Evening star., 1926-10-19
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

ton comes the indirect self,preserva'
ton which consists in acquiring the
means Of living, none will question.
That a. mans industrial functions
must be considered before his parental
ones, is manifest from the fact that:
speaking generally, the discharge OF
the parental functions " made pos.
sible only by the previous discharge OK
the industrial ones"
In making these divisions. Spencer
did In no way speak against those
higher instincts, such as that of
heroism, which makes q man gladly
give up his life that another may live.
He was speaking for ordinary, every
day living, such as most OF US live
today, such as most persons lived half
a century ago in America and Eng
land He tried to put things in their
places, Just as they ought to be. II
a man wants to get the most out OF
life. The fact is that every human
being acts in Just this way, until the
excitement Of pleasure in later life
tends to make him lose his mental
balance. Reading Spencer helps us to
remember.
"Such, then, is something like the
rational order Of subordination: That
education which prepares for direct
self-preservation; that which prepares
for indirect self-preservation: that
which prepares for parenthood; that
which prepares for citizenship; that
which prepares for the miscellaneous
refinements of life: After
making sail qualifications, there still
remain these broadly marked divi-
sions; and it still continues substan'
TALLY true that these divisions subor'
dinate one another in the foregoing
order, because the corresponding divi'
sions Of life make one another possible
in that order"
The ideal of education, according to
our author, is complete preparation
In all these divisions. But failing this
ideal, as in our phase of civilization
every one must do more or less, the
aim should be to maintain a due pro-
portion between the degrees of prepa'
ration in EACH"
Spencer did not have much use for
history, for instance, that consists
only Of "a mere tissue of names and
dates" Such History" he said, has
not the remotest bearing upon any OF
our actions, land is Of use only for
the avoidance of those unpleasant
criticisms which current opinion
passes upon its. absence"
The educational world is steadily
getting around to this view OF history.
as such. Biography, too, as witness
many recent books, is becoming life
like, as interesting as life itself. 1t Is
simply the difference between the
mental slant" of the authors of today
and those who bored the world with
the old-time biographies. beginning,
I'm the year 1912 the subject of this
sketch was born in Posey County,
Ind, Of proud but humble par
ents@"
Says Spencer, somewhat heatedly
"That which our school courses
leave almost entirely out, we thus
| find to be that which most nearly
concerns the business Of life. All our
industries would cease were it not
| for that information which men begin
to acquire as they best may after
their education is said to be finished
There Is a world of truth in that
yet, despite the fact that our schools
Of today have gone far in the good
direction urged by Herbert Spencer
| Indeed, where would most Of us be
| if it were not for this precious tnfor
nation we have acquired since our
| Education" was said to have been
completed!