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 Let it now be supposed that we have so far made progress toward the millennium as to have some of these evils largely remedied. And surely this is not an extravagant or hopeless supposition. The preparatory schools would then receive their pupils, thoroughly well instructed in certain elementary branches, at the average age of twelve or thirteen years; that is to say, their pupils would already read, write, and spell in the English language easily and correctly; they would have finished arithmetic; they would have learned the principal facts touching the structure and position of the earth as a planet, and touching the natural and political divisions of its surface; they would be familiar with the outlines of the history of their own country. The instruction of the preparatory school should then extend over a period of about six years more; that is, from about the age of twelve to about the age of eighteen. It should be thoroughly organized, not with a view to furnish a large number of courses, whether prescribed or elective, but with a view to impart a thorough and progressive training in a few great and representative subjects. It should be bifurcated so as to prepare men with a general scientific culture which places the emphasis either upon a knowledge of language and the humanities, or upon a knowledge of mathematics and the facts and laws of nature.

In the foregoing way it would be possible, I