Rossetti Archive Textual Transcription
Document Title: The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine (August issue)
Author: Bell and Daldy (publisher)
Date of publication: August, 1856
Publisher: Bell and Daldy
Printer: Chiswick Press
Edition: 1
Issue: 1
The full Rossetti Archive record for this transcribed document is available.
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THE
Oxford + Cambridge
Magazine,
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CONDUCTED BY MEMBERS OF THE
TWO UNIVERSITIES.
Editorial Note (page ornament): Publisher's mark.
-
CONTENTS.
- On Popular Lectures, considered as an irregular
Channel of National Education . . . . 453 - Woman, her Duties, Education and Position . . . . . 462
- “Death the Avenger” and “Death the Friend” . . . Morris 477
- Two Pictuers . . . . . . 479
- Svend and his Brethren . . . . Morris 488
- Gertha’s Lovers . . . . Morris 499
- The Burden of Nineveh . . . . . Rossetti 512
LONDON:
BELL AND DALDY, FLEET STREET.
PRINTED BY C. WHITTINGHAM, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.
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The last article was devoted to advocating the support and extension of popular lectures as one of the most fruitful among the
irregular channels of
public instruction. I endeavoured to answer some of the objections current against them, which, if they have not prevented
their establishment, may sensibly contribute to
retard their progress and efficiency. To those who allow early acquisitions to lie idle in later life, I ventured to appeal,
urging them to lend their talents to the task, and
opposing to any diffidence they might feel in coming forward, the elementary character essential to the success of their lessons.
But theoretical objections are, perhaps, easily refuted. One of more practical weight would seem to be the difficulties to
be overcome before educated men can realize
how elementary and how simple such lessons to be truly useful require to be made.
Every man above petty feelings, if he only knew the height from which
to be intelligible he must often descend, would no doubt have the courage to come down. But some effort is required, and a certain simplicity and “disinvoltura” of mind, to be able to stoop from a higher standard of taste and acquirements to one which may jar against every habit of thought, and to dismiss, even for a time, an ideal, the fruit, perhaps, of much labour and patience. Yet is this absolutely necessary, if village and popular lectures in general are to have any serious result. The gardener who prunes the random shoot, needs but a pocket-knife for his purpose, but if he would manure the ancestral tree he must grasp the pickaxe and the spade. He who has put the coping-stone to an edifice, devotes his final efforts to the finish of the whole, polishes here and glazes there; but whoever would lend a hand at the foundations of a nation, must deal in Cyclopean blocks.
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to be intelligible he must often descend, would no doubt have the courage to come down. But some effort is required, and a certain simplicity and “disinvoltura” of mind, to be able to stoop from a higher standard of taste and acquirements to one which may jar against every habit of thought, and to dismiss, even for a time, an ideal, the fruit, perhaps, of much labour and patience. Yet is this absolutely necessary, if village and popular lectures in general are to have any serious result. The gardener who prunes the random shoot, needs but a pocket-knife for his purpose, but if he would manure the ancestral tree he must grasp the pickaxe and the spade. He who has put the coping-stone to an edifice, devotes his final efforts to the finish of the whole, polishes here and glazes there; but whoever would lend a hand at the foundations of a nation, must deal in Cyclopean blocks.
To consider the subject with any degree of breadth, it is necessary to examine a little into the principles of education in
general, thence to derive
the distinctive features of a sound system of lectures adapted to the use of the people.
Sig.
VOL. I. I I
The progress of any one science from its lowest truth to its highest link, is but a miniature of the progress of real education.
For all sciences which deserve the name start from principles or facts, the truth of which is or may be made evident to every
ordinary capacity—hence called
axioms. Moreover, in so far as they are sciences and not speculations, their progress from the most elementary to the highest
truths is by means of links, each of which, from
what has preceded, becomes as evident, or, by further subdivision may be made as evident, as the original axiom, which claimed
the assent of mankind.
Science, then, is not anything else than universal fact, methodised by and for universal mind. And education, so far as it
is true and complete, is but the progress of the
incarnation, so to speak, of science, consisting as it does in the constant and connected passage of the mind under education
from that which is, to that which is not, known;
from that which is, to that which is not, understood; from the random to the connected idea; from the simple proposition to
the complex syllogism; from the brick to the
building. For the knowledge of every man, under which I desire to include
omne cogitabile, embracing the most trivial details of daily life, may be divided into two parts, the living and the dead, fruitful and barren,
rational and unrationalized, philosophical
and unphilosophical, organic and inorganic, according as we may choose different modes of expression. The latter part embraces
all the facts floating disjointed in his memory,
true it may be in themselves, but unconnected with that other part of his knowledge, which, in regard to his intellect, might
almost be called
himself. This
other part is called philosophical, because, so far as it goes, it satisfies
his highest curiosity; rational, because subject to method; organic, because grafted into the spontaneous growth of his mind; fruitful, because it alone can fertilize, by assimilating, the new materials presented to his notice. It is, in a word, the fructifying and vital part and capital of his knowledge. The former, consisting of facts isolated or unexplained, constitutes, in too many, if not all men, by far the largest part of what they know, and is barren beyond the immediate application of each fact.
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his highest curiosity; rational, because subject to method; organic, because grafted into the spontaneous growth of his mind; fruitful, because it alone can fertilize, by assimilating, the new materials presented to his notice. It is, in a word, the fructifying and vital part and capital of his knowledge. The former, consisting of facts isolated or unexplained, constitutes, in too many, if not all men, by far the largest part of what they know, and is barren beyond the immediate application of each fact.
To illustrate the distinction between the two kinds of knowledge, we might, perhaps, compare facts and ideas to instruments.
Thus he who knows by rote only the use of an
engine, may doubtless by means of it accomplish the object for which it is designed; while he who, besides the use, should
also understand its theory, construction, and the
nature of its materials, would not only,
ceteris paribus, ply it as well, but alone, of the two, be able to mend and improve it, or by his actual knowledge be led to the discovery
of other appliances. The mariner may apply by
rote the trigonometrical rules which will guide his vessel to the desired haven, but it belonged to Napier to deal with the
formulæ themselves.
Let then true education, in its broadest acceptation, be defined to be the progress of the incarnation of science, or of the
whole body of sciences.
Then, as any one science proceeds in the abstract, so must education proceed in the concrete. And this conclusion would seem
to point out the path to be pursued in the
instruction of the people. We must first learn how to descend to what they know, and, starting from this, strive to give life
to that knowledge in them which is dead, by
everything that will connect what they do not with what they do understand. Thus will every link added to the chain be an
addition
to the vital training of the country. To such a training we may look for a nursery of great men; and, while with regard to
one
another we maintain our respective positions, with regard to other nations we shall rise as one vast and living aggregate.
And here one can scarcely help asking the question,
if we do not make sober haste to give to our lower orders, and, indeed, to our farmers themselves, the instruction in keeping
with the progress of the age, whether even the
spontaneous vigour of our freedom will be adequate to keep pace with the methodical foresight of bureaucracy abroad?
But this by the way.
To return; “the lower classes,” it is sometimes said, “take kindly to lectures at first; but their interest soon begins to
flag, and
their attendance to diminish.”
I cannot say I have found this to be the case, where I have known village lectures given. But I can readily believe, as indeed
I am fully convinced, that unless on the
one hand proper respect is shown for the audience, the lecturer not treating it like a child; and unless, on the other hand,
system is introduced into the
subjects,—above all, unless the precise focus is found which will enable ordinary men to understand, and to feel they understand,
what they never understood
before—enable them to experience the gratification of that nobler and sounder appetite, which soon palls over the merely marvellous
and unintelligible, and to leave
the lecture room abler and better men—
as every advance in genuine truth must make men both abler and better,—unless we can do all this,
we may be certain that the bulk of the Anglo-Saxon race, inured to patient toil, will soon grow chary of their sixpences;
and, whether they can give expression to their hidden
sentiment or not, think shame in their secret hearts to barter substantial comforts against the sights of the eye and the
tickling of the ear, or risk the mainstay
of old age for fine sentences which they cannot follow and fine diagrams which they cannot comprehend.
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of old age for fine sentences which they cannot follow and fine diagrams which they cannot comprehend.
Having described in general terms that which appears essential to the highest efficiency of popular lectures, it may be well
to give some particular illustrations of the
principles laid down.
