mCA M 11 Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN EL & C " JU C i /// CL '\s(-<^\ " -c^-^ 1 •tf-^6. • i — *) u W7v„. O tf^-. *E £<•*-*--/ O '>>. 0~^ S / A yd. ^7 / ^ ^ ^>~*- *■- *- ^-^7 4/*>C <^ ^7 -*—~ -^*— *- f>r^ ■:C^- <~^~ *t~U ^ ^^ * <*^-7 ~? / --^ 'A ^u.. -6 c^-v*—/* -7 t--t. 'fcZc^.ut^ n -^^-*- tZ^-z^'Z-- -*^> *sl^"C<__«-^£_. / £ < 7-> *■ • i^C^C-i /) > —1 LANGUAGE. *** The author of this work notifies that he reserves the translating it. AS A MEANS OF MENTAL CULTURE * ? AND , ERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION; OF THE TEACHER AND THE LEARNER OF LANGUAGES. BT C. MARCEL, Knt. Leg. Hon.: French Consul. 'es langues est la premiere et la plus indispensable de toutes etudes." — P. H. Suzanne. ethodes sont les maitres des maltres." — Talleyrand. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : 'MAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 1853. LONDON : BRADI1URV AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFBIAB8. v. TO BARON DE MACKAU, Admiral of France, &c. &c. Dear Sir, This Essay, which I beg to dedicate to you, is the development of the ideas I expressed at your hospitable chateau of Villepatour, when we were conversing on the best means of educating our children. If it assist in improving the present system of instruction, the greater share of the credit will be due to you; for it owes its existence to your kind and reiterated encouragement. Education, whose noble office is to aid and direct the free agency of man, could not have a truer patron than the philan- thropist, the enlightened minister, who laid the basis of the emancipation of slaves in the French colonies. In all ages, in all climes, for nations as for individuals, ignorance is identified with slavery, and education with liberty. I have the honour to be, Dear Sir, Your devoted and respectful servant, C. MARCEL. 1< PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. " When Doctrine meets with general approbation. It is not heresy but reformation." — D. Garrick.' Language, of all subjects, deserves attention. Its acquisition commences in the cradle ; its practical application terminates only in death. On its perfection depends that of all human knowledge. Through it alone can social enjoyment be had and mental acquirement be made. It need not, therefore, excite surprise, that the most eminent writers and philosophers have suggested means for the acquisition of languages. But, judicious as have been many of the suggestions, their application has not always proved successful ; and diversities in method daily increase, because the fundamental principles of the study of languages have not yet been laid down. The process of their acquisition remains, to the present, partial and exclusive. The greatest obstacle to improvement is the apathy not only of teachers, but of those who ought to feel most interested in the progress of education, — parents and rulers. " Custom," says Eollin, "often exercises over minds a sort of tyranny which keeps them in bondage and hinders the use of reason, which, in these matters, is a surer guide than example, however authorised by time." t Owing to the baneful influence of traditional routine, the science of education has advanced but slowly : prevalent systems of instruction and popular modes of teaching languages have, with few exceptions, been founded in total disregard of the structure of mind and the wants of society. It is only lately that the true basis of educational science has been recognised to lie in the * Epigram to Quin. t Traiti des Etudes, Liv. i. o. 3. viii PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. constitution of man, his faculties and social relations. "We endeavour, in accordance with this progress, to apply the prin- ciples of physiology and psychology to intellectual pursuits and, in particular, to the study of language. Entering, therefore, upon our subject with a rapid sketch of the physical, moral, and intellectual organisation of man, we infer the general principles on which a rational method of instruction ought to be founded. From the natural progress of civilisation the arts and sciences have assumed an importance which they did not possess some centuries back, when classical studies reigned paramount. This fact led us to introduce a general summary of the acquirements which a complete education should comprise, in order to attach to these studies their relative importance, and thereby determine the branches of learning and the departments of language most required at the present day. Until now materials were wanting for this task. It is only in an age like the present, when the highest intelligences have investigated the nature and resources of mind as also the various departments of knowledge, that one could hope, with the aid of these investigations, to bring instruction to a comprehensive and uniform system. The favourable position in which we are placed by the present state of educational science, emboldens us to attack the routine and the prejudices which cramp classical instruction, both as regards the objects and the methods of study. "We, consequently, in the First Part of this essay, lay down the principles which should guide in the teaching and acquiring of languages ; and, in the Second, we deduce from these principles precepts and pro- cesses which will, we trust, be found both rational and practicable. Eecent improvements are combined with what has proved suc- cessful in long practice ; and, throughout, we take for our guide the natural process by which all so unfailingly acquire the native tongue. Thus reason, experience, and nature concur in laying a solid foundation on which the study of languages may rest. In support of our views, and, particularly, when we contend with long established prejudices, we adduce the authority of those who stand high among the ancient and modern writers. Our opinions, often expressed in the words of celebrated men, are thus confirmed by their experience, and will familiarise our readers with the thoughts of those who have meditated most on education. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. j^ The important truths which are dispersed throughout their writings being thus collected in one focus, their concentrated rays throw powerful light on the subject. As in history each successive writer must record the same facts, so, in all didactic composition, the same principles and theories must often be laid down. Hence we occasionally express ideas which occurred to us as they had occurred to others, or which we gleaned in reading, without precisely recollecting to what authors they belong. We give, in an Appendix, a list of the various works we have read on the study of languages, that our readers may ascertain the extent of these accidental coincidences, or rdeaninp-s, as the case may be, and the degree of originality which charac- terises our work. This list will also be of service to those who wish to study the subject and compare different systems. * In combining great established truths with the results of our own experience, we follow the example of all who have advanced science. There is not a standard work in any branch of knowledge which is not, in great part, founded on what is best in previous works on the same subject. Were it otherwise, it would be impossible to bring science or art to perfection; the longest life would not suffice to master even one department of knowledge, if all ideas relating to it could be found only in the works of their respective originators. Though we draw from all sources, we hope our method will not, on that account, be depreciated. Machinery is perfected and codes of laws are framed by successive improvements and by accumulated efforts of many individuals ; so, in education, a method, to be complete, must be eclectic. "Of all systems," says Baron Degerando, "the most solid and the truest is that which, without altogether excluding any, recognises what is useful in all and wisely combines them. " t What Mr. Cousin affirms of the true greatness of a people may be said of a right method : " It does not consist in borrowing nothing from others, but in borrowing from all whatever is good, and in improving whatever it appro- priates." X In another place this great philosopher says, "No * For those of our readers who cannot have access to these works, we subjoin some extracts which bear on our subject, and are too long to be introduced as quotations in the text. The references to these extracts will he indicated by figures. t Du Perfectionnement Moral. t Le;ons de Philosophic d VKcoU Normale. x PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. one system contains itself all the truth; it can be found entire only in all."* While we hope we shall not be found destitute of originality, we must say, utility rather than novelty has been our aim : — next to the merit of discovery is that of its practical application. "We endeavour to ameliorate what exists rather than to hazard new theories; we especially arrange, demonstrate, and bring into operation many scattered truths which, until now, have remained in a state of conjecture. Lavoisier did not invent chemistry ; but his classifications have thrown light on the investigations of his predecessors and raised their discoveries into a beautiful science. Through these classi- fications chemistry has rapidly advanced. Classification is also our object. We shall rest satisfied if we throw some light on the important branch of education which is the subject of the following pages, and if, by taking some steps in its progressive amelioration, we prepare the way for its future perfection. The investigations to which our subdivision gives rise enable us to examine every means of improvement which a good method should afford. Special directions are given for the acquisition of the native and a foreign language — ancient or modern ; whether the learner be a child or an adult, a beginner or a proficient ; whether he learn with or without a teacher, in private or in a public school. And, without encroaching on the time required for scientific pursuits, linguistic studies are made instrumental to the acquisition of knowledge and improvement in the native tongue, as well as to the intellectual culture and international communication, — all indispensable requirements in modern society. Cork, Jon. 1, 1853. * De V Instruction publique en Allemagne, Preface to 3rd edit. CONTENTS. PAGE Preliminary Discourse vii FIRST PART. OF LANGUAGE AS A BRANCH OF EDUCATION. BOOK I. OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. INTRODUCTION. SECT. I. — Definition of Education 3 II. — Exercise of the faculties — the basis of Education . . 5 III. — Successive development of the faculties .... 7 IV.— Ofhabit 9 V. — The four educational periods of youth . . . .11 Chapter I. PHYSICAL EDUCATION. I.— Definition 12 II. — The organs and functions of organic life . . . . 12 III. — Reciprocal dependence of mind and body ... 13 IV. — The organs and faculties of animal life . . . . 14 1. The brain . . 15 2. The sensitive organs . . . . . . 17 3. The vocal organs 19 4. The muscular and locomotive organs . . . 23 xii CONTENTS. SECT. PAGE V. — Physical acquirements . 24 VI. — Intellectual and moral influence of manual occupations . 26 VII. — Limits within which physical acquirements should be cultivated 28 Chapter II. MORAL EDUCATION. I.— Definition 30 II. — Moral faculties 30 1. Self-love 31 2. Sympathy 33 3. Curiosity 36 4. Conscience 37 5. Will 39 III. — Moral acquirements 41 IV. — Elementary principles of moral training. 1. Religious morality ...... 46 2. Social morality 47 3. Individual morality 48 V.— Of practice in moral Education 49 VI. — Duties of governments respecting Education ... 50 Chapter III. INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. I. — Definition ......... 55 II. — Intellectual faculties ........ 55 1. Attention 56 2. Perception ........ 59 3. Conception ....... 60 4. Memory 61 5. Imagination 64 6. Judgment ......... 65 III. — Intellectual acquirements, or instruction ... 69 IV. — Classification of knowledge ....... 72 V. — Of the fittest instruction for youth. Languages and Mathematics compared as means of intellectual culture 77 VI. — Four degrees of instruction corresponding to the four periods of youth 82 VII. — Professional Education 85 VIII. — Concluding remarks 92 CONTENTS. xiii BOOK II. OF THE SIGNS OF OUR IDEAS AND IMPORTANCE, OF THEIR ACQUISITION IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES. Chapter I. DIFFERENT SPECIES OF SIGNS. SECT. I. — Natural signs : — language of action .... II. — Artificial or conventional signs. Primitive language III. — Spoken or articulate words ..... IV. — "Written or alphabetical words .... V. — Importance of the articulate and the alphabetical words VI. — Pictorial and ideographical writing .... VII. — Different alphabets and modes of writing PAGE 97 99 102 106 108 112 114 Chapter II. FOREIGN LANGUAGES (ANCIENT AND MODERN.) I. — Benefits arising from the study of foreign languages . 120 II. — Ancient and modern languages compared as branches of instruction 123 III. — On the study of Eastern languages 127 IV. — Modern languages claim precedence over the ancient . 129 V. — The French language, as a general medium of commu- nication 132 VI. — Advantages peculiar to Latin and Greek . . . . 135 Chapter III. INADEQUACY OF THE ORDINARY SCHOLASTIC COURSE. I. — Branches of knowledge constituting a complete course of instruction 139 II. — Study of the native tongue as a part of national education 141 III. — Classical instruction limited in its benefits and inadequate to the wants of modern society 145 IV. — The chief defects of the ordinary classical course, — neces- sity of a reform . 150 V. — Nature and limits of the reform proposed . . . 153 s iv CONTENTS. BOOK III. THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. Chapter I. PARENTS. SECT. PAGE I. — Duties of Parents in respect to education . . .157 II. — Ignorance of parents on the subject of Education . . 161 III. — Means of enlightening parents ..... 165 IV. — The mother, the natural preceptor of her child — Prepara- tion for the office 167 V.- — Of domestic education ....... 170 VI. — Duties of parents with respect to instruction . . . 174 Chapter II. TEACHERS. I. — Duties and qualifications of the teacher .... 177 II. — Preparatory studies of the teacher . . . . . 180 III. — Importance of the teacher's office 184 IV. — Social position of the teacher ...... 186 V. — Incompetency of teachers attributable to parents . .189 VI. — Means of raising the profession in public estimation . . 192 VII. — French teachers in Great Britain and Ireland . . .194 Chapter III. METHOD. I. — On the present need of a method of learning languages . 198 II. — Characteristics of a good method 1. A good method subdivides the subjects of study . 200 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. favours self-teaching . . . . 203 is applicable to public Instruction . 204 is in accordance with Nature . . 206 comprises Analysis and Synthesis . 208 is both Practical and Comparative . 210 is an instrument of mental culture . 212 III. — General principles on which a rational method is based 216 CONTENTS. XV ... . .• I O r ■ BOOK IV. NATIVE TONGUE. , - , ■ — ♦ — Chapter I. PRESCRIPTION OF NATURE RESPECTING EARLY INSTRUCTION. SECT. PA ° E I. — Of early mental culture . . . . . • .219 II. — Classical studies unsuited to childhood. Age at which they may be commenced ....... 223 III.— The knowledge of things, — an introduction to the know- ledge of words 229 IV. — Conversation, — the best means of instruction in the first periods of youth ........ 233 V. — Physical exercise, dancing andmusic, — means of relaxation 237 VI. — Linear drawing . 239 VII. — Drawing and instrumental music compared . ... 242 Chapter II. PRACTICAL COURSE OF THE NATIVE TONGUE— CONVERSATIONS ON OBJECTS. Preliminary Remarks -245 I. — Exercises in Perception 1. Names of objects, their Parts, Matter, and Colour 246 2. Numbers; Ball-Frame 248 3. Fractional Numbers; Fractional Apparatus . .250 4. Forms ; Geometrical solids : Architectural game . 251 II. — Exercises in Observation. 1. Properties; Comparison and Classification of objects 253 2. Incidental investigations about objects . . . 255 3. Cautious gradation to be observed in these lessons 257 III. — Exercises in Reflection. 1. Size, Weight, Durability, &c. of things . . . 2. Physical Geography ; Geographical Box 3. Political Geography ; Globe with National Flags, &c 4. History and Chronology 258 261 264 268 xvi CONTENTS. SECT. PAOP. III. — Exercises in Reflection. 5. Excursions into the Country and visits to Manu- factories 270 6. Natural History, Mineralogy, Geology, Botany, and Zoology 272 7. Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Physiology, and Mental Philosophy 276 IV. — Mode of imparting scientific information to children . 2S0 V. — On inculcating notions of taste, order, and piety . . . 282 VI. — Educational apparatus — specimens, models, engravings, and paintings 284 VII. — Technical, scientific, and abstract terms . . . . 287 VIII.— Recapitulations, descriptions, narrations, compositions, and letter-writing 290 IX. — General directions for improving the language and the imderstanding of children 292 X. — Benefits and importance of this course of elementary instruction . . .297 Chapter III. ELEMENTARY READING. I. — Age at which reading should he taught .... 302 II. — Of learning the art of writing before that of reading . 304 III. — On the mode of teaching to read 306 IV. — Of early attention to the subject-matter of the book . 312 V. — Books suited to children, and advantages to be derived from a proper course of reading 314 VI. — Initiation into orthography, grammar, and literary dis- crimination . . . . . . . .316 VII. — Adoption of the Conversations on objects in families and schools . .. . . . .319 CONTENTS. xv i BOOK V. ORDER AND RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF A LANGUAGE. •Chapter I. SUBDIVISION OF THE STUDY. SECT. PAGE I. — The different objects proposed from the study of a language — natural order of acquiring them . . . 323 II. — The acquiring of a foreign language in the same manner as the native ......... 325 III. — The learning of a foreign language by means of objects or pictures 328 IV.— Order of study, when a foreign language is learned through the native and through books .... 333 Chapter II. IMPRESSION. I. — Reading, — the first branch in importance .... 337 II. — „ a means of acquiring the materials of language 340 III. — ■ „ a means of acquiring knowledge . . . . 343 IV. — „ a means of intellectual enjoyment . . . 345 V. — Reading and Hearing compared 347 VI. — Hearing, — its importance 350 VIL — „ a means of acquiring the pronunciation . . 354 Chapter III. EXPRESSION. I. — Advantages arising from speaking a foreign language . 357 II. — Precedence claimed by speaking over writing . . . 359 III. — Postponement of writing 360 IV. — Writing the native and writing a foreign language contrasted 364 V. — On the writing of Greek and Latin verses . . . 366 VI. — Of writing in a foreign language at an advanced stage of the study 370 vol. I. h .vroi CONTENTS. BOOK VI. OF GRAMMAR. Chapter I. UNFITNESS OF GRAMMAR FOR CHILDREN. SECT. PAGE I. — Grammar — its general adoption as an introductory study accounted for 373 II. — „ an art and a science 375 ILL — „ uncertain in its theory and unintelligible to children 377 IV. — Learning grammar by rote objected to .... 382 Chapter II. INEFFICIENCY OF GRAMMAR AS AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF A LANGUAGE. L — Progress of grammar among the ancients .... 387 LL — Introduction of grammar in modern Europe ; scholars and writers formed without its aid . . . . 388 ILL — Grammar considered as a means of understanding a foreign language, whether written or spoken . . 390 IV. — Grammar considered as an auxiliary to speaking or writing 397 V. — Professed grammarians bad speakers and writers . . 402 Chapter III. COURSE OF GRAMMATICAL STUDIES. L — Grammar to be learned by induction .... 405 IL — Study of the national grammar 407 ILL — Study of general and comparative grammar . . .411 IV. — Etymology and syntax. — Grammatical analysis . . . 414 V. — Logic and punctuation. — Logical analysis . . . 420 VI. — Rhetoric and prosody 422 VII. — Importance of grammar viewed as a complementary study 424 ERRATA. Page 29, line 15, read " Richerand " for " Richeraud." ., 237, heading, read " exercise " for " exercises." „ 306, last line, read " pupils "for " pupil." „ 352, line 33, omit " usual." „ 387, heading of Ch., read " Inefficiency " for " Insufficiency . PART THE FIRST. OF LANGUAGE, AS A BRANCH OF EDUCATION. " L'etude des langues est la premiere et la plus indispensable de toutes les etudes." P. H. Suzanne VOL. I. BOOK I. OE EDUCATION IN GENEEAL. " La vie de l'homrae n'est en realite qu'une grande Education dont le perfectionne- ment est le but." — J. M. Deqerando.* " We regard education as the formation of the character, physical, intellectual, and moral ; as the process by which our faculties are developed, cultivated, and directed, and by which we are prepared for our station and employment." W. C. WOODBRIDGE.t INTEODUCTION. Sect. I.- DEFINITION OP EDUCATION. Education is the first want of society. It is the only safe basis on which can be firmly established the observance of the laws, the happiness of individuals, the prosperity of a nation, and the progress of civilisation. " Of all great objects. of national policy, which can engage the attention of subject or ruler," says the untiring and eloquent advocate of national education in Ireland, " this is, by far, the greatest ; — great now, great at all times ; not a helper only in the building up of society and of civilisation, but the only foundation on which all society and civilisation must finally rest. He who neglects this, may construct what social edifice he pleases ; he will soon find, to his cost, that he has been but an architect of ruins." + "I always thought," says also Leibnitz, " that mankind could be reformed by reforming education." § So powerful, indeed, is the influence of education, that he, who should have it in his own hands, could change the face of the world. Education proposes to confer on man the highest improvement * Du Perfectionnement Moral. f American Annals of Education. % Thomas Wyse. Speech in the House of Commons, May 19, 1835. § Letter to Placcius. B 2 4 OF EDUCATION IX GENERAL. [Ihtrod. of which his hody, his mind, said his sou./* are capable, with a view- to secure his well-being, to fit him for society, and to prepare him for a better world. Hence, general education is divided into three branches, Physical, Intellectual, and Moral, the latter including Religious training. The first aims at health, strength, and beauty; the second at mental power and the acquisition, of knotrlt't/t/c ; and the third at piety, justice, goodness, and wisdom. These acquirements, carried to their highest degree of perfec- tion, bear analogy with the attributes of the Divinity, of whom man is a feeble image ; and it is only by constantly endeavouring to possess them that he can really be said to assimilate himself to his Maker. He cannot, it is true, reach perfection ; but his efibrts ought always to tend towards it. " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect." t The hope which arises from the consciousness of man's progressive improvement, points to happiness as his pursuit and to immor- tality as his destiny. The perfectibility of human nature and the progressiveness of truth will be placed beyond doubt when education is properly understood. By perfectibility we mean not the power of reaching perfection, but the capability of always advancing towards it. This capa- bility, consistent with the design of a bountiful Creator, is the foundation of human happiness. Man has been created to be happy : his desires and the numberless means of enjoyment which God has placed at his disposal, within him and without, sufficiently prove this truth. His happiness is the better secured in proportion as his physical, moral, and intellectual constitution approaches nearer to perfection ; for he will, in the same pro- • We have, consistently with common practice, adopted this subdivision, because it facilitates the classification of the various objects of education ; but the terms, noul and mind, require to be explained ; for they are often confounded one with the other, and are understood differently by different people. We therefore think it right to state the meaning which we attach to them in this place. Man is a compound o{ spirit and matter, called soul and tody. Mind docs not con- stitute a third essence; the idea expressed by this word is included in that which is conveyed by the word umil ; in fact, mind is a specific term, :ind soul a generic one. Mind, synonymous with understanding, comprises the faculties which have their sphere of action in the brain, and which operate on ideas; hence, the Philosophy of the Mind is sometimes called " Ideology.'' Sou!, in its general acceptation, embraces all the spiritual nature of man, moral and intellectual; and the science which treats of it in this wide sense is called " Psychology." Hut used as it is here, in a restricted sense and in contradistinction to mind, it implies only his higher attributes, the moral faculties, the directing powers, all the inclinations and emotions which are figuratively said to have their seat in the heart. The soul and its attributes, viewed in this light, form the subject of Ethics, or Moral Philosophy. } St. Matthew, Gospel, ch. v. 48. Sec. II.] EXERCISE OF THE FACULTIES— BASIS OF EDUCATION'. 5 portion, possess greater means of physical, moral, and mental enjoyment. True happiness and perfection are inseparable. Such is the law of our nature, that, to arrive at happiness, we must advance towards perfection. Civilisation, which originates in the principle of perfectibility unfolded by education and society, marks the progress of man towards the highest improvement which his constitution is intended to reach, and places within his power all the re- sources which external nature has in store for his well-being. Barbarism, which has been improperly called the natural condi- tion of humanity, is only a state of retrogression : the first man was not created a savage. Civilisation is alone the true natural state of man, as being that towards which all his energies instinc- tively tend, and in which all his faculties are brought into activity. It arises from sociability, one of the principles of his nature. " Humanity is endowed with capacities which can be perfected only by the combination of minds ; there is a life run- ning through the whole mass, which, in the isolated individual, is entirely lost ; there is a divine plan in human history, which shows that all minds are closely linked together in the chain of being ; in brief, there is a purpose, a destiny, an end which can be accomplished only by humanity as a whole — by time, and by united labour." (J. D. Morell, Philosoph. Tendencies of the Age.) Sect. II.— EXERCISE OF THE FACULTIES— THE BASIS OF EDUCATION. To effect the gradual perfectibility which can best promote man's well-being and secure the various acquirements which constitute his highest improvement, God has given him — in addi- tion to the instinctive impulses which he possesses in common with the other animals — physical, moral, and intellectual faculties, or innate powers of action, susceptible of being improved, and which it is his duty, as well as his interest, to cultivate within rational limits. He is the more prompted to exercise these facul- ties, the essential elements of his constitution, as their very action is a source of pleasure to him, — a pleasure which increases, as they are invigorated by exercise. A want thereby arises, the satisfying of which calls for their constant activity. Thus has the Creator provided for their exercise, and pointed out to us the path we should follow. Freedom is indispensable to man's perfectibility ; he has, in consequence, been created a free agent, and he claims from society, as his imprescriptible right, that liberty of thought, of speech, and Q OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [ Intbod. of action, without which he could not cultivate and completely unfold all his faculties. So deeply implanted is the innate sense of this right, that ages of oppression and slavery have been unable to root it out of the human heart. Consistently with his original freedom, he has been endowed with the privilege of exerting over his faculties a voluntary control, by which he can modify, regu- late, and perfect them : thus he becomes the subject of culture and discipline. Different from the animal tribes, which reach the perfection of their being, not by gradual development, but at once and without the aid of education, he is a progressive crea- ture ; his powers are unfolded, and his acquisitions made only through a process of slow and careful training. He has to learn everything, while they instinctively possess all the knowledge which they want. Education is the law of his nature, as uncon- trollable and limited instinct is that of the brute. Some animals, it is true, are found susceptible of a certain degree of education ; but this exception, limited as it is, does not invalidate the general law of the immutability of the brute crea- tion. Besides, the education which these animals receive from man is not required by them ; it does not add to their well-being ; it does not enable them to provide for their own wants better than other animals of their own species ; it begins and ends with the individuals, without being in the least profitable to them or to their offspring. All the acquirements which contribute towards human perfec- tion, arise from a proper cultivation of the faculties. Exercise is the source of that cultivation ; it is the vital principle of educa- tion. Exercise affects the original powers of man's constitution in two ways : it imparts to them energy in proportion to its quantity, and generates peculiar qualities, aptitudes, or capacities, consistently with its particular nature. But, in the application of this great principle, excess and exclusiveness must be avoided. An excessive or exclusive exercise of any faculty would be as prejudicial as its utter neglect. It is the preponderating activity of some one faculty to the exclusion of the others, or the over- indulgence in one particular mode of its action, which produces those inconsistencies of character, those aberrations of mind, often observed in men. Although the innate powers are few in number, the qualities, aptitudes, and capacities to which their varied exercise and their different degrees of native activity give rise, are so numerous, so diversified, and so opposite in their kind, that man may be the noblest, or the most contemptible being of the creation, according as they are properly or improperly directed Sec. III.] SUCCESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES. 7 and exercised. Hence, although his organisation is universal and invariable, his physical, moral, and intellectual character, which depends on the qualities acquired, varies with time, place, and the progress of civilisation. The faculties have all their legitimate spheres of usefulness, and the benefits to be derived from each depend on their harmo- nious development. They are, in fact, different instruments, all of which are indispensable for attaining man's possible perfection ; and, as such, they require to be duly improved and properly applied, to secure the ends for which he was placed on this earth. Although connected by secret ties, the faculties are yet so inde- pendent of each other, that each demands special and distinct exercises for its due cultivation. It is the noble office of education to direct their natural activity, to extend and multiply their various energies, as also to indicate the means by which they may best perform their work, and by which they are made subservient to happiness. Education may, in fact, be said to have for its object the securing of happiness through the perfection of all the faculties. The study of the three species of faculties — the physical, the moral, and the intellectual — and the investigation of their relations to external nature, have given rise to the three systems of philosophy which are respectively based on sensation, senti- ment, and reason, and which, under the name of Eclectic Philo- sophy, M. Cousin has combined in so admirable a manner. If our pursuit after happiness always proves vain, it is because the innate powers on the harmonious development and good direction of which it depends, have, many of them, opposite ten- dencies ; and, consequently, their collective perfection can never be accomplished, even with our best endeavours. The highest state of happiness is reserved for a better world — for a world in which perfection does exist. , Sect. III.-SUCCESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTIES. In order to advance towards the three-fold perfection, education should take under her guidance the faculties of man, as they gra- dually dawn, with a view to aid their spontaneous action, and improve them by proper cultivation. At the moment of birth, the faculties are in complete torpor. The physical faculties are the first which manifest themselves, because they are indispen- sable to our existence ; next appear the moral faculties to direct the organs of sensation, and to secure the well-being of the indi- vidual. The intellectual powers are usually the last to be in full 8 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. (I stood. activity. Tims, nature indicates the order to be followed in the successive cultivation of these different classes of faculties, until the general manifestation of them all permits their simultaneous training. The principle of slow progression rims through all that is created to grow and improve. Gradation is an invariable law of nature ; and it is in conforming to that law that the great art of education consists. In aiming at the complete development of all the primitive powers of the child, the educator should observe, as nearly as he can, the order of nature. However, it is difficult to determine in a definite manner the order in which all the faculties should be brought under the control of discipline ; for, our constitutions and characters being infinitely diversified, as are also the circum- stances in which we are placed, the same means and principles of action cannot always be used with the same effect. But, what- ever be the order followed in the cultivation of the faculties, the important point is gradually to bring the cultivation of each in unison with that of the others. In endeavouring to attain this harmonious development, the educator should avail himself of the intimate connexion and mutual relation which exist between them all, and which render the exercise of each subservient to the cultivation of all. The affinity which thus brings the three classes of faculties into immediate contact is one of the many manifestations of that admirable unity which marks all the works of the Almighty. * Precedence, however, should be given to physical and moral training over intellectual pursuits, because the physical and the moral faculties provide for our first wants as living beings and as members of society. Their proper direction is useful under any circumstances, should even mental culture be entirely neglected. The latter, on the contrary, would be useless in the absence of health, and might be pernicious in the absence of morality. The worth of man is in proportion to his morality rather than to his intellectuality. The proper development of the moral faculties is the safest foundation for the most extensive state of liberty in man ; for their general activity and their good direction give him the right to gratify all his desires, which, under their benign influence, can only be virtuous and rational. * These three classes of faculties arc considered by German philosophers as the three branches of one science, ami are treated as such, under the name at Anthropology (science of a Sect. IV.] OF HABIT. Sect. IV.— OF HABIT. No time will be lost, no effort will be fruitless, if each step is made sure as the child advances through the educational course. This can be effected only by the continual repetition of the exercises on which depend the energy of the faculties and the acquirements proposed by education. The more frequently any action is repeated the more easily and rapidly is it executed ; on the other hand, ease and rapidity of execution tend to make it less perceived, more independent of the will, and, thereby, longer persevered in. Such an action is said to be a habit. All physical, moral, and intellectual operations are liable to become habits. These habits produce in us permanent and, as it were, instinc- tive dispositions which constitute a new mode of existence ; hence they have been called " second nature." The acquisitions made through any of the faculties being rendered habitual by repeated exercise, adhere so tenaciously to our individuality, and are, in every respect, so closely assimilated with the elements of our native constitutions, that it is, in many instances, impossible to distinguish the acquired from the innate dispositions. Habits promote or impede our progress, according as they are good or bad. Good habits extend the power of our faculties and facilitate our improvement, because the readiness and spon- taneity with which habitual ideas are recalled and habitual actions are performed, permit these faculties to apply their activity to new acquisitions, and these ideas or actions to be brought in aid of further improvement. Bad habits are obstacles to improvement, because, escaping attention as they do, the will has little control over them : it must therefore be difficult to guard against their intrusion, or avoid their evil influence. Habit changes good actions into virtues and faults into vices ; it enables us to add new to old acquisitions, and gives stability to all physical, moral, and intellectual acquirements. The chief business of education may be said to consist in forming good habits and preventing bad ones. Solomon declared the power of habit when he said, " Train up a child in the way he should go ; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." It is by the admirable law of habit that man, although possessing very limited powers, can indefinitely extend his acquisitions and advance towards perfection. Dr. A. Combe has so clearly shown the effects of repetition 10 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [I.n-thod. and the advantage of habit as applied to study, that we cannot forbear quoting him at some length. " If we repeat," he says, " any kind of mental effort, every day at the same hour, we, at last, find ourselves entering upon it without premeditation, when the time approaches ; and, in like manner, if we arrange our studies in accordance with this law, and take up each regularly in the same order, a natural aptitude is soon produced, which renders application more easy than by taking up the subjects as accident may direct. Nay, the ten- dency to periodical and associated activity occasionally becomes so great in the course of time, that the faculties seem to go through their operations almost without being conscious of effort, while their facility of action becomes so prodigiously increased, as to give unerring certainty where, at first, great difficulty was experienced. " The necessity of judicious repetition in mental and moral education is, in fact, too little adverted to, because the principle on which it is effectual has not been understood. To induce facility of action in the organs of the mind, practice is as essen- tial as it is in the organs of motion. Eepetition is necessary to make a durable impression on the brain ; and, according to this principle, it follows, that in learning a language, or science, six successive months of application will be more effectual in fixing it in the mind and making it a part of its furniture, than double or triple the time, if the lessons are interrupted by long intervals. Hence, it is a great error to begin any study and then break off to finish at a later period. The ennvi is thus doubled, and the success greatly diminished. The best way is to begin at the proper age, and to persevere till the end is attained. This accustoms the mind to sound exertion and not to fits of attention. Hence, the mischief of long vacations, and hence the evil of beginning studies before the age at which they can be understood, as in teaching the abstract rides of grammar to children, to succeed in which implies in them a power of think- ing and an amount of general knowledge, which they cannot possess." * * Elements of Phys'wlotjy. Sec. V.] THE FOUR EDUCATIONAL PERIODS OF YOUTH. JJ Sect. V.— THE FOUR EDUCATIONAL PERIODS OF YOUTH. Youth is the season of life designed by Providence for giving a proper direction to the faculties, for training the habits and laying the foundation of the physical, moral, and mental cha- racter. It may be divided into four periods, through which are distributed the various exercises indispensable to a good educa- tion, and to which we shall often have occasion to allude. These four periods are, 1. From birth to the age of 6 (Infancy). 2. From 6 to 12 years old (Childhood). 3. From 12 to 16 years old (Adolescence). 4. From 16 to 21 years old (Puberty). It must be well understood that this classification is only approximate ; for the natural activity of the faculties is found to vary considerably throughout the different periods of youth. It is not unusual to see, for example, a child of eight years more advanced in physical or mental growth, than one of ten or even twelve. We must, however, observe that education does not end with youth : it continues through the entire of our earthly existence, The discipline to which man is subjected during these four periods, and especially during the first three, ought to be con- sidered only as a preparation for the great education of life ; its primary object is to enable him to improve himself afterwards, and to adapt himself to the particular circumstances in which it shall please Providence to place him. The threefold process which transforms the most helpless being into the noblest work of God on earth, is too vast in its details to permit us to do justice to the subject in the present initiatory Book : we will only briefly indicate what are, in the three departments of education, the faculties to be trained and the acquisitions to be made through their instrumentality. Our observations on these points are not offered as a treatise on education ; they are merely intended to exhibit the fundamental principles of the science of Education, from which are deduced our precepts, and on which should be based the study and the teaching of languages. No system of instruction, in fact, can be safe or successful, which has not its foundation in a thorough knowledge of the constitution of man, and which is not formed with due regard to the end proposed in education. 12 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap.I. CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL EDUCATION, Sect. I.— DEFINITION. The objects of physical education are the preservation of health, the cultivation of the physical faculties, and the acquisi- tion of useful arts and accomplishments. Physical Perfection may be said to consist in bodily strength and beauty, which are the offspring of a healthy constitution, and of well-deve It >ped organs. Sect. II.— THE ORGANS AND FUNCTIONS OF ORGANIC LIFE. The physical constitution of animals is invariably formed according to the instincts and kind of intelligence with which each species is endowed : that of man is divided into two systems which, although distinct, have a mutual dependence on each other ; these are the organic and the animal. The organic system, or vegetative life, has for its principal organs, the heart, the stomach, and the lungs. Their functions, independent of the will, are confined to the preservation of health, the support of life, and the growth of the individual. The functions of organic life being involuntary, come only indi- rectly within the power of education : as health and life depend on them, the Creator has not permitted that they should be under the immediate control of our caprice ; they are as active in infancy as in the maturity of life. Physiology makes us ac- quainted with the natural laws winch govern these functions ; and it is our interest to conform to them ; for, as lung as man acts in accordance with the dictates of nature, in the gratification of his wants and appetites, she provides for the regularity and energy of the vital faculties. The child generally comes into the world in a healthy condi- tion ; it is the duty of the educator, whether a parent or his substitute, to preserve him so. This will be more particularly s BBC. III. J RECIPROCAL DEPENDENCE OF MIND AND BODY. 13 effected by a close attention to diet, sleep, cleanliness, cloth ing, air, and exercise, which have a direct influence on the organs of life. The manner in which these first wants of nature should be sup- plied is an essential part of physical education. Hygiene prescribes for this object rules, which are but too often neglected. It would be impossible to state the extent of injury done to humanity by the almost universal ignorance of this important branch of the medical science. The benefits of health are not confined to the individual ; they extend to the community and to the future generation. The child will be a parent ; and on the constitution of the parent depends, in a great measure, the constitution of the future child : man follows, in this respect, the laws of animal nature. Sect. III.— RECIPROCAL DEPENDENCE OF MIND AND BODY. By reason of the intimate relations which exist between all the parts of the animal economy, the judicious exercise of the phy- sical faculties which obey the will, cannot fail to exert a favour- able influence on those which are not subject to it. Not only do pure air, proper food, muscular exercise, and cleanliness of the skin, stimulate and improve the circulation of the blood, the digestion and the respiration ; but moral feelings and intellectual occupations have, through the nervous communication existing between the brain and the three vital organs, a direct influence on their functions. A well-regulated activity of the mind, and cheerfulness of disposition, are essential to sound bodily health, whilst excess of intellectual labour, and violence of moral emo- tions are among the many causes of physical derangement. On the other hand, the state of the circulatory, digestive, and respiratory organs, has a direct influence not only on physical education, but on moral and intellectual training. Health is the foundation of the whole edifice of education. The mind is incapable of exerting all its energies and the heart its kindliest affections, if the body is in a state of debility or disease. The connection between the body and the mind, and their reciprocal dependence on each other, as established by physiology and psychology, must never be lost sight of. As the physical organs are the instruments which the soul employs in its opera- tions, their soundness and activity must facilitate its discipline. Physical education cannot, therefore, be separated from moral and intellectual training. Physiology affords aid in psychological investigations. An j4 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [CnAP. I. educator must understand the animal economy of man, in order to study with advantage his higher faculties. Whatever he attempts to teach, from the first elements of knowledge to the higher truths of science, his success will depend, in a great mea- sure, on his acquaintance with the functions of the human frame, and on the extent to which he acts in obedience to the laws of physiology. The mental and the moral powers with which the child is endowed, manifest themselves through the medium of organisation, and no plan which he can devise will be successful for their cultivation, that is not in harmony with the laws which regulate that organisation. ■ I cannot," says Dr. A. Combe, from whom we borrow the last observation, " I cannot regard any teacher, or parent, as fully and conscientiously qualified for his duties, unless he has made him- self acquainted with the nature and general laws of the animal economy, and with the direct relation in which these stand to the principles of education." * " Instructors of youth and authors of books for children," says also Dr. Brigham, " would do well to acquaint themselves with human anatomy and physiology, before they undertake to cultivate and discipline the mind." t The cele- brated Galen was so convinced of the influence of the physical nature of man over his moral and mental constitution, that he invited the educators of his time to send him the children whose hearts and minds were vitiated, promising to improve them by purely hygienic means. Descartes also declares, that, if mankind can be improved, it is in the medical science that we must seek the means of doing so. % Sect. IV.— THE ORGANS AND FACULTIES OF ANIMAL LIFE. The animal system is composed of several organs, the seats of corresponding faculties ; it presides over functions which are intended to supply the demands of reason, and are, consequently, subservient to the commands of the will. The cultivation of these physical faculties is next in importance to the preservation of health. Their development is proportionate to the quantity, and analogous to the nature of the exercise to which the respective orsans, their instruments of action, are subjected in the pursuit of the arts and accomplishments which constitute physical acquirements. * Elements of Physiology. t On the Influence of Mental Cultivation, &c, on Health. X De la Jttethode. Sec. IV.] THE ORGANS AND FACULTIES OF ANIMAL LIFE. 15 We subjoin here the organs, or groups of organs, of this system, with their corresponding faculties, and the qualities which this branch of education proposes to cultivate in these faculties. Organs to be exercised. /■Brain Eye Ear . Finders and cu- taneous Palate, tongue ^ Olfactory nerves a to £ o s > - OB c a> m -j g ( Larynx, lungs e * Faculties to be developed. Consciousness, Sight . . . Hearing . , a ndcu-1 Feeli surface j _ ° Tongue, lips, &c. Muscles . . Bones, limbs £ \ Tasting . Smelling Voice . . Articulation Muscular Action Motion . . . . Qualities to be cultivated. &c. Power, activity, correctness, acuteness. Clearness, fulness, extension, force. Softness, sonorousness. Clearness, distinctness, flexibility, facility. . Activity, flexibility, strength. Activity, flexibility, strength, agility. Dexterity, ease, grace. 1. TJie Brain. The Brain, the principal and central organ of animal life, is, under the direction of the mind, the mover of the voluntary organs, and the focus towards which all the sensitive faculties converge. This double function is effected by means of the nervous system, which has its origin in the brain and spinal marrow. The nerves distribute sensibility and life through the whole physical organisation ; some convey to the brain the sen- sations which the organs of sense receive from the external world, whilst others obey its determinations, by bringing into action the vocal, the muscular, and the locomotive organs. The brain may perhaps be considered rather as a system of organs, than as a single organ ; but, in whatever light it be viewed, its entire development is the necessary consequence of the activity given to all the faculties, and particularly to the sensitive organs. Like the other organs, it increases or diminishes in power, as it is exercised or not exercised ; it is enfeebled by inaction, and injured by over-activity. This complex organ, the mysterious link which unites the phy- sical with the mental nature of man, is the seat of consciousness 16 r>F EDUCATION IX GENERAIi. [Chap. I. feeling, and thought, and the medium through which the mental faculties arc manifested. How the connection between the brain and the operations of the mind exists is as yet a mystery ; but modern physiology has, by induction, sufficiently established the fact, to place it beyond doubt ; and it may unhesitatingly be affirmed, that the action of the mind is commensurate with the activity of the brain : its functions are in strict obedience to the laws which regulate this organ. The proper exercise and the consequent healthy condition of this wonderful organ ought to be carefully attended to, since intellectual improvement greatly depends on its activity and soundness. Good digestion might as well be expected from a diseased stomach as a sound intellect from a disordered brain. In the first period of youth the brain, being extremely deli- cate and but partially developed, is not yet ready for the important office which it is intended to perform ; an undue excitement of the intellectual powers, at this time, would be productive of the most pernicious effects on this organ, and, by a corresponding excitement of the nerves, on the whole animal economy. The exercises to which the brain is subjected affect the physical as well as the spiritual elements of our constitution ; for this organ not only communicates all its impressions to the soul, but, by a most admirable reaction, produces on the muscles of the body, and particularly on those of the face, infinite modifications which correspond to those impressions, and which are the external marks of their existence. It originates those movements of the limbs and attitudes of the whole figure, that paleness and blush, those frowns and smiles, those tears and bursts of laughter, those sighs, groans, sobs, and cries, all those changes of the counte- nance and inflections of the voice which are the natural signs of the desires, emotions, and thoughts within. Spirit and matter are so closely united in man, that every motion of the physical organs is a manifestation of the soul which animates them. These signs, the collection of which has been called the language of action, are the innate elements of commimication amongst men ; for not only do particular desires, emotions, and thoughts excite corresponding external expressions, but no sooner are these expressions assumed in one individual, than, by the effect of sympathy, the concomitant feelings arise in the minds of the beholders ; thus proving that man was destined to be a communicative and a social creature. Sec. IV.] THE ORGANS AND FACULTIES OF ANIMAL LIFE. 17 The accidental and variable states of the soul are not alone expressed by the external appearances of the body ; its pro- pensities and inclinations are also indicated by an habitual deportment and a fixed expression of countenance. Moral and mental habits produce in the whole person, and especially in the external muscles of the face, corresponding modifications which become permanent, and which faithfully represent them. On this truth, which is universally known, the painter, the sculptor, and the poet have founded the most exquisite productions of their arts. The habit of low thought and degrading inclination vilifies the features, and that of thoughtlessness and ignorance stupifies them ; but the ugliness which proceeds from vice is the most shocking of all ; while virtue diffuses an unspeakable charm over the features, and intellect beams in the eye of its gifted possessor. What object is more lovely than the serene and bright countenance which bespeaks uprightness and bene- volence, intellect and wisdom 1 This is the physical beauty to which every human being may aspire, and which a proper moral and intellectual education can bestow. 2. T/ie Sensitive Organs. Seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling, the faculties of sensation, are the mediums through which the mind and the material world act upon each other. By the intervention of the nerves, they receive from external objects, and communicate to the brain all the perceptions which come under the cognisance of the mind ; they give the first stimulus by which the mental powers are roused into action. These instruments of sensation need exercise, in order to reach their utmost accuracy and energy. The degree of excellence to which some of their quali- ties are brought by practice may be seen in the blind and the deaf — whose healthy organs are usually much exercised, and conse- quently very acute and accurate — as also in eminent painters and musicians, who attain a remarkable delicacy and correctness of the organ engaged in their respective arts. The Indian, whose ear is cultivated as a means of pursuing his prey or avoiding danger, hears sounds which are inaudible to a European. How keen the sight of a seaman, how delicate the sense of taste in a wine-taster, how exquisite the touch of those whose employment requires them to examine the texture or the polish of bodies ! 4 vol. 1. c 18 OF EDUCATION IN ci.NKKAL. [Cn,\r. I. The exercise of the senses is essential as a means of intellec- tual education ; for primary ideas can be received only through their medium : our sensations are, in fact, the origin of our know- ledge. The more the senses are cultivated, the more clear, just, and lasting are the impressions which they convey to the mind. This cultivation must, however, be effected within rational limits : man was not intended to vie with certain animals in the acuteness of physical organs ; and, although education might enable him to compete with them in this respect, he ought not to aim at an organic superiority which could be attained only to the injury of higher faculties, and to the prejudice of the general improvement of all his being. The collective development of the external senses will enable them mutually to aid each other, by corroborating or correcting the impressions received by each. Nevertheless, the senses of touch, hearing, and sight call for a greater share of attention, as being the great inlets of know- ledge, and having a more intimate connection with the mind than the other two. The sense of touch, more delicate in man than in animals, differs from the other sensitive faculties, inasmuch as its function is voluntary, and implies some degree of reflection in the being who exercises it. The eagerness with which infants lay hold of every object within their reach, is the first indication of their reason ; and, consequently, it should be encouraged. This sense assumes an active part in intuitive instruction ; for it takes cognisance of a very considerable number of properties in external nature. The faculty of hearing acquires a high degree of importance from its awakening and directing the functions of the vocal organs : correct pronunciation and accurate singing depend not so much on the voice as on the ear. This organ is valuable, also, as being the medium through which language is acquired, the mind enriched with information, and the soul gratified with the pleasing sensations arising from melody. But, of all the physical senses, the most valuable is the sight. An infinite variety of sensations and ideas are received through this sense alone ; and not only do they embrace a larger range of objects, but the impressions which they make on the brain are more vivid and more easily recalled than those which are received through the other organs. The visual action continues the longest without fatigue, and brings within the cognisance of the mind the most distant and the ^ost sublime parts of the Sec. IV.J THE ORGANS AND FACULTIES OF ANIMAL LIFE. 19 Creation ; it supplies the judgment with the most abundant pre- mises, and the imagination with the most diversified and most pleasing images. Great differences exist between the primitive constitutions of the same organs in different individuals. The eye which clearly perceives forms and proportions, is often naturally deficient in seeiug minute or distant objects, or distinguishing shades of colour, and vice versa. The ear which is the most acute in hear- ing faint or distant sounds, frequently cannot appreciate the elements of melody, nor accurately distinguish the articulate sounds of foreign languages ; nor are these two qualities of hear- ing always found together in the same individual. It is the duty of the educator to observe these differences, and exercise what is weak, or check what is over-active in the mode of action of each organ, when its natural condition is inconsistent with the future vocation of the child. Every means should be resorted to for the complete develop- ment of these senses. It is by varying the objects of perception that they are cultivated in all their diversities, and that the mind is, through their means, stored with varied intuitive know- ledge. "We shall indicate in Book IV., the manner of exercising them in connection with the intellectual powers. 3. The Vocal Organs. The vocal apparatus is composed of a numerous assemblage of organs which concur in the formation and modification of the voice, as it is heard in cries, in articulate language, and in sing- ing. The mechanism of this wonderful apparatus, although simple in appearance, has not yet been completely accounted for by physiologists. It is comjjosed of two classes of organs, each filling a distinct office : these are the lower or vibrating organs, and the upper or articulated organs. The lower organs — of which the principal are the larynx and glottis, with their muscles, cartilages, and ligaments — render sonorous the air expelled from the lungs, and thus produce the voice with its intonations and modulations, its loudness and pitch. The upper organs, namely, the throat, nasal fossse, palate, tongue, teeth, and lips, have a double function : by the diversity of forms which the various relative positions they assume give to the oral cavity, they engender a corresponding diversity of sounds ; and, by their motion, they modify the sonorous air, as it passes through the mouth and nasal fossae, and thus produce a great variety of vocal c 2 20 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chai\ I. articulations. The lower organs are the organs of voice, and the upper, the organs of speech. The vocal organs offer the readiest and most effective means of communication amongst mankind, and as such, assume a high degree of importance ; f< >r tin- exchange of thought is an essential element of our perfectibility. The Creator, who has destined man to live in society, has furnished him with these instruments of expression, and bestowed on him, at the same time, an instinctive desire to use them, by making him communicative. He, moreover, has given him the means of doing so, by creating him an imitative and intellectual Wing ; by submitting the action of his vocal powers to the government of the ear and to the determination of the will ; as also by providing him with model sounds in the various noises produced by natural objects ; in the cries of animals, and in the vocal sounds which he titt.-r> as the natural signs of his emotions. The vocal organs obey the social inclinations and intellectual powers which create, select, and combine the words before the organic action gives utterance to them. Thus, speech, arising spontaneously from the natural operation of the faculties, may truly be regarded as of divine inspiration. The muscles which subserve the purposes of respiration, voice, and articulation, sufficiently demonstrate, by their action and their wonderful adaptation to the properties of the atmosphere, that they were intended to fulfil the office of oral communication in aid of the language of action. The very conformation of the mouth and flexibility of the tongue are the fittest that could be conceived for the modification of sounds and articulations. The s] lontaneous utterance of certain exclamatory syllables, which often accompanies perceptions and emoticms, further proves the natural relation between the inward feelings and the vocal powers. This wise provision of a bountiful Providence becomes particularly obvious, when we contemplate the admirable rela- tions which exist between the vocal and the auditory organs. The voice and the ear seem, indeed, to have been made the one for the other. There is not an articulate sound perceived by the ear which the voice cannot imitate ; whilst, on the other hand, the ear can appreciate the slightest shades of intonation in the human voice. When we consider the wonderful functions of the vocal apparatus, its close affinity with the sense of hear- ing, the variety of its sounds, articulations, and intonations, and all the purposes which it accomplishes for the improvement and well-being of the human race, we know not whether to Sec. IV.] THE ORGANS AND FACULTIES OF ANIMAL LIFE. 21 admire most, the simplicity or the efficiency of the ineans which the infinitely-wise Creator employs for the attainment of His ends. Man, under the influence of the mental dispositions with which he has been endowed, in perfect adaptation to his physical constitution, has only used his privilege, as a perfectible being, in modifying and extending by analogy his natural powers of expression : according as the necessities of his social relations required, he instinctively and gradually transformed his simple exclamations into conventional signs expressive of his ideas and feelings. His intellectual organisation equally proves the inten- tion of his Maker in this respect ; for, if it be admitted that he always thought, it must also be granted that, as a social and communicative being, he always wished to speak. The faculty of thinking is so closely connected with that of communicating thoughts, that one can hardly be conceived separate from the other. So powerfully is man prompted by his nature to use his vocal powers for the communication of thought, that no tribe has yet been known, however few in number, however rude in condition, who did not possess an articulate language adapted to all the purposes and wants of their particular mode of life. The faculty of speech is, indeed, an essential attribute and one of the most remarkable characteristics of the human constitution : hence the justness of the epithet fxepoty (articulate speaking) given to man by Homer. The peculiar conformation of the vocal organs in almost all the lower animals, shows that they are not intended to perform the same functions as those of man. Some species among the brute creation can produce a few vocal sounds and articulations ; but none are enabled to form them all, being destitute of the powers of imitation, analogy, and will, by which, as shall subsequently be shown, the elements of the articulate language are deter- mined. This inferiority of organisation, which is an obstacle to their possessing a regular language (for we cannot give to their cries the name of language), coincides with another circumstance of their physical constitution, in proving that they were not intended by nature to be communicative : their features do not exhibit that ever-changing expression of countenance which characterises the human face ; they, with rare exception, neither shed tears, laugh, nor gesticulate ; in a word, they give no external indication of inward thoughts. Their physical con- dition is consistent with their want of the moral and mental 22 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. I. faculties which constitute the basis of social intercourse. They seldom sympathise with their fellows, and never feel curiosity to inquire into their concerns. r l 'hey do not reflect, because they do not possess the moral power, the will, by which atten- tion is directed to the impressions made on the brain : taking no notice of those impressions, or ideas, they retain no conscious- ness of them ; and the evanescence of the ideas precluding the possibility of their communication, no language is consequently needed. Most of the lower animals have a voice in common with us, and, in their cries, instinctively produce inarticulate sounds ; but articulate language, or speech, is the privilege of man ; and the vocal organs, by which it is effected, must be cultivated : for, although their flexibility and the consequent distinctness of the articulations, as well as the clearness and the power of the voice greatly depend on their favourable conformation; nevertheless education may, to a great extent, contribute to these qualities, or remedy natural defects. The exercises which call them into activity must not be neglected, as the proper cultivation of the vocal powers contributes its share to the perfect harmony of all the physical faculties. As branches of physical education, oral reading, recitation, and singing may be had recourse to, either to cultivate the hearing and the vocal faculty, or to strengthen the lungs and chest. In French and in Italian, these exercises would admirably answer this purpose, because the fulness of the sounds and the great com- pass of the notes would, if loudly uttered, give melody and exten- sion to the voice, as well as elasticity and expansion to the lungs. A judicious exercise of these organs contributes, more than people are generally aware, to a healthy state of the constitution. "Reading aloud," says Dr. A. Combe, "is extremely useful in developing and giving tone to the organs of respiration, and to the general system." " Pliny recommends it as a means of facili- tating digestion and improving the chest. The celebrated Cuvier often declared that he was certain he would have fallen a victim to consumption, had he not had the good fortune to be appointed to a professorship, in which he found the delivery of lectures to a large audience a most beneficial exercise for his lungs. It has been remarked that the ( iermans are seldom affected with consumptive diseases : this is commonly attributed to the strength which their lungs acquire, by being » Elements of Physiology. Sec. IV.] THE ORGANS AND FACULTIES OF ANIMAL LIFE. 23 frequently exercised in vocal music ; for, among them, this con- stitutes an essential part of education. 4. The Muscular and Locomotive Organs. So irresistible is the natural impulse which prompts to action the muscles and limbs, that, in health, a positive pleasure arises from their activity, although it may be accompanied with fatigue and danger, as happens in many gymnastic exercises and field- sports : their inactivity is, on the contrary, a cause of much unea- siness. Their action, when subservient to any particular pur- pose, is under the control of the will ; it is subject to the sensitive faculties, and receives from them its impulse and direction ; for the voluntary movements which the musctdar and locomotive organs execute are a consequence of our sensations, and of the judgments which we form from them. A judicious training of these organs would tend considerably to improve the human frame. Grace of deportment, elegance of manners, ease of motion, strength, activity, dexterity, and all that is attractive and pleasing in the physical nature of man depend, in a great mea- sure, on well-directed muscular exercise. Gymnastic exercises afford the most effective means of culti- vating and improving the muscular system and the locomotive organs. These exercises, and all sports which demand physical activity, call the muscles and bones into action, strengthen the limbs, and impart a healthy tone to the organs : under their influence the blood circulates freely, the respiration is quickened, the digestion becomes active, the nervous system is invigorated, and the redundant fluids are driven off by perspiration. But, as over-exertion of the muscles might cause accidents, or check the growth of young people, gymnastics should be practised only under the guidance of a person acquainted with anatomy ; and, if judiciously conducted, they will keep up the harmony which nature has diffused through the human frame, or re-establish it when interrupted by neglect or other causes. Gymnastic exercises should, whenever practicable, be carried on in the open air ; their kind and duration should always be adapted to the particular constitution of children, who should not be allowed to attempt exertions beyond their strength. Such exercises as are unnatural, or at variance with the design of bodily organisation, must be carefully avoided. Nature is the best guide in every pursuit. Before adopting any exercise, we should consider if it be consistent with the mode of action assigned by the Creator to the physical functions. 24 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. I. In a political point of view, governments would do well to give every encouragement to this branch of hygiene ; for it is important to a state to possess an active and vigorous popula- tion. It was, among the Greeks and the Romans, the basis of national education. The great attention which they paid to it, contributed not a little to the surprising success of their arms. The Greeks, especially, were, as a nation, physically and intel- lectually, a superior race of men ; and there is reason to believe, that their unrivalled attention to physical education was highly influential in producing this result. Gymnastics embrace all the accomplishments of which the organs of voluntary motion are the instruments, and which may be pursued as relaxation from mental labour. Such exercises are not destitute of moral influence ; for they generate courage, per- severance, self-control ; and, in giving the power, they foster a disposition and excite a desire to assist our fellow-creatures in danger. Nor is gymnastic training destitute of mental action ; for, although the exercises of the muscles and limbs chiefly tend to physical improvement, the mechanical operations in which these are engaged cannot, in the commencement, be performed independently of attention, memory, judgment, and imagination. Sect. V.— PHYSICAL ACQUIREMENTS. The gymnastic exercises, accomplishments, sports, and useful arts, which are suitable for general adoption, and which may enter into a complete course of physical education, are the following : — Games and Gymnastic Exercises. Accomplishments and Spurts. Useful Arts. Hoop-rolling with either hand. Singing. Oral-reading. Rope-skipping, backwards and Instrumental Music. Penmanship. forwards. 1 lancing. Stenography. Battledore with either hand. Fencing. Linear drawing. Ball-playing. Sparring. Lithography. I'risnuiT-bar. Siding. Engraving. Leap-frog. Swimming. Modelling. Long marches. Rowing. Surveying. Racing, backwards and forwards. Shooting. ( hardening. Leaping in length, in height, ami Hunting. Basket-making. in depth. A rchery. Book-binding. Vaulting. Billiards. Turning. Climbing. Racket. Cabinet-making. Swinging, Cricket. Mathematical instru- Wrestling. Skating. ment-making. &c. &C. &c. Sec. V.] PHYSICAL ACQUIREMENTS. 25 Females, who are forbidden to indulge in many of these occu- pations, may resort to callisthenics, and to arts suitable to them, such as plain and fancy needlework, millinery, dress-making, artificial flower-making, and other arts which more particularly appertain to their sex. All the above exercises and acquirements should not be indis- criminately pursued ; and, although they are generally beneficial, yet, as they have each their special sphere of physical improve- ment, perseverance in any of them should be regulated by the particular circumstances of the individual. Among the numerous useful arts of life, we have here mentioned only a few, such as all classes of people may practise for relaxation from intellectual occupations. In making a selection, the preference should be given to those which favour most the cultivation of attention, demand most dexterity, are most consistent with future pursuits, and present the greatest chance of utility in after-life. Young persons should be induced to attend to manual occu- pations and useful arts, which might alternate with mental pursuits ; such occupations and arts would not only be to them a never-failing source of amusement, but would give them early in life a command of their hands, and would usefully exercise their organs of sense. The excellence at which mere children often arrive in mechanical operations and in some of the fine arts, sufficiently proves the early natural capabilities of the phy- sical powers, and the law of nature, in regard to the order of physical and intellectual education. Locke and J. J. Eousseau have recommended mechanical pursuits, the first as a substitute for " the useless and dangerous pastimes in fashion ;" the second as a provision against adversity. Without contemning these motives, which are founded on reason, we take other grounds ; we advocate such pursuits as necessary accompaniments to, and powerful means of intellectual education, and as the great instruments of civilisation. Labour and indus- try are for nations the safest means of prosperity, as they are for individuals the purest sources of property and independence. Hence the industrial element should enter more largely than it usually does in primary education. 26 OP EDUCATION IN GENERAL. iap.L Sect. VI.— INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL INFLUENCE OF MANUAL OCCUPATIONS. The activity of the physical faculties being always, in their development, in advance of that of the mind, manual occupations not only may be indulged in before intellectual exercises can be seriously commenced, but serve as the best preparation for them ; because most mechanical pursuits demand the co-operation of the mental powers. They particularly exercise attention and per- ception ; they excite a spirit of observation and invention ; they habituate the mind to the formation of plans, and the observance of proportion ; they bring out, in fact, every intellectual resource. The practice of any art, even the simplest, is the application of some of the principles of science : familiarising young people with facts illustrative of these, will, at a future period, render their study of science more interesting and profitable, as pre- senting to them innumerable opportunities of applying to prac- tical utility the one in which they may then be engaged. In the business of life the union of practical habits and intellectual acquirements is useful, both to the capitalist and to the operative. Mechanical ingenuity has, in many instances, given rise to intellectual pursuits of the first order. Many discoveries in the arts have led to the discovery of unknown laws in nature, and of new principles in science ; for, in the progress of knowledge, theory generally follows practice. Had Stephen Mongolfier not been a practical as well as a scientific man, the hydraulic ram might for ever have remained as speculative and useless a philo- sophical project as it was in the hands of Hales. Haiiy, the originator of the science of crystallography, Belzoni, the explorer of the antiquities of Egypt, James Briudley, James Ferguson, Herschel, Lord Bosse, and many others, preluded their scientific careers by purely mechanical operations. Feter the Great became a mechanic to civilise a nation. If children are accustomed to the use of tools, and are gradu- ally taught to work in paper, pasteboard, wood, and metals, according as their physical progress permits the difficulty to be increased, they will soon "acquire a mechanical skill which may, at a future time, prove very beneficial to themselves and to others. Manual- dexterity makes us, in a great measure, inde- pendent of others, and gives us $he means of providing for our own comforts in most of the circumstances of life. It is indis- pensable in many professions, to travellers, to naval and military Sec. IV.] INFLUENCE OF MANUAL OCCUPATIONS. 27 men, to engineers, architects, and surgeons, but particularly to the votaries of natural philosophy. Those who have distinguished themselves by high conceptions in the sciences, and by useful inventions in the arts, have, for the most part, early in life, dis- played a taste for mechanical operations, and have constructed with their own hands the instruments or apparatus necessary for illustrating their discoveries. Archimedes fabricated his own wonderful machines, Galileo made his own telescopes, Torricelli his barometers ; Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Roger Bacon, Benjamin Franklin, Kepler, Pascal, Newton, James Watt, Buftbn, Humphry Davy, George Cuvier, Isambert Brunei, Charles Babbage, and many others, were aided by their mechanical skill in gaining celebrity, fortune, and the enviable glory of being the benefactors of mankind. Let us encourage, among young people, games of skill and dexterity and all occupations which lead them to form plans and contrivances, which, in short, exercise their ingenuity, their patience and inventive powers. The early discovery of some artifice may, by opening the eyes of a child to deceitful appear- ances, save him, through life, from foolish credulity, and warn him against the deceptions of impostors. Not only is manual occupation, like all bodily work, conducive to physical and intellectual improvement, but, in a moral point of view, it is most beneficial : it forms a bond of sympathy between the wealthy and the operative ; it makes man submis- sive to an imperative law of his existence, — labour being the con- dition of human life ; it calms his inclination to sensuality, exercises his patience and perseverance, and disposes him, by habits of industry, to tranquillity of heart. It must contribute to happiness ; for the exercise of any faculty, physical, moral, or intellectual, satisfies one of the demands of man's nature. If bodily labour be turned to a useful purpose, it will acquire a new degree of importance, and will become more interesting than if undertaken merely for the preservation of health. As the improvement of the individual ought always to be considered with a view to the benefit which society may derive from it, and which it has the right to claim, the physical powers of the child should be especially directed towards the acquisition of such arts and manual occupations as may be rendered subservient to the well-being of the commimity. Thus, physical training truly becomes an auxiliary to moral education. No system of education is complete which does not provide, 23 <>F EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. I. by due attention to useful arts, for the activity of the physical powers, for relaxation from mental labour, and against reverses of fortune. There is no station in society, be it ever so high, which may dispense with them altogether. Many instances might be recorded, in which even powerful princes have derived benefit from skill in manual occupations. By a law of Solon, the children whose parents had neglected to have them instructed in some profitable trade, were relieved from the obligation of maintaining them in their old age. Sect. VII.— LIMITS WITHIN WHICH PHYSICAL ACQUIREMENTS SHOULD BE CULTIVATED. Physical education embraces the first three periods of youth ; but the exercises which it prescribes, particularly gymnastics, should be continued through life, without however, interfering with intellectual pursuits ; they are necessary at every age, in order to keep up health and the harmony of the whole animal economy. Some of those exercises may not always be practicable : it is the duty of persons entrusted with the care of children to select for them such as may suit their social position, their sex, constitution, and temperament, as also the vocation or profession to which each is destined. The end proposed by the educator ought to be to cidtivate the physical powers of the child, so as to keep them within the sphere of action which is siiitable for the destination to which he is called by nature and by society. Physiology lays down the fundamental principles by which this object may be attained, and health may be preserved. An educator must therefore be acquainted with this science : his skill consists in preventing disease, as that of the physician, in curing it ; and, as prevention is better than cure, so is the office of the educator more important than that of the physician. In the present state of society, when man is placed in circum- stances which constantly tend to make him deviate from the simple path of nature, the study of her laws, as explained by physiology, becomes indispensable to those who have to provide for the education of youth ; for, if they are not thoroughly acquainted with the nature and functions of the bodily organs, how can they minister to them their due share of exercise, or restrain their activity within judicious bounds 1 The neglect or over exertion of any of the physical faculties is equally injurious : Sec VII.] LIMITS OF PHYSICAL ACQUIREMENTS. 29 if their inaction keeps them in impotent debility, an excess of exercise, on the other hand, would bring a premature decay of the over-tasked organ, or destroy the symmetry of the frame by the over-development of some particular muscle. The excessive activity of the physical faculties is usually acquired at the expense of higher faculties : it is a well-known fact, that mental excellence is rarely the portion of those who devote much care and time to increasing the volume of their body and the force of their muscles. We ought to seek in mus- cular action only a means of health and diversion, without aiming at a superiority which is not consistent with the occupation of a highly cultivated mind. "Men," observes Londe, "who give themselves up exclusively to muscular exertions, are deficient in sensitiveness, moral tact, reflection, and intellectual labour." '' "It would be difficult," says also Richeraud, " to find in history the example of a man who has combined with the physical powers, which the muscular temperament implies, distinguished strength of the intellectual faculties. For excelling in the fine arts and in the sciences, there is need of exquisite sensibility, a condition absolutely at variance with much development of the muscular masses."t Tissot's aphorism will be found true, in general, that the man who thinks the most digests the worst, and vice versa, he who thinks the least digests the best.J (1) * Gymnastique Medkale. t Nouveaux Element de Physiologic % DelaSanti des Gens de Lettres. (1) See Appendix. 30 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [< bap. II. CHAPTER II. MORAL EDUCATION. Sect. I.— DEFINITION. Moral education has for its object the cultivation and direc- tion of the moral faculties, so as to enable us, through their means, first, to acquire the virtues and fulfil the duties required by our condition as creatures of God, and social beings ; and, secondly, to imbibe the sentiments and inclinations which can ensure individual happiness. Eeligion may be considered as the basis of morality ; for no moral principle is safe which is not founded in religion ; but, for the convenience of classification, we will consider the actions of man in three different points of view, as they immediately relate to his Maker, to his fellow-creatures, and to himself. The moral education, which embraces the immediate relations of man with the Divinity, we will call Religious Morality; that which em- braces his relations with society, Social Morality ; and that which concerns him individually, Individual Morality. The fulfilment of our duties to God constitutes Piety ; the per- formance of our social duties, Justice ; affections and social virtues are the elements of Goodness ; the duties, virtues, and inclinations of individual morality combine to produce Wisdom. Piety, Justice, Goodness, and Wisdom, are the acquirements of the soul which, as stated in our definition of education, raise man to the image of his Maker : the possession of them in their highest degree constitutes Moral Perfection. Sect. II.— MORAL FACULTIES. Progress towards moral perfection is based on the right exer- cise of the moral faculties. The soul is perhaps more than the body subject to the great law of education. Its improvement is also of greater importance, as it affects society at large, and the Sec. II.] MORAL FACULTIES. 31 eternal as well as the present condition of man. According as the moral powers are well or ill directed ; according as virtuous or vicious inclinations, good or bad sentiments, affections or passions, are resj)ectively indulged in or repressed, so shall the individual acquire moral or immoral habits ; so shall he be happy or miserable, a useful or a disreputable member of the community. The moral faculties which education proposes to cultivate and direct, in order to unfold the qualities which constitute moral acquirements, and to advance towards moral perfection, are, Self-love, Sympathy, Curiosity, Conscience, and Will. These moral faculties, like the physical faculties, are inherent in our nature ; they exist in every individual, independently of exercise or reflection ; but their activity is greater or less, according to their original degree of energy, which varies in dif- ferent individuals, and according, also, as they have, or have not been cultivated : whereas the moral acquirements, that is, the consciousness of duties, the virtues, affections, and inclina- tions which proceed from these faculties, and which constitute the elements of piety, justice, goodness, and wisdom, exist in men only as a consequence of the predominating energy of certain faculties, or inasmuch as they have been inculcated by suitable example and exercise. " Most of those excellences," says Locke, "which are looked on as natural endowments, will be found, when examined into more narrowly, to be the product of exercise, and to be raised to that pitch only by repeated actions." 