/ ' ^' # LIBRARY OF CONGRESS J I UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. § LECTURES POPULAR EDUCATION; DELIVERED TO THE EDINBURGH ASSOCIATION FOR PROCURING INSTRUCTION IN USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING SCIENCE, IN . APRIL AND NOVExMBER, 1833, AND PUBLISHED BY REaUEST OF THE DIRECTORS OF THE ASSOCIATION. By GEORGE COM ' The efforts of the people are still wanting for the purpose of promoting Education; and Parliament will render no substantial assistance, until the people themselves take the matter in hand with energy and spirit, and the de- termination to do something.' — The Lord Chancellor's Speech at TorkylOth October, 1833. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION — WITH ADDITIONS BY THE AUTHOR. BOSTON- MARSH, CAPEN & LYON. 1834. Entered according tc the Act of Congress, in the year 1834, by Marsh, Capen & Lyon, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Dis. of Mass. /f f" BOSTON: ^ ' James B. Dow, Printer, > ! 122 Washington-st. ) PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. In presenting the following Lectures to the people of the United States of America, I use the freedom to offer to their consideration a few preliminary re- marks. When a British author warns the inhabitants of a foreign country against undue encouragement of manufactures, he is listened to with great suspicion ; the belief being general, that he is actuated by a self- ish desire to preserve for his countrymen the profits of manufacturing industry, at the expense of the na- tion whom he addresses. Nevertheless, I conceive it allowable to state what I know to be truth, leaving every one to give it such a reception as it may ap- pear to himself to deserve. In Britain, a vast population has been called into existence, and trained to manufacturing industry; and their labor is supposed, by many, to be the source of the wealth, happiness, and glory of the na- tion. That the skill and industry of this portion of the people have greatly contributed to the riches of the country, is indisputable ; but the happiness of the laborious individuals who have conferred this boon, has unfortunately not kept pace with the wealth which 4 PREFACE. they have produced to their country. Several mil- lions of human beings have been trained to the man- ufacture of articles of commerce, and are unfit for every other occupation. In consequence of the in- crease of their own numbers, and improvements in machinery, the supply of labor has, for many years, outstripped the demand for it, and wages have fallen ruinously low. By an unfortunate coincidence, much of the ma- chinery of modern construction can be managed by children. The parent, who, by his own labor, for twelve hours a day, is able to earn only seven shil- lings a week, adds to his income one shilling and sixpence, or two shillings a week, for each child whom he can send to the manufactory ; and by the united wages of the family, a moderate subsistence may be eked out. The parents and children, how- ever, are reduced to a hopeless condition of toil ; and starvation stares each of them in the face, when they cease to live in combination. Mental culture, and moral and intellectual enjoyment, are excluded by penury and labor. The system tends constantly to increase the evils of which it is the source. Young persons of both sexes, when they come to maturity, find themselves scarcely able to subsist, by their own labor ; whereas, if they can add the scan- ty income of three or four children to their own, their condition is, in some degree, improved ; — be- PREFACE. cause house-rent, and the expense of furniture and fuel are not increased by the wants, in proportion to the contributions of the young. AduUs are thus tempt- ed — nay, almost driven by necessity — to contract early marriages, to rear a numerous population, devo- ted to the same employments with themselves, and in this way to add to the supply of labor, already in excess. The children grow up, and in their turn follow the same course ; and thus, however widely the manufactures of Britain may have extended, there has, for many years, existed an ignorant, starv- ing, and miserable population, more than adequate to the performance of the labor required. The reflecting and benevolent mind sees, in this state of things, the punishment which Providence inflicts on a nation which hastens to be rich, to the neglect of moral and religious improvement ; and it desires to provide a remedy for so great an evil. Hitherto, however, none that promises to be effec- tual has been discovered. The only one that pre- sents a favorable aspect, is, that of limiting the hours of labor, increasing the mental cultivation of the peo- ple, and, if possible, inducing them to postpone the age of marriage, and dedicate their children to other pursuits, so that the competitors for employment in manufactures may be diminished in number, and wages may eventually rise. The circumstances of the United States are so 6 PREFACE. different, that the lesson afforded by the operative manufacturers of Britain may be supposed not at all to apply to them. Happily this is at present the case : but the tendency of manufactures in every country, where personal liberty and property are se- cure, is to increase, and ultimately to become exces- sive ; and a wise legislature, instead of fostering, should place around them such statutory restraints as may prevent them from becoming a national calami- ty. One of the most indispensable of these regula- tions, appears to me to be, to limit the hours of la- bor, so that the operatives shall not have their whole lives dedicated to the mere creation of wealth, but shall have a portion of every day left free for the cul- tivation of their rational powers ; and the second is, to provide the means of communicating sohd and useful information to this and every other class of the community. The inhabitants of the United States enjoy so many natural advantages, and are cramped by so few artificial barriers of private interest, that they are more favorably situated than any other peo- ple, for exhibiting man in his legitimate character — a religious, moral, and intellectual being. If the fol- lowing Lectures shall, in any degree, promote this end, the author will have attained the highest object of his ambition. 23 Charlotte Square, \ * Edinburgh, 1st January, 1834. ) ^ CONTENTS. LECTURE I. Page. Utility of Education 7 View of Man's position on Earth 10 Physical Nature prepared for him 10 His faculties adapted to its constitution 13 Hence knowledge of that constitution necessary to his welfare '17 Man is guided not by Instinct, but by Reason 18 Reason cannot act with advantage without knowledge, founded on observation and experience > 20 Present state of Education 24 Languages 24 Origin of study of Greek and Latin 28 Reasons why Greek and Latin exclusively were taught at Grammar Schools , 30 Importance of these languages overrated 36 LECTURE IL Language necessary as the means of acquiring* knowl- ..45 But knowledge of objects and their relations indispen- in useful education 48 8 CONTENTS. Prussian system of education 52 Education in German boarding-schools 54 Dr. Drummond's defence of utility of scientific educa- tion to the industrious classes , 59 Plan of education for these classes 66 Abridgment of hours of labor necessary 68 Legitimate effects of machinery ought to be to give lei- sure to the people 70 The human race in the dawn of its existence: impor- tant discoveries are of very recent date .74 Objection that the people are incapable of improve- ment answered 79 Interference of the Legislature in regulating the habits of the people 81 LECTURE IlL Education of the Female sex 84 Influence of Mothers on the character of their children great 92 Evils attendant on imperfect Female education 95 Mrs. John Sanford's observations. 