HIGHER EDUCATION: A BRIEF REJOINDER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6213, 15 October 1881, Page 6

HIGHER EDUCATION: A BRIEF REJOINDER.

In* your issues of the 17th and "24th ult., Mr W. E. Morrison, 8.A., favours your readers with two essays on the important subject of "Higher Education," and, to support his favourite theories, notwithstanding he admite his opinions are considered behind the age, he makes assertions which, to my iniud, can add but little cogency to his arguments much less adequately sustain the sweupin" and comprehensive conclusions lie founds on them. No one will deny " the beuefit of the mental effect," as a mental effect rcsultin* from "a mastery of the Greek ami Latin languages;" but this "mental' effect" may be a poor panacea to its subject in the battle of life for the loss on account of it of more useful branches ; while to say, as he does, that a mastery of Greek and Latin must in all cases be protitable," is an assertion he iriJ] on reflection perhaps admit, that is not borne out in some instances ; moreover, on admitting this, that the time and attention so devoted—wasted I should say—might have been more profitably given to acquiring a knowledge of engineering, or, much as he appears to contemn it, "the ledger," or even "combining drugs," for these niay carry a man pretty comfortably and usefully through life, which is more than eau be said, in all cases, for a "mastery of Greek and Latin."

But I have forgotten that a "knowledge of a dead language may afford contentment to the mind." To be sure it may; but a knowledge of a living language—French, Germau, or Italian, will do the same much better, or of any branch of mathematics, pure or applied, or of physical or natural science, or of music, &e. Dr. Brewster and Sir Isaac Newton spent years in blowing soap-bubbles, Chladni in making sand-figures, Sir J. Lubbock in ants, and Darwin in studying the monkey, and who can tell what "contentment of mind" they enjo3'ed upon those pursuits ? If they were actuated by the logic of Mr. Morrison, they could each more forcibly urge upon us, upon similar reasons to those of Mr. Morrison for " Greek and Latin," the wisdom of devoting the greater portion of our youth to examining sand-figures, to blowing soap-bubbles, or to studying ants and monkeys.

It is not therefore surprising that he regrets the making of Latin an optional subject in our civil service examination ; nor is his statement surprising, " that I have shown that even a slight study of Latin should tend to make a boy a more useful member of society, in that such thinking faculty as he may have (what about the thinking faculty he may have not) 13 called into constructive energy," when he offers in its support the " nearly unanimous testimony of some schoolmasters in England"—testimony open to the objection that nnless they decided, as Mr. Morrison states they did, their occupation, like Othello's, would be gone, or at least jeopardised. I would ask Mr. Morrison what does he mean by " unscholarly inability," "constructive energy ?" Writers on energy divide it into two types, potential ami kinetic, and say nothing on " constructive' energy. Perhaps the youth, referred to by him, of fourteen, the athlete with the great brain-power, "who can row ic his college boat, play in his college eleven, and pass an examination in some Greet papers, with very searching critical questions, a very stiff piece of Greek prose, some easy lines from Shelley for Greek iambics, the whole of Grecian and Roman histoiy. and i good deal of English history, six books c: Euclid, geometrical and > analytical com" sections, besides algebra and trigonometry. and a good deal of divinity, "is an instance of " constructive energy." Regarding the prevalent systems in this country of teaching history and geography, Mr. Morrison is more valorous than Don Quixote at the windmill. Don tilted at the mill but did not make it for that purpose, while our essayist of himself raises the ghost of mnemonics, and to his ova satisfaction completely "lays" him, ani further adds that cram will win the dajj in history, because "Green's History of the English People" is not used as a school manual—a work so voluminous that lie even adds, "examiners have not read it.

When our boys come up to his constructive prodigy of fourteen, and their span of lire }= four or five times three score and ten, tiien '■'• may be possible to make "Green's History of the English People" a school text-book. There have been and there are statesmen, philosophers, and poets, who did not know much Greek and Latin, as well the reverse: therehavebeeu and there are many useful gooJ members of society, and very bad members of society on both sides of the question; there have been many philosophers for whom it would be very foolish to sacrifice one person, much less "five hundred"; so that _ Mr. Morrison's contention that the vices of our legislators cannot probably be purged until they are dosed with dead languages, &l'.. has not much argument or common sens* in it. I am rather afraid some of their vices would be more than a match for the dead languages. It is incorrect for him to state that "thought renews the brain," anil I think he will agree with me that the reveree - is the case. Further, he will agree that it is highly expedient to duly cultivate the memory of the youthful mind, as well a s its other faculties. D. O'D-