Whosoever shall consider carefully the manner of bringing up children which is in general favour within this realm, cannot but agree with me in wishing that it were improved. I do not think it well, however, in this place to lay bare its special defects, because I am in hope of seeing them healed without so strong a measure. If I should seek to expose all the inconveniences which are experienced between parents and schoolmasters, and between teachers and learners; if I should refer to all the difficulties through which the education and upbringing of children is seriously impaired, I might revive causes of annoyance, and thereby make the evils worse. And even though I were to remedy them, the patient might bear in mind how churlishly he was cured, and though he should pay well for the healing, he might be ill-satisfied with the treatment. Wherefore in mending things that are amiss, I take that to be the most advisable way which saveth the man without making the means unpleasant. If without entering into controversies I set down whatseems to me on reasonable grounds to be the right course as being not only the best, but most within compass, the wrong course will forthwith show itself by comparison, and will thus receive a check without any need for fault-finding.
I have taught in public now without interruption for two-and-twenty years, and have always had a very great charge committed to my hands, my fulfilment of which I leave to an impartial judgment. During this time, both through what I have seen in teaching so long, and what I have tried in training up so many, I well perceive that, with the disadvantages which myself and other teachers have been subject to, none of us have been able to do as much as we might. I believe I have not only learned what these disadvantages are, but have discerned how they may be removed, so that I and all others may be able to do much more good than heretofore. And as I write for the common good I appeal to the reader’s courtesy to give me credit for good intentions, though my hopes should not be realised. For I am only doing what is open to all, namely, to give public utterance to my personal convictions, and to claim indulgence for what is intended for the general good. As I am myself ready to give favourable consideration to others who do the same, I expect any who make use of my work to their own profit to give me credit for it, and those who get no benefit from it at least to sympathise with me in meeting so little success for my good intentions. I may be told—You are alone in raising this matter; you do but trouble yourself; you cannot turn aside the course, which is old and well-established, andtherefore very strong for you to strive against. This thing which you recommend is not every man’s wares; it will not be compassed. Do you let it alone; if you must needs write, turn your pen to other matters which the State will like better, which this age will readily approve of, which you may urge with credit if they be new and suitable, or confirm with praise if they be old and need repeating.
If such objections were not invariably raised to all attempts to turn either from bad to good, or from good to better, I would answer them carefully, but now I need not, for in order to gain any advantage he who wishes to have it must be prepared to wrestle for it, both in speech and in writing, against the corruption of his age, against the loneliness of attempt, against party prejudice, against the difficulties of performance. Nor must he be discouraged by any ordinary thwarting, which is a thing well known to experienced students, and of least account where it is best known, however fearful a thing it may seem to timid fancies to stem corruption and strive against the stream. For the stream will turn when a stronger tide returns, and even if there be no tide, yet an untiring effort will make way against it till it prevails. And surely it were more honourable for some one, or some few, to hazard their own credit and estimation for the time in favour of a thing which they know to be deserving of support, though it may not be held of much account, than through too timorous a concession to public opinion, which, in spite of its influence, is not always the soundest, to leave excellent causes without defence if they be opposed. For may it not fall out that such a thing as this will be called for hereafter, though at present it may be out of favour, because something else is in fashion? I had rather,therefore, that it were ready then to be of use when it is wished, than that posterity should be defrauded of a thing so passing good, for fear of its being disliked at the first setting forth.
I write in my natural English tongue, because though I appeal to the learned, who understand Latin, I wish to reach also the unlearned, who understand only English, and whose interests are to be the more considered that they have fewer chances of information. The parents and friends with whom I have to deal are for the most part no Latinists, and even if they were, yet we understand that tongue best to which we are first born, and our first impression is always in English before we render it into Latin. And in recommending a new method of attaining an admitted benefit, should we not make use of all the helps we can to make ourselves understood? He that understands no Latin can understand English, and he that understands Latin very well can understand English far better, if he will confess the truth, however proud he may be of his Latinity. When my subject requires Latin I will not then spare it, as far as my knowledge allows, but till it do, I will serve my country in the way that I think will be most intelligible to her.
My purpose is to help the whole business of teaching, even from the very first foundation, that is to say, not only what is given in the Grammar School, and what follows afterwards, but also the elementary training which is given to infants from their first entrance, until they are thought fit to pass on to the Grammar School.In my manner of proceeding I propose to follow the precedent of those learned authors who have treated with most credit of this and similar subjects, in first laying down certain principles to which all readers will agree. By this means it is possible to pass on to the end without challenge, or if any difficulty should arise, it can always be resolved by a reference to these principles. In mathematics, which offers the best model of method to all the other sciences, before any problem or theorem is presented, there are set down certain definitions, postulates, axioms, to which general assent is asked at the outset, and on which the whole structure is built up. I am the more inclined to adopt this method, because I am to deal with a subject that must at the first be very carefully handled, till proof gives my treatment credit, whatever countenance hope may seem to lend it in the meanwhile.
I mean specially to deal with two stages in learning, first the Elementary, which extends from the time that the child is set to do anything, till he is removed to the higher school, and then the Grammar School course, where the child doth continue in the study of the learned tongues till at the time of due ripeness he is removed to some university. The importance of the Elementary part lieth in this, that a thorough grounding here helps the whole course of after study, whereas insufficient preparation in the early stages makes a very weak sequel. For just as a proper amount of time spent here, without too much haste to push onwards, brings on the rest of the school stages at their due season, and in the end sendeth abroad sufficient men for the service of their country, so too headlong a desire to hurry on swiftly, in perpetual infirmity of matter, causeth too much childishness in later years,when judgment and skill and ripeness are more in keeping with grey hairs. The Grammar School course, while it is a suitable subject for me to deal with, as I am myself a teacher, is also very profitable for the country to hear of, as in the present great variety of teaching, some uniform method seems to be called for. To have the youth of the country well directed in the tongues, which are the paths to wisdom, the treasuries of learning, the storehouses of humanity, the vehicles of divinity, the sources of knowledge and wisdom—can this be a small matter, if it be well performed? If fitting occasion by the way should cause me to attempt anything further than these two divisions of the subject, though I should seem to be going beyond my school experience, I trust I shall not be thought to travel beyond my capacity. In seeking for the approval of men I may indeed find some who are satisfied with things as they are, who think their penny good silver, and decline my offer, being unwilling to receive teaching from such humble hands as mine. There may be others who grant that there is something amiss, but think my remedy not well fitted to amend it, and look disdainfully on my credentials. I admit my lack of authority, but till some one better takes the matter up, why should I not do what I can? If the wares I bring prove marketable, why should I not offer them for sale? As I am likely to encounter such objections, I propose at the outset to meet all I can on grounds of reason, with full courtesy to those who make them.
