Sibylla : $b or, The revival of prophecyMace, C. A. (Cecil Alec)
Philosophy
Sibylla : $b or, The revival of prophecy
Mace, C. A. (Cecil Alec)
Civilization; Progress
Early in life some of the main tendencies and abilities of the child
will be diagnosed and he will be sent to the appropriate school and
industry. Doubtful and obscure cases will, with the “allround” types,
be sent for a “general education”, in the course of which, however,
they will come under more careful examination. By the age of ten
or twelve the child’s future course should in outline and general
character be fairly clearly known, and by sixteen he will have become
more or less specialized to a certain type of course. Not, however,
completely specialized. To meet the problem of trade-fluctuations and
consequent unemployment, and as a preventive of industrial monotony,
each person will probably be taught a variety of pursuits, achieving
a balance appropriate to each case of mental and manual work. The
system of multiple vocations would probably be operated in conjunction
with some form of industrial conscription; for increased wisdom in
government should by this time have undermined popular prejudice on
this score.
At the prospect of such extensive changes in our educational
institutions one wonders what is going to happen to our ancient and
venerable universities. They might, consistently with all that has
been said, preserve their functions as specialized seats of learning;
but it is more likely that long before a rational system of education
has been evolved they will have changed their character beyond all
recognition. In optimistic, but perhaps short-sighted, moments, it is
commonly supposed that with the increasing demand for education their
future is assured, and that they will assume ever-increasing importance
and enjoy ever-growing popularity and respect.
Let us, however, for a moment consider the instructive parallel of the
Holy Catholic Church, the unfortunate history of which is a byword at
the present day. The causes of its decline do not, I think, include
one that is frequently suggested. Men are not to-day less religious
or less in need of its holy offices. The change has come about not
by decreased demands but by competition and an augmented supply. Men
still need the things of which the Church once held an almost complete
monopoly. They need some sort of philosophy, some personal guidance in
the difficult art of the moral life, and many other things which once
the Church alone could give.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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