222 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



grammar taught in a century. It must be observed that a valuable 

 part of the study of Shakespeare is of the same nature as this of which 

 I have been treating. The study of the poet is largely a process of 

 simply unfreighting words ; an exercise in obtaining impressions from 

 language under unfavorable circumstances, but with every thing to 

 stimulate and reward the effort. We cannot find him lowered to the 

 comprehension of young minds, as we can this scattered wit and wis- 

 dom, or he would be a perfect substitute for it. 



It is pertinent to ask how we know, how we become certain, that 

 we correctly conceive the idea of a word or a sentence. The only 

 answer which can be given is, that our judgment seems to rely upon 

 the general symmetry of the whole thought, a harmony of parts, a 

 connection throuoh and throuo-h which satisfies the mind that it is 

 right. The judgment may err here as well as elsewhere. The accu- 

 racy of this mental perception depends wholly upon the general power 

 and activity of the reader. The great thing is, that the reader should 

 obtain a clear, consistent, and reasonable idea, taking into considera- 

 tion all the circumstances and connections. 



But there is a thing which education can invariably secure, and 

 that is a ready consciousness that w^e do or do not obtain a clear, 

 coherent idea from what we read. It would be unreasonable to de- 

 mand that education should give us the power to understand all that 

 we read ; but it is perfectly reasonable to demand that it should give 

 us the power to discriminate quickly between what we understand and 

 what we do not understand ; that it should develop that kind of at- 

 tention which notifies us at once when we fail to get or comprehend 

 clearly an author's thought. The failure here is one of the saddest 

 features connected with the subject of reading, and, indeed, with the 

 whole matter of common-school education. From the lowest grades 

 to the highest our children read, learn, and recite passages, without 

 comprehending them, and, what is far worse, without realizing their 

 want of comprehension. Any close observer and questioner can satisfy 

 himself of this by a short visit to the school of his own district. This 

 is an unpardonable weakness in the methods of instruction. It is a 

 shame, and there can be no defense for it. From every thing that he 

 reads or learns, the child can, and should get, not necessarily a correct 

 idea, but an idea intelligible and coherent according to his powers; or 

 else he should be. perfectly conscious that he gets no such idea. 



It has become chronic with college presidents, professors, and ex- 

 aminers generally, to complain of the inability of our youth to sjjeak 

 and write the language. If these wise men were as wise as they ought 

 to be, they would discover that they have not yet reached the funda- 

 mental evil. They must probe deeper if they would reach the bottom. 

 The foundation of the trouble lies in the want of ability, or rather in 

 the want of the habit of understanding language fully. 



In spite of all our systematic education, there is a fearful lack of 



