6 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Fortunately, our purpose has been already served by a few contrasting 

 paragraphs admirably conceived and expressed : 



I. " From the standpoint of humanism education has its own pur- 

 pose in itsdf, viz., universal culture of man. According to philan- 

 thropism, education has not its purpose in itself, but only a relative 

 purpose, viz., the training of man for a future avocation. 



II. " From the point of view of humanism it is not, in education, 

 so much matter of chief importance to collect knowledge as to disci- 

 pline the spirit by it. From the point of view of philanthropism, the 

 aim is to fill the mind with the largest possible amount of useful in- 

 formation. 



III. " Humanism exercises the mind of the student not so much to 

 make him apt for some appointed business — culture of the spirit is 

 here an end in itself. With philanthropism culture is something aim- 

 less in so far as the spirit is not made more apt by it for some special 

 business. 



IV. "As respects the objects of education, humanism does not re- 

 quire many objects by which the youth is distracted and prevented 

 from thorough acquisition. The pupil should be advanced by a few 

 objects to the highest degree of knowledge. 



"Philanthropism, on the other hand, in view of the daily increasing 

 territory of what may be known, does not dare confine itself to hold- 

 ing the youth throughout his entire period of education to a few 

 objects — much rather attention should be paid to rendering easy the 

 circle of objects, that the child may be offered the greatest possible 

 amount of knowledge. 



V. " Humanism brings before the youth single departments of 

 knowledge in the entire manifoldness of their separate objects, then 

 teaches to arrange these objects with exact system, thereby to accustom 

 the student to logical thinking, so that, when later he ventures upon 

 outlying territories of knowledge, he will not fall into error. Philan- 

 thropism would broaden instruction, to cover as far as possible the 

 entire field of knowledge, because he who has not a view of the whole 

 must possess only half-way and distorted impressions concerning the 

 separate departments of knowledge and their particular objects. 



VI. "According to humanism, not things but ideas are best adapt- 

 ed to the exercise of the spirit, that the youth may not, during his 

 future, active life lose himself in the region of bread - and - butter 

 knowledge. Philanthropism demands for this very mental exercise 

 not ideas (which strictly considered are only words), but things, and 

 this in order that the mind, perpetually occupied with letters and 

 words empty of content, may not lose itself in the region of mere 

 word-knowledge, and become good for nothing in practical life." 



These ideas of man and of his place in the world are fundamentally 

 distinct. They can never be done away or disregarded, for they root 

 themselves in the twofold nature of man. It is possible to be a hu- 



