iV PREFACE. 



teach better that which had better not be taught 

 at all ; for that whatever abridges the time given 

 to classical instruction, weakens the nerves and 

 sinews of the mind, and but debases the Corinthian 

 column of ancient lore by introducing the barbarous 

 ornaments of modern science. My answer is, we 

 do not propose to devote a large portion of time to 

 Natural History in ordinary cases, and even ihis 

 will be taken principally during those early years 

 when very little real progress is made in Greek or 

 Latin. Every age has its intellectual as well as 

 its moral claims, and though the stern discipline of 

 early classical instruction may offer some advan- 

 tages, still the hours devoted to the abstractions of 

 grammar, and the puzzling out ideas which have 

 no prototype in the child's mind through the dark 

 mist of a language little akin to his maternal 

 tongue, present very meagre food to that under- 

 standing they are supposed to strengthen. If the 

 child must lisp in Latin, let him do so ; let his first 

 Gradus ad Parnassum be through the quagmires at 

 its base ; the few choice spirits that mount the 

 summit may, perhaps, tread it with firmer step, 

 and enjoy the prospect with keener relish; but that 

 step will not be the less firm, nor that relish the less 

 keen, because a daily hour was abstracted for ' Les- 

 sons on Objects,' or c Lessons on Shells.' Not only 

 are the sciences so linked together that each gives 

 each a double charm, but the faculties of the mind 

 are so constituted, as that the vigour of each is 

 promoted by the due development of the rest. And 

 there is a harmony as truly existing in a properly 

 educated mind, as in a well formed and well exer- 

 cised body, though the harmony of the former may 

 not be so easily discerned as that of the latter. 



As years advance, the study of Natural History 

 may be confined to those who manifest a peculiar 

 taste for it, or who exhibit little disposition for clas- 



