112 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1895. 



stuck unreasonably to learn a few words with lamentable construc- 

 tion, and now on the sudden transported under another climate to be 

 tossed and turmoil'd with their unballasted wits in fathomless and 

 unquiet deeps of coutroversie, do for the most part grow into hatred 

 and contempt of Learning, mocked and deluded all this while with 

 ragged Notions and Babblements, while they expected worthy and 

 delightful knowledge." These Milton gives among the reasons why 

 the best youth of his day turned their backs upon high attainment in 

 learning, and went their several ways, "• ignorantly zealous," into the 

 profession of theology ; avaricious and carping, for they have never 

 been taught " the heavenly contemplation of justice and equity," into 

 the law ; " hollovv and unprincipl'd " into the pursuit of politics ; or the 

 wisest and best of all, since nothing better was presented to them in 

 their education, spend their days in " ease and luxury," " feast and 

 jollity." " And these," he says, " are the fruits of mispending our 

 prime youth at the Schools and Universities as we do, either in learn- 

 ing meer words or such things chiefly, as were better unlearnt." 



More especially toward the line of our botanical garden Milton goes 

 on : "I shall not detain you longer in the demonstration of what we 

 should not do, but strait conduct ye to a hill-side, where I will point 

 ye out the right path of a vertuous and noble Education ; laborious 

 indeed at the first ascent, but else so smooth, so green, so full of 

 goodly prospect and melodious sounds on every side, that the harp of 

 Orpheus was not more charming. I doubt not but ye shall have more 

 adoe to drive our dullest and laziest youth, out stocks and stubbs 

 from the infinite desire of such a happy nurture, than we have now to 

 hale and drag our choicest and hopefullest Wits to that asinine feast 

 of sowthistles and brambles which is commonly set before them, as 

 all the food and entertainment of their tenderest and most docible age. 

 I call, therefore, a compleat and generous Education that which fits a 

 man to perform justly, skillfully and magnanimously all the offices 

 both private and publick of Peace and War." 



War does not cut the figure it did two hundred years ago ; but, on 

 the other hand, the " offices of peace" have multiplied and might fur- 

 nish men with occupations as absorbing and interesting, if they were 

 educated to take hold of them. The books and schools do not afford 

 the kind of education that opens to men the living world, — the world 

 of reality ; in such wise that they see its important problems and are 

 given some idea of ways and means of grappling with them, and 

 some hope of their solution. I would have a garden designed to do 

 this. It would not infringe in the least upon our experiment stations ; 



