HUMANISM AND REALISM. 543 
ture in German, and his example was soon followed by others. 
It is a curious coincidence that the wonderful progress in the 
results obtained by German Universities dates from about the 
same time, and this is not to be wondered at. What a serious 
drawback it must have been to students to listen to a Professor 
using a dead language, probably imperfectly known to himself, 
and doubtless less understood by them!! Thus with the Ger- 
man language life and light entered the German Universities. 
and the progress in knowledge must necessarily have been much 
more rapid both to Professors and students than it ever was 
before. It will always be a subject of great wonder, that under 
these highly injurious influences, the languages of Luther and 
Shakespeare could develope to such a state of perfection, able to 
express alike the highest conceptions of the philosopher, the 
poet, and the historian, in a manner not second to any other 
language. Though the immediate change in the educational 
system due to the Reformation was scarcely visible, a new spirit, 
the spirit of enquiry, had been awakened all over Europe, the 
invention of the printing-press offering the means of diffusing 
general knowledge and opinions of every shade. At the same 
time the discoveries of new countries, of new animals and plants, 
and a certain progress in physical science, evoked a vast amount 
of investigation and criticism, the searchers after truth not being 
satisfied with the teachings of Classicism alone. 
I need scarcely point out that Rabelais and Montaigne belong 
to the eminent writers of those days, who show a certain con- 
tempt for book wisdom, and advocated strongly that man should 
think and investigate before accepting the dictum of others. 
Germany, after having fought the battle of religious freedom, was 
now torn for a long time by internal wars, and could do little to 
advance education in its higher aims; but at that time there 
arose one man, a giant of intellect, living in a country then already 
in the possession of its free institutions, whom we must regard 
as the father of inductive reasoning, and at the same time the 
originator of Realism. This man was Francis Bacon, who taught 
us that in future all conceptions must be based upon experience, 
and that faith in authority must be banished from scientific en- 
-—quiry. In such a manner alone was it possible to advance from 
observation and experience to the perception of the Laws of 
Nature, and from their understanding to their application, from 
knowledge to power. 
I do not go so far as many advocates of Physical Science who 
are of opinion that in future teaching ought not to be by words 
and phrases, but by things and facts alone ; that our youth should 
be educated by observation and experiment,and not by mere 
memory. I do believe, however, that a great portion of school- 
time ought to be devoted to teaching the pupils by the former 
methods, instead of filling their minds with mere lists of names 
and dates. This latter can certainly not be called a mental 
d scipline, or claim to heighten their ethical perceptions. And 
yet, after all that Bacon has taught us, how comparatively little 
