and experience,—­the child will have time enough to examine the merits of his information when he grows older and be more competent to do so!” To this I answer:  in the first place, nothing should be submitted to the child which it is not fully competent to understand.  To give the child tasks or subjects too difficult for its mental powers, is a violation of nature; and as foolish and detrimental as though you were to place a hundred pounds weight on its shoulders when it is incapable of supporting ten.  The teacher’s experience can only be of service to the child so far as it is applicable to its own state; and as to postponing the period when it is to think for itself, there is certainly no occasion for it.  Nature has provided food adapted to the powers of the infant’s stomach, and those who would rightly conduct the work of education, should imitate her in providing its intellectual food.  That this may be done, I am attempting to shew in theory in the pages of this work; and, that it answers equally well in practice, any one who has a doubt, may assure himself by visiting any school conducted upon the plan here laid down.

The charge has been brought against the system, that we are not sufficiently anxious to teach the children to read.  Now, though I may venture to say, that under no other plan, do the children acquire a knowledge of alphabetical characters, and the formation of words, so soon as under the present, yet I am quite ready to concede that I consider their learning to read a secondary object, to that of teaching them to examine and find out the nature and properties of things, of which words are but the signs.  It is with things, and not words merely, we wish to make our children acquainted.  If they first learn the nature and properties of an object, there is no fear of their afterwards inquiring its name; but we too frequently find, that having acquired names, they are indifferent to, and forgetful of, the objects represented.

Let children see and observe an object, and be taught the name of it at the same time, and then both are indelibly fixed on the memory.  An infant at home is perpetually running around and looking at all things, and hearing persons speaking about them; it soon becomes acquainted with their names and properties, and then from time to time speaks about them.  “Ah!” exclaims papa or mama, “What an old-fashioned child that is; one would wonder where it got such notions.”  A little thought and reflection would soon tell where, and this thought properly carried out would display an important fundamental principle in teaching the young mind.