THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES LORD BBOUGHAM EDUCATION J. ORVILLE TAYLOR. NEW-YORK : PUBLISHED BY TAYLOR & CLEMENT, 128 Fulton-Street. 1839. PIERCY & REED, PRINTERS, No. 9 Spruce-Street. STACK ANNEX LA 632. PREFACE Man is made to know. " And there will be a time when this great truth, Electric, shall run from man to man, And the blood-cemented pyramids of ignorance Shall by its flash be thrown to earth in atoms When it shall blaze with sun-refulgent splendor And the whole earth be lighted." Then, and not till then, " Will all empty ranks be abolished, and Slave, lord and king, ennobled unto MAN." For "that King of Kings who gave to the world the device of moveable types, and taught the art of printing, disbanded armies, dethroned monarchs, and created a whole new democratic world." I 4 PREFACE. Every effort in a republican government, should be made " To give the mind that apprehensive power By which it is made quick to recognise The moral properties and scope of things :" And to this end, we believe a more accepta- ble service could not be rendered to the friends of learning and liberty, than to collect and pub- lish the most valuable opinions of Lord Broug- ham on the subject of the People's Education. CONTENTS. Preface 3 Opinion of Scotchmen, &c. &c. &c. . 7 ' Happy Effects of Education, . . 12 The Time in School, . . . ' . 15 Reasons for establishing School Systems, 18 The People their own Instructers, . 21 The Pleasures of Knowledge, . . 24 Opinion of Mr. Owen's Plan, . . 28 Education of the Poor, ... 31 Imperishable Monuments to a Nation's Fame, 34 Pernicious Influence of Annual Parlia- mentary Grants on Public Schools, 38 On the Prevention of Crime, . . 42 Religion as connected with Education, . 47* The Human Mind no longer in Shackles, 50 Capacity of Children to acquire Knowledge 53 Effect of Habit on the Infant Mind, . 56 PREFACE. Early formation of Good Habits, . . 57 Benefits resulting from Infant Schools, . 60 Education no Detriment to the Poor, . 64 Instructing the Poor in Latin and Greek, 71 Sneers at Education 75 The Prussian System of Education can never be adopted in this Country, . 77 The Thirst after Knowledge, . . 81 The March of " Intellect" and its Contemners, 86 LORD BROUGHAM EDUCATION, OPINION OP SCOTCHMEN. REASON WHY THEY SUCCEED IN LIFE. OPINION OF AMERICA. INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION. " Go where you will over the world, the name of a Scotchman is still found, combined in the minds of all men, perhaps, with some qualities, which sincere regard for that good people re- strains me from mentioning, but certainly with the reputation of a well-educated man. To the possession of this enviable characteristic, and not, I trust, to the other quality imputed to them, we may fairly ascribe the high credit, the great ease, and what is usually termed the success in life, which generally attend Scotch- men settled abroad. The countries where they have settled have partially followed their exam- 1 LOBD BROTTGHAM pie as, indeed, into what part of the world have they not emigrated? and, Sir, let me ask, where have they gone without conferring benefits on the place of their adoption ? In what place have they settled that has not reap- ed, at least, as much advantage from them as it has bestowed upon them ? In Sweden, where a number of noble families are of Scotch ex- traction, something upon the model of the pa- rish-school system has long been established, In the Swiss cantons, and in many of the Pro- testant countries of Germany, the example has been followed, with more or less closeness, and whenever the plan has been adopted, its influ- ence upon the improvement of the lower class- es and the general well-being of society has, if I trust my own observation, and the concur- ring testimonies of other travellers, been abun- dantly manifest, America affords another instance which de- serves to be cited as a triumphant refutation of the whimsies of ingenious men, who fancy they can descry something in education incom- patible with general industry. That is surely ON EDUCATION. 9 the last country in the world where idleness can expect to find encouragement. The impu- tation upon it has rather been that the inhabi- tants are too busy to be refined. An idler there is a kind of monster ; he can find no place in any of the innumerable tribes that swarm over that vast continent. In the rapid stream of its active and strenuous population it is impossi- ble for any one to stand still a moment ; if he partake not in its motion he will be dashed aside. Yet such is the conviction there that popular education foims the best foundation for national prosperity, that, in all the grants made by the Government of this boundless territory, a certain portion of each township, I believe the twentieth lot, is reserved for the expense of instructing and maintaining the poor." [In this article the writer alludes to " quali- ties, which sincere regard for Scotchmen, re- strains him from mentioning." From what is well known of the Scotch character, and seen in the context of this remark, we may readily 10 LORD BROUGHAM suppose that one of the " qualities" restrained by the noble Lord's " regard for that good peo- ple" is bigotry. The Scotch will educate, thoroughly, as far as their creed goes, but not out of it. They are like many in our own country, who think more of their own particular Confession of Faith, than of the common Bi- ble, more of their particular Church, than of our common Humanity. People with such narrow, uncharitable views, frequently raise a standard of perfection, not to follow, but to judge others by. They flatter themselves that growth in grace is attained and measured by their ability and readiness to find fault with a neighbor's creed or life ! Hence, censorious- ness, and formality, with personal and church altercations. Nor do we see an end of all this, for instead of taking a common ground, found in the Bible, and broad enough for all to meet on, our country is fast dividing into Episcopal Institutes, Methodist Seminaries, Presbyterian Colleges, &c. &c. Each sect not only has its own schools, but every child must be educated in the schools of its particular sect. In this ON EDUCATION. 11 way bigotry, with all its " malice and unchari- tableness" will soon be a prominent "quality" of the American People. We wish, however, not to be misunderstood. A religious education is all important to the welfare of society and the happiness of the individual, for the whole his- tory of man tells us that the march of intellect, separated from moral instruction, is the rogue's march. At the close of this article, the " twentieth lot" is mentioned as the portion of land re- served for a school fund. Here is a slight error, as the thirty-second part of the new states, and lot number sixteen, is the school section. Ed.} 12 LORD BROUGHAM HAPPY EFFECTS OF EDUCATION. " The tendency of knowledge is, and the ten- dency of its diffusion undoubtedly is, to im- prove the habits of the people, to better their principles, and to amend all that which we call their characteis ; for there are a host of princi- ples and feelings which go together, to make up what we call, in the common acceptation of the words, the human character. How does this diffusion operate ? To increase habits of reflection, to enlarge the sphere of the mind, to render it more capable of receiving pleasur- able emotions, and of taking an interest in oth- er, and in higher and better matters than mere sensual gratification. It tends to improve the feelings as well as to increase the reflective habits ; and it tends, therefore, to the attain- ment of that which in itself tends immediate- ly and directly to improve the character and conduct of a nation. It tends to increase prudence and prudential habits, and to amend and to improve the hu- man feelings. The ancients have described ON EDUCATION. 13 the effects of education in far better language, and much more happily than I can do " emol- lit mores nee sinit esse fores" June 20, 1834, (Prison Discipline.) [Uneducated mind is educated vice, for man is made to knoio, he is the subject of educa- tion, and if not informed does not fulfil the object of his being, and is necessarily misera- ble : and the miserable man very easily be- comes the criminal. In a right education there is a divine alchymy which turns all the baser parts of man's nature into gold. It is said in one of the fables of the ancients, that when the first rays of the morning sun fell upon the Statue of Memnon, it sent forth music ; and it is only after the first rays of knowledge have fallen upon man, that his nature "discourses harmony." Man must be taught to read and understand the laws, before he can know and exhibit the beauty and happiness of obedience. I was once passing through a park with a friend, and seeing notices nailed to the trees, thai " all 14 LORD BROUGHAM dogs found in this park will be shot :" my com- panion observed, " if dogs cannot read, they are badly off here." But the Creator has not only written his laws upon the trees, he ha inscribed them on the arching heavens, over the green earth, and into the very form and soul of man ; and if he is not able to read, he ii " badly off here." Dr. Johnson, being askec " who was the most miserable man," said, " He who cannot read on a rainy day." Ed.] ON EDUCATION. 