of memory. Hence, a boy who can read Telemaque is master of the French, and may read any writer who has lived since the time of Montaigne; but it by no means follows that he who reads Xenophon is able to read any other Greek writer; or that the tyro who can fluently recite from Cæsar, can master the difficulties of Tacitus, far less those of Plautus, of Terenee, or of Persius. With a dictionary in our hands, every difficulty in a modern tongue is readily overcome; but every learner can call to mind the utter hopelessness with which he has pored over a sentence of Greek or Latin, and despaired of bringing any order out of that mass of apparent confusion; the difficulty being increased by his being acquainted with the meaning of every word in the passage.

But we have no intention of undertaking the defence of the classics at this time; we shall therefore merely add, that in addition to the exercise of judgment, taste and memory, which they require, without them no one who speaks a European language, can pretend to a thorough knowledge of his own tongue; and the progress of science, by the rapid development of new ideas calling for the formation of new words, has put in requisition the language. of ancient Greece; so that he who now undertakes to speak the language of science, if he is unacquainted with Greek, utters a jargon which has no true and intelligible meaning even to himself.

It may be shown then, that not only the obvious utility, which is apparent to every superficial observer, but that higher utility which alone deserves the name; that which seeks the real good of the scholar, alike demand that classical studies should be fostered in our schools, and that they sadly mistake the highest interests of their children, who, in the search after the useful, reject those studies which they ignorantly suppose to be merely ornamental.

Our readers may notice that we have not, as we proposed at the outset, considered the schools as distinguished from each other. The general desire to promote the character of common schools, has induced us to inquire what it is that grammar schools do teach, and then it may be decided whether any partial attempt to impart the same sort of instruction, without any prospect of following it up at higher seminaries, is worth the vast expense which the undertaking would necessarily involve.

If it can be shown that the so-called higher branches of useful knowledge are so imperfectly taught even at the best schools, as to be of no practical utility to the scholars, it would surely be recognized to be an idle waste of money to place the primary schools on a footing higher only in appearance, without placing the mass of the scholars within practical reach of any of the advantages which the programme temptingly offers to their view.

We have on a former occasion taken an opportunity of expressing our satisfaction with the general workings of the free schools in South-Carolina. Our opinions have been censured, and we have been charged with hostility to the cause of education, because we honestly declared our opinion, that it is useless to offer the means of high instruction to those who neither can nor will avail themselves of it. Our opinions were deliberately formed, after several years of close observation and of faithful exertions in the cause of these schools. These observations convinced us, that the instruction which should be offered to a child should be in accordance with the circumstances under which he is to commence his career in life. Much may indeed be said of the temptation of higher advantages being offered, but it is most reasonable to conclude that they who charily use the humble means placed at their disposal, will be unable to appreciate the blessings to be derived from any enlargement of them. Those whose necessities require the services of their children for a considerable portion of the year, in providing for their natural wants, can hardly be lured by offers which would require a total relinquishment of their material aid.

The only practicable means of improving our schools, so as to place a higher grade of education within reach of the very poor, must be found, either in a compulsory provision on the part of the State, which by directly taxing all for the support of common schools, should compel all persons of moderate fortunes to educate their children at them; or by a voluntary union of the primary schools supported by the State, with those which may be established by private enterprize. This latter plan is, we are informed, generally adopted in our upper districts. Whenever such a voluntary association of private with public

* Southern Quarterly Review, for October, 1849.

means is made, we are content to rely implicitly on the wisdom which plans the arrangement. But the case is widely different when it is presented as a compulsory measure. The State has no more authority to levy a tax for a given school, than for a given church. And when men of moderate fortunes are compelled, by the operation of law, to send their children to the State school, or to none, it becomes absolute tyranny.

Many persons have well grounded objections to sending their children to schools which are open to all indiscriminately. And though it is true that wealth alone can not insure good morals, yet it has an undoubted right to seek such advantages, without being exposed to the risk of incurring insidious imputations.

Moreover it is a very important point in the consideration of this subject, that with the books now used in our schools, any advance in what is called an English education is only apparent. An immense increase of expenditure would be required, without any commensurate benefit resulting therefrom.

