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 Essays on the foundation of education 
 
 . 3 1924 031 758 729 
 
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Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031758729 
 
ESSAYS 
 
 FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. J. GODRYCZ, Ph. D. 
 
 Prof, of the Detroit Theological Seminary 
 
 LANSING, MICH. 
 LAWRBNCE & VAN BUREN PRINTING CO. 
 ■ 1900. 
 
COPYRIGHTED 
 
 1899 
 
 BY J. GODRYCZ. 
 
 All rights reservetj. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface, - 
 
 iv 
 
 Introduction, - . - 
 
 I 
 
 Intellectual Education, - 
 
 20 
 
 Method of Teaching History, 
 
 55 
 
 Religious Education, 
 
 77 
 
 International and Civil Law, 
 
 92 
 
 Final Remarks Relating to Intellect- 
 
 
 ual Education, 
 
 99 
 
 Moral Education, 
 
 136 
 
 Physical Education, 
 
 160 
 
 Conclusion, 
 
 166 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The aim of these essays is to attempt 
 to define the foundation of education ac- 
 cording to the demand of science of today, 
 and according to the necessities of so- 
 cieties. 
 
 Intending to write to a diverse public, 
 the author was obliged to stand on a very 
 general ground. 
 
 J. G. 
 
 Detroit, Mich., Dec. 4, 1899. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Everything, from the beginning to the 
 end of its existence is surrounded by the 
 tutelage of nature. This tutelage con- 
 sists in nature's giving to the thing the 
 means for the maintenance of its existence 
 in order to play its corresponding roll in 
 the Universe. These means are the 
 tendency in all things to conserve them- 
 selves, further they are the internal facul- 
 ties and forces of the thing with many ex- 
 ternal conditions. 
 
 On the one hand, natural tutelage pro- 
 duces this benefit: that the external con- 
 ditions, calling a thing into existence, are 
 mostly adapted for its support; and on the 
 other hand, that all things have given the 
 possibility of best adapting themselves to 
 external conditions, which (possibility of 
 best adapting) causes the development of 
 the different faculties and forces in the 
 thing. 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 All processes of the generation of things 
 and of their development are produced 
 without their knowledge. Even, in . this, 
 man is no exception, because nature calls 
 him into existence and develops all the 
 organs of his body, his faculties and forces, 
 unconsciously to him. 
 
 And thus man has no knowledge of his 
 generation; of the processes of the blood's 
 circulation, respiration, digestion; of the 
 processes of his nervous system; he uncon- 
 sciously adapts himself to climatical and 
 social conditions and develops, as far as 
 he needs, his different faculties. All this 
 is produced in him without his knowledge, 
 on account of the universal tutelage of 
 nature, which wishes to sustain his exis- 
 tence in order that he may play a certain 
 part assigned to him in the Universe. 
 Even if man consciously wishes to adapt 
 himself to something, or to develop certain 
 faculties, his knowledge and will only 
 enable him to submit himself to certain 
 laws of nature, which itself brings about 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 in him the process of the adaption to 
 something or the development of some 
 faculties; but man is not conscious how 
 these processes originate and are carried 
 on. He is able to understand the differ- 
 ent ideas, to conserve, compare, and to re- 
 produce them, to reflect upon them, etc.; 
 but intellectual processes are produced by 
 nature alone. 
 
 With the help of his intellectual facul- 
 ties (and senses) one can observe the pro- 
 ceedings of nature both internally and ex- 
 ternally, and because nature proceeds ac- 
 cording to certain stable laws, (otherwise 
 it would be chaos) hence, on the founda- 
 tion of observation, he can formulate 
 scientifical principles. 
 
 To do so, is nothing else but to dis- 
 cover the laws * of the natural proceeding. 
 
 *By the laws according to which nature proceeds, I 
 understand the stable action of nature is the same in 
 the same conditions. On the basis "of this stability in 
 nature's proceedings, we produce in our intellect the 
 idea of nature's laws. Beasts are acquainted with some 
 principles of nature's proceeding, as to conservation of 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 By these discoveries man is able to help 
 nature. To discover these laws is the aim 
 of the sciences. Therefore on the pro- 
 gress of sciences depends the better co-ope- 
 ration with nature in the development of 
 all our faculties, and, even many external 
 conditions, helping in the maintenance of 
 our existence. This co-operation on our 
 part is education, in the general significa- 
 tion of the word. And thus we can edu- 
 cate what is internal, namely: the differ- 
 ent faculties and forces in our body, the 
 intellectual faculties, our character, etc. 
 Also, by the . investigation of the various 
 natural phenomena and the application of 
 scientific discoveries, man is able to main- 
 tain and improve his existence. Social 
 life, to which man is inclined by nature 
 (man is a social being) is also one of the 
 external conditions, . which improve our 
 existence. Man, helping nature in this, 
 develops and irhproves society. 
 
 their existence, but they know it only by instinct and 
 do not understand it by mental reflection. For this 
 reason they cannot create science. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 To these external conditions, religion 
 belongs also. (Religion has its founda- 
 tion in our persons.) It brings to perfec- 
 tion the human nature by the strict deter- 
 mination of moral laws, which nature 
 generally determines, and by calling our 
 attention to the Supreme source of laws. 
 In short man cultivates both the internal, 
 and the external conditions of life in order 
 that he may bring his existence to the 
 highest possible perfection, for the greater 
 perfection causes greater happiness. 
 
 Nature gives to man the ability to 
 bring his existence gradually to perfection 
 that he may be more able to perform his 
 part. (Nothing exists without its corres- 
 ponding roll, otherwise it would be against 
 universal natural economy.) 
 
 The more man understands his part 
 the more he is able to help nature in the 
 development of internal and external con- 
 ditions ameliorating his existence. And, 
 on the contrary, the less he understands 
 his roll designed by nature, the more he 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 will place obstacles in- nature's way and 
 retard the natural processes of develop- 
 ment. These obstacles can be placed in 
 the way of nature only by man himself; 
 other objects cannot throw obstacles in 
 nature's w^y, because they are not capa- 
 ble of independent action. Nature gives 
 them a tendency to preserve their exis- 
 tence and even forces (nature) them with 
 absolute necessity to perform their parts 
 in the Universe. With man it is other- 
 wise; the more his intellectual faculties are 
 developed and his will is delivered, the 
 more nature gives to him self-dependence 
 not to do what he wishes, but through his 
 understanding to co-operate spontaneously 
 with nature in its proceeding. On the 
 contrary if he throws impediments in the 
 way of nature's tendencies, he loses his 
 self-dependence and nature violently com- 
 pels him to co-operate with its tenden- 
 cies. 
 
 The result of what I have thus far 
 stated shows, that education is helping 
 
INTRODUCTION, 7 
 
 nature in perfecting the internal and the 
 external conditions of our existence on the 
 basis of knowledge of nature's proceed- 
 ing. 
 
 All that belongs to education is included 
 in the above definition, namely: knowl- 
 edge of nature's proceeding creates intel- 
 lectual education which is the basis of all 
 education, because no one is able to help 
 (consciously) nature if he does not know 
 its proceeding. 
 
 On the basis of knowledge of nature's 
 proceeding we develop the faculties and 
 forces of our own bodies or those of others. 
 This constitutes physical education. 
 
 Moral education is the inclination incul- 
 cated in man to accomplish his roll in 
 social and domestic life. We understand 
 this roll better after we understand better 
 nature's proceedings and tendencies. 
 
 Man is expected to play several parts, as 
 follows: that of an animal, that of unity 
 in the family, that of unity among his own 
 people, and that of humanity in general. 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Because nature gives to man a certain self- 
 dependence in accomplishing his rolls (es- 
 pecially in society) therefore he may ac- 
 complish them imperfectly or not, accord- 
 ing to the tendencies of nature on account 
 of his ignorance of nature's proceeding. 
 If man could perfectly understand nature's 
 proceeding and its revenge (re-action) on 
 individuals and society, on account of be- 
 havior not consonant to nature's tendencies 
 and the imperfect accomplishment of rolls, 
 he would not throw obstacles in its way; 
 but because at the present time, man im- 
 perfectly knows nature's proceeding, 
 therefore, to accomplish his rolls, he must 
 have cultivated an inclination on the basis 
 of natural feelings. 
 
 Since education is based on the know- 
 ledge of nature's laws, hence we must 
 now present, some ideas of these laws so 
 far as we need for this treatise. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 THE LAWS OF NATURE. 
 
 The Universe, which is represented to 
 us as existing extrinsically, may really 
 exist as represented or may exist only in 
 our mind as a summary of ideas affected 
 by unknown causes. Or perhaps the Uni- 
 verse exists partly externally and partly 
 internally, that is to say, externally, vi- 
 brating atoms may exist, to which we give 
 certain determined forms in our minds. 
 There is no difference for science what- 
 ever in either case. Suppose all phenom- 
 ena are either objective or subjective; or 
 partly subjective and partly objective, it 
 still follows, that these phenomena are ex- 
 hibited in conformity with certain stable 
 laws, as testified by experience. (Experi- 
 ence may be objective or subjective in 
 nature.) 
 
 All phenomena constitute a harmonious 
 unity and totality, as testified to by our 
 natural senses and minds on perqeiving the 
 physical, the chemical, the biological and 
 the social phenomena of the Universe. 
 
lO INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The mechanism of the celestial bodies 
 proves this very forcibly. 
 
 Unity and harmony in the Universe are 
 the sign, that all particular and general 
 data and all particular and general laws 
 are based on the most general datum and 
 law. Only such an arrangement of the 
 Universe is possible; such a regulation 
 helps very much the hunian mind in dis- 
 covering nature's laws. 
 
 Science can entirely rely upon harmoni- 
 ous unity (totality and order, which are 
 consequences of harmonious unity) in the 
 Universe, even if this harmonious unity 
 (totality and order) represented to our 
 natural senses and minds would not exist 
 externally, but would be imposed by our 
 minds on the Universe. Suppose that our 
 minds impose on the Universe the idea of 
 harmonious unity, (totality and order) 
 then our minds must have certain (exter- 
 nal or internal) data, which are able to re- 
 ceive these ideas, because our minds can- 
 not impose the idea of unity, totality and 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 1 
 
 order on every datum. We see this 
 clearly on the comparison . with works of 
 human art. An artist modeling a statue 
 of marble performs the harmonious unity, 
 totality, order, etc., in marble to obtain 
 as perfect a statue as possible. Suppose 
 that the artist's mind imposes all these 
 properties on the marble, which (proper- 
 ties) really do not exist in it; at all events 
 he cannot impose these properties until 
 the material will contain the necessary 
 data required to receive them (proper- 
 ties). In this case the artist sculpturing 
 the statue gradually performs the data. 
 Hence the harmonious unity, totality, etc., 
 in the statue as well as in the Universe 
 will not be deceitful, because the human 
 mind imposes them not on every datum, 
 but on the certain and strictly determined 
 data (which may be ideas). In other 
 words the human mind imposes these 
 ideas according to certain stable laws. 
 Therefore, even if the idea of harmonious 
 unity (totality and order) would be im- 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 posed by our minds on the Universe, 
 science can entirely rely on it. 
 
 The stable laws above mentioned are 
 ideas, which we create on the ground of 
 experience. Experience teaches us, that 
 these and not other data (causes) produce 
 these, but not some other effects; and vice 
 versa, these and not other effects are pro- 
 duced by these, but not by other causes. 
 From this stability we construe in our 
 minds the idea of nature's laws, which, al- 
 though they do not represent to us the es- 
 sence of the things, yet they represent the 
 stable relations between causes and effects 
 and among phenomena. These laws are 
 the object of science. 
 
 The harmonious unity and totality in the 
 Universe demonstrate that not only the 
 certain, but all phenomena of the Universe 
 must be regulated by nature's general laws. 
 But, although the same general laws gov- 
 ern all phenomena, yet when they specify 
 themselves in the special laws (determin- 
 ing the relations between immediate causes 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 3 
 
 of effects) they are modifying (general laws) 
 themselves according to the different char- 
 acteristics of the phenomena. Therefore, 
 although the same general laws are acting 
 in all phenomena, but this action in one 
 kind of phenomena is not the same as the 
 action in another kind of phenomena, yet 
 it is analogical. For instance the same 
 general laws are acting in the physical, 
 chemical, biological, and socialogical phe- 
 nomena (for instance laws of motion) 
 but this action (motion) is not the same in 
 all these phenomena; it is only analogical. 
 The greater the similarity between the dif- 
 ferent kinds of phenomena, the better is the 
 analogy in the action of different laws. 
 
 Man discovers these laws in this man- 
 ner: through the experience he acquaints 
 himself with the immediate causes of a cer- 
 tain number of phenomena, and with the 
 relations between these causes and their 
 effects. In other words, man, through 
 experience acquaints himself with some 
 particular data and some particular laws 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 governing these data. After such ac- 
 quaintance the human mind tries to calcu- 
 late more-general laws and data, because 
 the knowledge of them helps man to 
 understand better the entire construction 
 of the Universe. But the understanding 
 of the entire construction of the Universe 
 helps to understand better the particular 
 data and. particular laws in the Universe. 
 On account of this, science being ac- 
 quainted with some particular data and 
 laws (governing these data) conjectures 
 more-general laws and more-general data. 
 These surmises are named hypotheses. 
 With the help of hypotheses it is better to 
 investigate and to understand the particu- 
 lar data (immediate causes of the phenom- 
 ena) and particular laws. In the begin- 
 ning man, on the basis of insufficient ob- 
 servation, calculates the curious surmises 
 not only of the general data and laws, but 
 even of the particular data and laws, be- 
 cause curious and wrong hypotheses of 
 general data and laws are obstacles, which 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 5 
 
 hinder the good understanding of the par- 
 ticular data arid laws. 
 
 The appearance of criticism (under dif- 
 ferent names) in the history of scientifical 
 development, compels man to make new 
 observations and discoveries of particular 
 laws. When these discoveries are made 
 in sufficient quantity, then attention is 
 given again to the discovery of more- 
 general laws and data. Again after a 
 period of time when the surmises of 
 general laws and data are carried too far 
 and become the work of imagination, then 
 it becomes necessary to return to the ob- 
 servation and investigation of particular 
 laws and data. 
 
 The returns to particular laws and ob- 
 servations and the returns to the surmises 
 of general laws, which (returns) clearly 
 appear in the history of scientifical devel- 
 opment, are not always made at once, 
 wholly, but sometimes gradually and par- 
 tially. 
 
 When particular and general laws are 
 
1 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 already discovered in- sufficient quantity, 
 then the division of science into many 
 special sciences follows, because science 
 cannot investigate all phenomena at once 
 and from different points of view, nor yet 
 investigate at once all particular and gen- 
 eral laws, because there is already too 
 much material. On account of that 
 science is divided into special sciences, in 
 each of which only a certain quantity of 
 phenomena from certain points of view, 
 are considered; each science then investi- 
 gates particular laws on the foundation of 
 the observation. With the more-general 
 laws ( and more-general data ) mental 
 philosophy employs itself. Before the di- 
 vision of sciences mental philosophy em- 
 ploys itself with particular and general 
 laws and data, but after the division of 
 sciences it should employ itself with the 
 general and more-general laws and data 
 and with the Supreme law and datum. 
 Special sciences in their investigations of 
 particular laws and particular data must 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 7 
 
 rely, themselves, on mental philosophy, 
 that is, on the general laws and data. As 
 to mental philosophy it must have for its 
 foundation the particular laws and data 
 discovered by special sciences. 
 
 Man, by being acquainted more perfect- 
 ly with nature's proceedings, or with the 
 particular and general laws of nature, can 
 help nature better in the perfection of his 
 existence as to his physical and intellectual 
 development. He also perfects himself 
 morally, because he acquires a more per- 
 fect idea of the Supreme source of laws, its 
 uniformity and the most reasonable pro- 
 ceedings in nature. Knowing nature's pro- 
 ceeding, he more clearly perceives its re- 
 venge for not co-operating well with its 
 tendencies and for failing in performing his 
 rolls, which he is expected' to perform as an 
 animal, as a member of a family, among his 
 own people, as a member of humanity, and 
 as a creature. 
 
 The perfection of the internal and exter- 
 nal conditions of man's existence is his high- 
 
1 8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 est aim, because a greater degree of per- 
 fection of individuals causes a greater de- 
 gree of perfection and happiness of society ; 
 and a greater perfection of society helps indi- 
 viduals to obtain a still higher state of per- 
 fection. Which may be the last aim of. the 
 perfection of society and individuals, to 
 which (perfection) the same nature leads, 
 is impossible to say on the grounds of ex- 
 perience. Reason supposes, that the final 
 aim, to which man tends and in which he 
 will find absolute perfection, must neces- 
 sarily exist, because otherwise our natural 
 tendency to the highest point of perfection 
 and happiness would be unreasonable. 
 
 This perfection of the external and in- 
 ternal conditions of human existence is 
 nothing else than helping nature in its pro- 
 ceeding; because, in order to be able to 
 help it, it is necessary to know its laws, for 
 this reason, the basis of all education is the 
 knowledge of the general and particular 
 laws of nature. Knowing these laws, man 
 is able to aid nature in his own develop- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 9 
 
 ment and in the development of young 
 people whose parent or teacher he may be. 
 If intellectual education is the basis of all 
 other education, we should consider, first, 
 its fundamental rules. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. 
 
 TNTELLECTUAL education consists in 
 understanding the proceedings of na- 
 ture, or in other words, it consists in 
 understanding nature's data, and the laws 
 governing them. These laws appear to 
 us through the processes of the different 
 phenomena. We observe these processes, 
 and on the basis of such obversation (and 
 experiments) our reason is able to under- 
 stand the particular and general laws 
 governing nature, or nature's proceeding. 
 The more one understands these proceed- 
 ings of nature the more science he pos- 
 sesses. 
 
 Humanity acquires the acquaintance of 
 data and the understanding of nature's 
 laws according to certain stable laws, be- 
 cause the scientifical development in hu- 
 manity is a phenomenon, and on the other 
 hand, it is known, that each phenomenon 
 
 - " ' 20 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 21 
 
 must be regulated by certain stable laws 
 of nature. 
 
 We are able to perceive from the his- 
 tory of scientifical development, that the 
 natural proceeding is, that humanity com- 
 mences its intellectual education from the 
 observation of certain phenomena which 
 strike the senses more forcibly. On the 
 fou'ndation of a little observation of these 
 phenomena, man has deduced some partic-' 
 ular laws, and immediately after this he 
 deduced or better surmised (very often 
 curiously) the general laws and data of 
 the Universe. After such speculation 
 man turns again to the observation and 
 the deduction of particular laws. This 
 formulation of particular laws, man is 
 more able to produce after he has some 
 ideas of the general construction of the 
 Universe or of general laws and data. 
 And again, after such observation and in- 
 vestigation of particular laws man turns to 
 the deduction of the more general laws 
 and data, which he can surmise better on 
 
22 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 account of a more true performance of ob- 
 servation. 
 
