The times., 1891-06-19

| kind and generous person the ignorant
person is the naughty, dressy, snowy
person the educated is the gentle, mod
est. pain person; the unlearned are
rash, impulsive, while the learned are
calm and reasonable.
This leads us to observe that educa-
| ton truly SO called, carries with it these
two ideas of oppression and Repression.
| Keeping this before us we may easily
distinguish the educated from the unedu-
Gated the person being truly educated
learns to know things as good or evil,
useful or useless, helpful or hurtful-he
soon learns that everything is either one
or the other, and he commands the abil-
ity and skill to see the good and express
| it, to know the evil and repreSs it.
Holding such principles and theories
we come to see that the chief corner
stone of education rests on the divine
conception of man-it keeps in mind the
divine qualities, the superb possibilities.
that God designed us with gifts and pow
way to secure our highest well-being,
that well-being which is involved in the
well-being of all Gods creatures.
Hence it is that we can trace true edu-
cation by its imprint on the public and
benevolent interests of society. Society
is nothing more than the family prin-
ciple expanded. We severally are mem
bers of that family called society, and if
we are cultured we will act in har-
mony with the best elements of society,
for the betterment of all elements in So
ciety. In the family, the strong, in
dulged boy might perch himself on the
table and get controlling corner on his
choice dish; so in society. by opportunity,
strength and sagacity, person may get
control of many interests. He may be a
crude, selfish person, know many things
and control them in the pursuit of his
selfish ends, but you can not say that
such person is educated even though
he has graduated. You have heard of
such persons they would discuss large,
social and economic questions, declaring
in favor of the elevation of man, the
purifying of politics, the guarding of
government, yet when you examine into
it You will find that so absorbed are they
in their selfish, personal enterprises,
that humanitarian schemes, benevolent
enterprises must be carried on without
them. They may once in while on
business principles, give a few dollars,
but if all persons were like them, we
could not have ordered society, for the
very institutions which form the back
bone of society, the church and the col
lege, could not be sustained. Therefore,
we must insist upon it that unless the
person finds himself enlisted in the lar
ger scheme of the public and benevolent
interests of society, he is not considered
educated.
Proper educational systems are those
which secure the methods and means
embodying the above principles, and
with natural means, work these prime =
pies into the actual life of the commu-
| nifty. In contemplating school systems
we 60 well to keep in mind two common
errors of our times: one is to run the
church and the clergy by the personal
schemes of those who are not only unre-
generated, but who can. not see the king
dom Of God the other is to plan school
methods and manage teachers by persons
| who, in the true sense, have never them
selves been educated allowing partisan
ism and family schemes to enter into the
institutional interests of society. Our
Christian colleges-and by the way there
are no colleges in the civilized world
that are not essentially Christian-our
common schools are founded on these
simple principlesof truth and right, and we
must aim at it that the support and man
agement of them must come from those
who practically stand for all such princi-
pies. We all agree that we must resist
personal prejudice and party politics, and
class hostility when we come to the work
of education. Ifin anything, the well dis
posed should stand together, it is in the
matter of schooling the young.
We hear great deal about religion in
the public schools, yet every well in
formed person should know that all edu-
cation is founded on religion. BY that
we do not mean any peculiar phase of
Christianity, but religion in the univer-
sal sense. No one would try the expert
ment of education with irreligious
teachers such thing never has been,
such thing never can be. Generous
well-being, faithfulness and high sense
of usefulness are at the foundation of all
religion, and this also is aimed at in edu-
ton, to so discipline life as to make it
strong in neutralizing evil. and in pro.
ducing and strengtheningth good, this is
what the educator and the religionist
| mutually work for. Just as the artist
and The machinist are mutual in their
work of conceiving and expressing,
reaching the happiest effect, the easiest
movement, seeking Sucn harmony ana
relation as to bring out beauty in form
and avoid resistance in movement. This
is the mechanics of education and relig-
ion to culture the character for beauty
and so adjust life as to have it move
| smoothly in resisting evil and minister
| ing in good.
This has been the unfolCing of gen.
| eral principles, and suggests the question
of practical methods, let this question
then come first, will it not follow if gen.
eral principles are clearly entertained
that methods will come easily and nat.
urally? Carlyle once suggested that in
training or schooling the young we should
| seek to stand out of the way of nature
and she will do her work, but the sug-
gestion here is that the good natural
| teacher stands in with nature and lets
her do the work through her most eff
| ficient means, the noble, natural teach
ing spirit of a devoted teacher. Let il
be insisted upon that the teacher holds
to the correct general principles, then
the professor will not only know the
theories of philosophy but he will him
self be good sample product of that
philosophy, the teacher will not only be