INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION". 



I »dd« in a notei from th? obfervation of a judicious friend, 

 i that nothing more cfTeAually tend; to retard the progrefs of 

 I rile infant faculties than a cuftoiu prevalent with narfes, of 

 I keeping the cliilJ in a continual trot upon the kiices ; and 

 I this cfpccially in cafes wliere its attention is moil clofely, 

 ] and therefore niofl ufcfuU)- engaged. 



j But it will not be long before the iniprcfiions v, Iiich have 

 i often been received ceafe, by the diminution of thi.Ir vivid- 

 j nefs, to produce the ianie efivci on tiie mind, ^\'iienachild 

 '■ has had fome cultivation of memory and allbciation, the re- 

 petition of a former iniprelTion is ofttn much more pleafant 

 than the full reception of a new one; becaufe, if the impref- 

 fion ilfelf is lefs lively, and in itfelf confidtred lefi pleaHint, 

 the affociated circumllanccs often communicate a iiill more 

 intereiling ploafure: the child remembers the pleafure before 

 derived from it ; tlio repetition of it fets his little faculties 

 ' to work in connexion with his former fenfation, and the 

 ideas to which it led, and the moderate exercife of the fa- 

 culties is generally pleafant ; and there is often a pofitive 

 i pleafure in the mere repetition of pad impreflions, even 

 1 when the difpofition of a child is very aftive, arifing from the 

 increafed power of fully comprehending the objects canfmg 

 : the impreffions. But before the aflociative power has been 

 1 much eKercifed, new fenfations are very commonly more at- 

 I traftive than old cues ; and here begins that relllefs defire of 

 j novelty, which, while it operates as a molt powerful lUmu'us 

 : to the purfuit of knowledge, requires to be carefully watched 

 : in every period of education, left the attention Ihould be 

 completely diffipated, and no knowledge acquired ; for there 

 i is no principle in education more certain, than that know- 

 ledge (clear, correft ideas refpcCling the objctls of fenfe and 

 ! intellect) cannot bo gained by wandering, hafty attention. 

 At this point the efforts of the parent fhould be given to 

 lead the httle mind to the examination and re-examination of 

 the objefts of fenfation ; not indeed fo much by dire£l influ- 

 ence, as by thofe little contrivances which a judicious mother 

 fo foon learns by experience, and to aid her in which llie may 

 confult Mifs Edgeworth's excellent obfervations on the fub- 

 jedl, which, though they more immediately refer to a later 

 period of education, fuggell many important hints refpeil- 

 irg the bell methods to be purfued here. 



Though we perceive that we (hall fwcll this divifion of our 

 article beyond what may be thouglit its due proportion, yet 

 the fubjcft of attention is fo important, that we fhall feleft 

 fome of Mifs ±.dg?worth's leading obfervations on the cijI- 

 tivation of the h?.bit, and fiibjoin our own remarks in addi- 

 tion. In doing this we with to lead our readers, if they 

 have not already engaged in it, to the ftudy of a work, the 

 value of which we rank higher in proportion to our own ex- 

 perience and cbfervation, and by no means to prevent it. 

 Though in feveral of her pofitions we cannot agree, though 

 we think her work effentially deficient, and are by no means 

 fatisfied as to the probable reftilt of her plans on the whole, 

 and though to follow them in detail to any conliderable ex- 

 tent requires a degree of m.ental cultivation, and a combina- 

 tion of circumilances, which are very rare in thofe walks of 

 life where the fubjecl is likely to receive the mod attention, 

 yet we cannot hclitate in ftrongly recommending her work, 

 as containing a fund of very im.portant obfervations, the re- 

 fult of varied and long-continued experience, guided by 

 found judgment and good fenfe, and generally corroA moral 

 yiews, as exhibiting a number of very important phenomena 

 and principles fubfervient to mental pliilofophy, and as fur- 

 ailhing to the " praftical " parent very valuable aids, even 

 where her plans cannot be minutely followed. Her elcm.ent- 

 ary works (" Early LefTons,'' " Paror.is' Amft.nt," &c ) 

