THE SCIENCE OF EDUCATION 505 



are opposed to the reform. Unbelief in education for the average man 

 is so general among the higher classes that I am afraid we shall have no 

 reform unless some great national disaster causes conversion. There 

 is a lesson for England, and, indeed, for all European races, in the 

 recent history of Japan. The old structure of Japan was in many ways 

 beautiful, but it proved to be without physical strength. Its extreme 

 weakness proved its salvation. Even the teachers of ancient classics 

 saw that for strength it was necessary to let scientific method permeate 

 the thought of the whole population. And now, at the end of the first 

 chapter of Japan's modern history, we find a nation which can not only 

 defend itself, but which retains all of its spiritual life which was beauti- 

 ful. Every unit of the population can not only read and write, but it 

 is fond of reading, and its education did not cease when it left school. 

 It is getting an increased love for natural science, so that it can reason 

 clearly ; it is not carried away by charlatans ; it retains its individuality. 

 One result of this is that in time of war Japan has scientific armies. 

 Not only are its admirals and generals scientific, but also every officer, 

 every private is scientific. Everything in the whole country is being 

 developed scientifically, and we Europeans, hag-ridden by pedantry in 

 our schools and universities, refuse to learn an easy lesson. At present 

 we do not even ask what is meant by education or what education is 

 necessary if a particular boy is to be fitted for his life's work. In 1902, 

 when I was President of Section G-, and in opening a discussion on the 

 teaching of mechanics at Johannesburg in 1905, I gave my views as to 

 the teaching of a young engineer, but they apply also to the teaching 

 of nearly all boys. These views have been commended by experienced 

 engineers and teachers. To understand me it is first necessary to try 

 to cast away prejudices, and this is especially difficult if one has a 

 pecuniary interest in education. The student of almost any other sci- 

 ence than education cares for nothing but the truth ; even when he has 

 committed himself to a theory and his good name or credit is at stake 

 the rule of the game is perfectly well known and must be adhered to. 

 The student must not neglect fact or pervert fact ; he must be quite fair. 

 The student of physical science sees at once whether or not he is playing 

 the game, because the coordinates are few; there are no complexities, 

 such as we find in our own life problems. This also is why the study 

 of physical science is so good in causing boys to reason, for reasoning 

 can only be taught by constant practise on simple matters which one 

 thoroughly comprehends. Consider a boy's views about ordinary affairs. 

 He is downright. A complex thing must be greatly simplified to him. 

 His painting is in black-and-white; there is no delicate shading in his 

 picture. He never sits on the fence; he is never a trimmer. An his- 

 torical character is awfully good or awfully bad, very clever or very 

 stupid. A boy is, in fact, cocksure about everything. He is incapable 

 of reasoning about complex things. And when we try to teach him to 



