The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-01-12
A New Organization.

The Anderson Literary Club is an or
ganizationsrecently perfected in this city
TO meet a demand for better facilities in
the prosecution of literary work. It's OBJ
iect. too, is to stimulate latent faculties
and encourage research.
The first regular meeting at which
literary program was rendered was had
at the residence of Gen. NJ. l.. Bonham
last Monday evening. One feature OF the
exercises that proved both pleasant and
profitable was .aper entitled "The Neg
lect of the Study of History" by Prof. B.
M. Sullivan, which is given in full be-
low. We hope from time to time to be
able 10 give our readers the benefit of
other similar contributions:
THE NEGLECT OF THE STUDY OF HIS
TORY.
TO see whether history is neglected
more now than in the past let us take
glance at the history ofeducation.
Plato in his Republic sets forth an
elaborate scheme of education, but makes
no mention of the study of history.
Nenophon says in his Cyropaedia that
the Persians study history to become
lust: but the rest of his system of edIca-
ton is so full OF faults and fancies that his
countrymen, nervous and fond OF fan
scies as they were, never put it to prac-
tice. Indeed, the Greeks, who did so
much to make history, studied 1t very
little. 1t is true they memorized the
Iliad and the deeds of their own braves
in verse, but they seem to have had
T/>-
Macsulay remarks, san admiration for
themselves only" The Hebrews were
as exclusive as the Greeks and knew no
history except their own. The Romans
were q little better, for they studied
Greek history as well as their own, but 1t
had very limited place in the schools.
In the middle ages this branch was en-
stirely neglected, and as late as the l1th
century the Jesuits who had almost un-
limited control of the education OF the
day. declare that "history is the destruc-
ton cf him who studies it," 1t is truethat
few of the lights of those ages, as Pope
Plus II and Montague, recon mended
the study of the past, but the majority OF
educated men were not so liberal as
Erasmus, even, who declared 1t to. be sui
ficient to skim over history. Even after
the Latin and Greek classics were revived
and the light of the Reformation was
dawuing, the instructors of youth were
warned, in teaching the classics, to give
only enough history to explain the mean
ing of the text. Fenelon and Locke
recommended history, partly because IL
Is instructive, but mainly because it Is
qleasing and agreeable. Comenius was
the first to recommend that 1t be taken
up in the primary school.
boy y,uoc of th T2 ofOrr7 alton
were wrought through education. Lu-
ther, taking the lead here as elsewhere,
ssrikes new note in historical study
when he recommends that "the student
gather UP within himself, as in mirror,
the ex xperience of whatever has happened
since the beginning Of the world; and
from this experience he would derive the
wisdom he needs for self direction and
for giving wise counsel to others"
task this, worthy an intellectual giant!
And yet, when he set about the forrna-
sion OF schools, he gave 1t as his opinion
that .swe must send the boys TO school
one or Two hours a day, and have them
learn a trade at home for the rest OF the
time.' He places history third in i'm
portance in course of studies, religion
being first and the dead languages sec
ond.
From the days of Luther to the present
the study of history has held an impor-
,ant place in The schools-at least, theo-
retically so. For instance, the act estab-
fishing the S. G. Military Academy re-
quires that there shall be taught S. c.
history, modern history, the constitu-
tional law of the United States, and the
law ofnations. 1t is required in our col
leges that, on an average, something like
ten per cent. OF the four years course
shall be devoted ITO history. Generally
students may take three or four times
that amount if they choose. Generally
they do not choose. This branch has
held higher place in the schools during
the present century than ever before, so
that compared with past centuries we
cannot complain that it is neglected.
While this is true we believe that more
attention will be paid to it during the
next century than has been during this.
Thus far I have spoken of history in
the schools, for unless the beginning is
made there it will rarely be made at all.
This beginning, made at school, consists
of-does not profess to be more than a
desire to be instructed along certain
line: but if this be, as it should be, a
longing, burning desire that can be sat-
isfied only by knowledge. which knowl-
edge creates new desire, then this appii-
cation begun in school will last as long
as life.
During the tirsthalf OF the presen. CEN
tcrv historical studies held higher
place in our colleges and universities
Chan ever before in the worlds history;
but during the latter half a reaction has
set in, not so much against history as in
favor of other branches, so that history is
crowded ont. 1t does not now hold the
place it deserves, and even where the
school has made a fair beginning and
succeeded in implanting desire Tor
more knowlege of the past and the conse-
quent benefits, the results hoped for SO
often do not follow. The following [ |
conceive to be some of the reasons for |
this neglect:
/. Bad methods of teaching history, |
which have been and are still in vogue in
many places, eff1ctually check any in
terest which the pupil naturally takes IN |
the subject. Students out OF school and /
teachers seem to act on the assumption |
that all growth is conscious growth. Un-
less the pupil can recite a pat lesson on
The text the teacher is apt to cry failure.
Correct he is-there is failure, but most
likely not on the pupils part. We are
mistaken when we think that the student
DID or young must live
knowing that he grows wiser every
day,
Or else not live at all; and seeing, too,
Each little drop Of wisdom as it falls
into the dimpling cistern Of his heart"
>. The kind of text books that have
been and in many places still are the
source from which the young must get
heir first tastes OF history very naturally
make him say at once, 81 don't like it,
md this prejudice be rarely gets over un-