With the use of the lever for instance, every labourer is familiar. Mention need only be made of the crowbar, and passing
from this the hearer may be reminded how the
principle applies to the spade, the pickaxe, the tongs, the oar of a boat, a pair of scissors, nay his own arm. And in all
these we have a foundation on which to raise a living
superstructure. What an admirable lecture might be written in the simplest language did it consist even only of a catalogue
of all contrivances and machines in which in
whatever way the lever occurs. How easily might a man who had spent some time and thought in collecting such examples arrange
them in logical sequence adding a brief account of
each, from the crowbar up to the watch and the different machinery employed in manufactures. And in this there are two points
especially deserving of attention: firstly, the
unity and simplicity of the fundamental idea running through the whole, “the lever and only the lever;” and secondly, the
richness and variety of the
applications of which that idea is susceptible.
By the former we avoid the fatigue and despair of being jostled out of one principle into another, scarcely comprehending
any; and the main principle pervading the whole
serves as a golden clue to thread with ease and security the labyrinth of adaptations. While on the other hand each appliance
rising above the preceding and helping as a
stepping-stone to its successor prevents the interest from flagging. And this is real instruction, giving breadth and versatility
of thought, depth of understanding, and a
noble emulation to turn other ideas
equally simple to equal account. Then having shown the
natural sequence, and thus prepared the mind of the
audience, if we turn back and so far as it can be obtained trace the
historical progress of the various adaptations described, even the iron hand of Machinery
is humanised: we learn to connect our present comforts, the assuaging of pain, the diminution of calamity, the increased length
of life, with the thoughts and industries of men
perhaps as lowly as ourselves, the influence of whose simple thoughts centuries ago is felt in every crevice of our life.
Who knows but a simple thought on our part may tend to
gladden thousands of hearts centuries hence? And thus even the labourer may rise to the conception of the poet, and for a
time become a being of large discourse looking before
and after.
And in mentioning the lever, I have been guided by no latent idea, simply taking the first instance that occurred. But in
Mr. Babbage’s Economy of Manufactures there is hardly a section, which in itself might not furnish the text to the most valuable amplification in the shape of
a popular lecture, always remembering that
unity in variety is the soul of instruction. If the principle illustrated cannot be too simple in itself, the number of its
applications cannot be too minutely specified. If
possible every lecture should be founded on one idea, and one only, and this should radiate through things apparently the
most diverse.
The word “Geometry” is in itself the subject for an admirable lecture, starting from the literal meaning of Land-surveying,
and giving a broad
description of its more striking applications. But this leads me naturally to make a distinction of great importance between
the instruction imparted by lectures and the
education of children at school; for such a distinction is an answer to those who contend that lectures are of no use because
they do not teach us “to do”
things. Now
every science is divided into two parts; the theory, and the practice of the theory—or the concrete art of the abstract science. At school the practice chiefly is taught; and no doubt a lecture will never teach Geometry nor the practice of any science.
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every science is divided into two parts; the theory, and the practice of the theory—or the concrete art of the abstract science. At school the practice chiefly is taught; and no doubt a lecture will never teach Geometry nor the practice of any science.
But there is much to be known
about Geometry which may be of the highest possible use in many points of view. Pascal, when denied as a boy the pleasure
of learning mathematics, could not be prevented from thinking about them, and by means of certain expressions caught up from
his father he is said in his play hours to have
discovered the first twenty-four propositions of Euclid, calling the circle, “a round,” and the straight line, “a bar.” A
knowledge
about things paves the way to learning the things themselves, and it is in this point of view that lectures are chiefly excellent.
It is thought by some, especially Cambridge men, that lectures can never be of much use unless connected with schools or evening
classes, where a practical acquaintance
with the details of the subjects lectured upon may be taught to those, who like to attend. Such classes may indeed be most
valuable auxiliaries. But between the opinion that
lectures are comparatively of little use without them and the conclusion that, if we have not the latter, we may dispense
with the former, there is but a step,—in my
opinion, a very deplorable step. By all means let us improve, extend and raise the system of our country schools until lectures
may serve only to amplify and recal or correct
the learning of younger days, but in the mean time let not the true use of a proper system of popular lectures be ignored.
Were it desired, indeed, to impart to a mixed audience in one or two hours the perfect knowledge and practical possession
of any subject, the student well knows how
impossible the task would be. But if that were the only definition of
useful knowledge, what
would become of the general superiority of the attainments of the higher classes, should they be made to rest on the perfect
knowledge and mastery of things, with most of which, if the truth be told, they have in general only a most loose and casual
acquaintance? Knowledge may be useful and fruitful
even when it fails altogether of the examination standard. And the one great and paramount object of the lectures, which I
venture to advocate, is not to answer examination
questions, but to stimulate the general thought and give versatility to the mind of the people by teaching it to look “before
and after.”
It is also argued that a decline in the industrious habits of our labourer will follow the development of his mind, and that
by distracting his thoughts you will make him
a dreamer. When asked lately to contribute to the support of a school, a farmer moodily answered, that he would not give anything
for keeping it up, but he would give
£2 to have it pulled down, for since “them new-fangled ways,” he couldn’t do as he liked with his own, and men wouldn’t
work as their fathers. But in a moral point of view, to keep the ploughboy at a minimum of intelligence, lest he should prove
an idler at his plough, is only more dishonest and
criminal than direct slavery. And in a purely utilitarian aspect, were it even probable in theory, that intelligence and industry
must vary inversely, the contrary of which in
fact seems much rather the rule, would it not be far more probable, now when our wants are established and confirmed by long
habit, that the growth of intelligence by
increasing invention and skill must tend to obviate the necessity, were there any, for keeping a part of our population as
low, instead of raising it as high, as possible in
the human scale?
I may instance the Lothians in Scotland, which are said to present one of the most perfect and prosperous agricultural systems,
and where in
general intelligence the labourers are probably second to none. And the history of civilization is a running commentary on the fact that, while on the one hand habits of industry, far from declining, have actually grown with the growth of knowledge, the necessity for mere drudgery has been diminished, by multiplying the resources of ingenuity.
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general intelligence the labourers are probably second to none. And the history of civilization is a running commentary on the fact that, while on the one hand habits of industry, far from declining, have actually grown with the growth of knowledge, the necessity for mere drudgery has been diminished, by multiplying the resources of ingenuity.
Again it is feared (though not perhaps so openly avowed) by ultra Conservatives, that, when gentlemen have grown tired of
lecturing, shallow orators from among the people
themselves will take the matter up and turn lecture rooms into hot-beds of faction. And they contend that, as a little knowledge
is a dangerous thing, so it is a wiser course
to keep to the maxim,
- “Quieta non movere.”
The general intelligence and life of the many is, indeed, the only constant foundation for the special preeminence of the
few, and if any truth is more than another
broadly displayed by the history of achievement in arms, art, science, literature and politics, it is that “the few” great
men in every department are but
the final birth and offspring of gradual, long hidden, and shapeless brooding in the mind and womb, so to speak, of a multitude.
Let us therefore tend the many, secure, that if
the soil be enriched, the trees will not be wanting.
It is certainly true that, if educated men do not come forward to give lectures, their place is commonly taken by itinerant
lecturers, some of whom indeed give very
excellent lectures, but the majority of whom are shallow and illiterate. A case in point happened under my own observation,
where an Irishman, who represented himself as an old
military schoolmaster
was permitted to hold forth at a village institute. He chose for his subject the races of mankind, which he treated, ranting
fashion, at the top of his voice by a farrago of texts of Scripture loosely and fantastically strung together and embellished
by such scientific similes as the following,
namely, that the colour of the negro is the blind which Nature has drawn over his face. “Consider,” says he, “what you do
yourselves of a hot
day. You pulls down your blinds,” (he had begun his discourse by a protest against pedantic slavery to the tyranny of grammar)
“you pulls down your
blinds,” he said, “and that is just what Providence does to the nigger.” He forgot to mention that black is the hottest of
all colours.
It may be thought perhaps that the village audience, before whom the lecture was delivered, preferred it to a more correct
performance. It was not so however. For at the
close, when no one volunteered a remark, and the man of the providential blind proceeded to thank his hearers for their “kyind
attention,” and actually
volunteered another lecture for the ensuing week on any subject any gentleman might please to suggest, “including metaphysics”(!)
an intelligent and
matter-of-fact farmer got up, and with a slight hesitation in his speech and gentle wave of the hand, rendered doubly eloquent
after the sonorous outpouring of our
metaphysician, said, that “in the name of the audience he begged to thank the gentleman, but . . . but . . . it was not exactly
perhaps what they
wanted;”—on the delivery of which effective oration he sat down amid marked approval.
