תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

clever, too able, and too good a man to be deeply infected, but the result on smaller men is sometimes very distressing.

The opponents of the new spirit in education are making great efforts to saddle it with the odium which attaches to such terms as Utilitarianism and Philistinism; efforts which every true friend of progress should steadily withstand. The study of modern Science is not necessarily Utilitarianism; the study of Greek plays is not necessarily Culture. A true Culture, suited to the days in which we live, is as far from making a man a grovelling money-getter on the one hand, believing in nothing but coal and iron and spindles, as it is in making him a finical dilettante on the other, believing in nothing but "sweetness and light." Sweetness and light are good, and Heaven knows! we stand much in need of them, and ought to be properly thankful to the preachers of them; but we need strength as well, and strength will never come out of dilettantism. If Mr. Arnold would look where Mrs. Gaskell looked for Mary Barton, where George Eliot looked for Felix Holt, he would perhaps find that there is sometimes in homely garb a Godgiven culture that does not come from Universities. As for the sweetness and light of the defenders of Governor Eyre and the sympathizers with slaveholding rebellions, the sweetness and light of the Kingsleys and the Ruskins,—even, we grieve to say it, of the Tennysons of England, the less that is said about that just now, perhaps, the better. And then the "sweetness" of Carlyle after "Niagara !"— sweetness of verjuice and green crab-apples!

Mr. Arnold is a poet, and if not one of the highest order, yet a good and true one; but we think we see the weakness of his theory even in what he says of poetry. Poetry and Religion! As if the two could be separated! If the "undevout astronomer is mad," surely so also is the undevout poet. What dragged

the marvellous genius of poor Byron in the mire, and made Don Juan the crowning work of his life? No lack of intellect or poetic genius, but a lack of moral and religious greatness. Why do we expect no great things from Swinburne or Whitman? Because they unblushingly proclaim their own sensuality. We would not couple Mr. Arnold's name for a moment with these last we hasten to put his books into our daughters' hands - but when he strives to separate the soul of the poet, which is one, and seems to imply that religious purity and religious faith are not essential to him, he takes, it seems to us, too low a view of his own beautiful art he is thinking of tea-meetings and the Non-Conformist.

Are we to conclude then that there is no culture in England? The lower classes, Heaven help them! - we know, are little raised above the brutes they tend. It is Mr. Arnold, not we, who calls the great English middle class sordid Philistines. As for the artificial aristocracy, whose power is passing away, we fear it is but too well represented by worthless Princes of Wales and Dukes of Hamilton. And Church-of-Englandism certainly seems to be fast going to seed in ecclesiastical upholstery and ritualistic man-millinery.

Where then is the true culture of England? We think Mr. Arnold will find some of it, if he will look there, in these very men of science whose pursuits his class of thinkers are so swift to stigmatize as "utilitarian." He will soon find it, now that the Reform-Bill has passed, — though by strange ways and unexpected

[ocr errors]

instruments, if he will be patient, in regions which, to him, from his lofty Oxford pinnacle, are now quite invisible, or else seem peopled wholly by Philistines.

We wish that Mr. Arnold, discontented as he is with so much that he sees about him in Old England, would pay us descendants of the Puritans here a visit in New England, He will no longer have to come in a Mayflower, with Winslow, and Carver, and Bradford, and Standish. We hope he may have the fortune to come with any men half as great or half as good. He will sign no compact beginning "In the name of God, amen!"- twenty lines that formed the foundation for the laws of a future nation. We know when and how it is that Englishmen of culture now think that new nations come into being, and what foundation they should stand on. If he will visit us, we cannot promise that he will not see much that will shock his delicate sensibilities, but it will be a healthy shock, and he is one of the men to understand us when he sees us. We believe that the aspect of this country, rude as we are when judged by his standard, would give him a light on the problems of the future, which he will seek in vain amidst his present surroundings.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY IN GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.

