stance, the reformation of the sixteenth century, when whole communities and states and nations, almost as one man, changed their creeds and customs, and it will be at once conceded that this mighty revolution was but in obedience to the general rule, that men are what they are by education. The new doctrine, though having its vague inception far back in the recesses of hoary centuries, under the general rays of brightening ages, at length broke through the eyelet of its secret spring, and gathering strength in its onward flow through the confines of awakened thought, at last swept before it with irresistible force every vestige of opposing error and superstition.

The education of an individual or of a community is a much more rapid process to-day than it was in the ages that are past and gone. Then the only educating agencies were the church and the family; then the thoughts, the convictions, the customs, and the prejudices of a generation were almost exact duplicates of those of preceding ages; but to-day we have so multiplied the educational forces that it has become possible for individuals and communities to be entirely changed in their customs, habits, and convictions in a single generation. The invention of printing makes the thought of each individual the common property of mankind; the telegraph daily brings into every household the important doings of all nations; and the improved modes of travel make it possible for us to visit the remote ends of the earth, and for people of different climates and languages to mingle together and learn from each other. But we must not suppose that the open, visible, and recognized educational agencies are the only ones that influence the belief and actions of mankind. From the cradle to the grave our opinions and actions are, in a considerable degree, molded and controlled by a thousand subtle agencies; they are influenced by the words and acts of our companions in childhood, by the mountains that encircle our homes, by the rivers upon whose shaded banks we hold our childish sports, by the storms of summer, by the snows of winter, and by the delicate flower that sheds its perfume on the gentle breezes of springtime. But of all the educational agencies, there is no one that exerts so powerful an influence

In his

upon the human mind as does the professional teacher. hands is the destiny of the American people; to his care have been committed human liberty and free institutions, and he should be prepared to accept the responsibility which the people, the nation, and the nineteenth century have imposed upon him. This great nation was not born of chance; the principles of free government were not the discoveries of a single generation; the love of liberty and the hate of tyrants were the results and outgrowth of a long-continued process of education; thought was quickened by perception, cultured by hardships and suffering, and ripened amid scenes of carnage and bloodshed. The result of this education of our fathers is a nation of freemen. As it was developed by education, so must it be preserved by education; and under our peculiar system of government the chief responsibility for its preservation has been placed in the hands of the public school-teacher; hence the necessity that the teacher realize his responsibility, and that he be thoroughly prepared for the great work in which he is enlisted. What shall be the nature of the preparation?

He should have a sound body. I know that great things have sometimes been accomplished by men whose souls have been confined in fragile shells, but the rule is the other way. A forest tree, planted in the crevice of a rock, may sometimes be the peer of its more fortunate neighbors in the valley below, but yet men do not search for the finest timber upon the rocky hillside. The fruit from the blighted apple tree may, in the distance, look red and luscious, but on close inspection you will find the marks of disease plainly written in the core. The work of the teacher is of such a nature that it will soon destroy a sickly body; and he who possesses an unsound constitution, if he values life, should never preside at a teacher's desk.

Accompanying a healthy physique the teacher should have a cultured intellect. By this I mean more than a knowledge of books. Side by side with his knowledge of mathematics he should have a knowledge of the world; underlying his knowledge of geography should be a knowledge of mankind; and above and beyond his knowledge of science and astronomy

should be a knowledge of Him who made all things. The teacher is the pupil's model, and this model should be as perfect as it is possible to have it. Every word spoken, every motion made, every action performed by the teacher, has its part in the education of those placed in his charge. If the teacher is uncultured in expression, the pupil will imitate him; if he is rude and awkward in his manners and movements, the pupil will be like him; if he is drowsy and slow in his actions, the pupil will incline to be dull and stupid.

The teacher should be a student of child-nature, and have a heart big enough and good enough to furnish sympathy in every childish sorrow; he should possess a centripetal force which should draw every individual pupil toward him, and this force should be strong enough to reach out over fields and hills, through streets and alleys, to every home. He who possesses the opposite repulsing or centrifugal force can never be a teacher; he may keep school and draw a salary, but he cannot be an educational force. The true teacher must not only understand science, but he must know himself; and his ability to govern and control others will depend largely upon his ability to control and govern himself. A man may have a sound body and possess good literary attainments, and fail as an educator for want of enthusiasm. To be a successful teacher he must have unbounded zeal in his calling; he must realize the great importance of his work; he must feel that he is engaged in making citizens of a great republic, in making mankind better, and in helping his little corner of earth to be happier and purer.

The American teacher can follow no model,-his work is dif ferent from that of all who have gone before him. In older countries the teacher supplements home training, and home training is a well-defined, definite, positive quantity. Here the teacher's work is not supplementary, but original. We are building a new nation; we must take the different people from all nations and climes and mold them into a new nationality; we must change their language and their customs; we must teach them to love another flag, and wean them from the graves and traditions of their fathers; in short we must transform them

from serfs to sovereigns, from slaves to men. If we are successful in our work, the future historian will record the existence of a nation more populous than ancient Rome and more cultured than Greece. If the Roman forum gave law to the world, and the gardens of Athens furnished her with models of art and oratory, may it not yet be said that the American schoolhouse gave liberty to human-kind? Whatever this great Nation is to be in the future, whatever blessings are to be bestowed upon the human family, the public school must largely determine.

Already the public school has done much to make mankind better. In it the children of all denominations and parties form a common brotherhood. The walls of prejudice and hate, which divided our fathers into hostile sects and parties, have been leveled to the earth, and only imaginary lines are felt instead. Those who in youth sit at the same desk, play at the same games, and recite in the same classes, cannot and will not be enemies in manhood.

The rack, the thumbscrew, and the stake might flourish when education was in the hands of sects and clans, when love was circumscribed and hate was universal, but they can have no place where dividing lines between sects have been obliterated, and where the human family constitute a single clan, unbounded by color or nationality. The question of the Great Master, asked eighteen centuries ago, Who is thy neighbor? is answered to-day in every public school in the land, in the teaching that,-Every man is my neighbor; no matter where he is born, no matter what his political belief or what his religious opinions; if he bears the image of God, he is my neighbor.

GEORGE J. LUCKEY.

IN

POLITICAL PLATFORMS.

IN THIS great American republic where every man is a sovereign, at least in sentiment if not in fact, greater interest is taken in political matters than in any other country on the globe. Almost every man is a politician to some extent and is proud of the influence he wields, or thinks he is wielding, in shaping the destiny of municipal, state, or national government. Even the ladies are in a fair way to become as foolish in their demonstrations over political matters as their husbands, fathers, and brothers. A club of women, named in honor of the wife of one of the candidates for the presidency, has already contributed a sum of money for the campaign fund. The fact that the chief magistrate who shall be chosen this year will be the first President for whom or against whom any women of the United States have. had an opportunity to vote will lend additional interest to the coming contest.

While it is true that the great majority blindly follow party from impulse rather than from judgment, and while another large class of professional politicians is always in the thickest of the political fray, anxious to win simply for the loaves and fishes, regardless of the principles involved or the methods employed, yet it is doubtless true that the men who really shape the course and outline the principles of parties are usually honest in their efforts to promote the country's welfare.

There have been but few periods in our history when there was not at least one question of national interest, pending settlement at the hands of the people; but never have so many important issues presented themselves to the American voter at one time as are laid before him in the national political platforms promulgated within the past sixty days; and the man who can look at political principles, untrammeled by party prejudice, with an eye single to his duty to the public welfare as a citizen,