97 Mrs. Willard's remarks 97 Notice of the Association for procuring Instruction in Useful and Entertaining Science 100 Objections to it ansvvered 103 Its remarkable success 120 APPENDIX. Summary of proceedings of the Association I'i2 LECTURE 1. A FEW years ago, no question was more frequent- ly asked than, What is the use of Education ? and to none was it more difficult to give a satisfactory answer ; not because education is of no use, but be- cause the very term was apprehended in such a va- riety of senses by different individuals, that it was impossible to show that education was calculated to attain the precise advantage which each aspired to, when pursuing his own notions of utility. Besides, education is calculated to correct so many errors in practice, and to supply so many deficiences in hu- man institutions, that volumes would be required to render its real importance thoroughly conspicuous. Owing to the want of a philosophy of mind, educa- tion has hitherto been conducted empirically ; and, in- stead of obtaining from it a correct view of the nature of man, and of the objects and duties of life, each in- dividual has been left to form, upon these points, theories for himself, derived from the impressions made upon his own mind by the particular circum- stances in which he has been placed. No reasona- ble person takes up the philosophy of Astronomy, or of Chemistry, or of Physiology, at his own hand, 2 8 LECTURE I. without study, and without seeking for ascertained principles ; yet, in the philosophy of Mind, the prac- tice is quite different. Every professor, schoolmas- ter, author, editor, and pamphleteer, — every mem- ber of parliament, counsellor, and judge, — has a set of notions of his own, which, in his mind, hold the place of a system of the philosophy of man ; and, although he may not have methodized his ideas, or even acknowledged them to himself as a theory, yet they constitute a standard to him, by which he practically judges of all questions in mor- als, politics, and religion. He advocates whatever views coincide with ihem, and condemns all that dif- fer from them, with as little hesitation as a profess- ed theorist himself, and without the least thought of trying his own principles by any standard whatever. In short, in the great mass of the people, the mind, in judging of questions relating to morals, politics, and social institutions, acts as if it were purely in- stinctive, and exhibits all the confliction and uncer- tainty of mere feeling, unguided either by principles of reason or by facts ascertained by experience. Hence, public measures in general, whether relating to education, religion, trade, manufactures, the poor, criminal law, or any other of the dearest interests of society, instead of being treated as branches of one general system of economy, and adjusted on scien- tific principles, each in harmony with the others, are too often supported or opposed on narrow and em- pirical grounds, and occasionally call forth displays of ignorance, prejudice, and intolerance, at once dis- LECTURE I. 9 graceful to the age, and calculated greatly to obstruct the progress of substantial improvement. Indeed, unanimity on questions of which the first principles must be found in the constitution of human nature, will be impossible, even among sensible and virtuous men, so long as no standard of mental philosophy is admitted to guide individual feelings and perceptions. Hence, when a young man, educated as a merchant, asks the use of anything, the only answer which will thoroughly interest him, will be one showing how much money may be made by it. The devoutly religious professor will acknowledge that alone to be useful, which tepds directly to salvation ; while the votary of fashion will admit the utility of such pur- suits only as are recognized by the refined but frivo- lous and generally ill-informed circle, which to him constitutes the highest tribunal of wisdom. To ex- pound to such persons principles affecting the gen- eral interests of society, and to talk to them of schemes for promoting the happiness of human be- ings in their various every-day conditions of hus- bands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, teachers and pupils, and governors and subjects, appears like indulging a warm imagination in fanciful speculation. They think that the expe- rience of siK thousand years is sufficient to show, that man is not destined in this life to be greatly dif- ferent from what he has always been and now is; and that any measures pretending greatly to improve his condition, however desirable, are not at all to be believed in by sensible and practical people. This 10 LECTURE I. State of things could not exist if education embraced a true system of human nature, and an exposition of its relations to the external world. To enable us to form a just estimate of our posi- tion as intelligent and accountable beings, introduced into a world prepared for our reception, and adapted to our nature by Divine power, wisdom, and good- ness, let us briefly investigate, 1st, The general as- pect of external nature ; and, 2d, Our own consti- tution. The first fact that presents itself to our notice in this inquiry is, that the constitution of this world does not look like a system of optimism, but appears to be arranged in all its departments on the principle of gradual and progressive improvement. Physical na- ture itself has undergone many revolutions, and ap- parently has constantly advanced. Geology seems to show a distinct preparation of it for successive orders of living beings, rising higher and higher in the scale of intelligence and organization, until man appeared. * The globe, in the first state in which the imagina- tion can venture to consider it,' says Sir H. Davy,* ' appears to have been a fluid mass, with an immense * The description in the text is extracted chiefly from ' The Last Days of a Philosopher,' by Sir Humphrey Daw, 1831, p. 134, on account of its popular style ; but similar representa- tions may be found in all recent works on Geology, — particu- larly ' A Geological Manual, by H. T. De La Beche ; ' and Lyell's Principles of Geology ; — and in the Penny Maga- zine of 1833, in a very instructive popular form. LECTURE I. 11 atmosphere revolving in space round the sun. By- its cooling, a portion of its atmosphere was probably- condensed into water, which occupied a part of its surface. In this state no forms of life, such as now belong to our system, could have inhabited it. The crystalline rocks, or, as they are called by geologists, the primary rocks, which contain no vestiges of a former order of tilings, were the results of the first consolidation on its surface. Upon the farther cool- ing, the water, which, more or less, had covered it, contracted ; depositions took place ; shell-fish and coral insects were created, and began their labors. Islands appeared in the midst of the ocean, raised fi'om the deep by the productive energies of millions of zoophytes. These islands became covered with vegetables fitted to bear a high temperature, such as palms, and various species of plants, similar to those which now exist in the hottest parts of the world. The submarine rocks of these new formations of land became covered with aquatic vegetables, on which various species of shell-fish, and common fish- es, found their nourishment. As the temperature of the globe became lower, species of the ov^iparous reptiles appear to have been created to inhabit it ; and the turtle, crocodile, and various gigantic animals of the Sauri (lizard) kind seem to have haunted the bays and waters of the primitive lands. But in this state of things, there appears to have been no order of events similar to the present. Immense volcan- ic explosions seem to have taken place, accompanied by elevations and depressions of the surface of the 3* 12 LECTURE T, globe, producing mountains, and causing new and extensive depositions from their primitive ocean. The remains of living beings, plants, fishes, birds, and oviparous reptiles, are found in the strata of rocks which are the monuments and evidence of these changes. When these revolutions became less frequent, and the globe became still more cooled, and inequalities of temperature were established by means of the mountain-chains, more perfect animals became its inhabitants, such as the mammoth, mega- lonix, megatherium, and gigantic hyena, many of which have become extinct. Five successive races of plants, and four successive races of animals, ap- pear to have been created and swept away by the physical revolutions of the globe, before the system of things became so permanent as to fit the world for man. In none of these formations, whether called secondary, tertiary, or diluvial, have the fossil re- mains of man, or any of his works, been discovered. At last, man was created ; and since that period there has been little alteration in the physical cir- cumstances of the globe.