Inasmuch as I must apply my principles to some one ground, I have chosen the Elementary, rather than the Grammar School course, because it is the very lowest, and the first to be dealt with, and because the considerations that apply to it may easily be transferredafterwards to the Grammar School or any other studies. The points I propose to deal with are such as the following: At what age a child should be sent to school, and what he should learn there; whether all children should be sent to school; whether physical exercise is a necessary part of upbringing; whether young maidens ought to be set to learning; how young gentlemen should be brought up; how uniformity can be introduced into teaching. I shall also speak of courtesy and correction, of public and private education, of the choice of promising scholars, of places and times for learning, of teachers and school regulations, and of the need for restricting the numbers of the learned class. In my views on these and kindred matters I shall seek to win the approval of my countrymen, before I proceed to deal with particular precepts and the details of the upbringing of children. In my discussion of all these matters, while in method I shall follow the example of the best writers, I will, in the substance of my argument, make appeal only to nature and reason, to custom and experience, where there is a clear prospect of advantage to my country, avoiding any appearance or suspicion of fanciful and impracticable notions. I may hope that the desire to see things improved will not be accounted fanciful, unless by those who think themselves in health when they are sick unto death, and while feeling no pain because of extreme weakness, hold their friends foolish in wishing them to alter their mode of life.
Some well-meaning people, when they wish to persuade their fellow-countrymen either by pen or by speech, to adopt a certain course, if they can claim theauthority of any good writers favouring their opinions, straightway assume that their own arguments are sufficiently supported to ensure their proposal being carried out. This assurance, however, is checked sometimes by reflection, sometimes by experience. Wise reflection may foresee that the special circumstances of the country will not admit of the proposed change, or after some trial the unsuitability may be shown by experience. So that in cases where authorities persuade, and circumstances control, those who would use earlier writers to maintain their credit must always keep in view the application to particular conditions. I see many people of good intelligence, considerable reading, and facility of expression, both abroad and at home, fall into great error by neglecting special circumstances, and overstraining the force of authority. In dealing with education, must I entreat my country to be content with this because such a one commends it, or force her to that because such a State approves of it? The show of right deceives us, and the likeness of unlike things doth lead us where it listeth. For the better understanding with what wariness authority is to be used, let it be considered that there are two sorts of authors that we deal with in our studies. Of the one kind are writers on the mathematical sciences, who proceed by the necessity of a demonstrable subject, and enforce the conclusions by inevitable argument. Of the other kind are writers on the moral and political sciences, who, dealing with human affairs, must have regard to the circumstances of every particular case. With the former the truth of the subject-matter maintains itself, without the need for any personal authority, and is beyond debate; it is with the latter that controversy arises, the writer’s credit often authorising the thing, andin this case great injustice may be done by quoting without discrimination as to difference of circumstance. It is no proof that because Plato praiseth something, because Aristotle approveth it, because Cicero commends it, because Quintilian or anyone else is acquainted with it, therefore it is for us to use. What if our country honour it in them, and yet for all that may not use it herself, because the circumstances forbid? Nay, what if the writers’ authority be cited without considering in what circumstances the opinion was originally expressed? Is not a great wrong done by him who wresteth the meaning of the author he quotes? He that will deal with writers so as to turn their conclusions to the use of his country must be very well advised, and diligently mark that their meaning and his application are consistent, and must consider how much of their opinion his country will admit. Whether I shall myself be able to carry out what I demand from others, I dare not warrant, but I will do my best to use my author well, and to take circumstances into account, never, if I can help it, to offer anything that has not all the foundations that I promised before, namely,natureto lead it,reasonto back it,customto commend it,experienceto approve it, andprofitto prefer it.
I think a student ought rather to invest himself in the habit of his writer than to stand much upon his title and authority in proof or disproof, as it is well understood that all our studies are indebted to the original devisers and the most eloquent writers. Therefore, to avoid undue length, I will neither give authorities nor examples, as it is not a question of a man’s name, but of the real value of the argument. I shall not busy myself with citing authors, either to show what I have read or how far I am in agreement with others.It is not needful to heap up witnesses where nothing is doubtful; the natural use of testimony is to prove where there is doubt, not to cloy where all is clear. In such cases, for want of sound judgment, a catalogue of names and a multitude of sentences, which only say what no one denies, are forced on to the stage to seem to arm the quoter, who is fighting without a foe, and flying when there is no cause for fear.
In points of learning which are beyond controversy, I appeal to the judgment of those who have gone over the same ground, and can test the truth of what I say without being told the name of the author, whom they will admit to have been well cited when they find me saying as he saith, whether it be through recollection of what I have read or from coincidence of judgment where I have not read. I do honour good writers, but without superstition, being in no way addicted to titles. But seeing that Reason doth honour them, they must be content to remain outside themselves, and use every means to bring her forward, as their lady and mistress, whose authority and credit procure them admission when they come from her. It is not so because a writer said so, but because the truth is so, and he said the truth. Indeed, the truth is often weakened in the hearer’s opinion, though not in itself, by naming the writer. If truth did depend upon the person, she would often be brought into a miserable plight, being constrained to serve fancy and alter at will, whereas she should bend to no one, however opinionative people may persuade themselves. This is known to the learned and wise, whose courtesy I crave. As for the unlearned, I must entreat them, for their sakes if not for mine, not to debate with me on points where they cannot judge. In matters that are intelligible to both, I must praythem to weigh my words well, and ever to give me credit for good intentions.
