Three Absurdities of Certain Modern Theories of Education [pp. 265-292]

8 Study things, not words."
will see correctly what otherwise would be distorted or obscure.
From mere facts and rules, and we will even venture to say,
from words alone, thus treasured in the memory, even with little
or no explanation at the time, the mind may afterwards of
itself wake up to a right apprehension of the truths conveyed
and so well expressed in these formulas; and when it does so,
there is a spirit in good, well-chosen words,- which gives a life like distinctness to the thought it would never have possessed
lad it been born in some other way.
The effect of the other process, when exclusively pursued, is
like the growth of the seed sown on the barren rock, or on the
light soil. It may suddenly spring up, but having no depth of
well-prepared, or cultivat6d earth, into which its roots may pene trate, it soon withers away, or else spreads abroad in a rank,
irregular growth. And thus this lauded process of thinking for
one's self-of thinking, in other words, without distinct thoughts
or propositions to think upon, results so often in the blighted
harvest of confused knowledge and mental imbecility.
Aristophanes, in his caricature of the Socratic doctrine of
ideas, has a scene in which an ignorant booby is represented as
placed on a pallet, in a dark room, and full of fleas, for the purpose of compelling him to think out for himself the abstract, or
abstracting idea (if we may use the Greek pun) which was required. In some like incomprehensible manner, do those who
are fond of this style, and who may be taken as the representatives of the school, regard every thing as having been elaborated
or thought out by themselves. HIistory, philosophy, morals,
theology, natural science even-all take a new aspect from the
transforming individuality of their own minds. They have
thought for themselves, and know for themselves, and deem it
therefore no violation of modesty to impose their own most
original views on those, who. have thought it wisest to try, at
least, to take some general inventory of the world's stock of
knowledge, before assuming to have added what will often be
found, in the end, to be either gross error, or some marred
aspect of truths as old as humanity.
This class of thinkers are, in general, the greatest foes to all
those views of education, whose fundamental principle it is to
enlighten and strengthen the individual mind by bringing it, as
1851].
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