,,the ,,teacher  ,,essays ,,and         
,,addresses ,,on ,,education   ,,by     
,,george ,,herbert ,,palmer ,,and       
,,alice ,,freeman ,,palmer     ,,boston 
,,and ,,new ,,york   ,,houghton         
,,mifflin ,,company   ,the ,riverside   
,press ,cambridge   #aijh               
,,copyright1 #aijh1 ,,by ,,george       
,,herbert ,,palmer   ,,all ,,rights     
,,reserved   ,published ,november #aijh 
,,second ,,impression     ,,preface     
,the papers of this volume fall into    
three groups1 two of the three being    
written by myself4 ,from my writings on 
education ,i have selected only those   
which may have some claim to permanent  
interest1 and all but two have been     
tested by previous publication4 ,those  
of the first group deal with questions  
about which we teachers1 eager about our
 immeasurable art beyond most           
professional persons1 never cease to    
wonder and debate3 ,what is teaching8   
,how far may it influence character8    
,can it be practiced on persons too busy

 or too poor to come to our class-rooms8
 ,to subjects of what scope should it be
 applied8 ,and how shall we content     
ourselves with its necessary            
limitations8 ,under these diverse       
headings a kind of philosophy of        
education is outlined4 ,the last two    
papers1 having been given as lectures   
and stenographically reported1 ,i have  
left in their original colloquial form4 
,a group of papers on ,harvard follows1 
preceded by an explanatory note1 and the
 volume closes with a few papers by     
,mrs4 ,palmer4 ,she and ,i often talked 
of preparing together a book on         
education4 ,now1 alone1 ,i gather up    
these fragments4     ,,contents         
,,page           ,i4 ,,problems ,,of    
,,school ,,and ,,college      ,i4 ,the  
,ideal ,teacher                         
#c     ,,ii4 ,ethical ,instruction in   
the ,schools                            
#ca    ,,iii4 ,moral ,instruction in the
 ,schools                            #di
     ,,iv4 ,self-,cultivation in        

,english                                
#gb      ,v4 ,doubts ,about ,university 
,extension                          #aje
     ,,vi4 ,specialization              
#abc    ,,vii4 ,the ,glory of the       
,imperfect                              
#adc            ,,ii4 ,,harvard ,,papers
   ,,viii4 ,the ,new ,education         
#agc     ,,ix4 ,erroneous ,limitations  
of the ,elective ,system                
#bjj      ,x4 ,necessary ,limitations of
 the ,elective ,system                  
#bci     ,,xi4 ,college ,expenses       
#bgb    ,,xii4 ,a ,teacher of the ,olden
 ,time                                  
#bhc            ,,iii4 ,,papers ,,by    
,,alice ,,freeman ,,palmer   ,,xiii4    
,three ,types of ,women's ,colleges     
#cac    ,,xiv4 ,women's ,education in   
the ,nineteenth ,century                
#ccg     ,,xv4 ,women's ,education at   
the ,world's ,fair                      
#cea    ,,xvi4 ,why ,go to ,college8    
#cfd     ,i  ,,problems ,,of ,,school   
,,and ,,college     ,i  ,,the ,,ideal   

,,teacher   ,in ,america1 a land of     
idealism1 the profession of teaching has
 become one of the greatest of human    
employments4 ,in #aijc-jd half a million
 teachers were in charge of sixteen     
million pupils4 ,stating the same facts 
differently1 we may say that a fifth of 
our entire population is constantly at  
school2 and that wherever one hundred   
and sixty men1 women1 and children are  
gathered1 a teacher is sure to be among 
them4  ,but figures fail to express the 
importance of the work4 ,if each year an
 equal number of persons should come in 
contact with as many lawyers1 no such   
social consequences would follow4 ,the  
touch of the teacher1 like that of no   
other person1 is formative4 ,our young  
people are for long periods associated  
with those who are expected to fashion  
them into men and women of an approved  
type4 ,a charge so influential is       
committed to nobody else in the         
community1 not even to the ministers2   
for though these have a more searching  

aim1 they are directly occupied with it 
but one day instead of six1 but one hour
 instead of five4 ,accordingly1 as the  
tract of knowledge has widened1 and the 
creative opportunities involved in      
conducting a young person over it have  
correspondingly become apparent1 the    
profession of teaching has risen to a   
notable height of dignity and           
attractiveness4 ,it has moved from a    
subordinate to a central place in social
 influence1 and now undertakes much of  
the work which formerly fell to the     
church4 ,each year divinity schools     
attract fewer students1 graduate and    
normal schools more4 ,on school and     
college instruction the community now   
bestows its choicest minds1 its highest 
hopes1 and its largest sums4 ,during the
 year #aijc-jd the ,united ,states spent
 for teaching not less than             
#cej1jjj1jjj4  ,such weighty work is ill
 adapted for amateurs4 ,those who take  
it up for brief times and to make money 
usually find it unsatisfactory4 ,success

 is rare1 the hours are fixed and long1 
there is repetition and monotony1 and   
the teacher passes his days among       
inferiors4 ,nor are the pecuniary gains 
considerable4 ,there are few prizes1 and
 neither in school nor in college will a
 teacher's ordinary income carry him    
much above want4 ,college teaching is   
falling more and more into the hands of 
men of independent means4 ,the poor can 
hardly afford to engage in it4 ,private 
schools1 it is true1 often show large   
incomes2 but they are earned by the     
proprietors1 not the teachers4 ,on the  
whole1 teaching as a trade is poor and  
disappointing business4  ,when1 however1
 it is entered as a profession1 as a    
serious and difficult fine art1 there   
are few employments more satisfying4    
,all over the country thousands of men  
and women are following it with a       
passionate devotion which takes little  
account of the income received4 ,a trade
 aims primarily at personal gain2 a     
profession at the exercise of powers    

beneficial to mankind4 ,this prime aim  
of the one1 it is true1 often properly  
becomes a subordinate aim of the other4 
,professional men may even be said to   
offer wares of their own--cures1        
conversions1 court victories1           
learning--much as traders do1 and to    
receive in return a kind of reward4 ,but
 the business of the lawyer1 doctor1    
preacher1 and teacher never squares     
itself by equivalent exchange4 ,these   
men do not give so much for so much4    
,they give in lump and they get in lump1
 without precise balance4 ,the whole    
notion of bargain is inapplicable in a  
sphere where the gains of him who serves
 and him who is served coincide2 and    
that is largely the case with the       
professions4 ,each of them furnishes its
 special opportunity for the use of     
powers which the possessor takes delight
 in exercising4 ,harvard ,college pays  
me for doing what ,i would gladly pay it
 for allowing me to do4 ,no professional
 man1 then1 thinks of giving according  

to measure4 ,once engaged1 he gives his 
best1 gives his personal interest1      
himself4 ,his heart is in his work1 and 
for this no equivalent is possible2 what
 is accepted is in the nature of a fee1 
gratuity1 or consideration1 which       
enables him who receives it to maintain 
a certain expected mode of life4 ,the   
real payment is the work itself1 this   
and the chance to join with other       
members of the profession in guiding and
 enlarging the sphere of its activities4
  ,the idea1 sometimes advanced1 that   
the professions might be ennobled by    
paying them powerfully1 is fantastic4   
,their great attraction is their removal
 from sordid aims4 ,more money should   
certainly be spent on several of them4  
,their members should be better         
protected against want1 anxiety1        
neglect1 and bad conditions of labor4   
,to do his best work one needs not      
merely to live1 but to live well4 ,yet  
in that increase of salaries which is   
urgently needed1 care should be used not

 to allow the attention of the          
professional man to be diverted from    
what is important1--the outgo of his    
work1--and become fixed on what is      
merely incidental1--his income4 ,when a 
professor in one of our large           
universities1 angered by the refusal of 
the president to raise his salary on his
 being called elsewhere1 impatiently    
exclaimed1 ,mr4 ,president1 you are     
banking on the devotion of us teachers1 
knowing that we do not willingly leave  
this place1 the president properly      
replied1 ,certainly1 and no college can 
be managed on any other principle4      
,professional men are not so silly as to
 despise money2 but after all1 it is    
interest in their work1 and not the     
thought of salary1 which predominantly  
holds them4  ,accordingly in this paper 
,i address those only who are drawn to  
teaching by the love of it1 who regard  
it as the most vital of the ,fine ,arts1
 who intend to give their lives to      
mastering its subtleties1 and who are   

ready to meet some hardships and to put 
up with moderate fare if they may win   
its rich opportunities4  ,but supposing 
such a temper1 what special             
qualifications will the work require8   
,the question asked thus broadly admits 
no precise answer2 for in reality there 
is no human excellence which is not     
useful for us teachers4 ,no good quality
 can be thought of which we can afford  
to drop4 ,some day we shall discover a  
disturbing vacuum in the spot which it  
left4 ,but ,i propose a more limited    
problem3 what are those characteristics 
of the teacher without which he must    
fail1 and what those which1 once his1   
will almost certainly insure him        
success8 ,are there any such essentials1
 and how many8 ,on this matter ,i have  
pondered long2 for1 teaching thirty-nine
 years in ,harvard ,college1 ,i have    
each year found out a little more fully 
my own incompetence4 ,i have thus been  
forced to ask myself the double         
question1 through what lacks do ,i fail1

 and in what direction lie the roots of 
my small successes8 ,of late years ,i   
think ,i have hit on these roots of     
success and have come to believe that   
there are four of them1--four           
characteristics which every teacher must
 possess4 ,of course he may possess as  
many more as he likes1--indeed1 the more
 the better4 ,but these four appear     
fundamental4 ,i will briefly name them4 
,first1 a teacher must have an aptitude 
for vicariousness2 and second1 an       
already accumulated wealth2 and third1  
an ability to invigorate life through   
knowledge2 and fourth1 a readiness to be
 forgotten4 ,having these1 any teacher  
is secure4 ,lacking them1 lacking even  
one1 he is liable to serious failure4   
,but as here stated they have a         
curiously cabalistic sound and show     
little relation to the needs of any     
profession4 ,they have been stated with 
too much condensation1 and have become  
unintelligible through being too exact4 
,let me repair the error by successively

 expanding them4  ,the teacher's art    
takes its rise in what ,i call an       
aptitude for vicariousness4 ,as year by 
year my college boys prepare to go forth
 into life1 some laggard is sure to come
 to me and say1 ,i want a little advice4
 ,most of my classmates have their minds
 made up about what they are going to   
do4 ,i am still uncertain4 ,i rather    
incline to be a teacher1 because ,i am  
fond of books and suspect that in any   
other profession ,i can give them but   
little time4 ,business men do not read4 
,lawyers only consult books4 ,and ,i am 
by no means sure that ministers have    
read all the books they quote4 ,on the  
whole it seems safest to choose a       
profession in which books will be my    
daily companions4 ,so ,i turn toward    
teaching4 ,but before settling the      
matter ,i thought ,i would ask how you  
regard the profession4 ,a noble         
profession1 ,i answer1 but quite unfit  
for you4 ,i would advise you to become a
 lawyer1 a car conductor1 or something  

equally harmless4 ,do not turn to       
anything so perilous as teaching4 ,you  
would ruin both it and yourself2 for you
 are looking in exactly the wrong       
direction4  ,such an inquirer is under a
 common misconception4 ,the teacher's   
task is not primarily the acquisition of
 knowledge1 but the impartation of      
it1--an entirely different matter4 ,we  
teachers are forever taking thoughts out
 of our minds and putting them          
elsewhere4 ,so long as we are content to
 keep them in our possession1 we are not
 teachers at all4 ,one who is interested
 in laying hold on wisdom is likely to  
become a scholar4 ,and while no doubt it
 is well for a teacher to be a fair     
scholar1--,i have known several         
such1--that is not the main thing4 ,what
 constitutes the teacher is the passion 
to make scholars2 and again and again it
 happens that the great scholar has no  
such passion whatever4  ,but even that  
passion is useless without aid from     
imagination4 ,at every instant of the   

teacher's life he must be controlled by 
this mighty power4 ,most human beings   
are contented with living one life and  
delighted if they can pass that         
agreeably4 ,but this is far from enough 
for us teachers4 ,we incessantly go     
outside ourselves and enter into the    
many lives about us1--lives dull1 dark1 
and unintelligible to any but an eye    
like ours4 ,and this is imagination1 the
 sympathetic creation in ourselves of   
conditions which belong to others4 ,our 
profession is therefore a double-ended  
one4 ,we inspect truth as it rises fresh
 and interesting before our eager sight4
 ,but that is only the beginning of our 
task4 ,swiftly we then seize the lines  
of least intellectual resistance in     
alien minds and1 with perpetual         
reference to these1 follow our truth    
till it is safely lodged beyond         
ourselves4 ,each mind has its peculiar  
set of frictions4 ,those of our pupils  
can never be the same as ours4 ,we have 
passed far on and know all about our    

subject4 ,for us it wears an altogether 
different look from that which it has   
for beginners4 ,it is their perplexities
 which we must reproduce and--as if a   
rose should shut and be a bud again--we 
must reassume in our developed and      
accustomed souls something of the       
innocence of childhood4 ,such is the    
exquisite business of the teacher1 to   
carry himself back with all his wealth  
of knowledge and understand how his     
subject should appear to the meagre mind
 of one glancing at it for the first    
time4  ,and what absurd blunders we make
 in the process6 ,becoming immersed in  
our own side of the affair1 we blind    
ourselves and readily attribute to our  
pupils modes of thought which are not in
 the least theirs4 ,i remember a lesson 
,i had on this point1 ,i who had been   
teaching ethics half a lifetime4 ,my    
nephew1 five years old1 was fond of     
stories from the ,odyssey4 ,he would    
creep into bed with me in the morning   
and beg for them4 ,one ,sunday1 after ,i

 had given him a pretty stiff bit of    
adventure1 it occurred to me that it was
 an appropriate day for a moral4        
,ulysses was a very brave man1 ,i       
remarked4 ,yes1 he said1 and ,i am very 
brave4 ,i saw my opportunity and seized 
it4 ,that is true1 said ,i4 ,you have   
been gaining courage lately4 ,you used  
to cry easily1 but you don't do that    
nowadays4 ,when you want to cry now1 you
 think how like a baby it would be to   
cry1 or how you would disturb mother and
 upset the house2 and so you conclude   
not to cry4 ,the little fellow seemed   
hopelessly puzzled4 ,he lay silent a    
minute or two and then said1 ,well no1  
,uncle1 ,i don't do that4 ,i just go    
sh-sh-sh1 and ,i don't4 ,there the moral
 crisis is stated in its simplicity2 and
 ,i had been putting off on that holy   
little nature sophistications borrowed  
from my own battered life4  ,but while  
,i am explaining the blunders caused by 
self-engrossment and lack of            
imagination1 let me show what slight    

adjustments will sometimes carry us past
 depressing difficulties4 ,one year when
 ,i was lecturing on some intricate     
problems of obligation1 ,i began to     
doubt whether my class was following me1
 and ,i determined that ,i would make   
them talk4 ,so the next day ,i          
constructed an ingenious ethical case   
and1 after stating it to the class1 ,i  
said1 ,supposing now the state of       
affairs were thus and thus1 and the     
interests of the persons involved were  
such and such1 how would you decide the 
question of right1--,mr4 ,jones4 ,poor  
,jones rose in confusion4 ,you mean1 he 
said1 if the case were as you have      
stated it8 ,well1 hm1 hm1 hm1--yes1--,i 
don't think ,i know1 sir4 ,and he sat   
down4 ,i called on one and another with 
the same result4 ,a panic was upon them1
 and all their minds were alike empty4  
,i went home disgusted1 wondering       
whether they had comprehended anything  
,i had said during the previous         
fortnight1 and hoping ,i might never    

have such a stupid lot of students      
again4 ,suddenly it flashed upon me that
 it was ,i who was stupid4 ,that is     
usually the case when a class fails2 it 
is the teacher's fault4 ,the next day ,i
 went back prepared to begin at the     
right end4 ,i began1 ,oh1 ,mr4 ,jones4  
,he rose1 and ,i proceeded to state the 
situation as before4 ,by the time ,i    
paused he had collected his wits1 had   
worked off his superfluous flurry1 and  
was ready to give me an admirable       
answer4 ,indeed in a few minutes the    
whole class was engaged in an eager     
discussion4 ,my previous error had been 
in not remembering that they1 ,i1 and   
everybody1 when suddenly attacked with a
 big question1 are not in the best      
condition for answering4 ,occupied as ,i
 was with my end of the story1 the      
questioning end1 ,i had not worked in   
that double-ended fashion which alone   
can bring the teacher success2 in short1
 ,i was deficient in vicariousness1--in 
swiftly putting myself in the weak one's

 place and bearing his burden4  ,now it 
is in this chief business of the        
artistic teacher1 to labor imaginatively
 himself in order to diminish the labors
 of his slender pupil1 that most of our 
failures occur4 ,instead of lamenting   
the imperviousness of our pupils1 we had
 better ask ourselves more frequently   
whether we have neatly adjusted our     
teachings to the conditions of their    
minds4 ,we have no right to tumble out  
in a mass whatever comes into our heads1
 leaving to that feeble folk the work of
 finding in it what order they may4     
,ours it should be to see that every    
beginning1 middle1 and end of what we   
say is helpfully shaped for readiest    
access to those less intelligent and    
interested than we4 ,but this is        
vicariousness4 ,noblesse oblige4 ,in    
this profession any one who will be     
great must be a nimble servant1 his head
 full of others' needs4  ,some          
discouraged teacher1 glad to discover   
that his past failures have been due to 

the absence of sympathetic imagination1 
may resolve that he will not commit that
 blunder again4 ,on going to his class  
to-morrow he will look out upon his     
subject with his pupils' eyes1 not with 
his own4 ,let him attempt it1 and his   
pupils will surely say to one another1  
,what is the matter to-day with teacher8
 ,they will get nothing from that       
exercise4 ,no1 what is wanted is not a  
resolve1 but an aptitude4 ,the time for 
using vicariousness is not the time for 
acquiring it4 ,rather it is the time for
 dismissing all thoughts of it from the 
mind4 ,on entering the classroom we     
should leave every consideration of     
method outside the door1 and talk simply
 as interested men and women in whatever
 way comes most natural to us4 ,but into
 that nature vicariousness should long  
ago have been wrought4 ,it should be    
already on hand4 ,fortunate we if our   
great-grandmother supplied us with it   
before we were born4 ,there are persons 
who1 with all good will1 can never be   

teachers4 ,they are not made in that    
way4 ,their business it is to pry into  
knowledge1 to engage in action1 to make 
money1 or to pursue whatever other aim  
their powers dictate2 but they do not   
readily think in terms of the other     
person4 ,they should not1 then1 be      
teachers4  ,the teacher's habit is well 
summed in the ,apostle's rule1 ,look not
 every man on his own things1 but every 
man also--it is double--on the things of
 others4 ,and this habit should become  
as nearly as possible an instinct4      
,until it is rendered instinctive and   
passes beyond conscious direction1 it   
will be of little worth4 ,let us then1  
as we go into society1 as we walk the   
streets1 as we sit at table1 practice   
altruistic limberness and learn to      
escape from ourselves4 ,a true teacher  
is always meditating his work1          
disciplining himself for his profession1
 probing the problems of his glorious   
art1 and seeing illustration of them    
everywhere4 ,in only one place is he    

freed from such criticism1 and that is  
in his classroom4 ,here in the moment of
 action he lets himself go1 unhampered  
by theory1 using the nature acquired    
elsewhere1 and uttering as simply as    
possible the fulness of his mind and    
heart4 ,direct human intercourse        
requires instinctive aptitudes4 ,till   
altruistic vicariousness has become our 
second nature1 we shall not deeply      
influence anybody4  ,but sympathetic    
imagination is not all a teacher needs4 
,exclusive altruism is absurd4 ,on this 
point too ,i once got instruction from  
the mouths of babes and sucklings4 ,the 
children of a friend of mine1 children  
of six and four1 had just gone to bed4  
,their mother overheard them talking    
when they should have been asleep4      
,wondering what they might need1 she    
stepped into the entry and listened4    
,they were discussing what they were    
here in the world for4 ,that is about   
the size of problems commonly found in  
infant minds4 ,the little girl suggested

 that we are probably in the world to   
help others4 ,why1 no indeed1 ,mabel1   
said her big brother1 for then what     
would others be here for8 ,precisely6   
,if anything is only fit to give away1  
it is not fit for that4 ,we must know   
and prize its goodness in ourselves     
before generosity is even possible4     
,plainly1 then1 beside his aptitude for 
vicariousness1 our ideal teacher will   
need the second qualification of an     
already accumulated wealth4 ,these      
hungry pupils are drawing all their     
nourishment from us1 and have we got it 
to give8 ,they will be poor1 if we are  
poor2 rich if we are wealthy4 ,we are   
their source of supply4 ,every time we  
cut ourselves off from nutrition1 we    
enfeeble them4 ,and how frequently      
devoted teachers make this mistake6     
dedicating themselves so to the         
immediate needs of those about them that
 they themselves grow thinner each year4
 ,we all know the teacher's face4 ,it is
 meagre1 worn1 sacrificial1 anxious1    

powerless4 ,that is exactly the opposite
 of what it should be4 ,the teacher     
should be the big bounteous being of the
 community4 ,other people may get along 
tolerably by holding whatever small     
knowledge comes their way4 ,a moderate  
stock will pretty well serve their      
private turn4 ,but that is not our case4
 ,supplying a multitude1 we need wealth 
sufficient for a multitude4 ,we should  
then be clutching at knowledge on every 
side4 ,nothing must escape us4 ,it is a 
mistake to reject a bit of truth because
 it lies outside our province4 ,some day
 we shall need it4 ,all knowledge is our
 province4  ,in preparing a lecture ,i  
find ,i always have to work hardest on  
the things ,i do not say4 ,the things ,i
 am sure to say ,i can easily get up4   
,they are obvious and generally         
accessible4 ,but they1 ,i find1 are not 
enough4 ,i must have a broad background 
of knowledge which does not appear in   
speech4 ,i have to go over my entire    
subject and see how the things ,i am to 

say look in their various relations1    
tracing out connections which ,i shall  
not present to my class4 ,one might ask 
what is the use of this8 ,why prepare   
more matter than can be used8 ,every    
successful teacher knows4 ,i cannot     
teach right up to the edge of my        
knowledge without a fear of falling off4
 ,my pupils discover this fear1 and my  
words are ineffective4 ,they feel the   
influence of what ,i do not say4 ,one   
cannot precisely explain it2 but when ,i
 move freely across my subject as if it 
mattered little on what part of it ,i   
rest1 they get a sense of assured power 
which is compulsive and fructifying4    
,the subject acquires consequence1 their
 minds swell1 and they are eager to     
enter regions of which they had not     
previously thought4  ,even1 then1 to    
teach a small thing well we must be     
large4 ,i asked a teacher what her      
subject was1 and she answered1          
,arithmetic in the third grade4 ,but    
where is the third grade found8 ,in     

knowledge1 or in the schools8 ,unhappily
 it is in the schools4 ,but if one would
 be a teacher of arithmetic1 it must be 
arithmetic she teaches and not third    
grade at all4 ,we cannot accept these   
artificial bounds without damage4       
,instead of accumulated wealth they will
 bring us accumulated poverty1 and      
increase it every day4 ,years ago at    
,harvard we began to discuss the        
establishment of a ,graduate ,school2   
and ,i1 a young instructor1 steadily    
voted against it4 ,my thought was this3 
,harvard ,college1 in spite of what the 
public imagines1 is a place of slender  
resources4 ,our means are inadequate for
 teaching even undergraduates4 ,but     
graduate instruction is vastly more     
expensive2 courses composed of half a   
dozen students take the time of the     
ablest professors4 ,i thought we could  
not afford this4 ,why not leave graduate
 instruction to a university which gives
 itself entirely to that task8 ,would it
 not be wiser to spend ourselves on the 

lower ranges of learning1 covering these
 adequately1 than to try to spread      
ourselves over the entire field8        
,doubting so1 ,i for some time opposed  
the coming of a ,graduate ,school4 ,but 
a luminous remark of our great          
,president showed me the error of my    
ways4 ,in the course of debate he said  
one evening1 ,it is not primarily for   
the graduates that ,i care for this     
school2 it is for the undergraduates4   
,we shall never get good teaching here  
so long as our instructors set a limit  
to their subjects4 ,when they are called
 on to follow these throughout1 tracing 
them far off toward the unknown1 they   
may become good teachers2 but not       
before4  ,i went home meditating4 ,i saw
 that the ,president was right1 and that
 ,i was myself in danger of the         
stagnation he deprecated4 ,i changed my 
vote1 as did others4 ,the ,graduate     
,school was established2 and of all the 
influences which have contributed to    
raise the standard of scholarship at    

,harvard1 both for teachers and taught1 
that graduate work seems to me the      
greatest4 ,every professor now must be  
the master of a field of knowledge1 and 
not of a few paths running through it4  
,but the ideal teacher will accumulate  
wealth1 not merely for his pupils' sake1
 but for his own4 ,to be a great teacher
 one must be a great personality1 and   
without ardent and individual tastes the
 roots of our being are not fed4 ,for   
developing personal power it is well1   
therefore1 for each teacher to cultivate
 interests unconnected with his official
 work4 ,let the mathematician turn to   
the ,english poets1 the teacher of      
classics to the study of birds and      
flowers1 and each will gain a lightness1
 a freedom from exhaustion1 a mental    
hospitality1 which can only be acquired 
in some disinterested pursuit4 ,such a  
private subject becomes doubly dear     
because it is just our own4 ,we pursue  
it as we will2 we let it call out our   
irresponsible thoughts2 and from it we  

ordinarily carry off a note of          
distinction lacking in those whose lives
 are too tightly organized4  ,to this   
second qualification of the teacher1    
however1 ,i have been obliged to prefix 
a condition similar to that which was   
added to the first4 ,we need not merely 
wealth1 but an already accumulated      
wealth4 ,at the moment when wealth is   
wanted it cannot be acquired4 ,it should
 have been gathered and stored before   
the occasion arose4 ,what is more       
pitiable than when a person who desires 
to be a benefactor looks in his chest   
and finds it empty8 ,special knowledge  
is wanted1 or trained insight1 or       
professional skill1 or sound practical  
judgment2 and the teacher who is called 
on has gone through no such discipline  
as assures these resources4 ,i am       
inclined to think that women are more   
liable to this sort of bankruptcy than  
men4 ,their sex is more sympathetic than
 ours and they spend more hastily4 ,they
 will drop what they are doing and run  

if a baby cries4 ,excellence requires a 
certain hardihood of heart1 while quick 
responsiveness is destructive of the    
larger giving4 ,he who would be greatly 
generous must train himself long and    
tenaciously1 without much attention to  
momentary calls4 ,the plan of the ,great
 ,teacher1 by which he took thirty years
 for acquisition and three for bestowal1
 is not unwise1 provided that we too can
 say1 ,for their sakes ,i sanctify      
myself4  ,but the two qualifications of 
the teacher already named will not alone
 suffice4 ,i have known persons who were
 sympathetically imaginative1 and who   
could not be denied to possess large    
intellectual wealth1 who still failed as
 teachers4 ,one needs a third something1
 the power to invigorate life through   
learning4 ,we do not always notice how  
knowledge naturally buffets4 ,it is     
offensive stuff1 and makes young and    
wholesome minds rebel4 ,and well it may2
 for when we learn anything1 we are     
obliged to break up the world1 inspect  

it piecemeal1 and let our minds seize it
 bit by bit4 ,now about a fragment there
 is always something repulsive4 ,any one
 who is normally constituted must draw  
back in horror1 feeling that what is    
brought him has little to do with the   
beautiful world he has known4 ,where was
 there ever a healthy child who did not 
hate the multiplication table8 ,a boy   
who did not detest such abstractions as 
seven times eight would hardly be worth 
educating4 ,by no ingenuity can we      
relieve knowledge of this unfortunate   
peculiarity4 ,it must be taken in       
disjointed portions4 ,that is the way   
attention is made4 ,in consequence each 
of us must be to some extent a          
specialist1 devoting himself to certain 
sides of the world and neglecting others
 quite as important4 ,these are the     
conditions under which we imperfect     
creatures work4 ,our sight is not       
world-wide4 ,when we give our attention 
to one object1 by that very act we      
withdraw it from others4 ,in this way   

our children must learn and have their  
expansive natures subdued to pedagogic  
exigencies4  ,because this belittlement 
through the method of approach is       
inevitable1 it is all-important that the
 teacher should possess a supplemental  
dignity1 replacing the oppressive sense 
of pettiness with stimulating           
intimations of high things in store4    
,partly on this account a book is an    
imperfect instructor4 ,truth there1     
being impersonal1 seems untrue1         
abstract1 and insignificant4 ,it needs  
to shine through a human being before it
 can exert its vital force on a young   
student4 ,quite as much for vital       
transmission as for intellectual        
elucidation1 is a teacher employed4 ,his
 consolidated character exhibits the    
gains which come from study4 ,he need   
not point them out4 ,if he is a scholar1
 there will appear in him an augustness1
 accuracy1 fulness of knowledge1 a      
buoyant enthusiasm even in drudgery1 and
 an unshakable confidence that others   

must soon see and enjoy what has        
enriched himself2 and all this will     
quickly convey itself to his students   
and create attention in his classroom4  
,such kindling of interest is the great 
function of the teacher4 ,people        
sometimes say1 ,i should like to teach  
if only pupils cared to learn4 ,but then
 there would be little need of teaching4
 ,boys who have made up their minds that
 knowledge is worth while are pretty    
sure to get it1 without regard to       
teachers4 ,our chief concern is with    
those who are unawakened4 ,in the       
,sistine ,chapel ,michael ,angelo has   
depicted the ,almighty moving in clouds 
over the rugged earth where lies the    
newly created ,adam1 hardly aware of    
himself4 ,the tips of the fingers touch1
 the ,lord's and ,adam's1 and the huge  
frame loses its inertness and rears     
itself into action4 ,such may be the    
electrifying touch of the teacher4  ,but
 it must be confessed that not          
infrequently1 instead of invigorating   

life through knowledge1 we teachers     
reduce our classes to complete          
passivity4 ,the blunder is not          
altogether ours1 but is suggested by    
certain characteristics of knowledge    
itself3 for how can a learner begin     
without submitting his mind1 accepting  
facts1 listening to authority1 in short 
becoming obedient8 ,he is called on to  
put aside his own notions and take what 
truth dictates4 ,i have said that       
knowledge buffets1 forcing us into an   
almost slavish attitude1 and that this  
is resented by vigorous natures4 ,in    
almost every school some of the most    
original1 aggressive1 and independent   
boys stand low in their classes1 while  
at the top stand grinds1--objects of    
horror to all healthy souls4  ,now it is
 the teacher's business to see that the 
onslaught of knowledge does not         
enfeeble4 ,between the two sides of     
knowledge1 information and intelligence1
 he is to keep the balance true4 ,while 
a boy is taking in facts1 facts not     

allowed to be twisted by any fancy or   
carelessness1 he is all the time to be  
made to feel that these facts offer him 
a field for critical and constructive   
action4 ,if they leave him inactive1    
docile1 and plodding1 there is something
 wrong with the teaching4 ,facts are    
pernicious when they subjugate and do   
not quicken the mind that grasps them4  
,education should unfold us and truth   
together2 and to enable it to do so the 
learner must never be allowed to sink   
into a mere recipient4 ,he should be    
called on to think1 to observe1 to form 
his own judgments1 even at the risk of  
error and crudity4 ,temporary           
one-sidedness and extravagance is not   
too high a price to pay for originality4
 ,and this development of personal      
vigor1 emphasized in our day by the     
elective system and independent         
research1 is the great aim of education4
 ,it should affect the lower ranges of  
study as truly as the higher4 ,the mere 
contemplation of truth is always a      

deadening affair4 ,many a dull class in 
school and college would come to life if
 simply given something to do4 ,until   
the mind reacts for itself on what it   
receives1 its education is hardly begun4
  ,the teacher who leads it so to react 
may be truly called productive1         
productive of human beings4 ,the noble  
word has recently become ,germanized and
 corrupted1 and is now hardly more than 
a piece of educational slang4 ,according
 to the judgments of to-day a teacher   
may be unimaginative1 pedantic1 dull1   
and may make his students no less so2 he
 will still deserve a crown of wild     
olive as a productive man if he neglects
 his classroom for the printing press4  
,but this is to put first things second 
and second things first4 ,he who is     
original and fecund1 and knows how to   
beget a similar spirit in his students1 
will naturally wish to express himself  
beyond his classroom4 ,by snatching the 
fragments of time which his arduous work
 allows1 he may accomplish much worthy  

writing and probably increase too his   
worth for his college1 his students1 and
 himself4 ,but the business of          
book-making is1 after all1 collateral   
with us teachers4 ,not for this are we  
employed1 desirable though it is for    
showing the kind of mind we bear4 ,many 
of my most productive colleagues have   
printed little or nothing1 though they  
have left a deep mark on the life and   
science of our time4 ,i would encourage 
publication4 ,it keeps the solitary     
student healthy1 enables him to find his
 place among his fellows1 and more      
distinctly to estimate the contributions
 he is making to his subject4 ,but let  
him never neglect his proper work for   
that which must always have in it an    
element of advertising4  ,too long ,i   
have delayed the fourth1 the            
disagreeable1 section of my paper4      
,briefly it is this3 a teacher must have
 a readiness to be forgotten4 ,and what 
is harder8 ,we may be excellent persons1
 may be daily doing kindnesses1 and yet 

not be quite willing to have those      
kindnesses overlooked4 ,many a man is   
ready to be generous1 if by it he can   
win praise4 ,the love of praise1--it is 
almost our last infirmity2 but there is 
no more baffling infirmity for the      
teacher4 ,if praise and recognition are 
dear to him1 he may as well stop work4  
,dear to him perhaps they must be1 as a 
human being2 but as a teacher1 he is    
called on to rise above ordinary human  
conditions4 ,whoever has followed me    
thus far will perceive the reason4 ,i   
have shown that a teacher does not live 
for himself1 but for his pupil and for  
the truth which he imparts4 ,his aim is 
to be a colorless medium through which  
that truth may shine on opening minds4  
,how can he be this if he is continually
 interposing himself and saying1        
,instead of looking at the truth1 my    
children1 look at me and see how        
skilfully ,i do my work4 ,i thought ,i  
taught you admirably to-day4 ,i hope you
 thought so too4 ,no1 the teacher must  

keep himself entirely out of the way1   
fixing young attention on the proffered 
knowledge and not on anything so small  
as the one who brings it4 ,only so can  
he be vicarious1 whole-hearted in       
invigorating the lives committed to his 
charge4  ,moreover1 any other course is 
futile4 ,we cannot tell whether those   
whom we are teaching have taken our best
 points or not4 ,those best points1 what
 are they8 ,we shall count them one     
thing1 our pupils another4 ,we gather   
what seems to us of consequence and pour
 it out upon our classes4 ,but if their 
minds are not fitted to receive it1 the 
little creatures have excellent         
protective arrangements which they draw 
down1 and all we pour is simply shed as 
if nothing had fallen2 while again we   
say something so slight that we hardly  
notice it1 but1 happening to be just the
 nutritive element which that small life
 then needs1 it is caught up and turned 
into human fibre4 ,we cannot tell4 ,we  
work in the dark4 ,out upon the waters  

our bread is cast1 and if we are wise we
 do not attempt to trace its return4    
,on this point ,i received capital      
instruction from one of my pupils4 ,in  
teaching a course on ,english           
,empiricism ,i undertook a line of      
exposition which ,i knew was abstruse4  
,indeed1 ,i doubted if many of the class
 could follow2 but there on the front   
seat sat one whose bright eyes were ever
 upon me4 ,it seemed worth while to     
teach my three or four best men1 that   
man in particular4 ,by the end of the   
term there were many grumblings4 ,my    
class did not get much out of me that   
year4 ,they graduated1 and a couple of  
years later this young fellow appeared  
at my door to say that he could not pass
 through ,cambridge without thanking me 
for his work on ,locke1 ,berkeley1 and  
,hume4 ,pleased to be assured that my   
questionable methods were justified1 and
 unwilling to drop a subject so         
agreeable1 ,i asked if he could tell    
precisely where the value of the course 

lay4 ,certainly1 he answered4 ,it all   
centred in a single remark of ,locke's4 
,locke said we ought to have clear and  
distinct ideas4 ,i don't think ,i got   
anything else out of the course4  ,well1
 at first ,i was inclined to think the  
fellow foolish1 so to mistake a bit of  
commonplace for gospel truth4 ,why did  
he not listen to some of the profound   
things ,i was saying8 ,but on reflection
 ,i saw that he was right and ,i wrong4 
,that trivial saying had come to him at 
a critical moment as a word of power2   
while the deep matters which interested 
me1 and which ,i had been offering him  
so confidently day by day1 being        
unsuited to him1 had passed him by4 ,he 
had not heard them4  ,to such proper    
unthankfulness we teachers must accustom
 ourselves4 ,we cannot tell what are our
 good deeds1 and shall only plague      
ourselves and hinder our classes if we  
try to find out4 ,let us display our    
subjects as lucidly as possible1 allow  
our pupils considerable license in      

apprehension1 and be content ourselves  
to escape observation4 ,but though what 
we do remains unknown1 its results often
 awake deep affection4 ,few in the      
community receive love more abundantly  
than we4 ,wherever we go1 we meet a     
smiling face4 ,throughout the world1 by 
some good fortune1 the period of        
learning is the period of romance4 ,in  
those halcyon days of our boys and girls
 we have a share1 and the golden lights 
which flood the opening years are       
reflected on us4 ,though our pupils     
cannot follow our efforts in their      
behalf1 and indeed ought not1--it being 
our art to conceal our art1--yet they   
perceive that in the years when their   
happy expansion occurred we were their  
guides4 ,to us1 therefore1 their blind  
affections cling as to few beside their 
parents4 ,it is better to be loved than 
to be understood4  ,perhaps some readers
 of this paper will begin to suspect    
that it is impossible to be a good      
teacher4 ,certainly it is4 ,each of the 

four qualifications ,i have named is    
endless4 ,not one of them can be fully  
attained4 ,we can always be more        
imaginative1 wealthy1 stimulating1      
disinterested4 ,each year we creep a    
little nearer to our goal1 only to find 
that a finished teacher is a            
contradiction in terms4 ,our reach will 
forever exceed our grasp4 ,yet what a   
delight in approximation6 ,even in our  
failures there is comfort1 when we see  
that they are generally due not to      
technical but to personal defects4 ,we  
have been putting ourselves forward1 or 
have taught in mechanical rather than   
vital fashion1 or have not undertaken   
betimes the labor of preparation1 or    
have declined the trouble of            
vicariousness4  ,evidently1 then1 as we 
become better teachers we also become in
 some sort better persons4 ,our         
beautiful art1 being so largely         
personal1 will at last be seen to       
connect itself with nearly all other    
employments4 ,every mother is a teacher4

 ,every minister4 ,the lawyer teaches   
the jury1 the doctor his patient4 ,the  
clever salesman might almost be said to 
use teaching in dealing with his        
customer1 and all of us to be teachers  
of one another in daily intercourse4 ,as
 teaching is the most universal of the  
professions1 those are fortunate who are
 able to devote their lives to its      
enriching study4     ,,ii  ,,ethical    
,,instruction ,,in ,,the ,,schools      
,within a few years a strong demand has 
arisen for ethical teaching in the      
schools4 ,teachers themselves have      
become interested1 and wherever they are
 gathered the question1 ,what shall this
 teaching be8 is eagerly discussed4 ,the
 educational journals are full of it4   
,within a year there have been published
 seven books on the subject4 ,several of
 them--it would be hardly an            
exaggeration to say all--are books of   
marked excellence4 ,seldom does so large
 a percentage of books in a single year1
 in a single country1 and on a single   

subject reach so high a level of merit4 
,i shall not criticise them1 however1   
nor even engage in the popular          
discussion of which they form a part4   
,that discussion concerns itself chiefly
 with the methods by which ethics may be
 taught4 ,i wish to go behind this      
controversy and to raise the previous   
question whether ethics should be taught
 to boys and girls at all4  ,evidently  
there are strong reasons why it should  
be4 ,always and everywhere it is        
important that men should be good4 ,to  
be a good man6--it is more than half the
 fulfilment of life4 ,better to miss    
fame1 wealth1 learning1 than to miss    
righteousness4 ,and in ,america1 too1 we
 must demand not the mere trifle that   
men shall be good for their own sakes1  
but good in order that the life of the  
state may be preserved4 ,a widespread   
righteousness is in a republic a matter 
of necessity4 ,where all rule all1 each 
man who falls into evil courses infects 
his neighbor1 corrupting the law and    

corrupting still more its enforcement4  
,the question of manufacturing moral men
 becomes1 accordingly1 in a democracy1  
urgent to a degree unknown in a country 
where but a few selected persons guide  
the state4  ,there is also special      
urgency at the present time4 ,the       
ancient and accredited means of training
 youth in goodness are becoming1 ,i will
 not say broken1 but enfeebled and      
distrusted4 ,hitherto a large part of   
the moral instruction of mankind has    
been superintended by the clergy4 ,in   
every civilized state the expensive     
machinery of the ,church has been set up
 and placed in the hands of men of      
dignity1 because it has been believed   
that by no other engine can we so       
effectively render people upright4 ,i   
still believe this1 and ,i am pretty    
confident that a good many years will   
pass before we shall dispense with the  
ennobling services of our ministers4    
,and yet it is plain that much of the   
work which formerly was exclusively     

theirs is so no longer4 ,much of it is  
performed by books1 newspapers1 and     
facilitated human intercourse4          
,ministers do not now speak with their  
old authority2 they speak merely as     
other men speak2 and we are all asking  
whether in the immense readjustment of  
faith now going on something of their   
peculiar power of moral as well as of   
intellectual guidance may not slip away4
  ,the home too1 which has hitherto been
 the fundamental agency for fostering   
morality in the young1 is just now in   
sore need of repair4 ,we can no longer  
depend upon it alone for moral          
guardianship4 ,it must be supplemented1 
possibly reconstructed4 ,new dangers to 
it have arisen4 ,in the complex         
civilization of city life1 in the huge  
influx of untutored foreigners1 in the  
substitution of the apartment for the   
house1 in the greater ease of divorce1  
in the larger freedom now given to      
children1 to women1 in the breaking down
 of class distinctions and the readier  

accessibility of man to man1 there are  
perils for boy and girl which did not   
exist before4 ,and while these changes  
in the outward form of domestic life are
 advancing1 certain protections against 
moral peril which the home formerly     
afforded have decayed4 ,it would be     
curious to ascertain in how many        
families of our immediate time daily    
prayers are used1 and to compare the    
number with that of those in which the  
holy practice was common fifty years    
ago4 ,it would be interesting to know   
how frequently parents to-day converse  
with their children on subjects serious1
 pious1 or personal4 ,the hurry of      
modern life has swept away many         
uplifting intimacies4 ,even in families 
which prize them most1 a few minutes    
only can be had each day for such       
fortifying things4 ,domestic training   
has shrunk1 while the training of       
haphazard companions1 the training of   
the streets1 the training of the        
newspapers1 have acquired a potency     

hitherto unknown4  ,it is no wonder1    
then1 that in such a moral crisis the   
community turns to that agency whose    
power is already felt beneficently in a 
multitude of other directions1 the      
school4 ,the cry comes to us teachers1  
,we established you at first to make our
 children wiser2 we want you now for a  
profounder service4 ,can you not unite  
moral culture with intellectual8 ,it may
 be2 though discipline of the passions  
is enormously more difficult than       
discipline of the mind4 ,but at any rate
 we must acknowledge that our success in
 the mental field is largely staked on  
our success in the moral4 ,our pupils   
will not learn their lessons in         
arithmetic if they have not already made
 some progress in concentration1 in     
self-forgetfulness1 in acceptance of    
duty4 ,nor can we touch them in a single
 section of their nature and hope for   
results4 ,instruction must go all       
through4 ,we are obliged to treat each  
little human being as a whole if we     

would have our treatment wholesome4 ,and
 then too we have had such successes    
elsewhere that we may well feel         
emboldened for the new task4 ,nearly the
 whole of life is now advantageously    
surveyed in one form or another in our  
schools and colleges2 and we have       
usually found that advance in           
instruction develops swiftly into       
betterment of practice4 ,we teach1 for  
example1 social science and analyze the 
customs of the past2 but soon we find   
bands of young men and women in all the 
important cities criticising the        
government of those cities1 suggesting  
better modes of voting1 wiser forms of  
charity2 and before we know it the      
community is transformed4 ,we cannot    
teach the science of electricity without
 improving our street-cars1 or at least 
without raising hopes that they may some
 day be improved4 ,each science claims  
its brother art4 ,theory creeps over    
into action4 ,it will not stay by       
itself2 it is pervasive1 diffusive4 ,and

 as this pervasive character of         
knowledge in the lower ranges is        
perceived1 we teachers are urged to     
press forward its operation in the      
higher also4 ,why have we no            
school-books on human character1 the    
highest of all themes8 ,once direct the 
attention of our pupils to this great   
topic1 and may we not ultimately bring  
about that moral enlargement for which  
the time waits8  ,i have stated somewhat
 at length the considerations in behalf 
of ethical instruction in the schools   
because those considerations on the     
whole appear to me illusory4 ,i cannot  
believe such instruction feasible4 ,were
 it so1 of course it would have my eager
 support4 ,but ,i see in it grave       
difficulties1 difficulties imperfectly  
understood2 and a difficulty disregarded
 becomes a danger1 possibly a           
catastrophe4 ,let me explain in a few   
words where the danger lies4  ,between  
morals and ethics there is a sharp      
distinction1 frequently as the two words

 are confused4 ,usage1 however1 shows   
the meaning4 ,if ,i call a man a man of 
bad morals1 ,i evidently mean to assert 
that his conduct is corrupt2 he does    
things which the majority of mankind    
believe he ought not to do4 ,it is his  
practice ,i denounce1 not his           
intellectual formulation4 ,in the same  
way we speak of the petty morals of     
society1 referring in the phrase to the 
small practices of mankind1 the         
unnumbered actions which disclose good  
or bad principles unconsciously hidden  
within4 ,it is entirely different when  
,i call a man's ethics bad4 ,i then     
declare that ,i do not agree with his   
comprehension of moral principles4 ,his 
practice may be entirely correct4 ,i do 
not speak of that2 it is his            
understanding that is at fault4 ,for    
ethics1 as was long ago remarked1 is    
related to morals as geometry to        
carpentry3 the one is a science1 the    
other its practical embodiment4 ,in the 
former1 consciousness is a prime factor2

 from the latter it often is absent     
altogether4  ,now what is asked of us   
teachers is that we invite our pupils to
 direct study of the principles of right
 conduct1 that we awaken their          
consciousness about their modes of life1
 and so by degrees impart to them a     
science of righteousness4 ,this is      
theory1 ethics2 not morals1 practice2   
and in my judgment it is dangerous      
business1 with the slenderest chance of 
success4 ,useless is it to say that the 
aim of such instruction need not be     
ethical1 but moral4 ,whatever the       
ultimate aim1 the procedure of          
instruction is of necessity scientific4 
,it operates through intelligence1 and  
only gets into life so far as the       
instructed intelligence afterward       
becomes a director4 ,this is the work of
 books and teachers everywhere3 they    
discipline the knowing act1 and so bring
 within its influence that multitude of 
matters which depend for excellent      
adjustment on clear and ordered         

knowledge4 ,such a work1 however1 is    
evidently but partial4 ,many matters do 
not take their rise in knowledge at all4
 ,morality does not4 ,the boy as soon as
 born is adopted unconsciously into some
 sort of moral world4 ,while he is      
growing up and is thinking of other     
things1 habits of character are seizing 
him4 ,by the time he comes to school he 
is incrusted with customs4 ,the idea    
that his moral education can be         
fashioned by his teacher in the same way
 as his education in geography is       
fantastic4 ,it is only his ethical      
training which may now begin4 ,the      
attention of such a boy may be called to
 habits already formed2 he may be led to
 dissect those habits1 to pass judgment 
on them as right or wrong1 and to       
inquire why and how they may be         
bettered4 ,this is the only power       
teaching professes3 it critically       
inquires1 it awakens interest1 it       
inspects facts1 it discovers laws4 ,and 
this process applied in the field of    

character yields ethics1 the            
systematized knowledge of human conduct4
 ,it does not primarily yield morals1   
improved performance4  ,nor indeed is   
performance likely to be improved by    
ethical enlightenment if1 as ,i         
maintain1 the whole business of         
self-criticism in the child is          
unwholesome4 ,by a course of ethical    
training a young person will1 in my     
view1 much more probably become         
demoralized than invigorated4 ,what we  
ought to desire1 if we would have a boy 
grow morally sturdy1 is that            
introspection should not set in early   
and that he should not become accustomed
 to watch his conduct4 ,and the reason  
is obvious4 ,much as we incline to laud 
our prerogative of consciousness and to 
assert that it is precisely what        
distinguishes us from our poor          
relations1 the brutes1 we still must    
acknowledge that consciousness has      
certain grave defects when exalted into 
the position of a guide4 ,large tracts  

of life lie altogether beyond its       
control1 and the conduct which can be   
affected by it is apt--especially in the
 initial stages--to be rendered vague1  
slow1 vacillating1 and distorted4 ,only 
instinctive action is swift1 sure1 and  
firm4 ,for this reason we distrust the  
man who calculates his goodness4 ,we    
find him vulgar and repellent4 ,we are  
far from sure that he will keep that    
goodness long4 ,if ,i offer to shake    
hands with a man with precisely that    
degree of warmth which ,i have decided  
it is well to express1 will he willingly
 take my hand8 ,a few years ago there   
were some nonsense verses on this       
subject going the rounds of the ,english
 newspapers4 ,they seemed to me         
capitally to express the morbid         
influence of consciousness in a complex 
organism4 ,they ran somewhat as follows3
    ,the centipede was happy1 quite1    
,until the toad for fun   ,said1 ,pray  
which leg comes after which8   ,this    
worked her mind to such a pitch   ,she  

lay distracted in a ditch4              
,considering how to run4  ,and well she 
might6 ,imagine the hundred legs steered
 consciously--now it is time to move    
this one1 now to move that6 ,the        
creature would never move at all1 but   
would be as incapable of action as      
,hamlet himself4 ,and are the young less
 complex than centipedes8 ,shall their  
little lives be suddenly turned over to 
a fumbling guide8 ,shall they not rather
 be stimulated to unconscious rectitude1
 gently led into those blind but holy   
habits which make goodness easy1 and so 
be saved from the perilous perplexities 
of marking out their own way8 ,so       
thought the sagacious ,aristotle4 ,to   
the crude early opinion of ,socrates    
that virtue is knowledge1 he opposed the
 ripened doctrine that it is practice   
and habit4  ,this1 then1 is the         
inexpugnable objection to the ethical   
instruction of children3 the end which  
should be sought is performance1 not    
knowledge1 and we cannot by supplying   

the latter induce the former4 ,but do   
not these considerations cut the ground 
from under practical teaching of every  
kind8 ,instruction is given in other    
subjects in the hope that it may finally
 issue in strengthened action1 and ,i   
have acknowledged that as a fact this   
hope is repeatedly justified4 ,why may  
not a similar result appear in ethics8  
,what puts a difference between that    
study and electricity1 social science1  
or manual training8 ,this3 according as 
the work studied includes a creative    
element and is intended to give         
expression to a personal life1          
consciousness becomes an increasingly   
dangerous dependence4 ,why are there no 
classes and text-books for the study of 
deportment8 ,is it because manners are  
unimportant8 ,no1 but because they make 
the man1 and to be of any worth must be 
an expression of his very nature4       
,conscious study would tend to distort  
rather than to fashion them4 ,their     
practice cannot be learned in the same  

way as carpentry4  ,but an analogy more 
enlightening for showing the inaptitude 
of the child for direct study of the    
laws of conduct is found in the case of 
speech4 ,between speech and morals the  
analogies are subtle and wide4 ,so      
minute are they that speech might almost
 be called a kind of vocal morality4    
,like morality1 it is something         
possessed long before we are aware of   
it1 and it becomes perfect or debased   
with our growth4 ,we employ it to       
express ourselves and to come into      
ordered contact with our neighbor4 ,by  
it we confer benefits and by it receive 
benefits in turn4 ,rigid as are its     
laws1 we still feel ourselves free in   
its use1 though obliged to give to our  
spontaneous feelings forms constructed  
by men of the past4 ,ease1 accuracy1 and
 scope are here confessedly of vast     
consequence4 ,it has consequently been  
found a matter of extreme difficulty to 
bring a young person's attention        
helpfully to bear upon his speech4      

,indirect methods seem to be the only   
profitable ones4 ,philology1 grammar1   
rhetoric1 systematic study of the laws  
of language1 are dangerous tools for a  
boy below his teens4 ,the child who is  
to acquire excellent speech must be     
encouraged to keep attention away from  
the words he uses and to fix it upon    
that which he is to express4 ,abstract  
grammar will either confound the tongue 
which it should ease1 or else it will   
seem to have no connection with living  
reality1 but to be an ingenious         
contrivance invented by some            
,dry-as-dust for the torture of         
schoolboys4  ,and a similar pair of     
dangers await the young student of the  
laws of conduct4 ,on the one hand1 it is
 highly probable that he will not       
understand what his teacher is talking  
about4 ,he may learn his lesson2 he may 
answer questions correctly2 but he will 
assume that these things have nothing to
 do with him4 ,he becomes dulled to     
moral distinctions1 and it is the       

teaching of ethics that dulls him4 ,we  
see the disastrous process in full      
operation in a neighboring field4 ,there
 are countries which have regular public
 instruction in religion4 ,the argument 
runs that schools are established to    
teach what is of consequence to         
citizens1 and religion is of more       
consequence than anything else4         
,therefore introduce it1 is the         
conclusion4 ,therefore keep it out1 is  
the sound conclusion4 ,it lies too near 
the life to be announced in official    
propositions and still to retain a      
recognizable meaning4 ,i have known a   
large number of ,german young men4 ,i   
have yet to meet one whose religious    
nature has been deepened by his         
instruction in school4 ,and the lack of 
influence is noticeable not merely in   
those who have failed in the study1 but 
quite as much in those who have ranked  
highest4 ,in neither case has the august
 discipline meant anything4 ,the danger 
would be wider1 the disaster from the   

benumbing influence more serious1 if    
ethical instruction should be organized2
 wider1 because morality underlies      
religion1 and insensitiveness to the    
moral claim is more immediately and     
concretely destructive4 ,yet here1 as in
 the case of religion1 of manners1 or of
 speech1 the child will probably take to
 heart very little of what is said4 ,at 
most he will assume that the text-book  
statement of the rules of righteousness 
represents the way in which the game of 
life is played by some people2 but he   
will prefer to play it in his own way   
still4 ,young people are constructed    
with happy protective arrangements2 they
 are enviably impervious4 ,so in        
expounding moral principles in the      
schoolroom1 ,i believe we shall touch   
the child in very few moral spots4      
,nevertheless1 it becomes dulled and    
hardened if it listens long to sacred   
words untouched4  ,but the benumbing    
influence is not the gravest danger2    
analogies of speech suggest a graver    

still4 ,if we try to teach speech too   
early and really succeed in fixing the  
child's attention upon its tongue1 we   
enfeeble its power of utterance4        
,consciousness once awakened1 the child 
is perpetually inquiring whether the    
word is the right word1 and suspecting  
that it is not quite sufficiently right 
to be allowed free passage4 ,just so a  
momentous trouble appears when the moral
 consciousness has been too early       
stirred4 ,that self-questioning spirit  
springs up which impels its tortured    
possessor to be continually fingering   
his motives in unwholesome preoccupation
 with himself4 ,instead of entering     
heartily into outward interests1 the    
watchful little moralist is questioning 
about himself whether he has been as    
good as he should have been1 and whether
 a better man would not have acted      
otherwise4 ,no part of us is more       
susceptible of morbidness than the moral
 sense2 none demoralizes more thoroughly
 when morbid4 ,the trouble1 too1 affects

 chiefly those of the finer fibre4 ,the 
majority of healthy children1 as has    
been said1 harden themselves against    
theoretic talk1 and it passes over them 
like the wind4 ,here and there a        
sensitive soul absorbs the poison and   
sets itself seriously to work installing
 duty as the mainspring of its life4 ,we
 all know the unwholesome result3 the   
person from whom spontaneity is gone1   
who criticises everything he does1 who  
has lost his sense of proportion1 who   
teases himself endlessly and teases his 
friends--so far as they remain his      
friends--about the right and wrong of   
each petty act4 ,it is a disease1 a     
moral disease1 and takes the place in   
the spiritual life of that which the    
doctors are fond of calling nervous     
prostration in the physical4 ,few       
countries have been so desolated by it  
as ,new ,england4 ,it is our special    
scourge4 ,many here carry a conscience  
about with them which makes us say1 ,how
 much better off they would be with     

none6 ,i declare1 at times when ,i see  
the ravages which conscientiousness     
works in our ,new ,england stock1 ,i    
wish these ,new ,englanders had never   
heard moral distinctions mentioned4     
,better their vices than their virtues4 
,the wise teacher will extirpate the    
first sproutings of the weed2 for a weed
 more difficult to extirpate when grown 
there is not4 ,we run a serious risk of 
implanting it in our children when we   
undertake their class instruction in    
ethics4  ,such1 then1 are some of the   
considerations which should give us     
pause when the public is clamoring at   
our schoolhouse doors and saying to us  
teachers1 ,we cannot bring up our       
children so as to make them righteous   
citizens4 ,undertake the work for us4   
,you have done so much already that we  
turn to you again and entreat your help4
 ,i think we must sadly reply1 ,there   
are limits to what we can do4 ,if you   
respect us1 you will not urge us to do  
the thing that is not ours4 ,by pressing

 into certain regions we shall bring    
upon you more disaster than benefit4    
,fully1 however1 as the dangers here    
pointed out may be acknowledged1 much of
 a different sort remains also true4    
,have we not all received a large       
measure of moral culture at school8 ,and
 are we quite content to say that the   
greatest of subjects is unteachable8 ,i 
would not say this2 on the contrary1 ,i 
hold that no college is properly        
organized where the teaching of ethics  
does not occupy a position of honor4    
,the college1 not the school1 is the    
place for the study4 ,it would be absurd
 to maintain that all other subjects of 
study are nutritious to man except that 
of his own nature2 but it is far from   
absurd to ask that a young man first    
possess a nature before he undertakes to
 analyze it4 ,a study useless for       
developing initial power may still be   
highly profitable for doctrine1 for     
reproof1 for correction1 for instruction
 in righteousness4 ,youth should be     

spontaneous1 instinctive1 ebullient2    
reflection whispers to the growing man4 
,many of the evils that ,i have thus far
 traced are brought about by projecting 
upon a young mind problems which it has 
not yet encountered in itself4 ,such    
problems abound in the later teens and  
twenties1 and then is the time to set   
about their discussion4  ,but even in   
college ,i would have ethical study more
 guarded than the rest4 ,had ,i the     
power1 ,i would never allow it to be    
required of all4 ,it should be offered  
only as an elective and in the later    
years of the course4 ,when ,i entered   
college ,i was put in my freshman year  
into a prescribed study of this sort4   
,happily ,i received no influence from  
it whatever4 ,it passed over and left me
 untouched2 and ,i think it had no more 
effect on the majority of my classmates4
 ,possibly some of the more reflective  
took it to heart and were harmed2 but in
 general it was a mere wasting of       
precious ointment which might have      

soothed our wounds if elected in the    
senior year4 ,of course great teachers  
defy all rules2 and under a ,hopkins1 a 
,garman1 or a ,hyde1 the distinctions of
 elective and prescribed become         
unimportant4 ,yet the principle is      
clear3 wait till the young man is       
confronted with the problems before you 
invite him to their solution4 ,has he   
grown up unquestioning8 ,has he accepted
 the moral code inherited from honored  
parents8 ,can he rest in wise habits8   
,then let him be thankful and go his way
 untaught4 ,but has he1 on the other    
hand1 felt that the moral mechanism by  
which he was early guided does not fit  
all cases8 ,has he found one class of   
duties in conflict with another8 ,has he
 discovered that the moral standards    
obtaining in different sections of      
society1 in different parts of the      
world1 are irreconcilable8 ,in short1 is
 he puzzled and desirous of working his 
way through his puzzles1 of facing them 
and tracking them to their beginnings8  