15 THE TIME IN SCHOOL. " It is not the less true, because it has been oftentimes said, that the period of youth is by far the best fitted for the improvement of the mind, and the retirements of a college almost exclusively adapted to much study. At your enviable age, every thing has the lively interest of novelty and freshness ; attention is perpetu- ally sharpened by curiosity, and the memory is tenacious of deep impressions it thus re- ceives, to a degree unknown in after life ; while the distracting cares of the world, or its beguil- ing pleasures, cross not the threshold of these calm retreats ; its distant noise and bustle are faintly heard, making the shelter you enjoy more grateful; arid the struggles of anxious mortals embarked upon that troublous sea, are viewed from an eminence, the security of which is rendered more sweet by the pros- pect of the scene below. Yet a little while, and you too will be plunged into those waters of bitterness, and will cast an eye of regret, 16 LORD BROUGHAM as now I do, upon the peaceful regions you have quitted forever. Such is your lot as mem- bers of society ; but it will be your own fault if you look back on this place with repentance or with shame ; and be well assured that, what- ever time aye, every hour you squander here on unprofitable idling, will then rise up against you, and be paid for by years of bitter but unavailing regrets. Study then I beseech you, so to store your minds with the exquisite learning of former ages, that you may always possess within yourselves sources of rational and refined enjoyment, which will enable you to set at nought the grosser pleasures of sense whereof other men are slaves ! and so imbue yourselves with the sound philosophy of later days, forming yourselves to the virtuous habits which are its legitimate offspring, that you may walk unhurt through the trials which await you, and may look down upon the ignorance and error that surround you, not with lofty and su- percilious contempt, as the sages of old times, but with the vehement desire of enlightening ON EDUCATION. 17 those who wander in darkness, who are by so much the more endeared to us by how much they want our assistance ."_, 18 LORD BROUGHAM REASONS FOR ESTABLISHING SCHOOL SYSTEMS. " There are some wants which the animal in- stincts of our nature leave safely to encumber us, since they are sure of being provided for, as hunger and thirst, and other such natural propensities, operating as a physical necessity ; he who feels them will take means to satisfy their craving, as the more he feels them the more sure he is to endeavor to obtain relief. But it is not so with the wants of nature affect- ing the more refined and noble part of our con- stitution. It is not so, for instance, with the want of education, I mean common secular education ; on the contrary, the more ignorant people are the less civilized they are ; the less they know of the utility and advantages of learning, the less they bestir themselves and take means of supplying the defects in their education." [Systems for carrying instruction to the people, must ever be established, and the rich ON EDUCATION. 19 should cheerfully submit to levies for their maintenance ; knowing that taxes for the sup- port of education are like vapors, which rise, only to descend again to beautify and fertilize the earth. And yet there is an evil tendency in a law, for we are ever ready to excuse indi- vidual effort and leave the education of the peo- ple to legislators and School Systems : so that if individual effort, is requested, the reply is "have we not anexcellent School System, and a princely School Fund? This matter belongs to the government, and not to you or to me." Such remarks remind me of the boy who was indentured in the old fashioned way, to work nine months of the year,and receive an education the remaining three months ; but the boy could never be induced to attend school ; and when the neighbors asked him why he did not go to school as other boys did, he replied, " my mas- ter has agreed to give me an education, he is bound to do it in the 'denture, and I'm not go- ing to the school house arter it." Many of us seem to think that the School Law and the School Fund, are bound to give us an educa- 3 20 LORD BROUGHAM tion, and that we are not to make any personal effort for it. And relying upon a School Sys- tem, will only cheat us of an education ; per- sonal effort is the price of knowledge. But what at present, is most wanting with us, is, an active co-operation on the part of the people, with our school systems. Ed.} ON EDUCATION. 21 THE PEOPLE THEIR OWN INSTRUCTERS. *' It is no doubt manifest, that the people them- selves must be the great agents in accomplish- ing the work of their own instruction. Unless they deeply feel the usefulness of knowledge, and resolve to make some sacrifices for the ac- quisition of it, there can be no reasonable pros- pect of this grand object being obtained. But it is equally clear that to wait until the whole people with one accord make the deter- mination to labor in this good work, would be endless. A portion of the community may be sensible of its advantages, and willing at any fair price to seek them, long before the same laudable feelings become universal ; and then successful efforts to better their intellectual con- dition cannot fail to spread more widely the love of learning, and the disrelish for sensual and vulgar gratifications. But although the people must be the source and the instruments of their own improvement, they may be essen- tially aided in their efforts to instruct then> 22 LORD BROUGHAM selves. Impediments which might be suffered to retard or wholly to obstruct their progress, may be removed ; and efforts which, unassist- ed, might prove fruitless, arising perhaps from a transient or only a partial enthusiasm for the attainment of knowledge, may, through judi- cious encouragement, become effectual, and settle into a lasting and an universal habit." Glasgow Discou.se, 1836. [The People will never be their own instruct- ors, until they so learn to read, that they will afterwards read to learn not until they are taught to think while they observe, and observe while they think. The meagre unmeaning moiety of verbage, they now get from the schools, in the place of real, well defined know- ledge, cannot help them in the difficult and sub- lime process of self-education ; and we shall never see many who are the best taught of all gelf-taught so long as the schools give little or nothing to the people to commence with. A good elementary education is all that is ne- ON EDUCATION. 23 cessary to self-instruction. Said Edmund Stone, the Mathematician: "Does any man need to know any more than the twenty-six let- ters, to learn every thing else ?" But he must learn these twenty-six letters distinctly, and with delight the first steps must be taken under- standingly and with joy, or else he will not have that ability and strong desire to progress in the path of knowledge, so necessary to ensure suc- cess. It will not do to teach the child to say its primer, cypher to reduction, and hate know- ledge all the rest of its life ! If so, instead of the people's being " their own instructors," the great majority will " Live unknown, end steal into a peasant's grave." Ed] 24 LORD BROUGHAM THE PLEASURES OF KNOWLEDGE. "It maybe easily demonstrated that there is an advantage in learning, both for the useful- ness and the pleasure of it. There is some- thing positively agreeal-le to all men, to all, at least, whose nature is not most grovelling and base, in gaining knowledge for its own sake. When you see any thing for the first time, you at once derive some gratification from the sight being new ; your attention is awakened, and you desire to know more about it. If it is a piece of workmanship, as an instrument, a ma- chine of any kind, you wish to know how it is made ; how it works ; of what use it is. If it is an animal, you desire to know where it comes from ; how it lives ; what are its dispo- sitions, and, generally, its nature and habits. You feel this desire too without at all consider- ing that the machine or the animal may ever be of the least use to yourself practically ; for, in all probability, you may never see them again. But you have a curiosity to know all ON EDUCATION. 25 about them, because they are new and unknown. You accordingly make inquiries ; you feel a gratification in getting answers to your ques- tions ; that is, in receiving information, and in knowing more ; in being better informed than you were before. If you happen again to see the same instrument or animal, in some respects like, but differing in other particulars, we find it pleasing to compare them together, and to note in what they agree, and in what they dif- fer. Now, all this kind of gratification is of a pure and disinterested nature, and has no refer- ence to any of the common purposes of life ; yet it is a pleasure an enjoyment. You are nothing the richer for it ; you do not gratify your palate, or any other bodily appetite ; and yet it is so pleasing that you would give some- thing out of your pocket to obtain it, and fore- go some bodily enjoyment for its sake. The pleasure derived from science is exactly of the like nature, or rather it is the very same. For what has been just spoken of is in fact science, which, in its most comprehensive sense, only means knowledge, and in its ordinary sense 26 I.ORD BROUGHAM means knowledge reduced to a system ; that is, arranged in a regular order, so as to be con- veniently taught, easily remembered, and rea- dily applied. The practical uses of any science or branch of knowledge are undoubtedly of the highest importance ; and there is hardly any man who may not gain some positive advantage in his worldly wealth and comforts, by increasing his stock of information. But there is also a plea- sure in seeing the uses to which knowledge may be applied, wholly independent of the share we ourselves may have in those practi- cal benefits. It is pleasing to examine the na- ture of a new instrument, or the habits of an unknown animal, without considering whether or not they may ever be of use to ourselves or to any body. It is another gratification to ex- tend our inquiries, and find that the instrument or animal is useful to man, even although we have no chance ourselves of ever benefitting by the information : as, to find that the natives of some distant country employ the animal in travelling : nay, though he have no desire of ON EDUCATION. 