,,what ,,is ,,and ,,what ,,might ,,be   
,a ,,study ,,of ,,education ,,in        
,,general ,,and ,,elementary ,,education
 ,,in ,,particular  ,,by  ,,edmond      
,,holmes  ,,author ,,of ,,the ,,creed   
,,of ,,christ1 ,,the ,,creed ,,of       
,,buddha1 ,,the ,,silence ,,of ,,love1  
,,the ,,triumph ,,of ,,love1 ,,etc4     
,,london ,,constable  ,,company #aiab   
,first published1 ,may #aiaa4   ,second 
impression1 ,july #aiaa4   ,third       
impression1 ,september #aiaa4   ,fourth 
impression1 ,november #aiaa4   ,fifth   
impression1 ,january #aiab4   ,sixth    
impression1 ,october #aiab4             
----------------------------------------
------------------------------          
,transcriber's note3 ,obvious printer   
errors have been corrected4 ,all        
other inconstancies in spelling or      
punctuation are as in the original4     
----------------------------------------
------------------------------          
,,preface   ,my aim1 in writing this    
book1 is to show that the externalism of

 the ,west1 the prevalent tendency to   
pay undue regard to outward and visible 
results and to neglect what is inward   
and vital1 is the source of most of the 
defects that vitiate ,education in this 
country1 and therefore that the only    
remedy for those defects is the drastic 
one of changing our standard of reality 
and our conception of the meaning and   
value of life4 ,my reason for making a  
special study of that branch of         
education which is known as ,elementary1
 is that ,i happen to have a more       
intimate knowledge of it than of any    
other branch1 the inside of an          
elementary school being so familiar to  
me that ,i can in some degree bring the 
eye of experience to bear upon the      
problems that confront its teachers4 ,i 
do not for a moment imagine that the    
elementary school teacher is more deeply
 tainted than his fellows with the virus
 of ,occidentalism4 ,nor do ,i think    
that the defects of his schools are     
graver than those of other educational  

institutions4 ,in my judgment they are  
less grave because1 though perhaps more 
glaring1 they have not had time to      
become so deeply rooted1 and are        
therefore1 one may surmise1 less        
difficult to eradicate4 ,also there is  
at least a breath of healthy discontent 
stirring in the field of elementary     
education1 a breath which sometimes     
blows the mist away and gives us sudden 
gleams of sunshine1 whereas over the    
higher levels of the educational world  
there hangs the heavy stupor of profound
 self-satisfaction4#a ,i am not         
exaggerating when ,i say that at this   
moment there are elementary schools in  
,england in which the life of the       
children is emancipative and educative  
to an extent which is unsurpassed1 and  
perhaps unequalled1 in any other type or
 grade of school4  ,i am careful to say 
all this because ,i foresee that1       
without a foreword of explanation1 my   
adverse criticism of what ,i have called
 a familiar type of school may be       

construed into an attack on the         
elementary teachers as a body4 ,i should
 be very sorry if such a construction   
were put upon it4 ,no one knows better  
than ,i do that the elementary teachers 
of this country are the victims of a    
vicious conception of education which   
has behind it twenty centuries of       
tradition and prescription1 and the     
malign influence of which was           
intensified in their case by thirty     
years or more#b of ,code despotism and  
payment by results4 ,handicapped as they
 have been by this and other adverse    
conditions1 they have yet produced a    
noble band of pioneers1 to whom ,i1 for 
one1 owe what little ,i know about the  
inner meaning of education2 and if ,i   
take an unduly high standard in judging 
of their work1 the reason is that they  
themselves1 by the brilliance of their  
isolated achievements1 have compelled me
 to take it4 ,i will therefore ask them 
to bear with me1 while ,i expose with   
almost brutal candour the shortcomings  

of many of their schools4 ,they will    
understand that all the time ,i am      
thinking of education in general even   
more than of elementary education1 and  
using my knowledge of the latter to     
illustrate statements and arguments     
which are really intended to tell       
against the former4 ,they will also     
understand that at the back of my mind  
,i am laying the blame of their         
failures1 not on them but on the hostile
 forces which have been too strong for  
many of them1--on the false assumptions 
of ,western philosophy1 on the false    
standards and false ideals of ,western  
civilisation1 on various old1 unhappy1  
far-off things1 the effects of which are
 still with us1 foremost among these    
being that deadly system of payment by  
results which seems to have been devised
 for the express purpose of arresting   
growth and strangling life1 which bound 
us all1 myself included1 with links of  
iron1 and which had many zealous agents1
 of whom ,i1 alas6 was one4      ,,part 

,i  ,,what ,,is  ,,or  ,,the ,,path ,,of
 ,,mechanical ,,obedience     ,,chapter 
,i  ,,salvation ,,through ,,mechanical  
,,obedience   ,the function of education
 is to foster growth4 ,by some of my    
readers this statement will be regarded 
as a truism2 by others as a challenge2  
by others1 again1 when they have        
realised its inner meaning1 as a wicked 
heresy4 ,i will begin by assuming that  
it is a truism1 and will then try to    
prove that it is true4  ,the function of
 education is to foster growth4 ,the end
 which the teacher should set before    
himself is the development of the latent
 powers of his pupils1 the unfolding of 
their latent life4 ,if growth is to be  
fostered1 two things must be liberally  
provided1--nourishment and exercise4 ,on
 the need for nourishment ,i need not   
insist4 ,the need for exercise is       
perhaps less obvious1 but is certainly  
not less urgent4 ,we make our limbs1 our
 organs1 our senses1 our faculties grow 
by exercising them4 ,when they have     

reached their maximum of development we 
maintain them at that level by          
exercising them4 ,when their capacity   
for growth is unlimited1 as in the case 
of our mental and spiritual faculties1  
the need for exercise is still more     
urgent4 ,to neglect to exercise a given 
limb1 or organ1 or sense1 or faculty1   
would result in its becoming weak1      
flabby1 and in the last resort useless4 
,in childhood1 when the stress of       
,nature's expansive forces is strongest1
 the neglect of exercise will1 for      
obvious reasons1 have most serious      
consequences4 ,if a healthy child were  
kept in bed during the second and third 
years of his life1 the damage done to   
his whole body would be incalculable4   
,these are glaring truisms4 ,let me     
perpetrate one more1--one which is      
perhaps the most glaring of all4 ,the   
process of growing must be done by the  
growing organism1 by the child1 let us  
say1 and by no one else4 ,the child     
himself must take in and assimilate the 

nourishment that is provided for him4   
,the child himself must exercise his    
organs and faculties4 ,the one thing    
which no one may ever delegate to       
another is the business of growing4 ,to 
watch another person eating will not    
nourish one's own body4 ,to watch       
another person using his limbs will not 
strengthen one's own4 ,the forces that  
make for the child's growth come from   
within himself2 and it is for him1 and  
him alone1 to feed them1 use them1      
evolve them4  ,all this is--    ,as true
 as truth's simplicity1   ,and simpler  
than the infancy of truth4  ,but it     
sometimes happens that what is most     
palpable is least perceptible2 and      
perhaps it is because the truth of what 
,i say is self-evident and indisputable1
 that in many ,elementary ,schools in   
this country the education given seems  
to be based on the assumption that my   
truisms are absolutely false4 ,in such  
schools the one end and aim of the      
teacher is to do everything for the     

child2--to feed him with semi-digested  
food2 to hold him by the hand1 or rather
 by both shoulders1 when he tries to    
walk or run2 to keep him under close and
 constant supervision2 to tell him in   
precise detail what he is to think1 to  
feel1 to say1 to wish1 to do2 to show   
him in precise detail how he is to do   
whatever may have to be done2 to lay    
thin veneers of information on the      
surface of his mind2 never to allow him 
a minute for independent study2 never to
 trust him with a handbook1 a note-book1
 or a sketch-book2 in fine1 to do all   
that lies in his power to prevent the   
child from doing anything whatever for  
himself4 ,the result is that the various
 vital faculties which education might  
be supposed to train become             
irretrievably starved and stunted in the
 over-educated school child2 till at    
last1 when the time comes for him to    
leave the school in which he has been so
 sedulously cared for1 he is too often  
thrown out upon the world1 helpless1    

listless1 resourceless1 without a single
 interest1 without a single purpose in  
life4  ,the contrast between elementary 
education as it too often is1 and as it 
ought to be if the truth of my truisms  
were widely accepted1 is so startling   
that in my desire to account for it ,i  
have had recourse to a paradox4 ,trop de
 vrit1 says ,pascal1 nous tonne3 les    
premiers principes ont trop d'vidence   
pour nous4 ,i have suggested that the   
inability of so many teachers to live up
 to the spirit1 or even to the letter1  
of my primary truism1 may be due to its 
having too much evidence for them1 to   
their being blinded by the naked light  
of its truth4  ,but there may be another
 explanation of the singular fact that a
 theory of education to which the       
teacher would assent without hesitation 
if it were submitted to his             
consciousness1 counts for nothing in the
 daily routine of his work4 ,failure to 
carry an accepted principle into        
practice is sometimes due to the fact   

that the principle has not really been  
accepted2 that its inner meaning has not
 been apprehended2 that assent has been 
given to a formula rather than a truth4 
,the cause of the failure may indeed lie
 deeper than this4 ,it may be that the  
nominal adherents of the principle are  
in secret revolt against the vital truth
 that is at the heart of it2 that they  
repudiate it in practice because they   
have already repudiated it in the inner 
recesses of their thought4 ,this people 
draweth nigh unto me with their mouth1  
and honoureth me with their lips2 but   
their heart is far from me4 ,tell the   
teacher that the function of education  
is to foster growth2 that therefore it  
is his business to develop the latent   
faculties of his pupils2 and that       
therefore 7since growth presupposes     
exercise7 he must allow his pupils to do
 as much as possible by and for         
themselves1--place these propositions   
before him1 and the chances are that he 
will say ,amen to them4 ,but that lip   

assent will count for nothing4 ,one's   
life is governed by instinct rather than
 logic4 ,to give a lip assent to the    
logical inferences from an accepted     
principle is one thing4 ,to give a real 
assent to the essential truth that      
underlies and animates the principle is 
another4 ,the way in which the teacher  
too often conducts his school leads one 
to infer that the intuitive1 instinctive
 side of him--the side that is nearest  
to practice--has somehow or other held  
intercourse with the inner meaning of   
that truism which he repeats so glibly1 
and has rejected it as antagonistic to  
the traditional assumptions on which he 
bases his life4 ,or perhaps this work of
 subconscious criticism and rejection   
has been and is being done for him1     
either by the spirit of the age to which
 he belongs or by the genius of the land
 in which he lives4  ,why is the teacher
 so ready to do everything 7or nearly   
everything7 for the children whom he    
professes to educate8 ,one obvious      

answer to this question is that for a   
third of a century 7#ahfb-ahie7 the     
,education ,department did everything   
7or nearly everything7 for him4 ,for a  
third of a century ,my ,lords required  
their inspectors to examine every child 
in every elementary school in ,england  
on a syllabus which was binding on all  
schools alike4 ,in doing this1 they put 
a bit into the mouth of the teacher and 
drove him1 at their pleasure1 in this   
direction and that4 ,and what they did  
to him they compelled him to do to the  
child4  ,so far as the action of the    
,education ,department was concerned1   
this policy was abandoned--in large     
measure1 if not wholly--in #ahie2 but   
its consequences are with us still4     
,what conception of the meaning and     
purpose of education could have induced 
,my ,lords to adopt such a policy1 and1 
having adopted it1 to adhere to it for  
more than thirty years8 ,had one asked  
,my ,lords at any time during those     
thirty years what they regarded as the  

true function of education1 and had one 
suggested to them 7as they had probably 
never turned their minds to the         
question7 that the function of education
 was to foster the growth of the child1 
they might possibly have given an       
indolent assent to that proposition4    
,but their educational policy must have 
been dictated by some widely different  
conception4 ,they must have believed    
that the mental progress of the         
child--the only aspect of progress which
 concerned educationalists in those     
days--would best be tested by a formal  
examination on a prescribed syllabus1   
and would best be secured by preparation
 for such a test2 and they must have    
accepted1 perhaps without the consent of
 their consciousness1 whatever theory of
 education may be implicit in that      
belief4  ,in acting as they did1 ,my    
,lords fell into line with the          
,universities1 the ,public ,schools1 the
 ,preparatory ,schools1 the ,civil      
,service ,commissioners1 the            

,professional ,societies1 and 7to make a
 general statement7 with all the ,boards
 and ,bodies that controlled1 directly  
or indirectly1 the education of the     
youth of ,england4 ,we must1 therefore1 
widen the scope of our inquiry1 and     
carry our search for cause a step       
farther back4 ,how did the belief that a
 formal examination is a worthy end for 
teacher and child to aim at1 and an     
adequate test of success in teaching and
 in learning1 come to establish itself  
in this country8 ,and not in this       
country only1 but in the whole ,western 
world8 ,in every ,western country that  
is progressive and up to date1 and in   
every ,western country in exact         
proportion as it is progressive and up  
to date1 the examination system controls
 education1 and in doing so arrests the 
self-development of the child1 and      
therefore strangles his inward growth4  
,what is the explanation of this        
significant fact8 ,in my attempt to     
account for the failure of elementary   

education in ,england to foster the     
growth of the educated child1 ,i have   
travelled far4 ,but ,i must travel      
farther yet4 ,the ,western belief in the
 efficacy of examinations is a symptom  
of a widespread and deep-seated         
tendency1--the tendency to judge        
according to the appearance of things1  
to attach supreme importance to visible 
results1 to measure inward worth by     
outward standards1 to estimate progress 
in terms of what the world reveres as   
success4 ,it is the ,western standard of
 values1 the ,western way of looking at 
things1 which is in question1 and which 
,i must now attempt to determine4  ,that
 ,i should have to undertake this task  
is a proof of the complexity of         
education1 of the bewildering tanglement
 of its root-system1 of the depths to   
which some of its roots descend into the
 subsoil of human-life4 ,the defect in  
our system of education which ,i am     
trying to diagnose is one which the     
business man1 who may have had reason to

 complain of the output of our          
elementary schools1 will probably       
account for in one sentence and propound
 a remedy for in another4 ,but ,i1 who  
know enough about education to realise  
how little is or can be known about it1 
find that if ,i am to understand why so 
many schools turn out helpless and      
resourceless children1 ,i must go back  
to the first principles of modern       
civilisation1 or in other words to the  
cardinal axioms of the philosophy of the
 ,west4  ,this does not mean that ,i    
must make a systematic study of ,western
 metaphysics4 ,professional thinkers    
abound in the ,west2 but the rank and   
file of the people pay little heed to   
them4 ,it is true that they take        
themselves very seriously2 but so does  
every clique of experts and             
connoisseurs4 ,the indirect influence of
 their theories has at times been       
considerable2 but their direct influence
 on human thought is1 and has always    
been1 very slight4 ,for the plain       

average man1 who cannot rid himself of  
the suspicion that the professional     
thinker is a professional word-juggler1 
has a philosophy of his own which was   
formulated for him by an unphilosophical
 people1 and which1 though it is now    
beginning to fail him1 was once         
sufficient for all his needs4  ,at the  
present moment there are two schools of 
popular thought in the ,west4 ,for many 
centuries there was only one4 ,for many 
centuries men were content to believe   
that the outward and visible world--the 
world of their normal experience--was   
the all of ,nature4 ,but they were not  
content to believe that it was the all  
of ,being4 ,the latter conception would 
have said ,no to certain desires of the 
heart which refuse to be                
negatived1--desires which are as large  
and lofty as they are pure and deep3 and
 in order to provide a refuge for these1
 men added to their belief in a natural 
world which was bounded by the horizon  
of experience 7as they understood the   

word71 the complementary belief in a    
world which transcended the limits of   
experience1 and in which the dreams and 
hopes for which ,nature could make no   
provision might somehow or other be     
realised and fulfilled4 ,with the       
development of physical science1 the    
conception of the ,supernatural has     
become discredited1 and a materialistic 
monism has begun to dispute the         
supremacy of that dualistic philosophy  
which had reigned without a rival for   
many hundreds of years4 ,but            
antagonistic as these philosophies are  
to one another1 they have one conception
 in common4 ,the popular belief that the
 world of man's normal experience is the
 ,alpha and ,omega of ,nature1 is the   
very platform on which their            
controversies are carried on4 ,were any 
one to suggest to them that this belief 
was without foundation1 that there was  
room and to spare in ,nature for the    
supernatural as well as for the normal1 
that the supernatural world 7as it had  

long been miscalled7 was nothing more   
nor less than la continuation occulte de
 la ,nature infinie1--they would at once
 unite their forces against him1 and    
assail him with an even bitterer hatred 
than that which animates them in their  
own intestine strife4  ,the dualistic   
philosophy which satisfied the needs of 
the ,west for some fifteen centuries was
 systematised and formulated for it1 in 
the language of myth and poetry1 by an  
,eastern people4 ,the acceptance of     
official ,christianity by the           
,graeco-,roman world was the result of  
many causes1 two of which stand out as  
central and supreme4 ,the first of these
 was the personal magnetism of ,christ1 
in and through which men came in contact
 with1 and responded to1 the attractive 
forces of those moral and spiritual     
ideas which ,christ set before his      
followers4 ,the second was the readiness
 of the ,western mind to accept the     
philosophy of ,israel1--a philosophy    
with the master principles of which it  

had long been subconsciously familiar1  
and for the clear and convincing        
presentation of which it had long been  
waiting4 ,of the personal magnetism of  
,christ and the part that it has played 
in the life of ,christendom1 ,i need not
 now speak4 ,my present concern is to   
show how the philosophy of              
,israel--accepted nominally for         
,christ's sake1 but really for its      
own--has influenced the educational     
policy of the ,west4  ,in the ,old      
,testament the ,western mind found      
itself face to face with the            
philosophical theories--theories about  
the world and its origin1 about ,man and
 his destiny1 about conduct and its     
consequences--to which its own          
mythologies had given inadequate        
expression1 but which the poetical      
genius of a practical people was able to
 formulate to the satisfaction of a     
practical world4 ,in the philosophy of  
,israel ,nature was conceived of1 not as
 animated by an indwelling life or soul1

 but as the handiwork of an omnipotent  
,god4 ,in six days--so runs the         
story--,god created the heavens and the 
earth4 ,whether by the word which we    
translate as days were meant terrestrial
 days or cosmic ages matters nothing1   
for in either case the broad fact       
remains that according to the ,biblical 
narrative the work of creation occupied 
a definite period of time1 and that on a
 certain day in the remote past the     
,creator rested from his labours1       
surveyed his handiwork1 and pronounced  
it to be very good4  ,his next step was 
to stand aside from the world that he   
had made1 leave it to its own devices   
and see how it would behave itself in   
the person of its lord and his          
viceroy1--,man4 ,that the ,creator      
should place ,creation on its trial and 
that it should speedily misbehave       
itself1 may be said to have been        
preordained4 ,the idea of a ,creator    
postulates the further idea of a ,fall4 
,the finished work of an omnipotent     

,creator is presumably good1--good in   
this sense1 if in no other1 that its    
actualities must needs determine the    
creature's ideals and standards of good4
 ,but the world1 as ,man knows it1 seems
 to be deeply tainted with evil4 ,how is
 this anomaly to be accounted for8 ,the 
story of the ,fall is the answer to this
 question4 ,whether modern theology     
regards the story of the ,fall as       
literally or only as symbolically true1 
,i cannot say for certain4 ,the question
 is of minor importance4 ,what is of    
supreme importance is that ,christian   
theology accepts and has always accepted
 the consequences of the idea of the    
,fall1 and that in formulating those    
consequences it has provided the popular
 thought of the ,west with conceptions  
by which its whole outlook on life has  
been1 and is still1 determined and      
controlled4  ,the idea of the ,fall1 as 
dramatised by ,israel and interpreted by
 the ,doctors of the ,west1 gives       
adequate expression--on the highest     

level of his thinking--to the crude     
dualism which constitutes the philosophy
 of the average man4 ,hence the immense 
attractiveness of the idea to the       
practical races of the ,west1--to       
peoples whose chief idea is to get their
 mental problems solved for them as     
speedily1 as authoritatively1 and as    
intelligibly as possible1 that they may 
thus be free to devote themselves to    
business1 to the tangible affairs of    
life4  ,let us follow the philosophy of 
the ,fall into some of its more obvious 
consequences4 ,the ,universe 7to use the
 most comprehensive of all terms7 is    
conceived of as divided into two        
dissevered worlds1--the world of        
,nature1 which is fallen1 ruined1 and   
accursed1 and the ,supernatural world1  
which shares in the perfection and      
centres in the glory of ,god4 ,between  
these two worlds intercourse is1 in the 
nature of things1 impossible4 ,but ,man 
is not content that his state of godless
 isolation should endure for ever4 ,as a

 thinker1 he has exiled ,god from       
,nature and therefore from his own daily
 life4 ,but1 as a living soul1 he craves
 for reunion with ,god2 and so long as  
the gulf between the two worlds remains 
impassable1 his philosophy will be felt 
to be incomplete4 ,a supplementary      
theory of things must therefore be      
devised4 ,corrupt and fallen as he is1  
,man cannot hope to climb to ,heaven2   
but ,god1 with whom nothing is          
impossible1 can at his own good pleasure
 come down to earth4 ,and come he will1 
whenever that sense of all-pervading    
imperfection which exiled him1 in its   
premature attempt to explain itself1 to 
his supernatural ,heaven1 is realised in
 man's heart as a desire for better     
things4 ,but what will be the signs of  
his advent8 ,the philosophy of the ,fall
 is at no loss for an answer to this    
question4 ,there was a time when ,nature
 was the mirror of ,god's face4 ,but it 
is so no longer4 ,the mirror was        
shattered when ,adam fell4 ,henceforth  

it is only by troubling the waters of   
,nature1 by suspending the operation of 
its laws1 by turning its order into     
confusion1 by producing supernatural    
phenomena1 or miracles as they are      
vulgarly called1 that ,god can announce 
his presence to ,man4  ,the question of 
the miraculous is one into which we need
 not enter4 ,let us assume that ,god can
 somehow or other come to ,man1 and that
 ,man can somehow or other recognise    
,god's presence and interpret his       
speech4 ,we have now to ask ourselves   
one vital question4 ,with what purpose  
does ,god visit the world which has     
forfeited his favour1 and what does he  
propose to do for ruined ,nature and    
fallen ,man8 ,for ,nature1 nothing4 ,for
 ,man1 to provide a way of escape from  
,nature4 ,the dualism of popular thought
 must needs control the very efforts    
that men make to deliver themselves from
 its consequences4 ,the irremediable    
corruption of ,man's nature is the      
assumption on which the whole scheme of 

salvation is to be hinged4 ,his         
deliverance from sin and death will be  
effected1 not by the development of any 
natural capacity for good1 but by his   
being induced to quit the path 7or      
paths7 of ,nature1 and to walk1 under   
,divine direction1 in some new and      
narrow path4  ,but how will this end be 
achieved8 ,that ,man cannot discover the
 path of salvation for himself will1 of 
course1 be taken for granted4 ,the      
catastrophe of the ,fall has corrupted  
his whole nature1 and has therefore     
blinded him to the light of truth4 ,the 
way of man is not in himself3 it is not 
in man that walketh to direct his steps4
 ,the promptings of his own nature1     
which he would follow if left to        
himself1 can do nothing but lead him    
astray4 ,it will also be taken for      
granted that the path of salvation is a 
path of action4 ,when the whole inward  
disposition is hopelessly corrupt1 the  
idea of achieving salvation by growing1 
by bringing one's hidden life to the    

perfection of maturity1 must perforce be
 abandoned4 ,it is only by doing ,god's 
will that ,man can hope to regain his   
favour4 ,one thing1 then1 is clear4 ,man
 must be told in exact detail what he is
 to do and also 7should this be         
necessary7 how he is to do it4 ,in other
 words1 an elaborate ,code of ,law1     
covering the whole range of human life  
and regulating all the details of       
conduct1 must be delivered by ,god to   
,man4 ,if ,man will obey this ,law he   
will be saved4 ,if he will not obey it1 
he will be lost4  ,there is another     
aspect of the idea of a supernatural    
revelation on which it is necessary to  
touch4 ,as intercourse between ,nature  
and the ,supernatural world takes place1
 not in the natural order of things but 
at the good pleasure of the             
,supernatural ,god1 revelation must     
needs be conceived of as a              
highly-specialised process4 ,a          
revelation which was addressed to the   
whole human race1 and to which the whole

 human race was able to respond1 could  
scarcely be regarded as of supernatural 
origin4 ,the distinction between the    
supernaturalness of the appeal and the  
naturalness of the response would       
gradually tend to efface itself3 for    
what is universal is natural1 and the   
voice which every man was able to       
recognise would come at last to be      
regarded as a voice from within oneself4
 ,if the supernatural character of an   
alleged revelation is to be established1
 its uniqueness must be duly emphasised4
 ,a particular people must be chosen for
 the purpose of the divine experiment4  
,a particular law-giver must be         
commissioned to declare to the chosen   
people the will of the ,supernatural    
,god4 ,and from time to time a          
particular prophet must be sent to      
rebuke the chosen people for its        
backslidings1 to show it where it has   
gone astray1 and to exhort it to turn   
again to its ,god4   ,for if it is far  
from ,man to discern good1 it is still  

farther from him to desire it4 ,how1    
then1 shall he be induced to walk in the
 path which the ,law has prescribed for 
him8 ,to this question there can be but 
one answer3 ,by the promise of external 
reward1 and the threat of external      
punishment4 ,to set before ,man an ideal
 of life--an ideal which would be to him
 an unfailing fountain of magnetic force
 and guiding light--is not in the power 
of legalism4 ,for if an ideal is to     
appeal to one1 it must be the           
consummation of one's own natural       
tendencies2 but the current of ,man's   
natural tendencies is ever setting      
towards perdition1 and the vanishing    
point of his heart's desires is death4  
,were an ideal revealed to the          
,law-giver and by him presented to his  
fellow-men1 and were the heart of ,man  
to respond to the appeal that it made to
 him1 the basic assumption of           
legalism--that of the corruption of     
,man's nature--would be undermined2 for 
,man would have proved that it belonged 

to his nature to turn towards the       
light1--in other words1 that he had a   
natural capacity for good4 ,the plain   
truth is that legalism is precluded1 by 
its own first principles from appealing 
to any motive higher than that          
instinctive desire for pleasure which   
has as its counterpart a quasi-physical 
fear of pain4 ,it is impossible for the 
lawgiver to appeal to ,man's better     
nature1 to say to him3 ,cannot you see  
for yourself that this course of action 
is better than that1--that love is      
better than hatred1 mercy than cruelty1 
loyalty than treachery1 continence than 
self-indulgence8 ,what he can and must  
say to him is this1 and this only2 ,if  
you obey the ,law you will be rewarded4 
,if you disobey it you will be punished4
 ,and this he must say to him again and 
again4  ,it is true that among the many 
commandments which the ,law sets before 
its votaries1 there are some--the moral 
commandments1 properly so called--which 
do in point of fact1 and in defiance of 

the philosophical assumption of         
legalism1 appeal to the better nature of
 ,man4 ,but these are at best an        
insignificant minority2 and their       
relative importance will necessarily    
diminish with the development into its  
natural consequences of the root idea of
 legalism4 ,for legalism1 just so far as
 it is strong1 sincere1 and             
self-confident1 will try to cover the   
whole of human life4 ,the religion that 
is content to do less than this1 the    
religion that acquiesces in the         
distinction between what is religious   
and what is secular1 is1 as we shall    
presently see1 a religion in decay4     
,religion may perhaps be defined as     
,man's instinctive effort to bring a    
central aim into his life and so provide
 himself with an authoritative standard 
of values4 ,in its highest and purest   
form1 ,religion controls ,man's life1   
both as a whole and in all its essential
 details1 through the central aim or    
spiritual ideal which it sets before him

 and the consequent standard of values  
with which it equips him4 ,but legalism 
is debarred by its distrust of human    
nature from trying to control the       
details of life through any central aim 
or ideal2 and its assumption that all   
the commandments of the ,law are of     
divine origin1 and therefore equally    
binding upon ,man1 is obviously         
incompatible with the conception of a   
standard of moral worth4 ,its attempt to
 cover the whole of life must therefore 
resolve itself into an attempt to       
control the details of conduct in all   
their detail2 to deal with them1 one by 
one1 bringing each in turn under the    
operation of an appropriate commandment1
 and if necessary deducing from the     
commandment a special rule to meet the  
special case4 ,in other words1 besides  
being told what he is not to do 7in the 
more strictly moral sphere of conduct71 
and what he is to do 7in the more       
strictly ceremonial sphere71 ,man must  
be told1 in the fullest detail1 how he  

is to do whatever may have to be done in
 the daily round of his life4 ,such at  
least is the aim of legalism4 ,the nets 
of the ,law are woven fine1 and flung   
far and wide4 ,if there are any acts in 
a man's life which escape through their 
clinging meshes1 the force of ,nature is
 to be blamed for this partial failure1 
not the zeal of the ,doctors of the     
,law4  ,it is towards this inverted     
ideal that the doctrine of salvation    
through obedience will lead its         
votaries1 when its master               
principle--that of distrust of human    
nature--has been followed out into all  
its natural consequences1--followed out1
 as it was by ,pharisaism1 with a       
fearless logic and a fixed tenacity of  
purpose4 ,an immense and ever-growing   
host of formulated rules1 not one in a  
hundred of which makes any appeal to the
 heart of ,man or has any meaning for   
his higher reason1 will crush his life  
down1 slowly and inexorably1 beneath    
their deadly burden4 ,at every step1 at 

the work of his calling1 at prayer1 at  
meals1 at home and abroad1 from early   
morning till late in the evening1 from  
youth to old age1 the dead1 the         
deadening formula#c will await him4 ,the
 path of obedience for the sake of      
obedience speedily degenerates into the 
path of mechanical obedience2 and the   
end of that path is the triumph of      
machinery over life4  ,for it is to the 
letter of the ,law1 rather than to the  
spirit1 that the strict legalist is     
bound to conform4 ,the letter of the    
,law is divine2 and obedience to it is  
within the power of every man who will  
take the trouble to learn its           
commandments4 ,what the spirit of the   
,law may be1 is beyond the power of     
fallen ,man to determine2 and were an   
attempt made to interpret it1 the result
 would be a state of widespread moral   
chaos1 for there would be as many       
interpretations of it as there were     
minds that had the courage and the      
initiative to undertake so audacious a  

task4 ,as it is with the ,law as such1  
so it is with each of its numerous      
commandments4 ,the man who professes to 
obey the spirit of a commandment is in  
secret revolt against its divine        
authority4 ,for he is presuming to      
criticise it in the light of his own    
conscience and insight1 and to limit his
 obedience to it to that particular     
aspect of it which he judges to be      
worthy of his devotion4 ,from such a    
criticism of the ,fourth ,commandment as
 the ,sabbath is made for man1 not man  
for the ,sabbath to open violation of   
the letter of the commandment 7on this  
occasion or on that7 there is but a     
single step4 ,the whole structure of    
legalism would collapse if men were     
allowed to absolve themselves from      
obedience to the letter of the ,law1 out
 of regard for what they conceived to be
 its spirit4 ,to interpret a            
commandment1 in the sense of providing  
for its application to the fresh cases  
that may arise for treatment1 is the    

work1 not of poets and prophets but of  
,doctors and ,scribes4 ,the path of     
literal1 and therefore of mechanical1   
obedience is the only path of safety2   
and the more punctiliously the letter is
 obeyed1 the more perfect will be the   
machinery of salvation1 and the nearer  
will legalism get to the appointed goal 
of its labours1--the extinction of      
spiritual life4  ,as is the life that   
legalism expects us to lead1 so is the  
scheme of rewards and punishments by    
which 7as we have already seen7 it      
constrains us to lead it4 ,the          
materialisation of life that takes place
 under the sway of the ,law is          
accurately matched and measured by the  
materialisation of the doctrine of moral
 retribution4 ,the general idea that    
virtue is rewarded and vice punished is 
profoundly true4 ,but the idea is easily
 misinterpreted2 and it necessarily     
shares in the degradation of one's      
general conception of life4 ,virtue     
rewards the virtuous by making them more

 virtuous4 ,vice punishes the vicious by
 making them more vicious4 ,so long as  
the rewards for which we hope and the   
punishments which we dread are conceived
 of as inward and spiritual1 we are on  
safe ground4 ,but such a scheme of      
rewards and punishments is wholly       
foreign to the genius of                
supernaturalism4 ,it is not by becoming 
more virtuous that we are saved4 ,it is 
not by becoming more vicious that we are
 lost4 ,we are saved by obedience1 we   
are lost by disobedience1 to the        
formulated rules of a divinely-delivered
 law4 ,to appeal to ,man's higher self1 
when there is no higher self to appeal  
to1--to set before him as the supreme   
reward of virtue the development of his 
better nature1 when his nature is       
intrinsically evil1--would be an obvious
 waste of labour4 ,and as1 apart from   
the presumed repugnance of the natural  
man to the presumed delights of the     
,law1 the intrinsic attractiveness of   
the life that legalism prescribes must  

needs diminish in exact proportion as   
the authority of the ,law becomes       
oppressive and vexatious1 and the letter
 of it tends to establish itself at the 
expense of the spirit1--it is clear that
 a scheme of rewards and punishments    
will become1 in effect as well as in    
theory1 the only weapon in the armoury  
of the legalist4 ,it is also clear that 
there will be much work for that one    
weapon to do4 ,the central tendencies of
 ,man's nature1 besides being ex        
hypothesi evil1 are antagonistic de     
facto to the galling despotism and the  
irrational requirements of the ,law2 and
 the lawgiver1 far from being able to   
enlist those tendencies under his banner
 by appealing to the highest of         
them--the natural leaders of the        
rest1--must be prepared to overcome     
their collective resistance by winning  
to his side the lowest of them1 by      
terrifying ,man's weaker self with      
threats1 by corrupting his baser self   
with bribes4 ,the ruin of ,man's nature1

 whether hypothetical or actual1#d has  
left intact 7or relatively intact7 only 
the animal base of it4 ,it is to his    
animal instincts1 then1 that legalism   
must appeal in its endeavour to         
influence his conduct4 ,in other words1 
the punishments and the rewards to which
 ,man is to look forward must be of the 
same genus1 if not of the same species1 
as the lash of the whip that punishes   
the lagging race-horse1 or the lump of  
sugar that rewards his exertions4 ,and  
with the inevitable growth of egoism and
 individualism in the demoralising      
atmosphere with which legalism 7and its 
lineal successors7 must needs invest    
human life1 ,man's conception of the    
rewards and punishments that await him  
will deteriorate rather than improve4   
,the ,jewish desire for national        
prosperity was an immeasurably nobler   
motive to action than is the            
,christian's fear of the quasi-material 
fires of ,hell4 ,indeed it is nothing   
but our familiarity with the latter     

motive that has blinded us to its       
inherent baseness4 ,it is no            
exaggeration to say that there have been
 epochs in the history of ,christendom  
7as there are still quarters of         
,christian thought and phases of        
,christian faith7 in which the          
trumpet-call that was meant to rouse the
 soldiers of ,god to renewed exertion   
has rung in their ears as an ignominious
 sauve qui peut4  ,the tendency of      
legalism to externalise life has another
 aspect4 ,in the eyes of the strict     
legalist there is no such thing as an   
inward state of human worth4 ,the       
doctrine of the corruption of ,man's    
nature is incompatible with the idea of 
goodness being measurable 7potentially  
if not actually7 in terms of the health 
and happiness of the inward man4        
,goodness1 as the legalist conceives it1
 is measurable in terms of correctness  
of outward conduct1 and of that only4   
,and when life is regulated by an       
elaborate ,law1 the rules of which are  

familiar to all men1 there is no reason 
why a man's outward conduct should not  
be appraised1 with some approach to     
accuracy1 by his neighbours and friends4
 ,hence it is that in the atmosphere of 
legalism an excessive deference is wont 
to be paid to public1 and even to       
parochial1 opinion4 ,the life of the    
votary of the ,law is lived under strict
 and constant surveillance2 and a man   
learns at last to value himself as his  
conduct is valued by a critical         
onlooker1 and to make it the business of
 his life to produce results which can  
be weighed and measured by conventional 
standards1 rather than to grow in       
grace1--with silent1 subtle1 unobtrusive
 growth4  ,were ,i to try to prove that 
the rgime of the ,law was necessarily   
fatal to the development of ,man's      
higher faculties--conscience1 freedom1  
reason1 imagination1 intuition1         
aspiration1 and the rest--,i should     
waste my time4 ,legalism1 as a scheme of
 life1 is based on the assumption that  

development along the lines of ,man's   
nature is a movement towards perdition2 
and to reproach the legalist for having 
arrested the growth of the human spirit 
by the pressure of the ,law were to     
provoke the rejoinder that he had done  
what he intended to do4 ,the two schemes
 of ,salvation--the mechanical and the  
evolutional--have so little in common   
that neither can pass judgment on the   
other without begging the question that 
is in dispute4 ,when ,i come to consider
 the effect of legalism--or rather of   
the philosophy that underlies           
legalism--on education1 ,i may perhaps  
be able to find some court of law in    
which the case between the two schemes  
can be tried with the tacit consent of  
both4 ,meanwhile ,i can but note that in
 the atmosphere of the ,law growth is as
 a matter of fact arrested1--arrested so
 effectually that the counter process of
 degeneration begins to take its place4 
,the proof of this statement1 if proof  
be needed1 is that legalism1 when its   

master principle has been fully grasped 
and fearlessly applied1 takes the form  
of ,pharisaism1 and that it is possible 
for the ,pharisee to count himself to   
have apprehended1 to congratulate       
himself on his spiritual achievement1 to
 believe1 in all seriousness1 that he   
has closed his account with ,god4       
,pharisaism is at once the logical      
consummation and the reductio ad        
absurdum of legalism4 ,it is to the     
genius of ,israel that we owe that      
practical interpretation of the         
fundamental principle of                
supernaturalism1 which was embodied in  
the doctrine of salvation through       
obedience to the letter of a ,law4 ,and 
it is to the genius of ,israel that we  
owe that rigorously logical             
interpretation of the axiomata media of 
legalism1 which issued in due season in 
,pharisaism4 ,the world owes much to the
 courage and sincerity of ,israel1--to  
his unique force of character1 to his   
fanatical earnestness1 to his relentless

 tenacity of purpose4 ,in particular1 it
 owes a debt which it can never         
liquidate to what was at once the cause 
and the result of his                   
over-seriousness1--to his lack of any   
sense of humour1--a negative quality    
which allowed his practical logic to run
 its course without let or hindrance1   
and prevented the brakes of common-sense
 from acting when he found himself1 in  
his very zeal for the ,law1 descending  
an inclined plane into an unfathomable  
abyss of turpitude and folly4 ,the man  
7or people7 who is able1 of his own     
experience1 to tell the rest of mankind 
what a given scheme of life really means
 and is really worth1 owing to his      
having offered himself as the corpus    
vile for the required experiment1 is one
 of the greatest benefactors of the     
human race4 ,had ,israel been less      
sincere or less courageous1 we might    
never have known what deadly fallacies  
lurk in the seemingly harmless dualism  
of popular thought4         99       99 

99       99       99  ,but the ,west1 it
 will be said1 is ,christian1 not       
,jewish4 ,is it ,christian8 ,if the word
 ,christian connotes acceptance of the  
teaching as well as devotion to the     
person of ,christ1 it is scarcely       
applicable either to the official or to 
the popular religion of the ,west4 ,for 
,christ1 the stern denouncer of the     
,pharisees1 was the whole-hearted enemy 
of legalism2 and the legal conception of
 salvation through mechanical obedience 
still dominates the religion and life of
 ,christendom4  ,the ,jewish ,law tried 
to cover1 and tended more and more to   
cover1 the whole of human life4 ,it is  
true that it controlled the details     
rather than the totality of life2 but   
the reason why it dealt with life1      
detail by detail1 was that its          
exponents1 owing to their spiritual     
purblindness1 were unable to see the    
wood for the trees4 ,in ,christendom1   
while the doctrine of salvation through 
mechanical obedience was retained1 the  

authority of a ,church was substituted  
for that of a ,code of ,law4 ,the growth
 of the idea of ,humanity1 as opposed to
 that of mere nationality1 made this    
necessary4 ,as the former idea began to 
compete with the latter1 the need for a 
divinely-commissioned society which     
should declare the will and communicate 
the grace of ,god1 not to one nation    
only but to all men who were willing to 
hearken and obey1--and whose action1 as 
a channel of intercourse between ,god   
and ,man1 should be continuous rather   
than spasmodic1--began to make itself   
felt4 ,a ,code of ,law might conceivably
 suffice to regulate the life of one    
small nation2 but when we consider under
 what varying conditions of climate1    
occupation1 custom1 tradition1 and so   
forth1 the general life of ,humanity is 
carried on1 we see clearly that no one  
,code can even begin to suffice for the 
needs of the whole human race4 ,hence1  
and for other reasons which we need not 
now consider1 the ,west1 in accepting   

the philosophy of ,israel1 translated   
its master idea of salvation through    
mechanical obedience into the notation  
of ecclesiastical1 as distinguished from
 legal1 control4  ,that obedience to a  
supernaturally-commissioned ,church1 or 
rather to the ,one                      
supernaturally-commissioned ,church1 is 
the first and last duty of ,man1 is the 
fundamental assumption on which the     
stately fabric of ,catholic             
,christianity has been reared4 ,in      
various ways the ,church has striven to 
exact implicit obedience from her       
children4 ,through the medium of the    
,confessional she has secured some      
measure of control over their morals4   
,by regulating the worship of ,god--both
 public and private--she has been able  
to rule off a sphere of human conduct in
 which her own authority is necessarily 
paramount4 ,by supplying the faithful   
with rations of theological information 
7to quote the apt phrase of a pillar of 
orthodoxy71 and requiring them to accept

 these on her authority as indisputably 
true1 she has succeeded in imposing her 
yoke on thought as well as on conduct4  
,by claiming to control the outflow of  
,divine grace1 through the channels of  
the ,sacraments1 she has been able to   
threaten the rebellious with the dread  
penalty of being cut off from           
intercourse with ,god4 ,and by telling  
men1 with stern insistence1 that the    
choice between obedience and            
disobedience to herself is the choice   
between eternal happiness and eternal   
misery1 she has sought to extend her    
dominion beyond the limits of time and  
to raise to an infinite power her       
supremacy over the souls of men4  ,but  
just because the life of collective     
,humanity is large1 complex1 and full of
 change and variety1 the ,church which  
aspires to be universal1 however strong 
may be her desire to superintend all the
 details of human thought and conduct1  
and however ready she may be to adapt   
herself to local and temporal           

variations1 must needs allow whole      
aspects and whole spheres of human life 
to escape from her control4 ,the history
 of ,christendom is the history of the  
gradual emancipation of the ,western    
world from the despotism of the ,church4
 ,the various activities of the human   
spirit--art1 science1 literature1 law1  
statecraft1 and the rest--have1 one and 
all1 freed themselves by slow degrees   
from ecclesiastical control1 till little
 or nothing has been left for the       
,church to regulate but her own rites   
and ceremonies1 the morals 7in a narrow 
and ever-narrowing sense of the word71  
and the faith 7in the theological sense 
of the word71 of the faithful4  ,with   
the emancipation of ,man's higher       
activities from ecclesiastical control1 
the distinction between the religious   
and the secular life has gradually      
established itself4 ,that this should   
happen was inevitable4 ,mechanical      
obedience being of the essence of       
supernatural religion1 the secularising 

of human life became absolutely         
necessary if any vital progress was to  
be made4 ,the ,church patronised art1   
music1 and the drama so far as they     
served her purposes4 ,when they outgrew 
those purposes1 in response to the      
expansive forces of human nature1 she   
treated them as secular and let them go 
their several ways4 ,in the interests of
 theology she tried to keep physical    
science in leading-strings2 but when1   
after a bitter struggle1 science broke  
loose from her control1 she treated it  
too as secular and let it go its way4   
,let us see what this distinction       
involves4 ,as salvation is to be        
achieved by obedience to the ,church and
 in no other way1 it follows that in all
 those spheres of life which are outside
 the jurisdiction of the ,church        
7except1 of course1 so far as questions 
of morals may arise in connection with  
them71 ,man's conduct and general       
demeanour are supposed to have no       
bearing on his eternal destiny4 ,this is

 the view of the secular life which is  
taken by the ,church4 ,and not by the   
,church alone4 ,as1 little by little1   
the ,institution--be it ,church1 or     
,sect1 or ,code1 or ,scripture--which   
claims to be the sole accredited agent  
of the ,eternal ,god1 relaxes its hold  
upon the ever-expanding life of         
,humanity1 all those developments of    
human nature which cease to be amenable 
to its control come to be regarded as   
mundane1 as unspiritual1 as carnal1 as  
matters with which ,god has no concern4 
,were this view of the secular life     
confined to those who call themselves   
religious1 no great harm would be done4 
,unfortunately1 the secular life1 which 
is under the influence of the current   
conception of ,god as one who holds no  
intercourse with ,man except through    
certain accredited agents1 is ready to  
acquiesce in the current estimate of    
itself as godless1 and to accept as     
valid the distinction between the       
religious life and its own4 ,hence comes

 a general lowering of ,man's aims4 ,as 
the secular life is content to regard   
itself as godless1 and so deprives      
itself of any central and unifying aim1 
it is but natural that success in each  
of its many branches should come to be  
regarded as an end in itself4 ,it is but
 natural1 to take examples at random1   
that the artist should follow art for   
art's sake1 that the man of science     
should deify positive knowledge1 that   
the statesman should regard political   
power as intrinsically desirable1 that  
the merchant and the manufacturer should
 live to make money1 and that the       
highest motive which appeals to all men 
alike should be the desire to bulk large
 in the eyes of their fellow-men4 ,even 
the ardent reformer1 whose enthusiasm   
makes him unselfish1 pursues the ideal  
to which he devotes himself1 as an end  
in itself1 and makes no attempt to      
define or interpret it in terms of its  
relation to that supreme and central    
ideal which he ought to regard as the   

final end of human endeavour4 ,when we  
remind ourselves1 further1 that         
secularism1 equally with                
supernaturalism1 tends to identify      
,nature with lower nature--in other     
words1 with the material side of the    
,universe and the carnal side of ,man's 
being1--we shall realise how easy it is 
for the secular life1 once it has lost1 
through its divorce from religion1 the  
tonic stimulus of a central aim1 to     
sink1 without directly intending to do  
so1 into the mire of materialism1--a    
materialism of conduct as well as of    
thought4  ,but if the loss to the       
secular life1 from its compulsory       
despiritualisation1 is great1 the loss  
to religion1 from the secularisation of 
so much of ,man's rational activity1 is 
greater still4 ,the very distinction    
between the secular and the religious   
life is profoundly irreligious1 in that 
it rests on the tacit assumption that   
there is no unity1 no central aim1 in   
human life2 and the fact that official  

religion is ready to acquiesce in the   
distinction1 is ready1 in other words1  
to make a compromise with its enemy the 
world1 is a proof that it is secretly   
conscious of its own failing power1 and 
is even beginning to despair of itself4 
,as it resigns itself to this feeling   
7as yet perhaps but dimly realised71 its
 reasons for entertaining it must needs 
grow stronger4 ,the progressive         
enlargement of the sphere of ,man's     
secular activities is accompanied1 step 
for step1 by the devitalisation of the  
idea of the ,divine4 ,what kind of      
intercourse can ,god be supposed to hold
 with ,man if the latter is to be left  
to his own devices in what he must needs
 regard as among the more important     
aspects of his life1--in his commercial 
and industrial enterprises1 in his art1 
in his literature1 in his study of      
,nature's laws1 in his mastery of       
,nature's forces1 in his pursuit of     
positive truth and practical good8 ,as  
in these matters ,man frees himself1    

little by little1 from the yoke of      
supernaturalism1 which he has been      
accustomed to identify with religion1   
his formal conception of his relation to
 ,god and of the part that ,god plays in
 his life--the conception that is       
defined and elucidated for him by       
religious orthodoxy--becomes of         
necessity more irrational1 more         
mechanical1 more unreal1 more repugnant 
to his better nature and to the higher  
developments of his common-sense4 ,the  
tendency to exalt the letter of what is 
spoken or written1 at the expense of the
 spirit1 is as much of the essence of   
ecclesiasticism as of legalism4 ,si dans
 les rgles du salut le fond             
l'emporterait sur la forme1 ce serait la
 ruine du sacerdoce4 ,and1 as a matter  
of experience1 the hair-splitting       
puerilities of ,pharisaism under the    
,old ,dispensation have been matched1   
and more than matched1 in the spheres of
 ritual1 of dogmatic theology1 and of   
casuistical morality1 under the ,new4   

,as ,man gradually shifts the centre of 
gravity of his being from the religious 
to the secular side of his life1 this   
puerile element in religion--the element
 of ultra-formalism1 of irrationality1  
of unreality--tends1 like a morbid      
growth1 to draw to itself the vital     
energies of what was once a healthy     
organism but is now degenerating into a 
body of death4 ,if1 in these days of    
absorbing secular activity1 ,man        
continues to tolerate the theories and  
practices of the religious experts1 the 
reason is--apart from the influence of  
custom and tradition and of his respect 
for venerable and established           
institutions--that they are things which
 he has neither time nor inclination to 
investigate1 and which he can therefore 
afford to tolerate as being far removed 
from what is vital and central in his   
life4 ,i am told that the ,catholic     
,church holds1 in the case of a dying   
man1 that the eternal fate of the soul1 
for good or for evil1 may depend upon   

the reception or the non-reception of   
absolution1 and even of extreme unction4
 ,that the truly appalling conception of
 ,god which is implicit in this sentence
 should still survive1 that it should   
not yet have been swept out of existence
 by the outraged common-sense and good  
feeling of ,humanity1 is a proof of the 
immense indifference with which the     
,western world1 absorbed as it is in    
secular pursuits1 regards religion4  ,it
 may indeed be doubted if men have ever 
been so non-religious as are at the     
present day the inhabitants of our      
highly-civilised and                    
thoroughly-,christianised ,west4 ,at any
 rate the absence of a central aim in   
human life has never been so complete as
 it is now4 ,most men are content to    
drift through life1 toiling for the     
daily bread which will enable them to go
 on living1 yet neither knowing nor     
caring to know why they are alive4      
,there is a minority of stronger and    
more resolute men who devote life with  

unwavering energy to the pursuit of what
 ,i may call private and personal ends4 
,thus the man of business lives for the 
acquisition of riches2 the scholar and  
the scientist1 of knowledge2 the        
statesman1 of power2 the speculator1 of 
excitement2 the libertine1 of pleasure2 
and so forth4 ,few are they who ever    
dream of devoting life as a whole to the
 pursuit of an end which is potentially 
attainable by all men1 and which is     
therefore worthy of ,man as ,man4 ,the  
idea of there being such an end has     
indeed been almost wholly lost sight of4
 ,those among us who are of larger      
discourse than the rest and less        
absorbed by personal aims1 ask          
themselves mournfully3 ,what is the     
meaning of life8 ,why are we here8 ,is  
life worth living8 and other such       
questions2 and being unable to answer   
them to their satisfaction1 or get them 
answered1 resign themselves to a state  
of quasi-stoical endurance4 ,that       
religion cannot be expected to answer   

these questions--the very questions     
which it is its right and its duty to   
answer--seems to be taken for granted by
 all who ask them4 ,religion1 as it is  
now conceived of1 is a thing for priests
 and ministers1 for churches and        
chapels1 for ,sundays and ,saints'-days1
 for the private devotions of women and 
children1 for educational debates in    
,parliament1 for the first lesson on the
 time-table 7#i4e to #i4de a4m47 of a   
,public ,elementary ,school4 ,the       
unbeliever is eager to run a tilt       
against religion4 ,the non-believer is  
content to ignore it4 ,the believer is  
careful to exclude it from nine-tenths  
of his life4 ,it is to this pass that   
the gospel of salvation by machinery has
 brought the most progressive part of   
the human race4  ,the phase of          
non-religiousness through which the     
,west is passing has1 we may rest       
assured1 a meaning and a purpose4 ,at   
the meetings of the ,catholic ,truth    
,society it is customary for the        

speakers to deplore the steady relapse  
of ,christendom into paganism1 which is 
going on before their eyes4 ,as the     
,church had things her own way for ten  
centuries or more1 these complaints on  
the part of her champions are equivalent
 to a confession on her part of         
disastrous failure4 ,why is the ,church1
 after having evangelised the ,west and 
ruled it for a thousand years1 allowing 
it to slide back into paganism8 ,the    
answer to this question is that she     
herself is unwittingly paganising it4 ,i
 mean by this that1 without intending to
 do so1 she is compelling it to choose  
between secularised life and arrested   
growth4 ,were a growing tree encircled  
with an iron band1 the day would surely 
come when the tree1 by the force of its 
own natural expansion1 would either     
shatter the band or allow it to cut deep
 into its own stem4 ,the growing        
consciousness of ,humanity has long been
 encircled by a rigid and inadequate    
conception of ,god4 ,the gradual        

secularisation of the ,west means that  
the soul of man is straining that       
particular conception of ,god to        
breaking-point3 and it is infinitely    
better that it should be broken to      
pieces than that its iron should be     
allowed to sink deep into the soul4     
,the secularisation of contemporary life
 means this1 and more than this4 ,it    
means the gradual handing back of ,man's
 life to the control of ,nature1--of    
,nature which is as yet unequal to the  
task that is being set it1 owing to its 
having been through all these centuries 
identified with its lower self1 taught  
to distrust itself1 and otherwise       
misinterpreted and mismanaged1 but      
which1 in obedience to the primary      
instinct of self-preservation1 will     
gradually rise to the level of the      
responsibility that is being laid upon  
it4 ,with the further secularisation of 
,man's life1 the need for religion to   
make effective the control of ,nature1  
by pointing out to it its own ideal and 

so co-ordinating and organising all its 
forces1 will gradually make itself felt1
 and the regeneration of religion will  
at last have begun4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,for many         
centuries the current of religious      
belief in the ,west was almost entirely 
confined to the one channel of ,catholic
 ,christianity4 ,there the mighty river 
pursued his course1 brimming and bright 
and large1 till the time came when1 with
 the gradual loss of his pristine       
energy--                ,sands began    
,to hem his wintry march1 and dam his   
streams   ,and split his currents2      
,side channels were formed1 and grew in 
number2 and though ,catholicism is still
 the central channel for the moving     
waters1 the river has now fallen on evil
 days1 and strains along1 shorn and     
parcelled1 like the river of the ,asian 
desert--      forgetting the bright     
speed he bore   ,in his high mountain   
cradle4  ,of the many side streams into 
which ,western ,christianity has split1 

the majority may be spoken of           
collectively as ,protestant4            
,protestantism claims to have liberated 
a large part of ,christendom from the   
yoke of ,rome2 and it is therefore right
 that we should ask ourselves in what   
sense and to what extent it has brought 
freedom to the human spirit4 ,the answer
 to this question is1 ,i think1 that    
though ,protestantism has fought a good 
fight for the principle of freedom1 it  
has failed--for many reasons1 the chief 
of which is that it began its work      
before men were ripe for freedom--to    
lead its votaries into the path of      
spiritual life and growth4 ,confronted  
by the uncompromising dogmatism of      
,rome1 it had to devise a counter       
dogmatism of its own in order to rally  
round it the faint-hearted who1 though  
eager to absolve themselves from        
obedience to the despotism of the       
,church1 yet feared to walk by their own
 inward light4 ,in making this move1    
which was not the less false because it 

was in a sense inevitable1              
,protestantism may be said to have      
renounced its mission4 ,that it has done
 much1 in various ways1 for human       
progress is undeniable2 but the fact    
remains that it has failed to revitalise
 ,christianity4 ,its master-stroke in   
its struggle with priestcraft--the      
substitution of faith for works as the  
basis of salvation--has done little or  
nothing to relieve the ,west from the   
deadly pressure of ,israel's philosophy4
 ,for faith1 as ,protestantism          
understands the word1 is the movement of
 the soul1 not towards the ideal end of 
its being but towards an alleged        
supernatural transaction1--the          
redemption of the world by the death of 
,christ on the ,cross4 ,gratitude to    
,christ for his love and self-sacrifice 
may indeed be an effective motive to    
action1 but faith in the efficacy of    
,christ's atoning sacrifice is no guide 
to conduct4 ,the inability of           
,protestantism to deduce a scheme of    

life from its own master-principle of   
salvation by faith has compelled it1 in 
its desire to avoid the pitfalls of     
antinomianism1 to revive in a modified  
form the practical legalism of the ,old 
,testament4 ,the ,protestant desires to 
show his gratitude to ,christ by leading
 a correct life2 but his distrust of his
 own higher nature compels him to go to 
some external authority for ethical     
guidance2 and as he has repudiated the  
authority of the supernaturally-inspired
 ,church1 he is compelled to have       
recourse to the supernaturally-inspired 
,bible4 ,hence the traditional alliance 
between ,protestantism and the ,old     
,testament1 in which the path of duty is
 far more clearly and consistently      
defined than in the ,new4 ,and hence the
 singular fact that ,calvinism1 which is
 the backbone of ,protestantism1 and    
which in theory1 and even 7at times7 in 
practice1 regards works as filthy rags1 
finds its other self in ,puritanism1    
which is in the main a recrudescence of 

