700 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



for the use of teachers and to do it at 

 once; and it was widely advertised by 

 the American publishers that an au- 

 thoritative abridgment of the "Out- 

 lines of Psychology " by the author 

 timself would soon appear. It need 

 hardly be said tliat the author, who 

 knew the subject thoroughly, and had 

 created the work, was the most com- 

 petent man to prepare from it a briefer 

 volume, which would require much 

 adaptation and new statement ; because 

 justice to teachers and to a most impor- 

 tant subject could not be done by merely 

 ripping out mechanically a part of the 

 larger book and printing it separately. 

 But Principal Keinhart, of the Paterson 

 High-School, paid no attention to any 

 such consideration. He cut out what 

 he wanted from the volume, added some 

 notes, and applied to Messrs. Appleton 

 to print it, which of course they de- 

 clined to do ; and he then found another 

 publisher to carry out his very ques- 

 tionable project. 



Now, our only concern here is with 

 the moral complexion of this affair, in 

 connection with what goes for " higher 

 education " in the public-school system 

 of this country. A great deal is said 

 about the low state of moral education 

 in our public schools; but the grave 

 question arises as to the competency of 

 the directors of even our ''high-schools " 

 to teach it. Moral education is a matter 

 of principles applied to practice ; it in- 

 quires into the grounds of right and 

 wrong in conduct, with a view of de- 

 termining what things are proper to do 

 and what are forbidden as immoral or 

 unjust. It aims simply to ascertain and 

 enforce upon the individual right rules 

 for the guidance of personal action in 

 daily and practical life. The obligations 

 of morality are clear enough; what is 

 wanted in the schools is the explanation 

 of their fundamental importance, their 

 sacredness, the sophistry by which they 

 are evaded, and their pointed applica- 

 tion to the conscience of the young. 

 Is the Principal of the Paterson 



High-School, a fit person to give such 

 instruction? Could he explain to his 

 classes the moral difference between 

 stealing Mr. Sully's book and stealing 

 his watch ? Could he explain to his Jer- 

 sey students why they should not steal 

 the paper and binding of Bardeen's 

 volume as he has its contents? If he 

 should say to them that paper, ink, 

 and binding are sacred things and not 

 to be appropriated without [layment, 

 while the soul of the work, the part 

 sought and prized as a power in our 

 education, has no value which he is 

 bound to recognize, would they not be 

 justified in replying to the argument 

 by throwing the book at his head ? The 

 Principal of a high-school who, at this 

 time, will api)ropriate literary proper- 

 ty which he has no moral right to 

 touch, who will rob an author simply 

 because he is helpless and must intrust 

 his book to the public honor, and who 

 will mutilate a work which he knows 

 the author is himself revising and mak- 

 ing over for the specific objects recog- 

 nized — such a Principal may comply 

 with the State standard of competency 

 to control a high-school, but, in our 

 opinion, he is not fit to give instruc- 

 tions in moral education. 



ThePatersonPrincipal will, of course, 

 have his excuses. He may say: "The 

 appropriation of foreign books is a com- 

 mon tiling; it is done, and has been 

 long done, by respectable people ; I am 

 no worse than they are." But this will 

 not do. "When a professional literary 

 freebooter says : " I care nothing for the 

 rights of foreign authors ; I propose to 

 take their works as long as I can profit 

 by them and keep out of jail ; ' what are 

 you going to do about it?'" — his case 

 is not a proper precedent for the prin- 

 cipal of a high-school charged with the 

 duty of forming the moral characters of 

 pupils committed to his charge. He is 

 to teach them that what is intrinsically 

 wrong is not made anything else be- 

 cause others indulge in it. Of course, 

 he can quote many bad examples which 