27 benefiting by the knowledge ; as, for example, to find that the instrument is useful in perform- ing some dangerous surgical operation. The mere gratification of curiosity ; the knowing more to-day than we knew yesterday ; the un- derstanding clearly what before seemed obscure and puzzling ; the contemplation of general truths, and the comparing together of different things, is an agreeable occupation of the mind ; and, beside the present enjoyment, ele- vates the faculties above low pursuits, purifies and refines the passions, and helps our reason to assuage their violence." 28 LORD BROUGHAM OPINION OF MR. OWEN'S PLAN. HIS SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. " I am desirous not to be misunderstood as agreeing wholly to Mr. Owen's plan. I con- ceive the theory on which it is founded to be wholly erroneous. It is founded upon a prin- ciple which I deny, that of the increase of population being a benefit to the country. But, although I differ from the theory upon which that plan is founded, especially upon the subject of population, and think it would increase the evil of which it is the ostensible remedy, I still think that there are certain parts of the plan peculiarly entitled to the consideration of the House. I mean especially that part of it which relates to education. The system proposed and acted upon by Mr. Owen, in training infant children, before they are susceptible of what is generally called education, is deserving of the utmost attention. This, indeed, is the sound part of Mr. Owen's plan, and agreeable to the wisest principles. ON EDUCATION. 29 By all means, then, I would say, let the House appoint a Committee, to inquire into the means bv which those parts of Mr. Owen's plan, against which no objections can be made, may best be put in general practice. That which is wild or visionary may be slighted ; but the useful or the practicable ought not to be discarded. At the same time, I must say, with respect to education, that the assistance of Government or Parliament is not so necessary to its advancement, as the interests of that sub- ject may be very safely trusted to the public spirit and private benevolence of the country." [We see here the liberality of a great mind. It selects, from much that is impracticable and pernicious, such parts as are important. It is ever ready to learn from sources, however de- spised or mingled with error. It is the remark of another living philosopher and legislator, " that the glory of a nation does not consist in never borrowing anything, but in perfecting every thing it borrows." And the Legislature 30 LORD BROUGHAM of every State, should at once appoint a com- mittee to investigate and secure the merits of every School System, and thus be able to em- body in a school law, all the excellencies ob- tained from the experience and experiments of every civilized nation. By such action the improvements of every observing, investigating Teacher and School Association, would become common stock to all. Ed.] ON EDUCATION. 31 EDUCATION OF THE POOR. "It is with unspeakable delight that I contem- plate the rich gifts that have been bestowed the honest zeal displayed by private persons for the benefit of their fellow-creatures. When we inquire from whence proceeded these en- dowments, we generally find that it is not from the public policy, nor the bounty of them, who, in their day, possessing princely revenues, were anxious to devote a portion of them for the benefit of mankind not from those who, hav- ing amassed vast fortunes by public employ- ment, were desirous to repay, in charity, a lit- tle of what they had thus levied upon the State, It is more frequently some obscure personage some tradesman of humble birth who, grateful for the education which had enabled him to acquire his wealth through honest indus- try, turned a portion of it from the claims of nearer connections, to enable other helpless creatures, in circumstances like his own, to meet the struggles he himself has undergone. In the history of this country, public or domes- tic, I know of no feature more touching than 3 32 LORD BROUGHAM this, unless, perhaps, it be the yet more aflect- ing sight of those, who every day, before our eyes, are seen devoting their fortunes, their time, their labor, their health, to offices of be- nevolence and mercy. How many persons do I myself know, to whom it is only necessary to say there are men without employment, chil- dren uneducated, sufferers in prison, victims of disease, wretches pining in want, and straight- way they will abandon all other pursuits, as if they themselves had not large families to pro- vide for ; and toil for day and for nights, stolen from their most necessary avocations, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shed upon the children of the poor that inestimable bless- ing of education, which alone gave themselves the wish and the power " to relieve their fellow- men !" I survey this picture with inexpressi- ble pleasure, and the rather because it is a glo- ry peculiar to England. She has the more cause to be proud of it, that it is the legitimate fruit of her free constitution. Where tyrants bear sway, palaces may arise to lodge the poor ; and hospitals may be the most magnificent or ON EDUCATION. 33 imments of the seat of power. But, though fair to the eye, and useful to several classes, their foundations are laid in the sufferings of others. They are supported not by private be- neficence which renders a pleasure to the giv- er, as well as a comfort to him who receives but by the haru-won earnings of the poor, wrung from their wants, and frequently by the preposterous imposts laid upon their vices. While the rulers of any people will hold from them the enjoyment of theirmostsacred rights -a voice in the management of their own affairs, they must continue .strangers to those noble sen- timents that honeat declaration of purpose which distinguishes freemen, teaches them to look beyond the sphere of personal interest, makes their hearts beat high, and stretches out their arms for the glory and the advantage of their country. There is no more degrading effect of despotism, than that it limits the cha- ritable feelings of our nature, rendering men suspicious and selfish, and forgetful that they have a country. Happily for England she has a people capable .of higher things !" ^Practical Observations on the Education' of the People.? 34 LORD BROUGHAM IMPERISHABLE MONUMENTS TO A NATION'S FAME. "I cannot sit down without once more advert- ing to a most interesting topic, to which I drew the notice of the House when I last had the honor of addressing them. Every day has dis- covered to the Committee (of Education) more and more proofs of the munificently charitable disposition of individuals in former times. What I wish you to do is, only to turn with grateful attention to the benevolence of your forefathers, and to endeavor to prevent the me- morials of that benevolence from being defaced. We are occupied in raising monuments to the glory of our naval and military defenders, and fashioning them of materials far more per- ishable than their renown ; all I ask is, that we should protect from the operations of time, and from the injuries of interested malversation, those monuments of the genuine glory of our ancestors, those trophies which they won in a pious and innocent warfare, and left to com ON EDUCATION. 35 me morale triumphs unmingled with sorrow, unpoauted by blood, gained over Ignorance, that worst enemy of the human race, and over her progeny, Vice ! Thus we shall perform a greater service to the public ; we shall contribute to exalt the name and the fame of this country more than by all the other acts of public munificence in which, as a great and victorious nation, we have been, justly indulging. Whatever may be attempted to impede the attainment of this object, I hope that we shall so vigilantly protect the Commis- sioners in the execuiion of their duty, as to prove to all persons that any efforts to frustrate the views of this House, and to defeat the hopes of the country, are vain ; and I trust that all who have hitherto obstructed, or who may yet en- deavor to thwart our views, whether from an interested dread lest their own malversations should be detected, or from scarcely less base fellow-feelings for the malversations of others, or from a silly and groundless fear of they know not what dangers that all who, on whatever grounds, hold out a protecting hand to cormp- 3* 36 LOAD BROUGHAM tion, from the hereditary enemy of improve- ment, and the mitred patron of abuse, down to the meanest peculator in the land, may learn that the time is gone by when the poor can be robbed with impunity." [The "monuments of genuine glory" are the school houses raised by a free people. These humble but mighty institutions, scattered all over our soil, are the fairest ornaments of the land. They are the people's colleges, and the temples of freedom. Within their walls, on this day, are educating four millions of sove- reigns, each one to be a citizen king. Our common schools are the sun of the peo- ple's mind, daily scattering light and warmth over the nation. They should be the idols of a free people, and around them all should gather to honor and elevate, for they are the sources and guardians of freedom. On them the people rely for strength and wisdom to ON EDUCATION. 