,,in ,,the ,,school-,,room4 ,,chapters ,,in ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,education4 ,,john ,s4 ,,hart1 ,,ll4 ,d41 ,,principal ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,jersey ,,state ,,normal ,,school #ahfh4 ,,philadelphia3 ,,eldredge ,,brother1 #ag and #ai ,south ,sixth ,street4 ,entered according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahfh1 by ,,eldredge ,,brother1 in the ,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court of the ,united ,states for the ,eastern ,district of ,pennsylvania4 ,j4 ,,fagan ,,son ,,stereotype ,,founders1 ,,philadelphia4 ,,printed ,,by ,,sherman ,,co4 ,,to ,,the ,teachers of the ,united ,states1 ,,and ,,especially ,,to ,,the ,,alumni ,,of ,,the ,,philadelphia ,,high ,,school1 ,,and ,,of ,,the ,new ,jersey ,state ,normal ,school ,,the ,,following ,,chapters ,,are ,,most ,,respectfully ,,dedicated ,,by ,,the ,,author4 ,,preface4 ,the views contained in this volume are the result of a prolonged and somewhat varied professional experience4 ,this experience includes the training of more than five thousand young men and of nearly one thousand young women1 a large portion of them for the office of teachers2 and it has been gained in ,college1 in ,boarding ,school1 in a city ,high ,school1 and in a ,state ,normal ,school4 ,in all this prolonged and varied experience1 ,i have constantly put myself in the attitude of a learner1 and my aim in the present volume is to place before the younger members of the profession1 in the briefest and clearest terms possible1 the lessons ,i have myself learned4 ,beginning with the question1 ,what is ,teaching8 and ending with the wider question1 ,what is ,education8 the book will be found to take a pretty free range over the whole field of practical inquiry among professional teachers4 ,the thoughts presented are such as have been suggested to the writer in the school-room itself1 while actively engaged either in teaching1 or in superintending and directing the instruction given by others4 ,these thoughts are for the most part purposely given in short1 detached chapters1 each complete in itself4 ,such a method of presentation1 though less imposing1 seemed to have practical advantages for the reader too great to be neglected for the mere vanity of authorship4 ,often one can find leisure to read a chapter of five or six pages on some point complete in itself1 when he might not feel like reaching it through an intervening network of connected and dependent propositions4 ,at the same time1 it should be observed1 the topics though detached are not isolated4 ,there is everywhere an underlying thread of connection1 the whole being based upon1 if not constituting1 a philosophy of education4 ,,contents4 ,i4 ,what is ,teaching8 ,,ii4 ,the ,art of ,questioning ,,iii4 ,the ,difference between ,teaching and ,training ,,iv4 ,modes of ,hearing ,recitations ,v4 ,on ,observing a ,proper ,order in the ,development of the ,mental ,faculties ,,vi4 ,teaching ,children what they do not ,understand ,,vii4 ,cultivating the ,memory in ,youth ,,viii4 ,knowledge before ,memory ,,ix4 ,power of ,words ,x4 ,the ,study of ,language ,,xi4 ,cultivating the ,voice ,,xii4 ,eyes ,,xiii4 ,errors of the ,cave ,,xiv4 ,men of ,one ,idea ,,xv4 ,a ,talent for ,teaching ,,xvi4 ,teaching ,power ,,xvii4 ,growing ,,xviii4 ,loving the ,children ,,xix4 ,gaining the ,affections of the ,scholars ,,xx4 ,the ,obedience of ,children ,,xxi4 ,rarey as an ,educator ,,xxii4 ,a ,boarding-,school ,experience ,,xxiii4 ,phrenology ,,xxiv4 ,normal ,schools ,,xxv4 ,practice-,teaching ,,xxvi4 ,attention as a ,mental ,faculty1 and as a ,means of ,mental ,culture ,,xxvii4 ,gaining the ,attention ,,xxviii4 ,counsels3 #a4 ,to a ,young ,teacher2 #b4 ,to a ,new ,pupil2 #c4 ,to a ,young ,lady on leaving ,school2 #d4 ,to a ,pupil on ,entering a ,normal ,school ,,xxix4 ,an ,argument for ,common ,schools ,,xxx4 ,what is ,education8 ,,in ,,the ,,school-,,room4 ,i4 ,,what ,,is ,,teaching8 ,in the first place1 teaching is not simply telling4 ,a class may be told a thing twenty times over1 and yet not know it4 ,talking to a class is not necessarily teaching4 ,i have known many teachers who were brimful of information1 and were good talkers1 and who discoursed to their classes with ready utterance a large part of the time allotted to instruction2 yet an examination of their classes showed little advancement in knowledge4 ,there are several time-honored metaphors on this subject1 which need to be received with some grains of allowance1 if we would get at an exact idea of what teaching is4 ,chiselling the rude marble into the finished statue2 giving the impression of the seal upon the soft wax2 pouring water into an empty vessel2--all these comparisons lack one essential element of likeness4 ,the mind is1 indeed1 in one sense1 empty1 and needs to be filled4 ,it is yielding1 and needs to be impressed4 ,it is rude1 and needs polishing4 ,but it is not1 like the marble1 the wax1 or the vessel1 a passive recipient of external influences4 ,it is itself a living power4 ,it is acted upon only by stirring up its own activities4 ,the operative upon mind1 unlike the operative upon matter1 must have the active1 voluntary co-operation of that upon which he works4 ,the teacher is doing his work1 only so far as he gets work from the scholar4 ,the very essence and root of the work are in the scholar1 not in the teacher4 ,no one1 in fact1 in an important sense1 is taught at all1 except so far as he is self-taught4 ,the teacher may be useful1 as an auxiliary1 in causing this action on the part of the scholar4 ,but the one1 indispensable1 vital thing in all learning1 is in the scholar himself4 ,the old ,romans1 in their word education 7educere1 to draw out71 seem to have come nearer to the true idea than any other people have done4 ,the teacher is to draw out the resources of the pupil4 ,yet even this word comes short of the exact truth4 ,the teacher must put in1 as well as draw out4 ,no process of mere pumping will draw out from a child's mind knowledge which is not there4 ,all the power of the ,socratic method1 could it be applied by ,socrates himself1 would be unavailing to draw from a child's mind1 by mere questioning1 a knowledge1 for instance1 of chemical affinity1 of the solar system1 of the temperature of the ,gulf ,stream1 of the doctrine of the resurrection4 ,what1 then1 is teaching8 ,teaching is causing any one to know4 ,now no one can be made to know a thing but by the act of his own powers4 ,his own senses1 his own memory1 his own powers of reason1 perception1 and judgment1 must be exercised4 ,the function of the teacher is to bring about this exercise of the pupil's faculties4 ,the means to do this are infinite in variety4 ,they should be varied according to the wants and the character of the individual to be taught4 ,one needs to be told a thing2 he learns most readily by the ear4 ,another needs to use his eyes2 he must see a thing1 either in the book1 or in nature4 ,but neither eye nor ear1 nor any other sense or faculty1 will avail to the acquisition of knowledge1 unless the power of attention is cultivated4 ,attention1 then1 is the first act or power of the mind that must be roused4 ,it is the very foundation of all progress in knowledge1 and the means of awakening it constitute the first step in the educational art4 ,when by any means1 positive knowledge1 facts1 are once in possession of the mind1 something must next be done to prevent their slipping away4 ,you may tell a class the history of a certain event2 or you may give them a description of a certain place or person2 or you may let them read it2 and you may secure such a degree of attention1 that1 at the time of the reading or the description1 they shall have a fair1 intelligible comprehension of what has been described or read4 ,the facts are for the time actually in the possession of the mind4 ,now1 if the mind was1 according to the old notion1 merely a vessel to be filled1 the process would be complete4 ,but mind is not an empty vessel4 ,it is a living essence1 with powers and processes of its own4 ,and experience shows us1 that in the case of a class of undisciplined pupils1 facts1 even when fairly placed in the possession of the mind1 often remain there about as long as the shadow of a passing cloud remains upon the landscape1 and make about as much impression4 ,the teacher must seek1 then1 not only to get knowledge into the mind1 but to fix it there4 ,in other words1 the power of the memory must be strengthened4 ,teaching1 then1 most truly1 and in every stage of it1 is a strictly co-operative process4 ,you cannot cause any one to know1 by merely pouring out stores of knowledge in his hearing1 any more than you can make his body grow by spreading the contents of your market-basket at his feet4 ,you must rouse his power of attention1 that he may lay hold of1 and receive1 and make his own1 the knowledge you offer him4 ,you must awaken and strengthen the power of memory within him1 that he may retain what he receives1 and thus grow in knowledge1 as the body by a like process grows in strength and muscle4 ,in other words1 learning1 so far as the mind of the learner is concerned1 is a growth2 and teaching1 so far as the teacher is concerned1 is doing whatever is necessary to cause that growth4 ,let us proceed a step farther in this matter4 ,one of the ancients observes that a lamp loses none of its own light by allowing another lamp to be lit from it4 ,he uses the illustration to enforce the duty of liberality in imparting our knowledge to others4 ,knowledge1 he says1 unlike other treasures1 is not diminished by giving4 ,the illustration fails to express the whole truth4 ,this imparting of knowledge to others1 not only does not impoverish the donor1 but it actually increases his riches4 ,docendo discimus4 ,by teaching we learn4 ,a man grows in knowledge by the very act of communicating it4 ,the reason for this is obvious4 ,in order to communicate to the mind of another a thought which is in our own mind1 we must give to the thought definite shape and form4 ,we must handle it1 and pack it up for safe conveyance4 ,thus the mere act of giving a thought expression in words1 fixes it more deeply in our own minds4 ,not only so2 we can1 in fact1 very rarely be said to be in full possession of a thought ourselves1 until by the tongue or the pen we have communicated it to somebody else4 ,the expression of it1 in some form1 seems necessary to give it1 even in our own minds1 a definite shape and a lasting impression4 ,a man who devotes himself to solitary reading and study1 but never tries in any way to communicate his acquisitions to the world1 or to enforce his opinions upon others1 rarely becomes a learned man4 ,a great many confused1 dreamy ideas1 no doubt1 float through the brain of such a man2 but he has little exact and reliable knowledge4 ,the truth is1 there is a sort of indolent1 listless absorption of intellectual food1 that tends to idiocy4 ,i knew a person once1 a gentleman of wealth and leisure1 who having no taste for social intercourse1 and no material wants to be supplied1 which might have required the active exercise of his powers1 gave himself up entirely to solitary reading1 as a sort of luxurious self-indulgence4 ,he shut himself up in his room1 all day long1 day after day1 devouring one book after another1 until he became almost idiotic by the process1 and he finally died of softening of the brain4 ,had he been compelled to use his mental acquisitions in earning his bread1 or had the love of ,christ constrained him to use them in the instruction of the poor and the ignorant1 he might have become not only a useful1 but a learned man4 ,we see a beautiful illustration of this doctrine in the case of ,sabbath-school teachers1 and one reason why persons so engaged usually love their work1 is the benefit which they find in it for themselves4 ,i speak here1 not of the spiritual1 but of the intellectual benefit4 ,by the process of teaching others1 they are all the while learning4 ,this advantage in their case is all the greater1 because it advances them in a kind of knowledge in which1 more than in any other kind of knowledge1 men are wont to become passive and stationary4 ,in ordinary worldly knowledge1 our necessities make us active4 ,the intercourse of business1 and of pleasure even1 makes men keen4 ,on these subjects we are all the while bandying thoughts to and fro2 we are accustomed to give as well as take2 and so we keep our intellectual armor bright1 and our thoughts well defined4 ,but in regard to growth in religious knowledge1 we have a tendency to be mere passive recipients1 like the young man just referred to4 ,sabbath after ,sabbath we hear good1 instructive1 orthodox discourses1 but there is no active putting forth of our own powers in giving out what we thus take in1 and so we never make it effectually our own4 ,the absorbing process goes on1 and yet we make no growth4 ,the quiescent audience is a sort of exhausted receiver1 into which the stream from the pulpit is perennially playing1 but never making it full4 ,let a man go back and ask himself1 ,what actual scriptural knowledge have ,i gained by the sermons of the last six months8 ,what in fact do ,i retain in my mind1 at this moment1 of the sermons ,i heard only a month ago8 ,so far as the hearing of sermons is concerned1 the ,sabbath-school teacher may perhaps be no better off than other hearers4 ,but in regard to general growth in religious knowledge1 he advances more rapidly than his fellow-worshippers1 because the exigencies of his class compel him to a state of mind the very opposite of this passive recipiency4 ,he is obliged to be all the while1 not only learning1 but putting his acquisitions into definite shape for use1 and the very act of using these acquisitions in teaching a class1 fixes them in his own mind1 and makes them more surely his own4 ,i have used this instance of the ,sabbath-school teacher because it enforces an important hint already given1 as to the mode of teaching4 ,some teachers1 especially in ,sabbath-schools1 seem to be ambitious to do a great deal of talking4 ,the measure of their success1 in their own eyes1 is their ability to keep up a continued stream of talk for the greater part of the hour4 ,this is of course better than the embarrassing silence sometimes seen1 where neither teacher nor scholar has anything to say4 ,but at the best1 it is only the pouring into the exhausted receiver enacted over again4 ,we can never be reminded too often1 that there is no teaching except so far as there is active coperation on the part of the learner4 ,the mind receiving must reproduce and give back what it gets4 ,this is the indispensable condition of making any knowledge really our own4 ,the very best teaching ,i have ever seen1 has been where the teacher said comparatively little4 ,the teacher was of course brimful of the subject4 ,he could give the needed information at exactly the right point1 and in the right quantity4 ,but for every word given by the teacher1 there were many words of answering reproduction on the part of the scholars4 ,youthful minds under such tutelage grow apace4 ,it is indeed a high and difficult achievement in the educational art1 to get young persons thus to bring forth their thoughts freely for examination and correction4 ,a pleasant countenance and a gentle manner1 inviting and inspiring confidence1 have something to do with the matter4 ,but1 whatever the means for accomplishing this end1 the end itself is indispensable4 ,the scholar's tongue must be unloosed1 as well as the teacher's4 ,the scholar's thoughts must be broached1 as well as the teacher's4 ,indeed1 the statement needs very little qualification or abatement1 that a scholar has learned nothing from us except what he has expressed to us again in words4 ,the teacher who is accustomed to harangue his scholars with a continuous stream of words1 no matter how full of weighty meaning his words may be1 is yet deceiving himself1 if he thinks that his scholars are materially benefited by his intellectual activity1 unless it is so guided as to awaken and exercise theirs4 ,if1 after a suitable period1 he will honestly examine his scholars on the subjects1 on which he has himself been so productive1 he will find that he has been only pouring water into a sieve4 ,teaching can never be this one-sided process4 ,of all the things we attempt1 it is the one most essentially and necessarily a coperative process4 ,there must be the joint action of the teacher's mind and the scholar's mind4 ,a teacher teaches at all1 only so far as he causes this coactive energy of the pupil's mind4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,questioning4 ,the measure of a teacher's success is not what he himself does1 but what he gets his scholars to do4 ,in nothing is this more noticeable1 than in the different modes of putting a question to a scholar4 ,one teacher will put a question in such a manner as to find out exactly how much or how little of the subject the child knows1 and thereby encourage careful preparation2 to give the pupil an open door1 if he really knows the subject1 to express his knowledge in a way that will be a satisfaction and pleasure to him2 to improve his power of expression1 to cultivate his memory1 to increase his knowledge1 and to make it more thorough and definite4 ,another teacher will put his questions so as to secure none of these ends1 but on the contrary so as to induce a most lamentable degree of carelessness and inaccuracy4 ,let me illustrate this point1 taking an example for greater convenience from a scriptural subject4 ,suppose it to be a lesson upon ,christ's temptation1 as recorded in the #dth chapter of ,matthew4 ,the dialogue between teacher and scholar may be supposed to proceed somewhat in this wise3 ,teacher4 ,who was led up of the ,spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil8 ,pupil4 ,jesus4 ,t4 ,yes4 ,now1 when ,jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights1 he was afterward a---- what8 ,how did he feel after that8 ,p4 ,hungry4 ,t4 ,yes1 that is right4 ,he was afterward a hungered4 ,now1 then1 the next scholar4 ,who then came to ,jesus and said1 ,if thou be the ,son of ,god1 command that these stones be made bread8 7,scholar hesitates47 ,t4 ,the t----8 ,p4 ,the tempter4 ,t4 ,yes1 you are right4 ,it was the tempter4 ,who do you think is meant by the tempter8--the devil8 ,p4 ,yes4 ,t4 ,when a man has fasted1 that is1 has eaten nothing1 for forty days and forty nights1 and feels very hungry1 would the suggestion of an easy mode of getting food be likely to be a strong temptation to him1 or would it not8 ,p4 ,it would4 ,t4 ,yes1 you are right again4 ,it would be a strong temptation to him4 ,i need not pursue this dialogue further4 ,the reader will see at once how there may thus be the appearance of quite a brisk and fluent recitation1 to which however the pupil contributes absolutely nothing4 ,it requires nothing of him in the way of preparation1 and only the most indolent and profitless use of his faculties while reciting4 ,he could hardly answer amiss1 unless he were an idiot1 and yet he has the appearance1 and he is often flattered into the belief1 of having given some evidence of knowledge and proficiency4 ,the opposite extreme from the method just exhibited1 is that known as the topical method4 ,it is the method pursued in the higher classes of schools1 and among more advanced students4 ,in the topical method1 the teacher propounds a topic or subject1 sometimes in the form of a question1 but more commonly only by a title1 a mere word or two1 and then calls upon the pupil to give1 in his own words1 a full and connected narration or explanation of the subject1 such as the teacher himself would give1 if called upon to narrate or explain it4 ,the subject already suggested1 if profound topically1 would be somewhat in this wise3 ,the first temptation of ,jesus4 ,or1 more fully3 ,narrate the circumstances of the first temptation of ,jesus1 and show wherein his virtue was particularly tried in that transaction4 ,the teacher1 having propounded the subject clearly to the class1 then waits patiently1 maintaining silence himself1 and requiring the members of the class to be silent and attentive1 until the pupil interrogated is quite through1 not hurrying him1 not interrupting him1 even with miscalled helps and hints1 but leaving him to the free and independent action of his own faculties1 in giving as full1 connected1 and complete an account of the matter as he can4 ,when the pupil is quite through1 the teacher then1 but not before1 makes any corrections or additional statements that may seem to be needed4 ,in such an exercise as this1 the pupil finds the absolute necessity of full and ample preparation2 he has a powerful and healthy stimulus thus to prepare1 in the intellectual satisfaction which one always feels in the successful discharge of any difficult task2 and he acquires a habit of giving complete and accurate expression to his knowledge1 by means of entire sentences1 and without the help of catch-words1 or leading-strings of any kind4 ,some classes1 of course1 are not sufficiently advanced to carry out fully the method here explained4 ,but there are many intermediate methods1 founded on the same principle1 and suited to children in every stage of advancement4 ,only let it be understood1 whatever the stage1 that the object of the recitation is1 not to show what the teacher can say or do1 but to secure the right thing being said and done by the pupil4 ,to recur once more to the same subject1 the temptation of ,christ4 ,for a very juvenile class1 the questioning might proceed on this wise3 ,t4 ,where was ,jesus led after his baptism8 ,p4 ,he was led into the wilderness4 ,t4 ,by whom was he led there8 ,p4 ,he was led by the ,spirit4 ,t4 ,for what purpose was he led into the wilderness8 ,p4 ,he was led into the wilderness to be tempted4 ,t4 ,by whom was he to be tempted8 ,p4 ,he was to be tempted by the devil4 ,t4 ,what bodily want was made the means of his first temptation8 ,if the class is quite young1 and this question seems too difficult1 the teacher1 instead of asking it1 or after asking it and not getting a satisfactory answer1 might say to his class1 that ,jesus was first tempted through the sense of hunger4 ,he was very hungry1 and the devil suggested to him an improper means of relieving himself from the inconvenience4 ,he might then go on with some such questions as these3 ,t4 ,what circumstance is mentioned as showing how very hungry he must have been8 ,p4 ,he had fasted forty days and forty nights4 ,t4 ,mention any way in which you might be tempted to sin1 if you were suffering from hunger8 ,the foregoing questions1 it will be perceived1 are very simple1 being suited to scholars just advanced beyond the infant class4 ,yet no one of the questions1 in its form1 or terms1 necessarily suggests the answer4 ,no one of them can be answered by a mere yes or no4 ,no scholar1 unacquainted with the subject1 and with his book closed1 can guess at the answer from the way in which the question is put4 ,not a question has been given1 simple as they all are1 which does not require some preparation1 and which does not1 to some extent1 give exercise to the pupil's memory1 his judgment1 and his capacity for expression4 ,if the class is more advanced1 the questions may be varied1 so as to task and exercise these faculties more seriously4 ,for instance1 the teacher of a class somewhat older might be imagined to begin the exercise thus3 ,t4 ,after the baptism of ,jesus1 which closes the #c;d chapter of ,matthew1 we have an account of several temptations to which he was exposed4 ,now1 open your books at the #dth chapter1 and see if you can find out how many verses are occupied with the narrative of these temptations1 and at what verse each temptation begins4 ,the teacher then requires all the class to search in silence1 and each one to get ready to answer1 but lets no answer be given until all are prepared4 ,when all have signified their readiness1 some one is designated to give the answer4 ,the books being closed1 the questioning begins3 ,t4 ,name the different places into which ,jesus was taken to be tempted1 and the verse in which each place is named4 ,p4 ,it is said in the #ast verse that ,jesus was led up into the wilderness2 in the #eth verse1 that he was taken up into the holy city1 and set on a pinnacle of the temple2 and in the #hth verse1 that he was taken up into an exceedingly high mountain4 ,t4 ,what was the condition of ,jesus1 when the devil proposed his first temptation8 ,p4 ,he had been fasting forty days and forty nights1 and he was very hungry4 ,i need not multiply these illustrations4 ,i have not made them entirely in vain1 if ,i have succeeded in producing in the mind of the reader the conviction of these two things3 first1 that it is a most important and difficult part of the teacher's art1 to know how to ask a question2 and secondly1 that the true measure of the teacher's ability is1 not so much what he himself is able to say to the scholars1 as the fulness1 the accuracy1 and the completeness of the answers which he gets from them4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,difference ,,between ,,teaching ,,and ,,training4 ,these two processes practically run into each other a good deal1 but they ought not to be confounded4 ,training implies more or less of practical application of what one has been taught4 ,one may be taught1 for instance1 the exact forms of the letters used in writing1 so as to know at once by the eye whether the letters are formed correctly or not4 ,but only training and practice will make him a penman4 ,training refers more to the formation of habits4 ,a child may by reasoning be taught the importance of punctuality in coming to school2 but he is trained to the habit of punctuality only by actually coming to school in good time1 day after day4 ,the human machine on which the teacher acts1 is in its essential nature different from the material agencies operated on by other engineers4 ,it is1 as ,i have once and again said1 a living power1 with laws and processes of its own4 ,constant care1 therefore1 must be exercised1 in the business of education1 not to be misled by analogies drawn from the material world4 ,the steam-engine may go over its appointed task1 day after day1 the whole year round1 and yet1 at the end of the year1 it will have no more tendency to go than before its first trip4 ,not so the boy4 ,going begets going4 ,by doing a thing often1 he acquires a facility1 an inclination1 a tendency1 a habit of doing it4 ,if a teacher or a parent succeeds in getting a child to do a thing once1 it will be easier to get him to do it a second time1 and still easier a third time4 ,a teacher who is wise1 when he seeks to bring about any given change in a child1 whether it be intellectual or moral1 will not ordinarily attempt to produce the change all at once1 and by main force4 ,he will not rely upon extravagant promises on the one side1 nor upon scolding1 threats1 and violence on the other4 ,solomon hits the idea exactly1 when he speaks of leading in the way of righteousness4 ,we must take the young by the hand and lead them4 ,when we have led them over the ground once1 let us do it a second time1 and then a third time1 and so keep on1 until we shall have established with them a routine1 which they will continue to follow of their own accord1 when the guiding hand which first led them is withdrawn4 ,this is training4 ,the theory of it is true1 not only in regard to things to be done1 which is generally admitted1 but also in regard to things to be known1 which is often ignored if not denied4 ,a boy1 we will say1 has a repugnance to the study of arithmetic4 ,perhaps he is particularly dull of comprehension on that subject4 ,we shall not remove that repugnance by railing at him4 ,we shall never make him admire it by expatiating on its beauties4 ,it will not become clear to his comprehension by our pouring upon it all at once a sudden and overpowering blaze of light in the way of explanation4 ,such a process rather confounds him4 ,here again let us fall back upon the method of the great ,teacher1 ,line upon line1 precept upon precept4 ,we will first patiently conduct our boy through one of the simplest operations of arithmetic1 say1 a sum in addition4 ,the next day we will conduct him again through the same process1 or through another of the same sort4 ,the steps will gradually become familiar to his mind1 then easy1 then clear4 ,he learns first the practice of arithmetic1 then the rules1 then the relations of numbers1 then the theory on which the rules and the practice are based1 and finally1 he hardly knows how1 he becomes an arithmetician4 ,he has been trained into a knowledge of the subject4 ,you wish to teach a young child how to find a word in a dictionary4 ,you give at first1 perhaps1 a verbal description of the mystery of a dictionary4 ,you will tell him that1 in such a book1 all the words are arranged according to the letters with which they begin2 that all the words beginning with the letter ,a are in the first part of the book2 then those beginning with the letter ,b1 then those beginning with ,c1 and so on2 you tell him that all the words beginning with one letter1 covering some one or two hundred pages1 are again re-arranged among themselves according to the second letter of each word1 and then again still further re-arranged according to the third letter in each1 and so on to the end4 ,arouse his utmost attention1 and explain the process with the greatest clearness that words can give1 and then set him to find a word4 ,see how awkward will be his first attempt1 how confused his ideas1 how little he has really understood what you have told him4 ,you must repeat your directions patiently1 over and over1 line upon line2 you must take him by the hand day after day1 and train him into a knowledge of even so apparently simple a thing as finding a word in a dictionary4 ,while teaching and training are thus distinguishable in theory1 in practice they are well nigh inseparable4 ,at least1 they never should be separated4 ,teaching has never done its perfect work1 until1 by training1 the mind has learned to run in accustomed channels1 until it sees what is true1 and feels what is right1 with the clearness1 force1 and promptitude1 which come only from long-continued habit4 ,,iv4 ,,modes ,,of ,,hearing ,,recitations4 ,the first that ,i shall name is called the ,concert ,method4 ,this is practised chiefly in schools for very young children1 especially for those who cannot read4 ,there are many advantages in this method1 some of which are not confined to infant classes4 ,the timid1 who are frightened by the sound of their own voices when attempting to recite alone1 are thereby encouraged to speak out2 and those who have had any experience with such children1 know that this is no small1 or easy1 or unimportant achievement4 ,another benefit of the method is the pleasure it gives the children4 ,the measured noise and motion connected with such concert exercises1 are particularly attractive to young children4 ,moreover1 one good teacher1 by the use of this method1 may greatly multiply his efficiency4 ,he may teach simultaneously fifty or sixty1 instead of teaching only five or six4 ,but in estimating this advantage1 one error is to be guarded against4 ,visitors often hear a large class of fifty or more go through an exercise of this kind1 in which the scholars have been drilled to recite in concert2 and if such persons have never been accustomed to investigate the fact1 they often suppose that the answers given are the intelligent responses of all the members of the class4 ,the truth is1 however1 in very many such cases1 that only some half dozen or so really recite the answers from their own independent knowledge4 ,these serve as leaders2 the others1 sheep-like1 follow4 ,still1 by frequent repetition1 even in this blind way1 something gradually sticks to the memory1 although the impression is always apt to be vague and undefined4 ,the method of reciting in concert is chiefly useful in reciting rules and definitions1 or other matters1 where the very words are to be committed to memory4 ,the impression of so large a body of sound upon the ear is very strong1 and is a great help in the matter of mere verbal recollection4 ,children too are very sympathetic1 and a really skilful teacher1 by the concert method1 can do a great deal in cultivating the emotional nature of a large class4 ,young children1 too1 it should be remembered1 like all other young animals1 are by nature restless and fidgety1 and like to make a noise4 ,it is possible1 indeed1 by a system of rigorous and harsh repression1 to restrain this restlessness1 and to keep these little ones for hours in such a state of decorous primness as not to molest weak nerves4 ,but such a system of forced constraint is not natural to children1 and is not a wise method of teaching4 ,let the youngsters make a noise2 ,i had almost said1 the more noise the better1 so it be duly regulated4 ,let them exercise1 not only their lungs1 but their limbs1 moving in concert1 rising up1 sitting down1 turning round1 marching1 raising their hands1 pointing to objects to which their attention is called1 looking at objects which are shown to them4 ,movement and noise are the life of a child4 ,they should be regulated indeed1 but not repressed4 ,to make a young child sit still and keep silence for any great length of time1 is next door to murder4 ,i verily believe it sometimes is murder4 ,the health1 and even the lives of these little ones1 are sacrificed to a false theory of teaching4 ,there is no occasion for torturing a child in order to teach him4 ,god did not so mean it4 ,only let your teaching be in accordance with the wants of his young nature1 and the school-room will be to him the most attractive spot of all the earth4 ,time and again have ,i seen the teacher of a primary school obliged at recess to compel her children to go out of doors1 so much more pleasant did they find the school-room than the play-ground4 ,quite the opposite extreme from the concert method1 is that which1 for convenience1 may be called the individual method4 ,in this method1 the teacher examines one scholar alone upon the whole lesson1 and then another1 and so on1 until the class is completed4 ,the only advantage claimed for this method is1 that the individual laggard cannot screen his deficiencies1 as he can when reciting in concert4 ,he cannot make believe to know the lesson by lazily joining in with the general current of voice when the answers are given4 ,his own individual knowledge1 or ignorance1 stands out4 ,this is clear1 and so far it is an advantage4 ,but ascertaining what a pupil knows of a lesson1 is only one end1 and that by no means the most important end of a recitation4 ,this interview between the pupil and teacher1 called a recitation1 has many ends besides that of merely detecting how much of a subject the pupil knows4 ,a far higher end is to make him know more1--to make perfect that knowledge which the most faithful preparation on the part of the pupil always leaves incomplete4 ,the disadvantages of the individual method are obvious4 ,it is a great waste of time4 ,if a teacher has a class of twenty1 and an hour to hear them in1 it gives him but three minutes for each pupil1 supposing there are no interruptions4 ,but there always are interruptions4 ,in public schools the class oftener numbers forty than twenty1 and the time for recitation is oftener half an hour than an hour4 ,the teacher who pursues the individual method to its extreme1 will rarely find himself in possession of more than one minute to each scholar4 ,in so brief a time1 very little can be ascertained as to what the scholar knows of the lesson1 and still less can anything be done to increase that knowledge4 ,moreover1 while the teacher is bestowing his small modicum of time upon one scholar1 all the other members of the class are idle1 or worse4 ,teaching1 of all kinds of labor1 is that in which labor-saving and time-saving methods are of the greatest moment4 ,the teacher who is wise1 will aim so to conduct a recitation that1 first1 his whole time shall be given to every scholar2 and secondly1 each scholar's mind shall be exercised with every part of the lesson1 and just as much when others are reciting1 as when it is his own time to recite4 ,a teacher who can do this is teaching every scholar1 all the time1 just as much as if he had no scholar but that one4 ,even this does not state the whole case4 ,a scholar in such a class learns more in a given time1 than he would if he were alone and the teacher's entire time were given exclusively to him4 ,the human mind is wonderfully quickened by sympathy4 ,in a crowd each catches1 in some mysterious manner1 an impulse from his fellows4 ,the influence of associated numbers1 all engaged upon the same thought1 is universally to rouse the mind to a higher exercise of its powers4 ,a mind that is dull1 lethargic1 and heavy in its movements when moving solitarily1 often effects1 when under a social and sympathetic impulse1 achievements that are a wonder to itself4 ,the teacher1 then1 who knows how thus to make a unit of twenty or thirty pupils1 really multiplies himself twenty or thirty-fold1 besides giving to the whole class an increased momentum such as always belongs to an aggregated mass4 ,i have seen a teacher instruct a class of forty in such a way1 as1 in the first place1 to secure the subordinate end of ascertaining and registering with a sufficient degree of exactness how much each scholar knows of the lesson by his own preparation1 and secondly1 to secure1 during the whole hour1 the active exercise and coperation of each individual mind1 under the powerful stimulus of the social instinct1 and of a keenly awakened attention4 ,such a teacher accomplishes more in one hour than the slave of the individual method can accomplish in forty hours4 ,a scholar in such a class learns more in one hour than he would learn in forty hours1 in a class of equal numbers taught on the other plan4 ,such teaching is labor-saving and time-saving1 in their highest perfection1 employed upon the noblest of ends4 ,v4 ,,on ,,observing ,a ,,proper ,,order ,,in ,,the ,,development ,,of ,,the ,,mental ,,faculties4 ,education may be defined to be the process of developing in due order and proportion all the good and desirable parts of human nature4 ,on this point all educators are substantially agreed4 ,another truth1 to which there is a general theoretical assent1 is1 that1 in the order in which we develop the faculties1 we should follow the leadings of nature1 cultivating in childhood those faculties which seem most naturally to flourish in childish years1 and reserving for maturer years the cultivation of those faculties which in the order of nature do not show much vigor until near the age of manhood1 and which require for their full development a general ripening of all the other powers4 ,the development of a human being is in some respects like that of a plant4 ,there is one stage of growth suitable for the appearance and maturity of the leaf1 another for the flower1 a third for the fruit1 and still a fourth for the perfected and ripened seed4 ,the analogy has of course many limitations4 ,in the human plant1 for instance1 one class of faculties1 after maturing1 does not disappear in order to make place for another class1 as the flower disappears before there can be fruit4 ,nor1 again1 is any class of faculties wanting altogether until the season for their development and maturity4 ,the faculties all exist together--leaf1 flower1 fruit1 and seed--at the same time1 but each has its own best time for ripening4 ,while these principles have received the general assent of educators1 there has been a wide divergence among them as to some of the practical applications4 ,which faculties do most naturally ripen early in life1 and which late in life8 ,according to my own observation1 the latest of the human powers in maturing1 as it is the most consummate1 is the ,judgment4 ,next in the order of maturity1 and next also in majesty and excellence1 is the ,reasoning power4 ,reason is minister to the judgment1 furnishing to the latter materials for its action1 as all the other powers1 memory1 fancy1 imagination1 and so forth1 are ministers to reason1 and supply it with its materials4 ,the reasoning power lacks true vigor and muscle1 the judgment is little to be relied on1 until we approach manhood4 ,nature withholds from these faculties an earlier development1 for the very reason1 apparently1 that they can ordinarily have but scanty materials for action until after the efflorescence of the other faculties4 ,the mind must first be well filled with knowledge1 which the other faculties have gathered and stored1 before reason and judgment can have full scope for action4 ,going to the other end of the scale1 ,i have as little doubt that the earliest of all the faculties to bud and blossom1 is the ,memory4 ,children not only commit to memory with ease1 but they take actual pleasure in it4 ,tasks1 under which the grown-up man recoils and reels1 the child will assume with light heart1 and execute without fatigue4 ,committing to memory1 which is repulsive drudgery to the man1 is the easiest of all tasks to the child4 ,more than this4 ,the things fixed in the memory of childhood are seldom forgotten4 ,things learned later in life1 not only are learned with greater difficulty1 but more rapidly disappear4 ,i recall instantly and without effort1 texts of ,scripture1 hymns1 catechisms1 rules of grammar and arithmetic1 and scraps of poetry and of classic authors1 with which ,i became familiar when a boy4 ,but it is a labor of ,hercules for me to repeat by memory anything acquired since attaining the age of manhood4 ,the ,creator seems to have arranged an order in the natural development of the faculties for this very purpose1 that in childhood and youth we may be chiefly occupied with the accumulation of materials in our intellectual storehouse4 ,now to reverse this process1 to occupy the immature mind of childhood chiefly with the cultivation of faculties which are of later growth1 and actually to put shackles and restraints upon the memory1 nicknaming and ridiculing all memoriter exercises as parrot performances1 is to ignore one of the primary facts of human nature4 ,it is to be wiser than ,god4 ,another faculty that shoots up into full growth in the very morning and spring-time of life1 is ,faith4 ,i speak here1 of course1 not of religious belief1 but of that faculty of the human mind which leads a child to believe instinctively whatever is told him4 ,that we all do thus believe until by slow and painful experience we learn to do otherwise1 needs no demonstration4 ,everybody's experience attests the fact4 ,it is equally plain that the existence and maturity of this faculty in early childhood is a most wise and beneficent provision of nature4 ,how slow and tedious would be the first steps in knowledge1 were the child born1 as some teachers seem trying to make him1 a sceptic1 that is1 with a mind which refuses to receive anything as true1 except what it has first proved by experience and reason6 ,on the contrary1 how much is the acquisition of knowledge expedited1 during these years of helplessness and dependency1 by this spontaneous1 instinctive faith of childhood4 ,the same infinite wisdom and love1 which in the order of nature provide for the helpless infant a father and mother to care for it1 provide also in the constitution of the infant's mind that instinctive principle or power of faith1 which alone makes the father's and mother's love efficacious towards its intellectual growth and development4 ,of what use were parents or teachers1 in instructing a child which required proof for every statement that father1 mother1 or teacher gives8 ,how cruel to force the confiding young heart into premature scepticism1 by compelling him to hunt up reasons for everything1 when he has reasons1 to him all-sufficient1 in the fact that father1 mother1 or teacher told him so8 ,it may seem trifling to dwell so long upon these elementary points4 ,yet there are wide-spread plans of education which violate every principle here laid down4 ,educators and systems of education1 enjoying the highest popularity1 seem to have adopted the theory1 at least they tacitly act upon the theory1 that the first faculty of the mind to be developed is the ,reasoning power4 ,indeed1 they are not far from asserting that the whole business of education consists in the cultivation of this power1 and they bend accordingly their main energies upon training young children to go through certain processes of reasoning1 so called4 ,they require a child to prove everything before receiving it as true2 to reason out a rule for himself for every process in arithmetic or grammar2 to demonstrate the multiplication-table before daring to use it1 or to commit it to memory1 if indeed they do not forbid entirely its being committed to memory as too parrot-like and mechanical4 ,to commit blindly to memory precious forms of truth1 which the wise and good have hived for the use of the race1 is poohed at as old-fogyish4 ,to receive as true anything which the child cannot fathom1 and which he has not discovered or demonstrated for himself1 is denounced as slavish4 ,all authority in teaching1 growing out of the age and the reputed wisdom of the teacher1 all faith and reverence in the learner1 growing out of a sense of his ignorance and dependence1 are discarded1 and the frightened stripling is continually rapped on the knuckles1 if he does not at every step show the truth of his allegations by what is called a course of reasoning4 ,children reason1 of course4 ,they should be encouraged and taught to reason4 ,no teacher1 who is wise1 will neglect this part of a child's intellectual powers4 ,but he will not consider this the season for its main1 normal development4 ,he will hold this subject for the present subordinate to many others4 ,moreover1 the methods of reasoning1 which he does adopt1 will be of a peculiar kind1 suited to the nature of childhood1 the results being mainly intuitional1 rather than the fruits of formal logic4 ,to oblige a young child to go through a formal syllogistic statement in every step in elementary arithmetic1 for instance1 is simply absurd4 ,it makes nothing plain to a child's mind which was not plain before4 ,on the contrary1 it often makes a muddle of what had been perfectly clear4 ,what was in the clear sunlight of intuition1 is now in a haze1 through the intervening medium of logical terms and forms1 through which he is obliged to look at it4 ,a primary teacher asks her class this question3 ,if ,i can buy #f marbles with #a penny1 how many marbles can ,i buy with #e pennies8 ,a bright boy who should promptly answer #cj would be sharply rebuked4 ,little eight-year old ,solon on the next bench has been better trained than that4 ,with stately and solemn enunciation he delivers himself of a performance somewhat of this sort4 ,if ,i can buy #f marbles with #a penny1 how many marbles can ,i buy with #e pennies8 ,answer--,i can buy #e times as many marbles with #e pennies as ,i can buy with #a penny4 ,if1 therefore1 ,i can buy #f marbles with #a penny1 ,i can buy #e times as many marbles with #e pennies2 and #e times #f marbles are #cj marbles4 ,therefore1 if ,i can buy #f marbles with one penny1 ,i can buy #cj marbles with #e pennies4 ,and this is termed reasoning6 ,and to train children1 by forced and artificial processes1 to go through such a rigmarole of words1 is recommended as a means of cultivating their reasoning power and of improving their power of expression6 ,it is not pretended that children by such a process become more expert in reckoning4 ,on the contrary1 their movements as ready reckoners are retarded by it4 ,instead of learning to jump at once to the conclusion1 lightning-like1 by a sort of intuitional process1 which is of the very essence of an expert accountant1 they learn laboriously to stay their march by a cumbersome and confusing circumlocution of words4 ,and the expenditure of time and toil needed to acquire these formulas of expression1 which nine times out of ten are to those young minds the mere dicta magistri1 is justified on the ground that the children1 if not learning arithmetic1 are learning to reason4 ,let me not be misunderstood4 ,i do not advocate the disuse of explanations4 ,let teachers explain1 let children give explanations4 ,let the rationale of the various processes through which the child goes1 receive a certain amount of attention4 ,but the extreme into which some are now going1 in primary education1 is that of giving too much time to explanation and to theory1 and too little to practice4 ,we reverse1 too1 the order of nature in this matter4 ,what it now takes weeks and months to make clear to the immature understanding1 is apprehended at a later day with ease and delight at the very first statement4 ,there is a clear and consistent philosophy underlying this whole matter4 ,it is simply this4 ,in the healthy and natural order of development in educating a young mind1 theory should follow practice1 not precede it4 ,children learn the practice of arithmetic very young4 ,they take to it naturally1 and learn it easily1 and become very rapidly expert practical accountants4 ,but the science of arithmetic is quite another matter1 and should not be forced upon them until a much later stage in their advancement4 ,to have a really correct apprehension of the principle of decimal notation1 for instance1 to understand that it is purely arbitrary1 and that we might in the same way take any other number than ten as the base of a numerical scale1--that we might increase for instance by fives1 or eights1 or nines1 or twelves1 just as well as by tens--all this requires considerable maturity of intellect1 and some subtlety of reasoning4 ,indeed ,i doubt whether many of the pretentious sciolists1 who insist so much on young children giving the rationale of everything1 have themselves ever yet made an ultimate analysis of the first step in arithmetical notation4 ,many of them would open their eyes were you to tell them1 for instance1 that the number of fingers on your two hands may be just as correctly expressed by the figures #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 #ad1 or #ae1 as by the figures #aj1--;a truism perfectly familiar to every one acquainted with the generalizations of higher arithmetic4 ,yet it is up-hill work to make the matter quite clear to a beginner4 ,we may wisely therefore give our children at first an arbitrary rule for notation4 ,we give them an equally arbitrary rule for addition4 ,they accept these rules and work upon them1 and learn thereby the practical operations of arithmetic4 ,the theory will follow in due time4 ,when perfectly familiar with the practice and the forms of arithmetic1 and sufficiently mature in intellect1 they awaken gradually and surely1 and almost without an effort1 to the beautiful logic which underlies the science4 ,how do we learn language in childhood8 ,is it not solely on authority and by example8 ,a child who lives in a family where no language is used but that which is logically and grammatically correct1 will learn to speak with logical and grammatical correctness long before it is able to give any account of the processes of its own mind in the matter1 or indeed to understand those processes when explained by others4 ,in other words1 practice in language precedes theory4 ,it should do so in other things4 ,the parent who should take measures to prevent a child from speaking its mother tongue1 except just so far and so fast as it could understand and explain the subtle logic which underlies all language1 would be quite as wise as the teacher who refuses to let a child become expert in practical reckoning1 until it can understand and explain at every step the rationale of the process1--who will not suffer a child to learn the multiplication table until it has mastered the metaphysics of the science of numbers1 and can explain with the formalities of syllogism exactly how and why seven times nine make sixty-three4 ,these illustrations have carried me a little1 perhaps1 from my subject4 ,but they seemed necessary to show that ,i am not beating the air4 ,i have feared lest1 in our very best schools1 in the rebound from the exploded errors of the old system1 we have unconsciously run into an error in the opposite extreme4 ,my positions on the particular point now under consideration may be summed up briefly1 as follows3 #a4 ,in developing the faculties1 we should follow the order of nature4 #b4 ,the faculties of memory and faith should be largely exercised and cultivated in childhood4 #c4 ,while the judgment and the reasoning faculty should be exercised during every stage of the intellectual development1 the appropriate season for their main development and culture is near the close1 rather than near the beginning1 of an educational course4 #d4 ,the methods of reasoning used with children should be of a simple kind1 dealing largely in direct intuitions1 rather than formal and syllogistic4 #e4 ,it is a mistake to spend a large amount of time and effort in requiring young children formally to explain the rationale of their intellectual processes1 and especially in requiring them to give such explanations before they have become by practice thoroughly familiar with the processes themselves4 ,,vi4 ,,teaching ,,children ,,what ,,they ,,do ,,not ,,understand4 ,it is not uncommon to hear persons declaim against teaching children what they do not understand4 ,if by this is meant that children should not learn a set of words as parrots do1 merely by the ear1 and without attaching any idea to what they utter1 no one will dissent from the propriety of the rule4 ,but if the meaning is that they should learn nothing except what they fully comprehend1 the rule certainly needs to be hedged in by some grave precautions4 ,there are indeed few things which any one1 the oldest or the wisest1 fully comprehends4 ,who knows what matter is8 ,certainly not the most eminent of philosophers4 ,they do not pretend to know4 ,we pick up a pebble4 ,who can tell what it is1 absolutely8 ,we say that it is something which has certain qualities4 ,but even these we know mainly by negations4 ,the pebble is hard1 that is1 it does not yield to pressure4 ,it is opaque1 that is1 it does not transmit light4 ,it is heavy1 that is1 it does not remain still1 but goes towards the centre of the earth unless intercepted by some interposing body4 ,who knows the meaning1 