The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1872-08-30
An Outrage ON thudhood.

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Under the head Of Prodigy in the
Sundayschoolr the Methodist Advocate Of
Atlanta prints the following commuui.
cation;
"a few weeks ago a premium was Off
cred in our Sabhath-echool 10 the scholar
who would commit to memory the great
est number Of Scripture verses within a
given time. A spirited contest began at
once, but n little girl. Rcbecca Graham,
outstriped them all. She Is nine and q
half years Of age; her father does not
know the alphabet, aud her mother can
hardly read. On the first Sabbath after
the contest commenced she repeated thir-
teen verses; on the second, fily-fve; on
tie third, one hundred and thirteen; on
the fourth, two hundred and seventy
nine; on the fifth, was prepared to repeat
one hundred and forty-five chapters, be-
ginning with Acts Ill. aud ending with
Revelation ii, inclusive, but for want of
time and strength she only repeated two
thousand eight hundred and seventy
eight verses. She could always tell the
number Of the verse she was repeating.
Her superintendent says her mind is
equal in respects only to the average Of
children. Can any Of the readers Of the
Airocote heat thisS T. w. So
Concerning which we have few Of
mildest words to say, as follows:
l. That a prize offered in a Sunday
school, day-school, night-school, family,
or any other institution in which there
are children, to the child excelling in any
one thing, Is gross injustice, great
discouragemont, and a cruel outrage Ii
is gross injustice, because the pupils are
never on equality, some prodigy" like
"Rebecca Graham" who has run all to
one faculty, having the advantage over
all the rest. II is a wanton unfairneSs
to start a competiii9a.in which there is
no approach to equaHty on the part of
the competitors. 1t is great discourage
ment to the duller pupils who, of all,
need encouragement. Their industry,
ten times more praiseworthy than the
prcdigious memory of Rebecca Graham,
goes without any commentator or re-
ward. We have known many a child to
give up exertion under such discourage
ment. 1t is a cruel outrage in that it
excites hopes in the minds of children
only to disappoint them, it excites un-
holy emulations by making one child's
success depend upon another childs fail
ure, and the selfish triumph of Rebecca
Graham at the failure of her associates
must do her no more harm than all the
one hundred and forty-fve chapters of
the Bible committed in this fashion will
do her good. Certainlythe envy of the
defeated ones will not be sneans of grace
to them.
q This whole system of literal CON-
committing of Scripture to memory is CON
trary to the true principles Of education
as held by all good instructors at the |
present time. 1t begets the bad mental |
habit Of learning by rote without under |
ss-piing, and the bad moral habit of
delfine ana reading precepts witnoa. AM !
Bersonal application. 1t is the offspring
& a Nasoretic fanaticism among Chris
tains, an idclatrous worshipof the letter.
This same spirit is the most serious OBJ |
stacle to a thorough revision of the En-
glish version of the Scriptures. And
then the curious fact is that Rebecca
knows the number of verses
she has bolted the chat with the wheat,
andc long as it is undigested, wheat is
no better than chaff We do not hesitate
to say copy of the revised statutes com
mitted in that way would be about as
useful as the Bible. 1t is to her, sound
signifying nothing.
3. No greater wrong to the intellect
ual development of a child like "Rebecca
Graham is possible than this. Her alb
normal and poll-parrot memory, natural
ly an obstruction to alb serious study, is
by this process farther stimulated, and the
result in her education will probably be,
a parrot. And the Bible can hardly be
subjected to a worse indignity than this
use of it to whet the verbal memory.
The substance then of our little SER
mon on little Rebecca Graham is that
prizes offered to the best, including all
The others, havss bad influence on mind
md morals. Every reward should be on
ierms such that the success Of one will
rot be at the expense of the failure Of
,thers. And that the Bible is to be
itudied in its thought and spirit, not in
is letter. And that rote-memory exces-
lively developed is lifelong misfortune.
And that some Sunday-school superin-
endents-do not understand their business
md would do well to resign.-Hearh
md Home.
Seeking Riches.
Make haste slowly-is n trite bnt