me always desirable to throw the responsibility of forming human character upon parents and teachers as much as possible; and as little as possible upon God, our Creator. Let the belief prevail that He hath made all things well; that evil is in the world because of sin, and that all evil is its consequence, directly or indirectly. Let us indeed regard selfishness as the natural character of man; but let us charge those who surround infancy and childhood with being the principal agents in developing it. When we can make parents feel to its full extent-the justice of this charge, when they can be made to feel conscience-stricken for every pain of body or mind their children suffer, as well as for every degree of moral obliquity, instead of talking so much about its being natural, and thus throwing the blame back upon their predecessors, or upon God himself, a greater revolution may be expected in the world than has ever yet been seen or imagined, and then will men begin to be truly perfect and fully happy.

NESTORIAN METHODS OF TEACHING.

ACCORDING to the statements of Dr Grant, in the Missionary Herald for August, the Nestorian christians pursue a plan of teaching which is almost or quite as poorly calculated to make scholars as our own. The object of all instruction, in the few schools which exist among the Nestorians, is to educate young men for the church.

For this purpose,' says Dr Grant, the pupil first spends about two years, in repeating over the Psalms of David, in the ancient Syrian, without understanding a single word, or getting a single new idea. After this long and painful toil, and a faithful application of the rod, by the teacher, if the young tyro is able to repeat the whole book of Psalms, like a parrot, he is allowed to commence learning their meaning, in which effort he spends another year. After two or three more years spent in learning their prayer books, and a little attention to the four gospels and the art of writing, their education is finished.

Absurd as this plan of education appears to us,' continues Dr G., the Nestorians are much attached to it, and the bishop is just recommending to us (the American Missionaries) to pursue a similar course. They cannot imagine how a child can learn to read, and acquire ideas at the same time.'

Absurd as this plan of education appears to us, we repeat Dr

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Remarks on Defining.

G.'s language-we are pursuing a course, even in New England, which is little better; and which is, indeed, in our view, much worse, compared with our advantages and pretensions. Nay it is even much worse, in one respect, absolutely; for after the Nestorians have spent two years in learning words without ideas, they spend one year in acquiring a knowledge of their meaning; but this we never do.

All our common elementary education-as a general fact, for there are a few exceptions-is mere parrot work. So far are we from spending one year in defining words, not a day or an hour is spent in this way in a week. Thousands-nay tens of thousands of pupils, here in Massachusetts, where things are as well managed, perhaps, as any where else, never attend to the definition of words as a school exercise, for six hours, during the whole course of their school education. More than this, even, the public sentiment will not permit it. In Boston—yes, reader, in Boston-the public sentiment will not permit this. Teachers dare not attend to defining, or the Committee dare not recommend it, or they do not know its value. And worse than this, the whole community would be agitated, if it should be pursued. Even the teacher of a private school, who should make defining a sine qua non in his teaching, would be unpopular. Would be, did we say? Has not a teacher in one of our schools, been put down by the public sentiment, partly on this very account? In the name of mercy to the poor heathen children of New England, and even of Boston, let parents and teachers look well to this matter. If we are right in attaching so much importance to defining, as a school exercise, then the fashions of the schools are certainly wrong, and ought to be changed; but if we are wrong, let the friends of stupidity make it appear so.

IMPORTANCE OF DEFINING IN COMMON SCHOOLS.

NO. I.

We have often urged the general importance of defining words in schools, and as often, in all probability, been responded to, by many friends of education; and here, in nine cases in ten, as we have great reason to suppose-the matter has rested. To most of our readers, we have been, for any evidence we possess to the contrary, like one who has played well on a

Example of its Neglect.

413

musical instrument. They have heard us patiently, perhaps with pleasure, but have gone their way and conducted their schools much as they had done before.

We dislike, above all, these yes, yes, people; and yet they are very numerous. Out of compliment to us, or for some other reason best known to themselves, they say education is important, very important; the cause in which we are engaged is a good one, &c.; and they bid us, probably in sincerity, God speed. And yet what do they, for themselves or for the world? We are tired, we say, of such friends of education. We prefer -a thousand for one-the honest skeptic in these matters, who tells us we are ignorant, or reckless, or enthusiastic, or visionary. If a person begins to quarrel with us, we have some hope of him; but if he says yes, yes, we are very apt to give him over.

But to the subject of defining. We have often urged its general importance; we are now going to present a few illustrations of the want of it.

Suppose a person educated in our schools, as they are usually conducted, should take up Mrs Edgeworth's Practical Education,' and, at page 250 of Vol. I., should read the following paragraph.

'Some foreign traveller tells us that every year at Naples, an officer of the police goes through the city, attended by a trumpeter, who proclaims in all the squares and cross ways, how many thousand oxen, calves, lambs, hogs, &c., the Neapolitans have had the honor of eating in the course of the year.'

