Free Schools--Thoughts on Education
"Truth, Wisdom, Virtue--the eternal three,
Great moral agents of the universe--
Shall yet reform and beautify the world,
And render it fit residence for Him
In whom these glorious attributes combined,
To render perfect manhood one with God!"
S.M.
There is no calculating the immense benefit which the will colony will
derive from the present liberal provision made for the education of the
rising generation.
A few years ago schools were so far apart, and the tuition of children
so expensive, that none but the very better class could scrape money
enough together to send their children to be instructed. Under the
present system, every idle ragged child in the streets, by washing his
face and hands, and presenting himself to the free school of his ward,
can receive the same benefit as the rest.
What an inestimable blessing is this, and how greatly will this
education of her population tend to increase the wealth and prosperity
of the province! It is a certain means of a calling out and making
available all the talent in the colony; and as, thanks be to God, genius
never was confined to any class, the poor will be more benefited by this
wise and munificent arrangement than the rich.
These schools are supported by a district tax, which falls upon the
property of persons well able to pay it; but avarice and bigotry are
already at work, to endeavour to deprive the young of his new-found
blessing. Persons grumble at having to pay this additional tax. They
say, "If poor people want their children taught, let them pay for it:
their instruction has no right to be forced from our earnings."
What a narrow prejudice is this--what miserable, short-sighted policy!
The education of these neglected children, by making them better
citizens, will in the long run prove a great protection both to life
and property.
Then the priests of different persuasions lift up their voices because
no particular creed is allowed to be taught in the seminaries, and
exclaim--"The children will be infidels. These schools are godless and
immoral in the extreme." Yes; children will be taught to love each other
without any such paltry distinctions as party and creed. The rich and
the poor will meet together to learn the sweet courtesies of a common
humanity, and prejudice and avarice and bigotry cannot bear that.
There is a spirit abroad in the world--and an evil spirit it is--which
through all ages has instigated the rich to look down with contemptuous
feelings of superiority on the humble occupations and inferior
circumstances of the poor. Now, that this spirit is diametrically
opposed to the benevolent precepts of Christianity, the fact of our
blessed Lord performing his painful mission on earth in no higher
capacity than that of a working mechanic, ought sufficiently to show.
What divine benevolence--what god-like humility was displayed in this
heroic act! Of all the wonderful events in his wonderful history, is
there one more astonishing than this--
"That Heaven's high Majesty his court should keep
In a clay cottage, by each blast controll'd,--
That Glory's self should serve our hopes and fears,
And free Eternity submit to years?"
What a noble triumph was this, over the cruel and unjust prejudices
of mankind! It might truly be termed the divine philosophy of virtue.
This condescension on the part of the great Creator of the universe,
ought to have been sufficient to have rendered labour honourable in the
minds of his followers; and we still indulge the hope, that the moral
and intellectual improvement of mankind will one day restore labour to
her proper pedestal in the temple of virtue.
The chosen disciples of our Great Master--those to whom he entrusted the
precious code of moral laws that was destined to overthrow the kingdom
of Satan, and reform a degraded world--were poor uneducated men. The
most brilliant gems are often enclosed in the rudest incrustations;
and He who formed the bodies and souls of men, well knew that the most
powerful intellects are often concealed amidst the darkness and rubbish
of uneducated minds. Such minds, enlightened and purified by his
wonder-working Spirit, He sent forth to publish his message of glad
tidings through the earth.
The want of education and moral training is the only _real_ barrier
that exists between the different classes of men. Nature, reason, and
Christianity, recognise no other. Pride may say nay; but pride was
always a liar, and a great hater of the truth. Wealth, in a hard,
abstract point of view, can never make any. Take away the wealth from
an ignorant man, and he remains just the same being he was before he
possessed it, and is no way bettered from the mere circumstance of his
having once been rich. But let that wealth procure for him the only true
and imperishable riches--knowledge, and with it the power to do good to
himself and others, which is the great end of moral and religious
training--and a mighty structure is raised which death itself is unable
to destroy. The man has indeed changed his nature, and is fast regaining
the resemblance he once bore to his Creator.
