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carriage and form the mind, to settle in his pupil good habits and the principles of virtue and wisdom, to give him, by little and little, a view of mankind, and work him into a love and imitation of what is excellent and praiseworthy; and, in the prosecution of it, to give him vigour, activity, and industry. The studies which he sets him upon are but, as it were, the exercises of his faculties and employment of his time; to keep him from sauntering and idleness; to teach him application, and accustom him to take pains, and to give him some little taste of what his own industry must perfect. For who expects that, under a tutor, a young gentleman should be an accomplished orator or logician? go to the bottom of metaphysics, natural philosophy, or mathematics? or be a master in history or chronology? Though something of each of these is to be taught him; but it is only to open the door that he may look in and, as it were, begin an acquaintance, but not to dwell there; and a governor would be much blamed that should keep his pupil too long, and lead him too far in most of them. But of good breeding, knowledge of the world, virtue, industry, and a love of reputation, he cannot have too much; and if he have these he will not long want what he needs or desires of the other. And since it cannot be hoped that he should have time and strength to learn all things, most pains should be taken about that which is most necessary, and that principally looked after which will be of most and frequentest use to him in the world.'

It is curious to observe how little store Locke sets by learning. Indeed, it would seem that in those days school-learning was even more estranged from

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the business of life than it has been since. A great part of the learning now in fashion in the schools of Europe,' says Locke, and that goes ordinarily into the round of education, a gentleman may, in good measure, be unfurnished with, without any great disparagement to himself, or prejudice to his affairs.' Again he says, 'We learn not to live, but to dispute, and our education fits us rather for the university than for the world. But it is no wonder, if those who make the fashion suit it to what they have, and not to what their pupils want.' This last remark is not without its application even in our time.

When we come to Locke's directions about teaching we find him carrying out his notion of combining amusement with instruction. "Children should not have anything like work or serious laid on them; neither their minds nor bodies will bear it. It injures their healths; and their being forced and tied down to their books in an age at enmity with all such restraints has, I doubt not, been the reason why a great many have hated books and learning all their lives after. It is like a surfeit, that leaves an aversion behind that cannot be removed.' 'I know a person of great quality (more yet to be honoured for his learning and virtue than for his rank and high place), who by pasting on the six vowels (for in our language "y" is one) on the six sides of a die, and the remaining 18 consonants on the sides of three other dice, has made this a play for his children, that he shall win who, at one cast, throws most words on these four dice, whereby his eldest son, yet in coats, has played himself into spelling with great eagerness, and without once having been chid for it, or forced to it.'

READING, WRITING, ETC.

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When the child has acquired reading he should have some amusing book, such as Esop, and Reynard the Fox. Pictures of animals, with the names printed below them, should be shown him from the time he knows his letters. He is to be encouraged to give an account of his reading. 'Children,' says Locke, 'are commonly not taught to make any use of their reading, and so get to look 66 books as upon fashionable amusements or impertinent troubles, good for nothing." " For religious instruction, the child should learn some easy Catechism, and should read some portions of Scripture, but should not be allowed to read the whole Bible.

When he begins to learn writing, he must be perfect in holding his pen, before paper is put before him for not only children, but anybody else that would do anything well, should never be put upon too much of it at once, or be set to perfect themselves in two parts of an action at the same time, if they can possibly be separated.' The child should then be given paper, on which is red-ink writing, in large hand. This writing he is to go over with black ink.

He is next to learn drawing, 'a thing very useful to a gentleman on several occasions;' but in this, as in all other things not absolutely necessary, the rule holds good, 'Nihil invita Minerva.'

He should now learn French. 'People are accustomed to the right way of teaching that language, which is by talking it unto children in constant conversation, and not by grammatical rules. The Latin tongue might easily be taught in the same way.'

'Latin,' says Locke, 'I look upon as absolutely

necessary to a gentleman.' But he ridicules the folly of sending boys to grammar-schools, when they are intended for trade. Yet, if you ask the parents why they do this, they think it as strange a question as if you should ask them why they go to church. Custom stands for reason; and has, to those who take it for reason, so consecrated the method, that it is almost religiously observed by them, and they stick to it as if their children had scarce an orthodox education unless they learn Lily's Grammar.'

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But, though Latin should be taught to gentlemen, this should be done by conversation, and thus time might be gained for several sciences: such as are a good part of geography, astronomy, chronology, anatomy, besides some parts of history, and all other parts of knowledge of things that fall under the senses, and require little more than memory: for there, if we would take the true way, our knowledge should begin, and in those things should be laid the foundations; and not in the abstract notions of logic and metaphysics, which are fitter to amuse than inform the understanding in its first setting out towards knowledge.' Again he says, 'The learning of Latin being nothing but the learning of words, a very unpleasant business to both young and old, join as much other real knowledge* with it as you can, beginning still with that which lies most obvious to the senses; such as is the knowledge of minerals, plants, and animals;

* Real knowledge is here knowledge of things, as distinguished from all other knowledge. Our loss of this meaning of the word real shows how small has been the influence of the Innovators in this country. Both the word and the party have been more successful in Germany.

INTERLINEAR TRANSLATIONS.

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and particularly timber and fruit trees, their parts, and ways of propagation, wherein a great deal may be taught the child which will not be useless to the man: but more especially, geography, astronomy, and anatomy.' He would also introduce some geometry.

But Locke was not blind to the difficulty that few teachers would be found capable of talking Latin. He would, therefore, have the mother make a beginning by getting a Latin Testament with the quantities marked, and reading it with her children. He also suggests the use of interlinear translations. 'Take,' says he, some easy and pleasant book, such as Esop's Fables, and write the English translation (made as literal as can be) in one line, and the Latin words which answer each of them, just over it in another. These let the child read every day, over. and over again, till he perfectly understands the Latin, and then go on to another fable, till he be also perfect in that, not omitting what he is already perfect in, but sometimes reviewing that, to keep it in his memory. And when he comes to write, let these be set him for copies, which, with the exercise of his hand, will also advance him in Latin. This being a more imperfect way than by talking Latin unto him, the formation of the verbs first, and afterwards the declension of the nouns and pronouns perfectly learned by heart, may facilitate his acquaintance with the genius and manner of the Latin tongue, which varies the signification of the verbs and nouns not, as the modern languages do, by particles prefixed, but by changing the last syllables. More than this of grammar I think he need not have till he can read himself

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