The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-02-11
nIs nnYnoon AND rprcArfoN.

tO., OF New ! Ork, Is Il book OF unusual IN
tcrest. Mr. Mills father, James Mill, was
educated at the University Of Edinburgh,
and, after few years spent as private tn
tor, he went to London and devoted him
self to authorship. Here he married and
soon found himself with quite family
upon his hands, and, as his profession
brought him but a slender income, he made
school room of his study, and in conncc-
ton with his work as an author, educated
his children.
The subject Of the present sketch was born
in 1906, and, though have spoken of his
boyhood, there was no period in his life
answering to the few years, to which we
are accustomed to apply that term. His
father acted upon the principle Of closing
no time" and commenced his education
before he was fairly out Of the cradle.
He says 81 have no remembrance of
the time when begun to learn
Greek. have been told that it was when
l was three years old. My earliest recol-
lection upon the subject is that OF commit
ting to memory what my father termed
vocables, being lists of common Greek
words, with their Specification in English
which he wrote out for me on cards"
After going through course of these
''vocables' he commenced translation. do
ing but little with the grammar till some
years later. When he was eight years old,
he had read the whole of Hcrodotus, Memo
phons, Cyropaedia, the memorials OF
Socrates, part Of the lives of the philoso-
pliers, by Diogcncs Lautus, part Of Lucian,
Isocratcs Adj Dcmonicum and Adj Nicolem,
and the first six Dialogues of Plato, from
the Euthyphon to the rhscctus.
During the same time he studied arlth-
mctc, to which he devoted his evenings,
and for pastimc he read history In this
latter study he was accustomed TO make
notes upon slips of paper of each days
reading, and then upon the following
morning, in walk which he took with his
father he gave an account Of what he had
read.
In this way he made himself familiar
with Robertson, Hume, Gibbon, Watson :
Phillip the Second and Third, lIookc's
History of Rome, part of Rollins Ancient
History, II translation Of putarch, Bur
nets History of hia n''" limo. vi
49, 49,
standard writers of those times.
At eight he commenced The study Of
Latin, at the same time teaching it TO d
Younger sister. From eight to twelve he
read the principal Latin authors, nearly all
the Greek poets, and studied algebra, gcom-
etry and other branches of the higher ma
thematics. He also continued to read his
tory and commenced the reading Of tho
English poets.
At twelve he took up logic, commencing
with the Organon, and then going through
with several OF the Latin trcatiscs on the
scholastic logic, and finally mastering Tho
more difficult work of Hobbies.
At thirteen he commenced studying pO
litical economy. his father giving him lee
81 tuiSo tiA'll vans. uSlu-, lllt
works of Ricardo and Adam Smith as text
books.
About this time he became acquaini cd
with Mr.. Bentham, the founder of the Util
itarian school of politics, and, during 4
short visit to France, he also met St. ST
mon, and these acquaintance doubles,
h,.1 anNailarnl,ln u, do ,,.itb ,,l
his future political opinions.
At fifteen he commenced the study Of
Roman law, which was followed by tho
reading of Blackstone, Locke and Hartley
and the study of natural philosophy from
the works of Berkeley, Hume, Reid Brown
and Dugald Stewart.
At sixteen Nj Mill began to write, and
about the same time made the acquaintance
of Grote, the historian, Macaulay, Hyde
Charles Viliers, Street and Romiy.
About this time his father obtained fol
him situation in the Office of the examiner
of India correspondence, and here. for tho
present, we will leave him.
MIR. MILLS VIEWS UroN EDUCATION.
As the matter of education is engrossinp
considerable attention at the present time
| have thought that the views of SO emf
nent scholar as Mr.. Mill upon this sub,
ject would be of general interest.
Here is his opinion as to the study Of tho
languages;
- In the course OF instruction which
have partially retraced, the points most su.
pcrticially apparent is the great effort tC
give, during the years of childhood. an
amount of knowledge in what are consider
ed the higher branches of education, which
is seldom acquired Of acquired at alb until
the age of manhood. The result of the ex.
pertinent shows the ease with which this
may be done, and places in Il strong light
the wretched waste Of SO many prcciou:
years as are spent in acquiring the modicun
of Latin and Greek commonly taught t.
sChoolboys waste which has led so many
educational rctormers 10 entertain the i'll
judged proposal of disCarding these Ian,
guages altogether from general education
Ii had been by nature extremely quick OF
apprehension, or had possessed very quick
and retcntvc memory, or were of "A remark
ably active and energetic character, tho
trial would not be conclusive; hut in all
these natural gifts | am rather below than
above par what could do could assured
ly be done by any boy or girl of average
capacity and healthy physical constitution ;
and ii hayc accomplished anything, owe
it, among other fortunate circumstances, 10
the fact that through the early training be-
slowed on me by my father started,
may fairly say, with an advantage of "A
quarter of century over my conlemnor'
aries.
MARK THIS OK TIE USES or STUDY.
"Most boys or youths who have Lad
much knowledge drilled into them, have
their mental capacities not strengthened
but ovcrlaid by il, They are crammed with
mere facts and with the opinions or phrases
of other people, and these arc accepted as a
substitute for the power to form opinions
of their own; and thus the sons of emf
ncnt fathers, who have spared no pains in
their education, 80 often grow up mere par