The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-05-05

cause in happiness, the schoiar u "ioe IA
his generation; for to some men we may
say-to the best-to think is to be happy.
Nay more, for the lofty satisfaction which
accompanies the effort of thought, the rap
ture of great conceptions, the rest OF high
curiosity satisfied, are notched at the top
most point on the scale Of human pleasura-
BILE emotions. Compared with these subjec-
tive rewards, his power over the minds OF
men, the homage Of contemporaries, wealth,
the knowledge Of present and the hope OF
future fame, are the scholars grosser price.
Why advise the surrender Of these lofty
gains for the super6uities Of physical COM
fort?
But perhaps Mr.. Froude does not so much
advocate the pursuit Of material comfort as
to dissuads from the choice Of culture as
means of attaining it. If so, then in the
first place, the title Of his speech is mis-
nomer. It is not speech on education, but
q plea against it. And it is by no means
conclusive one. Whether or not the call
ings which involve the work Of cultivated
brains are overtasked, is question hardly
settled by the single fact adduced by Mr.
Froude, of certain Oxford men having been
forced in Australia to earn their living by
working on the roads. In like manner, .
baker might find himself helpless among
the herds of the Pamras; butcher be idle
among the banana groves Of the Pacific,
and q tailor be out Of place in native tribe
Of equatorial Africans. These instances and
the like prove that the wares have been
carried to the wrong market, not that they
are without demand. The assertion in ques-
tion can be proved only by an appeal to
comprehensive statistics. Until such proof
has been furnished, there may be oonjeo-
lures based upon uncertain indications, not
that there is too much eduoation,-thst is
impossible, e,-but that its possessor cannot
rely upon it alone for his daily bread.
Whatever may be the case in Europe, there
are reasons for the belief that in this coun-
try we have nearly reached the point at
which part Of our youth will have, not to
abandon the ambition Of the higher educa-
ton, but will be forced to supplement it by
some manual breadwinning dexterity.
We have been forced, to the conclusion
that Mr.. Froude didnot make q great speech
at st. Andrews. What there is in it good
is vague, and what is not vague is not good.
But the purpose Of this notice is not to
attack Mr.. Froude, but to defend him. In
deed nothing can be more satisfactorily
clear than the fact that his speech gives not
| the slightest foundation to the serious charge
Of deserving the greater part of the praise
bestowed upon it in America. If it is to
be admired, let not the admiration be rested
on grounds that do not appear. By that
large class in this country which recognizes
ti~rs-...;a--A -As- gain. a. the sole object of
rational ambition; the generalities Of Mr..
Froude have been construed into the sneer
Of highly competent expert against the
value of the higher culture. But Mr..
Froude has not given, and could not give,
the weight Of his great authority to that
side Of the controversy. The value Of the
higher culture 10 those whose means place
it within their reach, and the proper instru-
ments of that culture, are not topics Of his
discourse, save ID 80 fer as he has taken
occasion to ridioule the prospect Of intellec.
tusl regeneration expected by some to be
begotteA of the physical sciences. One as
sertion may be safely made, and it is that
no one competent to judge and exercising
an influence upon the opinions Of mankind,
has yet deoried the obligation Of liberal
education, nor has denied the superior
efficacy of the agencies now employed
in efsoting it. All that has been done in
this direction is that some Of the great
thinkers Of the day, among them Mill and
Spencer, have shown that the "htera hu.
''maniores," though the best, are not the e1-
elusive instruments Of culture, and that in
the training Of youth the 'tomne sei5ile" must
be laid under contribution for that species
Of study which will best meet the capacity
and the mental appetites of the particular
pupil; in other words, that education must be
specialized. s..
But the subject is too great for the limits
Of newspaper column, and we must con-
olude in giving expression to the earnest
hope that the people Of the South will not
Be again misled to enthrone material king,
who fails them in the hour Of need, or to
adopt material theories Of life and educa-
ton, but will conceive and foster the ambi-
ton Of earning the right to enter, though
as neophytes, the family Of nations that
have won the most respect from mankind,
by their contributions to civilization in the
sphere Of learning, science and art
Reviews.
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