2o6 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. X. No. 247 



ASPECTS OF EDUCATION. 

 Naturalism. 



The two aspects of education which we discussed in Science, ix. 

 Nos. 211, 215, 227, have reference to thedifferent ways of training the 

 intellect. They are, however, both liable to degenerate into pedan- 

 try. With regard to the study of language, this statement needs 

 little proof. It is difficult, under any circumstances, to reconcile an 

 education which is merely linguistic with the preparation of the 

 active business of life. Perhaps the best example of such a train- 

 ing was the rhetoric of the Romans. Quintilian's famous treatise 

 on education described the training of the orator, and it requires 

 some reflection to discover how so narrow and restricted a course 

 can be co-extensive with all that is demanded by the public service. 

 It might, however, be so in imperial Rome. The business of Rome 

 was to govern subject populations. A Roman statesman would 

 have occasion for oratory in the senate, at the bar, in the governing 

 of the province. Given the traditional inspiration which would be 

 imbibed from a race of rulers, and the practice of public affairs, 

 with which every Roman patrician would be familiar from his 

 childhood, the training of the orator in its widest acceptation might 

 be the only addition which was considered necessary. Humanism, 

 however, lay but little stress on the public use of knowledge which 

 it gave. It taught dead, not living languages. The greatest 

 scholar might live secluded from the world, and, as his erudition 

 deepened, might become less fit either to influence or to under- 

 stand it. 



Realism was by its nature more closely connected with actual 

 life ; but that, too, might content itself with books, and the study of 

 books produces book-worms. The rebellion against received 

 opinions which followed the Reformation brought every thing into 

 question, and the groundwork of education with the rest. As 

 feudalism disappeared, there was more need of such an inquiry. In 

 the middle ages the education of the castle had existed side by side 

 with the education of the cloister. The knightly arts of shooting, 

 hawking, swimming, riding, and other bodily accomplishments, 

 were taught to the young page, as the seven studies of the trivium 

 and quadrivium were taught to the young monk. As years went 

 on, the idle governing classes were gradually subdued by aggres- 

 sive instruction. The schools of the Jesuits were eminently fash- 

 ionable, and it became necessary to appeal once more to nature. 

 Men of the world and philosophers said, in giving what we call a 

 training to the mind, " Let us not forget that nature has determined 

 the quality, and a large part of the development, of the mind which 

 we aspire to train. If we do our utmost, we can effect but little : 

 let us be quite sure, that, in attempting to produce this srhall 

 amount of good, we do not cause real harm. Let us educate, not 

 for the school, but for life. Let us see what inherent force will 

 effect for the mind and character of which we think ourselves mas- 

 ter." There is some trace of this reasoning in Rabelais ; but, 

 although he is certainly an anti-humanist, he should be classed as a 

 realist rather than as a naturalist. The three great naturalists in 

 education are Montaigne, Locke, and Rousseau. Although their 

 characters were very different, there is a strong similarity in their 

 teaching. We will give a short account of the views of each. 

 This is the more necessary, as naturalism is now rampant in our 

 public schools, but its advocates and supporters have little notion 

 to what philosophers they owe the principles which they enthusias- 

 tically support. 



The contrast between monkish erudition and the training for the 

 world given in the castle of a wise noble is shown by Rabelais in 

 the contrast between the clownish awkwardness of young Gargantua, 

 and the modest self-possession of the page Eudaemon.who," although 

 not twelve years old, first asking leave of his master so to do, with 

 his cap in his hand, a clear open countenance, beautiful and ruddy 

 lips, his eyes steady and his looks fixed on Gargantua, standing 

 up straight, on his feet, began to commend him with proper ges- 

 ture, distinct pronunciation, and a pleasing delivery, in choice 

 Latin," whereas all Gargantua did was to cry like a cow, and hide 

 his face with his cap. Rabelais also lays great stress on bodily 

 exercises, and shows that he considers the training of the body 

 quite as important as that of the mind. 