 As I have mentioned before, such is the 
 general law of scientifical development in 
 humanity. It may be noticed here, that 
 man deduces general laws and general 
 data before the observations have been 
 sufficiently extensive to warrant them. 
 We might think, that such a proceeding 
 is not very reasonable, because man often 
 creates the wrong surmises of the general 
 laws and data of the Universe. But 
 nature does not proceed in the develop- 
 ment of sciences in another manner. As 
 we have mentioned before, it compels 
 humanity, immediately after a little obser- 
 vation and deduction of some particular 
 laws, to calculate the construction of the 
 Universe or to calculate the general laws 
 and data of nature. Why.'' Because 
 speculations (even wrong) of general laws 
 and causes (data) make man more capable 
 to understand the particular laws and the 
 particular data. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 23 
 
 Such a proceeding should be imitated in 
 the intellectual development of an individ- 
 ual. Therefore, in the intellectual educa- 
 tion, one should, on the basis of some 
 observation, investigate some particular 
 laws and data. On the basis of these par- 
 ticular laws and data he must calculate 
 of the general laws and data or of the 
 general construction of the Universe. 
 After such calculation he should again 
 turn to the observation and investigation 
 of particular laws and data. This second 
 investigation of the particular laws and 
 data should be more special and more 
 strict. The observations and experiments 
 should be broader. In this second inves- 
 tigation of the particular laws and data, 
 the student, having ideas of the general 
 construction of the Universe, will better 
 understand the particular laws and data. 
 After having knowledge of a larger num- 
 ber of particular laws and data, he must 
 calculate again of the more-general laws 
 and data. This second calculation o£the 
 
24 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 more-general laws and data should be 
 more strict than the first calculation (of 
 the general laws and data). This calcu- 
 lation may be more strict, because the stu- 
 dent has a larger knowledge of the partic- 
 ular laws and data. After this second 
 calculation of the general laws and data 
 he should turn again to the observation 
 (experiments) and investigation of partic- 
 lar laws and data. This third investiga- 
 tion of the particular laws and data must be 
 still broader than the second. The oftener 
 one will repeat such turning the better 
 will be his understanding of nature's pro- 
 ceedings, or the more nearly complete his 
 science will be. 
 
 Learning should be commenced from 
 the observation of these phenomena, >A?liich 
 appeal more forcibly to our senses; these 
 are physical phenomena. Up to this time 
 it has been custortiary to proceed as fol- 
 lows : to commence by committing to 
 memory the rules of grammar, scientifical 
 symbols and formulas, dates, names in 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 25 
 
 history, etc. All this material is crammed 
 into heads without any or with little or- 
 der. Such an intellectual education is not 
 co-operative with nature's proceeding. Na- 
 ture in the scientifical development of hu- 
 manity proceeds in some other way. We 
 should imitate it. Humanity commenced 
 to learn, not by committing to memory 
 rules of grammar, various formulas and 
 dates, but by the observation of nature's 
 phenomena. Scientifical rules and formu- 
 las were created thousands of years after- 
 wards. 
 
 I don't deny that formulas and rules are 
 of great value, but I wish to be understood, 
 that the student should not be compelled 
 to learn by heart those formulas but by 
 experiments and mental calculation he 
 should well understand nature's proceed- 
 ing in the given phenomena. Rules rep- 
 resenting in a brief way nature's proceed- 
 ings, he should create with his own forces. 
 The instructor's duty is to help the student 
 in this. Such a manner of learning will be 
 
26 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 anil imitation of nature's proceeding in the 
 scientifical development of humanity. 
 
 It is a question which phenomena a man, 
 beginning to learn should observe first. I 
 have mentioned before that learning should 
 be commenced from the observation of 
 those phenomena which strike our senses 
 more forcibly; here I add that learning also 
 should be commenced with the observa- 
 tion of those phenomena which tend to 
 help one's reason to form the general ideas 
 of the construction of the Universe. There- 
 fore it should conjmence with the physical 
 phenomena and particularly the movements 
 of celestial bodies. It may be suggested, 
 that it is too difficult to coinmence one's 
 learning with the consideration of physical 
 laws (on the foundation of experience) and 
 mechanism of celestial bodies. Allow me 
 to remark, that I do not propose to consid- 
 er those things particularly, for the begin- 
 ner and, I do not propose to treat the mech- 
 anism of celestial bodies with trigonometry, 
 because this would be impossible in the 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 27 
 
 commencement of learning. I only pro- 
 pose, on the foundation of some experience, 
 to consider generally, ph5'sical phenomena 
 in order to form in one's mind some gener- 
 al ideas of the construction of the Universe 
 and of the forces governing it. Every 
 child, commencing to calculate, is able to 
 comprehend this. On the other hand, this 
 greater utility will be obtained by such a 
 proceeding, that, from the beginning, or- 
 der and system of great scientifical value 
 will be created in one's mind. 
 
 So far I have not mentioned anything 
 referring to the learning of languages and 
 religion. The learning of one's own lan- 
 guage must be through practice, because 
 humanity learns languages by hearing and 
 speaking, which is practically. Let us 
 imitate this manner of nature's proceeding. 
 I do not say, that an instructor may not 
 give some rules in teaching a language, 
 but such rules should not be given in 
 chaos, but should represent harmony and 
 unity, because we must imitate nature. 
 
28 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 the laws of which also constitute harmony 
 and unity. Therefore in teaching a [lan- 
 guage the instructor should first give the 
 general ideas; the particular ideas, which 
 he gives afterwards should be only an ex- 
 planation and determination, in particular 
 cases, of these general and fundamental 
 ideas. Humanity first speaks in a manner 
 that represents only imperfectly and simply 
 its ideas and feelings, but after centuries it 
 learns to use a good style and an artistical 
 representation of its ideas and feelings. 
 Thus the beginner should not be compelled 
 to learn at once to speak eloquently and 
 artistically, and he should not be com- 
 pelled to learn the rules of grammar. 
 This ought to be left for later instruction. 
 In giving instructions in writing we 
 should also imitate nature. Humanity rep- 
 resents its ideas ( from the beginning ) not 
 by written words, but by different signs. 
 Therefore the' learning of writing should 
 be commenced with drawing different 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 29 
 
 signs ( or objects ) representing ideas 
 After this letters may be introduced. 
 
 As to the learning of religion the imita- 
 tion of the natural proceeding will be this: 
 before learning the different doctrines and 
 rules of any particular religion it is neces- 
 sary first to form a true idea of God ( the 
 Supreme source of laws and basis of all 
 causes ) . Sometimes' it happens, that even 
 some of mature age know by heart many 
 prayers an,d rules of their own religion, but 
 have not a true idea of God. This is one 
 of the causes of atheism. Such a man, as 
 we have just referred to, hearing after- 
 wards some atheistical phrases, loses all 
 religion and even the principles of moral- 
 ity, because he has not a good idea of the 
 Supreme source of laws and the general 
 basis ( natural religion ) of all religions. 
 Therefore, although we may teach young 
 people in the beginning some rules ( very 
 few) of a particular religion, yet in teach- 
 ing all the forces of the instructor must 
 tend to form in the student's mind a true 
 
30 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 idea of God. A good occasion to give 
 the student a true idea of God as the Su- 
 preme and the most general law and basis 
 of all causes and forces, would be when 
 the instructor, on the foundation of ex- 
 perience, represents some physical laws and 
 the mechanism of celestial bodies. 
 
 It is impossible to understand reasonably 
 any particular religion without a good 
 understanding of the natural religion, 
 which is the basis of all religions. Hu- 
 manity, before having and knowing any 
 particular religion, certainly had ideas of 
 natural religion first. The proper time 
 for a reasonable learning of particular re- 
 ligion, is when one studies the history and 
 literature of the world, and when he is 
 acquainted with the general principles of 
 the social sciences. (Religious education 
 will be specially treated later on. ) 
 
 When one has general ideas of the phys- 
 ical phenomena and mechanism of celestial 
 bodies ( all this on the foundation of a cer- 
 tain experience ) it is necessary to begin 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 3 1 
 
 the study of chemistry. This is a very 
 natural way, because after one is ac- 
 quainted with the, general plan of the con- 
 struction of the Universe, he wishes to be 
 better acquainted with the material of 
 which the Universe is composed. 
 
 ■The study of chemistry in the beginning 
 should not be treated in a manner that stu- 
 dents would be compelled to learn by heart 
 many symbols and formulas of the compo- 
 sition of different bodies. This might pro- 
 duce a dislike for learning especially in a 
 beginner and would not be helping nature 
 in the intellectual development of man. 
 Humanity did not become acquainted at 
 once with the particular compositions, of 
 bodies, but first it had only general ideas 
 of them. 
 
 Therefore in studying chemistry it will 
 be sufficient for a beginner to acquire, on 
 the foundation of a little experience, gen- 
 eral ideas of simple and composed bodies. 
 In connection with chemistry the general 
 , principles of geology in a descriptive man- 
 
32 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 ner, should be treated. Here the general 
 principles of physical geography should be 
 also represented. 
 
 When a student is acquainted with the 
 general construction of the Universe, as to 
 physical and chemical phenomena, then 
 follows the study of botany. Such an or- 
 der in intellectual education, I suppose, is 
 very natural, because the development of 
 vegetable life follows the, physical and 
 chemical constitution and development of 
 the earth. The student, at the beginning 
 of his education, being acquainted with the 
 construction of the Universe develops his 
 mind, and forms an idea of order. The 
 consequence of this will be, that he will 
 care to learn systematically the principles 
 of the other sciences, as, botany , physiology, 
 etc.- With this preparation, the studying 
 of botany which should follow now, will 
 produce better intellectual development. 
 The studying of botany should not be com- 
 menced in learning by heart the names of 
 plants, but on the foundation of experience. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 33 
 
 the instructor should represent the general 
 principles of the life of plants and of the con- 
 struction of their living organism together 
 with a brief classification. The names 
 of the principal parts and organs of 
 plants will be memorized by obser- 
 vation, the repetition of different ex- 
 periments, and by the explications of the 
 instructor. The student, having general 
 ideas of matter, physical and chemical 
 forces, will reasonably study the physiology 
 and anatomy of plants, because he will be 
 able to understand the physical and chem- 
 ical processes which have a place in the 
 vegetable phenomena. Following this, de- 
 scriptive botany should be presented in a 
 brief ■vi^ay. The student, having some 
 knowledge of the physiology and anatomy 
 of plants, will base on this knowledge the 
 classification of plants. It is to be remark- 
 ed that applying many names of plants in 
 descriptive botany produces a dislike in the 
 beginner and compels him to learn forcibly 
 by heart. But forcible learning by hea^-t 
 
34 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 always produces a bad influence to the in- 
 tellectual development of man. In teach- 
 ing descriptive botany, in the classification 
 and division of plants, the natural proceed- 
 ing of their development should be imitat- 
 ed, which is to say, that first the inferior 
 organizations of plants should be represent- 
 ed and then the superior. 
 
 Now follows the physiology of animals. 
 In this science as in the preceding one, 
 the same manner of learning, for the be- 
 ginner, should be followed. On the foun- 
 dation of corresponding experience nature's 
 proceeding should be considered in the 
 life of animals. The student, already 
 understanding the principles of physics and 
 chemistry, and of the vegetable life, will 
 readily camprehend the phenomena of 
 animal life. As to the classification of 
 animals, it should be for the beginner, 
 general, but not particular in this science. 
 In teaching the anatomy 'of animals the 
 instructor should not compel ' the student 
 to commit to memory many names of 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 35 
 
 organs, but only the more important. All 
 reserve forces of the instructor must be 
 concentrated upon the development of the 
 speculative faculties of the student. 
 
 The physiology of animals may be com- 
 bined with the study of zoology. In 
 studying this subject the instructor should 
 not compel the student to learn by heart 
 names of many animals, but all his forces 
 and energy should be directed to the rep- 
 resentation of the development of the ani- 
 mal world, the habits and life of animals, 
 their different faculties, (animal psycholo- 
 gy) etc. Such a study of zoology, and the 
 psychology of animals will be a good 
 ground for studying the historic-sociolog- 
 ical sciences which are next in order. 
 But before we commence to consider the 
 study of history of the world, we will turn 
 our attention to the following : — 
 
 Mathematics should be taught from the 
 beginning of the intellectual education and 
 should be correlated with all other subjects, 
 because it is one of the most important 
 
36 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 subjects causing intellectual development, 
 and therefore plays a great roll in one's 
 education. One of our fundamental prin- 
 ciples is, that science is the understanding 
 of the natural proceeding, or the under- 
 standing of laws, particular and general, 
 on the basis of experience. But in apply- 
 ing this experience we must use mathe- 
 matics, and the better we use it the easier 
 we can discover the particular and general 
 laws of nature, for in nature all is strictly 
 calculated (counted). This accurate calcu- 
 lation (count) in the natural proceeding 
 makes the existence of the world possible. 
 The world could not exist, even a moment 
 if the forces and compositions of matter, 
 exhibited in the different phenomena, 
 would not be mathematically calculated. 
 Therefore in order to understand the natu- 
 ral proceeding, or nature's laws, it is nec- 
 essary to consider this natural calculation 
 in phenomena. Hence mathematics is of 
 great value in the understanding of nature's 
 laws. On the other hand, the study of 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 37 
 
 mathematics enables man's reason to un- 
 derstand more easily the particular and 
 general laws, because all particular natural 
 laws reduce themselves to general and 
 most-general laws which are based on the 
 Supreme law, God, (otherwise there 
 would be no universal unity and harmony, 
 and consequently the Universe could not 
 exist). Therefore among different natural 
 laws there must be a certain proportion 
 and analogy as among the different 
 phenomena. ' In order to catch this 
 analogy and proportion (on the foun- 
 dation of experience) one's reason must be 
 qualified. ' Without this qualification the 
 surmises of natural laws will not be very 
 clear; they will be fantastic and curious. 
 In order to produce this qualification in 
 one's intellect it is necessary to develop 
 speculative faculties. The best means for 
 such a development is the study of mathe- 
 matics, which is based on the principles of 
 logic. 
 
 One who has studied mathematics in the 
 
38 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 right manner, (with a good understanding 
 and constant reflections) although he may 
 have forgotten all mathematical formulas, 
 yet he will have developed speculative fac- 
 ulties which enable him to think in an ab- 
 stract manner and enable him to under- 
 stand and catch the symmetry, proportion 
 and analogy in different phenomena and in 
 laws of nature. 
 
 By the above mentioned causes mathe- 
 matical studies play a great roll in intellect- 
 ual education. For this reason they should 
 be commenced in the beginning of one's 
 scientifical education. 
 
 In order to obtain great utility from 
 mathematical studies they should be treat- 
 ed in the most reasonable way. The study 
 of mathematics ought not to be commenced 
 with the learning by heart of formulas and 
 symbols, because such a proceeding neither 
 develops the speculative faculties nor pro- 
 duces real mathematical knowledge. The 
 learning of every mathematical science 
 should be more practical, that is, a student 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 39 
 
 should understand by the exercises and 
 corresponding explications the proceeding 
 in mathematical operations, and afterwards 
 formulate the principles in his own words. 
 The instructor's duty is to correct the 
 formulas as far as they may be wrongly 
 formulated by the student, and to help to 
 formulate them when the student is not 
 able to do so. 
 
 Some educators advise, that geometry 
 find trigonometry should be studied on cer- 
 tain figures, made of wood or wire, in cor- 
 responding school laboratories for this pur- 
 pose. This is very good advice, because 
 such learning is an imitation of the natural 
 proceeding, for humanity began to learn 
 geometrical relations from objects. On the 
 other hand, such learning will interest the 
 students, because they have a proclivity to 
 experiments. 
 
 In teaching mathematics with exercises 
 the instructor should give explanations, 
 but to give them in a correct manner is a 
 great art, which consists in giving explana- 
 
40 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 tions in harmony and unity. As harmony 
 and unity exist in nature so they must ex- 
 ist in all sciences not excluding mathemat- 
 ics. This harmony and unity in giving 
 explanations requires that the instructor 
 would represent primarily the fundamental 
 ideas; all ideas which he gives afterwards 
 should be only the developnient and' the 
 different accommodations of the fundament- 
 al ideas given before. Therefore in all ex- 
 plications given by the instructor in teach; 
 ing mathematics the student should clearly 
 see the fundamental ideas, which were 
 given before and which pass through the 
 entire mathematical sciences. At the end 
 of a study of a branch in mathematics the 
 student should not have all principles in his 
 mind in chaos, but he should have them in 
 a symmetrical totality, in which all is con- 
 nected, making a nice structure, with which' 
 the student is well acquainted. 
 
 In teaching mathematics it is not enough 
 on the part of the instructor to explain how 
 to perform a mathematical operation, but 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 4I 
 
 also why we perform it so. The answer 
 for the question, "Why?" should not be, 
 "Because there is such and such a rule," 
 but the instructor should analyze the rule 
 (explication) basing all on the last princi- 
 ples of logic and of quantity. In teaching 
 arithmetic it is necessary, from the begin- 
 ning, to explain which roll the Arabic fig- 
 ures play and why their number is nine and 
 why we have the sign of naught. How 
 would it be, if we would have only four 
 or five figures.'' This should be explained 
 to the student so that he could grasp the 
 idea. If, by such a proceeding from the 
 beginning, the student will understand how 
 it is, what is artificial in arithmetic and 
 what is natural, then he will readily under- 
 stand following expHcations which will be 
 given with every mathematical operation. 
 It should be remarked that, only to know 
 how to operate and in general how to pro- 
 ceed with formulas already invented, is 
 not enough to exercise the speculative fac- 
 ulties. Formulas were not invented at 
 
42 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 once but after long mental practice and 
 speculation. As these formulas were in- 
 vented by the thinkers after much spec- 
 ulation, so a student should produce in 
 his mind (with the help of his instructor) 
 similar speculations and reproduce with his 
 forces the same formulas. Then he will 
 understand if another similar formula could 
 or could not be used. This will be an im- 
 itation of natural proceeding in the scien- 
 tifical development of humanity. 
 