Those ancient writers, who have depicted ideal commonwealths, and have imagined the upbringing of such paragons as should be fitted for a place in them, before asking when their youth should begin to learn, have commonly laid down the conditions of their training from a very early stage. They begin by considering how to deal with the infant while he is still under his nurse, discussing whether he should be nursed by a stranger or by his mother, what playfellows should be chosen for him while he is still in the nursery, and what exquisite public or private training can be devised for him afterwards. These and other considerations they fall into, which do well beseem the bringing up of such an one as may indeed be wished, though scarcely hoped for, but can by no means be applied to our youth and our education, wherein we wish for no more than we can hope to have. Nay, these writers go further, as mere wishers may, and appoint the parents of this so perfect a child, to be so wise and learned that they may indeed fit into an ideal scheme, but too far surpass the model that I can have in view. Wherefore leaving on one side these ideal measures and people, I mean to proceed from such principles as our parents do actually build on, and as our children do rise by to that mediocrity which furnisheth out this world, and not to that excellence which is fashioned for another. And yet there is a value in these fine pictures, which by pointing out the ideal let us behold wherein the best consisteth, what colours it is known by, what state it keepeth, and by what means we maybest approach it. It may perhaps be said that despair of obtaining the very best is apt to discourage all hope, for by missing any one of these rare conditions—and our frailty will fail either in all or in most—we mar the whole mould. Howbeit we are much bound to the excellent wits of those divine writers who, by their singular knowledge approaching near to the truest and best, could most truly and best discern what constitution they were of, and being anxious to serve their race thought it their part to communicate what they had seen, if only for this, that while we might despair of hitting the highest, yet by seeing where it lodged we might with great praise draw near unto it.
But to return from this question of ideals to our ordinary education, I persuaded myself that all my countrymen wish themselves as wise and learned as these imaginary parents are surmised to be, though they may be content with so much, or rather with so little, of wisdom and learning as God doth allot them, and that they will have their children nursed as well as they can, wherever or by whomsoever it may be, so that the beings whom they love so well as bequeathed to them by nature, may be well brought up by nurture; and that till the infant can govern himself, they will seek to save it from all such perils as may seem to harm it in any kind of way, either from the people or the circumstances that surround it, and that this will be done with such forethought as ordinary circumspection can suggest to considerate and careful parents; and finally, that for his proper schooling, all who can will provide it, even if it be at some cost.
One of the first questions is at what age childrenshould be sent to school, for they should neither be delayed too long, so that time is lost, nor hastened on too soon, at the risk of their health. The rule therefore must be given according to the strength of their bodies and the quickness of their wits jointly. If the parents be not wanting in means, and there is a convenient place near, wherein to have the child taught, and a teacher with sufficient knowledge, and with discretion to train him up well by correction and teaching him good manners, and fit companions, such as so good a master may be able to choose; and if the child also himself have a good understanding and a body able to bear the strain of learning, methinks it were then best that he began to be doing something as soon as he can use his intelligence, without overtaxing his powers either of mind or body, as the wise handling of his teacher will direct. What the age should be I cannot say, for ripeness in children does not always come at the same time, any more than all corn is ripe for one reaping, though it is pretty nearly at the same time. Some are quick, some are slow; some are willing when their parents are, and others only when they are inclined themselves, according as a wise upbringing has disposed them to do well, or foolish coddling has made them prefer their play.
Anyone who deserves to be a parent should be prepared to judge for himself as to his young son’s ripeness for school life, and surely no one is so destitute of friends that he has not some one to consult if necessary. Those who fix upon a definite age for beginning have an eye to that knowledge which they think may be easily gained in these early years, and which it wouldbe a pity to lose. I agree with them that it would be a pity to lose anything needlessly that could be gained without much effort and without injuring the child. But it would be a greater pity for so small a gain to risk a more important one, to win an hour in the morning, and lose the whole day after. If the child has a weak body, however bright his understanding may be, let him grow on the longer till his strength equals his intelligence. For experience has taught me that a young child with a quick mind pushed on for people to wonder at the sharpness of its edge has thus most commonly been hastened to its grave, through weakness of body, to the grief of the child’s friends and the reproach of their judgment; and even if such a child lives, he will never go deep, but will always float on the surface without much ballast, though perhaps continuing for a time to excite wonder. Sooner or later, however, his intelligence will fail, the wonder will cease, while his body will prove feeble and perish. Wherefore I could wish the brighter child to be less upon the spur, and either the longer kept from learning altogether, lest he suffer as the edge of an oversharp knife is turned, or at least be given very little, for fear of his eagerness leading to a surfeit.
As in setting a child to school we consider the strength of his body no less than the quickness of his mind, it would seem that our training ought to be two-fold, both body and mind being kept at their best, so that each may be able to support the other in what they have to do together. A great deal has been written about the training of the mind, but for the bettering of the body is there no means to maintain itin health, and chiefly in the student, whose occupation treads it down? Yea, surely, a very natural and healthful means in exercise, whereby the body is made fit for all its best functions. And therefore parents and teachers ought to take care from the very beginning that in regard to diet the child’s body is not stuffed so that the intelligence is dulled, and that its garments neither burden the body with their weight nor weaken it with too much warmth. The exercise of the body should always accompany and assist the exercise of the mind, to make a dry, strong, hard, and therefore a long-lasting, body, and by this means to have an active, sharp, wise, and well-learned soul.
It is not enough to say that children are always stirring of their own accord, and therefore need no special attention in regard to bodily exercise. If it were not that we make them keep absolutely still when they are learning in school, and thus restrain their natural stirring, then we might leave it to their own inclinations to serve their turn without more ado. But a more than ordinary stillness requires more than ordinary exercise, and the one must be regulated as much as the other. And as sitting quiet helps ill-humours to breed and burden the body, relief must be sought in exercise under the direction of parents and teachers.
The soul and the body, being co-partners in good and ill, in sweet and sour, in mirth and mourning, and having generally a common sympathy and mutual feeling, how can they be, or rather why should they be,severed in education? I assign both the framing of the mind and the training of the body to one man’s charge. For how can that man judge well of the soul, whose work has to do with the body alone? And how shall he perceive what is best for the body, who having the soul only committed to his care, hands over the body to some other man’s treatment? Where there is too much distraction and separation of functions, each specialist tends to make the most of his own subject, to the sacrifice of others that may be more important. Wherefore in order to have the care which is due to each part equally distributed, I would appoint, I say, only one teacher to deal with both. For I see no great difficulty either in regard to the necessary knowledge, or to the amount of work. Moreover, as the disposition of the soul will resemble that of the body, if the soul be influenced for good, it will affect the body also.
For though the soul as the fountain of life, and the stimulus of the body, may and will bear it out for a while, by force of courage, yet weakness cannot always be dissembled, but will in the end betray itself, perhaps just when it is the greatest pity. Many people of high spirit, notable for their learning and skill in the highest professions, have failed, owing to want of attention to bodily health, just when their country had most hope of benefiting by their services. It is needful, therefore, to help the body by some methodical training, especially for those who use their brains, such as students, who are apt to consider too little how they may continue to do that for long which they do well. They should eat very moderately, and their exercise should also be moderate, and not vary too much, and their clothing should bethin, even from the first swaddling, that the flesh may become hard and firm.