The soil of man is no rank, sex, or colour. It claims a distinction far
above all these; and shall we behold its glorious energies imprisoned in
the obscene den of ignorance and want, without making the least effort
to enlighten its hideous darkness?
It is painful to reflect upon the vast barren wilderness of human
intellect which on every side stretches around us--to know that
thousands of powerful minds are condemned by the hopeless degradation of
their circumstances to struggle on in obscurity, without one gleam of
light. What a high and noble privilege has the Almighty conferred upon
the wealthy and well-educated portion of mankind, in giving them the
means of reclaiming and cultivating those barren minds, and of lifting
them from the mire of ignorance in which they at present wallow, to
share with them the moral dignity of thinking men!
A small portion of the wealth that is at present bestowed upon mere
articles of luxury, or in scenes of riot and dissipation, would more
than effect this great purpose. The education of the poorer classes must
add greatly to the well-being and happiness of the world, and tend to
diminish the awful amount of crimes and misery, which up to the present
moment has rendered it a vale of tears.
The ignorance of the masses must, while it remains, for ever separate
them from their more fortunate brethren. Remove this stumbling block
out of the way, and the hard line of demarcation which now divides them
will soften, and gradually melt away. Their supposed inferiority lies
in their situation alone. Turn to the history of those great men whom
education has rescued from the very lowest walks of life, and you will
find a mighty host, who were in their age and day the companions, the
advisers, the friends of princes--men who have written their names with
the pen and sword upon the pillars of time, and, if immortality can
exist in a world of constant change, have been rendered immortal by
their words or deeds.
Let poverty and bigotry do their utmost to keep such spirits, while
living, in the shades of obscurity, death, the great equalizer, always
restores to its possessors the rights of mind, and bids them triumph for
ever over the low prejudices of their fellow-men, who, when reading the
works of Burns, or gazing on the paintings of Raphael, reproach them
with the lowliness of their origin; yea, the proudest who have taste
to appreciate their glorious creations, rejoice that genius could thus
triumph over temporary obstacles.
It has often been asserted by the rich and nobly-born, that if the
poorer classes were as well educated as themselves, it would render
them familiar and presumptuous, and they would no longer pay to their
superiors in station that deference which must exist for the well-being
of society. We view the subject with far other eyes, and conclude from
analogy, that that which has conferred such incalculable benefits on the
rich, and helped mainly to place them in the position they now hold,
could not be detrimental to the poor. The man who knows his duty, is
more likely to perform it well than the ignorant man, whose services are
compulsory, and whose actions are influenced by the moral responsibility
which a right knowledge must give.
My earnest wish for universal education involves no dislike to royal
rule, or for those distinctions of birth and wealth which I consider
necessary for the well-being of society. It little matters by what name
we call them; men of talent and education will exert a certain influence
over the minds of their fellow-men, which will always be felt and
acknowledged in the world if mankind were equalized to-morrow. Perfect,
unadulterated republicanism, is a beautiful but fallacious chimera which
never has existed upon the earth, and which, if the Bible be true, (and
we have no doubts on the subject,) we are told never will exist in
heaven. Still we consider that it would be true wisdom and policy
in those who possess a large share of the good things of this world,
to make labour honourable, by exalting the poor operative into an
intelligent moral agent. Surely it is no small privilege to be able to
bind up his bruised and broken heart--to wipe the dust from his brow,
and the tears from his eyes--and bid him once more stand erect in his
Maker's image. This is, indeed, to become the benefactor both of his
soul and body; for the mind, once convinced of its own real worth and
native dignity, is less prone to fall into low and degrading vices, than
when struggling with ignorance and the galling chain of despised
poverty.
It is impossible for the most depraved votary of wealth and fashion
_really_ to despise a poor, honest, well-informed man. There is an
aristocracy of virtue as well as of wealth; and the rich man who dares
to cast undeserved contempt upon his poor, but high-minded brother,
hears a voice within him which, in tones which cannot be misunderstood,
reproves him for blaspheming his Maker's image. A glorious mission
is conferred on you who are rich and nobly born, which, if well and
conscientiously performed, will make the glad arch of heaven ring with
songs of joy. Nor deem that you will be worse served because your
servant is a religious, well educated man, or that you will be treated
with less respect and attention by one who knows that your station
entitles you to it, than by the rude, ignorant slave, who hates you in
his heart, and performs his appointed services with an envious,
discontented spirit.