37 overcome "Ignorance, that worst enemy of the human race." And whoever builds a school house, or teaches a good school, is erecting a monument to Freedom that man should the people delight to honor. Ed.] 38 LORD BROUGHAM PERNICIOUS INFLUENCE OP ANNUAL PARLIA- MENTARY GRANTS ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. "Should Parliament show a disposition to as- sist those societies formed for the education of the poor, by annual grants, no one can doubt that the zeal of the collectors and the exertions of the contributors would be immediately re- laxed ; nor can it reasonably be questioned that the funds so bestowed would be supplied less economically. We might expect soon to see these incomes raised for the education of the poor in less considerable towns, amounting to 100 or 200 a year, in larger cities to 1,200, 1,500, and even 2,000, dwindle to nothing, while others, only in embryo, might perish ; and many beneficial schemes would assuredly never be performed at all, which the charity of richer classes, left to itself, neither controlled nor assisted, might speedily have conceived. The line traced out by Parliament with re- gard to the populous districts, by all the evi- dence given to the committee, seems suffi- ON EDUCATION. 39 ciently plain. It should confine its assistance to the first cost of the establishments, and leave the yearly expenses to be defrayed in every case by the private patrons. The difficulty generally experienced in beginning a school, arises from the expenses of providing the school room and the master's house. In many places -the inhabitants could raise so much a year to keep the thing going, provided it were once started ; and undertakings are often thus abandoned from the difficulty of meeting this first and greatest expense." [This opinion of Lord Brougham is opposed to the requirements of our school laws, and equally so, we think, with great deference to this learned legislator, to the best interests of education. The New York school system requires each school district to erect a school house and sus- tain a school four months each year before the inhabitants can be entitled to any portion of the school fund. 40 LORD BROUGHAM If the legislature should erect school houses, the people, in many instances, feeling little or no interest in that which had cost them nothing, and which they in person had not asked for, would not readily or with spirit organize and sustain a school. And we think that the means and feelings of the people of England do not so far differ from us as to sustain this opinion of the learned Lord. Whenever individual or legislative aid is of- fered for the maintenance of a school, the in- habitants of the district should first be required to appropriate a certain sum, and afterwards double the amount they are to receive annually from the permanent fund. Yet, we think it would be a wiser system still, which would establish a fund sufficient to appropriate to every child in the state between five and fifteen, one dollar annually, at the same time compelling the inhabitants of the district to raise, by direct lax on property, an additional amount sufficient to maintain a good school the entire year. The school would then be free and open to all, and not cursed with ON EDUCATION. 41 that odious distinction of 'pay-list and charity- list.' If a certain sum of money is given to the schools, as in Connecticut, without requiring the people to lake from their own pockets twice the amount, we certainly believe, with Lord Brougham, that " the exertions of the contributors (the parents) would be imme- diately relaxed, and the funds so bestowed would be applied less economically." Mention is made, in the above article, of "the Master's house." Such a building is sel- dom seen with us. But every school district, having the means, should be as zealous to pro- vide a permanent and comfortable home for the teacher as our congregations are to furnish a minister with a parish. How cheap and contemptible must a teacher become, who, under the "boarding-round" system, is tucked by rotation into the corner of every kitchen in the district ! Ed.] 42 LORD BROUGHAM ON THE PREVENTION OP CRIME. "In extirpating crimes, we must look to pre- vention rather than to punishment. Punish- ment lingers behind ; it moves with a slow and uncertain step it advances but at a halting pace in its pursuit after the criminal : while all the advantages which it promises, without be- ing able to attain them, might be secured by preventing the access of the evil principle into minds as yet untainted with its baneful influ- ence. By the infusion of good principles, and that alone, can we hope to eradicate those crimes with which society is at present har- rassed. I feel that every day is lost which is not devoted to this great purpose by the law- giver and the government of this close-peopled, wealthy, and manufacturing country, where the variety I had almost said, the variegation of the moral aspect of the people is so great arising from the variety of their habits, and from the consequences which inevitably follow from the unequal distribution of wealth; where we behold all the extravagance close by the ON EDUCATION. 43 squalid wretchedness of poverty. In such a state of things, the necessary consequence is, that crime will abound. In such a state of things, then, it is necessary that the lawgiver and the ruler should take every means to ex- tend education, and thus prevent the aptitude for criminal purposes." [ When will men learn that education is the only preventive of crime ; and that, under any government, it is much cheaper to educate the infant mind than to support the aged criminal ? Edmund Burke, the scholar, philosopher, and statesman, long since chrystalized this drop of truth, and sent it out to remain in men's memo- ries for ever, when he said, " Education is the cheap defence of nations." And what is our defence ? Not standing armies, not the daily sight of the military, tramping the earth with sabre and bayonet, but the children of the peo- ple, going from their homes to their schools,and from their schools to their homes, carrying in their hands the Testament and the Spelling 44 LOHD BROUGHAM Book. This is our strength, and in this we have put our trust. But the age has become mechanical and physical, and no longer regards, or if so, with only a passing notice, the true sources of power and perpetuity. The strife now is with every man to see how many pock- ets he can empty into his own. It is an age, not for education, but of profit and loss, ft does not adore the true and the beautiful, but calculates the gain. "It does not inculcate on men the necessity and infinite worth of moral goodness, and the great truth that our happi- ness depends on the mind which is within us. But it labors to make us believe that happiness depends entirely on external circumstances. It is no longer the intellectual and spiritual con- dition of the people, but their physical, practi- cal profit and loss condition, as regulated by public laws. The heart of the nation breathes out its worship toward the body-politic, but the soul-politic is forgotten." Every thing is done " Not for Conscience sake, but for Purse sake." ON EDUCATION. 45 The spirit of the age would inquire, with the man, who, hearing a great poem extolled, asked " if it would make bread cheaper ?" It was remarked, by Daniel Webster, to the students of Amherst, "that the great business of life was education." But the great business now is to make laws. We live to make laws, rather than make laws to live happy. We watch over the outward machinery of life, ra- ther than the inward living principle we wor- ship the bellows-blower, and not the Organist. " Ah ! what is life thus spent ! and what are they But frantic who thus epend itl" This and much more might be corrected, if the school master were at his post, and worth any thing when there. Then might the people begin to learn that " The only amaranthine flower on earth Is virtue ; the only lasting treasure, truth." Our legislation is not preventive but penal, It is much readier to punish the crime, than to correct the circumstances which led to it. It struggles with present difficulties, and ia nojt 46 LORD BROTTGHAM far reaching. If, in the place of political strife, the people's education could become the en- grossing topic, we might soon write over our prison doors, " To Let" Ed.] ON EDUCATION. 47 RELIGION AS CONNECTED WITH EDUCATION. "A religious education is most essential to the welfare of every individual. To the rich it is all but every thing ; to the poor it may be said, without a figure, to be everything. It is to them that the Christian religion is especially preached it is their special patrimony ; and if the Legislature does not secure for them a re- ligious education they do not, in my opinion, half execute their duty to their fellow-crea- tures." [" Think not that Liberty From knowledge and Religion e'er will dwell Apart, companions they Of Heavenly seed connate." And understandingly, as wisely said Lord Byron, " The Tree of Knowledge is not that of lifo. Philosophy and science and the springs Of wonder, and the wisdom of the world, I have essayed, and in my mind there is 4* 48 LORD BHOUGHAM A power to make these subject te itself ; But they avail not.''' And again, he writes " I have known That knowledge is not happiness, and science But an exchange of ignorance for that Which is another kind of ignorance." A depraved high-taught intellect, blowing where it listeth, does but blight and scathe the souls of men. And the highest good of all demands that every child should be taught, " Not only Principles earthy and of earth. But Heavenly ones of Heaven." Knowledge without religion puffeth up, and is vain and blind. " For never yet did philanthropic tube That brings the planets home into the eye Of observation, and discovers, else Not visible, his family of worlds Discover him that rules them ; such a veil Hangs over mortal eyes, blind from the birth And dark in things divine. Full often too, Our wayward intellect, the more we learn ON EDUCATION. 