Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-03-13


msnts, Would his reading, writing ald cy-
pherng add aught to their (the parents means
tor ms Indulgence, or Tor their own comfort
Would not the want OF these means, sharpen
the regrets of poverty, when behOlding child
with these Accomplishments, a drone in the iaIni-
ly, in consequence of habits acquired in the
acquisition of the accomplishments themselves
Hear the following " will thec years school
ing tend to increase, or TO lessen the disposi-
ton TO aborf That il will tend to lessen il
not TO eradicate The disposition to labor. there
can be no dosbt, and II 50, III is ON authors
fayorite word then no reparation can be made
for It's injurious consequences.
How unfortunate IL ~ that THIS elect OF edu-
cation has not been known To legislators and
moralists. either in modernOr ancIeut fines.
W hat labours would il not have saved them,
IN endeasoring 10 promote education. This
profound discovery WAS reserved, by iuscruta-
bic providence, for the 10Th century and tue
Constituent. We are also favored with the de.
lection ofthe cause of this error. - he errors
oil surprising great benefit would arise TO the
poor tIomtlliS .rtuiiots Schoolin. see ms 10 h.
arisen in great degree from an tnaitention to
the practical aud necessary course, now pur.
sued by those who depend solely on labear for
their support in acquiring the simultaneous
knowledge OF labour aud of learning"
We are presently informed that this "kuow-
ledge of learning"is not comparable TO the
knowledge OF lahour, and ii is strongly hint
ed, that knowledge and learning, are two very
different things. We eau scarcely enough adj
mire tie acamen which &C uld make this novel
and mterestin. discovery, or the philosophical
skill with which the difference is described.
Its believed, here viii be found another
error of the system ;--icdrning seems to be con-
founded with h,,otcledge; whereas tits thought
there IS an essential distiuction between then, -
Now for the definition. 9" Learning may be de-
hned information derived from the knowledge
and experience of others knowledge consists
OF information first derived from our own ex-
peTience and observations" Now the I" know
ied%s OF learning, according TO this definition
must be the knowledge of the information and
experience of others; and is therefore not
comparable 10 the" knowledge OF lah0nr,"
which mnstmean the knowledge of KNOWLEDGE
he whole OF this profound paragraph is closed
with that profound and original quotation,
DRINK deep or taste not" &c. advice which
our author has so completely followed that his
drauehts have not only been deep, but made
from sources beyond the ken of mortal eve.
The next, and hope ii will prove . very
Prohtab!e discovery, is, " that the greatest err
ror OF TIE system consists of a mistake, (alas
now many great errors consist of mistakes 9
OF the real disease of society. aud of acting on
this false hypothesis. The system seems to be
founded on the hypothesis that the evils Of so.
ciety proceed from the want of learning
whereas II Is believed they arise from the
lndisposition To labour, from idleneSS aad dis.
sipatlon, its constant attendant. IF this be the
real disease OF society, surely the remedy APP
pied Chat of education) must tend 10 aggra-
vate, not curc the disease, &c" Now how very
natural II was after this kindness i'm pointing
out thu" the real disease" of society and de-
nouncing the remedy, TO wish and to expect
this political EsculaPius to devise u remedy
himself; but we look in vain. Ali that can he
found, which has the slightest aluson TO this
remedy thereto, is the following passage in the
Sth number 4" How much more moral, low
much more wise, how much more lust the no.
hey which would teach the citizen, that il Is
ms indispensable duty TO educate his own
chIid (that Is, to make him idle)'' That il is
sacred and unbelievable; that the non-pe,Jornl-
gl1NE nj Al al al 4 L
this policy is precisely what we want 10 find
out outfits presumed that this grad cataoLi
con, is specially reserved for the counter
project.
We further learn that there is no want of
learning IN the community; so far from it, the
learned professions are overstock ed and re-
dnudancy of pretenders is thrown moon socie
ty-to which he might have added quosque ipse
nliserrima vldl, ct quorum pars-the classical
reader will finish the line [ would however
. respectfully ask, 1t il might not be respect.
FULLY doubted, whether this redundancy is not
less owing to education than to the want Of it
whether one good workman isnot better than
two bad ones, and whether the mum be r ircreas.
es IN the direct, or in the inverse ratio of their
skili.
Another great evil of this three wears
schooling which the children are to undergo.
will be, 1t is said, to throw the ecIiauicai arts
lntothe hands of the slaves aud we are seri
ousiy asked. might rot the consequences be
most serious and destructive" This effect of
oCHOOlIHS, is 10 operate 0y diminishing both
the disposition 10 iabour, and the skill ANY
father then who WISHES to make his son iois
ef, Ship.buIlder, wheel wright, or to give him
trade, must sedulOusly avoid sending himio be
Schoolea TOR three years; particularly where
he can learn nothing but reading writing aud
arithmetic, because these will make him law &,
unsNiiini. 1 presume oar authors knowlctiae
or information from his own experience. has
I'M FORMED MN, that the worst mechanics have
always been those who had the knowledge Of
learning, or OF reading, writing and .arifhme
nc, and That the best have been those who we're
without this knowledge. Suppose then tIra; the
greatest possible success 10 attend this system
OF universal learning and the whole free Douu-
iat'on TO be converted therebyinto philosophers
leaVlng The Saves ,.n possession o. the agricul
taral aud mechanical aFiS-wlich dissertation
OF persons would possess most kn0wIedee
why think tie slaves as the t,lIiIosof.l,ere
could only possess knowledge Of readiu,-
writing and arithmetic aud as the a,cricu;tn
raj amt mechanicaiartS, could 10 the pTeservoj
IN Then present state, without superaddin,. Ia
TINS knowledge something eise-as Dlafbetua
Tics, Tor instance, and several other sciences.
III gan be seen plaiuly, that our aathOr is a
Don ttpdat, and NOT lover of kick siay.s He
mas been probably bred up at an OLD fashioned
Virginia table. not at one of Vour modern fr,ne
Potowmdc, Gallo, Gallimautry sideboards fer
he tells us the mechanical and agricultural ants
are the solid dishes, whilst philosophy is only
the whip syllabub of society. We further le2rii
OF ms philosophy, that il IS merely ornament
~ WIN agriculture
aud mechanics. that tits wthal, thing difa
cult TO succeed in, aud thar since the renewal
and extension of the Copernicat principle, by
the great sir Isaac Newton, Great Britain has
perhaps proanced fewer than dozen philoso.
piers. What is the seUse in which the word
philosophy is used, il is impossible to gather
from amy part of the whole series OF the ESSAYS
of oar author. Sometimes he seems to think il
means theory, sometimes meta physics some
times astronomy, and somestimes we are told
that il Is wh'D sgilabRb. Upon the whole, the pa
rallei to TINS nnmber,I am convinced, cannot
be found iu the archives of literary curiosi-