FEMALE EDUCATION. decoration of their houses, areas, and flowerpots, and whatever else has a tendency to promote health and comfort, especially among the working classes of society. In short, instructions in Vocal Music should be occasionally interspersed with the other scholastic exercises, and church tunes and airs, adapted to some beautiful or sublime pieces of poetry, might be sung, at convenient seasons, in unison, by all the pupils. The words adapted to the different airs should be calculated to convey instruction, and to raise the soul to some interesting or sublime objects. Al1 such vulgar and debasing ideas as are generally interwoven in our popular songs, and which are little else than a compound of sensuality and selfishness, should be carefully discarded. A good organ or other musical instrument might be used for leading the vocal strains. Music, both vocal and instrumental, has long been too frequently prostituted to the most worthless purposes; it is now high time that it should be consecrated to moral objects, and to the celebration of the perfections and the works of the Most High. In addition to the mental exercises now alluded to, pupils of every description should be daily employed in bodily exercises, for invigorating their health and corporeal powers. Every school should have a play-ground for this purpose, as extensive as possible, and furnished with gymnastic apparatus for exercising the muscular activities of the young of both sexes. Swings, poles, hoops, see-saws, pulleys, balls, and similar articles, should be furnished for enabling them to engage with spirit and vigour in their amusements. In walking, running, skipping, leaping in height, length, or depth, swinging, lifting, carrying, jumping with a hoop or a pole, they will not only find sources of enjoyment-when these exercises are properly regulated to prevent danger and contention, but will also strengthen and develope their corporeal energies, and invigorate their mental powers. All imitations, however, of war and military manoeuvres should be generally prohibited; as it is now more than time that a martial spirit should be counteracted, and checked in the very bud,-and those who encourage it in the young need not wonder if they shall, ere long, behold many of them rising up to be curses instead of benefactors to mankind. They might, likewise, be occasionally employed in making excursions, in company with their teacher, either along the sea-shore, the banks of a river, or to the top of a hill, for the purpose of surveying the scenes of nature or art, and searching for minerals, plants, flowers, or insects, to augment the school museum, and to serve as subjects for instruction. If every school had a piece of ground attached to it for a garden, 1 141 and for the cultivation of fruit-trees, potatoes, cabbages, and other culinary vegetables, children of both sexes, at certain hours, might be set to dig, to hoe, to prune, to plant, to sow, to arrange the beds of flowers, and to keep every portion of the plot in neatness and order. Such exercises would not only be healthful and exhilarating, but might be of great utility to them in after life; when they come to have the sole management of their domestic affairs. They might also be encou raged to employ some of their leisure hours in the construction of such mechanical contrivances and devices as are most congenial to their taste. If, instead of six or seven hours' confinement in school, only five hours at most were devoted to books, and the remaining hours to such exercises as above mentioned, their progress in practical knowledge, so far from being impeded, might be promoted to a much greater extent. Such exercises might be turned, not only to their physical and intellectual advantage, but to their moral improvement. When young people are engaged in their diversions, or in excursions along with their teacher, their peculiar tastes, tempers, and conduct towards each other are openly developed; they act without restraint, they appear in their true colours, and a teacher has the best opportunity of marking the dispositions they display. He can therefore apply, at the moment, those encouragements and admonitions, and those Christian rules and maxims, by which their characters and conduct may be moulded into the image of Him "who hath set us an example, that we should walk in his steps." The incidents and the atmospherical phenomena which may occur on such occasions, will also supply materials for rational observations and reflections, and for directing the train of their affections, and the exercise of their moral powers; and no opportunity of this kind, for producing useful impressions upon the young, should be lost by a pious and intelligent instructor. Thus I have endeavoured, in the preceding pages, to exhibit an outline of some of those branches of knowledge, in which every individual of the human race-the female sex as well as the male-should receive a certain portion of instruction. Hitherto the female sex have been sadly neglected; their education, where they have not been altogether overlooked, has been more showy than substantial; and they have been generally treated as if they were not possessed of the mental powers requisite for acquiring all the useful branches of science. Without entering into the question, Whether the female character possesses the same degree of intellectual energy as that of the other sex? it