49 Of nature, overlooks her author more ; But if his word once teach us shoot a ray Through all the heart's dark chambers, and reveal Truths undiscerned but by that holy light, Then all is plain. Philosophy, baptized In the pure fountain of eternal love Has eyes indeed ; and viewing all she sees As meant to indicate a God to man. Learning has borne such fruit in other days On all her branches : piety has found Friends in the friends of science, and true pray'r Has flowed from lips wet with Castalian dews. Such was thy wisdom, Newton, child-like sage ! Sagacious reader of the works of God, And in his word sagacious. Such, too, thine, Milton, whose genius had angelic wings And fed on manna !" And what more invigorating to the faculties, than exercise on moral things, " the least of which seem infinite." Ed.] 50 LORD BROUGHAM THE HUMAN MIND NO LONGER IN SHACKLES. "I rejoice to think that it is not necessary to close these observations, by combating objec- tions to the diffusion of science among the working classes, arising from considerations of a political nature. Happily the time is past and gone when bigots would persuade mankind that the lights of philosophy were to be ex- tinguished as dangerous to religion ; and when tyrants could proscribe the instructors of the people as enemies to their power. It is prepos- terous to imagine that the enlargement of our acquaintance with the laws which regulate the universe, can dispose to unbelief. It may be a cure for superstition for intolerance it will be a most certain cure ; but a pure and true reli- gion has nothing to fear from the greatest ex- pansion which the understanding can receive, by the study either of matter or of mind. The more widely science is diffused, the better will the Author of all things be known, and the less will the people be ' tossed to and from by the ON EDUCATION* 51 sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.' To tyrants, in- deed, and bad rulers, the progress of knowledge among the mass of mankind is a just object of terror ; it is fatal to them and their designs ; they know this by an unerring instinct, and un- ceasingly they dread the light. But they will find it more easy to curse than to extinguish. It is spreading in spite of them, even in those countries where arbitrary power deems itself most secure ; and in England any attempt to check its progress would only bring about the sudden destruction of him who should be in- sane enough to make it. Let no one be afraid of the bulk of the community becoming too ac- complished for their superiors. Well educated, and even well versed in the most elevated sci- ences, they assuredly may become; and the worst consequences that can follow to their su- periors, will be, that to deserve being called their betters, they too must devote themselves more to the pursuit of solid and refined learn- ing. The present public seminaries must be 52 LORD BROUGHAM enlarged ; and some of the greater cities of the kingdom, especially the metropolis, must not be left destitute of the regular means within themselves of scientific education." ON EDUCATION. 53 CAPACITY OF CHILDREN TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE. " The child, when he first comes into the world, may care very little for what is passing around him, although he is, of necessity, always learning something, even at the first; but, after a certain period, he is in a rapid progress of instruction ; his curiosity becomes irrepressi- ble ; the thirst for knowledge is predominating in his mind, and it is as universal as insatiable. During the period between the ages of eighteen months to two years and six, I will even say five, he learns much more of the material world of his own powers of the nature of other bodies even of his mind, and of others' minds, than he ever after acquires, during all the years of boyhood, youth, and manhood. Every child, even of the most ordinary capa- city, learns more, acquires a greater mass of knowledge, and of a more useful kind, at this tender age, than the greatest philosopher is enabled to build up during the longest life of 64 LOUD BROUGHAM the most successful investigation, even were he to live to eighty years of age, and pursue the splendid career of a Newton or a La Place. The knowledge which an infant stores up the ideas which are generated in his mind are so important that, if we could suppose them to be afterwards obliterated, all the learning of a se- nior wrangler at Cambridge, or a first-class man at Oxford, would be as nothing to it, and would, literally, not enable its victim to prolong his existence for a week. This being altogether undeniable, how is it that so much is learned at this tender age ? Not, certainly, by teaching or by any pains taken to help the newly -arrived guest of this world. It is almost all accom- plished by his own exertion by the irrepressi- ble curiosity the thirst for knowledge, only to be appeased by learning, or by the fatigues and the sleep which it superinduces. It is all effected by the instinctive spirit of inquiry, which brings his mind into a perpetual course of induction, engaging him in a series of experi- ments, which begins when he awakes in the morning and only ends when he falls asleep. ON EDUCATION. 55 All he learns during these years he learns, not only without pain, but with an intense delight a relish keener than appetite known at our jaded and listless age and learns in one-tenth of the time which, in after life, would be required for its acquisition. Perverse and ob- stinate habits are formed before the age of seven, and the mind that might have been moulded like wet clay in a plastic hand, be- comes sullen, untractable obdurate, after that age. To this inextinguishable passion for all learning, succeeds a dislike for instruction amounting almost to disease. Gentle feelings a kind and compassionate nature an ingen- uous, open temper unsuspecting, and wanting no guard, are succeeded by violence, and reck- lessness, and bad morals, and base fear, and concealment, and even falsehood, till he is forced to school, not only ignorant of what is good, but also much learned in what is bad. These are the effects of the old system ; the postponed education, and the neglected tuition of infants." Speech, February 24 , 1835, 5 56 LORD BROUGHAM EFFECT OF HABIT ON THE INFANT MIND. " I trust every thing to habit ; habit, upon which, in all ages, the lawgiver, as well as the schoolmaster, has mainly placed his reliance ; habit, which makes every thing easy, and casts all difficulties upon the deviation from the wonted course. Make sobriety a habit, and intemperance will be hateful and hard ; make prudence a habit, and reckless profligacy will be as contrary to the nature of the child grown an adult, as the most atrocious crimes are to any of your lordships. Give a child the habit of sacredly regarding the truth of carefully respecting the property of others of scrupu- lously abstaining from all acts of improvidence which can involve him in distress, and he will just as little think of lying, or cheating, or steal- ing, as of rushing into an element in which he cannot breathe. " Ibid. ON EDUCATION. 57 EARLY FORMATION OF GOOD HABITS. "If a child is neglected till six years of age, no subsequent education can recover it. If to this age it is brought up in dissipation and igno- rance, in all the baseness of brutal habits, and in that vacancy of mind which such habits cre- ate, it is in vain to attempt to reclaim it by teaching it reading and writing. You may teach what you choose afterwards, but if you have not prevented the formation of bad habits, you will teach in vain. An infant is in a state of perpetual enjoy- ment from the intensity of curiosity. There is no one thing which it does not learn sooner or better than at any other period of life, and with- out any burden to itself or the teacher. But learning is not all, nor the principal considera- tion moral habits are acquired in these schools ; and by their means children are kept out of the nurseries of obscenity, vulgarity, vice, and blasphemy. In the establishment at Westminster, none but children between three 58 LORD BROUGHAM and five years of age are admitted, and there they are kept out of the streets, and taken care of by a parental indulgent dame, while their mothers are set at liberty to go out and work. Whether the children learn less or more is of little consequence. The moral discipline is the great consideration." [The first sentence of this most true and elo- quently expressed extract, contains an opinion directly opposed to the assertion of Thomas Jefferson : " That children should be left to the dictates of Nature, and without restraint or in- struction, until seven years old." And it was remarked by Milton, in his " Tractate :" " If you do not teach your children, the Devil will.'* But Socrates settled the question long since, when he said : " Vice we can learn of our- selves, but virtue and knowledge require a teacher." And the danger of having nothing to do is quaintly expressed by John Bunyan : " The Devil tempts every man, but the idle; man tempts the DeviU" ON EDUCATION. 