On his return home, because he could not immediately take his father's place in the conduct of the business, the conclusion was drawn that his education had been a failure. It cannot be denied that a superficial knowledge of the classics is only a superficial knowledge. There can not be expected to be derived from it the ability to think correctly which is the characteristic of a disciplined mind. Without doubt a superficial study of the classics is of less value than a superficial acquaintance with some of the sciences or a superficial business course. One of the advantages of the classics as a course of training is that in modern institutions there is little chance of going through them in a superficial way.
Education is primarily a means of establishing ideals.
Its first great duty is the formation of character , which is the result of heredit ary y and training. This by no means excludes the desirability of an education in the utilities, but is a statement of what education must include if it meet with any success. It is not only because the classical method has been followed in our evolution of culture, but because the study of Greek and Latin is unsurpassed as a method of discipline. Their mastery requires an effort and an obligation application which must be both intense and prolonged. They bring into action all the faculties of observation, understanding and reason.