“Books, we know,
Are a substantial world, both pure and good,
Round which, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,
Our pastime and our happiness will grow.”
Wordsworth.
Contents
| PAGE | ||
| Foreword | [xxiii] | |
| Preface | [xxv] | |
| Synopsis | [xxix] | |
| Introduction | [1] | |
| BOOK I | ||
| Chapter I | ||
| Self-Education | [23] | |
| Not self-expression—A person, built up from within—Life,sustained on food—Plant analogy misleading—Mentaland physical gymnastics—Mental food—Thelife of the mind—Proper sustenance—Knowledge, notsensation or information—Education, of the spirit—Cannotbe applied from without—Modern educatorsbelittle children—Education will profit by divorce fromsociology—Danger of an alliance with pathology—Acomprehensive theory—Fits all ages—Self-education—Allchildren have intellectual capacity—Should learn to‘read’ before mechanical art of reading—Are muchoccupied with things and books—A knowledge of principles,necessary—Education chaotic for want of unifyingtheory—The motive that counts. | ||
| Chapter II | ||
| Children are Born Persons | [33] | |
| 1.—The Mind of a Child: The baby, more than a hugeoyster—Poets on infancy—Accomplishments of a childof two—Education does not produce mind—The rangeof a child’s thoughts—Reason and imagination presentin the infant—Will and wilfulness. | ||
| 2.—The Mind of a School-Child: Amazing potentialities—Brain,the organ of mind—The “unconscious mind,”a region of symptoms—Mind, being spiritual, knowsno fatigue—Brain, duly fed, should not know fatigue—A“play-way” does not lead to mind—Nor does environment—Mindmust come into contact with mind—Whatis mind?—Material things have little effect uponmind—Education, the evidence of things not seen—Ideas,only fit sustenance for mind—Children must havegreat ideas—Children experience what they hear andread of—Our want of confidence in children—Childrensee, in their minds—Mind, one and works altogether—Childrenmust see the world—Dangers of technical,commercial, historical geography—Every man’s mind,his means of living—All classes must be educated—Theæsthetic sense—A child’s intellect and heart alreadyfurnished—He learns to order his life. | ||
| 3.—Motives for Learning: Diluted teaching—Everychild has infinite possibilities—The Parents’ UnionSchool—The House of Education—Teachers must knowcapabilities and requirements of children. | ||
| Chapter III | ||
| The Good and Evil Nature of a Child | [46] | |
| 1.—Well-Being of Body: “Children of wrath”—“Littleangel” theory—Good and evil tendencies—Education,handmaid of Religion—Religion becomingmore magnanimous—New-born children start fair—Children,more of persons in their homes—Appetites—Senses—Unduenervous tension—Overpowering personality—Parasitichabits. | ||
| 2.—Well-Being of Mind: Mind, not a chartered libertine—Hasgood and evil tendencies—Intellectual evil—Intellectenthroned in every child—A child’s vivifyingimagination—Explanations unnecessary—Childrensense the meaning of a passage—Incuria—Going oversame ground—Dangers of specialisation—Of the questionnaire—Capacityv. aptness—Imagination, good andevil—Reason deified by the unlearned—Fallacious reasoning—Aliberal education necessary—The beautysense. | ||
| 3.—Intellectual Appetite: The desires—Wrong use of—Loveof knowledge sufficient stimulus. | ||
| 4.—Misdirected Affections: The feelings—Love andjustice—Moral education—Children must not be fedmorally—They want food whose issue is conduct—Morallessons worse than useless—Every child endowedwith love—And justice—Rights and duties—Fine artof self-adjustment—To think fairly requires knowledge—Ourthoughts are not our own—Truth, justicein word—Opinions show integrity of thought—Soundprinciples—All children intellectually hungry—Starveon the three R’s. | ||
| 5.—The Well-Being of the Soul: Education and the Soulof a child—Ignorance of the child—Approaches towardsGod—How knowledge grows—Narration—Greatthoughts of great thinkers illuminate children—Educationdrowned by talk—Formative influence ofknowledge—Self-expression—Education, a going forthof the mind—The “unconscious mind”—Mind alwaysconscious—But thinks in ways of which we are unconscious—Dangersof introspection—“Complexes”—Necessityfor a Philosophy of Education. | ||