 With reference to Algebra, it is neces- 
 sary to remark that because it is the art of 
 calculating with numbers and arithmetical 
 functions by symbols, therefore it needs, 
 in studying it, more reflections than arith- 
 metic. In order to understand algebra and 
 produce the development of the speculative 
 faculties it is not enough to explain some 
 algebraical operations with the remark, 
 "There is such and such a rule," but it is 
 necessary to analyze the rule (as in arith- 
 metic) to the last principles of logic and 
 quantity, and to explain or represent why 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 43 
 
 it cannot be differently. Someone may be 
 able to operate well with the different al- 
 gebraic formulas, but not know why the 
 operations are so performed. Although 
 such a knowledge may be good for prac- 
 tice, yet it does not develop the higher spec- 
 ulative faculties of man. We know by ex- 
 perience that in studying science, we must 
 not go too fast. This rule ought to be ap- 
 plied much more in mathematical studies. 
 Therefore the instructor should be patient 
 with the intellectually dull student ; it should 
 stimulate the instructor to make his ex- 
 planations more clear. The effect will be, 
 that the speculative faculties of the student 
 will commence to act. The better a stu- 
 dent understands mathematics, the more 
 it should be applied in natural studies 
 
 Intellectual education according to our 
 opinion should be commenced in consider- 
 ing physics with special attention in refer- 
 ence to the movements of celestial bofJies. 
 Hence some one may question, "Why not 
 commence intellectual education with the 
 
44 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 subject that will interest the beginner the 
 most ; for instance, the study of plants and 
 animals ?"I answer: although these things 
 may be very interesting for the student, yet 
 they will be contrary tOi systematical teach- 
 ing. If the instructor would commence 
 with study of plants or animals, it would be 
 necessary to represent principles of vegeta- 
 ble or of animal organism (physiology and 
 anatomy). But is it possible to consider in 
 what vegetable or animal life consists, if 
 the student does not know the chemical 
 and physical processes and has no idea of 
 the general construction of the Universe? 
 Such learning would not cause the under- 
 standing of the natural proceeding in the 
 vegetable and animal life. Should some 
 one affirm that it was not necessary to 
 commence at once the study of physiology 
 and anatomy of plants or animals, but in a 
 descriptive manner, to represent customs 
 of animal life and special things about veg- 
 etables, because it would interest young 
 people very much, then I would not say 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 45 
 
 that it was impossible, on the contrary, we 
 should explain all these questions, that th& 
 pupil may ask, and which interest him, 
 but every one understands, that this is not 
 strictly a systematical education and for 
 this reason, independently of explications 
 of similar questions, the science of animal 
 and vegetable life should be treated after 
 obtaining some knowledge of physics and 
 chemistry, because it has been shown that 
 to treat it earlier would be unsystematical. 
 In teaching there should be one principal 
 subject at which the entire work of the 
 student must be aimed, but for variety, 
 something could be added to ease the mind. 
 In like manner with the study of physics 
 (and other subjects which follow) there 
 should be combined the learning of lan- 
 guages (more practical), writing, learning 
 of religion, etc., but all these as secondary 
 subjects, because these subjects will be 
 treated particularly, later. In the learning 
 of languages as a secondary subject the 
 student should not be compelled to commit 
 
46 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 rules of grammar, but by speaking and 
 reading the masterpieces he should be 
 drilled in the speaking of one or more lan- 
 guages. Rules of grammar should be treat- 
 ed when the student will consider the nat- 
 ural proceeding in the social phenomena 
 (history) literature, etc. The affirmation, 
 that in studying one must concentrate all 
 his intellectual forces on the one subject and 
 the consideration of others (not directly 
 united with the subject considered) should 
 be only for variety, I suppose, is true, be- 
 cause such a proceeding will cause a syste- 
 matical formation of ideas in the student's 
 mind, but it is understood that in one's ed- 
 ucation the fundamental element is system. 
 I have said before, that mathematics must 
 be correlative with all other subjects to the 
 completion of the study of all mathematical 
 sciences. Hence it might be questioned, 
 that in this case the intellectual forces of 
 the student will not be concentrated in one 
 subject, but will be divided. This is not so, 
 because the more a student will know about 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 47 
 
 mathematics the more he will unite it with 
 natural sciences. Perhaps, at the begin- 
 ning, for a short time, the student's atten- 
 tion will be divided but, after some knowl- 
 edge of mathematics will be obtained, it 
 will be naturally united with the natural 
 sciences as it is united with the natural 
 proceeding in the different phenomena. In 
 the explanations of each subject the teach- 
 er should not treat the question superficial- 
 ly, but should analyze, make deductions 
 and comparisons, criticise or in other words 
 put into them the philosophical element. 
 The mind of the young student is able to 
 become accustomed to memorial work,from 
 the beginning, or to speculative work, 
 consisting more in the understanding and 
 memorizing of ideas through different asso- 
 ciations, but not in the memorizing of 
 words signifying ideas. It is true, that it 
 is easier to be accustomed to study the dif- 
 ferent subjects and to learn the different 
 principles by the memorizing of words, 
 than it is by memorizing ideas. It is more 
 
48 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 difficult to become accustomed to learn by 
 continuous reflections and memorizing 
 ideas, but because the student's mind is 
 able to be accustomed to reflections and 
 the speculative manner of studying, there- 
 fore, from the beginning, it is necessary to 
 treat the scientifical subjects in this man- 
 ner. The only difference in students ac- 
 customing themselves to this method, is in 
 time. The more able student will ac- 
 custom his mind to this system in a short 
 time while the one not so able must work 
 longer. To the memorial work he may 
 become accustomed with the least difficulty 
 because, the progress made in learning words 
 and sentences by heart (without reflections 
 upon ideas), depends only on the develop- 
 ment of sensitive memory, which develops 
 itself easily by repetition (without reflec- 
 tions). Because real science consists in 
 understanding nature's proceeding, there- 
 fore memorizing ideas through intellectual 
 associations, is the best means for acquir-' 
 ing science. The knowledge of sentences 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 49 
 
 acquired by repeating them in a wander- 
 ing mind is not the corresponding mean of 
 acquiring science. If a student would be 
 trained from the beginning to look not on 
 the words, but on the ideas, he would exer- 
 cise his mind in the most reasonable way. 
 
 The philosophical element must be 
 placed in teaching not only as constant re- 
 flections and a critical element, but also in 
 representing, in the general manner, the 
 differept philosophical theories in a man- 
 ner corresponding to the intellectual 
 capacity of the student. Thus in consider- 
 ing the physical phenomena, the instructor 
 has an occasion to represent some theories 
 of the development .( general ideas ) of 
 bodies in the Universe and their probable 
 origin. 
 
 In studying the physiology and anatomy 
 of plants and animals, the instructor may 
 represent the general ideas of the different 
 theories of the vegetable and animal de- 
 velopment of life. This will be a stimulus 
 for the student's mind to great reflections 
 
50 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 upon treated subjects; it will cause unity 
 and order in ideas, which the student ac- 
 quired and, will develop his critical facul- 
 ties. The instructor should give liberty 
 to the student in carrying out his own 
 speculations, and in criticising them he 
 should not condemn, without considera- 
 tion, by saying: "This is imprudent" or 
 something similar, because it produces a 
 bad effect in the character of the student, 
 and discourages him in making further 
 speculations. The instructor's duty is to 
 criticise mildly, the student's reasoning by 
 showing the impossibilities and contradic- 
 tions in his speculations ; to help to analyze 
 and construct right speculations. The in- 
 structor should not base affirmation on his 
 own authority ( using the words, " I say 
 so, I know it " ) and even not on the 
 authority of others ( excluding the cases in 
 which it is impossible to do otherwise ) 
 but, in explaining and demonstrating, all 
 should be based on experience, as far as it 
 is possible. After this the instructor may 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 5 1 
 
 affirm his explanations or trust to the 
 authority of standard works. 
 
 In representing the general ideas of the 
 different philosophical theories, it should 
 be remarked, that the instructor ought to 
 avoid the creating of prejudice in the stu- 
 dent's mind against some theories, because 
 this would be an obstacle in exercising the 
 tendency to impartial thinking and would 
 make partialists, for partiality is the great 
 enemy to the right understanding of the 
 proceeding of nature. 
 
 We need not be afraid that introducing 
 the philosophical training and theories in 
 one's education will produce a bad influ- 
 ence upon religious ideas. The philosoph- 
 ical training introduces in one's mind the 
 criticism and ability to analyze ideas. 
 This criticism will be the cause of basing 
 religious ideas on the principles of logic 
 and scientific theory of laws. The idea of 
 God based in this way cannot be forgotten 
 or thrown away; it cannot be destroyed! 
 by certain phrases. On the other hand, 
 
52 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 by criticism, from the beginning of his in- 
 tellectual education, one will understand 
 the weakness of intellectual, human facul- 
 ties and, on account of this, he will be 
 more humble in reference to receiving 
 religious ideas. We may be sure, that 
 education without proper and impar- 
 tial philosophical training will cause a 
 weak faith in the existence of God. This 
 is clear. When a student while studying, 
 for example, natural sciences, hears of mat- 
 ter and energy, he persuades himself that 
 matter causes itself. Without the philo- 
 sophical training he does not reflect and 
 analyze the selfsame principles of natural 
 sciences and does not speculate with the 
 Universe. His mind not being capable of 
 criticism is accustomed to consider, all, 
 superficially. Although from the begin- 
 ning, the religious ideas acquired in child- 
 hood will have a place in his mind, yet in 
 time they will be dissipated, because they 
 were based only on imagination and 
 memory; but such a foundation cannot re- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 53 
 
 sist destruction when the student will 
 consider natural causes of all phenomena. 
 Therefore, the philosophical training, in- 
 stead of the dissipating of religious ideas, 
 will base them on a strong philosophical 
 foundation. Without such training stu- 
 dents become mostly realists believing only 
 in the existence of matter and energy; 
 they do not analyze further, thinking they 
 possess all truth. By philosophical train- 
 ing they will be persuaded, that all human 
 science is not absolute but relative and 
 very much limited, and that intellectual 
 human faculties are very weak. This 
 much of scepticism will cause the develop- 
 ment of religious ideas, especially ideas of 
 natural religion. The principles of partic- 
 ular religion, especially Christian religion, 
 based on the principles of natural religion, 
 will also find a strong foundation. 
 
 Philosophical training not only helps the 
 development of religious and moral ideas, 
 but also helps the systematizing and unit- 
 ing of the various branches of science 
 
54 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 studied in. schools. The question, that rep- 
 resenting the different philosophical the- 
 ories might produce chaos in the student's 
 mind may arise, but instructor's corres- 
 pondent criticism will help it. The in- 
 structor in representing different theories, 
 may properly criticise them according to 
 the system that nature is governed by par- 
 ticular and general laws which are based 
 on the Supreme law. .Nearly all philo? 
 sophical theories may be united in the 
 light of the theory of laws governing na- 
 ture. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 METHOD OF TEACHING HISTORY. 
 
 ITISTORY of the world occupies itself 
 1/ with the different social phenomena. 
 Because the unity and harmony in the Uni- 
 verse wants all phenomena (not only some' 
 of them) to be governed by certain stable 
 laws, therefore the social phenomena niust 
 be governed by these laws. 
 
 Independently of this argument "a priori" 
 we now have some arguments " a posteri- 
 ori " because sociologists have demonstrat- 
 ed, that in the same circumstances the 
 same social phenomena appear. The)^ 
 have already discovered certain laws 
 governing the social phenomena. His- 
 tory should furnish material for the in- 
 vestigation of laws governing the social 
 phenomena. For this reason, as far as it 
 represents the political, social and religious 
 events, history is only knowledge giving 
 material for investigation of stable laws 
 
 E5 
 
56 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 governing all these phenomena, which may 
 be termed in general, social phenomena. 
 If history gives material for the investiga- 
 tion of laws governing the social phenom- 
 ena, then it should be presented to the 
 student in a harmonious' unity and in such 
 a way that he might easily investigate the 
 laws governing these phenomena. To the 
 present time, historical material has been 
 given to the student, containing too many 
 names, dates, unimportant events, with 
 little or no order. Authors of school text- 
 books in history generally commence his- 
 tory without any connection with other 
 sciences. The student, reading a text- 
 book in history is not able to preceive which 
 are relations among social and other phe- 
 nomena of the world. Therefore, fro.m the 
 beginning, the learning of history is not 
 systematic. Usually the reader of a text- 
 book (in history) finds not only in the en- 
 tire book, but from the first pages only 
 names, dates, and enumerations of var- 
 ious facts. There are no ideas based on 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 57 
 
 facts and dates, but only a non-harmonious 
 conglomeration of historical material, 
 which the pupil is compelled to com- 
 mit to memory. Such writings of text- 
 books of history can never create in the 
 student a love, but an abomination for 
 historical science. Usually the student 
 who has finished a course in college, al- 
 though he has learned for some years, his- 
 /tory by heart, he does not understand, at 
 all, the natural proceeding in the social 
 phenomena. His memorial knowledge of 
 mixed facts and dates did not develop but 
 dull his speculative faculties. Even the 
 facts and dates that he remembers, he will 
 forget in a short time and will thereafter 
 have an abomination for all historical 
 studies. 
 
 Such a proceeding in teaching history is 
 a great danger to society, because man can 
 perform the roll he is expected to play in 
 society better, when he understands the 
 natural proceeding in society better. * 
 
 * In order to understand the natural proceeding in the 
 development of society, it is necessary to understand 
 
58 ESSAYS ON- THE 
 
 To study properly, — the historical ma- 
 terial should not be given to the student 
 in the manner it has been given thus far. 
 The text-book and the instructor, before 
 representing the various historical facts 
 should give some general ideas of the con- 
 struction of the Universe, and nature's 
 proceeding in it. He should present some 
 general laws of nature governing all phe- 
 nomena and, after this, represent how> 
 these general laws govern particularly in 
 the social phenomena. He must show, 
 what analogy is between social and other 
 phenomena. By such proceeding he will 
 unite history with the other scierices and 
 will show what relations exist between 
 social and other phenomena. 
 
 The instructor should not present imme- 
 diately the history of some ancient people, 
 with facts and dates, but give some ideas ' 
 
 nature's proceeding, at least generally, in the physical, 
 chemical, and biological phenomena and with this prep- 
 aration, nature's proceeding in the social phenomena 
 should commence to be considered. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 59 
 
 of the beginning of hi^manity and of the 
 development of social life. Although his- 
 tory does not give sufficient material for 
 representing the beginning of social phe- 
 nomena, yet this can be helped by reason- 
 able mental speculation. The instructor 
 should give, from the beginning, some 
 ideas of the development of the different 
 laws established in society, of the develop- 
 ment of morality, of the development 
 of religious ideas, etc. All this should 
 be explained so, that the student could 
 understand some nature's proceeding in 
 the development of social phenomena. 
 After this, the commencement of repre- 
 senting historical facts of ancient people 
 may follow. Before special treatment of 
 the history of a people, a clear classifica- 
 tion of the different nations should be 
 given, as far as it is possible. 
 
 In representing historical material the 
 most fundamental element is order. Very 
 often we find that authors of text-books 
 in history treat a period of one nation's 
 
6o ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 history, partly, then proceed to the history 
 of another nation, arid sometimes to a 
 third, each succeeding treatment covering 
 more or less ground than the preceding 
 one. The student reading this conglomer- 
 ation of different names, dates, and facts 
 of the different nations at the different 
 times cannot grasp the essence of historical 
 events ; he learns by heart without under- 
 standing. 
 
 It is true that sometimes it is necessary 
 to pass from one nation to another, (on ac- 
 count of different relations) but in this 
 case the author should not commence to 
 treat particularly of another nation, but 
 only so far as it is necessary to the under- 
 standing of historical facts. The instructor 
 will treat particularly of another nation, 
 when he will have finished with the first 
 nation. 
 
 Because the historical material by itself 
 does not constitute the science, but gives 
 only data through which we investigate 
 nature's proceeding in the sociial phenom- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 6 1 
 
 ena, therefore the instructor should not 
 give very many names and dates, espec- 
 ially to beginners, but he should give only 
 the most important data (the most impor- 
 tant names and dates). Of other things 
 he should only treat generally. In repre- 
 senting historical eVents, the instructor 
 should give attention to the totality of his- 
 torical events; he should not leave vacant 
 places, but all should be united by facts, 
 and when facts are not given, by a general 
 representation of historical events and the 
 speculative element. 
 
 History is divided into three parts, name- 
 ly: ancient, medieval, and modern. Gen- 
 erally we commence to teach it with the 
 ancient, although we find some authors who 
 advise to commence with the modern. 
 To commence to teach history with the 
 ancient period seems to be a more natural 
 method. The instructor should divide the 
 part of history, which he intends to teach 
 (ancient medieval or modern) in periods, 
 or centuries. (This division is only for the 
 
62 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 instructor's own convenience and may not 
 be represented, particularly, to the student 
 before finishing a part of the history. It 
 can be generally said that the teacher 
 divides all history in periods, or centuries.) 
 Afterwards he commences to explain the 
 history of a certury or period of a certain 
 people. To teach history, as we stated 
 before, is not to give names and dates, but 
 to recreate in an artificial manner the 
 different events, which took place with a 
 certa;in people in a certain century or 
 period. We know, that today the ten- 
 dency is to teach on the basis of observa- 
 tion and experiments. In physics or 
 chemistry, for example, the instructor, 
 assisted by the students, makes experi- 
 ments and urges the student to observe the 
 different phenomena. On the basis of this 
 observation the student acquaints himself 
 (with the help of the teacher) with the 
 natural proceeding in the physical or 
 chemical phenomena. 
 
 History should also be taught on the 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 63 
 
 basis of observation. But the question is, 
 how can the student observe the events in 
 history which happened some centuries 
 ago in the different parts of the world.'' 
 To help the student in this is the duty of 
 the teacher, who, in an artificial manner, 
 makes (if it is possible to say so) historical 
 events before the class, showing causes 
 and consequences of the different events. 
 The historical events should be represented 
 in a manner, that will absorb the attention 
 of the student. The instructor should not 
 produce many names and dates, especially 
 during the collegial course of study, be- 
 cause the student would be compelled to 
 learn them by heart to the detriment of his 
 speculative faculties, I do not deny, that 
 even a sensitive memory should be de- 
 veloped in a student, but this development 
 should be performed in a natural way. 
 The natural way is to remember the names 
 and dates by thinking without specially 
 learning them by heart. The student will 
 remember the names and dates without 
 
64 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 special exertion provided a number of 
 them will be proportional to the amount of 
 historical material given. Very often we 
 find six or more dates with about twice as 
 many names on each page of a text-book. 
 This is not a proportional amount. A 
 larger number of names and dates should 
 be given when the student makes a special 
 study of history (in the university). 
 
