INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT.
Futility of the question whether woman is or is not inferior to man.
Conversation as a means of improvement. Taciturnity and loquacity.
Seven rules in regard to conversation. Reading another means of mental
progress. Thoughts on a perverted taste. Choosing the evil and refusing
the good. Advice of parents, teachers, ministers, &c. Advice of a
choice friend. Young people reluctant to be advised. Set hours for
reading. Reading too much. Reading but a species of talking.
Composition. Common mistakes about composing. Attempt to set the matter
right. Journalizing. How a journal should be kept. Music. Vocal music
something more than a mere accomplishment. Lectures and concerts.
Studies. Keys of knowledge.
Much has been said, incidentally, in the preceding chapters, of the
importance of extended intellectual improvement. Besides, I have
treated at large on this subject in another volume, [Footnote: See the
Young Wife, chap. xxxiii. p. 292.] to which, as scarcely less adapted
to the condition of young women than that of young wives, I must refer
the reader. What I have to say in this work, will be little more than
an introduction to the views there presented.
The long agitated question, whether woman is or is not equal to man in
capacity for intellectual improvement, need not, surely, be discussed
in this place. It is sufficient, perhaps, to know, that every young
woman is capable of a much higher degree of improvement than she has
yet attained, and to urge her forward to do all she can for herself,
and to do it with all her might.
I have already mentioned, in preceding chapters, several sources of
improvement--especially _observation_ and _reflection_. But there are
many sources of instruction accessible to those who are willing to be
instructed; both external and internal. Some of these will now be made
the subjects of a few passing remarks.
1. Conversation.--It is seldom, if ever, that we meet with an
individual of either sex, whose conversational powers have been
properly directed. To develope, cultivate and perfect these powers;
seems hardly to be regarded as a part of education. We have left the
tongue, like the rest of the frame to which it is attached, and of
which it forms a component part, to go very much at random. In some, to
be sure, it goes quite fast enough, and continues on the wing quite
long enough; but it is too apt to go without rule, measure or
profit--that is, comparatively so.
Now, to teach the tongue to go as it should--to teach it how to go, and
how long, and when and where to make use of its power--is not, by any
means, a small matter, or a very easy task. But ought not all this, and
much more, to be done?
The old notion, that taciturnity is wisdom, is now very generally
believed to be unfounded. These North American Indians who are most
remarkable for this trait of character, are not found to be a whit
wiser than other tribes who are more loquacious.
And what is found by observation to be true of nations or tribes, is
equally true of individuals. One of the most taciturn persons I ever
knew, and who passed with many for a very wise man, because he was very
silent and grave, turned out, on a more intimate acquaintance, to be
silent because he had nothing of importance to say.
Nor is loquacity uniformly a mark of wisdom. Some, indeed, talk a great
deal, because they have a great deal to say: you will find a few such
in a thousand. Others talk incessantly, either because they have
nothing else to do, or will do nothing else. They do not, indeed, talk
sense, or produce ideas; for sense and ideas they have not. At least,
their sense is not common or sound sense: and as for their ideas, they
are all superficial or borrowed.
Immense is the good which may be done in society, by conversation.
There is hardly an art or a science, the _elements_ of which, to say
the least, may not be inculcated orally; that is, by conversation. But
it is not necessary that our conversation, in order to be useful,
should always be very scientific. There are a thousand topics of
interest that have never yet been dignified with the name of science,
which might yet be discussed in our familiar circles to a very great
extent, and with both profit and pleasure.
When our conversation takes the form of story-telling, it is of still
more absorbing interest, than when it is confined to mere ordinary
colloquy. Here, again, a vast field of improvement opens upon our view.
Few acquirements are more valuable to a young woman who expects ever to
be at the head of a school or a family, than the art of relating a
story well; and yet, owing to the neglect of this matter in education,
no art, perhaps, is more uncommon.
A few leading principles, duly attended to, will, it is believed,
enable those who have already had some teaching on this subject, to
turn their conversation to better advantage; as well as aid, in the
work of reformation, those who have not been duly instructed.
1. We should enunciate correctly, and speak distinctly. Few persons do
this; and hence much of the pleasure which might otherwise be had, is
lost.
2. We should endeavor, as far as in us lies, to speak with grammatical
correctness. The custom of having two sorts of language--one for
composition and the other for conversation--appears to me to have a
very ill tendency. I would have no one converse in a language he does
not understand; but I would have every one converse correctly.
3. We should endeavor to select such topics as are not only profitable
to one party--either ourselves or those with whom we are
conversing--but such also as are likely to be acceptable. It is of
little use to _force a topic_, however great, in our judgment, may be
its importance.
4. Conversation should be direct--though not confined too long to one
point or topic. But while one subject is up, you should know how to
keep it up; or if the thoughts of either party wander, you should know
how to return to it, without too much apparent effort.
5. Conversation, like every thing else under the sun, should have its
time and place. It is as wrong to converse when we ought to read, or
study, or labor, or play, as it is to read or play when we ought to
converse. Social life has a great many vacancies, as it were, which
good, and sprightly, and well chosen conversation should fill up.