59 Habit has such an influence upon all, that it has been called "second nature," and we cannot commence too early in doing right, for practice then will soon make that way the most pleasing. Lord Brougham has given it as his opinion, " that children have learned more at the age of six, than they ever learn afterwards ;" that they should be rightly and wisely instructed during this active, susceptible period, we think no one will deny. So potent is the power of habit that men usually act first, and think afterwards. We act, and then devise within ourselves how we may conform our opinion to our actions. These well known truths show all but the omnipo- tence of habit, which is formed early in life, and determines the character of manhood, Ed.] 5* 60 LORD BROUGHAM BENEFITS RESULTING FROM INFANT SCHOOLS. " I consider the establishment of infant schools as one of the most important improve- ments, I was going to say in the education, but I ought rather to say in the civil polity of this country, that have for centuries been made. Whoever knows the habits of children at an earlier age than that of six or seven the age at which they generally attend the infant schools whoever understands their tempers, their habits, their feelings, or their talents, is well aware of their capacity of receiving in- struction long before the age of six. The child is, at three and four, and even partially at two and under, perfectly capable of receiving that sort of knowledge which forms the basis of all education; but the observers of children, the student of the human mind, has learnt only half his lesson, if his experience has not taught him something more : it is not enough to say that a child can learn a great deal before the age of six years ; the truth is, that he can learn, ON EDUCATION. 61 and does learn, a great deal more before that age than all he ever learns or can learn in all his after life. His attention is more easily roused in a new world : it is more vivid in a fresh existence ; it is excited with less effort, and it engraves ideas deeper in the mind. His memory is more retentive in the same propor- tion in which his attention is more vigorous ; bad habits are not formed, nor is his judgment warped by unfair bias ; good habits may easily be acquired, and the pain of learning be almost destroyed; a state of listless indifference has not began to poison all joy, nor has indolence paralysed his powers, or bad passions quenched or perverted useful desires. He is all activity, inquiry, exertion, motion he is eminently a curious and learning animal ; and this is the common nature of all children; not merely of clever, and lively ones, but of all who are en- dowed with ordinary intelligence, and who in a few years become, through neglect, the stu- pid boys and dull men we see." 62 LORD BROUGHAM [Yet, during this age, which "is all activity, inquiry, exercise and motion," the nurse that can keep the child from breaking its neck is deemed an all-sufficient teacher. We think the eulogium pronounced here, on infant schools, far too high and unqualified. They are not, at present, as frequent or popular as they were a few years since. An infant school is a benefit, and should be established in such communities only where the mothers, from the nature of the employment, must leave their children the larger part of the day. It is better to have children in an infant school than to let them run in the streets, or to remain alone, and tied to a piece of furniture in the house. But children whose parents have leisure and educa- tion should never be sent to one of these schools, as they are now conducted. The mother is the best companion and the best teacher. And the answer to the often-repeated question, " Are infant schools a benefit or not ?" depends entirely upon the character of the neighborhood where they may be estab- lished. They were all the rage, and great ON EDUCATION. 63 places of resort, a few years since, but seldom is it now that we meet with one. This forced, hot-house growth was not found healthy or lasting. And often have we been obliged to exclaim with another : " Oh ! that so rich a harvest should be marred By thrusting in the sickle e'er 'tis ripe." 64 LORD BROUGHAM EDUCATION NO DETRIMENT TO THE POOR HISTORICAL EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF EDUCATION. " It appears that, since the peace of Amiens, and in consequence of what has taken place at the French revolution, the education of the poor classes is objected to by some persons in this country, on the ground that it would make a Tian a worse subject. This is, however, a modern idea. I can show, from historical doc- uments and authorities, that the education of the poor is by no means a novel object, but has been held in early ages, and by the wisest gov- ernments, the best security for the morals, the subordination, and the peace of countries. In France, in the year 1582, under the reign of Henry III., the States general met, and the noblesse of the day presented a petition to the sovereign, praying that pains and penalties might be imposed upon those who would not send their children to school ; and nearly at the same time the Scotch Parliament (perhaps the ON EDUCATION. 65 most aristocratical body in existence) passed a law that every gentleman should send, at least, his eldest son to school, in order to learn gram- mar. In the sixteenth century an order was made that all children should attend school, and that alms and charities should be refused to those persons whose children did not so attend. I have also seen a charter of King David I., dated 1241, in which mention was made of various public schools in Roxburgh, now a small vil- lage. Another charter, dated 1163, spoke of the school of Stirling. Another in 1244, noticed the number of schools in Ayr ; and a fourth, dated in 1256, made honorable mention of the praiseworthy manner in which the schools of other districts were conducted. Shortly before the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in 1680, the most intolerant period of French history, was founded the first society in the world, and, for a long time, the only one, for the advance- ment of education. Its founder was the cele- brated Pere de la Salle, and the order was 66 LORD BROUGHAM " Les Freres des Ignorants" and their vow was the foundation of schools. That society had established numerous schools for the education of the poor. In 1724, which was also a most intolerant period, Pope Benedict issued a most celebrated bull, authorizing and encouraging the extensive establishment of places of education for the poor. In that bull the Pope mentioned the ex- ample of the "Pere de la Salle," and expressed himself in the following words : "Ex ignoran- tia omnium origine melorum, praesertim in illis qui egestate oppressi sunt, et qui elementa Christianas religionis persaspe ignorant." A more accurate, a more scientific description of ignorance, was never given, even by Voltaire, than in this instance, was promulgated by the enemy of that great philosopher by Benedict. I now turn to a different authority. From that of "Pere de la Salle," and his ignorantium brotherhood, from the advice of the Pope, to whose bull I have alluded, I come to the evi- dence, in 1728, of the lieutenant of police at Paris, a man who was, perhaps, much more ON EDUCATION. 67 conversant than either with the effects of igno- rance. The gentleman stated that from the period of the establishment of the ignorantium schools in Paris, the expense of the police in the Faubourg St. Antoine was reduced 30,000 francs annually. This was the evidence, be it remembered, not of a theoretical, but of a prac- tical man. About the same time, a remarka- ble circumstance happened in this country. la 1714, Mandeville published his " Fable of the Bees," condemning the charity schools of that day, because, he said, the children learnt noth- ing there but to lisp ' High Church and Or- mond ;' and in nine years afterwards the grand jury of the county of Middlesex thought fit to present him as a fit object for prosecution, and he was accordingly prosecuted for endeavoring to prevent the advancement of education and religious instruction, for irreligion, for decrying the universities, and for reprobating the instruc- tion of youth. Thus, strange as it may seem, an impious man and an atheist was at that time occupying 6 68 LORD BROUGHAM the ground since mistakenly filled (though only for a moment) by the pious and the religious, who in our own day, worked upon by false philosophy and the evil consequences of the French Revolution, have endeavored to discou- rage the progress of knowledge. Mandeville charged the education of his time with instilling principles of disloyalty, and an antagonist of Mandeville's, in a letter to Lord Carteret, re- plied, 'I defy you to prove this; but enter into any of the schools, and if you at any time find disloyalty inculcated, let the schools be pulled down.' Now this is precisely my ar- gument. I have heard that schools have been established in Lancashire and Cheshire, incul- cating unconstitutional doctrines, radical doc- trines; why, then, my advice is, if there are such schools, let them be shut up. I next come to a letter or circular of the Pope, through the Cardinal Fontana, to the Irish prelates, in 1819. In this letter is pointed out the poison which was inculcated into the minds of the people from allowing them to ON EDUCATION. 89 read unauthorized versions of the Holy Scrip- tures. The right reverend father said, with true philosophy, 'It is not enough to prevent such works ; in order to prevent your flock from being badly educated, you must your- selves educate them well.' This was un- doubtedly the language which, as a pious man, and as head of the church to which he belonged, he ought to use. The Pope went on to say, * In order to avoid the snares of the tempter, I beseech the holy brotherhood, through the love of Christ, to work day and night in the establishment of Catholic Schools, in order to prevent the dissemination of improper doc- trines.' Now this is exactly my argument. Let us, in order to prevent bad impressions, inculcate those which are sound, and this is only to be done by education. I am happy to have such high authority with me on this point. The whole of this branch of the argument may be summed up in the memorable words of the great Lord Bacon, * Luces enim naturam puram,' &c. that the light of knowledge was 70 LORD BROUGHAM in itself pure and bright, however it might be perverted and polluted by wickedness or imper- fect instruction ; and that the channels by which it poured in upon the hunan species ought to be ever kept open and undefiled." ON EDUCATION. 