,jewish legalism in the more strictly   
moral sphere of conduct4  ,it is owing  
to its alliance with the legalism of    
,israel1 that ,protestantism has been in
 some respects an even greater enemy of 
human freedom than ,catholicism1 and has
 on the whole done more than the latter 
to narrow and maim human life4 ,the     
strict legalist tries1 as we have seen1 
to bring the whole of human life under  
the direct control of the ,law2 and when
 he finds1 as the ,puritan did in the   
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1    
that whole aspects of life have in point
 of fact escaped from the control of    
religion and won from the latter a tacit
 acceptance of themselves as secular1 he
 not unnaturally tends to regard these  
non-religious aspects of life as carnal1
 and therefore as unacceptable to ,god4 
,hence the antipathy of the ,protestant1
 in his seasons of ,puritanical         
fanaticism1 to art1 music1 the drama1   
and other noble fruits of the human     
spirit4 ,catholicism has found itself   

compelled to tolerate the secular       
activities of the layman2               
,protestantism1 while tolerating those  
activities by which man earns his daily 
bread and which may be spoken of        
collectively as business1 has from time 
to time waged war against all the       
developments of human nature which are  
neither spiritual 7in the narrow and    
rigid sense of the word7 nor obviously  
useful1 and has sought to extirpate the 
corresponding desires from the heart of 
,man4 ,on the more artistic side of     
human life1 it has done as much to      
impede the growth of the soul as        
,catholicism has done on the more       
intellectual side2 and through its      
influence on character it has done as   
much to harden the fibre of the soul as 
,catholicism has done to relax it1 the  
tendency of both religions being to     
destroy that elasticity of fibre which  
mediates between hardness and           
flabbiness1 and which has its           
counterpart in vigorous health and      

strength4  ,the truth is--but it is a   
truth which ,protestantism is apt to    
misinterpret1 and which ,catholicism    
finds it expedient to ignore--that      
religion is not a branch or department  
of human life1 but a way of looking at  
life as a whole4 ,indeed1 it is of the  
essence of religion 7as has been already
 suggested7 that it should look at life 
as a whole1 and so be able to look at   
each of its details in the light of that
 supreme synthesis which we call        
,divine4 ,and the religion which        
sanctions1 and by its own action        
necessitates1 the division of life into 
two branches--the secular and the       
religious--has obviously missed its     
destiny and betrayed its trust4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,a brief summary of the contents of this
 chapter will prepare the way for the   
next4 ,the movements of higher thought  
in the ,west have been dominated1       
nominally by the professional thinker1  
really by the average man4 ,as a        

thinker1 the average man is incurably   
dualistic4 ,enslaved as he is to the    
requirements of his instrument1         
language1 he instinctively opposes mind 
to body1 spirit to matter1 good to evil1
 the ,creator to the ,creation1 ,god to 
,man2 and in each case he fixes a great 
gulf between the mighty opposites that  
constitute the given antithesis4        
,confronted by the mystery of existence1
 he has explained it by the story of    
,creation4 ,confronted by the twin      
mysteries of sin and sorrow1 he has     
explained them by the story of the      
,fall4 ,from the story of the ,fall he  
has passed on to the doctrine of        
original sin1 to the belief that ,nature
 in general1 and human nature in        
particular1 is corrupt and ruined1 and  
therefore intrinsically evil4 ,shrinking
 from the hopeless prospect which this  
belief opens up to him1 he has found    
refuge in the conception of another     
world1--of a world above and beyond     
,nature1 a world of ,divine perfection  

from which information and guidance can 
at ,god's good pleasure be doled out to 
,man4 ,for a supernatural revelation 7as
 theologians call this sending of help  
from ,god to ,man7 special instruments  
are obviously needed1--a special        
,people1 a special ,scripture1 a special
 ,lawgiver1 a special ,prophet1 a       
special ,church4 ,hence has arisen the  
idea that certain persons1 certain      
castes1 certain institutions have a     
monopoly of ,divine truth and grace1 and
 are therefore in a position to dictate 
to their fellow-men how they are to bear
 themselves if they wish to be saved1   
what they are to believe1 what they are 
to do4 ,from this the transition has    
been easy to the further idea that      
salvation is to be achieved by blind and
 mechanical obedience1--by renouncing   
the right to follow one's own higher    
nature1 to obey one's own conscience1 to
 use one's own reason1 to map out one's 
own life4 ,in order to induce men to    
yield the obedience which is required of

 them1 their lower instincts have had to
 be appealed to 7for the higher1 ruined 
by the ,fall1 have presumably ceased to 
operate71--their desire for pleasure by 
the promise of ,heaven1 their fear of   
pain by the threat of ,hell4 ,and in    
order that their lives may be kept under
 close supervision and their merits     
accurately appraised1 an ever-increasing
 stress has had to be laid on what is   
outward1 visible1 and measurable in     
human life1 as distinguished from what  
is inward and occult1--on correctness in
 the details of prescribed conduct1 or  
again in the details of formulated      
belief4 ,as the idea of salvation       
through mechanical obedience develops   
into a systematised scheme of life1 the 
higher and more spiritual faculties of  
,man's nature become gradually atrophied
 by disuse4 ,in other words1 the channel
 of soul growth--the only channel that  
leads to spiritual health1 and therefore
 to salvation--becomes gradually        
obstructed1 with the result that the    

vital energies of the soul tend either  
to dissipate themselves and run to      
waste1 or to make new channels for      
themselves1--channels of degenerative   
tendency1 the end of which is spiritual 
death4   ,,footnotes3  #a ,by           
self-satisfaction ,i mean satisfaction  
with the existing system as a system4   
,that strenuous efforts are being made  
to improve the system1 within its own   
limits1 ,i can well believe4 ,but the   
system itself1 with the defects and     
limitations which are of its essence1   
seems to be regarded as adequate1 and   
even as final1 by nearly all who work   
under it4  #b #ahfb to #ahie ,a4,d4  #c 
,the ,jewish ,people in the time of     
,jesus ,christ1 by ,dr4 ,emil ,schrer4  
#d ,in its extreme form legalism tends  
to bring about that ruin of human nature
 which it starts by postulating2 for1 by
 forbidding ,man's higher faculties to  
energise1 it necessarily arrests their  
development1 and so makes it possible   
for the lower faculties to draw to      

themselves an undue share of the rising 
sap of ,man's life4     ,,chapter ,,ii  
,,education ,,through ,,mechanical      
,,obedience   ,the ,god of popular      
theology has been engaged for more than 
thirty centuries in educating his child1
 ,man4 ,his system of education has been
 based on complete distrust of ,man's   
nature4 ,in the schools which ,man has  
been required to attend--the ,legal     
,school under the ,old ,dispensation1   
the ,ecclesiastical ,school under the   
,new--it has been taken for granted that
 he can neither discern what is true1   
nor desire what is good4 ,the truth of  
things has therefore been formulated for
 him1 and he has been required to learn 
it by rote and profess his belief in it1
 clause by clause4 ,his duty has also   
been formulated for him1 and he has been
 required to perform it1 detail by      
detail1 in obedience to the commandments
 of an all-embracing ,code1 or to the   
direction of an all-controlling ,church4
  ,it has further been taken for granted

 that ,man's instincts and impulses are 
wholly evil1 and that ,right ,faith and 
,right ,conduct are entirely repugnant  
to his nature4 ,in order to overcome the
 resistance which his corrupt heart and 
perverse will might therefore be        
expected to offer to the authority and  
influence of his teachers1 a scheme of  
rewards and punishments has had to be   
devised for his benefit4 ,as there is no
 better nature for the scheme to appeal 
to1 an appeal has had to be made to     
fears and hopes which are avowedly base4
 ,the refractory child has had to be    
threatened with corporal punishment in  
the form of an eternity of torment in   
,hell4 ,and he has had to be bribed by  
the offer of prizes1 the chief of which 
is an eternity of selfish enjoyment in  
,heaven1--enjoyment so selfish that it  
will consist with1 and even 7it is said7
 be heightened by1 the knowledge that in
 the ,final ,examination the failures   
have been many and the prize-winners    
few4  ,and as1 under this system of     

education1 obedience is the first and   
last of virtues1 so self-will--in the   
sense of daring to think and act for    
oneself--is the first and last of       
offences4 ,it is for the sin of         
spiritual initiative--the sin of trying 
to work out one's own salvation by the  
exercise of reason1 conscience1         
imagination1 aspiration1 and other      
spiritual faculties--that the direst    
penalties are reserved4 ,the path of    
salvation is the path of blind1 passive1
 mechanical obedience4 ,to deviate even 
a little from that path is to incur the 
penalty of eternal death4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,as ,man 
is educated by his father1 ,god1 so must
 the child be educated by his father1   
the adult man4 ,if the nature of ,man is
 intrinsically evil1 the child must     
needs have been conceived in sin and    
shapen in iniquity4 ,if ,man1 even in   
his maturity1 cannot be trusted to think
 or desire or do what is right1 still   
less can he be so trusted when he is    

that relatively immature and helpless   
being1 the child4 ,if the adult man has 
to be told in the fullest detail        
7whether by a formulated ,law or by a   
living ,church7 how he is to conduct    
himself1 still greater is the need for  
such or similar direction to be given to
 the child4 ,if the adult is to be saved
 by strict and mechanical obedience1 and
 by no other method1 still greater is   
the need for such obedience on the part 
of the child4 ,if a system of external  
and quasi-material rewards and          
punishments is indispensable in the     
education of the adult1 still less can  
it be dispensed with in the education of
 the child4 ,these a fortiori arguments 
are strong2 but there is a stronger4    
,the child will develop into the adult1 
and he cannot too soon be initiated into
 the life which1 as the adult1 he will  
have to lead4 ,the process of educating 
the child is not merely analogous to the
 process of saving the man4 ,it is a    
vital part of it4 ,for childhood is the 

time when human nature is most easily   
moulded2 and the bent that is given to  
it then is1 in nine cases out of ten1   
decisive of its ultimate destiny4  ,it  
is clear1 then1 that if ,man is to be   
saved by a rgime of mechanical          
obedience1 his education in his         
childhood must be based on the same     
general conception of life and duty4    
,this means1 in the first place1 that   
the child must be brought up in an      
atmosphere of severity4 ,the ,god of the
 ,old ,testament--the ,deity whose      
nimbus overshadows the life of the      
,west--combines in his own person the   
functions of law-giver1 governor1       
prosecutor1 judge1 and executioner4 ,his
 subjects are a race of vile offenders1 
whose every impulse is bad1 and whose   
nature turns towards evil as inevitably 
as a plant turns towards the light4 ,as 
he cannot trust them to know good from  
evil1 he has had to provide them with an
 elaborate code of law2 and he has had  
to take for granted that1 left to       

themselves1 they will break his         
commandments1 and find pleasure in doing
 so4 ,from the very outset1 then1 his   
attitude towards them has been one of   
suspicion and rising anger4 ,he is      
always on the look-out for disobedience1
 and he is ready to chastise the        
offender almost before he has had time  
to commit the offence4 ,his pupils1     
brought up in an atmosphere of          
suspicion1 and taught from their        
earliest days to disbelieve in and      
condemn themselves1 can scarcely be     
blamed for living down to the evil      
reputation which they have unfortunately
 gained4 ,to persuade a man that he is a
 miserable sinner is to go some way     
towards leading him into the path of    
sin4 ,systematic distrust paralyses and 
demoralises those who live under it1 and
 so tends to justify the cruelty into   
which it too readily develops4 ,the     
penalties which ,god has attached to the
 sins which he may almost be said to    
have provoked ,man to commit1 are so    

terrible and unjust that if the fear of 
them has not robbed life of all its     
sunshine1 the reason is that their very 
horror has numbed ,man's imagination1   
and made it impossible for him even to  
begin to picture to himself their lurid 
gloom4  ,in the ,west men have loyally  
striven to reproduce towards their      
children the supposed attitude of their 
,god of ,wrath towards themselves4 ,from
 very tender years the child has been   
brought up in an atmosphere of          
displeasure and mistrust4 ,his          
spontaneous activities have been        
repressed as evil4 ,his every act has   
been looked upon with suspicion4 ,he has
 been ever on the defensive1 like a     
prisoner in the dock4 ,he has been ever 
on the alert for a sentence of doom4 ,he
 has been cuffed1 kicked1 caned1        
flogged1 shut up in the dark1 fed on    
bread and water1 sent hungry to bed1    
subjected to a variety of cruel and     
humiliating punishments1 terrified with 
idle--but to him appalling--threats4 ,in

 his misery he has shed a whole ocean of
 tears1--the salt and bitter tears of   
hopeless grief and helpless anger1 not  
the soul-refreshing tears which are     
sometimes distilled from sorrow by the  
sunshine of love4 ,but of all the       
cruelties to which he has been          
subjected1 the most devilish has been   
that of making him believe in his own   
criminality1 in the corruption of his   
innocent heart4 ,in the deadly shade of 
that chilling cloud1 the flower of his  
opening life has too often withered     
before it has had time to expand4 ,for  
what is most cruel in cruelty is its    
tendency to demoralise its victims1     
especially those who are of tender      
years--to harden them1 to brutalise     
them1 to make them stubborn and         
secretive1 to make them shifty and      
deceitful1 to throw them back upon      
themselves1 to shut them up within      
themselves1 to quench the joy of their  
hearts1 to numb their sympathies1 to    
cramp their expansive energies1 to      

narrow and darken their whole outlook on
 life4 ,all this the cruelty of his     
seniors would do to the child1 even if  
he had not been taught to believe in his
 own inborn wickedness4 ,but that       
belief1 with which he has been          
indoctrinated from his earliest days1   
necessarily weakens his power of        
resisting evil1 and so predisposes him  
to fall a victim to the malignant germs 
that cruelty sows in his heart4 ,we tell
 the child that he is a criminal1 and   
treat him as such1 and then expect him  
to be perfect2 and when our misguided   
education has begun to deprave him1 we  
shake our heads over his congenital     
depravity1 and thank ,god that we       
believe in original sin4#e  ,in the next
 place1 if ,man is to be faithful to his
 model1 he must bring up the child in an
 atmosphere of vexatious interference   
and unnatural restraint4 ,that ,man     
himself has been brought up in such an  
atmosphere in both his schools--the     
,legal and the ,ecclesiastical--,i need 

not take pains to prove4 ,what he has   
suffered at the hands of his            
,schoolmaster--the ,god of ,israel 7and 
of ,christendom7--he has taken good care
 to inflict on his pupil1 the child4    
,such phrases as3 ,don't talk1 ,don't   
fidget1 ,don't worry1 ,don't ask        
questions1 ,don't make a noise1 ,don't  
make a mess1 ,don't do this thing1      
,don't do that thing1 are ever falling  
from his lips4 ,and they are            
supplemented with such positive         
instructions as3 ,sit still1 ,stand on  
the form1 ,hold yourself up1 ,fold arms1
 ,hands behind backs1 ,hands on heads1  
,eyes on the blackboard4 ,at every      
turn--from infancy till adolescence1    
from early morning till late in the     
evening--these dead and deadening       
formulas await the unhappy child4 ,the  
aim of his teachers is to leave nothing 
to his nature1 nothing to his           
spontaneous life1 nothing to his free   
activity2 to repress all his natural    
impulses2 to drill his energies into    

complete quiescence2 to keep his whole  
being in a state of sustained and       
painful tension4 ,and in order that we  
may see a meaning and a rational purpose
 in this rgime of oppressive            
interference1 we must assume that its   
ultimate aim is to turn the child into  
an animated puppet1 who1 having lost his
 capacity for vital activity1 will be   
ready to dance1 or rather go through a  
series of jerky movements1 in response  
to the strings which his teacher pulls4 
,it is the inevitable reaction from this
 state of tension which is responsible  
for much of the naughtiness of children4
 ,the spontaneous energies of the child1
 when education has blocked all their   
lawful outlets1 must needs force new    
outlets for themselves1--lawless        
outlets1 if no others are available4    
,the child's instinct to live will see  
to that4 ,it sometimes happens that1    
when the channel of a river has been    
blocked by winter's ice1 the river1 on  
its awakening in ,spring1 will suddenly 

change its course and carve out a new   
channel for itself1 reckless of the     
destruction that it may cause1 so long  
as an outlet can by any means be found  
for its baffled current4 ,it is the same
 with the river of the child's expanding
 life4 ,the naughtiest and most         
mischievous boy not infrequently        
develops into a hero1 or a leader of    
men4 ,the explanation of this is that   
through his very naughtiness the current
 of soul-growth1 which ran stronger in  
him than in his school-mates1 kept open 
the channel which his teachers were     
doing their best to close4 ,even        
,hooliganism--to take the most serious  
of the periodic outbursts of juvenile   
criminality--resolves itself1 when      
thoughtfully considered1 into a sudden  
and violent change in the channel of a  
boy's life1 a change which is due to the
 normal channel 7or channels7 of his    
expansive energies having been blocked  
by years of educational repression4 ,his
 wild1 ruffianly outrages are perhaps   

the last despairing effort that his     
vital principle makes to assert itself1 
before it finally gives up the struggle 
for active existence4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,when    
severity and constraint have done their 
work1 when the spirit of the child has  
been broken1 when his vitality has been 
lowered to its barest minimum1 when he  
has been reduced to a state of mental   
and moral serfdom1 the time has come for
 the system of education through        
mechanical obedience to be applied to   
him in all its rigour4 ,in other words1 
the time has come for ,man to do to the 
child1 what the ,god whom he worships is
 supposed to have done to him1--to tell 
him in the fullest and minutest detail  
what he is to do to be saved1 and to    
stand over him with a scourge in his    
hand and see that he does it4 ,in the   
two great schools which ,god is supposed
 to have opened for ,man's benefit1     
freedom and initiative have ever been   
regarded 7and with good reason7 as the  

gravest of offences4 ,literal obedience 
has been exacted by the ,law2 blind     
obedience by the ,church2 passive       
obedience--the obedience of a puppet1 or
 at best of an automaton--by both4 ,the 
need for this insistence on the part of 
,law and ,church is obvious4 ,if any    
lingering desire to think things out for
 himself1 if any intelligent interest in
 what he was taught1 survived in the    
disciple1 the whole system of salvation 
by machinery would be in danger of being
 thrown out of gear4  ,as it has been1  
and still is1 in the schools which ,god 
has opened for ,man1 so it has been1 and
 still is1 in the schools which ,man has
 opened for the child4 ,blind1 passive1 
literal1 unintelligent obedience is the 
basis on which the whole system of      
,western education has been reared4 ,the
 child must distrust himself absolutely1
 must realise that he is as helpless as 
he is ignorant1 before he can begin to  
profit by the instruction that will be  
given to him4 ,his mind must become a   

tabula rasa before his teacher can begin
 to write on it4 ,the vital part of     
him--call it what you will--must become 
as clay before his teacher can begin to 
mould him to his will4  ,the strength of
 the child1 then1 is to sit still1 to   
listen1 to say ,amen to1 or repeat1 what
 he has heard4 ,the strength of the     
teacher is to bustle about1 to give     
commands1 to convey information1 to     
exhort1 to expound4 ,the strength of the
 child is to efface himself in every    
possible way4 ,the strength of the      
teacher is to assert himself in every   
possible way4 ,the golden rule of       
education is that the child is to do    
nothing for himself which his teacher   
can possibly do1 or even pretend to do1 
for him4 ,were he to try to do things by
 or for himself1 he would probably start
 by doing them badly4 ,this is not to be
 tolerated4 ,imperfection and           
incorrectness are moral defects2 and the
 child must as far as possible be       
guarded from them as from the           

contamination of moral guilt4 ,he must  
therefore trust himself to his teacher1 
and do what he is told to do in the     
precise way in which he is told4 ,his   
teacher must stand in front of him and  
give such directions as these3 ,look at 
me1 ,see what ,i am doing1 ,watch my    
hand1 ,do the thing this way1 ,do the   
thing that way1 ,listen to what ,i say1 
,repeat it after me1 ,repeat it all     
together1 ,say it three times4 ,and the 
child1 growing more and more comatose1  
must obey these directions and ask no   
questions2 and when he has done what he 
has been told to do1 he must sit still  
and wait for the next instalment of     
instruction4  ,what is all this doing   
for the child8 ,the teacher seldom asks 
himself this question4 ,if he did1 he   
would answer it by saying that the end  
of education is to enable the child to  
produce certain outward and visible     
results1--to do by himself what he has  
often done1 either in imitation of his  
teacher1 or in obedience to his repeated

 directions2 to say by himself what he  
has said many times in chorus with his  
class-mates2 to disgorge some fragments 
of the information with which he has    
been crammed2 and so forth4 ,what may be
 the value of these outward results1    
what they indicate1 what amount or kind 
of mental 7or other7 growth may be      
behind them1--are questions which the   
teacher cannot afford to consider1 even 
if he felt inclined to ask them4 ,his   
business is to drill the child into the 
mechanical production of quasi-material 
results2 and his success in doing this  
will be gauged in due course by an      
examination1--a periodic test which is  
designed to measure1 not the degree of  
growth which the child has made1 but the
 industry of the teacher as indicated by
 the receptivity of his class4  ,the    
truth is that inward and spiritual      
growth1 even if it were thought         
desirable to produce it and measure it1 
could not possibly be measured4 ,the    
real results of education are in the    

child's heart and mind and soul1 beyond 
the reach of any measuring tape or      
weighing machine4 ,it follows that if   
the work of the teacher is to be tested1
 an external test must be applied4 ,this
 means that external results1 results   
which can be weighed and measured1 must 
be aimed at by both teacher and child1  
and that the value of these as symbols  
of what is inward and intrinsic must be 
wholly ignored4 ,not that the inward    
results of education would in any case  
be seriously considered4 ,when education
 is based on the passivity of the child1
 nothing matters to him or to his       
teacher except the accuracy with which  
he can reproduce what he has been       
taught1--can repeat what he has been    
told1 or do by himself what he has been 
told how to do4 ,what connection there  
may be between these achievements and   
his mental state matters so little that 
the bare idea of there being such a     
connection is1 as a rule1 entirely lost 
sight of4 ,the externalisation of       

religion in the ,west1 as evidenced by  
its ceremonialism and its casuistry1 has
 faithfully mirrored itself in the      
externality of ,western education4 ,the 
examination system 7which ,i will       
presently consider7 keeps education in  
the grooves of externality1 and drives  
those grooves so deep as to make escape 
from them impossible4 ,yet it does but  
give formal recognition to1 and in so   
doing crown and complete--as the        
keystone crowns and completes the       
arch--the whole system of education in  
the ,west4 ,it is because what is       
outward and visible counts for          
everything in the ,west1 first in the   
life of the adult and then in the life  
of the child1 that the idea of weighing 
and measuring the results of            
education--with its implicit assumption 
that the real results of education are  
ponderable and measurable 7a deadly     
fallacy which now has the force and     
authority of an axiom7--has come to     
establish itself in every ,western land4

         99       99       99       99  
99  ,the tendency of the ,western       
teacher to mistake the externals for the
 essentials of education1 and to measure
 educational progress in terms of the   
appearance of things1 gives rise to many
 misconceptions1 one of the principal of
 which is the current confusion between 
information and knowledge4 ,to generate 
knowledge in his pupils is a legitimate 
end of the teacher's ambition4 ,in      
schools and other academies it tends to 
become the chief1 if not the sole1 end2 
and1 things being what they are1 the    
teacher may be pardoned for regarding it
 as such4 ,but what is knowledge8 ,the  
vulgar confusion between knowledge and  
information is the accepted answer to   
this question4 ,but the answer is       
usually given before the question has   
been seriously considered4 ,one who     
allowed himself to reflect on it1       
however briefly or cursorily1 would     
quickly realise that it is possible to  
have intimate and effective knowledge of

 a subject without being able to impart 
any information about it4 ,successful   
action1 as in arts1 crafts1 games1      
sports1 and the like1 must needs have   
subtle and accurate knowledge behind it2
 but the possessor of such knowledge is 
seldom able to impart it with any       
approach to lucidity4 ,on the other     
hand1 it frequently happens that one who
 has a retentive memory is able to      
impart information glibly and correctly1
 without possessing any real knowledge  
of the subject in question4  ,the truth 
is that knowledge1 which may perhaps be 
provisionally defined as a correct      
attitude towards one's environment1 has 
almost as wide a range as that of human 
nature itself4 ,at one end of the scale 
we have the quasi-animal instinct which 
governs successful physical action4 ,at 
the other end we have the knowledge1 of 
which1 and of the possession of which1  
its possessor is clearly1 conscious4    
,between these extremes there is an     
almost infinite series of strata1       

ranging through every conceivable degree
 of subconsciousness4 ,the knowledge    
that is real and effective is absorbed  
into one or more of the subconscious    
strata1 from which it gradually ascends1
 under the influence of attention and   
reflection1 towards the more conscious  
levels1 gaining1 as it ascends1 in scope
 and outlook what it may possibly lose  
in subtlety and nearness to action4     
,when knowledge1 after passing upwards  
through many subconscious strata1 rises 
to what ,i may call the surface-level of
 consciousness1 it is ready1 on         
occasion1 to give itself off as         
information4 ,this exhalation from the  
surface of consciousness is genuine     
information1 not to be confounded with  
knowledge1 to which it is related as the
 outward to the inward state1 still less
 to be confounded with that spurious    
information which floats1 as we shall   
presently see1 like a film on the       
surface of the mind1 meaning nothing and
 indicating nothing except that it has  

been artificially deposited1 and that in
 due season it will be skimmed off1 if  
the teacher's hopes are fulfilled1 for  
the delectation of an examiner4  ,there 
are1 of course1 many cases in which the 
conscious acquisition of information is 
a necessary stage in the acquisition of 
knowledge4 ,but in all such cases1 if   
the information acquired is to have any 
educative value1 it must be allowed to  
sink down into the subconscious strata1 
whence1 after having been absorbed and  
assimilated and so converted into       
knowledge1 it will perhaps reascend     
towards the surface of the mind1 just as
 the leaves which fall in autumn are    
dragged down into the soil below1       
converted into fertile mould1 and then  
gradually lifted towards the surface2 or
 as the fresh water that the rivers pour
 into the sea has to be slowly absorbed 
into the whole mass of salt water before
 it 7or its equivalent7 can return to   
the land as rain4 ,when information     
which has been received and assimilated 

rises to the surface of the mind1 it    
will be ready1 when required to do so1  
to reappear as information1 and perhaps 
to return in that form to the source    
from which it came4 ,but the information
 which is given off will differ         
profoundly from that which has been     
received1 for between the two will have 
intervened many stages of silent        
absorption and silent growth4  ,it may  
be necessary1 then1 in the course of    
education1 both to supply and to demand 
information4 ,but the information which 
is supplied must be regarded as the raw 
material of knowledge1 into which it is 
to be converted by a subtle and secret  
process4 ,and the information which is  
demanded must be regarded as an         
exhalation 7so to speak7 from the       
surface of a mind which has been        
saturated with study and experience1 and
 therefore as a proof of the possession 
of knowledge4 ,to assume that knowledge 
and information are interchangeable     
terms1 that to impart information is    

therefore to generate knowledge1 that to
 give back information is therefore to  
give proof of the possession of         
knowledge1--is one of the greatest      
mistakes that a teacher can make4  ,but 
the mistake is almost universally made4 
,information being related to knowledge1
 as what is outward to what is inward1  
it is but natural that education in the 
,west1 which on principle concerns      
itself with what is outward1 and ignores
 what is inward1 should have always     
regarded1 and should still regard1 the  
supplying of information as the main    
function of the teacher1 and the ability
 of the child to retail the information 
which has been supplied to him as a     
convincing proof that the work of the   
teacher has been successfully done4 ,in 
nine schools out of ten1 on nine days   
out of ten1 in nine lessons out of ten1 
the teacher is engaged in laying thin   
films of information on the surface of  
the child's mind1 and then1 after a     
brief interval1 in skimming these off in

 order to satisfy himself that they had 
been duly laid4 ,he cannot afford to do 
otherwise4 ,if the child1 like the man1 
is to be saved by passive obedience1 his
 teacher must keep his every action and 
operation under close and constant      
supervision4 ,were the information which
 is supplied to him allowed to descend  
into the subconscious strata of his     
being1 there to be dealt with by the    
secret1 subtle1 assimilative processes  
of his nature1 it would escape from the 
teacher's supervision and therefore from
 his control4 ,in other words1 the      
teacher would have abdicated his        
function4 ,he must therefore take great 
pains to keep the processes by which the
 child acquires knowledge 7or what      
passes for such7 as near to the surface 
of his mind as possible2 in rivalry of  
the nurse who should take so much       
interest in the well-being of her       
charges that she would not allow them to
 digest the food which she had given    
them1 but would insist on their         

disgorging it at intervals1 in order    
that she might satisfy herself that it  
had been duly given and received4 ,it is
 no doubt right that the teacher should 
take steps to test the industry of his  
pupils2 but the information which the   
child has always to keep at the call of 
his memory1 in order that he may give it
 back on demand in the form in which he 
has received it1 is the equivalent of   
food which its recipient has not been   
allowed to digest4  ,the confusion      
between information and knowledge lies  
at the heart of the religion1 as well as
 of the education1 of the ,west4 ,in    
this1 as in other matters1 the training 
of the child by his teacher has been    
modelled on the supposed training of    
,man by ,god4 ,it is scarcely an        
exaggeration to say that the whole      
scheme of salvation by mechanical       
obedience is pivoted on the assumed     
identity of information and knowledge4  
,in both the schools which ,man has     
attended three things have always been  

taken for granted4 ,the first is that   
salvation depends upon right knowledge  
of ,god4 ,the second1 that right        
knowledge of ,god and correct           
information about ,god are              
interchangeable phrases4 ,the third1    
that correct information about ,god is  
procurable by1 and communicable to1     
,man4 ,from these premises it has been  
inferred that if ,man can be duly       
supplied with correct information about 
,god1 and can be induced to receive and 
retain it1 he will be able to save his  
soul alive4 ,the difference between the 
two schools is1 that in the ,legal      
,school the information supplied to ,man
 has been largely concerned with the    
,will of ,god1 so far as it bears on the
 life of ,man1 and has therefore taken  
the form of a ,code of formulated       
commandments2 whereas in the            
,ecclesiastical ,school it has mainly   
been concerned with the ,being of ,god1 
as interpreted from his doings and      
especially from his dealings with ,man1 

and has therefore taken the form of     
catechisms and creeds4 ,and there is1 of
 course1 the further difference that in 
the ,legal ,school ,man's acceptance of 
what he is taught has taken the         
practical form of doing what he is told 
to do1 detail by detail2 whereas in the 
,ecclesiastical ,school it has been     
mainly oral 7though also partly         
ceremonial71 the business of the        
disciple being to commit to memory the  
creed or catechism which has been placed
 in his hands1 and recite it1 formula by
 formula1 with flawless accuracy4 ,but  
the difference between the two schools  
is wholly superficial1 being1 in fact1  
analogous to that between the           
conventional teaching of ,drawing1 in   
which the pupil finds salvation in doing
 what he is told to do1 line by line1   
and stroke by stroke1 and the           
conventional teaching of ,history and   
,geography1 in which the pupil finds    
salvation in saying what he is told to  
say1 name by name1 and date by date4    

,the relation between the two great     
branches of education1 the education of 
,man by ,god1 and the education of the  
child by the man1 is one1 not of analogy
 merely1 but also of cause and effect4  
,it is because the ,jew thought to save 
his soul alive by obeying1 blindly and  
unintelligently1 a multitude of         
vexatious rules1 that the teacher of    
to-day thinks to educate his pupils in  
,drawing by telling them in the fullest 
detail 7either in his own person or by  
means of a diagram7 what lines and      
strokes they are to make4 ,and it is    
because the ,christian has thought to   
save his soul alive by reciting with    
parrot-like accuracy the formul of his  
creeds and catechisms1 that the teacher 
of to-day thinks to educate his pupils  
in ,history and ,geography by making    
them repeat from memory a series of     
definitions1 dates1 events1 names of    
persons1 names of places1 articles of   
commerce1 and the like4 ,i do not say   
that the modern teacher consciously     

imitates his models2 but ,i say that he 
and they have been inspired by the same 
conception of life1 and that the        
influence of that conception has been1  
in part at least1 transmitted by them to
 him4         99       99       99      
99       99  ,that education in the     
,west should ultimately be controlled by
 a system of formal examination1 may be 
said to have been predestined by the    
general trend of religious thought and  
belief4 ,wherever literal obedience is  
regarded as the first1 if not the last1 
condition of salvation1 the tendency to 
measure worth and progress by the       
outward results that are produced will  
inevitably spring up and assert itself4 
,in this tendency we have the whole     
examination system in embryo4 ,when     
,israel1 with characteristic            
thoroughness1 had embodied in           
,pharisaism the logical inferences from 
his religious conceptions1 a merciless  
examination system came into being1 in  
which every one was at once examiner and

 examinee1 and in which the whole of    
human life was dragged out 7as far as   
that was possible7 into the fierce light
 of public criticism1 and placed under  
vigilant and unintermittent supervision4
 ,when ,pharisaism was revived1 with    
many modifications but with no essential
 change of character1 under the name of 
,puritanism1 the tendency to arraign    
human life at the bar of public opinion 
reasserted itself1 and gave rise1 as in 
,new ,england and covenanting ,scotland1
 to an intolerable spiritual tyranny4   
,in ,catholic countries the believer is 
subjected in the ,confessional to a     
periodical oral examination1 in which he
 passes in review the outward aspect of 
his inward and spiritual life1 detailing
 for the benefit of his confessor his   
sins of ceremonial omission or laxity1  
and such lapses from moral rectitude as 
admit of being formulated in words and  
accurately valued in terms of expiatory 
penance4 ,even in the ,anglican ,church1
 which has too great a regard for the   

,englishman's traditional love of       
personal freedom to be unduly           
inquisitorial1 the clergyman is apt to  
measure the spiritual health and        
progress of his parishioners by the     
frequency with which they attend church 
and ,celebration1 while the ,bishop     
measures the spiritual health and       
progress of each parish by the number of
 its communicants and the frequency with
 which they communicate1 statistics     
under both heads being 7,i am told7     
regularly forwarded to him from all     
parts of his diocese4  ,it was          
inevitable1 then1 the relation between  
that sooner or later the education of   
the young should come under the control 
of a system of formal religion and      
education being what it was and is1     
examination1 and that it should be as   
much easier to apply the system to      
education than to religion as it is     
easier to test knowledge 7in the        
conventional sense of the word7 than    
conduct4 ,it is to the vulgar confusion 

between knowledge and information that  
we owe the formal examination1 as it is 
now conducted in most ,western          
countries4 ,in a society which mistakes 
the externals for the essentials of     
life1 it is but natural that the        
teacher1 with the full consent of the   
parents of his pupils1 should regard the
 imparting of knowledge as the end and  
aim of his professional life1 and that  
the parents should demand some guarantee
 that knowledge has been successfully   
imparted to their children4 ,if by      
knowledge were meant a correct attitude 
of mind1 the teacher would realise that 
the idea of testing it in any way which 
would satisfy the average parent was    
chimerical2 and his clients1 if they    
continued to ask for a guarantee of     
successful teaching1 would require      
something widely different from that    
which has hitherto contented them4 ,but 
when information is regarded as the     
equivalent of knowledge1 the testing of 
the teacher's work becomes a simple     

matter1 for it is quite easy to frame an
 examination which will ascertain1 with 
some approach to accuracy1 the amount of
 information that is floating on the    
surface of the child's mind2 and it is  
also easy to tabulate the results of    
such an examination1--to find a         
numerical equivalent for the work done  
by each examinee1 and then arrange the  
whole class in what is known as the     
order of merit1 and accepted as such1   
without a moment's misgiving1 by all    
concerned4  ,unfortunately1 however1 it 
is equally easy to prepare children for 
an examination of this1 the normal type4
 ,as children have receptive memories1  
it is easy for the teacher to lay films 
of information on the surface of their  
minds4 ,as they have capacious and      
fairly retentive memories1 it is easy   
for the teacher1 especially if he is a  
strict disciplinarian1 to make his      
pupils retain the greater part of what  
they have been taught4 ,to skim off and 
give back to the teacher 7or examiner7  

portions of the floating films of       
information1 is a knack which comes with
 practice1 and which the average child  
easily acquires4 ,the teacher will1 of  
course1 demand that his school shall be 
examined on a clearly-defined syllabus2 
and the examiner1 in his own interest1  
will gladly comply with this demand4    
,the examiner will go further than this4
 ,if he happens to be employed by the   
,state or by a ,local ,authority1 and   
has1 therefore1 many schools of the same
 type to examine1 he will1 in order to  
save himself unnecessary trouble1       
prescribe the syllabus on which all the 
schools in his area are to be examined4 
,this means that he will dictate to the 
teacher what subjects he is to teach1   
how much ground he is to cover in each  
year 7or term71 in what general order he
 is to treat each subject1 and on what  
general principles he is to teach it4   
,intentionally he will do all this4     
,unintentionally he will do far more    
than this4 ,as he wishes his examination

 to be a test and not a mere formality1 
as he wishes to sift the examinees and  
not to set the seal of approval on all  
of them indiscriminately1 he will take  
care that some at least of his questions
 are different from what the teacher    
might expect them to be4 ,also1 as he is
 himself a rational being1 he will      
probably endeavour to test intelligence 
as well as memory2 and1 with this end in
 view1 he will set questions1 the       
precise nature of which it will be      
difficult for the teacher to forecast4  
,but the teacher will make a practice of
 studying the questions set in the      
periodical examinations and of preparing
 his pupils accordingly1 equipping them 
7if he is an expert at his work7 with a 
stock of superficial intelligence as    
well as of information1 and putting them
 up to whatever knacks1 tricks1 and     
dodges will enable them to show to      
advantage on the examination day4 ,in   
his desire to outwit the teacher1 the   
examiner will turn and double like a    

hare who is pursued by a greyhound4 ,but
 the teacher will turn and double with  
equal agility1 and will never allow     
himself to be outdistanced by his       
quarry4  ,the more successful the       
teacher is in keeping up with the       
examiner1 the more fatal will his       
success be to his pupils and to himself4
 ,in the ardour of the chase he is being
 lured on into a region of treacherous  
quicksands2 and the longer he is able to
 maintain the pursuit1 the more certain 
is it that he will lose himself at last 
in depths and mazes of misconception and
 delusion4 ,it is only by stripping     
himself of his own freedom and          
responsibility that the teacher is able 
to keep pace with the examiner1 and each
 turn or double that he makes involves a
 fresh surrender of those prerogatives4 
,in consenting to work on a prescribed  
syllabus he has given up the idea of    
planning out his work for himself4 ,in  
attempting to adapt his teaching to the 
questions set by the examiner1 he is    

allowing the latter to dictate to him1  
in the minutest detail1 how each subject
 is to be taught4 ,in other words1 in   
order to achieve the semblance of       
success1 he is delivering himself1 mind 
and soul1 into the hands of the         
examiner1 and compelling the latter1    
perhaps against his will1 to become a   
,providence to him and to order all his 
goings4 ,this means that his distrust of
 himself is as complete as his distrust 
of the child1 and that his faith in the 
efficacy of mechanical obedience has led
 him to seek salvation for himself1 as  
well as for his pupils1 by following    
that fatal path4  ,it is in this way    
that a formal examination reacts upon   
and intensifies the sinister tendencies 
of which it is at once a product and a  
symptom4 ,the examination system is1 as 
,i have said1 the keystone of the arch  
of ,western education1 crowning and     
completing the whole structure1 and at  
the same time holding it together1 and  
preventing it from falling1 as it       

deserves to fall1 into a ruinous heap4  
,education1 as it is now interpreted and
 practised in the ,west1 could not      
continue to exist without the support of
 the examination system2 but the price  
that it pays1 and will continue to pay1 
for this deadly preservative1 is the    
progressive aggravation of all its own  
inherent defects4 ,the plight of an     
organism is indeed desperate when the   
very poison which it ought1 if healthy1 
to eliminate from its system1 has become
 indispensable to the prolongation of   
its life4  ,it is notorious that the    
application of the examination principle
 to religion--the attempt to estimate   
spiritual health and growth in terms of 
outward action--generates hypocrisy1 or 
the pretence of being more virtuous 7and
 more religious7 than one really is4    
,when applied to the education of the   
young1 the same principle generates     
hypocrisy of another kind1--the pretence
 of being cleverer than one really is1  
of knowing more than one really knows4  

,so long as the hypocrite realises that 
he is a hypocrite1 there is hope for    
him4 ,but when hypocrisy develops into  
self-deception1 the severance between   
outward and inward1 between appearance  
and reality1 is complete4 ,in a school  
which is ridden by the examination      
incubus1 the whole atmosphere is charged
 with deceit4 ,the teacher's attempt to 
outwit the examiner is deceitful2 and   
the immorality of his action is         
aggravated by the fact that he makes his
 pupils partners with him in his fraud4 
,the child who is being crammed for an  
examination1 and who is being practised 
at the various tricks and dodges that   
will1 it is hoped1 enable him to throw  
dust in the examiner's eyes1 may not    
consciously realise that he and his     
teacher are trying to perpetrate a      
fraud1 but will probably have an        
instinctive feeling that he is being led
 into crooked ways4 ,if he has not that 
feeling1 if the crooked ways seem       
straight in his eyes1 we may know that  

his sense of reality is being poisoned  
by the vitiated atmosphere which he has 
been compelled to breathe4 ,nor1 if that
 is his case1 will he lack companionship
 in his delusion4 ,in the atmosphere of 
the examination system1 deceit and      
hypocrisy are ever changing into        
self-deception2 and all who become      
acclimatised to the influence of the    
system--pupils1 teachers1 examiners1    
parents1 employers of labour1 ministers 
of religion1 members of ,parliament1 and
 the rest--fall victims1 sooner or      
later1 to the poison that infects it1   
and are well content to cheat themselves
 with outward and visible results1      
accepting class-lists and orders of     
merit as of quasi-divine authority1     
mistaking official regulations for laws 
of ,nature1 and the clumsy movements of 
over-elaborated yet ill-contrived       
machinery for the subtle processes of   
life4  ,of the many evils inherent in   
,western education1 which the           
examination system tends to intensify1  

one of the greatest is that of starving 
the child's activities1 of making him   
helpless1 apathetic1 and inert4         
,original sin finds its equivalent1 in  
the sphere of mental action1 in original
 impotence and stupidity4 ,it is not in 
the child to direct his steps1 and the  
teacher must therefore direct them for  
him1 and1 if necessary1 support him with
 both hands while he makes them4 ,even  
if the outward results which are the    
goal of the teacher's ambition were to  
be produced for his own satisfaction    
only1 he would take care to leave as    
little as possible to the child's       
independent effort4 ,but when the       
results in question have to satisfy an  
examiner1 and when1 as may well happen1 
the teacher's own professional welfare  
depends on the examiner's verdict1 it is
 but natural that he should hold himself
 responsible for every stroke and dot   
that his pupil makes4 ,when the         
education given in a school is dominated
 by a periodical examination on a       

prescribed syllabus1 suppression of the 
child's natural activities becomes the  
central feature of the teacher's        
programme4 ,in such a school the child  
is not allowed to do anything which the 
teacher can possibly do for him4 ,he has
 to think what his teacher tells him to 
think1 to feel what his teacher tells   
him to feel1 to see what his teacher    
tells him to see1 to say what his       
teacher tells him to say1 to do what his
 teacher tells him to do4 ,and the      
directions given to him are always      
minute4 ,not the smallest room for free 
action is allowed him if his teacher can
 possibly help it4 ,indeed1 it is the   
function of the skilful teacher to      
search for such possible nooks and      
crannies1 and fill them up4 ,it is true 
that if an examination is to be passed  
with credit some thinking has to be     
done4 ,but the greater part of this     
thinking must be done by the teacher1   
the rle of the pupil1 even when he is an
 adult student1 being essentially       

passive and receptive4 ,the pupil must  
indeed be actively passive and          
industriously receptive2 but for the    
rest1 he must as far as possible leave  
himself in the teacher's hands4 ,how to 
outwit the examiner is the one aim of   
both the teacher and the examinee2 and  
as the teacher is presumably older1     
wiser1 and far more skilful at the      
examination game than his pupil1 the    
duty of thinking--of planning1 of       
contriving1 and even 7in the deeper     
sense of the word7 of                   
studying--necessarily devolves on the   
former2 and the latter1 instead of      
relying upon himself and learning to use
 his own wits and resources1 becomes    
more and more helpless and resourceless1
 and gradually ceases to take any       
interest in the work that he is doing1  
for its own sake1 his chief1 if not his 
sole1 concern being to outwit the       
examiner and pass a successful          
examination4 7,one frequently meets with
 clever ,university students who1 having

 read a certain book for a certain      
examination and had no question set from
 it1 regard the time given to the study 
of it as wasted1 and have no compunction
 about expressing this opinion67 ,if    
these are evils incidental--,i might    
almost say essential--to the examination
 of adult scholars1 it stands to reason 
that they will be greatly aggravated    
when the examinees are young children4  
,for the younger the child1 the more    
ignorant and helpless he is 7however    
full he may be of latent capacity and   
spontaneous activity71 and therefore the
 more ready he is to lean upon his      
teacher and to look to him for          
instruction and direction4  ,the desire 
to outwit1 and so win approval from1 an 
examiner1 is not the only reason why the
 teacher so often reduces to an         
absurdity the traditional distrust of   
the child4 ,his own inability to educate
 the child on other lines is another and
 not less potent reason4 ,the           
examination rgime to which he has been  

subjected himself1 partly1 perhaps1     
under compulsion1 but also and in larger
 measure of his own choice1 deprives    
him1 as we have already seen1 of much of
 his freedom1 initiative1 and           
responsibility2 and that being so1 it is
 inevitable that within the limited     
range of free action which is left to   
him1 he in his turn should devote his   
energies to depriving his pupils of the 
same vital qualities1 and to making them
 the helpless creatures of habit and    
routine which he himself is tending to  
become4 ,to give free play to a child's 
natural faculties and so lead him into  
the path of self-development and        
self-education1 demands a high degree of
 intelligence on the part of the        
teacher1 combined with the constant     
exercise of thought and initiative      
within a wide range of free action4 ,if 
you tell a teacher in precise detail1   
whether directly or indirectly1 that he 
is to do this thing1 and that thing1 and
 the next thing1 he will not be able to 

carry out your instructions1 except by  
telling his pupils1 again in precise    
detail1 that they are to do this thing1 
and that thing1 and the next thing4 ,he 
cannot help himself4 ,he has no choice  
in the matter4 ,he is the victim of a   
quasi-physical compulsion4 ,the pressure
 which is put upon him will inevitably  
be transmitted by him and through him to
 his pupils1 and will inevitably be     
multiplied 7the relations between       
teacher and pupil being what they are7  
in the course of transmission4  ,there  
is nothing that a healthy child hates so
 much as to have the use of his natural 
faculties and the play of his natural   
energies unduly restricted by parental  
or pedagogic control4 ,we may therefore 
take for granted that the child will    
find himself ill at ease in a school in 
which every vital activity is rigidly   
repressed1 and in which he spends most  
of his time in sitting still and waiting
 for orders4 ,nor will it add to his    
happiness to live habitually in an      

atmosphere of constraint1 of austerity1 
of suspicion1 of gloom4 ,but ,i need not
 take pains to prove that education1 as 
it is conducted in ,western countries1  
is profoundly repugnant to the natural  
instincts of the healthy child4 ,for    
that is precisely what it is intended to
 be4 ,the idea of a child enjoying his  
lessons is foreign to the genius of the 
,west4 ,dominated as he is by the       
inherited conviction that ,man's nature 
is corrupt and that his instincts are   
evil1 the ,western teacher has set      
himself the task of doing violence to   
the child's instinctive tendencies1 of  
thwarting his inborn desires1 of working
 against the grain of his nature4 ,he   
has expected the child to rebel against 
this rgime1 and he has welcomed his     
rebellion as a proof of the corruption  
of ,man's nature1 and therefore of the  
soundness of the traditional philosophy 
of education4  ,but if education is     
hateful to the child1 how is he to be   
induced to submit to being educated8    

,some co-operation on his part will be  
necessary4 ,how is it to be secured8 ,by
 precisely the same methods as those by 
which ,man1 in the course of his        
education1 has been induced to          
co-operate with ,god4 ,the child1 like  
,man1 is to be saved--to be rescued from
 ,nature and from himself--by being led 
into the path of mechanical obedience4  
,the child1 like ,man1 is to be kept in 
that path by a system of external       
rewards and punishments4 ,if he will not
 do what he is told to do1 he will be   
punished by his teacher4 ,if he will do 
what he is told to do1 he will escape   
punishment1 and he may possibly1 when   
his merits have accumulated             
sufficiently1 receive a reward4 ,in the 
education of ,man by the ,god of ,israel
 the balance between rewards and        
punishments has been kept fairly even4  
,hell has been balanced by ,heaven1     
calamity by prosperity1 death by life4  
,it has been far otherwise with the     
child4 ,his punishments have been many1 

and his rewards few4 ,at the present day
 men are more humane than they used to  
be2 and corporal punishment1 though     
still resorted to1 counts for less than 
it used to do in the training of the    
child4 ,but punishments of various kinds
 are still regarded as indispensable    
adjuncts to school discipline2 and it is
 still taken for granted in far too many
 schools that the fear of punishment and
 the hope of reward are the only        
effective motives to educational effort4
  ,it is difficult to say which of the  
two motives is the more likely to       
demoralise the child4 ,a rgime of       
punishment is not necessarily a rgime of
 cruelty2 but punishment can scarcely   
fail to savour of severity1 and when the
 doctrine of original sin is in the     
ascendant1 and the inborn wilfulness and
 stubbornness of the child are          
postulated by his teachers1 the         
indefinable boundary line between       
severity and cruelty is easily crossed4 
,of the tendency of cruelty to          

demoralise its victims ,i have already  
spoken4 ,but the effect of punishment on
 the child must be considered in its    
relation to his mental1 as well as to   
his moral1 development4 ,scholarships1  
prizes1 high places in class1 and other 
such rewards are for the few1 not for   
the many4 ,if the many are to be roused 
to exertion1 the fear of punishment 7in 
the hypothetical absence of any other   
motive7 must be ever before them4 ,what 
will happen to them when that motive is 
withdrawn1 as it will be when the child 
becomes the adolescent8 ,his education  
has been distasteful to the child1      
partly because his teachers have assumed
 from the outset that it would be and   
must be so1 but chiefly because in their
 ignorance they have taken pains to make
 it so1 his school life having been so  
ordered as to combine the maximum of    
strain with the maximum of ennui4 ,his  
teachers have done everything for him1  
except those mechanical and monotonous  
exercises which they felt they might    

trust him to do by himself4 ,some of his
 mental faculties have become stunted   
and atrophied through lack of exercise4 
,others have been allowed to wither in  
the bud4 ,if he happens to belong to the
 masses1 he will have completed his     
school education at the age of thirteen 
or fourteen4 ,what will he do with      
himself when there is no longer a       
teacher at his elbow to tell him what to
 do and how to do it1 and to stand over 
him 7should this be necessary7 while he 
does it8 ,why should he go on with      
studies which he has neither the        
inclination nor the ability to pursue1  
and which1 in point of fact1 he has     
never really begun8 ,and why should he  
continue to exert himself when1 owing to
 his being at last beyond the reach of  
punishment1 the need for him to do      
so--the only need which he has been     
accustomed to regard as imperative--has 
ceased to exist8  ,the objections to the
 hope of reward as a motive to          
educational effort are of another kind4 

,prizes1 as ,i have said1 are for the   
few2 and it is the consciousness of     
being one of the elect which invests the
 winning of a prize with its chief      
attraction4 ,the prize system makes a   
direct appeal to the vanity and egoism  
of the child4 ,it encourages him to     
think himself better than others1 to    
pride himself on having surpassed his   
class-mates and shone at their expense4 
,the clever child is to work hard1 not  
because knowledge is worth winning for  
its own sake and for his own sake1 but  
because it will be pleasant for him to  
feel that he has succeeded where others 
have failed4 ,it is a just reproach     
against the examination system that     
while1 by its demand for outward results
 it does its best to destroy            
individuality1 the essence of which is  
sincerity of expression1 it also does   
its best to foster individualism1 by    
appealing1 with its offer of prizes and 
other distinctions1 to those instincts  
which predispose each one of us to      

affirm and exalt that narrow1           
commonplace1 superficial aspect of his  
being which he miscalls his self4  ,thus
 the hope of reward tends to demoralise 
the clever child by making an appeal to 
basely selfish motives4 ,at the same    
time it is probably deluding him with   
the belief that he has more capacity    
than he really has4 ,if the examination 
system is1 as ,i have suggested1 the    
keystone of the arch of ,western        
education1 it is by means of the prize  
system that the keystone has been firmly
 cemented into its place4 ,an           
examination which had no rewards or     
distinctions to offer to the competitors
 would not be an effective stimulus to  
exertion4 ,that being so1 our           
educationalists have taken care that to 
every examination some external reward  
or rewards shall be attached4 ,even if  
there are no material prizes to appeal  
to the child's cupidity1 there is always
 the class-list1 with its so-called     
order of merit1 to appeal to his vanity4

 ,our educationalists have also taken   
care that during the periods of         
childhood1 adolescence1 and even early  
maturity1 every prize that is offered   
for competition shall be awarded after a
 formal examination and on the          
consideration of its tabulated results4 
,the appointments in the ,home1         
,colonial1 and ,indian ,civil ,services1
 the promotions in the ,army and ,navy1 
the fellowships and scholarships at the 
,universities1 the scholarships at the  
,public ,schools1 the medals1 books1 and
 other prizes that are offered to       
school-children1 are all awarded to     
those who have distinguished themselves 
in the corresponding examinations1 no   
other qualification than that of ability
 to shine in an examination being looked
 for in the competitors4 ,there are1 no 
doubt1 exceptions to these general      
statements1 but they are so few that    
they scarcely count4 ,we have seen that 
the ascendency of the examination system
 in our schools and colleges is largely 

due to the vulgar confusion between     
information and knowledge2 and we have  
also seen that the examination system   
reacts upon that fatal confusion and    
tends to strengthen and perpetuate it4  
,if1 then1 the effect of the prize      
system is to consolidate the authority  
of the formal examination and intensify 
its influence1 we shall not go far wrong
 in assuming that in the various        
competitions for prizes the confusion   
between information and knowledge will  
play a vital part4 ,and1 in point of    
fact1 the cleverness which enables the  
child--,i ignore for the moment the     
adolescent and the adult student--to win
 prizes of various kinds is found1 when 
carefully analysed1 to resolve itself1  
in nine cases out of ten1 into the      
ability to receive1 retain1 and retail  
information4 ,as this particular1       
ability is but a small part of that     
mental capacity which education is      
supposed to train1 it is clear that the 
clever child who gets to the top of his 

class1 and wins prizes in so doing1 may 
easily be led to over-estimate his      
powers1 and to take himself far more    
seriously than it is either right or    
wise of him to do4 ,his over-confidence 
may for a time prove an effective       
stimulus to exertion2 but the exertion  
will probably be misdirected2 and later 
on1 when he finds himself confronted by 
the complex realities of life1 and when 
problems have to be solved which demand 
the exercise of other faculties than    
that of memory1 his belief in himself1  
which is the outcome of a false         
criterion of merit1 may induce him to   
undertake what he cannot accomplish1 and
 may lead at last--owing to his having  
lost touch with the actualities of      
things--to his complete undoing4  ,and  
as under the prize system the child who 
is high in his class is apt to          
over-estimate his ability1 so the child 
who is low in his class is apt to accept
 the verdict of the class-list as final1
 and to regard himself as a failure     

because he lacks the superficial ability
 which enables a child to shine on the  
examination day4 ,again and again it    
happens that the dunce of his class goes
 to the front in the battle of life4    
,but numerous and significant as these  
cases are1 they are unfortunately       
exceptions to a general rule4 ,for one  
dunce who emerges from the depths of    
apparent failure1 there are ten who go  
under after a more or less protracted   
struggle1 and sink contentedly to the   
bottom4 ,the explanation of this is that
 though every child has capacity 7apart1
 of course1 from the congenital idiot   
and the mentally defective71 there are  
many kinds of capacity which a formal   
examination fails to discover1 and which
 the education that is dominated by the 
prize system fails to develop4 ,the     
child whose particular kind of capacity 
does not count1 either in the ordinary  
school lesson or on the examination day1
 is not aware that he is capable2 and as
 he is always low on the class-list1 and

 is therefore regarded by his teachers  
as dull and stupid1 he not unnaturally  
acquiesces in the current and apparently
 authoritative estimate1 of his powers1 
and1 losing heart about himself1 ends by
 becoming the failure which he has been 
taught to believe himself to be4 ,in    
brief1 while the prize system breeds    
ungrounded and therefore dangerous      
self-esteem in the child whom it labels 
as bright1 it breeds ungrounded but not 
the less fatal self-distrust in the     
child whom it labels as dull4  ,we have 
seen that there comes a time in the life
 of every man when the fear of          
punishment ceases to act as a stimulus  
to educational exertion4 ,it is the same
 with the hope of reward4 ,examinations1
 and the prizes which reward success in 
examinations1 are for the young4 ,what  
will happen to the prize-winner when    
there are no more prizes for him to     
compete for8 ,will he continue to pursue
 knowledge for its own sake8 ,alas6 he  
has never pursued it for its own sake4  

