TOO MUCH EDUCATION.

Waikato Times, Volume XL, Issue 3257, 13 May 1893, Page 2 (Supplement)

TOO MUCH EDUCATION.

TO THE HDITOR. Sir, —The first commandment is: Thou slialt havo no other god before Me," My readers, in the past this commandment has never been understood in its widest sense. In the past we took this first and greatest of all commandments to be, that we were not to worship stick and stones, or the sun or the moon or any wooden or graven image. This is a very narrow construction, aud if the commandment is accepted in that narrow sense the outcome will be that wo are all worshiping false gods. lii this New Zealand we have been woishiping a falso god, we have been making a god of education. We are told by very high authority "to get above all tilings knowledge and understanding," but if my memory _is correct we are not told to get education abovo all things. And why, if education is i> god, why was it cnitted to be told us to get education above all things. Hhe reason is that knowledge and understanding is necessary to arrive at goodness With limited education along with knowledge and under.-tending we are far nearer perfection than with higher education and limited knowledge and understanding. This making a god of higher education, is not knowledge and understanding, for with knowledge and understanding wo would see that if wo were all highly eduoated, the world would be turned agee, and the necessary goings on of man to keep the world or man existing would cease No ono is more entitled to pity and compassion than the man or woman who cannot read or write, for ho or she is no where in the world's struggle, but he or she, who is highly educated and finds no room for her education is ten times, nay a thousand times more to be pitied. To dig, he or she cannot, to beg, lie or she is ashamed, and by pure necessity lie or she Ims to steal either directly or indirectly, i Befoie they arrive at this forced stage of dishonesty the aDguish of mind that they endure must be terrible. I would implore, entreat, aid beseech parents to have the knowledge and understanding i to know that there is not room in the . world for every one to be highly cdu- ; cated. I would entreat them, to have mercy on their children, and not put i them in a position where they have to i tumble down, but rather give thorn a . limited education and. place them in a ; position to rise up. A standard boy who can dig can rise, a highly cdui cated boy who cannot dig, and can find no room for his education has to tumble down, parents save your childreu from , tumbling down.-I am, ete. Harapepe. Harapepe, ISth April, 1893. i P.S.—The greatest and best man who ; ever lived was Jesus Christ, He is the j most loveable of alb He was the highest of goodness. He was only the son of a poor carpenter, as suoh it i 9 reai sonable to suppose that he was only a i third standard boy, and his high and holy teaching he never made a God, of i education, gooduess he made a God of, and Ho with his third standard had more ; goodness than all tht learned doctors, these doctors were all sixth standard men at least it is reasonable to suppose so.— i H.