6. Conversation should be sprightly. If we converse not in this way, we
might almost as well dispense with conversation entirely. We might
nearly as well resort to the dead for society;--to the dead, I mean,
who speak to us through the medium of their works. Of course I refer to
conversation in general.
7. We should remember our responsibilities. "For every idle word that
men speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of
judgment"--said He who is to preside at the dread tribunal of which he
spake: and an apostle has told us, that "our conversation should be in
heaven;" that is, as I understand it, should be heavenly in its nature.
II. _Reading._--There are, as I suppose, few young women of the present
day, who do not read more or less; and to whom reading is not, in a
greater or less degree, a source of intellectual improvement. Their
reading is, however, governed chiefly by whim, or fancy, or
accident--or at most, by taste. Some read newspapers only; some read
only novels; some read every thing, and therefore nothing: Each of
these methods--if methods they can be called--is wrong.
But shall not a young woman be governed by her taste? Is that to be
turned wholly out of doors?
My reply is, that though our taste is not to be turned out of doors,
wholly, it is, nevertheless, a very imperfect guide, and needs
correction. Our intellect, like our moral and physical likes and
dislikes, is, as I have elsewhere said, perverted by the fall. I will
not say that our moral, intellectual and physical tastes are perverted
in an equal degree; for I do not think so. Still there is a perversion,
greater or less, of the whole man--in all his functions, faculties and
affections. As a general rule, when left to our own course, we choose
that food, for body, mind and soul, which, though it may be pleasant at
first, is bitter afterwards. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof is death."
Still it may be said--If our intellectual tastes are perverted, how are
they to be set right? Why not, I ask, in the same way that our moral
taste is--by the word and truth of God? "To the law and to the
testimony."
The application of the doctrines I am now advocating, belongs, most
properly, to parents and teachers; religious teachers, especially.
Parents, aided by ministers of the gospel, and perhaps the family
physician, should decide for the young, individually, what means of
intellectual improvement are best for them, all things considered; what
books, society, studies, &c. But I must confine my remarks to books and
reading.
It is not difficult to decide what the tastes of a child shall be, in
regard to reading. I will not, indeed, say that a parent may at once do
every thing she desires; but she may do a great deal. The child's moral
and intellectual tastes are about as fully at her command, as its
physical ones; and who shall say that her power to the latter respect,
is second to any but that of the Creator?
It is not for parents, however, that I am now writing; but for those
whose taste, by the aid or neglect of parents, is already formed. If
formed on the basis of the word and truth of God--if they are inclined
to prefer the best books and reject the worst--then all is well but if
not, then the work of self-education is, in this respect, to set that
right which has hitherto been wrong.
Hardly any thing can be of greater importance in this matter, than the
assistance of a friend, in whom we can confide, in making our
selection. This is as necessary in regard to newspapers, as to books.
She who reads newspapers, indiscriminately, will derive little benefit
from them; as her head will be filled with such a mixture of truth and
falsehood, and wisdom and folly, as will be likely to do her more harm
than good.
Few will read to advantage, who have not their set hours for reading.
It is true, that unforeseen circumstances may, at times, break in upon
our arrangement, and impede our progress in knowledge; but if we have
no arrangement or system at all, we shall find our progress impeded
still more.
Do not read too much. The world is almost deluged with books. Not only
see that your selection is as it should be, in regard to the character
of the books, but beware of having too many of them. A few, well read
and understood, will be more valuable.
The importance of sometimes reading aloud, has been mentioned. It has
other advantages, however, than merely the exercise of the lungs. With
a proper monitor at hand, it may be made a useful aid in correcting our
enunciation, as well as in improving our conversational powers. Reading
is but speaking the thoughts of others instead of our own; and she is
the best reader--and indeed most likely to be made wiser by
reading--who speaks the most naturally. Our reading should be such,
generally, that a friend in an adjoining room would find it difficult
to tell whether we are reading or conversing.
III. _Composition_.--Next to conversation and reading, as a means of
intellectual improvement, I place composition. This is nothing, either
more or less--at least it should not be--than talking on paper. As
reading is merely talking over the thoughts of others--conversing in
another's words--so composition is merely conversing with others
through the medium of a piece of paper.
It is a most delightful consideration, that it has pleased God to
secure to us a written language. Are we grateful enough for the gift?
Do we think enough of the privilege of conversing in this way with
friends in every quarter of the globe?
One of the most valuable kinds of composition is letter-writing, or
epistolary correspondence. This, above all, should be in the style of
familiar though well directed conversation.
I wish, with all my heart, that people could get rid of the idea, that
there should be one style for conversation, and another for writing.
Here is the stumbling-stone on which youth of both sexes have been
stumbling, time immemorial; and on which, I fear, many will be likely
to stumble for some time to come.