,he has pursued it for the sake of the  
prizes and other honours which it       
brought him4 ,when he has won his last  
prize the chances are that he will lose 
all interest in that branch of learning 
in which he achieved distinction1       
unless1 indeed1 he has to earn his      
livelihood by teaching it4 ,of the      
scores of young men who distinguish     
themselves in ,classics at ,oxford and  
,cambridge1 how many will continue to   
study the classical writers when they   
have gained the ,firsts for which they  
worked so diligently8 ,apart from those 
who are going to teach ,classics in the 
,public ,schools or ,universities1 a    
mere handful1--one in ten perhaps1      
though that is probably an extravagant  
estimate4 ,and yet the poets1           
philosophers1 and historians whom they  
have studied are amongst the greatest   
that the world has produced4 ,what is   
it1 then1 that kills1 in nine cases out 
of ten1 the classical student's interest
 in the masterpieces of antiquity8 ,the 

obvious fact that he was never          
interested in them for their own        
sakes--that he studied them1 not in     
order to enjoy them or profit by them1  
but in order to pass an examination in  
them1 of which he might be able to say  
in after years3    ,i am named and known
 by that hour's feat1   ,there took my  
station and degree4  ,how many          
,wranglers1 other than those who have or
 will become schoolmasters or college   
tutors1 continue to study mathematics8  
,how many of the ,first ,classmen in    
,science1 ,history1 ,law1 and other     
,honour ,schools continue to study their
 respective subjects8 ,in every case an 
utterly insignificant minority4  ,but if
 the prize system does this to the young
 man of twenty-two or twenty-three1 if  
it kills his interest in learning1 if it
 makes him register an inward vow never 
again to open the books which he has    
crammed so successfully for his         
examinations1 what may it be expected to
 do to the child whose school education 

comes to an end when he is only thirteen
 or fourteen years old8 ,when1 with the 
fear of punishment1 the complementary   
hope of reward is withdrawn from him1 is
 it reasonable to expect him to continue
 his education1 to continue to apply    
himself to subjects with which his      
acquaintance has been entirely formal   
and superficial1 and which he has never 
been allowed to digest and assimilate8  
,the utter indifference of the average  
ex-elementary scholar to literature1 to 
history1 to geography1 to science1 to   
music1 to art1 is the world-wide answer 
to this question4  ,for what is1 above  
all1 hateful in any scheme of rewards   
and punishments1 when applied to the    
school life of the young1 is that it    
wholly externalises what is really an   
inward and spiritual process1 the       
evolution of the youthful mind4 ,just as
 in the sphere of religion it is        
postulated as a self-evident truth that 
righteousness is not its own reward1 nor
 iniquity its own punishment1--so in the

 sphere of education it is postulated as
 a self-evident truth1 that knowledge is
 not its own reward1 nor ignorance its  
own punishment4 ,and just as in the     
sphere of religion the appeal to ,man's 
selfish hopes and ignoble fears has     
generated a radical misconception of the
 meaning and purpose of righteousness1  
which has caused his moral and spiritual
 energies to be diverted into           
irreligious or anti-religious channels1 
to the detriment of his inward and      
spiritual growth1--so in the sphere of  
education the appeal to the child's     
selfish desires and ignoble fears has   
generated a radical misconception of the
 meaning and purpose of knowledge1 which
 has caused his mental energies to be   
diverted into uneducational channels1 to
 the detriment of his mental growth4 ,in
 each case the scheme of rewards and    
punishments1 acting like an immense     
blister1 when applied to a healthy body1
 draws to the surface the life-blood    
which ought to nourish and purify the   

vital organs of the soul 7or mind71     
thereby impoverishing the vital organs1 
and inflaming and disfiguring the       
surface4 ,for if the surface life1 with 
its outward and visible results1 is to  
be happy and productive1 the health of  
the vital organs must be carefully      
maintained4 ,this is the fundamental    
truth which those who control education 
in the ,west have persistently ignored4 
,the system of education which ,i have  
tried to describe is a practical        
embodiment of the ideas that govern the 
popular philosophy of the ,west4 ,one   
who had studied that philosophy1 and who
 wished to ascertain what provision it  
made for the education of the young1    
would in the course of his inquiry      
construct a priori the precise system of
 education which is in vogue in all     
,western countries4 ,the supposed       
relation between ,god and his fallen and
 rebellious offspring1 ,man1 is         
obviously paralleled by the relation    
between the teacher and the child2 and  

it is therefore clear that the supposed 
dealings of ,god with ,man ought to be  
paralleled by the dealings of the       
teacher with the child4 ,that they are  
so paralleled--that salvation by        
machinery has found its most exact      
counterpart in education by             
machinery--the history of education has 
made abundantly clear4  ,whatever else  
the current system of education may do  
to the child1 there is one thing which  
it cannot fail to do to him1--to blight 
his mental growth4 ,what particular form
 or forms this blighting influence may  
take will depend in each particular case
 on a variety of circumstances4         
,experience tells us that what happens  
in most cases is that ,western education
 strangles some faculties1 arrests the  
growth of others1 stunts the growth of a
 third group1 and distorts the growth of
 a fourth4  ,is it intended that        
education should do all this8 ,this     
question is not so paradoxical as it    
sounds4 ,my primary assumption that the 

function of education is to foster      
growth may be a truism in the eyes of   
those who agree with it2 but ,western   
orthodoxy1 just so far as it is         
self-conscious and sincere1 must needs  
repudiate it as a pestilent heresy4 ,for
 if what grows is intrinsically evil1   
what can growth do for it but carry it  
towards perdition8  ,what is it that    
grows8 ,it is time that ,i should ask   
myself this question4 ,my answer to it  
is1 in brief1 that it is the whole human
 being that grows1 the whole nature of  
the child1--body1 mind1 heart and soul4 
,when ,i use these familiar words1 ,i am
 far from wishing to suggest that human 
nature is divisible into four provinces 
or compartments4 ,in every stage of its 
development human nature is a living and
 indivisible whole4 ,each of the four   
words stands for a typical aspect of    
,man's being1 but one of the four may   
also be said to stand for the totality  
of ,man's being1--the word soul4 ,for it
 is the soul which manifests as body1   

which thinks as mind1 which feels and   
loves as heart1 and which is what it    
is--though not perhaps what it really or
 finally is--as soul4  ,the function of 
education1 then1 is to foster the growth
 of the child's whole nature1 or1 in a  
word1 of his soul4 ,i ought1 perhaps1 to
 apologise for my temerity in using this
 now discredited word4 ,in the ,west    
,man does not believe in the soul4 ,how 
can he8 ,he does not believe in ,god    
either as the eternal source or as the  
eternal end of his own nature4 ,it      
follows that he does not and cannot     
believe in the unity of his own being4  
,he has been taught that his nature is  
corrupt1 evil1 godless2 and that the    
soul1 which is somehow or other attached
 to his fallen nature during his earthly
 pilgrimage1 was supernaturally created 
at the moment of his birth4 ,he is now  
beginning to reject this conception of  
the soul2 but he cannot yet rise to the 
higher conception of it as the vital    
essence of his being1 as the divine germ

 in virtue of which his nature is no    
mere aggregate of parts or faculties1   
but a living whole4 ,so deeply rooted in
 the ,western mind is disbelief in the  
reality of the soul that it is difficult
 to use the word1 when speaking to a    
,western audience1 without exposing     
oneself to the charge of                
insincerity1--not to speak of the graver
 charge of bad form4 ,a savour either of
 cant or gush hangs about the word1 and 
is not easily detached from it4 ,that   
being so1 it must be clearly understood 
that ,i mean by the soul the nature of  
,man considered in its unity and        
totality1--no more than this1 and no    
less4  ,in the opening paragraph of this
 book ,i said that some of my readers   
would regard my fundamental assumption  
as a truism1 others as a challenge1 and 
others again as a wicked heresy4        
,whether it shall be regarded as a      
truism1 a challenge1 or a heresy1 will  
depend on the way in which it is worded4
 ,to say that the function of education 

is to foster the growth of human nature1
 is to invite condemnation from those   
who regard human nature as ruined and   
corrupt4 ,to say that the function of   
education is to foster the growth of the
 soul1 is to issue a challenge to       
,western civilisation1 which is based on
 the belief that the end of ,man's being
 is not the growth of his soul1 but the 
growth of his balance at the bank of    
material prosperity4 ,to say that the   
function of education is to foster the  
growth of certain faculties1 is to      
insist on what no one who had given his 
mind to the matter would care to deny4  
,for even the orthodox1 who regard      
,man's nature in its totality as        
intrinsically evil1 admit without       
hesitation that there are faculties in  
,man which can be and ought to be       
trained2 while the man of the world1    
whom we may regard as the most typical  
product of ,western civilisation1 is    
clamorous in his demand that education  
shall foster the growth of certain      

mental faculties which will enable the  
child to become an efficient clerk or   
workman1 and so contribute to the       
enrichment of his employer and the      
community to which he belongs4  ,the    
,western educationalist will admit1     
then1 that the function of education is 
to foster growth2 and if you ask him    
what it is that grows or ought to grow  
under education's fostering care1 he    
will give you a long list of            
faculties--mental1 for the most part1   
but also moral and physical--and then   
break off under the impression that he  
has set education an adequate and a     
practicable task4 ,but he has set it an 
inadequate and an impracticable task4   
,for behind all the faculties that he   
enumerates dwells the living reality    
which he cannot bring himself to believe
 in1--the soul4 ,and because he cannot  
bring himself to believe in the soul1 he
 deprives the faculties which he        
proposes to cultivate of the very       
qualities which make them most worthy of

 cultivation1--of their interrelation1  
their interdependence1 their organic    
unity4 ,in other words he devitalises   
each of them by cutting it off from the 
life which is common to all of them1 and
 so paralyses its capacity for growing  
in the very act of taking thought for   
its growth4 ,he forgets that every      
faculty which is worth cultivating both 
draws life from1 and contributes life   
to1 the general life of the growing     
child4 ,he forgets that the child       
himself--the living soul--is growing in 
and through the growth of each of his   
opening faculties2 and that unless1 when
 a faculty seems to be growing1 the life
 of the child is at once expressing     
itself in and renewing itself through   
the process of its growth1 its semblance
 of growth is a pure illusion1 the      
results that are produced being in      
reality as fraudulent as artificial     
flowers on a living rose-bush4  ,but the
 whole question may be looked at from   
another point of view4 ,let us assume1  

for argument's sake1 that the function  
of education is to train1 or foster the 
growth of1 certain faculties1 which are 
mainly though not exclusively mental1   
and that when those faculties have been 
duly trained the teacher has done his   
work4 ,what1 then1 are the faculties    
which education is supposed to train8   
,in my attempt to answer this question  
,i will confine myself to the elementary
 school1--the only school which ,i can  
pretend to know well4 ,a glance at the  
time-table of an ordinary elementary    
school might suggest to us that there   
were two chief groups of faculties to be
 trained--those which perceive and those
 which express1 those which take in and 
those which give out4 ,when such        
subjects as ,history1 ,geography1 or    
,science are being taught1 the child's  
perceptive faculties are being trained4 
,when such subjects as ,composition1    
,drawing or ,singing are being taught1  
the child's expressive faculties are    
being trained4 ,so at least one might be

 disposed to assume4  ,in what relation 
do the perceptive faculties stand to the
 expressive8 ,is it possible to         
cultivate either group without regard to
 the other8 ,it must be admitted that   
the methods employed in the ordinary    
elementary school seem to be governed by
 the assumption that the perceptive and 
the expressive faculties are two        
distinct groups which admit of being    
separately trained4 ,in the ordinary    
,drawing lesson1 for example1 the child 
is trying to express what he does not   
even pretend to have perceived2 whereas 
in the ordinary ,history or ,science    
lesson the process is reversed1 and the 
child pretends to perceive what he makes
 no attempt to express4  ,but is the    
assumption correct8 ,do the two groups  
of faculties admit of being separately  
trained8 ,is it possible to devote this 
hour or half-hour to the training of    
perception1 and that to the training of 
expression8 ,surely not4 ,perception and
 expression are not two faculties1 but  

one4 ,each is the very counterpart and  
correlate1 each is the very life and    
soul1 of the other4 ,each1 when divorced
 from the other1 ceases to be its own   
true self4 ,when perception is real1    
living1 informed with personal feeling1 
it must needs find for itself the outlet
 of expression4 ,when expression is     
real1 living1 informed with personal    
feeling1 perception--the child's own    
perception of things--must needs be     
behind it4 ,more than that4 ,the        
perceptive faculties 7at any rate in    
childhood7 grow through the             
interpretation which expression gives   
them1 and in no other way4 ,and the     
expressive faculties grow by            
interpreting perception1 and in no other
 way4 ,the child who tries to draw what 
he sees is training his power of        
observation1 not less than his power of 
expression4 ,as he passes and repasses  
between the object of his perception and
 his representation of it1 there is a   
continuous gain both to his vision and  

to his technique4 ,the more faithfully  
he tries to render his impression of the
 object1 the more does that impression  
gain in truth and strength2 and in      
proportion as the impression becomes    
truer and stronger1 so does the         
rendering of it become more masterly and
 more correct4 ,so1 again1 if a man     
tries to set forth in writing his views 
about some difficult problem--social1   
political1 metaphysical1 or whatever it 
may be--the very effort that he makes to
 express himself clearly and coherently 
will tend to bring order into the chaos 
and light into the darkness of his mind1
 to widen his outlook on his subject1 to
 deepen his insight into it1 to bring   
new aspects of it within the reach of   
his conscious thought4 ,and here1 as in 
the case of the child who tries to draw 
what he sees1 there is a continuous     
reciprocal action between perception and
 expression1 in virtue of which each in 
turn helps forward the evolution of the 
other4 ,even in so abstract and         

impersonal a subject as mathematics1 the
 reaction of expression on perception is
 strong and salutary4 ,the student who  
wishes to master a difficult piece of   
bookwork should try to write it out in  
his own words2 in the effort to set it  
out concisely and lucidly he will       
gradually perfect his apprehension of   
it4 ,were he to solve a difficult       
problem1 he would probably regard his   
grasp of the solution as insecure and   
incomplete until he had succeeded in    
making it intelligible to the mind of   
another4 ,when perception is deeply     
tinged with emotion1 as when one sees   
what is beautiful1 or admires what is   
noble1 the attempt to express it in     
language1 action1 or art1 seems to be   
dictated by some inner necessity of     
one's nature4 ,the meaning of this is   
that the perception itself imperatively 
demands expression in order that1 in and
 through the struggle of the artistic   
consciousness to do full justice to it1 
it may gradually realise its hidden     

potentialities1 discover its inner      
meaning1 and find its true self4  ,once 
we realise that expression is the other 
self of perception1 it becomes          
permissible for us to say that to train 
the perceptive faculties--the faculties 
by means of which ,man lays hold upon   
the world that surrounds him1 and draws 
it into himself and makes it his own--is
 the highest achievement of the         
teacher's art4 ,even from the point of  
view of my primary truism1 this         
conception of the meaning and purpose of
 education holds good4 ,for according to
 that truism the business of the teacher
 is to foster the growth of the child's 
soul2 and the soul grows by the use of  
its perceptive faculties1 which1 by     
enabling it to take in and assimilate an
 ever-widening environment1 cause a     
gradual enlargement of its consciousness
 and a proportionate expansion of its   
life4 ,but the perceptive faculties in  
their turn grow by expressing           
themselves2 and unless they are allowed 

to express themselves--unless the child 
is allowed to express himself 7for      
expression1 if it is genuine1 is always 
self-expression7--their growth will be  
arrested1 and the mission which all     
educationalists assign to education will
 not have been fulfilled4  ,the question
 is1 then1 ,does the system of education
 which prevails in all ,western         
countries provide for self-expression on
 the part of the child8   ,,footnotes3  
#e ,i mean by the words original sin    
what the plain1 unsophisticated1        
believing ,christian means by them4 ,a  
modern poet1 in a moment of impulsive   
orthodoxy1 praises ,christianity because
 it        taught original sin1   ,the  
corruption of man's heart 444  ,this    
definition is sufficiently accurate4    
,original sin1 says the ,ninth ,article 
of the ,anglican ,church1 444 is the    
fault and corruption of the ,nature of  
every man 444 whereby man is of his own 
nature inclined to evil 444 and         
therefore1 in every person born into the

 world1 it deserveth ,god's wrath and   
damnation4 ,how far the popular         
interpretation of the doctrine of       
original sin coincides with the latest  
theological refinement of the doctrine1 
,i cannot pretend to say4 ,when it finds
 it convenient to explain things away1  
theology1 like ,voltaire's ,minor       
,prophet1 est capable de tout2 and the  
need for reconciling the doctrine of    
original sin with the teaching of modern
 science has in recent years laid a     
heavy tax on its ingenuity4             
,,chapter ,,iii  ,a ,,familiar ,,type   
,,of ,,school#f   ,in this chapter ,i   
shall have in my mind a type of school  
which is familiar to all who are        
interested in elementary education4     
,what percentage of the schools of      
,england are of that particular type ,i 
cannot pretend to say4 ,in the days of  
payment by results the percentage was   
unquestionably very high4 ,the system   
under which we all worked made that     
inevitable4 ,the days of payment by     

results are over1 but their consequences
 are with us still4 ,the pioneer is     
abroad in the land1 but he has had1 and 
still has1 formidable difficulties to   
overcome4 ,the percentage of            
routine-ridden schools is considerably  
lower than it used to be1 and it is     
falling from year to year4 ,of this     
there can be no doubt4 ,each teacher in 
turn who reads this chapter will1 ,i    
hope1 be able to say that the school    
which is in my mind is not his4 ,but ,i 
can assure him that there are thousands 
of schools in which all or most of the  
evils on which ,i am about to comment   
are still rampant2 and ,i will add1 for 
his consolation1 that it would be a     
miracle if this were not so4  ,the first
 forty minutes of the morning session   
are given1 in almost every elementary   
school1 to what is called ,religious    
,instruction4 ,this goes on1 morning    
after morning1 and week after week4 ,the
 child who attends school regularly and 
punctually1 as many children do1 will   

have been the victim of upwards of two  
thousand ,scripture lessons by the time 
he leaves school4  ,the question of     
religious education in elementary       
schools has long been the centre of a   
perfect whirlpool of controversial talk4
 ,the greater part of this talk is1 to  
speak plainly1 blatant cant4 ,every     
candidate for a seat in the ,house of   
,commons thinks it incumbent upon him to
 say something about religious          
education1 but not one in a hundred of  
them has ever been present in an        
elementary school while religious       
instruction was being given4 ,the       
,bishops of the ,established ,church wax
 eloquent in the ,house of ,lords over  
the wickedness of a godless education   
and the virtue of definite dogmatic     
teaching1 but it may be doubted if there
 is a ,bishop in the ,house who has in  
recent years sat out a ,scripture lesson
 in a ,church of ,england school4 ,it   
would be well if all who talked publicly
 about religious education could be     

sentenced to devote a month to the      
personal study of religious instruction 
as it is ordinarily given in elementary 
schools4 ,at the end of the month they  
would be wiser and sadder men1 and in   
future they would probably talk less    
about religious education and think     
more4  ,the ,scripture lesson1 as it is 
familiarly called1 is supposed to make  
the children of ,england religious1 in  
the special sense which each church or  
sect attaches to that word1--to make    
them good ,catholics1 good ,churchmen1  
good ,wesleyans1 good ,bible            
,christians1 good ,jews4 ,but as those  
who are most in earnest about religion1 
and most sincere in their religious     
convictions1 unite in assuring us that  
,england is relapsing into paganism1 it 
may be doubted if the religious         
education of the elementary school      
child--a process which has been going on
 for half a century or more--has been   
entirely successful4 ,while the fact    
that the ,english parent1 who must      

himself have attended from #a1ejj to    
#b1jjj ,scripture lessons in ,his       
schooldays1 is not under any            
circumstances to be trusted to give     
religious instruction to his own        
children1 shows that those who control  
the religious education of the youthful 
masses have but little confidence in the
 effect of their system on the religious
 life and faith of the ,english people4 
,they have good ground for their        
subconscious distrust of it4 ,we have   
seen that the vulgar confusion between  
information and knowledge is at the root
 of much that is unsound in education4  
,there is no branch of education in     
which this confusion is so fallacious or
 so fatal as in that which is called    
religious4 ,the process of converting   
information into knowledge is a         
comparatively easy one when we are      
dealing with matters of detailed fact4  
,information as to the dates of the     
kings of ,england1 as to the bays and   
capes of the ,british ,isles1 as to the 

exports and imports of ,liverpool1 as to
 the weights and measures of this or    
that country1 is in each case readily   
convertible into knowledge of the given 
facts4 ,but directly we get away from   
mere facts1 and begin to concern        
ourselves with what is large1 vague1    
subtle1 and obscure1--with forces1 for  
example1 with causes1 with laws1 with   
principles1--the difficulty of          
collecting adequate and appropriate     
information about our subject becomes   
great1 and the difficulty of converting 
such information into knowledge becomes 
greater still4 ,information as to the   
dates and names of the ,english kings1  
and other historical facts1 is easily   
converted into knowledge of those facts1
 but it is not easily converted into    
knowledge of ,english history4          
,information as to the names and        
positions of capes and bays1 as to areas
 and populations1 and other geographical
 facts1 is easily converted into        
knowledge of those facts1 but it is not 

easily converted into knowledge of      
geography4 ,information as to           
arithmetical rules and tables1 as to    
weights and measures1 and other         
arithmetical facts1 is easily converted 
into knowledge of those facts1 but it is
 not easily converted into knowledge of 
arithmetic4 ,in each case a sense must  
be evolved if the information is to be  
assimilated1 and so converted into real 
knowledge2 and though it is true that   
the sense in question grows1 in part at 
least1 by feeding on appropriate        
information1 it is equally true that if1
 owing to defective training1 the sense 
remains undeveloped1 the information    
supplied will remain unassimilated1 and 
the tacit assumption that the possession
 of information is equivalent to the    
possession of real knowledge will delude
 both the teacher and the taught4 ,it is
 possible1 as one knows from experience1
 for a boy to have mastered all the     
arithmetical rules and tables with which
 his master has supplied him1 and to    

have all his measures and weights at his
 fingers' ends1 and yet to be so        
destitute of the arithmetical sense as  
to give without a moment's misgiving an 
entirely nonsensical answer to a simple 
arithmetical problem1--to say1 for      
example1 as ,i have known half a class  
of boys say1 that a room is five        
shillings and sixpence wide4 ,such a    
boy1 though his head may be stuffed with
 arithmetical information1 has no       
knowledge of arithmetic4  ,the gulf     
between memorised information and real  
knowledge becomes deep and wide in      
proportion as the subject matter is one 
which demands for its effective         
apprehension either intellectual effort 
or emotional insight4 ,when both these  
variables are demanded1 the gulf widens 
and deepens at a ratio which is         
geometrical rather than arithmetical2   
and when a high degree of each is       
demanded1 the separation between        
knowledge and information is complete4  
,the ,art ,master who should try to     

train the sthetic sense of his pupils by
 making them learn by heart a string of 
propositions in which he had set out the
 artistic merits of sundry masterpieces 
of painting and sculpture1 would expose 
himself to well-merited ridicule4 ,so   
would the teacher who should try to     
train the scientific sense of his pupils
 by no other method than that of making 
them learn scientific formul by heart4  
,what shall we say1 then1 of the teacher
 who tries to train the religious sense 
of his pupils by supplying them with    
rations of theological and              
theologico-historical information8      
,whatever else we may mean by the word  
,god1 we mean what is infinitely great1 
and therefore beyond the reach of human 
thought1 and we mean what is most high1 
and therefore beyond the reach of the   
heart's desire4 ,it follows that for    
knowledge of ,god the maximum of        
intellectual effort is needed1 in       
conjunction with the maximum of         
emotional insight2 and it follows       

further that the gulf between knowledge 
of ,god and information about ,god is   
unimaginably wide and deep1--so wide and
 so deep that out of our very attempts  
to span or fathom it the doubt at last  
arises whether the idea of acquiring    
information about ,god may not1 after   
all1 be the idlest of dreams4           
,nevertheless the pastors and masters of
 our elementary schools are1 with few   
exceptions1 engaged1 sanct simplicitate1
 in trying to make the children of      
,england religious by cramming them with
 theological and theologico-historical  
information1--information as to the     
nature and attributes of ,god1 as to the
 inner constitution of his being1 as to 
his relations to ,man and the ,universe1
 as to his reported doings in the past4 
,and in order that the giving1          
receiving1 and retaining of this        
unverifiable information may be regarded
 by all concerned as the central feature
 of the ,scripture lesson1 to the       
neglect of all the other aspects of     

religious education1 the spiritual      
powers that be 7and also1 ,i am told1   
some of the ,local ,education           
,authorities7 have decreed that the     
schools under their jurisdiction shall  
be subjected to a yearly examination in 
religious knowledge at the hands of a   
,diocesan ,inspector1 or some other     
official4  ,to one who has convinced    
himself1 as ,i have1 that a right       
attitude towards the thing known is of  
the essence of knowledge1 and that      
reverence and devotion--to go no        
further--are of the essence of a right  
attitude towards ,god1 the idea of      
holding a formal examination in         
religious knowledge seems scarcely less 
ridiculous than the idea of holding a   
formal examination in unselfishness or  
brotherly love4 ,the phrase to examine  
in religious knowledge has no meaning   
for me4 ,the verb is out of all relation
 to its indirect object4 ,what the      
,diocesan ,inspector attempts to do     
cannot possibly be done4 ,the test of   

religious knowledge is necessarily      
practical and vital1 not formal and     
mechanical4 ,even if ,i were to admit1  
for argument's sake1 that the           
information with which we cram the      
elementary school child between #i4e and
 #i4de a4m4 had been supernaturally     
communicated by ,god to ,man1 my general
 position would remain unaffected4 ,for 
experience has amply proved that a      
child--or1 for the matter of that1 a    
man--may know much theology and even be 
mighty in the ,scriptures1 and yet show 
by his conduct that his religious sense 
has not been awakened1 and that         
therefore he has no knowledge of ,god2  
just as we have seen that a child may   
know by heart all arithmetical rules and
 tables1 and yet show1 by his           
helplessness in the face of a simple    
problem1 that his arithmetical sense has
 not been awakened1 and that therefore  
he has no knowledge of arithmetic4  ,the
 time given to religious instruction is1
 to make a general statement1 the only  

part of the session in which the        
children are being prepared for a formal
 external examination4 ,that being so1  
it is no matter for wonder that many of 
the glaring faults of method and        
organisation which the examination      
system fostered in our elementary       
schools between the years #ahfb and     
#ahie1 and which are now being          
abandoned1 however slowly1 reluctantly1 
and sporadically1 during the hours of   
secular instruction1 still find a refuge
 in the ,scripture lesson4 ,overgrouping
 of classes1 overcrowding of            
school-rooms1 collective answering1     
collective repetition1 scribbling on    
slates1 and other faults with which     
inspectors were only too familiar in    
bygone days1 are still rampant while    
religious instruction is being given4#g 
,the ,diocesan ,inspector is an         
examiner1 pure and simple1 and is never 
present when the ,scripture lesson is in
 progress4 ,whether he would find       
anything to criticise if he were        

present1 may be doubted4 ,i have        
frequently been told by teachers that it
 is his demand for a good volume of     
sound1 when he is catechising the       
children1 which keeps alive during the  
,scripture lesson the pestilent habit of
 collective answering1 in defiance of   
the obvious fact that what is           
everybody's business is nobody's        
business1 and that an experienced       
bell-wether can easily give a lead to a 
whole class4 ,an inconvenient train     
service may compel ,h4,m4 ,inspector to 
be present when religious instruction is
 being given2 but though he may find    
much to deplore in what he sees and     
hears1 he must abstain from criticism1  
and be content to play the rle of the   
man who looks over a hedge while a horse
 is being stolen4  ,in most elementary  
schools religion is taught on an        
elaborate syllabus which is imposed on  
the teacher by an external authority1   
and which therefore tends to destroy his
 freedom and his interest in the work4  

,it is not his business to take thought 
for the religious training of his       
pupils1 to consider how the religious   
instinct may best be awakened in them1  
how their latent knowledge of ,god may  
best be evolved4 ,his business is to    
prepare them for their yearly           
examination1 to cram them with          
catechisms1 hymns1 texts1 and collects1 
and with stories of various             
kinds1--stories from the folk-lore of   
,israel1 from the history of the ,jews1 
from the ,gospel narratives4 ,to appeal 
to the reasoning powers of his pupils   
would be foreign to his aim1 and        
foreign1 let me say in passing1 to the  
whole tradition of religious teaching in
 the ,west4 ,the burden of preparing for
 an examination1 whatever the           
examination may be1 falls mainly on the 
faculty of memory4 ,this is a rule to   
which there are very few exceptions4    
,when the examination is one in         
religious knowledge1 the burden of      
preparing for it falls wholly on the    

faculty of memory4 ,to appeal to the    
reasoning powers of the scholars might  
conceivably provoke them to ask         
inconvenient questions1 and might even  
give rise to a spirit of rationalism in 
the school1--the spirit which orthodoxy 
has always regarded as the very antipole
 to religious faith4  ,but what of the  
child's emotional faculties8 ,will not  
the beauty of the ,gospel stories1 will 
not the sublimity of the ,old ,testament
 poetry1 make their own appeal to these8
 ,they might do so if they were allowed 
to exert their spiritual magnetism4 ,but
 what chance have they8 ,the chilling   
shadow of the impending examination     
falls upon them and cancels their       
educative influence4 ,it is not because 
the ,gospel stories are full of beauty  
and spiritual meaning that the child has
 to learn them1 but because he will be  
questioned on them by the ,diocesan     
,inspector4 ,it is not because certain  
passages from the ,old ,testament are   
poetry of a high order that the child   

commits them to memory1 but because he  
may have to repeat them to the ,diocesan
 ,inspector4 ,we cannot serve ,god and  
,mammon1--the ,god of poetry and the    
inward life1 the ,mammon of outward     
results4 ,the thing is not to be done1  
and the pretence of doing it is a       
mockery and a fraud4 ,the compulsory    
preparation of the plays of ,shakespeare
 and other literary masterpieces for a  
formal examination1 too often gives the 
schoolboy1 or the college student1 a    
permanent distaste for ,english         
literature4 ,the study of the ,ancient  
,classics for the ,oxford ,schools or   
the ,cambridge ,tripos too often gives  
the studious undergraduate a permanent  
distaste for the literatures of ,greece 
and ,rome4 ,does it not follow a        
fortiori that to cram a young child1 for
 the purposes of a formal examination1  
to cram him1 year after year1 with the  
idyllic stories of the ,new ,testament  
and the poetic beauties of the ,old1    
will in all probability go a long way   

towards blighting in the bud the child's
 latent capacity for responding to the  
appeal1 not of the ,bible alone1 but of 
spiritual poetry as such8  ,i do not    
wish to suggest that the religious      
instruction given in our elementary     
schools is always formal and mechanical4
 ,there are teachers who can break      
through the toils of any system1 however
 deadly1 and give life to their teaching
 in defiance of conditions which would  
paralyse the energies of lesser men4 ,as
 ,i write1 ,i recall two teachers of    
elementary schools1 who1 in spite of    
having to prepare their pupils for      
diocesan inspection1 succeeded in       
quickening their religious instincts    
into vital activity4 ,the first was a   
schoolmaster1--a strong ,churchman1 and 
a sincerely religious man4 ,the second  
was a woman of genius1 whose            
extraordinary sympathy with and insight 
into the soul of the child1 enabled her 
to give free play to all his expansive  
instincts1 and in and through the       

evolution of these to foster the growth 
of his religious sense4 ,i can never    
feel quite sure that this teacher fully 
realised how deeply1 and yet healthily1 
religious her children were4 ,if she did
 not1 ,i can but apply to her what      
,diderot said to ,david the painter1    
when the latter confessed that he had   
not intended to produce some artistic   
effect which the former had discovered  
in one of his pictures3 ,quoi6 c'est    
votre insu8 ,c'est encore mieux4 ,to    
make children religious without         
intending to do so is a profoundly      
significant achievement1 for it means   
that the fatal distinction between      
religious and secular education has been
 utterly abolished and destroyed4  ,both
 these teachers fell1 as it happened1   
under the ban of the ,diocesan          
,inspector's displeasure4 ,the          
schoolmaster took over a school which   
was not only inefficient in the eyes of 
the ,education ,department1 in respect  
of instruction and discipline1 but was  

also tainted in its upper classes with  
moral depravity4 ,he speedily restored  
it to efficiency1 and reformed its moral
 tone4 ,in accomplishing these salutary 
changes1 he relied mainly on an appeal  
which he made1 in all manly sincerity1  
to the religious sense of the older     
boys4 ,the faith in human nature which  
prompted him to make this appeal was    
justified by the response which it      
evoked4 ,in less than a year the school 
was transformed beyond recognition4 ,in 
less than two years it was one of the   
best in its county2 indeed in respect of
 moral tone and religious atmosphere it 
was perhaps the best4 ,meanwhile the    
work of cramming the children for the   
yearly diocesan examination must have   
fallen into arrears2 for the school1    
which under my friend's incompetent     
predecessor had always been classed as  
,excellent1 sank to the level of ,good  
in the year after he left1 and in the   
following year to the level of ,fair4   
,any one who has any acquaintance with  

the reports of the ,diocesan ,inspector 
knows that the summary mark ,fair1 when 
employed by him1 is equivalent to utter 
damnation4  ,the schoolmistress always  
had a horror of formal teaching1 and a  
special horror of cramming young        
children for formal examinations2 and ,i
 can only wonder that her downfall was  
so long delayed4 ,sooner or later1 if   
she was to remain true to her own first 
principles1 her work was bound to incur 
the condemnation of the ,diocesan       
,inspector4  ,nevertheless1 having read 
hundreds of diocesan reports1 and       
realised how lavish of praise and chary 
of blame the ,diocesan ,inspector       
usually is1 ,i am inclined to suspect   
that the comparative failure of the     
children on the examination day was not 
the sole or even the chief cause of the 
severe censure which these two schools  
received4 ,i am inclined to think that  
in each case the inspector recognised in
 the exceptional religious vitality of a
 school which was deficient1 from his   

point of view1 in religious knowledge1  
an implicit challenge to his own        
preconceived notions1 and that1 without 
for a moment intending to be unfair1 he 
responded to this challenge by giving   
the school a strongly adverse report4   
,immorality and irreligiousness as such 
are comparatively venial offences in the
 eyes of religious orthodoxy4 ,what it  
cannot tolerate is that men should be   
moral and religious in any but the      
orthodox ways4  ,apart from these two   
exceptional cases1 there are of course  
hundreds and even thousands of teachers 
whose personal influence is a partial   
antidote to the numbing poison which is 
being distilled but surely1 from the    
daily ,scripture lesson4 ,but the net   
result of giving formal and mechanical  
instruction on the greatest of all great
 matters is to depress the spiritual    
vitality of the children of ,england to 
a point which threatens the extinction  
of the spiritual life of the nation4 ,my
 schoolmaster friend1 who1 besides being

 deeply religious 7in the best sense of 
the word71 is a man of sound judgment   
and wide and varied experience1 has more
 than once assured me that religious    
instruction1 as given in the normal     
,church of ,england school 7his         
experience has been limited to schools  
of that type71 is paganising the people 
of ,england1--paganising them because it
 presents religion to them in a form    
which they instinctively reject1        
accepting it at first under compulsion1 
but turning away from it at last with   
deep-seated weariness and permanent     
distaste4  ,the boy who1 having attended
 two thousand ,scripture lessons1 says  
to himself when he leaves school3 ,if   
this is religion1 ,i will have no more  
of it1 is acting in obedience to a      
healthy instinct4 ,he is to be honoured 
rather than blamed for having realised  
at last that the chaff on which he has  
so long been fed is not the life-giving 
grain which1 unknown to himself1 his    
inmost soul demands4  ,that ,england is 

relapsing into paganism is1 as we have  
seen1 the sincere conviction of many    
earnest ,christians4 ,why this should be
 so1 they cannot understand4 ,in their  
desire to account for so distressing a  
phenomenon1 they will have recourse to  
any explanation1 however far-fetched and
 fantastic1 rather than acknowledge that
 it is the ,scripture lesson in the     
elementary school which is paganising   
the masses4 ,if the ,churches could have
 their way1 they would doubtless try to 
mend matters by doubling the hours that 
are given to religious instruction1 by  
making the ,diocesan ,inspector's visit 
a half-yearly instead of a yearly       
function1 and by cramming the children  
for it with redoubled energy4 ,in their 
refusal to reckon with human nature1    
they are true to the first principles of
 their religion and their philosophy4   
,but it is possible to buy consistency  
at too high a price4 ,the laws and      
tendencies of ,nature are what they are2
 and it is madness1 not heroism1 to     

ignore them4 ,to those who refuse to    
reckon with human nature1 the day will  
surely come when human nature1 evolving 
itself under the stress of its own      
forces and in obedience to its own laws1
 will cease to take account of them4#h  
,when the hands of the clock point to a 
quarter to ten1 the religious education 
of the child is over for the day1 and   
his secular instruction has begun4 ,that
 the religious education of the child   
should be supposed to end when the      
,scripture lesson is over1 is the last  
and strongest proof of the fundamental  
falsity of that conception of religion  
on which1 as on a quicksand1 his        
education1 religious and secular1 has   
been based4   ,after ,scripture comes as
 a rule ,arithmetic4 ,during the former 
lesson the teacher1 acting under        
compulsion1 does his best1 as we have   
seen1 to deaden the child's spiritual   
faculties4 ,during the latter1 he not   
infrequently does his best to deaden the
 child's mental faculties4 ,in each case

 he is to be pitied rather than blamed4 
,the conditions under which he works1   
and has long worked1 are too strong for 
him4 ,if we are to understand why       
secular instruction1 as given in our    
elementary schools1 is what it is1 we   
must go back for half a century or so   
and trace the steps by which the        
,education ,department forced elementary
 education in ,england into the grooves 
in which1 in many schools1 it is still  
moving1 and from which even the most    
enlightened and enterprising teachers   
find it difficult to escape4  ,in #ahfa 
the ,royal ,commission 7under the ,duke 
of ,newcastle as ,chairman71 which had  
been appointed in #aheh in order to     
inquire into the state of popular       
education in ,england1 and as to the    
measures required for the extension of  
sound and cheap elementary instruction  
to all classes of the people1 issued its
 report1 in which it recommended inter  
alia that the ,grants paid to elementary
 schools should be expressly apportioned

 on the examination of individual       
children4 ,this recommendation was      
carried into effect in the ,lowe        
,revised ,code of #ahfb2 and from that  
date till #ahie a considerable part of  
the ,grant received by each school was  
paid on the results of a yearly         
examination held by ,h4,m4 ,inspector on
 an elaborate syllabus1 formulated by   
the ,department and binding on all      
schools alike4 ,on the official report  
which followed this examination depended
 the reputation and financial prosperity
 of the school1 and the reputation and  
financial prosperity of the teacher4#i  
,the consequent pressure on the teacher 
to exert himself was well-nigh          
irresistible2 and he had no choice but  
to transmit that pressure to his        
subordinates and his pupils4 ,the result
 was that in those days the average     
school was a hive of industry4  ,but it 
was also a hive of misdirected energy4  
,the ,state1 in prescribing a syllabus  
which was to be followed1 in all the    

subjects of instruction1 by all the     
schools in the country1 without regard  
to local or personal considerations1 was
 guilty of one capital offence4 ,it did 
all his thinking for the teacher4 ,it   
told him in precise detail what he was  
to do each year in each ,standard1 how  
he was to handle each subject1 and how  
far he was to go in it2 what width of   
ground he was to cover2 what amount of  
knowledge1 what degree of accuracy was  
required for a pass1 ,in other words it 
provided him with his ideals1 his       
general conceptions1 his more immediate 
aims1 his schemes of work2 and if it did
 not control his methods in all their   
details1 it gave him 7by implication7   
hints and suggestions with regard to    
these on which he was not slow to act2  
for it told him that the work done in   
each class and each subject would be    
tested at the end of each year by a     
careful examination of each individual  
child2 and it was inevitable that in his
 endeavour to adapt his teaching to the 

type of question which his experience of
 the yearly examination led him to      
expect1 he should gradually deliver     
himself1 mind and soul1 into the hands  
of the officials of the                 
,department1--the officials at          
,whitehall who framed the yearly        
syllabus1 and the officials in the      
various districts who examined on it4   
,what the ,department did to the        
teacher1 it compelled him to do to the  
child4 ,the teacher who is the slave of 
another's will cannot carry out his     
instructions except by making his pupils
 the slaves of his own will4 ,the       
teacher who has been deprived by his    
superiors of freedom1 initiative1 and   
responsibility1 cannot carry out his    
instructions except by depriving his    
pupils of the same vital qualities4 ,the
 teacher who1 in response to the deadly 
pressure of a cast-iron system1 has     
become a creature of habit and routine1 
cannot carry out his instructions except
 by making his pupils as helpless and as

 puppet-like as himself4  ,but it is not
 only because mechanical obedience is   
fatal1 in the long run1 to mental and   
spiritual growth1 that the regulation of
 elementary or any other grade of       
education by a uniform syllabus is to be
 deprecated4 ,it is also because a      
uniform syllabus is1 in the nature of   
things1 a bad syllabus1 and because the 
degree of its badness varies directly   
with the area of the sphere of          
educational activity that comes under   
its control4 ,it is easy for us of the  
,twentieth ,century to laugh at the     
syllabuses which the ,department issued1
 without misgiving1 year after year1 in 
the latter half of the ,nineteenth4 ,we 
were all groping in the dark in those   
days2 and our whole attitude towards    
education was so fundamentally wrong    
that the absurdities of the yearly      
syllabus were merely so much by-play in 
the evolution of a drama which was a    
grotesque blend of tragedy and farce4   
,but let us of the enlightened          

,twentieth ,century try our hands at    
constructing a syllabus on which all the
 elementary schools of ,england are to  
be prepared for a yearly examination1   
and see if we can improve appreciably on
 the work of our predecessors4 ,some    
improvement there would certainly be1   
but it would not amount to very much4   
,were the ,board to re-institute payment
 by results1 and were they1 with this   
end in view1 to entrust the drafting of 
schemes of work in the various subjects 
to a committee of the wisest and most   
experienced educationalists in ,england1
 the resultant syllabus would be a      
dismal failure4 ,for in framing their   
schemes these wise and experienced      
educationalists would find themselves   
compelled to take account of the lowest 
rather than of the highest level of     
actual educational achievement4 ,what is
 exceptional and experimental cannot    
possibly find a place in a syllabus     
which is to bind all schools and all    
teachers alike1 and which must therefore

 be so framed that the least capable    
teacher1 working under the least        
favourable conditions1 may hope1 when   
his pupils are examined on it1 to       
achieve with decent industry a decent   
modicum of success4 ,under the control  
of a uniform syllabus1 the schools which
 are now specialising and experimenting1
 and so giving a lead to the rest1 would
 have to abandon whatever was           
interesting in their respective         
curricula1 and fall into line with the  
average school2 while1 with the         
consequent lowering of the current ideal
 of efficiency1 the level of the average
 school would steadily fall4 ,a uniform 
syllabus is a bad syllabus1 for this if 
for no other reason1 that it is         
compelled to idealise the average2 and  
that1 inasmuch as education1 so far as  
it is a living system1 grows by means of
 its leaders1 the idealisation of the   
average is necessarily fatal to         
educational growth and therefore to     
educational life4  ,it was preordained1 

then1 that the syllabuses which the     
,department issued1 year by year1 in the
 days of payment by results should have 
few merits and many defects4 ,yet even  
if1 by an unimaginable miracle1 they had
 all been educationally sound1 the mere 
fact that all the teachers in ,england  
had to work by them would have made them
 potent agencies for evil4 ,to be in    
bondage to a syllabus is a misfortune   
for a teacher1 and a misfortune for the 
school that he teaches4 ,to be in       
bondage to a syllabus which is binding  
on all schools alike1 is a graver       
misfortune4 ,to be in bondage to a bad  
syllabus which is binding on all schools
 alike1 is of all misfortunes the       
gravest4 ,or if there is a graver1 it is
 the fate that befell the teachers of   
,england under the old rgime1--the fate 
of being in bondage to a syllabus which 
was bad both because it had to come down
 to the level of the least fortunate    
school and the least capable teacher1   
and also because it was the outcome of  

ignorance1 inexperience1 and            
bureaucratic self-satisfaction4  ,of the
 evils that are inherent in the         
examination system as such--of its      
tendency to arrest growth1 to deaden    
life1 to paralyse the higher faculties1 
to externalise what is inward1 to       
materialise what is spiritual1 to       
involve education in an atmosphere of   
unreality and self-deception--,i have   
already spoken at some length4 ,in the  
days of payment by results various      
circumstances conspired to raise those  
evil tendencies to the highest          
imaginable power4 ,when inspectors      
ceased to examine 7in the stricter sense
 of the word7 they realised what        
infinite mischief the yearly examination
 had done4 ,the children1 the majority  
of whom were examined in reading and    
dictation out of their own reading-books
 7two or three in number1 as the case   
might be71 were drilled in the contents 
of those books until they knew them     
almost by heart4 ,in arithmetic they    

worked abstract sums1 in obedience to   
formal rules1 day after day1 and month  
after month2 and they were put up to    
various tricks and dodges which would1  
it was hoped1 enable them to know by    
what precise rules the various questions
 on the arithmetic cards were to be     
answered4 ,they learned a few lines of  
poetry by heart1 and committed all the  
meanings and allusions to memory1 with  
the probable result--so sickening must  
the process have been--that they hated  
poetry for the rest of their lives4 ,in 
geography1 history1 and grammar they    
were the victims of unintelligent oral  
cram1 which they were compelled1 under  
pains and penalties1 to take in and     
retain till the examination day was     
over1 their ability to disgorge it on   
occasion being periodically tested by   
the teacher4 ,and so with the other     
subjects4 ,not a thought was given1     
except in a small minority of the       
schools1 to the real training of the    
child1 to the fostering of his mental   

7and other7 growth4 ,to get him through 
the yearly examination by hook or by    
crook was the one concern of the        
teacher4 ,as profound distrust of the   
teacher was the basis of the policy of  
the ,department1 so profound distrust of
 the child was the basis of the policy  
of the teacher4 ,to leave the child to  
find out anything for himself1 to work  
out anything for himself1 to think out  
anything for himself1 would have been   
regarded as a proof of incapacity1 not  
to say insanity1 on the part of the     
teacher1 and would have led to results  
which1 from the percentage point of     
view1 would probably have been          
disastrous4  ,there were few inspectors 
who were not duly impressed from #ahie  
onwards by the gravity of the evils that
 inspection1 as distinguished from mere 
examination1 revealed to them2 but it   
may be doubted if there were many       
inspectors who realised then1 what some 
among them see clearly now1 that the    
evils which distressed them were        

significant as symptoms even more than  
as sources of mischief1--as symptoms of 
a deep-seated and insidious malady1 of  
the gradual ossification of the         
spiritual and mental muscles of both the
 teacher and the child1 of the gradual  
substitution in the elementary school of
 machinery for life4  ,for us of the    
,twentieth ,century who know enough     
about education to be aware of the      
shallowness of our knowledge of it1 and 
of the imperfection of the existing     
educational systems of our country1 it  
may be difficult to realise that in the 
years when things were at their worst1  
at any rate in the field of elementary  
education1 the ,nation in general and   
the ,department in particular were well 
content that things should remain as    
they were1--well content that the       
elementary school should be1 not a      
nursery of growing seedlings and        
saplings1 but a decently efficient mill1
 and that year after year this mill     
should keep on grinding out its dreary  

and meaningless results4 ,but in truth  
that ignorant optimism1 that cheap      
content with the actual1 was a sure     
proof that things were at their         
worst2--for    ,when we in our          
viciousness grow hard1   7,o misery     
on't7 the wise gods seal our eyes   ,in 
our own filth2 drop our clear judgments3
 make us   ,adore our errors2  and the  
multiform discontent with education in  
its present stage of development1 which 
is characteristic of our own generation1
 and which is in some ways so confusing 
and disconcerting1 and so unfavourable  
to the smooth working of our educational
 machinery1 has the merit of being a    
healthy and hopeful symptom4  ,but bad  
as things were in those days1 there was 
at least one redeeming feature4 ,the    
children were compelled to work1 to     
exert themselves1 to put their backs    
into it4 ,the need for this was obvious4
 ,the industry of the child meant so    
much professional reputation and1 in the
 last resort1 so much bread and butter  

to his teacher4 ,it is true that the    
child was not allowed to do anything by 
or for himself2 but it is equally true  
that he had to do pretty strenuously    
whatever task was set him4 ,he had to   
get up his two 7or three7 ,readers so   
thoroughly that he could be depended    
upon to pass both the reading and the   
dictation test with success4 ,he had to 
work his abstract sums in arithmetic    
correctly4 ,he had to take in and       
remember the historical and geographical
 information with which he had been     
crammed4 ,and so forth4 ,there must be  
no shirking1 no slacking on his part4   
,his teachers worked hard1 though not   
according to knowledge2 and he must do  
the same4 ,active1 in the higher sense  
of the word1 he was never allowed to be2
 but he had to be actively receptive1   
strenuously automatic1 or his teacher   
would know the reason why4  ,such was   
the old rgime4 ,its defects were so     
grave and so vital that1 now that it has
 become discredited 7in theory1 if not  

in practice71 we can but wonder how it  
endured for so long4 ,as an ingenious   
instrument for arresting the mental     
growth of the child1 and deadening all  
his higher faculties1 it has never had1 
and ,i hope will never have1 a rival4   
,far from fostering the growth of those 
great expansive instincts--sympathetic1 
sthetic1 and scientific--which ,nature  
has implanted in every child1 it set    
itself to extirpate them1 one and all1  
with ruthless pertinacity4 ,as a partial
 compensation for this work of wanton   
destruction1 it made the child blindly  
obedient1 mechanically industrious1 and 
7within very narrow limits7 accurate and
 thorough4 ,i have described it at some 
length because ,i see clearly that no   
one who does not realise what the       
elementary school used to be1 in the    
days of its sojourn in the ,land of     
,bondage1 can even begin to understand  
why it is what it is to-day4  ,having   
for thirty-three years deprived the     
teachers of almost every vestige of     

freedom1 the ,department suddenly       
reversed its policy and gave them in    
generous measure the boon which it had  
so long withheld4 ,whether it was wise  
to give so much at so short a notice may
 be doubted4 ,what is beyond dispute is 
that it was unwise to expect so great   
and so unexpected a gift to be used at  
once to full advantage4 ,a man who had  
grown accustomed to semi-darkness would 
be dazzled to the verge of blindness if 
he were suddenly taken out into broad   
daylight4 ,this is what was done in     
#ahie to the teachers of ,england1 and  
it is not to be wondered at that many of
 them have been purblind ever since4    
,for thirty-three years they had been   
treated as machines1 and they were      
suddenly asked to act as intelligent    
beings4 ,for thirty-three years they had
 been practically compelled to do       
everything for the child1 and they were 
suddenly expected to give him freedom   
and responsibility1--words which for    
many of them had well-nigh lost their   

meaning4 ,to comply with these          
unreasonable demands was beyond their   
power4 ,the grooves into which they had 
been forced were far too deep for them4 
,the routine to which they had become   
accustomed had far too strong a hold on 
them4 ,the one change which they could  
make was to relax their own severe      
pressure on the child4 ,this they did1  
perhaps without intending to do it4     
,indeed1 now that there was no external 
examination to look forward to1 the     
pressure on the child may be said to    
have automatically relaxed itself4 ,what
 happened--,i will not say in all       
schools1 but in far too many--was that  
the teaching remained as mechanical and 
unintelligent as ever1 that the teacher 
continued to distrust the child and to  
do everything for him1 but that the     
child gradually became slacker and less 
industrious4 ,not that his teacher      
wished him to slack1 but that the       
stimulus of the yearly examination had  
been withdrawn at a time when there was 

nothing to take its place4 ,exercise is 
in itself a delightful thing when it is 
wholesome1 natural1 and rational2 but   
when it is unwholesome1 unnatural1 and  
irrational1 it will not be taken in     
sufficient measure except in response to
 some strong external stimulus4 ,under  
the old examination system an adequate  
stimulus had been supplied by the       
combined influence of competition and   
fear 7chiefly the latter74 ,when the    
examination system was abolished1 that  
stimulus necessarily lost its point4    
,had it then been possible for the      
teacher to make the exercise which his  
pupils were asked to take wholesome1    
natural1 and rational1 a new            
stimulus--that of interest in their     
work--would have been applied to the    
pupils1 and they would have exerted     
themselves as they had never done       
before4 ,but it was not possible for the
 average teacher to execute at a        
moment's notice a complete change of    
front1 and it was unwise of the         

,department to expect him to do so4     
,apart from an honourable minority1 who 
had always been in secret revolt against
 the despotism of the ,code1 the old    
teachers were helpless and hopeless4    
,the younger ones had been through the  
mill themselves1 first in the           
,elementary ,school1 then in the        
,pupil-,teacher ,centre1 and then in the
 ,training ,college 7both the latter    
having been in too many cases cramming  
establishments like the ,elementary     
,school72 and when they went back to    
work under a head teacher who was wedded
 to the old order of things1 they found 
no difficulty in falling in with his    
ways and carrying out his wishes4 ,if a 
young teacher1 fresh from an            
exceptionally enlightened ,training     
,college1 became an assistant under an  
old-fashioned head teacher1 he soon had 
the nonsense knocked out of him1 and was
 compelled to toe the line with the rest
 of the staff4  ,but it was not only    
because the teachers of ,england had got

 accustomed to the ,land of ,bondage1   
that they shrank from entering the      
,promised ,land4 ,there was1 and still  
is1 another and a stronger reason4      
,wherever the teacher looks1 he sees    
that the examination system1 with its   
demand for machine-made results1        
controls education2 and he feels that it
 is only by an accident that his school 
has been exempted 7in part at least7    
from its pressure4 ,the ,board of       
,education still examine for labour     
certificates1 for admission as          
uncertificated assistants1 for the      
teacher's certificate4 ,they expect head
 teachers to hold terminal examinations 
of all the classes in their schools4    
,they allow ,local ,authorities to      
examine children in their schools as    
formally and as stringently as they     
please1 and to hold examinations for    
,county ,scholarships1 for which        
children from elementary schools are    
eligible4 ,admission to secondary       
schools of all grades depends on success

 in passing entrance examinations4 ,so  
does admission to the various ,colleges 
and ,universities4 ,in the schools which
 prepare little boys for the ,great     
,public ,schools1 the whole scheme of   
education ,is dominated by the          
headmaster's desire to win as many      
entrance scholarships as possible4 ,in  
the ,great ,public ,schools the scheme  
of education is similarly dominated by  
the headmaster's desire to win as many  
scholarships as possible at the ,oxford 
and ,cambridge ,colleges4 ,in the       
,universities all the undergraduates    
without exception are reading for       
examinations of various kinds1--pass    
schools1 honour schools1 ,civil ,service
 examinations1 and the like4 ,officers  
in the ,army and ,navy have never done  
with examinations2 and there is not a   
single profession which can be entered  
through any door but that of a public   
examination4 ,wherever the teacher looks
 he sees that examinations are held in  
high honour1 and that the main business 

of teachers of all grades is to produce 
results which an outside examiner would 
accept as satisfactory2 and he naturally
 takes for granted that the production  
of such results is the true function of 
the teacher1 whether his success in     
producing them is to be tested by a     
formal examination or not4 ,the air that
 he breathes is charged with            
ideas--ideas about life in general and  
education in particular--which belong to
 the order of things that he is supposed
 to have left behind him1 and are       
fiercely antagonistic to those as yet   
unrecognised ideas which give the new   
order of things its meaning1 its        
purpose1 and its value4  ,how can we    
expect the teacher to look inward when  
all the conditions of his existence1 not
 as a teacher only but also as a citizen
 and a man1 conspire to make him look   
outward8 ,but if the ,fates are against 
his looking inward1 to what purpose has 
he been emancipated from the direct     
control of a system which had at least  

the merit of being in line with all the 
central tendencies of ,western          
civilisation8 ,how does it profit him to
 be free if1 under the pressure of those
 tendencies1 the chief use that he makes
 of his freedom is to grind out from his
 pupils results akin to those which were
 asked for in the days of schedules and 
percentages8 ,freedom was given him in  
order that he might be free to take     
thought for the vital welfare of his    
pupils4 ,or1 if freedom was not given to
 him for that purpose1 it were better   
that it had been withheld from him until
 those who were able to give or withhold
 it had formed a juster conception of   
its meaning4  ,the truth is that the    
exemption of the elementary school1 and 
of it alone among schools1 from the     
direct pressure of the examination      
system1 is an isolated and audacious    
experiment1 which is carried on under   
conditions so unfavourable to its       
success that nothing but a high degree  
of intelligence and moral courage 7not  

to speak of originality7 on the part of 
the teacher can make it succeed4 ,can we
 wonder that in many cases the          
experiment has proved a failure8  ,at   
the end of the previous chapter ,i asked
 myself whether the education that was  
given in the ordinary elementary school 
tended to foster self-expression on the 
part of the child4 ,we can now see what 
the answer to this question is likely to
 be4 ,for a third of a century--from    
#ahfb to #ahie--self-expression on the  
part of the child may be said to have   
been formally prohibited by all who were
 responsible for the elementary         
education of the children of ,england1  
and also to have been prohibited de     
facto by all the unformulated conditions
 under which the elementary school was  
conducted4 ,in #ahie the formal         
prohibition of self-expression ceased1  
but the de facto prohibition of it in   
the ordinary school is scarcely less    
effective to-day than it was in the     
darkest days of the old rgime4 ,for     

