Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 7.djvu/419

Rh we must build; if we ignore or lose sight of them, our structure will be unsound. Simple facts must be stated in a simple way.

The first thing to be determined is, the true object of the higher education. Is it, as some would seem to suppose, purely ornamental, a thing valuable only as far as it gives a man extra polish and elegance of mind, a mere luxury, with no practical bearings upon the every-day duties of common, busy life? Such an idea is preposterous. Of course, ornamental culture is something to be desired; its acquirement confers honor upon the acquirer; facilities should be furnished for its attainment. But true education, including all this, goes far deeper. Its purpose is to develop the mind; to strengthen the thinking faculties in every possible direction; to render the acquisition of new knowledge easier and surer; to increase the student's resources; and to render him better fitted for dealing with the useful affairs of the world. Such an education is never completed; it grows throughout a lifetime; it is self-propagating; its most valuable features are acquired outside of schools and colleges. All that a college can do is to help lay its foundations, by training the mental power for subsequent use. Which course of studies best carries out this purpose?

The argument has been summed up by certain advocates of the new school in the following very condensed way: "Science deals with things, language with words. Words merely represent things. Surely the knowledge of the thing itself is worth more than the knowledge of its symbol." But this reasoning, however sound it may be at the core, is rather too curt and dogmatic to carry conviction. No reasonable being can deny the great value of a study of language. Different races of men must exchange their ideas. A man cannot be called liberally educated who has no knowledge of any tongue other than his own. But shall linguistic studies be allowed to occupy the first rank in our college courses? Are they to almost monopolize the attention of the student, or shall they be made subordinate to other things? Ought they to be taught independently for themselves alone, or should they be brought to bear upon other studies, so that all branches of learning may be made to fortify one another? The latter view, at least as far as our colleges are concerned, is unquestionably the correct one. The study of philology, or of language by itself, is undoubtedly of great value; but it is rather a study for the specialist than for the average student. It is, certainly, a true science; only, lacking precision in its methods, and being deficient in practical applicability to the general affairs of life, it must be left out of account for the present. In a general course of study a language should be taught because of its value in opening up other departments of knowledge. It should reveal to us the thoughts of other peoples, and enable us to avail ourselves of their experience. For most men these purposes are best fulfilled by a study of the modern tongues. Latin and Greek are valuable, no doubt, only they are less indispensable than French and