absolutely1 of a single article of the ,creed8 ,certainly not the most eminent of divines4 ,we know certain things about the great mysteries of the ,godhead1 and even these things we know1 not directly1 but by certain faint1 distant analogies1 and we express our knowledge in terms chosen mainly from ,scripture and arranged with care by wise and learned men4 ,these venerable formularies1 containing the most exact verbal expression which the ,church has been able to frame1 of what the ,scriptures teach about ,god and his ways1 we commit to memory1 and we repeat them with comfort and edification4 ,but we do not pretend to penetrate the very essence of their meaning4 ,who by searching can find out ,god8 ,one must be ,god himself to understand him4 ,we read that ,christ was tempted of the devil in the wilderness4 ,there are many things in this transaction which we may be said1 in a certain sense1 to know4 ,but a man will not proceed far in analyzing this knowledge before he will discover that there are mysteries underlying the whole1 which he cannot penetrate4 ,he knows some of the surface relations4 ,but the things themselves1 in their essence1 are unknown4 ,was ,christ tempted1 as the devil tempts us1 by suggesting thoughts in the mind8 ,was the devil present in a bodily shape8 ,did he utter an audible voice1 by undulating the air1 as we do8 ,has he direct relations to matter1 as we have8 ,how could his offer of worldly power and riches be any real temptation to the ,saviour1 when ,jesus knew that ,satan had no power to make his offer good8 ,there are indeed few things1 in revelation or out of revelation1 in mind or in matter1 which we really and fully comprehend4 ,if1 therefore1 we are to teach children nothing but what they understand1 we must either teach them nothing at all1 or our rule must be materially qualified4 ,no one knows absolutely but ,god4 ,among created beings1 there are almost infinite gradations of intelligence1 although the highest created intelligence begins its range infinitely below that of the ,divine mind4 ,a given formula of words1 therefore1 may express very different degrees of truth according to the degree of intelligence of the party using it4 ,a catechism or a creed may convey twenty different degrees of meaning to twenty successive persons1 varying in age1 character1 and culture4 ,yet the very youngest and feeblest shall understand something of its meaning1 while the wisest and oldest shall not have exhausted it4 ,the young and feeble intellect1 receiving a formula of truth with suitable explanations of its terms1 takes in at once a portion of its meaning and gradually grows into a fuller comprehension of what it has received4 ,a statement of doctrine received by a child at the age of five1 conveys to him a few feeble rays of light4 ,the same statement at the age of ten1 means to him far more than it did before1 while at twenty it is all luminous with knowledge4 ,the mind itself grows and expands1 and with every addition to its own vigor and stature1 does it find new truths in those expressive and pregnant formulas of doctrine with which it has from childhood been familiar4 ,it is like looking at a material object1 first with the naked eye1 and then with glasses of continually increased magnifying power4 ,the more we increase the power1 the more we see in the same bit of matter4 ,yet no glass will ever reveal to us the very interior essence of even the smallest particle of dust4 ,god only knows fully either any single thing or the sum of things4 ,because1 however1 we cannot see into the essence of a pebble or a grain of sand1 shall we shut our eyes to it altogether8 ,shall we not look at it1 first as an infant does1 then as a child1 then as a youth1 then as a man1 then as a philosopher8 ,we can never see it as ,god does4 ,but we shall see it with ever-growing powers of vision1 until that which was to us at first only a rude mass becomes an exhaustless organized microcosm of wonders4 ,i do not advocate the overloading of children with verbal statements of abstruse doctrines1 whether of religion or of science4 ,much less would ,i turn them into parrots1 to repeat phrases to which they attach no meaning at all4 ,but when it is demanded1 on the other hand1 that they shall learn nothing but what they understand1 ,i demur4 ,i ask for explanation of the rule4 ,i insist that1 every statement of truth which they learn1 even the most elementary1 contains depths which neither they nor their teachers can fathom4 ,i insist that1 both in science and religion1 there are certain great1 admitted elementary truths1 reduced to forms of sound words with which the whole world is familiar2 and that while these formularies contain many things which a child cannot understand1 they yet contain many things of which even the youngest child has a fair comprehension4 ,i insist that a carefully prepared religious creed or catechism1 even though it contains many things beyond a child's present comprehension1 is a fit subject for study4 ,memory in childhood is quick and tenacious4 ,the treasures first laid away in that great storehouse are the last to be removed4 ,they may be overlaid by subsequent accumulations1 but they are still ready for use4 ,forms of sound words are certainly among the things which parents and teachers should store away in the young minds of which they have charge4 ,if the child does not understand all that he thus places in his memory1 he understands portions of it just as he sees certain qualities of the pebble which he holds in his hand1 and he will see and understand more1 as his mind expands and his powers of spiritual vision increase4 ,,vii4 ,,cultivating ,,the ,,memory ,,in ,,youth4 ,many educators now-a-days are accustomed to speak slightly of the old-fashioned plan of committing to memory verses of ,scripture1 hymns1 catechisms1 creeds1 and other formulas of doctrine and sentiment in religion and science4 ,many speak disparagingly even of memory itself1 and profess to think it a faculty of minor importance1 regarding its cultivation as savoring of old-fogyism1 and sneering at all memoriter exercises among children as the chattering of parrots4 ,it is never without amazement that ,i hear such utterances4 ,memory is ,god's gift1 by which alone we are able to retain our intellectual acquisitions4 ,without it1 study is useless1 and education simply an impossibility4 ,without it1 there could be no such thing as growth in knowledge4 ,we could know no more to-day than we knew yesterday1 or last week1 or last year4 ,the man would be no wiser than the boy4 ,without this faculty1 the mind would be1 not as now like the prepared plate which the photographer puts in his camera1 and which retains indelibly on its surface the impressions of whatever objects pass before it2 but would rather be like the window pane1 before which passes from day to day the gorgeous panorama of nature1 transmitting with equal and crystalline clearness the golden glory of the sun1 the pale rays of the moon and stars1 the soft green of meadow and woodland1 images of beauty and loveliness1 of light and shade1 from every object on the earth and in the heavens2 but retaining on its own surface not a line or a tint of the millions of rays that have passed through its substance1 and remaining to the end the same bit of transparent glass1 unchanged1 unprofited by the countless changes it has received and transmitted4 ,memory alone gives value to the products of every other faculty1 stamping them with the seal of possessorship1 and making them truly ours4 ,in vain reason forges its bolts1 in vain imagination paints its scenes1 in vain the senses give us a knowledge of the shapes and forms of external nature1 in vain ideas of any sort or from any source come into our minds1 unless we have the power to retain and fix them there1 and make them a part of our accumulated intellectual wealth4 ,to do this is the office of memory1 and whatever increases the activity and power of the memory1 gives at once value and growth to every other power4 ,memory has been well called the store-house of our ideas4 ,the illustration is true not only in its main feature1 but in many of the minor details4 ,the value of what a man puts away in a store-house depends much upon the order and system with which the objects are stored4 ,the wise and thrifty merchant has bins and boxes and compartments and pigeon-holes1 all arranged with due order and symmetry1 and every item of goods1 as it is added to his stock1 is put away at once in its appropriate place1 where he can lay his hands upon it whenever it is wanted4 ,there should be a like method and system in our mental accumulations4 ,the remembrance of facts and truths is of little value to us unless we can remember them in their connections1 and can so remember them as to be able to lay our hands upon any particular thought or fact just when and where it is wanted4 ,many persons read and study voraciously1 filling their minds most industriously with knowledge1 but such a confusion of ideas prevails throughout their intellectual store-house1 that their very wealth is only an embarrassment to them4 ,the very first rule to be observed1 therefore1 in cultivating the memory1 is to reduce our knowledge to some system4 ,those who are charged with the training of the young should seek not only to store their minds with ideas1 but to present these ideas to them in well ordered shapes and forms1 and in due logical order and coherence4 ,hence the peculiar value of requiring children at the proper age to commit to memory the grand formulas of ,christian doctrine1 on which1 in every church1 its wisest and ablest men have expended their strength in placing great truths in connected and logical order and dependence4 ,the creeds and catechisms of the ,christian church are among the best products of the human intellect as mere specimens of verbal statement1 and are valuable1 if for nothing else1 as a means for exercising the memory4 ,a child who has thoroughly mastered a good catechism has his intellectual store-house already reduced to some order and system4 ,his mind is not the chaos that we so often find in those children who are gathered into our mission schools4 ,the objects that are put away for safe-keeping differ in one respect from those things which are stored away in the memory4 ,the material object is the same1 whether we visit and inspect it from day to day or not4 ,the banker's dollars are not increased in fineness or value by his handling them over carefully every day4 ,not so with intellectual coin4 ,the more frequently we re-examine our knowledge and pass it under review1 the more does it become fixed in its character1 the more full and exact in its proportions4 ,handling it does not wear it out4 ,even giving it away does not diminish it4 ,in short1 so far as the cultivation of the memory is concerned1 the next best thing we can do1 after reducing our knowledge to due order1 is to give it a frequent and thorough re-examination4 ,constant1 almost endless repetition is the inexorable price of sound mental accumulation4 ,a distinction is to be made between memory as a power of the mind and the remembrance of particular facts4 ,one or two examples will illustrate this difference4 ,the late ,dr4 ,addison ,alexander1 of the ,theological ,seminary at ,princeton1 had memory as an intellectual power to a degree almost marvellous4 ,the following instance may be cited4 ,on one occasion1 a large class of forty or fifty were to be matriculated in the ,seminary in the presence of the ,faculty4 ,the ceremony of matriculation was very simple4 ,the professors and the new students being all assembled1 in a large hall1 each student in turn presented himself before the professors1 had his credentials examined by them1 and if the same proved satisfactory1 entered his name in full and his residence1 in the register4 ,when the matriculation was complete and the students had retired1 there was some bantering among the professors as to which of them should take the register home and prepare from it an alphabetical roll1--a work always considered rather tedious and irksome4 ,after a little hesitation1 ,dr4 ,alexander said1 ,there is no need of taking the register home2 ,i will make the roll for you2 and1 taking a sheet of paper1 at once1 from memory1 without referring to the register1 and merely from having heard the names as they were recorded1 he proceeded to make out the roll1 giving the names in full and giving them in their alphabetical order4 ,this was a prodigious feat of pure memory2 for in order to make the alphabetical arrangement in his mind1 before committing it to paper1 he must have had the entire mass of names present in his mind by a single act of the will4 ,some of the wonderful games of chess performed by ,paul ,morphy are dependent in part upon a similar power of memory1 by which the player is enabled to keep present in his mind1 without seeing the board1 a long series of complicated evolutions1 past as well as prospective and possible4 ,the same is true of every great military strategist4 ,in all these cases1 there is an act of pure memory1 a direct and positive power of summoning into the mind its past experiences1 such as can only take place where1 either by natural gift or by special training1 the memory as a faculty of the mind is in a high state of vigor4 ,but there are other cases1 in which a man is enabled to recall a great number of particular facts by a species of artifice or trick1 which does not imply any special mental power1 and the study of which does not tend1 in any marked degree1 to develop such power4 ,more than thirty years ago1 the late ,professor ,dod1 of ,princeton ,college1 in lecturing to a class on the subject of light1 was explaining the solar spectrum1 and after exhibiting the solar ray1 divided into its seven primary colors1 violet1 indigo1 blue1 green1 yellow1 orange1 and red1 said1 ,if you will form a mnemonic word of the first letters of each of these words1 you will be able1 without further effort1 to remember the order of the prismatic colors the rest of your lives1 and he accordingly wrote upon the board and pronounced the uncouth and almost unpronounceable word1 ,vibgyor1 which probably not one of us has ever forgotten4 ,an ingenious ,frenchman some years ago traversed the country and collected large audiences by his exhibitions of skill in this species of artifice1 and by undertaking to initiate his hearers in the method of remembering prodigious numbers of historical facts by means of such artificial contrivances4 ,mnemotechny1 the name which he gave to his invention1 is merely a trick of the memory4 ,it is a means of remembering a particular set of facts or things by the aid of contrivances purely artificial and arbitrary4 ,its possession does not imply1 and its cultivation does not produce1 real mnemonic power4 ,it undoubtedly has its uses4 ,but it is rather wealth gained by a lottery ticket than a wealth-producing power acquired by wise habits of business4 ,in teaching the young1 it is well not to neglect either of these principles4 ,we should give our children from time to time ingenious and interesting contrivances for remembering important facts4 ,these contrivances1 if judicious in plan and execution1 will be great helps to them4 ,we may in this way bridge over the difficulty of remembering many of the important facts and dates in history4 ,i would not discourage these artificial methods4 ,though they are mere tricks1 they are valuable4 ,but they have by no means the same value as those methods of teaching which cultivate and produce true mnemonic power4 ,this power1 like every other mental power1 is given in unequal measure to different individuals4 ,like every other mental power1 also1 it grows mainly by exercise4 ,no power of the mind is more capable of development4 ,i have mentioned some things which tend to the growth of this power1 such as presenting knowledge to children in logical and orderly arrangement1 and frequent re-examination of knowledge already obtained4 ,perhaps there is no quickener and invigorator of the memory equal to that of reciting to a judicious teacher before a large class of fellow-students4 ,by a proper and skilful use of the art of questioning1 under the excitement of answering before a large class1 the mnemonic power is subjected to a healthy and invigorating test1 and all such exercises promote powerfully the mental growth4 ,a child may absorb knowledge by mere solitary reading and study1 just as a sponge absorbs water1 but the knowledge so acquired readily evaporates1 or is squeezed out4 ,something is needed to fix in the mind the knowledge that has been lodged there1 and no process is more effectual to this end than that of class recitation4 ,it is by telling other people what we have learned1 that we learn it more effectually1 and make it more completely our own4 ,a good teacher1 by good methods of recitation1 can do more than all other persons and all other things to secure a sound and healthy growth of memory in the young4 ,another thing highly necessary in cultivating a really good memory1 is attaining the utmost possible clearness in our ideas4 ,if the knowledge1 when it first comes into the mind1 is clearly and sharply defined1 so that we really know a thing1 instead of having vague and confused notions about it1 we shall be the more likely to remember it permanently4 ,nothing is more conducive towards giving these sharp and definite impressions than the use of visible illustrations4 ,actual exhibition before a class of the objects talked about1 actual experiments of the operations described1 and the constant use of the chalk and the blackboard1 presenting even abstract truths in concrete and visible symbols1 as is done in algebra1 chemistry1 and logic1 are among the means by which1 chiefly1 knowledge becomes well defined to the mind4 ,such is the constitution of the mind1 that we have a clearer apprehension of what we see than of what comes to us through any other sense1 and the knowledge which comes to us by means of the sight1 is1 of all kinds of knowledge1 the most lasting and the most easily recalled4 ,hence1 in teaching1 it is hardly possible to exaggerate the importance of visible illustration4 ,another condition extremely favorable to the growth of memory1 is the existence of a considerable degree of mental excitement at the time that knowledge enters the mind4 ,metals weld easily only at a white heat4 ,if we would obtain a vigorous grasp of knowledge1 and incorporate it thoroughly into our other mental products1 so that it shall become really ours1 there should be the glow of mental heat at the time of our acquiring such knowledge4 ,ideas that come into the mind when we are in an apathetic state1 make no permanent lodgment4 ,hence the importance of exciting a lively interest in that which is the subject of study4 ,if the teacher has failed to excite this interest1 and finds in his class no animation1 no sympathy1 no eagerness of attention1 he may be sure that he is not accomplishing much4 ,the child must1 if possible1 acquire a fondness for that which is to be remembered4 ,love1 in fact1 is the parent of memory4 ,,viii4 ,,knowledge ,,before ,,memory4 ,i have had frequent occasion to urge upon teachers the importance of cultivating the memory of their pupils4 ,the old-fashioned plan of requiring the young to commit to memory precious truths1 in those very words in which wise and far-thinking men have handed them down to us1 has too much gone out of use4 ,i have felt called upon1 therefore1 from time to time1 to recall to the minds of teachers the unspeakable importance of early exercising the memory of children1 and of storing their memories with wise sayings and rules4 ,i would not take back anything ,i have said on this subject1 but rather repeat and reiterate it4 ,at the same time1 ,i am aware that there is an extreme in this direction1 and ,i therefore put in a word of caution4 ,the danger to which ,i refer is that of requiring children to commit mere words1 to which they attach no meaning1 or without their having any real knowledge of the things expressed by the words4 ,of course there is much in the formulas and rules of science that the immature minds of children cannot entirely comprehend1 and ,i am far from saying that a child should commit nothing except what it can comprehend4 ,but whatever in a rule or a doctrine they can understand1 should be diligently explained to them1 and the ingenuity of teachers should be exercised in awakening the minds of their scholars to the apprehension of real knowledge as a preliminary to the act of committing it to memory4 ,an example or two will illustrate my meaning4 ,children at school are required to commit to memory the tables of weights and measures4 ,the exercise is one of acknowledged and indispensable importance4 ,but it is possible for a child to repeat one of these tables with entire glibness and accuracy1 pretty much as he would whistle ,yankee ,doodle1 without any apprehension of the actual things which the terms of the table represent4 ,he may learn to say sixty seconds make a minute1 sixty minutes make a degree1 three hundred and sixty degrees make a circle1 with no more idea of the things expressed by this formula of words1 than the parrot who has been taught to say1 ,you are a big fool4 ,if the teacher will show the child an actual circle1 with the degrees1 minutes1 and seconds marked1 and will let him count them for himself1 so that he has a real knowledge of the things1 he will then not only commit this formula of words to memory more easily1 but the knowledge itself will promote his mental growth4 ,he will be feeding on real knowledge1 not on its husks4 ,so in learning about inches1 feet1 yards1 rods1 and miles1 let the teacher1 with foot-rule and yard-stick1 show what these measures really are1 let him by some familiar instance give the child an idea of what a mile is1 and then let the memory be invoked to store up the knowledge gained4 ,so with ounces1 pounds1 and hundred-weights4 ,so with gills1 quarts1 and gallons4 ,the common weights and measures are as necessary in the school-room as are spelling-books and arithmetics4 ,the actual weights and measures1 so far as possible1 should be exhibited1 should be seen and handled1 and the child's mind made to grasp the very things which the terms express1 that is1 he should first get real knowledge1 and then he should store his memory with it in exact words and forms of expression4 ,this is the true mental order4 ,knowledge first1 then memory4 ,get knowledge1 then keep it4 ,any other plan is like attempting to become rich by inflating your bags with wind1 instead of filling them with gold1 or attempting to grow fat by bolting food in a form which you cannot digest4 ,some teachers1 in their fear of cramming children with words1 spend their whole time and energy in awakening thought1 and none in fixing upon the memory the thoughts which have been awakened4 ,they are so much afraid of making children parrots1 that they discard rules entirely in teaching1 or require pupils to frame rules for themselves4 ,this is to go into the opposite extreme4 ,the rules and formulas of science require the greatest care and consideration1 and a large and varied knowledge4 ,few even of men of learning and of those specially skilled in the meaning of words and the use of language1 are qualified to frame scientific rules and propositions4 ,to suppose that young children1 just beginning to feel their way into any department of science1 are competent to such a task1 is simply absurd4 ,yet this is by no means uncommon4 ,a teacher will conduct a boy intelligently and skilfully through the process of doing a sum in arithmetic1 or analyzing a sentence in grammar1 and then say to him1 ,now1 form a rule for yourself1 stating how such things should be done4 ,the first step here is right4 ,take your pupil by the hand1 and conduct him through the process or thing to be done4 ,this is necessary to enable him to understand the rule4 ,but when he thus gets the idea1 then give him the rule or principle1 as it is laid down in the book1 in exact and well considered words1 and let him commit those words thoroughly to memory1 without the change or the omission of a word or a letter4 ,what is thus true as to the method of teaching the common branches of knowledge1 is equally true in the study of religious knowledge4 ,i would not set a child to framing a creed or a catechism1 nor1 on the other hand1 would ,i require him to commit such formulas to memory1 without making some attempt to awaken in his mind previously an apprehension of the ideas which the creed or formula contains4 ,i do not say that a child's mind is competent to grasp all the truths embraced in these symbols4 ,but there is no portion of any religious creed or catechism that ,i have ever seen1 some of the terms of which are not capable of being apprehended by children4 ,a wise teacher1 in undertaking to indoctrinate a child in such a formula1 will begin by showing him as far as possible what the words mean1 by exciting in him ideas on the subject1 by filling his mind with actual knowledge of the truths contained in the formula4 ,then1 when the words of the formula have become to the child's mind instinct with meaning and life1 the teacher will pause to stamp them in upon the memory4 ,that is the way to study a catechism4 ,first1 give the child1 so far as possible1 the meaning1 then grind the words into him4 ,do not set him to making a catechism2 do not let him stop at understanding the meaning1 without committing the words4 ,two phrases will cover the whole ground4 ,knowledge before memory4 ,memory as well as knowledge4 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,words4 ,words govern the world4 ,let any one who doubts it1 canvass the motives by which his own action is decided4 ,considerations are presented to his mind1 showing him that a certain course of conduct is right1 or good1 or expedient1 or pleasant1 and he adopts it4 ,the considerations presented to his mind decide his action4 ,but those considerations are in the form of arguments1 and those arguments exist in words4 ,the true original power1 indeed1 is in the thought4 ,it is the thinker who generates the steam4 ,but thought unexpressed accomplishes nothing4 ,the writer and the speaker engineer it into action4 ,thought1 indeed1 even in the mind of its originator1 exists in words4 ,for we really think only in words4 ,much more1 then1 must the thought have some verbal expression1 written or spoken1 before it can influence the opinions or the actions of others4 ,a man may have all the wisdom of ,solomon1 yet will he exercise no influence upon human affairs unless he gives his wisdom utterance4 ,profound thinkers sometimes1 indeed1 utter very little4 ,but they must utter something4 ,they originate and give forth a few thoughts or discoveries1 which minds of a different order1 writers and talkers1 pick up1 reproduce1 multiply1 and disseminate all over the surface of society4 ,when a man unites these two functions1 being both an original thinker and a skilful and industrious writer1 the influence which he may exert upon his race is prodigious4 ,if any one1 for instance1 would take the pains to trace the influences which have sprung from such a man as ,plato1 he would have an illustration of what is meant4 ,plato1 while living1 had no wealth1 rank1 or position of any kind1 to add force to what he said or did4 ,whatever he has done in the world1 he has done simply by his power as a thinker and a writer4 ,there were many ,grecians quite as subtle and acute in reasoning as he4 ,but their thoughts died with them4 ,plato1 on the other hand1 was an indefatigable writer1 as well as an acute and profound thinker4 ,he gave utterance to his ideas in words which1 even in a dead language1 have to this day a living power4 ,when ,plato was dead1 there remained his written words4 ,they remain still4 ,they have entered successively into the philosophies1 the creeds1 and the practical codes1 of the ,grecian world1 the ,roman1 the ,saracen1 and the ,christian4 ,at this very hour hundreds of millions of human beings unconsciously hold opinions which the words of that wise old ,greek have helped to mould4 ,the mere brute force of a military conqueror may make arbitrary changes in the current of human affairs4 ,but no permanent change is ever made except by the force of opinion4 ,the words of ,plato have done more to influence the destinies of men than have a hundred such men as ,genghis ,khan or ,tamerlane4 ,four hundred millions of ,chinese1 in half the actions which go to make up their lives1 are now governed by maxims and opinions which have come down to them from remote antiquity1 from a man whose very existence is almost a myth4 ,those military heroes whose influence on society has been permanent have been propagandists as well as warriors4 ,opinions and codes have gone with1 and survived1 their conquering armies4 ,the armies of the elder ,napoleon were routed at ,waterloo4 ,but the ,napoleonic ideas survived the shock1 and they are at this day a part of the governing power of the world4 ,it was the ,koran--the words1 and the creed of ,mahomet--that gave to the ,mahometan conquest its permanent hold upon the nations4 ,spoken words have in themselves greater power than merely written ones4 ,there is a wonderful influence in the living voice to give force and emphasis to what is uttered4 ,but the written word remains4 ,what is lost in immediate effect1 is more than gained in the permanent result4 ,the successful writer has an audience for all time4 ,he being dead still speaks4 ,men are speaking now1 who have gone to their final account twenty centuries ago4 ,paul possibly may not have had the same influence with a popular assembly as the more eloquent ,apollos4 ,but ,paul is speaking still through his ever-living ,epistles4 ,he is speaking daily to more than a hundred millions of human beings4 ,he is exerting through his writings a power incomparably greater than that even which he exercised as a living speaker4 ,all men have not the commanding gifts of the apostle ,paul4 ,yet after all1 the main difference between ordinary men and men of the ,pauline stamp1 is not so much in their natural powers1 as in the spirit and temper of the men1 in that entire consecration to the service of ,christ which ,paul had1 and which they have not4 ,it is wonderful to see how much may be accomplished even by men of ordinary talents1 when they have that zeal and single-mindedness which may be attained by one as well as by another4 ,we are accountable for the talents which we have1 not for what we have not4 ,but let each man see to it that he uses to the utmost every talent which his ,lord has committed to his trust4 ,how much1 for instance1 may be accomplished by a man who has a gift for addressing a popular assembly6 ,such a man by a few wise words1 spoken at the right time and place1 may do as much in five minutes1 in pushing forward a general cause1 as another man can do by the laborious drudgery of years4 ,the words of the speaker touch the secret springs of action in a thousand breasts4 ,he sends away a thousand men and women animated with a new impulse to duty1 and that impulse is propagated and reproduced through hundreds of channels for long years to come4 ,words are never entirely idle4 ,they have at times a power like that of the electric bolt4 ,they may sting like a serpent1 and bite like an adder4 ,in the ordinary intercourse of society1 a man of good conversational powers may1 even in discharging the customary civilities of life1 put forth a large influence4 ,the words dropped from minute to minute1 throughout the day1 in the millions of little transactions all the while going on between man and man1 have an incalculable power in the general aggregate of the forces which keep society in motion4 ,as with spoken1 so with written words4 ,the man who knows how to weave them into combinations which shall gain the popular ear1 and sink into the popular heart1 has a mighty gift for good or evil4 ,the self-denying and almost saintly ,heber1 by all his years of personal toil on the plains of ,india1 did not accomplish a tithe of what has been accomplished for the cause of missions by his one ,missionary ,hymn4 ,it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that those few written words are worth more to the cause than the lives of scores of ordinary missionaries4 ,how many anxious souls1 just wavering between a right and a wrong decision1 have been led to make the final choice1 and to decide for ,christ1 by that beautiful hymn beginning ,just as ,i am1 without one plea8 ,who can doubt that the patient invalid of ,torquay1 in the hour that she penned those touching words1 did more for the conversion of sinners than many a minister of the gospel has done in the course of a long and laborious life8 ,what a fund of consolation for pious hearts through all time is laid up in the hymns of that other sweet singer1 ,mrs4 ,steele8 ,but as with spoken1 so with written words1 the great aggregate of their force is not contained in these few brilliant and striking exceptions1 but in the millions of mere ordinary paragraphs which meet the eye from day to day1 in the columns of the daily and weekly press1 and which have apparently but an ephemeral existence4 ,the dashing torrent and the mighty river are the more noticeable objects to the casual observer4 ,but it is the minute myriad drops of the rain and the dew that cause the real wonders of vegetation4 ,so these words which we read1 and think we forget1 hour by hour1 all day long1 are continually sinking into the soil of the heart1 and influencing imperceptibly the growth of the germs of thought4 ,the aggregate of all these minute1 unnoticed influences is prodigious1 incalculable4 ,whoever can put words together wisely1 either by the tongue or the pen1 has a precious talent1 which he may not innocently lay up in a napkin4 ,the gift1 like that of wealth1 is not his by right of ownership1 but only as a steward4 ,it is his as a means to do good for the honor of his ,lord1 and the welfare of his fellow-men4 ,as ,i said in the beginning of these remarks1 the world is governed by words4 ,let ,christian men1 by the industrious use of the gifts they have received1 see to it that a greater proportion of this governing force in the world is contributed by the friends of ,christ4 ,let them unceasingly fill up with the words of truth and righteousness every accessible channel of thought and opinion1 and thus occupy till ,christ come4 ,x4 ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,language4 ,the study of language has ever been considered a study of high importance1 regarded merely as a means of intellectual cultivation4 ,there are obvious reasons for this4 ,the analysis of language is the analysis of thought4 ,resolving complex forms of speech into simple ones1 and again combining simple expressions into those which are complex1 and investigating1 alternately by logic and aesthetics1 the varying properties of words and phrases1 are operations which come nearer1 perhaps1 than any other in which we are engaged1 towards subjecting spirit itself to the crucible of experiment4 ,the study of grammar1 the comparison of languages1 the translation of thought from one language to another1 are so many studies in logic and the laws of mind4 ,the subtleties of language arise from the very nature of that subtle and mysterious essence1 the human mind1 of which speech is the prime agent and medium of communication4 ,the class of studies under consideration bears nearly the same relation to the spiritual that anatomy does to the bodily part of us4 ,it is by the dissecting-knife of a keen and well-tempered logic1 applied to the examination of the various forms which human thought assumes1 that we most truly learn the very essence and properties of thought itself4 ,it is this intimate1 immediate1 indissoluble connection and correlation between mind and language1 between human thought and human speech1 between the soul itself and the mould into which it is cast1 that gives such importance to the general class of studies known as philological4 ,the study of language1 more than any other study1 tends to make the mind acute1 discriminating1 and exact4 ,it tends also1 in a most especial manner1 to fit a person to train the minds of others to acuteness1 discrimination1 and exactness4 ,the person who has learned to express a thought with entire exactness and idiomatic propriety in two languages2 or where1 from the want of analogy between the two languages1 he finds this impracticable1 to perceive the exact shade of difference between the two expressions2 who can trace historically and logically the present meaning of a word from its original starting-point in reason and fact1 and mark intelligently its gradual departures and their causes2 who can perceive the exact difference between words and phrases nearly synonymous1 and who can express that difference in terms clear and intelligible to others1--that person has already attained both a high degree of intellectual acumen himself1 and an important means of producing such acumen in others4 ,the study of language is1 in the profession of teaching1 like the sharpening of tools in the business of the mechanic4 ,words are the teacher's tools4 ,human knowledge1 even before it is expressed1 and as it is laid up in the chambers of the mind1 exists in words4 ,we think in words4 ,we teach in words4 ,we are qualified to teach only so far as we have learned the use and power of words4 ,,xi4 ,,cultivating ,,the ,,voice4 ,if we except the lower kinds of handicraft1 nine-tenths of all that is done in the world is done by means of the voice1--by talking4 ,it is by talking we buy and sell2 by talking1 the lawyer1 the doctor1 the minister1 the teacher perform the chief of their functions2 by talking1 the intercourse and machinery of life are chiefly kept in motion4 ,as it was by a word that creation was accomplished1 as the worlds came into being and were moulded into shape1 not by the hand1 but by the omnific voice of ,god1 saying1 ,let there be light and there was light1 so in this lower sphere of human action1 the tongue is mightier than the hand4 ,the moulding1 propelling forces of society come from the use of words4 ,by words1 more than by all other means1 we persuade1 convince1 alarm1 arouse1 or soothe1 or whatever else leads men to action and achievement2 and while written words are full of power1 yet even these are feeble as compared with spoken words1 the living utterances of the human voice4 ,not only so1 but the manner of speaking1 the tone and quality of the voice influence us quite as much as the words spoken4 ,yet how strangely we neglect this wonderful instrument4 ,the mechanic sees to it that his tools are as keen and strong as it is in the power of art and labor to make them4 ,the sportsman spares no expense or care to have the articles that minister to his pleasure in the highest possible state of finish and perfection4 ,how lavish we are in the purchase of instruments of music1 and in keeping them properly tuned and cared for4 ,yet this most wonderful organ1 the voice1 which ,god has given to every one of us1 and which is worth more to us than all the instruments of music1 all the inventions of pleasure1 all the tools of trade1 that human skill has devised1 is left for the most part in utter neglect1 without intelligent guidance1 its wonderful powers almost totally uncultivated and undeveloped4 ,we all feel the sway that a well cultivated and modulated voice has upon us1 its power to give us pleasure and win our assent1 and yet the great majority of us neglect to cultivate in ourselves that which may give us such a power over others4 ,we are not oblivious of other advantages4 ,we strive to make ourselves acceptable and to increase our influence1 by attention to dress1 by the adornment of our persons1 and by the cultivation of our minds1 by stores of knowledge and by accomplishments of various kinds1 while the voice1 which more than anything else is the direct instrument of the soul1 is treated with neglect4 ,we mumble and mutter what should come out clearly and distinctly2 we speak with a nasal drawl1 or in a sharp key that sets all the finer chords of sympathy ajar2 we use just so much of the vocal power that is given us as is needed to express in the faintest way our most imperative wants1 and indolently leave all the rest of its untold and exquisite resources to go to waste4 ,mrs4 ,siddons once made a shopkeeper turn pale with affright and unconsciously drop his goods upon the counter1 simply by the tone in which1 by way of experiment1 she asked him the price of a pair of gloves4 ,undoubtedly ,mrs4 ,siddons had natural gifts of voice which do not belong to every one4 ,but a great part of the wonderful fascination which she and the other members of that remarkable family exerted1 was due to cultivation4 ,if ministers of the gospel1 and others who undertake to influence the minds of a congregation on the side of religion1 would give this matter more attention1 they would find it very greatly to their own advantage and that of others4 ,the manner in which the words of eternal life are read and uttered from the pulpit is often such as to kill all vitality out of them4 ,it is not enough that a preacher should be a good theologian1 and that his sermon contain sound and valuable thoughts4 ,the influence which they are to exert upon the people1 is largely dependent upon the voice which gives them utterance4 ,a competent teacher of elocution is quite as important a part of the machinery of a theological seminary1 as a teacher of ,hebrew4 ,yet1 in organizing our seminaries1 this matter is usually entirely ignored4 ,,xii4 ,,eyes4 ,i have spoken much of blackboards1 maps1 pictorial cards1 natural objects1 and apparatus of various kinds1 as among the urgent wants of the teacher4 ,but there is one thing which he wants more than all these1 and that is ,,eyes4 ,a good pair of eyes are to the teacher1 in the government of his school1 worth more than the rod1 more than any system of merit or demerit marks1 more than keeping in after school1 more than scolding1 reporting to parents1 suspension1 or expulsion1 more than coaxing1 premiums1 and bribes in any shape or to any amount4 ,the very first element in school government1 as in every other government1 is that the teacher should know what is going on in his little kingdom1 and for this knowledge he needs a pair of eyes4 ,most teachers1 it is true1 seem to be furnished with this article4 ,but it is in appearance only4 ,they have something in the upper part of the face which looks like eyes1 but every one knows that appearances are deceiving4 ,they look over a school or an assembly of any kind1 and are vaguely conscious that things are going on wrong all around them1 just as people sometimes grope about in a dark room filled with bats1 and are aware that something is flitting about1 but they have no power of seeing distinctly any one object4 ,it is amazing how little some people see1 who seem to have eyes4 ,the fact is1 there is an entirely mistaken notion on this whole subject4 ,having the eyes open1 and seeing1 are two distinct things4 ,infants have their eyes open1 but they do not see anything1 in the sense in which that word is generally used4 ,light comes into those open windows1 the moving panorama of external nature passes before them1 but distinct vision1 which recognizes and individualizes objects1 is something more than a mere passive1 bodily sensation4 ,it is a mental act4 ,it is the mind rousing itself into consciousness1 and putting forth its powers into voluntary and self-determined activity4 ,nothing in the history of childhood is more interesting than to watch this awakening of the mind in infancy1 to notice how the whole face brightens up when the little stranger first begins actually to see things4 ,the misfortune with many people is1 that in this matter of vision they seem never to get beyond the condition of infancy4 ,they go along the street1 or they move about in a room1 in a sort of dreamy state1 their eyes open1 but seeing nothing4 ,a teacher of this kind1 no matter what amount of disorder is going on before him1 never sees any one particular act4 ,he sees things in the mass1 instead of seeing individual things4 ,the difference between teachers in this faculty of seeing things is more marked probably than in any other quality that a man can have4 ,two teachers may stand before the same class4 ,one will merely be aware that there is a general disorder and noise throughout1 being unable to identify any scholar in particular as transgressing4 ,the other will notice that ,john is talking1 that ,james is pulling his neighbor's hair1 that ,william is drumming on the desk with his fingers1 that ,andrew is munching an apple1 that ,peter is making caricatures on his slate1 and so on4 ,to have this power of seeing things1 it is not necessary that one should be sly1 or should use stealth of any kind4 ,knowledge gained by such mean practices never amounts to much1 and always lowers a teacher in the estimation of his scholars2 it weakens instead of strengthening him4 ,whatever a teacher does in the way of observation of his scholars1 should be done openly and aboveboard4 ,and after all1 more can be seen in this way1 by one who knows how1 than by any of the stealthy practices usually resorted to4 ,darting the eyes about rapidly in one direction and another1 is not a good way to make discoveries4 ,seeing is accomplished1 not so much by the activity of the bodily organ1 as by mental activity4 ,the man's mind must be awake4 ,this in fact is the secret of the whole matter4 ,the more the face and eyes are quiet1 and the mind is on the alert1 the more a man will see4 ,seeing is rather a mental than a bodily act1 though of course the bodily organ is necessary to its accomplishment4 ,to be a good observer1 one must maintain a quiet and composed demeanor1 but be thoroughly wide awake within4 ,,xiii4 ,,errors ,,of ,,the ,,cave4 ,improvement comes by comparison4 ,one of the most profound observations of ,bacon is that in which he remarks upon the dwarfing and distorting influence of solitariness upon the human faculties4 ,the man who shuts himself up in his own little circle of thought and action as in a cave1 having no consort with his fellows1 evolving all his plans from his own solitary cogitation1 must be more than human if he does not become one-sided1 narrow1 selfish1 bigoted4 ,a like result1 but not so aggravated1 is produced1 when a man limits his range of thought and action to those of his own special calling or profession2 when the merchant mingles only with merchants and knows only merchandise2 when the teacher knows nothing but teaching and books2 when the medical man spends every waking hour and every active exercise of thought upon his healing art2 when any man forgets that1 in the very fact of his being a man at all1 he is something greater and nobler than he can possibly be in being merely a merchant1 or teacher1 or doctor1 or lawyer1 or the possessor of any other one special art or faculty4 ,it is true1 indeed1 that in order to attain to eminence in any one department1 a man must bend his main energies to that one thing2 and he must give to it much solitary thought and study4 ,but no department of action is isolated4 ,no interest is unconnected with other interests4 ,no truth stands alone1 but forms a part in the great system of truth4 ,study or action1 therefore1 which is entirely isolated1 must needs be dwarfed and distorted4 ,a man must go occasionally out of his own sphere in order fully to understand those very things with which he is most familiar4 ,a man must study other languages1 if he would hope fully to understand his own4 ,a man must study more than languages merely if he would become a perfect linguist4 ,the only way to understand arithmetic thoroughly is to study algebra4 ,a parent who has only one child1 and who gives his entire and exclusive attention to the study of that child1 in order that he may1 by a thorough understanding of its nature and disposition1 be better able to teach and train it1 will not be so likely to attain his object as he would if he were to spend a portion of his time in mingling with other children and in becoming acquainted with childhood generally4 ,a teacher who should shut himself up in his own school-room1 giving to it every moment of his waking hours1 would not be likely to benefit so largely his own pupils1 as if he were to spend a portion of his time in communing with other teachers and observing other methods besides his own4 ,a teacher even who should mingle freely with those of his own profession1 and get all the benefit to be derived from observation of the views and methods of other teachers1 but should stop there1 would not yet obtain that broad1 comprehensive view1 even of his own calling1 and of the duties of his own particular school-room that he might have if he would travel occasionally beyond the walk of books and pedagogy1 and become acquainted with the views and methods of men in other spheres of life1 with merchants1 lawyers1 and doctors1 with farmers1 mechanics1 and artisans4 ,it is only by mingling with those outside of our own little specialty that we are disenthralled from the bonds of prejudice4 ,it is wonderful to see the change produced in the minds of men of different religious denominations1 when by any means they are thrown much into the actual fellowship of working together in some cause of common benevolence4 ,how1 without any argument1 merely by the fact of their being brought out to a different point of view1 the relative magnitude and importance of certain truths change in their estimation6 ,the points in which ,christians differ become so much smaller2 the points in which they agree become so much larger4 ,the little stone at the mouth of the cave no longer hides the mountain in the distance4 ,let the teacher1 the merchant1 the mechanic1 the banker1 the lawyer1 the minister of religion even1 still remember that he is a man1 and that he can never reach a full and just estimate of his own position without sometimes going outside of it and placing himself in the position of other men4 ,,xiv4 ,,men ,,of ,,one ,,idea4 ,there is between the teacher and other operatives one obvious difference1 arising from the difference in the materials upon which their labor is bestowed4 ,that class of laborers whose toil and skill are exerted in modifying the forms of matter1 succeed generally in proportion to the narrowness of the range to which each individual's attention is confined4 ,it is possible 7the writer has known it to be a fact7 for the same person to sow the flax1 to pull and rot it1 to break it1 hatchel it1 spin it1 warp it1 weave it1 dye or bleach it1 and finally make it into clothes4 ,i say this is possible1 for ,i have seen it done1 and ,i dare say many of my readers have seen the same4 ,but how coarse and expensive is such a product1 compared with that in which every step in the progress of production is made the subject of one individual's entire and undivided attention4 ,if we were to go into the factories of ,lowell1 or into any of the thousand workshops which are converting ,philadelphia into a great manufacturing centre1 we would find the manufacture of an article approaching perfection just in proportion to the imperfection 7in one sense7 of the individual workmen employed in its production4 ,the man who can make a pin-head better and cheaper than any one else1 must give his attention to making pin-heads only4 ,he need not know how to point a pin1 or polish it1 or cut the wire4 ,on the contrary his skill in that one operation increases ordinarily in proportion to his want of skill in others4 ,his perfection as a workman is in the direct ratio to his imperfection as a man4 ,he operates upon matter1 and the more nearly he can bring his muscles and his volitions to the uniformity and the precision of a mere machine--the more confined1 monotonous1 and undeviating are his operations--the higher is the price set upon his work1 the better is he fitted for his task4 ,not so the instructor of youth4 ,the material operated on here is of a nature too subtle to be shaped and fashioned by the undeviating routine of any such mechanical operations4 ,the process necessary to sharpen one intellect may terrify and confound another4 ,the means which in one instance serve to convince1 serve in other cases to confuse4 ,the illustration which to one is a ray of light1 is to another only darkness visible4 ,mind is not1 like matter1 fixed and uniform in its operations4 ,the workman who is to operate upon a substance so subtle and so varying must not be a man of one idea--who knows one thing1 and nothing more4 ,it is not true in mind1 as in matter1 that perfection in the knowledge of one particular point is gained by withdrawing the attention from every other point4 ,all truth and all knowledge are affiliated4 ,the knowledge of arithmetic is increased by that of algebra1 the knowledge of geography by that of astronomy1 the knowledge of one language by knowing another4 ,as no one thing in nature exists unconnected with other things1 so no one item in the vast sum of human knowledge is isolated1 and no person is likely to be perfectly acquainted with any one subject who confines his attention with microscopic minuteness to that subject4 ,to understand thoroughly one subject1 you must study it not only in itself1 but in its relations4 ,to know one thing well you must know very many other things4 ,let us return then to the point from which we set out1 namely3 that one important difference between the teacher and other operatives arises from the difference in the objects on which they operate4 ,the one operates upon matter1 the other upon mind4 ,the one attains perfection in his art by a process which in the other would produce an ignoramus1 a bungler1 a narrow-minded1 conceited charlatan4 ,hence the necessity on the part of those who would excel in the profession of teachers1 of endeavoring continually to enlarge the bounds of their knowledge4 ,hence the error of those who think that to teach anything well it is necessary to know only that one thing4 ,that young woman who undertakes to teach a primary school1 or even an infant class1 has mistaken her calling if she supposes that because she has to teach only the alphabet or the table card1 she has therefore no need to know many other things4 ,there are some things which every teacher needs4 ,every teacher needs a cultivated taste1 a disciplined intellect1 and that enlargement of views which results only from enlarged knowledge4 ,we all