| Chapter IV | ||
| Authority and Docility | [68] | |
| Deputed authority, lodged in everyone—No such thingas anarchy—A mere transference of authority—Authoritymakes for Liberty—Order, the outcome of authority—Docility,universal—The principles of authorityand docility inherent in everyone—Crux, tofind the mean—Freedom, offered as solution—“Proudsubjection and dignified obedience”—Secured by feedingthe mind—Subservience v. docility—Docility impliesequality—Physical activities do not sustain mind—Manyrelationships must be established—No undueemphasis—Sense of must in teacher and child—Freedomcomes with knowledge—The office makes the man—Childrenmust have responsibility of learning—Thepotency of their minds—All children have quick apprehension—Andthe power of attention—Humane lettersmake for efficiency—Delightful to use any power—Commoninterests—Powers of attention and recollectiona national asset—But want of intellectual interestsa serious handicap. | ||
| Chapter V | ||
| The Sacredness of Personality | [80] | |
| An adequate conception of children necessary—All actioncomes from the ideas held—The child’s estate higherthan ours—Methods of undermining personality—Fear—Love—“Suggestion”—Influence—Methods ofstultifying intellectual and moral growth—The desires—Ofapprobation—Of emulation—Of ambition—Ofsociety—The natural desire of knowledge—Definiteprogress, a condition of education—Doctrine of equalopportunities for all, dangerous—But a liberal educationthe possibility for all. | ||
| Chapter VI | ||
| Three Instruments of Education | [94] | |
| 1.—Education is an Atmosphere: Only three means ofeducation—Not an artificial environment—But a naturalatmosphere—Children must face life as it is—Butmust not be overburdened by the effort of decision—Dangersof intellectual feebleness and moral softness—Bracingatmosphere of truth and sincerity—Not a toostimulating atmosphere—Dangers of “running wild”—Serenitycomes with the food of knowledge—Twocourses open to us. | ||
| 2.—Education is a Discipline: We must all make efforts—Buta new point of view, necessary—Children mustwork for themselves—Must perform the act of knowing—Attention,the hall-mark of an educated person—Othergood habits attending upon due self-education—Spirit,acts upon matter—Habit is to life what rails areto transport cars—Habit is inevitable—Genesis of habit—Habitsof the ordered life—Habits of the religious life—DeQuincey on going to church—Danger of thinkingin a groove—Fads. | ||
| 3.—Education is a Life: Life is not self-existing—Bodypines upon food substitutes—Mind cannot liveupon information—What is an idea?—A live thing ofthe mind—Potency of an idea—Coleridge on ideas—Platonicdoctrine of ideas—Functions of education notchiefly gymnastic—Dangers attendant upon “originalcomposition”—Ideas, of spiritual origin—The child,an eclectic—Resists forcible feeding—We must take therisk of the indirect literary form—Ideas must be presentedwith much literary padding—No one capableof making extracts—Opinions v. ideas—Given an idea,mind performs acts of selection and inception—Musthave humane reading as well as human thought. | ||
| Chapter VII | ||
| How We make Use of Mind | [112] | |
| Herbartian Psychology—“Apperception masses”—Dangersof correlation—“Concentration series”—Childrenreduced to inanities—Mind, a spiritual organism—Cannotlive upon “sweetmeats”—Burden ofeducation thrown on teacher—Danger of exaltingpersonality of teacher—“Delightful lessons”—Acrossthe Bridges, by A. Paterson—Blind alleys—Unemployment—Bestboys run to seed—Continuation Classes—EducationAct of 1918—An eight hours’ Universitycourse—Academic ideal of Education—Continuationschool, a People’s University—Dangers of utilitarianeducation—The “humanities” in English—Narrationprepares for public speaking—Father of the People’sHigh Schools—Munich schools—Worship of efficiency—Awell-grounded humanistic training produces capacity—Mr.Fisher on Continuation Schools—A moreexcellent way—Education from six to seventeen—Aliberal education for all. | ||