1. Self -Love. Self-love is the great link which connects the lower and the higher nature of man ; for it comprises within its sphere of action his sensual appetites as well as his moral and intellectual deter- minations. It manifests itself by two impidses — self-preservation and self-gratification, which create in him desires, hopes, or pleasures, in reference to whatever is good, and dislikes, fears, or pains, in reference to whatever is evil. His irresistible ten- dency to protect and prolong his existence, as also to secure agreeable and avoid disagreeable emotions, becomes the source of all his wants, keeps up his activity of mind and body, stimulates his progress in the arts which minister to his well-being and enjoyment, and promotes his advancement in civilisation and in all the refinements of life. 32 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. II. Self-interest suggests the propriety of obeying the laws of nature, as curiosity prompts us to inquire into them ; for obe- dience is attended with its own reward, and disobedience with it.s own punishment. Thus the laws of nature are closely con- nected with morality, which is itself one of the great laws of humanity. Self-love enhances the value of self-denial ; for what would be the merit of sacrificing ourselves to others, if we cared not for our own existence, and if we did not naturally prefer our well-being to that of our fellow-creatures 1 This faculty tends more immediately than any other to the advantage of the individual; and hence some philosophers — among others, Epicurus, Hobbes, Hume, and Helvetius — dis- regarding the other elements of man's constitution, — have erro- neously maintained that self-interest is the only motive of his actions. Subservient, however, as it is to his well-being, when unchecked, it becomes egotism, and produces vanity, pride, and all the desires, appetites, and passions which crave and seek personal gratifications alone ; among which may be reckoned fortune, power, honours, and glory. If self-love be early and habitually indulged in, to the exclusion of the higher moral faculties, which might counterbalance its pernicious effects, it will give rise to such vices and crimes as are analogous to the particular manner in which it has been over-excited, — to ambition, avarice, gluttony, drunkenness, debauchery, envy, revenge, rob- bery. It is thus that children, whose selfish propensities have been unreasonably gratified, so frequently disappoint, in after- life, the fond expectations of their parents, and cruelly punish them for their blind and culpable indulgence. As the imperative impulse to self-preservation and enjoyment prompts us to cultivate all our faculties, with a view to the benefits which result from their development, it may, by a proper and careful direction, become a powerful agent in education. When guided by reason, it leads to those duties, virtues, and inclinations which best secure our well-being ; such as tempe- rance, moderation, industry, patience, prudence, love of cleanliness and order, desire of knowledge and esteem, — in fact, all the moral qualities which constitute Wisdom. Self-love is necessary to advance in any pursuit, because it is conducive to self-esteem and, hence, to self-confidence, on wdiich success depends. The love of approbation and the desire of happiness which self-love begets, induce us to adopt every means of self-improvement, and to do good to others in order to gain Sec. II.] MORAL FACULTIES. 33 their good-will. It is to this principle of action, which prevails in childhood, that emulation, praise and blame, rewards and punishments, owe their efficacy as means of education ; however, we should endeavour gradually to substitute for it higher motives of action. Corporal punishments, the most degrading of all appeals to love of self, are particularly objectionable, as being in direct opposition to one of the essential attributes of adequacy in punishment, which requires that its severity should be pro- portionate to the repetition or magnitude of the fault. Their efficacy, not depending so much on the bodily pain as on the shame attending its infliction, diminishes gradually, as, by repe- tition, the shame wears off, until at length, in many and the worst cases, it ceases entirely. Handed down to us from times of barbarism, and from the monastic discipline of the old schools, as a means of correcting defects in moral character, errors in judgment, and the giddiness of youth, they have now been con- demned by the good sense of the enlightened portion ^>f man- kind : they are forbidden in France, in Holland, in the greater part of Germany, and even in Russia ; yet they are retained in these islands, not accidentally and partially, but systematically and almost generally, as the only regulating power of public schools. The British legislature ought, in the name of humanity and civilisation, to interpose their authority in favour of youth, if the tenderness of parents will not prompt them to take the lead in this philanthropic reform. Heads of schools will rejoice on the day they are freed from the painful office (now forced upon them) of administering this degrading punishment. Society ought, indeed, for her own sake, to put an end to this odious practice ; for it usually happens that degradation in youth pro- duces hypocrisy, obduracy of heart, and wickedness in after-life. Bernardin de St. Pierre attributes to the prevalence of corporal punishment the unnatural and cruel pleasure which the English continue to take in the disgraceful and immoral exhibitions of pugilism, the offspring of barbarous ages. * 2. Sympathy. After the love of self, comes, in the natural order of develop- ment, the love of others, of which sympathy is the grand prin- ciple. This faculty tends to public good as self-love does to * Etudes -de la Nature. Etude 4. VOL. I. D 34 OF EDUCATION IN c l.XERAL. [Chap. II- private ; the one is the ground-work of social morality, and the other of individual morality. Sympathy manifests its existence at the dawn of life. The first si ii ilr of the child is the reflection of that of his mother. The first elements of language, which he catches, the first joys and the first terrors which take possession of him, have their source in her countenance : it is from her voice, her looks, her gestures, that he learns the meaning of her words, and that his moral education commences. Such is the force of this innate principle, that the very shudder of a timid or superstitious person in the presence of a young child, may suffice to create in him for life an unconquerable fear at the sight of the object that caused it. The tender care with which he is habitually treated, the pleasing circumstances with which he is surrounded, foster in him a cheerful temper and an affectionate disposition, which are the most powerful springs in education. It is impossible to wdtness any marked emotion, or even to hear it forcibly described, without a very sensible degree of the same emotion springing up in our breasts, and without, in our turn, assuming the corresponding tones, looks, and gestures in its expression. To this effect of sympathy must be ascribed the universal intelligibility of the language of action, and the pecu- liarities of dialect, accentuation, gesture, and manner, which characterise nations, provinces, families, and even certain profes- sions and classes of society. The sociability of man arising therefrom is so indispensable to his well-being, that he ardently seeks for intercourse with his fellow-creatures, and is never so mi- serable as when left in complete loneliness. Solitary confinement for life is to the criminal a more severe punishment than death. The principle of appeal to the testimony of others owes its existence to sociability, combined with curiosity : man has a natural tendency to make up his own deficiencies from the com- mon consciousness of mankind. The greater part of his notions, beliefs, opinions, hopes, and convictions are the result of his social communion with his fellow-creatures. There is, in fact, a necessity for the collective influence of humanity to aid on the progress of truth and usher in the reign of love. Sympathy, seeking for action in the animated world, becomes the source of self-denial and <>f all generous determinations. It counteracts the baneful effects of the selfish principle; it pro- motes a desire of acquiring knowledge, by the pleasure which the communication of it imparts ; it gives birth to all kind Sec. II.] MORAL FACULTIES. 35 affections and to all social virtues — the elements of Goodness ; it is, in fact, the foundation of society, the great bond of union among men, and constitutes in them an inalienable right to association and to the interchange of their thoughts. The instinct which prompts us to rejoice and grieve with others, to communicate our sentiments and our ideas, our joys and our sorrows, or to inquire into those of our fellow-creatures, is a manifestation of sympathy. Corresponding with that instinct, the unmistakeable expression of inward feelings, which our looks, gestures, laughter, tears, and cries convey independently of our will, is a further proof that we are born social and communicative beings. No faculty shows more manifestly than sympathy the admirable provisions of God in carrying out His ends : it prompts us to the obedience of His divine command — " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Hence, from the efforts we make to enter into the sentiments of others, originate all kind feelings and affections, such as filial love, benevolence, humanity, desire to please, affability, friendship ; and from the efforts to bring down our emotions to the level of those of others, spring modesty, charity, generosity, indulgence, forgiveness, — in fact, all the social virtues. * It is the right cultivation of sympathy which, by identifying our happiness with the happiness of those who surround us, induces us to desire the well-being of our fellow-creatures, and leads to the observance of the great law of humanity, which pre- scribes " to do unto others as we would wish them to do unto us." According as self-love or sympathy is the more cultivated in the child, so will the selfish or the social feelings prevail in the man. Sympathy is closely allied to the intellectual law of association, which essentially aids the power of expression ; its direction, for the acquisition of this power, should be an object of serious attention to the young. In elocution, it affects the tones of the voice and the expression of the countenance, by bringing them in unison with the ideas and sentiments to be expressed, or suit- ing them to the persons to be addressed. The power of con- vincing and persuading implies the capability of sympathising with others, of entering into their thoughts and feelings : hence this faculty becomes the source of all the emotions and affections from which eloquence flows. * See Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments. D 2 36 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. II. The necessary effect of sympathy is to produce an aptitude to assimilation, or imitation, or, rather, assimilation is a manifesta- tion ofsympathy. Man is the most imitative and impressible of all creatures ; lie has a natural tendency to assimilate to those who surround him, in manner, tastes, sentiments, and language. This imitative or sympathetic principle, by prompting the child to assimilate himself with those who come in contact with him, greatly accelerates his progress in everything he requires to learn, and thus produces results which tend materially to the improvement and advancement of the human species. It is, in fact, from sympathy that the child adopts the tastes and senti- ments of his parents, their notions and expressions, their religious and political opinions, and the greater portion of the information most needed through life. The power of imitation is most active in the first periods of youth, when no habit has yet been formed to weaken its action. It is particularly in acquiring the native tongue and all imitative arts, that it exercises a powerful influ- ence in intellectual education. This aptitude of the child must be cautiously directed, lest he should, when thrown into society, assimilate himself to those who are in error or in vice. This also makes it inq>erative on parents and educators to be most careful about their own words and actions : their virtues and vices usually decide the fate of the child. 3. Curiosity. Curiosity is the necessary consequence of the perfectible nature of a being who commences life in weakness and ignorance. To accomplish our high destinies, Providence has endowed us not only with the power of removing this innate weakness and igno- rance, and of elevating ourselves to the noblest conceptions, but also with an uncontrollable desire to exert this power. The eagerness with which, from the earliest infancy, we seek new objects and new sensations, observe external phenomena, and attempt to discover the causes of the facts which strike our senses, sufficiently unveils our natural tendency to seek truth and acquire information. Curiosity extends the dominion of thought ; conjointly with self-love and sympathy, it incites to every acquisition, every discovery, every improvement, and con- sequently to civilisation. It leads from the examination of the wonders of Creation to the conviction of the existence of a First Cause of all things, and to a consciousness of God's infinite power, goodness, and wisdom. As self-love engenders hope, and sympathy, Sec. II.] MORAL FACULTIES. 37 charity ; so does curiosity prepare us for the blessings of faith : combined with well-directed conscience, it fosters a love for God. "We are endowed with senses susceptible of feeling pain and pleasure, and are, at the same time, surrounded with natural dangers and means of enjoyment which we know not, and which we are prompted to ascertain, in order to shun the former, and avail ourselves of the latter. The instinctive impulse of curiosity rests, then, on the selfish motives of preservation and gratification, and may, in the unconsciousness of childhood, be exercised on improper or injurious things. It should be one of the objects of education to modify these motives, to lead the child to useful inquiries, and make him seek truth for its own sake. This noble direction given to curiosity, is one of the characteristics of a good education. Curiosity acts a prominent part in the instruction of youth, and, especially, in the acquisition of the native tongue. There is not a conversation which children overhear from which they do not gain ideas and expressions. This faculty affords a powerful means of fixing their attention. Their insatiable thirst for novelty, and the activity of their perceptive powers, which sti- mulate their inquisitiveness, have undoubtedly been given to them by an all-wise Creator for the great purposes of education. Instructors should avail themselves of this bountiful provision of nature, to direct and cultivate the spirit of inquiry of their pupils in reference to praiseworthy objects, and particularly to those which may suit their future walks in life. They ought to aim, first, at exciting, next, at gratifying their curiosity. The judicious succession of excitement and gratification constitutes excellence in teaching. The desire of knowledge, which is another name for curiosity, would remain a strong inclination through life, were it not checked in childhood by injudicious treatment. Among the causes destructive of it, may be mentioned the following : 1. Making children feel that their inquisitiveness is impor- tunate ; 2. Giving them words for ideas ; 3. Forcing information on them at unseasonable times ; 4. Over-tasking their attention ; •5. Associating pain with study ; and, 6. Indiscriminately con- demning as a vice all the manifestations of this valuable propensity. 4. Conscience. Conscience, the next faculty, is a natural disposition to feel pleasure at moral good and pain at moral evil, and, he nee,, to 38 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. il. prefer good to evil. It has been given to man to guide him through the difficulties of life, towards happiness, the goal of his wishes. It conies into action only after the first glimmerings of reason, whose office it is to distinguish truth from falsehood, virtue from vice, justice from injustice. This faculty does not discriminate between right and wrong ; it acts under the guidance of reason; and as the latter is not infallible, it follows that men often differ in their notions of right and wrong, according to their education : to God alone, however, are they responsible in such matters. But, in every man, inward satisfaction or remorse, the manifest indications of conscience, accompanies the actions reputed good or had in the society of which he is a member. It is then the business of parents early to imbue their children with a consciousness of what the Christian religion teaches us to be right or wrong. In the first stages of life, this consciousness will arise from a proper direction being given to the moral faculties ; and, when virtuous habits are formed, they will exercise a due control over every appetite, desire, and inclination, the indulgence of which is incon- sistent with the dictates of conscience. In infancy the grosser instincts predominate and command as masters ; but, under the influence of good example and enlightened education, as the child, by the continual exercise of the intellectual powers, acquires ideas and unfolds his reason, the rational deter- minations mingle with the instinctive, and, at length, prevail over them in the man whose conscience has been properly exercised. This internal voice may be stifled for a time amid the tumult of vicious indulgence ; but it can never be wholly subdued. Conscience is the innate moral principle, the stamp of the Divinity in man; on its culture depends the righl direction of the other moral faculties. It warns against all selfish motives, preserves from the evil consequences of indiscriminate assimila- tion, guides in the choice of objects worthy of exercising curiosity, and weighs the influence which ought to govern the will. Its action is indispensable to society, for it secures a sense of Justice, by giving a consciousness of all social duties, such as obedience, veracity , probity, gratitude, discretion, and put riot ism. It contri- butes to individual happiness, by causing pleasure in the perform- ance of duty. The inward satisfaction which results from a good conscience Becures resignation and contentment in adversity, disposes the heart to every kind feeling, leads to self-improve- Sec. II.] MORAL FACULTIES. 39 ment, and, by a natural desire for perfection, to the love of Him who is the source of all perfection. Sympathy and conscience should be particularly exercised with a view to education ; for they are the faculties which enable us to act from virtuous motives. It is their combined impulse which prompts us to imitate the good actions we witness, and to bestow affection and esteem on their authors. Let appeals be fre- quently made to the child's conscience, and he will soon form the habit of acting on this moral principle. Such appeals would be motives of action far preferable to those which are usually made to self-love through emulation, praise, reward, or bodily fear. The more frequently we appeal to conscience as a guide, the more easily shall we distinguish good from evil, the more inclined shall we be to adopt what is right, and avoid what is wrong, the more successfully shall we also regulate our inclinations, and moderate our passions. The self-examination prescribed by the Christian religion is founded on this truth, as was also Benjamin Franklin's journal of morality ; and few men ever reached a higher degree of moral perfection than he did. This voice speaking within us becomes the true guide which may lead Christians in the path of righteousness, when it takes for its rule the will of God. It is therefore of the utmost import- ance that the understanding of the young be made acquainted with the natural laws and the Divine commands, in order to render the verdict of conscience a source of real satisfaction. God, in His infinite mercy, has proclaimed our rule of conduct in the most manifest and the most unerring manner : revelation, His divine word, is not only a safe guide through this short life, but it alone can lead us to life eternal. 5. Will. Will, or volition, is influenced in its determinations by self- love, which seeks enjoj*ment and shims pain ; by sympathy, which begets sentiments and affections more or less estimable ; by curiosity, which may pursue laudable or blameable objects of inquiry ; and by conscience, which prefers good to evil : but these determinations demand the light of reason to be properly directed ; that is, to incline to virtue in preference to vice, and to truth in preference to error. Thus is the union, which we have already found to exist between our moral and our intellectual nature, rendered closer by the action of the will. Man becomes, by the right of this faculty, the arbiter of his 40 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. |Chap. II. actions : he is a free, rational, and self-governing agent. As self-love is the principle of his individuality, sympathy of his sociability, curiosity of his perfectibility, and conscience of his morality ; so is will the principle of his native liberty, and the harbinger of immortality. It is especially towards a judicious direction of the will, that all the efforts of the educator should tend ; for this faculty exer- cises a powerful control over almost all the others : it is the soul of all the exercises to which education subjects man ; and it alone can secure success. Will is the fulcrum of Archimedes ; with it all is possible : " Pent qui veut," Napoleon often said. It gives an impulse to the whole system ; but it presides more particularly over the operations of the intellectual powers. Edu- cation, properly speaking, is only the direction of the will and the formation of its habits : — an occasional act of virtue does not make the virtuous man ; the perfection of the moral character consists in an habitual disposition to do what is useful and good. Children should early be made to feel all the importance of a faculty on which their future self-control and self-government depend. Their improvement is not in proportion to the number of teachers and external assistance which the opulence of their parents may provide for them, but to the energy of their own will, to the earnest attention and perseverance with which they a PPby themselves to the various objects of study. Innumerable examples, taken from all ages and countries, might be adduced, of men who have, by the force of their will, without the assistance of teachers and, under the most adverse circumstances, raised themselves from the lowest condition to the highest eminence in the moral and intellectual world. For some of those examples we refer the reader to that excellent work, " Pursuit of Know- ledge under Difficulties," which fully illustrates what can be accomplished by the energy of the will. The most effective education is that which we give to our- selves ; because, proceeding from the will, it has at its disposal all the faculties of the body, all the energy of the soul, and all the powers of the mind. Man is born for self-improvement, which is the essence of human perfectibility. This truth is suffi- ciently proved by the extensive range of physical and intellectual acquirements which he makes in childhood of his own accord, and by his unaided 'Hurts. We have already adverted to these early manifestations of self-education as prompted by the innate powers of imitation and curiosity. But voluntary attention to Sec. III.] MORAL ACQUIREMENTS. 41 the systematic departments of knowledge, which constitute lite- rary or scientific instruction, can take place only when reason is sufficiently developed to enable the learner to appreciate the importance of these departments of instruction, and to feel the necessity of system in the pursuit. It is only in the third period that it can be commenced methodically. In the first two periods, the principal object of education should be to give to the child physical, moral, and intellectual habits, as a preparation for the time when self-education shall begin. "We must then early accus- tom him to rely little on the assistance of others, and to seek in himself the sources of his own improvement. The conviction once acquired that progress depends on self-exertion, will be the starting-point in self-education. Spontaneousness should be encouraged in childhood ; self-will, so common among young people, should be regulated, not broken : it may become, if properly directed, noble firmness in manhood. Every tendency to a vice might, by judicious management, be turned to account for the acquisition of a virtue. By suitable training of the will, a child may be made to pursue virtue and knowledge for their own sakes, and be stimulated to accomplish, each day, something more than on the preceding. This continual endeavour to surpass oneself is a motive to improvement much purer and nobler than the desire of surpassing others, which springs from pride and vanity. The secret satisfaction attached to success in the performance of any action, or in the acquisition of any information, is one of the most powerful incentives to mental exertion in every pursuit. It is thus that will engenders patience and perseverance, the two great instruments of genius. Sect. III.— MORAL ACQUIREMENTS. The moral faculties are the instruments by which are acquired the qualities which constitute moral perfection. It is especially on their proper cultivation during the first three periods that the success of education depends ; for the early practice of duties, virtues, affections, and inclinations which proceed from them, having once rendered them habitual, the object will be attained : morality will then be a second nature to the individual. Virtuous habits being once formed, there is little danger that he will after- wards turn to a bad purpose the power which physical and intellectual cultivation confers on him. This moral training, the surest preservative against evil tendencies, is now the more 42 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. p hap. II. necessary as the progress of the arts and sciences daily increases the power dt' man. The moral faculties to which we have now adverted are often erroneously included in the class of moral acquirements, and the Latter in that of innate powers ; the virtues, duties, affections, and inclinations which constitute the moral acquirements, and which are the object of moral education, are not either, in general, clearly defined, or sufficiently distinguished the one from the other. This confusion has not a little contributed to retard the progress of educational science. Obedience to parents, veracity, sincerity, probity, gratitude, discretion, loyalty, patriotism, are not virtues, but social duties, or obligatory acts of Justice towards others ; the neglect of them is a transgression which calls for punishment. The fulfilment of duty, which it is the office of conscience to secure, merits no acknowledgment ; whereas social virtues, based on self-denial, are self-imposed sacrifices which claim gratitude : the absence of a virtue, although blameable, is not, according to human justice, liable to penalty. Modesty, charity, generosity, hospitality, forgiveness, are the virtues which, with filial love, benevolence, humanity, affability, and other affections, constitute so many species of Goodness, and which spring from sympathy, as we showed in treating of that moral faculty. These duties, virtues, and affections belong to social morality, and are practised with a view to the well-being of others ; but there exists another class of moral qualities which have for their object the well-being of their possessors : these are the acquire- ments which form the elements of Wisdom or individual morality. They arise chiefly from well-directed self-love, as do the social qualities from sympathy. In this class may be mentioned — 1. Duties, such as temperance, frugality, moderation in desires, resignation, industry, self-respect, consistency. 2. Virtues, as meekness, equanimity, patience, prudence, perseverance, courage, fortitude. 3. Inclinations, as love of cleanliness, of simplicity, of order, of occupation, desire of improvement, and of esteem. All the moral qualities which constitute Justice will gain for us the esteem of our fellow-creatures ; those which constitute Goodness will secure their affection, and those which constitute Wisdom will command their admiration. It is time that a system of moral education based on the constitution of man, his duties to God, to his fellow-creatures, and to himself, be formed, whereby he may fulfil the designs for Sec. III.] MORAL ACQUIREMENTS. 43 which he was created. He who shall give a clear and complete nomenclature of the moral faculties and acquirements, will lay the first stone of this system, and will thus confer a boon on society. With regard to the numerous faculties and organs with which phrenological educationists have enriched their catalogue, we doubt whether sound philosophy will ever recognise them. Nature is always sparing of causes, and prodigal of effects : with a few elements variously distributed and combined, she produces in the physical world an endless variety of organic and inorganic matter ; so, in the moral and mental constitution of man, a few innate principles suffice to produce innumerable dis- positions and characters. All human beings, with the exception of those whose cases are anomalous, are born with the same faculties, as all the lower animals of the same species, are endowed with the same instincts, and as all plants and minerals of the same kind, are formed of the same elements, and possess the same specific properties. It is contrary to the simplicity, uniformity, and universality of nature's laws to consider the numberless dispositions of men as so many primitive principles, and to suppose that faculties, the essential characteristics of the human species, would remain unmanifested in a great number of individuals, owing to supposed depressions of the cranium. Consistency and analogy incline us to recognise only a very limited number of innate powers, physical, moral, and intellectual, as common to all individuals, but varying in quality and activity in each. AVith regard to the infinite diversity of human cha- racter, it is only the effect of the relative proportion of energy of these powers which, differing in all individuals, produces different combinations, that are again modified by the ever-varying cir- cumstances under which they act. The climate, the laws, the form of government, the degree of civilisation, the social relations, the mode of life, and the kind of education, exert all a direct influence over the human character. That which phrenologists, for example, call the faculty of tune, does not appear to us to be a simple primitive power, but the result of an exquisite delicacy of hearing and of a peculiar sensibUity of the nervous system, joined to that kind of sympathy which prompts to the imitation of modulations. What they call the faculty of language seems to be a compound power resulting from an active disposition to communication and imitation — the offspring of sympathy — combined with correct hearing, flexible vocal organs, clear conception, ready recollection, and quick 44 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. IE analog}'. The energy of this power depends on that of the perceptive and the reflective faculties which elaborate thoughts, on the social dispositions which prompt to the communication of them, on the mental operation which attaches ideas to conven- tional signs, and on the physical functions which produce vocal sounds and articulations. We are, consequently, inclined to suppose that this very complicated power proceeds from the simultaneous action of different portions of the brain, rather than from the narrow cerebral localisation which phrenologists assign to it with so much mathematical precision. The leading facts and principles ui>on which phrenology rests appear consistent with general induction and the laws of our constitution ; but this science, yet in its infancy, fails by the multiplicity of the elements, as exhibited in its nomenclature. Although it must be acknow- ledged that its investigations have successfully aided in elucidating the connection of the brain with emotions and mental manifesta- tions, it is doubtful that they will ever lead to a sound system of psychology. Without pretending to establish a standard classification, we present the five faculties which we have noticed as the only moral principles which seem to be primitive and universal. We have collected in the following Table the principal qualities, or moral acquirements, which result from a proper exercise of these faculties, and which are the great object of moral education, with an indication of the approximate age at which they may be gradually acquired : — Sec. III.] MORAL ACQUIREMENTS. 45 O i— i H < O P A w O o P3 ft o w I— I oc O o P3 H < O 55 Eh- 1 Eh B 1 ►J « o ►j > ?•£ 5 J3 "g to ,3 s a o •a w a * "~ •- ^=-3 a - *~ c - o§ > ~ o Hi sea u — r° is s o 3 -3 3 3 ;Afr Ik& . 0> o C -S ri ? s s ^ 3 'oo Si S oj • '€S& .2 Si ►»> o >> 3 ^ o _0 — '/- U CO .2 3 ■« £ oj 3 s — •So ? so kO J^Ph +~ . tn O 0) 3 s x O - O V r c gB = - ■a o S C * ^3 ° '* © 03 S* CJ '£ >• 08 > - ~.^ j : a i •§ JQjQS °5 .5 o © "** . . "O -H ^ S '-C '-^ 3 1 ■>•? ' oj.2 to O -3 T3 S3 O § (S ^ -5 . 1 t» 03 O >> o 03 "3 <^' MH & it -4-9 O s '3 1 !■& 5 = ^ wire tn pica Politeness. Affability. = > ■?5 .2 a: . « D =q C| t. &3 B Eh g f -|3 m S.S 'tr x X VI C o \neficence. Obligingness. '.ntvosity. Liberality. Hospitality. . s 3 b-.S £ "0 ■eh 3 To O > =5 a S O to £1 O 3 C-l •■*-< > O 46 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. II. Although tliis tabular arrangement, considered in the abstract, indicates the natural and probable order in which the manifold objects of moral education may be gradually instilled into the hearts of children, we are aware that it is neither necessary nor even possible to follow it strictly in all cases. However, this classification, consistent with our other subdivisions of the sub- ject, by presenting in one view the principal departments of nmral training, may tend to impress the educator with the vast extent of the subject, and guide him through its details. Sect. IV.— ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF MORAL TRAINING. 1. Religious Morality. The limits and special object of this work not permitting us to investigate all virtues, duties, affections, and inclinations, we will advert only to those which constitute the elementary prin- ciples of moral training in its three relations — religious, social, and individual. Of all these it is almost needless to state that i-eligious feelings, early impressed on the heart of a young child, are to him the safest foundation of moral perfection and the only true basis of happiness. A sense of the omnipresence, infinite goodness, and supreme justice of the Almighty, will insensibly form in him habits of meekness consistent with Christianity ; it will inspire him with a salutary fear, and, particularly with a love of God, which is the origin of the kindest sentiments and the highest virtues. True morality is but a portion of religion. The love of G-od is the religious principle, as conscience is the moral one. These two principles are intimately connected, and should grow together. Piety and truth, their offspring, by removing the pressure of selfishness and error, will give to the soul all its energy, will fertilise and expand the mind. Religion and morality are inspired by example rather than taught by precept. A child, in order to be deeply impressed with the existence and attributes of the Creator, ought to imbibe a consciousness of them so early in life that he may not remember the time when he had no such idea. To this effect, religious feelings should be connected with every object that excites our gratitude to God and affects the young with wonder and delight. They should be led to God, as St. Augustin and Feneion pre- scribe, by the contemplation of nature, and to virtue, by the thought of God. Thus, by deep, strong, and permanent asso- Sec. IV.] ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF MORAL TRAINING. 47 ciations, the seeds of real piety and devotion will be sown, and the mind be prepared and disposed to the reception of the sub- lime truths which the Holy Scriptures proclaim as the basis of salvation. Although the religious worship and belief of the child ought to rest on a conviction acquired in childhood, the truths of Christianity, and the particular dogmas which he is destined to embrace, should be unfolded to him only when his reason is capable of understanding the meaning of the terms in which they are expressed, and of appreciating the nature of the evidence on which they are grounded. 2. Social Morality. On the threshold of social morality stand love and obedience to parents, and self-denial, which are the first effects of well- directed sympathy and conscience, and of duly controlled self- love. These first moral acquirements, which can be effectually secured by the affection, justice, consistency, firmness, and good examples of parents, will afterwards give rise to all the duties, affections, and virtues which constitute the moral and social man. Obedience, the first duty which the child is called upon to fulfil, habituates him to surrender his own selfish desires from a consciousness of higher obligations, and is to him a preservative against vicious propensities. Obedience should be passive in the first years ; and, as reason expands and guides his actions, motives are adduced to enlighten the fulfilment of this duty. But, at any period, it must be strictly insisted upon : the child who is once allowed to disobey his father and mother with im- punity will one day cause them to shed bitter tears. Obedience to the will of a virtuous parent prepares for obedience to the will of God and to the laws of men ; it fosters in him a sense of all his social duties, and hence leads to a knowledge of his rights. The fulfilment of our duties, and the enjoyment of our rights, are the double condition of our social existence and our happiness. Affection and self-denial habitually exercised between parents and children, brothers and sisters, and joined to an earnest love of God, naturally glide into benevolence to all men. This in- effable sentiment — benevolence — will, under proper guidance, be an inexhaustible fountain from which will flow in rich abundance obligingness and disinterestedness towards others, humanity and 48 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap.II. charity to those who suffer, indulgence for errors, forgetfulness of injuries, and greatness of soul. ',). Individ ti nl Moral it)/. Individual morality comprises a series of duties, virtues, and inclinations, which are equally indispensable to the formation of a perfectly moral character. Temperance, meekness, and love of cleanliness may be considered as the primitive acquirements on which the others of this series may be grafted. Temperance, the preserver of health, leads to moderation in desires, to the love of simplicity and occupation, to self-denial and self- respect.* Meekness produces resignation, patience, and fortitude, so indispensable to happiness in a state of society fraught with endless causes of vexation. Cleanliness, which, says Lord Bacon, " is next to godliness," begets moral purity, and leads to a love of order. Order, " Heaven's first law," is a great moral agent ; it is the parent of prudence, industry, and good taste ; it saves time, space, and money. It depends on those who preside over the moral development of the child to make him for life temperate or intemperate, meek or irritable, orderly or disorderly, as it depends on them to make him pious, submissive, veracious, affectionate, and benevolent. Individual morality ought to be particularly cultivated in a child, with a view to his instruction ; because the latter depart- ment of education, having for its object the exclusive benefit of the individual, depends, in a great measure, on the moral qualities which may secure his well-being, namely, diligence, industry, patience, perseverance, resolution, love of order, desire of improvement. Without the possession of these qualities, as a preparation for scholastic pursuits, there is no system of teaching which can avail, there is little prospect of ever arriving at eminence in any department of knowledge. * The beneficial influence of temperance has been justly appreciated by Father Mathew, who, with all the energies i>f his inexhaustible benevolence, has, by its means, regenerated the Irish people, and raised their character. The moral reform which he lias achieved, unparalleled in the history of human nature, has extended far among other nations, who, at this day, vie with each other in paying their just tribute of veneration and gratitude to the Apostle of Temperance Sec. V.] OF PRACTICE IN MORAL EDUCATION. 49 Sect. V.— OF PRACTICE IN MORAL EDUCATION. The qualities which constitute religious, social, and individual morality must be obtained by proper example and exercise. Apprenticeship is as essential for acquiring benevolence, disin- terestedness, prudence, and patience, as it is for attaining skill in any gymnastic feat or handicraft trade. The law of exercise is universal in its application. Moral precepts may be brought to the aid of practice ; but, to be effective, they must be the gene- ralisation of good and virtuous acts which have previously come under the notice of a child ; otherwise they have no meaning. A precept of morality is an abstraction ; and it is not by abstractions, by definitions, or by general principles, that virtue can be deeply inculcated in the hearts of children. Good habits, fostered by example, are the foundation of a truly moral education. By dint of doing what is right, we at length find it difficult to do what is wrong. " Make sobriety a habit," says Lord Brougham, in one of his speeches in the House of Lords, " 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 scrupulously abstaining from all acts of improvidence which can involve him in distress, and he will just as little think of lying, or cheating, or stealing, as of rushing into an element in which he cannot breathe." * Socrates, according to his own confession, was naturally addicted to violence of temper ; — Demosthenes laboured under natural impediments of speech and extreme nervousness ; — the Czar Peter had an instinctive dread of going on the water : yet, by the force of the will and the formation of good habits, the first became the meekest and most virtuous man of his time ; the second, the prince of orators ; and the third, the best seaman of his empire. But what must be the power of exercise, when we see its influence over maternal love, a sentiment whose natural energy seems incapable of increase ? It is an undeniable fact, that a mother's affection for her child is the greater as the act of nursing him, or the feebleness of his constitution demands • Sitting of the 21s« of May, 1835. VOL. I. E 50 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chai\ II. more care, and offers her more frequent opportunities of exer- cising her tender solicitude. Practice, however, has its limits : a blind and excessive indulgence of Self-love would produce egotism ; of Sympathy, weak- ness ; of Curiosity, indiscretion ; of Conscience, irresolution ; and of Will, obstinacy. Excess in the moral acquirements would be equally injurious. Benevolence may instigate to generosity, at the expense of justice ; a father may carry firmness to tyranny, and a mother the love of her child to blameable indulgence ; blind patriotism may engender aversion for other nations. Whether we aim at the cultivation of faculties, or at the acquisition of moral qualities, excess and exclusiveness must be carefully avoided. Sect. VI.— DUTIES OF GOVERNMENTS RESPECTING EDUCATION. It is the sacred duty, as it is the noblest privilege, of parents to secure for their children, and to disseminate through society the benefits of moral education. But, among the numerous poi'tion of the population whose life is consumed in incessant labours, and to whose industry, fatigue, and privations the nation is indebted for its wealth and power, parents are often deprived of sufficient leisure to watch over their offspring, or are destitute of the moral character indispensable for guiding them in the path of duty and of virtue ; well informed educators should therefore supply their deficiency. A portion of the revenues of the state could not be better employed than in moralising and improving those who contribute so largely to them. An enlightened government ought to take secular education under its superintendence, and enforce it upon the people by legisla- tive enactment. Some persons object to this interference with parental autho- rity and private speculation, as an infringement upon the liberties of the people ; but they forget three things — first, that the child belongs to the state as well as to the family ; secondly, that the great majority of parents are much in need of direction for the proper training of their children ; thirdly, that the unavoidable influence for good or evil of the teachers over youth makes it imperative on the part of society to examine their qualifications, and superintend the discharge of their office, in order to secure the community from the dreadful consequences of ignorance or immorality on their part. It may be inconsistent with liberty to force instruction upon SEC. VI.] DUTIES OF GOVERNMENT? RESPECTING EDU< ATION. 51 the people, as is clone in some German s f ates ; because the kind of instruction best for individuals being a matter of opinion, it is neither just nor proper to impose any in particular, especially as that which is usually given in schools is often far from being the most available for the practical purposes of active life. It is undeniable that a vast amount of useful information, such, at least, as is required by the working classes, can be obtained without resorting to books ; and although the state owes secular instruction to all, every one has a right to choose that which he thinks most conducive to his interest. But moral education, exclusive of religious distinctions, does not differ in kind with the social position and the future avocation of children. Molality is one and the same for all, and is imperative upon all : the tran- quillity, the prosperity, the very existence of society depend upon it. "We do not see how its being made obligatory, or how the right, on the part of the state, to institute, superintend, and inspect educational establishments, could interfere with the liberty of the people, any more than the obligation to pay taxes, refrain from dishonesty, or submit to the intrusion and inquisi- tiveness of excise and custom-house officers. The compulsory moralisation of the depraved is far more justifiable and more consistent with liberty than the compulsory detention of mendicants and the impressment of seamen. Those who say that the right of interference would give the state the monopoly of public instruction, might as reasonably complain that tribunals have a monopoly of justice ; magistrates, of the preservation of the peace ; and licensed apothecaries, a monopoly of medicine. They should bear in mind that education is a social, not a parental question. The competition in the supply of education bears no analogy to free conqtetition in the supply of food and articles of dress : there is a greater demand for the latter two than for the former, because people have a more definite notion of what they want in the one case than of what is required in the other ; and they can appreciate the qualities and value of material objects far better than they can those of moral and intellectual acquirements. Such competition, the source of progress in manufacture and commerce, is, in education, as in medicine, only the essence of charlatanism. It is the business of the state to create the demand for education, which the people could not of themselves make, and to see that those who speculate on that demand do not impose upon parents. e 2 52 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. | Chap. It That legislative interference with national education is con- sistent with the respect due to parental authority and to private industry, is so manifest that the principle is carried out with general satisfaction in the United States, a country in which the rights of individuals and the liberty of conscience are more largely recognised than anywhere else. Plato and Aristotle, Washington and Jefferson, all staunch republicans, are among its warmest advocates. The most eminent statesmen and philanthropists of Great Britain, struck with the fatal consequences they have under their eyes, arising from unprotected education, are now anxious to follow the general progress of modern nations towards moral elevation and intellectual advancement. " The voluntary prin- ciple has failed," said Sir Robert Peel, in supporting Lord John Russell's measure in favour of national education. " I believe if we could know the real extent of this evil ; if we could have presented to us a full account of all the crime that has been generated by ignorance ; if we could know what has really taken place within the last fifty years ; if we could know how much the evil example of the parent has introduced infec- tion into the character and disposition of the child ; if we could know how much of violence and of rapine, how much of crime against both life and property has been caused by the neglect of education ; if we could know how many immortal souls have, during that period, been ushered into the presence of their Creator and their Judge, ignorant of the great truths and principles of Christianity ; I think, if we could know all this, we should be disposed to shudder at our own neg- lect, and to endeavour without delay to remedy the evils of the past." * It is an abuse of terms to call the constraint which has for its object to secure to the people the blessings of moral and intel- lectual worth, an infringement on liberty. The declamation against the interference of the state in the education of youth is inconsistent and irrational, since the state has, within our own times, interposed its authority in the case of children employed in manufactories, and has, in many Chancery cases, claimed and asserted the right of removing the child wholly out of the power of the parent. Nay, it is absurd to object to legislative control, or even to compulsory education, under a pretence of liberty in a country in which distinctions of birth and religion create * House of Commons, sitting of the 22/«i of April, 1847. Sec. VI.] DUTIES OF GOVERNMENTS RESPECTING EDUCATION. 53 privileges and exclusions so contrary to Christian fraternity and political equality, the essentials of social freedom. The legislature of a free and civilised country is not only entitled, but is bound to adopt the most efficient means of pre- venting immorality from entailing degradation and barbarism on the nation. A Government which does not give moral education to the people has no right to expect from them order and sup- port ; nor can the law, consistently with justice, punish faults which have been committed in the absence of the moral con- sciousness which it is the object of good education to impart. In fact, the nearer to perfection and the more general education is, the less will the laws need to punish. The venerable Von Tiick, the present Head of the Orphan House in Potsdam, acting under the influence of this truth, has set to the world an illustrious example of self-denial and Christian charity. A nobleman by birth, and for fourteen years a judge in one of the courts of Prussia, he had, during his practice in this high office, to try so many criminal cases arising solely from the early neglect of the education of the culprits, that he at last felt reluctant to pronounce sentence of condemnation upon them ; and, impressed with the sublime truth that the teacher who saves his fellow-creatures from committing crimes, does more good than the magistrate who waits for their perpetration to inflict punishment, he resigned his office, with all its honours and emoluments, to become an educator. It is especially among that numerous portion of the people, the labourers and operatives, that moral principles should be early imbibed and virtuous habits formed. Their education should be sedulously attended to, with a view to their eternal salvation, to their worldly prosperity, to the security of person and pro- perty, and even to the advantages which the other classes of society will derive from it ; because nursery-maids and all servants are recruited from among them, and on their morality, as well as intelligence, often depends the formation of the character and habits of children. Reading and writing, now so generally and almost exclusively taught to the poorer class, are of themselves insufficient and ineffectual. They are, indeed, productive of infinite benefit to those who have time to turn them to use ; but these arts are altogether unprofitable to those who, after the period of school, have no leisure to devote to them : because, differently from most other studies, the act of learning them is not even subservient to 54 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap.JL mental discipline ; it does not cultivate the higher faculties any more than manual occupations; it exercises the understanding less even than planing timber, or filing metal to a particular shape. It must not, then, be wondered at, if the children of the poor schools, in which the mechanical parts alone of reading and writing are taught, leave those establishments so deficient in intellectuality. To the working classes, industrial and moral education would prove far more valuable than exclusive attention to reading and writing. The ultimate benefits expected from these two acqui- sitions cannot, in the present state of society, be calculated upon, dependent as they are on the accidental circumstances (rare among that portion of the people) of a love of reading and access to books. Besides, nearly all their time being taken up in earn- ing a livelihood, they generally have little leisure to employ these arts to any advantage ; so that, with the present system of elementary instruction, although they may acquire at school these instruments of knowledge, they remain all their lives deplorably ignorant of their duties as citizens and as Christians. What this interesting portion of the community requires, in addition to reading and writing, and far more than these arts, of which they seldom avail themselves, — what they are entitled to, as a right, not as a charity, from the state, not from private benevolence, — is to be taught the means of gaining a livelihood, to have their minds unfolded and stored with the elements of know- ledge, to be enlightened respecting their political rights, their duties to God, to society, and to themselves, and, finally, to be inspired with an earnest desire for intellectual and moral improvement. The interest of society and their own happiness require, above all, that they should be impressed with the con- viction that virtue is infinitely superior to knowledge, and that piety, justice, goodness, and wisdom are the greatest blessings of education, and the acquirements most worthy of their ambition. (2.) (2.) See Appendix. Sec. ii.] INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 55 CHAPTER III. INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. Sect. I.— DEFINITION. Intellectual education consists in two distinct objects — the cultivation of the intellectual faculties and the consequent acquiring of knowledge, otherwise called Instruction. Hence, we see that instruction is only one of the subdivisions of education. The latter has for its object the perfecting of the whole man, considered physically, morally, and intellectually ; instruction proposes solely to store his mind with information. Education is a generic, instruction a specific, term. These words, education and instruction, educator and instructor, must not be confounded one with the other. The highest natural energy which the mental powers can possess, constitutes genius ; every species of useful knowledge is a branch of learning. Genius and the whole circle of learning combined constitute Intellectual Perfection. Sect. II.— INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. The intellectual, like the physical and the moral faculties, should be cultivated by exercises calculated to produce their greatest development, and tending to secure intellectual acquire- ments. It is on the external world, and through the medium of his senses, that the child «an most profitably exercise his opening intellect. His sensations and curiosity constantly call his intel- lectual powers into play, while conscience and will direct their action. On the other hand, physical and moral life require to be guided by the light of intellect. Thus are the operations of the mind intimately connected with those of the body and of the soul. The different orders of faculties assist each other through the whole course of education ; but, although the physical and moral development of the first and second periods subserves intellectual 56 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [CnAP. III. education, this education is in full activity only from the third. It is, therefore, from the tenth or twelfth year only, that exclu- sively mental studies should be commenced. The following table indicates the faculties of the mind, with the qualities which it is the object of education to cidtivate in them : — FACULTIES TO BE DEVELOPED, QUALITIES TO BE CULTIVATED. Attention . . . Perception . . . Conception . . Memory .... Imagination . . Judgment . . . Force, readiness, continuity, intensity. AcUteneSB, clearness, accuracy, rapidity, variety. Justness, „ „ facility. Retentiveness, recollectiveness, facility, fidelity. Vivacity, richness, originality, invention. Rectitude, facility, readiness, soundness, vigour. These faculties have for their common object the acquisition of knowledge, or instruction, constituting intellectual acquire- ments ; each performs a particular office in the complicated mental process by which that acquisition is made. The posses- sion of the various qualities of which they are susceptible would constitute an active and well-regulated mind — the greatest advantage which intellectual education can bestow. The instructor should then endeavour to secure that possession to the child, by a judicious and varied exercise of all his faculties, consistently with the various qualities to be cultivated. And, although it is almost impossible to attain to this high perfection, the efforts made towards it will not be lost ; for intellectual excellence is usually in proportion to intellectual exertion. With a view to facilitate this object, we will examine what are the nature and use of these different faculties. 1. Attention. Attention is the power of the mind by which the will directs the organs towards objects, in order to receive from them sensations, and from sensations, impressions, notions, or ideas. It is the most important of the intellectual faculties : through its means alone can the others be brought into action ; without it the mind is powerless. The surest way, therefore, to succeed in cultivating and improving the other intellectual powers is to acquire a command over attention, and to give it a useful direction. Sec. II.] INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 57 The force and continuity of attention are always in proportion to the interest excited by the objects which are submitted to its action. On the other hand, the intensity of the interest excited by anything is in proportion to the relations which it bears with our desires, our wants, and our well-being, as prompted by self- love, to the sympathies we feel for it, to the degree of curiosity which attracts us towards it, and to the energy of the will with which, in fact, it may almost be identified. Attention will then be invigorated by a suitable cultivation of the moral faculties, and especially of the will. Attention, influenced as it is by the moral faculties from which it receives its impulse, forms another link between the moral and the intellectual energies. By reason of this very influence, it might, perhaps, be considered as a moral power ; but as its action more particularly bears on the intellectual faculties, and contributes to their efficiency, we prefer placing it among them. However, it matters little how attention is classed, provided its importance in education be well understood. This faculty, like all the others, when duly exercised, acts with readiness and energy, especially in reference to the objects frequently submitted to its action : a person may be very atten- tive to everything connected with his trade, profession, or favourite pursuit, who cannot, without difficulty, command his attention in other matters. Hence the necessity of properly directing this power in childhood. The habit of general attention is the most favourable state of the mind for obtaining success in educational exercises, and in all the affairs of life : it continually directs the mind to what passes within the reach of the senses, and enriches the memory with all the facts which conversation and reading impart. Many persons complain of a want of memory, who are only deficient in attention. It is chiefly the inequality of attention which makes the difference observable between the intellectual powers of men. Attention assumes the name of observation when it acts con- jointly with the sense of sight ; of examination, when it is successively directed to the parts of a whole ; and of investigation, when it is directed to a series of connected facts. When it is withdrawn from the external world, and directed to the ideas treasured up in the mind, it constitutes the three acts of thinking, reflecting, and meditating, which differ only in their degree of intensity. Comparison is attention alternately bestowed on two or more things considered relatively to each other. These 58 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. III. different modes of attention must be early cultivated and rendered habitual ; for they have, each, their peculiar sphere of usefulness in the acquisition of knowledge, and in the various concerns of life. Attention takes the name of abstraction, when it is exclusively absorbed in the contemplation of one particular subject, of one part of a whole, of ;i property considered apart from the object to which it belongs. Such is the effect of abstraction, that, in concentrating all the faculties on one isolated fact, it mul- tiplies their power as regards that fact, and deprives them of their action on what passes beyond its limits. The efficiency of this mode of attention in overcoming the difficulties of human pursuits, has given rise to the subdivision of labour in mechanical arts and to generalisation and classification in science. The power of abstracting the mind from every subject but that immediately before it, is indispensable as a means of instruction. The more concentrated is the attention of the learner on one branch of knowledge, the more rapidly and the more thoroughly will he master it. If reflection and abstraction are directed with intensity and perseverance towards an object, they can effect more than natural genius ; for, although this heavenly gift may emit sparks which reveal its existence, it will never, without abstraction and mental industry, produce anything great or durable. The men who have left after them anything worthy of our admiration, have generally been hard mental workers, and have directed their energy towards one particular object. We must, however, beware of keeping the attention of young people abstractedly engaged, for too long a time, on any one branch of study, for it is apt to engender indifference to every species of knowledge not immediately connected with that under consideration. A 1 istraction, when unduly exercised, produces absence of mind, and must prove prejudicial to its possessor. It is not rare to see men so much engrossed with the objects of their pursuits, and so unmindful of everything else, that, in the affairs of life, they seem destitute of common sense. It was under the influence of intense abstraction that Archimedes ran naked through the streets of Syracuse, on discovering the specific gravity of bodies, while, in a bath, pondering over the problem of Hiero's crown. He afterwards fell a victim to his excessive indulgence in abstraction. Sec. II.] INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 59 2. Perception. Perception is the faculty which, through attention, renders us conscious of the impressions produced by external objects on the physical senses. It forms with attention a double link of that mysterious chain which connects the material world with the intellectual. Immediate perception, or the act by which the mind acquires the knowledge of an object independently of the sign which represents it, is called Intuition. The perception of external objects becomes the more acute, clear, and correct, as attention is more frequently and more intensely fixed on everything which comes within its sphere of action. If the mind does not attend to the objects of sensation, at the moment when they are presented to the senses, it remains unconscious of any perception, that is, receives no impression, and, consequently, preserves no recollection of it. Consciousness is, as it were, the act by which the mind registers impressions on the brain, and secures the power of recalling them ; it is not a particular faculty, but, as Reid remarks, the general condition of reflective intelligence. The perceptive faculty acts on the impressions which the nerves transmit to the brain, as the digestive power does on the food brought by the oesophagus into the stomach. These impres- sions, which are called ideas, or notions, constitute the elements of thought. Perception brings into immediate contact the sensitive and the intellectual faculties of man. Its action is directed to the things the remembrance of which is to be preserved ; and the know- ledge thus acquired is direct, immediate, presentative, and of an intuitional character. Sensation being the primary mode of mental action, the exercise of the senses and the discipline of the perceptive powers form the first stage of intellectual education, as has already been adverted to in treating of the organs of sense. This faculty has for its particular office to sow the seeds of knowledge and to lay the foundation of language ; it furnishes the child with materials which give value to words ; and leads to the acquisition of oral expression, by taking cognisance of the tones, looks, and gestures which accompany it. The notions acquired by perception are the original premises or primitive 60 Of EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Ciiai-. 111. ideas from which all others are inferred. Our assent to the conclusion heiug grounded upon the truth of the premises, we never could arrive at any knowledge by reasoning, unless something were known antecedently to all reasoning. 3. Conception. Conception, or apprehension, as sometimes called, acts in the absence of objects, as perception does in their presence ; it is exercised on intuitions and notions, not on things. The reflection which is directed to ideas assists conception in the same way as the attention which is fixed on objects assists perception. The knowledge obtained through the conceptive faculty is indirect, mediate, representative, and of a logical character. This faculty takes cognisance of the mental world as perception does of the material world : we may conceive what has no exist- ence, but we can perceive only realities. Hence, descriptions, definitions, and demonstrations may impart clear and just notions ; but their correctness is commensurate with the cor- rectness of those gained by perception. The exercise of concep- tion increases the power of the understanding, as that of perception extends the power of reason. As a means of instruction perception is preferable to concep- tion ; because ideas are necessarily more clear and more correct in the presence of the things themselves than in their absence. The first is the intuitive method, or instruction by experience ; the second is the logical and explanatory method, or instruction through definition, demonstration, and oral or written testimony. The one is instrumental in acquiring the mother tongue, the other in acrpiiring a foreign language. This accounts for the difficulty which the study of a foreign idiom often presents, compared with the acquisition of the vernacular. The fallibility of the senses and the narrow circle of individual experience do not permit man to obtain, through his own perceptive action, all the information which he requires; he needs the help of his fellow-creatures, not only in his physical relations, but in the development of the moral principles and the enlightenment of the mind. Individuals, families, nations are alike insufficient of themselves : their ideas become partial, their principles one-sided, their own feelings incomplete, apart from the rest of mankind. It is therefore desirable to cultivate the faculty which brings us into communion with other men, and Sec. II.] INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. gj enables us, by the instrumentality of languages, to appeal to their testimony, and to appropriate traditional knowledge, whether conveyed by the living voice or the written page. When habits of clear and accurate conceptions are formed, the principle of traditional authority will powerfully aid individual reason in the discovery of truth and the progress of civilisation. 4. Memory. The first three facidties, attention, perception, and conception, are, properly speaking, only the instruments of the other three, memory, imagination, and judgment. Memory treasures up the ideas communicated to the mind through their means ; it gains all its energy from their development ; and in its turn, becomes indispensable to imagination and judgment, as furnishing to them the materials on which they operate. And, indeed, we see that, in the progressive march of nature, memory precedes these two faculties, and predominates in childhood. Memory may be subdivided into two powers — retention and recollection. The first retains impressions, the second recalls them when they are required for the purpose of communication or mental investigation. In studying a language, retention is exercised by due attention to the written and spoken expression, as it is impressed on the mind through reading and hearing ; recollection is brought into action by giving expression, whether in speaking or writing, to the ideas treasured up in the mind. Memory will be efficient in proportion as it retains easily and indelibly, and as it recalls readily and faithfully what has been acquired. The facility and power of retention, as well as the readiness and fidelity of recollection, are naturally very great in some individuals ; but, however weak these qualities are in others, they may always, to a certain extent, be improved by exercise. The strength of memory is commensurate with the degree of attention bestowed on the object of study, and its aptitude is consistent with the habitual mode of action by which it is cultivated. Attention succeeds in increasing the powers of memory by the liveliness with which it is exercised, by the repetition of its action, or the continuity with which it is kept up. The liveliness of attention, arising from novelty and surprise, is the most effective with children, as it suits the buoyancy of their spirits ; repetition, (52 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. 111. by affording intervals of relaxation and rendering impressions habitual, is powerful at every age ; the third mode, continuity of attention, suits maturity best : the languor and weariness attendant on continuous attention in childhood sufficiently prove that it is not appropriate to that age ; and yet, by a strange inconsistency, it is almost the only mode of exercising attention in schools. The power of memory, which consists in readily recalling the ideas which it has acquired, results, in great measure, from their being so associated in the mind that they suggest one another. This association of ideas is the most singular property of the recollective power : it connects mentally two facts, or a series of facts, in such a manner that the thought of one spontaneously suggests all those with which it is associated. If, in a company, an apprehension of the unusual severity of the approaching season is expressed, an agriculturist will immediately think of the effect it may have on vegetation ; a physician on that which it may have on health ; a philosopher will reason about atmospheric phenomena ; a young man will think of the winter sports, and a lady, of fur and velvet : thus the same idea may give rise to numberless chains of thought entirely different. It ought to be the object of a good intellectual education to direct and multiply these chains of ideas. Association, or the law of suggestion, is of two kinds, accidental and necessary : accidental association is produced by contiguity of time or place, and by accidental resemblance or contrast ; necessary association is that which exists between the cause and the effect, the premiss and the consequence, or which is founded on necessary resemblance. Although the memory which rests on the former kind of association is of an inferior character to that which rests on the latter, it is nevertheless of great importance to the child in whom it predominates. It is through the accidental association of the words he hears with the looks and gestures he sees, that, at his entrance upon social life, he is enabled to attach a meaning to conventional language. As recollection of ideas depends, in a great measure, on the power of associating them, those associations should be carefully selected which bring ideas in closer contact. Necessary associa- tions are, in this respect, preferable to accidental : they are not only more immediate, but are more firmly impressed on the mind, demanding, as they do, the co-operation of reflection and judgment ; they may be recalled at wUl by a train of reasoning ; Sec. II.] INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 63 whereas accidental associations are not under the control of judgment, and can be retained only by repetition, or the force of the impression which produced them. The first kind is required for scientific investigations, and the second for descriptive and narrative purposes ; the one is the usual resource of the philo- sopher, and the other of the poet, the novelist, and, especially, the gossip. Of the latter species of association Shakspeare gives a striking illustration, which has been often quoted : — " What is," asks Falstaff, " the gross sum that I owe thee ? " — " Marry," says the hostess, " if thou wert an honest man, thyself and the money too. Thou didst swear to me, upon a parcel-gilt goblet, sitting in my Dolphin-chamber, at the round table, by a sea-coal fire, upon Wednesday in Whitsun-week, when the Prince broke thy head for liking his father to a singing-man 01 Windsor : thou didst swear to me then, as I was washing thy wound, to marry me and make me mylady thy wife. Can'st thou deny it ? Did not goodwife Keech, the butcher's wife, come in then, and call me gossip Quickly? Coming in to borrow a mess of vinegar, telling she had a good dish of prawns : whereby thou didst desire to eat some ; whereby I told thee they were ill for a green wound ? And didst thou not, when she was gone down stairs, desire me to be no more so familiarity with such poor people ; saying that ere long they should call me madam ? And didst thou not kiss me, and bid me fetch the thirty shillings ? I put thee now to thy book oath ; deny it if thou can'st."* The association of ideas will receive valuable aid from the control gained over the will. This control or self-possession, by giving us command over the succession of thoughts, enables us to direct them to any point with steady attention, and to keep them, in argumentative discourses, fixed on the subject of consi- deration. The due culture of the will, respecting the association of ideas, should, therefore, in the educational course, be an object of primary and essential importance. All the advantages of a truly liberal education may be considered as incidental circum- stances which, by evolving the varied powers of association, raise to its highest standard the intellectual character of man. Our improvement in science or in virtue, our success or happiness in life greatly depend on our habitual trains of thought. It ought to be the object of early discipline to form such habits as may secure these ends. * King Henry IV., 2nd Part. 64 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. Chap. III. 5. Imagination. Imagination selects ideas, or trains of ideas, from the mass of those which have been collected by memory, in order to form new combinations, which may delight the mind and extend the intellectual sphere of man. Memory records the past, imagina- tion embraces the past, present, and future ; the former borrows, the latter creates ; the character of the one is servility, its merit, fidelity ; the character of the other is freedom, and its merit originality. This faculty draws inexhaustible enjoyment from the activity of all the others and, in particular, of the powers of imitation and association, which are to man the primary sources of pleasure in the imaginative creations of genius. The charm, especially, which is attached to the fine arts, the offspring of imagination, arises from the imitation of nature and the association of ideas, which constitute their essence. To imagination, also, archaeolo- gists, antiquarians, botanists, entomologists, and all votaries of any art or science, owe the exquisite enjoyments which they find in their respective pursuits, and which are beyond the conception of other persons. The imaginative faculty of young people will be enriched and cultivated by the contemplation of the beauties of nature and the wonders of art, by the recital of noble and generous actions, the biography of celebrated characters, the history of nations, the narrative of voyages and travels, the reading of the standard poets and historical romances, and by a due exercise of their powers of invention and composition. But in order to give to imagination a moral influence, it must be kept within the limits prescribed by reason and be directed to worthy objects ; it must not be permitted to feed on those novels, so fascinating to young minds, which delineate fashionable vices and the indulgence of evil passions, rendered often the more dangerous by the glowing colours of their style. If it be allowed to wander among the fictitious images of riches, ambition, frivolity, or luxury, the judgment will be enfeebled, the attention withdrawn from the realities of life, and the mental powers forced into a false road which will lead to endless disappointment and moral suffering: an over-excited imagination often produces fanaticism and insanity. The pernicious influence of misdirected imagination will be greatly counterbalanced by the unfolding of the intellect II.] INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 65 and the acquisition of knowledge. The judgment of the young should, therefore, be exercised in discovering truths, studying the nature of things, investigating causes and effects, and applying the lessons of experience to gaining an acquaintance with the human heart and with the real state of society. When the mind is early familiarised with things remarkable for grace, beauty, and symmetry, their images remain vividly impressed on the memory ; and by thus affording to the imagi- nation suitable objects of exercise and ready models of comparison, refinement of taste and a love of order are imperceptibly formed, which are sometimes mistaken for natural gifts. Imagination can, by a proper direction, contribute to the cul- ture of all amiable and virtuous qualities : it stimulates the action of sympathy, even in the absence of the object capable of exciting it ; its magic power puts us in the place of others — to know their wants, enter into their feelings, and share in their joys or their sorrows. It makes us derive pleasure from the indulgence of the affections. Deprived of imagination, we should practise benevolence and charity as mere instincts, with coldness and indifference. 6. Judgment. Judgment embraces the relation between things, or the qualities by which they are distinguished : we judge when we perceive resemblances and differences between objects and between their qualities. Judgment is the last faculty which manifests itself, because its action depends on the exercise of the others : it may be cultivated the more easily, and will become the more sound and clear as attention observes more facts, as percep- tion and conception convey more ideas to the mind, as memory has retained and imagination combined more materials of thought. A series of judgments forming a chain of successive and imme- diate consequences, constitutes reasoning; this name is, therefore, given to the power of drawing such inferences as necessarily flow from given principles. Reasoning is either inductive or deductive. By induction we rise from the knowledge of a number of indi- vidual facts to a general truth, from the example to the rule ; or, in other words, we infer, respecting a whole class, what has been ascertained respecting one or more individuals of that class, By deduction we unrol particular facts from a general truth : we show that a certain fact is the application of a certain law. vol. 1. p GO OF EDUCATION IN GENEBAt. [CiiAr.lII. Induction is anterior to deduction, as we must reason from the facts collected by perception up to principles before we reason from principles. These two modes of reasoning may be said to go hand in hand, the one verifying the conclusions deduced by the other. The science of mechanics presents a remarkable instance of their combined action. They have given rise to two opposite methods of instruction — analysis and synthesis. The synthetical or deductive method of reasoning is principally con- fined to the exact sciences: but the analytical or inductive method has a more extensive application; it forms the basis of reasoning in the common affairs of life and the acquisition of experience ; it guides us in the study of languages and in all experimental and speculative investigations. Physical science is based upon inductions drawn from observation of the world without, and metaphysical science upon inductions similarly drawn from reflection upon the world within. Analogy, the source of induction, is the act of judgment by which we discover the conformity which exists between things. It is analogy which represents natural effects by onomatopoeia, deduces metaphysical terms from the names of sensible objects, multiplies the expression of thought by the inflections and arrangement of words, adorns discourse by imaginative concep- tions ; or, in the imitation of nature, modifies her forms and colours; in a word, it is the exhaustless source from which springs everything that is beautiful in language or the arts. Analogy is especially the light of language — it presides over its formation; facilitates its intelligibility, use, and acquisition. When custom is doubtful, analog} 7 decides. Tracing analogies is the first exercise of the judgment, and the kind of reasoning best understood and most practised by chddren. The frequent opportunities which they have of applying this mode of reasoning in acquiring their own language, make it so instantaneous an act of the mind, that, for the most part, it remains unnoticed. It is by the errors into which the irregu- larities of language often lead them, that the correctness of their judgment, in this respect, may be observed : they hear houses, liked, greater, fattest, and will imitate these forms in other words, — saying, by analogy, mouses, striked, r/ooder, baddest. This mental operation is very valuable in instruction, and especially in the acquiring of language ; in fact, without analog} 7 , it would be utterly impossible to suit the forms of expression to the ever- varying circumstances of social and intellectual life. By analogy Sec. II.] INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 67 we pass from the known to the unknown, and thus extend the sphere of our knowledge. Socrates founded his method of teaching chiefly on analogy. Generalisation is another act of the judgment, which forms an essential element of induction. By its means we classify individual truths under general propositions, and are, thereby, aided in retaining them and fixing their mutual relations. By abstraction we consider one property common to many objects ; by generalisation we bring together the various objects which possess that property. Generalisation is therefore dependent on abstraction : there may be abstraction without generalisation ; but there cannot be generalisation without abstraction. The powers of abstraction and generalisation should be carefully cultivated, as they aid in the analysis of thought and contribute to the correctness of the judgment. They preside over classifications, which form the basis of all sciences, especially of the inductive, and considerably assist the memory in all the departments of knowledge. These powers act a prominent part in the acquisition of language ; for the clear comprehension of generic and specific terms, which constitute the great bulk of its nomenclature, entirely depends on the classification of things into genera, species, and individuals. As the deficiency or absence of one physical faculty leads to a greater exercise and consequent development of the others, so the weakness of one of the mental powers leads to an increase of energy in the others. Hence, persons deficient in memory, usually endeavouring to supply that deficiency by the exercise of reasoning, often surpass in abstractive powers and intellectual acquirements those who, being endowed with greater facility of memory, employed, in then- youth, this faculty to the prejudice of the others. Exercise renders the reasoning process so rapid, that we draw conclusions, as it were, intuitively, without feeling conscious of the chain of ideas by which the mind has arrived at them. When the power of judging and reasoning rightly arises really from intuition, and is applied to the common affairs of life, it takes the name of good sense, an expression which, although bearing some affinity to understanding and reason, must not be confounded with them. These latter terms are of higher import : they both imply the combined action of the mental powers ; but understand- ing is more particularly the capacity of logical reasoning, whereas reason is essentially the power of intuition. Logical acuteness, f 2 (33 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap III. or a capacity for reasoning out principles, is the characteristic of a good understanding; a vivid natural aptitude for the discovery of truth independently of patient ratiocination is the charactistic of reason. However, the fallibility of individual understanding and reason renders an appeal to either insufficient as a test of truth : hence, tradition and the testimony of mankind are usually regarded as principles of appeal superior in authority. Trust in human tradition and testimony is so universal, that private judgment may, for the greater part, be tried and tested by the tone, the convictions, the general consciousness of the age in whirl i we live: individual reason is, after all, but a portion of universal reason. Sound judgment assists moral education by enabling man easily to distinguish good from evil. It prompts him to regulate his conduct according to the various situations in which he may be placed. It produces tranquillity of soul ; for it guards against violent emotions, by the mental habit of bestowing in all things the attention which they deserve, of considering them in their true light, and estimating them by their just value. Without rectitude of judgment, man is a slave to prejudice and passion ; his memory only exposes his folly ; his imagination and sympa- thies continually lead him astray ; his habit of observation mul- tiplies his errors ; his spirit of invention and discovery causes his ruin ; his reasoning, although it may be logical, by starting from wrong premises, brings him to false conclusions. Even moral qualities often become dangerous when unaccompanied by si mud judgment : courage degenerates into rashness, indulgence into weakness, frankness into indiscretion, economy into avarice, and religion into superstition or fanaticism. The intellectual faculties exist originally in all men ; but they, not less than the physical and moral, vary in every individual in quality and degree of activity, each giving rise to a variety in consciousness, aptitude, and capacity. Some persons are endowed with greater powers of perception, and others of conception. In some, memory predominates ; in others, imagination ; and in others, judgment ; in many, sensation prevails over reason. One individual receives clearer ideas from sensations of sight, another from those of hearing, and so forth, as the eye, the ear, or the other organs are naturally more active or correct. Some memo- ries retain facts better ; others, places ; others, words ; others, tunes, &c, according to the peculiar energy of the perceptive powers which take cognisance of these different classes of objects. Sec. III.] INTELLECTUAL ACQUIREMENTS OR INSTRUCTION. G9 Imagination is in one person more inventive, in another more imitative ; some are prone to deductive, others to inductive reasoning. These differences among men are again indefinitely multiplied by the reciprocal influence which the different orders of faculties have over each other: the predominance of certain moral faculties modifies the course of ideas, as the predominance of certain intellectual faculties modifies the affections and inclina- tions. Hence, the diversity of taste, or genius, as it is called, which is early manifested for different pursuits. The infinite variety of nature, in physical complexion and outward form, is but the symbol of that which marks the spirit within. This remarkable diversity of dispositions and abilities, which is again wonderfully increased by the different exercises to which the facidties are subjected in the varied circumstances of life, and in the different processes of education, is one of the greatest boons which an all-wise and all-bountiful Providence has conferred on social man. With our limited powers, and the immensity of nature before us, moved as we are by different impulses, we attend to different objects, and thus benefit the whole race of mankind by bringing to the mass each individual acquisition. How dull and monotonous would existence be, and how limited and slow the progress of civUisation, if all had the same inclina- tions, the same pursuits, the same opinions, the same acquire- ments, and the same mode of life. (3.) Sect. III.