 When the instructor (or text -book) has 
 represented a century or period of a na- 
 tion, he proceeds to another nation of the 
 same century or period. After having 
 finished the history of all the great nations 
 of a century or period, he should give 
 the general ideas of the material repre- 
 sented, and then pass to the next cen- 
 tury or period and proceed in the same 
 manner. It should be remarked that his- 
 tory should not occupy itself only with 
 kings, their families, names of great states- 
 men, wars and battles, but it should repre- 
 sent the development of society and there- 
 fore it should treat of the customs of the 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 65 
 
 people, their social and religious ideas, 
 their ideas of art and literature, their pri- 
 vate life, etc.; in summary, the teacher (or 
 text-book) in representing historical ma- 
 terial should stand on a broad basis. Cer- 
 tainly it is difficult to represent such a 
 large amount of material in harmonious 
 unity, but only such representation of ma- 
 terial is healthful to the intellectual devel- 
 opment of the student : The student should 
 not be obliged to learn by heart all the 
 names of kings, because kings do not con- 
 stitute the history. 
 
 In teaching this subject geographical 
 maps are necessary, by the use of which, 
 the student could better understand the 
 historical events. 
 
 We mentioned before, that historical 
 material does not constitute science in a 
 strict sense. It is only a basis on which we 
 may investigate nature's proceeding in the 
 social phenomena, or nature's stable laws. 
 On account of this, the instructor, in rep- 
 resenting historical material, should show 
 
66 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 these laws so far as they are discovered by- 
 science to the present time. He should re- 
 quest the student also to investigate these 
 laws. He should criticise, moderately, the 
 wrong speculations of the student and aid 
 him to make further speculations. The 
 examination of students, according to my 
 opinion, should not consist of questions 
 like these: "What happened in such a 
 year.'"' "In what year did this event take 
 place.'"' If the student is examined in this 
 way, he will not regard the totality of his- 
 torical events, i The student should repre- 
 sent with his own forces the historical action, 
 with consideration of the natural proceed- 
 ing, in a similar manner to the representa- 
 tion made by the instructor. It is the 
 instructor's duty to correct and criticise. 
 
 The examinations during the scholastic 
 year should be made by the students so as 
 to recreate a period or century of historical 
 events of a given nation in a similar manner 
 as it was presented by the instructor. 
 The student should logically represent facts 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 67 
 
 (with principal dates) with their causes 
 and consequences and with remarks on 
 natural laws governing them. He should 
 not work so much through memory, in 
 representing events, as through the specu- 
 lative faculties, because the aim of a histor- 
 ical education consists in the understanding 
 of the natural proceeding in society. In 
 representing events, the student should find 
 not only the immediate causes which pro- 
 duce the event, but also the most element- 
 ary causes which took place sometimes cen- 
 turies ago. This should also be observed 
 in the representation of not only immediate 
 but remote events. 
 
 In order that the student will be able to 
 recreat the historical events in this manner, 
 the instructor should, in recreating histori- 
 cal material, be cautious that his represen- 
 tations will be not only vivid, but also very 
 logical and clear. In representing history 
 the time of events should be strictly ob- 
 served, because the time of events helps 
 very much to understand the social laws. 
 
68 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 But in order to be strict enough in teaching 
 history it is necessary not to give too many 
 dates, because too many dates do not help 
 to understand nature's proceeding in the 
 social phenomena, but are an obstacle. 
 Having too many dates before our eyes we 
 are absorbed in them and therefore can- 
 not consider the^laws of nature. 
 
 To be sufficiently strict in representing 
 these events, college text-books, and the 
 instructor should give only dates of the 
 most important events. Other events may 
 be determined by centuries or half cen- 
 tiiries.* 
 
 The student will remember, by the laws 
 of mental association, and historical conse- 
 quences, the time of events if the material 
 is given in harmonious unity. 
 
 * Dates of least important events are necessary to the 
 historian's investigations, but not for the student who, 
 during the time of his collegiate course in reference to 
 the history of the world, wants to be acquainted with 
 historical material (prepared for this purposely by spec- 
 ialists) in order to have some ideas of nature's proceed- 
 ing in the social phenomena. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 69 
 
 To create in the student's mind harmoni- 
 ous unity among ideas representing histor- 
 ical events and nature's proceeding, it will 
 be necessary, before the commencement of 
 a part of the history to give a general 
 sketch of the events of the history as a whole, 
 and after this sketch (not so general) of the 
 events of that part of history which the in- 
 structor intends to take first. When the 
 student understands these sketches and af- 
 terwards hears the events, he will have a 
 tendency to place them in order, according 
 to the given sketches, which will be a great 
 help to him in creating the harmonious 
 unity previously mentioned. Both in 
 sketches and in the entire historical mater- 
 ial all ideas should be based on some prin- 
 cipal ideas, which (principal ideas) should 
 be based on the one sentence representing, 
 in the shortest way, nature's proceeding in 
 the social phenomena. 
 
 In order to have good effects upon the 
 intellectual development, the studying of 
 ancient languages should be introduced af- 
 
70 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 ter the student knows something about 
 history and literature. This, is 'also the 
 proper time to commence the particular 
 study of grammar of the different lan- 
 guages. After the student is able to com- 
 prehend in what speech consists and how 
 it is developed together with the intellectu- 
 al development of nations, then he will be 
 able to understand more logically the rules 
 of grammar. 
 
 In connection with the history of a na- 
 tion the general ideas of its litersture should 
 be given. (It is well to present some fun- 
 damental ideas of the grammar of the dif- 
 ferent nations' languages). Because Greece 
 and Rome played an important roll in the 
 history of natio;ns, therefore their lan- 
 guages should be treated more especially. 
 
 During the present age the Latin and 
 Greek languages have many enemies who 
 wish to exclude these subjects from the 
 course of study in our colleges and high 
 schools and many of these enemies are sci- 
 entifical authorities. The cause of their 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 7 1 
 
 enmity arises from the fact that hitherto 
 these studies have not been guided in a 
 proper manner. Usually students are com- 
 pelled (even during the first years of their 
 language work) to commit to memory 
 many irregular words, special rules of 
 grammar, exceptions, and often extreme 
 requests are made in translating authors. 
 Therefore to satisfy the wishes of the in- 
 structor, the student is required to .com- 
 mit a large amount of material. Such pro- 
 ceeding depresses the speculative faculties 
 and does not even render him capable of 
 speaking the languages. 
 
 The intellect of a young man under the 
 influence of natural tendencies wishes to 
 calculate and discover the laws of nature, 
 (governing the phenomena of language) 
 but not to commit to memory material, 
 which in_ itself does not produce science. 
 Such a mode of teaching languages caused 
 a re-action against Latin and Greek. If 
 these languages would be totally removed 
 from the course of study in our colleges, it 
 
72 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 would be a great detriment to the intellect- 
 ual development of the student. 
 
 The phenomena of human speech and 
 the productions of literature considered in 
 the right manner educate the intellect very 
 much, because they furnish material for the 
 investigation of laws governing the social 
 phenomena. Therefore the studies of an- 
 cient languages, especially that of the Ro- 
 mans and Greeks cannot be excluded from 
 the course of a general education. The 
 fundamental aim in teaching Latin and 
 Greek should be to make the student gen- 
 erally acquainted with these languages so 
 that when translating Latin or Greek au- 
 thors he will comprehend the spirit govern- 
 ing these nations, (their thoughts and feel- 
 ings) how they expressed themselves, the 
 interior structure of their style of language, 
 etc. It is certainly necessary that some 
 grammar should be taught, but never so 
 theoretically nor so memorially as custom- 
 ary in some schools of today. These lan- 
 guages should be treated from historical 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 73 
 
 and literar}' points of view in order that 
 the student would understand nature's pro- 
 ceeding in their development. This will 
 help the pupil to understand nature's pro- 
 ceeding in other social phenomena. Spec- 
 ial training in grammar and the acquisition 
 of particular knowledge of authors should 
 be left for the specialists, who will study 
 this in a special course. 
 
 If one desires to prepare himself to speak 
 these languages he can do so without a 
 very close theoretical study of grammar 
 by rules and exceptions. He may learn 
 by practice as the modern languages 
 are learned according to the method of 
 Ollendorff or similar methods of other 
 authors. By such a method of studying, 
 grammar is also necessary, but not to such 
 an extent as has been customary to the 
 present day. (Even with all this prepara- 
 tion the student, generally, is not able to 
 speak Latin and Greek fluently) ; to the 
 extent that the student is able to understand 
 some authors, is sufficient. 
 
74 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 The more special teaching of grammar 
 may be commenced after the student is 
 able to read one or more authors with un- 
 derstanding. In short, in the learning of lan- 
 guages nature's proceeding should be imi- 
 tated. But nature's proceeding is such; 
 man speaks before he studies the grammar 
 of his mother-tongue. Why should not the 
 student, who wishes to speak Latin and 
 Greek languages, imitate this method .'' 
 
 If one does not wish tb acquire the abili- 
 ty to speak these languages, but only to 
 consider them as material for the investiga- 
 tion of nature's laws, he should adopt the 
 above mentioned method. In reference to 
 studying literature, it should be partly com- 
 bined with the study of languages and part- 
 ly with that of history. The teaching of lit- 
 erature does not consist in requiring the 
 student to commit to memory the names of 
 many different authors, many dates, and 
 titles of their works. 
 
 Very often we find men who, in speak- 
 ing, always cite the titles of the different 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 75 
 
 works of different authors, names, dates, 
 etc., but they do not understand nature's 
 proceeding or laws which guide the devel- 
 opment of literature. The aim of studying 
 literature is to investigate what influences 
 produced the -great works of authors and 
 what influence these works had on the peo- 
 ple. And further, the aim is also to con- 
 sider through these works what were the 
 common ideas, feelings, customs, etc., of 
 the people at that time. On the basis of 
 these investigations the student of litera- 
 ture should speculate on the stable laws of 
 nature governing these phenomena. 
 
 The names of principal authors, and ti- 
 tles of thdir works will be memorized more 
 readily by the method I just referred to. 
 
 It should be remembered that it is with 
 this science as it is with all others; that all 
 ideas represented by the instructor should 
 not be given in the chaos but in a harmon- 
 ious unity, which consists in giving the 
 general ideas (which are the skeletons of 
 science) so that they will appear in all oth- 
 
76 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 er ideas and explications given in teaching 
 the entire science. 
 
 Literature treated otherwise may pre- 
 pare ■ the student to know, chaotically, 
 names of authors, dates, synopses of differ- 
 ent works, but it will not prepare him to 
 understand the natural proceeding in the 
 literary phenomena, and with time, he will 
 forget the names, dates, and even the synop- 
 ses of various works, because it was mere 
 memory work. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 
 
 SINCE mankind had natural religion be- 
 fore having a particular religion, there- 
 fore it should be taught before any partic- 
 ular religion, because natural religion is the 
 basis of all particular religions. 
 
 Man acquires an idea of God on the 
 foundation of the idea of causality through 
 his intellectual faculties. ( I don't deny 
 that God could help man in this extraordi- 
 narily.) Man on perceiving the different 
 phenomena, which impress his senses with 
 their beauty and power, on the basis of the 
 idea of causality, supposes a Supreme cause 
 of these phenomena. This cause he terms 
 God. Such speculation is not wrong al- 
 though some philosophers teach that the 
 idea of causality being of a subjective na- 
 ture makes the argument of the existence 
 of God also subjective. Even if the idea 
 of causality is subjective, the argument of 
 
 77 
 
78 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 the existence of God will be of scientific 
 value. It may be proved in the following 
 way: suppose that the idea of causality is 
 subjective and we impose this idea to some 
 data, which we consider as a cause and ef- 
 fect, still we cannot impose the idea of caus- 
 ality to any one of the data and according 
 to any order we wish, but only to certain 
 data, according to certain stable order and 
 certain stable laws. But all investigations 
 showing the stability of order or of laws 
 have scientific value, therefore an argu- 
 ment proving the existence of God (argu- 
 ment based on the idea of causality) has 
 scientific value. 
 
 Independently of this argument all scien- 
 ces of the present time prove the existence 
 of God indirectly. Sciences of today are 
 very much persuaded, that nature consti- 
 tutes a harmonious unity and that in it 
 govern certain stable laws (otherwise har- 
 monious unity in nature would be impos- 
 sible). The investigation of the stable 
 laws governing nature, science considers 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 79 
 
 as its highest aim. But if we suppose the 
 existence of the particular and general 
 laws, we should also Suppose the basis of 
 all laws (the Supreme source of all laws) 
 to which (basis) all reduce themselves and 
 of which they are representations, other- 
 wise harmonious unity in the Universe 
 would be impossible. But without suppos- 
 ing that the Universe is a harmonious unity, 
 stable laws and system in the Universe 
 would be impossible, hence science would 
 be impossible. Therefore, science (being 
 based on harmonious unity of the Uni- 
 verse) proves indirectly the existence of 
 God, and for this reason it confirms what 
 man has always believed. 
 
 Such inspiration in the science of today 
 will help greatly the religious education if 
 it will be treated according to a corres- 
 ponding method. 
 
 Religious education, scientifically treat- 
 ed, should be commenced from the begin- 
 ning of one's (scientific) education. It should 
 be correlated with physics (and other 
 
8o , ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 studies that follow physics) as a secondary 
 subject. The science of religion should be 
 treated more particularly after the student 
 understands the natural proceeding in the 
 social phenomena. As I have mentioned 
 before, with the study of physics (and oth- 
 er subjects) some philosophical ideas of the 
 system of laws governing nature and of the 
 Supreme law on which all laws are based 
 and of which they are representations, 
 should be given. This idea should be 
 placed in one's mind in the beginning of 
 his scientific education. The idea of God 
 placed in one's mind in such a manner will 
 also aid the scientifical education by sys- 
 tematizing and uniting the ideas of the dif- 
 ferent laws of nature.* 
 
 *" Someone may say that the religious education 
 scientifically treated should not be commenced by plac- 
 ing, in the beginning, the idea of God in one's mind, 
 because this idea according to the doctrine of Kant be- 
 ing of subjective nature cannot give the scientifical found- 
 ation for the religious education. In reply to this, I 
 will say, that the doctrine of Kant whether right or 
 wrong in this point, is not against the doctrine that the 
 idea of God, as a Supreme law, is not of a subjective 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 8 1 
 
 The teaching of a particular reUgion 
 cannot be commenced with advantage in 
 the development of the intellectual and 
 moral faculties before a true idea of God 
 (Supreme law) is placed in the student's 
 mind. Therefore natural religion should 
 be taught before a particular. I have 
 mentioned, that the teaching of natural re- 
 ligion may be commenced at the beginning 
 of a scientifical education and treated cor- 
 relatively with other subjects, but in some 
 schools the instructors teach the Holy 
 Scriptures in the beginning of one's relig- 
 ious education. Such mstruction does not 
 
 nature and has scientifical authority. This may be 
 illustrated in the following manner: All arguments of 
 Kant showing weakness and subjectiveness of argu- 
 ments proving the existence of God, reduce themselves 
 to the fact, that between concrete beings and the Ab- 
 solute Being there is a bottomless abyss. On the other 
 hand we judge according to principles, which refer 
 themselves only to concrete beings. When we demon- 
 strate the existence of God we make a terrible leap from 
 the concrete things to the Absolute Being and we judge 
 of it according to the principles, according to which we 
 judge concrete things. On account of this our judg- 
 ment (of the existence of God) cannot have a scientifi- 
 6 
 
82 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 produce the intellectual and moral devel- 
 ment, because the student has not yet a 
 good idea of God. He knows nothing of 
 nature's proceeding in the social phenome- 
 na, and on account of this he is not able to 
 understand, which roll the Hebrews played 
 in the development of societies' and which 
 roll Christ played in the history of the 
 world. For this reason the learning of the 
 Bible from the beginning of one's religious 
 education causes neither development of 
 the intellectual faculties nor does it produce 
 real religious education. Som.e one may 
 remark that students are sufficiently ^c- 
 
 cal value. Therefore the existence of God can neither 
 be proved nor disposed, but we should accept it. This 
 doctrine does not attack the objective and scientific 
 value of the idea of God as a Supreme law, because 
 when we consider the physical, chemical, biological, and 
 sociological phenomena, we perceive the stability of 
 action in them; on the basis of this stability we con- 
 strue in our minds the different laws of nature. There- 
 fore these laws which are the object of science repre- 
 sent something absolute and stable but not concrete, 
 because the action in nature on the basis of which 
 (action) we construe ideas of laws is also absolute and 
 stable. (Concrete things, or phenomena are not the 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 83 
 
 quainted with' the idea of God by their do- 
 mestic education and for this reason are 
 able to study the Bible. In reply I would 
 say, that although young people are taught, 
 by their parents, of God as the Creator, Our 
 Father, etc., yet all these ideas are not 
 placed on a scientifical foundation, but on 
 natural feelings and memory. This is not 
 sufficient preparation. I suppose atheism 
 is partly caused by not training the child 
 in natural religion and not forming the idea 
 of God on a scientifical basis. We may 
 find many who have studied the Bible for 
 a long time in their childhood and youth 
 
 object of science but they are the only material through 
 which we discover nature's laws that are the real ob- 
 ject of science. ) Therefore laws of nature represented 
 by the different sciences show something absolute and 
 stable, otherwise science could not exist. By this, it is 
 clear, that when we consider nature's laws (even the 
 first principles of physics) we make at once the leap to 
 the Absolute. If we would not make this leap we would 
 consider only the concrete things, phenomena, which in 
 themselves cannot be the object of science because they 
 are changeable. Through these changeable phenomena 
 we perceive the proceeding of Absolute, which (pro- 
 ceeding) we consider as the different laws. If we 
 
84 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 and who know by heart a large portion of 
 it, who know the principles of Catechism 
 of a particular religion, many prayers, etc., 
 but do not believe in the existence of God. 
 On account of this, very often, their mor- 
 ality niay be weak. 
 