[Mulcaster gives a list of the forms of exercise which he thinks most suitable, both for indoors, and for out of doors. In the former class are—speaking and reading aloud, singing, laughing, weeping, holding the breath, dancing, wrestling, fencing, and whipping the top; in the latter are—walking, running, leaping, swimming, riding, hunting, shooting, and playing at ball. These of course are not all considered suitable for children, but a selection could be made from them to be practised in school under the regulation of the master. He then enters upon a detailed and curious examination of the value of each of these forms of exercise, considered mainly in regard to their physiological effects. In all this it has been pointed out by Schmidt (Geschichte der Erziehung, Vol. III., Pt. I, pp. 374-6) that Mulcaster followed closely, though without special acknowledgment, theDe Arte Gymnasticaof Girolamo Mercuriale, a contemporary Italian physician. As the science is mostly of the traditional and somewhat fantastic character then prevalent, the discussion is not particularly profitable from a modern standpoint. It will be interesting, however, as an illustration of his treatment, to see how he deals with a game that seems to have had much the same features in his day as in ours.]
Football could not possibly have held its present prominence, nor have been so much in vogue as it is everywhere, if it had not been very beneficial to health and strength. To me the abuse of it is a sufficientargument that it has a right use, though as it is now commonly practised, with thronging of a rude multitude, with bursting of shins and breaking of legs, it is neither civilised, nor worthy the name of any healthy training. And here one can easily see the use of the training master, for if there is some one standing by, who can judge of the play, and is put in control over the players, all these objections can be easily removed. By such regulation, the players being put into smaller numbers, sorted into sides and given their special positions, so that they do not meet with their bodies so boisterously to try their strength, nor shoulder and shove one another so barbarously, football may strengthen the muscles of the whole body. By provoking superfluities downwards it relieves the head and the upper parts, it is good for the bowels, and it drives down the stone and gravel from the bladder and the kidneys. The motion also helps weak hams and slender shanks by making the flesh firmer, yet rash running and too much violence often break some internal conduit and cause ruptures.
We are next to consider who are those to whom education should be given, which I take to be children of both sorts, male and female. But young maidens must give me leave to speak of boys first, because naturally the male is more worthy and more important in the body politic; therefore that side may claim learning as first framed for their use and most properly belonging to them, though out of courtesy and kindness they may be content to lend some advantages of their education in the time of youth to the female sex on whom they afterwards bestow themselves, and the fruit of their whole training.
As for boys, it has been set beyond doubt long ago, that they should be sent to school, to learn how to be religious and loving, how to govern and obey, how to forecast and prevent, how to defend and assail, and in short, how to perform excellently by labour the duties for which nature has fitted them only imperfectly. But in the matter of this so desirable a training, two important questions arise; first, whether all children should be put to school without any restraint upon the number, and secondly, if any restriction is needful, how it is to be imposed. In the body politic a certain proportion of parts must be preserved just as in the natural body, or disturbances will arise, and I consider that it is a burden to a commonwealth on the one hand to have too many learned, just as it is a loss on the other hand to have too few, and that it is important to have knowledge and intelligence well adapted to the station in life, as, if these are misplaced it may lead to disquiet and sedition.
There is always danger to a State in excess of numbers beyond the opportunities of useful employment, and this is specially true in the case of scholars. For they profess learning, that is to say, thesoulof the State, and it is too perilous to have the soul of the State troubled withtheirsouls, that is, necessary learning with unnecessary learners. Scholars, by reason of their conceit which learning inflames, cannot rest satisfied with little, and by their kind of life they prove too disdainful of labour, unless necessity makes them trot. If that wit fall to preach which were fitter for the plough, and he to climb a pulpit who was made to scale a wall, is not a good carter ill lost, and a good soldier ill placed?
All children cannot get a full training at school, even though their private circumstances admit of it, yet as regards writing and reading, if that were all, what if everyone had them, for the sake of religion and their necessary affairs? In the long period of their whole youth, if they minded no more, these two would be easily learned in their leisure times by special opportunities, if no ordinary means were available and no school nigh. Every parish has a minister, who can give help in regard to writing and reading, if there is no one else.
Some doubt may rise between the rich and poor, whether all rich and none poor, or some in both, may and should be sent to learning. If some rich are sent, provided for out of private resources, some poor will be commended by promising parts to public provision for the general advantage, and if neither private nor public provision is mismanaged, the matter will decide itself by the capacity of the learners and their disposition to prove virtuous. The safe condition is that the rich should not have too much, nor the poor too little. In the former case, the overplus breeds a loose and dissolute brain; in the latter, the insufficiency causes a base and servile temper. For he who is never in need, owing to the supplies of his friends, never exercises his wits to be a friend to himself, but commonly proves reckless till the black ox treads upon his toes, and necessity makes him try what mettle he is made of. And he who is always in need, for want of friends, is apt to find his heaven in whatever rids him of his difficulties, and to worship that saint who serves his turn best. Now if wealthy parents out of their private fortune, and publicpatrons out of their surplus wealth would try to avoid these two extremes, then neither would over-abundance make the one too wanton, nor want make the other too servile. Neither would be tempted to hasten on too fast, the one lest he should lose some time, and the other lest he should miss some chance of a livelihood. The middle sort of parents, who neither welter in too much wealth, nor wrestle with too much want, seem most promising of all, if their children’s capacity is in keeping with their parents’ circumstances and position, which must be the level for the fattest to fall down to, and the leanest to leap up to, to bring forth the student who will serve his country best.
All cannot pass on to learning that throng thitherward, because of the inconveniences that may ensue, by want of preferment for such a multitude, and by depriving other trades of their necessary workers. Everyone desires to have his child learned, yet for all that every parent must bear in mind that he is more bound to his country than to his child. If the parent will not yield to reason some kind of restraint must be used. Fortunately the question is often determined by necessity. You would have your child learned, but your purse will not stretch; you must be patient, and devise some other course within your means. You are not able to spare him from your elbow for your own needs, whereas learning must have leisure, and the scholar’s book be his only business free from outside interference. You have no school near you, and you cannot pay for teaching further off; then let your own trade content you, and keep your child at home. Or your child is of weak constitution; then let schoolingalone, make play his physician, and health his object. Whichever way necessity drives you, perforce that way must ye trot. If the restrained child cannot get the skill to write and read, I lament that lack, for these two points concern every man nearly, and are useful in every kind of business. I dare not venture to allow so many the Latin tongue, nor any other language, unless it be in cases where those tongues are found necessary in their trades. For otherwise the fear is lest, having such benefits of school, they will not be content with their own station in life, but because they have some little smack of book learning they will think even the highest positions low enough for them, not considering that in well-governed States Latin is allowed both to country clowns and town artificers; yet these remain in their own calling, without pride or ambition, on account of that small knowledge by which they are better able to furnish out their own trades.