know how much we are ourselves benefited by associating habitually with persons of superior abilities4 ,so it is in a still higher degree with children4 ,there is something contagious in the fire of intellect4 ,the human mind1 as well as the human heart1 has a wonderful power of assimilation4 ,every judicious parent will say3 ,let not my child be consigned to the care of an ill-informed1 dull1 spiritless teacher4 ,let it be his happy lot1 if possible1 to be under one who has some higher ambition than merely to go through a certain prescribed routine of duties and lessons2 one whose face beams with intelligence and whose lips drop knowledge2 one who can cultivate in him the disposition to inquire1 by his own readiness and ability to answer childish inquiries2 who can lead the inquiries of a child into proper channels1 and train him to a correct mode of thinking by being himself familiar with the true logical process1 by having himself a cultivated understanding4 ,such a teacher finds a pleasure in his task4 ,he finds that he is not only teaching his pupils to read and to spell1 to write and to cipher1 but he is acquiring an ascendancy over them4 ,he is exerting upon them a moral and intellectual power4 ,he is leaving1 upon a material far more precious than any coined in the ,mint1 the deep and inerasible impress of his own character4 ,let me repeat then1 at the risk of becoming tiresome1 what ,i hold to be an important and elementary truth1 that the teacher should know very many things besides what he is required to teach4 ,a good knowledge of history will enable him to invest the study of geography with new interest4 ,acquaintance with algebra will give a clearness to his perceptions1 and consequently to his mode of inculcating the principles1 of arithmetic4 ,the ability to delineate off-hand with chalk or pencil the forms of objects1 gives him an unlimited power of illustrating every subject1 and of clothing even the dullest with interest4 ,familiarity with the principles of rhetoric and with the rules of criticism1 gives at once elegance and ease to his language1 and the means of more clearly detecting what is faulty in the language of others4 ,a knowledge of ,latin or of ,french1 or of any language besides his own1 throws upon his own language a light of which he before had no conception4 ,it produces in his ideas of grammar and of language generally1 a change somewhat like that which the anatomist experiences from the study of comparative anatomy4 ,the student of the human frame finds many things that he cannot comprehend until he extends his inquiries to other tribes of animals2 to the monkey1 the ox1 the reptile1 the fish1 and even to the insect world4 ,so it is with language4 ,we return from the study of a foreign language invariably with an increased knowledge of our own4 ,we have made one step at least from the technicalities of particular rules towards the principles and truths of general grammar4 ,but it is not necessary to multiply illustrations4 ,i have already said enough to explain my meaning4 ,let me say1 then1 to every teacher1 as you desire to rise in your profession1 as you wish to make your task agreeable to yourself or profitable to your pupils1 do not cease your studies as soon as you gain your election1 but continue to be a learner as long as you continue to be a teacher1 and especially strive by all proper means1 and at all times1 to enlarge the bounds of your knowledge4 ,,xv4 ,a ,,talent ,,for ,,teaching4 ,there can be no doubt that some persons have a natural aptitude for teaching4 ,as there are born poets1 so there are born teachers4 ,yet the man born with the true poetic temperament and faculty will never achieve success as a poet1 unless he add study and labor to his natural gift4 ,so the man born with a talent for teaching needs to cultivate the talent by patient study and practice1 before he can become a thoroughly accomplished teacher4 ,no man probably ever showed greater native aptitude for anything1 than did ,benjamin ,west for painting4 ,yet what long years of toil and study it took for him to become a really great painter8 ,in teaching1 as in every other profession1 while men doubtless differ as to their original qualifications and aptitudes1 yet the differences are not so great as they are often supposed to be1 and they are by no means so great as those produced by study and practice4 ,the man who has no special gift for this employment1 but who faithfully and intelligently tries to perfect himself in it1 is sure to be a better teacher than the one who has the natural gift1 but adds to it no special study and preparation4 ,indeed1 if we exclude from consideration those very nice and delicate touches in education1 which are so rare as to be quite exceptional1 there is nothing in the business of teaching which may not be acquired by any person of average ability4 ,when1 therefore1 we see a teacher not succeeding in gaining the attention of his scholars1 or in securing obedience and respect1 or in bringing them forward in their lessons1 we are not disposed to free such a person from blame on the plea of his having no natural aptitude for teaching4 ,we would respectfully say to such a teacher3 if you know not how to impart knowledge1 learn how2 if you have no tact1 get it4 ,teaching is a business1 as much as knitting stockings1 or planting corn4 ,either do not undertake to teach at all1 or learn how it is to be done4 ,if one-fourth of the labor bestowed upon the work of teaching were devoted to studying the business1 the value of the remaining three-fourths would be quadrupled4 ,it is painful to see the amount of hard work done in school with so little proportionate effect4 ,if a man who knew nothing of farming1 but who had a desire to be useful1 were to dig a pit and bury therein a bushel of corn1 and imagine that he was planting1 his labor would not be wider of the mark than much that is bestowed in school4 ,a man must learn how to do even so simple a thing as planting corn4 ,let the teacher also learn how to plant the seeds of knowledge1 how to prepare the soil1 how to open it for the reception of truth1 where and when to deposit the precious grains4 ,i have no desire to discourage those faithful men and women who are so nobly striving to do good as teachers4 ,but ,i cannot help expressing the regret that so much of this labor is without adequate result4 ,why should persons act so differently in this matter from what they do in any other8 ,if a woman wants to make a pair of stockings1 she goes to some other woman who understands knitting1 and sees how it is done1 and learns the stitches1 tries and experiments1 and studies the matter1 until it is all familiar to her4 ,so of any other ordinary business4 ,yet when it comes to teaching1 anything like definite study or observation of the mode of doing it1 is almost unknown6 ,it is really no exaggeration to say that many teachers bungle in their work as egregiously as would a woman who should put yarn into a churn1 and expect1 after a proper amount of churning1 to draw out stockings4 ,in our schools are many professional teachers of approved skill4 ,why should not a school-teacher1 who is conscious of not succeeding as he would desire1 spend an hour occasionally in observation8 ,find out the name of some teacher who is particularly successful1 and look on while the work is being done1 and if possible see how it is done4 ,then again1 there are books on the subject1 in which the business of teaching is explained in all its branches4 ,get some of these books and read4 ,the mere reading will not make you teachers4 ,but it will set you to thinking4 ,it will quicken your power of observation4 ,it will help you to learn from your own experience4 ,make a note of the difficulties you encounter1 and the points in which you cannot accomplish what you desire4 ,very likely you will find these very difficulties discussed in the books on teaching which you are reading4 ,if not1 lay your difficulties before some friend who is a successful teacher1 and get advice4 ,anything1 rather than going on1 week after week1 without improvement4 ,there is a way of interesting your class in their lessons1 of securing good order and punctual attendance1 of making the scholars learn4 ,only make up your mind that you will find out what that way is4 ,if you think it cannot be done1 of course it will not be done4 ,if you have fairly made up your mind that it may be done1 and that you can do it1 it is half done already4 ,you have no idea how much more pleasant the work will be1 when you have once learned how to do it4 ,one reason why so many teachers desert the ranks1 is the irksomeness produced by want of success4 ,few things are more intolerable than being obliged to do a thing while conscious of doing it in an awkward and bungling manner4 ,on the other hand1 almost any work is a pleasure1 which one is conscious of doing well4 ,,xvi4 ,,teaching ,,power4 ,teachers differ greatly in their ability to bring a class forward in intellectual acquisition and growth4 ,with one teacher pupils are all life and energy1 they take hold of difficulties with courage1 their ideas become clear1 their very power of comprehension seems to gather strength4 ,with another teacher1 those same pupils1 studying the same subject1 are dull1 heavy1 easily discouraged1 and make almost no progress4 ,the ability thus to stimulate the intellectual activity of others1 to give it at once momentum and progress1 is the true measure of one's teaching power4 ,it may be well to consider for a moment some of the conditions necessary to the existence and the exercise of this power4 ,in the first place1 we can exert no great1 commanding influence over others1 whether pupils or not1 unless we have in a high degree their confidence4 ,pupils must have faith in their teacher4 ,i never knew an instance yet1 where there was great intellectual ferment going on in a class1 that the pupils did not believe the teacher infallible1 or very nearly so4 ,this principle of confidence in leadership is one of the great moving powers of the world4 ,in teaching1 it is specially important4 ,this feeling may indeed be in excess4 ,it may exist to such an extent as to extinguish all independence of thought1 to induce a blind1 unquestioning receptivity4 ,such an extreme is of course opposed to true mental progress4 ,but short of this extreme point1 there is almost no amount of faith that children can have in their teacher1 that1 if well founded1 is not of the highest advantage4 ,seeing the firm1 assured tread of father or mother1 or of an older brother or sister1 is a great aid to the tottering little one in putting forth its own steps while learning to walk4 ,so the child is emboldened to send out its young1 unpractised thoughts1 by the confidence it has in the guidance and protection of its teacher4 ,to acquire and retain the proper ascendancy over the mind of a child1 two things are essential1 ample knowledge and entire honesty4 ,shallowness and pretension may mislead for a while4 ,but to hold a child firmly and permanently1 the teacher must abound in knowledge1 and must have thoroughly honest convictions4 ,the next condition to great teaching power is confidence in one's self4 ,a timid1 irresolute1 hesitating utterance of one's own convictions fails to produce conviction in the minds of others4 ,i do not recommend self-conceit4 ,it is not necessary to be dogmatic4 ,yet a certain style of self-assertion1 bordering very closely upon these qualities1 is needed in the teacher4 ,in the higher regions of science and opinion1 there are of course many points about which no one1 at least no one well informed1 would undertake to speak with authority4 ,such subjects it becomes us all to approach with reverent humility1 as at the best only inquirers after truth4 ,but the case is very different with teachers of the common branches concerned in our present remarks4 ,on these points the teacher ought to have a certainty and a readiness of knowledge1 so as to be thoroughly self-reliant before the class4 ,teaching is like fighting4 ,self-reliance is half the battle4 ,equally important with the former is it to have the affection of one's pupils4 ,writers on metaphysics now-a-days dwell much1 and very properly1 on the influence of the body upon the mind1 and the necessity of a healthy condition of the former in order to the full clearness and strength of our intellectual apprehensions4 ,there is a still more intimate connection between our moral emotions and our mental action4 ,the wish is father to the thought1 in more senses than that intended by ,shakspeare4 ,if the intellect is the seeing power of the soul1 the affections are the atmosphere through which we look4 ,the same object may appear to us very differently1 as it is seen through the colorless medium of pure intellectual perception1 or as it is enlarged and glorified by the mellowing haze of fond affection1 or as it is distorted and obscured by the mists of prejudice and hate4 ,when a child has a thorough dislike for a subject or for his teacher1 the difficulty of learning is very greatly increased4 ,not only is the willingness to study weak or wanting1 but the very power of mental perception seems to be obstructed4 ,the power of attention1 the power of apprehension1 the power of memory1 the power of reasoning1 are all paralyzed by dislike1 and are equally vitalized by love and desire4 ,mental action1 in short1 is influenced by the state of the heart as much as by the state of the body4 ,if you do not expect great mental efforts from a child that is sickly1 burning with fever1 or racked with pain1 neither may you expect the best and highest results from one whose heart is diseased and alienated1 who approaches a subject with feelings of aversion and dislike1 whose conceptions are clouded with prejudice4 ,a teacher of great intellectual force1 and with an overbearing will1 may push forward even a reluctant and a rebellious class with a certain degree of speed4 ,on the other hand1 a teacher who enjoys the unbounded love of his scholars1 may accomplish comparatively little1 on account of lacking the other qualities needed for success4 ,the highest measure of success in teaching is attained only where these several conditions meet1--where the teacher has and deserves the full confidence of the scholars1 where he has full confidence in himself1 is self-reliant and self-asserting1 and where at the same time he has the warm affection of his pupils4 ,love1 after all1 is the governing power of the human soul1 as it is the crowning grace in the ,christian scheme4 ,love is1 in teaching1 what sunshine and showers are in vegetation4 ,by a system of forcing and artificial culture1 the gardener may indeed produce a few hot-house plants1 but for all great or general results1 he must look to the genial operations of nature4 ,,xvii4 ,,growing4 ,children often use the term grown-up people4 ,by it they mean persons who have come to the age of twenty1 or twenty-one1 and whose bodily growth is complete4 ,but there are other kinds of growth1 besides that of the body4 ,what is a grown-up teacher8 ,it is not difficult1 certainly1 to find some1 in every locality1 to whom this term could not be applied1 with any propriety4 ,they have been engaged for years in the work1 and yet they are the merest babes4 ,they have no more skill than when they first took a class in hand4 ,when a boy begins to use a penknife1 he is very awkward4 ,he cuts himself about as often as he cuts the stick4 ,after a while1 however1 he learns to manage the matter better4 ,he finds out how to handle the curious instrument with skill and even with elegance4 ,but you will see teachers1 so called1 who seem never to make any of this progress in their work4 ,they have no more idea now1 than they had when they gave their first lesson1 of what they must do to secure attention and silence1 how they must manage to keep all the children busy1 how to secure good attendance1 or study of the lesson1 how to gain affection and confidence1 how to enforce order and obedience1 how to do anything1 except to sit1 book in hand1 and ask the questions one after the other round the class1 and see that ,john1 ,george1 and ,james severally say the answers correctly4 ,this is the idea of teaching with which they begin1 and they make no progress towards anything better4 ,they acquire no skill4 ,they make no growth4 ,they are grown-up bodily4 ,but in all that pertains to teaching1 they are still babes4 ,they whittle as awkwardly and unskilfully as when the delicate instrument was first put into their clumsy fingers4 ,they go on from year to year and learn nothing4 ,some persons are born teachers1 just as some are born poets or mechanics4 ,that is1 they are gifted with a natural aptitude for that particular work4 ,but those most gifted by nature1 are capable of improvement1 and those having least natural gifts for teaching1 may acquire a certain and a very considerable amount of skill1 by proper observation and study4 ,the point which ,i wish to make1 and which ,i deem important1 is1 that teachers should not rest content with their present qualifications1 whatever they may be1 whether large or small4 ,let it be the aim of every one to be a growing teacher4 ,we come short1 if we are not better teachers this year than we were last4 ,we should aim and resolve to be better teachers next year than we are now4 ,our education as teachers should never be considered as finished4 ,forgetting the things which are behind1 let us ever press forward4 ,let us constantly aim upward4 ,skill in teaching admits of infinite degrees1 and no one will ever be perfect in it4 ,efforts at improvement1 if persistently followed up1 are always rewarded with success1 and success in such a work brings a most sweet recompense4 ,what satisfaction is equal to that of feeling that one is steadily increasing in the power of guiding and moulding the minds of others8 ,growing skill in anything1 even in works requiring mechanical ingenuity1 brings joy to the mind4 ,how much more intense and pure the joy1 when there is a consciousness of growth in this higher department of mental power8 ,will the teacher1 who reads these paragraphs1 consider the matter8 ,are you1 as a teacher1 growing8 or are you working on in dull content in the same old routine8 ,on your answer to these questions depend very largely1 not only the welfare of your scholars and the amount of good you will achieve1 but your own happiness and satisfaction in your work4 ,the artist1 who produces some great work of genius1 has his reward not merely in the dollars which it may bring to his coffer1 but in the inward satisfaction which successful achievement produces4 ,the true artist is always struggling towards some unattainable ideal1 and his joy is proportioned to the nearness of his approach to the imagined perfection4 ,so in proportion as we approach in skill the great ,teacher1 will be our joy in the work itself1 apart from our joy in the results4 ,to be a growing teacher requires a distinct aim to this end1 and a resolute and persistent effort4 ,it does not come by chance4 ,it is not a weed that springs up spontaneously1 and matures without culture4 ,it is not the fruit of mere wishing4 ,there must be will1 ,a ,,determined ,,and ,,resolute ,,will4 ,rules and theories will not accomplish it4 ,there are books and essays in abundance on the art and practice of teaching4 ,but back of means we must have1 first of all1 the propelling power4 ,have you made up your mind to be stationary1 or have you resolved to go forward8 ,will you remain in the wilderness1 or will you advance into the promised land and take possession8 ,are you a deliberate1 predetermined1 contented dwarf1 or will you resolutely grow8 ,you may never become a giant1 but do not remain an infant4 ,if there is any one duty of the teacher more imperative than another1 it is that of continued1 persistent self-improvement4 ,no element of progress is so efficient as a wholesome discontent4 ,i count not myself to have attained1 says the great apostle of progress4 ,to sit down self-satisfied with present attainments is in itself a sign that you have not yet risen much4 ,it is to belong to the owls and the bats of the lower valleys4 ,one must already have ascended to lofty heights before he can even see the higher ,alps towering beyond4 ,the teacher who would improve must1 in a good sense1 be restless4 ,he must bestir himself4 ,he must study and read and experiment1 attend teachers' meetings and conventions1 and take teachers' papers1 and find out what other teachers are doing and have done1 ever remembering that improvement comes mainly by comparison4 ,,xviii4 ,,loving ,,the ,,children4 ,some teachers make the mistake of supposing that a love for the work and a love for the children are one and the same thing4 ,the two things are certainly separable in thought1 and they are often actually separated in action4 ,it is of some importance to teachers to remember the difference4 ,we see persons every day struggling with all their might to accomplish certain results4 ,they have certain ideas which they wish to realize1 certain theories which they wish to verify4 ,to bring about these results1 is a matter of pride with them4 ,so that the end is gained1 the means to be used are a matter of comparative indifference4 ,their heart is set on the result1 they care nothing for the machinery by which it is brought about4 ,now1 so long as the work is of a nature which requires only the use of mechanical powers1 or of mere brute force1 it is all very well4 ,the sculptor need not fall in love with the block of marble on which he is working1 in order to realize from it the conception of his mind4 ,the engine which carries us thirty miles an hour towards the goal of our desires1 will not speed us more or less for not being an object of our affections4 ,but every man has a natural and proper dislike to becoming a mere machine for carrying out the schemes of others4 ,children especially revolt at being treated in this way4 ,if a teacher takes the charge of a class or of a school1 for the purpose of showing to himself or to others how certain things may be done1 the children are quick to find it out1 and to resent it4 ,no child1 however humble or obscure1 but feels indignant at being considered as a mere pawn upon a chess-board1 or a mere wheel or pulley in some complicated piece of machinery4 ,every individual child is to itself the centre of all human interests1 and if you are to have any real and abiding influence upon him1 he must first feel that you have a regard for himself1 in his own proper person1 independently of any schemes or plans of your own4 ,you may love to see your children all present punctually1 to see them making a good appearance1 and by their orderly behavior and manners helping forward the school generally2 you may love the work of teaching as giving you honorable and useful occupation4 ,but something more than this is wanting4 ,you must love the children4 ,you must love each particular child4 ,you must become interested in each child1 not for what it is to you1 or to the class1 or to the school1 but for what it is in itself1 as a precious jewel1 to be loved and admired1 for those immortal qualities and capacities which belong to it as a human being4 ,no matter how degraded or depraved or forbidding in appearance that child may be1 it has qualities which1 if brought out1 may make it more glorious than an angel4 ,if ,jesus loved him1 you may love him4 ,jesus did not stand off at a distance from the loathsome and filthy leper1 while performing the miracle of healing4 ,he first touched the leper1 and said1 ,be thou clean4 ,we are sometimes too fastidious in our benevolence1 and shrink too much from coming into contact with those whom we would befriend4 ,little real influence is ever produced upon any human being1 without creating between you and him a bond of sympathy4 ,if we would work strongly and efficiently upon the minds of children1 we must really love them1 not in the abstract1 not in a general way1 but concretely and individually4 ,we must love ,john and ,william and ,mary and ,susie1 simply and purely because he or she is1 in himself or herself alone1 an object of true interest and affection4 ,in looking over a school1 it is not difficult to discover at a glance which teachers thus love their children4 ,it speaks in every word from the lips4 ,it beams in every look from the eyes4 ,it thrills in every tone of the voice4 ,it has a language in the very touch of the hand and the movements of the person4 ,some persons are naturally more fond of children than others are4 ,but those not naturally thus inclined may cultivate the disposition4 ,they must do so if they mean to be teachers4 ,no one is fitted to be a teacher1 who has not learned to sympathize with the real wants and feelings of children4 ,pretence here is all wasted4 ,shams may do with grown persons sometimes1 never with children4 ,they have an instinctive perception of what is genuine and what is pretended1 in professed love for them4 ,in fact1 the way to win the affection of a child is to love him1 not to make professions of love4 ,it is not always the easiest thing in the world to exercise this love4 ,a teacher may have the charge of a class of children whose appearance1 manners1 and dispositions are exceedingly forbidding1 perhaps even loathsome4 ,yet observation and study will ordinarily discover some good quality even in the worst and most degraded4 ,a talent for discovering what is good in a child is much more important in the work of elevating him1 than the smartness at detecting and exposing his tricks1 in which some teachers take pride4 ,it is a bad sign1 though not an uncommon one1 to see evidences of cunning in a teacher4 ,better by far to be outwitted and duped occasionally1 than to forfeit that character of perfect sincerity and straightforwardness which secures the confidence of a child4 ,the teacher who would love his children1 particularly if he happens to have been entrusted with an unpromising class1 must learn to wear the spectacles of charity4 ,he must cultivate the habit of seeing things in their best light4 ,while not blind to faults1 he must be prompt and eagle-eyed to spy out every indication of good4 ,above all1 he must remember that no human soul1 however degraded1 is without some elements and possibilities of good1 for whom there is the possibility that ,christ died4 ,,xix4 ,,gaining ,,the ,,affections ,,of ,,the ,,scholars4 ,the importance of this point is not to be measured by the mere gratification it affords4 ,it adds undoubtedly to the happiness of the teacher in his work1 to know that his scholars love him4 ,nor is this a small consideration4 ,the teacher has many vexatious rubs4 ,he encounters much toil and self-denial2 and whatever tends to mitigate these asperities1 and to make his labor sweet1 is for that very reason important4 ,the teacher has1 for a part at least of his reward1 the enjoyment of a love as pure and unselfish as any known upon earth4 ,he will doubtless go forward in duty1 even where he fails of obtaining this precious foretaste of the heavenly bliss1 and he has doubtless higher aims than any arising from mere gratification1 of whatever sort4 ,yet a boon so great is not to be despised or ignored4 ,the ardent love which scholars sometimes give to their teachers is a high gratification1 and something to be greatly prized for the mere pleasure it gives4 ,and yet1 after all1 this is not its main value4 ,the fact that children love their teacher1 gives to the teacher almost unbounded influence over them4 ,there is hardly a point1 necessary to the success of a school or of a class1 that scholars will not readily yield to a teacher whom they love4 ,by this silken cord they can be drawn whithersoever the teacher wills4 ,to please teacher1 they will attend regularly1 will come punctually1 will be quiet and orderly1 will learn their lessons1 will be attentive to instruction4 ,more than all this1 many a child1 by the love of an earthly friend1 has been led to the love of his heavenly ,friend4 ,the young heart is opened to receive the ,saviour1 by the warmth of its love for one who so manifestly bears his image4 ,perhaps there is no one1 not even excepting a mother1 who can so easily bring the young to the ,saviour1 as the teacher who has thoroughly succeeded in winning his scholars' affections4 ,there is another consideration in this matter1 not so weighty as the one named1 yet of great importance1 and the more worthy to be named1 because it is generally not rightly understood4 ,i refer to the fact that children will learn so much more readily under a teacher whom they love4 ,not only will they study better1 and be more attentive1 for the sake of pleasing their teacher1 but by some mysterious process of the mind1 love helps us to understand1 as dislike disturbs and beclouds the understanding4 ,when a child has a dislike or prejudice or ill-feeling of any kind against a teacher1 or a subject of study1 the effect upon the mind of the child is like that produced upon a spring of pure and sparkling water by stirring up the mud and sediment from the bottom4 ,in the human organization the heart is at the bottom1 and disturbing influences there cause us to see things through an impure medium4 ,the calmness and serenity1 produced by perfect love and trust1 are the proper conditions for the right and best working of the understanding4 ,we must get the heart right if we would see truth clearly1 and that teacher who has won the love of his scholars has done much towards making the path of knowledge easy for them4 ,let the teacher1 then1 aim to win the love of his scholars1 first1 because this love is in itself a boon to which the teacher has a rightful claim2 secondly1 because it gives him a powerful influence in moulding the character and habits of the children1 and especially in bringing them to the ,saviour2 and1 thirdly1 because it helps the scholars intellectually1 enabling them to understand better and to learn faster4 ,but how is this love to be gained8 ,assuredly1 not by demanding it as a right1 or by fretting1 complaining1 or scolding because your scholars do not love you4 ,love only is the price for love4 ,if you wish your scholars to love you1 you must first love them1 not pretend to do it1--children are quick to see through such pretences1--but really and truly love them4 ,many teachers1 however1 sincerely love their scholars1 and yet do not succeed in winning their affections4 ,something in their manner and appearance is repulsive4 ,there is in the face of some good people a hard and forbidding look1 at which the heart takes alarm and retires within itself4 ,the young heart1 like the young buds in spring-time1 requires an atmosphere of warmth and sunshine4 ,if we would draw forth their warm affections towards us1 we must not only feel love towards them in our hearts1 but we must wear sunshine in our faces4 ,a pleasant smile1 a loving word1 a soft1 endearing tone of the voice1 goes a great way with a child1 especially where it is not put on1 but springs from a loving heart4 ,some teachers in avoiding this hard1 repulsive manner1 run to the opposite extreme1 and lose the respect of their scholars by undue familiarity4 ,children do not expect you to become their playmate and fellow1 before giving you their love and confidence4 ,their native tendency is to look up4 ,they yearn for repose upon one superior to themselves4 ,only1 when the tender heart of youth thus looks up1 let it not be into a region filled with clouds and cold1 but into a sky everywhere pervaded with a clear1 steady1 warm sunlight4 ,let there be no frown upon your brow1 no harsh or angry word upon your lips1 no exacting sternness in your eye4 ,let the love which you feel in your heart beam forth naturally and spontaneously in loving looks and words1 and you need not fear but that you will meet with a response4 ,,xx4 ,,the ,,obedience ,,of ,,children4 ,there is much misapprehension as to the true nature of obedience4 ,wherein does obedience really consist8 ,what is its essence8 ,merely doing a specified act1 which has been required1 is not necessarily an act of obedience4 ,a father may have a rule of his household that the children shall rise in the morning at five o'clock4 ,a son who habitually disregards this rule1 may rise at the appointed time on a particular morning1 in order to join a companion on a fishing excursion1 or for some object connected solely with his own pleasure and convenience4 ,here the external act is the one required4 ,he rises at the hour enjoined by his father's command4 ,but his doing so has no reference to his father's wishes4 ,it is not in any sense an act of obedience4 ,something more than mere external compliance with a rule or a command is needed to constitute obedience4 ,in other words1 not only the act itself must be the one required1 but the motive must be right4 ,if ,i am led to do what my father or my mother requires1 by mere dint of coaxing1 or by the expectation of cakes or pennies or promised indulgence of any kind1 if it is a bargain1 in which ,i give so much compliance for so much per contra of self-gratification1 the compliance rendered is not an act of obedience4 ,as well might a man profess to obey his neighbor1 because he gives him a bag of oats for a bag of corn4 ,a great deal of what passes for obedience in families and schools1 is mere barter4 ,strip the matter of all glosses and disguises1 and the naked truth remains1 that children are hired to do what the parent or the teacher wants to have done4 ,they do not obey1 in any legitimate and wholesome use of the word4 ,they are quiet when they should be quiet1 they learn the lessons which they should learn1 they abstain from whatever things they should abstain from1 because they have learned that this is the only way to gain the indulgences which they desire4 ,the parent and the teacher use a motive adequate to secure the outward act1 but they do not secure obedience4 ,it is not obedience for a child to do a thing because his reason and conscience tell him that the act in itself1 without reference to his parents' wishes1 is right and proper4 ,at least it is not filial obedience4 ,i may be obeying my conscience1 but ,i am not obeying my father4 ,many parents1 who are above the weakness of bribing their children1 satisfy themselves by reasoning with them4 ,far be it from us to say a word against any legitimate appeal to the reason and conscience of a child4 ,children1 at the proper age1 should be taught to reason and to judge for themselves1 in regard to the right and wrong of actions1 just as they should learn to walk alone1 and not be forever dependent upon leading strings4 ,only1 let it be understood that just so far as the child acts on its own independent judgment1 the act is not one of filial obedience4 ,obedience is doing a thing because another1 having competent authority1 has enjoined it4 ,the motive necessary to constitute any act an act of obedience1 is a reference to the will and authority of another4 ,it is submission of our will to the will of another4 ,the child receives as true what his parents say1 and because they say it2 so1 he does as right what they command1 and because they command it4 ,that fact is1 and in the first instance it should be1 to the child's mind1 the ultimate and sufficient reason for either believing or doing--for faith or obedience4 ,this faith and obedience rendered to my earthly father1 which is only partial and temporary1 besides serving its own immediate ends1 in securing a well-ordered household and my own best interests as a child1 has the further end of training me for that unqualified faith and obedience1 which ,i am to render to my heavenly ,father1 and which is of universal and permanent obligation4 ,one object of the parental relation seems to be to fit the soul for this higher obedience4 ,i must1 however1 learn to obey my father simply because he is my father1 and because as such he has the right to command me1 if thereby ,i am to learn1 for a like reason1 to obey my heavenly ,father4 ,no lower motive will secure the end4 ,submission to parental authority is not always the instinctive impulse of childhood4 ,where this submission is not yielded1 it must be enforced4 ,authority1 in other words1 requires sanctions4 ,the father has no right to command1 unless he has the right to punish in case of disobedience4 ,furthermore1 if he does not1 especially in the early childhood of his offspring1 train them to a habit of real obedience and submission to authority1 he does his children a great wrong4 ,he deprives them of the benefit of that habit of obedience1 which will be of the utmost value to them in their future religious life4 ,a man forbids his child to eat green apples4 ,the child abstains4 ,that abstinence is not necessarily an act of obedience4 ,he may abstain because his mother offers1 in case of his doing so1 to give him sugar-plums1 and he prefers the sugar-plums to the apples4 ,this is not obedience4 ,or1 his reason and experience may have taught him that the eating of green fruit will cause him sickness and pain1 and so he abstains for the same reasons that his father1 mother1 or anybody else does4 ,this is not obedience4 ,but children often have not the forethought to look at remote consequences1 or they have not the strength of purpose to deny a present gratification for the sake of a distant good1 and especially for a good of which they have only a vague idea through the representations of their parents or teachers4 ,suppose such a case4 ,suppose a child with a strong inclination and desire for the thing forbidden1 and with no clear apprehension that there is anything wrong or hurtful in the indulgence1 except in the fact that the father has forbidden it1 and with no temptation of a higher indulgence as a reward for abstaining4 ,if1 in such a case1 the child abstains1 he performs a true act of obedience4 ,he really subjects his will to the will of his father4 ,this kind of implicit obedience is greatly needed4 ,it is to be secured just as our heavenly ,father secures obedience to some of his laws4 ,if a child thrusts his finger into the candle1 he violates a law1 and he instantly suffers for it4 ,we are surrounded by many such laws1 without the observance of which we could not live a day4 ,to teach us obedience to these laws1 the penalty of transgression is immediate and sharp4 ,there are other laws of our physical well-being1 the penalties of which are remote1 and in regard to those we have room for the exercise and cultivation of our reasoning powers4 ,now in childhood1 there are many things which a child should be taught to forbear doing as promptly as he forbears to thrust his hand into the fire4 ,yet for these things there is no natural penalty4 ,here the command of the parent should be interposed1 and transgression should be promptly followed by penalty4 ,the authority of the parent and the penalties by which he sustains it1 guide the child during those years when reason and the power of self-denial are weak4 ,but to make this discipline easy and effective1 there should be no hesitation or uncertainty about the exercise of it4 ,parents often have to strain their authority1 and use very largely their right of punishment1 because they are so unequal and irregular in their methods of government4 ,a child soon ceases to thrust his finger into the fire4 ,fire is not a thing which burns one day1 and may be safely tampered with the next4 ,so1 if disobedience1 invariably and promptly1 without passion or caprice1 and with the uniformity of a law of nature1 brings such a penalty as to make the disobedience painful1 there will be little transgression and little need of punishment4 ,a child does not fret because he cannot play with fire4 ,he will not fret because he cannot transgress a father's direct command1 if he once knows that such commands must be obeyed4 ,,xxi4 ,,rarey ,,as ,,an ,,educator4 ,parents1 teachers1 and all who are charged with the duty of training the young1 may learn important lessons from the example of the late ,mr4 ,rarey4 ,the principles on which the horse is rendered obedient and docile do not differ essentially from those to be employed in the government of children or of men4 ,some of the accounts of ,mr4 ,rarey's system1 however1 which have been published1 are liable to mislead1 and to foster a mischievous error4 ,his procedure was eminently kind and gentle4 ,the horse became fully assured that no harm was intended towards him4 ,this conviction is essential to success in securing a perfect and willing obedience1 whether from brute or human4 ,but the distinctness with which this feature of the treatment was brought out in ,mr4 ,rarey's exhibitions1 led some apparently to think that this was the main1 if not the only feature4 ,kindness alone1 however1 will not tame1 and will not govern1 brutes or men4 ,there must be power4 ,there must be1 in the mind of the party to be governed1 a full conviction that the power of the other party is superior to his own--that there is1 in the party claiming obedience1 an ample reserve of power fully adequate to enforce the claim4 ,the more complete this conviction is1 the less occasion there will be for the exercise of the power4 ,the most headstrong horse1 once convinced that he is helpless in this contest of strength1 and convinced at the same time that his master is his friend1 may be led by a straw4 ,mr4 ,rarey went through various preliminary steps1 the object of which was to make the horse acquainted with him1 and to prevent fright or panic4 ,but obedience was not claimed1 and was not given1 until there had been a demonstration of power--until the horse was convinced that the man was entirely too much for him4 ,by a very simple adjustment of straps to the forefeet of the animal1 he became perfectly helpless in the hands of his tamer4 ,the struggle1 indeed1 was sometimes continued for a good while4 ,the horse put forth his prodigious strength to the utmost4 ,he became almost wild at the perfect ease and quietude with which all his efforts were baffled1 until at length1 fully satisfied that further struggles were useless1 he made a complete surrender1 and lay down as peaceful and submissive as an infant4 ,this point is of some importance4 ,i do not underrate the value of kindness and love in any system of government1 whether in the household1 the school1 the stable1 the menagerie1 or in civil society4 ,but love is not the basis of government4 ,obedience is yielded to authority1 and authority is based on right and power4 ,the child who complies with his father's wishes1 only because a different course would make his father grieve1 or give his mother a headache1 or because his parents have reasoned with him and shown him that compliance is for his good1 or who has been wheedled into compliance by petty bribes and promises1 has not learned that doctrine of obedience which lies at the foundation of all government1 human and divine4 ,god has given to the parent the right to the obedience of his children1 and the power to enforce it4 ,that parent has failed in his duty who has not trained his child1 not only to love him1 but to obey him1 in the strict sense of the word1 that is to yield his will to the will of a superior1 from a sense of appointed subordination and rightful authority4 ,this sense of subordination and of obedience to appointed and rightful authority1 is of the very essence of civil government1 and the place where it is to be first and chiefly learned is in the household4 ,to teach this is a main end of the parental relation4 ,the parent who fails to teach it1 fails to give his child the first element of good citizenship1 and leaves him often to be in after-years the victim of his own uncontrolled passions and tempers4 ,the want of a proper exercise of parental authority is1 in this age of the world1 the most prolific source of those frightful disorders that pervade society1 and that threaten to upturn the very foundations of all civil government4 ,the feeling of reverence1 the sense of a respect for authority1 the consciousness of being in a state of subordination1 the feeling of obligation to do a thing simply because it is commanded by some one having a right to obedience--all these old-fashioned notions seem to be dying out of the minds of men4 ,the popular cry is1 ,don't make your children fear you4 ,govern them by love4 ,conquer them by kindness4 ,treat them as ,mr4 ,rarey did his horses4 ,i protest against the notion4 ,it is a mistake of ,mr4 ,rarey's system1 and it is not the true basis for government1 whether of brutes or men4 ,the doctrine may seem harsh in these dainty times4 ,but1 in my opinion1 a certain degree of wholesome fear in the mind of a child towards its parent1 is essential1 and is perfectly compatible with the very highest love4 ,i have never known more confiding1 affectionate1 and loving children1 than those who not only regarded their parents as kind benefactors and sympathizing friends1 but who looked up to them with a certain degree of reverence4 ,the fear spoken of in the ,bible1 as being cast out by perfect love1 is quite a different emotion4 ,it is rather a slavish fear1 a feeling of dread and terror4 ,it sees in its object not only power but hostility4 ,it awakens not only dread but hate4 ,the child's fear1 on the contrary1 sees power united with kindness4 ,it obeys the one1 it loves the other4 ,it is the exact attitude of mind to which ,mr4 ,rarey brought the horse that was subjected to his management4 ,,xxii4 ,a ,,boarding-,,school ,,experience4 ,i have often wished ,i had the descriptive power of the man who wrote ,the ,diary of a ,physician4 ,my experiences in another profession have not been wanting in incident1 often of a curious and romantic kind1 and sometimes almost startling4 ,but the ,diary of a ,schoolmaster1 to be read with interest1 requires something more than a good basis of facts4 ,he who writes it must have1 also1 graphic and narrative powers--a special gift1 of which nature has been sparing to me4 ,i had one experience1 however1 many years ago1 so remarkable in some of its features1 that perhaps the bare facts1 stated in the simplest form1 without artifice or embellishment1 will be found worthy of perusal4 ,the youth who was the principal actor in the scene which ,i am about to describe1 has been dead these many years1 and ,i believe the family have nearly all died out4 ,the only survivor that ,i knew anything of ten years ago was then blind1 and ill of an incurable disease4 ,there would1 therefore1 perhaps be no harm in giving the youth's real name2 but as the name is one widely known1 and as it is always best to avoid unnecessary intrusion upon private affairs1 ,i have concluded to use a fictitious name1 both for the person referred to and for the place from which he came4 ,in other particulars the following incident is a simple narration of facts4 ,at the time of which ,i am writing1 ,i had a large boarding-school for boys1 at ,princeton1 ,new ,jersey4 ,particular circumstances gave me1 for several years1 quite a run of patronage from a town in one of the ,western ,states1 which for convenience ,i shall call ,tompkinsville4 ,among those who applied for admission from this town were two brothers1 ,bob and ,charlie ,graham4 ,bob was only ten years old4 ,charlie was fourteen1 and as mature as most boys at nineteen4 ,mature1 ,i mean1 not so much in his intellectual development1 for in that respect he was rather behindhand1 but in his passions1 and in his habits of independent thought and action4 ,i had many misgivings about the propriety of receiving these boys into the school4 ,most of those that ,i had already from ,tompkinsville were of the fire-eating class1 whom it had taken all my skill as a disciplinarian to bring into subjection1 and ,i did not know what might be the effect of adding to their number two such combustible youths as these ,grahams were reputed to be4 ,tompkinsville1 indeed1 had long been notorious for the fiery and lawless character of its inhabitants4 ,while containing many most estimable families1 where a generous and warm-hearted hospitality reigned supreme1 yet no town1 probably1 in all the ,western ,states witnessed annually a greater number of street-fights and other deeds of violence of the most desperate character4 ,no family in ,tompkinsville were more noted than the ,grahams1 on the one hand for the passionate warmth of their attachments1 and on the other for the fierceness and violence of their resentments4 ,nothing was too much for them to do for you when their affections were touched4 ,on the other hand1 no law1 human or divine1 seemed to restrain them when their blood was up4 ,when roused by what they regarded as an insult1 they were human tigers1 no less in the quickness than in the desperate ferocity of their anger4 ,the father once1 in open court1 in a sudden rage1 actually strode over the tables and heads of the lawyers1 and seizing the presiding judge by the collar1 dragged him from the bench and horsewhipped him in the presence of all his officials4 ,charlie himself1 of whom ,i am writing1 gave1 about two years after leaving school1 a similar demonstration of violence4 ,hearing that a young man1 who was a fellow-student of his in a law office1 had done something insulting1 ,charlie drew up a formal written apology and presented it to the young man to sign1 intending afterwards to post it4 ,on the young man's refusing to sign the paper1 ,charlie drew a weapon of some kind and sprang upon him4 ,the young man being several years older1 and very large and powerful1 had no difficulty in disarming his assailant1 throwing him upon the floor and holding him there4 ,while thus down upon his back1 bound hand and foot1 and completely at the mercy of his antagonist1 ,charlie still demanded1 as fiercely as ever1 the signing of the apology1 giving the young man1 as the only alternative1 either to kill him or to be killed4 ,if you let me up alive1 ,i will shoot you at sight1 as sure as my name is ,charles ,graham4 ,knowing the desperate character of the family1 and feeling too well assured of his own social position to care for any effect the signing of such a paper might have1 the young man courageously let the ruffian up and signed the apology4 ,two days after1 ,charlie came back to the office1 thoroughly mortified and penitent for his outrage1 voluntarily gave up the paper1 and apologized in the amplest manner for his folly4 ,i might enumerate other instances by the score1 were it necessary1 to show the character of the boy with whom ,i had to deal4 ,but these are probably sufficient4 ,his passions were as quick as gunpowder1 and as indiscriminate4 ,had ,i known all that ,i afterwards knew in regard to his disposition and his antecedents1 ,i certainly would not have undertaken the charge of his education4 ,the ,grahams had been with me nearly a year without the occurrence of anything to attract attention or call for discipline4 ,the school had considerable reputation among the people of ,tompkinsville for the strictness of its discipline4 ,though the relations between the pupils and myself were for the most part thoroughly kind and friendly1 yet it was well understood by every boy who entered school that the will of the ,principal was supreme4 ,mr4 ,graham had probably brought his boys to the school for that very reason4 ,the routine of obedience had been so thoroughly established1 that his boys1 he thought1 would submit through mere force of example4 ,bob was too young to give any uneasiness4 ,he fell1 of course1 into many of the peccadilloes of boys of his age1 and received1 without demur1 the treatment of a little boy4 ,charlie1 for a long time1 was almost a model of propriety4 ,he was diligent in his studies1 and observed the rules of the school with scrupulous care4 ,he was fair1 almost girlish1 in appearance1 and gentle in his speech4 ,no one1 merely observing the quiet1 modest boy1 going about his usual routine of duty1 without noise or turbulence1 would have dreamed of the sleeping volcano that lay beneath this placid exterior4 ,about the middle of the second term ,i began to notice in ,charlie symptoms that ,i did not like4 ,the harness evidently chafed him somewhere1 and there was no telling when he might kick out of the traces4 ,the crisis at length came4 ,one morning1 when the boys were in the washroom1 under the charge of the senior teacher1 ,charlie1 with what precise provocation ,i could never ascertain1 drew back his basin of water and threw it full into the teacher's face4 ,here was a case4 ,we were about to have an explosion4 ,evidently the young fire-eater's blood was up4 ,he was bent on having a scene2 and1 while his hand was in1 he would quite likely make up for all the long months of peaceful inaction4 ,all the tiger within him stood revealed4 ,the matter was reported to me of course4 ,after some little thought1 my plan was chosen4 ,not a word was said on the subject for several hours4 ,meals1 play-time1 study-hours1 lessons1 everything went on as usual4 ,at length1 about eleven o'clock1 ,charlie was summoned1 not to the principal's desk1 in the public school-room1 but to my private office1 in a remote part of the premises4 ,as he entered the quiet apartment1 it was evident that the intervening hours of reflection had not been lost upon him4 ,he was pretty sure1 of course1 that ,i had sent for him in consequence of the occurrence of the morning4 ,still he was not certain4 ,not a word had been uttered in school on the subject--no allusion to it even4 ,altogether there was something about the affair that mystified him4 ,the following brief dialogue ensued4 ,where are your skates1 ,charlie8 ,in my box in the play-room1 sir4 ,where is your sled8 ,that is hanging up in the outer shed4 ,where is your fishing-line and your ball8 ,they are in the play-room4 ,i wish you would get these and all your other playthings together before dinner4 ,peter 7this was the head waiter7 has collected your boots and shoes1 and ,sarah 7the seamstress7 has got your clothes together and packed your trunks4 ,i have made out your accounts1 and will be ready to send you home to your father by the afternoon train4 ,you may help ,bob also to collect his playthings2 he has not done anything wrong1 but he is so young ,i think your father would not like to have him here alone so far from home4 ,all this was said in a tone as utterly emotionless as ,i would have used if asking him whether he would be helped to beef or lamb at table4 ,charlie was taken aback4 ,if ,i had attempted to chastise him1 if ,i had even used towards him the language of invective or reproach1 he could have met the case4 ,but here was an issue which he had never