| Chapter VIII | ||
| The Way of the Will | [128] | |
| Will, “the sole practical faculty”—“The will is theman”—Its function, to choose, to decide—Opinionsprovided for us—We take second-hand principles—Onepossible achievement, character—Aim in education,less conduct than character—Assaults upon the will—“Suggestion”—Voluntaryand involuntary action—Wemust choose between suggestions—Danger of suggestiongiven by another with intent—Vicarious choosing—Weakenspower of choice—Parasitic creatures maybecome criminal—Gordon Riots—His will, the safeguardof a man—Indecent to probe thoughts of the“unconscious mind”—Right thinking, not self-expression—Itflows upon the stimulus of an idea—Will mustbe fortified—Knowledge of the “city of Mansoul”necessary—Also instruction concerning the will—Dangersof drifting—A child must distinguish between willand wilfulness—A strong will and “being good”—Willmust have object outside of self—Is of slow growth—Willv. impulse—A constant will, compasses evil or good—The“single eye”—Bushido—Will, subject to solicitation—Doesnot act alone—Takes the whole man—Hemust understand in order to will—Will, a free agent—Choice,a heavy labour—Obedience, the sustainer ofpersonality—Obedience of choice—Persons of constantwill—Dangers of weak allowance—Two services opento all—Self and God—Will is supreme—Will weariesof opposition—Diversion—The “way of the will”—Freewill—Wemay not think what we please—Willsupported by instructed conscience and trained reason—Educationmust prepare for immediate choice—Adequateeducation must be outward bound. | ||
| Chapter IX | ||
| The Way of the Reason | [139] | |
| Reason brings forward infallible proofs—May be furthererof counsels, good or bad—Inventions—How didyou think of it?—Children should follow steps of reasoning—Psychologyof crime—Reasonable and right,not synonymous—Reason works involuntarily—Reasonnever begins it—Reason will affirm any theory—Logic,the formula of reason—But not necessarily right—Beautyand wonder of act of reasoning—But thereare limitations—We must be able to expose fallacies—KarlMarx—Socialistic thought of to-day—Reasonrequires material to work upon—Reason subject tohabit—Children must have principles—Be able todetect fallacies—Must know what Religion is—Miracles—Quasi-religiousoffers—Great things of life cannot beproved—Reason is fallible—Children, intensely reasonable—Reasoningpower of a child does not wait upontraining—But children do not generalise—Must not behurried to formulate—Mathematics should not monopoliseundue time—Cannot alone produce a reasonablesoul. | ||
| Chapter X | ||
| The Curriculum | [154] | |
| Standard in Secondary Schools set by public examinations—ElementarySchools less limited with regard tosubjects—A complete curriculum in the nature of things—Educationstill at sea—Children have inherent claims—Lawof supply and demand—Human nature a compositewhole—The educational rights of man—We maynot pick and choose—Shelley offers a key—Mistakes v.howlers—Knowledge should be consecutive, intelligent,complete—Hours of work, not number of subjects,bring fatigue—Short hours—No preparation. | ||
| Section I: The Knowledge of God | [158] | |
| Knowledge of God indispensable—Mothers communicateit best—Relation to God a first-born affinity—“Kiddies”not expected to understand—School educationbegins at six—No conscious mental effort should berequired earlier—Dr. Johnson on “telling again”—Twoaspects of Religion—Attitude of Will towards God—Gradualperception of God—Goethe on repose of soul—Childrenmust have passive as well as active principle—NewTestament teaching must be grounded on Old—Scepticalchildren—Must not be evaded or answeredfinally—A thoughtful commentator necessary—Methodof lessons, six to twelve, twelve to fifteen, fifteen toeighteen—Aids of modern scholarship—Dogmaticteaching comes by inference—Very little hortatoryteaching desirable—Synthetic study of life and teachingof Christ, a necessity—“Authentic comment”essayed in verse—Catechism—Prayer Book—ChurchHistory. | ||
| Section II: The Knowledge of Man | [169] | |
