548
Report of the Morrison Education Society.
Oct.
Milton from its mother's lips. It is a simple effort of memory, upon the forms and sounds of characters. Nothing beyond this is attempted at school, until the pupil is able, in the Chinese phrase, "to back the book," i. e. to turn his back upon it and say it by heart.
Now so long as these books continue to be the only school-books used in the country, it seems to me that this method of instruction must in a great measure be adopted. For the subjects of these books are entirely unsuited to the mind of a child, and the style in which they are written, is for the most part such as to put it quite out of the power of a young lad to come at their meaning, though the topics were brought down to the level of his intellect. To explain the import of the Chinese classics so that a youth could understand them, would require far more time and labor, if the teacher were at all successful, than to commit every word of them to memory. Hence, to do as the Chinese do, without further tasking the mind to no profit, seems to be the true way to make use of those books. In this way no more is undertaken than can be accomplished, and that too is attempted first, which is best suited to the mind of the learner; for it is the faculties of perception and memory alone that are called into action. The usages of society in any land, are not all the result of caprice; but on the contrary those especially that are most immediately connected with the wants of life, may for the most part be traced to causes existing in the circumstances in which they had their origin. The savage is content with his hut, because it costs nothing to abandon it, when the chase calls him away in quest of subsistence. Indeed a mansion would be a poor lodging to one of his manner of life. This last must be changed, or the other would be a hurtful exchange to him. So likewise is it with the schools in China. The fault is not in the method of study, but in the studies themselves, and we must make innovations upon them, or it will do no good to trouble ourselves about the method. So long as the writings and compilations of Confucius and Mencius are held to be the proper aliment for the youthful intellect and heart, we must concede that the Chinese in their necessity have hit upon the only rational way of effecting their object.
Should these works ever fall into disuse as school-books, it will then be time enough to make some useful innovations upon the prac- tices of the school-room. To attempt them now, is trying to make the child stride over a vast chasin between his own mind, and the matter and style of the authors placed in his hands. The Chinese gethod of instruction attempts no such thing, but sets the mind at