,then is he ripe for the study of       
ethics4  ,yet when it is so undertaken1 
when those only are invited to partake  
of it who in their own hearts have heard
 its painful call1 even then ,i would   
hedge it about with two conditions4     
,first1 it should be pursued as a       
science1 critically1 and the student    
should be informed at the outset that   
the aim of the course is knowledge1 not 
the endeavor to make better men4 ,and1  
secondly1 ,i would insist that the      
students themselves do the work2 that   
they do not passively listen to opinions
 set forth by their instructor1 but that
 they address themselves to research and
 learn to construct moral judgments     
which will bear critical inspection4    
,some teachers1 no doubt1 will think it 
wisest to accomplish these things by    
tracing the course of ethics in the     
past1 treating it as a historical       
science4 ,others will prefer1 by        
announcing their own beliefs1 to        
stimulate their students to criticise   

those beliefs and to venture on their   
own little constructions4 ,the method is
 unimportant2 it is only of consequence 
that the students themselves do the     
ethicizing1 that they trace the logic of
 their own beliefs and do not rest in   
dogmatic statement4 ,yet such an        
undertaking may well sober a teacher4 ,i
 never see my class in ethics come to   
their first lecture that ,i do not      
tremble and say to myself that ,i am set
 for the downfall of some of them4 ,in  
every such studious company there must  
be unprepared persons whom the teacher  
will damage4 ,he cannot help it4 ,he    
must move calmly forward1 confident in  
his subject1 but knowing that because it
 is living it is dangerous4     ,,iii   
,,moral ,,instruction ,,in ,,the        
,,schools   ,the preceding paper has    
discussed sufficiently the negative side
 of moral education4 ,it has shown how  
children should not be approached4 ,but 
few readers will be willing to leave the
 matter here4 ,are there no positive    

measures to be taken8 ,is there no room 
in our schools for any teaching of      
morality1 or must the most important of 
subjects be altogether banished from    
their doors8 ,there is much which might 
lead us to think so4 ,if a teacher may  
not instruct his pupils in morality1    
what other concern with it he should    
have is not at once apparent4 ,one may  
even suspect that attention to it will  
distract him from his proper work4      
,every human undertaking has some       
central aim and succeeds by loyalty to  
it4 ,each profession1 for example1      
singles out one of our many needs and to
 this devotes itself whole-heartedly4   
,such a restriction is wise4 ,no        
profession could be strong which        
attempted to meet the requirements of   
man as a whole4 ,the physician          
accordingly selects his little aim of   
extirpating suffering and disease4 ,his 
studies1 his occupation1 his aptitudes1 
his hopes of gain1 his dignity as a     
public character1 all have reference to 

this4 ,whatever is incompatible with it1
 of however great worth in itself1 is   
rightly ignored4 ,to save the soul of a 
patient may be of larger consequence    
than to invigorate his body4 ,but the   
faithful physician attends to spiritual 
matters only so far as he thinks them   
conducive to bodily health4 ,or again   
the painter1 because he is setting      
ocular beauty before us1 concerns       
himself with harmonies of color1 balance
 of masses1 rhythms of line1 rather than
 with history1 anecdote1 or incitements 
to noble living4 ,i once heard a painter
 say1 ,there is religion enough for me  
in seeing how half a dozen figures can  
be made to go together1 and ,i honored  
him for the saying4 ,so too ,i should   
hold that the proper aim of the merchant
 is money-making and that only so much  
of charity or public usefulness can     
fairly be demanded of him as does not   
conflict with his profits4 ,it is true  
that there are large ways and petty ways
 of acquiring gain1 and one's own       

advantage cannot for long be separated  
from that of others4 ,still1 the        
merchant rightly desists from any course
 which he finds in the long run         
commercially unprofitable4  ,what1 then1
 is the central aim of teaching8        
,confessedly it is the impartation of   
knowledge4 ,whatever furthers this      
should be eagerly pursued2 and all that 
hinders it1 rejected4 ,when             
schoolmasters understand their business 
it will be useless for the public to    
call to them1 ,we want our children to  
be patriotic4 ,drop for a time your     
multiplication table while you rouse    
enthusiasm for the old flag4 ,they would
 properly reply1 ,we are ready to teach 
,american history4 ,as a part of human  
knowledge1 it belongs to our province4  
,but though the politicians fail to stir
 patriotism1 do not put their neglected 
work upon us4 ,we have more than we can 
attend to already4  ,now in my previous 
paper ,i showed how a theoretic         
knowledge of good conduct had better not

 be given to children4 ,by exposition of
 holy laws they are not nourished1 but  
enfeebled4 ,what they need is right     
habits1 not an understanding of them3 to
 become good persons rather than to     
acquire a critical acquaintance with    
goodness4 ,what moral function then     
remains for the schools8 ,to furnish    
knowledge of morality has been proved   
dangerous4 ,for teachers to turn away   
from imparting knowledge and devote     
their scanty time to fashioning         
character is to abandon work which they 
alone are fitted to perform4 ,yet to let
 them send forth boys and girls alert in
 mind and loose in character is         
something which no community will long  
endure4  ,until one has clearly faced   
these alternative perplexities he is in 
no condition to advise about grafting   
morality into a school curriculum2 for  
until then he will be pretty sure to be 
misled by the popular notion of morality
 as a thing apart1 demanding separate   
study1 a topic like geography or        

,english literature4 ,but the morality  
nutritious for school-children is       
nothing of this kind4 ,no additional    
hour need be provided for its teaching4 
,in teaching anything1 we teach it4 ,a  
false antithesis was therefore set up   
just now when we suggested that a       
teacher's business was to impart        
knowledge rather than to fashion        
character4 ,he cannot do the one without
 the other4 ,let him be altogether true 
to his scientific aims and refuse to    
accommodate them to anything else2 he   
will be all the better teacher of       
morality4 ,carlyle tells of a carpenter 
who broke all the ten commandments with 
every stroke of his hammer4 ,a scholar  
breaks or keeps them with every lesson  
learned4 ,so conditioned on morality is 
the process of knowing1 so inwrought is 
it in the very structure of the school1 
that a school might well be called an   
ethical instrument and its daily        
sessions hours for the manufacture of   
character4 ,only the species of         

character manufactured will largely     
depend on the teacher's acquaintance    
with the instrument he is using4 ,to    
increase that acquaintance and give     
greater deftness in the use of so       
exquisite an instrument is the object of
 this paper4 ,once mastered1 the tools  
of his own trade will be more prized by 
the earnest teacher than any additional 
handbook of ethics4  ,it will be easiest
 to point out the kind of moral         
instruction a school is fitted to give1 
if we distinguish with somewhat         
exaggerated sharpness its several lines 
of activity4 ,a school is primarily a   
place of learning2 it is unavoidably a  
social unit1 and it is incidentally a   
dependent fellowship4 ,no one of these  
aspects is ever absent from it4 ,each   
affords its own opportunity for moral   
training4 ,the combination of them gives
 a school its power4 ,yet each is so    
detachable that it may well become the  
subject of independent study4  ,i4 ,a   
school is primarily a place of learning1

 and to this purpose all else in it is  
rightfully subordinated4 ,but learning  
is itself an act1 and one more dependent
 than most on moral guidance4 ,it       
occurs1 too1 at a period of life whose  
chief business is the transformation of 
a thing of nature into a spiritual      
being4 ,several stages in this spiritual
 transformation through which the       
process of learning takes us ,i will    
point out4  ,a school generally gives a 
child his first acquaintance with an    
authoritatively organized world and     
reveals his dependence upon it4 ,by     
nature1 impulses and appetites rule him4
 ,a child is charmingly self-centred4   
,the world and all its ordered goings he
 notices merely as ministering to his   
desires4 ,nothing but what he wishes1   
and wishes just now1 is important4 ,he  
relates all this but little to the      
wishes of other people1 to the inherent 
fixities of things1 to his own future   
states1 to whether one wish is          
compatible with another4 ,his immediate 

mood is everything4 ,of any difference  
between what is whimsical or momentary  
and what is rational or permanent he is 
oblivious4 ,to him dreams and fancies   
are as substantial as stars1 hills1 or  
moving creatures4 ,he has1 in short1 no 
idea of law nor any standards of        
reality4  ,now it is the first business 
of instruction to impart such ideas and 
standards2 but no less is this a work of
 moralization4 ,the two accordingly go  
on together4 ,whether we call the       
chaotic conditions of nature in which we
 begin life ignorance or deficient      
morality1 it is equally the work of     
education to abolish them4 ,both        
education and morality set themselves to
 rationalize the moody1 lawless1        
transient1 isolated1 self-assertive1 and
 impatient aspects of things1           
introducing the wondering scholar to the
 inherent necessities which surround    
him4 ,schoolmasters1 says ,george       
,herbert1 deliver us to laws4 ,and      
probably most of us make our earliest   

acquaintance with these impalpable and  
controlling entities when we take our   
places in the school4 ,there our primary
 lesson is submission4 ,we are bidden to
 put away personal likings and see how  
in themselves things really are4 ,eight 
times nine does not permit itself to be 
seventy-three or sixty-four1 but exactly
 and forever seventy-two4 ,cincinnati   
lies obstinately on the ,ohio1 not on   
the ,mississippi1 and it is nonsense to 
speak of ,daniel ,webster as a          
,president of the ,united ,states4 ,the 
agreement of verbs and nouns1 the       
reactions of chemical elements were1 it 
seems1 settled some time before we      
appeared4 ,they pay little attention to 
our humors4 ,we must accept an already  
constituted world and adjust our little 
self to its august realities4 ,of course
 the process is not completed at school4
 ,begun there1 it continues throughout  
life2 its extent1 tenacity1 and         
instantaneous application marking the   
degree which we reach in scientific and 

moral culture4 ,let a teacher attempt to
 lighten the task of himself or his     
pupil by accepting an inexact           
observation1 a slipshod remembrance1 a  
careless statement1 or a distorted      
truth1 and he will corrupt the child's  
character no less than his intelligence4
 ,he confirms the child's habit of      
intruding himself into reality and of   
remaining listless when ordained facts  
are calling4 ,education may well be     
defined as the banishment of moods at   
the bidding of the permanently real4    
,but to acquire such obedient alertness 
persistence is necessary1 and in gaining
 it a child wins a second victory over  
disorderly nature4 ,by this he becomes  
acquainted not merely with an outer     
world1 but with a still stranger object1
 himself4 ,i have spoken already of the 
eagerness of young desires4 ,they are   
blind and disruptive things4 ,one of    
them pays small heed to another1 but    
each blocks the other's way1 preventing 
anything like a coherent and united     

life4 ,a child is notoriously a creature
 of the moment1 looking little before   
and after4 ,he must be taught to do so  
before he can know anything or be       
anybody4 ,a school matures him by       
connecting his doings of to-day with    
those of to-morrow4 ,here he begins to  
estimate the worth of the present by    
noticing what it contributes to an      
organic plan4 ,each hour of study brings
 precious discipline in preferring what 
is distantly important to what is       
momentarily agreeable4 ,a personal      
being1 in some degree emancipated from  
time1 consequently emerges1 and a       
selfhood appears1 built up through      
enduring interests4 ,the whole process  
is in the teacher's charge4 ,it is his  
to enforce diligence and so to assist   
the vague little life to knit itself    
solidly together4  ,nor should it be    
forgotten that to become each day the   
possessor of increasing stores of novel 
and interesting truths normally brings  
dignity and pleasure4 ,this honorable   

delight reacts1 too1 on the process of  
learning1 quickening its pace1          
sharpening its observation1 and         
confirming its persistence4 ,it is of no
 less importance for the character1 to  
which it imparts ease1 courage1 beauty1 
and resourcefulness4 ,but on the teacher
 it will depend whether such pleasure is
 found4 ,a teacher who has entered      
deeply into his subject1 and is not     
afraid of allowing enthusiasm to appear1
 will make the densest subject and the  
densest pupil glow2 while a dull teacher
 can in a few minutes strip the most    
engrossing subject of interest and make 
the diligence exacted in its pursuit    
deadening4 ,it is dangerous to          
dissociate toil and delight4 ,the school
 is the place to initiate their genial  
union4 ,whoever learns there to love    
knowledge1 will be pretty secure of     
becoming an educated and useful man and 
of finding satisfaction in whatever     
employment may afterwards be his4  ,one 
more contribution to character which    

comes from the school as a place of     
learning ,i will mention3 it should     
create a sense of freedom4 ,without this
 both learning and the learner are      
distorted4 ,it is not enough that the   
child become submissive to an already   
constituted world1 obedient to its      
authoritative organization2 not enough  
that he find pleasure in it1 or even    
discover himself emerging1 as one day's 
diligence is bound up with that of      
another4 ,all these influences may      
easily make him think of himself as a   
passive creature1 and consequently leave
 him half formed4 ,there is something   
more4 ,rightly does the ,psalmist call  
the fear of the ,lord the beginning of  
wisdom rather than its end2 for that    
education is defective which fashions a 
docile and slavish learner4 ,as the     
child introduces order into his         
previously capricious acts1 thoughts1   
and feelings1 he should feel in himself 
a power of control unknown before1 and  
be encouraged to find an honorable use  

for his very peculiarities4 ,he should  
be brought to see that the world is     
unfinished and needs his joyful         
cooperation1 that it has room for       
individual activity and admits          
rationally constructed purposes4 ,from  
his earliest years a child should be    
encouraged to criticise1 to have        
preferences1 and to busy himself with   
imaginative constructions2 for all this 
development of orderly freedom and of   
rejoicing in its exercise is building up
 at once both knowledge and character4  
,,ii4 ,yet a school becomes an ethical  
instrument not merely through being a   
place of learning but because it is also
 a social unit4 ,it is a cooperative    
group1 or company of persons pledged    
every instant to consider one another1  
their common purpose being jarred by the
 obtrusion of any one's dissenting will4
 ,accordingly much that is proper       
elsewhere becomes improper here4 ,as    
soon as a child enters a schoolroom he  
is impressed by the unaccustomed        

silence4 ,a happy idea springs in his   
mind and clamors for the same outgo it  
would have at home1 but it is restrained
 in deference to the assembled company4 
,in crossing the room he is taught to   
tread lightly1 though for himself a     
joyous dash might be agreeable2 but     
might it not distract the attention of  
those who are studying8 ,the school     
begins at nine o'clock and each         
recitation at its fixed hour1 these     
times being no better than others except
 as facilitating common corporate       
action4 ,to this each one's private ways
 become adjusted4 ,the subordination of 
each to all is written large on every   
arrangement of school life2 and it needs
 must be so if there is to be moral     
advance4 ,for morality itself is nothing
 but the acceptance of such habits as   
express the helpful relations of society
 and the individual4 ,punctuality1      
order1 quiet1 are signs that the child's
 life is beginning to be socialized4 ,a 
teacher who fails to impress their      

elementary righteousness on his pupils  
brutalizes every child in his charge4   
,such relations between the social whole
 and the part assume a variety of forms1
 and the school is the best place for   
introducing a child to their niceties4  
,those other persons whom a schoolboy is
 called on continually to regard may be 
either his superiors1 equals1 or        
inferiors4 ,to each we have specific    
duties1 expressed in an appropriate type
 of manners4 ,our teachers are above    
us1--above us in age1 experience1       
wisdom1 and authority4 ,to treat them as
 comrades is unseemly4 ,confession of   
their superiority colors all our        
approaches4 ,they are to be listened to 
as others are not4 ,their will has the  
right of way4 ,our bearing toward them1 
however trustful or even affectionate1  
shows a respectfulness somewhat removed 
from familiarity4 ,on the other hand    
schoolmates are comrades1 at least those
 of the same sex1 class1 strength1 and  
intelligence4 ,among them we assert     

ourselves freely1 yet with constant care
 to secure no less freedom for them1 and
 we guard them against any damage or    
annoyance which our hasty assertiveness 
might cause4 ,in case of clash between  
their interest and our own1 ours is     
withdrawn4 ,and then toward those who   
are below us1 either in rank or powers1 
helpfulness springs forth4 ,we are eager
 to bridge over the separating chasm and
 by our will to abolish hindering       
defects4 ,these three types of personal 
adjustment--respect1 courtesy1 and      
helpfulness1 with their wide variety of 
combination--form the groundwork of all 
good manners4 ,in their beginnings they 
need prompting and oversight from some  
one who is already mature4 ,a school    
which neglects to cultivate them works  
almost irreparable injury to its pupils4
 ,for if these possibilities of refined 
human intercourse are not opened in the 
school years1 it is with great          
difficulty they are arrived at          
afterwards4  ,the spiritualizing        

influence of the school as a social unit
 is1 however1 not confined to the       
classroom4 ,it is quite as active on the
 playground4 ,there a boy learns to play
 fair1 accustoms himself to that        
greatest of social ties1 l'esprit du    
corps4 ,throughout life a man needs     
continually to merge his own interests  
in those of a group4 ,he must act as the
 father of a family1 an operative in a  
factory1 a voter of ,boston1 an         
,american citizen1 a member of an engine
 company1 union1 church1 or business    
firm4 ,his own small concerns are taken 
up into these larger ones1 and devotion 
to them is not felt as self-sacrifice4  
,a preparation for such moral           
ennoblement is laid in the sports of    
childhood4 ,what does a member of the   
football team care for battered shins or
 earth-scraped hands8 ,his side has won1
 and his own gains and losses are       
forgotten4 ,soon his team goes forth    
against an outside team1 and now the    
honor of the whole school is in his     

keeping4 ,what pride is his6 ,as he puts
 on his uniform1 he strips off his      
isolated personality and stands forth as
 the trusted champion of an institution4
 ,nor does this august supersession of  
the private consciousness by the public 
arise in connection with sports alone4  
,as a member of the school1 a boy acts  
differently from what he otherwise      
would4 ,there is a standard of conduct  
recognized as suitable for a ,washington
 ,school boy1 and from it his own does  
not widely depart4 ,for good or for ill 
each school has its ideals of good form 
which are compulsive over its members   
and are handed on from class to class4  
,to assist in moulding1 refining1 and   
maintaining these is the weightiest work
 of a schoolmaster4 ,for these ideals   
have about them the sacredness of what  
is traditional1 institutional1 and are  
of an unseen1 august1 and penetrative   
power1 comparable to nothing else in    
character-formation4 ,to modify them    
ever so slightly a teacher should be    

content to work for years4  ,,iii4 ,a   
third aspect of the school ,i have      
called its character as a ,dependent    
,fellowship1 and ,i have said that this 
is merely incidental4 ,a highly         
important incident it is1 however1 and  
one that never fails to recur4 ,what ,i 
would indicate by the dark phrase is    
this3 in every school an imperfect life 
is associated with one similar but more 
advanced1 one from which it perpetually 
receives influences that are not        
official nor measurable in money        
payment4 ,a teacher is hired primarily  
to teach1 and with a view also to his   
ability to keep order throughout his    
little society and to make his authority
 respected there4 ,but side by side with
 these public duties runs the expression
 of his personality4 ,this is his own1  
something which he hides or discloses at
 his pleasure4 ,to his pupils1 however1 
he must always appear in the threefold  
character of teacher1 master1 and       
developed human being2 while they       

correspondingly present themselves to   
him as pupils1 members of the school1   
and elementary human beings4 ,of these  
pairs of relationships two are          
contrasted and supplemental1--teacher   
and pupil1 master and scholar1 having   
nothing in common1 each being precisely 
what the other is not4 ,as human beings1
 however1 pupil and teacher are akin and
 removed from one another merely by the 
degree of progress made by the elder    
along a common path4 ,here then the     
relation is one of fellowship1 but a    
fellowship where the younger is largely 
dependent on the older for an           
understanding of what he should be4 ,by 
example1 friendship1 and personal       
influence a teacher is certain to affect
 for good or ill every member of his    
school4 ,in any account of the school as
 an ethical instrument this subtlest of 
its moral agencies deserves careful     
analysis4  ,there are different sorts of
 example4 ,i may observe how the shopman
 does up a package1 and do one so myself

 the next morning4 ,a companion may have
 a special inflection of voice1 which ,i
 may catch4 ,i may be drawn to industry 
by seeing how steadily my classmate     
studies4 ,i may adopt a phrase1 a smile1
 or a polite gesture1 which was         
originally my teacher's4 ,all these are 
cases of direct imitation4 ,some one    
possesses a trait or an act which is    
passed over entire to another person1 by
 whom it is substituted for one of his  
own4 ,though the adoption of such alien 
ways is dangerous1 society could hardly 
go on without it4 ,it is its mode of    
transmitting what is supposed to be     
already tested and of lodging it in the 
lives of persons of less experience1    
with the least cost to the receivers4   
,most teachers will have habits which   
their pupils may advantageously copy4   
,yet supposing the imitated ways        
altogether good1 which they seldom are1 
direct imitation is questionable as     
disregarding the particular character of
 him in whom the ways are found and in  

assuming that they will be equally      
appropriate if engrafted on anybody4    
,but this is far from true1 and         
consequently he who imitates much is1 or
 soon will be1 a weakling4 ,on the      
whole1 a teacher needs to guard his     
pupils against his imitable             
peculiarities4 ,if sensible1 he will    
snub whoever is disposed to repeat them4
  ,still1 there is a noble sort of      
imitation1 and that school is a poor    
place where it does not go on4 ,certain 
persons have a strange power of         
invigorating us by their presence4 ,when
 with them1 we can do what seems        
impossible alone4 ,they are our examples
 rather as wholes1 and in their strength
 and spirit1 than in their single traits
 or acts2 and so whatever is most       
distinctive of ourselves becomes renewed
 through contact with them4 ,it was said
 of the late ,dr4 ,jowett that he sent  
out more pupils who were widely unlike  
himself than any ,oxford teacher of his 
time4 ,that is enviable praise2 for the 

wholesomeness of example is tested by   
inquiring whether it develops           
differences or has only the power of    
duplicating the original4 ,every teacher
 knows how easy it is to send out cheap 
editions of himself1 and in his weaker  
moments he inclines to issue them4 ,but 
it is ignoble business4 ,our manners and
 tones and phrases and the ways we have 
of doing this and that are after all    
valuable only as expressions of         
ourselves4 ,for anybody else they are   
rubbish4 ,what we should like to impart 
is that earnestness1 accuracy1          
unselfishness1 candor1 reverence for    
,god's laws1 and sturdiness through     
hardship1 toward which we               
aspire--matters in reality only half    
ours and which spring up with fresh and 
original beauty in every soul where they
 once take root4 ,the ,dependent        
,fellowship of a school makes these     
larger1 enkindling1 and diversifying    
influences peculiarly possible4 ,it     
should be a teacher's highest ambition  

to exercise them4 ,and though we might  
naturally expect that such inspiring    
teachers would be rare1 ,i seldom enter 
a school without finding indications of 
the presence of at least one of them4   
,but for those who would acquire this   
larger influence a strange caution is   
necessary3 ,examples do not work that   
are not real4 ,we sometimes try to set  
an example1 that is1 to put on a type of
 character for the benefit of a         
beholder2 and are usually disappointed4 
,personal influence is not an affair of 
acting1 but of being4 ,those about us   
are strangely affected by what we       
veritably are1 only slightly by what we 
would have them see4 ,if we are         
indisposed to study1 yet1 knowing that  
industry is good for our scholars1      
assume a bustling diligence1 they are   
more likely to feel the real portion of 
the affair1 our laziness1 than the      
activity which was designed for their   
copying4 ,astonishingly shrewd are the  
young at scenting humbug and being      

unaffected by its pretensions4 ,there is
 consequently no method to be learned   
for gaining personal influence4 ,almost 
everything else requires plan and       
effort4 ,this precious power needs      
little attention4 ,it will not come in  
one way better than another4 ,a fair    
measure of sympathetic tact is useful   
for starting it2 but in the long run    
persons rude and suave1 talkative and   
silent1 handsome and ugly1 stalwart and 
slight1 possess it in about equal       
degree1 the very characteristics which  
we should be disposed to count          
disadvantageous often seeming to confirm
 its hold4 ,since it generally comes    
about that our individual interests     
become in some measure those of our     
pupils too1 the only safe rule for      
personal influence is to go heartily    
about our own affairs1 with a friendly  
spirit1 and let our usual nature have   
whatever effect it may4  ,still1 there  
is one important mode of preparation3   
seeing that personal influence springs  

from what we are1 we can really be a    
good deal4 ,in a former paper1 on ,the  
,ideal ,teacher1 ,i pointed this out and
 insisted that to be of any use in the  
classroom we teachers must bring there  
an already accumulated wealth4 ,i will  
not repeat what ,i have said already1   
for a little reflection will convince   
any one that when he lacks personal     
influence he lacks much besides4 ,a     
great example comes from a great nature1
 and we who live in fellowship with     
dependent and imitative youth should    
acquire natures large enough to serve   
both their needs and our own4 ,let      
teachers be big1 bounteous1 and         
unconventional1 and they will have few  
backward pupils4  ,personal influence is
 often assumed to be greater the closer 
the intimacy4 ,i believe the contrary to
 be the case4 ,familiarity1 says the    
shrewd proverb1 breeds contempt4 ,and   
certainly the young1 who are little     
trained in estimating values1 when      
brought into close association with     

their elders are apt to fix their       
attention on petty points and so to miss
 the larger lines of character4 ,these  
they see best across an interval where1 
though visible only in outline1 they are
 clear1 unconfused with anything else1  
and so productive of their best effect4 
,for the immature1 distance is a        
considerable help in inducing           
enchantment1 and nothing is so          
destructive of high influence as a      
slap-on-the-back acquaintance4 ,one who 
is to help us much must be above us4 ,a 
teacher should carefully respect his own
 dignity and no less carefully that of  
his pupil4 ,in our eagerness to help1 we
 may easily cheapen a fine nature by    
intruding too frequently into its       
reserves2 and on the other hand ,i have 
observed that the boy who comes oftenest
 for advice is he who profits by it     
least4 ,it is safest not to meddle much 
with the insides of our pupils4 ,an     
occasional weighty word is more         
compulsive than frequent talk4  ,within 

the limits then here marked out we who  
live in these ,dependent ,fellowships   
must submit to be admired4 ,we must     
allow our pupils to idealize us and even
 offer ourselves for imitation4 ,it is  
not pleasant4 ,usually nobody knows his 
weaknesses better than the one who is   
mistaken for an example4 ,but what a    
helpful mistake6 ,what ennobling        
influences come to schoolboys when once 
they can think their teacher is the sort
 of person they would like to be6       
,perhaps at the very moment that teacher
 is thinking they are the sort of person
 he would like to be4 ,no matter4 ,what 
they admire is worthy1 even if not      
embodied precisely where they imagine4  
,in humility we accept their admiration1
 knowing that nothing else can so       
enlarge their lives4 ,as ,i recall my   
college days1 there rise before me two  
teachers4 ,as ,i entered the lecture    
rooms of those two men1 ,i said to      
myself1 ,oh1 if some day ,i could be    
like that6 ,and always afterwards as ,i 

went to those respective rooms1 the     
impression of dignity deepened4 ,i have 
forgotten the lessons ,i learned from   
those instructors4 ,i never can         
discharge my debt to the instructors    
themselves4  ,such are the moral        
resources of our schools4 ,without      
turning aside in the slightest from     
their proper aim of imparting knowledge1
 teachers are able1--almost             
compelled--to supply their pupils with  
an intellectual1 social1 and personal   
righteousness4 ,what more is wanted8    
,when such opportunities for moral      
instruction are already within their    
grasp1 is it worth while to incur the   
grave dangers of ethical instruction    
too8 ,i think not1 and ,i even fear that
 the establishment of courses in moral  
theory might weaken the sense of        
responsibility among the other teachers 
and lead them to attach less importance 
to the moralization of their pupils by  
themselves4 ,this is burdensome         
business1 no doubt1 but we must not     

shift it to a single pair of shoulders4 
,rather let us insist1 when bad boys and
 girls continue in a school1 that the   
blame belongs to the teachers as a      
whole1 and not to some ethical coach4   
,it is from the management and temper of
 a school that its formative influence  
proceeds4 ,we cannot safely turn over   
anything so all-pervading to the        
instructors of a single department4     
,that school where neatness1 courtesy1  
simplicity1 obtain2 where enthusiasm    
goes with mental exactitude1            
thoroughness of work with interest1 and 
absence of artificiality with           
refinement2 where sneaks1 liars1        
loafers1 pretenders1 rough persons are  
despised1 while teachers who refuse to  
be mechanical hold sway--that school is 
engaged in moral training all day long4 
,yet while ,i hold that the systematic  
study of ethics had on the whole better 
be left to the colleges1 ,i confess that
 the line which ,i have attempted to    
draw between consciousness and          

unconsciousness1 between the age which  
is best directed by instinct and the age
 when the questioning faculties put     
forward their inexorable demands1 is a  
wavering one and cannot be sharply      
drawn4 ,by one child it is crossed at   
one period1 by another at another4      
,seldom is the crossing noticed4 ,before
 we are aware we find ourselves in      
sorrow on the farther side4 ,happy the  
youth who during the transition time has
 a wise friend at hand to answer a      
question1 to speak a steadying word1 to 
open up the vista which at the moment   
needs to be cleared4 ,only one in close 
personal touch is serviceable here4 ,but
 in defect of home guidance1 to us      
teachers falls much of the charge of    
developing the youthful consciousness of
 moral matters naturally1 smoothly1 and 
without jar4 ,this has always been a    
part of the teacher's office4 ,so far as
 ,i can ascertain schools of the olden  
time had in them a large amount of      
wholesome ethical training4 ,schools    

were unsystematic then2 there lay no    
examination paper ahead of them2 there  
was time for pause and talk4 ,if a      
subject arose which the teacher deemed  
important for his pupils' personal      
lives1 he could lead them on to question
 about it1 so far as he believed        
discussion useful4 ,this sort of ethical
 training the hurry of our time has     
largely exterminated2 and now that      
wholesome incidental instruction is     
gone1 we demand in the modern way that a
 clear-cut department of ethics be      
introduced into the curriculum4 ,but    
such things do not let themselves be    
treated in departmental fashion4 ,the   
teacher must still work as a friend4 ,he
 cannot be discharged from knowing when 
and how to stimulate a question1 from   
discerning which boy or girl would be   
helped by consciousness and which would 
be harmed4 ,in these high regions our   
pupils cannot be approached in classes4 
,they require individual attention4 ,and
 not because we are teachers merely1 but

 because we and they are human beings1  
we must be ready with spiritual aid4    
,,iv  ,,self-,,cultivation ,,in         
,,english   ,english study has four     
aims3 the mastery of our language as a  
science1 as a history1 as a joy1 and as 
a tool4 ,i am concerned with but one1   
the mastery of it as a tool4 ,philology 
and grammar present it as a science2 the
 one attempting to follow its words1 the
 other its sentences1 through all the   
intricacies of their growth1 and so to  
manifest laws which lie hidden in these 
airy products no less than in the moving
 stars or the myriad flowers of spring4 
,fascinating and important as all this  
is1 ,i do not recommend it here4 ,for ,i
 want to call attention only to that    
sort of ,english study which can be     
carried on without any large apparatus  
of books4 ,for a reason similar1 though 
less cogent1 ,i do not urge historical  
study4 ,probably the current of ,english
 literature is more attractive through  
its continuity than that of any other   

nation4 ,notable works in verse and     
prose have appeared in long succession1 
and without gaps intervening1 in a way  
that would be hard to parallel in any   
other language known to man4 ,a         
bounteous endowment this for every      
,english speaker1 and one which should  
stimulate us to trace the marvellous and
 close-linked progress from the times of
 the ,saxons to those of ,tennyson and  
,kipling4 ,literature too has this      
advantage over every other species of   
art study1 that everybody can examine   
the original masterpieces and not depend
 on reproductions1 as in the cases of   
painting1 sculpture1 and architecture2  
or on intermediate interpretation1 as in
 the case of music4 ,to-day most of     
these masterpieces can be bought for a  
trifle1 and even a poor man can follow  
through centuries the thoughts of his   
ancestors4 ,but even so1 ready of access
 as it is1 ,english can be studied as a 
history only at the cost of solid time  
and continuous attention1 much more time

 than the majority of those for whom ,i 
am writing can afford4 ,by most of us   
our mighty literature cannot be taken in
 its continuous current1 the later      
stretches proving interesting through   
relation with the earlier4 ,it must be  
taken fragmentarily1 if at all1 the     
attention delaying on those parts only  
which offer the greatest beauty or      
promise the best exhilaration4 ,in other
 words1 ,english may be possible as a   
joy where it is not possible as a       
history4 ,in the endless wealth which   
our poetry1 story1 essay1 and drama     
afford1 every disposition may find its  
appropriate nutriment1 correction1 or   
solace4 ,he is unwise1 however busy1 who
 does not have his loved authors1       
veritable friends with whom he takes    
refuge in the intervals of work and by  
whose intimacy he enlarges1 refines1    
sweetens1 and emboldens his own limited 
existence4 ,yet the fact that ,english  
as a joy must largely be conditioned by 
individual taste prevents me from       

offering general rules for its pursuit4 
,the road which leads one man straight  
to this joy leads another to tedium4 ,in
 all literary enjoyment there is        
something incalculable1 something       
wayward1 eluding the precision of rule1 
and rendering inexact the precepts of   
him who would point out the path to it4 
,while ,i believe that many suggestions 
may be made1 useful to the young enjoyer
 and promotive of his wise vagrancy1 ,i 
shall not undertake here the complicated
 task of offering them4 ,let enjoyment  
go1 let history go1 let science go1 and 
still ,english remains--,english as a   
tool4 ,every hour our language is an    
engine for communicating with others1   
every instant for fashioning the        
thoughts of our own minds4 ,i want to   
call attention to the means of mastering
 this curious and essential tool1 and to
 lead every one who reads me to become  
discontented with his employment of it4 
,the importance of literary power needs 
no long argument4 ,everybody            

acknowledges it1 and sees that without  
it all other human faculties are maimed4
 ,shakespeare says that death-bringing  
time insults o'er dull and speechless   
tribes4 ,it and all who live in it      
insult over the speechless person4 ,so  
mutually dependent are we that on our   
swift and full communication with one   
another is staked the success of almost 
every scheme we form4 ,he who can       
explain himself may command what he     
wants4 ,he who cannot is left to the    
poverty of individual resource2 for men 
do what we desire only when persuaded4  
,the persuasive and explanatory tongue  
is1 therefore1 one of the chief levers  
of life4 ,its leverage is felt within us
 as well as without1 for expression and 
thought are integrally bound together4  
,we do not first possess completed      
thoughts and then express them4 ,the    
very formation of the outward product   
extends1 sharpens1 enriches the mind    
which produces1 so that he who gives    
forth little after a time is likely     

enough to discover that he has little to
 give forth4 ,by expression too we may  
carry our benefits and our names to a   
far generation4 ,this durable character 
of fragile language puts a wide         
difference of worth between it and some 
of the other great objects of           
desire1--health1 wealth1 and beauty1 for
 example4 ,these are notoriously liable 
to accident4 ,we tremble while we have  
them4 ,but literary power1 once ours1 is
 more likely than any other possession  
to be ours always4 ,it perpetuates and  
enlarges itself by the very fact of its 
existence and perishes only with the    
decay of the man himself4 ,for this     
reason1 because more than health1       
wealth1 and beauty1 literary style may  
be called the man1 good judges have     
found in it the final test of culture   
and have said that he1 and he alone1 is 
a well-educated person who uses his     
language with power and beauty4 ,the    
supreme and ultimate product of         
civilization1 it has well been said1 is 

two or three persons talking together in
 a room4 ,between ourselves and our     
language there accordingly springs up an
 association peculiarly close4 ,we are  
as sensitive to criticism of our speech 
as of our manners4 ,the young man looks 
up with awe to him who has written a    
book1 as already half divine2 and the   
graceful speaker is a universal object  
of envy4  ,but the very fact that       
literary endowment is immediately       
recognized and eagerly envied has       
induced a strange illusion in regard to 
it4 ,it is supposed to be something     
mysterious1 innate in him who possesses 
it and quite out of the reach of him who
 has it not4 ,the very contrary is the  
fact4 ,no human employment is more free 
and calculable than the winning of      
language4 ,undoubtedly there are natural
 aptitudes for it1 as there are for     
farming1 seamanship1 or being a good    
husband4 ,but nowhere is straight work  
more effective4 ,persistence1 care1     
discriminating observation1 ingenuity1  

refusal to lose heart1--traits which in 
every other occupation tend toward      
excellence1--tend toward it here with   
special security4 ,whoever goes to his  
grave with bad ,english in his mouth has
 no one to blame but himself for the    
disagreeable taste2 for if faulty speech
 can be inherited1 it can be            
exterminated too4 ,i hope to point out  
some of the methods of substituting good
 ,english for bad4 ,and since my space  
is brief1 and ,i wish to be remembered1 
,i throw what ,i have to say into the   
form of four simple precepts which1 if  
pertinaciously obeyed1 will1 ,i believe1
 give anybody effective mastery of      
,english as a tool4  ,first then1 ,look 
well to your speech4 ,it is commonly    
supposed that when a man seeks literary 
power he goes to his room and plans an  
article for the press4 ,but this is to  
begin literary culture at the wrong end4
 ,we speak a hundred times for every    
once we write4 ,the busiest writer      
produces little more than a volume a    

year1 not so much as his talk would     
amount to in a week4 ,consequently      
through speech it is usually decided    
whether a man is to have command of his 
language or not4 ,if he is slovenly in  
his ninety-nine cases of talking1 he can
 seldom pull himself up to strength and 
exactitude in the hundredth case of     
writing4 ,a person is made in one piece1
 and the same being runs through a      
multitude of performances4 ,whether     
words are uttered on paper or to the    
air1 the effect on the utterer is the   
same4 ,vigor or feebleness results      
according as energy or slackness has    
been in command4 ,i know that certain   
adaptations to a new field are often    
necessary4 ,a good speaker may find     
awkwardnesses in himself when he comes  
to write1 a good writer when he speaks4 
,and certainly cases occur where a man  
exhibits distinct strength in one of the
 two1 speaking or writing1 and not in   
the other4 ,but such cases are rare4 ,as
 a rule1 language once within our       

control can be employed for oral or for 
written purposes4 ,and since the        
opportunities for oral practice         
enormously outbalance those for written1
 it is the oral which are chiefly       
significant in the development of       
literary power4 ,we rightly say of the  
accomplished writer that he shows a     
mastery of his own tongue4  ,this       
predominant influence of speech marks   
nearly all great epochs of literature4  
,the ,homeric poems are addressed to the
 ear1 not to the eye4 ,it is doubtful if
 ,homer knew writing1 certain that he   
knew profoundly every quality of the    
tongue1--veracity1 vividness1 shortness 
of sentence1 simplicity of thought1     
obligation to insure swift apprehension4
 ,writing and rigidity are apt to go    
together4 ,in ,homer's smooth-slipping  
verses one catches everywhere the voice4
 ,so too the aphorisms of ,hesiod might 
naturally pass from mouth to mouth1 and 
the stories of ,herodotus be told by an 
old man at the fireside4 ,early ,greek  

literature is plastic and garrulous4    
,its distinctive glory is that it       
contains no literary note2 that it gives
 forth human feeling not in conventional
 arrangement1 but with apparent         
spontaneity--in short1 that it is speech
 literature1 not book literature4 ,and  
the same tendency continued long among  
the ,greeks4 ,at the culmination of     
their power the drama was their chief   
literary form1--the drama1 which is but 
speech ennobled1 connected1 clarified4  
,plato too1 following the dramatic      
precedent and the precedent of his      
talking master1 accepted conversation as
 his medium for philosophy and imparted 
to it the vivacity1 ease1 waywardness   
even1 which the best conversation       
exhibits4 ,nor was the experience of the
 ,greeks peculiar4 ,our literature shows
 a similar tendency4 ,its bookish times 
are its decadent times1 its talking     
times its glory4 ,chaucer1 like         
,herodotus1 is a story-teller1 and      
follows the lead of those who on the    

,continent entertained courtly circles  
with pleasant tales4 ,shakespeare and   
his fellows in the spacious times of    
great ,elizabeth did not concern        
themselves with publication4 ,marston in
 one of his prefaces thinks it necessary
 to apologize for putting his piece in  
print1 and says he would not have done  
such a thing if unscrupulous persons1   
hearing the play at the theatre1 had not
 already printed corrupt versions of it4
 ,even the ,queen ,anne's men1 far      
removed though they are from anything   
dramatic1 still shape their ideals of   
literature by demands of speech4 ,the   
essays of the ,spectator1 the poems of  
,pope1 are the remarks of a cultivated  
gentleman at an evening party4 ,here is 
the brevity1 the good taste1 the light  
touch1 the neat epigram1 the avoidance  
of whatever might stir passion1         
controversy1 or laborious thought1 which
 characterize the conversation of a     
well-bred man4 ,indeed it is hard to see
 how any literature can be long vital   

which is based on the thought of a book 
and not on that of living utterance4    
,unless the speech notion is uppermost1 
words will not run swiftly to their     
mark4 ,they delay in delicate phrasings 
while naturalness and a sense of reality
 disappear4 ,women are the best talkers4
 ,i sometimes please myself with        
noticing that three of the greatest     
periods of ,english literature coincide 
with the reigns of the three ,english   
queens4  ,fortunate it is1 then1 that   
self-cultivation in the use of ,english 
must chiefly come through speech2       
because we are always speaking1 whatever
 else we do4 ,in opportunities for      
acquiring a mastery of language the     
poorest and busiest are at no large     
disadvantage as compared with the       
leisured rich4 ,it is true the strong   
impulse which comes from the suggestion 
and approval of society may in some     
cases be absent1 but this can be        
compensated by the sturdy purpose of the
 learner4 ,a recognition of the beauty  

of well-ordered words1 a strong desire1 
patience under discouragements1 and     
promptness in counting every occasion as
 of consequence1--these are the simple  
agencies which sweep one on to power4   
,watch your speech then4 ,that is all   
which is needed4 ,only it is desirable  
to know what qualities of speech to     
watch for4 ,i find three1--accuracy1    
audacity1 and range1--and ,i will say a 
few words about each4  ,obviously1 good 
,english is exact ,english4 ,our words  
should fit our thoughts like a glove and
 be neither too wide nor too tight4 ,if 
too wide1 they will include much vacuity
 beside the intended matter4 ,if too    
tight1 they will check the strong grasp4
 ,of the two dangers1 looseness is by   
far the greater4 ,there are people who  
say what they mean with such a naked    
precision that nobody not familiar with 
the subject can quickly catch the sense4
 ,george ,herbert and ,emerson strain   
the attention of many4 ,but niggardly   
and angular speakers are rare4 ,too     

frequently words signify nothing in     
particular4 ,they are merely thrown out 
in a certain direction to report a vague
 and undetermined meaning or even a     
general emotion4 ,the first business of 
every one who would train himself in    
language is to articulate his thought1  
to know definitely what he wishes to    
say1 and then to pick those words which 
compel the hearer to think of this and  
only this4 ,for such a purpose two words
 are often better than three4 ,the fewer
 the words1 the more pungent the        
impression4 ,brevity is the soul1 not   
simply of a jest1 but of wit in its     
finer sense where it is identical with  
wisdom4 ,he who can put a great deal    
into a little is the master4 ,since firm
 texture is what is wanted1 not         
embroidery or superposed ornament1      
beauty has been well defined as the     
purgation of superfluities4 ,and        
certainly many a paragraph might have   
its beauty brightened by letting quiet  
words take the place of its loud words1 

omitting its verys1 and striking out its
 purple patches of fine writing4 ,here  
is ,ben ,jonson's description of        
,bacon's language3 ,there happened in my
 time one noble speaker who was full of 
gravity in his speech4 ,no man ever     
spoke more neatly1 more pressly1 more   
weightily1 or suffered less emptiness1  
less idleness1 in what he uttered4 ,no  
member of his speech but consisted of   
his own graces4 ,his hearers could not  
cough or look aside without loss4 ,he   
commanded when he spoke1 and had his    
judges angry or pleased at his          
discretion4 ,such are the men who       
command1 men who speak neatly and       
pressly4 ,but to gain such precision is 
toilsome business4 ,while we are in     
training for it1 no word must           
unpermittedly pass the portal of the    
teeth4 ,something like what we mean must
 never be counted equivalent to what we 
mean4 ,and if we are not sure of our    
meaning or of our word1 we must pause   
until we are sure4 ,accuracy does not   

come of itself4 ,for persons who can use
 several languages1 capital practice in 
acquiring it can be had by translating  
from one language to another and seeing 
that the entire sense is carried over4  
,those who have only their native speech
 will find it profitable often to       
attempt definitions of the common words 
they use4 ,inaccuracy will not stand up 
against the habit of definition4 ,dante 
boasted that no rhythmic exigency had   
ever made him say what he did not mean4 
,we heedless and unintending speakers1  
under no exigency of rhyme or reason1   
say what we mean but seldom1 and still  
more seldom mean what we say4 ,to hold  
our thoughts and words in significant   
adjustment requires unceasing           
consciousness1 a perpetual determination
 not to tell lies2 for of course every  
inaccuracy is a bit of untruthfulness4  
,we have something in mind1 yet convey  
something else to our hearer4 ,and no   
moral purpose will save us from this    
untruthfulness unless that purpose is   

sufficient to inspire the daily drill   
which brings the power to be true4      
,again and again we are shut up to evil 
because we have not acquired the ability
 of goodness4  ,but after all1 ,i hope  
that nobody who hears me will quite     
agree4 ,there is something enervating in
 conscious care4 ,necessary as it is in 
shaping our purposes1 if allowed too    
direct and exclusive control            
consciousness breeds hesitation and     
feebleness4 ,action is not excellent1 at
 least1 until spontaneous4 ,in          
piano-playing we begin by picking out   
each separate note2 but we do not call  
the result music until we play our notes
 by the handful1 heedless how each is   
formed4 ,and so it is everywhere4       
,consciously selective conduct is       
elementary and inferior4 ,people        
distrust it1 or rather they distrust him
 who exhibits it4 ,if anybody talking to
 us visibly studies his words1 we turn  
away4 ,what he says may be well enough  
as school exercise1 but it is not       

conversation4 ,accordingly1 if we would 
have our speech forcible1 we shall need 
to put into it quite as much of audacity
 as we do of precision1 terseness1 or   
simplicity4 ,accuracy alone is not a    
thing to be sought1 but accuracy and    
dash4 ,it was said of ,fox1 the ,english
 orator and statesman1 that he was      
accustomed to throw himself headlong    
into the middle of a sentence1 trusting 
to ,god ,almighty to get him out4 ,so   
must we speak4 ,we must not before      
beginning a sentence decide what the end
 shall be2 for if we do1 nobody will    
care to hear that end4 ,at the          
beginning1 it is the beginning which    
claims the attention of both speaker and
 listener1 and trepidation about going  
on will mar all4 ,we must give our      
thought its head1 and not drive it with 
too tight a rein1 nor grow timid when it
 begins to prance a bit4 ,of course we  
must retain coolness in courage1        
applying the results of our previous    
discipline in accuracy2 but we need not 

move so slowly as to become formal4     
,pedantry is worse than blundering4 ,if 
we care for grace and flexible beauty of
 language1 we must learn to let our     
thought run4 ,would it1 then1 be too    
much of an ,irish bull to say that in   
acquiring ,english we need to cultivate 
spontaneity8 ,the uncultivated kind is  
not worth much2 it is wild and haphazard
 stuff1 unadjusted to its uses4 ,on the 
other hand no speech is of much account1
 however just1 which lacks the element  
of courage4 ,accuracy and dash1 then1   
the combination of the two1 must be our 
difficult aim2 and we must not rest     
satisfied so long as either dwells with 
us alone4  ,but are the two so hostile  
as they at first appear8 ,or can1       
indeed1 the first be obtained without   
the aid of the second8 ,supposing we are
 convinced that words possess no value  
in themselves1 and are correct or       
incorrect only as they truly report     
experience1 we shall feel ourselves     
impelled in the mere interest of        

accuracy to choose them freshly and to  
put them together in ways in which they 
never cooperated before1 so as to set   
forth with distinctness that which just 
we1 not other people1 have seen or felt4
 ,the reason why we do not naturally    
have this daring exactitude is probably 
twofold4 ,we let our experiences be     
blurred1 not observing sharply1 nor     
knowing with any minuteness what we are 
thinking about2 and so there is no      
individuality in our language4 ,and     
then1 besides1 we are terrorized by     
custom and inclined to adjust what we   
would say to what others have said      
before4 ,the cure for the first of these
 troubles is to keep our eye on our     
object1 instead of on our listener or   
ourselves2 and for the second1 to learn 
to rate the expressiveness of language  
more highly than its correctness4 ,the  
opposite of this1 the disposition to set
 correctness above expressiveness1      
produces that peculiarly vulgar diction 
known as school-ma'am ,english1 in which

 for the sake of a dull accord with     
usage all the picturesque1 imaginative  
and forceful employment of words is     
sacrificed4 ,of course we must use words
 so that people can understand them1 and
 understand them too with ease2 but this
 once granted1 let our language be our  
own1 obedient to our special needs4     
,whenever1 says ,thomas ,jefferson1 by  
small grammatical negligences the energy
 of an idea can be condensed1 or a word 
be made to stand for a sentence1 ,i hold
 grammatical rigor in contempt4 ,young  
man1 said ,henry ,ward ,beecher to one  
who was pointing out grammatical errors 
in a sermon of his1 when the ,english   
language gets in my way1 it doesn't     
stand a chance4 ,no man can be          
convincing1 writer or speaker1 who is   
afraid to send his words wherever they  
may best follow his meaning1 and this   
with but little regard to whether any   
other person's words have ever been     
there before4 ,in assessing merit let us
 not stupefy ourselves with using       

negative standards4 ,what stamps a man  
as great is not freedom from faults1 but
 abundance of powers4  ,such audacious  
accuracy1 however1 distinguishing as it 
does noble speech from commonplace      
speech1 can be practised only by him who
 has a wide range of words4 ,our        
ordinary range is absurdly narrow4 ,it  
is important1 therefore1 for anybody who
 would cultivate himself in ,english to 
make strenuous and systematic efforts to
 enlarge his vocabulary4 ,our           
dictionaries contain more than a hundred
 thousand words4 ,the average speaker   
employs about three thousand4 ,is this  
because ordinary people have only three 
or four thousand things to say8 ,not at 
all4 ,it is simply due to dulness4      
,listen to the average schoolboy4 ,he   
has a dozen or two nouns1 half a dozen  
verbs1 three or four adjectives1 and    
enough conjunctions and prepositions to 
stick the conglomerate together4 ,this  
ordinary speech deserves the description
 which ,hobbes gave to his ,state of    

,nature1 that it is solitary1 poor1     
nasty1 brutish and short4 ,the fact is1 
we fall into the way of thinking that   
the wealthy words are for others and    
that they do not belong to us4 ,we are  
like those who have received a vast     
inheritance1 but who persist in the     
inconveniences of hard beds1 scanty     
food1 rude clothing1 who never travel1  
and who limit their purchases to the    
bleak necessities of life4 ,ask such    
people why they endure niggardly living 
while wealth in plenty is lying in the  
bank1 and they can only answer that they
 have never learned how to spend4 ,but  
this is worth learning4 ,milton used    
eight thousand words1 ,shakespeare      
fifteen thousand4 ,we have all the      
subjects to talk about that these early 
speakers had2 and in addition we have   
bicycles and sciences and strikes and   
political combinations and all the      
complicated living of the modern world4 
,why then do we hesitate to swell our   
words to meet our needs8 ,it is a       

nonsense question4 ,there is no reason4 
,we are simply lazy1 too lazy to make   
ourselves comfortable4 ,we let our      
vocabularies be limited and get along   
rawly without the refinements of human  
intercourse1 without refinements in our 
own thoughts2 for thoughts are almost as
 dependent on words as words on         
thoughts4 ,for example1 all             
exasperations we lump together as       
aggravating1 not considering whether    
they may not rather be displeasing1     
annoying1 offensive1 disgusting1        
irritating1 or even maddening2 and      
without observing too that in our       
reckless usage we have burned up a word 
which might be convenient when we should
 need to mark some shading of the word  
increase4 ,like the bad cook1 we seize  
the frying-pan whenever we need to fry1 
broil1 roast1 or stew1 and then we      
wonder why all our dishes taste alike   
while in the next house the food is     
appetizing4 ,it is all unnecessary4     
,enlarge the vocabulary4 ,let any one   

who wants to see himself grow resolve to
 adopt two new words each week4 ,it will
 not be long before the endless and     
enchanting variety of the world will    
begin to reflect itself in his speech1  
and in his mind as well4 ,i know that   
when we use a word for the first time we
 are startled1 as if a fire-cracker went
 off in our neighborhood4 ,we look about
 hastily to see if any one has noticed4 
,but finding that no one has1 we may be 
emboldened4 ,a word used three times    
slips off the tongue with entire        
naturalness4 ,then it is ours forever1  
and with it some phase of life which had
 been lacking hitherto4 ,for each word  
presents its own point of view1         
discloses a special aspect of things1   
reports some little importance not      
otherwise conveyed1 and so contributes  
its small emancipation to our tied-up   
minds and tongues4  ,but a brief warning
 may be necessary to make my meaning    
clear4 ,in urging the addition of new   
words to our present poverty-stricken   

stock ,i am far from suggesting that we 
should seek out strange1 technical or   
inflated expressions1 which do not      
appear in ordinary conversation4 ,the   
very opposite is my aim4 ,i would put   
every man who is now employing a diction
 merely local and personal in command of
 the approved resources of the ,english 
language4 ,our poverty usually comes    
through provinciality1 through accepting
 without criticism the habits of our    
special set4 ,my family1 my immediate   
friends1 have a diction of their own4   
,plenty of other words1 recognized as   
sound1 are known to be current in books 
and to be employed by modest and        
intelligent speakers1 only we do not use
 them4 ,our set has never said diction1 
or current1 or scope1 or scanty1 or     
hitherto1 or convey1 or lack4 ,far from 
unusual as these words are1 to adopt    
them might seem to set me apart from    
those whose intellectual habits ,i      
share4 ,from this ,i shrink4 ,i do not  
like to wear clothes suitable enough for

 others1 but not in the style of my own 
plain circle4 ,yet if each one of that  
circle does the same1 the general       
shabbiness is increased4 ,the talk of   
all is made narrow enough to fit the    
thinnest there4 ,what we should seek is 
to contribute to each of the little     
companies with which our life is bound  
up a gently enlarging influence1 such   
impulses as will not startle or create  
detachment1 but which may save from     
humdrum1 routine and dreary usualness4  
,we cannot be really kind without being 
a little venturesome4 ,the small shocks 
of our increasing vocabulary will in all
 probability be as helpful to our       
friends as to ourselves4  ,such then are
 the excellences of speech4 ,if we would
 cultivate ourselves in the use of      
,english1 we must make our daily talk   
accurate1 daring and full4 ,i have      
insisted on these points the more       
because in my judgment all literary     
power1 especially that of busy men1 is  
rooted in sound speech4 ,but though the 

roots are here1 the growth is also      
elsewhere4 ,and ,i pass to my later     
precepts1 which1 if the earlier one has 
been laid well to heart1 will require   
only brief discussion4  ,secondly1      
,welcome every opportunity for writing4 
,important as ,i have shown speech to   
be1 there is much that it cannot do4    
,seldom can it teach structure4 ,its    
space is too small4 ,talking moves in   
sentences1 and rarely demands a         
paragraph4 ,i make my little remark1--a 
dozen or two words1--then wait for my   
friend to hand me back as many more4    
,this gentle exchange continues by the  
hour2 but either of us would feel       
himself unmannerly if he should grasp an
 entire five minutes and make it        
uninterruptedly his4 ,that would not be 
speaking1 but rather speech-making4 ,the
 brief groupings of words which make up 
our talk furnish capital practice in    
precision1 boldness and variety2 but    
they do not contain room enough for     
exercising our constructive faculties4  

,considerable length is necessary if we 
are to learn how to set forth ,b in     
right relation to ,a on the one hand and
 to ,c on the other2 and while keeping  
each a distinct part1 are to be able    
through their smooth progression to weld
 all the parts together into a compacted
 whole4 ,such wholeness is what we mean 
by literary form4 ,lacking it1 any piece
 of writing is a failure2 because in    
truth it is not a piece1 but pieces4    
,for ease of reading1 or for the        
attainment of an intended effect1 unity 
is essential--the multitude of          
statements1 anecdotes2 quotations1      
arguings1 gay sportings and appeals1 all
 bending one way their gracious         
influence4 ,and this dominant unity of  
the entire piece obliges unity also in  
the subordinate parts4 ,not enough has  
been done when we have huddled together 
a lot of wandering sentences and penned 
them in a paragraph1 or even when we    
have linked them together by the frail  
ties of and1 and4 ,a sentence must be   

compelled to say a single thing2 a      
paragraph1 a single thing2 an essay1 a  
single thing4 ,each part is to be a     
preliminary whole and the total a       
finished whole4 ,but the ability to     
construct one thing out of many does not
 come by nature4 ,it implies fecundity1 
restraint1 an eye for effects1 the      
forecast of finish while we are still   
working in the rough1 obedience to the  
demands of development and a deaf ear to
 whatever calls us into the by-paths of 
caprice2 in short it implies that the   
good writer is to be an artist4  ,now   
something of this large requirement     
which composition makes1 the young      
writer instinctively feels1 and he is   
terrified4 ,he knows how ill-fitted he  
is to direct toil cooperant to an end2  
and when he sits down to the desk and   
sees the white sheet of paper before    
him1 he shivers4 ,let him know that the 
shiver is a suitable part of the        
performance4 ,i well remember the       
pleasure with which1 as a young man1 ,i 

heard my venerable and practised        
professor of rhetoric say that he       
supposed there was no work known to man 
more difficult than writing4 ,up to that
 time ,i had supposed its severities    
peculiar to myself4 ,it cheered me1 and 
gave me courage to try again1 to learn  
that ,i had all mankind for my fellow   
sufferers4 ,where this is not           
understood1 writing is avoided4 ,from   
such avoidance ,i would save the young  
writer by my precept to seek every      
opportunity to write4 ,for most of us   
this is a new way of confronting        
composition--treating it as an          
opportunity1 a chance1 and not as a     
burden or compulsion4 ,it saves from    
slavishness and takes away the drudgery 
of writing1 to view each piece of it as 
a precious and necessary step in the    
pathway to power4 ,to those engaged in  
bread-winning employments these         
opportunities will be few4 ,spring      
forward to them1 then1 using them to the
 full4 ,severe they will be because so  

few1 for only practice breeds ease2 but 
on that very account let no one of them 
pass with merely a second-best          
performance4 ,if a letter is to be      
written to a friend1 a report to an     
employer1 a communication to a          
newspaper1 see that it has a beginning1 
a middle and an end4 ,the majority of   
writings are without these pleasing     
adornments4 ,only the great pieces      
possess them4 ,bear this in mind and win
 the way to artistic composition by     
noticing what should be said first1 what
 second and what third4  ,i cannot leave
 this subject1 however1 without         
congratulating the present generation on
 its advantages over mine4 ,children are
 brought up to-day1 in happy contrast   
with my compeers1 to feel that the      
pencil is no instrument of torture1     
hardly indeed to distinguish it from the
 tongue4 ,about the time they leave     
their mother's arms they take their pen 
in hand4 ,on paper they are encouraged  
to describe their interesting birds1    

friends1 adventures4 ,their written     
lessons are almost as frequent as their 
oral1 and they learn to write           
compositions while not yet quite        
understanding what they are about4 ,some
 of these fortunate ones will1 ,i hope1 
find the language ,i have sadly used    
about the difficulty of writing         
extravagant4 ,and let me say too that   
since frequency has more to do with ease
 of writing than anything else1 ,i count
 the newspaper men lucky because they   
are writing all the time1 and ,i do not 
think so meanly of their product as the 
present popular disparagement would seem
 to require4 ,it is hasty work          
undoubtedly and bears the marks of      
haste4 ,but in my judgment1 at no period
 of the ,english language has there been
 so high an average of sensible1        
vivacious and informing sentences       
written as appears in our daily press4  
,with both good and evil results1 the   
distinction between book literature and 
speech literature is breaking down4     

,everybody is writing1 apparently in    
verse and prose2 and if the higher      
graces of style do not often appear1    
neither on the other hand do the ruder  
awkwardnesses and obscurities4 ,a       
certain straightforward ,english is     
becoming established4 ,a whole nation is
 learning the use of its mother tongue4 
,under such circumstances it is doubly  
necessary that any one who is conscious 
of feebleness in his command of ,english
 should promptly and earnestly begin the
 cultivation of it4  ,my third precept  
shall be1 ,remember the other person4 ,i
 have been urging self-cultivation in   
,english as if it concerned one person  
alone1 ourself4 ,but every utterance    
really concerns two4 ,its aim is social4
 ,its object is communication2 and while
 unquestionably prompted halfway by the 
desire to ease our mind through         
self-expression1 it still finds its only
 justification in the advantage somebody
 else will draw from what is said4      
,speaking or writing is1 therefore1     

everywhere a double-ended process4 ,it  
springs from me1 it penetrates him2 and 
both of these ends need watching4 ,is   
what ,i say precisely what ,i mean8     
,that is an important question4 ,is what
 ,i say so shaped that it can readily be
 assimilated by him who hears8 ,this is 
a question of quite as great consequence
 and much more likely to be forgotten4  
,we are so full of ourselves that we do 
not remember the other person4          
,helter-skelter we pour forth our       
unaimed words merely for our personal   
relief1 heedless whether they help or   
hinder him whom they still purport to   
address4 ,for most of us are grievously 
lacking in imagination1 which is the    
ability to go outside ourselves and take
 on the conditions of another mind4 ,yet
 this is what the literary artist is    
always doing4 ,he has at once the       
ability to see for himself and the      
ability to see himself as others see    
him4 ,he can lead two lives as easily as
 one life2 or rather1 he has trained    

himself to consider that other life as  
of more importance than his1 and to     
reckon his comfort1 likings and labors  
as quite subordinated to the service of 
that other4 ,all serious literary work  
contains within it this readiness to    
bear another's burden4 ,i must write    
with pains1 that he may read with ease4 
,i must    ,find out men's wants and    
wills1   ,and meet them there4  ,as ,i  
write1 ,i must unceasingly study what is
 the line of least intellectual         
resistance along which my thought may   
enter the differently constituted mind2 
and to that line ,i must subtly adjust1 
without enfeebling1 my meaning4 ,will   
this combination of words or that make  
the meaning clear8 ,will this order of  
presentation facilitate swiftness of    
apprehension1 or will it clog the       
movement8 ,what temperamental           
perversities in me must be set aside in 
order to render my reader's approach to 
what ,i would tell him pleasant8 ,what  
temperamental perversities in him must  

be accepted by me as fixed facts1       
conditioning all ,i say8 ,these are the 
questions the skilful writer is always  
asking4  ,and these questions1 as will  
have been perceived already1 are moral  
questions no less than literary4 ,that  
golden rule of generous service by which
 we do for others what we would have    
them do for us is a rule of writing too4
 ,every writer who knows his trade      
perceives that he is a servant1 that it 
is his business to endure hardship if   
only his reader may win freedom from    
toil1 that no impediment to that        
reader's understanding is too slight to 
deserve diligent attention1 that he has 
consequently no right to let a single   
sentence slip from him unsocialized--,i 
mean1 a sentence which cannot become as 
naturally another's possession as his   
own4 ,in the very act of asserting      
himself he lays aside what is           
distinctively his4 ,and because these   
qualifications of the writer are moral  
qualifications they can never be        

completely fulfilled so long as we live 
and write4 ,we may continually          
approximate them more nearly1 but there 
will still always be possible an        
alluring refinement of exercise beyond4 
,the world of the literary artist and   
the moral man is interesting through its
 inexhaustibility2 and he who serves his
 fellows by writing or by speech is     
artist and moral man in one4 ,writing a 
letter is a simple matter1 but it is a  
moral matter and an artistic2 for it may
 be done either with imagination or with
 raw self-centredness4 ,what things will
 my correspondent wish to know8 ,how can
 ,i transport him out of his properly   
alien surroundings into the vivid       
impressions which now are mine8 ,how can
 ,i tell all ,i long to tell and still  
be sure the telling will be for him as  
lucid and delightful as for me8         
,remember the other person1 ,i say4 ,do 
not become absorbed in yourself4 ,your  
interests cover only the half of any    
piece of writing2 the other man's less  

visible half is necessary to complete   
yours4 ,and if ,i have here discussed   
writing more than speech1 that is merely
 because when we speak we utter our     
first thoughts1 but when we write1 our  
second1--or better still1 our fourth2   
and in the greater deliberation which   
writing affords ,i have felt that the   
demands of morality and art1 which are  
universally imbedded in language1 could 
be more distinctly perceived4 ,yet none 
the less truly do we need to talk for   
the other person than to write for him4 
,but there remains a fourth weighty     
precept1 and one not altogether         
detachable from the third4 ,it is this3 
,lean upon the subject4 ,we have seen   
how the user of language1 whether in    
writing or in speaking1 works for       
himself2 how he works for another       
individual too2 but there is one more   
for whom his work is performed1 one of  
greater consequence than any person1 and
 that is his subject4 ,from this comes  
his primary call4 ,those who in their   

utterance fix their thoughts on         
themselves1 or on other selves1 never   
reach power4 ,that resides in the       
subject4 ,there we must dwell with it   
and be content to have no other strength
 than its4 ,when the frightened         
schoolboy sits down to write about      
,spring1 he cannot imagine where the    
thoughts which are to make up his piece 
are to come from4 ,he cudgels his brain 
for ideas4 ,he examines his pen-point1  
the curtains1 his inkstand1 to see if   
perhaps ideas may not be had from these4
 ,he wonders what his teacher will wish 
him to say and he tries to recall how   
the passage sounded in the ,third       
,reader4 ,in every direction but one he 
turns1 and that is the direction where  
lies the prime mover of his toil1 his   
subject4 ,of that he is afraid4 ,now1   
what ,i want to make evident is that    
this subject is not in reality the foe1 
but the friend4 ,it is his only helper4 
,his composition is not to be1 as he    
seems to suppose1 a mass of his         

laborious inventions1 but it is to be   
made up exclusively of what the subject 
dictates4 ,he has only to attend4 ,at   
present he stands in his own way1 making
 such a din with his private anxieties  
that he cannot hear the rich suggestions
 of the subject4 ,he is bothered with   
considering how he feels1 or what he or 
somebody else will like to see on his   
paper4 ,this is debilitating business4  
,he must lean on his subject1 if he     
would have his writing strong1 and busy 
himself with what it says rather than   
with what he would say4 ,matthew        
,arnold1 in the important preface to his
 poems of #ahec1 contrasting the        
artistic methods of ,greek poetry and   
modern poetry1 sums up the teaching of  
the ,greeks in these words3 ,all depends
 upon the subject2 choose a fitting     
action1 penetrate yourself with the     
feeling of its situations2 this done1   
everything else will follow4 ,and he    
calls attention to the self-assertive   
and scatter-brained habits of our time4 