When we consider that ignorance is the fruitful parent of crime, we
should unite with heart and voice to banish it from the earth. We should
devote what means we can spare, and the talents with which God has
endowed us, in furthering every national and benevolent institution set
on foot for this purpose; and though the progress of improvement may at
first appear slow, this should not discourage any one from endeavouring
to effect a great and noble purpose. Many months must intervene, after
sowing a crop, before the husbandman can expect to reap the harvest. The
winter snows must cover, the spring rains vivify and nourish, and the
summer sun ripen, before the autumn arrives for the ingathering of his
labour, and then the increase, after all his toil and watching, must be
with God.
During the time of our blessed Lord's sojourn upon earth, he proclaimed
the harvest to be plenteous and the labourers few; and he instructed his
disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more labourers into
the field. Does it not, therefore, behove those who live in a more
enlightened age--when the truth of the Gospel, which he sealed with his
blood, has been preached in almost every country--to pray the Father of
Spirits to proportion the labourers to the wants of his people, so that
Christian kindness, brotherly love, and moral improvement, may go hand
in hand, and keep pace with increasing literary and scientific
knowledge?
A new country like Canada cannot value the education of her people too
highly. The development of all the talent within the province will in
the end prove her real worth, for from this source every blessing and
improvement must flow. The greatness of a nation can more truly be
estimated by the wisdom and intelligence of her people, than by the
mere amount of specie she may possess in her treasury. The money, under
the bad management of ignorant rulers, would add but little to the
well-being of the community, while the intelligence which could make a
smaller sum available in contributing to the general good, is in itself
an inexhaustible mine of wealth.
If a few enlightened minds are able to add so much strength and
importance to the country to which they belong, how much greater must
that country become if all her people possessed this intelligence! How
impossible it would be to conquer a country, if she could rely upon the
united wisdom of an educated people to assist her in her hour of need!
The force of arms could never subdue a nation thus held together by the
strong hands of intellectual fellowship.
To the wisdom of her educated men, Britain owes the present position she
holds among the nations. The power of mind has subdued all the natural
obstacles that impeded her course, and has placed her above all her
competitors. She did not owe her greatness to extent of territory. Look
at the position she occupies upon the map--a mere speck, when compared
with several European nations. It was not to her superior courage, great
as that is acknowledged to be; the French, the Germans, the Spaniards,
are as brave, as far as mere courage is concerned, are as ready to
attack and as slow to yield, as the lion-hearted king himself. No,
it is to the moral power of her educated classes that she owes her
superiority. It is more difficult to overcome mind than matter. To
contend with the former, is to contend with God himself, for all true
knowledge is derived from him; to contend with the latter, is to fight
with the grosser elements of the earth, which being corruptible in their
nature, are more easily overcome. From her educated men have sprung all
those wonderful discoveries in science, which have extended the commerce
of Great Britain, enlarged her capacity for usefulness, and rendered her
the general benefactress of mankind.
If education has accomplished these miracles--for they would have been
regarded as such in a more remote period of the world's history--think
of what importance it is to Canada to bestow this inestimable gift upon
her children.
Yet I should be sorry to see the sons of the poor emigrant wasting
their valuable time in acquiring Latin and Greek. A man may be highly
educated, may possess the most lofty and comprehensive mind, without
knowing one syllable of either. The best years of a boy's life are often
thrown away in acquiring the Latin language, which often proves of
little use to him in after life, and which, for the want of practice,
becomes to him a dead letter, as well as a dead language. Let the boy be
taught to think, to know the meaning thoroughly of what he learns, and,
by the right use of his reflective faculties, be enabled to communicate
the knowledge thus acquired to others. A comprehensive knowledge of the
arts and sciences, of history, geography, chemistry, and mathematics,
together with a deep and unbigoted belief in the great truths of
Christianity, would render a man or woman a highly intellectual and
rational companion, without going beyond the pale of plain English.