 They lost the religion, they acquired in 
 their youth, because it was not based on a 
 strong scientifical foundation. They did 
 not receive sufficient instruction in regards 
 to natural religion. All religious princi- 
 ples, they had learned, were based on nat- 
 ural feelings and memory. Undoubtedly 
 they were religious during their childhood 
 
 would not take this leap science would be impossible, as 
 we have previously stated. Afterwards when we con- 
 sider that the different particular laws are a representa- 
 tion of the general laws and that the general laws are rep- 
 resentations of the Supreme law, or in other words, that 
 all laws are a representation of one Supreme law (other- 
 wise harmonious unity in nature could not exist) we do 
 not make more leaps,- but only suppose the existence of 
 an absolute basis of all absolute proceedings (nature's 
 laws) because it wants the idea of harmonious unity in 
 the Universe, but this idea has the scientific value as 
 has been demonstrated before. Therefore the doctrine 
 of Kant, even if it shows weakness and subjectiveness 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 85 
 
 and youth but when they reached a more 
 mature age and heard phrases siniilar to 
 the following: "Matter causes itself," 
 "The Holy Bible tells absurdities," "We 
 have no justice in the world," "Religion 
 is a humbug," etc., they lost all religion. 
 It could not be otherwise, because their re- 
 ligion was based on the natural feelings of 
 their youth. 
 
 When they launched into the World, or 
 perhaps, when they commenced to study 
 the natural sciences (where they heard only 
 of matter, forces, energy, etc., and did not 
 think of the entire construction of the Uni- 
 verse) their feelings became changed and 
 their ideas of religion also becanie changed 
 or were lost entirely, thus they remained 
 without religion. As we see, domestic re- 
 
 of the diflEerent arguments proving the existence of God 
 and denies their scientific value, it does not refer to the 
 idea of God understood as a Supreme law, because such 
 an idea is something objective and has scientific author- 
 ity. For this reason scientific religious education should 
 be commenced by' forming in one's mind the idea of 
 God as a Supreme law. Having such idea it is easier to 
 determine other attributes of God. 
 
86 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 ligious instruction is not sufficient founda- 
 tion to prepare one for the study of the 
 Bible and any particular religion. For 
 this reason, before the student will study 
 the Bible or some particular religion in 
 school, he should be trained from the be- 
 ginning of his intellectual education in nat- 
 ural religion. Physics (especially the 
 mechanism of celestial bodies) is the first 
 good occasion for representing the idea of 
 God as a Supreme law and the ' basis of all 
 laws. All natural sciences are very good 
 material and give a splendid occasion to 
 teach natural religion and morality. The 
 best occasion to teach natural religion and 
 morality is, when one considers, in the 
 proper manner, the social phenomena, (his- 
 tory, literature, etc.,) because by this con- 
 sideration he will comprehend the different 
 reactions, revenges upon individuals and 
 societies for not co-operating with nature's 
 tendencies. 
 
 When the student understands nature's 
 proceeding in physical, chemical, biological 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 87 
 
 (Psychological) and social phenomena, then 
 it is time to teach particular religion (as a 
 primary subject) and the Bible. Some one 
 may find fault with this method and ques- 
 tion: "Why not teach particular religion 
 during childhood? It is easier to seminate 
 moral and religious principles in the child's 
 heart than it is in after years during the 
 period of youth." In reply to this, I would 
 say, that we should seminate some moral 
 and religious principles, but we should teach 
 more natural than particular religion, be- 
 cause the child will not comprehend the 
 principles of particular religion until he un- 
 derstands the natural proceeding in the dif- 
 ferent phenomena. The child will learn 
 these principles without criticism and un- 
 derstanding but only by memory. It is 
 true, that the child cannot very well under- 
 stand even the principles of natural religion 
 in a manner having scientific value, be- 
 cause he has not considered, thus far, the 
 laws governing phenomena; but in all cases 
 the child's mind is more disposed to the 
 
88 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 understanding of the principles of natural 
 religion than to any particular religions. 
 
 In conclusion I will say, that the child 
 may be taught the principles of a particu- 
 lar religion to a reasonable extent and not 
 in a memorial manner. * The proper time 
 to teach particular religion can only be after 
 the student understands nature's proceed- 
 ing in the different and, especiall}', the so- 
 cial phenomena, and, when by his educa- 
 tion and philosophical training, (the reader 
 will recall that I have said philosophy 
 should be combined with all subjects) he 
 will know that human science is very much 
 limited and that the intellectual faculties 
 
 *When we examine the child in order to find out how 
 much knowledge he has of his particular religion we will 
 find, that all he knows is what he has committed to 
 memory. He does not understand ,the different doc- 
 trines and precepts, but recites them mechanically. This 
 is mostly the fault of the teachers. In order to have the 
 child learn the principles of a particular religion profit- 
 ably, the teacher should, in his explanation, be careful 
 to found them on a scientific and logical basis. This 
 is easier for the teacher when the student understands 
 the principles of logic, of natural religion and is ac- 
 quainted with nature's proceeding in the different phe- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 89 
 
 are very weak. This kind of intellectual 
 scepticism will fit one to accept revealed 
 Christian religion. Such a method em- 
 ployed in learning religion will cause the 
 benefit, that the student will not be a partial- 
 ist. His religious education according to 
 the above statement will be free of fanati- 
 cism and his reason will try to understand the 
 different rolls played by the many religious 
 sects and on account of this he will be able to 
 co-operate with nature in the development 
 of society's perfection. The greater the 
 number of men so disposed a society will 
 contain, the shorter time this society will 
 require for its development, and, the weak- 
 
 nomena, (on account of this, I repeat that the proper 
 time to learn a particular religion is when the student 
 has some general education), but because the child is 
 not acquainted with all this, therefore, the teacher, when 
 making explanations should construct a basis in the 
 child's mind by representing in a clear, simple manner 
 by simple comparisons, some scientifical date necessary 
 to form a foundation. All explanations should be pro- 
 posed to the child's speculative faculties more than to 
 his memory. The different enumerations should be giv- 
 en to the child in a manner so that he is not compelled 
 to learn them by heart. 
 
90 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 er the reactions and disturbances will be. 
 In conclusion we will return to further dis- 
 cussion of the idea of God. 
 
 As we have mentioned before this, the 
 most important thing in the child's relig- 
 ious education is to place a true idea of 
 God in his mind, on a scientific basis. In 
 order that such idea could resist the differ- 
 ent atheistical phrases, from the beginning 
 of a religious education, the teacher should 
 try to develop criticism by which the child 
 could resolve those phrases. Thus, for in- 
 stance, the phrase that "ether is the prin- 
 ciple creating matter and spirit" which, if 
 heard by a non-critical man, may destroy his 
 religion. On the contrary, if one has some 
 philosophical training and criticism he will 
 see, that if ether is matter, it is composed 
 of vibrating atoms; but vibrations submit 
 themselves to certain laws based on the Su- 
 preme law. Therefore, if ether is matter, 
 it is not the first principle and the begin- 
 ning of matter and spirit, because it sub- 
 mits itself to certain laws. If ether is not 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 9 1 
 
 matter but spirit and does not submit furth- 
 er to something because it is Supreme law, 
 it is really the first principle and the begin- 
 ning of the Universe. But in this case, 
 why call this first principle ether.? The 
 proper name for this, is Supreme law, — 
 God. In order to resolve similar phrases, 
 it is necessary, to train the child in critical 
 philosophy. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INTERNATIONAL AND CIVIL LAW. 
 
 CHE principles of international and civil 
 law should be included in the course of 
 study providing for a general education. 
 In some schools (in the United States in all 
 public schools) furnishing a general educa- 
 tion some principles of civil law are taught 
 but often with irhperfection in the respect, 
 that all law instructions reduce themselves 
 to a certain quantity of constituted para- 
 graphs and forrriulas, which the student is 
 requested to commit to memory. The in- 
 structors do not attempt to make the student 
 understand that all human laws are a con- 
 tinuation of natural laws. 
 
 We can easily discern that all human laws 
 are nothing else, than particular determi- 
 nations, made by man (legislators), of na- 
 ture's tendencies in the development of so- 
 cial phenomena. Nature, promoting soci- 
 ety continuously to a higher degree of per- 
 
 92 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 93 
 
 fection, determines in a general way the 
 relations between different societies and 
 between individuals of each society, 
 and this is natural law. Particular deter- 
 minations of relations in societies and be- 
 tween individuals of each society, nature 
 leaves to be executed by man whom it per- 
 mits, voluntarily, to co-operate with itself. 
 These particular determinations made by 
 man constitute all human laws, which class- 
 ify themselves into international laws, de* 
 termining relations between different so- 
 cieties, and civil laws, determining re- 
 lations between individuals of each so- 
 ciety.* On account of man's not un- 
 derstanding, at once, nature's tendencies 
 in society, in performing particular deter- 
 minations of nature's tendencies in them (in 
 making laws), he does not perform them 
 at once perfectly, but imperfectly. With 
 
 *A11 human laws have various terms, as for instance, 
 international, civil, ecclesiastical, according to the kind 
 of relations in society they determine, and who is their 
 legislator. 
 
94 -ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 time he corrects them and by their correc- 
 tion he causes the development ' of human 
 laws. Man is compelled to correct laws by 
 the various reactions in societies performed 
 by nature, which, by these reactions, gives 
 to man occasions to better understand its 
 tendencies. 
 
 In the development of human laws, as 
 we can perceive by the history of human 
 laws, there are turnings to the better per- 
 forming of determinations to more particu- 
 lar and to more general human laws. In 
 other words, at one time societies occupy 
 themselves more with particular civil laws 
 in order to determine relations between indi- 
 viduals in societies, and at another time 
 man occupies himself with general laws 
 determining relations between societies. 
 
 Map. is able to make better determina- 
 tions of relations between individuals and 
 societies or, he is more able to make bet- 
 ter human laws, when he better under- 
 stands nature's tendencies in promoting 
 societies towards perfection. This under- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 95 
 
 standing of nature's proceeding makes 
 man able to criticise all human laws and 
 to see their imperfection. Every citizen 
 should be able to do so. But to enable 
 the citizen to see nature's wishes and to 
 see if accepted human laws well determine 
 the wishes of nature, it is not enough to 
 compel the student to commit to memory 
 constituted paragraphs of human laws. 
 But it is necessary, through the study of 
 the world's history and the laws of differ- 
 ent nations of ancient, medieval and' mod- 
 ern times, to give the student to under- 
 stand how near, in the different times, 
 man was right in determining nature's 
 wishes, and what reactions in society were 
 caused by nature on account of imperfect 
 legislation. With such preparation the 
 student should commence to consider the 
 laws of his own country in order to per- 
 ceive if they determine well the wishes of 
 nature (according to the roll which his 
 country plays among nations). Such a 
 study pf laws will educate the student 
 
96 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 very much and will prepare him to be an 
 excellent member of his country and hu- 
 manity. But the question, that such 
 studying needs much time and is only 
 necessary for a special education in law, 
 but not for the student of the public 
 school, may arise. In reply to this ques- 
 tion we may say: First, the study of the 
 world's history, including literature, ac- 
 cording to our system, will itself give a 
 foundation for the study of the principles 
 of law, because in the world's history and 
 literature, ideas of the development of laws 
 by the different societies are given; Sec- 
 ond, philosophical training and the entire 
 intellectual education, the aim of which is 
 to cause the understanding of nature's pro- 
 ceeding in the different phenomena, will 
 enable the student's mind, very much, to 
 comprehend the wishes of .nature as to the 
 relations between societies and individuals 
 of each society. 
 
 Systematical teaching by itself will help 
 very much this manner of studying law. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 97 
 
 Very often it appears that a long time is 
 needed for the study of some subjects on 
 account of, that, in the intellectual educa- 
 tion, system is not observed; but when all 
 subjects are systematized and based on a 
 small number of ideas, then it is much 
 easier to study the different subjects. 
 
 The study of civil and international law, 
 of which it is necessary to represent funda- 
 mental principles in a general course of 
 education, will take little time, because the 
 ideas in this study will be correlated and 
 strictly united with the ideas given in the 
 study of other sciences. To become a 
 specialist in law, a longer time for study- 
 ing is required, but we do not here refer 
 to a special law education, but only to a 
 general education. 
 
 A student who has acquired in the pub- 
 lic school fundamental ideas of natural and 
 human law and some special knowledge of 
 the laws of his own country, will easily 
 become acquainted in his future life, more 
 exactly, with the laws of his own country. 
 
98 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 which he will comprehend with criticism. 
 Those who will have intentions to make 
 a special study of law in universities, after 
 having a general law education according 
 to the method above mentioned, will study 
 law with great benefit to their own intel- 
 lectual development and to the future de- 
 velopment of society. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 FINAL REMARKS RELATING TO IN- 
 TELLECTUAL EDUCATION. 
 
 TNTELLECTUAL education, in the 
 manner we have attempted to represent 
 it, is the understanding of nature's pro- 
 ceedings in the different phenomena. An 
 educated intellect may understand this pro- 
 ceeding in all phenomena of nature, more 
 or less exactly and clearly. In the first 
 case one's general education will be more 
 complete, and in the second not so com- 
 plete, but in either case a general educa- 
 tion should represent a harmonious unity. 
 This means, that all ideas in an educated 
 intellect representing nature's proceeding 
 (laws and data) should be in the same or- 
 der as the laws and data are in nature. 
 But in nature particular data reduce them- 
 selves to general data and the general data 
 
lOO ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 to one — the most general datum ; * and the 
 particular laws reduce themselves to the 
 general laws of nature, which laws are 
 based on the one Supreme law. 
 
 However incomplete one's understand- 
 ing of nature's proceeding may be, if the 
 ideas representing laws and data in nature 
 will only be placed in his mind according 
 to the above mentioned harmonious unity, 
 he will still possess a scientific education. 
 But if the ideas will be placed chaotically 
 in one's mind and, for that reason, will not 
 repr^ent harmonious unity in nature, then 
 the understanding of nature's proceeding 
 will be very weak. It would be worse if 
 one's intellect would be full, not of ideas 
 representing nature's data and laws, but of 
 material consisting of beautiful phrases, 
 names, dates, etc. However large the 
 
 * The human mind does not doubt that all material in 
 the Universe (.simple bodies) are representations of one 
 only fundamental material. With the progress of chem- 
 istry we hope it will be demonstrated, but thus far it is 
 only probable hypothesis. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. lOI 
 
 quantity of such material in one's mind 
 might be, yet it would not constitute a 
 deeper scientifical education, but merely a 
 certain superficial knowledge. 
 
 I don't deny, that one might have a large 
 number of names, dates, formiilas, at com- 
 mand and still be a highly educated man, 
 but even in this case all his knowledge and 
 details would be based on the one uniform, 
 harmonious ground of laws and data in 
 nature. Such a man understood, in a gen- 
 eral way, nature's proceeding, and by 
 studying, he understood it more and 
 more exactly with time. It is possible to 
 distinguish, at sight, such a man- from 
 others, who make an exhibition of their 
 knowledge of details, dates, names and 
 quotations, because we can perceive that 
 under all this superficial knowledge there 
 is not a harmonious ground. All this ma- 
 terial is held in the memory as a bird in 
 the air. When speaking, such men, 
 termed educated men, leap from one sub- 
 ject to another and always contradict 
 
I02 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 themselves, especially when speaking of 
 the more fundamental principles. 
 
 Although one possesses only a very 
 general and not a coniplete education — 
 that is, when he does not exactly under- 
 stand nature's proceeding in the different 
 phenomena — yet when his ideas will con- 
 stitute a harmonious unity similar to that 
 in nature, his education will be deeper, if 
 not so strict. A man, having such an 
 education, is able to help nature in the 
 perfection of his own life as well as that of 
 others. 
 
 The author, seeing the necessity of a 
 harmonious unity in intellectual education, 
 (and in all education) grouped the princi- 
 ple subjects included in the course of a 
 general education according to the order, 
 which seemed to be very natural and best 
 adapted for creating harmonious unity of 
 ideas in one's mind. 
 
 The different subjects belonging to the 
 course of a general education were not 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. IO3 
 
 specially treated, because it was not thought 
 necessary for the limits of this treatise. 
 
 Regarding the manner in which the 
 student should acquaint himself with na- 
 ture's proceeding' in the different phenom- 
 ena (to acquire science) it is also necessary 
 to imitate nature's proceeding in the in- 
 tellectual development of mankind. Na- 
 ture, as mentioned before, proceeds in the 
 following way; mankind being acquaint- 
 ed with certain particular laws and data of 
 nature, instantly speculates with more 
 general laws and data, and with the most 
 general law and datum, thus creating a 
 more or less true theoretical system of the 
 Universe. After this work mankind turns 
 again to the investigation of particular 
 laws and data in nature and when this in- 
 vestigation is performed with more strict- 
 ness, it again speculates with more gen- 
 eral data and laws. On account of the 
 better investigation of particular laws and 
 data, the speculations will be more correct. 
 In one's scientific education such proceed- 
 
I04 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 irig should be imitated. Therefore when 
 the child is old enough to commence his 
 scientific education, he should begin with 
 the study of physics with special regards 
 to the mechanism of celestial bodies. It 
 is necessary, on the foundation of some ex- 
 periments, to represent to the student some 
 particular laws and data (the most impor- 
 tant) and, on the basis of represented laws 
 and data, to help . the student in perform- 
 ing speculations of the more general data 
 and laws and the most general datum and 
 law. From the beginning of intellectual 
 education, this will introduce in one's 
 mind, system. ' Such speculations should 
 be carried out in teaching all subjects, not 
 only in physics; and especially after com- 
 pleting one subject, (we'll say physics or 
 chemistry) when the student proceeds to 
 the study of another subject, so as to unite 
 the ideas of the science just studied with 
 'the ideas given in the science that follows 
 in the course. After finishing all subjects 
 belonging to the course of a general edu- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 105 
 
 cation, one year only should be devoted to 
 the study of philosophy and during this 
 year the student should occupy his time 
 with the consideration of the most gen- 
 eral laws and data and the Supreme 
 basis of all laws and data,* (speculative 
 theology). 
 
 This should be the course of the primary 
 schools during a period of not more than 
 eight years, which course every citizen 
 should finish in the first fifteen years of his 
 life. All this we have mentioned belongs 
 to a scientific education, which is only a 
 part of a complete education. Another 
 part of a complete education consists in 
 training the child in the arts, which we 
 will now treat so far as it is deemed neces- 
 sary in this treatise. 
 
 It is not necessary to demonstrate that 
 arts, both of use and beauty, play a great 
 
 '*Ethical sciences will also be included as belonging to 
 philosophical sciences. In the general course we have 
 united with history the teaching of religion and moral 
 education, about which we will speak later. 
 
Io6 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 roll in the development of individuals and 
 entire humanity. 
 
 The artist cannot have any other aim 
 than on the foundation of the understand- 
 ing of nature's proceeding, to help nature 
 in the perfection of our existence. If the 
 work of art aids in the perfection of the 
 physical side of our existence then this 
 work belongs to the so called useful arts, 
 as, for instance, a machine, a bridge; if the 
 work of art aids in the perfection of the 
 intellectual and moral side of our existence, 
 then it belongs to the beautiful arts, as, for 
 instance, a musical composition, a picture, 
 a poem, a sculpture, etc. A work of art 
 may be both beautiful and useful. 
 