If quacks are found in this as in most other walks of life, it only points more emphatically to the duty of educated men neither
to flag, nor to flinch. It has been the
glory of England that the bulk of her sons have never been wanting to a duty once recognised and acknowledged, and let us
hope that
none who can serve the cause will be backward in attempting so honourable and fruitful a task. Doubtless they will reap a rich reward, not only in the improvement of those whom they instruct, but by their blessings, sympathy and affection, not faction and discontent, and by tightening those bonds of solid esteem between the rich and poor, on which the future welfare of the nation must more than ever depend.
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none who can serve the cause will be backward in attempting so honourable and fruitful a task. Doubtless they will reap a rich reward, not only in the improvement of those whom they instruct, but by their blessings, sympathy and affection, not faction and discontent, and by tightening those bonds of solid esteem between the rich and poor, on which the future welfare of the nation must more than ever depend.
Hitherto I have spoken of the exact sciences only; but almost every subject perhaps is susceptible of the treatment suggested,
nor can the topic chosen be too simple in
itself. Hardly a condiment appears on the labourer’s table but might be made the theme for most valuable lectures.
- “Tout est dans tout.”
But in lectures of this kind it is not enough to state parenthetically that tea, for instance, was once sold at twenty-five
shillings a pound. It is the fulness of the
account and the unfurling of a true picture which is important, so long as the main idea throughout is one and familiar to
all.
Nor let it be said that such knowledge is purely utilitarian. The progress of mankind is utilitarian to those only, who either
do not understand it, or themselves see
everything through utilitarian eyes. Not the tea, not the coffee, but the wonders of creation and human enterprise, and
the life of fellow-men on a large scale, are the real themes, the literal text itself being but the familiar peg in each
man’s mind, attached to which, fresh knowledge acquires a local habitation and a name. And true knowledge, so far indeed as
it is purely intellectual, is but the
“conception” of the particular under the general. Every step upwards from the former to the latter is a step in intellectual
elevation; while the tendency
acquired by a man to view the details of his daily life, not as isolated and concerning himself alone, but as items of the
great Common Weal, is also an advance in moral
elevation.
A little knowledge may be a bad thing; but it is unfortunately the only adit to the “much,” which is as useful to morality,
as light is to the
traveller.
Why, for instance, do we not put our hands into the fire to gratify curiosity? Because, I presume, our knowledge of the injury
that would follow is so
absolute that any temptation to gratify the curiosity at such a price is infinitely small in comparison; so small that, were it in
any case to overpower that
knowledge, the disproportion of the curiosity to the knowledge would be called madness. But madness is not the general state
of things, and the excesses which arise are mainly
due, not to the disproportion of the particular faculty craving to be gratified, but to the low and fluctuating state of men’s
intuition or living knowledge on each
particular point. In the first instance there is very little difference between the temptation which a child feels to touch
the fire, as a most beautiful and fascinating
object, and that of putting fire into the inside in the shape of alcohol. For in the latter case, to make a correct estimate,
we must separate the general craving for food or
drink of any kind from the particular temptation which, in the origin infinitesimal, grows by slow degrees into confirmed
drunkenness.
Nemo repente turpissimus.
No man becomes a drunkard in a day. No doubt in a confirmed drunkard the force of habit is very often out of the reach of all intellectual safeguards. But such is not the case with the large class of men in the intermediate state in which one glass more or less a day will ultimately turn the scale in favour of excess or sobriety.
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No man becomes a drunkard in a day. No doubt in a confirmed drunkard the force of habit is very often out of the reach of all intellectual safeguards. But such is not the case with the large class of men in the intermediate state in which one glass more or less a day will ultimately turn the scale in favour of excess or sobriety.
Now drunkenness is but one vice. But taking the sum total of the vices and errors of mankind, it will, I think, be allowed
that with respect to each there is a very broad
margin occupied by all those to whom the more or less “knowledge” is of paramount importance in the long run, to enable them
to escape from habitual wrong
into habitual right. And should it be objected that we have all the desirable knowledge, for instance, of the effects of intoxication,
and that it does not avail to prevent
drunkenness, I would answer, that such an objection rests on the confusion between casual and habitual drunkenness, against
the latter of which knowledge often does cease to be
of avail, which in the former case would be effectual. But, in truth, we really have
not all the desirable knowledge; that which we possess is not absolute.
For in the first place different men may drink different quantities, not only with impunity, but with benefit. And in the
second place, the exact quantity suited to each man is
not known, nor is it known, however it may be surmised, whether many a man would not have lived a longer and more useful life
had he been a “two-bottle”
man instead of an ascetic, and
vice versâ. Now it is precisely the doubt which exists in so many men’s minds whether the “too
much” or the “too little” is harming them at any time that often proves a pitfall in the long run. Nor should the weakness
of human nature be
accused, because men hesitate to forego an indulgence, the denial of which may do them positive harm and nobody else any good.
Now the point on which I so desire to insist, is that,
before excess has become a habit and in some sense a necessity, if a man could know
precisely the safe limits short of excess or defect, in each particular, he would, in the great majority of cases, keep within those
limits. Thus, when men know as
absolutely the consequences of drinking one additional glass of wine as they do of putting a hand into the fire, they will
forego the glass, or be classed as madmen.
Such knowledge is the fulcrum of Archimedes, and the faith that moves mountains is but a temporary substitute.
But, until we have such exact and absolute knowledge, there will be an aggregate of drunkenness proportioned to the fluctuations
of doubt inseparable from imperfect
knowledge on any and every subject.
And, as has already been said, what is true of one vice or error, moral or physical, is true of the great body, and this,
if the principle laid down be true, every
addition to the total of the living knowledge of men has a general tendency, directly or indirectly, to correct, refine, and
ultimately to eliminate. For light and darkness
cannot coexist, and truth is infinitely stronger than evil. And if the mind of man be one, if he have only one kind of thought,
as no educated man can doubt, then to think
right and to know the truth on any subject is a step towards thinking right and knowing the truth on every subject. And the
obedience to “truth
understood” is surely as much superior in principle to obedience to mere command as rational persuasion is to brute compulsion,
the consent of the man to the assent
of the child.
Again, the necessity of the “knowledge of common things” for the children of the poor has been constantly advocated with far-seeing
sagacity by a
philanthropic nobleman whose name is too well known to require mention. And why may not
the scheme be extended to the parents themselves, through whom we may also hope all the more securely to reach their children.
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the scheme be extended to the parents themselves, through whom we may also hope all the more securely to reach their children.
Lectures upon “bread,” “malt,” “hops,” “the dairy,” “bees;”
upon “tea,” “coffee,” and every condiment on the labourer’s table; upon trades, occupations and callings; on the state
and progress of the taxes and laws which affect him; on British as compared with foreign liberty, and freedom real and spurious;
on punishments, prisons, workhouses and poor
laws; on real and spurious benevolence; on the gradual growth of civilization, its advantages and disadvantages illustrated
by most homely examples; these are the subjects for
a village audience.
And if any should smile at the simplicity of some of the topics, though loath to recur to a hackneyed quotation, I would remind
him of the “sermons in stones
and good in everything,” here most truly in its place.
Are not the slow and irregular movements of a child’s fingers practising a scale the necessary introduction to their pliability
in the finished performer and
inspired artist, and will not every student bear witness to the analogy between this and the workings of the mind on new subjects
of thought? Those who know this, and who also
know the wonderful stiffness of the joints in the villager’s mind in the commonest things, his hostility to change for the
better, his stolid and ignorant faith in
the superiority of everything that he and his fathers have done, will not deny, that the details of his daily life are the
very key to the fortress of his obstinacy.
If bread be the text, let the enquiry be in clear, homely language, what are the different kinds of bread?—how made in different
places and countries? with the
advantages and disadvantages of the different methods. The effect of this will be not only to teach the villager that there
are other ways of doing a thing than his own, but also
that
his own way is not always the best. Further let the calculation be made circumstantially of the absolute and
relative costs of the different methods of baking bread enumerated by the lecturer—absolute, in regard of price; relative
by comparison with some of the principal
necessaries of life.
