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joy is more stately, for it is now the joy of sacrifice; and all things now are new to us, for we have grown into men, and we feel the power and joy of progress. But never, as we look to Him who led us all our life long until this day, shall we lose the feeling of the child. Through all eternity the blessing of the child's heart shall be ours. In the midst of our swiftest work, in the midst of our closest pursuit of new knowledge, in the midst of all the endless labor and sacrifice of the heavenly life, we shall always turn with the sense of infinite peace to God, and say, Our Father, suffer a little child to come to Thee.

THE GREEN PASTURES.

I WALK'D in a field of fresh clover this morn,
Where lambs play'd so merrily under the trees,
Or rubbed their soft coats on a naked old thorn,
Or nibbled the clover, or rested at case.
And under the hedge ran a clear water brook,
To drink from, when thirsty or weary with play;
And so gay did the daisies and buttercups look,

That I thought little lambs must be happy all day.
And when I remember the beautiful psalm,

That tells about Christ and his pastures so green,
I know he is willing to make me his lamb,

And happier far than the lambs I have seen.
If I drink of the waters, so peaceful and still,
That flow in his field, I forever shall live;
If I love him and seek his commands to fulfill,
A place in his sheep-fold to me he will give.
The lambs are at peace in the fields when they play,
The long summer's day in contentment they spend;

But happier I, if in God's holy way

I try to walk always with Christ for my friend. - Mrs. Duncan

THE CHILD'S DESIRE.

I think, as I read that sweet story of old,

When Jesus was here among men,

How He called little children as lambs to His fold,

I should like to have been with them then.

I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
That His arms had been thrown around me,

And that I might have seen His kind look when He said,
"Let the little ones come unto me."

But still to His footstool in prayer I may go,

And ask for a share in His love;

And if I thus earnestly seek Him below,

I shall see Him and hear Him above,

In that beautiful place He has gone to prepare

For all that are washed and forgiven;

And many dear children are gathering there,

"For such is the kingdom of Heaven."-Mrs. Luke.

FRÖBEL'S SYSTEM IN CONGRESS OF PHILOSOPHERS.

SESSION HELD AT FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, IN OCTOBER, 1869.

INTRODUCTION.

The Congress of Philosophers first met at Prague, on the call of Prof. von Leohnardi, of that University, on the 26th of September, and continued in session till the 4th of October, 1868.* There were fifty-five members present, and one hundred more responded in letters of sympathy, representing the prominent chairs of philosophy in European Universities. It had a section of Pedagogy in which, among other phases of education, Fröbel's system and the Kindergarten were discussed. The meeting decided to hold a secoud session in October and November, 1869. In May, 1869 a circular issued in the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, in which due prominence is given to the Pedagogical section.

True philosophy, as an educator, is ever active to clear away the barriers that standi in the way of clear, unbiased comprehension of science and life in their relations and integrity, Philosophy raises the banner, not of any one special science, but of human culture, and however regarded by the materialists of the day as a foolish pursuit, it is the only basis of rightful education— nothing less than which has been the aim of all the eminent educators of our time, such as COMENIUS, PESTALOZZI, DIESTERWEG, FRÖBEL. So far as the General German Teachers' Convention and the Austrian Teachers build on the foundations these men have laid, they work for the same ends as the Philosophers' Congress, from which they are only distinguished in this, that they have special educational aims, while the Philosophers' Congress takes into consideration all questions of interest to cultivated persons and society at large. A delegation was sent to the Teachers' Convention at Berlin, asking them to take part in the Congress at Frankfort-on-the-Main; to aid, by word and co-operation, to solve the educational problems of the present, the most prominent of which are the completing and remodeling of the public schools, especially the establishing and reorganizing of Kindergartens, in accordance with the spirit

of FRÖBEL.

One problem to be solved in the establishing of a philosophical normal school for the training of educators and teachers, by which not only a remodeling and improvement of the primary, but also of the high-schools, shall be attained. Finally they will ask for an improvement in female education, in accordance with the demands of the present time and the vocation of the female sex. these points are felt to be of importance by every thinking educator, it is believed that all the teachers will meet with confidence and good-will, a convention of thinking friends of humanity, to devise means for its welfare.

The

As

Berlin Teachers' Convention responded favorably, and was present in force at the session held in Frankfort, Oct. 26, 1869. We are referred by Dr. Harris, to the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung for October, 1868, and the Philosophische Monertshafte, Vol. I, p. 514, Vol. II. p. 139, 236, 322, 424; and Leohnardi's Die Neuve Zeit for 1867-9, for a full account of the proceedings of the Philosophers' Congress. (289)

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"In the beginning of our century, education needed a new impulse; and it was given by PESTALOZZI and FICHTE who broke the road for the national edueation of Germany. But the question, what is the true humane mode of educa tion, applicable to all men every where, comes up anew, and asks for the right means to fulfill its mission.

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FRIEDRICK FROBEL, the great educational reformer of our era, in his system of education, promises these means. But, as yet, his method has been only partly and inadequately carried out in the widely-multiplying Kindergartens. It asks for a thorough investigation, on the part of scientific men, of the principles on which it is based; and if its claims prove to be well founded, it should be recommended to all governments and communities, and its adoption decreed. In view of the great importance of this question, an educational committee, which counts eminent scientific meu among its members, was formed last year in Berlin, during the teachers' convention, for the purpose of taking the matter into consideration; and they are invited to attend the Philosophers' Congress as members, taking active part in it, discussing the general educational questions, and devising means to establish a central normal school for the education of male and female teachers, who may meet all the demands of our time in all directions; and an address to the government and school authorities of Germany for the reform of the normal schools, will be submitted for discussion."