may be affirmed, without the least hesitation, that, when their education is properly directed, they are capable of acquiring every branch of knowledge which can improve or adorn the human mind. We have numerous examples to corroborate this position. It is sufficient to mention the names of Mrs. Barbauld, Miss Aitken, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs. Wakefield, Mrs. Hemans, Mrs. More, Mrs. Marcet, Miss Taylor, Miss Landon, Mrs. Somerville, Mrs. Willard, Mrs. Phelps, &c., which are only specimens of many others, most of whom are still alive and actively employed, both in Britain and America, in instructing their own sex and society at large, and in promoting the interests of general knowledge. The female sex possess essentially the same intellectual faculties as the male, whatever may be said as to the degrees of vigour in which the primitive powers exist. But even in respect to the degree of acuteness and energy of the female intellect, we have examples of individuals who, without the advantage of an academical education, have explored the system of the universe, composed commentaries on the Newtonian philosophy, and prosecuted the most abstruse mathematical investigations; and I have no hesitation in asserting, that academical honours should be conferred on such accomplished females, no less than on the other sex who have enjoyed more opportunities of improvement.* Females have more in their power than the other sex in forming the tastes and dispositions of the young, and in giving them those impressions in early life which may be either beneficial or injurious to society. They are the more immediate guardians and instructors of the rising generation during the first stage of their existence, and upon the discretion and intelligence they display in superintending the evolution of the youthful mind, will, in a great measure, depend the intelligence and the moral order of the social state to which they belong. Their influence is powerful, not only on the tastes and manners of society, but on the moral principles and characters of mankind. Besides, they are beings destined for immortality, and equally interested as the other sex in all that is awful or glorious in the revelations of Heaven; and therefore ought to have their minds enlightened in every branch of knowledge which may have a beneficial influence on their pre* Mrs. Somerville has lately been elected member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Geneva, the first time an honour of the kind was ever conferred on a female. An American paper states, whether truly or not I cannot determine, that "The Legislature of Indiana have chartered a college, to be called The Christian College, in which degrees are to be conferred on both males and females. There are to be degrees of Doctress of Natural Science, of English Literature, or Belles Lettres, of Fine Arts, and of Arts and Sciences.” However ludicrous this may appear to some, I can see no impropriety in following out such an idea. sent conduct and their future destiny. Till more attention is paid to the cultivation of the female mind, among all ranks, society cannot be expected to make an accelerated progress in the course of moral and intellectual improvement. In specifying the preceding branches of knowledge as subjects in which all classes of the young should be instructed, I do not mean to insinuate, that, in the first stage of their education, such subjects are to be studied in regular courses, as in academies and universities, though at a future period this plan may be adopted. While they are learning English reading, composition, writing, arithmetic, and other branches, illustrations may be given of the more interesting and popular parts of the physical sciences,-which will tend to give them a relish for such subjects, and to prepare them for entering on the more particular study of such branches of knowledge, at a period when their faculties are more matured. Nor ought it to be objected, that, in this way, young persons would only receive a smattering of learning, which would puff them up with vanity, and do them more harm than good. If every portion of knowledge communicated to them, however detached and insulated, be clearly explained and illustrated, and thoroughly understood, it must necessarily be useful, either in expanding their views, or in its practical applications. For example, if, by certain pneumatical and hydrostatical experiments, they are made to perceive clear proofs of the atmospheric pressure, and its operation in the case of siphons-if they are made to see, by similar experiments, that, on this principle, water may be conveyed either over a rising ground, or along a valley to an opposite hill,-this single fact, clearly understood, might be of considerable use to them on many occasions, even although they were unacquainted with all the other principles and facts connected with pneumatical science. The great object to be attended to is, to convey, on every subject, a clear and well-defined idea to the young, and to guide them to the practical application of knowledge. There is a line of Mr. Pope which has been hackneyed about for a century past, which is in every body's mouth, and which is generally misapplied, when an allusion is made to this subject "A little learning is a dangerous thing." How such a sentiment came to be almost universally quoted and admired, I am at a loss tc divine. It