2i 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and became most widely celebrated. " In 1809 the school contained 

 fifteen teachers and one hundred and sixty-five students from Ger- 

 many, Fiance, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, and North America." Here, 

 as elsewhere, jealousy did its deadly work. The teachers quarreled for 

 Pestalozzi's fayor. In 1816 twelve teachers left the institution, and 

 there was no help against the disorder. On the 17th of February, 

 1827, Pestalozzi died, these being his last words : " I forgive my ene- 

 mies. May they now find peace ! I go to eternal peace." 



In outlining Pestalozzi's thought, I note the following points as 

 perhaps best expressing his method : Education must be determined 

 by the nature of that which is educated. Man is a law unto himself. 

 What he is dictates the mode in which he shall be trained. Man's 

 powers are not the result of accident — they are his own interior, origi- 

 nal possessions. They came with him. Education, therefore, which 

 does not base itself upon a right understanding of these integral 

 human powers, and of the nature which they express, is not educa- 

 tion — has no right to the name or the claim. Pestalozzi, by stating 

 this truth, and by forcing it, as it were, into the world's consciousness, 

 deserves lasting praise. Here is the first step toward a scientific treat- 

 ment of education ; it is not, in itself, such treatment, does not even 

 prove such treatment possible — it is the point of beginning, the cor- 

 rective, the safeguard. This truth is fundamental in Pestalozzi's 

 thought. It found expression in " The Evening Hours of a Hermit," 

 and is repeated in every subsequent writing. " Universal upbuilding 

 of the inner powers of human nature is the universal aim of culture." 

 Pestalozzi's system, therefore, when self-consistent, rests upon his in- 

 terpretation of human nature. Our reformer believed man to have a 

 threefold being. He was body, mind, and conscience. It is a vital 

 part of Pestalozzi's thought that man's welfare depends upon a good 

 and truth-obeying heart. Here is place for the religious clement, 

 and we find Pestalozzi speaking as follows : " Belief in God is the 

 source of peace, peace is the source of inward order ; inward order 

 the source of undisturbed application of our powers, and this order be- 

 comes, in turn, the source of their growth and development to wisdom. 

 Wisdom is the source of all blessing." We have thus far two essential 

 factors in Pestalozzi's thought : education is determined by the nature 

 of the educated — man is threefold, body, mind, and heart. Proceed- 

 ing a step further we inquire, What precisely is it that this threefold 

 being requires ? Do body, mind, and conscience unite in demanding 

 for their education a single method ? Pestalozzi answers yes, and 

 affirms that the common, universal law, is development. To-day we 

 theoretically recognize this law, and admit its vital import in all edu 

 cational endeavor ; practically we too often ignore it, and proceed 

 after the old and evil fashion of preparing the mind for market as the 

 animal is prepared for sale. There was a time in the slowness of his- 

 tory when this very principle of development was unknown, a time 



