The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-02-15

cause the one readiest in reciting GER
tain facts may be the least fitted for
actual prosecution of his work. We
do not try to educate man in six
years. We merely start him on the
road of knowledge. No school can
finish our education. 1t simply be-
gins it, and the education is then to
be protracted in later life. Shame
to the institutions that talk of COM
plotting ones educationl
Education deals with that tool, the
mind. 1t gives man the key to life.
1t fits the lock of every science. 1t is
of such character that one does not
need knowledge of all sciences to
know them. By mastering one, he
enters the way leading to the others.
Our age has contributed more than
others to the problem of the universe.
We have gone far enough to see ma
ture in classes, the lines along which
they live, the orders, the brother
hoods, the limits. There is possibili-
ty for universal scholarship. We
have comprehensive idea of the
whole scheme. Education helps us
think in an orderly manner. Thus
God thinks. 1t may be a sunfower
and in ten thousand ways may the
likeness be repeated. On the margin
of the kingdoms we are in doubt, but
in general we know the great depart
ments and their places. Education
opens up the chambers of the mind
to which these outward facts cores
pond. Our mind is a miniature of
the Almighty mind. The trueeduca-
tor will labor to fix in the mind of
the student the things that God has
wrought out in the world.
A mind, thus knowing the secret of
things, cannot help being better than
other minds, in the practical issues
of life. 1t is an adaptable mind.
What would the modern scholar do
transported back to King Arthur's
time7 Give him little time and he
will make himself the master of the
kingdom. He knows where the others
have only guessed. He can make his
knowledge felt. He knows the soul
of things. He is ready for the things
he has to do. This is, indeed, a
practical education.
But, although mind is furnished
with an education, is it yet completel
The locomotive of itself cannot move.
Horsemen speak of the courage of a
horse, its persistence that brings vic
tory. There is indeed heroism in a
horse that sticks to his business and
wins. So in man there must be cour-
age, power, the will forces in order
to insure success. We must, there.
! fore, realize the value of the moral
elements, such as courage, pluck,
perseverance, along with the ethical
qualities. A strong man may be ig-
norant; wise man may be weak; so
our schools may not give man that
| which will insure him success in
life. There is a connection between
the moral qualities and success. A
sound conscience conduces to sound
er thought.
In our public schools we are wrest-
ling with this problem of how to in
troduce the moral element. The
State, by not sufficiently caring for
the moral health of the pupils, stands
in danger of losing some of the finest
fruits of the system. The republic
cannot stand on one leg alone. There
must be some honor, some righteous
ness. The republic cannot exist with
a debauched citizenship.
The speaker then asked how can
character be best developed especial
lY in our college course? This char
acter depends largely on purposes,
or, in other words, on purpose. We
can influence this in the college by
teaching students to discriminate be-
tween what is high and low. The
reading about good lives, the meet
ing with ripe scholarship, the fervor
of investigation, inspire and dignity.
The whole atmosphere of college is
ennobling. We can inspire sense
of responsibility, of accountability.
The tendency is to show the student
that he is the architect of his own
fortune. Luck, he learns, is not to
be considered. The habit of indus
try is engendered and that counts.
One school teaches punctuality as
much as arithmetic. This one thing
may minister to success. Habits, ia
miliarity with authorities, consulta-
ton with books-all these things
avail something. Thus is dealt with
the character of students.
would like to see a school that
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