— INTELLECTUAL ACQUIREMENTS OR INSTRUCTION. The second part of intellectual education — the acquisition of knowledge — embraces all nature. There exists nothing, from the imperceptible atom to the most sublime object in creation — from the simplest jmenoniena of our existence to the impene- trable mysteries in which the Divinity is veiled — that man does not desire to know, or does not make an object of serious study. Such are the wise provisions of the Maker of all things, that not only are the external world and its relations to our constitu- tion so arranged as to hold forth to us every inducement to cul- tivate our faculties, but the very acquiring of knowledge is the most efficient means by which those faculties can be cultivated and improved. Instruction is the natural nourishment of the mind, and is as necessary for its growth as food is for that of the body. (3.) See Appendix. 70 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. Hi- Intellectual acquirements have been for a long time the sole object of education ; but of late the cultivation of the faculties has, on account of its greater importance in childhood, been exclusively recommended by some educationists. The right course lies, we think, between these extremes ; the two departments of intel- lectual training should always be combined. The acquisition of knowledge and the development of the mental faculties lend to each other reciprocal assistance ; for, if the mental activity which is employed in the study of any branch of instruction invigorates the faculties, a high intellectual development must, on the other hand, considerably facilitate the acquisition of knowledge. It is by devoting an equal attention to these two points that the end of intellectual education will be gained, that we shall secure to our children inexhaustible sources of enjoyment, means of success in their respective professions, the power of being useful to others, and an honourable place in society. " Knowledge is power," says Bacon ; it may be added, know- ledge is happiness ; for it is only another name for truth, the discovery of which is the object of every study. What pleasures can equal those which flow from this heavenly source ? The pur- suit of science and literature presents an extensive field of enjoy- ment in a life of leisure, and of relaxation in a life of business ; it cheers the gloom of solitude and the dreariness of sleepless nights ; it braves the severest trials of fortune, and alleviates the heaviest affliction. The habit of intellectual industiy and patient perseverance which it creates, tends to bring the bodily appetites under the subjection of mental power, and supplies healthy stamina to the growing mind. Every new step made in the pursuit of knowledge ennobles the mind, and brings it nearer to its divine archetype. '• Ignorance is the curse of God; Knowledge, tin- wing wherewith we fly tn Eeaven." < The possession of knowledge divests us of the prejudices which necessarily result from the ignorance incident to our nature ; it elevates us above human weaknesses and vulgar propensities ; it attaches us to our fellow-creatures by the facility which it affords of serving them ; it subserves morality by calming the effervescence of the passions, and creating habits of serious con- • Shakspeare, King Henry VI., 2nd Part, Act i. Sec. III.] INTELLECTUAL ACQUIREMENTS OR INSTRUCTION. 71 templation ; finally, it furnishes new motives for pious adoration by enabling us to perceive the power and wisdom of the Creator in His works, and to appreciate His infinite goodness in His revealed Word. Learning, confined for a long time to Greece and Rome, where it was often mure fertile in vain reasonings and in visionary systems than in useful results, afterwards remained for ages buried in total darkness. It may be said to have but lately emerged from oblivion to shine with new splendour over the modern world. At the present time science is pregnant with practical benefits ; it daily gives birth to inventions and dis- coveries which add to the comforts of life and to the progress of society : intellectual capital contributes as much as material capital to the wealth of nations. Navigation, commerce, printing, the application of steam to manufactures and modes of con- veyance, and the electric telegraph, by promoting social inter- course and the exchange of thought, advance stdl further the cause of civilisation. The diffusion of knowledge among all classes would be the best security for maintaining the public liberties, as it is the surest way of advancing national prosperity. A well-informed people, who know and value the rights which God and their country have given them, can never be enslaved. The more enlightened we are, the more free and the more worthy of liberty: This heavenly gift is only a name, if those on whom it is bestowed are, from want of due instruction, unconscious of the rights it confers. Intelligence is the pre-requisite of freedom ; and unless a liberal system of national education extend to the enfranchised millions an ability to exercise with judgment their political rights, the people must still, we fear, remain, as they have long been, the instruments, the dupes, the victims of presumptuous or unprin- cipled ambition. In this respect some of the monarchies of Germany have done more for true liberty than England with all her boasted political institutions : they have raised the character of the people by a liberal education ; whereas in England the moral and intellectual improvement of the poorer class is abandoned to charity and to proselytism. The unreasonable assumption, too, of birth and wealth on the part of the aristocratic proprietors of the British soil, and the prostrate condition to which ignorance and poverty, the parents of subjection and servility, have reduced a large portion of the population, especially in Ireland, form a contrast 72 OP EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. III. destructive of Christian fraternity ami genuine liberty. In an enlightened and free community, there should exist no recognised superiority but that of virtue, knowledge, abilities, and industry ; no privileges but those to which national services are entitled. The freedom of a people, as well as their preponderance in the scale of nations, will, henceforward, depend on their moral and intellectual character more than on their warlike dispositions or the political skill of their rulers. Sect. IV.— CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE. In order to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, it should be classified according to the faculties on which its different branches more particularly depend. The branches of information which chiefly call for the exercise of memory consist in the simple record of the things and facts which the first two faculties, attention and perception, bring under the cognisance of the mind. The study of them is only an act of the memory which collects known truths ; hence they may be classed under the name of Histories. Those which depend on reasoning are acquired by starting from known things and facts with a view to arrive, by a series of inductive or deductive arguments, at such as are unknown: the object of any train of reasoning is the elucidation of known truths, or the discovery of those which are unknown. When the truths which we investigate are universal, immutable, and linked in a chain of ratiocination, they constitute what is called a Science. It is the purport of science to lay down general principles. The application of the truths retained by memory, or discovered by reasoning, to the practical usages of life, whether for gratifi- cation or well-being, constitutes a third series of information, which takes the name of Art. An art is therefore the practical realisation of thought — the application of general principles to particular facts. This name is also given to a collection of fixed and genera] rules, which serve to guide us in that application. This third class of acquirements demands the action of the physical organs for their execution, whilst the principles on which they rest are within the sphere of the intellectual powers. The knowledge of these prineiples is of great assistance to carry the arts to their highest degree of perfection. He who practises an art without the knowledge of the principles on which it is Skst.IW] classification of knowledge. 73 founded will never be anything but a simple mechanic ; he cannot pass the narrow limits of routine, or surmount difficulties as they present themselves. The arts which imagination creates by imitation and analogy contribute to the luxury and enjoyment of intellectual life ; they exalt the mind by extending its sphere of action above common nature. Such is the object of the fine arts. The arts are said to be liberal when the action of the moral and mental faculties predominates in their execution, and mechanical when they chiefly depend on the physical faculties, or when the habit of execution in them dispenses with the action of the reasoning power. Memory, reasoning, and imagination are then respectively exercised on three different classes of knowledge, histories, sciences, and the arts ; for, although all the mental j^owers take a share in the study of every branch of knowledge, yet each of these three faculties predominates in the class which we have assigned to it. History, science, and art may be classified each into three departments, according as they relate to nature, to man, or to language. These three departments embrace all the information which may become an object of human consideration. The three following Tables indicate the general branches of knowledge, classified in reference to the respective faculties principally engaged in acquiring them ; — "!•- KDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. ill. to O © CO 9 CO Cl ft; o o O P P w H O w H ^ I 3 o V. < o •_ o OS o A 05 Pi » — ' >. ^^, : & U B be C ca -_ R R 2 - E hi oi i> a be c *j J3. C ►J o W in _; &H >■> f .2 S : M =h '■£ 5- ft ft ■£ •r 73 & '£ W Q < (x. O (H (3 o i- h o o "3 o to o 0?' to 8 1 5 3 3 0. nu2 ns to Ch ^ g bi p &H O & P h •<, O 1 H «3 PS <£ O 1 «* H 3 fe. s .3 P. to o » ,2 Eo g oj -a to a • 2 a s s ,8 5S 'C » 8 § -8 K ~~^ < o co t** ~ - « 5 t>-. "3 'tfl S>> P. cS U -< O — 6 = - to 3 3 a* a OJ - ■- i - K ft n «s N h >, t-. to : 5o 50 ta to so a "o 5 — Oi E — t^ t? = O - H W N 3 a 2 Id ■§ co to o "» W -5! CO CO O 8 o ^ u 1 Sect. I V.J CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE. 75 52! o (— I < 'A ifc* o B >. o — o ro CO -■ - IJ3 p< w . & fc.2 to — . 1> JOS 3 s a § g 8> 3 a a a * S v> ~ O •r o ^ Ph Ph Ph i-) t-s N S3 >> >> s bo o OS 5 w S S bo o 60 = Ph Ph Ph <1 O 5 s -i m« ^ «f U f* cv to "rt 3 o &< c^ H O ••1 H ►4 3 H <» a 8 ■ S •=) ■£? Z R Ul !) ►J ■~ v. 1 ? «, ^ CO &! • if *a a. CO 1 W3 Sft, to 00 > o ft CO >> s o - O 'S o a o CO I m o ■*-> to CO O u. v: a o !>» V 3 a = C - , I c3 o o r. u o O ■- v. |3 CO 5 o '^ O 0) 10 Surveying. Navigation. Fortification. tr. s o <0 o be "3 1 o •s.mui|}i:n - nly in so far as we have it in our power to serve others. " The predominance of philanthropic and generous ideas," said Napoleon, " ought to be the character of the age." t The period of education being, for the great majority of young persons, restricted within narrow limits, it becomes the more indispensable, in a rational system of public instruction, to * A. Pope. An Essay on Criticism. t Ecponse d une Deputation da Corps Ligislatif. 12 Pluv. an. 13. 78 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. III. confine the objects of studyto such branches of knowledge as best discipline the intellect and are of practical utility through life. The information most required by individuals varies indefinitely with their diversified pursuits in social life ; but that which offers the best prospecl <>f being useful in all situations, and which should have the precedence OA r er the others is, we think, an acquaintance with the laws of nature. True knowledge is, in fact, nothing but the interpretation of nature. In nature may be found all the elements of our ideas, all the principles of our sciences, all the models of our arts, and endless sources of moral and religious sentiments. The physical sciences, which have for their object the investi- gation of the natural laws, are suitable to the different periods of youth, and are useful to all classes of people ; they exercise the perceptive powers, enrich the memory with facts and words, excite and gratify imagination to the highest degree, prompt to investigation, and inspire a taste for learning. Although they are not, perhaps, the best calculated for making profound reasoners, they are far from materialising instruction, as affirmed by some persons ; they cultivate effectively the moral and the intellectual faculties ; no literary composition engages the moral feelings and religious sense more vividly than the grandeur and perfection of the material world ; none exercises the judgment more usefully than the application of analysis and induction to the phenomena of nature. Secular Instruction ought chiefly to consist in initiating a child into the natural laws, showing him their relation to his being, and teaching him to obey them and avail himself of them in order to secure his happiness and usefulness. George Combe, in his work, " The Constitution of Man," has forcibly demon- strated and illustrated the relations in which we stand to external nature. He has shown that, while the natural laws act inde- pendently of each other, there is in their combined action a pervading principle to reward virtue and punish vice, and that the world is, throughout its constitution, framed in perfect adaptation to the faculties of man as a moral, pious, and intel- ligent being. The study of nature, presenting endless illustra- tions of the sacred volume, renders instruction the hand-maid of religion. The lower animals, under the influence of instinct, blindly follow the course which unerring Wisdom has marked out for them ; man alone has the discretionary jjower of conforming to Sec. V.] OF THE FITTEST INSTRUCTION FOR YOUTH. 79 the laws of nature or transgressing them, according as he is, or is not acquainted with them : in resisting them, he abuses his intelli- gence and liberty, and these valuable gifts become fatal to him ; in obeying them, he, on the contrary, is enabled to avoid almost all the ills of life. A knowledge of nature is, therefore, indispensable, in order to enable him to act consistently with bis destination. The intimate relations which exist between external nature and the human constitution render the latter an indispensable subject of study in connection with the former. Man should know his own organisation, physical, moral, and intellectual, to be able to understand what are his duties to God, to society, and to himself, because he is framed in perfect adaptation to these duties. This comprehensive study of man, which, under the name of philosophy, embraces his relations with the universe, and all investigations respecting primary and final causes, would make us better acquainted with the Author of nature, with His laws, His commands, and all the great moral and intellectual truths. Should it not lead to this knowdedge, it would be unworthy of our meditation, and ought not to enter into the circle of academic studies. Eeligion and philosophy should concur to the same end. If we now consider knowledge as an instrument for unfolding the powers of the mind, it must be admitted that, although no particular department of study possesses the privilege of exer- cising them all, some are more than others conducive to this object.- In this respect, classical, philological, and philosophical studies seem to claim preference as the fittest for effecting an harmonious development of the intellectual energies most required in active life. Mathematics, far from being, as commonly believed, the best logical discipline, would, if studied exclusively, rather tend to disqualify the mind for general reasoning. They confine the student to a narrower circle of mental exercises than languages and philosophy : they habituate him to a routine of demonstra- tion which presents little variety ; they awaken his judgment to a relation of quantity, neglecting quality and all other important relations. They do not call forth the intellectual powers most useful under all circumstances, such as observation, comparison, generalisation, classification, induction, analogy, which may all be brought into activity and invigorated by the study of lan- guages and philosophy. In every step in mathematical demonstrations, there is a con- stant perspicuity, a straight and limited path marked out, from 80 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. |<'imp. m. which it is almost impossible to wander. But, in attending to philosophical, ethical, or literary investigations, the learner has to feel his way, reflect, compare, judge, apply his own experience, weigh probabilities, disentangle net-works of inconsistencies, and lay bare sophistical plausibilities. In this necessity for a diver- sifled and complicated action of the reasoning powers consists the chief value of literary and philosophical studies. The precision of mathematical expression affords no example of those fallacies which so frequently arise from the ambiguities of ordinary language ; nor does mathematical demonstration allow room for sophistry of thought, or for the consideration of improbabilities ; because its matter always enforces the correct- ness of its form and the certainty of its conclusions ; the exact sciences do not consequently provide means of detecting and avoiding logical errors. Hence it is that mathematicians are not unfrequently led to one or other of two opposite extremes — credulity or scejdicism. " The cultivation afforded by the mathematics," says Goethe, "is, to the highest degree, a one-sided and contracted question." * Nay, Voltaire does not hesitate somewhere to affirm, " Geometry leaves the mind where it finds it." t Franklin also has clearly and explicitly expressed his particular aversion for mathe- maticians, as he found them in the intercourse of society "insup- portable from their trifling and captious spirit." "All that goes," observes Bishop Huet, " to the formation of those brilliant minds to whom has been conceded, by privilege, the title of beaux-esprits, — I mean copiousness, variety, freedom, readiness, vivacity, — all this is directly opposed to mathematical operations, which are simple, slow, dry, forced, and necessary." J " There are four cele- brated metaphysicians," observes also Condillac, " Descartes, Malebranche, Leibnitz, and Locke. The last alone was not a mathematician, and yet how greatly is he superior to the other three." § These observations are corroborated by the testimony of the most competent judges, besides the few just mentioned — Bern- hardi,|| Weiler,H Klump,** Wolfjtt Basedow, X X Niemeyer,§§ * Briefwechsi I »■;■.■■■/,, u Goethe und Zdler, 1833. \ Slide de Louis XIV., ch. 29. X Huetiana, ch. 128. £ (Euvres Philosqphigues, t. vi. || Thoughts on the Organisation of Learned Schools, 1S18. % Annual Report of the ltni/nl I 'ustitnlr nf Stmlies, Munich, 1822. ' " Learned Schools according to tin principles ofgi nuine humanism, 1820. tt Korttim: Wolfs Leben der Philologen, 1. 1. 1833. tX Philalethie, I5d. Ii. § 179. gg Veber Pestalozzi, 1810. SBC. V.] OF THE FITTEST INSTRUCTION FOR YOUTH. gl D'Alembert,* Descartes,t Pascal, J Destutt-Tracy, § Berkeley,!| Warburton,! Walpole,** Gibbon,tt Dugald Stewart, %t and many others, whose opinions have been recorded by a late writer, in an able dissertation on the subject. §§ Mathematics, unlike literary studies, afford no scope for dis- play of language, or argumentation, because their vocabulary is extremely limited and their logic restricted to few and particular formulas. The simplicity and uniformity of reasoning to which they subject the mind are such, that the argumentation and lan- guage of the last page of Euclid are nearly identical with those of the first page. The truths which they proclaim admit of no con- troversy or specidation, and cannot well be made a subject of conversation in the ordinary intercourse of society. They, in fact, supply no means of improvement in the expression of thought, the most important of all intellectual acquirements. Those who have been exclusively engaged in the exact sciences, accustomed to follow a train of deductive reasoning, and to draw conclusions from fixed principles and from data passively received, are liable to err from limited observation and disregard of undemonstrated truth ; they require mathematical proofs in everything, and are apt to reject moral or probable evidence, although propriety of conduct and justness of opinion, in most of the affairs of life, chiefly rest on such evidence. " Nothing," says Madame de Stael, " is less applicable to the business of life than a mathematical argument." || || But, in the study of languages, the understanding is engaged as in the world : we find in both the same dealing with words and ideas, the same caution and discri- mination between rules and exceptions, the same mixed relations and contending principles, the same exercises of conception, imitation, and invention : finally, the same methods of induction, analogy, and analysis. Language cultivates the imagination and taste, on which mathematics exercise but little influence ; by the unlimited range of its applicability, it tends to store the memory, enlarge the capacity, and expand the views of the student ; whereas mathe- matics, being confined to a smaller circle of subjects, contract the * Melanges, t. iv. t FJ< de Descartes, par Baillet. X Pensies. Part I. g Elemens d 1 Ideologic Prinripes Logiques, ch. ix. |] Analyst. Quest., 38, 39. f Julian. Preface Works, t. iv. ** Walpoliana, t. i., clxixii. ft Memoirs of my Life and Writings. Xt Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind. gg Edinburgh Review. No. Cxxyi. ['!] De VAUemagne, t.i., ch. 18. VOL. I. G 82 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [< 'hap. III. intellectual powers within a comparatively narrow compass. But the benefits arising from the study of languages need not be dwelt upon now, as they will be minutely detailed hereafter : it may suffice, in concluding, to adduce an opinion of great weight on this subject. " It is proved," says M. Guizot, " that the study of ancient languages is the most moral, the most civilising system of instruction, the most conformable to the nature of social rela- tions and to the laws of the human mind. The more the language we study is exact, delicate, rich, elegant, and elaborate, the more benefit will this study confer on the mind, which thus acquires in its own activity more accuracy, delicacy, richness, and elegance."* Although the value of classical and literary studies, considered exclusively as instruments of intellectual cultivation, is greater than that of mathematics, no one can deny the usefulness of the exact sciences as elements of professional instruction, or dispute the expediency of leaving them as co-ordinate to find their level among the other branches of a liberal education. Not only are they the ground-work of mechanics, astronomy, optics, naviga- tion, land-surveying, and other sciences, but, although restricted in their mode of argumentation, they tend to complete the culti- vation of the reasoning powers, by the synthetical and exact process through which conclusions are deduced from their prin- ciples. They add to man's power as a thinker, and, hence, as a speaker and a writer. Besides, the more diversified the ideas which the mind acquires, and concerning which it reasons, the more expanded will be its capabilities. " No education," says Dr. Whewell, " can be considered as liberal which does not cul- tivate both the faculty of reason and the faculty of language, one of which is cultivated by the study of mathematics, and the other by the study of the classics. To allow the student to omit one of these is to leave him half educated." t Sect. VI— FOUR DECREES OF INSTRUCTION CORRESPONDING TO THE FOUR PERIODS OF YOUTH. Intellectual education ought to be carried on progressively and with due regard to the age and future prospects of the child. But although, in these respects, it resembles physical and moral education, its relative value in the four periods of youth follows a different order of progression. Intellectual education is im- portant in direct proportion to the age of the child ; moral and * Rapport snr I' Instruction Secondaire. Exposi dcs Motifs. 1836. t The Principles oj English University Education. Sec. VI.] CORRESPONDING DEGREES OF INSTRUCTION. 83 particularly physical education are valuable in an inverse ratio : in other words, intellectual education accomplishes most in the fourth period, whilst the other two are more beneficial the earlier they are commenced. Reflection and judgment are not, in the first period, sufficiently developed to take au active part in the instruction of the child. It is through the perceptive and the imitative faculties that he can, during that period, be given elementary notions of things and of language, these being inseparable. However, at his entrance into life he should not so much be taught lessons as be formed to those moral and religious habits which are the best preparation for future intellectual education. This preparatory training, or first degree of instruction, is the work of good domestic government, or of infant schools. In the second period, by means of a moderate and progressive exercise of all the intellectual powers, the child must be familiarised with the external world and the phenomena of nature ; he must be accustomed to examine everything, and be made to observe the order, wisdom, and infinite goodness which have presided over all the details of Creation : thus he will, by appropriate conversations on these subjects, gain an extensive practical knowledge of the native tongue. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and linear drawing will then claim their share of attention as auxiliaries in intellectual education. A wide range of elementary instruction may thus be attained which will serve as a foundation for future studies. Nature, the consideration of which is the chief object during this period, is, in fact, the source of all progress in every department of knowledge. The objects of instruction which constitute the second degree must be diversified in such a way that they may bring into action all the rising powers of the child : in fact, his complete intellectual development can be effected only by the variety of objects in which he may be engaged, because different departments of instruction exercise different faculties and qualities of the mind. " General instruction, to whatever degree it is carried, should precede special instruction." * The diversity of information which has been early acquired gives correctness to the judgment, and renders every species of knowledge more clear and precise. He who has been exclusively engaged upon one particular class of ideas, however skilful he may be in his command of them, has generally an obtuse mind about other matters. The diversity of * St. Marc-Girardin. — De I' Instruction Intermediaire el de ses Rapports, etc. g2 84 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. III. objects to which the attention of young people is directed also furnishes the means of discovering the pursuits for which they have most inclination or aptitude. This varied instruction, the result of an enlightened family discipline, or of primary schools, which supply its place, ought to be universally diffused through- out all classes of society ; because, in a civilised community, it is required by all people indiscriminately. It constitutes what is called primary or elementary instruction. In the third period, the objects of instruction will be gradually raised in character and limited in number, with a view to pre- pare the pupils for the highest intellectual pursuits, and for the respective careers which, according to their talents, or their social position, offer to each the surest means of being happy and useful. This third degree of instruction, the pari Lcular province of secondary or classical and scientific schools, should comprise religious instruction and the theory of morals, a critical know- ledge of the national language and literature, grammar, rhetoric, and logic, ancient and modern languages, ancient and modern history, physical, astronomical, and political geography, natural history, the mathematical and the physical sciences. Some of these departments of knowledge constituting a literary, and the others a scientific, course, should be respectively studied more seriously, according as children are preparing for literary or scientific pursuits ; but, as these two objects are ancillary to each other, they should be prosecuted simultaneously, each becoming accessary when the other is considered as prin- cipal. The instruction of this period has obtained the name of secondary, or preparatory. In the fourth period, that of professional education, young persons should complete the instruction already commenced, which bears on their future vocations. It is also towards the close of this period that they may direct their attention to the study of Legislation, Political Economy, Physiology, Moral and Mental Philosophy, and the science of Education, which is useful to all. They should, however, dwell more partictdarly on the special branches of knowledge which will enable them to fulfil honourably and successfully the duties attached to the liberal professions which they propose to embrace, or to the high offices which may be confided to them by their country or their Sovereign. The studies of this fourth period, which are carried on in special schools, colleges, and universities may be called superior or complementary instruction. Sec. VII.] PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. 85 The subdivision of studies should, in a comprehensive system of national education, correspond to the diversity of social pur- suits ; for it is not to be expected that individuals can leai*n everything. Even those who have leisure and wealth sufficient to pursue the most extensive course of instruction cannot com- pletely master its various branches ; and the depth of informa- tion attained by individuals in any one department of knowledge is more profitable to the community than superficiality in many. The range of studies, at first unlimited, must therefore be gradually restricted to a narrow compass ; and, when once young men have taken their place in society, they must confine their attention chiefly to the subjects immediately connected with their avocations. People can obtain superiority in any pursuit only insomuch as they are exclusively engaged in it. It is a chimera to aim at perfection in several things at the same time. The information and accomplishments which have been acquired iu youth, and which do not bear directly on professional pursuits, should be kept up as a relaxation and as a preventive against the narrowness of mind which arises from exclusive studies. A mere adept in his art is universally admitted to con- tribute but little to the intellectuality and enjoyment of social intercourse. It must not be forgotten that, if the subdivision of studies among the different members of the community, like the subdivision of labour in the arts, benefits the mass and serves the worldly interests of the individual, it does so to the prejudice of his general intellectuality. In proportion as the sphere of action of each individual is narrowed, his mental powers become con- tracted, and his activity is rendered purely habitual and instinctive ; he is lowered as a rational being, and resembles the subordinate part of some powerful machinery — useful in its place, out of it insignificant. Sect. VII.— PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. The elements of success in professional pursuits are requisite knowledge and mental activity ; but of these two elements, the latter is by far the more valuable. A man with an active mind has the command of another man's knowledge ; a man without mental activity has not the command of his own. Whatever be the career which young people propose to follow, it will always be easy to enter upon the special and complementary studies which may secure the knowledge it demands. But it is not so 86 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. III. with the mental activity which cletennines vocation, and without which it is impossible to rise above mediocrity : this element of success is of more difficult attainment, as it depends on natural dispositions carefully trained from the earliest infancy. The peculiar mental activity suitable to any profession maybe resolved into two principles — aptitude and capacity. Aptitude is an inclination, either the gift of nature, or the result of certain habits, which fits us for a particular kind of occupation. Capacity consists in the development of the physical, moral, and intel- lectual qualities for this kind of occupation. Although all physical, moral, and intellectual qualities which constitute the perfection of human nature are desirable in every individual, whatever be his position in life, it must, nevertheless, be granted that certain offices, professions, and pursuits require for their successful fulfilment the predominance of particular qualities and special branches of knowledge. In order, there- fore, to complete our classification of the objects of education, we subjoin in the following tabular arrangement a designation of the principal professions, with an indication of the aptitude, capacity, and instruction which are more especially required for each. We have adhered, in the construction of the Tables, to the order which has been introduced through the preceding pages, while noticing the different classes of faculties and the acquire- ments arising from them, so that the physical, moral, or intel- lectual character of each profession may be perceived at a glance. The relative importance of the different acquirements of educa- tion and instruction may also be known by ascertaining the number of professions in which they enter as essential elements of success. Sec. VII.) PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. 87 : — r a 5 03 a r CO 125 O t— i 02 so W Em O « .. |H M <1 s a I* A -a sv cab-?? 2- VI . ™ ■_■ - O ■*> - 3 kSr So a to fc.a =3 S — 03 ° ■? ^' S - «> 3 >> • ■a °^-^ .f §g.- s ;.2-=S g'S53«3-«'S§g h.2 5 asi = ' -*-» US &-Fa-.SS32£gSS'3£§3 > gSgtoSE <0 ££•§£ g B'&J >* 3 £* 3 = §« = %:z2% i, a: <• n 3,o ■e = to c« a ~ ^ C--H 03 • 3 f OS . o3 - > 3 e- >■. ^ < £ n £ S SS bo a 1 n .9 o &£&i . .1 ■E S = - h £•£ Sg > 2 ta - *— GO v. ct — O bo o o od * o _ — u)feOfeQiJi-3 CO o DQ co a o gr H ■a) M H O W Q P « CO 1-5 13 Is, O QJ +j i o 0> ^ a" ^H O ■a a © oS.- •2X---E.S .2 £ .2 .2 ~ .- c r ? £ - b'-S os o ss-a, — - 03 ■a- s a •a a P.S ® . g s a a ° c soo £=•=>§£ -io;cjas£;r: .is-g 1 ! 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Independence of mind. O »— i Q W •S Ancient and modern languages. Particular and general grammar. Logic. Rhetoric. Physiology. Phrenology. Mental pliilosophy. Moral philosophy. Science of education. Thorough knowledge of the branch to be taught. Drawing. Aptitude and Capacity. Pleasing personal ap- pearance. True piety. Equity. Veracity. Self-denial. Indulgence. Love of children. Politeness. Affability. Cheerfulness. Self-control. Self-respect. Equanimity. Patience. Vigilance. Perseverance. Firmness. Love of order. Retentive memory. Rich imagination. Sound judgment. Penetration. a o a o o 3 M H J 1 c •2 a Latin, Creek, and Hebrew. Ecclesiastical history. Logic. Rhetoric. < (ratory. Eloquence. -Mental philosophy. Moral philosophy. Theology. Study of the human heart. Aptitude and Capacity. Pleasing personal ap- pearance. True piety. Humility. Universal sympathy. Veracity. Self-denial. 1 lisinterestedness. ( Iharity. Hospitality. Indulgence. Tolerance. Forgiveness. Benevolence. Affability. Philanthropy. Temperance. Moderation. Meekness. I; signation. Self-respect. Elocution. Sec. VII.] PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION 89 r 3 e s French and German. Natural history. Natural philo- sophy. Chemistry. Linear drawing. l INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONS. Aptitude on'/ Capacity. Mechanical in- genuity. Acute senses. Probity. Prudence. Patience. Perseverance. Spirit ut' ob- servation. Spirit of inves- tigation. Correct percep- tion. Inventive pow- ers. co H « < g H "4 fa O u w fa CO i o H fa fa w fa fa H & o I— I fa C5 a I— ( fa a o a I < o fa fa fa fa •a* fa fa -4 - to , ° £ .2 p, 8 5= .» s « o -S -S g _ '- c 3 ~ : ^ ^ - = 3 F 5f " - - " (►.•« — — — i cl ~ ir= - r S « <-i o - = > "Z u s s o«2 fafafa^fa" o c ^ « fa — « c := s C be gsa^ii'iJ-i- ■ -_ ~ z. v_ - x. ir =v- = : " ? — = r:>--— -if- ^:--oui-s5 S h£ - ^ ii'C § 3 u 3 £ £ fa - £-g 3 r ^ ^ -5 ■§ g i - | ► Sf§2'SS.a , SSfe'3« » 9 t- 9 ° •= & P ' PS . ° • o « m g 1 g "S § g I 5 3 S M ™ ■* a E to o a 1 1 — —H 03 C tJCcj >n3 5t> E s O — — R faa 0) to .2 p. .2 g u — o — o Q « fa fa C5 u Ceo cc cj — o o o ^ fa _; -J o ff fcL ti o S 1 £ ^ fa oD?5 SOco^Sfa k to ..a .•3 s«*fcto n>>P- .!& «a a = -2 = ? « s s 3 ■ — u fafa o o fafa . t3 • -9 CO P.' co Sec. VII.] PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. 91 O » .2 fl . -+-» .^ cm -So .as S " o - M _ - S 1 p. 3 5 .2 e 5 « 2 5 K SO o fe o 3 = .2 « 3 £ Sa an s: 3. =3 Bin ""-To? 1 J . O) o a M b - o o . > 3. >> O 3 g g 3 3 ,. b-= M =P ^ > ■ g >» .SO ci ^ h - — 3 •- S ;• r r — m v- tr *-^._^— rt^*ju3 41 3.*a rt "8 e • t» o S .3 a) 4) and con e sympat tive pow try. a3 rseverance. ve of fame, fined taste. irit of obser vid percepti Bar concepti ch imagiuat ventive pow rrect judgm a > cs 2 O — *- 3 - o»<^- pn (H ^ P5 oq > O W »5 O 92 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [Chap. III. If aptitude and capacity for any office, or profession, naturally manifest themselves in an individual, they are sufficient motives for his embracing it ; he will have every prospect of success. If, on the other hand, Ins future station, or profession, has been pre- viously determined, it becomes incumbent early to excite in him the aptitude and capacity indispensable for either, and to direct his attention to those branches of instruction which are more particularly requisite for attaining eminence and respectability in life. Sect. VIII.— CONCLUDING REMARKS. Education will perform a noble work, if, taking man from the cradle, it can train him to all that is required by society, if it raise him to the first rank among the useful and happy of his age, and if it render him worthy of the eternal life which God has in reserve for His creatures. The art of directing all our faculties in the manner most likely to conduct us to these ends, is the most beautiful and the most useful application of mental philosophy. An acquaintance with the nature, power, and functions of the various faculties of man, with their connection and their dependence on oue another, is indispensable, in order effectually to carry on the work of education. A complete education is so vast and comprehensive in its details, that the instances must be rare in which it can be under- taken by a single individual. Its different departments should devolve on different persons — Physical education on the phy- sician, Religious education on the clergyman, Moral education on the parent, and Intellectual education on the teacher. In closing this rapid sketch, we cannot forbear regretting that we have been compelled by the limits of our plan to confine our observations to generalities of the briefest kind. We hope, how- ever, that the little which we have said may suffice to show what are the instruments and what ought to be the objects of education. These two points were closely connected with our subject, because, on the one hand, an acquaintance with the instruments, or facidties, is subservient to the study of languages, and, on the other, we must know what are the objects which enter into a complete course of education, in order to give to each its due share of attention, and, whatever be the importance of languages, to guard against occupying young persons exclu- Sec. VIII.] CONCLUDING REMARKS. 93 sively with them. "We leave to others the details of the process by which these instruments may be used for education in general, and by which these objects may be accomplished. Such a process would constitute the Art of education, while the syste- matic investigation of the universal and immutable laws of human nature on which it is based would constitute the Science of education. In proportion as this science advances, man will obtain a better knowledge of his own powers, a greater command over external nature, and, consequently, more abundant means of improvement and happiness. Let us hope that before long this momentous subject will be viewed in its true light, and that education will be ranked among the most complete and the most regular sciences, as it is among the most useful and the noblest objects of thought. The three departments of education respectively belong to physiology, moral philosophy, and the science of the mind, from which are deduced their fundamental principles ; but, by then- results, and the influence they have on society, they may be con- sidered collectively as a branch of political economy. Conducive as education is to the best interests of men, to the prosperity, happiness, and glory of a nation, it should be recognised as a social duty, imperative on every one for the sake of all. It is a debt of the state to the people ; and it demands the fostering care of a wise Government, that it may be universally diffused through all classes of the community, and be rendered produc- tive of all its advantages. Hence it is that many civilised countries have a Minister of Public Instruction, whose office it is to promote education among the people, to raise the standard of instruction, to protect society against incompetent or immoral teachers, to secure the respectability of the educational profession, and to encourage the sciences, the arts, and literature. But, in Great Britain, at the present day, national instruction, from the lowest to the highest degree, is without guarantee : there exists none for knowledge or for morality. Everything is abandoned to private speculation. England has, to use an expression of Napoleon, more " shops of instruction " than truly academical institutions. As long as the British Government does not exercise its right to establish a comprehensive system of education, of diffusing and regulating the instruction which is required by the various classes of the community, of protecting and honouring those who, by their literary and scientific pursuits, raise the intellectual 94 OF EDUCATION IN GENERAL. [CHAP.IJI. character of the country, the nation will remain liable to the reproach addressed to it from all quarters by those who repu- diate the degradation thus inflicted through the neglect of its rulers. " There is neither unity, connection, nor plan in our education," says George Long ; " and experience shows that education is always slow in progress, unless the state, which alone can do it, shall give to education that unity and definite purpose, which it gives to other branches of administration." * " England," says H. Mann, " is the only one among the nations of Europe, con- spicuous for its civilisation and resources, which has not and never has had any system for the education of its people. And it is the country where incomparably beyond any other the greatest and most appalling social contrasts exist. There is no country in which so little is effected, compared with the expen- diture of means ; and what is done only tends to separate the different classes of society more and more widely from each other." t In adverting to the degraded state of science and literature in England, Sir David Brewster declares that " their decline is mainly owing to the ignorance and supineness of the Govern- ment, to the injudicious organisation of the scientific boards and institutions, to the indirect persecution of scientific and literary men by their exclusion from all the honours of the state, and to the unjust and oppressive tribute which the patent-law exacts from inventors." J "Given up to politics and novels," says another modern writer, § " and looking at literature like any other trade, for its selling price, we have let the Germans get as much ahead of us of late, in the higher ranges of classical learning, as the French in those of abstract science." || The time is passed when the superiority of a nation rested exclusively on its navy and standing army. Literature and science now rank foremost in the estimation of mankind : Shak- spearc, Locke, and Newton ; Montesquieu, Descartes, and Buffon ; * Study of Antiquity. Central Society of Education, t. 3. f Report a 'fan Educational Tour. % Decline of Science in England. Quarterly Re.viev), Oct., 1830. g Edinburgh Review, No. cxv. || If freo access to books is a test by which to estimate the degree of encourage- ment afforded by a nation for intellectual pursuits, these Islands stand very low indeed in this respect, comparatively with other civilised countries. It was lately remarked by a statistician that Denmark has 5 libraries opened gratuitously to the public, Saxony has 6, Tuscany 9, Belgium II, Bavaria 17, Russia 44, Austria 48, the United States 100, France 107, Great Britain one, Ireland none. Sec. VIII.] CONCLUDING REMARKS. 95 Goethe and Liebig ; Dante and Galileo, are more highly vene- rated than great captains, or than the sovereigns themselves under whom they lived. And, when the present reigning monarchs are laid in the dust, their names will sink into insigni- ficance comparatively with many literary and scientific men on whom some of them affect to look down from the lofty position in which they are placed by the exigencies of government. The aristocracy of rank, of birth, and of fortune, owes its existence to pride, ambition, and ignorance ; the aristocracy of virtue, of talent, and of knowledge, is founded on nature and reason ; the former is temporary, the latter immortal. The only imperishable glory of Athens and Eome is that which has been conferred by the exquisite refinement of their civilisation, and by the genius of their writers, orators, and philosophers. Modern govern- ments should, then, attend to their educational and to all their literary and scientific institutions as they do to their naval and military establishments, if they wish their countries also to attain imperishable glory. 97 BOOK II. OF THE SIGNS OF OUR IDEAS, AND IMPORTANCE OF THEIR ACQUISITION IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES. " » * * * cet art ingenienx, De peindre la parole et de parler aux yeux ; Et par des traits divers de figures tracees, Donner de la couleur et du corps aux pensees."— Brebeuf * " Languages belong to the class of means. In preferring one to another, we should be guided by the principle of its utility : that language, in which most knowledge is contained, is the most useful.'' — G. Combe, t " Yes ! Education reform will come, and conquer like every other." Thomas WYSE.t CHAPTER I. DIFFEKENT SPECIES OF SIGNS. Sect. I.— NATURAL SIGNS,— LANGUAGE OF ACTION. A language is a system of signs which represent onr thoughts and sentiments, and serve for the interchange of ideas in social intercourse. God, having made man a social being, provided him with means of mental communication suited to his condition. The sensatious which he receives through his physical faculties, con- vey, as we have seen (p. 16), impressions to the brain ; this organ, in its turn, by an instantaneous reaction, prompts all the muscles of the human frame, and especially those of the face, to corresponding * Imitation de Lucam. t Lectures on Popular Education. Speech in the House of Commons, 19 May, 1S35. VOL. I. H 93 OF THE SIGNS OF OUB IM'.AS, &c. [Chap. I. actions which declare the existence of inward feelings, and which, by the force of sympathy, communicate these feelings to others. The looks, smiles, laughter, tears, sighs, groans, gesticu- lations, motions, inarticulate sounds or cries, which follow as the immediate consequences of received impressions, are the natural expressions, the necessary signs of his thoughts and emotions. This instinctive succession of impressions and expressions, this double faculty of receiving and communicating ideas, consti- tutes the language of action. Every tone of the voice, every change of the countenance, every movement of the limbs, every attitude of the body which bespeaks a desire, a feeling, or a thought, belongs to this language of nature. destitute of natural signs, neither man nor any of the grega- rious species among the brute creation, could have conformed to the laws of their organisation. But with the language of action, sympathy awoke, and social communion began between our first parents from the moment they were placed by their Maker in one another's presence. Through its medium, men of all countries, civilised or uncivilised, can communicate with each other ; the youngest child is made to understand those who approach him ; the lower animals act under its influence in their mutual relations ; they even readily obey the will of man which it conveys. Thus has the Almighty gifted his noblest creature with the means of exercising his sovereignty over the animal creation. Man never entirely divests himself of this innate language, even in the highest state of civilisation, and in the possession of the most finished articulate idiom. It is especially when he is under the influence of the passions, that nature supplies the deficiencies of art, that tones, looks, gestures, and attitudes give energy to the articulate expression of thought which they accompany. This natural eloquence, so well calculated to move and excite public assemblies, imparts life and meaning to a dis- course, when, from the poverty of articulate language, obscurity of the speaker's words or ignorance of his hearers, the oral expression would often prove ineffective. Of this fact we have a remarkable example in the extraordinary enthusiasm to which St. Bernard roused the German peasantry, by preaching the Crusades, although he addressed them in French, a language which they did not understand. Cicero informs us that it was a contest between him and Boscius, whether he could express a sentiment in a greater vaxiety of phrases, or Boscius in a greater Sec. II.] ARTIFICIAL OR CONVENTIONAL SIGNS, &c. 99 variety of looks and gestures. The action by which Marc- Antony, in Shakspeare's play, uncovers and shows to the Roman people the bloody corpse of Caesar, is not the least eloquent part df his harangue. This eloquence of the body, as it was called by the ancients, was well known to the orators of the republics of Rome and Athens. Demosthenes showed what importance he attached to the language of action, when, being asked what was the first, the second, and the third requisite of oratory, he answered each time, "action." JEschines, his opponent in the celebrated Crown cause, acknowledged also, although indirectly, the power of action. The Rhodians, among whom he had retired, one day applauding the speech of Demosthenes, which he was reading to them, he could not help exclaiming, " What would you have said if you had heard Demosthenes himself?" Everybody will assent to Quinctilian's opinion, that an indifferent speech, accompanied with suitable tones and gestures, has more effect than the most elaborate discourse without them : many speeches and dramas are insipid in reading, which, at the bar and on the stage, raise the liveliest emotions. The language of action, capable as it is of expressing all the emotions of the soul and various states of the mind, was doubtless confined to purely natural signs, when it served as a medium of coimnunication to man as yet in the primitive state of simple nature. But it has, in civilised life, undergone great improve- ment from the use which is made of it, as a branch of oratory and dramatic performance, as a means of communication between the deaf and dumb, and in the mute scenes known under the name of pantomimes. Thus modified and instituted for par- ticular purposes, it can no longer be considered as a system of natural signs. Sect. II.— ARTIFICIAL OR CONVENTIONAL SIGNS,— PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE. However expressive the language of nature may be, it is yet very imperfect as a vehicle of thought. It does not pro- vide expression for all the wants of intellectual and social life in an advanced state of civilisation, — the true state for which man was created. Its deficiencies, and the increasing demands for intellectual communication, soon led to articulate language, which, although arising from the spontaneous action ii 2 100 OF THE SIGNS OF OUR I OKAS, &c. [Chap. I. of the human faculties, may be called artificial, being of human formation, and consisting, as it does, of conventional signs. The primeval elements of this language of art had their origin in human consciousness : the perceptions of sounds left on the mind by all the objects which manifested their presence through the faculty of hearing, being remembered and associated with these objects, became their fixed and characteristic symbols. Every indi- vidual, being affected in the same manner, and anxious to commu- nicate his impressions and feelings to his fellow-creatures, availed himself of his power of imitation to give external existence to these symbols, as required by the necessities of social inter- course. Articulate imitations were originally the words by which one man called the attention of another, and directed it to particular objects. Thus, assisted by a favourable organisation, he derived from nature speaking all around the first signs of articulate language. Intended as he is to accomplish his own development, he was able to extend this language with the aid of the language of action, which, by a wise provision of the Creator, is inherent in his being. In fact, without a natural, no artificial or conventional language could have been instituted ; because a conventional mode of expression implies previous compact or agreement to attach certain meanings to certain signs ; but compacts or agreements could not be entered into without some medium of communication. Hence there must have existed a natural previous to an artificial language. The first man was, we presume, under the influence of the same laws which govern us as regards the innateness of the language of action and its subserviency to the formation of articulate signs : we are not informed that his organisation was different from ours ; and the gift of speech, with which he is supposed by some to have been originally endowed, was, no doubt, simply the power and instinctive desire of making words concurrently with his wants, and in accordance with the laws of his physical and psychological constitution, as we have shown when speaking of the vocal organs. It is, in fact, in the nature of human reason, as created by God, to produce articulate language. We are the more inclined to entertain this opinion as we are told that God brought the animals before Adam "to see what he would call them ; " which clearly demonstrates that the primitive articulate language was of Adam's own formation ; for had it been natural, that is, implanted in him as one of the essentials Sec. II.] ARTIFICIAL OR CONVENTIONAL SIGNS, &c. 101 of his constitution, there could have existed no motive for his Creator wishing to see how he would form names which were made obligatory by His divine will. Moreover, it may be presumed, consistently with the universal and invariable laws of our nature, that this language could not have been innate, since it has not, like all the original powers of Adam's constitution, been transmitted to his descendants. Nor can we suppose it was lost ; for it is not his intellectual, but his moral state, which has suffered in the fall. The primitive articulate language, scanty as it must originally have been, was, conjointly with the language of action, fully sufficient for the limited wants of our first parents, and well adapted to their simple and unvaried mode of life. Their admi- ration of the beauties of nature, their sense of gratitude to God, and their mutual love, pure and unsophisticated, did not demand the aid of long speeches. They were actuated by feeling rather than by reasoning ; their mutual communion was of an excla- matory rather than of a dissertative nature. But, as the prin- ciple of progressive development prompted, this language expanded with their advancing social condition. If man had received a ready-made and complete language, the signs would have preceded in his mind the perceptions and notions they were intended to express, and all the powers with which he was endowed for contriving, selecting, combining, and modifying words according as he acquired ideas, would have remained inactive ; or he would have had the consciousness of perceptions, notions, and feelings prior to all experience, and to the action of the faculties given him for their acquisition, — a double anomaly which could not be reconciled either with the free-agency and physio-psychological constitution of man, or with the wise provision of his Maker. How can we suppose that the Creator would give words, a phraseology, and a grammatical system to a being not only already in possession of the primordial powers of contriving signs suitable to his wants, but impelled by the law of his nature to contrive them. Why imagine a miracle to explain effects which necessarily and spontaneously arise from man's constitution. It may be added that, if the first articulate tongue had been originally framed by God, as an innate faculty of man, its perfection, as well as its divine origin, would have secured its permanent existence, and the primitive language would not now be a problem. St. Gregory of Nyssa ridicules those who have, as he says, the lr-j OF THE SIGNS OF OUB IDEAS, &c. [Chap. 1. simplicity to believe that God was the framer of articulate lan- guage, lie calls this opinion a folly worthy of the extravagant presumption < >f tin- Jews. " God," he adds, " made the things, not the names ; but lie endowed man with the power of giving to the tilings which lie had created such names as were truly expres- sive of them." . . " This function," he continues, " is inherent in the rational nature of the human species, who have invented all languages, and have been gifted with the intellectual and organic faculties necessary for that purpose." * Sect. III.— SPOKEN OR ARTICULATE WORDS. The conventional signs of the artificial language are of two kinds — spoken and written words. Spoken words are composed of two elements — vocal sounds and vocal articulations. Vocal sounds are emissions of the air from the lungs, ren- dered sonorous in passing through the larynx, and modified by the shape of the oral cavity through which it passes. The diversity of sound depends on the different degi'ees of aperture of the mouth and nasal fossa?, and on the peculiar position of the upper organs during the emission of the sonorous air ; the power of the voice depends on the volume of air and on the force with which it is expelled ; while its pitch, as well as its different intonations and modulations, result from different states of the lower organs. If, during the emission of the air, the organs of speech be at rest, the sound produced will be simple and elementary ; if then- position undergo a change, a mixed or compound sound will be the result. An elementary sound may be continued without variation as long as the air is escaping from the lungs : the pro- perty of being prolonged is, therefore, an essential characteristic of vocal sounds (4). Vocal articulations are the effects produced by the organs of speech when set in motion by a determination of the will, and acting on the sonorous air as it is passing. Different articula- tions are produced by different organs ; hence they take their names from the respective organs engaged in their formation, namely — labial, Ungual, dental, palatal, guttural, linguo-palatal, linguo-dental, and dento-labiah An articulation is elementary, when it is formed by the simple action of one, or the simultaneous * Contra Eunomius, Orat. XII. Sec. III.] SPOKEN OK ARTICULATE WORDS. 103 action of two organs ; it is mixed or compound when the sonorous air is modified by the successive actions of one or more organs. The upper organs, when brought into contact in the act of producing the vocal articulations, obstruct the passage of the sonorous air ; in consequence of which some articulations, like those represented by the characters b, d, k, totally interrupt the vocal sounds after which they come, whilst others, like the articulations expressed by/,,/, s, cause only a partial interruption. Those of the first kind, the more numerous of the two, cannot last longer than the action by which they are produced ; those of the second allow a faint noise, or whisper, to be continued, which, however, has no character of vocality. Instantaneousness is, therefore, the distinguishing characteristic of articulations, as duration is that of sounds. Vocal sounds may be loud or soft, acute or grave, short or long, — pitch, intonation, and quantity being their special properties ; while vocal ai'ticulations are weak or strong, soft or harsh, accord- ing as the muscular action by which they are produced is gentle or violent. To mark still better the distinction between these two elements of speech, we will observe that the vocal sounds are produced below the mouth, and their existence depends on the immobility of the upper organs ; whilst the vocal articulations are produced in the mouth, and their occurrence is due to the motion of these very organs. Sounds are uttered separately from articulations when the organs remain motionless during the emission of the sonorous ah- ; but articulations cannot exist independently of vocal sounds, because they are produced by the action of the organs upon those very sounds. It is the combination of the two vocal elements which consti- tutes what is called articulate sound in contradistinction to pure sound, said to be inarticulate, that is, unmodified by the action of the articulated organs. Articulate sounds can be produced only when the will directs the upper vocal organs in their forma- tion, whereas inarticulate sounds are formed under the simple impulse of nature. The sounds which are heard in laughter and in cries, which are produced under the influence of violent emotions, and which are uttered by a great number of the lower animals, by new-born infants, by idiots, and by the deaf and dumb, are inarticulate. The child is unable to form articulations in conjunction with vocal sounds until several months after his 104 °F Till: SKINS OF OUR IDEAS, &c. [Chap. I. birth, when his dawning reason guides Ins first attempts at imitating the familiar words which he has most frequently heard, and with which he is beginning to associate ideas. The various motions of the upper vocal organs in producing articulations, as also the different positions and degrees of open- ing of the mouth in uttering vocal sounds, are so distinct and so well marked, that the deaf and dumb may be taught to read the spoken thoughts on the lips of the speaker. Man, impelled by a law of his constitution, formed by imita- tion and analogy all the vocal signs which, consequent on his refined perceptions and extended social relations, he required for the expression and communication of his thoughts and feelings. In the formation of an articulate language, he instinctively modified his natural cries into a resemblance of the noises pro- duced by the things signified, that the words might recall the ideas. Thus he originally named many animals ; thus, also, savages and infants still name the objects which are new to them. The mystery which veils the primitive psychology of humanity, could, in great measure, be unravelled by a study of man in the first years of life and the first stages of society. Imitation of the sonorous effects of nature, of the cries of animals, and the mechanical noises of industry, produced all the radical words expressive of the properties and actions which recalled the various sensations of hearing. The analogy of the function and effect of the vocal organs with those of the other organs, extended, by comparison, this process of onomatopoeia to the denomination of things destitute of sound. " Onomatopoeia," says Ch. Nodier, " has been the mechanical agent of language, and comparison its intellectual agent." The important part which onomatopoeia assumes in the formation of language would, if properly understood, assist in its acquisition. The innumerable prototype sounds of nature, like the endless variety of colours and forms which adorn the external world, are reducible to a few elements. Hence, the number of sounds and articulations which form the elements of all languages, is not very considerable ; but, by varying the intonations of the vocal sounds, and the degree of force of the vocal articulations, the human voice is capable of modifying them indefinitely. Many nations, among which may be particularly mentioned the English, express dif- ferent ideas by a change in the accentuation of their words. But the Chinese surpass all other people in this respect: their spoken * JS'otious Etimadaires c/c Litiguistique. SBC. III.] SPOKEN OR ARTICULATE WORDS. 105 language, although composed of less than 500 radical monosyllabic words, can, by quantity and modulation in pronouncing them, multiply the expression of ideas to 1203 vocables, according to Abel Eeinusat, * and to a few thousands, according to other writers. A very limited number of vocal elements have, by means of their diversified intonations and combinations, been found suffi- cient for the purposes of oral expression ; and people, in all countries, yielding to the influence of the climate in which they live, have adopted those which suited their peculiar habits. Hence, there are sounds and articulations which exclusively belong to each language, whilst those which are more general in nature and more easily produced are common to all. But even in the production of these, there exist between various nations slight shades of difference, which arise from local circum- stances peculiar to each people, and which are with difficulty appreciated by those who are unused to them. The predomi- nance of one of the vocal elements over the other, is chiefly determined by the nature of the climate. Softness is the charac- teristic of the languages of warm countries, as indolence is that of the people ; they abound in vocal sounds ; whereas less genial climes impart to their people an energy which is marked in their idioms by a predominance of articulations. Such is the effect of a warm or cold climate in respectively relaxing or contracting the muscles, and in producing softness or energy of vocal action, that, under its influence, the southern nations of Europe indulge in full, open, long sounds, and varied intonations, which render their pronunciation clear, sonorous, and musical ; whilst, in advancing towards the north, the lan- guages lose more and more in fulness and distinctness, and, with few exceptions, are characterised by close and short utterance, as also by numerous articulations, which give them force and rapidity at the expense of melody. It is this difference in the euphonic composition of languages which made Charles V. wittily observe, that English should be used in speaking to birds ; German, to horses ; Italian, to women ; French, to men ; and Spanish, to God. All articulate languages are, in their present form, purely conventional, although the original words of the primitive lan- guages from which they are derived, were instinctive imitations of natural sounds, or modifications of such cries as were uttered under the impulse of emotion. Articulate words directly repre- * Becherches sur les Langues Tartares. 10G OF THE SIGNS OF e proportionally shortened, to make room for the study of branches of knowledge indispensable in our advanced state of civilisation. By adopting a rational method, and con- fining the student's attention to what is useful in the dead Sec. IV.] DEFECTS OF ORDINARY CLASSICAL COURSE. 151 languages, they could be learned better than they now are, and in one third of the time. "We do amiss," says Milton, "to spend seven or eight years in scraping together so much miserable Latin and Greek as may be learned otherwise easily and delightfully in one year." j He who spends six years in teaching what can be learned in three, robs his pupil of so much precious time. The unreasonable duration of the ordinary classical course, renders unavailable for the acquisition of useful practical knowledge, the years most favourable to it. This evil, which imperatively calls for a reform, is attributable to several causes. 1. Parents do not usually train their children to those habits of industry and self-improvement, to that love of knowledge and that respect for teachers, which are the best security for the earnest and active prosecution of their studies. II. The teachers position in society is not such as to secure for the profession men of superior merit, and to induce him to use his best energies for the rapid advancement of those committed to his care. III. Learners enter upon their classical studies at too tender an age, and before they have gained sufficient command of the native tongue. IV. 1. The method pursued does not conform to nature, nor to the laws of man's constitution: it does not sufficiently bring into action curiosity, imitation, spontaneousness, and self-teach- ing, — the innate dispositions most favourable to study. 2. It does not bring all the intellectual faculties to bear on the study, and overtaxes the memory to the prejudice of the rea- soning powers : in fact it aims at verbal accpiisitions rather than at mental culture. 3. It does not afford to beginners all the assistance which they require for entering at once on the reading of the classic writers ; and relies too much on the dictionary, the use of which is irk- some, tedious, mechanical, and unsatisfactory. 4. It reverses the natural order of things, by giving to synthesis the precedence of analysis, deducing language from grammar, and ideas from words, instead of grammar from language and words from ideas. 5. It sacrifices the end to the means, by making the learner dwell too long on the Latin grammar, and read the Latin authors too sparingly. 6. It consumes a considerable portion of the learner's time in * On Education, to Sam. Hartlib. 162 OF THE SIGNS OF OUR IDEAS, &c. [Chap. III. many unprofitable occupations, especially in the writing of Latin prose and verse, an inefficient and unintellectual exercise, as will subsequently be seen, and an acquisition completely useless at the present day. But the tediousness of the course is particularly attributable to the immature age at which it is usually commenced. Young children can, indeed, make but slow progress in studies, which to them must be very difficult and uninteresting. " We begin too soon, and we begin the wrong way," saj r s Mr. Wyse.* " The radical error of our system," observes also Dr. Chalmers, " lies in the too early admittance of our youth to our univei'sities." We will, subsequently, and at their proper places, examine into these defects with a view to remedy them ; but, for the present, we must be content with observing that they are the principal causes which concur in lengthening beyond reasonable bounds the period of classical studies, and in defrauding young people, by exclusive attention to them, of information which would be more useful in after-life. Tedious, irrational, and incomjdete, however, as is the course of classical education generally pursued in these countries, no blame can be attached to those who have adopted it ; for it is forced upon them by the universities, which make education and learning consist in parroting grammars and vocabularies, in pars- ing, scanning, and translating a few ancient authors ; in writing exercises, themes, and Latin verses. The teacher's services are estimated, not by the quickened perception, the established habit of attention, the well-regulated mind, or the refined taste of his pupil, but by the actual amount of Latin and Greek which has been waded through in the academical course. Where universities lead, those who prepare scholars for them are bound to follow. Each individual teacher is obliged, in self-defence, to conform to the orthodox course recognised in colleges and universities, until the public shall be more fully impressed with a sense of its many defects. Among those who have left on record a disapproval of the system pursued in the English universities, we may mention Lord Bacon, Locke, Milton, Cowley, Addison, Dryden, Gibbon, Adam Smith, Ensor, Gray, Cowper, and Byron. (8) Blind respect for the monachal institutions of universities has perpetuated until now the vices of a system of instruction, which contrasts so obviously with the progress that science, art, and » Education Reform. Sec. V.] NATURE AND LIMITS OF REFORM PROPOSKD. 153 philosophy are making on all sides. Ancient literature continues to be studied rather because antiquity has sanctioned the practice, than because its value is clearly seen. Many parents, under the influence of early acquired prejudice, insist on their children learning what they themselves have learned ; others, under the erroneous impression that classical learning is the privilege of gentlemen, wish, at any risk, to secure it for them. And, yet, strange inconsistency in a people who boast of a high state of liberty and civilisation, that instruction, limited as it is, cannot in its higher departments be obtained by all students, however gifted or industrious some of them may be ; for the English universities are so constituted as to be accessible only t© the wealthy, and to exclude from their privileges those who dissent from the established church. The present tendency of society is to special and professional education ; and such education cannot be obtained at the old universities. Our ancestors could not avoid confining their youth to the narrow circle of what were, in their time, aptly called, " the learned languages ;" because, as already remarked, they had little else to teach them, and that little was to be found in those languages. But, in the nineteenth century, can we be satisfied with the scholastic instruction of the middle ages ? All eminent educationists acknowledge the inefficiency and insufficiency of the collegiate studies ; all proclaim the necessity of a reform. How can those who have it in their power to work a change, and neglect to do it, reconcile their apathy with a sense of the duty they owe to their children and to their country ? Sect. V.— NATURE AND LIMITS OF THE REFORM PROPOSED. Far be it from us to recommend the suppression of classical studies : we object only to their exclusiveness and insufficiency, to the length of time consumed by them, to the early age at which they are commenced, and to the method usually pursued. They hold a high rank within their sphere of utility, especially as means of mental culture. In fact, the comparative process of learning them is, perhaps, the best calculated for that general and thorough cultivation of the faculties, which produces an active and well-regulated mind. Besides, it would be folly to think of neglecting the noble languages that daily supply ma- terials with which ours ai*e enriched. The beautiful specimens 154 OF THE SIGNS OF OUR IDEAS, &c. [Chap. III. of literary composition which they exhibit, though few in number, will always stand models of excellence. The study of them ought not to be abandoned ; it should only be kept within just bounds; it should be so regulated that young people may have time to attend to the arts and sciences which modern civilisation renders necessary to fit them for the different avocations to which they are destined. Every succeeding generation has more to learn than the preceding ; it needs, consequently, to acquire knowledge with greater facility and dispatch. As professional acquirements are to be gained not only through the native tongue, but often also through foreign living languages, those which among the latter contain the required information assume, in this respect, considerable importance. As stores of information and vehicles of intellectual communication, they excel the ancient languages ; but these, in their turn, are superior to the others, as auxiliaries to mental discipline, grammatical investigation, and literary acquirements. If, then, it is erroneous to give the name of learning to the knowledge of Latin and Greek exclusively, it is not less so to call modern languages mere accomplishments. This undue admiration on one side, and undue depreciation on the other — the effects of ignorance — are unworthy of an enlightened nation. Let the mode of learning the ancient languages be more interesting, com- prehensive, and philosophical, and the admirable productions of antiquity will become means of mental training and models of taste. Let also the teaching of the modern languages be based on more rational and practical principles, and not only will they be to the proficients sources of instruction and mediums of com- munication, but they, as well as the ancient languages, will assist in the great work of intellectual cultivation. The reform which we propose, in accordance with these views, consists not only in taking from the time at present allotted to classical studies a reasonable portion to be devoted to other departments of useful knowledge, but also in placing the ancient and the modern lan- guages on an equality in the education of youth : we demand for both the same attention and time from the learners, the same capacity and inforniation from the teachers, and the same rank in public esteem. Our observations on the efficiency of language, considered as an instrument of the mind, and on the extent of the benefits conferred by the study of the dead and the living languages, have, we hope, sufficiently proved their usefulness as branches of Sec. V.] NATURE AND LIMITS OF REFORM PROPOSED. 155 education ; whilst our remarks on their relative importance enable parents to decide whether it may be more advantageous for their children to learn a dead or a living language ; but learn at least one or the other they ought. Both are indispens- able to a complete intellectual education. The mother tongue cannot, in mental training, supply the place of a foreign idiom, because it is so intimately associated with our feelings, so iden- tified with our habits of thought, so much a part of ourselves, that it easily escapes analysis and critical investigation. It is by its comparison with other idioms that the powers of the mind are evolved, and sound notions of grammatical science are formed. At the same time, it must be remembered that, great as is the mental action which the study of a foreign language calls forth, it is limited in its effects ; for each department of knowledge is addressed to some particular class of faculties. In- tellectual superiority results from the harmonious development of all the mental power. Sciences and arts should, therefore, concur with literature and languages in producing a perfectly cultivated mind. Society, as now constituted, is equally literary, scientific, and industrial. The middle and upper classes, more or less, partake of this three-fold character of modern times. A good system of education intended for them should, therefore, combine the branches of instruction which refer to these three conditions of society, and the more so, as they are calculated mutually to aid and illustrate each other. "We have no doubt that, by adopting a rational method, and rejecting from literary studies whatever is useless, foreign languages, ancient or modern, may be learned not only concurrently with and subserviently to scientific and industrial pursuits, but in such a manner also as to insure both their complete possession and the incidental benefits which arise from their study. is; BOOK III. THE THEEE GEEAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. " Mothers and school-masters plant the seeds of nearly all the good and evil that axist in our world; the reformation of education must therefore be commenced in nurseries and schools." — Dr. Rusii.* " One of the surest signs of the regeneration of society will be the elevation of the art of teaching to the highest rank in the community."— Channing.J "La mgthode decide du succis de l'enseignement; ear elle est le guide de l'etude." — J. M. Degekando.J: CHAPTER I. PARENTS. Sect. I.— DUTIES OF PARENTS IN RESPECT TO EDUCATION. In the acquisition of knowledge, and of foreign languages in particular, a young learner requires aid and direction. His improvement depends not so much on his intellectual capacity as on his parents, his teacher, and the method which he pursues : the parent gives the first impulse to the moral and mental energies of the child ; the teacher guides through the course, and the method is, as it were, the manual of instruction. These three great agents of education act equally important parts. Educational reform must be commenced by them. Parents lay the first stone in the edifice of education ; no office, therefore, is more important than theirs. The legislator may enact laws to punish crimes ; he may enforce duty by the dread of punishment ; but the parent prevents the commission of crimes by an early cultivation of conscience, the direction of the will, * American Annals of Education. f Ibid. X Cours Normal des Instituteurs. ]58 THi: THREE CHEAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. I. and the formation of moral habits : he teaches the practice of virtue for its own sake. The clergyman may, at the last hour, offer us the consolations of religion ; but the parent enforces religious duties by early habits, and effectively prepares us for eternity, by laying the seeds of a virtuous life. The skill of the teacher and the excellence of the method will be of little avail, if the pupil fail in the proper dispositions to study. These deficiencies, unfortunately too prevalent among young people, are often the fatal consequences of the carelessness of parents who, from ignorance or thoughtlessness, shamefully neglect the education of their children. When bad habits have been early acquired, it is doubtful whether an instructor can ever eradicate them. Besides, it is doing him an injustice to multiply the difficulties of his task. How can he effectually teach his pupils, while his attention is engaged in endeavouring to do away with the evil effects of parental negligence ? There would be little need of coercion at school if the child, by a judicious, moral, and religious education at home, were inspired with that eager taste for useful knowledge which cheer- fully encounters difficulties ; that filial affection which seeks to gratify the anxious wishes of parents ; that respect for masters which prompts to obedience ; that love of truth which abhors the idea of imposing on those who confide in him. Most parents abandon to chance the early training of their children. Many, even, are under the impression that nothing can be done towards the education of an infant. This is a most pernicious error. If parents do not properly direct his first inclinations, he will imbibe those which chance throws in his way ; he will be educated by circumstances ; for there is no avoiding education : it unceasingly goes on from the moment of birth to the last stage of life. But that which is received in childhood is the most important in its consequences. Habits of order, truth, and industry in the child will make the prudent, honourable, and useful man. Before the child has articulated a word, he has laid up thoughts, and formed habits of feeling which may exert a controlling influence on his scholastic pursuits — nay, on his whole life. Every expression of countenance caught by his eye, every tone of voice which strikes his ear, every action performed in his presence, every emotion, every passion exhibited by those who approach him, educates him, affects his character and future destiny. Sec I.] DUTIES OF PARENTS IN RESPECT TO EDUCATION. 159 It is never too late to begin any study, to acquire any parti- cular information : at any age at which mental culture commences it will be productive of beneficial results ; but the seeds of morality, piety, and conscientiousness, cannot be sown too early. Disposi- tions to what is good and useful ought to begin in infancy, ought to be second nature to the child. Moral education is, in most cases, hopeless, if it is put off until after the period of childhood. Parents owe to their offspring what is more valuable than life, that which makes life a blessing, and, in fact, gives life to life itself — a religious and moral education. The harmony of the moral development, which it is in their power to effect, will prepare for the mental training of their children by an irresistible, although mysterious, influence. Teachers will make them learned the more easily, if parents make them virtuous ; the precepts taught at school will be the better understood, and the more effectually, if in the family circle nothing be witnessed or practised but what is right ; whereas all the principles of morality imparted by books or teachers will be unprofitable, if evil habits are fostered at home. This first step in the educational course is, as we have seen, conformable to the manifest design of the Creator. The double process — Example and Practice — by which it can be accomplished, is equally in conformity with the dictates of nature. In order that virtues and moral feelings be inculcated in children, they must be practised before their eyes ; and, in the absence of the circumstances which give rise to them, they must be presented to their imagination by natural and simple narratives, taken, as much as possible, from the realities of life. But it is not enough to set them the example, and present them with illustrations of piety, justice, goodness, and wisdom, the parents must also train their offspring to the practice of these moral acquirements. Exercise, confirmed into habit, is the true way of establishing the virtuous character. When we wish to train the muscles to the performance of any particular art, or the intellectual powers to the knowledge of any particular science, we are not satisfied with merely giving precepts and directions ; our chief attention is employed in making the muscles and the faculties go through the necessary exercises, until, by frequent repetition and connection, they acquire the requisite rapidity and precision. On the same principle, if the aim of the parent be to develop a moral 100 TUF. THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. I. sentiment, lie must make his child go through the exercises which render it habitual, and not be content with teaching precepts which are addressed to the understanding alone, and which, therefore, might be learned with the greatest accuracy, without necessarily imparting even a shadow of increased vigour to the moral faculty. It were to be wished that parents knew the nature and importance of the care which their children claim before being placed in the hands of instructors. They should watch the gradual development of their faculties, afford these faculties scope for action, and direct them to a useful and virtuous end. They are bound to keep up their natural inquisitiveness, to open their minds to the elements of knowledge, to cherish in their hearts regard and gratitude towards their instructors, and to imbue them with those moral and religious feelings without which mental powers and extensive knowledge are rather a calamity to themselves and to society. Unless love of knowledge, habits of obedience, industry, self-improvement, and the other moral qualities requisite for learning, have been early formed, and unless they are kept alive and increased by parental co- operation, teachers will labour in vain when they attempt to impart instruction to their pupils. Many parents, absorbed in the business of life, or given up to its pleasures, cannot find leisure to dischai'ge this most important of their duties. Unable to attend to children, or anxious to get rid of their noisy sport, they hurry them to school, to which they carry all the vices of early miseducation. There is a general feeling amongst parents, that the worse and the more troublesome their sons are, the more is a public school a fit place for them. The great end of such establishments is, in their opinion, to flog out the vicious habits which they have allowed their children to form ; and thus must the instructor, in spite of himself, exchange his noble office for that of an executioner. How many unfortunate little creatures have thus cruelly suffered for the faults and ignorance of their imprudent parents ! Here we cannot refrain from remarking that much thought- lessness and inconsistency is exhibited by many English and Irish parents on this point : they are humane to their horses, and devoid of compassion for their offspring. The same man, who, on lending a. favourite nag to a friend, entreats him to use the whip and spur very sparingly, will, on delivering up his child to a school-master, not unfrequently recommend him not to spare SEC. II /] IGNORANCE ON THE SUBJECT OF EDUCATION. 