,the evil that men do lives after them1 
and the old rgime1 though nominally     
abrogated1 overshadows us still4 ,when  
,i say this ,i do not merely mean that  
many teachers who were brought up under 
the old rgime have been unable to       
emancipate themselves from its          
influence4 ,i mean that the old rgime   
was itself the outcome and expression of
 traditional tendencies which are of the
 essence of ,western civilisation1 of   
ways of thinking and acting to which we 
are all habituated from our earliest    
days1 and that these tendencies and     
these ways of thinking and acting       
overshadow us still4 ,the formal        
abrogation of the old rgime counts for  
little so long as the examination       
system1 with its demand for visible and 
measurable results and its implicit     
invitation to cram and cheat1 is allowed
 to cast its deadly shadow on education 
as such1--and so long as the whole      
system on which the young of all classes
 and grades are educated is favourable  

to self-deception on the part of the    
teacher and fatal to sincerity on the   
part of the child4 ,constrained by every
 influence that is brought to bear upon 
him to judge according to the appearance
 of things1 the teacher can ill afford  
to judge righteous judgment1--can ill   
afford to regard what is outward and    
visible as the symbol of what is inward 
and spiritual1 can ill afford to think  
of the work done by the child except as 
a thing to be weighed in an examiner's  
balance or measured by an examiner's    
rule4  ,things being as they are in the 
various grades of education and in the  
various strata of social life1 it is    
inevitable that the education given in  
many of our elementary schools should be
 based1 in the main1 on complete        
distrust of the child4 ,in such schools1
 whatever else the child may be allowed 
to do1 he must not be allowed to do     
anything by or for himself4 ,he must not
 express what he really feels and sees2 
for if he does1 the results will        

probably fall short of the standard of  
neatness1 cleanness1 and correctness    
which an examiner might expect the      
school to reach4 ,at any rate1 the      
experiment is much too risky to be      
tried4 ,in the lower classes the results
 produced would certainly be rough1     
imperfect1 untidy4 ,therefore           
self-expression must not be permitted in
 that part of the school4 ,and if not   
there1 it must not be permitted         
anywhere1 for the longer it is delayed  
the greater will be the difficulty of   
starting it and the greater the         
attendant risk4 ,the child must not     
express what he really perceives2 and as
 genuine perception forces for itself   
the outlet of genuine expression1 he    
must not be allowed to exercise his     
perceptive faculties4 ,instead of seeing
 things for himself1 he must see what   
his teacher directs him to see1 he must 
feel what his teacher directs him to    
feel1 he must think what his teacher    
directs him to think1 and so on4 ,but to

 forbid a child to use his own          
perceptive faculties is to arrest the   
whole process of his growth4  ,i will   
now go back to the ,arithmetic lesson4  
,during the years in which the children 
in elementary schools were examined     
individually in reading1 writing1 and   
arithmetic1 the one virtue which was    
inculcated while the arithmetic lesson  
was in progress was that of obedience to
 the formulated rule4 ,on the yearly    
examination day it was customary to give
 each child four questions in           
arithmetic1 of which only one was a     
problem4 ,two sums correctly worked     
secured a pass2 and it was therefore    
possible for the child to achieve       
salvation in arithmetic by blindly      
obeying the various rules with which his
 teacher had equipped him4 ,he had1     
indeed1 to decide for himself in each   
case which rule was to be followed2 but 
he did this 7in most schools71 not by   
thinking the matter out1 but by         
following certain by-rules given him by 

his teacher1 which were based on a      
careful study of the wording of the     
questions set by the inspector1 and     
which held good as long as that wording 
remained unchanged4 ,for example1 if a  
subtraction sum was to be dictated to   
,standard ,,ii1 the child was taught    
that the number which was given out     
first was to be placed in the upper     
line1 and that the number which came    
next was to be subtracted from this4 ,he
 was not taught that the lesser of the  
two numbers was always to be subtracted 
from the larger2 for in order to apply  
that principle he would have had to     
decide for himself which was the larger 
of the two numbers1 and the consequent  
mental effort was one which his teacher 
could not trust him to make4 ,it is true
 that in his desire to save the child   
from the dire necessity of thinking1 the
 teacher ran the risk of being          
discomfited by a sudden change of       
procedure on the part of an inspector4  
,the inspector1 for example1 who1 having

 been accustomed to say ,from #ie take  
#eg1 chose to say1 for a change1 ,take  
#eg from #ie1 would cause widespread    
havoc in the first two or three schools 
that were the victims of his            
unlooked-for experiment4 ,but the risks 
which the teacher ran who taught his    
pupils to rely on trickery rather than  
thought were worth running2 for the     
inspectors1 like the teachers and the   
children1 were ever tending to become   
creatures of routine1 and the vagaries  
of those who had the reputation of being
 tiresomely versatile could be provided 
against--largely1 if not wholly--by     
increased ingenuity on the part of the  
teacher1 and increased attention to     
tricky by-rules on the part of the      
child4  ,the number of schools in which 
arithmetic is intelligently and even    
practically taught is undoubtedly much  
larger than it was in the days of       
payment by results2 but there are still 
thousands of schools in which obedience 
to the rule for its own sake is the     

basis of all instruction in arithmetic4 
,now to live habitually by rule instead 
of by thought is necessarily fatal1 in  
every field of action1 to the           
development of that sense or perceptive 
faculty1 on which right action          
ultimately depends4 ,following his      
reputed guide blindly1 mechanically1 and
 with whole-hearted devotion1 the votary
 of the rule never allows his intuition1
 his faculty of direct perception and   
subconscious judgment1 to play even for 
a moment round the matters on which he  
is engaged2 and the result is that the  
faculty in question is not merely       
prevented from growing1 but is at last  
actually blighted in the bud4 ,this is  
but another way of saying what ,i have  
already insisted upon1--that to forbid  
self-expression on the part of the child
 is to starve his perceptive faculties  
into non-existence4  ,there is no folly 
perpetrated in the elementary school of 
to-day for which there are not          
authoritative precedents to be found in 

the conduct of one or other of the two  
great schools which the ,god of ,western
 theology is supposed to have opened for
 the education of ,man4 ,and it is in   
that special development of the ,legal  
,school which is known as ,pharisaism   
that we shall look for a precedent for  
the conventional teaching of arithmetic 
in our elementary schools4 ,the         
ultra-legalism of the ,pharisee in the  
days of ,christ finds its exact         
counterpart in the ultra-legalism of the
 child who has been taught arithmetic by
 the methods which the yearly           
examination fostered1 and which are     
still widely prevalent4 ,in the one case
 there was1 in the other case there is1 
an entire inability on the part of the  
zealous votary of the rule to estimate  
the intrinsic value of the results of   
his blind and unintelligent action4 ,the
 sense of humour1 which is a necessary  
element in every other healthy sense1   
and which so often keeps us from going  
astray1 by suddenly revealing to us the 

inherent absurdity of our proposed      
action1 is one of the first faculties to
 succumb to the blighting influence of  
an ultra-legal conception of life4 ,as  
an example of the unwavering seriousness
 of the ,pharisee in the presence of    
what was intrinsically ridiculous1 let  
us take his attitude towards the problem
 of keeping food warm for the ,sabbath  
day4 ,according to ,exodus xvi4 #bc1 it 
was forbidden to bake and to boil on the
 ,sabbath4 ,hence the food1 which it was
 desired to eat hot on the ,sabbath1 was
 to be prepared before its commencement1
 and kept warm by artificial means4 ,in 
doing this1 however1 care must be taken 
that the existing heat was not          
increased1 which would have been        
'boiling4' ,hence the food must be put  
only into such substances as would      
maintain its heat1 not into such as     
might possibly increase it4 ',food to be
 kept warm for the ,sabbath must not be 
put into oil-dregs1 manure1 salt1 chalk1
 or sand1 whether moist or dry1 nor into

 straw1 grape-skins1 flock1 or          
vegetables1 if these are damp1 though it
 may if they are dry4 ,it may1 however1 
be put into clothes1 amidst fruits1     
pigeons' feathers1 and flax tow4 ,r4    
,jehudah declares flax tow unallowable  
and permits only coarse tow4'#aj        
,following his rule out1 step by step1  
with unflinching loyalty1 into these    
ridiculous consequences1 the ,pharisee  
had entirely lost the power of seeing   
that they were ridiculous1 and was well 
content to believe1 with ,jehudah1 that 
the difference between keeping food warm
 in coarse tow and in flax tow was the  
difference between life and death4 ,this
 reductio ad absurdum of legalism is    
exactly paralleled1 in many of our      
elementary schools1 in the answers to   
arithmetical questions given by the     
children4 ,the ,fifth ,standard boys who
 told their inspector1 as an answer to  
an easy problem1 that a given room was  
five shillings and sixpence wide1 had   
followed out their rule--they had       

unfortunately got hold of a wrong       
rule--step by step1 till it led them to 
a conclusion1 the intrinsic absurdity of
 which they were one and all unable to  
see4#aa ,there are many elementary      
schools in ,england in which a majority 
of the answers given to quite easy      
problems would certainly be wrong1 and a
 respectable minority of them           
ludicrously wrong4 ,nor is this to be   
wondered at2 for though the types of    
problems that can be set in elementary  
schools are not numerous1 to provide his
 pupils with the by-rules which shall   
enable them in all1 or even in most     
cases1 to determine which of the        
recognised rules are appropriate to the 
given situation1 passes the wit of the  
teacher4 ,but if the helplessness of so 
many elementary scholars in the face of 
an arithmetical problem is lamentable1  
still more lamentable is the fact that  
the scholar is seldom met with who1     
having given an entirely wrong answer to
 an easy problem1 is able to see for    

himself that1 whatever the right answer 
may be1 the answer given is and must be 
wrong4 ,so fatal to the development of  
the arithmetical sense is the current   
worship of the rule for its own sake1   
and so deadly a narcotic is the         
conventional arithmetic lesson to all   
who take part in it6   ,it is not in the
 arithmetic lesson1 then1 that provision
 is ordinarily made for the development 
of a sense1 or perceptive faculty1      
through the medium of self-expression on
 the part of the child4 ,on the         
contrary1 the very raison d'tre of the  
arithmetic lesson1 as it is still given 
in many schools1 is to destroy the      
arithmetical sense1 and make the child  
an inefficient calculating machine1     
which1 even when working1 is too often  
inaccurate and clumsy1 and which the    
slightest change of environment throws  
at once and completely out of gear4     
,after the arithmetical lesson come1 as 
a rule1 lessons in ,reading and         
,writing--in reading in some classes1 in

 writing in others4 ,the first thing    
that strikes the visitor who enters an  
ordinary elementary school while a      
reading lesson is in progress1 is that  
the children are not reading at all1 in 
the accepted sense of the word4 ,they   
are not reading to themselves1 not      
studying1 not mastering the contents of 
the book1 not assimilating the mental   
and spiritual nutriment that it may be  
supposed to contain4 ,they are standing 
up1 one by one1 even in the highest     
class of all1 and reading aloud to their
 teacher4  ,why are they doing this8 ,is
 it in order that their teacher may show
 them how to master the more difficult  
words in their reading lesson8 ,this may
 be the reason1 in some schools2 but    
there are others1 perhaps a majority1 in
 which the teacher tells his pupils the 
words that puzzle them instead of       
helping them to make them out for       
themselves4 ,besides1 if reading were   
properly taught in the lower classes1   
the children in the upper classes would 

surely be able to master unaided the    
difficulties that might confront them4  
,or is it in order that elocution may be
 cultivated8 ,but elocution is seldom1  
if ever1 cultivated in the ordinary     
elementary school1 the veriest mumbling 
on the part of the child being accepted 
by his teacher 7who follows him with an 
open book in his hand71 provided that he
 can read correctly and with some       
attempt at phrasing4 ,indeed1 the       
indistinct utterance of so many school  
children may be attributed to the fact  
that they have read aloud to their      
teachers for many years1 and that during
 the whole of that time a very low      
standard of distinctness has been       
accepted as satisfactory4  ,or is it in 
order that the teacher may help his     
pupils to understand what they are      
reading8 ,this may be one of his reasons
 for hearing them read aloud2 but so far
 as the higher classes are concerned it 
is a bad reason1 for the older the child
 the more imperative is it that he      

should try to make out for himself the  
meaning of what he reads2 and the       
teacher who spoon-feeds his pupils      
during the reading lesson is doing his  
best to make them incapable of digesting
 the contents of books for themselves4  
,no1 there are two chief reasons why the
 teacher makes children of eleven1      
twelve1 thirteen and fourteen years of  
age read aloud to him as if they were   
children of six or seven4 ,the first    
reason is that the unemancipated teacher
 instinctively does to-day what he did  
twenty years ago1 and that twenty years 
ago1 when children were examined in     
reading from their own books1 the       
teacher heard them read aloud1 day after
 day in order that he might make sure   
that they knew their books well enough  
to pass the inspector's test4 ,the      
second reason1 which is wider than the  
first1 and may be said to include and   
account for it1 is that the             
reading-aloud lesson fits in with the   
whole system of ,western education1     

being the outcome and expression of that
 complete distrust of the child which   
is1 and always has been1 characteristic 
of the popular religion and philosophy  
of the ,west4 ,if you ask the teacher   
why the children1 even in the highest   
classes1 are never allowed to work at   
such subjects as history and geography  
by themselves1 he will tell you frankly 
that he cannot trust them to do so1 that
 they do not know how to use a book4    
,and he cannot see that in giving this  
excuse he is condemning himself1 and    
making open confession of the           
worthlessness of the training that he   
has given to his pupils4  ,whatever else
 the reading-aloud lesson may be1 it is 
a dismal waste of time4 ,child after    
child stands up1 reads for a minute or  
so1 and then sits down1 remaining idle  
and inert 7except when an occasional    
question is addressed to him7 for the   
rest of the time occupied by the        
so-called lesson4 ,in this1 as in most  
oral lessons1 the elementary school     

child passes much of his time in a state
 which is neither activity nor rest1--a 
state of enforced inertness combined    
with unnatural and unceasing strain4    
,activity is good for the child1 and    
rest1 which1 is the complement of       
activity1 is good for the child2 but the
 combination of inertness with strain is
 good for neither his body nor his mind4
 ,indeed1 it may be doubted if there is 
any state of mind and body which is so  
uneducational as this1 or so            
unfavourable to healthy growth4   ,but  
the main objection to the reading-aloud 
lesson is1 ,i repeat1 that while it is  
going on the children are not reading at
 all1 in the proper sense of the word1  
not attacking the book1 not enjoying it1
 not extracting the honey from it4 ,and 
the consequences of the inability to    
read which is thus engendered are       
far-reaching and disastrous4 ,the power 
to read is a key which unlocks many     
doors4 ,one of the most important of    
these doors--perhaps1 from the strictly 

scholastic point of view1 the most      
important--is the door of study4 ,the   
child who cannot read to himself cannot 
study a book1 cannot master its         
contents4 ,it is because the elementary 
school child cannot be trusted to do any
 independent study1 that the oral       
lesson1 or lecture1 with its futile     
expenditure of chalk and talk1 is so    
prominent a feature in the work of the  
elementary school4 ,and it is because   
the oral lesson necessarily counts for  
so much1 that the over-grouping of      
classes1 with all its attendant evils1  
is so widely practised4 ,the grouping   
together of ,standards ,v1 ,,vi1 and    
,,vii1 with the result that the children
 who go through all those ,standards are
 compelled to waste the last two years  
of their school life1 is a practice     
which is almost universal in elementary 
schools of a certain size4 ,and there   
are few schools of that size in which   
those ,standards could not be broken up 
into two1 if not three1 independent     

classes1 if the children1 whose ages    
range as a rule between eleven and      
fourteen1 could be trusted to work by   
themselves4 ,in many cases this         
over-grouping is wholly inexcusable1 the
 headmaster having no class of his own  
to teach1 and being therefore free to do
 what obviously ought to be done1--to   
separate the older and more advanced    
children from the rest of the top class1
 and form them into a separate class 7a 
real top class7 for independent study   
and self-education under his direction  
and supervision4 ,but so strong is the  
force of habit1 and so deeply rooted in 
the mind of the teacher is distrust of  
the child1 that it is rare to find the  
head teacher to whom the idea of        
breaking up an over-grouped top class   
has suggested itself as practicable1 or 
even as intrinsically desirable4  ,we   
owe it1 then1 to the reading-aloud      
fetich that in many of our schools the  
children are compelled to spend the last
 two 7or even three7 years of their     

school life--the most important years of
 all from the point of view of their    
preparation for the battle of life--in  
marking time1 in staying where they     
were4 ,it is to those years of enforced 
stagnation that the reluctance of the   
ex-elementary scholar to go on with his 
education is largely due2 for no one can
 keep on moving who is not already on   
the move1 and the desire to continue    
education is scarcely to be looked for  
in one who has been given to understand 
that his education has come to an end4  
,but there is another and a shorter cut 
from the conventional reading lesson to 
the early extinction of the child's     
educational career4 ,the child who      
leaves school without having learned how
 to use a book1 will find that the one  
door through which access is gained to  
most of the halls of learning--the door 
of independent study--is for ever       
slammed in his face4 ,not that he will  
seriously try to open it2 for with the  
ability to read the desire to read will 

have aborted4 ,the distrust of the      
child1 on which ,western education is   
based1 is a bottomless gulf in which    
educational effort1 whatever form it may
 take or in whatever quarter it may     
originate1 is for the most part         
swallowed up and made as though it had  
not been4 ,the child who leaves school  
at the age of fourteen will have        
attended some #b1jjj or #c1jjj reading  
lessons in the course of his school     
life4 ,from these1 in far too many      
cases1 he will have carried nothing away
 but the ability to stumble with        
tolerable correctness through printed   
matter of moderate difficulty4 ,he will 
not have carried away from them either  
the power or the desire to read4  ,in   
the days of percentages1 instruction in 
,writing below ,standard ,v was entirely
 confined to handwriting and spelling2  
and even in the higher ,standards the   
teacher thought more about handwriting  
and spelling than any other aspect of   
this composite subject4 ,now handwriting

 and spelling are merely means to an    
end1--the end of making clear to the    
reader the words that have been         
committed to paper by the writer4 ,but  
it is the choice rather than the setting
 out of words that really matters1 and  
the name that we give to the choosing of
 words is ,composition4 ,the excessive  
regard that has always been paid in our 
elementary schools to neat handwriting  
and correct spelling is characteristic  
of the whole ,western attitude towards  
education4 ,no results are more easily  
or more accurately appraised than these1
 and it follows that no results are more
 highly esteemed by the unenlightened   
teacher4 ,for wherever the outward      
standard of reality has established     
itself at the expense of the inward1 the
 ease with which worth 7or what passes  
for such7 can be measured is ever       
tending to become in itself the chief1  
if not the sole1 measure of worth4 ,and 
in proportion as we tend to value the   
results of education for their          

measureableness1 so we tend to          
undervalue and at last to ignore those  
results which are too intrinsically     
valuable to be measured4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,hence   
the neglect of ,composition in so many  
elementary schools4 ,i mean by          
composition the sincere expression in   
language of the child's genuine thoughts
 and feelings4 ,the effort to compose1  
whether orally or on paper1 is one of   
the most educational of all efforts2 for
 language is at once the most readily   
available and the most subtle and       
sympathetic of all media of expression2 
and the effort to express himself in it 
tends1 in proportion as it is sincere   
and strong1 to give breadth1 depth1 and 
complexity to the child's thoughts and  
feelings1 and through the development of
 these to weave his experiences into the
 tissue of his life4 ,but sincerity of  
expression is not easily measured1 and  
the true value of the thoughts and      
feelings that are struggling to express 

themselves in a child's composition is  
beyond the reach of any rule or scale2  
whereas neatness of handwriting and     
correctness of spelling are1 as we have 
seen1 features which appeal even to the 
carelessly observant eye4  ,knowing     
this1 the teacher takes care that the   
exercise-books of his pupils shall be   
filled with neat and accurate           
composition exercises1 and that some of 
the neatest and most accurate of these  
shall be exhibited on the walls of his  
school4 ,the visitor whose eye ranges   
over these exercises and goes no further
 may be excused if he forms a highly    
favourable opinion of the school which  
can produce such seemingly excellent    
work4 ,but let him spend a morning in   
the school1 and see how these results   
have been produced4 ,he will probably   
change his mind as to their value4 ,the 
teaching of composition in the ordinary 
elementary school is too often          
fraudulent and futile4 ,indeed1 there is
 no lesson in which the teacher's       

traditional distrust of the child goes  
further than in this4 ,in the lower     
classes the child is taught how to      
construct simple sentences 7as if he had
 never made one in the previous course  
of his life71 and he is not trusted to  
do more than this4 ,he listens to a     
so-called object lesson1 and when it is 
over he is told to write a few simple   
sentences about the ,cow or the ,horse1 
or whatever the subject of the lesson   
may have been2 and lest his memory 7the 
only faculty which he is allowed to     
exercise7 should fail him1 the chief    
landmarks of the lesson are placed      
before him on the blackboard4 ,this     
string of simple sentences reproduced   
from memory passes muster as            
composition4 ,and yet that child began  
to practise oral composition at the age 
of eighteen months1 and at the age of   
three was able to use complex sentences 
with freedom and skill4 ,in the upper   
classes the composition is too often as 
mechanical1 as unreal1 and as insincere 

as in the lower4 ,sometimes a given     
subject is worked out by the teacher    
with the class1 the children1 one by    
one1 suggesting sentences1 which are    
shaped and corrected by the teacher and 
then written up on the blackboard1 until
 there are enough of them to fill one   
page of an ordinary exercise book4 ,then
 the whole essay 7if one must dignify it
 with that name7 is copied out1 very    
neatly and carefully1 by every child in 
the class2 and the result is shown to   
the inspector as original composition4  
,at other times or in other schools the 
class teacher does not go quite so far  
as this4 ,he contents himself with      
talking the subject over with the class1
 and then writing a series of           
headings#ab on the blackboard4 ,or1     
again1 trusting to the child's red-hot  
memory1 he will allow him to write out  
what he remembers of an object-lesson1  
or a history lesson1 or whatever it may 
be4 ,composition exercises which are the
 genuine expression of genuine          

perception1 which have behind them what 
the child has experienced1 what he has  
felt or thought1 what he has read1 what 
he has studied1 are the exception rather
 than the rule2 for in such exercises   
there would probably be faults of       
spelling1 faults of grammar1            
colloquialisms1 careless writing 7due to
 the child's eagerness71 and so forth2  
and the work would therefore be         
unsatisfactory from the showman's point 
of view4 ,the child's natural capacity  
for expressing himself in language is   
systematically starved in order that    
outward and visible results1 results    
which will win approval from those who  
judge according to the appearance of    
things1 may be duly produced4  ,the case
 of oral composition in the             
unemancipated elementary school is even 
more hopeless than that of written      
composition4 ,the latter has a time set 
apart for it on the time-table1 and is  
at any rate supposed to be taught4 ,the 
former is wholly ignored4 ,many teachers

 seem to have entirely forgotten that   
the desire and the ability to talk are  
part of the normal equipment of every   
healthy child4 ,there was1 indeed1 a    
time when children were taught to answer
 questions in complete sentences even   
when one-word answers would have amply  
sufficed4 ,for example1 when a child was
 asked how many pence there were in a   
shilling1 he was expected to answer1    
,there are twelve pence in a shilling2  
when he was asked what was the colour of
 snow1 he was expected to answer1 ,the  
colour of snow is white 2 and so on4    
,and both he and his teacher flattered  
themselves that this waste of words was 
oral composition6 ,in point of fact the 
sentence in each of these cases was     
worth no more1 as an effort of          
self-expression1 than its one important 
word--twelve1 white1 or whatever it     
might be2 and the child1 who was allowed
 to think that he had produced a real   
sentence1 had in effect done no more    
than envelop one real word in a hollow  

formula4 ,there are still many schools  
in which this ridiculous practice       
lingers1 and in which it constitutes the
 only attempt at oral composition that  
the child is allowed to make4 ,where it 
has died out the idea of teaching oral  
composition has too often died with it4 
,young children are1 as a rule1 voluble 
talkers1 with a considerable command of 
language4 ,but it not infrequently      
happens that at the close of his school 
life the once talkative child has lapsed
 into a state of sullen taciturnity4 ,in
 common with other vital faculties1 his 
power of expressing himself in speech   
has withered in the repressive          
atmosphere to which he has so long been 
exposed4  ,it is in the oral lesson that
 one would expect oral composition to be
 taught or at any rate practised4 ,in   
such subjects as ,history1 ,geography1  
,english1 ,elementary ,science1 the     
teaching in most elementary schools is  
mainly1 if not wholly1 oral4 ,in the    
days of payment by results separate and 

variable grants were given for these    
subjects2 and which1 if either1 of two  
grants should be recommended depended in
 each case on the result of an oral     
examination conducted by ,h4,m4         
,inspector1 the employment of a written 
test in any class being strictly        
forbidden by ,my ,lords4 ,in this       
examination proof of the possession of  
information was all that the inspector  
could demand2 and the quickest and      
easiest way of obtaining such proof was 
to ask the class questions which could  
be briefly answered by the children     
individually4 ,questions which were     
designed to test intelligence might1 of 
course1 have been asked1 and in some    
districts were freely asked2 but to have
 reduced the grant because the children 
failed to answer these would have       
provoked an outcry2 while1 had the      
inspector asked questions which demanded
 long answers1 he would1 in the limited 
time at his command1 have given but few 
children the chance of showing that they

 had been duly prepared for the         
examination4 ,the consequence was that  
the oral lesson on a class subject      
usually took the form of stuffing the   
children with pellets of appropriate    
information1 some of which they would1  
in all probability1 have the opportunity
 of disgorging when they were questioned
 by the inspector on the yearly parade  
day4  ,not only1 then1 did the official 
examination in history1 geography and   
elementary science direct the teaching  
of these subjects into channels in which
 the golden opportunities that they     
offer for the practice of written       
composition were perforce thrown away1  
but also the examination was so framed  
that even the practice of oral          
composition1 in preparation for it1 was 
actively discouraged4 ,and the neglect  
of composition acted disastrously on the
 teaching of the subjects in question2  
for wherever self-expression on the part
 of the child is forbidden1 the         
appropriate sense1 or perceptive        

faculty1 cannot possibly evolve         
itself1--perception and expression      
being1 as we have elsewhere seen1 the   
very life and soul of each other2 and in
 the absence 7to take pertinent         
examples7 of the historical or the      
geographical sense1 the possession of   
historical or geographical information  
cannot possibly be converted into       
knowledge of history or geography4 ,the 
prompt1 accurate1 and general answering 
which was rewarded by the award of the  
higher grants for class subjects was1 in
 nine cases out of ten1 the outcome of  
assiduous and unintelligent cram1--a    
mode of preparation for which the policy
 of the ,education ,department was      
mainly responsible4   ,but when separate
 grants ceased to be paid for class     
subjects1 were not the teachers free to 
teach them by rational methods8 ,no     
doubt they were--in theory4 ,in point of
 fact they were in bondage to the       
strongest of all constraining           
influences1--the force of inveterate    

habit4 ,for twenty years they had taught
 the class subjects by the one safe     
method of vigorous oral cram4 ,this     
method had answered their purpose1 and  
it was but natural that they should     
continue to teach by it4 ,what happened1
 when separate grants ceased to be paid1
 was that the need for responsiveness on
 the part of the scholar gradually      
lessened4 ,the pellets of information   
were still imparted1 but it became less 
and less incumbent upon the teacher to  
see that his pupils were ready to       
disgorge them at a moment's notice4 ,and
 so the cramming lesson gradually       
transformed itself into a lecture1 in   
which the teacher did all or nearly all 
the talking1 while the children sat     
still and listened or pretended to      
listen1 an occasional yawn giving open  
proof of the boredom from which most of 
them were suffering4  ,that is the type 
of oral lesson which is most common at  
the present day4 ,results in history1   
geography1 nature study and ,english are

 seldom asked for by the inspector2 and 
the teacher takes but little trouble to 
produce them4 ,but his distrust of the  
child is as firmly rooted as ever1 and  
his unwillingness to allow the child to 
work by or for himself is as strong as  
it ever was4 ,the consequence is that   
there are many schools in which the     
teacher now does everything during the  
oral lesson1 while the child does as    
nearly as possible nothing4 ,formerly   
the child was at any rate allowed 7or   
rather required7 to be actively         
receptive4 ,now he is seldom allowed to 
do anything more active than to yawn4   
,and all the time he is secretly longing
 to energise--to do something with      
himself--to use his mental1 if not his  
physical faculties--to work1 if not to  
play4 ,one might have thought that in   
the history and geography lessons1 if in
 no other1 ,standards ,,vi and ,,vii    
7where the numbers were too small to    
admit of these standards having a       
teacher to themselves7 would be         

separated from ,standard ,v1 and allowed
 to work out their own salvation by     
studying suitable text-books under      
proper supervision and guidance4 ,but   
no2 the force of habit is too strong for
 the machine-made teacher4 ,twenty years
 ago history and geography were class   
subjects1 and as such were taught orally
 to whole classes of children4 ,and they
 must still be taught as class subjects1
 even if this should involve the ,sixth 
and ,seventh ,standards being brigaded  
with1 and kept down for one or even two 
years to1 the level of the ,fifth1--kept
 down1 it would seem1 for no other      
purpose than that of being the passive  
recipients of the teacher's windy talk1 
and the helpless witnesses of his futile
 chalk1 and of having their own         
activities paralysed and their own      
powers of expression starved into       
inanition4  ,i will deal with one more  
secular subject before ,i bring this    
sketch to a close4 ,there are still many
 schools in which the hours that are set

 apart for ,drawing are devoted in large
 measure to the slavish reproduction of 
flat copies4 ,a picture of some familiar
 object--outlined1 shaded1 or tinted as 
the case may be1 and not infrequently   
highly conventionalised--hangs in front 
of the class2 and the children copy it1 
stroke by stroke1 and curve by curve1   
and put in the shading and lay on washes
 of colour4 ,as long practice at work of
 this kind develops a certain degree of 
manual dexterity1 and as the free use of
 india-rubber is permitted and even     
encouraged1 the child's finished work   
may be so neat and accurate as to become
 worthy of a place on the school wall4  
,but what is the value1 what is the     
meaning of work of this kind8 ,when such
 a drawing lesson as ,i have described  
is in progress1 the divorce between     
perception and expression is complete4  
,and as each of these master faculties  
is the very life and soul of the other1 
their complete divorce from one another 
involves the complete eclipse of each4  

,the child who copies a flat copy does  
not perceive anything except some other 
person's reproduction of a scene or     
object2 and even this he does not       
necessarily grasp as a whole1 his       
business being to reproduce it with     
flawless accuracy1 line by line4        
,indeed1 it may well happen that he does
 not even know what the picture or      
diagram before him is intended to       
represent4 ,nor is he expressing        
anything1 for he has not made his model 
in any sense or degree his own4 ,thus1  
during the whole of a lesson in which   
the perceptive and expressive faculties 
are supposed to be receiving a special  
training1 they are lying dormant and    
inert4 ,each of them is1 for the time   
being1 as good as dead4 ,and each of    
them will assuredly die if this kind of 
teaching goes on for very long1 die for 
lack of exercise1 die wasted and        
atrophied by disuse4 ,the extent to     
which the copying of copies can injure a
 child's power of observation exceeds   

belief4 ,i have seen a bowl placed high 
above the line of sight of a class of   
fifty senior boys1 each one of whom 7his
 memory being haunted1 ,i suppose1 by   
some diagram which he had once copied7  
drew it as if he were looking into it   
from above4 ,not one of those boys could
 see the bowl as it really was1 or      
rather as it really was to be seen4 ,a  
child who had never drawn a stroke in   
his life1 but whose perceptive faculties
 had not been deadened by education1    
would have sketched the bowl more       
correctly than any of those             
quasi-experts4 ,and with the wasting of 
the power of observation1 the executive 
power is gradually lost2 for perception 
is ever interpenetrating1 reinforcing1  
and stimulating expression2 and when the
 eye is blind1 the hand1 however skilful
 its mere manipulation may be1          
necessarily falters and loses its       
cunning4  ,four or five years ago1 had  
one entered an elementary school while  
drawing was being taught1 such a lesson 

as ,i have just described would have    
been in progress in ninety-nine cases   
out of every hundred4 ,since then a     
systematic warfare has been waged by the
 ,board against the flat copy2 and      
though it is still very far from        
extinct1 there is now perhaps an actual 
majority of schools in which its use has
 been discontinued4 ,but the number of  
schools in which drawing from the object
 is effectively taught1 though          
increasing steadily1 is still small4 ,in
 those schools1 indeed1 the results are 
surprisingly good1--so good as to       
justify1 not only the new gospel of     
drawing from the object1 but also the   
whole gospel of education through       
self-reliance and self-expression4 ,but 
elsewhere there has been but little     
improvement1 except so far as it may be 
better to draw from an object without   
guidance1 or with quite ineffective     
guidance1 than to draw from a flat copy4
 ,in some schools the formula or tip is 
beginning to take the place of the flat 

copy4 ,there is a formula for the tulip1
 a formula for the snowdrop1 a formula  
for the daffodil1 and so on2 and the    
children draw from these formul while   
the actual flowers are before them and  
they are making believe to reproduce    
them4 ,in other schools an object is    
placed before the class1 and the teacher
 draws this for them on the blackboard1 
explaining to them in detail how it     
ought to be drawn2 and when he has      
finished1 the children pretend to draw  
the object1 but really copy his         
blackboard copy of it4 ,in this1 as in  
other matters1 the teacher who has      
become a victim of routine will give a  
facile but mainly notional assent to the
 suggestions that are placed before him1
 will promise to try them1 and will make
 an unintelligent and half-hearted      
attempt to do so1 but will as often as  
not slide back into practices which do  
not materially differ from those which  
he professes to have abandoned4 ,the    
pressure of the whole system of ,western

 education--not to speak of ,western    
civilisation--will be too strong for    
him4 ,the flat copy1 with its demand for
 mechanical work and servile obedience1 
fits into that system4 ,drawing from the
 object1 with its demand for initiative 
and self-reliance1 does not4 ,hence the 
attractive force of the former1--a      
secret attractive force which will      
neutralise the efforts that the teacher 
consciously makes to free himself from  
its influence1 and will arm him1 as with
 a hidden shirt of mail1 against the    
missionary zeal of his inspector4#ac    
,even the zeal of the inspector will be 
affected by his possible inability to   
harmonise his gospel of self-expression 
in drawing with any general system of   
self-education4 ,it is because the      
educational reformer is fighting1 in his
 sporadic attempts at reform1 against   
his own deepest conviction1 that he     
achieves so little even in the          
particular directions in which he sees  
clearly that reform is needed4  ,but    

how1 it will be asked1 is such a school 
as ,i have described to be kept going8  
,the whole rgime must be eminently      
distasteful to the healthy child1 and it
 can scarcely be attractive to his      
teacher4 ,by what motive force1 then1 is
 the school to be kept in motion1--in   
motion1 if not along the path of        
progress1 at any rate along the         
well-worn track of routine8 ,by the only
 motive force which the religion and the
 civilisation of the ,west recognise as 
effective1--the hope of external reward1
 with its complement1 the fear of       
external punishment4 ,from highest to   
lowest1 from the head teacher of the    
school to the youngest child in the     
bottom class1 all the teachers and all  
the children are subjected to the       
pressure of this quasi-physical force4  
,the teachers hope for advancement and  
increase of salary1 and fear degradation
 and loss of salary1 or at any rate loss
 of the hoped-for increment4#ad ,the    
children hope for medals1 books1 high   

places in their respective classes1 and 
other rewards and distinctions1 and fear
 corporal and other kinds of punishment4
 ,the thoroughly efficient school is one
 in which this motive force is duly     
transmitted to every part of the school 
by means of a well-planned and          
carefully-elaborated machinery1         
analogous to that by which water and gas
 are laid on at every tap in every house
 in a well-governed town4 ,only those   
who are intimately acquainted with the  
inside of the elementary school can     
realise to what an extent the machinery 
of education has in recent years        
encroached upon the vital interests of  
the school and the time and thought of  
the teacher4 ,in schools which are      
administered by business-like and       
up-to-date ,local ,authorities1 this    
encroachment is becoming as serious as  
that of drifting sands on a fertile     
soil4 ,time-tables1 schemes of work1    
syllabuses1 record books1 progress      
books1 examination result books1 and the

 rest1--hours and hours are spent by the
 teachers on the clerical work which    
these mechanical contrivances demand4   
,and the hours so spent are too often   
wholly wasted4 ,the worst of this       
machinery is that1 so long as it works  
smoothly1 all who are interested in the 
school are satisfied4 ,but it may all   
work with perfect smoothness1 and yet   
achieve nothing that really counts4 ,i  
know of hundreds of schools which are to
 all appearance thoroughly              
efficient1--schools in which the        
machinery of education is as well       
contrived as it is well oiled and       
cleaned1--and yet in which there is no  
vital movement1 no growth1 no life4     
,from highest to lowest1 all the inmates
 of those schools are cheating          
themselves with forms1 figures1 marks1  
and other such empty symbols4  ,the     
application of the conventional motive  
force to the school children goes by the
 name of ,discipline4 ,if the pressure  
at each tap is steady1 constant1 and    

otherwise effective1 the discipline is  
good4 ,if it is variable1 intermittent1 
and otherwise ineffective1 the          
discipline is bad4 ,the life of the     
routine-ridden school is so irksome to  
the child1 that if he is healthy and    
vigorous he will long to find a         
congenial outlet for his vital energies1
 which are as a rule either pent back   
7as when he sits still listening to a   
lecture71 or forced into uninteresting  
and unprofitable channels4 ,when this   
desire masters him during school hours1 
it goes by the name of naughtiness1 and 
is regarded as a proof of the inborn    
sinfulness of his fallen nature4 ,to    
repress the desire1 to keep the child in
 a state either of absolute inaction or 
of mechanically regulated activity1 is  
the function of school discipline4      
,whatever in the child's life is free1  
natural1 spontaneous1 wells up from an  
evil source4 ,if educational progress is
 to be made1 that source must be        
carefully sealed4 ,as an educator1 the  

teacher must do his best to reduce the  
child to the level of a wire-pulled     
puppet4 ,as a disciplinarian1 he must   
overcome the child's instinctive        
repugnance to being subjected to such   
unworthy treatment4 ,the better the     
discipline of the school1 the easier it 
will be for the mechanical education    
given in it to achieve its deadly work4 
,in making this sketch of what is still 
a common type of elementary school1 my  
object has been to provide myself with  
materials for answering the question3   
,does elementary education1 as at       
present conducted in this country1 tend 
to foster the growth of the child's     
faculties8 ,if my sketch is even        
approximately faithful to its original1 
the answer to the question1 so far at   
least as thousands of schools are       
concerned1 must be an emphatic ,no4 ,for
 in the school1 as ,i have sketched it1 
the one end and aim of the teacher is to
 prevent the child from doing anything  
whatever for himself2 and where         

independent effort is prohibited1 the   
growth of faculty must needs be         
arrested1 the growth of every faculty1  
as of every limb and organ1 being       
dependent in large measure on its being 
duly and suitably exercised by its      
owner4 ,if this statement is true of    
faculty as such1 and of effort as such1 
still more is it true of the particular 
faculties which school life is supposed 
to train1 the faculties which we speak  
of loosely as perceptive1--and of the   
particular effort by which alone the    
growth of the perceptive faculties is   
effected1 the many-sided effort which we
 speak of loosely as self-expression4   
,far perception and expression are1 as  
,i have endeavoured to prove1 the face  
and obverse of the same vital process2  
and the educational policy which makes  
self-expression1 or1 in other words1    
sincere expression1 impossible1 is      
therefore fatal to the outgrowth of the 
whole range of the perceptive faculties4
  ,the education given in thousands of  

our elementary schools is1 then1 in the 
highest degree anti-educational4 ,the   
end which education ought to aim at     
achieving is the very end which the     
teacher labours unceasingly to defeat4  
,the teacher may1 indeed1 contend that  
his business is not to evoke faculty but
 to impart knowledge4 ,the answer to    
this argument is that the type of       
education which impedes the outgrowth of
 faculty is necessarily fatal to the    
acquisition of knowledge4 ,for the      
teacher can no more impart knowledge to 
his pupils than a nurse can impart flesh
 and blood to her charges4 ,what the    
teacher imparts is information1 just as 
what the nurse imparts is food2 and     
until information has been converted    
into knowledge the child is as far from 
being educated as the infant1 whose food
 remains unassimilated1 is from being   
nourished4 ,the teacher may pump        
information into the child in a         
never-ending stream2 but so long as he  
compels the child to adopt an attitude  

of passive receptivity1 and forbids him 
to react1 through the medium of         
self-expression1 on the food that he is 
receiving1 so long will the food remain 
unassimilated and even undigested1 and  
the soul and mind of the child remain   
uneducated and unfed4  ,whether1 then1  
we concern ourselves1 as                
educationalists1 with the growth of the 
child's whole nature1 or with the growth
 of his master faculties1 or again with 
the growth of those special senses which
 evolve themselves in response to the   
stimulus of special environments1 we see
 that in each case the effect of the    
teacher's policy of distrust and        
repression is to arrest growth4 ,when   
the stern supernaturalist reminds us    
that the child's nature is intrinsically
 evil1 and that therefore in arresting  
its growth education renders him a      
priceless service1 we answer that1 in   
arresting the growth of the child's     
nature as a whole1 education arrests the
 growth of all the master faculties of  

his being1 and that there are some at   
least among these which1 even in the    
judgment of the supernaturalist1        
imperatively need to be trained4 ,when  
the strait-laced1 result-hunting teacher
 reminds us that his sole business is to
 teach certain subjects1 and that       
therefore he cannot concern himself with
 growth1 we answer that1 in neglecting  
to foster growth1 he makes it impossible
 for the child to put forth a special   
sense1 a special faculty of direct      
perception1 in response to each new     
environment1 and so 7for reasons which  
have already been given7 incapacitates  
him for mastering any subject4 ,there is
 always one point of view1 if no more1  
from which my primary assumption--that  
the function of education is to foster  
growth--is seen to be a truism4 ,and    
from that point of view1 if from no     
other1 the failure of the routine-ridden
 school to fulfil its destiny is seen to
 be final and complete4  ,yet to say    
that elementary education1 as it is     

given in such a school1 tends to arrest 
growth1 is to under-estimate its        
capacity for mischief4 ,in the act of   
arresting growth it must needs distort  
growth1 and in doing this it must needs 
deaden and even destroy the life which  
is ever struggling to evolve itself4 ,it
 is well that from time to time we      
should ask ourselves what compulsory    
education has done for the people of    
,england4 ,how much it has done to      
civilise and humanise the masses is     
beginning to be known to all who are    
interested in social progress1 and ,i   
for one am ready to second any vote of  
thanks that may be proposed to it for   
this invaluable service4#ae ,but when we
 ask ourselves what it has done to      
vitalise the nation1 we may well        
hesitate for an answer4 ,twenty years   
ago1 in the days of schedules and       
percentages1 elementary education was1  
on balance1 an actively devitalising    
agency4 ,the policy of the ,education   
,department made that inevitable4 ,but  

things have changed since then2 and it  
is probable that the balance is now in  
favour of the elementary school4 ,but   
the balance1 though growing from year to
 year1 is as yet very small compared    
with what it will be when the teacher1  
relieved from the pressure of the still 
prevailing demand for results1 is free  
to take thought for the vital interests 
of the child4  ,whom shall we blame for 
the shortcomings of our elementary      
schools8 ,the ,board of ,education8     
,their ,inspectors8 ,the ,teachers8 ,the
 ,training ,colleges8 ,the ,local       
,authorities8 ,we will blame none of    
these4 ,we will blame the spirit of     
,western civilisation1 with its false   
philosophy of life and its false        
standard of reality4  ,shall we blame   
the ,board because1 in the days when    
they called themselves the ,department1 
they made the teachers of ,england the  
serfs of their soul-destroying ,code8   
,for my own part ,i prefer to honour the
 ,board1 not only because on a certain  

day they liberated their serfs by a     
departmental edict1 but also and more   
especially because1 in defiance of the  
protests and criticisms of ,members of  
,parliament1 employers of labour1       
,chairmen of ,education ,committees1 and
 others1 in defiance of the ubiquitous  
pressure of ,western externalism and    
materialism1 in defiance of the trend of
 contemporary opinion1 in defiance of   
their own practice1--for they themselves
 are an examining body whose nets are   
widely spread1--they refuse to revoke   
the gift of freedom1 which they gave1   
perhaps over-hastily1 to the teachers of
 ,england1 and continue to exempt them1 
so far as their own action is concerned1
 from the pressure of a formal          
examination on a uniform scheme of work4
  ,shall we blame the teachers as a body
 because too many of them are           
machine-made creatures of routine8 ,for 
my own part ,i honour the teachers as a 
body1 if only because here and there one
 of them has dared1 with splendid       

courage1 to defy the despotism of       
custom1 of tradition1 of officialdom1 of
 the thousand deadening influences that 
are brought to bear upon him1 and to    
follow for himself the path of          
inwardness and life4 ,to blame the      
average teacher for being unable to     
resist the pressure to which he is      
unceasingly exposed would be almost as  
unfair as to blame a pebble on the      
seashore for being unable to resist the 
grinding action of the waves1 and would 
ill become one who has special reason to
 remember how the ,department1 in its   
misguided zeal for efficiency1 strove   
for thirty years or more to grind the   
teachers of ,england to one pattern in  
the mill of payment by results4 ,it is  
to a certificated teacher that1 as an   
educationalist 7if ,i may give myself so
 formidable a title71 ,i owe my soul4   
,and there are many other teachers to   
whom my debts1 though less weighty than 
this1 are by no means light4 ,most of   
the failings of the elementary teachers 

are wounds and strains which adverse    
,fate has inflicted on them4 ,most of   
their virtues are their own4  ,shall we 
blame the ,training ,colleges because1  
with an unhappy past behind them1 they  
have yet many things to unlearn8  ,shall
 we blame the local ,education          
,authorities because1 with an unknown   
future before them1 they have yet many  
things to learn8  ,no1 ,i repeat1 we    
will blame none of these4 ,we will lay  
the blame on broader shoulders4 ,we will
 blame our materialistic philosophy of  
life1 which we complacently             
regard--orthodox and heretics alike--as 
,the truth2 and we will blame our       
materialised civilisation1 which we     
complacently regard--cultured and       
uncultured alike--as civilisation1 pure 
and simple1 whatever lies beyond its    
confines being lightly dismissed as     
barbarism4 ,these are the forces against
 which every teacher1 every manager1    
every inspector1 who strives for        
emancipation and enlightenment1 has to  

fight unceasingly4 ,if the fight is an  
unequal one2 if there are many would-be 
reformers who have shrunk from it2 if   
there are others who retired from it    
early in the day2 if there are others1  
again1 who have been crushed in it2--we 
will blame the forces of darkness for   
these disasters2 we will not blame their
 victims4 ,on the contrary1 we will     
honour all who have fought and fallen2  
for when the cause is large and worthy  
of devotion1 failure in the service of  
it is only less triumphant than success4
 ,but if there is honour for failure    
what shall be the guerdon of success8   
,what tribute shall we pay to those who 
have fought and won8  ,for there are    
some who have fought and won4           
,,footnotes3  #f ,it must be clearly    
understood that throughout this chapter 
the school that ,i have in mind is one  
for older children only4 ,whatever may  
be the defects of the elementary infant 
schools1 an excessive regard for outward
 and visible results is not one of them4

 ,exemption from the pressure of a      
formal external examination has meant   
much more to them than to the schools   
for older children2 and the atmosphere  
of the good infant schools is1 in       
consequence1 freer1 happier1 more       
recreative1 and more truly educative    
than that of the upper schools of       
equivalent merit4 ,and when we compare  
grade with grade1 we find that the      
superiority of the elementary infant    
schools is still more pronounced4 ,the  
,great ,public ,schools1 and the costly 
preparatory schools that lead up to     
them1 may or may not be worthy of their 
high reputation2 but as regards         
facilities for the education 7in school7
 of their infants1 the classes are      
unquestionably much less fortunate than 
the masses4  #g ,not long ago ,i        
happened to enter the ,boys' ,department
 of an urban ,church ,school at about   
#i4ae a4m4 ,the ,headmaster was sitting 
at his desk1 drawing up schemes of      
secular work4 ,all the boys above       

,standard ,,iii--#id in number--were    
grouped together1 listening1 or         
pretending to listen1 to a              
chalk-and-talk lecture on ,prayer of    
which there are apparently five         
varieties1 viz41 7#a7 ,invocation1 7#b7 
,deprecation1 7#c7 ,obsecration1 7#d7   
,intercession1 7#e7 ,supplication4 ,the 
,headmaster explained to me that of     
course it was only during the ,scripture
 lesson that this overgrouping went on4 
,the lecture on ,prayer was given by a  
young ,assistant-master1 whose naive    
delight in the long words that he rolled
 out ore rotundo and then chalked up on 
the blackboard1 had blinded him to the  
obvious fact that he was making no      
impression whatever on his audience4    
,the boys1 one and all1 reminded me     
forcibly of the white-headed boy in     
,dickens' village school1 who displayed 
in the expression of his face a         
remarkable capacity of totally          
abstracting his mind from the spelling  
on which his eyes were fixed4  #h ,there

 are many elementary schools which the  
,diocesan ,inspector does not enter4 ,in
 the ,provided or ,council ,schools     
undenominational ,bible teaching takes  
the place of the definite dogmatic      
instruction in religious knowledge which
 is tested by ,diocesan ,inspection4    
,but even when undogmatic ,bible        
teaching is given1 the shadow of an     
impending examination1 external or      
internal as the case may be1 too often  
sterilises the efforts of the teacher4  
,not that the efforts of the teacher    
would in any case be productive so long 
as the attitude of popular thought      
towards the ,bible remained unchanged4  
,to go into this burning question would 
involve me in an unjustifiable          
digression2 but ,i must be allowed to   
express my conviction that the teaching 
of the ,bible in our elementary schools 
will never be anything but misguided and
 mischievous until those who are        
responsible for it have realised that   
the ,old ,testament is the inspired     

literature of a particular people1 and  
have ceased to regard it as the         
authentic biography of the ,eternal     
,god4 ,it is to the current             
misconception of the meaning and value  
of the ,bible1 and the consequent       
misconception of the relation of ,god to
 ,nature and to ,man1 that the          
externalism of the ,west1 which is the  
source of all the graver defects of     
modern education1 is 7as ,i contend7    
largely due2 and it is useless to try to
 remedy those defects so long as we     
allow our philosophy of life to be      
perennially poisoned at its highest     
springs4  #i ,in far too many cases the 
teacher received a certain proportion of
 the ,grant2 and in any case his value  
in the market tended to vary directly   
with his ability to secure a large      
,grant for his school by his success in 
the yearly examination4  #aj ,the       
,jewish ,people in the time of ,jesus   
,christ1 by ,dr4 ,emil ,schrer4  #aa    
,here is another example of the mental  

blindness which rule-worship in         
,arithmetic is apt to induce4 ,the boys 
in a large ,standard ,,ii1 who had been 
spending the whole year in adding1      
subtracting1 multiplying1 and dividing  
tens of thousands1 were given the       
following sum3 ,a farmer had #abf sheep4
 ,he bought nine4 ,how many had he then8
 ,out of #ej boys1 one only worked the  
sum correctly4 ,of the remaining #di1   
about a third multiplied #abf by #i1    
another third divided #abf by #i1 while 
the remaining third subtracted #i from  
#abf4  #ab ,reinforced in many cases by 
suggestive words4 ,i recently found     
myself in an urban school while the     
,fourth ,standard boys were doing       
,composition4 ,the subject--,trees--had 
already been dealt with in a preparatory
 talk4 ,in front of the class was a     
blackboard1 on which were written the   
following words3                        
fruit1 flowers1    ,i4 ,roots tough1    
strong1 stretch1 extend4   ,,ii4 ,trunk 
thick1 branches1 bark4  ,,iii4 ,branches

 strong1 tough1 leaves4   ,,iv4 ,leaves 
green1 shapes1 sizes1 beautiful1 clothe1
 autumn1 brown4  ,i am told that        
sometimes as many as twelve headings are
 given1 each with its own list of       
suggestive words4  #ac ,i was recently  
present at a large gathering of teachers
 who had assembled to discuss the       
teaching of ,drawing and other kindred  
topics4 ,the district is one in which   
the gospel of self-help in ,drawing has 
been preached with diligence and with   
much apparent success4 ,one of the      
teachers1 who was expected to support   
the ,board in their crusade against the 
flat copy1 played the part of ,balaam by
 reading out letters from certain       
distinguished ,r4,a4's1 in which the use
 of the flat copy in elementary schools 
was openly advocated4 ,it was evident   
that those distinguished ,r4,a4's knew  
as much about elementary education as   
the man in the street knows about naval 
tactics1 for the arguments by which they
 supported their paradoxical opinions   

were worth exactly nothing4 ,but the    
salvos of applause1 renewed again and   
again1 which greeted the extracts from  
their letters showed clearly in which   
direction the current of subconscious   
conviction was running in that          
evangelised and apparently converted    
district4  #ad ,there are few teachers  
who do not also work from higher motives
 than these2 but there are very few who 
are exempt from the pressure of these4  
#ae ,it is pleasant to read that at     
,southend on ,easter ,monday 7#aiaj7    
there were #fe1jjj excursionists and    
only two cases of drunkenness4 ,it is   
also pleasant to hear from an officer   
who has served for many years in ,india 
that the modern ,english private soldier
 in ,india is an infinitely superior    
being to his predecessors1 and that     
,india could not now be held by the old 
type of ,british soldier4 ,we must not1 
however1 forget that the old type       
conquered ,india4     ,,part ,,ii       
,,what ,,might ,,be  ,,or  ,,the ,,path 