is a proposition which cannot be supported by any mode of reasoning with which I am acquainted, and is itself "a dan gerous thing," if by learning is understood the acquisition of any portion of useful knowledge Every one must acquire "a little" portion of REASONS FOR UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTION. knowledge, or learning, before he can acquire a larger share. A. child must acquire the knowledge of the letters and elementary sounds, before he can read any language with fluency -and must form some idea of the objects immediately around him, before he can acquire an accurate conception of the subjects and scenes connected with geography. If the proposition be true, that "a little learning is dangerous," then it should follow, that a very great portion of learning, or knowledge, must be much more dangerous. If it be dangerous for a boy to know that the earth is 25,000 miles in circumference, and to be able to prove that it is round like a globe, then Newton and Bacon must have been extremely dangerous individuals, whose knowledge extended to an almost unlimited range. If a little learning is dangerous, then absolute ignorance and destitution of all ideas, must be the safest and the happiest state of human beings. But how can even a little" knowledge be dangerous? Suppose a young person to have read only the Gospel of Luke, and to have acquired a knowledge of all the facts it records--would he be less happy in himself, or more dangerous to society, on this account, because he had little acquaintance with the other portions of Scripture? or, would he have been better to have read nothing at all? Or, suppose he had been instructed in the fact, that foul air of a deadly nature, is frequently to be found at the bottom of old wells, and that it is requisite to send down a lighted candle to determine this point before a person attempts to descend into such places, would the knowledge of -h circumstances be dangerous to him, because he is not acquainted with the properties of all the other gases, or with the whole system of chemistry? Would an acquaintance with a portion of geography, suppose the States of Europe, be dangerous to any one, because he had not minutely studied all the other quarters of the globe? or would a knowledge of hydrostatics be useless, because he was unacquainted with several other branches of natural philosophy? Such conclusions are obviously absurd, and therefore the proposition under consideration is absolutely untenable. The persons who most frequently reiterate this sentiment are those who are opposed to the universal education of the lower orders, and to the general diffusion of knowledge. I know no class of men to which such a sentiment will apply, except, perhaps, to a few pedants who have got a smattering of Greek and Latin at a grammar school or a college, without any other substantial acquirement, and who pique themselves on this account, as if they were elevated in point of knowledge far above the vulgar throng. 113 But although I have admitted that, during the first stage of instruction, only a few fragments of knowledge would be communicated, yet before the course is finished, a very considerable portion of all that is really useful in the sciences might be imparted to the young. Suppose that, on an average, every child is able to read with tolerable fluency by the time he is arrived at the age of seven or eight, and that the course of instruction for every member of the community shall be prolonged till he arrive at the period of fourteen years-in the course of six or seven years, a summary view of all the more interesting principles and facts connected with the sciences above specified, might be communicated, even supposing that half a year were exclusively devoted to each. But there would be no necessity for restricting the pupil to one branch of knowledge at a time. While, at one hour, he was receiving instructions and witnessing experiments in natural philosophy or chemistry, during other hours of the day he might be prosecuting arithmetic, algebra, geometry or composition. Thus, during little more than the time usually spent in acquiring a knowledge of Latin and Greek, a very considerable portion of useful knowledge might be acquired which would expand the range of the juvenile mind, increase its sources of enjoyment, and lay a broad foun dation for future usefulness and improvement. And I trust there are few, in modern times, who will hesitate to admit, that the knowledge thus acquired would be infinitely preferable, in point of utility, to all the scraps of classical literature usually picked up, during the same period, at our grammar schools.