Could they get rid of this strange belief--could they perceive, most
clearly, that composition is nothing more than putting our thoughts on
paper, instead of delivering them by word of mouth--and that
conversation is nothing less than composition, except that the words
are written as it were in the air, instead of being placed on a sheet
of paper--how soon would the complaints about the tediousness of
composition cease to be heard. Some young women, of sixteen, or
eighteen, or twenty years of age, appear to regard letter-writing as
childish. They talk of having once been so foolish as to be addicted to
the practice; but as having now outgrown it. Such persons have no
conception of the vast importance of this species of composition, as an
aid to correct thinking and correct writing. The more we think, the
more and better we are able to think; and the more we write, the more
thoughts we have which we wish to put down.
One valuable form of putting down thoughts--next to
letter-writing--consists in keeping a journal. I often wonder why our
families and schools should encourage almost every thing else, rather
than letter-writing and journalizing. Our familiar letters to familiar
friends, might often consist of extracts from our daily journals.
But here, again, there has been great error. Journals have usually
consisted of the driest details, or exteriors of events. The young
should be encouraged to record their feelings in them; their hopes and
fears--their anticipations and their regrets--their joys and their
sorrows--their repentances and their resolutions. Such journals, with
old and young, could not fail to advance the intellect, even if they
should not improve the heart.
IV. _Music_.--Attention to music-vocal music, especially-should always
form a part of female education. The day is gone by, as I trust, when
it was customary to say that none but the _gifted_ could acquire this
accomplishment. It is now, I believe, pretty well understood, that all
persons may learn to sing, as well as to read. Not, of course, equally
well, in either case; but all can make a degree of progress.
I have called singing an accomplishment; but it seems to me to be much
more. Its bearing upon the health, and even upon the intellect, is very
great. Even its moral tendency is by no means to be overlooked.
The value of music, to soothe the feelings and cast out the evil
spirits which haunt the path of human life, has never yet received that
measure of attention which it deserves. Even in those parts of
continental Europe, where all the peasants sing, and are accustomed to
fill the air with their cheerful and harmonious voices as they go forth
to prosecute their daily tasks, no less than in their families--even
there, I say, the full power and value of music are not understood.
They make it, by far too much, a sort of sensual gratification. Let it
be redeemed, for a better and a nobler purpose. Let it become a
companion of science and literature, as well as of industry and of
virtue--and of religion, still more than all.
V. _Lectures and Concerts_.--Lectures are often useful, even when they
do no more than afford an agreeable means of passing an hour's time.
They are not indispensable to those young women who love study; but are
more useful as a means of exciting inquiry in those who have very
little fondness for it. Besides, there are lectures, at times, on
subjects which cannot be found in books; and in such cases they may be
specially useful to all.
As for concerts, and parties of all sorts, attended as they usually are
in the evening, there are many objections to them--though, as society
is now regulated, it may not be best to denounce them altogether. Home
is the proper place for young women, as well as for other honest
people, after dark; at least this ought to be the general rule.
If lectures, concerts, &c., could be attended in the afternoon, there
would be fewer objections to them. Even then, however, there would
probably be more or less of intellectual dissipation connected with
their attendance. It is to be regretted that time, which is so
valuable, cannot be better employed, than in mere running abroad,
because others are going.
VI. _Studies._--If the young woman could have some judicious friend,
male or female, to advise her what books to read, and what studies to
pursue--and if the non-essentials in dress, &c., were discarded--I
cannot help thinking that life is long enough, to give her an
opportunity to become mistress of every thing which is usually thought
to belong to a good English education. I will venture to say, that
there is hardly a girl of twelve years of age, whose circumstances are
so unfavorable, as to prevent her from thus acquiring the keys of
knowledge by the time she is twenty-five years of age, could she be
directed in a proper manner.
I have spoken of acquiring the _keys_ of knowledge, as if this were the
first object of a course of studies. And such I regard it. I know,
indeed, that we reap some of the fruits of almost all our acquired
knowledge, immediately: still, the greater part remains for years to
come.
No young woman should fail to be thoroughly versed in spelling,
reading, writing, composition, grammar, geography and arithmetic--and
as much as possible, in anatomy, physiology, hygiene, chemistry,
botany, natural history, philosophy, domestic and political economy,
civil and ecclesiastical history, biography, and the philosophy of the
Bible--to say nothing of geology, and the higher branches of
mathematics.
One word more in regard to your handwriting. Nothing is more common, in
these days, than to write in a most illegible manner--a mere scribble.
Now, whatever young men may do in this respect, I beseech every young
woman to avoid this wretched, slovenly habit. Hardly any thing appears
more interesting to me, in a young woman, than a neat, delicate, and at
the same time plain style of hand-writing.
Do not pursue too many studies at once: it is the most useless thing
that can be done. Your knowledge, should you get any, would in that way
be confused and indefinite, instead of being clear, and practical, and
useful to you. I would never pursue more than one or two leading
sciences at one time; and in general, I think that one is better than
more. If you pursue more than one, let them be such as are related; as
geography and history.
Let me say, in closing this chapter, that the great end of all
intellectual culture, is to teach the art of _thinking_, and of
_thinking right_. To learn to think, merely, is to rise only one degree
above the brute creation. To learn to think _well_, however, is noble;
worthy of the dignity of human nature, and of the Author of that nature.