact that the partisans of one of the two sections which to-day divide the ,reformed ,church of ,france1 not only do not consider themselves bound by the ,confession of ,la ,rochelle1 but1 tending more and more towards ,rationalism1 and seeing in ,protestantism only the religion of free thought1 have come to reject the great miracles of the gospel1 and to demand for their pastors1 in the bosom of the ,church1 unlimited freedom in teaching4 ,while on the one hand the sovereignty of the ,holy ,scriptures is claimed1 on the other is held the rule of individual conscience4 ,the majority of the official synod which met at ,paris in ,september1 #ahdh1 refused to put an end to the doctrinal disorder in the ,church by establishing in the ,church a clear and positive law of faith4 ,the minority1 regarding the adverse vote as an official sufferance of indifference on doctrinal matters1 separated themselves from their brethren1 and founded the ,union of the ,evangelical ,churches of ,france4 ,general ,synod of ,paris in #ahgb4 ,in #ahgb1 in the face of attacks directly aimed1 in the bosom of the ,church1 at the unity of her doctrine1 the thirtieth general synod1 assembled at ,paris1 drew up1 not a complete ,confession of ,faith1 but a declaration determining the doctrinal limits of the ,church1 and proclaiming the sovereign authority of the ,holy ,scriptures with regard to belief1 and salvation through faith in ,jesus ,christ1 the only begotten ,son of ,god1 who died for our sins and rose again for our justification4#bj ,down to #ahbd1 new pastors indicated their adherence to the ,confession of ,faith by signature4 ,in #ahbd1 however1 signature was replaced by a solemn promise4 ,since that time different formulas have been used at the will of the pastors performing the ordination1 without any one of them having the sanction of a synod1 and without the manner of adherence having been expressly stipulated4 ,since the ,synod of #ahgb1 in ordinations over which pastors attached to the ,synodal ,church have presided1 candidates are required to conform formally1 in the presence of the congregation1 to the declaration of faith adopted by the ,synod4 ,article #b1 of the complete law1 declares3 ',every candidate for holy orders must1 before receiving ordination1 affirm that he adheres to the faith of the ,church as stated by the general synod'4 ,theological professors were sometimes appointed without conditions4 ,still they were not permitted to teach doctrines in glaring contradiction to the general belief of the ,churches4 ,for example1 in #ahab1 ,m4 ,gasc1 professor of theology at ,montauban1 attacked in his lectures the doctrine of the ,trinity1 whereupon several consistories required him either to retract his opinions or to resign his post4 ,m4 ,gasc retracted his opinions4 ,the ,evangelical ,churches of ,france1 composed of members who have made an explicit and individual profession of faith1 and who recognise in religious matters no other authority than that of ,jesus ,christ1 the only and sovereign head of the ,church1 accept the ,old and ,new ,testaments as directly inspired by ,god and so constituting the only and infallible rule of faith and life4 ,churches of ,switzerland4 ,the ,churches of ,switzerland have the pre-eminence in the relaxation or disuse of ,tests4 ,the following is a summary of their practice3-- ,the ,reformed ,church of the ,canton of ,vaud4 ,according to the ecclesiastical law of ,may #ai1 #ahfc 7slightly modified by a decree of ,december #b1 #ahgd71 the ,national ,church of the ,canton of ,vaud desires chiefly that its members should lead a ,christian life1 and admits no other rule of instruction than the ,word of ,god contained in the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,every candidate for the ministry is required by the ecclesiastical law of ,december #ad1 #ahci1 to swear that he will discharge conscientiously the duties which the ,national ,reformed ,evangelical ,church imposes upon its ministers1 and that he will preach the ,word of ,god in its purity and integrity as it is contained in the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,when accusation is brought against any minister on the ground of doctrine1 the proceedings are distinctly marked2 but in reality it is simply required that 'the jurymen give a conscientious verdict'4 ,the ,free ,evangelical ,church of the ,canton of ,vaud requires that candidates for the ministry be examined as to their religious life1 their calling to the ministry1 their doctrine and their ecclesiastical principles by a committee of the synodical commission1 with pastors and elders4 ,after examination the candidate must declare his cordial adhesion to the doctrines and institutions of the ,free ,church4 ,this pledge is verbal4 ,independent ,evangelical ,church of ,neuchatel4 ,the ancient ,reformed ,church of ,neuchatel never put forth any special ,confession of ,faith4 ,the assembly of ,pastors1 the governing body of the ,church1 down to #ahdh1 accepted the ,holy ,scriptures1 the forms used in baptism and the communion1 and the ,apostles' ,creed as fully adequate to express the faith of the ,church4 ,the ,synod1 who took over the government of the ,church in #ahdh1 maintained the same position1 refusing in #aheg to sanction an abridged ,confession4 ,on ,may #bj1 #ahgc1 the ,grand ,council of the ,republic and ,canton of ,neuchatel passed a new law regulating the relation of ,church and ,state4 ,article #ab says3 ,liberty of conscience in matters of religion is inviolable2 it may neither be fettered by regulations1 vows1 or promises1 by disciplinary penalties1 by formulas or a creed1 nor by any measures whatsoever4 ,hence resulted the separation of those that formed the ,independent ,evangelical ,church of ,neuchatel1 which1 in #ahgd1 adopted a ,confession acknowledging as the only source and rule of its faith the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 and proclaiming the great truths of salvation contained in the ,apostles' ,creed4 ,the ministers1 on ordination1 take an oath to advance the honour and glory of ,god above all things2 to maintain his word at the risk of life1 body1 and property2 to be in unity with the brethren in the doctrines of religion and in the holy ministry2 and to avoid all sectarianism and schism in the ,church4 ,national ,protestant ,church of ,geneva4 ,historical ,changes in the ,church of ,geneva4 ,during the #afth century1 from #aecf onwards1 the ,national ,protestant ,church of ,geneva was in constant turmoil through the insistence on1 and the opposition to1 the doctrines laid down by ,calvin in his ,confession of ,faith and ,system of ,ecclesiastical ,ordinances4 ,the #agth century is marked by the conflicts of ,calvinism and ,arminianism4 ,after numerous variations1 the oath of consecration was1 in ,june #agbe1 changed hack to the form provided by the ,ecclesiastical ,ordinance of #aegf3 ,you swear to hold the doctrine of the holy prophets and apostles1 as it is contained in the books of the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 of which doctrine our ,catechism is a summary 4 ,this oath remained in force for nearly a century1 till #ahjf4 ,it was asserted in the discussion 7in the ,assembly7 that no one should be forced to follow entirely ,calvin's ,catechism4 ,it is further expected that the candidates for the ministry should be requested not to discuss in the pulpit any striking or useless matter which might tend to disturb the peace4 ,at this time1 the ,confession of ,faith of the #agth century was abolished to return to that of the #afth century1 interpreting the latter with much freedom4 ,the ,lower ,council ratified this decision1 but ordered the ,assembly to keep the most absolute silence upon this subject1 especially in the presence of strangers4 ,in #aghh1 the ,assembly adopted a new ,catechism1 containing numerous points of divergence from the orthodox ,catechism of ,calvin1 which it superseded with the sanction of the ,lower ,council4 ,in #ahjf1 the new formula of consecration threw out the ,catechism2 it ran thus--,you promise to teach divine truth as it is contained in the books of the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 of which we have an abridgment in the ,apostles' ,creed4 ,in #ahaj1 after long deliberation1 there was published a revision in the latitudinarian and utilitarian sense of the ,larger ,catechism4 ,in the same year1 the ,apostles' ,creed was thrown out of the pledge of the ministers1 which now read thus3 ,you promise 444 to preach1 in its purity1 the gospel of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 to recognise as the only infallible rule of faith and conduct the word of ,god1 as it is contained in the sacred books of the ,old and ,new ,testaments4 ,presently1 however1 in #ahac1 a religious revival led to dangerous discussions1 and the ministers were bound to abstain from all sectarian spirit1 to avoid all that would create any schism and break the union of the ,church--an addition suppressed towards #ahej2 and in #ahag1 they were required to pledge themselves to abstain from discussing four points in particular--the manner of the union of the divine and human nature in the person of ,jesus ,christ2 original sin2 the manner in which grace operates1 or saving grace2 and predestination2 and1 if led to utter their thoughts on any one of these subjects1 they were to do so without too much positiveness1 to avoid expressions foreign to the ,holy ,scriptures1 and to use1 as much as possible1 the terms which they employ4 ,in #ahdg1 the organisation of the ,protestant worship was set forth in a special law1 and in #ahdi1 the ,consistory called in accordance with this1 adopted an organic rule for the ,church4 ,according to ,article #gd1 the functionaries