The daily gazette., 1877-05-22
Ne1U YOrH'S SOcr0tic School.
WHERE THE PUPILS ARE ALL WEALTHY
AND THE INSTRUCTOR IS NOT UNDER

From the World.

From the World.
Mr.. Appleton Park Lyons academy i.
at 180 Fifth avenue, and externally is un
advertised and unosteutatious. 1t is moi
an academy in the modern sense, but /.
| founded upon the ancient Athenlan pat
| tern, and probably resembles more nearly
than anything else of its genus in New
York the schools of Plato and Aristotle
Mr.. Lyons library is a parallelogram OF
ordinary dimensions, but Its walls are
made of 5000 books. The crimson, gilt
green, and blue of these volumes, begin
ming with COnfucius, run multitudinous
ly through plato, Aristotle, Spinoza
| Kant, and Herbert Spencer, and include
| all necessary things from the Talmud to
| Timothy Titcomb. Plaster heads oi
poetical, historical and philosoghica a
Greeks peer out of the shadows; a bulky
globe with solar and lunar attachments
stands in a recess; vast piles Of all per.
iodicals and all newspapers fill the sense
there is mahogany writing desk with a
million pigeon holes, which must have
| cost ST. 900; there are numberless enve,
lopes done up systematically in packages
| like garden seed; under foot is a rich
Turkey carpet; around are costly otto
mans and chairs.
After pleasant welcome to the repor-
| ter, Mr.. Lyon said: "I have studied all
my life. 1 formed the idea when was
mere boy, of learning everything.
That is to stay, 1 determined to under
stand all knowledge. 1 considered that
to be the duty of man-to understand
everything which he should read, hear,
young-sixteen, perhaps removed to
the Normal School in Lebanon, Ohio, an
institution which is ON equal footing with
the Western colleges. 1 was tutor
there for awhile; then, the professor of
mathematics resigning, I was thought
capable of filling his place, which 1 did,
teaching the higher branches of that
science; and shortly after filed novel
positions, and one which suggested to me
all my subsequent course. | drifted into
the employment. l may call it, of giving
advice to the different teachers and the
trustees of the school. This was uncon-
scious on my part at first, but 1 found
shortly that it was required of me, and
finally it became my sole duty. l was
paid good salary tor simply talking to
the teachers and the trustees-throwing
out hiuts and suggestion In the course of
conversation which they would note and
which they certainly considered valua-
BILE, else they would not have paid me
for evolving them"
"And may l ask if this is the method
of your instruction at present." said the
reporter, family perceiving wherein the
power of the philosopher lay.
IL is, | think the whole value of my
instruction lies in the suggestions with
which it is lreplete. seem to fill people
with new ideas. They get into new
way of looking at things, draw fresh in
teresU from the contemplation of life and
nature; at least they say they do, and
if it is fancyit is certainly very strongly
rooted in them"
"And did you stay in Ober-in Lebanon
until YOU came here?"
"No; l stopped there some time; a
mere boy, paid to employ my whole time
in giving advice to these gray-haired
men, and including in my class at the
time of my leaving most of the best citi-
zens of the town. Then went to Brown
to Amherst, to the Union Theological
Seminary in New York, and to several
other uuiversities-all for training mere
ly-and with an eye to that universality
which / told you had already determ-
ined upon in early youth"
"And this academy"