NATURE AND OBJECTS OF EDUCATION.
Perhaps some of my readers, when they see the title of this chapter,
will think only of confinement in school, of books, and of hard study,
and so be inclined to pass over it, as a dry subject, which they have
so much to do with, every day, that they have no wish to think of it in
a moment of relaxation. But I beg them to stop a minute, and not throw
me away, among the old school-books, till they have heard me through. I
assure them that I use the term _education_ in a far different sense.
I think it means much more than going to school and studying books.
This is only a small part of education. Mr. Walker defines education,
“_The formation of manners in youth._” But this is a very imperfect
definition; and I am afraid there may be found some who would even
doubt whether education has any thing to do with manners. Mr. Webster
gives a better definition:--“Education comprehends all that series
of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the
understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of
youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations;”--all, in
fact, that is necessary to make a _man_ or a _woman_--a _gentleman_ or
a _lady_.
The original root, from which the word _education_ is derived, means to
_lead out_, to _conduct_, to _form_, to _fashion_, to _beat out_, to
_forge_. It was used with reference to the forging of an instrument out
of a piece of metal, or the chiselling of a statue out of a block of
marble. This furnishes a good illustration of my ideas of _education_.
It is a process by which a character is formed out of rude or unwrought
materials. It is not confined to mere school learning. A person may be
very _learned_, and yet not half _educated_. There are many steps in
the process. The ore must first be dug up by the miner; then smelted
at the furnace, and the metal separated from the dross; then wrought
into bars at the foundry; afterwards forged by the smith; and then,
finally, polished by the finisher. The marble must first be quarried,
or blasted out of the ledge; then cut into blocks; then transported;
then wrought with the hammer and chisel; and finally, polished. This
gives a good idea of education. It is not merely what is done to form
the character in _school_; but it comprises all the influences which
are exerted upon the young, in training them up and forming their
characters. Education begins in the _family_. It is carried forward in
the _school_. It is affected, for good or for evil, by the influence
of public worship, lectures, books, amusements, scenery, companions,
&c. In all places and circumstances, something is doing towards the
formation of character.
Yet there is one important respect in which _education_, or _the
formation of character_, differs essentially from the process described
in this illustration. The block of marble, or the piece of metal, is
_passive_; the whole process is performed upon it by another. But
no person can be educated in this way; every one that is educated
must be _active_. You may be drilled through all the schools, and
have every advantage at home and in society; and yet, without your
own active coöperation, you can never be educated. But, if you are
determined to be educated, you will turn every thing to some account.
Every thing will be a school to you; for you will make contributions
to your stock of knowledge from every object you see; and by seeking
to act discreetly, wisely, and correctly, in every place, you will
be constantly forming good habits. Like the little busy bee, you
will suck honey from every flower. You will commune with your own
heart upon your bed, and exercise your powers of thought in useful
meditation. You will converse with God in your secret place, and seek
wisdom of Him who has promised to give liberally to those that ask. In
company, you will be more ready to hear than to speak; and you will
never meet with any so ignorant but you may learn from them some useful
lessons. You will exercise your mind upon every person and object you
meet. You will study philosophy in the fields, by the brooks, on the
hills, in the valleys, and upon the broad canopy of heaven. It has
been well observed, that the difference between a wise man and a fool
is, that one goes through the world with his eyes wide open, while the
other keeps them shut.
You will perceive, then, that your education is continually going on,
whether you think of it or not. Your character is constantly forming.
It is your business to keep out of the way of bad influences, and
submit yourself to the moulding of the good. Keep in mind the great
truth that you are forming a character for eternity. Some years ago,
there were found on the banks of the Mississippi River the tracks of
a human being, deeply imprinted in the solid rock. These tracks were
made in the soft clay, which in time became hardened, and formed into
stone;--now, the impression is immovable. You now resemble this soft
clay. Every thing with which you come in contact makes an impression.
But, as you grow older, your character acquires solidity, and is less
and less affected by these influences, till at length it will be like
the hard stone, and the impressions made upon you at this season will
become confirmed habits.
All the impressions made upon your character ought to be such as will
not need to be removed. Washington Allston, the great painter, had
been a long time at work on a most magnificent painting. He had nearly
completed it, when his keen eye discovered some defects in a portion
of the piece. He hastily drew his rough brush over that portion of the
picture, intending to paint it anew. But in the midst of his plans,
death seized him, and his painting remains, just as he left it. No
other person can carry out the conception that was in his mind. If you
allow wrong impressions to be made upon your forming character, death
may meet you with his stern mandate, and fix them forever, as immovable
as it left the rough print of the coarse brush upon Allston’s canvass.