INTRODUCTION xix 



makes it impossible for the feelings of a pupil to 

 be aroused by any purely intellectual activity on 

 the part of the teacher. And this is true, of 

 course, not only of nature study, but universally. 

 Ideas may be conveyed by the intellect. But 

 Ideals can be developed only by one who loves 

 and cherishes them for himself. Not long since, 

 the principal of a certain school was warmly prais- 

 ing his teacher of history. The originality of the 

 teacher, his love of research, his skill in unravel- 

 ling the tangled web of historical causation, were 

 warmly commended. " Has he the philanthropic 

 impulse ? " asked the listener, " Does he seek to 

 know the causes of what has happened, so that 

 he may learn how the errors of the past may be 

 avoided ? Does his study of history present it- 

 self to him as the way in which he can best con- 

 tribute " his personal efforts as bricks and mortar 

 for building the walls of the free democratic city, 

 the supreme refuge of human dignity?" To 

 which was given the almost pathetic reply. " I 

 don't know." From such a teacher light can 

 come, but not that sort of stimulation that tends 

 to transform the life. 



Dr. Bigelow's " Tests of ProficienGy in Nature- 

 Study" will doubtless seem very ridiculous to 