contemplated4 ,after a moment of blank amazement1 he said3 ,mr4 ,h41 ,i don't want to go home thus4 ,it will grieve my father1 and it will be a lasting stigma to me in ,tompkinsville1 where it is counted an honor to belong to this school4 ,i know ,i have done wrong1 but can't you inflict some other punishment8 ,i will submit to anything rather than be sent home in this way4 ,put me in 'exile' and at the 'side-table1' for three days1 or any time you please6 ,this was an extreme penalty1 sometimes used in school for very grave offences4 ,the boy who was subject to it was obliged to stand at a table by himself in the dining-room and eat bread and water1 while the other boys and their teachers were at their meals4 ,besides this1 during the continuance of the penalty the culprit was not allowed to go upon the play-ground1 or to speak to any one1 nor was any one allowed to speak to him1 under the penalty of being himself similarly punished4 ,the punishment was1 of course1 a severe one in itself1 and was very mortifying to a boy of high spirit4 ,it was only resorted to in extreme cases1 and was limited to one day4 ,charlie begged that ,i would exile and side-table him for a week1 if ,i pleased2 only not send him home thus4 ,no1 ,charlie2 ,i am not sure that your father would approve of your being thus publicly disgraced before the school and the family1 nor am ,i myself sure that it would be right in the case of a boy so far advanced towards manhood as you are4 ,in assuming the charge of you1 ,i never contemplated anything in our intercourse but such as occurs between gentlemen4 ,since ,i have been mistaken in my estimate of you1 let our intercourse cease4 ,it would not alter your character to subject you to a humiliating punishment before the assembled school4 ,if it were your brother ,bob1 the case would be different4 ,but you are almost a man4 ,you have been treated here1 as at home1 with the consideration due to a young gentleman4 ,i would myself revolt at seeing one of your years and standing treated as you request me to treat you4 ,i cannot do it4 ,you must go home4 ,oh1 no6 no6 ,do not send me home6 ,do anything else4 ,i will submit to any punishment you please4 ,flog me2 please1 flog me6 ,flog you6 ,never6 ,i have no scruples1 as you know1 on the subject of corporal punishment1 for ,i often chastise the smaller boys2 but boys as old and mature as you are have sense enough to be governed by other considerations than fear1 and especially fear of the rod4 ,if they have not1 ,i want nothing to do with them4 ,oh6 ,mr4 ,h41 won't you please to flog me8 ,and the boy actually went down on his knees and begged me to thrash him4 ,he1 ,charlie ,graham1 whose veins ran fire1 who1 six hours before1 would have leaped at my throat had ,i so much as raised my finger at him1 was now begging me1 as a special boon1 to give him a whipping6 ,i could hardly believe my senses4 ,yet there was no doubt of the boy's sincerity1 or of his earnestness4 ,so1 to give me time to reflect as to what should be done1 ,i finally said1 ,charlie1 ,i will think of what you have asked1 and let you know at three o'clock4 ,three o'clock came1 and ,charlie again made his appearance4 ,do you still wish me to whip you8 ,i do4 ,i will make any apology you think proper to the teacher whom ,i insulted1 and ,i will be most thankful to you to chastise me for the offence4 ,please to take off your coat4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the painful affair was over1 ,i gave him my hand cordially and frankly1 and said1 ,charlie1 you have honorably and courageously atoned for a grievous fault1 and ,i assure you1 ,i restore you not only to your position in school1 but to my respect and confidence4 ,i never had any further difficulty with ,charlie ,graham4 ,years afterwards1 when ,i met his father at the ,springs1 he could hardly contain his amazement when ,i told him that ,i had once flogged his oldest son ,charlie1 at his own particular request4 ,it was1 ,i suppose1 the first and last time the hand of correction was ever laid on him4 ,,xxiii4 ,,phrenology4 ,in the previous chapter ,i gave a leaf from my experience of life in a boarding-school4 ,i propose now to give another leaf from the same book4 ,the incident about to be narrated1 however1 is not given as an illustration of boarding-school life1 but merely because it happened at school4 ,it might have happened elsewhere1 though the circumstances on that occasion were particularly favorable for giving to it a curious point4 ,while ,i was at the head of the ,edgehill school1 at ,princeton1 ,n4 ,j41 a stranger called one day and announced himself as ,prof4 ----4 ,the name is one almost as well known in the history of ,phrenological science as that of ,prof4 ,combe4 ,he said he was about to give a lecture in ,princeton on the subject of ,phrenology1 and as he was an entire stranger to myself and to all the pupils and teachers in the school1 he thought it would be a good opportunity for making an interesting and critical experiment4 ,he proposed1 therefore1 with my consent1 to spend an hour1 in presence of the school1 in examining the heads of any of the boys that ,i might call up for that purpose4 ,from the very intimate relations existing in a boarding-school1 the characters of the boys would be well known to me and to their companions and teachers1 and we would have therefore the means of knowing how far he succeeded in his experiment4 ,thinking that an hour spent in this way would not be misspent1 that it would at least give some variety to the monotonous routine of study and lessons1 and1 let me add1 being not entirely without curiosity as to the result1 ,i consented to his proposition1 and called the school together in the large assembly-room4 ,all the boys being in their seats1 together with the teachers and the ladies of the household1 ,i stated briefly the object of their assembling and the method in which it was proposed to proceed with the experiment4 ,they were to observe entire silence1 and to give no indication1 by word or look1 so far as they could help it1 to show whether the ,professor was hitting the mark or not1 as he read off to them the characters of their companions4 ,the boys took to the idea at once1 and the excitement very soon was at fever-heat4 ,placing a chair upon the platform1 in full view of the school1 and the ,professor alongside of it1 ,i called up ,boy ,no4 #a4--,this happened to be a lad about fourteen1 from the interior of ,alabama4 ,he was the most athletic boy in school4 ,full big he was of brawn and eke of bones1 as ,chaucer says1 in his picture of the ,miller4 ,he could beat any boy in school in wrestling1 and no doubt could flog any of them in a fist-fight1 though on this point ,i speak only from conjecture1 as this part of boys' amusements is not always as well known to their teachers as it is to the boys themselves4 ,the ,professor1 after some little manipulation of the cranium1 read off the boy's character with tolerable accuracy4 ,any one1 however1 with a grain of observation1 who had seen the boy stalking up to the platform1 with bold1 almost defiant air1 or had noticed his bull-neck1 hard fist1 and swaggering gait1 could not have had much difficulty in guessing what kind of a boy he was1 without resort to his bumps for information4 ,it was written in unmistakable characters all over his physical conformation1 from his head to his heels4 ,i noticed1 however1 that while the ,professor's fingers were busy with the boy's cranium1 his eyes were not less busy with the faces of his youthful auditors4 ,whenever his interpretation of any bump was a palpable hit1 his success could be all too plainly read in the upturned faces before him4 ,if the success was very marked and decisive1 the youngsters were entirely unable to restrain their expressions of surprise and admiration4 ,it was very evident1 from his method of procedure1 that he was guided by these expressions1 quite as much as by his fingering of the bumps4 ,he would first mention lightly some trait of character4 ,if it attracted no particular attention1 he would quietly fall on to something else4 ,but if the announcement seemed to create a little breeze1 showing that he had made a hit1 he would then dwell upon the point1 and intensify his expressions1 until1 in some instances1 the school was in quite an uproar of satisfaction4 ,possibly there was a spice of malice in what followed4 ,at all events1 it seemed to me that that was a kind of game at which two could play1 and if1 under the circumstances1 he chose to palm off for knowledge gained by the fingers1 what he was really getting by means of his eyes and ears1 there would be no great crime in punishing him a little for his impertinence4 ,so1 in calling the following boys1 ,i selected some who were notorious in school for certain marked traits1 but whose general appearance and manner gave no indication of their mental peculiarities2 and ,i questioned the ,professor1 in regard to each boy1 after a method suited to the case4 ,boy ,no4 #b was a youth of moderate abilities1 and was1 in all things1 save one1 just like other boys4 ,but1 in one matter1 he had a peculiarity about which there could be no mistake4 ,that was in the matter of music4 ,so1 after questioning the ,professor about various indifferent points1 moral and intellectual1 such as reverence1 combativeness1 secretiveness1 language1 ideality1 etc41 ,i asked incidentally something also about tune and music4 ,the answer was such as might be safely given in regard to ninety-nine out of every hundred persons--some vague1 indefinite epithet that would apply to almost any one4 ,but1 seeing a little sparkle in the eyes before him1 the gentleman manipulated the cranium again1 and then expressed himself somewhat more strongly4 ,as his expressions increased in strength1 the excitement of the audience increased1 until he was quite lost in hyperbole1 as they were in uproar4 ,he even went into particulars4 ,now1 said he1 though ,i never saw this boy before1 yet ,i venture to say that his ear for music is so quick that he can pick up almost any tune by once hearing it played or whistled in the street4 ,a general rustle through the school1 boys winking and giving knowing looks one to another4 ,i dare say he could now sing or whistle a hundred tunes from memory4 ,more knowing looks4 ,possibly he may never make a very accurate performer1 on account of the very ease with which he picks up a tune4 ,he learns a tune so easily by the ear1 that he will not submit to the drudgery of studying it scientifically4 ,you think1 then1 ,professor1 that the boy has decided indications of musical talent8 ,undoubtedly4 ,he has musical talents of a very high order suppressed shouts amounting almost to genius6 ,the fact was1 poor ,charlie was the butt of the whole school1 on account of his utter inability to learn the first elements of either the art or the science of music4 ,he could neither sing1 whistle1 nor play4 ,he could hardly tell ,old ,hundred from ,yankee ,doodle4 ,although he had been taking music-lessons for two years1 he could not rise and fall through the eight notes1 to save his neck4 ,his attempts to do so were a sort of indiscriminate goo1 goo1 goo1 like that of an infant2 and the excitement among the boys1 which the ,professor had mistaken for applause and admiration1 grew out of their astonishment4 ,they were simply laughing at him4 ,boy ,no4 #c was a youth over fourteen years old1 regularly and symmetrically formed in face1 features1 and person4 ,there was nothing in his make or bearing to indicate any marked peculiarity4 ,yet he had a peculiarity as marked as that of the preceding4 ,he was singularly deficient in the capacity for mathematical studies4 ,he was studying ,english grammar1 geography1 and ,latin1 and got along in these branches about as well as the majority of his class4 ,but when it came to the science of numbers1 he seemed to stick fast4 ,neither ,i nor any of my teachers had been able to get him beyond ,long ,division4 ,it was as clear a case as ,i have ever known of natural deficiency in that department of the mental constitution4 ,yet this boy was declared by the manipulator to have a decided talent for mathematics4 ,boy ,no4 #d was my crack mathematician4 ,he was really in mathematics what our manipulator had made out ,no4 #b to be in music4 ,his quickness in the perception of mathematical truth was wonderful4 ,besides this natural readiness in everything pertaining to the science of quantity and the relations of numbers1 he had received a good mathematical training1 and he was in this department far in advance of his years4 ,whenever we had a public exhibition1 ,george was our show-card4 ,the rapidity with which he would fill the blackboard1 in solving difficult problems in quadratics1 was almost bewildering4 ,it was not every teacher even that could follow him in his quick but exact evolutions of complex algebraical formul4 ,in ,greek and ,latin he hardly attained to mediocrity1 being always behind his class1 while in mathematics he was superior1 not only to every boy in school1 but to any boy of the same age that ,i have ever had in any school4 ,but this boy received from the ,professor only a second or third-rate rank for mathematical indications1 while highly praised for linguistics1 in which he was decidedly inferior4 ,the fact was1 ,i saw that the gentleman was trying to read me1 as well as the more youthful part of his audience2 and so1 in questioning him about this boy1 ,i was malicious enough to be very minute and specific in my inquiries about any indications of a talent for language1 while the questions about mathematics were propounded just like those about half a dozen other points2 that is1 with no special stress or emphasis1 but just enough to draw from the ,professor a clear and distinct expression of opinion4 ,boy ,no4 #e was perhaps the most critical case of all1 yet the one most difficult to describe4 ,he was good1 and about equally good1 in all his studies4 ,he stood head in almost every class4 ,he was so uniformly good that his character became monotonous1 and would have been insipid1 but for the manly vigor that marked all his performances4 ,his moral were like his mental traits4 ,he was indeed our model boy4 ,in two years he had not had one demerit mark4 ,he was on all sides rounded and complete--totus teres atque rotundus4 ,the uniformity of his goodness was sometimes a source of anxiety to me4 ,there was danger of his growing up with a self-satisfied1 pharisaical spirit4 ,thus far1 however1 ,i have not named the feature which ,i regarded as the critical one1 and which had led me to select him as one of the subjects for examination4 ,model boys are to be found in all schools4 ,but this boy had a power of reticence which was to me a continual study1 and it was this feature in his character that ,i wanted to bring out in the examination4 ,he was not a sneak4 ,there was nothing sly about him4 ,his conduct was open and aboveboard4 ,what he did was patent to all4 ,but what he thought1 or how he felt1 no one knew4 ,not ,grant himself could more perfectly keep his own counsel4 ,if a new rule was promulgated1 ,joseph obeyed it to the letter4 ,but whether it was agreeable or disagreeable to him1 no teacher could ever find out4 ,nor was his obedience of that tame1 passive sort which comes from indifference and lack of spirit4 ,we all knew him to be resolute1 and to be possessed of strong passions4 ,but his power of self-restraint was equal to his power of reticence4 ,he had1 indeed1 in a very marked degree1 qualities which you look for only in those who have had a long schooling in the stern realities of life1 and which you find rarely even then4 ,he was as self-poised as a man of fifty1 with not a particle of that easy impulsiveness so nearly universal at his age4 ,none of the gentleman's performances surprised me so much as the character which he assigned to this boy1 and all the more because something of the boy's self-continence and reserve was written upon his face and manner4 ,he was represented by the ,professor1 in general terms1 as having a free and easy1 rollicking sort of disposition--not being really worse than his companions1 though probably having the reputation of being so4 ',if he got into more scrapes than the others ,joseph was never in a scrape in his life1 it was more owing to his natural impulsiveness than to anything inherently bad in him4 ,and then1 when he did get into a scrape1 he had no faculty for concealing it4 ,his organ of secretiveness was unusually small4 ,the boys would hardly admit him to a partnership in their plans of mischief1 so sure was he inadvertently to let the cat out of the bag1' etc41 etc4 ,boy ,no4 #f was the weakest boy1 mentally1 that we had in school4 ,he was barely able to take care of himself4 ,some of his mistakes and blunders were so ridiculous1 that they were handed down among the traditionary jokes of the school1 and ,i am afraid even at this day to repeat them1 lest they may be recognized4 ,if the manipulator had had the cranium of ,daniel ,webster under his fingers1 he could not have drawn a mental character more marked by every trait that belongs to intellectual greatness of the highest order4 ,finding that he was making a decided impression upon his young hearers1 the ,professor continued to pile up qualities and powers1 until the scene became almost too much for the most practised gravity4 ,the examinations occupied an hour1 and ,i made copious notes of the whole1 writing down1 as nearly as ,i could1 the exact expressions used by the operator4 ,the report which ,i have now given of it is as nearly literal as it is safe to make it4 ,when the ,professor was through1 and was about to leave1 he asked me privately to tell him how far he had succeeded in his experiments4 ,not wishing to say anything disagreeable1 ,i evaded the question to the best of my ability1 answering with some vague generalities1 but indicating sufficiently that it was not agreeable to be more explicit4 ,he pressed me1 however1 to tell him candidly and explicitly whether he had succeeded1 and how far4 ,i then told him frankly that he had failed point-blank in every case4 ,ah1 said he1 you are skeptical4 ,no1 sir1 said ,i1 skepticism implies doubt1 and ,i have no longer any doubts on the subject4 ,my skepticism is entirely removed6 ,,xxiv4 ,,normal ,,schools4 ,the term ,normal ,school is an unfortunate misnomer1 and its general adoption has led to much confusion of ideas4 ,the word ,normal1 from the ,latin norma1 a rule or pattern to work by1 does not differ essentially from ,model4 ,a ,normal ,school1 according to the meaning of the word1 would be a pattern school1 an institution which could be held up for imitation1 to be copied by other schools of the same grade4 ,but this meaning of the word is not what we mean by the thing4 ,when we mean a school to be copied or imitated1 we call it a ,model ,school4 ,here the name and the thing agree4 ,the name explains the thing4 ,it is very different when we speak of a ,normal ,school4 ,to the uninitiated1 the term either conveys no meaning at all2 or1 if your hearer is a man of letters1 it conveys to him an idea which you have at once to explain away4 ,you have to tell him1 in effect1 that a ,normal ,school is not a ,normal ,school1 and then that it is something else1 which the word does not in the least describe4 ,what then do we mean by a ,normal ,school8 ,what is the thing which we have called by this unfortunate name8 ,a ,normal ,school is a seminary for the professional education of teachers4 ,it is an institution in which those who wish to become teachers learn how to do their work2 in which they learn1 not reading1 but how to teach reading2 not penmanship1 but how to teach penmanship2 not grammar1 but how to teach grammar2 not geography1 but how to teach geography2 not arithmetic1 but how to teach arithmetic4 ,the idea which lies at the basis of such an institute1 is that knowing a thing1 and knowing how to teach that thing to others1 are distinguishable and very different facts4 ,the knowledge of the subjects to be taught1 may be gained at any school4 ,in order to give to the ,teachers' ,seminary its full power and efficiency1 it were greatly to be desired that the subjects themselves1 as mere matters of knowledge1 should be first learned elsewhere1 before entering the ,teachers' ,school4 ,this latter would then have to do only with its own special function1 that of showing its matriculants how to use these materials in the process of teaching4 ,unfortunately1 we have not yet made such progress in popular education as to be able to separate these two functions to the extent that is desirable4 ,many of those who attend a ,teachers' ,seminary1 come to it lamentably ignorant of the common branches of knowledge4 ,they have consequently first to study these branches in the ,normal ,school1 as they would study them in any other school4 ,that is1 they have first to learn the facts as matters of knowledge1 and then to study the art and science of teaching these facts to others4 ,instead of coming with their brick and mortar ready prepared1 that they may be instructed in the use of the trowel and the plumb-line1 they have to make their brick and mix their mortar after they enter the institution4 ,this is undoubtedly a drawback and a misfortune4 ,but it cannot be helped at present4 ,all we can do is to define clearly the true idea of the ,teachers' ,school1 and then to work towards it as fast and as far as we can4 ,a ,normal ,school is essentially unlike any other school4 ,it has been compared indeed to those professional schools which are for the study of law1 divinity1 medicine1 mining1 engineering1 and so forth4 ,the ,normal ,school1 it is true1 is like these schools in one respect4 ,it is established with reference to the wants of a particular profession4 ,it is a professional school4 ,but those schools have for their main object the communication of some particular branch of science4 ,they teach law1 divinity1 medicine1 mining1 or engineering4 ,they aim to make lawyers1 divines1 physicians1 miners1 engineers1 not teachers of these branches4 ,the ,professor in the ,law ,school aims1 not to make ,professors of law1 but lawyers4 ,the medical ,professor aims1 not to make medical lecturers1 but practitioners4 ,to render these institutions analogous to the ,teachers' ,seminary1 their pupils should first study law1 medicine1 engineering1 and so forth1 and then sit at the feet of their ,gamaliels to be initiated into the secrets of the ,professorial chair1 that they may in turn become ,professors of those branches to classes of their own4 ,nor would such a plan1 if it were possible1 be altogether without its value4 ,it surely needs no demonstration to prove1 that in the highest departments1 no less than in the lowest1 something more than knowledge is needed in order to teach4 ,an understanding of how to communicate one's knowledge1 and practical skill in doing it1 are as necessary in teaching theology1 metaphysics1 languages1 infinitesimal analysis1 or chemistry1 as they are in teaching the alphabet4 ,if there are bunglers1 who know not how to go to work to teach a child its letters1 or to open its young mind and heart to the reception of truth1 whose school-rooms are places where the young mind and heart are in a state1 either of perpetual torpor1 or of perpetual nightmare1 have these bunglers no analogues in the men of ponderous erudition that sometimes fill the ,professor's chair8 ,have we no examples1 in our highest seminaries of learning1 of men very eminent in scientific attainments1 who have not in themselves the first elements of a teacher8 who impart to their students no quickening impulse8 whose vast and towering knowledge may make them perhaps a grand feature in their ,college1 attracting to it all eyes1 but whose intellectual treasures1 for all the practical wants of the students1 are of no more use1 than are the swathed and buried mummies in the pyramid of ,cheops6 ,a ,teachers' ,seminary1 if it were complete1 would include in its curriculum of study the entire cycle of human knowledge1 so far as it is taught by schools4 ,our teachers of mathematics and of logic1 of law and of medicine1 need indeed a knowledge of the branches which they are to teach1 and for this knowledge they do not need a ,teachers' ,seminary4 ,but they need something more than this knowledge4 ,besides being men of erudition1 they need to be teachers1 no less than the humbler members of the profession1 who have only to teach the alphabet and the multiplication table2 and there is in all teaching1 high or low1 something that is common to them all--an art and a skill which is different from the mere knowledge of the subjects2 which is not necessarily learned in learning the subjects2 which requires special1 superadded gifts1 and distinct study and training4 ,there is1 according to my observation1 as great a lack of this special skill in the higher seminaries of learning1 as in the lower seminaries4 ,were it possible to have a ,normal ,school1 not which should undertake to teach the entire encyclopdia of the sciences1 but which1 limiting itself to its one main function of developing the art and mystery of communicating knowledge1 should turn out ,college ,professors1 and even ,divinity1 ,law1 and ,medical ,professors1--men who were really skilful teachers1--it would work a change in those venerable institutions as marked and decisive as that which it is now effecting in the common schools4 ,of course1 no such scheme is possible2 certainly1 none such is contemplated4 ,but ,i am very sure ,i shall not be considered calumnious1 when ,i express the conviction1 that there are learned and eminent occupants of ,professors' chairs1 who might find great benefit in an occasional visit to a good ,normal ,school1 or even to the class-room of a teacher trained in a ,normal ,school4 ,i certainly have seen1 in the very lowest department of the common school1 a style of teaching1 which1 for a wise and intelligent comprehension of its object1 and for its quickening power upon the intellect and conscience1 would compare favorably with the very best teaching ,i have ever seen in a ,college or ,university4 ,i come back1 then1 to the point from which ,i set out1 namely1 that a ,normal ,school1 or ,teachers' ,seminary1 differs essentially from every other kind of school4 ,it aims to give the knowledge and skill that are needed alike in all schools4 ,to make the point a little plainer1 let me restate1 with what clearness ,i can1 some of the elementary truths and facts which lie at the foundation of the whole subject4 ,though to many of my readers it may be going over a beaten track1 it may not be so to all2 and we all do well1 even in regard to known and admitted truths1 to bring them occasionally afresh to the mind4 ,as it has been already said1 a man may know a thing perfectly1 and yet not be able to teach it4 ,of course1 a man cannot teach what he does not know4 ,he must first have the knowledge4 ,but the mere possession of knowledge does not make one a teacher1 any more than the possession of powder and shot makes him a marksman1 or the possession of a rod and line makes him an angler4 ,the most learned men are often unfortunately the very men who have least capacity for communicating what they know4 ,nor is this incapacity confined to those versed in book knowledge4 ,it is common to every class of men1 and to every kind of knowledge4 ,let me give an example4 ,the fact about to be stated1 was communicated to me by a gentleman of eminent commercial standing in ,philadelphia1 at that time the ,president of one of its leading banks4 ,the fact occurred in his own personal experience4 ,he was1 at the time of its occurrence1 largely engaged in the cloth trade4 ,his faculties of mind and body1 and particularly his sense of touch1 had been so trained in this business1 that in going rapidly over an invoice of cloth1 as his eye and hand passed in quick succession from piece to piece1 in the most miscellaneous assortment1 he could tell instantly the value of each1 with a degree of precision1 and a certainty of knowledge1 hardly credible4 ,a single glance of the eye1 a single touch1 transient as thought1 gave the result4 ,his own knowledge of the subject1 in short1 was perfect1 and it was rapidly winning him a fortune4 ,yet when undertaking to explain to a younger and less experienced member of the craft1 whom he wished to befriend1 by what process he arrived at his judgment1 in other words1 to teach what he knew1 he found himself utterly at a loss4 ,his thoughts had never run in that direction4 ,oh6 said he1 you have only--to look at the cloth1 and--and--to run your fingers over it1--thus4 ,you will perceive at once the difference between one piece and another4 ,it seems never to have occurred to him that another man's sensations and perceptions might in the same circumstances be quite different from his1 and that in order to communicate his knowledge to one uninitiated1 he must pause to analyze it2 he must separate1 classify1 and name those several qualities of the cloth of which his senses took cognizance2 he must then ascertain how far his interrogator perceived by his senses the same qualities which he himself did1 and thus gradually get on common ground with him4 ,let the receiving-teller of a bank be called upon to explain how it is that he knows at a glance a counterfeit bill from a genuine one1 and in nine cases out of ten he will succeed no better than the cloth merchant did4 ,knowing and communicating what we know1 doing and explaining what we do1 are distinct1 separable1 and usually very different processes4 ,similar illustrations might be drawn from artists1 and from men of original genius in almost every profession1 who can seldom give any intelligible account of how they achieve their results4 ,the mental habits best suited for achievement are rarely those best suited for teaching4 ,marlborough1 so celebrated for his military combinations1 could never give any intelligible account of his plans4 ,he had arrived at his conclusions with unerring certainty1 but he was so little accustomed to observing his own mental processes1 that he utterly failed in attempting to make them plain to others4 ,he saw the points himself with perfect clearness1 but he had no power to make others see them4 ,to all objections to his plans1 he could only say1 ,silly1 silly1 that's silly4 ,it was much the same with ,cromwell4 ,it is so with most men who are distinguished for action and achievement4 ,patrick ,henry would doubtless have made but a third-rate teacher of elocution1 and old ,homer but an indifferent lecturer on the art of poetry4 ,to acquire knowledge ourselves1 then1 and to put others in possession of what we have acquired1 are not only distinct intellectual processes1 but they are quite unlike4 ,in the former case1 the faculties merely go out towards the objects to be known1 as in the case of the cloth merchant passing his eye and finger over the bales of cloth4 ,but in the case of one attempting to teach1 several additional processes are needed1 besides that of collecting knowledge4 ,he must turn his thoughts inward1 so as to arrange and classify properly the contents of his intellectual storehouse4 ,he must then examine his own mind1 his intellectual machinery1 so as to understand exactly how the knowledge came in upon himself4 ,he must lastly study the minds of his pupils1 so as to know through what channels the knowledge may best reach them4 ,the teacher may not always be aware that he does all these things1 that is1 he may not always have a theory of his own art4 ,but the art itself he must have4 ,he must first get the knowledge of the things to be taught2 he must secondly study his knowledge2 he must thirdly study himself2 he must lastly study his pupil4 ,he is a teacher at all only so far as he does at least these four things4 ,in a ,normal ,school1 as before said1 the knowledge of the subject is presupposed4 ,the object of the ,normal ,school is1 not so much to make arithmeticians and grammarians1 for instance1 as to make teachers of arithmetic and grammar4 ,this teaching faculty is a thing by itself1 and quite apart from the subject matter to be taught4 ,it underlies every branch of knowledge1 and every trade and profession4 ,the theologian1 the mathematician1 the linguist1 the learned professor1 no less than the teacher of the primary school1 or of the ,sabbath-school1 all need this supplementary knowledge and skill1 in which consists the very essence of teaching4 ,this knowledge of how to teach is not acquired by merely studying the subject to be taught4 ,it is a study by itself4 ,a man may read familiarly the ,mechanique ,celeste1 and yet not know how to teach the multiplication table4 ,he may read ,arabic or ,sanskrit1 and not know how to teach a child the alphabet of his mother tongue4 ,the ,sabbath-school teacher may dip deep into biblical lore1 he may ransack the commentaries1 and may become1 as many ,sabbath-school teachers are1 truly learned in ,bible knowledge1 and yet be utterly incompetent to teach a class of children4 ,he can no more hit the wandering attention1 or make a lodgment of his knowledge in the minds of his youthful auditory1 than the mere unskilled possessor of a fowling-piece can hit a bird upon the wing4 ,the art of teaching is the one indispensable qualification of the teacher4 ,without this1 whatever else he may be1 he is no teacher4 ,how may this art be acquired8 ,in the first place1 many persons pick it up1 just as they pick up a great many other arts and trades1--in a hap-hazard sort of way4 ,they have some natural aptitude for it1 and they grope their way along1 by guess and by instinct1 and through many failures1 until they become good teachers1 they hardly know how4 ,to rescue the art from this condition of uncertainty and chance1 is the object of the ,normal ,school4 ,in such a school1 the main object of the pupil is to learn how to make others know what he himself knows4 ,the whole current of his thoughts and studies is turned into this channel4 ,studying how to teach1 with an experimental class to practise on1 forms the constant topic of his meditations4 ,it is surprising how rapidly1 under such conditions1 the faculty of teaching is developed2 how fertile the mind becomes in devising practical expedients1 when once the attention is roused and fixed upon the precise object to be attained1 and the idea of what teaching really is1 fairly has possession of the mind4 ,for this purpose every well-ordered ,normal ,school has1 in connection with it1 as a part of its organization1 a ,model ,school1 to serve the double purpose of a school of observation and practice4 ,thus1 after these pupil-teachers are once familiar with the branches to be taught1 and after they have become acquainted with the theory of teaching1 as a science1 it is surprising how soon1 with even a little of this practice-teaching1 they acquire the art4 ,if the faculty of teaching is in them at all1 a very few experimental lessons1 under the eye of an experienced teacher1 will develop it4 ,the fact of possessing within one's self this gift1 or power of teaching1 sometimes breaks upon the possessor himself with all the force of a surprising and most delightful discovery4 ,the good teacher does not indeed stop here4 ,he goes on to improve in his art1 as long as he lives4 ,but his greatest single achievement is when he takes the first step1--when he first learns to teach at all4 ,the pupil of a ,normal ,school gains there a start and an impulse1 which carry him forward the rest of his life4 ,a very little judicious experimental training redeems hundreds of candidates from utter and hopeless incompetency1 and converts for them an awkward and painful drudgery into keen1 hopeful and productive labor4 ,,xxv4 ,,practice-,,teaching4 ,one feature of a ,normal ,school which distinguishes it especially from other schools1 is the opportunity given to its matriculants for practising their art under the guidance and criticism of an experienced teacher4 ,this practice-teaching is done in a ,model ,school1 maintained for this purpose in connection with the main school4 ,such is the theory4 ,but serious difficulties are encountered in carrying the plan into practical effect1 and these difficulties are so great as in some instances to have led to the entire abandonment of the plan1 while very rarely have the conductors of ,normal schools been able to realize results in this matter commensurate with their wishes or with their views of what was desirable and right4 ,some of the difficulties are the following3 ,parents who send their children to the ,model ,school object to have their children taught to any considerable extent by mere pupil-teachers4 ,the teachers of the ,model ,school1 having little or no acquaintance with the ,normal pupils sent to teach under their supervision1 do not feel that entire freedom in criticising the performance which is essential to its success4 ,the irregularities produced by these practice-teachings have a tendency to impair the discipline of the classes in the ,model ,school4 ,for these and other reasons which ,i need not dwell upon1 ,i at least have always been obliged to be somewhat chary in regard to the amount of practice-teaching that was done in the institution under my care1 and have never felt quite satisfied as to the result4 ,at the beginning of the year #ahfg1 ,i determined to try the plan of having a considerable portion of the practice-teaching done in the ,normal ,school itself1 the ,model ,school still holding its place in the system as furnishing an unrivalled opportunity for observation1 and to some extent of practice also4 ,the effect of thus extending the opportunity for practice by including the ,normal ,school in its operations has been most happy4 ,the pupils have attained a degree of freedom in the exercise which is working the most marked and decisive results4 ,they enter into it with more zest than into any other exercise of the class1 and derive from it in some instances as much benefit as from all their other exercises put together4 ,some detailed account of the method may perhaps be of interest to other laborers in the same field4 ,the method is substantially the same as that followed in the ,girls ,high and ,normal ,school of ,philadelphia1 from which indeed ,i borrowed the idea4 ,once a week ,i make up a programme containing the names of those who are to teach during the following week1 and the classes and lessons which they are severally to teach4 ,the practice-pupils are thus enabled to prepare themselves fully for the exercise4 ,it is an indispensable condition in all these exercises that the lesson be given without the use of the book4 ,when a pupil enters a room to teach one of these assigned lessons1 he is to bring with him only his crayon and pointer1 and is expected to assume entire charge of the class1 maintaining order1 hearing the pupils recite1 correcting their mistakes1 illustrating the subject1 if necessary1 by diagrams or experiments1 giving supplementary information drawn from other sources than the text-book1 and acting in all respects as if he were the regular teacher4 ,the regular teacher meanwhile sits by1 observing in silence1 and at the close of the day writes out a full and detailed criticism upon the performance in a book kept for this purpose1 and gives the pupil an average for it1 the maximum being #ajj4 ,these criticisms1 together with the teaching averages1 are read next day by the ,principal to the pupil in the presence of the class to which he belongs1 with additional comments in regard to any principles of teaching that may be involved in the criticisms4 ,an essential element of success in this scheme1 is that the teachers should be thoroughly faithful in the work of criticism1 and point out the errors and shortcomings of the young practitioners1 not with harshness1 but with unsparing truthfulness and wise discrimination4 ,practice-teaching under such conditions cannot fail to have a powerful effect4 ,the pupils are stimulated by it to put forth the very best efforts of which they are capable1 and the talent which they often develop is a surprise equally to themselves and their teachers4 ,i cannot better give an idea of this practice-teaching1 and especially of the criticism which is its vitalizing principle1 than by quoting a few of the actual criticisms made during the last year4 ,i feel sure they will interest teachers and perhaps the public4 ,in making these extracts1 ,i suppress1 of course1 the names of the parties4 ,,notes ,,on ,,practice-,,teaching4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she was animated and energetic in giving the vocal exercises1 but she pitched her voice too high4 ,the same shrill tone characterized the concert reading4 ,many of the criticisms given by pupils were not loud enough to be heard by the whole class4 ,one of the ladies1 in giving a sketch of ,shakspeare1 said his principal works was ',much ,ado ,about ,nothing1' ',merchant of ,venice1' etc42 but the error passed unnoticed by pupils and teacher4 ,miss ---- herself1 said ,hamlet thought it wasn't him4 ,she marked the pupils too high1 the worst readers in the class receiving #h and #i4 ,teaching average #he4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,history4 ,she was herself well prepared with the lesson1 but she allowed the pupils too long a time to think and guess4 ,a chronology lesson is apt to be dry and uninteresting2 and unless the teacher calls upon the pupils in rapid succession1 thus keeping them wide awake1 the interest will flag1 and even good pupils will be inattentive4 ,one of the pupils1 after gaping two or three times1 indulged in short naps during the recitation2 the teacher evidently did not see her4 ,miss ---- marked the pupils judiciously4 ,teaching average #ij4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,arithmetic4 ,she assisted the pupils too much4 ,she did not require them to be accurate enough in answering questions2 otherwise she taught well1 the subject being rather a difficult one4 ,miss ---- marked the pupils judiciously4 ,teaching average #he4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,grammar4 ,she began the recitation well1 spoke in a loud and decided tone1 and was well prepared with the lesson4 ,she failed to keep her class in order2 she allowed pupils to speak without being called upon1 and all to criticise and ask questions at the same instant--thus she became confused and sought refuge behind her book4 ,teaching average #hj4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 ,she was too quiet in conducting the recitation4 ,the entire period was spent in repeating the mere words of the book2 but once or twice the lady asked for the explanation of clauses1 and then the answers given were neither full nor satisfactory1 yet the lady ventured no comment of her own4 ,many practical questions might have been given by the teacher respecting the executive departments1 ambassadors1 consuls1 treaties1 and so forth4 ,the lesson contained many subjects of interest sufficient to occupy more than the allotted time4 ,teachers should call more frequently for definitions1 and always take it for granted that their pupils are ignorant of the meaning of even the simplest words4 ,i venture to assert that more than one third of the class left the room without knowing the difference between a reprieve and a pardon4 ,teaching average #hj4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,arithmetic4 ,she was well prepared with the lesson1 seemed to understand the subject fully1 and readily answered questions proposed by pupils2 but she allowed too many pupils to speak at once1 and did not pay enough attention to signs4 ,one of the pupils began a sentence with a small letter1 and ,miss ---- took no notice of it4 ,miss ---- marked judiciously4 ,teaching average #hh4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in the ,constitution4 ,she failed entirely in teaching4 ,she became embarrassed1 and soon lost the respect and confidence of the class4 ,pupils assumed all sorts of positions2 and one picked up a ruler and began fanning himself1 but was not rebuked by the teacher4 ,the lady1 not familiar with the names of the scholars1 made several mistakes1 7perfectly excusable72 but1 there being no sympathy between the teacher and the class1 the pupils laughed immoderately1 and seemed to enjoy the lady's embarrassment4 ,the words of the book were repeated over and over again1 without a word of explanation or comment1 until the teacher1 tired of the monotony1 announced that the lesson was finished1 and called upon me to fill up the remainder of the time4 ,the lesson was one that needed thorough preparation on the part of the teacher1 but ,miss ---- had merely studied the words and not the subject2 when asked a very simple question by one of the pupils1 she was completely nonplussed4 ,teaching average #ej4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,map ,drawing4 ,she became somewhat confused in her work1 and so did not distinctly enough give the points of criticism4 ,i think she was not familiar enough with the map drawn to notice1 with sufficient readiness1 the great points of error in the work4 ,several of the pupils were allowed1 in one or two cases1 to speak at the same time4 ,she marked well1 using a good scale of markings4 ,teaching average #he4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,arithmetic4 ,she was either very careless or had not prepared the proper lesson1 as she gave pupils problems to solve that were not in the lesson2 in consequence of which some good pupils failed1 as they had not prepared an advance lesson4 ,she was too quiet1 and spoke in so low a tone that many of the pupils did not hear her4 ,the pupils were more animated than the teacher4 ,miss ---- marked some pupils too high1 others too low1 and in one instance did not mark at all4 ,teaching average #fe4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,history4 ,she was thoroughly prepared with the lesson1 and did not confine herself to the mere words of the text-book4 ,she asked many good general questions connected with the subject1 thus compelling pupils to think2 and whenever the class failed to give the desired information1 the lady very promptly gave it herself2 she thus won the confidence of her pupils4 ,miss ---- lacked animation and did not speak loud enough2 otherwise she did well4 ,teaching average #ib4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,grammar4 ,she has improved since teaching for me before1 but she still lacks energy and decision4 ,she gave the pupil who was reciting all her attention1 thus allowing an opportunity to some 7who took advantage of it7 to assume lounging positions1 in which to await lazily for their turn to recite4 ,some remained wide awake1 and embarrassed ,miss ----1 by speaking at any time1 even interrupting her in the middle of a sentence1 to ask questions4 ,teaching average #hg4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,grammar4 ,she taught well4 ,she spoke in that decided tone which conveys a conviction of truth to pupils1 and by so doing gained their confidence4 ,she used the blackboards to advantage1 and thoroughly inspected and criticised all writings that she had required to be put upon the boards4 ,the facts she taught were correct1 except one1 which was1 that is ashamed was a verb in the passive voice2 in this she was corrected by a number of the class4 ,teaching average #ic4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she failed in teaching4 ,the pupils read badly1 and many errors were made1 but there were no criticisms4 ,the lady spoke in a very low tone1 and seemed to be afraid of the class4 ,she did not read a single line for the pupils4 ,reading cannot be taught properly by arbitrary rules1 the voice of the living teacher is indispensable4 ,teaching average #fe4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she cannot become a successful teacher until she studies the pronunciation of words4 ,not only did she permit mistakes made by the pupils to pass unnoticed1 but she mis-pronounced many words herself1 hos-pit-a-ble1 for hos-pi-ta-ble1 in-tense for in-tense1 etc42 the errors consisted chiefly in changing the accented syllable4 ,in the word machination1 however1 though the accent was correctly marked1 she taught the class to call it mash-in-a-tion4 ,there can be no possible excuse for such carelessness1 or rather ignorance1 since the lady had three days for the preparation of the lesson4 ,the dictionary should be kept in constant use by pupils and teacher4 ,teaching average #fe4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in the ,constitution4 ,she did well4 ,the lesson was a long one1 and somewhat difficult1 but the lady evinced thorough preparation4 ,she ought to have disturbed the repose of the drones in the class1 by calling upon them more frequently4 ,explanations given by the teacher should be repeated by the pupils3 first1 to ascertain whether or not they have been properly understood1 and secondly1 to make a deeper impression upon the minds of the scholars4 ,indeed1 the whole business of teaching might be summed up in two words1 namely1 simplify and repeat4 ,teaching average #ie4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,map ,drawing4 ,she was quite well prepared for the lesson1 but did not always speak quite distinctly enough2 she required all those pupils1 who had criticisms to make1 to stand1 and then designated one to give them--a very good plan4 ,miss ---- must be more careful in regard to the grammatical construction of her own sentences4 ,teaching average #ij4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,mental ,arithmetic4 ,she became somewhat confused1 and so made several mistakes in her work4 ,she attempted to solve several examples1 but each time made some error1 either of statement or solution4 ,she was not careful enough in her markings1 omitting to mark one of the pupils for absence1 and two for recitation4 ,teaching average #hh4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,map-,drawing4 ,she should have kept one of the divisions at the board drawing while the other were reciting4 ,it was the first day of map description1 she should therefore have given them an example of the work desired2 instead of this she scolded them for not knowing her method4 ,teachers should be careful never to ask for anything but what the pupil would reasonably be expected to know4 ,if you insist that they shall give anything not found in the lesson1 or not before given by the teacher1 they will become angry and careless1 as shown in the class to-day4 ,she did not criticise the map drawn4 ,teaching average1 #hb4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,constitution4 ,she did well4 ,she used the blackboards to advantage1 and very carefully examined and criticised the work placed there by the pupils4 ,she should speak in a louder and more decided tone4 ,teaching average #ic4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she gave a very short vocal exercise and omitted the concert reading4 ,during the recitation she read remarkably well2 her voice was clear and full1 her emphasis and inflections were correct1 and her whole manner free from embarrassment4 ,the entrance of three or four visitors did not in the least disconcert her2 for her calmness and dignity1 she deserves much commendation4 ,teaching average #ie4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,geography4 ,she taught well4 ,she did not call upon enough members of the class for recitation4 ,a subject that can be divided into portions small enough to enable the teacher to call upon each member of the class at each recitation1 should be so divided4 ,she made it still worse by calling upon several members to recite twice4 ,with a little more energy on her part she could have had more work performed in the forty minutes4 ,teaching average #ij4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,arithmetic4 ,she taught very well4 ,the subject1 ,repetends1 was a difficult one1 which required careful preparation on the part of the teacher and close attention during the recitation4 ,miss ----1 conscious of this1 made herself perfectly familiar with the lesson before appearing in class1 and when pupils failed to explain examples from a want of knowledge1 she was ready and able to give the necessary information4 ,she marked judiciously4 ,teaching average #ij4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,ancient ,history4 ,she was sprightly and animated4 ,she spoke in a clear1 decided tone2 but she pursued no regular plan in conducting the recitation4 ,events in ,egyptian and ,assyrian history were indiscriminately mixed1 the pupils became confused1 and the lady herself was somewhat bewildered4 ,teaching average #hh4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,grammar4 ,she did not speak loud enough for the class to understand her4 ,there was much disorder in the class1 but no notice was taken of it by the teacher4 ,some carried on a conversation among themselves1 others asked questions without permission1 often at the most inappropriate times4 ,many errors passed unnoticed1 and the lady gave corrections herself which she should have required of the pupils4 ,several times1 in attempting to correct1 she made the errors worse2 for instance she parsed verbs that were transitive and in the passive voice as being intransitive and active4 ,she must endeavor to gain more confidence in herself4 ,teaching average #ge4 ,miss ---- gave the ,a class a lesson in ,geometry4 ,she taught the class decidedly well4 ,she deserves all the more credit1 as it was a difficult lesson of her own class4 ,she allowed but one error of work--that ,i noticed--to pass uncorrected4 ,her method of calling upon the class for criticisms was very good4 ,she should strive to speak a little more distinctly4 ,teaching average1 #if4 ,miss ---- gave the ,b class a lesson in ,physiology4 ,she evinced perfect familiarity with the subject of the lesson4 ,she did not confine herself to the text-book1 but asked many good1 general questions4 ,one of the pupils did not understand a portion of the lesson which was to be explained by a diagram4 ,miss ---- endeavored to make the matter clear by an explanation1 which was very good1 still the pupil did not see it clearly4 ,i think the teacher would have succeeded in clearing the difficulty if she had used the pointer instead of designating certain points by letters4 ,she spoke a little too low4 ,teaching average1 #if4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,geography4 ,she deserves great credit for the distinctness with which