THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN INSTRUCTION. 
By C. J. Baldwin, D. D, 
Individuality is that which differentiates one human character from 
another. It is the cast or quality which gives to each man’s work a 
distinct, unique effect. This element is already recognized as having 
a scientific value. It has been found that the individuality of a worker 
may and must be allowed for in determining the precise nature of his 
work. The ‘ ^personal equation” has been formulated and used as a 
factor in the finest problems of applied science. Each observer, cal- 
culator, has a spectrum of his own in which the ray of truth which he 
transmits is crossed by dark lines peculiar to himself. And, just as 
analysis of the stellar ray reveals to us the chemical elements of distant 
stars, so may we find in the light emanating from separate minds subtle 
but sure indications of their inherent qualities. 
If this were not so, literature of all kinds would lose much of its 
charm and power. The monotony of unrelieved sameness would soon 
check the student’s enthusiasm, and one book would be enough. But, 
as it is, the same subject may present to us an infinite variety of 
aspects as different authors treat it in their diverse ways, each one 
shaping or coloring it after his own likeness. We find new meanings 
in the old truth each time it is translated into the idiom of a life. 
Of all cases of this kind the teacher is the most prominent. It is 
his office to become a medium through which truth is to shine upon 
the learner. He originates nothing, but transmits or translates. How 
important then, the quality of the medium, whether it is clear or dim, 
dense or rare! We are continually noticing this in our text-books, 
the difference between authors in their power ot elucidating and apply- 
ing the same truths. 
Individualism adds something of its own quality to the ray which 
it transmits. Manliness in the teacher ennobles any communication 
that he makes. Sympathy, moral earnestness, intellectual honesty, 
vitalize and recommend even the barest topics. 
What a difference between Arnold’s lectures on Roman History 
