114 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



known of these subjects, and when re- 

 garded as a body of thought to be em- 

 ployed for purposes of culture, must be 

 held as representing not the universe 

 of reality, but only a distorted and spu- 

 rious semblance of it. 



The question of scientific education, 

 then, undoubtedly the greatest question 

 of our time, is simply this : " Shall we 

 study the genuine or the spurious uni- 

 verse? Shall the minds of students 

 be developed and moulded by direct 

 exercise upon the phenomena and prob- 

 lems of Nature and present human ex- 

 perience, or shall they be cut oif from the 

 living world and trained in the acquisi- 

 tion of old knowledges, just as if science 

 had never arisen ? " This question may 

 seem to many a futile one, as they will 

 say that in this age the influence of sci- 

 ence cannot be escaped. Nevertheless 

 it is an urgent and a practical ques- 

 tion. For, although the influence of sci- 

 ence cannot be escaped by society, it can 

 be and it is extensively evaded and es- 

 caped in education. In this our schools 

 and colleges do not represent the age ; 

 they are out of harmony with it ; they 

 are far behind it. The genuine universe 

 is not the supreme object of study ; it 

 is only partially recognized or not rec- 

 ognized at all. The spurious universe 

 is still in the saddle. It has not been 

 displaced ; it has hardly been disturbed. 

 Science.is still begging of our colleges for 

 a few crumbs ; and, when snubb6d, is 

 trying here and there to or^ganize schools 

 of its own, which are generally looked 

 upon as mere technological shops where 

 needy youths are apprenticed to bread- 

 and-butter occupations a grade or two 

 above the workshops of artisans and 

 mechanics. The dignity of being lib- 

 erally educated, the honors of scholar- 

 ship, and the prestige of culture, are 

 resei'ved for those who, passing by all 

 the gi-and results of modern science, 

 give themselves to the study of the spu- 

 rious universe. 



The latest illustration that comes to 

 us of the extent to which this state- 

 ment is true, is furnished by the con- 



dition of the great public or preparatory 

 schools of England. An ofiicial report 

 has been made upon this subject, which 

 represents the state of things after a 

 quarter of a century of vehement agita- 

 tion for some reformatory change that 

 shall bring the popular culture of that 

 country into greater harmony with the 

 present state of knowledge. The case 

 is thus forcibly presented by the Lon- 

 don Spectator^ a journal that will not 

 be suspected of extreme views upon 

 the subject: 



"During the past three hundred 

 years, the spread of scientific knowl- 

 edge has revolutionized European 

 modes of thought, has fundamentally 

 altered the European idea of the uni- 

 verse, of the earth's place in the grand 

 whole, and of man's place on the earth, 

 and has profoundly modified European 

 social life and political institutions ; but, 

 to our great schools, science has been 

 as if it had made no progress. To those 

 who have regulated the studies of those 

 places of learning, it has not appeared 

 at all important that English gentlemen 

 should be able to. follow with intelli- 

 gence the fruitful researches to which 

 the pioneers of modern thought were 

 devoting themselves, should be capable 

 of appreciating the discoveries which 

 were abridging space, approximating 

 classes, and calling into existence in- 

 dustries, activities, and relations, that 

 are gradually transforming the ancient 

 order of things in a word, that they 

 should be in sympathy with the modern 

 spirit. ... Of course, such a state of 

 things has not been allowed to con- 

 tinue without protest and controversy, 

 and some little has been done to make 

 room for science-teaching in our schools. 

 It has, however, been very little. The 

 sixth report of the Royal Oomraission 

 on scientific instruction now lies before 

 us. It is confined exclusively to an ex- 

 amination into the provision made in 

 the various secondary schools through- 

 out the country for the teaching of sci- 

 ence, and this is what appears: Re- 

 turns, moi'e or less complete, were re- 



