The sun., 1919-03-02

, were examined In ancient history, while
| little more than quarter OF that num-
| Der made pretensions to a knowledge
Of the nineteenth century in Europe.
| Reckoning according to the schedule
one finds that about six times as many
| classroom hours were expended in the
study of the days of the orbis terrarum
| as on what are really modern times.
! submit that by this showing the
| schools do not serve their generation in
its most present need.
| I am indeed aware of the solid gains
that come from an acquaintance with
the antique world. which grew out OF
the primal soil, wonderfully Powered
, and finally went TO seed. Here in a
measure seems a whole life which can
be studied in completeness I am aware
| too OF the glories of that life and how
| favorably on some points the fourth
| century b. c. compares with our own.
| There were wise men before Lord Ba-
con. A great teacher Of Oxford, Mark
Pattison. once observed: "A man who
| does not know what has been thought
| by the men who have gone before him
Is sure to set an undue value upon his
| own IDEAS" Ancient history. especially
| IL concerned with peoples and the COM
mon life rather than a commentary on
| the classics, must not be ignored: but
| In preparing citizens for the world 8
| work II must not engross from four TO
ten times AS many students as the his
tory of nations that we know to-day.
Fifty. forty, thirty years ago the case
| was different, We then worked out our
problems on the doctrine OF two hemi-
spheres. without reference TO the trans
| atlantic world. But to-day We are at
Paris. We confer with France and Eng
land the destinies of Czecho- Slovaks We
strike hands with Let's, Greeks and
| Ladinos. Soon 1t will be hard to call
| TO mind again the ante-bellum days OF
| isolation. In the face OF this It is in
| congruous that more young men and
women should know about Camhyses,
Aristagoras and Drusus tna1 l. oout
| Robespierre, Cavour and Marx. Those
schools which have placed modern his
| tory in tho first year Of their curricu-
lum, in breaking with the habits and ira
| ditions of the past have merited the ap-
| plause of those who cherish the belief
that schools exist chiefly for the bene-
| fit OF the students.
| There are those who tell us that man.
kind is one; that IT'S branches are 80
! interviewer that 1t must be studied as
a living whole: that the colonizing of
| New England and Virginia must be
| considered In the same week with that
! OF South America and Siberia that our
| revolution was but phase OF a great
movement that swept through Christen-
dom in the last years of the eighteenth
century; that steam and steel. which a
little later came like twin gods to re-
order all society. brought their vast and
ramifying readjustments into every coun-
try without regard to boundaries; that
the North in 1851 responded to the same
insistent call to nationalism that welded
discovered Germanies into an empire
and Italy into kingdom-and that
therefore we might fit the story OF Amer
lea into q broad and general course
which would rehearse the history OF
civilization. But this like many a SYM
metrical theory. is balanced by leaving
out most of the facts Though we did
exert some influence for the liberty OF
Frenchmen in 1889, and were the In.
spiration of Republicans in 1SAS. We
had but little interchange with Europe
and lived our own life In another world
| American history TO be understood mus,
be studied by itself, Even those re.
formers who would consider our history
before the Revolution as only part o.
that OF England and her empire have
read too many laws and orders tina
never were enforced. The communitie.
talong our seaboard are worth more stud,
as the beginnings Of an independent ma,