,how different a way of thinking from   
this is ours6 ,we can hardly at the     
present day understand what ,menander   
meant when he told a man who inquired as
 to the progress of his comedy that he  
had finished it1 not having yet written 
a single line1 because he had           
constructed the action of it in his     
mind4 ,a modern critic would have       
assured him that the merit of his piece 
depended on the brilliant things which  
arose under his pen as he went along4 ,i
 verily think that the majority of us do
 not in our hearts believe that there is
 such a thing as a total-impression to  
be derived from a poem or to be demanded
 from a poet4 ,we permit the poet to    
select any action he pleases and to     
suffer that action to go as it will1    
provided he gratifies us with occasional
 bursts of fine writing and with a      
shower of isolated thoughts and images4 
,great writers put themselves and their 
personal imaginings out of sight4 ,their
 writing becomes a kind of transparent  

window on which reality is reflected1   
and through which people see1 not them1 
but that of which they write4 ,how much 
we know of ,shakespeare's characters6   
,how little of ,shakespeare6 ,of him    
that might almost be said which ,isaiah 
said of ,god1 ,he hideth himself4 ,the  
best writer is the best mental listener1
 the one who peers farthest into his    
matter and most fully heeds its behests4
 ,preeminently obedient is such a       
writer1--refinedly1 energetically       
obedient4 ,i once spent a day with a    
great novelist when the book which      
subsequently proved his masterpiece was 
only half written4 ,i praised his mighty
 hero1 but said ,i should think the life
 of an author would be miserable who1   
having created a character so huge1 now 
had him in hand and must find something 
for him to do4 ,my friend seemed puzzled
 by my remark1 but after a moment's     
pause said1 ,i don't think you know how 
we work4 ,i have nothing to do with the 
character4 ,now that he is created he   

will act as he will4  ,and such docility
 must be cultivated by every one who    
would write well1 such strenuous        
docility4 ,of course there must be      
energy in plenty2 the imagination which 
,i described in my third section1 the   
passion for solid form as in my second1 
the disciplined and daring powers as in 
my first2 but all these must be ready at
 a moment's notice to move where the    
matter calls and to acknowledge that all
 their worth is to be drawn from it4    
,religion is only enlarged good sense1  
and the words of ,jesus apply as well to
 the things of earth as of heaven4 ,i do
 not know where we could find a more    
compendious statement of what is most   
important for one to learn who would    
cultivate himself in ,english than the  
saying in which ,jesus announces the    
source of his power1 ,the word which ye 
hear is not mine1 but the ,father's     
which sent me4 ,whoever can use such    
words will be a noble speaker indeed4   
,these then are the fundamental precepts

 which every one must heed who would    
command our beautiful ,english language4
 ,there is of course a fifth4 ,i hardly 
need name it2 for it always follows     
after1 whatever others precede4 ,it is  
that we should do the work1 and not     
think about it2 do it day after day and 
not grow weary in bad doing4 ,early and 
often we must be busy and be satisfied  
to have a great deal of labor produce   
but a small result4 ,i am told that     
early in life ,john ,morley1 wishing to 
engage in journalism1 wrote an editorial
 and sent it to a paper every day for   
nearly a year before he succeeded in    
getting one accepted4 ,we all know what 
a power he became in ,london journalism4
 ,i will not vouch for the truth of this
 story1 but ,i am sure an ambitious     
author is wise who writes a weekly essay
 for his stove4 ,publication is of      
little consequence so long as one is    
getting one's self hammered into shape4 
,but before ,i close this paper let me  
acknowledge that in it ,i have neglected

 a whole class of helpful influences1   
probably quite as important as any ,i   
have discussed4 ,purposely ,i have      
passed them by4 ,because ,i wished to   
show what we can do for ourselves1 ,i   
have everywhere assumed that our        
cultivation in ,english is to be        
effected by naked volition and a kind of
 dead lift4 ,these are mighty agencies1 
but seldom in this interlocked world do 
they work well alone4 ,they are         
strongest when backed by social         
suggestion and unconscious custom4      
,ordinarily the good speaker is he who  
keeps good company1 but increases the   
helpful influence of that company by    
constant watchfulness along the lines ,i
 have marked out4 ,so supplemented1 my  
teaching is true4 ,by itself it is not  
true4 ,it needs the supplementation of  
others4 ,let him who would speak or     
write well seek out good speakers and   
writers4 ,let him live in their         
society1--for the society of the        
greatest writers is open to the most    

secluded1--let him feel the ease of     
their excellence1 the ingenuity1 grace  
and scope of their diction1 and he will 
soon find in himself capacities whose   
development may be aided by the precepts
 ,i have given4 ,most of us catch better
 than we learn4 ,we take up             
unconsciously from our surroundings what
 we cannot altogether create4 ,all this 
should be remembered1 and we should keep
 ourselves exposed to the wholesome     
words of our fellow men4 ,yet our own   
exertions will not on that account be   
rendered less important4 ,we may largely
 choose the influences to which we      
submit2 we may exercise a selective     
attention among these influences2 we may
 enjoy1 oppose1 modify1 or diligently   
ingraft what is conveyed to us1--and for
 doing any one of these things          
rationally we must be guided by some    
clear aim4 ,such aims1 altogether       
essential even if subsidiary1 ,i have   
sought to supply2 and ,i would reiterate
 that he who holds them fast may become 

superior to linguistic fortune and be   
the wise director of his sluggish and   
obstinate tongue4 ,it is as certain as  
anything can be that faithful endeavor  
will bring expertness in the use of     
,english4 ,if we are watchful of our    
speech1 making our words continually    
more minutely true1 free and            
resourceful2 if we look upon our        
occasions of writing as opportunities   
for the deliberate work of unified      
construction2 if in all our utterances  
we think of him who hears as well as of 
him who speaks2 and above all1 if we fix
 the attention of ourselves and our     
hearers on the matter we talk about and 
so let ourselves be supported by our    
subject--we shall make a daily advance  
not only in ,english study1 but in      
personal power1 in general              
serviceableness and in consequent       
delight4     ,v  ,,doubts ,,about       
,,university ,,extension#a   ,a step has
 lately been taken in ,american         
education which excites the interest and

 hopes of us all4 ,england has been our 
teacher1--,england and a persuasive     
apostle from that country4 ,a few years 
ago the ,english universities became    
discontented with their isolation4 ,for 
generations they had been devoting      
themselves to a single class in the     
community1 and that too a class which   
needed least to be brought to           
intelligence and power4 ,the mass of the
 nation1 those by whom its labor and    
commerce were conducted1 had little     
access to ,oxford and ,cambridge4       
,poverty first1 then social             
distinctions1 and1 until recent days1   
sectarian haughtiness barred them out4  
,their exclusion reacted on the training
 of the universities themselves4        
,conservatism flourished4 ,the worth of 
an intellectual interest was rated      
rather by its traditional character than
 by its closeness to life4 ,the         
sciences1 latter-day things1 were       
pursued hardly at all4 ,the modern      
literatures1 ,english included1 had no  

place4 ,plato and ,aristotle furnished  
most of the philosophy4 ,while the rest 
of the world was deriving from ,germany 
methods of study1 from ,france methods  
of exposition1 and from ,america methods
 of treating all men alike as rational1 
,english scholarship1 based on no       
gymnasia1 lycees1 or high schools1 went 
its way1 little regarding the life of   
its nation or that of the world at      
large4  ,but there has come a change4   
,reformers have been endeavoring to go  
out and find the common man1 and1 in    
connection with him1 to develop those   
subjects which before1 according to     
university tradition1 were looked at    
somewhat askance4 ,english literature1  
political economy1 modern history1 have 
been put in the foreground of this      
popularized education4 ,far and wide    
throughout ,england an enthusiastic band
 of young teachers1 under the guidance  
of officers of the universities1 have   
been giving instruction in these        
subjects to companies in which social   

grades are for the time forgotten4 ,and 
since public libraries are rare in      
,england1 and among the poorer classes  
the reading habit is but slightly       
formed1 an ambitious few among the      
hearers have prized their opportunities 
sufficiently to undertake a certain     
amount of study and to hand in papers   
for the lecturer to inspect and to mark4
 ,in exceptional cases as many as one   
third of the audience have thus written 
exercises and passed examinations4 ,the 
great majority of those in attendance   
during the three months' term of course 
do nothing more than listen to the      
weekly lecture4  ,this is the very      
successful ,english movement which for  
some years has been exciting admiration 
the world over1 and which it is proposed
 to introduce into the ,united ,states4 
,rightly to estimate its worth those    
aspects of it to which attention has    
just been directed should carefully be  
borne in mind4 ,they are these3 the     
movement is as much social as scholarly 

and accompanies a general democratic    
upheaval of an aristocratic nation2 it  
springs up in the neighborhood of       
universities to which the common people 
do not resort1 and in which those       
subjects which most concern the minds of
 modern men are little taught2 in its   
country other facilities for enabling   
the average man to capture              
knowledge--public libraries1 reading    
clubs1 illustrated magazines1 free high 
schools--are not yet general2 it        
flourishes in a small and compact land1 
where a multitude of populous towns are 
in such immediate neighborhood and so   
connected by a network of railroads that
 he who is busied in one place to-day   
can1 with the slightest fatigue and     
expense1 appear in five other towns     
during the remaining days of the week4  
,these conditions1 and others as gravely
 distinctive1 do not exist in ,america4 
,from the first the ,american college   
has been organized by the people and for
 the people4 ,it has been about as much 

resorted to by the poor as by the rich4 
,through a widely developed system of   
free public schools it has kept itself  
closely in touch with popular ideals4   
,its graduates go into commercial life  
as often as into medicine1 the ministry1
 or the law4 ,it has shown itself       
capable of expansion too in adjusting   
itself to the modern enlargement of     
knowledge4 ,the rigid curriculum1 which 
suited well enough the needs of our     
fathers1 has been discarded1 and every  
college1 in proportion to the resources 
at its command1 now offers elective     
studies and seeks to meet the needs of  
differing men4 ,to all who can afford   
four years 7soon it may be three71 and  
who are masters of about half as much   
capital as would support them during the
 same time elsewhere1 the four hundred  
colleges of our country offer an        
education far too good to be superseded1
 duplicated1 or weakened4 ,in these     
colleges excellent provision has been   
made1 and has been made once for all1   

for everybody who has a little time and 
a little money to devote to systematic  
education of the higher sort4  ,but our 
educational scheme has one serious      
limitation1 and during the last fifty   
years there have been many earnest      
efforts to surmount it4 ,not every man  
is free to seek a systematic training4  
,multitudes are tied to daily toil and  
only in the evening can they consider   
their own enlargement4 ,many grow old   
before the craving for knowledge arises4
 ,many also1 with more or less profit1  
have attended a college1 but are glad   
subsequently to supply those defects of 
education which the experiences of life 
relentlessly bring to view4 ,to all     
these classes1 caught in the whirl of   
affairs1 the college does not minister4 
,it is true that much that such people  
want they get from the public library1  
especially as our librarians of the     
modern type energetically accept their  
duties as facilitators of the public    
reading4 ,much is also obtainable from  

the cheap issues of the press and from  
such endowed courses of higher          
instruction as those of the ,lowell1    
,cooper1 ,brooklyn1 ,peabody1 and       
,drexel institutes4 ,but1 after all1    
these supplementary aids1 though        
valuable1 are deficient in guiding      
power4 ,most persons1 especially if     
novices1 work best under inspection4 ,to
 learners teachers are generally        
important4 ,there seems to be still a   
place in our well-supplied country for  
an organization which shall arouse a    
more general desire for knowledge2 which
 shall stand ready to satisfy this      
desire more cheaply1 with less          
interruption to daily occupation1 and   
consequently in ways more fragmentary   
than the colleges can2 and yet one which
 shall not leave its pupils alone with  
books1 but shall supply them with the   
impulse of the living word and through  
writing1 discussion and directed        
reading1 shall economize and render     
effective the costly hours of learning4 

,unquestionably there is a field here   
which the colleges cannot till1 a field 
whose harvest would enrich us all4 ,can 
any other agency till it8 ,to every     
experiment thus far it has yielded only 
meagre1 brief and expensive returns4 ,a 
capital thing it would be to give to the
 busy that which normally requires time 
and attention2 but how to do it is the  
question1--how to do it in reality1 and 
not in mere outward seeming4            
,chautauqua has not done it1 impassioned
 though that rough and generous         
institution has been for wide and       
fragmentary culture4 ,its work1 indeed1 
has had a different aim2 and1 amusing as
 that work often appears1 it ought to be
 understood and acknowledged as of      
fundamental consequence in our hastily  
settled and heterogeneous land4         
,chautauqua sends its little books and  
papers into stagnant homes from ,maine  
to ,california and gives the silent     
occupants something to think about4     
,conversation springs up2 and with it   

fresh interests1 fresh hopes4 ,a new tie
 is formed between young and old1 as    
together they persue the same studies   
and in the same graduating class walk   
through the ,golden ,gate4 ,any man who 
loves knowledge and his native land must
 be glad at heart when he visits a      
summer assembly of ,chautauqua3 there   
listens to the ,orator's ,recognition   
,address2 attends the swiftly successive
 ,round ,tables upon ,milton1           
,temperance1 ,geology1 the ,american    
,constitution1 the ,relations of        
,science and ,religion1 and the         
,doctrine of ,rent2 perhaps assists at  
the ,cooking ,school1 the ,prayer       
,meeting1 the ,concert and the          
,gymnastic ,drill2 or wanders under the 
trees among the piazzaed cottages and   
sees the ,hall of ,philosophy and the   
wooden ,doric ,temple shining on their  
little eminences2 and1 best of all1     
perceives in what throngs have gathered 
here the butcher1 the baker1 and the    
candlestick-maker1--a throng themselves1

 their wives and daughters a throng--all
 heated in body1 but none the less aglow
 for learning and a good time4 ,the     
comic aspects of this mixture of        
science1 fresh air1 flirtation1 ,greek  
reminiscence1 and devoutness are patent 
enough2 but the way in which the        
multitude is being won to discard       
distrust of knowledge1 and to think of  
it rather as the desirable goal for all1
 is not so generally remarked by        
scholarly observers4 ,yet that is the   
weighty fact4 ,the actual product in    
education may not be large2 enthusiasm  
and the memory may be more stimulated   
than the rational intelligence4 ,but    
minds are set in motion2 an intellectual
 world1 beyond the domestic and         
personal1 begins to appear2 studious    
thought forms its fit friendship with   
piety1 gladness and the sense of a      
common humanity2 a groundwork of        
civilization is prepared4 ,to find a    
popular movement so composite and       
aspiring1 we must go back to the        

mediaeval ,crusades or the ,greek       
,mysteries4 ,in these alone do we       
observe anything so ideal1 so bizarre1  
so expressive of the combined           
intellectual and religious hopes of a   
people4 ,in many ,chautauqua homes      
pathetic sacrifices will be made in the 
next generation to send the boys and    
girls to a real college4  ,now1 in      
proposing to transport to this country  
,english extension methods the managers 
have had in mind nothing so elementarily
 important as ,chautauqua4 ,they have   
felt the pity we all feel for persons of
 good parts who1 through poverty or     
occupation1 are debarred from a college 
training4 ,they seek to reach minds     
already somewhat prepared1 and to such  
they undertake to supply solid          
instruction of the higher grades4 ,it is
 this more ambitious design which calls 
for criticism4 ,professor ,r4 ,g4       
,moulton speaks of extension education  
as distinguished from school education1 
being moulded to meet the wants of      

adults4 ,and again1 ,so far as method is
 concerned1 we have considered that we  
are bound to be not less thorough1 but  
more thorough1 if possible1 than the    
universities themselves4 ,if1 in the    
general educational campaign1 we liken  
,chautauqua to a guerrilla high school1 
university extension will be a guerrilla
 college4 ,both move with light armor1  
have roving commissions1 attack         
individuals1 and themselves appear in   
the garb of ordinary life2 but they are 
equipped for a service in which the more
 cumbrous organizations of school and   
college have thus far proved            
ineffective4 ,it is a fortunate         
circumstance that1 with fields of       
operation so distinct1 no jealousy can  
exist between the two bands of          
volunteers1 or between them both and the
 regular army4 ,the success of either   
would increase the success of the other 
two4 ,to ,chautauqua we are all indebted
 for lessening the popular suspicion of 
expert knowledge2 and if the plans of   

the extension committee could be carried
 out1 college methods would have a      
vogue1 and a consequent respect1 which  
they have never yet enjoyed4  ,every    
one1 accordingly1 civilian or           
professional1 wishes the movement well1 
and recognizes that the work it proposes
 to do in our country is not at present 
performed4 ,its aims are excellent4 ,are
 they also practicable8 ,we cannot with 
certainty say that they are not1 but it 
is here that doubts arise1--doubts of   
three sorts3 those which suspect a      
fundamental difference in the two       
countries which try the experiment2     
those which are incredulous about the   
permanent response which our people will
 make to the education offered2 and     
those which question the possibility of 
securing a stable body of extension     
teachers4 ,the first set of these doubts
 has been briefly but sufficiently      
indicated at the beginning of this      
paper2 the second may with still greater
 brevity be summed up here in the       

following connected series of           
inquiries3--  ,with the multitude of    
other opportunities for education which 
,american life affords1 will any large  
body of men and women attend extension  
lectures8 ,will they attend after the   
novelty is worn off1 say during the     
third year8 ,will they do anything more 
than attend8 ,will they follow courses  
of study1 write essays1 and pass        
examinations8 ,will the extension       
system1 any better than its decayed     
predecessor1 the old lyceum system1     
resist the demands of popular audiences 
and keep itself from slipping out of    
serious instruction into lively and     
eloquent entertainment8 ,if the lectures
 are kept true to their aim of          
furnishing solid instruction1 can they  
in the long run be paid for8 ,will it be
 possible to find in our country        
clusters of half a dozen towns so       
grouped and so ready to subscribe to a  
course of lectures on each day of the   
week that out of the entire six a living

 salary can be obtained8 ,will the new  
teachers be obliged to confine          
themselves to the suburbs of large      
cities1 abandoning the scattered        
dwellers in the country1 that portion of
 our population which is almost the only
 one at present cut off from tolerable  
means of culture8 ,if in order to pursue
 these destitute ones1 correspondence   
methods are employed1 in addition to the
 already approved methods of lecture    
instruction1 will lowering of the       
standard follow8 ,in ,england three or  
four years of extension lectures are    
counted equivalent to one year of       
regular study1 and a person who has     
attended extension courses for this time
 may be admitted without further        
examination to the second year of       
university residence4 ,will anything of 
the sort be generally attempted here8   
,these grave questions are as yet       
insusceptible of answer4 ,affirmative1  
desirable answers do not seem probable2 
but experience alone can make the matter

 plain4 ,of course the managers are     
watchfully bearing such questions in    
mind1 and critical watchfulness may     
greatly aid the better answer and hinder
 the less desirable4 ,accordingly       
anything like a discussion of this class
 of practical doubts would be           
inappropriate here4 ,data for the       
formation of a confident opinion do not 
exist4 ,all that can be done by way of  
warning is to indicate certain large    
improbabilities1 leaving them to be     
confirmed or thwarted by time and human 
ingenuity4  ,but with the third class of
 doubts the case is different4 ,these   
relate to the constitution of the staff 
of teachers1 and here sufficient facts  
are at hand to permit a few points to be
 demonstrated with considerable         
certainty4 ,when1 for example1 we ask   
from what source teachers are to be     
drawn1 we are usually told that they    
must come from college faculties4 ,if   
the method of the extension lecturer is 
to be as thorough as that of the        

universities themselves1 the lecturers  
must be experts1 not amateurs2 and where
 except at the colleges does a body of  
experts exist8 ,no doubt many           
well-trained men are scattered          
throughout the community as merchants1  
doctors1 school-teachers1 and lawyers4  
,but these men1 when of proved power1   
have more than they properly can attend 
to in their own affairs4 ,it seems to be
 the colleges1 therefore1 to which the  
movement must look for its teachers2 and
 in the experiments thus far made in    
this country the extension lecturing has
 been done for the most part by college 
officers4 ,a professor of history1      
political economy1 or literature has1 in
 addition to his college teaching1 also 
given a course of instruction elsewhere4
 ,this feature of the ,american system1 
one may say with confidence1 must prove 
a constant damage to the work of the    
colleges and1 if persisted in1 must     
ultimately destroy the extension scheme 
itself4  ,in ,england the extension     

teachers are not university teachers4   
,to have no independent staff for       
extension work is a novelty of the      
,american undertaking4 ,the very name1  
university extension1 besides being     
barbaric1 is in its ,english employment 
largely misleading2 since neither the   
agencies for extending nor indeed1 for  
the most part1 the studies extended1 are
 found at the universities at all4 ,a   
small syndicate or committee1 appointed 
from among the university officers1 is  
the only share the university has in the
 business4 ,the impression1 so general  
in this country1 that ,english          
university teachers are roaming about   
the island1 lecturing to mixed          
audiences1 is an entire error4 ,the     
university teachers stay at home and    
send other people1 their own graduates  
chiefly1 to instruct the multitude4 ,a  
committee of them decides on the        
qualifications for the work of such     
persons as care to devote themselves to 
itinerant teaching as a profession4 ,for

 those so selected they arrange times1  
places1 and subjects2 but they          
themselves do not move from their own   
lecture rooms4 ,nor is there occasion   
for their doing so4 ,in the slender     
development of popular education in     
,england1 many more persons of the upper
 classes become trained as specialists  
than can find places as university      
teachers4 ,there thus arises a learned  
and leisured accumulation which         
capitally serves the country in case of 
a new educational need4 ,on this        
accumulated stock of cultured men--men  
who otherwise could not easily bring    
their culture to market--the extension  
movement draws4 ,these men are its      
teachers1 its permanent teachers1 since 
there are not competing places striving 
to draw them away4 ,in the two countries
 the educational situation is exactly   
reversed3 in ,england there are more    
trained men than positions2 in ,america1
 more positions than trained men4 ,it   
seems probable too that this condition  

of things will continue long1 so far as 
we are concerned2 at least there is no  
present prospect of our reaching a limit
 in the demand for competent men4       
,whenever a college has a chair to fill1
 it is necessary to hunt far and wide   
for a suitable person to fill it4 ,the  
demand is not from the old places alone4
 ,almost every year a new college is    
founded4 ,every year the old ones grow4 
,in twenty-five years ,harvard has      
quadrupled its staff4 ,columbia1        
,cornell1 ,princeton1 ,yale1 the        
,university of ,michigan1 the           
,university of ,pennsylvania1--indeed   
almost every strong college in the      
country1--shows an immense advance4 ,a  
,western state is no sooner settled than
 it establishes a state university1 and 
each of the sects starts from one to    
three colleges besides4 ,no such        
perpetual expansion goes on in ,england4
 ,the number of learned positions there 
is measurably fixed4 ,if more experts   
than can fill them1 or than care to     

enter political life1 the liberal       
professions1 and the civil service1 are 
manufactured in the course of a year1   
the surplus stock is at the disposal of 
the extension syndicate4 ,many of these 
men too are persons of means1 to whom a 
position of dignity is of more          
consequence than a large salary4 ,the   
problem1 accordingly1 of organizing     
popular instruction out of such a body  
of waiting experts is a comparatively   
simple one2 but it is not so simple     
here4 ,in our country any man who has a 
fair acquaintance with a special subject
 and moderate skill in imparting it1    
especially if he will be contented with 
a small salary1 can be pretty sure of   
college appointment4  ,naturally enough1
 therefore1 the organizers of the       
extension movement1 despairing of       
finding among us competent unattached   
teachers1 have turned at once to the    
colleges2 but the colleges are a very   
unsafe support to lean upon4 ,a         
professor in a university where the     

studies are elective has no more        
superfluous time than a busy lawyer1 or 
doctor1 or business man4 ,merely to keep
 up with the literature of a subject1 to
 say nothing of that research and       
writing which should enlarge its limits1
 is an enormous task4 ,teaching too is  
no longer an affair of text-books and   
recitations4 ,leisurely days of routine 
ease belong to the past4 ,a professor   
nowadays must prepare lectures          
incessantly2 must perpetually revise    
them2 must arrange examinations2 direct 
the reading of his students2 receive    
their theses2 himself read a large part 
of their voluminous written work2       
personally oversee his advanced men2    
gather them about him in laboratory1    
seminary and conference2 attend         
innumerable committee and faculty       
meetings2 devise legislation for the    
further development of his college and  
department2 correspond with schools and 
colleges where his students1 after      
taking their higher degree1 may suitably

 be placed2 and if at the end of a      
hard-worked day he can find an hour's   
leisure1 he must still keep his door    
open for students or fellow-officers to 
enter4 ,so laborious have become the    
duties of a university teacher that few 
large staffs now go through a year      
without one or two of their members     
breaking down4 ,with the growing        
complexity of work it often seems as if 
the proper business of college officers1
 study and teaching1 must some day cease
 altogether1 crowded out by the         
multifarious tasks with which they are  
only indirectly connected4 ,it is       
useless to say that these things are not
 necessary4 ,whoever neglects them will 
cease to make his college1 his subject  
and his influence grow4 ,it is because  
professors now see that they cannot     
safely neglect them that the modern     
college differs fundamentally from its  
humdrum predecessor of a quarter of a   
century ago4 ,any movement which seeks  
to withdraw a professor's attention from

 these things1 and induces him to put   
his soul elsewhere1 inflicts on the     
community a serious damage4 ,no amount  
of intellectual stimulus furnished to   
little companies here and there can     
atone for the loss that must fall on    
education when college teachers pledge  
themselves to do serious work in other  
places than in their own libraries and  
lecture rooms4 ,to be an explorer and a 
guide in a department of human knowledge
 is an arduous profession4 ,it admits no
 half-hearted service4  ,of course if   
the work demanded elsewhere is not      
serious1 the case is different4 ,rather 
with benefit than with damage a college 
teacher may on occasion recast the      
instruction that was intended for       
professionals and offer it to a popular 
audience4 ,in this way a professor makes
 himself known and makes his college    
known4 ,many of the small colleges are  
now engaging in university extension as 
an inexpensive means of advertising     
themselves4 ,but such lecturing is      

incidental1 voluntary and perpetually   
liable to interruption4 ,beyond the     
immediate series of lectures it cannot  
be depended on4 ,there is nothing       
institutional about it4 ,the men who    
undertake it are owned elsewhere1 and a 
second mortgage is not usually a very   
valuable piece of property4 ,a movement 
which places its reliance on the casual 
teaching of overworked men is condemned 
from the start4 ,university extension   
can never pass beyond the stage of      
amateurism and temporary expedient      
until1 like its ,english namesake1 it   
has a permanent staff of instructors    
exclusively devoted to its service4     
,where1 then1 is such a staff to be     
obtained8 ,in view of the conditions of 
education in this country already       
described1 it is improbable that it can 
be obtained at all4 ,but something may  
still be done1--something1 however1 of a
 more modest sort than enthusiasts at   
present have in mind4 ,there issue from 
our great universities every year a     

number of men who have had two or three 
years' training beyond their bachelor's 
degree4 ,some of them have had a year or
 two of foreign study4 ,they frequently 
wish to teach4 ,places do not           
immediately open to them4 ,if the       
extension movement would set them to    
work1 it might have all their time at a 
moderate salary for two or three years4 
,such men1 it is true1 would be         
inexperienced1 and their connection with
 itinerant teaching could not be        
rendered lasting4 ,as soon as one of    
them proved his power as a teacher1 some
 college would call him2 and he would   
seldom prefer the nomadic and           
fragmentary life to an established one4 
,plainly too under the charge of such   
men the grade of instruction could not  
be the highest2 but it might be sound1  
inspiriting even1 and it is in any case 
all that present circumstances render   
possible4 ,we may mourn that those who  
are masters in their several provinces  
are already fully employed4 ,we may wish

 there were a multitude of masters      
sitting about1 ready for enlistment in a
 missionary undertaking4 ,but there are 
no such masters4 ,the facts are evident 
enough2 and if the extension movement   
aims at a durable existence1 it will    
respect these facts4 ,the men it wants  
it cannot have without damaging them2   
and damaging them1 it damages the higher
 education of which they are the        
guardians4 ,teachers of a lower grade   
are at hand1 ready to be experimented   
with4 ,the few experiments already tried
 have been fairly successful4 ,let the  
extension leaders give up all thought of
 doing here what has been done in       
,england4 ,the principal part of that   
work is performed for us by other means4
 ,the wisest guidance1 accordingly1 may 
not lead the movement to any long       
success4 ,if1 however1 university       
extension will keep itself clearly      
detached from other educational agencies
 and make a quiet offer of humble yet   
serviceable instruction1 there is a fair

 prospect that by somewhat slow degrees 
a permanent new power may be added to   
the appliances for rendering busy       
,americans intelligent4   ,,footnotes3  
#a ,printed in #ahib4     ,,vi          
,,specialization#b   ,ladies and        
gentlemen of the graduating class1 this 
afternoon belongs to you4 ,this morning 
we dedicated a chime of bells to the    
memory of ,mrs4 ,palmer1 and in those   
moving exercises you had but a slender  
share4 ,probably not half a dozen of you
 ever saw her who1 once seen1 was loved 
with romantic ardor4 ,undoubtedly many  
of you are different from what you would
 have been had she not lived1 and lived 
here2 for her influence so passed into  
the structure of this ,university that  
she will shape successive generations of
 you for a long time to come4 ,but      
enough of her4 ,let us dismiss her from 
our thoughts4 ,too much praise we have  
already lavished on one who was ever    
simple and self-forgetting4 ,she would  
chide our profusion4 ,if we would think 

as she would wish us to think1 let us   
turn rather to the common matters of the
 day1 reflecting on those joys and      
perplexities which have attended you    
throughout these formative years4 ,one  
especially among these perplexities1    
perhaps the greatest of all1 ,i would   
invite you to consider now4 ,let me set 
it clearly before you4  ,this morning ,i
 sat down to breakfast with about a     
hundred of you who had entered on the   
attainment of the highest degree which  
this ,university offers4 ,you were      
advanced specialists4 ,you had each     
chosen some single line of endeavor4    
,but even then ,i remembered that you   
were not the only specialists here4     
,before me this afternoon ,i see        
candidates in medicine1 men and women   
who have taken for their specialty the  
warfare with pain and disease4 ,they    
have said1 ,all that ,i can ever know1  
,i will bring to bear on this urgent    
problem4 ,here also are the lawyers1    
impassioned for justice1 for the        

quelling of human strife4 ,that is their
 specialty4 ,they too restrict          
themselves to a single point of view4   
,beside them sit the scientific men1 who
 looking over the vast expanse of nature
 have accepted the task of tracing the  
physical aspects of this marvellous     
machine4 ,nor can ,i stop here4         
,throughout the undergraduate           
department1 as we all know1 run dominant
 interests4 ,i should be ashamed of a   
young man who in his four years had not 
found some compulsive interest2 for it  
is only when an interest compels that we
 can say that education has begun4 ,so  
long as we are simply learning what is  
set before us1 taking the routine mass  
of academic subjects1 we may be faithful
 students1 but we are not scholars4 ,no1
 it is when with a free heart we give   
ourselves to a subject1 bidding it take 
of us all it demands and feeling that we
 had rather attend to it than to        
anything else1 because it expresses our 
personal desires--then it is that its   

quickening influence takes hold4 ,but   
this is specialization4 ,we might think 
of the ,university of ,chicago then as a
 great specializing machine4  ,but why  
has each of you set himself this task of
 specialization8 ,because the world     
needs leaders1 and you have chosen      
yourselves to be those leaders4 ,are you
 aware how exceptional is your          
condition8 ,the last census shows that  
at present hardly one per cent of our   
population is in our colleges4 ,you are 
of that one per cent1 and you are here  
in order that you may enlighten the     
other ninety-nine per cent4 ,if through 
ignorance you fail1 you will cause      
others to fail and you had better never 
have come to this ,university4 ,to some 
sort of leadership you have dedicated   
yourselves1 and to this aim you should  
be true4 ,but do not at times doubts    
cross your mind8 ,have you not          
occasionally asked yourselves whether   
you can attain such leadership and make 
the most of your lives by shutting      

yourselves up to a specialty8           
,multitudes of interesting things are   
calling2 shall you turn away from them  
and follow a single line8 ,it will be   
worth while to-day to consider these    
fundamental questions and inquire how   
far we are justified in specializing1   
what dangers there are in it1 and in    
what degree those dangers may be        
avoided4  ,let me say1 then1 at the     
start1 that ,i regard specialization as 
absolutely essential to scholarship4    
,there is no scholarship without it1 for
 it is involved in the very process of  
knowing4 ,when ,i look at this desk ,i  
am specializing2 that is1 ,i am         
detaching this piece of furniture from  
all else in the room4 ,i am limiting    
myself1 and ,i cannot see without it4 ,i
 can gaze without specialization1 but ,i
 cannot see without specialization4 ,if 
,i am to know anything by sight1 that   
knowledge must come through the         
limitation of sight4 ,i seize this      
object1 cast away all others1 and thus  

fix my attention4 ,or if ,i am carefully
 to observe1 ,i even put my eye on a    
single point of the desk4 ,there is no  
other way4 ,clear knowledge becomes     
possible only through precise           
observation4 ,now specialization is     
nothing but this necessary limitation of
 attention2 and we1 as specialists1 are 
merely carrying out on a large scale    
what every human being must practise in 
some degree whenever he knows4 ,we      
employ the process persistently1 and for
 the sake of science are willing to hold
 ourselves steadily to a single line of 
observation4 ,and we cannot do          
otherwise4 ,the principles involved in  
the specialization of the senses run    
throughout all science4 ,if we would    
know1 we must hold the attention long on
 a given subject4  ,but there is an     
unfortunate side to specialization4 ,it 
obliges us to discard other important   
interests4 ,to discard merely           
unimportant ones is easy4 ,but every    
evening when ,i sit down to devote      

myself to my ethics ,i am aware that    
there are persons starving in ,boston   
who might be saved if ,i should drop my 
work and go to them4 ,yet ,i sit calmly 
there and say1 ,let them starve2 ,i am  
going to study ethics4 ,i do not see how
 ,i could be a suitable professor of    
ethics unless ,i were willing thus to   
limit myself4 ,that is the hard part1 as
 ,i understand it1 of                   
specialization1--the cutting off of     
things that are worth while4 ,i am sure 
you have already found it out4 ,many of 
you have come from places of narrow     
opportunity and here find a welcome     
abundance4 ,remembering how you have    
longed to obtain such privileges1 you   
will be tempted to scatter yourselves   
over a wide field1 gathering a little   
here and a little there4 ,at the end of 
the year you will have nothing1 if you  
do that4 ,the only possibility of gain  
is to choose your field1 devote serious 
time to it1 count yourself a specialist1
 and propose to live like one4 ,goethe  

admirably announces the principle3 ,wer 
grosses will muss sich beschraenken     
koennen4 ,you must accept limitations if
 you will go on to power1 for in        
limitation the very process of knowledge
 is rooted4  ,furthermore1 not only is  
specialization forced upon us by the    
nature of knowledge1 but without it our 
own powers cannot receive appropriate   
discipline4 ,it is difficult business to
 fashion a sound observer4 ,each        
province of science has its special     
modes of observation1 its own modes of  
reasoning even4 ,so long as we are      
unfamiliar with these and obliged to    
hold ourselves to them through conscious
 control1 our work is poor4 ,it is slow1
 inaccurate1 and exhausting4 ,only when 
we have trained ourselves to such       
aptitudes that within a certain field   
our observations and reasonings are     
instinctive do we become swift1 sure1   
and unfatigued in research4 ,to train   
our powers then we must begin to        
specialize early and hold ourselves     

steadily within bounds4 ,as one looks   
over the names of those who have        
accomplished much1 one is surprised at  
the number who were early specialists4  
,take my own department3 ,berkeley      
writes his great work when he is        
twenty-five2 ,hume publishes his        
masterpiece at twenty-seven4 ,or again1 
,keats had brought his wonderful results
 to accomplishment and died at          
twenty-five2 ,shelley at thirty2        
,marlowe1 the greatest loss ,english    
letters ever met1 at twenty-seven4 ,it  
is just the same in other fields3       
,alexander dies at thirty-six1 ,jesus at
 thirty-three4 ,yes1 let us look nearer 
home3 the most forcible leader ,american
 education has ever had became president
 of ,harvard ,university at thirty-five2
 ,president ,hyde of ,bowdoin took his  
position at twenty-seven2 my own wife1  
,alice ,freeman1 was president of       
,wellesley at twenty-six4 ,these are    
early specialists2 and because they     
specialized early they acquired an      

aptitude1 a smoothness of work1 a       
precision of insight1 and width of power
 which could not have been theirs had   
they begun later4 ,i would not deny that
 there have been geniuses who seemed to 
begin late3 ,kant was such2 ,locke was  
such4 ,you will recall many within your 
own fields4 ,but ,i think when you      
search the career of those who come to  
power in comparatively late years1 you  
will find that there has usually been a 
train of covert specialization running  
through their lives4 ,they may not have 
definitely named their field to         
themselves1 or produced work within that
 field in early years1 but everything   
had been converging toward that issue4  
,i believe1 therefore1 you ought to     
respect your specialty1 because only    
through it can your powers be brought to
 their highest accuracy and service4    
,one more justification of              
specialization ,i will briefly mention1 
that it is necessary for the            
organization of society4 ,no motive is  

good for much until it is socialized4   
,if specialization only developed our   
individual selves1 we could hardly      
justify it2 but it is the means of      
progress for society4 ,the field of     
knowledge is vast2 no man can master it1
 and its immensity was never so fully   
understood as to-day4 ,the only way the 
whole province can be conquered and     
brought under subjection to human needs 
is by parting it out1 one man being     
content to till his little corner while 
his neighbor is engaged on something    
widely different4 ,we must part out the 
field of knowledge and specialize on our
 allotted work1 in order that there may 
be entirety in science4 ,if we seek to  
have entirety in ourselves1 science will
 be fragmentary and feeble4 ,that       
division of labor which has proved      
efficient everywhere else is no less    
needful in science4  ,but ,i suppose it 
is hardly necessary to justify          
specialization to this audience4 ,most  
of you have staked heavily on it1       

putting yourselves to serious           
inconvenience1 many of you heavily      
mortgaging your future1 in order to come
 here and devote yourselves to some     
single interest4 ,i might confidently go
 through this room asking each of you   
what is your subject8 ,and you would    
proudly reply1 ,my subject is this4 ,my 
subject is this4 ,my subject is this4 ,i
 think you would feel ashamed if you had
 not thus specialized4 ,i see no        
occasion1 therefore1 to elaborate what  
,i have urged4 ,as ,i understand it1 the
 three roots of specialization are      
these3 it is grounded in the very nature
 of the knowing process2 it is grounded 
in the needs of ourselves as            
individuals1 in order that we may attain
 our maximum efficiency2 it is grounded 
in the needs of society1 because only so
 can society reach that fulness of      
knowledge which its progress requires4  
,but1 after all1 the beliefs which are  
accepted as matters of course in this   
room are largely denounced outside it4  

,we must acknowledge that our confidence
 in specialization encounters many      
doubts in the community4 ,it may be     
well1 then1 to place ourselves where    
that community stands and ask the       
general public to tell us why it doubts 
us1 what there is in our specialized    
attitude which it thinks defective1 and 
what are the complaints which it is     
disposed to bring against us8 ,i will   
try to take the position of devil's     
advocate and plead the cause of the     
objector to specialization4             
,specialization1 it is said1 leads to   
ignorance2 indeed it rather aims at     
ignorance than knowledge4 ,when ,i      
attend to this desk1 it is true ,i      
secure a bit of knowledge1 but how small
 is that bit in comparison to all the   
things in this room which ,i might know 
about6 ,it is but a fraction4 ,yet ,i   
have condemned all else in the room to  
ignorance1 reserving only this one      
little object for knowledge4 ,now that  
is what we are all of us doing on a     

great scale2 by specializing1 by        
limiting our attention1 we cut off what 
is not attended to4 ,it is often assumed
 that attention is mainly a positive    
affair and occupied with what we are to 
know4 ,but that is a very small portion 
of it2 really its important part is the 
negative1 the removal of what we do not 
wish to observe4 ,we cut ourselves off  
from the great mass of knowledge which  
is offered4 ,is it not then true that   
every specialist has disciplined himself
 to be an ignoramus8 ,he has drawn a    
fence around a little portion of the    
universe and said1 ,within that fence ,i
 know something4 ,yes1 the public       
replies1 but you do not know anything   
outside4 ,and is not the public right8  
,when we step forward and claim to be   
learned men1 is not the public justified
 in saying1 ,i know a great deal more   
than you do2 ,i know a thousand things  
and you know only one4 ,you say you know
 that one through and through1 and of   
course ,i do not know my thousand things

 through and through4 ,but it is not    
necessary4 ,i perceive their relations2 
,i can handle them2 ,i can use them in  
practice2 can you8 ,well1 no1 we are    
obliged to say1 we specialists are a    
little fumbling when we try to take hold
 of the world4 ,we are not altogether   
skilful in action1 just because we are  
such specialists4 ,you students here    
have been devoting yourselves to some   
one point--,i am afraid many of you are 
going to have sad experience of it--you 
have been learning to know something    
nobody else on earth does know1 and then
 you go forth to seek a position4 ,but  
the world may have no use for you2 there
 are only two or three positions of that
 sort in the country1 and those may     
happen to be filled4 ,just because you  
are such an elaborate scholar you cannot
 earn your daily bread4 ,you have cut   
yourself off from everything but that   
one species of learning1 and that does  
not happen to be wanted4 ,therefore you 
are not wanted4 ,such is the too        

frequent condition of the specialist4   
,the thousand things he does not know2  
it is only the one thing he does know4  
,and because he is so ignorant1 he is   
helpless4  ,turning then to our second  
justification of specialization1 the    
case seems equally bad4 ,i said that    
specialization was needed for the       
training of our powers4 ,the training of
 them all8 ,not that1 but the training  
of only certain ones among them4 ,the   
others hang slack4 ,in those regions of 
ourselves we count for little4 ,we are  
men of weight only within the range of  
the powers we have trained2 and what a  
large slice of us lies outside these6   
,accordingly the general public declares
 that there is no judgment so bad as the
 judgment of a specialist4 ,few         
practical situations exactly coincide   
with his specialty1 and outside his     
specialty his judgment is worse than    
that of the novice4 ,he has been        
training himself in reference to        
something precise2 and the moment he    

ventures beyond it1 the very exactitude 
of his discipline limits his worth4 ,the
 man who has not been a specialist1 who 
has dabbled in all things and has       
acquired a rough and ready common sense1
 that man's judgment is worth something 
in many different sections of life1 but 
the judgment of the specialist is       
painfully poor beyond his usual range4  
,you remember how1 in the comic opera1  
the practice is satirized of appointing 
a person who has never been at sea to   
take charge of the navy of a great      
country4 ,but that is the only sensible 
course to pursue4 ,put a specialist     
there1 and the navy will be wretchedly  
organized1 because the administration of
 the navy requires something more than  
the specialism of seamanship4 ,it is    
necessary to coordinate seamanship with 
many other considerations1 and the man  
trained in the specialty of seamanship  
is little likely to have that ability4  
,therefore ordinarily we use our experts
 best by putting them under the control 

of those who are not experts4 ,common   
sense has the last word4 ,the           
coordinating power which has not been   
disciplined in single lines is what     
ultimately takes the direction of       
affairs4 ,we need the specialist within 
his little field2 shut him up there1 and
 he is valuable enough2 but don't let   
him escape4 ,that seems to be the view  
of the public4 ,they keep the specialist
 confined because they utterly distrust 
his judgment when he extends himself    
abroad4  ,and when we look at the third 
of our grounds for justification1 social
 need1 the public declares that the     
specialists are intolerably             
presumptuous4 ,knowing their own        
subject1 they imagine they can dictate  
to anybody and do not understand how    
limited is their importance4 ,again and 
again it happens that because a man does
 know some one thing pretty well he sets
 himself up as a great man in general4  
,my own province suffers in this respect
 more than most2 for as soon as a man   

acquires considerable skill in chemistry
 or biology1 he is apt to issue a       
pronunciamento on philosophy4 ,but      
philosophy does not suffer alone4       
,everywhere the friends of the great    
specialist are telling him he has proved
 himself a mighty man1 quite competent  
to sit in judgment on the universe2 and 
he1 forgetting that the universe and the
 particular subject he knows something  
about are two different things1 really  
imagines that his ignorant opinions     
deserve consideration4  ,now ,i suppose 
we must acknowledge that in all this    
blasphemy against our calling1 there is 
a good deal of truth4 ,these certainly  
are dangers which all of us specialists 
incur4 ,i agree that they are inevitable
 dangers4 ,do not1 however1 let us on   
account of them abandon specialization  
and seek to acquire a mass of           
miscellaneous information4 ,bacon said1 
,i take all knowledge for my province4  
,if we say it1 we shall become not      
,bacons but fools4 ,no1 that is the     

broad road to ignorance4 ,but laying    
these profound dangers of specialization
 well to heart1 assured that they beset 
us all1 let us search for remedial      
measures4 ,let us ask how such dangers  
may be reduced to a minimum4 ,is there a
 certain way in which we may engage in  
the specialist's research and still save
 ourselves from some of the evils ,i    
have here depicted8 ,i think there is4  
,to find it we will follow the same     
three avenues which have been leading us
 thus far4  ,in regard to the first1 the
 limitation of attention1 ,i understand 
that1 after all1 our specialty cannot   
fill our entire life4 ,we do sometimes  
sit down to dinner2 we occasionally talk
 with a friend2 we now and then take a  
journey2 we permit ourselves from time  
to time to read some other book than one
 which refers to our subject4 ,that is1 
,i take it1 if we are fully alive to the
 great danger that in specializing we   
are cutting off a large part of the     
universe1 we shall be wise in gathering 

eagerly whatever additional knowledge we
 may acquire outside our specialty4 ,and
 ,i must say that the larger number of  
eminent specialists whom ,i have        
happened to know have been men pretty   
rich in knowledge outside their         
specialties4 ,they were men who well    
apprehended the extreme danger of their 
limited modes of pursuit and who        
greedily grasped1 therefore1 at every   
bit of knowledge they could obtain which
 lay beyond their province4 ,they       
appropriated all the wisdom they could2 
and merely because it did not exactly   
fit in with their specialty1 they did   
not turn it away4 ,i do not know how far
 it is wise to go in this effort to     
repair the one-sidedness in which most  
of us are compelled to live4 ,a rather  
extreme case was once brought to my     
attention4 ,there was a student at      
,harvard who had been a high scholar    
with me1 and ,i found that he was also  
so specializing in the classics that    
when he graduated he took classical     

honors4 ,some years later ,i learned    
that he was one of the highest scholars 
in the ,medical ,school4 ,meeting him a 
few years after he had entered his      
profession1 ,i asked1 ,how did it happen
 that you changed your mind so markedly8
 ,you devoted yourself to classics and  
philosophy in college4 ,what made you   
finally decide to become a physician8   
,finally decide6 said he4 ,why1 from    
childhood up ,i never intended to be    
anything else4 ,but1 ,i persisted1 ,i   
cannot be mistaken in recalling that you
 devoted yourself in college to classics
 and philosophy4 ,yes1 he said1 ,i did1 
because ,i knew ,i should never have    
another chance at those subjects4 ,i was
 going to give the rest of my life to   
medicine1 so ,i took those years for    
classics and philosophy4 ,i asked1      
,wasn't that a great mistake2 haven't   
you now found out your blunder8 ,oh1 no1
 said he1 ,i am a much better physician 
on that account2 ,i could not have done 
half so well if ,i hadn't had all that  

training in philosophy and classics4    
,now ,i cannot advise such a course for 
everybody4 ,it takes a big man to do    
that4 ,if you are big enough1 it is     
worth while laying a very broad         
foundation2 but considering the size on 
which most of us are planned1 it is     
wiser to begin early and specialize from
 the very start4  ,well1 then1 here is  
one mode of making up for the defects of
 specialization3 we may pick up         
knowledge outside our subject4 ,but it  
is an imperfect mode2 you never can put 
away your limitations altogether4 ,you  
can do a great deal4 ,use your odd      
quarter-hours wisely and do not merely  
play in fragmentary times1 understanding
 that these are precious seasons for    
acquiring the knowledge which lies      
beyond your province4 ,then every time  
you talk with anybody1 lead him neatly  
to what he knows best1 keeping an       
attentive ear1 becoming a first-class   
listener1 and seeking to get beyond     
yourself4 ,by doing so you will         

undoubtedly much enlarge the narrow     
bounds to which you have pledged        
yourself4 ,yet this policy will not be  
enough4 ,it will require to be          
supplemented by something more4         
,therefore ,i should say in the second  
place1 that in disciplining our powers  
we must be careful to conceive our      
specialty broadly enough4 ,in taking it 
too narrowly lies our chief danger4     
,there are two types of specialist4     
,there is the man who regards his       
specialty as a door into which he goes  
and by which he shuts the world out1    
hiding himself with his own little      
interests4 ,that is the petty1 poor     
specialist1 the specialist who never    
becomes a man of power1 however much he 
may be a man of learning4 ,but there is 
an entirely different sort of specialist
 from that2 it is the man who regards   
his specialty as a window out of which  
he may peer upon all the world4 ,his    
specialty is merely a point of view from
 which everything is regarded4          

,consequently without departing from our
 specialty each of us may escape        
narrowness4 ,instead of running over all
 the earth and contemplating it in a    
multitude of different aspects1 the wise
 specialist chooses some single point of
 view and examines the universe as it is
 related to this4 ,everything therefore 
has a meaning for him1 everything       
contributes something to his specialty4 
,narrowing himself while he is getting  
his powers disciplined1 as those powers 
become trained he slacks them off and   
gives them a wider range2 for he knows  
very well that while the world is cut up
 into little parcels it never can be    
viewed rightly4 ,it will always be      
distorted4 ,for1 after all1 things are  
what they are through their relations1  
and if you snap those relations you     
never truly conceive anything4          
,accordingly1 as soon as we have got our
 specialty1 we should begin to          
coordinate that specialty with          
everything else4 ,at first we may fix   

our attention on some single problem    
within a given field1 but soon we       
discover that we cannot master that     
problem without knowing the rest of the 
field also4 ,as we go on to know the    
rest of the field and make ourself a    
fair master of that science1 we discover
 that that science depends on other     
sciences4 ,never was there an age of the
 world in which this interlocking of the
 sciences was so clearly perceived as in
 our day4 ,formerly we seemed able to   
isolate a particular topic and know     
something of it1 but in our evolutionary
 time nothing of that kind is possible4 
,each thing is an epitome of the whole4 
,have you been training your eye to see 
a world in a grain of sand8 ,can you    
look through your specialty out upon the
 total universe and say3 ,i am a        
specialist merely because ,i do not want
 to be a narrow man4 ,my specialty is my
 telescope4 ,everything belongs to me4  
,i cannot1 it is true1 turn to it all at
 once4 ,being a feeble person ,i must   

advance from point to point1 accepting  
limitations2 but just as fast as ,i can1
 having mastered those limitations1 ,i  
shall cast them aside and press on into 
ever broader regions4  ,but ,i said     
specialization was fundamentally        
justified through the organization of   
society1 because by its division of toil
 we contribute our share to the total of
 human knowledge2 and yet the popular   
objector declares that we are           
presumptuous1 and because we have       
mastered our own specialty we are apt to
 assume ourselves capable of pronouncing
 judgment over the whole field4         
,undoubtedly there is this danger2 but  
such a result is not inevitable4 ,the   
danger is one which we are perfectly    
capable of setting aside4 ,the temper of
 our mind decides the matter1 and this  
is entirely within our control4 ,what is
 the use of our going forth presumptuous
 persons8 ,we certainly shall be        
unserviceable if we are persons of that 
type4 ,that is not the type of ,charles 

,darwin in biology1 of ,william ,james  
in psychology1 of ,horace ,howard       
,furness in ,shakespeare criticism1 of  
,albert ,michelson in physics4 ,these   
are men as remarkable for modesty and   
simplicity as for scholarly insight4    
,the true characteristic of a learned   
specialist is humility4 ,what we want to
 be training ourselves in is respect for
 other people and a sense of solidarity 
with them4 ,our work would be of little 
use if there were not somebody at our   
side who cared nothing for that work of 
ours and cared immensely for his own4   
,it is our business to respect that     
other man1 whether he respects us or    
not4 ,we must learn to look upon every  
specialist as a fellow worker4 ,without 
him we cannot be perfect4 ,let us make  
ourselves as large as possible1 in order
 that we may contribute our little      
something to that to which all others   
are contributing4 ,it is this           
cooperative spirit which it should be   
ours to acquire4 ,and it seems to me    

that you are under peculiarly fortunate 
circumstances for acquiring it4 ,what   
strikes me as fatal is to have a group  
of young specialists taken and trained  
by themselves1 detachedly1 shut off from
 others4 ,nothing of that sort occurs   
here4 ,every day you are rubbing        
shoulders with persons who have other   
interests than yours4 ,when you walk to 
dinner1 you fall in with a comrade who  
has been spending his day over something
 widely unlike that which has concerned 
you4 ,possibly you have been able to    
lead him to talk about it2 possibly you 
have gained an insight into what he was 
seeking1 and seen how his work largely  
supplements your own4 ,if you have had  
proper respect for him and proper       
humility in regard to yourself1 this    
great society of specialists has filled 
out your work for you day after day2 and
 in that sense of cooperation1 of losing
 yourselves in the common service of    
scientific mankind1 you have found the  
veritable glory of these happy years4   

,,footnotes3     #b ,on the morning of  
,june #i1 #aijh1 a chime of bells was   
dedicated at        the ,university of  
,chicago in honor of ,alice ,freeman    
,palmer4 ,at        the ,convocation    
,exercises in the afternoon the         
following address        was delivered4 
,,vii  ,,the ,,glory ,,of ,,the         
,,imperfect#c   ,a few years ago        
,matthew ,arnold1 after travelling in   
this country and revising the somewhat  
unfavorable opinion of us which he had  
formed earlier and at a distance1 still 
wrote in his last paper on ,civilization
 in the ,united ,states that ,america1  
in spite of its excellences1 is an      
uninteresting land4 ,he thought our     
institutions remarkable4 ,he pointed out
 how close a fit exists between them and
 the character of the citizens1 a fit so
 close as is hardly to be found in other
 countries4 ,he saw much that is of     
promise in our future4 ,but after all1  
he declares that no man will live here  
if he can live elsewhere1 because       

,america is an uninteresting land4      
,this remark of ,mr4 ,arnold's is one   
which we may well ponder4 ,as ,i        
consider how many of you are preparing  
to go forth from college and establish  
yourselves in this country1 ,i ask      
myself whether you must find your days  
uninteresting4 ,you certainly have not  
been finding them uninteresting here4   
,where were college days ever dull8 ,it 
is a beautiful circumstance that1 the   
world over1 the period of education is  
the period of romance4 ,no such thing   
was ever heard of as a college student  
who did not enjoy himself1 a college    
student who was not full of hope4 ,and  
if this has been the case with us       
prosaic males of the past1 what must be 
the experience of your own hopeful sex8 
,i am sure you are looking forward with 
eagerness to your intended work4 ,is it 
to be blighted8 ,are you to find life   
dull8 ,it might seem from the remark of 
,mr4 ,arnold that it would probably be  
so1 for you must live in an             

uninteresting land4  ,when this remark  
of ,mr4 ,arnold's was first made a      
multitude of voices in all parts of our 
country declared that ,mr4 ,arnold did  
not know what he was talking about4 ,as 
a stupid ,englishman he had come here   
and had failed to see what our land     
contains4 ,in reality every corner of it
 is stuffed with that beauty and        
distinction which he denied4 ,for that  
was the offensive feature of his        
statement3 he had said in substance the 
chief sources of interest are beauty and
 distinction4 ,america is not beautiful4
 ,its scenery1 its people1 its past1 are
 not distinguished4 ,it is impossible1  
therefore1 for an intelligent and       
cultivated man to find permanent        
interests here4  ,the ordinary reply to 
these unpleasant sayings was1 ,america  
is beautiful1 ,america is distinguished4
 ,but on the face of the matter this    
reply might well be distrusted4 ,mr4    
,arnold is not a man likely to make such
 a mistake4 ,he is a trained observer4  