It is no objection to allege against such a lawful restraint, that if such a measure had been in force we might have lost men of high intelligence and great learning who have been of much service to the State. Some degree of foresight and orderly restraint are more likely to secure that necessary functions will be well served than if all is left to chance and individual will. Nor is it reasonable to object that it were a pity, by the severity of an unkind law, to hinder that excellence which God commonly gives to the poorer sort.
As for pitying the poor, ye need not wish a beggar to become a prince, though ye allow him a pennyand pity his necessities. If he is poor provide for him, that he may live by trade, but let him not idle. Has he talent? Well, are artificers fools? And do not all trades require ability? But is he very likely to distinguish himself in learning? I do not reject him; he has his chance of being provided a public help in common patronage. But he does not well to oppose his own particular will against the public good; let his country think enough of him, but let him beware of thinking too much of himself. Because God has often shown himself bountiful in conferring talent on the poorer sort, that does not prove that he has not bestowed as great gifts on some of the upper class, though they may have failed to use them. The commonwealth, it is urged, must be prepared to give scope for ability, in whatever class it may be found.
The choice of learners is a matter requiring careful thought at all times and in all places, but especially in our own day and country. For it is more important to whom you commit learning when you have found what to learn than to find what to learn before you commit it, because the best instrument should always be handled by the fittest person, and not by every one that has a fancy to handle it. When the choice follows private liking rather than public advantage, more mischief is caused than is easily discovered, though the smart is generally felt. There is indeed little use in discussing the question of fitness, if no choice is to be made when the question is decided. And as the bestowal of learning must have its beginning in the young child, ought not good choice to go before if the due effect is to follow?
I will now consider what kinds of talent and disposition are, even from infancy, to be thought most fitting to serve the State in the matter of learning. Often those who give least promise at first turn out most suitable in the end; wherefore the absolute rejection of any, before maturity is reached, not only does an injury to those who are rejected, but would be an evidence of rashness in those who reject. For the variety is very great, though where certainty is impossible preference must be given to the most likely. In the qualities that give promise of good service when learning has been gained, there are commonly reckoned an honourable disposition, zeal for moral virtue, and the desire to benefit society without thought of personal profit. There must also be taken into account the shrewdness of intelligence which will not be easily deceived nor diverted from a right opinion, either by the influence of feeling in themselves or the strength of persuasion in others. And generally whatever virtue gives proof of a good man and a good citizen must be held of value, so that the learner should show capability and discretion in matters of learning, and towardness and constancy in matters of living. All this refers to free men who can secure independently the opportunities of learning, yet provision is to be made for those of good natural intelligence who need some help. There are three kinds of government—Monarchy, Oligarchy, and Democracy, each of which demands a different type of citizen and scholar. That child is likely in later years to prove the fittest subject for learning in aMonarchywho at a tender age shows himself obedient to the rules of the School, and, if he should offend, takes his punishment gently, without complainingor taking affront. In behaviour towards his companions he is gentle and courteous, without wrangling or complaining. He will lend a helping hand, and use every persuasion rather than have either his teacher disquieted or his school-fellows punished. And, therefore, either he receives similar courtesy from his school-fellows, or whoever shows him any discourtesy must be prepared for challenge and combat with all the rest. If he has any natural capacity in which he excels his companions, it will be so well regulated and show itself with such modesty that it shall appear in no way upsetting or over-ambitious. At home he will be so deferential to his parents, so courteous among servants, so dutiful toward all with whom he has to deal, that there will be contention who can praise him most behind his back, and who can cherish him most before his face. These qualities will not be easily discerned till the child is either in the Grammar School by regular but not premature advancement, or at least upon his passage from the completed course of the Elementary School, because his age by that time, and his progress under regulation, will make it possible in some degree to perceive his inclination. Before that time we pardon many things, and use encouragement and motives of ambition to inflame the little one onward, which are discontinued afterwards. When of their own accord, without any motive of fear or other incitement, they begin to make some show of their learning in some special direction, then conjecture is on foot as to what their career ought to be.
When the possession of means bids the school door open, the admission and right of continuance is grantedto all, till after some proof the master, who is the first chooser of the finest, begins to discern where there is ability to go forward, and where natural weakness suggests prompt removal. When the master has discovered strength or infirmity of nature, as may appear in the ease or difficulty of acquiring and retaining that are seen in boys of different aptitude, his desire will naturally be to have the promising scholars continued, to procure the removal of the duller ones by diverting their energy into some other course more in keeping with their natural bent than learning, in which they are likely to make little progress, however long they remain at school. Care must be taken, however, not to decide prematurely, for it may prove that those wits that at first were found to be very hard and blunt may soften and prove sharp in time, and show a finer edge, though this is not to be applied to dullards generally. For natural dulness will show itself in everything that concerns memory and understanding, while that kind of dulness that may some day change into sharpness will show itself only at intervals, like a cloudy day that will turn out fine in the end. Wherefore, injustice may be done by a hasty judgment, and, on the other hand, the boy who is not yet strong enough for manual work may remain a little longer at school, where, even if he do little good, he is sure to take little harm. Moreover, if the parents can afford it, and wish to keep their children on at school, even though their progress is small, the master must have patience, and measure his pains by the parent’s purse, where he knows there is plenty, and not by the child’s profit, which he sees will be small. Only he must keep the parent constantly informed how matters stand, both as a matter of duty and to prevent disappointment. But the case is different with a poorchild, who should be sent to a trade at once, if he is not promising in learning.