| (a) History: Montaigne on history—The League ofNations and its parallels—Henry VIII on precedent—Dangersof indifference to history—Rational patriotismdepends upon knowledge of history—History mustgive more than impressions and opinions—P.U.S. methodmultiplies time—Concentrated attention givento the right books—Condition, a single reading—Attentiona natural function—Teacher’s interest an incentive—Teacherwho “makes allowance” for wandering,hinders—Narration in the history lesson—Distinctionbetween word memory and mind memory—Englishhistory for children of six to nine—Of nine to twelve—Frenchhistory—Ancient history—For children oftwelve to fifteen—Indian history—European history—Historyfor pupils of fifteen to eighteen—Literature—Amental pageant of history—Gives weight to decisions,consideration to action, stability to conduct—Labourunrest—Infinite educability of all classes—Equal opportunityshould be afforded—But uneasiness apt tofollow—Knowledge brings its own satisfaction—Educationmerely a means of getting on, or, of progress towardshigh thinking and plain living. | ||
| II: The Knowledge of Man | [180] | |
| (b) Literature: Literature in Form I—Classics, notwritten down—In Form II—Children show originalityin “mere narration”—Just as Scott, Shakespeare,Homer—Children all sit down to the same feast—Eachgets according to his needs and powers—Reading forForms III and IV—Abridged editions undesirable—Childrentake pleasure in the “dry” parts—Must havea sense of wide spaces for the imagination to wander in—Judgmentturns over the folios of the mind—Statesmanship,formed upon wide reading—Reading forForms V and VI (fifteen to eighteen). | ||
| II: The Knowledge of Man | [185] | |
| (c) Morals and Economics: Citizenship: Form I—Tales—Fables—Hearsof great citizens—Form II—Theinspiration of citizenship—Plutarch—Present daycitizenship—Problems of good and evil—Plutarch doesnot label actions—Children weary of the doctored tale—Thehuman story always interesting—Jacob—Thegood, which is all virtuous, palls—Children must see lifewhole—Must be protected from grossness by literarymedium—Learn the science of proportion—Difficultyof choosing books—Chastely taught children watch theirthoughts—Expurgated editions—Processes of naturemust not be associated with impurity—Games—Offencesbred in the mind—Mind must be continually andwholesomely occupied—A sound body and a soundmind—Ourselves, our Souls and Bodies—An orderedpresentation of the possibilities and powers of humannature. | ||
| II: The Knowledge of Man | [190] | |
| (d) Composition: Oral, from six to seven—Dangersof teaching composition—The art of “telling”—Powerof composition innate—Oral and written from nine totwelve—Integral part of education in every subject—Fromtwelve to fifteen—An inevitable consequence offree and exact use of books—Verse—Scansion—Rhythm—Accent—Subjectmust be one of keen interest—Fromfifteen to eighteen, some definite teaching—Suggestionsor corrections—Education bears on the issuesand interests of everyday life. | ||
| II: The Knowledge of Man | [209] | |
| (e) Languages: English—Grammar—Begin with sentence—Difficultyof abstract knowledge—French—Narrationfrom the beginning—Italian—German—Latin. | ||
| II: The Knowledge of Man | [213] | |
| (f) Art: Art is of the spirit—Reverent knowledge ofpictures themselves—Method—No talk of schoolsof painting or style—Picture tells its own tale—Drawing—Originalillustrations—Figures—Objects—Colour—Fieldstudies—Architecture—Clay-modelling—Artistichandicrafts—Musical Appreciation. | ||
| Section III: The Knowledge of the Universe | [218] | |
| (a) Science: Huxley—“Common information”—Booksshould be literary in character—French approachto science—Principles underlying science meet for literarytreatment—Details of application too technicalfor school work—Universal principles must be linkedwith common incidents—Verbiage that darkens counsel—Out-of-doorwork—Natural history, botany, astronomy,physiology, hygiene, general science—A duecombination of field work with literary comments—Fataldivorce between science and the “humanities”—NatureNote Books—Science not a utilitarian subject. | ||