,his life has been passed in criticism1 
and criticism of an extremely delicate  
sort4 ,it seems to me it must be rather 
his standards than his facts which are  
at fault4 ,many of us would be slow to  
believe our teacher had made an error in
 observation2 for to many of us he has  
been a very great teacher indeed4       
,through him we have learned the charm  
of simplicity1 the refinement of        
exactitude1 the strength of finished    
form2 we have learned calmness in trial 
too1 the patience of duty1 ability to   
wait when in doubt2 in short1 we have   
learned dignity1 and he who teaches us  
dignity is not a man lightly to be      
forgotten or disparaged4 ,i say1        
therefore1 that this answer to ,mr4     
,arnold1 that he was in error1 is one   
which on its face might prudently be    
distrusted4  ,but for other than        
prudential reasons ,i incline to agree  
with ,mr4 ,arnold's opinion4 ,even      
though ,i were not naturally disposed to
 credit his judgment1 ,i should be      

obliged to acknowledge that my own      
observations largely coincide with his4 
,in ,europe ,i think ,i find beauty more
 abundant than in ,america4 ,certainly  
the distinguished objects1 the          
distinguished persons1 whom ,i go there 
to see1 are more numerous than those ,i 
might by searching find here4 ,i cannot 
think this portion of ,mr4 ,arnold's    
statement can be impugned4 ,and must we 
then accept his conclusion and agree    
that your lives1 while sheltered in this
 interesting college1 are themselves    
interesting2 but that when you go forth 
the romance is to pass away8 ,i do not  
believe it1 because ,i question the     
standard which ,mr4 ,arnold employs4 ,he
 tells us that the sources of the       
interesting are beauty and distinction4 
,i doubt it4 ,however much delight and  
refreshment these may contribute to our 
lives1 ,i do not believe they           
predominantly constitute our interests4 
,evidently ,mr4 ,arnold cannot have     
reached his opinion through observation1

 for the commonest facts of experience  
confute him4 ,there is in every         
community a certain class of persons    
whose business it is to discover what   
people regard as interesting4 ,these are
 the newspaper editors2 they are paid to
 find out for us interesting matters    
every day4 ,there is nothing they like  
better than to get hold of something    
interesting which has not been observed 
before4 ,are they then searchers for    
beauty and distinction8 ,i should say   
not4 ,here are the subjects which these 
seekers after interesting things        
discussed in my morning paper4 ,there is
 an account of disturbances in ,south   
,america4 ,there is a statement about   
,mr4 ,blaine's health4 ,there is a      
report of a prize fight4 ,there are     
speculations about the next general     
election4 ,there is a description of a  
fashionable wedding4 ,these things      
interest me1 and ,i suspect they        
interest the majority of the readers of 
that paper2 though they can hardly be   

called beautiful or distinguished4      
,obviously1 therefore1 if ,mr4 ,arnold  
had inspected the actual interests of   
to-day1 he would have been obliged to   
recognize some other basis for them than
 beauty and distinction4  ,yet ,i       
suppose all will feel it would be better
 if the trivial matters which excite our
 interest in the morning journal were of
 a more beautiful1 of a more            
distinguished sort4 ,our interests would
 be more honorable then4 ,these things  
interest merely because they are facts1 
not because they are beautiful4 ,a fact 
is interesting through being a fact1 and
 this commonest and most basal of       
interests ,mr4 ,arnold has overlooked4  
,he has not perceived that life itself  
is its own unceasing interest4  ,before 
we can decide1 however1 whether he has  
overlooked anything more1 we must       
determine what is meant by beauty4 ,let 
us analyze the matter a little4 ,let us 
see if we can detect why the beautiful  
and the distinguished are interesting1  

and still how we can provide a place for
 the other interests which are omitted  
in his statement4 ,if we should look at 
a tree and ask ourselves why this tree  
is more beautiful than another1 we      
should probably find we had thought it  
so on some such grounds as these3 the   
total bunch of branches and leaves1 that
 exquisite green mass sunning itself1 is
 no larger than can well be supported on
 the brown trunk4 ,it is large enough2  
there is nothing lacking4 ,if it were   
smaller1 the office of the trunk would  
hardly be fulfilled4 ,if larger1 the    
trunk would be overpowered4 ,those      
branches which extend themselves to the 
right adequately balance those which are
 extended to the left4 ,scrutinizing it1
 we find every leaf in order1 each one  
ready to aerate its little sap and so   
conduce to the life of the whole4 ,there
 is no decay1 no broken branch4 ,nothing
 is deficient1 but at the same time     
there is nothing superfluous4 ,each part
 ministers to every part4 ,in all parts 

the tree is proportionate--beautiful1   
intrinsically beautiful1 because it is  
unsuperfluous1 unlacking4  ,and when we 
turn to other larger1 more intricately  
beautiful objects1 we find the same     
principle involved4 ,fulness of         
relations among the parts1 perfection of
 organism1 absence of incongruity1      
constitute the beauty of the object4    
,were you ever in ,wiltshire in         
,england1 and did you visit the splendid
 seat of the ,earls of ,pembroke1       
,wilton ,house8 ,it is a magnificent    
pile1 designed by ,holbein the painter1 
erected before ,elizabeth began to      
reign4 ,its green lawns1 prepared ages  
ago1 were adapted to their positions    
originally and perform their ancient    
offices to-day4 ,time has changed its   
gardens only by making them more lovely 
than when they were planned4 ,so        
harmonious with one another are grounds 
and castle that1 looking on the stately 
dwelling1 one imagines that the ,creator
 himself must have had it in mind in his

 design of the spot4 ,and when you      
enter1 all is equally congruous4 ,around
 the central court runs the cloistered  
statuary gallery1 out of which open the 
several halls4 ,passing through these1  
you notice the portraits not only of    
past members of the family--men who have
 been among the most distinguished of   
,england's worthies--but also portraits 
of the eminent friends of the           
,pembrokes1 painted by notable artists  
who were often themselves also friends  
of the family4 ,in the library is shown 
,sidney's ,arcadia1 written in this very
 garden1 with a lock of ,elizabeth's    
hair inclosed4 ,in the chief hall a play
 of ,shakespeare's is reported to have  
been performed by his company4 ,half a  
dozen names that shine in literature    
lend intellectual glory to the place4   
,but as you walk from room to room1     
amazed at the accumulation of wealth and
 proud tradition1 you perceive how each 
casual object makes its separate        
contribution to the general impression  

of stateliness4 ,a glance from a window 
discloses an enchanting view3 in the    
distance1 past the cedars1 rises the    
spire of ,salisbury ,cathedral1 one of  
the most peaceful and aspiring in       
,england4 ,all parts--scenery1          
buildings1 rich possessions1 historic   
heritages--minister to parts4 ,romantic 
imagination is stirred4 ,it is          
beautiful1 beautiful beyond anything    
,america can show4  ,and if we turn to  
that region where beauty is most subtly 
embodied1 if we turn to human character1
 we find the conditions not dissimilar4 
,the character which impresses us most  
is that which has fully organized its   
powers1 so that every ability finds its 
appropriate place without prominence2   
one with no false humility and without  
self-assertion2 a character which cannot
 be overthrown by petty circumstance1   
but1 steadfast in itself1 no part       
lacking1 no part superfluous1 easily    
lets its ample functions assist one     
another in all that they are summoned to

 perform4 ,when we behold a man like    
this1 we say1 ,this is what ,i would be4
 ,here is the goal toward which ,i would
 tend4 ,this man1 like ,wilton ,house1  
like the beautiful tree1 is a finished  
thing4 ,it is true when we turn our     
attention back and once more criticise1 
we see that it is not so4 ,no human     
character can be finished4 ,it is its   
glory that it cannot be4 ,it must ever  
press forward2 each step reached is but 
the vantage-ground for a further step4  
,there is no completeness in human      
character--in human character save one4 
,and must we then consider human        
character uninteresting8 ,according to  
,mr4 ,arnold's standard perhaps we ought
 to do so4 ,but through this very case  
the narrowness of that standard becomes 
apparent4 ,mr4 ,arnold rightly perceives
 that beauty is one of our higher       
interests4 ,it certainly is not our only
 or our highest1 because in that which  
is most profoundly interesting1 human   
life1 the completeness of parts which   

constitutes beauty is never reached4    
,there must obviously be another and a  
higher source of interest1 one too      
exalted to be found where awhile ago ,i 
sketched it1 in the mere occurrence of a
 fact4 ,we cannot say that all events1  
simply because they occur1 are alike    
interesting4 ,to find in them an        
intelligent interest we must rate their 
worth4 ,i agree1 accordingly1 with ,mr4 
,arnold in thinking that it is the      
passion for perfection1 the assessment  
of worths1 which is at the root of all  
enduring interests4 ,but ,i believe that
 in the history of the world this       
passion for perfection1 this deepest    
root of human interests1 has presented  
itself in two forms4 ,the ,greek        
conceived it in one way1 the ,christian 
has conceived it in another4  ,it was   
the office of that astonishing people1  
the ,greeks1 to teach us to honor       
completeness1 the majesty of the rounded
 whole4 ,we see this in every department
 of their marvellous life4 ,whenever we 

look at a ,greek statue1 it seems       
impossible that it should be otherwise  
without loss2 we cannot imagine any     
portion changed2 the thing has reached  
its completeness4 ,before it we can only
 bow and feel at rest4 ,just so it is   
when we examine ,greek architecture4    
,there too we find the same ordered     
proportion1 the same adjustment of part 
to part4 ,and if we turn to ,greek      
literature1 the stately symmetry is no  
less remarkable4 ,what page of          
,sophocles could be stricken out8 ,what 
page--what sentence8 ,just enough1 not  
more than enough6 ,the thought has      
grown1 has asserted its entirety2 and   
when that entirety has been reached1 it 
has stopped1 delighted with its own     
perfection4 ,a splendid ideal1 an ideal 
which never can fail1 ,i am sure1 to    
interest man so long as he remains      
intelligent6  ,and yet this beautiful   
,greek work shows only one aspect of the
 world4 ,it omitted something1 it       
omitted formative life4 ,joy in birth1  

delight in beginnings1 interest in      
origins1--these things did not belong to
 the ,greek2 they came in with          
,christianity4 ,it is ,jesus ,christ who
 turns our attention toward growth1 and 
so teaches us to delight in the         
imperfect rather than in the perfect4   
,it is he who1 wishing to give to his   
disciples a model of what they should   
be1 does not select the completed man1  
but takes the little child and sets him 
before them and to the supercilious     
says1 ,take heed that ye despise not one
 of these little ones4 ,he teaches us to
 reverence the beginning of things4 ,and
 at first thought it might well seem    
that this reverence for the imperfect   
was a retrogression4 ,what6 is not a    
consummate man more admirable than a    
child8 ,no1 ,jesus answered2 and because
 he answered so1 pity was born4 ,before 
the coming of ,jesus ,christ1 ,i think  
we may say that the sick1 the afflicted1
 the child--shall ,i not say the        
woman8--were but slightly understood4   

,it is because ,god has come down from  
heaven1 manifesting even himself in     
forms of imperfection1 it is on this    
account that our intellectual horizon   
has been enlarged4 ,we may now delight  
in the lowly1 we may stoop and gather   
imperfect things and rejoice in         
them1--rejoice beyond the old ,greek    
rejoicing4  ,yet it is easy to mistake  
the nature of this change of standard1  
and in doing so to run into grave moral 
danger4 ,if we content ourselves with   
the imperfect rather than with the      
perfect1 we are barbarians4 ,we are not 
,christians nor are we ,greeks1 we are  
barbarians4 ,but that is not the spirit 
of ,jesus4 ,he teaches us to catch the  
future in the instant1 to see the       
infinite in the finite1 to watch the    
growth of the perfect out of the        
imperfect4 ,and he teaches us that this 
delight in progress1 in growth1 in      
aspiration1 in completing1 may rightly  
be greater than our exultation in       
completeness4 ,in his view the joy of   

perfecting is beyond the joy of         
perfection4  ,now ,i want to be sure    
that you young women1 who are preparing 
yourselves here for larger life and are 
soon to emerge into the perplexing      
world1 go forth with clear and          
,christian purpose4 ,for though what ,i 
have been discussing may appear dry and 
abstract1 it is an extremely practical  
matter4 ,consider a moment in which     
direction you are to seek the interests 
of your life4 ,will you demand that the 
things about you shall already possess  
their perfection8 ,will you ask from    
life that it be completed1 finished1    
beautiful8 ,if so1 you are doomed to    
dreary days4 ,or are you to get your    
intellectual eyes open1 see beauty in   
the making1 and come to rejoice in it   
there rather than after it is made8     
,that is the question ,i wish to present
 to-day2 and ,i shall ask you to examine
 several provinces of life and see how  
different they appear when surveyed from
 one point of view or from the other4   

,undoubtedly all of you on leaving here 
will go into some home1 either the home 
of your parents or--less fortunate--some
 stranger's home4 ,and when you come    
there1 ,i think ,i can foretell one     
thing3 it will be a tolerably imperfect 
place in which you find yourself4 ,you  
will notice a great many points in which
 it is improvable2 that is to say1 a    
great many respects in which you might  
properly wish it otherwise4 ,it will    
seem to you1 ,i dare say1 a little      
plain1 a little commonplace1 compared   
with your beautiful college and the     
college life here4 ,i doubt whether you 
will find all the members of your       
family--dear though they may be--so     
wise1 so gentle-mannered1 so able to    
contribute to your intellectual life as 
are your companions here4 ,will you feel
 then1 ,ah6 home is a dull place2 ,i    
wish ,i were back in college again6 ,i  
think ,i was made for college life4     
,possibly enough ,i was made for a      
wealthy life4 ,i am sure ,i was made for

 a comfortable life4 ,but ,i do not find
 these things here4 ,i will sit and wish
 ,i had them4 ,of course ,i ought not to
 enjoy a home that is short of          
perfection2 and ,i recognize that this  
is a good way from complete4 ,is this to
 be your attitude8 ,or are you going to 
say1 ,how interesting this home6 ,what a
 brave struggle the dear people are     
making with the resources at their      
command6 ,what kindness is shown by my  
tired mother2 how swift she is in       
finding out the many small wants of the 
household6 ,how diligent my father6     
,should ,i1 if ,i had had only their    
narrow opportunities1 be so intelligent1
 so kind1 so self-sacrificing as they8  
,what can ,i do to show them my         
gratitude8 ,what can ,i contribute      
toward the furtherance1 the enlargement1
 the perfecting1 of this home8 ,that is 
the wise course4 ,enter this home not   
merely as a matter of loving duty1 but  
find in it also your own strong         
interests1 and learn to say1 ,this home 

is not a perfect home1 happily not a    
perfect home4 ,i have something here to 
do4 ,it is far more interesting than if 
it were already complete4  ,and again1  
you will not always live in a place so  
attractive as ,cleveland4 ,there are    
cities which have not your beautiful    
lake1 your distant views1 your charming 
houses excellently shaded with trees4   
,these things are exceptional and cannot
 always be yours4 ,you may be obliged to
 live in an ,american town which appears
 to you highly unfinished1 a town which 
constantly suggests that much still     
remains to be done4 ,and then are you   
going to say1 ,this place is not        
beautiful1 and ,i of course am a lover  
of the beautiful4 ,how could one so     
superior as ,i rest in such             
surroundings8 ,i could not respect      
myself were ,i not discontented4 ,is    
that to be your attitude8 ,it is1 ,i am 
sorry to think1 the attitude of many who
 go from our colleges4 ,they have been  
taught to reverence perfection1 to honor

 excellence2 and instead of making it   
their work to carry this excellence     
forth1 and to be interested in spreading
 it far and wide in the world1 they sit 
down and mourn that it has not yet come4
 ,how dull the world would be had it    
come6 ,perfection1 beauty8 ,it          
constitutes a resting-place for us2 it  
does not constitute our working-place4  
,i maintain1 therefore1 in regard to our
 land as a whole that there is no other 
so interesting on the face of the earth2
 and ,i am led to this conviction by the
 very reasoning which brought ,mr4      
,arnold to a contrary opinion4 ,i accept
 his judgment of the beauty of ,america4
 ,his premise is correct1 but it should 
have conducted him to the opposite      
conclusion4 ,in ,america we still are in
 the making4 ,we are not yet beautiful  
and distinguished2 and that is why      
,america1 beyond every other country1   
awakens a noble interest4 ,the beauty   
which is in the old lands1 and which    
refreshes for a season1 is after all a  

species of death4 ,those who dwell among
 such scenes are appeased1 they are not 
quickened4 ,let them keep their past2 we
 have our future4 ,we may do much4 ,what
 they can do is largely at an end4  ,in 
literature also ,i wish to bring these  
distinctions before you1 these          
differences of standard2 and perhaps ,i 
cannot accomplish this better than by   
exhibiting them as they are presented in
 a few verses from the poet of the      
imperfect4 ,i suppose if we try to mark 
out with precision the work of ,mr4     
,browning1--,i mean not to mark it out  
as the ,browning societies do1 but to   
mark it out with precision1--we might   
say that its distinctive feature is that
 he has guided himself by the principle 
on which ,i have insisted3 he has sought
 for beauty where there is seeming      
chaos2 he has loved growth1 has prized  
progress1 has noted the advance of the  
spiritual1 the pressing on of the finite
 soul through hindrance to its junction 
with the infinite4 ,this it is which has

 inspired his somewhat crabbed verses1  
and has made men willing to undergo the 
labor of reading them1 that they too may
 partake of his insight4 ,in one of his 
poems--one which seems to me to contain 
some of his sublimest as well as some of
 his most commonplace lines1 the poem on
 ,old ,pictures in ,florence1--he       
discriminates between ,greek and        
,christian art in much the same way ,i  
have done4 ,in ,greek ,art1 ,mr4        
,browning says3--    ,you saw yourself  
as you wished you were1     ,as you     
might have been1 as you cannot be2      
,earth here1 rebuked by ,olympus there2 
,and grew content in your poor degree   
,with your little power1 by those       
statues' godhead1     ,and your little  
scope1 by their eyes' full sway1   ,and 
your little grace1 by their grace       
embodied1     ,and your little date1 by 
their forms that stay4    ,you would    
fain be kinglier1 say1 than ,i am8      
,even so1 you will not sit like         
,theseus4   ,you would prove a model8   

,the son of ,priam     ,has yet the     
advantage in arms' and knees' use4      
,you're wroth--can you slay your snake  
like ,apollo8     ,you're grieved--still
 ,niobe's the grander6   ,you           
live--there's the ,racers' frieze to    
follow3     ,you die--there's the dying 
,alexander4    ,so1 testing your        
weakness by their strength1     ,your   
meagre charms by their rounded beauty1  
,measured by ,art in your breadth and   
length1     ,you learned--to submit is a
 mortal's duty4    ,growth came when1   
looking your last on them all1     ,you 
turned your eyes inwardly one fine day  
,and cried with a start--,what if we so 
small     ,be greater and grander the   
while than they6   ,are they perfect of 
lineament1 perfect of stature8     ,in  
both1 of such lower types are we        
,precisely because of our wider nature2 
,for time1 theirs--ours1 for eternity4  
,to-day's brief passion limits their    
range2     ,it seethes with the morrow  
for us and more4   ,they are            

perfect--how else8 they shall never     
change3     ,we are faulty--why not8 we 
have time in store4   ,the ,artificer's 
hand is not arrested     ,with us2 we   
are rough-hewn1 no-wise polished3       
,they stand for our copy1 and once      
invested     ,with all they can teach1  
we shall see them abolished4  ,you will 
notice that in this subtle study ,mr4   
,browning points out how through contact
 with perfection there may come content 
with our present lot4 ,this ,i call the 
danger of perfection1 our possible      
belittlement through beauty4 ,for in the
 lives of us all there should be a      
divine discontent1--not devilish        
discontent1 but divine discontent1--a   
consciousness that life may be larger   
than we have yet attained1 that we are  
to press beyond what we have reached1   
that joy lies in the future1 in that    
which has not been found1 rather than in
 the realized present4 ,and it seems to 
me if ever a people were called on to   
understand this glory of the imperfect1 

it is we of ,america1 it is you of the  
,middle ,west2 it is especially you who 
are undertaking here the experiment of a
 woman's college4 ,you are at the       
beginning1 and that fact should lend an 
interest to your work which cannot so   
readily be realized in our older        
institutions4 ,as you look eastward upon
 my own huge university1 ,harvard       
,university1 it probably appears to you 
singularly beautiful1 reverend in its   
age1 magnificent in its endowments1     
equable in its working2 perhaps you     
contemplate it as nearing perfection1   
and contrast your incipient college with
 it as hardly deserving the name4 ,you  
are entirely mistaken4 ,harvard         
,university1 to its glory be it said1 is
 enormously unfinished2 it is a great   
way from perfect2 it is full of         
blemishes4 ,we are tinkering at it all  
the time2 and if it were not so1 ,i for 
one should decline to be connected with 
it4 ,its interest for me would cease4   
,you are to start free from some        

trammels that we feel4 ,because we have 
so large a past laid upon us we have not
 some freedoms of growth1 some          
opportunities of enlargement1 which you 
possess4 ,accordingly1 in your very     
experiment here you have a superb       
illustration of the principle ,i am     
trying to explain4 ,this young and      
imperfect college should interest you   
who are members of it2 it should        
interest this intelligent city4 ,wise   
patrons should find here a germ capable 
of such broad and interesting growth as 
may well call out their heartiest       
enthusiasm4  ,if then the modes of      
accepting the passion for perfection are
 so divergent as ,i have indicated1 is  
it possible to suggest methods by which 
we may discipline ourselves in the      
nobler way of seeking the interests of  
life8--,i mean by taking part with      
things in their beginnings1 learning to 
reverence them there1 and so attaining  
an interest which will continually be   
supported and carried forward4 ,you may 

look with some anxiety upon the doctrine
 which ,i have laid down4 ,you may say1 
,but beauty is seductive2 beauty allures
 me4 ,i know that the imperfect in its  
struggle toward perfection is the nobler
 matter4 ,i know that ,america is1 for  
him who can see all things1 a more      
interesting land than ,spain4 ,yes1 ,i  
know this1 but ,i find it hard to feel  
it4 ,my strong temptation is to lie and 
dream in romance1 in ideal perfection4  
,by what means may ,i discipline myself 
out of this degraded habit and bring    
myself into the higher life1 so that ,i 
shall always be interested in progress1 
in the future rather than in the past1  
in the on-going rather than in the      
completed life8 ,i cannot give an exact 
and final receipt for this better mind4 
,a persistently studied experience must 
be the teacher4 ,to-day you may         
understand what ,i say1 you may resolve 
to live according to the methods ,i     
approve4 ,but you may be sure that      
to-morrow you will need to learn it all 

over again4 ,and yet ,i think ,i can    
mention several forms of discipline1 as 
,i may call them4 ,i can direct your    
attention to certain modes by which you 
may instruct yourselves how to take an  
interest in the imperfect thing1 and    
still keep that interest an honorable   
one4  ,in my judgment1 then1 your first 
care should be to learn to observe4 ,a  
simple matter--one1 ,i dare say1 which  
it will seem to you difficult to avoid4 
,you have a pair of eyes2 how can you   
fail to observe8 ,ah6 but eyes can only 
look1 and that is not observing4 ,we    
must not rest in looking1 but must      
penetrate into things1 if we would find 
out what is there4 ,and to find this out
 is worth while1 for everything when    
observed is of immense interest4 ,there 
is no object so remote from human life  
that when we come to study it we may not
 detect within its narrow compass       
illuminating and therefore interesting  
matter4 ,but it makes a great difference
 whether we do thus really observe1     

whether we hold attention to the thing  
in hand1 and see what it contains4      
,once1 after puzzling long over the     
charm of ,homer1 ,i applied to a learned
 friend and said to him1 ,can you tell  
me why ,homer is so interesting8 ,why   
can't you and ,i write as he wrote8 ,why
 is it that his art is lost1 and that   
to-day it is impossible for us to awaken
 an interest at all comparable to       
his8--,well1 said my friend1 ,i have    
often meditated on that1 but it seems to
 come to about this3 ,homer looked long 
at a thing4 ,why1 said he1 do you know  
that if you should hold up your thumb   
and look at it long enough1 you would   
find it immensely interesting8 ,homer   
looks a great while at his thumb4 ,he   
sees precisely the thing he is dealing  
with4 ,he does not confuse it with      
anything else4 ,it is sharp to him2 and 
because it is sharp to him it stands out
 sharply for us over thousands of years4
 ,have you acquired this art1 or do you 
hastily glance at insignificant objects8

 ,do you see the thing exactly as it is8
 ,do you strip away from it your own    
likings and dislikings1 your own        
previous notions of what it ought to be8
 ,do you come face to face with things8 
,if you do1 the hardest situation in    
life may well be to you a delight4 ,for 
you will not regard hardships1 but only 
opportunities4 ,possibly you may even   
feel1 ,yes1 here are just the           
difficulties ,i like to explore4 ,how   
can one be interested in easy things8   
,the hard things of life are the ones   
for which we ought to give thanks4 ,so  
we may feel if we have made the cool and
 hardy temper of the observer our own1  
if we have learned to put ourselves into
 a situation and to understand it on all
 sides4 ,why1 the things on which we    
have thus concentrated attention become 
our permanent interests4 ,for example1  
unluckily when ,i was trained ,i was not
 disciplined in botany4 ,i cannot1      
therefore1 now observe the rose4 ,some  
of you can1 for you have been studying  

botany here4 ,i have to look stupidly on
 the total beauty of the lovely object2 
,i can see it only as a whole1 while    
you1 fine observer1 who have trained    
your powers to pierce it1 can comprehend
 its very structure and see how         
marvellously the blooming thing is put  
together4 ,my eyes were dulled to that  
long ago2 ,i cannot observe it4 ,beware1
 do not let yourselves grow dull4       
,observe1 observe1 observe in every     
direction6 ,keep your eyes open4 ,go    
forward1 understanding that the world   
was made for your knowledge1 that you   
have the right to enter into and possess
 it4  ,and then besides1 you need to    
train yourselves to sympathize with that
 which lies beyond you4 ,it is easy to  
sympathize with that which lies within  
you4 ,many persons go through life      
sympathizing with themselves            
incessantly4 ,what unhappy persons6 ,how
 unfit for anything important6 ,they are
 full of themselves and answer their own
 motion1 while there beyond them lies   

all the wealthy world in which they     
might be sharers4 ,for sympathy is      
feeling with1--it is the identification 
of ourself with that which at present is
 not ourself4 ,it is going forth and    
joining that which we behold1 not       
standing aloof and merely observing1 as 
,i said at first4 ,when we observe1 the 
object we observe is alien to us2 when  
we sympathize1 we identify ourselves    
with it4 ,you may go into a home and    
observe1 and you will make every person 
in that home wretched4 ,but go into a   
home and sympathize1 find out what lies 
beyond you there1 see how differently   
those persons are thinking and feeling  
from the ways in which you are          
accustomed to think and feel2 yet notice
 how imperfect you are in yourself1 and 
how important it is that persons should 
be fashioned thus different from you if 
even your own completion is to come2    
then1 ,i say1 you will find yourself    
becoming large in your own being1 and a 
large benefactor of others4  ,do not    

stunt sympathy1 then4 ,do not allow     
walls to rise up and hem it in4 ,never  
say to yourself1 ,this is my way2 ,i    
don't do so and so4 ,i know only this   
and that2 ,i don't want to know anything
 else4 ,you other people may have that  
habit1 but these are my habits1 and ,i  
always do thus and thus4 ,do not say    
that4 ,nothing is more immoral than     
moral psychology4 ,you should have no   
interest in yourself as you stand2      
because a larger selfhood lies beyond   
you1 and you should be going forth and  
claiming your heritage there4 ,do not   
stand apart from the movements of the   
country1--the political1 charitable1    
religious1 scientific1 literary         
movements1--however distastefully they  
may strike you4 ,identify yourself with 
them1 sympathize with them4 ,they all   
have a noble side2 seek it out and claim
 it as your own4 ,throw yourself into   
all life and make it nobly yours4  ,but 
,i am afraid it would be impossible for 
you thus to observe1 thus to sympathize1

 unless you bring within your imperfect 
self just grounds of self-respect4 ,you 
must contribute to things if you would  
draw from things4 ,you must already have
 acquired some sort of excellence in    
order to detect larger excellence       
elsewhere4 ,you should therefore have   
made yourself the master of something   
which you can do1 and do on the whole   
better than anybody else4 ,that is the  
moral aspect of competition1 that one   
person can do a certain thing best and  
so it is given him to do4 ,some of you  
who are going out into the world before 
long will1 ,i fear1 be astonished to    
find that the world is already full4 ,it
 has no place for you2 it never         
anticipated your coming and it has      
reserved for you no corner4 ,your only  
means of gaining a corner will be by    
doing something better than the people  
who are already there4 ,then they will  
make you a place4 ,and that is what you 
should be considering here4 ,you should 
be training yourself to do something    

well1 it really does not matter much    
what4 ,can you make dresses well8 ,can  
you cook a good loaf of bread8 ,can you 
write a poem or run a typewriter8 ,can  
you do anything well8 ,are you a master 
somewhere8 ,if you are1 the world will  
have a place for you2 and more than     
that1 you will have within yourself just
 grounds for self-respect4  ,to sum up1 
what ,i have been saying throughout this
 address merely amounts to this3 that   
the imperfect thing--the one thing of   
genuine interest in all the world--gets 
its right to be respected only through  
its connection with the totality of     
things4 ,do not1 then1 when you leave   
college say to yourself1 ,i know ,greek4
 ,that is a splendid thing to know4     
,these people whom ,i am meeting do not 
know it and are obviously of a lower    
grade than ,i4 ,that will not be        
self-respectful1 because it shows that  
you have not understood your proper     
place4 ,you should respect yourself as a
 part of all1 and not as of independent 

worth4 ,to call this wide world our own 
larger self is not too extravagant an   
expression4 ,but if we are to count it  
so1 then we must count the particular   
thing which we are capable of doing as  
merely our special contribution to the  
great self4 ,and we must understand that
 many are making similar contributions4 
,what ,i want you to feel1 therefore1 is
 the profound conception of mutual      
helpfulness and resulting individual    
dignity which ,st4 ,paul has set forth1 
according to which each of us is        
performing a special function in the    
common life1 and that life of all is    
recognized as the divine life1 the      
manifestation of the life of the        
,father4 ,when you have come to that    
point1 when you have seen in the        
imperfect a portion1 an aspect1 of the  
total1 perfect1 divine life1 then ,i am 
not afraid life will be uninteresting4  
,indeed ,i would say to every one who   
goes from this college1 you can count   
with confidence on a life which shall be

 vastly more interesting beyond the     
college walls than ever it has proved   
here1 if you have once acquired the art 
of penetrating into the imperfect1 and  
finding in limited1 finite life the     
infinite life4 ,to apprehend thus1 draws
 us a profit from all things we see4    
,,ii  ,,harvard ,,papers   ,the         
following papers relate primarily to    
,harvard ,university and are chiefly of 
historic interest4 ,but since out of    
that centre of investigation and        
criticism has come a large part of what 
is significant in ,american education1  
the story of its experiences will be    
found pretty generally instructive for  
whoever would teach or learn4  ,the     
first three papers were published in the
 ,andover ,review for #ahhe1 #ahhf1 and 
#ahhg1 and are now printed without      
alteration4 ,time has changed most of   
the facts recorded in these papers1 and 
the ,university is now a different place
 from the one depicted here4 ,an        
educational revolution was then in      

progress1 more influential than any     
which has ever visited our country      
before or since4 ,harvard was its       
leader1 and had consequently become an  
object of suspicion through wide        
sections of the land4 ,i was one of     
those who sought to allay those         
suspicions and to clear up some of the  
mental confusions in which they arose4  
,to-day ,harvard's cause is won4 ,all   
courses leading to the ,bachelor's      
degree throughout the country now       
recognize the importance of personal    
choice4 ,but the history of the struggle
 exhibits with peculiar distinctness a  
conflict which perpetually goes on      
between two currents of human progress1 
a conflict whose opposing ideals are    
almost equally necessary and whose      
champions never fail alike to awaken    
sympathy4 ,as a result of this struggle 
our children enjoy an ampler heritage   
than was open to us their fathers4 ,do  
they comprehend their added wealth and  
turn it to the high uses for which it   

was designed8 ,in good measure they do4 
,a brief consideration of the ethical   
aims which have shaped the modern       
college may enable them to do so still  
more4  ,appended to these are two       
papers3 one on college economics in     
#ahhg1 describing the first attempt ever
 made1 ,i believe1 to ascertain from    
students themselves the cost of the     
higher education2 the other setting     
forth a picturesque and noble figure who
 belonged to the days before the ,flood1
 when the prescribed system was still   
supreme4   ,,footnotes3     #c          
,delivered at the first commencement of 
the ,woman's ,college of        ,western
 ,reserve ,university4     ,,viii  ,,the
 ,,new ,,education   ,during the year   
#ahhd-he the freshmen of ,harvard       
,college chose a majority of their      
studies4 ,up to that time no college1 so
 far as ,i know1 allowed its first      
year's men any choice whatever4         
,occasionally1 one modern language has  
been permitted rather than another2 and 

where colleges are organized by         
schools1--that is1 with independent     
groups of studies each leading to a     
different degree1--the freshman by      
entering one school turns away from     
others1 and so exercises a kind of      
selection4 ,but with these possible     
exceptions1 the same studies have always
 been required of all the members of a  
given freshman class4 ,under the new    
,harvard rules1 but seven sixteenths of 
the work of the freshman year will be   
prescribed2 the entire remainder of the 
college course1 with the exception of a 
few exercises in ,english composition1  
will be elective4 ,a fragment of        
prescribed work so inconsiderable is    
likely soon to disappear4 ,at no distant
 day the ,harvard student will mark out 
for himself his entire curriculum from  
entrance to graduation4  ,even if this  
probable result should not follow1 the  
present step toward it is too           
significant to be passed over in        
silence1 for it indicates that after    

more than half a century of experiment  
the ,harvard ,faculty are convinced of  
the worth of the elective system4 ,in   
their eyes1 option is an engine of      
efficiency4 ,people generally treat it  
as a concession4 ,freedom is confessedly
 agreeable2 restive boys like it2 let   
them have as much as will not harm them4
 ,but the ,harvard authorities mean much
 more than this4 ,they have thrown away 
that established principle of ,american 
education1 that every head should       
contain a given kind of knowledge2 and  
having already organized their college  
from the top almost to the bottom on a  
wholly different plan1 they now declare 
that their new principle has been proved
 so safe and effective that it should   
supplant the older method1 even in that 
year when students are acknowledged to  
be least capable of self-direction4  ,on
 what facts do they build such          
confidence8 ,what do they mean by       
calling their elective principle a      
system8 ,does not the new method1 while 

rendering education more agreeable1 tend
 to lower its standard8 ,or1 if it      
succeeds in stimulating technical       
scholarship1 is it equally successful in
 fostering character and in forming     
vigorous and law-revering men8 ,these   
questions ,i propose to answer1 for they
 are questions which every friend of    
,harvard1 and indeed of ,american       
education1 wishes people pressingly to  
ask4 ,those most likely to ask them are 
quiet1 ,god-fearing parents1 who1 having
 bred their sons to a sense of duty1    
expect college life to broaden and      
consolidate the discipline of the home4 
,these are the parents every college    
wants to reach4 ,their sons1 whether    
rich or poor1 are the bone and sinew of 
the land4 ,in my judgment the new       
education1 once understood1 will appeal 
to them more strongly than to any other 
class4  ,but it is not easy to          
understand it4 ,my own understanding of 
it has been of slow growth4 ,when1 in   
#ahgj1 ,i left ,andover ,seminary and   

came to teach at ,harvard1 ,i distrusted
 the more extreme developments of the   
elective system4 ,up to #ahgf ,i opposed
 the introduction of voluntary          
attendance at recitations4 ,not until   
four years ago did ,i begin to favor the
 remission of ,greek in the requisites  
for entrance4 ,in all these cases my    
party was defeated2 my fears proved     
groundless2 what ,i wished to accomplish
 was effected by means which ,i had     
opposed4 ,i am therefore that desirable 
persuader1 the man who has himself been 
persuaded4 ,the misconceptions through  
which ,i passed1 ,i am sure beset       
others4 ,i want to clear them away1 and 
to present some of the reasons which    
have turned me from an adherent of the  
old to an apostle of the new faith4  ,an
 elementary misconception deserves a    
passing word4 ,the new system is not a  
mere cutting of straps2 it is a system4 
,its student is still under bonds1 bonds
 more compulsive than the old1 because  
fitted with nicer adjustment to each    

one's person4 ,on ,h4 ,m4 ,s4 ,pinafore 
the desires of every sailor receive     
instant recognition4 ,the new education 
will not agree to that4 ,it remains     
authoritative4 ,it will not subject its 
student to alien standards1 nor treat   
his deliberate wishes as matters of no  
consequence2 but it does insist on that 
authority which reveals to a man his own
 better purposes and makes them firmer  
and finer than they could have become if
 directed by himself alone4 ,what the   
amount of a young man's study shall be1 
and what its grade of excellence1 a body
 of experts decides4 ,the student       
himself determines its specific topic4  
,everybody knows how far this is from a 
prescribed system2 not so many see that 
it is at a considerable remove from     
unregulated or nomadic study4 ,an       
,american at a ,german university1 or at
 a summer school of languages1 applies  
for no degree and is under no restraint4
 ,he chooses whatever studies he likes1 
ten courses or five or one2 he works on 

them as much as suits his need or his   
caprice2 he submits what he does to no  
test2 he receives no mark2 the time he  
wastes is purely his own concern4 ,study
 like this1 roving study1 is not        
systematic at all4 ,it is advantageous  
to adult students1--to those alone whose
 wills are steady1 and who know their   
own wants precisely4 ,most colleges draw
 a sharp distinction between the small  
but important body of students of this  
class--special students1 as they are    
called--and the great company of        
regulars4 ,these latter are candidates  
for a degree1 are under constant        
inspection1 and are moved along the line
 only as they attain a definite standard
 in both the quantity and quality of    
their work4 ,after accomplishing the    
studies of the freshman year1 partly    
prescribed and partly elective1 a       
,harvard student must pass successfully 
four elective courses in each of his    
subsequent three years4 ,by a course is 
understood a single line of study       

receiving three hours a week of         
instruction2 fifty per cent of a maximum
 mark must be won in each year in order 
to pass4 ,throwing out the freshman     
year1 the precise meaning of the        
,harvard ,b4,a4 degree is therefore     
this3 its holder has presented twelve   
courses of study selected by himself1   
and has mastered them at least half     
perfectly4  ,here1 then1 is the essence 
of the elective system1--fixed quantity 
and quality of study1 variable topic4   
,work and moderate excellence are       
matters within everybody's reach4 ,it is
 not unfair to demand them of all4 ,if a
 man cannot show success somewhere1 he  
is stamped ipso facto a worthless       
fellow4 ,but into the specific topic of 
work an element of individuality enters4
 ,to succeed in a particular branch of  
study requires fitness1 taste1          
volition1--incalculable factors1 known  
to nobody but the man himself4 ,here1 if
 anywhere1 is the proper field for      
choice2 and all ,american colleges are  

now substantially agreed in accepting   
the elective principle in this sense and
 applying it within the limits here     
marked out4 ,it is an error to suppose  
that election is the hasty craze of a   
single college4 ,every senior class in  
,new ,england elects a portion of its   
studies4 ,every important ,new ,england 
college allows election in the junior   
year4 ,amherst1 ,bowdoin1 ,yale1 and    
,harvard allow it in the sophomore4     
,outside of ,new ,england the case is   
the same4 ,it is true1 all the colleges 
except ,harvard retain a modicum of     
prescribed study even in the senior     
year2 but election in some degree is    
admitted everywhere1 and the tendency is
 steadily in the direction of a wider   
choice4  ,the truth is1 ,harvard has    
introduced the principle more slowly    
than other colleges4 ,she was merely one
 of the earliest to begin4 ,in #ahbe1 on
 the recommendation of ,judge ,story1   
options were first allowed1 in modern   
languages4 ,twenty years of experiment  

followed4 ,in #ahdf electives were      
finally established for seniors and     
juniors2 in #ahfg for sophomores2 in    
#ahhd for freshmen4 ,but the old method 
was abandoned so slowly that as late as 
#ahga some prescribed study remained for
 seniors1 till #ahgi for juniors1 and   
till #ahhd for sophomores4 ,during this 
long and unnoticed period1 careful      
comparison was made between the new and 
old methods4 ,a mass of facts was       
accumulated1 which subsequently rendered
 possible an extremely rapid adoption of
 the system by other colleges4 ,public  
confidence was tested4 ,comparing the   
new ,harvard with the old1 it is plain  
enough that a revolution has taken      
place2 but it is a revolution like that 
in the ,england of ,victoria1 wrought   
not by sudden shock1 but quietly1       
considerately1 conservatively1          
inevitably4 ,those who have watched the 
college have approved2 the time of      
transition has been a time of unexampled
 prosperity4 ,for the last fifteen years

 the gifts to the ,university have      
averaged #bej1jjj a year4 ,the steady   
increase in students may be seen at a   
glance by dividing the last twenty-five 
years into five-year periods1 and noting
 the average number of undergraduates in
 each3 #ahfa-fe1 #dbc2 #ahff-gj1 #dgg2  
#ahga-ge1 #feg2 #ahgf-hj1 #hjh2         
#ahha-he1 #hgc4  ,these facts are       
sufficient to show that ,harvard has    
reached her present great prosperity by 
becoming the pioneer in a general       
educational movement4 ,what made the    
movement general was the dread of flimsy
 study4 ,our world is larger than the   
one our grandfathers inhabited2 it is   
more minutely subdivided1 more finely   
related1 more subtly and broadly known4 
,the rise of physical science and the   
enlargement of humanistic interests     
oblige the college of to-day to teach   
elaborately many topics which formerly  
were not taught at all4 ,not so many    
years ago a liberal education prepared  
men almost exclusively for the four     

professions1--preaching1 teaching1      
medicine1 and law4 ,in the first century
 of its existence one half the graduates
 of ,harvard became ministers4 ,of the  
graduates of the last ten years a full  
third have entered none of the four     
professions4 ,with a narrow field of    
knowledge1 and with students who        
required no great variety of training1  
the task of a college was simple4 ,a    
single programme decently covered the   
needs of all4 ,but as the field of      
knowledge widened1 and men began to     
notice a difference between its contents
 and those of the college curriculum1 an
 effort was made to enlarge the latter  
by adding subjects from the former4     
,modern languages crept in1 followed by 
sciences1 political economy1 new        
departments of history1 literature1 art1
 philosophy4 ,for the most part1 these  
were added to the studies already       
taught4 ,but the length of college days 
is limited4 ,the life of man has not    
extended with the extension of science4 

,to multiply subjects was soon found    
equivalent to cheapening knowledge4     
,where three subjects are studied in    
place of one1 each is pushed only one   
third as far4 ,a crowded curriculum is a
 curriculum of superficialities1 where  
men are forever occupied with alphabets 
and multiplication-tables1--elementary  
matters1 containing little mental       
nutriment4 ,thoroughgoing discipline1   
the acquisition of habits of            
intellectual mastery1 calls for         
acquaintance with knowledge in its      
higher ranges1 and there is no way of   
reaching these remoter regions during   
the brief season of college life except 
by dividing the field and pressing along
 paths where personal friction is least4
 ,accordingly1 alternative options began
 to be allowed1 at first between the new
 subjects introduced1 then between these
 and the old ones4 ,but in this         
inevitable admission of option a new    
principle was introduced whose germinal 
force could not afterwards be stayed4   

,the old conception had been that there 
were certain matters a knowledge of     
which constituted a liberal education4  
,compared with the possession of these1 
the temper of the receiving mind was a  
secondary affair4 ,this view became     
untenable4 ,under the new conditions1   
college faculties were forced to        
recognize personal aptitudes1 and to    
stake intellectual gains upon them4 ,in 
assessing the worth of studies1         
attention was thus withdrawn from their 
subject-matter and transferred to the   
response they called forth in the       
apprehender4 ,hence arose a new ideal of
 education1 in which temper of mind had 
preeminence over quaesita1 the guidance 
of the powers of knowing over the store 
of matters known4 ,the new education has
 accordingly passed through two stages  
of development3 first1 in order to avoid
 superficiality when knowledge was      
coming in like a flood1 it was found    
necessary to admit choice2 secondly1 in 
the very necessity of this admission was

 disclosed a more spiritual ideal of the
 relation of the mind of man to         
knowledge4  ,and this new ideal1 ,i     
hold1 should now commend itself not as a
 thing good enough if collateral1 but as
 a principle1 organic and exclusive4 ,to
 justify its dominance a single         
compendious reason is sufficient3 it    
uplifts character as no other training  
can1 and through influence on character 
it ennobles all methods of teaching and 
discipline4 ,we say to our student at   
,harvard1 ,study ,greek1 ,german1       
history1 or botany1--what you will2 the 
one thing of consequence is that you    
should will to study something4 ,the    
moral factor is thus put forward1 where 
it belongs4 ,the will is honored as of  
prime consequence4 ,other systems treat 
it as a merely concurrent and auxiliar  
force4 ,they try to smuggle it into     
operation wrapped in a mass of          
matter-of-course performances4 ,it is   
the distinctive merit of the elective   
system that it strips off disguises1    

places the great facts of the moral life
 in the foreground1 forces the student  
to be conscious of what he is doing1    
permits him to become a partaker in his 
own work1 and makes him perceive that   
gains and losses are immediately        
connected with a volitional attitude4   
,when such a consciousness is aroused1  
every step in knowledge becomes a step  
toward maturity4 ,there is no sudden    
transformation1 but the boy comes       
gradually to perceive that in the       
determination of the will are found the 
promise and potency of every form of    
life4 ,many people seem to suppose that 
at some epoch in the life of a young man
 the capacity to choose starts up of    
itself1 ready-made4 ,it is not so4      
,choice1 like other human powers1 needs 
practice for strength4 ,to learn how to 
choose1 we must choose4 ,keep a boy from
 exercising his will during the         
formative period from eighteen to       
twenty-two1 and you turn him into the   
world a child when by years he should be

 a man4 ,to permit choice is dangerous2 
but not to permit it is more dangerous2 
for it renders dependency habitual1     
places outside the character those      
springs of action which should be set   
within it1 treats personal adhesion as  
of little account1 and through anxiety  
to shield a young life from evil cuts it
 off from opportunities of virile good4 
,even when successful1 the directive    
process breeds an excellence not to be  
desired4 ,plants and stones commit no   
errors4 ,they are under a prescribed    
system and follow given laws4 ,personal 
man is in continual danger1 for to      
self-direction is attached the          
prerogative of sin4 ,for building up a  
moral manhood1 the very errors of choice
 are serviceable4  ,i am not describing 
theoretic advantages4 ,a manlier type of
 character actually appears as the      
elective principle extends4 ,the signs  
of the better life are not easy to      
communicate to those who have not lived 
in the peculiar world of a college4 ,a  

greater ease in uprightness1 a quicker  
response to studious appeal1 a deeper   
seriousness1 still keeping relish for   
merriment1 a readier amenability to     
considerations of order1 an increase of 
courtesy1 a growing disregard of        
coarseness and vice1 a decay of the     
boyish fancy that it is girlish to show 
enthusiasm1--tendencies in these        
directions1 hardly perceptible to       
others1 gladden the watchful heart of a 
teacher and assure him that his work is 
not returning to him void4 ,every       
company of young men has a notion of    
what it is gentlemanly to do4 ,into this
 current ideal the most artificial and  
incongruous elements enter4 ,perhaps it 
is counted good form to haze a freshman1
 to wear the correctest cut of trousers1
 to have a big biceps muscle1 or to be  
reputed a man of brains4 ,whatever the  
notion1 it is allegiance to some such   
blind ideal1 rather than the acceptance 
of abstract principles of conduct1 which
 guides a young man's life4 ,to change  

ever so little these influential ideals 
is the ambition of the educator2 but    
they are persistent things1 held with   
the amazing conservatism of youth4 ,when
 ,i say that a better tone prevails as  
the elective system takes root1 ,i mean 
that ,i find the word gentleman1 as it  
drops from student mouths1 enlarging and
 deepening its meaning from year to     
year1 departing from its usage as a term
 of outward description and drawing to  
itself qualities more interior4 ,direct 
evidence on a matter so elusive can     
hardly be given1 but ,i can throw a few 
sidelights upon it4 ,hazing1            
window-smashing1 disturbing a           
lecture-room1 are things of the past4   
,the office of proctor--the literary    
policeman of the olden time--has become 
a sinecure4 ,several years ago the      
,faculty awarded ,honorable ,mention at 
graduation to students who attained a   
high rank in three or more courses of a 
single department4 ,the honor was not an
 exalted one1 but being well within the 

powers of all it soon became not quite  
the thing to graduate without it4 ,in   
the last senior class #ia men out of    
#aia received ,honorable ,mention4 ,this
 last fact shows that a decent          
scholarship has become reputable4 ,but  
more than this is true3 the rank which  
is reckoned decent scholarship is       
steadily rising4 ,i would not overstate 
the improvement4 ,the scale of marking  
itself may have risen slightly4 ,but    
taking the central scholar of each class
 during the last ten years1--the        
scholar1 that is1 who stands midway     
between the head and the foot1--this    
presumably average person has received  
the following marks1 the maximum being  
#ajj3--    ,,year    #ahgd  #ahge  #ahgf
  #ahgg  #ahgh  #ahgi  #ahhj  #ahha     
#ahhb  #ahhc            -#ge   -#gf     
-#gg   -#gh   -#gi   -#hj   -#ha   -#hb 
-#hc   -#hd                             
----------------------------------------
---------   ,fresh4    #ei    #ee    #eg
    #ef    #fb    #fb    #fe    #fg     

#fd    #fc   ,soph4     #ei    #fd      
#fc    #fe    #fg    #fh    #gj    #fi  
#fi    #fh   ,jun4      #fg    #fe      
#ff    #fg    #gj    #fh    #gb    #ge  
#gb    #gb   ,sen4      #fg    #gj      
#gj    #gc    #gf    #gc    #gg    #ge  
#gi    #ha  ,it will be observed that   
the marks in this table become higher as
 the student approaches the end of his  
course and reaches the years where the  
elective principle is least restricted4 
,let the eye pass from the left upper   
corner of the table to the right lower  
corner and take in the full significance
 of a change which has transformed      
freshmen1 doomed to prescribed studies  
and half of them ranking below sixty per
 cent1 into seniors so energetic that   
half of them win four fifths of a       
perfect mark in four electives4 ,it is  
not only the poor who are affected in   
this way4 ,about half the men who appear
 on the ,rank ,list each year receive no
 pecuniary aid1 and are probably not    
needy men4  ,but it may be suspected    

that high marks mean easy studies4 ,the 
many different lines of work cannot be  
equally severe1 and it is said that     
those which call for least exertion will
 be sure to prove the favorites4 ,as    
this charge of soft courses is the stock
 objection to the elective system1 ,i   
shall be obliged to examine it somewhat 
minutely4 ,like most of the popular     
objections1 it rests on an a priori     
assumption that thus things must be4    
,statistics all run the other way4 ,yet 
,i am not surprised that people believe 
it4 ,i believed it once myself when ,i  
knew nothing but prescribed systems4    
,under these1 it certainly is true that 
ease is the main factor in making a     
study popular4 ,when choice is          
permitted1 the factor of interest gets  
freer play1 and exerts an influence that
 would not be anticipated by those who  
have never seen it in operation4 ,severe
 studies are often highly popular if the
 subject is attractive and the teaching 
clear4 ,here is a list of the fifteen   

courses which in #ahhc-hd 7the last year
 for which returns are complete7        
contained the largest numbers of seniors
 and juniors1 those classes being at    
that time the only ones which had no    
prescribed studies3 ,mill's political   
economy1 #abe seniors and juniors2      
,european history from the middle of the
 eighteenth century1 #ajb2 history of   
ancient art1 #hj2 comparative zoology1  
#eh2 political and constitutional       
history of the ,united ,states1 #ef2    
psychology1 #eb2 geology1 #dg2          
constitutional government of ,england   
and the ,united ,states1 #de2 advanced  
geology1 with field work1 #dc2 ,homer1  
sixteen books1 #dj2 ethics1 #ch2 logic1 
and introduction to philosophy1 #ch2    
,shakespeare1 six plays1 #cg2 economic  
history1 advanced course1 #cf2 legal    
history of ,england to the sixteenth    
century1 #ce4 ,in these years the senior
 and junior classes together contained  
#djd men1 who chose four electives      
apiece4 ,in all1 therefore1 #afaf       

choices were made4 ,the above list shows
 #hcb2 so that1 as nearly as may be1 one
 half of the total work of two years is 
here represented4 ,the other half was   
devoted to interests more special1 which
 were pursued in smaller companies4     
,are these choices unwise8 ,are they not
 the studies which should largely occupy
 a young man's thoughts toward the close
 of his college life8 ,they are the ones
 most frequently set for the senior and 
junior years by colleges which retain   
prescribed studies4 ,from year to year  
choices differ a little4 ,the courses at
 the lower end of the list may give     
place to others which do not appear     
here4 ,i print the list simply to       
indicate the general character of the   
studies elected4 ,in it appears only one
 out of all the modern languages1 and   
that1 too1 a course in pure literature  
in which the marking is not reputed     
tender4 ,another year a course of       
,french or ,german might come in2 but   
ordinarily--except when chosen by       

specialists--the languages1 modern and  
ancient1 are elected most largely during
 the sophomore year4 ,following directly
 the prescribed linguistic studies of   
the freshman year1 they are deservedly  
among the most popular1 though not the  
easiest1 courses4 ,in nearly half the   
courses here shown no text-book is used1
 and the amount of reading necessary for
 getting an average mark is large4 ,a   
shelf of books representing original    
authorities is reserved by the          
instructor at the ,library1 and the     
pupil is sent there to prepare his work4
  ,how1 it will be asked1 are choices so
 judicious secured8 ,simply by making   
them deliberate4 ,last ,june studies    
were chosen for the coming year4 ,during
 the previous month students were       
discussing with one another what their  
electives should be4 ,how this or that  
course is conducted1 what are the       
peculiarities of its teacher1 what is   
the proportion in it between work given 
and gains had1 are matters which then   

interest the inhabitants of ,hollis and 
,holyoke as stocks interest ,wall       
,street4 ,most students1 too1 have some 
intimacy with one or another member of  
the ,faculty1 to whom they are in the   
habit of referring perplexities4 ,this  
advice is now sought1 and often         
discreetly rejected4 ,the ,elective     
,pamphlet is for a time the best-read   
book in college4 ,the perplexing        
question is1 ,what courses to give up8  
,all find too many which they wish to   
take4 ,the pamphlet of this year offers 
#ahi courses1 divided among twenty      
departments4 ,the five modern languages1
 for example1 offer1 all told1 #cd      
different courses2 ,sanskrit1 ,persian1 
,assyrian1 ,hebrew1 and ,arabic1 #ad2   
,greek and ,latin1 #ah each2 natural    
history1 #ai2 physics and chemistry1    
#ah2 mathematics1 #ah2 history and      
philosophy1 #ab each2 the fine arts1    
including music1 #aa2 political economy1
 #g2 ,roman law1 #b4 ,these numbers will
 show the range of choice2 on its extent

 a great deal of the efficiency of the  
system depends4#d ,after the electives  
are chosen and reported in writing to   
the ,dean1 the long vacation begins1    
when plans of study come under the      
scrutiny of parents1 of the parish      
minister1 or of the college graduate who
 lives in the next street4 ,until       
,september #ba1 any elective may be     
changed on notice sent to the ,dean4    
,during the first ten days of the term1 
no changes are allowed4 ,this is a time 
of trial1 when one sees for himself his 
chosen studies4 ,afterwards1 for a short
 time1 changes are easy1 if the         
instructors consent4 ,for the remainder 
of the year no change is possible1      
unless the reasons for change appear to 
the ,dean important4 ,other restrictions
 on the freedom of choice will readily  
be understood without explanation4      
,advanced studies cannot be taken till  
preliminary ones are passed4 ,notices   
are published by the ,french and ,german
 departments that students who elect    

those languages must be placed where    
proficiency fits them to go4 ,courses   
especially technical in character are   
marked with a star in the ,elective     
,pamphlet1 and cannot be chosen till the
 instructor is consulted4  ,by means    
like these the ,faculty try to prevent  
the wasting of time over unprofitable   
studies4 ,of course they do not succeed4
 ,i should roughly guess that a quarter1
 possibly a third1 of the choices made  
might be improved4 ,this estimate is    
based on the answers ,i have received to
 a question put to some fifty recent    
graduates3 ,in the light of your present
 experience1 how many of your electives 
would you change8 ,i seldom find a man  
who would not change some2 still more   
rarely one who would change one half4   
,as ,i look back on my own college days1
 spent chiefly on prescribed studies1 ,i
 see that to make these serve my needs  
more than half should have been         
different4 ,there was ,anglo-,saxon1 for
 example1 which was required of all1 no 

,english literature being permitted4 ,a 
course in advanced chemical physics1    
serviceable no doubt to some of my      
classmates1 came upon me prematurely1   
and stirred so intense an aversion to   
physical study that subsequent years    
were troubled to overcome it4 ,one      
meagre meal of philosophy was perhaps as
 much as most of us seniors could       
digest1 but ,i went away hungry for     
more4 ,i loved ,greek1 but for two years
 ,i was subject to the instructions of a
 certain professor1 now dead1 who was   
one of the most learned scholars and    
unprofitable teachers ,i ever knew4 ,of 
the studies which brought me benefit1   
few did so in any vigorous fashion4     
,every reader will parallel my          
experience from his own4 ,prescribed    
studies may be ill-judged or            
ill-adapted1 ill-timed or ill-taught1   
but none the less inexorably they fall  
on just and unjust4 ,the wastes of      
choice chiefly affect the shiftless and 
the dull1 men who cannot be harmed much 

by being wasted4 ,the wastes of         
prescription ravage the energetic1 the  
clear-sighted1 the original1--the very  
classes who stand in greatest need of   
protection4 ,what ,i would assert1      
therefore1 is not that in the elective  
system we have discovered the secret of 
stopping educational waste4 ,that will  
go on as long as men need teaching4 ,i  
simply hold that the monstrous and      
peculiarly pernicious wastes of the old 
system are now being reduced to a       
minimum4 ,select your cloth discreetly1 
order the best tailor in town to make it
 up1 and you will still require patience
 for many misfits2 but they will be     
fewer1 at any rate1 than when garments  
are served out to you and the whole     
regiment by the government              
quartermaster4  ,nobody who has taught  
both elective and prescribed studies    
need be told how the instruction in the 
two cases differs4 ,with perfunctory    
students1 a teacher is concerned with   
devices for forcing his pupils onward4  