* * In all these various formations,* says Dr. Buck- land, ' the coprolites ' (or the dung of the saurian reptiles in a fossil state) ' form records of warfare waged by successive generations of inhabitants of our planet on one another ; and the general law of nature, which bids all to eat and be eaten in their turn, is shown to have been co-extensive with animal existence upon our globe; the carnivoram each pe- riod of the world^s history fulfilling their destined LECTURE I. 13 ofEce to check excess in the progress of life, and maintain the balance of creation.' This brief summary of the physical changes of the Globe, is not irrelevant to our present object. The more that is discovered of creation, the more con- spicuously does uniformity of design appear to per- vade its every department. We perceive here the physical world gradually improved and prepared for man. Let us now contemplate Man himself, and his adaptation to the external creation. The world, we have seen, was inhabited by living beings, and death and reproduction prevailed before man appeared. The order of creation seems not to have been chang- ed at his introduction : — he appears to have been adapted to it. He received from his Creator an or- ganized structure, and animal instincts. He took his station among, yet at the head of, the beings that existed at his creation. Man is to a certain ex- tent an animal in his structure, powers, feelings, and desires, and is adapted to a world in which death reigns, and generation succeeds generation. This fact, although so trite and obvious as to appear scarcely worthy of being noticed, is of importance in treating of education ; because the human being, in so far as he resembles the inferior creatures, is capable of enjoying a life like theirs : he has pleasure in eat- ing, drinking, sleeping, and exercising his limbs; and one of the greatest obstacles to improvement is, that many of the race are contented with these enjoy- ments, and consider it painful to be compelled to seek higher sources of gratification. But to man's animal 14 LECTURE I. nature have been added, by a bountiful Creator, moral sentiments and reflecting faculties, which not only place him above all other creatures on earth, but constitute him a different being from any of them, a rational and accountable creature. These facul- ties are his highest and best gifts, and the sources of his purest and intensest pleasures. They lead him directly to the great objects of his existence, — obe- dience to God, and love to his fellow-men. But this peculiarity attends them, that while his animal faculties act powerfully of themselves, his rational faculties require to be cultivated, exercised, and in- structed, before i hey will yield their full harvest of enjoyment. In regard to them, education becomes of paramount importance. The Creator has so arranged the external world as to hold forth every possible inducement to man to cultivate his higher powers, nay, almost to con- strain him-to do so. The philosophic mind, in sur- veying the world as prepared for the reception of the human race, perceives in external nature a vast assemblage of stupendous powers, too great for the feeble hand of man entirely to control, but kindly subjected within certain limits to the influence of his will. Man is introduced on earth apparently help- less and unprovided for, as a homeless stranger ; but the soil on which he treads is endowed with a thou- sand capabilities of production, which require only to be excited by his intelligence to yield him the most ample returns. The impetuous torrent rolls its waters to the main ; but, as it dashes over the LECTURE I. J^ mountain-clifF, the human hand is capable of with- drawing it from its course, and bending its powers subservient to his will. Ocean extends over half the globe her liquid plain, in which no path appears ; and the rude winds oft lift her waters to the sky : but, there the skill of man may launch the strong knit bark, spread forth the canvass to the gale, and make the trackless deep a hiu^hway through the world. In such a st. te of things, knowledge is t uly power; and it is obviously the interest of human be- ings to become acquainted with the constitution and relations of every object around them, that they may discover hs capabilities of ministering to their own advantage. Farther, — where these physical energies are too great to be controlled, man has received m- telligence, by which he may observe their course, and accommodate his conduct to their influence. This capacity of adaptation is a valuable substitute .for the power of regulating them by his will. Man cannot arrest the sun in its course, so as to avert the wintry storms and cause perpetual spring to bloom around him ; but, by the proper exercise of his in- telligence and corporeal energies, he is able to fore- see the approach of bleak skies and rude winds, and to 1 lace himself in safety from their injurious effects. These powers of controlling nature, and of accommo- dating his conduct to its course, are the direct results of his rational faculties ; and in proportion to their cultivation is his sway extended. If the rain fall and the wind blow, and the ocean billows lash against the mere animal, it must endure them all ; because it cannot control their action, nor protect itself by art 16 LECTURE I. from their power. Man, while ignorant, continues in a condition almost equally helpless. But let him put forth his proper human capacities, and he then finds himself invested with the power to rear, to build, to fabricate, and to store up provisions ; and, by avail- ing himself of these resources, and accommodating hisconduct to the course of nature's laws, he is able to smile in safety beside the cheerful hearth, when the elements maintain their fiercest war abroad. Again : We are surrounded by countless beings, inferior and equal to ourselves, whose qualities yield us the greatest happiness, or bring upon us the bit- terest evil, according as we afl^eet them agreeably or disagreeably by our conduct. To draw forth all their excellencies, and cause them to diffuse joy around us — to avoid touching the harsher springs of their constitution, and bringing painful discord to our ears — it is indispensably necessary that we know the nature of our fellows, and act with an ha- bitual regard to the relations establishsd by the Cre- ator betwixt ourselves and them. Man, ignorant and uncivilized, is a ferocious, sensual, and superstitious savage. The external world affords some enjoyments to his animal feelings, but it confounds his moral and intellectual faculties. External nature exhibits to his mind a mighty chaos of events, and a dread display of power. The chain of causation appears too intricate to be unravelled, and the power too stupendous to be controlled. Or- der and beauty, indeed, occasionally gleam forth to his eye, from detached portions of creation, and LECTURE I. 17 seem to promise happiness and joy ; but, more fre- quently, clouds and darkness brood over the scene, and disappointhis fondest expectations. Evil seems so mixed up with good, that he regards it either as its direct product or its inseparable accompaniment. Nature is never contemplated with a clear percep- tion of its adaptation to the purpose of promoting the true enjoyment of m.an, or with a well-founded con- fidence in the wisdom and benevolence of its Author. Man, when civilized and illuminated by knowledge, on the other hand, discovers in the objects and oc- currences around him a scheme beautifully arranged for the gratification of his whole powers, animal, moral, and intellectual : he recognizes in himself the intelligent and accountable subject of an all-bounti- ful Creator, and in joy and gladness desires to study the Creator's works, to ascertain his laws, and to yield to them a steady and a willing obedience. Without undervaluing the pleasures of his animal nature, he tastes the higher, more refined, and more enduring delights of his n)oral and intellectual ca- pacities, and he then calls aloud for education as indispensable to the full enjoyment of his rational powers. If this representation of the condition of the hu- man being on earth be correct, we perceive clearly the unspeakable advantage of applying our minds to gain knowledge, and of resulating our conduct ac- cording to rules drawn from the information acquired. Our constitution and our position equally imply, that the grand object of our existence is, not to remain con- tented with the pleasure of mere animal life, but to 18 LECTURE I. take the dignified and far more delightful station of moral and rational occupants of this lower world. Education, then, means the process of acquiring that knowledge of ourselves and of external nature, and the formation of those habits of enterprize and activ- ity, which are indispensable to the performance of our parts, with intelligence and success, in such a scene. These views may appear to many persons to be so clearly founded in reason, as to require neither proof nor illustration ; yet there are, others who are little familiar with such contemplations, to whom a few elucidations may be useful. As the latter are precisely those whom we desire to benefit, I solicit your permission to enter into a (ew details, even at the risk of appearing tedious to the more enlighten- ed among my hearers. To understand correctly the constitution of the human mind, and its need of instruction, it