This will inculcate thrift.
But here also, among other important corollaries, occasion may be taken to show by the most practical teaching how price and
value are not the same thing, whence the
lecturer may easily pass to a still higher consideration, namely, that even “material” comfort and prosperity are not always
to be measured by the amount
of wages.
At first sight one might think the labourers know this better than any one. But on the contrary it will be found that they
are constantly open to delusion on this point.
A large landed proprietor was but the other day complaining of their ignorance in this respect, instancing an intelligent
farm servant of his own, who, seduced by the offer of
a guinea a week, left his situation to work for the Crystal Palace Company. But when he arrived, he found lodging and food
so ruinously high that the increase in his wages was
no adequate compensation, and he was worse off with a guinea a week than he had been in the country with his cottage rent
free on twelve shillings. Accordingly he returned to
his former master, lamenting his mistake, but had the mortification to find his place filled up.
Then, let the different kinds of corn grown in different parts of the world be described, and, if possible, exhibited.
Opportunity will here arise to explain the broadest principles of importation and exportation.
The history of the cultivation of corn and the quantities grown in different places and with what success, are further topics
of interest. The adulteration of bread, and
again its
nutritive qualities in comparison with other articles of food, are other important subjects. Many curious facts will arise in connection with each item full of interest to the rustic mind. I myself, if I may be permitted to mention it, was surprised on visiting one of our model prisons to find a very striking example of the different effects of different kinds of food on the prisoners. For it appears that in some of these gaols every prisoner is weighed on coming in, and again on leaving the prison, and in every case he is found to have lost weight, even to the amount sometimes of eleven or twelve pounds in two months, while the substitution of bacon for butcher’s meat is found to have the effect of preventing the loss of weight in a remarkable degree, and is ordered by the visiting physician whenever the waste assumes any appearance of danger to the constitution. From this circumstance it may also be shown parenthetically that imprisonment, with every attention to the diet, the cleanliness and comfort of the prisoner, is yet a real and material punishment, even to the most degraded, since at the expiration of the term the prisoners are invariably found to have lost weight.
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nutritive qualities in comparison with other articles of food, are other important subjects. Many curious facts will arise in connection with each item full of interest to the rustic mind. I myself, if I may be permitted to mention it, was surprised on visiting one of our model prisons to find a very striking example of the different effects of different kinds of food on the prisoners. For it appears that in some of these gaols every prisoner is weighed on coming in, and again on leaving the prison, and in every case he is found to have lost weight, even to the amount sometimes of eleven or twelve pounds in two months, while the substitution of bacon for butcher’s meat is found to have the effect of preventing the loss of weight in a remarkable degree, and is ordered by the visiting physician whenever the waste assumes any appearance of danger to the constitution. From this circumstance it may also be shown parenthetically that imprisonment, with every attention to the diet, the cleanliness and comfort of the prisoner, is yet a real and material punishment, even to the most degraded, since at the expiration of the term the prisoners are invariably found to have lost weight.
And these are some of the aspects in which the simple subject “Bread” may be treated in such a manner as to inform, enlighten,
and therefore
as a general rule to elevate, a village audience.
Probably no two lecturers would view the same subject in exactly the same light, and if I have ventured to make any suggestions,
it is chiefly with a view to
illustration.
Perhaps it may be urged that comparatively few country gentlemen might find the materials at hand for compiling such lectures
on many of the subjects which they might
wish to undertake. But may it not be suggested that a society might be formed, the object of which would be to work out such
a system of lectures, combining
excellent and multifarious knowledge with a certain broad simplicity, something in the style of Professor Johnstone’s
lectures on the Chemistry of Common Life, with diagrams on a very large and simple scale, like those published by Messrs.
Day and Son for Marlborough House? Were such lectures
in existence, they might be hired out to those whose pursuits would not permit them, perhaps, to compose, though they might
allow of their altering, adapting, or amplifying
lectures already prepared. And the want of large diagrams, I know by experience, is much felt by those who know how important
they are, when they can be introduced to the
success of lectures, and who would hire, but cannot afford either to buy or to make them themselves. I cannot but think this
a subject that may well be recommended to the
thoughts of the wealthy and philanthropic. For it is not perhaps too much to say that, for the uprooting of popular prejudices
and superstitions, for enlargement of mind and
capacity and willingness for improvement, for the increase of ingenuity and invention,
the growth of discovery, and thirst after knowledge, for the heartier cooperation of parents in the education of their children, nay, for their intelligent co-operation in every sound reform and resistance to all unsound and spurious agitation, for expediting the business of the land by the removal of the vis inertiæ, the obstinacy, and the self-complacency of ignorance: for all this, and more, we may look to a proper scheme properly carried out of village lectures.
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the growth of discovery, and thirst after knowledge, for the heartier cooperation of parents in the education of their children, nay, for their intelligent co-operation in every sound reform and resistance to all unsound and spurious agitation, for expediting the business of the land by the removal of the vis inertiæ, the obstinacy, and the self-complacency of ignorance: for all this, and more, we may look to a proper scheme properly carried out of village lectures.
And now I would bid my reader farewell.
Most sensible I am how weakly I have advocated a cause so great. But as a child may point to the mountain path, which he himself
is unable to climb, so, if in any degree
the few random thoughts dropped in their way should have attracted the energies of those great hearts ever ready for a great
work, my most sanguine hopes will have been amply
realized,—any pains I may have taken more than amply rewarded.
- Satis superque dulce decus.
Editorial Note (page ornament): Initial T is ornamental.
The subject which I have ventured upon in this paper being so wide that to exhaust it would be to define the destiny of the human
race, I cannot hope to
do more than to offer a few hints concerning it, sometimes merely enforcing what is already acknowledged, though not acted
upon, sometimes advancing what may be almost or
altogether new to many of my readers. My remarks will be found to apply principally to ladies of the middle classes, though
I hope they will extend beyond them, directly or
indirectly to the whole sex.
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Within the last few years especial attention has been drawn to what are called social questions: great has been the interest
excited concerning them, and no slight efforts
have been made to solve them. Of all these problems it seems to me that not one is more comprehensive, more important or more
difficult, than that which I now bring forward. It
affects immediately half the human race; and without fit training for women it is idle to look for any real progress of mankind;
while opposed to this training is an army of
obstacles, difficulties both inherent in the work itself, and aggravated
Transcribed Footnote (page 462):
*“Lectures to Ladies on Practical Subjects.” “Sisters of Charity abroad and at home.” By
Mrs. Jameson. Second Edition.
by prejudice, fashion, jealousy, moral cowardice. Let me beg the reader’s earnest consideration of this subject, and
recommend to his attentive study (if he is not already familiar with them) the two books, the titles of which are given at
the bottom of my first page. The one is printed from
lectures delivered to ladies, as a preliminary to the establishment of a female college, similar to, if not joined with, the
Working Men’s College, with which some
of the lecturers are connected; the other is written by a lady well known in the literary world, and thus, coming from a woman,
is perhaps more valuable for our purpose even
than the Lectures. In the preparation of this paper I have carefully read both, and indeed, to a considerable extent, have
based it upon them.
As a third text-book I shall add Tennyson’s
Princess, containing, as it does, the truest conception of woman’s duty and position, and some of the most practical advice concerning
her education, that I have ever
met with, in verse or in prose. I will make a few observations upon it, before I go further; not by way of reviewing it as
a poem, (a design which I wish distinctly to
disavow,) but solely inasmuch as it bears upon our subject.
Ida’s attempt
the relief of whom might have called out those affections through which woman must be educated as much as through her mental faculties. Again, this very system of knowledge was far too wide, and, in consequence, too shallow, as is intimated by the poet in a passage which I shall quote farther on. Lastly (not to examine the method at greater length) the mode of life was recluse, to the neglect of those social duties which are necessary for woman, if possible, even more than for man,—the statutes being
- “To lift the woman’s fallen divinity
- Upon an even pedestal with man,”
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the relief of whom might have called out those affections through which woman must be educated as much as through her mental faculties. Again, this very system of knowledge was far too wide, and, in consequence, too shallow, as is intimated by the poet in a passage which I shall quote farther on. Lastly (not to examine the method at greater length) the mode of life was recluse, to the neglect of those social duties which are necessary for woman, if possible, even more than for man,—the statutes being
- “Such as these:
- Not for three years to correspond with home;
- Not for three years to cross the liberties;
- Not for three years to speak with any men.”