,teaching becomes a secondary affair2   
the time for it is exhausted in         
questioning possible shirks4            
,information must be elicited1 not      
imparted4 ,the text-book1 with its fixed
 lessons1 is a thing of consequence4 ,it
 is the teacher's business to watch his 
pupils1 to see that they carry off the  
requisite knowledge2 their business1    
then1 it soon becomes to try to escape  
without it4 ,between teacher and scholar
 there goes on an ignoble game of       
matching wits1 in which the teacher is  
smart if he can catch a boy1 and the boy
 is smart if he can know nothing without
 being found out4 ,because of this      
supposed antagonism of interests        
,american higher education seldom       
escapes an air of unreality4 ,we seem to
 be at the opera bouffe4 ,a boy appears 
at the learning-shop1 purchases his     
parcel of knowledge1 and then tries to  
toss it under the counter and dodge out 
of the door before the shopman can be   
quick enough to make him carry off the  

goods4 ,nothing can cure such folly     
except insistence that pupil's neglect  
is not teacher's injury4 ,the elective  
system points out to a man that he has  
something at stake in a study1 and so   
trains him to look upon time squandered 
as a personal loss4 ,where this         
consciousness can be presumed1 a higher 
style of teaching becomes possible4     
,methods spring up unlike formal        
lectures1 unlike humdrum recitations4   
,the student acquires--what he will need
 in after life--the power to look up a  
single subject in many books4 ,theses   
are written2 discussions held2 in higher
 courses1 problems of research supersede
 defined tasks4 ,during #ahfj-fa1       
fifty-six per cent of the ,harvard      
undergraduates consulted the college    
library2 during #ahhc-hd1 eighty-five   
per cent4  ,in a similar way            
governmental problems change their      
character4 ,formerly1 it was assumed    
that a student who followed his own     
wishes would be indisposed to attend    

recitations4 ,penalties were accordingly
 established to compel him to come4 ,at 
present1 there is not one of his twelve 
recitations a week which a ,harvard     
student might not cut4 ,of course ,i do 
not mean that unlimited absence is      
allowed4 ,any one who did not appear for
 a week would be asked what he was      
doing4 ,but for several years there has 
been no mechanical regulation1--so much 
absence1 so much penalty4 ,i had the    
curiosity to see how largely1 under this
 system of trust1 the last senior class 
had cared to stay away4 ,i counted all  
absences1 excused and unexcused4 ,some  
men had been sick for considerable      
periods2 some had been worthless1 and   
had shamelessly abused their freedom4   
,reckoning in all misdeeds and all      
misfortunes1 ,i found that on the       
average each man had been absent a      
little less than twice a week4#e ,the   
test of high character is the amount of 
freedom it will absorb without going to 
pieces4 ,the elective system enlarges   

the capacity to absorb freedom          
undisturbed4 ,but it would be unfair to 
imply that the new spirit is awakened in
 students alone4 ,professors are        
themselves instructed4 ,the obstacles to
 their proper work1 those severest of   
all obstacles which come from defective 
sympathy1 are cleared away4 ,a teacher  
draws near his class1 and learns what he
 can do for it4 ,long ago it was said   
that among the ,gentiles--people        
spiritually rude--great ones exercised  
authority1 while in a state of          
righteousness this should not be so2    
there the leader would estimate his     
importance by his serviceability4 ,it   
was a teacher who spoke1 and he spoke to
 teachers4 ,to-day teachers' dangers lie
 in the same direction4 ,always dealing 
with inferiors1 isolated from criticism1
 by nature not less sluggish than       
others1 through the honorable passion   
which they feel for their subject       
disposed to set the private             
investigation of it above its           

exposition1 teachers are continually    
tempted to think of a class as if it    
existed for their sakes rather than they
 for its4 ,fasten pupils to the benches1
 and nothing counteracts this temptation
 except that individual conscience which
 in all of us is a faculty that will    
well bear strengthening4 ,it may be just
 to condemn the dull1 the intolerant1   
the self-absorbed teacher2 but why not  
condemn also the system which           
perpetuates him8 ,nobody likes to be    
inefficient2 slackness is largely a     
fault of inadvertence4 ,that system is  
good which makes inadvertence difficult 
and opens the way for a teacher to      
discover whether his instructions hit4  
,give students choice1 and a professor  
gets the power to see himself as others 
see him4  ,how this is accomplished     
appears by examining three possible     
cases4 ,suppose1 in the first place1 ,i 
become negligent this year1 am busy with
 private affairs1 and so content myself 
with imparting nothing1 with calling off

 questions from a text-book1 or with    
reading my old lectures2 ,i shall find  
out my mistake plainly enough next      
,june1 when fewer men than usual elect  
my courses4 ,suppose1 secondly1 ,i give 
my class important matter1 but put it in
 such a form that young minds cannot    
readily assimilate it2 the same effect  
follows1 only in this case ,i shall     
probably attract a small company of the 
hardier spirits1--in some subjects the  
very material a teacher desires4 ,or    
suppose1 lastly1 ,i seek popularity1 aim
 at entertainment1 and give my pupils   
little work to do2 my elective becomes a
 kind of sink1 into which are drained   
off the intellectual dregs of the       
college4 ,other teachers will get rid of
 their loafers2 ,i shall take them in4  
,but ,i am not likely to retain them4 ,a
 teacher is known by the company he     
keeps4 ,in a vigorous community a soft  
elective brings no honor to its founder4
 ,i shall be apt to introduce a little  
stiffening into my courses each year1   

till the appearance of the proper grade 
of student tells me ,i am proved to have
 a value4 ,there is1 therefore1 in the  
new method a self-regulating adjustment4
 ,teacher and taught are put on their   
good behavior4 ,a spirit of faithfulness
 is infused into both1 and by that very 
fact the friendliest relation is        
established between them4  ,i have left 
myself little room to explain why the   
elective system should be begun as early
 as the freshman year1 and surely not   
much room is needed4 ,a system proved to
 exert a happy influence over character1
 and thence over manners and scholarly  
disposition1 is exactly the maturing    
agency needed by the freshman of        
eighteen4 ,it is the better suited to   
him because the early years of college  
life are its least valuable portion1    
which can bear1 therefore1 most         
economically the disciplining losses    
sure to come when a student is learning 
to choose4 ,more than this1 the change  
from school methods to character methods

 is too grave a one to be passed over as
 an incident in the transition from year
 to year4 ,a change of residence should 
mark it4 ,it should stand at the        
entrance to a new career4 ,parents      
should be warned1 and those who have    
brought up their sons to habits of      
luxurious ease should be made fully     
aware that a college which appeals to   
character has no place for children of  
theirs4  ,every mode of training has its
 exclusions4 ,i prefer the one which    
brings least profit to our dangerous    
classes1--the indolent rich4 ,leslie    
,stephen has said that the only argument
 rascals can understand is the hangman4 
,the only inducement to study1 for boys 
of loose early life1 is compulsion4 ,but
 for the plain democratic many1 who have
 sound seed in themselves1 who have     
known duty early1 and who have found in 
worthy things their law and impulse1 the
 elective system1 even during the       
freshman year1 gives an opportunity for 
moral and mental expansion such as no   

compulsory system can afford4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,perhaps in closing ,i ought to caution 
the reader that he has been listening to
 a description of tendencies merely1 and
 not of completed attainment4 ,in no    
college is the ,new ,education fully    
embodied4 ,it is an ideal1 toward which 
all are moving1 and a powerfully        
influential ideal4 ,in explaining it1   
for the sake of simplicity ,i have      
confined myself to tracing the working  
of its central principle1 and ,i have   
drawn my illustrations from that        
,harvard life with which ,i am most     
familiar4 ,but simplicity distorts2 the 
shadows disappear4 ,i am afraid ,i may  
seem to have hinted that the ,harvard   
training already comes pretty near      
perfection4 ,it does not--let me say so 
distinctly4 ,we have much to learn4     
,side by side with nobler tendencies to 
which ,i have directed attention1       
disheartening things appear4 ,the       
examination paper still attacks learning

 on its intellectual side1 the marking  
system on its moral4 ,all ,i have sought
 to establish is this3 there is a method
 which we and many other colleges in    
different degrees have adopted1 which is
 demonstrably a sound method4 ,its      
soundness should by this time be        
generally acknowledged1 and criticism   
should now turn to the important work of
 bettering its details of operation4    
,may what ,i have written encourage such
 criticism and help to make it wise1    
penetrative1 and friendly4              
,,footnotes3     #d ,but a great deal of
 the expense also4 ,how much larger the 
staff of        teachers must be where  
everything is taught to anybody than    
where        a few subjects are offered 
to all1 may be seen by comparing the    
number of teachers at ,harvard--#adf1   
instructing #aehf men--with        those
 of ,glasgow ,university in #ahgh--db1  
instructing #bjah men4     #e ,or       
sixteen per cent of his recitations4    
,readers may like to        compare this

 result with the number of absences     
elsewhere4 ,at        a prominent ,new  
,england college1 one of the best of    
those which        require attendance1 a
 student is excused from ten per cent of
        his exercises4 ,but this amount 
does not cover absences of              
necessity1--absences caused by sickness1
 by needs of family1        and by the  
many other perfectly legitimate         
hindrances to        attendance4 ,the   
percentage given for the ,harvard       
seniors        includes all absences    
whatsoever4     ,,ix  ,,erroneous       
,,limitations ,,of ,,the ,,elective     
,,system   ,in a paper published in the 
,andover ,review a year ago1 ,i called  
attention to the fact that a new        
principle is at work in ,american       
education4 ,that principle1 briefly     
stated1 is this3 the student now        
consciously shares in his own           
upbuilding4 ,his studies are knitted    
closely to his personal life4 ,under    
this influence a new species of power is

 developed4 ,scholarship broadens and   
deepens1 boyishness diminishes1 teacher 
and pupil meet less artificially4 ,the  
college1 as an institution1 wins fresh  
life4 ,public confidence awakens2       
pupils1 benefactions1 flow in4 ,over    
what ,i wrote an eager controversy has  
arisen1 a controversy which must have   
proved instructive to those who need    
instruction most4 ,in the last resort   
questions of education are decided by   
educators1 as those of sanitation by    
sanitary engineers2 but in both cases   
the decision has reference to public    
needs1 and people require to be         
instructed in the working of appliances 
which are designed for their comfort4   
,there is danger that such instruction  
may not be given4 ,professional men     
become absorbed in their art and content
 themselves with reticence1 leaving the 
public ignorant of the devices by which 
its health is to be preserved4 ,a great 
opportunity1 therefore1 comes to the    
common householder when these           

professional men fall foul of one       
another4 ,in pressing arguments home    
they frequently take to ordinary speech1
 and anybody who then lends an ear      
learns of the mysteries4 ,the present   
discussion1 ,i am sure1 has brought this
 informatory gain to every parent who   
reads the ,andover ,review and has a    
studious boy4 ,the gain will have been  
greater because of the candor and       
courtesy with which the attacking party 
has delivered its assault4 ,the contest 
has been earnest4 ,its issues have been 
rightly judged momentous4 ,for good or  
for ill1 the choice youth of the land   
are to be shaped by whatever educational
 policy finally wins4 ,yet1 so far as ,i
 recall1 no unkind word has slipped from
 the pen of one of my stout opponents2  
no disparagement of man or college has  
mixed with the energetic advocacy of    
principle2 the discussion has set in    
well toward things4 ,i cannot call this 
remarkable4 ,of course it is not easy to
 be fair and strong at once4 ,sweetness 

and light are often parted4 ,yet we     
rightly expect the scholar's life to    
civilize him who pursues it1 and we     
anticipate from books a refinement of   
the spirit and the manners as well as   
the understanding4 ,my opponents have   
been scholars1 and have spoken as       
scholars speak4 ,it is a pleasure to    
linger in their kindly contentious      
company4 ,so ,i gladly accept the       
invitation of the editors of the ,review
 to sum up our discussion and to add    
some explanatory last words4  ,the      
papers which have appeared fall into two
 easily distinguishable classes1 the    
descriptive and the critical4 ,to the   
former ,i devote but a brief space1 so  
much more direct is the bearing of the  
latter on the main topic of debate--the 
question1 namely1 what course the higher
 education can and what it cannot now   
take4 ,yet the descriptive papers       
perform a service and deserve a welcome 
word4 ,suspecting that ,i was showing   
off ,harvard rather favorably1          

professors planted elsewhere have       
attempted to make an equally favorable  
exhibit of their own colleges4 ,in my   
manifesto they have seen a coveted      
opportunity to bring forward            
corresponding statistics which have not 
been formed under the ,harvard method4  
,perhaps this was to mistake my aim a   
little4 ,i did intend to advance my     
college in public esteem2 she deserves  
that of me in everything ,i write4 ,but 
primarily ,i thought of myself as the   
expounder of an important policy1 which 
happens to have been longer perceived   
and more elaborately studied at ,harvard
 than elsewhere4 ,i hope ,i did not     
imply that ,harvard1 having this        
excellence1 has all others4 ,she has    
many weaknesses1 which should not be    
shielded from discerning discussion4    
,nor did ,i intend to commit the        
injustice to ,harvard--an injustice as  
gross as it is frequent--of treating her
 as a mere embodiment of the elective   
system4 ,harvard is a complex and august

 institution1 possessed of all the      
attractions which can be lent by age1   
tradition1 learning1 continually renewed
 resources1 fortunate situation1        
widespread clientage1 enthusiastic      
loyalty1 and forceful guidance4 ,she is 
the intellectual mother of us all1      
honored certainly by me1 and ,i believe 
by thousands of others1 for a           
multiplicity of subtle influences which 
stretch far outside her special modes of
 instruction4 ,but for the last         
half-century ,harvard has been          
developing a new and important policy of
 education4 ,coincident with this       
development she has attained enormous   
popular esteem and internal power4 ,the 
value and limits of this policy1 the    
sources of this esteem and power1 ,i    
wish everybody1 colleges and populace1  
to scrutinize4 ,to make these things    
understood is to help the higher        
education everywhere4  ,in undertaking  
this quasi philosophical task1 ,i count 
it a piece of good fortune to have      

provoked so many lucid accounts of what 
other colleges are doing4 ,the more of  
these the better4 ,the public cannot be 
too persistently reminded of the        
distinctive merits of this college and  
of that4 ,let each be as zealous as     
possible2 gains made by one are gains   
for all4 ,depreciatory rivalry between  
colleges is as silly as it is when      
religious sects quarrel in the midst of 
a perishing world4 ,probably such       
rivalries have their rise in the dull   
supposition that a fixed constituency of
 pupils exists somewhere1 which if not  
turned toward one college may be drawn  
to another4 ,as the old political       
economists tell of a wages fund1 fixed  
and constant in each community1 so      
college governors are apt to imagine a  
public pupil-hoard1 not susceptible of  
much increase or diminution1 which may  
by inadvertence fall into other hands   
than their own4 ,in reality each college
 creates its constituency4 ,its students
 come1 in the main1 from the inert mass 

of the uncollegiate public4 ,only one in
 eight among ,harvard students is a son 
of a ,harvard graduate2 and probably the
 small colleges beget afresh an even    
larger percentage of their students4 ,on
 this account the small colleges have   
been a power in the land4 ,to disparage 
them shall never be my office4 ,in a    
larger degree than the great            
universities they spread the college    
idea among people who would not         
otherwise possess it4 ,the boy who lives
 within fifty miles of one of them      
reflects whether he will or will not    
have a college training4 ,were there no 
college in the neighborhood1 he might   
never consider the matter at all4 ,it is
 natural enough for undergraduates to   
decry every college except their own2   
but those who love education generously1
 and who seek to spread it far and wide1
 cannot afford the luxury of envy4 ,one 
common danger besetting us all should   
bind us together4 ,in the allurements of
 commerce boys may forget that college  

is calling4 ,they do forget it4         
,according to my computations the number
 of persons in the ,new ,england        
colleges to-day is about the same as the
 number in the insane asylums2 but      
little more than the number of idiots4  
,probably this number is not increasing 
in proportion to population4 ,professor 
,newton1 of ,oberlin1 finds that the    
increase of students during the ten     
years between #ahgj and #ahhj1 in twenty
 of our oldest leading colleges1 was    
less than three and a half per cent1 the
 population of the ,united ,states      
increasing during the same period       
twenty-three per cent4 ,in view of facts
 like these1 careful study of the line  
along which college growth is still     
possible becomes a necessity4 ,it will  
benefit all colleges alike4 ,no one     
engaged in it has a side to maintain4   
,we are all alike seekers4 ,whatever    
instructive experience any college can  
contribute to the common study1 and     
whatever pupils she may thereby gain1   

will be matter for general rejoicing4   
,to such a study the second1 or         
critical1 class of papers furnishes     
important stimulus2 for these have not  
confined themselves to describing       
institutions3 they have gone on to      
discuss the value and limits of the     
principle which actuates the new        
education everywhere4 ,in many respects 
their writers and ,i are in full accord4
 ,in moral aim we always are1 and       
generally too in our estimate of the    
present status4 ,we all confess that the
 conditions of college education have   
changed1 that the field of knowledge has
 enlarged1 that a liberal training      
nowadays must fit men for more than the 
four professions of preaching1 teaching1
 medicine1 and law4 ,we agree that the  
prescribed systems of the past are      
outgrown4 ,we do not want them4 ,we     
doubt whether they were well suited to  
their own time2 we are sure they will   
never fit ours4 ,readjustments of       
curricula1 we all declare1 must be      

undertaken if the higher education is to
 retain its hold on our people4 ,further
 still1 we agree in the direction of    
this readjustment4 ,my critics1 no less 
than ,i1 believe that a widely extended 
scope must be given to individual       
choice4 ,with the possible exception of 
,professor ,denison1 about whose opinion
 ,i am uncertain1 everybody who has     
taken part in the controversy recognizes
 the elective principle as a beneficial 
one and maintains that in some form or  
other it has come to stay1 ,people      
generally are not aware what a consensus
 of opinion on this point late years    
have brought about4 ,to rid ourselves   
once for all of further controversy let 
us weigh well the words of my opponents4
  ,mr4 ,brearley begins his criticism   
addressed to the ,new ,york ,harvard    
,club thus3 ,we premise that every one  
accepts the elective principle4 ,some   
system based on that principle must be  
established4 ,no one wants the old      
required systems back1 or any new       

required system4 ,professor ,howison    
says3 ,an elective system1 in its proper
 place1 and under its due conditions1 is
 demonstrably sound4 ,professor ,ladd   
does not express himself very fully on  
this point in the ,andover ,review1 but 
his opinions may be learned from the    
,new ,englander for ,january1 #ahhe4    
,when1 in #ahhd1 ,yale ,college reformed
 its curriculum and introduced elective 
studies1 it became desirable to instruct
 the graduates about the reasons for a  
step which had been long resisted4      
,after a brief trial of the new system1 
,professor ,ladd published his          
impressions of it4 ,i strongly commend  
his candid paper to the attention of    
those who still believe the old methods 
the safer4 ,he asserts that a perfect   
and final course of college study is1 if
 not an unattainable ideal1 at present  
an impossible achievement4 ,the         
considerations which were the definite  
and almost compulsory reasons for       
instituting a comprehensive change he   

groups under the following heads3 7#a7  
the need of modern languages2 7#b7 the  
crowding of studies in the senior year2 
7#c7 the heterogeneous and planless     
character of the total course2 7#d7 the 
need of making allowance for the tastes1
 the contemplated pursuits1 and the     
aptitudes of the individual student4    
,substantially1 these are the evils of  
prescription which ,i pointed out2 only1
 in my view1 they are evils not confined
 to a single year4 ,stating his         
observation of the results of election1 
,professor ,ladd says3 ,increased       
willingness in study1 and even a new and
 marked enthusiasm on the part of a     
considerable number of students1 is     
another effect of the new course already
 realized4 ,the entire body of students 
in the upper classes is more attentive1 
regular1 interested1 and even eager1    
than ever before4 ,more intimate and    
effective relations are secured in many 
cases between teachers and pupils4      
,these convictions in regard to the     

efficiency which the elective principle 
lends to education are not confined to  
my critics and myself4 ,let me cite     
testimony from representatives of other 
colleges4 ,the last ,amherst ,catalogue 
records 7page #bd7 that excellent       
results have appeared from this the     
elective method4 ,the special wants of  
the student are thus met1 his zest and  
progress in his work are increased1 and 
his association with his teachers       
becomes thus more close and intimate4   
,president ,robinson says1 in his annual
 report for #ahhe to the ,corporation of
 ,brown ,university3 ,there are         
advantages in a carefully guarded system
 of optional studies not otherwise      
obtainable4 ,the saving of time in      
preparing for a special calling in life 
is something1 and the cumulative zeal in
 given lines of study1 where a gratified
 and growing taste is ever beckoning    
onward1 is still more4 ,but above all1  
some provision for choice among         
ever-multiplying courses of study has   

become a necessity4 ,in addressing the  
,american ,institute of ,instruction at 
,bar ,harbor1 ,july #g1 #ahhf1          
,professor ,a4 ,s4 ,hardy1 of           
,dartmouth1 is reported as saying3      
,every educator now recognizes the fact 
that individual characteristics are     
always sufficiently marked to demand his
 earliest attention2 and1 furthermore1  
that there is a stage in the process of 
education where the choice1 the         
responsibility1 and the freedom of the  
individual should have a wide scope4    
,president ,adams1 in his inaugural     
address at ,cornell in #ahhe1 asserted  
that there are varieties of gifts1 call 
them1 if you will1 fundamental          
differences1 that make it impossible to 
train successfully all of a group of    
boys to the same standard4 ,these       
differences are partly matters of sheer 
ability1 and partly matters of taste2   
for if a boy has so great an aversion to
 a given study that he can never be     
brought to apply himself to it with some

 measure of fondness1 he is as sure not 
to succeed in it as he would be if he   
were lacking the requisite mental       
capacity4  ,in determining1 then1 what  
the new education may wisely be1 let    
this be considered settled3 it must     
contain a large element of election4    
,that is the opinion of these unbiased  
judges4 ,they find personal choice      
necessary for promoting a wider range of
 topics in the college1 a greater zeal  
on the part of the student1 and more    
suitable relations between teacher and  
pupil4 ,with this judgment ,i1 of       
course1 heartily agree1 though ,i should
 make more prominent the moral reason of
 the facts4 ,i should insist that a     
right character and temper in the       
receiving mind is always a prerequisite 
of worthy study4#f ,but ,i misrepresent 
these gentlemen if ,i allow their       
testimony to stop here4 ,they maintain  
that the elective principle as thus far 
carried out1 though valuable1 is still  
meagre and one-sided4 ,they do not think

 it will be found self-sufficing and    
capable of guarding its own working4    
,they see that it has dangers peculiar  
to itself1 and believe that to escape   
them it will require to be restricted   
and furnished with supplemental         
influences4 ,i believe so too4 ,choice  
is important1 but it is also important  
that one should choose well4 ,the       
individual is sacred1 but only so far as
 he is capable of recognizing the       
sacredness of laws which he has had no  
part in making4 ,unrestricted arbitrary 
choice is indistinguishable from chaos2 
and undoubtedly every method of training
 which avoids mechanism and includes    
choice as a factor leaves a door open in
 the direction of chaos4 ,infinite      
,wisdom left that door open when man was
 created4 ,to dangers from this source  
,i am fully alive4 ,i totally dissent   
from those advocates of the elective    
system who would identify it with a     
laissez-faire policy4 ,the cry that we  
must let nature take care of itself is a

 familiar one in trade1 in art1 in      
medicine1 in social relations1 in the   
religious life1 in education2 but in the
 long run it always proves inadequate4  
,man is a personal spirit1 a director1 a
 being fitted to compare and to organize
 forces1 not to take them as they rise1 
like a creature of nature4 ,the future  
will certainly not tolerate an education
 less organic than that of the past2 but
 just as certainly will it demand that  
the organic tie shall be a living       
one1--one whose bond may assist those   
whom it restricts to become spontaneous1
 forcible1 and diverse4 ,if ,i am       
offered only the alternative of         
absolutism or laissez-faire1 ,i choose  
laissez-faire4 ,out of chaotic nature   
beautiful forms do continually come     
forth4 ,but absolutism kills in the     
cradle4 ,it cannot tolerate a life that 
is imperfect1 and so it stifles what it 
should nourish4  ,up to this point my   
critics and ,i have walked hand in hand4
 ,henceforth we part company4 ,i shall  

not follow out all our little           
divergencies4 ,my object from the first 
has been to trace the line along which  
education may now proceed4 ,it must1 it 
seems1 be a line including election2 but
 election limited how8 ,to disentangle  
an answer to this vexed question1 ,i    
pass by the many points in which my     
critics have shown that ,i am foolish1  
and the few others in which ,i might    
show them so1 and turn to the           
fundamental issue between us1 our       
judgment of what the supplemental       
influences are which will render        
personal initiative safe4 ,personal     
initiative is assured4 ,the             
authoritative utterances ,i have just   
quoted show that it can never again be  
expelled from ,american colleges4 ,but  
what checks are compatible with it8     
,accepting choice1 what treatment will  
render it continually wiser8 ,here      
differences of judgment begin to appear1
 and here ,i had hoped to receive light 
from my critics4 ,the question is one   

where cooperative experience is         
essential4 ,but those who have written  
against me seem hardly to have realized 
its importance4 ,they generally confine 
themselves to showing how bad my plans  
are1 and merely hint at better ones     
which they themselves might offer4 ,but 
what are these plans8 ,wise ways of     
training boys are of more consequence   
than ,harvard misdeeds4 ,we want to hear
 of a constructive policy which can take
 a young man of nineteen and so train   
him in self-direction that four years   
later he may venture out alone into a   
perplexing1 and for the most part       
hostile1 world4 ,the thing to be done is
 to teach boys how to manage themselves4
 ,admit that the ,harvard discipline    
does not do this perfectly at present2  
what will do it better8 ,here we are at 
an educational crisis4 ,we stand with   
this aim of self-guidance in our hands4 
,what are we going to do with it8 ,it is
 as dangerous as a bomb4 ,but we cannot 
drop it4 ,it is too late to objurgate4  

,it is better to think calmly what      
possible modes of treatment are still   
open4 ,when railroads were found        
dangerous1 men did not take to          
stage-coaches again2 they only studied  
railroading the more4  ,now in the mass 
of negative criticism which the last    
year has produced ,i detect three       
positive suggestions1 three ways in     
which it is thought limitation may be   
usefully applied to supplement the      
inevitable personal initiative4 ,these  
modes of limitation1 it is true1 are not
 worked out with any fulness of         
practical detail1 as if their advocates 
were convinced that the future was with 
them4 ,rather they are thrown out as    
hints of what might be desirable if     
facts and the public would not          
interfere4 ,but as they seem to be the  
only conceivable modes of restricting   
the elective principle by any species of
 outside checkage1 ,i propose to devote 
the remainder of this paper to an       
examination of their feasibility4 ,in a 

subsequent paper ,i shall indicate what 
sort of corrective appears to me more   
likely to prove congruous and lasting4  
,i4 ,the first suggestion is that the   
elective principle should be limited    
from beneath4 ,universities and schools 
are to advance their grade1 so that     
finally the universities will secure    
three or four years of purely elective  
study1 while the schools1 in addition to
 their present labors1 will take charge 
of the studies formerly prescribed by   
the college4 ,the schools1 in short1 are
 to become ,german gymnasia1 and the    
colleges to delay becoming universities 
until this regeneration of the schools  
is accomplished4#g ,a certain sum of    
topics is said to be essential to the   
culture of the man and the citizen4 ,in 
the interest of church and state1 young 
minds must be provided with certain fact
 forms1 with a common consciousness1 a  
common basis of humanism4 ,important as 
personal election is1 to allow it to    
take place before this common basis is  

laid is to strike a blow at the historic
 substance of civilization4 ,how        
extensive this common consciousness is  
to be may be learned from ,professor    
,howison's remark that languages1       
classical and modern2 mathematics1 in   
all its general conceptions1 thoroughly 
apprehended2 physics1 acquired in a     
similar manner1 and the other natural   
sciences1 though with much less of      
detail2 history and politics2           
literature1 especially of the mother    
tongue1 but1 indispensably1 the         
masterpieces in other languages1        
particularly the classic2 philosophy1 in
 the thorough elements of psychology1   
logic1 metaphysics1 and ethics1 each    
historically treated1 and economics1 in 
the history of elementary principles1   
must all enter into any education that  
can claim to be liberal4  ,the practical
 objections to this monarchical scheme  
are many4 ,i call attention to three    
only4  ,in the first place1 the argument
 on which it is based proves too much4  

,if we suppose a common consciousness to
 be a matter of such importance1 and    
that it cannot be secured except by     
sameness of studies1 then that state is 
criminally careless which allows        
ninety-nine hundredths of its members to
 get an individual consciousness by the 
simple expedient of never entering      
college4 ,the theory seems to demand    
that every male--and why not            
female8--between sixteen and twenty be  
indoctrinated in the essential          
subject-matters1 without regard to what 
he or she may personally need to know or
 do4 ,this is the plan of religious     
teaching adopted by the ,roman ,church1 
which enforces its fact forms of        
doctrine on all alike2 without securing1
 however1 by this means1 according to   
the judgment of the outside world1 any  
special freshness of religious life4 ,i 
do not believe the results would be     
better in the higher secular culture1   
and ,i should be sorry to see ,roman    
methods applied there2 but if they are  

to be applied1 let them fall impartially
 on all members of the community4 ,to   
put into swaddling clothes the man who  
is wise enough to seek an education1 and
 to leave his duller brother to kick    
about as he pleases1 seems a little     
arbitrary4  ,but secondly1 there is no  
more prospect of persuading our high    
schools to accept the prescribed        
subjects of the colleges than there is  
of persuading our government to         
transform itself into the ,german4      
,already the high schools and the       
colleges are unhappily drawing apart4   
,the only hope of their nearer approach 
is in the remission by the colleges of  
some of the more burdensome subjects at 
present exacted4 ,paid for by common    
taxation1 these schools are called on to
 equip the common man for his daily     
struggle4 ,that they will one day devote
 themselves to laying the foundations of
 an ideally best education for men of   
leisure is grotesquely improbable4      
,although ,harvard draws rather more    

than one-third of her students from     
states outside ,new ,england1 the whole 
number of students who have come to her 
from the high schools of these states1  
during a period of the last ten years1  
is but sixty-six4 ,fitting for college  
is becoming an alarmingly technical     
matter1 and is falling largely into the 
hands of private tutors and academies4  
,it may be said1 however1 thirdly1 that 
it is just these academies which might  
advantageously take the present freshmen
 and sophomore studies4 ,they would thus
 become the exclusive avenues to the    
university of the future1 leaving it    
free to do its own proper work with     
elective studies4 ,considering the great
 expense which this lengthening of the  
curriculum of the academy implies1 it is
 plain that the number of schools       
capable of fitting boys in this way     
would always be small4 ,these few       
academies1 with their monopoly of       
learned training1 would lose their      
present character and be erected into   

little colleges1--colleges of a second  
grade4 ,that any such thing is likely to
 occur1 ,i do not believe2 but if it    
were1 would it aid the higher education 
and promote its wide dispersion8        
,precisely the contrary4 ,instead of    
going to the university from the        
academies1 boys would content themselves
 with the tolerable education already   
received4 ,for the most part they would 
decline to go farther4 ,it is useless to
 say that this does not happen in       
,germany1 where the numbers resorting to
 the university are so large as to have 
become the subject of complaint2 for the
 ,german government1 controlling as it  
does all access to the professions1 is  
able to force through the gymnasia and  
through special courses at the          
university a body of young men who would
 otherwise be seeking their fortunes    
elsewhere4 ,whether such control would  
be desirable in this country1 ,i will   
not consider4 ,some questions are not   
feasible even for discussion4 ,but it is

 to ,english experience we must look to 
see what our case would be4 ,the great  
public schools of ,england--,eton1      
,rugby1 ,harrow1 ,winchester1           
,westminster1 ,cheltenham--are of no    
higher order than under the proposed    
plan ,andover and ,exeter would become4 
,from these two academies nearly        
ninety-five per cent of the senior      
classes now enter some college4 ,but of 
the young men graduating from the       
,english schools named1 so far as ,i can
 ascertain1 less than fifty per cent go 
to the university4 ,with the greater    
pressure toward commercial life in this 
country1 the number would certainly be  
less than in ,england4 ,to build up     
colleges of a second grade1 and to      
permit none but those who have passed   
them to enter colleges of the first1 is 
to cut off the higher education from    
nearly all those who do not belong to   
the privileged classes2 it is to make   
the common consciousness less common1   
and to turn it1 even more effectually   

than at present1 into the consciousness 
of a clique4 ,he who must make a living 
for himself or for others cannot afford 
to reach his profession late4 ,the age  
of entering college is already too high4
 ,with improved methods of teaching ,i  
hope it maybe somewhat reduced4 ,at any 
rate1 every study now added to the high 
schools or academies is a fresh barrier 
between education and the people4  ,,ii4
 ,if1 then1 by prescribing a large      
amount of study outside the university  
the elective principle is not likely to 
be successfully limited1 is it not      
probable that within the college itself 
the two counter principles of election  
and prescription1 mutually limiting1    
mutually supporting1 will always be     
retained8 ,this is the second           
suggestion2 to bring studies of choice  
and studies commanded into              
juxtaposition4 ,the backbone of the     
college is to be kept prescribed1 the   
fleshy parts to be made elective4 ,by a 
special modification of the plan1 the   

later years are turned largely1 perhaps 
wholly1 toward election1 and a line is  
drawn at the junior1 or even the        
sophomore year1 below which elective    
studies are forbidden to penetrate4 ,is 
not this the plan that will finally be  
judged safest8 ,it certainly is the     
safest for a certain number of years4   
,before it can securely reach anything  
else1 every college must pass through   
this intermediate state4 ,after half a  
century of testing election ,harvard    
still retains some prescribed studies4  
,the ,harvard juniors chose for nineteen
 years before the sophomores1 and the   
sophomores seventeen years before the   
freshmen4 ,in introducing electives a   
sober pace is commendable4 ,a university
 is charged with the greatest of public 
trusts4 ,the intelligence of the        
community is1 to a large extent1 in its 
keeping4 ,it is bound to keep away from 
risky experiments1 to disregard shifting
 popular fancies1 and to be as          
conservative as clearness of sight will 

permit4 ,i do not plead1 therefore1 that
 ,harvard and ,yale should abolish all  
prescription the coming year4 ,they     
certainly should not4 ,in my opinion    
most colleges are moving too fast in the
 elective direction already4 ,i merely  
plead that we must see where we are     
going4 ,as public guides1 we must       
forecast the track of the future if we  
would avoid stumbling into paths which  
lead nowhere4 ,that is all ,i am        
attempting here4 ,i want to ascertain   
whether the dual system of limitation is
 a stable system1 one in which we can   
put our trust1 or whether it is a       
temporary convenience1 likely to slip   
away a little year after year4 ,what    
does history say8 ,let us examine the   
facts of the past4 ,the following table 
shows at the left the fifteen ,new      
,england colleges4 ,in the next three   
parallel columns is printed the         
percentage of elective studies which    
existed in these colleges in #ahge-gf2  
in the last three1 the percentage which 

exists to-day4 ,to render the comparison
 more exact1 ,i print the sophomore1    
junior1 and senior years separately1    
reserving the problem of the freshman   
year for later discussion4              
#ahge-gf          #ahhe-hf              
--------------------------------        
,soph4 ,jun4 ,sen4 ,soph4 ,jun4 ,sen4   
----------------------------------------
--   ,amherst     4#jd  4#bj  4#jh      
4#bj  4#ge  4#ge   ,bates         #j    
#j    #j     #j    #j    #j   ,boston   
#j    #j    #j   4#ce  4#ff  4#hb       
,bowdoin       #j    #j    #j   4#ae    
4#be  4#be   ,brown         #j  4#jd    
4#jd   4#ad  4#cg  4#ee   ,colby        
#j    #j    #j     #j  4#jh  4#af       
,dartmouth     #j    #j    #j     #j    
4#da  4#cf   ,harvard     4#ej  4#gh    
#a4jj  #a4jj #a4jj #a4jj   ,middlebury  
#j    #j    #j     #j    #j    #j       
,trinity       #j    #j    #j     #j    
4#be  4#be   ,tufts         #j  4#ag    
4#ag     #j  4#bh  4#dc   ,vermont      
#j    #j    #j     #j    #j    #j       

,wesleyan      #j  4#dg  4#dg   4#af    
4#dg  4#fd   ,williams      #j    #j    
#j     #j    #j  4#cg   ,yale           
#j    #j    #j   4#ac  4#ec  4#hj  ,this
 table yields four conclusions3 7#a7 ,a 
rapid and fateful revolution is going on
 in the higher education of ,new        
,england4 ,we do not exaggerate the     
change when we speak of an old education
 and a new4 7#b7 ,the spread of it is in
 tolerable proportion to the wealth of  
the college concerned4 ,the new modes   
are expensive4 ,it is not disapproval   
which is holding the colleges back2 it  
is inability to meet the cost4 ,i am    
sorry to point out this fact4 ,to my    
mind one of the gravest perplexities of 
the new education is the query1 ,what   
are the small colleges to do8 ,they have
 a usefulness altogether peculiar2 yet  
from the life-giving modern methods of  
training they are of necessity largely  
cut off4 7#c7 ,the colleges which long  
ago foresaw their coming necessities    
have been able to proceed more          

cautiously than those which acknowledged
 them late4 7#d7 ,the movement is one of
 steady advance4 ,there is no going     
back4 ,it must be remembered1 too1 that 
the stablest colleges have been         
proceeding with these changes many more 
years than the period shown in the      
table4 ,are we1 then1 prepared to       
dismiss prejudice from our minds and to 
recognize what steadiness of advance    
means8 ,in other matters when a general 
tendency in a given direction is        
discovered1 extending over a long series
 of years1 visible in individuals widely
 unlike1 and presenting no solitary case
 of backward turning1 we are apt to     
conclude that there is a force in the   
movement which will carry it still      
further onward4 ,we are not disposed to 
seize on some point in its path and to  
count that an ultimate holding-ground4  
,this1 ,i say1 would be a natural       
conclusion unless we could detect in the
 movement tendencies at work in an      
opposite direction4 ,are there any such 

tendencies here8 ,i cannot find them4   
,prescription invariably loses2 election
 invariably gains4  ,but in order to    
make a rational prediction about the    
future we must know more than the bare  
facts of the past2 we need to know why  
these particular facts have arisen4     
,what are the reasons that whenever     
elective and prescribed studies are     
mixed1 an extrusive force regularly     
appears in the elective8 ,the reasons   
are not far to seek4 ,probably every    
professor in ,new ,england understands  
them4 ,the two systems are so           
incongruous that each brings out the    
vices rather than the virtues of its    
incompatible brother4 ,prescribed       
studies1 side by side with elective1    
appear a bondage2 elective1 side by side
 with prescribed1 an indulgence4 ,so    
long as all studies are prescribed1 one 
may be set above another in the mind of 
the pupil on grounds of intrinsic worth2
 let certain studies express the pupil's
 wishes1 and almost certainly the       

remainder1 valuable as they may be in   
themselves1 will express his disesteem4 
,it is useless to say this should not be
 so4 ,it always is4 ,the zeal of work1  
the freshness of interest1 which now    
appear in the chosen studies1 are       
deducted from those which are forced4   
,on the latter as little labor as       
possible is expended4 ,they become      
perfunctory and mechanical1 and soon    
restive pupils and dissatisfied teachers
 call for fresh extension of energizing 
choice4 ,this is why the younger        
officers in all the colleges are eager  
to give increased scope to the elective 
studies4 ,they cannot any longer get    
first-rate work done in the prescribed4 
,alarmed by the dangers of the new      
principle1 as they often and justly are1
 they find that the presence of         
prescription1 instead of diminishing the
 dangers1 adds another and a peculiarly 
enfeebling one to those which existed   
before4 ,so certain are these dangers1  
and so inevitable the expanding power of

 the elective principle1 that it is     
questionable whether it would not be    
wise for a college to refuse to have    
anything to do with elective studies so 
soon as it knows itself too weak to     
allow them to spread4  ,for where will  
the spreading stop8 ,it cannot stop till
 the causes of it stop4 ,the table just 
given shows no likelihood of its        
stopping at all1 and a little reflection
 will show that each enlargement        
increases the reasons for another       
enlargement still4 ,if prescribed       
studies are ever exceptional1           
ineffective1 and obnoxious1 they        
certainly become more so as they        
diminish in number4 ,a college which    
retains one of them is in a condition of
 unstable equilibrium4 ,but is this true
 of the freshman year8 ,will not a      
special class of considerations keep    
prescription enduring and influential   
there1 long after it has lost its       
usefulness in the later years8 ,a boy of
 nineteen comes from home about as      

untrained in will as in intelligence4   
,will it not always be thought best to  
give him a year in which to acquaint    
himself with his surroundings and to    
learn what studies he may afterwards    
profitably select8 ,possibly it will4 ,i
 incline to think not4 ,the case of the 
freshman year is undoubtedly peculiar4  
,taking a large body of colleges1 we    
have direct evidence that during their  
last three years the elective principle 
steadily wins and never loses4 ,we have 
but a trifle of such evidence as regards
 the freshman year4 ,there the struggle 
of the two forces has barely begun4 ,it 
has begun at ,harvard1 and the usual    
result is already foreshadowed4 ,the    
prescribed studies are disparaged       
studies2 they are not worked at the best
 advantage4 ,still1 ,i do not like to   
prophesy on evidence so narrow4 ,i will 
merely say ,i see no reason to suppose  
that colleges will meet with permanent  
success in mingling incompatible kinds  
of study in their freshman year4 ,but ,i

 can only surmise4 ,let any college that
 inclines to try the experiment do so4  
,it may be thought1 however1 a wiser    
course to keep the freshman year        
untouched by choice4 ,a solid year of   
prescription is thus secured as a       
limitation on the election that is to   
follow4 ,this plan is so often advised1 
especially by persons unacquainted with 
the practical working of colleges1 that 
it requires a brief examination by      
itself4  ,let us suppose the revolution 
which we have traced in the sophomore1  
junior1 and senior years to have reached
 its natural terminus2 let us suppose   
that in these years all studies have    
become elective1 while the freshman year
 remains completely prescribed2 the     
college will then fall into two parts1 a
 preparatory department and a university
 department4 ,in these two departments  
the character of the instruction1 the   
methods of study1 the consciousness of  
the students1 will be altogether        
dissimilar4 ,the freshmen will not be   

taken by upper classmen as companions2  
they will be looked down upon as        
children4 ,hazing will find abundant    
excuse4 ,an abrupt line will be drawn1  
on whose farther side freedom will lie1 
on whose hither side1 bondage4 ,the     
sophomore1 a being who at best has his  
peculiarities1 will find his sense of   
self-sufficiency doubled4 ,whatever     
badly-bred boy parents incline to send  
to college will seem to them safe enough
 for a year1 and they will suppose that 
during this period he will learn how to 
behave4 ,of course he will learn nothing
 of the sort4 ,manly discipline has not 
yet begun4 ,at the end of the freshman  
year a boy will be only so much less a  
boy as increase of age may make him4    
,through being forced to study          
mathematics this year there comes no    
sustaining influence fitted to fortify  
the judgment when one is called the next
 year to choose between ,greek and      
,german4 ,on the contrary1 the change   
from school methods to maturing methods 

is rendered as dangerous as possible by 
allowing it to take place quite nakedly1
 by itself1 unsupported by other        
changes1 and at the mere dictation of   
the almanac4 ,an emancipation so bare   
and sudden is not usual elsewhere4 ,for 
boys who do not go to college1 departure
 from home is commonly recognized as a  
fit occasion for putting on that        
dangerous garment1 the toga virilis4    
,entrance to the university constitutes 
a similar epoch1 when change of         
residence1 new companions1 altered      
conditions of living1 a realization that
 the old supports are gone1 and the     
presumption with which every one now    
meets the youth that he is to be treated
 as a man among men1 become helpful     
influences cooperating to ease the hard 
and inevitable transition from parental 
control to personal self-direction4 ,a  
safer time for beginning individual     
responsibility cannot be found4 ,at any 
rate1 whether my diagnosis of reasons is
 correct or not1 the fact is            

clear1--self-respecting colleges do not 
tolerate preparatory departments4 ,they 
do not work well4 ,they are an element  
of weakness in the institution which    
harbors them4 ,even where at first they 
are judged necessary1 so soon as the    
college grows strong they are dropped4  
,when we attempt to plan an education   
for times to come1 we must bear in mind 
established facts4 ,turn the freshman   
year into a preparatory department1 fill
 it with studies antithetic in aim1     
method1 and spirit to those of later    
years1 and something is established     
which no sober college ever permitted to
 remain long within its borders4 ,this  
is the teaching of the past without an  
exception4 ,to suppose the future will  
be different is but the blind hope of a 
timid transitionalism4  ,,iii4 ,the     
third suggestion for restricting        
election is the group system4 ,this     
deserves a more respectful treatment    
than the methods hitherto discussed1 for
 it is something more than a suggestion3

 it is a system1 a constructive plan of 
education1 thought out in all its parts1
 and directed toward an intended end4   
,the definition which ,i have elsewhere 
offered of the elective system1 that it 
demands a fixed quantity and quality of 
study with variable topic1 would be     
applicable also to the group system4    
,accordingly it belongs to the new      
education rather than to the old4 ,no   
less than the elective system it is     
opposed to the methods of restriction   
thus far described4 ,these latter       
methods attempt to limit election by the
 ballast of an alien principle lodged   
beneath it or by its side4 ,they put a  
weight of prescription into the         
preparatory schools1 into the early     
college years1 or into parallel lines of
 study extending throughout the college 
course4 ,the source of their practical  
trouble lies here3 the two principles1  
election and prescription1 are nowhere  
united2 they remain sundered and at war1
 unserviceable for each other's defects4

 ,the group system intertwines them4 ,it
 permits choice in everything1 but at   
the same time prescribes everything4    
,this it effects by enlarging the unit  
of choice and prescribing its           
constituent factors4 ,a group or block  
of studies is offered for choice1 not a 
single study4 ,all the studies of a     
group must be taken if any are1 the if  
being the only matter left for the      
student to settle4 ,the group may       
include all the studies open to a       
student at the university4 ,one decision
 may determine his entire course4 ,or1  
as in the somewhat analogous arrangement
 of the ,english universities1 one group
 may be selected at the beginning and   
another in the middle of the university 
life4 ,the group itself is sometimes    
contrived so as to allow an individual  
variation2 different students read      
different books2 a special phase of     
philosophy1 history1 or science receives
 prominence4 ,but the boundaries of the 
group cannot be crossed4 ,all the       

studies selected by the college         
authorities to form a single group must 
be taken2 no others can be4  ,in this   
method of limiting choice there is much 
that is attractive4 ,i feel that        
attraction strongly4 ,under the         
exceptional conditions which exist at   
the ,johns ,hopkins ,university1 a group
 system has done excellent work4 ,like  
all the rest of the world1 ,i honor that
 work and admire its wise directors4    
,but group systems seem to me to possess
 features too objectionable to permit   
them to become the prevalent type of the
 future1 and ,i do not see how these    
features can be removed without         
abandoning what is distinctive1 and     
changing the whole plan into the        
elective system1 pure and simple4 ,the  
objectionable features connect          
themselves with the size of the unit of 
choice1 with difficulties in the        
construction of the groups1 and with the
 attempt to enforce specialization4 ,but
 these are enigmatic phrases2 let me    

explain them4  ,obviously1 for the      
young1 foresight is a hard matter4      
,while disciplining them in the         
intricate art of looking ahead1 ,i      
should think it wise to furnish         
frequently a means of repairing errors4 
,penalties for bad choices should not be
 too severe4 ,now plainly the larger the
 unit of choice1 the graver the         
consequences of erroneous judgment4 ,the
 group system takes a large unit1 a body
 of studies2 the simple elective system1
 a small unit1 the single study4 ,errors
 of choice are consequently less        
reparable under the group system than   
under pure election4 ,to meet this      
difficulty the college course at        
,baltimore has been reduced from four   
years to three2 but even so1 a student  
who selects a group for which he finds  
himself unfit cannot bring himself into 
proper adjustment without the loss of a 
year4 ,if he does not discover his      
unfitness until the second year has     
begun1 he loses two years4 ,under the   

elective system1 the largest possible   
penalty for a single mistake is the loss
 of a single study1 one quarter of a    
year's work4 ,this necessary difference 
in ease of reparability appears to me to
 mark an inferiority in group systems1  
considered as methods of educating      
choice4 ,to the public it may seem      
otherwise4 ,i am often astonished to    
find people approving irreparable       
choices and condemning reparable ones4  
,that youths between nineteen and       
twenty-three should select studies for  
themselves shocks many people who look  
kindly enough on marriages contracted   
during those years4 ,boys still         
unbearded have a large share in deciding
 whether they will go to college1 to a  
scientific school1 to a store1 to sea1  
or to a cattle-ranch4 ,their lives are  
staked on the wisdom of the step taken4 
,yet the ,american mode of meeting these
 family problems seems to our community1
 on the whole1 safer than the ,english  
way of regulating them by tradition and 

dictation4 ,the choice with heavy stakes
 of the boy who does not go to college  
is frequently set off favorably against 
the choices with light stakes of the boy
 who goes4 ,perhaps a similarly lenient 
judgment will in the long run be passed 
on the great stakes involved in group   
systems4 ,i doubt it4 ,i think it will  
ultimately be judged less dangerous and 
more maturing to grant a young man1 in  
his passage through a period of moral   
discipline1 frequent opportunities of   
repair4  ,again1 the practical          
difficulties of deciding what groups    
shall be formed are enormous4 ,what     
studies shall enter into each8 ,how many
 groups shall there be8 ,if but one1 we 
have the old-fashioned college with no  
election4 ,if two1 we have the plan     
which ,yale has just abandoned1 a fixed 
undergraduate department maintained in  
parallel vigor with a fixed scientific  
school4 ,but in conceding the claims of 
variety even to this degree1 we have    
treated the fundamental differences     

between man and man as worthy1 not      
reprehensible2 and can we say that the  
proper differences are only two8 ,must  
we not acknowledge a world at least as  
complex as that they have in ,baltimore1
 where there appear to be seven         
reputable species of mankind3 ,those who
 wish a good classical training2 those  
who look toward a course in medicine2   
those who prefer mathematical studies   
with reference to engineering1          
astronomy1 and teaching2 those who wish 
an education in scientific studies1 not 
having chosen a specialty2 those who    
expect to pursue a course in theology2  
those who propose to study law2 those   
who wish a literary training not rigidly
 classical4 ,here a classification of   
human wishes is attempted1 but one      
suspects that there are legitimate      
wishes which lie outside the scheme4 ,it
 does not1 for example1 at once appear  
why a prospective chemist should be     
debarred from all regular study of      
mathematics4 ,it seems hard that a youth

 of literary tastes should be cut off   
from ,greek at entrance unless he will  
agree to take five exercises in it each 
week throughout his college course4 ,one
 does not feel quite easy in allowing   
nobody but a lawyer or a devotee of     
modern languages to read a page of      
,english or ,american history4 ,the     
,johns ,hopkins programme is the most   
ingenious and the most flexible         
contrivance for working a group system  
that ,i have ever seen4 ,for this reason
 ,i mention it as the most favorable    
type of all4 ,considering its purposes1 
,i do not believe it can be much        
improved4 ,as applied to its little band
 of students1 #aaf1 it certainly works  
few hardships4 ,yet all the exclusions  
,i have named1 and many more besides1   
appear in it4 ,i instance these simply  
to show what barriers to knowledge the  
best group system erects4 ,remove these1
 and others quite as great are          
introduced4 ,try to avoid them by       
allowing the student of one group to    

take certain studies in another1 and the
 sole line which parts the group system 
from the elective is abandoned4 ,in     
practice1 it usually is abandoned4      
,confronted with the exigencies of      
operation1 the so-called group system   
turns into an elective system1 with     
highly specialized lines of study       
strongly recommended4 ,with this more   
genial working ,i have nothing now to   
do4 ,my point is this3 a system of hard 
and fast groups presents difficulties of
 construction and maintenance too great 
to recommend it to the average college  
of the future as the best mode of       
limiting the elective principle4        
,probably1 however1 this difficulty will
 chiefly be felt by persons engaged in  
the actual work of educational          
organization4 ,the outer public will    
think it a more serious objection that  
grouped colleges are in reality         
professional schools carried down to the
 limits of boyhood4 ,so far as they hold
 by their groups1 they are nurseries of 

specialization4 ,that this is           
necessarily so may not at first be      
apparent4 ,a little consideration of the
 contrast in aim between group systems  
and prescribed will make the matter     
plain4 ,prescribed systems have gained  
their long hold on popular confidence by
 aiming at harmonious culture4 ,they    
argue1 justly enough1 that each separate
 sort of knowledge furnishes something  
of its own to the making of a man4 ,this
 particular something1 they say1 can be 
had from no other source4 ,the sum of   
these somethings constitutes a rounded  
whole4 ,the man who has not experienced 
each of them in some degree1 however    
small1 is imperfectly planned4 ,one who 
has been touched by all has laid the    
foundations of a liberal education4     
,degree of acquaintance with this       
subject or with that may subsequently   
enlarge4 ,scholarly interest may        
concentrate4 ,but at the first1 the     
proper aim is balanced knowledge1       
harmonious development of all essential 

powers1 avoidance of one-sidedness4  ,on
 this aim the group system bestows but a
 secondary attention4 ,regarding        
primarily studies1 not men1 it attempts 
to organize single connected departments
 of knowledge4 ,accordingly it permits  
only those studies to be pursued        
together which immediately cohere4 ,it  
lays out five1 ten1 any number of paths 
through the field of knowledge1 and to  
one of these paths the pilgrim is       
confined4 ,each group constitutes a     
specialty1--a specialty intensified in  
character as1 in order to escape the    
difficulties of maintenance just pointed
 out1 the number of groups is allowed to
 increase4 ,by insistence on            
specialization regard for general       
culture is driven into a subordinate    
place4 ,the advocates of prescription   
maintain that there are not half a dozen
 ground-plans of perfected humanity4    
,they say there is but one4 ,if we      
introduce variety of design into a      
curriculum1 we neglect that ideal man   

who resides alike in all4 ,we trust1 on 
the contrary1 in our power to hit some  
line of study which may deservedly      
appeal to one human being while not so  
appealing to another4 ,we simply note   
the studies which are most congruous    
with the special line selected1 and by  
this congruity we shape our group4 ,in  
the new aim1 congruity of studies1      
adaptation to a professional purpose1   
takes precedence of harmonious          
development of powers4  ,i have no doubt
 that specialization is destined to     
become more marked in the ,american     
education of the future4 ,it must become
 so if we are to produce the strong     
departmental scholars who illuminate    
learning in other countries2 indeed1 it 
must become so if we are to train       
competent experts for the affairs of    
daily life4 ,the popular distrust of    
specializing is sure to grow less as our
 people become familiar with its effects
 and see how often narrow and thorough  
study1 undertaken in early life1 leads  

to ultimate breadth4 ,it is a pretty    
dream that a man may start broad and    
then concentrate1 but nine out of every 
ten strong men have taken the opposite  
course4 ,they have begun in some        
one-sided way1 and have added other     
sides as occasion required4 ,almost in  
his teens ,shakespeare makes a specialty
 of the theatre1 ,napoleon of military  
science1 ,beethoven of music1 ,hunter of
 medicine1 ,faraday of chemistry1       
,hamilton of political science4 ,the    
great body of painters1 musicians1      
poets1 novelists1 theologians1          
politicians1 are early specialists4 ,in 
fact1 self-made men are generally       
specialists4 ,something has aroused an  
interest1 and they have followed it out 
until they have surveyed a wide horizon 
from a single point of view4 ,in        
offering wider opportunities for        
specialization1 colleges have merely    
been assimilating their own modes of    
training to those which prevail in the  
world at large4  ,it does not1          

therefore1 seem to me objectionable that
 group systems set a high value on      
specialization4 ,that is what every man 
does1 and every clear-eyed college must 
do it too4 ,what ,i object to is that   
group systems1 so far as they adhere to 
their aim1 enforce specialization4      
,among every half-dozen students1       
probably one will be injured if he      
cannot specialize largely2 two or three 
more might wisely specialize in lower   
degree2 but to force the remaining two  
or three into curricula shaped by       
professional bias is to do them serious 
damage4 ,there are sober boys of little 
intrepidity or positive taste1 boys who 
properly enough wish to know what others
 know4 ,they will not make scholars4    
,they were not born to enlarge the      
boundaries of knowledge4 ,they have     
another function3 they preserve and     
distribute such knowledge as already    
exists4 ,many of them are persons of    
wealth4 ,to furnish them glimpses of    
varied learning is to save them from    

barbarism4 ,still another large class is
 composed of boys who develop late4     
,they are boys who will one day acquire 
an interest of their own1 if they are   
allowed to roam about somewhat aimlessly
 in the domain of wisdom until they are 
twenty-one4 ,both of these classes have 
their rights4 ,the prescribed system was
 built to support them2 the elective    
shelters and improves them2 but a group 
system shuts them all out1 if they will 
not on leaving school adopt professional
 courses4 ,whenever ,i can hear of a    
group system which like the old college 
has a place for the indistinct young    
man1 and like the new elective college  
matures him annually by suggesting that 
he take part in shaping his own career1 
,i will accept the group system4 ,then1 
too1 the public will probably accept it4
 ,until then1 rigid groups will be      
thought by many to lay too great a      
strain on unseasoned powers of choice1  
to present too many practical           
difficulties of construction1 and to    

show too doctrinaire a confidence that  
every youth will fit without pinching   
into a specialized class4   ,,footnotes3
     #f ,these conditions of            
intellectual nourishment were long ago  
recognized in other1 less formal1       
departments of mental training4         
,in his essays on ,books and ,reading   
,president ,porter wrote in             
#ahga3 ,the person who asks4 ,what shall
 ,i read8 or1 ,with what        shall ,i
 begin8 may have read for years in a    
mechanical routine1        and with a   
listless spirit2 with scarcely an       
independent thought1        with no     
plans of self-improvement1 and few      
aspirations for        self-culture4 ,to
 all these classes the advice is full of
 meaning3        ',read what will       
satisfy your wants and appease your     
desires1 and        you will comply with
 the first condition to reading with    
interest        and profit4' ,hunger and
 thirst are better than manifold        
appliances and directions1 in respect to

 other than the bodily        wants1    
towards a good appetite and a healthy   
digestion4 ,if a man        has any     
self-knowledge or any power of          
self-direction1 he is        surely     
competent to ask himself what is the    
subject or subjects        in respect to
 which he stands most in need of        
knowledge or        excitement from     
books4 ,if he can answer this question1 
he has        gone very far towards     
answering the question1 ',what book or  
books        can ,i read with           
satisfaction and profit8' 7,chap4 iv1 p4
 #ci47     #g ,in deference to certain  
writers ,i employ their favorite term   
university in contrast with the term    
college1 yet ,i must own        ,i do   
not know what it means4 ,an old         
signification is clear4 ,a              
university is an assemblage of schools1 
as our government is        an          
assemblage of states4 ,in ,england1     
different corporations1        giving   
substantially similar instruction1 are  

brought together        by a common body
 which confers the degrees4 ,in this    
country1 a        group of professional 
schools--law1 medicine1 theology1 and   
science--are associated through one     
governing body with the        college  
proper1 that is1 with the candidates for
 the ,b4,a4 degree4        ,in this     
useful sense1 ,tufts and ,bowdoin are   
universities2 ,amherst        and       
,brown1 colleges4 ,but ,germany1 which  
has thrown so many        parts of the  
world into confusion1 has introduced    
exaltation        and mystery here4 ,a  
university now appears to mean a college
        as good as it can be1 a         
stimulating conception1 but not a       
finished or precise one4 ,i would not   
disparage it4 ,it is a term        of   
aspiration1 good to conjure with4 ,when 
we want to elevate        men's ideas1  
or to obtain their dollars1 it is well  
to talk        about creating a true    
university3 just as it is wise to bid   
the        forward-reaching boy to      

become a true gentleman4     ,x         
,,necessary ,,limitations ,,of ,,the    
,,elective ,,system   ,the preceding    
paper has sufficiently discussed the    
impossible limitations of the elective  
system1 and has shown with some         
minuteness the grounds of their         
impossibility4 ,the methods there       
examined are the only ones suggested by 
my critics4 ,they all agree in this1    
that they seek to narrow the scope of   
choice4 ,they try to combine with it a  
hostile factor1 and they differ merely  
in their mode of combination4 ,the first
 puts a restraining check before        
election2 the second puts one by its    
side2 the third makes the two           
inseparable by allowing nothing to be   
chosen which is not first prescribed4   
,the general purpose of all these       
methods is mine also4 ,election must be 
limited4 ,unchartered choice is         
licentious and self-destructive4 ,i     
quarrel with them only because the modes
 of effecting their purpose tend to     

produce results of a transient and      
inappropriate sort4 ,the aim of         
education1 as ,i conceive it1 is to     
spiritualize the largest possible number
 of persons1 that is1 to teach them how 
to do their own thinking and willing and
 to do it well4 ,but these methods      
effect something widely different4 ,they
 either aristocratize where they should 
democratize1 or they belittle where they
 should mature1 or else they            
professionalize where they should       
humanize4 ,a common trouble besets them 
all3 the limiting authority is placed in
 external and arbitrary juxtaposition to
 the personal initiative which it       
professes to support4 ,it should grow   
out of this initiative and be its       
interpreter and realization4 ,by        
limitation of choice the proposers of   
these schemes appear to mean making     
choice less4 ,i mean fortifying it1     
keeping it true to itself1 making it    
more4 ,control that diminishes the      
quantity of choice is one thing2 control

 that raises the quality1 quite another4
 ,how important is this distinction and 
how frequently it is forgotten6 ,words  
like limitation1 control1 authority1    
obedience1 are words of majesty1 but    
words also of doubtful import4 ,they    
carry a freight of wisdom or of folly1  
according to the end towards which they 
steer4 ,in order to sanction or discard 
limitations which induce obedience1 we  
must bear that end in mind4 ,let us stop
 a moment1 and see that we have it in   
mind now4  ,old educational systems are 
often said to have erred by excess of   
authority4 ,i could not say so4 ,the    
elective system1 if it is to possess the
 future1 must become as authoritative as
 they4 ,more accurately we say that     
their authority was of a wrong sort4 ,a 
father may exercise an authority over   
his child no less directive than that of
 the master over the slave2 but the     
father is trying to accomplish something
 which the master disregards2 the father
 hopes to make the will of another      

strong1 the master to make it weak2 the 
father commands what the child himself  
would wish1 had he sufficient           
experience4 ,the child's obedience      
accordingly enlightens1 steadies1       
invigorates his independent will4       
,invigoration is the purpose of the     
command4 ,the authority is              
akin--secretly akin--to the child's own 
desires4 ,no alien power intervenes1 as 
when a slave obeys4 ,here a foreign will
 thwarts the slave's proper motions4    
,over against his own legitimate        
desires1 the desire of a totally        
different being appears and claims      
precedence4 ,obedience like this brings 
no ennoblement4 ,the oftener a child    
obeys1 the less of a child is he2 the   
oftener a slave1 the more completely he 
is a slave4 ,roughly to say1 then1 that 
submission to authority is healthy for a
 college boy1 argues a mental confusion4
 ,there are two kinds of authority1--the
 authority of moral guidance1 and the   
authority of repressive control3        

parental authority1 respecting and      
vivifying the individual life and thus  
continually tending to supersede itself2
 and masterly authority1 whose command1 
out of relation to the obeyer's wish1   
tends ever to bring the obedient into   
bondage4 ,which shall college authority 
be8 ,authority is necessary1            
ever-present authority4 ,if the young   
man's choice is to become a thing of    
worth1 it must be encompassed with      
limitations4 ,but as the need of these  
limitations springs from the            
imperfections of choice1 so should their
 aim be to perfect choice1 not to       
repress it4 ,to impose limitations which
 do not ultimately enlarge the youth    
they bind is to make the means of       
education oblige against its main end4  
,this moral authority is what the new   
education seeks4 ,to a casual eye1 the  
colleges of to-day seem to be growing   
disorganized2 a closer view shows       
construction taking place1 but taking   
place along the lines of the vital      

distinction just pointed out4 ,men are  
striving to bring about a germane and   
ethical authority in the room of the    
baser mechanical authorities of the     
past4 ,in this distinction1 then1 a clue
 is to be found which1 if followed up1  
will lead us away from impossible       
limitations of the elective system1 and 
conduct us at length to the possible1   
nay1 to the inevitable ones4 ,as the    
elective principle is essentially       
ethical1 its limitations1 if helpfully  
congruous1 must be ethical too4 ,they   
must be simply the means of bringing    
home to the young chooser the sacred    
conditions of choice2 which conditions1 
if ,i rightly understand them1 may      
compactly be entitled those of          
intentionality1 information1 and        
persistence4 ,to secure these           
conditions1 limitations exist4 ,in the  
very nature of choice such conditions   
are implied4 ,choice is sound as they   
prevail1 whimsical as they diminish4 ,an
 education which lays stress on the     

elective principle is bound to lay      
stress on these conditions also4 ,it    
cannot slip over into lazy ways of      
letting its students drift1 and still   
look for credit as an elective system4  
,people will distrust it4 ,that is why  
they distrust ,harvard to-day4 ,the     
objections brought against the elective 
system of ,harvard are in reality not   
levelled against the elective system at 
all4 ,they are directed against its     
bastard brother1 laissez-faire4         
,objectors suspect that the conditions  
of choice which ,i have named are not   
fulfilled4 ,they are not fulfilled1 ,i  
confess1 or rather ,i stoutly maintain4 
,to come anywhere near fulfilling them  
requires long time and study1 and action
 unimpeded by a misconceiving community4
 ,both time and study ,harvard has      
given1 has given largely4 ,the records  
of scholarship and deportment which ,i  
exhibited in my first paper show in how 
high a degree ,harvard has already been 
able to remove from choice the          

capricious1 ignorant1 and unsteadfast   
characteristics which rightly bring it  
into disrepute4 ,but much remains to do1
 and in that doing we are hampered by   
the fact that a portion of the public is
 still looking in wrong directions4 ,it 
cannot get over its hankering after the 
delusive modes of limitation which ,i   
have discussed4 ,it does not            
persistently see that at present the    
proper work of education is the study of
 means by which self-direction may be   
rendered safe4 ,leaders of education    
themselves see this but dimly1 as the   
papers of my critics naively show4      
,until choice was frankly accepted as   
the fit basis for the direction of a    
person by a person1 its fortifying      
limitations could not be studied4 ,now  
they must be studied1 now that the old  
methods of autocratic control are       
breaking down4 ,as a moral will comes to
 be recognized as the best sort of steam
 power1 the modes of generating that    
power acquire new claims to attention4  

