Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1858-10-21
NUMBER 40.
s.SeIf.Nade Men" Eainst Edu-
Gated Men. ..r.s Il: rss5f


The following from the Philadelphia
School journal, contains some Just OBJ
servations, and some that are more
sweeping than just Our readers will
readily separate the true from the false'
fought the battle of life -industrfously,
and whose declining years are now pass
ing in the enjoyment of the spoils of
successful campaign. While convers-
ing with him some time ago, he remark
cd that he had come to the conclusion
that college education was a waste Of
time ~a -! faLf5
He assured us ttat the best men he
knew we're self made men, who started
both poor and uneducated He point
ed out many of them and told US Of
their fortunes. He also spoke of 9TH
ers, who began with money and educa-
cation, and who had become drunkards,
idlers, and even scoundrels. He re-
marked, Also. that many young men,
after having gone through college, seot
hfgh notions into their heads, and new
er did anything, because they thought
themselves too good to work. -.r. ... s,,.-
According to his belief, the best way
to make a useful man of boy was to
send him to school until he could read
and write, and then put him into a
store, and let him work himself up to a
partnership. He thought it useless and
wrong to waste time in learning things
that would never come to any good I!
These he regarded as conclusive ar.
guments against college education.---
We took pains to see the men whom he
designated as the best men hed knew
and found that money was their only,
excellence. They were a.lmen- of more.
than ordinary natural intelligence.
They had all been slaves to money-ma-
king, and had passed selfish, stingy
life, in amassing fortunes which they
were now too old to properly enjoy
But We noticed another lamentablc
feature, viz: their children, with few
exceptions, belong to that class of
young persons called fast who idle
away their time in spending, foolishly,
and even criminally, the wealth gather
ed during years of hard labor, by their
parents, who despising. edu-
cation, had given to their children no
means of cultivating love for the
beautiful, the pure and the good. ir'--
One, only, of the best men pointed
out By our aged acquaintance. had re-
ally progressed. He had made for
tune, and was, apparently, very happy.
But he had been in the habit of spend
ing all his evenings in reading, and had
all his chiAI,ca.. .a
There is no doubt that energy and
acittout education, can ac-
complish much; but is also certain
that toth education, they could have
done much more, even in a worldly
point of view, and infinitely more,
when we regard the life to come
cultivates all the mental
powers, and thereby enables US more
readily to perceive truth, and to de-
tect error. There is no possible posi-
ton in life IN which college educa-
ton would not be of inestimable ben
eft. Our aged acquaintance proved
that education alone, without ground
work of intelligence and industry,
could not insure success. It is but
proof of his narrowness, and an illus
tration of the evil of ignorance, that
he infers that education IS useless, when
he perceives that it alone will not give
Educati opens to the soul
the highest hopes and gives surcst
means of finding truth. ' ..h