182 SCIENCE AND ^UlT AND EDUCATION vn 



ancient or modern nations — but especially those of 

 antiquity, and especially that of ancient Greece; 

 if this literature is studied, not merely from the 

 point of view of philological science, and its prac- 

 tical application to the interpretation of texts, 

 but as an exemplification of and commentary 

 upon the principles of art; if you look upon the 

 literature of a ])eople as a chapter in the develop- 

 ment of the human mind, if vou work out this in 

 a broad spirit, and with such collateral references 

 to morals and politics, and physical geography, 

 and the like as are needful to make you compre- 

 hend what the meaning of ancient literature and 

 civilisation is, — then, assuredly, it affords a splen- 

 did and noble education. But I still think it is 

 susceptible of improvement, and that no man will 

 ever comprehend the real secret of the difference 

 between the ancient world and our present time, 

 unless he has learned to see. the difference which 

 the late development of physical science has made 

 between the thought of this day and the thought 

 of that, and he will never see that difference, 

 unless he has some practical insight into some 

 branches of physical science; and you must re- 

 member that a literary education such as that 

 which I have just referred to, is out of the reach 

 of those whose school life is cut short at sixteen or 

 seventeen. 



But, you will say, all this is fault-finding; let 

 us hear wliat you liave in the way ol' ])ositive 