71 INSTRUCTING THE POOR IN LATIN AND GREEK - MILTON AND BURNS QUOTED IN SUPPORT OF EDUCATION. "It has been urged against me, that I wish the poorer classes to be taught Greek and Latin, and fluxions and other knowledge, which would draw them from the cultivation of the soil and from their various humble occupations. I really have no such wild project in contempla- tion. I agree with one of the wisest men that ever lived, that, to one of the rank to which I allude, a knowledge of all the languages of the globe cannot, in point of utility, be put in com-, petition with an acquaintance with a single me- chanical art. Milton, the most learned man of a learned age, endowed with many rare accomplishments of genius and of acquirement, in his small 'Tractate of Education,' has expressed him- self in the following forcible and beautiful lan- guage: 'And though a linguist should prido 72 LORD BROUGHAM himself to have all the tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet if he had not studied the solid things in them, as well as the words and lexicons, he were nothing so much to be esteemed a learned man as any yeoman or tradesman competently wise in his mother-dia- lect only.' Still, however, I am persuaded that, if a poor man had a little more education, it would be no bar to his industrious occupa- tions. Without dwelling upon theoretical opinions, I will quote a practical authority of a remarka- ble nature, in a letter from Mr. Gilbert Burns, brother to the immortal poet of that name, who, though a self-taught man, will pass down to posterity with the name of his country, a man who has by his songs rendered that country much dearer to its natives, as must be felt by all those belonging to that country who have ever visited foreign climes. I will read an ex- tract of a letter from the brother of that man to Mr. Currie, and it is the more worthy of atten- tion as the hand that wrote it had, an hour be- ON EDUCATION. 73 fore, been probably engaged in directing the plough. Mr. Gilbert Burns, in his letter, says, ' I can say, from my own experience, that there is no sort of farm-labor inconsistent with the most refined and pleasurable state of mind that I am acquainted with, arising from a liberal educa- tion, thrashing alone excepted.' I will here beg leave to observe that the writer does not clothe his ideas in perhaps as fine or as rounda- bout a dress as would be used by some other gentleman; he stated what arose in his mind clearly but simply. He had, perhaps, been thrashing shortly before, and had, therefore, felt the irksomeness of the employment. He went on to state, ' That indeed I always con- sidered an insupportable drudgery, and I think an ingenious mechanic who invented the thrash- ing-machine ought to have a statue among the benefactors of his country, in a corresponding niche with the first introducer and cultivator of potatoes. I maintain, moreover, that, as the sort of dim religious awe is wearing off which used hitherto to guard the morals of the people 74 LORD BROUGHAM in this part of the world, from a great variety of causes, men will go suddenly into the other ex- treme, if they be not educated so as to enable them to see the separation between the essence of true religion and the gross system so often confounded with it.' So much for my peasant. He came at once to the point, and I wish that many other persons whom I know would do the same." ON EDUCATION. 75 SNEERS AT EDUCATION. "The enemies of improvement have, indeed, of late years, confessed by their conduct, the hopelessness of any further attempt to obstruct its progress : they have bent before the wave, from fear of being swept away by it ; and they now have recourse to sneers and jibes at the instruction of the people. We are called Schoolmasters a title in which I glory, and never shall feel shame. Our Penny Science is ridiculed by those who have many pence and little knowledge ; our lectures are laughed at, as delivered to groups of what those ignorant people in fine linen and gaudy attire call, after the poet, 'lean unwashed artificers;' a class of men that should be respected, not derided by those who, were they reduced to work for their bread, would envy the skill of the men they now look down upon. Let such proud creatures enjoy the fancied triumph of their wit ; we care not for their light artillery (if, in- deed, their heavy jests can so be termed) half so 76 LORD BROT7GHAM much as we did for their serious opposition. If they are much amused with our penny sci- ences, I hope, before long, to see them laugh twice as much at our penny politics ; because, when the abominable taxes upon the knowledge which most concerns the people are removed I mean the Newspaper Stamp we shall have a universal diffusion of sound political know- ledge among all classes of the community ; and if lectures divert them so mightily now, I can tell them that preparation is making for afford- ing them much more entertainment in the same kind by a very ample extension of the present system of lecturing, and by including politics in the course." Liverpool Speech, July 20, 1839. ON EDUCATION. 77 THE PRUSSIAN SYSTEM OF EDUCATION CAN NEVER BE ADOPTED IN THIS COUNTRY. " Of one thing I am morally certain, that in this country the Prussian system of education can never be adopted. The system of educa- tion in Prussia is arbitrary, is absolutely com- pulsory. It is established under the bayonet, and enforced under the rigor of military pun- ishment, under the dread of the sergeant, un- der the fear of the corporal. Such a system may do very well for a country which, in reali- ty, is but one great camp, but it would never be tolerated in England. I do not believe that any one measure could be devised by the mind of man so surely, so admirably calculated to make a system of education unpopular as that of compelling people to send their children to school. God forbid that such a system should ever be attempted in this country. I am deci- dedly averse to the introduction of a compul- sory system in any sense whatever, either by forcing parents to send their children to school under certain penalties, or of depriving them 78 LORD BROT7GHAM of certain privileges if they refuse to let them attend." [In this we differ with the noble writer. We believe the State has and ought to exercise the right of compelling parents to send their children to school. What ! has the State a right to send a man to the gallows, and no right to send him to school ? Says a writer in the Foreign Quarterly Re- view, (No. XXIV.) " If children provided their own education, and could be sensible of its importance to their happiness, it would be a want, but as it is provided by the parents, and paid for by those who do not profit by its re- sults, it is a duty, and is therefore liable to be neglected." The following is that obnoxious part of the Prussian School Law, referred to by our au- thor. See M. Cousin's Report. " Care is every where to be taken to furnish necessitous parents with the means of sending their children to school, by providing them with ON EDUCATION. 79 the things necessary for their instruction, or with such clothes as they stand in need of." " If, however, parents and masters neglect sending their children punctually to school, the clergymen must first explain to them the hea- vy responsibility which rests upon them ; after that, the school-committee must summon them to appear before it, and address severe remon- strances to them. No excuse whatever shall be deemed valid (exclusive of the proof that the education of the child is otherwise provid- ed for,) except certificate of illness signed by the medical man or the clergyman ; the absence of the parents and masters which had occasion- ed that of the children ; or, lastly, the want of the necessary clothing, funds for providing which had not been forthcoming. " If these remonstrances are not sufficient, coercive measures are then to be resorted to against the parents, guardians, or masters. The children are to be taken to school by an officer of the police, or the parents are to be sentenced to graduated punishments or fines : 80 LORD BHOrGHAH and in case they are unable to pay, to imprison- ment or labor, for the benefit of the parish." " The parents who shall have incurred such sentences shall be equally incapable of taking any part in the administration of a parish, or of holding any office connected with the church or the school."* Ed,} Titl IIj JN EDUCATION. 