,,of ,,self-,,realisation     ,,chapter 
,,iv  ,a ,,school ,,in ,,utopia         
,having painted in gloomy colours some  
of the actualities of elementary        
education1 ,i will now try to set forth 
its possibilities4 ,in opposing the     
actual to the possible1 ,i am perhaps   
running the risk of being misunderstood4
 ,the possible1 as ,i conceive it1 is no
 mere fabric of a dream4 ,what are      
possibilities for the elementary school1
 as such1 are already actualities in    
certain schools4 ,were it not so1 ,i    
should not speak of them as             
possibilities4 ,i do not pretend to be a
 prophet1 in the vulgar sense of the    
word4 ,the ends which ,i am about to set
 before managers and teachers are ends  
which have been achieved1 and are being 
achieved1 under entirely normal         
conditions1 in various parts of the     
country1 and which are therefore not    
impracticable4 ,there are many          
elementary schools in ,england in which 
bold and successful departures have been

 made from the beaten track2 and in each
 of these cases what is at present a    
mere possibility for most schools has   
been actually realised4 ,and there is   
one elementary school at least in which 
the beaten track has been entirely      
abandoned1 with the result that         
possibilities 7as ,i may now call them7 
which ,i might perhaps have dismissed on
 a priori grounds as too fantastic for  
serious consideration1 have become part 
of the everyday life of the scholars4   
,that school shall now become the theme 
of my book2 for ,i feel that ,i cannot  
serve the cause of education better than
 by trying to describe and interpret the
 work that is being done in it4 ,the    
school belongs to a village which ,i    
will call ,utopia4 ,it is not an        
imaginary village--a village of         
,nowhere--but a very real village1 which
 can be reached1 as all other villages  
can1 by rail and road4 ,it nestles at   
the foot of a long range of hills2 and  
if you will climb the slope that rises  

at the back of the village1 and look    
over the level country that you have    
left behind1 you will see in the        
distance the gleaming waters of one of  
the many seas that wash our shores4 ,the
 village is fairly large1 as villages go
 in these days of rural depopulation2   
and the school is attended by about #abj
 children4 ,the head teacher1 whose     
genius has revolutionised the life1 not 
of the school only1 but of the whole    
village1 is a woman4 ,i will call her   
,egeria4 ,she has certainly been my     
,egeria1 in the sense that whatever     
modicum of wisdom in matters educational
 ,i may happen to possess1 ,i owe in    
large measure to her4 ,i have paid her  
school many visits1 and it has taken me 
many months of thought to get to what ,i
 believe to be the bed-rock of her      
philosophy of education1--a philosophy  
which ,i will now attempt to expound4   
,two things will strike the stranger who
 pays his first visit to this school4   
,one is the ceaseless activity of the   

children4 ,the other is the bright and  
happy look on every face4 ,in too many  
elementary schools the children are     
engaged either in laboriously doing     
nothing1--in listening1 for example1    
with ill-concealed yawns1 to lectures on
 history1 geography1 nature-study1 and  
the rest2 or in doing what is only one  
degree removed from nothing1--working   
mechanical sums1 transcribing lists of  
spellings or pieces of composition1     
drawing diagrams which have no meaning  
for them1 and so forth4 ,but in this    
school every child is1 as a rule1       
actively employed4 ,and bearing in mind 
that unimpeded energy is a recognised   
source of happiness1 the visitor will   
probably conjecture that there is a     
close connection between the activity of
 the children and the brightness of     
their faces4  ,that the latter feature  
of the school will arrest his attention 
is almost certain4 ,utopia belongs to a 
county which is proverbial for the      
dullness of its rustics1 but there is no

 sign of dullness on the face of any    
,utopian child4 ,on the contrary1 so    
radiantly bright are the faces of the   
children that something akin to sunshine
 seems always to fill the school4 ,when 
he gets to know the school1 the visitor 
will realise that the brightness of the 
children is of two kinds1--the          
brightness of energy and intelligence1  
and the brightness of goodness and joy4 
,and when he gets to know the school as 
well as ,i do1 he will realise that     
these two kinds of brightness are in    
their essence one4  ,let me say         
something about each of them4  ,the     
,utopian child is alive1 alert1 active1 
full of latent energy1 ready to act1 to 
do things1 to turn his mind to things1  
to turn his hand to things1 to turn his 
desire to things1 to turn his whole     
being to things4 ,there is no trace in  
this school of the mental lethargy      
which1 in spite of the ceaseless        
activity of the teachers1 pervades the  
atmosphere of so many elementary        

schools2 no trace of the fatal inertness
 on the part of the child1 which is the 
outcome of five or six years of         
systematic repression and compulsory    
inaction4 ,the air of the school is     
electrical with energy4 ,we are         
obviously in the presence of an active  
and vigorous life4  ,and the activity of
 the ,utopian child is his own activity4
 ,it is a fountain which springs up in  
himself4 ,unlike the ordinary           
school-child1 he can do things on his   
own account4 ,he does not wait1 in the  
helplessness of passive obedience1 for  
his teacher to tell him what he is to do
 and how he is to do it4 ,he does not   
even wait1 in the bewilderment of       
self-distrust1 for his teacher to give  
him a lead4 ,if a new situation arises1 
he deals with it with promptitude and   
decision4 ,his solution of the problem  
which it involves may be incorrect1 but 
at any rate it will be a solution4 ,he  
will have faced a difficulty and        
grappled with it1 instead of having     

waited inertly for something to turn up4
 ,his initiative has evidently been     
developed pari passu with his           
intelligence2 and the result of this is 
that he can think things out for        
himself1 that he can devise ways and    
means1 that he can purpose1 that he can 
plan4  ,in all these matters the        
,utopian child differs widely and deeply
 from the less fortunate child who has  
to attend a more ordinary type of       
elementary school4 ,but when we turn to 
the other aspect of the ,utopian        
brightness1 when we consider it as the  
reflected light of goodness and joy1 we 
find that the difference between the two
 children is wider and deeper still4    
,there are many schools outside ,utopia 
that pride themselves on the excellence 
of their discipline2 but ,i am inclined 
to think that in some at least of these 
the self-satisfaction of the teacher is 
equivalent to a confession of failure4  
,there was a time when every elementary 
school received a large grant for       

instruction and a small grant for       
discipline2 and inspectors were supposed
 to report separately on each of these  
aspects of the school's life4 ,a strange
 misconception of the meaning and       
purpose of education underlay this      
artificial distinction2 but on that we  
need not dwell4 ,were an inspector      
called upon to report on the discipline 
of the ,utopian school1 his report would
 be brief4 ,there is no discipline in   
the school4 ,there is no need for any4  
,the function of the strict             
disciplinarian is to shut down1 and1 if 
necessary1 sit upon1 the safety-valve of
 misconduct4 ,but in ,utopia1 where all 
the energies of the children are fully  
and happily employed1 that safety-valve 
has never to be used4 ,each child in    
turn is so happy in his school life that
 the idea of being naughty never enters 
his head4 ,one cannot remain long in the
 school without realising that in its   
atmosphere    ,love is an unerring      
light1   ,and joy its own security4  ,it

 recently happened that on a certain day
 one of the assistant-teachers had to go
 to a hospital1 that another had to take
 her there1 that the third was ill in   
bed1 and that ,egeria--the only         
available member of the staff--was      
detained by one of the managers for     
half-an-hour on her way to school4 ,the 
school was thus left without a teacher4 
,on entering it1 ,egeria found all the  
children in their places and at work4   
,they had looked at the time-table1 had 
chosen some of the older scholars to    
take the lower classes1 and had settled 
down happily and in perfect order4 ,this
 incident proves to demonstration that  
the morale of the school has somehow or 
other been carried far beyond the limits
 of what is usually understood by       
discipline4 ,i have seen historical     
scenes acted with much vigour by some of
 the children in the first class1 and   
applauded with equal vigour by their    
class-mates1 while all the time the     
children in the second class1 who were  

drawing flowers in the same room1 never 
lifted their eyes from their desks4 ,yet
 no children can laugh more merrily or  
more unrestrainedly than these1 or make 
a greater uproar when it is fitting that
 they should do so4  ,and if there is no
 need for punishment1 or any other form 
of repression1 in this school1 it is    
equally true that there is no need for  
rewards4 ,to one who has been taught to 
regard competition in school as a sacred
 duty1 and the winning of prizes as a   
laudable object of the scholar's        
ambition1 this may seem strange4 ,but so
 it is4 ,no child has the slightest     
desire to outstrip his fellows or rise  
to the top of his class4 ,joy in their  
work1 pride in their school1 devotion to
 their teacher1 are sufficient          
incentives to industry4 ,were the       
stimulus of competition added to these1 
neither the zeal nor the interest of the
 children would be quickened one whit1  
but a discordant element would be       
introduced into their school life4      

,happy as he obviously is in his own    
school life1 it would add nothing to the
 happiness of the ,utopian to feel that 
he had outstripped his class-mates and  
won a prize for his achievement4 ,so    
far1 indeed1 are these children from    
wishing to shine at the expense of      
others1 that if they think ,egeria has  
done less than justice to the work of   
some one child1 the rest of the class   
will go out of their way to call her    
attention to it4 ,if some children are  
brighter1 cleverer1 and more advanced   
than others1 the reward of their        
progress is that they are allowed to    
help on those who lag behind4 ,this is  
especially noticeable in ,drawing1 in   
which the pre-eminence of one or two    
children has again and again had the    
effect of lifting the work of the whole 
class to a higher level4 ,but the       
laggards are as far from being          
discouraged by their failure as are the 
more advanced scholars from being puffed
 up by their success4 ,from the highest 

to the lowest1 all are doing their best 
and all are happy together4  ,from      
morals to manners the transition is     
obvious and direct4 ,be the explanation 
what it may1 the whole atmosphere of    
this school is evidently fatal to       
selfishness and self-assertion2 and in  
such an atmosphere good manners will    
spring up spontaneously among the       
children1 and will scarcely need to be  
inculcated1 for the essence of courtesy 
is forgetfulness of self and            
consideration of others in the smaller  
affairs of social life4 ,the general    
bearing of the ,utopian children hits   
the happy mean between aggressive       
familiarity and uncouth shyness1--each a
 form of self-conscious egoism1--just as
 their bearing in school hits the happy 
mean between laxity and undue           
constraint4 ,they welcome the stranger  
as a friend1 take his goodwill for      
granted1 take him into their confidence1
 and show him1 tactfully and            
unostentatiously1 many pretty           

courtesies4 ,and they do all this1 not  
because they have been drilled into     
doing it1 but because it is their nature
 to do it1 because their overflowing    
sympathy and goodwill must needs express
 themselves in and through the channels 
of courtesy and kindness4 ,there is no  
trace of sullen self-repression in this 
school4 ,accustomed 7as we shall        
presently see7 to express themselves in 
various ways1 the children cannot       
entertain kindly feelings without       
seeking some vent for them4 ,but whether
 their kindly feelings lead them to     
dance in a ring round their own         
inspector1 singing ,for he's a jolly    
good fellow1 or to escort another       
visitor1 on his departure1 through the  
playground with their arms in his1 their
 tact1--which is the outcome1 partly of 
their self-forgetfulness1 partly of the 
training which their perceptive         
faculties are always receiving1--is     
unfailing1 and they never allow         
friendliness to degenerate into undue   

familiarity4  ,there is one other       
feature of the school life which ,i     
cannot pass over4 ,i have never been in 
a school in which the love of what is   
beautiful in ,nature is so strong or so 
sincere as in this4 ,the sthetic sense  
of the ,utopian child has not been      
deliberately trained1 but it has been   
allowed1 and even encouraged1 to unfold 
itself2 and the appeal that beauty makes
 to the heart meets in consequence with 
a ready response4 ,of the truth of this 
statement ,i could1 if necessary1 give  
many proofs4 ,one must suffice4 ,the    
children1 who are adepts at drawing with
 brush and pencil1 wander in field and  
lane with sketch-books in their hands2  
and one of them at least was so moved by
 the beauty of a winter sunrise1 as seen
 from his cottage window1 that1 in his  
own words1 he felt he must try to paint 
it1 the result being a water-colour     
sketch which ,i have shown to a         
competent artist1 who tells me that the 
feeling in the sky is quite wonderful4  

,in this brief preliminary sketch of the
 more salient features of the ,utopian  
school1 ,i have1 ,i hope1 said enough to
 show that its scholars differ toto     
coelo from those who attend that        
familiar type of school which ,i have   
recently described4 ,yet the ,utopian   
children are made of the same clay as   
the children of other villages4 ,if     
anything1 indeed1 the clay is heavier   
and more stubborn in ,utopia than       
elsewhere4 ,some ten or twelve years    
ago1 when ,egeria took charge of the    
school1 the children were dull1         
lifeless1 listless1 resourceless4 ,now  
they are bright1 intelligent1 happy1    
responsive1 overflowing with life1      
interested in many things1 full of      
ability and resource4 ,how has this     
change been wrought8 ,not by veneering  
or even inoculating the children with   
good qualities1 but simply by allowing  
their better and higher nature to evolve
 itself freely1 naturally1 and under    
favourable conditions4  ,that the       

child's better and higher nature is his 
real nature1 is the assumption--let me  
rather say1 the profound conviction--on 
which ,egeria's whole system of         
education has been based4 ,in basing it 
on this assumption1 she has made a bold 
departure from the highway which has    
been blindly followed for many          
centuries4 ,we have seen that the basis 
of education in this country1 as in     
,christendom generally1 is the doctrine 
of original sin4 ,it is taken for       
granted by those who train the child    
that his nature1 if allowed to develop  
itself freely1 will grow in the wrong   
direction1 and will therefore lead him  
astray2 and that it is the function of  
education to counteract this tendency1  
to do violence to the child's nature1 to
 compel it by main force to grow 7or    
make a pretence of growing7 in the right
 direction1 to subject it to perpetual  
repression and constraint4 ,the wild    
whoops to which children so often give  
vent1 when released from school1 show   

that a period of unnatural tension has  
come to an end2 and in these1 and in the
 further conduct of the released        
child--in the roughness1 rudeness1 and  
bad language1 of which the passer-by    
7especially in towns7 not infrequently  
has to complain--we see a rebound from  
this state of tension1 an instinctive   
protest against the constraint to which 
he has been subjected for so many hours4
 ,the result of all this is that the    
child leads two lives1 a life of        
unnatural repression and constraint in  
school1 and a life--also unnatural1     
though it is supposed to be the         
expression of his nature--of reaction   
and protest out of school4 ,such a      
dislocation of the child's daily life is
 not likely to conduce to his           
well-being2 while the teacher's         
assumption that his rle in school is    
essentially active1 and that of the     
child essentially passive1 will lead at 
last to his turning his back on the     
root-idea of growth1 to his forgetting  

that the child is a living and therefore
 a growing organism1 to his regarding   
the child as clay in his hands1 to be   
remoulded by him to his heart's desire1 
or even as a tabula rasa1 on which he is
 to inscribe words and other symbols at 
his will4  ,in ,utopia the training     
which the child receives may be said to 
be based on the doctrine of original    
goodness4 ,it is taken for granted by   
,egeria that the child is neither a lump
 of clay nor a tabula rasa1 but a living
 soul2 that growth is of the very       
essence of his being2 and that the      
normal child1 if allowed to make natural
 growth under reasonably favourable     
conditions1 will grow happily and well4 
,it is taken for granted that the       
potencies of his nature are well worth  
realising2 that the end of his          
being--the ideal type towards which the 
natural course of his development tends 
to take him--is intrinsically good2 in  
fine1 that he is by nature a child of   
,god rather than a child of wrath4 ,it  

is therefore taken for granted that     
growth is in itself a good thing1 a move
 in the right direction2 and that to    
foster growth1 to make its conditions as
 favourable as possible1 to give it the 
food1 the guidance1 and the stimulus    
that it needs1 is the best thing that   
education can do for the child4  ,it is 
further taken for granted that the      
many-sided effort to grow which is of   
the essence of the child's nature is the
 mainspring of1 and expresses itself in1
 certain typical instincts which no one 
who studies the child with any degree of
 care can fail to observe2 and that by  
duly cultivating these                  
instincts1--expansive instincts1 as one 
may perhaps call them1 since each of    
them tends to take the child away from  
his petty self1--the teacher will make  
the best possible provision for the     
growth of the child's nature as a whole4
  ,above all1 it is taken for granted   
that the growth which the child makes   
must come from within himself2 that no  

living thing can grow vicariously2 that 
the rings of soul-growth1 like the rings
 of tree-growth1 must be evolved from an
 inner life2 that the teacher must      
therefore content himself with giving   
the child's expansive instincts fair    
play and free play2 and that1 for the   
rest1 he must as far as possible efface 
himself1 bearing in mind that not he1   
but the child1 is the real actor in the 
drama of school life4  ,but though so   
much is left to the child in ,utopia1   
and so much demanded of him1 it is not  
feared that the effort to grow will be  
repugnant to him4 ,on the contrary1 it  
is taken for granted that in growing1 in
 developing his expansive instincts1 the
 child will be following the lines and  
obeying the laws of his own nature2 that
 he will be fulfilling the latent       
desires of his heart2 that he will be   
seeking his own pleasure2 in fine1 that 
he will be leading a happy life4  ,all  
this is taken for granted in ,utopia1   
and the child's life is therefore one of

 unimpeded1 though duly guided and      
stimulated1 activity4 ,every instinct   
that makes for the expansion and        
elevation 7for growth is always upward  
as well as outward7 of the child's      
nature is given the freest possible     
play1 and the whole organisation of the 
school is subordinated to this central  
end4  ,in order to find out what are the
 instincts which make for the expansion 
and elevation of the child's nature1 and
 which education ought therefore to     
foster1 we must do what ,egeria has     
always done1 we must observe young      
children1 and study their ways and      
works4 ,now every healthy child wants to
 eat and drink1 and to run about4 ,here 
are two instincts--the instinctive      
desire for physical nourishment1 and the
 instinctive desire for physical        
exercise--through which ,nature provides
 for the growth of the body4 ,how does  
she provide for the growth of what we   
have agreed to call the soul8 ,we need  
not be very careful observers of young  

children in order to satisfy ourselves  
that1 apart from physical nourishment   
and exercise1 there are six things which
 the child instinctively desires1       
namely3    7#a7 to talk and listen3     
7#b7 to act 7in the dramatic sense of   
the word73   7#c7 to draw1 paint1 and   
model3   7#d7 to dance and sing3   7#e7 
to know the why of things3   7#f7 to    
construct things4  ,let us consider each
 of these instincts1 and try to         
determine its meaning and purpose4  7#a7
 ,the child instinctively desires to    
enter into communion with other         
persons1--his parents1 his brothers and 
sisters1 his nurse1 his governess1 his  
little friends4 ,he wants to talk to    
them1 to tell them what he has done1    
seen1 felt1 thought2 and he wants to    
hear what they have to tell him1--not   
only of what they themselves have done1 
but also of what other persons and other
 living things have done1 in other      
times1 in other countries1 in other     
worlds4 ,later on1 the desire to talk   

and listen will develop into the desire 
to write and read2 but the desire will  
still be one for communion1 for         
intercourse with other lives4  ,we will 
call this the communicative instinct4   
7#b7 ,the child desires1 not only to    
enter into communion with other persons 
and other living things1 but also1 in   
some sort1 to identify his life with    
theirs4 ,watch him when he is playing   
with other children1 or even when he is 
alone1 except for the companionship of  
his dolls and toys4 ,he is pretty sure  
to be acting1 playing at make-believe1  
pretending to be something that he is   
not1 some grown-up person of his        
acquaintance1 some hero of history or   
romance1 some traveller or other        
adventurer1 some giant1 dwarf1 or fairy1
 some animal1 wild or tame4 ,he plays   
the part of one or other of these1 and  
his playmates play other parts1 and so a
 little drama is enacted4 ,if he has no 
playmates1 his dolls have to play their 
parts1 or his toy animals have to be    

endowed with life1 so that they may     
become fellow-actors with him on the    
stage that he has selected4 ,no instinct
 is more inevitable1 more sure to       
energise1 than this4  ,we will call it  
the dramatic instinct4  ,in both these  
instincts the child is struggling to    
grow1 to expand his being1 by going out 
of himself1 through the medium of       
sympathy and imagination--twin aspects  
of the same vital tendency--into the    
lives of other living beings4 ,we will  
therefore call these the ,sympathetic   
,instincts1 and place them in a class by
 themselves4  7#c7 ,from his very       
babyhood the child delights in colour1  
and at a very early age he learns to    
love and understand pictures4 ,then     
comes the desire to make these for      
himself4 ,give him pencil and paper1    
give him chalk1 charcoal1 a paint-box1  
and other suitable materials1 and he    
will set to work of his own accord to   
depict what he sees or has seen1 either 
with his outward or his inward eye4     

,give him a lump of clay1 and he will   
try to mould it into the likeness of    
something that has either attracted his 
attention1 or presented itself to his   
imagination4 ,in all these attempts he  
is trying1 unknown to himself1 to       
express his perception of1 and delight  
in1 the visible beauty of ,nature4 ,this
 instinct will expand1 in the fullness  
of time1 into a strong and subtle       
feeling for visible beauty1 and into a  
restless desire to give expression to   
that feeling4  ,we will call this the   
artistic instinct1 the word artistic    
being used1 for lack of a more suitable 
term1 in its narrow and conventional    
sense4  7#d7 ,while the child is still a
 baby in arms1 his mother will sing to  
him1 and dance him on her knee4 ,this is
 her first attempt to initiate him into 
the mystery of music2 and the response  
that he makes to her proves that she is 
a wise teacher1 and is appealing to a   
genuinely natural faculty4 ,it will not 
be long before he begins to dance and   

sing for himself4 ,watch the children in
 a ,london court or alley when a        
barrel-organ appears on the scene4      
,without having any one to direct or    
teach them1 they will come together and 
dance in couples1 often with abundant   
grace and charm4 ,nature is their tutor4
 ,her own rhythm1 of which the musician 
must have caught an echo1 is passing    
through their ears into their hearts and
 into their limbs4 ,no instinct is so   
spontaneous as this4 ,a child will      
whistle or sing while his mind is       
engaged on other things4 ,if he is happy
 he will dance about as naturally1 and  
almost as inevitably1 as the leaves     
dance when the breeze passes through    
them4  ,we will call this the musical   
instinct4 ,so elemental is it that man  
shares it1 in some degree1 with other   
living things4 ,the birds are           
accomplished musicians1 and their       
movements1 and those of many other      
creatures1 are full of rhythm and grace4
  ,in both these instincts the child is 

struggling to grow1 to expand his being1
 by going out of himself1 in response to
 the attractive force of beauty1 into   
that larger life which is at the heart  
of ,nature1 but which is not ours until 
we have made it our own4 ,we will       
therefore call these the sthetic        
,instincts1 and place them in a class by
 themselves4  7#e7 ,from a very early   
age the child desires to know the why   
and wherefore of things1 to understand  
how effects are produced1 to discover   
new facts1 and pass on1 if possible1 to 
their causes4 ,in response to the       
pressure of this instinct1 the child    
breaks his toys in order that he may    
find out how they work1 and asks        
innumerable questions which make him the
 terror and despair of his parents and  
the other ,olympians4 ,no instinct is   
more insistent in the early days of the 
child's life4 ,no instinct is more      
ruthlessly repressed by those to whom   
the education of the child is entrusted4
 ,no instinct dies out so completely    

7except so far as it is kept alive by   
purely utilitarian considerations7 when 
education of the conventional type has  
done its deadly work4 ,it has been said 
that children go to school ignorant but 
curious1 and leave school ignorant and  
incurious4 ,this gibe is the plain      
statement of a patent truth4  ,we will  
call this the inquisitive instinct4     
7#f7 ,after analysis comes synthesis4   
,the child pulls his toys to pieces in  
order that he may1 if possible1         
reconstruct them1 and so be the better  
able to control the working of them4    
,the ends that he sets before himself   
are those which ,comte set before the   
human race1--savoir pour prvoir1 afin de
 pouvoir3 induire pour dduire1 afin de  
construire4 ,the desire to make things1 
to build things up1 to control ways and 
means1 to master the resources of       
,nature1 to put his knowledge of her    
laws and facts to a practical use1 is   
strong in his soul4 ,give him a box of  
bricks1 and he will spend hours in      

building and rebuilding houses1         
churches1 towers1 and the like4 ,set him
 on a sandy shore1 with a spade and a   
pail1 and he will spend hours in        
constructing fortified castles with     
deep1 encircling moats into which the   
sea may be duly admitted4 ,or he will   
make harness and whips of plaited       
rushes1 armour of tea-paper1 swords of  
tin-plate1 boxes and other articles of  
cardboard1 waggons1 engines1 and other  
implements of wood4  ,we will call this 
the constructive instinct4  ,in both    
these instincts the child is struggling 
to grow1 to expand his being1 by going  
out of himself1 through the correlated  
channels of theory and practice1 into   
what ,i may call the machinery of       
,nature's life1--an aspect of that life 
which reveals its mysteries to reason   
rather than to emotion1 or 7to use the  
language of ,eastern philosophy7 to the 
faculties that try to find order in the 
,many1 rather than to those which try to
 hold intercourse with the ,one4#af     

,whichever channel he may use1--and     
indeed they are not so much two channels
 as one1 for each in turn is for ever   
leading into and then passing out of the
 other1--his concern is always for      
facts1 for the actualities of things1   
for objective truth4 ,we will therefore 
call these the ,scientific ,instincts1  
and place them in a class by themselves4
  ,there are six instincts1 then1--six  
formative and expansive instincts--which
 ,nature has implanted in every normal  
child1 and which education1 so far as it
 aims at being loyal to ,nature1 should 
take account of and try to foster4 ,two 
of these are sympathetic2 two are       
sthetic2 two are scientific4 ,in and    
through the sympathetic instincts the   
soul grows in the direction of love4 ,in
 and through the sthetic instincts the  
soul grows in the direction of beauty4  
,in and through the scientific instincts
 the soul grows in the direction of     
truth4 ,it is towards this triune goal  
that ,nature herself is ever directing  

the growth of the growing child4 ,the   
significance of this conclusion will    
unfold itself as we proceed4  ,these    
instincts manifest themselves in various
 ways1 but chiefly in the direction that
 they give to that very serious         
occupation of young children which we   
call play4 ,it is clear1 then1 that if  
these instincts are to be duly          
cultivated1 the work of the school must 
be modelled1 as far as possible1 on the 
lines which children1 when at play1     
spontaneously follow4 ,this ,egeria1    
with her inspired sagacity1 has clearly 
seen2 and she has taken her measures    
accordingly4 ,in ,utopia the school life
 of the child is all play1--play taken  
very seriously1 play systematised1      
organised1 provided with ample materials
 and ample opportunities1 encouraged and
 stimulated in every possible way4 ,each
 of the fundamental instincts that      
manifest themselves in the child's play1
 and in doing so give a clear indication
 of ,nature's aims in the child's life1 

and of the directions in which she      
wishes him to grow1 is duly ministered  
to in this school1 the current that     
wells up in and through it being        
skilfully guided into a suitable        
channel1 and every obstacle to its free 
development being carefully removed4    
,but the guidance which ,egeria gives   
tends1 as we shall see1 to foster rather
 than fetter the freedom of the child4  
,when the current has been led into a   
suitable channel1 it is expected to     
shape its own further course1 and even  
to impose on itself the limits--the     
containing walls--which are needed if   
its depth and strength are to be        
maintained4  ,let us now consider each  
of the six instincts in turn1 and see   
what special steps ,egeria takes to     
foster its growth4   7#a7 ,the          
,communicative ,instinct4  ,through this
 instinct the child goes out of himself 
into the lives of other persons and     
other living things4 ,the desire is in  
its essence one for intercourse1 for    

communion1 for the interchange of       
thoughts1 of feelings1 of experiences4  
,the normal child is1 as we all know1 an
 inveterate chatterbox2 but he is also a
 rapt listener4 ,if he desires1 as he   
certainly does1 to tell others about    
himself1 he desires1 in no less a       
degree1 to hear about others1 either    
from themselves1 or from those who are  
best able to tell him about them4 ,the  
balance between the two desires is well 
maintained by ,nature2 and it should be 
carefully maintained by those who train 
the young1 if the communicative instinct
 as a whole is to make healthy growth4  
,in too many elementary schools the     
instinct is systematically starved1 the 
scholars being strictly forbidden to    
talk among themselves1 while their      
conversational intercourse with their   
teacher is limited to receiving a       
certain amount of dry information1 and  
giving this back1 collectively or       
individually1 when they are expressly   
directed to do so4 ,the child's         

instinctive desire to converse1 being   
deprived by education of its natural    
outlets1 must needs force for itself the
 subterranean and illicit outlet of     
whispering in class1 either under the   
teacher's nose1 if he happens to be     
unobservant or indolent1 or behind his  
back1 if he happens to be vigilant and  
strict4 ,and as the child is forbidden  
to talk about things which are wholesome
 and interesting1 it is but natural that
 in his surreptitious conversations he  
should talk about things which are less 
edifying1 things which are trivial and  
vulgar1 or even unwholesome and unclean4
 ,children are naturally obedient and   
truthful2 but in their attempts to find 
outlets for healthy activities which are
 wantonly repressed1 they will go far   
down the inclined plane of disobedience 
and deceit4  ,in ,utopia free           
conversation is systematically          
encouraged4 ,no elementary school is    
supposed to open before #i a4m42 but    
,egeria is in the habit of coming to    

school at #h4de or earlier1 so that the 
children who wish to do so may come and 
talk to her freely about the things that
 interest them1--what they have observed
 on their walks to or from school1 what 
they have heard or read at home1 what   
they think about things in general1 and 
so on4 ,the school has a good library of
 books which are worth reading1 both in 
prose and verse4 ,these the children    
read in school and out of school1 and   
are thus brought into communication with
 other minds1 with other times1 with    
other lands4 ,they are also accustomed  
to talk freely to one another about the 
books that they are reading4 ,whatever  
lesson may be going on1 they are        
encouraged to ask questions about the   
matter in hand1 and even to express     
their own views about it4 ,they go out  
into the playground in groups and make  
up games and plays1 discussing things   
freely among themselves4 ,when they are 
preparing to act an historical scene or 
a passage from some dramatic author1    

they hold a sort of informal parliament1
 in which the actors are selected and   
various important questions are         
provisionally settled4 ,they write      
letters in school to real people4 ,the  
older girls take the little ones in     
hand1 and talk to them and draw them    
out4 ,when an interesting phenomenon is 
noticed1 e4g4 in a ,nature ramble1 the  
children are accustomed to discuss it in
 groups1 and to try to think out among  
themselves its cause and its meaning4   
,gossip is of course discouraged2 but it
 is scarcely necessary for ,egeria to   
proscribe it2 for idle talk has no      
attraction for children who are allowed 
to talk freely and frankly1 at all times
 and in all places1 about things that   
are really worth discussing4 ,life is   
full of interest for children who are   
allowed1 as these are1 to take an active
 interest in it2 and subjects of        
conversation are therefore ever         
presenting themselves1 in school and out
 of school1 to the happy children of    

,utopia4 ,this means that the life of   
each individual child is overflowing    
through many channels1 an overflow which
 will carry the out-welling life into   
the lives of other living beings--human 
and infra-human1 actual and             
imaginary--and even beyond these1 when  
it has been met and reinforced by other 
surging currents1 into the impersonal   
life of ,humanity and of ,nature4   7#b7
 ,the ,dramatic ,instinct4  ,whatever   
else young children may be1 they are all
 born actors2 and in a school which     
bases its scheme of education on the    
actualities of child life1 it is but    
natural that the dramatic instinct      
should be fostered in every possible    
way4 ,work while you work1 and play     
while you play1 is one of those trite   
maxims which have been unintelligently  
repeated till they have lost whatever   
value they may once have possessed4     
,work while you play1 and play while you
 work1 seems to be ,egeria's substitute 
for it2 and she would1 ,i think1 do well

 to write those words over the porch of 
her school4  ,in the ordinary elementary
 school a fair amount of acting goes on 
in the infant department1 and an        
occasional attempt is made1 in one of   
the higher classes of the upper         
department1 to act a scene from         
,shakespeare or an episode in ,english  
history4 ,but during the five years or  
so of school life which intervene       
between the infant department and       
,standard ,,vi1 the dramatic instinct is
 as a rule entirely neglected2 and the  
consequent outgrowth of                 
self-consciousness in the children is   
too often a fatal obstacle to the       
success of the spasmodic attempts at    
dramatisation which are made in the     
higher classes4  ,in ,utopia acting is a
 vital part of the school life of every 
class1 and every subject that admits of 
dramatic treatment is systematically    
dramatised4 ,in ,history1 for example1  
when the course of their study brings   
them to a suitable episode1 the children

 set to work to dramatise it4 ,with this
 end in view1 they consult some advanced
 text-book or historical novel or other 
book of reference1 and having studied   
with care the particular chapter in     
which they are interested1 and having   
decided among themselves who are to play
 what parts1 they proceed to make up    
their own dialogues1 and their own      
costumes and other accessories4 ,they   
then act the scene1 putting their own   
interpretation on the various parts1 and
 receiving the stimulus and guidance of 
,egeria's sympathetic and moeutic       
criticism4 ,their class-mates and the   
rest of the children in the main room   
look on1 with their history books open  
in front of them1 and applaud2 and1 by  
gradually familiarising themselves with 
the various parts1 qualify themselves   
half-unconsciously to act as            
under-studies in the particular scene1  
and in due course to play their own     
parts as interpreters of some other     
historical episode4 ,i know of no       

treatment of history which is so        
effective as this for young children4   
,the actual knowledge of the facts of   
history which a child carries away with 
him from an elementary school cannot    
well be large1 and is1 in many cases1 a 
negligible quantity4 ,but the child who 
has once acted history will always be   
interested in it1 and being interested  
in it will be able1 without making a    
formal study of it1 to absorb its       
spirit1 its atmosphere1 and the more    
significant of its facts4 ,nor do the   
advantages of the dramatic treatment of 
history end with the subject itself4    
,the actors in these historical scenes  
are1 as ,i have said1 expressing their  
own interpretation of the various parts1
 and their own perception of the meaning
 of each episode as a whole4 ,this means
 that they are training their           
imaginative sympathy1--a sovereign      
faculty which of all faculties is       
perhaps the most emancipative and       
expansive1--and training it1 as ,i can  

testify1 with striking success2 for the 
dramatic power which they display is    
remarkable1 and can have been generated 
by nothing less than sympathetic insight
 into the feelings of the various       
historical personages and the           
possibilities of the various situations4
  ,it is probable that ,history lends   
itself more readily to dramatic         
treatment than any other subject1 but it
 is by no means the only subject that is
 dramatised in ,utopia4 ,an interest in 
,geography is awakened by scenes in     
foreign lands and episodes from books of
 travel being acted by the children4 ,an
 interest in ,arithmetic1 by a shop     
being opened1 which is well equipped    
with weights1 measures1 and cardboard   
money1 and in which a salesman stands   
behind the counter and sells goods to a 
succession of customers4 ,an interest in
 ,literature by the acting1 with        
improvised costumes1 of passages from   
,shakespeare's plays1 or scenes from    
,scott's and ,dickens' novels4 ,simple  

plays to illustrate ,nature-study are   
acted by the younger children2 while the
 ,folk ,songs1 which1 as we shall see1  
play a prominent part in the musical    
life of the children1 are acted as well 
as sung4  ,however rude and simple the  
histrionic efforts of the children may  
be1 they are doing two things for the   
actors4 ,they are giving them a living  
interest in the various subjects that   
are dramatised2 and1 by teaching them to
 identify themselves1 if only for a     
moment1 with other human beings1 they   
are leading them into the path of       
tolerance1 of compassion1 of charity1 of
 sympathy1--the ever-widening path which
 makes at last for ,nirvnic oneness with
 the ,one ,life4#ag   7#c7 ,the         
,artistic ,instinct4  ,the desire to    
reproduce with pencil1 paint1 or clay   
the form and colour of the outward world
 will1 if duly cultivated1 gradually    
transform itself into the desire to     
feel1 to understand1 to interpret1 to   
express1 not the form and colour only of

 the outward world1 but also that less  
palpable but more spiritual quality     
which we call beauty4 ,but in order that
 this transformation may take place1 the
 child must always endeavour to         
reproduce with due fidelity the more    
palpable qualities of colour and form4  
,in this endeavour he must bring many   
faculties into play4 ,he must observe   
closely and attentively4 ,he must       
reflect on what he observes4 ,he must   
reflect on what he himself is doing4 ,he
 must compare his work with the         
original1 and try to discover how far he
 has succeeded1 and where he has gone   
astray4 ,the more faithfully he tries to
 reproduce what he has seen1 the clearer
 and surer will be his insight into the 
less palpable properties of             
things1--into those details1 those      
aspects1 those qualities1 which do not  
reveal themselves to the first careless 
glance1 but which will gradually reveal 
themselves to those who will take the   
trouble to discover them4 ,when he is   

asked to reproduce things which are     
intrinsically beautiful--flowers1       
branches1 buds1 shells1 butterflies1 and
 the like--he begins to realise that if 
his work is to be successful1 he must do
 justice to many impalpable1 though not 
imperceptible1 details which go to the  
making up of beauty4 ,so the sense of   
beauty1 the feeling for it1 the desire  
to bring it into his work1 grows up in  
his heart2 and a new kind of            
fidelity--fidelity to feeling rather    
than to fact 7if ,i may speak for the   
moment in the delusive language of      
dualism7--begins to weave itself into   
his artistic consciousness4  ,if there  
is any school in ,england in which      
fidelity to feeling has evolved itself  
out of fidelity to fact1 that school is 
in the village of ,utopia4 ,some ten or 
twelve years ago a decree went out from 
,whitehall that ,drawing was to be      
taught in all the elementary schools in 
,england4 ,egeria at once took the      
children into her confidence1 and said  

to them3 ,you have now got to learn to  
draw3 you don't know how to draw1 and ,i
 don't know how to draw1 but we must all
 set to work and see what we can do4 ,a 
few years later the school was visited  
by the inspector to whose zeal as a     
prophet1 and skill as an expositor and  
teacher1 the transformation in the      
teaching of drawing which is gradually  
taking effect in all parts of the       
country1 has been largely due4 ,here is 
the report#ah that he wrote after his   
visit--  ,in this school the teaching of
 ,drawing reaches the highest           
educational level ,i have hitherto met  
with in our elementary schools1 and the 
results are the genuine expression of   
the children's own thoughts4 ,flat      
copies are not used1 and the scholars   
evolve their own technique1 for the     
,head ,teacher is not strong herself in 
this respect4 ,the development of       
thought carries with it the development 
of skill1 and this is clearly seen in   
the children's drawings1 which show good

 form and proportion1 some knowledge of 
light and shade1 a delicate and refined 
perception of colour1 and a wonderful   
power of dealing with the difficulties  
of foreshortening4 ,the central law is  
self-effort1--confidence and            
self-reliance follow4 ,the spontaneous  
activities of the children are duly     
recognised1 and the latter decide what  
to draw1 how to draw it1 and the        
materials to be used4 ,one cannot remain
 long in the school without observing   
the absence of that timidity1 that      
haunting fear of making a mistake1 which
 paralyses the minds and bodies of so   
many of our children4 ,under the        
influence of the ,head ,teacher the     
children become acute critics4 ,her     
methods coincide so exactly with those  
which ,i have long been advocating1 that
 ,i give them in her own words--  ',i   
gave each child an ivy-leaf and said1   
,now look well at it4 ,we talked about  
its peculiarities1 looking at it all the
 time1 and then ,i told them to draw    

one1 still looking back to the leaf from
 time to time4 ,then ,i examined their  
drawings4 ,a good many were1 of course1 
faulty4 ,in those cases ,i did not say1 
,no1 you are wrong2 this is the way1 and
 go to the blackboard4 ,i said1 ,in such
 and such a part is yours the same as   
the leaf8 ,what is different8 ,how can  
you alter it8 etc41 etc4 ,i make them   
tell me their faults4 ,there was no     
blackboard demonstration4'  ,from a     
careful examination of their work it is 
clear that the children have not only   
been taught to draw1 but that they love 
and enjoy their drawing4 ,form and      
colour are not only seen1 but understood
 and felt4 ,the children are impelled by
 an irresistible desire to reach and    
express the truth1 and are thus carried 
along an ever-moving path of educative  
action4  ,i have already spoken of the  
love of visible beauty which is a       
characteristic feature of the life of   
this school4 ,it is in the drawing      
lesson that this love of beauty has in  

the main evolved itself4 ,other         
influences have no doubt been at work4  
,nature-study and literature1 for       
example1 have1 as taught in this school1
 done much to foster the children's     
latent love of beauty2 but had drawing  
never been taught1 the influence of     
those subjects would have been much less
 effective than it has been4 ,it is in  
the struggle to express what he         
perceives that the ,utopian child has   
gradually strengthened and deepened his 
perceptive powers1 till his sight has   
transformed itself into insight1 and    
form and colour have come to be         
interpreted by him through the medium of
 the beauty which is behind them1--his  
feeling of beauty having1 little by     
little1 been awakened and evolved by his
 unceasing efforts to interpret the     
vraie vrit of form and colour1 which1 as
 he now begins to learn1 are beauty's   
outward self4   7#d7 ,the ,musical      
,instinct4  ,in the development of the  
artistic sense the path of imitation is 

followed until it leads at last to      
heights which it cannot scale4 ,the     
development of the musical sense takes  
from the first a widely different path4 
,nature has a beautiful music of her    
own1 but the child seldom attempts to   
imitate this4 ,music belongs to the soul
 even more than to the outward world4   
,so at least one feels disposed to      
think4 ,but perhaps it is more correct  
to say that in the presence of music the
 provisional distinction between inward 
and outward1 between the soul and the   
surrounding world1 becomes wholly       
effaced4 ,expression is always the      
counterpart of perception2 and we may   
rest assured that the deep1 subtle1 and 
elusive feelings to which music gives   
utterance have reality for their        
counterpart4 ,the musician does not     
often reproduce in his compositions the 
audible sounds of the outward           
world1--the voices of animals1 the songs
 of birds1 the rustle of leaves1 the    
murmur of the sea1 the sighing of the   

breeze1 the thunder of the storm4 ,what 
he does reproduce is the music that     
awakes in his soul when the emotions    
which these sounds kindle begin to      
struggle for expression1--the music that
 is behind all the audible sounds1 and  
perhaps also behind all the inaudible   
vibrations of ,nature1--the music that  
is in his heart because it is also at   
the heart of ,nature1--the rhythm of the
 ,universe1 as one may perhaps call it  
for lack of a fitter phrase4 ,it is the 
sense of this rhythm which inspires the 
great ,composer when he builds up his   
masterpieces4 ,it is the sense of this  
rhythm which inspires the child when1 in
 the joy of his heart1 he breaks        
spontaneously into dance and song4 ,to  
bring the rhythm of the ,universe into  
the daily life of the child1 to give    
free play to his instinctive sense of   
its all-pervading presence1 is one of   
the highest functions of the teacher4   
,and the more carefully the sense of    
rhythm is cultivated1 the more does it  

tend to spiritualise itself1 and the    
more profound and more vital is the life
 which it struggles to interpret and    
evolve4 ,there is no instinct which is  
so deeply seated as the musical4 ,it is 
possible for a child1 it is possible for
 a whole class of children1 to sing out 
of the depths of the soul2 and when this
 happens we may be sure that a fountain 
of spiritual joy has been unsealed1 and 
that a great and sacred mystery has been
 unveiled4 ,there is a school in one of 
the poorest slums of a large town1 in   
which1 some two or three years ago1 the 
children were taught to sing1 and the   
teachers to teach singing1 by an        
inspired master who believes that to    
lift the sluices of spiritual feeling is
 to quicken into ever-increasing        
activity its hidden springs2 and neither
 the teachers nor the children have yet 
forgotten their lesson4 ,the children   
are poor1 pale1 thin1 unkempt1 ill-clad1
 unlovely2 but ,i am told that when they
 sing their faces are transfigured1 and 

they all become beautiful4  ,egeria is  
an accomplished musician1 and though    
,utopia belongs to one of the unmusical 
counties of ,england1 she has found it  
easy to awaken the musical instinct in  
the hearts of its children4 ,a few years
 ago she introduced the old ,english    
,folk ,songs and ,morris ,dances into   
the school4 ,the children took to them  
at once as ducklings take to the water2 
and within a year they were able to give
 an admirably successful performance of 
some two dozen songs and dances in the  
village hall4 ,some of these had been   
rehearsed only once2 but the children1  
thanks to their having been             
systematically trained to educate       
themselves1 are so versatile and        
resourceful that every item on their    
programme was a complete success4 ,the  
,folk ,songs and ,morris ,dances are    
still the delight of the children4 ,they
 are ever adding to their repertory of  
songs2 and when they go into the        
playground for recreation1 they at once 

form into small groups for ,morris      
,dancing1 the older children taking the 
little ones in hand1 and initiating them
 into the pleasures of rhythmical       
movement4  ,there is another way in     
which ,egeria brings music into the     
lives of the children4 ,in her own      
words1 she sets many of their lessons to
 music4 ,for example1 when they are     
doing needlework or drawing or any other
 quiet lesson1 she plays high-class     
music to them1 which forms a background 
to their efforts and their thoughts1 and
 which gradually weaves itself1 on the  
one hand into the outward and visible   
work that they are doing1 and on the    
other hand into the mysterious tissue of
 their inward life4   7#e7 ,the         
,inquisitive ,instinct4  ,as the        
inquisitive instinct makes the child an 
intolerable nuisance to his ignorant and
 indolent elders1 it is but natural that
 in the unenlightened school1 as in the 
unenlightened home1 it should be        
forcibly exterminated4 ,it is through   

the agency of the formula ,don't speak  
till you are spoken to1 that its        
destruction is usually effected4 ,but   
under ,egeria's gis conversation in     
school hours is1 as we have seen1 freely
 encouraged1 and the child's right to   
ask questions fully recognised2 and one 
may therefore conjecture that this      
proscribed and outlawed instinct will   
find a safe asylum in her school4       
,whatever lesson may be in progress1 the
 ,utopian children are allowed1 and even
 expected1 to seek for illumination     
whenever they find themselves in the    
dark1 to pause inquiringly at every     
obstacle to their understanding what    
they have seen or heard or read4  ,the  
encouragement which is given in ,utopia 
to the child who seeks to gratify his   
desire for knowledge1 is positive as    
well as negative4 ,when the obstacles   
which education usually places in his   
path have been removed1 it is found that
 the whole atmosphere of the school is  
favourable to the growth of his         

inquisitive instinct4 ,at every turn he 
is called upon to plan and contrive1 and
 is thus made to realise his own        
limitations1 and to try to escape from  
them4 ,whatever he may have in hand1--be
 it the preparation for acting a new    
scene1 or the interpretation of a new   
,folk ,song or ,morris ,dance1 or the   
invention of a new school game1 or the  
thinking out some new way of treating a 
subject1--he is sure to find that       
knowledge is needed if he is to achieve 
success2 and his desire for knowledge is
 therefore continually stimulated by the
 demands that his own initiative and    
activity are ever making upon him4  ,but
 it is in the ,nature lesson that the   
inquisitive instinct finds in ,utopia   
its freest scope and its fullest        
opportunity4 ,to one who had persuaded  
himself of the innate stupidity of the  
average ,english child1 a ,nature lesson
 in ,utopia would come as a revelation4 
,he would learn for the first time that1
 far from being innately stupid1 the    

average ,english child has it in him to 
reach a very high level of keenness1    
acuteness1 and intellectual activity4   
,whenever a lesson is given on a natural
 object1 e4g4 a flower or a leaf1 every 
child has a specimen and a lens4 ,the   
object is then closely and carefully    
observed1 in the hope of discovering    
features in it which might escape the   
unobservant4 ,whenever such features are
 discovered the children try to account 
for them4 ,in these attempts they       
display much ingenuity and intelligence1
 and are led on by ,egeria in the       
direction of the true explanation of    
each phenomenon1 and the relation of    
this to what they know of the object as 
a whole1 and of its meaning and         
function4 ,the eagerness of the children
 to volunteer explanations of the facts 
that they observe is only equalled by   
the intelligence with which they grasp  
the general bearing of the problems that
 confront them1 and the resourcefulness 
and quickness of wit with which they    

make repeated attempts to solve them4   
,and these are not the only qualities to
 which the ,nature lesson gives free    
play4 ,it is interesting to note that as
 on the one hand the inquisitive        
instinct is obviously near of kin to the
 communicative1 so on the other hand it 
is ever tending to link itself to the   
artistic4 ,the closeness of observation 
which is the basis of success in        
,nature-study1 and by means of which the
 inquisitive instinct is fed and        
strengthened1 is also the basis of      
success in drawing2 and in each case it 
leads beyond itself into a region in    
which it has to be supplemented by1 and 
even transfigured into1 imagination1 the
 faculty by means of which we observe   
what is at once impalpable and real4#ai 
,and in that region the distinction     
between truth and beauty is ever tending
 to efface itself4 ,the master sculptor 
is always an accomplished anatomist2 and
 the genuine naturalist is a lover and  
admirer1 as well as a student1 of       

,nature4 ,it has been well said that to 
see things in their beauty is to see    
them in their truth2 and it is perhaps  
equally1 though more remotely1 true that
 to see things in their truth is to see 
them in their beauty4 ,that being so1 we
 need not wonder that among the ,utopian
 children the love of what is beautiful 
in ,nature has grown continuously with  
the growth of their interest in         
,nature-study1 and that the inquisitive 
instinct is ever ,reinforcing and being 
reinforced by the artistic4   7#f7 ,the 
,constructive ,instinct4  ,active1      
intelligent1 resourceful1 self-helpful1 
the ,utopian child takes to handwork of 
various kinds as readily and almost as  
spontaneously as the birds in           
spring-time take to the work of         
nest-building4 ,it must indeed be       
admitted that the systematic instruction
 in ,gardening1 ,cookery1 and ,woodwork 
which warrants the payment of special   
grants for these subjects is not given4 
,but informal gardening1 informal       

cookery1 and informal woodwork are vital
 features of the school life4 ,nor are  
the children's essays in handwork       
limited to these subjects4 ,whatever    
implement1 instrument1 or other         
contrivance may be needed in order to   
illustrate or otherwise help forward the
 general work of the school will be made
 by the children1 so far as their       
technical ability and the resources of  
the school permit4 ,for example1 they   
will make fences1 seats1 frames1 and    
sheds for their gardens1 and properties 
and dresses for their dramatic          
performances4 ,they will illustrate     
their games and lessons by means of     
simple modelling and paper-cutting4 ,the
 older girls will dress dolls for the   
little ones to their own fancy1 using   
their own discretion as regards         
material1 style of dress1 and method of 
dress-making4 ,and so on4  ,but ready as
 the ,utopian children are to use their 
hands1 and clever as they are at using  
them1 it is not through manual activity 

only that the development of their      
constructive instinct is carried on4    
,one of the characteristic features of  
the school is the largeness of the scale
 on which the constructive powers of the
 children are encouraged to energise1   
and the frequency and variety of the    
demands that are made upon them4 ,the   
,utopian child is expected to educate   
himself1 not merely in the sense of     
doing by and for himself whatever task  
may be set him1 but also in the sense of
 devising new tasks for himself1 in     
thinking out new ways of treating the   
different subjects that appear on the   
school time-table1 in taking thought for
 the whole scheme of his education4 ,as 
the years go by1 ,egeria makes more and 
greater demands on the initiative and   
the intelligence of the children1 her   
aim being apparently to transform the   
school by slow degrees into a           
self-governing community which1 under   
her presidency1 shall order its own life
 and work out its own salvation4 ,this  

means1 as ,i have lately pointed out1   
that at every turn the ,utopian child is
 being called upon to plan and contrive2
 and this1 again1 means that his        
constructive instinct1 with his         
inquisitive instinct as its other self1 
is being continually exercised on the   
widest possible field and under the most
 stimulating of all influences4 ,the    
result of this is that reciprocal action
 is ever going on in his mind between   
the faculties that acquire knowledge and
 the faculties that apply it1--action   
which makes for the rapid and healthy   
growth of both sets of faculties1 and   
which is therefore ever tending to      
strengthen the child's capacity for     
thinking and to raise the plane of its  
activity4  ,what is the culture of the  
child's expansive instincts likely to do
 for him8  ,i will weave into my answer 
to this question my knowledge of what   
has been done and is being done in      
,utopia4  ,it is through the medium of  
his own exertions that the evolution of 

the child's instincts is carried on by  
,egeria4 ,it may be possible to lay     
veneers of information on the surface of
 a child's mind1 but it is not possible 
to lay on veneers of growth2 and growth1
 not information1 is the end at which   
,egeria has always aimed4 ,if a child is
 to grow1 he must exercise his own      
limbs1 his own organs1 his own          
faculties4 ,no one else can do this for 
him2 and unless he does it himself1 it  
will never be done4 ,the school life in 
,utopia is therefore one of constant    
activity4 ,the habit of doing things1 of
 doing things for himself1 of doing     
things by himself1 is gradually built up
 in each child4 ,there is no forced     
inertness in ,utopia1 no slackness1 no  
boredom1 no yawning4 ,and the activity  
which is characteristic of the school is
 always the child's own activity4 ,the  
child himself is behind everything that 
he does4 ,the child himself is          
expressing himself in his every action4 
,mechanical activity1 the doing of      

things1 not merely at the bidding of    
another1 but also under his minutely    
detailed direction1 is as foreign to the
 genius of the school as is the         
passivity of the helpless victims of the
 unenlightened teacher's chalk and talk4
  ,the first consequence1 then1 of the  
training of the expansive instincts     
which is given in ,utopia is the        
building up in each scholar of what ,i  
may call the habit of rational activity4
 ,in many schools the energies of the   
child are systematically dammed back1   
till at last the springs of his         
activity1 finding that no demand is made
 upon them1 cease to flow4 ,in ,utopia  
the sluices1 though always regulated1   
are permanently lifted1 and the energies
 of the child are ever moving1 with a   
strong and steady current1 in whatever  
channel they may have chanced to enter4 
,so strong1 indeed1 and so steady is the
 current that it maintains its movement 
long after the child has left school4   
,the employers of labour in the         

neighbourhood of ,utopia will tell you  
that there are no slackers or loafers in
 the yearly output of the school4       
,egeria recently received a visit from  
one of her ex-pupils1 a girl of fourteen
 who is at home keeping house for her   
father1 and who said to her in the      
course of their conversation3 ,i do just
 love washing days2 ,i get up before six
 and start4 ,then1 when all the washing 
is done1 ,i scrub everything bright in  
the copper while ,i have the hot        
soapsuds4 ,accustomed as he 7or she7 is 
from his 7or her7 earliest days to      
sincere and fearless self-expression1   
the ,utopian child is entirely incapable
 of indulging in cant2 and the          
genuineness of the sentiment which      
dictated those words is therefore above 
suspicion4 ,to work vigorously1 to do   
well whatever he 7or she7 has to do1 is 
a real pleasure to the ,utopian child4  
,indeed his whole being is a living     
response to the familiar precept3       
,whatsoever thy hand findeth to do1 do  

it with thy might4  ,and what he does   
with his might is always well worth     
doing4 ,his constant effort to express  
himself has1 as its necessary           
counterpart1 a constant effort to find  
out what is worth expressing1 to get to 
the truth of things1 to see things as   
they are4 ,the consequent growth of his 
perceptive powers may be looked at from 
two points of view4 ,on the one hand his
 growing capacity for getting on terms  
with things--for feeling his way among  
them1 for getting1 the hang of them1 for
 making himself at home with them1 for  
learning their ins and outs1 for        
understanding their ways and works--will
 give him the power of putting forth an 
appropriate sense in response to the    
demands of each new environment1 and1   
through the medium of this sense1 of    
converting information into knowledge4  
,for this reason new subjects have no   
terror for ,egeria and her pupils4      
,though she has never thought in        
subjects1 she is ready to extend her    

curriculum in any direction in which she
 thinks that her children are likely to 
find interest or profit4 ,the           
versatility1 the mental agility1 of the 
children is as remarkable as their      
activity4 ,the current of their energy  
is ready to adapt itself to every       
modifying influence1 to every change of 
geological formation1 that it may       
encounter in its course1 and to shape   
its channel or channels accordingly4    
,on the other hand1 as healthy vigorous 
growth is always upward 7and downward7  
as well as outward1 the lateral         
extension of the child's perceptive     
powers must needs be balanced in ,utopia
 by the gradual elevation of his        
standpoint1 with a corresponding        
widening of his outlook1 and the        
proportionate deepening of his insight4 
,when the school life of the child is   
one of continuous self-expression1      
opportunities for putting his soul into 
what he says and does will often present
 themselves to him2 and if only a few of

 these are made use of1 his outlook on  
life will widen1 and his imaginative    
sympathy with life will deepen1 to an   
extent which to one who had never       
visited ,utopia might well seem         
incredible4 ,i have spoken of the       
,utopian child's love of the beautiful4 
,this is one aspect of the spiritual    
growth that he is always making4 ,other 
aspects of it are his strong sympathy   
with life in all its forms1 and a       
certain large and free way of looking at
 things1 which1 as far as my experience 
of school children goes1 is all his own4
  ,there is yet another aspect of his   
spiritual growth which is perhaps the   
most vital and the most typical of all4 
,when we say that the child is growing  
both laterally and vertically 7like a   
shapely tree71 we mean that he is       
growing as a whole1 as a living soul4   
,now the growth of the soul as such must
 needs take the form of outgrowth1 of   
escape from self4 ,growth is1 in its    
essence1 an emancipative process2 and   

though it sometimes intensifies         
selfishness and widens the sphere of its
 activity1 that is invariably due to its
 being one-sided and therefore          
inharmonious and unhealthy4 ,when the   
child or the man is growing as a living 
whole1 with a happy1 harmonious1        
many-sided growth1 his growth is of     
necessity outgrowth1 and he must needs  
be escaping from the thraldom of his    
lower and lesser self4 ,this conclusion 
is no mere inference from accepted or   
postulated premises4 ,what ,i have seen 
in ,utopia has forced it upon me4 ,the  
unselfishness1 the natural1 easy1       
spontaneous self-forgetfulness1 of the  
,utopian child1 is the central feature  
of his moral life1--so marked and withal
 so unique a feature that its presence  
proves to demonstration1 first1 that    
growth of the right sort is necessarily 
emancipative1 and1 next1 that the growth
 made in ,utopia is growth of the right 
sort4 ,i have already commented on the  
singular charm of manner which          

distinguishes the children of ,utopia4  
,their self-forgetfulness1 their entire 
lack of self-consciousness1 is one      
source of this charm4 ,the tactfulness  
which their life of self-expression1 and
 therefore of trained perception1 tends 
to engender1 is another4 ,but the moral 
aspect of ,utopianism is one of such    
surpassing interest1 and also of such   
profound significance from the point of 
view of my fundamental truism1 that ,i  
must limit myself for the moment to this
 passing reference to it1 and reserve it
 for fuller treatment in the remaining  
chapters4  ,i could easily make a long  
list of ,utopian virtues and graces1 but
 ,i must content myself with touching on
 one more typical product of ,egeria's  
philosophy of education1--the joy which 
the children wear in their faces and    
bear in their hearts4 ,the sense of     
well-being which must needs accompany   
healthy and harmonious growth is        
realised by him who experiences it as   
joy4 ,the ,utopian children are by many 

degrees the happiest that ,i have met   
with in an elementary school1 and ,i    
must therefore conclude that all is well
 with them1 that their well-being--the  
true end of all education--has been1 and
 is being1 achieved4 ,if you look at any
 of them with more than a mere passing  
glance1 you will be sure to win from him
 the quick response of a sunny smile1--a
 smile which is half gladness1 half     
goodwill4 ,and the joy of their hearts  
goes with them when their schooldays are
 over and they begin to work for their  
bread4 ,last year one of the boys1 on   
leaving school1 found employment in a   
large field on the lower slopes of the  
hills1 where he had to collect flints   
and pile them in heaps1 his wage for    
this dull and tiresome work being no    
more than fivepence a day4 ,but he found
 the work neither dull nor tiresome2 for
 as he marched up and down the field1   
collecting and piling the flints with   
cheery goodwill1 he sang his ,folk      
,songs with all the spontaneous         

happiness of a soaring lark4  ,activity1
 versatility1 imaginative sympathy1 a   
wide and free outlook1                  
self-forgetfulness1 charm of manner1 joy
 of heart1--these are qualities which   
might be expected to unfold themselves  
under the influence of the ,utopian     
training1 and which do1 in point of     
fact1 flourish vigorously in the soil   
and atmosphere of ,utopia4 ,they are the
 outcome of a type of education which   
differs radically from that which has   
hitherto been accepted as               
orthodox1--differing from it with the   
unfathomable difference between vital   
and mechanical obedience1 between life  
and machinery4   ,,footnotes3  #af ,the 
child is struggling to do this1 and more
 than this4 ,the search for order       
resolves itself into the search for     
cause2 and the search for cause will    
resolve itself1 in the last resort1 into
 the greatest of all adventures1--the   
search for that pure essence of things  
on which all the deeper desires of the  

soul converge1 which imagination dreams 
of as absolute beauty1 and reason as a  
beacon-lamp of all-illuminating light1  
flashing forth alternately as absolute  
reality and absolute truth4  #ag ,i     
shall perhaps be told that my           
extravagant idealism is out of place in 
a book on elementary education4 ,to this
 possible reproach ,i can but answer1 in
 ,mrs4 ,browning's words1 that--    ,it 
takes the ideal to blow a hair's breadth
 off   ,the dust of the actual4  ,my    
experience of ,utopia has convinced me  
that in taking thought for the education
 of the young it is impossible to be too
 idealistic1 and that the more          
commonsensical and utilitarian one's    
philosophy of education1 the shallower  
and falser it will prove to be4  #ah ,an
 informal report to me1 not a formal    
report to the ,board of ,education4  #ai
 ,real1 in the sense that the beauty of 
form and colour is more real than either
 form or colour1 and that a law of      
,nature is more real than an isolated   

