Waterbury Democrat., 1900-11-13
OUR OWN LITERATURE.

The present lack of uniformity and homogeneity in our education is due almost wholly to the lack of some con meeting link to bind together the scien titic and the humanistic elements of culture. We have such q link in the scientific and historical study of Eng fish, a discipline at once capable of scientific and humaniStic use. It is subject whose phenomena we all of us become familiar with in the earlier stages of our education; indeed, it Is the very first scientific material we get hold of. The laws which bring this material into order and arrange ment are clearly connected with funda mental natural processes, ,-DrocesS,s of biology"and age only clearly in telligible in the light of a historical method of study. There is no mental discipline that is so practical or so significant for the conduct of life. with q significance which begins when the child begins to think and continues as long as he continues to be an English thinking being. Above all, 1t prepares the way for full understanding of English literature, a means of human istic development that for us is the only one offering clements of culture characterized at once by catholicity of spirit. catholicity of extent, and catholicity of accessibility.
 There are two reasons why we have thus far failed to understand the fit l ness of English for scientific ana for humanistic discipline. In the first place scientific scholarship in the Ian | guage has come to us from Germany | The Germans have naturally, and rght- | ly. too. developed the subject in the light of university aims and university | ideals. Their enthusiasm foh it has l. hnpn and still iS q J1Jrp1u caiontifc | In taking over their scholarship we | have also taken over their method and | have failed to recognize the fact that | we are not Germans. A subject, there | fore, which is of the first importance | for us as discipline of culture and | should for us properly be an elemen- tary discipline, has been handed over | to the special student for university and research work.
 | The second reason is our failure to recognize the means for humanistic | discipline in our literature a failure
 due largely to our notion that human | istic discipline must be founded on aesthetic principles We are, taught
 that the most perfect expression of
 aesthetic ideals is to be found iu
 Greek; we find that our literature does
 not conform easily to Greek notions
 of criticism and we come, therefore | to nOlu IL to De 1n1eflOr to Greek lit
 erature. The scientific study of the
 subject has not been widespread
 enough to set US straight on this mat
 ter of critical estimate; indeed, many
 of us do not want to be set straight preferring opinion to Knowledge. We
 fail. therefore, to get an adequate idea | of the historical development of a liv
 ing literature that, were we only able
 to read it alright, we might justly clain
 with patriotic pride to be the fullest and richest of all literatures.
 The practical solution of this prob lem of how to get an adequate vehicle
 for culture depends, therefore to 2
 large extent. indeed one might almost
 say wholly depends, upon the remova
 of this formal prejudice against Eng
 fish study and upon the spread of ac
 curate and scientific Knowledge of the | English language and literature i through the elementary stages of edu
 eation-a solution that has 8 vast sig
 nificance for the happiness and intel
 lectual well-being of the future
 Worlds Work.