Morning herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1837-1840, 1840-11-23

Worid'S law; ana therefore Win the
which he possessed, it was bat natural tn he
should desire to all society return to the prmi-
tive social compact He possessed a command of
words and imag nation, and dalectic scarcely in
feIior to any human being before since his day;
temper burning with the strongest and most varied
passions that ever conferred in a human lreast; a |
power Of sarcasm blasting, and swiftly hurled |
as the thuuderbolt a degree Of irony fright
full to the timid sense to contemplate; and those
were his combinations which he welded with |
the power, the skill the fervor, and the persever
ance of gigantic but fallen angel, struggling to
assail the better aud brighter regions of the sky
His system Of society was revolutionary and dis
organizing; his system of teaching children idle
and worse than He opposed to the teaching
of language; and his Introduction also extended to
the teaching Of history. He says in some of his
sarcastic objections to established modes OF teach
ing, that there some studies which would seem
to require nothing but the Of eyes, without 9TH
| er faeuties- (altheugh know Of none such)-and
then he observes, among others still more ridicu-
ous, is that OF teaching history to children. But
to show you clearly what his views upon these
points, will read you extract from this novel of
| his, where he introduces the anecdote OF Alexan-
| der.
| 81 was spending few days in the country at the
| residence OF a vir.uous mother Of family wnom she
| rearing with great care and attention to their
| education. was present one morning when her ell
dest was taking his lessons His preceptor well
versed in ancient history, in teuchpg upon that of
Alexander the Great, took up the we'll known anec-
dote Of the physician Philip, which has been deser-
vedy illustrated by painting, tabeaaX, &c. by emf
uent artists Although man of talent, the teacher
made several consents on Alexander's intrepidity,
which to me were unsatisfactory, but upon which
| made no remark, not wishing to depreciatc him in
his pupils estimation. At dinner the professor was
looked up by the rest Of the company to take the
Lead in atio is tlxyt har
tom in France. The garrulity natural at his time OF
LIE, and the certainty of applause, caused him to bah
BILE great deal Of unmeaning nonsense, mingled,
however, with an occasional happy sally that gave
life to the rest At last the story Of the physi
clan Philip, which he told in lively and fluent
manner. After some expressions Of admiration on
| the part Of the mother and son, the company COM
| mented on what had Just been narrated. The majo
rity condemned AeXander's rashness, thor gh some,
like the professor, were struck with his unfinching
| courage, an opinion which showed me that none
| present perceived wherein the real beauty Of the
story, the real merit Of Alexander's conduct con-
sisted Yes said j. in my turn it appears to me
that il this act of Aexanders is to be considered
| act Of bravery aud resolution it certainly was
most rash and extIavagant.' To this one by all
assented, and declared that it was very rash indeed
| This acquiescence excited my indignation, and !
| was about explaining, when lady by nv side who
had net spoken word whispered in my ear, Hold
your tongue, Jean Jaques; they viii not comPre-
bend you OF this felt convinced; Hooked at her
| and remained silent
After dinner strongly su.pecting that my young
doctor derived no correct idea from the historical
| passage Just related, took him by the hand, and
| walked with him through the lawn; and quietly
| asking him a few questions, l discovered that no
one was more astsnished at the lauded courage Of
| Alexander than he But what think You
| the source Of his surprised Simply in his having
swallowed, at one draught, and without hesitation
or repnsnance, a nauseous dose Of physic! The
| poor child who had been doscd and dosed with
physic, since he fifteen days old, and who al
| ways took medicine with horror, still dreaded the
thoughts Of 1.-THE taste Of it was still IN his mouth
ia tnfu nd deafb tv cd
| unpleasant sensations. The strong determination
Of the hero had made great impression on his
mind, and h. resolved to be second Alexander
| when next he obliged to take medicine i
| praised his good Intention, and returned, inwardy
smiling at the profound wGdom Of parents and
teachers who think to impart to children the true
1t is easy to teach them by rote, anecdotes Of
kings, Of empires wars, conquests, revolutions, and
ofws, but the important ideas on the pAs: OF nii
have 10 60 to Robert, the gardener, for an explara
ton after all. Some readers, foresee. not csntent
with the expression, say nothing Jean Jacques
| will demand what perceive grand in this action
| Of Alexander. Poor animals lift be necessary 20
tell you, how will you understand it 1t is this,
that Alexander had steadfast faith in the virtue
sfman-of Phlip-that he reposed in it more than
in his own abilities, and priced it beyond his very
existence and that bis great soul was formed to de-
light in faith. Oh, what glorious display OF faith
| achievements. Ifthere be modern Alexander, let
| him emulate this act OF faith
| III theic primary knowledge derived from
anecdoe, il is not the most suitable study Tor chill
| dren. IL they are not possessed with true ideas,
| they have no true memory, for such do not call
| that which only retains sensations. How does it
benefit them to inscribe the tablets Of their
mory a catalogue Of signs, which To them represent
nothing' When imbibing the ideas, will they aet
learn the sigssl Why then infiiet ON them double
| taskl
| ARd, meantime, what dangerous habits are fasten.
| ed on them, in the commencement BY their suppos-
ing kno Wedge to consist in senseess verbage. The
| da mfr ms w he A
upon the first thing he learns on the faith Of another
| without seeing the utility Of It himself Is his
jsds squsndersd and the most brilliant powers
Of dazzling the ignorant in after years can never
| compensate him for this privatien.
| Thus mach FOR the comments Of the citizens Of
Geneva, upon this act Of Alexander, and his feel
| ings when he thus commented, are explained when
he says, Reader, he who now addresses yoI is not
man Of learning; bat his system 10 one OF facts."-
In introducing this extract did not intend to ex.
press my appreciation Of Rousseau's system Of edu-
cation to discuss the possibility otherwise, Of
children acquiring thorough knowledge Of history
| and languages. Rousseau compound Of strange
| contradictions, in his writings he dealt in strange
| paradoxes and ccstacies. But concur exactly in
his view Of this feature in the conduct Of Alex
ander; that il was tho most remarkable feature in
proane history Of the deveopement Of that property
Of the human soul denominsted faith.
II is not necessary to remind you who arc Chris
tans, or the anscendant value tf this virtue
Faith! The great Apostle Of the Gentiles has
summed up the whole duty OF immortal TO
himself, TO his Ged, aud 60 his fellow beings, in
three words:-FAirn, HorE aud CHApIrr. Faith
embraces the whole circle Of our duties to our
Creator. Hope comprises all those duties which
we are bound TO render to ourselves /; aud Cha
ry includes all those duties which we are
bound to render 20 orr nsighbor. The apostle
says that the greatest of these is Charity Jet he
put faith first Of ALL because il Is the foundation
r. III ..t n. of al Ia I,