is useful to compare it with that of the inferior animals. The lower creatures are destined to act from instinct ; and instinct is a tendency to act in a certain way, planted in the animal directly by the Creator, with- out its knowing the ultimate design, or the nature of the means by wliich its aim is to be accomplished. A bee, for example, constructs its cell In conformi- ty with the most rigid principles of physical science, according to whicli it is necessary that the fabric should possess a particular form, and be joined to other cells at a particular angle, in preference to all others. The creature has no knowledge of these LECTURE I. 19 principles ; but acts in accordance with them, by an impulse obviously planted in it by the author of its being. Man is not directed by unerring impulses like this. Before he could construct a fabric with similar success, he would require to become acquaint- ed, by experiment and observation, with the nature of the materials which he intended to use ; and to form a clear conception of the whole design, pre- viously to the commencement of his labor. A mo- ther, among the inferior animals, is impelled by pure instinct to administer to her offspring that kind of protection, food and training, which its nature and circumstances require ; and so admirably does she fulfil this duty even at the first call, that human sa- gacity could not improve, or rather could not at all equal, her treatment. Now these animals proceed without consciousness of the admirable wisdom dis- played in their actions, because they do not act from knowledge and design. It is certain that wherever design appears, there must be intelligence ; but the wisdom resides not in the animals, but in their au- thor. The Creator, therefore, in constituting the bee, or the beaver, possessed perfect knowledge of the external circumstances in which he was about to' place it, and of its relations, when so placed, to all other creatures and objects ; and conferred on it powers or instincts of action, admirably adapted to secure its preservation and enjoyment. Hence, when enlightened men contemplate the powers and habits of animals, and compare them with their con- 3 20 LECTURE I. dition, they perceive wisdom and benevolence con- spicuously displayed by the Creator. One consequence of this constitution, however, is, that there is no progression among the lower crea- tures, considered as a race. Their endowments and condition having been appointed directly by divine wisdom, improvement is impossible, without a change either of their nature or of the -external world. They are placed at once at the highest point to which their constitution permits them to ascend ; and the possibility of their attempting to emerge out of their condition is effectually cut off, by their being denied the means not only of recording, but even of acquiring, any knowledge of design and relations, beyond the sphere of their own instincts. The fact that individuals of the domestic animals improve un- der human tuition, is not in real opposition to this principle ; because the nature of the horse, the dog, and other creatures destined to live with man, is con- stituted with reference to human influence. Their powders are constituted, so as to admit of his improv- ing individuals among them ; but they do not ad- vance as a race. Man has also received instincts which resemble those of the lower animals, such as the love of sex, of offspring, of society, and of praise, the instinct of resentment, and many others ; by the exercise of which, as 1 have said, he may maintain his purely animal existence, with very little aid from education. But he is distinguished by the addition of two orders of faculties, which the inferior creatures want: 1st, LECTURE I. 21 Moral sentiments — such as the love of justice, of piety, of universal happiness, of perfection ; and, 2dly, Reflecting faculties fitted to acquire knowledge of the properties of external objects, of their modes of action, and of their effects. These two classes of faculties render man a very different being from the inferior creatures. The function of reason being to acquire knowledge of ob- jects and their effects, Man is not carried to the most beneficial mode of promoting his own happiness in the direct and unreflecting manner in which the in- ferior creatures are led to that end. The human fe- male, for example, devoid of all instruction and ex- perience, will feel as lively a joy at the birth of a child and as warm an attachment towards it. and will as ardently desire its welfare, as the most devoted among the inferior creatures ; because she possesses the same instinctive love of offspring which distin- guishes them. But in that condition of ignorance, she will not administer towards it the same perfect treatment, with reference to its wants, as the mother in the lower scale ; and for this reason, that, in the animal, the instinct is directed to its proper mode of gratification by the Author of Nature : He prompts her to do exactly what His wisdom knows to be ne- cessary ; whereas, in the human being, the instinct is left to the guidance of reason. Woman is com- manded to exert her intellect in studying the consti- tution, bodily and mental, of herself and her off- spring, in order that she may rear it with success in all stages of its existence, while it requires her as- 22 LECTURE I. sistance ; and if she shall neglect to perform this du- ty, she and her children will suffer a severe penalty, in being exposed to all the consequences of erro- neous treatment. Every day affords examples of the truth of this remark. Two young ladies, when in infancy, lost both parents ; but sufficient property was left to give them what is called a good education. They were reared in a fashionable boarding-school, and in due time the elder was respectably married. When her first child was born, she was extremely perplex- ed. Never having lived where there were infants in the family, she had had no opportunity of learning hy experience how to rear such tender plants ; and never having been taught anything of the structure, or functions, or wants, of the human being, she pos- sessed no principles by which she could direct the treatment of her child. In her anxiety to do it jus- lice, she asked the advice of every female visitor, and was speedily bewildered amidst the incongruous recommendations which she received. Unable to decide for herself, she adopted now one plan and then another, till in a few weeks the unhappy infant died. This is an extreme case ; but an intelligent female friend, who communicated it to me, had no doubt that the child perished through lack of knowledge. Many persons are not aware that human instincts are more blind than those of the lower animals, and that they lead to worse results when not directed by reason. They imagine that if they possess a feeling strongly, -such as the love of offspring, or the love of LECTURE 1. 23 God, they cannol err in the mode of gratifying it ; they act with all the energy of impulse, and all the blindness of infatuation. A mighty change will be effected in human conduct, when the mass of man- kind become acquainted with the indispensable ne- cessity of reason to the proper direction of their feel- ings, and with the fact that knowledge is the grand element, without which reason cannot be efficiently exerted. Man, therefore, being a progressive and improvable being, has been furnished with reason, and been left to discover, by the exercise of it, his own nature, the nature of external objects, and their effects, and to adapt the one to the other for his own advantage ; and when he shall do so, he will assume his proper station as a rational being. The only limit to this proposition is, that each of his faculties, bodily and mental, and every external object, have received a definite constitution, and are regulated by precise laws, so that limits have been set to human aberration, and also to human attainments : but, within these limits, vast materials for producing hap- piness, by harmonious and wise adaptations, or mis- ery, by discordant and foolish combinations, exist ; and these must be discovered and employed by man, before he can reach the full enjoyment of which his nature is susceptible. I do not pretend to predicate to what degree of perfection man is capable of being carried by these means. Looking at the condition of the inferior an- imals, I should not expect optimism ; because dis- ease, death, cold, heat, and famine, are incident to 3* 24 IrECTURE I. them all : bnt, on dispassionately comparing the en- joyments of the inferior creatures, in relation to their natures, with the past and present enjoyments of the human race, in relation to their superior capacities, I fear