| Geography: Suffers from utilitarian spirit—Mysteryand beauty gone—Modern geography, concerned withman’s profit—A map should unfold a panorama ofdelight—Map work—Children read and picture descriptions—Knowledgeof England, a key to the world—Navalhistory—Empire geography—Current geography—Countriesof Europe—Romance of natural features,peoples, history, industries—Generalisations, not geography—Childrenmust see with the mind’s eye—Twoways of teaching geography—Inferential method—Butgeneral principles open to modification—No local colourand personal interests—No imaginative conception—Panoramicmethod—Gives colour, detail, proportion,principles—Pictures not of much use—Except thoseconstructed by the imagination from written descriptions—Surveyof Asia—Africa—America—Physicalgeography—Geography in connection with history—Practicalgeography. | ||
| III: The Knowledge of the Universe | [230] | |
| (b) Mathematics: Reasoning powers do not wait uponour training—Beauty and truth of Mathematics—Asense of limitation wholesome—We should hear sursumcorda in natural law—Mind invigorated by hard exercise—Mathematicseasy to examine upon—Dangers of educationdirected not to awaken awe but to secure exactness—Whichdoes not serve in other departments oflife—Work upon special lines qualifies for work on thoseonly—Mathematics to be studied for their own sake—Notas they make for general intelligence and graspof mind—Genius has her rights—Tendency to sacrificethe “humanities” to Mathematics—Mathematics dependupon the teacher—Few subjects worse taught—Anecessary part of education. | ||
| III: The Knowledge of the Universe | [233] | |
| (c) Physical Development, Handicrafts. No specialmethods for these. |
| BOOK II | ||
| THEORY APPLIED | ||
| Chapter I | ||
| A Liberal Education in Elementary Schools | [235] | |
| A liberal education, birthright of every child—Goodlife implies cultivated intelligence—Difficulty of offeringHumanism to everyone—Problem solved at last—bythe Drighlington School (Yorks)—Teachers, not satisfied—Potency,not property, characteristic of mind—Wetry to give potency rather than knowledge—Result,devitalisation—Mind receives knowledge in orderto grow, not to know—Office of teacher depreciated—Hehas prophetic power of appeal and inspiration—Delightfulcommerce of equal minds—And friction of willsceases—Children not products of education and environment—Carlyleon “a person”—Children not incompleteand undeveloped, but ignorant and weak—Potentialitiesof a child as he is—David Copperfield—Knowledge,conceived in mind—Ignorance, a chiefcause of our difficulties—Matthew Arnold—Threedivisions of knowledge—All classed under Humanism—Mindacts upon it—Vitality results—Mind andknowledge like ball and socket joint—Results ofP.N.E.U. method made good by thousands of children—Workdone by self-effort—Single reading testedby narration—No revision—For children know—Useproper names with ease—Write fully—Rarely makehowlers—Get at gist of book or subject—Children ofsix to eight dictate answers at examination time—Teacherreads with intention—Is careful to produceauthor—Children listen with attention—No selectionof subjects—Book read through—Older children readfor themselves—Work done in less time—No preparation—Noworking-up—Time for vocational work—Sucheducation, a social lever—A venture of faith—Inknowledge and in children—A new product appears—Peculiarexperience, misleading—General experiencetestifies to laws—Usual educational equipment basedon false assumption—Which intervenes between childand knowledge—Method specially suitable for largeclasses—Labour of correction minimised—Choice ofbooks—Character of P.U.S. examination—Children rejectwrong book—Great cause of Education v. Civilisation—Grandelementary principle of pleasure—Onlyone education common to all. | ||
| Chapter II | ||
| A Liberal Education in Secondary Schools | [250] | |
