"For
the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the
ear, after that the full corn in the ear." So in the human heart, mind,
and soul, nature bringeth forth fruit of herself; and it is the work of
schools and teachers to aid nature in developing a full and attractive
character, that shall yield fruit while all its powers are enlarged and
strengthened, as the almond in the peach is not only more luscious in
its fruit, but more graceful in its branches. Culture, in a broad sense,
is the aid rendered to each individual creation in its work of
self-improvement. It is not a noble and generous culture which dwarfs
the tree that early ripened or peculiarly flavored fruit may be
obtained; and it is not a noble and generous culture of the child which
forces into unnatural activity certain faculties or powers that surprise
us by their precocity, or excite wonder by the skill exhibited in their
use. Rather let the child grow, expand, mature, according to the law of
its own being, giving it only encouragement and example, which are the
light and air of mental and moral life. I am not conscious that any one
has given us a philosophical, logical system of development, that
relates to the physical, intellectual, and moral character; and to-day I
state the educational want in this particular, but I do not attempt to
supply it. Yet in nature such a system there must be, and only powers of
observation are needed that we may avail ourselves of it.
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