The subjects thus announced in the manifests of the Berlin Teachers' Convention were discussed in the Pedagogical Section of the Philadelphia Congress at Frankfort from Oct. 26th to Nov. 4th, and the conclusions reached in the field of popular education, were embodied in a Report of a special committee of which Prof. von Fichte was chairman. During the session, the Baroness von MarenholtzBülow gave four public lectures in Frankfort which were largely attended, and took the initiatory steps for the establishment of a "General Educational Union," which was organized in 1871-72.

PROF. I. H. VON FICHTE, the author of the following Report, was a philosopher and writer of great eminence and remarkable versatility. He was born July 8, 1797, the son of the distinguished philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte, whose writings and personal influence are world renowned, and who died the 27th of June, 1814. His widow died five years later. The son took his degree as Doctor of Philosophy in 1818, at the University of Berlin, where for a short time he was established as Privat-docent. Later he became a Gymnasial teacher in Saarbrücken, and subsequently in Düsseldorf. For several years till 1840, he was Professor Extraordinary of Philosophy in Bonn. In 1842 he was called to Tübingen as Professor of Philosophy, where he remained till 1863, when he resigned and removed to Stuttgart, where he resided till his death, at the age of 83. He was a voluminous writer upon a variety of subjects, on Philosophy, Ethics, Pedagogics, and Theology, singularly clear, candid, and sensible, carnestly theistic and christian. He founded the journal which bears his name and has reached the 78th volume, and is highly esteemed in Germany and wherever German Philosophy is studied.

THE NATIONAL EDUCATION DEMANDED BY THE AGE,

CONSIDERED IN CONNECTION WITH THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF FRIEDRICH FROBEL.

By Prof. J. H. Von Fichte.*

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I. EDUCATION-THE PROBLEM OF THE AGE.

SINCE Pestalozzi's great movement, it has become, at least in Germany, a universally recognized conviction, that only by means of an improved popular education, can the many defects of civil, social and family life be thoroughly corrected, and a better future be assured to our posterity. It may be asserted, still more universally, that the fate of a people, its growth and decay, depend, ultimately and mainly, on the education which is given to its youth. Hence follows, with the same indisputable certainty, the next axiom: that nation which, in all its classes, possesses the most thorough and varied cultivation, will, at the same time, be the most powerful and the happiest, among the peoples of its century; invincible to its neighbors and envied by its contemporaries, or an example for them to imitate. Indeed, it can be asserted, with the exactness of a mathematical truth, that even the most reliable preparation for war can be most surely reached through the right education of physicallydeveloped young men. This conviction also gains ground in Germany; and renewed efforts are now made to introduce gymnastics (turnen) into the system of common school education, freed from all cumbersome modifications, and restored to their simple, first principles.

But the problems of national education are far from being limited to these immediate, practical aims. Its workings must not alone cover the present and its necessities; the great plan of national education must comprehend unborn generations, the future of our race, the immediate and therefore the most distant. Finally, man must not be educated for the State alone (after the manner of Greece and Rome), but the highest civil and educational aim must be to lead the individual and the whole race toward their moral perfection. National education must therefore extend beyond the popular and expedient; must construct its foundations on pure and universal humanity, and then raise upon these whatever national and professional wants require. This gradation of requirements strictly held, will prove to be a guiding rule of great importance.

Here now, it may seem—and "idealizing educators" have frequently received such reproaches-as if in these demands, far off, impossible

Translated by Emily Meyer, with slight verbal alterations and abridgements.

problems were treated of, as if educational utopias were desired, instead of looking after what is nearest and most necessary. And one could say, even with an appearance of right, that inasmuch as we perform what is near and sure, we approach, at least progressively, our highest goal. For national education is a work so comprehensive, complicated and prodigious, that it can be realized only in favorable periods and within, very circumscribed limits.

Admitting this last, we hope still to show how directly practical the consideration of that universal question of principle is, and that the education of the present will only reach its aim by beginning at this point. We are undeniably entering a new era. We are preparing to cast aside the last remnants of the middle ages. Inherited rights are precarious, or at least they can claim no legal sanction, while, nevertheless, much in our manners and customs remind us of the past. No one is compelled to serve another, and no individual enjoys in idleness the profits of another man's labor; but for each, labor and capacity are to be the sole supports of his position in life. Thus each is thrown upon his own exertions, and the path of unlimited competition and zealous effort is opened to all.

For this reason there should no longer be a privileged class, but to each, approximately at least, must be offered every thing which belongs to a universal human culture, and what his particular capacities demand or are able to appropriate. Only upon these two conditions can the citizen of the commonwealth be fitted for the future "struggle for existence," to continue equal to the increased requirements, and fulfill ably his chosen calling.

This new great principle of the equal rights of all to all which their talents can grasp, demands a plan of education fundamentally renovated and readjusted. In every given case, the education must be strictly proportional to the conditions which the period offers. But it can not be denied, that in the present period this proportional relation has not been reached; yes, there is even danger that it may be missed of, by a mistaken arrangement of details. For this reason, those upon whom the responsibility of educating rests, must recognize clearly the final aim of the same, and prepare it with practical certainty, through all the necessary grades. Above all, therefore, theoretically there must be no vacillation in principles, practically no failure in the correct issues! If we should succeed only in spreading a wholesome light over these two points, we should feel that we had solved our present problem.

Our politicians and State educators differ widely in regard to that aim; and this is the next ground where the struggle should begin. Whoever considers a republic the highest goal to which a State can attain, laments that he sees no republicans around him; these true education must make. But what the republican spirit, in which the people are to be educated, really is, there is no thorough insight. This spirit is the opposite of that which has till now existed, and which sees true freedom

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