Seeing that the schoolmaster, to whose judgment I commend the choice, is no absolute potentate in our commonwealth, to dispose of people’s children as he pleases, but only a counsellor to act along with the parent, if the latter is willing to take advice, I should wish, that in order to have this duly accomplished, parents and teachers should be not only acquainted, but on friendly terms with each other. And though some parents need no counsel, and some teachers can give but little, yet the wise parent is always willing to listen before he decides, and the opinion of a skilful teacher deserves to be heard. If this co-operation cannot be established, the poor child will suffer in the present, and the parents will lose much satisfaction in the end. This kind of control will continue as long as the child is either under a master in school, or under a tutor in college, and in this period a great number may be very wisely arranged for, unlearned trades being sufficiently supplied, and a life of learning reserved for those only who by their intelligence and judgment are fitted for it. By such means the proportion will be properly adjusted in every branch of the public service, and the risk avoided of having too large a total number. This period under the master’s charge is the only period when the youth can be controlled by outside direction; for afterwards at a more dangerous age they come to choose for themselves, and their defects of nature and manners, if not corrected, may bring sorrow to them and to their friends. And though the schoolmaster may not always have his counsel followed in such acase, yet if he let the parent know his opinion his duty will be discharged. For if the parent shows himself unwilling to follow the teacher’s opinion, supported by good reasons, but under the influence of blind affection overestimates his child’s aptitude for learning, then though the master should for his own gain keep on an unpromising pupil, the fault lies with the parent who would not see even after fair warning. So that it always proves true that parents and teachers should be familiarly linked together in amity and continual conference for their common charge, and that each should trust in the judgment and personal goodwill of the other. This will come to pass only when the teacher is carefully chosen and kept on terms of friendly conference—not merely because “my neighbour’s children go to school with you, so you shall have mine too,”—a common reason in the case of children who are continually being sent posting about to try all sorts of schools, and never stay long in any, thus reaping as much learning as the rolling stone gathers moss.
The other means whereby some selection may be made is by admission into colleges, preferments to degrees, advancement to livings. In regard to these the commonwealth may receive all the greater harm that they come nearer the public service, so that plain dealing is the more praiseworthy, in order to prevent mischief. As concerns colleges I do not consider that the scholarships in them are intended only for poor students, for whose needs that small help could never suffice, (though some advantage may be given to them in consideration of special promise which has no other chance of being recognised) but rather that they aresimply preferments for learning and advancements for virtue, alike to the wealthy as a reward of well-doing, and to the poorer students as a necessary support. Therefore, as in admission I would give freedom to choose from both sorts, so I would restrict the choice to those who give genuine promise of usefulness. For if elections are swayed by favour, shown on grounds not of merit but of private friendship, though perhaps with some colour of regard for learning, those who are responsible for the injustice will repent when it is too late, finding themselves served in their own coin; for those who get in by such means, owing their own advancement to private influence, will act in the same way towards others, without regard to the common welfare. When favour is shown on any other ground than that of merit, founders are discouraged, public provision is misused, and learning gives place to idling. But if elections were made on grounds of fitness alone, the unfit would be diverted in time into some other channel, the best would be chosen, the intentions of founders would be fulfilled, some perjury for the non-performance of statutes would be avoided, new patrons would be procured, religion advanced, and good students encouraged.
Preferment to degrees may be, and indeed ought to be, a more powerful check on insufficiency, because by this means the whole country is made either a lamentable spoil to bold ignorance, or a favourable soil for sober knowledge. When a scholar is allowed by authority of the University to profess capacity in a certain specialty for which he bears the title, and is sent into the world by the help of people who have acted under unworthy influences in disregard of merit, whatmust our country think when she hears the boast of the University title sound in her ears, and fails to find the benefit of University learning to serve her in her need? She will not blame the ignorant graduate, who is only naturally trying to do the best for himself, but she will very greatly blame the Universities for having deceived her and betrayed her trust. For in granting a degree the University is virtually saying, “Before God and my country, I know this man, not by perfunctory knowledge, but by thorough examination, to be well able to perform in the Commonwealth the duties of the profession to which his degree belongs, and the country may rest upon my credit in security for his sufficiency.” What if the University knew beforehand that he neither was such an one, nor was ever likely to prove such? Let the earnest professors of true religion in the universities at this day consult their consciences and remedy the defect for their own credit and the good of their country. A teacher may be pardoned, for seeking thus earnestly to have true worth recognised, considering that thereby would come not only satisfaction to himself, but advantage to his pupils and to the country at large. Can he be anything but grieved to see the results for which he has laboured with infinite care and pains set at naught by bad management at a later stage? It seems to be reasonable for anyone who is given the charge of numbers to concern himself not only with what comes under his own immediate regulation, but with the means of securing public protection and encouragement for his pupils after they pass out of his care.
I will now consider what children ought to learn when they are first sent to school. There are in thehuman soul certain natural capacities which by the wisdom of parents and the discernment of teachers, who may perceive them in the child’s infancy and do their best to cultivate them, may eventually be made very profitable both to their possessor, and to the commonwealth. If these natural capacities are not perceived, those who are responsible must be charged either with ignorance or with negligence, and if they are perceived but are either not improved or wrongly directed, the teachers and trainers, whether they are parents or schoolmasters, must be much lacking in sound skill, or else they are guided by stupid fancies. Without making any complete analysis of the mental powers, I would point out some natural inclinations in the soul, which seem to crave the help of education and nurture, and by means of these may be cultivated to advantage. In the little young souls we find first a capacity to perceive what is taught to them, and to imitate those around them. That faculty of learning and following should be well employed by choosing the proper matter to be set before them, by carefully proceeding step by step in a reasonable order, by handling them warily so as to draw them on with encouragement. We find also in them a power of retention; therefore their memories should at once be furnished with the very best, seeing that it is a treasury, and never suffered to be idle, as it loses its power so soon. For in default of the better, the worse will take possession, and bid itself welcome. We find in them further an ability to discern what is good and what is evil, so that they should forthwith be acquainted with what is best, by learning to obey authority, and dissuaded from the worse by the fear of disapproval. These three things, perception, memory, and judgment, ye will find peeringout of the little young souls at a time when ye can see what is in them, but they cannot yet see it themselves. Now these natural capacities being once discerned, must as they arise be followed with diligence, increased by good method, and encouraged by sympathy, till they come to their fruition.
The best way to secure good progress, so that the intelligence may conceive clearly, memory may hold fast, and judgment may choose and discern the best, is so to ply them that all may proceed voluntarily, and not with violence, so that the will may be ready to do well, and loth to do ill, and all fear of correction may be entirely absent. Surely to beat for not learning a child that is willing enough to learn, but whose intelligence is defective, is worse than madness.
