The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1877-07-15
F4V47IcISM OF SECULAR SCHOOLS.


We take the folle wing extract from q recon
discourse by the Rev. w. II. Peatt, Rector
| Grace church protestant Epiecopal) Of Sar
| Francisco, Cal.
There are political fanatics, and educstiona
| fanatics, ana philosophical fanatics. anC
scientific fanatics az well as religious fana
tics. One Of the most iorsivaole, out none
| tho lees destructive fanatisIn OF THIS eye, ana
speCially of this country, IL that OF seculabZ-
| ing the schools Of the land. There never was
| u sadder uistake of civilization. What Is ed
ucationf II 10, 40 tho word imports, 'IeaG'pR
| onP of mans most Important po"ersi, 40 "a
| suflicieut to "lead OUT the mental ana
| neglect the moral powers Inc mental =
| powers will, to q great extent take cS.e OF
| themselves. The news boys and street Araos
without any school education at all, are men
| tally sharp enough it is the moral IN wnicn
their deficiency lies. Mind ana EVIL are IN
herited moral power 10 not lnheriteu' Out ao
quifed or imposed; and to thIs mora' power
all education should first attend. In our
present system 1T il altogether Ignored. IL
educates q child in that in which he VIII eoo-
cate himself if sscb be the craving Ct lbs ma
ture; and We exclude moral education, IN
which he will be aura not to educate himself
and which he needs above ali else. Is it true
that men do the right because they know the
right To suppose that they would was the
Is it not o proverb that "men know the right
and yet the wrong pursue" Is not the pun
sh ment by society of all penal acts based upon
Would any court or jury for q moment tolerate
the conviction Of one accused when he bad no
Of what he didf
"How does the knowledge OF the multi
plication table," says Herbert Spencer, 'or
q thickness in adding and dividing, 80 increase
the sympathies as to restr ain the tendency to
trespsss against fellow creatuEesf In what
way can the attainment of accuracy in spell
ing and passing, etc make the sentiment of
Justice more powerful than it was; or why,
from stores OF geographical information, per-
gained, is there likely to come in
creased regard for truth The irrelation be-
woen such canses and such effects is almost
as great as that between exercises of the
fingers and strengthening of the legs. One
Who sbon aid, by lessons IN Latin, hope to give
of geometry, or one who should eX-
pect practice in drawing to be followed by ex-
pressive rendering of a sonata, would be
thought fit for insane asylum; and yet he
would he scarcely more irrational than are
those VINO. by discipline of .he intellectual
faculties, expect to produce better feelings.
Thls faith in lesson books and reading is one
of the snperstifions of the age" (Spencer's
CO. l5). Tne pubic have not yet
seen aud felt the mistake into which, with a
mcst laudable intention, they have plunged,
in thus seculatiziug their educational institu-
tioGs.
for tie privilege of imperfectiy educating their
d sy stem that aims only to make
smart rather than good children. Instead of
being a great lever of civiliz itior, this entend-
fauaticism, miseducating the head and utterly
ne z Letting the heart and in the end will de-
stroy society. Time is wasted aud taxes levied
to teach boys aud girls TO speak French and
Germ an, aud play aud sing, who need rather
to know Eoglish, and how TO work ard the
cities are being filed with youth of both sexes
With neral IDEAS but with literary notions
above their possibilities in life
The end il to make them accom- piished ladies
and gentlemen rather than moral and good
citizens. The system Is too extended, TOO ex-
pensive, too long, too little moral for the best
ends of society. Bot tho people are in love
with it IL is, end it pays small politicians to
keep it up. The time WAS when each denomi-
nation had it's own schools, and every child,
rich or poor, who wanted an education and
was capable of taking one could do 80. Society
never has or never can stand this one-sided
development, That which it sows it must also
reap. The experiment in the Roman Republic
shows that the maximum of philosophy was
religion was the maximum of deepot'sm
When the people laughed at the priests they
TO we'd to { e,ar end the philosophers; society
passed from sacred guides to secular masters
but az Christianity advanced, Despot'sm de-
clined.
Is the intellectual training of the child &c
much more important than the moral thai
society must give to il the whole week, and
then permit, hot promote, it's moral education
in one day only out of sevenf 1t ia idle to say
that morals nust be taught only at home
Hundreds of homes are goddess. Tuousandt
upon thousands of the cbildren in our public
schools have no moral nor religious instruction
on Sunday bat, on the contrary, are educated
to hate oil moral strsints. What must society
reap from all this If it SOW to the wind, II
must reap the wbirlwind. Can civilization
sustain itself by making business of training
the bead how to think, and not, as 81. Pau
says, to think on whatsoever Is pure, honest
lovely and OF good rcportf