XIX.—GRAMMAR           Grammar a Difficult Study.—Of grammar, Latin and English, I shall say very little here. In the first place, grammar, being a study of words and not of things, is by no means attractive to the child, nor should he be hurried into it. English grammar, again, depending as it does on the position and logical connection of words, is peculiarly hard for him … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Ch 19

XVIII.—HISTORY           A Storehouse of Ideas.—Much that has been said about the teaching of geography applies equally to that of history. Here, too, is a subject which should be to the child an inexhaustible storehouse of ideas, should enrich the chambers of his House Beautiful with a thousand tableaux, pathetic and heroic,  and should form in him, insensibly, principles whereby he will hereafter judge of … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Ch 18

XVII.—GEOGRAPHY           Geography is, to my mind, a subject of high educational value; though not because it affords the means of scientific training. Geography does present its problems, and these of the most interesting, p.272 and does afford materials for classification; but it is physical geography only which falls within a compendium of the results of several sciences than a science itself. But the peculiar … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Ch 17

PART IV VOCATION           Plans.—‘I’m going to be a chimney sweep and wear a tall hat,’ says the little Frankfort child (who rarely sees tall hats excepting on chimney sweeps), ‘I’m going to be a cabby and drive a hansom,’ ‘I’m going to be a general and fight a great battle,’ ‘I’m going to be a great nurse and mind a dear little baby,’ ‘I’m … Continue reading Ourselves Volume 4 Book 1 Pt 4.

CHAPTER XX JUSTICE TO OURSELVES: SELF-ORDERING           My Duty to Myself.—We know that we owe justice to our neighbor, that is, to those about us and those beneath us, and those on our own level; to our own family, our servants, the people we employ, and at whose shops we deal; and to all those whom we know as relations and friends; to a gradually … Continue reading Ourselves Volume 4 Book 1 Pt 3. Chapter 20

XIX PRINCIPLES: JUSTICE IN MOTIVE         Principles, Bad and Good.—There is a certain class of opinions of which we must take special heed. Sometimes we get them from others, sometimes we think them out for ourselves; but, in either case, we make them our own because we act upon them. These opinions rule our conduct, and they are called Principles because they are princeps, first … Continue reading Ourselves Volume 4 Book 1 Pt 3. Chapter 19

CHAPTER XVIII OPINIONS: JUSTICE IN THOUGHT           Three ‘Opinions.’—When we say, ‘I think it will be fine to-morrrow,’ we express an opinion. When we say, ‘Jones is first-rate; you should hear his lectures on the Anabasis,’ again we express an opinion, though the ‘I think’ is left out. Even if we say, ‘Let us walk to Purley Woods,’ what we really mean is, ‘I think … Continue reading Ourselves Volume 4 Book 1 Pt 3. Chapter 18

CHAPTER XVI SOME CAUSES OF LYING           Malicious Lies.—Scrupulosity, rash generalization, exaggeration, amusing representation, are, as it were, the light skirmishers which assault the defences of the fortress of Truth as chance offers; but there are also the sappers and miners who dig under its foundations, and these ask for our more serious attention. There are, as we have seen, Malice and Envy, which lead … Continue reading Ourselves Volume 4 Book 1 Pt 3. Chapter 16

CHAPTER XV SPOKEN TRUTH WE have not yet come to ‘telling the truth,’ because no one can tell the Truth who does not see it and know it in his heart, and who does not believe, with Sir Roger de Coverley, that “there is a great deal to be said on both sides” of most questions. Veracity.—First among the handmaidens of Truth, that is, spoken … Continue reading Ourselves Volume 4 Book 1 Pt 3. Chapter 15

CHAPTER XIII JUSTICE TO THE PERSONS OF OTHERS           We begin to understand this Duty.—The reader may have heard sorrowfully the story of that young German officer who fell lately in a duel on the eve of his marriage-day. It is not so long ago since in England also men thought it right to wipe out a slight offence by the death of the offender … Continue reading Ourselves Volume 4 Book 1 Pt 3. Chapter 13