EDUCATION AND THE RIVIERA (1772-81) 317 



and those who are ready to appreciate fairly the arguments on 

 both sides. De Saussure was born and bred a Negative, but in 

 intellect he showed himself very much the contrary. 



De Saussure was obviously before his time, while the Vener- 

 able Company was as hopelessly conservative as most clerical 

 Convocations. Moreover, the tincture in de Saussure's eloquence 

 of the doctrines of the recently condemned Emile was not likely 

 to recommend his proposals to its friendly consideration. The 

 principles de Saussure propounded, that a nation gets the Govern- 

 ment it deserves, that there is no tyranny so vicious as that of an 

 ignorant democracy, that liberty without law spells licence, might 

 be sound, but his application of them was well outside the scope 

 of the Genevese patricians' vision. Since their oligarchy was 

 a Republic in name, they were satisfied to drive on in the old track 

 till the events of the last decade of the eighteenth century threw 

 them into the ditch. 



What would appear to be the habitual result of educational 

 discussions followed. De Saussure's proposals were referred to a 

 committee. In due course the committee made some practical 

 suggestions towards carrying them out ; it framed a scheme 

 for a system of secondary education. This would have involved 

 the postponement of classical and literary instruction to advanced 

 classes consisting of youths whose abilities gave promise that 

 they would be able to profit by it. The proposals were formally 

 referred back for further consideration and practically shelved. 



Some changes for the better were made in 1790, but it 

 was not till sixty-two years later that the education of the 

 College was, after continual contests, reformed on modern lines. 

 Latin and Greek were then made optional subjects. Grammar 

 was to be taught through the French language. Geography 

 and history were given an important place. Modern languages, 

 arithmetic, practical geometry, and drawing were dealt with in 

 special classes. ' Thus,' writes the historian of the College, 

 ' the adoption of the law of 1836 realised in part the proposals 

 made by de Saussure in 1774, which the Councils of the revolu- 

 tionary epoch had attempted to carry out in an exaggerated 

 shape, and which the Society of Arts had in 1821 tried without 

 success to revive in their original form.' The variations from de 

 Saussure's scheme lay chiefly in the absence of any recognition of 