 Every artist before commencing to create 
 a work of art should understand nature's 
 proceeding,' at least in a certain field and, 
 on the basis of this understanding of 
 nature's proceeding, he will imitate nature 
 oa the canvas, or in some other manner. 
 But by this identical imitation of nature's 
 proceeding, which shows itself in every 
 
FOUND ATIOiSr OF EDUCATION. I07 
 
 step, he could not create the higher work 
 of art. What therefore does a real artist 
 produce ? He not only slavishly imitates 
 nature's proceeding, but, in his work, he 
 shows something clearer that is not shown 
 so clearly in nature (at least it is not so 
 clear to everyone). Similiar to this, on 
 the foundation of nature's proceeding 
 (natural laws) a legislator defines more 
 clearly, that which nature did not show so 
 clearly. As a legislature, by creating good 
 laws, helps nature in perfecting our exis- 
 tence, so an artist, by creating a good work 
 of art in which he shows more clearly that 
 which nature did not show so clearly (at 
 least for the average), helps to perfect us, 
 teaches and discovers what is not visible 
 to the average man.* 
 
 But here is not yet the limit for the 
 genius of an artist because there is only an 
 imitation of such law and data in nature, 
 which are not clear to the average man, 
 
 * Such work may belong equally as well to the useful 
 as to the beautiful arts. 
 
Io8 , ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 but to the artist it is clear and on account 
 of this his work is but an imitation. The 
 artist goes further, especially in the beauti- 
 ful arts; he creates such things which do 
 not exist in a manner that the artist rep- 
 resented them. Nevertheless these works 
 of an artistic genius are according to the 
 tendencies of nature because, although in 
 these works is such an exaggeration that 
 something similar could not exist in nature, 
 yet this exaggeration must play its roll, 
 must produce a reaction, and for this 
 reason improves humanity, at the time 
 being. 
 
 I do not try to write herewith a special 
 treatise about arts, but only try to illustrate 
 some fundamental ideas necessary in mak- 
 ing certain conclusions, at the close, in re- 
 lation to educating a student in arts. 
 
 I hold to two ideas in relation to arts. 
 The first is, that, in creating the works of 
 art, it is necessary, to understand nature's 
 proceeding and the second is, that an artist, 
 on the basis of this understanding in his 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. I09 
 
 work shows something clearer than it ap- 
 pears to us in nature. In nature it exists, 
 but it is not visible to the average man. 
 The artist perceives it and makes it clear. 
 Sometimes in representing some of nature's 
 proceeding he makes such an exaggera- 
 tion, that nothing correspondent in nature 
 exists. This exaggeration rises from the 
 spirit of the time and designates what roll 
 the work of art should play in societ}'. 
 
 Because the arts are phenomena in so- 
 ciety, and because all phenomena are regu- 
 lated by certain stable laws of nature, 
 therefore phenomena of arts are also regu- 
 lated with these laws. 
 
 The most fundamental laws governing 
 the phenomena of arts should be the same 
 as the most fundamental (general) laws 
 governing all social phenomena. These 
 laws in the scientific development of man- 
 kind appear in such a manner that there 
 are turnings to the consideration of the 
 more and the most general laws and data 
 in nature, which turnings may be called 
 
no ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 idealistic; after this follows the study lead- 
 ing to the investigation of particular laws 
 and data, which may be called positive. 
 These are two extreme sides of scientific 
 development and they should have their 
 means. 
 
 The criticism, which appears in a greater 
 or less degree, is a motive to compel man 
 to make tijrns of one or another kind. By 
 such steps, develops the intellect of man- 
 kind. In the development of societies 
 these laws appear in such a way, that, at 
 one time, they compel man to turn his 
 attention to international affairs then, after 
 a certain, period of time, to the more 
 particular affair, as of individuals, of 
 families, the aim of which (affairs) is the 
 welfare of one's own country. These 
 turnings do not always come at once and 
 on a higher scale, but very often partially, 
 and on a loVer scale. 
 
 Because in society as well as in the entire 
 universe there is a division of labor, hence 
 during a certain turning in societies, in one 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. IH 
 
 society this turning appears on a greater 
 scale and in another on a smaller scale rel- 
 atively to which nation plays at this time 
 the greater roll according to the division 
 of labor in humanity. 
 
 Because arts are phenomena in society 
 therefore they should be governed by the 
 same general laws, that govern all social 
 phenomena. And in reality works of art, 
 having very important means in helping 
 nature in the continuous development of 
 societies, they represent to us through 
 literature, sculpture, paintings, music, etc., 
 of that time, what turning took place and 
 what roll arts then played. On the basis 
 of what we have said, let us consider how 
 the student should become acquainted with 
 arts in school. 
 
 In reference to arts, a student in the 
 course of a general education, should un- 
 derstand (as to the theoretical part of arts) 
 the different missions which they played, 
 in every respect, during the entire time of 
 their development. The pupil should ac- 
 
112 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 quire fundamental ideas about this by 
 studying history and literature, but that is 
 not enough. In the schools a certain time 
 should be consecrated to the history of the 
 development of arts (as a secondary sub- 
 ject). Pupils, already acquainted with 
 history and literature, should attend lec- 
 tures on useful and beautiful arts, having 
 in sight the principal copies of pictures, 
 sculptures, etc. (In regard to music and 
 theatre they should hear and see repro- 
 ductions of the works that took 
 place at the different times)*. By con- 
 sideration of the different works the stu- 
 dents will understand better, nature's pro- 
 ceeding in the development of social 
 phenomena; they will perceive that a 
 larger re-action in society required greater 
 help on the' part of the artist, on this ac- 
 count greater efforts of artistic talents 
 
 were required; and the greater the rolls 
 
 ± 
 
 *In every scnool giving a general education there 
 should be the necessary apparatus and other materials 
 to carry out the above plan. ^ 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. II3 
 
 the works in art at a certain period played, 
 the greater the exaggeration in them the 
 pupils will find. 
 
 The general course of education, inde- 
 pendently of the above mentioned theoretic 
 knowledge of the development of arts, 
 should give some practical exercises in 
 them. For the reason, that k pupil fin- 
 ishing a general course of education should 
 have generally developed all his faculties 
 and talents, (having such general develop- 
 ment he will be able to develop particu- 
 larly some of his more advanced talents) 
 he should get a practical foundation of all 
 arts. Because all students have not equal 
 talents for every art, (nature gives differ- 
 ent talents to different men on account of 
 the division of labor in society) therefore 
 they will not make the same progress in 
 every art, nevertheless they should exer- 
 cise themselves in all arts, for such exer- 
 cises help very much every particular 
 talent and have a good influence on moral 
 education. The question may arise that 
 
114 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 exercising one's talent, given by nature in 
 a small degree, will dull other faculties, 
 which nature gave in a higher degree. This 
 could happen by adopting too much ped- 
 antism; but not according to the system 
 of which we will now try to represent 
 some fundamental ideas regarding the 
 training in arts. 
 
 In order to be able to produce a work of 
 art, it is not enough to understand some of 
 nature's proceeding and to tune the feel- 
 ings correspondingly, but it is necessary, 
 further, to be able to operate with some 
 means, as, for instance, with a musical in- 
 strument, a brush, a chisel, a pen, etc., by 
 which an artist represents, what he under- 
 stands and feels. 
 
 Since in the intellectual education we 
 should be careful in the first place, that the 
 student would understand nature's proced- 
 ing and in his own words represent it, but 
 not to compel him to learn by heart names, 
 dates, and accepted formulas, hence in the 
 exercising of one's faculties in arts, the in- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. II5 
 
 structor should be careful to have'the stu- 
 dent understand and feel this proceeding, 
 and then liberally represent it by some 
 means. Imperfection of the training in 
 arts consists in too much pedantism, which 
 makes machines of students, (as memorial 
 work in intellectual education) but does 
 not develop the artistic faculties. Take 
 for an example a boy, who wishes to learn 
 to play on a piano; the teacher imme- 
 diately gives him written music and re- 
 quires him to exercise in order to become 
 a machine ably repeating what is written 
 by note. This is not a proper method of 
 teaching music, because mankind did not 
 commence to play on instrunients by note, 
 but without written music, which was in- 
 troduced a long time afterwards; and 
 therefore a student learning to play on an 
 instrument, should try to express his ideas 
 and feelings in his own manner. It is the 
 teacher's duty to correct his student with- 
 out exaggerated strictness, (very often 
 subjective). 
 
Il6 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 The author does not object to the use of 
 notes, but he objects to use them too early. 
 The student being acquainted to a certain, 
 point with nature's proceeding and hearing 
 the different musical reproductions, will 
 gradually tune his feelings in a manner, 
 that they will be more and more sensitive 
 to nature's harmonious unity — the basis of 
 objective beauty. Such should be the prep- 
 aration of a student wishing to express 
 himself by means of an instrument. After 
 this he should acquaint himself with the 
 instrument he desires to play; this acquain- 
 tance ought to be as independent as possi- 
 ble so that the student could perceive with 
 his own forces the power of the instrument. 
 The teacher's, duty is to co-operate with 
 the natural forces of the student. After 
 the student becomes familiar with his in- 
 strument, he should not play scales and 
 other exercises in written music, but he 
 should try to express, through the instru- 
 ment in his own manner, what he under- 
 stands, feels and remembers from repro- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION, II 7 
 
 ductions heard at various times. In other 
 words, he should reaHze .in himself^ in a 
 brief manner, the processes of the develop- 
 ment of music in humanity. To pla}'^ by 
 note from the beginning is like a house 
 having external beauty, but a very weak 
 foundation. It is certain that geniuses will 
 overcome all difficulties and bad effects 
 caused by improper teaching; but those 
 having middle faculties will only become 
 machines, when by proper instruction, they 
 could become equal to geniuses or at least 
 acquire great talent. After the student is 
 sufficiently able to play without written 
 music, not so composite pieces, then it is 
 the proper time to learn from written 
 music; then the teacher will gradually, but- 
 without pedantism, correct and show what 
 is already conquered by the artists. Some 
 music teachers may say that by not com- 
 mencing to teach music by note and with 
 such strict pedantism the student will 
 acquire bad customs. Such saying is not 
 without truth. Yet these so called bad 
 
Il8 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 customs may be easily corrected by the 
 teacher afterwards, and even by the student 
 himself in his advanced work. The ad- 
 vantage derived by the above mentioned 
 method will be so great that, compara- 
 tively, the injury done by the bad habits 
 will be of little account. What we have 
 remarked about music refers to the ex- 
 ercises of all other arts and, I suppose, by 
 this example I am understood so, that |t 
 will not be necessary to give explanations 
 of the exercises of each art. 
 
 In the course of a general education the 
 student should be taught not only theoret- 
 ically but also practically to a certain point, 
 all principal arts of use and beauty. The 
 pupils who have not received from nature 
 better talents in this or the other art should 
 not be excluded from the theoretical and 
 practical study of this art. To those who 
 show higher talents for arts the inspector 
 should give special instruction so far as it 
 may be required. A practical study, es- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 19 
 
 pecially of useful arts, may be combined 
 with physics, chemistry, geology, etc. 
 
 At about fifteen years of age the pupil 
 should finish the course of the primary 
 school and besides, having a general under- 
 standing of nature's proceeding in the dif- 
 ferent phenomena, he should be educated 
 both theoretically and practically in the 
 different arts. How much the primary 
 school should furnish for the pupil's moral 
 and physical education we will specify in 
 the respective chapters. A man educated 
 according to the manner above mentioned 
 will be an excellent member of his family, 
 his 'Country and humanity. By the under- 
 standing of the proceeding of nature he 
 will observe all phenomena in his own and 
 other countries, and thus will try to under- 
 stand what roll they play. Before entering 
 the one or the other society, whether it 
 may be of a social, political or religious 
 nature, he will consider what roll the 
 society plays in the development of the 
 country; he will consider if belonging to 
 
I20 ESSAYS ON THE . 
 
 this society will produce a good effect to 
 his country, then he will be able to criti- 
 cise the different laws made by legislators. 
 He will consider what roll the different 
 religions play in the " continuous develop- 
 ment of society and then he will know how 
 to proceed. The greater number of mem- 
 bers of this kind a society will contain the 
 faster a society will develop itself, because 
 nature having strong help from the part of 
 man in his proceedings, will not be com- 
 pelled to produce such strong re-actions, 
 which are sure to follow when the members 
 of a society do not understand its (nature) 
 proceeding and place obstacles in its way. 
 At least such a primary school course 
 every child should finish no matter what 
 position in society he will occupy. We 
 hope the time will come when every citizen 
 will finish such a course (or one similar) at 
 the expense of the government. While 
 taking the course of a general education 
 the student should prepare himself specially 
 for some particular vocation in life. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 121 
 
 In order to prepare himself for the more 
 difficult vocations in life, as: lawyer, 
 teacher, physician, clergyman, etc., a stu- 
 dent having finished the primary school 
 course, and having a general education ac- 
 cording to the above mentioned system, 
 enters the high school which should have 
 a four-year course. In the high school the 
 student is required to study without any 
 exception all the principal subjects he 
 studied in the primary school, but more 
 exactly. This is to say, that the student 
 of the high school must acquaint himself 
 with nature's proceeding more particularly 
 than he did in the primary school. Al- 
 though all students are required to study 
 all subjects, attention should be given to 
 the different intellectual faculties of the 
 different students, so that those, who show 
 natural inclinations and faculties to a cer- 
 tain science (to the investigation of nature's 
 proceeding in a certain kind of phenomena) 
 would be surrounded by special tutelage 
 of the instructors in regard to the special 
 
122 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 faculties and inclinations. They should 
 also study other subjects but not with the 
 same demand on the part of the instructor, 
 as is necessary for other students, who have 
 special faculties for such subjects.* 
 
 The course of the high school, as the 
 course of the primary school, should be 
 finished with the study of philosophy m 
 which (study) more general laws and data 
 should be considered more exactly than 
 they were in the primary schooh (We will 
 discuss it further at the close of this chap- 
 ter.) After finishing the high school the 
 student may enter the university in order 
 
 * Nature gives different facilities to different men, be- 
 cause it is required for the division of labor in society. 
 This division of labor causes progress and by the laws 
 of inheritance produces the different mental, moral, and 
 physical abilities in different men. In the primary and 
 especially in the high school the instructor ought to be 
 careful not to destroy some special faculties and inclina- 
 tions by teaching with too much pedantism especially the 
 subjects to which students have no inclination and for 
 the learning of which they have no higher faculties. 
 Some educators gave advice to teach a student in a 
 manner to prepare him, from the beginning of his educa- 
 tion, only for a specialist, and not to teach him other 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 23 
 
 to become a specialist in law, some natural 
 science, theology, etc. 
 
 The reader may think that we propose 
 too much substance to be taught in the 
 course of general education, and, therefore, 
 will be too much work for young people, 
 thus producing a bad effect upon the de- 
 velopment of their intellectual faculties. 
 We would agree to this, if all subjects 
 would be taught through the memory and 
 the use of text books; but our idea is to 
 train young people not through mere 
 memorizing and storing the mind with 
 knowledge, but through a process of 
 
 subjects. This advice does not seem to be good, be- 
 cause every specialist will be more perfect in his spec- 
 ialty when he understands at least generally nature's 
 proceeding in all phenomena. Because no one can un- 
 derstand perfectly a part without understanding, at 
 least generally, the totality. On the other hand, inde- 
 pendently from being a specialist in something, every 
 one is expected to perform certain rolls in the family, 
 the country and humanity; but to perform well these 
 rolls he should, at least, understand very generally 
 nature's proceeding in all phenomena. Therefore every- 
 one should acquire a general education, but in a way 
 not to dull his special faculties and inclinations. 
 
124 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 reasoning and, as far as it is possible, with- 
 out the use of text-books. By such a pro- 
 cess their faculties will be harmoniously de- 
 veloped, not excluding sensitive memory 
 for, the less text-books are introduced the 
 more it is developed. This method will 
 interest the student very much, because he 
 has natural inclinations for reasoning, ex- 
 perimenting, investigating, etc., and he 
 has a hatred towards committing to mem- 
 ory scientific material. 
 
 It is necessary to mention that, on the 
 part of the instructors, it is not enough for 
 them to know a subject, but they should 
 be able to excite an interest in students 
 towards science. Neither the knowledge 
 of the teacher (which is a necessary con- 
 dition), his conscious work (another nee es- 
 sar}' condition), nor the admonitions given 
 will educate the student, if the instructor is 
 not an artist able to interest him. The 
 teacher should be a true psychologist un- 
 derstanding the nature of the student, well; 
 his wants, his desires, his feelings, etc.; 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 25 
 
 this understanding of nature's proceeding 
 in the student will help in exciting his 
 attention and will interest him. Besides 
 this, the teacher should have special 
 artistic faculties. The younger the 
 students are the more the instructor should 
 descend from his throne of authority and 
 be like a child, so that the teacher of very 
 young pupils is nothing else than an old 
 child playing with the children, interesting 
 them, exciting their attention, and, during 
 the time of play, scattering grains of truth, 
 which take root in their young minds with- 
 out their being conscious of it. 
 
 Another necessary quality for a teacher 
 is to love^his vocation and pupils. In other 
 words the teacher ought to have a larger 
 heart than the average man. Generally 
 we may say, thatr to be a true teacher, 
 especially one of little children, it is neces- 
 sary to have special qualities of mind and 
 heart given by God for this purpose. One 
 of the English philosophers said, that an 
 educator should be a great philosopher and 
 
126 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 in general, of an ideal nature. When 
 an instructor loves his students they uncon- 
 sciously feel it, and believe, xand respect 
 him. 
 