-But why, it may be asked, should such an extent of knowledge be communicated to the lower orders of mankind? I answer, in a few words, Because they are rational beings, furnished by their Creator with faculties capable of acquiring it; because it will increase their enjoyments and render them more useful in society; because it will tend to prevent vices and crimes, and to raise their souls above the degrading pleasures of intemperance and sensuality; because it will render them more expert in their mechanical professions; because it will fit them for becoming improvers of the arts and sciences, and for taking a part in all those movements by which society may be improved and the world regenerated; and because they are beings destined to immortality, and therefore ought to be instructed in every department of knowledge which has a bearing on the future world to which they are advancing, and which is calculated to prepare them for its pleasures and its employments. But, as I have already written a volume chiefly in relation to this point, it would be unnecessary, on the present occasion, to enlarge. CHAPTER VII. Moral and Religious Instruction. In the preceding sketches I have taken for granted, that during the whole process of education, the attention of the young should be directed to the manifestations of the Divine attributes in the works of nature-the fundamental principles of Christianity-the rules of moral action-and the eternal world to which they are destined. These are subjects which should never be lost sight of for a single day, and which should be interwoven with every department of literary and scientific instruction. In a particular manner it should be deeply impressed upon the minds of the young, that the instructions they receive, and the studies in which they now engage, are intended, not merely to qualify them for the business of the present life, but likewise to prepare them for the felicities and the employments of the life to come. This is one of the ends of education which has been glaringly overlooked in most of our initiatory schools, and particularly in the arrangements connected with a fashionable education-a circumstance which seems to indicate, that the superintendents of such an education either do not believe the doctrine of a future state, or view it as a matter of little importance, or consider that no specific training is requisite to qualify a depraved human being for engaging in the sublime contemplations and exercises of the heavenly world. Having occasionally adverted to this subject in the preceding discussions, I shall, at present, offer only a few general remarks. : On all occasions, the young should be frequently reminded, that they are dependent creatures, who derive their existence from an Almighty Being who is without beginning and without end-that their daily comforts and all their powers and faculties are bestowed by Him, and are the effects of his unbounded Goodness-that, though invisible to mortal eyes, he is present in all places, and that they are every moment surrounded by his immensity-that his presence and agency are seen in the solar light, the majestic movements of the heavenly orbs, the succession of day and night, the ebbing and flowing of the sea, the falling rain, the winds, the lightnings, the rolling thunders, and in every movement within us and around us-that though we could climb the heights of heaven, or descend to the centre of the earth, we should still be within the range of his omniscient eye-that his eye penetrates through the dark night as well as through the clear day-that he knows every thought and purpose that is formed in our hearts-that he beholds, at the same moment, whatever is taking place, in every part of the world, and throughout all the regions of the universe, among all the tribes of mankind, and among all the hosts of angels-that his dominion extends over thousands of worlds, and that his universal government shall endure for ever-that he is good to all, and that his kindness extends to the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and even to the smallest insect that crawls on the ground-that he is "righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works," unchangeable in his purposes and faithful to his word-that to this Great Being we are all accountable for every thought, word, and action-and that there is a day approaching when "he will judge the world in righteousness, and render to every one according to his works."-Such characteristics of the Divine Being should be illustrated, in so far as is practicable, from sensible objects,— His goodness, from the numerous creatures He has brought into existence, and the ample provision He has made for all their necessities,His wisdom, from the numerous adaptations which are found in our own bodies, and in the elements around us,-His power, from the vast bulk of this world, and of the planetary, orbs, and the amazing rapidity of the motions, -His justice, from the judgments inflicted on wicked nations,-His faithfulness, from the accomplishment of promises and prophecies, as recorded in the history of the world,-and His love and merry, in "sending His Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins." In attempting to explain the attributes of the Deity, and to impress the minds of the young with a deep sense of his universal presence and agency, it is not necessary that they should commit to memory complex and technical definitions and descriptions of the Divine perfections. Such exercises, unaccompanied with specific and familiar illustrations, can produce no clear and well-defined conceptions of the objects to which they refer; and when mere words are crammed into the memory unconnected with ideas, they must produce a hurtful effect, and lead the young to rest in the form of knowledge without the substance. Besides, every memorial task in which the ideas connected with the words are not clearly perceived is always accompanied with a painful effort As all our ideas on every subject are originally INSTRUCTIONS IN THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. derived from the objects of sense, so it is by sensible illustrations alone