161 the rod. The laws forbid ill-treatment to animals, and sanction the brutalising of delicate youth both in schools and factories. The people have, in general, that self-respect which becomes freemen ; and yet they bring up in the debasing habit of being horse-whipped those on whom devolves the right of maintaining the family dignity ; they make cowards of them by constant appeals to bodily fear. To complete the inconsistency, the scions of British aristocracy are sent to high schools, where, under the odious and degrading system of fagging, they alternately practise meanness and tyranny. * Sect. II.— IGNORANCE OP PARENTS ON THE SUBJECT OF EDUCATION. Indispensable as is the preparatory discipline which alone can secure the success of school-training, few parents are capable of conducting it ; few women are aware of the duties of a mother, when they enter into the matrimonial state. Their affection cannot supply the place of consistency or judgment ; nor can their maternal instinct preclude the necessity of information and method. Unconscious, as they generally are, that hi childhood the principle of authority supplies the place of reason, and that hi their incessant intercourse with their infants they are edu- cating them, they do not always make the necessary efforts to present but good examples to them, to direct their rising faculties properly, and to give them right notions of things or of language. They are most shamefully ignorant even as regards the first physical wants of children. One of the greatest anomalies in this enlightened age is the marked deficiency among young females, in the knowledge of the human constitution. Nature declares, in language not to be mis- understood, that the great majority of women calculate upon finding their chief happiness in matrimonial life, and that they look upon the domestic circle as their peculiar sphere of useful- ness and enjoyment ; but every day's experience too plainly shows how little prepared they are to enter on these primary and interesting duties, which God has assigned to them. Neither at home nor at school is a single fact or principle taught, which has * "To the fagging system, we think,is mainly attributable the want of independence, both politically and in private life, which has characterised too many of our country- men — a servility without an object, an unmeaning, unaccountable subserviency to the will and caprice of others." — Journal of Education, No. xvii., p. 88. VOL. I. M 1C2 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. I. direct reference to the judicious fulfilment of offices which are to become the subject of their anxious thoughts and feelings. In elegant accomplishments and the elements of science a female receives more or less instruction : — but where is the knowledge winch, when she becomes a mother, when her heart is overflow- ing with tenderness towards her offspring, will direct her to the treatment which its delicate frame requires. " To make herself worthy of the education of her child, she is obliged to recommence her own." * The mothers who reflect at all must experience deep and bitter mortification at their ignorance of the treatment required by an infant, especially when that ignorance may endanger the future happiness, and often the life of the little being thus committed to their charge. How many diseases and weak constitutions are daily engendered by the foolish indulgence of parents, who know nothing of the hygienic laws relative to air, food, clothing, ex- ercise, sleep, and the other departments of physical education ! " Surprise is sometimes expressed," says A. Combe, " at the number of children who are carried off before completing their first or second year ; but, when we consider the defective education and entire ignorance of the human economy, not only of the nurses and servants, but of the parents themselves, our wonder ought to become greater that so many survive than that so many die." t The ignorance of parents is still more to be deplored in regard to moral and intellectual discipline, than to physical education, because it is attended with more disastrous consequences to society, and affects not only the present, but the eternal con- dition of their children : few are those who have not been, more or less, the victims of mis-education. In the opinion of the great majority of people, parental duties consist solely in making a provision for the physical wants of their offspring ; and, while pursuing this object, they lose sight of every other consideration, and neglect the culture of their reason and moral sense ; they, in fact, take all possible pains in heaping up for them wealth, which will become in their hands only an instrument of evil, because they have not been taught the means of using it pr< >perly. Such is the appalling state of things in this respect, that, among all classes of the community, the years of infancy are now mostly spent without the benefit of salutary direction, and but too frequently under the baneful influence of parental incon- * Aim£ Martin, De V Education des Mires defamille. + The Physiology oj Digestion. Sir. II.] IGNORANCE ON THE SUBJECT OF EDUCATION. 1C3 sistency and bad example. Repeatedly telling the young that knowledge and virtue are valuable, is not sufficient to impress them with a practical conviction of this truth. If the parents do not always act up to their words (and very few do), they only teach them duplicity and falsehood. But, not satisfied with setting the most pernicious examples, many lead them to dishonesty and vice by early indulging them in all sorts of demoralising practices, in gormandising, dress, dissipation, field sports, and frivolous accomplishments ; they cherish in them a passion for worldly vanities, which are in direct opposition to the seriousness of scholastic pursuits, and which foster habits of idleness and extravagance that soon end in wretchedness and ruin. Thus, misguided, parental affection sacrifices the future morality, intellectuality, and happiness of the man, to the momentary gratification of the child. But if the excess of solicitude and the blind indulgence of some parents are prejudicial to the children, the cold indifference and chilling severity assumed by others, are not less so ; for they alienate for ever the heart of the child from the authors of his being. Some parents never correct a child but in auger, and they usually resort to scornful, sneering, or offensive terms in rebuking him, even for the most trifling faults of childhood ; others seldom condescend to join him in play, or sympathise with his joys ; they wish him to be as grave and steady as themselves, and they deny him the most innocent sports ; others, again, always suspicious of evil, give him no credit for good intentions, and attribute to malicious design every little mischief he commits through giddiness, or from an instinctive spirit of inquisitiveness. Such severity and injustice are most calamitous : they render the child hypocritical and deceitful ; they check his natural desire for self-improvement ; they cause him to lose all affection for his parents, as also to seek in the society of strangers — nay, of servants — sympathising feelings, and a compensation for the misery which he endures in parental intercom-se : thus are broken the ties of filial love, of the absence of which we see so many deplorable instances. Few are the parents who know how to pursue a just medium : they run from one extreme to the other ; and their educational training, characterised, as it is, by carelessness, inconsistency, folly, and ignorance, is productive of incalculable evils. Some- times very young children are taught revdhge and injustice, by being made to beat the objects against which they heedlessly m 2 104 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OP EDUCATION. [Chap. I. hurt themselves ; at other times they are rendered cowardly and superstitious, by being frightened with imaginary objects of terror, as the readiest means of quieting them. When the period of study has arrived, some are allowed to waste a considerable portion of their time in bed or in trifling occupations, whilst others are kept at hard mental labour longer than the law would permit them to work in manufactories, thus acquiring habits of indolence in the one case, and a hatred of books in the other. But one of the worst consequences of this general ignorance in educational matters is the difference of opinion which not unfrequently exists between the father and the mother about family discipline, and which is sometimes most impru- dently allowed to break out into disputes in the very presence of their children. Often also do we see disunion and enmity engendered among the members of one family, either by unjust and unnatural preferences, or by invidious comparisons between them. If young persons so frequently disregard the advice and inj unctions of their parents, it is, in many instances, because they have early witnessed their injustice and inconsistency ; and, in others, because their early caprices have been too much consulted, and their disobedience has been suffered to pass unpunished : they lose respect for, and confidence in those who promise rewards and punishments without any serious intention of performance, and whose words and actions are in constant discord. It is lamentable to reflect how many thousands, who ought to be deeply interested in the temporal and eternal welfare of their children, never trouble themselves about the nature, purpose, or methods of education. Many, it is true, in this as in religion, assent to doctrines and principles, but few are in earnest about them. Not one person in five hundred, even among the middle and upper classes, really knows in what education consists. The parents themselves, being in general ill-educated, cannot properly direct the infant mind ; yet they, for the most part, imagine that they understand the management of children, so that, under this conceit, very few ever think of inquiring what are the best means of bringing them up, and of preparing them for the school -master. Sec. III.] MEANS OF ENLIGHTENING PARENTS. 165 Sect. III.— MEANS OF ENLIGHTENING PARENTS. The universal ignorance which, with a few honourable excep- tions, prevails about the importance, objects, and process of education, is most deplorable and most hostile to the best interests of society. It demands a prompt and energetic remedy. The public mind ought to be enlightened on these points. It is particularly the office of a paternal and wise government to take education in hand, and enforce it upon all classes of the com- munity as the only safeguard of their morals and liberties. A sovereign is entitled to call himself the father of his people, only inasmuch as he causes his ministers to diffuse widely among them the benefits of education. Governments should adopt every means to inspire the people with a love of order and self- improvement, to impart to them a knowledge of their social rights and duties, to rouse them to a consciousness of parental responsibility and obligations, to offer them useful suggestions on domestic training, to propagate the best methods of instruction, to excite and gratify their desires for information, to elevate the qualifications, and, hence, the character of their teachers : in short, they should instil into the minds of all a deep conviction of the extreme importance of education, and afford to all classes, from the lowest to the highest, facilities for availing themselves of its benefits, according to their respective spheres in life. The state ought not to rely on individuals for the execution of its own duties in matters of education, any more than in other matters of public interest. However, a general feeling favoui'able to education must be created before either the government or the legislature can interfere with any chance of prompt efficiency ; for legislative interference is often abortive when unsupported by public opinion. To effect this object, associations must be organised throughout the country ; the conductors of the press and all enlightened philanthropists must join in a crusade against ignorance : thus will humanity complete the great work of regeneration commenced by its crusade against slavery. As all great measures of public interest have been accomplished by the combined efforts of thousands, so must education reform be accomplished. The discipline of prisons has had its Howard ; Catholic emancipation, its O'Connell ; free trade, its Cobden ; temperance, its Mathew ; — education, also, needs its champion and 166 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [( hap.L its apostle : like religion, it must send forth its missionaries in all directions to distribute; publications by thousands, and to lecture every parent in the empire. Let the men of influence give their patronage, and the men of education their talents, to this great cause ; let the ministers of the gospel make it a constant theme of instruction and exhortation ; let all those who feel the benefits of education set to work in their respective localities by addressing parents either through the press or in public assemblies. Extemporaneous lectures will, however, more effectually than printed pages combat the ignorance and rouse the apathy of parents in respect to education. The high office of educational missionary would, therefore, demand some powers of oratory. Many generous minds so gifted could be found willing to come forward in support of so noble a cause. Other persons could be appointed, and paid either by private associations or by the state ; and, if economy were an object, the office of delivering public lectures on education might devolve on those who should be intrusted with the inspection of schools and the examination of candidates for the scholastic profession. If the educational missionaries are eminent in virtue and knowledge — if, above all, their hearts beat high with the desire of improving their fellow- men and elevating their own country, they will easily awaken and keep alive a public spirit of inquiry on the subject of education ; they will enlighten the people on its importance both to the individual and to society ; they will unfold all the objects of which it consists ; they will impress on pai'ents a consciousness of their duties, and of the qualities necessary for fulfilling them, dwelling especially on affection, gentleness, patience, consistency, justice, and firmness, as the most indis- pensable ; they will, finally, unfold to them the manner of effectually accomplishing their arduous and responsible tasks in everything which concerns the physical, moral, and intellectual training of their children. It is especially in youth that the future parent should imbibe the notions which he shall afterwards so much need. Education will reach its proper standard only when it is placed on a footing with the highest branches of knowledge. In schools for either sex, — in colleges and universities, the science of education in its three departments should be regularly taught in connection with physiology, ethics, and mental philosophy, as is the practice in some German universities. It should be made an indispensable part of a complete course of instruction. 8ec.IV.] the mother, the natural preceptor. 167 If, by the active solicitude of a liberal and enlightened govern- ment, it were universally studied and well understood, parents would carefully prepare their children for the teacher,- and aid him to promote their advancement. Thus the rising generation, under the influence of parental morality, early discipline, better systems of instruction, and the mutual regard, as well as combined efforts of parents and teachers, would, one day, by its progress in the various departments of education, raise the moral and intellectual character of the nation. Sect. IV.— THE MOTHER, THE NATURAL PRECEPTOR OF HER CHILD. PREPARATION FOR THE OFFICE. God has placed the child under the influence and guardianship of parental love, that he may through sympathy reciprocate that love, and early practise all duties, virtues, and affections thence arising. Nothing c;in be substituted for such a school ; the pleasures which he enjoys there, the pains which he feels, the attentions which he receives or bestows, can never have their place supplied for the training of his mind and his heart. It is especially the mother who is his first preceptor. With sympathy as an interpreter, she enters into communion with her child ; she becomes the most zealous of teachers, and he the most apt of pupils ; she gives him his first ideas and inspires his first feel- ings ; she actually begins to train her child from the moment he sees the light. The kindness or harshness of her looks, the gentleness or roughness of her tones, act upon his feelings, and hourly excite emotions of love or anger, — of joy or sadness, which, perpetually returning, form the habitual character of the future man. The mother's smile gives the child his first glimpse of heaven, as the tenderness of her affection awakens his first conception of an all-bountiful Providence. Women dwell with interest and patience upon the trifles that make up the lives of children ; and it is on the direction of these seeming trifles that their future greatness will depend. " A kiss from my mother," said Benj. West, " made me a painter." When yet a child, he had drawn a rude sketch of an infant relation sleeping in a cradle : his mother chanced to see this childish pro- duction, and was so well pleased with it that she took the young artist in her arms and rapturously kissed him. That mark of maternal delight fixed his fate for life. 168 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION [Chap, i " The future destiny of a child," said Napoleon, " is always the work of his mother." He often declared that he was indebted to his own mother for his elevation. Remarking one day to Madame Campan, that the old systems of education were defec- tive, he asked her what girls required in order to be well edu- cated. " Mothers," was the answer. This word struck Napoleon. " Well," said he, with his usual rapidity of thought, " this is a whole system of education. You must, madam, make mothers who know how to bring up their children." And he placed her at the head of the Ecouen Institution, which has since been so celebrated. To form mothers worthy of that name ought, indeed, to be the chief end proposed in female education. Every girl is called by nature to become a wife, and bring up a family ; she should then be put in possession of the means to forward the best interest of a husband, and to prepare children for the studies of school and for the duties of social life. When a man of sense marries, it is a companion he wants, not an artist. " It is not merely a creature who can paint, and play, and dress, and dance," says Hannah More ; " it is a being who can comfort and counsel him ; one who can reason, and reflect, and feel, and judge, and act, and discourse, and discriminate ; one who can assist him in his affairs, lighten his cares, soothe his sorrows, purify his joys, strengthen his principles, and educate his children."* The mother has almost the exclusive direction of the young during the first twelve years — the most critical period of life ; that in which habits are being formed and the most lasting impressions received. If her understanding be cultivated and her memory enriched with varied information, she will be able to draw from the resources of her mind endless means of exciting and gratifying the curiosity of her young pupils, of unfolding and improving their judgment. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the most talented women are not always the most agreeable in their domestic capacity. Moral, more than intel- lectual, excellence woidd secure to a mother the power of con- ferring happiness on those who surround her, and of exercising a proper influence over the youthful mind. " If, above all, the mother makes it a duty to stamp the divine impress deeply in the mind of her son, never can it be effaced by the hand of vice." t It is time to shake off the prejudice which condemns woman to a life of frivolity : she must be educated seriously ; the progress * Strictures of Female Education. t J° s - Demaistre, Soiries de St. Petersbourg. Sec. IV.] THE MOTIIER, THE NATURAL' PRECEPTOR. \Q() of civilisation, by lowering the pretensions of physical force, has done away with the notion of her inferiority. She is the equal partner of man, and often takes an active part in the most im- portant affairs of life : the well-being of society demands that her acquisitions be raised to a level with the intellectual and moral exigencies of the age, — in a word, that she be useful and esti- mable, as well as amiable and accomplished. She must acquire that vigour of intellect which will enable her to foresee, weigh, and determine justly those manifold circumstances on which her happiness and that of her family depend. " How can a woman educate children, if she is not accustomed to reflect ? how deter- mine what is suited to them ? how incline them to virtues which she knows not, and to merit of which she has no idea 1 She can only flatter and threaten them, render them insolent or timid, affected apes or mischievous and despicable characters."* The benefits of education will never be widely nor effectually diffused, until woman be qualified to lay its proper foundation. Woman is endowed with the same faculties as man ; the law of her culture ought to be the same. Perhaps her knowledge needs not to be as profound as his, but it ought to be as varied. In most cases man has a fixed vocation, which decides for him the departments of knowledge to which he should give his most serious attention ; but the circumstances in which woman may be placed cannot be so well foreseen : it is then desirable that she should possess a facility of adapting herself to the various circum- stances of this chequered life, as well as be able to initiate her young family into the elements of the different branches of instruction. Her moral and mental powers cannot be too carefully cultivated, nor her information too extensive, as a preparation for exercising with discernment the most important of social duties. The acquirements of a man are often profitable to himself alone ; but every virtue, every acquisition of a woman is almost always profitable to her children. Many eminent men, besides Napoleon, might be mentioned, whose celebrity may chiefly be ascribed to the enlightened solicitude of their mothers. If that enchanting and undisputed power which women possess receives from our hands a salutary direction towards whatever is great and beautiful, they will repay us tenfold by leading the rising generation to that moi*al perfection so vainly sought after by philosophers.f * J.J. Rousseau, Emile. t The next Book will sufficiently show to mothers the nature and extent of the services which they, if well-informed, can render to their children. 170 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. I. ,-m i. \\— OF DOMESTIC EDUCATION. Sympathy commences education in infancy; imitation continues it in childhood. The education of sympathy is almost the exclusive privilege of the mother in the first period : the father usually begins only in the second to exercise his influence acti\ i I \ . and from that period his authority gradually increases. At all times, however, both parents should, when circumstances permit, take an equal part in the moral and intellectual develop- ment of their young family without any distinction of sex. The notion often entertained that boys should be under the special government of their father, and girls under that of their mother, is unnatural and most injurious ; for this division of government and parental duties not only disunites the different members of one family, but it takes from the affection, respect, and obedience due to both parents by all the children indiscriminately, and deprives the latter of the benefits arising from their combined influence. The sons depend as much as the daughters on a virtuous and pious mother for the formation of their moral habits, whilst the daughters claim, as well as the sons, from an enlightened father the direction of their intellectual training. It is, however, by their example, rather than by precept, that parents can best educate. Let them be and do what they wish the child to be and to do : let their actions be always consistent with their words ; let them, in fact, take into their serious consideration that, by the force of sympathy and imitation, he receives from them, whether they will or not, the direction of his future character. If men, in general, seek to excel their fellow-creatures in riches or in acquirements, and not in virtue or in piety, it is because, in their childhood, they frequently heard their parents speak of the advantages of fortune, and rarely of those of virtue; they were continually excited to vie with their felknv-students in learning, and never in morality or in piety. Most of the insub- ordination and bad habits of school-boys, most of the errors, pre- judices, and evil propensities in society, nay, most of the crimes which are committed in the world, originate in the parents. The future existence of a child is at the mercy of his parents; he will be what they make him. If everything in his father's house is done without system, it cannot be expected that he will . quire habits of order and regularity; if more attention is paid Sec. V.] OF DOMESTIC EDUCATION. 171 to his dress or to his physical comforts than to his moral and mental worth, it cannot be expected that he will be anything but vain, selfish, and shallow ; if he hears his instructors spoken of disrespectfully, he cannot be expected to obey them, or to value what they teach ; if his parents spend their lives in trifling occupations and sensual pleasures, if all their actions prove that they place money above learning and virtue, he cannot be expected to seek his enjoyment in serious studies and in virtuous habits. Let parents, then, who cannot altogether reform them- selves, and who feel that they have not reached that moral perfection which they desire for their children, watch most carefully their own conduct and language while in their presence. The conversations which are overheard have the most influence, because they are received without distrust or suspicion. The superiority which parents naturally have over a child invests them, in his eyes, with a dignity which, to his innocent mind, implies virtue and perfection. Let them act so as to justify this salutary notion : and if it be well impressed in the opening stage of life, parental authority will be long influential and revered. Happy the children whose parents show them only good example, and who are not deprived of its advantages by being removed from their society at too tender an age. More happy still are the parents who, by an exemplary life, implant the seeds of all virtues in the hearts of their children, and thus secure the most legitimate claims to their affection and gratitude. The severe discipline of school can never, during the first two periods of youth, supply r the place of parental solicitude and of a well- regulated family. The influence founded on affection, which is, at home, the main-spring of government, is the most powerful. Filial piety, strengthened by an uninterrupted virtuous family intercourse, must be to young people the source of the kindest sentiments and of all moral virtues. When circumstances do not permit parents to preside them- selves over the education of their young family, they should, if their means allow it, have their place supplied by persons whose experience, high morality, cultivated minds, and love for children, render them worthy of their entire confidence. So difficult is it, however, to supply properly the place of a parent, that many moralists object to this delegation of duty. Among others, J. J. Rousseau, the eloquent advocate of the rights of humanity, insists on a father's educating his own children. " He owes," he says, " men to his species, social beings to society, and citizens 172 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. I. to the state. Any man who can pay this triple debt, and does it not, is guilty, and more guilty still when he p;>ys it only hy half. He who cannot fulfil the duties of a father has no right to be one. No poverty, no occupation in life, no human respect, can permit him to dispense with maintaining, with educating his offspring himself. You may believe me, readers, I foretell that whoever neglects this holy duty will long shed bitter tears over his fault, and will not be consoled."* The family has been appointed by Providence for the moral discipline of the children, and the school has been instituted by society for their intellectual training. The more important part of education devolves, consequently, on the parents : they, or the resident preceptor, being continually with them, can take advantage of circumstances, as they arise, to make a desirable impression : there are innumerable opportunities of doing so in domestic life, which cannot occur in large seminaries. A teacher in a school, being with his pupils only during their hours of study, has few opportunities of noticing their moral failings, and cannot practise in their presence any of those virtues which are best taught by example. This is rather the business of a parent than that of a professor. The latter may cultivate the children's intellect, and assist them in acquiring knowledge ; he may instruct a hundred of them, but he cannot educate even one. Kindly feelings, moral dispositions, and virtuous habits are the fruit of home education. The theory of morals may be taught in schools ; but the practice is acquired in the family circle. " Nothing can equal a good domestic education," says Saint Marc-Girardin. " It is preferable to all lay and ecclesiastical colleges. I will go further ; I believe that in the paternal house alone can any education be found. Colleges give instruction but they cannot give education. The training of the soul, the teaching of duty, the preparation for the difficulties and disap- pointments of life — all this is beyond the discipline of a college. We instruct, we do not educate in our schools ; we cultivate and unfold the mind, but not the heart." t Favourable, however, as the family is to the moral discipline of the child, it must be acknowledged that, in the present order of things, such a discipline is impracticable in the middle and, more particularly, the lower class of society. Many parents can neither undertake the education of their young children, nor * Emile. f De V Instruction interme'diaire dans le Midi de VAllemagne. Sec. V.] OF DOMESTIC EDUCATION. I73 procure resident educators. Some, engaged as tliey are in the pleasures, and others iu the business of life, the poorer class especially neglect them altogether, or give them, in their own conduct, the worst example ; whilst those in affluence often abandon to domestics their physical and moral culture. Hence arise, to a lamentable extent, the bad health, bad temper, and bad propensities, which prevail among the young. An igno- rant or passionate nurse, a vulgar or vicious servant, is one of the greatest curses with which the dawn of humanity can be visited. Until parents, and society in general, are regenerated by education, the most practicable way of obviating the fatal consequence of neglect or bad example at home, would consist in having infant schools extensively diffused throughout the community, some being provided by the state for the labouring classes, and others, by private speculation for those who can pay. These schools should be established on the principle of family government for physical and moral, rather than for intellectual training. If they were distributed and organised so as to be within the reach of all families, and to suit their different circumstances, parents would not, — nay, should not hesitate to send their children to them, as they could then better attend to their own occupations, and would secure for their offspring a better discipline than they could give them at home. Eeligious feelings, respect for masters, affability to all, regard for truth, sense of duty, desire for knowledge, taste for order, habits of industry and self-government — all are the results of a good domestic education, or of a well-conducted infant-school. Such virtuous habits, by securing the happiest dispositions to study, prepare the way for instruction. The child, whose morality rests on a proper foundation, will generally be little inclined to inattention : he will cheerfully give himself to industry ; and, being more disposed to reflect and observe, he cannot fail to advance rapidly in any intellectual pursuit which is marked out for him. But, of all the means of directing the will of youth, the most durable and most certain is the early cultivation of love and reverence to the supreme Being, and a sense of his unceasing watchfulness over his creatures. If parents be themselves animated with such sentiments, they will easily, and without having recourse to precepts, impress them on their children. These sentiments are the first wants of the child, and by far 174 TIIK THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. ["Chap. I. more important to him ami to society at large than any mental acquisition. Without religion and morality, knowledge, let it be repeated, is only the power of doing mischief. Sect. VI.- IU TIES OF PARENTS WITH RESPECT TO INSTRUCTION. Information, although only secondary in early education, must not be overlooked by parents. It is part of their duty to their offspring to prepare them for the arduous labour of scholastic instruction, and to give them habits of self-teaching, in order that they may not depend on the instructor for what should devolve on themselves. They ought to impart to them an accurate practical knowledge of their own language, with correct notions of the external world and of things in general, which may render more interesting and easy their future study, either of languages or of sciences. Home education should be subsidiary to public education. However, parents should not force nature, but preserve the child from premature mental excitement. They will have no reason to regret his backwardness in intellectual education, if, on entering the third period, he be blooming in health and lively in spirits, if his sympathies are prompt, his curiosity active, his self-love duly controlled ; if he habitually appeals to his conscience, and readily submits his will to that of his superiors. With such a preparation the period of mental culture will open with a bright prospect. "The effect of the pains which are taken in the first nine or ten years of a child's life," says Miss Edgeworth, " may not be apparent immediately to the view, but it will gradually become visible. To careless observers, two boys of nine years old, who have been very differently educated, may appear nearly alike in abilities, in temper, and in the promise of future character. Send them both to a large public school — let them be placed in the same new situation, and exposed to the same trials, the difference will then appear : the difference in a few years will be such as to strike every eye ; and people will wonder what can have produced in so short a time such an amazing change. " Suppose that parents educated their children well for the first nine years of their lives, and then sent them all to public seminaries, what a difference this must immediately make in public education ! The boys would be disposed to improve Sec. VI.] PARENTAL DUTIES IN RESPECT TO INSTRUCTION. 175 themselves with all the ardour which the most sanguine preceptor could desire ; their masters would find no habits of idleness to conquer : no perverse stupidity would provoke them ; no capricious contempt of application would appear in pupils of the quickest abilities. The pupils would be all fit companions for each other ; they would not have any new character to learn ; they would improve by mixing with numbers ; and, though they would love their companions, they would not, therefore, combine together to treat their instructors as pedagogues and tyrants."* The supposed training by which Miss Edgeworth imagines children to be prepared for public seminaries at the early age of nine, has, in the present state of society, no chance of being realised. The carelessness of some parents and the ignorance of others, will unfortunately long continue to supply those estab- lishments with the seeds of all vices ; and large assemblages of young people will always defeat the best efforts which the few persons jilaced over them make to check the progress of evil propensities among them. Anxious parents must then defer exposing their sons, and, more especially, their daughters, to the worst of influences — the example of mischievous companions, — until their moral character is capable of resisting temptation. Under even the most favourable circumstances they cannot be formed to those moral and religious habits which will preserve them from the dangers of the scholastic life, before they have entered upon the third period of youth. Public instruction is, in many respects, highly useful when the intellectual powers of the child are equal to the labour it imposes ; and, with regard to the formation of the character, it has greatly the advantage over private education. However, the intercourse existing between the young inmates of large boarding schools is far from always possessing a beneficial tendency. It is said to be the best apprenticeship of life, on account of its analogy with the world ; but, as in the case of this prototype, more virtue and self-control than young persons usually possess are required to pass through its ordeal, without contamination. When the moral habits and the intellectual development of young people enable them to attend public schools, we would prefer that it should be as day-pupils. This middle course, generally adopted in Germany, which combines the benefits of the two modes of education — private and public — would prevent many of the evils attendant on a long and * Practical Education. 176 THE THREE ('.MEAT AGENTS OE E1HVATION. [Chap. I. unnatural separation between parents and children ; among others, the tendency which it has to weaken the ties of their mutual affection. Many parents are apt to think they have no duty to discharge respecting the intellectual education of their children, from the moment they have consigned them to masters ; they forget that their moral influence over them is much more powerful than can be that of a teacher. If they take an interest in their studies, and see that they earnestly attend to them, they will give efficiency to the training of the school. At the same time that they should refrain from any teazing interference with the peculiar province and business of the instructor, they ought to make inquiries about the behaviour and progress of their children ; they ought occasionally to question them on the subjects of instruction in which they are engaged, and even examine them, whenever they are capable ; they ought especially to sympathise with them when they come home elated with the pleasure of success at school. These marks of interest on the part of the parents will contribute to convince their children of the utility of the things which they are taught ; it will secure to the father the continuance of his authority, and will facilitate the office of the instructor. Parents, or the persons who supply their place, must take these observations into serious consideration. They should not only seize every opportunity to render the children better and wiser by religious, moral, and mental training ; but they should also promote their physical development and innocent enjoyment by healthful exercises. Thus will they secure for them that normal state, the foundation of their future happiness and useful- ness — " A sound mind in a sound body" acting under the influence of sound morality (9). 177 ' ? r^'\ CHAPTER II. Zp TEACHERS. Sect. I.— THEIR DUTIES AND QUALIFICATIONS. Great as is the influence of parents over the moral education of the child, that of instructors over his intellectual improve- ment is equally great. Success in instruction depends as much on the competency of the teacher as on the excellence of the method ; it may even be said that his influence over the learners is more powerful. A zealous, kind, skilful, and well-informed instructor will forward his pupils with any method, because he will know how to fix their attention, how to stimulate their exertion ; whereas an indolent, irritable, or ill-informed teacher, will never make good scholars, even with the best of methods. It devolves on the instructor to inspire learners with a love of study, to direct their attention towards useful pursuits, to create in them the desire to learn what he wishes to teach, to proportion difficulties to their capacities, to keep up* and gradually gratify their natural curiosity, to assist them in dis- covering rather than to impart to them what he knows himself. It is his duty to moderate the over-ardent, to stimulate the indolent, to encourage the timid, to direct the wayward, and to overcome the obstinate. The instructor who is anxious to discharge the noble duties of his office and to respond to the high trust placed in him, will identify himself with his pupils ; he will enter with delight, even with enthusiasm, into their pursuits ; he will make every moment during which they are in his presence conducive to the improvement of their minds and hearts. In order to carry on efficiently the work of education, the preceptor should blend cheerfulness of disposition with firmness of character ; he should have great command of temper and inexhaustible patience ; he should possess all the feelings of a parent and the indulgence of a Christian ; he should excel other VOL. I. N 17S THE THREE GREAT A.GBNTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II. men by the correctness of his conduct and the polish of his manners ; for his example will have more force than his precepts. His address, deportment, and language, ought, at all times, to be such as to inspire his pupils with confidence, love, and respect. On the threshold of life, children unconsciously assimilate themselves to the persons in whose society they live. If it is desirable that they be honourable in their conduct and refined in their manners, their educator must be 'an accomplished gentleman. Among the moral qualities which the professor in a public school should possess, may be particularly mentioned Justice ; for he must distribute rewards and punishments as they are deserved ; he must avoid injurious preferences among his pupils, and refrain from attending exclusively to boys of promising ability, to the prejudice of those who are less favoured by nature, in order to gain the dazzling honours of university prizes, thus resting the reputation of his school on a narrow, unjust, and dishonest foundation. It is by his impartiality, and his love for the children com- mitted to his care, that he will be entitled to govern them ; it is by gaining their affection, that he will exercise over their minds that moral influence, which will enable him to direct them at liis will and excite them to the noblest exertions. A taste for literary and scientific studies may be very effectively imparted by a kind and amiable instructor. It is only when personal influence does not exist, that recourse must be had to other stimulants. He who cannot rule by love must rule by fear. But, of all instru- ments of action, the most dangerous, undoubtedly, are emulation and corporal punishments. Without the greatest precaution, the first is but too apt to foster, in the bosoms of the young com- petitors, feelings of vanity, pride, ambition, envy, and jealousy ; the second may sometimes debase a noble spirited youth, and inure him to perverseness. " The usual lazy and short way by chastisement and the rod," says Locke, " wdueh is the only instrument of government that tutors generally know, or ever think of, is the most unfit of any to be used in education. This sort of correction naturally breeds an aversion to that which it is the tutor's business to create a liking to. How obvious is it to observe, that children come to hate things which were at first acceptable to them, when they find themselves whipped, and chid, and teazed about them ? Such a sort of slavish discipline makes a slavish temper. The Sec. 1.] TEACHERS— THEIR DUTIES AND QUALIFICATION. 179 child submits and dissembles obedience, whilst the fear of the rod hangs over him ; but when that is removed, and, by being out of sight, he can promise himself impunity, he gives the greater scope to his natural inclination which, by this way, is not at all altered; but, on the contrary, heightened and increased in him, and, after such restraints, breaks out usually with the more violence." * Another celebrated philosopher observes, " I con- demn all violence in the education of a young mind brought up for honour and liberty. There is I know not what of ser- vility in rigour and constraint ; and I maintain that what cannot be effected by reason, prudence, and skill, will never be effected by force. I never saw the rod produce any other effect but to render the soul more cowardly and maliciously obstinate." t Corporal punishment is nearly as degrading to him who inflicts, as it is to him who receives it. No gentleman would wish to be a flogger. In the English army, in which the flogging system holds its disgusting sway, and levels British subjects to the brutal condition of Cossacks or Negro slaves, no officer would ever think of claiming for himself the functions of the executioner. Let the teacher recollect that he, too, is a gentleman ; let him respect himself if he wishes to be respected ; let him also treat his pupils as gentlemen, and they will, in most cases, behave as such. What has tended more than anything to throw ridicule on the teacher and lower his character in public estimation, is the ludi- crous association of the whipping-rod and ferula with his office. The severity which parents formerly exercised over their children, justified a corresponding severity on the part of schoolmasters ; and these instruments of torture became the indispensable ap- pendage of their functions. So general was the barbarous practice of beating children, even to a late period, that most men of the present generation cannot think of their school-days without a feeling of ill-will and disrespect towards their old teachers. It is consistent with despotic governments that the ferula of school tyrants should prepare children for the iron rod of their future political tyrants ; but, in constitutional countries where every individual enjoys the noble privilege of a free man, the child must not be early taught that brute force is a principle of government ; he must not acquire notions and habits incom- * Thoughts on Education. f Montaigne, Essais, Liv. ii. c. 3. n2 180 THE TIIKER GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II. patible with the dignity and duty of a freeman. Let, then, corporal punishment be banished from public instruction in Great Britain and Ireland, as it is in France. He who cannot conduct a school without the rod is unworthy of presiding over the education of youth. The work of education will be successfully carried on without resorting to disgraceful blows, if the master know how to excite in his pupils a taste for order and study ; if he render instruction interesting by his manner of imparting it ; if he enforce disci- pline by firmness and justice ; if, finally, he inspire love and respect by an affectionate and dignified deportment in all his dealings with them. But if, on the contrary, the master be hated, his teaching will be despised, his advice received with suspicion, his remonstrances and punishments will have no effect. Sect. II— PREPARATORY STUDIES OF THE TEACHER. The teacher who is fully impressed with the high responsibility attached to his profession, who does not wish to make dangerous experiments on the first young minds which are confided to his care, will prepare for the difficult office of educating, by mental as well as by moral discipline. As the authority of his words derives its weight from the soundness of his understanding and the depth of his learning, he should not neglect any opportunity to improve and enrich his mind : there is no time at which he should cease to leam. He should particularly direct his atten- tion towards perfecting himself in the department of knowledge which is more immediately the object of his teaching, without, however, neglecting general useful information. An instructor can always find the opportunity to turn to account every thing with which he is acquainted. In fact, he cannot properly fulfil his task, no matter how limited his sphere of action, if he does not know more than he professes to teach. An instructor should possess great powers of language ; for he must be able, not only to convey in the clearest and most forcible way the information he wishes to impart to his pupils, but also to encourage and admonish those who do not bring from home natural dispositions to learning : — just praise and reproof, dealt out in appropriate and impressive words, are more effective than corporal punishment. He must be able to adapt his language to their different ages and capacities, to explain the reasons of Sec. II.] ri:i:r.u:ATORY STUDIES of the TEACHER. 181 the exercises he imposes on them, and to unfold to them all the advantages which may accrue from the particular informa- tion at which they aim, or from the particular tasks which they are desired to perform, — thereby supplying them with powerful motives of study. In public instruction there are few qualifica- tions more necessaxy than the power of extemporaneous delivery. This happy talent brings the mind of the professor into closer contact with that of his pupils, than the reading of written lectures ; it enables him to repeat what has not been fully un- derstood, to introduce illustrations as they are required, and to diversify his manner or language according to the impression made on his young auditory as perceived in their countenances. But extemporaneous lectures, to be really useful, must be founded upon a practical knowledge of the dispositions and advancement of the students ; and there is no better means by which this knowledge may be acquired than by an intercourse with them in the way of examination and conversation. The delivering of lectures to a class would not be sufficient to create intellectual habits in learners, if unaccompanied by examinations. Skill in conducting these is, therefore, essentially necessary to qualify the professor for the successful discharge of his public duty. A person teaching his native tongue abroad, should know critically that of his pupils, as well as his own ; for he must be able, when a difficulty occurs in a foreign author, to render readily, accurately, and perspicuously the original thought, both to make it clear to his pupils, and to set them the example of correct and elegant expression ; he must also have it in his power to correct the many errors which young persons are liable to commit, when translating from a foreign idiom either orally or in writing, and thus to assist them in making that language instrumental to improvement in their own. He should be a thorough grammarian and philologist, so as to be able to adduce rules in support of his correction, and to explain the mechanism, formation, and derivation of language. Linear drawing, which supplies the deficiencies of descriptive language, is another acquirement indispensable to the instructor. It may be made a most useful instrument of teaching, even in the humblest school. In the exact, the natural, and the experi- mental sciences, especially, he who has a command of this art is never at a loss how to render the most intricate details clear, intelligible, and interesting to his auditory. One of the great difficulties which are met with in understanding a lecture on 182 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II. science, arises often from the false notions to which incorrect diagrams lead. To the professor of languages linear drawing would prove equally useful, as it would enable him readily to present to his pupils just notions of many objects, the foreign names of which have either no corresponding terms in their own language, or are translated by words not familiar to them, and consequently conveying to them no clear idea of what is meant. Skill in drawing is a powerful auxiliary in oral instruction ; for visible illustrations, by bringing the perceptive powers in aid of the intellect, fix the attention of the hearers more intensely, and disclose the thought of the lecturer more forcibly, than could be done by the most minute verbal details. The celebrated Cuvier used, in his lectures, to resort to the chalk and the black board, whenever he pei-ceived that he was not fully understood by his numerous auditory ; and their approbation generally testified the success of his illustrations. Sir Charles Bell offers another striking example of the importance of drawing to a scientific teacher ; for his admirable lectures would have lost half their effect, had he not constantly illustrated his ideas by means of his skill as a draughtsman. Not only should the educator's acquirements, capacity, and moral character be of a high order, but he should aim at pro- fessional skill ; he should understand thoroughly the art of instructing, of educating the young. The possession of a good education, or of much information, does not necessarily imply the power of transmitting either : a man may be an accom- plished scholar or an adept in science, and, yet, be an indifferent teacher. To stoop from the pride of superior attainment ; to conceive even the embarrassments that entangle the beginner ; to become identified with the feelings and faculties of children ; to anticipate and remove the obstacles in their way to know- ledge ; to curb and regulate their tempers, and, what is still more difficult, one's own ; to awaken and sustain attention, and know when to stop, so as to avoid fatigue ; to lead by easy steps, through a path which to them is a rugged one, and strewing it with flowers instead of thorns ; to slacken one's own steps, hi oi-der to keep pace with the pupil, instead of expecting or insist- ing on gigantic strides ; all this is the result of long and careful training ; it demands a rare assemblage of qualities, and can be effected only by a person of superior abilities.* The educator should make himself perfect master of physi- * See James Hllaii's Principles of Elementary Teaching. Sec II.] PREPARATORY STUDIES OF THE TEACHER. 183 ology, moral science, and mental philosophy ; the instructor, especially, should study mental philosophy, which contains the fundamental principles of the art of teaching. Education is, in fact, the most useful part of the science of the mind. It may be considered as a science in itself : it has its fixed laws, and the principles on which it is founded are drawn, by inductive reason- ing, from the physical and intellectual organisation of man, as also from his social condition ; it demands, in order to be well understood and properly applied, the deepest thought and the most patient investigation. Now, if this be so, we would ask how a man could know this science any more than that of mathematics or astronomy, without having studied it, or having even thought about it 1 If there be any such art as the art of teaching, we ask how it comes to pass that a man is considered fully qualified to exercise it without a day's study, when a similar attempt in any other art would expose him to ridicule. The profession on which all other professions depend demands a more severe apprenticeship than any, because it is the most important in its effects, the most comprehensive in its objects, and the most intricate in its details. It must be acquired in normal schools, or by practising under eminent professors, and by studying the most important works which have been written and are daily published on the subject of education. Normal schools, however, conducted as they usually are in England and France, do not sufficiently take into considera- tion the primary wants of the pupils. M. Salvandy, minister of public instruction under Louis Philippe, has proposed a reform in this department, which is much needed. In adverting to the subject he says, "Our pedagogical institutions have been calcu- lated to add instruction to instruction ; but the science of teach- ing and, especially, the science of education, are taught nowhere. Our special schools make grammarians, Latin and Greek scholars, mathematicians, and philosophers ; nothing shows that they pre- pare their pupils to be professors and educators."* They, in truth, forward them in every department of knowledge, except the one which is the most useful to them, namely, a knowledge of the human constitution, physical, moral, and intellectual. They are completely silent on the science of education and on the art of teaching. The characteristic feature of the instruction of such establishments ought to be the predominance of peda- gogical subjects, consisting chiefly in lectures on the history ol » Rapport au Roi, Dec. 6, 1845. 184 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II. education among the most civilised nations, in the study of the faculties as regards the training of children, in an investigation, explanation, and comparison of the best methods of tuition, and in a minute inquiry into the duties and qualifications of the teacher. The educator must have a thorough knowledge of the human faculties and propensities ; for they are the materials on which he has to operate. He must 1 >e able to distinguish the shades of difference which exist in the various dispositions and capacities of children ; otherwise he could not discriminate where the blame should end and where the praise should commence ; nor can he assign suitable tasks to their different degrees of intellect. He must exercise and bring to maturity their intellectual powers ; he must foster and cherish in their hearts noble and generous sentiments ; he must devise and prosecute the best modes of sowing and cultivating the seeds of knowledge. With a view to study more completely the natural laws which govern the physical, moral, and mental constitution of man, the educator ought not perhaps to neglect phrenology. Although all the principles of this science are not generally admitted, an investigation of the doctrines of its most eminent votaries could not fail to produce useful results : already it has drawn forth many interesting facts respecting the functions of the brain and the nervous system. Alchymy, absurd as it was, has led to very important discoveries ; it was the parent of chemistry. How widely soever the phrenological theory may differ from received notions, when we consider the number of its advocates, and the eminence of some of them, we cannot refrain from thinking that there must be in it something worthy the attention of those who sincerely and earnestly wish to study the faculties and propensities of childhood. Sect. III.— IMPORTANCE OF THE TEACHER'S OFFICE. The teacher who is in possession of the qualifications and professional knowledge which we have but feebly sketched, has in his power to accomplish extensive good. His influence on society is incalculable ; he is the best promoter of man's pros- perity in life, the true apostle of civilisation. His office is, iD reality, the most important ; for, as Plato remarks, and Barthe- lemy after him, "On the education of youth depends the fate of Sec. III.] IMPORTANCE OP THE TEACHER'S OFFICE. 185 empires."* "I will," observes Goldsmith, "be bold enough to say that schoolmasters in a state are more necessary than clergymen, as children stand in more need of instruction than parents."! The learned professions derive their respectability and con- sideration from the knowledge which their duties are supposed to require, from the responsibility which they assume, and the liberality with which it is thought they would sacrifice every expectation of profit for the advantage of those who confide their dearest interests to them. Does the profession of the edu- cator yield, in this respect, to any other 1 Does it assume less responsibility 1 Does it exhibit less self-denial, less zeal for public good ? Surely not. The physician operates on matter, the teacher on mind ; the influence of the physician is confined to the individuals who are under his care ; whereas the influence of the teacher extends, through the virtues or vices, through the knowledge or igno- rance of his pupils, to the whole community and to succeeding generations. Can there be a doubt which of the two professions is of greater importance to society ? If, for the most part, we yield the direction of our conscience to the care of the clergyman, if we trust our fortune and our good name to the abilities of the lawyer, to the educator we implicitly abandon what is equally dear to us — the direction of the minds and of the hearts of our children, — their success in life, their happiness in this world, and, perhaps, their eternal condition in that which is to come. High as is the position of the legislator, as the guardian of public liberty and happiness, that of the instructor is still higher ; for laws, to be efficacious, must already exist in the manners and habits of a nation ; and these, if not the creation of the instructor, are much under his influence, and depend no less on his example than on his tuition. He who thoroughly fulfils his task, is more than a parent. It is the teacher who makes the man, the citizen, the living soul. There is no profession more responsible and more elevated than that which, as Dr. Thomas Brown beautifully expresses it, "has the charge of training the ignorance and imbecility of infancy into all the virtue, and power, and wisdom of maturer manhood, of forming, of a creature the frailest and feeblest, perhaps, which heaven has made, the intelligent and fearless » Voyages du Jcune Anacharsis. t The Bee. Education. 186 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II sovereign of the whole animated creation, the interpreter, and adorer, and almost the representative of the Divinity.'* Lord Brougham justly appreciated the high position which the educator ought to occupy in modern society, when he said, "The schoolmaster, and not the cannon, will henceforth be the arbiter of the world. * * * His progress 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." t Sect. IV— SOCIAL POSITION OF THE TEACHER. We have seen what is the position in society to which the educator is entitled ; let us now examine how he stands in this country. Many consider themselves his superiors, who not only are greatly his inferiors in mental and moral acquirements, but whose pursuits in life are much beneath the occupation in which he is engaged. He shares, in fact, in the neglect (alluded to in a preceding Book) to which an undue and exclusive regard for birth, titles, and money, leads the English to consign all the votaries of science and literature. But, on this subject, we prefer to state the opinions of English writers, lest our own should be taxed with partiality as coming from a foreigner. Sir David Brewster, after having contrasted the disgraceful indifference entertained here for the professors of science, with the high estimation in which they are held on the continent, and the honours conferred on them by all enlightened governments, goes on to say, "No statute, indeed, disqualifies them from holding the titles which reward the services of other men ; but custom, as powerful as statute, has torn all such hopes from their grasp ; and, while the mere possessor of animal courage, one of the most common qualities of the species, has been loaded with every variety of honours, the professor of the highest endowments of the mind, — he whom the Almighty has chosen to make known the laws and mysteries of his works, — he who has devoted his life, and sacrificed his health and the interests of his family, in the most profound and ennobling pursuits, is allowed to live in poverty and obscurity, and to sink into the grave without one mark of the affection and gratitude of his country. And why does England thus persecute the votaries of her * Philosophy 0/ the Mind. j Speech in Liverpool, 20th July, 1835. Bfic. IV.] SOCIAL POSITION OF THE TEACHEE. 187 science ? Why does she depress them to the level of her hewers of wood and her drawers of water 1 It is because science flatters no courtier, mingles in no political strife, and brings up no reserve to the minister, to swell his triumph or break his fall. She is persecuted, because she is virtuous ; dishonoured, because she is weak."* " Mere teaching, like mere literature," says Dr. Arnold, "places a man in rather an ecpiivocal position : he holds no undoubted station in society by these alone ; for neither edu- cation nor literature have ever enjoyed that consideration and general respect in England, which they enjoy in France and in Germany.'t Far from meeting with liberal encouragement, the teacher is denied what he is entitled to, courtesy as a gentleman, esteem as a man of cultivated mind, and gratitude as a benefactor. Such a state of things is worthy of the feudal times, when it was the interest of political rulers to keep the people in darkness ; for to discourage the teacher is to encourage ignorance. If, as has been justly remarked, his social position be a perfect index of the real mind of society on the subject of education, we must only deplore the spirit of the present age. "Nothing can more clearly indicate a low state of public morals than the vulgar disrespect and parsimonious remuneration with which the teacher is sometimes requited."* The depreciation of the teacher's useful services is particularly seen in the case of resident tutors and governesses. " The ill- treatment to which," says a modern writer, " this class of persons is too frequently exposed in private families, has lowered their attainments and moral bearing ; and the lowered character and pretensions of instructors, by an inevitable reaction, has di- minished the respect in which they are held by parents, subject- ing' them to a still more galling ill-treatment. This vice in the social arrangements, which, by the bye, is, in a great degree, peculiar to the British isles, could not exist, if parents possessed a requisite knowledge of the true value of education, and of the qualities it demands in the instructor." " For the higher class of male instructors, it is true, the pres- tige of a university education, and a prevailing reverence for the clerical character, do something towards raising them above the * Decline, of Science in England. Quart. Rev., Oct., 1830. j Life, and Correspondence. A. P. Stanley. Let. 193. X Mrs. Ellis. The Women of England. 1S8 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Cum-. IT. condition of menials, — forcing from the most ignorant and vulgar-minded some show of decent respect ; hut, even in their case, the avarice, Avhich seeks to remunerate their noble services by the lowest possible salary, gives a true measure of the position they hold in the estimation of their employers. Much worse does it fare with the teachers of minor academies, and tutors brought into houses of an inferior caste ; but, of all the degraded, dispiriting positions in which intellectual and virtuous poverty can be thrust, that of the governess is commonly the most revolting and the most digraceful to the society by whose opinions it is determined."* In the great majority of cases, when parents place their children in the hands of a teacher, they absurdly wish him to do every thing for them ; and not only do they neglect giving him assistance, but they frequently take every pains to render the fulfilment of his task impossible. By the little regard or sympathy which they evince for him, they instil into the hearts of young people feelings of antipathy against him, which coun- teract the effect of his best exertions : few parents ever visit him as a friend, or invite him to their houses ; some make their children the bearers of disagreeable messages to him, or listen with complacency to their distorted and malicious reports of him, or his school ; while others most incautiously express, within their hearing, opinions unfavourable to him, and calculated to lower him in their estimation. They require of him the greatest service which a man can expect from another ; and yet, in their unconsciousness of the importance of that service, they commonly treat him with the most barefaced ingratitude, and are often even shamefully remiss in fulfilling their pecuniary engagements towards him, taking as little notice of his demand for fees so painfully earned — nay, a debt so sacred — as they would of a tailor's bill. Although unacquainted with the details of teaching, or the relative worth of the different branches of knowledge, many parents, in the absence of a regular recognised system of instruc- tion, presume to dictate to experienced teachers the co\irse which they ought to pursue ; they sometimes value most what is least important, and are regardless of their children's improvement in really useful acquirements ; not a few imagining that education consists solely in the learning of lessons, and, anxious to obtain immediate and ostensible value for their money, judge of the * Journal of Education, No. 17. Sec. V.] INCOMPETENCY OF TEACHERS, &c. 189 merit of a teacher by the number of tasks imposed on his pupils ; some unreasonably demand a general exemption from punish- ment for their children, and others are so unmercifully cruel, that we have known boys to be removed from school for not being, as the parents thought, sufficiently flogged. Thus are educators selected or discarded on the most frivolous and unwar- rantable grounds. There are some parents also who, always ready to make the teacher an object of terror to the young, carry inconsistency so far as to complain to him of their idleness at home, or to insist on his punishing them for faults committed out of school and under the paternal roof. Unable to maintain their own autho- rity, they give their children habits of indolence and insubordi- nation, and, afterwards, thoughtlessly call upon the schoolmaster to remedy the evils of their own mismanagement ; but, in most cases, his efforts must be vain ; and he is blamed for a failure which ought to be attributed solely to themselves. These and innumerable other evils in ordinary education will continue to exercise the most baneful influence on society as long as youth is abandoned by the state to the ignorance of parents, and to the pretensions of every adventurer who speculates on that ignorance. The unlimited and unprotected liberty of education is the plague of Great Britain. - Sect. V. -INCOMPETENCY OF TEACHERS ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENTS. The office of instructor ought, perhaps, to rank with the magistracy ; and yet it is the last that any one will choose. It is, with few exceptions, embraced by persons of inferior merit. It is taken up as a last resource by those who have failed in every other calling. But if so many incompetent persons crowd the avenues of tuition, the blame lies on society. Education is not generally appreciated, although its eulogy is in everybody's mouth ; hence the business of teaching does not secure a respect- able social position ; nor does it offer a fair chance of realising an independence — two powerful motives by which men of capacity and information are guided in the choice of a pro- fession. The art of educating has, consistently with the mer- cantile habits of the people, been made a trade, and that trade, from the ignorance and indifference of society in educational 190 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II. matters, has become discreditable, laborious, thankless, and unprofitable. Many parents, being unacquainted with the principles and the essentials of education, are unable to judge of the competency, or estimate the merit of an instructor, and are often influenced in their selection of one by mere pecuniary considerations. They absurdly imagine that any teacher is good enough for a very young child ; to a paltry economy they sacrifice his future prospects : they run the risk of his imbibing errors and evil habits which no expense or labour can afterwards effectually remove. The fallacies of such notions is sufficiently proved by what precedes, and will be rendered more obvious still through- out this work. All the anxiety, the trouble, the sacrifices of the instructor, without mentioning his actual services, are above what gold can repay ; and yet how many wealthy mothers are there who, while they are extravagantly expensive in their dress, their household, their table, their equipages, and all other personal expenditure, aim at sordid economy in everything regarding the education of their children. They never purchase any but a high-priced article of jewellery, dress, or furniture, aware that it is always the most serviceable ; yet, forgetting that none but incompetent teachers are willing to accept low terms, they do not hesitate to offer to any person who would undertake the education of their children what an upper-servant would scorn to accept ! Those who make cheapness the highest recommenda- tion of instruction, lay the foundation of their children's misery. They must take the blame on themselves if those children do not turn out as well as they expected. What Plutarch said on this subject is applicable at the present day : — " There are parents who carry so far the love of money, and indifference for the good of their children, that, from a sordid economy, they select for them tutors without any merit, and whose ignorance is always cheap. Aristippus made one day a pertinent answer to one of these despicable men. As he asked the latter fifty drachms for educating his son, ' How!' exclaimed the father, 'with that sum I would purchase a slave !' 'Do so,' said Aristippus, ' and then you will have two.' " * The preposterously humble position assigned to the teacher in society, the denial of sympathy for his exertions, and the little value set on his services, are fraught with evil. Slighted and * Of the Education of Children. Sec. V.] INCOMPETENCY OF TEACHERS, &c. 191 discouraged as he is, he naturally retaliates on society, by a reci- procation of disregard for the parents and indifference for their children ; aware, besides, that an increase of ability will not meet with its due reward, or extra solicitude for his pupils with grateful acknowledgment, he feels no desire for self-improvement, or exertion beyond the strict boundaries of his duty. He is, perhaps, of all professional men the most indifferent about acqui- ring information concerning his profession. Physicians, chemists, or engineers, read with eagerness everything which relates to their pursuits, and investigate every new discovery which pro- poses to improve their respective arts ; but the greater number of instructors, female teachers especially, although generally unacquainted with the art of teaching, to which they have served no apprenticeship, seldom open a book on education, or inquire into the various methods of instruction which daily appear. It must be said also, in justice to the profession, that in many instances, the scantiness of their earnings does not permit them to purchase the books which they ought to study ; and, in the case of resident instructors, time is rarely allowed them for self- improvement. Every attempt which has been made in this country to diffuse among teachers the information they so much need has proved unsuccessful. In other departments of knowledge, journals, magazines, and reviews, whether literary or scientific, medical, mechanical, or even phrenological, prosper under the auspices of a large community of readers ; but the various periodicals which, for the last twenty years, have appeared in succession on matters relative to education, have not been able to prolong their exist- ence beyond four or five years ; and, at this moment, the two small periodicals on education, which are published monthly in England, meet with very inadequate support. In this anomalous state of things, with an ignorance of the requisites of education on the part of both parents and teachers, we cannot be surprised to see so many of the latter promise more than they can accomplish, unqualified, as they are, to fulfil the important duties of their office. How frequently do we hear of governesses who undertake to teach everything — fancy-work and history, penmanship and geography, arithmetic and compo- sition, dancing and astronomy, French, music, painting, and we know not what else. Jennies of all trades, who give their pupils a very liberal education for a very trifling remuneration. A respectable professor of mathematics would not venture on 192 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II. teaching the fine arts, nor a professor of music the sciences ; no man, in fact, but a quack, would lay claim to the mastery of two opposite brandies of instruction ; and females, mere girls, even, who have received but a very ordinary education, will often undertake to teach the most heterogeneous medley, enough to engross the attention of a dozen men of the most comprehensive minds. But so great is the blindness of some parents, that they confide the education of their young families to inexperienced women, who can know nothing of the art of teaching, and very little of the things which they profess to teach ; for, in most cases, their limited means have not permitted them to obtain a liberal education ; in fact, owing to the unjust depreciation in which the ministers of education are held, none but persons in the inferior walks of life adopt teaching as a profession, with the exception, pei-haps, of a few who are driven into it by misfortune. Sect. VI.— MEANS OF RAISING THE PROFESSION IN PUBLIC ESTIMATION. The career of instruction will continue to be pursued by persons of inferior merit, so long as it does not offer to its candi- dates the consideration bestowed on the learned professions, and which is claimed by those who, in the consciousness of self- dignity, feel their own superiority. It is the business of a government truly anxious for the good of the people to employ every means to raise in public estimation the educational office. Parents have it not in their power to effect any change in this respect : they are, in general, incompetent to decide what is to be taught, and how it is to be taught ; nor have they any means of judging of the competency of teachers ; the government alone can ascertain their qualifications, elevate their general standard of attainments, prescribe the most useful course of instruction for the different callings of society, propagate the best methods of teaching, and institute normal schools as a first elemeut of national education. Whilst the liberty of studies should be unrestrained, the liberty of teaching should be subjected to the restrictions de- manded by common prudence, by the well-being of society, and the respect due to the profession. Instructors should be required to prepare seriously for their office ; they should pass examina- tions, take degrees, and obtain diplomas. The art of educating and instructing shoidd, in fact, be made a fourth learned profession. Sec. VI.] RAISING THE PROFESSION IN PC13LIC ESTIMATION. 193 Upon these grounds a recompense worthy of the service would be offered to the teacher, who would thereby rise in public estimation ; for, in this country, more than in any other, wealth is the test of respectability. Superior minds would then be found to devote their time and abilities to tuition ; so that the average of capacity, information, and Independence becoming high among the members of the educational profession, their social position would be proportionably elevated. In the mean time, teachers ought to unite their efforts to redress the grievances under which they have too long suffered. By holding conferences and forming associations among them- selves, they could compare each other's views, and, hence, improve their methods of instruction, raise their qualifications, and elevate their professional character. By these means, also, they would render more efficient services to the community ; and, finally, influence as well as enlighten public opinion* However, none of these means, indispensable as they are for elevating the profession and, consequently, the standard of morality and intellectuality among the people, would be so effective as the interference of the State in orsfanisinsc for all classes a liberal system of National Education, in rescuing teachers from the control of parents, and in creating among them a grada- tion of rank and emolument, analogous to that which exists in the church and the army. A prospect of advancement is indis- pensable, to attach superior minds to any career or profession. The government should confer honorary distinctions, or pensions, on the teachers who, by the length of their services, the success of their methods, the improvement of some branch of instruction or by any other means, have effectually promoted the objects of education and thus advanced the great cause of humanity and civilisation. " If this were the country it boasts itself to be," says Mr. Wyse ; " if it were a country in which the public really aspired to elevate the human mind, to assign to intellectual superiority its proper station, long since its laws would have regarded the profession of teacher as one, in a great degree, invested with paternal and religious rights.t " This eminent educationist, not satisfied with * The Royal College of Preceptors, lately instituted with a view to advance educa- tion by the improvement of educators and schools, has already effected considerable good towards this desirable object. If the generous efforts of its enlightened members are responded to by the public, a boon of inestimable value will be conferred on this country. t Speech in the House of Commons. VOL. I. O 194 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Cn.vr. II. showing the necessity of education reform, has, with a philanthrop • and a superiority of talent, which have raised his name among the highest and the most revered, laid out a complete system of national education, the practicability of which is based on the combined interests and powers of the government and the people- If this system be adopted, it will infallibly raise, not only the social position of the educator, but the moral and intellectual character of the British nation. On the Continent, in France especially, although the profession is not much better remunerated than in England, professors, like all scientific and literary men, enjoy the consideration which their talents, learning, and services may claim. They move in the first circles ; the career of honours and fortune is opened to them ; capacity and knowledge obtain for them places of trust and elevated positions in society. Many of the university pro- fessors have held, and many still hold, a distinguished rank among the representatives, ambassadors, and ministers of state. We have not heard that professors of British universities or scientific and literary men, however high they stand in the learned world, have, as such, obtained any of those public offices to which every lordling has access, however destitute of information and intellect. Sect. VII— FRENCH TEACHERS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. It is especially in reference to the learning of French in schools, that the degradation of the profession and the consequent incompe- tency of its members are pernicious to learners. Every foreign adventurer can, with some probability of success, offer himself as a teacher of his own language, if his terms be low and his promises high. People who cannot find employment at home, speculating on the prevailing taste for the study of foreign languages, go abroad to teach their native idiom, without any preparation. AYe are told by Goldsmith that, having gone to Holland with an intention of teaching English to the natives, it was only on arriving in that country he discovered that the knowledge of Dutch, of which he was completely ignorant, was indispensable for effecting his object. Many persons forget not only, like Goldsmith, to learn the language of their future pupils, but also, very frequently, their own. The situation of French teacher in seminaries for either boyl or girls, is often filled by persons who seek it as a relief from Sec. VII.] FRENCH TEACHERS IN GREAT BRITAIN, &c. 195 distress, and who, incapable of rising at home above inferior occupations, are, for the most part, utterly unacquainted with the genius and elegancies of their native idiom, or by young foreigners who, on landing in this country, are glad to assume the office, however low the salary, because it at once secures them a liveli- hood and procures them the means of learning English. But, so soon as they have acquired a smattering of the language, they seek a more independent and more lucrative occupation, or they return home to avail themselves, behind the counter of some mercer in Paris, of the advantages which they expect from this new acquisition. Thus, is a succession of inexperienced and incompetent teachers kept up in those establishments. These foreigners, under the many difficulties incident to their peculiar position, try their first experiments in teaching on the unfortunate children confided to their care. Not being well ac- quainted with the language of their pupils, they cannot, with any profit to them, or satisfaction to themselves, carry on the work of instruction. Their broken English is an incessant cause of merriment and inattention on the part of young people, often prejudiced against them and naturally more inclined to indulge in sport, than to make the effort necessary for understanding them. Not only are they unable to convey much serious infor- mation, but their inexperience and the little moral authority with which they are invested, do not even permit them to maintain a proper discipline among their pupils. This department of instruction is equally defective when it falls into the hands of English persons, especially females. The culpable carelessness of parents in this respect, causes them easily to misplace their confidence. They are usually satisfied about the competency of any teacher who tells them he has studied under a foreigner of repute, or has been on the continent ; although he may have received only a dozen lessons from that foreigner, or have been abroad only six or eight weeks ; although even he may be so ignorant of the language as to be but a day in advance of his pupil and be obliged to prepare every lesson before giving it. This sort of imposition is practised to a sur- prising extent in this country ; and yet it can scarcely be otherwise in a social constitution so favourable to quackery. Advertise- ments and puffs reign paramount here ; and the English have the reputation of being the most easily gulled people in Europe. Every thing is matter of speculation in this mercantile commu- nity ; and objects of education being considered as articles of o* 2 196 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. II. trade, are the more readily brought down to the lowest price, as their nature seldom admits of a prompt exhibition ; the purchaser — the parent — is unwilling to pay much for things which he is compelled to take upon trust, and often is as unable to estimate their quality as the consumer — the child — is careless of their acquisition. Second-hand French will continue to supply the market abundantly, as long as there is a demand for cheap intellectual commodities. Women may be very good educators, but they certainly are, in general, very bad instructors. The piety and affections which fill their hearts, beget that earnest solicitude for the well-being of childhood, which is the best promoter of moral training ; but the superficial knowledge, which, in the present anomalous state of national education, society has allotted to them as their share of instruction, does not usually permit them to impart solid infor- mation to their young charge. It would, perhaps, be difficult to find a woman really well informed, who has been educated exclu- sively by female teachers. Women, with few exceptions, cannot properly direct the intellectual faculties of children, because they rarely study the constitution of the human mind ; nor can they teach the principles of language, because they know but little of the laws which govern the relations between words and ideas. Their scanty stock of knowledge does not permit them to confer on their pupils the intellectual benefits of the comparative course, which demands, on the part of the instructor, extensive and deep information. They may, however, by the adoption of the natural process, most effectually teach a young child how to speak a foreign language, provided they can speak it themselves, and reside in the family. Their communicative dispositions and unbounded sympathy for infancy, guide them admirably in administering to their first need of language. The inmates of convents, and all monastic seminaries which enforce upon them seclusion from the world, constitute another class of inefficient teachers of living languages ; for, even granting that monks, nuns, or other recluses may have, at one time, been acquainted with the living languages which they pretend to teach, they must rapidly forget them for want of opportunities of practising them. The words, the phraseology, and the idioms of a language, together with its pronunciation and accent, should occasionally strike the ear in order to be reproduced by the tongue in its genuine purity. Foreigners themselves require to visit at times their native land, to refresh their memory and their early Sec. VII.] FRENCH TEACHERS IN GREAT BRITAIN, &c. 197 impressions of language. A person who has been a long time abroad, habitually speaking the language of the country where he resides, and who has ceased to hear his vernacular tongue, or, what is worse, who has been accustomed to hear it spoken in- correctly by his pupils or other persons, is not likely to preserve it uneont am mated and retain a command of it. Illustrations of this fact will be found in the last Section of Book XI. In the greater number of classical academies, living languages fare worse, if possible, than in convents ; because in such estab- lishments they are only of secondary consideration, and are often even looked upon as interfering with the business of the school. Those who teach them have a difficult part to play ; for the heads of such establishments are generally little versed in those languages ; and, from a natural feeling of pride, they do not encourage a branch of instruction which, we are to understand they have not thought it worth their while to acquire themselves. School-boys being thus led to believe that the living languages are mere accomplishments of a secondary order, pay but little attention to them. They learn the lessons allotted by the foreign teacher, after they have toiled through their Latin and Greek studies, on which alone the head-master insists. The foreign living language, thus looked upon as a work of supererogation and as an encroachment on their few moments of recreation, cannot meet with their sympathy ; and what is learned with distaste, is necessarily learned badly. This evil cannot be easily remedied when the Principal is unacquainted with the foreign language ; because, being unable then to judge of the progress of the learners, or of the abilities of their teacher, he has no control over this department of instruction in his school. Until modern languages are, in every respect, on a perfect equality with the ancient, in academical institutions, they will never be properly taught in those establishments by foreign teachers, whatever be their skill and information. We do not hesitate to declare again that, as long as instruction and the instructor do not stand higher in public estimation than they do now, learners will always be placed in the dilemma of studying foreign living languages either from their own countrymen in- capable of speaking them, or from foreigners ignorant of the art of teaching and destitute of literary acquirements. (10.) 