The duty of leading children to cleave to the good and forsake the bad, in matters of ordinary conduct, is shared by all who come in contact with them; it belongs to the parents by nature, to schoolmasters by the charge committed to them, to neighbours as a matter of courtesy, and to people in general on the ground of a common humanity. Teachers, it is true, have special opportunities of influencing the morals and manners of children, by means of the authority they naturally exercise, in teaching them what is best, and inducing them to practise it, even by force at first, till they come to appreciate it for themselves. But this control of good manners is not for teachers alone, for as I have said, they must co-operate with the parents, to whom that duty naturally appertains most nearly, asthey have the fullest authority over the children. Wherefore, reserving for the teacher only so much as strictly belongs to him, in instructing the child what is best in good manners, and in framing good regulations and seeing that they are properly carried out, I refer the rest to those who are the appointed guardians of morals, to secure either by private discipline at home, or by public control outside, that young people are well brought up to distinguish the good from the bad, the seemly from the unseemly, that they may know God, serve their country, be a comfort to their friends, and help one another, as good fellow-citizens are bound to do. But the task of training their intelligence and memory belongs wholly to the teacher, and I will now proceed to deal with it.
I might very well be thought wanting in discretion if I were to press any far-fetched proposals into this discussion of general principles, and I shall therefore deal only with methods that are in harmony with the customs of this country, and with the circumstances of the time. Among the subjects of instruction that have universally been recognised and practised,Readingcertainly holds the first place, alike for the training of the mind in the process of acquiring it, and for its usefulness after it is acquired. For the printed page is the first and simplest material for impressions in the art of teaching, and nothing comes before it. When by gradual practice in combining letters and in spelling out words under direction, the child has acquired the faculty of reading easily, what a cluster of benefits thus come within reach! Whatever anyone has published to the world by pen or print, for any end of profit or pleasure,whether of free will or under constraint, by reading it is all made to serve us—in religion, to promote the love and fear of God, in law, to aid us in rendering obedience and service to our fellow-men, and in life generally to enable us to expel ignorance and acquire skill to do everything well. Wherefore I make Reading the first foundation on which everything else must rest, and being a thing of such moment, it should be thoroughly learned when it is once begun, as facility will save much trouble both to master and scholar at a later stage. The child should have his reading perfect both in the English and in the Latin tongue long before he dreams of studying grammar.
As for the question whether English or Latin should be first learned, hitherto there may seem to have been some reasonable doubt, although the nature of the two tongues ought to decide the matter clearly enough; for while our religion was expressed only in Latin, the single rule of learning was to learn to read that language, as tending to the knowledge valued by the Church. But now that we have returned to our English tongue as being proper to the soil and to our faith, this restraint is removed, and liberty is restored, so that we can follow the direction of reason and nature, in learning to read first that which we speak first, to take most care over that which we use most, and in beginning our studies where we have the best chance of good progress, owing to our natural familiarity with our ordinary language, as spoken by those around us in the affairs of every-day life. This is the better order also in respect that English presents certain difficulties that are absent in Latin, and that children can master more easily when their memoriesare still unstored, and considerations of reason do not affect them. While Latin has been purified to a definite form in which it has been fixed and preserved, English, though it is progressing very fairly, is still wanting in refinement, the spelling being harder, and the pronunciation harsher, than in Latin.
In this a special and continual regard should be had to these four points in the child—hismemory, hisdelight, hiscapacity, and hisadvancement.
As to hismemory, I would provide that as he must practise it even from the first, so he may also practise it upon the best, both for pleasure in the course of learning, and for profit afterwards.
As to hisdelight, which is no mean allurement to his learning well, I would be equally careful that the matter which he shall read, may be so fit for his years, and so plain to his intelligence, that when he is at school, he may desire to go forward in so interesting a study, and when he comes home, he may take great pleasure in telling his parents what pretty little things he finds in his book, and that the parents also may have no less pleasure in hearing their little one speak, so that each of them shall rather seek to anticipate the other, the child to be telling something, and the parent to be asking.
As to hiscapacity, I would so provide, that the matter which he shall learn may be so easy to understand, and the terms which I will use, so simple to follow, that both one and the other shall bring nothing but encouragement.
As to hisadvancement, I would be very particular that there may be such consideration and choice in syllables, words, and sentences, and in all the incidental notes,that there shall be nothing wanting which may seem worth the wishing, to help fully either in spelling correctly, or reading easily; so that the child who can read these well, may read anything else well, if the reading master will keep that order in his teaching which I intend to give him in my precept, and not do the infant harm by hurrying him on too fast, and measuring his forwardness not by his own knowledge but by the notions of his friends.
Next to reading followethWriting, at some reasonable distance after, because it requireth some strength in the hand, which is not so steady and firm for writing as the tongue is stirring and ready for reading. But though in education writing should succeed reading, in its origin it must have been earlier. For the pen or some such instrument did carve, first roughly and then completely, the letter or letter-like device, and thereby did the eye behold in outward form what the voice delivered to the ear in sound, so that writing was used as the interpreter of the mind, and reading became the expounder of the pen. From its rude beginnings writing has advanced so much that it now proves the prop of remembrance, the executor of most affairs, the deliverer of secrets, the messenger of meanings, the inheritance of posterity, whereby they receive whatever is bequeathed to them, in law to live by, in letters to learn and enjoy. For the proper study of this valuable art the master must himself acquire, and must teach his scholar, a neat handwriting, fast and easy to read, and the matter of the headline, from which example is taken, should be pithy, and suitable for enriching the memory with a profitable provision. Practice should not be left off tillit hath brought great skill and readiness, for writing once perfectly acquired is a wonderful help in the rest of our learning.
During the time of learning to read and to write the child’s intelligence will manifest itself so as to decide whether it may venture further upon greater learning, or were best, owing to some natural defect, to take to something requiring less skill. But if the child is set to any higher work while he is still of tender years, his master pushing him on beyond what he is ready for, there may be loss of temper, which often breaks out into beating, to the dulling of the child, the discouraging of the master, and the reproach of school-life, which should not only yield satisfaction in the end, when learning has become a sure possession, but should pass on very pleasantly by the way. Whatever children learn, they should learn perfectly, for if opportunity to go on further should fail them, through loss of friends or other misfortune, it were good that they know thoroughly what they had practised, whereas if it is known only imperfectly it will stand them in very small stead, or none at all. To write and read well is a pretty good stock for a poor boy to begin the world with.
