Page:Aristopia (1895).pdf/152

 The children of all these differing peoples grew up Aristopians all, differing in creed, it is true, but never dreaming of attempting to suppress the creed of others or force their own views upon others. They were all educated from the same books in the public schools, where no sectarian doctrines were allowed to be taught.

That the ideas of the age demanded something in the nature of religion in schools Governor Morton could not deny; but he persuaded the people to be contented with the reading in the schools of a volume composed of the four gospels with simple historical comments, to enable the children to understand the literal meaning of the words; but all attempts at doctrinal comment or explanation were excluded. The version used was the King James', but in the reformed spelling, as were all the school-books of Aristopia.

Governor Morton had established a large printing-office, which every year turned out many thousand volumes of works of useful knowledge. He employed persons in England not only to make translations of works in Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish, but to rewrite, in a concise and popular style, works written in a prolix and