| Pelmanism, an indictment—Monotonous drudgery thestumbling-block to education—A “play way”—Handicrafts—Eurhythmics—Enthusiasmof teachersamazing—Education, a passion—Joan and Peter types—PublicSchool men do the work of the world—Butschools do not teach what a boy wants to know—Mulishresistance—Ways of mind subtle and evasive—Theerror of “not what you know that matters but how youlearn it”—Every school must educate every scholar—Whatis knowledge?—Intellectual requirements satisfiedby bridge and golf—Attention acts without marks,praise or blame—But training, not education—Nofaculties, only mind—Text-books make no appeal tomind—Way of Natural Science through field workilluminated by literature—Mind, a crucible, but nopower to distil ideas from sawdust—Dr. Arnold—“Veryvarious reading”—Mind, a deceiver ever—Classwill occupy itself and accomplish nothing—Outer courtof mind—Inner place where personality dwells—We“go over it in our minds”—Attention must not beallowed a crutch—Should be tested by the reader—Knowledge,received with attention, fixed by narration—Wehave ceased to believe in mind—Physicalbrain and spiritual mind—Education must go as abolt to the mind—Teacher not a bridge—A key tohumanistic teaching in English—A liberal education,measured by the number of substantives used withfitness and simplicity—The school not merely a nurseryfor the formation of character—Knowledge incommon for the “masses” and the “classes”—Allhearts rise to a familiar allusion—Speech with thosewho know—Opposition, natural resource of ignorance—Ademocratic education—We shall cease to presentmotives of self-interest and personal advantage—Theclassics in English—Old exclusive education mustbroaden its base and narrow its bounds—Avoid overlapping—Academicsuccess and knowledge not thesame thing—Brilliant, average and dull children delightin knowledge—It unites the household—Makes childrendelightful companions—A fine sense of things worthknowing and living for—Magnanimity, proper outcomeof education—The schoolboy’s sterile syllabus—Inspite of culture common among teachers—A methodwhich brings promise of relief from aphasia—Barrennessin the written essay—Oral composition, a habitfrom six to eighteen—Method cannot be worked withouta firm adherence to principle—Otherwise the booksa failure—Parents must provide necessary books—Whichmust take root in the homes—Spelling comeswith the use of books—Books and text-books—Thechoice of books, a question of division of labour—Terminalexaminations, records of permanent value—Bibleteaching must further the knowledge of God—Thelaw and the prophets still interpreters—History, therich pasture of the mind—Amyot on history—Plutarch—Poets—Everyage has its poetic aspect—Gathered upby a Shakespeare—A Dante—A world possession—Anessence of history which is poetry—An essence ofscience to be expressed in exquisite prose—Art—Drawing,not a means of self-expression—Languages—Possibilityof becoming linguists—Finally, another basis foreducation—Which must be in touch with life—We aimat securing the vitality of many minds—Which shallmake England great in art and in life—Great charactercomes from great thoughts—Great thoughts from greatthinkers—Thinking, not doing, the source of character. | ||
| Chapter III | ||
| The Scope of Continuation Schools | [279] | |
| Napoleonic Wars outcome of the wrong thinking ofignorance—Intellectual renaissance followed—To besuperseded by the utilitarian motive—ContinuationSchool movement—Technical education—The MunichSchools—“The utilitarian theory profoundly immoral”—“Serviceand self-direction”—But food and worknot synonymous terms—The wide reading of greatstatesmen—Duly ordered education means self-sustainingminds and bodies—Moral bankruptcy—Co-existentwith utilitarian education—Moral madness—Nationalinsanity—The better man does better work—Germanefficiency—We depreciate ourselves—People’s HighSchools of Denmark—“A well of healing in the land”—“Toblend all classes into one”—A profoundlyChristian movement—Widely liberal as that of the“Angelic Doctor”—Agricultural schools—Humanistictraining for business capacity—A village should offerhappy community life—Intellectual well-being makesfor stability—An empty mind seizes on any notion—Ahungry mind, responsible for labour unrest—ContinuationSchools should not exist for technical instruction—Eveninghours still free for recreation—Eight hoursa week for things of the mind—Not for opinions—Lestleisure bore