The educational ideas of Montaigne are principally contained in 



two essays, — one on pedantry, the other on the instruction of 

 children. The one deals with the objects of education, the other 

 with its methods. Montaigne says that the end of education is not 

 to fill the head with a mass of knowledge, but to form the under- 

 standing and the heart ; not to burden the memory of the pupil, 

 but to make him better and more intelligent. Antiquity presents 

 us with well-educated statesmen and commanders, with philoso- 

 phers fit for practical life. On the other hand, learnmg, which is 

 only for show, is of no use to its possessor. If we only knew what 

 Cicero or Plato thought about a matter, we are merely the guar- 

 dians of some one else's property instead of making it a possession, 

 of our own. We warm ourselves at our neighbor's fire instead of 

 making one on our own hearth. We fill ourselves with food which 

 we cannot digest. The most important object of education is in- 

 dependence. The scholar must be able to consider and to employ 

 what he has learned in a hundred different ways. He must be 

 taught to prove every opinion, submit to no authority as such. 

 Learning by heart is no learning at all. Just as we cannot dance, 

 ride, or fence without moving the body, so we cannot speak or 

 judge with advantage without acting for ourselves. The mind 

 must be supported by a healthy body. There must be no coddling 

 or spoiling by foolish parents : the boy must be hardened to endur- 

 ance and to pain. We are educating, not a mind and a body, but 

 a man, who is compounded of the two. The pupil must be taught 

 to mix with the world, to observe carefully every thing he sees. 

 He must learn more from experience than from books. The 

 character of great men is more important for him to know thai» 

 the dates of their actions. The greater number of sciences which 

 we are taught are of no use. The pupil must not become a book- 

 worm, but all the conditions of his life — his walks, his meals, 

 solitude, and society — must be made serviceable for his training. 

 He must be taught to speak naturally, with strength and emphasis ; 

 not by erudition, but by force of character and clearness of thought. 

 For discipline we must use a kind severity, not punishment and 

 compulsion. The school-life must be full of joy and cheerfulness. 

 The most important thing is to excite a desire for study. Fathers 

 should stimulate their children by their own example, and not keep 

 them morosely at a distance. Montaigne says that he was first 

 taught Latin by conversation, and he recommends the same course 

 for imitation. He tells us that when seven years old he was 

 entirely ignorant of French, but he was well acquainted with pure 

 Latinity, and that without books and without tears. From this 

 sketch we find that Montaigne's object was to educate the man of 

 the world. He wished to bridge over the gulf between the gentle- 

 man and the scholar, which existed in his time ; but he would pro- 

 duce a gentleman at any price, a scholar if possible. 



We cannot tell whether Montaigne had a direct influence upon 

 Locke, but there is no doubt that they agreed very materially in 

 their views. The keynote of Locke's thoughts concerning educa- 

 tion is a sound mind in a sound body. This, he says, is a short 

 but full description of a happy state in this world. He that has 

 these two has little more to wish for, and he that wants either 

 of them will be but-little the better for any thing else. The first 

 thirty sections of his treatise are occupied with the training of 

 the body. His maxims are summed up in the words, " plenty of 

 open air, exercise, and sleep ; plain diet, no wine or strong drink, 

 and very little or no physic ; not too warm and strait clothing ; 

 especially the head and feet kept cold, and the feet often used to 

 cold water and exposed to wet." The next hundred sections 

 are devoted to methods of education, but there is nothing in 

 them about books. Virtue, wisdom, and breeding are to come 

 before learning. These are to be taught more by precept than by 

 example. We are to guard our children against the evil influence 

 of servants, and to rely particularly on the persistent effect of the 

 home. Above all, we are to teach knowledge of the world. Much 

 of the danger which surrounds young men arises from ignorance 

 of the world. A man forewarned is fore-armed. Breeding must 

 come before book-learning. Teaching is for the purposes of life, and 

 not for the school : Noti sckolcE sed vitce discimus. The tutor you 

 choose for your son should be a man of the world. Locke puts 

 learning last, because he considers it as the least important learn- 

 ing. He says it must be had in the second place, as subservient 

 only to greater qualities. Seek out somebody that may know how 



