THE PHYSICAL LABORATOKY ix MODERN EDUCATION 61? 



have their tastes better developed in other directions, and some have 

 minds incapable of ever understanding the simplest natural phenomenon; 

 but there is also a large class of students who have at least ordinary pow- 

 ers and ordinary tastes for scientific pursuits: to train the powers of 

 observation and classification let them study natural history, not only 

 from books, but from prepared specimens or directly from nature: to 

 give care in experiment and convince them that nature forgives no 

 error, let them enter the chemical laboratory: to train them in exact and 

 logical powers of reasoning, let them study mathematics: but to com- 

 bine all this training in one and exhibit to their minds the most perfect 

 and systematic method of discovering the exact laws of nature, let them 

 study physics and astronomy, where observation, common sense and 

 mathematics go hand in hand. The object of education is not only to 

 produce a man who Tcnows, but one who does; who makes his mark in 

 the struggle of life and succeeds well in whatever he undertakes: who 

 can solve the problems of nature and of humanity as they arise, and who, 

 when he knows he is right, can boldly convince the world of the fact. 

 Men of action are needed as well as men of thought. 



There is no doubt in my mind that this is the point in which much 

 of our modern education fails. Why is it? I answer that the memory 

 alone is trained and the reason and judgment are used merely to refer 

 matters to some authority who is considered final, and worse than all, 

 they are not trained to apply their knowledge constantly. To produce 

 men of action they must be trained in action. If the languages be 

 studied, they must be made to translate from one language to the other 

 until they have perfect facility in the process. If mathematics be 

 studied, they must work problems, more problems and problems again, 

 until they have the use of what they know. If they study the sciences, 

 they must enter the laboratory and stand face to face with nature; they 

 must learn to test their knowledge constantly and thus see for them- 

 selves the sad results of vague speculation; they must learn by direct 

 experiment that there is such a thing in the world as truth and that 

 their own mind is most liable to error. They must try experiment after 

 experiment and work problem after problem until they become men of 

 action and not of theory. 



This, then, is the use of the laboratory in general education, to train 

 the mind in right modes of thought by constantly bringing it in con- 

 tact with absolute truth and to give it a pleasant and profitable method 

 of exercise which will call all its powers of reason and imagination into 

 play. Its use in the special training of scientists needs no remark, for it 