fact4     ,,chapter ,v  ,,education     
,,through ,,self-,,realisation          
,activity1 versatility1 imaginative     
sympathy1 a large and free outlook1     
self-forgetfulness1 charm of manner1 joy
 of heart1--are there many schools in   
,england in which the soil and          
atmosphere are favourable to the        
vigorous growth of all these qualities8 
,i doubt it4 ,in the secondary schools1 
of all grades and types1 the education  
given is so one-sided1 thanks to the    
inexorable pressure of the scholarship  
system1 that the harmonious development 
of the child's nature is not to be      
looked for4 ,in the elementary schools1 
from which the chilling shadow cast by  
thirty years of payment by results is   
passing slowly--very slowly--away1 the  
instinct of the teacher is to distrust  
the child and do everything1 or nearly  
everything1 for him1 the result being   
that the whole rgime is still           
unfavourable to the spontaneous         
outgrowth of the child's higher         

qualities4 ,there are of course schools1
 both secondary and elementary1 in which
 one or more of the ,utopian qualities  
flourish with considerable vigour4      
,there are elementary schools1 for      
example1 in which the children1 being   
allowed by enterprising teachers to walk
 in new paths without leading strings1  
have become unexpectedly active and     
versatile4 ,and there are others--mostly
 in the slum regions of great towns--in 
which the devotion1 the sympathetic     
kindness1 and the gracious bearing of   
the teachers have won from the children 
the response of unselfish affection1    
attractive manners1 and happy faces4#bj 
,yet even in these exceptional cases it 
may be doubted if the development of the
 particular quality or qualities for    
which the school is distinguished       
reaches the high-water mark which is    
reached in each and all of the seven    
qualities in ,utopia4 ,as for the       
elementary schools which remain         
faithful1 as so many still do1 to the   

traditions of the old rgime1--if in     
these any of the seven qualities manage 
to resist the adverse influences to     
which they are all exposed1 they have at
 best but a starved and stunted life4   
,i have spoken much and with unsparing  
frankness of the shortcomings of our    
elementary schools4 ,the time has come  
for me to say with emphasis that however
 grave and however numerous may be the  
defects of elementary education in      
,england1 they are defects which it     
shares with all other branches of       
education1 and which ,england shares    
with all other ,western lands4 ,the     
plain truth is that education as such is
 a failure in the ,west1 a failure in   
the sense that the very qualities which 
it ought to foster--the cardinal        
virtues1 mental1 moral1 and spiritual1  
which are present in embryo in every    
child1 waiting to be realised--are not  
merely neglected by it1 in its insane   
ardour for results1 but are also        
exposed1 in most of its schools1 to     

strongly adverse influences4 ,and the   
reason why education as such is a       
failure in the ,west is that from its   
earliest days it has been a house       
divided against itself1 those who were  
and are responsible for it having been  
under the influence of two mutually     
destructive assumptions1 which they have
 vainly tried to reconcile with one     
another4  ,the first of these           
assumptions is my initial truism1--that 
the function of education is to foster  
growth4 ,this is admitted1 implicitly if
 not directly1 by all who think and     
speak about education1 and even1 in     
their unguarded moments1 by most of     
those who teach4 ,it is generally       
admitted1 for example1 that such mental 
qualities as attention1 memory1         
judgment1 intelligence1 reason1 such    
moral qualities as loyalty1 courage1    
truthfulness1 kindness1 unselfishness1  
such semi-moral qualities as            
cleanliness1 orderliness1 carefulness1  
alertness1 industry1 punctuality1 are   

capable of being developed by education4
 ,it is further admitted that such      
special qualities as literary or        
artistic taste1 the mathematical or the 
historical sense1 an aptitude for       
business or finance1 are ready to evolve
 themselves1 in response to the         
fostering influence of practical        
experience directed by skilful teaching4
 ,it is admitted1 in other words1 that  
there is much in human nature1 apart    
from what is purely or mainly physical1 
which is both capable and worthy of     
cultivation1 and which education ought  
therefore to try to cultivate4  ,so far1
 so good4 ,these admissions1 with the   
fundamental admission which underlies   
them all1 might form the basis of a     
sound philosophy of education1 if they  
were not liable to be stultified and    
even nullified by the counter assumption
 that human nature is innately evil and 
corrupt4 ,for from the latter assumption
 has followed1 both logically and       
naturally1 a theory of education which  

is not merely unfavourable but fatal to 
growth4 ,if human nature is innately    
evil1 if it has no inborn capacity for  
goodness or truth1 what is there in it  
that is worth training8 ,so far as the  
great matters of life are concerned1 the
 child must be educated by being told in
 minute detail what to do1 and by being 
alternately bribed and bullied into     
doing it4 ,as he can neither think1 nor 
believe1 nor desire1 nor do what is     
right1 he must be told what to think1   
what to believe1 what to desire1 what to
 do2 and as it is assumed that the tasks
 set him by his teacher will not be     
intrinsically attractive1 he must be    
induced to perform them by the threat of
 external punishments and the promise of
 external rewards4 ,in other words1 in  
the spheres of religion and morals1 so  
far as these can be walled off from the 
rest of human life1 he must be educated1
 not by being helped to grow1 but by    
being compelled to obey2 and as the     
spheres of religion and morals cannot   

possibly be walled off from the rest of 
human life1 the idea of educating the   
child through the medium of passive and 
mechanical obedience will gradually     
extend its influence over all the other 
departments and aspects of his home and 
school life1 his innate sinfulness      
finding its equivalent1 in secular      
matters1 in his innate helplessness and 
stupidity1 while in the place of the    
creeds1 codes1 and catechisms by which  
his spiritual welfare is provided for1  
he will be fed during the hours of      
secular instruction on rations of       
information1 formulated rules1 and      
minute directions of various kinds4     
,under this rgime of wire-pulling on the
 part of the teacher and puppet-like    
dancing on the part of the child1 the   
growth of the child's faculties1--of the
 whole range of his faculties1 for they 
will all come under the blighting       
influence of the current misconception  
of the bent of his nature and the       
consequent under-estimate of his        

powers1--far from being fostered1 will  
be systematically thwarted and starved4 
,this is the fate which might be        
expected to befall the child if the     
doctrine of his innate sinfulness were  
allowed to dominate his education2 and  
this is the fate which has befallen and 
is befalling him in all grades of       
society and in all the countries of the 
,west4  ,it is the doctrine of original 
sin1 of the congenital depravity of     
man's nature1 which blocks the way to   
the reform of education1--blocks the way
 to it by compelling education to become
 the destroying angel instead of the    
foster-nurse of the child's expanding   
life4 ,in criticising the defects of our
 educational system1 we have too long   
mistaken symptoms for causes1 and       
believed that we were removing the      
latter when we were only palliating or  
at best excising the former4 ,to pinch  
off a withered bud1 to lop off a        
withered limb1 of the diseased tree of  
education1 to train in this or that     

direction a branch which is as yet      
unaffected1 is but lost labour so long  
as the tree is being slowly poisoned at 
its roots by a fundamental misconception
 of the character and capacity of the   
child4 ,it is time that we should       
reconsider our whole attitude towards   
human nature4 ,the widespread belief    
that sundry faculties1 physical1 mental1
 and moral1 admit of being cultivated   
and ought to be cultivated in the       
schoolroom--a belief which is ever      
affirming itself against the educational
 systems and practices that are ever    
giving it the lie--may surely be        
construed into an admission that my     
primary truism is at least a truth4 ,if 
this is so1 if the business of the      
teacher is1 as ,i contend1 to help the  
child to grow1 healthily1 vigorously1   
and symmetrically1 on all the planes of 
his being1 the inference is irresistible
 that education will achieve nothing but
 failure until its foundations have been
 entirely relaid4 ,for faith in the     

inherent soundness1 in the natural      
goodness1 of the seed or sapling1 or    
whatever else he may undertake to rear1 
is the first condition of success on the
 part of the grower4 ,and to ask        
education to bring to sane and healthy  
maturity the plant which we call human  
nature1 and in the same breath to tell  
it that human nature is intrinsically   
corrupt and evil1 is to set it an       
obviously impracticable task4 ,one might
 as well supply a farmer with the seeds 
of wild grasses and poisonous weeds1 and
 ask him to grow a crop of wheat4       
,growth can and does transform potential
 into actual good1 but no process of    
growth can transform what is innately   
evil into what is finally good4 ,a      
poisonous seed will ripen of inner      
necessity into a poisonous plant2 and   
the more carefully it is fed and tended1
 the larger and stronger will the       
poisonous plant become4  ,the time has  
come1 then1 for us to throw to the winds
 the time-honoured1 but otherwise       

dishonoured and discredited1 belief that
 the child is conceived in sin and      
shapen in iniquity1 and that therefore  
his nature1 if allowed to obey its own  
laws and follow its own tendencies1 will
 ripen into death1 instead of into a    
larger and richer life4 ,i shall perhaps
 be told that if this belief is         
abandoned1 other religious beliefs will 
go with it4 ,let them go4 ,they have    
kept bad company1 and if they cannot    
dissociate themselves from it1 they had 
better share its fate4 ,what is real and
 vital in our religious beliefs will    
gain incalculably by being disengaged   
from what may once have had a life and a
 meaning of its own but is now nothing  
better than a morbid growth4 ,to tell a 
man that1 apart from a miracle1 he is   
predestined to perdition1 is the surest 
way to send him there2 and it is        
probable that the doctrine of his own   
innate depravity is the deadliest       
instrument for achieving his ruin1 that 
,man1 in his groping endeavours to      

explain to himself the dominant facts of
 his existence1 has ever devised4  ,nor 
is the practical failure of the         
doctrine--its failure to achieve any    
lasting result but the strangulation of 
,man's expanding life--the only proof   
that it is inherently unsound4 ,there is
 positive proof that the counter        
doctrine1 the doctrine of ,man's        
potential goodness1 is inherently true4 
,we have seen that the great arterial   
instincts which manifest themselves in  
the undirected play of young children1  
are making for three supreme ends1--the 
sympathetic instincts for the goal of   
,love1 the artistic instincts for the   
goal of ,beauty1 the scientific         
instincts for the goal of ,truth4 ,we   
have seen1 in other words1 that the push
 of ,nature's forces in the inner life  
of the young child is ever tending to   
take him out of himself in the direction
 of a triune goal which ,i may surely be
 allowed to call ,divine4 ,if we follow 
towards infinity the lines of love1 of  

beauty1 and of truth1 we shall begin at 
last to dream of an ideal point--the    
meeting-point of all and the            
vanishing-point of each--for which no   
name will suffice less pregnant with    
meaning or less suggestive of reality   
than that of ,god4 ,it is towards ,god1 
then1 not towards the ,devil1 that the  
ripening1 expansive forces of ,nature   
which are at work in the child1 are     
directing the process of his growth4 ,we
 are taught that ,man is by nature a    
child of wrath4 ,the more closely we    
study his ways and works when1 as a     
young child1 he is left 7more or less7  
to his own devices1 the stronger does   
our conviction become that he is by     
nature a child of ,god4 ,those who are  
in a position to speak tell us that the 
normal child is born physically healthy4
 ,if the men of science would study the 
other sides of his being as carefully as
 they have studied his physique1 they   
would1 ,i feel sure1 be able to tell us 
that he is also born mentally1 morally1 

and spiritually healthy1 and that on    
these sides1 as well as on the physical 
side1 his growth might be and ought to  
be a natural movement towards           
perfection4 ,for some of my readers such
 arguments as these are perhaps too much
 in the air to be convincing4 ,well1    
then1 let us appeal to experience4 ,let 
us see what the systematic cultivation  
of his natural faculties has done for   
the child in ,utopia4 ,i have already   
pointed out that the unselfishness of   
the children--the complete absence of   
self-seeking and self-assertion--is one 
of the most noticeable features of the  
life of their school4 ,now there is no  
place for moral teaching on the         
time-table of the school3 and ,i can say
 without hesitation that the direct     
inculcation of morality is wholly       
foreign to ,egeria's conception of      
education4 ,how1 then1 has the          
emancipation of the child from the first
 enemy of ,man's well-being--from all   
those narrowing1 hardening1 and         

demoralising influences which we speak  
of collectively as egoistic or          
selfish--been effected in ,utopia8 ,by  
no other means than that of allowing the
 child's nature to unfold itself1 on    
many sides of its being and under       
thoroughly favourable conditions4 ,the  
twofold desire which we all             
experience1--to accept and rest in the  
ordinary undeveloped self1 and at the   
same time to exalt and magnify it1--is  
the surest and most fruitful source of  
moral evil4 ,indeed1 it may be doubted  
if there is any source of moral evil1   
apart from those which are purely       
sensual1 which has not at least an      
underground connection with this4 ,if we
 are to cap this deadly fountain1 and so
 prevent it from desolating human life1 
we must realise1 once and for all1 that 
the two desires which master us cannot  
be simultaneously gratified2 that we    
cannot both rest in the ordinary self   
and magnify it2 that we can magnify it  
only by making it great1 by helping it  

to grow4 ,when we have realised this1 we
 shall be ready to receive the further  
lesson that in proportion as the self   
magnifies itself by the natural process 
of growth1 so does its desire to magnify
 itself gradually die away1--die away   
with the dawning consciousness that in  
and through the process of its growth it
 is outgrowing itself1 forgetting       
itself1 escaping from itself1 that the  
thing which so ardently desired to be   
magnified is in fact ceasing to be4     
,this vital truth1--which my visits to  
,utopia have borne in upon me1--that    
healthy and harmonious growth is in its 
very essence outgrowth or escape from   
self1 has depths of meaning which are   
waiting to be fathomed4 ,for one thing1 
it means1 if it has any meaning1 that   
what is central in human nature is1 not 
its inborn wickedness but its infinite  
capacity for good1 not its rebellious   
instincts and backsliding tendencies but
 its many-sided effort to achieve       
perfection4  ,we must now make our      

choice between two alternatives4 ,we    
must decide1 once and for all1 whether  
the function of education is to foster  
growth or to exact mechanical obedience4
 ,if we choose the latter alternative1  
we shall enter a path which leads in the
 direction of spiritual death4 ,if we   
choose the former1 we must cease to halt
 between two opinions1 and must         
henceforth base our system of education1
 boldly and confidently1 on the         
conviction that growth is in its essence
 a movement towards perfection1 and     
therefore that self-realisation is the  
first and last duty of ,man4  ,it is by 
answering possible objections to        
,utopianism that ,i shall best be able  
to unfold ,egeria's philosophy of       
education4 ,i shall perhaps be told that
 in my advocacy of that philosophy ,i am
 preaching dangerous doctrines2 that the
 only alternative for obedience is the  
lawlessness of unbridled licence2 and   
that anarchy1 social1 moral1 and        
spiritual1 is the ultimate goal of the  

path which ,i am urging the teacher to  
enter4 ,let me point out1 in answer to  
this protest1 that it is mechanical     
obedience which ,i condemn1 not         
obedience as such4 ,if ,i condemn       
mechanical obedience1 ,i do so because  
it is unworthy of the name of obedience1
 because the higher faculties of ,man's 
being1 the faculties which are          
distinctively human--reason1            
imagination1 aspiration1 spiritual      
intuition1 and the like--take no part in
 it1 because it is the obedience of an  
automaton1 not of a living soul4 ,what  
,i wish to oppose to it is vital        
obedience1 obedience to the master laws 
of ,man's being1 obedience to the laws  
which assert themselves as central and  
supreme1 obedience more particularly to 
those larger and obscurer laws which    
obedience itself helps us to discover1  
obedience in fine to that hierarchy of  
laws--7the superior law always claiming 
the fuller measure and the higher kind  
of obedience7--which1 if we are to use  

the ,divine ,name1 we must needs        
identify with the will of ,god4         
,obedience1 in this sense of the word1  
is a sustained and soul-deep effort in  
which all the higher faculties of ,man's
 being take part1 an effort which is in 
some sort a voyage of discovery1 the    
doing of the more obvious duty being    
always rewarded by the deepening of the 
doer's insight and the widening of his  
outlook1 and by the consequent unveiling
 to him of the way in which he is to    
walk and the goal at which he is to aim4
 ,that the path of soul-growth is the   
path of vital obedience can scarcely be 
doubted4 ,the effort to grow is always  
successful just so far as it implies    
knowledge of the laws of the nature that
 is unfolding itself1 and readiness to  
obey those laws2 and so far as it is    
successful1 it carries with it the      
outgrowth of the very faculties by which
 knowledge--the higher knowledge which  
makes further growth possible--is to be 
gained4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 there is an

 unceasing interaction between          
perception and expression1 between      
knowledge of law and obedience to law1  
what is given as obedience being        
received back as enlightenment1 and what
 is received as enlightenment being     
given back as larger1 fuller1 and more  
significant obedience4  ,and1 be it     
carefully observed1 it is obedience to  
the laws of human nature1 not obedience 
to the idiosyncrasies of the individual 
nature1 which the process of soul-growth
 at once implies and makes possible4    
,growth is1 in its essence1 a movement  
towards that perfect type which is the  
real self of each individual in turn1   
and the approach to which involves the  
gradual surrender of individuality1 and 
the gradual escape from the ordinary    
self4 ,a man is to cling to and affirm  
his individuality1 not in order that he 
may rest in it and make much of it1 but 
in order that he may outgrow it and pass
 far beyond it in that one way--the best
 way for him--which it1 and it alone1 is

 able to mark out for him4 ,in other    
words1 he is to assert his individual   
self in order that he may universalise  
himself in his own way1 and not in      
obedience to the ruling of custom and   
authority1 in order that he may escape  
from himself through the real outlet of 
sincere self-expression1 and not through
 the sham outlet of hypocrisy and cant4 
,what ,i may call the ,utopian scheme of
 education1 far from making for         
antinomianism and anarchy1 is the sworn 
enemy of individualism and therefore1 a 
fortiori1 of everything that savours of 
licence4 ,it is the conventional type of
 education1 with its demands for        
mechanical obedience to external        
authority1 which leads through despotism
 to social and political chaos4 ,the    
whole rgime of mechanical obedience is  
favourable1 in the long run1 to the     
development of anarchy4 ,let us take the
 case of a church or an autocracy which 
demands implicit obedience from its     
subjects1 and is prepared to exact such 

obedience by the application of physical
 force or its moral equivalent4 ,what   
will happen to it when its subjects     
begin to ask it for its credentials8    
,the fact that it has always demanded   
from them literal rather than spiritual 
obedience1 and that1 in its application 
of motive force1 it has appealed to     
their baser desires and baser fears1    
makes it impossible for it to justify   
itself to their higher faculties1       
rational or emotional1 and makes it     
necessary for it to meet their incipient
 criticism with renewed threats of      
punishment and renewed promises of      
reward4 ,but the very fact that it is   
being asked for its credentials means   
that the force on which it has hitherto 
relied is weakening1 that its power to  
punish and reward1 which has always been
 resolvable into the power to make      
people believe that it can punish and   
reward1 is being called in question and 
is therefore crumbling away4 ,and behind
 that power there is nothing but chaos4 

,for the rgime of mechanical obedience1 
by arresting the spontaneous growth of  
,man's higher nature1 and by making its 
chief appeal to his baser desires and   
baser fears1 becomes of necessity the   
foster-mother of egoism2 and when       
egoism1 which makes each man a law to   
himself and the potential enemy of his  
kind1 is unrestrained by authority1 the 
door is thrown wide open to anarchy1 and
 through anarchy to chaos4 ,this is what
 is happening in the ,west1 in our      
self-conscious and critical age4 ,in    
every field of human action1 in         
religion1 in politics1 in social life1  
in art1 in letters1 authority is being  
asked for its credentials2 and as this  
demand1 besides being a disintegrating  
influence1 is a sign that the force on  
which authority relies is weakening1 it 
is not to be wondered at that there is a
 steady drift in many ,western countries
 in the direction of                    
anarchy1--religious1 political1 social1 
artistic1 literary1--or that this rgime 

of incipient anarchy is taking the form 
of an ignoble scramble for wealth1 for  
power1 for position1 for fame1 for      
notoriety1 for anything in fine which   
may serve to exalt a man above his      
fellows1 and so minister to the         
aggrandizement of his lower self4  ,in  
this drift towards anarchy the school is
 playing its part4 ,i do not wish to    
suggest that the boys and girls of this 
or any other ,western country are       
beginning to ask their teachers for     
their credentials1 or are likely to rise
 in rebellion against them4 ,the        
preparation for anarchy that is going on
 in the school is not only quite        
compatible with what is known as strict 
discipline1 but is also1 in part at     
least1 the effect of it4 ,what is       
happening is that in an acutely critical
 age the rgime of mechanical obedience  
to external authority which has been in 
force in the ,west for nearly #bjjj     
years1 and which is now taking its      
victims straight towards anarchy1 is    

being carefully rehearsed in our schools
 of all types and grades4 ,during the   
years when human nature is most pliable 
7owing to its richness in sap71 most    
easily trained1 and most amenable to    
influence1 good or evil1 the child's    
spontaneous effort to outgrow himself   
and so escape from his lower self1--an  
end which is not to be reached except by
 the path of free self-expression1--is  
persistently thwarted till at last it   
dies away2 blind and literal obedience  
to external authority1 for which the    
consent of his higher faculties is not  
asked1 and in the giving of which they  
are not allowed to take part1 is        
persistently exacted from him till at   
last his higher faculties cease to      
energise1 and his lower nature begins to
 monopolise the rising sap of his life2 
in order to enforce the blind obedience 
that is asked for1 an appeal is made1 by
 an elaborate system of external rewards
 and external punishments1 to his       
selfish desires and ignoble fears2 while

 the examination system1 with its       
inevitable accompaniments of prizes and 
class-lists1 makes a special appeal to  
his competitive instincts1--instincts   
which are anti-social1 and may even1 in 
extreme cases1 become anti-human in     
their tendency4 ,and when authority has 
thus been presented to him1 in a form   
which he has never been expected to     
welcome1 and when1 by the same process1 
the growth of his higher self has been  
arrested1 and his anarchical            
instincts--his selfishness and          
self-assertion--have been systematically
 cultivated1 the critical spirit and    
temper will be deliberately aroused in  
him1 especially if he happens to attend 
one of those secondary schools which are
 regarded as highly efficient because   
their lists of ,university distinctions 
and other successes are inordinately    
long2 for the education given to him in 
such a school by his scholarship-hunting
 teachers is of necessity so bookish and
 so one-sided that his intellectual1    

dialectically critical faculties are apt
 to become hypertrophied1 while other   
faculties which might have kept these in
 check are neglected and starved4 ,the  
product of such a system of             
education1--benumbed or paralysed on    
many sides of his being by the          
repressive rgime to which he has so long
 been subjected1 but vigorously alive on
 the sides of egoism and intellectual   
criticism1--will be an anarchist in     
posse 7unless1 indeed1 his vitality has 
been depressed by his school-life below 
the point at which reaction becomes     
possible72--an anarchist in posse1 even 
though1 in his terror of anarchism in   
others1 he should become a pillar of the
 ,established ,church of his country1 a 
,j4,p4 of his town or county1 and an    
active member of the nearest            
,conservative ,association4  ,in        
,utopia1 on the other hand1 where       
selfishness is outgrown and forgotten1  
and where the spirit of comradeship and 
brotherhood pervades the school1 there  

can be no preparation for anarchy1 if   
only for the reason that there is no    
authority--no despotic authority1       
forcibly imposing its will on the school
 ab extra--to be potentially dethroned4 
,for all her scholars1 ,egeria is the   
very symbol and embodiment of love1 the 
centre whence all happy1 harmonious1    
life-giving1 peace-diffusing influences 
radiate1 and to which1 when they have   
vitalised the souls of the children and 
transformed themselves into sentiments  
of loyalty and devotion1 they all       
return4 ,i am not exaggerating a whit   
when ,i say that the ,utopian school is 
an ideal community1 a community whose   
social system1 instead of being inspired
 by that spirit of competitive          
selfishness which makes each for        
himself1 and the devil take the hindmost
 its motto1 seems to have realised the  
,socialistic dream of ,each for all1 and
 all for each4  ,i shall perhaps be     
asked what provision is made in ,utopia 
for enabling the children to go through 

the drudgery of school-life1 to master  
the #c ,r's1 to get up the various      
subjects which the ,code prescribes1 and
 so forth4 ,to this question there is   
but one answer3 the best possible       
provision4 ,qui veut la fin veut les    
moyens4 ,in the life of organised play  
which the children lead1 attractive ends
 are ever being set before them4 ,if    
they are to achieve these ends1 they    
must take the appropriate means4 ,what  
children in other schools might regard  
as drudgery1 the ,utopian takes in his  
stride4 ,reading1 writing1 and          
arithmetic are means to ends beyond     
themselves1 ends which are constantly   
presenting themselves to the ,utopian4  
,if he is to gratify his communicative  
instinct1 he must learn to read and     
write4 ,if he is to gratify his dramatic
 instinct1 he must1 inter alia1 read    
with intelligence books of reference    
which would be considered too advanced  
for the ordinary school-child4 ,if he is
 to gratify his inquisitive and         

constructive instincts1 he must learn to
 count1 measure1 and calculate4 ,for    
whatever means may have to be taken1    
must be taken by him4 ,egeria1 as he    
knows well1 will do nothing for him     
which he can reasonably be expected to  
do for himself4 ,there are subjects1    
such as drawing1 dancing1 and singing1  
which are1 or at any rate ought to be1  
intrinsically delightful1 as being      
natural channels of self-expression4    
,there are other subjects1 such as      
history1 geography1 and ,english1 which 
can be made delightful by being treated 
dramatically4 ,the word drudgery has no 
meaning for the ,utopian child4 ,a group
 of children in the highest class       
recently committed to memory the whole  
,trial ,scene of the ,merchant of       
,venice--some #cjj lines or so of blank 
verse--in order that they might give    
themselves the pleasure of acting it4   
,they accomplished this feat in a little
 more than a month4 ,in the ordinary    
elementary school the child who has     

committed #aej lines to memory in the   
course of a year has done all that is   
required of him4 ,the getting up of a   
subject is drudgery only when the child 
can see no meaning in what he is doing1 
only when the getting up of the subject 
is regarded as an end in itself4 ,in    
,utopia no subject1 apart from those    
which ,i have spoken of as intrinsically
 delightful1 is taught for its own sake4
 ,subjects are taught there either as   
the means to desired ends1 or because   
they afford opportunities for the       
training of the expansive instincts1 the
 gratification of which is a pure       
pleasure to every healthy child4  ,but  
not only does the ,utopian child1 with  
his eyes always fixed on desirable ends1
 find a pleasure in doing things which  
other children are wont to regard as    
drudgery1 but he has the further        
advantage of being able to master with  
comparative facility what other children
 find difficult as well as distasteful4 
,from first to last1 the training given 

in ,utopia makes1 as we have seen1 for  
the development of faculty4 ,in my last 
chapter ,i set forth in detail some of  
the ways and means by which ,egeria     
tries to cultivate the expansive        
instincts of her pupils4 ,behind all    
these ways and means stands the master  
method--or shall ,i say the master      
principle8--of self-expression4         
,recognising1 as she does1 that each of 
the expansive instincts is a definite   
expression of the soul's spontaneous    
effort to grow1 and a clear indication  
of a particular direction in which      
,nature wishes the soul to grow1--and   
recognising1 as she also does1 that the 
business of growing must be done by the 
growing organism and cannot be delegated
 to any one else1--,egeria entrusts the 
work of self-realisation to the child   
himself1 and makes no attempt to relieve
 him of an obligation which no one but  
himself can discharge4  ,now            
self-realisation is a twofold process4  
,in the absence of a fitter and more    

adequate word1 ,i have applied the term 
perceptive to those faculties by means  
of which we lay hold upon the world that
 surrounds us1 and draw it into         
ourselves and make it our own4 ,and ,i  
have contended that this group of       
faculties has1 as its counterpart and   
correlate1 another group of faculties   
which ,i have called expressive1--the   
faculties by means of which we go out of
 ourselves into the world that surrounds
 us1 and give ourselves to it and try to
 identify ourselves with it1--and that  
the relation between these two groups is
 so vital and so intimate that each in  
turn may be regarded as the very life   
and soul of the other4 ,in words which  
,i have already used1 the perceptive    
faculties1 at any rate in childhood1    
grow through the interpretation which   
expression gives them1 and in no other  
way1 and the expressive faculties grow  
by interpreting perception1 and in no   
other way4 ,that these two groups of    
faculties are1 as it were1 the          

reciprocating engines by means of which 
the vital movement which we call        
self-realisation is effected1 is the    
conviction on which ,egeria's whole     
scheme of education may be said to be   
pivoted4 ,in ,utopia self-expression is 
the medium through which the expansive  
instincts are encouraged to unfold      
themselves4 ,and this life of           
self-expression has as its necessary    
counterpart the continuous development  
of the perceptive faculties along the   
whole range of the child's nature4      
,hence the all-round capacity of the    
,utopian child4 ,the development of his 
perceptive faculties which his life of  
self-expression tends to produce1 takes 
many forms4 ,one of these1 and one which
 in some sort underlies and             
interpenetrates all the rest1 is the    
outgrowth of what ,i may call the       
intuitional faculty1--a general capacity
 for getting into touch with any new    
environment in which the child may find 
himself1 of subconsciously apprehending 

its laws and properties1 of feeling his 
way through its unexplored land4 ,it is 
by means of this capacity for putting   
forth a new sense in response to the    
stimulus of each new environment1 that  
the ,utopian child is able to master    
with comparative ease the various       
subjects which he is expected to learn4 
,and not with ease only1 but with       
effect4 ,it is1 as we have seen1 through
 the action of an appropriate sense1 and
 in no other way1 that the information  
which is supplied to the scholar1 when  
he is learning this or that subject1 is 
converted into knowledge1 and is so made
 available both for the further         
understanding of the given subject and  
for the nutrition of the scholar's own  
inner life4  ,from every point of view1 
then1 the ,utopian scholar has a marked 
advantage1 in respect of the things with
 which education is supposed to be      
mainly concerned--the mastery of        
subjects and the acquisition of         
knowledge--over the product of the      

conventional type of school4 ,whatever  
the ,utopian may have to learn1 is a    
pleasure to him either for its own sake 
or as a means to some desirable end4    
,whatever he may have to learn1 he      
learns with comparative ease1 because   
his perceptive faculties have been      
systematically trained1 and he is       
therefore at home1 in greater or lesser 
degree1 in any new environment4 ,and    
whatever he may have to learn1 he learns
 with effect1 because he is able to     
digest the information that he receives1
 and convert it into knowledge1 and so  
retain it in the form in which it will  
best conduce both to his further        
progress in that particular branch of   
study and to the general building up of 
his mind4  ,in the ordinary             
result-hunting school the scholar fares 
very differently from this4 ,as a rule1 
he takes but little pleasure in his     
work1 for subjects which have their     
chief value as means to desirable ends  
are presented to him as ends in         

themselves1 and as such are rightly     
regarded by him as meaningless and      
therefore as intolerably dull2 while    
subjects which are either intrinsically 
attractive1 as being natural channels of
 self-expression1 or potentially        
attractive as providing opportunities   
for self-expression1 have no attraction 
for him1 as in neither case is          
self-expression on his part permitted4  
,again1 he finds great difficulty in    
mastering the subjects on his           
time-table1 or even in making the first 
step towards mastering them1 for1 owing 
to his perceptive faculties as a whole  
having been starved by the repressive   
rgime which denied them the outlet of   
expression1 he has not evolved the power
 of putting forth an appropriate sense  
in response to the stimulus of a new    
environment1 and is therefore helpless  
in the presence of what is unfamiliar or
 unexpected4 ,one of his faculties1 his 
memory1 has indeed been hypertrophied by
 being unduly exercised1 and his        

capacity for receiving information is in
 consequence unhealthily great2 but     
because he lacks1 in this case or in    
that1 the sense which might enable him  
to digest the information received and  
convert it into knowledge1 the food with
 which he has been crammed speedily     
passes through him1 undigested and      
unassimilated1 and the hours which he   
has spent in acquiring information will 
have done as little for his progress in 
the given subject as for the general    
growth of his mind4  ,the difference    
between the two schemes of              
education--that which exacts mechanical 
obedience1 and that which seeks to      
foster growth--may be looked at from    
another point of view4 ,under the       
former1 interference with what ,i may   
call the subconscious processes of      
,nature is at its maximum4 ,under the   
latter1 at its minimum4 ,in order to    
realise what this means let us suppose  
that such interference were possible    
where fortunately it is and must ever be

 impossible1--in the first and second   
years of the child's life4 ,fortunately 
for the child1 it is impossible for us  
to educate him1 in any formal sense of  
the word1 until he has mastered his     
mother tongue4 ,were it otherwise1 his  
mother tongue would never be mastered4  
,before he reaches the age of two the   
child accomplishes the marvellous feat  
of acquiring an entirely new language4  
,while he is learning it ,nature is his 
only teacher1 and under her tuition he  
masters the new language without the    
least strain and with complete success4 
,but let us suppose that it was possible
 for a teacher of the conventional type 
to give minute directions to a child by 
some other medium of expression than    
that of language4 ,and let us suppose   
that such a teacher made up her mind    
that she1 and not ,nature1 was to teach 
the child his mother tongue4 ,one can   
readily imagine what would happen4 ,the 
teacher would probably have a theory    
that no child should begin to talk till 

he was two or even two and a half years 
old2 and if so1 the child would be kept 
in a state of enforced dumbness till he 
reached that age4 ,in any case1 he would
 be strictly forbidden to speak till his
 teacher gave him formal permission to  
do so4 ,half-an-hour in the morning1 and
 half-an-hour in the afternoon would    
probably be set aside for the language  
lesson4 ,for so many weeks or months the
 child would be strictly limited to     
words of two or three letters4 ,for so  
many more weeks or months1 to words of  
four or five letters4 ,things which had 
names of more than the prescribed number
 of letters would be kept away from the 
child2 or1 if that was impossible1 he   
would not be allowed to talk about them4
 ,for half a year perhaps he would be   
limited to the use of nouns and verbs4  
,prepositions might then be introduced  
into his vocabulary2 and1 later1        
adjectives and adverbs4 ,and so on2 and 
so on4 ,and the outcome of all this     
elaborate training would be that the    

child would never learn to talk his     
mother tongue4  ,it is by methods       
analogous in all respects to this that  
many of the subjects on the time-table  
are taught in thousands of our schools4 
,the teacher seems to imagine that he   
knows1 fully and precisely1 how each    
subject ought to be taught2 and instead 
of standing aside1 and trying to learn  
how ,nature wishes this or that subject 
to be taught 7if ,nature can be said to 
take any interest in subjects71 and then
 trying to co-operate with her          
subconscious tendencies1 he makes out   
his elaborate scheme of instruction1    
sets before the child as the goal of his
 efforts the production of certain      
formal results1 and drives him towards  
these with whip and bridle1 satisfied   
that if he succeeds in producing them1  
the subject will have been duly         
mastered4 ,and all the time he will not 
have given a thought to what is         
happening to the child's inner life4    
,yet it is more than probable that the  

teacher's disregard of1 and therefore   
incessant interference with1 the        
subconscious processes of ,nature has   
quite as disastrous results in the      
teaching of composition1 let us say1 or 
drawing1 as it would certainly have in  
the hypothetical case of the teaching of
 the child's mother tongue4  ,but in    
truth the ,utopian conception of what   
constitutes efficiency differs so       
radically from the current conception1  
that little is to be gained by comparing
 them4 ,if ,i am asked by those who     
value outward and visible results for   
their own sake1 whether the training    
given in ,utopia is efficient1 ,i can   
but answer3 ,yes1 but efficient in a    
sense which you cannot even begin to    
understand1--efficient in the sense of  
developing faculty and fostering life1  
whereas the price paid for your boasted 
efficiency is the starvation of faculty 
and the destruction of life4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,but how1
 it will be asked1 are the ,utopian     

children1 one and all1 induced to exert 
themselves8 ,the standard of activity in
 the school is1 on your own showing1    
exceptionally high4 ,much is expected of
 the children4 ,yet there are no rewards
 for them to hope for1 and no           
punishments for them to fear4 ,how1     
then1 are those who are by nature less  
energetic or less persevering than the  
rest to be induced to rise to the level 
of the teacher's expectation8 ,by       
implication this question has been      
answered again and again4 ,but it       
deserves a direct answer1 and ,i will   
try to give it one4  ,to begin with1 it 
is incorrect to say that there are no   
rewards or punishments in ,utopia4      
,outward rewards and outward punishments
 are entirely unknown there2 but there  
are inward rewards to be had for the    
seeking1 and there are inward           
punishments to be feared1 though it must
 be admitted that the fear of them      
seldom overshadows1 even for a passing  
moment1 the sunlit life of the ,utopian 

child4 ,what induces the ,utopian child 
to work is1 in brief1 delight in his    
work4 ,he is allowed and even encouraged
 to energise along the lines which his  
nature seems to have marked out for him1
 and in response to the stress of forces
 which seem to be welling up from the   
depths of his inner life4 ,exertion of  
this kind is in itself a delight4       
,nature has taken care to make all the  
exercises by which growth is fostered1  
at any rate in the days of childhood    
when growth is most rapid and vigorous1 
intrinsically attractive4 ,had she done 
otherwise she would have failed to make 
due provision for the growth of ,man's  
being during the years which precede the
 outgrowth of self-consciousness1 and   
the possibility of self-discipline1 of  
the narrower and sterner kind4  ,and not
 only are the exercises by which healthy
 and harmonious growth is secured       
intrinsically attractive1 but also the  
sense of well-being which accompanies   
such growth is an unfailing source of   

happiness4 ,in ,utopia the end for which
 the children are working is not an     
external reward or prize to be conferred
 on them if they achieve certain        
prescribed results1 but rather the      
actual goal to which the path that they 
have entered is taking them1--a goal    
which is ever lighting the path with its
 foreglow1 and which is therefore at    
once an infinitely distant lodestar and 
an ever present delight4 ,for the       
consummation of any process of growth is
 always the perfection1 the final       
well-being1 of the thing that grows2 and
 therefore in each successive stage of  
the process there is a truer            
prefigurement of the perfection which is
 being gradually achieved1 and a fuller 
sense of that well-being which1 at its  
highest level1 is perfection's other    
self4  ,for the ,utopian1 then1 to walk 
in the path of self-realisation is its  
own reward2 and to wander from that path
 is its own punishment4 ,but as the     
forces of ,nature are all co-operating  

to keep the child in the path of        
self-realisation1 and as ,egeria has    
allied herself with those forces and is 
working with them in every possible way1
 the rewards which the ,utopian wins for
 himself are very many1 while the       
punishments which he inflicts on himself
 are very few4 ,in other words1 the     
pressure on him to exert himself is so  
strong1 his opportunities for exerting  
himself 7under ,egeria's sympathetic    
rule7 are so many1 and the pleasure of  
exerting himself is found to be so      
great1 that the temptation to be idle or
 rebellious can scarcely be said to     
exist4  ,it is indeed in respect of the 
motives to exertion which they          
respectively supply1 that the           
superiority of the ,utopian to the      
conventional type of education is       
perhaps most pronounced4 ,i have said   
that ,egeria allies herself with the    
expansive forces of ,nature4 ,the       
teacher of the conventional type has to 
fight against those forces4 ,let us     

assume that the two teachers are on a   
level in respect of their capacity for  
influencing and stimulating their       
pupils1 and let us indicate that level  
by the algebraical symbol x4 ,then the  
difference between the motive force     
which ,egeria exerts1 and the motive    
force which her rival exerts1 is the    
difference between x  y1 and x - y1 y   
being used to symbolise the aggregate   
motive force of the expansive tendencies
 of the child's inner nature4 ,such a   
difference is incalculable4 ,the scheme 
of education which is based on distrust 
of the child's nature and belief in its 
intrinsic sinfulness and stupidity1     
necessarily arrays against itself the   
hidden forces of that maligned and      
despised nature1 and must needs overcome
 their resistance before it can hope to 
achieve its proposed end4 ,while ,egeria
 is helping ,nature to provide suitable 
channels for the various expansive      
tendencies that are at work in the      
child1 and to guide them all into the   

central channel of self-realisation1 her
 rival is engaged in digging a canal 7to
 be filled1 when finished1 with dead1   
stagnant water7 which is so designed    
that not only will no use be made by it 
of the life stream of the child's latent
 energies1 but also costly culverts and 
other works will have to be constructed 
for it in order to divert and send to   
waste that troublesome current4  ,the   
waste of motive force which goes on     
under any scheme of education through   
mechanical obedience1 is indeed         
enormous4 ,and what is most lamentable  
is that the energies of the teacher are 
being largely wasted in the effort to   
neutralise the latent energies of the   
child4 ,no wonder that1 in order to     
produce his meagre and illusory1        
results1 the teacher should have to     
resort to motive forces which1 by       
appealing to the lower side of the      
child's nature1 will enable him to bear 
down the resistance1 and1 in doing so1  
to impede the outgrowth of the          

higher1--to the hope of external rewards
 and the threat of external punishments4
 ,and no wonder that1 owing to the      
teacher having to work unceasingly      
against the grain of the child's nature1
 of these two demoralising forces1 the  
fear of punishment--which1 if not the   
more demoralising1 is certainly the more
 wasteful of energy--should bulk the    
more largely in the eyes of the child4  
,in fine1 then1 whereas the conventional
 type of education is so wasteful of    
motive force that it dissipates the     
greater part of the teachers' and the   
scholars' energies in needless          
friction1--in ,utopia1 on the other     
hand1 there is such an economy of motive
 force that the very joy which1 under   
its scheme of education1 always         
accompanies the child's expenditure of  
energy1 and which might be regarded as  
merely a waste by-product1 becomes in   
its turn a powerful incentive to further
 exertion4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,but is there not too much 

joy in ,utopia8 ,is not the sky too     
cloudless8 ,is not the atmosphere too   
clear8 ,does the ,utopian never act from
 a sense of duty8 ,has he never to do   
anything that is distasteful to him8    
,this objection raises an interesting   
question4 ,is the function of the sense 
of duty to enable us to do distasteful  
things8 ,and if so1 are we to regard it 
as the highest of motives to moral      
action8 ,in the days when ,kant's idea  
of the moral imperative was in the      
ascendant1 the belief got abroad that   
the essence of virtue was to do what you
 hated doing4 ,looking back to my       
,oxford days1 ,i recall some doggerel   
lines1 of ,german origin1 in which this 
belief finds apt expression4 ,a disciple
 who is in trouble about his soul says  
to his master3    ,willing serve ,i my  
friends1 but do it1 alas6 with          
affection1   ,and so gnaws me my heart1 
that ,i'm not virtuous yet4  ,to this   
the master replies3    ,help except this
 there is none3 you must strive with    

might to contemn them1   ,and with      
horror perform then what the law may    
enjoin4  ,if this conception of morality
 is correct1 if it is true that the     
atmosphere of the virtuous life should  
be one of horror and even of hatred1    
then it must be admitted that the       
,utopian children are receiving a       
seriously defective education4 ,but the 
if is a large one2 and for my part ,i   
incline to the belief that love1 as a   
motive to action1 is better than hatred1
 joy than horror1 sunshine than gloom4  
,the day will indeed come when the      
,utopian--a child no longer--will have  
to do things1 either for his own sake or
 in order to discharge obligations to   
others1 which will be1 or will seem to  
be1 against the grain even of his happy 
nature2 and the sense of duty will then 
have to come to his aid4 ,but there is  
no reason why he1 or his teachers1      
should anticipate that day4 ,to compel  
him1 while still a child1 to work       
against the grain of his nature1 when   

there was no real need for this1 would  
not be the best preparation for the     
trials that await him4 ,to compel him to
 spend the greater part of his          
school-life in doing what was           
distasteful to him1 would be the worst  
possible preparation for them4  ,for1 to
 begin with1 the sense of duty is not   
the highest motive to action4 ,a far    
higher motive is love4 ,if the sense of 
duty to ,god1 for example1 had not      
devotion to ,god and love of ,god behind
 it1 the object of one's worship would  
be a malignant rather than a beneficent 
deity1 a devil rather than a ,god4 ,or  
let us take the case of a child who is  
dangerously ill1 and who needs to be    
carefully and even devotedly nursed4 ,by
 whom will he be the more effectively   
nursed1--by his mother who loves him    
passionately1 or by a hired nurse who   
cannot be expected to love him but who  
has a strong sense of duty to her       
employers8 7,i am assuming that as      
regards professional skill1 and the     

sense of duty to ,god1 the two women are
 on a level47 ,surely the mother1       
sustained by love in the endurance of   
sleeplessness and fatigue1 and in the   
exercise of that unceasing vigilance    
which lets no symptom escape it1 will be
 the better nurse4 ,love1 as a motive to
 moral action1 has the immense advantage
 over the sense of duty of being able to
 rob the hour of trial of its gloom1 by 
strengthening the lover to make light of
 labour and difficulty till at last the 
sense of effort is lost in the sense of 
joy4 ,but if love is the highest of all 
motives1 is it not well that the child's
 life should as far as possible1 and for
 as long as possible1 be kept under its 
influence1 to the exclusion of other    
motives4 ,we have seen that the ,utopian
 child takes many things in his stride  
which other children would regard as    
distasteful4 ,if they are not           
distasteful to him1 the reason is that  
he does them1 not from a sense of duty1 
but under the inspiration of love1--love

 of life1 love of ,egeria1 love of his  
schoolmates1 love of his school4 ,and   
the longer he can remain on the high    
plane of love1 the better it will be for
 his after life4  ,and when the time    
comes for him to yield himself to the   
saving arms of duty1 he will have had   
the best of all preparations for that   
hour of trial1 for he will have been    
braced and strengthened for it by the   
most moralising of all disciplines1 that
 of growth4 ,what is the sense of duty8 
,we too seldom ask ourselves this       
question4 ,is it not a feeling of       
obligation1 of being in debt1 to some   
person1 or persons1 or institution1 or  
society1 or even to some invisible      
,power2--to a friend1 for example1 a    
relative1 a dependent1 an employer1 a   
contracting party1 a commanding         
officer1--or1 again1 to one's trade or  
profession1 to one's political party1 to
 one's church1 to one's country1--or1 in
 the last resort1 to ,god8 ,and is not  
this feeling accompanied by the secret  

conviction that until the debt has been 
liquidated1 to the best of the debtor's 
ability1 justice will not have been     
done8 ,the sense of duty is1 ,i think1 a
 derivative sense1 an offshoot from the 
more primitive sense of justice1--a     
sense so primitive that it may almost be
 said to have made possible our social  
life4 ,if this is so1 if the sense of   
duty is resolvable into the sense of    
justice1 then the training which is     
given in ,utopia--a training which makes
 for healthy and harmonious growth1 and 
therefore 7as we have seen7 for         
outgrowth or escape from self--is the   
best preparation for a life of duty1    
that can possibly be given4 ,for under  
its influence the sense of justice1     
which is essentially a social instinct1 
knowing no distinction between oneself  
and one's neighbour1 will be relieved of
 the hostile pressure of its arch-enemy1
 the anti-social instinct of            
selfishness1#ba and will therefore make 
rapid and vigorous growth4 ,the sense of

 justice is1 as might be expected1      
strongly developed in the selfless      
atmosphere of ,utopia1 where indeed it  
has helped1 in no small degree1 to      
evolve the wonderful social life of the 
school2 and1 that being so1 there is no 
fear but what the ,utopian will be      
sustained by the sense of duty when the 
time comes for him to work against the  
grain of his nature4 ,but however strong
 may be his sense of duty1 he will      
always have the great advantage of being
 seldom called upon to do what he       
dislikes1 and therefore of being able to
 keep the fibre of his sense of duty    
from being either unduly relaxed or     
unduly hardened by overwork2 for he has 
been accustomed from his earliest days  
to make light of1 and even find a       
pleasure in1 what is usually accounted  
drudgery1 and he has been accustomed to 
work1 in school and out of school1 under
 the inspiration of joy and love4  ,but 
is the education given in ,utopia       
useful8 ,i wish ,i knew who was asking  

this question1 for ,i cannot hope to    
answer it to his satisfaction until ,i  
know what is his standard of values4    
,what end does he set before the        
teachers of our elementary schools8 ,if 
he would tell me this1 ,i might be able 
to say ,yes or ,no to his question4  ,at
 present there seems to be no agreement 
among educationalists1 professional or  
amateur1 as to what constitutes         
usefulness in education4 ,those who     
belong to the upper classes are apt to  
assume that the lower orders will have  
been adequately educated when they have 
been taught reading1 writing1           
arithmetic1 needlework1 and religion1   
subjected to a certain amount of        
repressive discipline1 and compelled to 
go to church or chapel4 ,if1 after      
having passed through this mill1 the    
children of the lower orders do not     
develop into good men and women and     
useful citizens1 it is not their        
education which is to blame1 but the    
inborn sinfulness of their corrupt and  

fallen natures4 ,such an education is   
regarded by those who advocate it as    
pre-eminently useful4 ,there is no      
nonsense about it1 no cant of idealism1 
no taint of socialism4 ,it keeps the    
lower orders in their places1 and       
forbids them to dream of rising above   
that state of life unto which it has    
pleased ,god to call them4 ,as it is a  
reductio ad absurdum of the conventional
 type of education1 my objection to it  
is that it makes the best possible      
provision for securing the end which the
 conventional type seems to have set    
before itself1--in other words1 for     
depressing the vitality of the child1   
for starving his faculties1 for         
arresting his growth4 ,as such1 it has  
not even the merit of being sordidly    
useful2 for unless stupidity is a better
 thing than intelligence1 slowness than 
alertness1 helplessness than initiative1
 lifelessness than vital activity1 the  
child who has passed through that dreary
 mill will be far less effective1 even  

as a day-labourer1 than the child whose 
school-life has been one of continuous  
and many-sided growth4 ,it is strange   
that the reactionary members of the     
upper classes should be too             
short-sighted to discern this obvious   
truth4 ,but perhaps they have a secret  
conviction that by so educating the     
lower orders as to make them slow and   
stupid1 helpless and lifeless1 they will
 be the better able to keep them in a   
state of subservience to and dependence 
on themselves4#bb ,if this is so1 there 
is method in the madness of the upper   
classes2 and their conception of the    
course that education ought to take has 
the merit of being entirely true to     
their basely selfish conception of the  
end that education ought to serve4  ,i  
have alluded to this pseudo-utilitarian 
theory1 not because it is intrinsically 
worthy of serious attention1 but because
 there is undoubtedly a strong and      
influential current of opinion which    
sets in its direction4 ,there are other 

advocates of a useful education who seem
 to regard the elementary school1 not as
 a training ground for good men and     
women1 but as a kind of technical       
institute in which the children are to  
be trained for the various callings by  
which1 when they grow up1 they will have
 to earn their daily bread4 ,this theory
 need not be seriously considered1 for  
its inherent absurdity has caused it to 
be tacitly abandoned by all whose       
opinion carries weight2 and the more    
reasonable theory that the education    
given in the elementary school should be
 as far as possible adapted to the      
environment of the school--that it      
should be given a rural bias1 for       
example1 or a marine bias1 or even an   
urban bias--has begun to take its place4
 ,that it should ever have found        
advocates is interesting as showing how 
easy it is for unenlightened public     
opinion to misinterpret the word        
useful4#bc  ,there is a third class of  
critics1 composed for the most part of  

members of ,local ,education            
,committees1 who seem to think that     
ability to pass a leaving examination is
 the only valid proof of the usefulness 
of elementary education4 ,if these      
influential critics1 who are showing in 
various ways that they care more for    
machinery than for life1 could have     
their will1 they would probably revert  
to the good old days of cut-and-dried   
syllabuses1 formal examinations of      
individual scholars1 percentages of     
passes1 and the like4 ,as ,i have       
already taken pains to explain what the 
rgime of the good old days really meant1
 ,i need not waste my time in exposing  
the fallacies which underlie this       
conception of usefulness4  ,here1 then1 
are three distinct standards of         
usefulness in elementary education4     
,according to the first1 education is   
useful in proportion as it tends1 by    
repressing the activities and atrophying
 the faculties of the scholars1 to keep 
the lower orders in their places1 and in

 so doing to provide the upper classes  
with a sufficiency of labourers and     
servants4 ,according to the second1 it  
is useful in proportion as it is able to
 prepare the scholars for their various 
callings in after life4#bd ,according to
 the third1 in proportion as it enables 
the scholars to pass with credit certain
 leaving and other examinations of a    
formal type4  ,i will now assume that   
the end of education is to produce1 or  
at any rate contribute to the production
 of1 good men and women2 and that the   
education given in elementary schools is
 useful in exact proportion as it serves
 this end4 ,i am not using the word good
 in its ,sunday ,school sense4 ,nor does
 the word suggest to my mind that blend 
of stupidity1 patience1 and             
submissiveness which sometimes passes   
for goodness when the upper classes are 
taking thought for the welfare of the   
lower orders4 ,the good man1 as ,i      
understand the phrase1 is a good son1 a 
good brother1 a good husband1 a good    

father1 a good citizen1 a good townsman1
 a good workman1 a good servant1 a good 
master4 ,in fine1 he is a good specimen 
of his kind1 well grown and well        
developed1 efficient on all the planes  
of his being1--physical1 mental1 moral1 
spiritual4 ,this conception of what     
constitutes useful education differs    
radically from those which ,i have just 
been considering2 but ,i believe that   
when it has been adequately expounded1  
and submitted to the judgment of those  
whose opinion is worth having1 it will  
not be seriously gainsaid4  ,if         
education is useful in proportion as it 
tends to produce good men and women1 the
 education given in ,utopia is useful to
 the highest degree4 ,for a child cannot
 become a good man 7or woman7 except by 
growing good2 and if he is to grow good1
 his nature must be allowed to develop  
itself freely and harmoniously 7for just
 so far as it is normal and healthy it  
is necessarily making for its own       
perfection71 and the one end and aim of 

the teacher must be to stimulate and    
direct this process of spontaneous      
growth4 ,this1 as we have seen1 is the  
one end and aim of ,egeria2 and it is   
therefore clear that she is taking      
effective steps--the most effective that
 can possibly be taken--to produce good 
men and women4 ,we have but to name the 
qualities which are characteristic1 as  
we have already seen1 of her pupils and 
ex-pupils1--activity1 versatility1      
imaginative sympathy1 a large and free  
outlook1 self-forgetfulness1 charm of   
manner1 joy of heart1--in order to      
convince ourselves that those who have  
passed through the ,utopian school are  
on the high road which leads to         
goodness4 ,so obvious is all this1 that 
in defining the word useful ,i may be   
said to have decided the question in    
favour of ,utopia2 and what is now in   
dispute is not whether ,utopianism is   
useful1 in any sense of the word1 but   
whether my sense of the word is the     
right one4  ,i cannot go much further   

into this question without exceeding the
 limits of the theme which ,i am        
handling in this chapter4 ,for in       
considering the after life of the       
,utopian child1 ,i am entering a region 
in which the idea of education begins to
 merge itself in the larger idea of     
salvation2 and though education1 as     
begun in ,utopia1 is in its essence a   
life-long process1 ,i must pay some heed
 to the limits which tradition and      
custom have imposed on the meaning of   
the word4  ,but before ,i close this    
chapter ,i must be allowed to give one  
illustration in support of my contention
 that the education given in ,utopia is 
useful4 ,of the many complaints that are
 brought against the output of our      
elementary schools1 one of the most     
serious is that the boys and girls who  
have recently left school are voracious 
readers of a vicious and demoralising   
literature which seems to be provided   
for their special benefit4 ,the reason  
why they take so readily to this garbage

 is that they have lost their appetite  
for wholesome food4 ,they are not       
interested in healthy literature1 in    
,nature-study1 in music1 in art1 in     
handicraft1--in any pursuit which might 
take them out of themselves into a      
larger and freer life2 and so they fall 
victims to the allurements of a         
literature which appeals to their baser1
 more sensual1 and more selfish         
instincts1--the very instincts which    
growth 7in the true sense of the word7  
spontaneously relegates to a subordinate
 position and places under effective    
control4 ,it is the inertness1 the      
apathy1 the low vitality of the average 
child of fourteen1 which is the cause of
 his undoing4 ,his taste for false and  
meretricious excitement--a taste which  
may lead him far along the downward     
path--is the outcome of his very        
instinct to live1 an instinct which1    
though repressed by the influences that 
have choked its natural channels1 cannot
 resign itself to extinction1 and at    

last1 in its despairing effort to       
energise1 forces for itself the         
artificial outlet of an imaginative     
interest in vice and crime4  ,the young 
person who1 on leaving school1 becomes a
 voracious devourer of unwholesome      
literature1 cannot be said to have      
received a useful education4 ,that vice 
and crime--whether practised or         
imagined--are in the first instance     
artificial outlets1 outlets which the   
soul would not use if its expansive     
instincts were duly fostered1 is proved 
by the absence of naughtiness in the    
,utopian school1 and the absence of any 
taste for morbid excitement amongst     
,utopian ex-scholars4 ,the unwholesome  
literature which gives so much concern  
to those who are interested in the      
welfare of the young1 is unknown in     
,utopia4 ,and in this1 as in other      
matter1 the goodness of the children and
 young persons is due1 not to any lack  
of life and spirit1 but to the very     
abundance of their vitality4 ,apart from

 the fact that vigorous growth1 whether 
in plant or animal or human soul1 is in 
itself a sure prophylactic against the  
various evils to which growing life is  
exposed1 the ,utopians are guarded      
against the danger of demoralising books
 and demoralising amusements by their   
many-sided interest in life4 ,their     
instinct to live1 finding natural and   
adequate outlets in many directions1 has
 no need to force for itself the        
artificial outlet of morbid             
excitement1--an outlet for imprisoned   
energies1 which has too often proved an 
opening to a life of vice and crime4    
,there is a ,shakespeare in every       
cottage in ,utopia2 but the advocates of
 a repressive and restrictive education 
for the lower orders need not be alarmed
 at this1 for the ,utopians1 who have   
found the secret of true happiness1 are 
freer than most villagers from social   
discontent4 ,nor are ,egeria's ex-pupils
 less efficient as labourers or domestic
 servants because they are interested in

 good literature1 in ,nature-study1 in  
acting1 or because they can still dance 
the ,morris ,dances and sing the ,folk  
,songs which they learned in school4    
,,footnotes3  #bj ,i am thinking more   
particularly of some of the ,roman      
,catholic schools in the ,irish quarter 
of ,liverpool1 where the singularly kind
 and gracious bearing of the teaching   
sisters towards their poor1 ill-fed1 and
 ill-clad pupils is an educative        
influence of incalculable value4  #ba   
,the sense of justice1 which would give 
to each his due1 and therefore not more 
than his due to oneself1 seems to hold  
the balance between selfishness and     
love1 being as it were1 equidistant from
 the greed and self-indulgence of the   
former and the lavishness and           
self-devotion of the latter4 ,if this is
 so1 and if the sense of duty is1 as ,i 
have suggested1 an offshoot from the    
sense of justice1 one can understand    
why1 on the one hand1 the sense of duty 
should be needed to hold the            

self-seeking instincts in check1 and    
why1 on the other hand1 it should be an 
altogether lower and weaker motive than 
love1 by which indeed1 in its own       
interest1 it should always be ready to  
be superseded4  #bb ,i was once present 
when the ,utopian children were going   
through a programme of ,folk ,songs and 
,morris ,dances in the village hall4 ,a 
lady who was looking on remarked to me3 
,this is all very fine2 but if this sort
 of thing goes on1 where are we going to
 find our servants8 ,the selfishness of 
this remark is obvious4 ,what is less   
obvious1 but more significant1 is its   
purblindness4 ,in point of fact the     
,utopian girls make excellent domestic  
servants1 and are well content to go    
into service4  #bc ,some two or three   
years ago it was seriously proposed that
 marine navigation should be taught in  
all the elementary schools of a certain 
maritime county6  #bd ,the parent who   
wrote to a schoolmaster1 ,please do not 
teach my boy any more poetry1 as he is  

going to be a grocer1 must have been    
under the influence of this conception  
of usefulness4     ,,chapter ,,vi       
,,salvation ,,through                   
,,self-,,realisation   ,in ,utopia the  
transition from education to salvation1 
both in theory and practice1 is obvious 
and direct4 ,the difference between     
education and salvation is1 indeed1     
purely nominal3 in their essence the two
 processes are one4 ,as the education   
given in ,utopia is1 in the main1       
self-education1 there is no reason why  
it should not be continued indefinitely 
after the child has left school2 and as 
its function is to foster the growth of 
the child's many-sided nature 7with its 
vast potentialities71 there is every    
reason why it should be continued as    
long as he lives4 ,in other words1 the  
path of salvation is the path of        
self-realisation1 the most important    
part of which is traversed in childhood2
 and to attain to salvation 7which is in
 a sense unattainable7 is to remain     

faithful to that path till it passes    
beyond our thought4  ,outside ,utopia   
there is a widely different conception  
of the meaning and purpose of education1
 and a correspondingly different        
conception of the nature of salvation   
and the means by which it is to be      
achieved4 ,the idea of salvation1 with  
the complementary idea of perdition1 may
 be regarded as the crown and completion
 of that scheme of external rewards and 
punishments which plays so prominent a  
part in ,western education4 ,salvation1 
which is the highest of all external    
rewards1 just as perdition is the       
severest of all external punishments1 is
 not a path to be followed1 but a state 
of happiness to be won and enjoyed4 ,it 
follows that the relation between       
education and salvation is1 in the main1
 one of analogy1 rather than of identity
 7as in ,utopia71 or even of vital      
connection4 ,or shall we say that       
education is not so much the first act  
in the drama of salvation as the first  

rehearsal of the play8  ,there are1 of  
course1 two conceptions of salvation in 
the ,west1 just as there are two worlds 
to be lived in1--the ,supernatural world
 and the world of ,nature4  ,in what are
 called religious circles1 to be saved  
is to have gained admission to ,heaven1 
and1 in doing so1 to have escaped the   
torment and misery of ,hell4 ,there was 
a time when ,hell was taken very        
seriously2 but the idea of never-ending 
torment and misery is found1 when       
steadily faced1 to be so intolerable    
that popular thought1 even in religious 
circles1 is now turning away from it2   
and so loosely do men sit1 in these     
degenerate days1 to the old doctrine of 
eternal punishment1 that to die and to  
go to heaven are becoming               
interchangeable terms4 ,but if all men  
are to be admitted to ,heaven 7or to its
 ante-room1 ,purgatory7 at the end of   
this1 their one earth-life1 it is clear 
that there can be no causal connection  
between conduct and salvation4 ,for     

though there may be degrees of happiness
 in ,heaven to reward the varying       
degrees of virtue on earth1 all these   
are dwarfed to nothing by the           
unimaginable abyss of difference which  
yawns between ,heaven and ,hell2 and the
 practical upshot of the current        
eschatology is that all men--the        
self-sacrificing equally with the       
self-indulgent1 the kind and            
compassionate equally with the          
hard-hearted1 the spiritually-minded    
equally with the worldly1 the aspiring  
equally with the indifferent--are to    
reap the same reward4 ,if a man is a    
notoriously evil liver1 those who have  
suffered at his hands or been violently 
scandalised by his conduct may perhaps  
find a sombre pleasure in consigning him
 to ,hell1 which1 indeed1 might         
otherwise have to put up its shutters4  
,but though the doors of ,heaven may be 
closed against a few exceptional        
scoundrels1 they are nowadays thrown    
open to all the rest of ,mankind2 and   

the maxim1 ,live anyhow1 and you will be
 saved somehow1 seems to sum up with    
tolerable accuracy the popular attitude 
towards the twofold problem of duty and 
destiny4  ,i do not for a moment suggest
 that this happy-go-lucky eschatology is
 formally countenanced by the ,churches 
and ,sects4 ,they would doubtless       
repudiate it with indignation2 but the  
fact remains that their own teaching is 
largely responsible for it4 ,for not    
only is the idea of natural retribution 
wholly foreign to the genius of         
supernaturalism1 but also1 in the two   
great schools of ,western theology1     
there is1 and always has been1 a strong 
tendency to undervalue conduct 7in the  
broad1 human sense of the word71 and to 
make the means of salvation mechanical  
rather than vital4 ,at any rate the     
sacramental teaching of the ,catholic   
,church1 and the ,calvinistic doctrine  
of salvation through faith in the       
finished work of ,christ1 readily lend  
themselves to such an interpretation4   