We are glad to learn that Messrs. Rolfe and Gillett, of the Cambridge High School, have in press, as an appendage to their High School Course of Physics, a small volume of about 100 pages, entitled the Elements of Natural Philosophy. "It will treat," says the prospectus, " of the simple facts of gravity; of the methods of weighing; of the simple machines; of hand-power, horse-power, windpower, water-power and steam-power, and of the laws of motion and of falling bodies." In other words it will treat of Mechanics, Hydrostatics and Hydraulics, and all the subjects usually found in the Natural Philosophies, except Electricity, Light and Heat, which are reserved for the High School. We hope and believe it will prove a good book of its kind. We have before expressed a strong opinion that more or less of Natural Philosophy can and ought to be taught in our Grammar Schools. By curtailing the absurdities of grammatical study alone - a study which now lies like an incubus on these schools- room might be found for it. President Hill has shown and there can be no higher authority on such a subject-how by proper teaching, the time devoted to Arithmetic may be shortened; and he proved experimentally in the grammar schools of Waltham that room might be found even in Grammar Schools for the study of Plane Geometry, — an invaluable mental training, and yet the boys and girls could come out better and not worse trained in Arithmetic. We heard not a great while ago, a "perfect" recitation in History by a class in a Grammar-School. The children were many of them Irish, and we could not help being amused—though indeed it was a serious matter at the ludicrous inappropriateness to their circumstances and future wants of much of the information which they rattled off verbatim. We were treated to names and minute dates and details of which in all humility we must confess

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

that we ourselves were profoundly ignorant. Such learning, even if it is half understood, will not stay by such children, - cannot find a permanent lodgement in such brains, there is nothing there for it to assimilate with, and that is the reason why so much school learning which astonishes simple parents never turns up again after the children have once seen the last of the school-room doors. But teach the future blacksmith the properties of the lever,the future carpenter why he must put in the ends of his five foot brace at three and four feet from the corner, the future mistress of a family what soap is made of, and what makes bread rise and they will not only be interested at the time but they will not forget; it becomes permanent knowledge. The following when administered verbatim to children of tender years does not,-"In his domestic policy Jackson was opposed to devoting the public revenue to internal improvements, believing" &c., &c. Patrick and Bridget, even young Jonathan, while of tender years, are not altogether competent to appreciate the arguments respecting internal improvements, and such high matters.

It may be said that we are making too large demands on grammar teachers and grammar pupils, by thus apparently enlarging the course of study. We believe we are lessening the demands on pupils by making those demands more natural. It is not the amount, but the unsuitableness of school studies, that so often makes them burdensome to children by making them odious. And as for teachers, the sooner they wake up to the fact that we are arrived at a time when new demands are being made upon them, when teaching cannot be a refuge for incapacity and imbecility, but that the profession is offering more and more inducements to talent and ability to enlist in it, and that incapacity and routine will soon be driven to the wall, — the sooner the class that may be called handorgan teachers arrive at this conviction, and bestir themselves accordingly, the better for them.

AFTER full debate, Guyot's Common School Geography has been adopted in the Cambridge schools, by a vote of 8 to 2. Yeas, Dr. Appleton, Prof. Atkinson, Prof. Goodwin, Mr. Hall, Mr. Hammond, Rev. Mr. Mighill, Dr. Morse, Rev. Mr. Warren. Nays, Rev. Mr. Chase and Mr. Draper.

A NEWSPAPER LESSON.

Subject:-THE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER FOR AUG. 29, 1867.

1. Give an account of the following articles advertised for sale, stating what they are, from what quarter of the world they came, and what they are used for: Rosin, Kaolin, Caustic Soda, Gall Nuts, Burlaps, Madder, Cutch, Paraffine Wax, Gambier, Gum "Benjamin," Sumac, Gunny Cloths.

2.

"Patent tin-lined water-pipe what is the object of the lining?

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

3. "A writer in the London Times in condemning the expression, the Commons disagree to the amendment,' also attacks the phrase different to, used by Mr. Thackeray. What is your opinion?

4.

"Since the ladies have substituted little patches of gauze lace and ribbon for bonnets the straw-plaiters of Hertfordshire in England have fallen into great distress. Why is such distress less likely to occur to the population of any district in this country?

5. 66

Sterling and continental exchange for sale." What is exchange?

6. "For Valparaiso direct, the new barque Don Teodoro." Where is Valparaiso? What does the name mean? What is the barque probably going there for?

7. "7-30s converted into 5-20s"- what are they? "St. Louis 6 per cent water-bonds". what are they? "First mortgage, thirty-year 6 per cent coupon bonds." What is a "mortgage," and what is a 66 coupon ?"

8.

"Improved gaslight." What is gas, and how is it made?

9. "The Franklin Insurance Company. The Arkwright Mutual Fire Insurance Company." What is insurance? and what is the difference between insurance and mutual insurance ?

12.