198 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. III. CHAPTER III. METHOD. Sect. I.— ON THE PRESENT NEED OF A METHOD OF LEARNING LANGUAGES. We have, in the introductory book, laid down the general principles on which should be founded a rational system of education ; we will now, confining our attention to the particular object of this essay, briefly examine what ought to be the leading characteristics of a method of learning languages ; and par- ticularly take into consideration the most efficient means of shortening the period of classical studies without prejudice to the learners. " It is," says Burnouf, " by improving the methods of teaching, that we shall really, as desired by everybody, shorten the study of Latin."* More objects of instruction may enter in the scholastic course, when less time is given to each. " He who shortens the road to knowledge lengthens life." Hitherto, the process of acquiring either the ancient or the modern languages, resting not on philosophical principles, but on mere tradition and routine, has been subject to fluctuation, and often marked by the strangest innovations. The mode of acquiring every department of the study has, at different times and in different countries, undergone modifications which form, at the present day, a confused mass of heterogeneous processes. This confusion must be removed by the introduction of a system in strict conformity with the nature of the subject, the laws of the mental constitution, and the exigencies of modern society. It is particularly in the study of the principal languages of modern Europe that the want of a rational and universal method is much felt. These languages embrace so many different objects, and are learned under so many different cir- cumstances — at home or abroad, by infants or adults, for reading or conversation, under the direction of native or foreign teachers, * Fttite Grammaire Latine. Pref. Sec. I.] NEED OF A METHOD OF LEARNING LANGUAGES. 199 with or without an assistant — that the diversity of lights in which their acquisition is viewed, has naturally produced a corresponding diversity in the mode of effecting it. Every teacher of languages, on commencing his profession, bewildered by this confusion of processes, many of which are in direct opposition to one another, has to contrive a method for himself, or he must blindly follow the routine transmitted to him from past ages, with no other recommendation than its antiquity. The constant appeal to our forefathers in every thing which regards education, keeps the mind in bondage and plunges mankind into apathy. The world is now older than it was in the days of our ancestors : they were our j uniors ; they had only their own experience, we have theirs in addition to ours ; our minds are fed in our childhood with the fruit of their maturity ; we start in our career with many advantages of which they were deprived : we, consequently, ought to know more and be more capable of discerning right from wrong. It is then contrary to reason to sacrifice our views to theirs, and to make their opinions the standard of our conduct. A comprehensive system is, at the present day, much needed, for the safe guidance of teachers and learners in this department of instruction. Such a system, in order to be general in its application, must embrace all the objects proposed from the study of highly cultivated living languages ; for in these will be comprised the comparatively few exercises requisite for learning Greek or Latin. It must not, therefore, be wondered at, if our strictures on this subject, although applying to foreign languages in general, advert more frequently to the modern than to the ancient. When the objects aimed at are common to both, the process of learning will, with some trilling ex- ceptions, be found the same ; and, whenever they differ-, a particular course will be prescribed. However, as it would have been difficult to explain our system in general terms, we have more especially selected for its application, the French lan- guage, as being the most generally learned in Europe. The observations we shall make in the present chapter on the fundamental principles and the essential characteristics of a rational method, will, we hope, enable the reader to enter more readily into the spirit of our system, and follow its details more easily. As we proceed, we shall be more explicit, that nothing may be left to chance or ignorance ; for the inexperience of teachers, as well as of learners, often adds to the difficulties ■2n(< THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. III. attendant upon study. If rational methods were more general. apparent dulness and perverseness would be more rare than they are at present. Methods are necessary not to ordinary minds only ; the most creative genius may derive incalculable benefits from them, and has often been indebted to them for its highest conceptions. " If I have any advantage over other men," said Descartes, " I owe it to my method."* Those who devote themselves to the search of truth and the acquisition of knowledge, cannot be too careful in the choice of the instrument with which their object is to be effected. It is, however, difficult to decide what is the most judicious mode of proceeding in the pursuit. The science of method has yet to be created. " What ! " exclaims Joseph Droz, "for the last century, our arts have made immense progress, our manufactures have undergone admirable improvements, and the art of in- structing men should remain subject to the inconvenience of an absurd routine ! This is a melancholy proof that fathers think more of their fortimes than of their children." It is time to reject the worn-out machinery of our ancestors. Let us apply to mind, as we have long done to matter, new powers, new combinations, and new processes. Let a rational method of learning languages bring men of all nations into communion as steam has brought them into contact. Sect. II.— CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD METHOD. 1. A good Method subdivides the subjects of Study. It is in the faculties of man, and in their mode of action in the acquisition of knowledge, that we must seek for the general principles on which is based Methodology, or the science of method. The application of these principles to any one depart- ment of instruction constitutes a particular method, and varies according to the nature of the study and the ends proposed. Let us examine what are the characteristic features of the method by which languages may be best acquired. Classification is the fundamental law of a rational method ; for we should ascertain what things are to be learned, and in what order they are to be learned, before we think of the mode of * Discours de la MCthode. Sec. II.] CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD METHOD. 201 [earning them. Besides, the mind cannot effectively attend to several distinct things at the same time, if these are all equally new ; it musl be abstractedly engaged on one at a time. The study of language must, therefore, be subdivided into the branches which constitute the leading objects proposed from it, namely, the arts of understanding oral expression, of reading, speaking, and writing. It is essential to distinguish these ultimate objects from the exercises which, although requisite for attaining them, are, for the greater part, of little utility after the period of study. For want of sufficient distinction on this point, the ends and the means have often been confounded together, and the former sacrificed to the latter. The principles of subdivision and gradation, by concentrating the powers of the mind on one thing at a time, are most powerful in instruction, as well as in the affairs of life : a rational method of learning languages, in conformity with these principles, ought to indicate the successive operations which are necessary at the different stages of the acquisition, so that each may suitably prepare for that which follows, and that all may gradually concur to the end proposed. It ought to prescribe the order in which the different departments of the study may be successively entered upon. Throughout the course, and particularly at the outset, an accumulation of difficulties should be avoided, not to discourage the learner and thus damp his progress. As each object of study is secured, it becomes a starting point for other acquisitions. Each department of the language being successively rendered habitual by appropriate exercise, the mind will soon grasp them all with ease, whatever be their number. Such is the nature of the human mind that it embraces a multitude of elements without confounding them, when it is fully acquainted with the subject to which they belong ; but two objects suffice to perplex it, when it is engaged in acquiring them : if the beginner does not consider these two objects apart from each other, he confounds them, and may fail in knowing either. A language must be the more easily mas- tered, when all its parts have been taken separately and duly considered one after another. " Divide and conquer," the maxim of Machiavelli, " is a principle," said Dr. Johnson, " equally just in science as in politics." * In the subdivision of the study of a foreign language, the method should point out to the teacher and to the learner what * The Rambler No. 137. 202 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. III. comes within the sphere of action of each, and should unfold the special exercises which are requisite for the attainment of each particular branch. The extent of study may then be determined according to the nature of the language, the wants of the learner, the circumstances in which he may be placed. When, for example, he only wishes to understand books written in a foreign language, whether ancient or modern, his object will be the sooner accom- plished, if his attention be not diverted from it by extraneous exercise. One or two years may then suffice to acquire as much Latin as, by the common routine, is learned in five or six ; and a large portion of time will then be available, within the usual period of education, for attending to those branches of knowledge which have of late become indispensable. Time will also be saved and the period of learning again shortened, if the method be sparing of those preparatory exer- cises, which make the student forget the end in pursuit of the means, and which not only render his labour unprofitable, should he happen to change his course, but divest study of interest by concealing from him its ultimate and real object. Young persons are averse to the acquisition of any knowledge, the application of which is either remote or unperceived. If they are given only such exercises as are consistent with the end proposed and such as keep this end in view, they will be stimu- lated by their consciousness of the useful results to which their efforts may eventually lead. And as, on proceeding, they can apply their acquisition to practical purposes, success becomes a powerful incentive to exertion and a continual source of enjoy- ment : it is thus that a good method makes the learner find pleasure on the road of duty. The details of the study should be so contrived that each learner may direct his attention to the objects best suited to his wants. The medical student will then learn to read the language, the mercantile man to write it, the traveller to speak it ; those who propose to teach it will join theory to practice, and young people, who have much time in perspective, may attend to every department of the language. Sec. II.] CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD METHOD. 203 2. A good Method favours Self- Teaching. One of the chief characteristics of a good method consists in enabling learners to dispense with the assistance of a teacher when they are capable of self-government. It shoidd be so con- trived as to excite and direct their spontaneous efforts, and lead them to the conviction that they have the power, if they have the will, to acquire whatever man has acquired. The prevailing notion that we must be taught every thing is a great evil. The most extensive education given by the most skilful masters often produces but inferior characters ; that alone which we give to ourselves elevates us above mediocrity. The eminence attained by great men is always the result of their own industry. A rational method, by inciting the will of learners, brings their capabilities into action : it does not dispense with exertion, nor blindly force ready-made learning on the memory ; it shows the way of studying, of making discoveries. It devolves on the teacher to excite in his pupils the desire, and furnish them with the means of improving themselves ; for, without self-reliance and active co-operation on their part, all his instruc- tion must be unavailing. He cannot advance them a single step unless they make corresponding efforts. There is a vague notion widely prevalent, that instructors are able, by a power inherent in themselves, to fill the minds of their pupils with learning in spite of them ; but this is a sad mistake. The best informed teachers and the most elaborate methods of instruction can impart nothing of importance to the passive and inert mind. If even a learner succeeded in retaining and applying the facts enumerated to him, the mental acquisition would then be vastly inferior to that which the investigation of a single fact, the analysis of a single combination, by his unaided reason, would achieve. As, in the present mode of public instruction, students spend less time with the professor of foreign living languages than they do with the classical teacher, it is the more necessary that they should be afforded inducements and facilities for self-instruction in those idioms. In any pursuit, they should not do with their teacher what they can do by themselves ; thus, their progress will always be commensurate with their abilities, or their desire of learning, as also with the time they have for study in his absence, which, in every department of instruction, is usually 204 THE THREE GREAT Ad'.NTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. III. much longer tlian that which he can devote to them. He could then employ to their greatest advantage every moment he is with them, both in gi v i i ig them the advice or explanations they require, and in imparting such information as may supply the deficiencies, or correct the errors of their books. In the learning of the ancient languages, the application of this precept would prove most beneficial, as it would tend to shorten the period of classical studies. A language, more than any other branch of instruction, may, to a great extent, be acquired without the aid of a teacher ; for it is based on imitation. Primitive languages were formed by imitation ; the modern are derived from the ancient by imitation. " All languages," says the celebrated tutor of Elizabeth, " both learned and mother tongues, be gotten, and gotten solely by imitation."* As a child acquires, of himself, the vernacular tongue by imitating the living models, so does an adolescent learn foreign languages by imitating the written models : in either case, the frequency of impressions tends to secure the powers of ex- pression. If this great principle were well understood and properly applied, it would bring the knowledge of languages down to the level of the meanest capacities, and, in a great measure, within the grasp of those whose pecuniary means deny them the advantage of teachers. 3. — A good Method is applicable to public Instruction. One of the chief merits of a method is to render instruction accessible to all classes of society ; for it is really useful, in a national point of view, only inasmuch as it is practicable for the great majority. In this age of liberty and progress, when every individual, however humble his condition, may select the career in which he thinks he can best secure his advancement in life, or serve his country, the machinery of education should be contrived with a view to this philanthropic object. To instruct the greatest number in the shortest time, and at the smallest exj:>ense, con- sistent with efficiency, ought to be one of the first aims of a system of national education. In any community, even the most highly civilised, those who are capable or willing to impart inf< irmation, are few in compari- son with those who are in need of it. Teachers will therefore often be surrounded by large numbers of learners, — the larger * Roger Ascliam, the Schoolmaster. Sec.II.] uiakacteristics of A GOOD METHOD. 205 in proportion as the knowledge to be taught is the more useful, as is particularly the case with foreign languages. Too great an assemblage of students, however, must be avoided. A lecturer may address as large a class as his vocal powers permit ; the energy of his delivery and the efficiency of his instruction, increase even with the number of his hearers ; but a teacher, whose office consists not only in imparting information, but in examining and exercising his pupils, cannot effectually, within an hour or two, teach more than twenty in a class. "When the number of learners is limited, the professor can frequently call upon individuals to produce, to test, to apply the knowledge they have acquired ; he can remove their doubts, correct their errors, and afford them oppor- tunities for personal investigation. The subject o£ instruction being thus thoroughly handled and sifted, is considered in all its bearings, and fastens more firmly on the minds, than if the pupds were listeners only. The little encouragement offered to the educational profession, by deterring many competent persons from embracing it, tends to diminish still the number of instructors ; and the few who are willing to undertake the task are so miserably remunerated that, in their own defence, they endeavour to make up for the parsimony of parents by crowded classes. In this state of things, as it is impossible to collect into one class any number of pupils, whether children or adults, who can remain perfectly on a par throughout the course — since their age, capacity, inclination, time, and previous knowledge, must soon create considerable differences between them — it becomes urgent to adopt a method which shall provide for these diversities of progress in learners, that those who are below the average ability of the class may not be left in hopeless ignorance. It can be truly simultaneous only when it affords to persons of different degrees of proficiency the means of benefiting equally from the same master and the same instruction. All the exercises and mnemonic lessons which require a teacher to attend separately to individual learners should, in public schools, be superseded by such oral instruction as is suitable and profitable to all the members of a class. However, as this is not always practicable ; the mutual or monitorial process, which admits of endless variety of application, should be had recourse to, as the most effectual means of teaching large numbers and saving time and expense. While it brings the superior intelli- gence and knowledge of the higher scholars to bear upon those 206 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. III. who are less advanced in age and standing, it extends inde- finitely the benefit of public instruction. No system should assume an exclusive form ; it should, on the contrary, vary with the ages, capacities, and wants of the learners. A method, to be truly rational and useful, must bring the objects of study within the grasp of the meanest capacity ; it should ensure the profi- ciency, if not of all, at least of a large portion of students. The invariable uniformity of the ordinary scholastic method, and its total disregard of the diversified circumstances of learners, are partly the causes of its ill success. Under its baneful influence, the great majority of boys pass through the classical course, without gaining an adequate knowledge of ancient literature. The work of self-tuition, recommended above, and monitorial teaching, will greatly facilitate the adaptation of a method to public schools ; because, in the first case, the improvement of learners, not depending on the professor so much as on them- selves, will always advance according to their respective appli- cation and industry ; and, in the second, the diligent students, instead of being kept back by the indolence or dulness of their class-fellows, will not only enable these to keep pace with them, but be afforded a new means of improvement ; for, by teaching what they know, they will know it better. The professor's task being thus lightened, he will be the better enabled to attend to what exclusively devolves on him, and to what may be bene- ficial to all his pupils in class. His business will chiefly consist, as it ought, in showing them how to think and how to learn, rather than in hearing or teaching them ; this is the assis- tance most required by learners, and most suitable in public instruction. 4. A good Method is in accordance with Nature. The natural process by which the vernacular idiom is acquired demonstrates what can be done by self-instruction, and pi-esents the best model for our imitation in devising a method of learn- ing languages. Without premeditated design on his part to learn, or on that of his parents to teach him the language, a young child unconsciously gains the power of understanding it when spoken. From the moment his perceptive faculties are in full activity, prompted by curiosity, he notices the looks, the tones, the gestures, which accompany the phraseology addressed to him, and, aided by sympathy, he readily apprehends the idea Sec. II.l CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD METHOD. 207 conveyed by the language of action. Once in possession of the idea, he instinctively associates it with the phraseology, the representative character of which becomes obvious to him by repetition. Thus he gradually masters the import of words, and finally understands the articulate language independently of the natural signs. As the child, afterwards, wishes to express his particular wants and feelings, he instinctively repeats the expressions he has heard : but mostly modifies them conformably to others which are familiar to him ; he adapts to different words, the order, verbal inflections, and grammatical concord, which he has heard used on similar occasions. If, for example, he hears the following phrases : / like a good child ; John will eat the cakes ; he will, according as the case requires, repeat these phrases verbatim, or modify them one by the other, and form similar ones which he never heard before ; he will alter them somewhat as follows : / like a good cake ; I ivill eat good cakes ; John eats cokes; John will like the cake, &c. When he repeats the expres- sions which he has heard, he speaks by imitation ; when he alters them, he speaks by analogy. The one exercises his memory, the other his judgment. Such imitations and analogies, the first manifestations of his dawning reason, permit him always to suit his language to his social wants ; analogy, especially, enables him to multiply his expressions in proportion to his increasing stock of ideas. It is from imitation and analogy that custom derives its authority in language. Curiosity, sympathy, and perception, are sufficient to enable a young child to understand what is said — imitation and analogy to enable him to speak. The same result would be obtained in a foreign language, if these various faculties could be made to act a prominent part in the learning of it, but this cannot always be done completely ; two of these faculties — sympathy and per- ception — are more especially suited to the social condition of infancy, and are not generally available in acquiring a foreign language after this period. However, our mental constitution provides for this deficiency, because their place is efficiently supplied by imagination and conception, which act respectively in the absence of persons and things as sympathy and percep- tion do in their presence. With regard to the other three faculties, — curiosity, imitation, and analogy, — they are active and efficient at every period of life, and ought, consequently, to be resorted to in a rational method. 208 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. Ill- Although circumstances do not always permit the complete adaptation of the method of nature to the study of a foreign language, the fundamental principles on which it rests should always be kept in view, namely, example and practice. By these principles the child is easily and successfully led from the ideas to the signs, from the phraseology to the words, from the facts of language to the rules of grammar. By them also he may be led in a foreign, as in the native tongue, from hear- ing to speaking, and from reading to writing. The practical process of nature must also be taken as a guide in tracing the path which, through a gradual conquest of diffi- culties, may lead to the full possession of a language, that is, the power of thinking in it. It cannot be said to be known, unless its expressions directly and instantaneously awake the ideas which they represent, or flow from the lips as the offspring of thought. The object of language is to associate signs with ideas, ex- pressions with impressions. To know it is to possess the double power of conceiving ideas on hearing or seeing their signs, and reproducing these same signs orally or in writing, on conceiving the corresponding ideas. These two elements of language are alternately cause and effect, and exercise a reciprocal action on each other. Their close association in the mind being indispen- sable to the complete knowledge of a foreign language, the method should direct the practice towards the accomplishment of this object. The more closely we imitate nature in the acqui- sition of a foreign language, the more readily shall we think in that language. 5. A good Method comprises Analysis and Synthesis. The complete knowledge of a language consists in the power of using it readily in all its forms and in every way in which it is required. This power depends on example more than on precept, on practice more than on theory. None of these great principles, however, should be neglected ; a good method employs them all in turn. As example and practice present materials for decomposition and classification, so precept and theory assist in recomposing the elements into their syntactical combinations and in generalising the facts of language. In the study of the arts, decomposition and recomposition, classifi- cation and generalisation, are the ground-work of creation. Sec. II.] CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD METHOD. 209 "We call analysis the method which rests on example and practice, and leads by induction to the principles under which the facts of language may be classed ; and synthesis, the method which makes precept and theory the starting point from which to arrive, by deduction, at the forms of expression. Analysis, the method of nature, presents a whole, subdivides it into its parts, and from particulars infers a general truth ; synthesis, the method of philosophy, sets out from general truths to reproduce the particulars, and deduces all the consequences which flow from given principles. The analytical method brings the learner in immediate contact with the objects of study ; it presents to him models for decomposition and imitation. The synthetical method disregards example and imitation ; it turns the attention of the learner to principles and rides, in order to lead him, by an indirect course, to the objects of study. In the acquisition of a foreign language, translation into the native tongue, the learning of words from the connected dis- course — either in hearing or reading, — the study of the foreign writers, the expressing of ideas by analogy with the standard phraseology, and the discovery of grammatical principles by induction from the language, are examples of the analytical process. The learning of words, definitions, and rides of gram- mar, as an introduction to the study of a foreign language, and the writing of grammatical exercises, are examples of the synthe- tical process. The former is not only the more direct process ot the two, it is also the more expeditious and the more efficient, as is proved by the manner in which nature teaches the verna- cular tongue, contrasted with that in which a foreign language is usually taught in schools. The reason of the inefficiency of synthesis is, that a knowledge of principles implying a knowledge of the particulars on which they are founded, princqdes and all abstract notions are difficult of comprehension and application to him who is unacquainted with those particulars. By analysis we discover truths ; by synthesis we transmit them to others : hence the former is called the method of in- vention, and the latter the method of doctrine. Analysis, con- sistently with the generation of ideas and the process of nature, makes the learner pass from the known to the unknown ; it leads him, by inductive reasoning, to the object of study, and is both interesting and improving, as it keeps the mind actively engaged. Synthesis, on the contrary, which imposes truths and sets out with abstractions, presents little interest, and few means VOL. I. p 210 THE THBEE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. III. of mental activity in the first stages of instruction. But, although it yields to analysis in efficiency, for all practical purposes, it should not be entirely rejected ; it is necessary for completing the work commenced by analysis. These two processes are a mutual assistance and proof to each other. In a rational method we should follow the natural course of mental investigation ; we should proceed from facts up to principles, and then from prin- ciples down to consequences ; we should begin with analysis and conclude with synthesis. 6. A good Method is both Practical and Comparative. A good method should not only facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, but should also improve the mental capabilities of the learner. Useful, then, as a second language may be, either to extend his circle of communication, or to multiply his sources of information, it will assume a much greater importance, if its study be made subservient to a more profound knowledge of the native tongue, to the formation of taste, and the cultivation of the intellectual powers. The benefits derived from a foreign language, considered as a vehicle for receiving and communicating ideas, are consequent on a knowledge of it, and commensurate with the wealth of its literature, with the advancement in science of the nation to which it belongs, and with the number of persons who use it habitually. But the other benefits — improvement in the native tongue and intellectual discipline — which arise from the very exercises by which the foreign language is learned, are only incidental, and depend not so much on the language as on the method jmrsued in its acquisition. There are two distinct modes of proceeding in learning a foreign language ; the one is the practical or natural process, the other the comparative or artificial. The former is the more rapid and the more successful for merely acquiring the use of a lan- guage ; but the latter, although a slow mode of proceeding, is the only means by which the incidental benefits can be secured. It is by practice that the language, either spoken or written, may be rendered familiar to learners, and that its materials — the words and phraseology — may be acquired, recollected, and applied. By practice, also, is effected in the mind the immediate association of signs and ideas, which holds an important place in a good Sec. II.] CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD METHOD. 211 method, as being indispensable to a complete knowledge of a foreign language. But the other acquisitions, which are far more valuable, although only incidental, are obtained by a fre- quent comparison of the foreign with the native tongue, which arises from the study of the one through the other. The various ways of considering the two languages relatively to each other and the investigations which bear on their respective genius, lead to a succession of analytical and synthetical processes which highly cultivate observation and judgment. The resemblances and differences which exist between the two idioms being thus constantly brought into view by reciprocal translations, elicit in a striking manner the principles which are peculiar to each or common to both ; in other words, initiate learners into a know- ledge of particular and general grammar. In transferring into one language the ideas expressed in another, the translation may be either literal or free — that is, it may follow verbatim the words and construction of the original text, or depart from them to conform to the idiom and genius of the language in which it is made. In either case, the translation, to be faithful, should convey the identical ideas of the original. The literal and the free translation perform, each, an equally im- portant part in the comparative study of a second language. The details of the course of instruction ought to show when one is to be preferred to the other, what benefit arises to the learners from translating orally or in writing, as also from rendering the foreign into the native tongue, or vice versd, and how far these different kinds of translation assist in learning the foreign idiom, or improving in the native. The practical and the comparative methods have each their distinct sphere of action : the former exercises the powers of perception, imitation, and analogy : the latter, those of reflection, conception, comparison, and reasoning ; the first leads to the art, the second to the science of language. The practical process requires little mental effort, and leads instinctively to a mastery of a language ; the comparative process, on the contrary, by presenting difficulties which unceasingly call the reflective powers into action, inures the learners to self-reliance, self-direction, and intellectual labour, which constitute its chief merit as an instru- ment of moral and mental discipline. The one teaches how to use a language, the other how to use the higher faculties of the mind. The combination of both would constitute the most efficient system. p2 212 THE THREE GREAT AGENTS OF EDUCATION. [Chap. III. Daily experience offers striking illustrations of the incomplete results of these two methods, when pursued separately. Those who have been confined to practice in acquiring their own or a foreign language, have not, by this acquisition, added much to their original stock of mental activity ; and, although they may speak either language with great volubility, they are generally deficient in literary discrimination. On the other hand, a con- siderable number of persons could be found, who, having, in the study of Latin, attended to the analysis of a few classics rather than indulged in extensive reading, or in the practice of the language, could not, in the least, use it as a vehicle of thought, whilst, through its means, their intellectual character has been raised, their taste refined, and their power of native expression improved. The distinction between the practical and the comparative method shows why the study of a second language is more favoui-able to mental culture than the acquiring of the native tongue. But the benefits of the comparative method depending, in a great measure, on a practical knowledge of the vernacular, this ought to be made the groundwork of the study of a foreign idiom. A complete course of education should commence with the vernacular, and means should be unfolded for imparting it to young people, and for making it, at the same time, the medium of mental development during the first two periods of youth. Foreign languages, and especially the ancient, will afterwards become the most efficient means by which to improve the powers of oral and written composition in the native tongue. 7. A good Method is an instrument of mental Culture. All the intellectual faculties should assume an equal activity throughout the various exercises which may be recommended for improvement in the native as well as in a foreign language. Any system which neglects this harmonious mental culture, fails m its paramount object. The study of language presents, in this respect, very great facilities ; for it embraces thought and its expression : the operations of the mind may be said to be identical with the use of language. The various acquirements which constitute the complete possession of a foreign idiom afford, through the exercises indispensable for their attainment, Sec. II.] CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD METHOD. 213 the means of cultivating attention and raising the intellectual powers from their original state to the highest degree of improve- ment, The manifold exercises through which these acquirements are made should be so regulated as to call forth all the energies of the mind. The intellectual discipline generated by a rational method begins with those mysterious lessons by which the child is first taught to associate external sihere of action. Their development greatly assists that of the understanding: the accuracy of perception arising from the sensation begets accurate conception ; and the practice of observation leads to reflection and comparison ; hence it is that the exercise of perception and observation lays the foundation of sound judgment. The cultivation of the physical senses may be the more effectively promoted, and a habit of attention the sooner formed, as children are not easily fatigued so long as their perceptive powers are engaged and their curiosity is gratified. A habit of attention, so favourable to the acquisition of knowledge, cannot be commenced too early : when once acquired the learner will want but little teaching to aid and regulate his spontaneous efforts. Our prescriptions are in accordance with those of nature. A child, though left to himself, is neither idle nor listless ; he is, on the contrary, even from the most tender age, active, enter- prising, and inquisitive ; he delights in observing and comparing things, and he is most ardent in the pursuit of knowledge. The information he acquires from every object which he submits to the action of his senses, from every person with whom he converses, from every incident of social life which he witnesses, is incomparably more useful to him in after-life, and better adapted for the improvement of his mind, than the repetition of book-lessons, which, when early imposed, seldom reach the understanding. Such is the wise course of nature ; such is the process of instruction which is based on our organisation. It is really surprising to think of the mass of information accumulated by the mind's natural impulse in the first stages of life. " There is," says Dr. Thomas Brown, "an education of man continually going forward in the whole system of things around him ; and what is commonly termed education is nothing more than the art of skilfully guiding this natural progress, so as to form the intellectual and moral combinations, in which wisdom and virtue consist."* In order to fulfil the manifest intentions of Providence in this respect, parents have only to direct the natural powers of their children from the earliest infancy ; they * Philosophy of the Mind. Sec. IV.] CONVERSATION— THE BEST MEANS OF INSTRUCTION. 233 need only give scope to those instinctive efforts of self-learning as they are prompted by curiosity or necessity. Self direction is obviously the natural state of man. This is particularly the case with language ; it is not taught to him ; he learns it of himself. The vital principle in the pursuit is to enable the pupil rightly to instruct himself. The art of education essen- tially consists in continuing and completing the work of nature. If we only second her and regulate her progress, if we indulge and direct the inexhaustible curiosity of children, we shall provide for their first wants of instruction, in a manner which is both pleasing to them, and congenial to their sensitive activity. Nature, by prescribing physical development and the exercise of the perceptive faculties as the fittest for childhood, suggests the process through which the native tongue ought to be acquired, and the intellectual education carried on, until book instruction begins. We must not be in haste to erect the edifice of knowledge : the great object of early education is not so much to give a certain amount of learning, as the power of acquiring it afterwards. " The aim of education," says Dr. Beattie, who on this point follows the idea of J. J. Rousseau, " should be to teach us rather how to think than what to think ; rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men."* Let us lay a solid foundation, by turning the attention of children upon the things for which the words stand ; and, in thus preparing the way for the perfect comprehension of the native idiom, we shall create in them a taste for literary and scientific pursuits. Sect. IV.— CONVERSATION— THE BEST MEANS OF INSTRUCTION IN THE FIRST PERIODS OF YOUTH. The most effectual lessons for young children are generally those which have no appearance of premeditation or formality — a mode of instruction found in conversation alone. The syn- thetical arrangement usually adopted i*i didactic books is not well suited to their inexperience. Their curiosity must be awakened by the exhibition or the statement of facts, before they can be profitably taught the principles of science. By speaking * Essay on the Utility of Classical Learning. 234 NATIVE TONGUE. [CnAP. I. familiarly with them about the productions of nature and art, about every object within their sphere of examination, we shall give them habits of attention and observation ; we shall cultivate in them a taste for useful and laudable pursuits, and gradually render them capable of self-direction ; we shall finally teach them their own language : for the frequent use thus made of its elements and phraseology, and of technical expressions in the presence of the very things which they signify, will enable children to comprehend rightly all they hear and read, and will also considerably increase their command of expression, by the frequent oppoi'tunities which will be afforded to them of applying the two great principles of imitation and analogy. The development of the mind and of the faculty of language in a child de2)ends, in great measure, on the warmth of sympa- thies and extent of knowledge of those with whom he associates habitually. Although the true spirit of conversation requires its subjects to arise from circumstances and apparently without any fixed order, yet, to secure and complete the advantages expected from it, the topics should not be left altogether to chance : the dif- ferent branches of instruction intended to be conveyed shoidd be introduced gradually and in mutual harmony ; they should be such as may suit the age and develop all the faculties of young persons. With a view to attain these ends, a progressive series of sug- gestions and ideas, embracing all the elements of knowledge which may serve as a ground-work for rational conversations, or for exercises in observation and reflection, will be offered in the following chapter. Association of ideas will come in aid of these general suggestions to multiply indefinitely the infor- mation which will thus be imparted to young people. And when, by incidental digression, the topics become uninteresting or uninstructive, a skilful teacher will always know how to bring attention back to the particular subjects with which he proposes to familiarise his pupils. The diversity of objects which these conversations will bring under the consideration* of children will admirably favour their love of novelty. It will delight them, at the same time that it expands their minds and increases their vocabulary. We must speak to them of every thing, if we wish to familiarise them with every expression. Acquiring new ideas will lead to the mode of expressing them, as using new words will lead to an Sec. IV.] CONVERSATION— THE BEST MEANS OF INSTRUCTION. 235 inquiry into their meaning ; thus the acquisition of knowledge and of language will assist each other ; thought and speech grow together. The principle of Jacotot, "tout est en tout" (every thing is in all things), will find its application in such lessons ; for, in con- versing on any matter, one idea brings out another, and an endless succession of subjects and modes of speech are unfolded and offered to the attention. Thus will be gained the general instruction which is required by the first two periods of youth. Conversation, properly directed, will be to children an inex- haustible source of information ; it will remove from their minds erroneous or confused notions, will bring their intel- lectual powers into action, will impel them to seek for new ideas, to use sound arguments, and clothe them in appropriate language. Moral culture also can be promoted ; for, in this friendly intercourse and interchange of thought, the social affections are no less actively engaged than the powers of the understanding ; precepts of morality and religious truths may be inculcated as easily as the elements of science. Every thing, in fact, comes within the province of the practical course which we recommend. Language has expressions for all thoughts and for all sentiments. Its acquisition embraces the investigation of duties, virtues, and inclinations, as well as of knowledge ; it should, therefore, be made subservient to forming the hearts, as well as unfolding and enriching the minds of children. It is thus that their reli- gious, moral, and intellectual development will keep pace with their progress in the vernacular tongue. Conversation is something more than an agreeable pastime ; it is a very active agent in circulating opinions and information, in forming the taste and character. That the young inmates of public schools are usually destitute of general knowledge and awkward in society arises from their being long denied the advantages of social converse with well-informed persons, such as are often brought together in respectable families. Conver- sational teaching has been considered, at all times, and by all eminent educationists, as the most effective process of early education. It was so essentially the method of Socrates, that it is now known under his name ; the educational system of J. J. Eousseau is but a continued conversation between the pupil and tutor. Miss Edgeworth, not content with recom- mending it in her " Practical Education," has given admirable 236 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. I. illustrations of it in her popular writings for the young. Pesta- lozzi, Fellenberg, and Pure Girard of Fribourg, have made it their great instrument of instruction ; and, under the name of " Lessons on Objects," it forms the principal feature of infant- school instruction. In the family circle, as well as in public instruction, this mode of imparting information to children mil be found most useful as a preparatory step to classical and scientific pursuits. Our directions on this subject are therefore addressed not only to those who direct infant or elementary schools, and to the teachers of junior classes in higher scholastic establishments, but also to those parents who, being blessed with cultivated minds, have the leisure and the laudable inclination to give their young families the benefit of their own information, "ami to the resident tutors and governesses who are anxious to forward the mental development of their pupils. The scope of this work does not, however, permit us to enter into a minute investigation of the course of elementary instruc- tion to winch we allude. The few suggestions which we shall offer will, we hope, suffice to show that much useful information may be imparted to young people, before they commence the study of a foreign language, before they even know how to read their own. Many parents, in their embarrassment about the mode of occupying the minds of their children, hurry them into the art of reading, persuaded that they cannot be put too early iu possession of this great instrument of intellectual education. They forget that no reading can supply the place of judgment, and that no power of judgment will avail much, without facts upon which its decision may be formed. The learning of reading and writing ought to be postponed, until such time, previous to their being made available for useful purposes, as may be required for mastering them. For a child of eight years of age, two months will, by a proper method, suffice to learn to read, and two years to learn to write. In the mean time, he need not remain either in idleness or in ignorance ; the period of childhood may be profitably filled up by the intellectual exercises and conversational instruction, which it is the object of the following Chapter to unfold. v.; PHYSICAL exercises. 337 Sect. V.— PHYSICAL EXERCISES, DANCING AND MUSIC- MEANS OF RELAXATION. Before entering on the details of the course which we prescribe, we shall offer a few remarks on some of the exercises and occu- pations which serve as relaxation from intellectual pursuits. Through the whole course of education, and particularly at an early period of life, mental labour ought to be relieved by long intervals of physical and healthful exercise in the open air. Should such be prevented by inclement weather, then in-door gymnastic sports, games of dexterity, and manual occujiations, must be substituted. The time which children give to their sports is not lost to their mental improvement. When a few of them are together, they bring into activity all the resources of their minds, in devising games, or discussing the incidents arising from them ; they examine, compare, judge, and decide with all the aeuteness of maturer years ; they suggest contrivances, propose plans, and support their opinions by arguments not devoid of good sense and logic ; they, especially, exercise and extend their power of speech. In their incessant prattle, each gives to the others the benefit of the new expressions which he has acquired at home under different family circumstances. Dancing may be comprised among gymnastic exercises ; and, as such, it will prove very useful in giving firmness and pliancy to the limbs, ease and grace to the gait ; and, by bringing too-ether young people of both sexes under the eyes of parents and instruc- tors, it will remove their natural awkwardness of address, and impart to them that freedom and polish of manners which are so desirable in society. Vocal music may also be resorted to as a means of relaxation. It may serve to enliven all the occupations of youth, and to refine the feelings, — at the same time that it has a healthy influence on the lungs and chest. By giving' fulness, clearness, and greater compass to the voice, it improves the oral expression, and prepares the organs for acquiring the various sounds and inflections of foreign languages. The power of free and lengthened respiration which it brings into action, will facilitate the exercise of elocution and public speaking ; and, in many cases, it will prove a most efficient means of correcting defects of articulation. The faculty of distinguishing and imitating musical notes, or, as it is popularly called, a musical ear, may be cultivated almost 238 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. I. in every one. There are some people, indeed, in whom this faculty seems totally deficient ; but the deficiency often proceeds from their haying seldom or never heard singing in their youth. By listening to singing, we learn to distinguish the relative value of the notes ; our ear becomes educated and able to appreciate the nicest shades of tone. Thus, by repeatedly endeavouring to imitate others, we succeed in rendering our organs of voice capable of reproducing the sounds and intonations which the ear has received. If vocal music were universally diffused among the people, and made an obligatory branch of primary education, it would, in the course of time, modify what is disagreeable in provincial accents, and produce more unity of intonation in the national pronun- ciation. It would insensibly improve the prosody of the language, and give it more harmony. The abuse of it should, however, be guarded against. It is worse than injudicious to teach grammar, arithmetic, or any other branch of instruction depending on the judgment, through such sing-song as is introduced in some infant schools in this country. The pleasure and consequent recollection arising from musical notes, can never compensate for the absence of the explanations and illustrations which scientific subjects demand. Vocal music, confined to its proper sphere and cultivated within reasonable limits, is not only a pleasing and useful exercise ; it is also a most powerful moralising agent. It renders the schoolroom more gay and more attractive, the paternal home more endearing, and public worship more solemn ; it softens the rigours of poverty, soothes the sufferer, makes the rich benevolent, and the happy happier. (13.) "We cannot speak so favourably of instrumental music ; because, not tending to improve the higher physical organs, or to cultivate any moral or mental faculty, save patience and attention, the knowledge of it is only of secondary importance in a solid educa- tion. Vocal music, in order to please, does not require superior skill on the part of the performer ; but mediocrity in instru- mental music is insufferable. The immense expenditure of time which the complete command of the piano demands, is lost to the acquirement of useful knowledge ; and skill in it is too apt to engender vanity and lead to dissipation. Those who excel in in- strumental music are not generally remarkable for the depth or the extent of their information ; nor can it be reasonably expected from them, when all their mental energy is bent on unmeaning Sec. VI.] LINEAR DRAWING. 239 notes ; when all their time is consumed in exercising their fingers and their ears. Sect. VI— LINEAR DRAWING. Of all the occupations which may engage the attention of children, as means both of relaxation and instruction, the most interesting, the most practicable, and the most useful, perhaps, is the art of linear drawing. Without mentioning the artistical pro- fessions of which this art is the foundation, it is an essential part of the manufacturing of the various articles of fancy and fashion, the excellence of which depends on the beauty of the pattern, such as carpets, paper-hangings, porcelain, jewellery, bronzes, clocks, silks, and many other articles, too numerous to be named here. But its usefulness is not confined to these ; naturalists, anatomists, geographers, seamen, and travellers, must often resort to it, in order to fix their impressions and conceptions, or explain them to others. All those who are engaged in mechanical pursuits, such as lathe-turning, the making of furniture, the working of metals, the constructing of machines or of mathematical instru- ments, and all trades the object of which consists in the imitation of forms, would find, in the possession of that art, ample means of success in executing their designs, or communicating the result of their experience. In the higher walks of life, especially, who has not sometimes occasion to convey to an architect or a workman ideas and plans for which language is inadequate, and which a few pencil strokes could clearly and fully express ? As an auxiliary to instruction, linear drawing is equally important. Its practice gives acuteness and correctness to the eye, freedom and steadiness to the hand. It cultivates all the mental powers, attention and perception, by the extreme care and accuracy of observation required for faithfully imitating a model ; memory and reflection, by drawing from recollection an object or copy previously studied or sketched ; comparison and judgment, by copying the same models on different scales, and expressing perspective, in sketching from nature ; imagination and inven- tion, by modifying a given subject, or adding accessories; finally, taste and discernment, by attending to the forms, proportions, and the relative position of parts, which constitute grace and beauty. Drawing exercises the mental powers more effectually than any other art ; and yet, how few parents cultivate a taste for it in their chddren with a view to mental development. 240 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. I. This art becomes, by an immediate consequence, ancillary td penmanship, and may lead to a graceful handwriting, as it culti- vates the taste and imparts pliancy to the fingers : penmanship is a limited species of linear drawing, consisting of only a few lines : he who knows how to draw knows how to write. It assists in the study of geography, geometry, mechanics, astro- nomy, botany, natural philosophy, and other branches of know- ledge, which require to be illustrated and explained 1 »y graphic representations. It is, in fact, one of the principal elements of a complete education. The general introduction of it in public instruction would be to artisans the source of creative skill in the mechanical arts ; it would be to the wealthy the first step towards becoming enlightened patrons of the fine arts ; and, by diffusing taste among all classes, it would increase the number of connoisseurs in painting, and consequently excite emulation among artists. Drawing and painting speak to the mind as well as to the eye ; they express and communicate ideas ; they tell, they describe, they persuade, they recall impressions. Like the language of action, they convey thoughts and sentiments, by attitudes, gesture, and the expression of countenance. A similarity in the nature and the object of drawing and language, which are both arts of imitation, involves a corresponding similarity in the action of the physical and intellectual powers engaged in these pursuits. The same mental qualities serve to form the great painter and the great writer. Drawing ought, therefore, to be encouraged not only for its own sake, but because the mental training which its practice implies, will be a preparation for the study of a second language. The practice of graphic representation creates the habit of minute observation, and enriches the mind with images which may afterwards exercise the power of language. An artist can never view with indifference the sublime scenes of nature, or the wonders of art ; he reads with additional interest descriptive and narrative works, and sees vividly pictured before him that of which others only read. The art of design cannot, like penmanship, be acquired within a limited time : perfection in it, as in its kindred arts — oratory and composition — although unattainable, should always be aimed at ; for the usefulness of these acquirements is in proportion to the degree of proficiency gained in them. In penmanship, legibility and expedition are the only essential requisites ; and these two qualities may be acquired in two or three years, if we Sec. VI.] LINEAR DRAWING. 241 begin at the proper time ; but drawing, demanding considerably- more practice, should be commenced much earlier, in order that facility of execution may be obtained in time to make it available for the cultivation of those branches of instruction which demand its assistance, and also that excellence may be attained in it within the usual period of education. This will be the more easily done as the. practice of sketching, from the variety and the nature of the objects to be imitated, from their familiarity, their significance, and the pleasing ideas they awake, is infinitely more interesting to children than writing, which always presents the same forms. Not only is it more interesting, but the first steps in it are easier, because its elements may be simplified at will ; the taste of the child may be consulted in the choice of the model ; and he may, as he proceeds, efface and amend, until he brings out a pleasing production. These are all elements of success and inducement to the child, which are not afforded by the practice of writing. Nature admirably favours the early learning of linear draw- ing : children, from the most tender age, evince a strong desire to sketch familiar objects in their complete form ; they delight in imitations which speak to their imagination ; but all interest would be lost, if they were desired to draw only detached parts of objects. We should, then, on this point, follow the dictates of nature, and present at first to the child complete but simple forms. In this, as in everything else, the learner must pass gradually from the simple to the complicated. It is by attend- ing to the general outline of a model, whether an object or a copy, and subordinating the details to it, that the eye is educated, that the proportions of the whole are understood, that harmony is introduced in the arrangement of the parts, and that a bold and rapid execution may be acquired. The means are thus made consistent with the end ; for either in pictorial or in literary compositions, the artist or the writer, first sketches his subject, and afterwards successively attends to the distribution of the parts, and to the finishing of the whole. It must also be borne in mind, that drawing from nature is one of the ends proposed ; the objects themselves must therefore be early pre- sented for imitation in their various aspects ; this will accustom the eye to judge of their forms and proportions, as also of the effect of light and shade, better than could be done from drawings and paintings : but, as it is useful to study the manner in which eminent artists have themselves represented those objects, the VOL. I. R 242 NATIVE TONGUE. % [Chap. I. learner should sketch sometimes from nature and sometimes * from approved original works.* The learning of linear drawing is the more practicable under any circumstances, as it is not requisite that the instructor should be a perfect draughtsman : his office is not to correct the errors of his pupil, but merely to make him perceive them by a comparison of his own copy with the model, and thus t.o put him in the way of amending theni himself. What the teacher needs is a correct eye, and sufficient taste and discernment to. present none but fit models to the learner. If the professor, in giving his directions, always use the technical terms which refer to the art, and call by its name every part of the model or copy which is the object of imitation, not only will the child be fur- nished with materials for conversing with discernment on the interesting subject of the fine arts, but his vocabulary will be considerably enriched in various other departments, according as he sketches geometrical figures, architectural designs, land- scapes, flowers, animals, human figures, &c. Thus are observation, language, and drawing combined in one exercise. Sect. VII.— DRAWING AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC COMPARED. Drawing and music, in order to be carried to any degree of perfection, would, each, demand the exclusive attention of a learner. The simultaneous pursuit of these arts would not permit him to attain the superior skill which it is desirable to possess. In general, and among females especially, the pre- ference is given to instrumental music ; because it draws on the performer loud applause, as it excites in the hearers a very lively pleasure ; thus tending effectively to move the springs of vanity, from the power which it gives of riveting the attention of an admiring crowd. Music is, in fact, an art which seeks publi- city ; whereas drawing and its kindred ai't, painting, delight in retirement. These are more modest occupations ; and, as a natural consequence, they are attended with less bodily fatigue or mental anxiety. The observations which we have made on these three arts would suffice to prove the error of those who sacrifice * M. A. Dupuis, an eminent professor of drawing in Paris, lias, in his method of instruction, happily combined these two principles, namely drawing from naturi and passing from the simple to the complex. See his work De V Enseignement duDessein sous le 'point de vue induetriel. Sec. VII.] . DRAWING AND MUSIC COMPARED. 243 drawing to music ; but, to render this error still more obvious we will establish a parallel between them. Drawing and painting, as useful arts, claim a decided supe- riority over music, which is a mere accomplishment. The draughtsman, or the painter, may instruct as well as please ; the pianist can only divert us. The cultivation of musical talent, requiring much time, and being unattended with useful results, is generally abandoned by females as soon as they have ■the care of a family, and by men as soon as they enter upon the business of life. Drawing may always be indulged in ; it de- mands less time, and, in the hands of a mother, it is a powerful auxiliary to explain a thousand things to her chddren ; in the hands of a man, it is of practical utility in all situations. If a skilful musical performer neglects for a year, or even less, the practice of his instrument, he becomes unwilling and almost incapable of performing ; but, when we have once known how to handle the pencil and the brush, we may, after a lapse of years, take them up again with pleasure and dexterity. These arts are more available than music in all circumstances of life ; for they may be practised at the bed-side of the sick, or in the same apartment with persons engaged in serious occupations ; and they permit the artist to attend, as he is working, to the conversation of those who surround him. Music is debarred from these advantages. But, not only is drawing more avail- able and more beneficial in every way than instrumental music, it is also more accessible to all classes of people, because the study and practice of it is less expensive — an advantage of no mean importance in a community in which accomplishments are not expected to be the exclusive privileges of the wealthy. The enjoyment procured from the performance of an instru- mentalist does not last longer than the time of execution, and does not extend beyond the pei^sons who stand within hearing ; the pleasure procured from a good drawing, or a good painting, is not limited by either time or space ; the same pictorial per- formance may be enjoyed a thousand years hence, and a thousand miles from the place where it was executed. The same may be said, it is true, of a musical composition ; but as this species of production demands the aid of proper execution to give it exist- ence and call forth its merit, the enjoyment it procures remains still very limited. Musical composition, however, is out of the question in this parallel, because it is not usually made a branch of education, and it is only in this light that we now speak of r 2 244 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chai\ I. music and drawing. Instrumental music leads to no sort of information ; drawing is an auxiliary to many arts and sciences. Music stands Isolated ; the perfect command of an instrument may be attained without the aid of any branch of knowledge whatever ; skill in painting, on the contrary, cannot be attained without a serious study of perspective, history, anatomy, natural history, or other sciences, according to the department of painting to which the learner devotes himself. Folly and ignorance may exist with high digital power on an instrument ; but an eminent painter must be a man of sound sense, deep observation, and extensive reading. As, by a natural effect of sympathy and assimilation, men seek each other's society according to the .similitude of their tastes and pursuits, an instrumentalist or a vocalist will often be in company with the votaries of pleasure, for the most part frivolous and dissipated people; while the draughtsman and the painter will be likely to associate with architects, engineers, naturalists, and other industrious well- informed persons. From these remarks there can be no hesitation as to which of these arts the preference is due. Yet we do not, for a moment, think that instrumental music should be altogether abandoned : it contributes too largely to the charm of society. Let it be cultivated, especially by those who have a taste for it, but as a secondary, not as a primary branch of education ; as a means of enlivening the family circle, not as a means of exhibiting in large assemblies, and exciting in young persons an inordinate love of admiration. Let it not, above all, engross a time claimed by more useful and more intellectual acquirements. NATIVE TONGUE. 245 CHAPTER II. PRACTICAL COURSE OF THE NATIVE TONGUE. CONVERSATIONS ON OBJECTS. Preliminary Remarks. We will now enter upon the course of elementary instruction which is proposed as a substitute for classical studies, and as a means highly calculated not only to cultivate the perceptive, observant, and reflective powers of children, but also to extend their practical acquaintance with the native tongue, by making it the vehicle of diversified knowledge, and the ground-work of mental discipline. But as the conversations and intellectual exercises of which this course consists should be proportioned to the progressive development of reason, which varies in different individuals, it must be observed that the age which has been assigned for commencing them is only approximative. Although the order in which the various conversations on objects have been introduced may be modified according to cir- cumstances, it must not be regarded as altogether a matter of indifference ; for we have endeavoured to conform to that which nature follows in gradually inuring the mind to habits of investi- gation. She imperatively enjoins that the first efforts of the child should be directed to the improvement of those powers by which he may form clear and correct notions of things. He should therefore be made to pass progressively through the exercises in perception, observation, reflection, and reasoning. Another rule which should be strictly adhered to is, that, whenever a topic, an exercise, or a branch of information, acknowledged to be useful, has been entered upon, it should be occasionally repeated, until the children have a clear insight into the subject brought before them, or until the object proposed from it has been attained. It should also be borne in mind that the following course, although intended as a preparation for the scholastic instruction of boys, is equally suitable to girls ; for, 246 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. until the age of twelve, the intellectual education should be the same. Sect. I.— EXERCISES IN PERCEPTION. 1. Names of objects, their Parts, Matter, and Colour. From the moment that a child articulates distinctly, various familiar objects should be offered to his notice, and their use explained ; their names being, at the same time, clearly uttered for him, he should be made to repeat them slowly and aloud. But he must not be forced into premature efforts to speak, lest he should acquire habits of indistinct and defective utterance. Premature walking is not more injurious to the organs of motion than is premature speaking to the vocal organs. In order also to guard against fatiguing him by a dry repetition of words, the instructor should enliven the exercise by making, in plain language and in a playful manner, some simple observations on the nature and use of the things which he is called ujion to name. This exercise should, at first, be limited to a few objects at one time, and the same things should be repeatedly presented to him associated with their names, until he perfectly knows these names. His vocabulary should be gradually extended by the introduction of new objects which he is made to observe and name, such as articles of dress, food, furniture, everything which he can hold in his hand, or which may be seen either from the window or out of doors. This mode of proceeding will soon put a young child in possession of a considerable number of useful nouns. It is a triple exercise in perception, articulation, and memory, which must, from the variety of objects and the move- ment required in passing from one to the other, be more interesting to the child, as it certainly is more profitable at this age, than the ordinary practices of conning for months over the same six-and-twenty, to him, unmeaning letters, reading nonsen- sical trash, or learning by rote the unconnected words of a spelling-book or dictionary. As the child's intellect opens and becomes capable of examin- ing objects minutely, of distinguishing their resemblances and differences, of noticing their parts, their matter, their colour, their form, and their number, his attention should be successively directed to all these points. Thus will his mind be early brought in contact with the external world, and be duly exercised by ascribing to every object of sense its qualities and peculiar condition. lie will Sec. I.] EXERCISES IN PERCEPTION. 247 also easily remember the words, when the ideas they signify are once clearly apprehended. A correct acquaintance with the mean- ing and application of words must not be deemed a matter of little moment in the first years of life. If we consider the disastrous results to which ignorance on these points has led, and the in- convenience which often arises to the best educated among us from this single source, we shall find that time well employed, which is devoted to securing a knowledge of the meaning of words. This practical instruction may be commenced with the second period of youth — at the age of six. Curiosity and the perceptive powers being then in full activity, the child's atten- tion may be easily cultivated through them, and a spirit of observation, analysis, and comparison, the foundation of a correct judgment, be early fostered. The first inquiry to be made in the examination of an object consists in ascertaining the parts of which it is composed. These are sometimes so minute that considerable attention is requisite to discern them all. So important is this inquiry, that an acquaintance, for example, with all the parts of a plant, and with their forms and colours, constitutes the knowledge of its botanic character, and involves a considerable portion of the botanic technology. The child must be shown how all the parts of an object are connected, how they harmonise, and how far each is indispensable to the completion and pleasing effect of the whole : thus will he be accustomed to discriminate what is principal from what is accessory, what is useful from what is merely ornamental. By attending to the matter of which the object and its parts are composed, the child will learn how to distinguish animal, vegetable, and mineral substances ; he will form clear ideas of what is natural and artificial, simple and compound, native and foreign, indigenous and exotic. The next consideration will be that of colour : this beautiful property of matter, diffused over all the works of nature and art, will, by the infinite variety of its shades and combinations, offer to the visual faculty an endless means of exercise. Accu- racy of perception in reference to it will prove useful for various branches of knowledge and pursuits in life. A due attention to the diversity of colours, to the proportion of parts, and to the gracefulness of forms, considered as the elements of beauty, will sow the seeds of taste. An acquaintance with colours can be very early imparted to a 248 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II- child. To enable him the better to distinguish them and recol- lect their names, the instructor should he provided with a tabular illustration of their prismatic order; he should, first, point out to him the primitive colours, red, yellow, and blue, then the three intervening compound colours, orange, green, and violet; and, afterwards, their various shades, from the lightest to the deepest hue. Glasses of different colours, placed by pairs one over the other, would afford him the means of perceiving the effect of the mixture of colours. He may be shown that white is the colour of light, or the blending of the prismatic colours, and that black is the absence of them. As all imaginable shades of colour can be produced by a diversified mixture of red, yellow, blue, white, and black, the child may be exercised in discovering which of these elements prevails in any compound colour presented to his sight. 2. Numbers; Ball-Frame. The elements of arithmetic may enter as part of the exercises of this early period : the practical nature of its first rules is well suited to the understanding of children. Relations of number and arithmetical calculations are also, from their simplicity and mathematical accuracy, admirably adapted to the training of the young mind to habits of attention and reasoning. But, before a child is exercised in mental calculation, which at this early period might overtask his reflective powers, and before he is taught the numerical figures, which are signs of abstract ideas, he should be accustomed to associate the numerical adjectives with the names of objects which admit of computation ; for these adjectives, when used by themselves, being mere abstractions cannot impart clear and correct notions of number. A variety of similar things should be employed, particularly the current coins of the country, counters, cards, inch square, or cubic blocks, which, by gradual addition and subtraction of units and groups, would teach the value and relation of numbers as also the fundamental rules of arithmetic ; he should be taught to express in numbers the dimensions of objects by applying to them a unit of measure, the inch or foot, as the case may require. When the child has frequently associated real objects with the ideas of number, the numerical names and figures will easily pass in his mind from the concrete to the abstract state. Sec. I.] EXERCISES IN PERCEPTION. 249 The ball-frame, consisting of one hundred sliding balls on ten horizontal parallel rods, may, in the hands of a skilful instructor, not only assist in explaining the numeration, that is, the forma- tion and names of numbers, but also serve to teach how to solve readily the elementary questions of addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. If the balls be of two contrasting colours and strung alternately, the eye will be pleased, attention captivated, and calculations considerably facilitated. With this frame a child can himself discover the products of the multipli- cation of any two factors under ten ; he sees that these factors can be inverted, that multiplication is only an abbreviated form of addition, and thereby clearly understands the principles of this operation. The mental act, also, by which he finds out these products will enable him to recollect them better than the absurd mechanical parroting of the multiplication-table. This frame is not a late invention, as may be seen in Friend's work on Arithmetic, published fifty years ago ; it has been used for a long time in the primary schools of France and Germany. It must not be confounded with the abacus of the ancients, in which one line of beads or balls was made to stand for units, the next for tens, another for hundreds, and so on. But, although the abacus was originally intended for casting up accounts, it might also prove useful in teaching the first principles of arith- metic. The Russians and the Chinese have, from time imme- morial, performed calculations by means of such frames ; but that of the latter, called shivan-pan, differs from the one adverted to here by its having only five beads on each wire, the relative values of which are distinguished by their size and colour. The one hundred ball-frame is preferable to that which is composed of 144 balls, and is adopted in many infant schools in this country, inasmuch as it answers all the purposes of calcu- lation, and besides clearly illustrates the principle of the decimal system, since the relation of units to tens and hundreds is observ- able through all combinations and compilations. It is a matter of great importance that a child should in his first conception of number perceive the simple and beautiful arrangement by which a place is assigned to the different powers of ten that compose any number. In fact, a knowledge thus acquired of the compo- sition of numbers leads to a rapid understanding of the mode of representing them by numerical figures. To effect this last object, pasteboard, wood, or brass figures would be found more 250 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. convenient and more interesting to a young child than writing on paper or slate. At a more advanced age, towards the end of the second period, he should be exercised in mental calculation, passing very gra- dually from simple to complex operations. This exercise, which admits of endless variety, accomplishes several objects : it brings into action the reflective and recollective powers ; it disciplines the understanding in exact reasoning ; and gives habits of calcu- lation, such as the daily transactions of life require. But not only is arithmetical expertness useful in the practical business of life, it is also indispensable as the basis of all real progress in the mathematical and experimental sciences, in which the learner has constant need of applying the rules and performing the operations of arithmetic* 3. Fractional Numbers ; Fractional Apparatus. When a child has a clear idea of numeration and of the elemen- tary rules in whole numbers, he may be initiated into the first notions of fractional arithmetic. These notions, intricate as they are, when taught abstractedly through the fractional notation, become extremely simple and intelligible, even at a very tender age, when explained by means of visible illustrations. The dif- ferent objects which have been mentioned for counting in whole numbers may equally serve for imparting to young people the first notions of fractions. A number of such objects, being con- sidered as a whole and variously divided into equal parts or fractional numbers, would, by the addition and subdivision of these, illustrate the relative value and the elementary operations of simple fractions. This, however, may perhaps be still better effected by the following contrivance. Let about 16 or 18 thin slips of wood or pasteboard, about half an inch in breadth, be made all exactly the same length, say one foot. (This length is convenient, and will, besides, accustom the eye of the child to a useful measure.) Let them be divided by a line across the breadth, the first into two equal portions, the second into three, the third into four, and so on up to the eleventh, which will be composed of twelve equal parts ; a few * See, on this subject, an article by A. de Morgan in Quarterly Journal of Education, No. IX., or in the Schoolmaster, Essays on Practical Education. See also Lessons on Number, as given in a Feslalozzian School, Cheam, Surrey. Sec. I.] EXERCISES IN PERCEPTION. 251 other slips may be respectively divided into 15, 18, 20, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, and 84 equal parts, which numbers are chosen on account of their having a efreat number of divisors. Let the lines indi- eating different subdivisions be of different colours, and those indicating equal portions in the different slips be of the same colour — all the halves throughout being thus of one colour, all the thirds of another, and so on. Let also the denominator, that is, the number of parts into which the foot-slips are divided, be marked at one of the ends of each slip. These coloured lines and written denominators will greatly assist in distinguishing at once the different fractions, reducing them to their lowest terms, and finding out their common denominator. The pupil with these slips placed side by side under his eye, should be called upon to observe the various subdivisions of the foot which are marked on them, and be told the names by which are denominated the equal parts of each slip, halves, thirds, fourths or quarters, &c. ; he may, from these, discover by analogy, the names of the others. He should be made successively to notice that §, |, |, &c, are equal to one another ; that |, §, |, &c, are the same ; that \ is greater than \, \ greater than i, &c. ; that § are less than |, | less than |, &c. ; that the fraction is greater in proportion as the numerator is increased, or the de- nominator lessened, and vice versa. He should add, subtract, find a common denominator, and reduce fractions to their lowest terms. In short, he might, by means of this simple apparatus, and, under the guidance of a judicious teacher, gain a clear ac- quaintance with the denominations, nature, value, and properties of common fractions, long before he could safely be introduced to their numerical symbols and to their abstract forms.