The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-11-03

CATO said that the first duty of the farmer
was to plow, the second to plow, the third to
plow; and copying his monotonous measure
certain educators are forever repeating the old
triangular" Classics, mathematics, discipline !
classics, mathematics, discipline!' We are
reminded of the colloquy of two South Boston
lunatics. Said one to the other, "what is the
difference between a horse and a hobby ?"
None" Yes, there is, for with horse,
you can ride when you choose and walk
when you choose, but hobby You must ride
all the tmew Master Gradgrind says, 81 teach
only facts Stick to facts, nothing else is need
ed. This is practical training" He looks with
contempt upon broader and more genial cul-
ture and would bind down every mind TO ,be
same rigid laws of analytic or folmulary in
ssruction. Natural History to him is mere
"Bus-olosy" and there is no beauty in Par
adise Lost" because it proues nothing"
Now we admit the wisdom of the Spartan
King Agesilaus, who. when asked what child
should be taught, replied that which he will
need to practice when old" in other words,
that special tastes should be fostered and the
probable occupation of manhood should ever
give complexion to the studies of youth. Still.
American culture is necessarily generous and
liberal culture. 1t is quite needfu that tbe
solid and ornamental, the theorectic and
practical should be properly blended in the
training OF a Tree people.
g The riches of the Commonwealth
Are nee, strong minds and hearts of health,
nur1l
Are cunning hand and cultured BRAIN"
10 iorm these free strong minds we need
h hrmonioas training of mental and moral fac
u'ties so that the emblem of polished stones"
of which the Hebrew king speaks, may fitly
represent at once their beauty and their
strength. This is not gained by mere null
tiplicity of studies. ShaIlowness is then a
sure result. A horizontal rather than per-
pandicular line will measure such scholarship
Its not gained by mere mental pnzzles, such
as crowd too many of our arithmetics. and
watch have sent to their graves more pupils
according to an eminent authority-than all
the diseases Of childhood. 1t is not. fnally.
by the cold, cherries processes of memorz-
ing that the pupils training is to be regulat-
ed, specially in its earlier stages. Words
printed names, unsubstantial figures and let
tiers, conveying few or no ideas to his mind
are poor pabulum for the active, observing
and inquisitive youth. John Ruskin never
wrote truer sentence than this, "the great
est thing human soul ever does in this world
is to see something and tell what it saw in a
plain way"
Were our teachers to spend more pains in
the development of the perceptive faculties
and with this the powers of concentration
individuality and eventuality, more of us
would become as really, if not prophetically,
Seers like men of old. In word we need to
combine the versatility, readiness and anti
tude which mark the American mind with
the thorOughness which is the browning lea
ture OF German scholarship. From the hum
BILE Gewerbr school of the artisan and tbe
Handel school of the merchant to the highest
professional gymnasia learning presents a
technical perfection that is wonderful. As
an example of the complete, exhaustive
scholarship there gained we see Carl Ritter
IN preparing geography of the world, spend
fifty years on that of Asia Alone writing upon
1t more than 10000 large octave pages.
The eXcellencies of Froebel's Kindergartens
by which the spontaneous activities of youth
are trained TO the production of objects with
in their own sphere, we may at another time
refer to. The industrial and intellectual life
thus secured supplants mischief disorder and
crime. The School Committee of EBoston
have been favorably impressed with Miss
Peabody's presentation of its principles, and
we may look for trial of it in this country
with those obvors notifications which Amer
lean society naturally suggests.