The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-09-15
WHAT "LIBERAL EDUCATION Is
London Independent.

London Independent.
For a moderate liberal education
man must be able fairly to appre-
hend the current history of the
world. He should first read a good
daily paper. He can skip all
that does not make history-the ac-
cldents, the crimes, the society
events, the games and races, the ac-
tresses and divorces; but he cannot
omit the major events-the process
and progress of legislation. the
movements of democracy, the con-
nlcts of privilege, the discoveries in
science the inventions in the arts,
the diplomacy Of nations and the
general advance of civilization. These
things are of Importance to human
lty, and to have them foreign from
ones education leaves it utterly IL
liberal. Therefore, the first things
necessary is not a book for the shelf.
but a broad intelligent journal for
the table.
Then it is impossible to gain a
fairly liberal education without the
basis for an understanding of these
current facts of history and this re-
quires the reading of some books.
What are the important books? a
Largely textbooks. For example.
one should have read and fairly mas
tered reasonably full treatises con-
tanning thte latest conclusions in the
chief sciences. such as chemistry,
physics, geology, biology and astron-
omy, so that he may be able to gauge
the value Of what he reads in the
journals and magazines. He will
keep in touch with new discoveries
and inventions. He will be a man Of
his age. for liberal education is the
education Of this and not of some
past age. Equally he will read as
good textbooks as he can find in So
GEOLOGY, political economy and gov
ernments. This will require reading
OF the history Of the principal ma
tions. or, at least. of a general his
tory of the world. He must have
read enough on the history of religi-
ons to distinguish their differences
and their work
NOW comes the question of the
value of pure literature in a liberal
education. There is no doubt of its
Importance to put the polish on an
education which lis truly liberal But
pure literature is not of the Frame
work. the bone and muscle of a lib-
eral education, but of that beauty
which is skin deep. 1t is delightful
to read Chaucer or Dante, but many
man of a liberal education has
read neither. The long list of fa-
nous names of ancient and modern
times attract us and give us addf-
tional culture" if we have time for
them. but the bulk of them are not
essential.
You cannot call that a liberal edu-
SAA"S 10 hoS ldulllldF with the
Bible, because our English thought is
SO much based upon it; and we sup
pose We ought to add the Iliad. the
odyssey and the Aeneid for a sim
liar but less weighty reason; but il
Is not necessary in these days to add,
the works of any other classical au-
thor, unless it be Plato's Apology
and "Crito"-not even thte Odes of
Horace.
And when it comes to the older
English poetry and prose, Shake
Spear-well, one needs to have read
his plays twice of three times to be
fairly intelligent. For other poetry
one can get all he rally needs for a
fairly liberal education within the
covers of two or three volumes.
which give us golden treasures of
accepted verse.
And as for prose, the Spectator
and the whole series OF essays and
orations, even Lamb and MacauIay
and Burke-we are too busy with
the essentials of the liberal educa-
ton of today to trouble ourselves,
overmuch with them.