 During early life man leads himself sim- 
 ilar to humanity in its early life. The 
 younger, and more barbarous humanity 
 was, the more it leads itself with instincts 
 of s)'mpathy and antipathy but not with 
 reason (among beasts it is very apparent). 
 As a barbarous man confides (trusts) only 
 in what he sympathizes and in what is well 
 disposed towards him, but not in that which, 
 according to reason, is good,~ although it 
 would be displeasing for a certain time to 
 his nature, so a child leads itself in the first 
 place with the instincts of sympathy and 
 antipathy. If a teacher works with ever 
 so much consciousness in cultivating the 
 minds of his students, but is indifferent and 
 cold in his relations with them and does 
 not love them, his work will bring little 
 improvement, especially in young children. 
 He should, therefore, love his pupils and 
 conciliate their confidence. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 127 
 
 When a missionary commences to propa- 
 gate the truth of the Christian faith among 
 an unciviHzed people, he first cares to give 
 symptoms of love towards them; he occu- 
 pies his time with the sick and helps the 
 poor and needy. When he has reconciled 
 his people in this manner, and when they 
 feel that he loves them, then the work of 
 conversion is comparatively easy. In a 
 similar way the teacher should proceed with 
 his pupils. If by corresponding s3'mptoms 
 of his love, he reconciles his young people, 
 then he will see in their hearts a reflection 
 expressing itself by their entire confidence, 
 respect, subinission, etc. Having a strong, 
 moral influence on the nature of the child 
 (which is better than the use of the rod or 
 strong admonitions), he will be able to 
 shape or model the child's nature as he de- 
 sires. It may be remarked that the symp- 
 -toms o"f a teacher's love should be in a 
 manner, that the children will consider 
 them as such. Sometimes a teacher loves 
 his pupils very much and because of his 
 
128 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 love and his sincere wishes for their wel- 
 fare, he inflicts severe punishment by 
 means of admonitions, the rod, etc. In 
 this case, although he may love his pupils 
 very much, his love is not understood by 
 them and they consider him as their enemy. 
 A teacher's kind heart and his understand- 
 ing of nature's proceeding in the boy will 
 find corresponding means to reconcile a 
 good student's disposition. 
 
 Although much more should be said in 
 conclusion of intellectual education, but be- 
 cause the limit of these essays does not per- 
 mit it, we turn to a few points relative to 
 a philosophical training in schools. 
 
 In representing the order of teaching the 
 different subjects which belong to the 
 course of a general education, we have 
 mentioned the necessity of a philosophical 
 training, because it helps to unite all ideas 
 of one's mind, develops criticism in judg- 
 ment, and makes a strong foundation for 
 religion and morality. 
 
 We have already mentioned, that phi- 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 29 
 
 losophy occupies itself with the more-gen- 
 eral laws and data and the most-general 
 law and datum, so far as they may be 
 investigated by man's intellectual natural 
 forces. Philosophy develops its principles 
 on the basis of the principles of the partic- 
 ular sciences and, having a true system of 
 the Universe, is able to criticise the found- 
 ations of different particular sciences and 
 their conclusions. 
 
 On account of, that human reason never 
 was satisfied with the investigation of laws 
 and data, but tried to investigate the es- 
 sence of things, their beginning, their end, 
 etc., a certain kind of philosophy was 
 created, which may be called meta- 
 physics. Every philosophical system, be- 
 yond strict scientific principles, is inspired 
 with some metaphysic-idealistic or meta- 
 physic-materialistic spirit. In some sys- 
 tems these tendencies are not strictly deter- 
 mined, nevertheless they incline themselves 
 to the first or the second division. 
 
 Because the aim of philosophy is (especi- 
 ally after the division of sciences) to inves- 
 
130 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 tigate general and the most-general laws 
 and data (and basis of all laws and data) 
 and because there is so much scientific 
 material, there is a division of labor. This 
 division causes philosophy to turn at one 
 time to the investigation of general laws 
 and data of nature, and another time, to 
 the investigation of the most-general laws 
 and data including the basis of all laws and 
 data. The turningsin philosophy referred 
 to are commenced, inspired, and guided by 
 the metaphysic spirit existing in every 
 system. And thus, when required by 
 nature, turnings in society to more interna- 
 tional affairs in sciences appears an incli- 
 nation not to the observations and investi- 
 gation of particular laws and data, but 
 under an inspiration of the metaphysic- 
 idealistic spirit there is an inclination to 
 the general interest of sciences. In 
 philosophy then, under an inspiration of 
 the same metaphysic-idealistic spirit 
 appears an inclination to the investigation 
 of the more and most-general laws and 
 data. Metaphysic-idealistic philosophy at 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 131 
 
 the time of the turning mentioned, trans- 
 fers the human intellect to a religious field 
 and produces a religious development. 
 
 When nature requires a turning in so- 
 ciety to the development of particular social 
 affairs then, in sciences, appears an inclina- 
 tion to experiments and investigations of 
 particular laws and data. In philosophy 
 at such times appears a metaphysic-materi- 
 alistic spirit (or at least an inclination to 
 it). During this period philosophy oc- 
 cupies itself only with nature's general laws 
 and data and in its metaphysical specula- 
 tions despoils Universe of all non-material 
 elements. During similar turnings relig- 
 ious affairs are generally neglected. 
 Through what we have said previously, 
 we wish to express that the metaphysical 
 element in philosophy either metaphysic- 
 idealistic element) or metaphysic-materi- 
 alistic, being only temporarily (relatively 
 to turning) help for the development of 
 sciences, religion, and philosophy, is not a 
 point from which a philosophical education 
 ought to be commenced, because such point 
 
132 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 should be composed of stable elements, but 
 not of something only good for a certain 
 time. These stable points in scientific 
 philosophy as in every science may be only 
 nature's laws and data (general, more and 
 the most-general) and from these points 
 one's philosophical education should be 
 commenced. 
 
 But, because every science represents 
 nature's laws and data therefore one may be 
 trained in philosophy from the beginning of 
 his intellectual education. This training 
 ought to consist in the generalization of 
 particular laws and data of nature in order 
 to unite, gradually, the ideas given during 
 the intellectual education. 
 
 In representing the different philosoph- 
 ical theories the instructor should carefully 
 distinguish strict scientific elements from 
 the metaphysical elements, either idealistic 
 or materialistic. The scientific elements 
 should be treated as something stable; the 
 metaphysical as something unstable, neither 
 right nor wrong, but a necessary help to 
 the development of religion, sciences, arts, 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 33 
 
 etc. It is necessary to be very cautious not 
 to force a man to be a materialist or a pure 
 idealist, because the greater the number of 
 such partialists we have, the stronger the 
 re-actions which nature produces, will be. 
 The different philosophical sciences ought 
 to be combined correspondingly with dif- 
 ferent subjects belonging to the course of a 
 general education. As to logic, and espe- 
 cially as to its practical part, it should be 
 combined with all subjects in order to train 
 one's intellect in proper and critical think- 
 ing and especially in distinguishing between 
 words of no meaning, and words repre- 
 senting I something real. Further; one 
 should be trained to express his thoughts 
 in a clear, brief manner, using as few 
 words as possible. During the last year of 
 a course of general education (primary or 
 high school course) some time should be, 
 consecrated to the study of philosophy 
 when this subject ought to be treated par- 
 ticularly, but without compelling the stu- 
 dent to learn by heart many names, dates 
 (centuries are enough), titles of many 
 philosophical works, etc. 
 
134 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 , The reader will notice that we did not 
 make a distinction in the teaching of boys 
 and girls, because we do not see a good 
 reason for an essential difference in teach- 
 ing them. Both sexes should help nature 
 in the perfection of jthe internal and ex- 
 ternal conditions of our existence, and for 
 this reason both should exactly understand, 
 as far as it is possible, nature's proceeding. 
 The slight difference in their intellectual 
 education consists in, that they should be 
 acquainted more particularly with some of. 
 nature's proceeding and with some arts 
 relative to the rolls which they are ex- 
 pected to play and relative to the occupa- 
 tions in which they intend or expect to 
 engage. 
 
 At the present time we have a reaction 
 to the elevation of womankind. This 
 turning is not something new in the history 
 of the development of social phenomena, 
 but it repeats itself when it is required 
 for some perfection in societies. As in 
 every turning, so it is in this one — the less 
 the members of societies will understand 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 35 
 
 nature's proceeding in the development of 
 different social phenomena, thus placing 
 obstacles in its \(vay, the greater will be the 
 exaggeration in the different movements, 
 and in this case, in the movements of 
 w^oman's emancipation. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 MORAL EDUCATION. 
 
 mORAL education, as we have defined 
 it, consists in exercising inclinations 
 in man to co-operate with nature in the 
 perfection of all internal and external 
 conditions of his existence. 
 
 The understanding of nature's proceed- 
 ing, produces the intellectual education; 
 helping nature in the perfection (develop- 
 ment) of the internal conditions of our 
 existence, produces the physical education, 
 to which I reduce the helping nature in the 
 perfection of the external conditions of our 
 own existence.* In order to help nature 
 in the perfection of either the internal or 
 external conditions of our existence it is 
 necessary to have an inclination to do so. 
 
 ♦Although there are many external and different kinds 
 of conditions supporting and improving our existence, 
 for instance: works of inventions, society, rfeligion, 
 climatic and telluric conditions, etc., yet helping nature 
 in their development is nothing else than to promote 
 them. Such promption we reduce to the physical edu- 
 cation and term it physical' external education. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 37 
 
 This inclination is provided for by nature, 
 but it does not operate equally in all actions 
 of men. Where performance of actions 
 not according to nature's tendencies pro- 
 duces instant resentment, there inclination 
 to help nature according to its tendencies 
 operates better; but where performance of 
 actions not according to nature's tendencies 
 produces not direct resentment, but pro- 
 duces it on an entire society and through 
 the society on the individual not perform- 
 ing action according to nature's tendencies; 
 or even where the resentment of nature is 
 not immediately, but slowly produced, there 
 the inclination to perform such action does 
 not operate and does not urge man so 
 strongly as in the former. The good 
 understanding of nature's proceedings and 
 nature's re-actions on individuals and entire 
 societies for defective co-operation with its 
 tendencies, compels man to perform well 
 all his rolls; therefore an intellectual edu- 
 cation makes man more inclined to co- 
 operate with nature's tendencies. If sci- 
 ences would be developed so completely, 
 
138 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 that we could, clearly perceive the entire 
 proceeding of nature in the Universe, then 
 man would have without any exertion a 
 strong inclination to perform all his duties. 
 But, probably, because human reason will 
 never understand exactly the entire pro- 
 ceeding of nature • and its resentments, for 
 the bad performance of some actions, man 
 cannot have a natural inclination to per- 
 form such actions for defective performance 
 of which nature's resentment is not imme- 
 diate and clear. By moral education he 
 should develop his natural inclination in a 
 manner that it would urge to perform even 
 these actions, for which bad performance 
 natural revenge is not clear and immediate. 
 Although the basis of this inclination is 
 natural feelings, nevertheless reason also 
 takes part in it, as far as it shows man's 
 duties and motives to perform them. As 
 to duties, they may be understood so far as 
 reason perceives nature's proceeding and 
 revenges for defective performance. As 
 human reason gradually acquires knowl- 
 edge of nature's proceeding in the manner 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 39 
 
 of acquainting himself with some particular 
 laws and data and afterwards surmising of 
 rnore and the most-general laws and data, 
 so in the understanding of his duties, he 
 acquaints himself with some particular 
 duties ( of which knowledge is necessary 
 for the conservation of his own existence ) 
 and then surmises the higher and the 
 highest duties to his country, humanity and 
 the Supreme law. After this surmising he 
 turns again to the investigation of his par- 
 ticular duties. As it is probably impos- 
 sible for the human intellectual faculties to 
 know exactly the entire proceedings of 
 nature so it is impossible to understand 
 exactly all his duties, although he gradu- 
 ally acquires a better understanding of 
 them. 
 
 Man is not satisfied to know some of his 
 duties, (as he is not satisfied to know only 
 some of nature's proceedings) and on this 
 account he continually asks reason, but 
 because reason does not reply, he turns to 
 religion for an answer which replies more 
 
140 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 or less exactly according to the truth it 
 possesses.* 
 
 Because religion is a social phenomenon, 
 it should be governed and developed, as far 
 as its natural elements are concerned, by 
 nature's sta^ble laws. In the first degrees 
 of the development of mankind, on account 
 of the little scientific development, religion 
 guides more particularly the human actions, 
 but with the progress of human develop- 
 ment, it has not such a task, because man, 
 by the better understanding of nature's 
 proceeding, performs his duties, being 
 guided by reason. But religion can never 
 become superfluous, because man will 
 never understand exactly the entire pro- 
 deeding of nature nor exactly all his duties, 
 and human science will never be able to 
 answer man exactly in this field.f 
 
 Religion also produces the benefit of 
 developing a natural inclination in that it 
 
 * According to tne Chnstian doctrine a truthtul re- 
 ligion possesses truth from revelation. 
 
 f Besides this, man wishes to know God's proceeding 
 in disposing of him after his death, and similar things 
 to which science cannot reply according to its modern 
 demands. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 141 
 
 urges man to perform such duties for the 
 defective performance of which he does 
 not see a natural revenge. Religion de- 
 velops inclinations in a manner that it 
 tunes natural feelings (basis of inclination) 
 higher and higher through its spirit, which 
 inspires literature, art, science, etc. 
 
 Some ideas which we have tried to repre- 
 sent in this chapter were required as a 
 basis on which we will consider moral edu- 
 cation. 
 
 The aim of moral education is to educate 
 a man in a manner that he will perform all 
 his duties: animal duties, family duties, 
 duties toward his country, humanity and 
 his Creator (Supreme law). Some duties 
 towards which he has a natural inclination 
 he performs easier than other duties, which 
 he may not perform according to the tend- 
 encies of nature, because not perceiving 
 clearly nature's revenge for their bad per- 
 formance, he has not a natural inclination 
 to perform them. 
 
 In moral education the instructors very 
 often fail in the same way as they do in the 
 
142 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 intellectual education and the training in 
 arts. In the intellectual education, as we 
 have represented, they require the student 
 at the beginning to learn by memorizing ' 
 scientific formulas, names, dates, etc., but 
 do not develop his speculative faculties in 
 a manner so that he could with his own 
 forces, only with the aid of the teacher, in- 
 vestigate nature's proceeding in order to 
 catch, in a harmonious unity, the general 
 ideas of the entire construction of the Uni- 
 verse. In the arts they also urge the stu- 
 dent to acquire mechanical skill, but they 
 do not care, that he would, from the be- 
 ginning, develop the natural artistical tal- 
 ents, which should be generally cultivated 
 before adopting special practice in one or 
 the other art. In moral education we may 
 find a similar defect. The instructors, with- 
 out developing a natural basis of inclination, 
 attempt to inculcate an inclination to the 
 performance of one's duty only through the 
 theoretical teaching or moral rules. Very 
 often they lose much time and force by 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. I43 
 
 giving the students nice sentences and say- 
 ing, they should do this and that, and then 
 wonder why they cannot obtain intended 
 effects. ' They cannot obtain desired effects 
 by teaching too early moral formulas, which 
 the student cannot understand nor can be 
 influenced b}- the formulas, because he has 
 not a sufficient foundation. 
 
 In order to produce a strong foundation 
 for the moral education, it is necessary to . 
 commence with the intellectual education. 
 At the beginning the student should be 
 acquainted at least with the most-general 
 ideas, representing the proceedings of 
 nature and its revenges. He might be 
 practically acquainted with some resent- 
 ments, which nature gives for defective be- 
 havior. For example: when a child feels 
 some stomach complaint caused by eating 
 unripe fruit, he should not be punished 
 either physically or by harsh reprimands; 
 but his instructor (parent or teacher) 
 should illustrate his complaint as a resent- 
 ment by nature, because his action was not 
 according to the wishes of nature and of 
 
144 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 God — the Supreme law ; and that every time 
 he will do a similar act, will receive such 
 revenge. The instructor may represent 
 that sometimes such revenges come very 
 slowly and not only on individuals per- 
 forming the action, but on entire societies. 
 When the pupil does something, by which 
 he receives a displeasure forbad behavior, 
 the teacher should always proceed in a 
 .similar manner. By such proceeding nat- 
 ural inclination which by itself in similar 
 cases compels man to behave well, will 
 develop more and more so that it will urge 
 to perform such duties for the "defective 
 performance of which natural revenge is 
 not clear. The more a student ^yill under- 
 stand nature's harmonious proceeding by 
 intellectual education, the more he will be 
 persuaded of the necessity to proceed 
 according to the wishes of nature. 
 
 But intellectual education is only one 
 element of the basis of moral education. 
 Besides, the understanding of nature's 
 proceeding the instinct-sensitive part of 
 man should be developed. The more 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. I45 
 
 this part is developed the more he feels 
 nature's Universal government; and even 
 when hutnan reason cannot answer to, how 
 one should behave himself in some actions, 
 then the instinct-sensitive part may guide 
 him well. The means to develop this part, 
 are arts, religion, and special training of 
 the will. 
 
 Arts, by expressing with exaggeration 
 through different means nature's proceed- 
 ings and beauty, tune and subtilize the 
 instinct-sensitive part of a man to a higher 
 degree; on this account the .student should 
 occupy his time, liberally, in reading poems, 
 seeing different theatrical reproductions, 
 hearing music, viewing fine work in sculp- 
 ture, etc. He should try to perform with 
 his own forces the different productions of 
 art above mentioned. 
 
 Religion by different contemplations and 
 other means so enforces and subtilizes the 
 power of instinct, that it helps the intellect 
 in judging, by giving a kind of intuition. 
 Religious means also civilizes very much 
 the sensual part of man by eradicating 
 
146 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 barbarian impulses, when they (means) are 
 adopted, not mechanically, but with a 
 necessary disposition, which consists in 
 submission to their action. Religion and 
 arts being conjoined, as far as it is possible, 
 shape human nature so that it approaches 
 more and more nearly to a perfect life, the 
 life represented by Christ.* 
 
 We have mentioned that for the devel- 
 opment of the instinct-sensitive part of man 
 a special training of the will is desired. In 
 order to represent the necessity of training 
 the will we m»st bring before the reader 
 some ideas on the basis of which we will 
 attempt to perform this purpose. 
 
 Among the natural laws we clearly per- 
 ceive this one: That every species tends 
 to keep all that was acquired at different 
 times, otherwise continuous progress would 
 be impossible. But since this beneficiary 
 law of nature exists, man keeps not only 
 good habits acquired by civilization of the 
 
 *Religion civilizes man also by supernatural means, 
 but it will produce a better efEect upon the human 
 soul when the instinct-sensitive part of man will be 
 better developed by the different natural means. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 147 
 
 human species, but also some others ac- 
 quired in different special conditions, which 
 habits we call bad, because they are dan-' 
 gerous to society. These bad habits we 
 may inherit from ancestors and through 
 different circumstances surrounding our 
 life. They incline man to do certain ac- 
 tions which are dangerous (very visible or 
 not so visible) to the individual performing 
 them ; dangerous to societies and place the 
 individual not in good relations to the Su- 
 • preme law. Some of these habits, accord- 
 ing to the .doctrine of eminent physiologists 
 and psychologists, incline man so strongly 
 to some actions that they break his will 
 (especially where it is weak). Such im- 
 pulses are also natural, that is " not arti- 
 ficial," but they are not healthy and they 
 are against natural universal government ^ 
 and its Supreme law. That they are 
 against natural universal government be- 
 
 *They may also play a certain roll in society because 
 nothing exists in the Universe without its corresponding 
 roll but natural universal government wishes to annihi- 
 late them so far as it is possible. We suppose it will 
 become clear to the reader by an argument we will now 
 propose. 
 
