Scope of Education.-"It is conceded that education includes very much more than the province of the school. The stage of nurture includes first the physical care of the child and the training of body; next the formation of habits in harmony with the customs and usages of civilized life. His eating and drinking, and other personal habits, must be those of humanity, and not those of natural impulse-those of animals. From the first the child begins to use his senses as instruments for obtaining knowledge. His growing power is watched anxiously by the family, and his efforts are stimulated and encouraged. He acquires, in this way, a most important stock of theoretical ideas, as well as command of the use of his senses and of language, the most important of all instruments, before he comes under the influence of the school.

Scope of the Kindergarten." The kindergarten proposes to invade this realm of nurture; to systemize it, from the cradle onward to the school. The mother shall substitute conscious, rational action for whim and caprice in the management of her child, and shall watch over the orderly development of the faculties of her child, as a scientific gardener watches over the development of plants in his garden. Froebel proposed to have this realm of nurture transformed into systematic culture, embracing provinces-physical, mental, and moral. He proposed to do this in such a way as to preserve all the sweetness of childhood, and to stimulate and encourage its spontaneity.

Delicate Adjustments.-" Here was the great point in Froebel's success. He overcame seeming impossibilities, by adopting a method which could be put in

practice without injury to the spontaneity of childhood, while it really disciplined the child's will into rational forms. This delicate point is at once the greatest merit of Froebel, and the ground of the greatest danger for those who attempt to carry it out in practice. It is still more dangerous for those who attempt to modify Froebel and naturalize it in other countries. Lacking a full insight into the problem, and consequently misunderstanding Froebel's intentions, in the order and make-up of his gifts, it frequently happens that modifications are proposed which utterly lack the delicate adjustment of Froebel. If carried out, they would permanently injure the development of individuality in the child, and produce a stunted character. Froebel himself goes almost to the edge of this matter: it is easy to go over the edge.

Philosophy Involved.-"Momentous questions must be settled in psychology before one can fully appreciate how wisely Froebel has planned, or how dangerous it is for his followers to depart from his footsteps without a full insight into the subject. There are deeper grounds than mere national ones, important though the latter may be. There is human nature in general, and the law of its unfolding-common to all civilized nations. What is common to civilized nations, however, is not shared by half-civilized nations, for they interfere with the development of individuality at a far earlier stage than civilized nations do, and purposely dwarf its growth. Civilized nations differ as to limits imposed; but all peoples who have set a constitutional limit to the caprice of their chief executive, allow individuality to develop to that degree that it discriminates its rational from its arbitrary phase.

Questions to be Settled.-"Should caprice be tolerated in any phase of the development of childhood? Ought it not to be annihilated as soon as it appears? Is it wise to rationalize the activity of childhood as soon as it begins? Is there not a danger in any systematic training of the child, that his will-power may become weakened by subordinating it to prescribed rules before it gets developed sufficiently? Moreover, that question of too much stimulus at an early age is a serious one. We all know that the children brought up in the city are over-excited from infancy by the multitude of objects continually presented to their senses. In the country it is far otherwise. The difference between city-developed individuality and that of the country is very great as to depth and toughness. The alertness of the city intellect is purchased at a sacrifice of other qualities which are essential to fully-developed character. Questions like these deserve careful consideration."

CHAPTER IX.

AGASSIZ; AND SCIENCE IN ITS RELATIONS TO EDUCATION.

THE SCOPE AND END OF SCIENCE.-In an article upon the "Culture demanded by Modern Life,” Prof. Youmans says: "Science, in its true and largest meaning, is the right interpretation of Nature-a comprehension of the workings of law wherever law prevails. It matters nothing whether the subjects are stones or stars, human souls, or complications of social relations; the most perfect of each constitutes its special science, and the comprehensive view of the relations which each sustains to all realizes the highest idea of science."

This definition at once elevates science out of the domain of mere materialism, and makes it comprehend every department of human thought. The "right interpretation of Nature" means the pursuit of truth in every field of research. It is not the subject-matter, but the positive knowledge of the subject, including both facts and inferences, that constitutes the science. The highest science is that which starts from the laws established by the special sciences, coördinates them all, and, by a process of higher inferences, arrives at the highest and most comprehensive laws.

Philosophy and Utility.—In the ancient philosophies, a broad distinction was made between the products of reflection, or speculative thought, and those subjects which consider the common and daily needs of men. The former alone were thought worthy of attention, and scholars were encouraged to pursue truth and virtue for their own sake. The methods of these philosophies were also, to a great extent, those of speculation rather than investigation, and the value of the physical sciences was quite underrated. This sentiment in regard to the nature of philosophic research continued down to periods comparatively modern. Bacon was the first philosopher to take distinct issue with this idea, and to proclaim that the true object of philosophic inquiry was "fruit," in the promotion of human welfare, and that the true method was the investigation and interpretation of Nature.

The spirit of the old philosophies, to some extent, still survives, and scientific men of the present day exhort enthusiastic students "to pursue science for its own sake," and they frequently brand the idea of use as a mere "bread-and-butter consideration," beneath the notice of the true votary of science.

Prof. Tyndall's Opinion.-Prof. Tyndall, in his farewell speech at New York, uses the following language in regard to this question: "In the pursuit of science, the first worker is the investigator of natural truth, whose vocation it is to pursue that truth, and extend the field of discovery for the truth's own sake, and without reference to practical ends." Again he says: "Keep your sympathetic eye on the originator of knowledge. Give him the freedom necessary for his