,henceforth the training of the will    
must be undertaken by the elective      
system as an integral part of its       
discipline4  ,i am not so presumptuous  
as to attempt to prophesy the precise   
forms which methods of moral guidance   
will take4 ,moral guidance is a delicate
 affair4 ,its spirit is more important  
than its procedure4 ,flexibility is its 
strength4 ,methods final1 rigid1 and    
minute do not belong to it4 ,nor can it 
afford to forget the one great truth of 
laissez-faire1 that wills which are to  
be kept fresh and vigorous will not bear
 much looking after4 ,time1 too1 is an  
important factor in the shaping of moral
 influences4 ,experiments now in        
progress at ,harvard and elsewhere must 
discriminate safe from unsafe           
limitations4 ,leaving then to the future
 the task of showing how wide the scope 
of maturing discipline may become1 ,i   
will merely try to sketch the main lines
 along which experiments are now        
proceeding1 ,i will give a few          

illustrative examples of what is being  
done and why1 and ,i will state somewhat
 at large how1 in my judgment1 more is  
yet to be accomplished4 ,to make the    
matter clear1 a free exposition shall be
 given of the puzzling headings already 
named2 that is1 ,i will first ramblingly
 discuss the limitations on choice which
 may deepen the student's intentionality
 of aim2 secondly1 those which increase 
his information in regard to means2 and 
thirdly1 those which may strengthen his 
persistence in a course once chosen4    
,i4 ,that intentionality should be      
cultivated1 ,i need not spend many words
 in explaining4 ,everybody acknowledges 
that without a certain degree of it     
choice is impossible4 ,many persons     
assert also that boys come to college   
with no clear intentions1 not knowing   
what they want1 waiting to be told2 for 
such1 it is said1 an elective system is 
manifestly absurd4 ,i admit the fact4   
,it is true4 ,the majority of the       
freshmen whom ,i have known in the last 

seventeen years have been1 at entrance1 
deficient in serious aims4 ,but from    
this fact ,i draw a conclusion quite    
opposite to the one suggested4 ,it is   
election1 systematized election1 which  
these boys need2 for when we say a young
 student has no definite aims1 we imply 
that he has never become sufficiently   
interested in any given intellectual    
line to have acquired the wish to follow
 that line farther4 ,such a state of    
things is lamentable1 and certainly     
shows that prescribed methods--the      
proper methods1 in my judgment1 for the 
school years--have in his case proved   
inadequate4 ,it is useless to continue  
them into years confessedly less suited 
to their exercise4 ,perhaps it is about 
equally useless to abandon the          
ill-formed boy to unguided choice4      
,prescription says1 ,this person is     
unfit to choose1 keep him so2           
laissez-faire says1 ,if he is unfit to  
choose1 let him perish2 but a watchful  
elective system must say1 ,granting him 

to be unfit1 if he is not spoiled1 ,i   
will fit him4 ,and can we fit him8 ,i   
know well enough that indifferent       
teachers incline to shirk the task4     
,they like to divide pupils into the    
deceptive classes of good and bad1      
meaning by the former those who intend  
to work1 and by the latter those who    
intend not to4 ,but we must get rid of  
indifferent teachers4 ,teachers with    
enthusiasm in them soon discover that   
the two classes of pupils ,i have named 
may as well be dismissed from           
consideration4 ,where aims have become  
definite1 a teacher has little more to  
do4 ,the boy who means to work will get 
learning under the poorest teacher and  
the worst system2 while the boy who     
means not to work may be forced up to   
the ,pierian spring1 but will hardly be 
made to drink4 ,a vigorous teacher does 
not assume intention to be ready-made4  
,he counts it his continual office to   
help in making it4 ,on the middle two   
quarters of a class he spends his       

hardest efforts1 on students who are    
friendly to learning but not impassioned
 for it1 on those who like the results  
of study but like tennis also1 and      
popularity1 and cigars1 and slackness4  
,the culture of these weak wills is the 
problem of every college4 ,here are     
unintentional boys waiting to be turned 
into intentional men4 ,what limitations 
on intellectual and moral vagrancy will 
help them forward8  ,the chief          
limitation1 the one underlying all      
others1 the one which no clever         
contrivance can ever supersede1 is      
vitalized teaching4 ,suitable subjects1 
attractively taught1 awake lethargic    
intention as nothing else can4 ,an      
elective system1 as even its enemies    
confess1 enormously stimulates the zeal 
of teachers4 ,it consequently brings to 
bear on unawakened boys influences of a 
strangely quickening character4 ,when ,i
 hear a man trained under the old       
methods of prescription say1 ,at the    
time ,i was in college ,i could not have

 chosen studies for myself1 and ,i do   
not believe my son can1 ,i see1 and am  
not surprised to see1 that he does not  
understand what forces the elective     
system sets astir4 ,so powerful an      
influence have these forces over both   
teachers and pupils1 that questions of  
hard and easy studies do not1 as        
outsiders are apt to suppose1 seriously 
disturb the formation of sound          
intentions4 ,the many leaders in        
education whose opinions on election ,i 
quoted in my previous paper agree that  
the new modes tend to sobriety and      
intentionality of aim4 ,when ,professor 
,ladd speaks of the unexpected wisdom   
and manliness of the choices already    
made in the first year of election at   
,new ,haven1 he well expresses the      
gratified surprise which every one      
experiences on perceiving in the very   
constitution of the elective system a   
sort of limitation on wayward choice4   
,this limitation seems to me1 as        
,professor ,ladd says he found it1#h a  

tolerable preventive of choices directly
 aimed at ease4 ,in a community devoted 
to athletics1 baseball is not played    
because it is soft1 and football avoided
 on account of its difficulty4 ,a       
similar state of things must be brought 
about in studies4 ,in a certain low     
degree it has come about already4 ,as   
election breeds new life in teaching1   
the old slovenly habit of liking best   
what costs least begins to disappear4   
,easy courses will exist and ought to   
exist4 ,prescribed colleges1 it is often
 forgotten1 have more of them than      
elective colleges4 ,the important matter
 is1 to see that they fall to the right 
persons4 ,where everything is           
prescribed1 students who do not wish    
easy studies are still obliged to take  
them4 ,under election1 soft courses may 
often be pursued with advantage4 ,a     
student whose other courses largely     
depend for their profit on the amount of
 private reading or of laboratory       
practice accomplished in connection with

 them is wise in choosing one or more in
 which the bulk of the work is taken by 
the teacher4 ,i do not say that soft    
courses are always selected with these  
wise aims in view4 ,many ,i know are    
not4 ,we have our proper share of       
hardened loafers--tares in our          
sustaining corn--who have an unerring   
instinct as to where they can most      
safely settle4 ,but large numbers of the
 men in soft courses are there to good  
purpose2 and ,i maintain that the       
superficial study of a subject1         
acquainting one with broad outlines1 is 
not necessarily a worthless study4 ,at  
,harvard to-day ,i believe we have too  
few such superficial courses4 ,as ,i    
look over the ,elective ,pamphlet1 and  
note the necessarily varying degrees of 
difficulty in the studies announced     
there1 ,i count but six which can1 with 
any justice1 be entitled soft courses2  
and several of these must be reckoned by
 anybody an inspiration to the students 
who pursue them4 ,there is a tendency in

 the elective system1 as ,i have shown  
elsewhere1 to reduce the number of soft 
courses somewhat below the desirable    
number4  ,i insist1 therefore1 that     
under a pretty loose elective system    
boys are little disposed to             
intentionally vicious choices4 ,my fears
 look in a different direction4 ,i do   
not expect depravity1 but ,i want to    
head off aimless trifling4 ,i agree with
 the opponents of election in thinking  
that there is danger1 especially during 
the early years of college life1 that   
righteous intention may not be distinct 
and energetic4 ,boys drift4 ,inadequate 
influences induce their decisions4 ,the 
inclinations of the clique in which a   
young man finds himself are1 without    
much thought1 accepted as his own4      
,heedlessness is the young man's bane4  
,it should not be mistaken for vice2 the
 two are different4 ,a boy who will     
enter a dormitory at twelve o'clock at  
night1 and go to the third story        
whistling and beating time on the       

banisters1 certainly seems a brutish    
person2 but he is ordinarily a kind     
enough fellow1 capable of a good deal of
 self-sacrifice when brought face to    
face with need4 ,he simply does not     
think4 ,so it is in study3 there1 too1  
he does not think4 ,now in college a boy
 should learn perpetually to think2 and 
an excellent way of helping him to learn
 is to ask him often what he is thinking
 about4 ,the object of the questioning  
should not be to thwart the boy's aims1 
rather to insure that they are in       
reality his own4 ,essentially his to the
 last they should remain1 even though   
intrinsically they may not be the best4 
,young persons1 much more than their    
elders1 require to talk over plans from 
time to time with an experienced critic1
 in order to learn by degrees the       
difficult art of planning4 ,by such talk
 intentionality is fortified4 ,there is 
much of this talk already2 talk of      
younger students with older1 talk with  
wise persons at home1 and more and more 

every year with the teachers of the     
courses left and the courses entered4   
,all this is good4 ,haphazard modes     
breed an astonishing average of choices 
that possess a meaning4 ,the waste of a 
laissez-faire system comes nowhere near 
the waste of a prescribed4 ,but what is 
good when compared with a bad thing may 
be poor when compared with excellence   
itself4 ,we must go on4 ,a college1 like
 a man1 should always be saying1 ,never 
was ,i so good as to-day1 and never     
again will ,i be so bad4 ,we must       
welcome criticisms more than praises1   
and seek after our weak points as after 
hid treasures4 ,the elective system     
seems to me weak at present through     
lacking organized means of bringing the 
student and his intentions face to face4
 ,intentions grow by being looked at4   
,at the ,english universities a young   
man on entering a college is put in     
charge of a special tutor1 without whose
 consent he can do little either in the 
way of study or of personal             

management4#i ,dependence so extreme is 
perhaps better suited to an infant      
school than to an ,american college2 and
 even in ,england1 where respectful     
subservience on the part of the young   
has been cultivated for generations1 the
 system is losing ground4 ,since the    
tutors were allowed to marry and to     
leave the college home1 tutorial        
influence has been changing4 ,in most   
,american colleges twenty-five years ago
 there were officers known as class     
tutors1 to whom1 in case of need1 a     
student might turn4 ,petty permissions  
were received from these men1 instead of
 from a mechanical central office4 ,so  
far as this plan set personal           
supervision in the place of routine it  
was1 in my eyes1 good4 ,but the relation
 of a class tutor to his boys was       
usually one of more awe than friendship4
 ,at the ,johns ,hopkins ,university    
there is a board of advisers1 to some   
member of which each student is assigned
 at entrance4 ,the adviser stands in    

loco parentis to his charges4 ,the value
 of such adjustments depends on the     
nature of the parental tie4 ,if the     
relation is worked so as to stimulate   
the student's independence1 it is good2 
if so as to discharge him from          
responsibility1 it unfits for the life  
that follows4 ,at ,harvard special      
students not candidates for a degree    
have recently been put in charge of a   
committee1 to whom they are obliged to  
report their previous history and their 
plans of study for each succeeding year4
 ,the committee must know at all times  
what their charges are doing4 ,something
 of this sort1 ,i am convinced1 will be 
demanded at no distant day1 as a means  
of steadying all students in elective   
colleges4 ,large personal supervision   
need not mean diminution of freedom4 ,a 
young man may possess his freedom more  
solidly if he recognizes an obligation  
to state and defend the reasons which   
induce his choice4 ,for myself1 ,i      
should be willing to make the functions 

of such advisory committees somewhat    
broad4 ,as a college grows1 the old ways
 of bringing about acquaintance between 
officers and students become            
impracticable4 ,but the need of personal
 acquaintance1 unhappily1 does not      
cease4 ,new ways should be provided4 ,a 
boy dropped into the middle of a large  
college must not be lost to sight2 he   
must be looked after4 ,to allow the     
teacher's work of instruction to become 
divorced from his pastoral1 his         
priestly1 function is to cheapen and    
externalize education4 ,i would have    
every student in college supplied with  
somebody who might serve as a           
discretionary friend2 and ,i should not 
think it a disadvantage that such an    
expectation of friendship would be as   
apt to better the instructor as the     
student4  ,before leaving this part of  
my subject1 ,i may mention a            
subordinate1 but still valuable1 means  
of limiting choice so as to increase its
 intentionality4 ,the studies open to   

choice in the early years should be few 
and elementary4 ,the significance of    
advanced courses cannot be understood   
till elementary ones are mastered1 and  
immature choice should not be confused  
by many issues4 ,at ,harvard this mode  
of limitation is largely employed4      
,although the elective list for #ahhf-hg
 shows #agb courses1 a freshman has     
hardly more than one eighth of these to 
choose from2 in any given case this     
number will probably be reduced about   
one half by insufficient preparation or 
conflict of hours4 ,seemingly about a   
third of the list is offered to the     
average sophomore2 but this amount is   
again cut down nearly one half by the   
operation of similar causes4 ,the       
practice of hedging electives with      
qualifications is a growing one4 ,it may
 well grow more4 ,it offers guidance    
precisely at the point where it is most 
needed4 ,it protects rational choice1   
and guards against many of the dangers  
which the foes of election justly dread4

  ,,ii4 ,a second class of limitations  
of the elective system1 possible and    
friendly1 springs from the need of      
furnishing the young elector ample      
information about that which he is to   
choose4 ,the best intentions require    
judicious aim4 ,if studies are taken in 
the dark1 without right anticipation of 
their subject-matter1 or in ignorance of
 their relation to other studies1 small 
results follow4 ,here1 ,i think it will 
be generally agreed1 prescribed systems 
are especially weak4 ,their pupils have 
little knowledge beforehand of what a   
course is designed to accomplish4 ,work 
is undertaken blindly1 minds consenting 
as little as wills4 ,an elective system 
is impossible under such conditions4    
,its student must know when he chooses1 
what he chooses4 ,he must be able to    
estimate whether the choice of ,greek #e
 will further his designs better than   
the choice of ,greek #h4  ,at ,harvard1 
methods of furnishing information are   
pretty fully developed4 ,in ,may an     

elective pamphlet is issued1 which      
announces everything that is to be      
taught in the college during the        
following year4 ,most departments1 also1
 issue additional pamphlets1 describing 
with much detail the nature of their    
special courses1 and the considerations 
which should lead a student to one      
rather than another4 ,if the courses of 
a department are arranged properly1     
pursuing one gives the most needful     
knowledge about the available next4     
,this knowledge is generally            
supplemented at the close of the year by
 explanations on the part of the        
instructor about the courses that       
follow4 ,in the ,elective ,pamphlet a   
star1 prefixed to courses of an advanced
 and especially technical character1    
indicates that the instructor must be   
privately consulted before these courses
 can be chosen4 ,consultations with     
instructors about all courses are       
frequent4 ,that most effective means of 
distributing information1 the talk of   

students1 goes on unceasingly4 ,with    
time1 perhaps1 means may be devised for 
informing a student more largely what he
 is choosing4 ,the fullest information  
is desirable4 ,that which is at present 
most needed is1 ,i think1 some rough    
indication of the relations of the      
several provinces of study to one       
another4 ,information of this sort is   
peculiarly hard to supply1 because the  
knowledge on which it professes to rest 
cannot be precise and unimpeachable4 ,we
 deal here with intricate problems1 in  
regard to which experts are far from    
agreed1 problems where the different    
point of view provided in the nature of 
each individual will rightly readjust   
whatever general conclusions are drawn4 
,the old type of college had an easy way
 of settling these troublesome matters  
dogmatically1 by voting1 in open        
faculty-meeting1 what should be counted 
the normal sequence of studies1 and what
 their mixture4 ,but as the votes of    
different colleges showed no uniformity1

 people have gradually come to perceive 
that the subject is one where only large
 outlines can distinctly be made out4#aj
 ,to these large outlines ,i think it   
important to direct the attention of    
undergraduates4 ,in most ,german        
universities a course of ,encyclopaedie 
is offered1 a course which gives in     
brief a survey of the sciences1 and     
attempts to fix approximately the place 
of each in the total organization of    
knowledge4 ,i am not aware that such a  
course exists in any ,american college4 
,indeed1 there was hardly a place for it
 till dogmatic prescription was shaken4 
,but if something of the kind were now  
established in the freshman year1 our   
young men might be relieved of a certain
 intellectual short-sightedness1 and the
 choices of one year might better keep  
in view those of the other three4       
,,iii4 ,and now granting that a student 
has started with good intentions and is 
well informed about the direction where 
profit lies1 still have we any assurance

 that he will push those intentions with
 a fair degree of tenacity through the  
distractions which beset his daily path8
 ,we need1 indeed we must have1 a third 
class of helpful limitations which may  
secure the persistent adhesion of our   
student to his chosen line of work4     
,probably this class of limitations is  
the most important and complex of all4  
,to yield a paying return1 study must be
 stuck to4 ,a decision has little       
meaning unless the volition of to-day   
brings in its train a volition          
to-morrow4 ,self-direction implies such 
patient continuance in well-doing that  
only after persistence has become       
somewhat habitual can choice be called  
mature4 ,to establish onward-leading    
habits1 therefore1 should be one of the 
chief objects in devising limitations of
 election4 ,only we must not mistake2 we
 must look below the surface4           
,mechanical diligence often covers      
mental sloth4 ,it is not habits of      
passive docility that are desirable1    

habits of timidity and uncriticising    
acceptance4 ,against forming these      
pernicious and easily acquired habits1  
it may be necessary even to erect       
barriers4 ,the habit wanted is the habit
 of spontaneous attack4 ,prescription   
deadened this vital habit2 it           
mechanized4 ,his task removed1 the      
student had little independent momentum4
 ,election invigorates the springs of   
action4 ,formerly ,i did not see this1  
and ,i favored prescribed systems1      
thinking them systems of duty4 ,that    
absence of an aggressive intellectual   
life which prescribed studies induce1   
,i1 like many others1 mistook for       
faithfulness4 ,experience has instructed
 me4 ,i no longer have any question that
 for the average man sound habits of    
steady endeavor grow best in fields of  
choice4 ,emerson's words are words of   
soberness3--    ,he that worketh high   
and wise       ,nor pauses in his plan1 
,will take the sun out of the skies     
,ere freedom out of man4  ,furthermore1 

in attempting to stimulate persistence  
,i believe we must ultimately rely on   
the rational interest in study which we 
can arouse and hold4 ,undoubtedly much  
can be done to save this interest from  
disturbance and to hold vacillating     
attention fixed upon it2 but it1 and it 
alone1 is to be the driving force4      
,methods of college government must be  
reckoned wise as they push into the     
foreground the intrinsic charm of       
wisdom1 mischievous as they hide it     
behind fidelity to technical demand4 ,in
 other matters we readily acknowledge   
interest as an efficient force4 ,we call
 it a force as broad as the worth of    
knowledge1 and as deep as the curiosity 
of man4 ,put your heart into your work1 
we say1 if you will make it excellent4  
,a dozen proverbs tell that it is love  
that makes the world go round4 ,every   
employment of life springs from an      
underlying desire4 ,the cricketer wants 
to win the game2 the fisherman to catch 
fish2 the farmer to gather crops2 the   

merchant to make money2 the physician to
 cure his patient2 the student to become
 wise4 ,eliminate desire1 put in its    
place allegiance to the rules of a game1
 and what1 in any of these cases1 would 
be the chance of persistent endeavor8   
,it seems almost a truism to say that   
limitations of personal effort designed 
to strengthen persistency must be such  
as will heighten the wish and clear its 
path to its object4  ,obvious as is the 
truth here presented1 it seems in some  
degree to have escaped the attention of 
my critics4 ,after showing that the     
grade of scholarship at ,harvard        
steadily rises1 that our students become
 more decorous and their methods of work
 less childish1 ,i stated that1 under an
 extremely loose mode of regulating     
attendance five sixths of the exercises 
were attended by all our men1 worst and 
best1 sick and well1 most reckless and  
most discreet4 ,few portions of my      
obnoxious paper have occasioned a louder
 outcry4 ,i am told of a neighboring    

college where the benches show but three
 per cent of absentees4 ,i wonder what  
the percentage is in ,charlestown ,state
 ,prison4 ,nobody doubts that attendance
 will be closer if compelled4 ,but the  
interesting question still remains1 ,are
 students by such means learning habits 
of spontaneous regularity8 ,this        
question can be answered only when the  
concealing restraint is removed4 ,it has
 been removed at ,harvard1--in my       
judgment too largely removed1--and the  
great body of our students is seen to   
desire learning and to desire it all the
 time4 ,is it certain that the students 
of other colleges1 if left with little  
or no restraint1 would show a better    
record8 ,the point of fidelity and      
regularity1 it is said1 is of supreme   
importance4 ,so it is4 ,but fidelity and
 regularity in study1 not in attending  
recitations4 ,if ever the ,harvard      
system is perfected1 so that students   
here are as eager for knowledge as the  
best class of ,german university men1 ,i

 do not believe we shall see a lower    
rate of absence2 only then1 each absence
 will be used1 as it is not at present1 
for a studious purpose4 ,the modern     
teacher stimulates private reading1     
exacts theses1 directs work in          
libraries4 ,pupils engaged in these     
things are not dependent on recitations 
as text-book schoolboys are4 ,the grade 
of higher education cannot rise much so 
long as the present extreme stress is   
laid on appearance in the class-room4   
,in saying this ,i would not be         
understood to defend the method of      
dealing with absences which has for some
 years been practised at ,harvard4 ,i   
think the method bad4 ,i have always    
thought it so1 and have steadily favored
 a different system4 ,the behavior of   
our students under a regulation so loose
 seems to me a striking testimony to the
 scholarly spirit prevalent here4 ,as   
such ,i mentioned it in my first paper1 
and as such ,i would again call         
attention to it4 ,but ,i am not         

satisfied with the present good results4
 ,i want to impress on every student    
that absence from the class-room can be 
justified by nothing short of illness or
 a scholarly purpose4 ,for a gainful    
purpose the merchant is occasionally    
absent from his office2 for a gainful   
purpose a scholar of mine may omit a    
recitation4 ,but ,smith can be absent   
profitably when ,brown would meet with  
loss4 ,i accordingly object to methods  
of limiting absence which exact the same
 numerical regularity of all4 ,college  
records may look clean1 yet students be 
learning little about duty4 ,limitation1
 in my judgment1 should be so adjusted  
as to strengthen the man's personal     
adhesion to plans of daily study4 ,such 
limitations cannot be fixed by statute  
and worked by a single clerk4 ,moral    
discipline is not a thing to be supplied
 by wholesale4 ,professors must be      
individually charged with the oversight 
of their men4 ,i would have excuses for 
occasional absence made to the          

instructor1 and ,i should expect him to 
count it a part of his work to see that 
the better purposes of his scholars did 
not grow feeble4 ,a professor who       
exercised such supervisory power slackly
 would make his course the resort of the
 indolent2 one who was over-stringent   
would see himself deserted by indolent  
and earnest alike4 ,my rule would be    
that no student be allowed to present   
himself at an examination who could not 
show his teacher's certificate that his 
attendance on daily work was            
satisfactory4 ,traditions in this       
country and in ,germany are so different
 that ,i should have confidence in a    
method working well here though it      
worked ill there4 ,at any rate1 whenever
 it fell into decay1 it could--a proviso
 necessary in all moral matters--be     
readjusted4 ,a rule something like this 
the ,harvard ,faculty has recently      
adopted by voting that any instructor1  
with the approval of the ,dean1 may at  
any time exclude from his course any    

student who in his judgment has         
neglected the work of the course4       
,probably the amount of absence which   
has hitherto occurred at ,harvard will  
under this vote diminish4  ,suppose1    
then1 by these limitations on a         
student's caprice we have secured his   
persistence in outward endeavor1 still  
one thing more is needed4 ,we have      
brought him bodily to a recitation room2
 but his mind must be there too1 his    
aroused and active mind4 ,limitations   
that will secure this slippery part of  
the person are difficult to devise4     
,nevertheless1 they are worth studying4 
,their object is plain4 ,they are to    
lead a student to do something every    
day2 to aid him to overcome those       
tendencies to procrastination1          
self-confidence1 and passive absorption 
which are the regular and calculable    
dangers of youth4 ,they are to teach him
 how not to cram1 to inspire him with   
respect for steady effort1 and to enable
 him each year to find such effort more 

habitual to himself4 ,these are hard    
tasks4 ,the old education tried to meet 
them by the use of daily recitations1 a 
plan not without advantages4 ,the new   
education is preserving the valuable    
features of recitations by adopting and 
developing the ,seminar4 ,but           
recitations pure and simple have serious
 drawbacks4 ,they presuppose a          
text-book1 which1 while it brings       
definiteness1 brings also narrowness of 
view4 ,the learner masters a book1 not a
 subject4 ,after-life possesses nothing 
analogous to the text-book4 ,a          
struggling man wins what he wants from  
many books1 from his own thought1 from  
frequent consultations4 ,why should not 
a student be disciplined in the ways he 
must afterwards employ8 ,moreover1      
recitations have the disadvantage that  
no large number of men can take part on 
any single day4 ,the times of trial     
either become amenable to reckoning1 or1
 in order to prevent reckoning1 a       
teacher must resort to schemes which do 

not commend him to his class4           
,undoubtedly in recitation the reciter  
gains1 but the gains of the rest of the 
class are small4 ,the listeners would be
 more profited by instruction4 ,an hour 
with an expert should carry students    
forward2 to occupy it in ascertaining   
where they now stand is wasteful4 ,for  
all these reasons there has been of late
 years a strong reaction against        
recitations4 ,lectures have been        
introduced1 and the time formerly spent 
by a professor in hearing boys is now   
spent by boys in hearing a professor4   
,plainly in this there is a gain1 but a 
gain which needs careful limitation if  
the student's persistence in work is to 
be retained4 ,a pure lecture system is a
 broad road to ignorance4 ,students are 
entertained or bored1 but at the end of 
a month they know little more than at   
the beginning4 ,lectures always seem to 
me an inheritance from the days when    
books were not4 ,learning--how often    
must it be said6--is not acceptance2 it 

is criticism1 it is attack1 it is doing4
 ,an active element is everywhere       
involved in it4 ,personal sanction is   
wanted for every step4 ,one who will    
grow wise must perform processes        
himself1 not sit at ease and behold     
another's performance4  ,these simple   
truths are now tolerably understood at  
,harvard4 ,there remain in the college  
few courses of pure recitations or of   
pure lectures4 ,i wish all were         
forbidden by statute4 ,in almost all    
courses1 in one way or another1 frequent
 opportunity is given the student to    
show what he is doing4 ,in some1        
especially in elementary courses1       
lectures run parallel with a text-book4 
,in some1 theses1 that is1 written      
discussions1 are exacted monthly1       
half-yearly1 annually1 in addition to   
examinations4 ,in some1 examinations are
 frequent4 ,in some1 a daily question1  
to be answered in writing on the spot1  
is offered to the whole class4 ,often1  
especially in philosophical subjects1   

the hour is occupied with debate between
 officer and students4 ,more and more1  
physical subjects are taught by the     
laboratory1 linguistic and historical by
 the library4 ,in a living university a 
great variety of methods spring up1     
according to the nature of the subject  
and the personality of the teacher4     
,variety should exist4 ,in constantly   
diversified ways each student should be 
assured that he is expected to be doing 
something all the time1 and that        
somebody besides himself knows what he  
is doing4 ,as yet this assurance is not 
attained2 we can only claim to be       
working toward it4 ,every year we       
discover some fresh limitation which    
will make persistence more natural1     
neglect more strange4 ,i believe study  
at ,harvard is to-day more interested1  
energetic1 and persistent than it has   
ever been before4 ,but that is no ground
 for satisfaction4 ,a powerful college  
must forever be dissatisfied4 ,each year
 it must address itself anew to         

strengthening the tenacity of its       
students in their zeal for knowledge4   
,by the side of these larger limitations
 in the interest of persistency1 it may 
be well to mention one or two examples  
of smaller ones which have the same end 
in view4 ,by some provision it must be  
made difficult to withdraw from a study 
once chosen4 ,choice should be          
deliberate and then be final4 ,it       
probably will not be deliberate unless  
it is understood to be final4 ,a few    
weeks may be allowed for an inspection  
of a chosen course1 but at the close of 
the first month's teaching the ,harvard 
,faculty tie up their students and allow
 change only on petition and for the    
most convincing cause4 ,an elective     
college which did not make changes of   
electives difficult would be an engine  
for discouraging intentionality and     
persistence4  ,i incline to think1 too1 
that a regulation forbidding elementary 
courses in the later years would render 
our education more coherent4 ,in this   

matter elective colleges have an        
opportunity which prescribed ones miss4 
,in order to be fair to all the         
sciences1 college faculties are obliged 
to scatter fragments of them throughout 
the length and breadth of prescribed    
curricula4 ,twenty-five years ago every 
,harvard man waited till his senior year
 before beginning philosophy1 acoustics1
 history1 and political economy4 ,to-day
 the fourteen other ,new ,england       
colleges1 most of whom1 like the        
,harvard of twenty-five years ago1 offer
 a certain number of elective studies1  
still show senior years largely occupied
 with elementary studies4 ,five forbid  
philosophy before the senior year2      
eight1 political economy2 two1 history2 
six1 geology4 ,out of the seven colleges
 which offer some one of the eastern    
languages1 all except ,harvard oblige   
the alphabet to be learned in the senior
 year4 ,of the six which offer ,italian 
or ,spanish1 ,harvard alone permits a   
beginning to be made before the junior  

year1 while two take up these languages 
for the first time in the senior year4  
,in three ,new ,england colleges ,german
 cannot be begun till the junior year4  
,in a majority1 a physical subject is   
begun in the junior and another in the  
senior year4 ,at ,yale nobody but a     
senior can study chemistry4 ,such       
postponement1 and by consequence such   
fragmentary work1 may be necessary where
 early college years are crowded with   
prescribed studies4 ,but an elective    
system can employ its later years to    
better advantage4 ,it can bring to a    
mature understanding the interests which
 freshmen and sophomores have already   
acquired4 ,elementary studies are not   
maturing studies2 they do not make the  
fibre of a student firm4 ,to studies of 
a solidifying sort the last years should
 be devoted4 ,i should like to forbid   
seniors to take any elementary study    
whatever1 and to forbid juniors all     
except philosophy1 political economy1   
history1 fine arts1 ,sanskrit1 ,hebrew1 

and law4 ,under such a rule we should   
graduate more men who would be first    
rate at something2 and a man who is     
first rate at something is generally    
pretty good at anything4  ,such1 then1  
are a few examples of the ways in which 
choice may be limited so as to become   
strong4 ,they are but examples1 intended
 merely to draw attention to the three  
kinds of limitation still possible4     
,humble ways they may seem1 not         
particularly interesting to hear about2 
business methods one might call them4   
,but by means of these and such as these
 the young scholar becomes clearer in   
intention1 larger in information1       
hardier in persistence4 ,in urging such 
means ,i shall be seen to be no thick   
and thin advocate of election4 ,that ,i 
have never been4 ,originally a doubter1 
,i have come to regard the elective     
system1 that is1 election under such    
limitations as ,i have described1 as the
 safest--indeed as the only             
possible--course which education can now

 take1 ,i advocate it heartily as a     
system which need not carry us too fast 
or too far in any one direction1 as a   
system so inherently flexible that its  
own great virtues readily unite with    
those of an alien type4 ,under its      
sheltering charge the worthier          
advantages of both grouped and          
prescribed systems are attainable4 ,i   
proclaim it1 therefore1 not as a popular
 cry nor as an educational panacea1 but 
as a sober opportunity for moral and    
intellectual training4 ,limited as it is
 at ,harvard1 ,i see that it works      
admirably with the studious1            
stimulatingly with those of weaker will1
 not unendurably with the depraved4     
,these are great results4 ,they cannot  
be set aside by calling them the outcome
 of individualism4 ,in a certain sense  
they are4 ,but individualism is an      
uncertain term4 ,in every one of us     
there is a contemptible individuality1  
grounded in what is ephemeral and       
capriciously personal4 ,systematic      

election1 as ,i have shown1 puts        
limitations on this4 ,but there is a    
noble individuality which should be the 
object of our fostering care4 ,nothing  
that lends it strength and fineness can 
be counted trivial4 ,to form a true     
individuality is1 indeed1 the ideal of  
the elective system4 ,let me briefly    
sketch my conception of that ideal4     
,george ,herbert1 praising ,god for the 
physical world which ,he has made1 says 
that in it all things have their will1  
yet none but thine4 ,such a free harmony
 between thinking man and a ,lord of his
 thought it is the office of education  
to bring about4 ,at the start it does   
not exist4 ,the child is aware of his   
own will1 and he is aware of little     
else4 ,he imagines that one pleasing    
fancy may be willed as easily as        
another4 ,as he matures1 he discovers   
that his will is effective when it      
accords with the make of the world and  
ineffective when it does not4 ,this     
discovery1 bringing as it does increased

 respect for the make of the world and  
even for its ,maker1 degrades or        
ennobles according as the facts of the  
world are now viewed as restrictive     
finalities or as an apparatus for larger
 self-expression4 ,seeing the power of  
that which is not himself1 a man may    
become passively receptive1 and say1    
,then ,i am to have no will of my own2  
or he may become newly energetic1       
knowing that though he can have no will 
of his separate own1 yet all the power  
of ,god is his if he will but           
understand4 ,a man of the latter sort is
 spiritually educated4 ,much still      
remains to be done in understanding     
special laws2 and with each fresh       
understanding1 a fresh possibility of   
individual life is disclosed4 ,the      
worth1 however1 of the whole process    
lies in the man's honoring his own will1
 but honoring it only as it grows strong
 through accordance with the will of    
,god4  ,now into our colleges comes a   
mixed multitude made up of all the three

 classes named3 the childish1 who       
imagine they can will anything2 the     
docile1 so passive in the presence of an
 ordered world that they have little    
individual will left2 the               
spiritually-minded or original1 who with
 strong interests of their own seek to  
develop these through living contact    
with truths which they have not made4   
,our educational modes must meet them   
all1 respecting their wills wherever    
wise1 and teaching the feeble to        
discriminate fanciful from righteous    
desires4 ,for carrying forward such a   
training the elective system seems to me
 to have peculiar aptitudes4 ,what ,i   
have called its limitations will be seen
 to be spiritual assistances4 ,to the   
further invention of such there is no   
end4 ,a watchful patience is the one    
great requisite1 patience in directors1 
instructed criticism on the part of the 
public1 and a brave expression of       
confidence when confidence is seen to   
have been earned4   ,,footnotes3     #h 

,doubtless some have carried out the    
intention of making everything        as
 soft as possible for themselves4 ,but  
the choices1 in fact1 do        not as  
yet show the existence of any such      
intention in any        considerable    
number of cases2 they show rather the   
very        reverse4--,professor ,ladd  
in ,the ,new ,englander1 ,january1      
#ahhe1        p4 #aai4     #i ,as the   
minute personal care given to individual
 students in the        ,english        
universities is often and deservedly    
praised1 ,i may as        well say that 
it costs something4 ,oxford spends each 
year about        #b1jjj1jjj on #bejj   
men2 ,harvard1 #fej1jjj on #agjj4    #aj
 ,i may not have a better opportunity   
than this to clear up a petty           
difficulty which seems to agitate some  
of my critics4 ,they say        they    
want the degree of ,a4,b4 to mean       
something definite1 while at            
present1 under the elective system1 it  
means one thing for ,john        ,doe1  

and something altogether different for  
his classmate1        ,richard ,roe4    
,that is true4 ,besides embodying the   
general        signification that the   
bearer has been working four years in a 
way to satisfy college guardians1 the   
stately letters do take on        an    
individual variation of meaning for     
every man who wins them4        ,they   
must do so as long as we are engaged in 
the formation of        living persons4 
,if the college were a factory1 our case
 would be        different4 ,we might   
then offer a label which would keep its 
identity of meaning for all the articles
 turned out4 ,wherever        education 
has been a living thing1 the single     
degree has always        contained this 
element of variety4 ,the ,german degree 
is as        diverse in meaning as ours4
 ,the degree of the ,english university 
is diverse1 and more diverse for ,honors
 men--the only ones who        can      
properly be said to deserve it--than for
 inert ,pass men4        ,degrees in    

this country have1 from the first1 had  
considerable        diversity1 college  
differing from college in requirement1  
and        certainly student from       
student in attainment4 ,that twenty-five
        years ago we were approaching   
too great uniformity in the             
signification of degrees1 ,i suppose    
most educators now admit4        ,that  
was a mechanical and stagnant period1   
and men have brought        over from it
 to the more active days of the present 
ideals formed        then4 ,precision of
 statement goes with figures1 with      
etiquette1        with military matters2
 but descriptions of the quality of     
persons        must be stated in the    
round4     ,,xi  ,,college ,,expenses#aa
   ,the subject of college expenses has 
been much debated lately4 ,at our       
,commencement dinner1 a year ago1       
attention was called to it4 ,our        
chairman on that occasion justly        
insisted that the ideal of the          
,university should be plain living and  

high thinking4 ,and certainly there is  
apt to be something vulgar1 as well as  
vicious1 in the man of books who turns  
away from winning intellectual wealth   
and indulges in tawdry extravagance4    
,yet every friend of ,harvard is obliged
 to acknowledge with shame that the     
loose spender has a lodging in our yard4
 ,no clear-sighted observer can draw    
near and not perceive that in all his   
native hideousness the man of the club  
and the dog-cart is among us4  ,i do not
 think this strange4 ,in fact1 ,i regard
 it as inevitable4 ,it is necessarily   
connected with our growth4 ,the old     
,college we might compare1 for moral and
 intellectual range1 with a country     
village2 our present ,university is a   
great city1 and we must accept the      
many-sided life1 the temptations as well
 as the opportunities1 of the great     
city4 ,probably nowhere on this planet  
can a thousand young men be found1      
between the ages of eighteen and        
twenty-four1 who will not show examples 

of the heedless1 the temptable1 and the 
depraved4 ,let us not1 then1 shrink from
 acknowledging the ugly fact2           
extravagance is here1--shameless1 coarse
 extravagance4 ,i hope nothing ,i say   
may diminish our sense of its indecency4
 ,but how widespread is it8 ,we must not
 lose sight of that important question4 
,how largely does it infect the         
,college8 ,are many students large      
spenders8 ,must a man of moderate means 
on coming here be put to shame8 ,will he
 find himself a disparaged person1 out  
of accord with the spirit of the place1 
and unable to obtain its characteristic 
advantages8 ,these are the weighty      
questions4 ,only after we have answered 
them can we determine the moral         
soundness of the ,university4 ,wherever 
we go on earth we shall find the        
insolently rich and wasteful4 ,they1    
like the poor1 are always with us2 their
 qualities are cheap4 ,but what we want 
to know is whether1 side by side with   
them1 we have a company of sober men1   

who care for higher things and who spend
 no more than the higher things require4
 ,facts of proportion and degree form   
the firm basis of general judgments1 and
 yet ,i am aware that these are the     
hardest facts to obtain4 ,hitherto      
nobody has known any such facts in      
regard to the expenses of ,harvard4     
,assertions about the style of living   
here have only expressed the personal   
opinion of the assertor1 or at best have
 been generalizations from a few chance 
cases4 ,no systematic evidence on the   
subject has existed4 ,it is time it did 
exist1 and ,i have made an attempt to   
obtain it4 ,to each member of the       
graduating class ,i sent a circular1 a  
month ago1 asking if he would be willing
 to tell me in confidence what his      
college course had cost4 ,i desired him 
to include in his report all expenses   
whatever4 ,he was to state not merely   
his tuition1 board1 and lodging1 but    
also his furniture1 books1 clothing1    
travel1 subscriptions1 and amusements2  

in fact1 every dollar he had spent      
during the four years of his study1     
except his charges for ,class ,day and  
the summer vacations2 these times       
varying so widely1 it seemed to me1 in  
their cost to different men that they   
could not instructively enter into an   
average4  ,the reply has been very large
 indeed4 ,to my surprise1 out of a class
 of two hundred and thirty-five men     
actually in residence1 two hundred and  
nineteen1 or ninety-three per cent1 have
 sent reports4 ,am ,i wrong in supposing
 that this very general readiness to    
tell is itself a sign of upright        
conduct8 ,but ,i would not exaggerate   
the worth of the returns4 ,they cannot  
be trusted to a figure4 ,it has not been
 possible to obtain itemized statements4
 ,college boys1 like other people1 do   
not always keep accounts4 ,but ,i       
requested my correspondents1 in cases of
 uncertainty1 always to name the larger 
figure2 and though those who have lived 
freely probably have less knowledge     

about what they have spent than have    
their economical classmates1 ,i think we
 may accept their reports in the rough4 
,we can be reasonably sure whether they 
have exceeded or fallen below a certain 
medium line1 and for purposes more      
precise ,i shall not attempt to use     
them4 ,anything like minute accuracy ,i 
wish expressly to repudiate4 ,the       
evidence ,i offer only claims to be the 
best that exists at present2 and ,i must
 say that the astonishing frankness and 
fulness of the reports give me strong   
personal assurance of the good faith of 
the writers4 ,in these letters ,i have  
seen a vivid picture of the struggles1  
the hopes1 the errors1 and the          
repentings of the manly young lives that
 surround me4  ,what1 then1 are the     
results8 ,out of the two hundred and    
nineteen men who have replied1          
fifty-six1 or about one quarter of the  
class1 have spent between #dej and #fej 
in each of the four years of residence2 
fifty-four1 or again about a quarter1   

have spent between #fej and #ige2 but   
sixty-one1 hardly more than a quarter1  
have spent a larger sum than #abjj4 ,the
 smallest amount in any one year was    
#djj2 the largest1 #djjj4ab  ,i ask you 
to consider these figures4 ,they are not
 startling1 but they seem to me to      
indicate that a soberly sensible average
 of expense prevails at ,harvard4 ,they 
suggest that students are1 after all1   
merely young men temporarily removed    
from homes1 and that they are practising
 here1 without violent change1 the      
habits which the home has formed4 ,those
 who have been accustomed to large      
expenditure spend freely here2 those of 
quiet and considerate habits do not     
lightly abandon them4 ,i doubt if during
 the last twenty-five years luxury has  
increased in the colleges as rapidly as 
it has in the outside world4  ,there is 
no reason1 either1 to suppose that the  
addition of the sixteen men who have not
 replied would appreciably affect my    
results4 ,the standing of these men on  

the last annual rank-list was           
sixty-eight per cent4 ,they seem to me  
average persons4 ,their silence ,i      
attribute to mistakes of the mail1 to   
business1 to neglect1 or to the very    
natural disinclination to disclose their
 private affairs4 ,to refuse to answer  
my intrusive questions1 or even to      
acknowledge that college days were      
costly1 is not in itself evidence of    
wantonness4 ,small spenders are usually 
high scholars2 but this is by no means  
always the case4 ,in the most economical
 group ,i found seven who did not reach 
a rank of seventy per cent4 last year2  
whereas out of the seven largest        
spenders of the class three passed      
seventy-five per cent4 ,it would be rash
 to conclude that large sums cannot be  
honorably employed4  ,but it may seem   
that the smallest of the sums named is  
large for a poor man4 ,it may be        
believed that even after restraint and  
wisdom are used1 ,harvard remains the   
college of the rich4 ,there is much in  

our circumstances to make it so4 ,an    
excellent education is unquestionably a 
costly thing1 and to live where many men
 wish to live calls for a good deal of  
money4 ,we have1 it is true1 this       
splendid hall1 which lessens our expense
 for food and encompasses us with       
ennobling influences2 but it costs #aej 
a year to board here4 ,our tuition bill 
each year is #aej4 ,the ,university owns
 #dej rooms2 but not a third of them    
rent for less than #aej a year1 the     
average rent being #adf4 ,these large   
charges for tuition and room-rent are   
made necessary by the smallness of the  
general fund which pays the running     
expenses of the college4 ,very few of   
the professorships are endowed1 and so  
the tuition-fee and room-rent must      
mainly carry the expenses of teaching4  
,still1 there is another side to the    
story4 ,thus far ,i have figured out the
 expenses1 and have said nothing about  
the means of meeting them4 ,perhaps to  
get the advantages of ,harvard a student

 may need to spend largely2 but a       
certain circumstance enables him to do  
so1--,i mean the matchless benevolence  
of those who have preceded us here4 ,the
 great sums intrusted to us for         
distribution in prizes1 loan-funds1 and 
scholarships make it possible for our   
students to offset the cost of their    
education to such a degree that the net 
output of a poor boy here is probably   
less than in most ,new ,england         
colleges4 ,at any rate1 ,i have asked a 
large number of poor students why they  
came to expensive ,harvard1 and again   
and again ,i have received the reply3 ,i
 could not afford to go elsewhere4  ,the
 magnitude of this beneficiary aid ,i   
doubt if people generally understand1   
and ,i have accordingly taken pains to  
ascertain what was the amount given away
 this year4 ,i find that to             
undergraduates alone it was #cf1jjj2 to 
members of the graduate department1     
#aa1jjj2 and to the professional schools
 #fjjj3 making in a single year a total 

of assistance to students of the        
,university of more than #ec1jjj4 ,next 
year this enormous sum will be increased
 #ac1jjj by the munificent bequest of   
,mr4 ,price ,greenleaf4 ,fully to       
estimate the favorable position of the  
poor man at ,harvard1 we should take    
into account also the great             
opportunities for earning money through 
private tuition1 through innumerable    
avenues of trade1 and through writing   
for the public press4 ,a large number of
 my correspondents tell of money earned 
outside their scholarships4#ac  ,these  
immense aids provided for our students  
maintain a balance of conditions here1  
and enable even the poorest to obtain a 
,harvard education4 ,and what an        
education it is2 how broad and deep and 
individually stimulating1--the most     
truly ,american education which the     
continent affords6 ,but ,i have no need 
to eulogize it4 ,it has already entered 
into the very structure of you who      
listen4 ,let me rather close with two   

pieces of advice4  ,the first shall be  
to parents4 ,give your son a competent  
allowance when you send him to ,harvard1
 and oblige him to stick to it4 ,to     
learn calculation will contribute as    
much to his equipment for life as any   
elective study he can pursue2 and       
calculation he will not learn unless1   
after a little experience1 you tell him 
precisely what sum he is to receive4 ,if
 in a haphazard way you pour #bjjj into 
his pocket1 then in an equally haphazard
 way #bjjj will come out4 ,whatever     
extravagance exists at ,harvard to-day  
is the fault of you foolish parents4    
,the college1 as a college1 cannot stop 
extravagance4 ,it cannot take away a    
thousand dollars from your son and tell 
him--what would be perfectly true--that 
he will be better off with the remaining
 thousand2 that you must do yourselves4 
,and if you ask1 ,what is a competent   
allowance8 out of what my correspondents
 say ,i will frame you five answers4 ,if
 your son is something of an artist in  

economy1 he may live here on #fjj1 or   
less2 he will require to be an artist to
 accomplish it4 ,if he will live        
closely1 carefully1 yet with full regard
 to all that is required1 he may do so1 
with nearly half his class1 on not more 
than #hjj4 ,if you wish him to live at  
ease and to obtain the many refinements 
which money will purchase1 give him     
#ajjj4 ,indeed1 if ,i were a very rich  
man1 and had a boy whose character ,i   
could trust1 so that ,i could be sure   
that all he laid out would be laid out  
wisely1 ,i might add #bjj more1 for the 
purchase of books and other appliances  
of delicate culture4 ,but ,i should be  
sure that every dollar ,i gave him over 
#abjj would be a dollar of danger4  ,let
 my second piece of advice be to all of 
you graduates4 ,when you meet a poor    
boy1 do not rashly urge him to come to  
,harvard4 ,estimate carefully his       
powers4 ,if he is a good boy1--docile1  
worthy1 commonplace1--advise him to go  
somewhere else4 ,here he will find      

himself borne down by large expense and 
by the crowd who stand above him4 ,but  
whenever you encounter a poor boy of    
eager1 aggressive mind1 a youth of      
energy1 one capable of feeling the      
enjoyment of struggling with a multitude
 and of making his merit known1 say to  
him that ,harvard ,college is expressly 
constituted for such as he4 ,here he    
will find the largest provision for his 
needs and the clearest field for his    
talents4 ,money is a power everywhere4  
,it is a power here2 but a power of far 
more restricted scope than in the world 
at large4 ,in this magnificent hall rich
 and poor dine together daily4 ,at the  
,union they debate together4 ,at the    
clubs which foster special              
interests1--the ,finance ,club1 the     
,philological ,club1 the ,philosophical 
,club1 the ,french ,club1 the ,signet1  
and the ,o4 ,k4--considerations of money
 have no place4 ,if the poor man is a   
man of muscle1 the athletic             
organizations will welcome him2 if a man

 skilled in words1 he will be made an   
editor of the college papers2 and if he 
has the powers that fit him for such a  
place1 the whole body of his classmates 
will elect him ,orator1 ,ivy ,orator1   
,odist1 or ,poet1 without the slightest 
regard to whether his purse is full or  
empty4 ,the poor man1 it is true1 will  
not be chosen for ornamental offices1   
for positions which imply an            
acquaintance with etiquette1 and he may 
be cut off from intimacy with the       
frequenters of the ballroom and the     
opera2 but as he will probably have     
little time or taste for these things1  
his loss will not be large4 ,in short1  
if he has anything in him1--has he      
scholarship1 brains1 wit1               
companionability1 stout moral purpose1  
or quiet ,christian character1--his     
qualities will find as prompt a         
recognition at ,harvard as anywhere on  
earth4   ,,footnotes3    #aa ,delivered 
in ,memorial ,hall1 ,cambridge1 ,june   
#bi1 #ahhg4 ,since this        date the 

scale of expenditure in college1 as     
elsewhere1 has been        steadily     
rising4    #ab ,perhaps ,i had better   
mention the adjustments by which these  
results        have been reached4 ,when 
a man has been in college during only   
the        closing years of the course1 
,i assume that he would have lived at   
the same rate had he been here          
throughout it4 ,i have added #aej       
for persons who board at home1 and      
another hundred for those who           
lodge there4 ,though ,i asked to have   
the expenses of ,class ,day and         
the summer vacations omitted1 in some   
instances ,i have reason to             
suspect that they are included2 but of  
course ,i have been obliged        to   
let the error remain1 and ,i have never 
deducted the money        which students
 often say they expect to recover at    
graduation by        the sale of        
furniture and other goods4 ,there is a  
noticeable        tendency to larger    
outlay as the years advance4 ,some      

students        attribute this to the   
greater cost of the studies of the later
        years1 to the more expensive    
books and the laboratory charges2       
others1 to societies and subscriptions2 
others1 to enlarged        acquaintance 
with opportunities for spending4    #ac 
,for the sake of lucidity1 ,i keep the  
expense account and the income          
account distinct4 ,for example1 a man   
reports that he has spent        #gjj a 
year1 winning each year a scholarship of
 #bjj1 and earning        by tutoring   
#ajj1 and #ej by some other means4 ,the 
balance        against him is only #cej 
a year2 but ,i have included him in the 
group of #gjj spenders4     ,,xii  ,a   
,,teacher ,,of ,,the ,,olden ,,time     
,on the #adth of ,february1 #ahhc1      
,evangelinus ,apostolides ,sophocles1   
,professor of ,ancient1 ,byzantine1 and 
,modern ,greek in ,harvard ,university1 
died at ,cambridge1 in the corner room  
of ,holworthy ,hall which he had        
occupied for nearly forty years4 ,a past

 generation of ,american schoolboys knew
 him gratefully as the author of a      
compact and lucid ,greek grammar4       
,college students--probably as large a  
number as ever sat under an ,american   
professor--were introduced by him to the
 poets and historians of ,greece4       
,scholars of a riper growth1 both in    
,europe and ,america1 have wondered at  
the precision and loving diligence with 
which1 in his dictionary of the later   
and ,bzyantine ,greek1 he assessed the  
corrupt literary coinage of his native  
land4 ,his brief contributions to the   
,nation and other journals were always  
noticeable for exact knowledge and      
scrupulous literary honesty4 ,as a great
 scholar1 therefore1 and one who through
 a long life labored to beget           
scholarship in others1 ,sophocles       
deserves well of ,america4 ,at a time   
when ,greek was usually studied as the  
schoolboy studies it1 this strange      
,greek came among us1 connected himself 
with our oldest university1 and showed  

us an example of encyclopaedic learning1
 and such familiar and living           
acquaintance with ,homer and            
,a,eschylus--yes1 even with ,polybius1  
,lucian1 and ,athenaeus--as we have with
 ,tennyson and ,shakespeare and ,burke  
and ,macaulay4 ,more than this1 he      
showed us how such learning is gathered4
 ,to a dozen generations of impressible 
college students he presented a type of 
an austere life directed to serene ends1
 a life sufficient for itself and filled
 with a never-hastening diligence which 
issued in vast mental stores4  ,it is   
not1 however1 the purpose of this paper 
to trace the influence over ,american   
scholarship of this hardly domesticated 
wise man of the ,east4 ,nor will there  
be any attempt to narrate the outward   
events of his life4 ,these were never   
fully known2 and could they be          
discovered1 there would be a kind of    
impiety in reporting them4 ,few traits  
were so characteristic of him as his    
wish to conceal his history4 ,his motto 

might have been that of ,epicurus and   
,descartes3 ,well hid is well lived4    
,yet in spite of his concealments1      
perhaps in part because of them1 few    
persons connected with ,harvard have    
ever left behind them an impression of  
such massive individuality4 ,he was long
 a notable figure in university life1   
one of those picturesque characters who 
by their very being give impulse to     
aspiring mortals and check the          
ever-encroaching commonplace4 ,it would 
be ungrateful to allow one formerly so  
stimulating and talked about to fall    
into oblivion4 ,now that a decent       
interval after death has passed1 a      
memorial to this unusual man may be     
reverently set up4 ,his likeness may be 
drawn by a fond though faithful hand4   
,or at least such stories about him may 
be kindly put into the record of print  
as will reflect some of those rugged1   
paradoxical1 witty1 and benignant       
aspects of his nature which marked him  
off from the humdrum herd of men4  ,my  

own first approach to ,sophocles was at 
the end of my ,junior year in college4  
,it was necessary for me to be absent   
from his afternoon recitation4 ,in those
 distant days absences were regarded by 
,harvard law as luxuries1 and a small   
fixed quantity of them1 a sort of       
sailor's grog1 was credited with little 
charge each half-year to every student4 
,i was already nearing the limit of the 
unenlargeable eight1 and could not well 
venture to add another to my score4 ,it 
seemed safer to try to win indulgence   
from my fierce-eyed instructor4 ,early  
one morning ,i went to ,sophocles's     
room4 ,professor ,sophocles1 ,i said1 ,i
 want to be excused from attending the  
,greek recitation this afternoon4 ,i    
have no power to excuse1 uttered in the 
gruffest of tones1 while he looked the  
other way4 ,but ,i cannot be here4 ,i   
must be out of town at three o'clock4 ,i
 have no power4 ,you had better see the 
president4 ,finding the situation       
desperate1 ,i took a desperate leap4    

,but the president probably would not   
allow my excuse4 ,at the play of the    
,hasty ,pudding ,club to-night ,i am to 
appear as leading lady4 ,i must go to   
,brookline this afternoon and have my   
sister dress me4 ,no muscle of the stern
 face moved2 but he rose1 walked to a   
table where his class lists lay1 and1   
taking up a pencil1 calmly said3 ,you   
had better say nothing to the president4
 ,you are here now4 ,i will mark you so4
 ,he sniffed1 he bowed1 and1 without    
smile or word from either of us1 ,i left
 the room4 ,as ,i came to know          
,sophocles afterwards1 ,i found that in 
this trivial early interview ,i had come
 upon some of the most distinctive      
traits of his character2 here was an    
epitome of his brusquerie1 his dignity1 
his whimsical logic1 and his kind heart4
  ,outwardly he was always brusque and  
repellent4 ,a certain savagery marked   
his very face4 ,he once observed that1  
in introducing a character1 ,homer is   
apt to draw attention to the eye4       

,certainly in himself this was the      
feature which first attracted notice2   
for his eye had uncommon alertness and  
intelligence4 ,those who knew him well  
detected in it a hidden sweetness2 but  
against the stranger it burned and      
glared1 and guarded all avenues of      
approach4 ,startled it was1 like the eye
 of a wild animal1 and penetrating1     
peering through the portals of the brain
 like the brass cannon4 ,over it        
crouched bushy brows1 and all around the
 great head bristled white hair1 on     
forehead1 cheeks1 and lips1 so that     
little flesh remained visible1 and the  
life was settled in two fiery spots4    
,this concentration of expression in the
 few elementary features of shape1 hair1
 and eyes made the head a magnificent   
subject for painting4 ,rembrandt should 
have painted it4 ,but he would never    
allow a portrait of himself to be drawn4
 ,into his personality strangers must   
not intrude4 ,venturing once to try for 
memoranda of his face1 ,i took an artist

 to his room4 ,the courtesy of          
,sophocles was too stately to allow him 
to turn my friend away1 but he seated   
himself in a shaded window1 and kept his
 head in constant motion4 ,when my      
frustrated friend had departed1         
,sophocles told me1 though without      
direct reproach1 of two sketches which  
had before been surreptitiously         
made1--one by the pencil of a student in
 his class1 another in oils by a lady   
who had followed him on the street4     
,toward photography his aversion was    
weaker2 perhaps because in that art a   
human being less openly meddled with    
him4  ,from this sense of personal      
dignity1 which made him at all times    
determined to keep out of the grasp of  
others1 much of his brusqueness sprang4 
,on the morning after he returned from  
his visit to ,greece a fellow professor 
saw him on the opposite side of the     
street1 and1 hastening across1 greeted  
him warmly3 ,so you have been home1 ,mr4
 ,sophocles2 and how did you find your  

mother8 ,she was up an apple-tree1 said 
,sophocles1 confining himself to the    
facts of the case4 ,a boy who snowballed
 him on the street he prosecuted        
relentlessly1 and he could not be       
appeased until a considerable fine was  
imposed2 but he paid the fine himself4  
,many a bold push was made to ascertain 
his age2 yet1 however suddenly the      
question came1 or however craftily one  
crept from date to date1 there was a    
uniform lack of success4 ,i see         
,allibone's ,dictionary says you were   
born in #ahje1 a gentleman remarked4    
,some statements have been nearer1 and  
some have been farther from the truth4  
,one day1 when a violent attack of      
illness fell on him1 a physician was    
called for diagnosis4 ,he felt the      
pulse1 he examined the tongue1 he heard 
the report of the symptoms1 then        
suddenly asked1 ,how old are you1 ,mr4  
,sophocles8 ,with as ready presence of  
mind and as pretty ingenuity as if he   
were not lying at the point of death1   

,sophocles answered3 ,the ,arabs1 ,dr4  
,w41 estimate age by several standards4 
,the age of ,hassan1 the porter1 is     
reckoned by his wrinkles2 that of       
,abdallah1 the physician1 by the lives  
he has saved2 that of ,achmet1 the sage1
 by his wisdom4 ,i1 all my life a       
scholar1 am nearing my hundredth year4  
,to those who had once come close to    
,sophocles these little reserves1 never 
asserted with impatience1 were          
characteristic and endearing4 ,i happen 
to know his age2 hot irons shall not    
draw it from me4  ,closely connected    
with his repellent reserve was the stern
 independence of his modes of life4 ,in 
his scheme1 little things were kept     
small and great things large4 ,what was 
the true reading in a passage of        
,aristophanes1 what the usage of a      
certain word in ,byzantine              
,greek1--these were matters on which a  
man might well reflect and labor4 ,but  
of what consequence was it if the       
breakfast was slight or the coat worn8  

,accordingly1 a single room1 in which a 
light was seldom seen1 sufficed him     
during his forty years of life in the   
college yard4 ,it was totally bare of   
comforts4 ,it contained no carpet1 no   
stuffed furniture1 no bookcase4 ,the    
college library furnished the volumes he
 was at any time using1 and these lay   
along the floor1 beside his dictionary1 
his shoes1 and the box that contained   
the sick chicken4 ,a single bare table  
held the book he had just laid down1    
together with a ,greek newspaper1 a     
silver watch1 a cravat1 a paper package 
or two1 and some scraps of bread4 ,his  
simple meals were prepared by himself   
over a small open stove1 which served at
 once for heat and cookery4 ,eating1    
however1 was always treated as a        
subordinate and incidental business1    
deserving no fixed time1 no dishes1 nor 
the setting of a table4 ,the peasants of
 the ,east1 the monks of southern       
monasteries1 live chiefly on bread and  
fruit1 relished with a little wine2 and 

,sophocles1 in spite of ,cambridge and  
,america1 was to the last a peasant and 
a monk4 ,such simple nutriments best    
fitted his constitution1 for they found 
their acquaintance there4 ,the western  
world had come to him by accident1 and  
was ignored2 the ,east was in his blood1
 and ordered all his goings4 ,yet1 as a 
grave man of the ,east might1 he had his
 festivities1 and could on occasion be  
gay4 ,among a few friends he could tell 
a capital story and enjoy a well-cooked 
dish4 ,but his ordinary fare was meagre 
in the extreme4 ,for one of his heartier
 meals he would cut a piece of meat into
 bits and roast it on a spit1 as        
,homer's people roasted theirs4 ,why not
 use a gridiron8 ,i once asked4 ,it is  
not the same1 he said4 ,the juice then  
runs into the fire4 ,but when ,i turn my
 spit it bastes itself4 ,his taste was  
more than usually sensitive1 kept fine  
and discriminating by the restraint in  
which he held it4 ,indeed1 all his      
senses1 except sight1 were acute4  ,the 

wine he drank was the delicate          
unresinated ,greek wine1--,corinthian1  
or ,chian1 or ,cyprian2 the amount of   
water to be mixed with each being       
carefully debated and employed4 ,each   
winter a cask was sent him from a       
special vineyard on the heights of      
,corinth1 and occasioned something like 
a general rejoicing in ,cambridge1 so   
widely were its flavorous contents      
distributed4 ,whenever this cask        
arrived1 or when there came a box from  
,mt4 ,sinai filled with potato-like     
sweetmeats1--a paste of figs1 dates1 and
 nuts1 stuffed into sewed goatskins1--or
 when his hens had been laying a goodly 
number of eggs1 then under the blue     
cloak a selection of bottles1 or of     
sweetmeats1 or of eggs would be borne to
 a friend's house1 where for an hour the
 old man sat in dignity and calm1       
opening and closing his eyes and his    
jack-knife2 uttering meanwhile detached 
remarks1 wise1 gruff1 biting1 yet seldom
 lacking a kernel of kindness1 till     

bedtime came1 nine o'clock1 and he was  
gone1 the gifts--if thanks were         
feared--left in a chair by the door4    
,there were half a dozen houses and     
dinner tables in ,cambridge to which he 
went with pleasure1 houses where he     
seemed to find a solace in the          
neighborhood of his kind4 ,but human    
beings were an exceptional luxury4 ,he  
had never learned to expect them4 ,they 
never became necessities of his daily   
life1 and ,i doubt if he missed them    
when they were absent4 ,as he slowly    
recovered strength1 after one of his    
later illnesses1 ,i urged him to spend a
 month with me4 ,refusing in a brief    
sentence1 he added with unusual         
gentleness3 ,to be alone is not the same
 for me and for you4 ,i have never known
 anything else4  ,unquestionably much of
 his disposition to remain aloof and to 
resist the on-coming intruder was bred  
by the experiences of his early youth4  
,his native place1 ,tsangarada1 is a    
village of eastern ,thessaly1 far up    

among the slopes of the ,pindus4        
,thither1 several centuries ago1 an     
ancestor led a migration from the west  
coast of ,greece1 and sought a refuge   
from ,turkish oppression4 ,from         
generation to generation his fathers    
continued to be shepherds of their      
people1 the office of ,proestos1 or     
governor1 being hereditary in the house4
 ,sturdy men those ancestors must have  
been1 and picturesque their times4 ,in  
late winter afternoons1 at #c           
,holworthy1 when the dusk began to      
settle among the elms about the yard1   
legends of these heroes and their       
far-off days would loiter through the   
exile's mind4 ,at such times bloody     
doings would be narrated with all the   
coolness that appears in ,caesar's      
,commentaries1 and over the listener    
would come a sense of a fantastic world 
as different from our own as that of    
,bret ,harte's ,argonauts4 ,my          
great-grandfather was not easily        
disturbed4 ,he was a young man and      

,proestos4 ,his stone house stood apart 
from the others4 ,he was sitting in its 
great room one evening1 and heard a     
noise4 ,he looked around1 and saw three 
men by the farther door4 ',what are you 
here for8' ',we have come to assassinate
 you4' ',who sent you8' ',andreas4' ,it 
was a political enemy4 ',how much did   
,andreas promise you8' ',a dollar4' ',i 
will promise you two dollars if you will
 go and assassinate ,andreas4' ,so they 
turned1 went1 and assassinated ,andreas4
 ,my great-grandfather went to ,scyros  
the next day1 and remained there five   
years4 ,in five years these things are  
forgotten in ,greece4 ,then he came     
back1 and brought a wife from ,scyros1  
and was ,proestos once more4  ,another  
evening3 ,people said my grandfather    
died of leprosy4 ,perhaps he did4 ,as   
,proestos he gave a decision against a  
woman1 and she hated him4 ,one night she
 crept up behind the house1 where his   
clothes lay on the ground1 and spread   
over his clothes the clothes of a leper4

