The times., 1897-09-19

the stature Of an historical figure while
we are not Vet farren0yed from him. This
is Nbv II is better for contemporaries TO
hrsy themselves with The collection pf
facfs while tney are Net avaiiaiie. aud
may he eaticated, and leave H. Others
farther removed the burden of ciassifica
tson, welghl and deduction Proximity
is noi always valuable ia critical estimates
II aitis bHU dDes nnt dedace finals IIisioli-
cal chsracterS, especially, assulHe tae.r own
proportions, ana their proi oriiDu 10 eu-
vironina events and persons better IN Per
spective.
These considerations always clustersbont
& determination Of tie value OF q biography
Of contemporary celebrity or or a figure
So recently removed from the scene Of pres
eIit action that he has been a contemporary
OF The ma i0rity or those surviving. ! criu
cal life OF such au one Is apt 10 ndsS fire
or even II ft le iCst and accurate it Is apt
to lack or appreciation or OF a Judge au-
thoritative enough 10 pronounce upon At III
faliibly- Snca biographies eilauld be boldly
biographical. Final deductions are danger
Gus experiments. Personal pre- inice for
or against political passion. or ignorance
OF all not yet Centralized aud focused facts.
are apt tc hinder reliable critical result.
Col. William Conant Church either ap-
preciated shis IN making ms life or Ulysses
: Grant for tiie Heroes of the Nation Series.
or else lie stumbled upon il blindIy and in
stiuctiyely, for tie observation Of this
principle marks theehief value OF his work.
He has gathered material fromau sources.
most Of it necessarily old. as al historical
facts are, hut ne has sifted il carefully,
arranged IL consecuuvely. and framed il
inteiligentIy into a simple and direct nara
tiyeof htstoricalvalu and eaga ging charm.
Genera. and President Grant is too near
TO us yet o permit final Judgment on his
character When that judgment is made
i'll bound 4. sustain much that is tif1ught,
said and written ct present, but sae dis
oovery " iater facts may bring newer
hglts aud some may be rejected
Time WA have TO fade and erase many
memories v hich yet prevent whole peo.
pie from seeing how brave, how wise ana
how great was the man who was most
active henthey We're most divided-JuStice
ard Fame are bound TO dotheir Work His
tory $ made day by day, bat its rewards
are long drIerred- There $ g SAD truth in
the uhalterable fact that the truest, Sc
curest and only final fame comes 10 a u2n
wnen he ana even Ills children have passed
beyond the possibility Of kno wle,iSe OF
il. Another century. Row close upon us,
Cul say now near Washington and Grant
sl.au stand, and in what proportionate
relation Grant, Lincoln, S Sherman, suns
Her, Clay, and other great ones OF TINS
century. shall stand 10 each other. Hero
Worship OF contemporaries is laulabIe il
sentiment and valuable Ia effect
Assuming 10 establish historical proper
ti9ns ia literary and critical essays cannot
he ytheT than interesting Experiments.
which later experience and Judgment may
confirm OF modify What Col Church
has left out OF has Biography or Grant
does him great credit Its present freight
OF profuse and carefully selected facts
establishes the permanent value OF the
work, which would have been weakened
had it been diluted with experimental
criticism cSew York: G. P. Putnam
SOns. Washington. Breutano.
ThGmas ana Matthew Arnold, father and
son are the subject Of the latest volume
Of tie Great Educators Series. Both these
remarkable men left an impress on their
contemporaries and their times which VIII
survive then. for a long time 10 come.
Each was equally powerful in his iupres
sion, yer each brought it To bear In off
feEcut manner.
Thomas Arcold was an educator in the
direct anc pedagogic sense. his work
was that Of the schooluaster: he was IN in
innate scholastic relation with boys; be
had personal direction OF students. Though
he wrote very largely for the press on the
subject OF the Reform Bill; took an active
interest IA the foundation Of the University
College OF London, and accepted, with at.
icuOhn L. the abundant work entaiied, a
sea- IN the senate OF the London University.
be VIII always be RENE -nbered as the head
master Of Rugby
Sir Joshua Fitch, who has written this
critical estimate Of the two great English
men for the Educator Series, has made a
keen and deeply perceptive study OF the
character, methods and influence OF ihe
men. he informs US that ThoInds Ar
nold's fame rests more largely upon his
work as administrator than on his specia !
gifts ss a teacher. This is probably more
easily understood by those who have ex-
periencac the results than by those who
know Arnold through Sir Joshua, for he
tells US many things Of the headmas1er' s
administrative discipline which do not at
al mark him as prophetic or advanced.
lie used TO say that "Uhe management Of
boys has all the interest of a great game
c: chess, with living creatures for pawns
and pieces, and your adversary, in plain
English, the devil, who truly plays tough
game aud is hard TO beat" His chess
methods were to US the rod Flogging was
al IF p
lie declared that corporal punishment flat
" market aud answered to the naturally
inferior stale ef boyho0d, and, Therefore.
conveyed no particular degradation to
persons ia such state.
lie said j know Wen of what feeling
tins argument about the degrading char.
acteg of such punishment is the EXPIRE ssiou.
II originates ia that proud notion of per
sonal Independence, which is neither rea.
sOn3tle nor Christian but essentially bar
barian."
These were the tenets. as discipIinarian n,
at the teacher who said that it was not
knowledge, but the appetite for knowledge,
and the Means Of gaining it, which it as
the chief business oC d schoolmaster to
iTnpart- Here, at once, is the cardinal
principle Of pedagogy. IN its enunciation,
and more especially in its practical clab-
oration. did Arnold step at once to the
head and front OF teachers. Ii was the
basic principle OF all his methods and
scholastic schemes, and its justification /,
not merely "A its theory, hut in the results
attendant upon his work.
His method was largely Socratic. he
relied on questioning, rather than Oh nier.
did actics. He strUye 10 awaken the intel
Iect nf apch irdividnal hoy.