370 THE RIDDLE OP THE UNIVERSE. 



the parents. Instead of the rejected sectarian instruc- 

 tion, two important branches of education will be 

 introduced — monistic or humanist ethics and com- 

 parative religion. During the last thirty years an 

 extensive literature has appeared dealing with the new 

 system of ethics which has been raised on the basis 

 of modern science — especially evolutionary science. 

 Comparative religion will be a natural companion to 

 the actual elementary instruction in " biblical history " 

 and in the mythology of Greece and Rome. Both of 

 these will remain in the curriculum. The reason for 

 that is obvious enough ; the whole of our painting 

 and sculpture, the chief branches of monistic aesthetics, 

 are intimately blended with the Christian, Greek, and 

 Roman mythologies. There will only be this important 

 difference — that the Christian myths and legends will 

 not be taught as truths, but as poetic fancies, like the 

 Greek and Roman myths ; the high value of the 

 ethical and sesthetical material they contain will not 

 be lessened, but increased, by this means. As regards 

 the Bible, the "book of books " will only be given to 

 the children in carefully- selected extracts (a sort of 

 " school Bible ") ; in this way we shall avoid the 

 besmirching of the child's imagination with the 

 unclean stories and passages which are so numerous 

 in the Old Testament. 



Once the modern State has freed itself and its 

 schools from the fetters of the Church, it will be able 

 to devote more attention to the improvement of educa- 

 tion. The incalculable value of a good system of 

 education has forced itself more and more upon us as 

 the many aspects of modern civilized life have been 

 enlarged and enriched in the course of the century. 

 But the development of educational methods has by 