And first we will examine what are some of the peculiar
duties required of our countrywomen in this our generation: I say
some, because
to enquire into all, or even any large number of them, here is a simple impossibility; and accordingly I shall confine myself
to those, the performance of which is most
pressingly required by the wants of the time, and some at least of which have been greatly neglected hitherto. It will be
convenient to make that common division into physical,
intellectual and moral, a distinction which I need not say refers only to the different
objects upon which the same moral principle of duty is exercised.
I.
Physical duties.—I shall touch upon these very slightly, observing only this, that it is the duty of women (an obligation which of course
lies chiefly upon mothers) to train up children
healthy, strong and brave: and this they owe not only to their country, which may need those children, when grown to manhood,
as
soldiers, but no less to the laws of God; for every man
ought, under all circumstances, to be brave; while, if he is not healthy and strong, he must look to
it that the cause is not his own indolence, carelessness or self-indulgence. And that women may bring up children thus, they
should be healthy, strong and brave themselves; and
surely the health of the upper and middle classes must lie, to a very great extent, in their own hands; while courage, though,
it may be, of a different kind, is as much needed
in a woman as in a man, and as possible to be acquired by her as by him. That these duties are not fulfilled will, I am sure,
be generally allowed. Our girls grow up to an
alarming extent the reverse of healthy and strong; while, if we can still produce hardy and valiant men to conquer at Almas
and Inkermanns, it is not in consequence, but in
spite, of the female influence exercised upon them in their childhood and boyhood. Yet, if I denied that women in our own
time and our own country have displayed energy, and
the noblest, namely, moral courage, to face and overcome difficulties to which men had proved unequal, the remembrance of
every reader would confute me, and the names of Mrs.
Chisholm, Miss Carpenter and Miss Nightingale would at once rise in every heart.
II.
Intellectual duties.—I shall consider this division under two heads:
1. The necessity under which women lie of understanding, appreciating and assisting their male friends (especially wives their
husbands) in their intellectual pursuits.
2. The duty of teaching,—the opportunities for discharging which are afforded chiefly to ladies of the upper and middle classes,
especially those who are
unmarried and unoccupied.
I might add that it is the duty, not
less than the privilege, of every human being to cultivate to the utmost under the circumstances the mind whose value cannot be estimated, and whose capacity cannot be measured, and which, if uncultivated, will continually lose in power. But the consideration of this will fall naturally under the second of our three primary divisions.
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less than the privilege, of every human being to cultivate to the utmost under the circumstances the mind whose value cannot be estimated, and whose capacity cannot be measured, and which, if uncultivated, will continually lose in power. But the consideration of this will fall naturally under the second of our three primary divisions.
1. It may seem a startling assertion to make, but I believe that every one, after a little observation or reflection, will
admit it to be true, that there is no little
danger of an intellectual barrier being raised between the male and female members of a family. There are now so many facilities
for mental improvement, there are so many
inducements for men to avail themselves of these increased opportunities, there is so much, too, in the mere mingling with
the world to sharpen and invigorate the mind, that
women, unless they are content to misunderstand and fail to appreciate and sympathize with their husbands and brothers, must
be educated far otherwise than at present, must be
well acquainted with a far wider and more important range of subjects than the majority (at least of the ladies of our middle
classes) have hitherto studied. It is surely
unnecessary to enforce the increase of mutual respect, (respect, on the woman’s side, I mean grounded on knowledge, for of
blind, undiscriminating admiration there
is more than enough already,) of mutual helpfulness and domestic happiness which would follow from a more equal education.—It
is a matter of common remark that
clever men frequently marry unintellectual wives; sometimes it is even asserted that they prefer such. That such marriages
are not infrequent is an undoubted fact; but the
preference of such wives I entirely disbelieve. I believe, moreover, that the most talented men, even the great geniuses,
could find women as great in appreciation as
themselves in creation; nay, from the essential difference between the male and the female intellect, wo-
this sin and misery is
preventible,— ledge their superiors on many points of creative power. Let this intellect, then, be developed, if there were
no other reason than that wife should
sympathize more with husband, sister with brother.
Note: On this page, the last line of the second column has been printed as the first line of the first column, and the first line
of the first column has been printed as the
first line of the second column. A
cancel leaf was printed to correct this error.
2. It is truly said by Maurice (in the Introductory lecture,
Lectures to Ladies) that we are all, men and women alike, born under the law of instructing
others, under penalty of ourselves forgetting what we know. He adds that women possess the capability of instructing more
than men, bringing forward instances which will
satisfy many. Whether this latter be true or not, these two things we may certainly lay down, that women are under the obligation
of imparting their knowledge, and that, in
this, as in all cases, where a duty is imposed, the faculty for discharging it is also given; they have by nature a capacity
for teaching. To nearly all the task of professedly
teaching must fall: to a few,
professionally, as governesses, to the majority as mothers and elder sisters. Let all do this first, obvious duty well, with all
their strength and all their skill; in every case let the nearest duties, especially those of home, be first fulfilled; let
us establish this unmistakeably; now we may add that
those who, after the performance of their professional and domestic duties, still have leisure and opportunity, may extend
their sphere beyond their pupils, their children and
younger brothers and sisters. To dwell upon the importance of this duty is surely unnecessary. I hope, too, that the cowardly
and selfish prejudice against educating the poor
is by now fast dying out. What urgent necessity there is, may be shown by a single fact mentioned by Mrs. Jameson, that one
half of the women who are married annually in
England cannot sign their names in the parish register. This indicates an amount of ignorance for which few of us, I think,
were prepared.—But the benefit is not
men whom they would feel and acknow- expected to be limited to the mere acquisition of information: much good is looked for from the intercourse of ladies with women of lower rank; while, if ladies engage personally in boys’ schools, they cannot fail to exercise a beneficial influence all their own, such as gentlemen, on the one hand, however refined, and, on the other, the boys’ own mothers and sisters, perhaps almost as ignorant as the boys themselves, do not, and cannot, possess.—Let me recommend this Introductory Lecture to the thoughtful examination of such of my female readers as have health and unoccupied time.
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men whom they would feel and acknow- expected to be limited to the mere acquisition of information: much good is looked for from the intercourse of ladies with women of lower rank; while, if ladies engage personally in boys’ schools, they cannot fail to exercise a beneficial influence all their own, such as gentlemen, on the one hand, however refined, and, on the other, the boys’ own mothers and sisters, perhaps almost as ignorant as the boys themselves, do not, and cannot, possess.—Let me recommend this Introductory Lecture to the thoughtful examination of such of my female readers as have health and unoccupied time.
III.
Moral duties.—A vast subject, in which I cannot pretend to do more than point out a few duties which I think are most pressingly urged
upon women by the wants of the time, some of which are already receiving attention, but all of which will bear further consideration
and recommendation. I shall entirely omit
those which they owe to their families, that I may have the more space for some of their obligations to society at large,
of which the family is a miniature.
No one, of either sex, and of whatever age, can be unaware that an enormous mass of ignorance, crime and misery, in their
most revolting shapes, exists in this civilized
country,—not here and there, in London and Liverpool, or in unheard-of villages, but everywhere, throughout the length and
breadth of the land; in our metropolis and
huge manufacturing and sea-port towns, in our small country towns, in the mining Counties, in our Arcadia, the agricultural
districts,—these last, it would seem,
according to Kingsley, the worst of all. No one who looks into a Newspaper or a Magazine, or dips ever so lightly into any
of the many books which treat of social questions,
can be ignorant of this. It is almost as easily learnt, too, that a large proportion of this sin and misery is preventible,—
preventible in this very present time, and that, not only by State measures, or even by the combined labours of
“Societies,” but also by private efforts, if only made energetically, and directed by knowledge and discretion. But nothing
affects the mind less than
mere general statements, nothing blunts it more than repetition of those generalities. The slightest knowledge of particulars,
howsoever gained, would do more towards inducing
a practical attempt at a remedy than a lifetime’s reading or hearing of such, however interesting and startling. This knowledge
is very easily gained, nothing more
easily; the experience of a morning’s visits would give it (the best way, as bringing the evil under personal observation);
it may be obtained from a daily
newspaper, from dozens of books. The books under review, especially the Lectures, will furnish quite a sufficient amount,
and will open the eyes of ladies both to the
particular forms of evil existing round them, and to the means for alleviating it. I will enumerate some of the departments,
in which the authors of these lectures call upon
women to combine with men for the extinction or mitigation of the vices and miseries which degrade and oppress their fellow men and fellow women. Nothing
more is needed than to transcribe the titles of the majority of the lectures.