that man does not surpass them to the extent which he ought to do, if he made a proper use of the means fairly in his power of promoting his own happiness. Comparing the civilized Christian in- habitants of modern Europe, with the ignorant, fe- rocious, filthy, and helpless savages of New South Wales, we perceive a vast advance : but I do not be- lieve that the limits of attainable perfection have yet been reached even by the best of Europe's sons. All, therefore, that I venture to hope for is, that man, by the proper employment of the means presented to him, may arrive at last at a condition of enjoy- ment of his mortal existence, as great, in relation to his rational nature, as that of the lower animals is in relation to their natures. This is no more than say- ing, that the Creator has made man as perfect as a reasonable being, as He has made the lower animals perfect as instinctive creatures. I trust, then, that most of you will now concur with me in thinking, that if man, by his constitution, be an intelligent and improveable being, he must be taught knowledge, and trained to apply it, as the first stage in his progress towards enjoyment. In other words, he must be educated. Let us inquire, then, into the present condition of education, and afterwards consider how it may be improved. LECTURE I. 25 Suppose a young man to receive what is by many held to be a sufficiently good education — to have been taught reading, writing, arithmetic, Latin, and a smattering of Greek — and to be then sent into the world, — What will be the amount of his attain- ments ? The acquirements just mentioned appear considerable, and I am far from undervaluing them. They are the instruments, by the diligent use of which much useful ^nd practical knoivledge may be attained ; but in themselves they do not constitute such knowledge. A few observations are necessary to elucidate this proposition. First, In regard to language in general, and what are termed ' the learned languages ' in particular, I remark, that we may have an extensive knowledge of things, and few words by which to express, it. Thus, a self-taught artizan often advances far into the principles and practice of his art before he has read books and become acquainted with terms to designate the objects and operations with which he is familiar. He has more ideas than words ; and this is a great evil, for he cannot communicate his knowledge, or receive instruction from others by books. Other individuals, however, have more words than ideas ; which also is very inconvenient ; for they have the means of communicating knowledge, but lack knowledge to communicate : they are great scholars, but can teach mankind no practical art or science. Words are mere arbitrary signs for expressing feelings and ideas in the mind ; and the best condi- 26 LECTURE I. tion of an individual is to possess ample ideas, and an equally extensive stock of words. It is bet- ter, however, to have ten ideas, and only ten words to express them, although all the words should be- long to one language, than to have only one idea, and ten words in as many different languages for com- municating it. For example, a monk, who has only seen a horse passing by the window of his cell, may know that this animal is named in Greek, UTtJtog (hip- pos ;) in Latin equus ; in English, a horse ; in French, cheval ; in Italian, cavallo ; in German, pferd ; and by some persons, he may be supposed to be, in consequence, highly learned. He is indeed considerably learned, but unfortunately not on the subject of the horse itself, but only on the names by which it is designated in different countries. His stock of REAL knowledge would be only that which he had picked up by looking at the creature through the window, and would not be in the slightest de- gree increased by the acquirement of these six words to express the name of the animal. His original NOTION of a horse, whatever it was, v^ould continue unextended and unimproved by all these additions to its names. The person of a man is neither stronger, taller, nor more graceful, because he pos- sesses six suits of clothes, than it would be if he had only one ; and so it is with the mind. A youth trained in a stable-yard, whose attention had been directed to the various qualities necessary to con- stitute a good hackney, hunter, or race-horse, and who knew its name only in his mother-tongue, would LECTURE I. 27 be far superior, as a practical judge of horses, to the monk. He would excel him in selecting, employ- ing, managing, and rearing horses. He would pos- sess ideas about the animal itself — would know what points were good and what bad about it ; how it would work in different situations ; how it would thrive on particular kinds of food ; and in what man- ner it ought habitually to be treated, so as to obtain the most complete development of its natural powers. This is practical knowledge : acquaintance with words is learning. Hitherto education has been con- ducted too much on the principle of looking at the world only out of the window of the school and the college, and teaching the names of the beings and things therein contained, in a variety of languages, to the neglect of the study of the beings and things themselves; whereas man, as a creature destined for action, fitted to control nature to some extent, and, beyond this, left to accommodate his conduct to its course, requires positive knowledge of creation, its elements and laws, and has little use for words which go beyond the stock of his ideas. Language, however, is not to be depreciated or despised. Man is obviously formed to live in socie- ty : his happiness is vastly increased by co-opera- tion and interchange of ideas with his fellows ; and language, oral and written, is his natural medium of communication. It is of first-rate importance to every individual, therefore, to possess not only words for all his ideas and emotions, but such expertness in using them in speech and writing, as may enable 28 LECTURE I. him readily and successfully to convey to other minds the precise impressions existing in his own. Keep- ing in view, therefore, that notions of things are of first-rate utility, and that language is of value only as a means of communicating what we know and feel, we may proceed to inquire into the value of Greek and Latin as elements of education. The history of their introduction into schools, and of the circumstance which led to their past high estimation, merits our attention. The Greeks and Romans were the earliest nations in Europe who attained to civilization ; in other words, they were the first who so far cultivated their mental faculties as to acquire numerous and tolerable precise ideas of government, laws, morals, intellectual philosophy, and the fine arts. In con- sequence of their minds possessing these ideas, their languages contained terms to express them. In the fourth and fifth centuries, the Roman em- pire was overrun by ignorant barbarians from the north of Europe, whose mental powers, from not having been cultivated, had not reached the concep- tions now alluded to, and whose languages, in con- sequence, were as barren as their thoughts. A long night of darkness prevailed in Europe, until at length civilization again dawned where it had last set — in Italy. The cities of that country, situated under a genial climate, and surrounded by a fertile soil, had, as early as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, made considerable progress in arts and manufactures : wealth flowed in upon them ; this produced leisure LECTURE I. 29 and a desire for refined enjoyment, whence a taste for literature gradually aro&e. The manuscripts of Greece and Rome had long slumbered in the cells of monastic institutions, and many of them had been erased to give place to monkish legends ; but now they were ardently dis- interred. When recovered and understood, they were found to contain more sublime and elegant poetry, — more refined yet nervous eloquence, — more brilliant, pointed, and ingenious, wit, — with profounder and juster views on law, criticism, and philosophy, — than had been known or heard of since the subversion of civilization ; and all these treasures, too, embodied in languages so rich, dis- criminative, and refined, that Europe, in addition to this accession of knowledge, was at once furnished with exquisite vehicles of thought, without the la- bor of invention. In these circumstances, Greek and Latin natural- ly became objects of intense study among all men who aspired to superior intelligence. There was great good sense in this direction of their mental en- ergies ; because, at that time, and in their situation, these languages really unlocked to them the richest intellectual stores then existing in the world, and put them in possession also of an instrument for com- municating their thoughts, greatly surpassing, in del- icacy and power, any they could have obtained by their own invention, or found in the literature of their native countries. 