she speaks1 for her care in the preparation of the lesson for the day1 and for the promptness with which she stops all irregularities in the class4 ,her marks for the day were a little too high2 she did not make distinction enough between the good and the poor scholars4 ,teaching average1 #if4 ,miss ---- gave the ,a class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she succeeded admirably4 ,the vocal exercises and concert reading were well given4 ,the lady threw herself entirely into the work1 and this was the real secret of her success4 ,her grade of marking was too high2 otherwise1 she did very well4 ,teaching average1 #ig4 ,miss ---- gave the ,a class a lesson in ,english ,literature4 ,she did not spend enough time upon the lesson for the day1 and consumed too much of the period in reviewing old lessons4 ,she was not careful in examining the blackboards4 ,lbs4 was permitted to stand as the abbreviation for pounds sterling1 and whimsicalities was spelled with two l's4 ,the lady made no deduction for errors2 all the pupils with but one exception received #aj4 ,she deserves commendation for speaking in a loud1 clear tone4 ,teaching average1 #hh4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,constitution4 ,she did nothing more than hear the recitations4 ,she did not venture to give any explanations or to ask them of the class1 but spent the whole period in repeating again and again the words of the text-book4 ,it is probable that no pupil knew anything more of the subject on going from the room than when she entered4 ,teachers should possess and impart to their pupils some information independent of the book4 ,teaching average1 #ee4 ,miss ---- taught the ,a class ,geometry4 ,she did not question enough or criticise enough1 but almost always called upon the class for criticisms4 ,she added no remarks or criticisms herself2 thus many important omissions and errors were unnoticed4 ,she succeeded well in calling upon almost every member of the class4 ,teaching average1 #ge4 ,miss ---- gave the ,b class a lesson in ,physiology4 ,she was not sufficiently animated and self-possessed4 ,the substance of the lesson was recited before the expiration of the period1 which left the lady at a loss to know what she should do with the remainder of the time4 ,it might have been profitably employed asking questions of importance connected with the lesson2 but instead of doing so1 ,miss ---- turned to me for assistance4 ,she was asked her opinion of a disputed point1 which1 although of slight importance1 merited some attention2 but she passed it by1 notwithstanding her attention was called to it several times4 ,teaching average1 #gf4 ,miss ---- gave the ,a class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she displayed the tact and skill of an experienced teacher4 ,she assumed full authority over the pupils 7though they were her classmates71 and her whole manner was such that a visitor entering the room would have supposed she was the permanent teacher4 ,one secret of her success was that she had given the reading lesson much home practice and preparation4 ,teaching average1 #ajj4 ,miss ---- taught the ,a class in ,literature4 ,she taught well4 ,though rather quiet1 she succeeded in awakening the interest of her pupils1 and the entire recitation was very animated4 ,the class is a good one1 and the pupils deserve as much commendation as the teacher4 ,teaching average1 #if4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,geography4 ,she came before the class well prepared for her duties4 ,she did not use the book1 though it was written in the catechetical style--the one most difficult to teach without some such reference4 ,she by her questions brought out a number of points not given in the text-book4 ,teaching average1 #ig4 ,miss ---- gave the ,b class a lesson in ,rhetoric4 ,she showed a thorough preparation of the lesson and taught well4 ,she should have worked a little faster4 ,pupils were allowed too much time to think4 ,teaching average1 #ih4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,history4 ,she taught with much dignity and self-possession4 ,she did not teach simply by having the lesson recited as the author had given it1 but asked for the definition of words1 and gave information not found in the text-book4 ,but one error was allowed to pass1 which was that of calling ,queen ,victoria the grand-daughter of ,william of ,orange4 ,teaching average1 #ih4 ,miss ---- gave the ,b class a lesson in ,physiology4 ,she conducted the recitation in a very dignified and lady-like manner4 ,the lesson was a difficult one1 but the teacher seemed to understand the subject thoroughly4 ,there was a reference to the retina of the eye in the lesson2 the pupils not having studied that subject1 did not know what the retina was1 and called upon the teacher for explanation2 she attempted to describe it1 but failed to make them understand because she did not thoroughly understand it herself4 ,with this exception1 she taught very well4 ,teaching average1 #if4 ,miss ---- gave the ,b class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she is a good teacher1 and reads well4 ,she maintained her dignity and composure during the entire recitation1 though several visitors were present4 ,nothing tends to embarrass a teacher so much as the entrance of strangers2 the lady's calmness and self-possession then are worthy of much commendation4 ,teaching average #ajj4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,mental ,arithmetic4 ,she read the questions distinctly1 and had them correctly solved2 but for the plan of recitation1 she helped the pupils too much4 ,the method was that called ,chance ,assignment2 in this method1 as the pupils have time to think of the problems1 the work should be purely that of the memory1 in regard to the example itself4 ,teaching average #ie4 ,miss ---- gave the ,a class a lesson in ,literature4 ,she evinced thorough preparation1 and displayed considerable tact in conducting the recitation4 ,every pupil was called on and compelled to recite or confess ignorance4 ,teaching average #ih4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she selected a very difficult reading-lesson1 and not only read it well herself1 but insisted upon the pupils reading it well too4 ,the lady has a good clear voice1 but it lacks power2 nothing will develop this quality but constant daily practice4 ,teaching average #ig4 ,miss ---- taught the ,c class in ,ancient ,history4 ,she did not succeed4 ,her embarrassment was caused in a great measure by not knowing the names of the pupils4 ,teachers should obtain lists of the names1 if they are not familiar with them4 ,the lesson being one in mythology1 could have been made very interesting with a slight effort on the part of the teacher4 ,many errors in pronunciation made by both teacher and pupils1 were allowed to pass4 ,teaching average #gb4 ,miss ---- gave the ,a class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she taught well1 but would have succeeded better if she had given the lesson a little more home practice4 ,when delivering a passage requiring considerable force1 she heightened the pitch of her voice1 and thus gave an unpleasant shrillness1 where the pure orotund tone was needed4 ,teaching average #ie4 ,miss ---- gave the ,b class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she is a very sprightly1 animated teacher1 and reads well4 ,she paid special attention to the correct orthopy of words1 and insisted upon pupils' making use of their dictionaries whenever a word occurred with which they were not familiar4 ,teaching average #ajj4 ,miss ---- gave the ,d class a lesson in ,history4 ,she is one of the best teachers in her class4 ,she is sprightly1 animated1 and critical4 ,the lesson was well taught2 a map having been neatly drawn on the board1 the teacher required the most important places referred to in the lesson1 to be pointed out upon it4 ,teaching average #ajj4 ,miss ---- gave the ,a class a lesson in ,chemistry4 ,she has improved very much in teaching4 ,she understood the subject which she taught1 and had given the lesson careful preparation4 ,she requested one of the pupils to look for the orthopy of a word which occurred in the lesson4 ,the lady turned over the leaves of the dictionary in a very careless manner1 then took her seat1 saying she could not find the word1 although she must have been conscious all the while that she was not searching for it in the proper place4 ,miss ----1 instead of sending the lady to look for the word again1 as she should have done1 pronounced it herself4 ,the teacher should require prompt obedience on the part of pupils4 ,teaching average #ie4 ,miss ---- gave the ,c class a lesson in ,elocution4 ,she is a very energetic teacher1 and manifests a deep interest in her pupils--hence1 her success4 ,a visitor would have inferred from her manner1 that she was the permanent teacher1 not a mere substitute for a passing hour4 ,teaching average1 #ajj4 ,,xxvi4 ,,attention ,,as ,a ,,mental ,,faculty1 ,,and ,,as ,a ,,means ,,of ,,mental ,,culture4 ,the illustrations which first led to a satisfactory elucidation of the subject1 were drawn from the eye4 ,there are many facts in the history of vision1 which show that we may experience sensations and perceptions and other intellectual operations1 and may at the time be conscious of the same1 without giving them any attention1 or1 at least1 without giving them such a degree of attention as to have the slightest recollection of them afterwards4 ,when1 for instance1 we read a printed book1 the eye glances so rapidly from sentence to sentence1 that we can hardly persuade ourselves that we actually see successively every letter4 ,we certainly have no recollection of having gone through such an innumerable train of conscious acts as the theory necessarily implies4 ,that such1 however1 is the case1 is proved by the fact1 that if by accident any letter is omitted1 or transposed1 or put upside down1 the eye at once detects the mistake4 ,the fact is familiar to all4 ,it can be accounted for only on the supposition that1 even in the rapid and cursory perusal of a book1 the eye actually passes from letter to letter1 and gives to each a distinct notice4 ,it not only notices each letter1 but the position of each in reference to the other letters in the line1 and even those nice diacritical points by which one letter is distinguished from another1 as c from e1 u from n1 b from d1 p from q4 ,this notice1 however1 is so slight1 the transition is so rapid1 that we have no recollection of it afterwards1 and we can hardly persuade ourselves that such has been the sober and yet most wonderful fact4 ,take another instance4 ,if1 on the occasion of an evening assemblage1 by a sudden movement of the gas-pipe1 any one should instantly extinguish all the lights in the room and leave the building for a time in total darkness1 and if1 by an equally sudden movement1 he should then restore the light to its previous condition1 every one present would notice the change and have a distinct recollection of it afterwards4 ,yet1 every time we close our eyes in winking1 that is1 several times in every minute of our waking hours1 we experience precisely this change from full and perfect vision to total darkness4 ,but no one ever notices or remembers the fact of his winking1 unless he stops to make it the subject of special attention4 ,sight however is not the only means of illustrating this point4 ,we are drawn to a similar conclusion by observing the workings of the mind itself1 in the act of volition4 ,whenever we make any single volition an object of special attention1 we are conscious of that volition1 and we have a distinct recollection of it afterwards4 ,yet probably not one out of ten thousand1 possibly not one out of a million1 of our simple volitions1 is ever known to us after the moment of its occurrence4 ,in voluntary muscular action1 every distinct movement requires a distinct volition4 ,and how innumerable are the movements necessary to the accomplishment of any one of the ordinary purposes of life6 ,we sit down for example to write a letter to a friend4 ,the nimble pen dances from point to point over the darkening page1 and when we reach the bottom1 we have not the least recollection of having willed any one of those countless muscular movements which have been necessary to what1 but for its every-day occurrence1 would be accounted the greatest feat of legerdemain ever performed by man6 ,take for example the act of reading aloud4 ,every letter requires for its utterance at least one distinct muscular contraction4 ,some letters require several4 ,now it has been found on trial that we are able to pronounce more than a thousand letters in a minute4 ,that is1 during every minute that we are reading aloud1 we perform between one and two thousand distinct muscular movements1 and by necessity a like number of antecedent acts of the will1 to say nothing of those other acts1 not less numerous in the case of a speaker1 connected with the general movement of the body in earnest gesticulation4 ,yet after the hour's performance1 what does the speaker or the reader remember of all these countless volitions8 ,nothing but the one general purpose to please1 instruct1 or persuade an audience4 ,the conclusion1 toward which these illustrations point1 is objected to by some writers1 on the ground of the incredible rapidity which it attributes to our intellectual operations4 ,is it possible1 it is asked1 that we can crowd into such a space of time so many acts of the will1 and that we are1 at the moment when each happens1 conscious of its presence8 ,is it not more probable that these rapid muscular actions are resolvable1 in some way1 into the law of habit8 ,may they not become in some sense mechanical and automatic1 so as to require no intervention of the will8 ,take for example1 the case of a person learning to play upon a musical instrument4 ,the first step is to move the fingers from key to key with a slow motion1 looking at the notes1 and exerting an express act of volition at every note4 ,by degrees1 however1 the motions somehow cling to each other1 and to the impressions of the notes1 in the way of associations1 the acts of volition all the while growing less and less express1 until at last they become quite evanescent and imperceptible4 ,an expert will play from notes or from memory1 and with a rapidity of motion that is perfectly bewildering1 while at the same time he himself is carrying on quite a different train of thoughts in his mind1 or even perhaps holding a conversation with another4 ,hence1 it is concluded1 by the writers referred to1 that in these cases there is really no intervention of that idea or state of the mind called will4 ,the authorities for this hypothesis are among the highest that can be named in the history of intellectual science4 ,let us see how far the hypothesis explains the facts of the case4 ,the most rapid performer1 it is obvious1 can at any time retard his execution1 until his movements become so slow that each one may be made1 as originally it was made1 the subject of special attention1 and may be distinctly remembered afterwards4 ,now1 according to the hypothesis proposed1 we will our actions1 and are conscious both of the act1 and the antecedent volition1 so long as their rapidity is confined to a certain rate2 but1 as soon as the rapidity exceeds that rate1 the operation is taken out of our hands1 and is carried on by some unknown power1 of which we know no more than we do of the circulation of the blood1 or of the systole and diastole of the heart6 ,such a supposition is about as reasonable as it would be to say that a projectile passes through the intermediate space1 when it is thrown with such a moderate degree of velocity that we can see it1 in its progress2 but1 when it is thrown with such velocity as to become invisible1 it ceases to pass through the intermediate space1 and reaches the goal only because projectiles have the habit of doing so6 ,the hypothesis then breaks down1 and we are forced back to our original supposition1 namely1 that those actions which are voluntary originally1 never cease to be so2 that when1 as in the cases supposed1 we retain no recollection of particular volitions1 it is because of some law of our nature by which we are capable of recollecting only those acts upon which the attention has been fixed with a certain degree of intensity and for some perceptible space of time2 that the volition1 in other words1 is too feeble and too rapid to leave any impression on the memory4 ,to argue that there has been no volition1 because we do not recollect it1 is as absurd as it would be to say that there has been no muscular act1 because in many cases we have as little recollection of the muscular act1 as we have of the antecedent volition4 ,besides1 there are many other mental acts1 as rapid as those which have been adduced1--so rapid that not the least recollection of them remains1--where1 yet1 this mechanical or automatic hypothesis affords not the least explanation4 ,thus the expert accountant in a ,bank adds up a long column of figures with the same rapidity and ease with which ordinary persons would read a passage from a familiar author1 and he brings out in the end the exact sum1 which he can do in no other way than by taking note in passing of the precise character and value of each figure4 ,yet1 at the end of such a process1 the accountant has no more recollection of those rapidly succeeding acts of the mind1 than has the musical performer of those countless volitions put forth in the course of a piece of brilliant musical instrumentation4 ,as to the objection1 that the theory attributes an almost inconceivable rapidity to some of our mental operations1 it may be answered1 in the first place1 that there is no reason1 surely1 why mind should not be capable of as rapid action as its handmaid1 matter2 and1 in the second place1 that our ideas of time are relative1 quite as much as our ideas of space2 and if the microscope has revealed a world of wonders too minute in point of space to be observed by the naked eye1 in whose existence we yet believe with undoubting confidence1 we may without greater difficulty believe in the existence of mental acts crowded into so narrow a point of time1 so rapid and transitory in their occurrence1 as to leave no impression upon the memory4 ,the facts which have been adduced1 then1 teach clearly two things3 first1 that by far the greatest part of what we do and experience and are necessarily conscious of at the time of their occurrence1 immediately fade from the recollection1 as shadows pass over a landscape2 and secondly1 that in order to the recollection of any act or object1 it is necessary that the mind be fixed upon it for some perceptible space of time and with some sensible degree of attention4 ,it is this indissoluble connection of the attention with memory1 this absolute dependence of the latter upon the former1 which gives the subject such far-reaching import in considering the means of intellectual culture4 ,how it is that we are able to exclude all subjects but one from the thoughts1 is not very easy of explanation4 ,it is obvious that we cannot do it by direct volition4 ,the very fact of our willing not to attend to a particular object1 fixes our attention upon it4 ,that we have1 however1 some power and agency in fixing our attention on one object and in withdrawing it from another1 is a fact within the knowledge and experience of every one1 whether we can explain the mode by which it is done or not4 ,we have the power of what the chemists call elective affinity2 we make our choice of some one of the various objects claiming the attention1 and fix it upon that2 and it seems to be a law of our nature1 that when we thus direct the attention to one object1 all others1 of themselves1 and by some natural necessity1 retire from the thoughts4 ,this is as near an approach1 probably1 as we shall ever make1 towards an exact verbal expression of a fact1 for an intimate knowledge of which1 after all1 every man must refer to his own consciousness4 ,this power of singling out and fastening upon some one object to the exclusion of all others1--in other words1 this power of attention--exists in almost infinite degrees in different individuals4 ,the degree in which it exists is the measure of a man's intellectual stature4 ,no man can be truly great who does not possess it to a high degree4 ,to command our attention is to command ourselves1 to be truly master of our own powers and resources4 ,the subject1 then1 becomes one of first importance in every kind of either mental or moral improvement4 ,its vital connection with the faculty of memory has been already suggested4 ,perhaps1 however1 this branch of the subject should be set forth with a little more distinctness4 ,there are many vague1 dreamy notions afloat on the subject of memory1 standing comparisons and metaphors1 intended to illustrate its uses and magnify its importance1 but not declaring with any degree of precision what it is4 ,it is called1 for instance1 the storehouse of our ideas4 ,the metaphor conveys undoubtedly a certain amount of truth in regard to the subject4 ,at the same time1 there are some important particulars1 in which the comparison1 for it is nothing more1 conveys a wrong impression4 ,experience teaches us1 for instance1 that recollections1 unlike other articles of store1 are from the time of their deposit undergoing a continual process of decay1 and if they do not fade entirely from the mind1 it is because we occasionally bring them anew under the review of the mind1 and thus restore them to their original freshness and vigor4 ,dismissing1 therefore1 the metaphor1 ,i shall1 ,i presume1 express with sufficient accuracy the established doctrine on this subject by the following statements3 that of the great multitude of mental operations which we experience1 by far the larger part perish at the moment of their birth2 that others1 to which for any reason we give1 at the time of their occurrence1 some sufficient degree of attention1 afterwards recur to us1 or are in some way present to our thoughts2 that this recurrence of former ideas to our thoughts is sometimes spontaneous1 without any voluntary action on our part1 and sometimes the consequence of a direct effort of the will2 and lastly1 that the capacity which we have of being thus revisited by former thoughts is called memory1 while the thoughts themselves1 which thus return1 are called memories1 or more commonly recollections4 ,how it is that by an act of volition we can summon again into the mind an idea which has formerly been present1 and which is now absent1 we have the same difficulty in explaining which we had in explaining how1 by an act of volition1 we can banish a thought which is now present1 or by the power of attention can detain some one thought to the exclusion of all others4 ,to think what particular thing it is that we wish to remember1 is in fact to have remembered it already4 ,it is an obstruse and difficult inquiry1 into which it is not necessary now to enter4 ,a more important inquiry1 and one connected directly with our present theme1 relates to the different kinds of memory1 and their connection severally with the faculty of attention4 ,quickness of memory is that quality which is most easily developed1 especially in young persons4 ,it is also its most showy quality1 and the temptation to give it an inordinate development is strong4 ,the habit of getting things by rote1 is easily acquired by practice4 ,it is astonishing what masses of ,scripture texts young children will get by heart1 when under some special stimulus of reward or display4 ,i have often refused to publish marvellous feats of this kind1 not because ,i thought the accounts incredible1 7unfortunately1 they were too true17 but because ,i thought they were a species of mental excess1 and they should no more be encouraged than bodily excesses4 ,a little girl in my own ,sunday-,school once actually committed to memory the whole of the ,westminster ,assembly's ,shorter ,catechism in three days6 ,six months afterwards she hardly knew a word of it4 ,it had been a regular mental debauch4 ,a few more such atrocities would have made her an idiot4 ,college records tell us of what are called crammed men1 that is1 men who literally stuff themselves with knowledge in order to pass a particular examination1 or to gain a particular honor1 and who afterwards forget their knowledge1 as fast as they have acquired it4 ,there is a well authenticated instance of a student who actually learned the six books of ,euclid by heart1 though he could not tell the difference between an angle and a triangle4 ,the memory of such men is quickened like that of the parrot4 ,they learn purely by rote4 ,real mental attention1 the true digester of knowledge1 is never roused4 ,the knowledge which they gorge1 is never truly assimilated and made their own4 ,a quality of memory vastly more important than quickness1 is tenacity4 ,to hold on to what we get1 is the secret of mental1 no less than of pecuniary accumulations4 ,the mind1 too1 like other misers1 clings most tenaciously to that which has cost it most labor4 ,come lightly1 go lightly1 the world over4 ,knowledge which comes into the mind without toil and effort1 without protracted and laborious attention1 is apt to go as easily as it came4 ,but1 by far the most important quality of memory1 for the practical purposes of life1 is readiness4 ,like quickness and tenacity1 it is to be greatly improved1 if not acquired by practice4 ,it is in the cultivation of this quality1 that the power of a good teacher shines forth most conspicuously4 ,quickness and tenacity may be cultivated by solitary study4 ,but readiness requires for its development a live teacher1 and the stir of the school-room and the class4 ,here it is that the art of questioning shows its wonderful resources4 ,repeated and continued interrogatories1 judiciously worded1 have a sort of talismanic power4 ,they oblige the scholar to bring out his knowledge from its hidden recesses1 to turn it over and over1 and inside out1 and upside down1 to look at it and to handle it1 so that not only it becomes forever and indestructibly his own1 but he can ever afterwards use it at will with the same readiness that he uses his hands or his eyes4 ,this is what a skilful teacher may do for his scholars1 by a knowledge and practice of the art of questioning4 ,unfortunately1 teachers in general find it much easier passively to hear a lesson1 than to muster as much intellectual energy as is necessary to ask a question4 ,it was a remark of ,bacon's1 that1 if we wish to commit anything to memory1 we will accomplish more in ten readings1 if at each perusal we make the attempt to repeat it from memory1 referring to the book only when the memory fails1 than we would by a hundred readings made in the ordinary way1 and without any intervening trials4 ,the explanation of this fact is1 that each effort to recollect the passage secures to the subsequent perusal a more intense degree of attention2 and it seems to be a law of our nature1 not only that there is no memory without attention1 which ,i have labored at some length to establish1 but that the degree of memory is in a great measure proportioned to the degree of the attention4 ,you will see at once the bearing of this fact upon that species of intellectual dissipation1 called general reading1 in which the mental voluptuary reads merely for momentary excitement1 in the gratification of an idle curiosity1 and which is as enervating and debilitating to the intellectual faculties1 as other kinds of dissipation are to the bodily functions4 ,one book1 well read and thoroughly digested1 nay1 one single train of thought1 carefully elaborated and attentively considered1 is worth more than any conceivable amount of that indolent1 dreamy sort of reading in which many persons indulge4 ,there is in fact no more unsafe criterion of knowledge than the number of books a man has read4 ,a young man once told me he had read the entire list of publications of the ,american ,sunday-,school ,union4 ,he was about as wise as the man at the hotel1 who began at the top of the bill of fare with the intention of eating straight through to the bottom6 ,depend upon it1 this mental gorging is debilitating and debauching alike to the moral and the intellectual constitution4 ,there is too much reading even of good books4 ,no one should ever read a book1 without subsequent meditation or conversation about it1 and an attempt to make the thoughts his own1 by a vigorous process of mental assimilation4 ,any continuous intellectual occupation1 which does not leave us wiser and stronger1 most assuredly will leave us weaker1 just as filling the body with food which it does not digest1 only makes it feeble and sickly4 ,we are the worse for reading any book1 if we are not the better for it4 ,there is an obvious distinction on this subject1 of some practical importance1 first suggested1 so far as ,i am aware1 by the ,scotch metaphysician1 ,dr4 ,reid1 between attention as directed to external objects1 and the same faculty directed to what passes within us4 ,when we attend to what is without us1 to what we hear1 or see1 or smell1 or taste1 or touch1 the process is called observation4 ,when1 on the other hand1 dismissing for the time all notice of the external world1 we turn our thoughts inward1 and consider only what is passing in the inner chambers of the mind1--when1 for instance1 we analyze our motives1 or notice the workings of passion1 or scan the mysterious and subtle agency of the will1 the process is called reflection4 ,this latter species of attention is one much more difficult of development than the former4 ,it is developed ordinarily much later in life1--seldom1 ,i believe1 developed to any considerable extent before the age of manhood1--developed by some professions and pursuits much more than by others1--and in a very large class of mankind1 probably the majority1 never developed at all4 ,this species of attention1 which is thus directed inwards1 subjective attention some would call it1--in other words1 the reflective powers1--are1 ,i doubt not1 capable of being cultivated much earlier in life than the age which ,i have indicated as the normal period of their development4 ,i am constrained1 however1 in opposition to many high authorities in education1 to doubt the wisdom of a precocious cultivation of this part of our intellectual system4 ,in all our plans of education1 we should closely follow nature1 who seems to have reserved the judgment and the reflective powers for the latest1 as they certainly are the most perfect1 of her endowments4 ,we1 who are teachers1 have chiefly to do with those whose powers are as yet immature1 and whose attention is to be cultivated primarily in its direction to external objects4 ,our business1 in other words1 is to train our pupils first of all to habits of observation4 ,in doing this1 it is of some practical importance to bear in mind the well-known difference1 in respect to memory1 between the objects of different senses4 ,whether it be attributed to the different degrees of perfection with which the qualities of bodies are perceived1 or to some difference in the qualities themselves1 or whatever may be the cause1 the fact is established beyond a question1 that the knowledge which comes to us through the medium of the eye is of all kinds of knowledge the most easily and the most perfectly remembered4 ,we remember1 indeed1 the temperature of one day as distinguished from that of another2 we remember the sound of a voice2 we can conceive1 in its absence1 the odor or the taste of a particular object2 but none of these ideas come to us with that definiteness and perfection which mark our recollections of what we have seen4 ,it requires1 for instance1 but ordinary powers of attention and perception1 for a person who has one good look at a house1 to recall distinctly to his mind the ideas of its height1 shape1 color1 material1 the number of stories1 the pitch of the roof1 the kind of shutters to the windows1 the position of the door1 the fashion of panels1 the bell-handle1 the plate1 even the little canary-bird with its cage in the windows above1 and the roses1 geraniums1 and what else may be fairer still1 in the window below4 ,these are all objects of sight4 ,in their absence1 he can bring to mind and describe them1 with almost the same accuracy that he could if they were actually present4 ,now1 it is impossible to obtain a like precision and fulness in our conceptions of a quality which we have learned through any other sense4 ,we form in the one case a mental image or picture of the object1 which in the other case is impossible4 ,we can by no possibility form a mental or any other image of the song of canary1 of the perfume of a rose1 or of any other quality1 except those which address us through the eye4 ,our conceptions of taste1 smell1 touch1 and even of hearing1 in the absence of the objects of sense1 have a certain dimness1 vagueness1 mistiness1 uncertainty about them4 ,the conceptions of visible objects1 on the contrary1 are definite1 precise1 and most easily recalled4 ,hence the knowledge derived through the sight1 is1 of all kinds of knowledge1 the most accurate1 the most easily acquired1 and the most lasting4 ,the practical application of these views to the science of teaching1 is too obvious to require more than a passing notice4 ,every thing which the young are to make the subject of their attention1 for the purpose of remembering it1 should be represented as far as possible to the eye4 ,if the object itself1 on account of its bulk1 or its expensiveness1 or for any other reason1 cannot be exhibited for inspection1 let there be some visible delineation of it by brush or pencil4 ,if the thing to be remembered be something abstract or unreal1 having neither form nor substance1 perhaps it may have1 or the teacher may make for it1 some concrete1 visible symbol1 as has been done with the formulas of logic and the abstractions of arithmetic and algebra4 ,these visible symbols on the slate and the blackboard give to those sciences all the advantages in this respect which were supposed to be peculiar to some of the branches of physical science4 ,a boy who has forgotten every mere verbal rule both of arithmetic and algebra1 will remember the formula1 x#b #bxy y#b1 just as perfectly and on the same principle1 as he will remember the face of the man who taught it to him4 ,it is something which he has seen4 ,why has geometry in all ages been found to be of such peculiar value as a means of intellectual training8 ,because of the visible delineation of its doctrines by diagrams addressed to the eye4 ,how much more readily and certainly chemical science can now be acquired1 since the adoption of the present mode of symbolizing its doctrines by combinations of letters and figures4 ,arguments1 conjectures1 theories1 respecting qualities addressed alike to every sense1 respecting functions indeed not cognizable by any sense1 are now presented on the board in visible symbolic formulas1 which have the same advantage over the former mode of presenting the subject1 that the sight of a chess-board during the progress of a game has over a mere verbal description of the movements4 ,the truth of this doctrine is strikingly illustrated in the present mode of teaching geography1 as compared with that once in use1 when a child1 instead of looking at the map of a country1 with its boundaries and other physical characters painted to the eye1 had to grope through a trackless wilderness of description4 ,the study will be still more improved1 when children shall be universally required to make as well as to look at maps1--when1 to the definiteness of knowledge coming through the sight1 there shall be added that inerasible impression upon the memory1 which comes from fixedness and continuity of attention4 ,it is impossible for a child to draw a map1 without looking intently1 and with continued attention1 upon every part of that which is to be delineated4 ,the two conditions to perfect recollection are combined1 and the knowledge1 which is the result1 is the very last to fade from the memory4 ,every teacher of small children knows how much more certainly they learn to spell by seeing than by hearing4 ,you may repeat to a child five times over the sounds which make up a word1 and he will not recollect it with half the certainty that he would on seeing it once4 ,the same principle which leads to this result1 and which indicates the propriety1 not only of looking at maps but of making them1 in order to the more perfect knowledge of geography1 will suggest to the thoughtful teacher the expediency of children's not only looking at words1 but of writing them1 in order to become perfect spellers4 ,mental arithmetic has its fascinations4 ,it has1 too1 ,i am ready to admit1 solid advantages4 ,its advantages1 however1 ,i apprehend are not precisely those which are sometimes attributed to it4 ,there can be no doubt1 ,i think1 that it helps to cultivate the reflective powers2 that it requires1 and by requiring gives1 the ability to confine the attention to continued mental processes4 ,but for making expert practical accountants1 which is generally quoted as its distinguishing benefit1 ,i confess ,i am partial to the slate and pencil1 and to that venerable parallelogram1 the old-fashioned ,multiplication ,table1 in the shape it came down to us from ,pythagoras4 ,the reader will not1 of course1 understand me as wishing to discard ,mental arithmetic4 ,all that ,i mean to suggest is the inquiry1 whether its advantages are not looked for in the wrong direction1 whether they are not sometimes over-estimated1 and whether this mode of teaching arithmetic1 especially when pursued as a hobby1 is not sometimes pushed too far1 and made the means of curious display1 rather than of solid and lasting benefit4 ,in teaching mental arithmetic1 too1 for ,i would certainly teach it to some extent1 ,i would suggest the expediency of teaching children1 in performing these mental operations1 to think in figures1 in other words1 to form conceptions of the arithmetical figures and signs1 which are visible objects1 rather than of quantities and relations1 which are mere abstractions4 ,multiplication is a mere metaphysical entity4 ,the sign of multiplication is a simple1 visible symbol1 addressed to the eye1 and capable of being conceived by the mind with unmistakable clearness and precision4 ,a child counting its fingers in the first steps of learning to add and to take away1 is a pretty sight1 doubtless4 ,but it is painful to see a person grown to man's estate1 and in other respects well educated1 as ,i have very often seen1 still dependent upon the same infantile contrivance1--still counting fingers when required to add long columns of figures4 ,count the fingers1 if necessary1 in order to get the child under way4 ,but the sooner the leading-string can be dropped1 and the child can be made to picture in his mind the pure figures and signs1 their combinations and results1 without reference to fingers1 or apples1 or cakes1 or tops1 the better for his arithmetic1 and the better for his mental cultivation4 ,the subject has a painful interest for the ,sabbath-,school ,teacher4 ,the teacher of the infant school1 indeed1 has some opportunity for employing this principle of pictorial representation1 in teaching the little ones of his charge4 ,the infant school-room usually has conveniences for maps and picture cards and diagrams1 and even blackboards2 and most infant school teachers wisely avail themselves of the opportunity afforded4 ,but go into the main school-room--what can the teacher do8 ,twenty1 thirty1 forty classes huddled together into one room1 compact as sheep in a pen1 how can the individual teacher1 if disposed1 use adequate visible illustrations for the instruction of his class8 ,where shall he place his blackboard8 where shall he hang up his maps8 where shall he suspend his models8 where shall he exhibit his specimens8 ,the utmost that can be done in most of our schools1 as at present provided for1 is to have a few maps on the distant walls of the room which the superintendent may refer to1 whenever he chooses1 and which all the children may see who can6 ,the time must come1 however1 when the teaching of religious truth will be considered of as much importance as the teaching of arithmetic or of chemistry1 and the ,sabbath-,school will have the same facilities for imparting instruction as the week-day school4 ,but that time has not yet come4 ,in the meanwhile1 let the teacher carefully avail himself of whatever subsidiary aids are within his reach4 ,no teacher should ever present himself before his class without a ,bible ,atlas and a ,bible ,dictionary in his hand4 ,many of those things with which his class ought to be made acquainted1 are here not only described1 but delineated1 with equal accuracy and beauty4 ,thanks to the booksellers and the religious publication societies1 the scenes of sacred history1 and indeed religious topics generally1 have been illustrated in cheap pictorial cards1 both large and small1 and with admirable fidelity and skill4 ,these form a part of the indispensable furniture of the ,sunday-,school teacher4 ,they are to him as necessary as are experiments1 or a cabinet of specimens1 to the lecturer on the physical sciences4 ,the ,sabbath-,school teacher should be continually on the look-out for publications of this kind1 not only for instructing and furnishing his own mind with definite ideas1 but for exhibition to his class4 ,a wise teacher will not only have something to say to his class1 but also something to show4 ,the ideas which the child gets from looking at really instructive pictures and maps1 never leave him4 ,how much also our intelligent apprehension of the scriptures is increased1 by a knowledge of topography1 and by associating each event in the sacred narration with the place in which it occurred8 ,it may be proper to say1 too1 in this connection1 that it is with a view to the principle now under consideration1 that in preparing books and papers for the young1 authors and publishers feel justified in giving so much labor and space to pictorial illustration4 ,when1 indeed1 such illustrations are merely for display1 they deserve the contempt which they often receive4 ,but when these pictorial illustrations have a definite meaning and design1 when they teach something1 when they connect in the child's mind sound religious truth with distinct and easily remembered visible forms1 they are a really valuable aid in the inculcation of doctrine4 ,the power of attention1 like all the mental powers1 is by nature greater in some than in others4 ,still1 there is no power more susceptible of improvement4 ,the importance of its cultivation cannot well be over-stated4 ,it affects not one study only1 but all studies2 not one mode of study only1 but every mode of study1 by text-book or by lecture2 lessons to be recited by memory1 or those by question and answer2 not even study only1 but conduct and manners1 the regulation of the heart and the formation of the character4 ,the precise measure of a child's success1 in every thing that pertains to his character and standing as a scholar1 will in nine cases out of ten be his power and habit of attention4 ,there are indeed lamentable cases of wilful and intentional disorder4 ,yet every teacher knows that by far the greater portion of the things which interrupt and disturb a school arise from thoughtlessness and inattention4 ,there are also equally undoubted cases of ignorance that is no crime4 ,yet the great majority of those who fail in their studies1 fail simply because they do not attend4 ,to attend1 however1 means something more than merely to be bodily present1 more even than to have the ears open and the eyes fixed in the direction of the speaker1 when a thing is said1 or done4 ,an old lady used to sit in the same aisle with me in church1 and unfortunately lived opposite me in the street1 who was neither deaf nor blind1 and who was never absent from church1 and yet she sent over invariably on ,sunday evenings to know what it was the minister said about that meeting on ,wednesday night1 or that meeting on ,friday night1--she did not rightly understand6 ,but it is not necessary to go to church1 to find those who having eyes see not1 and having ears hear not1 neither do they understand1 who look without seeing1 and hear without comprehending4 ,publish a notice in your school1 making some change of hours or lessons1 or giving any specific direction4 ,no matter how simple1 or how plainly expressed1 the notice may be1 or how particularly attention may be called beforehand to the announcement about to be made1 where is the happy teacher who has been able on such an occasion to make himself understood by all8 ,teachers and preachers and speakers of every name have generally very little idea how much they are misunderstood4 ,let me give some instances4 ,in my own ,sunday-,school1 ,i had neglected one morning to bring with me the teacher's class-books4 ,after opening the school1 ,i rang the bell as a signal for attention4 ,there was a general hush throughout the room4 ,all eyes were turned to the desk4 ,i said3 ,your class-books unfortunately have been left behind this morning4 ,they have been sent for1 however1 and they will soon be here4 ,as soon as they come1 ,i will bring them round to the several classes4 ,in the meantime1 you may go on with your regular lessons4 ,the bell was then tapped again1 and the routine of the school resumed4 ,in about a minute1 a girl came up to the desk1 with1 ,sir1 teacher says1 will you please to send her class-book2 it was not brought round1 as usual1 this morning1 before school opened6 ,here was a class of ten girls1 averaging twelve years of age1 and not one of them1 nor their teacher1 had heard or understood the notice which ,i thought ,i had made so plain6 ,here is another instance4 ,at the examination for admission to the ,philadelphia ,high ,school1 as a means of testing among other things how far this very faculty of hearing and of attention has been cultivated1 the candidates are required to copy a passage from dictation4 ,these exercises are always preserved for reference1 and in order to show the fairness of the examination4 ,on one occasion1 when ,i was ,principal of the ,school1 ,i took the pains to copy out a few of the exercises1 in order to show the singular freaks into which an uncultivated ear may be led4 ,one or two specimens will serve to illustrate the point4 ,the first clause with its variations1 was as follows3-- ,every breach of veracity indicates some latent vice4 bridge rascality latest vice4 breech feracity latinet vice4 preach eracity late device4 branch vivacity great advice4 veracity late advice4 ladovice4 ladened vice4 ,every branch of veracity in the next some latent vice4 ,every reach of their ascidity indicates some advice4 ,in another part of the passage occurred the following3 ,petty operations4 ,petty alterations4 ,petty observations4 ,patriarchal occupations4 ,petty oblations4 ,now of what use is it to a boy who mistakes petty for patriarchal1 latent vice for great advice1 breach of veracity for reach of their ascidity1 who is so untrained that he really cannot hear what is said1 or see what is done1--of what use is it to such a boy1 merely because he has gone through a prescribed routine of books and classes1 or perchance because he has attained a certain amount of years and of pounds avoirdupois1 to be pushed forward into a higher department to attend lectures on chemistry1 or anatomy1 or morals1 or history1 or literature8 ,it is preposterous4 ,it is an insult to the ,professor1 and an injury to the boy4 ,this1 then1 is the burden of my song4 ,we cannot take too much pains in early life in rousing this power of attention4 ,depend upon it1 no matter how much learning1 so called1 is crammed into a youth1 his intellectual development has not begun until this power is roused4 ,he may have a vague1 dreamy sort of knowledge2 he may do sums by rule1 and he may parse by rote1 and do many other wondrous things2 but his powers are not invigorated1 he does not grow1 until he begins really to see and hear1 and feel terra firma under his feet4 ,the principle which ,i am illustrating applies with special force to that part of a child's education which consists in learning the meaning of words4 ,i have serious doubts whether children ordinarily learn much of the real meaning of words by committing definitions to memory4 ,what is a definition8 ,it is only expressing the meaning of one word by the use of another word as nearly as possible synonymous4 ,now1 in the case of a child1 it is at least an even chance that that other word is just as unknown as the one it is intended to explain4 ,it is like1 in algebra1 solving an equation with two unknown quantities1 by giving the value of one unknown quantity in terms of the other4 ,a child1 for instance1 is told that potent means efficacious1 that power means ability1 that potion means a physical draught1 that potential means existing in possibility1 not in act4 ,these are definitions taken at random from a book in common use in our public schools4 ,the definitions possibly are good enough for the purpose for which they were designed4 ,i am not quarrelling with the definitions4 ,but1 surely1 it is not by these that a child is to learn the meaning of the words4 ,whether he is told that power means ability1 or ability means power1 that potent means efficacious1 or efficacious means potent1 in neither case1 nine times out of ten1 is any addition made to his stock of knowledge4 ,it is not until much later in life1--until in fact our knowledge of words is already very much extended1 that we profit much by learning formal definitions4 ,but in childhood1 we must learn the meaning and power of words1 just as the mechanic becomes acquainted with his tools1 by observing their use4 ,a boy1 for instance1 reads this sentence4 ,the drug was very efficacious4 ,if the word is quite new to him1 and there is nothing in the clause preceding or following to indicate its meaning1 it is not at all unlikely that he may suppose it to mean poisonous4 ,if1 however1 from the context1 he finds that a person who had been sick1 was made suddenly well1 and this statement followed by the remark1 that the drug was very efficacious1 he will probably get the idea that the word means healing1 or curative4 ,he reads again1 in another place1 that a certain mode of teaching penmanship was found to be very efficacious4 ,here is a new use of the word1 quite different from the other1 and he is obliged to exclude from his idea of its meaning every thing like healing4 ,so he goes on1 every fresh example cutting off some extraneous idea which the previous examples had led him to attach to the word1 and every step onward coming nearer to the general idea1 though he may never express it in words1 of something which accomplished its object1 whatever that object may be4 ,it is1 ,i believe1 chiefly by observing in this way the manner in which words are used1 that children do and must learn their meaning4 ,it is1 in other words1 by quickening and cultivating the habit of attention to the meaning1--by training a child1 when he is reading1 to imagine1 not that he is reading the words1 but that he is reading the sense1 by accustoming him to look through the word1 to the sense1 just as he would look at objects out of doors through the window1 and to consider the words1 as he would consider the glass1 merely as a medium1 through which1 and unmindful of it1 he looks at something beyond1--which something is the meaning4 ,let me not be misunderstood in regard to this matter of definitions4 ,i believe it to be of the utmost importance that children should be constantly required to give definitions or explanations of the words whose meaning they have acquired4 ,all ,i mean to call in question is1 whether that meaning to any considerable extent is acquired by committing to memory formal definitions prepared by others4 ,when they have once learned the meaning of a word1 which is to be done mainly1 if not only1 by observing its use1 then by all means let them be required to express that meaning by other words which they know4 ,such an exercise cannot be too much insisted on4 ,it is one of the best means of securing that attention to the signification of words1 which is so much wanted4 ,it requires the child1 moreover1 to bring his knowledge continually to the test4 ,it cultivates at once accuracy of thought1 and accuracy of language1 which is the vehicle of thought4 ,train a child1 therefore1 to the habit of attention1 first to the meaning of words as gathered from observation of their use1 and secondly to the expression of that meaning in language appropriate and intelligible to others4 ,i have dwelt a little on this subject1 because1 as in the matter of hearing1 ,i doubt whether people generally are aware how little children understand what they read4 ,nor is this ignorance confined to children4 ,in our acts of devotion1 we are all in the habit of using certain stereotyped phrases1 without attaching to them any definite meaning1 without perhaps so much as having even thought whether they had a meaning4 ,this same pernicious habit is seen also in our reading of the ,scriptures4 ,we have read the phrases over from childhood1 until we have become so familiar with them1 that we are obliged often to stop1 and by a sort of compulsory process to challenge each word as it passes1 and see whether it really conveys any meaning to our mind4 ,if ,i were to say to a class1 ,the ,bible tells us of a man who was older than his father1 or some such apparent contradiction in terms1 the sharp antithesis would doubtless arrest their attention1 and ,i would at least be asked to explain myself4 ,yet1 ten to one1 they have read1 hundreds of times1 of him who is the root and the offspring of ,david1 the bright and morning star1 without noticing anything at all remarkable in the expression4 ,it is to them merely something good and pious1 couched in a very pleasant and sonorous flow of words1 and meaning doubtless something very comforting and edifying4 ,i was once teaching temporarily a young ladies' ,bible ,class4 ,the average age of the members was at least seventeen4 ,they were the pick from a large city school1 and had been selected for their superior educational advantages and attainments4 ,most of them were attending expensive private schools during the week4 ,wishing to satisfy myself as to the general knowledge and the intellectual habits of the members1 ,i took the plan of simply reading verse about1 stopping from time to time to talk familiarly about anything which might happen to suggest itself4 ,this verse among others was read3 it is from the account of the miracle on the day of ,pentecost3 ,and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire1 and it sat upon each of them4 ,i found1 upon inquiring1 that not one in that large class had the remotest idea of what was meant by the word cloven4 ,one young lady thought it meant fiery1 another flaming1 another winged1 and so on4 ,most of them1 however1 said that they really had never thought of the matter before4 ,probably every one of them had read the passage hundreds of times2 and when we began talking about it1 no one of them seemed to have an idea that there was anything in the verse which she did not understand4 ,it was not until ,i took it up1 word by word1 and challenged a peremptory and sharp scrutiny into the meaning attached to each word1 that the remarkable fact came out which ,i have stated4 ,one or two more leaves from my professional experience will be given4 ,during the greater part of my professional life1 it has been a part of my duty to examine candidates for the office of teacher in the public schools4 ,out of ninety-eight candidates for the office of assistant teacher1 whom ,i examined on one occasion1 only one knew the meaning of the word sumptuary1 although in the public discussion then going on about the license law1 the word was in daily use in the public papers2 in fact1 ,i took it out of the newspaper of that morning4 ,on another occasion1 out of fourteen candidates for the office of ,principal teacher of a boys' ,grammar school1 four defined friable as that which can be fried2 several did not know at all the meaning of hibernating1 and one1 the successful candidate1 said it meant relating to ,ireland4 ,by successful candidate1 ,i mean the one who got the vote of the ,directors6 ,this sober scrutiny into any one's knowledge of the meaning of words in common use1 is one of the most reliable tests of his general intellectual progress and cultivation4 ,it is one of the means by which in many city schools it is customary to test a candidate's fitness for promotion4 ,to show how little people generally1 and even teachers1 are aware of the extent to which children misconceive the meaning of words in common use1 ,i have transcribed a few examples from an examination of the kind which ,i once held4 ,the definitions which ,i am about to quote were not the work of oral confusion and haste1 but were given in writing1 in circumstances of entire quietude and ample deliberation4 ,the average age of the candidates1 on the occasion referred to1 was fourteen years and ten months1 and no one of them was by law under thirteen years4 ,stature--,a picture2 ,i saw a stature of ,washington4 ,fabulous--,full of threads2 ,silk is fabulous4 ,accession--,the act of eating a great deal2 ,john got very sick after dinner by accession4 ,atonement--,a small insect2 ,queen ,mab was pulled by little atonements4 ,sound1 orthodox2 ,they went to the church of the ,atonement4 ,auxiliary--,to form2 ,the gardener did auxiliary his garden4 ,ingredient--,a native-born2 ,tobacco is an ingredient of this country4 ,fragment--,sweetmeats2 ,it was a fragment4 ,develop--,to swallow up2 ,god sent a whale to develop ,jonah4 ,exotic--,relating to a government2 ,some countries have a very exotic government4 ,patriotic2 ,he was exotic in the cause of ,independence4 ,absolute2 ,the government of ,turkey is exotic4 ,standing out2 ,the company were exotic4 ,circumference--,distance through the middle4 ,distance around the middle of the outside4 ,callous--,something which cannot be effected2 ,that ,america should gain her independence was supposed to be callous4 ,mobility--,belonging to the people2 ,the mobility of ,st4 ,louis has greatly increased4 ,anomalous--,powerful2 ,his speech was considered anomalous4 ,adequate--,a land animal2 ,an elephant is an adequate4 ,transition--,the act of transcribing2 ,the transition of that book was gaining ground in the public mind4 ,gregarious--,pertaining to idols2 ,the ,sandwich ,islands worship gregarious4 ,pertaining to an oak2 ,the ,druids were noted for their gregarious exercises4 ,consisting of grain4 ,grass-eating4 ,full of talk4 ,full of color4 ,propensity--,dislike2 ,he had a propensity to study4 ,artificially--,belonging to flowers4 ,fluctuation--coming in great numbers2 ,there was a great fluctuation of emigrants4 ,setting on fire4 ,beating4 ,odium--,that you have a great tact at anything2 ,your odium is very great4 ,a poisonous herb4 ,pertaining to song2 ,he was an odium writer4 ,a sweet smell2 ,the odium of new-mown hay4 ,transverse--,to turn over2 ,transverse that bucket and see what is in it4 ,to change from verse2 ,some writers change books from transverse to verse4 ,to verse again2 ,he transversed his copy4 ,to spread abroad2 ,they transverse the ,bible4 ,utility--,relating to the soil2 ,the ground it remarkable for its utility4 ,quadruple--,relating to birds2 ,there was a number of quadruple4 ,alternate--,not ternate4 ,menace--,a tare in the flesh2 ,the dog caused a menace in ,john's arm4 ,vital--,relating to death2 ,vital spark of heavenly flame4 ,intrinsic--not trinsic4 ,weak1 feeble2 ,he was a very intrinsic old man4 ,subservient--,one opposed to the upholding of servants4 ,stubborn2 ,on account of the boy being subservient he was turned out of school4 ,perfidy--,trust2 not to cheat2 ,such a man is perfidy2 that is1 everything can be trusted to him4 ,accessible2 ,some persons have a great deal of perfidy4 ,access--,intermission2 ,joseph had access of his teacher to go into the room4 ,vicinity--,in the same direction2 ,pekin is in the vicinity of ,philadelphia4 ,subsequent--,preceding2 ,the subsequent chapter4 ,infectious--,to make fectious4 ,exquisite--,to be in a quisitive manner4 ,to help4 ,to find out4 ,talkative4 ,not required4 ,mingle--,to tear in pieces4 ,deride--,to ride down4 ,manifold--,made by the hand4 ,pertaining to man2 ,forgive our manifold sins4 ,i have failed entirely in the general drift of this chapter1 if ,i have not made it obvious that the principle which ,i have been attempting to illustrate is one of singularly pervading influence1 and of most various and manifold applications4 ,the subject is indeed eminently suggestive4 ,one single additional line of illustration1 however1 must suffice4 ,i refer to the application of this principle to what may be called the incidentals of teaching and training4 ,a child1 for instance1 should not only spell out of book1 as it is called1 but his attention should by some means be directed to the way in which words are spelled4 ,he should be accustomed to form1 as it were1 a mental image of each word1 to think of it as having a particular form and appearance1 so that his eye will detect instantly a wanting or an excrescent letter1 just as he sees a wen1 a defective limb1 or a distorted feature on the person of an acquaintance4 ,only fire his young ambition with the aim to spell well1 and quicken his attention to the way in which words are spelled1 and every time he reads a book he receives incidentally a lesson in spelling4 ,a child should have stated exercises and systematic instructions in the art of reading4 ,but quite as much improvement in this important and too much neglected accomplishment may be gained by not allowing children at any time to read in an improper manner4 ,every demonstration at the blackboard1 every text or hymn repeated from memory1 every recitation in arithmetic1 grammar1 or geography1 every exercise of every kind in which the voice is used and words are uttered1 may be made an incidental lesson in reading4 ,by being never allowed to pronounce words incorrectly1 to utter them in a low or drawling manner1 or to crowd and overlap them1 as it were1 one upon the other1 the ear becomes accustomed to the correct sounds of the language1 and immediately detects any variation from its accustomed standard4 ,by thus insisting1 in every vocal exercise1 upon the full and correct pronunciation of the elementary sounds of the language1 more may be done to make good readers and speakers than by all the pronouncing dictionaries and elocution books in print4 ,let a child by all means take lessons in writing4 ,let him learn plain text1 ,german text1 round hand1 running hand1 back hand1 and the flourishes4 ,but if he is to become rapidly master of that truly beautiful and most useful accomplishment1 let the teacher insist upon his always attending to his manner of writing1 and always writing as well as he can4 ,whether he writes a composition1 a sketch1 a letter1 whenever for any purpose he puts pen to paper1 let him be required to form each letter distinctly1 to write it gracefully1 and to give to his exercise a neat and elegant appearance4 ,teach him to think of a crooked line or a blotted page as of an untied shoe1 or a dirty face4 ,by thus making every written exercise an exercise in writing1 his progress will be increased beyond your expectations1 and you will soon see him looking with pleasure at the clean and symmetrical forms which flow so gracefully from his pen1 as he goes from line to line over the virgin page1 no half-formed or misshapen letters to embarrass1 but all in every part as elegantly written as it is easily read4 ,grammar should no doubt be taught by text-book and in stated lessons4 ,the parts of speech1 the conjugations and declensions1 syntax and parsing1 must all be systematically conned1 the rules and definitions committed to memory1 and the judgment exercised upon their application4 ,at the same time every recitation of a child1 as well as all his conversation1 ought to be made an incidental and unconscious lesson in grammar4 ,only never allow him to use unchallenged an incorrect or ungrammatical expression1 train his ear to detect and revolt at it1 as at a discordant note in music1 let him if possible hear nothing but sterling1 honest ,english1 and he will then learn grammar to some purpose4 ,if1 on the contrary1 he is allowed to recite and to talk in whatever language comes uppermost1 and to hear continually those around him reciting and talking in a similar manner1 he may parse till he is blind without learning to speak and write the ,english language correctly4 ,banish from the nursery1 the school-room1 and the play-ground1 incorrect and ungrammatical expressions1 and you do more than can be done in all other ways to preserve the well of ,english undefiled4 ,young persons need systematic instructions in the principles which should govern their conduct4 ,they need not indeed be troubled with the more abstruse questions in the theory of morals4 ,but the great obvious rules of duty should be taught them1 in a systematic manner1 by a competent instructor4 ,but that man would be thought little acquainted with the influences which go to mould and form the character1 who should suppose the matter ended here4 ,the doctrines inculcated in the lesson1 must be carried out and applied in all the petty incidents of the day4 ,not an hour passes in a large family or a school1 without an occurrence involving some principle in morals4 ,a boy of moderate talents1 notwithstanding all his exertions1 is eclipsed by one more gifted1 and he is tempted to envy4 ,imagining himself aggrieved or insulted by his fellows1 he burns for revenge4 ,overtaken in a fault and threatened with punishment1 he is tempted to lie4 ,misled by the opinion of others1 or esteeming some rule of his teachers harsh and unnecessary1 he is inclined to disobey4 ,these and a hundred other instances which might be named1 will suggest to the thoughtful parent or teacher so many opportunities for giving incidentally the most important practical instruction in morals4 ,in these and the manifold other illustrations which might be given1 the essential point is to quicken and keep alive the attention4 ,whatever be the subject of study1 and whether the instructions be direct or incidental1 let children be preserved from attending to it in a sluggish1 listless1 indifferent manner4 ,the subject of study1 in the case of young persons1 is often of less importance than the manner of study4 ,i have been led sometimes to doubt the value of many of the inventions for facilitating the acquisition of knowledge by children4 ,that knowledge the acquisition of which costs no labor1 will not be likely to make a deep impression1 or to remain long upon the memory4 ,it is by labor that the mind strengthens and grows3 and while care should be taken not to overtask it by exertions beyond its strength1 yet let it never be forgotten that mere occupation of the mind1 even with useful and proper objects1 is not the precise aim of education4 ,the educator aims1 not to make learned boys1 but able men4 ,to do this1 he must tax their powers4 ,he must rouse them to manly exertion4 ,he must teach them to think1 to discriminate1 to digest what they have received1 to work4 ,every day there must be the glow of hard work1--not the exhaustion and languor which arise from too protracted confinement to study1--which have the same debilitating effect upon the mind that a similar process has upon the body1--but vigorous and hardy labor1 such as wakens the mind from its lethargy1 summons up the resolution and the will1 and puts the whole internal man into a state of determined and positive activity4 ,the boy in such a case feels that he is at work4 ,he feels1 too1 that he is gaining something more than knowledge4 ,he is gaining power4 ,he is growing in strength4 ,he grapples successfully to-day with a difficulty that would have staggered him yesterday4 ,there is no mistaking this process2 and no matter what the subject of study1 the intellectual development what it gives1 is worth infinitely more than all that vague1 floating kind of knowledge sometimes sought after1 which seems to be imbibed somehow from the atmosphere of the school-room1 as it certainly evaporates the moment a boy enters the atmosphere of men and of active life4 ,,xxvii4 ,,gaining ,,the ,,attention4 ,the teacher who fails to get the attention of his scholars1 fails totally4 ,the pupils may perhaps learn something1 because they may give the lesson some study at home1 under the direction of their parents4 ,but they learn nothing from the teacher4 ,he is really no teacher1 though he may occupy the teacher's seat4 ,there is1 and there can be1 no teaching1 where the attention of the scholar is not secured4 ,gaining the attention is an indispensable condition to the thing called teaching4 ,not1 however1 the only indispensable thing4 ,we have seen a class wrought by special tricks and devices to the highest pitch of excited attention1--fairly panting with eagerness1 all eyes and ears1 on the very tiptoe of aroused mental activity1--yet learning nothing4 ,the teacher had the knack of stirring them up and lashing them into a half frenzy of excited expectation1 without having any substantial knowledge wherewith to reward their eagerness4 ,with all his one-sided skill1 he was but a mountebank4 ,to real1 successful teaching1 there must be these two things1 namely1 the ability to hold the minds of the children1 and the ability to pour into the minds thus presented sound and seasonable instruction4 ,lacking the latter ability1 your pupil goes away with his vessel unfilled4 ,lacking the former1 you only pour water upon the ground4 ,how shall the teacher secure attention8 ,in the first place1 let him make up his mind that he will have it4 ,this is half the battle4 ,let him settle it with himself1 that until he does this1 he is doing nothing2 that without the attention of his scholars1 he is no more a teacher1 than is the chair he occupies4 ,if he is not plus1 he is zero1 if not actually minus4 ,with this truth fully realized1 he will come before his class resolved to have a hearing2 and this very resolution1 written as it will be all over him1 will have its effect upon his scholars4 ,children are quick to discern the mental attitude of a teacher4 ,they know1 as if by instinct1 whether he is in earnest or not1 and in all ordinary cases they yield without dispute to a claim thus resolutely put4 ,this1 then1 is the first duty of the teacher in this matter4 ,he must go to his class with the resolute determination of making every scholar feel his presence all the time4 ,the moment any scholar shows that the consciousness of his teacher's presence is not on his mind1 as a restraining power1 something is wrong4 ,the first step towards producing that consciousness1 as an abiding influence on the minds of the scholars1 is for the teacher to determine in his own mind and bring it about4 ,without being arrogant1 without being dictatorial1 without being or doing anything that is disagreeable or unbecoming1 he must yet make up his mind to put forth in the class a distinct power of self-assertion4 ,he must determine to make them feel that he is there1 that he is there all the time1 that he is there to every one of them4 ,in the next place1 the teacher must not disappoint the attention which his manner has challenged4 ,he must have something valuable to communicate to the expectant minds before him4 ,he must be thoroughly prepared in the lesson1 so that the pupils shall feel that they are learning from him4 ,his lips must keep knowledge4 ,the human heart thirsts for knowledge4 ,this is one of its natural instincts4 ,it is indeed often much perverted1 and many are to be found who even show aversion to being instructed4 ,yet the normal condition of things is otherwise1 and nothing is more common than to see children hanging with fondness around any one who has something to tell them4 ,let the teacher then be sure to have something to say1 as well as determined to say it4 ,in the third place1 the teacher must have his knowledge perfectly at command4 ,it must be on the tip of his tongue4 ,if he hesitates1 and stops to think1 or to look in his book for the purpose of hunting up what he has to tell them1 he will be very apt to lose his chance4 ,teaching children1 particularly young children1 is like shooting birds on the wing4 ,the moment your bird is in sight1 you must fire4 ,the moment you have the child's eye1 be ready to speak4 ,this readiness of utterance is a matter to be cultivated4 ,the ripest scholars are often sadly deficient in it4 ,the very habit of profound study is apt to induce the opposite quality to readiness4 ,a teacher who is conscious of this defect1 must resolutely set himself to resist it and overcome it4 ,he can do so1 if he will4 ,but it requires resolution and practice4 ,in the fourth place1 the teacher must place himself so that every pupil in the class is within the range of his vision4 ,it is not uncommon to see a teacher pressing close up to the scholars in the centre of the class1 so that those at the right and left ends are out of his sight2 or if he turns his face to those on one side1 he at the same time turns his back to those on the other4 ,always sit or stand where you can all the while see the face of every pupil4 ,i have1 hundreds of times1 seen the whole character of the instruction and discipline of a class changed by the observance of this simple rule4 ,another rule is to use your eyes quite as much as your tongue4 ,if you want your class to look at you1 you must look at them4 ,the eye has a magic power4 ,it wins1 it fascinates1 it guides1 it rewards1 it punishes1 it controls4 ,you must learn how to see every child all the time4 ,some teachers seem to be able to see only one scholar at a time4 ,this will never do4 ,while you are giving this absorbed1 undivided attention to one1 all the rest are running wild4 ,neither will it do for the teacher to be looking about much1 to see what is going on among the other classes in the room4 ,your scholars' eyes will be very apt to follow yours4 ,you are the engineer1 they are the passengers4 ,if you run off the track1 they must do likewise4 ,nor must your eye be occupied with the book1 hunting up question and answer1 nor dropped to the floor in excessive modesty4 ,all the power of seeing that you have is needed for looking earnestly1 lovingly1 without interruption1 into the faces and eyes of your pupils4 ,but for the observance of this rule1 another is indispensable4 ,you must learn to teach without book4 ,perhaps you cannot do this absolutely4 ,but the nearer you can approach to it1 the better4 ,thorough preparation1 of course1 is the secret of this power4 ,some teachers think they have prepared a lesson when they have gone over it once1 and studied out all the answers4 ,there could not be a greater mistake4 ,this is only the first step in the preparation4 ,you might as well think that you have learned the ,multiplication ,table1 and are prepared to teach it1 when you have gone over it once and seen by actual count that the figures are all right1 and you know where to put your finger on them when required4 ,you are prepared to teach a lesson when you have all the facts and ideas in it at your tongue's end1 so that you can go through them all1 in proper order1 without once referring to the book4 ,any preparation short of this will not do1 if you want to command attention4 ,once prepare a lesson in this way1 and it will give you such freedom in the art of teaching1 and you will experience such a pleasure in it1 that you will never want to relapse into the old indolent habit4 ,,xxviii4 ,,counsels4 99 99 99 99 99 #a4 ,to a ,young ,teacher4 ,you are about to assume the charge of a class in the school under my care4 ,allow me1 in a spirit of frankness1 to make to you a brief statement of some of the aims of the institution1 and of the principles by which we are guided in their prosecution4 #a4 ,unless the ,lord build the house1 they labor in vain that build it4 ,i have no professional conviction more fixed and abiding than this1 that no persons more need the direct1 special1 continual guidance of the ,holy ,spirit than those who undertake to mould and discipline the youthful mind4 ,no preparation for this office is complete which does not include devout prayer for that wisdom which cometh from above4 ,if any one possession1 more than another1 is the direct gift of the ,almighty1 it would seem to be that of knowledge4 ,the teacher1 therefore1 of all men1 is called upon to look upwards to a source that is higher than himself4 ,he needs light in his own mind2 he should not count it misspent labor to ask for light to be given to the minds of his scholars4 ,there is a ,teacher infinitely wiser and more skilful than any human teacher4 ,the instructor must be strangely blind to the resources of his profession1 who fails to resort habitually to that great1 plenary1 unbounded source of light and knowledge4 ,while1 therefore1 we aim in this school to profit by all subsidiary and subordinate methods and improvements in the art of teaching1 we first of all seek the aid of our ,heavenly ,father2 we ask wisdom of ,him who giveth liberally and upbraideth not4 ,this1 then1 is the first principle that governs us in the work here assigned us4 ,the fear of ,god is the beginning of knowledge4 ,we who are teachers endeavor to show that we ourselves fear ,god1 and we inculcate the fear of ,him as the first and highest duty of our scholars2 and in every plan and effort to guide the young minds committed to us1 we ourselves look for guidance to the only unerring source of light4 #b4 ,in proportion to the implicitness with which we rely upon divine aid1 should be the diligence with which we use all the human means within our reach4 ,it should therefore1 in the second place1 be the aim of the teachers of this school to acquaint themselves diligently with the most approved methods of teaching4 ,no teachers will be retained who do not keep themselves well posted in the literature of their profession1 and who are not found continually aiming at self-improvement4 ,in whatever school of whatever country1 any branch is taught by better methods than those practised here1 it should be the duty of a teacher in this school to search it out1 and to profit by the discovery4 ,improvement comes by comparison4 ,the man1 or the institution1 that fails to profit by the experience of others1 is not wise4 ,i hold it to be the duty of every teacher of this school to be habitually conversant with the educational journals of the day1 and with the standard works on the theory of teaching1 and to lose no opportunity for personal observation of the methods of others4 ,i have often noticed1 with equal pain and commiseration1 that young teachers1 after having once finished their preliminary studies and obtained a situation1 are thereupon apparently quite content1 making no further effort at improvement1 but settling down for life in an inglorious mediocrity4 ,the best teachers in this school are expected to be better teachers next year than they are now1--with ampler stores of knowledge1 and a happier faculty for communicating it4 ,this1 then1 is our second aim in this school4 ,we aim to have teachers thoroughly posted in regard to the theory and the methods of teaching1 prepared to ride upon the advance wave of every real improvement in the art4 #c4 ,i should1 however1 fail entirely to convey my meaning1 were ,i to lead you to suppose that we expect to accomplish our ends mainly by fine-spun theories4 ,i have no faith in any theory of education1 which does not include1 as one of its leading elements1 hard work4 ,the teachers of this school expect to work hard1 and we expect the scholars to work hard4 ,we have no royal road to learning4 ,any knowledge1 the acquisition of which costs nothing1 is usually worth nothing4 ,the mind1 equally with the body1 grows by labor4 ,if some stuffing process could be invented1 by which knowledge could be forced into a mind perfectly passive1 the knowledge so acquired would be worthless to its possessor1 and would soon pass away1 leaving the mind as blank as it was before4 ,knowledge1 to be of any value1 must be assimilated1 as bodily food is4 ,teaching is essentially a co-operative act4 ,the mind of the teacher and the mind of the scholar must both act1 and must act together1 in intellectual co-operation and sympathy1 if there is to be any true mental growth4 ,teaching is not merely hearing lessons4 ,it is not mere talking4 ,it is something more than mere telling4 ,it is causing a child to know4 ,it is awakening attention1 and then satisfying it4 ,it is an out-and-out live process4 ,the moment the mind of the teacher or the mind of the scholar flags1 real teaching ceases4 ,this1 then1 is our third aim4 ,we aim in this school to accomplish results1 not by fanciful theories1 but by bona fide hard work1--by keeping teachers and scholars1 while at their studies1 wide awake and full of life2 not by exhausting drudgery1 nor by fitful1 irregular1 spasmodic exertions1 but by steady1 persevering1 animated1 straight-forward work4 #d4 ,a fourth aim which we have steadily before us1 is to make thorough work of whatever acquisition we attempt4 ,a little knowledge1 well learned and truly digested1 and made a part of the pupil's own intellectual stores1 is worth more to him than any amount of facts loosely and indiscriminately brought together4 ,in intellectual1 as in other tillage1 the true secret of thrift is to plough deep1 not to skim over a large surface4 ,the prevailing tendency at this time1 in systems of education1 is unduly to multiply studies4 ,so many new sciences are being brought within the pale of popular knowledge1 that it is no longer possible1 in a school like this1 to embrace within its course of study all the subjects which it is practicable and desirable for people generally to know4 ,through the whole encyclopdia of arts and sciences1 there is hardly one which has not its advocates1 and which has not strong claims to recognition4 ,the teacher is simply infatuated who attempts to embrace them all in his curriculum4 ,he thereby puts himself under an absolute necessity of being superficial1 and he generates in his scholars pretension and conceit4 ,old ,james ,ross1 the grammarian1 famous as a teacher in ,philadelphia more than half a century ago1 had on his sign simply these words1 ,greek and ,latin taught here4 ,assuredly ,i would not advocate quite so rigid an exclusion as that1 nor1 if limited to only two studies1 would it be those4 ,but ,i have often thought ,mr4 ,ross's advertisement suggestive4 ,better even that extreme than the encyclopdic system which figures so largely on some circulars4 ,mr4 ,ross indeed taught nothing but ,latin and ,greek4 ,but he taught these languages better probably than they have ever been taught on this continent2 and any two branches thoroughly mastered are of more service to the pupil than twenty branches known imperfectly and superficially4 ,a limited field1 then1 and thorough work4 ,this is our fourth aim4 #e4 ,as a fifth aim1 we endeavor1 in the selection of subjects of study1 not to allow the common ,english branches1 as they are called1 to be shoved aside4 ,to read well1 to write a good hand1 to be expert in arithmetic1 to have such a knowledge of geography and history as to read intelligently what is going on and the world1 to have such a knowledge of one's own language as to use it correctly and purely in speaking and composition1--these are attainments to be postponed to no others4 ,these are points of primary importance1 to be aimed at by every one1 whatever else he may omit4 #f4 ,we aim1 in the sixth place1 to mark the successive parts of the course of study by well defined limits4 ,there are in the course of study successive stages of progress1 and these stages are made as clear and precise as it is possible to make them2 and no pupil is allowed to go forward until the ground behind is thoroughly mastered4 ,at the same time1 these stages in study should be kept all the while before the minds of the pupils as goals to be aimed at4 ,there are1 for this purpose1 at briefly recurring intervals1 examinations for promotion4 ,while no pupil is permitted to go forward1 except as the result of a rigorous examination1 the idea of an advance should1 if possible1 never be allowed to be absent from his thoughts4 ,that scholar should be counted worthy of highest honor1 not who stands highest in a particular room1 but who by successful examinations can pass most rapidly from room to room4 ,that teacher is considered most successful1 not who retains most pupils1 but who in a given time pushes most pupils forward into a higher room4 ,we want no scholar to stand still for a single week4 ,motion1 progress1 definite achievement1 must be the order of the day4 #g4 ,we aim1 in the seventh place1 to cultivate in every pupil a habit of attention and observation4 ,youth is the time when the senses should be most assiduously trained4 ,the young should be taught to see for themselves1 to ascertain the qualities of objects by the use of their own eyes and hands1 to notice whether a thing is distant and how far distant it is1 whether it is heavy and how heavy1 whether it has color and what color1 whether it has form and what form4 ,they should learn to study real things by actually noticing them with their own senses1 and then learning to apply the right words to the knowledge so acquired4 ,we aim to apply this habit of observation in all the branches of study1 so that in every stage of progress the scholar shall know1 not merely the names of things1 but the things themselves4 ,in other words1 we would cultivate real1 as well as verbal knowledge1 and aim to awaken in every pupil an active1 inquiring1 observant state of mind4 99 99 99 99 99 #b4 ,to a ,new ,pupil4 ,you have just been admitted to the privileges of this institution1 and are about to enter here upon a course of study4 ,the occasion is one eminently suited for serious reflection4 ,at the close of a school career it is difficult not to reflect4 ,thoughts upon one's course will1 at such a time1 force themselves upon us4 ,but then it is too late4 ,the good we might have achieved1 is beyond our grasp1 and its contemplation is profitable only as a legitimate topic of contrition4 ,how much wiser and more profitable to anticipate the serious judgment which sooner or later we must pass upon our actions1 and so to shape our conduct in advance1 that the retrospect1 when it comes1 may be a source of joy and congratulation1 rather than of shame and repentance4 ,how much wiser to direct our bark to some definite and well selected channel1 than to float at random along the current of events1 the sport of every idle wave4 ,men are divided into two classes1--those who control their own destiny1 doing what they mean to do1 living according to a plan which they prefer and prepare1 and those who are controlled by circumstances1 who have a vague purpose of doing something or being somebody in the world1 but leave the means to chance4 ,the season of youth generally determines to which of these classes you will ultimately belong4 ,it is here1 at school1 that you decide whether1 when you come to man's estate1 you will be a governing man1 or whether you will be a mere aimless driveller4 ,those who at the beginning of a course in school make to themselves a distinct aim1 towards which day after day they work their course1 undiscouraged by defeat1 unseduced by ease or the temptation of a temporary pleasure1 not only win the immediate objects of pursuit1 but gain for themselves those habits of aiming1 of perseverance1 of self-control1 which will make them hereafter controlling and governing men4 ,those1 on the contrary1 who enter upon an academic career with an indefinite purpose of studying after a fashion1 whenever it is not too hot1 or too cold1 or the lessons are not too hard1 or there is nothing special going on to distract the attention1 or who are content to swim along lazily with the multitude1 trusting to the good-nature of the teacher1 to an occasional deception1 or to the general chapter of accidents1 for escape from censure1 and for such an amount of proficiency as on the whole will pass muster with friends or the public1--depend upon it1 such youths are doomed1 inevitably doomed1 all their days1 to be nobodies1 or worse4 ,let me1 then1 my young friend1 as preliminary to your entering upon the duties before you1 call to your mind some of those things1 which1 as an intelligent and responsible being1 you should deliberately aim to follow or to avoid while in this school4 ,in the counsels which ,i am going to give you1 ,i shall make no attempt to say what is new or striking4 ,my aim will be rather to recall to your memory some few of those familiar maxims1 in which you have been1 ,i dare say1 often instructed elsewhere4 #a4 ,first of all1 remember that men always1 by a necessary law1 fall below the point at which they aim4 ,you well understand that if a projectile be hurled in the direct line of any elevated object1 the force of gravity will cause the projectile to deflect from the line of direction1 and this deflection and curvature will be great in proportion to the distance of the object to be reached4 ,hence1 in gunnery1 the skilful marksman invariably takes aim above the point which he expects to hit4 ,at certain distances1 he will aim #de above the horizon at what is really but #cj above it4 ,so1 in moral subjects1 there is unfortunately a native and universal tendency downwards1 which deflects us out of the line in which good resolutions would propel us4 ,you aim to be distinguished1 and you turn out only meritorious4 ,you aim to be meritorious1 and you fall into the multitude4 ,you are content with being of the multitude1 and you fall out of your class entirely4 ,so also1 as in physical projectiles1 the extent of your departure from the right line is measured by the distance of the objects at which you aim4 ,you resolve to avoid absolutely and entirely certain practices for a day or a week1 and you can perhaps keep very close to the mark4 ,but who can hold himself up to an exact fulfilment of his intentions for a whole term8 ,i do not wish to discourage you4 ,the drift of my argument is1 not that you should make no aim1 but that you should fix your aim high1 and that you should then keep yourself up to your good resolutions1 as long and as closely as you possibly can4 #b4 ,in the next place1 remember that no excellence is ever attained without self-denial4 ,wisdom's ways are indeed ways of pleasantness4 ,the satisfaction of having done well and nobly is of a certain ravishing kind1 far surpassing other enjoyments4 ,but to obtain this high and satisfying pleasure1 many minor and incompatible pleasures must be foregone4 ,you cannot have the pleasure of being a first-rate scholar1 and at the same time have your full swing of fun4 ,i am not opposed to fun4 ,i like it myself4 ,no one enjoys it more4 ,nor do ,i think the exercise and enjoyment of it incompatible with the highest scholastic excellence4 ,but there is a place for all things1 and school is not the place for fun4 ,if you enjoy in moderation out of school the relaxation and refreshment which jokes1 wit1 and pleasantry give1 you will be all the more likely to grapple successfully with the serious employments which await you here4 ,still do not forget that your employments here are serious4 ,study is a sober business4 ,if you would acquire really useful knowledge1 you must be willing to work4 ,you must make up your mind to say no to the thousand opportunities and temptations to frivolous behavior that will beset you in school4 ,you must not be content with being studious and orderly merely when the eye of authority is upon you4 ,this is to be simply an eye-servant and a hypocrite4 ,to have a little pleasantry in the school-room1 to perpetrate or to join in some witty practical joke1 may seem to you comparatively harmless4 ,so it would be but for its expense4 ,you buy it at the cost of benefits which no money can measure1 and no future time can replace4 ,there are seasons of the year when the farmer may indulge in relaxation1--may go abroad on excursions of pleasure1 or may saunter away the time in comparative idleness at home4 ,but in the few precious weeks of seedtime1 every day1 every hour is of moment4 ,this is your seedtime4 ,every hour of school-time that you waste in trifling is an injury and a loss to your future4 ,remember1 then1 that you cannot reach high excellence in school1 or that pure and noble enjoyment1 which is its exceeding great reward1 without self-denial4 ,resolve1 therefore1 here and now1 steadfastly1 immovably1 to say no to everything in school1 no matter how innocent in itself1 which shall interfere with the progress of study for a single moment4 ,if you make such a fixed resolution1 and live up to it1 you will soon be surprised to find how easy and pleasant the discipline of school has become4 #c4 ,among the mischievous fallacies of young persons at school1 ,i know none that work more to their own disadvantage than the opinion that a particular teacher is prejudiced against them4 ,against this feeling it seems impossible to reason4 ,when once scholars have it fairly in their heads that a certain teacher is partial1 in whatever relates to their standing1 ,i have been almost forced to the conclusion that it is best not to attempt reasoning with them4 ,under such feelings1 indeed1 by a singular freak of human nature1 scholars are often driven to do1 in sheer bravado or defiance1 the very things which they imagine to be unjustly imputed to them4 ,allow me1 my young friend1 to ask you candidly and in all seriousness to turn this matter over in your own mind4 ,what adequate motive can you imagine for a teacher's marking you otherwise than impartially8 ,every teacher has an interest in having as many high marks and as few demerits under his signature as possible4 ,it is not to his credit that he should be unable to maintain order without blackening his roll with bad marks4 ,a class roll filled with #j's is not the kind of evidence a teacher covets as to his skill in teaching4 ,notice the intercourse between the teachers and those scholars who are admitted on all hands to be strictly and conscientiously correct in their behavior4 ,see what a pleasure it affords the instructor to have to deal with such pupils4 ,see what a satisfaction the teacher experiences when1 at the close of the day1 there is not a demerit mark on his book4 ,judge1 then1 whether it is not likely to be a self-denial and a cross to him1 when a sense of duty compels him to do otherwise4 ,be slow1 therefore1 to impute bad marks to injustice1 or ill nature4 ,no man of course is infallible1 and teachers make mistakes as well as other people4 ,but the temptations to do intentional wrong are1 in this case1 all the other way4 #d4 ,closely connected with the habit just mentioned is the disposition to neglect particular branches of study4 ,from disliking a teacher1 the transition is easy to a dislike for his department4 ,others again1 without any personal feeling in the case1 think that they have a natural fitness for one class of studies1 and an equally natural un-fitness for another class4 ,so they content themselves with proficiency in that in which they already excel1 and neglect that in which they are deficient1 and which therefore they find difficult4 ,is this wise8 ,the branches which you find difficult1 are precisely those in which you need an instructor4 ,besides1 the object of education is to develop equally and harmoniously all your faculties4 ,if the memory1 the reasoning faculty1 the imagination1 or any one power of the mind1 is active far beyond the other powers1 that surely is no reason for giving additional stimulus and growth in that direction4 ,on the contrary1 bend your main energies towards bringing forward your other faculties to an equal development4 ,if you have a natural or acquired preference for mathematics1 and a dislike for languages1 the former study will take care of itself3 bend all your energies to the latter4 ,so1 if languages are your choice1 and mathematical study your aversion1 take hold of the odious task with steady and sturdy endeavor1 and you will soon convert it into a pleasure4 ,the same is true of grammar1 of geography1 of history1 of composition1 of rhetoric1 of mental and moral science1 of elocution1--of every branch4 ,if you are wise1 you will give your chief attention in school to those branches for which you feel the least inclination1 and in which you find it most difficult to excel4 ,you should do so1 because1 in the first place1 this failure and disinclination1 in nine cases out of ten1 grow out of defective training heretofore1 and not from any defect in your mental constitution2 and1 secondly1 if your natural constitution should be1 as in some cases it is1 one-sided and exceptional1 your aim should be to correct and cure1 not to aggravate1 the defects of nature4 ,this advice1 you will observe1 relates to your course in school1 not to your choice of a profession in life4 ,when your career in school is finished1 and you are about to select a profession1 follow by all means the bent of your genius4 ,do that for which you have the greatest natural or acquired aptitude4 ,but here1 the case is different4 ,your aim in school is to develop your powers1--to grow into an accomplished and capable man1--to acquire complete command of all the mental resources ,god has given you4 #e4 ,there is a practice1 common to school-life everywhere1 known by the not very dignified name of cheating4 ,there is1 ,i fear1 among young people generally1 while at school1 an erroneous and mischievous state of opinion on this subject4 ,deception in regard to your lessons is not viewed1 as it should be1 in the light of a serious moral delinquency4 ,an ingenuous youth1 who would scorn to steal1 and scorn to lie anywhere else than at school1 makes no scruple to deceive a teacher4 ,is honesty a thing of place and time8 ,i do not say1 ,i would not trust at my money-drawer the boy who has been cheating at his lessons1 because a boy may have been led into the latter delinquency by a false notion of right1 which as yet has not affected his integrity in matters of business4 ,but this ,i do say4 ,cheating at school blunts the moral sense2 it impairs the sense of personal honor2 it breaks down the outworks of integrity2 it leads by direct and easy steps to that grosser cheating which ends in the penitentiary4 ,on this subject1 ,i once had a most painful experience4 ,a boy left school with as fair a character for honesty as many others against whom nothing can be said except that they do sometimes practise deceit in regard to their lessons4 ,i really believed him to be an honest boy1 and recommended him as such4 ,by means of the recommendation1 he obtained in a large store a responsible post connected with the receipt and payment of money4 ,his employer was pleased with his abilities1 and disposed to give him rapid promotion4 ,after a few months1 ,i inquired after him1 and found that he had been detected in forcing his balances6 ,i do verily believe1 the dishonest purpose1 which led to this pecuniary fraud1 grew directly out of a facility at deception acquired at school4 ,he had cheated his teacher2 he had cheated his father2 he had obtained a fictitious average2 he had gained a standing and credit in school not justly his due2 why should he not exercise the same ingenuity in improving his pecuniary resources8 ,independently of the moral effect of these deceptive practices upon your own character1 is there not in the acts themselves an inherent meanness and baseness1 from which a pure-minded youth would instinctively recoil8 ,is there not something false and rotten in the prevailing sentiment on this subject among young persons at school8 ,when by some convenient fiction you reach a higher standard than your merits entitle you to1 is it not so far forth at the expense of some more conscientious competitor8 ,and1 after all1 when you deceive a teacher into the belief that you are studying when you are not1 that you know a thing when you do not know it1 that you wrote a composition1 or executed a drawing1 which was done by some one else1--whom do you cheat but yourself8 ,you may deceive the teacher1 but the loss is yours4 #f4 ,if there could be such a thing as an innocent crime1 ,i would say it was that of talking in school4 ,there can hardly be named a more signal instance of an act so perfectly innocent in itself1 becoming so seriously blame-worthy purely and solely by circumstances4 ,i believe ,i express the common opinion of all who have had any experience in the matter1 when ,i say that three fourths of all the intentional disorder1 and at least nine tenths of all the actual interruptions to study1 grow out of the practice of unlicensed talking4 ,and yet this is the very last thing which young persons will admit into their serious1 practical convictions as being an evil and a wrong4 ,they may admit that they get bad marks by it2 that it brings them into trouble2 but that it is really an evil1 meriting the strictures with which the teacher visits it1 is more than they believe4 ,what deceives them is this4 ,they call to mind the events of a particular hour4 ,there was during that hour1 according to their recollection1 a general attention to study1 and no special disorder2 perhaps some three or four of the pupils noted for talking4 ,this talking1 too1 may have been about the lesson1 or at all events was not such as to distract very perceptibly the current of instruction4 ,hence the inference that a moderate amount of talking1 such as that was1 is perfectly consistent with decorum and progress4 ,so it is4 ,but what is to secure this moderate amount8 ,what right have you to talk that is not enjoyed by your neighbor8 ,if one may talk1 so may all2 if one does it1 unchecked1 so will all1 as you very well know4 ,how is the teacher to know whether you are talking about the lesson1 or about the last cricket-match8 ,this is a perfectly plain question1 and ,i press you to an answer4 ,there is no practical medium between unlimited license to talk--against which you would yourself be the first to protest--and an entire prohibition4 ,i put it to your conscience1 whether you do not believe1 were this rule strictly and in good faith observed1 that the interests of the school1 and your own interest1 comfort1 and honor1 would be greatly promoted8 ,is the inconvenience which this rule imposes so great1 or your habit of self-indulgence so strong1 that you cannot1 or will not1 forego a slight temporary gratification for so substantial and lasting a benefit8 #g4 ,you will avoid much of the difficulty of observing this rule1 if you give heed to the next counsel which ,i have now to give1 and that is1 that you economize carefully your time in school4 ,on this point some excellent and conscientious pupils occasionally err4 ,they are very faithful in home preparation2 very attentive at lectures2 very industrious in discharging any set duty4 ,but they have not yet learned the true secret of all economy1 whether of time1 money1 or any other good1--namely1 the knowing how to use well the odds and ends4 ,take care of the pence1 was ,franklin's motto4 ,if you once have the secret of occupying usefully1 in studious preparation1 or in wise repetition1 all those little intervals of interrupted instruction1 which necessarily occur throughout the day1 you will in the first place almost insure for yourself an entire freedom from demerit marks of every kind2 you will secondly add materially to your intellectual progress2 and1 lastly1 you will acquire a habit of the utmost value in every station and walk in life2 and1 depend upon it1 the habits you acquire at school1 are of all your acquisitions by far the most important4 #h4 ,but ,i would be false to my most settled convictions1 were ,i to stop here4 ,i have been a teacher of the young nearly all my life1 and as the result of such a life-long professional experience1 ,i have no conviction more abiding than this1 that the fear of ,god is the beginning of knowledge4 ,i believe that mental growth is just as directly the gift of ,god as bodily growth2 that the healthy action of the mind is as much dependent on his good pleasure as the healthy action of the bodily functions4 ,god has not only made one mind superior to another1 but of two minds naturally equal1 he can1 at his sovereign pleasure1 make one grow and expand more rapidly than another4 ,as he can give symmetry and strength to your limbs1 and clothe your features with beauty and grace1 so he can make you quick of apprehension1 clear of discernment1 ready and tenacious to remember1 delicate in your appreciation of what is beautiful4 ,while1 therefore1 you are diligent in your studies1 remember that the reward of your labor1 after all1 is the gift of ,god4 ,you will neglect one essential means of intellectual progress1 if you neglect prayer4 ,i mean1 not prayer in general1 but specific prayer for ,god's blessing on your studies2 prayer that ,god will bless your efforts to learn4 ,keep your mind1 while engaged in study1 in a habitual state of expectancy1 especially when grappling with intellectual difficulties1 as if inwardly looking up for help to that all-knowing ,spirit1 who alone1 of all beings1 acts directly on our spirits4 ,i cannot doubt that one who studies in such a frame of mind1 will advance in his intellectual progress more rapidly for it4 ,i have a most assured conviction that prayer is a direct and important means of mental growth4 ,not only will the fear of ,god restrain you from many of the usual hindrances to study1 of which ,i have already spoken1 but a truly devout spirit is the very best state of mind for learning1 even for learning purely intellectual truth4 ,there are other and higher motives1 why you should cultivate1 habitually1 the fear of ,god4 ,of these motives1 it is not my office to speak now4 ,they are often pressed upon your attention4 ,the one point to which ,i direct you now1 is the importance of such a state of mind to your making the best1 and surest1 and noblest kind of mental growth4 ,if you would grow rapidly in knowledge1 grow symmetrically and beautifully1 with all your faculties in harmonious preparation and dependence1 fear ,god4 ,keep your spirit in habitual intercourse and communion with that ,almighty ,spirit who is the source of all knowledge and wisdom4 ,in the school-room1 at your desk1 in your recitations1 and your exercises of every kind1 let the thought that the eye of a loving ,father is upon you1 diffuse habitually a calm and sweet peace through your spirit1 and depend upon it1 you will not find your mental vision dimmed by moving in so pure and serene an atmosphere4 ,there are no quickeners to knowledge equal to love1 reverence1 and earnest prayer4 ,let me1 in conclusion1 tender you my best wishes for your success in the career now before you4 ,that success depends1 in no small degree1 upon the feeling and spirit with which you begin4 ,only summon up your mind to a serious and determined resolution at the outset2 aim high2 do not flinch at self-denial2 rise above the unworthy suspicion that this or that teacher is unfair to you2 resist the disposition to shirk those studies that you find disagreeable or difficult2 keep clear of every kind and degree of trickery2 come straight up to a full and strict compliance with every rule2 lay your plans to occupy usefully each golden moment of leisure2 cultivate a constant sense of dependence upon ,god for success in study3 and your success will be as certain as is the wish for it1 which ,i once more1 most respectfully and affectionately1 tender you4 99 99 99 99 99 #c4 ,to a ,young ,lady on ,leaving a ,boarding-,school4 ,you are about to leave school4 ,the occasion is one certainly that cannot fail to awaken reflection4 ,i suppose that no young lady1 who had been at a place of education as long as you have been here1 ever left it without serious thought4 ,the excitement of the examination1 the busy whirl of preparation for leaving1 even the exhilarating anticipations of home-going1 cannot entirely shut out from your mind the sober truth that the end of school-days is only the beginning of another career1--a career1 the issue of which you can neither foresee1 nor can you be indifferent to it4 ,let us talk a little about this4 ,the day on which a young man ends his ,college course is called1 by an apparent misnomer1 ,commencement day2 that is1 the day of commencing1 or beginning4 ,i understand very well that the name has a definite historical origin1--that in the old ,english ,colleges1 from which our ,american ,colleges were modelled1 the young man1 on this day1 begins his career as a ,bachelor of ,arts4 ,his academical rank commences and dates from this point4 ,but there would be a beautiful appropriateness in the term1 