- 1. The College and the Hospital.
- 2. The Country Parish.
- 3. On Over-work, Distress and Anxiety, as causes of mental and bodily disease amongst the poor, &c.
- 4. On Dispensaries and allied institutions.
- 5. District Visiting.
- 6. The Influence of Occupation on Health.
- 7. On Law as it affects the poor.
- 10. On Sanitary Law.
- 11. Workhouse Visiting.
What a field is here opened for ladies whose family duties do not engross them; and how many there are
who not only have leisure from household occupations, but who positively have nothing, or scarcely anything to do, except to amuse themselves,—hardest task of all, possible to no human being. Everybody knows that among you, ladies of the higher and middle classes, there are hundreds “sickening of a vague disease,” pining for interesting and useful employment, for something far different from pianoforte playing and novel-reading and visiting; for something which may unfold the mind and satisfy those affections which cannot be (for they were never meant to be) bestowed all upon your families and personal friends. Here is work for you to do, ready to your hand, noble work in its end, if difficult and distasteful in its process. I appeal to you now on the selfish grounds of the development of your own mind, and the satisfying of the cravings of your own heart; but I can take a far higher stand than that; thousands are dying round you, dying in and of hunger, nakedness, ignorance, vice, misery; you can do something, it may be much, to save them; to do it is your duty, which remains the same, whether you heed it or not. And there are darker scenes even than those I have pointed to; there are Reformatories, there are Penitentiaries; there is evil which I will not name here. Surely here is work for you, brought home to your very door; only begin, and from the smallest beginnings you know not what may arise.
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who not only have leisure from household occupations, but who positively have nothing, or scarcely anything to do, except to amuse themselves,—hardest task of all, possible to no human being. Everybody knows that among you, ladies of the higher and middle classes, there are hundreds “sickening of a vague disease,” pining for interesting and useful employment, for something far different from pianoforte playing and novel-reading and visiting; for something which may unfold the mind and satisfy those affections which cannot be (for they were never meant to be) bestowed all upon your families and personal friends. Here is work for you to do, ready to your hand, noble work in its end, if difficult and distasteful in its process. I appeal to you now on the selfish grounds of the development of your own mind, and the satisfying of the cravings of your own heart; but I can take a far higher stand than that; thousands are dying round you, dying in and of hunger, nakedness, ignorance, vice, misery; you can do something, it may be much, to save them; to do it is your duty, which remains the same, whether you heed it or not. And there are darker scenes even than those I have pointed to; there are Reformatories, there are Penitentiaries; there is evil which I will not name here. Surely here is work for you, brought home to your very door; only begin, and from the smallest beginnings you know not what may arise.
But let me guard against misconception. Do I call upon
all ladies to undertake these offices? First let me say that I think there are very few who could
not do something, even though it were very little; and, having premised this, I freely answer that but a very small proportion
can
devote themselves to these
charitable works even for a short period; few, especially married ladies, can even give much of their time to them. Again,
those who
have leisure, are
they all required to engage in them? And again, No, certainly not. Many of them are too weak in
health, some are without the requisite mental organization, to prosecute effectually, at all events the more arduous and distasteful
of them. I have already spoken of the
preservation of health as a duty, and I would be very careful how I attempted to impose upon a too susceptible mind the sight
of wretchedness which could not be relieved and
sin which could not be amended. Yet again I say that of those who have health and leisure there are few who could not do something;
those who could not visit the houses of the
poor or hospitals might visit workhouses, (for which it is said there are peculiar facilities,—Lecture XL
Lectures to Ladies) those who could not
do this might promote, if not aid in superintending, schools for the children, or might assist in Dispensaries: I think the
willing hand would in all cases find something to
do. But whatever is done must be done on principle; far be it from me to encourage romantic or sentimental mock-charity, which
would benefit, I think, neither agent nor
recipient, and certainly not the former, and would stand but for a short time the shocks of experiment.
Methinks I hear objections against the performance of these charities, raised both by ladies and gentlemen, of more sentimentality,
I will be bold to say, than real
delicacy of feeling, that they are unfeminine, unladylike. “What,” they may say, “would you have educated ladies go into the
houses of the poor
as district-visitors; still worse, attend hospitals, workhouses, reformatories?” And many, who would shrink from expressing
these objections, yet feel them, and
would act upon them. To these I would reply, if it is to the work in itself they object, that “there is a perennial nobleness
in work;” that work, of
itself, so far from being a degradation
to a woman, even to the finest and most delicate lady, is an honour and a privilege to her; and, for the kind of labours prescribed, they are of the same nature as those which were performed by Him, who went about doing good, healing all manner of diseases and ministering to the poor, and who will pronounce upon the righteous in the great day of recompense this commendation, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
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to a woman, even to the finest and most delicate lady, is an honour and a privilege to her; and, for the kind of labours prescribed, they are of the same nature as those which were performed by Him, who went about doing good, healing all manner of diseases and ministering to the poor, and who will pronounce upon the righteous in the great day of recompense this commendation, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
Let me conclude this first division with a short extract from
The Princess, which will be acknowledged to be as
true as a definition of one of the highest and most distinctive duties of woman as it is beautiful as a poetical
description.
- “So was their sanctuary violated,
- So their fair college turn’d to hospital;
- At first with all confusion; by and bye
- Sweet order lived again with other laws:
- A kindlier influence reign’d; and everywhere
- Low voices with the ministering hand
- Hung round the sick; the maidens came, they talk’d,
- They sang, they read: till she, not fair, began
- To gather light, and she that was became
- 10Her former beauty treble; and to and fro
- With books, with flowers, with Angel offices,
- Like creatures native unto gracious act
- And in their own clear element, they moved.”
II. Having thus cursorily treated of the
duties of women, let us briefly enquire what is the
education which may fit them for those
duties; in which enquiry it will be convenient to keep our former division into physical, intellectual and moral.
1.
Physical Education.—That the physical training of our women is deficient nobody will deny. No one can
fail to be struck by the large proportion of the young ladies of his acquaintance whose health is delicate; nor will any
one be
astonished, if he considers what are the means they take for its preservation. While the boys of a family play at cricket,
row, jump, wrestle, &c, the girls are limited
in their exercise to walking, and that at a pace seldom exceeding two miles and a half an hour, unless to this be added back-boards,
and, possibly, dumb-bells. Now if these
active exercises are necessary for the health of the boy, is his sister so differently constituted that she can afford to
dispense with them, and all substitutes for them? The
result gives an answer in the negative. I therefore advocate that all girls’ schools be provided with gymnasia, in which they
may gain at once health, strength and
grace. But equally with gymnastic practices I would recommend more abundant exercise in the open air, by riding on horseback,
when that is practicable, and by walking, somewhat
more briskly than is at present the fashion; and this not more for physical than for mental health. All men, particularly
men of sedentary occupations, whose case answers most
nearly to that of women, must feel the beneficial effect of out-door exercise, which, besides the physical influences of the
motion and the fresh air, offers a succession of
sights which call off the mind from its own contemplation, and prevent it from preying on itself. The same cannot but apply
to women. And if it be objected that this increased
bodily exertion would diminish their softness and delicacy, I reply that I have no fear of this; though I trust that by it
they
would gain the loss of
sentimentality and nervous fancies. In support of these observations let me quote from a pamphlet on the Education of Girls,
written by a lady, a passage which states this
question of their physical training with admirable brevity and comprehensiveness.
“To sum up the whole, women
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should try to become as tall, as strong, as capable of enduring mental and bodily exertion as it is possible for them to be; and till they have attained this maximum point, they have not fulfilled the intention of God.
“To it the public taste must conform, and no means be left untried for its attainment, still less must any such be regarded as indecorous. The usual and purely arbitrary notion of only certain games and certain bodily motions being decorous for the female sex is a miserable restriction on the ‘individuality of the individual.’
“It is a cruel thing to maim the fair forms and cripple the light limbs of one generation of women after another, in deference to a false ideal and a corrupted eye.”
2.