,so ineffective is the current          
eschatology1 in its bearing on conduct1 
that the latent energy of ,man's        
nature--his latent desire to have a     
central purpose in life--is compelling  
him to work out for himself another and 
a more mundane conception of salvation1 
to set before himself as the end of life
 the winning of certain temporal prizes1
 and to keep this end steadily in view  
from day to day and from year to year4  
,such a conception of salvation has     
always had a strong attraction for him1 
though in his more orthodox days he     
found it desirable to subordinate it to1
 or if possible harmonise it with1 the  
conception which his religion dictated  
to him2 and of late its attractiveness  
has been increased by the fact that he  
is beginning to throw his eschatology   
7even in its present emasculated form7  
to the winds4  ,so far1 ,i have had in  
my mind those quarters of ,western      
thought in which the belief in the      
reality of the soul and the kindred     

belief in immortality still survive4    
,but in point of fact both beliefs are  
dying before our eyes1--dying as a dumb 
protest against the inadequacy of the   
popular philosophy1 against the         
intrinsic incredibility of its premises1
 against its fundamental misconception  
of the meaning of life and the nature   
and conditions of salvation1 above all  
against the way in which the beliefs    
themselves have been persistently       
misinterpreted and travestied4 ,and     
where the beliefs are dying1 the latent 
externalism and materialism of ,western 
thought and ,western life are able to   
assert themselves without let or        
hindrance4 ,to be saved1 as the phrase  
is now widely understood1 means to get  
on in life1 to succeed in business or in
 a profession1 to make money1 to rise in
 the social scale 7if necessary1 on the 
shoulders of others71 to force one's way
 to the front 7if necessary1 by         
trampling down others71 to be talked    
about in the daily papers1 to make a    

splash in some circle or coterie1--in   
these and in other ways to achieve some 
measure of what is called success4  ,and
 in proportion as this mundane          
conception of salvation tends to        
establish itself1 so does the drift     
towards social and political anarchy1   
which is now beginning to alarm all the 
lovers of order and progress1 tend to   
widen its range and accelerate its      
movement4 ,for though the current idea  
of achieving salvation through success  
is a comfortable doctrine for the       
successful few1 it is the reverse of    
comfortable for the unsuccessful many1  
among whom the idea is gaining ground   
that as salvation is the reward1 not of 
virtue1 but of a judicious blend of     
cleverness1 unscrupulousness1           
selfishness1 and greed1 there is no     
reason1 in the moral order of things1   
why it should not be wrested from those 
who are enjoying it1 either by organised
 social warfare or by open violence and 
crime4 ,and even if an anarchical       

outbreak should result in perdition all 
round instead of salvation all round1 it
 would at least be some consolation to  
the lost to feel that they had dragged  
the saved down into their own bottomless
 pit4 ,this would not be a lofty        
sentiment2 yet ,i do not see who is in a
 position to condemn it1--not the       
supporter of the existing social order1 
which legalises a general scramble1     
first for the prizes of life and then   
for the bare means of subsistence1 and  
is well content that in that scramble   
the weak1 the ignorant1 and the         
unfortunate should go to the wall1--not 
the exponent of the conventional        
theology1 which has taught men to dream 
of a ,heaven in which the happiness of  
the elect will be unruffled by the      
knowledge that an eternity of misery is 
the doom of perhaps a majority of their 
fellow-men4  ,in the ,west1 then1 there 
are two conceptions of salvation1--a    
selfish1 worldly conception which is    
daily becoming more effective1 and a    

selfish other-worldly conception which  
is daily becoming more ineffective1 and 
is therefore less and less able to      
compete with or control its rival4 ,out 
of the attempts that are made to realise
 both these conceptions and to keep them
 on friendly terms with one another1    
there is emerging a state of            
chaos--political1 social1 moral1        
spiritual1--a weltering chaos of new and
 old ideals1 new and old theories of    
life1 new and old standards of values1  
new and old centres of authority1 new   
and old ambitions and dreams4 ,and in   
this chaos there are only two principles
 of order1 the first 7which is also the 
ultimate cause of all our disorder7     
being the pathetic fact that nearly all 
the actors in the bewildering drama are 
still seeking for happiness outside     
themselves1 the second being the        
fundamental goodness of man's heart4  ,i
 will now go back to ,utopia4 ,there a  
new conception of salvation is implicit 
in the new theory of education which has

 revolutionised the life of the school4 
,humble as is the sphere and small as is
 the scale of ,egeria's labours1 her    
work is1 ,i firmly believe1 of          
world-wide importance and lasting value1
 for she has provided an experimental   
basis for the idea that salvation is to 
be achieved by growth1 and growth alone4
  ,i will now try to interpret that     
idea4  ,the education of the child in   
school begins when he is four or five   
years old1 and lasts till he is thirteen
 or fourteen4 ,but he enters the path of
 salvation the day he is born4 ,he comes
 into the world a weak1 helpless baby2  
but1 like every other seedling1 he has  
in him all the potencies of             
perfection1--the perfection of his kind4
 ,to realise those potencies1 so far as 
they can be realised within the limits  
of one earth-life1 is to achieve        
salvation4 ,are those potencies worth   
realising8 ,to this question ,i can but 
answer3 ,such as they are1 they are our 
all4 ,we might ask the same question    

with regard to an acorn or a grain of   
wheat2 and in each case the answer would
 be the same4 ,there are1 indeed1 plants
 and animals which are noxious from our 
point of view4 ,but that is not the view
 which they take of themselves4 ,each of
 them regards his own potencies in the  
light of a sacred trust1 and strives    
with untiring energy to realise them4   
,if the potencies of our nature are not 
worth realising we had better give up   
the business of living4 ,if they are1 we
 had better fall into line with other   
living things4  ,an unceasing pressure  
is being put upon us to do so4 ,the     
perfect manhood which is present in     
embryo in the new-born infant1 just as  
the oak-tree is present in embryo in the
 acorn1 will struggle unceasingly to    
evolve itself4 ,with the dawn of        
self-consciousness1 we shall gradually  
acquire the power of either co-operating
 with1 or thwarting1 the spontaneous    
energies that are welling up in us and  
making for our growth4 ,in this respect 

we stand1 in some sort1 apart from the  
rest of living things4 ,but the power to
 co-operate with our own spontaneous    
energies is to the full as natural as   
are the energies themselves4 ,to fathom 
the mystery of self-consciousness is    
beyond my power and beside my present   
purpose2 but we may perhaps regard our  
power of interfering1 for good or ill1  
with the spontaneous energies of our    
nature1 as the outcome of a successful  
effort which our nature has made both to
 widen the sphere of its own life and to
 accelerate the process of its own      
growth4 ,but just because we possess    
that power1 it is essential that we1    
above all other living things1 should   
believe in ourselves1 should believe in 
the intrinsic value of our natural      
potencies1 with a whole-hearted faith4  
,for if we do not1 we shall hinder      
instead of helping the forces that are  
at work in us1 and we shall retard      
instead of accelerating the process of  
our growth4  ,we have seen that         

education in the ,west has hitherto been
 a failure because1 owing to the        
ascendency of the doctrine of original  
sin1 it has been based on distrust of   
human nature2 and we have seen that in  
,utopia1 where ,egeria's faith in human 
nature is so profound that she has      
allowed the children to go far towards  
educating themselves1 the results       
achieved have gone beyond my wildest    
dream of what was practicable1 at any   
rate within the limits of the school    
life of village children4 ,what is true 
of education is true a fortiori of      
salvation4 ,if it is impossible to      
construct a satisfactory scheme of      
education on the basis of distrust of   
human nature1 it is even more impossible
 7if there are degrees in impossibility7
 to construct on the same basis a       
satisfactory scheme of salvation4 ,i    
have already contended that if education
 is to be reformed1 the doctrine of     
original sin must go2 and ,i now contend
 that if our philosophy of life is to be

 reformed1 we must abandon1 not that    
doctrine only1 but the whole dualistic  
philosophy which centres in the         
opposition of ,nature to the            
,supernatural4 ,for trust in human      
nature--the microcosm--is impossible1 so
 long as ,nature--the macrocosm--is     
liable to be disparaged and discredited 
7in our minds7 by the visionary         
splendours of the ,supernatural world2  
and to devise a harmonious scheme of    
life is impossible so long as an        
inharmonious conception of the ,universe
 dominates our thought1--a conception so
 inharmonious that it divides the       
,universe1 the ,all of ,being1 into two 
hostile camps1 and in doing so          
introduces the war of the worlds into   
each individual life4  ,when a          
fruit-grower plants a fruit-tree1 he    
does three things for it4 ,by choosing  
an appropriate soil and aspect1 he      
brings adequate supplies of nourishment 
within reach of it4 ,by manuring it at  
the right season1 he both adds to its   

store of nourishment and gives it the   
stimulus which will help it to absorb   
and assimilate the nourishment that is  
immediately available for its use4 ,and1
 by pruning and training it judiciously1
 he gives it the guidance which will    
enable it to develop itself to the best 
advantage from the fruit-bearing point  
of view 7fruit-bearing being the end    
which he sets it74 ,he does these three 
things for it1 but he does no more than 
these4 ,he realises that in all these   
operations he is only taking advantage  
of the innate powers and tendencies of  
the tree1 and enabling these to deploy  
themselves under as favourable          
conditions as possible2 and he is       
therefore well content to leave the rest
 to the tree itself1 feeling sure that  
its own spontaneous effort to achieve   
perfection will do all that is needed4  
,his trust in the ability and           
willingness of the tree to work out its 
salvation is complete4  ,these are the  
lines on which the farmer and the       

fruit-grower conduct their              
business1--lines1 the neglect of which  
would involve them in early disaster and
 in ultimate ruin4 ,and these are the   
lines on which human nature ought to be 
trained1 in school and out of school1   
from the day of birth to the day of     
death4 ,but they are lines on which it  
will never be trained so long as the    
doctrine of the depravity of ,nature in 
general and human nature in particular  
controls our philosophy of life4  ,the  
doctrine of natural depravity1 or       
original sin1 is the outcome of ,man's  
attempt to explain to himself the       
glaring fact of his own imperfection4   
,the doctrine grew up in an age when men
 were ignorant of the fundamental laws  
of ,nature1 and among a people who1     
though otherwise richly gifted1 had no  
turn for sustained thought4 ,so long as 
men were ignorant of ,nature's master   
law of evolution1 it was but natural    
that they should account for their own  
imperfection by looking back to a       

,golden ,age1--a state of innocence and 
bliss from which they had somehow       
fallen1 and to which they could not1 by 
any effort or process of their corrupted
 nature1 hope to return4 ,while this    
idea--half myth and half doctrine--was  
growing up in the mind of ,israel1 the  
counter idea of the evolution or growth 
of the soul1 of its ascent from weak    
beginnings towards a state of spiritual 
perfection1 was growing up among the    
thinkers of ,india1 and the derivative  
doctrine of salvation through the       
natural process of soul-growth was being
 gradually elaborated4 ,but though the  
philosophy of ,india produced some      
impression on the conscious thought1 and
 a far deeper impression on the         
subconscious thought1 of the ,west1 its 
master idea of spiritual                
evolution--through a long sequence of   
lives--was wholly foreign to the genius 
of ,christendom1 which had borrowed its 
ideas from the commonplace philosophy of
 ,israel2 and it was not till the       

nineteenth century of our era that the  
idea of evolution began to make its way1
 from the quarter of physical science1  
into ,western thought4  ,the doctrine of
 original sin must once have had a      
meaning and a purpose4 ,for one thing1  
it must have been generated by a sudden 
rise in ,man's moral standard2 and as   
such it must have had a salutary        
influence on his conduct and inward     
life4 ,but it is now outstaying its     
welcome4 ,the ,biblical story of the    
,fall1 in virtue of which it was once   
authoritatively taught1 is ceasing to be
 regarded as serious history2 and the   
doctrine must therefore either justify  
itself to critical thought or resign    
itself to rejection as inadequate and   
unsound4 ,but there is only one line of 
defence which its supporters can take4  
,as the doctrine was the outcome of     
,man's premature attempt to explain the 
fact of his own imperfection1 if it is  
to survive in the world of ideas it must
 be able to show1 first and foremost1   

that the fact in question cannot be     
accounted for on other grounds4 ,will it
 be able to do this1 at a time when the 
idea of evolution is beginning to       
impregnate our mental atmosphere1 and in
 doing so is making us realise that we  
are near of kin to all other living     
things1 and that our lives1 like theirs1
 are dominated by the master-law of     
growth8  ,that there is much moral evil 
in the world is undeniable4 ,are we     
therefore to predicate original         
depravity of man's heart and soul8 ,but 
there is also much physical evil in the 
world1--pain1 weakness1 disease1 decay1 
and death4 ,are we therefore to         
predicate original depravity of man's   
body8 ,and this physical evil1 this     
liability to disease1 is not confined to
 man1 but also affects all other living 
things4 ,are we therefore to predicate  
original depravity of a new-born lamb1  
of a new-laid egg1 of an acorn1 of a    
grain of wheat8  ,let us consider       
certain typical forms of moral evil1 and

 see if we can account for them1 without
 having recourse to the hypothesis of   
original sin4 ,the vicious propensities 
which manifest themselves in children   
and young persons may be divided into   
two main classes1 apparent and          
actual4#be ,of the former class the     
chief cause is1 in a word1 immaturity4  
,of the latter1 environment4  ,analogies
 drawn from plant life may help us to   
understand how these causes operate4    
,immaturity4 ,if an ,englishman who had 
never before tasted an apple were to eat
 one in ,july1 he would probably come to
 the conclusion that it was a hard1     
sour1 indigestible fruit1 conceived in  
sin and shapen in iniquity1 and fit only
 to be consigned to perdition 7on a     
dustheap1 or elsewhere74 ,but if the    
same man were to wait till ,october and 
then eat an apple from the same tree1 he
 would form a wholly different          
conception of its value4 ,he would find 
that the sourness had ripened into      
wholesome and refreshing acidity2 the   

hardness into that firmness of fibre    
which1 besides being pleasant to the    
palate1 makes the apple keep better than
 any other fruit2 the indigestibility   
into certain valuable dietetic          
qualities2 and so on4 ,it is the same   
with the growing child4 ,most of his    
vices are virtues in the making4 ,during
 the first year or so of his life he is 
a monster of selfishness2 and           
selfishness is the most comprehensive   
and far-reaching of all vicious         
tendencies4 ,does this mean that he has 
been conceived in sin8 ,not in the      
least4 ,it means that he is making a    
whole-hearted effort to guard and unfold
 the potencies of life--in the first    
instance1 of physical life--which have  
been entrusted to him4 ,it means that he
 has entered the path of                
self-realisation1 and that if he will be
 as faithful to that path during the    
rest of his life as he has been during  
those early months of uncompromising    
selfishness1 he will be able at last to 

scale the loftiest heights of           
self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice4  
,environment4 ,the influences which     
environment exerts seem to fall under   
three heads--  7#a7 ,general influences 
of a more or less permanent character1  
such as home1 neighbourhood1 social     
grade1 etc4  7#b7 ,general influences of
 a more or less variable character1 such
 as education1 employment1 friendship1  
etc4   7#c7 ,particular influences1 such
 as companionship 7good or bad71        
literature 7wholesome or pernicious71   
places of amusement 7elevating or       
debasing71 special opportunities for    
self-sacrifice or self-indulgence1 etc4 
,corresponding to these in plant-life we
 have--    7#a7 ,soil1 situation1 and   
climate3   7#b7 ,cultivation and        
weather3   7#c7 ,the various insects and
 micro-organisms which are ready to     
assail or protect growing life4  7#a7   
,if two acorns from the same tree were  
sown1 the one in a deep clay soil and a 
favourable situation1 the other in a    

light sandy soil and an unfavourable    
situation1 the former would in time     
develop into a large and shapely1 the   
latter into a puny and misshapen        
oak-tree4 ,it would be the same1 mutatis
 mutandis1 with two human beings who    
were exposed from their earliest days to
 widely different permanent influences4 
7#b7 ,if wheat of a certain strain were 
sown on the same day in two adjoining   
fields1 one of which was well farmed and
 the other badly farmed1 the resulting  
crops would differ widely in yield and  
value4 ,it would be the same with two   
human beings1 one of whom 7to take a    
pertinent example7 attended a school of 
,utopian tendencies1 and the other a    
school of a more conventional type4 ,of 
all moralising 7or demoralising7        
influences education is by far the most 
important1 owing to the fact that it can
 do more1 and is in a position to do    
more1 than any other influence either to
 foster or to hinder growth4  ,the      
influence of weather on plant-life is1  

of course1 enormous4 ,in one year the   
fruit-crop in a given neighbourhood is a
 failure3 in another year it gluts the  
market4 ,one explanation of this fact1  
which has its exact analogies in human  
life1 will be given in the next         
paragraph4  7#c7 ,all forms of life are 
exposed to the attacks of enemies of    
various kinds4 ,whether they shall beat 
off those attacks or succumb to them    
depends in large measure on the nature  
of the growth that they are making2 and 
this again depends1 largely if not      
wholly1 on the nature of the general    
influences to which they have been      
exposed4 ,for many years ,i lived in a  
district in which hops were grown on a  
large scale2 and ,i naturally took an   
interest in the staple industry of my   
adopted county4 ,i noticed that whenever
 7during the summer months7 there came a
 spell of cold winds from the           
north-east--winds which tend to arrest  
plant-growth--the hop-bines were at once
 assailed by blight and other pests1 and

 the safety of the growing crop was     
imperilled4 ,and ,i noticed further that
 when the wind got round to the         
south-west1 and warm showers began to   
stimulate the growth of the flagging    
plants1 the pests that had assailed them
 disappeared as if by magic1 and the    
anxieties of the growers were relieved4 
,as it is with plants1 so it is with    
human beings4 ,they too have their      
enemies1--temptations of various kinds  
and other evil influences that war      
against the soul4 ,and they too will be 
able to beat off their assailants just  
so far as their own growth is vigorous  
and healthy2 and will succumb to their  
attacks1 to their own serious detriment1
 just so far as their own growth is     
feeble and sickly4  ,the bearing of this
 fact on the problem of the origin of   
moral evil is obvious4 ,that the evils  
which assail the organism1 be it a plant
 or a human being1 are not inherent in  
its nature1 is proved by the fact that  
when the growth of the organism is      

normal and unimpeded1 the assailants are
 always beaten off4 ,as it is the growth
 of the organism--the development of its
 own nature--which enables it to resist 
the evils that threaten it1 we must     
assume that its nature is good4 ,indeed 
the evils that threaten it are called   
evils for no other reason than that they
 imperil its well-being2 and it follows 
that in calling them evils we imply that
 the organism is intrinsically good4    
,when we have eliminated from human     
nature the vicious tendencies which are 
due either to immaturity or to the      
numberless influences that come under   
the general head of environment1 we     
shall find that a very small percentage 
remain to be accounted for4 ,we need not
 have recourse to the doctrine of       
original sin in order to account for    
these4 ,so far ,i have said nothing     
about heredity1 partly because its      
influence on the moral development of   
the individual is1 ,i think1 very small 
compared with that of environment1 and  

partly because it is impossible to      
consider the extent and character of its
 influence1 without going deeply into   
certain large and complicated problems4 
,for example1 it would be impossible for
 me to say much about the current1      
though gradually waning1 belief in the  
force of heredity1 without saying       
something about its ,far ,eastern       
equivalent1 the belief in               
re-incarnation1--in other words1 without
 asking whether a man inherits from his 
parents and other ancestors1 or from his
 former selves4 ,that different persona 
are born with widely different moral    
tendencies and propensities1 is as      
certain as that some strains of wheat   
are hardier and more productive than    
others4 ,and it is possible1 and even   
probable1 that there are exceptional    
cases of moral evil which point to      
congenital depravity1 and cannot        
otherwise be accounted for4 ,but in     
these admissions ,i am making no        
concession to the believer in original  

sin2 for he regards human nature as such
 as congenitally depraved1 and therefore
 can take no cognisance of exceptional  
cases of congenital depravity1 cases    
which by breaking the rule that the     
new-born child is morally and           
spiritually healthy1 may be said to     
prove it4  ,in fine1 then1 all moral    
evil can be accounted for on grounds    
which are quite compatible with the     
assumption that the normal child is     
healthy1 on all the planes of his being1
 at the moment of his birth4 ,that he   
carries with him into the world the     
capacity for being affected by adverse  
influences of various kinds1 is         
undeniable2 but so does every other     
living thing2 and if congenital         
depravity is to be predicated of him for
 that reason1 it must also be predicated
 of every new-born animal and plant4    
,but the final proof that ,man is by    
nature a child of ,god1 is one which has
 already been hinted at1 and will       
presently be further developed1--namely1

 that growth--the healthy1 vigorous     
growth of the whole human being1 the    
harmonious development of his whole     
nature--is in its essence a movement    
towards moral and spiritual perfection4 
,and the final proof that the doctrine  
of ,man's congenital depravity is false 
is the practical one that the doctrine  
is ever tending to fulfil its own gloomy
 predictions1 and to justify its own low
 estimate of human nature1--in other    
words1 that by making education         
repressive and devitalising1 by         
introducing externalism1 with its       
endless train of attendant evils1 into  
,man's daily life1 and by making him    
disbelieve in and even despair of       
himself1 it has done more perhaps than  
all other influences added together to  
deprave his heart and to wreck his life4
  ,to one who has convinced himself that
 human nature is fundamentally good1 in 
the sense that the new-born child is as 
a rule sound and healthy on all the     
planes of his being1 it must be clear   

that the path of soul-growth or         
self-realisation is the only way of     
salvation4 ,what salvation means1 what  
the path of self-realisation will do for
 him who enters it1 is a theme to which 
,i could not hope to do justice within  
the limits of this work4 ,i will        
therefore content myself with indicating
 certain typical aspects of the process 
which ,i have called self-realisation1  
and saying something about each of      
these4 ,four aspects suggest themselves 
to me as worthy of special              
consideration1--the mental1 the moral1  
the social1 and the religious4#bf   ,the
 ,mental ,aspect of ,self-realisation4  
,there are two features of the process  
of self-realisation1 on the importance  
of which ,i cannot insist too often or  
too strongly4 ,the first is that the    
growth which the life of                
self-realisation fosters is1 in its     
essence1 harmonious and many-sided4 ,the
 second is that the life of             
self-realisation is1 from first to last1

 a life of self-expression1 and that    
self-expression and perception are the  
face and obverse of the same mental     
effort4  ,if the life of                
self-realisation did not provide for the
 growth of the self in its totality1 the
 self as a living whole1 it would not be
 worthy of its name4 ,one-sided growth1 
inharmonious growth1 growth in which    
some faculties are hypertrophied and    
others atrophied1 is not                
self-realisation4 ,when trees are       
planted close together1 as in the       
beech-forests of the ,continent1 they   
climb to great heights in their struggle
 for air and light1 but they make no    
lateral growth4 ,when trees are         
pollarded1 they make abundant lateral   
growth1 but they cease to climb upward4 
,when trees are exposed to the          
prevailing winds of an open sea-coast1  
they are blown over away from the sea1  
and make all their growth1 such as it   
is1 on the landward side4 ,when trees   
are on the border of a thick plantation1

 they make all their growth towards the 
open air1 and are bare and leafless on  
the opposite side4 ,in each of these    
cases the growth made is inharmonious   
and one-sided3 the balance between the  
two intersecting planes of growth1 or   
between the two opposite sides1 has been
 lost4 ,but when a tree is planted in   
the open1 and when all the other        
conditions of growth are favourable1 it 
grows harmoniously in all               
directions1--upward1 outward1 and all   
around4 ,in other words1 it is growing  
as a whole1 growing1 as it ought to     
grow1 through every fibre of its being1 
and yet maintaining a perfect symmetry  
of form and the harmony of true         
proportion among its various parts4     
,this is the kind of growth which the   
soul makes in the life of               
self-realisation2 and if it falls       
appreciably short of this standard1 if  
it develops itself on this side or that1
 to the neglect of all other sides1 then
 we must say of it that1 though it is   

realising this or that faculty or group 
of faculties1 it is not realising       
itself4 ,i have spoken of the six great 
expansive instincts which indicate the  
main lines of the child's natural       
growth1 and ,i have shown that in       
,utopia the cultivation of all those    
instincts is duly provided for4 ,in the 
life of self-realisation the soul would 
continue to grow on the lines which     
those instincts had marked out for it4  
,i do not mean that when the child goes 
out into the work-a-day world1 he must  
give to all six instincts the systematic
 training which they received1 or ought 
to have received1 in school4 ,the       
exigencies of the daily round of life   
are such as to make that impossible1 in 
all but the most exceptional cases4 ,but
 that is all the more reason why the    
expansive instincts should be carefully 
and skilfully trained in school4 ,for   
where they are so trained1 an impetus is
 given to each of them which will keep  
it alive and active long after the      

direct influence of the school has      
ceased1 and will enable it to absorb and
 assimilate whatever nutriment may come 
in its way4 ,if the ,utopian training   
cannot be followed up1 in its entirety1 
in the child's after-life1 it can at    
least initiate a movement which need    
never be arrested1--a movement in the   
direction of the triune goal of ,man's  
being1 the goal towards which his       
expansive instincts are ever tending to 
take him1 the goal of ,love1 ,beauty1   
and ,truth4  ,the life of many-sided    
growth is also a life of                
self-expression4 ,this means that the   
self-expression1 like the growth which  
it fosters1 is many-sided2 and this     
again means that the perceptive         
faculties1 which unfold themselves      
through the medium of self-expression1  
are not so much separate faculties as a 
general capacity for getting on terms   
with one's environment and gaining an   
insight into its laws and properties4   
,in a school which lays itself out to   

teach one or two subjects thoroughly1 to
 the neglect of others1 a sense1 or     
special perceptive faculty1 will        
gradually be evolved by the study of    
each subject1 provided1 of course1 that 
the path of self-expression is          
followed1--a literary sense1 a          
historical sense1 a mathematical sense1 
and so on4 ,but while these special     
senses are being developed1 the         
remaining perceptive faculties are being
 starved1 and no attempt is being made  
to cultivate that general capacity of   
which ,i have just spoken4 ,the         
consequent loss to the child1 both in   
his school-life and in his after-life1  
is very great4 ,for not only is his     
mental growth one-sided and             
inharmonious1 but even in the subjects  
in which he specialises he will lose    
appreciably1 owing to his special       
perceptive faculties not having as their
 background any general capacity for    
seeing things as they are4  ,i will try 
to explain what ,i mean4 ,in what is    

known as ,society there is a valuable   
quality called tact1 in virtue of which 
the man or woman who is endowed with it 
always says and does the right thing4   
,this quality is compounded partly of   
sympathetic insight into the feelings1  
actual and possible1 of others1 and     
partly of a keen and subtle sense for   
all the nuances of social propriety4    
,like every other perceptive faculty1 it
 is the outcome of self-expression1--of 
years of self-expression on the plane of
 social intercourse4 ,that general      
perceptive faculty1 or perceptive       
capacity1 which is the outcome of years 
of self-expression on many sides of     
one's being1 has so much in common with 
the tact of the man of society1 that the
 epithet tactful may perhaps be applied 
to it4 ,the larger1 like the lesser1    
faculty is compounded1 partly of        
sympathetic insight into latent         
possibilities1 and partly of a delicate 
sense for nuances of all kinds4 ,but    
even this formula does less than justice

 to its complex nature4 ,generated as it
 is by a life of many-sided             
self-expression1 it reflects its origin 
in its internal constitution4 ,many     
elements of thought and feeling have    
woven themselves into it2 and it is     
ready to take a colour from each new    
environment or even from each new       
situation4 ,it can become emotional1 for
 example1 when the matter in hand       
appeals1 in any sort or degree1 to the  
emotions2 and there are occasions when  
its latent sense of humour becomes an   
invaluable antidote to that             
over-seriousness which so often leads   
men astray4 ,above all1 it is in its    
essence1 imaginative1 for it is ever    
learning to picture things to itself as 
they are or as they might be2 and the   
higher the level and the wider the      
sphere of its activity1 the more boldly 
imaginative it becomes4 ,a faculty so   
subtle and so sympathetic must needs    
play a vitally important rle1 not only  
when its possessor is studying subjects 

or handling concrete problems1 but also1
 and more especially1 when he is dealing
 with the affairs of life2 and we can   
understand that when it is wholly or    
largely lacking1 each of the special    
faculties which specialising is supposed
 to foster will suffer from not being   
tempered and yet vitalised by its       
all-penetrating influence4  ,that we may
 the better understand this1 and the    
better understand what the path of      
self-realisation does for the mental    
development of him who walks in it1 let 
us ask ourselves what type of mind the  
conventional type of education is likely
 to produce4 ,and let us study the      
conventional type of education on what  
is supposed to be its highest level4    
,let us consider the education given to 
the sons of the upper classes4 ,and let 
us take this highest level at its own   
highest level4 ,let us take the case of 
those who go through that tri-partite   
course of education which begins in a   
high-class ,preparatory ,school1 is     

continued in one of the ,great ,public  
,schools1 and is completed at ,oxford or
 ,cambridge4 ,a boy enters a            
,preparatory ,school at the age of eight
 or nine1 and is there prepared1 in     
general for entrance into one of the    
,great ,public ,schools1 and in         
particular for one of the competitive   
examinations on the results of which the
 entrance scholarships of the ,great    
,public ,schools are awarded4 ,he enters
 one of the ,great ,public ,schools at  
the age of thirteen or fourteen1 and is 
there prepared1 in general for admission
 to ,oxford or ,cambridge1 and in       
particular for the scholarship          
examinations of the various ,oxford and 
,cambridge ,colleges4 ,he enters ,oxford
 or ,cambridge at the age of eighteen or
 nineteen1 and is there prepared1       
directly for his degree                 
examination--,pass or ,honours as the   
case may be--and indirectly for the     
public examination which admits to the  
,indian and ,colonial1 and the higher   

grades of the ,home1 ,civil ,service4   
,this course of education lasts about   
fourteen years1 and costs from #a1ejj to
 #d1ejj4  ,what will it do for the boy  
who goes through it8 ,the education     
given in the ,preparatory ,school is    
completely dominated by the scholarship 
and entrance examinations at the ,great 
,public ,schools4 ,the lines on which   
those examinations are conducted are the
 lines on which the ,preparatory        
,schoolmaster must educate his pupils4  
,he has no choice in the matter4 ,the   
title ,preparatory seals his doom4 ,his 
business is1 not to give his pupils the 
education that is best suited to their  
capacities and their years1 but to      
prepare them for admission to a more    
advanced school4 ,the more scholarships 
he can win at ,eton1 ,harrow1           
,winchester1 ,rugby1 and the rest1 the  
higher will be the repute of his school2
 and as the competition between school  
and school is fierce and unintermittent1
 he cannot afford to throw away a single

 chance4 ,in other words1 he cannot     
afford to make a single serious         
experiment4 ,the education given in the 
,great ,public ,schools is similarly    
dominated by the scholarship and        
entrance examinations held by the       
,oxford and ,cambridge ,colleges4 ,the  
lines on which those examinations are   
conducted are in the main the lines on  
which the boys must be educated4 ,it is 
possible that the ,great ,public        
,schools are freer to go their own ways 
than are the ,preparatory ,schools2 but 
if they are1 they make but little use of
 their freedom4  ,so far as the rank and
 file of the boys are concerned1 it may 
be doubted if the word educative is     
applicable1 in any sense or degree1 to  
the daily round of their work4 ,of the  
six great expansive instincts which are 
struggling to evolve themselves in every
 healthy child1 not one can be said to  
find a congenial soil or a stimulating  
atmosphere in the ordinary classroom    
either of the ,preparatory or of the    

,public ,school4 ,four of the six--the  
dramatic1 the artistic1 the musical1 and
 the constructive--are entirely or      
almost entirely neglected4 ,music and   
,handwork#bg are extras 7a fatally      
significant word72 the teaching of      
,drawing is1 as a rule1 quite           
perfunctory2 and ,acting is not a       
recognised part of the school           
curriculum4 ,the truth is that marks are
 not given for these subjects--for in   
the eyes of the schoolmaster they are   
all subjects--in any entrance or        
scholarship examination1 and that       
therefore it does not pay to teach them4
 ,there remain two instincts1--the      
communicative and the inquisitive4 ,the 
study of the ,humanities--,history and  
,literature1 ancient and modern--ought  
to train the former2 and the study of   
,science ought to train the latter4 ,but
 in the case of the average boy1 the    
study of the ,humanities resolves       
itself1 in the main1 into a prolonged   
and unsuccessful tussle with the        

difficulties of the ,greek and ,latin   
languages1 the mastering of which is    
regarded as an end in itself instead of 
as the gateway to the wonder-worlds of  
ancient life and thought2 and the study 
of ,science is1 as a rule1 a pure       
farce4#bh ,not one1 then1 of the        
expansive instincts of the average boy  
receives any training during the nine or
 ten years of his school life2 and as1  
in his struggle for the ,pass degree of 
his ,university1 he will follow the     
lines on which he has been accustomed to
 work in both his schools1 he will go   
out into the world at the age of        
twenty-two or twenty-three1 the victim  
of a course of education which has      
lasted for fourteen years and cost      
thousands of pounds1 and which has done 
nothing whatever to foster his mental or
 spiritual growth4 ,it is true that in  
all the ,public ,schools a certain      
amount of informal education is done    
through the medium of ,musical          
,societies1 ,natural ,history           

,societies1 ,debating ,societies1       
,school ,magazines1 and the like2 that  
the discipline of a ,public ,school1    
with its system of ,school and ,house   
prefects1 has considerable educational  
value2 that the playing fields do       
something towards the formation of      
character2 that the boys1 by exchanging 
experiences and discussing things freely
 among themselves1 help to educate one  
another2 and that during the four months
 of each year which the schoolboy spends
 away from school1 he is1 or may be1    
exposed to educative influences of      
various kinds4#bi ,but the broad fact   
remains that the studies of the youthful
 graduate1 whether in school classroom  
or college lecture-room1 have been      
wholly unformative and therefore wholly 
uneducative4  ,but let us consider the  
education given in our ,public ,schools 
and ,universities1 at what is presumably
 the highest of all its levels4 ,let us 
see what is done for the boys who have  
sufficient ability to win ,scholarships 

and read for ,honours at ,oxford and    
,cambridge4 ,it is to the supposed      
interests of these brighter boys that   
the vital interests of their duller     
schoolfellows are perforce sacrificed4  
,are the results worth the sacrifice8   
,the brighter boys fall into two main   
groups1--those who have a turn for the  
,humanities1 and those who have a turn  
for ,mathematics and ,science4 ,where   
the ,humanities are effectively         
taught1--where1 for example1 the scholar
 is allowed to pass through the portals 
of ,latin and ,greek grammar and        
composition into the wonder-world that  
lies beyond them1--the communicative    
instinct receives a valuable training4  
,it is1 unfortunately1 quite possible   
for a boy1 or even for a man1 to be what
 is called a good scholar1 and yet to   
take no interest whatever in the history
 or literature of ,greece and ,rome2 and
 the examination system undoubtedly     
tends to foster this bastard type of    
humanism4 ,but when1 as a result of his 

school and ,university training1 a      
scholar has passed the linguistic       
portals and found pleasure in the worlds
 beyond1 we may say of him that his     
education has fostered the growth of one
 of his expansive instincts1--perhaps   
the most important of all1 but still    
only one4 ,when ,science is effectively 
taught1 the growth of the inquisitive   
instinct is similarly fostered2 but the 
inquisitive instinct1 though of great   
value1 when trained in conjunction with 
other instincts1 has but little value as
 a formative when trained by itself4    
,from this point of view it compares    
unfavourably with the communicative     
instinct1 being as much less formative  
than the latter1 as the mysteries of the
 material world are less significant and
 less able to inspire and vitalise their
 interpreter than the mysteries of human
 life2 and a purely 7or mainly7         
scientific training is therefore worth  
far less as an instrument of education  
than a purely 7or mainly7 humanistic    

training4  ,but why should the boys at  
our ,great ,public ,schools and the     
young men at our ,universities have to  
choose between a scientific and a       
humanistic training8 ,why should these  
ancient and famous institutions be      
content to train one only of the six    
expansive instincts instead of at least 
two8 ,here1 as elsewhere1 the           
scholarship system blocks the way4 ,some
 scholarships are given for ,classics1  
others for ,history1 others for         
,mathematics1 others for ,natural       
,science4 ,not a single scholarship is  
given1 at either ,university1 for       
general capacity1 as measured by the    
results of a many-sided examination4    
,why should this be8 ,the answer is that
 under any system of formal examination 
many-sidedness in education necessarily 
means smattering2 and that against      
smattering the ,universities have1 very 
properly1 set their faces4 ,but1 after  
all1 there is no necessary connection   
between many-sidedness and smattering4  

,in ,utopia1 where the concentric rings 
of growth are formed by the gradual     
evolution of an inner life1 whatever    
feeds that inner life is a contribution1
 however humble1 to the growth of the   
whole tree2 and many-sidedness1 far from
 being a defect1 is one of the first    
conditions of success in education4 ,but
 in the ,great ,public ,schools1 where  
veneers of information are being        
assiduously laid on the surface of the  
boy's mind with a view to his passing   
some impending examination1 the greater 
the number and variety of such veneers1 
the more certain they all are to split  
and waste and perish4 ,indeed the real  
reason why specialising has to be       
resorted to in the case of the brighter 
boys1 is that in no other way can       
provision be made for the fatal process 
of veneering being dispensed with1 and  
for faculty being evolved by growth from
 within4  ,but a heavy price has to be  
paid for the growth of these specialised
 faculties4 ,if ,science is to be       

seriously studied the student must give 
the whole of his time to it4 ,this means
 that he must give up the idea of       
educating himself4 ,it is only by       
turning his back on history1 on         
literature1 on philosophy1 on music1 on 
art1 that he can hope to meet the       
exacting and ever-growing demands which 
,science makes on those who desire to be
 initiated into its mysteries4 ,to say  
that when he has taken his degree he is 
only half-educated1 is greatly to       
over-estimate the formative influence of
 his highly specialised training4 ,a    
sense has undoubtedly been developed in 
him1 an instinct has been awakened1 one 
or two of his mental faculties have been
 vigorously cultivated2 but his training
 has been the reverse of humanising2 and
 as his studies and his consequent      
attitude towards ,nature have been      
essentially analytical1 he may1 in the  
absence of those correctives which his  
compulsory specialising has withheld    
from him1 have learned to regard the    

dead side of things as the real side1--a
 conception which1 if it mastered him1  
would materialise his whole outlook on  
life4  ,the case of the humanist is     
different4 ,the subjects which he       
studies appeal to many sides of his     
being2 and if he could respond to their 
appeal1 they might do much for his      
mental and spiritual development4 ,that 
he should be able to respond to their   
appeal is of vital importance4 ,when he 
has become a decent scholar1 a chance is
 given to him1 which if he neglects he  
will probably lose for ever1--the chance
 of making good1 in part at least1 the  
deficiencies of his early education4    
,had he lived in ,utopia1 his life of   
many-sided self-expression would have   
given a general training to his         
perceptive faculties1 in which the twin 
faculties of imagination and sympathy   
would have had their share4 ,but neither
 in his ,preparatory ,school nor in the 
lower classes of his ,public ,school has
 any serious attempt been made during   

school hours to ripen either of those   
mighty faculties1 whereas much has been 
done in both schools to retard their    
growth4 ,he is doomed1 then1 to begin   
his study of the history and literature 
of the ,ancient ,world with a           
considerable knowledge of the ,latin and
 ,greek languages1 but 7in too many     
cases7 with an unimaginative mind and an
 unsympathetic heart4 ,there is1        
however1 much in that history and that  
literature1--not to speak of the history
 and the literature of his own and other
 modern countries1--which1 if it could  
but have its way1 would appeal strongly 
to his imagination and his sympathy1    
dormant and undeveloped as these        
faculties are1--appeal to them so       
strongly as to awaken them at last from 
their slumber and quicken them into     
active life4 ,but alas6 the shadow of an
 impending examination is always falling
 on his humanistic studies1 nullifying  
the appeal that they make to him1 and   
compelling him to look at them from a   

sordidly utilitarian point of view4 ,for
 to give marks for the response that he 
might make to their appeal1 or even to  
set questions which would afford free   
scope for the play of his imagination or
 the flow of his sympathy1 is beyond the
 power of any examiner4 ,there are two  
things1 and two only1 which pay on the  
examination day1--the possession of     
information and the power to make use of
 it2 and the humanist who would win     
prizes at his school or gain high       
honours at his ,university1 must        
therefore regard the memorable doings   
and the imperishable sayings of his     
fellow-men1 not as things to be imagined
 and felt1 admired and loved1 wondered  
at and pondered over1 but as things to  
be pigeon-holed in his memory1 to be    
taken out and arranged under headings1  
to be dissected and commented on and    
criticised4#cj  ,of the part that memory
 plays in the education of our humanist1
 ,i need not speak4 ,an undue burden is 
probably laid upon it2 but that is a    

matter of minor importance4 ,what is of 
supreme importance is that in           
cultivating his critical faculty with an
 almost intensive culture1 while they   
starve1 or at any rate leave untended1  
his more vital and more emancipative    
faculties of imagination and sympathy1  
our ,great ,public ,schools and         
,universities are doing him a serious   
and lasting injury4 ,let us take the    
case of a young man of energy and       
ability who has just left ,oxford or    
,cambridge1 having won high honours in  
one of the humanistic schools4 ,let us  
assume that1 like so many of his kind1  
he has a keenly critical mind1 but is   
deficient in imagination and sympathy2  
and let us then try to forecast his     
future4 ,that the faith of his          
childhood1 undermined by his criticism1 
has already fallen to pieces or will    
shortly do so1 is more than probable4   
,that he will be too unimaginative to   
attempt to construct a new faith out of 
the ruins of the old1 is practically    

certain4 ,his lack of faith1 in the     
broader sense of the word1 will         
incapacitate him for high seriousness   
7which he will regard as bad form71 and 
a fortiori for enthusiasm 7which he will
 shun like the plague71 and will        
therefore predispose him to frivolity4  
,being fully persuaded1 owing to his    
lack of imaginative sympathy1 that his  
own outlook on life is alone compatible 
with mental sanity1 and yet being too   
clear-sighted to accept that outlook as 
satisfactory1 he will mingle with his   
frivolity a strain of bitterness and    
discontent1--the bitterness of          
self-corroding scepticism1 and the      
discontent which grows apace through its
 very effort to ignore its own          
existence4 ,in a word1 his attitude     
towards life will be one of             
cynicism1--that blend of hardness and   
bitterness with frivolity which exactly 
inverts the ideal of the modern poet1   
when he dreams of an age in the far-off 
future1    ,which without hardness will 

be sage1   ,and gay without             
frivolity4#ca  ,and the bitterness of   
his cynicism will be made bitterer still
 by the fact that1 owing to his being   
7in all probability7 unmusical1         
inartistic1 and unable to amuse himself 
with any form of handwork1 he will have 
no taste or hobby to distract him from  
himself4 ,for a time1 indeed1 the genial
 sense of youth will keep his sinister  
tendencies in check2 and in the middle  
period of life1 his struggle to achieve 
success--for of course he will be an    
externalist to the core--will tend to   
keep them in the background4 ,but in his
 later years1 when he will have either  
failed to achieve success or            
discovered--too late--that it was not   
worth achieving1 his cynicism will      
assert itself without let or hindrance1 
and1 with his growing incapacity for    
frivolity1 will become harder and       
bitterer1 till at last the dark shadow  
of incurable pessimism will fall on him 
and involve his declining years in ever 

deepening gloom4 ,i do not say that many
 of our ,university humanists will      
conform to this type2 but ,i do say that
 the type is easily recognisable and is 
becoming increasingly familiar4  ,even  
the intellectual development of our     
humanist1 who is nothing if not         
intellectual1 will be adversely affected
 by the one-sidedness of his education4 
,well-informed and acutely critical he  
will probably be2 but he will lack the  
saving grace of that tactful faculty    
which years of many-sided               
self-expression can alone evolve1--a    
faculty which 7as we have seen7 is      
subtly adaptive when it deals with small
 matters1 boldly imaginative when it    
deals with great matters1 and delicately
 sympathetic along the whole range of   
its activity4 ,this sinuous and         
penetrative sense is to the more        
logically critical faculty what equity  
is to law2 and in its absence the       
intellectuality of our young            
intellectual will be as incomplete as   

would be the legal system of a country  
which knew nothing of equity and tried  
to bring all legal problems under the   
direct control of positive law4 ,for it 
will be his business1 as he goes through
 life1 to deal in and with words and    
phrases2 and as words and phrases are   
ever tending to change their force1 and 
even their meaning1 under our hands1 and
 as his use and treatment of them will  
be logical and legal rather than tactful
 and equitable1 he will again and again 
misinterpret and misuse them1 and will  
so do badly the very thing which he is  
expected to do well4 ,the man who1      
though endowed with an acute and        
vigorous intellect1 can neither think   
imaginatively nor reason tactfully1 has 
grave intellectual defects2 and the     
blinder he is to the existence of these 
defects the more pronounced will they   
become4  ,the pity of it is that when   
these unimaginative intellectuals go out
 into the world1 they will fill posts in
 which they will have unrivalled        

opportunities for establishing and      
disseminating their unwholesome         
influence4 ,a section of them will go   
into the teaching profession1 the higher
 grades of which are almost entirely    
recruited from ,oxford and ,cambridge4  
,another section will go into the legal 
profession1 and through it will enter   
,parliament in considerable numbers1    
where1 being trained advocates1 they    
will exercise an influence out of all   
proportion to their numerical strength4 
,and a third section will man the higher
 grades of the ,home1 ,colonial1 and    
,indian ,civil ,services4 ,teachers1    
legislators1 administrators1--if there  
are any walks in life in which cynicism 
and a capacity for merely destructive   
criticism are out of place1 and in which
 imagination and sympathy are           
imperatively demanded1 they are these   
three2 and it is nothing short of a     
national calamity that these great and  
commanding professions should be manned1
 in part at least1 by men whose mission 

in life is to paralyse rather than to   
vitalise1 to fetter rather than to set  
free4  ,the further pity of it is that  
the training of these intellectuals     
might easily have taken an entirely     
different course4 ,much of the          
specialising which goes on in our ,great
 ,public ,schools and ,universities1 and
 which is so destructive of mental and  
spiritual vitality1 is wholly           
unnecessary4 ,the course of education   
which the sons of the upper classes go  
through has this in common with         
elementary education1 that in neither   
case need utilitarian considerations    
weigh with the teachers4 ,the parents of
 a large proportion of our ,public      
,school boys can afford to give their   
sons a liberal education 7in the truest 
and fullest sense of the word7 up to the
 age of twenty-two or twenty-three2 and 
in the case of these boys1 at any rate1 
the excessive specialisation which makes
 their education so illiberal is done1  
not in response to the demands of       

professions 7such as the medical or the 
engineering7 which necessitate early    
specialising1 but solely in response to 
the demands of an examination system    
which we adopted before we had begun to 
ask ourselves what education meant1 and 
which1 partly from the force of habit   
and partly because it is in keeping with
 our general attitude towards life1 we  
still bow down before with a devotion as
 ardent and as irrational as that which 
inspired the cry of ,great is ,diana of 
the ,ephesians4#cb  ,at its best1 then1 
the education given by the ,great       
,public ,schools and ,universities      
fosters the growth of one of the        
expansive instincts1--the communicative1
 a mighty instinct which opens up to    
imagination and sympathy the whole wide 
world of human life2 but because it     
leaves all the other expansive instincts
 untended1 it gives that one instinct an
 inadequate and unsymmetrical training1 
a training which checks the growth of   
the very faculties--imagination and     

sympathy--of which the instinct is      
largely compounded and for the sake of  
which it may almost be said to exist4   
,at its second best1 this costly        
education fosters the growth of the     
inquisitive instinct1--a grandly        
expansive instinct when trained in      
conjunction with the others1 but one    
which is constrictive rather than       
expansive when trained by itself and for
 its own sake4 ,at its ordinary level1  
it trains no instinct whatever1 and is  
therefore unworthy of the name of       
education4 ,why should this be so8 ,why 
should a course of education which lasts
 so long and costs so much do so little 
for its victims1 and do that little so  
badly or1 at any rate1 so inadequately8 
,because from first to last it has      
looked outward instead of inward2       
because it has laboured unceasingly to  
produce results1 and has never given a  
thought to growth4#cc   ,let us now go  
to the other end of the social scale4   
,what the path of self-realisation might

 do for the children of the upper       
classes if they were allowed to follow  
it1 we may roughly calculate1 partly by 
measuring what the alternative scheme of
 education has failed to do for them1   
partly by reminding ourselves of what   
the path has done for the village       
children of ,utopia4 ,the children of   
the upper classes have such an advantage
 over the children of ,utopia in the    
matter of environment1--to say nothing  
of inherited capacity1--that one would  
expect the path to do much more for     
their mental development than it has    
done for the mental development of the  
,utopians1 especially as they could     
afford to remain much longer in the     
first and most important of its stages1 
the stage of self-education 7in the more
 limited sense of the word74 ,the gain  
to the whole nation if the mental       
development of the highest social       
stratum could be raised as much above   
its normal level as the mental          
development of youthful ,utopia has been

 raised above the normal level of an    
,english rural village1 would be        
incalculably great4 ,but greater        
still--incalculably greater--would be   
the gain to the nation if the rank and  
file of its children could be led into  
the path of self-realisation1 and       
therein rise to the high level of       
brightness1 intelligence1 and           
resourcefulness which has been reached  
in ,utopia4  ,nor is this dream so      
wildly impracticable as some might      
imagine4 ,so far as the natural capacity
 of the average child is concerned1     
there is no bar to its realisation4     
,egeria has taught me that the mental   
capacity of the average child1 even in a
 rustic village belonging to a county   
which is proverbial for the slow wits of
 its rustics1 is very great4 ,it is     
sometimes said that of the children who 
have been trained in our elementary     
schools1 not one in twenty is fit to    
profit by the education given in a      
secondary school3 and if by this is     

meant that in nineteen cases out of     
twenty the elementary scholar1 educated 
as he has probably been1 is unlikely to 
profit by the education given in a      
secondary school1 conducted as those    
schools usually are1 ,i am not prepared 
to say offhand that the statement is    
untrue4 ,but if it means that the       
average mental capacity of the children 
of our lower orders is hopelessly       
inferior to that of the children of our 
middle and upper classes1 ,i can say    
without hesitation that it is a slander 
and a lie4 ,whether there is any        
difference1 in respect of innate mental 
capacity1 between level and level of our
 social scale1 may be doubted2 but the  
,utopian experiment has proved to       
demonstration that in the lowest level  
of all the innate mental capacity is so 
great that we cannot well expect to find
 any considerable advance on it even in 
the highest level of all4  ,but where1  
it will be asked1 are we to find        
,egerias to man our elementary schools8 