even if it had no such special historical origin4 ,the exit from the curriculum of the ,college or ,school1 is1 in truth1 only the entrance into a more extended course4 ,when your studies are nominally ended1 they have really only begun4 ,the longer you live1 the more will you understand that the period of school-going is not the only1 or even the main time of learning4 ,the more thoroughly you have been taught here1 the more certainly will you be a learner hereafter4 ,i want no better test of the character of a school than the extent to which the idea prevails among its pupils and alumni1 that it is a place for finishing one's studies4 ,the idea is on a par with that of the young ,miss who reported that she had read through ,latin6 ,there is1 it is true1 in this ,school1 a definite curriculum of studies1 and that curriculum you have honorably completed4 ,you have just been received by public acknowledgment into the community of educated women4 ,but you will be false to the honorable sisterhood1 false1 ,i am sure1 to all the teachings you have received here1 if you entertain for a moment the thought that no further intellectual acquisitions are before you4 ,the branches which you have learned thus far are chiefly valuable to you for the power they have given you to make still further improvement4 ,the studies pursued at school1 and during the period of youth1 are mainly intended for promoting intellectual growth1 for giving us power1 for perfecting our mental machinery4 ,our real acquisitions come afterward4 ,i speak1 of course1 of those who occupy the higher stations in society4 ,to one who has to earn his bread by mere bodily toil1 the few studies for which he has leisure in youth1 must1 of course1 be such as are directly serviceable in his calling4 ,but to those who claim to belong to the educated portion of the community1 school studies are of right directed more to the development of the mental and moral powers1 than to positive acquisition4 ,your instructors return you to your friends and your home with a mind enlarged1 with a taste refined1 with a judgment corrected1 ready to take your place and act well your part1 as an educated woman4 ,but remember1 she is not an educated woman1 who knows no more this year than she did last4 ,true education is growth1 and it never stands still4 ,the tree which has ceased to grow1 has begun to decay4 ,this1 then1 is the one thought that ,i would have you take away with you from school4 ,give no place to the idea that henceforth books and study and elegant culture are to be laid aside4 ,it would be a dishonor to your ,school1 and a mistake of the first magnitude for yourself4 ,perhaps you will appreciate this point more adequately1 if you will turn your thoughts inward for a moment1 and reflect upon the change which has been quietly going on in your own self and during your residence here4 ,one whose occupation calls him almost daily to communicate his ideas to young persons1 either by formal address1 or by more familiar ways1 feels to a greater degree1 perhaps1 than any other person can1 the change to which ,i refer4 ,i mean that increased quickness of intellectual apprehension produced by a judicious and symmetrical course of study4 ,let me give you an instance4 ,it fell to my lot1 not long since1 to address a ,school containing three hundred young ladies1 all boarders1 all over seventeen years of age4 ,they were the best audience ,i ever had4 ,among them was not one1 who did not appear to be intelligent and thoughtful1 and with a mind more or less disciplined4 ,but there were perceptible differences among them1 and it is to this point that ,i would direct your attention4 ,they were divided into four distinct classes1 having attended the ,school severally one1 two1 three1 and four years1 and they were arranged before me in the order of their seniority as classes4 ,the discourse was long and didactic1 and portions of it were not easy to follow1 containing a discussion of a rather abstruse point in mental philosophy4 ,now it seemed to me1 on concluding the address1 that ,i could have gone through that assembly1 and marked with tolerable accuracy1 class by class1 just where each class ended and another class began1 simply by what ,i had read in the faces of my young auditors4 ,it was written as plainly upon those upturned faces1 as was the discourse itself upon the manuscript before me4 ,those who had been four years in the ,school1 undoubtedly learned manifold more from the exercise than the junior classes did4 ,i could see it in the delivery of every paragraph4 ,such is the uniform result of a proper course of study4 ,it enables the student to grasp new truths with increased ease and readiness4 ,we1 who are teachers1 feel this the moment we undertake to communicate our thoughts to an audience4 ,the consequence is1 we involuntarily measure what has been done educationally for a class of young persons1 by the development which has been given to their powers1--by the manifest facility which they have gained for making further gains4 ,that young woman is best educated who is best prepared to learn4 ,let me1 then1 renew the appeal to your own consciousness4 ,think for a moment upon the change which has been wrought in your own self during your career here4 ,compare your present self with that other self that you may remember some three or four years back4 ,how much more you can accomplish now than you could then6 ,how much more clearly you can follow out a train of reasoning6 ,how much more easily you can compass an argument6 ,how much more you can enjoy what is beautiful6 ,how much more quickly and accurately you can remember6 ,how much more you can command your attention6 ,whence this change1 and what does it purport8 ,it means that you are educated4 ,you have now a degree of mental power that you had not then4 ,your own consciousness tells you that you are now just in the condition to enter upon your harvest4 ,the field is before you4 ,you are girded for the work4 ,and will you now indolently lay aside the sickle1 and let the golden grain fall to the ground ungathered8 ,could there be a more egregious mistake8 ,last week1 ,i saw from my window two parent birds tempting their young fledglings from the nest4 ,day by day1 week by week1 ,i had seen the child-birds growing and gaining strength4 ,their muscles were now well developed1 their bodies were clothed with feathers1 they had learned to use their wings1--they could fly4 ,would it not have been passing strange1 had they continued as they were1 contented to cower and to crawl1 when they had acquired the power to soar8 ,and will you be content to remain forever only a fledgling1 satisfied with having acquired the power of rising1 but never actually using the wings which these years of honorable industry have given you8 ,some of your sex are willing to admit the force of this argument when applied to men4 ,a man1 after graduating1 is expected of course to continue his studies4 ,his whole profession is one continued study4 ,but somehow1 it is thought1 this truth does not hold good for women4 ,let me hope that you at least will not harbor such a notion4 ,whatever may be said of women's rights1 one right certainly1 and one duty1 is to keep yourself abreast of the other sex in continued mental growth and culture1 and in general intelligence4 ,if you would awaken true respect in my sex1 and ,i hold it a not unworthy ambition1 you must in this matter do as we do1 at least as those of us do who are worth your consideration at all4 ,you must perseveringly1 every year1 add to your intellectual acquisitions4 ,you must continue steadily to grow in knowledge and mental power4 ,do not cease your studies1 because you have ceased going to school4 ,manage to have some elegant accomplishment or acquisition always in hand4 ,a woman who is wise in this matter1 never passes her prime4 ,i speak not1 of course1 of the decrepitude of old age and of the decay of the faculties4 ,but so long as the faculties remain unimpaired1 a woman may become1 and should aim to become1 increasingly attractive1 as she advances in years4 ,poets sing of sweet sixteen4 ,let me assure you1 a woman may be charming at sixty4 ,mrs4 ,madison even at seventy was the most attractive woman in ,washington4 ,in society1 how soon one feels the difference between a person who reads1 and one who does not read4 ,two ladies may be of the same age4 ,they may dress alike4 ,they may have the same advantages of person4 ,they may move in the same social circle4 ,yet you will not have been ten minutes in their society1 though the conversation has been on only the most common topics of the day1 before you will feel that the one woman1 though at thirty or forty1 is still only a superannuated school-girl1 with even less resources than when she left the seminary1 while the other is a delightful companion for persons of any age1 with ready knowledge for whatever turn the conversation may take1 and so abounding in resources as not even to be open to the temptation of making a display of them4 ,the one can talk only so long as the conversation turns on dress1 gossip1 or the discussion of private character4 ,in listening to the talk of such a woman1 you hardly hear a sentence which is not based upon personalities4 ,her mind has not been fed and nurtured from day to day with beautiful and noble thoughts1 with history and science and general knowledge4 ,she may be amiable4 ,she may have personal beauty4 ,but you find her empty and vapid1 and you weary of her1 in spite of the very best intentions of being interested4 ,how different the woman who1 in spite of social exactions1 and even of accumulating domestic duties1 and of the time-consuming tax of dress1 still keeps her mind fresh and growing1 by means of reading and culture1--who is ever adding to her stores of knowledge some new science1 to her varied skill some new attainment1--who has ever in hand some new book4 ,it is true1 indeed1 that some ladies are blessed with more leisure for this purpose than others4 ,but ,i fear it is not a question of more and less4 ,it is too much a question of some and none4 ,i hold that every woman is entitled to have1 and by proper determination she may have1 some time for personal improvement4 ,remember1 we have duties to ourselves1 as well as to others1 and we have no duty to ourselves more sacred than this1--to rescue from our time some portion for the purpose of making ourselves more worthy of regard4 ,to undertake to suggest what particular studies you should pursue1 in this larger school to which you are now admitted1 would lead me into a train of remark entirely too extended4 ,one single practical suggestion may perhaps be pardoned4 ,do not willingly relinquish the acquisitions already made4 ,they are to you the true foundations for future improvement4 ,you have fairly entered upon several important fields in the domain of science4 ,you are familiar with the elements of ,natural ,philosophy1 ,chemistry1 ,botany1 ,physiology1 ,mental ,philosophy1 ,rhetoric1 and with the foundations of ,mathematical ,science4 ,my advice is that in coming years you give to each of these branches1 and of whatever else you have studied here1 a stated systematic review4 ,you have some skill in drawing and painting4 ,let not so graceful an accomplishment die out from your fingers4 ,you excel in music4 ,i need not say1 if you would retain this excellence1 you must give time to practice and study4 ,so1 whatever talent or attainment you now have1 let it be your fixed purpose not to let it pass from your possession4 ,keep what you have1 whatever else you may fail to do4 ,to this end1 as ,i said before1 give to each of your school studies an occasional well-considered review4 ,you will then always have in your mind certain fixed points1 to which the miscellaneous knowledge picked up in your general reading will adhere1 and around which it will accumulate in organized form4 ,new studies1 too1 will naturally affiliate with the old1 and will be easy and pleasant just in proportion as you keep the knowledge that you now have1 fresh and bright4 ,besides this general advice1 there is one accomplishment in particular1 which ,i would earnestly recommend to you1 as ,i am in the habit of doing to all of your sex4 ,cultivate assiduously the ability to read well4 ,i stop to particularize this1 because it is a thing so very much neglected1 and because it is so very elegant1 charming1 and lady-like an accomplishment4 ,where one person is really interested by music1 twenty are pleased with good reading4 ,where one person is capable of becoming a skilful musician1 twenty may become good readers4 ,where there is one occasion suitable for the exercise of musical talent1 there are twenty for that of reading4 ,the culture of the voice necessary for reading well1 gives a delightful charm to the same voice in conversation4 ,good reading is the natural exponent and vehicle of all good things4 ,it is the most effective of all commentaries upon the works of genius4 ,it seems to bring dead authors to life again1 and makes us sit down familiarly with the great and good of all ages4 ,did you ever notice what life and power the ,holy ,scriptures have1 when well read8 ,have you ever heard of the wonderful effects produced by ,elizabeth ,fry among the hardened criminals of ,newgate1 by simply reading to them the parable of the ,prodigal ,son8 ,princes and peers of the realm1 it is said1 counted it a privilege to stand in those dismal corridors1 among felons and murderers1 merely to share with them the privilege of witnessing the marvellous pathos which genius1 taste1 and culture could infuse into that simple story4 ,what a fascination there is in really good reading6 ,what a power it gives one6 ,in the hospital1 in the chamber of the invalid1 in the nursery1 in the domestic and the social circle1 among chosen friends and companions1 how it enables you to minister to the amusement1 the comfort1 the pleasure of dear ones1 as no other art or accomplishment can4 ,no instrument of man's devising can reach the heart1 as does that most wonderful instrument1 the human voice4 ,it is ,god's special gift and endowment to his chosen creatures4 ,fold it not away in a napkin4 ,if you would double the value of all your other acquisitions2 if you would add immeasurably to your own enjoyment1 and to your power of promoting the enjoyment of others1 cultivate with incessant care this ,divine gift4 ,no music below the skies is equal to that of pure1 silvery speech from the lips of a man or woman of high culture4 99 99 99 99 99 #d4 ,to a ,pupil on ,entering a ,normal ,school4 ,you have entered upon a new and untried path4 ,as one having been often over this way1 and well acquainted with the features of the country before you1 its lights and shadows1 its roses and its thorns1 its safe walks and its hidden pitfalls1 ,i desire to talk with you a while before you enter upon the untried scene4 #a4 ,first of all let me say to you1 we give you a most hearty welcome4 ,we are glad to see you here1 and we tender to you in advance a warm and ready sympathy in the many little worries1 annoyances1 and discouragements that surely await you4 ,for myself ,i may truly say1 that1 outside of my own home1 ,i have no greater happiness than to be among my pupils1 and few things could pain me more than to believe that any one who had been for any considerable time my pupil would not almost unconsciously claim me as a friend2 and it is an unceasing well-spring of joy for me to know that among your companions are many who1 in time of trouble or difficulty or anxiety of any kind1 would come to the ,principal of the ,school1 as sure of sympathy as if going to their own mother4 ,this freedom of intercourse between teachers and their pupils1 this mutual exchange of confidence on one side and of sympathy on the other1 is a source of good and a source of pleasure1 which neither you nor we1 my young friend1 can afford to forego2 and if in the expression of this thought ,i have indulged in a rather unseemly use of the first person singular1 it is not because ,i would claim for myself anything peculiar in this matter1 but because1 from my years and my position1 ,i can perhaps1 better than my associates1 afford to speak out thus the inward promptings of the heart4 ,we all give you the right hand of fellowship1 and trust it will not be many weeks1 or days even1 before you shall feel that you have here a home as well as a school1 friends as well as teachers4 #b4 ,a very common feeling at the beginning of a course of study1 is a feeling of discouragement4 ,nearly all the studies are new1 and you enter upon each with fresh eagerness4 ,now1 it is in the nature of every study while it is new1 to seem boundless4 ,under the guiding hand of a skilful teacher1 its limits and capabilities are stretched out in one direction and another1 interminable vistas spread out in the distance1 and portentous difficulties rise up before the imagination1 until the mind is bewildered4 ,there is not one1 of the formidable lists of studies before you1 that might not of itself1 so great are its capabilities1 occupy your whole time4 ,when you find yourself called to grapple at once with four or five such studies1 to measure yourself with competitors1 many of whom have had opportunities of preparation greatly superior to your own1 and in the presence of teachers to whom the whole subject is as familiar and as plain as the alphabet1 and when1 in addition1 the methods of recitation are for the most part new and strange1 you are very apt to become discouraged1 to feel that you shall never learn to recite in the manner required1 that you can never master the difficulties before you4 ,this feeling arises most frequently in the best class of minds1 those most conscientious in regard to duty and most capable of comprehending the full length and breadth and depth of a subject4 ,the shallow and the trifling are never troubled with the kind of difficulties now under consideration4 ,i address myself to you1 my young friend1 because ,i know you have come here with an earnest purpose1 with a mind acute enough to see something of the vast work before you1 and ,i say to you1 as one who has had large experience in conducting other pilgrims over the same track1 never lose heart4 ,difficulties which now seem insurmountable1 will gradually disappear2 subjects which now seem impenetrable1 will soon lighten up4 ,did you never enter a room in the dark8 ,at first the apartment is a universal blank4 ,after a while1 as your eyes become adjusted to the place1 one article after another of the furniture becomes outlined to the vision1 until at length1 especially if approaching day lends some additional rays of light1 the whole scene stands out perfectly defined4 ,so it is in entering upon a new study4 ,many a passage in it will seem to you at first a worse than ,serbonian bog--a cave of impenetrable and undistinguishable darkness4 ,but draw not back4 ,look steadily on4 ,light will come in time4 ,your power of seeing will1 with every new trial1 receive adjustment and growth1 and you will in the end see with full and open vision where now you have only dim glimpses and guesses4 ,do not be discouraged1 therefore1 if at first you fail1 or seem to yourself to fail1 in almost every recitation you undertake4 ,what seems impossible to-day1 will be only next to impossible to-morrow1 and only very difficult the day after4 ,your failures are often only the proofs that you have a glimpse at least of something below the surface of things4 ,a discouraged pupil is never a source of anxiety to me4 ,it is only the self-confident and over-wearing that are hopeless4 #c4 ,i have spoken of recitations4 ,let me urge you to form some definite idea of what a recitation is1 and what kind of a recitation you1 as a pupil of a ,normal ,school1 should aim to make4 ,and first of all1 on this point1 let me say1 the mere answering of questions1 and especially1 the mere response of yes and no to questions1 is not reciting1--assuredly not such reciting as is to fit you for the office of a teacher4 ,and1 in the next place1 let me say1 that repeating verbatim the words of the book1 is not the method of recitation at which you should aim4 ,i do not agree with those who would dissuade you entirely from cultivating the faculty and enriching the stores of memory4 ,not only memory1 in its general exercise1 but a purely verbal memory1 is important4 ,in your lessons1 are many things1 rules1 definitions1 and so forth1 that should be learned with the most literal exactness1 and should be so fixed in the memory that they will come at your bidding1 in any place1 at any moment4 ,there are1 too1 in some of your books1 passages from noble authors1 which furnish food and nourishment to the soul1 and which the mind craves in the very form and lineaments of their birth--passages which are like nuggets of virgin gold1 or coins from the mint of some great sovereign in the realms of thought4 ,they form a part of your wealth1 and you want them1 neither clipped1 nor defaced1 nor alloyed1 but with every word and point exactly as it came from the hand of the master4 ,these precious gems of thought1 the garnered wealth of the ages1 will not be neglected by any one who is wise4 ,treasure up in your intellectual storehouse as many of them as you can possibly compass1 only with this proviso1 be careful to select for this purpose the very best out of the great abundance that is before you1 and make thorough work in what you do attempt to commit to memory4 ,the act of memorizing will at once strengthen the faculty of memory itself1 and will enrich you otherwise4 ,by all means1 therefore1 learn by heart the leading definitions and rules of your text-books1 and choice passages from all famous authors4 ,but do not attempt in this way to commit to memory1 or to recite verbatim1 the pages of your history1 geography1 rhetoric1 and so forth4 ,such a practice would be a most unwise waste of your time1 and would cause a weakening1 rather than a strengthening1 of your faculties4 ,let me tell you exactly what ,i mean by reciting4 ,your teacher goes to the board and1 chalk in hand1 explains to the class some point which they seem not to have apprehended4 ,that is my idea of reciting4 ,first get thorough possession of the thoughts or facts of the lesson1 and then1 imagining the class and the teacher to be ignorant of the subject1 explain it to them1 just as you will expect to do when the time comes that you will have a class of your own to instruct4 ,it will aid you in preparing thus to recite a lesson1 if in your rooms you will go over it aloud to each other1 you and your room-mate1 taking alternate portions4 ,such a method of preparation will doubtless require some time4 ,but one lesson so prepared will be worth more to you than a whole week of study conducted in the ordinary manner4 ,remember1 that in a ,normal ,school your object is1 not merely to get knowledge1 but to learn how to communicate what you have learned4 ,first then go over a topic till you are sure you understand it4 ,then go over it again and again until you can recite readily and perfectly every part of it1 in its order4 ,then practise yourself in telling it in your own words1 aloud1 if possible1 to somebody else1 until you can make the narration or explanation continuously1 from beginning to end1 and without the possibility of being thrown out or confused by any amount of interruptions4 ,then at length are you prepared to recite4 ,is this standard of recitation too high8 ,is it not what every one of your teachers does daily1 and what you yourself will have to do the very first time you take your position as a teacher of others8 #d4 ,this leads me by a natural transition to the subject of study4 ,you need to learn how to study1 as much as you need to learn how to recite4 ,endeavor then to get some definite idea in your mind of what it is really to study4 ,mere reading is not study4 ,muttering the words over in a low1 gurgling tone1 or letting them glide in a soft1 half-audible ripple upon your lips1 is not study4 ,going over the lesson in a listless1 dreamy way1 one eye on the book and one eye ready for whatever is going on in other parts of the room1 is not study4 ,study is work4 ,study is agony4 ,the whole soul must be roused1 its every energy put forth1 with a fixed1 rapt attention1 like that of a man struggling with a giant4 ,study1 worthy of the name1 forgets for the time every thing else1 excludes every thing else1 is incapable of being diverted by any thing else1 the whole internal and external man being bent upon making just one thing its own4 ,such study of course soon exhausts the energies4 ,it cannot be long protracted1 nor need it be protracted4 ,take rest in the season of rest2 but1 when you study1 study with all your might4 ,throw your whole soul into it4 ,one hour of such study accomplishes more than whole days of listless poring over books4 ,and1 remember1 you cannot study in this manner by merely willing to do it4 ,it is an art1 requiring training and practice1 and thorough mental discipline4 ,you might as well1 on seeing the ,writing-,master executing those marvels of penmanship1 or the ,drawing-,teacher with deft fingers limning with ease forms of grace and beauty1 resolve to go forthwith to the board and do the same thing1 as expect1 by a mere sic volo1 to become a student4 ,you are here to learn how to study1 and the art will come to you only by slow progress1 and after many trials4 ,give up the illusion that absolute seclusion and silence are necessary to study4 ,i do not say that they are not at times desirable4 ,but they do not of themselves generate earnest thought4 ,the vacant mind1 that has not yet learned to think1 is when thus left to solitude and stillness1 quite as likely to go a wool-gathering1 or to fall asleep1 as to wrestle with some hard uninviting train of thought4 ,the appliances and the invitations to mental application1 if we have really learned to study1 must be mainly in ourselves1 not in our surroundings4 ,besides1 the greater part of the actual thinking and study1 that has to be done by those in professional life1 that will have to be done by you1 when you enter upon the practice of your profession as a teacher1 must be done in circumstances not of your own choosing1 just as time and opportunity may offer1 by snatches1 and at odd intervals1 and often in the midst of distracting sights and sounds4 ,i venture to say that three fourths of the graduates of this school1 who are now teaching1 have no opportunity for daily study and preparation for the duties of the school-room1 except that afforded by a seat in the evening in the common sitting-room of the family1 surrounded by children that are not always models of behavior1 and within sight and hearing of all the petty details of household life4 ,it is not therefore in itself undesirable that a part at least of your study at school should be performed in a common room1 where there are some temptations to be resisted1 some distractions to be ignored4 ,acquiring the ability to study without distraction in the presence of others and in the midst even of confusion and noise1 is as important to you as is the learning how to think aloud1 in the presence of a class1 which ,i have defined to be the true nature of a recitation4 ,the ability to study and the ability to recite are intimately correlated1 and the symptoms of both are unmistakable to the practised eye and ear4 ,i know just as well1 by a glance of the eye on entering a study-room1 what pupils are making intellectual growth1 as ,i do on entering the class-room and listening to the recitations4 ,one might as well feign to be in a fever1 as to feign study4 ,nothing but the thing itself can assume its appearance4 #e4 ,i approach my next subject of remark with some hesitation4 ,yet on no point1 in the whole theory of mental action1 have ,i a more fixed and assured conviction4 ,perhaps ,i may explain my meaning better1 if ,i introduce it with one or two comparisons4 ,action of every kind1 mental or material1 is to be aided or accelerated1 if at all1 by forces of the same kind with the primary force4 ,if a certain amount of weight avoirdupois will not make the scale kick the beam1 we may produce the effect by laying on the requisite number of additional pounds1--by adding force of the same kind with the original4 ,if the flame of one candle does not produce the illumination required for a particular effort1 the addition of a second or a third will4 ,if we wish to increase the speed of a locomotive1 we do not whistle to it1 or whip it1 or say get up2 we add steam4 ,if on the other hand we wish our horse to travel faster1 we use a motive addressed to his nature4 ,we appeal to his generosity1 his pride1 or his fear4 ,so mental action is influenced and induced by forces of the same nature with itself4 ,one mind influences powerfully another mind1 working upon us often1 too1 by mysterious influences that elude analysis4 ,the influence of mind upon mind1 other things being equal1 is in proportion to the degree of perfection in which these three conditions exist1 to wit1 the fulness of accord and sympathy between the minds that are brought into contact1 the closeness of the contact1 and the greatness and power of the influencing and controlling mind4 ,these three points hardly need explanation or argument4 ,nothing is more obvious than that a mind fully in sympathy with another1 does by that very circumstance exercise an increased mental power on that other4 ,in like manner we all feel daily how our minds are lifted up1 enlarged1 enlightened1 strengthened1 by intercourse with one of powerful intellect4 ,and how often have we felt1 when ourselves wishing to influence any one1 particularly when wishing to influence one much younger and weaker than ourselves1 that we might accomplish our ends the better1 if we could only know certainly and exactly what he was thinking1 if we could as it were actually get into the chamber of his soul4 ,this indeed we can never do4 ,we think sometimes that we come very near to each other4 ,but after all we never touch4 ,between my mind and yours1 between yours and that of the most intimate friend you have in the world1 there is a barrier1 high as heaven1 deep as hell1 impenetrable as adamant4 ,thus far can we come and no farther4 ,we can never enter into the soul of any human being4 ,no human being can ever enter into ours4 ,yet1 my dear pupil1 did it never occur to you1 that there is ,one ,mind1 and that a mind of infinitely great and transcendent power1 to which there is no such barrier1 and that this transcendent1 all-knowing1 all-powerful mind1 is continually in direct contact with the very essence of your mind8 ,can ,i influence your thinking faculties1 and cannot the infinite ,god1 who made those faculties8 ,can ,he who gave our bodies all their power of growth and strength1 not give growth and strength to our minds8 ,i do not profess to understand how the divine mind acts upon the human mind4 ,i cannot always understand even how one human mind acts upon another4 ,but of the fact ,i make no more question1 than ,i do of the powers of flame1 of steam1 or of gravitation4 ,and1 as one set here to guide you in your mental progress1 in all sober earnestness1 ,i exhort you devoutly to invoke the aid of the ,holy ,ghost in the promotion of your studies--not merely to help you to use your acquisitions rightly1 for his honor and the good of your kind1 but to help you in making those acquisitions4 ,if you would rise superior to discouragement1 if you would acquire that mental discipline which is to enable you to study1 and to recite and to teach in the very best and highest manner1 pray4 ,call mightily upon ,god the ,holy ,ghost1 who is after all the great educator and teacher of the human race4 ,carry your feeble lamp to the great fountain of light and radiance4 ,put your heart into full accord and sympathy with that of your dear elder ,brother4 ,wrestle mightily with ,god in secret1 as one that feels the burden of a great want4 ,thus1 my dear pupil1 will you best fit yourself for the duties of a student and of a teacher4 ,for1 believe me1 there is sound philosophy as well as religion1 in the utterance of the wise man1 ,the fear of the ,lord is the beginning of knowledge4 ,surely that man is a fool1 who in cultivating mind1 whether his own or that of another1 neglects to invoke the aid of the ,infinite ,mind4 ,,xxix4 ,,an ,,argument ,,for ,,common ,,schools4 ,the argument for popular education is familiar and trite1 and yet it needs to be occasionally re-stated and enforced4 ,there is no community in which there is not a considerable number of persons grossly and dangerously ignorant1 and there are many communities in which the majority of the people are in this condition4 ,there is no community in which the importance of general education is over-estimated2 there are unfortunately many communities in which education is held to be the least important of public interests4 ,a brief discussion of the subject1 therefore1 can never be entirely out of place4 ,before proceeding to the direct argument1 let me notice some of the most common objections4 ,it is a not uncommon opinion1 that the business of education should be left1 like other kinds of business1 to the laws of trade4 ,it is said if a carpenter is wanted in any community1 or a blacksmith1 or a tailor1 or a lawyer1 or a doctor1 carpenters1 blacksmiths1 tailors1 lawyers1 and doctors will make their appearance4 ,if a store is wanted1 a store will spring up4 ,why not a school-house8 ,those who use this argument forget the essential difference between the two classes of wants to be supplied4 ,all men equally feel the distress1 if naked1 or hungry1 or sick1 or suffering from any material want4 ,the poor man1 no less than the rich1 feels the pinchings of hunger1 and will exert himself to remedy the evil4 ,the sick man1 even more than the well1 appreciates the value of medicine and the necessity of a physician4 ,not so in the matter of knowledge4 ,a man must himself be educated1 to understand the value of education4 ,there are exceptions1 of course4 ,yet it is substantially true1 that the want of education is not one of those felt and pinching necessities that compel men's attention1 and that consequently may be left to shift for themselves4 ,a man who has himself enjoyed the blessing of a good education1 expects to provide schools for his children1 as much as he expects to provide for them food and clothing4 ,the wants of their minds are to him pressing realities1 as much as are the wants of their bodies4 ,not so with the ignorant and debased neighbors1 who live within stone's throw of his dwelling4 ,they1 from their own experience1 know nothing better1 and are quite content1 both for themselves and their children1 to live on in the debased condition in which we see them4 ,if these wretched creatures are ever moved to seek a higher style of living and being1 the movement must originate outside of themselves4 ,it is a case in which the man of higher advantages must think and act for those below him4 ,it is a case in which people have a pressing need without knowing it1 and in which consequently the laws of supply and demand do not meet the emergency4 ,another common opinion on this subject is that private enterprise is adequate to meet the want4 ,private enterprise in education is not indeed to be discarded4 ,where the community as a whole1 in its organized capacity1 will do nothing1 let individuals do what they can4 ,in such cases1 let those who appreciate the advantages of education1 concert measures for the establishment of schools and the employment of teachers1 and for inducing parents who are indifferent to send their children4 ,by these private efforts1 the community may be gradually awakened to the importance of the subject1 and so be induced to take it up on their own account4 ,but private benevolence is not sufficient for so great a work4 ,private benevolence besides is apt to be fitful4 ,it is at best subject to interruption by death and by reverses of fortune1 while the cause is one which especially demands steadiness and continuity4 ,the means for educating a community or a city should no more be subject to interruption1 than the means of lighting it1 or of supplying it with water4 ,the argument for depending upon private enterprise for devising and providing the means for popular education1 would apply equally well to matters of police1 and to the protection of property4 ,the strong-armed and the sagacious can take care of themselves4 ,the stout-hearted and the good1 by due concert and combination1 could keep criminals in some check1 even in a country where there were no courts of justice1 or prisons1 or detective police4 ,but this is not the ordinary or the best mode of accomplishing the end1 nor could it in any case be thoroughly efficient4 ,the restraint and punishment of crime belong to society as a whole1 in its sovereign capacity4 ,to the same society belongs the duty of seeing that its members do not fall into degrading ignorance and vice4 ,god1 in ordaining human society1 had something higher in view than merely providing for the punishment of crime4 ,our ,heavenly ,father would have his children raised to the full enjoyment of their privileges as social and rational beings1 and he seems to have established society for this very end1 among others1 that there may be an agency and a machinery adequate and fitted to drag even the unwilling out of the mire into which they have fallen4 ,without such an interposition on the part of society as a whole1 the work will not be done4 ,the mass of the people will remain in ignorance in every community1 in which the community as such does not provide the means of education and general enlightenment4 ,it is often urged against common schools1 that they tend to impair parental obligation4 ,let us look this objection fairly in the face4 ,the argument is stated as follows4 ,if the community1 in its organic capacity as a civil government1 provides systematically for the instruction of the young1 the system1 just so far as it is successful and complete1 does away with the necessity for any other provision4 ,the parent1 finding this work done to his hands1 feels no necessity of looking after it himself1 and so gradually loses all sense of obligation on the subject4 ,such a result1 it is contended1 is in contravention of the plainest dictates of nature and the most positive teachings of religion1 both nature and religion requiring it as a primary duty of every parent to give his child a suitable education4 ,in meeting this objection1 the friends of common schools agree with the objector to the fullest extent in asserting the imperative1 universal1 irrepealable duty of the parent to educate his own child4 ,the duty is not the less binding on the parent1 because a like duty1 covering the same point1 rests also on the community4 ,the interests involved are so momentous1 that ,god in his wise ordination has given them a double security4 ,it is a case in which two distinct parties are both separately required to see one and the same thing done4 ,it is like taking two indorsers to a note4 ,the obligation of one indorser is not impaired1 because another man equally with himself is bound for payment ,if a child grows up in ignorance and vice1 while ,god will undoubtedly hold the parent responsible1 he will also not hold the community guiltless4 ,both parties will be guilty before him1 both parties will be punished4 ,a man is bound to maintain a certain amount of cleanliness about his habitation4 ,if he fails to do so1 and if in consequence of this failure the atmosphere around him becomes tainted and malarious1 he and his will suffer4 ,disease and death will visit his abode4 ,but the consequences will not end here4 ,the infection will extend4 ,the whole community will be affected by it4 ,the whole community1 equally with the individual1 are bound to see that the cause of the infection is removed4 ,the infection will not spare the community because the individual has generated it1 nor will it spare the individual because the community has failed to remove it4 ,each party has a duty and a peril of its own in regard to the same matter4 ,the fact is1 individuals and the community are so bound together1 that on many points their obligations lie in coincident lines4 ,the matter of education is one of these points4 ,god has ordained the parental relation1 and has implanted the parental affections1 for this very reason1 among others1 that the faculties of the helpless young immortal may have due training and development1--that this development may not be left to chance1 like that of a worthless weed1 but may have the protection and guardianship which are the necessary birthright of every rational creature brought into being by the voluntary act of another4 ,but ,god has ordained society also for this same end1 among others1 namely1 that his rational creatures may have a competent agency1 bound by the laws and necessities of its own welfare to make adequate provision for the instruction and education of every human being4 ,the one duty does not conflict with the other4 ,the one obligation does not impair the other4 ,both lie in coincident lines4 ,but1 as a question of fact1 is it true that common schools impair the sense of obligation in the minds of parents in regard to the duty of educating their children8 ,i affirm the fact to be exactly the contrary4 ,those communities in which there are no common schools1 and in which the people generally are in a state of deplorable ignorance1 are precisely those in which the sense of parental obligation on this point is at the lowest ebb4 ,go to a region of country in which not one man in ten can read and write1 and you will find that not one man in ten will care whether his children are taught to read and write4 ,those communities on the contrary which have the best and most complete system of common schools1 and in which this system has prevailed longest and has taken most complete hold of the public mind1 are the very ones in which individuals will be found most keenly alive to the importance of the subject1 and in which a parent will be regarded as a monster1 if his children are allowed to grow up uneducated4 ,the objection1 therefore1 has no foundation either in fact or in reason4 ,there is moreover another consideration not to be overlooked4 ,in this matter of education1 it is after all but a small part which the school does for a child4 ,the main part of the child's education always takes place at home4 ,the teacher is at best only an aid to the parent1 supplementing the influences of the home and the street4 ,the child is taking lessons continually from the father and mother1 whether they mean it or not4 ,every teacher knows how much more rapidly a child improves at school1 whose parents are well educated1 and how difficult it is to teach a child who at home lives in an atmosphere of profound ignorance4 ,the mind of the one whose home is a region of darkness and intellectual torpor1 will be dwarfed and distorted1 no matter what the efforts of its teachers4 ,the mind of the one1 on the contrary1 whose home is the abode of intellectual light1 warmth1 and sunshine1 will have a corresponding growth and expansion at school4 ,there is a continual unconscious tuition1 good or bad1 received from the very atmosphere of the family4 ,besides this1 there is a great deal of direct1 active duty to be performed by the parent in the education of the child4 ,no matter how good the school1 or how faithful the teacher1 there always remains much to be done by the parent1 even in regard to the school duties4 ,the parent must see that lessons are prepared1 that the child is properly provided with books1 that the meal times and the other arrangements of the household are such as to help forward the child's studies4 ,there are a hundred things which the father and mother can do to help or to hinder the work of the school4 ,a child1 whose parents give proper home supervision over his studies1 will1 other things being equal1 make twice the progress of one whose parents give the matter no attention4 ,the community1 therefore1 in establishing common schools1 does by no means take the whole matter of education out of the hands of the parent4 ,on the contrary1 it still leaves with him the most important and necessary of the duties connected with the education of his children1 while it gives him aids for the performance of the remaining duties1 which no private means can ordinarily supply4 ,i come1 however1 to a much graver objection4 ,it is urged against common schools1 as organized in this country1 that religious instruction is excluded from them1 and that without this element they only tend to make educated villains4 ,education1 it is said1 without the restraining and sanctifying influences of religion1 only puts into the hands of the multitude greater power for evil4 ,if this objection is valid1 the most enlightened and ,christian communities of the world have made1 and are making1 an enormous mistake4 ,yet the objection is urged with seriousness by men whose purity of motive is above question1 and whose personal character gives great weight to their opinions4 ,the objection originated in ,england1 where all attempts to make legislative provision for the education of the common people have been steadily resisted by a potential party in the established church4 ,the arguments put forth in the ,english religious journals have been reproduced in the journals here1 and have in many instances awakened the apprehensions of serious-minded persons4 ,it is worth while1 therefore1 to give the subject some distinct consideration4 ,in the first place1 the facts are not exactly as stated by those making the objection4 ,though little direct religious instruction may be given in the common school1 there is usually a large amount of religious influence4 ,a great majority of the teachers of our common schools are professing ,christians4 ,very many of them are among our most active ,sabbath-school teachers4 ,now a truly godly man or woman1 at the head of a school1 though never speaking a word directly on the subject of religion1 yet by the power of a silent1 consistent example1 exerts a continual ,christian influence4 ,in the second place1 as a matter of fact1 direct religious teaching is not entirely excluded from our public schools4 ,i think1 it by no means holds that prominent position in the course of study which it should hold4 ,but it is not entirely excluded4 ,the ,bible1 with very rare exceptions1 is read daily in all our common schools4 ,it is appealed to as ultimate authority in questions of history and morals4 ,it is quoted for illustration in questions of taste4 ,it is in many schools a text-book for direct study4 ,in the third place1 nine out of ten of the children of the week-day school attend the ,sabbath-school4 ,the ,sabbath-school supplements the instructions of the week-day school4 ,the case1 therefore1 is not that of an education purely intellectual4 ,moral and religious instruction accompanies the instruction in worldly knowledge4 ,the ,sabbath-school1 the church1 and the family1 by their combined and ceaseless activities1 infuse into our course of elementary education a much larger religious ingredient than a stranger might suppose1 who should confine his examination to a mere inspection of our common schools1 or to the reading of the annual reports of our educational boards4 ,but apart from all these considerations1 taking the question in its naked form1 is it true that mere intellectual education has the tendency alleged8 ,i do not believe it4 ,the constitution of the human mind gives no warrant for such an inference4 ,recorded1 indisputable facts1 overwhelmingly disprove it4 ,so far is it from being true that the mere diffusion of knowledge has a tendency to make men knaves and infidels1 ,i believe the very opposite to be true4 ,knowledge is the natural ally of religion4 ,to hold otherwise1 is to disparage and dishonor religion--to imply1 if not to say1 that ignorance is the mother of devotion4 ,there is an inborn antagonism between the intellectual and the sensual nature of man4 ,if you give to the intellect no development1 you leave the senses as the ruling power4 ,we see this strikingly illustrated in the idiotic1 who are for the most part disgustingly sensual4 ,among a population grossly ignorant and uneducated1 sensualism prevails in its most appalling forms4 ,the man is a sensualist1 simply because he knows no higher pleasures4 ,he is degraded1 because he has no motives to be otherwise4 ,he is barely above a brute4 ,the amount of crime1 of the coarsest and most debasing character1 among the uneducated peasantry of ,england1 is almost incredible4 ,here is a description of an ,english peasant of the present day1 given by a competent unimpeached witness1 himself an ,englishman4 ,i quote from a work on ,the ,social ,condition and ,education of the ,people of ,england1 by ,joseph ,kay1 ,esq41 of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 who was commissioned by the ,senate of the ,university to travel for the purpose of examining into the social condition of the poorer classes4 ,says ,mr4 ,kay3 ,you cannot address an ,english peasant1 without being struck with the intellectual darkness which surrounds him4 ,there is neither speculation in his eye nor intelligence in his countenance4 ,his whole expression is more that of an animal than of a man4 ,he is wanting too in the erect and independent bearing of a man4 ,as a class1 our peasants have no amusements beyond the indulgence of sense4 ,in nine cases out of ten1 recreation is associated in their minds with nothing higher than sensuality4 ,about one half of our poor can neither read nor write1 have never been in any school1 and know little1 or positively nothing1 of the doctrines of the ,christian religion1 of moral duties1 or of any higher pleasures than beer-drinking and spirit-drinking1 and the grossest sensual indulgence4 ,they live precisely like brutes1 to gratify1 so far as their means allow1 the appetites of their uncultivated bodies1 and then die1 to go they have never thought1 cared1 or wondered whither4 ,brought up in the darkness of barbarism1 they have no idea that it is possible for them to attain any higher condition2 they are not even sentient enough to desire1 with any strength of feeling1 to change their situation2 they are not intelligent enough to be perseveringly discontented2 they are not sensible to what we call the voice of conscience2 they do not understand the necessity of avoiding crime1 beyond the mere fear of the police and the jail2 they have unclear1 indefinite1 and undefinable ideas of all around them2 they eat1 drink1 breed1 work1 and die2 and while they pass through their brute-like existence here1 the richer and more intelligent classes are obliged to guard them with police and standing armies1 and to cover the land with prisons1 cages1 and all kinds of receptacles for the perpetrators of crime4 ,surely it must be some hallucination of mind1 which leads men to suppose that the diffusion of knowledge among such a population1 even though it be only scientific and intellectual knowledge1 can have any natural or general tendency adverse to religion and morals4 ,apart1 however1 from speculation1 and as a pure question of fact1 the recorded statistics of crime point unmistakably the other way4 ,criminal records the world over prove1 beyond reasonable doubt1 that the overwhelming majority of crimes are committed by persons deplorably ignorant4 ,intellectual education1 therefore1 ,i contend1 even when deprived of its natural ally and adjunct1 religious training1 has no natural tendency to produce knaves and villains4 ,on the contrary1 it is a most efficient corrective and restraint of the evil and debasing tendencies of human nature4 ,if the intellect is not so high a region in man's constitution as the moral powers1 which ,i readily grant1 it is at least above the mere sensual part1 in which vice and crime have their chief spring and aliment4 ,the question fortunately is one susceptible of a direct appeal to facts4 ,who are the men and women that people our jails and prisons8 ,are they persons of education1 or are they in the main persons deplorably ignorant8 ,what is the record of criminal statistics on this point8 ,i will quote a few of these statistics1 from a great mass of similar evidence lying before me4 ,out of #beb1edd persons committed for crime in ,england and ,wales1 during a series of years1 #bbi1cjj1 or more than #ij per cent41 are reported as uneducated1 either entirely unable to read and write1 or able to do so only very imperfectly2 #bb1aei could read and write1 but not fluently2 and only #ajhe 7less than one half per cent4 of the whole7 were what we call educated persons4 ,in nine consecutive years1 beginning with the year #ahcg1 only #bh educated females were brought to the bar of criminal justice in ,england and ,wales1 out of #g1fgc1fcc females then living in that part of the ,united ,kingdom2 and in the year #ahda1 out of the same population1 not one educated female was committed for trial4 ,in a special commission1 held in #ahdb1 to try those who had been guilty of rioting and disturbance in the manufacturing districts1 out of #efg thus tried1 #aed could neither read nor write1 #aee could read only1 #ahd could read and write imperfectly1 #gc could read and write well1 and only one had received superior instruction4 ,in #ahdj1 in #bj counties of ,england and ,wales1 with a population of #h1gbd1cch1 there were convicted of crime only #ei educated persons1 or one for every #adg1hgj inhabitants4 ,in #cb other counties1 with a population of #g1ahb1dia1 the records furnished not one convict who had received more than the merest elements of instruction4 ,in #ahda1 in #ae ,english counties1 with a population of #i1efi1jfd1 there were convicted only #gd instructed persons1 or one to every #abi1caa inhabitants1 while the #be remaining counties and the whole of ,wales1 with a population of #f1cdb1ffa1 did not furnish one single conviction of a person who had received more than the mere elements of education4 ,in #ahde1 out of a total of #ei1abc persons taken into custody1 #ae1bfc could neither read nor write1 and #ci1fei could barely read1 and could write very imperfectly4 ,in the four best taught counties of ,england1 the number of schools being one for every seven hundred inhabitants1 the number of criminal convictions was one a year for every #aajh inhabitants4 ,in the four worst taught counties1 the number of schools being one for every #aeja inhabitants1 the number of convictions was one a year for every #eej