There is as much cant on the subject of education as on that of religion. The politician and the preacher alike call for the education of the people. Education is not only the palladium of our liberties, but the guide which is to lead us to eternal truth. We believe in neither of these dogmas. They are both repugnant to fact and to common sense. If we lived in Utopia, and our numbers were limited, if we were not required to struggle, not only for the means of living, but for life itself,—if the circumstances of every man were such that his necessary labours were only so great as to brace his nerves and his muscles for enjoyment during his hours of relaxation, then would universal education be, not a sweetener of life only, but a necessity. It would be essential to the perfect development of Utopian life. But our world is one of fact. Life is a sober reality. In spite of the falsehoods which constitutions proclaim to the contrary, the privileged few must govern. To the mass of mankind the character of the government is a matter of practical indifference. The free-born peasant of England is not happier now, than was his ancestor, the born-thrall of his feudal lord; not more so than the serf of Russia. To him whose existence is a continual struggle, of what consequence is it, whether

the elective franchise be restrained or enlarged? The right to vote does not make bread more cheap, nor labour more dear. What cares he whether the supreme authority is restrained within constitutional limits or not? His position is beneath oppression. It is true that in America we have not yet reached this point. But no power on earth can prevent us from obeying the inevitable laws of civilization. The peculiar institutions of the South may permanently protect the white race in this region from the operation of the law. But it can not be entirely evaded. The poor must undergo the fate of the poor, and we see already women in this city toiling for the hope of a remuneration fearfully low.

Men whose lives are spent in humble toil, have little time for reflection. They are as susceptible to evil impressions as to good. Education exposes them to the danger of attacks from the demagogue, as well as to the wholesome admonitions of the patriotic. As we go northward in our country, we find every phase of political doctrine. The spirit of agragrianism is rife. In New-York the landlord has had to resort to military force to collect his rents. Throughout the whole country, from the Hudson to the Bay of Fundy, a settled determination exists to abolish slavery at the South, though it is demonstrated that Northern prosperity is dependent upon Southern slavery. Is this fanaticism? There is no doubt that the people entertain an honest conviction of the sinfulness of slavery, inspired first by the preachings of enthusiasts, and afterwards fostered by aspirants after political power, who have taken advantage of this honesty of purpose in the masses to promote their own views. The diffusion of education in New-England is likely to effect a dissolution of the Union; and no one can venture to predict, under such a result, the endless horrors which threaten the future of that imperfectly educated, but self-sufficient and misguided people.

It

Education effects no change in the nature of man. is but an instrument-to the good, of good, to the bad it is only a new element of evil. There is no necessary connection between learning and freedom. In ancient times, slaves were educated for the purpose of increasing their value, and we have never heard that their value has, in modern times, been in the slightest degree diminished by

the amount of their instruction. Liberty is an instinct, not a principle. There is no more freedom enjoyed in Europe now, than in the time of Alfred. The races that were free then, continue so.

Nor is it necessary to the religious training of men, that they should be taught to read.

Religion is an act of faith, not of judgment. The fortunate few may have their faith strengthened by knowledge, but the mass of mankind, including even those who may claim a place among the enlightened, are absolutely governed by their teachers.

Nothing can be more absurd than the injunctions to the people to read and judge for themselves. It is perfectly well known that it cannot be obeyed. He who will read every day about four chapters of the Bible, will, in the course of a year, read through the Old and the New Testaments. This of itself is no small amount of reading for one who has to labour upwards of twelve hours in the day. But he finds within the volume a set of documents called the Apocrypha, which he is not required to read. Now of what use is an examination for one's self, when so much depends upon our faith in others? But a great end is effected. He must surely be right, the ignorant man will argue, who thus so boldly appeals to my judgment; and so he reads with another's eyes.

But a greater evil follows. Spiritual pride takes possession of his soul. He says, "I can read the Bible, you can do no more; I must judge for myself, you can do no more. I am like those blessed apostles who were chosen from the depths of ignorance and poverty, to spread light throughout the world; you are encumbered with the prejudices of education !" And thus the deluded wretch sets up for an apostle, and thanks God for his ignorance and his resemblance to Peter and others; not having the sense to perceive that these, his fancied prototypes, enjoyed for three years, the advantage of a theological education, in a school which was taught by one who spake as never man spake.

It is not, therefore, either as a citizen or as a moral agent, that we would have a man instructed. By our constitution political advancement is open to all. The means, therefore, of enjoying this privilege should be accessible to all. With the rudiments of learning, such as