54 THE NEW METHOD 



schools is radically changed. We are not to modify 

 an old method, but to inaugurate a new system. 



But has the missing truth been found so that a 

 faultless scheme can at once be adopted ? No science 

 is yet perfect. The finite cannot comprehend infinite. 

 The general laws of astronomy are known, and an 

 eclipse is foretold centuries before it takes place. So 

 in the science of education the general principles are 

 established, and by their guidance we can make 

 rapid progress towards a perfect system of culture. 



A right mode of teaching coincides with nature's 

 tendencies, and instead of repressing, guides the 

 natural activity of the mind in accordance with the 

 laws of its spontaneous evolution, utilizing the child's 

 playful activity for available culture. 



Science is the great revolutionary power, — the 

 pioneer of every true reform. What hidden stores of 

 wisdom she has brought to light, and what mighty 

 conquests over nature's forces she has won ! Dur- 

 ing the last half century she has revolutionized 

 almost every art, and given us all the varied bless- 

 ings of the present hour. Science now begins to 

 direct the hand of human culture, and will save our 

 race from the evils of violated law by saving us from 

 ignorance. Empiricism can no longer be trusted to 

 direct the energies and aspirations of the mind ; and 

 instead of frowning upon a rising science, let us hail 



