The Irish standard., 1913-07-12

of pleasure in its various shadings;
the world itself, with the charms Of
travel and the contentment of rat
ural curiosity; the domain or art, with
the satisfaction of higher and finer
yearnings of the soul: the pursuit of
social reform in more or less utop-
ian ways, the purely natural origins
of the religious instinct, the history Of
philosophic schools and opinions. and,
of late, an intense pursuit of purely
physical ideals of the cultivation of
literature, domestic and foreign. not to
speak Of the highly praiseworthy de-
velopment Of the patriotic instinct,
seem to round out the ideal activities
of the modern educational world. To-
gether they make up the 'Culturleben'
of today, and exhibit at their best the
purposes and uses of our costly mod
ern education. In themselves and in
dividualy they may be and are usefu
and desirable outlets for human ac-
tivities. But as q complete circle of
human ideals. as representing the An
al aim and uses Of education, they are
necessarily disappointing. On all sides
there arise outcries against the friv-
olity and insignificance Of much Of our
modern education, and Its good and
useful elements are overlooked amid a
oA
No one maintains that our youth Is
more docile, obedient, reverential, than
formerly. more respectful Of law and
order.
Worship Of Present.
In educational methods and equip
ment a habit and a spirit of change
are creating q kind of despair. Mod
ern education. it is not too much to
say. lacks in many places, unity, pur-
pose. logic, balance. continuity; nor
can these defects be without a de-
pressing influence on the armies of
pupils who must go through such
schools A disinterested observer could
not but wonder at certain features of
1t.
The painful toll
JyOfs droppjng buckets into empty wells
And growing old in drawing nothing
up
1.-TWO noble traits OF our Christian
~ &t,l-
versal worship of the present, and
Its feeting advantages. mean the
| sense of vision and the power OF
sacrifice. The sense of the future
once keen and vivid in our society, has
been considerably weakened by the de-
| cay Of religious teaching, concerning
the destiny OF human SOUL accounta.
| bility. divine Judgment and the life to
come. 1t comes to many that this is
one reason why the pursuit of pleas
ure and the means thereto is now SO
keen and goes on regardless of any
restraint Of law or custom. Perhaps
also, it is why there is now so little
joyous constructive Imagination, SO
little poetry and art, those lovely works
of free-ranging vision at once beauti-
full and popular. ! may say here that
it is not without reason that SO much
good work of this kind dates from the
ages and lands of Catholic faith. ON
the other hand, many are asking to-
day whether the power Of sacrifice
that made this nation great, as it did
all young and ardent peoples, is vol
with us. or whether It has not been
weakened in the general decay OF the
religious spirit and temper.
"Will an irreligious education cndow
the state with a generation Of men and
women capable of facing with higr
| courage those reverses that experience
teaches us are always possible, ant
that drain heavily when they do come
the natural reserve of character ana
moral stamina?
"Will an entire people, mado up OF
many races. and slowly coalescing
follow with vigor and continuity the
great and noble ideals of Ams~icar
life, If it's training be solely or mainly
along the low levels of material ito
present gains, and comfort and IL the
common heart become atrophied ir
repect of all that the elevated teach.
ings and history Of the Christian or.
der stand for in religion and morality
Native instinct common sense, daily
experience, and the analogies Of thu
Last suggest a negative answer.
Duty Of Catholics.
"Amid these conditions and symp
| toms, the duty of Catholic educatio,
i. plain, to hold fast all that is goot
in the past, and to Undue with Chris
tian faith hope and love all the goot
clements of the present. We feel in
stinctively that our Catholic schools
are becoming daily more important To-