Norse Legend chanted grove, and sang the most ravishing music her spirit ever knew. The dogs heard it, and began to bark. The birds heard it, and began to twitter. The frogs heard it, and began to croak. The ducks heard it, and began to quack. The fishes, agitated by the commotion, thrust their eyes above the water, but not their ears. They saw, but heard not, and are mute to this day. The brook heard it, and began to murmur as it slipped over the shining shingle. The trees heard it, and began to rustle their thousand leaves. But man, of all created things, standing in the midst of the grove, drank in the full song, and sang it back again to the goddess. Thus from heaven came speech to man. The Bible, too, seems to indicate that God aided Adam to acquire speech. Enough has been given to indicate the priceless value of language. Words at first are to us only the names for particular objects: man is papa; horse is the old family friend; dog is the family pet; cat is the child's companion. Slowly he begins to understand that the word he uses is applicable to many, finally to all of a group. The word broadens in meaning, and comes at last to denote objects universally. What a widening of the horizon this is! How the soul universalizes itself when it no longer thinks in things, but in symbols! Thus Language the Soul's Shorthand language is the soul's shorthand, by means of which, with a few symbols, it comprehends myriads of particulars. Think what the words star, cow, wind, tree, water, baby, now mean to you. The power of the soul that builds these general notions is called conception. Let us consider it as the initial process in thought knowledge; as the first of a series of activities through which we rise to general ideas, to laws, to principles, to the final forms of thought in the soul. QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. For testing one's grasp of the subject, and What is meant by the nutrition of a mental power? Explain how you would proceed to adapt the next lesson in the International series to the pupils of your grade. What is your standard of adaptation? What has the language of the teacher to do with the teacher's success? Is it true that a teacher successful anywhere will be successful everywhere in the grades? Discuss with other teachers what you can do to retain the young men and women in the Sunday-school. What is your experience concerning the use of toys in teaching a primary grade? Do you know the difference between a device and a method of teaching? Illustrate each. Is the use of a doll or a sheep a method or a device? Just what value can be placed upon teaching activities that are like play? Point out the reason for a three department organization of the Sunday-school. Should each department have a superintendent? What is the value of close supervision of teaching? Should superintendents be trained for their work? What are the leading qualifications of a good superintendent? Why should you consider the value of language as part of your equipment to teach? What is the true origin of language? How do you account for the first words used by a child? X THE USE OF SYMBOLS MY FIRST notion of a chair is a picture of an old armchair in my father's house. The chair I sat upon at the table was a highchair. This name kept it separate and apart from the armchair, but bit by bit my mind began to discern the relations of similarity in many objects that at first seemed wholly separate and distinct. I discerned seat, back, and legs. These essential parts rightly joined make my idea of chair. All objects having these marks I call chair. Many accidental quali First Notions ties are found in the different objects. The seat is of wood, or of cane, or of plush, or of iron. The back is square, or round, or long, or short, or braced, or free from braces. The chair is painted, or oiled, or plain. The quality of wood is oak, or pine, or poplar, or mahogany. But in all this varying detail my mind fastens upon legs, seat, and back. These essential parts must be present. Remove one or more of these, and it is not chair. Thus by seeing the similarity in essential parts I am able to group all such objects into one general notion, and that notion I call chair. The soul sees (perceives) objects through the senses. Ideas of these arise in consciousness. In this way the soul obtains a report for itself of the objective world. It comes into the possession of possible knowledge. This possible knowledge is made into actual knowledge by the act of the soul upon it in consciousness. Attention, as interest or will, holds this possible knowledge in consciousness until the soul knows it. Memory retains knowledge. Imagination, aided by feeling, combines the products of memory into ideal forms, and then the soul is prepared to investigate these experiences and organize them into the highest utility. The powers by which it does this are called the cognitive powers. These powers discover the essential relations existing between the various facts of knowledge gathered in the soul. They group these facts into appropriate classes on the basis of these discerned relations, and thus enable the soul with a few symbols, or names, to carry large groups of related facts of knowledge. Our individual experiences are so numerous and so varied that it would be impossible to carry them in memory, or make any substantial progress in thought, if we were obliged to have as many different names or symbols in |