 ,after that he was not well4 ,his hair 
fell off and he died4 ,but perhaps it   
was not leprosy2 perhaps he died of     
fear4 ,the ,knights of ,malta were      
worrying the ,turks4 ,they sailed into  
the harbor of ,volo1 and threatened to  
bombard the town4 ,the ,turks seized the
 leading ,greeks and shut them up in the
 mosque4 ,when the first gun was fired  
by the frigate1 the heads of the ,greeks
 were to come off4 ,my grandfather went 
into the mosque a young man4 ,a quarter 
of an hour afterwards1 the gun was      
heard1 and my grandfather waited for the
 headsman4 ,but the shot toppled down   
the minaret1 and the ,knights of ,malta 
were so pleased that they sailed away1  
satisfied4 ,the ,turks1 watching them1  
forgot about the prisoners4 ,but two    
hours later1 when my grandfather came   
out of the mosque1 he was an old man4   
,he could not walk well4 ,his hair fell 
off1 and he died4  ,sometimes ,i caught 
glimpses of ,turkish oppression in times
 of peace4 ,i remember the first time ,i

 saw the wedding gift given4 ,no        
new-made bride must leave the house she 
visits without a gift4 ,my mother's     
sister married1 and came to see us4 ,i  
was a boy4 ,she stood at the door to go1
 and my mother remembered she had not   
had the gift4 ,there was not much to    
give4 ,the ,turks had been worse than   
usual1 and everything was buried4 ,but  
my mother could not let her go without  
the gift4 ,she searched the house1 and  
found a saucer1--it was a beautiful     
saucer2 and this she gave her sister1   
who took it and went away4  ,how did you
 get the name of ,sophocles8 ,i asked1  
one evening4 ,is your family supposed to
 be connected with that of the poet8 ,my
 name is not ,sophocles4 ,i have no     
family name4 ,in ,greece1 when a child  
is born1 it is carried to the           
grandfather to receive a name4 7,i      
thought how1 in the ,odyssey1 the nurse 
puts the infant ,odysseus in the arms of
 his mother's father1 ,autolycus1 for   
naming47 ,the grandfather gives him his 

own name4 ,the father's name1 of course1
 is different2 and this he too gives    
when he becomes a grandfather4 ,so in   
old ,greek families two names alternate 
through generations4 ,my grandfather's  
name was ,evangelinos4 ,this he gave to 
me2 and ,i was distinguished from others
 of that name because ,i was the son of 
,apostolos1 ,apostolides4 ,but my best  
schoolmaster was fond of the poet       
,sophocles1 and he was fond of me4 ,he  
used to call me his little ,sophocles4  
,the other boys heard it1 and they began
 to call me so4 ,it was a nickname4 ,but
 when ,i left home people took it for my
 family name4 ,they thought ,i must have
 a family name4 ,i did not contradict   
them4 ,it makes no difference4 ,this is 
as good as any4 ,one morning he received
 a telegram of congratulation from the  
monks in ,cairo4 ,it is my day1 he said4
 ,how did the monks know it was your    
birthday8 ,i asked4 ,it is not my       
birthday4 ,nobody thinks about that4 ,it
 is forgotten4 ,this is my saint's day4 

,coming into the world is of no         
consequence2 coming under the charge of 
the saints is what we care for4 ,my name
 puts me in the ,virgin's charge1 and   
the feast of the ,annunciation is my    
day4 ,the monks know my name4  ,to the  
,greek ,church he was always loyal4 ,its
 faith had glorified his youth1 and to  
it he turned for strength throughout his
 solitary years4 ,its conventual        
discipline was dear to him1 and oftener 
than of his birthplace at the foot of   
,mt4 ,olympus he dreamed of ,mt4 ,sinai4
 ,on ,mt4 ,sinai the ,emperor ,justinian
 founded the most revered of all ,greek 
monasteries4 ,standing remote on its    
sacred mountain1 the monastery depends  
on ,cairo for its supplies4 ,in ,cairo1 
accordingly1 there is a branch or agency
 which during the boyhood of ,sophocles 
was presided over by his ,uncle         
,constantius4 ,at twelve he joined this 
uncle in ,cairo4 ,in the agency there1  
in the parent monastery on ,sinai       
itself1 and in journeyings between the  

two1 the happy years were spent which   
shaped his intellectual and religious   
constitution4 ,though he never outwardly
 became a monk1 he largely became one   
within4 ,his adored uncle ,constantius  
was his spiritual father4 ,through him  
his ideals had been acquired1--his      
passion for learning1 his hardihood in  
duty1 his imperturbable patience1 his   
brief speech which allowed only so many 
words as might scantily clothe his      
thought1 his indifference to personal   
comfort4 ,he never spoke the name of    
,constantius without some sign of       
reverence2 and in his will1 after making
 certain private bequests1 and leaving  
to ,harvard ,college all his printed    
books and stereotype plates1 he adds    
this clause3 ,all the residue and       
remainder of my property and estate ,i  
devise and bequeath to the said         
,president and ,fellows of ,harvard     
,college in trust1 to keep the same as a
 permanent fund1 and to apply the income
 thereof in two equal parts3 one part to

 the purchase of ,greek and ,latin books
 7meaning hereby the ancient classics7  
or of ,arabic books1 or of books        
illustrating or explaining such ,greek1 
,latin1 or ,arabic books2 and the other 
part to the ,catalogue ,department of   
the ,general ,library4444 ,my will is   
that the entire income of the said fund 
be expended in every year1 and that the 
fund be kept forever unimpaired1 and be 
called and known as the ,constantius    
,fund1 in memory of my paternal uncle1  
,constantius the ,sinaite1 ,konstantios 
,sinaitnes4  ,this man1 then1 by birth1 
training1 and temper a solitary2 whose  
heritage was ,mt4 ,olympus1 and the     
monastery of ,justinian1 and the ,greek 
quarter of ,cairo1 and the isles of     
,greece2 whose intimates were ,hesiod   
and ,pindar and ,arrian and             
,basilides1--this man it was who1 from  
#ahdb onward1 was deputed to interpret  
to ,american college boys the hallowed  
writings of his race4 ,thirty years ago 
too1 at the period when ,i sat on the   

green bench in front of the long-legged 
desk1 college boys were boys indeed4    
,they had no more knowledge than the    
high-school boy of to-day1 and they were
 kept in order by much the same methods4
 ,thus it happened1 by some jocose      
perversity in the arrangement of human  
affairs1 that throughout our ,sophomore 
and ,junior years we sportive youngsters
 were obliged to endure ,sophocles1 and 
,sophocles was obliged to endure us4 ,no
 wonder if he treated us with a good    
deal of contempt4 ,no wonder that his   
power of scorn1 originally splendid1    
enriched itself from year to year4 ,we  
learned1 it is true1 something about    
everything except ,greek2 and the best  
thing we learned was a new type of human
 nature4 ,who that was ever his pupil   
will forget the calm bearing1 the       
occasional pinch of snuff1 the averted  
eye1 the murmur of the interior voice1  
and the stocky little figure with the   
lion's head8 ,there in the corner he    
stood1 as stranded and solitary as the  

,egyptian obelisk in the hurrying ,place
 de la ,concorde4 ,in a curious sort of 
fashion he was faithful to what he must 
have felt an obnoxious duty4 ,he was    
never absent from his post1 nor did he  
cut short the hours1 but he gave us only
 such attention as was nominated in the 
bond2 he appeared to hurry past1 as by  
set purpose1 the beauties of what we    
read1 and he took pleasure in snubbing  
expectancy and aspiration4  ,when ,i    
entered college1 says an eminent ,greek 
scholar1 ,i was full of the notion1     
which ,i probably could not have        
justified1 that the ,greeks were the    
greatest people that had ever lived4 ,my
 enthusiasm was fanned into a warmer    
glow when ,i learned that my teacher was
 himself a ,greek1 and that our first   
lesson was to be the story of           
,thermopylae4 ,after the passage of     
,herodotus had been duly read1          
,sophocles began3 ',you must not suppose
 these men stayed in the ,pass because  
they were brave2 they were afraid to run

 away4' ,a shiver went down my back4    
,even if what he said had been true1 it 
ought never to have been told to a      
,freshman4  ,the universal custom of    
those days was the hearing of           
recitations1 and to this ,sophocles     
conformed so far as to set a lesson and 
to call for its translation bit by bit4 
,but when a student had read his        
suitable ten lines1 he was stopped by   
the raised finger2 and ,sophocles1      
fixing his eyes on vacancy and taking   
his start from some casual suggestion of
 the passage1 began a monologue1--a     
monologue not unlike one of ,browning's 
in its caprices1 its involvement1 its   
adaptation to the speaker's mind rather 
than to the hearer's1 and its ease in   
glancing from heaven to earth1 from     
earth to heaven4 ,during these intervals
 the sluggish slumbered1 the industrious
 devoted themselves to books and papers 
brought in the pocket for the purpose1  
the dreamy enjoyed the opportunity of   
wondering what the strange words and    

their still stranger utterer might mean4
 ,the monologue was sometimes long and  
sometimes short1 according as the theme 
which had been struck kindled the       
rhapsodist and enabled him1 with greater
 or less completeness1 to forget his    
class4 ,when some subtlety was          
approached1 a smile--the only smile ever
 seen on his face by strangers--lifted  
for a moment the corner of the mouth4   
,the student who had been reciting stood
 meanwhile1 but sat when the voice      
stopped1 the white head nodded1 the     
pencil made a record1 and a new name was
 called4  ,there were perils1 of course1
 in records of this sort4 ,reasons for  
the figures which subsequently appeared 
on the college books were not easy to   
find4 ,some of us accounted for our     
marks by the fact that we had red hair  
or long noses2 others preferred the     
explanation that our professor's pencil 
happened to move more readily to the    
right hand or to the left4 ,for the most
 part we took good-naturedly whatever   

was given us1 though questionings would 
sometimes arise4 ,a little before my    
time there entered an ambitious young   
fellow1 who cherished large purposes in 
,greek4 ,at the end of the first month  
under his queer instructor he went to   
the regent and inquired for his mark in 
,plato4 ,it was three1 the maximum being
 eight4 ,horror-stricken1 he penetrated 
,sophocles's room4 ,professor           
,sophocles1 he said4 ,i find my mark is 
only three4 ,there must be some mistake4
 ,there is another ,jones in the class1 
you know1 ,j4 ,s4 ,jones 7a lump of     
flesh71 and may it not be that our marks
 have been confused8 ,an unmoved        
countenance1 a little wave of the hand1 
accompanied the answer3 ,you must take  
your chance1--you must take your chance4
 ,in my own section1 when anybody was   
absent from a certain bench1 poor       
,prindle was always obliged to go       
forward and say1 ,i was here to-day1    
,professor ,sophocles1 or else the gap  
on the bench where six men should sit   

was charged to ,prindle's account4 ,in  
those easy-going days1 when men were    
examined for entrance to college orally 
and in squads1 there was a good deal of 
eagerness among the knowing ones to get 
into the squad of ,sophocles2 for it was
 believed that he admitted everybody1 on
 the ground that none of us knew any    
,greek1 and it was consequently unfair  
to discriminate4 ,fantastic stories were
 attributed to him1 for whose truth or  
error none could vouch1 and were handed 
on from class to class4 ,what does      
,philadelphia mean8 ,brotherly love1 the
 student answers4 ,yes6 ,it is to remind
 us of ,ptolemy ,philadelphus1 who      
killed his brother4 ,a ,german          
commentator had somewhere mentioned     
lions in connection with the            
,peloponnesus1 and ,sophocles inquires  
of ,brown if he knows the date when     
lions first appeared in the             
,peloponnesus4 ,he does not1 nor does   
,smith nor ,robinson4 ,at length ,green1
 driven to bay1 declares in desperation 

that he doesn't believe there ever were 
lions in the ,peloponnesus4 ,to whom    
,sophocles3 ,you are right4 ,there were 
none4 ,do you read your examination     
books8 he once asked a fellow           
instructor4 ,if they are better than you
 expect1 the writers cheat2 if they are 
no better1 time is wasted4 ,is to-day   
story day or contradiction day8 he is   
reported to have said to one who1 in the
 war time1 eagerly handed him a         
newspaper1 and asked if he had seen the 
morning's news4  ,how much of this      
cynicism of conduct and of speech was   
genuine perhaps he knew as little as the
 rest of us2 but certainly it imparted a
 pessimistic tinge to all he did and    
said4 ,to hear him talk1 one would      
suppose the world was ruled by accident 
or by an utterly irrational fate2 for in
 his mind the two conceptions seemed    
closely to coincide4 ,his words were    
never abusive2 they were deliberate1    
peaceful even2 but they made it very    
plain that so long as one lived there   

was no use in expecting anything4       
,paradoxes were a little more probable  
than ordered calculations2 but even     
paradoxes would fail4 ,human beings were
 altogether impotent1 though they fussed
 and strutted as if they could          
accomplish great things4 ,how silly was 
trust in men's goodness and power1 even 
in one's own6 ,most men were bad and    
stupid1--,germans especially so4 ,the   
,americans knew nothing1 and never could
 know4 ,a wise man would not try to     
teach them4 ,yet some persons dreamed of
 establishing a university in ,america6 
,did they expect scholarship where there
 were politicians and business men8     
,evil influences were far too strong4   
,they always were4 ,the good were made  
expressly to suffer1 the evil to        
succeed4 ,better leave the world alone1 
and keep one's self true4 ,put a drop of
 milk into a gallon of ink2 it will make
 no difference4 ,put a drop of ink into 
a gallon of milk2 the whole is spoiled4 
,i have felt compelled to dwell at some 

length on these cynical1 illogical1 and 
austere aspects of ,sophocles's         
character1 and even to point out the    
circumstances of his life which may have
 shaped them1 because these were the    
features by which the world commonly    
judged him1 and was misled4 ,one meeting
 him casually had little more to judge  
by4 ,so entire was his reserve1 so      
little did he permit close conversation1
 so seldom did he raise his eye in his  
slow walks on the street1 so rarely     
might a stranger pass within the bolted 
door of his chamber1 that to the last he
 bore to the average college student the
 character of a sphinx1 marvellous in   
self-sufficiency1 amazing in erudition1 
romantic in his suggestion of distant   
lands and customs1 and forever piquing  
curiosity by his eccentric and sarcastic
 sayings4 ,all this whimsicality and    
pessimism would have been cheap enough1 
and little worth recording1 had it stood
 alone4 ,what lent it price and beauty  
was that it was the utterance of a      

singularly self-denying and tender soul4
 ,the incongruity between his bitter    
speech and his kind heart endeared both 
to those who knew him4 ,like his        
venerable cloak1 his grotesque language 
often hid a bounty underneath4 ,how many
 students have received his surly       
benefactions6 ,in how many small        
tradesmen's shops did he have his       
appointed chair6 ,his room was bare3 but
 in his native town an aqueduct was     
built2 his importunate and ungrateful   
relatives were pensioned2 the monks of  
,mt4 ,sinai were protected against want2
 the children and grand-children of     
those who had befriended his early years
 in ,america were watched over with a   
father's love2 and by care for helpless 
creatures wherever they crossed his path
 he kept himself clean of selfishness4  
,one winter night1 at nearly ten        
o'clock1 ,i was called to my door4      
,there stood ,sophocles4 ,when ,i asked 
him why he was not in bed an hour ago1  
,a4 has gone home1 he said4 ,i know it1 

,i answered2 for ,a4 was a young        
instructor dear to me4 ,he is sick1 he  
went on4 ,yes4 ,he has no money4 ,well1 
we will see how he will get along4 ,but 
you must get him some money1 and ,i must
 know about it4 ,and he would not go    
back into the storm--this graybeard     
professor1 solicitous for an overworked 
tutor--till ,i assured him that         
arrangements had been made for          
continuing ,a4's salary during his      
absence4 ,i declare1 in telling the tale
 ,i am ashamed4 ,am ,i wronging the good
 man by disclosing his secret1 and      
saying that he was not the cynical      
curmudgeon for which he tried to pass8  
,but already before he was in his grave 
the secret had been discovered1 and many
 gave him persistently the love which he
 still tried to wave away4  ,toward dumb
 and immature creatures his tenderness  
was more frank1 for these could not     
thank him4 ,children always recognized  
in him their friend4 ,a group of        
curly-heads usually appeared in his     

window on ,class ,day4 ,a stray cat knew
 him at once1 and1 though he seldom     
stroked her1 would quickly accommodate  
herself near his legs4 ,by him spiders  
were watched1 and their thin wants      
supplied4 ,but his solitary heart went  
out most unreservedly and with the most 
pathetic devotion toward fragile        
chickens2 and out of these uninteresting
 little birds he elicited a degree of   
responsive intelligence which was       
startling to see4 ,one of his dearest   
friends1 coming home from a journey1    
brought him a couple of bantam eggs4    
,when hatched and grown1 they developed 
into a little five-inch burnished cock1 
which shone like a jewel or a bird of   
paradise1 and a more sober but exquisite
 hen4 ,these two1 ,frank and ,nina1 and 
all their numerous progeny for many     
years1 ,sophocles trained to the hand4  
,each knew its name1 and would run from 
the flock when its white-haired keeper  
called1 and1 sitting upon his hand or   
shoulder1 would show queer signs of     

affection1 not hesitating even to crow4 
,the same generous friend who gave the  
eggs gave shelter also to the winged    
consequences4 ,and thus it happened that
 three times a day1 so long as he was   
able to leave his room1 ,sophocles went 
to that house where ,radcliffe ,college 
is now sheltered to attend his pets4    
,white grapes were carried there1 and   
the choicest of corn and clamshell2 and 
endless study was given to devising     
conveniences for housing1 nesting1 and  
the promenade4 ,but he did not demand   
too much from his chickens4 ,in their   
case1 as in dealing with human beings1  
he felt it wise to bear in mind the     
limit and to respect the foreordained4  
,when ,nina was laying badly1 one       
springtime1 ,i suggested a special food 
as a good egg-producer4 ,but ,sophocles 
declined to use it4 ,you may hasten     
matters1 he said1 but you cannot change 
them4 ,a hen is born with just so many  
eggs to lay4 ,you cannot increase the   
number4 ,the eggs1 as soon as laid1 were

 pencilled with the date and the name of
 the mother1 and were then distributed  
among his friends1 or sparingly eaten at
 his own meals4 ,to eat a chicken itself
 was a kind of cannibalism from which   
his whole nature shrank4 ,i do not eat  
what ,i love1 he said1 rejecting the    
bowl of chicken broth ,i pressed upon   
him in his last sickness4  ,for         
protecting creatures naturally so       
helpless1 sternness--or at least its    
outward seeming--became occasionally    
necessary4 ,one day young ,thornton's   
dog leaped into the hen-yard and caused 
a commotion there4 ,sophocles was prompt
 in defence4 ,he drew a pistol and      
fired1 while the dog1 perceiving his    
mistake1 retreated as he had come4 ,the 
following day ,thornton ,senior1 walking
 down the street1 was suddenly          
embarrassed by seeing ,sophocles on the 
same sidewalk4 ,remembering1 however1   
the old man's usually averted gaze1 he  
hoped to pass unnoticed4 ,but as the two
 came abreast1 gruff words and a        

piercing eye signalled stoppage4 ,mr4   
,thornton1 you have a son4 ,yes1 ,mr4   
,sophocles1 a boy generally well-meaning
 but sometimes thoughtless4 ,your son   
has a dog4 ,a nervous dog1 rather       
difficult to regulate4 ,the dog worried 
my chickens4 ,so ,i heard1 and was sorry
 enough to hear it4 ,i fired a pistol at
 him4 ,very properly4 ,a pity you didn't
 hit him4 ,the pistol was not loaded4   
,and before ,mr4 ,thornton could recover
 his wits for a suitable reply          
,sophocles had drawn from his pocket one
 of his long ,sinaitic sweetmeats1 had  
cut off a lump with his jack-knife1     
handed it to ,mr4 ,thornton1 and with   
the words1 ,this is for the boy who owns
 the dog1 was gone4 ,the incident well  
illustrates the sweetness and savagery  
of the man1 his plainness1 his readiness
 to right a wrong and protect the weak1 
his rejection of smooth and unnecessary 
words1 his rugged exterior1 and the     
underlying kindness which ever attended 
it4  ,if in ways so uncommon his        

clinging nature1 cut off from domestic  
opportunity1 went out to children and   
unresponsive creatures1 it may be       
imagined how good cause of love he      
furnished to his few intimates among    
mankind4 ,they found in him sweet       
courtesy1 undemanding gentleness1 an    
almost feminine tact in adapting what he
 could give to what they might receive4 
,to their eyes the great scholar1 the   
austere monk1 the bizarre professor1 the
 pessimist1 were hidden by the large and
 lovable man4 ,even strangers recognized
 him as no common person1 so thoroughly 
was all he did and said purged of       
superfluity1 so veracious was he1 so    
free from apology4 ,his everyday        
thoughts were worthy thoughts4 ,he knew 
no shame or fear1 and had small wish1 ,i
 think1 for any change4 ,always a devout
 ,christian1 he seldom used expressions 
of regret or hope4 ,probably he         
concerned himself little with these or  
other feelings4 ,in the last days of his
 life1 it is true1 when his thoughts    

were oftener in ,arabia than in         
,cambridge1 he once or twice referred to
 the ambition of learning as the        
temptation which had drawn him out from 
the monastery1 and had given him a life 
less holy than he might have led among  
the monks4 ,but these were moods of     
humility rather than of regret4         
,habitually he maintained an elevation  
above circumstances1--was it ,stoicism  
or ,christianity8--which imparted to his
 behavior1 even when most eccentric1 an 
unshakable dignity4 ,when ,i have found 
him in his room1 curled up in shirt and 
drawers1 reading the ,arabian ,nights1  
the ,greek service book1 or the ,ladder 
of the ,virtues by ,john ,klimakos1 he  
has risen to receive me with the bearing
 of an ,arab sheikh1 and has laid by the
 ,greek folio and motioned me to a chair
 with a stateliness not natural to our  
land or century4 ,it would be clumsy to 
liken him to one of ,plutarch's men2 for
 though there was much of the heroic and
 extraordinary in his character and     

manners1 nothing about him suggested a  
suspicion of being on show4 ,the mould  
in which he was cast was formed earlier4
 ,in his bearing and speech1 and in a   
certain large simplicity of mental      
structure1 he was the most ,homeric man 
,i ever knew4     ,,iii  ,,papers ,,by  
,,alice ,,freeman ,,palmer   ,while     
,mrs4 ,palmer always avoided writing1   
and thought--generous prodigal6--that   
her work was best accomplished by spoken
 words1 her complying spirit could not  
always resist the appeals of magazine   
editors4 ,i could wish now that their   
requests had been even more urgent4 ,and
 ,i believe that those who read these   
pages will regret that one possessed of 
such breadth of view1 clearness1 charm  
and cogency of style should have left a 
literary record so meagre4 ,all these   
papers are printed precisely as she left
 them1 without the change of a word4 ,i 
have not even ventured on correction in 
the printed report of one of her        
addresses1 that on going to college4    

,its looser structure well illustrates  
her mode of moving an audience and      
bringing its mothers to the course of   
conduct she approved4     ,,xiii        
,,three ,,types ,,of ,,women',s         
,,colleges#ad   ,american college       
education in the quarter-century since  
the ,civil ,war has undergone more      
numerous and more fundamental changes   
than befell it in a hundred years       
before4 ,these changes have not occurred
 unnoticed4 ,a multitude of journals and
 associations are busy every year       
discussing the results of the           
experiments in teaching which go on with
 increasing daring and fruitfulness in  
nearly all our colleges and schools4    
,there still exists a wide divergence of
 opinion among the directors of men's   
colleges in regard to a variety of      
important questions3 the conditions and 
proper age for entrance2 the length of  
the course of study2 the elective       
system1 both of government and          
instruction2 the requirements for the   

bachelor's and master's degrees2 the    
stress to be laid on graduate           
work--these1 and many sequents of these1
 touching the physical1 social1 and     
religious life of the young men of the  
land1 are undergoing sharp discussion4  
,the advanced education of young women  
is exposed to all the uncertainties     
which beset the education of men1 but it
 has perplexities of its own in         
addition4 ,after fifty years of argument
 and twenty-five of varied and costly   
experiment1 it might be easy to suppose 
that we are still in chaos1 almost as   
far from knowing the best way to train a
 woman as we were at the beginning4 ,no 
educational convention meets without a  
session devoted to the difficulties in  
the higher education of women1 so       
important has the subject become1 and so
 hard is it to satisfy in any one system
 the variety of its needs4 ,yet chaos   
may be thought more chaotic than it     
really is4 ,in the din of discussion it 
would not be strange if the fair degree 

of concord already reached should       
sometimes be missed4 ,we are certainly  
still far from having found the one best
 method of college training for girls4  
,some of us hope we may never find it1  
believing that in diversity1 no less    
than in unity1 there is strength4 ,but  
already three tolerably clear1          
consistent1 and accredited types of     
education appear1 which it will be the  
purpose of this paper to explain4 ,the  
nature of each1 with its special        
strengths and weaknesses1 will be set   
forth in no spirit of partisanship1 but 
in the belief that a cool understanding 
of what is doing at present among fifty 
thousand college girls may make us wiser
 and more patient in our future growth4 
,what1 then1 are the three types1 and   
how have they arisen8  ,when to a few   
daring minds the conviction came that   
education was a right of personality    
rather than of sex1 and when there was  
added to this growing sentiment the     
pressing demand for educated women as   

teachers and as leaders in philanthropy1
 the simplest means of equipping women  
with the needful preparation was found  
in the existing schools and colleges4   
,scattered all over the country were    
colleges for men1 young for the most    
part and small1 and greatly lacking     
anything like a proper endowment4 ,in   
nearly every state west of the          
,alleghanies1 universities had been     
founded by the voluntary tax of the     
whole population4 ,connected with all   
the more powerful religious             
denominations were schools and colleges 
which called upon their adherents for   
gifts and students4 ,these democratic   
institutions had the vigor of youth1 and
 were ambitious and struggling4 ,why1   
asked the practical men of affairs who  
controlled them1 should not our         
daughters go on with our sons from the  
public schools to the university which  
we are sacrificing to equip and         
maintain8 ,why should we duplicate the  
enormously expensive appliances of      

education1 when our existing colleges   
would be bettered by more students8 ,by 
far the large majority of our boys and  
girls study together as children2 they  
work together as men and women in all   
the important concerns of life2 why     
should they be separated in the lecture 
room for only the four years between    
eighteen and twenty-two1 when that      
separation means the doubling of an     
equipment already too poor by half8  ,it
 is not strange that with this and much 
more practical reasoning of a similar   
kind1 coeducation was established in    
some colleges at their beginning1 in    
others after debate and by a radical    
change in policy4 ,when once the        
chivalrous desire was aroused to give   
girls as good an education as their     
brothers1 western men carried out the   
principle unflinchingly4 ,from the      
kindergarten to the preparation for the 
doctorate of philosophy1 educational    
opportunities are now practically alike 
for men and women4 ,the total number of 

colleges of arts and sciences empowered 
by law to give degrees1 reporting to    
,washington in #ahhh1 was three hundred 
and eighty-nine4 ,of these two hundred  
and thirty-seven1 or nearly two thirds1 
were coeducational4 ,among them are all 
the state universities1 and nearly all  
the colleges under the patronage of the 
,protestant sects4  ,hitherto ,i have   
spoken as if coeducation were a western 
movement2 and in the ,west it certainly 
has had greater currency than elsewhere4
 ,but it originated1 at least so far as 
concerns superior secondary training1 in
 ,massachusetts4 ,bradford ,academy1    
chartered in #ahjd1 is the oldest       
incorporated institution in the country 
to which boys and girls were from the   
first admitted2 but it closed its       
department for boys in #ahcf1 three     
years after the foundation of           
coeducational ,oberlin1 and in the very 
year when ,mount ,holyoke was opened by 
,mary ,lyon1 in the large hope of doing 
for young women what ,harvard had been  

founded to do for young men just two    
hundred years before4 ,ipswich and      
,abbot ,academies in ,massachusetts had 
already been chartered to educate girls 
alone4 ,it has been the dominant        
sentiment in the ,east that boys and    
girls should be educated separately4    
,the older1 more generously endowed1    
more conservative seats of learning1    
inheriting the complications of the     
dormitory system1 have remained closed  
to women4 ,the requirements for the two 
sexes are thought to be different4      
,girls are to be trained for private1   
boys for public life4 ,let every        
opportunity be given1 it is said1 for   
developing accomplished1 yes1 even      
learned women2 but let the process of   
acquiring knowledge take place under    
careful guardianship1 among the         
refinements of home life1 with graceful 
women1 their instructors1 as companions1
 and with suitable opportunities for    
social life4 ,much stress is laid upon  
assisting girl students to attain       

balanced characters1 charming manners1  
and ambitions that are not unwomanly4 ,a
 powerful moral1 often a deeply         
religious earnestness1 shaped the       
discussion1 and finally laid the        
foundations of woman's education in the 
,east4  ,in the short period of the     
twenty years after the war the four     
women's colleges which are the richest  
in endowments and students of any in the
 world were founded and set in motion4  
,these colleges--,vassar1 opened in     
#ahfe1 ,wellesley and ,smith in #ahge1  
and ,bryn ,mawr in #ahhe--;have received
 in gifts of every kind about           
#f1jjj1jjj1 and are educating nearly two
 thousand students4 ,for the whole      
country the ,commissioner of ,education 
reports two hundred and seven           
institutions for the superior           
instruction of women1 with more than    
twenty-five thousand students4 ,but     
these resources proved inadequate4      
,there came an increasing demand1       
especially from teachers1 for education 

of all sorts2 more and more1 too1 for   
training in subjects of advanced        
research4 ,for this1 only the best      
equipped men's universities were thought
 sufficient1 and women began to resort  
to the great universities of ,england   
and ,germany4 ,in an attempt to meet a  
demand of this sort the ,harvard ,annex 
began1 twelve years ago1 to provide     
women with instruction by members of the
 ,harvard ,faculty4  ,where1 in a great 
centre of education1 for many years     
books have accumulated1 and museums and 
laboratories have multiplied1 where the 
prestige and associations of a venerable
 past have grown up1 and cultivated     
surroundings assure a scholarly         
atmosphere2 in short1 in the shadow of  
all that goes to make up the gracious   
influences of an old and honorable      
university1 it was to be expected that  
earnest women would gather to seek a    
share in the enthusiasm for scholarship1
 and the opportunities for acquiring it1
 which their brothers had enjoyed for   

two hundred and fifty years4  ,these1   
then--coeducation1 the woman's college1 
and the annex--are the three great types
 of college in which the long agitation 
in behalf of women's education has thus 
far issued4 ,of course they are but     
types--that is1 they do not always exist
 distinct and entire2 they are rather   
the central forms to which many         
varieties approximate4 ,the             
characteristic features of each ,i must 
now describe1 and1 as ,i promised at the
 beginning1 point out their inherent    
strengths and weaknesses2 for each1     
while having much to recommend it1 still
 bears in itself the defects of its     
qualities4 ,to explain dangers as well  
as promises is the business of the      
critic1 as contrasted with that of the  
advocate4 ,to this business ,i now turn1
 and ,i may naturally have most in mind 
the ,university of ,michigan1 my own    
,alma ,mater1 ,wellesley ,college1 with 
whose government ,i have been connected 
for a dozen years1 and the ,harvard     

,annex1 whose neighbor ,i now am4       
,coeducation involves1 as its name      
implies1 the education of a company of  
young men and women as a single body4   
,to the two sexes alike are presented   
the same conditions of admission1 of    
opportunities during the course1 of     
requirements for the degrees1 of        
guardianship1 of discipline1 of         
organization4 ,the typical features are 
identical classrooms1 libraries1 and    
laboratories1 occupied at the same time1
 under the same instructors2 and the    
same honors for like work4 ,ordinarily  
all the instructors are men1 although in
 a few universities professorships are  
held by women4 ,usually no dormitories  
or boarding-houses are provided for     
either the young men or women1 and no   
more surveillance is kept over the one  
than over the other4 ,this feature1     
however1 is not essential4 ,at ,cornell1
 ,oberlin1 and elsewhere1 often out of  
local necessity1 buildings have been    
provided where the young women may--in  

some instances1 must--live together     
under the ordinary regulations of home  
life1 with a lady in charge4 ,but in    
most of the higher coeducational        
institutions the principle has from the 
first been assumed that students of both
 sexes become sufficiently matured by   
eighteen years of home1 school1 and     
social life--especially under the ample 
opportunities for learning the uses of  
freedom which our social habits         
afford--safely to undertake a college   
course1 and advantageously to order     
their daily lives4 ,of course all have a
 moral support in the advice and example
 of their teachers1 and they are held to
 good intellectual work by the perpetual
 demand of the classroom1 the           
laboratory1 and the thesis4  ,the girl  
who goes to the ,university of ,michigan
 to-day1 just as when ,i entered there  
in #ahgb1 finds her own boarding-place  
in one of the quiet homes of the        
pleasant little city whose interest     
centres in the two thousand five hundred

 students scattered within its borders4 
,she makes the business arrangements for
 her winter's fuel and its storage2 she 
finds her washerwoman or her laundry2   
she arranges her own hours of exercise1 
of study1 and of sleep2 she chooses her 
own society1 clubs1 and church4 ,the    
advice she gets comes from another girl 
student of sophomoric dignity who       
chances to be in the same house1 or     
possibly from a still more advanced     
young woman whom she met on the journey1
 or sat near in church on her first     
,sunday4 ,strong is the comradeship     
among these ambitious girls1 who nurse  
one another in illness1 admonish one    
another in health1 and rival one another
 in study only less eagerly than they   
all rival the boys4 ,in my time in      
college the little group of girls1      
suddenly introduced into the army of    
young men1 felt that the fate of our sex
 hung upon proving that lady ,greek     
involved the accents1 and that women's  
minds were particularly absorptive of   

the calculus and metaphysics4 ,and still
 in those sections where1 with growing  
experience1 the anxieties about         
coeducation have been allayed1 a healthy
 and hearty relationship and honest     
rivalry between young men and women     
exists4 ,it is a stimulating atmosphere1
 and develops in good stock a strength  
and independent balance which tell in   
after-life4  ,in estimating the worth of
 such a system as this1 we may say at   
once that it does not meet every need of
 a woman's nature4 ,no system can--no   
system that has yet been devised4 ,a    
woman is an object of attraction to men1
 and also in herself so delicately      
organized as to be fitted peculiarly for
 the graces and domesticities of life4  
,the exercise of her special function of
 motherhood demands sheltered           
circumstances and refined moral         
perceptions4 ,but then1 over and above  
all this1 she is a human being--a       
person1 that is1 who has her own way in 
the world to make1 and who will come to 

success or failure1 in her home or      
outside it1 according as her judgment is
 fortified1 her observations and        
experiences are enlarged1 her courage is
 rendered strong and calm1 her moral    
estimates are trained to be accurate1   
broad1 and swift4 ,in a large tract of  
her character--is it the largest        
tract8--her own needs and those of the  
young man are identical4 ,both are      
rational persons1 and the greater part  
of the young man's education is         
addressed to his rational personality   
rather than to the peculiarities of his 
sex4 ,why1 the defenders of coeducation 
ask1 may not the same principles apply  
to women8 ,why train a girl specifically
 to be a wife and mother1 when no great 
need is felt for training a boy to be a 
husband and father8 ,in education1 as a 
public matter1 the two sexes meet on    
common ground4 ,the differences must be 
attended to privately4  ,at any rate1   
whatever may be thought of the relative 
importance of the two sides--the woman  

side and the human side--it will be     
generally agreed that the training of a 
young woman is apt to be peculiarly weak
 in agencies for bringing home to her   
the importance of direct and rational   
action4 ,the artificialities of society1
 the enfeebling indulgence extended to  
pretty silliness1 the gallantry of men  
glad ever to accept the hard things and 
leave to her the easy--by these         
influences any comfortably placed and   
pleasing girl is pretty sure to be      
surrounded in her early teens4 ,the     
coeducationists think it wholesome that 
in her later teens and early twenties   
she should be subjected to an impartial 
judgment1 ready to estimate her without 
swerving1 and to tell her as freely when
 she is silly1 ignorant1 fussy1 or      
indolent as her brother himself is told4
 ,coeducation1 as a system1 must        
minimize the different needs of men and 
women2 it appeals to them and provides  
for them alike1 and then allows the     
natural tastes and instincts of each    

scope for individuality4 ,the strengths 
of this system1 accordingly1 are to be  
found in its tendency to promote        
independence of judgment1 individuality 
of tastes1 common-sense and foresight in
 self-guidance1 disinclination to claim 
favor1 interest in learning for its own 
sake2 friendly1 natural1 unromantic1    
non-sentimental relations with men4 ,the
 early fear that coeducation would      
result in classroom romances has proved 
exaggerated4 ,these young women do      
marry2 so do others2 so do young men4   
,marriage is not in itself an evil1 and 
many happy homes have been founded in   
the belief that long and quiet          
acquaintance in intellectual work1 and  
intimate interests of the same deeper   
sort1 form as solid a basis for a       
successful marriage as ballroom         
intercourse or a summer at ,bar ,harbor4
  ,the weaknesses of this system are    
merely the converse of its strengths4   
,it does not usually provide for what is
 distinctively feminine4 ,refining home 

influences and social oversight are     
largely lacking2 and if they are wanting
 in the home from which the student     
comes1 it must not be expected that she 
will show1 on graduation1 the graces of 
manner1 the niceties of speech and      
dress1 and the shy delicacy which have  
been encouraged in her more tenderly    
nurtured sister4  ,the woman's college  
is organized under a different and far  
more complex conception4 ,the chief     
business of the man's college1 whether  
girls are admitted to it or not1 is to  
give instruction of the best available  
quality in as many subjects as possible2
 to furnish every needed appliance for  
the acquirement of knowledge and the    
encouragement of special investigation4 
,the woman's college aims to do all     
this1 but it aims also to make for its  
students a home within its own walls and
 to develop other powers in them than   
the merely intellectual4 ,at the outset 
this may seem a simple matter1 but it   
quickly proves as complicated as life   

itself4 ,when girls are gathered        
together by hundreds1 isolated from the 
ordinary conditions of established      
communities1 the college stands to them 
preeminently in loco parentis4 ,it must 
provide resident physicians and trained 
nurses1 be ready in case of illness and1
 to prevent illness1 must direct        
exercise1 sleep1 hygiene and sanitation1
 accepting the responsibility not only  
of the present health of its students1  
but also in large degree of their       
physical power in the future4 ,it       
generally furnishes them means of social
 access to the best men and women of    
their neighborhood2 it draws to them    
leaders in moral and social reforms1 to 
give inspiration in high ideals and     
generous self-sacrifice1 and it         
undertakes religious instruction while  
seeking still to respect the varied     
faiths of its students4 ,in short1 the  
arrangements of the woman's college1 as 
conceived by founders1 trustees1 and    
faculty1 have usually aimed with        

conscious directness at building up     
character1 inspiring to the service of  
others1 cultivating manners1 developing 
taste1 and strengthening health1 as well
 as providing the means of sound        
learning4  ,it may be said that a       
similar upbuilding of the personal life 
results from the training of every      
college that is worthy of the name2 and 
fortunately it is impossible to enlarge 
knowledge without1 to some extent1      
enlarging life4 ,but the question is one
 of directness or indirectness of aim4  
,the woman's college puts this aim in   
the foreground side by side with the    
acquisition of knowledge4 ,by setting   
its students apart in homogeneous       
companies1 it seeks to cultivate common 
ideals4 ,of its teaching force1 a large 
number are women who live with the      
students in the college buildings1 sit  
with them at table1 join in their       
festivities1 and in numberless intimate 
ways share and guide the common life4   
,every student1 no matter how large the 

college1 has friendly access at any time
 to several members of the faculty1     
quite apart from her relations with them
 in the classroom4 ,in appointing these 
women to the faculty no board of        
trustees would consider it sufficient   
that a candidate was an accomplished    
specialist4 ,she must be this1 but she  
should be also a lady of unobjectionable
 manners and influential character2 she 
should have amiability and a discreet   
temper1 for she is to be a guiding force
 in a complex community1 continually in 
the presence of her students1 an officer
 of administration and government no    
less than of instruction4 ,harvard and  
,johns ,hopkins can ask their pupils to 
attend the lectures of a great scholar1 
however brusque his bearing or unbrushed
 his hair4 ,they will not question their
 geniuses too sharply1 and will trust   
their students to look out for their own
 proprieties of dress1 manners1 and     
speech4 ,but neither ,wellesley nor any 
other woman's college could find a place

 in its faculty for a woman ,sophocles  
or ,sylvester4 ,learning alone is not   
enough for women4  ,not only in the     
appointment of its teaching body1 but in
 all its appliances the separate college
 aims at a rounded refinement1 at       
cultivating a sense of beauty1 at       
imparting simple tastes and generous    
sympathies4 ,to effect this1 pictures   
are hung on the walls1 statues and      
flowers decorate the rooms1 concerts    
bring music to the magnified home1 and  
parties and receptions are paid for out 
of the college purse4 ,the influence of 
hundreds of mentally eager girls upon   
the characters of one another1 when they
 live for four years in the closest     
daily companionship1 is most interesting
 to see4 ,i have watched the ennobling  
process go on for many years among      
,wellesley students1 and ,i am confident
 that no more healthy1 generous1        
democratic1 beauty-loving1 serviceable  
society of people exists than the girls'
 college community affords4 ,that       

choicest product of modern civilization1
 the ,american girl1 is here in all her 
diverse colors4 ,she comes from more    
than a dozen religious denominations and
 from every political party2 from nearly
 every state and territory in the       
,union1 and from the foreign lands into 
which ,english and ,american            
missionaries1 merchants1 or soldiers    
have penetrated4 ,the farmer's daughter 
from the western prairies is beside the 
child whose father owns half a dozen    
mill towns of ,new ,england4 ,the pride 
of a ,southern senator's home rooms with
 an anxious girl who must borrow all the
 money for her college course because   
her father's life was given for the     
,union4 ,side by side in the boats1 on  
the tennis-grounds1 at the table1 arm in
 arm on the long walks1 debating in the 
societies1 vigorous together in the     
gymnasium and the library1 girls of     
every grade gather the rich experiences 
which will tincture their future toil1  
and make the world perpetually seem an  

interesting and friendly place4 ,they   
here learn to see great things large1   
and little things small4  ,this detailed
 explanation of the peculiarities of the
 girls' college renders unnecessary any 
long discussion of its strengths and    
weaknesses4 ,according to the point of  
view of the critic these peculiarities  
themselves will be counted means of     
invigoration or of enfeeblement4 ,living
 so close to one another as girls here  
do1 the sympathetic and altruistic      
virtues acquire great prominence4 ,petty
 selfishness retreats or becomes        
extinct4 ,an earnest1 high-minded spirit
 is easily cultivated1 and the break    
between college life and the life from  
which the student comes is reduced to a 
minimum4  ,it is this very fact which is
 often alleged as the chief objection to
 the girls' college4 ,it is said that   
its students never escape from          
themselves and their domestic standard1 
that they do not readily acquire a      
scientific spirit1 and become individual

 in taste and conduct4 ,is it desirable 
that they should8 ,that ,i shall not    
undertake to decide4 ,i have merely     
tried to explain the kinds of human work
 which the different types of higher    
training-schools are best fitted to     
effect for women4 ,whether the one or   
the other kind of work needs most to be 
done is a question of social ethics     
which the future must answer4 ,i have   
set forth a type1 perhaps in the        
endeavor after clearness exaggerating a 
little its outlines1 and contrasting it 
more sharply with its two neighbor types
 than individual cases would justify4   
,there are colleges for women which     
closely approximate in aim and method   
the colleges for men4 ,no doubt those   
which move furthest in the directions ,i
 have indicated are capable of          
modification4 ,but ,i believe what ,i   
have said gives a substantially true    
account of an actually existing type--a 
type powerful in stirring the enthusiasm
 of those who are submitted to it1      

subtle in its penetrating influences    
over them1 and effective in winning the 
confidence of a multitude of parents who
 would never send their daughters to    
colleges of a different type4  ,the     
third type is the annex1 a recent and   
interesting experiment in the education 
of girls1 whose future it is yet        
difficult to predict4 ,only a few cases 
exist1 and as the ,harvard ,annex is the
 most conspicuous1 by reason of its     
dozen years of age and nearly two       
hundred students1 ,i shall describe it  
as the typical example4 ,in the ,harvard
 ,annex groups of young women undertake 
courses of study in classes whose       
instruction is furnished entirely by    
members of the ,harvard ,faculty4 ,no   
college officer is obliged to give this 
instruction1 and the ,annex staff of    
teachers is1 therefore1 liable to       
considerable variation from year to     
year4 ,though the usual four classes    
appear in its curriculum1 the large     
majority of its students devote         

themselves to special subjects4 ,a      
wealthy girl turns from fashionable     
society to pursue a single course in    
history or economics2 a hard-worked     
teacher draws inspiration during a few  
afternoons each week from a famous      
,greek or ,latin professor2 a woman who 
has been long familiar with ,french     
literature explores with a learned      
specialist some single period in the    
history of the language4 ,because the   
opportunities for advanced and detached 
study are so tempting1 many ladies      
living in the neighborhood of the ,annex
 enter one or more of its courses4      
,there are consequently among its       
students women much older than the      
average of those who attend the         
colleges4  ,the business arrangements   
are taken charge of by a committee of   
ladies and gentlemen1 who provide       
classrooms1 suggest boarding-places1    
secure the instructors1 solicit the     
interest of the public--in short1 manage
 all the details of an independent      

institution2 for the noteworthy feature 
of its relation to its powerful neighbor
 is this3 that the two1 while actively  
friendly1 have no official or organic   
tie whatever4 ,in the same city young   
men and young women of collegiate rank  
are studying the same subjects under the
 same instructors2 but there are two    
colleges1 not one4 ,no detail in the    
management of ,harvard ,college is      
changed by the presence in ,cambridge of
 the ,harvard ,annex4 ,if the           
corporation of ,harvard should assume   
the financial responsibility1 supervise 
the government1 and give the girl       
graduates degrees1 making no other      
changes whatever1 the ,annex would then 
become a school of the university1 about
 as distinct from ,harvard ,college as  
the medical1 law1 or divinity schools4  
,the students of the medical school do  
not attend the same lectures or frequent
 the same buildings as the college      
undergraduates4 ,the immediate governing
 boards of college and medical school   

are separate4 ,but here comparison      
fails1 for the students of the          
professional schools may elect courses  
in the college and make use of all its  
resources4 ,this the young women cannot 
do4 ,they have only the rights of all   
,cambridge ladies to attend the many    
public lectures and readings of the     
university4  ,the ,harvard ,annex is1   
then1 to-day a woman's college1 with no 
degrees1 no dormitories1 no women       
instructors1 and with a staff of        
teachers made up from volunteers of     
another college4 ,the ,fay ,house1 where
 offices1 lecture and waiting rooms1    
library and laboratories are gathered1  
is in the heart of ,old ,cambridge1 but 
at a little distance from the college   
buildings4 ,this is the centre of the   
social and literary life of the         
students4 ,here they gather their       
friends at afternoon teas2 here the     
various clubs which have sprung up1 as  
numbers have increased1 hold their      
meetings and give their entertainments4 

,the students lodge in all parts of     
,cambridge and the neighboring towns1   
and are directly responsible for their  
conduct only to themselves4 ,the ladies 
of the management are lavish in time and
 care to make the girls' lives happy and
 wholesome2 the secretary is always at  
hand to give advice2 but the personal   
life of the students is as separate and 
independent as in the typical           
coeducational college4  ,it is          
impossible to estimate either favorably 
or adversely the permanent worth of an  
undertaking still in its infancy4       
,manifestly1 the opportunities for the  
very highest training are here superb1  
if they happen to exist at all4 ,in     
this1 however1 is the incalculable      
feature of the system4 ,the ,annex lives
 by favor1 not by right1 and it is      
impossible to predict what the extent of
 favor may at any time be4 ,a girl hears
 that an admirable course of lectures   
has been given on a topic in which she  
is greatly interested4 ,she arranges to 

join the ,annex and enter the course1   
but learns in the summer vacation that  
through pressure of other work the      
professor will be unable to teach in the
 ,annex the following year4 ,the fact   
that favor rules1 and not rights1       
peculiarly hampers scientific and       
laboratory courses1 and for its literary
 work obliges the ,annex largely to     
depend on its own library4 ,yet when all
 these weaknesses are confessed--and by 
none are they confessed more frankly    
than by the wise and devoted managers of
 the ,annex themselves--it should be    
said that hitherto they have not        
practically hindered the formation of a 
spirit of scholarship1 eager1 free and  
sane to an extraordinary degree4 ,the   
,annex girl succeeds in remaining a     
private and unobserved gentlewoman1     
while still1 in certain directions1     
pushing her studies to an advanced point
 seldom reached elsewhere4  ,a plan in  
some respects superficially analogous to
 the ,american annex has been in        

operation for many years at the         
,english1 and more recently at some of  
the ,scotch universities1 where a hall  
or college for women uses many of the   
resources of the university4 ,but this  
plan is so complicated with the peculiar
 organization of ,english university    
life that it cannot usefully be         
discussed here4 ,in the few colleges in 
this country where1 very recently1 the  
annex experiment is being tried1 its    
methods vary markedly4  ,barnard        
,college in ,new ,york is an annex of   
,columbia only in a sense1 for not all  
her instruction is given by ,columbia's 
teaching force1 though ,columbia will   
confer degrees upon her graduates4 ,the 
new ,woman's ,college at ,cleveland     
sustains temporarily the same relations 
to ,adelbert ,college1 though to a still
 greater extent she provides independent
 instruction4  ,in both ,barnard and    
,cleveland women are engaged in         
instruction and in government4 ,indeed1 
the new annexes which have arisen in the

 last three years seem to promise       
independent colleges for women in the   
immediate neighborhood of1 and in close 
relationship with1 older and better     
equipped universities for men1 whose    
resources they can to some extent use1  
whose standards they can apply1 whose   
tests they can meet4 ,when they possess 
a fixed staff of teachers they are not1 
of course1 liable to the instabilities  
which at present beset the ,harvard     
,annex4 ,so far1 however1 as these      
teachers belong to the annex1 and are   
not drawn from the neighboring          
university1 the annex is assimilated to 
the type of the ordinary woman's        
college1 and loses its distinctive      
merits4 ,if the connection between it   
and the university should ever become so
 close that it had the same right to the
 professors as the university itself1 it
 would become a question whether the    
barriers between the men's and the      
women's lecture rooms could be          
economically maintained4  ,the preceding

 survey has shown how in coeducation a  
woman's study is carried on inside a    
man's college1 in the women's college   
outside it1 in the annex beside it4     
,each of these situations has its       
advantage4 ,but will the community be   
content to accept this2 permanently to  
forego the counter advantages1 and even 
after it fully realizes the powers and  
limitations of the different types1     
firmly to maintain them in their        
distinctive vigor8 ,present indications 
render this improbable4 ,already        
coeducational colleges incline to more  
careful leadership for their girls4 ,the
 separate colleges1 with growing wealth1
 are learning to value intrepidity1 and 
are carrying their operations close up  
to the lands of the ,ph4,d4 ,the annex  
swings in its middle air1 sometimes     
inclining to the one side1 sometimes to 
the other4 ,and outside them all1 the   
great body of men's colleges continually
 find it harder to maintain their       
isolation1 and extend one privilege     

after another to the seeking sex4  ,the 
result of all these diversities is the  
most instructive body of experiment that
 the world has seen for determining the 
best ways of bringing woman to her      
powers4 ,while the public mind is so    
uncertain1 so liable to panic1 and so   
doubtful whether1 after all1 it is not  
better for a girl to be a goose1 the    
many methods of education assist one    
another mightily in their united warfare
 against ignorance1 selfish privileges1 
and antiquated ideals4 ,it is well that 
for a good while to come woman's higher 
education should be all things to all   
mothers1 if by any means it may save    
girls4 ,those who are hardy enough may  
continue to mingle their girls with men2
 while a parent who would be shocked    
that her daughter should do anything so 
ambiguous as to enter a man's college   
may be persuaded to send her to a       
girls'4 ,those who find it easier to    
honor an old university than the eager  
life of a young college1 may be tempted 

into an annex4 ,the important thing is  
that the adherents of these differing   
types should not fall into jealousy1 and
 belittle the value of those who are    
performing a work which they themselves 
cannot do so well4 ,to understand one   
another kindly is the business of the   
hour--to understand and to wait4        
,,footnotes3    #ad ,published in ,the  
,forum for ,september1 #ahia4     ,,xiv 
,,women',s ,,education ,,in ,,the       
,,nineteenth ,,century#ae   ,one of the 
most distinctive and far-reaching       
movements of the nineteenth century is  
that which has brought about the present
 large opportunities for the higher     
education of women4 ,confining itself to
 no country1 this vast movement has     
advanced rapidly in some1 slowly and    
timidly in others4 ,in ,america three   
broad periods mark its progress3 first1 
the period of quiescence1 which ends    
about #ahcj2 second1 the period of      
agitation1 ending with the civil war2   
the third1 though far as yet from       

completion1 may be called the period of 
accomplishment4  ,for the first two     
hundred years in the history of our     
country little importance was attached  
to the education of women1 though before
 the nineteenth century began1          
twenty-four colleges had been founded   
for the education of men4 ,in the early 
years of this century private schools   
for girls were expensive and            
short-lived4 ,the common schools were   
the only grades of public instruction   
open to young women4 ,in the cities of  
,massachusetts1 where more was done for 
the education of boys than elsewhere1   
girls were allowed to go to school only 
a small part of the year1 and in some   
places could even then use the          
schoolroom only in the early hours of   
the day1 or on those afternoons when the
 boys had a half-holiday4 ,anything like
 a careful training of girls was not yet
 thought of4  ,this comparative neglect 
of women is less to be wondered at when 
we remember that the colleges which     

existed at the beginning of this century
 had been founded to fit men for the    
learned professions1 chiefly for the    
ministry4 ,neither here nor elsewhere   
was it customary to give advanced       
education to boys destined for business4
 ,the country1 too1 was impoverished by 
the long struggle for independence4 ,the
 ,government was bankrupt1 unable to pay
 its veteran soldiers4 ,irritation and  
unrest were everywhere prevalent until  
the ending of the second war with       
,england1 in #ahae4 ,immediately        
succeeding this began that great        
migration to the ,west and ,south-west  
which carried thousands of the most     
ambitious young men and women from the  
,east to push our frontiers farther and 
farther into the wilderness4 ,even in   
the older parts of the country the      
population was widely scattered4 ,the   
people lived for the most part in       
villages and isolated farms4 ,city life 
was uncommon4 ,as late as #ahdj only    
nine per cent of the population was     

living in cities of #hjjj or more       
inhabitants4 ,under such conditions     
nothing more than the bare necessities  
of education could be regarded4  ,but   
this very isolation bred a kind of      
equality4 ,in district schools it became
 natural for boys and girls to study    
together and to receive the same        
instruction from teachers who were often
 young and enthusiastic4 ,these were as 
a rule college students1 granted long   
winter vacations from their own studies 
that they might earn money by teaching  
village schools4 ,thus most young women 
shared with their brothers the best     
elementary training the country         
afforded1 while college education was   
reserved for the few young men who were 
preparing for the ministry or for some  
other learned profession4  ,from the    
beginning it had been the general custom
 of this country to educate boys and    
girls together up to the college age4   
,to-day in less than six per cent of all
 our cities is there any separate       

provision of schools for boys and girls4
 ,this habitual early start together has
 made it natural for our men and women  
subsequently to read the same books1 to 
have the same tastes and interests1 and 
jointly to approve a large social       
freedom4 ,on the whole1 women have      
usually had more leisure than men for   
the cultivating of scholarly tastes4    
,the first endowment of the higher      
education of women in this country was  
made by the ,moravians in the seminary  
for girls which they founded at         
,bethlehem1 ,pennsylvania1 in #agdi4    
,they founded another girls' seminary at
 ,lititz in #agid4 ,though both of these
 honorable foundations continue in      
effective operation to-day1 their       
influence has been for the most part    
confined to the religious communion of  
their founders4 ,in #ahjd an academy    
with wider connections was founded at   
,bradford1 ,massachusetts1 at first open
 to boys and girls1 since #ahcf limited 
to girls4 ,from that time academies and 

seminaries for girls increased rapidly4 
,one of the most notable was ,troy      
,seminary1 founded by ,emma ,hart       
,willard and chartered in #ahai4 ,miss  
,willard drew up broad and original     
plans for the higher education of girls1
 laid them before ,president ,monroe1   
appealed to the ,new ,york ,legislature 
for aid1 and dreamed of establishing    
something like collegiate training4     
,more than three hundred students       
entered her famous seminary1 and for    
seventeen years she carried it on with  
growing reputation4 ,her address to the 
,president in #ahai is still a strong   
statement of the importance to the      
republic of an enlightened and          
disciplined womanhood4  ,even more      
influential was the life and work of    
,mary ,lyon1 who in #ahcg founded ,mount
 ,holyoke ,seminary1 and labored for the
 education of women until her death1 in 
#ahdi4 ,of strong religious nature1     
great courage and resource1 she went up 
and down ,new ,england securing funds   

and pupils4 ,her rare gift of inspiring 
both men and women induced wide         
acceptance of her ideals of character   
and intelligence4 ,seminaries patterned 
after ,mount ,holyoke sprang up all over
 the land1 and still remain as centres  
of powerful influence1 particularly in  
the ,middle ,west and on the ,pacific   
,coast4  ,with this development1 through
 the endowment of many excellent        
seminaries1 of the primary education of 
girls into something like secondary or  
high-school opportunities1 the period of
 quiescence comes to an end4 ,there     
follows a period of agitation when the  
full privilege of college training side 
by side with men was demanded for women4
 ,this agitation was closely connected  
on the one hand with the antislavery    
movement and the general passion for    
moral reform at that time current2 and1 
on the other1 with the interest in      
teaching and that study of its methods  
which ,horace ,mann fostered4 ,from     
#ahcj to #ahfe it was becoming evident  

that women were destined to have a large
 share in the instruction of children4  
,for this work they sought to fit       
themselves1 and the reformers aided     
them4 ,oberlin ,college1 which began as 
a collegiate institute in #ahcc1 was in 
#ahej chartered as a college4 ,from the 
beginning it admitted women1 and in     
#ahda three women took its diploma4     
,antioch ,college1 under ,horace ,mann's
 leadership1 opened in #ahec1 admitting 
women on equal terms with men4 ,in #ahee
 ,elmira ,college was founded1 the first
 institution chartered as a separate    
college for women4  ,even before the    
,civil ,war the commercial interests of 
the country had become so much extended 
that trade was rising into a dignity    
comparable to that of the learned       
professions4 ,men were more and more    
deserting teaching for the business     
life1 and their places1 at first chiefly
 in the lower grades1 were being filled 
by women4 ,during the five years of the 
war this supersession of men by women   

teachers advanced rapidly4 ,it has since
 acquired such impetus that at present  
more than two thirds of the training of 
the young of both sexes below the       
college grade has fallen out of the     
hands of men4 ,in the mean time1 too1   
though in smaller numbers1 women have   
invaded the other professions and have  
even entered into trade4 ,these         
demonstrations of a previously          
unsuspected capacity have been both the 
cause and the effect of enlarged        
opportunities for mental equipment4 ,the
 last thirty or forty years have seen   
the opening of that new era in women's  
education which ,i have ventured to call
 the period of accomplishment4  ,from   
the middle of the century the movement  
to open the state universities to women1
 to found colleges for men and women on 
equal terms1 and to establish           
independent colleges for women spread   
rapidly4 ,from their first organization 
the state universities of ,utah 7#ahej71
 ,iowa 7#ahef71 ,washington 7#ahfb71    

,kansas 7#ahff71 ,minnesota 7#ahfh71    
,nebraska 7#ahga7 admitted women4       
,indiana1 founded in #ahbj1 opened its  
doors to women in #ahfh1 and was        
followed in #ahgj by ,michigan1 at that 
time the largest and far the most       
influential of all the state            
universities4 ,from that time the       
movement became general4 ,the example of
 ,michigan was followed until at the    
present time all the colleges and       
universities of the ,west1 excepting    
those under ,catholic management1 are   
open to women4 ,the only state          
university in the ,east1 that of ,maine1
 admitted women in #ahgb4 ,virginia1    
,georgia1 and ,louisiana alone among all
 the state universities of the country  
remain closed to women4 ,this sudden    
opening to women of practically all     
universities supported by public funds  
is not more extraordinary than the      
immense endowments which during the same
 period have been put into independent  
colleges for women1 or into colleges    

which admit men and women on equal      
terms4 ,of these privately endowed      
colleges1 ,cornell1 originally founded  
for men1 led the way in #ahgb in opening
 its doors to women4 ,the ,west and     
,south followed rapidly1 the ,east more 
slowly4 ,of the #dhj colleges which at  
the end of the century are reported by  
the ,bureau of ,education1 #ccf admit   
women2 or1 excluding the ,catholic      
colleges1 #hj per cent of all are open  
to women4 ,of the sixty leading colleges
 in the ,united ,states there are only  
ten in which women are not admitted to  
some department4 ,these ten are all on  
the ,atlantic seaboard and are all old  
foundations4  ,this substantial         
accomplishment during the last forty    
years of the right of women to a college
 education has not1 however1 resulted in
 fixing a single type of college in     
which that education shall be obtained4 
,on the contrary1 three clearly         
contrasted types now exist side by side4
 ,these are the independent college1 the

 coeducational college1 and the         
affiliated college4  ,to the independent
 college for women men are not admitted1
 though the grade1 the organization1 and
 the general aim are supposed to be the 
same as in the colleges exclusively for 
men4 ,the first college of this type1   
,elmira 7#ahee71 has been already       
mentioned4 ,the four largest women's    
colleges--,vassar1 opened in #ahfa2     
,smith1 in #ahge2 ,wellesley1 in #ahge1 
and ,bryn ,mawr1 in #ahhe--take rank    
among the sixty leading colleges of the 
country in wealth1 equipment1 teachers  
and students1 and variety of studies    
offered4 ,wells ,college1 chartered as a
 college in #ahgj1 the ,woman's ,college
 of ,baltimore1 opened in #ahhh1 and    
,mt4 ,holyoke1 reorganized as a college 
in #ahic1 have also large endowments and
 attendance4 ,all the women's colleges  
are empowered to confer the same degrees
 as are given in the men's colleges4    
,the development of coeducation1 the    
prevailing type of education in the     

,united ,states for both men and women1 
has already been sufficiently described4
 ,in coeducational colleges men and     
women have the same instructors1 recite 
in the same classes1 and enjoy the same 
freedom in choice of studies4 ,to the   
faculties of these colleges women are   
occasionally appointed1 and1 like their 
male colleagues1 teach mixed classes of 
men and women4 ,many coeducational      
colleges are without halls of residence4
 ,where these exist1 special buildings  
are assigned to the women students4     
,the affiliated colleges1 while         
exclusively for women1 are closely      
connected with strong colleges for men1 
whose equipment and opportunities they  
are expected in some degree to share4   
,at present there are five such3        
,radcliffe ,college1 the originator of  
this type1 connected with ,harvard      
,university1 and opened in #ahgi2       
,sophie ,newcomb ,memorial ,college1 at 
,tulane ,university1 opened in #ahhf2   
the ,college for ,women of ,western     

,reserve ,university1 #ahhh2 ,barnard   
,college1 at ,columbia ,university1     
#ahhi2 the ,woman's ,college of ,brown  
,university1 #ahib4 ,in all these       
colleges the standards for entrance and 
graduation are the same as those exacted
 from men in the universities with which
 they are affiliated4 ,to a considerable
 extent the instructors also are the    
same4  ,during the last quarter-century 
many professional schools have been     
opened to women--schools of theology1   
law1 medicine1 dentistry1 pharmacy1     
technology1 agriculture4 ,the number of 
women entering these professions is     
rapidly increasing4 ,since #ahij the    
increase of women students in medicine  
is #fd per cent1 in dentistry #bje per  
cent1 in pharmacy #aij per cent1 in     
technology and agriculture #aid per     
cent4  ,while this great advance has    
been accomplished in ,america1 women in 
,england and on the ,continent1         
especially during the last thirty years1
 have been demanding better education4  