30 LECTURE I. In this manner, and for these reasons, colleges, schools, bursaries, and other institutions, were es- tablished, for teaching and cultivating the Greek and Latin languages, and they obtained the appella- tion of ' humane literature,' Literje Humaniores : eminence in them became the passport to fame; and a person deeply conversant with them was dig- nified with the title of ' a Learned Man.' In the course of time, however, the nations of Europe, aided by the invention of printing, and, lat- terly, by stupendous discoveries in science and the arts, and the wide diffusion of Christianity among the people, far outstripped the Greeks and Romans in their most useful attainments. The Italians, French, English, and Germans, made gigantic strides in developing their mental powers ; and their lan- guages, by a law of the human constitution, kept pace with the multiplication of their emotions and ideas. England could long ago boast of a Bacon, a Shakspeare, a Milton, a Newton, and a Locke ; and she is now able to exhibit an additional list of names, so splendid and extensive as almost to defy repetition, of men who have embodied in her lan- guage thoughts and inventions so profound, admira- ble, and useful, that the philosophy, the science, and the arts, of the ancient world sink into compar- ative insignificance before them. This change of circumstances has clearly altered the relative value and importance of Greek and Lat- in. There is now no knowledge relating to the phy- sical and moral worlds contained in these languages, LECTURE 1. 31 which does not exist clearly expressed in English ; and there is no mode of feeling or of thought sub- servient to the practical purposes of hfe, that may not be as forcibly and elegantly clothed in our native language as in them. Human institutions and prac- tices, however, often long survive the causes that gave them birth ; and from five to seven precious years of our lives in youth are still dedicated to the study of the learned languages, as if all their origi- nal importance remained. At the time when public schools, such as the High School of Edinburgh and the grammar schools of the difFerent burghs of Scotland, were instituted, there was no science that could benefit the people. These seminaries, therefore, as schools of preparato- ry instruction, were nearly co-extensive with the uni- versities. In these primary schools, the pupils were tanght the elements of Greek and Latin ; and in the colleges the same studies were carried forward to the highest point which the time and capacity of the scholar could reach. In the progress of years, how- ever, arts and sciences have been discovered. In Scotland, the Universities have to a great extent kept pace with the growing knowledge of ihe age. In Edinburgh College, lectures are now delivered on almost all the physical sciences, and on every branch of medicine. In short, the knowledge of Nature in all her departments is taught ; Greek and Latin con- stituting only departments of the general system of tuition. If our primary schools had kept pace with this improvement, all would have been well. If we 4 32 LECTURE I. had followed the spirit of practical wisdom manifest- ed by our ancestors, and extended our elementary instruction in proportion to the enlargement of our university education, the knowledge of the people would have been far superior to what it actually is. But, by a strange anomaly, our primary schools have, till within these few years, been allowed to stand still, while the universities have advanced. These schools have continued to teach little else than En- glish, Greek, and Latin, and the consequences have been most baneful. The great mass of the people of the middle and lower ranks, having been taught exclusively at these and the parish schools, have been led to believe languages to be practical knowledge ; and they have been defrauded of the opportunity of acquiring elementary instruction in the arts, sciences, and other departments of useful knowledge. They have wasted in studying — or in attempting to study — Greek and Latin, the only time which their busy lives left at their command for obtaining information. They have been sent into the world absolutely igno- rant of the existence of the vast field of moral and intellectual instruction presented by the works of the Creator. The higher orders, again, who have ad- vanced to the university classes, have found them- selves obliged to commence with the very rudiments of the sciences, after having spent from five to seven years in what they were led to believe were pre- paratory studies. In the great public hospitals, the system of teaching languages produces its fruits in a very tangible form. While children living in their LECTURE I. 33 parents' houses in a town learn something of real life by intercourse with society, perusing newspapers, and observing passing occurrences, the ignorance of the children shut up within the walls of an institution, and excluded from these sources of information, will, at the end of their imprisonment, present a just pic- ture of the eftects of the system to which they have been subjected. I have been informed, accordingly, by men engaged in practical business who have re- ceived apprentices from public hospitals, that the lads appear, on their entrance into active life, as if they had just dropped from the moon. Everything is strange to them ; and very little of what had been previously taught to them presents itself in their new condition in a practical form. What 1 contend for is, that common sense should be employed to di- rect the studies in the primary schools as well as in the universities, and that, in addition to languages, the elements of useful knowledge should be there taught.* * Since the Lectures were written, a great improvement has been introduced into the Regulations of George Heriot's Hospital in Edinburgh. On 1st November, 1833, it was enacted by the Governors, that the branches of education for the senior boys ' shall be such as may be interesting to all these boys, whatever may be their destination in after life ; ' and among the branches enumerated are, 'the first principles of Natural History and Mechanical Philosophy.' I have received the following letter since the publication of these Lectures. ^ „„ ' Heriot's Hospital, 26th Dec. 1833. * To George Com?e, Esq, with less laborious exertion. The question recurs, whether, in thus favoring the human race, the object of Providence be, to enable only a portion of them to enjoy the highest luxuries, while the mass shall continue laboring animals; or whether it be not to enable all to cultivate and enjoy their rational nature ? In proportion as mechanical inventions shall be generally diffused over the world, they will increase the powers of production to such an extent, as to supply, by moderate labor, every want of man, and then the great body of the people will find them- selves in possession of reasonable leisure, in spite of LECTURE II. 73 every exertion to avoid it. Great misery will prob- ably be suffered in persevering in the present course of action, before their eyes shall be opened to this re- sult. The first effect of these stupendous mechanical inventions threatens to be to accumulate great wealth in the hands of few, without proportionally abridg- ing the toil, or adding greatly to the comforts of the many. This process of elevating a part of the com- munity to affluence and power, and degrading the rest, threatens to proceed till the disparity of condi- tion shall have become intolerable to both, the la- borer being utterly oppressed, and the higher class- es harassed by insecurity. Then, probably, the idea may occur, that the real benefit of physical dis- covery is to give leisure to the mass of the people, and that leisure for mental improvement is the first condition of true civilization, knowledge being the second. The science of human nature will enable men at length to profit by exemption from excessive toil; and it may be hoped that, in the course of time, the notion of man being really a rational crea- ture, may meet with general countenance, and that sincere attempts may be made to render all ranks prosperous and happy, by institutions founded on the basis of the superior facuhies.