inhabitants4 ,that is1 in one set of counties1 the people were about twice as well educated as in the other1 and one half as much addicted to crime4 ,in other words1 in proportion as the people were educated1 were they free from crime4 ,thrift and good morals usually keep pace with the spread of intelligence among the people4 ,this has been the result in all those countries of ,europe where good common schools are maintained1 as in ,iceland1 ,norway1 ,sweden1 ,denmark1 ,holland1 ,belgium1 and most of the ,german ,states4 ,pauperism1 with its attendant evils and crimes1 is almost unknown in those countries1 while in ,england1 where the common people are worse educated than those of any ,protestant nation in the world1 pauperism has become an evil which her wisest statesmen have given up as unmanageable4 ,in #ahdh1 in addition to hundreds of persons assisted by charitable individuals1 no less than #a1hgf1eda paupers 7one out of every eight of the population67 were relieved by the boards of guardians of the poor1 at an expense from the public purse of nearly thirty millions of dollars4 ,in our own country1 the same pains have not been taken to collect statistics on this subject1 because comparatively little controversy about it has existed here to call forth inquiry4 ,we as a people have generally taken it for granted that popular education lessens crime and pauperism4 ,still1 facts enough have been recorded to show the same results here as elsewhere4 ,when an educated villain is convicted1 like ,monroe ,edwards or ,professor ,webster1 the fact becomes so notorious by means of the press1 that it is unconsciously multiplied in our imagination1 and we think the instances more numerous than they really are4 ,we never think of the scores of obscure villains that are convicted every week all the year round4 ,a quotation or two from the facts which have been recorded1 will be sufficient to satisfy us on this point4 ,in the ,ohio penitentiary1 out of #bgf inmates1 nearly all were reported as ignorant1 and #age as grossly so4 ,in the ,auburn prison1 ,new ,york1 out of #bdd inmates1 only #ci could read and write4 ,in the ,sing ,sing prison1 no official record has been made on this point4 ,but the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,luckey1 for more than twenty years chaplain of the prison1 is obliged by the prison regulations to superintend and read all the letters between the prisoners and their friends4 ,in this manner he becomes personally acquainted with the condition of the convicts in regard to education4 ,he reported a few months since to the writer of these pages1 that while there are always some among the convicts who have been educated1 yet the great mass of them are stolidly ignorant4 ,there are usually between one and two hundred learning to read1 and this does not include the half of those who are unable to read1 as the attendance upon the class is voluntary1 the accommodations are meagre1 and most of the prisoners are indifferent to their own improvement4 ,not five in a hundred can write otherwise than in the most clumsy and awkward manner1 and with the grossest blunders in orthography1 and not more than two in a hundred can write a sentence grammatically4 ,out of the #gjj then in prison1 only three were liberally educated1 and two of these were foreigners4 ,throughout the ,state of ,new ,york1 in #ahda1 the ratio of uneducated criminals to the whole number of uneducated persons was twenty-eight times as great as the ratio of educated inhabitants4 ,in view of the facts which have been given1 and which might be multiplied to almost any extent1 it is not easy to avoid the conclusion that mere intellectual education has some power to restrain men from the commission of crime4 ,assuredly1 ignorance and sin are natural adjuncts and allies4 ,schools undoubtedly cost something4 ,the community that undertakes to educate the masses1 or the individual that undertakes to educate his children1 must expect to have a serious bill to pay4 ,it is a pernicious folly to inculcate the contrary4 ,the advocate of popular education1 who tries to persuade people into the experiment1 under the assurance that the expense will be trifling1 misleads his readers1 and puts back the cause which he would fain put forward4 ,but there is a most significant per contra in the account1 and on this there is no danger of dwelling too much4 ,nothing is so costly as crime1 and no preventive of crime is more efficient than education4 ,schoolhouses are cheaper than jails1 teachers and books are a better security than handcuffs and policemen4 ,there are educated villains1 it is true4 ,but they are rare1 and they attract the greater attention by the very fact of their rarity4 ,but go into a prison1 or a criminal court1 or a police court1 and see who they are that mainly occupy the proceedings of our expensive machinery of criminal justice4 ,nine-tenths of those miserable creatures are in a state of most deplorable ignorance4 ,degraded1 sensual1 with no knowledge of anything better than the indulgence of the lowest passions1 without mental resources1 or any avenue to intellectual enjoyment1 they often resort to crime from sheer want of something better to do4 ,when ,dr4 ,johnson was asked1 ,who is the most miserable man8 his reply was1 ,the man who cannot read on a rainy day4 ,there is profound meaning in the answer4 ,the man who has been educated1 who not only can read1 but has acquired a taste for reading1 and for reading of a proper kind1 is rarely driven into low and debasing crime4 ,he has resources within himself1 which are a counterpoise to the incitements of his animal nature4 ,his awakened intellect and conscience also make him understand more clearly the danger and guilt of a life of crime4 ,many of the deeds which swell the records of our criminal courts spring from poverty1 as every criminal lawyer well knows1 and there is no remedy against extreme poverty so sure as education4 ,the old adage says that knowledge is power4 ,it is also wealth4 ,a man with even an ordinary1 common school education1 can turn himself in a hundred ways1 where a mere ignorant boor would be utterly helpless4 ,the faculties are developed1 ingenuity is quickened1 the man's resources are enlarged4 ,an educated man may be tempted to crime1 but he is not driven into it1 as hundreds are daily1 by mere poverty1 or by an intolerable hunger of the mind for enjoyment of some kind4 ,schools1 then1 especially schools in which moral and religious truth is inculcated1 are the most powerful means of lessening crime1 and of lessening the costly and frightful apparatus of criminal administration4 ,as schoolhouses and churches increase in the land1 jails and prisons diminish4 ,as knowledge is diffused1 property becomes secure1 and rises in value4 ,a community1 therefore1 is bound to see that its members are properly educated1 if for no other reason1 in mere self-defence4 ,the many must be educated1 in order that the many may be protected4 ,a great city is just as sacredly bound to provide for its teeming population the light of knowledge1 as it is to provide material light for its streets4 ,the one kind of illumination1 equally with the other1 is an essential part of its police4 ,no matter what the cost1 the dark holes and alleys must be flooded with the light of truth1 before which the owls and bats and vampyres of society will be scattered to the winds4 ,a great city without schools would be a hell1--a seething caldron of vice1 impurity1 and crime4 ,no man of sound mind would choose such a place for the residence of himself and family1 who had the means of living in any other place4 ,if we could suppose two cities entirely equal in other respects1 but in one of them a superior and costly system of free schools1 while the other spent not a dollar upon schools1 but depended solely upon the rigors of the law and the strong arm of avenging justice for restraining the ignorant and corrupt masses1 can there be any doubt which city would be the safest and most desirable place of residence8 ,whatever view of this subject may be taken in other countries1 we in this country are shut up to the necessity of popular education4 ,we at least have no choice4 ,universal suffrage necessitates universal education4 ,if we do not educate our people1 educate universally1 educate wisely and liberally1 we can hardly expect to maintain permanently our popular institutions4 ,the man's vote1 who cannot read the names on the ballot which he throws into the box1 counts just as much in deciding public affairs as yours1 who are versed in statesmanship and political economy4 ,he is a partner in the political firm4 ,you can neither withdraw from the firm yourself1 nor can you throw him out4 ,in the absence of general education1 this tremendous power of suffrage is something frightful to contemplate4 ,the greatest despotism on earth1 says ,de ,tocqueville1 is an excited1 untaught public sentiment2 and we should hate not only despots1 but despotism4 ,when ,i feel the hand of power lie heavy on my brow1 ,i care not to know who oppresses me2 the yoke is not the easier1 because it is held out to me by a million of men4 ,the danger from this source is intensified by the immense immigration from abroad which is going on1 and which bids fair very greatly to increase4 ,the great majority of those who seek our shores1 come here ignorant4 ,with little knowledge of any kind1 and with no knowledge whatever of the nature of republican institutions1 these men1 almost at once1 are made sharers of the popular sovereignty1 with all its tremendous powers of peace and war1 order and anarchy1 life and death4 ,not to have a system of public education1 by which these ignorant and dangerous masses shall be enlightened1 and shall be assimilated to the rest1 and to the better part1 of the population1 is simply suicidal4 ,our national life hangs upon our common schools4 ,besides this grave political consideration1 affecting the interests of the entire body politic1 and the question of the success and stability of our national institutions1 there is another consideration coming home closely and individually to each man's personal interests4 ,where the law of trial by jury prevails1 every citizen1 whether educated or ignorant1 takes part in the administration of justice4 ,twelve men1 taken indiscriminately from the mass of the people1 or if with any discrimination1 taken more frequently from the lower walks of life than from the higher1 are placed in a jury box to decide upon almost every possible question of human interests4 ,the jury decides your fortune1 your reputation4 ,the jury says whether you live or die4 ,go into a court of justice4 ,are they light matters which those twelve men are to determine8 ,look at the anxious faces of those whose estates1 whose good name1 whose worldly all hangs upon the intelligence of those twelve men1 or of any one of them4 ,what assurance have you1 save that which comes from popular education1 that these men will understand and do their duty8 ,who would like to trust his legal rights or his personal safety to the verdict of a jury of ,neapolitan lazzaroni8 ,in a few short years1 the idle boys who are now prowling about the streets and alleys of our towns1 the wharf-rats of our cities1 will be a part of our jurymen4 ,is it of no consequence to me1 whether their minds shall be early trained and disciplined1 so that they will be capable of following a train of argument1 or of comprehending a statement of facts8 ,how is it possible to administer justice with any degree of fairness and efficiency1 where the majority of those who are to constitute the jurymen and the witnesses are stolidly ignorant8 ,by common law1 every man has a right to be tried by his peers4 ,let law then provide that those shall1 in some substantial sense1 be my peers1 on whose voice my all in life may depend4 ,but let us recur once more to the economical part of the argument4 ,when a community is taxed for the support of common schools1 the question naturally rises among the taxpayers1 ,is the system worth the cost8 ,does the community1 by the diffusion of knowledge and education1 gain enough to counterbalance the large expense which such education involves8 ,even if this question could not be answered in the affirmative1 it would not follow that common schools should be dispensed with4 ,common schools are needed as the best and cheapest protection against the crimes incident to an ignorant and degraded population4 ,common schools are right and proper1 because without them the majority of those created in the image of ,god will never attain to that noble manhood which is their rightful inheritance4 ,but the argument will receive additional force1 if it can be shown that general education increases the wealth of the community4 ,that education does have this effect is evident1 ,i think1 from two independent lines of argument4 ,first1 an intelligent1 educated man is capable individually of achieving greater material results than one who is ignorant4 ,secondly1 the general diffusion of intelligence through a community leads to labor-saving inventions1 and thus increases its producing power4 ,in regard to the first line of argument1 some curious and instructive facts were collected a few years since by the late ,horace ,mann4 ,his inquiries were directed to the efficiency of operatives in factories1 a class of men who would seem to require as little general intelligence as any kind of laborers4 ,it was found that1 as a general rule1 those operatives who could sign their names to their weekly receipts for money1 were able to do one-third more work1 and to do it better1 than those who made their mark4 ,nor is this at all to be wondered at4 ,there is no kind of work1 done by the aid of human muscle1 that is purely mechanical4 ,mind is partner in all that the body does4 ,mind directs and controls muscle1 and even in emergency gives it additional energy and power4 ,no matter how simple the process in which an operative may be engaged1 some cultivation of his mental powers is needed4 ,without it he misdirects his own movements1 and mistakes continually the orders of his superintending workman4 ,a boy who has been to a good common school1 and has had his mental activities quickened1 and whose mind has been stimulated and roused by worthy motives1 not only will be more industrious for it when he becomes a man1 but his industry will be more effective4 ,he will accomplish more1 even as a day laborer1 than the mere ignorant boor4 ,when we come to any kind of skilled labor1 the difference between the educated and the ignorant is still more apparent4 ,an intelligent mechanic is worth twice as much as one ignorant and stupid4 ,many years ago a very instructive fact on this point came under my own personal observation4 ,a gentleman of my acquaintance had frequent need of the aid of a carpenter4 ,the work to be done was not regular carpentry1 but various odd jobs1 alterations and adaptations to suit special wants1 and no little time and materials were wasted in the perpetual misconceptions and mistakes of the successive workmen employed4 ,at length a workman was sent who was a ,german1 from the kingdom of ,prussia4 ,after listening attentively to the orders given1 and doing what he could to understand what his employer wanted1 ,michael would whip out his pencil1 and in two or three minutes1 with a few rapid lines1 would present a sketch of the article1 so clear that any one could recognize it at a glance4 ,it could be seen at once1 also1 whether the intention of his employer had been rightly conceived1 and whether it was practicable4 ,the consequence was1 that so long as ,michael was employed1 there was no more waste of materials and time1 to say nothing of the vexation of continued failures4 ,michael was not really more skilful as a carpenter than the many others who had preceded him4 ,but his knowledge of drawing1 gained in a common school in his native country1 made his services worth from fifty cents to a dollar a day more than those of any other workman in the shop1 and he actually received two dollars a day1 when others in the same shop were receiving only a dollar and a quarter4 ,he was always in demand1 and he always received extra wages1 and his work even at that rate was considered cheap4 ,what was true of ,michael in carpentry1 would be true of any other department of mechanical industry4 ,in cabinet-making1 in shoe-making1 in tailoring1 in masonry1 in upholstery1 in the various contrivances of tin and sheet iron with which our houses are made comfortable1 in gas-fitting and plumbing1 in the thousand-and-one necessities of the farm1 the garden1 and the kitchen1 a workman who is ready and expert with his pencil1 who has learned to put his own ideas1 or those of another1 rapidly on paper1 is worth fifty per cent4 more than his fellows who have not this skill4 ,the example of this man was brought vividly to my mind at a later day1 in ,philadelphia1 when an important educational question was under discussion4 ,rembrandt ,peale had two dreams1 each worthy of his genius4 ,one was to paint a ,washington which should go down to posterity2 the other was so to simplify the elements of the art of drawing that young boys and girls might learn it as universally as they learn to read and write4 ,he spent long years in maturing a little work for this purpose1 no bigger than a primer or a spelling-book1 and a determined effort was made on the part of some of the friends of popular education to introduce the study into the primary public schools of ,philadelphia4 ,it was introduced into the ,high ,schools4 ,but its benefits were limited to a comparatively small number4 ,the hope and the aim of the friends of ,mr4 ,peale's project were to make the study an elementary one--to make a certain amount of proficiency in drawing a test of promotion from the lower schools to the schools above it4 ,this would have placed ,graphics alongside of the copy-book and the spelling-book4 ,after struggling for several years with popular prejudice1 the friends of the scheme were obliged to abandon it as hopeless4 ,the idea was too much in advance of the times4 ,could the plan have succeeded1 and could the entire youthful population of that great city1 which is preminently a mechanical and manufacturing centre1 have grown up with a familiar practised skill in the use of the pencil1 in ordinary1 off-hand drawing1 such as our friend ,michael had1 there can be no question that it would have added untold millions to the general wealth4 ,if every boy and girl in that great metropolitan city were now obliged to spend as much time in learning to draw as is spent in learning to spell1 and at the same age that they learn to spell1 ,i do soberly believe that the addition to the wealth of the city1 by the increased mechanical skill that would be developed1 would be worth more than the entire cost of her public schools1 although they do cost well-nigh a million of dollars annually4 ,what is true of drawing1 is true of every branch and accomplishment necessary to a complete education4 ,a man is educated when all his capacities bodily and mental are developed1 and a community is educated when all its members are4 ,now if we could imagine two communities1 of exactly equal numbers1 and in physical circumstances exactly equal as to climate1 soil1 access to markets1 and so forth1 and if one of these communities should tax itself to the extent of even one-fourth of its income in promoting popular education1 while the other spent not a dollar in this way1 there can be little doubt as to which community would make the most rapid advances in wealth and in every other desirable social good4 ,we happen to have on this subject one most striking and significant record4 ,in #afgj1 the ,english ,commissioners for ,foreign ,plantations addressed to the ,governors of the several colonies a series of questions concerning the condition of the settlements under their charge4 ,one of these questions related to the means of popular education4 ,the answers of two of the ,governors are preserved4 ,one of them1 the ,governor of ,connecticut1 ruled a territory to which nature had not been specially propitious4 ,its climate was bleak1 its coast rockbound1 its soil blest with only ordinary fertility4 ,the other territory1 ,virginia1 had an extraordinary amount of natural advantages4 ,it had fine harbors1 numerous navigable streams1 a climate more temperate by several degrees than its rival1 the soil in its lowlands and valleys unsurpassed in any of the ,plantations for its capacity to produce wheat1 corn1 and tobacco1 its mountains filled with untold treasures of lime1 iron1 and coal1 7and1 it now seems1 with petroleum also17 and withal that wonderful variety of natural resources1 which seems best suited to stimulate and reward the productive industry of its inhabitants4 ,the ,governor of the less favored colony replied to the ,royal ,commissioners1 as follows3 ,one-fourth of the annual revenue of the ,colony is laid out in maintaining free schools for the education of our children4 ,the policy thus early impressed upon the colony has been maintained with steadfast and almost proverbial consistency to this day1 that region being known the world over as the land of schoolmasters4 ,the ,governor of the other colony replied1 ,i thank ,god1 there are no free schools1 nor printing1 and ,i hope we shall not have1 these hundred years4 ,to this policy she also has until lately only too faithfully adhered4 ,now what is the result8 ,by referring to the tables accompanying the ,census of #ahfj1 we find the following significant facts4 #a4 ,the average cash value of land was not quite #ab an acre in one commonwealth 7,virginia71 and a little over #cj an acre in the other4 #b4 ,one commonwealth sustained only five inhabitants to every hundred acres of her soil1 the other sustained eighteen inhabitants to every hundred acres4 #c4 ,the value of all property1 real and personal1 averaged by the population1 was in one commonwealth #dif to every inhabitant1 in the other #ife to every inhabitant4 #d4 ,the value of all property1 real and personal1 averaged by the acre1 was in one commonwealth less than #bf to the acre1 in the other more than #agg to the acre4 ,to which facts ,i may add1 what is true1 though not in the ,census1 it was the invention of ,eli ,whitney1 a travelling schoolmaster from ,connecticut1 that has trebled the value of land in nearly every ,southern ,state4 ,i have been endeavoring to show that popular education1 though it is expensive1 tends to national wealth4 ,the argument is that an educated population is capable of producing greater material results than a population uneducated can produce4 ,the example of ,eli ,whitney1 just referred to1 suggests the other line of argument1 which ,i shall now notice briefly in conclusion4 ,this second argument is1 that the general diffusion of intelligence in a community tends to quicken invention1 and leads to the discovery of those scientific principles and of those ingenious labor-saving machines1 by which the productive power of the community is so greatly multiplied4 ,the cotton-gin1 the steam-engine1 the sewing-machine1 and the reaping-machine would never have been invented in a nation of boors4 ,it is not asserted that every boy who goes to school will become an inventor4 ,but it is as certain as the laws of mind and matter can make it1 that inventions abound in a nation in proportion to its progress in science and the general spread of intelligence among the masses4 ,multiply common schools and you multiply inventions4 ,how much these latter increase man's producing power1 and so add to the aggregate of human wealth1 it is needless to say4 ,the invention of ,watt alone has quadrupled the productive power of the whole human race4 ,the aggregate steam-power of one single country1 ,great ,britain1 equals the muscular capacity for labor of four hundred millions of men--more than twice the number of adult males capable of labor on our planet4 ,its aggregate power throughout the earth is equal to the male capacity for manual work of four or five worlds like ours4 ,the commerce1 the navigation1 the maritime warfare1 the agriculture1 the mechanic arts of the human race1 have been revolutionized by this single invention not yet a century old4 ,the application of scientific truths to the common industries of life is becoming every day more and more a necessity4 ,the village carpenter1 no less than the builder of the ,niagara ,suspension ,bridge1 makes hourly reference to scientific laws4 ,the carpenter who misapplies his formul for the strength of materials1 builds a house which falls down4 ,the properties of the various mechanical powers are involved in every machine4 ,every machine1 indeed1 it has been well said1 is a solidified mechanical theorem4 ,the surveyor in determining the limits of one's farm1 the architect in planning a house1 the builder in planning his estimates1 and the several master workmen who do the carpentry1 masonry1 and finishing1 are all dependent upon geometric truths4 ,bleaching1 dyeing1 calico-printing1 gas-making1 soap-making1 sugar-refining1 the reduction of metals from their ores1 with innumerable other productive industries1 are dependent upon chemistry4 ,agriculture1 the basis of all the other arts1 is in the same condition4 ,chemical knowledge1 indeed1 is doing for the productive powers of the soil what the application of steam has done for the increase of mechanical power4 ,the farmer who wishes to double his crops1 finds the means of doing so1 not in multiplying his acres1 but in applying a knowledge of the laws of chemistry to the cultivation of the soil already possessed4 ,even physiology is adding to the wealth of the farming interest4 ,the truth that the production of animal heat implies waste of substance1 and that therefore preventing the loss of heat prevents the need for extra food--which is a purely theoretical conclusion--now guides the fattening of cattle4 ,by keeping cattle warm1 fodder is saved4 ,experiments of physiologists have proved1 not only that change of diet is beneficial1 but that digestion is facilitated by a mixture of ingredients in each meal4 ,both these truths are now influencing cattle-feeding4 ,in the keen race of competition1 the farmer who has a competent knowledge of the laws of animal and vegetable physiology and of agricultural chemistry1 will surely distance the one who gropes along by guess and by tradition4 ,a general diffusion of scientific knowledge saves the community from innumerable wasteful and foolish mistakes4 ,in ,england1 not many years ago1 the partners in a large mining company were ruined from not knowing that a certain fossil belonged to the old red sandstone1 below which coal is never found4 ,in another enterprise1 #bj1jjj were lost in the prosecution of a scheme for collecting the alcohol that distils from bread in baking1 all of which might have been saved1 had the parties known that less than one hundredth part by weight of the flour is changed in fermentation4 ,but it is not necessary to multiply illustrations4 ,suffice it to say1 in conclusion1 ,i hold it to be a most manifest truth1 that the general education of a community increases largely its material wealth1 both by the direct effect which knowledge has upon individuals in making them individually more productive1 and by the increased control which the diffusion of knowledge gives to mankind over the powers of nature4 ,a nation or a state is wisely economical which spends largely and even lavishly upon popular education4 ,,xxx4 ,,what ,,is ,,education8 ,my last chapter1 like the first1 begins with a question4 ,strange to say1 no satisfactory definition of education has yet been given1 nor has a definition of it often been even attempted4 ,the literature of the subject is copious enough4 ,but writers have busied themselves mainly with details1 with methods of teaching1 and so forth4 ,a few1 of a more philosophical turn of mind1 have discussed the principles of the subject1 and among these some have undertaken to develop their theories from the true starting-point of a definition4 ,but among all these1 from ,plato1 who was the earliest systematic writer on the subject1 to ,herbert ,spencer1 the latest and the most pretentious1 not one has given a definition of it which is not open to objection4 ,it may seem presumptuous1 perhaps1 to undertake again that in which so many have failed4 ,but there can be no harm in making at least an endeavor4 ,what then are some of the elements which enter into our idea of education8 ,to educate is1 in the first place1 to develop4 ,it is to draw out and strengthen the powers and give them right direction4 ,it is1 therefore1 something more than merely imparting knowledge4 ,knowledge is to the child's mind what food is to the body4 ,each is a means to an end4 ,it is to cause growth4 ,as by the proper use of food and exercise the limbs and muscles expand1 and acquire their full and appointed size1 symmetry1 and strength1 so by acquiring and using knowledge of various kinds1 the various faculties of the mind attain their full power and proportion4 ,for this reason mainly the pure mathematics and the ancient languages1 ,latin and ,greek1 have held their place in almost every course of liberal study1 not because the knowledge of these branches is likely to be called for in ordinary professional business1 but because the study of these branches is supposed to be particularly adapted to develop and invigorate certain important qualities of the mind4 ,this development of the powers1 then1 is the first element involved in a just idea of education4 ,but1 secondly1 nature plainly indicates a certain order to be observed in the development of the faculties4 ,first the blade1 then the ear1 after that the full corn in the ear4 ,so in the human plant4 ,the time for the efflorescence of some of the faculties is in early youth4 ,other faculties make little growth till near the age of manhood4 ,a wise educator will carefully observe these facts1 and not waste his energies and mar his work1 either by attempting a premature development of those faculties which ,god seems to have meant to ripen later1 or by neglecting to draw out and train in childhood those faculties which then most naturally and aptly spring into vigorous growth4 ,youth1 for instance1 is the season1 of all others1 when the memory is to be cultivated2 the season of all others1 when the instinctive principle of faith is to have free play4 ,so1 too1 the moral and emotional faculties may receive the first germs of their development at a very early stage in the history of the human being4 ,the education of this part of our nature begins1 indeed1 with the first smile of recognition that passes between the infant and its mother4 ,other faculties and powers1 as the reason and the judgment1 for instance1 come to maturity nearer the age of manhood1 and the normal period for their cultivation is accordingly near the end1 rather than near the beginning1 of an educational course4 ,it is not1 however1 my object here to mark out an order for the development of the faculties1 but only to note that there is such an order1 and that the observance of this order is a most important element in our idea of what education is4 ,the next element in this idea is that a certain proportion and symmetry be observed in the development of the powers4 ,perhaps it might not be strictly accurate to say that any faculty may be cultivated too highly4 ,yet there certainly is an excess whenever one faculty or power is cultivated quite out of proportion to the other faculties and powers4 ,a man in ,boston a few years ago1 by directing his attention exclusively for a long time to the single act of lifting1 educated his body to the power of lifting enormous weights4 ,but this power was gained at the expense of agility1 grace1 and many other bodily qualities quite as important as that of lifting weights4 ,so the mental faculties may become one-sided by injudicious training4 ,the memory may be inordinately developed at the expense of the reasoning power1 the reason at the expense of the imagination1 the feelings at the expense of the judgment1 the mind at the expense of the body1 the body at the expense of the mind4 ,in all right education1 therefore1 the faculties are to be developed1 not only in due order1 but in due proportion4 ,the next element that enters into our idea is that of a proper comprehensiveness4 ,the educator must bear in mind that the being committed to his care is one of a complex nature1 and that every part of this complex nature is to receive its due attention4 ,physical education is included in his duties as well as mental1 mental as well as moral and religious4 ,no part is to be neglected4 ,he should aim to secure for his subject full bodily health1 agility1 strength1 symmetry1 and power of endurance4 ,the bodily senses are capable of a degree of cultivation that few seem to be aware of4 ,perhaps1 in our ordinary schemes of education1 no part of our complex nature is so inadequately provided for1 so almost ignored1 as the physical4 ,but1 as in regard to the other points that have been raised1 so here1 it is not my object so much to particularize the several parts of human nature that require attention1 as to recognize distinctly the fact that we are thus complex1 and that the business of the educator is necessarily a many-sided one1 requiring most varied knowledge and experience4 ,but there is one important limitation to be observed here1 otherwise our definition would be seriously amiss4 ,in many works on education1 it is stated1 without qualification1 that we ought to give to all our powers the fullest development of which they are capable4 ,if we were unfallen angels1 the rule might perhaps be a safe one4 ,but for fallen human beings1 it certainly needs some limitation4 ,we have faculties and powers1 not a few1 which we need to repress rather than to cultivate4 ,are we to give the fullest development of which they are capable1 to anger1 envy1 jealousy1 cunning1 avarice1 and lust8 ,to state the question is to answer it4 ,it is not every faculty of the child1 therefore1 that is to be developed1 but only those parts of his nature which are good and desirable1 those by which he can best discharge his duties to ,god and attain his highest excellence as a man4 ,let us now gather up the several ideas which have been suggested1 and see if we cannot compress them into some brief formula1 as a definition of education1 which1 if not perfect and exhaustive of the subject1 shall be both more comprehensive and more precise than those now afloat4 ,definition4--,education is developing1 in due order and proportion1 whatever is good and desirable in human nature4 ,,model ,,text ,,books ,,for ,,schools1 ,,academies ,,and ,,colleges4 ,a ,,new ,,edition ,,of ,,the ,,classics4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chase ,,stuart',s ,,classical ,,series4 ,,edited ,,by ,,thomas ,,chase1 ,a4,m41 ,,professor ,,of ,,classical ,,literature1 ,haverford ,college1 ,penna4 ,,george ,,stuart1 ,a4,m41 ,,professor ,,of ,,the ,,latin ,,language1 ,central ,high ,school1 ,philada4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,references ,,to ,,harkness',s ,,latin ,,grammar1 ,,and ,,andrews ,,stoddard',s ,,latin ,,grammar4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the publication of this edition of the ,classics was suggested by the constantly increasing demand by teachers for an edition which1 by judicious notes1 would give to the student the assistance really necessary to render his study profitable1 furnishing explanations of passages difficult of interpretation1 of peculiarities of syntax1 c41 and yet would require him to make faithful use of his grammar and dictionary4 ,it is believed that this ,classical ,series needs only to be known to insure its very general use4 ,the publishers claim for it peculiar merit1 and beg leave to call attention to the following important particulars3 ,the purity of the texts4 ,the clearness and conciseness of the notes1 and their adaptation to the wants of students4 ,the beauty of the type and paper4 ,the handsome style of binding4 ,the convenience of the shape and size4 ,the low price at which the volumes are sold4 ,the preparation of the whole ,series is the original work of ,american scholars4 ,the texts are not mere reprints1 but are based upon a careful and painstaking comparison of all the most improved editions1 with constant reference to the authority of the best manuscripts4 ,no pains have been spared to make the notes accurate1 clear1 and helpful to the learner4 ,points of geography1 history1 mythology1 and antiquities are explained in accordance with the views of the best ,german scholars4 ,the references to the grammars most in use in this country1 viz43 ,,harkness',s ,,latin ,,grammar ,,and ,,andrews ,,stoddard',s ,,latin ,,grammar1 is in itself an advantage to be gained only by the use of this edition4 ,desirous of affording ,professors and ,teachers of ,latin throughout the entire country an opportunity of becoming acquainted with these books1 the publishers will send copies for examination1 gratis1 to every ,teacher of ,latin in the ,united ,states1 on application1 accompanied by a catalogue of the institution with which he is connected1 or of which he is the ,principal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,series1 when complete1 will consist of ,c,,sar',s ,,commentaries1 ,,virgil',s ,,neid1 ,,cicero',s ,,orations1 ,,horace1 ,,sallust ,,and ,,livy1 ,of which there are now ready the following1 viz43 ,c,,sar',s ,,commentaries on the ,gallic ,war4 ,with ,explanatory ,notes1 a ,vocabulary1 ,geographical ,index1 ,map of ,gaul1 ,plan of the ,bridge1 c41 c4 ,by ,prof4 ,george ,stuart4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #a4be4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #aa4be4 ,the text of ,csar has been carefully compared with that of ,kraner1 ,oehler1 ,nepperdey1 and other distinguished editors4 ,much care has been bestowed upon this portion of the work1 and it is hoped that whatever improvements have been introduced into the text by the learning and research of the ,german editors named1 will be found in the present edition4 ,the ,notes have been prepared with a very simple view1--to give the student that amount and kind of assistance which are really necessary to render his study profitable2 to remove difficulties greater than his strength2 and to afford or direct him to the sources of such information as is requisite to a thorough understanding of the author4 ,,virgil',s ,,neid4 ,with ,explanatory ,notes1 ,metrical ,index1 ,remarks on ,classical ,versification1 ,index of ,proper ,names1 c4 ,by ,prof4 ,thomas ,chase4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #a4ej4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #ac4ej4 ,the text of the neid here presented is based upon a careful collation of the editions of ,heyne1 ,wagner1 ,conington1 ,ladewig1 and ,ribbeck1 with frequent reference to other standard authorities1 and with constant and especial regard to the testimony of the best manuscripts4 ,in the preparation of the ,notes1 the endeavor has been made to meet the actual wants of students in our schools4 ,frequent references are made to the grammars most in use1 and explanations are furnished of passages difficult of interpretation1 of peculiarities of syntax1 and of such points of history1 geography1 mythology1 and antiquities1 as require elucidation4 ,a metrical index has been added1 in which the chief difficulties of scanning are solved4 ,one thing is presumed throughout1--that the student will make a faithful use of his grammar and dictionary1 the only way in which true scholars are made4 ,,cicero ,,and ,,horace will be issued about ,dec4 #ahfh4 ,,sallust ,,and ,,livy1 during the following year4 ,the unprecedented demand for the first two volumes of this ,series during the past few months evidences their adaptation to the actual wants of the recitation room4 ,testimonials have been received from a large number of the most flourishing classical institutions of the country1 in which they have already been adopted as text-books1 and the ,principals of hundreds of schools have expressed their intention to commence their next term with these standard works4 ,from every source but a single opinion has been expressed1 viz43 that the publishers have more than fulfilled their promise in presenting a series of books which will be eagerly sought after by every student of the classics4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,manual ,,of ,,elocution4 ,founded upon the ,philosophy of the ,human ,voice1 with ,classified ,illustrations1 ,suggested by and ,arranged to meet the ,practical ,difficulties of ,instruction4 ,by ,m4 ,s4 ,mitchell4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #a4ej4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #ac4ej4 ,the compiler cannot conceal the hope that this glimpse of our general literature may tempt to individual research among its treasures1 so varied and inexhaustible2--that this text-book for the school-room may become not only teacher1 but friend1 to those in whose hands it is placed1 and while aiding1 through systematic development and training of the elocutionary powers of the pupil1 to overcome many of the practical difficulties of instruction1 may accomplish a higher work in the cultivation and refinement of character4 ,to afford teachers an idea of the character of the work1 we append a list of the ,,subjects ,,treated ,,of4 ,articulation1 ,pronunciation1 ,accent1 ,emphasis1 ,modulation1 ,melody of ,speech1 ,pitch1 ,tone1 ,inflections1 ,sense1 ,cadence1 ,force1 ,stress1 ,grammatical and ,rhetorical ,pauses1 ,movement1 ,reading of ,poetry1 ,faults in the ,reading of ,poetry1 ,action1 ,attitude1 ,analysis of the ,principles of ,gestures1 and ,oratory4 ,among the gems of literature collected in this volume may be named the following1 which will give a general idea of the character of the selections for practice1 of which the volume is largely composed4 ,a ,psalm of ,life4 ,address at ,gettysburg4 ,barbara ,frietchie4 ,bonny ,kelmeny4 ,bugle ,song4 ,charge of the ,light ,brigade4 ,death of ,little ,nell4 ,dies ,ir4 ,elegy in a ,country ,churchyard4 ,excelsior4 ,godiva4 ,invocation to ,light4 ,laus ,deo4 ,the ,american ,flag4 ,oh6 why should the ,spirit of ,mortal be ,proud8 ,the ,battle of ,ivry4 ,the ,bells4 ,the ,bridge of ,sighs4 ,the ,great ,bell ,roland4 ,the ,mantle of ,st4 ,john de ,matha4 ,the ,raven4 ,the ,soldier from ,bingen4 ,the ,song of the ,shirt4 ,union and ,liberty4 ,woman's ,education4 ,work4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,model ,,definer1 with ,sentences showing the ,proper ,use of ,words4 ,an ,elementary ,work1 containing ,definitions and ,etymology for the ,little ,ones4 ,by ,a4 ,c4 ,webb4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #be cents4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #b4af4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,model ,,etymology4 ,giving not only the ,definitions1 ,etymology1 and ,analysis1 but that which can be obtained only from an intimate acquaintance with the best ,authors1 viz43 ,the ,correct ,use of ,words4 ,by ,a4 ,c4 ,webb4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #fj cents4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #e4dj4 ,the importance of words cannot be over-estimated4 ,knowledge can be imparted and received only by the medium of words1 correctly used and properly understood4 ,the basis of a good education must be laid with words1 well chosen1 properly arranged1 and firmly implanted in the mind4 ,from the richness of the ,english ,language1 which gives many words to the same meaning1 and many and diverse meanings to the same word1 the proper use of a word cannot be deduced from its meaning4 ,how1 then1 is the knowledge of the use of words to be imparted to children8 ,either by the teacher1 or by conversation and reading4 ,by the latter method the knowledge acquired is limited in extent2 and as it is entirely dependent on the power of observation1 the impressions received are faint and ill-defined1 and the conclusions arrived at1 frequently incorrect4 ,the practice of ,arithmetic might possibly be left to such teaching1 inasmuch as ,arithmetic is an exact science based on fixed principles1 from which correct reasoning must deduce correct results4 ,but no reasoning can show to the child who has learned ,deduce1 to draw1 that he must not say1 ,i tried to deduce the horse from the stable2 or1 ,deciduous1 falling4 ,the boy1 deciduous from the window1 was killed4 ,the importance and difficulty of the work demands that it shall not be left to the uncertainties of home teaching4 ,the labor involved forbids that this essential part of education shall be imposed on the parent4 ,like ,arithmetic1 or any other department of knowledge1 it should be performed by the teacher1 in the time specially set apart for mental training4 ,the plan adopted in the ,,model ,,word-,,book ,,series is not new4 ,all good ,dictionaries illustrate the meaning by a ,model4 ,to quote from a good author1 a sentence containing the word1 as proof of its correct use1 is the only authority allowed4 ,a simple trial of the work either by requiring the child to form sentences similar to those given1 or by memorizing the sentences as models for future use1 will convince any one of the following advantages to be derived from the ,model ,word-,book ,series3 #a4 ,saving of ,time4 #b4 ,increased ,knowledge of ,words4 #c4 ,ease to ,teacher and ,scholar4 #d4 ,a ,knowledge of the ,correct ,use of ,words4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,young ,,student',s ,,companion2 or1 ,elementary ,lessons and ,exercises in ,translating from ,english into ,french4 ,by ,m4 ,a4 ,longstreth1 ,principal of a ,seminary for ,young ,ladies1 ,philadelphia4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #a4jj4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #i4jj4 ,the object of this little work is to present to the young student a condensed view of the elements of the ,french language1 in a clear and simple manner1 and1 at the same time1 to lessen the fatigue incurred by the teacher in giving repeated verbal explanations of the most important rules of etymology4 ,no attempt has been made to teach the syntax of the language1 with the exception of a few fundamental rules2 neither have many idioms been introduced2 the aim of the compiler being to avoid whatever might perplex or confuse4 ,this little work1 it will be remembered1 is not intended to take the place of a ,grammar1 but to prepare the pupil1 by careful drilling1 for larger and more comprehensive treatises2 and it is believed that any child1 who can distinguish the different parts of speech in ,english1 will be able to understand and learn the lessons without difficulty2 and that1 if they are thoroughly learned1 the succeeding course of ,french study will be much facilitated4 ,in its preparation1 the best authorities have been carefully consulted and followed1 and assistance has been kindly furnished by several ,professors of the ,french language1 whose experience in teaching enables them to judge of the wants of the young student4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,martindale',s ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states4 ,from the ,discovery of ,america to the close of the late ,rebellion4 ,by ,joseph ,c4 ,martindale1 ,m4 ,d41 ,principal of the ,madison ,grammar ,school1 ,philadelphia4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #fj cents4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #e4dj4 ,the want of a ,history suitable for the ,schoolroom has long been felt by educators4 ,in most instances1 the ,histories presented have been too much encumbered with details of but little service to the pupils4 ,this has been one of the causes which has prevented ,history from being one of the usual branches of study in our ,common ,schools outside of cities and towns2 none can so well appreciate the difficulties which have surrounded this subject as the teacher4 ,another cause which has precluded the study of ,history has been the high price of all the text-books on this subject4 ,the very low price of the present treatise will obviate this difficulty4 ,the author of this compend1 a man of large experience in the schoolroom1 deserves the thanks of teachers and scholars1 for the concise and succinct form which he has treated this much neglected subject2 ignoring all that does not properly appertain to the important events of our ,nation's existence1 he has given us all that should be memorized1 and in so agreeable a form as to be thoroughly mastered with but little effort4 ,with this book in his hand1 the scholar can in a single school-term obtain as complete a knowledge of the ,history of the ,united ,states as has heretofore required double the time and effort4 ,teachers who are anxious to have their pupils proficient in this subject1 or who are themselves desirous of reviewing the main points of ,history in order to pass a creditable examination1 will find this the book for their purposes1 and it will commend itself to the live teacher as a book long needed4 ,the want of such a work suggested its preparation1 and we are satisfied that in every schoolroom its advent will be welcomed by both teacher and pupil4 ,the unprecedented success which has attended this work since its publication is the best recommendation of its merits1 more than ,twenty ,thousand ,copies having been sold during the past year4 ,it is indorsed by prominent educators1 is used in over fifty ,normal ,schools1 and in hundreds of cities1 towns1 and townships throughout the entire country4 ,teachers1 ,directors1 and all others interested in ,elementary ,education are invited to examine the book4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,parker',s ,,grammar ,,of ,,the ,,english ,,language4 ,based upon an ,analysis of the ,english ,sentence4 ,with copious ,examples and ,exercises in ,parsing and the ,correction of ,false ,syntax1 and an ,appendix1 containing ,critical and ,explanatory ,notes1 and ,lists of ,peculiar and ,exceptional ,forms4 ,for the use of ,schools and ,academies1 and those who write4 ,by ,wm4 ,henry ,parker1 ,principal of ,ringgold ,grammar ,school1 ,philadelphia4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #a4be4 ,prepared by a ,,grammar ,,school ,,principal1 and arranged in the manner that many years of research and actual experience in the schoolroom have demonstrated to be the best for teaching1 this book commends itself to teachers as a simple1 progressive1 and consistent treatise on ,grammar1 the need of which has so long been recognized4 ,we ask for it a careful and critical examination4 ,the thorough acquaintance of the author with his subject1 and his practical knowledge of the difficulties which beset the teacher in the use of the text-book1 and the necessity for the teacher's supplying deficiencies and omissions and amending the text to suit constructions found daily in parsing1 and in other practical exercises in ,grammar1 have enabled him to prepare a work which will1 on trial1 be found a labor-saving aid to both teacher and pupil4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,,teachers4 ,the ,publishers desire to call the attention of ,teachers to their ,list of ,,school ,,roll-,,books1 ,,registers1 ,,grade ,,books1 c4 ,these have been prepared by an experienced1 practical ,teacher1 with the view of meeting a very pressing want of the schoolroom4 ,it is hoped that in their preparation most of the defects usually found in school records have been avoided4 ,,the ,,model ,,roll-,,book1 ,,no4 #a4 ,for the ,use of ,schools4 ,containing a ,record of ,attendance1 ,punctuality1 ,deportment1 ,orthography1 ,reading1 ,penmanship1 ,intellectual ,arithmetic1 ,practical ,arithmetic1 ,geography1 ,grammar4 ,parsing1 and ,history1 and several blanks for special studies not enumerated4 ,price1 #c4ej1 by express4 ,,the ,,model ,,roll-,,book1 ,,no4 #b4 ,for the ,use of ,high ,schools1 ,academies1 and ,seminaries4 ,containing a ,record of all the ,studies mentioned in ,roll-,book1 ,no4 #a1 together with ,elocution1 ,algebra1 ,geometry1 ,composition1 ,french1 ,latin1 ,philosophy1 ,physiology1 and several blanks for special studies not enumerated4 ,price1 #c4ej1 by express4 ,these ,roll-,books are in use in the leading ,schools of ,boston1 ,new ,york1 ,philadelphia1 ,cincinnati1 ,chicago1 and ,st4 ,louis1 and very extensively in ,select and ,high ,schools throughout the country4 ,they will1 on examination1 be found to be the most complete and practical yet published4 ,all teachers who use them speak of them with unqualified approval2 once used1 they will never be relinquished4 ,,the ,,model ,,pocket ,,register ,,and ,,grade-,,book4 ,a ,roll-,book1 ,register and ,record combined4 ,adapted to any grade of ,school1 from ,primary to ,college4 ,handsomely and durably bound in fine ,cloth4 ,price by mail1 postpaid1 #fj cents4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #f4jj4 ,prof4 ,e4 ,a4 ,sheldon1 of the ,new ,york ,state ,normal ,school1 and author of ,lessons on ,objects1 and ,elementary ,instruction1 says of this book3 ,your ,model ,pocket ,register is just the thing every teacher needs4 ,i shall never again be without one4 ,,the ,,model ,,school-,,diary4 ,designed as an aid in securing the co-operation of parents4 ,it consists of a ,record of the ,attendance1 ,deportment1 ,recitations1 c41 of a ,scholar1 for every day in the week4 ,at the close of the week it is to be sent to the parent or guardian1 for his examination and signature4 ,teachers will find in this ,diary an article that has long been needed4 ,its low cost will insure its general use4 ,copies will be mailed to teachers for examination1 postpaid1 on receipt of ten cents4 ,price per dozen1 by mail1 postpaid1 #a4jj4 ,per dozen1 by express1 #hd cents4 ,,rewards ,,of ,,merit4 ,as there are many teachers who make use of these incentives to study1 we have endeavored to meet the demand1 with what success the teacher can judge after seeing our specimens4 ,they are printed on the best quality of ,bristol card1 colored in gold1 silver1 crimson1 ultra-marine1 and emerald1 and are executed in the highest style of the lithographic art4 ,they are chaste1 ornate1 and beautiful1 and need but be seen to be appreciated4 ,the teacher will1 of course1 not connect these gems of art with the common colored cards in vogue4 ,price per set by mail1 postpaid1 #ce cents4 99 99 99 99 99 ,please address the ,publishers1 ,,eldredge ,,brother1 #ag #ai ,south ,sixth ,street1 ,,philadelphia1 ,,pa4