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On the Effects of Education

a schoolmaster in the Maghrib country, who was sour-faced, of uncouth speech, ill-humoured, troublesome to the people, of a beggarly nature, and without self-restraint, so that the very sight of him disgusted the Mussalmâns, and when reading the Qurân he distressed the hearts of the people. A number of innocent boys and little maidens suffered from the hand of his tyranny, venturing neither to laugh nor to speak, because he would slap the silver cheeks of some, and put the crystal legs of others into the stocks. In short, I heard that when his behaviour had attained some notoriety, he was expelled from the school and another installed as corrector, who happened to be a religious, meek, good, and wise man. He spoke only when necessary, and found no occasion to deal harshly with anyone, so that the children lost the fear they had entertained for their first master, and, taking advantage of the angelic manners of the second, they acted like demons towards each other, and, trusting in his gentleness, neglected their studies, spending most of their time in play, and breaking on the heads of each other the tablets of their unfinished tasks.

Two weeks afterwards I happened to pass near the same mosque, where I [again] saw the first master, whom the people had made glad [by reconciliation] and had re-installed in his