"Light! give me more light!" were the dying words of Goethe; and this
should be the constant prayer of all rational souls to the Father of
light. More crimes are committed through ignorance than through the
influence of bad and malignant passions. An ignorant man is incapable of
judging correctly, however anxious he may be to do so. He gropes in the
dark, like a blind man; and if he should happen to stumble on the right
path, it is more by accident than from any correct idea which has been
formed in his mind respecting it.
The mind which once begins to feel a relish for acquiring knowledge is
not easily satisfied. The more it knows, the less it thinks of its own
acquirements, and the more anxious it becomes to arrive at the truth;
and finding that perfection is not a growth of earth, it carries its
earnest longings beyond this world, and seeks it in communion with the
Deity. If the young could once be fully persuaded that there was no
disgrace in labour, in honest, honourable poverty, but a deep and
lasting disgrace in ignorance and immorality, their education would be
conducted on the most enlightened plan, and produce the most beneficial
results.
The poor man who could have recourse to a book for amusement, instead of
wasting a leisure hour in the barroom of a tavern, would be more likely
to promote the comfort and respectability of his family. Why should the
labourer be debarred from sharing with the rich the great world of the
past, and be able to rank amongst his best friends the distinguished men
of all creeds and countries, and to feel for these dead worthies (who,
thanks to the immortal art of printing, still live in their works) the
warmest gratitude and admiration? The very mention of some names awaken
in the mind the most lively emotion. We recall their beautiful thoughts
to memory, and repeat them with as much earnestness as though the dead
spake again through our lips.
Of all the heaven-inspired inventions of man, there are none to which we
are so greatly indebted as to the art of printing. To it we shall yet
owe the emancipation of the larger portion of mankind from a state of
mental and physical slavery. What floods of light have dawned upon the
world since that silent orator, the press, set at liberty the imprisoned
thoughts of men, and poured the wealth of mind among the famishing sons
of earth! Formerly few could read, because manuscript books, the labours
of the pen, were sold at such an enormous price that only men of rank
or great wealth could afford to purchase them. The peasant, and the
landholder who employed him, were alike ignorant; they could not obtain
books, and therefore learning to read might well be considered in those
dark ages a waste of time. This profound ignorance gave rise to all
those superstitions which in the present enlightened age are regarded
with such astonishment by thinking minds.
"How could sensible, good men, condemn poor old women to death for being
witches?" was a question once asked me by my nephew, a fine, intelligent
boy, of eight years of age.
Now this boy had read a good deal, young as he was, and thought more,
and was wiser in his day and generation than these same pious bigots.
And why? The boy had read the works of more enlightened men, and, making
a right use of his reason, he felt convinced that these men were in
error (although he had been born and brought up in the backwoods of
Canada)--a fact which the great Mathew Hale was taught by bitter
experience.
I have said more on this subject than I at first intended, but I feel
deeply impressed with the importance of it; and, though I confess
myself wholly inadequate to do it the justice it deserves, I hope the
observations I have made will attract the attention of my Canadian
readers, and lead them to study it more profoundly for themselves.
Thanks be to God! Canada is a free country; a land of plenty; a land
exempt from pauperism, burdensome taxation, and all the ills which
crush and finally sink in ruin older communities. While the vigour of
young life is yet hers, and she has before her the experience of all
other nations, it becomes an act of duty and real _patriotism_ to
give to her children the best education that lies in her power.
The Poet.
"Who can read the Poet's dream,
Shadow forth his glorious theme,
And in written language tell
The workings of the potent spell,
Whose mysterious tones impart
Life and vigour to his heart?
'Tis an emanation bright,
Shooting from the fount of light;
Flowing in upon the mind,
Like sudden dayspring on the blind;
Gilding with immortal dyes
Scenes unknown to common eyes;
Revealing to the mental sight
Visions of untold delight.
'Tis the key by Fancy brought,
That opens up the world of thought;
A sense of power, a pleasing madness,
A hope in grief, a joy in sadness,
A taste for beauty unalloyed,
A love of nature never cloyed;
The upward soaring of a soul
Unfetter'd by the world's control,
Onward, heavenward ever tending,
Its essence with the Eternal blending;
Till, from 'mortal coil' shook free,
It shares the seraph's ecstacy."