After careful consideration of the matter no one will hold it open to controversy thatDrawingwith pen or pencil should be taught along with writing, to which it is very closely related. For a pen and penknife, ink and paper, a pair of compasses and a ruler, a desk, and a sandbox, will set them both up, and in these early years, while the fingers are flexible, and the hand easilybrought under control, good progress can be made. And generally those that have a natural aptitude for writing will have a knack of drawing too, and show some evident talent in that direction. And the place that judgment holds in the mind as the measure of what is just and seemly, is filled in the world of sense by drawing, which judges of the proportion and aspect of all that appeals to the eyes.
Because Drawing uses both number and figure to work with, I would cull out as much numbering from Arithmetic, the mistress of numbers, and so much figuring out of Geometry, the lady of figures, as shall serve for a foundation to the child’s drawing, without either difficulty to frighten him, or tediousness to tire him. Whatever shall belong to colouring, shading, and such other technical points, since they are more the concern of the painter than of the beginner in drawing, I would reserve them for a later stage, and leave them to the student’s choice, when he is to specialise and betake himself to some particular trade in life. At which time, if he chance to choose the pen and pencil to live by, this introduction will then prove his great friend, as he himself shall find, when he puts it to the proof. Last of all, inasmuch as drawing is a thing that is thoroughly useful to many good workmen who live honestly by its means, and attain a good degree of estimation and wealth, such as architects, embroiderers, engravers, statuaries, modellers, designers, and many others like them, besides the learned use of it for Astronomy, Geometry, Geography, Topography, and such other studies, I would therefore pick out some special figures, appropriate to many of the foresaid purposes which it seems fittest to teach a child to draw, and I would also show how these are to be dealt withfrom their very beginning to their last perfection, seeing it is beyond all controversy that if drawing be thought needful it should be dealt with while the fingers are supple, and the writing is still in progress, so that both the pen and the pencil, both the rule and the compass, may go forward together.
Music completes the list of elementary subjects, and is divided into two parts—the cultivation of the voice, and the practice of an instrument, the former resembling reading, as it produces to the ear what is seen by the eye, the latter resembling writing, as it imitates the voice. Both should be begun early, while the voice and the muscles are still pliable to training. Singing has the advantage of being less costly than the study of an instrument in regard to the necessary provision. As to the value of Music, there can be no room for doubt; indeed, it seems to have been sent as a solace from heaven for the sorrows of earth. Some men think it is over sweet, and should be either dispensed with altogether, or at least not much practised. For my own part I cannot forbear to place it among the most valuable means in the upbringing of the young, and in this opinion I have the support of all the best authorities of antiquity. There are so many arguments in favour of the art; it is so ancient, so honourable, so universal, so highly valued in all times and places, alike in Church services and otherwise; it is such a calmer of passion, such a powerful influence on the mind, that I must stay my hand in writing about it, lest being fairly embarked I should be unable to stop. It will be enough for me to say of Music that it is in accordance with national custom, that it is very comfortingto the wearied mind, that it is a means of persuasion which all must appreciate who delight in the proportions of number, that it is best and most easily learned in childhood, when it can do least harm, that its harmonies could not have such power to stir emotion if they had not some close natural affinity to the constitution of the body and soul of man, and that we see and read the wonderful effects it has had in the cure of desperate diseases. And yet with all its claims it arouses distrust in some quarters, even in honest and well-disposed natures that are too much inclined to sternness. They, however, will probably alter their opinion, if they will consider more deeply what Music is in its true nature, or if they come to discuss the matter with those who take a sounder view, or more certainly still if the art in its best form has a favourable chance of appealing to their listening ears. The science itself hath naturally great power to probe and sway the inclination of the mind to this or that emotion, through the properties of number in which it consists. It also gives great delight through its harmonies, to which the moods of the hearers respond. It is for this that some disapprove of it, holding that it provokes too much to vain pleasures, and lays the mind open to the entry of light thoughts. And to some also it seems harmful on religious grounds, because it carrieth away the ear with the sweetness of the melody, and bewitcheth the mind with a siren’s sound, seducing it from those pleasures wherein it ought to dwell, into fantasies of harmony, and withdrawing it from virtuous thoughts to strange and wandering devices. A sufficient answer to all this is that in respect of a thing that may be, and was meant to be, properly used, it is no just ground against it that it may also be abused.Music will not harm thee if thy behaviour be good, and thy intention honest; it will not betray thee if thy ears can take it in and interpret it aright. Receive it in a proper spirit, and it will serve thee to good purpose. If thy manners be bad, or thy judgment corrupt, it is not music alone which thou dost abuse, nor canst thou clear thyself of the blame that belongs to thy character by casting it on Music. It is thou that hast abused her, and not she thee. And why should those who can use it rightly forego their own good because of a few peevish people who can never be pleased?
The training in Music, as in all other faculties, has a special eye to these three points:—the child himself, who is to learn; the matter itself, which he is to learn; and the instrument itself, on which he is to learn. I will so deal with the first and the last heads, that is, in regard to the child and the instrument, that neither of them shall lack whatever is needful, either for framing the child’s voice, or exercising his fingers, or choosing his lessons, or tuning his instrument. For in the voice there is a proper pitch, where it is neither over nor under-strained, but delicately brought to its best condition, to last out well, and rise or fall within due compass, and so that it may become tunable and pleasant to hear. And in the training of the fingers also, there is regard to be had, both that the child strike the notes clearly, so as not to spoil the sound, and that his fingers run with certainty and lightness, so as to avoid indistinct execution. Of these the first commonly falls out through too much haste in the young learner, who is ever longing to press forward; the second fault comes of the master himself, who does not consider the natural dexterity and orderof development in the joints, for if this is rightly attended to, the fingers easily become flexible and master difficulties of execution without pain. As for the matter of music, which the child is to learn, I would set down by what means and degrees, and by what lessons, a boy who is to be brought up to sing may and ought to proceed regularly from the first term of art, and the first note in sound, until he shall be able without any frequent or serious failure to sing his part in prick-song, either by himself at first while he is inexperienced, or with others for good practice afterwards. For I take so much to be enough for an Elementary institution, which can only introduce the subject, though it must follow the right principle, and I postpone the study of composition and harmony till further knowledge and maturity are attained, when the whole body of music will demand attention. And yet since the child must always be advancing in that direction, I would set him down to rules of composition and harmony, which will make him better able to judge of singing, just as in language he who is accustomed to write can best judge of a writer. Concerning the virginals and the lute, which two instruments I have chosen because of the full music uttered by them and the variety of execution they require, I would also set down as many chosen lessons for both as shall bring the young learner to play reasonably well on them, though not at first sight, whether by the ear or by the book, always provided that prick-song go before playing.