* 4. Forms; Geometrical solids ; Architectural game. In order promptly to familiarise the pupil with the most general forms and the terms expressive of them, a collection of small geometrical solids should be exhibited to him, such as spheres, cylinders, cones, prisms, pyramids, and the regular geometrical bodies in different dimensions, as also a cone with its several sections. In minutely examining each of these, his attention may easily be directed, by a natural analysis, from the » For more ample details on this subject, see an excellent article of A. De Morgan, in the Quarterly Journal of Education, No. X. 252 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II- solids to the surfaces, triangles, quadrilaterals, and polygons ; from these to the angles, lines, and points. In comparing them afterwards, he may find out himself their differences, and classify them ; and, in stating the result of his examination, he is led to the use and to the definition of the scientific terms which desig- nate them, and to the consideration of the first elements of geometry. By a reference to the geometrical solids a child may easily understand what is meant by vertical and horizontal ; perpen- dicular and oblique; parallel, divergent, and convergent; right, acute, and obtuse angles; circle, circumference, and diameter; he may be shown the principal properties of triangles, the mode of measuring and dividing angles, the relative length of circum- ference and diameter, and may be taught by means of small square blocks or cubes, how to measure rectangular superficies and solids. If the child be made to sketch the outlines of these solids, it will be a farther preparation for his future study of that science ; for these diagram sketches, within the power of a young child — and his first step in the useful practice of drawing from nature, will direct his attention more closely to the geometrical forms, will familiarise him with the terms and graphic representations of them, and will give him some practical notions of perspective. The precision and accuracy of eye, gained, at the same time, by the habit of drawing, would considerably assist him in clearly conceiving the forms, proportions, and dimensions of objects. The facility and correctness, also, with which he will execute these figures, if he has early practised drawing, will, at a future period, render geometry much more attractive ; whilst the elements of this science will, in their turn, tend to give a useful direction to linear drawing. The practice of ascertaining the various parts, substances, colours, and forms of objects, is an effectual preparation for the study of the natural sciences ; it cannot fail to impart accuracy and acuteness to the perceptive powers of young persons ; it will accustom them to observe and analyse things minutely ; while all the terms relative to these different points will considerably extend their vocabulary. To those who advocate for children science in play, we will suggest that the young mind maybe effectually familiarised with forms and proportions by means of an architectural game com- posed of brick-shaped pieces, and others in imitation of those Sec. II.] EXERCISES IN OBSERVATION. 253 which enter into the construction of buildings — blocks of different sizes (say, from one inch to four inches in length, one inch in breadth, and half an inch in thickness), cubes, arches, columns, with detached bases, capitals, and mouldings, in different orders of architecture. These building materials maybe so contrived as to present, by their various combinations, illustrations of geo- metrical propositions, and, by their superstructure, edifices in different styles of architecture. They should consist of close- grained wood, of two contrasting colours, so as to please the eye by their neatness and symmetrical arrangements ; and if they be made with mathematical accuracy, and on a scale founded on the national measures, they will be easily raised in conformity to any architectural design, while the eye will be early habituated to a useful measure. The author, anxious to give his children the benefit of such a game, has constructed one with box and Brazil wood (white and red), composed of about six hundred pieces of various sizes and geometrical forms, on the above- mentioned scale of measurement. It has been for his young family not only an exhaustless source of pleasure and instruction, but an efficient means of forming habits of patience and enticing them to efforts of invention. Sect. II.— EXERCISES IN OBSERVATION. 1. Properties, Comparisons, and Classification of objects. From the age of eight or nine, when the child's perceptive faculties have been exercised on the most apparent properties of things, and when he has learned to confine and prolong his attention, he should be required to examine objects more minutely, to compare them under different points of view, and to state in what particular two or more resemble or differ. These exercises would prove highly interesting to young people, who delight in discovering differences between similar things, and resemblances between different things. The judgment, according to Locke, is exercised by the first act, and the imagination by the second : all the intellectual powers, in fact, which have compari- son for their basis, would be thus highly cultivated. He who is best able to compare will know best how to analyse, to abstract, to generalise, to classify, to judge — in one word, to reason. Various objects should be successively submitted to the organs of sense, and the relations in which they stand to each other be 254 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. duly examined, in order that, by observation and comparison, their particular properties may be discovered, as well those which are relative to our constitution as those which are inherent in the objects themselves. A true knowledge of things consists in a perfect acquaintance with all their properties. When objects have been considered in all their bearings, the child may be directed how to classify them according to the similarity of their essential attributes. It is, in fact, the relation of resemblance which, by the general notions and corresponding general terms that flow from it, becomes the source of classification and defi- nition, and of all that is valuable in language. As the attributes inherent in matter may not all present themselves to the mind of the teacher at the very moment when he wishes to direct the attention of the pupil to them, tables containing in juxta-position adjectives of opposite meanings would enable him to point out all the properties the presence or absence of which can be ascertained in objects (14). Every new discovery which results from the investigation of objects exercises the understanding, leads to a knowledge of the true essence of things, and stores the memory with adjectives and abstract nouns, the chief materials of descriptive and philo- sophical language. A familiarity with such terms, by generating a habit of nice discrimination, and enriching the imagination with vivid conceptions of things, constitutes the characteristic elements of eloquence. Uneducated people are particularly deficient in these two species of words. The child being also led to distinguish the properties which are natural or artificial, essential or accidental, permanent or transient, absolute or rela- tive, and to discover those which belong to one object exclusively, or are common to several, will find no difficulty in making classi- fications, or availing himself of those already existing, and of their corresponding nomenclatures. Classification is the indispensable complement of observation. A a young persons collect facts, they must be frequently exer- cised in classifying them with reference to their resemblance or difference. If any number of objects is considered with regard to one or several points of resemblance, the collection constitutes a class named genus; subdivisions of these into classes of objects having properties in common and distinct from the rest, form as many species; finally, when, on a closer examination, single objects are considered in reference to properties which are peculiar to them, they are denominated individuals. The child Sec. II.] EXERCISES IN OBSERVATION. 255 must be shown that the terms genus and species are relative : the same class which is a genus with reference to the sub-classes, or species included in it, may be itself a species relatively to a more extensive, or, as it is often called, a superior genus. Bird, for example, a genus with regard to the different species eagle, sparrow, &c., is, in its turn, a species of the genus animal, which is itself a species with respect to the superior genus organised being. Filial love is a species of the genus affection; affection, a species of the genus goodness; and goodness, a species of the genus inclination. The distinction of generic and specific terms applies to a very extensive range of mental conceptions. The complex operation of classifying things according to then- points of resemblance, and of distinguishing them by their points of dissimilarity, is one of the highest exercises of our reason and the most admirable effect of analysis. It will develop in a child the powers of observation, abstraction, and generalisation, and will prepare him for the study of the natural and experimental sciences, by giving him habits of inductive reasoning, — a principle on which these sciences rest. Nothing is more beneficial to the mind than the early habit of referring particular ideas to general principles, and classifying objects and the notions acquired about them. The memory will best retain the information entrusted to its keeping when arranged according to some principle of generalisation. Classifi- cation leads to the clear conception and exact definition of terms ; because the names given to our generalisations in order to classify things, are connected in the mind with the peculiarities that characterise these things : it becomes the more useful as ideas accumidate on the mind ; for, in general, confusion does not arise so much from the number of ideas, as from the incapa- bdity of conceiving them clearly and arranging them in a proper order. Classification is the ground-work of inductive philosophy, and of all scientific investigations. 2. Incidental investigations about Objects. The act of observing, which springs from the natural desire for knowledge, reacts on that desire and stimulates it, when it has become a habit : if, therefore, the child's powers of observa- tion have been judiciously exercised, his inquisitiveness will increase with his mental development. He may then gradually 256 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. be brought to investigate incidents connected with an object : among others, \vh;it ,-uv its different uses, the country whence it comes, the mode of production, the process of fabrication, the instruments enjoyed in making it, and the trades concurring to its completion. The different uses to which things are applied depending on the properties which they possess, one of these considerations will easily lead to the other. If, therefore, a child is acquainted with the use of an object, he may be requested to infer what must be its properties ; or these being known to him, his inven- tive power may be exercised in finding how it can be rendered useful : thus is he led to the investigation of causes and effects. At a more advanced age, he will be aided in the search by visit- ing manufactories, or exercising his ingenuity, as has been recommended, in working various substances ; for the properties of matter are best ascertained by the modification which it undergoes in the arts. By frequently inquiring into the uses of things, a child forms the valuable habit of estimating everything according to its utility, and of turning it to account. The inquiry into the mode of production and fabrication will tend to cultivate in him a spirit of investigation and invention, whilst the constant practice of ascertaining causes and effects will foster dispositions most favourable for afterwards making discoveries in the arts and investigating truths in the higher sciences. Mere chance has less to do with the work of invention than is generally supposed : in most instances, the lucky accident which gave birth to the discovery has but set in motion a certain train of thought in an already prepared mind. In speaking of the place where the manufactured article or the substances of which it is composed, are produced, the pre- ceptor has an opportunity of conveying interesting information on the natural productions of various countries, especially on those of his pupils. Should he have within reach a general map, or, better still, a large terrestrial globe, he will add con- siderably to the benefit of the lesson by pointing out the situation of every country or town, as its name is mentioned. In the first examination of objects children should be induced to discover what belongs to nature and what to art. Natural substances assume, by the effect of art, so many forms and appearances, that, in many cases, a great deal of ingenuity is required to find out the original materials. These investigations Sec. II.] EXERCISES IN OBSERVATION. 257 will bring within the range of conversation the three great sub- divisions of natural substances, namely, the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, as well as the various arts of life. These and the other topics which have now been enumerated as coming witliin the scope of these conversations, will consider- ably assist children in comprehending books when they begin to read, and will prepare the way for their future study of many interesting branches of instruction. A variety of useful notions is elicited, which it would take many years to obtain by the ordinary routine of experience, and which never forms part of a college course. 3. Cautious Gradation to be observed in these Lessons. One of the chief objects of early lessons ought to be to excite in a child such a love of knowledge as will induce him to be ardent in its pursuit. His natural desire of variety should be indulged, and the gratification of his curiosity should be combined with his improvement. To make him a more active agent in these lessons, he should, at first, be induced to point out objects, the names or properties of which he does not know, or which he may have forgotten. This simple act of reflection will prepare him for making other inquiries afterwards. In the first stages of these lessons, he should be frequently allowed to choose the objects about which he wishes to be informed ; he should be parti- cularly encouraged to ask questions and make observations. Whatever is interesting to him is an appropriate subject of investigation. He will learn with delight new facts and new terms connected with an object already familiar to him, or in- formation given him in answer to his questions ; and what he thus learns he easily remembers. The remarks of the child will, in many cases, show the instructor in what manner the subject may be treated. When the topics touched upon are not new to him, he may be questioned about them ; when they are, he should receive whatever in formation is suited to his wants and age ; the instructor, at the same time, keeping up his pupil's attention by kindness of manner, liveliness of delivery, and occasional anecdotes. The benefit to be derived from the conversations on objects will greatly depend on the cautious gradation observed in intro- ducing new considerations, and in not allowing the lessons to VOL. i. s 25S NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. H. continue so long as to produce fatigue. They should cease before the child evinces symptoms of weariness ; for it is desirable that the impression on his mind, at the conclusion of the lesson, be pleasurable, in order that he may feel a lively desire for its renewal. Protracting the investigation to an im- proper length would divest it of all its interest. Ten minutes of painful restraint may create in a child a strong dislike for the learning which is forced upon him : a week's or a month's delay would probably find him in a more favourable disposition ; or a trifling change in the mode of proceeding on the part of the teacher would suffice to make the same instruction agreeable and profitable. It is often the teacher who is to be blamed when the pupils are inattentive and take no interest in the lesson. These exercises in observation, which, in the commencement, ought not to exceed a few minutes, maybe gradually Lengthened, as children acquire with age greater command over their atten- tion, and greater desire for information. Many objects should, at first, be offered to their notice, because the immaturity of infancy does not permit a minute investigation of each ; and attention can then be kept up only by variety and novelty. As their powers of observation and reflection increase by exercise, the subjects of consideration must be gradually diminished, until one may suffice at a sitting. Thus, as they advance, being re- quired to attend more closely to a single object for a greater length of time, more unity of design is preserved, and more depth of information is acquired. But let it never be forgotten that long confinement and protracted application to one subject should be sedulously avoided. There must be no gloom, no misery, associated with the first intellectual exertions : happiness is the privilege of childhood. Sec. III.— EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 1. Size, Weight, Durability, &c, of things. When children have been for some time engaged in conversing on the subjects above alluded to, and when reading can be practised concurrently with and subsidiarily to oral instruction, that is, towards the age of ten or eleven, the instructor will introduce considerations of a higher character. He must now Sec. III.] EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 259 exercise the reflective powers of his pupils ; and, for this pur- pose, he must enlarge their sphere of observation, and explore with them the fields of science. The properties of things, or the laws of nature respecting them, which are submitted to the attention of young persons, must now be considered as the elements of scientific knowledge. These properties, or, to speak more philosophically, the relations in which things stand to each other, may be classified under three heads : 1. Relations to our constitution, as their colour, taste, temperature, form, &c. ; 2. Relations to other particular substances, as their compressibility, fusibility, inflammability, fra- gility, &c. ; 3. Relations to bodies in general, that is, which may be predicated of all bodies, whatever be their particular proper- ties, as rest, motion, extension, quantity, &c. The first two kinds of properties are elicited by comparison, and are relative ; those of the third kind are independent of relation to any particular substance, and are absolute. The properties which bodies possess as belonging to some particular class of beings, form the data from which to reason in natural history and the physical sciences ; the properties of the third kind form the subject of our reasoning in all mathematical investigations. In addition to the consideration of the parts and substances of objects, to the notions of number, form, colour, and other sen- sible properties, to which we have already alluded, the children will be made to estimate the size, weight, durability, and value of things, the relative proportions of different measures of the same kind, the relative positions of various objects, or of the different parts of one object, their distances from them, and from each other. For this new series of exercises the learners should be furnished with the various measures in common use, a yard and foot ; a quart, pint, and quartern ; scales, steelyard, and weights ; a dial with revolving hands ; gold, silver, and copper coins ; a plumb line, a square rule, and compasses. To these should be added the measures, weights, and coins of any foreign country whose language they are to learn. During the lesson these measures should always be at hand, and referred to as a test in the examination of objects. By frequent application of them, children would form a just idea of measm-es of all kinds, of the subdivision of time and the value of money, and would soon be familiarised with the calculations required for the ordinary purposes of life. A small sum, made up of the current coins of two countries, would enable them to s 2 0,30 NATIVE TONG UK. [Chap. II. practise various calculations in reduction and exchange. Different graduated measures of capacity and weight would offer similar exercises to discover their relative value, and show Low many measures of one kind are equivalent to one measure of the other. Many interesting arithmetical problems may be founded on the facts thus acquired. We need scarcely advert to the superiority of this practical instruction over the senseless and irksome task of learning by heart tables of weights and measures, often imposed on children, when they have no idea of what is meant by the technical terms of which they are composed. The details so often found in books of the value and measures of things, the dimensions of buildings, the distances of places, the heights of mountains, the length of rivers, &c, can convey but vague and erroneous ideas to those who do not possess clear notions of the current money, of ounces, pounds, and tons weight, of pints, gallons, and bushels, of feet, fathoms, and miles. The parts and the substances of objects being now investi- gated more philosophically than heretofore, will call the attention of the young observers to the classification and nomen- clature of organic and inorganic matter, and to the various departments of natural history and natural philosophy. The mention of colours may, henceforth, afford the instructor oppor- tunity of giving to incpiisitive learners an insight into the theory of light, of explaining, by means of the prism, the phenomenon of the rainbow, and of investigating many optical problems. Considerations of quantities, forms, dimensions, superficies, and magnitude, will gradually lead to practical arithmetic, to the elements of geometry, and to the measurement of plane and solid figures ; those of weight to the principles of gravitation, and, from them, to the elements of mechanics and astronomy ; those of distance to perspective and to the mention of the telescope and of astronomical discoveries ; those of durability and time to chro- nology and history ; those of value and cost to the elements of wealth and to the first principles of political economy ; references to the countries from which objects come will furnish the oppor- tunity of entering upon geographical inquiries. Thus, by the force of association, numberless chains of ideas, depending chiefiy on the information and habits of study of the instructor, will exercise the reflective powers of the young, and enrich their memory with extensive and useful knowledge. Sec. III.] EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 201 2. Physical Geography — Geographical box. In all investigations the instructor should seize every oppor- tunity to turn the conversation on useful subjects. But, among those which may engage the attention of the young, geography is one of the most suitable ; for it is addressed to the senses and memory as much as to the reflective powers. The child is taught the points of the compass relatively, first, to the position of the room in which he is, and, then, to the different parts of the house. He may, afterwards, when he is out of doors, ascertain the geographical direction of the streets, the course of the river, and the relative positions of different buildings. But, before the denominations of east, west, north, and south, are mentioned to him, he should be told of the ro- tundity of the earth as well as of its double rotary motion, and be made to observe the direction of the sun, its successive positions in the heavens — in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. These terms, arising out of the want which he has of them, will be clear, and easily retained. How many young people are there who, for want of this previous practical infor- mation, see in the cardinal points only the four sides of a map ! The geographical terms expressive of the various natural sub- divisions and physical characteristics of land and water can never be defined so as to give children clear and accurate ideas of the things which they represent. They are best explained in the presence of the things themselves. But as many of these objects cannot be seen in their natural state, their place might be sup- plied by a small model in relief of an imaginary portion of the earth exhibiting its principal features. The construction of such a model presents no difficulty : the author, applying to the education of his own children most of the suggestions thrown out in these pages, has made one himself for their use. A lake, a Mediterranean sea, bays, &c, are carved out of wood ; and mountains, rocks, banks of rivers, and undulations of the ground are made with putty ; the whole is painted in oil of the natural colour of the objects represented, — white for the snowy peaks, green for the valleys, &c. This model fits in a box one foot square by 2^ inches in depth, of which it occupies the half; the inside is painted a light bluish green, to imitate the colour of the sea. At the time of using this box it is half filled with water, which, 262 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. coming in contact with the sides of the model and passing under it, produces peninsulas, bays, harbours, creeks, lakes, &c. ; and thus gives a faithful and most vivid representation of the physical character of the terrestrial and aqueous globe. To add to the usefulness of this apparatus, a magnetic needle is placed on a pivot fixed on one of the mountains, thus indicating the relative geographical position of every spot. We need scarcely say that a geographical lesson founded on these elements is highly instructive and entertaining to young children. Their natural curiosity is excited at the sight of this model ; and they anxiously expect any information which the instructor is about to impart to them on the physical constitution of the globe, and the natural phenomena connected with its ex- istence. They may be called upon to define in their own words all the terms, of which they have the sensible signification before their eyes ; they see that an island is the counterpart of a lake ; a cape, of a bay ; an isthmus, of a strait : guided by the needle, they may be made to state the relative position of different places, as well as the directions of streams and chains of moun- tains in reference to the points of the compass. A survey of this fac-simile will give them an idea of the innumerable beauties of the terrestrial surface ; it will bring to their notice its verdant plains, its diversified hills, its winding rivers, expanding as they run down to the sea, which sj^reads its immense sheet over more than half the globe. They may be told of the indispensable agency of water towards the fertility of the earth, the existence of man, the arts of life, and international communication ; they may be told of navigation in modern and ancient times, of the mariner's compass and the polar star, of sailing and steam vessels, of maritime discoveries, of celebrated navigators and travellers, and of many other interesting subjects, which would be called to mind by the sight of land and water. Children take a lively pleasure in travelling, with the end of a pointer, over this Lilliputian world, and naming each place as they journey on ; sometimes following down a river from its source to its mouth, or seeking a defile in a mountain to pass into the valley at the other side ; sometimes resting on a table- land, or ascending a peak ; at other times, going along the coasts over strands and cliffs, standing on a promontory, or venturing on a sand-bank ; now and then shouting with joy at the discovery of a volcano, a cavern, a grotto, a cascade, or a cataract. All these objects will recall to the mind of an instructor conversant Sec. III.] EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 263 with the wonders of our planet, the most remarkable among their corresponding realities : the occasional mention of them, at the moment when his young hearers' attention is rivetted on the subject, could not fail to be eagerly received. These geographical topics will by an immediate connection turn the conversation on geological and atmospheric inquiries, on the structure of the earth, and the distribution of organic life over its surface ; its mines of coal, salt, metals, and diamonds ; its various strata and fossil remains ; on tides and winds, hot and mineral springs, water-spouts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and a thousand other natural phenomena. Thus will they, in an impressive manner, become rapidly and thoroughly acquainted with the elements of physical' geography and the great laws of nature, and be excited, at their entrance upon these studies, by the desire of proceeding farther. When a child has been familiarised with these elements, his next step will consist in being made acquainted with the nature of maps, that he may early know how to use them, and be in- duced to refer to them in the course of his reading. This he will accomplish most effectually by constructing some himself, under the guidance of his instructor. If he has been early encouraged to sketch from nature, he will easily draw with reference to the points of the compass the plan or map of the room in which he studies, and afterwards that of the premises and grounds sur- roundiug the house in which he lives. This will enable him the better to understand the relations which maps bear to the reality, and consequently to refer to them with the more profit. After he has executed several maps of particular places, he may undertake the tracing of whole countries. A black globe of two feet in diameter, at the least, made so as to admit of delinea- tions in chalk, would considerably facilitate this object and enable him to solve many geographical questions. A skilful teacher will see at once all the advantages which could be derived from such a globe. The clear notions of number and measures which the child may, by this time, have acquired will facilitate his further pro- gress in the study of geography, by enabling him to conceive rightly the various numerical considerations which occur as part of that science, such as the superficies of the earth, the extent of countries, the relative distance of places, the amount of popula- tion, the length of rivers, the height of mountains, the measure of degrees, and others. 264 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. 3. Political Geography; Globe with National Flags. Equal in importance to a knowledge of the physical constitu- tion of our globe is an acquaintance with the various races of men who cover its surface, and the numerous political com- munities into which they are formed. A complete course of geography should comprise these different subjects of considera- tion. When children have clear notions of the extent, form, composition, and external configuration of the earth, they may with profit be told of the different countries into which it has been subdivided, and be informed of their resources, and of every thing relating to the nations by which they are inhabited. This information constitutes political geography, which is the founda- tion of political science ; for, unless we know the condition of a country and its inhabitants, we cannot reason correctly on their wants, customs, and means of prosperity. The elements of the condition of a country are either natural or artificial. The natural elements are its geographical position, its climate, its boundaries, its coast-line, the character of its rivers, and the quality of its soil, its mineral, vegetable, or animal productions, and lastly, its population ; the artificial elements consist of the civil and political institutions of the people, their agriculture, manufacture, and commerce ; their progress in the arts and sciences ; their language, literature, religion, and mode of life. The attention of the learners should be directed to all these subjects in turn, as circumstances afford opportunities of entering upon them. They should, especially, be shown how the natural elements of a country, by determining the character and peculiar energies of the people, influence their industrial, social, moral, and intellectual habits. As an introduction to the first elements of political geography we would recommend the use of a globe containing only the terrestrial and aqueous configuration of the earth, with the national boundaries of the different countries and an indication of their capitals. The child, who has to learn these first notions, can, with this globe, easily attend to them without the confusion which, in using the ordinary maps and globes, arises from the numerous names and lines of rivers with which they are covered, and which are not needed at the outset. But to render this first study more impressive and more interesting, we connect it with another branch of information, which, although most useful Sec. III.] EXEECISBS IN REFLECTION. 2G5 through life, has been totally overlooked in the education of youth. We allude to those emblems which, floating in the breeze, proclaim all over the globe the existence and power of the nations which they represent. An acquaintance with national flags is indispensable to naval and military men, and useful to all the members of a commercial community; for they serve to distinguish the different nations in their political, military, and commercial relations. The dis- tinctive flags of the numerous ships which crowd our harbours and docks are to him who is acquainted with them the source of much valuable information. They exhibit in one view our com- mercial intercourse with foreign nations ; they lead the mind to an inquiry into the nature of our imports and exports, and hence into an investigation of our agricultural and manufacturing produce. The child, having been told the names of the nations to which the flags belong, is desired to place these in the capitals of the countries to which they belong, and which are indicated by small holes into which the ends of the flag-staffs are made to fit. It may be easily conceived how amusing and instructive he will find the occupation of planting these standards in their proper places. When they have been distributed all over the globe, the pleasing effect which their variegated colours and their different emblems present to his eye powerfully fixes his atten- tion : he sees at one glance, and in a striking manner, the relative positions of all nations, and their various possessions abroad. In order to extend still farther the utility of this geographical apparatus, the size of the flags should vary with the degree of political power of each nation, and the length of the staffs with the extent of territory of each country. On the staffs may be inscribed the amount of population of the respective countries, their superficies in square miles, and the names of their capitals. In addition to these fundamental notions, the instructor could, now and then, as any flag engages the attention of his young pupils, associate with it much useful information concerning the people to whom it belongs. He may speak of their mode of government, their customs, national character, and degree of civilisation ; of the pursuits in which they are most remarkable, and the discovei'ies and inventions with which they have bene- fited humanity ; of their standard works, and the advantages to be derived from a knowledge of their language. With this apparatus, and in the case especially of young persons of the upper ranks, a well-informed teacher may highly 266 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. entertain his pupils with interesting narratives relating to the veneration of people for their national flags, the honour attached to their defence, or to the taking of one belonging to an enemy, and the deeds of valour to which both gave rise in ancient and modern wars. A description of the armorial bearings of nations and noble families, which originated in the crusades, and are emblazoned on their different banners and coats of arms, as also an account of the origin of feudal distinctions, and their emble- matic mode of transmission to posterity through the devices of heraldry, would excite in high-spirited youths a lively interest in the chivalrous exploits of their ancestors, and in the history of the middle ages : the inquiries might be continued down to modern times, in following the traces of these distinctions still perceptible in the military uniforms of nations and the liveries of private families. In concluding these suggestions on the mode of introducing young persons to the study of geography, we will extract from an American writer a short and lively description of a lesson on this subject, delivered in his presence by a German professor to an elementary class. We feel the more inclined to do so, as it shows the value of linear drawing in teaching, and presents a new feature in geographical instruction. "The teacher stood by the black board with the chalk in his hand. After casting his eye over the class to see that all were ready, he struck at the middle of the board. With a rapidity of hand which my eye could hardly follow, he made a series of those short divergent lines, or shadings, employed by map-engravers to represent a chain of mountains. He had scarcely turned an angle, or shot off a spur, when the scholars began to cry out, 'Carpathian Mountains, Hungary, Black Forest Mountains, Wurtemberg,' &c. " In less than half a minute, the ridge of that grand central elevation, which separates the waters that flow north-west into the German Ocean, from those that flow north into the Baltic, and south-east into the Black Sea, was presented to view, exe- cuted almost as beautifully as an engraving. A dozen crinkling strokes, made in the twinkling of an eye, represented the head waters of the great rivers which flow in different directions from that mountainous range ; while the children, almost as eager and excited as though they had actually seen the torrents dashing down the mountain sides, cried out 'Danube, Elbe, Vistula, Oder,' &c. The next moment I heard a succession of small Sec. III.] EX EKCISES IX REFLECTION. 267 strokes, or taps, so rapid as to be almost indistinguishable, and hardly had iny eye time to discern a large number of dots made along the margins of the rivers, when the shout of 'Lintz, Vienna, Prague, Dresden,' &c-, struck my ear. At this point in the exercise, the spot which had been occupied on the black board was nearly a circle, of which the starting-point, or place where the teacher first began, was the centre, but now a few additional strokes around the circumference of the incipient continent extended the mountain ranges outwards towards the plain, — the children responding the names of the countries in which they respectively lay. With a few more flourishes the rivers flowed onwards, towards their several terminations, and, by another succession of dots, new cities sprang up along their banks. By this time the children had become as much excited as though they had been present at a world-making. They rose in their seats, they flung out both hands, and their eyes kindled as they cried out the names of the different places, which, under the magic of the teacher's crayon, rose into view. Within ten minutes from the commencement of the lesson, there stood upon the black board a beautiful map of Germany, with its mountains, principal rivers, and cities, the coast of the German Ocean, of the Baltic and the Black Seas, and all so accurately proportioned, that I think only slight errors would have been found, had it been subjected to the test of a scale of miles. A part of this time was taken up in correcting a few mistakes of the pupils — for the teacher's mind seemed to be in his ear as well as in his hand — and, notwithstanding the astonishing celerity of his movements, he detected erroneous answers, and turned round to correct them. The rest of the lesson consisted in questions and answers respecting productions, climate, soil, animals, &c, &c." " Compare," the author adds, " the effects of such a lesson as this, both as to the amount of the knowledge communicated and the vividness, and, of course, the permanence, of the ideas ob- tained, with a lesson where the scholars look out a few names of places on a lifeless Atlas, but never send their imaginations abroad over the earth, and where the teacher sits listlessly down before them to interrogate them from a book, in which all the questions are printed at full length, to supersede, on his part, all necessity of knowledge."* * Horace Mann, Report of an Educational Tour. See Quarterly Journal of Edu- cation, Nos. XIII. and XIV., for very judicious strictures on the study of Physical Geography, by G. Long, and of Political Geography, by A. Vieusseux. 268 NATIVE TONGUE. I . u\ II. 4. History and Chronology. Connected with political geography and the subdivisions of the globe is the history of its inhabitants at different periods. Children may be made acquainted with the most celebrated characters of various nations, and the most remarkable events of their history, as particular countries are brought to their notice in the course of the conversation, — the instructor taking care always to associate with the historical fact the time and place at which it occurred. It is particularly from sensible objects, from engravings, pictures, statues, bas-reliefs, and ancient monu- ments, that they should incidentally receive their first notions i >f history and chronology. Pictorial illustrations, which so gene- rally accompany the text of modern publications, may easily be procured ; they will, from the vividness ami permanency of visual impressions, be a useful auxiliary, in fixing historical facts on the memory. Some regularity, however, may be introduced in this branch of instruction by means of synoptical tables of events and kings, arranged chronologically and synchronically. With one of these tables, a well-informed teacher will be enabled to impart to his pupils a large amount of interesting information on the history of the nation, which is, at the time, the object of their conside- ration. This instruction should, at first, be purely narrative, the teacher confining himself to memorable events, heroic actions, remarkable sayings, and all those beautiful traits, which, while they interest young persons, tend to elevate their minds, and excite in them a taste for historical studies. It needs scarcely be observed that children should at first be introduced to the history of their own country in preference to that of any other ; their attention should next be directed to sacred history, which, going back to the origin of the world, is the best preparation for the study of ancient history and for the reading of the Holy Scriptures. With those who are destined to receive a classical education, Rome, Greece, and their mythology may be made occasionally subjects of conversation : and, in general, the history of any nation, whose language is being or is to be learned, should be made an object of instruction, either orally or through books, earlier than would otherwise be desirable. In alluding to dates, the children should be led gradually from the present time, through a series of epochs not very distant from Sec. III.] EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 2G9 each other, up to the one referred to. Chronology and history should, in fact, be taught upwards, from the most recent to the most ancient dates, if we wish young learners to form a clear conception of remote eras. They will benefit the more from the past, as they understand better the present, and can compare one with the other (15). A regular course of historical studies, however, can be pursued only by means of a series of works free at first from any detail of wars and political events, and increasing in minuteness and seriousness of matter progressively with the intellectual advance- ment of the learners. The information which they will thus acquire will be best retained by making it a subject of conversa- tion with the instructor, or by simply narrating in their own words as much as they can remember. Should any important particulars be forgotten, the teacher may recall them and direct the attention of his pupils to them for a second perusal. In order that they may receive from their historical studies useful lessons of morality and political science, he should accustom them to reflect on the motives of action and the passions of men, on the concatenation of events and their effects on the condition of the people, on the principles of good government, and the causes which produce either the happiness and prosperity, or the misery and ruin of a nation. But this regular course cannot be entered upon at a very early age : this would be more dangerous than profitable. History to a young child would only be a confused collection of facts ; for he could not perceive their relations with each other, nor appreciate their causes and consequences : and these facts, being read without discernment, could but impair his understanding. As it records more injustice and bloodshed than virtue and philanthropy, he would thus be early accustomed to depravity. It is best learned after the age of fifteen ; until this time, young people may prepare for it by the study of geography and the perusal of voyages and travels. History is particularly objectionable, as are all purely intel- lectual pursuits, during the first two periods of youth, because it does not exercise the powers of perception and observation. Those branches of knowledge should be preferred, which are favourable to out-of-door instruction, and which take for their theme the works of the Creation. 270 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. 5. Excursions into the Country, and visits to Manufactories. A child may be introduced to the elements of physical know- ledge, in his walks in the country, in the garden, or by the water-side. He may be made to observe the hills and valleys, islands and lakes, fields and woods ; the immense variety of plants, and the action of light, heat, and rain upon them ; the different kinds of soils and the consequent varieties of vegeta- tion ; the origin of streams, the direction of the winds, their important office in nature, and their immense benefit to man. The changes which take place from one season to another should not be allowed to pass unnoticed : interesting phenomena occur at every period of the year, in the spring, especially, when the air, earth, and water are teeming with life. Let him watch the progress of the leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, and seeds of plants ; let him follow the operations of nature in her various states, and observe the assistance which she receives from agriculture. At other times, let his attention be directed to animated nature : the active scene around him will present new and endless sub- jects of inquiry ; the birds which fly on all sides, the cattle which graze in the meadow, the insects which creep at his feet, or buzz in the air, all will afford inexhaustible sources of most valuable instruction. If his curiosity be judiciously excited and directed, he will watch with deep interest the varied and astonishing instincts by which these infinitely diversified beings sustain their existence, unconsciously but unerringly guided by their bountiful Creator. Such lessons are peculiarly suited to the inhabitants of the country, who, passing their lives in the presence of nature, may derive continual profit and pleasure from the study of her laws, and the contemplation of her wonders. To a person whose attention has not been duly awakened to the external world, and who has not been early accustomed to observe, all the admirable works of creation are lost, the surface of the earth is a blank. The busy scene of nature passes before an unpractised eye without communicating an idea to the mind, and without kindling the spirit of devout adoration of Him, whose universal love smiles everywhere. It is but another proof of the harmony of design in all the works of the Creator, that this method of directly cultivating the observing faculty cannot be adequately carried out without Sec. III.] F.XKRCISES IN REFLECTION. 271 a certain amount of muscular exertion, and of daily exposure to the open air, in collecting and examining the varied objects of interest with which creation abounds. In other words, we cannot benefit the perceptive faculties without, at the same time, benefiting the muscular system and the organs of respiration, circulation, and digestion ; and this grand recommendation in the eye of reason — pursuing study in the field of nature instead of in books alone — is actually, though not avowedly, that which retards its adoption in ordinary education. A ramble from the school-room into the country to survey the works of God, is deemed an encouragement to idleness and a love of pleasure ; and, therefore, it is denied. * In rural excursions the sight should be exercised in distin- guishing remote objects, and appreciating their number, forms, and dimensions ; their distance should be estimated by the eye, and immediately verified by measurement. Short distances may be ascertained by paces, and longer ones by noticing the time consumed in passing over them. Thus, the relation existing between space, time, and motion maybe shown in measuring the one by the other. Let the child find out what space can be passed over in a given time, or with a given velocity ; what time is required to walk or run, at a certain rate, over a certain dis- tance ; what rapidity of motion is requisite to reach a determined point in a given time. Such practices would prove useful in many ways. The estimating of distances at sight, which in some people seems an intuitive act, is merely the result of habit ; yet, how few can judge with even tolerable accuracy of the distances at which objects are from each other, and from their own eye ! To estimate the angle which objects make at the eye, is another practice of real utdity to all men, and to naval and military men in particular. A country residence is most favourable for pursuing all these exercises. To those who are confined within the precincts of a town we would recommend occasional visits to foundries, fac- tories, and workshops : art, as well as nature, abounds in sources of instruction. In these visits a child would witness the facts which have already been made the subjects of his conversations, and would see the application of the sciences which wdl sub- sequently demand his attention. Thus would mechanical and intellectual pursuits assist each other. "What an immense stock of scientific principles," says Dugald Stewart, " lie buried * See A. Combe's Elements of Physiology. 272 NATIVE TONGUE. [Cii.u-. II amid the details of manufactures and of arts ! We may form an idea of this from an acknowledgment of Mr. Boyle, that he had learned more by frequenting the shops of tradesmen than from all the volumes he had read."* He whose mind has been early familiarised with the interest- ing scenes of nature and the wonders of art, will never lose the impressive lessons which they teach. Long after, in the ardour of literary composition, or amidst the excitement of public as- semblies, their vivid images will reappear in their pristine lustre to give happy expression to thoughts which shall then be awakened by passing events. 6. Natural History, Mineralogy, Geology, Botany, Zoology. When, by casual consideration of objects, children have been familiarised with a variety of natural substances, the teacher, introducing more order into his lessons, may venture on classifi- cations, and treat methodically of the three kingdoms of nature. This subject will furnish favourable opportunities for making frequent reference to physical geography, with which it is closely associated, by reason of the diversity of organic and inorganic beings, consequent on the difference of climate in various parts of the globe ; whilst the practice of distinguishing the character- istic features of these beings, and following the chain which connects them, is highly cakmlated to improve the perceptive and observant powers, and to create habits of nice discrimination. The amazing variety of interesting objects which natural history offers for consideration, and the admirable adaptation of means to ends which they exhibit, render it the fittest branch of know- ledge for exciting in young people a spirit of inquiry, and a sense of the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness of God. Mineralogy may be made an object of attention in the first stages of instruction. The distinctive qualities of inert matter are more simple and less numerous than those of vegetable and animal substances ; they are more distinct and better defined. Minerals, different from plants and animals, can be kept within reach, and exhibited in all their different states. The brilliant colours of gems and metallic ores, as also their crystallisation, a most striking feature of the external character of minerals, are well calculated to excite the curiosity of children * Philosophical Essays, cli. 2. Bec.III.] EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 273 and to fix their attention. The singular properties of diamonds, gold, quicksilver, and the loadstone, and the great diversity of purposes to which these minerals, and, more especially, silver, copper, lead, and iron, are appropriated, should be offered to their notice, as also the chief attributes of metals — their lustre, sonorousness, tenacity, malleability, ductility, fusibility, specific gravity. The examination of metals will naturally lead to the mention of mines, the modes of working them, the countries where they are found, and the curious processes of metallurgy. Closely connected with mineralogy is geology, which presents a most interesting field of research ; it carries the mind from the consideration of rocks and mines, of mountains and valleys, to the period of their creation, and, by a natural transition, to Him who created them. Geology is, as it were, the earth's auto- biography, written in symbolical and unmistakeable language. Young persons should be familiarised with its elements and general outlines as soon as they can comprehend them. They may be told of the composition and arrangement of the materials which form the crust of our globe, of the changes which are continually wrought on its surface by the agency of inundations, earthquakes, volcanoes, and of the admirable contrivances by which it has been rendered, throughout successive ages, capable of supporting countless myriads of organic existences. The important functions which plants perform in the economy of nature, the arts of civilisation, and the support of life, claim for botany a prominent place in modern education. Few objects in the external world are more interesting than vegetable pro- ductions, and, especially, flowers and fruits, whose richness of colouring, as well as endless diversity of hues, forms, fragrance, and flavour, excite admiration for the wonderful display of power and goodness which they proclaim in their Author. The instructor should bring to his pupils' notice the influence of climate and culture on vegetation, the immense variety of plants, their ex- quisite perfection and universal usefulness ; he should explain their structure and the functions of their organs, their mode of nourishment, of propagation, and their growth, the nutritious properties of some and medicinal properties of others. Every botanical fact shows design, and affords matter for serious con- sideration, such as the natural dissemination of seeds, the succes- sive changes of plants, the invariable direction of roots and branches, the circulation of the sap, the transpiration of the leaves, their happy distribution for the reception of light, air, and water, VOL. I. T 274 NATIVE TONGUK. [CHAP. II. the purification of the atmosphere by their absorbent powers, and many other surprising phenomena of the vegetable kingdom. To make children acquainted with plants, their names and botanical character, the instructor may, at first, place before them only a few of the most familiar species, and gradually intro- duce to their notice flowers, shrubs, and trees, less common, — passing from indigenous to exotic, with the assistance of pictorial representations. By helping them to examine in what particular each differs from the others — independently, however, at first, of scientific nomenclature — he will enable them soon to distinguish the leading characters of a great number of plants, and will open their minds to endless subjects of admiration in the infinite variety of nature. Different specimens of timber may also be presented to them, which will further engage their attention in discriminating between the properties of wood, and thence lead to a consi- deration of its usefulness. There is scarcely a plant of which the whole or some portion is not employed for food, medicine, clothing, or furniture, for distilling, dying, tanning, building, or other useful arts of life. In fact, the innumerable uses to which vegetable as well as mineral substances are applied by man for satisfying his wants or multiplying his enjoyments, may be exhibited in every thing around : such considerations Avill be an excellent preparation for entering upon the study of the physical sciences. Zoology will afford endless subjects of familiar conversation, both amusing and instructive. The lively interest which children usually take in animals renders these suitable objects for giving them elementary notions of natural history. The domestic species should, at first, engage then* attention, and, afterwards, by means of coloured prints, the most remarkable among those which do not come within daily observation, may be made the subjects of very useful lessons. The fidelity and sagacity of the dog, the docility of the horse, the intelligence of the elephant, the industry of the beaver, the persevering fortitude of the camel, the generous magnanimity of the lion, will supply matter for entertaining narratives, serious reflections, and incentives to further inquiries. The instructor may speak of the varieties of animals differing with the latitudes in which they live, of their external forms and characteristic qualities ; of their food, disposi- tion, and instincts, in accordance with their organisation ; of the tender solicitude they display for their young ; and of the services Sec. III.] EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 275 which many of them render to man. Particular mention should be made of those which supply his wants or administer to his well-being, during their lives, with their strength, swiftness, and sagacity, their milk and honey, their wool and silk, and, after their death, with their flesh, skin, fur, hair, feathers, bones, horn, ivory, shell, and other useful articles. If the conversation turn upon birds, he may expatiate on their varieties, plumage, migratury instincts, nest-building, power of imitation and melody. These subjects would lead incidentally to the different modes of fowling, hunting, and fishing in various countries. Fishes and insects should, in their turn, become objects of inquiry ; their diversified conformation, their amazing fecundity, and their wonderful adaptation both to the elements in which they move and to their modes of existence, will challenge admira- tion. The multiplicity of insects, and, especially, of animalcula, is so vast as to baffle the most minute investigation : every plant, every leaf, every drop of water, is the abode of myriads which escape the naked eye, and are visible only by the aid of the microscope. The transformations which some insects undergo, the ingenuity and industry which others display in the structure of their habitations ; their diverse ways of procuring food, their instinctive skill in selecting places of safety for the deposition of their eggs, and in providing for the future wants of the young ; their contrivances to guard their dwellings from the assaults of enemies, their modes of defence when attacked, their social habits — we may almost say, their municipal regulations and political constitutions — and innumerable other instances of the wise arrangement of a bountiful God, in providing for the pre- servation and well-being of his creatures, may be opportunely presented to children by a judicious and enlightened instructor. It is when the young are filled with admiration for the tender care which the Creator has bestowed on his creatures, that bene- volent feelings can be most effectively awakened in their hearts ; they may be impressed with the idea that the lower animals, having sensations in common with humanity, cruelty to them is a crime. Pity to animals begets charity to men. The seasonable narration of some remarkable trait of the instinct of animals, of some anecdote of their attachment or sagacity, would interest children, call for their sympathies, and, at the same time, inspire them with a wish to inquire further into natural history. Many celebrated philosophers and naturalists have acquired their taste for science from some pleasurable association of their earliest t 2 276 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. childhood. Linnaeus attributed his love for the study of plants to some observations on a flower which his father made to him when he was about four years of age. The biography of eminent men would furnish multitudes of incidents which have similarly determined in them corresponding peculiarities of character. 7. Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Physiology, and Menial Philosophy. When the children's attention has been, for some time, eng in acquiring a knowledge of the external forms and characters of objects, the description of which constitutes natural history, they maybe made acquainted with the most curious and most important among the innumerable phenomena of nature, the secret causes of which are unveiled by natimd philosophy. They may be led to consider the effects of bodies acting on each other, the laws of gravitation, motion, equilibrium, and the various mechanical powers, — the lever, the pulley, the wedge, the screw, the inclined plane. They should be shown of what immense advantage to civilised man are these mechanical appliances and others, sxich as wind, water, steam, and the electro-magnetic fluid. The governing laws of mechanics may be illustrated by implements of domestic use, — the poker, scissors, nut-crackers, steelyard, will exhibit various forms of levers ; the very playthings of children, — a top, a hoop, a kite, a ball, marbles, soap-bubbles, a sucker, a pop-gun, will exemplify diverse principles of science ; no toy is despicable, no occupation is frivolous, which can assist in the elucidation of truth. The pressure, levels, motion, elasticity, weight, and other properties of fluids, as well as the specific gravity of bodies, may be elicited in a familiar way, by the scientific results which bear more immediately on the occupations of life. Swimming, the floating of vessels, canals, water-mills, the water-press and water- clock, forcing and lifting pumps, the fire-engine, syphon, diving-bell, and many other philosophical contrivances, could be made the subjects of most interesting conversations in illustration of the properties of air and water. In alluding especially to the air, its nature and use in the arts maybe further explained, and rendered sensible by means of the windmill, barometer, thermo- meter, air-pump, bellows, balloons, &c. Air being the medium of sound, its investigations would naturally lead to the con- sideration of acoustic phenomena, which may be elucidated by the BBC. III.] EX ERCISES IN REFLECTION. 277 vibration of bells, the effects of echoes, thunder, gunpowder, whispering-galleries, the speaking-trumpet, wind and string instruments, musical-glasses, &c. It would be impossible here to enumerate the various familiar modes by which may be illustrated the principles of mechanics, hydrodynamics, pneumatics, electricity, galvanism, magnetism, optics, and astronomy. Books should be consulted by the teacher, both as means of enriching his own mind, and as stores from which he may select such information or such experiments as may be best suited to the understandings of his pupils ; but the order in which are usually pursued all serious studies is, by no means, that which he should adopt in communicating the facts, or teaching the language of science to children. His chief object should be, by indulging their taste for variety and taking advantage of circumstances, to inspire them with an earnest love of knowledge. No branch of instruction is better calculated than O natiu - al philosophy for exciting and gratifying their curiosity : and, whatever be the way or the order in which they acquire the elements of that science, if they are once conversant with them, everything they read afterwards will find its place. The parti- cular circumstances of time, place, fortune, or social position, in which the learners are placed, will best suggest to a well-informed instructor the department of the science and the modes of illus- tration which are available or appropriate ; but there can be no doubt that, with diagrams and experiments, such as may be found in many popular works on the subject, the elements of natural philosophy may be brought within the comprehension of children under the a^e of twelve. With regard to chemistry, the instructor may, as occasion suggests, examine with his pupils the affinity between various substances, their elements, their mutual action, and all attractions and repulsions which form its basis. He should particularly communicate to them information respecting the various bodies and natural elements which are constantly exercising their influence on our condition, and on all things around us, as air, water, steam, gases, light, heat, and electricity ; he should explain the nature of bodies in their three states, solid, fluid, and aeriform, their characteristic properties, the laws of composition and decomposition, of evaporation and condensation, of combustion, oxidation, and many other chemical operations of nature or art, which would receive additional interest from experiments intro- duced for their illustration, or from instances of their application 27S NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. to the arts of modem civilisation. Dr. David B. Eeid has shown that the leading principles of this science may be easily adapted to the most elementary instruction, and rendered accessible to all classes of society, at such a moderate charge as will not prevent those even in the humbler ranks from attending to them. All investigations of nature, even those of the most elementary kind, will be found of eminent service in developing and training the mind to habits of observation, inquiry, and reflection. They dx-aw attention to natural theology, and are highly calculated to elevate the soul by the admiration which the wonders of creation cannot fail to excite, at the same time that they provide youi>L f people with an inexhaustible source of mental enjoyment, and afford them positive advantages for the practical purposes of life. This is particularly the case with chemistry, the application of which is so universal and so immediately connected with the arts and all the wants of man. " In this new magic," says Cuvier, " the chemist has only to wish : everything can be changed into anything, and any thing can be extracted from every thing." * The minds of young persons will be opened to a train of thinking, which, in some, may lead to most important results, if they are occasionally shown by experiments that the infinite varieties of the material world are only different conijwunds of a few elements. The thoughts of children may also be directed to their bodily frames, which present all the considerations of colour, form, dimension, properties, uses, &c, belonging to matter. The teacher may explain the functions of the sensitive, the vocal, and the muscular organs, the utility of which can be made obvious to the youngest child ; he may, as an example of that admirable adapta- tion to each other of all the parts of the animal economy in man, show them how beautiful is the mechanism of the hand, how won- derfully calculated it is to execute the commands of the human mind. They will thus be impressed with a consciousness of the infinite wisdom of Him who, in making man superior to all other animals by his intellectual powers, has given him the instrument with which he can exercise his sovereignty over the Creation. From a consideration of the external organs he may pass to that of the internal ; he may examine with his pupils the functions of the stomach, the lungs, the heart, and the brain ; the structure of the bones ; the manner in which the different joints, muscles, nerves, and vessels perform their office ; their * inflexions sur les Sciencts. Sec. III.] EXERCISES IN REFLECTION. 279 mutual subserviency and happy adaptation to the preserva- tion, strength, motion of the body, in fact to the whole consti- tution of man. Few subjects are more easily taught orally than physiology and anatomy. The presence of the living body precludes, to a great extent, the necessity of written descriptions, of preparations, models, or skeletons. With instruction on this subject shoidd be combined explanations of the great hygienic principles, the observance of which is indispensable. Young persons should be made acquainted with the constitution of the atmosphere, and with the relation of its elements to the functions of respiration and to the composi- tion of the blood: they should be shown the influence of exercise on the muscles and bones, on digestion and circulation. They will be less tempted to violate the physical laws of their nature, when they are aware of the consequences of the violation. They will better guard against accident or disease, when they know in what manner the human constitution is influenced by air, food, exercise, and moral causes. Every parent is boimd to give to his children that information on which their future existence and well-being so greatly depend. A knowledge of physiology more universally diffused would be a check on medical quackery. The close dependence and analogy which exist between the functions of the physical and those of the mental faculties, will render inquiries about the latter both easy and interesting. There is nothing, for example, in our introductory Book which may not be made as plain to children twelve or thirteen years old, as any other subject of inquiry to which we have ad- verted. The study of the mind as well as that of the body, is founded on familiar facts placed within his powers of obser- vation and discrimination. He can early be made to consider the different states and actions of his own mind, and to discri- minate between attention and reflection, memory and imagination, judgment and reasoning. He may be made to observe what passes within himself when he receives perceptions, When he associates ideas, when he compares and draws conclusions, when he has desii-es and contracts habits. He can be shown when he applies properly or otherwise his moral and intellectual faculties. He will thus acquire a knowledge of himself and a habit of self-examination, which will teach him how to use his faculties to the greatest advantage ; at the same time that it will make him feel his dignity as an intellectual being and as a 280 NATIVE TONGUE. r. II. creature destined to immortality. But " the great advantage which he will derive from inquiry into the laws of his own mind, is much less in the addition which it gives to his own power or wisdom, than in the evidence which it affoi'ds him of tlic wisdom with which his constitution is framed, and the magnificent purposes for which it is framed."* Sect. IV.— MODE OF IMPARTING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION TO CHILDREN. The younger the children are the less methodical ought to be the course of instruction. They must not, at first, dwell long on particulars, or investigate any subject profoundly. It is enough that their judgments be exercised incidentally and in a playful manner. Formality and gravity must be avoided, not to create dislike. The conversations should be enlivened by cheerfulness, and the subject illustrated by familiar and amusing experiments. Such illustrations will foster a taste for scientific pursuits more effectually than dry dissertations. The teacher must take care not to measure his pupils' capacity by his own ; he should not cram them with truths beyond the feeble grasp of their intellect, nor force on them abstract principles of science. He should chiefly dwell on facts, and especially on those which can be ascertained by the percep- tive faculties. The simplest and most obvious qualities should, alone, in the first instance, be presented to their notice ; and, by a succession of observations and experiments, as they become capable of deeper investigation, they may be led to discover the most hidden properties, even those which are cogni- sable only by chemical analysis. To accomplish this object, the practical instruction unfolded in this chapter should be carried on beyond the age of twelve and conjointly with classical education. It will, in the third period of youth, assume the form of regular scientific courses and discussions on the higher departments of knowledge. The instructor may then occa- sionally deliver short and interesting lectures, with a view to investigate more fully some of the subjects touched upon in the conversations. The sort of information which bears more immediately on the future position of the learner may thus be pursued in connection with a proper course of reading. * A. Alison : Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste. Sec. IV.] MODE OF IMPARTING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION. 2S1 As the pupils advance in mental power, the instructor should make occasional excursions on philosophical and scientific ground, in order to excite in them a taste for such studies as they are afterwards seriously to pursue. Yet, it must not be forgotten that little more than elementary instruction can be imparted to children under twelve years of age; and nothing more is wanted until the third period. All those who have made some advance in knowledge wdl readily admit that, in every branch, elementary principles alone are required to be taught : beyond this, reading, study, and observation may, without the assis- tance of teachers, carry a learner to the highest departments of science. But although a child is not to be made a scholar or a philo- sopher before his time, he should be encouraged to investigate subjects for himself and to draw his own conclusions ; he should be accustomed to direct his attention to serious matters, and his mind should be gradually prepared for abstract reasoning. If he begins by learning philosophy in sport, he must not, as Walter Scott aptly expresses it, make sport of philosophy. He should be early made conscious that, to follow the paths of knowledge with advantage, persevering and laborious effort must be made ; for, in general, nothing worth learning is attainable without trouble. To minds properly trained, the overcoming of diffi- culties, consequent on earnest application, is a pleasure at any period of life. Observation and reflection, concentrated for a long time on one study, produce more beneficial effects than the capricious and versatile impulses of genius. Newton, James "Watt, Buffon, Cuvier, and all those who have accomplished important objects in science or art, owed their success chiefly to patient investigation, undeviatingly directed to one great end. Many persons, who, in their youth, have not gone through this mental discipline, shrink in the maturity of age from entering upon the study of any branch of information which it might be desirable for them to possess. Others, who have been more accustomed to depend for information on their books and masters than on themselves, are often incapable of advancing one step beyond what they have been taught. " I am persuaded," says Descartes, "that, if I had been taught in my youth all the truths, the demonstrations of which I have since sought, and if I had not had some trouble in learning them, I should perhaps never have acquired the habit and facility which, I think, I have, in finding new ones, in proportion as I apply myself to 282 NATIVE' TONGUE. [Chap. II. the discovery."* No branch of knowledge, however difficult to be attained, is beyond the reach of those who feel conscious of their own capability and independence. It is the business of early education to beget this consciousness. Sect. V.— ON INCULCATING NOTIONS OF TASTE, ORDER, AM) PIETY. The minds of the young require to be refined as well as informed ; the instructor ought then to cultivate their taste, by frequently turning their attention to the many circumstances which concur in producing the beautiful, either in nature or in art. With this view, fitness and utility of things, symmetry and variety of forms, proportion and relation of parts, contrast and blending of colours, grace and regularity of motion, grandeur and unity of design, must be successively examined in objects which excite pleasure or admiration. The latter feeling is a powerful means of education ; and, to produce it in children, every opportunity should be seized to give them a consciousness of all that is grand and beautiful. The verdant field, the shady grove, the towering mountain, the variegated landscape, the boundless ocean, the starry firmament, the rising and setting sun, and all other enchanting and sublime scenes of nature shoidd be frequently offered to their contemplation ; early associations evolved from such perceptions and from the trains of ideas to which they lead, will be the source of intel- lectual pleasures in maturity, and the foundation of good taste in the fine arts. Painting, statuary, poetry, and all descriptive or imaginative compositions, owe their choicest beauties to the study and contemplation of nature. " While a taste for the beauty and sublimity of nature opens to the years of youth a source of pure and of permanent enjoy- ment, it has consequences on the character and happiness of future life, which they are unable to foresee. It is to identify them with the happiness of that nature to which they belong ; to give them an interest in every species of being which surrounds them, and, amid the hours of curiosity and delight, to awaken those latent feelings of benevolence and sympathy, from which all the moral and intellectual greatness of man finally arises. It is to lay the foundation of an early and of a manly piety, * Discours sur la Mithodi . Sec. V.] ON INCULCATING NOTIONS OF TASTE, etc. 283 and to make them look upon the universe which they inhabit, not as the abode only of human cares or human joys, but as the temple of the Living God, in which praise is due, and where service is to be performed."* Although the works of art yield in magnificence and perfec- tion to those of nature, they must not be overlooked. Engravings, paintings, statues, monuments, ruins, everything which speaks to the eye and imagination, should be brought before the notice of young persons, as eminently conducive to the culti- vation of taste. Thus will they gradually acquire the power of enjoying and admiring the master-pieces of art, as well as the wonders of creation ; hence, also, will they become capable of appreciating the merits of the splendid and vivid descriptions which characterise the works of great writei-s, ancient and modern, who have been the most faithful interpreters of nature. Habits of order will especially be conducive to the cultivation of taste ; for order is essential to beauty. Children should be accustomed to do everything at the proper time, to put every- thing in its proper place, to observe regularity in all they do, and to notice it wherever it exists. They should be made to perceive the analogies between things, the links in the succes- sion of events, and the periodical return of natural phenomena. Order has a most powerful and beneficial influence on all the operations of the human mind ; it fixes attention, assists memory, regulates imagination, and rectifies judgment : it is the torch of reason. By an easy toansition, children may be shown how wisely the Author of all things has ordered the most minute details of the creation ; how beneficially he has adapted the nature and habits of man, the conformation and instincts of animals, to the climate and productions of the country in which they are intended to live. Thus the perfect order which reigns throughout the universe, and the wonderful adaptation of everything to the use for which it is intended by the Almighty, will become constant objects of their contemplation. Every evidence of wise and beneficent design will render the facts more interesting, will exercise reason and excite admiration. There is no created thing, no operation in nature, which is not calculated to raise our souls towards heaven, and to teach a lesson of piety and virtue. A child should be constantly led "to look through nature up to nature's God ;" and as he investigates more * A. Alison : Essays on the Nature and Principles of Tasts. 284 NATIVE TONGUE lap. It minutely the properties and uses of things, he will gradually be penetrated with a full conviction of the order, harmony, and beauty of tin- universe ; and his heart will be tilled with gratitude, love, and veneration for its Author. Every opportunity should be seized to impress sentiments of this nature on his mind: when they have become habitual they will furnish the best security for future good conduct. This will present no difficulty ; for everything proclaims the existence of God; "it is written in flaming letters on the canopy of the heavens, and in brilliant colours on the wings of the butterfly." With any object before their eyes, children may be induced to observe and reflect on the superiority of the produc- tions of nature over those of art; their attention will easily turn from the human manufacturer to the divine Creator ; they will see the imperfection which marks every work of man, to whom all the materials are furnished, in comparison with the inimitable perfection which shines in all that God has made, and will be struck by the narrow selfishness of art, compared with the universal benevolence which breathes throughout nature. Tims deeply impressed with a sense of the power, wisdom, and good- ness of the Creator, their hearts will early open to sentiments of pious admiration of His works. With a little tact an instructor may, from the least incident, from the most trifling object, illustrate some of the laws of nature, and draw from them moral and religious truths. The better to accomplish this important part of his duty, he ought to make nature his particular study, and to enrich his mind with the thoughts of the standard writers on natural theology. (16.) Sect. VI.— EDUCATIONAL APPARATUS— SPECIMENS, MODELS. ENGRAVINGS, AND PAINTINtiS. In imparting the elements of knowdedge to which we have adverted, the instructor should take care that the technical terms which lie occasionally introduces convey to the minds of his pupils clear ideas of the things which they represent. For this purpose he must, conformably to a principle already laid down, submit those tilings to their perceptive powers before he makes them acquainted with the words by which they are expressed. This will be the more methodically and the more completely effected, if the instructor be provided with various Btc.VI.] EDUCATIONAL APPARATUS. 2S5 collections of objects, which may always he brought in illustra- tion of the facts mentioned. He should, above all, have specimens of mineral, vegetable, and animal substances, classified and arranged in series indicating their genus and species, as also collections of manufactured articles, exhibiting the various modifications effected by art on natural productions. Children should be encouraged to make such collections ; they would thereby acquire much valuable information, with habits of order, classification, and useful inquiry. In addition to these objects and to those mentioned in pre- ceding sections, the educational apparatus should contain instruments of natural philosophy, which come in aid of the physical faculties, and would enable the learners to witness or perform a great number of interesting and instructive ex- periments. (17.) As the opportunity cannot always be afforded to children of examining the objects, or witnessing the facts, which may incidentally become the subjects of conversation, the deficiency may, in great part, be supplied by models, pictures, engravings, or coloured prints, which will complete the educational apparatus. If the class be numerous, the instructor should have near him a black board, on which to sketch or write such things as demand visible illustrations. Descriptions of things and definitions of terms should be introduced only as a last resource ; for the ideas acquired without the direct intervention of the external senses are much less vivid and less precise than those which are received through their operation. There are many things in nature, in the sciences, and in the arts, which it would be difficult to describe, and of which the representation would give a perfect idea. Pictorial illustrations may be used most efficiently as substi- tutes for objects. They are intelligible at a very early period in life, long before books can be understood ; particularly when children have been, as already recommended, exercised in sketching familiar objects from nature, — a favourite occupation with them. But whatever visible representations are placed before a child, they should be faithful delineations of the things themselves, otherwise his imagination would be misled, and his judgment perverted, by the false notions he would form of those things, if they could not be submitted to his perceptive powers. Carica- tures, especially such as may create prejudice against any class of 286 NATIVE TONGUE. u\ II. people, and fill books which display had feelings against other nations, should he sedulously kept from his sight. Educational works, of all others, should be free from unchristian sentiments against our fellow-creatures. Those who write for youth will have much to answer for, if, by misstatement or exaggeration, they nurture in the mind of the rising generation anti-national feelings of rancour and enmity. The forms and comparative sizes of the objects represented should be correct, and rendered clear to children by appropriate explanations. They should be made to notice the relative pro- portions of the different parts of the picture, as well as the effects produced by perspective and by light and shade. In this manner not only will their eyes be made more accurate and their taste be cultivated, but they will be prepared for a clear comprehen- sion of the diagrams and sketches which are indispensable accompaniments to treatises on the arts and sciences. Pictures and engravings are a never-failing source of pleasure ; and not only will they materially contribute to enliven instruction and beguile the hours, but they will indefinitely extend the horizon of young people's observation. They will bring within their mental grasp whatever in nature or in art is worthy of consideration, — plants and animals of every climate, costumes and manners of different nations and of different epochs, imple- ments of art and weapons of war, remarkable monuments and places, eminent men of ancient and modern times ; in short, innumerable things of which the realities are, at the time, inaccessible to them. When they afterwards see objects, the representations of which are familiar to them, they will observe them with much more attention and eagerness than they would otherwise have done. Visits to cabinets of natural history, museums of curiosities, repositories of arts, and galleries of paintings, would thus be rendered exceedingly interesting and profitable. In this respect, France is a pattern to other nations ; she offers to her youth advantages not to be procured any where else. Her capital teems, through all its public squares and gardens, with specimens of the fine arts, which, by early familiarising the people with beautiful models of statuary and architecture, cultivate their taste and elevate their minds. Her rich and numerous collections are open to all those avIio seek for knowledge, or intellectual gratification. But, of all her public institutions, the most remarkable, perhaps, is the Musee Sec. VII.] TECHNICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND ABSTRACT TERMS. 2S7 de Versailles. At the same time that the taste of the beholder is cultivated by the beautiful specimens of the French school which it contains, the national history is learned in the most interesting and impressive manner. These eloquent annals of the glorious deeds of France, speaking to the eye and imagination of our youth, must kindle in their hearts a noble pride and an ardent desire to serve their country and to imitate their ancestors. This national museum is indeed worthy of a great nation. To complete the benefits expected from it nothing is now wanted but to attach to it eminent historiographers and professors of French history. Their lessons, in the presence of these animating illustrations, would possess a new interest, and would impress the facts most vividly on the minds of their auditory. Louis-Philippe, when as yet faithful to the liberal principle which had raised him to the throne, was aware of the importance of this historical monument with respect to instruction ; and, being then as anxious to promote the national education of the people as to immortalise " all the glories of France," he gave, on opening it, a noble example to parents and instructors. He himself, conducted through its vast and splendid galleries, the pupils of the colleges of Paris, to whom he addressed these memorable words, " My children, in forming this museum, I wished to prove that France has accomplished things as great as those republics of Pome, Athens, and Sparta, with which your attention is too much occupied." We quote these patriotic words the more readily as they forcibly illustrate the opinion which we have expressed on the length and exclusiveness of classical studies. Sect. VII.— TECHNICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND ABSTRACT TERMS. In presenting to the consideration of children objects or facts, experiments or engravings, everything should be called by its technical name : thus will they be early accustomed to the language of science, and the better prepared to enter afterwards upon serious studies, and derive benefit from public lectures. Scientific terms initiate us, in fact, into the sciences of which they constitute the nomenclature. Being more precise in their signification than common temis, they leave on the mind ideas more definite ; they are employed in a sense rigorously limited 288 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. and always identically the same, whereas common terms, having grown up in the mind from a thousand diverse suggestions, present much vagueness and obscurity in their application, Scientific words will be as easily retained as any others, if they be frequently used .