of the ,church may be subjected to discipline in case of teaching1 preaching1 or publicly professing any doctrine that may bring scandal upon the ,church4 ,various modifications followed4 ,in #ahgd 7,april #bf71 ,article #abc was made to declare that each pastor teaches and preaches freely on his own responsibility1 and no restraint can be put upon this liberty either by the ,confession of ,faith or by the liturgic formulas4 ,in the end of the same year1 however 7,oct4 #c71 the ,state ,council promulgated a new organic law1 in virtue of which a pastor can either be suspended or dismissed by the ,consistory or by the ,council of ,state for dogmatic motives4 ,in #ahge1 the pastor obtained the right to use in his religious teaching any catechetical manual he preferred1 provided he informed the ,consistory of his choice4 ,the use of the liturgical prayers1 published by the ,consistory1 became optional4 ,the pastors were now required merely to declare before ,god that they will teach and preach conscientiously1 according to their lights and faith the ,christian truth contained in our holy hooks4 ,the liturgical collection1 published by the ,consistory in #ahge1 contains two series of formulas1 expressed in a dogmatic sense on the one hand1 and in a liberal sense on the other4 ,the ,apostles' ,creed is optional4 ,free ,evangelical ,church of ,geneva4 ,the ,free ,evangelical ,church of ,geneva demands only a formal adherence to its ,profession of ,faith from the elders 7including the ministers7 and the deacons4 ,some of these officers have even been permitted to hold certain reserves on such or such article4 ,germanic ,switzerland4 ,pastor ,bernard of ,berne1 having enumerated the symbolical writings of ,germanic ,switzerland1 says3 ,for centuries the pastors were obliged to sign them1 although it is true that the ,second ,confession of ,helvetic ,faith was alone recognised as the general rule imposed upon pastors4 ,the signing of the ,formula ,consensus was exacted only temporarily 7being discarded about #agbj74 ,it has been only from the beginning of this century that1 under the influence of rationalism1 pastors have been required to preach the ,gospel merely according to the principles of the ,helvetic ,confession4 ,to-day we find all confession of faith abolished in our ,germanic ,swiss ,churches4 ,pastors preach what pleases them4 ,chosen by the parishes1 they owe to them solely an avowal of their doctrines4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,hungarian ,reformed ,church has a singular history1 in respect of ,creeds4 ,the ,report of the ,council goes very minutely into the detail of eleven confessions held successively by that church4 ,of these1 there survive two--the ,helvetic ,confession and the ,catechism of ,heidelberg1 by which ministers and office--bearers are still bound4 99 99 99 99 99 ,german ,churches4 ,next as to ,germany4 ,as the several states have their separate ecclesiastical usages1 the same rule does not apply everywhere4 ,for an extreme case of absence of toleration1 we may refer to the ,grand ,duchy of ,mecklenburg4 ,lutheranism is the established religion2 and the ,duchy is the stronghold of mediaeval conservatism both in politics and in religion4 ,the1 removal of ,baumgarten from the ,university of ,rostock is an example in point2 and the decree is so characteristic1 and illustrative that it deserves to be given at length4 ,we have to our sincere regret been given to understand that1 in your writings published in and since the year #ahed1 you have advanced doctrines and principles that are in the most important points at variance with the doctrines and principles of the symbolic books of our ,evangelical-,lutheran ,church and of our rules of ,church ,discipline1 to such an extent as to amount to an attempt to shake to the very foundation the basis whereon these doctrines and principles and our church rest4 ,in order to reach more exact certainty on these things1 we have assembled our ,consistory to consider this matter1 and from them we have received the annexed opinion1 by which the above-mentioned view has been fully confirmed4 ,whereas1 then1 it is required by our ,church ,ordinances of #aeeb and #afjb 7#afej7 that the ,christian doctrine shall be taught 'pure and unchanged1' as it is contained in ,holy ,writ1 the general symbols of the ,christian ,church1 in ,dr4 ,luther's ,catechism and ,confession1 and in the ,augsburg ,confession of #aecj1 and that1 if an academical teacher fall away from these1 he shall be proceeded against2 whereas1 further1 in ,articles ,,ii4 to ,,iv4 of the ,reversals of #afba1 the sovereigns gave the ,states the assurance that in the ,university of ,rostock there should be neither appointed nor tolerated any other teachers but such as should be attached to the ,augsburg ,confession and the ,lutheran religion3 the establishment of the ,university