The drama merely a department of fiction; rendered more impres The educating influence of the Theatre, as such, confined to elocution Examples of disproportion amounting to miscarriage Excesses in mathematics, and in minute scholarship in Classics Excesses in primary sciences. Languages, ancient and modern Antiquarian part of our own language Excess of attention to expression as compared with thought Imperfection in procedure. How to bring it to its proper termination 441 HOLE IN THE LID: an advanced lesson, to be separated from the 5. Leading terms in science or art to be explained by a methodical Words may be explained solely for their use on the occasion Certain words explicable without interrupting the course of the 7. In systematic knowledge teaching, words are learned in groups 45I EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE, CHAPTER I. SCOPE OF THE SCIENCE OF EDUCATION. THE scientific treatment of any art consists partly in applying the principles furnished by the several sciences involved, as chemical laws to agriculture; and partly in enforcing, throughout the discussion, the utmost precision and rigour in the statement, deduction and proof of the various maxims or rules that make up the art. Both fecundity in the thoughts and clearness in the directions should attest the worth of the scientific method. DEFINITIONS OF EDUCATION. First, let me quote the definition embodied in the ideal of the founders of the Prussian National System. It is given shortly as the harmonious and equable evolution of the human powers;' at more length, in the words of Stein, 'by a method based on the nature of the mind, every power of the soul to be unfolded, every crude principle of life stirred up and nourished, all onesided culture avoided, and the impulses on which the strength and worth of men rest, carefully attended to.' 1 This definition, which is pointed against narrowness 1 Donaldson's Lectures on Education, p. 38. generally, may have had special reference to the many omissions in the schooling of the foregone times: the leaving out of such things as bodily or muscular training; training in the senses or observation; training in art or refinement. It further insinuates that hitherto the professed teacher has failed to do much even for the intellect, for the higher moral training, or for the training with a view to happiness or enjoyment. Acting on this ideal, not only would the educator put more pressure altogether on the susceptibilities of his pupils: he would also avoid over-doing any one branch; he would consider proportion in the things to be taught. To be all language, all observation, all abstract science, all fine art, all bodily expertness, all lofty sentiment, all theology, would not be accepted as a proper outcome of any trainer's work. The Prussian definition, good so far, does not readily accommodate itself to such circumstances as these:— namely, the superior aptitude of individuals for some things rather than for others; the advantage to society of pre-eminent fitness for special functions, although gained by a one-sided development; the difficulty of reconciling the 'whole man' with himself; the limit to the power of the educator, which imposes the necessity of selection according to relative importance. Although by no means easy, it is yet possible to make allowance for these various considerations, under the theory of harmonious development; but, after the operation is accomplished, the doubt will arise whether much is gained by using that theory as the defining fact of education. In the very remarkable article on Education contri |