Intellectual Education.—A wide subject truly, on which it is impossible for me here to do more than offer a few remarks, without much
connection, and, probably enough, not original.
One of the chief faults that I have noticed in the female intellect is incapacity for strict and severe thinking, shutting
the large majority of women out from the
genuine examination of all such subjects as require patient and close attention, and even in subjects which they are competent
to handle perpetually producing vagueness and
inaccuracy. Their school course embraces too wide a range,—a conspicuous fault, as I have already observed, in Ida’s system.
Fancy the following being the list of a morning’s lectures at Oxford or Cambridge.
- “And then we stroll’d
- For half the day through stately theatres
- Bench’d crescent-wise. In each we sat, we heard
- The grave Professor. On the lecture state
- The circle rounded under female hands
- With flawless demonstration: follow’d then
- A classic lecture, rich in sentiment,
- With scraps of thundrous Epic lilted out
- By violet-hooded Doctors, elegies
- 10And quoted odes, and jewels five-words-long,
- That on the stretch’d forefinger of all Time
- Sparkle for ever: then we dipt in all
- That treats of whatsoever is, the state,
- The total chronicles of man, the mind,
- The morals, something of the frame, the rock,
- The star, the bird, the fish, the shell, the flower,
- Electric, chemic laws, and all the rest,
- And whatsoever can be taught and known;
- Till, like three horses that have broken fence,
- 20And glutted all night long breast-deep in corn
- We issued, gorged with knowledge—”
The consequence of this extension is and must be superficiality. For indeed how much
can a girl learn at school worthy the name of sound knowledge, when
she is taken from it at the age of sixteen or eighteen, at the very age when her brother, destined for Oxford or Cambridge,
first really begins to “read?”
With so short a time allowed for her education, the chief thing that should be taught her is the art of learning, which is
the thing she learns least of all. Now let it be
remembered that an acquisition of mere accomplishments does not amount to an education, and is a very poor substitute for
it. A knowledge of French (acquired more with a view
to conversation than a study of French literature), proficiency in music, tolerable skill in drawing, fancy needlework, elegant
manners, however good in themselves, may leave
the mind really uncultivated, and, if they stand alone, may make their possessor admired as a “fine lady,” but never honoured
as an educated woman.
And intimately connected with this incapacity for close thinking is the want of reasoning power, to which we are so accustomed
in women as to regard it rather as a
privilege or a positive excellence than as a fault or a deficiency. And not only do men allow them this privilege, they claim
for themselves the right to render
very pretty, and is there counted sound logic; but thus in one half of the human race one of the most important faculties of the human mind, and the most distinctive of all, is systematically and deliberately neglected. One might have thought that this alone would have been sufficient refutation. But the consequences of this neglect are not obscure; they can be traced unmistakeably in wrong judgments, unworthy attachments, unjust dislikes. Mere feeling is not enough: it may, and I know continually does, go right: but in this life of probation, in which the good is so hard to be distinguished from the bad, so hard to be followed when it is distinguished, men and women alike need every faculty of their nature to keep them in the right way.—Now I shall be asked, would I recommend logic to be taught girls? I am not prepared with a direct answer, but I will give the best I can. We have in Oxford an example of the working of logic, notwithstanding which it is constantly asked, does the science of logic conduce to the improvement of the reasoning faculties? will a man argue the better for knowing what processes the mind goes through in arguing? There are not few who answer in the negative. For myself, I reply, though not confidently, in the affirmative. It seems to me that the mere circumstance of having the attention pointedly directed to the connection between the premises and the conclusion cannot but make a man a better reasoner. On this question depends the other, whether logic should be taught in girls’ schools. If logic is good for men, why not for women, whose reason is less acute by nature? But clearly the reason can be cultivated (whether equally well or not is left out of the question now) without the science of logic, namely, by aiming at accuracy in all thinking, reading, writing and speaking whatsoever. That this ought to be done both in male and in female education all must
admit, while no one can assert that it is attended to sufficiently.
- “No other but a woman’s reason;
- I think it so because I think it so.”
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very pretty, and is there counted sound logic; but thus in one half of the human race one of the most important faculties of the human mind, and the most distinctive of all, is systematically and deliberately neglected. One might have thought that this alone would have been sufficient refutation. But the consequences of this neglect are not obscure; they can be traced unmistakeably in wrong judgments, unworthy attachments, unjust dislikes. Mere feeling is not enough: it may, and I know continually does, go right: but in this life of probation, in which the good is so hard to be distinguished from the bad, so hard to be followed when it is distinguished, men and women alike need every faculty of their nature to keep them in the right way.—Now I shall be asked, would I recommend logic to be taught girls? I am not prepared with a direct answer, but I will give the best I can. We have in Oxford an example of the working of logic, notwithstanding which it is constantly asked, does the science of logic conduce to the improvement of the reasoning faculties? will a man argue the better for knowing what processes the mind goes through in arguing? There are not few who answer in the negative. For myself, I reply, though not confidently, in the affirmative. It seems to me that the mere circumstance of having the attention pointedly directed to the connection between the premises and the conclusion cannot but make a man a better reasoner. On this question depends the other, whether logic should be taught in girls’ schools. If logic is good for men, why not for women, whose reason is less acute by nature? But clearly the reason can be cultivated (whether equally well or not is left out of the question now) without the science of logic, namely, by aiming at accuracy in all thinking, reading, writing and speaking whatsoever. That this ought to be done both in male and in female education all must
Sig.
VOL. I. K K
The next fault I shall notice is narrow-mindedness, by no means confined to women, but at all events conspicuous in them,
resulting partly from the intensity of their
feelings, partly from limited observation and a contracted range of knowledge. As an educational corrective I would recommend
history, studied on a far larger scale and in a
more philosophical spirit than at present. It is wonderful how little women know of past times, even of the history of their
own country. Thus it becomes difficult for them to
conceive other modes of life, other habits of thought than those which now prevail around them; and so, despite of the kindness
and the mercifulness of their disposition, they
are in danger of becoming bigoted and uncharitable, from the mere lack of such an amount of knowledge as a single good history
would supply.
I would say a few words concerning domestic work, needlework, &c. Much of this is often necessary, and let that by all means
be done: for in all cases I would
most distinctly lay down that home duties must be performed first. But at the same time let it not be forgotten that sewing
and knitting, however useful they may be, however,
too, they may allow opportunity for reflection and conversation, of themselves supply no food whatsoever for the intellect,
thus leaving the mind free to thoughts, which are
very apt to become morbid. With this caution I pass from such domestic employment as is necessary to the needlework, &c. done
for the mere sake of occupation, which
opens a different question. Some of this is of a more ornamental character than that which is necessary, and so exercises
the invention and the taste a little more; but I think
ladies might in nearly all instances be better employed, while such worse than caricatures of nature as wax flowers and wax
fruits, are abominations which I
should have thought no lady of taste could perpetrate.
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should have thought no lady of taste could perpetrate.
I do not aim here at drawing up a curriculum of study for ladies, even if I were competent to do so; I wish rather to indicate
the
nature of the
education which they must receive, and to point out some of their principal mental defects, with suggestions for their remedies:
above all, I desire to plead earnestly for a
far freer development of their intellect than has hitherto been conceded, no new plea, I grant, but yet one which still urgently
needs to be continually and vigorously put
forward.
Whether the intellect of woman is capable of being made equal to that of man, is a somewhat invidious and, perhaps, not very
profitable enquiry. Little light is thrown
upon the question by experience; for the minds of women hitherto have been so much less cultivated than the minds of men,
that the past affords no fair comparison. For myself,
I incline to the belief that man (having been made the head of the woman) was created to be her superior in mental as in bodily
strength. Had it been otherwise, would the mere
superiority of physical force (in some degree compensated, apparently, by greater power of enduring pain in the weaker sex)
have so long secured to men the lead they have taken
in every branch of intellectual excellence? Again, we have another test, to me an important one. It is one of the chief characteristics
of genius to overcome external
obstacles, sometimes even making them subservient to its greatness. There are numberless instances of men who have unfolded
their powers in spite of obscurity, poverty,
friendlessness, opposition; whereas the number of women who can compare even with the second-rate or third-rate great men
is very small.
- “In arts of government;
- Elizabeth and others; arts of war
- The peasant Joan and others; arts of grace
- Sappho and others vied with any man.”
