One consequence of the gravitation of power to the multitude, in these days, is the vast importance of Public Opinion It has become a Shibboleth which all men are expected to pronounce with due reverence, under pain of social reprobation Thoughtful men of different schools-Mr. Carlyle and Mr. Mill for example-have expressed impatience of its yoke The truth is that while Public Opinion, in its highest sense, is entitled to our veneration and obedience, what is commonly presented to us as Public Opinion is not so entitled What is commonly presented to us as Public Opinion is the accord of a number of private opinions upon a matter of common interest The vast majority of these private opinions are comparatively unwise. Is there any reason for supposing that from a large number of them, a wise Public Opinion can be formed? Let us look at the process of its formation, as daily exhibited in this country. On any question of current politics two diametrically opposed views are certain to be at once taken: one by the party in office and desirous not to go out, the other by the party out of office and desirous to come in. The 108 110 110 112 112 112 PAGE object of each party is to win an election, and for this The chief instruments of such education are public meet- But the object with which people usually attend public meetings is to obtain a confirmation of their own views and the end of the orators who harangue there is not to teach, but to flatter and persuade And the newspaper press is, with few exceptions, avowedly given over to reckless partisanship, hardly any political question being candidly discussed on its merits. No one who will clear his mind of cant can fail to comprehend, and to sympathize with, the refusal of intelligent persons to revere a Public Opinion thus generated On the other hand Public Opinion which is really such, which is the natural expression of the communis sensus of a people at large upon a question of general import, and not the manufactured dictate of party spirit, certainly does possess a claim upon our respect. 113 114 114 115 117 117 But the true and highest ideal of Public Opinion is the public conscience accompanying and ruling events 119 Conscience in the individual is the voice of his organic unity, the bond of which is ethical, vindicating its claims against the exorbitant and illegitimate demands of this or that component part of his nature which tend to its dissolution and destruction 119 The office of the public conscience is similar: it should express the moral sense of the social organism Public Opinion, when it is the expression of the national conscience, may be called Vox Dei PAGE 121 121 In medieval times it was the function of the clergy to be the organ of Public Opinion in this higher sense 122 This office is now undertaken by the newspapers . 123 Hence the great importance of a truer conception, a deeper appreciation of the ethical responsibilities, the moral mission of journalism CHAPTER V. EDUCATION, 124 Liberty, Popular Government, and the power of Public Opinion, if they are to prove a blessing and not a curse, require the elevation of the people generally in "opinions, qualities, and tone of mind" The truth expressed in Lord Sherbrooke's dictum, "We Such zeal for Education is excellent. But it is often a zeal not according to knowledge. It is largely expended on what is not Education at all, but a mere counterfeit of it 126 127 . 127 с What is very generally meant when Education is spoken of, is the instruction, in greater or less degree, of the intellect. But mere instruction is not sufficient even to form the intellect; still less sufficient is it to form the character. And the formation of the character is the true end of Education . Education means the right development of the human powers and faculties; its function is "to prepare us for complete living" "Mens sana in corpore sano sums it up, and that involves physical, intellectual, and moral culture But all ideals hold of the moral ideal. That embraces our entire being: other ideals only segments of it. The supreme end of educating a child is to educe his personality which is essentially ethical: to make a man of him. Apart from that, bodily exercise profiteth little: the exercise of the intellect not much PAGE 127 129 129 more 130 Reverence is the Alpha and Omega of Education: reverence for what is highest above us and highest within us 131 A child's strongest motive is desire for esteem: the wish to be thought well of by those who naturally command his reverence Their judgment mirrors him to himself, reflecting his own worthiness or unworthiness. The note of virile maturity is that the rule and measure of self-respect are transferred from without to within: from the praise of man to the testimony of conscience. The culture of the will is by far the most important part of Education, for will is of the essence of the per 131 132 sonality in virtue of which man is man. The truly This is the ideal of virile perfection. It is never entirely The fashionable doctrine of Education leaves out the ethical element, the discipline of the will, altogether. Its highest aim is intellectual culture, which it regards as a quickening, organizing, regenerating power sufficient to transform individual and national existence This is an irrational superstition. Intellectual culture, knowledge, however wide and exact, of arts, literature, or physical science, cannot affect character; cannot convert the will from bad to good Mere instruction of the intellect leaves a man ethically where it found him, unless, indeed, its effect is to illustrate the Apostolic dictum "knowledge puffeth up" If ever there was a safe truth it is this. But it is a truth by no means generally apprehended. Intellectual tion The expectation doubtless arises directly from the Utilitarian philosophy, which resolves morality into selfinterest, and leads us to expect that men will be virtuous out of regard for their own interests, if the eyes of their understanding are sufficiently enlightened to discern what their true interests are PAGE 132 133 133 134 134 135 136 |