81 THE THIRST AFTER KNOWLEDGE, *' When we turn from the considerable towns and populous districts to parts of the country more thinly peopled, we perceive a different state of things in all but one essential particular, in which every quarter of the kingdom seems to agree. The means of instruction are scanty : there is little reason to look for their increase, but the poor are everywhere anxious for educa- tion. From the largest cities to the most soli- tary villages ; to remote districts where the in- habitants live dispersed, without even a hamlet to gather them together ; whether in the busi- est haunts of men, the seats of refinement and civility, where the general diffusion of know- ledge and the experience of its advantages or pleasures might be expected to stamp a high value on it in all men's eyes ; or in the distant tracts of the country, frequented by men bare- ly civilized and acquainted with the blessings of education rather by report than observation ; in every corner of the country the poor are 82 LORD BROUGHAM deeply impressed with a sense of its vast im- portance, and willing to make any sacrifice within the bounds of possibility to attain this object of their ardent and steady desire. All the evidence collected evinces the truth of this statement, so honorable to the character of this country ; and I make it with a feeling of plea- sure and pride, because it shows the existence of a noble spirit in Englishmen, which all the calamities of the times have not been able to undermine and subdue." [Cheering and honorable indeed is it to Eng- land, if "in every corner of the country, the poor are deeply impressed with a sense of the vast importance of education, and willing to make any sacrifice within the bounds of possi- bility to attain it." Not so, however, we regret to say, is it with us, for in the city of New-York where the public schools are open and free to all, the parents and guardians of twenty-five thousand children are so indifferent to these fountains of learning and to the education of ON EDUCATION. 83 their children, as to let this vast number grow up to manhood without one day's instruction. Painful and surprising was it to all, when as- sured by a report a few months since from our Public School Board, that the city of New- York had twenty-five thousand children who could not be induced by the most unwearied ef- forts of a zealous, judicious Agent, to attend the public schools ; although the school board were earnestly beseeching all, and every one, to receive instruction " without money and without price." The cause of this indifference and neglect, is an important matter to all, and we will en- deavor, in part, at least, to explain it. Every effort, individual and legislative, in the United States to promote Education, has been to cheapen knowledge ; and thus to dif- fuse it more generally among the people. But a cheap diffusing system, has not given an edu- cation sufficient to show the people that "knowledge is power." Our education has been so limited and defective that we have no- thing to sustain us, when we instance the leam- 84 LORD BROTTGHAM ed as an argument in favor of an education j and so unproductive is the little schooling we get, the question is every day asked " what good does an education do ?" The study al- most exclusively, of "words, words, words Po- lonius," and a few servile memoriter recitations, do not make the student a living, acting argu- mentfor education, "seen and read by all men." But on the contrary, as these cheap schools have prepared them not to show their learning to the ignorant, but their ignorance to the learn- ed, or those naturally sagacious, an education is practically disregarded, if not openly re- jected. Our true'policy is, then, not to multiply cheap schools, to be a " by-word and a disgrace" and to give the people instruction so limited and full of error, as to make an education despis- ed ; but to improve the character of the schools, that they may give an education that will, as clear as noon-day, convince all, that knowledge is productive, and the highest source of hap- piness and honor. We write and speak, and annually spend our thousands to convict pa- ON EDUCATION. 85 rents of their obligations to educate their chil- dren ; but much less time and money spent in making the school better, would be far more successful in securing pupils. The American people in their utilitarian spirit, and worship of that which is available, must see that an edu- cation does confer a palpable, acknowledged advantage, before they will desire it.Ed.] 88 LORD BROUGHAM THE MARCH OF " INTELLECT AND ITS CON- TEMNERS. GLORY OF THE SCHOOLMASTER AND THE CONQUEROR. " But there is nothing which these adversaries of improvement are more wont to make them- selves merry with, than what is termed the " march of intellect ;" and here I will confess, that I think, as far as the phrase goes, they are in the right. It is very absurd, because a ve- ry incorrect expression. It is little calculated to describe the operation in question. It does not picture an image at all resembling the pro- ceedings of the true friends of mankind. It much more resembles the progress of the ene- my to all improvement. The conqueror moves in a march. He stalks onward with the " pride, pomp, and circumstance of war," banners flying, shouts rending the air, guns thunder- ing, and martial music pealing, to drown the shrieks of the wounded, and the lamentations for the slain. Not thus the Schoolmaster, in his peaceful vocation. He meditates and pre- ON EDUCATION. 87 pares in secret the plans which are to bless mankind ; he slowly gathers round him those who are to further their execution, he quietly, though firmly, advances in his humble path, laboring steadily, but calmly, till he has open- ed to the light all the recesses of ignorance, and torn up by the roots the weeds of vice. His is a progress not to be compared with any thing like a march, but it leads to a far more brilliant triumph, and to laurels more imperishable than the destroyer of his species, the scourge of the world, ever won. Such men men deserving the glorious title of Teachers of Mankind, I have found, labor- ing conscientiously, though, perhaps, obscure- ly, in their blessed vocation, wherever I have gone. I have found them, and shared their fellowship, among the daring, the ambitious, the ardent, the indomitably active French ; I have found them among the persevering, reso- lute, industrious Swiss ; I have found them among the laborious, the warm-hearted, the en- thusiastic Germans ; I have found them among 88 LORD BROUGHAM the high-minded, but enslaved Italians ; and in our own country, God be thanked, their num- bers every where abound, and are every day increasing. Their calling is high and holy ; their fame is the property of nations ; their re- nown will fill the earth in after ages, in propor- tion as it sounds not far off in their own times. Each one of these great teachers of the world, possessing his soul in peace : performs his ap- pointed course awaits in patience the fulfil- ment of the promises, resting from his labors, bequeathes his memory to the generation whom his works have blessed, and sleeps under the humble, but not inglorious epitaph, commemo- rating ' one in whom mankind lost a friend, and no man got rid of an enemy.' " [In the United States, there are eighty-five thousand teachers of Common Schools. These men are giving character and education to four millions of Sovereigns. And the edu- cation of the American People will be whatev- er these teachers have to impart, for the child ON EDUCATION. 89 is the wax which the instructor stamps. " As is the teacher, so is the school." What a model-man should a teacher be ! He who is to sweep the harp, the human heart, that harp of a thousand cords, the tones of which are to remain in the strings forever ! such a one only can be a good instructor, who is thus described by the poet : " A man so various that he seemed to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome." And what imparting powers are required in a teacher ! To so delight the young mind while pouring light and truth into it, " As if the soul that moment caught Some treasure it through life had sought." Should not a profession, demanding such powers and attainments, be honored and well rewarded ? They who are giving knowledge to the children of this free government, are friends to the world, benefactors to society, and deserve all the encouragement from those who preside over society, with the applause and good wishes of all good and honest men. 90 LORD BROUGHAM But it is not surprising that teachers are so meanly estimated, when "Instruction, that mysterious union of Wisdom with Ignorance, no longer requires a study of individual apti- tudes, and a perpetual variation of means and methods to varied intellects ; but a secure, uni- versal, straight-forward business, to be conduct- ed in the gross, by proper mechanism, with such intellect as comes to hand." What capabilities has such a one, to give bat- tle against the great empire of darkness ? He is " darkness striving to illuminate light ! !" On this momentous subject public opinion must be enlightened, that the teacher may be qualified ; for he has yet " to learn That it is dangerous sporting with the world, With things so sacred as a nations trust, The nurture of her youth, her dearest pledge." " O how many teachers yet are hide-bound pedants, without knowledge of man's nature or of boys ; or of aught save their lexicons and birch rods." ON EDUCATION. 91 Are such fit " To aid the mind's developement to watch The dawn of little joys to see and aid Almost the very growth !" No ! nor ever will be so long as we pay and respect those most, who amuse us, and those, least who instruct us. " But, alas ! so is it every where, so will it ever be ; till the hodman is discharged, or re- duced to hod-learning; and an architect is hired, and on all hands fitlly encouraged ; till com- munities and individuals discover, not without surprise, that fashioning the souls of a genera- tion by knowledge can rank on a level with blowing their bodies to pieces by gun-powder ; that with generals and field-marshals for kill- ing, there should be nobly-honored dignitaries, and, were it possible, heaven-ordained Priests,, for teaching" UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. NO PHONE JAN 1 ! 12?' OCT281987 RENEWALS Ill Illl IIIH Ilium W. UBHARY FACILITY STACK ANNEX LA 632 B79 1