EDUCATION. In every nation, even those called uncivilized, there are, and ne cessarily must be, certain practices and usages according to which children are in structed in those things which are to form the occupation of their future life ; and every civilized nation, and, we may pre sume, nations also called uncivilized, have some general term by which they express this process of instruction. In the European languages derived from the Latin, and in others that have a mixture of that lan guage, this general term is Education. It is not important to consider the more or less precise notions attached to this or any other equivalent word; but it is enough to observe, that, as the language of every nation possesses such a term, it Is a universal truth that all nations admit that there is something which is expressed by the comprehensive term education, or by some equivalent term. But like all other general terms which have been long in use, this term Education compre hends within the general meaning already assigned to it a great number of particu lars, which are conceived by various people in such different modes and de grees and in such varying amount as to the number of the particulars, some nations or individuals conceiving a cer tain set of particulars as essential to the term, others conceiving a different set of particulars as essentials, and others again conceiving the same particulars in such different ways, that two or more persons who agree in their general description of the term might very probably, in descend ing into the enumeration of the particu lars, find themselves completely at vari ance with one another. This remark possesses no claim to novelty, but it is not on that account the less important. The discrepancy just stated is apparent not only as to such general terms as Educa tion, Government, Right, Duty, and nu merous other such words; but it is per ceived and occurs even in things obvious to the senses, which consist of a number of parts, such as a machine, or any other compound thing. The general use of a machine, as a mill, for instance, is con ceived in the same way by all, by the miller and by persons who knew nothing more about the mill than that it is used for grinding corn. As to the particulars, there may be all imaginable discrepan cies among the persons who are only acquainted with the general purpose of the mill. But discrepancies as to the mode in which the several parts of a thing and the uses of the several parts are conceived, are generally discrepancies to be referred to the inaccuracy of the conceptions ; they are, in fact, only errors, not the same but about the same thing. The more completely a large number of persons approach to harmony in their whole views as to this machine, the nearer, as a general rule, do their several views approach to accuracy ; it being of the nature of truth to produce a harmony of opinion, the truth being one and invari able ; and it being of the nature of error to admit of more varieties than man has yet conceived, inasmuch as men yet un born will conceive errors never conceived before.
The same holds good as to Macedon which holds good of the machine. The
general use, the general object of Educa tion is roughly and rightly conceived by all persons to whom the name is familiar ; but the great contrariety which exists among mankind as to the particulars which they conceive as entering into and forming a part of this term, and as to their mode of conceiving the same, proves either that all are still wrong as to their particular conceptions of this term, or that hitherto no means have been disco vered of producing a general harmony of opinion, or in other words, of approach ing to the truth. And here there is no person, or class of persons, who, as in the case of the miller, is or are allowed to be an authority competent to decide between conflicting opinions.
In every society, Education (in what particular manner conceived by any par ticular society is of no importance to our present inquiry) is, as a general rule, and must necessarily be, subjected to the posi tive law of the society, and to that assem blage of opinions, customs and habits which is not inappropriately called by some writers the Positive Morality of Society, or the Law of Opinion. This truth, or truism, as some may call it, is the basis of every inquiry into Education. In no country can there exist, as a gene ral rule, an Education, whether it be good or bad, not subordinate to the law as above explained : for if such Educa tion did exist, the form of that society or political system could not co-exist with it. One or the other must be changed, so that on the whole there must at last result a harmony, and not a discord. In every country then there does exist Education, either directed by and subor dinate to the Positive Law and Positive Morality of that country, or there is an Education not so directed and subor dinate, and consequently inconsistent with the continuance of that political sys tem in which it exists. But such an ano maly, if found anywhere, should not be allowed to exist, because it is inconsistent with the continued existence of the so ciety in which it has established itself; and if such an Education does exist, and can maintain itself in a society, against the will of that society, such a society is not a sovereign and independent society, but is in a state of anarchy. Education then should be in harmony with and sub ordinate to the political system : it should be part of it ; and whether the political system is called by the name good or bad, if that political system is to continue, Education must not be opposed to it, but must be a part of it. From this it follows that the question, What is the best educa tion ? involves the question, What is the best political system ? and that question again cannot be answered without con sidering what are the circumstances of the particular nation or society as to which we inquire what is the best politi cal system. Recollecting however that the question of the best education and of the best political system cannot be dis cussed apart, because, as we have shown, Education is a part of the system, still we can Consider several important questions as to Education, without determining what is the best political system.