The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1882-11-04
WHAT is TEAcHINep
lContinaed frow first page. |

his power ct attention, that he may
lay hold of, and receive, and make
his own, the knowledge you offer him
You must awaken and strengthen the
power of memory within him, thai
he may retain what he receives, and
thus grow in knowledge as the
body by like process grows in
strength and muscle. In other words
learning, so far as the mind and the
learner is concerned, is a growth
and teaching, so far as the teacher is
concerned, is doing whatever is nee
essary to cause chat growth.
Let US proceed step further in
this matter.
One of the ancients observes that
lamp loses none OF its own light
by allowing another lamp to be lit
from it. He uses the illustration to
enfore the duty of liberality, in i'm
parting our knowledge to Others.
knowledge" he says, unlike other
treasures, is not diminished by Civ
ing"
The illustration fails to express
the whole truth. This imparting of
knowledge to others, not only does
net impoverish the donor, but it
actually increases his riches. Do
cendo discimus. By teaching we
learn. A man grows in knowledge
by the very act of communicating it.
The reason for this is obvious. In
order to communicate to the mind OF
another thought which is in our
own mind, we must give to the
thought definite shape and form.
We must handle it, and pack it up
for safe conveyance. Thus the mere
act of giving thought expression in
words, fixes it more deeply in our
own minds. Not only so; we can,
in fact, very rarely he said to he in
full possession of q thought ourselves.
until by the tongue or the pen we
have communicated it to somebody
else. The expression Of it, in some
form, scents necessary to give it,
even ia our own minds, a definite
shape and lasting impression. A
man who devotes himself to solitary
reading and study, but never tires
in any way to communicate his &C
QUESTIONS to the world, or to enforce
his opinions upon others, rarely be-
comes learned man. A great many
confused, dreamy ideas, no doubt,
float through the brain of such a
man; but he has little exact and re-
liable knowledge. The truth is, there
is a sort of INDECENT, listless absorp-
tion of intellectual food, that tends
to idiocy. / knew person once, a
gentleman of wealth and leisure, who,
having no taste for social intercourse.
and material wants to be supplied.
which might have required the ac-
tive exercise of his powers, gave him
self up entirely to solitary reading,
as a sort of luxurious selfindulgence
He shut himself up in his room all
day long, day after day, devouring
one book after another, until he be-
came almost idiotic by the process,
and be finally died OF softening of
the brain. Had he been compelled
to use his mental acquisitions in
earning his bread, or had the love
of Christ constrained him to use
them in the instruction of the poor
and the ignorant, he might have be-
come not only useful, but learn
ed, man.
We see beautiful illustration of
this doctrine in the case of Sabbath
school teachers; and one reason why
persons so engaged usually love their
work, is the benefit which they find
in it for themselves. ! speak here,
not of the spiritual, but of the intel
lectual benefit. BY the process of
teaching others, they are all the
while learning. This advantage in
their case is all the greater, because
it advances them in kind of knowl-
edge in which, more than any other
kind Of knowledge, men are wont to
become passive and stationary. In
ordinary worldly knowledge, our ne
cessities make us active. The inter-
course of business, and of pleasure
even, makes men keen. On these
subjects we are all the while handy
ing thoughts to and fro; we are ac-
customed to give as well as take; and
50 we keep our intellectual armor
bright, and our thoughts we'll de-
fined. But in regard to growth in
religious knowledge, we have ten
dency to be mere passive recipients,
like the young man just referred to.
Sabbath after Sabbath, we hear good,
instructive, orthodox discourses; but
there is no active putting forth OF
our own powers in giving out what
we thus take in, and SO we never
make it effectually our own. The
absorbing process goes on, and yet
we make no growth. The quiescent
audience is sort of exhausted re-
ceiver, into which the steam from
the pulpit is perennially playing, but
never making it full Let man &c
back and ask himself, What actual
scriptural knowledge have l gained
by the sermons Of the last six months!
What, in fact, do / retain in my
mind, at this moment, Of the sermons
l heard only month ago? So fal
as the hearing of sermons is con
cerned, the Sabbath school teacher
may perhaps be no better off thar
othor haarars Rut in regard tf