W. B. DWTGHT. 61 



strong tendency to drift away from the habits of thought 

 and observation of human nature, which can alone bring 

 success in behind a teacher's desk. The prime requisite 

 of a teacher is not only knowledge of a subject, but the 

 ability to adapt its presentation to the mental qualities 

 of his pupils ; a matter of which many specialists are as 

 profoundly ignorant or careless, as they are learned in 

 their specialties. 



Another difficulty is that the specialist, by his narrow 

 culture, has in a measure unfitted himself to do the gen- 

 eral and elementary work demanded by all schools below 

 those which are strictly professional. It frets him to dis- 

 sipate his mental powers over broad fields ban-en of dis- 

 covery. 



There are also other points of culture conducive to 

 eminent success in a teacher, to which the specialist has 

 had no time to give his attention. Of course these state- 

 ments are only intended to express general tendencies, 

 for there are eminent specialists who are as eminent 

 teachers ; but they are rare exceptions. 



A far greater evil, I think, lies in the strong tendency, 

 in narrow special pursuits, of dwarfing the breadth of 

 the mind, while stimulating its acuteness. Some great 

 masters, while following up some special line of research, 

 yet keep themselves well informed on the state of the 

 whole field, and in sympathy with the whole. They can 

 carry on philosophic generalizations as ably and as relia- 

 bly as minute specializations. So Napoleon Bonaparte 

 could command a knowledge of individual life-histories 

 and characters in the companies of his regiments, call- 

 ing private soldiers by name, and yet organize the most 

 brilliant manoeuvres of a vast battle-field. But it is giv- 

 en to very few men to have such self-training. The ten- 

 dency among specialists is, first, to neglect to inform 

 themselves even of the general facts in the other fields of 

 science, and, secondly, by their habits of thought to in- 



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