 ajte mcomparable ; and if Uieir ftriking and much-io»be-la- 



mcntcd deficiency in every thing like religious principle were- 

 fuitably fupplied, they would leave fcarccly a wilh ungrati- 

 lied. If any female v riter fiiould hereafter come forward to 

 the public, pofltfliiij.'; the clearjiefs, fimplicity, corrcftnefs, 

 and wcU-Horcd undcrllanding of an Edgeworth, the brilliant 

 ycL tiialle imagination and " devotional talle" of a Barbaidd, 

 and the energy and high-toned moral principle of a More, 

 diverted of bigotry, and founded upon genuine Chridian 

 theology, in tl-ie fcale of utility Ihc will probably ftand un- 

 rivalled among her contemporaries, h.ow ever eminent her age 

 may be in every thing great and good. But to return to 

 fober reahties. 



The three principles which are laid down by Mifs Edge- 

 worth in her concluding Summary, as of univerfal applica- 

 tion, are, that tlie attention of young people Ibould at iirft be 

 exercifcd for very fliort periods ; that they (hould never be 

 urged to the point of fatigue ; and that pleafure, efpecially 

 the pleafure of fuccefs, fhould be affociated with the exer- 

 tions of children. With refpeft to the tirll of thefe points 

 we (hall extraft the following remarks from her chapter on 

 Attention : " Befides diftindnefs and accuracy in the lan- 

 guage which we ufe, befides care to produce but few ideas 

 or terms that are new in our firfl leffons, we mull exercife at- 

 tention but during very (hort periods. In the beginning of 

 every fcience pupils have much laborious work, we fhould 

 therefore allow them time ; we (hould reprefs our own im- 

 patience when they appear to be flow in comprehending rea- 

 fons, or in furnifhing analogies. We often cxpeCl that thofe 

 whom we are teaching fliould know fome things intuitively, 

 becaufe they may have been io long known to us that we 

 forget how we learned them.'' — " A reafonable preceptor 

 will not expecl from his pupil two efforts of attention at the 

 fame time ; he will not require the.Ti at once to learn terms 

 by heart, and to compare the objecls which thofe terms re- 

 prefent ; he will repeat his terms till thcv are thoroughly 

 fixed in the memory ; he will repeat his reafoniiKj till the 

 chain of ideas is completely formed. Repetition makes all 

 operations eafy ; even the fatigue of thinking diminiflies by 

 habit. That we Ihould not increafe the labour of the mind- 

 unfeafonably, we Ihould watch for the moment when habit 

 has made one leffon eafy, and then we may go forwards a 

 new ilep.'' 



Refpecling the third point, Mifs Edgeworth urges, that 

 the llimuli which we employ to excite attention (hould be pro- 

 portioned in degree and duration to the mental charaAer of 

 the individual, and the circumflances of the cafe. " It is 

 not prudent early to ufe violent or continual ftimulus, either 

 of a painful or a pleafurable nature, to excite children to ap- 

 plication, becaufe we fliould, by an intemperate ufe of thefe,, 

 weaken the mind, and becaufe we may with a ver)- little pa- 

 tience obtain all we -.villi without thefe expedients.'' Befitks 

 which, violent motives frequently dillurb and diifipate the 

 very attention which they attempt to fix. Regularly recur- 

 ring motives, which intcreft, but do not dillracl the mind,, 

 are evidently the bed. In propcrtion^ as the attention be- 

 comes habitual, the excitements producing it (hould be with- 

 drawn. Succefs is a great pleafure, and when children-. have 

 fometimes taded it, they -A'ill exert their attention merely 

 with the hope of fuccceding. " Inftead of increafmg ex- 

 citements to produce attention, we may vary tlicm, which 

 will have jud the fame effeft. When fympathy fails try cu- 

 riofity V when curiofity fails, try praifc ; when praife begins ■ 

 to lofe its effeft, try blame ; and when you go back again to 

 fympathy, you will find that after this interval it will have- 

 recovered its original power.'' At theconclufion of her re- 

 marks on this head, Mifs E. judly urges the cultivation of 

 the affeftions of children as a mod ipiportant means of ac- 



miiric^ 



