The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1878-02-20
THE POWER OF EDUCATION.

Inc power OF education is, indeed,
broad field and long field in which
to enter for the short time allotted me
this evening; SO I shall mark off and
enclose only small triangle, bounding
it by the three lines of education, along
which hope to lead your thought
individual, industrial and political or
citizen education. l would build within
this polygon as best l can, manhood
OF worth and power, suited, hope to
the age and times in which we live.
Education is instruction wrought out
by discipline. It is an instruction Of
the morals and manners, as we'll as the
understandings of men. We say that
a man has a fine education, and are
understood to speak of his skill in arts
and sciences but an educated man has,
in addition to arts and sciences, morals,
religion and behavior. Education is
generalissimo of the faculties, mental,
moral, religious, social, industrial and
civil, leading out these forces and m ar
shaliny them for honor on the fields of
time. 1t is the multiplication of mans
energies swelling N overwhelming rings
upon the wide sea-surface of his life.
Overlapping the barriers of the
deluge, away on in the traditionary
twilight Of the world, we behold domes-
tic society, which was the first social
organism of the planet, and which has
come down to us from the wedding
bower of Adam and Eve and the wan
dering tents of Abraham through Nine
veh, through the wide orient to our
own times, the Divine model of state
craft, the framework of every Utopia
that has been dreamed Of under the sun,
as well as the foundation of all govern
meas among men. The citizen of this
sequestered realm is little child; the
father, if [ may borrow the beautiful
thou sht of Livy and Seneca, is its
magistrate ; and the mother, queen of
the domain. Here, the possibilities of
thought and action are given their first
impulse and direction. The principal
Institution ia Plato's Republic was a
place where the citizens were trained to
employments suitable to their nature.
In every we'll conducted household is
exastly such moulding room and fur.
nishing apartment for the world. So
ciety is made up of atoms, which atoms
are individuals, and as atoms are con-
ceived as the first principle or COM
ponent parts of all physical magnitude,
SO are individuals the component parts
of the educational cosmos. And they
are the true atoms of motion in the ever
lasting changes and adaptations that
are taking place around us constantly,
rs they fall into their final results of
marble and stone and the industrial arts
and the miracles of the mind. That
these atoms may have right force and
direction, is as necessary to the well
being of society, as that the particles OF
matter keep their appointed places on
this planet and all planets. Common
school and college do not give this force
and direction, nor are they capable OF
modifying or changing them to any
very great degree. OF the numerous
graduates of our institutions of learning,
so few are heard of at all in after life,
that bachelor degrees have become like
bachelors themselves, of no consequence
whatever to any one in the world. This
may not be, indeed, is not the fault OF
professor or curricula ; the material
they wrought on was, perhaps, the
refuse of the quarry, or the marble may
have been rich and rare, yet like Pyg
malion's statue stood still and cold tc
the kiss of the devotee. No system is
expected to enHghten a soul that is darl
of itself. But many gem of mind is G
mere cameo head on college catalogue
that home discipline, properly exercised
would have wrought into shining bril-.
liant on the golden ring of time.
No school-house can take the plsce>oi
the house-school, and this 1 maintain
is the law of nature and reason in the
matter. Education is the adjunct ol
rather the chief element of parenta
authority. In this domain of which we
are speaking, the allegiance of the child
is owed to the parent, and therefore it,
care belongs to the parent. The State
has no rights, except, perhaps, to SCI
that nothing detrimental to public
morality and peace is taught but til,
State cannot impose on the family 1
system of education, nor force entry into
such and such school, nor compel thu
employment of such and such teacher