10. "Cochituate Water Board." "100 M clapboards." What is the difference between the two kinds of boards, and how many of the latter are there in 100 M? 11. "The subscriber has been appointed executor." What is an executor? "Spoken June 25, lat. 32.20, lon. 35.40, ship Brewster, from New York for San Francisco; July 21, lat. 10 N., lon. 26 W., ship Castilian, of Newburyport, from Callao for Cork; Aug. 8, lat. 9.30 N. lon. 43.20, barque Clifton, from Rio Janeiro for Baltimore." Find these places on the map.

Assignee's notice." What is bankruptcy? What
What is an assignee?

14. "In Bankruptcy. is the derivation of the word?

[ED.

The Potential Mood." To these moods many grammarians add the Potential Mood, meaning, by that mood, certain combinations of the so-called auxiliary verbs may, might, can, could, would, should, must, with the infinitive mood. This is objectionable: 1. Because such a way of forming a mood is different from what we find in the case of the other moods, which depend upon inflection. 2. Because the said potential mood would need to be itself subdivided into indicative forms and subjunctive forms. This sentence, "I could do this at one time, but I cannot now," and "I could not do this if I were to try," do not contain the same parts of the verb can. In the first sentence could is in the indicative mood; in the second, it is in the subjunctive mood. 3. Because no grammatical analogy justifies us in calling these compound expressions moods. I can write and I must go are no more moods of the verbs write and go than possum scribere is a mood of scribo in Latin; or Je puis écrire, Ich kann schreiben and Ich muss gehen moods of the verbs écrire, schreiben, gehen in French and German. The potential mood seems to have been invented because grammarians did not know what to do with an infinitive mood that is not preceded by to."-Mason.

"Such forms as "I may see," "I can see," have sometimes been considered as a variety of mood to which the name " Potential" is given. But this cannot properly

be maintained. There is no trace of any inflection corresponding to this meaning, as we find with the subjunctive. Moreover, such a mood would have itself to be subdivided into indicative and subjunctive forms; "I may go,” “If I may go;" and farther we might proceed to constitute other moods on the same analogy; as, for example, an obligatory mood, "I must go," or "I ought to go;" a mood of resolution, "I will go," "You shall go; " a mood of gratification, “I am delighted to go; " of deprecation, "I am grieved to go." — Bain.

"It is very true, as observed by Sanctius, that the great mass of grammatical writers are so extremely discordant in their opinions respecting this part of the science of which they treat, that they have left us scarcely anything on it which may be said to be established by general consent. Some make only three moods, others four, five, six, and even eight. Again, some call these affec tions of the verb moods; others call them divisions, qualities, states, species, etc.; and as to the various appellations of each mood, we have the personative and impersonative, the indicative, declarative, definitive, modus finiendi, modus fatendi, the rogative, interrogative, inquisitive, percontative, assertive, enunciative, vocative, precative, deprecative, responsive, concessive, permissive, promissive, exhortative, optative, dubitative, imperative, mandative, conjunctive, subjunctive, adjunctive, potential, participial, infinitive, and probably many others." Sir John Stoddard.

Science vs. Grammar. —" A boy who has learned grammar has learned to talk and write all his life. I apprehend these [physical] sciences, the greater part of them, are not above seventy years old, and therefore the people who become cultivators in these paths are but a young world. They do not inherit all the world has had of knowledge and power for thousands and thousands of years." [As, e. g., on the subject of moods.] — Evidence of Dr. Moberly, Head Master of Winchester School, before a Parliamentary Commission.

Grammatical Gender.· "The attribution of any gender to inanimate things only leads to endless confusion and anomaly, and a multiplication of rules and exceptions, for the most part admitting of no rational explanation, but due to the varying influences of fancy or caprice. It is the relic of a time when the imagination was much more active than now, and when the energetic fancy of mankind attributed a life, analogous in some respects to its own, to the whole external world; and, as some would express it, tinged everything with which it dealt with some faint trace of its own subjectivity. The necessity of regarding everything as partaking of life, and therefore as having some gender, is a heritage of the childish-poetic stage of human intelligence, when language was regarded as an end as well as a means, and when the mind felt an imperious necessity that the forms of language should faithfully reflect the slightest variations of conception.

The fancifulness of genders may be seen by comparing the same word in different languages. Thus kardia, "heart," is feminine; but cor is neuter, and cœur masculine. In French labeur is masculine, douleur feminine; and couleur, though derived from color, is feminine, arbre, though from arbor, masculine. In

« הקודםהמשך »