148 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 comes clear by such an argument. Nature 
 wishes to siastain an individual not only for 
 his own pleasure, but for entire society, be- 
 cause nature cares more for society than 
 for this or the other individual. As to 
 single societies, nature wishes to sustain 
 this or the other society, not only for the 
 utility of this, but for the utility of entire 
 humanity. Thus nature cares more for all 
 humanity than for one or the other single 
 society; it cares more for society than for 
 one or the other individual of the same . 
 society. If it would be the contrary, that 
 is,- if nature, for instance, would care more 
 for an individual than for society, it would 
 sacrifice the interests of society for the in- 
 terests of the individual, and it would sac- 
 rifice the interests of entire, humanity for 
 the interests of a society. This would be 
 an unreasonable proceeding. Therefore 
 nature cares for the sustenance of an indi- 
 vidual, but so far as it is necessary for the 
 sustenance of one or the other society; it 
 cares for the one or the other society only 
 so far as it is necessary for. the progress of 
 entire humanity. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 49 
 
 Therefore, if a certain individual or a 
 certain class of individuals in a society, 
 under an impulse of bad habits, endangers 
 others, it cannot be conformable with 
 nature's general government, and it is 
 nature's interest to react or gradually an- 
 nihilate all such obstacles in its way. 
 Nature does not wish to create bad habits 
 in one, but they are accidentally produced 
 by the action of some natural laws, whose 
 tendencies are to carry out species to per- 
 fection. For instance, natural law of adop- 
 tion produces; that a man, having not suf- 
 ficient means for the sustentation of life, 
 commences to live very economically; if 
 he would not adapt himself to circum- 
 stances he could not live. Other laws of 
 nature, for instance, laws of keeping and 
 developing all the individual possesses pro- 
 duce that the economical habits of such a 
 man do not annihilate but develop them- 
 selves and become avarice. This inclines 
 him not only to deprive himself of his 
 wants, but also not to pay his just debts. 
 Through hereditary law st?Qh habits may 
 
150 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 pass to children and incline them to per- 
 form similar actions. As we may notice 
 by this example, nature's laws accidentally 
 produce some bad habits. In order not to 
 produce the habits mentioned, some bene- 
 ficiary laws of nature should be suspended; 
 but by the suspension of these laws the 
 natural order would be destroyed. There- 
 fore nature should proceed according to its 
 stable laws, and some accidental defects, it 
 mends or corrects by correspondent re- 
 actions. Therefore some tendencies of 
 some individuals (the same with classes 
 and societies) may sometimes be against 
 truthful government of the entire Universe 
 and its Supreme law. 
 
 We have very often repeated that man 
 should proceed according to nature's ten- 
 dencies, now we call attention to the dis- 
 tinction between tendencies of the indi- 
 vidual, conformable with nature's general 
 government and the tendencies or inclina- 
 tions, which may appear in some indi- 
 viduals, not conformable with nature's gen- 
 eral government. , 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 151 
 
 We have already represented, that in 
 one's moral education it is necessary to 
 develop his natural inclinations to perform 
 all his duties, so that it (inclination) would 
 work also where nature's revenge for the 
 poor performance of some actions is slow 
 and not clear. We proposed for this aim 
 the different means as the understanding 
 of nature's proceeding, training of arts, 
 and the adopting of religious means, etc. 
 But, because we see that one may have 
 some inclinations to perform some bad and 
 dangerous actions, we should carefully dis- 
 tinguish them in a child and, in moral 
 education, to eradicate these inclinations. 
 The rooting out of such bad habits will 
 help the above mentioned training in sci- 
 ences, religion and art; but beyond this a 
 special training of the human will is re- 
 quired. 
 
 We do not intend to write a psycho- 
 logical treatise of the will, because that 
 would be beyond the limits of these essays; 
 and therefore, not considering the nature 
 of the will^ its qualities and its beginning, 
 
152 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 we affirm only that the will may be devel- 
 oped in a manner to become stronger and 
 stronger. This has been testified by the 
 biographies of great generals, statesmen, 
 who developed their will power so com- 
 pletely, that they obtained great results 
 with little means; great saints, who after 
 exercising their will power were able to 
 eradicate very strong inclinations towards 
 performing bad actions and become masters 
 who, independently, could govern not only 
 their own wishes but also animal and veg- 
 etable functions, which in ordinary condi- 
 tions man can never govern. Further, 
 true magicians by exercising their will 
 acquire such great power that they may 
 eliminate from their bodies as large a 
 quantity of magnetic fluid as they desire. 
 . Psychologists of today perceiving the 
 necessity of developing the will in moral 
 education, counsel to use different means 
 for this purpose, because they clearly under- 
 stand that bad habits acquired by inherit- 
 ance or some special conditions may be 
 very much annihilated by a strong will. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 53 
 
 The will should be developed from the 
 earliest age. Training in arts, although it 
 subtilizes human nature in a manner that 
 it becomes very sensitive, yet by itself, it 
 will not be enough especially for a man 
 having bad inclinations. One's sensitive 
 nature, not having a strong enough will 
 may be easily inclined by bad habits to 
 certain immoral actions, because such a 
 nature easily, submits itself to all influences ; 
 and so we may find some artists who, al- 
 thbugh they have very sensitive natures, 
 nevertheless practice a not very moral life. 
 This is on account of their weak will. 
 Hence by moral education one's nature 
 should become very sensitive in order to 
 be able to feel more; but at the same time 
 the will ought to be developed in a manner 
 to submit sensitive nature to good and re- 
 sist bad internal or external influences. 
 
 The will, well developed, will also help 
 the religious education because it will urge 
 man to perform all his duties who, even 
 being religious but having some bad in- 
 clinations, will not perform them on account 
 of defective power of resistance. 
 
154 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 Thus the elements of the foundation of 
 a moral education are: First, intellectual 
 education by which one, seeing nature's 
 revenges, will strengthen his natural in- 
 clinations to perform his duties; Second, 
 the training and development of the human 
 instinct-sensitive part in religion and arts, 
 will produce the effect that one will see 
 those duties which reason does not see and 
 will be inclined to perform them, although 
 the revenge for the defective performance 
 of them is not clear; Third, the develop- 
 ment of the will power, by which man be- 
 comes master of his person, being able to 
 eradicate evils and to submit himself to 
 influences desired. 
 
 These elements, I believe, are the found- 
 ation of a moral education. All other 
 means, for instance, the development of 
 one's honor, love of country, love of God, 
 politeness, and other excellent inclinations 
 to moral actions, should follow and be 
 based on the foundation represented in this 
 chapter. If these means would be devel- 
 oped without the foundation referred to. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 55 
 
 although they may sometimes produce 
 good effects, very often they would be 
 poorly understood. 
 
 A school giving not only higher general 
 education, but even a primary general edu- 
 cation, should not onlj' care for the mental 
 development of a student, but also for his 
 physical and moral develppment. It is 
 clear enough, how much development, 
 moral education needs; it is also clear, on 
 the other hand, that many school's of the 
 present time cannot satisfy the demand of 
 humanity, country, and the Supreme law. 
 They teach some principles of morality, 
 but is such theoretical training satisfactory, 
 especially for the eradication of bad habits ? 
 The aim of schools is to improve the human 
 race in every respect possible, but the schools 
 cannot comply to this request, especially 
 the eradicating of bad habits, because they 
 have not the correspondent means. At the 
 present time pupils spend from five to six 
 hours per day at school during five days 
 of the week. With the exception of one 
 or two short recesses they study and recite 
 
156 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 nearly the entire time they are at school, 
 and at the close of the school day, they re- 
 turn to their respective homes to repeat 
 the same task on the following day. This 
 routine of work is continued from one day 
 to another, from one year to another, dur- 
 ing the entire school life. In such condi- 
 tions nothing can be done towards eradicat- 
 ing bad habits. At schools, as they are 
 now conducted, the instructors or teachers 
 have no time, and at the children's respec- 
 tive hopnes the parents, being occupied 
 with their employments, also haven't much 
 time. Therefore, after finishing school the 
 pupil may have some knowledge, but mor- 
 ally he has not improved much and in after 
 life, by nature's terrible reactions or by the 
 punishments of law, he gradually becomes 
 better. 
 
 It is very difficult to imagine a new or- 
 ganization of schools that would be able to 
 carry out our plan, which we hope will be 
 realized in the near future; yet we feql as- 
 sured, that with the progress of time socie- 
 ties will organize such schools. Our plan 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION, 1 57 
 
 is, that the public school, both high and 
 primary, should be outside of the city — 
 constituting, if you please to term it so, a 
 children's city by itself — where the child- 
 ren could spend the entire day, we will say 
 from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m. The reader may 
 be afraid that we would require them to 
 study all this time, but this is not so; on 
 the contrary we would require them to 
 spend less time in strictly studying than 
 they are required to spend now.* This 
 children's city would have gardens, halls 
 of music, art, sculpture, painting, etc., 
 manufactories of different kinds, and, in 
 fact, everything that is required in life to 
 make the child a complete citizen. The 
 girls as well as the boys would be employed 
 in the various industries correspondent to 
 the rolls they expected to play in their 
 future life. In this school, their moral, 
 intellectual and physical education would 
 be developed in every step they would take; 
 they would be allowed to live a life similar 
 
 * We would have them eat their lunch and dinner at 
 school. 
 
158 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 to that in a society as far as it is possible; 
 they would have a specified time for each 
 occupation; and they would have an op- 
 portunity to attend religious exercises, to 
 learn different arts, to do practical work in 
 agriculture, cooking, manufacturing, etc. 
 We propose to give them prescribed time 
 to work, to play, to eat, to sing, to study, 
 to worship, etc. 
 
 During this school life the boys and 
 girls would associate and the instructors 
 (psychologists) could observe all good and 
 bad habits, which would make their appear- 
 ance. Then the teachers would adopt 
 different means, so far as science could aid 
 in it, for the eradication of such habits. 
 
 It is understood, that the instructors em- 
 ployed in such schools should be men and 
 women of. an exemplary character, who 
 would stand before children, (who are very 
 apt in copying from their leaders,) as an 
 example worthy of imitation. They should 
 receive good and sufficient compensation 
 for their work as a guarantee for devoting 
 their entire time and attention to the pro- 
 fession. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 1 59 
 
 We wish to state that the pupils would 
 return to their parental home only to sleep, 
 and thus being cut off from the world's 
 society, they would see only the good side 
 of life. The new generation being edu- 
 cated on such conditions will have every 
 chance to improve society, because during 
 the time of childhood (when the child is 
 pliable) by proper moral training he will 
 acquire possible perfection, which is so 
 necessary to become a good member of 
 society. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 
 
 ^HE physical education as we have de- 
 ^ fined it, consists in helping nature in 
 the development and perfection of all con- 
 ditions of our existence. These conditions 
 are internal including all faculties of our 
 person, and external those not belonging to 
 our faculties, but bringing them to per- 
 fection. 
 
 We will consider in this chapter more 
 particularly the foundation of physical in- 
 ternal education. 
 
 Because it is our duty to help nature in 
 the perfection of our person according to 
 nature's tendencies, for the reason that 
 nature demands, on our part, co-operation; 
 therefore, every one ought to comply with 
 it. A child instinctly co-operates with 
 nature in some proceeding in relation to 
 its development, but it does not co-operate 
 through reason on account of not under- 
 standing nature's proceeding. To aid the 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. l6l 
 
 child in this is the duty of the parents and 
 especially of the instructors in school, be- 
 cause the parents who are usually em- 
 ployed with various occupations have very 
 little time to consecrate for this purpose. 
 In the physical development of the children 
 the instructor makes very often some 
 fundamental errors similar to the errors 
 made in intellectual and moral education. 
 As in the intellectual education, very often 
 young people are compelled to acquire 
 chaotically (without harmonious unity) 
 scientific material, without spontaneous de- 
 velopment of the speculative faculties and 
 liberal consideration of nature's proceeding, 
 on the part of pupils; as in the moral 
 education young people are inclined to 
 morality by theoretical teaching of moral 
 formulas and by admonition for bad bavior, 
 but the instructors not developing harmonic 
 ously the foundation of inclination for the 
 performance of duty, so in the physical 
 education, those who have the care of it do 
 not co-operate with nature in the harmoni- 
 ous and liberal development of all of the 
 
1 62 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 child's faculties from the beginning of its 
 education. They chaotically develop some 
 of them, and very often, even in not a very 
 natural way. 
 
 We may perceive that children mak6 
 different, sometimes curious movements 
 with their limbs, body, head, eyes, etc.; 
 they like to chew things of a strong taste, 
 to listen to music, to see pictures and 
 scenes, etc. ; in summary, nature wishes to 
 develop generally all their faculties. The 
 instructor's duty is to co-operate with 
 nature in this. This co-operation consists 
 in permitting the child to act freely. He 
 should be allowed to cry, run, skip, and 
 play at his will. When we prohibit these 
 natural exercises and attempt to make 
 a grave man out of the child, we place 
 obstacles in the way of nature in the 
 physical development of the child. All 
 kinds of artificial gymnastics, cannot equal 
 the natural gymnastics towards which 
 nature inclines children. During the time 
 of recreations, very little time should be 
 employed in artificial exercises, because 
 
FOUNDATION Ol' EDUCATION. 1 63 
 
 they usually tire children; but instead they 
 should be permitted to play at pleasure. 
 During the time of recreation the teachers 
 should always be on guard against exer- 
 cises that might produce physical injuries. 
 It should be remarked that before the 
 special development of some faculties, all 
 faculties should be generally developed. 
 We find many people, who, for instance, 
 are not able to sing, because either their 
 voice or their sense of hearing was not 
 properly developed, and we may find the 
 same fault in not properly developing the 
 other senses. For this reason a special 
 time should be consecrated in primary 
 schools for different exercises, performed 
 liberally and without pedantism, to the de- 
 velopment of the special senses — sight 
 hearing, smell, taste and touch. The same 
 should be observed in the development of 
 the intellectual and artistic faculties. Be- 
 sides this the children should be allowed to 
 exercise different faculties, whether they 
 are in school or at home. • For example: 
 if a pupil, especially in time of recreation. 
 
164 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 wishes to cry, yell, or talk very loud; per- 
 form experiments or manufacture some- 
 thing in his own way, he ought to be per- 
 mitted to carry out his natural inclinations 
 according to his will so long as it is not in- 
 jurious to himself or others. This will be 
 real co-operation with nature which de- 
 mands a general development of all human 
 faculties before the development of a 
 special faculty.* 
 
 Very much could be said on the subject 
 of physical education, but the aim of this 
 treatise' is to call the reader's attention to 
 the fundamental principles of a physical 
 education according to which the public 
 schools, before giving a special training of 
 some faculty, should give a general train- 
 ing of all faculties. This training should 
 be liberal without paying attention to ac- 
 cepted rules of etiquette, etc. After such 
 
 general training according to nature's 
 
 I , 
 
 * In reference to table etiquette, we will say that the 
 children should nave much natural liberty and not be 
 forced to give such strict attention to etiquette as they 
 generally are. They should be allowed to eat as often 
 as nature demands it and, so far as it is possible, all 
 kinds of food for which their appetite calls. 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 165 
 
 tendencies the instructors may give atten- 
 tion to the further and particular develop- 
 ment of some forces or faculties for which 
 nature provided more abundantly. This 
 is also the time to give more attention to 
 artificial gymnastics, polite gestures, erect 
 posture, and other graceful movements of 
 the body. The more, by intellectual edu- 
 cation, a pupil will be acquainted with 
 nature's proceeding and the more by moral 
 education he will be inclined to perform 
 his duties, the more he will co-operate, 
 spontaneously, with nature in the develop- 
 ment of his body and mind. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 €V£RY citizen ought to finish at least a 
 primary course in our public schools 
 when fifteen years of age. In this course 
 he should acquire, in respect to his intel- 
 lectual education, at least a very general 
 understanding of nature's harmonious pro- 
 ceeding in the physical, chemical, biological 
 and social phenomena, including the prin- 
 ciples of law and religion. He should be 
 able to speak the English language fluently 
 and have some practical knowledge of one 
 or more other modern languages. His 
 speculative faculties should be so com- 
 pletely developed, that his judgment would 
 be clear and critical. All his artistic and 
 physical faculties should also be developed 
 in a general way, so that nothing given by 
 nature would be neglected to help it in his 
 total development. 
 
 With respect to his moral education he 
 should acquire development of his instinct- 
 sensitive part so that he would be sensitive 
 
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION. 167 
 
 to all proceedings in societies and to dis- 
 cern easily the feelings and thoughts of 
 others. He should always be ready to 
 assist others and to perform all his duties, 
 even by forfeiting some of his own comforts, 
 having the assurance that nature will re- 
 ciprocate; nevertheless we expect him to 
 be able, intellectually and physically to de- 
 fend himself against enemies. His will 
 should be strong enough to submit or re- 
 sist, according to his wishes, to intrinsical 
 or extrinsical influences, and to systemat- 
 ically perform what he determines. Not 
 being a partialist and having a broad intel- 
 lect he will rather look for natural causes 
 than at once condemn; thus, being kind 
 and considerate, he will avoid offending 
 his fellow being not only by actions but by 
 words as well, because it is against the 
 tendencies of nature. He will feel it his 
 duty to love and respect his country, its 
 customs, and, above all, the Supreme law. 
 The high school should follow a similar 
 course to the primary, but more exact and 
 to a higher degree of attainment. 
 
1 68 ESSAYS ON THE 
 
 Among the citizens of America We in- 
 clude people of the different nationalties, 
 different religions and social ideas, talents, 
 intellectual faculties, etc. Such rich ma- 
 terial makes different preparations for the 
 creation of a notable people. At the pres- 
 ent time this material gradually combines 
 itself by the different social processes until 
 it becomes a harmonious unity. During 
 these processes it is necessary not to per- 
 form, rashly and quickly, attainments 
 which are apparently an improvement to 
 society, but which in reality might produce 
 different reactions in the development of 
 the country. It may be, that education 
 according to the ideas represented in this 
 little work will partly aid in preventing re- 
 actions.