-is the signs of the ideas which tiny represent. The specific words, curve, circular, and spherical, for example, which qualify, the first,a line, thesecond, ;i surface, and the third, a solid, are more definite, and, in many instances, more- correct than the vague familiar generic word round, which applies indifferently to lines, surfaces, and solids. Those who converse with children can greatly facilitate to them the acquisition of scientific, as of all technical expressions. But. at the same time, they should keep in mind that it is often desirable to express the results of science without the ostentation of its terms. Scientific words should, when first introduced, be accompanied by some development or periphrasis in simple language, to explain and fix them on the memory by the force of association. The familiar illustration of a technical expression will not only make it more intelligible, but the advantage of knowing it will be rendered sensible to children, as they will perceive that it expresses very briefly and precisely what, in familiar words, would demand much circumlocution. However, the frequent application of the same technical term in different circumstances will render it quite clear and familiar : they need not, at first, be required to define the technical word ; it is enough to furnish them with frequent opportunities of using it appropriately. The art of defining presents great difficulty from the concise- ness and precision required ; and, as it proposes to characterise things by their essential properties, it often involves considera- tions entering deeply into the nature of the things denoted by the words to be defined. Definitions are to words what descrip- tions are to things ; the former is an exercise in reflection, as the latter is in observation : in the order of studies, exercises in observation should precede those in reflection. At a more advanced age, defining words and paraphrasing sentences will improve the power of speech of young persons, by enabling them to ascertain the precise meaning of words, and the different ways of expressing the same idea. The preceptor should employ every means in his power to guard his pupils against using obscure terms, or words without definite ideas attached to them. To this effect, objects and facts must not be brought under their notice in very rapid Sec. VII.] TECHNICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND ABSTRACT TERMS. 2S9 succession. The introduction of a new expression should be preceded by the perception of the thing signified, or the illustra- tion of the fact which it serves to designate. They should, as it were, be made to feel a want of it. The expression will then serve as it ought, both to retain the impression and to recall it as occasion requires. By this means, also, their knowledge of words will keep pace with their ideas. Some people have more words than ideas ; others, more ideas than words. Of these two evils the second is the smaller ; for we only find it an incon- venience not to be able adequately to express all our thoughts ; but we render ourselves ridiculous by misapplying words for want of knowing their corresponding ideas. In order that young persons may acquire habits of perspicuity and accuracy in the use of words, the instructor must avoid using terms of vague import ; and when he employs such as have different significations, which may often happen with abstract and metaphysical expressions, he must take care that they are understood by his pupils in the sense which he attaches to them. If, for example, the word abstraction be introduced, he must make it clear to them whether he uses this word for the so-called faculty of the mind, the action of that faculty, or the result of that action ; for it admits of these three acceptations. Equivocal expressions lead to confusioD of thought and false reasoning : sophistry consists, for the most part, in using a word in one sense in the premiss, and in another sense in the con- clusion. But it is not, at first, by definitions that such expressions can be explained ; pure abstractions are unintelligible to young children. The meaning of an abstract term should arise from the context and from the incidents of conversation. Any one property common to several objects will, by the consideration of the abstract idea thus presented, easily lead to the compre- hension of abstract words. As most metaphorical terms are derived from words expressive of sensible things, young people may occasionally be shown the analogy which exists between abstract or metaphysical ideas and those which may be called sensible. When a child knows how to read, his attention must be sometimes directed to the written expressions, and not only should the errors he commits respecting the propriety of terms, or perspicuity of language, be corrected, but the principles of grammar which ai-e violated should be stated. If, at the time he hears new words, their nature, origin, and composition be vol. i. u 290 NATIVE TONGUE. [Chap. II. explained, and if, by proper illustration, their functions and different acceptations be shown as well as their places in sen- tences, he will not only know and recollect them better, he will also be initiated into the first principles of grammar and com- position. We will, in the following chapter, advert to the mode of imparting elementary notions of grammar. Sect. VIII.-RECAPITUT.ATIONS, DESCRIPTIONS, NARRATIONS, COMPOSITIONS, AND LETTER-WRITIM I. The necessities of our communicative dispositions and the pre- sent state of society, demand that the conceptive, imaginative, and recollective powers be early trained to the oral and written expression of thought. Children should, therefore, frequently avail themselves of their newly acquired words and ideas, to incorporate them into extempore discourse : when the mind is full of a subject, the tongue will readily give expression to it. They ought to be made, at the end of each lesson, to recapitulate what has just been said ; or, the object being removed from their sight, they may be desired to describe it minutely. This will stimulate their attention during the lesson, and will impress better on their minds the facts and expressions which have been elicited by a minute examination of an object : we are not sure of understanding a thing until we can clearly convey our con- ception of it to another person. But, to render this practice truly effective in improving the understanding and language of children, the instructor should always insist on precision of expression and accuracy of description ; for the act of accurately recalling the ideas which things 'suggest cultivates conception, reflection, and recollection, as the act of minutely observing these things cultivates attention, perception, and retention. At a more advanced period, these recapitulations may be made by the learners the day after the conversation. They will, at all times, enable the instructor to ascertain how much his pupils have retained of the knowledge communicated to them, and whether they understand it perfectly. If the conversations are continued after children know how to write, they may be made the subjects of essays. These should begin with the description of simple objects, stating their parts, colours, forms, substances, and dimensions, then their properties, qualities, uses, origin, mode of fabrication, &c, following, in short, Sec. VIII.] RECAPITULATIONS, DESCRIPTIONS, NARRATIONS, &c. 291 the gradation -which has been indicated in the foregoing course of conversational instruction ; the narration of simple facts and daily occurrences would be the next step ; and, at a later period, rural excursions and visits to manufactories would afford abundant materials for exercising their narrative and descriptive powers. The narrating of short and interesting anecdotes which they have read or heard, and brief accounts of historical events, would also forward this object ; it would present the double advantage of a dictation and a composition ; would turn their attention to ideas as well as to words ; would exercise their memory and imagination. From such narrations and descrip- tions they would, by degrees, venture upon observations and reflections of their own which would give to their compositions all the character of original essays. The great obstacle which young people encounter in the writing of essays is the want of ideas. " 1 do not know ivhat to say" is their invariable answer, when desired to write a com- position, or a letter to some relative. This cause of complaint would be effectually removed by conversations on objects ; for, in these, their observant and recollective powers are aroused by questions and suggestions ; they are impressed with clear notions which form in their minds connected subjects on which they have, as it were, only to report. If they have heard and expressed just ideas on any one topic, they will find little difficulty in writing their conversation. The reading and criticising of these compositions will, afterwards, afford to the instructor the means of correcting misconceptions, as well as errors of language. These oral and written summaries, by habituating young persons to analyse, arrange, and express their ideas, will teach them to think, to speak, and to write, — a threefold object easily attained by the disciple of the course recommended. " When one knows how to think," says Condillac, " nothing more remains, in order to speak and write well, than to speak as one thinks, and to write as one speaks." * Letter-writing, so extremely useful through life, having, by the reduction of postage, received considerable encouragement and a new degree of importance, demands more imperatively than ever to be early rendered familiar and easy. Young persons should be required to adopt occasionally for their compositions the epistolary form and style. Whether they reside or not under the same roof with their parents, they should write to * Cours . I. advantage of persons residing with him, who would speak them habitually in his presence. Many persons in the upper ranks of life, especially on the continent, have thus acquired several languages. In their childhood, they had tutors and attendants, natives of different countries, who always addressed them each in his respective tongue. Among other instances we may record the successful prose- cution of this plan by Mme. De Genlis. This eminent governess gave to the young princesses under her care an English child as a playmate ; she placed near them an English chambermaid and another female attendant who knew Italian extremely well : their chaplain, also, was an Italian. By this means, at the age of five years, they understood three languages, and spoke English and French with perfect ease. Each young prince had a garden which he cultivated with his own hands : she engaged for them a German gardener, who never spoke to them but in his own language ; he accompanied them, together with their German valet-de-charnbre, in their morning walks, and, on these occa- sions, German was the only language used. They spoke English in their evening exercises, as well as at dinner ; and, as she ex- presses it, " they supped in Italian." * In Russia, where this plan prevails, resident French tutors and governesses have rendered their language so familiar among the higher classes, that French is spoken in St. Petersburgh as purely as in Paris ; and many writers in that country have pre- ferred that language to their own in communicating their thoughts to the public. Many eminent scholars have attained their proficiency in the ancient languages by practice from infancy ; and, among others, the celebrated Montaigne. His pre- ceptors, and even the servants who attended him, spoke nothing but Latin in his presence ; and he declares, that, by this means, at seven he spoke that language better than French and as well as his master.t Until lately this mode of learning Latin was so prevalent in Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia, that the very pea- sants spoke it as fluently as their own tongue. It was also in this manner that the Romans, the first civilised nation who made the study of a foreign language a branch of education, ha * Memoir of her Life. | Essais, liv.i. ch. 25. Sec. II.] ACQUIRING FOREIGN LANGUAGES LIKE THE NATIVE. 327 account for irregularities, nor wastes his mental activity in vain theories. He goes directly to work ; he listens, imitates, and only requires, for the full development of his linguistic endow- ments, that those who surround him be communicative and well informed. His perceptive powers, aided by the language of action, soon enable him to conceive the ideas which are on a level witb his understanding, and rapidly to catch the sounds that denote them, to whatever language they belong. Thus, in the country towns of Wales and Ireland, and in all places which, on the con- tinent, are situate on the borders of two countries, the children in the humblest classes of life usually speak two distinct dialects. The constant need which, from his helpless condition, the child has of those who surround him, and his anxiety to enter into communication with them, make it necessary for him to seize upon the great bond of union that connects him with his fellow-creatures. His unsophisticated sympathy, his insatiable curiosity, his lively imagination, his impressible memory, his ready powers of perception and imitation, all assist him in the accomplishment of this grand object. How grateful ought not we to be to the Supreme Being, who has thus endowed us, from our most tender infancy, with propensities and faculties which lead to the satisfaction of our first social wants ! A parent, who can speak another language besides his own, ought not to overlook this great aptitude of childhood. He owes it to his children to put them, without trouble or loss of time, in possession of so valuable an acquisition. Let him make it a rule always, from the moment of their birth, to address them in the foreign language. If he steadily persevere for several years in this course, he will reap the fruit of his self-imposed restriction, by seeing his children, at a very tender age, able to understand and speak the foreign language. However, he must not wonder if he finds them more inclined to speak their own : this must be the case if they have had more practice in hearing it. They will use that language first, which they have heard the more fre- quently : but the other will certainly be spoken by them in due time ; and, from the vividness of early impressions, it will also be long retained. The foreign words take deep root in the memory if they are acquired before the native ones have gained exclusive possession of the mind. If a child be committed to the care of a foreign governess or servant, who, in her communication with him, always uses her own language, he will rapidly acquire facility of expression 328 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. I. in it; but domestic intercourse being usually confined to the most familiar subjects, his vocabulary will be very limited. As a means, therefore, of extending it, she should be provided with collections of wood-cuts or engravings representing various objects of interest, such as are found in many illustrated periodicals or other modern publications. The explanation of these pictorial representations will afford her frequent oppor- tunity to employ words not used in the ordinary prattle of the nursery, and will, thereby, considerably enlarge the child's power of language. This early acquisition of a second language is not only useful to a child as a means of communication, but it will considerably facilitate the after-work of education. From the moment he knows how to read, every branch of instruction may be studied through books written in the two languages. As soon as he can write, he may be put to the translation of the one into the other, an exercise the benefits of which we shall subsequently unfold. That time, also, which is usually devoted to the scho- lastic study of a second language, may then be given to a third, which will be the more easily learned. In fact, the whole process of his education, and especially the conversations on objects, may without difficulty be carried on through the medium of the foreign language, which by these means will become as familiar to him as his own can be. Sect. III.— THE LEARNING OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE BY MEANS OF OBJECTS OR PICTURES. If circumstances have not permitted a foreign language to be spoken to children from their earliest infancy, or if the teacher does not understand the language of his pupil, the natural process may yet be adopted until the age of twelve, or even later, by means of the practical course of instruction detailed in the preceding Book. The instructor, at first, makes his young pupil acquainted with useful words, by bringing before his notice familiar objects, such as the parts of the body, articles of dress, food, or furniture — anything, in fact, which being within reach or within view, may fix his attention, and by incorporating their foreign names in simple phrases in connection with such expressions as signify here is, look at, hold, take up, give me, bring me, &c. ; suiting, at the same time, the action to the words. He introduces the Sec. Ill] LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE BY OBJECT:-, ,'ic. 329 same objects several times in one sitting, and on successive days ; and, as their names become familiar, he gradually adds a few new ones. This exercise, bringing the perceptive powers of the child into action, will certainly prove more attractive and effectual than committing to memory primers and vocabu- laries. He will not only retain the words, but learn their true pronunciation, if, conformably to the iterative process of nature, he frequently hears them, and as frequently utters them in imitation of the instructor. When many nouns have by repetition been acquired by the child, the two verbs in the foreign language signifying to have and to be, as the most useful, are attached to them, as I have a cup, you have some tea, I am on a chair, we are in the room, &c. ; and, as a farther step, two nouns are introduced in connection, as / have a cup of tea, he has a bit of sugar in his tea, here is a tea spoon, you have bread and butter, you have a pencil in your hand, &c. ; the articles and words supplying their jdace, such as my, your, this, some, each, &c, as also the numeral adjectives, being occasionally introduced before the names of things, as the circumstance requires. An endless variety of familiar de- scriptive phrases may thus be analogically formed with the above- mentioned two verbs alone. We should, however, observe that in proceeding through these lessons, the instructor's care, in the beginning, should be to enable his young pupil to under- stand the foreign words and phraseology which he utters, rather than to make him speak. When words are readily understood and frequently repeated they will be easily retained. Engravings, plain and coloured, may, with equal efficiency and great convenience, be used as substitutes for objects. A series of diversified and interesting subjects would afford to learners the means of gaining, in a pleasing manner, an extensive range of words ; — a well-filled page, engraved from a good original, contains more elements of thought, and more materials of language, than the printed page of any school-book. When a child has made some progress in the naming of objects, he must be initiated into an acquaintance with the words expressive of their parts, substance, colours, forms, and other sensible properties. By the use of suitable action, a short descrip- tion of them would be fully understood without resorting to the native tongue ; the more obvious properties of objects, like the objects themselves, need only to be exhibited and named. With regard to the adjectives significant of colour, form, and 330 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCH KS, &,-. [Chap. I. other attributes of matter, they will be taught by the instructor's bringing into proximity several objects which have the same or opposite properties, and uttering the words signifying them conjointly with the names of the objects. In this manner, and with the aid of the language of action, he will so closely associate in the minds of his pupils descriptive phraseology with a great many familiar things, that they will be able readily to understand and express ideas about them. To the substantives and adjectives with which the learner is acquainted, the instructor should join a variety of verbs, which may be explained either by his gestures, or by the actions represented in the engravings. The various relations in which he may place any two objects with respect to each other, or in which they stand in the engraved page, will afford sufficient opportunities for practising the prepositions in con- nection with nouns or pronouns. Adverbs and conjunctions will be gradually introduced as the progress of the learner and the circumstance demand. Thus, in the mother tongue, a young child, after having first named things, then qualities, then acts, uses the accessary words, and, at length, succeeds in clothing in appropriate language his impressions and feelings. Detached words, being unavailable for the purpose of commu- nication, would, as useless lumber, be soon forgotten. The foreign phraseology must, therefore, be the constant aim of the teacher ; but, to effect this object, great caution is required on his part. He should, in the commencement, sometimes join to the same adjectives the names of different objects, and, conversely, to the same name different adjectives ; he should, at other times, effect similar variations in connecting nouns with prepositions, nouns or pronouns with verbs, verbs with adverbs, so that short phrases may, by analogy, serve as a clue to each other. As these grow familiar to the child, longer sentences will be introduced. If, for example, there be placed before him a book which contains an engr.-iving representing a young girl reading, he may be addressed in the foreign language, (accompanied by appropriate action), in words corresponding to the following : — This is a nice book, I open the book, I shut the book, open the book, &c. ; there art pictures in this book, here is a picture, a nice picture, here is a n girl; she is sitting on afoot-stool and reading a book ; here is thi head of the little girl, her hand, her mouth, &c. ; the right hand of the little girl is opened, I open my hand, I shut my hand, open your hand, your mouth, shut your mouth, your eyes, &c, &c. Less Sec. III.] LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE BY OBJECTS, Ac. 331 trifling subjects and less childish, phraseology may be intro- duced with an adult learner. The instructor must frequently repeat the same expressions. and always accompany them with looks, tones, gestures, and actions which explain them. The language of action, thus used comformably to the process of nature, is, as an explanatory means, preferable to translation, which would create confusion by the mixture of the two idioms, and will more effectually enable learners to understand, pronounce, and retain the foreign words expressive of the things submitted to the cog- nisance of their senses. If, however, the teacher speaks their language, native words and short explanations may occasionally be resorted to, when the foreign expressions do not admit of an interpretation exclusively addressed to their perceptive powers ; for they should, above all, perfectly comprehend every sentence they hear, in order to take an interest in the lesson, and be able, in their turn, to apply it to the expression of their own ideas. This course, which follows that of nature step by step, cannot fail, if persevered in for some time, to obtain the success which invariably attends the acquiring of the native tongue ; but its benefit is not necessarily confined to young children ; it would prove equally useful to all those who learn from a foreigner un- acquainted with their language. In the interval of the lessons, the children should, when prac- ticable, be afforded frequent opportunities of hearing the words with which the lessons on objects have made them acquainted ; they may be addressed in the foreign language on all the ordi- nary topics of family intercourse, the things or persons men- tioned being always pointed to, when named for the first time. If, in addition to this practice, the parents are sufficiently ac- quainted with the colloquial phraseology of the language to use it in addressing familiar questions or observations to each other, let them do so within the hearing of their children, and instinct- ive imitation will advance the latter more than all the mnemonic lessons with which they might be teazed. They will soon be able to speak the foreign language ; for the habit of hearing its words, on perceiving the things meant or pictorial representa- tions of them, and of attending to the colloquial intercourse carried on in that language, will so closely and so indelibly associate in their minds the foreign phraseology with its cor- responding ideas, that this phraseology will instantly recur to them whenever they wish to express the ideas. 332 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, Ac. [Chap. I. The instructor, when engaged in the conversations on objects in the foreign l.n, -u;, _,-, will always have it in his power tobrin^ under the consideration of his pupils the subjects most interest- ing to them, and which lead to the use of the expressions he thinks they most need. In these lessons he ought to proceed more slowly through the different stages of the conversations than would be requisite if they were conducted in a language already familiar to them ; and he should particularly dwell, as a ground-work, on the first exercises, which consist in denomi- nating objects, their parts, substance, colours, forms, size, num- ber, and their various properties. It is, when following the natural process, a great step made towards the knowledge of a language, to be able to call familiar things by their names, and to distinguish them by the terms expressive of their qualities : the other words used in connection with these names are then rapidly acquired, and a further advance in the conversations on objects, or on pictures, presents no difficulty. Concurrently with these exercises in perception, imitation, and analogy, just now recommended as an introduction to the practi- cal knowledge of a foreign language, the parent or instructor should, when the children know how to read, daily translate for them a few pages of some very easy and entertaining book, their eyes being at the same time fixed on the foreign text. He should afterwards withdraw the book from their sight, and make them translate the same from his reading it to them ; they should also learn the conjugations of the foreign verbs, and form simple and familiar phrases illustrative of them. For directions on these points we refer the reader to Book vn., Chap. n. ; on the study of words, and to the first chapters of Books vin., ix., and x., which treat of the initiatory exercises in translating, hearing, and speaking. One hour a-day, divided into two or three portions, and devoted to these exercises for six months, would suffice to enable a child of the age of seven or eight to gain, in a foreign language, about the same degree of skill in understanding what is said and in speak- ing, as he possesses in his own, — these being the first two branches which are acquired by the natural course. An adult, who would submit to this apparently childish, but truly philo- sophical process, would, under a judicious teacher, accomplish this object in a much shorter period, the more so as he may, at the same time, pursue the course of reading unfolded in Book vin. Sec. IV.] ORDER OF STUDY, &c. 333 Sect. IV.— ORDER OF STUDY, WHEN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IS LEARNED THROUGH THE NATIVE AND THROUGH BOOKS. A child, learning a foreign language under circumstances similar to those in which he acquired his own, may follow the order above mentioned ; but the case is different with learners who have passed the age of childhood, and who study the lan- (maee through their own as a branch of scholastic instruction, or who have not the advantage of an instructor's daily assistance : another course must, in this case, be adopted, as conformable, however, with that of nature as circumstances permit. The comparative method, which art supplies as a substitute for the natural process, although generally less successful in imparting a practical knowledge of a language, possesses the advantage of being a better instrument of mental training, as was seen in Book in., Chap, in., Sect. n. The instinctive process of nature answers better for a living language, which is required as a means of social communication, since it secures a practical knowledge of it ; but the artificial and comparative method is preferable for the learning of Latin, as it makes this language subservient to intellectual development, which is, at the present day, its most prominent sphere of usefulness. Latin was, it is true, learned practically as a living language some hundred years ago, because it was then a depository of knowledge and a general vehicle of thought ; but things are changed, and Latin is no longer desirable for these two objects : to those who have now no better notion of the utility of the classics than that entertained by our ancestors, our humble advice is to spare themselves the labour of studying them. Let us now see what is the order prescribed by the compa- rative method, and how the four branches may be rendered auxiliary to each other in the gradual advancement of the student. The articulate and the written signs of language, being con- ventional, a familiarity with their import and form must be gained before they can be properly applied to the expression of thought ; in other words, we must commence by receiving, not by communicating ideas. It is* only after ideas have, by means of their signs, been impressed on our minds, that we can, by imitation, oppress the same or analogous ideas in using the same signs. Impression of language, which is effected through 334 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Coat. I hearing and reading, must therefore precede expression, which is effected by speaking and writing* This order is the more rational as the practice of the former two branches is consider- ably easier than that of the latter two : the arts of hearing and reading only require a previous slight acquaintance with the words and phraseology ; and, in many instances, the object is attained by merely guessing. This is so true, especially as regards the power of understanding oral expression, that a child twelve or eighteen months old is already a proficient in it, who would be utterly incapable of improvement in any other depart- ment of language. In a foreign tongue, as in the native, we may, from the context, or by analogy, understand words which we never heard or saw before ; we may also be directed to the meaning of a speaker or writer by a previous acquaint- ance with the subject; but, for the purpose of speaking and writing, neither the most acute sagacity, the most inventive powers, nor the most thorough knowledge of the subject will avail : not only should we previously know the words expres- sive of the ideas to be conveyed, but we should also be inti- mately acquainted with their various shades of meaning, their inflections, grammatical concord, syntactical arrangement, and idiomatic forms. This is sufficiently proved by experience : the greater number of those who listen to orators in the pulpit, at the bar, or in public assemblies, would be utterly incapable of speaking for five minutes on the subjects treated by those orators, although they may understand them perfectly. Very few are those who can write with ease and correctness, in their own language, on even the simplest subjects, whilst tens of thousands read and clearly understand the popular works. Persons of an ordinary capacity and with an ordinary education are very nearly on an equality with the brightest geniuses and the most profound * The word hearing, used in this Book to express one of the four subdivisions of the study of language, signifies both the action of the organ which perceives the impressions of articulate sounds, and that of the mind which conceives ideas from these sounds. The division of our subject and the absence of a better term have compelled us to attach this double meaning to it; and, in doing so, we are. justified by the analogy which it bears with the words used to designate the three other branches. Speaking, its counterpart, implies both the act of uttering articulate Hounds, and of expressing ideas through their means. Reading means, both to utter the articulate sounds represented by the written words, and to understand the ideas conveyed by them. Writing applies equally to the mechanical art of pen- manship and to the mental operation of expressing ideas. The mental operation expressed by these words is the signification mostly attached to them throughout this work. - , IV.] ORDER OF STUDY, &c. 335 scholars, in the exercise of hearing or of reading ; but the well- educated far surpass the ignorant in the power of speaking or writing : in fact, superior minds alone can approach perfection in these two arts. This remark applies with equal force to foreign idioms : they are often translated with considerable facility and correctness by persons who would be utterly unable to speak or write them with tolerable accuracy. " To clothe Cicero or Virgil in an English dress, is an office to which many are fully competent ; but to render an English writer into Cice- ronian prose or Yirgilian hexameters would surpass the powers of the most accomplished classical scholar." * Impression and expression constitute the double object of lan- guage, and mark the principal subdivision and order of the study. Correct impressions are received from proper models, and correct expressions are produced by a judicious imitation of them. Models are of two kinds, men and books. The child, while acquiring the native tongue, is under the influence which he receives from the former : the mother, the nurse, his elder brothers and sisters, in fact, all those who approach him, act as living models. If they speak correctly, the little imitator has the benefit of a good pronunciation and accurate expressions; if in- correctly, he adopts unconsciously a defective mode of speaking. The Aome-learner of a foreign language has not usually the advantage of living models ; for the professor cannot, in his occasional lessons, adequately supply the place of those by whom childhood is surrounded : he must, therefore, have recourse to books. The reading of foreign authors, by translation, becomes the ground-work of his study, as hearing is the ground- work in the native tongue. Books present great facilities for stu- dying the language in the absence of the teacher : they can, in point of matter and style, as well as by means of explanations accompanying them, be adapted to a beginner, and to every degree of capacity and proficiency. That the highest degree of perfection in reading, exclusively of pronunciation, can be attained, independently of any assistance from an instructor, is proved by experience ; for self-instructed persons commonly secure this object to the exclusion of the other departments of the study. Books are a good substitute for men, when a language is learned away from the country where it is spoken. To read a work is to listen to its author ; a language is then learned as * Alexander Crombie, Gymnasium, sive symbolica Critica. Pref. 336 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Cnxr. I. practically and iraitatively, by reading books, as by listening to men. The analogy between these two modes of proceeding is complete: translating the foreign booka into the native tongue interprets the foreign idiom to the beginner, as the language of action interprets to the infant the meaning of the persons who speak the vernacular within his hearing. The one is learned from the writers as the other from the speakers. In'the vernacular tongue, the child left to himself acquires the pronunciation with the import of oral expression, as a natural consequence of his hearing it habitually, and remains ignorant of the written signs, which he subsequently learns by a special course of instruction based on his knowledge of the spoken words. In a similar way, but inverted order, the person who begins the study of a second language through the medium of books, gains at first a familiarity with its written form ; he must, afterwards, by suitable exercises in hearing, be taught the import and pro- nunciation of the spoken words corresponding to the written words with which he is acquainted. In the foreign, as in the native tongue, these two points, — reading and hearing, — are the most important, both as ultimate objects and as means of learning to speak and write. We must have long observed, in books and in conversation, what ideas people attach to words, before we can, in our turn, use these con- ventional signs in speaking or writing. Reading and hearing must, in a practical method, first be aimed at, as behig the means through, which imitation — the first law which presides over the acquisition of language — enables us to gain the power of speaking and writing. The study of the latter two branches will after- wards afford learners the opportunity of applying the second law, — analogy. The comprehension of what is written and spoken affords also the means of analysing speech and deducing the science of language : it thus becomes the foundation on which is raised the reconstruction of it ; analysis leads to synthesis. The four branches rank in importance as follows : — 1st branch — Reading ; 2nd branch — Hearing ; 3rd branch — Speaking ; 4th branch — Writing. The first two branches constitute the double power of conceiv- ing ideas from the impression of their signs on the brain ; the other two, the power of using these signs as the expression of thought. Sec. I.] READING— THE FIRST BRANCH IN IMPORTANCE. 337 CHAPTEE II. ■ OF IMPEESSION. Sect. I.— READING— THE FIRST BRANCH IN IMPORTANCE. Beading, the first branch to be attended to, is that operation of the mind by which ideas are attached to the written words as the eye glances over them. We have here nothing to do with the uttering of sounds previously known on perceiving the written words which repre- sent them. This first step in the art, a purely mechanical operation, serves, in the native tongue, as a means of passing from the spoken language to a knowledge of its written form ; but it is not practicable at the entrance upon the study of a foreign tongue ; for, in this, the learner is not, as in his own, already in possession of its pronunciation, which he might apply to the words of the book. "When the practice of this art embraces both the mechanical and the intellectual parts combined, it constitutes the accomplish- ment of oral reading, of which we shall treat in the Book on Hearing. But, as one of the great subdivisions of the study of language, reading consists in the power of conceiving, either by translation or directly, the ideas expressed by the written lan- guage, of benefiting by the experience of others, as conveyed in their writings, of imbibing their thoughts and sentiments, their words and their style. It is in this latter sense that, throughout this work, we use the word reading. This art claims precedence over the other three departments of a foreign language, not only because it is the easiest, but because it surpasses them in the number and importance of its benefits ; it is the most useful and the most available in ordinary circumstances ; it can be pursued with or without a teacher, and practised at home or abroad ; it offers the readiest means of instruction at any period of the study ; it is subservient to improvement in the native tongue ; it is the vol. i. z 338 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OP THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. II. ground-work on which grammar, etymology, and philology may be effectually studied ; it alone affords the means of ascertaining the various acceptations of words, and storing the mind with knowledge ; it cultivates the taste and procures mental enjoyment; finally, it enables the professor, by the explanation and analysis of standard authors, to impart most valuable information to his pupils, whilst the exercise of oral and written translation from these authors unfold most effectu- ally the highest powers of reason. These various benefits, arising from the pi*actice and knowledge of reading, will be elicited in the second part of this work. The importance of reading, as one of the great ends of the study of language, is considerably increased by its being a means of acquiring the other departments of a foreign idiom, and more especially, the power of understanding oral discourse ; for, when a learner has gained familiarity with the written words, he requires but little practice in hearing to be able to understand them when spoken. In fact, reading leads to hearing in the foreign language, as hearing leads to reading in the native. In the dead languages reading is all that is really required, now that these are no longer used for international communica- tion in political, literary, or scientific correspondence, as they were some hundred years ago ; and, from an acquaintance alone with the ancient writers, can be derived all the intellectual advantages which are expected from classical instruction. The Eastern languages which are studied in view of com- parative grammar, or of philological and historical l-esearches, need also to be understood only in their written form. With regard to living languages, they are learned by many who do not visit the countries where they are spoken, or have no opportunities of conversing with the natives of those countries ; whereas books are always at hand, and he who can read them, may, whenever he thinks proper, hold intercourse with the most intellectual and enlightened portion of the nation to which they belong. The capability of reading living languages so as to understand them, which is without comparison more easily acquired than that of writing them, would, if generally diffused among nations, accomplish all the purposes of correspondence between men of different countries ; because each person, writing in his own language, would then be likely to be understood abroad. All Sec. I.] READING— THE FIRST BRANCH IN IMPORTANCE. 339 • international transactions would thereby be greatly facilitated ; diplomatists, scientific men, and merchants, especially, would derive incalculable advantage from the power of reading living languages ; for they would then have no occasion in their foreign correspondence for translators or special clerks, who frequently misrepresent the ideas of their employers, and, more frequently still, write so inaccurately as considerably to perplex their correspondents abroad. Thus would the well educated in all countries be afforded a ready means of interchanging thoughts and, entering into that community of feelings which is so desirable for the advancement and well-being of society. Inter- national communication has, until now, been much impeded by the extreme difficulty attendant upon writing a foreign language, and by the misunderstandings arising to the reader from incorrect compositions. Very seldom could a person be sure of conveying his meaning in it with as much clearness and precision as in his own ; and, if he had correspondents in various countries, it is more likely they could read his language than that he could write their different idioms so as to be perfectly understood. Few of those who study dead or living languages persevere until they are completely acquired. The greater number, owing to the tediousness and consequent expence attendant on the old system, stop in the middle of their course, and retain nothing of their past study but the painful recollection of the misery it inflicted on them. Had they turned their best efforts to reading, they would most probably have mastered it in the time which they wasted in vainly aiming at several objects of comparatively minor importance in the language ; and this point once gained, it would be a good foundation for acquiring the other branches at a subsequent period, if they had the leisure and the wish to attend to them. The art of reading living languages has also this great advantage over the other branches, that as books can always be procured, it is, in most cases, within the power of the pro- ficient to practise it with a view to instruction or amusement, and thus to preserve its possession to the latest period of life ; whereas the capability of speaking and writing a foreign lan- guage is easily lost for want of the opportunities to bring these acquirements into practice. z 2 340 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. II. Sect. II.— READING— A MEANS OF ACQUIRING THE MATERIALS OF LANGUAGE. The efficiency of reading, considered as a means of acquiring the materials of language for oral or written expression, is undeniable, and shows itself even in the native tongue, although the reader is already habituated to a familiar language, which tends to counteract the impressions that he receives from works written in a style more elevated than that of conversation. In fact, no one can possess superior powers of speech who has not read much ; for it is chiefly from books that scientific, classical, and elegant expressions are obtained. The influence of books must be greater in a second language, as the expres- sions of the foreign author come into the mind without having to contend with others previously acquired ; they strike it with all the force of first impressions. The power of imitation, that innate propensity, so active es- pecially in early life, prompts us to use the forms of speech ren- dered familiar by frequent repetition, and associated in the mind with the ideas which they represent. Moreover, extensive and attentive reading, by presenting the words in various situations and in different acceptations, gives a clear notion of their real value, impresses them in the memory, and thus furnishes mate- rials for speaking and writing. The more extensive and diversi- fied the reading, the more likely will the learner be to become acquainted with all the words and their various import. Even those who learn a language exclusively for the purpose of con- versation require to read it a great deal. It is by studying the works of their predecessors that the most distinguished writers in every age have risen to celebrity. Many of them have declared this fact ; others, anxious to give us the benefit of their own experience in the pi-osecution of their studies, have warmly recommended reading as the basis of im- provement in a language. Among the many authorities which we could adduce in favour of this practice, we select a few : " Plato," says Longinus, who advocates the same opinion, " has taught us that the surest mode of attaining to perfection in style is to imitate and emulate the illustrious writers who preceded us."* Erasmus, the most distin- guished scholar of the sixteenth century, asserts that "the true * Treatise on the Sublime. Sec. II.] READING-A MEANS OF ACQUIRING MATERIALS, &c. 341 way to speak correctly, is to live and converse with those who speak well and to read good authors."* The learned society of Port-Eoyal held this doctrine and practised it : one of its most eminent members, Nicole, expresses himself in these terms, " The great secret for enabling children to understand Latin, is to put them early into the reading of books and to exercise them much in translating them."t " Let the learner, above all," says Dean Colet, " learn and read good Latin authors, and note wisely how they wrote and spake ; and study always to follow them, desiring none other rules but their examples."* " What precepts," exclaims D'Alembert, " are preferable to the study of the great models T§ Nugent observes, " Languages can be learned only by practice, and practice is nothing but a con- tinual repetition of the same words applied in a hundred different ways and on a hundred occasions. But this practice, with regard to the dead Languages, can only be had in the ancient authors."|| "The exjnanation of authors," says Suzanne, "is the easiest, shortest, and least irksome way to learn the meaning of words, the rules of syntax, and the niceties of the language."1T Voltaire also says, " The assiduous reading of good writers will be more useful for the formation of a pure and correct style than the study of the majority of our grammars."** Dugald Stewart observes, " As the air and manner of a gentleman can be acquired only by living habitually in the best society, so grace in com- position must be attained by a habitual acquaintance with classical writers."tt Cicero, Quintilian, Milton, Locke, Rollin, and many others might be quoted in favour of this opinion ; but the few authori- ties we have mentioned may, for the present, suffice to show that we are not unsupported in assigning to reading the first place in the study, as being the most efficient means of improvement in acquiring a foreign language. Further proofs of this truth will naturally find their place in the next Book, when we treat of the inefficiency of grammar towards this object. Nature, reason, and experience proclaim this order, example before precept. Beading, that is, the study of models or examples, must then precede the writing of exercises, which demands a * De Pueris ad Virtutem et Litteras. t Essais de Morale.— De t Education d'un Prince. % Address to the Masters of St. PauVs School. § Melanges de Litteralure. — Observations sur V Art de traduire. || Greek Primitives. *§ Traite d' Education publique et privie, * * Melanges lilteraires. — Langage. ■ || Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind. 342 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. II. knowledge of rules or precepts ; yet it frequently happens that this order is reversed, and that writing a foreign language, or composing by rules, is practised at the outset, under the errone- ous impression that it accelerates the acquisition of the first branch — reading — a mode of proceeding directly in opposition to the educational axiom, that the means ought to be consistent with the end. In a foreign idiom, as in the native, the comprehending of books is altogether independent of the ability to write. Innu- merable instances could be adduced of persons who, although unskilful writers in their own language, are able, from assiduous and extensive reading, not only to understand literary produc- tions, but also to derive pleasure from beauty of style. To write may assist in learning to speak, because there is some analogy in the performance of these two arts ; but it is preposterous to suppose that it can assist in acquiring the very opposite art — reading. It cannot either, as is sometimes asserted, lead to a clear conception of the distinctive meanings of words, or to a knowledge of the idiomatic construction ; it is the converse of this proposition which is true, — a previous knowledge of the words and idioms is indisjiensable for writing. It would be considered unreasonable to attempt to write in the native tongue before being able to read it, or to make a young child form his vernacular j^hrases from given rules of grammar ; how much more unreasonable, how absurd is it to compel a learner to write exercises in a language which he not only cannot speak, but with the words and phraseology of which he has not yet been made acquainted by either reading or hearing. This subject will be more fully elucidated in treating of grammatical exercises. In support of early writing, it is often adduced that it fixes the foreign expression on the memory. This assertion, which is far from being generally assented to (see Book vm., Chap. 11., Sect, xi.,) does not, even admitting its efficiency for some learners, justify the adoption of this unnatural course for the Latin, because this language is not usually learned with a view to be spoken or written in after-life ; and, consequently, there is need only of that acquaintance with its words, which is required for reading the classics. It will be fully proved, we hope, in Book vii., Chap. 11., Sect. 11. and in., that this acquaintance with the words of a language is gained with more rapidity and cer- tainty by reading than by the tedious process of writing. "Writing previously to reading has now, in the case of Latin Sec. III.] READING-A MEANS OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE. 343 and Greek, been in great measure superseded by the conjoint practice of these two exercises ; but we believe it is still a favourite order of study among teachers of living languages. This cannot excite surprise : foreigners, not being in general proficients in the language of their pupils, feel incompetent to assist them in fiuding out the most appropriate expressions for translating the foreign authors ; consequently they are inclined to neglect translation, and to prefer the writing of grammatical exercises. The correction of these bringing into action their knowledge of the foreign language, gives to their services some appearance of utility ; but, in reality, they only retard the learner's progress in the first three branches, without advancing them in the fourth. The time which, in the absence of the professor, is consumed by writing, leaves little leisure to the pupils for attending to the more important occupation of reading ; and the correction of exercises engrosses a portion of the in- structor's time which would be better employed in explaining the ancient classics, or attending to the art of speaking a living language. Sec. III.— READING— A MEANS OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE. Books, as the depositories of human knowledge, are to com- munities what parental testimony is to the child : they supply the wants and deficiencies incident to our condition, by furnishing us with the means of appealing, in the search of truth, from private judgments to the testimony of mankind ; they contain all the mental treasures which generations bequeath to suc- ceeding generations. Standard works are the most available and the most efficient means of instruction in every walk of literature and science. The variety of information which a proper course of reading brings under the consideration of a learner, and the opportunities which it affords him of surmounting the intricacies of different styles, will extend his power of comprehending both the written and the spoken language, and secure the means of deriving advantage from an intercourse with the well-informed. The greater the number of subjects we have studied, the more varied are the conversations we are able to follow or take a part in. This is true with respect to a foreign language as well as to our own. Reading is conducive to improvement in the different branches of education and the various avocations of social life. A few 344 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. II. words from eminent writers will firmly establish this truth. "A young man," says Dr. Johnson, "should read five hours a day, and so may acquire a great deal of knowledge."* "The ideas which are acquired from reading are the germ of almost every discovery." t "We become well informed only by our own reflections. It is the habit and the choice of reading which keep up a taste for the beautiful and the love of truth." % " Though I should fatigue my readers, I will agaiu repeat that the most profitable lessons are those which are received from books." § If it be true that the company we keep is indicative of our morals, it is equally true that the books we read are indicative of our minds. Those who take pleasure in reading, and can devote some time to that occupation, may, according to their tastes or pro- fessions, find abundance of interesting and useful information in the stores of the dead languages, and more particularly in those of the living ; for the arts and sciences which are every day advancing and spreading among all classes, having deserted the Latin tongue for its modern and more popular rivals, have of late considerably enriched the literature of European nations. And here we may venture to say, that of all the continental languages, the French and the German are those which present the most copious sources of information in every department of human knowledge. The languages of such modern nations as have distinguished themselves, and have reached a high rank in civilisation, claim our serious attention ; for in their works are accumulated the wisdom and knowledge of all ages, from what is most valuable in the writings of the Greeks and Romans down to the most recent discoveries. We must consult them if we wish to add to our limited experience that of past generations. The people with whom these languages enable us to converse having different origins, living in different climates, being sur- rounded by different natural objects, brought up with different habits, and governed by different laws, must have ideas and opinions different from ours. Their writers must see in a diffei-ent light many subjects of which they treat in common with our national authors. In history, in politics, in belles- * James Huswcll, 1 . if e of Johnson. t J. D'Alembert, Encyclopidie — Disconrs PriUminain . % J. P. Laharpe, Coursde Literature — Introduction. $ J. F. Lacroix, E$sais siiT I' Enseignement. Sec. IV.] READING— A MEANS OF INTELLECTUAL ENJOY MKNT. 345 lettres, in the arts, and in many other departments of know- ledge, their notions often widely differ from ours. The reading of their works will, therefore, enlarge our sphere of thought, increase our information, and remove many prejudices which would otherwise continue to cloud the mind. Even imaginative compositions, those of the most approved writers in every country, seldom fail to arouse in the hearts of the readers lofty and noble aspirations ; while they depict our evil passions under colourings and in situations which excite a wholesome dread of their pernicious bondage, they widen the circle of our kindly sympathies, they enrich our minds with vivid descriptions of localities and pictures of national manners, they make us acquainted with human character in all its varieties, and impart a more complete appreciation of all that is great and good. In short, the continual and careful reading of good works in different languages has a most beneficial influence : it exercises the attention, enriches the memory, expands the imagination, forms the taste, improves the judgment, stores the mind with knowledge, gives habits of study, and leads, by the force of imitation, to the highest conceptions and to the performance of all good and noble actions. By habitual communication with superior spirits, we not only are enabled to think their thoughts, speak their language, and feel their emotions, but our own thoughts are refined, our conversational powers are improved, our common feelings are elevated ; and though we may never attain their standard, yet by keeping company with them we rise above our own. Sect. IV.— HEADING— A MEANS OF INTELLECTUAL ENJOYMENT. Keading is, perhaps, the most attractive part of the study ofa foreign language. The labour bestowed on it, besides contri- buting to advancement in the language, is always accompanied by a further reward when the book is interesting or instructive. Attention is sustained by the succession of ideas, and curiosity gratified by the constant discovery of new words. As the facility of understanding increases, so does the pleasure arising from reading, and, with it, the taste and fondness for the occu- pation. To the well-informed reader there is no delight so pure, so absorbing, as that which is derived from books ; far beneath it 346 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. II. are the vaunted gratifications of the sensualist. Reading unfail- ingly relaxes the mind, when weighed down with the toilsome occupations of life ; similar in its effects to the unbending of the bow, it enables us to return with renewed vigour to the most laborious duties. It pours balm into the troubled spirit ; and, by its insinuating charm, gradually cheers the imagination from the heavy thoughts of affliction. When we are eagerly engaged in perusing eminent productions, the fascinating idea steals on us that we are enjoying the conversation of their authors, and gathering from their lips the vivid and eloquent effusions of their creative genius ; and, if their society be thus often indulged in, it insensibly infuses into our minds a portion of their own refinement. To the illiterate, the union of unbounded useful- ness and exquisite pleasure, which is found in the occupation of reading, may seem incomprehensible ; but to a person of lite- rary taste, no language coidd appear exaggerated which would adequately pourtray its intellectual benefits. The pleasure of study, different from most other pleasures of life, is independent of fortune, of health, of the inclemencies of the weather, and of the caprice of our fellow-men : it can be procured under all circumstances. "There is in the world," says the celebrated historian, Augustin Thierry, " something prefer- able to sensual gratification, superior to fortune, better than health itself — it is an ardent love for science."* In the con- sciousness of the vicissitudes of human affairs, parents ought, in common prudence, to cultivate in their children a taste for read- ing. There is no man so high in station as to be enabled to dispense with the occupation, and no man so humble as to be compelled to forego it. Every new language which is learned, diversifies and multiplies indefinitely this intellectual pleasure. The art of reading continues to procure enjoyment to the latest period of life, when all others have been long abandoned. It seems even to increase as the physical faculties lose from age their power of action. Madame De Sevigne, in her sixtieth year, acknowledged that she then owed to the reading of good books pleasures far surpassing those which she ever enjoyed in the world or at court. Lord Chesterfield had passed that age, when he made a similar acknowledgment. " Reading," he says. "which was always a pleasure to me, is now become my only refuge."t As means of cheering solitude and alleviating human sufferings, books are still more powerful : there is not an alflic- * Etudes Jlistoriques, Pref. t Letters to his Son, Let. 305. Skc. v.] reading and hearing compared. 347 tion which they cannot overcome. How many men of culti- vated mind are there, the victims of political dissensions, who, in the horrors of a prison, have obtained from books the sweet- est consolations, and even the momentary forgetfulness of the dreadful fate which awaited them. In fact, in prosperous as in adverse ^fortune, in the highest as in the humblest situations, reading is always productive of good. Montesquieu declares that study was to him a sovereign remedy against the ills of life. " I never had any sorrow," he adds, " which an hour of reading did not remove."* Lord Byron remarks, in his 1 Journal,' " If I could always read, I should never feel the want of society." t "As much company as I have kept," says Pope, " and as much as I love it, I love reading better, and would rather be employed in reading than in the most agreeable con- versation."J " But for books," said Jefferson, " life would scarcely be worth having." § Fenelon emphatically exclaimed, that he " would not exchange the love of reading for any earthly eajoyment."|| Sect. V.— READING AND HEARING COMPARED. Good books are the best companions of our leisure hours : we can, at any time, have recourse to them, and select one from which, as we feel inclined, we may derive either amusement or instruction. The same cannot be said of men : we cannot always command their services when we are best disposed to receive information from them ; and it seldom happens that our anxiety for instruction is gratified in our usual round of visits, or by those whom we generally meet in society. Sir Walter Scott says, in one of his works, that he never met with any man, let his calling be what it might, even the most stupid fellow that ever rubbed down a horse, from whom he could not, by a few moments' conversation, learn something which he did not before know and which was valuable to him. It will be acknowledged that, by proper management, something might be learned from every person, but how few could, like Walter Scott, draw forth from another the particular knowledge which he possesses, and, besides, such information, the fruit of individual experience, relates only to the common affairs of life, * Son Portrait par lui-mSme. f Moore, Life of Byron. % Th. Moore, Life of Byron, Note, $ Correspondence. II L. S. Fenelon, Conversations avec le Chevalier Ramsay. 348 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCIIES,&c [Chap. II. and can be but very superficial. The use of books opens a wider range of ideas and leads to greater investigation of science : if we wish to be profound in any species of knowledge we must have recourse to books. We have a greater command over what we read than over what we hear. In reading we can pause at will am I direct the powers of reflection to the passages which it is essential to inves- tigate and remember. At any part of the book we can compare what is there the object of consideration with what precedes ; and thus the subject is better connected in the mind and more thoroughly understood. In listening, on the contrary, the slow- ness of our conception, or the rapidity of the speaker, does not always permit us to follow him. We have not time to dwell on the words or ideas that call for examination, and much less can we retrace our steps, in order to compare the different parts of the subject presented to our consideration. Besides, the information gathered from conversation cannot generally be relied upon with the same certainty as that which is found in standard didactic works. Books, as models, are preferable to men : not only they present a richer stock of words and a style generally less defective and less trivial than that of conversation, but the impressions made through the organ of sight are more vivid and more lasting than those which are made through the organ of hearing ; for the attention is more firmly captivated by the eyes than by the ears. This observation applies only to the form of language, not to the thought, which, by the force of sympathy, receives from the living voice a power of impressiveness, of which the inert page is altogether destitute. The rapidity with which all the articu- late words succeed each other requires them to be repeated very often, in order to be retained ; the written words, on the con- trary, can be dwelt upon at will by the organ of sight, and the same repetition of the impressions is not required in order to retain them. "Whatever is acquired through the ear," says Horace, " makes a fainter impression on the mind than what is conveyed to it through the faithful eyes."* Dugald Stewart makes a similar observation : " Visible objects," he remarks, " are remembered more easily than those of any of our senses, and hence it is, that the bulk of mankind are more aided in their recollection by the impressions made on the eye than by those made on the ear."t » De Arte FocticA. \ Elem. of the Philosophy of the Human Mind. Sec. V.l READING AND HEARING COMPARED. 349 Viewed in other respects, reading and hearing are equally useful at the entrance upon the study. As the practice of reading leads to the acquisition of three important objects, namely, to the comprehending of books, the orthography, and the materials of language, so the practice in hearing leads, in a simi- lar way, to the comprehending of men, the pronunciation, and the materials of language. The latter result, common to both branches, is strikingly illustrated by the opposite fact, that per- sons in humble life, who do not read, nor mix in society, have but a very limited stock of words ; and these are of the most common kind. In the native tongue these two means of ex- tending our vocabulary are practicable ; but, in acquiring a foreign language, reading is, in ordinary circumstances, the only means within the power of the learner who is with his books more than with his teacher ; and, hence, it becomes the funda- mental branch of study. The attention of learners should then, at first, be chiefly directed towards acquiring a clear comprehension of books ; but, in thus insisting on giving precedence to this branch, we do not mean to disregard the other three, without which the knowledge of the language would be very incomplete ; we only wish to indicate the progressive order which ought to be followed in the study. Nor do we mean that each of these branches should be learned separately, passing to the second only after thoroughly possess- ing the first, and so on in succession, but that the efforts of the learner ought to be more particularly directed, at the outset, towards reading, which, in a foreign language, is the easiest and the most useful branch, either as an ultimate object, or as an auxiliary in acquiring the others. The exercises in hearing, requisite for understanding the spoken language, may soon after be entered upon, and, if duly carried on concurrently with read- ing, they will soon secure a mastery of the second branch. That, in general, learners understand the written language sooner and better than the spoken, is merely because they have more prac- tice in reading than in hearing. The 3rd and 4th branches, — speaking and ivriting, — will successively follow, as familiarity with the first two gradually enables the learner to divide his atten- tion between them all ; and, at last, the four branches will be simultaneously attended to, until the complete possession of them is gained. It is in this manner that we proceed in the vernacular tongue in which our powers of hearing and reading are always •in advance of the powers of speaking and writing. 350 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BEANCHES,&c. [Chap. II. Sect. VI.— HEARING— ITS IMPORTANCE. The second branch, — the art of comprehending the language on hearing it spoken, — will be entered upon when some progress has been made in the first, and will then be the more rapidly acquired as greater proficiency has been gained in reading. At the same time that the pupils acquire through their own efforts familiarity with the written language, they avail themselves of the assistance of a professor, by attending, when with him, to the spoken language, which they could not learn in his absence ; for, if the acquisition of the written language — reading and writing, depends on the persevering industry of the learners, that of the spoken language — hearing and .peaking, chiefly de- pends on the continual exertion of the teacher. It is his peculiar office to initiate them into these two branches. Hearing will prove indispensable to those who may have occasion to speak the foreign language ; for it is the most im- portant part of our communication with others : it is truly the better half of conversation. Its complete acquisition is vastly more useful than that of speaking. We may often, with a limited command of words, aided by circumlocution and the language of action, succeed in conveying our meaning to others ; but nothing short of perfection in understanding oral expression will do for the necessities of social intercourse. If we comprehend perfectly what is said, a few words, a monosyllable, even the slightest motion of assent or dissent, will suffice to keep up the conversa- tion. But if, on the contrary, we do not clearly and fully com- prehend the person who addresses us, all the command of language which we may possess will be unavailable to keep up the intercourse. Hence hearing may be useful independently of speaking, whereas speaking is useless without hearing. Not to understand perfectly what is addressed to us, places us in a most awkward position ; we know not what counte- nance to assume, what answer to give. Sometimes we may fancy we have caught the speaker's idea, and we venture on a reply which, by its incongruity, only proves more awkward than our silence. To the person who addresses us, it must be equally distressing not to perceive in our countenance the expressive looks that bespeak the internal action of a mind which comprehends what is said. He must speak more slowly and plainly than usual, or depart from his natural style, in Sec. VI.] HEARING-ITS IMPORTANCE. 351 order to use expressions which may be on a level with our limited knowledge of the language. Such a conversation is equally painful to the speaker and to the hearer. When a person understands the spoken language of the country which he visits, he is enabled, from the moment of his arrival, not only to enjoy the society of the people, but also to improve in speaking ; for he easily and permanently retains words and entire phrases, when his ear distinctly catches and his mind clearly conceives them ; he readily uses them after- wards in the way he has heard them applied. In fact, the art of speakiug a foreign language presents little difficulty to him who understands it when spoken. "With the possession of this second branch, two or three months would be sufficient to learn how to converse with great ease ; deprived of it, we might be years in the country without being able to join in conversation, and much less to retain the foreign expressions which strike the ear. "He that travelleth into a country," says Lord Bacon, " before he hath some entrance into the language, goeth to school, not to travel."* As it has been remarked that the art of reading foreign languages would, if generally practised, extend the benefit of correspondence, so the power of understanding their oral expres- sion, which is, as will subsecpiently be seen, of very easy attainment to persons able to read these languages, would considerably facilitate personal intercourse between the natives of different countries, because each speaking his own language would be understood by the other. We submit this idea to scientific associations and to the Peace Congress, as calculated to aid, by its reaUsation, their generous efforts in the great cause of the advancement of humanity ; the reciprocal under- standing of foreign languages is conducive to the diffusion of knowledge, to the community of feelings amongst mankind, and more than any other intellectual progress, will bind together the human race. International communion is the great desi- deratum of the present age. Wilkins, Leibnitz, l'Abbe de St. Pierre, Volney, and many other philanthropists, impressed with the vast importance of the benefits which would accrue to humanity from a universal language, have devised schemes for the practicability of such a vehicle of thought. Their efforts, however, have as yet proved unsuccessful ; and it is not likely that any system of * Essays. Ess. 18. 352 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c, [Chap. II. signs will ever be contrived, ■which could be generally adopted among the various nations of the earth ; too many obstacles tend to defeat the execution of such a project. Descai'tes considers it as visionary, at the same time that he admits the possibility of contriving a more philosophical language than any now in existence.* The elements of a universal language, which to be available should be restricted to ideographical writing, would, like the Chinese characters, present very great difficulty in their acquisi- tion. A familiarity with them could not be gained by practice in hearing or reading ; they must be learned abstractedly and unconnectedly, — a very tedious and painful task. But should a person even surmount the difficulty of their acquisition, he would often, when using them in conformity with his habits of vernacular expression, fail to make himself understood by the natives of another country, on account of the difference which in general exists in the grammatical and idiomatical structure of languages. Besides, the advantages to be expected from such a language would not, in the present state of things, be adequate to the labour and length of time consumed in the study ; for, not only would oral expression be excluded from its sphere of usefulness, but its possessor would not find in the new characters a literature from which to derive instruction or procure intellectual enjoyment — the chief motives for learning a second written language ; nor coidd he always be certain of having for a correspondent a person conversant with them ; and the want of practice, arising from the absence of books and the probable rarity of correspondence, must cause him soon to forget this written language, or rather must be an obstacle to his ever acquiring it. With regard to the partial use of such a language among the learned of different countries, were it even practicable, it would be most prejudicial to society at large ; for, as with the usual hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt, much valuable information would then be shut out from the great majority of the people.t The general diffusion of the arts of reading and hearing foreign languages would obviate all these difficulties ; for the power of understanding two or three of the most extensive among the * See R. Descartes, Lettre au Rev. PPre Mersenne. \ The institution of a universal language presents many other obstacles which our limits do not permit us to investigate. See, on this subject, " Des Signes et de VArt tie Penser considered dans leurs Rapports mututls." — J. M. Degiirando. Sec. VI.] HEARING— ITS IMPORTANCE. 353 languages, would, for the great majority of persons, answer nearly all the purposes of a universal idiom ; and the acquisition of the first two branches in any one of them is so easy that it has been frequently accomplished in less than a year^and, in some instances, in less than six months ; so that one could learn how to understand perfectly half a dozen languages, both written and spoken, in much less time than would be required for learning to speak and write one with ease and correctness. Many facts and arguments illustrative of this assertion will be subsequently adduced in treating of the acquisition of this branch. "When we are abroad among those whose language we have studied, we have a thousand occasions of hearing them speak, a thousand opportunities of deriving pleasure and profit from understanding them ; but comparatively few are the circum- stances which require us to speak their language. Whether we travel in a public coach or sit at a table d'hdte, it is often instructive and always prudent to allow others to speak ; for we gain a great deal of local information, and soon know in whose company we are. The inexperienced and the unthink- ing are ever ready to tell who they are, whence they come, whither they go ; but sensible people, at home or abroad, are generally more inclined to listen than to talk, when they are among strangers. "Whatever may be our pursuit in a foreign land, whether business, instruction, or amusement, we constantly have to exercise the precious faculty of hearing, almost to the exclusion of speaking ; for, whether we attend sermons, lectures, or plays, the debates in the Houses of Parliament, or in the Courts of Justice, every where silence is imposed on us. If we visit museums or public buildings, we are doomed to hear the cice- rone's oft-repeated tale ; if we enter a shop, we have again to listen to the tradesman expatiating on the merits and cheapness of his goods ; in short, in all circumstances we have less to say than to hear. If we frequent society, we shall generally find that the practice of attending to what is addressed to us, and following the con- versation of the well informed, is far more useful and less dan- gerous than an over-anxiety to speak. To know how to listen is a social quality, as rare as it is valuable. "We neglect, we despise, too much the art of listening. He who listens well, thinks equally well., Conversation is like the wind, which VOL. I. A A ^54 RELATIVE IMPOKTAN( EOFTHEFOl R BRANCHES, &c. [ChaivIL carries seeds with it and scatters tlum in its passage* Pythagoras imposed on his disciples a silence of five years, before they were permitted to address him. Sect. VII. HEARING— A MEANS OF ACQUIRING THE PRONUNCIATION. Understanding the people will not be the only object gained if the professor often afford his pupils the opportunity of hearing him. The pronunciation will then be retained without difficulty ; for it must not be forgotten that the power of producing the articulate sounds of any language depends entirely on the fre- quency of the impressions which they have made on the ear. Those are dumb to whom nature has denied the sense of hearing. Such is the force of the instinctive power of imitation in child- hood, that we unwittingly acquire the pronunciation and prosody of the vernacular tongue, while attention is directed to the ideas conveyed by oral expression. Hence the precept of Quintilian, who recommends to place near children only persons who speak correctly. The plain, direct, and natural method, by which the ear is attuned to the native sounds, and the vocal organs learn to pro- duce them, is equally applicable to a foreign language. If it were strictly and patiently followed, the pronunciation of that lano-ua^e would be as easily attained as that of the native tongue. If, in general, this part of a. living language is found so extremely difficult, it is simply because the method pursued to acquire it is in opposition to that of nature. We disdain to follow the easy path she has marked out for us, and we are punished by fatigue and disappointment. It is a great error to think that, in the study of a living lan- guage, exercises in pronunciation ought to be introduced at the outset. In the natural process, the act of pronouncing is, as we have seen, only the second step ; in a foreign language, it is the third : the learner must first be exercised in translating that language, then in hearing, and, afterwards, in pronouncin.tr it. He must understand the spoken words before he attempts to utter them ; for it is contrary to reason, to learn signs of any kind before ascertaining what they signify. The young child attempts to pronounce only the words or phrases to which he attaches a meaning. The knowledge of the pronunciation of a word is useful only inasmuch as its meaning is known ; and it is • See J. >I. Dcg6rando, Den Signes et de I' Art de raiser, &c. Sac. VII.] HEARING— A MEANS OF ACQUIRING PRONUNCIATION. 355 the association of that meaning with the sound which impresses the pronunciation on the memory. On the other hand, the pro- nunciation of many words depends on their signification. For example, august, minute, invalid; use, conduct, rebel, are pro- nounced in two ways, according as the first three are substantives or adjectives, and the other three substantives or verbs. Among other words which differ in pronunciation as they differ in mean- ing may be mentioned the following, in English, and in French. bow (an act of reverence). bow (an instrument of war). gill (a measure). gill (of a fish). read (present tense). read (past tense). desert (wilderness). desert (merit). gallant (brave). gallant (attentive to the ladies). to conjure (to practise charms), to conjure (to beseech). tons (all, an adjective). tous (all, a pronoun). fits (threads). JUs (son). Jier (to trust). fier (proud). portions (portions). portions (we were carrying). parent (parent). parent (they adorn). convient (becomes, agrees). convient (they invite). The Italian seguito and the Spanish publico, take the prosodiac accent on the first, the second, or the third syllable, according as these words respectively mean, the one, sequel, followed (part, past), or he followed ; the other, the public, I publish, or he published. In acquiring the pronunciation, as in every department of in- struction, prevention is better than cure : by not practising any pronunciation, the organs are left ready for acquiring a good one ; but bad habits once contracted are with difficulty eradi- cated. The task of the professor should then consist less in cor- recting his pupil's errors, than in preventing him from committing any. Although it is impossible to acquire a language without committing errors in the commencement, yet there is no necessity of forming bad habits, as it were, solely for the trouble of getting rid of them afterwards, when it is practicable to acquire at once, correctly, the desired object. This observation does not apply so much to phraseology as to pronunciation : in the latter the elements being very limited recur frequently in practice, so that habits are soon formed, from the unavoidable repetition of the same sounds and articulations. But a defective phraseology is not so liable to become habitual : A A 2 356 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &e. [Chap. II. the same identical forms are not often used, because the elements of which they are composed are extremely numerous, and the modifications which they undergo, like the circumstances that call them forth, are infinite. To guard from erroneous sounds learners must frequently hear the language correctly pi-onounced, before they attempt to pronounce it themselves : there can be no doubt that success in this department depends, in the beginning, more on the ear than on the tongue. They will acquire a more correct pronunciation by hearing a foreigner read fifty pages of his own language, than by reading five hundred to him. If adults, when abroad, seldom succeed in speaking like the natives, it is simply because having, from the exigencies of their position, to take an active part in social intercourse, they avail themselves of the little they know of the foreign language, in order to communicate with those near whom business or pleasure brings them. They are placed in circumstances different from those of a young child : they are obliged to speak before they have sufficiently heai-d the words which they have occasion to use. We would remind those who learn a foreign language in the country where it is spoken, that the people being then their principal models they should seek their society, live habitually with them, and, in their first intercourse with them, be more anxious to listen than to speak. They should avail themselves of every opportunity to hear the language spoken by the well educated natives. Public speakers in every walk of oratory, preachers, lecturers, actors on the stage, lawyers at the bar, legislators in the Houses of Parliament, would be their best teachers. They should, in fact, make their case as similar as possible to that of the child who, in the same pursuit, prompted by the instinct of curiosity, listens, and depends on his hearing the words for using them afterwards. He is, in truth, but a passive learner, on whom society acts as a teacher. Pronunciation is a part of the third branch : it is an essential element of expression; but, as it is a necessary consequence of hearing, our observations on this point naturally found their place in the present chapter. Sec. I.] ADVANTAGES OF SPEAKING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. CHAPTER III. — ♦ — OF EXPEESSION. Sbct. I.— ADVANTAGES ARISING FROM SPEAKING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. The practice of reading and hearing, the usefulness of which has now been sufficiently unfolded, by familiarising the learner with orthography and pronunciation, will secure his rapid im- provement in speaking and writing ; whilst the practice of the latter two branches will enable him to appropriate and retain the materials of language — the words and phraseology, — brought under the cognisance of his mind by the former two. It is more particularly the arts of speaking and writing, that is, the power of expression, which really constitutes the knowledge of a lan- guage ; understanding books and men constitutes only a partial acquaintance with it. The art of speaking a foreign language is of the utmost value to a person who visits the country where it is spoken : even the shortest excursion may prove to him a source of infinite profit and pleasure. He is always sure of a good reception : for not only is his society more agreeable, but the natives must feel pleased with the tacit compliment he has paid them by learning their language. Conversational powei-s secure a welcome in any company, at home or abroad. Those who understand each other are naturally drawn into friendly intercourse : they exchange good feelings and good offices ; they entertain mutual regard and attachment, and, thus, the command of a language is productive of the greatest social benefits. But he who cannot communicate his sentiments and thoughts remains an isolated being in the midst of numbers ; he is debarred from much social enjoyment and from the happy privilege of contributing his part to the gratification and advantage of his fellow-creatures ; he meets with no welcome, with no sympathy ; he is, to the full extent of the word, an alien in society. 