SCIENCE AND ART AND EDUCATION 173 



within the reach of nine-tenths of the population — with 

 that outfit, an Englishman, within the limits of English life, 

 is fitted to go anywhere, to occupy the highest positions, to 

 fill the highest offices of the State, and to become distin- 

 guished in practical pursuits, in science, or in art. For, if 

 he have the opportunity to learn all those things, and have 

 his mind disciplined in the various directions the teaching 

 of those topics would have necessitated, then, assuredly, 

 he will be able to pick up, on his road through life, all the 

 rest of the intellectual baggage he wants. 



If the educational time at our disposition were sufficient 

 there are one or two things I would add to th^se I have 

 just now called the essentials; and perhaps you will be 

 surprised to hear, though I hope you will not, that I should 

 add, not more science, but one, or, if possible, two languages. 

 The knowledge of some other language than one's own is, 

 in f^ci^ ^,of singular intellectual value. Many of the faults 

 and mistakes of the ancient philosophers are traceable to 

 the fact that they knew no language but their own, and were 

 often led into confusing the symbol with the thought which 

 it embodied. I think it is Locke who says that one-lialf of 

 the mistakes of philosophers have arisen from questions 

 about words; and one of the safest ways of delivering your- 

 self from the bondage of words is, to know how ideas look 

 in words to which you are not accustomed. That is one 

 reason for the study of language; another reason is, that 

 it opens new fields in art and in science. Another is the 

 practical value of such knowledge; and yet another is this, 

 that if your languages are properly chosen, from the time 

 of learning the additional languages you will know your 

 own language better than ever you did. So, I say, if the 

 time given to education permits, add Latin and German. 

 Latin, because it is the key to nearly one-half of English 



