Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

At length broke under me and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy

Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:
I feel my heart new open'd; O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favors!"

And still more plainly in the following passage:

"Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear

In all my miseries; but thou hast forc'd me,
Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.
Let's dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Cromwell;
And, when I am forgotten, as I shall be,
And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee,
Say Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor,
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in';
A sure and safe one, though thy master miss'd it.
Mark but my fall, and that that ruin'd me.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition:
By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by it?
Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty.

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,

To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not:

Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's,

Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,

Thou fall'st a blessed martyr. Serve the king;

And, -prythee, lead me in:

There take an inventory of all I have,

To the last penny; 'tis the king's: my robe

And my integrity to heaven, is all

I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell!
Had I but serv'd my God with half the zeal

I serv'd my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies."

And so he who had "trod the ways of glory, and sounded all the depths and shoals of honor," went, an "old man,

broken with the storms of state," to the Abbey of Leicester, and asked permission "to lay his weary bones among ye," and begged "a little earth for charity," and there died.

Burns, Lowell, and Holmes. But not alone from the great writers who "roll on like mighty rivers through the country of thought," but from the "little Valclusa fountains," the Burnses, Lowells, Holmeses, and hosts of other men, may our pupils refresh themselves. Burns shall teach them the dignity and grandeur of simple, unassuming manhood. Lowell shall make them feel that there is a lofty patriotism which does not say, "My country, may she be right! but right or wrong, my country!" but which fairly quivers with anguish at the thought of national dishonor and national wrong-doing. Holmes shall tell them how, as the swift seasons roll, they may build for their souls more stately mansions.

What Literature is Available for School Purposes. How much may be done in this direction, how much precious ore may be mined from our own great literature and the other literatures of the world for the enrichment of the school, I do not know- I do not believe that any one does. The world has not yet come to see that the art of living is the art, and that whoever is ignorant of that, whatever else he may know, knows nothing to the point. Nor has the world yet realized that the only criterion by which we can determine the value of an institution to society is the extent to which it contributes to this art, and that therefore to the school belongs an unquestioned preeminence among the institutions of civilization. Nor, again, has the world yet come to learn that the school can best perform its transcend

[ocr errors]

ently important work by passing on to the rising generation the deepests insights and highest aspirations of the race. Nor has it yet come to feel that literature is not, as Spencer seems to think, a sort of toy to amuse one in his leisure moments, but an educational force of profound importance. When that day comes, as come it will, some tasks now thought beneath their dignity will appear not unworthy of great men. Then great scholars will realize the extent of the service they can render to society by ransacking the literatures of the world for the fittest material to be used in the education of the young. When generations of able and devoted scholars shall have worked at this task, when generations of thoroughly trained teachers shall have availed themselves of their work, and that in a society where ideals of life and conduct have been more and more moulded by the deepest insights of the race, I believe that results may be accomplished by education which we hardly dare hope for now. In this connection we should do well to remember that perhaps the greatest mind that ever worked out an elaborate philosophy of education—a mind that no one will accuse of undervaluing the importance of intellectual training and the dignity of intellectual life reached the conclusion that the one aim of elementary education should be the formation of character, and that the great instrument to be employed in attaining this is literature. Very suggestive, also, is one of the figures he used to express his idea of the way in which literature might be made to produce this effect. The study of literature, said Plato, should dye the character so indelibly with a love of the principles by which life is to be guided, that all the temptations to which life may be subjected will not avail to wash it out.

Pleasure to be Derived from Literature. -In addition to the intellectual and moral effects which should be aimed at in the teaching of literature may be mentioned the capacity to enjoy it. The boy who thoroughly enjoys Gray's Elegy has studied it to some purpose even if he is no better although he probably will be for having studied

[ocr errors]

it. Indeed the peculiar moral effect which may be produced by the study of literature is probably due to the fact that it is beautiful as well as ethical. However this may be, literature that is simply beautiful has a right to a place in the school programme. Take, for instance, such lines

as these of Shelley's:

"In a dell 'mid lawny hills

Which the wild sea murmur fills,
And soft sunshine, and the sound
Of old forests echoing round,

And the light and smell divine

Of all the flowers that breathe and shine."

They fill the mind with beautiful thoughts of Nature and her sensuous delights, and therefore represent a type of literature which the school should teach. For, we remember, delight in and appreciation of beauty is one of the ultimate ends of life, one of the things that make life worth the living.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.

1. Why does Dr. Harris think that learning to read is more disciplinary than the observation of things?

2. Is his argument sound?

3. What does he mean by introspective analysis, and what by objective analysis?

4. Upon what improvements in method does he lay stress?

5. How are the comparative values of reading and observation lessons to be ascertained?

6. Emphasize some mistakes that are made in the teaching of reading.

7. What is meant by a “man of thought," and how are we to get acquainted with him?

8. Show that the elementary pupil may be taught to appreciate the great writers of the world.

9. What did Plato regard as the aim of elementary education? 10. What study contributes most directly to that end?

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. Do you think the phrase "thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls" expressed a definite idea in Shakspere's mind?

3.

2. Do you know what the quotation from Wordsworth means? How can you ascertain whether the pupils in the upper grades of the grammar school can be interested in Shakspere's story of Wolsey?

4. Why has so little been done towards making the great litera tures of the world available for the school?

5. What literatures have received most attention in the school and why?

« AnteriorContinuar »