464 Human Physiology. 



land, and young men at jhe Universities, study almost exclu- 

 sively the writings of Pagan authors, filled with anti-Christian 

 pride, vain-glory, revenge, and lust. Even the clergy of 

 England spend years in studying heathen poets, whose works 

 are full of shameful indecencies and immoralities. 



But the motives of education seem to me as bad as its 

 methods. The great object is, not learning for its own sake 

 not the pursuit of literature or science, but success in life. 

 It is to pass examinations and obtain degrees, to cram and 

 compete ; and cramming for competitive examinations, strain- 

 ing the memory to answer a certain number of questions, seems 

 to me alike disastrous to mind and character. And such a 

 method can never answer the purpose intended. A good 

 memory, a flippant readiness in answering questions, a tricky 

 adroitness in preparation, is not the character wanted for posts 

 of trust and honour. Character, manliness, courage, honesty, 

 humanity, cannot be crammed, nor ascertained by competitive 

 examinations ; but they may give us any number of superficial 

 memorisers, tricksters, prigs, and hypocrites. No examination 

 in science and languages can give us the noble and heroic 

 qualities needed in the leaders and governors of a people. 



The success in life for which education is intended to pre- 

 pare the young of both sexes of the middle classes is a very 

 unreal sort of success. It is the pursuit of wealth, often by 

 means the most dishonourable and inhuman ; it is the attain 

 ment of a higher social position, without reference to its use 

 fulness or happiness. It is to enable the young to marry well, 

 which means to marry money, or to marry into a good family, 

 a "good connection." 



Success in the Church is a good living, such we see adver- 

 tised in the columns of the Times and the Church papers ; 

 several hundreds a-year and easy duty in a pleasant country, 

 with good society, hunting and fishing, and the prospect of 

 preferment. In the law, it is a tremendous strain of work an 