,for the moment this problem does not   
admit of a practical solution4 ,but that
 need not discourage us4 ,i admit that  
in far too many of our schools the      
teachers1 through no fault of their own1
 are what ,i may call machine-made1 and 
that they are engaged in turning out    
machine-made scholars1 some of whom in  
the fullness of time will develop into  
machine-made teachers4 ,but there is a  
way of escape from this vicious         
circle1--the path of self-realisation4  
,that path has transformed the children 
of a rustic village in a slow-witted    
county into ,utopians4 ,why should it   
not transform some at least among the   
boys and girls who are thinking of      
entering the teaching profession into   
,egerias1 or at any rate into teachers  
of ,egeria's type8 ,even as it is1      
replicas of ,egeria1--not exact         
replicas1 for she is too original to be 
easily replicated1 but teachers who1    
like her1 preach and practise the gospel
 of self-education1--are beginning to   

spring up in various parts of the       
country2 and each of their schools1     
besides being a centre of light1 may    
well become a nursery for teachers who  
will follow in the footsteps of those   
who have trained them1 and will in their
 turn do pioneer work in other schools4 
,the thin end of the wedge is even now  
being driven into the close-grained mass
 of tradition and routine2 and each     
successive blow that is struck by a     
teacher of intelligence and initiative  
will widen the incipient cleft4  ,the   
dream1 then1 of leading the children of 
,england--the children of the masses as 
well as of the classes--into the path of
 self-realisation1 is not so widely     
impracticable as to convict the dreamer 
of insanity4 ,and if we could realise   
the dream1 if we could go but a little  
way towards realising it1 how immense   
would be the gain to our country6 ,if   
the average level of mental development 
in ,england were as high as it is in    
,utopia1 to what height would not the   

men and women of exceptional ability be 
able to rise8 ,the mountain peaks that  
spring from an upland plateau soar      
higher towards the sky than the peaks1  
of the same apparent height1 that spring
 from a low-lying plain4 ,and the great 
mountains lift the lowlands on to their 
sides4  ,but this is not the only reason
 why the gospel of self-realisation     
should be preached in all parts of the  
land4 ,there is another reason which is 
becoming more and more urgent4 ,if the  
,utopian scheme of education were widely
 adopted1 an antidote would be found to 
a grave and growing evil which is       
beginning to imperil the mental health  
of every civilised community1 and of    
this more than any other4 ,the more     
civilised 7in the ,western sense of the 
word7 a country becomes1 the less       
educative does life--the                
rough-and-tumble life of the work-a-day 
world--tend to become4 ,in a thoroughly 
civilised country1 where the material   
conditions of life are highly organised1

 and where industry is highly           
specialised1 so much is done for the    
individual by those who organise his    
life and labour1 that it ceases to be   
necessary for him1 except within narrow 
limits1 to shift for himself4 ,in a less
 civilised community men have to use    
their wits as well as their hands at    
every turn2 and resourcefulness and     
versatility are therefore in constant   
demand4 ,the industrial life of a       
,russian peasant1 who is of necessity a 
,jack-of-many-trades1 is incomparably   
more educative than that of the         
,lancashire cotton operative1 most of   
whose thinking and much of whose        
operating may be said to be done for him
 by the complicated machinery which he  
controls2 who does1 indeed1 learn to do 
one thing surpassingly well1 but in     
doing that one thing becomes1 as he     
progresses1 more and more automatic1 so 
that the highest praise we can give him 
is to say that he does his work with the
 sureness and accuracy of a machine4 ,it

 follows that the more civilised a      
country becomes1 the more important is  
the part that the elementary school     
plays in the life of the nation1--and   
that not merely because the ability to  
read1 write1 and cipher is1 in the      
conditions which modern civilisation    
imposes1 almost as much a necessary of  
life as the ability to walk or talk1 but
 also and more especially because it    
devolves upon the school to do for the  
citizen in his childhood what life will 
not do for him in his manhood1 or will  
do for him but in scant measure1 to     
stimulate his vital powers into         
healthful activity1 to foster the growth
 of his soul4 ,and the more the people  
in a civilised country are withdrawn    
from the soil and herded into mines and 
mills and offices1 the more imperative  
is it that the school should quicken    
rather than deaden the child's innate   
faculties1 should bring sunshine rather 
than frost into his adolescent life4 ,in
 such a country as ours the             

responsibilities of the teacher are only
 equalled by his opportunities2 for the 
child is in his hands during the most   
impressionable years of life2 and those 
years will have been wasted1 and worse  
than wasted1 unless they have fitted the
 child to face the world with           
resourcefulness1 intelligence1 and vital
 energy1 ready to wrest from his        
environment1 by enlarging and otherwise 
transforming it1 those educative        
influences which are still to be had for
 the seeking1 but are no longer         
automatically supplied4   ,the ,moral   
,aspect of ,self-,realisation4  ,if     
,man1 if each man in turn1 is born good1
 the process of growth1 or              
self-realisation1 which is presumably   
taking him towards the perfection of    
which his nature admits1 must needs make
 him continuously better4 ,in other     
words1 growth1 provided that it is      
healthy1 harmonious1 and many-sided1    
provided that it is growth of the whole 
being1 is in itself and of inner        

necessity the most moralising of all    
processes4 ,nay1 it is the only         
moralising process1 for in no other way 
can what is naturally good be           
transformed into what is ideally best4  
,this argument1 apart from its being    
open to the possible objection that it  
plays on the meaning of the word good1  
is perhaps too conclusive to be really  
convincing4 ,i will therefore try to    
make my way to its conclusion by another
 line of thought4  ,the desire to grow1 
to advance towards maturity1 to realise 
his true self--the self that is his in  
embryo from the very beginning--is      
strong in every living thing1 and is    
therefore strong in every child of man4 
,but the desire1 which necessarily takes
 its share in the general process of    
growth1 must needs pass through many    
stages on its way to its own highest    
form4 ,in infancy1 it is a desire for   
physical life1 for the preservation and 
expansion of the physical self2 and in  
this stage it is1 as ,i have already    

pointed out1 uncompromisingly selfish4  
,the new-born baby is the incarnation of
 selfishness2 and it is quite right that
 he should be so4 ,it is his way of     
trying to realise himself4 ,as the child
 grows older1 the desire to grow becomes
 a desire for self-aggrandisement1--a   
desire to shine in various ways1 to     
surpass others1 to be admired1 to be    
praised2 and though in this stage it may
 give rise to much vanity and           
selfishness1 still1 so long as it has   
vigorous growth behind it and is in its 
essence a desire for further growth1 it 
is in the main a healthy tendency1 and  
to call it sinful or vicious would be a 
misuse of words4  ,but when1 in the     
course of time1 the average1 ordinary1  
surface self--the self with which we are
 all only too familiar--has been fully  
evolved and firmly established1 the day 
may come when1 owing to various adverse 
conditions1 the growth of the soul will 
be arrested1 and the ordinary self will 
come to be regarded as the true self1 as

 the self which the man may henceforth  
accept and rest in1 as the self in      
virtue of which he is what he is4       
,should the desire for                  
self-aggrandisement survive that day1   
the door would be thrown open to        
selfishness of a malignant type and to  
general demoralisation4 ,and this is    
what would assuredly come to pass4 ,in  
the first place1 the desire for         
self-aggrandisement1 which always has   
the push of ,nature's expansive forces  
behind it1 would certainly survive that 
ill-omened day4 ,indeed1 it were well   
that it should do so2 for while there is
 life1 there is hope1 and when the soul 
is ceasing to grow1 it is through the   
desire for self-aggrandisement that     
,nature makes her last effort to keep it
 alive1 by compelling it to energise on 
one or two at least of the many sides of
 its being4 ,in the second place1 the   
desire would gradually cease to be      
resolvable into the desire for continued
 growth1 and would gradually transform  

itself into the desire to glorify and   
make much of the ordinary self1 to      
minister to its selfish demands1 to give
 it possessions1 riches1 honour1 power1 
social rank1 and whatever else might    
serve to feed its self-esteem1 and make 
it think well of itself because it was  
well thought of by the world4 ,and in   
the third place1 in its effort to       
glorify and make much of the ordinary   
self1 the desire would1 without a       
moment's compunction1 see other persons 
pushed to the wall1 trampled under foot1
 slighted and humiliated1 robbed of what
 they valued most1 outraged and wounded 
in their tenderest feelings4 ,it is my  
firm conviction that at the present day 
three-fourths of the moral evil in the  
world1 or at any rate in the ,western   
world1 are the direct or indirect       
outcome of egoism1--egoism which1 as a  
rule1 is mean1 petty1 and small-minded1 
but is often cruel and ruthless1 and can
 on occasion become heroic and even     
titanic in its capacity for evil and in 

the havoc that it works1--egoism which  
in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred is
 generated by the desire for            
self-aggrandisement having outlived its 
better self1 the desire to grow4  ,if   
arrested growth is the chief source of  
malignant egoism1 there is an obvious   
remedy for the deadly malady4 ,the      
egoist must re-enter the path of        
self-realisation4 ,his great enemy is   
his lower self2#cd and the surest way to
 conquer this enemy is to outgrow it1 to
 leave it far behind4 ,when the path of 
self-realisation has been re-entered1   
when the soul has resumed the           
interrupted process of its growth1 the  
desire for self-aggrandisement will     
spontaneously transform itself1 first   
into the desire for further growth1 and 
then into the desire for outgrowth or   
escape from self1 and will cease to     
minister to the selfish demands of the  
lower self2 and as the lower self is all
 the while being gradually left behind  
by the growing soul1 and is therefore   

ceasing to assert itself1 and ceasing to
 clamour1 like a spoilt child1 for this 
thing and for that1--it will not be long
 before the antidote to the poison of   
egoism will have taken due effect1 and  
the health of the soul will have been   
restored4  ,but let me say again--for ,i
 can scarcely say it too often--that the
 growth which emancipates from self is  
many-sided growth1 the growth1 not of   
any one faculty1 or group of faculties1 
but of the soul as such4 ,were it not   
so1 the life of self-realisation might  
easily become a life of glorified and   
therefore intensified selfishness4 ,it  
is quite possible1 as we know from      
experience1 for a high degree of culture
 to co-exist with a high degree of      
egoism4 ,it is possible1 for example1   
for the sthetic instincts1 when not kept
 aglow by the sympathetic1 or hardened  
with an alloy of the scientific1 to     
evolve a peculiar form of selfishness   
which leads at last to looseness of life
 and general demoralisation4 ,and it is 

possible for the scientific instincts1  
when developed at the expense of the    
sthetic and the sympathetic1 to evolve a
 hard1 unemotional type of character    
which is self-centred and selfish owing 
to its positiveness and lack of         
imagination4 ,but these are instances of
 inharmonious growth4 ,when growth is   
harmonious and many-sided1 it leads of  
necessity to out-growth1 to escape from 
self4 ,for the expansive instincts are  
so many ways of escape from self which  
,nature opens up to the soul2--the      
sympathetic instincts1 a way of escape  
into the boundless ther of love2 the    
sthetic instincts1 a way of escape into 
the wonder-world of beauty2 the         
scientific instincts1 a way of escape   
into the world of mysteries which is    
lighted by the high white star of truth4
 ,it is only when one of the expansive  
instincts is allowed to aggrandise      
itself at the expense of the others1    
that the consequent outgrowth of        
selfishness in what ,i may call the     

internal economy of one's nature begins 
to reflect itself in a general          
selfishness of character4 ,an instinct  
may readily become egoistic in its      
effort to affirm or over-affirm itself1 
to grasp at its share or more than its  
share of the child's rising life3 and if
 it does1 it may gradually suck down    
into the vortex of its egoism the whole 
character of the child as he ripens into
 the man4 ,but growth1 as such1 is      
anti-egoistic just because it is growth1
 because it is a movement towards a     
larger1 fuller1 and freer life3 and it  
is restricted1 even more than one-sided 
growth1--it is the apathy1 the          
helplessness1 the deadness of soul that 
overtakes1 first the child and then the 
man1 when his expansive instincts are   
systematically starved and              
thwarted1--which is the chief cause of  
his incarceration in his petty self4    
,if three-fourths of the moral evil in  
the world are due to malignant egoism1  
the source of the remaining fourth is1  

in a word1 sensuality4 ,by sensuality ,i
 mean the undue or perverted development
 of the desires and passions of the     
animal self1--the desire for food and   
drink1 the sexual desires1 the desire   
for physical or semi-physical           
excitement1 the animal passion of anger1
 and the rest4 ,as an enemy of the soul1
 sensuality is less dangerous1 because  
more open and less insidious1 than      
egoism4 ,the egoist1 who mistakes his   
ordinary for his real self1 may well    
lead a life of systematic selfishness   
without in the least realising that he  
is living amiss4 ,but the animal self is
 never mistaken for the real self2 and  
the sensualist always has an uneasy     
feeling in the back of his mind that1 in
 indulging his animal desires and       
passions to excess1 he is doing wrong4  
,this feeling may1 indeed1 die out when 
he grows hard in his viciousness2 but in
 the earlier stages of the sensual life 
it is sure to give pause2 and there are1
 ,i think1 few persons who do not feel  

that the sensual desires and passions   
are so remote from the headquarters of  
human life1 that in yielding to them    
beyond due measure they are acting      
unworthily of their higher selves4 ,at  
any rate we may regard the temptations  
to sensual indulgence that lie in our   
path as evil influences which are       
assailing us from without rather than   
from within2 and we may therefore liken 
them to the blight1 rust1 mites1 mildew1
 and other pests that assail hops1      
fruit1 wheat1 and other growing plants4 
,and1 like the pests that assail growing
 plants1 the sensual pests that war     
against the soul must be beaten off by  
vigorous and continuous growth4 ,no     
other prophylactic is so sure or so     
effective as this4 ,when ,i was asked   
whether the ,utopian education was      
useful or not1 ,i adduced1 as an        
instance of its usefulness1 its power of
 protecting the young from the          
allurements of a pernicious literature1 
to which the victims of the conventional

 type of education1 with their lowered  
vitality and their lack of interest in  
life1 too readily succumb4 ,this is a   
typical example of the way in which the 
rising sap of life strengthens the soul 
to resist the temptations to undue      
sensual indulgence by which it is always
 liable to be assailed4 ,the victim of a
 repressive1 growth-arresting type of   
education1 having few if any interests  
in life1 not infrequently takes to the  
meretricious excitements of sensuality  
in order to relieve the intolerable     
monotony of his days4 ,but the training 
which makes for many-sided growth1 by   
filling the life of the adolescent with 
many and various interests1 removes     
temptations of this particular type from
 his path4 ,and it does more for him    
than this4 ,it generates in him a state 
of health and well-being1 in which the  
very vigour and elasticity of his       
spiritual fibre automatically shields   
him from temptation by refusing to allow
 the germs of moral disease to effect a 

lodgment in his soul4 ,it would be well 
if our moralists could realise that the 
chief causes of weakness in the presence
 of sensual temptation are1 on the one  
hand1 boredom and ennui1 and on the     
other hand flabbiness and degeneracy of 
spiritual fibre1 and that the remedy for
 both these defects is to give the young
 the type of education which will foster
 rather than hinder growth4  ,we are now
 in a position to estimate the          
respective values1 as moralising        
influences1 of the path of              
self-realisation and the path that leads
 to results4 ,whatever tends to arrest  
growth tends also and in an equal degree
 to demoralise ,man's life2 for1 on the 
one hand1 by transforming the healthy   
desire for continued growth into the    
unhealthy desire for mere               
self-aggrandisement1 it generates       
malignant egoism1 with its endless train
 of attendant evils2 and1 on the other  
hand1 by depressing the vitality of the 
soul and so weakening its powers of     

resistance1 it exposes it to the attacks
 of those powers and desires which we   
speak of in the aggregate as sensuality4
 ,if this is so1 the inference is       
irresistible that the externalism of    
civilised life1 with the repressive and 
devitalising system of education which  
it necessitates1 is responsible for the 
greater part of the immorality--,i am   
using the word in its widest sense--of  
the present age4 ,contrariwise1 whatever
 tends to foster growth tends also1 and 
in an equal degree1 to moralise ,man's  
life2 for1 on the one hand1 by          
transforming the desire for             
self-aggrandisement into the desire1    
first for continued growth and then for 
out-growth1 it gives the soul strength  
to eliminate the poison of egoism from  
its system2 and1 on the other hand1 by  
vitalising the soul and so strengthening
 its powers of resistance1 it enables it
 to beat off the attacks of those       
enemies of its well-being which serve   
under the banner of sensuality4 ,if this

 is so1 the inference is irresistible   
that self-realisation is the only       
effective remedy for the immorality of  
the present age4  ,the comparison       
between the two schemes of life may be  
carried a stage further4 ,if egoism and 
sensuality are the two primary vices1   
the secondary vices will be the various 
ways and means by which egoism and      
sensuality try to compass their         
respective ends4 ,let us select for     
consideration one group of these        
vices1--the important group which fall  
under the general head of               
untruthfulness4 ,insincerity1           
disingenuousness1 shiftiness1 trickery1 
duplicity1 chicanery1 evasion1 intrigue1
 suppressio veri1 suggestio falsi1      
fraud1 mendacity1 treachery1 hypocrisy1 
cant1--their name is ,legion4 ,that     
externalism1 whether in school or out of
 school1 is the foster-mother of the    
whole brood1 is almost too obvious to   
need demonstration4 ,in school the child
 lives in an atmosphere of unreality and

 make-believe4 ,the demand for          
mechanical obedience which is always    
pressing upon him is a demand that he   
shall be untrue to himself4 ,sincerity  
of expression1 which is the             
fountain-head of all truthfulness1 is   
not merely slighted by his teacher1 but 
is systematically proscribed4 ,he is    
always 7under compulsion7 pretending to 
be what he is not1--to know what he does
 not know1 to see what he does not see1 
to think what he does not think1 to     
believe what he does not believe4 ,and  
he lives1 from hour to hour1 under the  
dark shadow of severity and             
distrust1--severity which is too often  
answered by servility1 and distrust     
which is too often answered by deceit4  
,when he goes out into the world1 he    
finds that though there are many sins   
for which there is forgiveness1 there is
 one for which there is no              
forgiveness1--the sin of being found    
out2 and he orders his life accordingly4
 ,he finds that he must give account of 

himself to public opinion1 which        
necessarily judges according to the     
appearance of things1 and is only too   
ready to be hoodwinked and gulled4 ,he  
finds that to succeed is to achieve     
certain outward and visible             
results1--results which are out of      
relation to the vraie vrit of things1   
which are in no way symbolical of merit1
 and for the winning of which any means 
may be resorted to provided that        
scandals are avoided and the letter of  
the law is obeyed4 ,he finds that the   
system of advertising which plays so    
large a part in modern life1 and without
 which it is so hard to succeed1 is in  
the main a system of organised          
mendacity4 ,finally1 and above all1 he  
finds that the examination system1 with 
its implicit demands for trickery and   
shiftiness1 and its almost open         
invitation to cram and cheat1 is not    
confined to the school but has its      
equivalent in the world1 and is in fact 
the basis of civilisation as well as of 

education in the ,west4  ,this is the   
provision that externalism makes for the
 practical inculcation of               
truthfulness1--a virtue which its       
religion and its ethics profess to      
honour above all others4 ,the life of   
self-realisation1 on the other hand1 is 
a life of genuine self-expression2 and a
 life of genuine self-expression is     
obviously a life of fearless sincerity4 
,in such a life there is no place for   
untruthfulness or any member of its     
impish brood4 ,the one concern of the   
child1 as of the man1 is to be loyal to 
intrinsic reality1 to be true to his    
true self4 ,his standard is always      
inward1 not outward4 ,he knows that he  
is what he is1 not what he is reputed to
 be4 ,quantum unusquisque est in oculis 
,tuis1 tantum est et non amplius4       
,here1 then1 as elsewhere1 we see that  
the difference between the morality of  
externalism and the morality of         
self-realisation is a difference1 not of
 degree but of direct antagonism1--the  

difference between a poison and its     
antidote1 between the cause of a malady 
and the cure4  ,while the path of       
self-realisation is emancipating us from
 egoism and sensuality1 in what general 
direction is it leading us8 ,is its     
ethical ideal positive or merely        
negative8 ,and if it is positive1 what  
is its character1 and how is it to be   
realised8 ,the answer to this question  
will be given in the remaining sections4
   ,the ,social ,aspect of              
,self-realisation4  ,he must either be  
richly endowed with the good things of  
life or be of an exceptionally          
optimistic disposition1 who can view the
 existing social order with complete    
satisfaction4 ,even among those who are 
richly endowed with the good things of  
life there must be many who realise that
 the ,have-nots have some cause for     
complaint4 ,and even among those who are
 of an exceptionally optimistic         
disposition there must be some who      
realise that the grounds of their       

optimism are personal to themselves1 and
 that they cannot expect many others to 
share their satisfaction with things as 
they are4  ,the phrase the good things  
of life is significant1 and explains    
much4 ,it means that an outward standard
 of reality has fully established itself
 in the community1 that money and the   
possessions of various kinds which money
 can buy are regarded as the good things
 of life1--things which are             
intrinsically good1 and therefore       
legitimate ends of ,man's ambition and  
endeavour1 things to pursue which is to 
fulfil one's destiny and to win which is
 to achieve salvation4 ,it means1 in    
other words1 that the life of the       
community is a scramble for material    
possessions and outward and visible     
results--a scramble which on its lowest 
level becomes a struggle for bare       
existence1 and on the next level a      
struggle for the necessaries of         
life--and that this legalised scramble  
is the basis of the whole social order4 

,in such a scramble the great prizes are
 necessarily few1 and the number of     
complete failures is always             
considerable2 for the wealthier a       
country1 the higher is its standard of  
comfort1 so that the proportion of      
failures--the percentage of men who are 
submerged and outcast1 who are in want  
and misery--is at least as great in the 
wealthiest as in the poorest community1 
while the extremes of wealth and poverty
 are as a rule greatest where the       
pursuit of riches is carried on with the
 keenest vigour and the most complete   
success4  ,there are many persons1 rich 
as well as poor1 who1 viewing the       
legalised scramble from an entirely     
impersonal standpoint1 are filled with  
disgust and dismay1 and who dream of    
making an end of it1 by substituting    
what they call collectivism for the     
individualism which they regard as the  
source of all our troubles4 ,these      
persons are known as ,socialists4 ,their
 ruling idea is that the ,state should  

become the sole owner of property1 and  
that this radical change should be      
effected by a series of legislative     
measures4 ,with their social ideal1     
regarded as an ideal1 one has of course 
the deepest sympathy4 ,their motto is1  
,i believe1 ,each for all1 and all for  
each2 and if this ideal could be        
realised1 the social millennium would   
indeed have begun4 ,but in trying to    
compass their ends by legislation1      
before the standard of reality has been 
changed1 they are making a disastrous   
mistake4 ,for1 to go no further1 our    
schools are hotbeds of individualism1   
the spirit of competitive selfishness   
being actively and systematically       
fostered in all of them1 with a few     
exceptions2 and so long as this is so1  
so long as our highly individualised    
society is recruited1 year by year1 by a
 large contingent of individualists of  
all ranks1 drawn from schools of all    
grades1 for so long will the            
,socialistic ideal remain an            

impracticable dream4 ,an impracticable  
and a mischievous dream2 for in the     
attempt to realise it1 the community    
will almost inevitably be brought to the
 verge of civil war4 ,when the seeds of 
socialistic legislation1 or even of     
socialistic agitation1 are sown in a    
soil which is highly charged with the   
poison of individualism1 the resulting  
crop will be class hatred and social    
strife4  ,no1 we must change our        
standard of reality before we can hope  
to reform society4 ,where the outward   
standard prevails1 where material       
possessions are regarded as the good    
things of life1 the basis of society    
must needs be competitive rather than   
communal1 for there will never be enough
 of those good things to satisfy the    
desires of all the members of any       
community4 ,and even if the socialistic 
dream of state-ownership could be       
universally realised1 the change--so    
long as the outward standard of reality 
prevailed--would not necessarily be for 

the better1 and might well be for the   
worse4 ,competition for the good things 
of life would probably go on as fiercely
 as ever2 but it would be a scramble    
among nations rather than individuals1  
and it might conceivably take the form  
of open warfare waged on a titanic      
scale4#ce ,even now there are           
indications that such a struggle1 or    
series of struggles1 if not actually    
approaching1 is at any rate not beyond  
the bounds of possibility4 ,and on the  
way to the realisation of the           
collectivist ideal1 we should probably  
have in each community a similar        
struggle for wealth and power among     
political parties1--a struggle which    
would generate many social evils1 of    
which civil war might not be the most   
malignant4  ,but if we are to change our
 standard of reality we must change it1 
first and foremost1 in the school4 ,the 
way to do this is quite simple4 ,we need
 not give lessons on altruism4 ,we need 
not teach or preach a new philosophy of 

life4 ,all that we need do is to foster 
the growth of the child's soul4 ,when   
the growth of the soul is healthy and   
harmonious1 the cultivation of all the  
expansive instincts having been fully   
provided for1 the communal instinct will
 evolve itself in its own season2 and   
when the communal instinct has been     
fully evolved1 the social order will    
begin to reform itself4 ,this is what   
has happened in ,utopia4 ,there1 where  
competition is unknown1 where prizes are
 undreamed of1 where the growth of the  
child's natural faculties1 and the      
consequent well-being of his soul1 is   
its own exceeding great reward1 the     
communal instinct has grown with the    
growth of the child's whole nature1 and 
has generated an ideal social life4  ,at
 the end of the last section ,i asked   
myself what was the ethical ideal of the
 life of self-realisation1--the positive
 ideal as distinguished from the more   
negative ideal of emancipating from     
egoism and sensuality4 ,i will now try  

to answer this question4 ,emancipation  
from egoism and sensuality is effected  
by the outgrowth of a larger and truer  
self4 ,this larger and truer self1 as it
 unfolds itself1 directs our eyes       
towards the ideal self--the goal of the 
whole process of growth--which is to the
 ordinary self what the full-grown tree1
 embodying in itself the perfection of  
oakhood1 is to the sapling oak1 or what 
the ripe peach1 embodying in itself the 
perfection of peachhood1 is to the green
 unripened fruit4 ,the ideal self is1 in
 brief1 perfect ,manhood4 ,what perfect 
,manhood may be1 we need not pause to   
inquire4 ,whatever it may be1 it is the 
true self of each of us4 ,it follows    
that the nearer each of us gets to it1  
the nearer he is to the true self of    
each of his fellow-men2 that the more   
closely he is able to identify himself  
with it1 the more closely he is able to 
identify himself with each of his       
fellow-men2 that in realising it1 he is 
realising1 he is entering into1 he is   

becoming one with1 the real life of each
 of his fellow-men4 ,and not of each of 
his fellow-men only4 ,he is also        
entering into the life of the whole     
community of men--7for it is the        
presence of the ideal self in each of us
 which makes communal life              
possible7--and1 through this1 of each of
 the lesser communities to which he may 
happen to belong4 ,in other words1 he is
 losing himself in the lives of others1 
and is finding his well-being1 and      
therefore his happiness1 in doing so4   
,but self-loss1 with joy in the loss of 
self1 is1 in a word1 love4  ,the path of
 self-realisation is1 then1 in its      
higher stages1 a life of love4 ,he who  
walks in that path must needs lead a    
life of love4 ,he will love and serve   
his fellow-men1 both as individuals and 
as members of this or that community1   
not because he is consciously trying to 
live up to a high ideal1 but because he 
has reached a stage in his development  
beyond which he cannot develop himself  

except by leading a life of love1       
because the path of self-realisation has
 led him into the sunshine of love1 and 
if he will not henceforth walk in that  
sunshine he will cease to follow his    
path4 ,he has indeed long walked in the 
foreglow of the sunshine of love4 ,the  
dawn of the orb of love is heralded by a
 gradual twilight1 which lights the path
 of self-realisation1 even in its       
earlier stages4 ,in ,utopia the joy on  
the faces of the children is the joy of 
goodwill not less than of well-being4   
,or rather it is the joy of goodwill    
because it is the joy of well-being1    
because well-being would not be         
well-being if it did not ceaselessly    
generate goodwill4  ,that love is the   
fulfilling of the law1 and therefore the
 keystone of every sound system of      
ethics1 is a truth on which ,i need     
scarcely insist4 ,the final proof that  
the ethics of self-realisation are sound
 to the core lies in the fact that the  
path of self-realisation1 besides       

emancipating from egoism and sensuality1
 leads all who walk in it1 first into   
the foreglow and then into the sunshine 
of love4 ,but it is with the social     
rather than the ethical aspect of       
self-realisation that ,i am now         
concerned4 ,and the social aspect of the
 fact which has just been stated is     
obviously of vital importance4 ,love1   
which is commensurate with life1 has    
innumerable phases4 ,one of these is    
what ,i have called the communal        
instinct1--the sense of belonging to a  
community1 of being a vital part of it1 
of sharing in its life1 of being what   
one is 7in part at least7 because one   
shares in its life4 ,if ,socialism is to
 realise its noble dream1 this instinct1
 strongly developed and directed towards
 the well-being of the whole social     
order1 must become part of the normal   
equipment of every citizen4 ,and if this
 is to come to pass1 self-realisation   
must be made the basis of education in  
all our schools4 ,what it has done for  

the children of ,utopia1 in the way of  
developing their communal instinct and  
making their school an ideal community1 
it is capable of doing for every school 
in ,england1--,i might almost say for   
every school on the face of the earth4  
,there are faddists who advocate the    
teaching of patriotism in our elementary
 schools4 ,there are ,local ,education  
,committees which insist on citizenship 
being taught in the schools under their 
control4 ,by teaching patriotism1 and   
citizenship is meant treating them as   
subjects1 finding places for them on the
 time-table1 and giving formal lessons  
on them4 ,where this is done1 the time  
of the teachers and the children is     
wasted4 ,the teaching of patriotism and 
citizenship1 if it is to produce any    
effect1 must be entirely informal and   
indirect4 ,let the child be so educated 
that he will develop himself freely on  
all the sides of his being1 and his     
communal instinct will1 as ,i have said1
 evolve itself in its own season4 ,until

 it has evolved itself1 patriotism and  
citizenship will be mere names to him1  
and what he is taught about them will   
make no impression on him4 ,when it has 
evolved itself1 he will be a patriot and
 a good citizen in posse1 and will be   
ready on occasion to prove his          
patriotism and his good citizenship by  
his deeds1 or1 better still1 by his     
life4#cf  ,while the communal instinct  
is evolving itself1 first in the school 
and then in the community at large1 the 
standard of reality will1 by a parallel 
or perhaps identical process1 be        
transforming itself in all the grades of
 society4 ,the inward will be taking the
 place of the outward standard2 and men 
will be learning to form a different    
conception of the good things of life   
from that which now dominates our social
 life4 ,the ,socialist will then have   
his opportunity4 ,that any member of the
 community should be in physical want or
 irremediable misery1 will begin to be  
felt1 partly as a personal grief1 partly

 as a reflection on himself1 by each    
member of the community in turn2 and    
steps will begin to be taken--what steps
 ,i cannot pretend to forecast--to make 
physical want and irremediable misery   
impossible4 ,meanwhile1 with the gradual
 substitution of the inward for the     
outward standard of reality1 the mad    
scramble for wealth and possessions and 
distinctions will gradually cease1 the  
conception of what constitutes comfort  
and of what are the real necessaries of 
life will be correspondingly changed1   
and men will begin to realise that of   
the genuine good things of life--the    
good things which the children of       
,utopia carry with them into the world1 
and which make them exceedingly rich in 
spite of their apparent poverty--there  
are enough and more than enough to go   
round4   ,the ,religious ,aspect of     
,self-realisation4  ,the oak-tree is    
present in embryo in the acorn4 ,what is
 it that is present in embryo in the    
new-born child8 ,to achieve salvation is

 to realise one's true self4 ,but what  
is one's true self8 ,the perfection of  
manhood is an obvious answer to this    
question2 but it explains so little that
 we cannot accept it as final4 ,we may1 
however1 accept it as a resting-place in
 our search for the final answer4  ,it  
is on the religious aspect of           
self-realisation that ,i now propose to 
dwell4 ,the function of ,religion is to 
bring a central aim into man's life1 to 
direct his eyes towards the true end of 
his being and to help him to reach it4  
,the true end of ,man's being is the    
perfection of his nature2 and the way to
 this end is the process which we call  
growth4 ,when ,i speak of ,man's nature 
,i am thinking of his universal nature1 
of the nature which is common to all    
men1 the nature of ,man as ,man4 ,each  
of us has his own particular nature1 his
 individuality1 as it is sometimes      
called4 ,the nature of ,man as ,man is  
no mere common measure of these         
particular natures1 but is rather what  

,i may call their organised totality1   
the many-sided nature which includes1   
explains1 and even justifies them all4  
,what perfection may mean when we       
predicate the term of our common nature1
 we cannot even imagine4 ,the           
potentialities of our nature seem to be 
infinite1 and our knowledge of them is  
limited and shallow4 ,when we compare an
 untutored savage or a brutal1 ignorant 
,european with a ,christ or a ,buddha1  
or again with a ,shakespeare or a       
,goethe1 we realise how vast is the     
range--the lineal even more than the    
lateral range--of ,man's nature1 and we 
find it easy to believe that in any     
ordinary man there are whole tracts1    
whole aspects of human nature1 in which 
his consciousness has not yet been      
awakened1 and which therefore seem to be
 nonexistent in him1 though in reality  
they are only dormant or inert4 ,these1 
however1 are matters with which we need 
not at present concern ourselves4 ,let  
the potentialities of our common nature 

be what they may4 ,our business is to   
realise them as1 little by little1 they 
present themselves to us for            
realisation4 ,let the end of the process
 of growth be what it may4 ,our business
 is to grow4  ,in the effort to grow we 
are not left without guidance4 ,the     
stimulus to grow1 the forces and the    
tendencies that make for growth1 all    
come from within ourselves4 ,yet it is  
only to a limited extent that they come 
under our direct control4 ,so1 too1 the 
goal of growth1 the ideal perfection of 
our nature1 is our own2 and yet on the  
way to it we must needs outgrow         
ourselves4 ,what part do we play in this
 mighty drama8 ,the mystery of selfhood 
is unfathomable4 ,the word self changes 
its meaning the moment we begin to think
 about it4 ,so does the word nature4    
,the range of meaning is in each case   
unlimited4 ,yet there are limits beyond 
which we cannot use either word without 
some risk of being misunderstood4 ,when 
we are meditating on our origin and our 

destiny1 some other word seems to be    
needed to enable us to complete the span
 of our thoughts4  ,is not that word    
,god8 ,the source of our life1 the ideal
 end of our being1--how shall we think  
about these if we may not speak of them 
as divine8 ,and in using the word       
divine1 do we not set ourselves free to 
stretch the respective meanings of the  
words self and nature beyond what would 
otherwise have been the breaking point  
of each8 ,the true self is worthier of  
the name of self than the apparent self4
 ,the true nature is worthier of the    
name of nature than the lower nature4   
,but the true self is the ,divine ,self2
 and the highest nature is the ,nature  
of ,god4 ,if this is so1 we serve ,god  
best and obey ,god best by trying to    
perfect our nature in response to a     
stimulus1 a pressure1 and a guidance    
which is at once natural and divine4    
,in other words1 we serve ,god best by  
following the path of self-realisation4 
,and the better we serve ,god1 the more 

truly and fully do we learn to know him4
 ,if to know him1 and to live up to our 
knowledge of him1 is to be truly        
religious1 then the life of             
self-realisation is1 in the truest and  
deepest sense of the word1 a religious  
life4 ,or rather it is the only         
religious life1 for in no other way can 
knowledge of ,god be won4  ,let me try  
to make good this statement4 ,knowledge 
of ,god is the outcome1 not of definite 
dogmatic instruction in theology1 but of
 spiritual growth4 ,knowledge1 whatever 
may be its object1 is always the outcome
 of growth4 ,even knowledge of number is
 the outcome1 not of definite dogmatic  
instruction in the arithmetical rules   
and tables1 but of the growth of the    
arithmetical sense4 ,it is the same with
 literature1 the same with history1 the 
same with chemistry1 the same with      
business1 the same with navigation1 the 
same with the driving of vehicles in    
crowded streets1 the same with every    
art1 craft1 sport1 game1 and pursuit4   

,in evolving a special sense1 the soul  
is growing in one particular direction1 
a direction which is marked out for it  
by the environment in which it finds it 
needful or desirable to energise4 ,the  
soul has1 as we have seen1 a general    
power of adapting itself to its         
environment1 of permeating it1 of       
feeling its way through it1 of getting  
to understand it1 of dealing with it at 
last with skill and success4 ,as is the 
particular environment1 so is the       
subtle1 tactful1 adaptive1 directly     
perceptive1 subconsciously cognitive    
faculty1--the sense1 as ,i have called  
it--by means of which the soul acquires 
the particular knowledge that it needs4 
,the more highly specialised 7whether by
 subdivision or by abstraction7 the     
environment1 the more highly specialised
 the sense4 ,the larger and more        
comprehensive the environment1 the      
larger and more massive the sense4 ,the 
acquired aptitude which enables an      
omnibus driver to steer his bulky       

vehicle through the traffic of ,london  
is a highly specialised sense4 ,at the  
other end of the scale we have the      
massive spiritual faculties which deal  
with whole aspects of life or ,nature1  
such as the sense of beauty or of moral 
worth4  ,but there is a sense which is  
larger and more massive even than these4
 ,when the environment is all-embracing1
 when it covers the whole circle of     
which the soul is or can be the centre1 
the growth made in response to it is the
 growth of the soul as such1 and the    
knowledge which rewards that growth is  
the knowledge of supreme reality1 or1 in
 the language of religion1 the knowledge
 of ,god4 ,the highest of all senses is 
the religious sense1 the sense which    
gives us knowledge of ,god4 ,but the    
religious sense is not1 as we are apt to
 imagine1 one of many senses4 ,no one   
individual sense1 however massive or    
subtle it might be1 could enable its    
possessor to get on terms1 so to speak1 
with the totality of things1 with the   

all-vitalising ,life1 with the          
all-embracing ,whole4 ,the religious    
sense is the well-being of the soul4    
,for the soul as such grows in and      
through the growth of its various       
senses1--its own growth being reinforced
 by the growth of each of these when    
,nature's balance is kept1 and retarded 
by the growth of one or more of them    
when ,nature's balance is lost1--and in 
proportion as its own vital1 central    
growth is vigorous and healthy1 its     
power of apprehending reality unfolds   
itself little by little4 ,that power is 
of its inmost essence4 ,when reality1 in
 the full sense of the word1 is its     
object1 it sees with the whole of its   
being2 it is itself1 when it is at the  
centre of its universe1 its own supreme 
perceptive faculty1 its own religious   
sense4  ,if this is so1 if the soul in  
its totality1 the soul acting through   
its whole apperceptive mass1 is its own 
religious sense1 it is abundantly clear 
that the path of self-realisation is the

 only path which leads to knowledge of  
,god1 and through knowledge of ,god to  
salvation4 ,for self-realisation is the 
only scheme of life which provides for  
the growth of the soul in its totality1 
for the harmonious1 many-sided          
development of the soul as such4 ,i have
 often dwelt on this point4 ,if we have 
never before realised its importance we 
must surely do so now4 ,a one-sided     
training1 even when its one-sidedness   
takes the form of specialising in       
theology1 is a non-religious1 and may   
well become an irreligious training1 for
 it does not lead to1 and may well lead 
away from1 knowledge of ,god4  ,and if  
we have never before realised how great 
are the opportunities and               
responsibilities of the teacher1 we must
 surely do so now4 ,for a certain number
 of years--the number varies with the   
social standing of the child1 and the   
financial resources of his parents--the 
teacher can afford to disregard         
utilitarian considerations and think    

only of what is best for the child4     
,what use will he make of those years8  
,will he lead the child into the path of
 self-realisation1 and so give a        
lifelong impetus to the growth of his   
soul8 ,or will he1 in his thirst for    
results1 lead him into the path of      
mechanical obedience1 or1 at best1 of   
one-sided development1 and so blight his
 budding faculties and arrest the growth
 of his soul8 ,on the practical answer  
that he gives to this question will     
depend the fate of the child4 ,for to   
the child the difference between the two
 paths will be the difference between   
fulfilling and missing his destiny1     
between knowledge and ignorance of ,god4
  ,if any of my readers have imagined   
that ,i am an advocate of what is called
 secular education1 they will1 ,i hope1 
now realise that they have misread this 
book4 ,far from wishing to secularise   
education1 ,i hold that it cannot be too
 religious4 ,and1 far from wishing to   
limit its religious activities to the   

first forty minutes of the morning      
sessions1 ,i hold that it should be     
actively religious through every minute 
of every school session1 that whatever  
it does it should do to the glory of    
,god4  ,but how does knowledge of ,god  
show itself8 ,knowledge1 so far as it is
 real1 always shows itself in right     
bearing1 and 7if action is called for7  
in right action4 ,knowledge of          
arithmetic and of other more or less    
abstract subjects1 shows itself in the  
successful working of the corresponding 
problems1 theoretical or practical as   
the case may be4 ,knowledge of the laws 
of physical nature shows itself in      
practical mastery of the forces and     
resources of physical nature4 ,knowledge
 of history and geography1 in a right   
attitude towards the problems and       
sub-problems of these complex and       
comprehensive subjects1 an attitude     
which may on occasion translate itself  
into right action4 ,and so on4          
,knowledge of ,god1 being a state or    

attitude of the soul as such1 must show 
itself in the right bearing and the     
right action of the soul as such1 in    
other words1 of ,man as ,man1--not as   
mathematician1 not as financier1 not as 
sculptor1 not as cricketer1 but simply  
as ,man4 ,now ,man as ,man has to bear  
himself aright towards the world in     
which he finds himself1 and in          
particular towards the world which      
touches him most closely and envelops   
him most completely1--the world of human
 life4 ,therefore knowledge of ,god will
 show itself1 principally and chiefly1  
though by no means wholly1 in dealing   
aright with one's fellow-men1 in being  
rightly disposed towards them1 and in   
doing the right things to them4 ,i have 
found it convenient to disconnect the   
moral from the religious aspect of      
self-realisation4 ,we can now see that  
in the last resort the two aspects are  
one4  ,from every point of view1 then1  
and above all from that of ,religion1   
the path of self-realisation is seen to 

be the path of salvation4 ,for it is the
 only scheme of life which enables him  
who follows it to attain to knowledge of
 ,god2 and knowledge of ,god has1 as its
 necessary counterpart1 a right         
attitude1 in general towards the world  
which surrounds him1 and in particular  
towards his fellow-men4  ,but is it     
possible1 within the limits of one      
earth-life1 to follow the path of       
self-realisation to its appointed goal8 
,and if not1 will the path be continued 
beyond that abrupt turn in it which we  
call death8 ,the respective attitudes of
 the two great schools of popular       
thought towards the problem of the      
grave1 are in brief as follows4 ,the    
,materialists 7or ,naturalists1 as they 
miscall themselves7 believe that death  
is the end of life4 ,the                
,supernaturalists believe that one      
earth-life 7or even a few years or      
months7 of mechanical obedience to      
supernatural direction will be rewarded 
by an eternity of happiness in ,heaven4 

,but those who walk in the path of      
self-realisation1 and whose unswerving  
loyalty to ,nature is rewarded by some  
measure of insight into her deeper laws1
 know that the goal of the path is      
infinitely far away1 and in their heart 
of hearts they laugh both the current   
eschatologies to scorn4 ,and the higher 
they ascend1 as they follow the path1   
the more vividly do they realise how    
unimaginably high above them is the     
summit of the mountain which the path is
 ascending in spiral coils4  ,the       
,utopian experiment1 humble as it is1   
can1 ,i think1 throw some light on these
 mighty problems4 ,the relations between
 the type and the various sub-types1    
between the type and the individual1    
between the sub-type and the            
individual--whether in plant or beast or
 man--are matters which could not be    
handled within the limits of this book1 
and which ,i have therefore as far as   
possible ignored4 ,nor have ,i attempted
 to deal with the difficult problems    

that are presented by the existence of  
races1 such as the ,negro1 which seem to
 be far below the normal level of human 
development4 ,there is1 however1 in the 
vast region of thought which these and  
kindred problems open out to us1 one    
by-way which ,i must be allowed to      
follow for a while4  ,the wild bullace  
is1 ,i believe1 the ancestor of many of 
our yellow plums4 ,in other words1      
bullacehood can develop into plumhood1  
and even into the perfection of         
plumhood4 ,similarly human nature can   
develop into something so high above the
 normal level of human nature that it   
might almost seem to belong to another  
genus4 ,but there is a difference       
between the two cases4 ,the bullace     
ideal is in the individual bullace tree4
 ,so1 in a sense1 is the plum ideal4    
,but the latter cannot be realised1 or  
even approached1 by the individual      
bullace tree4 ,it cannot be realised1 or
 even approached1 by the bullace species
 except through a long course of culture

 and breeding4 ,is it the same with     
,man8 ,let us take ,english rusticity as
 a particular type of human nature1--the
 equivalent of bullacehood for the      
purpose of argument4 ,this is a distinct
 type1 and may be said to have its own  
ideal4#cg ,emerging from this1 and      
gradually transforming it1 is the ideal 
of human nature1 the ideal for ,man as  
,man4 ,as the bullace ideal is to the   
plum ideal1 so is the ideal of ,english 
rusticity to the ideal of human nature4 
,but whereas the plum ideal cannot be   
realised in any appreciable degree by   
the individual bullace1 the human ideal 
can be realised in a quite appreciable  
degree by the individual ,english       
rustic4 ,there have always been and will
 always be isolated cases to prove that 
this is so1--cases of men of quite      
humble origin who have attained to high 
degrees of mental and spiritual         
development4 ,these have hitherto been  
regarded as exceptional cases4 ,but     
,egeria has convinced me that under     

favourable conditions the average child 
can become the rare exception1 and      
attain to what is usually regarded as a 
remarkably high degree of mental and    
spiritual development4 ,innocent joy1   
self-forgetfulness1 communal devotion1  
heartfelt goodwill1 gracious manners--to
 speak of spiritual development         
only--are characteristics of every      
,utopian child4 ,what are we to infer   
from this8 ,the bullace ideal is        
realisable 7under favourable conditions7
 by each individual bullace tree1--but  
the plum ideal is not4 ,the ,english    
rustic ideal is realisable by each      
individual rustic child4 ,but so is the 
human ideal in ,utopia4  ,but what of   
the children who do not belong to       
,utopia8 ,what would have happened to   
the ,utopian children if there had been 
no ,egeria to lead them into the path of
 self-realisation8 ,they would have     
lived and died ordinary ,english        
rustics1--healthy bullaces1 but in no   
respect or degree plums4 ,egeria has    

convinced me that the average child1    
besides being born mentally and         
spiritually healthy1 has immense        
capacity on every side of his being4    
,the plum ideal is the true nature of   
the plum1 but is not the true nature of 
the bullace4 ,but ,egeria has convinced 
me that the human ideal--the divine     
self--is the true nature of each of us1 
even of the average rustic child2 and   
she has also convinced me that each of  
us can go a long way towards realising  
that ideal4 ,had there been no ,egeria  
in ,utopia1 the ,utopians would have    
lived and died undeveloped1 having      
arrived at a maturity of a kind1 the    
maturity of the bullace as distinguished
 from that of the plum1 but having      
failed to realise in any appreciable    
degree what the ,utopian experiment has 
proved to be their true nature4 ,what   
then8 ,is this the end of the average   
man8 ,will ,nature admit final defeat8  
,the curve of a man's life1 as it sweeps
 round from birth to death1 passes      

through the point of apparent maturity2 
but the real nature of the man has never
 ripened1 and when he descends into the 
grave he is still the embryo of his true
 self4 ,will the true self never be     
realised8 ,never1 if death is indeed the
 end of life4 ,but in that case the man 
will have failed to fulfil the central  
purpose of ,nature1 and1 alone among her
 children1 will have escaped from the   
control of her all-pervading law of     
growth4  ,it is in their desire to keep 
,man in line with the rest of ,nature's 
children that so many thinkers and      
scientists in the ,west forbid him to   
look beyond the horizon of the grave4   
,but in truth it is only by being       
allowed to look beyond that horizon that
 ,man can be kept in line with the rest 
of ,nature's children2 for if death     
means extinction to him1 as it means 7or
 seems to mean7 to the beetle or the    
fly1 he will have lived to no purpose1  
having failed to realise in any         
appreciable degree what every other     

living thing realises within its        
appointed limits1--the central          
tendencies of his being4 ,that a living 
thing1 an average specimen of its kind1 
should within the limits of a normal    
life fail completely to realise those   
potentialities which are distinctive of 
its real nature1--fail so completely    
that the very existence of those        
potentialities might1 but for an        
occasional and quite exceptional        
revelation1 have remained               
unsuspected1--is entirely at variance   
with what we know of the ways and works 
of ,nature4 ,yet failure to realise his 
true manhood is1 outside the confines of
 ,utopia1 the apparent lot of nine men  
out of ten4 ,an entire range of         
qualities1 spiritual and mental1 which  
blossom freely in the stimulating       
atmosphere of ,utopia1 and which must   
therefore exist in embryo in every      
normal child1 fail to germinate 7or at  
best only just begin to germinate7      
within the lifetime of the average      

non-,utopian4#ch ,the inference to be   
drawn from these significant facts is   
that the apparent limits of ,man's life 
are not the real limits2 that the one   
earth-life of which each of us is       
conscious1 far from being the whole of  
one's life1 is but a tiny fragment of   
it1--one term of its ascending series1  
one day in its cycle of years4 ,in other
 words1 the spiritual fertility of the  
average ,utopian child1 taken in        
conjunction with the spiritual sterility
 of the average non-,utopian child 7and 
man71 points to the conclusion which the
 thinkers of the ,far ,east reached     
thousands of years ago1--that for the   
full development of human nature a      
plurality of lives is needed1 which will
 do for the individual soul what        
generations of scientific breeding and  
culture will do for the bullace that is 
to be transformed into a plum4  ,this is
 one lesson which ,utopia has taught me4
 ,there is another which had also been  
anticipated by the thinkers of the ,far 

,east4 ,if under exceptionally          
favourable conditions certain spiritual 
and mental qualities are able to blossom
 freely in the space of a few years1    
which under normal conditions would     
remain undeveloped during a lifetime of 
seventy or eighty years1 may we not     
infer that there is a directer path to  
spiritual maturity than that which is   
ordinarily followed8 ,may we not infer  
that there are ways of living1 ways into
 which parents and teachers can lead the
 young1 which1 if faithfully followed1  
will allow the potencies of ,man's      
higher nature to evolve themselves with 
what we1 with our limited experience1   
must regard as abnormal celerity1 and   
which will therefore shorten appreciably
 ,man's journey to his goal8#ci ,and if 
there is a directer path to spiritual   
maturity than that which is ordinarily  
followed1 is not the name for it        
,self-realisation8  ,i will not pursue  
these speculations further4 ,but1       
speaking for myself1 ,i will say that   

the vista which the idea of             
self-realisation opens up to me goes far
 beyond the limits of any one earth-life
 or sequence of earth-lives1 and far1   
immeasurably far1 beyond the limits of  
the sham eternity of the conventional   
,heaven and ,hell4  ,but even if there  
is the fullest provision in ,nature     
7whether by a spiral ascent through a   
long chain of lives1 or by some directer
 path7 for the final development in each
 individual man of the potencies of     
perfect manhood1 for the final          
realisation of the divine or true       
self1--what then8 ,what does it all     
mean8 ,why are we to follow the path of 
self-realisation8 ,what is the purpose  
of the cycle of existence8 ,there is an 
answer to this obstinate question1--an  
answer which explains nothing1 and yet  
is final1 in that it leaves nothing to  
be explained4 ,the expansive energies   
and desires1 to yield to which is our   
wisdom and our happiness1 are ever      
transforming themselves1 as we yield to 

them1 into the might and the ardour of  
,love4 ,and for love there is no final  
resting-place but the sea of ,divine    
,love from which it came4 ,amor ex ,deo 
natus est1 nec potest nisi in ,deo      
requiescere4   ,,footnotes3  #be ,there 
is of course an intermediate class of   
vicious tendencies1 which may be        
described as apparent rather than       
actual1 and which are caused partly by  
immaturity1 partly by environment4 ,many
 of the naughtinesses of school children
 belong to this class4  #bf ,the        
physical aspect is1 of course1 of       
incalculable importance4 ,my only reason
 for ignoring it is that ,i am not      
competent to deal with it4 ,the sthetic 
aspect is also of incalculable          
importance2 but ,i know so little about 
music or art1 that ,i must limit my     
treatment of this aspect to pointing out
 that until the musical and artistic    
instincts of the masses are             
systematically trained in our elementary
 schools1 through the medium of free    

self-expression on the part of the      
children1 we shall have neither a       
national music nor a national art4  #bg 
,workshops1 for the use of the          
engineering classes1 are1 ,i believe1   
attached to the ,modern ,side of some of
 our ,great ,public ,schools2 but ,i    
doubt if there is one among the ,great  
,public ,schools1 or even among the     
,preparatory ,schools which lead up to  
them1 in which hand-work is part of the 
normal curriculum4  #bh ,i know a youth 
who recently attended ,science lectures 
for two years at one of the most famous 
of our ,great ,public ,schools1 and at  
the end of that time had not the        
faintest idea what branch of ,science he
 had been studying4 ,science is1 ,i     
believe1 seriously taught in the ,great 
,public ,schools to those who wish to   
take it seriously2 but1 if taught at    
all1 it is certainly not taught         
seriously to the rank and file of the   
boys who belong to the ,classical side  
of their respective schools4  #bi ,see  

also footnote #b to page #bgj4  #cj     
,when ,i was an undergraduate at        
,oxford1 there was one at least of my   
friends who took a genuine delight in   
the literary masterpieces of ,greece and
 ,rome1--the delight1 not of a          
fastidious scholar but of a born lover  
of good literature4 ,he got a ,third in 
,classical ,mods1 and was gulfed in     
,greats4 ,serve him right1 his dons must
 have said1 for ,i am afraid he cut     
their lectures4 ,greek3 hs apoloito kai 
allos hotis toiauta ge rhezoi4  #ca     
,stanzas on the ,grande ,chartreuse1 by 
,matthew ,arnold4  #cb ,when ,i apply   
the epithet irrational to the outcry at 
,ephesus1 ,i am thinking of the mob1 not
 of the silversmiths4 ,the latter knew  
what they were about4  #cc ,having said 
so much in disparagement of the mental  
training given in the great ,public     
,schools and the older ,universities1   
let me now try to make my peace with my 
old school and my ,university by        
expressing my conviction that those who 

are studying the ,humanities1 whether at
 school or college1 and finding pleasure
 in their studies1 are receiving the    
best education that is at present       
procurable in ,england4 ,an old ,oxonian
 may perhaps be allowed to make public  
profession of his faith in the special  
efficacy of that course of study which  
is known familiarly as ,greats1 the     
examination in which is1 of all         
examinations1 the most difficult to cram
 for and the most profitable to read    
for4  ,it is scarcely necessary for me  
to add that in the older ,universities1 
as in the great ,public ,schools1 many  
valuable educative influences are at    
work outside the lecture-room4 ,for one 
thing1 the undergraduates1 who come from
 all parts of the world1 are always     
educating one another4 ,for another     
thing1 the atmosphere of ,oxford and    
,cambridge does much for the mental and 
spiritual development of those who are  
able to respond to its stimulus4 ,even  
the genius loci is educative1 in its own

 quiet1 subtle way4 ,but it would be an 
impertinence on my part to labour this  
point4 ,it is because ,oxford and       
,cambridge educate their alumni in a    
thousand ways1 the worth of which no    
formal examination can test or measure1 
that they stand apart from all other    
,universities4  #cd ,i mean by the lower
 self1 not the animal base of one's     
existence1 but the ordinary self        
claiming to be the true self1 and so    
rising in rebellion against its lawful  
lord4  #ce ,in other words1 it might    
conceivably take the form of clan       
warfare1 highly organised and waged on a
 world-wide field2 and we learn from the
 history of the ,highlands of ,scotland 
and of ,old ,japan that of all forms of 
warfare the most cruel and relentless1  
with the exception of that which is     
waged in the name of religion1 is the   
warfare between clan and clan4  #cf     
,there is such a thing as communal      
egoism1 when a man regards the community
 or society to which he belongs as a    

kind of possession1 to be paraded and   
bragged about1 just as in personal love 
there is such a thing as egoism  deux4  
,but the communal instinct which is     
generated by self-realisation readily   
purges itself of every egoistic taint4  
#cg ,i mean by the ideal the true nature
 of the given species and the true self 
of each individual specimen4  #ch ,when 
,i compare the average ,utopian with the
 average non-,utopian1 ,i am of course  
thinking of the masses1 not of the      
classes4 ,if the comparison is to have  
any value1 the conditions in the two    
cases must be fairly equal4 ,mentally1  
the classes are1 on the whole1 more     
highly developed 7thanks to their more  
favourable environment7 than the masses4
 ,spiritually and morally1 they are     
perhaps on a par with them4  #ci ,this  
was the idea which inspired the ,founder
 of ,buddhism1 and led him to formulate 
a scheme of life1 in virtue of which he 
takes rank 7as it seems to me7 as the   
greatest educationalist1 as well as the 

greatest moralist1 that the world has   
ever known4   ,,the ,,end