Now this is a paragraph which it would be said, at first thought, every body would understand. And so they would, to a certain extent, most undoubtedly. And yet, for want of what we call defining, in early life, few persons can be found who receive all the valuable ideas they might receive from it. We have said, 'what we call defining,' for we include in our notions of this exercise something more than mere dictionary definitions of words.

The shortest course by which the reader will probably arrive at a correct view of our notions of defining, will be to take the passage we have quoted from Mrs Edgeworth, and treat it as we should at school.-We will suppose some pupil has just read it; or (what might oftener happen) we have dictated to them the passage, and they have all written it on their slates. We commence and read it piece by piece to the children, asking them questions on it, and making remarks, in a manner not unlike the following. Some foreign traveller tells us,' &c. Do you know any person who has been a traveller? Were you ever a trav

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The Subject illustrated.

eller? In how many ways do the people of this world travel? Have you ever read the books of any travellers?

It is easy to see that these questions may not only lead to a full definition of the word traveller, but also to the acquisition of many valuable ideas on various collateral though important topics. By a little dexterity, and without seeming to interfere very much with the operations of the children's minds, the teacher may usually extend the conversation on each question, or cut it short at his pleasure.

Some foreign traveller,' &c. Do you any of you know what a foreign traveller is? Do you know, I mean, in what respects a foreign traveller differs from any other traveller? Who are some of the most distinguished foreign travellers? Have you ever seen one? Who was it? What do you know of him, and in what particular countries did he travel?

Some foreign traveller tells us that every year, at Naples,' &c. How many of you know where Naples is? Which way is it from us? Ábout how far? In what country? How could we go there? What sort of people should we see?

'Some foreign traveller tells us that every year at Naples, an officer of the police goes through the city,' &c. How many of you know what an officer is? As many as have seen an officer of any sort, may raise your hands. How many sorts of officers are there?-The teacher may speak of civil, judicial, military, church, town, city, and other officers; and may say a word about the duties of each, especially city officers; and perhaps relate one or more anecdotes respecting them.

I read to you, he says, about an officer of the police. Do any of you know the meaning of the word police? If the teacher himself does not know, as might sometimes happen-and hence the importance of a truly liberal education, even to the teacher of the infant or primary school-let him, for once, consult a dictionary; and with the aid of this and other helps, give the best definition he can. We do not say, let him consult his books on the spot; for all this should be done beforehand. However, better late than never.'

In a manner like the foregoing, may the teacher go through the whole paragraph. The words trumpeter, proclaims, squares, and cross ways, would require explanation, and would give him a fine opportunity-if peradventure the required knowledge should not be wanting-of saying something about city criers, and the general structure of cities. The consumption and consequent destruction of a great multitude of domestic animals, in a country so rich in vegetable products, might lead to many useful moral reflections, and lead their young minds to sympathiza

with aufforing and to docire to roliore it.

Further Illustrations.

415

Now the difference between the individual who has been instructed in this way at school, by daily if not by hourly lessons, and one who is brought up as most of us were, to glide over every thing and fully understand nothing, is almost inconceivable. For it is not the mere difference between an increase of knowledge on the one hand, and the want of it on the other. The individual who has been taught in the way we have recommended, becomes a thinker, and is likely to make progress in every thing to which he turns his attention. Whereas the tendency of the common method-or rather the common want of method-is obviously all the other way; and if it does not actually make the mind stationary, does not prevent its becoming so.

A person trained as the mass of us are, who should read the passage upon which we have remarked so freely, would get perhaps the following ideas. Somewhere in the world is a placewhether city, town or province, and whether in a temperate or tropical region, he would not know, or at least would not think, -in which it is said by somebody, that a person goes around and tells in some way or other, how many oxen, &c. have been eaten. A few might go a little farther in their reflections, and recollect that Naples was a city, and that Dr Humphrey or some other person had been there; and a few might remember that it is in the south of Europe.

But a person trained in a school where the teacher had pursued the plan we have proposed-we mean the spirit of the plan, for we care nothing about the forms-would derive a thousand more ideas from the passage than we have mentioned. Or rather the passage would suggest-stir up-a thousand ideas or associations of which the other was wholly ignorant.

At the mention of foreign travellers, and Naples, there are minds which would glance with a rapidity that leaves the lightning far behind it, across the Atlantic, touch various points of the Mediterranean, see Naples-its streets, buildings, inhabitants, curiosities-recollect many travellers who have been there, and the peculiarity of some of their views. The word police would summon to their mind's eye a city court-its culprits, justices, judges, or other officers, its decisions, &c. Officer, trumpeter, squares and crossways, would suggest more associations of ideas, and recall more anecdotes than we have time or room to describe. And the thousands of oxen, sheep, calves, and hogs consumed, would remind him of their fields, flocks, herds, customs, manners, &c. All this, too, in the same compass of time, and with as little voluntary effort as was required in the former case to recollect a few things only.

If life is to be measured-in some degree at least-by the