Even if the words in italics were true, what a poor set-off would these “scattered stars,” Elizabeth, Joan of Arc and Sappho,
though eked out by
those “others” unnamed, be against the long lists of men who have been famed as statesmen, warriors and poets. For observe,
it is not only in the severe
kinds of greatness that men have excelled, as statesmen, warriors, philosophers, lawyers: this we should have looked for:
but in those kinds which have to do with beauty,
“the arts of grace,” in which we might have expected women to surpass men, the preeminence of the latter is equally signal:
the great poets, painters,
musicians have been men. Yet, if we needed encouragement for the intellectual culture of women, we should have but to mention
the names of some now living, Mrs. Browning, Mrs.
Gaskell, Miss Young,—or, to take instances of excellence rather moral than intellectual, the three I have already spoken of,
Mrs. Chisholm, Miss Carpenter, Miss
Nightingale.
be prominent in it: and this may guide us to the true mental relation of the sexes, the one must be the complement of the other; though, if we allow man to be the intellectual head, we may look for the influence of woman to be exercised chiefly upon the heart; she imparting to us her instinctive love and faith, we strengthening and widening that love and faith by increase of knowledge.
- “Let them not fear: some said their heads were less:
- Some men’s were small; not they the least of men;
- For often fineness compensated size;
- Besides the brain was like the hand, and grew
- With using; thence the man’s, if more was more;
- He took advantage of his strength to be
- First in the field: some ages had been lost;
- But woman ripen’d earlier, and her life
- Was longer; and albeit their glorious names
- 10Were fewer, scatter’d stars, yet since in truth
- The highest is the measure of the man,
- And not the Kaffir, Hottentot, Malay,
- Nor those horn-handed breakers of the glebe,
- But Homer, Plato, Verulam, even so
- With woman.”
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be prominent in it: and this may guide us to the true mental relation of the sexes, the one must be the complement of the other; though, if we allow man to be the intellectual head, we may look for the influence of woman to be exercised chiefly upon the heart; she imparting to us her instinctive love and faith, we strengthening and widening that love and faith by increase of knowledge.
- “For woman is not undevelopt man,
- But diverse: could we make her as the man,
- Sweet love were slain: his dearest bond is this,
- Not like to like, but like in difference.
- Yet in the long years liker must they grow;
- The man be more of woman, she of man;
- He gain in sweetness and in moral height,
- Nor lose the wrestling thews that throw the world;
- She mental breadth, nor fail in childward care,
- 10Nor lose the childlike in the larger mind;
- Till at the last she set herself to man,
- Like perfect music unto noble words;
- And so these twain, upon the skirts of Time,
- Sit side by side, full-summ’d in all their powers,
- Dispensing harvest, sowing the To-be,
- Self-reverent each, and reverencing each,
- Distinct in individualities,
- But like each other even as those who love.
- Then comes the statelier Eden back to men:
- 20Then reign the world’s great bridals, chaste and calm:
- Then springs the crowning race of humankind.”
I have only to add that it is the duty and privilege of every woman, as of every man, to cultivate to the utmost that glorious
intellect with which God has endowed them,
that He might make then in His own image; that intellect which, if cultivated rightly, will open to them continually more
and more the inexhaustible wonders of truth, will
unveil to them prospect after prospect of beauty, and best of all, (such is the intimate connection, if not the identity,
of those faculties which we distinguish as moral and
intellectual,) will make them more kind, more just, more truthful, more humble. For there is a sense, which Socrates, I think,
understood better than most of those who now talk
so loudly about intellectual advancement, in which virtue is knowledge: for surely the wicked man cannot know, I mean know
so as to
feel and realize, the moral relation of good and evil,—the infinite preciousness of the one, the infinite vileness of the
other; or he would not leave unimproved one
opportunity of doing good, or yield to one temptation to do evil, for all the honour and the pleasure which the world could
give. Despite of the boasts of the march of
intellect, of the complaints of intellect worship, in this age, we are yet a great way off from recognising the unspeakable
grandeur and glory of the human mind: we hear rather
of its productions, especially its material productions, or at best of its power of inventing those material appliances, than
of its spiritual works and its more spiritual
faculties. But let us gain a truer estimate of this soul, which is the very likeness of God, an estimate which will not fill
us with pride, but on the contrary with humility,
making us know certainly and feel vividly that we live continually in the presence of the unseen, eternal Realities.
3.
Moral Education.—By this I mean a preparation for those duties which I have called moral, and accordingly I will speak of a training for
those only which I noticed under that head. What this preparation should be, my readers will find enquired into with great
fulness in the books under
review,—a course, however, which very few may be able to follow. For much stress is laid upon the importance of working in
union, for instance, in a Female College,
such as that proposed in the Lectures to Ladies, or in an establishment like that at Kaiserwerth on the Rhine, in which Miss
Nightingale was employed as nurse seven years. That
this is highly desirable must be allowed; but I would advise ladies not to put off such charitable offices as they may have
opportunities of performing till they can join some
society: let them work alone rather than not at all: the
working itself will be the best part of the proposed education, however much may be contributed by the combined knowledge and experience of a society, and by the facilities which it may afford its individual members. Those who labour without these advantages may make many mistakes at the first, may omit to do much good, may even do much harm; but let them not be discouraged; only let them use all their energy and judgment, and time and experience will provide remedies.
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working itself will be the best part of the proposed education, however much may be contributed by the combined knowledge and experience of a society, and by the facilities which it may afford its individual members. Those who labour without these advantages may make many mistakes at the first, may omit to do much good, may even do much harm; but let them not be discouraged; only let them use all their energy and judgment, and time and experience will provide remedies.
III. I have now come to the vexed question of the Rights of Woman. I have preferred to enquire first what are the duties which
are most urgently required of her in this
age, and what is the education which will best fit her to discharge them. We shall now be better able to determine what position
she may claim on the performance of those
duties and the acquisition of that education. When men see her taking an increasing share in the work of human progress, labouring
in the various departments of social
improvement, teaching the ignorant, consoling the wretched, reforming the depraved, they will be much more ready to yield
her the Rights which they will then feel to be her
due, than when they are demanded simply as Rights, however justly. In no mean sense is it true that her weakness is her strength,
her silence is her best
eloquence,—if only it be the silence that speaks through deeds. If she grounds her Rights upon the performance of her duties,
she will not lack for champions out of
her own sex: men will rise up who will count it an honour to join in exalting those who are raising and ennobling their common
humanity.
Yet that there are the most rooted prejudices among men against the social advance of women is too evident. Mrs. Jameson mentions
several instances of the indifference or
positive scorn and hostility displayed by gentlemen of talent and education towards the intellectual improvement of women,
the necessary preparation for their real, permanent social advance. On the other hand, to their honour let it be said,
“that the working men who attend the Working Men’s College have expressed a strong desire that their wives should have similar
opportunities of acquiring
knowledge as those offered to themselves.”—And whatever prejudices exist, whether among the higher or the lower classes, they
may and must be overcome:
those “rotten pales” must no longer be allowed to be a barrier between the two sexes, who were created for mutual help: much
has been done already; for in
the heart of man himself is a most powerful ally, that which has been called the woman-worshipping instinct, implanted at
least in the Teutonic races. Woman-worshipping. It is
a strong word; yet I think a weaker would not suffice. For does not a man feel for a woman (and the more manly he is, the
more he feels this) a reverence, an awe, such as he
feels not for men? Let the history of Florence Nightingale and her fellow-nurses among the soldiers in the east bear witness
to this.
That the position of woman is and has been unfair, may surely be taken for granted. Her social history is briefly summed up
in Psyche’s Lecture (
The Princess).
- “Thereupon she took
- A bird’s-eye-view of all the ungracious past;
- Glanced at the legendary Amazon,
- As emblematic of a nobler age;
- Appraised the Lycian custom, spoke of those
- That lay at wine with Lar and Lucumo;
- Ran down the Persian, Grecian, Roman lines
- Of empire, and the woman’s state in each,
- How far from just; till, warming with her theme,
- 10 She fulmined out her scorn of laws Salique,
- And little-footed China, touch’d on Mahomet
- With much contempt; and came to chivalry,
- When some respect, however slight, was paid
- To woman, superstition all awry:
- However then commenced the dawn: a beam
- Had slanted forward, falling in a land
- Of promise: fruit would follow.”
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Ida’s letter t