In point of fact, two problems are joined in one,
to the confusion of both. There is _first_ the vast question of _moral
control_, which stretches far and wide over many fields, and would have
to be tracked with immense labour: it belongs to the arts of government;
it comes under moral suasion, as exercised by the preacher and orator;
it even implicates the tact of diplomacy. I do not regard this as a
properly educational question (although it refers to an art that every
teacher must try to master); that is to say, its solution is not
connected with education processes strictly so called. The _second_
problem of moral education is the one really within the scope of the
subject--the problem of _fixing moral bents_ or habits, when the right
conduct is once initiated. On this head, some scientific insight is
attainable; and suggestions of solid value may in time accrue, although
there never can be the precision attainable in the intellectual region.
* * * * *
I will next advert to the applied science of Art or Aesthetics, long a
barren ground, so far as scientific handling was concerned, but now a
land of promise. The old thesis, "What is Beauty?" a good debating
society topic, is, I hope, past contending about.
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