* *I regret to learn that in some districts of England, the op- eratives have resolved to abridge their labor, but to permit no diminution of their pay : they have demanded for eight hours' work the wages hitherto paid for tha labor of twelve hours. This proposal is unreasonable and unjust, and cannot be suc- cessful. They ought in the first year to demand one hours' leisure and abate one hour's wages. If they applied that hour 74 LECTURE ir. The same means will lead to the realization of practical Christianity. An individual whose active existence is engrossed by mere bodily labor, or by the pursuits of gain or ambition, lives under the pre- dominance of faculties that do not produce the per- fect Christian character. The true practical Chris- tian possesses a vigorous and enlightened intellect, and moral affections glowing with gratitude to God and love to man ; but how can the people at large be enabled to realize this condition of mind, if stim- ulus for the intellect and the nobler sentiments be ex- cluded by the daily routine of their occupations ? If the notions now advocated should ever prevail, it will be seen that the experience of past ages af- tords no sufficient reasons for limiting our estimate of man's capabilities of civilization, because he is yet only in the infancy of his existence. I traced out the long and gradual preparation of the globe for man : he appears to be destined to advance only by stages to the highest condition of his moral and in- tellectual nature, and he is yet only in the beginning of his career. Although a knowledge of external nature, and of himself, are indispensable to his ad- well, and acted peacefully and in concert, the natural increase of population and capital would in time create an increased demand for their labor, and their wages would rise. When this happened, they might abate another hour's labor and wages, and the same causes would again restore the rate of wages. This process might be repeated till the hours of labor were re- duced to eight or nine per day, which would leave ample leis- ure for mental cultivation and enjoyment. If this shall prove impracticable, it is difficult to foresee any improvement in the condition of the great body of the people. LECTURE II. 75 vancement to his true station as a rational being, yet 400 years have not elapsed since the arts of printing and engraving were invented, without which, knowl- edge could not be disseminated through the mass of mankind ; and, up to the present hour, the art of reading is by no means general over the world — so that, even now, the means of calling man's rational nature into activity, although discovered, are but very imperfectly applied. It is only five or six centuries since the mariner's compass was discovered in Eu- rope, without which even philosophers could not as- certain the most common facts regarding the size, form, and productions of the earth. It is only 340 years since one-half of the habitable globe, America, became known to the other half; and considerable portions of it are yet unknown even to the best in- formed inquirers. It is little more than 200 years since the true theory of the circulation of the blood was discovered ; previously to which it was impossible even for physicians to form any correct idea of the uses of many of man's corporeal organs, and of their relations to external nature. It is only between forty and fifty years since the true functions of the brain and nervous system were discovered ; before which we possessed no adequate means of becoming acquainted with our mental constitution, and its adaptation to external circumstances and be- ings. It is only fifty-seven years since the study of chemistry, or of the physical elements of the globe, were put into a philosophical condition by Dr. Priestley's discovery of oxygen ; and hydrogen 76 LECTURE II. was discovered so lately as 1766, or sixty-eight years ago. Before that time, people in general were com- paratively ignorant of the qualities and relations of the most important material agents with which they were surrounded. At present this knowledge is still in its infancy, as will appear from an enumeration of the dates of several other important discoveries. Electricity was discovered in 1728, galvanism in 1794, gas-light about 1798; and steam-boats, steam-looms, and the safety-lamp, in our own day. It is only of late years that the study of geology has been seriously begun ; without which we could not know the vast changes in the physical structure of the globe, a matter of much importance as an ele- ment in judging of our present position in the world's progress. This science also is in its infancy. An inconceivable extent of territory remains to be ex- plored, from the examination of which the most in- teresting and instructive inferences will probably present themselves. The mechanical sciences are at 'this moment in full play, putting forth vigorous shoots, and giving the strongest indications of youth, and none of decay. The sciences of morals and of government aye still in the crudest condition. In consequence of this profound ignorance, man, in all ages, has been directed in his pursuits, by the mere impulse of his strongest propensities, formerly to war and conquest, and now to accumulating wealth without, having framed his habits and institutions in conformity with correct and enlightened views of his LECTURE II. 77 own nature, and its real interests and wants. Up to the present day the mass of the people in every na- tion have remained essentially ignorant, the tools of interested leaders, or the creatures of their own blind impulses, unfavorably situated for the develop- ment of their rational nature. They, constituting the great majority, of necessity influence the condi- tion of the rest: — Finally^ the arts and sciences seem to be tending towards abridging human labor, so as to force leisure on the mass of the people ; while the elements of useful knowledge are so rap- idly increasing, the capacity of the operatives for in- struction is so generally recognized, and the means of communicating it are so powerful and abundant, that a new era may fairly be considered as having commenced. It has sometimes appeared to me that divines, with the best intentions, have obstructed the progress of human improvement by coloring too highly the representations of man's depravity and weakness, and urging in too strong terms his natural incapacity for any good. These views repress exertion, and foster indolence and ignorance. Dr. Chalmers en- tertains more favorable opinions of our nature ; and I rejoice in calling your attention to the eloquence as well as the truth of the following remarks. * We might not know the reason,' says he, in his Bridge- water Treatise, ' why, in the moral world, so many ages of darkness and depravity should have been permitted to pass by, any more than we know the reason why, in the natural world, the trees of a for- 78 LECTURE II. est, Instead of starting all at once into the full efflor- escense and staleliness of their manhood, have to make their slow and laborious advancement to matu- rity, cradled in storms, and alternately drooping or expanding with the vicissitudes of the seasons. But though unable to scan all the cycles eiilier of the moral or natural economy, yet we may recognize such influences at work, as, when multiplied and de- veloped to the uttermost, are abundantly capable of regenerating the world. One of the likeliest of these influences is the power of education, to the perfect- ing of which so many minds are earnestly directed at this moment, and for the general acceptance of which in society, we have a guarantee in the strongest af- fections and fondest wishes of the fathers and mothers of families.' (Vol. i. p. 186.) Add to these reasons, for hoping well of our na- ture, the discovery, that the capacity for civilization may be increased by exercising the moral and intellec- tual faculties, in conformity with the laws of organiza- tion, a fact which phrenology brings to light,* and the happiest results may be anticipated in regard to hu- man improvement. History represents man as hav- ing been hitherto a blind, passionate, fighting animal, rather than a rational and moral being ; and even now we do not feel entirely secure against a recur- * The power of manifesting the mental faculties increases in proportion to the size and improvement in the constitution of the organs by moans of which they :ici ; and exercise of these organs h;is a tendency both to increase their volume and ameliorate their ., ality. LECTURE II, 79 rence of such atrocious enormities. Yet fighting and plundering are calculated to gratify only a few of the human faculties, and these the lowest in the scale ; while they outrage the higher and better feel- ings. In proportion as the knowledge of our true good, and of the real relations of our nature to the external world, shall increase, the appetite for war will diminish ; and it must entirely cease whenever Christian