In the preparation of this volume, I have kept fresh in my recollection
the immature state of the minds which I have endeavored to enlighten;
and while it has been my aim to present such a succession of reading
lessons as are suitable for the younger classes in our common schools
and academies, I have not forgotten that the first step to be taken, in
making good readers, is to open the understanding wide enough to afford
a sufficient entrance for the ideas which are to be communicated by
reading. Words are but sounds, by which ideas should be conveyed; and
written language is of little use, if it convey but sound alone. Great
pains have therefore been taken to exclude from this volume what the
young scholar cannot understand, while, at the same time, it has been
the aim of the author to avoid a puerile style, by which the early
intellect is kept down, and its exertions are repressed. In every step
and stage of its progress, the maxim "_Excelsior_" should be the aim of
the youthful mind; and the hand of the teacher should be extended, not
to _lift it up_, but only to _assist it in its endeavors to raise
itself_. All of the labor must not be done by the teacher, nor by books.
_They_ are of use only in exciting the mind to act for itself. They may,
indeed, act as pioneers, but the pupil must not be _carried_ in their
arms; he must perform the march himself. And herein lies the great
difficulty of the teacher's task: on the one hand, to avoid the evil of
leaving too little to be done by the scholar; and, on the other, to be
careful that he be not required to do too much. Real difficulties should
be lightened, but some labor should be permitted to remain. To make such
labor attractive, and easily endured without discouragement, is the task
which best shows the tact and skill of the teacher. If this volume be
found useful in aiding the teacher, by doing all that should be required
_from the book_, the design of the author will be accomplished.