,though much more slowly and in fewer   
numbers than in this country1 they have 
everywhere succeeded in securing decided
 advantages4 ,no country now refuses    
them a share in liberal study1 in the   
instruction of young children1 and in   
the profession of medicine4 ,as might be
 expected1 ,english-speaking women1 far 
more than any others1 have won and used 
the opportunities of university         
training4 ,since #ahfj women have been  
studying at ,cambridge1 ,england1 and   
since #ahgi at ,oxford4 ,at these       
ancient seats of learning they have now 
every privilege except the formal       
degree4 ,to all other ,english and      
,scotch universities1 and to the        
universities of the ,british colonies1  
women are admitted1 and from them they  
receive degrees4  ,in the most northern 
countries of ,europe--in ,iceland1      
,finland1 ,norway1 ,sweden1             
,denmark--the high schools and          
universities are freely open to women4  
,in eastern ,europe able women have made

 efforts to secure advanced study1 and  
these efforts have been most persistent 
in ,russia and since the ,crimean war4  
,when denied in their own land1 ,russian
 women have flocked to the ,swiss and   
,french universities1 and have even gone
 in considerable numbers to ,finland and
 to ,italy4 ,now ,russia is slowly      
responding to its women's entreaties4   
,during the last ten years the          
universities of ,rumania1 ,bulgaria1    
,hungary1 and ,greece have been open to 
women2 while in ,constantinople the     
,american ,college for ,girls offers the
 women of the ,east the systematic      
training of the ,new ,england type of   
college4 ,in western1 central1 and      
southern ,europe all university doors   
are open4 ,in these countries1 degrees  
and honors may everywhere be had by     
women1 except in ,germany and ,austria4 
,even here1 by special permission of the
 ,minister of ,education1 or the        
professor in charge1 women may hear     
lectures4 ,each year1 too1 more women   

are granted degrees by special vote and 
as exceptional cases4  ,in brief1 it may
 be said that practically all ,european 
universities are now open to women4 ,no 
,american woman of scholarship1 properly
 qualified for the work she undertakes1 
need fear refusal if she seeks the      
instruction of the greatest ,european   
scholars in her chosen field4 ,each year
 ,american women are taking with        
distinction the highest university      
degrees of the ,continent4 ,to aid them1
 many fellowships and graduate          
scholarships1 ranging in value from #cjj
 to #ajjj1 are offered for foreign study
 by our colleges for women and by       
private associations of women who seek  
to promote scholarship4 ,large numbers  
of ambitious young women who are        
preparing themselves for teaching or for
 the higher fields of scientific        
research annually compete for this aid4 
,three years ago an association was     
formed for maintaining an ,american     
woman's table in the ,zoological        

,station at ,naples4 ,by paying #ejj a  
year they are thus able to grant to     
selected students the most favorable    
conditions for biological investigation4
 ,this association has also just offered
 a prize of #ajjj1 to be granted two    
years hence1 for the best piece of      
original scientific work done in the    
mean time by a woman4 ,the ,american    
,schools of ,classical ,studies in      
,athens and ,rome admit women on the    
same terms as men1 and award their      
fellowships to men and women            
indifferently4 ,one of these            
fellowships1 amounting to #ajjj a year1 
has just been won by a woman4  ,the     
experience1 then1 of the last thirty    
years shows a condition of women's      
education undreamed of at the beginning 
of the century4 ,it shows that though   
still hampered here and there by        
timorous restrictions1 women are in     
substantial possession of much the same 
opportunities as are available for men4 
,it shows that they have both the       

capacity and the desire for college     
training1 that they can make profitable 
and approved use of it when obtained1   
and that they are eager for that broader
 and more original study after college  
work is over which is at once the most  
novel and the most glorious feature of  
university education to-day4 ,indeed1   
women have taken more than their due    
proportion of the prizes1 honors1 and   
fellowships which have been accessible  
to them on the same terms as to men4    
,their resort to institutions of higher 
learning has increased far more than    
that of men4 ,in #ahgb the total number 
of college students in each million of  
population was #eij4 ,last year it had  
risen to #abgj1 much more than doubling 
in twenty-seven years4 ,during this time
 the number of men had risen from #edj  
to #idg1 or had not quite doubled4 ,the 
women rose from #ej in #ahgb to #cbc in 
#ahii1 having increased their former    
proportional number more than six times1
 and this advance has also been         

maintained in graduate and professional 
schools4  ,the immensity of the change  
which the last century has wrought in   
women's education may best be seen by   
setting side by side the conditions at  
its beginning and at its close4 ,in     
#ahjj no colleges for women existed1 and
 only two endowed schools for           
girls--these belonging to a small       
,german sect4 ,they had no high schools1
 and the best grammar schools in cities 
were open to them only under            
restrictions4 ,the commoner grammar and 
district schools1 and an occasional     
private school dedicated to             
accomplishments1 were their only avenues
 to learning4 ,there was little         
hostility to their education1 since it  
was generally assumed by men and by     
themselves that intellectual matters did
 not concern them4 ,no profession was   
open to them1 not even that of teaching1
 and only seven possible trades and     
occupations4  ,in #aijj a third of all  
the college students in the ,united     

,states are women4 ,sixty per cent of   
the pupils in the secondary schools1    
both public and private1 are girls--i4e4
 more girls are preparing for college   
than boys4 ,women having in general more
 leisure than men1 there is reason to   
expect that there will soon be more     
women than men in our colleges and      
graduate schools4 ,the time1 too1 has   
passed when girls went to college to    
prepare themselves solely for teaching  
or for other bread-winning occupations4 
,in considerable numbers they now seek  
intellectual resources and the          
enrichment of their private lives4 ,thus
 far between #ej and #fj per cent of    
women college graduates have at some    
time taught4 ,in the country at large   
more than #gj per cent of the teaching  
is done by women1 in the ,north         
,atlantic portion over #hj per cent4    
,even in the secondary schools1 public  
and private1 more women than men are    
teaching1 though in all other countries 
the advanced instruction of boys is     

exclusively in the hands of men4 ,never 
before has a nation intrusted all the   
school training of the vast majority of 
its future population1 men as well as   
women1 to women alone4   ,,footnotes3   
#ae ,published in ,the ,new ,york       
,evening ,post1 #aijj4     ,,xv         
,,women',s ,,education ,,at ,,the       
,,world',s ,,fair#af   ,few persons have
 stood in the ,court of ,honor at       
,chicago and felt the surpassing        
splendors gathered there1 without a     
certain dismay over its swiftly         
approaching disappearance4 ,never in the
 world before has beauty been so lavish 
and so transient4 ,probably in all      
departments of the ,fair a hundred      
million dollars have been spent4 ,now   
the nation's holiday is done1 the little
 half-year is over1 and the palaces with
 their widely gathered treasures vanish 
like a dream4 ,is all indeed gone8 ,will
 nothing remain8 ,wise observers        
perceive some permanent results of the  
merry-making4 ,what these will be in the

 busy life of men1 others may decide3 ,i
 point out chiefly a few of the         
beneficial influences of the great ,fair
 on the life of women4  ,the triumph of 
women in what may be called their       
detached existence1 that is1 in their   
guidance of themselves and the separated
 affairs of their sex1 has been         
unexpectedly great4 ,the ,government    
appointed an independent ,board of ,lady
 ,managers who1 through many            
difficulties1 gathered from every       
quarter of the globe interesting        
exhibits of feminine industry and skill4
 ,these they gracefully disposed in one 
of the most dignified buildings of the  
,fair1 itself a woman's design4 ,here   
they attractively illustrated every     
aspect of the life of women1 domestic1  
philanthropic1 commercial1 literary1    
artistic1 and traced their historic     
advance4 ,close at hand1 in another     
building also of their own erection1    
they appropriately appeared as the      
guardians and teachers of little        

children4 ,their halls were crowded1    
their dinners praised1 their reception  
invitations coveted4 ,throughout they   
showed organizing ability on a huge     
scale2 they developed noteworthy        
leaders2 what is more1 they followed    
them1 and they have quarrelled no more1 
and have pulled wires less1 than men in 
similar situations2 their courage1 their
 energy1 their tact in the erection of a
 monument to woman were astonishing2 and
 the efforts of their ,central ,board   
were efficiently seconded by similar    
companies in every state4 ,as in the    
,sanitary and ,christian ,commissions   
and the hospital service of the war1 in 
the multitude of women's clubs1 the     
,woman's ,christian ,temperance ,union1 
the ,king's ,daughters1 the associations
 for promoting women's suffrage1 so once
 more here women found an opportunity to
 prove their ability as a banded sex2   
and it is clear that they awakened in   
the nation a deeper respect for their   
powers4  ,but the very triumph does away

 with its further necessity4 ,having    
amply proved what they can do when      
banded together1 women may now the more 
easily cease to treat themselves as a   
peculiar people4 ,henceforth they are   
human beings4 ,women's buildings1       
women's exhibits1 may safely become     
things of the past4 ,at any future fair 
no special treatment of women is likely 
to be called for4 ,after what has been  
achieved1 the self-consciousness of     
women will be lessened1 and their       
sensitiveness about their own position1 
capacity1 and rights will be naturally  
outgrown4 ,the anthropologist may       
perhaps still assemble the work of a    
single sex1 the work of people of a     
single color1 or of those having blue   
eyes4 ,but ordinary people will find    
less and less interest in these         
artificial classifications1 and will    
more and more incline to measure men's  
and women's products by the same scale4 
,even at ,chicago large numbers of women
 preferred to range their exhibits in   

the common halls rather than under      
feminine banners1 and their             
demonstration of the needlessness of any
 special treatment of their sex must be 
reckoned as one of the most considerable
 of the permanent gains for women from  
the ,fair4  ,if1 then1 women have       
demonstrated that they are more than    
isolated phenomena1 that they should    
indeed be treated as integral members of
 the human family1 in order to estimate 
rightly the lasting advantages they have
 derived from the ,fair we must seek    
those advantages not in isolations but  
in conjunctions4 ,in the common life of 
man there is a womanly side and a manly 
side4 ,both have profited by one        
splendid event4 ,manufactures and       
transportation and mining and           
agriculture will hereafter be different 
because of what has occurred at         
,chicago2 but so will domestic science1 
the training of the young1 the swift    
intellectual interest1 the finer        
patriotism1 the apprehension of beauty1 

the moral balance4 ,it is by growth in  
these things that the emancipation of   
women is to come about1 and the ,fair   
has fostered them all in an             
extraordinary degree4  ,although the    
,fair was officially known as a ,world's
 ,fair1 and it did contain honorable    
contributions from many foreign         
countries1 it was1 in a sense that no   
other exhibition has been before1 a     
nation's fair4 ,it was the climacteric  
expression of ,america's existence4 ,it 
gathered together our past and our      
present1 and indicated not uncertainly  
our future4 ,here were made visible our 
beginnings1 our achievements1 our hopes1
 our dreams4 ,the nation became         
conscious of itself and was strong1     
beautiful1 proud4 ,all sections of the  
country not only contributed their most 
characteristic objects of use and       
beauty1 but their inhabitants also came1
 and learned to know one another1 and   
their land4 ,during the last two years  
there has hardly been a village in the  

country which has not had its club or   
circle studying the history of the      
,united ,states4 ,no section has been   
too poor to subscribe money for         
maintaining national or state pride4 ,in
 order to see the great result1 men have
 mortgaged their farms1 lonely women    
have taken heavy life insurance1        
stringent economy will gladly be        
practised for years4 ,a friend tells me 
that she saw an old man1 as he left the 
,court of ,honor with tears in his eyes1
 turn to his gray-haired wife and say1  
,well1 ,susan1 it paid even if it did   
take all the burial money4  ,once       
before1 we reached a similar pitch of   
national consciousness1--in war4 ,young1
 unprepared1 divided against ourselves1 
we found ourselves able to mass great   
armies1 endure long strains1 organize   
campaigns1 commissariats1 hospitals1 in 
altogether independent ways1 and on a   
scale greater than ,europe had seen4    
,then men and women alike learned the   
value of mutual confidence1 the strength

 of cooperation and organization4 ,once 
again now1 but this time in the interest
 of beauty and of peace1 we have studied
 the art of subordinating fragmentary   
interests to those of a whole4 ,the     
training we have received as a nation in
 producing and studying the ,fair1 must 
result in a deeper national dignity1    
which will both free us from irritating 
sensitiveness over foreign criticism1   
and give us readiness to learn from     
other countries whatever lessons they   
can teach4 ,our own provinces too will  
become less provincial4 ,with increased 
acquaintance1 the ,east has begun to    
drop its toleration of the ,west1 and to
 put friendliness and honor in its      
place4 ,no more will it be believed     
along the ,atlantic coast that the      
,mississippi ,valley cares only for     
pork1 grain and lumber4 ,as such        
superstitions decay1 a more trustful    
unity becomes possible4 ,the entire     
nation knows itself a nation1 possessed 
of common ideals4 ,in this heightened   

national dignity1 women will have a     
large and ennobling share4  ,but        
further1 from the ,fair men1 and women  
with them1 have acquired a new sense of 
the gains that come from minute         
obedience to law4 ,hitherto1 go as you  
please has been pretty largely the      
principle of ,american life4 ,in the    
training school of the last two years of
 preparation and the six months of the  
holding of the ,fair1 our people1       
particularly our women1 have been       
solidly taught the hard and needful     
lesson that whims1 waywardness1 haste1  
inaccuracy1 pettiness1 personal         
considerations1 do not make for         
strength4 ,wherever these have entered1 
they have flawed the beautiful whole1   
and flecked the honor of us all4 ,where 
they have been absent results have      
appeared which make us all rejoice4     
,never in so wide an undertaking was the
 unity of a single design so triumphant4
 ,as an unknown multitude cooperated in 
the building of a mediaeval cathedral1  

so throughout our land multitudes have  
been daily ready to contribute their    
unmarked best for the erection of a     
common glory4 ,we have thus learned to  
prize second thoughts above first       
thoughts1 to league our lives and       
purposes with those of others1 and to   
subordinate the assertion of ourselves  
to that of a universal reason4 ,hence   
has sprung a new trust in one another   
and a new confidence in our future4 ,the
 friendliness of our people1 already    
rendered natural by our democratic      
institutions1 has received a deeper     
sanction4 ,how distinctly it was marked 
on the faces of the visitors at the     
,fair6 ,i was fortunate enough to spend 
several hours there on ,chicago ,day1   
when nearly seven hundred and fifty     
thousand people were admitted4 ,the     
appearance of those plain1 intelligent1 
happy1 helpful thousands1 all strangers 
and all kind1 was the most encouraging  
sight one woman had at the ,fair4 ,it   
has been said that the moral education  

of a child consists in imparting to him 
the three qualities1 obedience1         
sympathy1 dignity4 ,these all have been 
taught by the ,fair1 and women1 more    
swiftly perceptive than men1 have       
probably learned their lesson best4     
,one more profound effect of the ,fair  
upon human character must be mentioned1 
on character in those features which are
 of especial importance to women4 ,our  
people have here gained a new sense of  
beauty1 and of beauty at its highest and
 rarest1 not the beauty of ornament and 
decoration1 but that of proportion1     
balance1 and ordered suitability of     
parts4 ,every girl likes pretty things1 
but the rational basis of beauty in the 
harmonious expression of use1 and in    
furnishing to the eye the quiet         
satisfaction of its normal demands1     
seldom attracts attention4 ,at ,chicago 
these things became apparent4 ,each     
building outwardly announced its inner  
purpose4 ,each gained its effect mainly 
by outline and balance of masses rather 

than by richness of detail4 ,each was   
designed in reference to its site and to
 its neighbor buildings4 ,almost every  
one rested the eye which it still       
stimulated4 ,color1 form1 purpose1      
proportion1 sculpture1 vegetation1      
stretches of water1 the brown earth1 all
 cooperated toward the happy effect4    
,what visitor could see it and not have 
begotten in him the demand for beauty in
 his own surroundings8 ,it is said that 
the ,centennial ,exhibition affected the
 domestic architecture and the household
 decoration of the whole eastern        
seaboard4 ,the ,fair will do the same1  
but it will bring about a beauty of a   
higher1 simpler sort4 ,in people from   
every section1 artistic taste has been  
developed1 or even created2 and not only
 in their houses1 but in the            
architecture of their public buildings  
and streets shall we see the results of 
this vision of the ,white ,city by the  
,lake4 ,huddled houses in incongruous   
surroundings will become less common4   

,at heart we ,americans are idealists1  
and at a time when the general wealth is
 rapidly increasing1 it is an           
indescribable gain to have had such a   
training of the aesthetic sense as days 
among the great buildings and nights on 
the lagoons have brought to millions of 
our people4 ,the teachability of the    
common ,american is almost pathetic4    
,one building was always crowded--the   
,fine ,arts ,building2 yet great        
pictures were the one thing exhibited   
with which ,americans have hitherto had 
little or no acquaintance4 ,this beauty1
 connected essentially with the feminine
 side of life1 will hereafter1 through  
the influence of the ,fair1 become a    
more usual possession of us all4  ,if   
such are the permanent gains for        
character which women in common with    
men1 yet even more than they1 have      
derived from the ,fair1 there remain to 
be considered certain helps which have  
been brought to women in some of their  
most distinctive occupations4 ,of course

 they have had here an opportunity to   
compare the different kinds of          
sewing-machines1 pianos1 type-writers1  
telegraphs1 clothes-wringers1 stoves1   
and baby-carriages1 and no doubt they   
will do their future work with these    
complicated engines more effectively    
because of such comparative study4 ,but 
there are three departments which       
ancestral usage has especially          
consecrated to women1 and to intelligent
 methods in each of these the ,fair has 
given a mighty impulse4 ,these three    
departments are the care of the home1   
the care of the young1 and the care of  
the sick1 the poor1 and the depraved4   
,at ,philadelphia in #ahgf ,vienna bread
 was made known1 and the native article1
 sodden with saleratus1 which up to that
 time had desolated the country1 began  
to disappear4 ,the results in cookery   
from the ,chicago ,exhibition will be   
wider4 ,they touch the kitchen with     
intelligence at more points4 ,where     
tradition has reigned unquestioned1     

science is beginning to penetrate1 and  
we are no longer allowed to eat without 
asking why and what4 ,this new domestic 
science--threatening word--was set forth
 admirably in the ,rumford ,kitchen1    
where a capital thirty-cent luncheon was
 served every day1 compounded of just   
those ingredients which the human frame 
could be demonstrated to require4 ,the  
health-food companies1 too1 arrayed     
their appetizing wares4 ,workingmen's   
homes showed on how small a sum a family
 could live1 and live well4             
,arrangements for sterilizing water and 
milk were there1 ,atkinson cookers1 gas 
and kerosene stoves4 ,the proper        
sanitation of the home was taught1 and  
boards of health turned out to the plain
 gaze of the world their inquisitorial  
processes4 ,numberless means of         
increasing the health1 ease1 and        
happiness of the household with the     
least expenditure of time and money were
 here studied by crowds of despairing   
housekeepers4 ,many1 no doubt1 were     

bewildered2 but many1 too1 went away    
convinced that the most ancient         
employment of women was rising to the   
dignity and attractiveness of a learned 
profession4  ,when it is remembered that
 nine tenths of the teachers of         
elementary schools are women1 it can be 
seen how important for them was the     
magnificent educational exhibit4 ,here  
could be studied all that the age counts
 best in kindergarten1 primary1 grammar1
 high and normal schools1 and in all the
 varieties of training in cookery1      
sewing1 dressmaking1 manual training1   
drawing1 painting1 carving4 ,many of the
 exhibitors showed great skill in making
 their methods apprehensible to the     
stranger4  ,and then there were the     
modes of bodily training1 and the       
lamentable image of the misformed       
average girl2 and in the children's     
building classes could actually be seen 
engaged in happy exercise1 and close at 
hand appliances for the nursery and the 
playground4 ,nor in the enlarged        

appliances for woman's domestic life    
must those be omitted which tell how    
cheaply and richly the girl may now     
obtain a college training like her      
brother1 and become as intelligent as   
he4 ,no woman went away from the        
educational exhibits of the ,fair in the
 belief that woman's sphere was         
necessarily narrow4  ,there is no need  
to dilate on the light shed by the ,fair
 upon problems of sickness1 poverty1 and
 crime4 ,everybody knows that nothing so
 complete had been seen before4 ,the    
,anthropological ,building was a museum 
of these subjects1 and scattered in     
other parts of the ,fair was much to    
interest the puzzled and sympathetic    
soul4 ,one could find out what an ideal 
hospital was like1 and how its service  
and appliances should be ordered4 ,one  
studied under competent teachers the    
care of the dependent and delinquent    
classes4 ,one learned to distinguish    
surface charity from sound4 ,as men grow
 busier and women more competent1 the   

guidance of philanthropy passes         
continually more and more into the      
gentler hands4 ,women serve largely on  
boards of hospitals1 prisons1 charities1
 and reforms1 and urgently feel the need
 of ampler knowledge4 ,the ,fair did    
much to show them ways of obtaining it4 
,such are the permanent results of the  
,fair most likely to affect women4 ,they
 fall into three classes3 the proofs    
women have given of their independent   
power1 their ability to organize and to 
work toward a distant1 difficult1 and   
complex end2 the enlargement of their   
outlook1 manifesting itself in a new    
sense of membership in a nation1 a more 
willing obedience to law1 and a higher  
appreciation of beauty2 and1 lastly1 the
 direct assistance given to women in    
their more characteristic employments of
 housekeeping1 teaching1 and ministering
 to the afflicted4 ,that these are all1 
or even the most important1 results     
which each woman will judge she has     
obtained1 is not pretended4 ,everybody  

saw at the ,fair something which brought
 to individual him or her a gain        
incomparable4  ,and1 after all1 the     
greatest thing was the total1           
glittering1 murmurous1 restful1 magical1
 evanescent ,fair itself1 seated by the 
blue waters1 wearing the five crowns1   
served by novel boatmen1 and with the   
lap so full of treasure that as piece by
 piece it was held up1 it shone1 was    
wondered at1 and was lost again in the  
pile4 ,this amazing spectacle will flash
 for years upon the inward eye of our   
people1 and be a joy of their solitude4 
,,footnotes3    #af ,published in ,the  
,forum for ,december1 #ahia4     ,,xvi  
,,why ,,go ,,to ,,college8   ,to a      
largely increasing number of young girls
 college doors are opening every year4  
,every year adds to the number of men   
who feel as a friend of mine1 a         
successful lawyer in a great city1 felt 
when in talking of the future of his    
four little children he said1 ,for the  
two boys it is not so serious1 but ,i   

lie down at night afraid to die and     
leave my daughters only a bank account4 
,year by year1 too1 the experiences of  
life are teaching mothers that happiness
 does not necessarily come to their     
daughters when accounts are large and   
banks are sound1 but that on the        
contrary they take grave risks when they
 trust everything to accumulated wealth 
and the chance of a happy marriage4 ,our
 ,american girls themselves are becoming
 aware that they need the stimulus1 the 
discipline1 the knowledge1 the interests
 of the college in addition to the      
school1 if they are to prepare          
themselves for the most serviceable     
lives4  ,but there are still parents who
 say1 ,there is no need that my daughter
 should teach2 then why should she go to
 college8 ,i will not reply that college
 training is a life insurance for a     
girl1 a pledge that she possesses the   
disciplined ability to earn a living for
 herself and others in case of need2 for
 ,i prefer to insist on the importance  

of giving every girl1 no matter what her
 present circumstances1 a special       
training in some one thing by which she 
can render society service1 not of      
amateur but of expert sort1 and service 
too for which it will be willing to pay 
a price4 ,the number of families will   
surely increase who will follow the     
example of an eminent banker whose      
daughters have been given each her      
specialty4 ,one has chosen music1 and   
has gone far with the best masters in   
this country and in ,europe1 so far that
 she now holds a high rank among        
musicians at home and abroad4 ,another  
has taken art2 and has not been content 
to paint pretty gifts for her friends1  
but in the studios of ,new ,york1       
,munich1 and ,paris she has won the     
right to be called an artist1 and in her
 studio at home to paint portraits which
 have a market value4 ,a third has      
proved that she can earn her living1 if 
need be1 by her exquisite jellies1      
preserves1 and sweetmeats4 ,yet the     

house in the mountains1 the house by the
 sea1 and the friends in the city are   
not neglected1 nor are these young women
 found less attractive because of their 
special accomplishments4  ,while it is  
not true that all girls should go to    
college any more than that all boys     
should go1 it is nevertheless true that 
they should go in greater numbers than  
at present4 ,they fail to go because    
they1 their parents1 and their teachers1
 do not see clearly the personal        
benefits distinct from the commercial   
value of a college training4 ,i wish    
here to discuss these benefits1 these   
larger gifts of the college life1--what 
they may be1 and for whom they are      
waiting4  ,it is undoubtedly true that  
many girls are totally unfitted by home 
and school life for a valuable college  
course4 ,these joys and successes1 these
 high interests and friendships1 are not
 for the self-conscious and nervous     
invalid1 nor for her who in the         
exuberance of youth recklessly ignores  

the laws of a healthy life4 ,the good   
society of scholars and of libraries and
 laboratories has no place and no       
attraction for her who finds no message 
in ,plato1 no beauty in mathematical    
order1 and who never longs to know the  
meaning of the stars over her head or   
the flowers under her feet4 ,neither    
will the finer opportunities of college 
life appeal to one who1 until she is    
eighteen 7is there such a girl in this  
country871 has felt no passion for the  
service of others1 no desire to know if 
through history1 or philosophy1 or any  
study of the laws of society1 she can   
learn why the world is so sad1 so hard1 
so selfish as she finds it1 even when   
she looks upon it from the most         
sheltered life4 ,no1 the college cannot 
be1 should not try to be1 a substitute  
for the hospital1 reformatory1 or       
kindergarten4 ,to do its best work it   
should be organized for the strong1 not 
for the weak2 for the high-minded1      
self-controlled1 generous1 and          

courageous spirits1 not for the         
indifferent1 the dull1 the idle1 or     
those who are already forming their     
characters on the amusement theory of   
life4 ,all these perverted young people 
may1 and often do1 get large benefit and
 invigoration1 new ideals1 and unselfish
 purposes from their four years'        
companionship with teachers and comrades
 of a higher physical1 mental1 and moral
 stature than their own4 ,i have seen   
girls change so much in college that ,i 
have wondered if their friends at home  
would know them1--the voice1 the        
carriage1 the unconscious manner1 all   
telling a story of new tastes and habits
 and loves and interests1 that had      
wrought out in very truth a new         
creature4 ,yet in spite of this ,i have 
sometimes thought that in college more  
than elsewhere the old law holds1 ,to   
him that hath shall be given and he     
shall have abundance1 but from him who  
hath not shall be taken away even that  
which he seemeth to have4 ,for it is the

 young life which is open and prepared  
to receive which obtains the gracious   
and uplifting influences of college     
days4 ,what1 then1 for such persons are 
the rich and abiding rewards of study in
 college or university8  ,preeminently  
the college is a place of education4    
,that is the ground of its being4 ,we go
 to college to know1 assured that       
knowledge is sweet and powerful1 that a 
good education emancipates the mind and 
makes us citizens of the world4 ,no     
college which does not thoroughly       
educate can be called good1 no matter   
what else it does4 ,no student who fails
 to get a little knowledge on many      
subjects1 and much knowledge on some1   
can be said to have succeeded1 whatever 
other advantages she may have found by  
the way4 ,it is a beautiful and         
significant fact that in all times the  
years of learning have been also the    
years of romance4 ,those who love girls 
and boys pray that our colleges may be  
homes of sound learning1 for knowledge  

is the condition of every college       
blessing4 ,let no man incapable of      
mathematics enter here1 ,plato is       
reported to have inscribed over his     
,academy door4 ,let no one to whom hard 
study is repulsive hope for anything    
from us1 ,american colleges might       
paraphrase4 ,accordingly in my talk     
to-day ,i shall say little of the direct
 benefits of knowledge which the college
 affords4 ,these may be assumed4 ,it is 
on their account that one knocks at the 
college door4 ,but seeking this first1 a
 good many other things are added4 ,i   
want to point out some of these         
collateral advantages of going to       
college1 or rather to draw attention to 
some of the many forms in which the     
winning of knowledge presents itself4   
,the first of these is happiness4       
,everybody wants a good time1 especially
 every girl in her teens4 ,a good time1 
it is true1 does not always in these    
years mean what it will mean by and by1 
any more than the girl of eighteen plays

 with the doll which entranced the child
 of eight4 ,it takes some time to       
discover that work is the best sort of  
play1 and some people never discover it 
at all4 ,but when mothers ask such      
questions as these3 ,how can ,i make my 
daughter happy8 ,how can ,i give her the
 best society8 ,how can she have a good 
time8 the answer in most cases is       
simple4 ,send her to college--to almost 
any college4 ,send her because there is 
no other place where between eighteen   
and twenty-two she is so likely to have 
a genuinely good time4 ,merely for good 
times1 for romance1 for society1 college
 life offers unequalled opportunities4  
,of course no idle person can possibly  
be happy1 even for a day1 nor she who   
makes a business of trying to amuse     
herself4 ,for full happiness1 though its
 springs are within1 we want health and 
friends and work and objects of         
aspiration4 ,we live by admiration1     
hope1 and love1 says ,wordsworth4 ,the  
college abounds in all three4 ,in the   

college time new powers are sprouting1  
and intelligence1 merriment1            
truthfulness1 and generosity are more   
natural than the opposite qualities     
often become in later years4 ,an        
exhilarating atmosphere pervades the    
place4 ,we who are in it all the time   
feel that we live at the fountain of    
perpetual youth1 and those who take but 
a four years' bath in it become more    
cheerful1 strong1 and full of promise   
than they are ever likely to find       
themselves again2 for a college is a    
kind of compendium of the things that   
most men long for4 ,it is usually       
planted in a beautiful spot1 the charm  
of trees and water being added to       
stately buildings and stimulating works 
of art4 ,venerable associations of the  
past hallow its halls4 ,leaders in the  
stirring world of to-day return at each 
,commencement to share the fresh life of
 the new class4 ,books1 pictures1 music1
 collections1 appliances in every field1
 learned teachers1 mirthful friends1    

athletics for holidays1 the best words  
of the best men for holy days1--all are 
here4 ,no wonder that men look back upon
 their college life as upon halcyon     
days1 the romantic period of youth4 ,no 
wonder that ,dr4 ,holmes's poems to his 
,harvard classmates find an echo in     
college reunions everywhere2 and        
gray-haired men1 who outside the        
narrowing circle of home have not heard 
their first names for years1 remain     
,bill and ,joe and ,john and ,george to 
college comrades1 even if unseen for    
more than a generation4  ,yet a girl    
should go to college not merely to      
obtain four happy years1 but to make a  
second gain1 which is often overlooked1 
and is little understood even when      
perceived2 ,i mean a gain in health4    
,the old notion that low vitality is a  
matter of course with women2 that to be 
delicate is a mark of superior          
refinement1 especially in well-to-do    
families2 that sickness is a            
dispensation of ,providence1--these     

notions meet with no acceptance in      
college4 ,years ago ,i saw in the mirror
 frame of a college freshman's room this
 little formula3 ,sickness is           
carelessness1 carelessness is           
selfishness1 and selfishness is sin4    
,and ,i have often noticed among college
 girls an air of humiliation and shame  
when obliged to confess a lack of       
physical vigor1 as if they were         
convicted of managing life with bad     
judgment1 or of some moral delinquency4 
,with the spreading scientific          
conviction that health is a matter      
largely under each person's control1    
that even inherited tendencies to       
disease need not be allowed to run their
 riotous course unchecked1 there comes  
an earnest purpose to be strong and     
free4 ,fascinating fields of knowledge  
are waiting to be explored2             
possibilities of doing1 as well as of   
knowing1 are on every side2 new and dear
 friendships enlarge and sweeten dreams 
of future study and work1 and the young 

student cannot afford quivering nerves  
or small lungs or an aching head any    
more than bad taste1 rough manners1 or a
 weak will4 ,handicapped by inheritance 
or bad training1 she finds the plan of  
college life itself her supporter and   
friend4 ,the steady1 long-continued     
routine of mental work1 physical        
exercise1 recreation1 and sleep1 the    
simple and wholesome food1 in place of  
irregular and unstudied diet1 work out  
salvation for her4 ,instead of being    
left to go out of doors when she feels  
like it1 the regular training of the    
gymnasium1 the boats on lake and river1 
the tennis court1 the golf links1 the   
basket ball1 the bicycle1 the long walk 
among the woods in search of botanical  
or geological specimens1--all these and 
many more call to the busy student1     
until she realizes that they have their 
rightful place in every well-ordered day
 of every month4 ,so she learns1 little 
by little1 that buoyant health is a     
precious possession to be won and kept4 

,it is significant that already         
statistical investigation in this       
country and in ,england shows that the  
standard of health is higher among the  
women who hold college degrees than     
among any other equal number of the same
 age and class4 ,and it is interesting  
also to observe to what sort of         
questions our recent girl graduates have
 been inclined to devote attention4     
,they have been largely the neglected   
problems of little children and their   
health1 of home sanitation1 of food and 
its choice and preparation1 of domestic 
service1 of the cleanliness of schools  
and public buildings4 ,colleges for     
girls are pledged by their very         
constitution to make persistent war on  
the water cure1 the nervine retreat1 the
 insane asylum1 the hospital1--those    
bitter fruits of the emotional lives of 
thousands of women4 ,i can never afford 
a sick headache again1 life is so       
interesting and there is so much to do1 
a delicate girl said to me at the end of

 her first college year4 ,and while her 
mother was in a far-off invalid retreat1
 she undertook the battle against fate  
with the same intelligence and courage  
which she put into her calculus problems
 and her translations of ,sophocles4    
,her beautiful home and her rosy and    
happy children prove the measure of her 
hard-won success4 ,formerly the majority
 of physicians had but one question for 
the mother of the nervous and delicate  
girl1 ,does she go to school8 ,and only 
one prescription1 ,take her out of      
school4 ,never a suggestion as to       
suppers of pickles and pound-cake1 never
 a hint about midnight dancing and      
hurried daytime ways4 ,but now the      
sensible doctor asks1 ,what are her     
interests8 ,what are her tastes8 ,what  
are her habits8 ,and he finds new       
interests for her1 and urges the        
formation of out-of-door tastes and     
steady occupation for the mind1 in order
 to draw the morbid girl from herself   
into the invigorating world outside4    

,this the college does largely through  
its third gift of friendship4  ,until a 
girl goes away from home to school or   
college1 her friends are chiefly chosen 
for her by circumstances4 ,her young    
relatives1 her neighbors in the same    
street1 those who happen to go to the   
same school or church1--these she makes 
her girlish intimates4 ,she goes to     
college with the entire conviction1 half
 unknown to herself1 that her father's  
political party contains all the honest 
men1 her mother's social circle all the 
true ladies1 her church all the real    
saints of the community4 ,and the       
smaller the town1 the more absolute is  
her belief4 ,but in college she finds   
that the girl who earned her scholarship
 in the village school sits beside the  
banker's daughter2 the ,new ,england    
farmer's child rooms next the heiress of
 a ,hawaiian sugar plantation2 the      
daughters of the opposing candidates in 
a sharply fought election have grown    
great friends in college boats and      

laboratories2 and before her diploma is 
won she realizes how much richer a world
 she lives in than she ever dreamed of  
at home4 ,the wealth that lies in       
differences has dawned upon her vision4 
,it is only when the rich and poor sit  
down together that either can understand
 how the ,lord is the ,maker of them    
all4  ,to-day above all things we need  
the influence of men and women of       
friendliness1 of generous nature1 of    
hospitality to new ideas1 in short1 of  
social imagination4 ,but instead1 we    
find each political party bitterly      
calling the other dishonest1 each class 
suspicious of the intentions of the     
other1 and in social life the pettiest  
standards of conduct4 ,is it not well   
for us that the colleges all over the   
country still offer to their fortunate  
students a society of the most          
democratic sort1--one in which a        
father's money1 a mother's social       
position1 can assure no distinction and 
make no close friends8 ,here capacity of

 every kind counts for its full value4  
,here enthusiasm waits to make heroes of
 those who can lead4 ,here charming     
manners1 noble character1 amiable       
temper1 scholarly power1 find their full
 opportunity and inspire such           
friendships as are seldom made          
afterward4 ,i have forgotten my         
chemistry1 and my classical philology   
cannot bear examination2 but all round  
the world there are men and women at    
work1 my intimates of college days1 who 
have made the wide earth a friendly     
place to me4 ,of every creed1 of every  
party1 in far-away places and in near1  
the thought of them makes me more       
courageous in duty and more faithful to 
opportunity1 though for many years we   
may not have had time to write each     
other a letter4 ,the basis of all       
valuable and enduring friendships is not
 accident or juxtaposition1 but tastes1 
interests1 habits1 work1 ambitions4 ,it 
is for this reason that to college      
friendship clings a romance entirely its

 own4 ,one of the friends may spend her 
days in the laboratory1 eagerly chasing 
the shy facts that hide beyond the      
microscope's fine vision1 and the other 
may fill her hours and her heart with   
the poets and the philosophers2 one may 
steadfastly pursue her way toward the   
command of a hospital1 and the other    
toward the world of letters and of art2 
these divergences constitute no barrier1
 but rather an aid to the fulness of    
friendship4 ,and the fact that one goes 
in a simple gown which she has earned   
and made herself1 and the other lives   
when at home in a merchant's modern     
palace--what has that to do with the    
things the girls care about and the     
dreams they talk over in the walk by the
 river or the bicycle ride through      
country roads8 ,if any young man to-day 
goes through ,harvard lonely1 neglected1
 unfriended1 if any girl lives solitary 
and wretched in her life at ,wellesley1 
it is their own fault4 ,it must be      
because they are suspicious1 unfriendly1

 or disagreeable themselves4 ,certainly 
it is true that in the associations of  
college life1 more than in any other    
that the country can show1 what is      
extraneous1 artificial1 and temporary   
falls away1 and the every-day relations 
of life and work take on a character    
that is simple1 natural1 genuine4 ,and  
so it comes about that the fourth gift  
of college life is ideals of personal   
character4  ,to some people the shaping 
ideals of what character should be1     
often held unconsciously1 come from the 
books they read2 but to the majority    
they are given by the persons whom they 
most admire before they are twenty years
 old4 ,the greatest thing any friend or 
teacher1 either in school or college1   
can do for a student is to furnish him  
with a personal ideal4 ,the college     
professors who transformed me through my
 acquaintance with them--ah1 they were  
few1 and ,i am sure ,i did not have a   
dozen conversations with them outside   
their classrooms--gave me1 each in his  

different way1 an ideal of character1 of
 conduct1 of the scholar1 the leader1 of
 which they and ,i were totally         
unconscious at the time4 ,for many years
 ,i have known that my study with them1 
no matter whether of philosophy or of   
,greek1 of mathematics or history or    
,english1 enlarged my notions of life1  
uplifted my standards of culture1 and so
 inspired me with new possibilities of  
usefulness and of happiness4 ,not the   
facts and theories that ,i learned so   
much as the men who taught me1 gave this
 inspiration4 ,the community at large is
 right in saying that it wants the      
personal influence of professors on     
students1 but it is wholly wrong in     
assuming that this precious influence   
comes from frequent meetings or talks on
 miscellaneous subjects4 ,there is quite
 as likely to be a quickening force in  
the somewhat remote and mysterious power
 of the teacher who devotes himself to  
amassing treasures of scholarship1 or to
 patiently working out the best methods 

of teaching2 who standing somewhat      
apart1 still remains an ideal of the    
,christian scholar1 the just1 the       
courteous man or woman4 ,to come under  
the influence of one such teacher is    
enough to make college life worth while4
 ,a young man who came to ,harvard with 
eighty cents in his pocket1 and worked  
his way through1 never a high scholar1  
and now in a business which looks very  
commonplace1 told me the other day that 
he would not care to be alive if he had 
not gone to college4 ,his face flushed  
as he explained how different his days  
would have been if he had not known two 
of his professors4 ,do you use your     
college studies in your business8 ,i    
asked4 ,oh1 no6 he answered4 ,but ,i am 
another man in doing the business2 and  
when the day's work is done ,i live     
another life because of my college      
experiences4 ,the business and ,i are   
both the better for it every day4 ,how  
many a young girl has had her whole     
horizon extended by the changed ideals  

she gained in college6 ,yet this is     
largely because the associations and    
studies there are likely to give her    
permanent interests--the fifth and      
perhaps the greatest gift of college    
life of which ,i shall speak4  ,the old 
fairy story which charmed us in         
childhood ended with ,and they were     
married and lived happy ever after4 ,it 
conducted to the altar1 having brought  
the happy pair through innumerable      
difficulties1 and left us with the      
contented sense that all the mistakes   
and problems would now vanish and life  
be one long day of unclouded bliss4 ,i  
have seen devoted and intelligent       
mothers arrange their young daughters'  
education and companionships precisely  
on this basis4 ,they planned as if these
 pretty and charming girls were going to
 live only twenty or twenty-five years  
at the utmost1 and had consequently no  
need of the wealthy interests that      
should round out the fullgrown woman's  
stature1 making her younger in feeling  

at forty than at twenty1 and more lovely
 and admired at eighty than at either4  
,emerson in writing of beauty declares  
that the secret of ugliness consists not
 in irregular outline1 but in being     
uninteresting4 ,we love any forms1      
however ugly1 from which great qualities
 shine4 ,if command1 eloquence1 art1 or 
invention exists in the most deformed   
person1 all the accidents that usually  
displease1 please1 and raise esteem and 
wonder higher4 ,beauty without grace is 
the head without the body4 ,beauty      
without expression tires4 ,of course    
such considerations can hardly come with
 full force to the young girl herself1  
who feels aged at eighteen1 and imagines
 that the troubles and problems of life 
and thought are hers already4 ,oh1 tell 
me to-night1 cried a college freshman   
once to her president1 which is the     
right side and which is the wrong side  
of this ,andover question about         
eschatology8 ,the young girl is         
impatient of open questions1 and        

irritated at her inability to answer    
them4 ,neither can she believe that the 
first headlong zest with which she      
throws herself into society1 athletics1 
into everything which comes in her way1 
can ever fail4 ,but her elders know1    
looking on1 that our ,american girl1 the
 comrade of her parents and of her      
brothers and their friends1 brought up  
from babyhood in the eager talk of      
politics and society1 of religious      
belief1 of public action1 of social     
responsibility--that this typical girl1 
with her quick sympathies1 her clear    
head1 her warm heart1 her outreaching   
hands1 will not permanently be satisfied
 or self-respecting1 though she have the
 prettiest dresses and hats in town1 or 
the most charming of dinners1 dances1   
and teas4 ,unless there comes to her1   
and comes early1 the one chief happiness
 of life1--a marriage of                
comradeship1--she must face for herself 
the question1 ,what shall ,i do with my 
life8  ,i recall a superb girl of twenty

 as ,i overtook her one winter morning  
hurrying along ,commonwealth ,avenue4   
,she spoke of a brilliant party at a    
friend's the previous evening4 ,but1 oh6
 she cried1 throwing up her hands in a  
kind of hopeless impatience1 tell me    
what to do4 ,my dancing days are over6  
,i laughed at her1 ,have you sprained   
your ankle8 ,but ,i saw ,i had made a   
mistake when she added1 ,it is no       
laughing matter4 ,i have been out three 
years4 ,i have not done what they       
expected of me1 with a flush and a      
shrug1 and there is a crowd of nice     
girls coming on this winter2 and anyway1
 ,i am so tired of going to teas and    
ball-games and assemblies6 ,i don't care
 the least in the world for foreign     
missions1 and1 with a stamp1 ,i am not  
going slumming among the ,italians4 ,i  
have too much respect for the ,italians4
 ,and what shall ,i do with the rest of 
my life8 ,that was a frank statement of 
what any girl of brains or conscience   
feels1 with more or less bitter         

distinctness1 unless she marries early1 
or has some pressing work for which she 
is well trained4  ,yet even if that     
which is the profession of woman par    
excellence be hers1 how can she be      
perennially so interesting a companion  
to her husband and children as if she   
had keen personal tastes1 long her own1 
and growing with her growth8 ,indeed1 in
 that respect the condition of men is   
almost the same as that of women4 ,it   
would be quite the same were it not for 
the fact that a man's business or       
profession is generally in itself a     
means of growth1 of education1 of       
dignity4 ,he leans his life against it4 
,he builds his home in the shadow of it4
 ,it binds his days together in a kind  
of natural piety1 and makes him advance 
in strength and nobility as he fulfils  
the common round1 the daily task4 ,and  
that is the reason why men in the past1 
if they have been honorable men1 have   
grown old better than women4 ,men       
usually retain their ability longer1    

their mental alertness and hospitality4 
,they add fine quality to fine quality1 
passing from strength to strength and   
preserving in old age whatever has been 
best in youth4 ,it was a sudden         
recognition of this fact which made a   
young friend of mine say last winter1 ,i
 am not going to parties any more2 the  
men best worth talking with are too old 
to dance4  ,even with the help of a     
permanent business or profession1       
however1 the most interesting men ,i    
know are those who have an avocation as 
well as a vocation4 ,i mean a taste or  
work quite apart from the business of   
life4 ,this revives1 inspires1 and      
cultivates them perpetually4 ,it matters
 little what it is1 if only it is real  
and personal1 is large enough to last1  
and possesses the power of growth4 ,a   
young sea-captain from a ,new ,england  
village on a long and lonely voyage     
falls upon a copy of ,shelley4 ,appeal  
is made to his fine but untrained mind1 
and the book of the boy poet becomes the

 seaman's university4 ,the wide world of
 poetry and of the other fine arts is   
opened1 and the ,shelleyian specialist  
becomes a cultivated1 original1 and     
charming man4 ,a busy merchant loves    
flowers1 and in all his free hours      
studies them4 ,each new spring adds     
knowledge to his knowledge1 and his     
friends continually bring him their     
strange discoveries4 ,with growing      
wealth he cultivates rare and beautiful 
plants1 and shares them with his        
fortunate acquaintances4 ,happy the     
companion invited to a walk or a drive  
with such observant eyes1 such vivid    
talk6 ,because of this cheerful interest
 in flowers1 and this ingenious skill in
 dealing with them1 the man himself is  
interesting4 ,all his powers are alert1 
and his judgment is valued in public    
life and in private business4 ,or is it 
more exact to say that because he is the
 kind of man who would insist upon      
having such interests outside his daily 
work1 he is still fresh and young and   

capable of growth at an age when many   
other men are dull and old and certain  
that the time of decay is at hand8      
,there are two reasons why women need to
 cultivate these large and abiding      
interests even more persistently than   
men4 ,in the first place1 they have more
 leisure4 ,they are indeed the only     
leisured class in the country1 the only 
large body of persons who are not called
 upon to win their daily bread in       
direct1 wage-earning ways4 ,as yet1     
fortunately1 few men among us have so   
little self-respect as to idle about our
 streets and drawing-rooms because their
 fathers are rich enough to support     
them4 ,we are not without our unemployed
 poor2 but roving tramps and idle       
clubmen are after all not of large      
consequence4 ,our serious non-producing 
classes are chiefly women4 ,it is the   
regular ambition of the chivalrous      
,american to make all the women who     
depend on him so comfortable that they  
need do nothing for themselves4         

,machinery has taken nearly all the     
former occupations of women out of the  
home into the shop and factory4         
,widespread wealth and comfort1 and the 
inherited theory that it is not well for
 the woman to earn money so long as     
father or brothers can support her1 have
 brought about a condition of things in 
which there is social danger1 unless    
with the larger leisure are given high  
and enduring interests4 ,to health      
especially there is great danger1 for   
nothing breaks down a woman's health    
like idleness and its resulting ennui4  
,more people1 ,i am sure1 are broken    
down nervously because they are bored1  
than because they are overworked2 and   
more still go to pieces through         
fussiness1 unwholesome living1 worry    
over petty details1 and the daily       
disappointments which result from small 
and superficial training4 ,and then1    
besides the danger to health1 there is  
the danger to character4 ,i need not    
dwell on the undermining influence which

 men also feel when occupation is taken 
away and no absorbing private interest  
fills the vacancy4 ,the vices of        
luxurious city life are perhaps hardly  
more destructive to character than is   
the slow deterioration of barren country
 life4 ,though the conditions in the two
 cases are exactly opposite1 the trouble
 is often the same1--absence of noble   
interests4 ,in the city restless        
idleness organizes amusement2 in the    
country deadly dulness succeeds daily   
toil4  ,but there is a second reason why
 a girl should acquire for herself      
strong and worthy interests4 ,the       
regular occupations of women in their   
homes are generally disconnected and of 
little educational value1 at least as   
those homes are at present conducted4   
,given the best will in the world1 the  
daily doing of household details becomes
 a wearisome monotony if the mere       
performance of them is all4 ,to make    
drudgery divine a woman must have a     
brain to plan and eyes to see how to    

sweep a room as to ,god's laws4         
,imagination and knowledge should be the
 hourly companions of her who would make
 a fine art of each detail in kitchen   
and nursery4 ,too long has the pin been 
the appropriate symbol of the average   
woman's life--the pin1 which only       
temporarily holds together things which 
may or may not have any organic         
connection with one another4 ,while     
undoubtedly most women must spend the   
larger part of life in this modest      
pin-work1 holding together the little   
things of home and school and society   
and church1 it is also true1 that       
cohesive work itself cannot be done     
well1 even in humble circumstances1     
except by the refined1 the trained1 the 
growing woman4 ,the smallest village1   
the plainest home1 give ample space for 
the resources of the trained college    
woman4 ,and the reason why such homes   
and such villages are so often barren of
 grace and variety is just because these
 fine qualities have not ruled them4    

,the higher graces of civilization halt 
among us2 dainty and finished ways of   
living give place to common ways1 while 
vulgar tastes1 slatternly habits1 clouds
 and despondency reign in the house4    
,little children under five years of age
 die in needless thousands because of   
the dull1 unimaginative women on whom   
they depend4 ,such women have been      
satisfied with just getting along1      
instead of packing everything they do   
with brains1 instead of studying the    
best possible way of doing everything   
small or large2 for there is always a   
best way1 whether of setting a table1 of
 trimming a hat1 or teaching a child to 
read4 ,and this taste for perfection can
 be cultivated2 indeed1 it must be      
cultivated1 if our standards of living  
are to be raised4 ,there is now         
scientific knowledge enough1 there is   
money enough1 to prevent the vast       
majority of the evils which afflict our 
social organism1 if mere knowledge or   
wealth could avail2 but the greater     

difficulty is to make intelligence1     
character1 good taste1 unselfishness    
prevail4  ,what1 then1 are the interests
 which powerfully appeal to mind and    
heart1 and so are fitted to become the  
strengthening companions of a woman's   
life8 ,i shall mention only three1 all  
of them such as are elaborately fostered
 by college life4 ,the first is the love
 of great literature4 ,i do not mean    
that use of books by which a man may get
 what is called a good education and so 
be better qualified for the battle of   
life1 nor do ,i mention books in their  
character as reservoirs of knowledge1   
books which we need for special         
purposes1 and which are no longer of    
consequence when our purpose with them  
is served4 ,i have in mind the great    
books1 especially the great poets1 books
 to be adopted as a resource and a      
solace4 ,the chief reason why so many   
people do not know how to make comrades 
of such books is because they have come 
to them too late4 ,we have in this      

country enormous numbers of             
readers1--probably a larger number who  
read1 and who read many hours in the    
week1 than has ever been known elsewhere
 in the world4 ,but what do these       
millions read besides the newspapers8   
,possibly a denominational religious    
weekly and another journal of fashion or
 business4 ,then come the thousands who 
read the best magazines1 and whatever   
else is for the moment popular in novels
 and poetry--the last dialect story1 the
 fashionable poem1 the questionable but 
talked-of novel4 ,let a violent attack  
be made on the decency of a new story1  
and instantly1 if only it is clever1 its
 author becomes famous4  ,but the       
fashions in reading of a restless       
race--the women too idle1 the men too   
heavily worked--,i will not discuss     
here4 ,let light literature be devoured 
by our populace as his drug is taken by 
the opium-eater1 and with a similar     
narcotic effect4 ,we can only seek out  
the children1 and hope by giving them   

from babyhood bits of the noblest       
literature1 to prepare them for the     
great opportunities of mature life4 ,i  
urge1 therefore1 reading as a mental    
stimulus1 as a solace in trouble1 a     
perpetual source of delight2 and ,i     
would point out that we must not delay  
to make the great friendships that await
 us on the library shelves until        
sickness shuts the door on the outer    
world1 or death enters the home and     
silences the voices that once helped to 
make these friendships sweet4 ,if ,homer
 and ,shakespeare and ,wordsworth and   
,browning are to have meaning for us    
when we need them most1 it will be      
because they come to us as old familiar 
friends whose influences have permeated 
the glad and busy days before4 ,the last
 time ,i heard ,james ,russell ,lowell  
talk to college girls1 he said1--for he 
was too ill to say many words1--,i have 
only this one message to leave with you4
 ,in all your work in college never lose
 sight of the reason why you have come  

here4 ,it is not that you may get       
something by which to earn your bread1  
but that every mouthful of bread may be 
the sweeter to your taste4  ,and this is
 the power possessed by the mighty      
dead1--men of every time and nation1    
whose voices death cannot silence1 who  
are waiting even at the poor man's      
elbow1 whose illuminating words may be  
had for the price of a day's work in the
 kitchen or the street1 for lack of love
 of whom many a luxurious home is a dull
 and solitary spot1 breeding misery and 
vice4 ,now the modern college is        
especially equipped to introduce its    
students to such literature4 ,the       
library is at last understood to be the 
heart of the college4 ,the modern       
librarian is not the keeper of books as 
was his predecessor1 but the distributer
 of them1 and the guide to their        
resources1 proud when he increases the  
use of his treasures4 ,every language1  
ancient or modern1 which contains a     
literature is now taught in college4    

,its history is examined1 its philology1
 its masterpieces1 and more than ever is
 ,english literature studied and loved4 
,there is now every opportunity for the 
college student to become an expert in  
the use of his own tongue and pen4 ,what
 other men painfully strive for he can  
enjoy to the full with comparatively    
little effort4  ,but there is a second  
invigorating interest to which college  
training introduces its student4 ,i mean
 the study of nature1 intimacy with the 
strange and beautiful world in which we 
live4 ,nature never did betray the heart
 that loved her1 sang her poet and high 
priest4 ,when the world has been too    
much with us1 nothing else is so        
refreshing to tired eyes and mind as    
woods and water1 and an intelligent     
knowledge of the life within them4 ,for 
a generation past there has been a      
well-nigh universal turning of the      
population toward the cities4 ,in #ahdj 
only nine per cent of our people lived  
in cities of eight thousand inhabitants 

or more4 ,now more than a third of us   
are found in cities4 ,but the electric  
car1 the telephone1 the bicycle1 still  
keep avenues to the country open4       
,certain it is that city people feel a  
growing hunger for the country1         
particularly when grass begins to grow4 
,this is a healthy taste1 and must      
increase the general knowledge and love 
of nature4 ,fortunate are the little    
children in those schools whose teachers
 know and love the world in which they  
live4 ,their young eyes are early opened
 to the beauty of birds and trees and   
plants4 ,not only should we expect our  
girls to have a feeling for the fine    
sunset or the wide-reaching panorama of 
field and water1 but to know something  
also about the less obvious aspects of  
nature1 its structure1 its methods of   
work1 and the endless diversity of its  
parts4 ,no one can have read ,matthew   
,arnold's letters to his wife1 his      
mother1 and his sister1 without being   
struck by the immense enjoyment he took 

throughout his singularly simple and    
hard-working life in flowers and trees  
and rivers4 ,the ,english lake country  
had given him this happy inheritance1   
with everywhere its sound of running    
water and its wealth of greenery4 ,there
 is a close connection between the      
marvellous unbroken line of ,english    
song and the passionate love of the     
,englishman for a home in the midst of  
birds1 trees1 and green fields4    ,the 
world is so full of a number of things1 
,that ,i think we should all be as happy
 as kings1  is the opinion of everybody 
who knows nature as did ,robert ,louis  
,stevenson4 ,and so our college student 
may begin to know it4 ,let her enter the
 laboratories and investigate for       
herself4 ,let her make her delicate     
experiments with the blowpipe or the    
balance2 let her track mysterious life  
from one hiding-place to another2 let   
her name all the birds without a gun1   
and make intimates of flower and fish   
and butterfly--and she is dull indeed if

 breezy tastes do not follow her through
 life1 and forbid any of her days to be 
empty of intelligent enjoyment4 ,keep   
your years beautiful2 make your own     
atmosphere1 was the parting advice of my
 college president1 himself a living    
illustration of what he said4  ,but it  
is a short step from the love of the    
complex and engaging world in which we  
live to the love of our comrades in it4 
,accordingly the third precious interest
 to be cultivated by the college student
 is an interest in people4 ,the scholar 
to-day is not a being who dwells apart  
in his cloister1 the monk's successor2  
he is a leader of the thoughts and      
conduct of men4 ,so the new subjects    
which stand beside the classics and     
mathematics of mediaeval culture are    
history1 economics1 ethics1 and         
sociology4 ,although these subjects are 
as yet merely in the making1 thousands  
of students are flocking to their       
investigation1 and are going out to try 
their tentative knowledge in ,college   

,settlements and ,city ,missions and    
,children's ,aid ,societies4 ,the best  
instincts of generous youth are becoming
 enlisted in these living themes4 ,and  
why should our daughters remain aloof   
from the most absorbing work of modern  
city life1 work quite as fascinating to 
young women as to young men8 ,during    
many years of listening to college      
sermons and public lectures in          
,wellesley1 ,i always noticed a         
quickened attention in the audience     
whenever the discussion touched politics
 or theology4 ,these are1 after all1 the
 permanent and peremptory interests1 and
 they should be given their full place  
in a healthy and vigorous life4  ,but if
 that life includes a love of books1 of 
nature1 of people1 it will naturally    
turn to enlarged conceptions of         
religion--my sixth and last gift of     
college life4 ,in his first sermon as   
,master of ,balliol ,college1 ,dr4      
,jowett spoke of the college1 ,first as 
a place of education1 secondly as a     

place of society1 thirdly as a place of 
religion4 ,he observed that men of very 
great ability often fail in life because
 they are unable to play their part with
 effect4 ,they are shy1 awkward1        
self-conscious1 deficient in manners1   
faults which are as ruinous as vices4   
,the supreme end of college training1 he
 said1 is usefulness in after life4     
,similarly1 when the city of ,cambridge 
celebrated in ,harvard's ,memorial ,hall
 the life and death of the gallant young
 ex-,governor of ,massachusetts1        
,william ,e4 ,russell1 men did well to  
hang above his portrait some wise words 
he had lately said1 ,never forget the   
everlasting difference between making a 
living and making a life4 ,that he      
himself never forgot2 and it was well to
 remind citizens and students of it1 as 
they stood there facing too the ancient 
words all ,harvard men face when they   
take their college degrees and go out   
into the world1 ,they that be wise shall
 shine as the brightness of the         

firmament1 and they that turn many to   
righteousness as the stars for ever and 
ever4 ,good words these to go out from  
college with4 ,the girls of ,wellesley  
gather every morning at chapel to bow   
their heads together for a moment before
 they scatter among the libraries and   
lecture rooms and begin the experiments 
of the new day4 ,and always their       
college motto meets the eyes that are   
raised to its penetrating message1 ,not 
to be ministered unto1 but to minister4 
,how many a young heart has loyally     
responded1 ,and to give life a ransom   
for many4 ,that is the ,wellesley       
spirit2 and the same sweet spirit of    
devout service has gone forth from all  
our college halls4 ,in any of them one  
may catch the echo of ,whittier's noble 
psalm1--    ,our ,lord and ,master of us
 all6       ,whate'er our name or sign1 
,we own ,thy sway1 we hear ,thy call1   
,we test our lives by ,thine4  ,that is 
the supreme test of life1--its          
consecrated serviceableness4 ,the       

,master of ,balliol was right2 the brave
 men and women who founded our schools  
and colleges were not wrong4 ,for       
,christ and the ,church universities    
were set up in the wilderness of ,new   
,england2 for the large service of the  
state they have been founded and        
maintained at public cost in every      
section of the country where men have   
settled1 from the ,alleghanies across   
the prairies and ,rocky ,mountains down 
to the ,golden ,gate4 ,founded primarily
 as seats of learning1 their teachers   
have been not only scientists and       
linguists1 philosophers and historians1 
but men and women of holy purposes1     
sound patriotism1 courageous            
convictions1 refined and noble tastes4  
,set as these teachers have been upon a 
hill1 their light has at no period of   
our country's history been hid4 ,they   
have formed a large factor in our       
civilization1 and in their own beautiful
 characters have continually shown us   
how to combine religion and life1 the   

ideal and practical1 the human and the  
divine4  ,such are some of the larger   
influences to be had from college life4 
,it is true all the good gifts ,i have  
named may be secured without the aid of 
the college4 ,we all know young men and 
women who have had no college training1 
who are as cultivated1 rational1        
resourceful1 and happy as any people we 
know1 who excel in every one of these   
particulars the college graduates about 
them4 ,i believe they often bitterly    
regret the lack of a college education4 
,and we see young men and women going   
through college deaf and blind to their 
great chances there1 and afterwards     
curiously careless and wasteful of the  
best things in life4 ,while all this is 
true1 it is true too that to the        
open-minded and ambitious boy or girl of
 moderate health1 ability1 self-control1
 and studiousness1 a college course     
offers the most attractive1 easy1 and   
probable way of securing happiness and  
health1 good friends and high ideals1   

permanent interests of a noble kind1 and
 large capacity for usefulness in the   
world4 ,it has been well said that the  
ability to see great things large and   
little things small is the final test of
 education4 ,the foes of life1          
especially of women's lives1 are        
caprice1 wearisome incapacity1 and petty
 judgments4 ,from these oppressive foes 
we long to escape to the rule of right  
reason1 where all things are possible1  
and life becomes a glory instead of a   
grind4 ,no college1 with the best       
teachers and collections in the world1  
can by its own power impart all this to 
any woman4 ,but if one has set her face 
in that direction1 where else can she   
find so many hands reached out to help1 
so many encouraging voices in the air1  
so many favoring influences filling the 
days and nights8     ,the ,riverside    
,press   ,,cambridge1 ,,massachusetts   
,u4 ,s4 ,a