that we can convey to any mind whatever, distinct conceptions of the character and attributes of the Almighty. Although a definition of any of the Divine perfections may be stated to the young, yet it is chiefly by examples illustrative of the subject, that a clear and comprehensive idea of it can be conveyed. For example, suppose it were intended to explain what is meant by the wisdom of God, we might tell them in the words of one author, that "Wisdom is that whereby the soul is directed in the skilful management of things, or in ordering them for the best,"--or, in the language of another, that "The wisdom of God is that perfection by which he selects and adopts the most proper means for accomplishing good or important ends;" but such definitions simply announced, would convey no definite conception of the thing intended. We must produce objects, or examples, in which wisdom is displayed, and describe them in the most minute and familiar manner. We must illustrate, in the first place, what is meant by the wisdom of men, by producing a clock, a watch, a planetarium, a microscope, a ship, or similar machine-pointing out the object intended to be accomplished by such instruments or machines, and directing the attention to the means employed, and the harmonious co-operation of every part in accomplishing the end intended. In a watch, for instance, the object is, to point out the hour of the day. The means employed to effectuate this purpose are-a coiled elastic spring, communicating its action to the fusee, thence to a series of wheels and pinions, the teeth of which apply to each other, conducting the motion to the balance, and thence to the indexes which point out the hour and minute. The proper position and arrangement of all these parts, the size and shape of the whole, the number of teeth they respectively contain, the materials of which they are constructed, the connexion of one part with another, and the harmonious co-operation of the whole to produce the respective motions of the hands, indicate wisdom and design in the contriver of such a machine, in his selecting the proper means to accomplish the purpose intended. In a similar manner, the wisdom of the Creator must be illustrated by selecting, out of the many thousands of instances within and around us, a few examples, which should be particularly described and elucidated. For example, the admirable structure of the eye, the different humours of which it is composed, for the purpose of forming an accurate picture of every object on the retina-the apparatus for the contraction and dilatation of the pupil, to adapt it to different degrees of light-the muscles by which the 19 145 ball of the eye may be easily moved in every direction, and preserved in perfect steadiness the bony socket in which it is lodged to secure it against accidents-the lid which likewise defends it against injuries, wipes off the superfluous moisture, and covers it during the hours of sleep-with many other curious contrivances, all adapted to the nature of light, and to the purpose of producing vision in the most easy and delightful manner, showing the most admirable selection of means to bring into full effect the end proposed. In like manner, the curious structure of the ear, and the adaption of all its parts for receiving impressions, from the undulations of the atmosphere-the different articulations of the bones, according to the movements they are intended to produce--the adaptation of the air to the lungs, and the vesicles of the lungs to the nature and properties of the atmosphere-the proportioning of the size of man to that of the plants and animals which exist around hi the structure of the various animated beings, and the diversity of organization which exists among them, exactly adapted to their various wants and modes of existence-the gradual approaches of light and darkness-the harmony and order of the celestial motions--and similar examples, when particularly explained and illustrated, will convey clear ideas of what is meant by the wisdom of God, and the manner in which it is displayed in the scenes of creation; and in no other way can we impart clear and well-defined conceptions on such a subject. And, when once a clear conception of this attribute of the Deity is impressed upon the mind by such examples, it may be applied to moral subjects, and illustrated from the moral dispensations of God towards our race, as recorded in the Sacred History, and in the general history of the world. Again, suppose we wish to explain the Infinity or Immensity of the Divine Being, it is not enough to say that "God is without all bounds or limits;"- -we must endeavour to illustrate the idea by sensible representations, in so far as they are capable of assisting our conceptions on the subject. It may be laid down as a principle, that "Wherever God acts, there he is, and that there is no part of the universe in which we do not perceive the exertion of an agency which, either mediately or immediately, proceeds from the Deity." The motions of the moon and the planets, the ebbing and flowing of the sea, the gentle breeze, the impetuous whirlwind, the process of vegetation, the movements of animals, the motions of our fingers and eyelids, the pulsation of our hearts, and every other agency within and around us, are sensible evidences of the presence and incessant operation of the Almighty. And although we were to wing N 41451 |