and strikes attract—But for knowledge—Notfor due exercise but for food—Noeducation but self-education—A great discoveryhas been vouchsafed—Not a “good idea” or a“good plan”—But a natural law in action—Grundtvigsaw impassible barrier of no literary background—Buthope of Comenius “all knowledge for all men”is taking shape—In the case of thousands of children—Evendull and backward ones—Under the rightconditions—Knowledge meet for the people—TheParents’ Union School—A common curriculum for allchildren of all classes—Test of a liberal education—Onlyone education common to all—Nothing can actbut where it is—National work done by men broughtup on the “humanities”—Fetish of progress—Thestill progress of growth—The “humanities” in Englishalone, bring forth stability and efficiency—A commonground of thought has cohesive value—Kindleslight in the eyes—Peace, signalised by a new bond ofintellectual life—Danger of ignorance in action—Ahopeful sign—Demos perceives the lack. | ||
| Chapter IV | ||
| The Basis of National Strength | ||
| A Liberal Education from a National Standpoint | [300] | |
| 1. Knowledge: Failure of attempt to educate averageboy—Industrial unrest often reveals virtue but want ofknowledge—Dangerous tendency—The spirit of thehorde—Individual, less important—“Countenance,”a manifestation of thought, dropped out of use—Neverwere more devoted teachers—Substitutes for knowledge—Amischievous fallacy—A child brought up for usesof society—Joy in living a chief object of education—Knowledgeis the source of Pleasure—Children getknowledge for their own sakes—Assets within powerof all—Intellectual resources—No dull hours—Knowledgepassed like light of torch from mind to mind—Kindledat original minds—A school judged by booksused—Indirect method of teaching—Parables of Christ—Notenough even of the right books—Children, beings“of large discourse”—Alertness comes of handlingvarious subjects—Scholarship v. knowledge—Napoleona great reader—Nations grow great upon books—QueenLouisa of Prussia—Kant—Fichte—The Danes—TheJapanese. | ||
| 2. Letters, Knowledge and Virtue: Classics take somuch time—But University men, our educationalachievement—Letters, the content of Knowledge—Knowledge,not a store but a state—Culture beginswith the knowledge that everything has been said andknown—We have a loss to make good—Rich and poorused to be familiar with the Bible—A well of Englishundefiled—And no longer rule as those who serve—Recklessnessdue to ignorance—Scholarship, an exquisitedistinction—But not the best thing—Erudition, outof count—The average boy—Ladies of the Italian andFrench Renaissance—Tudor women—“Infinitely informed”—Aleakage somewhere—Democracy comingin like a flood—Examination tests should safeguardLetters—Which open life-long resources—We need apractical philosophy—Not to be arrived at by Economics,Eugenics—But gathered harvests of Letters. | ||
| 3. Knowledge, Reason and Rebellion: Irresponsibilitycharacterises our generation—Lettered ignorance followsspecious arguments to logical conclusions—Reasonapt to be accompanied by Rebellion—Reason cannottake place of Knowledge—Shakespeare on reason—Theart of living is long—Bodies of men act with momentumwhich may be paralysing or propelling—Glorious thingto perceive action of mind, reasoning power—Greektraining in use and power of words—Great thoughtsanticipate great works—People, conversant with greatthoughts—Knowledge of The Way, the Truth, the Life—Aregion of sterility in intellectual life—Science thepreoccupation of our age—Principle of life goes withflesh stripped away—History expires—Poetry, notbrought forth—Religion faints—Science, without wonder,not spiritual—Eighteenth Century Science wasalive—Lister—Pasteur—Science, as taught, leaves uscold—Coleridge has revealed the secret—Science waitsits literature—We are all to blame—Man does not liveby bread alone—We are losing our sense of spiritualvalues—An industrial revolution—“Humbler franchises”won by the loss of “spiritual things”—Wordsworth—TradeUnionism a tyranny, centuries ago—Predictsno triumph for Syndicalism now—Irresponsiblethought and speech—Question must be raisedto plane of spiritual things—Working man demands toolittle—And things that do not matter—For knowledge,the basis of a nation’s strength. | ||