morality shall be generally acknowledged to be the practical rule which man is bound, and al- so most interested for the sake of his own happiness, to obey. The objection has been stated, that, even in the most improved condition of the great body of the people, there will still be a considerable proportion of them so deficient in talent, so incapable of im- provement, and so ignorant, that their labor will be worth little ; that, as they must obtain subsistence, no alternative will be left to them but to make up by long hours of exertion what they want in skill ; and that their long-continued labor, furnished at a cheap rate, will affect all the classes above them, and indeed prevent the views now taken from ever being generally realized. This objection resolves itself inlo the proposition, That the people have been destined by the Creator to be laboring ani- mals, and that, from their inherent mental defects, they are incapable generally of being raised to any more honorable station ; which is just the great point at issue between the old and the new philosophy. If mankind at large ( for the industrious classes con- 8 80 LECTURE II. stitute so very great a majority of the race, that I may be allowed to speak of them as the whole,) had been intended for mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, I do not believe that the moral and intel- lectual faculties which they unquestionably possess, would have been bestowed on them ; and as they do enjoy the rudiments of all the feelings and ca- pacities which adorn the highest of the race, and as these faculties themselves are improvable, I do not subscribe to the doctrine of the permanent incapaci- ty of the race. I consider them, in successive gene- rations, quite capable of learning to act as rational beings ; and whenever the great majority of them shall have acquired a sense of the true dignity of their nature, and a relish for the enjoyments afford- ed by their higher capacities, they will become capa- ble of so regulating the supply of labor in reference to the demand, as to obtain the means of subsistence in return for moderate exertion. In short, I hope that few of the imbeciles alluded to in the objection will exist ; and that these few will be carried along by the multitude of generous and enlightened minds which will exist around them. The Creator is wise and good ; and as He has bestowed moral and intel- lectual faculties on all sane individuals, it cannot be his intention that the majority of mankind should grub for ever in the mire of mere animal gratifica- tion. At the same time, there is great force in that ob- jection, considered in reference to the present and several succeeding generations. In throwing out LECTURE ir. 81 the views contained in these lectures, I embrace centuries of time. I see the slow progress of the human race in the past, and do not anticipate mira- cles for the future. If a sound principle is develop- ed — one having its roots in nature — there is a certainty that it will wax strong and bear fruit in due season ; but that season, from the character of the plant, is a distant one. All who aim at benefiting mankind, ought to keep this truth constantly in view. Almost every scheme is judged of by its effects on the living generation ; whereas, no great fountain of happiness ever flowed clear at first, or yielded its full sweets to the generation who discovered it. The world scarcely yet enjoys the benefits of Chris- tianity ; it is only developing its power, and hun- dreds of years may elapse before its blessed spirit shall fully pervade all the transactions of human life. I do not expect to see the principles advocated in these lectures generally reduced to practice in this age; but if they be founded in nature, they will in time vindicate their own might. It is now an established principle in political econ- omy, that Government ought not to interfere with industry. This maxim was highly necessary when governors were grossly ignorant of all the natural laws which regulate production and the private con- duct of men ; because their enactments, in general, were then abortions ; they often did much harm, and rarely good. But if the science of human na- ture were once fully and clearly developed, it is probable that this rule might, with great advantage, 82 LECTURE II. be relaxed, and that the legislature might con- siderably hasten beneficial results, by adding the constraining authority of human laws to enactments already proclaimed by the Creator. Natural laws do exist, and the Creator punishes if they are not obeyed. The evils of life are these punishments. Now, if the great body of intelligent men in any state saw clearly that a course of action pursued by the ill-informed of their fellow-subjects was the source of continual suffering not only to the evil- doers themselves, but to the whole community, it ap- pears to me allowable, that they should stop its con- tinuance by legislative enactment. If the majority of the middle classes resident in towns were to peti- tion Parliament, at present, to order shops in general to be shut at eight o'clock, or even at an earlier hour, to allow time for the cultivation of the rational fac- ulties of the men and women engng^d in ihem, it would be no stretch of power to give effect to the petition : that is to say, it would lead to no evil, if the ignorant and avaricious were prevented by law from continuing ignorant, and forcing all their com- petitors in trade to resemble them in their defects. If the Creator hath so constituted the world that men may execute all necessary business and still have time to spare for the cultivation of their rational fac- culties, any enactment of the legislature calculated to facilitate arrangements for accomplishing both ends, would be beneficial and successful, just because it was in accordance with nature ; although the preju- diced and ignorant of the present generation would LECTURE II. 83 complain, and probably resist it. This principle of interference would go much farther : its only limits seems to me to be the boundaries of the real know- ledge of nature : as long as the legislature enacts in conformity with nature, the result will be success- ful. At present, ignorance is too extensive and prev- alent to authorize Parliament to venture far. 8* LECTURE IN. 2. Let us now turn our attention to the Female sex, and inquire into the provision made for their education. 1 regard the great business of female life to be the nurture and rearing of children, and the due management of the domestic circle. These occupations are equally important to women as pro- fessions are to men ; and, under a proper system of education, women ought to be taught every species of knowledge, and instructed in every accomplish- ment, which may directly contribute to the proper discharge of the duties attendant on them. At the earliest dawn of intellect and feeling, the little girl manifests this tendency of her nature. The doll is then the most absorbing object of interest that can be offered to her attention. In maturer years the mimic infant is laid aside, but the feehngs which found delightful expression in the caresses bestowed on it are not extinct. The nature of the woman is the same as that of the girl : the conventional fash- ions of society may teach her to draw a veil over her affections; but they glow internally, and it will still be her highest gratification to give them scope in an honourable and useful field. If this be wo- LECTURE III. 85 man's nature, her education ought to bear direct ref- erence to the cultivation and direction of it : in short, maternal and domestic duties should be held out as the leading objects of female existence, and her training should proceed in harmony with this great end. High physical, moral, and intellectual qualities, are required for the due fulfilment of these purposes ; and I have no hesitation in saying that no occupations allotted to man afford a wider field for the exercise of the best elements of mind, than those here assigned to woman. The physical quality next in importance in a wo- man, viewed as a mother, is health. The human body is composed of a variety of systems of organs, each having particular functions to perform ; and health is the result of the favorable action of the whole, in harmonious combination. Every organ is disposed, other circumstances being the same, to act with a degree of energy in proportion to its size ; and as a disease is the consequence either of under- action, or of over-action, of the organs, their propor- tion to each other in size is a point of fundamental importance in regard to health. By the appoint- ment of a wise Providence, a female figure of the finest proportions for symmetry and beauty, is, c