183 -- 



cial barrier set up; and where the Christian records speak 

 in favour of the unmarried life it is in view of ideal holi- 

 ness and not at all in view ot the sort of life led by the 

 bachelors of modern times. 



The system of ancient education, though more philo- 

 sophical than technical, was early completed. Our Di- 

 vine Teacher conducted a dispute in the Temple with 

 the scribes and Pharisees when he was only fourteen 

 years old, from which it would certainly seem that the 

 education of those times was finished about that age, 

 and it would be an excellent thing if our pedagogues 

 would reduce their programme for the Middle Schools so 

 that the course should end before that period at which a 

 youth attains sexual maturity. 



Properly speaking the fundamental principles of each 

 separate science are not extremely complex and are com- 

 paratively few, but pedagogues have invented in their 

 own interest a mass of unnecessary artificial problems 

 and difficulties with the design of strengthening their 

 pupils' brains and developing their mental faculties which 

 are far from answering any real purpose in life. Take 

 for example our Russian letters f yahtf , f yah', f shchah% 

 *} 7 ou, f pheetah' and ezhitsah'. It is not long since Pro- 

 fessor BHgovyeshchenski supplied to one of the Rus- 

 sian papers an article fully explaining the deficiencies 

 ot the Russian alphabet. So clear and convincing was 

 his exposition that once having read it one would have 

 supposed that for the scholastic world and for the pu- 

 blic press alike there could remain no other course but 

 to surrender to that which common-sense itself demands. 

 Nevertheless neither press nor pedagogues have stirred ; 

 and no public expression of opinion has appeared about 

 this needed change up to the present time. 



In touching upon questions of scholastic education I 

 am far from wishing to lay down the law as to this or 

 that particular point ; my desire is only to insist upon 

 the main fact that the education of the young is a pro- 