358 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES,&c. [Chap. III. Ambassadors, consuls, and all diplomatic agents who neither understand nor speak the language of the country in which they represent their governments, must often meet with obstacles to the fulfilment of their missions ; although it must be admitted that, especially at the courts of Europe, with the exception of the English, French is almost exclusively used as the official vehicle of communication for all the great questions of international interest. Those who are at the mercy of inter- preters, may easily become the dupes of the political adversaries with whom they have to contend. It is impossible for any person to render our own thoughts as exactly as we can our- selves. The conferences which are carried on through inter- preters have not, in general, the sincerity and expansive intimacy which should exist between the political agents of different nations, in order to facilitate the success of negotiations. A secret between three persons is no longer a secret, especially in diplomacy. They who have filled consular posts in the East, well know that the best means of gaining the confidence of the reserved and suspicious pachas, is to speak their language. Rarely does a Turkish statesman unveil his intimate thoughts to his interlocutor in the presence of another person. It is especially in reference to diplomatic agents that the saying of the Emperor Charles V. finds its application : " A man who speaks four languages is worth four men." When proficiency has been attained in a foreign language, colloquial intercourse in it, as in the native tongue, becomes a source of great mental culture. It suggests new ideas, and, at the same time, teaches how to use those we have. It checks our self-conceit, by revealing to us our deficiencies ; it gives readiness to the memory, fertility to the imagination, and acute- ness to the judgment. If reading enriches the mind, conversation polishes it. In social communion each individual gives utterance to thoughts analogous to his disposition, or to his favourite occupa- tion. If a subject is started, it is viewed and developed in dif- ferent ways by different persons. Every one contributes to the common stock his share of learning, good sense, taste, or wit ; and all gain something. In conversing with those whose good opinion we are ambitious to obtain, the desire of meriting it keeps all the faculties of the mind in a state of excitement, which multiplies the intellectual energies and often leads to the conception of ideas which, in seclusion, would never have been Sec. TI.l PRECEDENCE CLAIMED BY SPEAKING OVER WRITING. 359 called forth. In the warmth of convei - sation, imagination, in- tent on creating, seldom fails, as it receives a new impulse from emulation, or rather from a pride which recoils from inferiority. We acknowledge, for our own part, that many of what we consider the most useful ideas of this Essay have occurred to us in con- versation. Duclos, an eminent French writer, used to converse with his friends on the subjects on which he proposed to write. " With this assistance," he said, " I find in a moment what would have cost me whole days in my closet, and what I, perhaps, shoidd never have found there." Sect. II.— PRECEDENCE CLAIMED BY SPEAKING OVER WRITING. If priority in the order of study were regulated only by the degree of facility attendant on the third and fourth branches, writing should perhaps precede speaking; for, as the learner reads the foreign language more than he hears it spoken, the orthography is sooner familiar to him than the pronunciation. He could unhesitatingly write many words and sentences cor- rectly which he could not pronounce with equal confidence. But, in point of utility, writing a foreign language yields to speaking ; and it is consistent with reason to put off to the last what is least required. In the ordinary circumstances of life we have more frequent occasion to speak than to write. If the power of writing in a foreign language were required, it could only be for epistolary purposes, the national idiom being in every case preferable for any other kind of composition. Even the talent of letter- writing could not always be turned to account : the proficient in a second language has seldom a foreign correspondent, and, in communi- cating with absent friends, the effusions of the heart flow so much more naturally and rapidly in the native tongue, that he cannot but prefer it ; the fear also of not conveying precisely one's own ideas, or of these not being conceived as they are meant, again deters from using any other language. Conversation is not attended with the same inconvenience ; nor is there the same necessity for precision : the misunder- standing that may arise from the errors to which one is liable in speaking a foreign language, can always be immediately ex- plained. It may be ventured upon by the learner earlier than letter-writing, because the oral expression of ideas, being aided 360 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. III. by the natural language of action, requires fewer words and less grammatical knowledge than writing, which is deprived of this auxiliary. The short and alternate interchange of ideas in con- versation presents more inducements than the elaborate task of epistolary composition, and affords great facilities for acquiring, by imitation and analogy, the phraseology of the teacher. In addition to the reasons here adduced for placing exercises in speaking before those in writing, we will observe, that the pupil making his first attempts at speaking in presence of the master, every difficulty is at once removed, every deficiency sup- plied, and every error corrected ; whereas, in the solitary labour of writing, in the intervals of the lessons, he meets with obstacles which he cannot always overcome and loses a great deal of time in the attempt. We may then, in point of order and importance, give the pre- ference to speaking, of which writing is only the representative ; and it is obvious that it can be made more effectually subser- vient to writing, as is the case in acquiring the national language, than that writing could be made subservient to speak- ing, as attempted in the ordinary mode of learning a foreign language, in which the writing of exercises takes so prominent a part in the first stages of the study. If a learner succeeds in acquiring the art of speaking, he can scarcely fail to know how to write, at least, letters, which are the sort of composition most required ; and he will the better do so as the language of con- versation is the best model for epistolary style ; besides, the orthography will not present any difficulty, as the knowledge of the word is, in a foreign language, acquired through the visual orsran. Sect. III.-POSTPONEMENT OF WRITING. The art of writing is greatly facilitated by the practice in the first three branches, and especially reading, which habituates the eye to the spelling and phraseology, furnishes the mind with ideas and the materials of language, forms the taste, and lays the foundation of a good style. Wishing to write in a language before a large stock of words is treasured up, before a familiarity with its orthography and peculiar construction is gained, is wish- ing to reap before having sown, to know without having learned. A person should carefully notice the words and forms of expres- sion used by the best writers in the language he studies ; and Sec. III.] POSTPONEMENT OF WRITING. 361 when he has the same or similar ideas to express, he cannot but write correctly, if he employs the same words in the same order. " It is by imitation," says Edmund Burke, " far more than by precept that we learn every thing; and what we learn thus, we acquire not only more effectually, but more pleasantly." 11 Lancelot, the learned author of the Port-Royal Latin and Greek grammars, recommends the student to postpone the writing of Latin until he is already advanced in the language.t Writing a foreign language must be deferred until acquaintance with its words and structure enables a learner to dispense with frequent application to the dictionary and grammar. Delay becomes, in this case, the best means of saving time and securing success in the performance. Haste would be most injurious. Reading well written works, studying their contents, and trying to imitate their style, are the ways to improve in the difficult art of writing our own language : how much more indispensable is the study of foreign standard works for writing in the language in which they stand as models. The most eminent writers who have devoted their talents to the cause of education, all those who have proposed improved methods of instruction, agree on this point, however they may differ on others. Milton strongly animadverts on the practice of "forcing the empty wits of children to compose themes, versions, and orations, which are acts of ripest judgment and the final work of a head filled by long reading and observing .... These," he adds, <: are not mat- ters to be wrung from poor striplings, like blood out of the nose, or the plucking of untimely fruit. Besides the ill habit which they get of wretched barbarizing against the Latin and Greek idiom, with their untutored anglicisms, odious to be read, yet not to be avoided, without a well continued and judicious con- versing among pure authors digested, which they scarce taste."+ Sir Joshua Reynolds's observation in reference to painting equally applies to composition in writing. " Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory : nothing can come of nothing ; he who has laid up no material can produce no combination."§ To force upon young people premature attempts at writing, when they are in total ignorance of the foreign language and in- capable of writing their own, cannot but create discouragement * On the Sublime and Beautiful. t Grammaire Latine de Port-Royal. § Discourses delivered at the Boyal Acad. 362 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. III. and repugnance. It is contrary to reason to devote so much time and attention to the writing of French or Latin exercises, in prose or verse, when comparatively little exertion is made to acquire the power of composition in the national tongue, in which that talent would find so many opportunities of being turned to account. Parents would find it infinitely more advantageous to their children to have them taught to write their own language with ease, propriety, and elegance, rather than compose French Essays, Latin Hexameters, or Greek Iambics, were they, in doing so, even to equal Voltaire, Virgil, or Homer. In a foreign living language, writing may be resorted to as an auxiliary to speaking, or when there is an expectation of its being made available at a future period. This double object, however, is not generally aimed at in the study of dead languages ; and the exercises required for attaining the fourth branch might perhaps be left out without any prejudice to learners, or any loss to litera- ture. The speaking of bad Latin has been long since discon- tinued ; it would be but consistency to discontinue equally the absurd compositions of classical schools, — "the making of Latin, whereby," says the learned Ascham, " the child commonly learn- eth, first, an evil choice of words, then a wrong placing of words, and, lastly, an ill-framing of the sentence with a perverse judg- ment both of words and sentences."* "As to an exercise of thought in such an intellectual buckram," says also Mr. Wyse, " it is a farce Plagiarism, barefaced plagiarism, there is no use in concealing it, is the great virtue of your classical com- poser."t The best Latin productions of the scholars of the present day are indeed mere paraphrases of the ancient models, without a particle of originality, and remarkable only for a con- fusion of all styles. It is not rare to see introduced in a serious thesis, or academic discourse, the trivialities of Terence, and in a familiar epistle the poetical expressions of Horace, or the ora- torical periods of Cicero. Such insignificant, and yet most laboured compositions, exercise neither the taste, imagination, nor judgment ; they only give habits of servility in writing. " I do not think," says Dr. Jerrard, the principal of Bristol College, " that general literature would sensibly suffer, if every Greek and Latin composition that has ever issued from the public schools and universities were thrown into the fire. What should we think of English poems written by Frenchmen or Germans (particularly if their knowledge of English were wholly * The Schoolmaster. t Education Reform. Sec. III.] POSTPONEMENT OF WRITING. 363 derived from books), with half the sentiments and phrases ser- vilely borrowed from Milton and Shakspeare, and the remainder consisting chiefly of palpable imitations of their turns of thought or expression ? Surely we should have to reverse all our ideas of literary excellence, before we could admire such tissues of plagiarisms as these would be, not to mention how quaint, how ludicrous many of the turns on which the authors most piqued themselves, would appear to us. Such, I cannot help thinking, is the general character of the compositions in question."* But, even admitting that Latin could, at the present day, be written with perfect ease and purity, we do not see how it can be rendered available to any of the various professions in modern society. " In the name of reason," exclaims Dr. G. Gregory, "what has the writing or speaking of Latin to do with the cure of dis- eases ! "t It would be well if English physicians would follow the example of their continental fellow-practitioners, and write their prescriptions in the plain native idiom : they would thus place themselves above quackery, and, by laying aside their mock erudition, woidd prevent the fatal errors which may arise from their present barbarous and unintelligible jargon, which ought not to be dignified with the name of Latin. We would also suggest that, although the Catholic clergy may, without any pre- judice to society, keep up the use of this language in their inter- course among themselves, and in their communications with the Holy See, it would not diminish the weight of their authority, and it would considerably facilitate legal or social transactions, if they always wrote in the national tongue the certificates of baptism, or marriage, which it is within their office to deliver, and which are intended for the inspection of persons who, for the most part, are unacquainted with Latin. It is obvious that we do not allude here to the use made of this language in the religious rites of the Catholic Church. This subject we con- sider as beyond the province of our investigation. The practice of writing the dead languages should be indulged in very sparingly in public instruction, the more so as it consumes a considerable portion of time, and thus unreasonably and unprofitably lengthens the period of classical studies. The attention of learners ought to be confined to what is useful in these studies, namely, the reading and analysis of the great writers of antiquity. It is by reflecting on their thoughts and * Evidence before Committee of the House of Commons, 1836. | Letters on Literature, Taste, and Composition. 364 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. III. their style, it is especially by transferring through translation or imitation their beauties into the national idiom, and not by caricaturing them in their own, that classical instruction may be productive of real advantage, that the understanding may be exercised, the taste cultivated, and a command of the native tongue secured. Sect. IV.— WRITING THE NATIVE AND WRITING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CONTRASTED. Composition in the native tongue, independently of its im- portance as an ultimate object, presents great intellectual advantages which cannot be obtained from writing in a foreign one, at an early stage of the study. The observations which we made in the beginning of this chapter, to show that writing a foreign language yields to speaking in importance, do not apply to the writing of the native tongue, which, considered as a means of mental improvement, excels speaking. It enables us to make a better choice of words, to mark more forcibly the relations between ideas, to connect them more logically, to diffuse more harmony through discourse, and to enter more deeply into the subject of which we have to treat. To speak is to think, but to write is to meditate. The practice of composi- tion in the native language exercises all the powers of the mind more efficiently than conversation, and it is more easily effected than that of extempore speaking ; it is a good prepara- tion for either. Cicero,* Quintilian,f and after them, Lord Brougham, observe, that he who wishes to speak well, must write a great deal. "I should lay it down as a rule admitting of no exception," says the latter, " that a man will speak well in proportion as he has written much, and that, with equal talents he will be the finest extempore speaker, when no time for preparing is allowed, who has prepared himself the most sedulously, when he had an opportunity of delivering a pre- meditated speech. All the exceptions which I have ever heard cited to this principle, are apparent ones only ; proving nothing more than that some few men of rare genius have become great speakers without preparation ; in nowise showing that, with preparation, they would not have reached a much higher pitch of excellence." J « Be Oratore. Lib. 1. f InstU. Oral. Lib. 1. X Inaugural Discourse at the University of Glasgow, 1825. Sec. IV.] WRITING NATIVE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES, &c. 365 In composing in the vernacular tongue, the writei-, intent upon the thought, sometimes compels the words to follow all its movements ; at other times, as he polishes the style, he at will corrects, extends, restrains the ideas which engage him. In endeavouring to make them clear and intelligible to others, he considers the words in all their bearings ; and, after due investigation, he succeeds in clearly expressing complete and accurate ideas. Hence the truth of Blair's precept that learning to compose and arrange sentences with accuracy and order, is learning to think with accuracy and order.* This mutual influence and dependence which thought and language have upon each other take place only when the writer uses the language as the direct and spontaneous expres- sion of his thoughts, and when he is practically conversant with its genius and phraseology. But the learner who writes in a foreign language which is not yet familiar to him, does not think in it, and is even unable to choose the words which would best convey his ideas, because he knows not their true import nor the various shades of meaning of which they are susceptible ; his consideration of words does not go beyond their orthography, their concord or their respective places, according as he is directed by the rules which he has previously learned or has before his eye, — a purely mechanical process not much above a culinary operation done from a cookery-book. The act of comparing the expression with the thought which it is intended to convey, of discriminating between different words and different forms, of weighing them, as it were, and judging of the clearness, propriety, and elegance of each, demands great familiarity with a language and an intimate association of the words with the ideas ; it cannot, we repeat it, take j^lace in writing exercises or original compositions in a foreign language, when the learner comes at its words only by translation, and is as yet unacquainted with their various acceptations and their idiomatic construction. These premature attempts at writing not permitting him to exercise his imitative or imaginative powers, and fraught with errors, as they must be, are calculated to vitiate rather than improve his taste. It is utterly impossible that they could, as erroneously believed, cultivate his under- standing, or impai't to him the power of discovering and appreciating the beauties of foreign literary productions. Considered then, either as an initiatory task, as an intellectual * Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres. 306 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES,**. [Chap. III. exercise, or as a means of better estimating the merit of foreign authors, the practice of writing a foreign language at an early stage of the study is completely useless. But it becomes still more injudicious, when viewed in reference to the learner's improvement in the national tongue. The differences of genius and construction which exist between most languages, and especially between the ancient and the modern idioms, naturally render the frequent practice of writing one an obstacle to writing another correctly. So powerful is the influence of habit, that the more easily and the more frequently we use a foreign language to express our thoughts, the more readily will its peculiar forms intrude themselves on our native composition. Writing in a foreign language as an introductory exercise not only produces none of the benefits which are usually expected from it, but it is, as an acquisition, very limited in its use. In Latin we have already observed that it cannot be of any service, except perhaps to the Catholic clergy. In the living languages it is not likely to be applied to any thing but epistolary compo- sition , and out of five hundred persons who learn them, not two have occasion through life to keep up a foreign correspon- dence. In the mother tongue, on the contrary, that acquirement must prove extremely useful in many circumstances, and as its acquisition demands considerable time and application, it is most desirable that young persons should turn their attention to it early, and should prepare for it by an assiduous study of their national works. If any one feel inclined to write for the public, he will seldom choose, as the vehicle of his ideas, the language of a people among whom he does not live ; and if he reside in the country where that language is spoken, instead of being foreign, which it was at first to him, it will, in the course of time, become in reality his own ; he may then use it as such, as is the case with the writer of this work, who addresses a British public in a language of which he knew not one word at the age of two- and-twenty. Sect. V.— ON THE WRITING OF GREEK AND LATIN VERSES. However prejudicial to classical learning may be the writing of Latin or Greek exercises, that of Latin or Greek verses is incomparably greater. All that has been said against the former applies with double force to the latter, whether considered with Sec. V.] ON Tilt; WHITING OF GREEK AND LATIN VERSES. 367 a view to mental discipline, literary discrimination, or inter- national intercourse. As a means of learning ancient prosody, it yields in efficiency and interest to the analysis of the standard poets. As a preparation for reading the Greek and Latin poets, or appreciating their beauties, it is supererogatory ; for there is no necessity to write verses in a language in order fully to understand and enjoy its poetry. Many persons read with delight and critical taste their national poets .who have never put two rhymes together. The assertion that Latin verse- making is useful, in " enabling learners to comprehend and feel all the nicer shades of expression, the delicate turn of thought, the curious felicity and harmony of Latin composition," is a gra- tuitous assumption beyond the power of its assertors to prove. As to its being conducive to the acquisition of a similar accom- plishment in the native tongue, as affirmed by some, we will only remark, that, were this object desirable, it is not likely to be attained by this practice : for the mechanism of verse is so different in any two languages, ancient or modern, that a know- ledge of the principles of versification in the one could never promote poetical skill in another. The writing of Greek or Latin verses is more mechanical, uninteresting, tedious, unprofitable, and injurious, than the writing of Greek or Latin prose ; it must not, therefore, like prose composition, be simply postponed, it must be rejected altogether from classical instruction, which it contributes to lengthen without any advantage whatever. The practice has been so universally censured that, in support of this opinion, we need only offer a few out of the many observations made on this subject by eminent writers. " If any one will think poetry a desirable quality in his son, and that the study of it would raise his fancy and parts, he must needs yet confess that, to that end, reading the excellent Greek and Eoman poets is of more use than making bad verses of his own, in a language that is not his own. And he whose design it is to excel in English poetry, would not, I guess, think the way to it were to make his first essays in Latin verses." * " It is not part of our plan to teach versification ; for we are of opinion, that the mechanical process of making verses is unfavourable to a proper understanding of prosody, and also to the learning of the language, besides being a great waste of time."t * J. Locke, Thoughts on Education. t Geo. Long, Introductory Lecture, University of London 1830. 368 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Chap. III. " Writing Latin verses is useless in any view ; and, in its indiscriminate exercise, it is a great absurdity. That all pupils should be whipped till they produce Latin and Greek verses, is perhaps the most preposterous waste of time and mind, not to say, the grossest injustice that can be conceived." 4 " I do not believe that a single real advantage is obtainable from Greek and Latin versification, that cannot be obtained at a Jar less sacrifice of time and labour without it For the very reasons that would make it appear ridiculous to a French and German teacher to require his pupils to compose in French or German verse, and to spend a great deal of their time in endeavouring to acquire a great facility and expertness in so doing, do I protest against the practice of Greek and Latin verse composition. The peculiarities and licenses of the poetry of a language are easily learned in perusing the poets, by those who are acquainted with the style and construction of the prose. "With respect to the appreciation of beauties, I do believe that by far the best way of arriving at that end, is by following some such method as I at present adopt. Any passage distinguished for excellence of thought or expression, is committed to memory by the students, its beauties are accurately discussed by the lecturer, and its defects also. Those who have a taste for poetry, are told to turn it into English verse, and they are desired to transfuse as many of the beauties and as much of the spirit of the original as they can into their translation ; and, in so far as they fall short of so doing, the deficiency is pointed out by the lecturer. This appears to me to be the most obvious and rational, as well as the shortest, way of enabling them thoroughly to imbibe the spirit and imitate the excellences of the classic poets ; and it tends directly to give them what the writing of Greek and Latin verse does not — a greater command over their own Language. They become also, in this way, fully acquainted with the resources and powers of the original languages, without taking what I consider an extremely round-about way of arriving at the same end." " I have been confirmed in my views of the effects of the system of verse-making, by having been informed that in Ger- many such a practice does not exist, and that the German scholars who take the lead of us in every branch of classical knowledge actually treat with ridicule, and can scarcely believe in the fact, that so much time is devoted to this pursuit at our * James Simpson, Evidence be/ore Committee, House of Commons, 1835. Sec. V.] ON THE WRITING OF GREEK AND EATIN VERSES. 369 English schools. Here then the experiment of doing without metrical composition has been tried on a grand scale and with the most decisive results."* "If it be extremely absurd to exact from children compo- sition in prose in a language of which they are ignorant, and the attainment of which they cannot accomplish through rules, it is not less absurd to force a number of learners to ponder for hours over eight or ten lines, the structure and rhythm of which they do not comprehend. They would certainly derive more profit from writing in their own language a short letter in an easy style and correct spelling, than from the barbarous Latin verses which they make after much fatigue and vexation." t "The composition of Latin verses usually causes a considerable waste of time to the students. While two or three out of eighty may produce something after much painful labour, all the others torment themselves to no purpose." J " A page of Tacitus or Virgil, Demosthenes or Homer, well understood and translated, is, as a means of instruction, far pre- ferable to all those would-be poetical compositions which, in the nineteen-twentieths of learners, are only a work of plagiarism, or of Gradus ad Parnassum."§ " You force a child to express in a language little known ideas not his own ! You wish him to write in Latin, even before he can relate in his own language the most ordinary event ! You wish him to write Latin verses ! Were it French verses, we should understand it, but Latin verses ! Will he be the more able to comprehend Horace and Virgil 1 Will this unpoetical exercise — this mechanical arrangement of words, initiate him into the beauties of poetry ? Intellect and taste are said to be requisite for making even passable verses in the native idiom ; there does not appear to be any need of such qualifications in Latin ! Everybody at school, teachers and pupils, pique them- selves on writing Latin verses ; and some of these, it is true, are prized by critics ; but these critics have not lived in Eome in the Augustan age, and their poetical talent is the more sus- picious in Latin, as it is often below mediocrity when exercised in their own language." || * J. II.. Jerrard, Evidence before Committee of House of Commons, 1836. t N. Pluche, Miicnnique des Langues. J A. Arnauld,.!/ 'moire sw le reglement des Etudes. § P. E. Gasc, Etudes historiques et critiques, sur V Instruction Secondaire. || N.S. Morand, Tribune de V Enseignement. VOL. I. B B 370 RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOUR BRANCHES, &c. [Ciiah. III. Sect. VI.— OF WHITING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AT AN ADVANCED STAGE OF THE STUDY. If prose writing in a foreign language be practised when some progress has been made, at least, in the first branch, it will assist in directing more particularly the attention of learners to the form of the words, their concord and arrangement. It will facilitate the prosecution of the learners' private studies, by fur- nishing them with the means of recording, in the interval of the lessons, the phraseology which they have practised with the pro- fessor, of applying to the expression of their own ideas the rules of the language, as they are acquired, or of imitating the style of a standard author, as will subsequently be explained. Although, at the outset, oral exercises must take the lead, when circumstances permit, those in writing may, in their turn, afford reciprocal assistance to the art of speaking. When the students are advanced in the foreign language, when they are beginning to converse in it, and are able to enter upon the writing of original compositions, this last exercise will be the means of extending the power of expression beyond the limits of conversation, which is but too often carried on by a succession of unconnected propositions. Composition in a foreign language, which is mostly effected by translating from the native, cannot fail to improve the learner in his own ; for, by compelling him to investigate the precise meaning and nature of the native words, in order to render them into their foreign equivalents, it leads him to discriminate between their different acceptations, to ascertain the class to which they belong, or the office they fulfil in each particular instance. The correction of compositions will also afford to the professor frequent opportunities of entering upon considerations of orthography, grammar, and style, for which the rapidity and transiency of the spoken discourse are not favourable. The practice of writing, if didy deferred, and judiciously con- ducted until the power of composition is fully attained, will aid in imparting the capability of judging of literary productions ; for we can better appreciate the merit of execution in any art when we possess it, and when our own experience has exhibited to us all its difficulties. But, in whatever light this branch is considered, it should follow, not precede, the others ; and, although it holds only the last place in the order of study and in Sec. VI.] OF WRITING AT AN ADVANCED STAGE, &c. 371 point of practical usefulness, it is obvious that it should not be neglected by those who are ambitious of possessing a complete knowledge of a foreign language and of availing themselves of that knowledge under all circumstances. Thus it has been shown that these four branches have each a peculiar sphere of usefulness, and that, although distinct in practice, they are connected by the assistance which they lend to each other. Nature and reason combine in justifying the order above prescribed, namely, Reading leads to hearing, hearing to speaking, and speaking to writing. bb2 373 BOOK VI. OF GRAMMAR. '• Whoever undertakes to teach boys or girls the grammar of a language, under- takes to teach them what they cannot comprehend, and what he perhaps does not understand himself."— A. Clifford.* " Les regies qu'on a eerites surles arts produisenta peuprts l'effet des telescopes; elles n'aident que ceux qui voient." — D'Alembebt.j " De grammaticis sic sentio : pleraque usu discendee regulse deinde addenda ad perfectionem." — Leibxitz.J CHAPTER I. UNFITNESS OF GEAMMAE FOE CHILDEEN. Sect. 1.— THE GENERAL ADOPTION OF GRAMMAR AS AN INTRO- DUCTORY STUDY ACCOUNTED FOR. Having assigned to each of the four branches its place and degree of importance, we will now, before entering on the details of the method which we propose, conclude our general observa- tions on the study of language, by first adverting to the impro- priety of making grammar an introduction to it, and, next, examining in what a complete course of grammatical studies consists. That grammar has been made the preliminary step to the study of Latin, and, by assimilation, to that of other foreign languages, arises chiefly from two injudicious practices which have been noticed before : the one is, the learning of a second * Letter to the Earl of SJirewsbury. \ Encyclopedic Discours pre'liminaire. X " Of grammatical studies this is my opinion : most of the rules should he acquired by practice ; they should, afterwards, be added to secure perfection." 374 OF GRAMMAR. [Chap. I. language by the comparative process at too early a period, and the other, the premature " making of Latin." The tender age at which children are usually sent to classical schools, not permitting them to enter at once upon the reading of classic authors, which are above their comprehension, means must be contrived to delay the explanation of them without apparently losing time, and a grammar is consequently put into their hands for one or two years as a preparation. On the other side, the teacher, unable to devote to his pupils all the time which, on account of their youth, they require from him for the explanation of foreign authors, is led to impose on them this tedious and uninteresting task, with the expectation that it will facilitate the work of translation and thus diminish his labour ; but the end is defeated by the means ; for it is often more troublesome to explain the grammar than the authors themselves. This preparatory course again serves the purpose of Latin composition, because the unnatural process of writing before having read — that is, of composing in a language of which the learner is ignorant, necessarily demands a previous knowledge of rules as a substitute for the exercises of imitation and analogy. Another reason of the importance given to grammar in the study of a foreign language, is the prevalent belief that a knowledge of it ensures to the learners a knowledge of the vernacular grammar : we will subsequently show the fallacy of this opinion. While we admit the efficiency of grammar towards the perfect attainment of the arts of speaking and writing, we cannot but object to the early period at which it is usually learned, and to the exaggerated importance attached to it, as an auxiliary to the acquisition of language ; for, although it is made to engross the attention of learners, it does not afford them adequate facility towards the attainment of the various objects aimed at in language — nay, these very objects are often lost sight of, in pursuit of this supposed auxiliary. Thus it is that grammar contributes very considerably in lengthening the period of classical instruction. Sec. II.] GRAMMAR-AN ART AND A SCIENCE. 375 BBCT. ii.-grammah ,— an art and a science. Grammar may be viewed in two lights, either as a collection of rules which serve to guide us in the expression of thought, or as an investigation of the principles of language deduced from the nature and relations of the ideas to he represented. In the first light, grammar, applying only to the facts of one language, is called particular, and constitutes an art; in the second, grammar, proposing to explain the nature of words and their relations by the nature and relations of the things which they represent, and also to account for the mode of using them by a consideration of the mental operations on which it depends, is said to be general, because it embraces the principles of all languages ; it then constitutes a science, being founded on the universal and immutable laws of external nature and of the human mind. There are as many particular grammars as there are languages ; whereas, there is only one general grammar, one science of language. The art of grammar gives the rules for using the materials of one language ; the science of grammar gives the rationale of all the facts of language. The art is local, — its rules are established by custom ; the science is universal, — its principles are inde- pendent of custom. The former is available to those who possess the materials of one language, the latter to those who are acquainted with several idioms: the one, when studied at a proper time, is conducive to the acquisition of a critical know- ledge of a language ; the other affords no aid in this acquisition, but tends to exercise the higher powers of the mind. Either of these two systems of grammar is an unfit subject of study before the third period of youth : an ignorance of the facts which are the objects of consideration in particular grammar, places this art beyond the reach of young children, and the philosophical principles on which general grammar rests, unsuited as they are to immature understandings, equally place the grammatical science above their capacity. Of these two departments of grammar, the art is the one more especially resorted to as an auxiliary to the study of a foreign language, because it is the record, and not the rationale, of the facts which, by exhibiting the usage of a language, has led people to presume that students could thus be made to conform to that usage. With regard to the science of grammar, no one can, 376 OF GRAMMAR. [Ciiap. I. consistently with reason, entertain the opinion that it is capable of affording assistance towards gaining skill in reading or speaking a foreign language ; for it is evident that the power of philosophising about language in general, and the power of using one in particular are completely distinct. It is only through a confusion of terms, that the denomination of grammatical science is sometimes given to the theory of particular languages, when considered as auxiliary to their acquisition. Our observations will, therefore, in this and the following chapter, apply only to the art of grammar, and will particularly refer to the impropriety of beginning the study of a language by its grammatical principles. That this order ought to be reversed appears to us obvious. Those who, in the maturity of reason, have studied a language through its grammar, must have experienced that the definitions and rides of that grammar are, of themselves, often very obscure, and are rendered clear by means only of the expressions which are introduced to illustrate them. But, although it may be said that the remedy of the evil is thus at hand, and that examples assist in understanding grammatical principles, yet the two or three usually subjoined to each rule in particular grammars, are not sufficient to preserve young people from misconceptions. A greater number of illus- trations is required, in order to present a rule in all its bearings, and to restrict it within its proper limits. It is, in fact, the phraseology which teaches the rules, not the rules which teach the phraseology. Hence, in a grammar truly consistent with analysis and the inductive principles on which it is based, the examples should precede the rules ; the expressions of good writers .should stand as primary and essential elements. This sufficiently shows the way to proceed in learning a foreign language. If, conformably to the dictates of nature, learners are made to enter at once upon the practice of translation, as will subsequently be explained, the forms of that language, being illustrated by numerous expressions, will remain clearly and firmly impressed on their minds ; whereas abstract, dry, and uninteresting rules must soon be forgotten. In a word, they should, in the beginning, proceed analytically, not synthetically ; they should Learn the grammar from the language, not the language from the grammar. Sec. III.] GRAMMAR UNCERTAIN IN ITS THEORY &c. 377 Sect. III.— GRAMMAR UNCERTAIN IN ITS THEORY AND UNINTELLIGIBLE TO CHILDREN. Can grammar be considered as a safe and intelligible guide for children, when we see so little unanimity of opinion among grammarians themselves 1 Of the innumerable grammars pub- lished in this country for the teaching of English or of foreign lan- guages, not one, perhaps, could be found, which has met with the unconditional recommendation of any one, save its author. Each successive grammatical writer grounds the necessity for pub- lishing his own work on the errors and deficiencies of his predecessors ; but we have not seen a production which can really supersede all others ; and, as yet, this branch of instruction remains in a deplorable state of imperfection. The diversity of opinions which exists among grammarians, at once shows the difficulty of the subject, and the absence of all clear and true notions on grammatical theory. How could they agree, when the nature of ideas, which it is the office of language to represent, and the constitution of the mind, which makes these ideas objects of consideration, are not yet well understood ? In the whole circle of the arts and sciences there is not one in which the technology, classifications, and doctrines of the writers are more discordant and more uncertain. There are almost as many different names and definitions for the same species of words as there are grammars and grammar-makers. These are at variance with each other on the nature, number, and classification of the parts of speech, on the mode of account- ing for elliptical forms and syntactical arrangement, on the generalisation of the principles, and on the number of exceptions. In a word, every branch of the theory of language presents points of dispute, and the most elementary questions have not yet received solutions which place them in the number of uni- versally admitted truths. "Grammarians dispute and the question is still undecided."* From these conflicting, and often contradictory, notions, it is obvious that many authors of grammar are in error ; and if men, with all the advantages arising from reasoning and profound re- search, have not been able to agree among themselves on the general principles of grammar, how can these be understood by young children ? On beholding this perplexity, we cannot help * " Grammatici ccrtant ct adhuc sub judice lis est."— Horace, Arte Poetica. 378 OF GRAMMAR. [Chap. I. exclaiming with Pluche, "May the chill, during his early studies, remain a Ions time without knowing that there are grammars in the world !"* If young persons were allowed to postpone studying the theory of language until the age of four- teen or fifteen, they would then be Letter able to understand the subject and would also, by that time, be in possession of forms of speech illustrative of grammatical rules. Technical terms of grammar, definitions, and rides are un- intelligible to a person who is unacquainted with the facts to which they relate, and more unintelligible still, if possible, must they be to children incapable of reflecting on abstract subjects. But the difficulty is again considerably increased by the laconical, figurative, metaphysical, and, we may say, enigmatical language of most grammatical rudiments. The definitions, especially, of the parts of speech are, for the most part, vague, incomplete, and erroneous ; because these definitions, belonging to general not to particular grammar, are, of their nature, somewhat abstruse, and the attempt to simplify them for children only tends to render them more unintelligible and incorrect. Their stability and currency rest chiefly on their precise meaning not being investi- gated. But what can be expected of books which usually open with a series of absurdities : in defining the letters, or alpha- betical characters, which are the elements of the written language, they inform us, some, that a vowel is, others, that it makes, a sound ; Murray's Grammar defines it " an articulate sound ;" while they all explain the nature of a consonant in a negative way, by declaring that it has no sound of itself; as to what it has, or what it is, they leave us altogether in the dark. Having just named Lindley Murray, whose work is the grammatical standard in these islands and the model on which most other English grammars are formed, we will add that he is generally very obscure and incorrect. In justification of this re- mark, we take at random one of his first rules, and examine it as a specimen of grammatical composition. " To substantives," he says, "belong gender, number, and case; and they are all of the third person when spoken of, and of the second when spoken to." This inverted and figurative expression is incorrect, both as regards the style and the idea. The second " and " is, to say the least of it, extremely awkward. The pronoun "they" according to the construction of this sentence, refers to gender, number, and case, which are the subject of the proposition, rather than to * Micanique dea Lungues. Sec. III.] GRAMMAR UNCERTAIN IX ITS THEORY, &c. 379 " substantives," as meant by the author : this is rendered more manifest by placing the -words in their natural order, thus, gender, number, and case belong to substantives ; and they are ... For the conviotion of those who have been taught to take on trust grammatical nonsense, and as a means of removing from their minds a false association of words and ideas arising there- from, we will adduce a parallel phrase, the sense of which may be caught from the construction, thus, To kings belong power, fortune, and honours ; and they are all of indispensable necessity to royal dignity. The obvious meaning of the pronoun they, in this instance, sufficiently shows the incorrect construction of Murray's sentence. But, if we overlook what he says, and only mind what he means to say, we then encounter another blunder, namely, " substantives spoken of and spoken to." The notion of speaking to substantives is, indeed, very preposterous ! Nor is the matter more correct than the manner in which it is ex- pressed : the author seems to wish to establish that substantives may be of the second person, but cannot be of the first. This is a double error ; for if substantives can be of the second person, because the} - are spoken to (as he says), there is no reason why they could not equally be of the first person, so as to agree with I or we, since he states, in some other part of his book, that pro- nouns always agree in gender, number, and person, with the nouns for which they stand. If, for example, in the phrase, you, Englishmen, are free, the substantive, Englishmen, is of the second person, it is obvious that it must be of the first in the phrase, we, Englishmen, are free. However, the distinction of first or second person is improperly applied to substantives, because the three persons being intended to mark the different subjects of verbs, and no substantive being ever used as the subject of a verb in the first or second person, it necessarily follows, that substantives do not admit of these persons. As another example of Murray's extreme inaccuracy and obscurity, let us examine his definition of the next part of speech. He says, " An adjective is a word added to a substantive to express its quality" The word "added" is ill-chosen, for it implies placed after; and, in English, adjectives are generally placed before the substantives ; joined or used in connection with, would, in our opinion, be preferable. Trifling as this error is, it shows that a knowledge of grammar is not sufficient in order to speak or write correctly. " Its" is another word liable to objection ; for it is doubtful whether it refers to " adjective" or to " substan- 380 OF GRAMMAR. [Chap. I. live" but, in either case, the assertion is quite wrong : the author must have meant that the adjective expresses the quality of the substance, — that is, of the thing signified by the sub- stantive, not of the substantive itself. Now, in putting even the best construction on tins definition, it contains four errors, — 1. Adjectives do not express qualities : this is the office of sub- stantives, as patience, softness (see Book vu. Chap. i. Sect, vi.) — 2. Adjectives are not always joined to substantives, as, I am be- coming wise : no substantive could be introduced here without altering the sentence. — 3. A word may be added to a substan- tive to express the quality of the thing signified by that substantive, and yet not be an adjective, as a man of worth, a woman's modesty. — 4. There are many adjectives which suggest no idea of quality whatsoever : for example, the numeral adjec- tives, first, second, &c, colourless, tasteless, and similar ones signify absence of quality ; the adjectives, all, present, absent, frequent, ■vario2is, numerous, distant, unexpected, and many others, attribute no quality to the things signified by the substantives to which these adjectives may be joined. We shall not weary our reader's patience by extending further these criticisms ; but we feel no hesitation in giving, as our opinion, that a large portion of Murray's rules and definitions may be charged with some, if not all, of the defects which disgrace the two expressions above quoted. A modern writer relates that he once knew a boy who found in his book this definition : "A noun is the name of any thing, as horse, hair, justice," which he misconceived, and read thus, " A noun is the name of any thing, as horse-hair justice." He was of a reflective turn, and long he pondered over the wonder- ful mysteries of a noun, but in vain ; he could not make it out. His father was a justice of the peace ; and, one day, the old gentleman was holding a justice's court : there he sat, in state, on an old-fashioned horse-hair seat. A new light now broke in upon our tyro's mind. "My father," said he, mentally, "is a horse-hair justice, and therefore a noun."* To such ridiculous blunders are children exposed by an untimely study of grammar. "All this profusion of metaphysical definitions and sub- divisions," says G. Girard of Fribourg, "is above their capacity and their wants ; it is to them only a mass of barbarous terms, which frighten their young imaginations without imparting anything * American Annals of Education. Sec. III.] GRAMMAR UNCERTAIN IN ITS THEORY, &c. 381 to their minds."* " There is," says Locke, " more stir a great deal made with grammar than there needs ; and those are tor- mented about it, to whom it does not at all belong ; I mean children at the age wherein they are usually perplexed with it in grammar-schools."t "Though grammar," observes also Home Tooke, "be usually amongst the first things taught, it is always one of the last understood.''^ The celebrated author of " Elements of Criticism," in adverting to this subject, makes the following observations, " In teaching a language, it is the universal practice to begin with grammar and to do every thing by rule. I affirm this to be a most pre- posterous method. Grammar is contrived for men, not for children . . . . It is a gross deception, that a language can- not be taught without rules .... To this day I never think, without shuddering, of Depautere's grammar, which was my daily persecution during the most important period of life. Curiosity, when I was farther advanced in years, prompted me to look into a book that had given me so much trouble ; at this time, I understood the rules perfectly, and was astonished that, formerly, they had been to me words without meaning, which I had been taught to apply mechanically without knowing how or why."§ " Grammar is not learned and never can be learned at school ; and the attempt to teach it, the mode of teaching it, and the pretence of teaching a language through it, are insults to the common sense of mankind as to the experience of ages."|| Grammar, considered abstractedly and previously to a know- ledge of the facts on which it rests, as when it is made an intro- duction to the study of a foreign language, is only a vague and abstruse theory. A child, unprejsared by any practical ac- quaintance with the language, is utterly unable to conceive its metaphysical definitions. He would understand the first book of Euclid much sooner than the first principles of grammar. The elementary notions of geometry are always clear, because they can easily be brought within the power of intuition ; they speak to the eye as well as to the mind, but grammatical principles, being purely abstract, are only addressed to his reflective powers. Thus, if we once show to a child an isosceles triangle and an equilateral triangle, and explain to him their respective * De V Enseignement re'gidierde la Langue Maternelle. | Thoughts'on Education. X Diversions of Parley. § Lord Karnes, On the Culture of the Heart. Westm. Rev., Vol. 4. Present System of Education. 382 OF (iKAM-MAK. [Cii.U'. I. properties, little as they differ, he will never take one for the other ; but if, for example, we repeat to him a hundred times the definition of an adverb and a conjunction, still the next time he meets a word of either kind, he will hesitate on deciding to which class it belongs. How many persons are there who have learned Murray's Grammar for years, who, hi the maturity of reason, would be at a loss to distinguish, in every instance, one of these parts of speech from the other 1 A preposition is said to denote a relation ; but " few people," says Adam Smith, " will find themselves able to express very distinctly what is understood by a relation Ask any man of common acuteness, what relation is expressed by the preposition of ; and, if he has not beforehand employed his thoughts a good deal upon these subjects, you may safely allow him a week to consider of his answer."* "No abstraction, no metaphysical definitions," says Saint Marc-Girardin, " should enter in the elementary teaching of grammar. On this point I agree, in the wishes I form, with the conclusions of the German Congress held recently at Mayence. There, in that assembly of the masters of the new science (edu- cation), it was decided that the irksome and barren labour of studying the abstractions of grammar ought to be spared to children. This instruction should be given in the highest classes, and conjointly with the philosophical instruction with which it is so closely connected. In the elementary classes the learners must be confined to practical exercises ; they must be taught grammar from he usage of the language. And, indeed, what- ever way it is learned it is by this means alone it is known."f Sfxt. IV.- LEARNING GRAMMAR BY ROTE OBJECTED TO. Many of those who insist on the early study of grammar, having themselves, conformably to the general practice, merely committed it to memory in their childhood, are unable to render its principles perfectly intelligible to young people : they either attempt to explain its metaphysical terms by other metaphysical terms equally obscure, or task their memories with a lesson which should be addressed to their understandings. Children of apathetic disposition are satisfied to repeat unmeaning sounds, * 1 ilssertation on the Oriyin of Language. | De I' Instruction iuV rmidiaire dans le Midi de VAlkmagne. Sec. IV.] LEARNING GRAMMAR BY ROTE OBJECTED TO. 383 and they gladly follow a practice which saves them the trouble of thinking ; but is there any thing more disheartening to a child of intellect, than to be obliged constantly to repeat technicalities to which he does not attach ideas ? " When I remember," says Land, " the way in which I was taught, me- thinks that my head was put in a bag, and that I was made to move on by dint of the whip, being beaten whenever I went crookedly ; for, indeed, I could not see any thing. I understood nothing of the rules which I was forced to learn by heart."* Blind attachment to old practices is not the only reason which keeps up this parroting system. Grammar being, on the one hand, usually commenced at a time when the memory is active and the judgment yet unformed, and being, on the other, generally taught at school, in the lower classes, by pex-sons un- acquainted with the phUosophy of language, it is found more convenient to give tasks than explanations to children. The verbatim repetition of the text is even sometimes insisted upon, so that, under this implicit injunction to attend to words rather than to sense, they seldom make an effort to comprehend what they learn. This practice is the more absurd, as scarcely any two grammarians could be found who have treated of the same points in the same terms. Learners often recite the definitions and rules with imperturbable correctness ; and the instructor, usually taking for granted that lessons so well delivered must be equally well understood, makes no further inquiry : the children, on their part, proud of their performance, although unconscious of the meaning attached to the words they have uttered, take especial care not to ask for explanations, lest they should appear dull of apprehension ; or, most probably also, lest they should thus prolong a lesson from which they are anxious to be released ; so the system continues. " It is this mode of teaching," says Cobbett, " which is practised in the great schools, that assists very much in making dunces of lords and country squires. They get their lesson ; that is to say, they repeat the words of it ; but as to its sense and meaning, they seldom have any understanding."f The paramount object of early education should be the de- velopment of all the intellectual powers : but, if the child does not fully understand the grammatical principles which he is desired to learn by heart, he acquires words without ideas ; his * Entretiens sur les Sciences et sur la Mantire d'Enseigner. f Grammar of the English Language. 384 OF GRAMMAR. [Chap. I. memory is exercised to the exclusion of his other faculties, and he forms the pernicious habit of using language devoid of thought. Is it possible that, in the boundless range of informa- tion demanding the action of memory, an instructor could not find a subject more useful and more comprehensible to children for the cultivation of that faculty than grammar ? Some advocates for the early learning of grammar, in order to reconcile this practice with the undeniable fact that young children cannot understand it, assert that, as they learn it only for future use, they will understand it when they have occasion to apply it. This specious argument clearly proves, that if these rules are to be made available only at a later period, no in- convenience can arise from postponing the learning of them : "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." It may be added, that, if, at the time of being learned, they are not understood, that is, if the memory is not assisted by judgment, they cannot be long retained. So that, in commencing the study of language by that of grammar, the child runs the risk of knowing neither the one nor the other. Some people, aware that grammar is extremely dry and un- interesting to children, and yet unwilling to depart from the usual practice of making it the preliminary step to the study of language, have resorted to various means of decoying children into a knowledge of it : some have turned it into verse, even set it to music ; others have contrived games as means of initiation. A mong such contrivances we will mention the burlesque method which was devised for the young Duke of Orleans, the brother of Louis XIV. A great number of little puppets were ranged on a table in battle array, and divided into different troops, under the banners of the parts of speech. In the evolutions of these grammatical soldiers the battalions of adjectives were made to join those of substantives, and these two, closely united, formed the wings of the army. The main body was composed of verbs, which were supported in the rear by their auxiliaries, the adverbs, conjunctions, and others, which formed the corps de reserve. This well-disciplined army, having at its head Dcpau- tere, the great grammarian of that day, advanced in perfect grammatical order, and vigorously attacked the solecisms and barbarisms, the avowed enemies of grammar, who, being of course irregular and undisciplined troops, were soon routed and cut to pieces. Ludicrous as is this mode of acquiring grammar, it is perhaps Sec. IV.l LEARNING GRAMMAR BY ROTE OBJECTED TO. 385 less irrational than learning it by heart. It is downright tyranny to impose on children the irksome task of committing to memory these abstract and, to them, unintelligible rules, especially when they are not yet in possession of the means of applying them. The study of grammar must be deferred until after the age of twelve. But, at whatever period it is learned, no time should be wasted in learning it by heart. If it be clearly understood when being studied, the learner will rim no risk of forgetting it, pro- vided he read extensively and notice the frequent applications of it which he may meet in his practice. The true way to arrive at a knowledge of grammar is by illustrating, not by learning its rules. No set of rules committed to memory will either form a profound scholar, or, what is infi- nitely more important, create habits of patient observation and judgment. A man might be acquainted with the results of many profound inquiries in all the various sciences ; he might take them on credit, and act as if he believed them to be true ; but his understanding would not be one jot advanced above that of an uninstructed workman. If the knowledge of all facts and the conclusions of all researches could be poured into a man's mind, without labour of his own, he would really be less wise than he who has been properly trained to work the rule of simple pro- portion. On the other hand, it is not the letter but the spirit of the laws of language which can be productive of benefit. In grammar, as in the sciences and in morals, we can apply a law or reason from a principle only in so far as we have entered into its spirit ; the most accurate rule, the wisest precept, if adopted without being perfectly understood in all its bearings, cannot be made to suit all possible circumstances ; it will even become a continual source of errors.* That so few are versed in grammatical science may, in a great measure, be ascribed to the premature study of it, and to its being made a purely mnemonic exercise. Grammar has been rendered so uninteresting to learners in general, that they dis- pense with it as soon as they can, and preserve through life a sort of aversion to it, which hinders them from resuming: its study at a time wdien it might be of service. Let us then hope that we shall soon see discarded from every school a method which, as Degerando observes, is in direct opposition to the nature of things, which besets with abstrac- tions the noviciate of a mind yet unprepared for them, and * See Geo. Long, Introductory Lecture. LoinL University. VOL. I. C C 386 OT GRAMMAR. [CnAP. I. which preludes the study of a language with the very notions which the knowledge of that language alone can give.* The unreasonable practice of occupying childhood with so un- suitable studies has met with just censure from many writers and educationists besides those we have named ; but as this censure applies also to the use of grammar as an introduction to the study of language, the mention of a few among the most eminent of those who object to it will be more appropriate in the following chapter. * See De V Education des Sourds-muets. Sec. I.] PROGRESS OF GRAMMAR AMONG THE ANCIENTS. 387 CHAPTER II. INSUFFICIENCY OF GRAMMAR AS AN INTRO- DUCTION TO THE STUDY OF A LANGUAGE. Sect. I— PROGRESS OF GRAMMAR AMONG THE ANCIENTS. To prove how little assistance is given by grammars in acquiring a language, let us examine what was accomplished before their existence. A language must be long in use and have attained a certain degree of consistency, — it must be spoken and written by men of talent and information, who give it a character of stability, before it can become the object of grammatical inquiry, before its words can be classified, or their syntactical concord and arrangement be generalised — before, in fact, its genius and form can be subjected to a code of laws. Hence we find that, in all languages, grammars have been subsequent to standard literary works ; they are formed from great writers, not these by grammars. Although Hebrew is the most ancient language, yet it was only in the year 1040, a.d., that it was, for the first time, reduced to principles and rules by Rabbi Judah Chiug of Fez.* The grammatical art afforded, consequently, no assistance to Moses in writing the Pentateuch, to David in the composition of his sublime psalms, or to any other of the sacred writers. Plato, among the Greeks, indulged in grammatical researches, as may be seen in his book " Cratylus ; " but Aristotle, his disciple, was the first who analysed language, divided the parts of speech, and laid the foundation of a grammar. To these incomplete essays four books of syntax were afterwards added by Apollonius of Alexandria ; and many years elapsed before grammar was publicly taught, for the first time, at Athens, by Epicurus. These were the first grammarians of a people who, long before, had produced almost all the literary master-pieces * See Vossius, De Arte Gram-mat., and J. Wilkins, An Essay towards a Real Character. C C 2 388 OF GRAMMAR. [CnAP. II. which are still the delight of the learned, and, among others, the works of Homer, Pindar, Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Thucydides, and Xcnophon. Koine did not, it is true, remain so long without grammatical works ; Ennius had early turned his attention to points of grammar ; so have, afterwards, Varro and Cicero. Julius Caesar himself, in the midst of camps, had written a treatise on the analogy of words ; but it was only subsequently to the glorious Augustan age, that regular grammars were in use among the Romans, when the Latin language was in its decline. In the study of the Greek, which held in their education the same degree of importance that French does in that of modern nations, they made no use of grammars, but acquired it altogether by reading and conversation. It was only when the young Romans knew Greek practically, as they did their own language, that they were sent to the schools of the grammarians, whose office it then was to perfect their delivery, and explain to them the beauties of the best writers. Those instructors who, in the time of the Roman republic, assumed the name of grammarians (grarnmatici), were not engaged, as the name seems to imply, in lecturing or writing on what now constitutes grammar : their chief occupation consisted in directing the attention of their pupils to composition, oratorical delivery, and the highest branches of literature. This epithet was afterwards in so great repute among the Greeks and the Romans, that the most illustrious writers took pride in it. It was, in fact, given to those who were eminent in eloquence, history, and philosophy. Sect. II.— INTRODUCTION OF GRAMMAR IN MODERN EUROPE; SCHOLARS AND WRITERS FORMED WITHOUT ITS AID. Long after the revival of letters, in the sixteenth century, Dcpautere in France, and Lily in England, wrote, in doggrel Latin verse, incomplete essays of Latin grammar. Lily was assisted in the composition of his work by Dean Colet and Erasmus, who, themselves, very sparingly enjoined the use of it in classic learning. This work, now known under the name of the Eton Latin Grammar, has undergone some modification, but is still, in many respects, despite the royal recommendation,* a * In 1545, Henry VIII. published an edict to enforce the use of Lily's Grammar in Schools. Sec. II.] INTRODUCTION OF GRAMMAR INTO MODERN EUROPE. 389 very defective composition. It was some time after, in the reign of Elizabeth, that the practice was first introduced of writing Latin exercises, against which the learned Ascham vehemently declaims ; and, about the same period, regular dictionaries made their first appearance. But the system of teaching by grammar and writing exercises by the help of dictionaries, was not prevalent until about the middle of the seventeenth century ; and, from that period, it may, without hesitation, be affirmed, that few celebrated practical Latinists have been known in England or in France. Before the introduction of these supposed aids, Latin was spoken and used actually as a living language by all literary men. Some of the most distinguished among these have declared, that practice in reading the classics and listening to their in- structors, were the only means which they had employed to arrive at the extraoi*dinary practical knowledge which they possessed of that language, in which some of them were much better versed than in their own. Justus Lipsius, a profound scholar of the sixteenth century, condemns in the most energetic terms the use of grammars, and laments that he was tormented with them until the age of thirteen. He declares himself indebted for his erudition only to his study of the ancient classics. Jos. Justus Scaliger, another great scholar, who lived about the same time, knew twelve or thirteen languages, for the acquisition of which he declared he had never made use of grammars or dictionaries. The celebrated classical scholar, Tanaquil Lefebvre, the father and instructor of the still more celebrated Madame Dacier, states in one of his letters, that he had taught his daughter Latin and Greek simply by reading with her the best writers in these two languages. " It is this method," he adds, " which has produced the Budei, the Scaligers, the Turnebi, &c." * In this manner, also, the illustrious Alcuin learned Latin, and taught it to Charlemagne ; so was it acquired by Alfred, Henry Beauclerc, Heloisa and Abelard, Boger Bacon, Chaucer, Dante, Petrarch, — in short, by all the scholars of the middle ages ; and these have never since been surpassed. The inadequacy of grammar towards the acquisition of modern languages is equally manifest. At the beginning of this century, before the publication of Murray's Grammar, the one in general use was "Lowth's Introduction." It is but a small volume, 4 * Epitre 13, a Mme . Sarran. 390 OF GRAMMAR. [Chap. II. which, nevertheless, was considered as fully sufficient for the wants of the English at that time. Previously to the existence of this work, Dr. Johnson had prefixed to his Dictionary a short grammar, which, by Dr. Lowth's account, comprises the whole syntax in ten lines, and yet made, he observes, no part of the ordinary method of in- struction in those days ; so that correct speaking and writing were then independent of grammatical studies. Dr. Lowth himself, Shakspeare, Milton, Dryden, Addison, Pope, Young, Thomson, Johnson, Burns, and others, whose works wdl live as long as the English language, had not, in their childhood, learned any English grammar. The same has happened in France : Corneille, Moliere, Lafon- taine, Pascal, Bossuet, Boileau, Eacine, whose language was that which prevailed among the well educated class of their days, had written their master-pieces long before the publication of any regular French grammar. The first work which appeared on this subject deserving the name of grammar, was that of " Port-Royal," published towards the close of these celebrated writers' literary career ; it, however, treats of the general prin- ciples of language, not of those which are peculiar to the French. The few treatises which preceded it were but imperfect disserta- tions on the elements of language, more curious than useful, and, for the most part, written in Latin. The gramruai-s of Buffier, Girard, Beauzee, Restaut, Wailly, and many others which have subsequently come to light, have not, that we know, enabled later writers to surpass their predecessors. Bembo was the first who laid grammatical rules for the Italian language two hundred years after Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio had given to the world their immortal works. Sect. III.— GRAMMAR CONSIDERED AS A MEANS OF UNDERSTANDING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE, WHETHER WRITTEN OR SPOKEN. If we now turn our attention to the learning of a foreign language, which is the subject under immediate consideration, the impropriety of commencing with the study of grammar becomes still more obvious. In this pursuit the student's first care, if the order of study established in the preceding Book be correct, must be to ensure the power of understanding the works written in that language and the persons who speak it ; but Sue. III.] AS A MEANS OF UNDERSTANDING, &c. 3'Jl grammar cannot give any assistance in these two acquisitions ; it does not explain the meaning of words and idioms, which, in fact, is the first, we may even say, the only difficulty in the path of a learner at his entrance iuto the study of a foreign language, If, for example, he has to translate the French word fit, it would be a very circumlocutory and unsatisfactory mode of helping him to tell him, instead of its meaning, that it is the third person singular of the imperfect tense of the subjunctive mood of an active irregular verb of the fourth conjugation. And yet, strange to say, this is the general way people proceed in teaching a foreign language, and especially the Latin : as a preparation for translating it, young persons are kept for a considerable time on grammatical technology, which has little to do with the import of words. In fact, one may know a great deal about the inflec- tions, concord, and government of words — about grammatical technicalities and definitions — and yet be completely in the dark with regard to the true meaning of words and sentences. Of all those who understand the spoken or the written language, few, extremely few, really know the grammatical distinctions by which words can be characterised. Scarcely one in a thousand could explain what a genitive case or a subjunctive mood is ; nevertheless, all people, without exception, would readily appre- hend the true signification of a noun or a verb incorporated into a sentence in one of these relations. The expression, my fathers house, is as clear to an illiterate person as to the most thorough grammarian ; and if the former were told that father's is in the genitive, or if he could be made to understand the true import of that grammatical denomination, he would not be a whit the wiser as regards the meaning of the phrase my father's house. A person, wishing to read a foreign language, requires only to be told the words of his own equivalent to those of the foreign. It is by translating — that is, associating in his mind the foreign with the corresponding native words — that he can rapidly arrive through the known at the unknown phraseology. However, when the inflections of variable words are numerous, as in the ancient languages, they should be studied conjointly with the practice of reading ; but it must be borne in mind that the grammatical distinctions under which these inflections are classified, are, at an early period, only secondary ; if dwelt upon, they could but retard the moment of beginning the translation, without in the least facilitating that exercise. Grammatical denominations convey ideas of the particular inflections or 392 OF GRAMMAR. [CHAP. IP relations of words ; a child learning these denominations is apt to be satisfied with this grammatical distinction, without inquiring into the real sense of the words, although this should be the first object of the study of language. Let him not attend to the technicalities of grammar until the written language is under- stood, then experience will render them clear, and the study may be prosecuted with ease. We will, in its place, consider this point more fully ; for the present, we shall only observe, that learning mere words, or the import of their inflections, does not, in our opinion, iinply a study of grammar, which more properly consists in definitions, rules, and disquisitions on language. If, however, it is contended that the classification of the various inflections of words (as in declensions and conjugations), independently of the grammatical terms by which these inflections are distinguished, — if it is con- tended, we say, that such a classification constitutes a part of grammar, so far do we admit the use of grammar as a concurrent study with the first exercises in translation. The definition of grammar, that it is " the art of speaking and writing correctly,''' is intended to apply to a language already practically known, not to one which is not known ; for it is obvious that the knowledge of the grammar of any language does not impart the power of expression to him who is not in possession of its materials, or, at least, of a large portion of them. There are many learned philologists, thoroughly versed in the grammatical systems of several Eastern languages, for example, who can neither speak, write, nor even read them. But, admitting, for a moment, the correctness of the common defini- tion of grammar, and its applicability to a foreign tongue proposed to be learned, it must be at once conceded that, con- sistently with this definition, the use of grammar is confined to these two branches — Speaking and Writing — (and with a view to their attainment alone are all particular grammars written) ; it cannot be of much assistance towards understanding the language either of men or books. The latter two-fold acquirement, attain- able even by the youngest child and by a person of the meanest capacity, is the result of mere practice aud is independent of rides. Thus, in the native tongue, although grammar proves very useful for attaining correctness in speaking and writing, it is never contemplated as a means of understanding what is spoken and written. And since the arts of reading and hearing are, as we have seen in the preceding Book, the first things to be learned Skc. III.] AS A MEANS OF UNDERSTANDING, &c. 393 in a foreign language, it necessarily follows that grammar, afford- ing no assistance in learning these arts, is supererogatory at the entrance upon the study. Reading the foreign language should be commenced at once, and in a manner similar to the mode of acquiring the native tongue, that is, through a simple explanation of the meaning of words, not through an investigation of their grammatical con- dition ; the learning of declensions, conjugations, and the most useful words being prosecuted at the same time. Radonvilliers dispenses with them altogether : " Children," he says, " learn their own language without hearing of declensions and conju- gations. What need is there of them for learning another language ? The meaning attached to the termination of Latin nouns and verbs may be learned by practice, as well as that of prepositions and adverbs." * Dumarsais, less exclusive, com- mences by the explanation of authors, not of rules ; but, when his pupils have remarked that the Latin words change in their termination, he shows them how to decline and conjugate, t Lacroix, with Locke and others, inclines to previous acquaint- ance with the general inflections of substantives and verbs. He says, " The translation from Latin into French is all that is required ; it may serve to point out the inversions and particular terms which constitute the genius of a language, and requires little more than an acquaintance with declensions and conju- gations. By it the rules of syntax, so abstruse in themselves, so ill explained in most rudiments, become as it were experi- mental facts, and lose that dryness and futility which have often prevented even children endowed with premature reason from improving in the study of Latin. £ Delille's French Grammar is judiciously formed in accordance with these notions : its acci- dence is written in English, because an acquaintance with verbal inflections may aid a beginner ; but the syntax, which affords no aid in learning to read, is given in French, to be studied only after proficiency has been made in this acquirement. Cobbett is one of the few reflecting men who advocate the use of grammar in beginning the study of a foreign language ; but, on this point, his early prejudices got the better of his good sense ; and perhaps also his partiality, as an author of grammars, led him to attach more importance to the subject than it possesses as an introductory study. It is not so much * Dt la Mani&re (Capprendre les Langues. | Exposition d'une Met/ioUe Raisonwe. % Essais sur V Enseignemtmt* 394 OP GRAMMAR. [Chap. II. the science of language which he recommends as the study of his own works. However, the advice he gives to learners, that of reading ten times half his French grammar and writing it twice over, as a preparation for translating, is too eccentric to require any serious notice ; it may suffice to state that, with a little diligence, one will acquire the power of reading two or three foreign languages before Cobbett's disciples have gone through the ordeal imposed on them as a preparatory step to reading one.* The observations which we have just made are borne out by the highest authorities ; for, since the earliest time to the present, efforts have been made by the most eminent scholars and gram- marians themselves to oppose the gradual encroachment of grammar in schools. After the revival of letters, when ancient literature was in a highly flourishing state, teachers were in the habit of explaining the classics to their pupils ; but when grammars and dictionaries made their appearance, the indolent and the incompetent among them were glad to avail themselves of books which relieved them from the most laborious part of their duty. We do not mean by this statement to reflect censure on the profession ; we have already said that it is not the fault of its present members if a bad system of classical instruction is now prevalent. Teachers must continue to conform to the established usage until a better system is universally and loudly called for. So strong is the prejudice in favour of the course sanctioned by time and enforced by the University routine, that, were heads of classical academies or individual teachers to attempt to reform it, they would probably be exposed to great personal disadvantage. However, many writers have dared to express their opinions : we shall select a few from among them. Dean Colet, in his address to the masters of St. Paul's school, of which he was the founder, impresses on them the propriety of explaining the classic authors to their pupils in preference to teaching them the grammar. His friends, Cardinal Wolsey and Erasmus, entirely coincided with him in opinion, as may be seen in a letter of the former to the masters of Ipswich school, and in the Ecclesiastes and other works of the latter. After them Eoger Ascham, whose whole life was devoted to education, protested against grammar being made an elementary study. In alluding to the double translation, of which we shall treat hereafter, he observes ; " This is a lively and perfect way of teaching of rules * See W. Cobbett's French Grammar. Let. II. Sec. III.] AS A MEANS OF UNDERSTANDING, &c. 395 when the common way used in common schools to read the grammar alone by itself is tedious for the master, hard for the scholar, cold and uncomfortable for them both."* In another place he declares that grammatica itself is sooner and surer learned by examples of good authors than by the naked rules of grammarians. "Commence," says Pluche, "the apprenticeship of a language by practice, and afterwards support that practice by the study of grammar : this course, which is that of nature, is both the pleasantest and safest." t A few detached thoughts from Locke's treatise on Education will show that this great philosopher also deprecated the use of grammar as an introduction to the study of a foreign language. " I would fain," he says, " have any one name to me that tongue that any one can learn, or speak as he should do, by the rules of grammar. . . . The knowledge a gentleman would ordinarily draw for his use out of the Roman and Greek writers, I think he may attain without studying the grammars of those tongues ; and by bare reading may come to understand them sufficiently for all his purposes. ... If grammar ought to be taught at any time, it must be to one that can speak the language already. . . . I know not why any one should waste his time and beat his head about the Latin grammar, who does not intend to be a critic, or make speeches, or write despatches in the Latin language. . . . Nobody is made any thing by hearing of rules or laying them up in his memory ; practice must settle the habit of doing without reflecting on the rule." J Among the great number of later writers who have equally condemned the use of grammar in beginning the study of a foreign language, we will mention a few whose names are of incontestable authority. Gibbon was led to this opinion in the course of his Greek studies. " I now see clearly," he says, " the advantage of paying little attention to the grammar till you have made some progress in the language." § " When a boy," observes Vicesimus Knox, " is confined during six or twelve months to the dry rules of a grammar, he is naturally induced to hate the study of a language which presents to him nothing but irksome toil." |{ Condillac, the most eminent among the followers of Locke, says, "It is falling into the grossest error to commence by the rules . . . ." " Nothing," he adds, " is more useless than to * The Schoolmaster. t Me'canique des Lcmgues. Liv. II. % Thoughts on Education, and Essay on the Conduct of the Human Mind. § Extraits raisonnes de mes Lectures. || Essays on Liberal Education. 39G 0F GRAMMAR. [Chac II. fatigue a child by loading his memory with the rules of a language which he does not yet understand. Of what use is it to him to know these rules by heart, if he has it not in his power to apply them ? I waited then until reading had informed my pupil, and it was so much less misery for him." * Lemare asserts, in his energetic way, " An age of theory, of pure theory, would not make a person advance one step in the knowledge of a language; it would not teach to translate a phrase." t "The grammar of any language whatever," says the Abbe Sicard, " even that of the native tongue, cannot be learned until one knows how to speak it." % Captain Basil Hall, who, as a naval man, felt the necessity of learning foreign living languages, declares, from his own experience, that " to commence with grammar in learning a spoken language is perhaps the most complete instance of putting the cart before the horse that is any where to be met with." § The celebrated author of "Education Eeform" also says, "To learn Grammar and Syntax in the end instead of the beginning, is following precisely the course of nature ; it is learning the language analytically — learning it, in fine, in the very way in which the language itself has been formed What was good in learning the mother tongue is good in learning the classical languages, is good in learning the languages to which they gave rise — the language first, and then the grammar." || To these authorities we will add that of a man who has always been remarkable for the acuteness of his discernment and the j ustness of his observations. Talleyrand says, in his Eeport on Public Instruction, " The rules of grammar, which are results demonstrated for him who is already acquainted with languages, and who has meditated on them, cannot, in any way, be the means of knowing them for him who is not acquainted with them. They are consequences ; we cannot, without doing violence to reason, present them to him as principles." H Absurd as is the practice of commencing the study of a language by that of grammar, it is still more absurd to make a child learn grammar through a language of which he is com- pletely ignorant. Pretending to teach what is unknown through the unknown, is one of those anomalies, one of those aberrations of the mind which, by their eccentricities, defy any sort of argu- * Cours d' Etta!-*. Motif des Etudes. ] De la Maniere d' appnn in lea Ltmgues. % Grammaire Generate. %0JIWDJO^ University Research Library o > r r z c CD m < o r — H W I CO pi 3 CO CO r-