PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 945 



treats as unworthy of notice the great discoveries which in recent 

 times have revolutionized the aspect of society, and transformed 

 the whole surface of the planet, is indifferent to the great lessons 

 of political and social science to be drawn from the fruitful pages 

 of modern history, and finally flings its Sieves into the midst of 

 the world's conflicts, as little prepared to deal with the real prob- 

 lems of life as if they had dropped from the mi)on. 



It is hardly necessary to say that the actual state of our educa- 

 tional system satisfies neither of these extreme classes. The for- 

 mer are chagrined that so much has been already lost ; the latter 

 are discontented that so little has yet been won. But there has 

 gradually been growing up a third class, limited as yet perhaps 

 in numbers, who, without falling in the least behind the first of 

 those just described in their esteem for ancient learning, have 

 perceived that the time has come when that learning must aban- 

 don its claims to an absolute monopoly of the educational field, 

 and are now earnestly inquiring whereabouts in the educational 

 course and to what extent it may profital)ly be superseded. It is 

 to this class, small perhaps as yet in numbers, and inconsiderable 

 in weight of influence, to which I avow myself to belong. Hith- 

 erto the attention of this class has been principally occupied with 

 the teaching of colleges — taking it apparently for granted that 

 the course of preparatory study, which is substantially the snme 

 everywhere, is susceptible of no material improvement, and needs 

 no essential modification. But it is precisely at this point, as it 

 seems to me, that modification is most necessary ; and it is here 

 that I desire to suggest that a suitable modification may be at once 

 the means of accomplishing more efliciently the general ends of 

 education (which is of course the matter to be first looked after), 

 and of rendering at the same time instruction in classical learnmg, 

 more productive than it is at present of tangible results. 



More productive, I say, of tangible results. For what are, in 

 fact, the results which we do actually reach in the teaching of the 

 classics at this time ? Are they in truth anything like what we 

 claim for them ? We hear, for instance, a great deal said of the 

 intellectual treasures locked up in the languages of Greece and 

 Rome, which it is asserted that our system of education throws 

 open to the student freely to enjoy. And yet we know thal> 

 practically this claim is without foundation. It will not, I pre- 

 sume, be affirmed of the graduates of American colleges generally, 

 that they become familiar with any portions of the literature of 



[Am. Inst.] HHH 



