EDITOR'S TABLE. 



843 



the study of the classical languages, 

 especially Greek, is that it facilitates 

 and increases the enjoyment of all 

 good literature. This is moderately 

 stated and constitutes a more defen- 

 sible position than the extreme ad- 

 vocates of classical studies some- 

 times take up. It seems to us to be 

 greatly a question of time and op 

 portunity. If one can grapple with 

 a scheme of education including an 

 accurate knowledge of the Greek 

 language without being compelled 

 to omit lines of study more neces- 

 sary to place him where every 

 modern man should be at the mod- 

 ern standpoint, we should say by all 

 means let him study Greek and have 

 his sense of beauty quickened by liv- 

 ing intercourse with its wonderful 

 literature, and his logical and crit- 

 ical faculties strengthened by inves- 

 tigation of its linguistic elements 

 and grammatical forms. But we 

 think it must be recognized that, as 

 the claims of modern culture become 

 greater, the number of those who 

 will find time and opportunity for 

 this will become more and more re- 

 stricted. 



On the subject of mathematics and 

 the physical and natural sciences, 

 the professor's views are eminently 

 reasonable. He does not claim too 

 much for mathematics as a training 

 in deductive reasoning; he consid- 

 ers that its educational value lies 

 rather in the alertness it bestows 

 in attacking and solving problems. 

 " For is not life," he asks, " one pro- 

 longed succession of problems .that 

 demand to be solved ? To be sure," 

 he adds, " most of the problems are 

 not of the mathematical order ; but 

 it is a thoroughly good thing for a 

 man not to be a coward or a sluggard 

 when he is brought face to face with 

 any hard problem." Before the lib- 

 eralizing power of mathematics can 

 be fully experienced, it is necessary 

 to have attained in the first place 



" a certain amount of free and joy- 

 ful movement in the handling of 

 mathematical symbols and formu- 

 lae "; and, in the second, " a certain 

 grasp upon the beautiful ideas and 

 the wonderful laws which these sym- 

 bols and formulae represent. " Mathe- 

 matics, however, deals only with ab- 

 stract truths : for that knowledge of 

 the laws of Nature which is an es- 

 sential and most important part of 

 modern liberal culture we must have 

 recourse to natural science. Here 

 Prof. Ladd makes a distinction simi- 

 lar to that which he made in speak- 

 ing of language. He postulates a 

 training in science rather than in 

 sciences. This training, he explains, 

 "implies such a course of study as 

 will impart a conception of what is 

 now understood by the term sci- 

 ence, and of the recognized method 

 of scientific investigation common to 

 all the natural sciences." A remark 

 which follows contains much truth : 

 "How often does one meet men of 

 fine literary culture who show no 

 little bigotry, and commit not a few 

 important mistakes, because they 

 simply do not know what science 

 really is ! " In answer to the ques- 

 tion how much of scientific knowl- 

 edge is necessary for a liberal edu- 

 cation, Prof. Ladd replies : " Enough 

 to give the student a firm grasp on 

 those fundamental physical prin- 

 ciples upon which the world of 

 things is built, and enough of the 

 pursuit of some form of descriptive 

 natural science to impart the train- 

 ing of the powers of observation and 

 the habit of properly connecting 

 newly observed natural objects with 

 groups of similar objects known be- 

 fore." We should be disposed to 

 add though perhaps the professor 

 might claim that it is implied in 

 what he himself has said : Enough 

 to bring clearly and effectually 

 home to the mind what is under- 

 stood by scientific evidence, and to 