| 4. New and Old Conceptions of Knowledge: Knowledge,undefined and undefinable—Knowledge v. facts—Englandsuffering from intellectual inanition—Mediævalconception of knowledge—Filosofica della ReligioneCattolica—The Adoration of the Lamb—PrometheanFable—Knowledge does not arrive casually—Isnot self-generated in man—“The teaching power of theSpirit of God”—Unity of purpose in the education ofthe race—Knowledge comes to the man who is ready—“AbtVogler”—All knowledge is sacred—A greatwhole—Mind lives by knowledge—Which must not belimited by choice—or time—Knowledge and “learning”—Countryneeds persons of character—“New”educational systems present a grain of knowledge in agallon of diluent—Rousseau’s theory—Joy in “sport”—Knowledgeplays no part in these—“Get understanding,”our need—Fallacious arguments—Prejudice—Platitudes—Insincerity,outcome of ignorance—Mostteachers doing excellent work—New universities fullof promise—But need for the “Science of Relations”—Andthe Science of the proportion of things. | ||
| 5. Education and the Fulness of Life: “I must livemy life”—What should the life be?—We are doingsomething—The book of nature—Relations withMother Earth—Sports—Handicrafts—Art—We allthrive in the well-being of each—The contribution ofour generation to the science of education—Person tobe brought up for his own uses—But what of mind?—Mechanicalart of reading, not reading—An unsuspectedunwritten law concerning “material” converted intoknowledge—The Logos—“The words of eternal life”—Words,more things than events—Rhetoric a power—Motivesconveyed by words—American negroes fellupon books—Mechanical labour performed in solitude—Labourgoes better because “my mind to me a kingdomis”—Browning on mind—“Have mynde”—Faithhas grown feeble, Hope faints, Charity waxesstrong—But social amelioration not enough—Thepleasant places of the mind—Books, “watered down”—Christexposed profoundest philosophy to the multitude—Workingmen value knowledge—Can deal withit—Emotional disturbances come from mind hunger. | ||
| 6. Knowledge in Literary Form: Mind demandsmethod—No one can live without a philosophy whichpoints out the end of effort—A patchwork of principlesbetrays us—Human nature has not failed—But educationhas failed us—A new scale of values—We wantmore life—Engrossing interests—We want hope—Pleasurecomes in effort, not attainment—We want to begoverned—A new start—Other ways of looking atthings—We are uneasy—And yet almost anyone willrisk his life—Splendid magnanimity in the War—Weare not decadent—Are ready for a life of passionatedevotion—Our demands met by Words—And by themanifestation of a Person—“The shout of a King”among us—But understanding, prior to good works—Aconsummate philosophy which meets every occasion—Theteaching of Christ—Other knowledge “dumb”without the fundamental knowledge—Our latest educationalauthority on imagination—Rousseau—Our chiefbusiness the education of the succeeding generation—Theslough of materialism—Children must have freedomof city of mind even in order to handle things—Imaginationdoes not work upon a visual presentation—Dr.Arnold and mental pictures—“Selections” tobe avoided—Dangers of the flood-gates of knowledge—Erasmus—Rossetti—FriedrichPerthes—Publishersand their educational mission—Dr. Arnold on reading—Acrucial moment—John Bull on the results of fortyyears’ education—England can be saved—Knowledgeexalteth a nation—Matthew Arnold’s monition. | ||
| Supplementary | ||
| Too Wide a Mesh | [343] | |
| A luminous figure of Education—But only ‘universalopportunity’—No new thing—No universal boon likeair—Only for the few who choose—No reflection onPublic Schools but on the system of the Big Mesh—Theletters of two Public School boys pathetic but reassuring—Desireof knowledge, inextinguishable—Butlimitations of the absence of education—No cultivatedsense of humour—No sense of the supreme delightfulnessof knowledge—Coningsby—Teaching how to learn,a farce—No avenue to knowledge but knowledge itself. | ||
| Index | [349] |