St. Paul daily globe., 1890-07-12

imminent necessity of ethical principles
Hence it is evident that philosophical inyes-
tigation must constitute leading feature Of
the method OF higher instruction.
Our school takes the pupils to Greece and
Rome through the two dead languages, Latin
ana Greek; for the evolution of the civiliza-
ton in which we live and move and have
our being issued through Greece and Rome
on lts way to us. Each one of our institu
tons traces its genesis in the necessities that
arose in the histories of those people.
our colleges and universities, in order to
make self alienation more complete, have
generally preserved semi-monastic charac-
ter ia their organization. Their pupils are,
Tor the most part, isolated from their fami-
hes and hive in an artificial society of their
own. The student life (wherein the family
and civil society that have in modern times
unfolded into Independent and complex sys-
TENS are united into sort of monastic in
stitution through dormitory system. and
the organization of classes and secret So
cleties and the like), is sort of embryonic
civilization and creates an atmosphere tha
reminds the historical student of the prevail
Ing state of society in early ages.
In the university extension scheme it is
evident that we cannot have these accessO-
rles of self -estrangemant the Greek letter
societies, the caps and gowns, the semi
monastic life of the college dormitory; but
what is more essential. we can have the
training i'll the classic languages-a sufficient
amount of such training to give each person
an insight into his spiritual embryology.
1t must be admitted that the function of
the university in our day is not precisely the
same as that of its infancy. The art of print
ing has produced the change. The advent of
the daily newspaper is perhaps the most sig
nlhcant circumstance of the present century.
Its influence is as potent to change our edu-
cational systems as the discovery of printing
itself was in the fifteenth century
The invention of the art of printing
changed the functions of the higher schools
of Europe; it did not destroy them or render
them superfuous. Examinations came into
vogue. and classification and grading were
perfected The course of study became more
and more disciplinary. and mere lnforma-
ton studies were allowed subordinate
places.
1t is supposed that the study of the classics,
Latin and Greek, is retained in our system
OF higher education because of a blind con-
servatlsm which continues the good old way,
after all reasons for its existence have VAN
ished. think that this is a serious mistake.
1t is true that the necessity of common
language as the medium of instruction justi-
fed the use of Latin at the university of the
middle ages. Now, however, it is to be justi-
fed on the ground of embryology, as 1 have
already indicated We study Latin, not be-
cause it is the most perfect, or the most hexl-
nle, or the most anything-but because 1t is
the expression of that phase of civilization
that enters our own as the most important de-
termining factor--giving US the forms of our
institutions and our laws-our methods of
science and our literary forms. That Greek
is the primitive expression of that nation
which gives US the forms of art and science
is sufficient reason why we are required to
study it for time. in order to understand
that strand in our civilization.
With the multiplication of public high
schools there has come about in this country
tendency to neglect tine college or un1ver-
sity. Secondary instruction seems to many
of our leaders in education to be more prac-
tical than higher education. But, if my opin-
ion is well founded this claim for secondary
instruction must be held to be an error. The
most practical of all instruction is that which
finds the unity of all branches of knowledge
and teaches their human application. Ethics
is certainly the most practical of all branches
of human learning.
All friends of sounder education will
therefore bid Godspeed to this new move
ment for university extension, and all will
hope that through it the university standards
of thinking and investigating will become
known as ideals; and that once well estab-
lished, il will have the effect of increasing
the percentage of youth who complete their
education. in the university itself.