CHARLES COLLIER, M.D., F.R.S., FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, FELLOW OF THE 'Développer chaque individu dans toute la perfection dont il est A2 1474 LONDON: D. NUTT, 270, STRAND. 1856. THE following remarks on Education are intended to be suggestive rather than didactic; to establish principles, that is, rather than lay down any particular system, or shew, by examples, the feasibility of any system. For as human beings are continually undergoing changes from within, and are influenced, from without, by the accidents of birth and fortune, it is obvious that no one system can be devised for all subjects or all conditions. But as Education, like medicine, is an universal requirement, and must be undertaken even when its accessory means are defective or ungenial, the purport of this inquiry is to shew how best, under all circumstances, to make it conducive to the improvement of individuals and the welfare of society. The first chapter of the Essay is devoted to the consideration of the natural endowments of human beings; and this preliminary inquiry, by indicating the faculties and propensities on which Education has to act, may tend to show the true basis on which it must rest. The second contains brief summaries of the systems of some of the most celebrated writers of ancient and modern times, which may well serve as commentaries upon our present systems and opinions. And the third is intended to explain the method, by which, under all circumstances, Education, in its fullest and truest sense, may be made to minister to the moral good and intellectual improvement of the individual. AN ESSAY, ETC. CHAPTER I. The term Education, (1) in its strict sense, means rearing or bringing up, and, in its application, should imply rather the formation of the habits and manners of the young, than imparting instruction, which is its usual acceptation. It is, in fact, synonymous with training, and, as such, should signify the method to be adopted for inculcating an habitual inclination to what is truthful and good, and so ensuring, humanly speaking, the right (1) See Notes at end. B |