of ,rostock on the pure doctrine of the ,christian symbols and of the ,augsburg ,confession has been repeated in #d of the ,regulations upon the relations of the town of ,rostock to the ,state ,university of #ahbg1 and once again in #a of the ,statutes of the ,university of #ahcg2 no less do the statutes of the ,theological ,faculty of ,rostock of #aefd1 and the later ,regulation as to this ,faculty of #agia1 bind the members of the ,faculty to expound the writings of the ,prophets and the ,apostles in the sense laid down in the general ,christian symbols1 in the ,augsburg ,confession1 the ,smalkald ,articles1 and the writings of ,dr4 ,luther2 your appointment of #cast ,august1 #ahej1 referred you to the ,statutes of the ,university and of the ,theological ,faculty1 and also directed you to comport yourself in accordance with the rule and line of the revealed word of ,god1 the unchanged ,augsburg ,confession1 the formula concordia1 and all the other symbolic books received in our 7lands7 country1 as well as with the ,mecklenburg ,church ,ordinances relating to these1 without any innovation2 you also on your induction on the #aith of ,oct41 #ahej1 bound yourself by oath to the duties contained in your appointment and to the ,statutes of the ,university and of the ,theological ,faculty4 ,removal of ,baumgarten from ,rostock4 ,we can the shorter time entrust you with the vocation of an academic teacher of the ,evangelical-,lutheran ,theology as you have united with your backslidings in theological doctrine at the same time political doctrines of the most delicate kind1 deduced relatively from those2 and we will1 therefore--after hearing of our ,high ,consistory1 and after the foregoing resolution of our ministry according to #aj1 ,lit4 ,h4 of the ,ordinance of #dth ,april1 #ahec1 relating to the organisation of the ,ministers--hereby remove you from the office1 hitherto filled by you1 of an ordinary ,professor of ,theology in our ,state ,university of ,rostock4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in ,prussia1 the ,clergy1 and especially the ,university ,professors of ,theology1 enjoy more liberty than in ,mecklenburg2 but they are not wholly secure from the attempts of the ,church ,courts to enforce discipline against heretical teaching4 ,the following are recent cases4 #a4 ,the ,st4 ,jacobi ,gemeinde 7parish7 in ,berlin1 belonging1 as is the rule in ,prussia1 to the ,unirte ,kirche--a fusion of the ,lutheran and the ,reformed ,churches--in #ahgg1 chose1 as its pastor1 ,lic4 ,horzbach4 ,the ,consistory of ,brandenburg1 within whose jurisdiction ,berlin lies1 refused to admit him on account of his heterodox views4 ,by the ecclesiastical law1 a pastor translated from one consistory to another1 has to be approved of by the one he enters2 which gives an opportunity of exercising a disciplinary power1 not beyond what is possessed by the consistory where he has once been admitted1 but more opportunely and conveniently brought into play4 ,st4 ,jacobi parish1 having apparently a taste for advanced views1 next chose a ,dr4 ,schramm2 but he too was rejected on the same grounds4 ,the third selection fell on ,pastor ,werner 7,guben72 this was confirmed by the ,consistory1 but was quashed by the ,oberkirchenrath1 or supreme ecclesiastical authority of the country1 located in ,berlin4 ,the parish was now considered to have forfeited its right of election2 and a pastor was chosen for it by the ,oberkirchenrath4 ,happily his views were not too strict for the congregation1 and peace was restored4 ,in all the three instances1 the rejection took place on the complaint of a small orthodox minority in the parish4 #b4 ,rev4 ,lhr1 pastor at ,eckenforda1 in the ,prussian ,province of ,schleswig-,holstein1 was accused of heresy1 and deprived by the ,provincial ,consistory of ,kiel in ,december1 #ahha4 ,pastor ,lhr appealed to the ,berlin ,oberkirchenrath1 who reversed the sentence1 and let him off with a reproof for the use of incautious language4 ,there have been two still more notorious heresy hunts3 one1 the case of ,dr4 ,sydow in ,berlin2 the other1 ,pastor ,kalzhoff1 who was ultimately deposed1 and is now minister of an independent congregation in ,berlin4 ,both the central ecclesiastical authority and the provincial consistories1 being nominated by the ,government1 reflect the religious tendencies of the ,emperor and his ,ministers for the time being4 ,at present1 these are probably behind the country at large in point of liberality4 99 99 99 99 99 ,next to ,switzerland1 ,holland is most distinguished for advanced views as to the remission of ,tests1 and the liberty of the clergy4 ,a very complete account of the history and present position of the ,dutch sects is given in a pamphlet1 entitled ,the ,ecclesiastical ,institutions of ,holland1 by ,philip ,h4 ,wicksteed1 ,m4,a4 7,williams ,norgate74 ,subscription in the ,dutch ,church4 ,it is pretty well known that in doctrinal views the majority in the ,dutch ,church is ,calvinist2 while a minority forms the ,modern ,school1 a school partaking of the rationalism of our century in matters of faith4 ,the battle of the ,confessions began in #ahdb1 and is not yet finished4 ,in this year an attempt was made to revive the binding authority of the old confessions4 ,the ,general ,synod in that and the following years successfully resisted the movement4 ,in #ahed1 a new formula of subscription applicable to candidates for the ministry was introduced1 less stringent and more liberal than the old one4 ,the orthodoxy party endeavoured to make it more stringent1 the liberals proposed to make it still less so4 ,in #ahgd1 a majority of the ,general ,synod passed the following declaration3-- ,the doctrine contained in the ,netherland ,confession1 the ,heidelberg ,catechism1 and the ,canons of the ,synod of ,dort1 forms the historical foundation of the ,reformed ,church of the ,netherlands4 ,inasmuch as this doctrine is not confessed with sufficient unanimity by the community1 there can1 under the existing circumstances1 be no possibility of 'maintaining the doctrine' in the ecclesiastical sense4 ,the community1 building on the principles of the ,church1 as manifested in her origin and development1 continues to confess her ,christian faith1 and thereby to form the expression which may in course of time once more become the adequate and unanimous ,confession of the ,church4 ,meantime1 care for the interests of the ,christian ,church in general and the ,reformed in particular1 quickening of ,christian religion and morality1 increase of religious knowledge1 preservation of order and unity1 and furtherance of love for ,king and ,fatherland--are ever the main object of all to whom any ecclesiastical office is entrusted1 and no one can be rejected as a member or a teacher who1 complying with all other requirements1 declares himself to be convinced in his own conscience that in compliance with the above-named principles1 he may belong to the ,reformed ,church of the ,netherlands4#ba ,this declaration1 however1 did not pass the ,provincial ,church ,courts1 which possess the right of veto2 and the law therefore remained as it was4 ,but1 in #ahha1 a new proposal for altering the formula of subscription passed the ,general ,synod4 ,next year1 it was definitely approved1 and is now the law of the church4 ,according to it1 licentiates to the ,ministry1 on being admitted by the ,provincial ,church ,courts1 are made to promise that they will labour in the ,ministry according to their vocation with zeal and faithfulness2 that they will further with all their power the interests of the kingdom of ,god1 and1 so far as consistent therewith1 the interests of the ,dutch ,reformed ,church1 and give obedience to the regulations of that ,church4 ,there is1 however1 both in orthodox and in semi-orthodox circles1 a wide-spread dissatisfaction with this amount of latitude1 and fears are entertained for its continuance4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #bj3 ,the debates in this ,synod were conducted with the highest ability on both sides4 ,guizot took a part on the side of orthodoxy4 ,the published report will be found abstracted in the ,british ,quarterly1 ,no4 ,,cxiv4 ,footnote #ba3 ,mr4 ,wicksteed makes the following curious remark3--,i am often asked whether the ',moderns' are ,unitarians4 ,the question is rather startling4 ,it is as if one were asked whether the majority of ,english astronomers had ceased to uphold the ,ptolemaic system yet4 ,the best answer ,i can give is a reference to the chapter on ',god' in a popular work by ,dr4 ,matthes which has run through four editions4 ,in this chapter there is not a word about the ,trinity1 but at the close occurs this footnote3 ,on the antiquated doctrine of the ,trinity1 see the fourteenth note at the end of the book1--where1 accordingly1 the doctrine is expounded and its confusions pointed out rather with the calm interest of the antiquarian than the eagerness of the controversialist4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,,works ,,by ,,professor ,,bain4 ,a ,,first ,,english ,,grammar1 #ijth ,thousand4 ,a ,,key1 with additional ,exercises4 ,a ,,higher ,,english ,,grammar1 #hjth ,thousand of ,revised ,edition4 ,a ,,companion ,,to ,,the ,,higher ,,grammar4 ,,english ,,composition ,,and ,,rhetoric4 ,,logic1 in ,two ,parts-- ,,deduction4 ,,induction4 ,,mental ,,and ,,moral ,,science4 ,the same1 in ,two ,parts1 ,,mental ,,science--,,psychology ,,and ,,history ,,of ,,philosophy4 ,,moral ,,science--,,ethical ,,philosophy ,,and ,,ethical ,,systems4 ,,the ,,senses ,,and ,,the ,,intellect1 #crd ,edition4 ,,the ,,emotions ,,and ,,the ,,will1 #crd ,edition4 ,,john ,,stuart ,,mill1 a ,criticism3 with ,personal ,recollections4 ,,james ,,mill1 a ,biography4