214 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



to aj^preciate these connections, to feel their force, is a valuable acqui- 

 sition, and one in which our youth are sadly deficient. It is a power, 

 for want of which no amount of use of the dictionary will compen- 

 sate ; it is most requisite where the dictionary is not thought of, and 

 should not be, in cases where common words are used with modified 

 or figurative meanings. The intellect is not so robust under our mod- 

 ern methods, as when every boy ciphered for himself, and overcame 

 his difficulties as best he could. The power to grasp another's thought 

 seems to have deteriorated with the other faculties. Now every thing 

 has to be explained. The ability to see through good English with- 

 out the aid of commentary, tone and inflection, seems to be a lost art 

 in our schools. Recently a large class in one of the best high-schools 

 in the country showed itself to be entirely unable to comprehend such 

 sentences as these : " Words are the counters of wise men ; the coin of 

 fools." " Worth makes the man ; the want of it the fellow." In sucli 

 cases nothing will avail but the perfect appreciation of the words from 

 their connections. I would not encourage the habit of "jumping at 

 the idea," but I would encourage the habit of digging it out by main 

 strength. There is such a thing as wrestling with a thought until it 

 seems to unfold itself to our comprehension : and he is not worth much 

 as a reader who does not know by experience what it is to grapple 

 with a passage, and to hold on to it until light breaks from within it. 

 Our education tends to shield us entirely from such contests. We are 

 taught to hasten to the quarto oracle. When it fails to respond, we 

 give up in despair. We do not learn the use of native strength ; too 

 much assistance has shorn us of our locks. 



Although there is this important duty to be performed quite inde- 

 pendent of the dictionary, it by no means lessens the value of that 

 book. Because it is the custom to dilute thoughts until their vigor is 

 gone, and to explain text-books until no thought is required to com- 

 prehend them, it does not follow that explanation is never of use. 

 The old adage is simply to be recalled : " A place for every thing, and 

 every thing in its place." There is a place for explanations and for 

 definitions ; but there is a larger place for active thought, for strong, 

 unaided wrestling with the printed page, for a keen appreciation of 

 the connections of words. 



There is no guarantee of thorough scholarship and character so 

 sure as the proper use and appreciation of the dictionary. It is an 

 infallible omen as to the future of any boy or girl. The right habit 

 is acquired only painfully and slowly. It represents a most high 

 and valuable degree of self-discipline, as well as of intellectual activ- 

 ity. Much more can be, and should be, done for it in our upper schools 

 than is accomplished. Any course of training is defective from which 

 pupils pass without that appreciation for the dictionary and that in- 

 terest in it which they feel for a worthy teacher, full of knowledge, 

 always accessible, and ever in the best humor. 



