THE HIGHER EDUCATION. 403 



we must build ; if we ignore or lose sight of them, our structure will be 

 unsound. Simple facts must be stated in a simple way. 



The first thing to be determined is, the true object of the higher 

 education. Is it, as some would seem to suppose, purely ornamental, 

 a thing valuable only as far as it gives a man extra polish and elegance 

 of mind, a mere luxury, with no practical bearings upon the every-day 

 duties of common, busy life ? Such an idea is preposterous. Of course, 

 ornamental culture is something to be desii-ed ; its acquirement confers 

 honor upon the acquirer ; facilities should be furnished for its attain- 

 ment. But true education, including all this, goes far deeper. Its 

 purpose is to develop the mind ; to strengthen the thinking faculties 

 in every possible direction ; to render the acquisition of new knowledge 

 easier and surer ; to increase the student's resources ; and to render 

 him better fitted for dealing with the useful affairs of the world. Such 

 an education is never completed ; it grows throughout a lifetime ; it is 

 self-propagating ; its most valuable features are acquired outside of 

 schools and colleges. All that a college can do is to help lay its 

 foundations, by training the mental power for subsequent use. Which 

 course of studies best carries out this purpose ? 



The argument has been summed up by certain advocates of the 

 new school in the following very condensed way: "Science deals with 

 things, language with words. Words merely represent things. Surely 

 the knowledge of the thing itself is worth more than the knowledge 

 of its symbol." But this reasoning, however sound it may be at the 

 core, is rather too curt and dogmatic to carry conviction. No reason- 

 able being can deny the great value of a study of language. Different 

 races of men must exchange their ideas. A man cannot be called 

 liberally educated who has no knowledge of any tongue other than his 

 own. But shall linguistic studies be allowed to occupy the first rank 

 in our college courses ? Are they to almost monopolize the attention 

 of the student, or shall they be made subordinate to other things? 

 Ought they to be taught independently for themselves alone, or should 

 they be brought to bear upon other studies, so that all branches of 

 learning may be made to fortify one another? The latter view, at 

 least as far as our colleges are concerned, is unquestionably the correct 

 one. The study of philology, or of language by itself, is undoubted- 

 ly of great value ; but it is rather a study for the specialist than for 

 the average student. It is, certainly, a true science ; only, lacking 

 precision in its methods, and being deficient in practical applicability 

 to the general affairs of life, it must be left out of account for the pres- 

 ent. In a general course of study a language should be taught because 

 of its value in opening up other departments of knowledge. It should 

 reveal to us the thoughts of other peoples, and enable us to avail our- 

 selves of their experience. For most men these purposes are best ful- 

 filled by a study of the modern tongues. Latin and Greek are valu- 

 able, no doobt, only they are less indispensable than French and Ger- 



